FM 2008: Official Wolves Thread - Home to Morgan's Millions

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. are an English football club playing at Molineux Stadium. Usually referred to by a shortened version of its name, Wolves, the club is known in the UK for its distinctive team colours and long history.

Molineux Stadium is situated on Waterloo Road and has four stands, three named after players who have become legendary at the club - Billy Wright, Steve Bull and Stan Cullis and one after a former director called Jack Harris. The John Ireland Stand (now the Steve Bull Stand) was built in the late 1970s, the other three stands were added in the early 1990s.

The European Cup competition itself was brought about due to Wolves playing against top European sides in the 1950s. They were founder members of the Football League and before the outbreak of World War I they had won the FA Cup twice. But Wolves really established themselves as a top side under the management of Stan Cullis after the Second World War. They were league champions three times and FA Cup winners twice between 1949 and 1960. Wolves have yet to match the successes of the Stan Cullis era, although they did contest the UEFA Cup final in 1971 against Tottenham Hotspur and won the League Cup in 1974 under Bill McGarry and again in 1980 under John Barnwell. Since 1984 they have spent just one season in the top division.

On 9 August 2007, businessman Steve Morgan finally completed a protracted takeover of the club for £10 in return for a £30million investment into the club, ending Sir Jack Hayward's 17 year reign. After last season's surprising play-off finish, manager Mick McCarthy has stated that this season "automatic promotion has to be the aim". The club have strengthened by signing the likes of Freddy Eastwood, Stephen Elliott and Michael Gray, but were rocked by the news that goalkeeper Matt Murray - who had only just recovered from a broken shoulder - will miss 6 months of the campaign after suffering a knee injury in pre-season training.

First Team Squad

1 GK Matt Murray

2 DF Darren Ward

3 DF Neill Collins

4 MF Seyi George Olofinjana

5 DF Gary Breen (Captain)

6 DF Jody Craddock

7 MF Michael Kightly

8 MF Karl Henry

9 FW Andy Keogh

10 FW Jay Bothroyd

11 FW Stephen Ward

12 DF Rob Edwards

14 MF Darren Potter

15 DF Mark Little

16 MF Mark Davies

17 MF Matthew Jarvis

18 MF Stephen Gleeson

19 FW Stephen Elliott

20 DF Charlie Mulgrew

22 MF Lewis Gobern

23 FW Freddy Eastwood

25 GK Graham Stack (on loan from Reading)

29 MF Kevin O'Connor

30 GK Carl Ikeme

31 GK Wayne Hennessey

32 DF Kevin Foley

33 DF Michael Gray

34 MF Martin Riley

35 DF Elliott Bennett

36 DF Lee Collins

38 MF Mark Salmon

39 MF Dénes Rósa

40 FW Liam Hughes

41 MF Matthew Bailey

-- DF Keith Lowe (on loan to Port Vale)

Academy under 18s squad

GK Billy Lumley

GK Richard Wooley

DF Tom Spalding

DF Peter Williams

DF Scott Malone

DF Danny Batth

DF Fungandel Moke

MF Michael Wardle

MF David Davis

MF Kyle Bennett

MF Alex Melbourne

MF Fabruce Kasiama

MF David Ijaha

MF Artistote Guerin-Lokonga

Sam Winnall

James Davis

Ashley Hemmings

Marcel Tulloch

Club Information

Year Founded: 1877

Status: Professional

Reputation: National

Chairman Status: Chris Morgan - Loves the club

Favoured Personnel: Matt Murray, Robbie Keane

Fierce Rivals: West Brom

Other Rivals: Birmingham, Aston Villa, Walsall, Stoke

Finances: Okay

Estimated Value: £13m

Stadium: Molineux, Wolverhampton

Stadium Capacity: 28525 all seater with under-soil heating

Pitch Dimaentions: Length - 107m, Width - 68m

Reserve Stadium: New Bucks Head, Telford

Training Facilities: Top training facilities

Youth Facilities: Good youth facilities + Youth academy

Media Prediction: 4th

Squad Average Age: 23

Squad Personality: Loyal

Captain: Gary Breen

Time to take Wolves back where they belong!

Weak Areas

The left flank is the main weakness in the side. Jarvis wont be back to fitness for a few months and he's not a natural left footer if thats what youre looking for. At left back, Gray's physical stats will be on the decrease and he will be no good by next season. Charlie Mulgrew isnt good enough defensively so cover will be needed here too.

There is no traditional target man in the team either, so if youre planning on using your formation around one, you will need to bring a new one in.

Players to go?

Bothroyd - doesnt bring anything to the team, and can be replaced for a target man.

Gobern - just doesnt cut it and is always injured. Lots of lower teams are willing to buy him for under £100k.

Rosa - doesnt have the physical or mental stats, doesnt really fit into the team.

Craddock - his stats are on the down. Good in real life, doesnt do it in this game.

Clapham - can sell him off early too to a lower club. Not needed at all, not good enough.

Loans Out

Mark Little - can be a bit fussy, but he could do with some experience if he's not in your first team.

