Gunner be the best in the world?

Hi all. Have created a new database where the English system has been replaced by a world league structure. The top 20 teams by initial reputation have been put in the Premiership (renamed "Super League"), the next 24 in the Champioship (which is "Premiership") and so on (down the "Championship", "Ordinary League", "Conference Premier", "Conference Championship" and "Conference Ordinary"). Hopefully the DB has been adjusted so that its a straight ladder so no strange 2 leagues feeding into 1 as with the current conference. In other words we have the 160 best teams in the world (by reputation anyway) in ONE structure. The challenge is to get as much success as possible.

Theres a slight twist. Anyone who has read any of my posts before will know that I am not great at FM even though I've played it all my life. I will probably use Genie Scout a fair bit, but I also want input from HUMAN "assistant managers" - which is what this is for! I will post regular updates to my dedicated AssMen, and hopefully you guys will be able to help me do well. Arsenal do of course start in the Super League but my place will be by no means assured, and it will take a lot of work just to keep me in the top flight. It should be interesting, as well as obviously tracking my own progress, to see what happens in the rest of the country - how much change will there be? Will we see teams who have only just snuck into the world league (such as Sunderland and Morelia) moving up the ladder eventually? Will the Champions League winner always be "English", with all the best teams in Europe playing in one country? Or will we see other teams coming to the fore? How will the English clubs who have been ousted fare in other leagues? Will we see a team from "Old England" winning the Champions League eventually?

Should be good. And I want to do as well as possible with Arsenal - winning the FA Cup will of course be just as difficult as the current Champions League is now, so even a good cup run would be seen as a successful season i think. If we could get a "European" spot, I think it would be a great achievement. If we win the league - well then FM is probably too easy! i doubt we will somehow.

Any thoughts would be good. I will post regularly on here - I wont set any exact timings for posts as sometimes there will be more to say than at others, but I'll probably post about once or twice a day on average (real time) - sometimes more sometimes less.

Oh and if anyone has a save-game editor for FM09, I will put all my "staff" into the game - i'll change the name of my AssMan to reflect the most regular contributor on a regular basis. Get involved and lets have some EurEnglish success!

Sounds ambitious, but if it works it should be brilliant! Consider me in. By save game editor do you mean like FMRTE or just the standard editor?

I think I remember you doing an Arsenal story before with users helping pick players and formations. That was quite entertaining so I'll be reading.

I'm not sure about the changing of the league structure though, I don't think you can re-arrange it so the BSN and BSS don't both flow into the BSP, you should probably run a test game first to check it.

Anything that can change names after the game has started. Great - im now just establishing my current best XI and first-team squad and working out what I need in terms of signings. Conclusions are - and this proves the accuracy of the FM database - that I need a goalkeeper, a centre back and a central midfielder. Might try to clear out some dead wood too - anyone whose CA is close to their PA and yet still under about 165 is under serious threat! I thought Bendtner would come into this category but his PA is in fact 175 so I will probably keep him for now at least. Ramsey, Silvestre, Almunia are the biggest names, but Messrs. Randall, Gibbs and Simpson are similarly under threat.

Ian - yes this is a mixture of that idea and the whole "Super League" idea. I believe I have found a way but if not, its no biggie, it'll just mean that the bottom two tiers run concurrently, thats all.

My current squad - I like to have a very organised squad with 2 players in each outfield position and 3 Gks. This should show in a bit more detail where the squad needs a bit of improvement.

Gk	Almunia	             160
Gk	Fabianski             	135
Gk	Mannone	             98
DL	Clichy	             167
DL	Silvestre	             150
DR	Sagna	             165
DR	Eboue	             148
DC	Toure	             166
DC	Gallas	             168
DC	Song	             136
DC	Djourou	             136
DMC	Denilson	             140
DMC	Diaby	             138
MC	Fabregas	             174
MC	Ramsey	             128
MR	Walcott	             150
MR	Arshavin	             165
ML	Nasri	             158
ML	Rosicky	             160 (Though Vela 138 for the moment as TR injured)
SC	Van Persie	163
SC	Adebayor	             169
SC	Eduardo	             164
SC	Bendtner	             142

Sorry it doesnt line up properly for some reason! I will sometimes post screenshots though it is quite time-consuming so not too often though if anyone wants to request any at any time, go ahead.

