[FM13] Got 99 Problems But Norwich 'Aint One.

After the loss of a second laptop in under a year I had to finally call time on my previous career, and since that was meant to be a ‘winding-down’ career I’ve wanted to continue my FM Autumn with a simpler one-club career. However choosing a specific club for such a long-term commitment is a very tough thing to do and after struggling with a few very good ideas I’ve settled for the obvious choice…

While other ideas were tempting I felt when push came to shove Ipswich would always be the most likely side to ‘one-club’ as I wouldn’t regret choosing them over the other options the way I might the other way around. There is also the matter of having very good budgets and a strong financial situation, always important to me regardless of league whereas I’d have little to work with at Saarbrucken, Gillingham or any other club I was considering.

In the context of having a final big career or two it seems a lot more fitting to build what for me would be a 4th great Ipswich side, after my FM09 ‘Golden Squad’, the only side of mine to win the CL 3 times in a row, as well as a personal best of 6 Premier League titles in a row (only beaten since by 7 ‘Magical Milan’ Serie A titles that could easily have been a lot more if I hadn’t left for a new challenge and 8 Ukrainian titles with Metalist on FM10 which again might have been more but I started experimenting with deliberately risky tactics out of boredom and missed out to Vorskla two years running), the FM11 ‘Silver Squad’, perhaps my favourite and probably the best on paper but a lot less successful trophy-wise and the FM13 side that hasn’t got a name (though there were a few suggestions at the time based on the focus on signing U21 players only) which remains my only ‘top class’ side for three years.

There are a few things for me to get used to in FM13. Firstly the English leagues are the only playable ones (compared to most of Europe and a few others, which are still ‘view only’ so I can still enjoy a large and dynamic game world) so the game will run a heck of a lot quicker. There is also the fact that I can’t adjust the sliders at will anymore (which a lot of people considered an exploit, I call it flexibility since it’s still the same budget and you should be allowed to recalibrate it how you need it, when you need it) which was an absolute god-send sometimes on FM11 when juggling a few transfer deals. There is also the more advanced team-talk system and the fact that the game takes forever to process at the end of transfer windows (I remember reloading the very first time I played the game because I thought it had frozen!).

There are also some good things. The DoF feature for one, which is admittedly only occasionally useful but is very much worth it whenever he comes up with the occasional great signing (usually a free agent) that you wouldn’t have known about at all otherwise, plus the fact that scout and coach reports also compare the player in question with other players in the same position in your squad as a ranking.

In a strange way the one thing I wish for is a very strong Norwich side, as that’s what happened on my main FM13 save and while it was painful for a while once we were strong enough to challenge it was absolutely epic, which included not only serious battles for the title but a CL Quarter-final! It’s unlikely to happen this time but it would be nice to have at least a bit of competition between us.

The starting position is certainly good. There is 10M in the bank and a bit of a profit projected which is surprising given the amount of loan debt, the budgets are 1.5M transfers and about 20kpw spare wages which isn’t too bad but might not stretch quite as far as you’d imagine, but the squad needs little immediate work anyway (aside from more central defenders given my formation) with hardly anyone I’d want to get rid of (just as well given I can’t shift Nouble or Chopra, the former as he’s just arrived and the latter probably because of 15kpw wages, seriously Jewell!) and the likes of Cresswell, Hyam (who has pretty good potential in this version, in contrast to Mings unfortunately), JET, an admittedly aging Edwards, a surprisingly highly-rated Martin, and our real-life star front pairing of Murphy and McGoldrick, both on loan unfortunately but the latter is at least a confirmed transfer at the end of the season, thank you Nottingham Forest!

Expectations are merely ‘bottom-half’ as well for all that so aside from needing to consistently bring through youth (not a problem in the short term but much more difficult if/when we become a good Premier League side so hopefully I can get rid of it eventually) the pressure is very much off for now.

[spoiler]
[font=monospace] 

2012-13, Championship, 15th.
2013-14, Championship, 1st!
2014-15, Premier League, 16th.
2015-16, Premier League, 15th.
2016-17, Premier League, 6th.
2017-18, Premier League, 10th.
2018-19, Premier League, 10th, League Cup winners!
2019-20, Premier League, 11th.
2020-21, Premier League, 5th.
2021-22, Premier League, 7th.
2022-23. Premier League, 4th, League Cup winners.
2023-24, Premier League, 1st, double winners!
2024-25, Premier League, 3rd, Champions League winners!
2025-26, Premier League, 3rd.
2026-27, Premier League, 1st!
2027-28, Premier League, 1st!
2028-29, Premier League, 3rd.
2029-30, Premier League, 1st! Champions League winners!

Trophy Cabinet
Championship: 1 (2014)
League Cup: 2 (2019, 2023)
Premier League: 4 (2024, 2027, 2028, 2030)
FA Cup: 1 (2024)
Community Shield: 2 (2024, 2028)
Champions League: 2 (2025, 2030)
CWC: 1 (2025)
[/font]

[/spoiler]

Summer 2012

I started off with a decent enough squad and budget that I didn’t need to do too much and it was just as well as many potential signings were reasonable but there were very few who were both good enough and affordable enough, and most of those were out because of work permit issues, which was especially problematic with Eastern European players who weren’t members yet or still had movement controls (the ones on Romanians and Bulgarians that were lifted last year) and which I didn’t expect that to be an issue for.

The focus was on more defensive depth so the first signing was a free-agent Nigerian, followed by splashing out for another who would be more likely to feature as a first-teamer. Things got more complicated after that as potentially needing a bit more strength in midfield and at –right back, I faced work permit issues, then lost out on a Slovak midfielder to a Danish club but late on the veteran Ghana right-back John Pantsil was available as a free-agent and while he wasn’t that great he was still a valuable addition to the squad.

Promoted Youth

Aug 2012

Ipswich 0-0p Torquay (LC R1)

The season started against Torquay in the League Cup, which was an odd sort of game as we had some heavy spells of pressure as you might expect (though the inability to convert was embarrassing) while they had a goal disallowed in each half, and it ended up going to penalties. On-loan keeper Henderson saved the first effort and even though McGoldrick scored, Murphy missed to level it and Drury missed our 4th allowing them to slot home their 5th and go through. It was a bit embarrassing but it spared us a couple more early-season midweek games.

Ipswich 4-0 Middlesbrough (CH)

Toivio, Taylor, JET, Cresswell

I was a little worried going into the first league game against Middlesbrough as Edwards was injured, as was Elliott Hewitt who was the closest we had to a backup meaning we had to play a 16yr old (who at least had decent enough potential that I had promoted him) but that didn’t seem to matter as, new Finnish defender Toivio, Paul Taylor and JET all scored between the 10th and 15th minutes! Cresswell missed a penalty but scored the follow-up for 4-0 by half-time. We faced a bit more pressure after the break but nothing too troubling as we started the campaign in style.

