Official Blackpool thread - Winning playoff May 2010

Just watched the team win promotion to the Premier League.

Watching their attractive exciting play gave me the idea to start their thread on here. Oh and being a Glasgow Rangers fan, giving congratulations to our 'product' Charlie Adam.

Blackpool Football Club (pronounced /ˈblækpuːl/) are an English football club founded in 1887 and located in the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They have been a member of the Football League continuously since 1900. Their 100th consecutive (and 103rd overall) League season was completed on 22 May 2010, with victory in the Football League Championship play-off Final, and the club will play in the Premier League, the first tier of professional football in England, for the 2010-11 season. It will be their first appearance in England's top flight since 1971. Blackpool's average position in England's 92-team "pyramid" in the past decade has been just below 52nd place.[2]

The club's home ground has been Bloomfield Road since 1901, and their main nicknames are the 'Pool, the Seasiders and the Tangerines, the latter in reference to the colour of their home kit. Their motto is Progress, as featured on the club crest.

They have a fierce rivalry with local arch-enemy Preston North End, and any League meeting between the two clubs is known as the West Lancashire derby (or, alternatively, the M55 derby).

Ian Holloway was appointed as the club's manager in May 2009. He succeeded Simon Grayson, who left the club for Leeds United and who guided Blackpool to promotion to The Championship in 2007. It was Holloway who led Blackpool to promotion to the Premier League through the Championship play-off Final in 2010.

Full name Blackpool Football Club

Nickname(s) The Seasiders

Founded 26 July 1887[1]

Ground Bloomfield Road

Blackpool, England

(Capacity: 12,555)

Owners Owen Oyston

Valeri Belokon

Chairman Karl Oyston

Manager Ian Holloway

League Premier League

2009–10 The Championship, 6th (promoted via playoffs)

SQUAD

Think I'll leave the squad analysis for a true Seasiders fan.

So far it looks like the vultures are round David Vaughan at the start though unless you can get him on another contract.

Not much money to spend as game shows Oyston as the chairman and Belokon as director. You start with only 500k

Can someone please tell me how to put the club crest in the 1st page?

Thanks

Done....thanks

Maybe a proper Blackpool fan can now take over?

I'm gonna start up a new game with them now

Defo feelin a blackpool game next season. Such an achievement for them this year, and they were predicted to go down!

What I dont understand is how the money works.

They get 90m for going up, they didnt need that money if they didnt go up so surely alot of that money could go straight to transfers.

Blackpool are my new second team.

Defo feelin a blackpool game next season. Such an achievement for them this year, and they were predicted to go down!

What I dont understand is how the money works.

They get 90m for going up, they didnt need that money if they didnt go up so surely alot of that money could go straight to transfers.

Not strictly true.

They will get about £40m over the coming season in gate receipts, tv rights, etc. And if they get relegated they will be given £12m per year for the next four years in 'parachute payments'.

There will most likely be a fair bit of money being paid out in bonuses for the squad being promoted, and wage rises written into contracts. Also, since they have only a 12,500 seater stadium and only three/four years ago were playing in League One, i'm guessing some money might go on upgrading their facilities.

As for the Blackpool thread.. is the OP going to provide some squad analysis??

As for the Blackpool thread.. is the OP going to provide some squad analysis??

Original post edited

I'm currently 3/4 way through my second season with Blackpool, and I'd be surprised if I wasn't in the playoff places at the end of the season- but I'm pushing for 2nd place. I'm sitting on an 18 game unbeaten run, and the top 5 look like:#

01. Sunderland - 86

02. Fulham - 81

03. Blackpool - 78

04. Swansea - 78

05. West Brom - 75

We've all played 40 games, so I've got to keep this unbeaten run til the end of the season. If I had changed tactic at the start of the season, I can safely say I'd be miles instead, as I only picked up 2 wins from the opening TEN games. The squad has had quite a bit clear out, although some of the original squad remain.

Here's the squad:

Only player you can't see there is Joe Lewis. Overall, I'd say I've got two fantastic young, English goalkeepers.

Defence:

Martin- Capable fullback able to step up.

Eardley- See above.

Barrett- Will play a lot less next season due to poor pace, but will remain as a backup and tutor.

Edwards- Decent centre back who is decent backup, can cover RB as well until I find someone younger and promising.

Mulgrew- Top left back who would have played more if he hadn't had had some injuries. Definitely capable next season.

McCarthy- Very good CB who I think can step up, so glad Palace had financial struggles.

Targets: Young RB cover, and a CB with pace.

Would people agree with the analysis of my defence?

could anyone tell me how to get a strong squad as i am in my 1st season and only have 600k to spend could anybody help??

Racey, imo the squad is already quite strong (Well, the XI is).

2x Good enough GKs for your first season - Rachubka/Gilks

1x LB that is very good - Martin

1x RB that is also very good - Eardley

1x CB that is good enough to start - Edwards

1x CM that you can use as your defensive one - Southern

1x CM that can be your creative force- Adam

2x W that can be very useful - Bouzza/Taylor-Fletcher

2x CF that can be your little and large pairing - Campbell/Burgess

I'd suggest going for a 4-4-2 with advanced wingers, using Bouzza and Taylor-Fletcher as inside forwards. Try to focus your passing through the middle to make the most of yours wider players. I wouldn't use a high defensive line, but make sure you set Southern as the defensive side of your midfield.

EDIT: My dreams of automatic promotion were oh so nearly over, as Swansea 2 minute double salvo put them 2-1 infront. Barrett equalises in the 85th to salvage our unbeaten run, and 4 minutes later he headsin from a freekick to put us 3-2 up!

It's a slim chance that we still have... but it's still a chance. However, I'm relying on bottom club QPR managing to win only their 2nd away game of the entire season- whilst I have to beat 14th placed Doncaster.

Not strictly true.

They will get about £40m over the coming season in gate receipts, tv rights, etc. And if they get relegated they will be given £12m per year for the next four years in 'parachute payments'.

There will most likely be a fair bit of money being paid out in bonuses for the squad being promoted, and wage rises written into contracts. Also, since they have only a 12,500 seater stadium and only three/four years ago were playing in League One, i'm guessing some money might go on upgrading their facilities.

As for the Blackpool thread.. is the OP going to provide some squad analysis??

Holloway said they would only get £90 each if they went up

Typical Holloway!

I saw an interview with their chairman yesterday and he said they already had planning permission to expand the stadium to 16,000 seats.

Has anyone started a new game with Blackpool with Forbsie/Chris22's recent update you get 10m to spend so going to enjoy this challenge

Doesn't seem to much of an active thread yet, but I am going to start posting here since yesterday I started a Blackpool save using the latest patch. The media predict that I would finish 20th, hopefully I could prove them wrong, as this thread wasn't up when I started that is why I haven't posted here, but I am only about 12 games into the league.

At the start you only get around 600k, which is what I got but I said that I would aim to finish mid-table, which in the 1st season I would be happy with.

The 1st thing that I addressed when I came to the club was to try and get the wages down, and getting rid of players that I feel that I don't need. Firstly I cancelled the loans of Dobbie, and also Andy Butler, however I kepy Barry Bannan on loan from Aston Villa, he looks rather promising. With 2 loans terminated, this then meant that I could bring in some of my own loans, firstly I thought that I lacked a bit of firepower up front, so I brought in Jay Rodriguez from Burnley on a season long loan, he has shown some promise in finishing but not scored as many as I was hoping. I also brought in another attacking option in on loan, which was Nacer Barazite, he has been good on previous FMs and as an Arsenal fan I thought I would bring him i, he is versatile in a way that he can play in any attacking position.

