Real Oviedo - Back From The Dead

2013-07-19 20:04#121028 k1rups : A great story so far excellent to catch up on mate!

Just one comment about making it easier to read - when you have paragraphs, separate them with a line in between instead of starting the new paragraph directly under the previous one. Makes it look a bit better too imo! Definitely going to be following this as I have been waiting for you to write a story

Thanks for the advice Krupesh, when I write my updates out first in Word there is a space, but when I copy it onto here, the space disappears. Looks like I'll be double spacing from now on

great start mate, especially October some great results. Also I agree with Krupesh on the paragraph thing.

Nice results mate, are there play-offs or just automatic promotion?

Good months and great updates, really liking this so far!

EDIT: You got my 300th post, be proud :P

2013-07-20 10:16#121173 HamoudiLFC : Nice results mate, are there play-offs or just automatic promotion?

There are play-offs, as far as I know the top four teams qualify for the play-offs. You can finish top but still not get promoted, it's very confusing

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Reassurance

We had enjoyed a very promising start to the season, with some big wins but also a couple of disappointing results. Nevertheless, we were where we wanted to be, in a play-off place and a few more good results throughout November and December would surely see us consolidate that.
However, it unfortunately it wasn’t that easy. As you are about to see, we hit a slight dip in form, and though we remained unbeatable, wins, sometimes even goals, were hard to come by.

Month Of November

November for us was a fantastic month, with just one slight blip, but we’ll get to that later. We began the month with an away fixture against minnows Sanse, and as usual we took the lead early on, through Cantero. However, Sanse were not to be disheartened, as they scored a 23rd minute equaliser through Sanz. I told the lads at half time that I was barely satisfied, and they proved me wrong, with two goals in 5 second half minutes wrapping up the win; Vega and Salva getting on the scoresheet. Lovely.

Next, we travelled to Atletico B, predicted to finish near to us in the final standings. I was excited about this one, it gave us a chance to show what we’ve got to a TV audience, and while the scoreline make look close, we made light work of it. Xavi More grabbed a goal early on and Pepe Diaz got himself a goal either side of half time. It was not until the final 10 minutes that Atletico really attempted a comeback, scoring twice late on through Borja and Romero. I feared the embarrassment we would feel if we lost a three goal lead on live TV, but the lads did me proud and held on. Another brilliant win; and all was going well so far this month.

Then, we were given the chance to impress in front of our home fans as we returned to Nuevo Carlos Tartiere to play Aviles. After a drab first half, we got the job done in the second, with Cantero and Cerrajeria bagging our goals. Salva, no not our player, their one, nicked a goal back almost immediately after our second, but we held on for what in reality was a comfortable win. The run continues.

However, it was our match against Coruxo that really brought up some serious problems. Pepe Diaz scored right at the end of what was a dire first half performance from both teams, and Vega put us two goals ahead in the second half. Then, the problems struck. Antunez pulled one back for Coruxo instantaneously, and our two goal lead was gone. Then came the moment every manager has nightmares about, Antunez bagged his brace and Coruxo’s equaliser. In a matter of minutes, our 3 points had become 2. Naturally, I told the boys to press hard and get the winner that would spare our blushes, but it was to no avail. I couldn’t believe it, and I’ll admit I couldn’t hide my anger from the lads after what would’ve, and should’ve, been an easy win.

So what would have been a perfect month had become far from it. We had blown our chance to go top, and now there were some serious worry signs from within our camp. I just had to hope that we could pick our heads up in time for our next batch of fixtures.

November Player Of The Month: Hector Simon

It was hard to choose this month, as we had no real standout player. However, I decided to award it to Hector Simon. Hector had a very solid month, collecting one match of the match awards and putting in some solid performances elsewhere. Not outstanding by anyone’s standards, but pleasing nonetheless.

Month Of December

So we began the month hoping to pick ourselves up and bag a win away to mid-table side Caudal. And, although the game was full of chances, the scoreline did not reflect on the number of shots, eventually finishing as a 0-0 draw. I was a little disappointed with the result, but more so that we had drawn again. Oh No.

