Vauxhall vs Tottenham (Premier League)
Venue: Vauxhall Stadium
Attendance: 22,367
Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Emanuele Santoni, Louis Laing, Marat Bykov, Pierre Touya — Leandro Velasco, Indio, Robert Ackermann, Tiago — Zé Carlos, Parana
Team Talk: For the fans!
It was a special game, the stadium was almost full but not a sell-out unfortunately. And we almost got off to a flying start, Parana had a good chance 90 seconds into the game but his shot from inside the penalty area cannoned back off the post. We continued to dominate the game and that finally paid off on 20 minutes when Zé Carlos showed great movement off the ball and a cool powerful finish. Tottenham tried to fight back and they nearly got back on level terms shortly after the half hour mark but Higuain‘s finish was palmed away by Luis Guilherme. That save triggered an immediate counter attack from my lads, Zé Carlos ran away with the ball and then squared it for Robert Ackermann who applied an easy finish to double our lead! The closing minutes of the first half saw a spectacular end-to-end game but both keepers were in great shape so it ended 2-0.
Half time score: 2-0
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: none
The entertainment continued after the break and the crowd went wild on 56 minutes when a great burst from Leandro Velasco was stopped by a tackle inside the penalty area but the loose ball fell to Robert Ackermann who fired home for his second goal of the game. The match cooled off after that goal, Tottenham were trying to fight back but our defense was holding up well. The Spurs pulled one back 11 minutes from time but our victory was never in doubt although Higuain did manage to score a sensational goal deep into injury time. It was too late though, the three points were ours!
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Robert Ackermann
Flop of the match: Louis Laing
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
Our fans witnessed a festival of football in our last Champions League group game, the result didn’t matter anymore as we were already sure of finishing top of the group. The game was extremely spectacular, seven goals were scored but Abdallah Yaisien and left back Hans Larsson scored the most beautiful ones (click here to watch Yaisien’s goal, click here to watch Larsson’s goal).
With six wins out of six we dominated the group, it was fairly easy I guess although Bayern were the favorites. We scored 22 goals and conceded just three, no complaints there :)
Finishing top of the group ensured us a good first round draw, we’re going to meet Russian side CSKA Moscow and I believe that we should qualify to the quarter finals.
Back to the Premier League now, we still had four really tough matches to play before the end of the year.
Chelsea vs Vauxhall (Premier League)
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 40,940
Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Emanuele Santoni, Louis Laing, Marat Bykov, Pierre Touya — Leandro Velasco, Indio, Marcos Fernandez, Tiago — Zé Carlos, Parana
Team Talk: You can win today!
Chelsea were in 6th place before the game but that surely didn’t affect their determination, their players were tackling hard and that kept my physios extremely busy throughout the opening 20 minutes of the game. They had the strength but we had the talent: Zé Carlos gave us the lead on 25 minutes as he curled one home from the edge of the area. The Blues missed a good chance moments later and they surely regretted it as Parana doubled our lead shortly after the half hour mark with a cool finish. Zé Carlos was unstoppable, he probably wanted to prove that he’s better than Chelsea‘s Neymar and he did that by scoring his second goal of the game eight minutes before the interval. 3-0 at half time at Stamford Bridge, what can be more pleasing than that? :)
Half time score: 0-3
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: Hans Larsson for Touya, Abdallah Yaisien for Velasco, Radek Vecera for Indio
Chelsea managed to come back into the game just 40 seconds after the break with a great goal but their hopes of a fightback suffered a major blow after five minutes as one of their centre backs finally got sent off. That put the game back into our hands and Marat Bykov put the result beyond doubt on 63 minutes with a fine header on a Marcos Fernandez free kick cross.
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Zé Carlos
Flop of the match: Abdallah Yaisien
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
Manchester United vs Vauxhall (Premier League)
Venue: Old Trafford
Attendance: 74,420
Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Emanuele Santoni, Louis Laing, Marat Bykov, Pierre Touya — Leandro Velasco, Indio, Marcos Fernandez, Tiago — Zé Carlos, Parana
Team Talk: For the fans!
Manchester United were in 5th place before the game, surely not good enough for such a club, so I was sure that we were going to have a very difficult match ahead of us. Both sides showed good football during the opening minutes of the game but the finishing made the difference on 15 minutes as Wayne Rooney found the back of the net and Marilungo hit the post while my Zé Carlos and Parana were denied by the goalkeeper. The woodwork saved us again three minutes before the break when a thumping long range shot from Rafael thundered off the crossbar.
Half time score: 1-0
Half time team talk: I want to see more from you!
Half time substitutions: none
Things got better after the break and we managed to make it all square on 53 minutes when Leandro Velasco made a dazzling run down the right flank before bending a perfect cross for Tiago who headed home. Our joy was short-lived though, Manchester United reacted quickly after the goal and they managed to restore the lead courtesy of a Jack Rodwell shot from the edge of the area. We could still have clinched a draw but Zé Carlos squandered yet another chance eight minutes from time, the Brazilian ace had a very poor game this time and that cost us the first league defeat of the season.