With the departure of David Vaughan to Ipswich for 1.1mill, I now knew that I needed a new AML, I knew that Charlie Adam could play there however i'm looking to play him in the centre, and Barazite on the right, I also have Bouazza who can play on the left. However I was looking through a few AMLs, and came across Nicolae Mitea, who had previous spells with Ajax, I picked him up on a free paying £1,900 in wages, which was significantly less that Vaughan. I also decided that I would bring in a new keeper, whether or not he was going to be in the 1st team straight away I didn't know, but after looking at a few people, I was going to buy Ben Alnwick who was on the transfer list, however then I looked at the people who aren't on a contract, and found Vincent Degre, I remember him on the last 2 fms and was supposed to be a decent talent. He is only on £850 a week. I sold Daniel Nardiello as I found him to be surplus to requirements, and just wouldn't cut it for me, however I thought that most of the team was pretty much good to finish mid-table which is my aim this season.

I bought Sean Morrison from Swindon, looks promising stats, and for his age is a good player for this league, and also has room for improvement with the correct training I feel. I managed to negotiate a deal of 180k for him, which is just a fraction of my budget. I was happy with the transfers I had made, however during pre-season Adam got injured for 3 month, so I got Rodrigo Possebon on a 4month loan deal, just for cover, and he has been a decent player so far. I brought in Ivan Bandalovski, from Loko (Sofia) looks an excellent prospect at 22, DR/WBR, and for 20k is an absolute steal for his stats, my scout gave him a rating of 3.5stars, however I only use this as a guideline. And my final dealing of the summer was a young guy called Radoslav Kirilov, who is from Rimini, picked him up on a free, stats don't look promising, however he is only 16/17, and he has currently played 8 scored 6 in the under-18s.

Pre-season consisted of the usual small teams no one has heard of, and also Blackburn, Pompey and Stuggart, lost to Stuggart 2-1 away, which I was suprised because I was expected to get a beating, and also Blackburn 2-0 and Portsmouth 3-2, so it was a good pre season for me.

I had a good start to the season, wining my 1st 4 games against Derby, QPR, Watford and Cardiff, which I was very happy with, and then I got knocked out of the League Cup to WBA, I then had a bad run in the league and then picked it up again.

This is the current league table:

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As you can see, I don't think I am doing too bad, I'm suprised I am top of the league

I use TUGS training, and play a 4-4-2 formation, wide, slow tempo and short passing, I given Charlie Adam more freedom than the rest of the team, and push him up a bit.

Hopefully I haven't bored you to death, will update again later

Typical Holloway!

I saw an interview with their chairman yesterday and he said they already had planning permission to expand the stadium to 16,000 seats.

After Blackpool lost the Casino bid(thankfully), anything that'll bring the town more custom they'll rush ahead.

It's odd though, todays Blackpool Gazette says there only just planning what they're going to do. Surely they should have had it in place incase they were going to win, after watching them thrash Forest, they always had the chance.

Racey: 600k isn't a problem. There's enough quality on loans and frees and if you want more in the kitty. Just offer Martin for 1.5mil and bids usually come in, Craineys just as good for the championship push.

(P.S I have a Blackpool long-term game, In my 14th season ^_)

Evening Guys, still in 1st season here, not going to bad, a lot better than I thought it would to be honest haha anyway, lets get down to business. Nearly the end of Feburary in the 1st season, brought in a few players during the season.

Transfers

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Pedro has been a treat.

I also brought in Capi because Adam was out for around 2 month, and Fontas looks like he could improve to be something decent, and Inglasias has good stats, and could be pushing for the 1st team, and not in his prime yet, currently going to be tutored by Capi I think.

Just beat QPR 5-1

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Im thinking the same thing, also look how quick Pedro got his hattrick, pretty amazing I think, and he doesn't have to best stats.

League Table:

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Im happy with that, going into the prem in 1st season (touch wood) would be an amazing achievement, however I would need to strengthen my team a lot, because i dont think this team would cut it in the prem just yet, but it would be financially sound.

My best signing has been Sean Morrison from Swindon, my 1st choice CB with Evatt, and could also play CM, I'm training him to play there in the future.

P.S. Can you put this link in the links thread please?

Hey guys after i watched the playoff final i decided to give a Blackpool save a bash as well, im 41 games into my first season and my playoff push has somewhat fizzled out of late leaving me in 9th place. And now find myself needing a minor miracle to push into the top 6 just thought id let you know as i intend to post on this thread, but with my season in tatters i thought id leave al that till my 2nd season when i'll redouble my efforts to reach the so called promised land.

you have to buy Pedro mate, at the mo he has like played 7 and scored about 11 I think, good return that and for a small fee, defo worth the investment

I might have to look into that but my problem isn't scoring goals its leaking them, i have plenty of firepower up front with my Hungarian sensations krisztian Kenesei and Peter Kovacs, who play together in perfect harmony but both are on the wrong side of 30 so a new striker for the new season is on my shopping list.

You could either try Sean Morrison, he has been a revalation at CB for me, he has easily been my best signing.

Well guys just finished my first season as Blackpool on FM as i posted before my season kinda fizzled out and i was hoping for minor miracle to make the play-offs . Fortune almost smiled upon me with a amazing run of results that helped me remain undefeated for the last 9 games of the season, but on the last day of the season needing a win to make the play-offs and a result to go my way i did all i could do by winning Bristol city 3-1 but unfortunately it wasn't enough to make the play-offs . My top scorer was also my player of the season Krisztian Kenesei bought for the fairly low price of £170k who found the back of the net 23 times in 27 (6) appearances in the league Charlie Adam provided the most assists and weighed in with 13 in 41 (2) appearances. The team finished 3rd top scorers in the division on 84 goals 2 behind 3rd place QPR but the problem was i was conceding too many goals 79 in total . As far as results go i dealt out a few drubbings 5-1 to QPR and Coventry and a 3-1 win at already crowned champions Bristol City, the teams apparent inability to hold down a lead in games had me ripping my hair out at times i recall being 3-1 up at Plymouth and bizarrely drawing 4-4 , 3 goal leads squandered at reading and WBA soon followed but towards the end of the season the dodgy defending gradually subsided and most of this i put down to Olafur Orn Bjarnason who i brought in on a free in January his age and experience was much needed. so all in all a 9th place finish i think should be counted as a slight success due to the media prediction i had and i hope to finish at least in the top 6 next season, ill post my transfers and final league table bellow this message for the curious people out there.

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acro_poolie

Not a bad finish there I must say, however, 79 goals..ouch haha, just noticed you are the 5th on the list of the most conceded, you mst get that issue addressed, if you didn't concede so many and lose all them games you could easily be back into the play-offs, however where you have finished now isn't so bad, like you said where the media predicted us we finished much higher than expected, and you can also build for next season now, I would focus mainly looking at defence, you seem to be scoring enough goals..

