Now You Do Not Punish Someone, English Or Otherwise, For Being Rubbish At FM...

[SRL88]

Okay, in light of this, what does everyone predict for me at Southend this season?

I think if you can finish in 21st place then its a major achievement!!!! You have no budget and are over your wages, so strengthening is difficult unless you make a few loan signings, so if you can survive relegation, then its job done in my eyes!!!!

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

I think mid-table, if you get a good run possibly get near the playoffs. Nunn and Bostock look good for this level and is that the same Manny Fernandes from Valenica, Everton, Portsmouth etc? If so he should storm this league

[Nordan]

Okay, in light of this, what does everyone predict for me at Southend this season?

I admit my comment was a hindsight joke I just knew you would do a good job really.

I predict 12th-14th this season barring unforseen stuff like you ending up 1st-11th or 15th-24th

[deltablue]

Comfortable mid-table, though probably not top-half.

[SnakeXe]

I think mid-table, if you get a good run possibly get near the playoffs. Nunn and Bostock look good for this level and is that the same Manny Fernandes from Valenica, Everton, Portsmouth etc? If so he should storm this league

It is the one and same! He's not quite the player he was - there seems to be quite a few older players who really badly regress and drop down the leagues. Steven Ireland spent last season on loan in the BSP and I had Stuart Holden on loan at Darlington and he was awful.

I like the optimism of comfortable mid-table

I'd take 21st on goals scored right now if offered, to be honest! I've played 5 matches so far, we're midtable but our results feel a little too random for my liking. I prefer games to be a little more controlled (so I'm Rafa, sue me).

[AK22]

Well done on the back-to-back promotions, but I think you've got a tough job on your hands keeping them in the Championship. At least you've got a handful of decent outfield players, and a strong 'keeper too, so that'll give you a fighting chance

[abulezz]

Anything out of the relegation zone should be viewed as a successful season!

[SnakeXe]

So I apply for a much bigger club in another country after winning two successive promotions and suddenly I'm persona non grata? Well thank you very much.



Archie's come too:

[SnakeXe]

Honestly, I'm quite gutted I didn't have the chance to see the season through but the board and fans went mental when I applied for that job so I had to jump before I was pushed. I'd more applied for Twente just to see if that level of club would consider me at this point.

[SnakeXe]

That was quick - 5 times the wage budget and a little raise too, very nice indeed.

[deltablue]

How have you got on with that? Edit -Very well it seems.

[SnakeXe]

Name: Wigan Athletic
Nickname: The Latics
Founded: 1932
Stadium: DW Stadium, 25,133 (all-seater) capacity
Status: Professional

From Wikipedia:

Wigan Athletic Football Club is an association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. They have played at the DW Stadium since 1999, sharing the stadium with rugby league club Wigan Warriors. They previously played at Springfield Park for 67 years.

Wigan survived a few more years in the Premier League than expected (by me anyway) as they only finally succumbed to relegation in 2015. Since then they have fallen in the playoffs twice, before narrowly missing out on them last year. Clearly this is a team I can finally gain some top-flight experience with.

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 7 New Club Update - Wigan Athletic

Board Expectations:
Championship - Respectable league position (but not judging at the moment, Predicted 9th out of 24, 13th place on arrival)
FA Cup - Fourth Round
League Cup - Already Out

My Expectations:
Championship - Challenge for a playoff spot
FA Cup - Third Round

Budgets:
Transfer: £15.86K
Wages: £254,210/week (£229,721/week currently)
Balance: £3,496,524

Squad:
Pretty good to be honest. Incredibly strong spine, the flanks are probably the weak spot - the opposite of what I had at Southend.

Key Men:
Goalkeeper/Defence
Leandro Castan - DLC - A classy defender.

Midfield
Darren Ramsay - DRC/MC - He looks like an absolute beast of a combative midfielder.
Scott Allan - MC - His passing range will be invaluable.

Strikers
Mauro Boselli - ST - The flop is still here, but should be unstoppable in the Championship if I can give him the ammunition.

[DazRTaylor]

I am confused. You write as if it is a Championship club, but you state L1 above. Also your link goes to League One.

Either way, all the best at Wigan

[SnakeXe]

Well spotted on all accounts, I was just... err... testing you.

Yeah, that's right, testing...

[SnakeXe]

Just come up with a new layout for the history table, what do you guys think? Better/worse/the same?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  | Team            | League                | Country      | Position | Notes                                     |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2012/13 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Semi-finalists                    |
| 2013/14 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 3rd      | Resigned in October                       |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 14th     | 15th on arrival in October                |
| 2014/15 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Winners                           |
| 2015/16 | Darlington      | League Two            | England      | 16th     | Resigned in January                       |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2015/16 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 21st     | Relegated, 24th on arrival in March       |
| 2016/17 | Southend United | League Two            | England      | 1st      | League Two Champions                      |
| 2017/18 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 2nd      | Promoted                                  |
| 2018/19 | Southend United | Championship          | England      | 17th     | Resigned in October                       |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2018/19 | Wigan Athletic  | Championship          | England      | ----     | 13th on arrival in October                |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[DazRTaylor]

I prefer it

[SRL88]

Nice one on the new job .

Just a little bit better .