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Ipswich (CH)

Things would be a lot tougher at Forest, especially as we weren’t in the best defeat and sure enough we limped to a 1-0 defeat from a 25th minute Billy Sharp goal.

Ipswich 2-0 Peterborough (CH)

Wordsworth, Taylor

We managed to improve against Peterborough, having a few first-half chances and Wordsworth converted a free-kick at the start of the second-half, soon followed by a Taylor penalty as we won comfortably enough.

I wouldn't normally post an update this early especially with such a long league season ahead but in this case I'm making an exception as a way of demonstrating that despite a low-key summer and low performance expectations things have been getting off to a promising start. As I hoped I'm finding myself feeling pretty involved in this so far. I'm not thinking too far ahead this early but it is looking like a strong top-half season at least which would provide a solid basis for future investment if more of the right players turn up. Hopefully this is the beginning of a bright era at Portman Road.

Sept 2012

Burnley 1-1 Ipswich (CH)

Murphy

We had some good chances at Burnley and I was relieved to see us take the lead from Murphy in the 37th minute. They equalized in the 65th minute and admittedly had the better of it after that so I was happy to keep a point.

Charlton 0-1 Ipswich (CH)

Toivio

A Toivio penalty gave us the lead after 10 minutes at Charlton and while it always feel vulnerable being 1 goal up they thankfully didn’t threaten much as we claimed a win.

Ipswich 0-1 Blackburn (CH)

Blackburn were early league leaders and it was hectic at both ends from the start. As the game went on I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be our day and sure enough they got a winner from Jordan Rhodes (who else!).

Ipswich 0-0 Sheff Wed (CH)

I hoped to get a win against Sheffield Wednesday but we failed to really rise to the occasion. It could have been worse though as they had what would have been a very lucky winner disallowed 15 minutes from time.

Cardiff 1-3 Ipswich (CH)

Murphy (3)

After 1 point from 2 games I hoped to make it 3rd time lucky at Cardiff and it looked good when Murphy gave us the lead in the 2nd minute. They equalized early in the second-half but a late Murphy brace gave us a 3-1 win.

Oct 2012

Birmingham 1-2 Ipswich (CH)

Murphy, JET

It was good to see Murphy in a bit of form and he gave us the lead after 15 minutes at Birmingham, soon followed by JET. They quickly scored meaning the pressure was still on, and they looked just as likely to get an equalizer as we did a 3rd. The downside was that we lost Murphy to an ankle strain for over a month.

Ipswich 1-2 Watford (CH)

Toivio

We looked good for 3 wins in a row when Toivio gave us an early lead against Watford but the defence suddenly fell apart and allowed them an equalizer. I pulled a non-lethal ‘You have failed me’ on the culprits (as I always do, knowing the risks) only for this to be one of the times it backfires with Wordsworth going off injured and leaving us a man down, which allowed them to take the lead and have another disallowed.

Leicester 3-0 Ipswich (CH)

The table was still tight so we dropped down further after being clearly outclassed at Leicester. They took the lead just before the break, adding a couple more in the second-half with a disallowed Martin goal at the end being the closest we got to scoring.

Wolves 2-0 Ipswich (CH)

The slump continued at Wolves and we were 2-0 behind with 2 quick goals by the 25th minute, though we at least managed to stop things getting worse.

Ipswich 3-0 Huddersfield (CH)

McGoldrick (3)

We had an opportunity to bounce back against Huddersfield and the team were told in no uncertain terms that that’s what I expected them to do. McGoldrick wasn’t as good as I’d expected him to be and had been woeful so far but he finally broke his scoring duck early in this game. They equalized and we struggled to regain momentum but after another half-time kick up the backside McGoldrick stepped up again to score twice more (like London buses and all that) and give us a much-needed win.

Nov 2012

Ipswich 0-1 Leeds

We struggled to build on it against Leeds, not helped by midfield suspensions and a sole Morison goal proved the difference in an uninspiring match.

Brighton 2-1 Ipswich (CH)

JET

We didn’t do much better at Brighton, conceding a goal in each half though we did at least rally to get a late consolation from JET.

Ipswich 1-0 Crystal Palace (CH)

McGoldrick

Murphy was back against Crystal Palace and even though we weren’t much better we still managed to snatch a late win from McGoldrick.

Bolton 1-0 Ipswich (CH)

We went to a Bolton side who had 3 of their front 4 players called ‘Davies’ and inevitably one of them scored early on. It was otherwise one of those ‘perhaps we were good value for a point’ games that didn’t quite work out.

Ipswich 1-1 Millwall (CH)

Murphy

Things didn’t seem to be going our way against Millwall as we went behind in the 9th minute. Murphy equalized after an hour but that was as good as it got, and he also would miss the next couple of games due to another little injury.

Barnsley 2-0 Ipswich (CH)

We fell victim to a Kris Boyd brace in the first-half at Barnsley though we definitely had the chances that it could have gone very differently.

Dec 2012

Blackpool 0-2 Ipswich CH)

McGoldrick (2)

I tweaked the tactics to go to Blackpool and it seemed to work a charm as McGoldrick scored a brace in the first 8 minutes and we could easily have had more, looking a far cry from the mediocrities of recent weeks.

Ipswich 1-1 Hull (CH)

Martin

It didn’t look like we’d be able to repeat the trick against table-topping Hull as we went behind after 15 minutes, with another disallowed. However Martin came on to give us a point I was reasonably happy with.

Ipswich 1-1 Bristol City (CH)

Murphy

Bristol City was the last game at home before a run of away games and we seemed to be back to struggling, going behind late in the first-half but again we rescued a late point from Murphy.

Derby 1-0 Ipswich (CH)

We were incredibly unlucky at Derby as McGoldrick had a goal disallowed and we should definitely have had the lead anyway in the first-half. They had a goal disallowed themselves near the end but still snatched a cruel stoppage time winner.

Middlesbrough 0-4 Ipswich (CH)

Taylor (2), N'Daw, McGoldrick

Things very much went our way at last at Middlesbrough as Taylor broke an achingly long run of poor form and low morale to give us the lead on the stroke of half-time, getting another soon after N’Daw made it 2-0. McGoldrick scored at the end as we repeated our 4-0 win from the opening day. Taylor’s agent then had the cheek to ask for a new contract on the basis of that performance alone and with over 2 ½ years left alongside how poor his client was for ages before I very much told him where to stuff it!

Peterborough 0-2 Ipswich (CH)

Taylor, McGoldrick

A blunt edge up front looked like it would let us down at Peterborough on Boxing day but Taylor and McGoldrick got their act together in the second-half and got a goal each.

Ipswich 0-0 Nottingham Forest (CH)

Nottingham Forest had done even worse after an even better start a severe forward shortage (Murphy and Chopra injured, McGoldrick ineligible) held us back as we could easily have won but had to settle for 0-0.

