Who's your No.5?

In my endless quest to populate this forum with inane and pointless threads, I thought I'd find out who is wearing the no.5 shirt in each person's game?

Feel free to post a screenshot if you like. Tell us a little about him. Do you love him? Does he let you down? Is he a makeweight?

Share with us, if you will, your current FM no.5.

Currently my left back is wearing number 5 as my defensive left winger is wearing the number 3.

My left back is amazzy.

Here's mine:

His average rating doesn't seem to do justice to how useful he's been. One of my most important players.

You do come up with some random threads, but it keeps the forum interesting and they are much better to read than some of the rubbish around here.

I haven't started a game on FM12 yet, but when I do it will be D Agger because he wears 5 at Liverpool.

In my FM11 game I played 20 seasons, D Agger started with 5, then it went to Danny Wilson, Sergio Perez and finally Sebastien Martinez, a cracking young DC from Argentina.

Halford continues to pair Rocha in my Pompey team in Season 3

Very consistant and great when attacking the far post with corners aimed at the far post

I've always liked giving the no.5 to a midfielder. But I hate CBs wearing 2 or 3. Doesn't look right. My current no.3 is a centre-back, though.

But anyway, this isn't about no.3s!

Kadar Mangane, captain of my Champions Cup (league) Stade Rennais side . He gets too many yellow cards

My number 5 was sold in the first transfer window so I have not reallocated the number yet- will probably be my first choice DC though.

Daniel Agger, defensive stalwart and 4th name on the team sheet (mainly because I start with the goalkeeper and work my way down), doesn't get injured half as much as he does in the real world.

#4 is my first-choice right back. I don't like the traditional numbering system that is based on a 2-3-5 formation; I give #2 to the left back, 3 and 4 to the DCs and so on.

#4 is my first-choice right back. I don't like the traditional numbering system that is based on a 2-3-5 formation; I give #2 to the left back, 3 and 4 to the DCs and so on.

But who wears your no.5 shirt?

FM11 - Season 2021/22 - Lazio

My no 5 is 31yo Turkish international DC Serdar Aziz. He is more of a rotation DC getting around 20 odd appearances each season and although a regular in the Turkey squad he tends to be on the bench a lot.

Here's mine.

He hasn't played a single game yet and I doubt he will as he's my 4th choice CB, but hey ho, I don't seem to be getting any injuries.

My number 5 at Zamalek is my DMC.

Sess is awful in the EPL for my Sunderland side.

Sess is awful in the EPL for my Sunderland side.

Greek league is really not very good. Sessegnon doesn't boss the midfield. I have Katsouranis alongside him to do that. But Sessegnon is good going forward. We're better with him than without him.

But who wears your no.5 shirt?

okay, FWIW, Jonathan Hendrix (in my head, 'Jimi'), a 16 year old regen Belgian wingback.

Greek league is really not very good. Sessegnon doesn't boss the midfield. I have Katsouranis alongside him to do that. But Sessegnon is good going forward. We're better with him than without him.

I never got the best out of him at Sunderland, I also signed him for Crawley in the Championship his debut he scored twice and assisted another. After that I don't think he scored again and I left.

Vurnon Anita wears the no 5 shirt for my ajax team. just started the save though so will probably change when i have to assign squad numbers

I never got the best out of him at Sunderland, I also signed him for Crawley in the Championship his debut he scored twice and assisted another. After that I don't think he scored again and I left.

Don't think I've done too badly when you look at what I paid for him.

Ron Vlaar captain of Feyenoord.

Don't think I've done too badly when you look at what I paid for him.

Not bad at all, I got him for free at Crawley on 2k a week in 2015. One of many players that seem to never find a club on FM.

On my Gundo save with Grazer AK, my number 5 is my right back Emir Dilaver. Very important for the team.

