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Vauxhall Motors Story: The Premier League Debut
Hello folks, it’s time for the most important moment in the club’s history, the Premier League debut! Vauxhall Motors FC is not a small lower league club anymore, we have made it to the top flight and everybody in town should be justly proud of that achievement. Getting to the Premier League was just a step in my plan, I want to see the Motormen leaving their mark in Europe sometime but there’s a long winding road to walk until then. I brought in no less than 15 new first team players during pre-season and I was extremely curious to see them in action against the best clubs in England.
We didn’t have the easiest of schedules in the opening month, first we had to meet Blackburn at home (predicted to finish 10th), then defending champions Manchester United and last but not least Tottenham (predicted to finish 2nd). This post will also take you through the month of September so prepare a cup of tea and turn off the TV!
Vauxhall vs Blackburn (Premier League)
Venue: Halton Stadium
Attendance: 11,267
Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Cameron Lindsay, Mervin Simon, Grant Baddeley — Thorsten Schon, Radek Vecera, Mark Brown, Jelle Van Damme — Pavol Vesely, Andrés
Team Talk: You can win today!
As you know we were forced to play our home games elsewhere until the expansion of our own Rivacre Park will be completed but I hoped that this fact was not going to have a big impact on our results. I was more worried about the tough opponents that we were going to meet and Blackburn proved that my fears were justified after just 20 seconds, they broke through our defense but fortunately goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis made great save to keep the score level. The pressure continued for around 15 minutes but then my lads started to play better, we were having good possession but the problem was that we were not going too far with the ball. Things seemed to turn our way five minutes before the break when a brutal tackle on Julian Marino got one of the Blackburn players sent off but we couldn’t make the most out of the numerical advantage before half time. Moreover, it was Blackburn who took the lead during stoppage time thanks to a swift move that left my defenders standing.
Half time score: 0-1
Half time team talk: I want to see more from you!
Half time substitutions: Shyamdew Weibolt for Vecera, Nathan Dyer for Van Damme
We didn’t do much better in the second half, we had great possession but we failed to create clear cut chances. We did manage to get a few shots in but Blackburn‘s goalie was in good shape so they held out for the three points. The second half performance was a bit encouraging but we had to remember that we played that against 10 men. However, I didn’t field my best eleven in this game because some of the players, including Connor Wickham, were not match fit yet and I usually prefer to field fit players.
Full time team talk: Sympathise.
Man of the match: Cameron Lindsay
Flop of the match: Andrés
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the match highlights.
Manchester United vs Vauxhall (Premier League)
Venue: Old Trafford
Attendance: 75,797
Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Cameron Lindsay, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Thorsten Schon, Radek Vecera, Shyamdew Weibolt, Roni Porokara — Pavol Vesely, Andrés
Team Talk: Pressure is off.
I wasn’t expecting much out of this game, we were meeting the defending champions and top favorites for the title so I couldn’t ask the players to win this one but I surely wanted them to try hard. My lads were under siege right from the start though and the Red Devils needed just six minutes to break the deadlock. The game continued on a similar note, Manchester United were playing real football while my lads were merely exercising their constitutional right to run around on a football pitch on a Saturday afternoon… The second goal came on 22 minutes, it was a rather unlucky corner kick goal I guess, but we had reasons to rejoice just three minutes later when Mervin Simon headed home for our first ever Premier League goal! A great shot from United‘s striker restored the two-goal gap before the break and it was quite clear that we were going to get beaten.
Half time score: 3-1
Half time team talk: Sympathise.
Half time substitutions: Grant Baddeley for Van Damme, Nathan Dyer for Porokara
We were totally outplayed in the second half as well, if it was a boxing match I would have threw in the towel. However, there were some rare moments of good football from my lads and we could have clawed one back 15 minutes from time when midfielder Shyamdew Weibolt rattled the post with a nice shot from distance. Manchester United deserved to score another goal but they did that in a rather ugly fashion: one of my players was lying on the ground injured but our opponents went on and scored instead of kicking the ball out of bounds. Anyway, we received a lesson of football but not a lesson of fair play… However, I did manage to sweeten our relationship with Man United after the game as they agreed to loan out midfielder Lionel Riehl to us until the end of the season. I thought he might provide some cover on the left flank, our weakest area.