Our good start soon fell away and we stumbled along for a couple of months sinking in the bottom half of the table. However I had started off being relatively conservative tactics wise and unleashing the team a little more in December seems to have paid off nicely as we're climbing back up into a potential playoff hunt. Having low expectations at the start of the season means there's no pressure at all to make the top 6 (or even top half) but it would be great to make a challenge already.

I'm always willing to share my blunders for everyone else to laugh at and I made another one late in the autumn. My scout informed me of a very good Italian free agent midfielder who was just what we needed so I snapped him up, except when the transfer came through I saw that he's serving a 3-year global ban for a match-fixing scandal! There is a silver lining in that he only has a contract until the end of the season so he won't be a wage bill drain for too long.

A rather typical ITFC season. I just hope my wife doesn't have to give birth to our son again now you're re-doing 2013.

A rather typical ITFC season. I just hope my wife doesn't have to give birth to our son again now you're re-doing 2013.

For all my optimism about being able to chase the playoffs it's just not been happening and it's looking like as much as an inconsistent mid-table season as it's possible to get.

Feb 2021

Man Utd 4-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Linias, Yilmaz

We got off to a bad start at Man Utd, conceding a free-kick in the 7th minute and quicky conceding another. Linias immediately got one back after a mazy run and Yilmaz headed in a Pinera cross to equalize in the 20th minute but we had shot our bolt and they easily dominated the rest, scoring twice in the second-half.

Ipswich 4-1 Luton (FA R5)

Yilmaz (2), Mol, Viola

I expected an easy win against Luton in the cup but found ourselves going behind in the 23rd minute. Yilmaz broke through to equalize 10 minutes later and gave a lead at last in the second-half. We wrapped it up later on when an Allione cross found Mol for his first goal, and it was Allione’s turn to be set up by Viola for the 4th and final goal.

Fulham 2-5 Ipswich (PRM)

Viola (4), Yilmaz

We got off to a great start at Fulham (who were actually rivals for 4th) with a restored Viola was played through by Yilmaz to give us an 8th minute lead, with the Frenchman giving us another a few minutes later. They managed to push back and level it at 2-2 but Viola caught them out to restore the lead before the break and he got two more in the second half to wrap up a heck of a comeback.

Ipswich 3-0 Aston Villa (PRM)

Viola, Yilmaz, Gandrillas

Viola wasted no time giving us the lead against Villa and Yilmaz followed it up. Allione completed a hat-trick of assists when his corner was converted by Gandrillas as we won 3-0.

Mar 2021

Hull 0-0 Ipswich (FA QF)

We went to Hull in the FA cup and made a slow start but we gradually gained the upper hand. We couldn’t quite make the most of it, dropping off late on and faced a replay.

Ipswich 3-1 Tottenham (PRM)

Buscaglia, Viola

We went behind in the first-half against league leaders Tottenham but we raised our game after the break. Buscaglia scored twice to turn the game around and we clearly shocked them as Viola burst through to set up Yilmaz for a 3rd goal, though we were on the defensive a bit for the rest of the match.

Ipswich 2-1 Hull (FA QF Rep)

Yilmaz, Allione

We looked confident in the cup replay against Hull and were rewarded when a Cotter cross just about found Yilmaz just before the break. A Docherty own-goal allowed them to equalize but Allione saw us through just in time to avoid extra-time.

Liverpoo 0-4 Ipswich (PRM)

Yilmaz (2), Allione, Viola

We went to a Liverpool side who were surprisingly just above the drop zone and Yilmaz gave us a 5th minute lead. Allione extended the lead just before the break and though they started very strongly in the second-half, we broke away and Yilmaz managed to slide in and convert a 3rd. We backed off after that but still claimed a 4th on the break from Viola.

Apr 2021

Ipswich 1-0 Stoke (PRM)

Yilmaz

The run continued against Stoke, though it wasn’t one of our more inspired wins and we relied on a Yilmaz goal late in the first-half. Most important was a defeat for Man Utd which put us 3 points ahead of them in 4th.

Newcastle 0-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Viola, Jonas

Viola gave us the lead after 5 minutes at Newcastle. Another goal seemed inevitable and we finally got it from Jonas after an hour.

Man City 2-1 Ipswich (FA SF)

Tupazinho

We played Man City in the cup semi-final and spend a lot of the first-half surviving. Tupazinho actually gave us the lead in the 63rd minute but it was against the run of play and I couldn’t complain when they turned it around to win instead.

Derby 1-1 Ipswich (PRM)

Tupazinho

We weren’t at our best at Derby and were lucky they had a first-half goal disallowed. Tupazinho gave us the lead at the start of the second-half but they caught us on the hop with a last-minute equalizer, putting a 4th place finish under greater threat.

Ipswich 2-0 Reading (PRM)

Viola (2)

We were on fire again against Reading, with Viola pouncing on a poorly dealt with ball to give us the lead. He extended it before the break but hit the post when he had the chance to complete a hat-trick from a penalty. The real worry was Man Utd coming from behind to win in their game so they were just a point behind and we had two tough away games remaining.

May 2021

Man City 2-1 Ipswich (PRM)

Tupazinho

We went to Man City and started a little better than in the cup, Tupazinho edging us ahead in the 35th minute. However they quickly levelled it and very much had the measure of us in the second half, and could easily have won by more than 1 goal.

Ipswich 4-1 West Brom (PRM)

Viola, Tupazinho (2), Tafuto

We needed to beat West Brom to have any chance at all of pipping Man Utd and Viola wasted no time giving us the lead. The usually excellent Pedrinho slid the ball in for an own-goal but Tupazinho restored the lead after an hour. He was calmly set up by his compatriot Jonas for our third and Tafuto sealed a 4-1 win. It unfortunately wasn’t enough as 4th was pretty much gone. 5th was secure though.

Chelsea 0-0 Ipswich (PRM)

We went to Chelsea on the final day and the one thing that was up for grabs was the 70-point mark if we got at least a draw. Having set up a lot more cautiously than usual, I opened the game up early in the second-half when I noticed Man Utd were losing and the game really could have gone either way after that, somehow remaining 0-0.

Well, this season just goes to show what you can do when you put a bit more of an effort into the game. It’s a pity I didn’t think of doing it sooner otherwise we might have comfortably qualified for the Champions League. As it is I’m happy with gaining more European experience (and potentially another big coefficient boost) in the Europa League first before seeing what we can do next season with a full year of detailed play (and supporting full-backs) that seemed to bring out the best in us in such a big way, and seeing how much we can keep it up with lots of European games this time, rather than set our sights higher already. We managed a full 10 points more than when we finished 6th four years ago and the financial/rep boost of a 5th place finish after a few seasons of mid-table should help us attract players of a standard we couldn’t quite get before for a potentially more active summer. If we continue to go places we could well have a bunch of places leap up into World Cup contention.

The Crewe link has worked wonders as well. Stam slowed down a bit after his bursting start and Raynal (who missed first couple of months of the season through injury) actually had him easily beaten in ratings. Hopefully they’ll be eager to continue this in the Championship though whether I’ll have anyone to send them next year depends on who we sign. Chances are they might end up as a yo-yo team as they use our players to get promoted but will go down again without them but we’ll see.