[Archwaypool]

i'm loving this game - Well done! SnakeXe - So I got the game - i started Unemployed - went to MVV Maastricht who were bottom of the dutch 2nd - saved them and now top of the div in my second season! Loving it!


-

[SnakeXe]

Thanks guys, I'll stick with the new one then

Glad you're getting similar enjoyment to me from your game, Archwaypool

[SnakeXe]

Season 7: Halfway House Update

13th in the league and out of the League Cup when I joined, things weren't really all that bad. The squad was in relatively good cheer and had just celebrated a 5-2 thumping of Sheffield United.

I carried this streak on with 3 wins in the first 3 matches under my management, but they were all against relatively meagre opposition, and the next two matches gave me a bit of a wakeup call - slumping to successive defeats away at Reading and Swansea showed we weren't as good as I thought.

Nevertheless, we battled back to claim a win in our next match to arrest the slide before it had really gotten going, and good thing we did too as we were off to Roots Hall next!

Southend played much as they did under my management, solid shape and defend hard, hope to get a goal through a set piece or piece of skill from Nunn. They did the former very early, Wilkinson heading in from a free kick, and then absorbed pressure very well, restricting us to long range shots.

Luckily for us, one of those crept in off the post from midfielder Allan and we came out of the game with a draw a respectable result for both sides.

3 more wins in the 3 remaining games of the half season, including a satisfying 3-2 away victory over the SMBs, left us outside the playoffs on goal difference. I think that's the definition of "nicely poised".

The Good

• Collected plenty of points early on
• Beating the SMBs
• Could possibly be playing Premier League football next season

The Bad

• Undignified exit from Southend
• Boselli's legs look totally done
• Lack of height in defence means we have no threat from set pieces

Results - League Table - Squad

[AK22]

Good luck with Wigan, looks like you'll be challenging for playoffs place then

Southend doing fine without you though

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

Optimistic going for the Twente job

Good luck at Wigan, and although looks a decent squad, thought you might have been given a bit more cash for signings.

[Nobby_McDonald]

It says something when going to Wigan is a good move.

[DazRTaylor]

I only discovered this forum around 6 weeks or so ago but the FMCU Forum is where I spend my time. I love it. Threads like this one from SnakeXe is what makes it. I love it! SnakeXe - what a brilliant career.

When 12.1 hits, I will start a proper game, starting unemployed, post it all in a thread of my own and go from there. I hope to get as much enjoyment as you guys clearly do and as much as I do from reading them.

[DazRTaylor]

Forgot to add, any win against the Dirty Mackems is great news. No doubt they are embarrassing themselves with half full stadia as they are in the 2nd tier?

[SnakeXe]

Good luck with Wigan, looks like you'll be challenging for playoffs place then

Southend doing fine without you though

I definitely left them with plenty of ammunition to stay up (I made a few more good free signings after the end of the transfer window including former Everton youth Jose Baxter) - the new manager looks to be keeping things ticking over nicely.

Optimistic going for the Twente job

Good luck at Wigan, and although looks a decent squad, thought you might have been given a bit more cash for signings.

They were in the bottom half of the table so I thought I had at least some sort of shot at it. Turns out I didn't! I'd have expected a bit more of a transfer budget, especially seeing the balance, but never mind, I don't think it's desperately needed right now.

It says something when going to Wigan is a good move.

At least it's not another of England's "brilliant" seaside resorts!

I only discovered this forum around 6 weeks or so ago but the FMCU Forum is where I spend my time. I love it. Threads like this one from SnakeXe is what makes it. I love it! SnakeXe - what a brilliant career.

When 12.1 hits, I will start a proper game, starting unemployed, post it all in a thread of my own and go from there. I hope to get as much enjoyment as you guys clearly do and as much as I do from reading them.

I'm glad you're enjoying the thread - look forward to your own! Drop a link in here when you start it

Forgot to add, any win against the Dirty Mackems is great news. No doubt they are embarrassing themselves with half full stadia as they are in the 2nd tier?

Well it's not capacity, but it's still the highest in the Championship. I guess the web-footed masses have to do something on a Saturday.

[SnakeXe]

That would have been a hell of a job. Shame I've only just rocked up at Wigan.

[iseemonsters1]

Wow, Santos - I guess you're really making an impact on the footballing world! Sorry if I missed this - what kind of tactics will you be playing at Wigan? Trying to be tough to beat, or will you be wowing the DW Stadium with silky flowing football?

[Deisler26]

Noice. Definitely dump Boselli though. You need pace to get you up the leagues!

[deltablue]

Definitely something to look forward to further down the line.

[abulezz]

Good job on getting so close to the Play-off spots - if its goal difference, Im sure you can manage to find your way in!

[SnakeXe]

Noice. Definitely dump Boselli though. You need pace to get you up the leagues!

He's a good sub when we're playing keep ball thanks to his technical quality, but he's no use at all when we're under pressure as his lack of movement means he rarely competes for clearances.

[Nobby_McDonald]

At least it's not another of England's "brilliant" seaside resorts!

Indeed but they still have a pier!

[SnakeXe]

You don't want to Google image search "Wigan Pier"

What's that? You want to laugh at the Mackems more? Okay!

[deltablue]

Can never laugh too much at Sunderland.