Full time team talk: Sympathise.
Man of the match: Mervin Simon
Flop of the match: Cameron Lindsay
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the match highlights.
Bristol Rovers vs Vauxhall (Carling Cup 2nd rnd)
Venue: The Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 4,071
Starting line up: Tim Howard — Kaka, Bryan Purdrue, Osman Chavez, Grant Baddeley — Wayne Routledge, Inigo Perez, Elias Kost, Keith Higgs — Connor Wickham, Ibrahima MBow
Team Talk: You can win today!
This Carling Cup match against League 1 side Bristol Rovers was a great chance to get a good breath of air after two consecutive defeats and it also was an opportunity for me to send in the players that were still lacking match fitness (I gave some of them a run with the reserves earlier). We had to win this one and we got off to a perfect start as Connor Wickham bagged his first ever goal for the club after just 30 seconds. Our opponents tried to react but we were much better than them and made that count on the score board on 23 minutes when a good counter attack move saw Ibrahima Mbow squaring for Inigo Perez who coolly slotted home from the middle of the penalty area. Five minutes later Wickham banged in his second of the game, moments after rattling the crossbar with a great shot. The game was as good as over and it was a relief to see the team finally beating someone…
Half time score: 0-3
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: Shyamdew Weibolt for Perez, Lionel Riehl for Higgs, Andrés for Wickham
The second half was quiet, there wasn’t much to see except another goal from our lads. New signing Lionel Riehl made a good run down the left, crossed it inside the box and Ibrahima MBow volleyed home to make it 4-0. We played the last 21 minutes with only 10 men as centre back Osman Chavez picked up a knock but the injury was not very serious.
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Connor Wickham
Flop of the match: Andrés
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the match highlights.
Vauxhall vs Tottenham (Premier League)
Venue: Halton Stadium
Attendance: 11,464
Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Cameron Lindsay, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Thorsten Schon, Radek Vecera, Mark Brown, Roni Porokara — Connor Wickham, Andrés
Team Talk: Pressure is off.
Back to the league for another meeting with a giant, Tottenham were considered to be the second best team in the league after defending champions Manchester United. Everybody thought that we were just like innocent lambs taking a trip to the slaughterhouse but I expected the players to do better since we had absolutely nothing to lose. In fact, my lads started the game with good ambition and I was particularly pleased with right back Julian Marino who was doing an immense job to keep Gareth Bale silent on that flank. The Spurs were dominating the game quite clearly but we managed to keep a clean sheet until half time with some help from the crossbar on one occasion. We did suffer a setback two minutes before the break though, Jelle Van Damme got injured and I replaced him with Grant Baddeley.
Half time score: 0-0
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: Pavol Vesely for Wickham
The pressure became even bigger after the break, the Spurs were pouring forward but we were hanging in there with good determination. We were saved by the post again on 66 minutes but we didn’t have that luck again five minutes later when Tottenham finally broke the deadlock with a fine move. Our hopes of a comeback were destroyed just three minutes later when Julian Marino left the field on a stretcher. I had already made the third substitution minutes earlier so we were down to 10 men. Tottenham were in full control of the match and they sealed the three points with another goal two minutes from time. We had no chance of getting something out of this game and the result was quite natural, our third straight league defeat. Marino was going to be out for six weeks, not the best news…
Full time team talk: Sympathise.
Man of the match: Julian Marino
Flop of the match: Andrés
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the match highlights.
Not an ideal opening month to be honest, three straight defeats and just one goal scored… We did get a win in the Carling Cup though but the future was not looking too bright.