Will add updates into this thread for now until more people post or it looks silly with loads of posts from me.

UPDATE *1

Initial bids focus on tried and tested talent, a £10m opening bid for Lyon's Jeremy Toulalan and £18m for Juventus' Giorgio Chiellini, two of the best players in the world. Might be a bit ambitious going for both of them - if i have to compromise and go for a cheaper option in one of those positions, which one should it be, do we think? Either way I wont spend a fortune on the new keeper who is another priority or the extra striker I'd like to get - although Aguero has always done well for me before, I generally find I can get him cheaper in the 2nd season.

UPDATE *2

A quick list of the bids I've made for potential (i.e. big difference between CA and PA) which range from £2.8m to £10m.

Mario Balotelli

Mattia Destro (pre-contract)

Sofiane Feghouli

Sebastian Giovinco

Nikolay Khlebnikov (pre-contract, 15yo regen DC who has the biggest PA in the game)

Mamadou Sakho

GKs:

Vincenzo Fiorillo - bid only £130k in this case

Petr Bures (regen)

Eros Corradini (regen)

What sort of budget limitations are you working with?

When all the wage budget is assigned to the transfer budget, £44m. Of course it will be a little less with the extra wages I'll need to pay but I hope to offload one or two players....

Anyone know of a data editor so i can get you guys into the game?

UPDATE

Take a look at Khlebnikov. Then start salivating...

I'd suggest Fiorillo as your backup GK - Brilliant stats for a young player and a definite choice as a backup to Almunia.

couldn't you just clone Arshavin and play him in every position?

Can we get a screenie of Khlebnikov as well?

Beat you to it Steadfast. See update to last post. I like the look of Fiorillo for sure...and PaulHartman - i could but I have better players than him anyway

Right:

bids rejected:

Balotelli, Toulalan, Fiorillo.

New bids placed for Toulalan and Fiorillo as I really want them if possible but I am just about OK for wingers for now.

bids negotiated:

Sakho: they want just under £20m plus 20% of the sell-on profit. His PA is 183 but I dont know if he's worth that much??

bids accepted:

Giovinco

Feghouli

Chiellini

Will only get one of Giovinco (148/184) or Feghouli (125/189) - do I go for more potential (feg), more current ability (gio), youth (feg) or the cheaper one (feg 5m, gio 9m)??

UPDATES

Accepted a £10m (!) bid for Gallas from Dinamo Kiev which will free up some cash but I will need to sign a genuine replacement as Chiellini wont be enough by himself.

Palace bid £1m initially for a loan of Aaron Ramsey, but only £3.9m as a future fee. I upped the future fee to £7.5m but will happily let him go for that. He's not that good on FM.

First Signing

Young Mattia Destro signs for Arsenal from Inter for an obligatory £1m rising to £2.8m fee. With a PA of 180, he places 5th equal in the PA rankings of the Arsenal squad.

Concentration and Marking could be better, but he is only 15. As a future prospect he's worth a punt. As a short term signing, I'd suggest John Heitinga. He signed for Arsenal in my Utrecht game and has been brilliant:

Steadfast - i know who Heitinga is! Can you get rid of the screenshot as it really clogs up the page! Attach them as links if you have to! Will launch a bid for him however.

Steadfast - i know who Heitinga is! Can you get rid of the screenshot as it really clogs up the page! Attach them as links if you have to! Will launch a bid for him however.

Sorry about that - I just stuck it in in order to show how his stats develop! From now on should I just stick in a link?