Another thing of interest is that we’re finally seeing some movement in terms of the status quo being shaken up a bit. So far all teams promoted to the Premier League (Huddersfield being the recent exception) have either been recently relegated or are still reasonably big clubs with decent top-flight pedigree. Although Leeds (who have admittedly not been in the Premier League for some time) are the closest we get to someone new going up this time, Liverpool’s relegation is a major shift and I saw various other interesting promotions and relegations across the leagues. One of my favourite things (though it’s admittedly a decent-sized list) about FM is how dynamic the game world often is compared to real life (even if English clubs have an advantage on the European scene in this save) so for me it’s a nice thing to see even if it’s a relatively minor thing.

Star Player: Yilmaz did not have a good 2020. Tupazinho looked like usurping his position (not helped by the fact that Yilmaz would sometimes need to be rested and give his place up again as soon as he got it back, which was precisely what happened to sideline him pretty much all last spring), injury ending his chances of going to the Euro's (though he did rule the roost at the U21's championship) and another one denying him the chance to remain the starter going in to this season. However looking back I was amazed with what he did in his relatively limited appearances last season and this time once we got going he was just epic, being amazingly consistent as a support forward even when he wasn't getting the goals (and he was no slouch in that department either) to the point that I wasn't so worried when he had to give way to Tupazinho again near the end of the season as he'd very much proven his point. I've had a soft spot for him for a while and if he manages to limit the damage from Stam's potential emergence (which complicates things for everyone) then the France manager would be an idiot not to take him to next year's World Cup.

Squad Stats

Match of the Season: Liverpool's relegation arguably took the shine off this one a little (and they'd been mid-table for a while) but they've still looked very dangerous on paper for much of that time and big wins at Anfield are not to be sniffed at, especially as it was as big a win as we managed against anyone.

Season Review: 2020/21

Championship

League 1

League 2

BSP

BSN

BSS

FA

LC

CL

EL

Summer 2021

Early on, this summer looked like a repeat of the last one since a few potential signings were ‘tempting, but not tempting enough and certainly not at that price’ and in truth there are only so many wonder-kids to go around every few years, especially how eagerly I’m snatching them up as it is. The annoying thing was that there were positions I was still looking to recruit in. We could certainly use a far superior winger than Jonas or Allione, and in the longer term (for he was really shining at the moment) a replacement for Tafuto. In general the prospects seemed to be in positions we were well stocked, up front and in central defence.

Things would definitely be coming to a head up front eventually. Aside from the current 5, there was an Argentine who still wasn’t old enough for a work permit but who I did intend to secure next year at last, and a Ukrainian who only just turned 16 in time for a deal to be done and the fact he wouldn’t arrive for a couple of years gave us some breathing space. There was also a Spaniard who would well have been signed if it wasn’t for a large price tag (and the discovery of the far cheaper Ukrainian) which would have caused issues far sooner.

At the back I was so set on making sure we had enough central defenders along with there being players worth signing in that position on a regular basis (with more this year as well) that we had far more than we needed and I was actually able to sell a few players for a change who were definitely unwanted and would bring in a decent amount. In goal we spent last season with no backup for Shoretire and having just signed someone a promising 15yr old Frenchman emerged who might even be a long-term challenger for the number 1 shirt. Unfortunately sending him to Crewe isn’t a viable option as aside from his extreme youth, especially for a keeper, they’ve got multiple strong options in that department and there’s no point sending him to a smaller club if he’s not going to play either way.

However an English defender (it’s pretty rare to see an English player of the required standard, so it’s good to have another one) was available as a suitable player to send as I hope to keep that going pretty much every season is possible. The fact that a 15yr old Spaniard (the potential long-term playmaker to replace Tafuto mentioned above) will be signed next year (he’s already on loan for this season) gives me someone to do the same with for a couple more years, ditto with the young future forward signings.

Signings

Future Signings

Europa League Draw

Our last Europa League run was enough to jump us up from the 3rd tier of seeds to the 1st, giving us a comfortable group featuring Hannover, the Russians of Kuban (whose 'Norwich' colours made them a bigger target from my perspective) and Norwegian relegation-battlers Sandnes Ulf.

Any chance to scoop Suarez from Liverpool? How much did he go for?

Any chance to scoop Suarez from Liverpool? How much did he go for?

I don't think his players fancied being a mid-game snack.

Any chance to scoop Suarez from Liverpool? How much did he go for?

I'm on the verge of having more quality young forwards than I know what to do with so I certainly didn't need to add a 34yr old to the mix as well I've already turned down Van Persie and Tevez (neither of which were quite that old) in earlier seasons so it's fair to say that's not the sort of signing I'd be on the lookout for anyway. He's actually still there, and not on anywhere near as much as you might imagine (35kpw-ish).

He's only played a small role in the season so far (with only a single start and maybe a couple of sub appearances in 9 league games) so he's very much a has-been by this point, and still on fairly high wages for a lot of clubs he'd still be useful (which given Liverpool probably have much higher rep that most other clubs usually do in that position those clubs could still be seen as a step down, lessening his desire to move anyway) for so I guess it's no surprise that there wasn't much demand for him in the end. He's certainly no longer the sort of star who would be eager to stay at a higher level and that other clubs would see an opportunity to snatch.

I don't think his players fancied being a mid-game snack.

Even though we've no longer got an Italian defender, we've still got an Italian midfielder who'd probably feel a little nervous

Aug 2021

Ipswich 3-1 Huddersfield (PRM)

Viola (3)

We started the season against Huddersfield and Viola rifled home to give us the lead, getting on to the end of short Yilmaz pass to extend it a few minutes into the second-half. They started to threaten and got a goal back but Tafuto played a long pass through to Viola who broke away to seal his hat-trick and a 3-1 win.

Fulham 0-3 Ipswich (PRM)

Stam, Viola

A Yilmaz injury gave Stam his chance at Fulham and he gave us the lead after 20 minutes. They threatened for a while but Viola made it look deceptively comfortable with 2 goals in the last 15 minutes.

Ipswich 1-1 Arsenal (PRM)

Tafuto

A Tafuto penalty gave us the lead after 10 minutes against Arsenal but a Cotter own-goal levelled it 10 minutes later. The game was very open at both ends for a while before calming down for a respectable 1-1 draw.

Sept 2021

Stam (2), Tafuto

I was hoping to dominate Leeds but it took 55 minutes for Stam to give us the lead. A Tafuto penalty gave us another with 10 minutes left and Stam wrapped it up a few minutes later.

Kuban 1-2 Ipswich (EL)

Stam, Allione

We went to Russia for the Europa League opener and Stam gave us the lead after 40 minutes. They soon equalized and it looked like we’d have to settle for a frustrating point but Allione gave us the win right at the death.