Stephen Gleeson - not good enough at the start but has some potential. Let him go get some games.

Stephen Ward - he's already listed for loan. His stats will improve after a few games and could turn into a handy goal scorer when he comes back

Possible Targets

First off, the left flank! Here are a few suggestions;

Lee Martin - Man Utd, loan

Adam Johnson - Middlesbrough, loan

Kyel Reid - West Ham, loan

Others to look at;

Chris Eagles AMRC- Man Utd, loan

Matias Almeyda DM - FREE

Nacer Barazite AM - Arsenal, £60k

David Thompson AMRC - FREE

Darron Gibson MC - Man Utd, loan

Danny Simpson DR - Man Utd, loan

Zdravko Zdravkov GK - FREE

Jose Francisco Molina GK - FREE

Eric Addo DC, DM - FREE (gotta be quick)

Mika Aaritalo AMRL, ST - Turun Palloseura, £100k max

Feel free to keep on adding to these

Woop a thread for my local team!

Nice posts! Havn't started a season with them yet but hopefully soon!

I saw a lot of people in the Championship thread playing as Wolves, so decided its about time we had our own!

I still only have the demo currently so it would be good to get some people involved and help with more transfer information etc

Im currently having great success with Wolves so i'll post some results and team pics later on.

I havn't checked them out much tbf.

Had a glimpse at a few of the players but not the money side.. How much do we start off with this year?

Depending on the expectations you set, you get between £550k and £750k i think. Remember that most of the money has gone towards Eastwood, Ward and Elliot this summer. You can still get a good £2m or so if you add to it from the wages.

Quick update from me, end of October 07

The league table looks like this: (please work please work please work)

<pre>| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Wolves | | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 6 | +20 | 38 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Charlton | | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 9 | +10 | 28 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Leicester | | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 12 | +10 | 26 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Preston | | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 16 | +12 | 24 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Watford | | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 25 | 16 | +9 | 24 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Hull | | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 25 | 19 | +6 | 23 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Everythings going really well and most games are comfortable. The fans are pleased with my signing of Almeyda Keogh is a goal machine! He scores screamers, he runs past half the team, he creates loads, he runs the wings, he does everything except score a normal simple goal! But he's still on his way to 20 a season

Ive dropped Freddie Eastwood for Stephen Elliot. Eastwood wasnt really doing it, too lazy Elliot seems to be a more consistent goalscorer for me, and keeps scoring long shots too! So he's earnt his place in the team.

Olofinjana was injured for 4 months in my first game. Mark Davies came in and has played great, scoring and creating lots. Just needs a bit of consistency. Danny Simpson on loan is injured, Michael Gray is suspended and playing rubbish anyway, Almeyda got injured, Edwards got injured, Barazite got injured, Ward got injured...

But all in all its going peachy, and im already on the look for Premiership quality targets next season. The defence will need a revamp, and just need a proper target man and a box to box midfielder who can stick his foot in.

sooooo the league table didnt quite work

you can still make it out tho

C'mon, where are the Wolves fans?

What squad is everyone playing with?

Currently im using a 4-1-3-2, team as follows:

GK - Zdravko Zdravkov

DR - Danny Simpson

DC - Rob Edwards

DC - Gary Breen

DL - Michael Gray

DM - Matias Almeyda

MCr - Darren Potter

MC - Seyi Olofinjana

MCl - Charlie Mulgrew

FC - Stephen Elliot

FC - Andy Keogh

Olofinjana is the playmaker with full creativity and mixed passing, everyone else on 1 passing. Keogh is the target man with hold up ball ticked, target man supply to feet. The two outer MC's are basically box to box runners. They have side arrows, maximum closing down and forward runs often, putting in occasional crosses too.

Michael Kightly is being re-trained to MC as he doesnt fit in very well. He's ok for home games as his pace and movement getting forward always helps. But he cant tackle and he has low stamina so he's not a starter for my team.

GK - Wayne Hennessey

DL - Michael Grey

DC - Gary Breen (Captain)

DC - Lee Collins

DR - Kevin Foley

DM - Charlie Mulgrew

MC - Darren Potter

MC - Mark Davies

FL - Andy Keogh / Freddy Eastwood

FC - Stephen Elliott

FR - Michael Kightly

Thats the basic formation I'm using currently. I'll start off by saying the real surprises for me were Foley as right back as really good overlapping with Kightly, he needs some work but he plays fairly consistant. Davies and Potter are really hard working but they tire quickly, i rely heavily on closing down, and I guess with a 2man midfield you are going to struggle with them running round like headless chickens at times.

Just getting to January and Top of the league to Sheffield in 2nd place by 5-6 points, we had a bad run of like 6 draws in a row, but managed to turn it round with a 4-2 win at sheff utd.

Overall am happy with Elliott man he really bangs the goals in, top goalscorer for me by a long way, and I have to say the wolves attacking mentality really suits this open 4-3-3 style with the sitting deep anchor. It's a slight variation on the 433 Intense thats in the Liverpool tactics section.

