As mentioned in the previous post I’m on vacation this week and with the temperatures dropping to -6C there’s been plenty of indoor time to wrap up the season so here it is.

Season Finale

We started April off with an uneventful 1-0 win over Ipswich at Portman Road with Geynrikh getting the only goal of the game with a typical powerful finish that fully stretched the back of the net.

The following game was at home to Millwall and we got off to a flying start as ML Pelosi drilled a cross into the six yard box which rebounded off the Millwall keeper into the path of Rodriguez to smash home after 4 minutes. We then failed to capitalize on that great start and it wasn’t until the second period that Zeytulaev’s cross ball from the right found the head of Pelosi who glanced it into the net. Geynrikh of course had to get in on the action and added our third in the 67th minute with a close range shot from inside the 6 yard box with Zeytulaev once more the supplier. Number four came from a set piece and was headed in by Rodriguez after which Millwall managed a consolation goal but by then they were fully defeated.

We had closed gap on West Ham once more and only needed one more win to assure promotion to the Premier League. With all teams now having played 42 games the situation was this.

1. West Ham 85

2. Plymouth 84

3. Derby 73

Next up was a difficult away game to Huddersfield. We started brilliantly as Conor Coady’s free kick from inside the centre circle was met by the head of Rodriguez and the ball looped over the Huddersfield keeper an into the net to make it 1-0 after 8 minutes. From there the drama was in terms of injuries as I was forced to take off LB Bhasera and in the second half GK McCarey. Worse was to come as Boateng was sent off in the 71st minute leaving our slender league in jeopardy. William Ekong was stunning at the back thwarting everything the home side could throw at us and Rodirguez held up the ball magnificently to waste time and run out the clock as we took all three points away from The Galpharm Stadium.

Back in the dressing room the news came through that West Ham had lost at home to Cardiff so we were top of the table and two points clear!

More importantly though we had won promotion to the Premier League which was remarkable as we had gone from a side with the worst finances and morale in League 2 to the top flight of English football in consecutive seasons.

Our celebrations were short lived as there was still work to be done with three more games to play and now we had a chance at winning the title….

That chance immediately slipped away from us as we lost our next game at home to Peterborough 2-1 who were also chasing a play-off spot. Geynrikh scored our only goal in a game that had limited scoring opportunities in which Peterborough only had two themselves and scored on both occasions.

West Ham crushed Barnsley at home so were league leaders once more.

It was back to Yorkshire for our penultimate game of the season as we took on Leeds United. Zeytulaev’s fine run and cross from the right flank found his Uzbek compatriot Geynrikh and the ball was in the net in less than a minute. Leeds though tightened things up and forced the action down at our end of the field for most of the first half. Some encouraging words in the dressing room paid dividends as Geynrikh muscled his way through the Leeds defence to make it 2-0 soon after the break. Leeds were now on the back foot and 20 minutes later Pelosi’s cross from the left found Zeytulaev unmarked for an easy tap into the net. We weren’t quite finished as substitute Gameiro added number four in injury time.

Despite a fabulous away win West Ham clung on to top spot with little prospect of overtaking them again as we were both at home for our last game of the season against teams with nothing to play for.

A capacity crowd was on hand as we played our final game of the season at home to Portsmouth. It turned out to be a frustrating afternoon as the visitors assembled an impenetrable blue wall across their six yard box and displayed no intentions of attacking our goal. It wasn’t until the final few minutes of the game that substitute winger Javi Lopez produced two intricate passes that were both struck first time by Geynrikh to secure a deserved victory and give our fans something to cheer about.

In London West Ham had beaten Millwall 2-1 and thus won The Championship title. That home loss to Peterborough had been the difference between us finishing as champions and second place.

Final Table:

Results Summary:

Super Sevens:

With twenty- four goals in thirty-five games Geynrikh was undoubtedly the player of the season for Plymouth and Rodrigues turned out to be an excellent loan signing from Bologna. At just 17 years of age Arsenal’s left back Bougonou contributed with 5 solid performances and I’ll be keeping tabs on him.