[SnakeXe]

They've had 10 points deducted and all

[MattSpurs94]

..................lol

[DazRTaylor]

Hahahahahaha you can always rely on the Mackems to **** things up. Proves how realistic FM is

Mickey Mouse club with Donald Duck in charge.

[Nobby_McDonald]

You're confusing them with Port Vile there Daz.

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 7 - 2018/19

Story of the Season:
Championship - 4th, Playoff Winners
Having begun the second half of the season just outside the playoff spots, we wasted no time in breaking in to them, and stayed there for pretty much the whole rest of the season. With a little more luck we might have won automatic promotion, but on balance we probably didn't deserve it, with some poor points dropped.

We had the Mackems in the semi-final, probably the toughest draw since they'd have won the title if they hadn't gone into administration, and we had to negotiate extra digits and webbed feet all around as we headed to the away leg. We aimed for a carbon copy of the tactic that got us a 3-2 win there earlier in the season, and it worked in pretty similar fashion, as we shut them down to nick a 2-1 win.

The home leg was all one-way traffic, and we claimed an emphatic 2-0 win to send us into the playoff final! A little unfair on Sunderland perhaps, but to be honest, it's hilarious.

Bolton had thumped Huddersfield 6-2 on aggregate in the other semi, and our local rivals were sure to prove a tough test. Although as we tore them apart twice in the opening minutes, maybe not. Premier League, here we come!

FA Cup - 4th Round (lost v Burnley)
An excellent win over Premier League side Blackburn couldn't be followed up with another against top flight opposition as Burnley put us out.

League Cup - 2nd Round (lost v QPR)
All this happened before I arrived.

Results 1 - Results 2 - Squad

Transfers - £98k profit
The only signings that were mine were Ben Arfa and Fielding, of those Frankie was the pick.

Finances
Why do I always end up at the clubs that are hemorrhaging money?

5 Most Important Players:
5. Frank Fielding - GK - Excellent, reliable keeper.
4. Darren Ramsay - DRC/MC - Our season really kicked into gear when I had the bright idea of putting him in defence.
3. Ahmed Al-Suwaileh - ST - A near one in two ratio for our top goalscorer.
2. Scott Allan - MC - Absolutely gutted he'd already decided on a Bosman before I joined, fabulously classy midfielder.
1. Zheng Long - ML/AMLC - I definitely have a thing for tricky left wingers on FM12.

History:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  | Team            | League                | Country      | Position | Notes                                       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2012/13 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Semi-finalists                      |
| 2013/14 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 3rd      | Resigned in October                         |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 14th     | 15th on arrival in October                  |
| 2014/15 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Winners                             |
| 2015/16 | Darlington      | League Two            | England      | 16th     | Resigned in January                         |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2015/16 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 21st     | Relegated, 24th on arrival in March         |
| 2016/17 | Southend United | League Two            | England      | 1st      | League Two Champions                        |
| 2017/18 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 2nd      | Promoted                                    |
| 2018/19 | Southend United | Championship          | England      | 17th     | Resigned in October                         |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2018/19 | Wigan Athletic  | Championship          | England      | 4th      | 13th on arrival in October, Playoff Winners |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Season:
Wow! Time for my first crack at the top level in FM12. It's been quicker to rise through the leagues than I expected, but then I've been fairly lucky in picking up jobs where the club was going places at the right time. The squad will need a massive overhaul in order to compete at the top table - only Zheng, Ramsay and Allan are really top-quality, and of those three we're losing Allan. Much will depend on our transfer budget. Fingers crossed!

[SnakeXe]

Former Club Watch:

Weymouth F.C.:

Such a shame, only 2 points from safety.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13*  Blue Square South       2nd       Playoff semi-finalists
2013/14*  Blue Square South       9th       I left in October (resigned)
2014/15   Blue Square South       10th      -
2015/16   Blue Square South       19th      -
2016/17   Blue Square South       9th       FA Cup 2nd Round
2017/18   Blue Square South       3rd       Playoff Winners
2018/19   Blue Square Premier     21st      Relegated

NB * indicates that I was in charge for at least part of the season.

Darlington F.C.:

Just a season after Weymouth grab an unexpected promotion - Darlo manage the same!

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14*  Blue Square Premier     14th      I joined in October
2014/15*  Blue Square Premier     2nd       Playoff Winners
2015/16*  League Two              18th      I left in January (resigned)
2016/17   League Two              17th      JPT North Quarter Final
2017/18   League Two              15th      FA Cup 3rd Round
2018/19   League Two              3rd       Promoted

Southend United:

Safe as houses - all thanks to me of course...

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16*  League One              21st      Relegated, I joined in March
2016/17*  League Two              1st       League Two Winners
2017/18*  League One              2nd       Promoted
2018/19*  Championship            15th      I left in October (resigned)

[iseemonsters1]

Excellent work getting promoted into the Premier League. Obviously I have absolute faith in your ability to keep them up but... do you think the board would be forgiving if you struggled back in the top flight? And more to the point, would you stay on board?

[SRL88]

Nice work mate .

Have you got any targets in mind to help you in the big time?

[Deisler26]

Congrats on the promotion to the Prem!

