FM15: Aston Villa F.C. - Building around Benteke!

Aston Villa Football Club were formed in March 1874, by members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Handsworth which is now part of Birmingham. The four founders of Aston Villa were Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood. Aston Villa's first match was against the local Aston Brook St Mary's Rugby team. As a condition of the match, the Villa side had to agree to play the first half under rugby rules and the second half under football rules. After moving to the Wellington Road ground in 1876, Villa soon established themselves as one of the best teams in the Midlands, winning their first honour, the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1880, under the captaincy of Scotsman George Ramsay.

The club won their first FA Cup in 1887 with captain Archie Hunter becoming one of the game's first household names. Aston Villa were one of the dozen teams that competed in the inaugural Football League in 1888 with one of the club's directors, William McGregor being the league's founder. Aston Villa emerged as the most successful English club of the Victorian era, winning no fewer than five League titles and three FA Cups by the end of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1897, the year Villa won The Double, they moved into their present home, the Aston Lower Grounds. Supporters coined the name "Villa Park"; no official declaration listed the ground as Villa Park.

Aston Villa won their sixth FA Cup in 1920, soon after though the club began a slow decline that led to Villa, at the time one of the most famous and successful clubs in world football, being relegated in 1936 for the first time to the Second Division. This was largely the result of a dismal defensive record: they conceded 110 goals in 42 games, 7 of them coming from Arsenal's Ted Drake in an infamous 1–7 defeat at Villa Park. Like all English clubs, Villa lost seven seasons to the Second World War, and that conflict brought several careers to a premature end. The team was rebuilt under the guidance of former player Alex Massie for the remainder of the 1940s. Aston Villa's first trophy for 37 years came in the 1956–57 season when another former Villa player, Eric Houghton led the club to a then record seventh FA Cup Final win, defeating the 'Busby Babes' of Manchester United in the final. The team struggled in the league though and were relegated two seasons later, due in large part to complacency. However, under the stewardship of manager Joe Mercer Villa returned to the top-flight in 1960 as Second Division Champions. The following season Aston Villa became the first team to win the Football League Cup.

Mercer's forced retirement from the club in 1964 signalled a period of deep turmoil. The most successful club in England was struggling to keep pace with changes in the modern game, with Villa being relegated for the third time, under manager Dick Taylor in 1967. The following season the fans called for the board to resign as Villa finished 16th in the Second Division. With mounting debts and Villa lying at the bottom of Division Two, the board sacked Cummings (the manager brought in to replace Taylor), and within weeks the entire board resigned under overwhelming pressure from fans. After much speculation, control of the club was bought by London financier Pat Matthews, who also brought in Doug Ellis as chairman. However, new ownership could not prevent Villa being relegated to the Third Division for the first time at the end of the 1969–70 season. However, Villa gradually began to recover under the management of former club captain Vic Crowe. In the 1971–72 season they returned to the Second Division as Champions with a record 70 points. In 1974, Ron Saunders was appointed manager. His brand of no-nonsense man-management proved effective, with the club winning the League Cup the following season and, at the end of season 1974–75, he had taken them back into the First Division and into Europe.

Villa were back among the elite as Saunders continued to mould a winning team. This culminated in a seventh top-flight league title in 1980–81. To the surprise of commentators and fans, Saunders quit halfway through the 1981–82 season, after falling out with the chairman, with Villa in the quarter final of the European Cup. He was replaced by his softly-spoken assistant manager Tony Barton who guided the club to a 1–0 victory over Bayern Munich in the European Cup final in Rotterdam courtesy of a Peter Withe goal. The following season Villa were crowned European Super Cup winners, beating Barcelona in the final. This marked a pinnacle though and Villa's fortunes declined sharply for most of the 1980s, culminating in relegation in 1987. This was followed by promotion the following year under Graham Taylor and a runners-up position in the First Division in the 1989–90 season.

Villa were one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992, and finished runners-up to Manchester United in the inaugural season. For the rest of the Nineties however Villa went through three different managers and their league positions were inconsistent, although they did win two League Cups and regularly achieved UEFA Cup qualification. Villa reached the FA Cup final in 2000 but lost 1–0 to Chelsea in the last game to be played at the old Wembley Stadium. Again Villa's league position continued to fluctuate under several different managers and things came to a head in the summer of 2006 when David O'Leary left in acrimony. After 23 years as chairman and single biggest shareholder (approximately 38%), Doug Ellis finally decided to sell his stake in Aston Villa due to ill-health. After much speculation it was announced the club was to be bought by American businessman Randy Lerner, owner of NFL franchise the Cleveland Browns.