Now, on to my save, and all I can say is..WOW, i got promoted to the premiership in the 1st season, and I am going up as champions, I thought it all started going wrong when Arsenal decided to terminate Barazites loan with around 5 games to go, he scored a hattrick on his final game for me, so it was a good send off for him, and now Blackpool are one of his favourited clubs. Also thought it was going wrong when again with around 5 games to go, Pedro injured for 4/5 months, that means that his season was now over, after scoring 11 goals in 12 games which is a great return, and all for a mere 40k, I am happy with that, scary thinking how many he would score if I had him since the beginning. At this stage Jay Rodriguez has been out injured, so that had left me with a week frontline, and pushing for promotion I now had to believe in Burgess. Scoring 100 goals in the championship is a great achievement I believe, as only a few teams have done this in the past.

My signing of the season has to go to either Sean Morrison, who has been solid at te back for me, and is now wirth 600k, after buying him from Swindon for 200k, and also Pedro, it is very close, Capi has also done good, covering for the injured Charlie Adams, spraying passes allover the park.

My formation is just a simple 4-4-2, playing rather wide, so that it makes a lot more space, and also a slow, short tempo, so I get teams to play the way I want and so that I control and game having more possession rather than them. Im thinking of letting Jay go back to Burnley and also Barry Bannan I won't be making his loan pernament, also I would like to bring Barazite back to the club, however as I now will be on the premiership I don;t think a lot of my team would make it, for example, Ormerod, he just doesn't have the fitness, like wise with Burgess and Southern, and also Crainey, I don't think that they will be able to cut it in the big time. im looking to bring in Angel from Sporting Gijon I think? for the LB spot, or try to get Armand Traore from Arsenal would also be good addition, a better goal keeper is also needed, so any ideas then please chip in.

League Table

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Squad Stats

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hope I didn't bore you

pinder2807 Great first season 1st place ehh now the real challenge begins let us know how you get on.

Any ideas who to buy guys, just bought Deigo Bounette from River for 4.5 mill, whats his best position? AML or AMC.

im looking for a keeper, was trying to get Hart, but then City took him off transfer list so trying to get Alan McGregor, had a 2mill offer accepted, could do with a CB and also a couple of strikers wouldn't go a miss, have a round 8mill left, including the 2 mill for McGregor.

Just Finished my first season as blackpool. ( I to was inspired by their promotion )

First off, sorry for the lack of screenies.

The squad.

Strikers :

Ben Burgess ...... A tad slow and low stamina but a good target man at this level, set as target man support and runs will ball to sometimes he had a good season with out excelling.

DJ cambell ........ On loan from Leicester . Pacey striker great at this level in my save. Set as advanced forward and scored well and was handy with assists. Worked well with Burgess.

Jason Euell........ A tad slow no strengths or real weakness just average, Played him as AML or striker, started off as back up but by season end was in the first team squad. Playing as an Inside forward (AML) and had a good season.

Gary Taylor-Fletcher ...... Good stats in Finishing and crossing but not so good composure. I used him as a fill in, retrained him to AML to play as an inside forward (I dont think he is very versitile as he didnt retrain well) Nevertheless that was the role i wanted him to play and was handy but didnt get many goals or assists at all. He did average 6.99 so he competed well and with better instructions ( had is crossing set to rarely should of been often and from mixed) he may of been more damaging with the assists. He also may of been better playing in his true positions of Striker or AMR.

The Verdict

Overall Ok but apart from Burgess no aerial power so i brought in

Simone Missiroli ...... from Reggina. He brings to the team a complete forward very capable in the air, very good on his feet, ok pace, flair, passing and creativity allthough his finishing and composure stats are not great (12). He was my best player for the season banging in goals and getting assists and was great to watch play. Ass man says he can still improve so i have him on intensive shooting training but not seeing any results so far (8 games into the second season) I will try and retrain him as an inside forward playing at AML .

Wingers

Hameur Buoazza..... AML by trade but retrained quite well to AMR to fit into the Inside forward tactic i decided on. Has good pace and has all the stats at this level to play ok as an Attacking winger. Had a good season and chimed in with assists and goals nothing outstanding but was servicable ( i expected more as my Ass man loved him) again maybe playing as a crossing winger he may have been better. Was happy with his out put tho.

Barry Bannan..... On loan From Aston Villa. Very similiar story to Hameur these two shared the AMR spot all season. Barry did have more assists mainly due to his superior passing ability.

The Verdict

The wings looked in pretty good shape none of the were great at crossing and the side didn't have the capabilties to really compete in the air in the box so we went instructed our wingers to cut inside.

Discards

Stephen McPhee To old to slow and just not good enough, free transfer.

Bret Ormerod To old and slow and need to free up wages a tad, free tansfer.

Daniel Nardiello Didnt like the look of him wasnt given a chance, free transfer.

Billy Clarke Not good enough cant jump, run, pass and is phyiscally to weak.Did score 11 in 39 for league 1 team tho. free.

Ishmel Demontagnac Just another dumb quick player his mental stats way to low for this level for my liking. free.

Attacking recomendations

Highly Recommend you grab your self a decent all round striker and maybe an attacking winger(not that important tho other areas of the team are of way more concern) AML to cut inside or an AMR if you intend having wide wingers.

Midfielders

Keith Southern...... Dmc Very handy player at this level and good leadership skills played well and kept Aaron Gunnarsson out of the first team. He has been a long servant at the club and is playing ok so far in the premiership this season (as Back up to gunnarsson) so i will keep him around and hopefully turn him into a player/coach looks like a good tutor.

Charlie Adams.... MC Looks like he should be able to rip this level apart. I think he lacks consistency he is also quite slow and has poor decisions stat . He can go missing in games so give him a rev up or faith chat at half time and if he doesnt improve get him off. Having said that he scored on occasions and had quite a few assists. Was my main stay as my more attacking midfielder. I played him as central support and then as playmaker support with long shots set to rarely. He has good long shots stat but i found him frustrating in that he would shoot way too often and miss by miles. Alltho he did score an Absolute corker one day that got me a win against a rival in the last few minutes of a game :o.

David Vaughan .... Mc Looks the goods at this level. However i got an offer for over 1 mill he wanted to go and i wanted to buy Gunnarsson. Transfered for 1.4 mill.

Joe Martin...... Can play as ML or DL i'll add him as a mid as he was woefull for me at DL. To slow for DL. He did his best work playing at ML used as a back up and did well, his corner ability was missed when he was out of the side. ( Others have had success with him at DL )

The Verdict

You start off with three pretty good midfielders one defensive, one attacking and Vaughan looks like a combo. Adams and Southern were my main stays and proved durable. The squad needs more depth.

Midfield Recommendations

Sever lack of depth, you have the first teamers but need back ups.

Marc Mateu from levante very similiar stats to Adams all tho much younger. Has great passing and creativity but has a ppm (play short simple passes) which i think holds his passing back so i'm training that out of him. Handy player and will only get better.

After selling Vaughan i went after Aaron Gunarsson and got him, had him in a few saves so far but not gone on with him so i hopefully my interest in this save will last and i'll get the chance to fully develop him. He played well as expected , i didnt expect Southern to keep him out of the main team tho.

Abubakari Yakubu was also brought in on a free due to his versatility and played off the bench and back up DR was handy pick up played ok .

Fullbacks

Stephen Crainey.... DL, Looks like a solid no frills fullback but a lack of pace hinders him, was ok and was captain in first season.

Neal Eardley ...... DR Young promising Full back good pace and played well mainly due to his Free kicks (scored 7) could be easily found out against any half decent dribbler but he is young a lil inconsistent and just need game time. Was better as the season went, easily number one choice for DR.

