Tomtuck's First FM Career Adventure

[ThatLiverpoolGuy]

Just read it, and you are a superb manager! Well done

[tomtuck01]

Deservedly so too! tough decision on weather to stay or not would be horrible to see a new manager come in and ruin what you have created, i'd possibly stay one more season and try to replicate to the best of your abilities the amazing season you've just had.

I see a few pro's and con's for both to be honest, and I've just about come to a decision.......

Not surprised to see you honoured.

I just hope that if I leave the club then I'm not automatically wiped frm the list!

Just read it all - WOW! Great story Well Done!

Just read it, and you are a superb manager! Well done

Thanks alot chaps, much appreciated.

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis' Career - June 2017 - England

World Cup Qualifying





A stunningly dominant performance from us, albeit against San Marino wh played with ten men for over an hour. Wayne Rooney kept up his amazing England form with another hattrick, and Swansea man Jason Malpass got his first England goal in our 7-0 victory. Our next qualifying match is away in the Ukraine, before a likely group decider at home to France.

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis' Career - June 2017 - England

Interational Friendly



In preperation for the Confederations Cup in Russia, we travelled to Sweden for a final friendly, and we had a real competitive game which swung this way and that. Eventually we came away with the win, which was thoroughly deserved.

In just a few days time the squad for the Confederations Cup is named, and I'm hoping Scott Sinclair will be available after missing these games because of an ankle ligament injury.

[dagoonerfan]

Are you going to leave Wales tom?

[B.W.G]

Congratulations on a absolutely sensational season.Fantastic achievement.

[tomtuck01]

Are you going to leave Wales tom?

All will be revealed later this evening.

Congratulations on a absolutely sensational season.Fantastic achievement.

Thans alot.

[hursty2]

Awesome achievement and all this after such a short amount of time.

Nice one!

[tomtuck01]

Awesome achievement and all this after such a short amount of time.

Nice one!

I like to think i'm like Mourinho; I come in, achieve short term success, then leave.

[fman1]

I have to say that I really enjoyed reading this career. Taking Swansea to CL glory is a magnificent achievement and I am sure the temptation is there to leave on the highest possible way with the quadruple.

Will you take a year out of club management and go for glory with England at the World Cup? Will a new offer in the summer temp you into a different league for a new challenge? Will Swansea break the bank to keep their most successful manager ever?
Looking forward to the next update.

[tomtuck01]

I have to say that I really enjoyed reading this career. Taking Swansea to CL glory is a magnificent achievement and I am sure the temptation is there to leave on the highest possible way with the quadruple.

Will you take a year out of club management and go for glory with England at the World Cup? Will a new offer in the summer temp you into a different league for a new challenge? Will Swansea break the bank to keep their most successful manager ever?
Looking forward to the next update.

Thanks alot for your kind words.

If i do leave, then as i have said previously it would be to focus my attention fully on England in preparation for the 2018 World Cup. From there it would take a monster offer to persuade me back into club management before the World Cup is over

I have to admit i am leaning towards leaving the Swans. I think my job is done here and that their is little else to achieve.

An announcement will be made at around 8pm this evening.

[arinceo]

Mate you are a god; winning the quadruple and going undefeated in the same season!?!? Definitely the greatest FM achievement I've seen. I think you should leave Swansea, it really won't get much better and you could easily spend years trying to replicate that season.

[tomtuck01]

Mate you are a god; winning the quadruple and going undefeated in the same season!?!? Definitely the greatest FM achievement I've seen. I think you should leave Swansea, it really won't get much better and you could easily spend years trying to replicate that season.

I think "god" is a bit much, for now.

I keep thinking back to the away game against Inter in the group stage of the Champions League. If only we'd avoided defeat in that game, we'd have then gone the whole season without losing in every competition!

[Premier2k]

Wow, just wow

Will be logging on at 8 to see what you do!

[tomtuck01]

Wow, just wow

Will be logging on at 8 to see what you do!

Thanking you.

[tomtuck01]

A great sponsorhip deal for Swansea which will earn the club £12million over the next five years.



