Welcome to the second page! :) Manchester City were the Champions League holders and definite title challengers as they were in 2nd place before the game. I didn’t want to put pressure on the lads especially since most of them were tired after playing against Fulham just two days earlier.
Manchester City vs Vauxhall (Premier League)
Venue: The City of Manchester Stadium
Attendance: 46,858
Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Javier Godoy, Louis Laing, Mervin Simon, Ray Davis — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Shyamdew Weibolt, Andrew Driver — Connor Wickham, Ibrahima MBow
Team Talk: Pressure is off!
Manchester City had played a game on Boxing Day too but their squad was so much better, they can afford to field two different and equally strong elevens! In fact, we were totally outplayed especially during the opening half hour. There were no clear chances though but we were quite lucky since the Citizens hit the woodwork no less than three times!
Half time score: 0-0
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: Stephan El Shaarawy for Velasco, Mark Brown for Vecera
The second half started to look a bit different, we were playing much better and the game was no longer under Man City‘s domination. We were not creating too much in attack though but we got lucky on 69 minutes when Ibrahima MBow was brought down inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot! It was our big chance and M’Bow didn’t miss it, he coolly converted the penalty kick and we were suddenly hoping to get all three points! The home side started pressing forward with fury after the goal but we stood firm for a while even though we received some additional help from the crossbar again. My lads were getting quite tired though and I think that it’s not a coincidence that two fresh substitutes decided the game… We got beaten again in injury time, the final whistle was just 10 seconds away when the ball hit the back of the net. It was a deserved victory for Manchester City though, they were the better team on the day.
Full time team talk: Good effort!
Man of the match: Dean Bouzanis
Flop of the match: Mark Brown
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
Vauxhall vs Liverpool (Premier League)
Venue: Rivacre Park
Attendance: 10,266 (sold out)
Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Javier Godoy, Julian Bazzi, Mervin Simon, Grant Baddeley — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Mark Brown, Andrew Surman — Pavol Vesely, Ibrahima MBow
Team Talk: You can win today!
Finally, the last game of the year! The two defeats against Chelsea and Man City saw us dropping in 6th place, just above Liverpool who were 7th. It was a very important game for the league table and thankfully we got off to a flying start as a low cross from Mark Brown was fumbled across the line by Reina after just two minutes! The Spanish goalie made amends though as he pulled off a good couple of saved on Pavol Vesely before he half hour mark. Vesely finally beat him from close range to make it 2-0 and Liverpool finally reacted before half time but their only clear chance was handled well by Dean Bouzanis.
Half time score: 2-0
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: Stephan El Shaarawy for Velasco, Elias Kost for Vecera, Connor Wickham for M’Bow
The second half was simply delightful! First Mark Brown made it 3-0 a minute before the hour mark with a good free kick shot from the edge of the area and then provided the assist for Pavol Vesely‘s second goal of the game. We added insult to injury two minutes from time when substitute Elias Kost did very well to set up Andrew Surman who finished the move with one of his typical powerful shots. It was an unexpected result to be honest but I was delighted to send the fans home very happy on New Year’s Eve.
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Pavol Vesely
Flop of the match: Ibrahima MBow
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
The league table was kind to us at the end of the year, we were up in 5th place and on course to reach our season goal which is European qualification.
The player stats at the halfway point of the season show that Parana and Zé Carlos are huge losses for the team, their injuries surely affected our chances but we did well to grab quite a few points without them. The most pleasing thing is that our centre backs seem to be doing very well, Mervin Simon scored no less than seven goals while Louis Laing and Julian Bazzi also played very well. Parana was still our best scorer at the end of December despite being out for two months already but Pavol Vesely and Ibrahima MBow did a good job to replace him and the other Brazilian. Since we’re speaking about strikers I have to say that Connor Wickham continued to be a disappointment. It’s true that his numbers show 6 goals in 9 games but most of those goals were scored against weaker opponents in the Europa League and Carling Cup. His league record is not so good, 1 goal in 7 games this season and 2 goals in 19 appearances last season, surely not good enough. Graham Howson is our best assist man again, he provided 12 of them and I hope he will stay fit until the end of the campaign. As you can notice from the screen shot one player was going to leave the club on January first: backup fullback Kaka. I didn’t want to sell him but his contract was running out in July and although he wanted to extend it he wasn’t granted a new work permit. I had to cash in and I managed to get 2.1 million for him from Brazilian club Vasco. I needed to find a replacement and I asked the board for some more transfer money and they gave me 5 million pounds, not bad. I managed to bring in two new players but you will find out more about that later.