Alex John-Bapstiste. DR/DC Back up DR and if desperate Back up DC. Low stamina and low passing count against him at DR and his lack of jumping at Dc. Was happy to use him as back up for DR and DL but loathed to use him as a DC. Otherwise did ok as back up.

Can be retrained to DL quite easy i didnt do it first season but should of.

The Verdict

On the right you have a really good prospect in Eardley persist with him and you have back up in Baptiste. The left on the other hand is in poor shape and no future.

Fullback Recomendations

On the left Crainey doesnt cut it and Martin is too slow. It wasnt an easy spot to fill with the lack of transfer funds and had to make do untill Winter transfer window and welcomed Matti Aaltonen to the club. He is still quite young and alltho his stats looked good enough he didnt quite cut it in his first season only playing three games and was horrid. Have to see how he develops scouts say will be good championship but were in the premiership now.

If you can get a ready made DL on the cheap grab him. Dont spend to much money on him you have bigger fish to entice.

You can retrain Bapstiste to DL at least he isnt slow.

Central Defenders

To save yours and my time , all the central defenders at Blackpool for mine are terrible. Severe lack of pace annoys me in DC's

Ian Evatt.........Looks like the only decent one but pace of 9 (I have never worked out how to use slow defenders thats why i dislike em so) I got an offer for 1 Million so of he went , i was happy for the money.

Rob Edwards.....Kept him only for back up and was just ok

The Verdict

Central Defenders are your most urgent need.

I had to juggle my central defenders to suit the opposition, i used Baptiste against the quicker strikers and Edwards against the good jumpers. ( I know your meant to scout the opposition before everygame but meh it takes too long, in this save tho it was imperative)) If i came up against a striker that could do both i was in trouble. Luckily i didnt need to use Edwards and Baptiste in the same game i allways had one of my starting DC's available. For to much of the season i had to use one these players as one of my starting DC's was injured or away on leave.

DC Recommendations

Having played quite a few saves in FM10 i thought it would be easy to get some DC's in. However it wasnt quite so easy at Blackpool.In Hindsight i would of kept Evatt

Craig Cathcart ... On loan from Man U. He was the only loan player that i brought in and he was vital to the team. When he picked up an injury mid season it hurts us bad for the weeks he was out. Get him if you can but do it early and release a comment of admiration to help get you over the line.

Walter Garcia.. Free transfer I've had him before on a Portugal save and know he can do the job. However in England he gets homesick bad and had to give him leave of absence twice thru the season. I didn't have a choice he was playing quite poor up untill he came back the second time in the new year. Thats when he got over his homesickness and started to turn it around by season end was a gun.

Mid season I picked up a few more DC's but they dont start till next season they are free transfers at loans at other clubs.

So how did the season all go I here you ask ?

We started off quite well the new recruits were playing well and we were around the top 3 for the first 10 games or so the only real troubles we had were that we lacked a left fullback and our right full back was raw. We were scoring well but also conceding quite a few.

We hit a few snags a quarter the way in. Walter Garcia became homesick and it really affected his form so we gave him a month off to go home. The back up DC's were not up to it so it took a change of tactics. The Attacking wingers had to become more accountable for their man and Charlie Adams was used only as an impact player while we used Southern and Gunnarson to shore up the midfield a little better. This seemed to help were started only conceding one or two goals a game and it didnt hurt out attacking that i could see we kept on scoring two or three.

After a winless streak of about 6 games our form slowly picked up, Garcia came back and then was sent away again. By the halfway stage we were sitting high midtable in touch of the play off places but no hope of an Auto promotion place. I thought we were in good shape the team were gelling playing nice football. We had good form won a few lost a few to the bigger teams kept in touch with the top six.

By this stage Garcia had come back and was starting to play like he should, his homesickness never mentioned again and he and Catchcart started to put the screws on the opposition strikers. Simone Missirolli was strutting his stuff in front of goal Jason Euell had just cemented his first team spot with some good consistent performances and Neal Eardley had put some polish on his raw talent.

We got smashed 2-5 by West Brom and for the fist time of the season i gave my players a dressing down at fulltime. Fined 3 of them for scoring 4's :/ . By this stage we were starting to lose touch with the top 6 we (the top 5 were miles ahead of 6th place).

We had 11 games left in the season and was content that we wern't in relagation battle and we were in the process of building for next season. What happened next was a huge surprise we won 9 and lost 2 in the run home . Final placing a comfortable 6th well clear of 7th placed Scunthorpe and only 3 points from 5th. In the run home we had beaten alot of the teams competing for a playoff berth. I really dont know what to make of that last third of the season burst, maybe good squad management earlier in the season kept them fresh? Or maybe i was just to nice to them and a lil to forgiving or maybe they just gelled. Most likely a combo of all the above and a lucky run the injury front.

The playoffs

v West Brom at home. This was the team that embarassed us 2-5 so was keen to get one back on em at our home ground. We won 2-0 and deserved the comforable win.

Heading into the second leg i was quietly confident ,we didnt concede an away goal (like that matters in the playoffs so i found out) Kick off and before i could get up to sctatch my balls it was 2-0 their favour what a horror start :/ Oh well it not all bad overall its still 2-2. Wrong 39th minute game them the lead 3-2 on aggregate. Ok this can't wait till half time i hit pause and fully analyse the game and change things up change some from man to zonal get my TM to mark their def CM , Drop my Central Dm into a true DM anchor.

We scored in the 44th minute to bring it back on level pegging it was against the run of play but i'll take it.

At halftime I get stuck into them we had been totally dominated in the first half and the scoreboard was flattering to us. Charlie Adams decided it was a good day to go walkabout so he was given the message and we brought on our young Marc Matae.

After half time it turned into a dour ugly match they were still outplaying us but atleast now we were competing and due to the good play of our Keeper we managed to take it to extra time.

They scored right at the death of the first period :/ Marc scored the equaliser right at the start of the second period both sides totally legless the game fizzled out and went to penalties. I thought i'd change the penalty takers orders and have my freshest player take the first penalty (15) to get us of to a good start (yeah like thats going to happen) they miss their first also . It goes kick for and we end up winning 6-5 . Very lucky.

I let ego take control and save the game just before the final.

The final of the playoff

V Nottm Forest

Not much to see here we got outplayed lost 3-1.

So all in all we finished 6th in the league very happy with the season and with a couple of new recruits we look to challenge for the title next season.

ps: Hot of the press Nottm Forest did a Melbourne storm and breached the salary cap so Blackpool manager thought its was only fair that the game be replayed We win 2-0 comfortably. Shallow victory but nonetheless it means one less year in a huge league (I like playing in the smaller 16-18 team leagues, 24 teams in the league drags on to much for me, plus it's my game )

SUMMARY

Blackpool are a great little team in the making the main core is there all you need to do is add 3 or 4 max good players good tactics and promotion is a realistic option.

Season Two.

In the Premiership this year after a dodgy replay of the Playoff final. that aside.

Key areas that need attention.

Off Field

The board announced another another stadium capacity upgrade and is due for completion 2014

I asked for the Youth and senior training be improved, they rejected the youth but agree on the senior.

Its good to see that the board are willing to invest.

Feeder CLubs

Last year I welcomed Morecombe into a partnership and this year Sportist (bulgaria handy for work permits and have taken full advantage of it i have 2 youngsters their now)

Last year we were tied in with Everton that ended. However the board organized At Madrid for this season so we are now a feeder for them.

