Vauxhall Motors Story: October and November 2016

Hello friends, the time has finally come for another episode of the Vauxhall Motors Football Manager 2011 story! As you know from the previous update we had an inconclusive start to our second Premier League season with two wins, a draw and two losses in the first two months but we did well in the Europa League as we won the first two group stage games. We had quite a few injury problems but I was hoping to see a clean bill of health sooner or later and pick up our league form. Let’s see how October and November went.

Well, we couldn’t have had a better start in October! We demolished West Brom in the first game of the month, the game ended 7-1 with doubles from Parana, Zé Carlos and defender Julian Bazzi and a special goal from left winger Andrew Surman. That goal was later chosen as Premier League Goal of the Month so I guess you should be watching it (click here to open the video). It was a great performance from my team, we had no less than 16 shots on target, and I think it was the very best display of the season up to that point.

Our injury-troubled Brazilian left back finally got a few minutes in as a substitute, it was his debut for the Motormen. He seemed to be finally out of the woods but that didn’t happen, he was called to the Brazil youth national team and, of course, picked up another injury! Nikao is turning into a medical mystery… I was hoping to employ him as my first choice left back but I’m quite worried about his future at the moment. Anyway, I chose to recall youngster Ray Davis from loan just in case, Nikao might be injured forever at this rate! I might even try to buy a new left back in January, that is if I’ll be having some money then.

Back to the Premier League then, our next game was a very difficult one at defending champions Tottenham.

Tottenham vs Vauxhall (Premier League)

Venue: White Hart LAne

Attendance: 43,632

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Louis Laing, Julian Bazzi, Javier Godoy — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Graham Howson, Andrew Surman — Parana, Zé Carlos

Team Talk: You can win today!

The game was extremely entertaining right from the start: my Graham Howson was denied by the goalkeeper after just 30 seconds and then Gareth Bale hit the post one minute later! Unfortunately Tottenham were the ones to convert the flamboyant start into a goal, centre back Louis Laing let Iker Muniain slip away from his marking and the Basque striker punished us on 9 minutes. Then Tottenham made it 2-0 on a corner kick six minutes later and the game looked as good as over since we were unable to react before half time.

Half time score: 2-0

Half time team talk: Disappointing!

Half time substitutions: Mark Brown for Vecera, Pavol Vesely for Ze Carlos

We looked a bit better after the break but still not good enough to break the Spurs‘ solid defense. However, we did manage to get back into the game 20 minutes before the final whistle when Howson played a perfect ball in for Pavol Vesely and the young striker fired home. We were back in with a chance but our hopes ended seven minutes from time when a poor corner kick clearance from Julian Bazzi allowed Tottenham to score the third goal.

Full time team talk: Sympathise.

Man of the match: Pavol Vesely

Flop of the match: Leandro Velasco

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

Olympiakos vs Vauxhall (Europa League Group I)

Venue: Georgios Karaiskakis

Attendance: 26,071

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Louis Laing, Mervin Simon, Javier Godoy — Leandro Velasco, Mark Brown, Graham Howson, Andrew Surman — Parana, Pavol Vesely

Team Talk: You can win today!

The game was very important for our Europa League campaign, not only because Olympiakos were the group favourites but also because we were tied with them on 6 points after two games. They had beaten both Koln and Slavia Sofia quite convincingly so I was expecting a tough match in front of the fanatic Greek fans. The game seemed to go our way after the initial minutes, we were piling on the pressure and came very close to scoring but right winger Leandro Velasco missed a glorious chance inside the opening 10 minutes. And then… then we got caught on a counter attack and the home side took the lead, I’ve seen that happening too many times last season… Fortunately we got back on level terms after just 10 minutes but it wasn’t a team goal, it was all Parana: the Brazilian striker took the ball from inside our own half and went on right to the middle of the six yard box before firing home! It was a superb goal from the Brazilian wonderkid, I was amazed by that run. Then we had a good chance to take the lead but the usual Mervin Simon corner kick header hit the post and bounced out of danger.

Half time score: 1-1

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Stephan El Shaarawy for Velasco, Ibrahima MBow for Surman, Connor Wickham for Vesely

Some lads were quite tired so I had to make all three substitutions at half time. Fatigue was a problem for the home side as well so the two teams were rather stretched on the pitch but that resulted in a spectacular end-to-end game. It was quite thrilling to watch but not pleasing towards the end, Olympiakos netted the winning goal six minutes from time to go top of the group.

Full time team talk: Good effort!

Man of the match: Parana

Flop of the match: Louis Laing

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

After two consecutive defeats we had a good chance to make a return to winning ways as we were meeting Championship side Huddersfield in the Carling Cup fourth round. We did win the game thanks to a Connor Wickham goal, we dominated from start to finish but we were unable to put more goals past a heroic defense.