[SnakeXe]

Excellent work getting promoted into the Premier League. Obviously I have absolute faith in your ability to keep them up but... do you think the board would be forgiving if you struggled back in the top flight? And more to the point, would you stay on board?

I think the board would probably let me off if we got relegated. As for whether I'd stick around? Depends on how much of the squad wanted out and our financial capability to keep it together. If I was confident we'd blast our way to automatic promotion then I'd stay for sure.

Nice work mate .

Have you got any targets in mind to help you in the big time?

I had a few but none of them got work permits!

Congrats on the promotion to the Prem!

Cheers

[Azeryk`]

Congratz on reaching the Prem

[HotChocolate]

FM12 the most realistic game yet, 51,768 attendance for a Play-Off final that involved Wigan

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 8 Preview- Wigan Athletic

Board Expectations:
Premier League - Avoid Relegation (minimum of Avoid Relegation, Predicted 20th out of 20)
FA Cup - Fifth Round
League Cup - Fourth Round

My Expectations:
Premier League - Stay up by hook or by crook
FA Cup - Depends how we're doing by the time it rolls around - if we're mid-table then go for Sixth Round, battling the drop then ditch it asap
League Cup - Drop it like it's hot

Budgets:
Transfer: £7,023,406 (£5,040,000 remaining)
Wages: £378,224/week (£276,801/week currently)
Balance: -£4,016,792 (-£7,513,316 since I joined)

Squad:
Plenty of graft, hopefully Zheng, Birnie, Cecchini and Sow can provide enough craft.

Key Men:
Goalkeeper/Defence
Frank Fielding - GK - A dependable keeper is essential for sides in our position.
James Tomkins - DC - Spent much of the last decade playing regularly for Newcastle in the Premier League - his experience will be vital.

Midfield
Ross Turnbull - DM/MC - A beast of a defensive midfielder picked up for buttons from relegated West Brom.

Strikers
Moussa Sow - ST - If he has one more season in his legs we're in for a treat, one of my favourite players.

[SnakeXe]

FM12 the most realistic game yet, 51,768 attendance for a Play-Off final that involved Wigan

The whole city was actually empty

[deltablue]

Just in time by the looks of the finances.

[SnakeXe]

Just in time by the looks of the finances.

We paid £4.7m out in transfer clauses last season without even signing anyone for money - great fiscal responsibility there!

[abulezz]

Congrats on reaching the Premier League! Now the real fun begins

[AK22]

Well done on the promotion

The Premier League TV money will help your finances no end, just hope it's enough to keep you in the league.

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

Congrats on the promotion. Sow looks like he should still be able to do a job. Good luck next season

[deltablue]

Excellent, someone else trying to survive the Premier League.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Nice quick climb with Wigan. Clearly having nothing to do there allows more devotion to the club.

[SnakeXe]

So there are advantages to living in a cess pit...

[SnakeXe]

A ten-fold wage increase is very attractive, but I'm pretty sure if I hold on a few more months I could get that kind of deal from a top-division side, rather than one outside the Championship playoffs with a massive wage bill to nurse.

[duffy89]

Great work on getting to the prem Snake and good move turning Stoke down, time to go for the big boys!

[SnakeXe]

Here we go, a much bigger budget, a massive wage hike and a much bigger club.

Wilkommen aus Deutschland, Herr Kelly!

Edit:

And Herr Archibald, hopefully!

[arinceo]

Excellent step up, hopefully your German adventure is successful

[noikeee]

Congrats on reaching the top tier but looks like you've got a tough battle ahead of you there. I suppose much will depend on whether Moussa Sow can still do anything with a diminished pace (personally I would've gone for a quicker guy even if less of a player, as you're likely going to be forced to play on the break). Ross Turnbull looks great, wasn't there a keeper at Chelsea in real life with the exact same name?

edit: too slow! Bremen it is then!

[SnakeXe]

Name: SV Werder Bremen
Nickname: Die Werderaner (The River Islanders), Die Grün-Weißen (The Green-Whites)
Founded: 1889
Stadium: Weserstadion, 42,354 (30,623 seated) capacity (Due to move into the 54,942 capacity Werder Bremen Stadium on 20.6.2020)
Status: Professional

From Wikipedia:

SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize of sports equipment to set them on their way. They took their name from the seldom used regional German word for “river peninsula”, describing the riverside field they first played football on. Werder Bremen has grown to 39,100 members.

Bremen have been a mainstay in the Bundesliga, top flight of German football. Bremen have been crowned champions on four occasions and have won the DFB-Pokal on six occasions. Their most recent achievements in these competitions came in 2004, when they won an historic double. Bremen have also tasted European success, beating AS Monaco in the 1992 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, 2–0. Bremen also reached the final edition of the UEFA Cup in 2009, before it was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League, where they met Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk. Shakhtar won the final 2–1 in extra time.

This is a really cracking move for me. Werder have been in and around the top four in Germany for the large majority of the previous 15 years, and have some globally reknowned players such as Fabio Coentrao and Eren Derdiyok. Whilst I was having fun at Wigan in grinding out results against far superior teams, this is a massive opportunity to further my career. Werder are also still involved in Europe, currently topping their Europa League group with one match remaining. I can't wait!

