FM13: Norwich City FC - Celebrating 100 Years of Competitive League Football

Part of the fun of playing FM is playing with your favourite team. Norwich happen to be mine. But even if your not a fan, playing with a club you may never have played with before is a great challenge and quite possibly more fun than playing with a team you know everything about already. So I’ll try and guide you through all the history and give you all the information you need to get started on a career with Norwich City FC.

The kits have changed over the years and here are a select few from the early days of blue, right up to the present day.

“Norwich City celebrated its 110th birthday on Sunday, June 17 as the Football Club prepares to embark upon its 100th competitive domestic campaign in the 2012-13 Barclays Premier League. The Club was formed at the Criterion Cafe in White Lion Street, Norwich on Tuesday, June 17, 1902 in a meeting called by Robert Webster and Joseph Cowper Nutchey, and has been proudly representing the city of Norwich and the county of Norfolk ever since. Due to the cessation of domestic league football during World War One and World War Two, the 2012-13 season will be the Club's 100th in competitive league action.” – NCFC Website.

Norwich City were formed in 1902 by two schoolteachers, Robert Webster and Joseph Nutchey. They were connected to CEYMS, the best established Norwich side at the time, and they called a meeting at the Criterion Cafe in White Lion Street on the 17th of June, in the belief that the area could sustain another club. An excited audience agreed. Arthur Turner was appointed manager, and Robert Collinson, a fine player also from CEYMS, was made captain. The new 'City' side joined the Norfolk & Suffolk League.

Norwich City won that league in 1904-05, but not before the fledgling club were made to face a FA Commission which investigated their amateur status. They were deemed to be a professional club, so resigned from the Norfolk & Suffolk League and joined the Southern League for the 1905-06 season. In those days the team colours were blue and white halved shirts and their nickname was the Citizens. Their new manager John Bowman affectionately referred to his players as 'my little canaries', in recognition of the local pastime of breeding the birds. This caught on with the press and in 1907, the club turned out in yellow shirts for the first time and the official nickname of 'The Canaries' was adopted. In 1908 the club moved from it's Newmarket Road ground to a disused chalk pit in Rosary Road. It was soon christened 'The Nest', and was to gain the reputation as one of the most dangerous and least hospitable grounds in the history of English football.

City played in the Southern League until World War One, though they were largely a mid table side. Better fame was secured through the FA Cup as the likes of Sheffield Wednesday (1908), Liverpool (1909) and Sunderland (1911) were all beaten. In 1917 however, with football suspended due to war, the club were unable to sustain profitability, and the Directors had no option than to wind it up in 1918. The next year however, sufficient funds were brought together to re-launch Norwich City Football Club. They went back into the Southern League for one season before joining the Football League in the newly formed Third Division.

The 1920's were to prove difficult, though City more than held their own in the Third Division South. The club's first success came in 1933-34, when new manager Tom Parker led the Canaries to the title. Interest in football blossomed in and around Norwich but the squeeze at The Nest was such that the club came under scrutiny from the FA over safety issues. Faced potentially with expulsion from the league, a quick exit was made during the summer of 1935. In less than three months an alternative ground was sourced and built. Carrow Road was the new home of Norwich City.

Unfortunately relegation followed in the last year before World War Two. The Canaries went down on the last day of the season after beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 when they needed it to be 4-0. The goal average difference was a mere 0.048 of a goal. The timing could not have been worse for Norwich. Finances were again under huge strain as football was suspended for the duration of the war. When things resumed in 1946-47, Norwich had to rely on local youngsters and finished one from bottom in the table, thereby having to seek re-election back into the league. The same thing happened the next season too.

These were dark days at Carrow Road but the club made a spirited comeback in the early '50's. Managed by Norman Low, they finished 2nd,3rd,4th and 7th in Division Three South in successive seasons. In modern times of course that would have led to automatic promotion or at least a play-off opportunity, but in those days only the table toppers went up. However, by 1956 the coffers were once again empty and with a slump in form as well, City once again had to apply for re-election. Floodlights were installed at Carrow Road at a cost of £9000, but the expense plunged the club near to extinction. Significantly, it was at this point that Geoffrey Watling and Arthur South became involved with the club. Funds were borrowed from the Norfolk News Company and an appeal was made to the good folk of Norwich and Norfolk to donate money.

With the club saved, the players responded on the pitch. 1958-59 saw the famed FA Cup run as the Canaries, under the leadership of Archie Macaulay, fought through to the semi final, knocking out Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United along the way. The third division side eventually fell just 90 minutes from a Wembley final, and only then after a replay. But it was to be the launch pad for modern Norwich City. The next season they finished as runners up in the league, and therefore gained promotion back to Division Two, and in 1962 won the League Cup for the first time.

The sixties saw the club consolidate, though FA Cup giant killing remained on the menu as Manchester United were beaten 2-1 at Old Trafford in 1967. In 1969 a relatively unknown manager by the name of Ron Saunders arrived at Carrow Road. He brought a disciplined approach to the playing style, had the players running up and down Mousehold Heath to maximise fitness, and spent what little money was available wisely. Against expectation, by the end of the 1971-72 season, Saunders had transformed Norwich City into Second Division champions and they took their place in the First Division for the very first time.

Though the initial stay was to last only two seasons, it was in fact the start of a twenty three year period in which Norwich would spend twenty years in the top flight of English football (three relegations saw immediate returns back to the big time). Also during that time the club made three Wembley League Cup Finals, losing in 1973 and 1975 in single goal defeats to Spurs and Aston Villa, before beating Sunderland 1-0 in 1985. John Bond replaced Saunders in 1973, bringing panache and attractive football to Carrow Road. He also added flair players to the team, a tradition carried on by the next manager, Ken Brown in 1980.

The club were cruelly denied entry into Europe three times in the second half of the eighties, after English clubs were banned following the Heysel Stadium triumph. The first occasion was in 1985 following the League Cup triumph, then after a finish of 5th place in Division One in 1987, and 4th in 1989 under David Stringer. It is impossible to tell what the club may have developed into, had they been able to take these opportunities up. Twice Norwich again narrowly missed out on a FA Cup Final appearance , losing 1-0 in the semi finals of 1989 and 1992.

In 1992-93 season, City were founder members of the Premier League. It was to be the most successful campaign in the history of the club, as they led the division from the first game through to Easter. A poor finish however saw them finish third, the highest league position ever secured. This time they were able to take their place on the European stage, courtesy of the UEFA Cup. The players proved that their attractive style was good enough for any level, as they triumphed 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium against Bayern Munich in what has gone down in history as one of the greatest European nights any English club has seen.

Norwich lost their top flight status after the 1994-95 season and since then have primarily been a second tier club. That run has however been punctuated by both a high and a low. At the end of the 2003-04 season, the Canaries were crowned the last ever First Division champions (before it was re-branded as the Championship). It meant a brief, one season return to the Premier League where they failed to compete with the nation's big spending clubs, though relegation only came on the final day of the season. Three seasons of under achievement followed, which led to relegation down to the third tier for the 2009-10 season - the first time Norwich had been at that level for 50 years. However, the appointment of Paul Lambert early in the campaign ensured they won the league at a canter, thereby preserving the Norwich tradition of bouncing straight back after a relegation.

A year later a second promotion was gained, taking the club back to the Premier League… After a successful first year back, manager Paul Lambert left and took the reigns at Aston Villa. In his place, Norwich hired Chris Hughton YOU to take the club onto the next era.