Man City 1-0 Ipswich (PRM)

My defensive game plan at Man City fell apart when they scored almost right at the start and though we weren’t completely life-less we were still clear second best and I couldn’t complain that we at least managed to keep it to a single goal.

West Ham 1-0 Ipswich (PRM)

We looked a lot more comfortable at West Ham but lacked the important thing, a goal. They went down to 10 men late on only to break and get a surprise win instead.

Ipswich 3-1 Hannover (EL)

Viola (2), Stam

Hannover looked like they might be tough early on but Viola gave us the lead in the 7th minute and was given plenty of space and time near the goal to extend it 4 minutes later. Stam added a 3rd just before the half-hour mark but they started to threaten again and got a goal back before the break. We had plenty of chances to wrap it up with another before they made a late push but we kept the 2-goal winning margin.

Oct 2021

Ipswich 2-2 Middlesbrough (PRM)

Viola, Allione

Viola gave us the lead against Middlesbrough with his 100th league goal but they soon lobbed Shoretire to equalize. Allione restored the lead but having constantly failed to get a 3rd we were punished with a late equalizer.

Newcastle 0-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Linias, Tupazinho

We had the upper hand at Newcastle but failed to take the lead in the first-half. Linias was denied one though being offside but finally gave us the lead at the start of the second-half. Tupazinho was also too hasty and had a disallowed goal due to nipping in and being offside but rifled in another at mid-range with 5 minutes left.

Ipswich 1-0 Aston Villa (LC R3)

Tafuto

We faced Aston Villa in League Cup match played a month late and took the lead from a Tafuto penalty. We should have gotten more but it was still enough to see us through.

Sandnes Ulf 1-1 Ipswich (EL)

Allione

We went to Norway just 2 days later but still had the energy to take the game to them. Finishing was another matter as even Yilmaz missed a couple of sitters and I was shocked when they broke free and took the lead instead in the 49th minute. Allione equalized 12 minutes later but no winner was forthcoming.

Ipswich 2-0 Reading (PRM)

Linias (2)

We could be forgiven for being rather lifeless against Reading at the weekend but they weren’t that lucky. We were able to stay on the offensive for most of the match and Linias fired home twice early in the second-half.

Wolves 0-2 Ipswich (LC R4)

Linias (2)

The busy period continued at Wolves in the League Cup and Linias again made the difference, scoring twice in the first-half, assisted by Eraldo both times, and he had reason to be kicking himself for not being able to complete a hat-trick.

Norwich 0-0 Ipswich (PRM)

We faced the away derby with a circumstances of both teams having changed since last time, very much in our favour. We were European-place challengers instead of mid-table mediocrities and they were bottom with just 4 points from 9 games after struggling to go up at the second-time of asking, having previously bounced straight back comfortably as an otherwise ‘established’ Premier League side. I still knew it would be tough and it was the first game in some time when we didn’t have the lion’s share of the attacking play. Even when they went down to 10 men we couldn’t open them up and our long win-less run at Carrow Road continued.

Nov 2021

Ipswich 2-0 Sandnes Ulf (EL)

Stam, Tupazinho

November was a rather easier month in terms of number of games, though not so much who we were playing, starting with the return against Sandnes Ulf. Linias was unfortunately inclined to be complacent on a lot of occasions and with this being one of those, I couldn’t take any chances and took him off for Stam, which worked as the Dutchman gave us the lead in the 36th minute. Tupazinho added another early in the second-half as we succeeded where we failed in Norway.

Ipswich 0-0 Chelsea (PRM)

We had a couple of big home games coming starting against Chelsea and after a quiet first-half we took the game to them after the break. I was hoping to win these games a little more unless a draw favoured us but it we couldn’t quite do it this time.

Stoke 2-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Pinera, Tupazinho

A trip to Stoke wouldn’t be a cakewalk either though Pinera gave us the lead through a 28th minute penalty. They equalized before the break but went down to 10 men and as they were forced on the defensive we pushed on to take full advantage and Tupazinho put us ahead again with 5 minutes left. Unfortunately having gone all out, the tactical changes to tone it down didn’t take effect quickly enough and they caught us off guard to equalize again a few minutes later without the time to start pushing again.

Ipswich 2-0 Man Utd (PRM)

Tupazinho, Pinera

Man Utd were top of the table and an opponent I would be satisfied with a draw against, setting up accordingly, so I was pleasantly surprised when a Jonas free-kick met the head of Tupazinho in the 12th minute, and even more so when Pinera got on the end of a Nasta cross for 2-0. They went down to 10 men but I decided to keep it tight.

Ipswich 3-1 West Brom (LC QF)

Tupazinho (2), Allione

Once again we had the League Cup and Europa League in the same week so a bunch of changes needed to be made when we faced West Brom in the Quarter-finals. Tupazinho’s head was getting a lot of use recently and he gave us the lead in the 2nd minute with the first of a handful more. Allione waltzed through their defence to extend it after an hour but it wasn’t over yet. They pulled one back and threatened occasionally but Tupazinho sealed it with his feet this time and had a 3rd disallowed for a foul (though it would have been credited as an own-goal anyway).

Sometimes you look at a league table and think 'given our results and performances we should be higher than this', and this is one of those instances. As usual draws seem to be a bit of an achilles heel in that regard but having long had a tendency to draw so many games we should have won, that really hasn't happened so far this season. Considering how Stoke are doing and that derbies (especially away) are often tricky even if you're clearly the superior side, Middlesbrough and West Ham are the only results to be unhappy with. However simply drawing against the stronger sides (especially at home) is clearly proving to be too costly by themselves so hopefully we can start taking all three point on a more regular basis in order to really get ourselves up there, but it won't take much for us to get into 6th at least the way things are. And it could be a lot worse, look at Norwich

The positive side is that October in particular has been very hectic, and the few months coming up ahead are also going to be a fixture nightmare and yet we've still coped better than I expected to, though it remains to be seen if we can keep it up as the season drags on and the FA cup enters the equation as well, depending on how well we do in that competition and in Europe. It's good to be through already and looking comfortable to be top of the group and depending on the draws I'm hoping to repeat our previous run to the last 16 and probably improve on that as well.

Europa League

As expected we comfortably topped the group, but the knockout round draws weren't so favourable. Monchengladbach would be our next opponents, the winner playing Celtic or Monaco. We're at a point where we're superior to most sides in the competition on paper, including those sides but not enough for it to be too comfortable, and they have a bunch of good players between all of them (even Celtic won't be a walkover) so we can't take much for granted. One piece of (sort of) good news is that we drew Man City in the FA Cup 3rd round giving us a decent chance of an early exit and a few potentially invaluable free weekends in the second half of the season.

Thought I'd come back to FM after a year and a half's break and this seemed the perfect place to start reading while I kickstart another old edition (13 for me). Glad to see you doing well with Ipswich (who else?!), and the youngsters are looking pretty good for the moment. How well has Shoretire developed? Fingers crossed you can break through to becoming regular top six material - it's looking promising after laSt season and the start of this one!