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 8 New Club Update - Werder Bremen

Board Expectations:
Bundesliga - Europa League qualification (but not judging at the moment, Predicted 3rd out of 18, 14th place on arrival)
DFB-Pokal - Semi-final (but not judging at the moment)
Champions League - Already Out
Europa League - Semi-final (but not judging at the moment)

My Expectations:
Bundesliga - 6th looks attainable, anything higher would be a bonus
DFB-Pokal - Win it
Europa League - Win it

Budgets:
Transfer: £5,038,268 (£4,600,000 remaining)
Wages: £953,492/week (£860,970/week currently)
Balance: £39,809,533

Squad:
All four keepers are rubbish, most of the strikers are too, the defence looks brilliant, the midfield has flair but lacks bite. The transfer window is reassuringly close.

Key Men:
Goalkeeper/Defence
Fernando Manuel - SW/DC - His mobility should allow a marauding fullback pairing of Isla and Coentrao to flourish.

Midfield
Aleksandar Ignjovski - DM/MC - The one midfielder with anything resembling ability on the back foot, he'd better stay fit.
Marko Marin - ML/AMRLC/ST - One of my favourite players in real life at the moment, I picked him but there's a load of versatile attacking midfielders who are fairly interchangeable.

Strikers
Simon Adamczyk - AMC/ST - Great mobility but poor technically, probably not good enough to play a lone striker system unfortunately.

[MattSpurs94]

Not forgetting the new 55000 seater stadium coming soon

An awesome move, and a brilliant step up.

[SnakeXe]

Excellent step up, hopefully your German adventure is successful

Thanks

Congrats on reaching the top tier but looks like you've got a tough battle ahead of you there. I suppose much will depend on whether Moussa Sow can still do anything with a diminished pace (personally I would've gone for a quicker guy even if less of a player, as you're likely going to be forced to play on the break). Ross Turnbull looks great, wasn't there a keeper at Chelsea in real life with the exact same name?

edit: too slow! Bremen it is then!

Sow did quite well, although obviously not the player he was. I tended to rotate between him and a lesser but more mobile striker. Turnbull is quality! Can't believe I picked him up so cheap, wasn't even transfer listed. You're right about the keeper at Chelsea, no idea why they bought him, he's worse than Hilario.

Not forgetting the new 55000 seater stadium coming soon

An awesome move, and a brilliant step up.

I know, I didn't notice that until I joined!

[DazRTaylor]

Great move

Chelsea signed Turnbull on a free transfer as 3rd choice :P

[Azeryk`]

Congratz on the mvoe to Germany - you've jumped up quite a bit in the past few seasons

[SnakeXe]

Great move

Chelsea signed Turnbull on a free transfer as 3rd choice :P

Surely with all the dough they gave Frank Arnesen to throw at youngsters they should have uncovered a goalkeeper or two that are better than Turnbull? He was even rubbish by Boro's standards!

Congratz on the mvoe to Germany - you've jumped up quite a bit in the past few seasons

Yeah looking back League Two to Bundesliga in 4 seasons is quick progress indeed!

I've got a big job to do with Werder though, from the three matches I've played thus far (a 2-1 loss away to Wolfsburg the day I got the job, a 2-0 home win over Dnipro, and a bizarre 3-2 loss away to 1860 Munchen that showcased all of our failings) we seem to have that deathly combo of being unable to convert our chances and leaking soft goals at the other end. A new keeper and striker combo in January would be very nice!

[City2000]

Good read this and thats a great move to Werder, good luck!

[DazRTaylor]

Surely with all the dough they gave Frank Arnesen to throw at youngsters they should have uncovered a goalkeeper or two that are better than Turnbull? He was even rubbish by Boro's standards!

Agree entirely! But Arnesen was a massive flop I think - he failed to unearth anyone special at all. They paid £2.5m for Michael Woods and Taiwo, both of whom now play in League Two. I need say no more.

[deltablue]

Excellent move.

[SnakeXe]

Season 8: Halfway House Update

Somehow we've managed to lose all 3 matches played in the league, and I don't have a clue how. All three away, and all three we really deserved to get something from. I honestly don't understand the last loss to Furth - we absolutely tore them to shreds.

But at least we showed that we can play better in the wins over Dnipro in the Europa League and Wolfsburg in the DFK-Pokal. And that's a good thing, because noone seems to be interested in joining us. Surely that must be a function of our current predicament rather than a massive downward shift in reputation, but either way I'm not going to waste money on substandard stop-gaps.

Goalkeeper Haldun Tetik was the only player I could find worth buying, and he was on a free transfer anyway, but at least he's a good upgrade on what we currently have.

I don't really know what to do other than plough on and hope our luck changes.

The Good

• Loving managing in the Bundesliga already despite bad results
• We're creating loads of chances
• Managed to secure a decent keeper

The Bad

• Can't sign anyone else decent
• Very close to the relegation zone
• Our chance conversion ratio is utterly abysmal

Results - League Table - Squad

[SnakeXe]

And we just got our first league win under my management against 2nd placed Dortmund - football, eh!

[HotChocolate]

Great move Snake!

On the Turnbull subject, he was young, for a goalkeeper and English, so didn't they sign him to help them with the English player rule you need? Certain amount of home growns. Not a bad one to get for that reason, seen as he was free.