In the Premier League Liverpool became champions whilst at the other end Wigan, Watford and Blackpool were all relegated. Southampton won the play –off final beating Derby by a single goal and will join ourselves and West Ham in the Premier League next season.

With the celebrations over a job offer came from Dundee United which I rejected and also I was linked with the vacancy at Villa Park. Aside from promotion there was one more reason to celebrate as I toppled ‘Big Sam” again this time for the Manager of the Year award.

As May drew to a close and a couple of weeks vacation on the horizon there was time for one more job offer…

That concludes Season 3 so thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to your comments. As I think I’ve gone over the top with updates this week, I’ll step back for a few days before I turn Johnny’s site into a Plymouth blog!

I’ll take this opportunity though to wish you all a Happy New Year and may 2012 bring you peace, joy and great success in whatever you do.

- Kevin

© www.footballmanagerstory.com

February 2012

Well it had to happen sooner or later and sure enough the backroom staff broke the bad news that Asante was injured in training and will be out for up to 5 weeks.

Some good news though was that Bhasera and Marques had returned from their exploits in the African Nations Cup as their countries were eliminated in the group stages and so were back in the starting line up to face Southend.

Ironically it was Southend’s Kyle Asante who opened the scoring at Roots Hall after 17 minutes and it took a very long time for us to settle but we finally managed an equalizer with Lecointe heading home right on half time. A talk to Benik Afobe paid dividends as he headed in three minutes from the restart and after we controlled the second half Afobe set up Mark Leech for the killer goal late in the game.

Two Simon Walton free kicks, two Soukouna headers back across the box and two poached goals from Afobe inside the six yard area was enough to defeat Port Vale at home. That was followed by a really scrappy game away to Shrewsbury which after leading 1-0 for the longest time threw away in the last 3 minutes as the home side equalized form the penalty spot.

We stayed away from home for our next match against Crewe and a brilliant first half display by Soukouna saw a the young Frenchman head in two goals and set up one for fellow defender Curtis Nelson. Substitute Warren Feeney added a fourth 7 minutes from the end to complete a comprehensive victory.

     Crewe highlights

The Crewe game was marred by injuries with Soukouna picking up a knock and will be gone for three weeks and Afobe fractured his ribs and will be out for the rest of his loan term and will go back to Arsenal. That’s a huge problem as it leaves me with very little pace up front.

Tottenham’s Kudus Oyenuga seemed to fit the bill as Afobe’s replacement so I signed him on a one month loan and he made an immediate impact scoring the equalizing goal after Bradford had taken the lead at Home Park. Oyenuga’s neatly placed the ball into space for Lecointe to drive home the go ahead goal five minute before half time and that would prove to be enough for the win.

March 2012

The month started off with a very frustrating opening 45 minutes at home to Barnet going into the interval at 0-0. We were thrown a bone as Barnet were reduced to 10 men and after several shouts from the touchline we finally took the lead through a cracking shot on the volley by ML Will Atkinson after 81 minutes. Atkinson caught Barnet on the counter 4 minutes later to double the lead and secure the points.

Next up was a trip to the Memorial Ground to take on Bristol Rovers and it was the same story as in the previous game except this time we couldn’t get the ball across the goal line and we paid the price conceding a very late goal and thus ending an unbeaten run stretching back to Boxing Day.

The following game saw the return of Asante and Soukouna to the starting line-up but neither made any real impression and it was Rui Marques who headed home the only goal of the game in what was really a forgettable performance against Morecombe.

We looked more like our old selves particularly in the second half away to Cheltenham which saw Asante get back on the score sheet after defender Curtis Nelson gave us an early first half lead. A lovely glancing header by Will Atkinson in the dying moments rounded out very nice win on the road.

Three days later we were at home to Rotherham and despite them now lagging 16 points behind us still were in contention for a play-off spot and therefore posed a threat. Any underlying fears I may have had were soon put to rest as Asante poached his first of two goals after just 6 minutes, the second coming after the hour mark. Rotherham brought back the nerves with a quick goal after the interval after which we remained solid for the rest of the 45 and secured another 3 points.

