Vauxhall Motors Story: End Of Season Number Nine

Hello folks and welcome back to the Vauxhall Football Manager 2011 story! The time has finally come, my ninth season in charge is coming to an end and it could be a great finale as at the end of April 2019 we were still in contention for the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League. I guess you’re pretty curious to find out what happened so the introduction ends here, let’s go staight to business!

As you might remember we were five points clear of Tottenham at the top of the Premier League table with only three games remaining so we needed just five more points to secure the title, that is if the Spurs would have grabbed nine out of nine in the last games. Our first test was against Manchester United, they were in 4th place before the game but since we had the crucial second leg against Lyon after four days I decided to rest two defenders: Marat Bykov and Pierre Touya.

Vauxhall vs Manchester United (Premier League)

Venue: Vauxhall Stadium

Attendance: 24,859

Starting line up: Luis Guilherme – Julian Marino, Mervin Simon, Louis Laing, Hans Larsson – Leandro Velasco, Indio, Marcos Fernandez, Tiago – Zé Carlos, Parana

Team Talk: For the fans!

My lads started the game very well, we enjoyed a good spell of domination but unfortunately Parana squandered a very good chance midway through the first half. The Red Devils were barely hanging in there and we finally managed to break the deadlock on the stroke of half time when Parana made ammends for the missed opportunity as he cleverly played the ball past a defender before slotting into the bottom corner.

Half time score: 1-0

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Abdallah Yaisien for Velasco, Walid Mechergui for Tiago, Ibrahima MBow for Ze Carlos

The second half started in an equally pleasing manner and we managed to double the lead after just five minutes when Parana made a good counter attack run before squaring for Marcos Fernandez who found the back of the net with a well executed first time finish. We were safely in control at that point but the visitors came back into the game just six minutes later thanks to a rather stupid own goal on a corner kick. That goal surely gave them some hopes but those ended quite soon as left back Hans Larsson restored our two-goal lead with a fine solo effort on the hour mark. The lads were playing beautifully, I was quite impressed to be honest, and we finished the game with three more goals, one from substitute left winger Walid Mechergui (a beautiful goal) and another two from hat-trick hero Parana. Not only that we beat Manchester United but you can say that we mopped the floor with them, it was a stunning performance from my lads and a clear message for Tottenham: we want the title!

Full time team talk: Well done!

Man of the match: Parana

Flop of the match: Zé Carlos

Match Stats

Video Highlights

click here to watch the highlights

Fortunately we didn’t have to wait any longer to celebrate the second consecutive Premier League title, Tottenham were held to a 2-2 draw at Hull so the title was ours with two games to spare! Way to go lads!

I didn’t allow any champagne or beer at the party though, the season was far from over and we had to meet Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League semi final after just four days. As you remember the French team beat us 2-1 in the first leg in a match that saw Parana being sent off for elbowing an opponent. We had to grab a 1-0 win at home but I was expecting a very difficult game considering Lyon‘s abilities.

Vauxhall vs Lyon (Champions League Semi Final Leg 2)

Venue: Vauxhall Stadium

Attendance: 25,875 (sold out)

Starting line up: Luis Guilherme – Julian Marino, Mervin Simon, Marat Bykov, Pierre Touya – Leandro Velasco, Robert Ackermann, Marcos Fernandez, Tiago – Zé Carlos, Ibrahima MBow

Team Talk: For the fans!

The lads were full of confidence after the result against Man United so they started the game brilliantly and Zé Carlos had a pretty good chance after eight minutes but he was denied by a super-save from Hugo Lloris. He did score three minutes later though but the goal came as a result of Ibrahima MBow‘s great work, he made a very good run, his shot was parried and Zé Carlos had nothing left to do than to tuck the ball into the empty net. We continued to press forward and the reward came after another 10 minutes when Zé Carlos drilled a low cross that Ibrahima MBow somehow managed to bundle into the back of the net. Lyon woke up after that second goal and started to try their luck but they were unable to show more than a few shots from distance until half time.

Half time score: 2-0

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Graham Howson for Fernandez, Wellington Paulista for MBow

We started pushing forward again after the break, Lyon were hanging in there but with great difficulty. They could have punished us on 66 minutes when they threw away their first real chance of the match but my lads were not to be denied and Zé Carlos scored his second goal of the game on the stroke of full time after some very good work from substitute striker Wellington Paulista. We qualified for the Champions League final and we did that in style! The other semi final saw holders Manchester City beating Barcelona 4-2 on aggregate so we were going to meet Mourinho‘s millionaires once again…

Full time team talk: Congratulations!

Man of the match: Zé Carlos

Flop of the match: Leandro Velasco

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

Here’s how our end of season schedule looked like, not great having the two finals in just three days…

I was hoping to count on Parana again for the Champions League final but UEFA decided to extend his ban to three games so he was going to miss the big final.

The last two Premier League games of the season were totally unimportant so I decided to rest all my important players against Chelsea. We lost that game but I was happy to see Zé Carlos bagging his 30th goal of the season in the previous game.

Here is the final Premier League table, we totally deserved the title after collecting 95 points and scoring exactly 100 goals. Tottenham finished second again, just like last year, but this time they pushed the title race a lot closer to the final day of the season. Chelsea and Liverpool were quite disappointing again while West Ham, Burnley and Bristol City will be playing Championship football next season.

Needless to say that I was elected Manager of the Season again, it’s my third consecutive award in the top flight!

But there was no time to celebrate as we had two huge matches ahead of us, the FA Cup final at Wembley and the Champions League final at Emirates Stadium. We were in front of a historic treble, did we pull it off? There’s only one way to find out and that is going to the next page… ;)

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.