The arrival of a new owner in Lerner and of manager Martin O'Neill marked the start of a new period of optimism at Villa Park and sweeping changes occurred throughout the club including a new badge, a new kit sponsor and team changes in the summer of 2007. The first Cup final of the Lerner era came in 2010 when Villa were beaten 2–1 in the League Cup Final. Villa made a second trip to Wembley in that season losing 3–0 to Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinal. Just five days before the opening day of the 2010–11 season, O'Neill resigned as manager with immediate effect. Reserve team manager Kevin MacDonald took over as caretaker manager, before the club appointed Gérard Houllier as permanent manager in September 2010. Houllier stepped down on 1 June 2011 due to ill-health, and was replaced by Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish, despite numerous protests from fans against his appointment. This was the first time that a manager had moved directly from Birmingham to Villa. McLeish's contract was terminated at the end of the 2011–12 season after Villa finished in 16th place, only just above the relegation zone. On 2 July 2012, Aston Villa confirmed the appointment of former Norwich City manager Paul Lambert as the replacement for McLeish. On 28 February 2012, the club announced a financial loss of £53.9 million. Lerner put the club up for sale on 12 May 2014, with an estimated value of £200 million. With Lerner still on board, the start of the 2014-15 season saw a change in Villa, who replaced Paul Lambert as manager with (insert your name here).

The current Aston Villa squad is at best average and the loss of star player Christian Benteke for the first 2-3 months due to injury doesn’t help. However, if you can discover the right tactic the board expectation of a mid-table finish is definitely possible.

With Brad Guzan as your #1 you are in safe hands (excuse the pun). While Shay Given is a very able back-up, £52k a week in wages is a waste of money for a bench warmer. I would therefore get rid of him as soon as possible, which leaves a decision to make for your #2. Jed Steer has a potential of 3-4* and is a good deputy from the beginning. You could however send him out on loan to give him some experience and bring in a back-up on loan, the choice is yours.

Centrebacks – As in real life Ron Vlaar is the standout player here and one of your first tasks as the new Villa manager is to sort out a new contract to keep him at Villa park. Philippe Senderos is an able partner for Vlaar and hopefully they can form a decent partnership at the back. Jonas Okore, who was coveted by Chelsea not so long back, is on a similar level to Senderos but has the potential to become a 4* player. Nathan Baker has decent potential as a back-up, while Ciaran Clark should probably be offloaded sooner rather than later.

Full Backs / Wingbacks – Aly Cissokho is the best full back at the club and should be the first choice left fullback/wingback for a number of years. With Antonio Luna & Joe Bennett out on loan Enda Stevens is the only other left sided defender capable of first team football, however he isn’t that great. I would personally bring in someone on loan for the first season, as Luna will be a solid back-up when he returns from his own loan. You can look at the right side of the defence in two ways with Alan Hutton and Matt Lowton both being average full backs. The first way to look at it is that they will both do a decent job, leaving you to spend money on other more pressing needs. The second option is that neither of the two are long term solutions at this position and a replacement needs to be brought in immediately. I will leave you to decide.

Defensive Midfielders – Carlos Sanchez is the only natural DM, although Fabian Delph also has good enough stats to play this role (they can also both be deployed in the centre of midfield). Delph is another player in the last year of his contract and negotiating a new contract should be another priority.

Central Midfielders – In addition to Sanchez & Delph, there are several other options here. Tom Cleverley (on loan from Man U) is the best midfielder at the club, while Ashley Westwood and Kieran Richardson are both decent. Leandro Bacuna has the potential to develop into a very good player. Gary Gardner and Yacouba Sylla (both out on loan) should probably be sold upon their return to the club.

