Vauxhall Motors Story: January 2016

Hello folks and welcome to the year 2016! My Vauxhall Motors Football Manager 2011 story enters a new year with the team ending 2015 in 9th place in the Premier League with some exciting times ahead as the board gave me 12.25 million pounds to spend on transfers during January. We also had the Carling Cup semi final to look forward to although our chances were rather slim considering that we were meeting Manchester City. Let’s see how January 2016 went for the Motormen, there will be plenty of action and transfer news for you to enjoy!

Leyton Orient vs Vauxhall (FA Cup 3rd rnd)

Venue: Brisbane Road

Attendance: 8,956

Starting line up: Tim Howard — Kaka, Bryan Purdrue, Osman Chavez, Grant Baddeley — Nathan Dyer, Shyamdew Weibolt, Inigo Perez, Lionel Riehl — Parana, Ibrahima MBow

Team Talk: I expect a win!

The first game of the new year was a good opportunity to send in some backup players as we were meeting League One side Leyton Orient in the FA Cup. I also decided to send in new signing Parana, I was just too curious to see him in action :) We dominated the first half entirely, the lads produced a good display but the score was still goalless at half time. We were entitled to blame bad luck though as my lads hit the woodwork twice before the interval.

Half time score: 0-0

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Cameron Lindsay for Perez, Mark Brown for Weibolt, Thorsten Schon for Riehl

The deadlock was finally broken 11 minutes after the re-start when a flowing team move brought the ball in the middle of the area to Ibrahima MBow and the striker slotted home to end his painful 13-hour goal drought. Things were going quite smoothly and we managed to double the advantage 12 minutes from time when Parana found Nathan Dyer with a good cross and the winger volleyed home. Ibrahima MBow added another one during injury time to cap a good afternoon, he pushed the ball home after hitting the post on a first attempt. Things went according to plan and they got even better after the draw as we were going to meet Blue Square North side Mansfield in the next round.

Full time team talk: Well done!

Man of the match: Ibrahima MBow

Flop of the match: Inigo Perez

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

After the game I managed to complete the first two signings of the January transfer window, a right winger and a central midfielder! The right winger comes from Italy and his name is Stephan El Shaarawy (click name to see profile). I paid 2.2 million pounds for him to Dutch club Roda and I guess it’s a good deal considering that he’s 23 years old and has good technique and creativity. The central midfielder is an old acquaintance: Graham Howson! He was our best player in League One, then he spent another three months on loan with us last season and now I finally managed to get him on a permanent basis. I tried to buy him during the summer transfer window as well but back then I lacked the funding and Scottish club Hearts snapped him up from Manchester United. Now I paid 2 million pounds for him and I hope that he will help us a lot this season and in the future as well since he’s only 20 years old. With these two new signings coming in I terminated Lionel Riehl‘s loan deal and I sold Keith Higgs for a mere 50K. Striker Pavol Vesely was also loaned out for a hefty 100K fee.

Tottenham vs Vauxhall (Premier League)

Venue: White Hart Lane

Attendance: 42,753

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Osman Chavez, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Thorsten Schon, Radek Vecera, Graham Howson, Roni Porokara — Parana, Andrés

Team Talk: You can win today!

Our first league game of the year was a very tough one, away at 4th placed Tottenham. They had beaten us 2-0 at home in August and I was expecting another very difficult evening against them. The opening 20 minutes were not too bad, we were holding out well and I was quite pleased. Unfortunately things changed on 25 minutes when Osman Chavez was robbed by Iker Muniain in midfield and Basque striker outran everybody and scored a beautiful goal. We were unable to produce a reply before the break and it seemed like we were heading towards a predictable defeat.

Half time score: 1-0

Half time team talk: Sympathise.

Half time substitutions: Grant Baddeley for Van Damme, Stephan El Shaarawy for Schon, Ibrahima MBow for Porokara

The second half was even more disappointing, Tottenham were just too good for us and they converted their superiority into two more goals. The last one came as a result of a dubious penalty kick decision though…

Full time team talk: Sympathise.