Thought I'd come back to FM after a year and a half's break and this seemed the perfect place to start reading while I kickstart another old edition (13 for me). Glad to see you doing well with Ipswich (who else?!), and the youngsters are looking pretty good for the moment. How well has Shoretire developed? Fingers crossed you can break through to becoming regular top six material - it's looking promising after laSt season and the start of this one!

Wow, such a nice surprise seeing you on again

Shoretire looks like this now...

He hasn't quite become as good as I hoped, especially as he seemed to be relying on the tutoring from Scott Loach (who I kept around for a couple more seasons just for that purpose) and his development looked like it slowed to a crawl when he lost that. He's only 2 star CA as well now (which isn't likely to improve much) though that's still 'good Premier League keeper' level. Don't get me wrong, I still think he's a pretty strong keeper and in terms of performances he's mostly very reliable and consistent now but I still sometimes see him give away goals due to idiocy and feel we could still do better in the longer-term.

He's safe for a few years as the bar to replace him it still very high and the young Frenchman I brought in last summer to potentially do that has only just turned 16. I'm not sure what to do with him after that. I really don't want to let him go as from the start I've been very strongly invested in his career (and he's just passed 350 appearances) so might still use my keepers on a similar meritocratic basis to the rest of the squad, giving him the chance to get back in the side and stay there for a bit even if/when he does have to give up the No.1 shirt.

Amusingly enough when arranging for Shoretire to tutor Colin, the latter's reaction was exactly the same as the former when he was in the same position all those years ago, entering into it only reluctantly and otherwise taking an aggressive tone. Some things never change

Let Shoretire take a penalty in a game

I had thought about it some time ago as I like the idea of making him an English Chilavert or Ceni but felt that a few missed penalties that others might have scored would be costly. However since only a couple of the current squad beat his penalty rating (and only marginally) I guess it wouldn't do much harm to do so now, even if his goalkeeping attributes are still a much higher priority than training him to be better at penalties.

Apologies, but I missed this 1st time around.

I don't know if it is the case with FM15, (although I have a sneaking suspicion that it is), but contrary to popular belief, the penalty taking attribute seemed to have absolutely no impact on how effective at scoring penalties a player was.

I might just be tempted to have a little play with FM15 just to experiment with this.

[edit]

Ahhhh. I see Shoretire did indeed score his pen.

Would it be possible, (if it's not too much trouble), for you to add goal-scorers to the fixture list pretty please.

How is that young striker developing.... what his name..... Stam, (I see he is scoring regularly(ish) and should be 18 now?)

Dec 2021

Ipswich 2-0 Kuban (EL)

Allione, Linias

Tiredness didn’t stop Allione giving us an 8th minute lead against Kuban. Viola was having a bit of a fail day but Linias wasted no time in giving us another after coming on at half-time, and we comfortably confirmed our position as group winners with one game left.

Ipswich 3-1 Southampton (PRM)

Yilmaz (2), Linias

Yilmaz had been the main loser in the quest to juggle 5 forwards, especially as he was easily the most prone to needing a rest but he usually shone when his chance did come around again and he gave us the lead after 5 minutes against Southampton, scoring a penalty later in the half. At the start of the second-half, Linias went right up to the by-line and calmly slotted in from a narrow angle for 3-0, though they got one back with 10 minutes left.

Derby 1-0 Ipswich (PRM)

We went to a Derby side who were somehow up in 3rd and in a game of few chances we fell in the 55th minute.

Hannover 0-3 Ipswich (EL)

Viola (2), Yilmaz

We finished the Europa League group stage at Hannover with nothing riding on it from our perspective, though they were still battling for the other qualification spot. We easily dominated and Viola gave us the lead just before the break. The second-half was mostly quiet but Viola had a goal disallowed with 10 minutes left, immediately scored in a bizarre fashion with a ‘slide tackle’ and Yilmaz dispossessed a defender just outside the penalty area to easily give us a 3rd a few minutes later.

Ipswich 2-0 Everton (PRM)

Tafuto, Yilmaz

Tafuto normally scored our penalties wen Yilmaz wasn’t playing but he gave us the lead from open play in the 2nd minute against Everton, the reward for lot of patient build up, and Yilmaz added another just before half-time when he was given plenty of space.

Tottenham 3-1 Ipswich (PRM)

Allione

We took the lead early on at Tottenham from Allione but they quickly equalized and started taking control of the match. It didn’t help that it wasn’t one of our best days defensively and they scored either side of half-time to win 3-1.

Hull 1-1 Ipswich (PRM)

Yilmaz

We had 4 games in 7 days starting at Hull and took the lead when Yilmaz whipped in an Allione cross in the 23rd minute. Unfortunately Shoretire had a bit of a ‘Rob Green’ moment (though from far closer range) to allow them to equalize just before half-time and we couldn’t get the lead back. The closest we got was when Linias decided to let his focus wander on to fouling a defender instead, which was a bit of a double-whammy as he probably would have converted it if he paid attention to the job in hand and it would have been allowed to stand. He gets into trouble so often than I wonder if it’s a hidden PPM of his.

Ipswich 2-0 Aston Villa (PRM)

Linias, Jonas

We faced more frustration against Aston Villa but were rewarded when Linias gave us the led after 35 minutes, with Jonas adding another just before the break.

Man City 3-3 Ipswich (FA R3)

Linias (2), Stam

We went to Man City in the cup and Shoretire, whose long-term future was in-doubt, put another potential nail in the coffin when he came out for a ball he really shouldn’t have and we found ourselves 2-0 down after just 4 minutes. We weren’t done yet however with Linias scoring twice to level it at half-time but Shoretire came out prematurely again early in the second-half to given allow them to retake the lead. Stam equalized after 70 minutes but in some ways a replay was the worst result, as I was almost hoping to lose but am too much of a professional not to make an effort.

Jan 2022

Ipswich 1-3 Fulham (PRM)

Tupazinho

The defence did not have a good day against Fulham, leaving gaps to allow them to take a 2-0 lead. We went all-out to try and come back but conceded a 3rd before Tupazinho got a consolation right at the end.

Stoke 2-3 Ipswich (LC SF)

Allione, Linias, Tupazinho

We went to Stoke in the League Cup and took the lead from Allione in the 7th minute. They scored twice from close range to take a 2-1 lead at the start of the second-half but after Tupazinho had a goal disallowed, he set up Linias to level it and went on to give us the away leg win.

Huddersfield 1-1 Ipswich (PRM)

Allione

The game at Huddersfield was fairly subdued. They took the lead in the 34th minute but Allione gave us a point when converting a free-kick just before half-time.

Arsenal 0-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Linias, Tupazinho

We once more had 3 games in 5 days starting at Arsenal, playing a very effective counter-attacking game, soaking up pressure in the first-half and hitting them for a Linias goal at the start of the second-half, Tupazinho added another.