We dominated the Young Player of the Month awards again, Leandro Velasco won the award with Julian Bazzi and Mark Brown just behind him. Velasco is already a transfer target for the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United, no offers were tabled yet but reports claim that these clubs would be willing to pay 22.5 million for him! I’ve set an asking price of 40 million but I might raise that a bit :)
January’s schedule seemed to be quite relaxed, we were going to meet teams from the lower half of the Premier League table and League Two side Luton in the FA Cup.
The first game went pretty well, Ibrahima MBow bagged a brace against Southampton and I’m pleased to report that left back Nikao has finally played a full 45 minutes for the club after recovering from the countless injuries. We had another two clients for the physio though: Leandro Velasco out for 3 weeks and Andrew Driver out for 2 weeks… The FA Cup match against Luton was all easy, we put four goals past them and didn’t pick up any injuries in the process. Then we had a setback at home against Sunderland, we drew 1-1 but we should really have won the game as we dominated from start to finish. It was frustrating but the players took all that fury into the next game and demolished Birmingham away, Ibrahima MBow bagged no less than four goals! The first one was a beauty, I watched it again and so can you! (click here to open the video)
The victory against Luton added another game to our schedule, we were going to meet Aston Villa in the 4th round of the FA Cup (more about that game later).
It’s time for the transfers now! My main target was a new backup full back and I am pleased to say that I found a good one for a reasonable price. He is a Belgian but I signed him from Turkish club Kayserispor for 1.5 million pounds, less than what I received for Kaka and this guy seems to be better than the Brazilian. He is not very quick but he has great anticipation and also seems to be a «workaholic» :)
I still had some money left and I started looking for a striker while trying to sell Connor Wickham. There wasn’t much interest for the English striker I must say but I finally managed to get 3.4 million pounds from Championship side Middlesbrough. I had two players lined up to replace him, both from Brazil, but I have to say that the best of the two was snapped up by a richer club. I had to settle for the backup target but I guess he’s a good player. The only thing that concerns me is that he seems to be quite selfish and also not a fan of hard work. However, he has great technical skills and he is still very young. Oh, and I paid for him the exact same amount that I got for Wickham, 3.4 million to Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro. The Brazilian gets less than half the wage that Wickham was getting so I saved quite a bit of money on this move.
The two new players were going to be on the bench for the FA Cup match against Aston Villa, let’s see how that one went.
Aston Villa vs Vauxhall (FA Cup 4th Rnd)
Venue: Villa Park
Attendance: 33,477
Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Julian Bazzi, Mervin Simon, Javier Godoy — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Graham Howson, Andrew Surman — Pavol Vesely, Ibrahima MBow
Team Talk: You can win today!
We got off to a good start despite playing away and the reward came earlier than expected: Leandro Velasco nodded home a good cross from Andrew Surman after just seven minutes. We continued to play well until the half hour mark and Ibrahima MBow had a good chance to double our lead on a counter attack but he was denied by the goalkeeper. Aston Villa dominated the last 15 minutes before the break but they only managed to create one good chance and Dean Bouzanis handled it well.
Half time score: 0-1
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: Kwabena Quartey for Marino, Mark Brown for Howson
Aston Villa continued to push forward after the interval but our defense was playing very well and there was no real danger for our goalie. The game was getting quite boring and substitute Kwabena Quartey did something to make it more lively a minute before the hour mark, he sent in a good deep cross which Andrew Surman nodded home for his 10th goal of the season. There was no reaction from Aston Villa, we held firm until two minutes from time when the home side managed to pull one back. There was no nervy finale though, my lads kept possession well and we were through to the next round.
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Andrew Surman
Flop of the match: Graham Howson
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
We remain in 5th place at the end of January but we have a game in hand on some of the teams around us. I guess we can be almost sure of finishing inside the top seven at this point but I can’t help thinking about the injuries… Where would we have been with Parana and Zé Carlos on the pitch? Could we have challenged for the title? We’ll never know… However, we have the best attack in the league at this point with 57 goals scored.
The top five at the end of January sees Ibrahima MBow climbing up into fifth place, he did a great job after Zé Carlos‘ injury and I think that the two Brazilians will have some problems to get back into the starting eleven if Ibrahima keeps playing like this.
In fact, Ibrahima MBow was elected Premier League Player of the Month! He totally deserved the award as he scored no less than 6 goals in 3 league appearances in January!
As for the young players award, Pavol Vesely grabbed it this time with Radek Vecera in second place.
Before wrapping up I have another piece of good news from the transfer market, a good player that will be joining us on a free transfer in July. His name is Luis Guilherme and he is a Brazilian goalkeeper that most of you already know. Dean Bouzanis did a good job until now but Luis seems to be better than him, I’ll think about Bouzanis‘ future in July as we already have a good backup goalie in Jack Butland.