Man of the match: Dean Bouzanis

Flop of the match: Ibrahima MBow

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

After the painful defeat at White Hart Lane I had another reason of joy from the transfer market, we had a new left winger! Most of you know him, his name is Andrew Driver and he’s a 28-year old Scottish left midfielder. The fee that I paid for him might be a bit too much, Hearts wanted no less than 5 million pounds to let him go, but since there were no better options available I decided that I could live with paying such a fee. He should be our first choice left winger from now on and I hope that he will do a good job on that flank considering his experience and determination.

Vauxhall vs Fulham (Premier League)

Venue: Halton Stadium

Attendance: 13,218

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Kaka, Cameron Lindsay, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Nathan Dyer, Mark Brown, Shyamdew Weibolt, Andrew Driver — Parana, Connor Wickham

Team Talk: You can win today!

Fulham were in 14th place before the game and since we beat them 2-1 in September at Craven Cottage I was hoping to record another success against them. The first half was a total disappointment, the game was as boring as a John McCain speech…

Half time score: 0-0

Half time team talk: You can win today!

Half time substitutions: Grant Baddeley for Van Damme, Andrés for Parana

Things were more entertaining after the break, the two teams looked like waking up from a long sleep, and fortunately it was us who took the lead. We were quite lucky to break the deadlock though as the ball went in from a Grant Baddeley cross that deflected off a Fulham defender before finding its way to the back of the net. The lads were playing pretty well and I was hoping to score a second goal so I sent in new signing Stephan El Shaarawy for Dyer on 63 minutes. That move backfired 16 minutes from time when right back Kaka had to leave the field due to an injury and left us with only 10 men on the pitch. We managed to hold out with fair ease but we could have been punished on a late corner kick, Dean Bouzanis pulled off a magical save to clear a close range header.

Full time team talk: Disappointing!

Man of the match: Dean Bouzanis

Flop of the match: Andrés

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

I still had some money to spend on transfers but I wasn’t very keen on bringing in other new players. However, I identified a good piece of business and I went for it. Here’s what happened: I knew that centre back Louis Laing from Wolves was available for 1 million pounds and when I received a 1.5 million offer for Osman Chavez I decided to go for it immediately. I made a nice profit for the club and Laing seems to be better than Chavez so it was all worth it.

Vauxhall vs Manchester City (Carling Cup semi final leg 1)

Venue: Halton Stadium

Attendance: 13,500

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Grant Baddeley, Bryan Purdrue, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Thorsten Schon, Radek Vecera, Graham Howson, Andrew Driver — Parana, Andrés

Team Talk: You can win today!

However, I did make a mistake since Laing was cup-tied due to playing in the domestic cups with Wolves. So he was unavailable for the tough Carling Cup semi final against Manchester City, Cameron Lindsay was away with the New Zealand national team and both right backs were injured… That wasn’t a good situation especially since we were going to play against the odds anyway… Our defense had «improvisation» written all over it but despite that we enjoyed a decent start to the game. Unfortunately we got hit on one of the most painful types of counter attacks as a corner kick in our favor converted into a goal for our opponents :( That goal took the wind out of our sails and Manchester City showed no mercy as they bagged another two goals before the break. The last one was quite unlucky for us as Grant Baddeley put through his own net but that didn’t really matter, we were 3-0 down at half time and it was getting embarrassing.

Half time score: 0-3

Half time team talk: Disappointing.

Half time substitutions: Nathan Dyer for Schon, Mark Brown for Vecera, Roni Porokara for Driver

We started to play much better after the break, we had nothing to lose anymore, but we squandered a couple of good opportunities before we finally managed to pull one back. Two new signings were in charge of our first goal as Graham Howson found Parana with a good pass and the Brazilian striker fired into the top corner from inside the penalty area. Manchester City were under pressure and one of their centre backs got sent off six minutes from time for a professional foul on Andrés who was clean through on goal. The Spanish striker did manage to score a couple of minutes later after receiving a superb long pass from Howson but it was too late, Manchester City won the game 3-2 and our chances of reaching the final were purely theoretical at that point.

Full time team talk: Good effort!

