November 2012 - Gilardino's Shooting Boots Are Stolen, Possibly By Cardozo

This next month sees us scheduled for 6 matches, with 4 Premier League fixtures, all matches we have a good chance of winning, the toughest being a trip to Sunderland. We also have a couple of Champions League matches, home to Rapid Wien, and away to Porto to finish the month. I'm confident we will win the first of these matches, and have a good chance of claiming victory over Porto, as they've been in very poor form so far in the group matches. I have one slight concern before we start the month, which is Gilardino's form, because since scoring him hat-trick early last month, he's failed to find the back of the net, which is fairly worrying given how well he started the season, when he seemed to be scoring for fun.

Before the matches start the draw for the quarter final stages of the League Cup take place, with us getting very lucky, drawing Peterborough at home, who are a League One team. They are certainly not pushovers though, as they beat Sunderland in the 2nd round of the competition.

Wolves (H) Premier League

Wolves arrive at Loftus Road, with us overwhelming favourites for this match. Wolves have struggled this season, but arrive off the back of a rare victory over West Ham in their previous match. Victory is the only result that is acceptale from this match.

We started the match very lively, pushing Wolves back from the start. Our first shot came from a free kick just outside the Wolves area, which was not far wide of the post in the 2nd minute. With us having problems breaking through the Wolves defence but showing great passing I asked the players to pass into space. In the 13th minute Dzsudzsak passed the ball into the path of Daeseliere who cracked an absolute screamer from 25 yards out into the top corner of the net, to score his first ever goal for the club. It had taken over 2 years to come, but when it did, it was a cracker, finally getting a long shot on target. In the 17th minute Gilardino managed to slip free into the area, but hit his shot straight at the keeper. The following minute he crossed the ball for Cardozo to get his head to, but somehow the keeper managed to make a save. Wolves were showing they hadn't come to just make up the numbers, and Ochoa had to make a good save later the same minute, in what was turning into a action packed match. In the 23rd minute only an astonishing save by the Wolves keeper stopped Cardozo from adding to the score. From the resulting corner Sunny got his head to the ball, but was unable to direct it by the keeper. In the 29th minute Cardozo had another chance from a header, and again the keeper was able to save the ball. With Wolves starting to enjoy a bit more possession and trying to attack through the centre, I decided to ask the players to clear to the flanks, and play narrower. In the 45th minute Daeseliere continued his fantastic game, this time looping a cross into the box, where Cardozo headed the ball into the goal from less than a yard out to extend our lead. The half came to an end with us leading 2-0.

I was pleased with our performance, even though our chances would suggest our lead should be even bigger. Cardozo in particular had been causing the Wolves defence huge problems. Daeseliere had been very impressive, always looking to move forward and help in attack. I sent the players back out letting them know I was pleased, hoping they would go on and complete what was looking like an impressive performance so far. Right from the restart we pushed forward with Cardozo being slipped the ball on the left, and he advanced to the edge of the area, firing a shot from the edge of the area, which was pushed out by the keeper, falling to Sunny just outside the area, allowing him a fairly easy shot to extend our lead with just 32 seconds of the half gone. In the 55th minute Cardozo was put through again, but cynically brought down just before he could get into the area, earning the defender a yellow, although some refs would have given a red. Oddly Cardozo was miles off target with his free kick though. In the 62nd minute Cardozo had another free kick, this time going only just wide of the post. The following minute Ochoa was action again, making a good save, his first of the half. In the 64th minute I was disappointed when we were caught on the break allowing Kevin Doyle to get free and place the ball in the net. In the 66th Grenier played a ball across for Gildardino to shoot from the edge of the area, but his shot was extremely disappointing, giving the keeper an easy catch. In the 69th minute Wolves gave us a scare with a header just over the bar at a corner. In the 73rd minute Kjær made a very uncharacteristic sliding tackle to earn a yellow, which was very unnecessary. In the 82nd minute Cardozo tested the keeper again with a header from a cross. In the 88th minute Sanchez sliced a shot wide from a cross the edge of the 6 yard box. The match finished with us winning 3-1.