Credits:

- Big thanks to Sing Up The River End, the website that tells the history of the club so well, giving me something far better than what I could have said to sum up the history.

- NCFC facebook page.

- Historical Kits

- Heathxxx for the inspiration of layout. If you can't tell, then you must be blind! It looks great, so I thought I would borrow the ideas.

Upon your arrival at the club, you will be introduced to David McNally, the MD who will inadvertently set up a meeting with the wonderful Delia Smith. Since becoming director of the club back in 1996, the club have gone through some turbulent times. A season in the Premier League back in 2005 was followed by hard times as the club slumped to the foot of League One. But possibly the best acquisition of that demise was David McNally, the chief exec who has earned the nickname McNasty for the way in which he gets things done. But things have turned out well since McNally has been in charge, seeing the club back to the Premiership after some tightly controlled decisions.

Delia, McNally and co are targeting to avoid relegation this season and will provide you with a basic budget of £307k for wages and £3m for transfers. You are given a free reign to take the club where you want it to go – there are no strict philosophies you need to follow and the management team will make little to interference with what you get up to. You are the boss here. You can expect the budgets to increase slightly the next year, but don't expect anything dramatic, even with plenty of sales. After selling/buying players in the first year, I made a £10m profit in the market, but the transfer budget merely increased to £5.5m after a low mid table finish (Wage budget at £370k having moved my budget around in the previous year).

With that all in mind, I set about making a few changes. Now I'm not going to straight up say sign this player or that player or sell this player or that player. But, what I will say is what I have personally done to give you an idea. I wouldn't exactly say follow my lead here, as such, for my transfer dealings can sometimes be strange, and I'd rather let you play the game, find pout players yourself and enjoy it a b

There are a few decent signings in this bunch, Adryan being a bargain with seemingly huge potential and Drenthe performing throughout the year very well. The others have worked well enough, but there have been poor moments where I wished I had of bought someone else. Going out of the club featured a number of sales to boost the balance where I felt the player was no longer needed/couldn't provide anything extra to the team. Perhaps however, some of these sales/loans with potential sales at the end of them were too soon, leaving me a little bit thin sometimes. But we coped well, were +£10m at the end of the year yet still managed to consolidate our position in the Premier League (updates further below in the thread). What I am trying to see, is that you can flog players and sign a couple of newbies and still do well if you get your tactics right, something that may just take a while and tweaks to settle.

So check out the rest of the thread to see other signings made by other players, and check out the forum in general if you're looking for tips on good players - though I prefer to avoid this and use my scouts, some people have unearthed some right gems.

I'll try to update this with more player information and links to screenshots of stats in the future.

Thanks for checking Norwich out, hope you give them a go and enjoy!

Keep us updated:

It's great if you've chosen to play with Norwich, but what would be even better is if you could keep us all up to date with how things are going. In this part of the thread, I'll try and do a summary of how everyone who is playing with Norwich is doing. Given that there is such few people this should be easy enough to do provided that people follow just add and fill in the following to their end of season post and I'll add it to here. Just copy the code, and make sure when you post it, it's wrapped in code tags too otherwise it won't look like this.

| [b]Club                     [/b]| [b]League Position          [/b]| [b]Achievements             [/b]| 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Norwich City             | 15th                     | N/A                      | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Norwich City             |                          |                          | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Norwich City             |                          |                          | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Norwich City             |                          |                          | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Norwich City             |                          |                          | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Records:

As well as this, I'll try to keep track of any records people achieve and want to share. To see your records, just go to the club tab, History and Records. Anything from in there that you feel is worthy of sharing, I'll add it in here. Just to make sure, please provide a link to a screenshot of the record.

All records must surpass current records held IRL and/or by the holders below. And make it a decent record 
| [b]Record                      [/b]| [b]Details                  [/b]| [b]Record Holder            [/b]| 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Highest League Position     | 3rd                      |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Highest Attendance          |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Highest Gate Receipts       |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Biggest Win                 |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| Highest Scoring Game        |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Most Games Won in a Row     |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Most Games Lost in a Row    |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Most Games Without Losing   |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Most Games Without Conceding|                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Most Games Without Winning  |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Most Games Without Scoring  |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Top Goalscorer              |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Top League Goalscorer       |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Most Goals in a Match       |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Most Assists                |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Highest Average Rating      |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Most Player of Match        |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Worst Discipline            |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Most League Apps for Club   |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Most League Goals for Club  |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Youngest Player             |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Oldest Player               |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Highest Transfer Paid       |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Highest Transfer Received   |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Fastest Goal                | 10 seconds (R. Johnson)  |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Youngest Goalscorer         |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Oldest   Goalscorer         |                          |                          | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

And I thought my 23 second goal was fast only to see Johnson IRL had got one in 10 seconds.

****ing brilliant thread .

****ing brilliant thread .

Thanks SRL88! Hopefully it will get a few people interested in joining in discussion and playing with Norwich

Phenomenal club thread. Will be diving into a career with my beloved Norwich eventually, so I will be back!

Great thread! Where did you get those Powerpod (or what they were first called) pictures of the players?

I've started a Norwich save and had a massive clearout. In all honesty I'm not massively aware of how good some players are e.g. Bennett x2, Barnett, Morison and a few others although I have a pre-guided opinion on a couple of players.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

My team is:

_________________Ruddy

Trippier______Okore_____Bassong______Masilela

________________Yussuf

Snodgrass__________________________Drenthe

________________Hoolahan

________Kweuke__________Holt

Subs:

Bunn, Garrido, Tettey, Strandberg, Turner, Johnson, Surman, Pilkington, Helenius

Tried to sign Kara for the work permit to be rejected twice :/

Phenomenal club thread. Will be diving into a career with my beloved Norwich eventually, so I will be back!

Thanks, hope to see more of you in here!

Great thread! Where did you get those Powerpod (or what they were first called) pictures of the players?

I've started a Norwich save and had a massive clearout. In all honesty I'm not massively aware of how good some players are e.g. Bennett x2, Barnett, Morison and a few others although I have a pre-guided opinion on a couple of players.

[image Cut]

My team is:

_________________Ruddy

Trippier______Okore_____Bassong______Masilela

________________Yussuf

Snodgrass__________________________Drenthe

________________Hoolahan

________Kweuke__________Holt

Subs:

Bunn, Garrido, Tettey, Strandberg, Turner, Johnson, Surman, Pilkington, Helenius

Tried to sign Kara for the work permit to be rejected twice :/

Nice signings and clear out there, got a good income off them. I'll have to have a look into them new signings myself too since I haven't exactly made too much of an effort in the signing department. I can add them as suggestions in the transfer part of the thread, too.

I see your playing a diamond, how's it getting on for you?

As for the Powerpod type bobblehead players, they are all personally hand made. A bit of a work in progress, was looking at creating a new kind of facepack for FM with them.

Thanks, hope to see more of you in here!

Nice signings and clear out there, got a good income off them. I'll have to have a look into them new signings myself too since I haven't exactly made too much of an effort in the signing department. I can add them as suggestions in the transfer part of the thread, too.

I see your playing a diamond, how's it getting on for you?

As for the Powerpod type bobblehead players, they are all personally hand made. A bit of a work in progress, was looking at creating a new kind of facepack for FM with them.