We were away to Gillingham in the following game who proved to be very tough opponents having taken the lead after just 14 minutes. The equalizer came through Matt Lecointe who finished off a brilliant set of passes that started with the back four. Leconite grabbed his second of the game after Asante robbed the Gillingham GK of the ball which he received for an easy tap in.

In a strategic move I signed Spurs reserve GK Oscar Jansson on a three month loan in an effort to avoid initiating a contract clause for GK Romain Larrieu. He’s on £3,000 a week and one more game would allow him to stay an extra year which we simply cannot afford. So I’m trying to keep him out of the team!

We finished the month off with a 3-1 win at home to Wimbledon thanks to a late brace by substitute striker Warren Feeney whose two goals meant that we were promoted to League One!!

Current Table:

So with just six games remaining only Swindon Town pose any real threat to us taking the Legaue Two title.

Results Summary:

Fixtures:

We start the title run in with two games in two days and hopefully by the time we meet Torquay in the Devon derby we will have the seson wrapped up.

Super Sevens:

**Authors Note**

At the beginning of the game I just loaded up UK and Ireland leagues to add some realism as I suspected scouting would be restricted by the board. With promotion secured i’m hoping that will change next season so I took advantage of FM 2012 new feature and added the French Leagues whilst deleting the Welsh one. Apologies in advance to Wales

The completes this update and i’m looking forward to bringing you the season finale! Thanks for taking the time to read this.

© www.footballmanagerstory.com

December 2011

To meet or not to meet that was the question and in the end I decided to go one more game before having a Team Meeting. What I did do was change the positions of a few of players to see if that had any positive effect. I moved Atkinson over to the right flank, pushed Bhasera forward to the left midfield position and have the two DC’s swap places.

A very frosty surface greeted Macclesfield as we got December underway at Home Park. The conditions though didn’t affect the players as we warmed up quickly and put an end to our bad run of form with a comprehensive 4-0 victory that saw us totally dominate the game with Bhasera putting in an excellent performance. I guess the changes in position worked then!

Next up was a critical encounter with up and coming Crawley and we took the lead after 23 minutes as striker Warren Feeney forced the ball home from a Bhasera cross. We doubled our talley early in the second half as Bhasera was first to react to a thunderous shot from Simon Walton that ricochet off the bar. Too see that goal and Asante’s brace in an unexpected 4-1 win click the camera below

Starting goalkeeper Romain Larrieu was injured in training and will be out for 5 weeks

Our Boxing Day game at Home Park offered a chance to make it three wins in a row as we entertained Oxford but we blew it with DC Curtis Nelson heading into his own net and RB Jordan Pearce conceding a penalty in a 2-1 defeat.

2011 finished off with the “Devon Derby” as we took on Torquay United in front of 9,000 fans on New Year’s Eve and the home crowd was left with much to celebrate long into the night as Asante hit another brace that marked his 20th goal of the season.

That victory meant at that half way mark we were back on top of the table one point ahead of Rotherham.

January 2012

With the transfer window open again I quickly made a move for a short term GK replacement and signed Rhys Taylor from Chelsea for three months.

Two days after beating Torquay we faced Dagenham at home and not surprisingly put in a very lethargic performance but nonetheless grabbed all three points with goals from Lecointe and substitute Mark Leech.

Yet another brace by Asante ensured it was three home wins in a row as we came from behind to beat Burton Albion 2-1.

Our first away game in quite some time saw Arsenal’s 18 year old Benik Afobe make the starting eleven joining us on loan as support for Asanate. We took the lead early on as MR Luke Daley headed in after 14 minutes but Aldershot pegged us back immediately a minute later. Daley would have a sensational first half tormenting the Aldershot left back and setting up a deflected shot by Afobe to add our second and another perfectly timed cross for Lecointe to tuck home to ensure the victory by half time.

Here’s Afobe’s profile:

Facing a two week break as our participation in the FA Cup was over I arranged a “fitness friendly” which we comfortably won 6-1 over Bottesford. Our next league game was at home to third place Swindon Town who were just four points behind us but on the day the only winner was the cold and frosty surface and so a bore draw (0-0) was inevitable.