In Daniel Jones and Kevin Foley you have the left back right back attacking minded but also defensive capable, they have pace and can mark wingers out the game. With Micheal Grey slowly taking the back seat to Jones and Foley likewise with Edwards.

Major concerns are Goalkeeper, didnt see it as an issue long term with Matt Murray returning Soon hehe and therefore didnt go with a long term big name signing player.

Real team for the future, players of the year have to be Charlie Mulgrew keeping Olofinjana out the team, Stephen Elliot top goalscorer and really first choice over Freddy Eastwood.

Yeah i agree about Foley, especially after a few weeks when his stats will start to increase. Seems to be a steady player, doesnt make too many mistakes.

Hows Daniel Jones been doing for you? On 07, he was amazing for me at DL in the Premiership! The game seems to favour pace so he did well. Same as Mark Little. His stats arent the greatest, but he has pace and tackling so he seems to do well.

Mulgrew has been playing well for me too in midfield. I think thats his best position in the game, almost as a sitting playmaker cus he likes to try long range passes. He's my top assister so far and he's slowly getting better with more games under his belt.

Have just started as Wolves, am about 4 games in and sitting in third place.

Playing the 4-1-3-2 formation which seems to work quite well.

I loaned in Martin (left wing from Man U) and a young Scandinavian centre half from Arsenal (not in front of home computer at the moment so can't post the name) to add a bit of pace to the pack line.

Also got Molina GK for a free as Henessey seems a bit raw to cover until Murray is fit again.

Will post updates on how I'm doing as i go along.

Elliot is on fire and partners well with Keogh. I am working on Keogh's finishing as he seems to get a lot of chances but misses most (the opposite of Elliot)

Martin is playing very well on the left with Kightly on the right. Use big George in the centre with Henry at DM.

All going ok at the moment but being wolves, i'm sure I'll mess it up at some stage.

How are you guys progressing?

Yeah Daniel Jones starts out on loan, and so I played pretty much the whole season with Grey at LB.

I managed to get wolves promoted in 2nd spot to southampton, last game of the season I was ahead by 1 point and played away to Burnley, told the media it was no problem, and lost 3-0 last time I play mind games I swear..

Transfer budget for this season was ranging from 14million if you pick battle bravely against relegation, to about 28million if you pick champions of premier league. Bareing in mind the odds of winning it were 1000-1 I decided to go with respectable mid table finish and got around 20million budget. All got blown on 3 big name Brazilian under 21s GK LB and DM.

First couple of games so far I think its going to be a very long season...

Man City - Lost 3-1

Everton - Lost 2-0

Liverpool - Lost 3-2

Chelsea - Lost 2-0

Next game is Man Utd away, talk about a bad start to the season, my players morale has hit rock bottom, and I'm wondering if all the teams in the premier league are going to walk all over me.

Upon promotion you really need to look at:

1x Goal Keeper

2x Centre Backs

1x Left Back.

Wayne Hennessey becomes natural choice keeper over Matt Murray or atleast did for me, but neither can cut it in the premiership. There are a couple of options available, I'd recomend the young Mexican goalkeeper everyone is raving about bringing him in first season and getting him to adapt to the game, ready for season 2.

Defense was a bit hit and miss all last season, this was party to do with my Tactics defending to far up the pitch and asking Gary Breen to chase down that pacey 17 year old striker is never really going to work. If you are intent on keeping Gary breen in the squad at least for the first season you are going to need to have a very deep Defensive line. Jack Hobbs young DC from Liverpool can be got for a season long loan which I turned into a permenant deal at the start of the premiership campaign.

Now to the left back, this is a natural difficult decision, am a big fan of Daniel Jones ingame and out, but he simply isnt premiership standard, and truth be told, if you dont play Foley all season in the Championship he wont be premiership standard either. So you left with a tough choice, either as soon as daniel jones returns from loan you stick him in the first team and get him upto standard, or you go with buying in a replacement, I went with the 2nd option and bought Gullerme (Spell check am at work) Cant really judge him so far as I've been mullered every game, but on the post match key players I think he has been mine every time.

Be all and end all don't expect the premiership to be a walk in the park, and don't blow the money on 3 big name players, as it can sometimes be a step too far. Slowly build up the players going with Tried and tested premiership players with contracts expired to beef up the squard. Christian Dailly can be got on a free at the end of the 1st season and would recommend him as a good CB.

So anyway back to my game, I'll stress the key to premiership survival is to plant the seeds of development into the players beforehand, and dont aim too high with your signings when you get there.

One more thing on Mark Davies.

He becomes an awesome player, touted as the next Paul Scholes (Spelling again)

And his stats really come on leaps and bounds, all it takes are consistent place in first team good coaches, and training regime. Wolves training ground is really reflected well in this season.

I let george go on a free, Charlie Mulgrew is the future and stat wise he was easily one of my strongest players. I did bring in a young 20 year old brazil player again at DM but its strictly rotation basis, even though he cost me around 5million.

Some good advice there I should be getting the full game today or tomorrow so i can start my game again, and now have some idea of what i'll need to change upon promotion, start looking for targets early on.