Attacking Midfielders / Wingers – There is real lack of players who are natural in the advanced midfield roles. Joe Cole and Charles N’Zogbia are both natural AMC’s but to be perfectly honest both are well past their best. N’Zogbia should be sold immediately as he is one of the clubs highest earners. You will probably be stuck with Cole as he has only just arrived at the club. There are only two natural wingers, the first being Aleksandar Tonev. There are two problems here though, firstly he is out on loan and secondly he is poor. The other natural winger is probably the most exciting player to ever come through the Villa youth system, take a bow Jack Grealish. He can play anywhere in the advanced midfield roles and should be given as much game time as possible to ensure he fulfils his 5* potential.

Ironically for a team that struggles to score in real life, this is potentially the strongest area of the team. Once he returns from injury Christian Benteke will give opposing defences nightmares with his strength and size. Gabby Agbonlahor, with his exceptional pace, should provide the perfect foil for Benteke. Andi Weimann is a very able back-up and has the potential to grow into a very good striker. Also in the mix are Libor Kozak (who should make a good back-up for whatever role you choose for Benteke), Nicklas Helenius (who on his return from loan will make a solid back-up option) and finally Darren Bent (another huge earner who should be sold). I should also mention Callum Robinson (currently in the reserves), who has 4.5* star potential.

Reserved for future use

Great to see a villa thread, I will most definitely follow with interest, especially as it proves a welcome release from our real life woes! I've been playing a villa tycoon save off the tycoon thread and managed to take them over in November bottom of the league and finish the season in 2nd place, 1 point off the title, although it was in beta! Great post and I look forward to updates!

Great to see a villa thread, I will most definitely follow with interest, especially as it proves a welcome release from our real life woes! I've been playing a villa tycoon save off the tycoon thread and managed to take them over in November bottom of the league and finish the season in 2nd place, 1 point off the title, although it was in beta! Great post and I look forward to updates!

I haven't started my save yet, but hoping for a takeover once I do.

Squad analysis complete (for now).

Build your team around Benteke Now thats easy

I had a villa Tycoon. November 2015. Good times ahead. Already spent 70 odd mil!

Good to see a thread dedicated to be beloved club. I am 2 months into my save. Benteke is about to come back from his injury, and sitting 12th in the BPL. Bought in Joel Campbell and Samper on loan for the season. Bent and Zoggy have gone to pastures new.

I am using a tactic from this site, and having some success. drew 2-2 against Chelsea springs to mind. What site do you guys use to post screenshots etc?

Nice opening post! One question - what are people using for screenshots these days? As I haven't done it in a while.

I started with Villa the day the full game came out, I think it's a good mix of a challenge but not too much of a challenge! I like working on a bit of a budget usually and having to earn the money I want to spend, so again a perfect club for that with Lerner at the helm.

Also, I usually play the game "as" an ex-player so that the opening manager attributes are realistic, and in this case my manager name is Gary Neville, so it's the dream team combo of him along with Roy Keane We'll have to see how long that lasts..

Here's the major moves I've made then since taking over -

- Sacked a bunch of coaches & brought in much better ones, have 4 stars or higher in each category now

- Sacked almost all the scouts & brought in better ones, including Louis Saha! Our world knowledge is now up to 30% from barely anything before

- Listed a bunch of players for sale & some of the youngsters for loan

On the transfers front, here's how we got along (the window is now closed)

Sold Darren Bent to Burnley for 1.7 mill but still paying a lot of his wages

Sold N'Zogbia to Palace for 4 mill odd but again still paying about half his wages

Also sold Delph to Southampton - got a good offer of 7.5 million up front which I felt made sense for the club. While he is a decent player, he lacks strength & accurate passing, which is something I would certainly want out of midfield. Plus there was no guarantee of him signing a new contract either.

Here's the guys we brought into the club

Delle Alli - guess he's already quite popular around these parts. Young English midfielder, reasonably priced & bags of potential, had to make it happen! Good thing is that at Villa we'll be able to give him plenty of football from the get go, to aid with his development.

Ravel Morrison - this was my big signing of the window at 6 million up front and another 2 million later. I feel like its a bit of a gamble with his attitude, but he's good enough to slot straight into the team and give us that missing spark from the flanks.

Joey Barton - yes, I know. Brought him in on loan to give us some cover in midfield.

Denis Stracqualursi - on a free to cover up front with spates of injuries that we've had. Was one of the players who impressed me on trial in pre-season.

