Colchester vs Vauxhall (League 1)
Venue: The Weston Homes Community Stadium
Attendance: 5,210
Starting line up: Martin Hansen — Ken Harris, Daniel Pappoe, Oliver Nicholas, Grant Baddeley — Carlos Bogado, Mark Brown, Graham Howson, Jason Banton — Mark Cullen, Dale Hills
Team Talk: You can win today!
Colchester were lying in 11th place before the match so I was quite optimistic that our unbeaten run was going to continue. Our opponents were showing much more determination though and they took a two-goal lead before the 20th minute! My side was sinking, we were playing quite badly… Luckily Oliver Nicholas bagged a corner kick header just before the break so our hopes were not entirely gone.
Half time score: 2-1
Half time team talk: I want to see more from you!
Half time substitutions: Derrick Williams for Pappoe
We started the second half with a bit more impetus in attack but unfortunately we were caught on a counter attack on 54 minutes and Colchester restored the two-goal deficit. I made two changes tight after the goal, we had nothing to lose anymore: Darryl Duffy for Hills and Peter Leven in for Brown. The moves paid off around 10 minutes later, a quickfire double from Mark Cullen made the score all square and the assists were provided by substitutes Duffy and Leven! Cullen could have completed a hat-trick on 75 minutes but his shot was parried by the goalie. Luckily Darryl Duffy was there to push in on the rebound! That was a great comeback but we had to defend the lead, I switched the strategy to counter for the last 10 minutes and we survived to claim the three points, nice job!
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Mark Cullen
Flop of the match: Dale Hills
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Vauxhall vs Southend (League 1)
Venue: Rivacre Park
Attendance: 2,389
Starting line up: Martin Hansen — Ken Harris, Daniel Pappoe, Oliver Nicholas, Grant Baddeley — Carlos Bogado, Mark Brown, Graham Howson, Jason Banton — Darryl Duffy, Mark Cullen
Team Talk: You can win today!
The last game of the month; Southend were in 17th place so we had a good chance of ending a perfect month with another win. The first half was entirely ours but we wasted a pair of chances before Oliver Nicholas stepped up again to convert a corner kick. It looked like we were not going to have a tough afternoon, we were in the lead and Southend were not showing much in attack.
Half time score: 1-0
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: none
The lads seemed to be a bit complacent after the break, Southend were dominating so I decided to make three changes in the 60th minute: Keith Hills for Bogado, Jacob Walcott for Banton and Dale Hills for Duffy. The team started to play a bit better after those substitutions but we were rather unlucky to hit the woodwork twice. The game had a nervy finale, we were under loads of pressure during the final five minutes but we weathered the storm and grabbed another three points. I was not very happy with the display though.
Full time team talk: none
Man of the match: Graham Howson
Flop of the match: Keith Higgs
Match Stats
Video Highlights
October Results
We are on a seven-game winning streak and that pushed us all the way up to the second place, just two points behind the leaders.
My players dominated the awards ceremonies this month, Daniel Pappoe was elected player of the month while Banton and Nicholas completed the podium. Pappoe is our top goalscorer at the moment with 8 goals, I hope that one of the strikers will take his place soon.
I was handed an award myself, I guess they couldn’t have picked anybody else after such a month.
November will be tough, seven games to play and it will culminate with the home game against the current leaders, Preston. I hope that we will continue our Johnstone’s Paint Trophy run and maybe we’ll have another good FA Cup run as well.
That’s how it was folks, a perfect month which established us as one of the top teams in League One. We shouldn’t get carried away though, there’s still a lot of work to do and plenty that could go wrong. Thanks a lot for reading and don’t forget to vote for the Goal Of The Month!
Kevin
15 января, 2011 at 12:53
Hi Johnny
What an excellent month for you. Started off with no less than 10 goals away from home but interestingly enough only 1,000 fans showed up for the first home game. I guess because it was a JPT match. Anyway,you’ve put the team in a good position now and hopefully can mount a strong title challenge. Well done!!
Johnny Karp
16 января, 2011 at 10:10
Thanks Kevin. I’m quite satisfied with the home attendances so far, most league games are sold out!
Sears
15 января, 2011 at 13:02
Wonderful month Johnny, your young team remind me of Blackpool. Exciting attacking football which results in tons of goals :-D Especially away from home! Well done.
Johnny Karp
16 января, 2011 at 10:10
Thanks Sears. I’m waiting to see more from my strikers though, we can’t rely on the centre backs for goals if we want to get promoted.
