[FM 13] - The Big Man's Career

Getting myself motivated to play this year's game has been a bit of a struggle. The poor opening day release version and a horrendous Christmas patch destroyed my belief in FM13 and pushed me back to FM12's cosy embrace. What I finally discovered though after nearly 18 months playing FM12, was that most of my saves ended up eerily similar and all I was doing was reusing the same formula. PACE PACE PACE. No need for a big man up top when a midget with turbo legs could run through defenders at ease.

This is the reason I have decided to start a fresh on FM13 and try to change it up completely. Im going to break convention a little in that im not going to be writing about my managers career. This thread will be about the Big Man and my struggle to get him playing great. His name is Andrew Thomas Carroll.

Im creating this career thread to document my struggle and hopefully in turn it will help me push on with the game and enjoy it more.

MANAGER - David Carroll (Andy's Fictional Father )

NATIONALITY - Geordie

TEAMS- West Ham and England

STARTING REPUTATION - International Pornstar

Lets hope he does't fall off a stool in pre-season!

Carroll started his professional career with Newcastle United in 2006, before spending a brief period on loan with Preston North End, during which time he scored his first league goal. He established himself as a regular in the Newcastle first team by 2008, and following Newcastle's relegation from the Premier League to the Championship in 2009, scored 17 goals in 39 appearances to help Newcastle finish first in the league, earning immediate promotion back to the Premier League in the process. He continued to play for Newcastle in the Premier League, scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances.

Carroll signed for Liverpool on the last day of the transfer window on 31 January 2011 for a fee of £35 million, which to date represents both Liverpool's most expensive ever signing, and the highest amount ever paid by one club to another for a British footballer. Carroll was bought to replace Fernando Torres, who moved from Liverpool to Chelsea on the same day for a fee of £50 million, making Carroll the second-most expensive player currently playing for a British club, behind Torres. An injury sustained in December delayed his Liverpool debut until March 2011, and he scored his first two goals for his new club in April 2011 in a 3–0 victory over Manchester City. In August 2012, Liverpool agreed a deal that would see Carroll spend a season-long loan at West Ham.

The story is only beginning...

Carroll Starting Attributes

1st Season Stats - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-22_00011.jpg

2nd Season Stats - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-26_00026.jpg

1st Season Injuries -http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/s1injury.png

Pre-Season

2 signings and another 2 Taylors into the club, Ryan and Neil, to join their brother Matty Both players are out with serious injuries in real life but I love determination and good team work stats so they are in. Joey O'Brien joined Celtic on transfer deadline day and Cole and Piquionne were released to help the wage bill.

Finding the right tactic is going to be a tricky affair. Carroll is a Target Man at heart but playing him as one will take away from his ability to score reguarly. He managed only a single goal during the friendlies and that came against Rotherham. Some thinking is needed to be done!

A majestic brace from the Big Man seals my first win as England manager. Both goals were scored in open play with his mighty left peg. The first a 25 yard screamer! Only a home friendly against the Swiss mind you but a great game to start off my reign. Andy played as an Advanced Forward with Rooney playing the deeper role. Going to explore this route a lot more now and see what i can do for West Ham.

I also gave first caps to Nolan, Noble and Tomkins. My thinking behind this is that they now will all have me as a Favourite which can only be a bonus! (Iv played this game before )

Here is the game overview - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-17_00002.jpg

The Season Begins

A great start of the season but a slow one from Carroll. He started every game in the league but failed to score in the 3 games. Not too upset with his general game as i have been switching about the tactics. Hopefully will settle with one or two set-ups and the team will become more coherent. 4 Points from those 3 games is a dream start in the league.

He did get the winner in the 101st minute of the Carling Cup 2nd round tie against Forest though. After coming off the bench just before the end of normal time he changed the game for us. Ball goes down the left and Potts (backup LB) puts an early cross in the box where he powers a header into the back off the net. Goal when it matters!

He's off the mark

Interesting idea - looking forward to seeing how this unfolds.

Thanks b101, i think its a good idea too. Haven't seen a thread like this before so im going to give it a decent go. Im really enjoying my Save so far and its totally different to how i normally play. Hope you enjoy reading it

A really poor start to the World Cup qualify campaign but Andy managed to score another international goal. Got to buck up our ideas if we are going to win this group

The Flood Gates Have Opened!

4 goals in 4 games in the Premier League and i can't be more delighted! The whole point is to get Andy to have a decent career but at the same time i need to do well enough to stay in the job. He has brought that England Mojo back across London and is starting to be the star man i need him to be.

