Vauxhall Pushing For The Premier League Title 2018/2019

Hello folks and welcome to another episode of the Vauxhall Motors Football Manager 2011 story! As you might remember our title defense was going pretty well at the end of December 2018, we were top of the table but Tottenham were just two points behind us and the Spurs also had a game in hand. As for the cup competitions, we were knocked out quite early in the Carling Cup by Aston Villa but we had a very good Champions League group campaign and we finished it with six wins out of six. This post will take you from January 2019 to the end of March 2019, quite a lot happened during those three months and I hope you will enjoy the journey.

The new year started with a rather frustrating match against Burnley in the Premier League, we had 20 plus shots but eventually had to thank centre back Mervin Simon for the three points as he popped a corner kick header. We did much better in the next game, West Ham were no match for our lads even if I decided to rest Parana for that game. The next game was at home against Wolves and I feared the worst after Robert Ackermann had missed a penalty kick early on but right winger Leandro Velansco did a great job to score twice and give us the three points. The last of this quick batch of games was the FA Cup 3rd Round clash with Arsenal, it was an unlucky draw for us but we managed to pull through courtesy of Zé Carlos‘ 20th goal of the season and Marat Bykov‘s header. Arsenal scored a great goal too, so I guess the highlights are of that game worth watching (Click here to watch the highlights.)

We had to meet Arsenal again after just four days as they were coming back at Vauxhall Stadium for a Premier League match. The situation at the top of the table was unchanged, Tottenham were still 2 points behind us but they still had that game in hand.

Vauxhall vs Arsenal (Premier League)

Venue: Vauxhall Stadium

Attendance: 23,145

Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Emanuele Santoni, Mervin Simon, Marat Bykov, Pierre Touya — Leandro Velasco, Robert Ackermann, Marcos Fernandez, Tiago — Zé Carlos, Parana

Team Talk: For the fans!

The game started well, we were displaying our usual domination and Arsenal were forced to withstand some heavy pressure at times. Our efforts were rewarded on 33 minutes when Leandro Velasco fired one straight into the top corner from inside the area and we could have easily made it 2-0 at the break if Parana wouldn’t have missed a glorious chance.

Half time score: 1-0

Half time team talk: Encourage.

Half time substitutions: Abdallah Yaisien for Velasco, Indio for Fernandez

We came close to doubling the lead just two minutes after the break, Marat Bykov powered a free kick header but the ball clipped the post before going behind. Things were pretty quiet, Arsenal seemed unable to threaten our lead but the situation changed 10 minutes after the break when Emanuele Santoni made a rash tackle inside the box and left the referee with no other choice than to point to the spot. Luis Guilherme saved the penalty kick though, Santoni surely had to give him a beer for that! :) The chance did give Arsenal more courage and they started to attack with more impetus. However, Zé Carlos could have killed off the game shortly after the hour mark but he was denied by a brilliant save. Ten minutes later Bendtner squandered Arsenal‘s last chance as we controlled the last quarter hour with ease. We should have closed the game a lot earlier though, we gave Arsenal a chance and we were lucky that they didn’t take it. So I decided not to speak to the players at the end of the game, they had to think about it by themselves.

Full time team talk: none

Man of the match: Marat Bykov

Flop of the match: Abdallah Yaisien

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

The last league game of the month was a fairly easy one although Bristol City took the lead after just three minutes as Julian Marino scored an own goal. We recovered well from that slow start though and we dispatched the home side with ease.

The best news was that Tottenham did slip up, they recorded a draw in that game in hand so we had a clean one-point advantage at the end of January.

Just before the end of the month a surprising piece of news hit town, our chairman was looking to step aside!

That was the least of my concerns though, we had an action-packed February ahead of us with Manchester City in the league and CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.

We warmed up for the Man City game with a scrappy FA Cup 4th Round match against Ipswich, I rested most of my first team players but the result was good enough.