Kritoffer Ajer - paid 1.5 million for this young Norwegian midfielder with potential, planning to give him a few first team games this year & see how he gets on.

Tactics wise, have created my own, which is a 4-5-1 (or 4-3-3 depending on how you put it), with good balance across defense, midfield and up top. Focus is on short passing & patient build up play, overlapping fullbacks, wingers cutting in and doing some damage, and midfielders pushing on with the anchorman sitting back to mop up. Here's the team that I have been playing for the first few games of the season

GK - Guzan

DR - Hutton

DL - Richardson

DC - Vlaar

DC - Okore

DM - Sanchez

MC - Westwood

MCa - Alli

AMR - Grealish

AML - Morrison

SC - Agbonlahor

With injuries now easing up a bit, Cleverley should come in place of Westwood, and Benteke just got his first 20 min of the season as he slowly builds back to fitness.

The most impressive performers so far have been Agbonlahor, who has 5 goals in 6 games, Morrison with 4 goals & an assist in his first 5 Villa games, and Richardson who is smashing it as left wing back. Also Vlaar & Okore have made a solid start at the back & are looking a good partnership.

We've played 5 league games, and are sitting 3rd with 4 wins out of 5, our only loss being away at City. To be fair though, the fixtures have been easy so far, with home games against Hull, Leicester & Burnley, and a good away win at West Ham. About to play the League Cup third round, where we are through and now will face Hull again.

I guess that about covers our progress so far, will be back with more when we've made it through a couple more months (and hopefully with some screenies then as well )

Nice opening post! One question - what are people using for screenshots these days? As I haven't done it in a while.

I started with Villa the day the full game came out, I think it's a good mix of a challenge but not too much of a challenge! I like working on a bit of a budget usually and having to earn the money I want to spend, so again a perfect club for that with Lerner at the helm.

Also, I usually play the game "as" an ex-player so that the opening manager attributes are realistic, and in this case my manager name is Gary Neville, so it's the dream team combo of him along with Roy Keane We'll have to see how long that lasts..

Here's the major moves I've made then since taking over -

- Sacked a bunch of coaches & brought in much better ones, have 4 stars or higher in each category now

- Sacked almost all the scouts & brought in better ones, including Louis Saha! Our world knowledge is now up to 30% from barely anything before

- Listed a bunch of players for sale & some of the youngsters for loan

On the transfers front, here's how we got along (the window is now closed)

Sold Darren Bent to Burnley for 1.7 mill but still paying a lot of his wages

Sold N'Zogbia to Palace for 4 mill odd but again still paying about half his wages

Also sold Delph to Southampton - got a good offer of 7.5 million up front which I felt made sense for the club. While he is a decent player, he lacks strength & accurate passing, which is something I would certainly want out of midfield. Plus there was no guarantee of him signing a new contract either.

Here's the guys we brought into the club

Delle Alli - guess he's already quite popular around these parts. Young English midfielder, reasonably priced & bags of potential, had to make it happen! Good thing is that at Villa we'll be able to give him plenty of football from the get go, to aid with his development.

Ravel Morrison - this was my big signing of the window at 6 million up front and another 2 million later. I feel like its a bit of a gamble with his attitude, but he's good enough to slot straight into the team and give us that missing spark from the flanks.

Joey Barton - yes, I know. Brought him in on loan to give us some cover in midfield.

Denis Stracqualursi - on a free to cover up front with spates of injuries that we've had. Was one of the players who impressed me on trial in pre-season.

Kritoffer Ajer - paid 1.5 million for this young Norwegian midfielder with potential, planning to give him a few first team games this year & see how he gets on.

Tactics wise, have created my own, which is a 4-5-1 (or 4-3-3 depending on how you put it), with good balance across defense, midfield and up top. Focus is on short passing & patient build up play, overlapping fullbacks, wingers cutting in and doing some damage, and midfielders pushing on with the anchorman sitting back to mop up. Here's the team that I have been playing for the first few games of the season

GK - Guzan

DR - Hutton

DL - Richardson

DC - Vlaar

DC - Okore

DM - Sanchez

MC - Westwood

MCa - Alli

AMR - Grealish

AML - Morrison

SC - Agbonlahor

With injuries now easing up a bit, Cleverley should come in place of Westwood, and Benteke just got his first 20 min of the season as he slowly builds back to fitness.