We had one more game to play before the end of the month and it was another tough one, at Old Trafford in front of more than 74 thousand fans!

Manchester United vs Vauxhall (Premier League)

Venue: Old Trafford

Attendance: 74,041

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Louis Laing, Julian Bazzi, Javier Godoy — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Graham Howson, Andrew Surman — Parana, Zé Carlos

Team Talk: Pressure is off!

With morale being rather low after those two consecutive defeats I chose to encourage the players by trying to lift the pressure off their shoulders, I wanted them to try to enjoy football again and give Man United a good run for their money. The strategy seemed to be working, we started the game pretty well and could have taken the lead on 17 minutes when a great shot from Leandro Velasco thundered off the crossbar. The game was fairly even but we were enjoying better ball possession and that resulted in a second yellow for United‘s right back, he was a bit impatient and wanted to get the ball at all costs! :)

Half time score: 0-0

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Stephan El Shaarawy for Velasco, Mark Brown for Vecera

The numerical advantage gave me some hope of an upset at Old Trafford but Manchester United surprised us just 30 seconds into the second half, Chicharito was left unmarked in our penalty area and he didn’t forgive us. That goal took the wind off our sails, the Red Devils were defending with extreme precision and my lads were unable to create chances. The home side could have doubled their advantage on counter attacks but the game ended 1-0, Man United played a lot better with 10 men than they did with 11…

Full time team talk: Disappointing!

Man of the match: Javier Godoy

Flop of the match: Stephan El Shaarawy

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

So, we started the month in style with that 7-1 hammering of West Brom but then we lost all the important matches, I was a bit disappointed to be honest.

The league table was quite worrying as well, we were down in 13th place. It’s true that we had two games in hand on most of the other sides but still, I wasn’t expecting us to be in the lower half of the table at the end of October.

On to the top five now: Parana is still leading and he totally deserves it, he scored 16 goals in 16 starts and also provided 8 assists. Fellow Brazilian Zé Carlos is doing pretty well too, he has 7 goals in 7 games but no assists, he seems to be a bit selfish at times. Graham Howson is still the heart of our midfield, he is a key player and I want to keep him at the club for years. Argentine centre back Julian Bazzi seems to have adapted quickly, he produced some good displays so far and he also managed to bang in three goals. Young striker Pavol Vesely has found his place in the team after an unconvincing first season at the club, he is my main backup for the Brazilian pair and he gets quite a few chances to play since Zé Carlos is ineligible for the Europa League.

Noovember was our chance to bounce back in the Premier League as we had some easier fixtures lined up but it also was a very important month in the Europa League and in the Carling Cup.

Did we manage to climb up the Premier League table in November? I won’t tell you now, go to the next page to find out! :)

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

Let’s get it started with the Europa League game against Olympiakos, I was looking to get revenge after that rather harsh away win.

Vauxhall vs Olympiakos (Europa League Group I)

Venue: Rivacre Park

Attendance: 7,671

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Louis Laing, Mervin Simon, Javier Godoy — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Mark Brown, Andrew Surman — Parana, Pavol Vesely

Team Talk: You can win today!

The players seemed to be keen on getting revenge as well, they started the game very well but we were denied by the crossbar again in the 10th minute. We finally managed to break the deadlock three minutes after the half hour mark, it was a good team move but the goal was quite lucky since it was an opponent who put through his own net. The game was completely in our hands but things took a sad turn for us four minutes before the break, right back Julian Marino was shown a rather harsh second yellow card and left us with 10 men on the pitch. I had to remake my back four so I took out striker Vesely and replaced him with right back Kaka.

Half time score: 1-0

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Graham Howson for Vecera, Stephan El Shaarawy for Surman

The numerical disadvantage didn’t seem to count too much though, we were still safely in control of the game and even came close to making it 2-0. We didn’t get the most out of our attacks though and Olympiakos punished us again with a late goal, Kaka made a big mistake there as he failed to play the offside trap along with his three teammates in defense. That mistake cost us two points so Olympiakos were top of the group on 10 points, we were in second spot with 7 points, Koln were third with 6 points while Slavia Sofia were still looking for a point after three games.

Full time team talk: Sympathise.

Man of the match: Leandro Velasco

Flop of the match: Kaka

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

And now, the whole batch of five league games. We managed to get back on track against Everton, it was a solid 3-1 win and a pretty good performance since we had 5 clear cut chances. Zé Carlos bagged a brace and Andrew Surman added a late goal, we never looked like losing that game. Then we produced a similar display away against West Ham, Zé Carlos bagged his 10th goal of the season and Parana also got on the score sheet. I couldn’t celebrate that victory though because we had more bad news from the medical staff: Parana sustained a broken foot and is going to be out for no less than four months! It’s a huge blow to lose our best player and I was «Wenger-furious» after the game because the player that broke my lad’s foot didn’t even get a yellow card for that challenge!