Now going into my first game, seems to have taken me forever! I'll post an update after 7/8 games

It’s been a strange one so far. I managed to make £11.5m worth of sales in the opening window and brought in Masilela on top of the other three players I had signed, but am still a little disappointed in myself in that I failed to really make any noteworthy signings to really improve the squad. So after the window closed, I signed Madson and Adryan, who are both set to join in January, which will give me a big boost going forward. Both players are a lot more what I wanted to sign to start with, but I was a little slow to get looking properly – I’m going to blame it on writing up this guide! My scouts found a few gems, and using the search feature I managed to find Adryan who has a <£1m release clause and is just 18. Promising. James Ward Prowse of Southampton, with a value of £300k, has been given 5* potential rating by my scouts, but I can't really afford him at the moment but I'll keep an eye on him.

So anyway, fixture wise, things have gone well enough. Pre-season was great, topped off with a 4v0 win over Roma. The season started with a draw against Man City, something to be chuffed about. A point was more than expected, however, we lost to Sunderland where I had hoped to snatch all three or at least one.

We drew against Southampton after having two goals disallowed, but followed that up with our first win of the league against Swansea, 2v0. Fulham managed to beat us 2v1, but every game I have felt that there was only something slight in it. In other words, we could easily have snatched the points given either more clinical finishing or better defending of set pieces. Slight changes to the tactic and team are being implemented and hopefully we can become a bit more solid. All I'm hoping for this year is a good solid mid table finish - none of this crazy win the league straight off stuff - I'd be a little disapointed if that happened to be honest.

The League Cup has seen us progress past Bournemouth and Derby whilst using the back-ups and reserves to keep the first team fit and to see who can step up. Been good, and we have got Bristol so I will be doing the same again. Progress from there and I will start to put out a stronger side in the hope of winning the trophy. Might not be the best tropy in the world, but it's a start to bigger things for the club.

It’s been a strange one so far. I managed to make £11.5m worth of sales in the opening window and brought in Masilela on top of the other three players I had signed, but am still a little disappointed in myself in that I failed to really make any noteworthy signings to really improve the squad. So after the window closed, I signed Madson and Adryan, who are both set to join in January, which will give me a big boost going forward. Both players are a lot more what I wanted to sign to start with, but I was a little slow to get looking properly – I’m going to blame it on writing up this guide! My scouts found a few gems, and using the search feature I managed to find Adryan who has a <£1m release clause and is just 18. Promising. James Ward Prowse of Southampton, with a value of £300k, has been given 5* potential rating by my scouts, but I can't really afford him at the moment but I'll keep an eye on him.

So anyway, fixture wise, things have gone well enough. Pre-season was great, topped off with a 4v0 win over Roma. The season started with a draw against Man City, something to be chuffed about. A point was more than expected, however, we lost to Sunderland where I had hoped to snatch all three or at least one.

We drew against Southampton after having two goals disallowed, but followed that up with our first win of the league against Swansea, 2v0. Fulham managed to beat us 2v1, but every game I have felt that there was only something slight in it. In other words, we could easily have snatched the points given either more clinical finishing or better defending of set pieces. Slight changes to the tactic and team are being implemented and hopefully we can become a bit more solid. All I'm hoping for this year is a good solid mid table finish - none of this crazy win the league straight off stuff - I'd be a little disapointed if that happened to be honest.

The League Cup has seen us progress past Bournemouth and Derby whilst using the back-ups and reserves to keep the first team fit and to see who can step up. Been good, and we have got Bristol so I will be doing the same again. Progress from there and I will start to put out a stronger side in the hope of winning the trophy. Might not be the best tropy in the world, but it's a start to bigger things for the club.

You're doing better than I am.

My season's started fairly poor to be honest:

West Brom (H) W 2-0

Everton (A) L 3-0

QPR (H) L 3-1

Spurs (A) L 1-0

Man City (H) L 1-0

Fulham (A) D 1-1

Sitting in 18th place at the moment, I'd take 17th come May

Hows Hoolahan doing? He hasn't had a good game for me. I bought Wellington Nem on deadline day for the £3.5m so I'm going to start playing with him in AM. Strandberg has also done well for me but that's about it; Tettey sent off on his debut and Drenthe got sent off a few games in without 1 good performance, he'll be sold in January!

Loved this post! Big Norwich fan, once I am on I will be starting. Is Wes as good as he should be?

You're doing better than I am.

My season's started fairly poor to be honest:

West Brom (H) W 2-0

Everton (A) L 3-0

QPR (H) L 3-1

Spurs (A) L 1-0

Man City (H) L 1-0

Fulham (A) D 1-1

Sitting in 18th place at the moment, I'd take 17th come May

Hows Hoolahan doing? He hasn't had a good game for me. I bought Wellington Nem on deadline day for the £3.5m so I'm going to start playing with him in AM. Strandberg has also done well for me but that's about it; Tettey sent off on his debut and Drenthe got sent off a few games in without 1 good performance, he'll be sold in January!

Hopefully results will start picking up. Are you still using the diamond?

As for Wes, he's actually doing fairly well, but I'm not playing him strictly in his best position as AMC much, but as a playmaker MC.

Loved this post! Big Norwich fan, once I am on I will be starting. Is Wes as good as he should be?

For me he is doing as well as expected. I do think his stats reflect his quality as well and think he has been fairly rated if I'm honest. Others may disagree? But I see nothing wrong with them. Still making the team over Howson and co.

Edit: Just had a big 5v1 defeat against Chelsea - felt like something out of real life. Oscar was immense.

I got sacked in January with the club sitting in 19th place. Not one of my players performed above 7.00 on average. Kweuke and Wellington Nem were the big disappointments. Time to start a save with another club

I got sacked in January with the club sitting in 19th place. Not one of my players performed above 7.00 on average. Kweuke and Wellington Nem were the big disappointments. Time to start a save with another club

Gutted. Be good to see you come back to trying it out again with Norwich. Disappointing that Kweuke and Nem were poor for you though and in the end saw you drop so far. Things haven't exactly gone great recently for me either. Drenthe has been one of the best players, but his an arse for motivating. Everyone bar him listen haha. Tough defeats against Chelsea, Tottenham, Everton and Man Utd all in a row, with Newcastle up next. A tough period for us, but after that we have 5 games in a row I feel we can and should be winning - Reading, Stoke, West Ham, Wigan and West Brom so hopefully we can get our season going then.

Great OP! Good to see the Norwich thread on it's way once more, especially considering the Ipswich thread is going from strength to strength. Plenty to catch up with.

I'm playing FM Classic. I hope it'll mean I get to play Norwich in the future. What I don't like is that

Already through season 1. I had to play Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester Utd as my first three games and was chuffed to come out of that with a point. After that, I managed to get the season going. I ended 16th with 38 points. I played a 4-4-1-1 formation with Hoolahan tucked behind Holt, and Surman and Elliot Bennett on the wings. I tried to play the ball wide and ping the crosses in, but my wingers just won't cross the ball, no matter what I instruct them to do. It really is frustrating. As a result, they play passes usually to Johnny Howson and Wes Hoolahan who play balls threaded through to Holt or the wingers to score.

Transfer wise, I got a £6mil bid for Andrew Surman in January and I didn't feel I could turn that down. Otherwise out the door went David Fox (who I brought back in from the transfer list and then whinged as he didn't play regularly), Leon Barnett and Simon Lappin. Out on loan went Chris Martin, Declan Rudd and Jed Steer. Simeon Jackson kicked up a right stink when I refused to give him assurances of first team football and I mutually terminated his contract in January. Jacob Butterfield wanted first team football and I allowed him to leave on loan to get some football. I hope he'll return and want to stay.