Full time team talk: Disappointing!
Man of the match: Tiago
Flop of the match: Zé Carlos
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
The last two games of the year restored our faith in the team, the lads played very well against Aston Villa and Liverpool with Parana being our most valuable player. I was pleased to get revenge over Aston Villa for that Carling Cup exit and then we managed to beat Liverpool at Anfield Road quite easily, we could have scored quite a few more in that game.
We’re top of the table at the end of 2018 but I guess we’re virtually second since Tottenham are just two points behind with a game in hand. It appears that this season will see a two-horse race for the title between us and Tottenham but I believe that Manchester City could well re-enter the chase.
The stats show that Zé Carlos and Parana were our best players so far, they scored no less than 35 goals between them but what’s more pleasing is that Ze Carlos is finally playing more for his teammates as he provided 11 assists. New centre back Marat Bykov had no adaptation problems at all, he scored 6 goals so far and was our most reliable defender. Our three new central midfielders are doing pretty well too: Robert Ackermann has 6 goals and 3 assists, Indio bagged a goal and 8 assists while Marcos Fernandez contributed a goal and 9 assists. As you can notice quite a few of our players are wanted, rumors are flying but I can tell you that I will not sell any of the players at this point.
The best news of the year was that one of our players was considered for an UEFA award! Zé Carlos surely made a name for himself and Barcelona reportedly are ready to put 50 million pounds on the table to buy him! I guess I’d let him go for around… 75 mil :)
And now let’s continue the «meet our youngsters» series :) This time I will introduce the «new Zé Carlos«: Brazilian 18-year old forward Ricardo. I paid just 1.5 million pounds to Gremio for this lad and I guess he’s worth a lot more than that. His current ability is at 1.5 while his potential ability is at 3.5, he could well become our new star but I guess his speed will have to improve if he wants to be our next number 9. He did well for the reserves team so far: 6 goals and 4 assists in 7 starts.
January will have a tricky double battle with Arsenal, I guess we are quite unlucky to meet them in the third round of the FA Cup…
Last but not least, the screen shot that Daniel has requested: Vaclav Kadlec‘s profile and season stats so far.
That’s about it for now my friends, thanks for reading and for your support. Our season is going pretty well so far, except the early Carling Cup exit… We’re well in the title race, we’re on track to reach the Champions League quarter finals but the most important thing is that the team manages to play very good football in most games, not very far from the ideal football that I would want to see… I’m looking forward to your comments and screen shot requests, none would go unanswered! :)
P.S.: As you might remember I went to the Romania vs Bosnia game last Friday and I can tell you that it was a great evening, we beat them 3-0 and played very well too. The crowd was sensational, I did my best to chant and shout throughout the match and my voice recovered only after two days. I captured a video with my crappy phone after the second goal, the quality isn’t great but it might give you an idea of the joy that I lived together with the other 10,000 fellow fans (click here to open the video). Unfortunately our coach resigned after the game due to some conflicts with the FA, I honestly regret that.
Nick
8 июня, 2011 at 07:22
Nice month! Beating Bayern was incredible!
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 09:52
Thanks Nick. Beating Bayern was easier than expected though :)
Lye
8 июня, 2011 at 08:41
Hi Johnny,
Solid results against most of your rivals except for the loss against Man Utd. I was surprised that Bayen was not giving your team any fight at all. Good job there. Half a season gone and you are still in three competition. Tottenham is running in good form. Seems they will challenge you all the way but i believe you will prevail. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 09:53
Hey Lye, I was a bit surprised about Bayern as well, I wasn’t expecting to beat them in both games. The title race will surely be tough, Tottenham have a fantastic squad.
Erick Wolf
8 июня, 2011 at 10:00
Good read!
You’re well on your way to another title!
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 13:46
Thanks Erick, there still is a long way to go but I hope we’ll be in the race until the end.
CsAtlantis
8 июня, 2011 at 10:23
Great stuff in the group stage, a 100% record! :D
As for Ricardo, maybe he will just brute force his way through with his high strength instead of rely on pace :P
Doing quite well in the league, first and most of the chasing pack have a big gap to make up with the exception of Tottenham, hopefully they step on some banana skins :D
And congratulations on the Romania win, Marica is pretty good
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 13:46
Thanks for the comment CS! Ricardo is similar to Adriano I guess, I believe that he has what it takes to become a good striker (good enough to sell for good money at least :) )
And about Marica, he did very well although I was a bit upset because he missed a huge chance early on. But then I forgave him after he bagged a double :)
Laxeyman
8 июня, 2011 at 11:31
Brilliant form Johnny, the way you dominated the Champions League group was amazing, and you’re right in the thick of the title race. I can see Tottenham slipping up, and hopefully you can take advantage of that. Good luck!