Excellent news for the Swans. The capacity of the Libberty Stadium will be 45,000 when it is complete, which is more than double the capacity of the ground when I took over.



This is easily the best news. It's something I've been requesting for a long time, and finally the board have taken it upon themselves to start upgrading the facilities.

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis Career - June 2017

Statement released by Thomas Lewis;

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to stand down as manager of Swansea City.

Over the last four years I have had the most wonderful of times, and that has made this decision all the more difficult for me to make.

However, when I was appointed England manager a year ago, I, along with the Football Association, and the board of Swansea City, agreed that I would take the job on a part-time basis so that I could continue my work with Swansea. We agreed that come the end of the season the situation would be reviewed ahead of the Confederations Cup so we could all decide whether I could continue to perform both roles.

Following the long and successful season we have just gone through at Swansea, I have come to the decision myself that the time is right for me to step down as manager of Swansea City so that I can devout my time fully to the England job.

With just a year to the World Cup I feel that the national team needs my full and undivided attention, and do not feel I can do that whilst I remain with Swansea. These are the reasons I have decided to step down. This decision was mine and mine alone, and I was put under no pressure from the Football Association to make this decision.

I would like to thank all the players and staff who have worked at the club over the last four years for their tireless efforts in helping to bring success to this great club. I would also like to thank the chairman, Huw Jenkins, and the rest of the board for putting their full trust and belief in me.

But most of all I would like to thank the fans. Their unwavering support over the years has been a source of great inspiration to me, and I hope that whoever follows me as manager will continue to give them the success they deserve.

[tomtuck01]

Here is my record with Swansea City;



Cups Win

1 UEFA Champions League
1 FA Cup
4 League Cups
1 Community Shield
1 Pepsi All Star Trophy

(I of course don't count the Pepsi All Star Trophy, but it amongst the eight listed on my record)

[AcidBurn]

Good decision a season like that would be extremely hard to follow. Looking forward to seeing the World Cup and perhaps even more interested in what club job you take next. As you know be prepared for your successor to completely ruin the work you did at Swansea. Good luck dude.

[tomtuck01]

Good decision a season like that would be extremely hard to follow. Looking forward to seeing the World Cup and perhaps even more interested in what club job you take next. As you know be prepared for your successor to completely ruin the work you did at Swansea. Good luck dude.

I certainly won't look forward to checking on how they are doing after my departure.

To my pleasant surprise I have remained on thie "Icons" list. Never seen that before after departing a club.

[AcidBurn]

I certainly won't look forward to checking on how they are doing after my departure.

To my pleasant surprise I have remained on thie "Icons" list. Never seen that before after departing a club.

Especially after resigning, I am sure people have claimed you remain on it if your contract runs out.

Just a word of warning, I am sure a few people on here me included have fallen to the curse of the Confederations Cup, under performed and got sacked.

[tomtuck01]

Especially after resigning, I am sure people have claimed you remain on it if your contract runs out.

Just a word of warning, I am sure a few people on here me included have fallen to the curse of the Confederations Cup, under performed and got sacked.

Really? Like I said, never seen it before.

Hmmmmm if I was to get the sack then I don't think I'd have a shortage of job offers.

[AcidBurn]

Really? Like I said, never seen it before.

Hmmmmm if I was to get the sack then I don't think I'd have a shortage of job offers.

I remember a couple of people claiming it in GD but I have never seen it. I am glad it happens though seems stupid not to have it in the game.

Pretty sure you won't get sacked and even more sure that a new job would be no problem.

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis Career - June 2017 - England

Confederations Cup Squad



It may look like I have been biased towards my former Swansea players with the squad selection, but they are all there on merit. The one who I guess will be of the biggest surprise to you is Leon Britton. But he was called up to the squad for my first game after Jack Rodwell withdrew through injury, and he hasn't looked back. In his nine England caps so far, he has an average rating of 7.34, with one assist and a pass success rate of 91%. To say he doesn't deserve his place would be absurd.

Starting XI For First Game



Jack Wilshere will come into the side for Tom Cleverley when he has served his one match suspension, and Scott Sinclair will be in the line-up ahead of Danny Welbeck once he has regained full fitness.