TRANSFERS UPDATE

I didnt think about it before clicking - I have now bought both Giovinco and Feghouli which is annoying but oh well. Giovinco will be in front of Vela in the pecking order so I will try to send the Mexican out on loan for the season if possible. Feghouli has the 3rd best PA in the squad but his CA of 125 means he will be left in the reserves for the time being.

Sorry about that - I just stuck it in in order to show how his stats develop! From now on should I just stick in a link?

Yes please! But Heitinga is going to be out of my price range for now.

Sakho is brilliant I would pay 40mill for him.

You will need possibly a new gk, a new dc and a def mid.

SJ - read above, we have established that. I think I'll need to wait another year for a proper replacement for Almunia, but I'm definitely chasing a DC and a DMC. I have upped my Toulalan bid to £14m.

Yes please! But Heitinga is going to be out of my price range for now.

Alright. Well, I know that Feghouli does become a quality player, and Giovinco looks good as well. Looks like you could also do with a decent RB in case Eboue gets injured. Being domestically biased, I'd go for Glen Johnson, but there's always Srna if you're looking to outright replace him, or Micah Richards if you want someone to play at CB and RB.

I have Sagna with Eboue as back-up!! Not needed.

Update

...on the seach for a quality DC - Chiellini got injured and is out for 5 weeks to 2 months and so he failed his medical. Will give it another shot in the last week before the deadline.

For now I've given Man City a tester of £12m for Richards. Would love to sign him as the versatility could come in useful as well as the fact that he's a great defender.

Lyon wanted £29m for Toulalan which i really cannot afford. The search for a DMC continues.

Update

Latest targets (DMC):

Claudio Marchisio of Juventus (149/179). Initial £3.5m bid made.

Mohammed Sissoko of Juventus (165/178). Initial £13m bid made.

Yaya Toure of Barcelona (166/175). Initial £14m bid made. Would be the preferred target for obvious reasons of squad morale.

SJ - read above, we have established that. I think I'll need to wait another year for a proper replacement for Almunia, but I'm definitely chasing a DC and a DMC. I have upped my Toulalan bid to £14m.

To get richards you need to bid at least 25mill+

To get richards you need to bid at least 25mill+

Well if so, he's out of my range. I need a DMC too and have only £29m to spend on those two plus one or two more signings for the future.

Update

...and the Fiorillo bid has been accepted. £1.3m plus something like 30% of the sell-on fee. A good prospect.

...and ditto Marchisio. Khlebnikov's WP obviously was turned down but he should be able to join anyway before being farmed out to Salamanca for a few years! Y Toure bid rejected, but I've put in another bid. But the Sissoko bid was accepted and he's been offered a deal.

...Ramsey has turned down the Palace loan deal, unfortunately.

Oh and cheeky I know, but I've offloaded all my scouts. I know using FM Scout is semi-cheating, but ....

I have Sagna with Eboue as back-up!! Not needed.

Whoops, forgot Sagna for a minute there!

It looks as though the squad is coming together nicely. You could have a go at signing Inler at Udinese. His technical stats are quite good and his physicals are brilliant. Lots of people overlook Work Rate and Teamwork but these can often determine whether or not a player will fit into a team.

And who needs poncey scouts when you've got us!

Press Release - William Gallas

Arsenal FC can today confirm that WILLIAM GALLAS has moved to English Premiership (2nd tier remember) Dinamo Kiev for a fee of £10m. William's tenure as Arsenal captain ended in controversy but all at Arsenal would like to thank him for two years of great service at the club and seeing us through the transition to the World League era. We would like to wish William every success with Kiev.

In response to new captain Cesc Fabregas' concerns over the state of the squad, we would like to reassure fans that we are seeking to replace William with a quality signing within the next 30 days.

Whoops, forgot Sagna for a minute there!

It looks as though the squad is coming together nicely. You could have a go at signing Inler at Udinese. His technical stats are quite good and his physicals are brilliant. Lots of people overlook Work Rate and Teamwork but these can often determine whether or not a player will fit into a team.

And who needs poncey scouts when you've got us!