The West Brom horror show was down to an early goal which made us alter our game plan early and have to chase the game. I take full responsibility (5 goals from the big man would of helped, all im saying).

Out of the Carling Cup as my reserves are poop. Big Man got a well earned rest in that game.

Wigan Brace Overview - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-18_00004.jpg

Southampton Overview - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-19_00001.jpg

Swansea 90th Minute Winner! - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-18_00003.jpg

Shock horror just as things are going all rosy in the Big Man's life he goes and gets injured! Felt like he was injured the whole game with the way he played but finally he told me about it in the 70th min against Ukraine. A 5.8 rating and 4-5 weeks on the sideline has put his career on pause. He has a sprained ankle.

2 very important wins which help us get to second in the group. Defoe came in against Moldova and bagged himself a hattrick. He is everything Andy is not which makes it funnier

Life Without Carroll

The injury maybe came at the right time (if there ever is a right time). With big away games that were going to be a struggle and Liverpool who he would of been ineligibile against anyway, missing him didn't turn out that bad. A lucky draw and 1-0 win in our two home games really helped get morale back up.

Next is the last England game of the year and hopefully Carroll can come off the bench atleast. Once the internationals are over il be posting fewer result updates but with more fixtures played. The league table, Andy's Stats and Attriubutes and also a tactical analysis of our system will be posted half way through the season too.

79th minute sub Andy Carroll came on and helped us see the game out. He never started the game as i didnt want him to aggrevate his injury and be out again. Rooney scored both the goals but Defoe missed a plethora of changes. Andy will definetly be straight back into the starting 11 when he is fit!

The Goals Keep Coming

I have a system that works for the players i have and that is the key i believe to FM13. Most importantly its one Andy Carroll is thriving in.

Goals Goals Goals! 8 in 8 games has really ignited my save for me and got me believing i can somehow make this work. The squad i have lacks any real creativity or flair and must rely on work rate and determination. This is what will keep us up this season. Then the fight to bring Carroll to the club for keeps begins

Winner Against Villa -http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-20_00003.jpg

Hattrick Time! -http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-20_00004.jpg

Superb Comeback Brace -http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-20_00005.jpg

His other two goals came against Sunderland and Reading.

We have done ridiculously well to be this far up the league at this stage in the season. I put all the focus on the Big Man to get us the goals and he has delivered. A real tough run ahead means we might still find ourselves in the fight at the bottom later down the line. Staying up is the only objective.

Andy has improved his Agility by 1 point after getting him to focus on it the last 6 months. Im happy his physical stats are all double digits and now i can focus on his finishing with the rest of his PA.

No Pace, No Creativity and No Luck

Is it just me but are the Fixtures a bit off? I seem to play them in batches of Home and Away games. Don't like it as it can lead to a horrible downturn in form if things start to go bad.

Draws are the most frustrating result for me and we are getting plenty! Thank God we won against Southampton because i could not take it any longer. Even then they scored in the last minute to make it 2-2 for us to only go and score from kick-off. Words were being said that I am not proud of

Carroll bagged 3 goals, coming against Newcastle, West Brom and the second against Southampton. Thats him on 15 league goals, 1 behind his arch nemesis Romelu Lukaku

Finding the transfer market harder in this years game so getting those gems in cheaply isn't happening. After my first couple targets failed to get off the ground I went chasing the top dog. Bid negoiated and accepted but Mr Agent didnt even want to hear what I had to say. Dissapointing but I half expected it. Will have to wait to the summer now.

I'm intrigued. What will happen if he doesn't sign for West Ham? Do you quit and become manager of Liverpool, or do you stay as West Ham/England manger and continue to pick him?

I have thought about this for awhile now and im still not sure what to do. If like past games where a loanee after a successful spell has that club as a favourite i might have a chance getting him. The thing is Liverpool have already sacked Rodgers so no matter what they do the new manager will keep the job. Really enjoying the hammers so the dream is to get him signed permanently. Could always bring Andy's Uncle, Barry Carroll, into the management game to be the new Liverpool Manager and have a 2 team save

FA Cup Great Draw Draws

We have been lucky with the draw for the Fa Cup so far as we have met only championship teams. However due to squad rotation and our teams love of sharing points with the opposition, we have had to go to a replay in every round! If we win this thing we will probably do it by playing the most games ever

Andy has scored one goal in the cup so far, the equaliser against Peterborough. I have been resting him though as this is the time of the season he is more prone to injury. Got to keep the Big Man fit.