I was pleased with this performance, even though our finishing at times hadn't been as good as I would expect. Gilardino seems to be having a worrying run of form recently. We had done a fairly good job of cutting down the chances that Wolves could create. When the results came through from other grounds it was hard to believe what had happened, with Arsenal being beaten at the Emirates by Sunderland, and Man United losing to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Result: 3-1

Rapid Wien (H) Champions League Group E

Rapid Wien arrive at Loftus Road with us clear favourites to win this match. Wien have low morale, and after our performance at their ground I felt confident that we will win this match. When the teamsheets are released it's interesting to note that Wien have now moved to the same tactical formation that we have, a 4-4-2 wide diamond.

We started the match looking lively, with Gilardino forcing the keeper to make a good save in the 5th minute. From the resulting corner he put his header just over the bar. In the 8th minute Balanta fired a long shot just over the bar. In the 12th minute Fatih Yucel ran onto a throughball into the area, but the keeper had closed him down too fast to be able to get his shot off. In the 15th our pressure finally paid off with Gilardino playing Fatih Yucel into the area, and this time he made no mistake by scoring to give us the lead. The match started flowing from end to end with a few long shots being fired off by both teams. In the 41st minute Balanta had another shot from within the area, forcing a great save from the keeper. The first half came to an end with us leading 1-0.

I was largely pleased with our performance in the first half, but only leading 1-0 did not feel comfortable. I sent the players back out giving them encouragement to go on and see the result out properly. In the 61st minute I thought we'd taken the lead, with Ephraim crossing the ball into the box, where Gilardino hammered a header home. The goal was disallowed for being offside, but the decision was really poor with Ephraim actually still being off the pitch after taking a throw-in as the pass was made, so believe it should not have been given. The keeper made a mistake from the free kick, allowing Gilardino free in on goal, but the keeper had somehow got back to make a save. In the 63rd minute the referee made an atrocious decision giving Rafa a second yellow card after a foul which should not have been given in the 63rd minute. I was absolutely livid. In the 76th minute Ochoa had to make 3 consecutive saves to keep Wien out, with the original pass through looking suspiciously offside, and yet another later on in the minute. In the 79th Puygrenier hit a header from a free kick just wide of the post. In the 82nd minute Ochoa was called upon again to make a good save. After the sending off I'd brought Cardozo on to play as a target man on his own up front. He was causing problems for the Wien defence, but they seemed to be getting away with obstructing him without conceding fouls. In the 85th minute Cardozo went close with a 25 yard long shot, going just wide of the post. We managed to hold on to the end of the match with the score finishing 1-0.

I was pleased we'd won, but disappointed with how things had gone wrong in the second half after Rafa was harshly sent off. I was angry with the officials for some very poor decisions that nearly cost us the victory.
This win does mean we have qualified from the group stages, which so I can rest some players for the final couple of group matches if needed. Ochoa received the man of the match award after his astonishing series of saves near the end of the match.

Result: 1-0

Sunderland (A) Premier League

We travel to the Stadium Of Light to take on the Black Cats, with us arriving as marginal favourites. This looks to be a much tougher match than I thought at the start of the month, with Sunderland having beaten Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal in 3 of their last 4 matches. Our record over Sunderland is very good, although our last two away matches with them have ended as 2-2 draws. Sunderland are so full of pace that I will go for a counter attacking strategy to make sure we don't ripped apart at the back.

