FM12: Breaking the stranglehold

Evening folks.

Well, now I've finally got FM12 I've decided I'm going to run two threads side-by-side, which will stop any feeling of itchy feet I sometimes get while mid-career. Since FM05 I've been playing games where I start in the bottom divisions pretty much constantly, so I thought I'd try a little change. I've never been one for taking huge jobs as that's simply recreating life (my view is if I want to see Man United win the league I'll watch the TV. FM is about a little escapism in the football world for me, and I feel the same about most leagues) but I'd like to break a few iron grips on world football and shake things up a little, hence the title of the thread.

So, with that in mind, I'll set a precondition for this career. I CANNOT take over any of these clubs unless under exceptional circumstances (relegation to the third/ lowest tier- remove as appropriate)

In England

Manchester United

Manchester City

Liverpool

Arsenal

Chelsea

Tottenham

In Scotland

Celtic

Rangers

In Italy

AC Milan

Inter Milan

Juventus

In Spain

Barcelona

Real Madrid

Malaga (although they're not a big club, with the insane amount of money they have they won't be suitable for this career)

In France

PSG

Marseille

Lyon

In Portugal

Benfica

Porto

Sporting

In Holland

Ajax

PSV

Feyenoord

In Germany

Bayern Munich

Bourussia Dortmund

NB: If you can think of any other club in these nations you think should make this list, feel free to suggest them and I'll take them into consideration.

Technical details

FM12.1.1

Leagues from England (BSS/N and above) Scotland (Div 3 and above) France (CFA and above) and Italy (Serie C2 and above) Portugal (Second League and above) loaded. Leagues to be added/ removed as career continues (love that feature, btw)

34,000 players, medium database

Meet the gaffer

Raimundo Amato (have to love random name generators!) is a 31 year old Italian, with Portuguese heritage. He never quite cut it as a player, and this tough tackling midfielder never played above a Sunday League level. After picking up yet another injury, he's decided to hang up his boots and move into the management trade. Whilst I would normally pick Sunday League reputation, for the purpose of this game I'll stick with automatic.

Right, time to begin...

From Wikipedia:

Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts. Hibernian were founded in 1875 by Irish immigrants but this identity has been downplayed to the point where support for the club is based on location rather than ethnicity or religion. The Irish heritage of Hibernian is still reflected, however, in its name, colours and badge.

Hibernian have won the Scottish Premier League championship four times, most recently in 1952. Three of those four championships were won between 1948 and 1952, when the club had the services of The Famous Five a notable forward line. The club have won the Scottish Cup twice, in 1887 and 1902; but have lost nine Scottish Cup Finals since, most recently in 2001. The last major trophy won by the club was the 2007 Scottish League Cup, when Kilmarnock were beaten 5–1 in the final. It was the third time Hibs had won the League Cup, also winning in 1972 and 1991.

From FM:

The club's home ground is the 20,250 capacity Easter Road, a ground in a good condition, with top training facilities and a good youth set up. The club has a valuation of £16.75m, with a £6.25m debt, and 9,500 season ticket holders. As well as the derby with Hearts, the club also considers both Old Firm clubs in it's rival list.

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So then, Hibs it is, decided by the random button. I was aiming for either them or one of the "New Firm", but Hibs certainly fit the bill having not won one of the big two trophies in Scotland since the 50s. Potentially a big club, but can I break the Old Firm? Well, if I can't from Edinburgh, I might as well just give up!

Just a couple of targets then:

To stay at the club for at least 5 years

To split the Old Firm in three years

To win the title in 5 years

I'd also like to win that bloody Scottish Cup, especially as they haven't for more than a hundred years. I'm less interested in Europe, but of course any progress is a bonus.

Off we go!

Interesting idea, I like it. I know how you feel about the escapism from the real world of football, I feel the same..

Interesting idea, I like it. I know how you feel about the escapism from the real world of football, I feel the same..

Cheers, man. In the old CM (99-00) I attempted to break the Old Firm with Aberdeen, and had a lot of fun before moving on to a Championship club and trying the same in England. Been a while, fancy trying it again!

Nice idea mate. Good luck .

Good challenge.

Like the idea of this. Good luck with Hibs

Cheers all. Took me a day, but I should finally have a chance to crack on with this tonight. Expect an update later on.

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So I've had a few weeks at the club now, but there hasn't been too much activity on the transfer front. I've deliberately tried to keep the squad together for my opening season, and because there isn't much money to spend, I've had to settle for just a couple of transfers. The players I have signed though I'm pretty pleased with, and here's a list of them below:

24 yo AM Luigi Bruins (ITA)

31 yo CB Sander Keller (NED)

30 yo CM Michael Stewart

I was pretty short in midfield when I arrived, and so I set out to find a tough tackling midfielder and a bit of creative spark. I'm pretty hopeful I've found both in Stewart (a former Hibs and Hearts player, so the fans were a little uneasy) and Bruins looks like he could be quality. As for Keller, no words need to be said. You'll see his image below, and see why he was signed. I'm still short of a striker, so hopefully I can find one before the season gets underway.