Carrolls league form has been amazing over the last 3 games scoring 4 goals. After putting us in front against Arsenal twice both with bullet headers, he goes and dives in the box to pick up his 2nd yellow. We try to hold on but end up getting beat 3-2. Never been more dissapointed in my life.

Wigan Brace (Our Best Game This Season) - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-22_00001.jpg

Arsenal Derby Craziness - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-22_00003.jpg

On the England front, we played the friendly against Spain and gifted them 2 pens. Beat 4-1 with a young team. Carroll came off the bench to get another cap and do nothing. (Hope you understand why i never made a post for that rubbish )

The transfer window shut with 2 players coming in and two going out.

In - Wayne Routledge (pace out wide and something different) and Kehl (defensive titan in midfield)

Out - Winston Reid to Everton (Loan) and Matty Taylor to West Brom

Im loving that teams bid for players who are near the end of their contracts. Taylor went for £1.1M when i was going to just let him go in summer on free.

Finally the Big Man gets some well deserved recognition!

What a strike against the champions -

FA Cup Dream Over

The Big Man scored the only goal in the 5th round replay but we were straight out in the next round. Man Utd was a step too far for us but we gave them a good game. Board only wanted 5th round so iv got to be happy about making it to the quarters.

The league form has been good when you consider the opposition. We were 1 minute away from beating City only for Silva to hit a 30 yard freekick off the bar then Jussi's head to score the equaliser. Andy scored the goal of the month in that game too which was his 20th in the league so far.

The Liverpool game was without Carroll and just a solid defensive fluke performance

A tight first half passed by with the game goaless then the alcohol kicked in. Damn you holiday! Been on it since lunch time and my decision making ability is severely impaired. I must of said the wrong thing as we somehow went on to lose 3-0. Carroll was as much use as a chocolate teapot!

The chocolate teapot pours a cup of goal blend! A terrible attempt of comedy from me but don't let that take away from Andy's brillance. Head, Right, Left. That is what the london papers are reporting on after a fantastic perfect hattrick from the big man! Hopefully he will still be blowing bubbles next year.

Perfect Hattrick - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-22_00007-1.jpg

Top Goal Scorer - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-22_00010.jpg

Fantastic Andy Carroll Secures European Football For Hammers!

What an end to an amazing first season. The team were in full flow and playing some fantastic football with Andy the focal point. Apart from the blip at Norwich (Pogatetz got sent off) the form couldn't have been better. The Big Man's performances were outstanding and he literally dragged the team out of any hole it found itself in.

The highlights have to be his All Out Attack equaliser against Tottenham and his majestic Goal + Assist in last 10mins against QPR. We were 2-0 down at half time yet he inspired a determined comeback by scoring the equaliser and setting up his best pal Kevin Nolan in the last minute of the game. Oh and he scored that perfect hattrick too

I honestly can't believe how well this wee project has done. Has to go down as my best save ever without winning a competition. I have really enjoyed it. Il post the match overviews later and also the end of season stats.

Some gigantic donkey was top goal scorer, i wonder who?...

The Final 8 Games - Andy Carroll's form to get us to Europe

He was a man possessed! Not only did he score, he made goals too. Must get him playing for West Ham again next year if im going to keep this thread going.

Top 15 was honestly my goal at the start of this game as im a total noob to FM13. To get 7th and European Football next year is just crazy considering the team i had and the fact Andy Carroll was my main goal threat! The boy done more than good ->

To score 27 in the premier league with a striker who has stats more suited for basketball is just phenomenal! Iv never seen Andy Carroll score near this amount ever before. Maybe people should give him more of a chance

Yes thats right - £4.3Million. That is all it cost to persuade Liverpool to sell the Premier Leagues top scorer. I know its just a game (and i couldn't be happier right now) but come on! Thats a £30M+ loss on a PROVEN goal scorer. He scored 27 in a mid table team who don't play attacking football! He should be worshipped not flogged

The dream continues

This will probably go down as the most basic, anti-climactic and boring tactic you have ever seen but here it is. A Control 4-4-2 with no indiviual specialised roles as such i.e Playmaker, Target Man, Trequartista etc. This allows us to go fluid with our style which gets the team playing as a unit.

By going Control it gives Carroll more chance of getting involved in the game as he isn't a pacey Counter striker. He needs bodies around him to feed off and also time to make his run before the cross comes in from out wide.

I do some shouts when things are not going to plan. If we need 1 goal il probably wait it out to the 65th minute and then change to Attacking with Shouts - Play Wider, Exploit Flanks and Look for Overlap. The BWM becomes defensive to provide a bit of cover.