Sunderland came straight forward, with them putting a header just over the bar in the 2nd minute. We quickly started to show some of our quality, with our first shot coming in the 7th minute with Cardozo firing just wide. In the 9th minute Jimenez played a pass forward for Cardozo to run onto just inside the area, with him managing to shake his marker off, and fired the ball into the bottom corner of the net to give us the lead. Sunderland tried to push forward, but we stood firm and in the 13th minute Sunny played a ball forward for Cardozo to run onto thumping the ball home again for his second of the match. This was very tight on whether it was offside or not, but it's nice to get the benefit of the doubt once in a while. In the 15th minute Ochoa had to push a powerful header from a corner just over the bar. In the 20th minute Sunny drilled a shot from distance, bringing out a great save from the keeper. Only a perfectly timed challenge stopped Jimenez getting through on goal, which actually sent him flying, so tight was the close timing of the tackle. Our players were beginning to enjoy themselves now, really pushing Sunderland, winning a free kick just outside the area in the 22nd minute. Cardozo stepped up with a chance to try and complete his hat-trick, but just caught the edge of the wall, with the ball flying for a corner. In the 26th minute from a free kick in our half, Ochoa fired the ball upfield, with Gilardino challenging for the ball and managing to get his header to go diagonally forward into the area, for Cardozo to chase, but was brought down right on the penalty spot. I was a little surprised the player who brought him down, Senderos, wasn't booked, although Lee Cattermole was booked for protesting about the penalty. Cardozo now stepped up with a superb chance of completing his hat-trick, and duly thumped it home in style. Sunderland were now looking quite ragged, allowing us to see if we could extend our lead even further. The ball was now being moved fairly quickly from end to end, with us creating slightly better chances, with a couple of long shots fired wide. In the 40th minute Ochoa had to make a diving save, with Sunderland making a rare break through, to shoot from edge of the area. In the first minute of added time was annoyed that we conceded from a corner, allowing Aaron Lennon to thump a header home, which is dismal defending, because he's the shortest player on the pitch and also below average heading skill. The half finished with us leading 3-1.

I'd been really pleased with our performance in the first half, until our loss of concentration just at the end to concede a goal. I sent the players back out still pleased with them though, hoping they'd continue with the high level of performance  In the 49th minute Gilardino was fed the ball by Cardozo in the area, but his shot was straight at the keeper giving him an easy catch. We were pushing Sunderland quite a bit now, with the Sunderland foul count mounting, and they switched to 5 at the back, which was now making the match a bit more ugly. Our defence was looking very solid and the Sunderland throughballs were looking very poor, making it easy for Ochoa to move forward onto them. In the 73rd minute Ephraim hammered a shot from the edge of the area, which the keeper couldn't hold, but went safe. Sunderland were still trying to make a fight of this, putting a shot just wide of the post in the 85th minute, and in the 86th Jimenez forced the keeper to push his shot for a corner. In the 87th minute I thought Ephraim had got through, but a perfectly timed challenge saw the ball cleared for a throw-in. The match came to an end with coming away as 3-1 winners.

I was very pleased with this result. Understandably we found it a little harder to create chances in the 2nd half, especially after Sunderland went to 5 at the back. Cardozo put in a superb performance today, coming away with a great hat-trick, obviously not wanting to be out-done by Gilardino and Scocco who grabbed one each the previous month. This was a very good team performance against a side who had the ability to cause us problems, with their speed. One very pleasing aspect of the match for us was how few fouls we committed, only 4, with Sunderland up at 23, being quite lucky the referee was being lenient, with only one player receiving a yellow card. There were a couple of surprises from other results, with Liverpool losing away to Blackburn and Man United only managing a 1-1 draw at home to Birmingham. However Arsenal got back to winning ways, thrashing Ipswich 4-0 away from home.

Result: 3-1

In the days following this match, Luis Jimenez went down with food poisoning, meaning he is likely to miss our next match. Scocco is however back in full training again. Mark Hughes was finally sacked by Man City after his team suffered a 3rd straight defeat, this time to Birmingham. I have been linked with the job, but immediately issue a statement denying that I'm interested, which has delighted the board. It's worth noting that when he left, 7 other members of the backroom staff decided to leave. Unfortunately Onyewu pulled a hamstring in training, which will sideline him for 2 to 3 weeks.

