Dear friends, first of all I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year for 2010. It is the beginning of the year and i wish everybody good health. Before that i would like to apologize for the delay of the post as i was outstation for work for the last few days and i could not play my football manager game. 2009 just flied pass me like a comet when i was on the road. Anyway i am back now and here is the new updates.

My team was struggling from the beginning of our new season, we only accounted for 1 win in August. This is due to the injuries suffered by few of my key players and the opposition we faced is totally different from the Blue Square South side. The injuries really affect the balance in my team. As my players gradually return from the treatment room, i hope to see some improvement in September. There will be five games to play and let us take a look at the results.

We got 3 wins and 2 losses in this month and i am quite satisfied to grab 9 points out of 15 considering that the returned players still fighting for match fitness after a long layoff.

First game of the month is against Barrow that finish 12th place last season. However they have been struggling for form this season and only 2 points ahead of us. Though i believe that we can at least grab a point from them, but i still opt for a more reserve strategy and that is the counter. This is a away game for us and they are definitely the favorites. There are numerous chances created in the first half, we took the lead first in the 31 minute. After several passes in the midfield area, Kevin Macdonald sent a nice through ball from the middle and Paul Hakim was in a well position to open the scoring. That was the only goal scored before the half time whistle. They came back very strongly after the break and headed in the equalizer through a corner. I was very angry with Lewis Walker who seems don’t know how to defend a corner at all. The score remain as it is until injury time, Troy Archibad-Henville headed in the winning goal after some fine work from Paul Hakim on the right. I was absolutely delighted with my players who showed a lot of determination to win the game.

Next game was played in our small ship lane stadium against Hereford. They are a very strong side who is occupying in the top half of the table. They came here with the attacking mentality and as a result took a one goal lead in the 29 minute. It was pretty the same after the second half whistle, they scored their second goal with a long shot which my goalkeeper had no time to react. But this seems to spur my players a bit, from that on its all Thurrock, we were attacking from all corners but despite the efforts of my players, we can only scored one goal through Paul Hakim to make the final score 1-2. Although i am disappointed with the results, i am encouraged by the attitude of the players. I hope they can maintain this attitude in every match for the rest of the season.

Kettering is currently in 24th place with no wins, i fancy our chances against them as i believe they were low in morale and we can take three points off them. Yet i am so wrong, they seem determined to stop the losing streak and they perform magnificently against us. Both side cancelled each other out by scoring a goal in the first half. But a mistake by my goalkeeper allowed them to score a goal and win the match 2-1. My goalkeeper Scott Tynan was making a lot of mistakes this season, i will bench him to let him reflect his performances. I hope he can convince me to play him again.

Lewes were hovering in the relegation spot since the start of the season, but after the Kettering game, i cannot underestimate them just because of the table position. And indeed, we concede a early goal in the 7 minute. From that onwards, we were chasing the game most of the time and Paul Hakim got us back on level term in the 31 minute. After the break, both side create several chances but doesn’t seem able to unlock the deadlock. Just when the game was heading for a draw, one touch of genius from Jack Jeffrey resulted in a goal and before the final whistle sounds, we scored another to make the score 3-1. It was a superb fightback and the fans were absolutely delighted to bring home three points instead of one. Of course i am delighted and i really praised the players after the final whistle.

Last game of the month was against Barnet that were relegated from the league football last season. They were still in a transition state of mind in playing in Blue Square Premier, their performance so far has been under par. They were lying in 16th place two places above us. However i think they still have quality in their side and we were the underdogs. It was stalemate in the first half as some great save from both goalkeepers kept things level. But we got the breakthrough 3 minutes after the break when Paul Hakim capitalize an error by their players to head in a goal from a Kevin Macdonald corner. After finding themselves a goal behind, immediately they applied the pressure and were attacking our goal from almost anywhere; corners, long shots and close range. But my defenders had a great night and kept them at bay. It was a morale booster win and we ended the month 2 wins in a row.

Players who excelled in this month is definitely Paul Hakim, he scored in every match and made several goals for his teammate. Actually i has my doubts regarding him playing in Blue Square Premier. But he definitely prove me wrong with his performances and he will be a key player for me this season.

After 11 games played, we found ourselves in the 15th place out of 24 teams. The board and fans are happy with our standings as this has exceed their expectation for the season.

I wasn’t satisfied, i think the players can achieve more as long there is no serious injury occur for the coming months. There will be five games play in October and the opposition are not that strong. I hope we will be able to achieve some good results against them.

Ok friends, this is it for the latest update of my Thurrock story and next up will be the November results. See you soon…