[deltablue]

Very brave choice. I'd find it so hard to leave after everything. Even after falling a bit from a brief moment as English and European champions (with some aging players and money running out), I found it hard enough to leave my FM11 Ipswich side that I backtracked the first time, and decided to make a hasty return after I did so, I just couldn't bear to leave a side I'd grown very fond of.

[tomtuck01]

Very brave choice. I'd find it so hard to leave after everything. Even after falling a bit from a brief moment as English and European champions (with some aging players and money running out), I found it hard enough to leave my FM11 Ipswich side that I backtracked the first time, and decided to make a hasty return after I did so, I just couldn't bear to leave a side I'd grown very fond of.

I thought it was a case of now or never to be honest. If I'd have stayed on and not had such a successful season next term, I'd have wanted to stay on the regain the success of this season.

[deltablue]

Nothing wrong with that. Good luck at the next place anyway.

[SRL88]

Does the press give you 'stick' the amount of Swansea players in the squad?

[tomtuck01]

Nothing wrong with that. Good luck at the next place anyway.

Thanks dude.

Does the press give you 'stick' the amount of Swansea players in the squad?

Surprisingly enough, no. And I am very surprised at that!

[tomtuck01]

Not my favourite manager by any stretch of the imagination, but it could be a shrewd appointment for the Swans.

[SRL88]

A great manager to continue their progress.

[tomtuck01]

A great manager to continue their progress.

I sincerely hope he does.

[SRL88]

If we didnt have those dirty Yanks in charge he could have done it with us. I trust the Swansea board!!

[tomtuck01]

If we didnt have those dirty Yanks in charge he could have done it with us. I trust the Swansea board!!

Well they did appoint me, so they must have some sense.

[tomtuck01]

Just thought I'd post this;



Obviously I'm a very shrewd mover in the transfer market!

[Reedy_1988]

Hello again Tom, would it possible to get a screenshot of your tactical instructions? as i love the way you have your team set up and playing, i have similar formation and i was just hoping your current tactic could maybe help me tweak mine to make it as effective as possible.

[tomtuck01]

Hello again Tom, would it possible to get a screenshot of your tactical instructions? as i love the way you have your team set up and playing, i have similar formation and i was just hoping your current tactic could maybe help me tweak mine to make it as effective as possible.

I'll post a screenshot later when i'm home from work.

[JackJCFC]

Amazing work with Swansea, looks like they are in safe hands with Benitez .

Good luck with England!

[tomtuck01]

Amazing work with Swansea, looks like they are in safe hands with Benitez .

Good luck with England!

Cheers.

Not convinced that Benitez is the right man myself, i can see the same thing happening that did at Internazionale when he replaced Mourinho. But he has started by making a couple of good signings so i'll be keeping an eye on how things go there.

I'll also have to hope that my England players continue to get regular football under him.

[tomtuck01]

Reedy_1988

Here is the screenshot of my team instructions - Clicky!

[tomtuck01]

Nice to be linked with a club like Palmeiras, but it is nowhere near big enough to tempt me back into club management at this time.

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis Career - England

Confederations Cup 2017

Group Stage





A pretty good group stage for us, even though we did end up finishing second on goal difference. We started with a confident 3-0 win over New Zealand. We should have converted our domination into more goals, but still it was good start to the tournament. We kept things up against Colombia with another solid win, and with the Ivory Coast wniing against New Zeland later in the day, it meant we were through to the semi-final stage.

In our final group game against Ivory Coast, we had to win to top the group as they had a superior goal difference. However, I decided to rest players who's fitness had dipped a little and those on a yellow card. They gave us a really tough game, but had it not been for a late error then we would have won the game. As it was, it finished 2-2.

Other Group Standings



Brazil were negative in winning this group, drawing 1-1 with South Korea, and beating Mexico and Russia 1-0. The hosts, Russia, were very poor indeed and are not looking in good shape for the World Cup next year.

Because of our failure to wn our group, we would face Brazil in the semi finals.