Ah but that's the assistant manager, not the scout. My scout is the best scout in the world, his name is FM Genie Scout!

Update:

Yaya Toure bid rejected. With the extra money just in from Gallas, I upped it to £18m, and accepted Conference Premier outfit Sparta Prague's bid to take Ramsey on loan for the season.

Any news on a save game editor so that I can recognise the input from my "real" AssMen and put you all in the game?

Press Release - William Gallas

Arsenal FC can today confirm that WILLIAM GALLAS has moved to English Premiership (2nd tier remember) Dinamo Kiev for a fee of £10m. William's tenure as Arsenal captain ended in controversy but all at Arsenal would like to thank him for two years of great service at the club and seeing us through the transition to the World League era. We would like to wish William every success with Kiev.

In response to new captain Cesc Fabregas' concerns over the state of the squad, we would like to reassure fans that we are seeking to replace William with a quality signing within the next 30 days.

It's probably for the best. In my experience Gallas has always imitated real life and wandered around the pitch with his bottom lip out until he was transferred.

Update:

Yaya Toure bid rejected. With the extra money just in from Gallas, I upped it to £18m, and accepted Conference Premier outfit Sparta Prague's bid to take Ramsey on loan for the season.

Any news on a save game editor so that I can recognise the input from my "real" AssMen and put you all in the game?

You could try FMRTE, but I don't know if it will create new players. You could try checking in the Editors Hideaway.

The Toure bid was rejected again so I have given up for now. However, the £1.3m deal for young Fiorillo has now been tied up. A good prospect, and goes straight into the squad as third choice ahead of Mannone.

You could try FMRTE, but I don't know if it will create new players. You could try checking in the Editors Hideaway.

I was thinking of just renaming people like Pat Rice etc rather than creating new ones as I dont want to cheat - i want the AssMen to be the same amount of use. Thinking about it, just giving them nicknames should do it but the editor might be nice to change their actual names?

In case anyone wants to track - my squad (i.e. best 22) currently has a total CA of 3494. It was 3480 when Mannone was 3rd choice but Fiorillo is a bit better.

ARSENAL FC PRESS RELEASE

The club, and manager Luke Hearn, would like to announce the signing of Mohamed Sissoko from Juventus for a fee of £13m and the loan move of Aaron Ramsey to Conference Premiership outfit Sparta Prague. Manager Hearn stated earlier today that "Mohamed will immediately improve the squad. With Ramsey moving out for the season and Momo slotting in, we will dramatically improve the team. Whilst Denilson, Ramsey and Diaby all have a future at the club, I felt it was time to add a little more experience and Momo will provide this, also becoming Fabregas' deputy for the captaincy. Kolo Toure has stepped down as vice-captain, and I would like to thank him for his services, but with a new skipper in Fabregas and myself installed as a new manager, I felt it was time to make changes, and Kolo accepted that gracefully. He will continue to be the first choice centre-back however.

I would like to wish Aaron luck for his season in the Conference Premiership. The Prague side are looking very strong this season and I would be thrilled if Aaron returned at the end of the year after clinching promotion.

Ooh, I didn't think of Sissoko. Sounds like a good signing!

This now brings my squad CA to 3365. However this is misleading as Gallas hasnt been replaced. If Sissoko had joined and Gallas hadnt left, the squad CA would now be up to a healthy 3533. Hopefully we'll get a good replacement in for WG soon. But its proving hard as Chiellini is the outstanding candidate so I will wait until later in August before making a final decision.

Right i need to put various things in order. I have a fairly standard tactics set, all 4-4-2 but i have finely tuned settings for "normal", "attacking" and "defensive". Is there any way to upload a .tac file so you can see it?

Then the other things is training - any tips?

Anyone know how to check how many posts people have made in the thread? Thats how I want to do the naming in the game!

I think as far as tactics go, a 4-1-3-2 utilising Sissoko as holding midfieder and telling your fullbacks to push up is the most successful tactic I've ever used. I'm not sure about how to upload .tac files though.