Emir Dilaver

Vurnon Anita. Just started a Ajax save, so this will probably change

Usually first choice CB

Whoever plays LCB, there is no registration of numbers in the Northern Irish 2nd Division! Usually Michael Fitzpatrick or Derek Tyrrell for my Brantwood team.

Ryan Shawcross at Spurs. But that's later on, can't recall for sure who wore it originally, may have been Dawson.

My number 5 is Willy Boly, my first choice RCB for Malaga. He scores quite a few goals, I like him.

I never pay attention to squad numbers, but;

#5 is always my right sided centre half.

I don't have OCD, I swear.

A regen LCB called Zdenek Zima. His been in and out of the team a bit but mostly in for the last five years. He was very fast but his getting on now and this will be his last season at Colchester.

It was Zabaleta, but I've since sold him. Probably won't have a 5 for now as David Luiz will likely take the 6 vacated by Lescott. Could move Savic down into 5, but I dislike moving non-firstteamers into 1-11 shirts.

Aymen Mathlouthi

He was a big money signing brought in to be my star defender. He's probably about 4th or 5th choice now, he won't get the No.5 shirt next season.

changed it about a bit to try get more information in without filling up people on smaller monitors, he's played more than the apps thing indicates, he's first choice in my continental games, was FM2011 this, I havent played much of either FM since 2012 came out.

I forgot to paste in that he signed for me for £8M , he has a total transfer cost over his career of £12.4M So he's been reasonably cheap, and he's performed well since he came over. He plays both for my Brazil and Truro side.

And yes, I'm weird and always have right backs as 5 (and left backs as 2).

...whoever the fifth player listed on my squad is.

I can't remember if Vidic or Ferdinand has #5 for me. Ferdninand hasn't played much for me in my second season though, so it'll probably go to Phil Jones next season, as he'll be my first choice DCL (Ballplaying Defender - Cover).

Danny Simpson (Defender Right) and playing really well for NUFC in there 1st season, averaging 7.16. 18 full appearances and 5 subs.

Nemanja Vidić for me in the second and third season after Rio who had it in the first season. One of my best players in these three seasons. I love Vida.

Ryan Shawcross at Middlesbrough.

At Elgin City my #5 is whoever goes in a LCB, currently Paul Kaczan. Didn't rate him in pre-season (heading: 6!) and signed a replacement - who immediately got injured - and Kaczan has since been an undroppable ever-present.

Meet Claudio Abbate.

Abbate is a centre-back born in the commune of Zelo Buon Persico in Northern Italy. He signed for local side Cremonese as a youngster but I snapped him up in 2079 for a compensation fee of £170k. He wasn't the tallest nor most aggressive of centre-backs but he was a very quick and decisive centre-back for his age, partnering with fellow regen Martin Grant - they've been a perfect foil for each other, as Grant is a pure destroyer while Abbate reads the game better and covers.

He made his debut in the Italian Cup first round some time in December at the age of 18 in 2080 as a substitute, and made a further 3 appearances (1 start, two substitute appearances) that season. His development over the previous 2 seasons had been staggering - Marseille begged to take him on loan the very next season (2081-82) - off he went and made 42 appearances (33 in the league), scoring 3 goals (2 in the league) and getting 10 man-of-the-match awards (9 in the league). The only bad spots were his two red cards (both in the league). However, to make 42 full appearances by the age of 20 was extremely impressive.

Relegation strugglers Chievo next took him out on loan, where he made 28 appearances, scored one goal and made one assist - Chievo stayed up with 4 points to go (they came last the very next season - correlation does not imply causation, but...).

His development had continued, and he was now an outstanding defender for his age. I took a gamble and threw him into the fire the very next season - marking an admirable 39 appearances (34 starts), scoring one goal and getting an average rating of 7.15, which was solid for a young centre-back. He carried on where he left off last season, with 45 appearances (41 starts), 3 goals and average rating 7.27. Unfortunately, he developed an annoying habit of getting injured in the next 3 seasons, with only 33, 35 and 29 appearances, before returning to 39.