[Flamers]

You can just leave spaces AFAIK

[roganp]

Good luck with Breman, the Bundesliga is a great league to manage in.

[AK22]

Now you've got your first win under your belt, you should be able to gain some momentum to propel you up the league.

I suppose it's all about survival this season, then aiming for the top six again next season? Good luck!

[SnakeXe]

Well spoiler alert, but with four games left of the season we're all but mathematically safe, and still have a fairly realistic shot at 6th. I don't really think we'll get it, but I'd like to finish as high as possible to mitigate against any severe reputation drop that will hinder player acquisition over the summer.

[SnakeXe]

Just a little sample of a typical Werder game. Absolutely schooled them and only got a point.

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

Come in here to see how Wigan are doing and find you've jumped ship. Very nice move to the Bundesliga. Should be able to attract some decent players at Bremen too, someone who can finish should be top of list looking at that Frankfurt game Should have been a hammering by looks of those stats

[Nobby_McDonald]

good move turning Stoke down, time to go for the big boys!

Bollocks.

[deltablue]

Impressive missed opportunity against Frankfurt

[SnakeXe]

Come in here to see how Wigan are doing and find you've jumped ship. Very nice move to the Bundesliga. Should be able to attract some decent players at Bremen too, someone who can finish should be top of list looking at that Frankfurt game Should have been a hammering by looks of those stats

I've got three players already a signed - an AMR who's already on loan at the club, an ST who can finish, and an athletic DM who should help protect the defence! Hopefully that'll stop too many more games like that (it's far from the only one, unfortunately).

Bollocks.

Sorry Nobby, he's right

Impressive missed opportunity against Frankfurt

Almost every match we've played has seen us be the better side. We've lost 5-0 twice. It bodes well for next year in a weird way, in that we're clearly a very good team, just quite terrible (although fixable) deficiencies in putting the chances away and not switching off at the back when they get their one or two inevitable cracks at the whip.

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 8 - 2019/20

Story of the Season:
Bundesliga - 8th
When I joined in December, the club were in a genuine relegation battle, one which wasn't helped by me losing my first 3 matches on the bounce. The consolation was that we were playing good football, just silly mistakes at either end of the pitch were costing us. I didn't manage to eradicate them entirely, but I managed to come up with a style of play that gave us a good control over games in general, and I just had to cross my fingers that we'd keep out the odd one or two inevitable attacks that slip through the net whilst taking enough of the many, many chances we created.

We finally got the rewards for our good play with a 2-0 win over reigning Champions Dortmund, and continued to pick up results thereafter. Highlights included a 5-1 thrashing of Hannover and a quite brilliant 4-0 win over Bayern, with the nadir being a 5-0 away loss against eventual title winners Leverkusen.

We had a chance at nicking 6th, and Europa League qualification through the league, right up until the disgusting 2-2 with Frankfurt, the fourth from last game. We probably wouldn't have deserved that though. 8th, ahead of the rubbish but behind the teams that had actually had a decent season right through the year, was about right.

DFB-Pokal - Winners
The previous manager had secured wins against non-league Schuttorf and second-tier Augsburg, which left me a tricky third round tie away at Wolfsburg. We had performed well in defeat there in my first match in charge of the club, so I sent us out with a similar tactic with just a couple of tweaks. It worked like a charm, as we battered them 3-1.

The quarter-final saw us take on Dortmund, just two games after we'd beaten them in league action. A similar approach yielded a similar result - 2-1, and through to the semi-final.

We got the plum draw in the semi, second tier Union Berlin were having a romantic cup run but surely we were too strong for them? We were indeed, running out 4-2 winners to set up a final date with Leverkusen. Our record so far this season read P4 W1 D0 L3 F2 A12 so I wasn't particularly relishing this match, but a chance for early silverware (Europa League football having already been secured by virtue of Leverkusen having qualified for the Champions League) wasn't to be sniffed at.

Despite my reservations, the game went our way right from before kickoff - Abel Hernandez and Rene Adler both missed the game! It continued that way as well, Zoran Tosic sent off after just 3 minutes for a wild lunge at Marin. Still, it was a cagey game as we retained possession over going all out for the goal, wary of Leverkusen's threat on the break to our fragile defence. With 10 minutes remaining, Bayer thought they'd help us out once again, as Peter knocked in an Eryilmaz cross for an own goal to give us the lead! As the seconds ticked away, Leverkusen had a good chance to equalise, but missed, and we went up the other end and scored through Adamczyk to secure my first ever top-level trophy in FM12!

Europa League - 2nd Knockout Round (lost v Leverkusen)
Much of the job in getting through the group stage had been accomplished before I joined the club, I merely secured a 2-0 win over Dnipro to confirm us as group winners. That sent us through to play FC Basel from Switzerland in the first knockout round. A slightly disappointing 1-1 in the away leg wasn't a bad result in the scheme of things, and a 2-0 win at home put us through to face league leaders Leverkusen in the next round.

A brilliant performance in the home leg only gave us a 1-0 advantage, with Rene Adler putting on a goalkeeping clinic in the Bayer net, only beaten by Adamczyk's follow up from his saved penalty.