Result - Friendly

Fulham 0 - 2 Arsenal

I dont play friendlies, especially when I'm Arsenal. Pat Rice takes care of them. Sissoko made a solid debut, as did Nasri and Silvestre who of course are new players too. Van Persie got injured 34 minutes in, having already scored, and his replacement, Nicklas Bendtner, got the 2nd on the stroke of half time and managed to claim the Man of the Match award despite only playing for an hour. Get in Nik!

I'd rather stick to using wingers, as Arshavin, Nasri, Walcott, Rosicky and Giovinco is quite a deadly line up. Not to mention Vela and Feghouli in the reserves.

Juventus' Paolo De Ceglie is my latest target. He's a left back, but I'm planning on using him as cover for Clichy and moving Silvestre to be first choice centre back. It's not ideal as Silvestre's CA is only 150, but if I cant get a proper DC I'd rather get a long term decent DL.

Right - quick reply required here. Pitch size? Never know what to do with this.

Options:

102x65

105x68

100x64

102x68

If you're going to use wingers, it's best to put it at maximum width. I don't think length particularly matters, so I'd go for 105x68

Thank you

Result

Helmond Sport 1 - 7 Arsenal

An 18-minute hat-trick from Nik Bendtner continued the Dane's fantastic form. Might be hard to ignore him at the start of the season. By half-time, both centre Song and Silvestre had added to the goals, but Mickael's goal was at the wrong end, making it 4-1.

Tom Janssen extended our lead with another OG on 62 before Seb Giovinco scored his first goal on 70 and when a penalty was awarded to Arsenal with just 11 minutes to go, substitute Carlos Vela stroked home for his 6th goal of pre-season. He's started two and come on as a substitute twice. Some return! Vela and Bendtner on this form might provide some selection headaches....any thoughts?

On the CSE forum page, click on the Replies number to see who has posted in the topic.

I'd say a wide pitch if you plan on using wingers, and long if you have lots of fast players.

Well if so, he's out of my range. I need a DMC too and have only £29m to spend on those two plus one or two more signings for the future.

Update

...and the Fiorillo bid has been accepted. £1.3m plus something like 30% of the sell-on fee. A good prospect.

...and ditto Marchisio. Khlebnikov's WP obviously was turned down but he should be able to join anyway before being farmed out to Salamanca for a few years! Y Toure bid rejected, but I've put in another bid. But the Sissoko bid was accepted and he's been offered a deal.

...Ramsey has turned down the Palace loan deal, unfortunately.

Oh and cheeky I know, but I've offloaded all my scouts. I know using FM Scout is semi-cheating, but ....

Fazio as Cb and veloso dm.

It's hard to decide on the two based on the friendlies, but I'd select Bendtner first out of personal preference:)

Well done Silvestre

Arsenal sign two defenders

Arsenal manager Luke Hearn brought in his 6th and 7th players of the summer last night as Nikolay Khlebnikov was signed from Spartak Moscow for £4.1m while Hearn's raid on Turin went up a notch with Paolo De Ceglie becoming the 3rd player to make the switch from Turin to the Emirates Stadium this summer. Hearn appeared in a bouyant mood as he announced the signings. "That could be that" he said when asked if he'd be making any further signings. It is thought Hearn sees De Ceglie as cover for Gael Clichy, a role previously filled by Mikael Silvestre, who could make the move to centre-back after William Gallas' exit. A deal for another Juve player, Giorgio Chiellini, is believed to have hit the rocks after the player failed a medical recently.

Khlebnikov may need to be loaned out to Arsenal's associates at some point as, coming from outside the EU, he would require a work permit to play for the Gunners. However, FIFA regulations preclude loan deals for players on youth contracts, meaning Khlebnikov will be unable to make such a move yet, as he is still only 15. Of the seven signings Hearn has made since he took over earlier this month, it is believed only Mohamed Sissoko will feature regularly for the first team this season.