Ipswich (H) Premier League

We welcome the Tractor Boys to Loftus Road with us overwhelming favourites to win the match. Ispwich had lost their last 7 matches, and have not won a match for two and half months, so look very demoralised having also failed to score in their last 4 games. We've had a week since our last match, and our next is also a week away, so I can field my strongest team to make sure we don't do anything silly. I'm pleased to see that it's actually dry for this match, which seems to be a real rarity. I can't quite decide if it's wet too much or not, but it does feel like we've played a lot of matches in the rain.

The match started with Ispwich looking surprisingly determined given their poor run of form. It took us a few minutes to settle. In the 7th minute we were denied a very good claim for a penalty, which was turned down, but we still won a corner. In the 8th minute Cardozo headed over from a corner. Ispwich were playing a very phsical match to try and stop us, which was frustrating. In the 16th minute Puygrenier put a header from a corner over the bar. In the 18th minute Sanchez ran down the right wing to the byeline and produced a superb cross into the area, where Grenier got his head to the ball and this time the back of the net was found to give us the lead. Ipswich were quite determined though putting a long shot just over the bar almost immediately from the restart. We then started to put the pressure on, which paid off in the 26th minute with Cardozo heading home from a Dzsudzsak corner kick to extend our lead. In the 30th minute only some luck stopped Ispwich from going even further behind at another corner, with the keeper only just getting a hand to a looping header from Kjær which then looped over to hit the bar and came back down for a defender to head over. From the resulting corner Puygrenier put his header just over again. In the 44th minute Sanchez hit a rocket from 25 yaards, which the keeper could only push over the bar. The half came to an end with leading 2-0.

I was happy that we held the lead and had largely controlled the match. What I was a bit worried about was how physical Ipswich were being, which so far hadn't caused an injury, but was bordering on the dangerous at times. I sent the players back out pleased, hoping they could keep this level of performance up. I was disappointed that we immediately gave the ball away with Ipswich looking fired up. The match became really ugly with the foul count mounting which was really breaking the game up. In the 70th minute Cardozo got through for a difficult chance but dragged the ball wide, and tested the keeper in the 72nd with a header. In the 77th he put another header wide of the post. In the 89th minute Ipswich managed to grab a slightly lucky goal, with an attempted shot, deflecting off Curri's legs to allow another Ipswich player through to score an easy goal. That said, Kjær really shouldn't have allowed the Ipswich player to get to the ball in the first place. Worryingly we gave the ball away within seconds of the restart, which I really was not happy about. We managed to hold on and see the match out for a 2-1 victory.

I was pleased with the overall performance, but given the number of shots we had, I didn't think we tested the keeper enough, and our lack of concentration at the start and end of the second half was frustrating, allowing Ispwich to pull a goal back, and nearly gave them a chance to grab an equaliser, which they would not have deserved. I told the lads that they'd played well in the first half, but the second half was poor. I think the players just became complacent in the second half, making a number of silly errors. One thing that is frustrating about a player being blamed for a goal which occurs near the end of the match, is that it seriously wrecks their rating in a way that I feel is harsh if they've performed really well up to that point. Kjær finished with a 5.4 rating, because he was blamed for the goal, but had been up at 7.5 before the Ipswich goal was scored. The reverse is also true if a player that has been really struggling, scores, their rating seems to jump up by far more than I would expect. Somehow despite the heavy tackling that was going on, we suffered no injuries.

Result: 2-1

Blackburn (A) Premier League

We travel to Ewood Park as clear favourites to win this match, but although Blackburn are seen as relegation candidates, they are sitting in mid-table, although only recorded one win in their last 5 matches. I hope the players do not show any complacency going into this match, as it's one we should be winning. Their most recent victory was a 1-0 win over Liverpool at home, so we can't take this match for granted.