And im happy with the money you were given! On 07 i remember i got about £5m for the Premiership, so its nice to get a big war chest this time.

Yeah I have to say with around 14 mill to spend to battle bravely you could easily rebuild the squad, you get around 200k per week to spend on wages as well.

One thing to note, is the money you get is based on TV Revenue, but this is given on a monthly basis. So with a low bank balance like wolves have, you can very easily find yourself in the red, so if possible dont blow all the money all at once, try to offer it in installments. That way the board wont put pressure on you due to being in the red.

Hi all fellow Wolves fans.

I managed auto promotion in my second season just missing out loosing in the playoffs in first season.

Some players i brought in well worth looking at are

GK - Darryl Flahavan brought from Southend for 200k and what a buy has been solid and still going in the prem

Also Quinton Fortune got Free from Bolton getting on a bit but still a cracking player with loads of assists, played mostly as a attacking wing back.

also my first season Andrew Keogh was top goalscorer

Eastwood took a while but keep playing him every so often he will improve over time, hes now top scorer in my team in the Prem.

Was Struggling in the Prem until i tryed the 4213 McNugget tactic posted on this forum somewhere and WoW beating leaders Liverpool 4-1 on first try.

So happy hunting

Sie

Im STILL waiting for my game to be delivered, so i dont wanna be posting season updates yet as i'll be starting a new game soon anyway.

But ive just been looking around for cheap defenders as I dont rate Collins or Ward, Craddock isnt good enough in game, and Edwards is starting to make a lot of mistakes for me.

I came across Paul Quinn from Motherwell for £250k. He's not much better than Collins or Ward, but he's only 22 and has got 16 pace Also Darren Barr from Falkirk for about the same price. Good all round centre back and also 22. Bit of versatility too.

These two are worth a look for the Championship, and hopefully they'll improve with age too.

Ok so my game was just delivered!

Now i can have a good scout around on the large database and i'll come back with any finds. Im gunna run the English, Italian, Spanish and Swedish leagues so i have a bit of variety.

Time to take Wolves back up finally

I've gone for English only down to bottom conference.

So far am in second behind Scunthorpe So going well although the fans don't seem to like a couple of my signings even though they are playing ok.

Typical Wolves I guess.

Started my full Wolves game now. Pretty much did everything the same as the demo. Im playing a 4-1-3-2 and so far my transfers are:

Players in:

Danny Simpson - loan

Matias Almeyda - Free

Nacer Barazite - £50k

Paul Quinn - £230k

Zravko Zdravkov - Free

Lauro Dalla Valle - Free

Jonathan Evans rejected my loan and Arsenal rejected Armand Traore's, and im currently negotiating over Darren Barr. They orignally asked for £500k but now thats gone up to £1m Im also waiting to see if Mihelic choses us after agreeing a transfer for £100k

Players out:

Kevin O'Connor - £10k + sell on fee

Lewis Gobern - £20k + sell on fee

Jamie Clapham - £20k

And ive got Collins, Darren Ward, Bothroyd, Rosa and Craddock on the transfer list

In one of my pre season games i beat Fenerbache 2-0, later saying "Wolves fans bombarded radio and TV phone-ins with calls praising their manager for his 'tactical genius'." I think they like me already

Just a quick update now the trandfer window has closed.

I got Darren Barr for £600k as defensive cover, and got Ken Fagerberg (swedish league is loaded in my game) as a young target man for £350k.

In the other direction, I sold Jay Bothroyd to Swansea for £250k up front with £250k over 24 months, Lee Collins has gone out on loan, and I just sold Rob Edwards to Milwall for £400k

My games are going well too, especially with Olofinjana who has scored 4 goals in 4 games

Results:

W 3-0 Scunthorpe (H)

W 1-0 Bristol Rovers, cup (H)

W 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday (A)

W 2-1 Ipswich (H)

W 2-0 Leeds, cup (A)

The defence is rarely tested but I could do with a higher work rate from my midfield. Im making good quality chances but my strikers are all donkeys in this game! Thank god for good ol' George Hopefully the goals will come as my team gel.

Update to my season at present

Well I turned a corner, I'm now 20 games into my 2nd season and am 10th in the premiership, out playing the majority of teams with possession and chances.

Over Achieving in everyones eyes, and yes there are still some losses to arsenal and the like but realistically I would not be expecting to beat them till maybe my 4th or 5th season in the premiership when I'm going for the title.

It's certainly possible to go for european finish in the premiership in the first season so keep that in mind when requesting your transfer budget upon promotion. Its all about confidence and how you feel about your team, but dont expect to walk over teams every team puts up a real fight in the premiership

I had a real look at the coaches and assistant manager trying to get every department to atleast 5 stars, the earlier you develop your training regime the earlier you get the results but with the limited budget available at the start of season one, I'd recommend waiting till premiership status as you will then attract better coaches, bog standard training was 3-4 stars and with some ammendmants and new people brought in I got this to 5-7 stars.

