The Manager's Journal is a blog written by Michael Turner telling you all about his Football Manager journey. Football Manager 2011 is the 5th game in the series that he has written about, the first being a blog written about CM99/00. Now, almost 10 years on from the first post, and still keen to write, the site will also contain posts about real-life football, just in case you have been focusing on FM too much.

Friday, September 11, 2009

The Wolves Slight Downfall

Well, after a serious loss to Arsenal, we were hoping to make up for it and play a decent rest of season. We were 8th, and if we were going to press for a spot in Europe, we needed to up our game.

Vs Tottenham, FA Cup 3rd Round Replay
1-2
(Ebanks-Blake)

Losing to Tottenham was really such a sad defeat. It was a very even match, however we had to rely on the Premier League this season to get some silverware.

Vs Stoke, Premier League
1-2

Losing to Stoke was pretty bad, as we were now sitting 8th. We needed to up our game, and fast.

Vs Reading, Premier League
4-2
(Ebanks-Blake 44, 88, Ashton 59, Armstrong o/g 62)

The win, was our first decent result. I gave 15 year old Jean-Luc Mahe his debut for the Wolves. He's a young wonderkid, and really deserved his first match, playing very well.

Vs Portsmouth, Premier League
1-0
(Ashton 31)

A lucky game for us to win, after being down most of the match. However, a win is a win, despite being aided heavily by Federici, and sloppy defence by Pompey. I sold Ebanks-Blake for a massive 67 million up front, and maybe up to 70 million. To AC Milan by the way, so I just had to let him go on and continue his career. A good deal in my opinion. However soon after, I realised the potential gap in my side, and since the transfer window passed, I had no option but to promote Andrew Keogh.

Vs Wigan, Premier League
4 - 0
(Riquelme 19, 81, Ashton 34, Keogh 40)




In a fairly one sided match, Riquelme was on fire on his return match. So was Keogh. We showed we didn't need Ebanks-Blake to defeat Premier League Sides. Unfortunantely, Adam Federici sustained a back strain during a weights training. A bad time, as he is out for a month.

Vs West Brom, Premier League
2-2
(Keogh 45, 80)

The match was showing why we need all the players on our first team, as Federici's absence showed. Riquelme played well, as well as Fleck, who is showing some great potential. It also seems my profile is growing, after being shunted in as Cameroon manager. My goal for the nation is to do well in the group stages of the World Cup.




I immediately began organising friendlies for the African Giants, the first at home against Albania, then match 9 days before the first World Cup match against Hosts South Africa. Our World Cup Group matches are against Argentina, USA and Greece. A tough group. After the Cup, we have Peru away, Australia away, New Zealand at home, Iraq at home, and local rivals Ghana at home to round off the year.

Vs Chelsea, Premier League
0-0

A Great result for our side, as we didn't lose to the top of the ladder team. We moved up to 5th, and we did it without Federici. Our side was seriously playing some great football.

Vs Liverpool, Premier League
0-2

Well, after beating them by a large margin first time round, they were out for revenge, and Torres definantely found it. Ebanks-Blake was sorely missed, as we lacked pace up front.

Vs Man City, Premier League
2-1
(Keogh 32, Ashton 83)

It was a good match for us, showing that we can defeat a team despite being on the back foot. Great defence also works for us, as well as sustained midfielders. Our strikers once again showed how to shoot, placing the ball into the back of the net on two separate occasions.

Vs Tottenham, Premier League
0-2


A bad game for us. We needed to keep winning in order to help us gain a spot in Europe. Tottenham just had the edge in the end. We were now 7th.

Vs Blackburn, Premier League
1-1
(Cech 64)

Another match, in which we salvaged another point. We were 7th by 2 points, and we needed to up our game. I started looking for a new striker to make up for Ebanks-Blake.

Vs Albania, Friendly
1-0
(Meyong 52)




At full-time, a decent performance gave my Cameroon side its Maiden win. We were dubbed down with the untimely injury to Eto at the start, which lessened his impact, however Meyong came off the bench to score the vital goal for us. The score should have been more.

Vs Newcastle, Premier League
0-1

Another shocking loss. This time without Federici, and Rocha sent off on 42. We were slipping on the table, and it seemed we were past out best. We were now 8th, even though we looked to be 4th, or somewhere near.

Vs Ipswich, Premier League
3-3
(Keogh 10, Ashton 47, Mahe 80)

We turned around a horrid start to the match to draw with 12 minutes to go. A horrid game, prompting a reshuffle and a complete change in tactics. At the moment, we can finish possibly at 3rd.

Vs Middlesbrough, Premier League
2-3
(Ashton 39, Riquelme pen 70)

Unbelievably, in the final minute, we were punished by a painfully offside goal, a major controversy. Unbelievably, we were now going to slip, and needed a major new striking signing to help us for next season.

Vs Aston Villa, Premier League
1-2
(Ashton 6)

We lost to a team which we dominating against. It seems the loss of Ebanks-Blake has completely ruined our side, Federici's injury is also causing a stir, with Hennessey not being able to compete with Federici's skill.

Vs Bolton, Premier League
1-0
(Neil 49)





 With the goal coming from a very unlikely source, we finally won a match, giving us a chance to qualify for Europe. I was still working hard to sign a new striker, however none were really wanting to move to the Wolves.

Our squad was rocked by the injury to the unstoppable Federici



 



We have two more fixtures, them being Fulham and Everton, and we can finish at a high of 7th, and a low of 11th.






Thats all from me, after a long break for me to study, hope you enjoy my rocking Wolves campaign.

1 comment:

  1. It would be a shame to miss out on an Europa League place... You could grab it from 8th place though, depending on the domestic cup winner and all that. Oh, and good luck with the "Untamed Lions" from Cameroon, you'll have a good time managin them, there's a lot of talent there.

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