Incoming came Mauro Formica, on loan from Blackburn for absolutely nothing. I signed Wilfred Zaha from Palace (who in turn went back out on loan) and in January signed Barcelona B winger Kiko Fermenia and Jaime Gavilan from Getafe on loan (to replace Surman). I signed Mancienne on deadline day to cover an injury. He never played.

Leaving this summer (you can see them on my screenshot) are Steve Morison (who again wanted out), Steve Whittaker, who was very poor when called on for me, Mark Bunn - simply because I think Declan Rudd and Jed Steer will make the step up - and Robert Snodgrass who again performed poorly for me. I'm hoping to rebuild the squad somewhat so I don't struggle quite so badly, but I've been given £5mil and a meagre increase in my wage budget, even with the sales I've already arranged. I'm very disappointed, especially considering Huddersfield have also been promoted and seem to be spending around £20mil.

I need a new striker (James Vaughan will be coming back, but I want a target man to challenge Holt), a new left winger to replace Surman, a new left back and a new right back. That should leave my squad looking like this;

GK: Ruddy, Rudd (Steer will be allowed out on loan with a recall clause)

DR: Martin, New Signing

DL: Tierney, New Signing

DC: Bassong, Turner, Bennett, Ayala

MR: Bennett, Fermenia

ML: Pilkington, New Signing

MC: Tettey, Johnson, Howson, Butterfield

AMC: Wes, Howson

SC: Holt, New Signing, Vaughan

I don't have any major targets for these new signings just yet, but I'm working on it. The only problem with FMC is that you don't have the extensive database available to you as in the main game, which is, in my opinion, the only downside to FMC. I'll keep you updated.

I noticed you hadn't signed up to do the thread this year and was seeing the Ipswich one getting bigger so thought I would give it a shot!

At least you guided them to safety! A great offer for Surman, one I would have taken very quickly as well. I got £4m for Fox and was very happy with that. I'll probably let Morison go at the end of the year, along with Whittaker as well as like you, he has been really quite poor so far. Seems pretty annoying though with such a small budget to be given. I can see why that smaller database can be an issue as well. I kind of find it difficult to let some players go, even though I know they will be of no use. IE; Holt and Hoolahan will need to be replaced fairly soon, but hopefully my January signings that are yet to come will help do just that, but I'll still want them in the team. Suppose the best thing you can do is send out all the scouts everywhere to find some cheap foreigners.

As for the formation, I was going to give it a mention in the tactics section as it does seem like a fairly sensible option but never did in the end as I found it wasn't as affective as others, particularly the 4-5-1 (4-3-3) that I spoke about which seems to be working really well for me - in terms of additional players in the squad, there aren't many asides from Drenthe in the starting XI.

In terms of wide play, I feel that using WB's and one winger and an inside forward has worked wonders with very few minor tweaks to instructions, so we have had mixed luck there then. The WB and W link up really well - I always put on the exploit the flanks option in game when I want some more wide play.

For me I'm 16 games in and have managed to secure 21 points and so, I'm pretty happy with that. Carry it on and we will most certainly be safe and in a decent mid table position. I was hoping to snatch the League Cup, but we went out to two late goals in the quarters.

I noticed you hadn't signed up to do the thread this year and was seeing the Ipswich one getting bigger so thought I would give it a shot!

Glad you did so, mate you've done a good job. Definitely leave it in your capables for the foreseeable future!

I'm experimenting now with wing backs to see if they'll give me greater penetration. I tried to move the MR & ML into AM positions, but it just made me incredibly vulnerable defensively and left me conceeding lots so they've gone back. Accordingly, I've tried to buy players to fit into that philosophy. Here are the purchases so far. I'm fairly pleased. Buttner and Limbersky should make my left really strong, Collison will allow me to move Howson into AMC to compete with Wes and Chamakh fits my tactics superbly; just a shame his finishing wasn't better. Maybe looking for another MC to compete with Howson/Collison for that position.

Of the outgoings, I am disappointed that Jacob Butterfield wouldn't stay. I wanted him to stay and play a bit more, but he wouldn't have any of it. That seems to be another problem of FMC; no discussions with the player means I have no ability to convince the player to stay in situations like that. Ahh well. Collison offers a bit more versatility and the same sort of player anyway. Other than that, not had anyone come in for my better players so far. Huddersfield (!) wanted Ryan Bennett, but I set his price tag at £10mil. That put them off. QPR continue to be interested in Bradley Johnson. His value (I've set values for everyone to prevent unwanted bids coming in, rejecting them and my players demanding new deals as a result) is set around £7mil. Early signs are good; lost 1-0 to HSV in first friendly and won 6-2 vs Utrecht playing my second string.

I like the look of them signings, actually. Look promising and like they could help provide a decent season for you which I hope is true. As for the outgoings, I think they seem fair enough too, like players I might get rid of as well. I feel like there are a fair few players I need to lose and a fair few new ones that need to come in, but ££££ isn't exactly widely available.

I'm not really sure what I should do with my AM's at the moment. We're not penetrating the opposition enough and so aren't scoring enough, but at the same time, we seem fairly keen on shipping the goals of late. With Basssong away on international duty for African Cup of Nations, we have been left in a muddle at the back (Turner currently injured, Bennet was injured). Hoping that moving them to traditonal MR/ML might help in that department, just a bit worried about the lack of goals of late. A few easier clubs coming up so hopefully we can sort that out.

Great thread from our neighbors to the north

I found AMR & AML left space that a good winger could exploit. I've taken to playing midfielders rather than attacking midfielders with full backs with defensive mentalities. It usually means when I lose the ball, the players drop deep and present two banks of four that my opposition have to break down. The only downside is, is that the AI of better teams like to get their full backs forward and ping in crosses. Not got a response to that yet.

Two league games played and two draws. Frustrated by the first - against Wolves, away - as took the lead twice and should have held on to that lead. The second was a tight affair against Liverpool at home. Had it not been for Chamakh who wasted two or three good chances, I could've won. Never mind. Got a small striker crisis at the minute too, with Grant Holt and James Vaughan injured leaving me only Chamakh as my only fit striker.

Great thread from our neighbors to the north

Thanks!

I found AMR & AML left space that a good winger could exploit. I've taken to playing midfielders rather than attacking midfielders with full backs with defensive mentalities. It usually means when I lose the ball, the players drop deep and present two banks of four that my opposition have to break down. The only downside is, is that the AI of better teams like to get their full backs forward and ping in crosses. Not got a response to that yet.

Two league games played and two draws. Frustrated by the first - against Wolves, away - as took the lead twice and should have held on to that lead. The second was a tight affair against Liverpool at home. Had it not been for Chamakh who wasted two or three good chances, I could've won. Never mind. Got a small striker crisis at the minute too, with Grant Holt and James Vaughan injured leaving me only Chamakh as my only fit striker.

I too have now reverted my AMR/L's to typical wide midfielder positions. It has helped in the second half of the season. Hopefully you can sort out getting a new striker in soon, or in January at least to ease the pressure and give you another option? Or is it not worth it. Good luck with the remainder of your second season. Just finished mine...

The first year in charge was a case of consolidating our position in the Premier League. I felt a mid table position was plausible again, and achieve it we did, I guess. I wanted to sign some players that could add to the squad, but I failed to really do so, but managed to rake in some promising potential in the January window. I felt we managed safety fairly easily and could have done better, so with some new signings, I'm hoping for a top 10 finish as the minimum. On the plus side, my one year contract (I think it was anyway), was due to expire and was kindly offered a three year deal just before the end of the season. Thank you very much, Delia.