Roberto - DM - Awesome player, 7million purchase doing very well. Wonderkid

Alex - AM RLC S - Got at christmas in first season for under 500k, a Must. Real Madrid boss is now coming to my games and keeps singing his praise, its just after christmas and I have rejected 2x 10 million bids, and set asking price at 25 million and 4 clubs are still interested... Wonderkid

Anthony Gardner - Great Centre back, got for next to nothing from tottenham at the start of 2nd season and he does really well for me

What you mentioned about the higher work rate from the midfield, I found Mark Davies and Darren Potter to be roughly the same, bringing a DM to bolster the Midfield in tougher games or where the opposition play a diamond amc its really worth it. Theres always the debate regarding I wont change my tactics to match the team, but I personally found open attacking football against the likes of Arsenal to be suicide, you have to adjust your playstyle perhaps only a small amount, but its suicide to think you will play Chelsea off the pitch when you see the stars they have at their disposal, also the AI adapts easily to your playstyle if you keep it the same, so I have 3-4 tactics that I use depending on the opposition the differences are minimal on paper but they do make a huge difference in the field.

Good luck in your campaign golden army

Just been scouting around a little bit, tying to find cheapish players who are interesting in signing. Found a couple who can add to the squad:

Martin Latka - DC from Slavia Prague

Dusan Svento - AML from Slavia Prague for loan

Tomas Oklestek - AML from Brno

Colin Nish - ST, cheap target man from Kilmarnock, can get goals too

Also Luis Jimenez is extremely interested in signing for me even tho he's playing for Inter on loan and costs a fair bit. Maybe a target for next season then, add a good bit of quality to the side.

Well its just gettin to the start of my 3rd season.

Finished 10th in Premier last season and thought it was a good result.

Start of this season I get an offer for Felipe my goalkeeper 10 million and the board auto accept, then i get an offer of 9 million for jack hobbs and board auto accept...

So now I am very much in the dundrums, if the board wouldnt of accepted those bids I could of pushed for top 5, because they have I fear I'm going to be taking a step backwards rather than forwards.

I have a lot of good players in the team, and if the board are constantly going to go over my head then I wish I hadn't turned down that West Ham Job offer.

So guys watch out for that Steve Morgan will accept an offer over 8-9 million for anyone pretty much

CaMeL_UK - thanks for the heads up i'll bear that in mind when people start coming in for my players. will have to make sure i have various backup targets ready.

ryjoco - that glitch is great! just managed to sell Craddock for £100k straight away even tho no one was interested in him. can get some of the wages down now by selling off the dead wood.

Good tips guys thanks.

I am currently in the end of January and am 10 points clear at the top.

Elliot and Keogh are on fire with Eastwood and Boothroyd as backup.

As I stated before I loaned in Martin (AML) from Man Utd and he does a fairly good job as a fill in measure. I loaned (with a purchase clause) a young centre back from Arsenal called Nordtveit he's only 17 and improves a shedload whilst getting first team football. I have just made his signing permanent for £500k, he adds some much needed pace to the back line (are you listening Mick?)

Also followed Cereal_Dave's advise and got Matias Almeyda on a free at the beginning of the season, he is consistent and is good balance to the midfield. Lastly I got Molina (GK) on a free who is rock steady.

I need to do some serious scouting for next year assuming I don't choke before the end of the year.

Ahh a Wolves thread..

Have started my first 08 game with Wolves, and won the Championship.

Played 4-3-3 with wingers arrowed to forwards until February, but then switched to 4-4-2 when teams began playing v defensively against me.

GK: Hennessy/Murray when fit (rarely)

DR: Foley

DC: Billy Jones (swap for Potter)

DC: Peter Clarke 650k ex Southend

DL: Mulgrew

DMC: Almeyda

MC: Davies

MC: Scott Chipperfield (free from Basel)

AMR: Kighty or Torje

AML: Keogh (retrained to AML)

FC: Eastwood (39 goals in forty odd apps)

Keen on playing a long term game so signed plenty of youngsters eg. Torje, Barkroth, Mussachio, John Bosstock, Jamie Hatch etc..

Have been given $21m kitty (following $45m in TV payments)..

Looking at Harry Kewell ($3m) for Keogh, Waldo Ponce ($1m) for defence, Makelele($500k) for DMC, and the Mexican Fraga for GK backup.

Still looking for DL and DR as Foley and Mulgrew aren't up to Premiership standards.

Any suggestions?

correction KightLy

And has anyone had success with Lee Collins (DLC).. Or Little (DRC) for that matter.. Neither seem to be developing in to Prem standard for me..

I havnt tried Lee Collins yet as he's out on loan at this moment, but he doesnt look like he's going to improve much so its probably worth selling him. Ive played Mark Little now and again and he's actually done really well, especially with his pace in the team. His stats arent good, but he plays pretty decent. Not sure about Premiership for him tho.

Also, that Barkroth looks ace I havnt seen him before.

I havnt found many decent full backs, but could look at these:

Marvin Angulo - DR/MR/AMR £250k

Cristian Alvarez - DC/DR free at end of season

Gonzalo Pineda - D LC/DM £2m+

Also a few more cheapish youngsters to look at

Oded Gavish - DC £50k or so

Maor Bozaglo - AMC £45k

Jozy Altidore - ST £700k

Eduardo (from Bahia) - D LC/WBL/DM/AM LC £650k

Im still in January so i havnt scouted too much, but always keep an eye out on those freebies you can get.