The most impressive performers so far have been Agbonlahor, who has 5 goals in 6 games, Morrison with 4 goals & an assist in his first 5 Villa games, and Richardson who is smashing it as left wing back. Also Vlaar & Okore have made a solid start at the back & are looking a good partnership.

We've played 5 league games, and are sitting 3rd with 4 wins out of 5, our only loss being away at City. To be fair though, the fixtures have been easy so far, with home games against Hull, Leicester & Burnley, and a good away win at West Ham. About to play the League Cup third round, where we are through and now will face Hull again.

I guess that about covers our progress so far, will be back with more when we've made it through a couple more months (and hopefully with some screenies then as well )

Good start Karan

I'm hoping to keep Delph as he is a good player.

I use Photobucket for my screenshots.

A little more about my current Villa Career.

Sacked nearly all of the coaches and bought in guys that will do a far better job. That included fitness coaches and a couple of Physios. The likes of Cowan kept their jobs. I also disposed of all the scouts bar 1 and bought in some that would enable Villa to have a better scouting network.

Transfer Out

Darren Bent - Burnley 500k (I still pay 41k wages as well!)

Charles N'Zogbia - C. Palace 3.8 mill (and 17k wage contribution)

Sent some youngsters such as Callum Robinson and Jordan Graham out on loan for some valuable experience.

Transfer in

Denis Stracqualursi - Free. Much needed cover for the injured Benteke and Kozak

Joel Campbell - Loan from Arsenal

Pavel Savitskiy - 175k - Needs a WP and I am struggling to affiliate the club with another to send him out on loan!

Sergi Samper - Loan from Barcelona B - Useful back up for Sancez

Simon Thern - Malmo 150k - Sent back on loan for the season, one for the future I feel

Won all pre season games then came crashing back down to earth on the opening day - lost 3-1 at home to West Ham. Followed that up with a 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland and a 2-2 Draw at home to Chelsea. Won away at Soton 2-1 and lost away at Anfield 3-1. A season of mid table will do me nicely if I can pull it off.

Still in the League Cup. Beat Blackpool 3-0, and just beat Burnely on Pens to progress.

Next up in Man U away! In trouble though as we were involved in extra time not 3 days before! Lind up normally looks like this;

GK - Guzan

WBL - Cissokho/Richardson

WBR - Bacuna/Lowton

CD - Vlaar

CD - Okore

MC - Cleverley/Cole

MC Sanchez/Samper

MC - Delph/Westwood

AMR - Campbell/Grealish

AML - Gabby/Weimann

STR - Benteke/Kozak/Stracqualursi

Campbell has been the stand out performer to date. 3 league goals to his name cutting in from the right. Hoping for a more attacking threat now Benteke is back in full training. Vlaar, Delph, Grealish and Guzan have all been ties down to new contracts!

Next up - Man U away!!!

A little more about my current Villa Career.

Sacked nearly all of the coaches and bought in guys that will do a far better job. That included fitness coaches and a couple of Physios. The likes of Cowan kept their jobs. I also disposed of all the scouts bar 1 and bought in some that would enable Villa to have a better scouting network.

Transfer Out

Darren Bent - Burnley 500k (I still pay 41k wages as well!)

Charles N'Zogbia - C. Palace 3.8 mill (and 17k wage contribution)

Sent some youngsters such as Callum Robinson and Jordan Graham out on loan for some valuable experience.

Transfer in

Denis Stracqualursi - Free. Much needed cover for the injured Benteke and Kozak

Joel Campbell - Loan from Arsenal

Pavel Savitskiy - 175k - Needs a WP and I am struggling to affiliate the club with another to send him out on loan!

Sergi Samper - Loan from Barcelona B - Useful back up for Sancez

Simon Thern - Malmo 150k - Sent back on loan for the season, one for the future I feel

Won all pre season games then came crashing back down to earth on the opening day - lost 3-1 at home to West Ham. Followed that up with a 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland and a 2-2 Draw at home to Chelsea. Won away at Soton 2-1 and lost away at Anfield 3-1. A season of mid table will do me nicely if I can pull it off.

Still in the League Cup. Beat Blackpool 3-0, and just beat Burnely on Pens to progress.