Stupidly I took this to mean we could dominate them at home if we went for the jugular, which only resulted in us going 3-0 down in 12 minutes. By the time I'd sorted us out it was too late, Adler was in similarly excellent form, and two more goals on the break condemned us to our second 5-0 defeat at the Leverkusen Stadium (I preferred the BayArena personally) of my short reign.

Results 1 - Results 2 - Squad

Transfers - £2.85M profit
Just Haldun Tetik was mine of these transfers.

Finances
They say "Insecure" but it looks pretty healthy to me. Flamers suggested it might be because of the massive stadium loan, but we're paying that and making a profit, so clearly it's sustainable. Worth bringing up as a bug?

5 Most Important Players:
5. Mehmet Ekici - M/AMC - Decent season for the creative midfielder.
4. Simon Adamczyk - AMC/ST - Our top scorer, but he could have had at least twice as many. And for that reason I won't be taking up his loan clause to buy.
3. Fernando Manuel - SW/DC - Classy defender - I'm always suspicious of defenders who can't jump but I can count on one hand the number of times it's been a problem.
2. Mauricio Isla - D/WBR/DM/MRC - Jack of all trades, master of several.
1. Mustafa Eryilmaz - M/AMRC - Top-class, and only a £2.8m clause in his loan contract - yoink!

History:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  | Team            | League                | Country      | Position | Notes                                          |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2012/13 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Semi-finalists                         |
| 2013/14 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 3rd      | Resigned in October                            |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 14th     | 15th on arrival in October                     |
| 2014/15 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Winners                                |
| 2015/16 | Darlington      | League Two            | England      | 16th     | Resigned in January                            |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2015/16 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 21st     | Relegated, 24th on arrival in March            |
| 2016/17 | Southend United | League Two            | England      | 1st      | League Two Champions                           |
| 2017/18 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 2nd      | Promoted                                       |
| 2018/19 | Southend United | Championship          | England      | 17th     | Resigned in October                            |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2018/19 | Wigan Athletic  | Championship          | England      | 4th      | 13th on arrival in October, Playoff Winners    |
| 2019/20 | Wigan Athletic  | Premier League        | England      | 15th     | Left in December                               |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2019/20 | Werder Bremen   | Bundesliga            | Germany      | 8th      | 14th on arrival in December, DFB-Pokal Winners |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Season:
I'm really really happy with this move, even with the initial worries and financial weirdness. I think with a few signings we'll have a really good shot at Champions League qualification, and perhaps another trophy or two!

[SnakeXe]

Former Club Watch:

Weymouth F.C.:

No immediate rebound for The Terras, unfortunately!

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13*  Blue Square South       2nd       Playoff semi-finalists
2013/14*  Blue Square South       9th       I left in October (resigned)
2014/15   Blue Square South       10th      -
2015/16   Blue Square South       19th      -
2016/17   Blue Square South       9th       FA Cup 2nd Round
2017/18   Blue Square South       3rd       Playoff Winners
2018/19   Blue Square Premier     21st      Relegated
2019/20   Blue Square South       14th      -

NB * indicates that I was in charge for at least part of the season.

Darlington F.C.:

Not even close to staying up, despite two teams suffering points deductions, although a good FA Cup run culminated in defeat at Spurs - must have been a welcome boost to the finances.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013/14*  Blue Square Premier     14th      I joined in October
2014/15*  Blue Square Premier     2nd       Playoff Winners
2015/16*  League Two              18th      I left in January (resigned)
2016/17   League Two              17th      JPT North Quarter Final
2017/18   League Two              15th      FA Cup 3rd Round
2018/19   League Two              3rd       Promoted
2019/20   League One              22nd      Relegated, FA Cup 4th Round

Southend United:

A little more skin of their teeth this year - they didn't really replace Jose Baxter, who they sold on for a tidy £2.2m profit, and the defence was poor.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16*  League One              21st      Relegated, I joined in March
2016/17*  League Two              1st       League Two Winners
2017/18*  League One              2nd       Promoted
2018/19*  Championship            15th      I left in October (resigned)
2019/20   Championship            20th      -

Wigan Athletic:

The signings I lined up for them in January really took them to the next level, comfortable survival in the end for The Latics.

Season    League                  Position  Notes                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19*  Championship            4th       I joined in October, Playoff Winners
2019/20*  Premier League          11th      I left in December (job offer)

[deltablue]

Left a good legacy for Wigan then.

[City2000]

Good first season in Germany

Wonder why Galatasaray didn't want to keep Eryilmaz? He looks a nice addition!

[SnakeXe]

I like to think I've left all my clubs in at least a decent position. Southend stayed up on the back of a slew of goals from two strikers I signed and sold Jose Baxter for a massive profit, and Darlington sold a guy I signed on a free for £600k last year.

[SnakeXe]

Oh wow, that season update was my 3000th post

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

Good season overall. Chance to get a couple of your own players in now and mould the squad to how you like it. Think you should get CL qualification next year

[HotChocolate]

Good season! I really like what you do with your previous club watch, it's a good touch

[SnakeXe]

Good season overall. Chance to get a couple of your own players in now and mould the squad to how you like it. Think you should get CL qualification next year

I hope so. I'm happy with most of the squad now, and I've still got a couple of months left before the deadline!