Another update from me. League = piece of cake! League cup = piece of cake! Im through to the semis of the cup after beating Newcastle 3-2 at home in the last round. I played a crazy 3-3-3-1 formation and it payed off! But now ive got Chelsea, and IF i win that, im playing either Arsenal or Man Utd. Sooooo forget that then!

Im planning for the Premiership already as im pretty sure i'll win the league. My defence is starting to get shakey, and none of my strikers are doing any good either.

Players sold in this transfer window include:

Jody Craddock - Hibs £100k

Neil Collins - Swansea £1m (had a dig at me on the way out)

Darren Ward - Southampton £500k (also had a dig at me!)

Matt Jarvis - MK Dons £750k

Nice bit of money for players who never played for me.

Michael Gray will be released at the end of the season, and im thinking whether to let Gary Breen go too or keep him as backup for a season? I shouldve cancelled Graham Stack's loan at the start to save wages but i kept forgetting

I really need a decent DC, and will probably loan another one when im in the Prem. Need a good DL too but i dont think they exist on this game.

But on a good note, Danny Simpson whos on loan to me has just come out and thanked me and the supporters for the friendly atmosphere Myself and Wolves are now listed among his favourties so hopefully I can sign him permanently next year.

Time to get scouting again.

What I've found is that for players you really really really don't want to lose, if you set their asking price at 25million +. Then when clubs are interested they come with an enquiry rather than a bid, if you ask for 25million 9 times out of 10 they will back away, at least for the time being, i.e not follow up on the bid, if you place the asking price at around 10 million they may come in with a bid that is auto accepted by the Chairman.

Yeah I do that too. The players dont get upset either that you've rejected a bid, so its a win-win situation

Second season update Premiership:

GK: Murray

DR Leyreilton $6m ex Goias - scouted once, had great stats, bought him, tackling is 7...

DC Humberto Mendoza $1.8m ex Columbia great signing

DC Rafaelle Schiavi (ex Leece free)

DL Pocognoli $3m ex AZ

DMC Bruno Formigioni $425k Min Release Clause

MC Mark Davies

MC Walter Bassegio

AML Keogh

AMR Renato Augusto ($17m wonderkid)

FC Eastwood

Pre-season was good, playing counter-attacking direct football. But come the Prem season, have lost two and drawn one.. Eastwood is clearly not up to Prem standard, and it's showing with him the centrepiece of the attack.. Relegation here we come..

I retained the standard team for the first season, and looked out for these lads:

Sam Vokes (Bournemouth) SC

Preston Edwards (Millwall) GK

David Worrall (WBA) MC

(and Mika Ääritalo...)

After an injury to Hennessey, I had to play Preston Edwards, and he did a superb job all over.

I trailed also Jack Compton and David Worrall from WBA, trying to do a new Steve Bull deal; Worrall came, for Compton I will have to try at the end of the season.

Overall one of the best Wolves sides I had in my hands straight out of the box, but I'm sure I'll have no chance in the premiership; probably going down and coming up the year after with a more mature squad.

The January window has just closed now and im really frustrated. My defence is getting worse and worse and im only just getting by. Darren Barr has turned out to be a poor signing, not improving as i hoped. Gary Breen's lack of pace is starting to stretch him, and i want Michael Gray dead now...but i still cant find a replacement so he's in the team for now. Thinking of playing Daniel Jones instead now he's back.

Olofinjana keeps getting little injuries. Started off as the best player in the league, but now he's just had two 5 ratings in a row and a few 6's. He's gone to the reserves. My keeper Zdravkov is startin to make mistakes too so he's in the reserves. Hennessey gets his chance now. My team still cant score goals consistently, but it doesnt help Keogh has been injured for 3 months. He's just come back now.

I tried loaning Schmeichel and Krul but they rejected me. Also tried loaning Anthony Gardner who was unhappy, and Michalik who had only played 5 games this season. Those were rejected by their clubs.

So the transfer window ended and i only bought Martin Latka to try and strengthen the defence. Mark Salmon was sold for £50k and Stephen Ward for £1m using the glitch.

I've not long restarted my Wolves game with the beta patch. I've already posted details in the Championship thread, but for your greater edification here goes:

Full squad Pt 1

Full squad Pt 2

Transfers in & out

Staff changes

I'm using the Fiora2 tactic from the T&Tforum, and it's fffb. Won 7 of 8 in the league; into the 4th round of the LC having beaten West ham in the last round.

The only deal the fans haven't liked is for Soley, who seems ok to me tbh but I'm only using him sparingly. Of the new signings, Cavalli, Iliev and Mirallas deserve particular praise.

Just into March and promotion looks assured. 10 games to go and im 20 points clear at the top, notibly beating Sandwell Town 4-2 at home to the delight of the fans

Daniel Jones has come in at left back and done great for me despite some poor stats. He hasnt made any mistakes and people dont often get past him. Also with Danny Simpson on the other flank, ive allowed them both to get forward when they can because of their pace and its giving me more of an attacking advantage now.