League Table//Past Positions

The season started well with a draw to Man City and by the time we got to the start of Decemeber, we had managed to bag ourselves 6 wins and 2 draws, losing 7. It was a start I was reasonably happy with, but following our Capital One Cup departure in the QF, we went ten PL games with just 1 win and 2 draws. We didn't slip to far given the gap at the bottom and the tightness of the middle. A victory over Aston Villa, a draw against Everton and a surprise win at home to Man Utd saw us back on track. We finished a bit disappointingly in the end and had to settle for 15^th, a decent 9 points clear of the drop with 45 points.

Capital One Cup

Progressed easily with a second string side thanks to weak opposition, only to fall in the quarter finals to Everton by 2 goals to 1. It may only be the League Cup, but I plan on giving it a good shot next year. Winning this will set us on our way.

The FA Cup

Was strange as I didn't even realise it was an FA Cup game until the second half when I noticed it was against Charlton. We lost 2v0 (It made up one of 8 games in a row without a win).

Squad

The squad was fairly big, but there were many a sale and loan deals that got rid of a fair bit of cover. It is fairly good, but an ageing Grant Holt who, admittedly, managed to get double figures again this year, will need replacing soon. The right side of midfield will need an update and generally the club needs some better quality.

Transfers

As above, made plenty of outgoings and made +£10m. A few good signings with potential, many people talking about Adryan, and I managed to get him over in Jan. We need to spend a bit more next summer, improve the squad and push on for a decent, solid top 10 finish.

Key Players...

Grant Holt - Scores goals, even when we playing poorly. Totalled a healthy 14 goals in 32(5) games.

Drenthe - Great signing, 8 assists and 3 goals, averaged at +7 for the year and played more games than anyone else.

Adryan - Huge potential at just 18, but in the 15 games he played for me, he failed to produce anything to shout home about - no assists, no goals. Maybe next year.

2013/14 Season Preview

Transfers A:/B

There have been a number of incoming signings for the club, of which I have dealt with in a way to ensure that the net spend remains around neutral.

Defence:

Instead of getting the scouts to find a decent LB in place of Garrido’s absence after his loan ended, I asked Lazio and got him to sign for £700k – a price I was happy to pay. Him and last years’ signing Masilela make up a decent enough pair of left backs. I didn’t both with central defenders, with Ayala returning to the club and Bennett developing quickly to take the first team spot from Turner, it meant I had good enough cover. On the right side of defence, I signed Pauschek for £925k – a player who works as cover for Martin but has the potential to go further.

Midfield:

I signed Remi Gomis on a free somewhat early in the window to give Tettey a battle for the DM spot. A short, £12k p/w, two year deal for the 29 year old made for a cheap signing, though nothing to go crazy for. I signed a young Harry Grill, a German with Premiership potential. He’s sitting in my u18s with no one willing to take him on loan at the moment. The big signing and biggest ever in the clubs history in terms of fee, was Fortounis. He is the best AMC at the club, ahead of both Howson and Hoolahan (who’s contract will run out at the end of the year, so I’ll look to sell in January or just let go) and has a whole load of potential to be a huge player at the club in a couple of years. One of two loan players is Jacopo Ferri, who I signed from Roma to act as last resort cover to my wingers with the partial interest to sign at the end of the season. He does have potential, but the end of loan fee agreed is just shy of £4m, and as such is unlikely to be playing here again. I’ll keep him at the club, but his playing time will be low I imagine.

Edit: Just signed Nemanja Matic, ex Chelsea and more recently, Benfica, a DM for £700k. It gives me 3 DMs and really does push Tettey into the breakground now.

Attack:

I got Memphis Depay on loan from PSV as a means of cover to Grant Holt and second striker Bakos. His potential is unquestionable though his current ability is low. I had the intention of adding a future fee clause but didn’t – at just £3k p/w, he makes for a good and cheap cover and hopefully, by the end of the year, a deal can be struck to keep him at the club.

Transfers Out:

This year saw further sales of what I saw as deadwood. Some players that I failed to sell last year, and some that were sold after putting in partial performances for the year just gone. The likes of Pilkington (£1.8m), Jackson (Free), Whittaker (£600k), Vaughan (£2.8m) Butterfield (£750k) and Snodgrass (£1.6m) were all shown the door. There was further income from small sales of Adeyemi and Lappin, bringing the total income to £7.75m.

Net: £250k

Spending less than what was brought in once again makes for happy viewing. With cash left over in the transfer kitty, I'm hoping for a bigger budget in year 3 where we can hopefully sign a marquee striker.

Summary & Objectives:

We’ve started the year off with some very solid wins, plenty of goals and clean sheets all around, suggesting vast improvements on last year. The tactics I’m employing are from the latter part of last year which, so far, have done us well. We play a controlling game with a fluid style. My team selection does vary to the image below, but the tactics remain the same - Holt would be playing but a ban from the final game of last season has seen him miss the first two matches of the season.

In terms of objectives for the year, we’re hoping for a decent top ten finish with the squad – though the board as a minimum expect to avoid relegation – I opted for mid table to get an extra £1.5m in the transfer kitty. Whilst not pivotal, I am looking to win the Capital One Cup as a means to bag ourselves our first trophy. Using a second string side, to keep players happy and to develop the talent, this and the FA Cup are competitions I’m looking to try and stay in.

I've not had a bad start to life as a Norwich City manager. Picked up Jores Okore (Which is an inspired buy by the way, so thanks for the tip.) and also John Guidetti on a season long loan.

Only 9 fixtures in but results as follows.

West Brom (a) 2-0 L

Fulham (h) 3-2 W

Liverpool (a) 1-0 L

Everton (h) 0-0 D

Man Utd (h) 3-2 L

Man City (a) 1-1 D

Arsenal (h) 4-0 W

Tottenham (a) 1-1 D

Sunderland (h) 0-0 D

Morison is leading scorer with 4 goals and Guidetti has 3. Holt is surprisingly missing having played in every game but only scored 1.

I've been using a 4-2-3-1 tactic with Ruddy-Garrido(DL)-Okore(DC)-Bassong(DC)-Martin(DR)-Johnson(MC)-Howson(MC)-Pilkington(AML)-Hoolahan(AMC)-Snodgrass(AMR)-Guidetti(ST) as the first XI

I've not had a bad start to life as a Norwich City manager. Picked up Jores Okore (Which is an inspired buy by the way, so thanks for the tip.) and also John Guidetti on a season long loan.

Only 9 fixtures in but results as follows.

West Brom (a) 2-0 L

Fulham (h) 3-2 W

Liverpool (a) 1-0 L

Everton (h) 0-0 D

Man Utd (h) 3-2 L

Man City (a) 1-1 D

Arsenal (h) 4-0 W

Tottenham (a) 1-1 D

Sunderland (h) 0-0 D

Morison is leading scorer with 4 goals and Guidetti has 3. Holt is surprisingly missing having played in every game but only scored 1.

I've been using a 4-2-3-1 tactic with Ruddy-Garrido(DL)-Okore(DC)-Bassong(DC)-Martin(DR)-Johnson(MC)-Howson(MC)-Pilkington(AML)-Hoolahan(AMC)-Snodgrass(AMR)-Guidetti(ST) as the first XI

Nice to see another one playing as the mighty Norwich! Hope you'll stick around and keep us updated.