Man of the match: Graham Howson

Flop of the match: Thorsten Schon

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

Our situation in defense got even more complicated after the game, Spanish club Getafe made a surprising 7.5 million bid for Cameron Lindsay and the chairman decided to accept it against my will! I didn’t see that coming to be honest as there were no transfer rumors regarding Lindsay… He accepted the contract offer from Getafe and left the club after just six months… I had no other choice than to promote youngster Thiago to the first team and I started looking for a new centre back as I had around 3 million pounds left in the transfer budget.

But before finding a new centre back I managed to get in another right/left winger, a very talented one that I snatched on loan until the end of the season. His name is David Gonzalez, a very talented 19-year old from Argentina, and I gladly agreed to pay 500K for his loan to Romanian club CFR Cluj. There is also a clause to buy him at any time until the end of the season for 14.5 million but I doubt we’ll be having that kind of money.

Birmingham vs Vauxhall (Premier League)

Venue: St. Andrews

Attendance: 20,429

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Grant Baddeley, Louis Laing, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Radek Vecera, Shyamdew Weibolt, Graham Howson, Andrew Driver — Parana, Connor Wickham

Team Talk: You can win today!

Birmingham were in 16th place before the match but I was expecting a tough fight since they had beaten us 1-0 in September. My expectations proved to be optimistic though, my lads started the game badly and Birmingham deservedly took the lead after 25 minutes. I was hoping to see a reaction from my players but there was none, we were looking like a strange team out there.

Half time score: 1-0

Half time team talk: I want to see more from you!

Half time substitutions: Bryan Purdrue for Van Damme, Stephan El Shaarawy for Vecera, Mark Brown for Howson

We started to play a bit better after the break but just when I was hoping to see an equalizer Birmingham bagged the second goal and the game was as good as over. My lads fought on but we were unable to create more than a few decent chances before the final whistle.

Full time team talk: Sympathise.

Man of the match: Parana

Flop of the match: Mark Brown

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

Vauxhall vs Ipswich (Premier League)

Venue: Halton Stadium

Attendance: 10,138

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Louis Laing, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Thorsten Schon, Radek Vecera, Graham Howson, Andrew Driver — Parana, Andrés

Team Talk: You can win today!

We had a good chance to make a return to winning ways against 16th placed Ipswich, a team that we had beaten 2-1 away from home in September. In fact, we enjoyed a good start to the game but it was Ipswich who took the lead on 18 minutes after a simple move left my defense standing. I was fearing the worse at that point but Mervin Simon put some color back into my cheeks just a couple of minutes later when he nodded home from a Graham Howson free kick. My lads were pouring forward and we finally took the lead on 34 minutes when Andrew Driver scored his first goal for the club from yet another perfect Howson free kick. After two assists the English midfielders managed to get a goal to his name as well, he rounded off a nice team move and we were two goals up at the interval.

Half time score: 3-1

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: none

Ipswich pulled one back just three minutes after the break, it was their second goal from their second shot on target! However, the result still seemed to be safely in our hands as we were definitely looking like the better team. The rest of the game was quiet enough, we were keeping possession very well but we were no longer creating chances like we did in the first half. I was quite confident and relaxed to be honest but that was until the 77th minute when Ipswich made it all square with an unbelievable shot from distance… That’s what I call dropping two points, we really should have won this one…

Full time team talk: Sympathise.

Man of the match: Graham Howson

Flop of the match: Andrés

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

That was our last league match of the month and the result saw us sliding back into 10th place after a rather disappointing month. The Europa League dream seems to be far away now but we are still in a very good position to grab a top half finish as 11th placed Everton are 5 points behind us.

We had two more games to play before the end of the month though, the second leg against Manchester City and the FA Cup match with Mansfield. Plus we were still looking for a new centre back to replace Lindsay, go to the next page to see what happened.

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

Manchester City vs Vauxhall (Carling Cup semi final leg 2)

Venue: The City Of Manchester Stadium

Attendance: 46,872

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Thiago, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — David Gonzalez, Radek Vecera, Graham Howson, Andrew Driver — Parana, Andrés

Team Talk: Pressure is off.