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Loan deals

26 yo AM Andrea Orlandi (ESP) - £70,000 from Swansea

17 yo AM Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - on loan from parent club Arsenal

Oxlade Chamberlain arrived at the club after the chairman agreed a parent club deal with Arsenal, and although he's not great (yet) I still feel he'll be hugely beneficial. However, I'm more excited about the Orlandi loan, who looks top class.

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One bonus I do have though is SIXTEEN players are out of contract next year, so there will potentially be plenty of room to manoeuvre next summer. Until then I'll work with what I have.

Friendlies

Partick Thistle 0-5 Hibernian

O'Connor (2) Griffiths, Agogo, Keller

Raith Rovers 2-4 Hibernian

Bruins (2) OG, Griffiths

Millwall 2-1 Hibernian

OG

A mixed bag with friendlies, but enough to see some some promise in the squad. However, an injury to my best left back against Millwall was disappointing, although luckily he'll only miss the first three weeks of the season. Now on to the season opener- in JULY! Bloody SPL....

Look like very strong players.

July and August

SPL Hibernian 1-1 Celtic

Point earned in the opener, Garry O'Connor scoring on his second debut

SPL Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1-2 Hibernian

A real snatch-and-grab, Griffiths grabbing his first for the club early on, before ICT spent the next 80 minutes on the attack. Despite them equalising, late subs Junior Agogo and Matt Thornhill combined, for Thornhill to smash in the winner in stoppage time. First win in the bag...

SPL Kilmarnock 3-5 Hibernian

Strangest game ever! 1-0 down at half time, the second half could have been Keegan v Barry Fry! We equalised just after the whistle through Garry O'Connor, before falling behind immediately again. A first goal from Bruins levelled things up, before Griffiths put us in front. A second O'Connor goal seemed to seal things, before a horrific pass back from Wotherspoon let Killie back in it. Finally, Keller scored a thumping header with 3 minutes left, and we remain unbeaten. The game was on TV, too.

SPL Hibernian 1-0 St Mirren

What's that, a clean sheet? Yup, I can't believe it either. Garry O'Connor again bagged a goal, and took us up to 2nd.

League Cup East Fife 1-2 Hibernian

Far from convincing, but we're through. Goals from Griffiths and Agogo sealed our place in the next round.

SPL Hearts 0-2 Hibernian

My first derby game, and a win to boot. Two goals in the first 15 minutes put the game out of Hearts' reach, with Griffiths and O'Connor on the score sheet.

So the first month over and the strangest league table ever. Rangers down in fifth, Celtic in 8th!

Excelent start to the season. Makes it even better for you with the Glasgow clubs not performing so strong.

Excelent start to the season. Makes it even better for you with the Glasgow clubs not performing so strong.

Normal service will resume soon enough I expect. I've also had three players request transfers in the first month of the season as they're not in the side. Frustrating with such a thin squad!

EDIT: Make that four!

September

SPL Hibernian 0-0 Aberdeen

Total control, just couldn't score.

SPL Dunfermline 0-2 Hibernian

After a frankly awful first half, we grabbed two quick goals at the start of the second through Bruins and Griffiths, and the game was done.

League Cup St Mirren 0-1 Hibernian

Junior Agogo with a huge header gave us a scrappy win.

SPL Hibernian 1-1 Dundee United

This was 2nd against 1st, and it was a bit of a humdinger. So many chances, and if anything United just shaded it. Our goal was was a screamer from Bruins, but an error from Palsson gave them a share of the points.

SPL Hibernian 3-0 St Johnstone

A really good win, and a great way to end the month. Luigi Bruins scored a trademark 25 yarder before Stewart slotted in a second. Griffiths applied the gloss by grabbing the third near the end.

However, I've now had SIX players complain to me about not being in the team, and the season is less than 2 months old. I'm still pretty new to FM12, so can somebody let me know if that is commonplace within the game? If so, it's a major step backwards in overall game play IMO. None of these players are 'Key Players' (two are squad rotation) and all have had at least some time on the pitch over the season too. It'd be fair to say it's getting on my nerves!

October

SPL Rangers 4-0 Hibernian

An absolute mauling at Ibrox, but the damage was in the last 20 minutes. Just 1 behind, we were well in the match, but three late goals really hurt. The most annoying thing was we never really showed up, there were simply just too many poor performances in green.

SPL Hibernian 2-2 Motherwell

Cracking game, just very frustrating. Pegged back twice, and despite numerous chances, we just couldn't force another. Bruins scored both goals.

SPL St Mirren 1-1 Hibernian

Almost identical to the match before. Recovered well to falling a goal behind, O'Connor grabbing the leveller, but the winner just wouldn't come.

League Cup Quarter Final Dunfermline 0-1 Hibernian

Progress into the semi final was secured by Leigh Griffiths' 7th goal of the season from the spot. Predictably the two OF clubs were kept apart in the draw, so I'll play Celtic while Rangers play Falkirk.

SPL Celtic 1-0 Hibernian

Another defeat in Glasgow, and another pretty poor performance. Hmm.

Hmm, the Steam servers are "too busy" to deal with my request of playing FM12. Back to FM11 for a bit then...

A second day in a row I can't get on, anybody else struggling? At this rate I'll be starting a new FM11 career and thread instead. And if I'm honest, I do slightly prefer last year's game anyway...