[tomtuck01]

Confederations Cup 2017 Continued

Semi Finals





A really top performance. We scored our goals early and from then on our job was pretty simple - stop them. We did it well, keeping decent possession while creating some chances to add to our lead. I loved how we played in this game to be honest, to restrict them to just four attempts was excellent.

Final
v.Mexico



My first international tournament won! It wasn't a great performance, and Mexico are a very good side. But we just about came through in the end. The attempts at goal/on target stats make it look like they dominated, but of those 27 attempts only two of them were clear cut chances, and eleven were long shots. Of our 16 attempts, four were clear cut chances and only five were long shots. That reflects that we made the better chances, and on that basis I felt we deserved it. Just.

Also, great to See a Swansea player make such an impact!

[tomtuck01]

Hopefully they will have something even bigger to thank me for after next years World Cup!





Great to see a player from my former club Swansea have such a great tournament. He got four assists to add to his goals, and even outshone talisman Wayne Rooney who managed two goals and three assists!

[AcidBurn]

Great warm up for the real thing, well done.

Love Malpass winning the Golden Shoe.

[deltablue]

No curse on you.

[tomtuck01]

Great warm up for the real thing, well done.

Love Malpass winning the Golden Shoe.

Cheers.

Malpass is the perfect player for me on this save; a former Manchester United youngster who was excellent for me at Swansea!

No curse on you.

Thankfully not!

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis Career - August 2017 - England

Interational Friendly



We may have come from behind twice, and eventually run out comfortable winners, but I am not happy. We were sloppy in possession and allowed them to create too many chances. Our next game is away in the Ukraine, and we have to do better.

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis Career - September 2017 - England

World Cup Qualifying





A very good couple of qualifiers for us.

Without Kyle Walker, Kyle Naughton, and Kieran Gibbs through injury, we had a fair bit of reshuffling to do at the back as we had none of our thre main fullbacks available. Chirs Smalling was therefore moved to rightback and Kyle Bartley started as Phil Jones centre back partner. Leighton Baines, who had not made an appearance since I took over, was recalled to give us some experience at left back. Also ur talisman Wayne Rooney was missing, which meant Jason Malpass started upfront and Danny Welbeck at AMR. It wasn't a great performance at all, but we came away from a tricky game with a 1-0 win, meaning that we headed into the France game still two points ahead of them.

A win against the France would all but ensure qualification for the World Cup. We were again without the players mentioned above, and also Henri Lansbury had picked up a knock against Ukraine, so Josh McEachran came into the side. It proved an inspired move, as with the game heading towards a draw, McEachran slotted home from the edge of the area after a Scott Sinclair pull back with twelve minutes to go. Sinclair then made it 2-0 in stoppage time to more or less seal qualification.

Next up we are away in Lithuania, and we finish the qualifying campaign with a trip to Poland.

[SRL88]

Great work winning the Confederations Cup. All seemed destined for you to get knocked out by Brazil but brilliant performance. You also continue to go from strength to strength in your qualifying group .

[tomtuck01]

Great work winning the Confederations Cup. All seemed destined for you to get knocked out by Brazil but brilliant performance. You also continue to go from strength to strength in your qualifying group .

Well i wouldnt have been surprised. They use the so-called "magic box" and just seem to grind results out, no matter who they're up against.

I'm that sure of qualification i've already got two November friendlies set up against Argentina and Ghana.

[SRL88]

Well i wouldnt have been surprised. They use the so-called "magic box" and just seem to grind results out, no matter who they're up against.

I'm that sure of qualification i've already got two November friendlies set up against Argentina and Ghana.

I half want Argentina to win following my adventure with them .

[tomtuck01]

I half want Argentina to win following my adventure with them .

Anymore comments like that and I'll see that you're banned from this thread!

[buzz2k7]

first signing for your next club Malpass! He is Immense!

[tomtuck01]

first signing for your next club Malpass! He is Immense!

Oh don't worry, I already had that in mind!