September was not looking as tough but we still have an impossible test to take in the Carling Cup as we were drawn against cup holders Arsenal. The players’ morale was still good overall so I was hoping to come out of the bad patch and get some points on the table.
I couldn’t stop playing the game after such an opening month so I continued until the end of September, please go to the next page to see what happened in the first month of our first autumn in the Premiership.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Fulham vs Vauxhall (Premier League)
Venue: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 24,187
Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Kaka, Cameron Lindsay, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Radek Vecera, Shyamdew Weibolt, Mark Brown, Ibrahima MBow — Connor Wickham, Andrés
Team Talk: You can win today!
Our first game of September was against another suffering team, Fulham were coming from three straight defeats just like us! They were predicted to finish 8th though and I was sure that we were going to have a tough match. The game was fairly even and quiet for almost 30 minutes, the two teams were looking quite nervy. Unfortunately it was the home side who broke the deadlock on 28 minutes and it was through a Romanian player too, I guess my fellow countryman had no sympathy for my struggles… Luckily we managed to bounce back just four minutes later when Radek Vecera (employed as a right midfielder on the occasion) curled in a good powerful cross and Andrés headed home for his first goal of the season.
Half time score: 1-1
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: Grant Baddeley for Kaka
The second half was a totally different story, Fulham were pushing forward relentlessly and I have to admit that we were lucky to survive until the hour mark but we also had to thank goalie Dean Bouzanis for a string of good saves. And then we struck! Connor Wickham took advantage of some poor defending, passed through to Andrés and the Spaniard made no mistake! The siege continued after the goal, Fulham were attacking with even greater fury but we had a guardian angel between the sticks: Bouzanis. We clinched our very first three points in the Premier League but I have to admit that we didn’t deserve this win at all.
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Andrés
Flop of the match: Shyamdew Weibolt
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the match highlights.
Vauxhall vs Birmingham (Premier League)
Venue: Halton Stadium
Attendance: 10,289
Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Kaka, Cameron Lindsay, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Thorsten Schon, Radek Vecera, Mark Brown, Roni Porokara — Connor Wickham, Andrés
Team Talk: You can win today!
After recording the first league win of the season I was hoping to get the first win at home especially since we were meeting a troubled team: Birmingham were down in last place after suffering four consecutive defeats! The first half showed that we were still having the same problem as in the previous games: we had more than 60 percent possession but we rarely managed to create some real danger. Our opponents took the lead on counter attacks, they had two clear chances: one was saved by Bouzanis but the second one went in.
Half time score: 0-1
Half time team talk: I want to see more from you!
Half time substitutions: none
I was hoping to see a better display after half time but I was vastly disappointed, the team played even worse and Birmingham could easily have scored a couple more on counter attacks. Things were looking as bad as they could get and considering that we had a trip to Emirates Stadium coming up next you could say that I wasn’t too optimistic…
Full time team talk: Disappointing!
Man of the match: Kaka
Flop of the match: Thorsten Schon
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the match highlights.
Arsenal vs Vauxhall (Carling Cup 3rd rnd)
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Attendance: 49,251
Starting line up: Tim Howard — Kaka, Cameron Lindsay, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Radek Vecera, Shyamdew Weibolt, Mark Brown, Roni Porokara — Pavol Vesely, Ibrahima MBow
Team Talk: Pressure is off.
Some players were tired after the last league game, especially the two strikers, so I chose to replace them and I also decided to send in Tim Howard between the sticks because I felt that he deserved to be at least our cup goalie. It’s obvious that I didn’t have high hopes for this game since Arsenal were unbeaten since the start of the season and they also were the League Cup holders. However, my thoughts became a bit brighter six minutes into the game when we managed to silence the crowd by scoring the opening goal! Right back Kaka drilled a good cross, Arsenal‘s defenders spilled it, Ibrahima MBow pounced on the loose ball and struck it with power straight into the roof of the net! As expected, Arsenal reacted with fury but my lads did pretty well in defense and we were leading 1-0 at half time!