To hold a lead i normally take a Striker off and put on a Anchor Man. By going Defensive with Shouts - Play Narrower and Clear to Flanks the team becomes a solid immovable blob!

Andy starred in a game that was nothing more than a training exercise. 8-0 win and his first England hat-trick to boot! The EPL top goal scorer goes and shows why he is worth the £4.3M West Ham paid for him

Man of the match demolition job - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-23_00004.jpg

Fantastic return from The Big Man and an achievement i thought only possible by getting him playing for Barcelona. West Ham have Europes top dog!

The first season was such an unexpected success that its changed my game plan completely. I was going to see West Ham through the tough first few years in the top flight, picking up a few bargains and releasing the wage budget busters along the way. The way we played the last 8 or so games last year has given me the belief to kick on and go for broke. Signings will be made to make us a top 10 team atleast from now on. Im not sure if Carroll would have been interested if we didn't secure European football so by doing so we achieved our ultimate aim. The Big Man is a Hammer! More top players are on their way

The In's and Out's

When I said we had to kick on and shake this team up I meant it! The deadwood were rightly shown the door with little remorse. West Ham has no time for undetermined piles of donkey poo any more

The idea was to bring in more English players (if possible) who have great mental attributes and add quality at the same time. Here is why i bought them:-

* Ruddy was my key traget after Carroll considering how great he is now in the game. I was delighted to get him for under £10M.

* Milner embodies the spirit and desire I want at this club and although he is my biggest earner at nearly £90k a week, he is worth every penny.

* Diamanti has the creative spark we sorely missed last season and hopefully he will be a perfect foil for the Big Man. Fantastic set-piece taker also.

* Juan Jesus is young and very talented. Will play on the left side of Tomkins at CB. A little worried he is maybe going to get homesick but if he does im sure il make a profit reselling. A safe gamble at £5.5M

* Distin and Sterling are backups to make it through all the competitions we play in. We had a small squad last year so a few extra faces will help alot with the extra games.

All and all im very happy how this transfer window has gone. Did have to buy players on 48 month deals which is not really my style but im sure it will pay off. Carroll was bought outright however

Pre-Season

The two games we lost came when my assistant was in charge. Does anyone know if he just plays with your tactics and sticks by them no matter what? Would like to think he tried something different to get a result in the games when we went behind. Anyway, when I took over things picked up and Andy ended up scoring 6 goals in four starts. The team was still getting assembled during the run of games so my first 11 is yet to play together. Dissappointedly Diamanti and Tomkins both got injured and look set to miss the start of the season.

Next up is Hadjuk in the 3rd Qual Round of the Europa Cup.

Total domination from my team with some of the new boys shining. Carroll had a few chances but couldn't find the net unfortunately. He won so many headers for us though and looked solid for the 80mins he was on the pitch. That should be enough to get us through to the next stage.

A brace from The Big Man secures our path to the Playoff round and another win in Europe. His first goal came from a corner scoring a powerfull header at the near post. Just after half time we let in a sloppy goal only for Andy to get the winner 5 mins later. He recieves the ball just insight the box and fires a powerful shot into the back of the net. That is his first goals as a Hammer proper

Game Overview - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-24_00005.jpg

A tasty encounter against a very good Uruguay provided another morale boosting result for the national team. West Ham superstars (Carroll, Ruddy, Milner and Jarvis) played the first half and helped to keep the game goaless All of them came off and the game burst into life in the second half. Goals from Rooney, Wilshere and Defoe sealed the win for the three lions.

Game Overview - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-24_00006.jpg

Next up the start of season for The Hammers. Brondby in Europe sandwiched inbetween Spurs, Man U and Man City. Character building to say the least

Tale of Two Competitions

Contrasting fortunes in the two different competitions we find ourselves in at the start of Season 2. The league was always going to start badly with the run of fixtures we had. The game against city was a total disaster. Every player on their team had Superb Morale. What can you do against that? It was like ******* into the wind only to find out its a tornado and everybody you know is already dead. Total soul destroying! No league goals for last years top scorer either. Glad we managed to get atleast a point from them 3. Must do better!