The Man City game was coming up and their manager didn’t miss the opportunity, his mind-games are well-known. However, I had to agree with him: this was their last chance to stay in the title race, a defeat would have ended their hopes as they were 15 points behind us but with a game in hand. However, I was quite confident as well ;)

Man City vs Vauxhall (Premier League)

Venue: The City of Manchester Stadium

Attendance: 45,206

Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Emanuele Santoni, Mervin Simon, Marat Bykov, Pierre Touya — Leandro Velasco, Robert Ackermann, Marcos Fernandez, Walid Mechergui — Zé Carlos, Parana

Team Talk: For the fans!

We had beaten them 2-0 in October in a game that we dominated but this time things seemed to be a lot different, the Citizens got off to a great start and we had to thank Luis Guilherme for denying them on a great chance after just three minutes. Our possession was as good as always but we were unable to break through their defense and we could have paid the price five minutes before half time when a thunderous free kick shot from 40 yards hit the crossbar above our keeper’s head. Disaster did strike just two minutes later, my defenders were unable to deal with a corner kick cross and the ball went into the back of the net off the back of left back Pierre Touya. We could have restored parity just before the break but Leandro Velasco squandered an immense opportunity as he fired wide from inside the six-yard box.

Half time score: 1-0

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

Half time substitutions: Indio for Fernandez, Abdallah Yaisien for Mechergui

We started pushing forward with more determination after the break but Manchester City were withstanding the pressure very well. Things were getting quite frustrating but we finally managed to pull level on 71 minutes when Leandro Velasco made a great run down his flank before squaring for Robert Ackermann who slid home. That was just in time to push for a win but our plans were undone just three minutes later as the Citizens scored on another corner kick… Ackermann was presented with a chance to make it all square again four minutes from time but he was denied by a stunning save from Joe Hart, we got beaten and it was quite a painful defeat. However, Tottenham recorded a draw in their game so we were tied on 66 points with them.

Full time team talk: Disappointing!

Man of the match: Robert Ackermann

Flop of the match: Marcos Fernandez

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

That disappointing defeat was soon forgotten as we went on to record three straight wins, two in the league and one in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Centre back Javier Godoy was in particularly good form as he scored three times against West Brom, Zé Carlos seemed to have regained his clinical finishing while backup John Fleck managed to score his first goal for the club against Fulham.

The situation at the top of the table was incredibly tight, we were tied on 72 points with Tottenham while Manchester City dropped quite a few points and we can safely say that they were out of the title race at that point.

We still had to make a long trip to Moscow before the end of February, please go to the next page to find out all about that and also about our run in the month of March!

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

CSKA Moscow vs Vauxhall (Champions League 1st Rnd Leg 1)

Venue: CSKA-Peschanoye

Attendance: 20,555

Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Julian Marino, Javier Godoy, Marat Bykov, Hans Larsson — Leandro Velasco, Robert Ackermann, Marcos Fernandez, Tiago — Zé Carlos, Ibrahima MBow

Team Talk: You can win today!

The Russian team had quite a few good players, starting with Igor Akinfeev between the sticks and Japanese Keisuke Honda in midfield, so I was expecting a rather difficult game. We were missing Parana due to a slight injury so MBow was given a chance to shine. We got off to a very slow start, the home side was playing much better than us and they made that count after just eight minutes when they scored the opening goal. We reacted quickly though and we made it all square after another eight minutes when Javier Godoy found the back of the net again with a good header on a Marcos Fernandez free kick cross. Our spell of domination continued until half time but Akinfeev pulled off a couple of miraculous saves to keep the score level at the interval.

Half time score: 1-1

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Emanuele Santoni for Marino, Walid Mechergui for Tiago, Wellington Paulista for M’Bow

Things got a lot better minutes after the break, one of the Russian centre backs got sent off for a violent tackle on Wellington Paulista and the resulting free kick saw Javier Godoy pushing in for his second goal of the game after Marat Bykov had headed on the cross from Fernandez. The Russians pulled back level on the hour mark with a great goal but they did receive some help from our centre backs who displayed some sloppy defending on that occasion. We were not to be denied though and we secured the deserved win five minutes later when Wellington Paulista headed home on a poorly taken corner kick. We could have scored one or two more but the 3-2 away win was good enough, we were almost sure of making the next round.

