Vauxhall Motors Story: November and December 2017

Hello folks, after a rough week at work that ended only today around noon and hardly any time for Football Manager I am happy to welcome you back to the Vauxhall Motors story! Let’s remember first where we left off: we were 4th in the Premier League at the end of October, three points off the top but with a game in hand while in the Champions League group we grabbed two wins (against Partizan and Lyon) and we got beaten by mighty Inter Milan. Now let’s see how we did in November and December 2017.

The first game of November was not too easy, Everton always are tough to beat, but we managed to bang in two goals mostly thanks to right winger Leandro Velasco who provided the assist on both occasions.

The first crucial game was coming up, away at Lyon in the Champions League group. We beat them 2-1 at home and we had to leave France unbeaten in order to maintain our chances of pulling through to the first knockout round. Let’s see how it went…

Lyon vs Vauxhall (Champions League Grp G)

Venue: Stade des Lumieres

Attendance: 57,055

Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Julian Marino, Javier Godoy, Mervin Simon, Pierre Touya — Leandro Velasco, Denís, Tinga, Tiago — Parana, Zé Carlos

Team Talk: You can win today!

The game started with some brilliant plays right away and the home side was the one who came closest to scoring early on. The entertainment continued until midway though the first half but it was us who broke the deadlock on 25 minutes when Tinga played a lovely through ball for Zé Carlos inside the penalty area and the defender’s desperate tackle pushed the ball past his own keeper! Our joy was short-lived though, Lyon pulled level after just four minutes as Gourcuff fired in a good shot from the edge of the area. We could have bounced back immediately but Zé Carlos and Parana missed a double opportunity a couple of minutes after the equalizer. We also had an injury to worry about before the break, midfielder Denís was taken off the pitch and was replaced by Graham Howson.

Half time score: 1-1

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Abdallah Yaisien for Tiago

Our second half was definitely not as good as the first, it started with an injury to Leandro Velasco (replaced by Javier Garcia) and it continued with Lyon dictating the tempo and trying hard to bag the winning goal. Our defense stood firm for a while but it was our goalie who saved us, Luis Guilherme was exceptional on a pair of occasions and we entered the final 10 minutes on level terms. I was expecting a hot finale in our penalty area but my lads regrouped and played a lot better, we kept possession very well and could even have scored the winning goal through Zé Carlos but the Brazilian striker wasted another great opportunity. The result was good though, we only needed to beat Partizan at home to qualify at that point. Things were not looking too good for Denís though, the midfielder was going to be out for three months.

Full time team talk: Good result!

Man of the match: Luis Guilherme

Flop of the match: Zé Carlos

Match Stats

Video Highlights

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Back to the league for a quick run-down of the last three matches of the month. First we had a pretty rough match against Birmingham. We found ourselves 1-0 down after just three minutes, then we came back and made it 2-1 at half time but Birmingham made it 2-2 with some help from our sloppy defense. Then we laid siege on their penalty area, wasted countless chances and hit the woodwork three times before legendary Mervin Simon stepped up and bagged the winning goal during stoppage time. The next game was a bit easier as we fired three goals against Blackburn with Tiago and Abdallah Yaisien bagging their first goals for the club. The last Premier League match of the month was a rather scrappy affair at Fulham but we clinched the three points thanks to a moment of inspiration from Leandro Velasco.

The 100% record in November pushed us… to the top of the table! The race was still incredibly tight though and we had nothing to celebrate yet since we were going to face some tough matches in December.

You’ll know more about those later, the last match of the month was a prestigious visit to San Siro to meet Inter Milan. Although we didn’t need to get any points there I was still looking forward to it as a win could have booked our place in the knockout stage with a game to spare.

Inter vs Vauxhall (Champions League Grp G)

Venue: Giuseppe Meazza

Attendance: 63,285

Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Julian Marino, Javier Godoy, Mervin Simon, Pierre Touya — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Tinga, Javier Garcia — Parana, Zé Carlos

Team Talk: Pressure is off.

The first half was not bad at all as far as we were concerned, it was an even game and we even showed a few good moments in attack. We had no clear chances though while Inter had only one but they were stopped by a brilliant save from Luis Guilherme. The effort was quite substantial though and several Vauxhall players were having fitness problems at half time.

Half time score: 0-0

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Kwabena Quartey for Marino, Abdallah Yaisien for Velasco, Graham Howson for Vecera

Inter started to play a lot better after the break and they were denied again on two clear chances by our goalkeeper. We survived the first 20 minutes with some luck and thanks to our goalie but then we started to play better and could have taken the lead through Mervin Simon on a corner kick but his header was cleared off the line. However, just when we were starting to show some good football we got punished by Inter and that was a big blow for my lads. We were unable to regroup and Inter created quite a few more chances during the final minutes but we could still have walked away with a point as Javier Garcia had a great chance on 90 minutes, he had the ball at six yards and all the time in the work to pick the finish but he shot straight at the keeper. The result didn’t affect our qualification chances, we were tied on 7 points with Lyon but we had the advantage in the direct results against them so we only needed to get the three points in the last group game against Partizan at home.