Next up in Man U away! In trouble though as we were involved in extra time not 3 days before! Lind up normally looks like this;

GK - Guzan

WBL - Cissokho/Richardson

WBR - Bacuna/Lowton

CD - Vlaar

CD - Okore

MC - Cleverley/Cole

MC Sanchez/Samper

MC - Delph/Westwood

AMR - Campbell/Grealish

AML - Gabby/Weimann

STR - Benteke/Kozak/Stracqualursi

Campbell has been the stand out performer to date. 3 league goals to his name cutting in from the right. Hoping for a more attacking threat now Benteke is back in full training. Vlaar, Delph, Grealish and Guzan have all been ties down to new contracts!

Next up - Man U away!!!

I think the first season at Villa is going to be a struggle by the look of it.

Still working on my tactic(s) before i go into pre-season.

Spike I agree! Its depressing times being a Villa fan. And it appears the same rules apply in FM15! Spanked 4-1 away at Man U, and scraped a 0-0 draw away at Swansea! They had 25 shots to my 6 lol. Just need Benteke to get match fit, and figure out what my most effective 11 is to drag this sorry ass of a team up the league table!

Spike I agree! Its depressing times being a Villa fan. And it appears the same rules apply in FM15! Spanked 4-1 away at Man U, and scraped a 0-0 draw away at Swansea! They had 25 shots to my 6 lol. Just need Benteke to get match fit, and figure out what my most effective 11 is to drag this sorry ass of a team up the league table!

On FM13 i won the the PL & CL within 4 or 5 seasons. Can't see that happening on FM15 lol

On FM13 i won the the PL & CL within 4 or 5 seasons. Can't see that happening on FM15 lol

It's going to a tough haul. It will depend on 2 things; Finding a tactic that works for the current ME. And a takeover of the club, with some much needed investment. I dread the fixtures against the top 6 on FM15 with this team! I watch the game with one eye closed lol

It's going to a tough haul. It will depend on 2 things; Finding a tactic that works for the current ME. And a takeover of the club, with some much needed investment. I dread the fixtures against the top 6 on FM15 with this team! I watch the game with one eye closed lol

The tactic will be the tough part lol

Wonder what's the earliest they can get taken over? I started an Arsenal save to tinker with tactics & within a couple of weeks a Villa takeover was mentioned.

Will be starting my Villa save Sunday hopefully so am looking forward to a challenge.

Will be starting my Villa save Sunday hopefully so am looking forward to a challenge.

Good luck

The tactic will be the tough part lol

Wonder what's the earliest they can get taken over? I started an Arsenal save to tinker with tactics & within a couple of weeks a Villa takeover was mentioned.

Well i'm almost into November and there has been mention of a takeover, a transfer embargo, and it all to fall through! So I don't think its going to happen anytime soon!

Will be starting my Villa save Sunday hopefully so am looking forward to a challenge.

Good Luck mate. This is a tough challenge as I am finding out!

Well i'm almost into November and there has been mention of a takeover, a transfer embargo, and it all to fall through! So I don't think its going to happen anytime soon!

That's a shame.

as if by magic!

He'll sack you now lol

Been given much to spend?

He'll sack you now lol

Been given much to spend?

HaHa, all of a sudden I have forgotten how bad he was as England Manager! They have pumped 32mill into the club to clear some debt. As it stands i still have ZERO transfer budget. Its early November though so I am hoping that changes when the transfer window opens!

HaHa, all of a sudden I have forgotten how bad he was as England Manager! They have pumped 32mill into the club to clear some debt. As it stands i still have ZERO transfer budget. Its early November though so I am hoping that changes when the transfer window opens!

Lmao :D

Seemed to have turned a corner slightly. Unbeaten in 5 games (incl a LC game), and slowly climbing the table. Currently 11th on 17 points from 13 games which I am happy with. Just been told that I have 10mill to spend in the Jan transfer Window! Need a Rb and Hutton and Lowton are upto standard. Also back up LB for Cissokho and possibly a wide player.

Just coming into December now and Stoke (H) is first up.