Ipswich 2-1 Man City (FA R3)

Linias, Tupazinho

Next we had Man City in the cup replay with Charlton as the reward for the victor and Linias gave us the lead in the 27th minute. They equalized in the 55th minute and I didn’t want extra-time but despite Tafuto missing a penalty, we pulled through. Linias did a long mazy run into the penalty area and delivered a short pass to Tupazinho to convert in the 77th minute.

Ipswich 4-2 (7-4) Stoke (LC SF)

Pinera, Yilmaz (2), Linias

It was just as well we had the lead in the Stoke tie given the condition we were in ahead of the home leg and it started well when Pinera and Yilmaz gave us a 2-0 lead on the night after just 6 minutes. Shoretire gifted them a goal back in the 20th minute and they equalized early in the second-half and things looked bad. Tafuto went off injured and Pedrinho conceded a penalty but the tide turned in our favour when Shoretire saved it. We were on the front foot again when Yilmaz set up Linias after 80 minutes and that was followed by a Linias shot rebounding right to Yilmaz who converted at point-blank range to seal it.

Charlton 1-1 Ipswich (FA R4)

Viola

We had our 3rd cup tie in a row at Charlton and under the circumstances it’s unsurprising that we didn’t really dominate the League 2 side like we would be expected to. Viola’s goal after 20 minutes looked like it would be enough but they had chances and equalized in stoppage time.

Ipswich 1-5 Man City (PRM)

Stam

We played Man City for the 3rd time in under a month and we were lambs to the slaughter this time. They easily took a 2-0 lead in the first-half, wasted little time getting a 3rd and though a Stam goal in the 63rd minute gave us hope enough to push, that just allowed them a 4th and a penalty sealed a 5-1 defeat.

Leeds 0-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Jonas, Viola

A trip to Leeds felt rather mundane amidst all that was going on and it was a pretty routine win. Jonas and Viola gave us a 2-0 lead in the first-half and we sat back for the rest of the match.

We seem determined to have the busiest season imaginable, aside from the lack of Europa League qualifiers this time around. Even though there are the same number of CL and EL group games the fact that there are two games in the latter in December (just before things would otherwise get really busy for English clubs anyway) instead of one gives the impression of contributing to a tougher schedule even before the extra knockout round potentially comes into play. Getting to the League Cup semis is always a double-edged sword for what it adds to an already busy month or two so we really didn't need multiple FA Cup replays on top of that, and if we beat Charlton we'll probably end up with 7 games next month, and March could potentially be at least as bad. Far from having a couple of free weekends to help us out we've actually got the League Cup final in between the 'Gladbach tie.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in the League Cup final as it's a rematch of our victory a few years ago. On the one hand we've grown in leaps and bounds, on other other we benefited greatly from having a much lighter schedule at that point in the season, which it's fair to say won't be the case this time (maybe even the reverse to a minor degree). If we win it will considerably take the pressure off what you can see is an incredibly tight race for 6th/7th (depending on which position is enough for European qualification) this time around which is probably just as well as with so much on our plate it will be tough to win that little battle otherwise. The fact that the aforementioned victory is our only major trophy win so far adds to the fact that winning it again would still have a decent amount of value at this point.

Apologies, but I missed this 1st time around.

I don't know if it is the case with FM15, (although I have a sneaking suspicion that it is), but contrary to popular belief, the penalty taking attribute seemed to have absolutely no impact on how effective at scoring penalties a player was.

I might just be tempted to have a little play with FM15 just to experiment with this.

[edit]

Ahhhh. I see Shoretire did indeed score his pen.

Would it be possible, (if it's not too much trouble), for you to add goal-scorers to the fixture list pretty please.

How is that young striker developing.... what his name..... Stam, (I see he is scoring regularly(ish) and should be 18 now?)

Shoretire did indeed score a couple but misses in consecutive games put paid to his brief career as first-choice taker so it's been Yilmaz or Tafuto for a while. I did see a thread discussing penalties recently in GD, and in my experience penalties seemed to be saved more in FM13 anyway but our recent record does seem to be much stronger.

I didn't actually realize you can show goalscorers in FM13 but having just checked I've found out that you can so I've just changed it so it'll show in future updates.

Stam's not developing that quickly, not helped by the fact that he's out for a few months now with a hamstring injury, but he's already looking very good as he is.

Wow, such a nice surprise seeing you on again

Thanks!

He's safe for a few years as the bar to replace him it still very high and the young Frenchman I brought in last summer to potentially do that has only just turned 16. I'm not sure what to do with him after that. I really don't want to let him go as from the start I've been very strongly invested in his career (and he's just passed 350 appearances) so might still use my keepers on a similar meritocratic basis to the rest of the squad, giving him the chance to get back in the side and stay there for a bit even if/when he does have to give up the No.1 shirt.

Still some room to grow then! Will look forward to seeing how he ends up.

Feb 2022

Ipswich 2-0 West Ham (PRM)

Mol, Viola

The league seemed like the distraction at the moment and we quietly saw off West Ham. Mol of all people gave us the lead in the 28th minute, and when Viola gave us another a few minutes into the second-half we were once again content to just preserve it.

Middlesbrough 1-0 Ipswich (PRM)

The trip to Middlesbrough seemed to be one of those days when nothing goes right, especially since we had so many corners we could make an octagon at least. It got worse when ‘liability’ Shoretire suddenly took over from ‘safe hands’ Shoretire as he went out (not far, but still too far) to meet a cross making it easy for the player who received it near the far post to tap in just before half-time and we had little left in the tank after that as we had very much shot our bolt.

Ipswich 5-0 Charlton (FA R4 Rep)

Yilmaz (3), Viola, Jonas

It would be embarrassing to lose at home to Charlton (though it would give it a little rest before going to Germany) and this time managed to get the big win we expected. Yilmaz got the ball rolling in the 10th minute, followed by a quick double from Viola and Jonas after half an hour. Yilmaz completed a first-half hat-trick and we were unsurprisingly happy to leave it at that.

Newcastle 1-2 Ipswich (FA R5)

Viola, Eraldo

The 5th round tie at Newcastle came immediately afterwards, my wish essentially being ‘anything but another replay’. We exchanged chances in the first-half with Viola giving us the lead and looked a lot more comfortable after the break. However having failed to get another goal, disaster struck and they equalized in the 77th minute. I went overload deciding that it didn’t matter so much if we got a winner or they did and Eraldo got it right at the end, prompting celebrations usually reserved for winners in cup finals or big European ties.

Borussia Monchengladbach 1-0 Ipswich (EL KO 1)

Speaking of European ties, the Europa League resumed at Monchengladbach and we looked confident for a vast majority of the match but 0-0 but not only did we fail to get an invaluable goal, the ball fell to the feet of a Gladbach forward on the edge of the penalty area giving them a winner, though we were still very much in it.