The match started with us looking lively, with Dzsudzsak heading wide of the post in the 2nd minute. Blackburn were looking highly motivated, and really frustrating us, closing down and putting in heavy tackles. The officials were not helping matters with some dubious fouls given against us, and a really poor offside decision that stopped Gilardino being able to create a chance. This had the hallmarks of a really poor match, with Blackburn trying a few long shots. In the 27th minute Blackburn's Kalinic was sent off for an extremely ugly two footed lunge on Sunny. This seemed to spur Blackburn on even more, with Ochoa having to make a close range save in the 30th minute. In the 31st minute we won a free kick just outside the area, but Cardozo fired just over the bar, continuing his run of not being able to get a free kick on target. In the 39th minute I thought we'd taken the lead when Gilardino put the ball in the net, but he had been offside. I was annoyed when Sunny was needlessly booked for getting annoyed about the decision. In the 40th minute we won an indirect free kick about 30 yards out. Cardozo moved the ball to Jimenez who took a crack, forcing a great save from the keeper, with the ball rebounding into the path of Sanchez who'd run into the area, and he hammered the ball into the net to give us the lead. In added time I thought we'd extended the lead, when Cardozo hammered the ball from just outside the area, with it hitting the underside of the bar and going in. It was however disallowed, as it appears to have deflected off Gilardino on the way through, but I'm very dubious about that, making me angry again. The half finished with us leading 1-0.

I was pleased we had the lead, but I wouldn't say it was a good performance. I sent the players back out trying to fire them up more, because Blackburn were still looking very motivated. We pushed forward from the restart, and in the 47th minute Gilardino put a header from a corner just over the bar. We then started to give the ball away with some really stupid passes. In the 62nd minute we gained even more advantage when they had a player going off injured after having made all their substitutions. In spite of the advantage we were being incredibly poor. It wasn't until the 84th we created another chance with Ephraim hammering a shot from the edge of the area, bringing a great save from the keeper. In the 87th minute Cardozo forced another great save from the keeper with a header from a corner, as we finally started to pile on more pressure, with Nasuti firing his header wide from the resulting corner. Sanchez then fired wide from the edge of the area in the 89th. The match came to an end with us winning 1-0.

This was a very poor match, largely because of the horrible tactics from Blackburn, closing us down the whole match, with heavy tackles. I think this seemed to affect the players, causing them to hesistate at times. I guess it figures that it would be 1-0, because the previous match was a 1-0 victory for Arsenal and before that a 1-0 victory for Tottenham. They are a very frustrating team to play, with a huge amount of determination. In the 2nd half every one of their players was either motivated or fired up, which seems to make things very difficult. The yellow card that Sunny picked up in this match, means he will miss the next domestic fixture. I was delighted when other results came through, to find the Manchester derby had finish as a 1-1 draw and Arsenal had lost 1-0 to Aston Villa.

Result: 1-0

Porto (A) Champions League Group E

We travel to the Estadio do Dragao for our final match of the month as marginal underdogs. As we've already qualified from the group this match holds little relevance, but I'm still fielding a reasonably strong team, but giving some players a rest before we enter the December onslaught of fixtures. I still feel we have a chance of coming away with something from this match, as Porto have been disappointing so far, although they did beat Lyon in the previous match at this stadium. Onyewu is still out injuried and Rafa is suspended for this match. Porto see the return of Hulk up front, who was injured for our first encounter. The Brazilian striker is sure to give our defenders a hard time, with his speed and dribbling skills.

Porto came out looking lively, and in the 7th minute Ochoa had to make 3 good consecuctive saves to stop them scoring, and another good save in the 11th. We had tried to attack, but been unable to find the final pass. In the 16th minute Ochoa was in action again, making another good save, with us playing the worst I'd seen this season. In the 21st Ochoa pushed a shot from inside the area over the bar, with us under huge pressure. We were making so many stupid errors, giving the ball away it hard to believe, one of which forced Ochoa into a great save from a stunning 30 yard long shot. In the 38th minute we finally managed to get a shot, a stunning 25 yard drive from Gilardino which looked to going into the top corner, but the keeper managed to somehow hook the ball over the bar. In the 45th minute Ochoa had another save to make, with us totally unable to stop Porto from hammering shots at us. The half came to an end goalless.