Full time team talk: Good effort!

Man of the match: Mervin Simon

Flop of the match: Graham Howson

Match Stats

Video Highlights

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After the game I received my second offer from a big club, this time Manchester City came by to tempt me with a luxurious transfer budget and an over the top wage budget. I said no, they should have expected that, but guess who they picked after I had refused them! That’s right, Jose Mourinho! They even paid a few million pounds to Real Madrid in compensation!

As I mentioned earlier December had a few cracking matches in store for us: away at Arsenal and at Mourinho‘s Man City and then at home with Liverpool.

You can also notice that we got lucky in the Carling Cup as we were going to meet Championship side Wolves in the Quarter Final, we had a very good chance of making the last four. But more about that in the next page…

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

The first game of the month was one of the most frustrating of the season, Sunderland parked the bus and although we kept piling on the pressure we were unlucky to get just one point after being denied by the woodwork on two occasions. The Carling Cup quarter final was fairly easy, I sent in the backup players against Wolves and they were good enough to see off the opponents. Unfortunately Ibrahima MBow picked up an injury and was going to spend the next three weeks on the sidelines.

Our League Cup luck continued in the semi finals draw, we avoided both Arsenal and Manchester United and we’re going to play against Bolton as favorites to reach the final.

Back to the Premier League now, the first big test of the month was coming up: Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal vs Vauxhall (Premier League)

Venue: Emirates Stadium

Attendance: 53,120

Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Julian Marino, Kwabena Quartey, Javier Godoy, Hans Larsson — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Tinga, Tiago — Parana, Zé Carlos

Team Talk: You can win today!

The initial half hour saw a fairly even game with both sides trying to control the match but not really succeeding. Arsenal had the first big chance on 30 minutes but Luis Guilherme did his job again to keep the score level while Mervin Simon came off the bench six minutes later to replace injured Godoy. We had our own good chance just before the break, a good cross found Zé Carlos unmarked inside the six yard box but the striker headed disappointingly over the crossbar.

Half time score: 0-0

Half time team talk: You can win today!

Half time substitutions: Pierre Touya for Marino

The second start started brightly for us: first Parana hit the post on 52 minutes and then we broke the deadlock two minutes later when left back Pierre Touya fed a good ball forward to Leandro Velasco and the winger coolly slotted home from just inside the penalty area. Arsenal started to look for the equalizer but my lads were defending just like I want them to: defending through superior ball possession. Arsenal didn’t create any chances before injury time but they could have clinched a last-gasp equalizer when substitute Bendtner tested Luis Guilherme but my goalie was on hand again to keep the three points in our account.

Full time team talk: Well done!

Man of the match: Leandro Velasco

Flop of the match: Parana

Match Stats

Video Highlights

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The final Champions League group match was coming up and I was sure of the win so I chose to send in even some youngsters from the reserves squad. Luckily one of them, striker Alan Phillips, celebrated his debut with a fine hat-trick!

We finished second behind Inter and I guess that’s the most that we could have expected on our Champions League debut.

I was expecting a tough draw for the first knockout round but we got lucky again, we avoided the likes of Barcelona and Juventus and we will meet German side Hamburg. We’re not favorites but I guess we have a good chance of pulling through.

Back to the Premier League again, we had four more games to play before the end of the year. First, two easy ones. Well, not that easy since West Brom held us to a 1-1 draw, a result that the Baggies thoroughly deserved. Then we bounced back against Blackpool, a much better performance and a good 3-0 result.

The draw against West Brom was costly, we dropped into second place and Manchester City were two points ahead of us before the direct clash. I was looking forward to meet Jose Mourinho for the first time in my career… :)

Manchester City vs Vauxhall (Premier League)

Venue: The City Of Manchester Stadium

Attendance: 46,903

Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Kwabena Quartey, Javier Godoy, Louis Laing, Pierre Touya — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Tinga, Andrew Surman — Parana, Zé Carlos

Team Talk: For the fans!

The initial minutes of the game were unbelievably quiet, the match didn’t look like a derby at all. Unfortunately Manchester City managed to break the deadlock after 14 minutes on a corner kick and that sparked life into the dispute. My lads reacted well, we started pushing forward but we wasted three great chances through Surman, Ze Carlos and Paranà. I was quite disappointed with the finishing, we had to do better if we wanted the title!