The players that got sent to us arn't much chop tho but we squeeze em in when we can.

Coaches

We are allowed 4 more coaches this season so make use of them.

I changed my Assistant manager this season as Thompson contract had ran out and felt i needed the support of an experienced Ass Man " Jon Andoni Goikoetxea" great pick up i feel.

Scouts

Allways have max Scouts get your knowledge up asap, they all dont have to be good, I have 2 really good ones (well try to) and let my lesser scouts unearth and get knowledge then send in the good scouts to double check.

THE SQUAD

The Board have given me 10 mill for transfers.

Goalkeepers

Last season I signed Marco Storari (on a free at after his loan expired), with the aim of him helping us get into the bigtime it happened a year earlier. He will be key to my survival plans this season.

I also picked up a young goal keeper as back up and long term replacement hopefully.

Defenders

With Catchcart going back to Man U, and i dont want to spend money on loan fees. I was glad that i made a couple transers last year, again they were on frees and at loan at other clubs.

Poallo Dellafiore looks the pick of them and has slotted in nicely with Garcia this season.

The other Dc i recruited is upset as i recruited him last year to be a first team player in the championship but he isn't good enough for the premier. Hopefully with some game time and retraining to DR with the aim to use him as cover. He wont be a liability

I also picked up a DC/DM to use as Cover for the first team.

Fullbacks

I was desperate for a good DL and 2 weeks before the season start Blackpool welcomes Jose Angel from Sporting for 3.5 mill (Im very hopefull i was desperate to get a DL but i wanted the right one). Jose hasnt got any real weakness apart from mediocre jumping and heading but he looks sound in defense has the pace and can also play an attacking creative role. He is also young enough to reach his 4 star potential. I must say i am quite surprised i got him to come to blackpool. I dare say putting in my previous experience as an International footballer helps.

I think i have the back four and back ups i need to keep me up, if not then i will be going down strong and able to bounce back up at first go.

Midfielders

I'm happy with my midfield Adams, Southern, Gunnarsson and the young Mateau make up the core. I have a DC/DM to act as cover .

Hopefully this season i can get more creativity out of Adams.

Attacking Wingers

I need an AML but couldnt find one suitable so Martin and Taylor Fletcher will have to cover that position for now.

I did get in Danniele Dessena with the view of retraining him into an AML but that will take a while and so far he has been hit and miss on his form. So off to the reserves for a month to get serious game time at AML. He can also play MC or MR so i can use him as cover or to change things up a bit.

I looked for an AMR also but had more pressing concerns with other areas Bouazza will be first choice as i devolop a young Coppari for this postion.

Strikers

Most important area this season I doubt Burgess will cut it at this level and Missirollo may be out of his depth. So I plan to use these two as rotation players, with the view of changing Missirollo into an attacking creative winger . His shooting and composure being only 12 (it hasnt improved since he joined tho his other stats have) has me worried he may squander too many opportunities. But he will get his chance.

So Blackpool welcome in its two new Strikers.

Matius Alustiza from Chacarita 4.2 mill. Looks the goods creative has pace and is seen as an ideal replacment for DJ Cambpell who went back to Leicester after his loan (As a side note DJ was great for me last season but so far he cant get a game at Leicester this season). Matuis does lack any aerial Ability but is good with his feet. He can also play as an AMR.

Martin Varga from Debrecen 800k. Only 18 years old has good pace and has all the stats in the right places, looks like he will develop into a complete forward.

I picked up another half dozen youngsters 18-19yr olds none worth noting hopefully some of them will come thru the ranks and give me depth in future years.

Season Goals

Hopefully stay up but planning incase we go down. If we go down we will be a very strong Championship squad even allowing for our better players to be transfered out.

When recruiting for the first team i'm allways looking to make sure the players havnt got any glaring weakness. ie Full backs or DC's that cant pass or poor decisions. As well has having a younger player as backup/rotation for any given position.

As blackpool its going to be hard to keep players once they make the grade so its important to have a youngster ready to go in each position. We will be a selling club otherwise we wont survive..

The season so far

All the new recruits have fitted in well and playing ok apart from Dessena but he is a project and playing out of position so i will be patient with him.

The new strikers have all scored and Missiroli just keeps going along scoring.

After losing the first two games quite easily ( Man City and Birmingham both 2-1 but should of been more) We drew with chelsea at home 2-2 (they had 26 shots at goal we had 2 ) and we have won the past three and sit 10th on 10 points after 6 games.

Marco Storari has been fantacitic in goals so far if he gets injured we will be in trouble the other bright note is that we havnt lost our ability to score (we were the highest scoring team last season)

So im quietly confident we can avoid relagation with this squad, we still have close to 2 mill in the kitty for tranfers and all the back ups are playing well in the cups so far against championship teams.

Surprise packets this season Bouazza has starred in the first 6 rounds 2 goals and 3 assists in 6 games as well as Missiroli 4 goals and 1 assist.

Guys season has fell into total ruin i find myself 20th as of 15th of november players just cant seen to do anything decent at all what should i do !!!

Jarmel

Sounds like you had a good season, like me, getting promoted into the premiership in the 1st season, I also found that Bouazza was good, like you I played him on the right a lot, as I had Barazite and Mitea who I picked up on a free for the left. I'm suprised you didn't get any money for Nardiello, I sold him for 100k, which is better than nothing I suppose, and then brought in Pedro which as you know (if you read my posts) that he has been outstanding for me, he is my new favourite player for lower league teams, cheap and also on low wages. Also suprised you got rid of Ormerod, I kept him and he got 11 goals for me in the 1st season, however I know for a fact I don't think he will cut it in the big time.

Neil Eardly has been outstanding for me all season, played every game, didn't pick up any injuries or suspensions. Chipped in with a few goals and assists and bossed the right back postion, he is also very strong on the ball.

Dessena for you I think he is a good signing, I rememeber him on other fm's turning out good, however he is not like he used to be, but can still easily do the job. Let me know how you get on

acro_poolie

Do you set any touchline insturctions? When I was in the championship, I played a very wide, with a slow tempo and short passing, and then I set my team instructions to Pass to Feet, and also Work ball into box. This meant that I could control the games and play at my own pace, in most of the games I had most possession and most shots. Also if you are b********g your team half time and full time, this would lower there morale and therefore they won't be as motivated as they could be, just give them time, especially if you have made a few signings

My Season 2

As you may well know I got promoted to the premiership and finishing 1st in my 1st season. I got a transfer budget or around 11mill (cant remember exact figure) First thing that I did was bring in some new coaching additions. I knew that i wouldn't be able to get the all up to like 4.5 star, so I was happy with 3.5/4 star. Also brought in some new scouts, to scout different regions.

Transfers In

Ahmed Fathi - Al-Ahly - Signed on pre contract during last season (Free)

Mario Kirev - Juventus - Loan, With Juventus as my parent club they sent him to me on loan

Diego Buonanotte - River Plate - 4mill

Allan McGregor - Rangers - 2mill

Serigy Krystov - Metalug ZP - 4.4mill

Overall I am happy with my transfers in so far, still got a couple of mill to spend, so I am looking for a striker, as the likes of Burgess, Ormerod don't think they will do that good in the prem, so thinking of Semih Senturk or Danko Lazovic, as they are both on the transfer list for little over 1mill, so which one guys?

