Happy New Year!
Yes, I appreciate it’s now been a full month since Big Ben bonged to mark the end of 2014, but FMD has been enjoying a well-needed winter break.
Unlike the rest of English football, I decided to take time off from the stresses of the beautiful game, in order to do the things I’d neglected during my first few weeks in charge.
Such as spending time with family, enjoying fresh air. And washing.
No need to worry though regular readers (all three of you), the FMD is back with, as promised, more sexy and exciting adventures.
When we left, Christmas was approaching in both real-life and in the virtual world of Ipswich Town.
After a wild start to the season had fans dreaming of the top-flight, results dropped and so did the league position – those same make-believe supporters beginning to harbour hopes of a play-off push instead.
After the turkey and tinsel, Boxing Day football saw my Tractor Boys travel to Brentford – who were flying-high in fifth place.
The Bees must have overindulged on the Christmas pudding though, the lads romping to a 2-0 success thanks to late goals from Stephen Hunt and Jack Grealish.
After my previous diamond formation had begun to look more like a cheap, market-stall knock-off, I’d decided to change things up, implementing a high-energy, narrow-minded 4-4-2.
Following the success at Brentford, the new set-up was proving fruitful – with Charlton brushed aside 4-2 at Portman Road. Deadly Dave McGoldrick was certainly full of Christmas cheer, nabbing an early brace to put us 2-0 up. However, when the visitors pulled it back to 2-2 with 20 minutes left, I was worryingly looking to the bench for inspiration.
Once again, the gleaming, hairless head of Conor Sammon caught my eye. Low and behold, old baldie did it again, making it 3-2 with minutes to spare following a system switch to 3-5-2. Dave sealed his hat-trick in the dying embers to wrap-up six points in three days.
No time for a rest, next up it was the FA Cup. As a footballing purist there was no way I was taking this lightly and started a strong team against Swindon Town.
Again, we raced to a two-goal lead thanks to Dave and Daryl Murphy. But the FA Cup is a mysterious beast, and a late collapse allowed Town to force a replay with a 2-2 draw.
The boys had a week to rest before hosting Derby, who were surprisingly struggling in the lower reaches of the table.
Feeling funky fresh, once more we stormed out of the traps, a Hunt penalty putting us 1-0 up going into half-time. Still, it was no surprise to see us concede a late equaliser. 1-1 and two points dropped.
With Swindon standing in our way of a place in the fourth round of England’s finest competition, a win was imperative to ensure our unbeaten run continued.
Strangely though, it was a lame start – Town going one-up to leave me dreading an early exit at the hands of lower league opposition. But we’re a gritty bunch here in Suffolk, and when Dave smashed home a leveller, once again it was super-sub Sammon who would prove to be the hero.
His finish, with ten minutes to spare, put us one foot into the next stage – before Jay Tabb curled in a free-kick to clinch a 3-1 triumph.
Our form was impressive, so impressive I was beginning to wonder when I would eventually get embarrassed three-or-four nil by a team staring League One in the face.
So what luck our next game was away to second-from-bottom Millwall. Even better when we went 1-0 down after less than three minutes.
Here we go…
Yet those aggressive little Londoners gave us a lifeline, stupidly lunging their way to ten-men before half-time. We had to turn it round now, surely?
Despite chances galore, the breakthrough was proving elusive, until I looked to the substitutes. Beyond the shiny scalp of Sammon, I spotted the luxurious locks of Atdhe Nuhiu. Added to the introduction of Grealish it was a double change that coincided with a switch to overload and a frantic plea to hoof it long. Just kick it for crying out loud!
But this is why I get my virtual salary every week. Grealish down the right, straight into the feet of Nihiu who hammered it into the roof of the net for 1-1.
I was desperate for a winner but when Tabb got himself sent-off to make it 10-aside, I was happy to settle for a point.
Deadly Dave had other ideas.
In added time, some McGoldrick magic brought a winner out of nowhere and we were back in the top six.
All in all, since Santa’s sleigh dropped by, it’s been a very happy start to 2015.
And if you were doubting whether England needs a winter break, it’s been well and truly vindicated by me taking a breather from a computer game…
Pingback: The Football Manager Diaries: Edition Eight – Keep ya Wig-an | TIBS Sports News