The final game of the month was away to Northampton and we took an early lead as winger Will Atkinson tapped in the ball from close range to finish off a shot from Afobe after 2 minutes. It wasn’t long before the home side equalized though Atkinson again put us back in front with a sweeping shot from just inside the box. With the match seemingly in control one small mistake was enough for Northampton to create an equalizer on the stroke of half time. Atkinson though was playing a blinder and his cross met the head of striker Warren Feeney just before the hour mark for the go ahead goal. Lady luck was riding with us for the rest of the match and the score line remained unchanged as we snatched all three points.

Full Results:

League Table:

A very nice set ouf results in Janaury ensured that we stayed in pole position and have even established a six point lead over Rotherham.

Super Sevens!

No surprise to still see Asante leading the field though it is nice to see Luke Daley who plays on the right flank in second place simply because my tactic is left flank biased.

Rounding out this post is the fixtures for the next couple of months which will see difficult challenges against Port Vale, Shrewsbury and Bristol Rovers.

Thanks very much for taking the time to read this and if your heart directs you take a few moments this Friday 11-11-11 to remember those who sacrificed so much in the last century for the freedom we enjoy today.

© www.footballmanagerstory.com

March 2012:

I got nostalgic and decided to finish the season off with how I started FM 2011 using my old “left flank” Wrexham 1.3 tactic which paid off handsomely with a 3-0 win over Watford thanks to two stunning strikes by Finnish midfielder Matilla. We followed that with a tense 0-0 draw with QPR and then came up with another 3-0 win over Norwich. A captivating performance by Jason Puncheon was the centre-piece of a 3-1 win away to 5th place Hull and two stunning strikes by forwards Wickham and Betanin finally saw off Peterborough in a 2-1 win at St Mary’s. After a bit of a first half scare we finished off the month with another three goals at home to Reading which saw Wickham take a nasty knock but he seemed to be okay for the final 5 games.

League Table:

That superb run of form saw us secure a play-off spot and maintain second place with Forest taking over as leaders.

As I just mentioned we now had just 5 games to play in the regular season, two of them away to teams looking for promotion.

April 2012:

In a very even match a sensational free kick by Sakari Matilla gave us the 1-0 win away to Blackpool and kept us level on points with Forest but we now had a game in hand as they had lost in midweek to Leicester 3-0. Our game in hand was a midweek encounter with Coventry which saw a dramatic change in the line-up as I planned for the showdown with Birmingham. My strategy almost backfired as after going 2-0 up through a brace by Chamberlain Coventry clawed two goals back but Edgar Cani headed in the winner 4 minutes from time and suddenly we were top again and three points clear.

Three games to decide the title and first was our huge game away to Birmingham. Brazilian defender Botteghin had the ball in the back of the net within the first ten minutes but the goal was disallowed for an infringement. Birmingham replied with an effort that was cleared off the line and after a tense first half the score remained 0-0. Connor Wickam gave us the lead just before the hour mark as his speed was too much for the defence and struck the ball under the keeper from a Mattila through ball. The home side equalized some 10 minutes later and the score remained unchanged until full time.

Our final home game of the season was played in atrocious weather against Swindon and a single piece of magic by Tom Cleverly saw him slip his marker and his shot provided the only goal of the game for a crucial three points. That left us top and promoted to the Premier League as Birmingham could only draw and Forest who won still remained three points behind. We just needed a draw at Cardiff to win The Championship.

And so the final game of the season (and FM2011) away to Cardiff which we won by 2-0 with both my winter signings doing the business to ensure The Championship trophy was on it’s way to St Mary’s.

Results Summary:

We had an incredible run of form to finish of the season winning every game except two.

League Table:

Squad Ratings:

Sakari Matilla proved to be an absolute gem of a signing from Italian side Bellinzona, with Betanin, Puncheon and Wickham making the difference between “also ran’s” and league champions. Goalkeeper Brian Murphy has to be the unsung hero as his efforts between the sticks were nothing short of monumental and was paramount to us conceeding only 32 goals for the season.