Looking for Premiership standard targets now. Heres a few im looking at who are interested:

Marvin Angulo - D/WB/AMR - dead cheap, versatile but lack of stamina. good backup

Nicolas Lombaerts - DLC/WBL - good all round defender, future leader

Iliasu Shilla - DC - lack of decisions but great strength and tackling

Matias Cahais - DC - top defender and still young. definate purchase!

Ognjen Vukojevic - MLC - hard worker who can stick his foot in, fairly cheap too

Roberto Canella - D/WB/ML - wont last through the season, but good backup to that problem DL slot for cheap

Patrick Boyle - D/WL - another young DL, mental stats need improving but he could add to the squad in time

Cor Gillis - DRC/WBR - very cheap, decent all round defender, only 18 so give him another year

Cristian Alvarez - DRC/WB/MR - top defender in his peak, can get free at end of season. big asset to the squad

Christian Benitez - ST - fairly quick goalscorer, shouldnt be too expensive, only 21

Yegor Filipenko - DC/DM - poor mental stats but scouts love him. cheap back up

Brian McLean - DC - good defender, no real weakness, can get for around £500k

As you can see they are mainly defenders. I feel thats the weakest part of the squad and especially in the Premiership it'll be important to be able to defend. Theyre all good targets and interested in coming to Wolves so theyre worth a look.

When my promotion is secured i'll be looking around at the players i can get on a free as this could be where i get a few gems. I really need a consistent goalscorer so i'll keep an eye out.

Well on March 12th i won promotion to the Premiership

On March 15th i won the Championship

Got a lot of spare time now. Think i'll give my reserves a good few games. Murray's fit again now too and Latka can have some time to gel with the team. Eastwood is on fire now after a slow start to the season so i'll keep him playing.

In my 1st season i finished 13th not as good as you guys on here.The highlight of my season was drawing away at chelsea in the fa cup and beating them at home 1-0 in the replay.

I told the board for my 2nd season that i would get promotion 3 games into the new season i have lost 2 and drawn 1.Help!!!!

hi guys just about to start my 6th season with the mighty wolves last season finished 8th in prem just scrapped uefa cup the players that i still use are murray ,daniel jones ,keough and my stadium is upto 55.000 im going for top 4 this season when i first started off i struggled but once i found the right tactic we went so well also won f.c cup a few seasons back which was good

mrwolves - what are your tactics like? what formation and kind of instructions are you giving your players? and also what players are you playing?

Rich2086 - nice work there have there been any signings you made that really stood out, or any gems you got cheap? how bout the youth academy too, any luck there?

Well the start of my first Premiership season is closing in. Ive made a good few signings so far, a few frees, a few transfer listed on the cheap, only had to pay over the top for one player but ive got some spare. Missed out on my top targets tho. Had them all lined up but it took too long for the board to give me my new budget and wages and i ended up losing a lot of the free players i wanted

Transfers so far:

Emiliano Bonazzoli - ST, Free - two footed target man with goals in him. found him in the reserves, could be a real coup

Cor Gillis - DRC, £90k - almost ready for first team football, got a bit of pace too

Mathieu Flamini - DM, £1m - transfer listed, got him for a quarter of his value. my new captain

Barreto - AMRL/ST, £2.1m - natural winger but could be my goal scoring gem. pacey, hard working, good finishing.

Kasper Schmeichel - GK, loan - needed cover, thinking of loaning out Hennessey

Alessandro Grandoni - DRC, Free - experienced defender to provide cover

Leon Andreasen - DC/DM/MC, £1.4m - transfer listed, got him for cheap and this could be a major coup again. He can do basically everything and will add some steal to the team

All im looking for now is a DL as i only have Daniel Jones, and one on my DC's can cover there if i really have to.

Players out included:

Stephen Elliot - £1.2m

Stephen Gleeson - £1m

Darren Potter - £1m

Gary Breen - Free

Michael Gray - Free

and a few young players released too

thinking of selling Kightly as he doesnt really fit with my formation and he's not a regular starter. And maybe offload Mulgrew as he's not Premiership quality. Might loan in Isaiah Osbourne for cover, to add a bit of athleticism.

Lets hope they all gel quickly.

Oh and first game of the season...at home to the Baggies

Now in third season with Wolves. The story so far.....

Season 1 - Promoted as champions using a 532 sweeper system, well had to find something for Breen to do!

Season 2 - Spent the first half of the season either in or just above the EPL relegation zone. Changed to a 4141 formation and improved to finish 14th and avoid the drop by 10 points

Season 3 - Started the season with the same 4141 tactic and lost the first 6 matches. Brought back the sweeper tactic and created a 442 target man tactic and have improved somewaht. Now hovering just above the bottom 3 with 10 games to go.

Player observations:

Goal Keepers

Marray just isn't good enough for the EPL. Some games the only shots he saves are the ones that hit him as he tries to dive out of the way. If I was the real Murray I'd sue SI for defamation of charachter. Hennesay I'm not syre about, maybe he'll make it one day.