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis Career - October 2017 - England

World Cup Qualifying





Qualification secured! Two pretty decent wins, as we were once again missing a few players through injury. We really had to reshuffle upfront against Lithuania, as Wayne Rooney was still missing and Jason Malpass was ruled out with a strain. Still, we ran out comfortable 4-0 winners, with Raheem Sterling grabbing his first goal for his country.

That result ensured our qualification;



Our performance against Poland wasn't very good, but we managed to come away from the Polish capital with a 2-1 victory to finish the group five points ahead of France.

Very surprisingly, Spain missed out on even getting a playoff spot as they were the worst runners-up, and the Netherlands had to settle for a place in the playoffs after finishing second in their group to Germany.

[tomtuck01]

Also, this message popped up after the Lithuania game;



I have been incharge of the side for eighteen of those 24 games. Of course after the Poland game, it is 25 unbeaten!

[B.W.G]

Congrats on winning the Confederations Cup as well as qualifying for the World Cup with ease.

[tomtuck01]

Congrats on winning the Confederations Cup as well as qualifying for the World Cup with ease.

Cheers dude.

Eagerly awaiting the World Cup draw now!

[Mike7077]

I'm guessing "world" is one of those words you can't help mistyping? Lots of "wolrds" going on! I use to struggle with "the". Would always type "teh".

[tomtuck01]

I'm guessing "world" is one of those words you can't help mistyping? Lots of "wolrds" going on! I use to struggle with "the". Would always type "teh".

Fixed for your benefit!

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis Career - November 2017 - England

International Friendlies



A very good performance against the side currently third in the FIFA World Rankings. Most of their efforts came before they had a man sent off, but a fair few of them were from long rage and not too much trouble for Joe Hart. We kept it well after they went down to ten men and tok the 2-0 win fairly easily.



I may have made a few changes for this game - both Jake Livermore and Ross Barkley made their debuts, and I rested captain Phil Jones, but still the performance was unacceptable. We won via a set piece, with the stand-in captain getting it.

The draw for the World Cup is just days away now. I can't wait to see who we get.

[tomtuck01]

December 1st 2017, 166 days after taking charge..........



Didn't take him ****ing long, did it?

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis Career - England

FIFA 2018 World Cup Draw



FA Expectations

World Cup: Reach the semi finals

Personal Expectations

World Cup: Win it

Well I have to go all for it, don't I? The group isn't as easy as it could have been, but we should certainly get through it and from there it's a lottery. I plan to leave the job after the World Cup, so I intend to lead my country to glory.

[Reedy_1988]

Wishing you good luck for the upcoming world cup, i believe you can win the major tournament! looking forward to seeing which club team you next become manager of though

[tomtuck01]

Wishing you good luck for the upcoming world cup, i believe you can win the major tournament! looking forward to seeing which club team you next become manager of though

Cheers.

Must say i am starting to get itchy feet and eager to get back into club management. So far there have been a few offers, but nothing that has tempted me. There could be a job going free in South Wales soon though.......

[SRL88]

I would expect you to take at least 7pts from your three games in that group.

[deltablue]

Probably all 9.

[tomtuck01]

I would expect you to take at least 7pts from your three games in that group.

Probably all 9.

I'll take whatever we get, be it five, six, or whatever, as long as we get through to the next round.

[AcidBurn]

My glasses may need cleaning but is there no Spain in the World Cup? What happened to them?

Good luck dude qualifying from that group should be simple enough.

[FMtillidie]

decent Draw there

[hursty2]

My glasses may need cleaning but is there no Spain in the World Cup? What happened to them?

Good luck dude qualifying from that group should be simple enough.

I think he said that they came runner up in their group but got the least amount of points out of all the runners up, therefore not making it into the playoffs.

[tomtuck01]

My glasses may need cleaning but is there no Spain in the World Cup? What happened to them?

They were the worst of the nine runners-upand didn't even make the playoffs.

The Netherlands aren't there either, France beat them in the playoffs.

decent Draw there

Only the French should give us any real problems.

[tomtuck01]

I think he said that they came runner up in their group but got the least amount of points out of all the runners up, therefore not making it into the playoffs.

Indeed, he did!