Seemed to have turned a corner slightly. Unbeaten in 5 games (incl a LC game), and slowly climbing the table. Currently 11th on 17 points from 13 games which I am happy with. Just been told that I have 10mill to spend in the Jan transfer Window! Need a Rb and Hutton and Lowton are upto standard. Also back up LB for Cissokho and possibly a wide player.

Just coming into December now and Stoke (H) is first up.

I'm going to use Baker/Stevens as back up to Cissokho for the first season. Once Tony Moon (Luna) is back from his loan spell he will be a good back-up. Definitely need a DR though.

I'm going to use Baker/Stevens as back up to Cissokho for the first season. Once Tony Moon (Luna) is back from his loan spell he will be a good back-up. Definitely need a DR though.

Tony Moon is more than capable of doing a job. Cissokho is a beast at as an attacking WBL! And Bacuna has really shown in the middle of the park! Its resulted in me putting Deplh on the bench and having a midfield 3 of Bacuna, Sanchez and Cleverley.

I have a couple of Right Backs ear marked from Scandanavia! Fingers crossed I could pick one up cheaply who more than does a job. If I can just keep Benteke fit!! He has only managed 4 starts since coming back from injury.

Beat Stoke 3-0 and upto 9th! Joel Campbell is immense as a Raumdeuter of the right wing! 8 goals in 13 games. Gabby has managed 6 from 6 as an inside forward on the left.

Have you tried Weimann as a winger/inside forward?

I really like him irl & would like to keep him around.

I have spike in both positions and he just doesn't produce the goods. He is very much back up to Gabby, with Grealish getting game time in place of Campbell.

Shame.

Can't wait to get started on my save tomorrow

Do you guys think that Grealish is good enough for a winger? He is not pacey enough, I was thinking to convert him into an Trequartista in AMC.

Do you guys think that Grealish is good enough for a winger? He is not pacey enough, I was thinking to convert him into an Trequartista in AMC.

Maybe not as a winger, but would make a good Inside Forward or AMC.

Do you guys think that Grealish is good enough for a winger? He is not pacey enough, I was thinking to convert him into an Trequartista in AMC.

I played him as inside forward and he was young player of the year in the epl for me

Do you guys think that Grealish is good enough for a winger? He is not pacey enough, I was thinking to convert him into an Trequartista in AMC.

He would probably do well there.

He turned into a great inside forward/winger for me, but it took a few years before he really started to shine. In the third season he scored 13, assisted 12 in 29(11) games, mostly used as an inside forward on support duty on the right side.

Grealish is good as a CAM. I play him as treq or an ADP A/S.

Sitting 11th in December which is decent but talks of a takeover broke down and Benteke wanted me to let him leave if a bid from Spurs came in which I rejected and he's now unhappy and it's showing in his performances average rating of 6.54 and only scored 2 goals this season, such a shame

I use Gyazo for screenshots.. it's a tiny download, but once you've got it.. it sits in your tray and you just press print screen on your keyboard, and you can use a selection box to screenshot anything you like.. it automatically uploads it in seconds with a link for here..

Good to see a few people playing as Villa despite our troubles irl

as if by magic!

Same thing happened to me consortium led by Taylor took over Villa around April and I've been allowed to stay on as manager he pumped 20mil into the club, looking forward to the summer window hope I have money to invest into the squad

Finally getting started on my save

First priority was training;

Carlos Sanchez as a box-to-box midfielder lol

He also assisted the 4th goal

Interesting formation, seems quite attacking! No transfers in?

Interesting formation, seems quite attacking! No transfers in?

No transfers in, trying to keep it realistic by not buying in the first transfer window.

However with Sanchez now added to the injury list before the first game of the season (in addition to the current 8 other players out injured - see post 45) I might have to bring in a few players.

And still the developers deny there is any issue regarding injuries!!

How are getting on Spike? Injury nightmare from your last post! I'm going to stick my save on now and smash through a few hours while X-Factor is on.

How are getting on Spike? Injury nightmare from your last post! I'm going to stick my save on now and smash through a few hours while X-Factor is on.

Will be starting the season in a couple of hours.

Might need to bring in a couple of midfield reinforcements.

I can recommend Samper on loan from Barcelona B mate, more then Capable of covering for Sanchez. I have been playing Bacuna as a Box to Box when Delph got injured, Delph hasn't had a look in since! He is also worth having on the pitch for free kicks as well.