Good season! I really like what you do with your previous club watch, it's a good touch

Glad you like it, it's for me as much as anyone, I like to keep tabs on what my former charges are doing!

[iseemonsters1]

Awesome move to the Bundesliga and you've started your time there in fine style. I like your positivity predicting the possibility of a Champions League berth! What is the state of German football like - have they held onto the four Champions League places? Have Bayern dominated or have other teams been getting a look in when it comes to titles?

[SnakeXe]

2020 UEFA European Championship
Hosts: Belgium
Holders: Spain

Group Stage:
Group A:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team    |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Italy   |       | 3     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 5     | 4     | +1    | 5     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Germany |       | 3     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 6     | 4     | +2    | 5     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Q     | Russia  |       | 3     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 2     | +1    | 5     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Poland  |       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 4     | 8     | -4    | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group B:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                 |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Czech Republic       |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 7     | 3     | +4    | 7     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Ukraine              |       | 3     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 1     | +2    | 5     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Croatia              |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 4     | 7     | -3    | 3     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Bosnia & Herzegovina |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 3     | 6     | -3    | 1     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group C:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team     |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | England  |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 7     | 4     | +3    | 7     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Austria  |       | 3     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 7     | 3     | +4    | 5     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Scotland |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 5     | -3    | 3     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Ireland  |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 3     | 7     | -4    | 1     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group D:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team     |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Slovakia |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 8     | 4     | +4    | 7     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Portugal |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 5     | -1    | 4     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Q     | Sweden   |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 5     | -2    | 3     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Belgium  |       | 3     | 0     | 2     | 1     | 5     | 6     | -1    | 2     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group E:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team        |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Spain       |       | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 7     | 2     | +5    | 9     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Netherlands |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 5     | 4     | +1    | 4     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Q     | Serbia      |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 5     | -2    | 3     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Denmark     |       | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 5     | -4    | 1     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group F:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team    |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | France  |       | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 7     | 1     | +6    | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Turkey  |       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 4     | 2     | +2    | 6     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Q     | Israel  |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 4     | -2    | 3     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Finland |       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 0     | 6     | -6    | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Knockout Stage:
Second Round:
Italy 2 v 1 Ukraine
Turkey 0 v 0p Spain
Czech Republic 3 v 1 Russia
France 3 v 0 Sweden
Netherlands 1 v 2e Germany
Serbia 1 v 2e England
Israel 2 v 1 Slovakia
Austria 0 v 2 Portugal

Quarter Final:
Spain 1 v 0 Italy
France p0 v 0 Czech Republic
England 2 v 1 Germany
Israel 1 v 2 Portugal

Semi Final:
Spain 2 v 0 Portugal
France 0 v 0p England

Final:
Spain 0 v 2 England

So Stuart Pearce's England get revenge for the Euro 2016 final defeat!

[SnakeXe]

Awesome move to the Bundesliga and you've started your time there in fine style. I like your positivity predicting the possibility of a Champions League berth! What is the state of German football like - have they held onto the four Champions League places? Have Bayern dominated or have other teams been getting a look in when it comes to titles?

Leverkusen made the Champions League final in 2016, losing to Chelsea, whilst Hannover, Koln, HSV and Bayern have made Europa League finals, the latter two coming away with the trophy. The Bundesliga is 3rd highest on reputation in Europe, the Premier League being top and La Liga second, with Serie A now slipping to 5th behind Ligue Un. However, there only seem to be 3 Champions League places available for German clubs. This might be due to the fact that the highest ranked German clubs in terms of coefficients are Leverkusen and Bayern in 11th and 12th.

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 9 Preview - Werder Bremen

Board Expectations:
Bundesliga - Europa League qualification (Predicted 6th out of 18)
DFB-Pokal - Semi-final
Europa League - Second knockout round
DFL-Supercup - Unimportant

My Expectations:
Bundesliga - I've got a sneaky suspicion we might challenge for a Champions League spot, which would mean top 3
DFB-Pokal - Semis will do this time
Europa League - Quarter finals
DFL-Supercup - As it's against Leverkusen, try and win it

Budgets:
Transfer: £7,221,691 (£0 remaining)
Wages: £839,838/week (£873,663/week currently)
Balance: £56,098,547 (+£16,289,014 since I joined)

Squad:
Really taking shape now - none of the four awful keepers who were at the club when I joined remain, the good loanees have joined permanently, and the midfield and attack is looking very potent. An injury to Tainha would leave us light, with Derdiyok's aging legs, but I can't afford any more additions with the drastically cut wage budget.

Key Men:
Goalkeeper/Defence
Luis Guilherme - GK - Has been languishing in the Liga Adelante with Levante for ages despite being absolutely top class - why?!

Midfield
Nuri Sahin - DM/MC - When I was trying to build a team based around the current Dortmund side's system over the summer, I noticed its central component from last season was available for the knockdown price of £1.5m. He may not be a spritely youth any more but what a class act.
Mehmet Ekici - M/AMC - He's taking a central role this season (Shinji Kagawa's if we continue the Dortmund analogy) in his favoured AMC position.

Strikers
Tainha - AMC/ST - I'm expecting great things.

[Deisler26]

Good luck this season! You should get there with this side!

[abulezz]

Your Key Players are all class, especially the Brazilians!