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 13:47
Thanks Laxeyman. I guess we might throw away some points too but hopefully not too many.
Darren Smith
8 июня, 2011 at 11:56
Good two month period Johnny, you could have done without losing some of those points but you can’t win em’ all. I still believe you’re in the driving seat and your CL form is incredible. We may well witness a shock in Europe this year as your boys seem up for the big games. Great youngster in Ricardo btw, he’s certainly benefit from individual training on his quickness.
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 13:49
Thanks Darren, I will be pleased to reach the semi finals in the Champions League this season and maybe make the big step next year. About Ricardo, he is still very young so I think that he might be ready for some first team football at the end of next season. If not, he’ll be sold for at least 5 mil :)
Stromson
8 июня, 2011 at 12:32
Okay, while the camera quality wasn’t very good, that was a pretty awesome video and gave a real sense of atmosphere. Congrats on the win; where does this put Romania in the Euro qualifiers now?
In terms of your game, those are once again some pretty great results! It looks like the league is a little bit tighter this year than it has been in the past, or maybe it just seems that way since it’s still early days.
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 13:53
Thanks Stromson, I was too lazy to take a camera to the game so I used my ancient phone :) About the qualifiers, our chances are pretty slim I guess: we’ll have to win the remaining four games (away in Luxembourg, at home with France and Belarus and away in Albania) and then we might have a shot at the second place which will lead to the playoff. I’ll surely be there for the France and Belarus games ;) Now about FM, the league table was tighter last year if I’m not mistaken, there were like four teams in the title race at the end of December.
kevin
8 июня, 2011 at 13:29
Hi Johnny
Your team is in sensational form though that pesky Spurs team always seems to have a game in hand over you. I think you have a great chance of going far in the Champions League especially if your Brazilians continue playing the way they are. Ricardo looks great BTW.
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 13:55
Hey Kevin, we surely can win anything with those Brazilians, hopefully they won’t get injured again like they did in the last couple of seasons.
Sibo
8 июня, 2011 at 13:46
Very good so far Johnny! It was a shame to see you bow out of the League Cup so early :( but that is not a very important competition and judging by your form in the CL it looks like you will be chasing bigger and better trophies this year! :D
Well done, keep up the good work and good luck! :D
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 13:56
Thanks Sibo. I was quite disappointed to be out of the Carling Cup so early, I really wanted to win it this time. But it will all be well if we win another trophy :)
Joelance
8 июня, 2011 at 14:03
Good results Johnny. Tottehnam can be a pain in your butt for sometime,but if your form continues, you should win.
I saw the Romania game, not the entire game but the highlights. I especially loved the second Marica goal, lovely chip. Cool finish from Mutu too.
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 20:19
Thanks Joe. I liked the third goal too, great chip and I also appreciated that he also did all the work to steal the ball from the defender.
vaibhavc
8 июня, 2011 at 15:40
Hey Johnny
Great results and the position shows it. The win against Tottenham must have been very crucial. But somehow Man United always seem to beat you! It is great to see you beat Bayern, I hate them.
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 20:20
Thanks Vaibhav. We beat Man United a few times too but I guess the league defeat had to come at some point, I hope we won’t record many others.
Sayam Khan
8 июня, 2011 at 18:09
Hi Johnny, Excellent few months there. Dissapointing to see you out of the cup so early, but you can’t do great every year! Fantastic performances in the CL. I’ve been impressed by Parana in these few months. Good Luck
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 20:21
Thanks Sayam, Parana was quite impressive indeed this season, he proved that he is probably just as good as Ze Carlos.
Sears
8 июня, 2011 at 20:37
Your team is looking fantastic Johnny, I was particularly impressed with your win in Germany against Bayern. I honestly reckon you can qualify for the semi finals of the CL at least, depending on who you draw. Ze Carlos and Parana are a formidable striker force and they’ll always score goals for you if given the opportunity. Parana has certainly improved since last season too, if I remember correctly he was injury prone, right? Anyhow, disappointing you got beaten in the League Cup but your position in the league is excellent although Spurs have a game in hand. I think you can pip them to the title! Good luck :-)
Johnny Karp
8 июня, 2011 at 22:47
Thanks Sears. I’m very happy to see Parana back in shape, he deserved more than he got in the last two seasons. I wouldn’t say that he’s injury prone, he just got his bones broken by some «enthusiastic» defenders… But he didn’t have any muscular or ligament problems so that’s why I don’t think that he’s injury prone, maybe just unlucky.
Daniel
9 июня, 2011 at 01:26
Thanks for uploading the screenshot, i’m currently managin grimsby Town, taking them to the premiership, so when i get there, considering to buy him or not, great start to the season and good that you’re very consistent! Ze Carlos is worth more than £50million like you said, £75 million is about right!
Daniel ;D
Johnny Karp
9 июня, 2011 at 08:50
Thanks Daniel, I’m happy that you agree on that 75 mil fee :)