They've had problems at international over the years. Rafa Benitez failed spectacularly at Euro 2016, and then they appointed a regen manager. He is pretty good to be honest, but it just hasn't worked for him at all.

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis Career - March 2018 - England

International Friendly



A very good performance from us. Nigeria are a very solid 24th in the FIFA World Rankings, and the beat them in such a fashion was excellent. Raheem Sterling made his first start in an England shirt, and he played well, creating a goal. It looks like he wll certainly make the World Cup squad.

Sterling may be going great, but a couple of players from former club Swansea are struggling right now. Leon Britton, such an important part of the side, is without a club after hs contract was terminated. Josh McEachran is in the reserves and transfer listed, and Henri Lansbury and Kyle Bartley are struggling to get regular starts.

The question is, would you still take them to the World Cup? I am kind of unsure.

[dagoonerfan]

Typical AI managment destroying the team you made Champions League winners. I would take them to the World Cup - they got you there didn't they?

[tomtuck01]

Typical AI managment destroying the team you made Champions League winners. I would take them to the World Cup - they got you there didn't they?

I have decided you are right. Players like Britton and Lansbury have been vital parts of my England side, so they should continue to be so.

[tomtuck01]

Typical AI managment destroying the team you made Champions League winners. I would take them to the World Cup - they got you there didn't they?

I have decided you are right. Players like Britton and Lansbury have been vital parts of my England side, so they should continue to be so.

[tomtuck01]

It seems Roberto Mancini's second stint with City ended as dramatically as his last;



The Swansea job is also available - Rafa was sacked after Swansea finished just 8th in the Premier League table.

[dagoonerfan]

Do city still have the oil money?

[tomtuck01]

Do city still have the oil money?

Oh hell yeah! Been offered the job with a transfer budget of £91million!

[FMtillidie]

you gunna accept?

[tomtuck01]

you gunna accept?

Don't know. Can't wait until after the World Cup unfortunately, so I have delayed it a week to think it over.

[SRL88]

Man Utd fan taking the Man City job, hmmmmmmmmmm!!!

[tomtuck01]

Man Utd fan taking the Man City job, hmmmmmmmmmm!!!

I support no one, I am a professional.

[Reedy_1988]

what a tempting offer, i would just jump back into action with Man.City and begin mission dominate the world!!

[tomtuck01]

what a tempting offer, i would just jump back into action with Man.City and begin mission dominate the world!!

I have reservations on the basis that they haven't qualified for Europe.

[dagoonerfan]

Any big name foreign jobs avaliable (Barca, Real) ?

[tomtuck01]

Manchester City Appointment

I simply couldn't resist the £51,000 p/w and transfer budget of £115million.

[dagoonerfan]

Best of luck Tom

[tomtuck01]

Best of luck Tom

Cheers dude.

[dagoonerfan]

How long do you plan on staying there?

[tomtuck01]

How long do you plan on staying there?

Don't know. I reduced the length of contract from five years to three, so I'll just see.

[JojoVillaHursty]

Guess it will be cut the numbers in the team down or has that been done?

[tomtuck01]

Guess it will be cut the numbers in the team down or has that been done?

That's been done, but there is a much bigger issue than that; the age of the players! Of the 20 players in the first team squad upon taking over, only eight of them are under the age of thirty!

[tomtuck01]

Thomas Lewis Career - May 2018 - England

2018 World Cup Squad



The squad is exactly the same as for the Confederations Cup a year ago, with the exception of Raheem Sterling coming into the squad for Jack Robinson. It means we have one less defender, but another attacking option.

[SRL88]

Suppose the money was to hard to turn down at Man City. Could you link your regens in the World Cup Squad please?

[deltablue]

No shortage of resources then.

[tomtuck01]

Suppose the money was to hard to turn down at Man City. Could you link your regens in the World Cup Squad please?

All two of them! No problem;

Nicholas De Havilland

Jason Malpass

No shortage of resources then.

Indeed. Can't wait to get stuck into it!

[SRL88]

All two of them! No problem;

Nicholas De Havilland

Jason Malpass

Wish the English talent on my saves would continue to come through like that. I often see some **** coming through sides.