Laxeyman
15 января, 2011 at 13:12
Great month Johnny, your side are scoring goals for fun and dominating away from home too, which is fantastic. Hopefully you can keep it up in November, it seems like you’ve got quite a packed schedule, good luck!
Johnny Karp
16 января, 2011 at 10:11
Thanks Laxeyman. The schedule is quite unattractive to say the least but I think we have enough squad depth to cope with that.
Darren Smith
15 января, 2011 at 19:35
Well done Johnny, that was an amazing month. To win all your league games must really sound a promotion cry. It will be a long season but I think you’ll be there or thereabouts come the seasons end. Well done mate.
Johnny Karp
16 января, 2011 at 10:13
Thanks Darren. I guess we can have promotion hopes after such a run but we’ll have to be consistent for a while.
Lye
16 января, 2011 at 05:17
Hi Johnny, you are making those teams which have a higher reputation a joke. Not only did you win, but you won some of the games in high scoring fashion. Well done. Looks good at the moment and it seems you team has settled down. Hopefully this will trigger a good run to the end. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
16 января, 2011 at 10:14
Thanks Lye. The end of the season is too far away though, we’ll have to win a lot more games if we want to get promotion.
hils
16 января, 2011 at 07:28
Hi Johnny,Good month there!!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully you will continue your form!!!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!
Johnny Karp
16 января, 2011 at 10:14
Thanks Hils.
plobdork
16 января, 2011 at 10:33
hello johnny congrats promotion for sure btw do u know where i can find a full kit pack and a facepck torrent :)
Johnny Karp
16 января, 2011 at 11:05
It’s too early to say that we’d get promoted. About your requests, I can’t help you with either of them. By the way, what do you mean by a «full kit pack»?
plobdork
16 января, 2011 at 21:10
i mean blue square premier and premier league
Johnny Karp
17 января, 2011 at 07:26
I’ll have a look around mate and I’ll let you know if I find any.
Ana Garcia
16 января, 2011 at 12:23
As others have said a great month and your team look full of confidence.
Back up at the top of the league after a shakey start but still a long way to go. Good luck on the the rest of your season and please keep your attacking style!
:)
Johnny Karp
16 января, 2011 at 19:40
Thanks Ana, I’ll always keep the attacking style, don’t worry! :) Of course it depends on the players too, they have to be capable of playing the way I want them to…
JeanPaul Borg
16 января, 2011 at 18:34
You have really got corners working out perfectly. Amazing job mate. I have almost finished my 2nd season with FC JUVENTUS BUCURESTI. I’ll show you a screenshot on your facebook page. I have improved the team a lot.
Johnny Karp
16 января, 2011 at 19:42
Thanks mate, looking forward to that screen shot.
Sayam Khan
16 января, 2011 at 19:00
Hey Johnny, thats a brilliant month there. Confirms you as one of the top teams in league 1! Your attences are very good compared to mine! Well done and good luck!
warren
17 января, 2011 at 17:33
A exciting month it seems but its a shame that more of your fans could enjoy it with the more exciting games being away from home. Well done and I hope that you will soon be seeing you at the summit
John
18 января, 2011 at 18:12
Well done Johnny brilliant as per, I was just wondering though if anyone has got any advice for me. I’m currently playing as Dover Athletic in my 3rd season, have won back to back promotions and find myself in league 2. I have this youth player Craig Webb ST, and if I tell you he is awesome that is an understatement!! His 1st season stats stood at this, 46(5) apps, 55 goals, 1 pen taken and scored, 23assists and 17 MoM awards. His 2nd season so far 10 apps 23 goals, 4 assists and 7 MoM awards. He’s only worth 350k at the moment and all the big clubs want him, my scout says he is already a good prem player!!!!
Now heres the thing, I want to give him a new contract as his ends end of next season, but he won’t discuss terms with me and his agent hates me! He’s ambitious, volatile and confrontational so I am crapping myself when he eventually says he wants to leave for a bigger club. How do I keep hold of my star???
Johnny Karp
19 января, 2011 at 06:54
Thanks for compliment John. About your problem, I think the odds are against you on that one. If the player doesn’t want to discuss a new contract then there’s little that can be done other than selling him to the highest bidder. However, the new player interaction module in FM 2011 gives you a chance to talk about things with your players so you have a chance of persuading him to stay at the club once he’ll say that he wants to move to a bigger club. Good luck!