Half time score: 0-1
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: Grant Baddeley for Van Damme, Inigo Perez for Brown, Wayne Routledge for Porokara
We continued to hang in there after the break, Arsenal were trying hard to level the match but we survived with a bit of luck when they hit the woodwork on one occasion. Things got a lot more complicated for us on 59 minutes when striker Pavol Vesely left the field on a stretcher, we were down to 10 men and that surely was not going to boost our chances. However, my lads started to show even more determination both in midfield and in defense and we survived for another 10 minutes. The pressure was getting too high and I chose to switch the strategy to counter 20 minutes from time. The move paid off, Arsenal were having more difficulties in breaking through our defense and we also managed to create a great chance on a counter attack on 75 minutes but substitute Wayne Routledge squandered it. Tim Howard was heroic between the sticks, he was saving anything that they were throwing at him and then it happened: five minutes from time, a great counter attack saw MBow breaking through, his shot was saved but the ball bounced into the path of Radek Vecera and the Czech midfielder found the back of the empty net! Our fans were ecstatic and so was I, we beat Arsenal 2-0 away from home!
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Ibrahima MBow
Flop of the match: Pavol Vesely
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the match highlights.
Ipswich vs Vauxhall (Premier League)
Venue: Portman Road
Attendance: 20,105
Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Kaka, Cameron Lindsay, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Thorsten Schon, Radek Vecera, Mark Brown, Roni Porokara — Connor Wickham, Andrés
Team Talk: You can win today!
The last match of the month was away at 14th placed Ipswich, I was hoping that the morale-boosting win against Arsenal would help my team to record another positive result. This time we got off to the worst possible start though, right back Kaka made a huge mistake inside our own area two minutes into the game and Ipswich took the lead. They could have made it 2-0 moments later with a free kick shot but we were saved by the crossbar, it seemed that we were in for another torrid afternoon. My lads recovered from that dismal start, they started to play better and we could have leveled the game when Andres had a good one on one chance with the opposition goalie but he was denied by a good save. Andrés made amends for that miss two minutes before the break though, he made a swift turn inside the penalty area and then fired it straight into the near top corner, great goal!
Half time score: 1-1
Half time team talk: You can win today!
Half time substitutions: Grant Baddeley for Kaka, Inigo Perez for Vecera, Ibrahima MBow for Andres
Things got a lot better seven minutes after the re-start, my lads crafted a good breakaway and substitute Ibrahima Mbow fired a superb diagonal shot into the bottom corner of the net. We were leading 2-1 after playing pretty well up to that point but I was fearing a comeback from Ipswich. That didn’t come though, my team finally produced a good defensive display, probably the best since the start of the season. We grabbed the three points and I was pleased to see some improvements in our overall performance.
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Cameron Lindsay
Flop of the match: Kaka
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the match highlights.
September was much better than August in terms of results, we got six out of nine points in the league and we also caused a huge Carling Cup upset by beating holders Arsenal. This month gives us hope of a better future but there still is a lot of work to do because the team is not playing anywhere near what I would want them to play.
The league table is not necessarily relevant at this point but I couldn’t help noticing that fellow newly-promoted Burnley enjoyed a much better start than we did. On the other had Middlesbrough were doing much worse so I guess we could be satisfied with our start overall.
We won’t have any giants to meet next month so I guess we could amass a few more points, hopefully. We will also meet Championship side Portsmouth in the Carling Cup and I reckon we have a pretty good chance of advancing to the quarter finals there.
So, that’s how our first couple of months with the big boys went… I’m not happy but I’m not too disappointed either, my team has «work in progress» written all over it and I can only hope that my plan would prove to be successful in the end. Some of the players still lack the courage and strength to challenge their more illustrious opponents but I think that they will get used to it in the coming month and start showing the talent that I know they have. Thanks a lot for reading and please don’t forget to vote in the Goal Of The Month competition if you haven’t done that already!