February will start with two easier games but then we will embark on a very tough streak with Tottenham and Chelsea in the league either side of the double clash with Dynamo Kyiv in the Europa League. Then we will meet the Spurs again the the FA Cup (the draw could have been much nicer than that I guess) before meeting Manchester United at Rivacre Park.
That’s all for now folks, thanks a lot for reading. Our second Premier League season is going pretty well so far but it could have been much better without all those injuries. Anyway, we are in 5th place and also through to the Europa League knockout stage, I can’t complain. Thanks again and remember that you can always leave any suggestions/questions/rants/requests in the comments below :) Oh, and don’t forget to submit your wonderful goals in the Goal of the Month Competition!
Aaron
3 мая, 2011 at 18:47
First comment! Haha. Well done on tow great months and running the big guns close! Did you get any big offers in January? I’d be suprised if you didn’t. Can you give me any tips on scouting for players? I’m managed to turn Norwich City into European champions but I want young regens to replace aging players.
Johnny Karp
3 мая, 2011 at 19:14
Thanks for the comment. There were some offers but none of them big enough to persuade me to sell. About the scouting tips, I suggest downloading our FM 2011 Guide from here: https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2011/04/fm-2011-handbook-your-way-to-victory-in-football-manager-2011/
You could also have a look at Darren’s tips for finding the best regens here: https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2011/05/football-manager-how-to-find-the-best-regens/
Aaron
3 мая, 2011 at 19:35
I’m currently playing 2010, will it still work?
Johnny Karp
3 мая, 2011 at 20:02
I guess so, at least some of the tips will work for FM 2010.
hils
3 мая, 2011 at 19:00
Hi Johnny,Good 2 months there!!!!!!!!!! Your doing well in europe!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!
Johnny Karp
3 мая, 2011 at 19:14
Thanks Hils!
vaibhavc
3 мая, 2011 at 19:06
Hey Johnny
Pretty good two months there. Good wins against Liverpool and finishing first in the Europa League table shows this.Hopefully your FA Cup run can continue. M’Bow seems to be playing really well, hopefully he can continue his form and give Parana and Ze Carlos some competition!
Johnny Karp
3 мая, 2011 at 19:15
Thanks Vaibhav, M’Bow is doing great at the moment and he will still have little competition for a month or two until the two Brazilians return to full fitness.
Laxeyman
3 мая, 2011 at 19:07
Very good couple of months Johnny, you’re now in a good position to challenge for a Champions League place, and maybe even the title as you’re not too far off. You’re doing well in the Europa League too, and I reckon you’ve got a good chance of winning it. Good luck!
Johnny Karp
3 мая, 2011 at 19:16
Thanks for the optimism Laxeyman. I don’t know about the title, that seems a bit too much for my team as we are not very consistent for a title bid. There are some good teams left in the Europa League but I guess we have 50/50 chances against most of them.
Darren Smith
3 мая, 2011 at 20:43
Great set of results in my opinion. Your side seem to be playing some sexy football and strength in depth is starting to shine through. So unlucky with injuries and yet the team keeps ticking over. I really hope you progress in the Europa League, but it could ultimately come down to injuries and fatigue. You should aim for the top six this season and maybe even hope for fourth. Good luck mate
Johnny Karp
3 мая, 2011 at 23:03
Thanks Darren, a top six finish would be very good considering the circumstances. Parana and Ze Carlos should be back in shape in April so they might help us during the closing stage of the season.
Stromson
3 мая, 2011 at 21:49
Another great run Johnny! You’re making an awesome run through the Europa, and still managing to remain competitive in the league. It’s a shame about the injuries, and it says something about the depth of the squad to still be able to pull out some respectable results. I have to wonder: have you ever been headhunted by a larger club?
Johnny Karp
3 мая, 2011 at 23:03
Thanks Stromson. I have been offered a few jobs from other Premier League teams but none of the big ones so far.
Sayam Khan
3 мая, 2011 at 22:00
Excellent second season in the Premier League so far! You’ve managed to cope very well with the injuries to your main forwards, for some reason, i really like Pavol Vesely. Good business with the strikers situation. Good Luck!
Johnny Karp
3 мая, 2011 at 23:05
Thanks Sayam, I like Vesely as well because he had the strength to push himself in the first team despite being sent out on loan last season (he didn’t like that too much).
Ana Garcia
3 мая, 2011 at 22:01
Good going Johnny!!
Some really impressive wins especially against Liverpool and Birmingham. Your Europa league campaign is going really well also.
Injuries are adding up! Hopefully they wont de-rail your performances so far, and a couple of good new additions, but all in all very good so far!