Anyway, Pavol Vesely replaced Parana in the next games and he did pretty well, he scored against both Blackburn and Birmingham to take us to five consecutive league wins. Zé Carlos seemed to suffer though, he was unable to score since Parana‘s injury! The game against Birmingham was quite pleasing to watch, we had 70% ball possession and Graham Howson scored a phenomenal goal with a superb free kick shot from 30 yards out (click here to open the video)

The game against Blackpool was a special one for midfielder Mark Brown, he is in some sort of a competition with Mervin Simon and now he is ahead: he played no less than 118 league games for us! He joined the club after our promotion to League One and he has been a very important member of the squad ever since. He has also managed to get into the England Under 21 team, he played 17 games for the Young Lions and hopefully he will make the step towards the main team sometime.

The five consecutive wins pushed us all the way into sixth place, now that’s more like it! We still have a game or two in hand on most of the other teams so I guess we have a good chance of staying in the top six before Christmas. Aston Villa are the surprising leaders after 15 games, they had a very good start to the season and they might even be genuine contenders this season. The three newly-promoted teams seem to be too weak for this league, they might go back to the Championship after just one season.

The last game of the month was an important one, we had a good chance of advancing to the Carling Cup semi finals since we were meeting West Brom in the quarter final, a team that we had just beaten 7-1 in the Premier League. I was sure that the Baggies were having revenge on their minds so I was expecting a more difficult game.

Vauxhall vs West Brom (Carling Cup quarter final)

Venue: Rivacre Park

Attendance: 8,609

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Javier Godoy, Julian Bazzi, Grant Baddeley — Leandro Velasco, Mark Brown, Graham Howson, Andrew Surman — Zé Carlos, Pavol Vesely

Team Talk: You can win today!

The game was not much different though, we were vastly superior during the first half but goalkeeper Scott Carson denied us time and again. It was quite frustrating but I was sure that we were going to break the deadlock after the interval.

Half time score: 0-0

Half time team talk: We can win this!

Half time substitutions: Stephan El Shaarawy for Velasco

The onslaught continued after the break but so did Carson‘s string of fantastic saves. We finally managed to break the deadlock two minutes after the hour mark on a set piece, Julian Bazzi‘s free kick header bounced off the post but Mervin Simon pushed it home from inside the six yard box. The game was in our hands at that point but we missed another few chances before an unlikely equalizer from West Brom, they scored against the run of play and sent the game into extra time. The added 30 minutes were as frustrating as the previous 90, we continued to dominate but the ball just wouldn’t go in. After such a game I was quite sure that we would lose on penalties and we did, Zé Carlos and Pavol Vesely missed and we were out of the competition. It’s quite painful to lose a game in which you had six clear cut chances and 28 shots but that’s football, it’s unfair sometimes. I was quite worried about Ze Carlos though, he squandered most of our chances and his confidence seemed to be suffering as a result.

Full time team talk: Pleased.

Man of the match: Mervin Simon

Flop of the match: Zé Carlos

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

The top five at the end of November is actually a top seven since the last three players have an identical average rating. Parana is still leading and I guess he will be top until his return from injury, his average rating can’t drop now. Zé Carlos is still second but I really hope that he will end the goal drought soon. Julian Bazzi climbed up in third place, this lad is becoming a leader in our defense and his performances are getting better and better. Graham Howson is still in there, he scored a great goal this month and he continues to be our point of reference in midfield. There is fierce competition for the fifth place as defenders Mervin Simon and Louis Laing are threatening Pavol Vesely‘s position, I guess it’s a good thing that we have three defenders playing well so far since Bazzi is ineligible for the Europa League and Javier Godoy was mostly employed as a left back instead of his natural role as a centre back.

December will start with three easy matches, we should be able to get three wins there. Then we’ll meet surprise leaders Aston Villa, that should be an interesting one, before the probable qualifying decider in the Europa League against Koln. Then we’ll have two big tests against Arsenal and Chelsea before meeting Fulham on Boxing Day, Manchester City just two days later and Liverpool on New Year’s Eve. January seems a bit more relaxed but we might have one or two FA Cup games to be added in there.

Before wrapping up I’d like you to see our club’s finances because I’m quite proud of that aspect: we’re still managing to make a profit every month despite the loan payments for the new stadium! I hope that the board will give me some of that money for transfers in January, I have quite a few eager youngsters on my shortlist :)

That’s about it for now folks, thanks a lot for reading and for supporting this website. I’m sure that most of you have already downloaded the FM 2011 Handbook that we released earlier this week but if you didn’t you must not worry, it’s still available here. Looking forward to your comments my friends ;)