Full time team talk: Well done!

Man of the match: Javier Godoy

Flop of the match: Marat Bykov

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the highlights.

Meanwhile the takeover talks continued, one of the members of the board appeared to be ready to splash the cash and gain control of the club.

The month of March didn’t have any special games in store for us, the schedule appeared to be fairly easy and I was expecting straight wins throughout. My plans were too optimistic though as our very first game ended in a draw, Everton held us to a goalless ending but I guess we were a bit unlucky since we hit the woodwork twice and squandered a few other great chances. That result saw us dropping into second place, two points behind Tottenham…

Our form seemed to be dropping as the next game saw Blackburn leading 1-0 at half time but we managed to rally the troops in the second half and we won that game thanks to three wonderful goals. (Click here to watch the highlights.) The even better news was that Tottenham got beaten 2-1 at Manchester City so we were back in the lead with the Spurs one point behind us!

We repeated the good display seven days later in the FA Cup, Blackburn were unable to question our superiority so we qualified for the semi finals with ease. The return leg against CSKA Moscow was quiet enough, I sent in the backup players and they did a reasonably good job to beat them 2-0. We were through to the quarter finals for the second consecutive season and this time we were going to meet Italian giants AC Milan!

But before that challenging trip we still had to take care of the league… And we didn’t! Blackpool held us to a 1-1 draw as they scored on their one and only shot on target, I hate to see that happening!

That result saw us dropping back in second spot, one point behind the Spurs but 13 points clear of third placed Man City.

You could say that we’re still in with a good chance to win the title and I guess that is correct in theory. However, if you look at our fixtures you might change your prediction: our schedule in May is nothing short of infernal as we are going to meet Man United, Aston Villa and Chelsea right after the derby against Tottenham!

Meanwhile the Spurs have a much easier schedule, they will most likely grab maximum points out of the last three league games.

By the way, the takeover deal didn’t go through, it seems that our chairman decided to stay and enjoy the heated season finale.

And now, our usual sections! First, the Vauxhall Motors top five with Zé Carlos still in command thanks to his impressive 24 goals and 16 assists. Marat Bykov is second as he scored 10 goals and also provided 5 assists while Parana is third in my view, 19 goals and 11 assists is a great tally so far. Javier Godoy was quite impressive of late, the Argentine centre back recovered from a slow start to the season and pushed himself into the first eleven with a few great performances. Last but not least, Leandro Velasco continued to be a leader for the team with his 10 goals, 15 assists and countless dribbles.

This post’s hot prospect pick comes from Germany, meet 18-year old centre back Gerhard Heinrich. I paid no less than 4.3 million pounds to Stuttgart for this youngster but I believe that he’s well worth that sum given his very good mental attributes and excellent defensive technical skills. He still has to work a bit on his speed, once he will have decent pace and acceleration he will be promoted to the first team.

Before wrapping up let me update you on my progress with Argentina, you might remember that I took that job last year. We played six friendlies until now and I took advantage of the opportunity to experiment on different tactical modules and also to try several players. The results were not too good, we did manage to beat Denmark 6-0 but then we got beaten 3-0 by Portugal in a rather frustrating match. We won’t have any more games before the Copa America so I will have to evaluate the players thoroughly before the tournament, I wouldn’t want to get sacked :)

That’s how it went folks, not too bad but not excellent either. I don’t believe that we’ll be able to defend our title this season given Tottenham’s strength but I hope that we will at least grab the FA Cup and maybe advance to the semi finals of the Champions League. Thanks a lot for reading, I’m looking forward to answering your comments, questions and requests.