Half time score: 1-0

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

Half time substitutions: Abdallah Yaisien for Velasco, Graham Howson for Vecera

I was hoping to see a similar display from my team plus some better finishing in the second half but my plan could have been undone after just two minutes when Man City squandered a huge chance. We were lucky to survive that and thankfully we punished the home side on 54 minutes when Louis Laing headed home a free kick cross from substitute Howson. That goal gave us wings, we started to play beautifully and could have scored again on the hour mark but Joe Hart pulled off an amazing save on Zé Carlos. A couple of minutes later Laing hit the crossbar on a corner kick but things seemed to turn our way on 64 minutes when Man City centre back David Luiz got sent off for elbowing Tinga in the face. Mourinho pulled his team back to defend the 1-1 scoreline while I had to send in Wellington Paulista for injured Zé Carlos. We continued to press forward even without our best striker and the reward finally came five minutes from time: Abdallah Yaisien was denied by the keeper, the ball bounced loose toward Parana but he was brought down by a defender, the ball was still loose and substitute Paulista seized the opportunity and blasted home! Get in! Strangely enough, Mr. Mourinho didn’t complain about that red card after the game :)

Full time team talk: Great comeback!

Man of the match: Louis Laing

Flop of the match: Leandro Velasco

Match Stats

Video Highlights

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Vauxhall vs Liverpool (Premier League)

Venue: Rivacre Park

Attendance: 10,266 (sold out)

Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Julian Marino, Javier Godoy, Louis Laing, Hans Larsson — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Tinga, Tiago — Parana, Zé Carlos

Team Talk: You can win today!

The last match of the year 2017, a tough one at home against 5th placed Liverpool. The game started well for us, my lads were displaying the usual attacking flavor, and things got even better after just 14 minutes when Shawcross got sent off for a professional foul on Zé Carlos. We continued to press forward in search of the opening goal but there was no way past a brilliant Reina. We did beat them on 27 minutes, Leandro Velasco put a diving header past the goalie, but the ball bounced back off the post. And we got punished… Liverpool took the lead with a great shot from distance and then controlled the game until the half time whistle. I wanted to see more determination from my boys, we were better than our opponents but we were just not determined enough to prove it!

Half time score: 0-1

Half time team talk: Where’s the passion, lads?

Half time substitutions: Abdallah Yaisien for Vecera, Graham Howson for Tinga, Javier Garcia for Tiago

Our efforts were finally rewarded on 54 minutes when Garcia headed on a Velasco cross into the path of Zé Carlos who fired home but we needed the three points, not just one. We kept on trying but the Liverpool defense was rock-solid, there was no way past them. We should have done more, I know that we could have done more…

Full time team talk: Not good enough!

Man of the match: Zé Carlos

Flop of the match: Leandro Velasco

Match Stats

Video Highlights

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Here’s a quick recap of our Premier League results so far: just one defeat in 18 games but we dropped a few important points in November and December.

Manchester City got beaten at West Brom in the last game of the year so we retained the top spot but that’s only because Tottenham had a game postponed. However, we are fighting for the title and that’s what I wanted to achieve. I don’t know if we’ll win it but we’ll surely fight for it until the very last day of the season.

Now let’s have a look at the player starts at the halfway mark of the season. First I have to say that our squad is now reduced to 26 players as I decided to sell Pavol Vesely, I got 9.75 million pounds for him and I don’t regret that choice since he was a backup player. I can add that the squad will be reduced to 25 players come January as I want to offload left winger Andrew Surman, he did great last season but I don’t think he can help us anymore given his age. And now, the stats! Zé Carlos is by far our best goalscorer, he bagged 18 goals and he could have added quite a few more since he wasn’t short on chances by any means. Leandro Velasco is doing a pretty good job again with 5 goals and 10 assists but his performances were not too good lately, I don’t know why. I have to mention our English centre backs, Louis Laing and Mervin Simon, they have done a great job so far even though Simon had a few disappointing displays at the back. The biggest new asset for the team is between the sticks, Luis Guilherme was outstanding so far and I believe that we won’t have to look for another keeper anytime soon. Two players disappointed me overall: right back Julian Marino who has a much lower average rating than last season (I can’t figure out the cause yet) and Parana, the Brazilian striker that has scored just seven goals until now (I know that he can do a lot better but he’s struggling to end a goal drought…).

January and February will be crucial for our title challenge as we will meet second placed Tottenham twice and we’ll also have to face the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United. I am also looking forward to the Carling Cup semi final, we should get past Bolton and then meet either Arsenal or Man Utd in the final. And last but not least, we’ll end the month of February with the first leg of the Champions League tie against Hamburg, we’ll have to win that first leg if we want to qualify.

Thanks a lot for reading my friends, feel free to add your comments and requests!