We had nothing left to lose after getting beaten 3-2 in the first leg so I chose to send in young centre back Thiago to test his skills as I was still negotiating for a new centre back. The move was not very inspired as the Citizens scored on their very first attack and then made it 2-0 following a corner kick. We did have a chance between those two goals but Andrés wasted it so our hopes of qualifying were all gone at half time. We played pretty well during the first half though, I couldn’t have asked for more from my players.

Half time score: 2-0

Half time team talk: Sympathise.

Half time substitutions: Bryan Purdrue for Thiago, Stephan El Shaarawy for Gonzalez, Mark Brown for Vecera

The second half was not as entertaining but we did manage to score a consolation goal on 74 minutes and it was a nice one as right back Julian Marino rifled a great shot from 20 yards out. Man City made it 3-1 with a late counter attack and our nice Carling Cup adventure was over, we came close to the final but the Citizens proved to be too good for us.

Full time team talk: Good effort!

Man of the match: Julian Marino

Flop of the match: Andrés

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

Mansfield vs Vauxhall (FA Cup 4th rnd)

Venue: Field Mill

Attendance: 9,295

Starting line up: Tim Howard — Kaka, Bryan Purdrue, Thiago, Grant Baddeley — Stephan El Shaarawy, Inigo Perez, Shyamdew Weibolt, Wayne Routledge — Connor Wickham, Ibrahima MBow

Team Talk: You can win today!

The last game of the month was expected to be an easy one for us as we were meeting Blue Square North side Mansfield in the FA Cup. However, a frozen pitch and an overcrowded lower league defense made it quite tough for us. We also were hit by an injury 10 minutes before the break, Connor Wickham left the pitch and I sent in Parana to replace him. The Brazilian striker could have made an instant impact but he squandered a great chance just before the break.

Half time score: 0-0

Half time team talk: You’re outplaying them everywhere!

Half time substitutions: Mark Brown for Perez, David Gonzalez for Routledge

The second half seemed to be following a similar scenario, we were pouring forward but Mansfield were hanging in there. We finally managed to break the deadlock seven minutes from time when Parana powered one in from inside the penalty area. Then Ibrahima MBow lost his nerve and made a horrible tackle that earned him a red card but we secured the result on the stroke of full time when Stephan El Shaarawy headed home a good cross from David Gonzalez.

Full time team talk: none

Man of the match: Stephan El Shaarawy

Flop of the match: Ibrahima MBow

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

So, we enjoyed a couple of pleasant rounds against lower league sides in the FA Cup but got demolished by Manchester City in the Carling Cup semi final. The league games didn’t go too well as we recorded two defeats, one draw and just one win in four Premier League fixtures.

Despite the poor results we still dominated the Young Player of the Month rankings with Parana taking the honors on his debut month and Grant Baddeley and Mervin Simon coming behind him in second and third.

The quest for a new centre back went on until transfer deadline day when I finally received the good news: the Argentine defender that I was chasing finally agreed to sign a contract and we had to pay his club 4 million pounds. He is better than Lindsay so I was quite excited but, unfortunately, he still needed a work permit. The decision was made that very same day due to the deadline but the work permit was denied without the right to appeal! The transfer window slammed shut and that means what we will have to rely on our current central defenders: Mervin Simon, Louis Laing, Bryan Purdrue and young Thiago. The assistant believes that we are weakest in defense and I agree with him but unfortunately there’s nothing we can do anymore. However, I’m pleased to see that he sees Parana as our best player at the moment.

We’ll have just four games next month but one more might be added in the FA Cup where we are going to meet either Nottingham Forest or Fulham in the fifth round. The league matches will see us starting against mid-table rivals Aston Villa and Everton and then moving on to «easier» encounters against relegation candidates Newcastle and Burnley.

That’s how it was my friends, I don’t think that this month could have gone much worse. However, we managed to bring in some good new players but they will probably need some more time to adjust. And we don’t have too much time, that’s certain… Our defense is weaker now without Lindsay but I hope that Laing will fill that void at least in the league games. Thanks a lot for reading and please don’t forget to cast your votes in the Goal of the Month competition ;)