Snatching some good points off some good teams at the start there, a great win over Arsenal particularly too. Tough run of games there, playing two rivals, 3 times in a row. Surprised Holts not doing so well for you - he seemed to play really well for me. I used him as a Deep Lying Forward... still do actually, never really got on with Morison who played barely a game in the first season for me. At least things are going fairly well for you anyway and hopefully you'll bag yourself a decent finish to the season.

Guidetti looks like a great loan signing, and Okore too - a player tipped by Lawly Boi that I never managed to sign myself.

Edit: Thank god for autosave! Gone to load up my game only for FM to tell me it can't for no apparent reason. I have my autosave on for ever week, so I've got to play a Premier League match and League Cup game again, both of which I won last time out so hoping for the best this time again now

Edit2: Managed to win both games again, and on the plus side I managed to get an Ipswich draw in the next round. We're at home, cannot wait.

I Went to UEA and found myself at carrow road quite often, trying to recreate the magic and failing miserably. Maybe if the puppet man from town came in as a mascot it would help:P Seriously though-I'm struggling.

Signed Nigel reo coker and Wellington nem- playing a 4-1-2-2-1. What I'm unsure about, is mainly everything haha. tried using the wings, playing direct and sitting deep/middle. Can't stop losing, drew to city and utd early on, then had 6 losses in a row as I constantly try to tinker and sort this mess out. Not gonna quit, but would love some help

I Went to UEA and found myself at carrow road quite often, trying to recreate the magic and failing miserably. Maybe if the puppet man from town came in as a mascot it would help:P Seriously though-I'm struggling.

Signed Nigel reo coker and Wellington nem- playing a 4-1-2-2-1. What I'm unsure about, is mainly everything haha. tried using the wings, playing direct and sitting deep/middle. Can't stop losing, drew to city and utd early on, then had 6 losses in a row as I constantly try to tinker and sort this mess out. Not gonna quit, but would love some help

Lol! The puppet man - oh, the puppet man. So very famous.

Is the 4-1-2-2-1 the one I described above (as a 4-5-1)? It was very much so the tactic I used for the majority of the season, though I found it had its weaknesses – most notably in that I couldn’t score many yet we conceded plenty – albeit a reasonably average amount in comparison to everyone else. This slowly morphed into something else (I’ll explain in a moment) that has now become my main tactic in my second year.

I might add a little about it in the main bulk of the tactics, but first I’ll mention it here.

The first season I found it difficult to string any consistent success together and found that it was very much a case of attacking the weak and building up the defences against the strong. I’d play more defensivly, bringing my wingers back and playing counter against the top sides. For the others, I’d play controlling, exploit the flanks and look for the overlap shouts enabled. Stretching the play wide, waiting and then working it into the middle/crossing it allowed for the lone striker to have a better opportunity. It also meant that the central midfielders were in attendance of the penalty box, giving me the options I needed.

Just to highlight something, from the end of December to the end of March, we went 13 games with just 2 wins and a couple draws. We finished 15^th. It is difficult in the first season, with a small budget it’s hard to improve and it’s just a case of consolidating and ensuring safety, before again improving the squad in select positions.

Below is my current tactic that could easily work with what is the standard squad. The back 4 could remain the same, Tettey in place of Matic, Johnson/Howson in place of Adryan, Pilkington in place of Drenthe and Hoolahan in place of Fortounis. Depending on the opponent would depend on who I put out.

Now, I play this formation no matter who I’m up against, but my central midfielder sometimes takes the role of playmaker or ball winning midfielder (Johnson seems to do this very well for me still). My AMC often takes on the role of an inside forward. But my DM always acts as an anchor man. My wide defenders are always wing backs and so far, I’ve not had any major issues because of it. Using the ‘look for overlap’ shout, it means that my wingers will hold the ball up a bit and wait for Garrido/Martin to get forward. Plus, I use a fluid style to try and emphasise how both attackers and defenders need to contribute to both sets of play. This, coupled with plenty of crosses and short passing acrossing the area has worked well.. The only thing now is that Grant Holt is 50 (32) and can’t move so fast. I need a replacement, preferably one that can head a ball, hold it up, quick and has a good finish. I don’t ask for much.

I don’t know how much help that really is, but all I can suggest is to keep plugging away. Expect defeats and bad runs, but set your stall out accordingly to the level of expectations you have. Ie; Wigan, you’ll think you can beat them so be a little more attacking down the wings and more controlling. Use Howson and Hoolahan in the middle, as oppose to Johnson who may be a better choice for a game when you need someone that can win a ball.

Thanks for the input Dead panda. My formation is very similar to yours, with the exception of the anchorman being level in midfield with Johnson. It's interesting what you have written about the fullbacks, as that is what I was going for, but garrido and martin/odiah are peforming quite badly for me! Not expecting to win all the matches, just a couple! Holt obviously still thinks he's too good for the Canaries Wanted to start him up front with Holt as I was always impressed with them IRL, but, I might leave it for next season! OTBC

edit: Alex Hleb is arriving in Jan for 10K so hopefully he can liven things up a bit!

Good luck with the Hleb signing, he must be getting on now? Shame that the wing backs/full backs aren't performing as expecting. I suppose all I can suggest is keep tweaking and hopefully things will turn around for you with a few solid wins.

The two full backs have performed admirably for me - I mean, I signed Garrido after his loan spell and the pair are still holding down their places with ease. Though, saying that, I wouldn't mind a new right and left back to replace them both in the next summer window. It's just a case of getting someone in that is better and for a price I'm willing to pay.

It's funny that when I started this thread, the one place I said to leave till last was midfield, yet that appears to be the only place I've really enhanced. My defence is the same and my lone striker remains the same.

Edit: Second season going well, though we don't do any half measures - we either win or lose. Had a close call against Southampton - 3v0 up at half time, only to be 3v3 with minutes to spare. A last strike goal saved us the three points and we won it 4v3 thank god. Another 3 points on the board and we're looking good, matching it with the big boys.

It's funny that when I started this thread, the one place I said to leave till last was midfield, yet that appears to be the only place I've really enhanced. My defence is the same and my lone striker remains the same.

Do as I say, not as I do!

yea Hleb is getting on, but for £10,000 and 17 passing 16 dribbling - he's worth a punt imo-even if his mental stats make Baliotelli look like Einstein!

Half the season gone now. P19 W5 D9 L5 F23 A19 Pts24 Currently 11th in the table.

Newcastle 1-1 D

Stoke 1-0 L

QPR 3-1 W

Swansea 3-3 D (After being 3-0 up)

West Ham 2-0 W

Southampton 0-0 D

Chelsea 1-1 D

Wigan 1-0 W

Reading 1-0 L

Aston Villa 1-1 D

Guidetti is still top scorer with 6 but his goals have dried up as late. I'm playing Holt as a DLF more now and although he isn't scoring more he's having more influence on games. January Transfer window is open and I've scouted a heck of a lot of players but can't afford anybody but backup players. I'm going to try and ship out Jackson, C. Martin and Ward to round up some money but even then can probably only afford just the one player. Probably a left winger as only have Pilkington at 2 1/2 stars.

Exactly - do as I say not as I do. You're right. And having just said about my defence being good, I think I must have been misguided by how well they've done on the attack, because whilst we sit 6th in the league after 14 matches, we have conceded more goals than 19th place Wigan. But still, it is an area I want to improve anyway, and I'll try not to buy midfielders next year. Defenders and a new striker.

Very true, cheap and worth a punt. Nothing to lose really!