The next week, we were dealt another away game, this time to highly favoured Leganes, a team predicted to finish above us this season but so far faltering. On most occasions, I would have taken a draw. But not today, not given our current unbeaten yet winless streak. At the moment, even goals were hard to come by. We needed a win, and fast.

So, when we took to the home pitch to play Real Madrid C, I expected just that. And we started off well, bagging an opener through Pepe Diaz. However the third team of the European giants would not let us win, grabbing the equaliser through Lozano just 4 minutes later. And after that, despite the fact we outnumbered them 15 shots to 3 and they had just 1 shot on target compared with our 9, we could not score. Another 1-1 draw had left me speechless. At this moment in time, I would’ve taken anything.

So when we lined up to face Zamora, a team staring up at us from close behind, O feared the worst. And my fears grew when Ivan Rubio was sent off just 35 minutes in the match. However, late on in the half, Pepe Diaz worked his magic with a brace to put us 2-0 up at the break. I was much happier, but still very concerned, and those concerns grew when Lusamba pulled one back for the visitors just seconds into the second half, before most of our fans had even returned to their seats. Zamora pushed us hard, but a combination of last ditch defending and poor finishing saw out the win. We had no right to, but the relief on my face was immense.

Although this was an awful month for anyone concerned with the club, Pepe Diaz was obviously the one high point of a dismal series of performances. Amazingly, Pepe was our only goalscorer of the month and I cannot see where we would be without his few vital goals. It’s safe to say that he was crucial to Oviedo this month.

The struggles wouldn’t just end here though, we still had some serious issues to iron out. However, let the lads forget about our woes over the Christmas break, praying that some turkey and a little bit of Christmas joy could change our fortunes.

We would just have to hope that Papá Noel could work his magic and change our fate next year.

Solid couple of months!

Shame about the blip (with all the draws) Happens to me a lot I'm sure the win against Zamora was a sign of things to come Keep it up you're a great writer

Great updates and some good results. You will be promoted no doubt.

Frustrating month but good update.

2 very decent set of results, not bad at all.

Fantastico! ¡Feliz Navidad Señor Rablador!

Not the best 2nd month but at least there have been no losses yet!

Are you thinking about signing any players in January?

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"No Time To Celebrate" – Casto

Real Oviedo captain Casto has revealed that the team sensationally cancelled plans to celebrate the festive season with a meal in a fancy local restaurant – instead returning to training to work on what he calls “serious issues”.

”The manager planned it months ago, after the match against Zamora we were going to go for a meal, to celebrate Christmas and New Year, you know?” explains the goalkeeper, signed from Real Betis in the summer.

“But after the match, we had only won once in our last 5 games and had often relied on Pepe Diaz to provide us with goals. The whole camp was worried; the fans and the players all looked concerned. A few matches ago, we could have gone top and now we were desperately clinging on to the final play-off place for dear life.

“It was Robert, though, that seemed the most concerned. You could tell that he had been losing sleep over this, it was obvious. So, as he walked into the changing room, we knew there was something wrong. ‘Lads, I’m sorry if some of you were looking to our meal at Casa Chema tonight, but this is no time to celebrate. We can’t just go off on holiday and return expecting to play well again, we need to use every second we’ve got right now to train. So, I have regretfully cancelled our meal tonight. Once again I’m sorry, but we need to train right now,’ he told us begrudgingly, but we knew he was right.


“And so we headed back to the training ground. Some of us looked disappointed, but all of us knew it was the right thing to do. We couldn’t go out and celebrate; we had some serious issues to iron out.

“It wasn’t too bad though,” laughs the 30 year old, ”He’s promised us a meal if we can reach the play-offs, let’s hope he keeps his word this time”

McLaren has only been in charge of Los Carbayones since July but has already come under severe criticism and pressure from fans and media alike, with many concerned that the Scot is under severe stress, and he will no doubt be relieved to enjoy a 2 week break from competitive football.

In August, striker Pepe Diaz was forced to label protesting fans a ”disgrace” after a small group heavily disagreed with McLaren’s appointment.

Oviedo currently lie in 4th place in Segunda Division B, having squandered the chance to go top with 4 consecutive draws, which finally ended with the narrow win against Zamora.