The only notable transfers out were Rob Edwards, who only made a few appearences in 1st season moved to Burnley on a free, and also I decided to depart with Hameur Bouazza, I thought the 4.4mill that I got for him was rather good deal.

Future Ideas

Like Jarmel did, I may ask them to upgrade the facilites, and also I still have a few spaces to bring in more coahces, as they are allowing me to have 11, they are also now allowing me to scout other continents, like Africa and South America, which is a big bonus.

Maybe bring in a few loan deals for cover, I noticed that Jack Wilshere is on the loan list, and so might look to bring him in, along with bringing Barazite back to the club on loan. Also got my 1st game coming up in a couple of days against Sunderland, so hopefully my team will play well, I just don't know haha, anyway I will leave it there

Sorry Arco you have changed you squad so much. I have no idea about your new players.

You could try and park the bus , Flat back four with an Anchor man in DM and play a lone strikers supported by your two wingers. And have 2 central mids on support and play on the counter.

Play your first team Squad less often to keep em fresh , let you second 11 play the away games and keep your best for home games.

Give no pressure for team talks , if they lose sympathise you will need to try and get their moral up.

During a 2 weeks break get your First team to play against your u18's for a morale boost.

But i would plan for next year presume you will go down and make sure you go down strong, take the opportunity to give game time to all your players to aid their development.

Then have another crack at winning the championship but this time make sure you plan in advance and go up strong.

With my new tactic im hoping to turn the corner and the massive weak link in my team (goalkeeper) about to be filled up on january the 1st by begovic i might be ale to salvage something the playoffs are only 13 points away after all

Pinder Yeah i noticed you got 100k for Nardielo . I needed to free up wages quick so i could offer Gunnarsson the wage he wanted. I think i did a mutual on all bar one of my free's.

I have high hopes for Dessana he was transfer listed for 650k. If he cant make the switch as an inside forward he is perfect to replace Southern.

Where are you playing Adams and how ? I dont think i am getting the best out of him.

I looked at Ormerod but didn't like what i saw Blackpool has a quite a few players that are very similar so i dumped the ones i thought wern't going to be able to take the next step up. Good to see Taylor Fletcher play well for you I thought he would be able to but i played him out of position all year so the goals didnt come his way at all.

I'd take 4.4 for Bouazza nice get . As for your strikers I dont know the two you mentioned. See if Baba can get a work permit yet (Maritimo) or Briand is on a free in the second season if he hasnt been signed yet. Martin Varga looks the goods for the future and is handy off the bench (cost me 800k). Maybe try an loan DJ Campbell he did well last year me ? 2 mill isnt alot of money to get a front line striker. Will pedro make the step up ?

Arco , your still in the championship you dont wanna get relegated. Grind out some draws and get that moral up.

Jarmel

Charlie Adam, I play in CM, and as a advanced playmaker (Attack) however I can't make my decision whether I think he is doing well. At the beginning of the 1st season, he had played something like 5 and set up about the same, and then he got injured then and I don't think that he has come back as good. Last season however, he played 32 and set up 12, with an average rating of 7.28, which is very good, when looking at analysis during games he did make a lot of passes, and rarely lost the ball, I also brought in Capi who is good if not better, however age is definatly not on his side (33) but he has been spraying passes allover the pitch.

Charlie Adam instructions

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Pinder2807

Pinder Thanks for the info , I changed to those settings and doing just as well as he did last season but he seems to be losing the ball alot in the Premier league. He only has mediocre off the ball stats combined with a lack of pace makes him too easy to be picked up.

Just had a horror run of injuries to my strikers all four went down at the same time ranging from 4 week to 3 months. Missiroli was joint leading striker in the league on 11 after 14 games. I didnt have the depth to cover for those injuries and after scoring 28 in the first 14 games , we went 9 games straight with out scoring and only managed one draw to put us back in the relegation battle. Those injuries came at the worst possible time for me as we had heaps of midweek games to contend with.

3 of the strikers have been back for two games now and we are now sitting back at 13th (was 10th b4 the injuries)5 points clear of the relegation zone.

Just an FYI on how the original Blackpool players are faring in the EPL.

Bouazza 3 goals , 5 assist rating 6.9 . I am hopeing to get an offer for him like you did and move him on.

Adams 2 Goals 5 Assists rating 6.9 . Just renewed his contract might be usefull as a squad player but mainly want to keep him for his tutoring abilities.

Southern Only played 3 games and 2 of those as a sub due to him having a horror run of injuries . Only keeping him around again for his tutoring skills plus he has been there so long i'd feel bad cutting him loose. Has a role to play as a squad player.

Eardley Not getting the goals he was last season from his free kicks, has 2 assists rating 6.7 not great but one for the future and gettiing better all the time (played 22 games). He is my first choice at DR. Alltho if i was a real chance of getting relageted i would find a better DR asap and use him as rotation player.

Crainey , Burgess and Taylor-Fletcher Only playing a cameo roles off the bench. Burgess has been injured quite a bit this year to other wise he would have had more than his 5 games.

Baptiste Has played in most of the cup games and been ok only played in a couple of the bench in the EPL games. Back up at best but has been handy as a squad player for the cup games against lower divisions.

Rachubka Hasn't played and wont play have two better keepers than him now . I'd be happy to have him as a back up keeper hate to play him week in week out tho . Storari has played in every game and that wont change.

Euell, Edwards and Gilks all left in the preseason .

Barring any more bad injuries we should be able to stay clear of relegation hoping to get around 40-45 points (30 from 24 games atm).

Most likely to go down are Shef Utd(only 6 points), Hull and Newcastle.

Just started Season 3.

Last season we got stuck in a relegation battle dropping as low as 19th . Just after I posted the last update our GK Storari picked up an injury and our fortunes turned for the worse again. Our back ups are simply not good enough at level. The draw was quite kind to us our last 5 games were against all the teams in relegation zone. With a fit Storari and Dessena getting more comfortable playing at AML these two players ended our bad run of results and by end of season we finished on 45 points 6 clear or relagation. Fullham, Hull and Shef UtD were relagated. Reading, West brom and Nott Forest promoted.

So all in all a successfull season 2. Missiroli had another good season 16 goals, Charlie Adams started to play alot better once i changed him from the left cm position to the right cm (6 goals 12 assists) and Dessena started assert his influence.

I was offered the job at AC Milan over summer and decided to take it (Ive never coached a really big club) I was Given 67 mill for transfers and 2.7 mill per week for wages (aww man that is just rediculous) So i went thru to the start of the the season proper sold heaps of players spent a total of 130+ mill in transfers building a super squad. Then got bored of it b4 the first league game. So i went back to my Blackpool save .

Back to Blackpool

The team isnt in too bad a shape with a couple of new key additions i think i will have a solid prem team .

Blackpool has allowed me 21 mill for transfers and 210k for wages this season.

Area's of concern.

AMR . I have Bouaza and Coppari . Not to keen on bouaza after a great start last season he didnt do much else for 3/4 of it and coppari is still not quite good enough but is my best atm. So i'm keen to get a AMR with good physical stats and can attack and defend.

Blackpool spends a record 12.5 million to secure the services of Diego Renan . Alltho not an attacking midfielder by nature i have no doubt he will be dangerous going forward as well as solid going back.

CB We are a little light on here and could do with one more DC that has good aerial abiltiy. After much searching and resigned to the fact that i didnt have the money to buy what i wanted. I thought i would look up Anthony Annan (alltho DM by trade can be retrained to DC) to my surprise in season 3 he is still a bargain he cost me 1.25 million.