Yeh, it's a good idea to ship out whatever deadwood you feel there is because cash is in fairly short supply to begin with. Had some good results though Phyxius and sitting in 11th is decent. I wanted a position around 10th, but couldn't quite achieve it. Hoping that things continue as they are for you and you grab a decent finish.

A Little more information on the tactic i'm using. It's a variation on one i've used on and off since FM11.

It's premise is to pressure higher up the pitch forcing turnover where possible. The midfielders pass amongst themselves and play direct to the lone striker when possible.

It does seem to put alot of pressure on the defense who can get stranded and i do concede alot later on in games. (Was 3-0 up at Swansea and 3-1 up at Chelsea to draw 3-3 in both games due to late comebacks.)

I do still need to tweak it as it does seem to be weak in away games.

tweaking, tweaking and tweaking some more! but results have picked up a little and I've fought my way up to 14th, a 2-0 over Chelsea at home a highlight! Snodgrass and Hleb with some delightful link up play! Need a CB badly though, bassong going away for the AFCN could see me relegated! Fantastic player for me btw (bassong).

@Phyxius: I'm surprised you play so narrow, but I think that's because I play so wide. I can see why it would work, though. Interesting to see how things differ too. I like a quick tempo too, but find I normally put it too high for the players. Maybe playing contain when youre up 3v0 would be a good option?

@inkakutawetrust: Great win over Chelsea! Always a good feeling to beat a decent club. Glad Hleb is doing it for you as well!

Bassong was great for me as well - still one of my best players but is currently out injured (3 months!). When he left for the African Cup of Nations I was left in a bit of a tight spot and we were a lot more vulnerable at the back. It is annoying, but I suppose you have to adapt somehow!

Thinking about selling Hoolahan in January. His price is dropping as he gets older and he just isn't starting many games now that Fortounis, Adryan and Howson are ahead of him. His contract is up at the end of the year I think so better to cash in on him now - even if it is <£1m. Any price around that would be nice to keep my net spend in the positive.

wow that's some GD Deadpanda! I've somehow managed to get into the capital one cup final against tottenham. So there's a chance of some silverware-If I win it, will it take me into the Uefa cup? Maybe its because I'm a chelsea fan, but I've had some incredible luck with penalty shootouts this season. I've won 4 (including the FA Cup)!!!

wow that's some GD Deadpanda! I've somehow managed to get into the capital one cup final against tottenham. So there's a chance of some silverware-If I win it, will it take me into the Uefa cup? Maybe its because I'm a chelsea fan, but I've had some incredible luck with penalty shootouts this season. I've won 4 (including the FA Cup)!!!

I think you might do actually, yeh. So we're both in with a chance of Europe then! I've got my semi final against Wigan (should be easy) then possibly Man City or Fulham in the final. I'm yet to enjoy the wonders of penalty shootout in this years FM :o Good luck against Tottenham, hope you manage it.

Edit: I've given the guide a little update with a records and updates section where people can show off some of their records and what not. I've not filled it all in with the current records, but you'll see them in the game so you'll know what to beat and when you've beaten them. Just trying to make it a little more interactive

Thinking about selling Hoolahan in January. His price is dropping as he gets older and he just isn't starting many games now that Fortounis, Adryan and Howson are ahead of him. His contract is up at the end of the year I think so better to cash in on him now - even if it is <£1m. Any price around that would be nice to keep my net spend in the positive.

I'm thinking the same. I'm a season behind you but Southampton have offered £1.2 million and I'm playing Howson more in the attacking midfielder role. He's been good for me but looking at what you're being offered a year later. Think I'll cash in now.

Yeah, his value drops quickly, especially if he is playing less. I'll be luck to get £500k for him by the end of January. No one seems to be interested at the moment.

On another note, the results are going well. Sitting comfortably in 7th place with the Capital One Cup final coming up soon (so long as we beat Wigan in the second leg, having beaten them 2v0 away already). ed: sorry 3v0

First season over. It took me 35 games to win two in a row in the league and that sparked a 4 game winning steak beating Southampton 1-0, Wigan 3-0, West Ham 3-0 and Aston Villa 2-0 with a quite remarkable 13 clean sheets. (Eat your heart out Paul Lambert!)

We finished 10th having won 13, drew 13 and lost 12 taking scalps from Arsenal (4-0) and Tottenham (3-0)

Guidetti was top scorer with 16 goals. Man City want £11.5 million for him so I think his time at Norwich City is done.

Pilkington was second with 10 and Holt third with 7.

Surman and Morison have both held private conversations due to not being played and I promised them both they'd be shipped out in the summer, Simeon Jackson is on that list also. Garrido spent alot of the time injured so I won't be trying to resign him. Harry Kane managed two appearances all season and was a victim of my lone striker formation which saw him fall well down the pecking order.

Chris Martin, James Vaughan, Elliot Ward, George Francomb, Korey Smith and Simon Lappin were all on loan and i'll look to move them on permanently in the offseason. Meaning a clearout of about 12 players. (Three non-returning loans)

QPR were relegated so I'm targeting Junior Hoilett and will try and take Raheem Sterling on loan. (I've been cosying up to Brendan Rodgers in the media all season).

If they're successfuly i may move Elliott Bennett on.

Striker wise i'm scratching my head. Matty Fryatt, Andy Keogh and Marvin Sordell were all prolific scorers in the championship in teams that haven't been promoted but i could do with some advice if anyone has bought any stars on their saves. (I discovered this forum too late to sign Kweuke and Wellington Nem and Carlos Fierro is out of my price range.)

Great job! Good finish in the end and hopefully you'll have a chunk more money to play with in the new window, especially after the sales of said players. It's strange, because Bennett did ok for me in the first season, and I considered letting him go if I could get someone else in. No one came and to my surprise, Bennett has put in some awesome performances so far this one. One of my best players - Couple of goals and plenty of assists.

In terms of strikers, I'm still scratching my head and I'm heading past January and keen to find one prior to the summer window, so can't personally offer any advice in that deptartment, but those guys sound and look like they could possibly take the step up and for a price that should be cheaper than most. Though foreign strikers are tempting. It's looking as though I might end up with someone with potential, but young, inexperienced and not currently that great. But it all depends on the money I get in the next window as I need to sort out the FB's and and a striker. Initially I was expecting issues with central defence, but Bennett and Bassong have been a great pairing, Ayala covering just as well, with Turner very much an unhappy backup.

hi fellow norfolk folk!

well, am not there anymore but was born n bred in norwich, so always happy to see people playing as my hometown team.

havent started a game as norwich yet as tend to get too emotionally involved and shouting at the computer whilst my wifes watching tv doesnt tend to go down too well, but aiming too soon.

just from my own experiences from playing my game as liverpool which i thought would be a challenge, i could recommend samid yesil. shouldnt cost too much and poss available on loan. even dani pacheco could do a job, but yesil has masses of potential, stats may not be great but he's done well for me the first season and a half when ive given him game time.

hope you find someone soon if yesils not for you and will give the thread a shout when i get my city game up and running

matt

Only just seen this thread.

Top, top stuff!

Well it was a busy summer transfer period. I couldn't let my green and yellow tinted spectacles cloud my judgment and had to be ruthless in removing the deadwood.

