The Cherries on top: Episode 38
October is a very tough month for us as we face some of the biggest teams in the league. We have Man United, Spurs and Liverpool at home and Arsenal away. What a test. I guess we will really see where we are as a team at the end of the month.
The board have said that they think the club’s financial situation could be better. Hopefully the performances on the pitch will make them forget about the money situation?
Gasperoni has been great since the middle of last season and an impressive month sees him bag the young player of the month. Samba is also getting praise after his good start.
On to fixtures now and first up its current Premier League Champions Manchester United. A tough test indeed, a test made a little more difficult as Selakovic strains his neck in training on the eve of the game.
Man Utd are visibly on top, but there is wayward finishing on show from both teams as we play out a 0–0 draw. Not a bad result, I can’t complain really. Unfortunately we lose Moukoko for a month after he came off with strained ankle ligaments.
Spurs are our midweek opponents, they are currently 5th and we have to make a few changes. The away side are winless in their last 3 and hopefully we can get something.
It’s a perfect start for us, Skalidis scores within 3 minutes after an early chance for Robbie Keane. From the goal Spurs come at us hitting the woodwork twice in the opening half an hour. Just when I think that we have weathered the storm, Iversen scores after we defended 3 consecutive corners just before half time.
Second half the away side are less creative, we do our best to get chances but to no avail. Gasperoni comes off injured with 30 minutes to go and it disrupts our flow a little. He will miss the next two weeks with a hamstring injury, but Duff is able to competently keep Spurs at bay at the expense of our right sided attack.
It’s another draw against a top six side, so I can’t complain too much. My only worry is our performances in the away fixtures that will inevitably come.
Cardiff come in for John Powell. To be honest I forgot he was here as he’s been in the reserves and listed for loan. The £180k will come in handy, shame I have got to wait until the summer to collect it.
A little respite from the top teams this week as we come up against Charlton at the Valley. They haven’t won in the league so far this season and are rock bottom. We make a few changes as the fixture schedule starts to fatigue the squad.
Despite being bottom Charlton don’t start too poorly, being the home side they need to show their fans something. They have a few half chances, as do we, but I don’t overcommit the players just in case. As the half ends 0–0 we go attacking in the second 45 and are ahead after two minutes as Victory ghosts in at the back post.
Charlton go on the attack to try and get back in it. Skalidis goes past three Charlton defenders and scored the second effectively ending the game. Substitute Wirtanen reminds the home fans there is still time left by immediately hitting post. Samba then volleys home the third to kill the game to give us the first win of the month.
We have just over a week to prepare for our next league game against Liverpool. We are at home and have kept our heads above water against the top sides so far. The Reds have had a stuttering start with only 2 wins so far. They sit currently 12th but beat us in the FA Cup fifth round last season.
With Gasperoni still out and Tonetto serving the last game of his suspension, the line-up is the strongest I can field. Hopefully it will be enough as we are up against the likes of Seedorf, Pirlo and Biscan ;)
It’s another goalless draw and a fairly even contest. The best of our efforts were spilled by Kirkland and we had no-one on had to take the opportunity as it was a quiet day for Owen and Baros.
Our midweek fixture this week is our League Cup match against Man City, they were our opponents on the opening day of the season. We ran out 3–1 winners at Maine Road but we line up with a different side today. This is partly down to fatigue but also that a cup run is another distraction from the league.
The squad is heavily rotated but the boys are on the attack from the off and we stun the visitors with goals from Fortune-West and Toni in the first 25 minutes. Thankfully I kept Dei between the sticks as they come back at us, but with only 4 shots on target we are able to keep a clean sheet.
With the win secure, the draw is made the following day and it’s away to Liverpool. Great.
After his big move to Chelsea last season, it’s bad news for Zidane as he’s set to undergo surgery and will miss the next six months.
Our last game of the month is Arsenal away. They, like Liverpool are not enjoying the best start to the season. The Gunners aren’t currently in the top half of the table.
Our only previous meeting was in the FA cup a few seasons ago where, quite frankly, we swept past them. After resting the majority of the first team midweek, we also welcome Tonetto and Gasperoni back.
The home side start bright as we are dealt an early blow, Skalidis goes off with a twisted ankle and will miss the next ten days. As Arsenal enjoy some success, Kerr finds himself in space and his volley puts us in front. Hadzi almost adds a second just before the break, but its agonisingly wide.
Ljunberg pulls Arsenal level just minutes into the second half and we ride our luck for the rest of the game. Dei is very busy and watches a Touré header crash off the bar.
Hadzi has another great chance to steal it right at the death but his volley is just over the bar. The game ends in another draw, this is one that I am fairly thankful for.
After a tough run of fixtures I can’t complain. 4 draws against the top sides and a win against Charlton is enough to stay top albeit the other sides are now lining up.
Episode 39 coming next week
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