Good luck for the remainder of the season.
Johnny Karp
3 мая, 2011 at 23:06
Thanks Ana, I’m looking forward to having a clean bill of health at least for just one week! Anyway, I got used to the injuries and the team seems to be doing well despite the absences.
Erick Wolf
4 мая, 2011 at 00:30
Good two months!
It’s a shame that Manchester City managed to win against you though.
I really wish Vauxhall were in FIFA now…
Johnny Karp
4 мая, 2011 at 07:03
Thanks Erick, I guess you should make a request to EA Sports to include Vauxhall in the next game :)
kevin
4 мая, 2011 at 00:33
Hi Johnny
As there were three stories up when I checked in I printed them all and read them on the subway ride home. Saving them as a PDF first seems the best way to get them printed, so thanks a lot!!
So tough loss to Chelsea but a fantastic win over Liverpool and despite losing both Brazilians up front you still seem to be challenging strongly and have a great shot of a CL place I feel. Good luck in the FA Cup to..so far so good :)
Johnny Karp
4 мая, 2011 at 07:04
Hi Kevin, I’m glad that you were able to print them. The FA Cup is a nice goal for us but we’ll have a very tough fifth round against Tottenham.
Alex
4 мая, 2011 at 00:33
Hey Johnny,
Brilliant stuff from your team, topping your Europa league group and the prospect of Champions League football next season. As a Man Utd fan I loved seeing you demolish Liverpool, I still can’t imagine Vauxhall beating Liverpool by five goals!
Good luck, I expect at least a double from your team this season ;)
Johnny Karp
4 мая, 2011 at 07:05
Hey Alex, we might let you down because I doubt that we could pull of a double this season, I’d be happy with just one trophy. The game against Liverpool was pretty good but we also were a bit lucky with that early own goal.
CsAtlantis
4 мая, 2011 at 03:34
Noooooooooooooo Johny surely Connor Wickham cannot fail…………….
:P oh well, I suppose you should sell him and get someone else
Some good results against some big clubs, losing to Chelsea isn’t that big a deal, they have some very big names in their side……………, a very good win against Liverpool
5th is a good spot to be in, but I think you can overtake Aston Villa, after all you did beat them away, only 3 points to make up too :D
Good luck with your injury list, hopefully your physios can help them with their recovery (oh yeah, how many physios can you employ?)
Johnny Karp
4 мая, 2011 at 07:07
Sorry about Wickham, he just wasn’t up to it. He will do well in the Championship at Boro though, I’m quite sure, and maybe they’ll sell him for more since I have a percentage of the next transfer :) About the physios, I think I have four of them at the moment.
Stef
4 мая, 2011 at 05:56
I think it’s important to have 3 goalkeepers in 1st team… 2 capable of playing top games, 1 young and OK, and maybe 1 more… usually a prospect.
I happened to have 1 suspended/away, 2 injured before a match!
Johnny Karp
4 мая, 2011 at 07:08
I rarely have more than 2 goalies Stef. I agree that such things can happen but it’s quite rare and I don’t want to pay wages to players that I have no use for.
Lye
4 мая, 2011 at 06:03
Hi Johnny,
I can’t believe the bad luck of injuries on your key players. Even without the two Brazilians, you are grinding out results especially the 5-0 win against Liverpool. I agree with some of the comments here, you are probably not the favorites for the title but you look good to spring some surprises on top. I am looking for a Champions League finish. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
4 мая, 2011 at 07:09
Hi Lye, I’m quite pleased with the way the team handled themselves despite all those injuries. A Champions League finish would be great and I guess we have a chance if we keep playing well.
Excessive
4 мая, 2011 at 11:43
Another solid couple of months there Johnny, your right on track with the boards expectations and if you can further progress in the Europa League while pushing for that Champions Leauge spot, you’ll be the legend from Elmsmere for some time to come ;).
Especially with that 5-0 romp of Liverpool!
Good luck! :)
Johnny Karp
4 мая, 2011 at 12:04
Thanks Jake, that 5-0 against Liverpool was quite pleasing indeed but the result might have been harsh on the Reds. By the way’ it’s «Ellesmere Port» :)
Excessive
4 мая, 2011 at 12:29
Haha, I live 20 miles away.. You’d bank on me knowing how to spell/pronounce it..
Anyway, you know where im coming from ;)
David Dooley
4 мая, 2011 at 15:11
Quality story Johnny, inspired me to start one with the mighty Blyth Spartans. hope it goes half aswell as yours.
Johnny Karp
4 мая, 2011 at 19:39
Thanks for the compliment David and best of luck with Blyth, I’m a fan of the Spartans since I managed them in FM 2009 :)