The Europa League Playoff went smoothly however and we have made it to the group stages. Carroll was fantastic in the first game scoring a belter then setting up BFF Nolan for the second. Same scorers in the 2nd leg but no assist for Carroll. Nolan had to play up front as the DLF due to injuries and proved to be a great partner for Andy. Maybe there is something going on there I don't know about

Brondby 1st Leg Overview -http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-24_00008.jpg

Brondby 2nd Leg Overview -http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-24_00009.jpg

I was so scared that Andy wouldn't sign for West Ham that i took my eyes off England and we are in big danger now. To do a Steve Mclaren is unthinkable! The Big Man is never going to get a regular game without me!

He scored the winner against Montenegro but also got booked. That put him out the game im dubbing 'The Ukraine Job'. 5 man midfield with a Sweeper + 2 CB defense, I was taking aback by the sheer weirdness of the formation. A goal down early on and they dominated possession only for us to nick one just before the half time whistle. I changed things up knowing a draw would likely be enough and took Defoe off for Parker. This seemed to work and the second period was more even with us putting some decent pieces of play together. Then the unthinkable happened. You know when it goes 30 secs before full time? Game is over. Not this one! They score with the last sniff of the ball and we are truely pegged. Head in hands moment, i was too sad to be angry

League Table - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/englandbad.jpg

Does anyone know the reason why my tactic isn't familar with England yet? Iv been using it pretty much from day one and the team still has no clue. Hope im just doing something stupid and its not an actual problem within the game.

bug maybe ?

Or is it the fact that international matches and time spent with the national team are so few ?

Im not too sure. Went and found a thread in General Discussion and asked questions again in that. Hopefully somebody in the know will have a proper answer.

Good excuse for me failing as England manager though

West Ham On Fire

Upon closer insepction of this seasons fixture list I began to worry. The first 8 games were all against top 10 teams, Arsenal were the only ones missing from the party. With the big changes in the summer players were needing time to settle and find their feet at the club. There was no time with this schedule. To say im delighted with them is an under statement!

Carroll lead the line perfectly over this run scoring the winners against both Everton and Villa. He set up the goal against Liverpool also.

I put an ok reserve squad together to play Brentford but somehow we couldn't score. No Carroll at all as he has a strict training routine. Too many games is bad for his fragile body. We lost 6-7 on pens.

In Europe we were outstanding! Carroll played against Litex and scored two with an assist on the side. The Milan game was like watching Bayern beat Barca all over again. We played fantastic defensive football, hitting them on the break reguarly. Carroll was rested for that game too.

Milan Destruction Overview - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-24_00013.jpg

He drags us out of the pit of despair once again! The Big Man scores 2 goals against Moldova followed up by 4 against San Marino and secures a playoff berth for England. He was MOM in both games also. Somehow we managed to scrape through to the second chance saloon but its not going to be easy. We have been drawn against Italy.

Moldova Overview - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-24_00015.jpg

San Marino Overview - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-24_00016.jpg

Andy Carroll International Games/Goals so far - http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/intgoals.jpg

I have tried my best to protect my star player but nothing could of been done about this. The game against Reading had barely started and he was down. I knew it was a serious injury straight away I went from thinking there was a few goals in the game for him to having to worry about how to win the game without him. We scrape the win then I get the news. Carroll has pulled his hamstring. He will be out for 4 months.

Attributes Before The Injury -http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-25_00002.jpg

West Ham Blunt In Carroll's Absence

The team has lost its talisman and with it lost its form. We really struggled to get the goals after Carroll was injured and that has cost us big. Away to Fulham and Hull were both winnable games but not if we don't score!

A magic win at Home with 10 men in Europe has given us a decent chance of qualification to the next round. The 3-1 defeat was due to heavy squad rotation once again. We need more quality players if we want to compete in every game.

I am Scottish through and through so failing as England to qualify would have been acceptable. Sure Andy would have no international future without me but it still would of been funny. What came next I could never have imagined.

No Carroll due to his cripling injury so I was all set to play Defoe instead only to find out he wasn't fit. Walcott plays well on the wing for me so I chose Wellbeck to partner Roo up top. Best decision iv made in the game so far! We trounce Italy 4-0 Away in what can only be described as a smash and grab. After going 1-0 up in the 9th minute I put rooney deeper and played more defensively. Walcott then runs through on the counter in the 34th minute to score a great goal and we never look back. Must have had an amazing half time team talk as we manage to score 2 in just over 6mins. Gerrard came on for a tired Rooney at half time and made an instant impact. The team was just fantastic! I have never had a better International Result than this on any FM game.

We played the second leg at Wembley with no pressure at all on us. Decent 2-1 win puts us through in style

First Leg Away -http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-25_00003-1.jpg

Second Leg Home -http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/tav180/2013-04-25_00005-1.jpg