Defenders and DMC

Henry is well worth keeping as is Mulgrew who just gets better and better. I still have both Collins and Ward on the books but can't nmake my mind up as to whether their really up to the higher level.

Midfield

I still have Potter and Knightly playing regulary. Knightly is well worth keeping. Jarvis is still there but only for cover.

Forwards

Kough, I have retrained so that he is now a AL/FC and he has been invaluable. Eastwood is abit erratic but is my top scorer. Boothroyd I play as my target man but will replace with someone better when I can. Elliot is just there as cover.

Players brought in:'

I signed Sol Campbell as soon as I got promoted, In season 2 he was very good but by season 3 his legs are going and he is being turned too easily. Now just use him as a sweeper. Lee Bowyer I picked up in the January window of season 2 and he's been useful but prone to getting sent off. Likewise I bought Carr for DR and his disiplinary record is so bad I only use him for cover now.

My best buys have been Kieren Lee from ManU and Marc Wilson. They are the heart of my team and being young should be for some time to come.

As a general rule I've tried to buy players from the British Isles as that way it seems like I'm keeping the team as Wolves'ish as I can.

Will post again at the end of the season.

im affraid the youth system hasnt uncovered anything for me i got jean II makon on a free he's now worth 10.000.000 he's been a massive player for me and if i didnt mention it before matt murray has been outstanding for me also bought oliver kapo from brum for 6.000.000 and he scores over 15 goals every season from center mid for me and im still (surprisingly)playing daniel jones at left back he has been really good

*Bump*

Will write an update this evening but am halfway through my first premier season. Tough going at the start mainly because I have gambled on a load of talented kids at affordable prices.

Going much better now at mid table after my young team seem to have gelled a bit and got a run together. Because they're so young however you have to massage their confidence constantly.

Im loving the Premiership so far!

From my last post, the only other signing i made before the transfer window closed was of Eduardo, originally from Bahia. He only moved a few months before tho so i had to pay around £2m for him. He will eventually be my first choice DL as he has great all round ability. For now he's warming the bench but he can play many positions so he's pretty handy.

I started off with some easy games, and that was great to pick up morale and get some early points. After that i had to play Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal AND Chelsea all in about 5 weeks not happy. But Man Utd played rubbish and i got a draw against them, i beat Liverpool after bollocking my team at half time! Arsenal scored a last minute goal (two minutes after the required extra time!) from 50 yards out which was just stupid! only earned them a draw tho. Then...Chelsea killed me 3-1. Walked all over me but all goals came from corners.

My results are as followed:

1-0 v West Brom (H)

2-1 v Middlesbrough (H)

2-0 v Newcastle (A)

0-0 v Man Utd (H)

1-1 v Wigan (A)

1-1 v Arsenal (H)

2-2 v Derby (A)

1-2 v Aston Villa (A)

2-1 v Liverpool (H)

2-3 v Blackburn (A)

1-3 v Chelsea (A)

3-1 v Charlton (H)

I think my tactic just suits my players as i couldnt have predicted such a good start, sitting 4th in the Premiership. When Eastwood decides he wants to play, then we walk all over the other teams. When he cant be bothered then it can be a bit of a struggle.

Bonazzoli has been fantastic, getting lots of goals and the fans love him. Great free signing and highly recommended. They also love Flamini. Mr consistent. He hasnt let me down at all, defends well, attacks well, and only £1m cus he was transfer listed. Barreto has been injured but he's a super sub atmo, coming off the bench scoring 2 in 2 and setting up a couple, not at full fitness yet. I have to say im disappointed with Leon Andreasen. Im playing him as a MC but expecting him to attack more, whereas he is naturally a DM. He has good technical stats so i expect more from him. He'll be on the bench for a few weeks until he finds his form.

Defence is shakey. Foley was useless and im going to sell him straight away cus its clear he cant cut it at Premiership. Doesnt have the pace and he doesnt seem to be progressing enough. Im having to play Cor Gillis at DR but he's doing well. He's improved a lot since joining me and has a bit of pace too. Another one i highly recommend.

Im babbling a bit now so i'll leave it there.

Hows everyone else getting on?

]Wolves Team[/url]

At February in my 1st season with Wolves. 4th in the championship, beaten by Arsenal in extra time 1-0 in the league cup 3rd round and beaten by Blackburn 5-4 in the FA Cup 4th round. So not bad start.

I play 442 normal tactics with Olofinjana with more creativity and Keogh my target man with ball to feet. My ML and MR are high closing down and thats it.

]Wolves Tactic[/url]

Here are my transfer dealings so far which Im a bit dissapointed in -

]Wolves Transfers[/url]

Keogh and Elliot are my stars, is seems if they are in a scoring mood which they normally are then i win but if the opposition can some how handle them then its a loss.

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<a href="http://img57.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wolveschampionshipplayefp3.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/3343/wolveschampionshipplayefp3.th.png" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>

Just a look at the table and player stats so far.

Just a look at the table and player stats so far.

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