Players Out:

Simon Lappin: Free Transfer

Tom Adeyemi: Free Transfer

George Francomb: Free Transfer

Remi Matthews: Free Transfer

Andrew Surman: Southampton £1.7 million

Steve Morison: Derby £1.9 million

Steven Whittaker: Middlesbrough £1.2 million

Elliot Ward: Ipswich Free

Chris Martin: Ipswich £250,000

Korey Smith: Middlesbrough £1.4 million

Elliott Bennett: Blackpool £2.6 million

James Vaughan: Sunderland £3.3 million (1.5 upfront with 1.8 over 30 months)

Total Income: £12.25 million

Players In:

Marvin Sordell: (ST) Bolton £2.1 million

Andreas Cornelius: (ST) FC Kobenhaven £2.5 million

Filip Kasalica: (AML/ST) Red Star £1.9 million

Royston Drenthe: (M/AM/L) Valencia £3.1 million

Danny Potts: (DL) West Ham £600,000

Sam Byram: (D/WB/R) Leeds £2.0 million (1.0 upfront and 1.0 upon reaching 10 league games)

Raheem Sterling: (AM/RL) Liverpool Loan £100,000 p/month

John Guidetti: (ST) Man City Loan £30,000 p/month

Total Spent: £12.20 million + £130,000 a month

Was suprised that Man City accepted the loan offer again for Guidetti and all that bum kissing of Brendan Rodgers paid off with Sterling.

Danny Potts is now starting left back and Sam Bryam has the potential to surpass R.Martin.

Drenthe i bought on your advice DeadPanda but i might be a season late.

Sordell, Cornelius and Kasalica were more for the money than the potential.

We were given £54 million for TV rights but the board seemed fit to only give me £3.8 for transfers and that was providing a guarantee a top half finish.

EDIT: And i just realised i could have screen printed my transfers page and saved 15 minutes of writing. Sigh!

hi fellow norfolk folk!

just from my own experiences from playing my game as liverpool which i thought would be a challenge, i could recommend samid yesil. shouldnt cost too much and poss available on loan. even dani pacheco could do a job, but yesil has masses of potential, stats may not be great but he's done well for me the first season and a half when ive given him game time.

I know the feeling of not wanting to start a City game for similar reasons! Good shouts on those guys, I was looking at Pacheco - bringing back a player I really liked when he was at the club. Having not played my save for a while, I've not done anything more than compile a list of about 10 strikers that I'm seriously considering. Youth is the way I'm leaning at the moment.

Only just seen this thread.

Top, top stuff!

Thanks Ty!

Well it was a busy summer transfer period. I couldn't let my green and yellow tinted spectacles cloud my judgment and had to be ruthless in removing the deadwood.

We were given £54 million for TV rights but the board seemed fit to only give me £3.8 for transfers and that was providing a guarantee a top half finish.

EDIT: And i just realised i could have screen printed my transfers page and saved 15 minutes of writing. Sigh!

Had to laugh about that! A good transfer window - kept the net spend down with some good sales that I completely endorse myself. And you've also made what looks like some great signings! Pitty Drenthe cost you £3.1m when at the start of the game he is available on a free, but he has been quality for me since the start, so I hope he provides the goods for you too, especially since he was bought on recommendation He's played well for me as an AML when he's cut inside, bagged a fair few goals and assists. Glad to see the loans coming good, too.

The small transfer budget feels harsh, doesn't it? In January I was given a boost of extra funds when they asked about change of expectations, so you might get the same if your doing well too. On the plus side, the bank loans will be paid off pretty soon and with better finishes and huge amounts of TV money, you can expect bigger budgets to come I'm sure. Talking of TV rights, I think I got similar, and looking at the fixtures, it's as those we are on TV soooo often it's crazy.

Edit: Thank god for autosave! Gone to load up my game only for FM to tell me it can't for no apparent reason. I have my autosave on for ever week...

To quote myself, this happened again. Strange, but again, autosave saves the day and this time, I've not missed a thing

In other news, whilst I can't seem to get any offers for Hoolahan at the moment, West Brom have come in with a big £5m offer for Tettey. As third choice DM, it was an offer I could not refuse. I cancelled my summer loan signings having had them either not perform or not been part of the team. In place, since I'm just getting out of January, I've managed to sign two strikers on loan with Holt (32) and Bakos (30) ageing, I needed to get some fresh talent.

The first, Kevin Gameiro, from PSG, is a fast paced striker with a good finish and some half decent other stats. Valued at £13.5m, I don't see him as a player I expect to be playing here next year as he is too pricey. The other player is a sort of try-before-you-buy option, who I have a future fee set to £2.5m. AC Milan striker Alberto Paloschi. I've been having a scout watch him recently after he has managed to bag 7 goals in 8 appearances for AC Milan in Serie A. A good stat, I think you'll agree. So potentially, for £2.5m, he could work out to be a bargain. But whilst mentally very talented, I'm still not wholly convinced on him and nor's my scouts, so loaning him for the rest of the season will be a good test.

edit: Tettey only went and rejected West Brom on the basis that their league standing was rubbish. That £5m would have been really quite handy.

Season two has been done for sometime, but not had the time to play to get on to season three.

In short, I came 12th. Not a bad season, although my form at the end was atrocious, couldn't buy a win. Marouane Chamakh started strongly, but faded after time. Grant Holt scored a few, but James Vaughan ended my top scorer. He went through a period of scoring hat tricks consistently. Problem is, the goals then dried up. I really, therefore, need a striker. Someone who will play a bit like Grant Holt, really - someone determined, works hard, strong and fights hard. Also impressive were Jack Collison and Alexander Buttner. Buttner was superb on the left wing, really worked hard and was particularly imperious. Definitely a good choice to replace Andrew Surman at a third of the price I sold Surman for. Collison was someone I bought off relegated West Ham for £3.7mil. A lot of money considering how strapped for cash I was. It was a superb buy, though, and he was a great midfield fulcrum and everything went through him. He worked well with Johnny Howson as well, which was a bonus.

This coming season, I reckon I need a decent defensive minded midfielder to come in and partner Collison. Too much was simply going through my midfield unchallenged, and I need to tighten the ship. I also need that striker I was talking about, a new left back (David Limbersky I bought from Sunderland was so poor he eventually lost his place to Marc Tierney), a back up right back, a back up central defender and maybe a right winger as Elliot Bennett and Kiko Fermenia aren't doing the job. I've got £25mil to spend, too. Will post some screenshots after playing tonight.

Nice job on the consolodation. Funny how Chamakh is being linked to us now by the Daily Mail (I think its them) in real life. Great to hear that Vaughan stayed and played well for you - I do sometimes regret selling him. I think the striker issue is a big one for anyone playing as Norwich, and it's hard to find some as similar to Grant with such quality that isn't so expensive for the budgets we are given in the early stages of the game. Clearly, the third season, with the debt gone, that looks like it has seen some significant improvements! £25m sounds like a healthy sum you can do a fair chunk with.

That midfield issue is one that resonates with me too - it's good going forward (but weak at the very top due to the striker issues), and too weak going backwards.

Look forward to seeing how the cash is spent and it's nice to know that there will be plenty for me to work with once I finish this season - just hoping I can manage a top ten place that I was occupying until recently.

I'm only in February of season 2 - a slow one for me at the moment with the level of work at, well, work. But in the gametime that I have had, we managed to hammer Man City 4v2 in the League Cup final - Holt and Fortounis were superb. But it's the league form that is of real concern having won just 1 in about 9 or so games, losing heavily to Man City (80% | 20% possession and we had like 1 shot on goal - revenge, much?) It's seen us drop off and become adrift to the teams around 4th-9th. Hoping something will change soon so we can snatch those places. But with our position in the EC after winning the league cup, I'm hoping we can attract a decent striker and some good defensive units.