I thought we were utter garbage, and lucky not to have conceded. We'd made so many mistakes, and when we tried to go forward just kept slowing the play down, which I couldn't understand. I hadn't seen us play this bad for a long time, only creating one single shot in the whole of the half. My assistant manager is obviously a comedian, but he reckoned I should tell the players I was pleased, but other than Ochoa, there was nothing to be pleased about. I sent the players back out, trying to fire them up to play better, having made a couple of substitutions. We didn't really look much better, and in the 54th minute Ochoa had to make another superb save to tip a thunderous long shot over the bar. In the 60th minute Gilardino put a header just over the bar from a corner. In the 67th minute Ochoa had to make another shot, and the clearance dropped for another Porto player to fire off a long shot, which went just wide of the post. I was annoyed when a really poor offside decision of epic proportions denied Scocco a possible chance to get clear of the defence. I decided to bring Cardozo on for the last 20 minutes of the match. Cardozo forced a good save from the keeper in the 76th minute from a free kick, his first on target for quite a few matches. In the 81st minute Ephraim produced a superb pass in the area, to give Cardozo a great chance, but the keeper somehow managed to get to the ball and claw it away. In the following minute he forced another great save from the keeper. We were finally playing well, and managed several other shots, either blocked or off target, with Porto now struggling to create anything. The match came to an end goalless.

I'm happy enough to come away with a draw, and pleased with how we played in the last 20 or so minutes. However the first half in particular had been pretty awful, and only some great saves from Ochoa and some poor finishing from Porto had stopped us from losing. Ochoa's performance saw him take the man of the match award. We seem to be setting up a pattern here, with the final match of the month ending up as a 0-0 draw for the 3rd month in a row.

Result: 0-0

Monthly Roundup

Another great month, the win over Sunderland being the highlight, especially as they'd had some great results over some of our rivals. The way we struggled against Porto early in that match was very frustrating, but we eventually found some form, and came close to stealing a result we wouldn't have really deserved, and to be honest the draw was fairly lucky. The Blackburn match had also been quite a struggle, and given that they'd had a player sent off and another player down through injury, we failed to take advantage of it, as I feel we should.

I'm completely stunned by how the other teams that were challenging right at the top have stumbled badly, allowing us to open up an 8 point gap at the top. This could be extremely important, as we are about to enter the busiest period of the year, especially as we will be travelling to Japan to play in the Club World Cup in December.

After the two results in the Champions League, we have confirmed our qualification from the group stages, and will now top the group no matter what results are played out in the final fixtures.

My player of the month is easy to pick this time, with Oscar Cardozo being very consistent, scoring 5 goals, including his stunning hat-trick against Sunderland. I picked up the manager of the month award for the 3rd time this season. The month finishes with only one injury, that being a hamstring injury to Onyewu, but he should return early on in December. I am getting rather concerned about the lack of goals from Gilardino since he scored his hat-trick last month. I will definitely be wanting to play him again Peterborough, hoping the he will be able to take advantage against weaker opposition to get his confidence back, which seems to be severely lacking. One thing I have noted is that he now has Scocco listed as one of his favoured personnel, so maybe setting these two together as a strike partnership may help him finally score again.

December begins with the fixture list showing 7 matches during the month, but it does not include the 2 matches we will play in the Club World Cup, so I'm unsure if we will play 9 matches, or whether one of the current fixtures will be moved. We have 5 Premier League matches, with 3 potentially tricky home matches against Aston Villa, Man United and West Ham. We will also be playing away to Fulham and Portsmouth, who are both difficult teams to break down when they have home advantage. We have our League Cup quarter final match against Peterborough and our final group match in the Champions League against Lyon, so it will be a very demanding month.