So there we have it, Southampton are off to the EPL though sadly that brings an end to this story and Football Manager 2011. Many thanks for all your support and comments over the past year and especially those during a family illness crisis back in the UK which I very much appreciated.

I’ll be back with Plymouth Argyle in Football Manager 2012 so until then keep safe and good health!!

© www.footballmanagerstory.com

January 2012:

We opened the New Year with a very sluggish start that saw youngster Alex Chamberlain grab his first goal of the season from close range and rescue a point for us against Barnsley.

Next up was our FA Cup Third Round tie at home to Newcastle and in front of a packed St Mary’s stadium Tom Cleverely and Cedric Bakambu both hit the woodwork in a frantic opening 20 minutes that also saw GK Brian Murphy pull off two great saves from close range. Newcastle took the lead through a long range effort however new signing Paulinho Betanin evened things up with a thrilling run and a powerful strike into the corner of the net just before the interval. We poured on the pressure in the second half with Bakambu missing one chance after another, one an open goal, Newcastle then stole the game with a shot out of nowhere two minutes from the end to kill off our cup dreams. Bakambu’s loan deal was immediately terminated after the game.

** New Signing**

Following our cup exit there was a flurry of transfer activity at St Mary’s with three new players arriving and here they are, all of them attacking.

First up is Sodinha who will play on the right flank allowing Chamberlain to move into a striker role.

Edgar Cani was brought in on loan from Palermo until the end of the season to add some firepower up front which we have been sadly lacking.

Connor Wickham is another loan deal and given his low stamina I’ve earmarked him as my “last 20 minute guy” to hopefully rip through tiring defences!

Our next game was at home to Leeds and what a glorious day it was for our new signings and the fans alike with Cani, Betanin and Wickham all getting on the score-sheet as we tore apart Leeds in a stunning 4-1 victory.

When it comes to derby games it doesn’t get any bigger than this on the south coast as we traveled to Fratton Park for a Saturday evening game against Portsmouth. Brazilain Paulinho Betanin struck gold just before half time with a fine run into the box which he finished with a low drive into the corner of the net. Portsmouth were reduced to 10 men but that didn’t faze them with our defence taking on some serious attacking moves by the home side. Edgar Cani though settled the game with a sweeping shot into the net from a poorly cleared corner to the delight of our fans.

We finished off January with a home win against a determined Millwall side who had been reduced to 10 men early in the second half. A single goal by Jose Fonte deciding the outcome.

Before the transfer window closed I brought in one more player to take over from the fast fading Dean Hammond and Kevin Das Nevis. I found Sakari Mattila in Italian side Bellinzona and I think he will fit nicely in the midfield.

Here then is the complete transfer picture for the season which also saw Guly do Prado leave the club.

** I know, so much for a consolidated report as I promised in my last update**

February 2012:

The month started off with a performance as about as impressive as the snow that fell throughout the game away to Preston where we failed in front of goal and succumbed to a single goal scored in the first half. We were equally as non- combative in a 0-0 draw at home to Leicester after which we were steam-rolled at the DW Stadium by a rampant Wigan side.

It was a totally one-sided game at St Mary’s as we entertained Sheffield United and despite 65% possession and 14 shots we could only manage one goal and a scrambled effort across the line it was too by Betanin.

The last game of the month was away to Middlesbrough which saw us go a goal down, conceding from a corner in the 28th minute. A superb strike on the half volley by Puncheon brought us back into the match just before the interval and that set us up for a second half in which we mounted several attacks on the opposition goal. We finally broke through as Cani struck the go ahead goal from inside the six yard box as he met a Puncheon cross from the left flank. That was enough to secure a surprising win and end an otherwise dismal month on a high note.

League Table:

Our inconsistent form cost us top spot with Birmingham creating a six point lead over us. The battle could be for second place now?

Fixtures:

Eleven games of the season remain (unles we got to the play-offs) and three of those are against promotion challengers and all in row too; Blackpool, Coventry and then Birmingham. It’s going to be a tough finish to the season and Football Manager 2011!!

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read this update.

© www.footballmanagerstory.com