He's been a steady, if unspectacular, defender and is a better foil for the other 3 "brutes" that I have at centre-back than any other pairing. He plays on the left-sided centre-back role most of the time as my left-back enjoys rampaging up and down the wing more than my right-back, and Abbate's extra speed is often essential. He does have an annoying habit of getting booked, however, and has picked up more red cards than anyone else in the last few seasons in my team - however, he has never given me grief over new contracts or lack of playing time.

He's my fourth-choice captain (likely to be 3rd or even vice-captain next season) at the moment.

I've done the quadruple a million times consecutively or something, so it only makes sense to look at his national team achievements - two European Championships, one Confederations Cup and one World Cup runners-up. Barring injury, he will be playing in the World Cup this season and Italy have a very good chance of winning it - he's 1 of 11 Triestina players in the Italian national team (another 2 have been with Triestina for a substantial amount of time in the past), and it's safe to say that he is amongst the key players for club and country.

Sometimes I do wish he didn't lose so many headers against beanpoles, where he ends up fouling someone most of the time instead... But that is nitpicking for an classy defender who will be remembered fondly for his club and country when he retires.

Number 5: Claudio Abbate

Just finishing my first season with Chelsea so...Essien. I think he'll be leaving me in the summer though as his talent has been decimated by his injury. I'll then give the number 5 to the next awesome center back I sign. Maybe Papadopoulos or Sakho this summer.

My old No.5 - he left me two seasons ago now I think.

Ryan Shawcross for Spurs

Kingsley Ojo, Regen.

A German regen CB called Marcel Lemke. Bought him for £19.5m at the age of 17 and he's been the heart of my defence for the last 5 years. Would post a screenshot but I don't have my computer with FM at my house.

The fantastically-named Terry Berry has just signed for the Tricky Trees on a Bosman, after six seasons on the fringes at Bolton.

If your last name's Berry, given the great breadth of male first names available to you, steer clear of Terry.

In October 2015 and it's still Fernando Amorebieta in my Athletic save.

He had a long-term injury in my first season and his attributes fell off massively and he hasn't been the same player since. I've been trying to offload him ever since (especially because I have loads of quality young CBs), but he refuses to go out on loan and the only offers I get for him are loan offers from Segunda Division B teams.

I'm not one for standard number systems. For example my current number 3 is a central midfielder/right wing back, my number 9 also a central midfielder, number 10 a left winger and number 8 a left-back. I never assign 12 or 13 (unless necessary) - 12 'for the fans' and 13 because it's considered unlucky in many countries, although it doesn't bother me personally.

Anyway, my number 5 - Kyrylo Doroshenko, a Ukrainian attacking-minded central midfielder. Not first-choice but usually the guy to slot in whenever one of my two starting MCs in unavailable, although he managed 28 games last season. He's not spectacular by any means but has good mental attributes, you can always count on him to put a shift in. Never really has a storming game, consistently okay. You'd be worried if you had to depend on him to create for your team but nevertheless a useful squad filler. Started his career at Shakhtar but only ever turned out for their reserve teams, had loan spells at Stal Alchevsk and Zirka before joining Olimpic Donetsk in 2010, where he still remains.

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I have two saves. That first one which is only a season in and a second at Krasnodar in Russia, four seasons old. My number 5 is Gia Grigalava, a left-back purchased for £750k from Volga NN upon their relegation from Prem'er Liga. Very solid acquisition, no real weaknesses at all. Has capabilities to get forward on the overlap too, although my tactical setup doesn't allow for that too often. Defensively sound, also able to play as a centre-back and performs well in that position. Previously turned out for Rostov, SKA Rostov and Moscow before joining Volga NN. After an excellent debut season for me at Krasnodar I'm doing my best to fight off interest from Sunderland and several Serie A clubs.

My number 9 is now retrained as an MC after spending 7 seasons swapping throughout the wings