Strikers Last season showed our horrid lack of depth in attack. Which is now covered by 16 yr old blackpool wonderkid Stuart Coleman (4 star coach rating) I have never had a youth player that looks this promising with out buying them. He has 17 shooting,composure, free kicks, dribling . Only weakness is he doesnt jump well and has pace of 12. I guess I didnt need to buy Baba for 3 mill ( i aint giving him back tho love his name)

We also have another youth player that come thru this season John Astley (4 star rated DC/DM) he does lack a little physically other wise has great mental and technical stats, due to his lack of stats i'll nurture him as a Def mid playmaker.

So all in all i think i have a good mid table squad now and barring any unhappy players that want to move on i will keep this squad together as long as i can

With Annan and Renan only arriving at the club one week before the season starts proper they are plying their trade in the Res grade and playin off the bench in the first team. ( I feel a little dirty getting these two well known players but they do have the qualities i was looking for and ive never had them before).

So far in our 2nd season in the prem we have won 4 out of 4 games v Arsenal, Wigan, Sunderland and Blackburn.

Baba has been a great pick up, Missiroli has been out injured and Alustiza has started everygame and been handy. Dessena has scored two and two assists and is looking like turning into a great Inside winger and Charlie Adams has started well with 2 assists. Gunnarsson finally looks like making the grade and has played very well in all four games.

The Board are upgrading everything as we speak , I have a near capable Young player to cover for every postion. So hopefully i can keep this lot happy for a few seasons and continue to improve the club finances to pay for more upgrades .

PS: Eardley had rumblings about wanting to join Villareal I put a 15 mill price tag on his head so hopefully that will keep em at bay for a while.

I aint been on fm in a while mate, damn revision for exams, ill be on after the France game tonight and hopefully do my review and help you with yours

I quite like Eardley, he is one of my consistant performers, will let you know more later anyway

Well..just tried going on my Blackpool save, and its corrupted, luckily I saved it just entering into season 2, so now need to do all the transfers again. *sigh*

thats gotta suck.

I have changed my tactics slightly this season , i found having both wingers coming inside caused to much congestion in the middle so now my AMR players wide. So now my forwards and midfielders have more room to strutt their stuff. I think that helped Adams get more assists towards the end of last season as well as moving him to the right CM.

I might have to buy your striker you got, Missirola, what sort of striker do you play him as? I got Chevanton for a couple of thousand on mine, wasnt too bad, and he was experienced, shame that was on my old save, I have like 7 mill to bolster my team up, need a keeper, LB, CB, AMR and Striker, dont suppose you have any good ideas do you?

Simone Missiroli can play any striker role , i play him mainly as either complete support or complete attack, but does allright at every role just allow him to to have runs with ball often and thru balls. He can also play on the right as a winger tho i havnt played him in that spot.

I had trouble finding an AMR thats why i got Diego Renan, I have Carlo Coppari and is good going forwards and backwards but he isnt quite good enough yet to be better than Bouaza. He still has improvement to come from what the coaches say. He dribbles, passes and crosses well, great composure (17) only weakness is his poor strength (9) poor jump/heading (10) and shooting,bravery and agression(10) all other stats are 12-15. I think he will do a job for me as a rotation player for years to come.

Keeper see if nigerean keeper Vincent Enyeama is available, on my save he is at Celtic so not much chance of getting him if he has moved clubs this season. Check out Marco Storari see what he is upto ?

Leftback i got that position sorted out last year , with Jose Angel and Matti Aaltonen as his back up both arnt great as yet but looking promising going forward with Angel as the attacking FB and Matti as the more defensive. You should be able to find various good defensive type FB's easily for not much but i liek mine to be able to do both and thats where it gets hard on a budget. Have you still got Baptiste ? he can provide cover till you find the right person also you could train up one of your lesser CB's to play FB ??

DC I liked the look of Mohammad Nosrati i tried to get him in my first season but would not come maybe he will come to a EPL team ? looks good in all areas and would be a great tutor for your youth players. Maybe Cathcart on loan ?

Hard to recommend as i am being very fussy with any new players i bring in, I want them all to be long term players and not have any weaknesses that will get exposed, so i am happy to keep a substandard player and use him rather than waste my $$$ to buy a player whom may be better but doesnt have the stats to fit the role i expect. I did that first season and due to the money i saved on wages and unspent transfer funds this season i was given 21 mill to spend. That allowed me to spend 12 mill on Renan. I still have 7 mill left but i will keep that up my sleeve and only use it if absolutely needed.

So it depends on your goals a bit too , do you want a quick rise thru the ranks or are you building slowly.

Cheers man, im looking to build for the future, Arsene Wenger style

I can approach Storari on a free so maybe I will look at him again, before my save got corrupted I did have Alan McGregor however he just wasnt performing, maybe because of the defence infront of him. I remeber Jose Angel was on my shortlist before hand, looks a decent prospect, how much did you get Renan for? They are wanting 9mill for him from me, so I dont think I will be getting him haha, I remember Nosrati on like fm07, he was class for my Arsenal team, and now he is older and looks the business, I may take a look at him.

Renan 12.25 mill clean buy out.

Mc Gregor should be ok in goals he isnt that great with his aerial ability so you want good strong heading defenders to help cover his only real weakness. I'd keep him as Storari is about the same quality and get better central defenders if you can get Nosrati your halfway there.

Just Approached halfway mark of the season, so far we are exceeeding all expectations . Sitting 4th, 4 points behind 1st place Man City and 7 points above chelsea in 7th spot. We are also in the Semi Final of the league cup. ( we did have an easy run thru to the quarters where we beat Chelsea).

We have been very competitive all season and matched up well against the top sides. Tha last few weeks has seen our form drop off, i fear the players may be getting jaded , i also have some trouble with 3 players wanting to leave Matea , Eardley and Dessena. I convinced Dessena to stay but the other two want to be listed (so i did and put a hafty price tag on their heads).

Original Blackpool players.

Adams is still playing well (16 games, 1goal, 6 ass, rating 7.32)

Bouaza Has been injured a fair bit this year only had 2 starts and 3 of the bench. Every time he is fully fit again he gets injured for another 2-3 weeks.

Southern Only playing in the reserves.

Baptiste Only had a few starts to vcover for injuries , he aint happy wants more first team football so i'll play him in the FA cup rounds.

Eardley Playing well (14 games rating 7.10) wants to leave so i have benched him and using renan at FB.

Key Players So far this season , Baba 13 goals 7 assist, Dessena 6 goals 6 assists, Alustiza 4 goal 4 assist all from the first 8 games then injury struck but hasnt found his form from the start of the season, Missiroli injured at the start of the season and didnt get game time untill Alustiza copped an injury (10 games 5 goals 3 assists).

Plans for second half of the season is try and maintain a top 6 position in the hope of qualifying for europe (I'd rather be in the Europa cup than the Champions league at this stage) I'll rotate my players more to keep them fresh and also aid in the development of the second 11 players. It may mean i won't win as many games but if i dont my first team will fall in a hole at seasons end.

The club has just upgraded the training facilities so i will ask again in the off season for more upgrades, the stadium is being upgraded as we speak . Still have 9 mill in transfer funds avail hopefully i wont have to use any of it. Have started to look for replacements for Eardley and Matea still hopefull of keeping them tho if we can maintain a high league position and win the league cup.

Just finished up a very successful season.

We had a great run and draw in the league cup only having to play the prem teams in the semi

(Newcastle) and Man U in the final where we had a comfortable 2-0 win.

We also had a good run in the FA cup losing easily to Chelsea in the semi.

In the league we were sitting as high as 3rd but 4th or 5th mostly till the end of the season and fell down to 7th. We lost our form after the league cup win to give up a 10 point buffer from 6th spot. As weird as it sounds i didn't want to finish in the top 4 as we haven't got the squad to compete in the Champions league. Luckily the Cup win gets us into the euro cup which is perfect to help develop the younger players.

The season that was.

Very happy with our league form to end up 7th was fantastic, if we didn't suffer a bad loss of form at the end of the season 3rd or 4th was well with in reach. Considering was hoping for a low mid table position.

How the original Blackpool players fared in the league.

Charlie Adams plays well in an attacking role played 26 games tho a lack of goals is a worry(his good long shots stat is misleading, maybe i need to get him to run forward more often?) 11 assists proved his worth tho as the starting CM.

Keith Southern hasn't played in the first team at all in the past two seasons and wants to leave, was hoping to keep him around for his mentoring as he has been a loyal servant. But i think i will have to let him go.

Ben Burgess As above.

Hameur Bouaza didn't figure at all this season , has been injury plagued so i had to recruit in a new winger. Was fit for the second half of the season but it was all to late his replacement is better.

Neal Eardley another good year played 29 games rating of 7 first choice RB looks a good solid prem player, luckily a semi successful season this season has stopped him from wanting to further his career at another club.

Alex-John Baptiste didn't play any league games but was in the early cup rounds playing as a RB , handy to have as a back up but his lack of stamina and strength have me worried. Another player getting itchy feet due to the lack of first team football doubt he will stay much longer.

Other Players of note

Baba was a gun scoring 22 goals and 9 assists.

Missiroli still plays well but does seem to get a few longish term injuries. I think he is a 20 goal a season player if he can stay fit for the whole season.

Dessena Very handy with the goals 8 and assists 8 (getting itchy feet and was rewarded with new contract.

Walter Garcia been good but also really bad when he has a bad one he really does have a bad one. I need to sell him or work out how to stop his bad games he has lost us 4 matches thru bad play.

Aaron Gunarsson solid and dependable in the midfield, rating 6.9 . I prefer him to get forward more to be more damaging but my defense is quite leaky so im wary and keep him sitting back in font of the DC's. Made him the captain in the next season but he feels pressured to be given the captaincy at such a young age.

Anthony Annan was brought in last season to be retrained at DC( which took most of the season to do) played most of the second half of the season as first choice DC along with Dellafiore. They look like forming a good solid defense.

Diego Renan was brought in for 12 mil to be retrained at AMR. Class player. On the first day of the jan window At Madrid put in an offer for 25 mill which the chairman gladly accepted. Losing him might of been the difference in not finishing in the top 4. 13 mill profit for 6 months is very handy and allows the board more funds to pay for more upgrades.

The New season

The stadium is now a 16k all seater,and hoping for further expansion again this season(don't know what the cap is??)

The Board have given me 21mill for transfers and 310k wage budget (up from 210k, used 185k).

Transfer targets will be a TS was looking at Eugene Seleznyov however work permits will be refused according to scouts. Was looking at Cordoza but he was going to cost me a fortune. I did find a 19yr old Ukraine player i think he is a regen ? Sergey Drozdov (5.5 mill) 2 star rating currently but future 3.5 star, has stats in all the places you would want in a good TS. He does lack determination but Alustiza will tutor that into him.

I did look for a New midfielder with the aim of making him captain but didn't find any so Gunarsson will be thrown into the deep end.

Storari is starting to get on a bit and my back up goal keepers are not good enough for the league so i had to find a new back up. However when checking for out of contract keepers Adlers name appeared ,he wanted 55 k wage but the most i could offer was 37k and 1.8 mill sign on, two days later he signs on much to my surprise.

Jonjo Shelvy was also available as a free transfer so i picked him up. that will allow me to sell him or another midfielder for good profit.

No transfers out atm, however i think the only original Blackpool players left by seasons end will be Eardley and Adams.

Aims For the new season

Priority top 6 in the league (to maintain a euro spot)

Hope to qualify out of the group stages in the euro cup using non first team players.

Maintain the current squad as much as possible and keep the finances strong.

Fears are losing Baba as he had a stellar season coming second in the EPL player of the year and Goal scorer. I would find Dessena hard to replace also (he has a severe dislike of Bouaza so i will have to move Bouaza on sooner than later)

Last season results

Top 4. Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Man u.

Relegated. West brom, Forrest and reading.

Promoted. Fulham , Hull and Portsmouth

Youll be glad to know ive finished college forever now jarmel, so fm all the time, ill update tonight

Full name Blackpool Football Club

Nickname(s)

The Seasiders,

The 'Pool,

The Tangerines

Founded 26 July 1887[1]

Ground Bloomfield Road

Blackpool, England

(Capacity: 12,555)

Owners Owen Oyston

Valeri Belokon

Chairman Karl Oyston

League Premier League

2009–10 The Championship, 6th

(promoted via play-offs)

HISTORY

Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They will compete the 2010–11 season in the Premier League, the top tier of professional football in England, having won the Football League Championship play-off Final at the end of the 2009–10 campaign, their 100th consecutive season in the Football League. It will be their debut in the Premier League, and it will be their first appearance in England's top flight since 1971. It will also complete a climb of four divisions in nine years. They hold the record for being the first club in English football to be promoted through all four divisions via the playoffs.

The club's home ground has been Bloomfield Road since 1901, and their main nicknames are the Seasiders, the 'Pool and the Tangerines, the latter in reference to the colour of their home kit. Their motto is Progress, as featured on the club crest. They have a fierce local rivalry with Preston North End, with whom they contest the West Lancashire derby.

Blackpool's most notable achievement is winning the 1953 FA Cup Final, the so-called "Matthews Final", in which they beat Bolton Wanderers 4–3, overturning a 1–3 deficit in the closing stages of the game. During that post-war period, Blackpool made three Wembley appearances in six years and came close to winning the League Championship on several occasions. They also supplied the national teams with many players, notably for England in 1953 when four Blackpool men lined up at Wembley, causing the Daily Mirror to declare that "Blackpool F.C. are playing Hungary today",though it became a day that English football fans would rather forget. Their least successful period came in the 1980s, and in 1982–83 they finished 21st in English League football's lowest tier, their lowest-ever League finish.The club has been managed since May 2009 by Ian Holloway, who guided them to the Premier League in his first season in charge. As of the end of the 2009–10 season, Holloway's win-percentage in League matches as Blackpool manager is 41.3%, which places him sixth out of the club's twenty-five full-time managers.

CURRENT SQUAD

STAR PLAYER

Charlie Adam

My Personal Lineup

I have 6 million to spend on transfers on 10.3 patch. I can't say how much you get on previous patches, You need to strengthen the entire squad to be honest, Here is a possible few freebies from the start of the game just to bolster your squad

Sorry there's already a Blackpool thread for FM10 . Hear it is - http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/209580-Official-Blackpool-thread-Winning-playoff-May-2010?highlight=blackpool And if you were meaning this to be Blackpools FM11 thread you can't make it until the demo is out.

Nice OP though