Ipswich 1-4 Man Utd (LC Final)

The League cup final against Man Utd was rather poorly timed from our point of view and they scored twice from corners in the first half-hour. I was determined not to make it that easy for them and Viola pulled a goal back in the 54th minute but our second-half push eventually faded and they headed in yet another corner to mostly put it beyond us, as and as we went full on kamikaze they even managed to claim a 4th (not from a corner) to wrap up a day to forget.

Ipswich 3-0 (3-1) Borussia Monchengladbach (EL KO 1)

Yilmaz, Allione, Viola

I was relieved when it didn’t take long for Yilmaz to level the Gladbach tie and Allione put us ahead on aggregate just before half-time. The tie was finely in the balance as we pushed for a 3rd while they looked like they might snatch a crucial away goal on the counter and this time the coin landed on our side as Viola headed in an Allione cross.

Mar 2022

Reading 2-0 Ipswich (PRM)

The trip to Reading was the only league game we had in a 6-week period and with the Monaco tie looming we weren’t necessarily at our best. They snatched the lead before half-time and though we spent most of the second-half looking for an equalizer, we got hit with another.

Ipswich 2-1 Monaco (EL KO)

Mol (2)

We seemed to be saving ourselves for Europe and took the lead from Mol after 10 minutes. Pinera missed an interception which gifted them an equalizer just before half-time and they had another goal disallowed. We needed a winner and as we pushed for it their fouls got ever more desperate. In stoppage time an Allione free-kick took a couple of deflections and ended up going to Mol who gave us that vital second goal.

Monaco 0-1 (1-3) Ipswich (EL KO 2)

Tupazinho

We actually had the weekend off before the away leg and despite setting out more to defend the lead, we were still able to go forward regularly. They piled on the pressure for a lot of the second-half but ran out of steam and we were free to push forward, getting a Tupazinho goal in stoppage time to clinch it.

Ipswich 1-0 Derby (FA QF)

Tupazinho

Tupazinho again made the difference against Derby in the FA Cup quarter-finals. He had a goal disallowed but still sent us through with 15 minutes left.

Ipswich 2-1 Newcastle (PRM)

Linias, Mol

You could be forgiven for forgetting about the league completely by this point since only one game in the past 9 has been in that competition but it ‘resumed’ against Newcastle with Linias giving us the lead at the end of the first-half. Mol gave us another after 50 minutes but they quickly pulled a goal back and it was pretty nervy for the rest of the match.

Ipswich 2-3 Tottenham (PRM)

Pedrinho, Linias

Tottenham would be tougher but Pedrinho gave us the lead in the 22nd minute. They equalized but Linias restored the lead just before the break. We managed to hold on to it for a while but they managed to turn it around and win 3-2.

Inter Milan 0-2 Ipswich (EL QF)

Tupazinho, Linias

We had Inter in the quarter-final and went to Milan first and it looked tough early on, especially when Shoretire was called upon to save a penalty. I was surprised and delighted however when Tupazinho gave us the lead at the start of the second-half, and Linias was even able to give us another.

You could play a game of 'Spot the League game' in the above set of fixtures, and it's fair to say that it's taken a back seat to everything else. I've ceased paying attention to whether a fixture is weekend or midweek now as they seem to just be one big lump of them. The way things are in the cups (Tottenham, Chelsea and Man Utd being the other remaining FA cup teams) 7th could well be enough for a return to Europe without relying on the cup and with out games in hand it's there for the taking, especially since a trip to Man Utd (which is next) and Chelsea at home are the only 'big' teams remaining, so 6th is still achievable as well.

It's interesting to see that we seem to be saving ourselves for Europe, though I'm already familiar with the tendency of teams to not perform that well ahead of a major cup or European game and given how much value I place in being able to have a really strong European campaign, I don't really mind even though it meant enduring the League Cup final disaster, the Reading defeat and didn't help against Tottenham (which wouldn't have been that easy in any case), not when it means being making the difference between a potential First Knockout Round exit and looking like we'd be in the semi's at least given we've had reasonably tricky opponents we really needed to perform against. Assuming we do managee to clinch European qualification it'll be a pretty good season across the board I feel.

Assuming we do finish Inter off, Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid await in the Semis, and we've got Chelsea in the Semi's of the FA Cup.

What a great season - keep it going!

What a great season - keep it going!

I've just finished as it happens, and have a bunch of updates to come this evening and tomorrow, especially as the career's reached the 10-year landmark. It was a busy one to be sure, 65 matches in total!

Apr 2022

Man Utd 1-1 Ipswich (PRM)

Viola

We went to Man Utd before the home leg against Inter hoping things didn’t go as badly as in the League Cup final. They had a goal disallowed before Viola actually snatched the lead just before half-time. They had another goal disallowed but a penalty gave them an equalizer and Pinera missed our own.

Ipswich 5-1 (7-1) Inter Milan (EL QF)

Viola (3), Tupazinho (2)

Viola gave us a 2-0 lead against Inter in the first 8 minutes. Tupazinho wasted no time in getting a 3rd and scored again after they pulled one back. Viola completed a hat-trick in the second-half as we completed a 7-1 aggregate demolition.

Ipswich 1-1 Stoke (PRM)

Yilmaz

We had a trickier time back at home against Stoke but Yilmaz’s goal just before half-time looked like we’d do it. Unfortunately when they played the ball into the penalty area everyone seemed to close in on it, including Shoretire (who really should get his own BBC travel series if he keeps going on like that) allowing them to knock the ball to a waiting forward who had an empty net.

Chelsea 3-1 Ipswich (PRM)

Jonas

We had back-to-back games against Chelsea starting in the league and went behind when Shoretire went out of his goal yet again. Admittedly it was for a successful interception but it meant that a follow up player had an easy time of it. They extended the lead at the start of the second-half before Jonas pulled one back at the end of a messy scramble but we soon faded away and they slotted home a 3rd near the end.

Ipswich 1-3 Chelsea (FA SF)

Viola

I hoped we could do better in the FA cup semi-final, though we also had the first leg against Leverkusen coming up so maybe we wouldn’t bother. We definitely didn’t bother (or at least I hoped we didn’t as that would be even more humiliating) as we went 3-0 down in the first-half. Very few players came out with any credit whatsoever but Viola at least gave us a goal in the 74th minute.

Ipswich 3-3 Leverkusen (EL SF)

Coulibaly, Tupazinho (2)

I hoped very hard that we were just saving ourselves for Leverkusen but it looked to be going horribly wrong when we conceded from a very narrow angle after 20 minutes and they immediately got another. Coulibaly pulled one back but they restored the 2-goal margin when heading in a perfectly delivered free-kick. Tupazinho gave us another goal before half-time and he managed to level the tie before the hour-mark. We couldn’t go on to get a winner (though they could have got one themselves in the end) meaning we needed to win in Germany, but that wasn’t impossible.

Ipswich 1-1 Derby (PRM)

Viola

I barely cared about Derby but Viola gave us the lead after 15 minutes. It didn’t last long and we were otherwise unlucky not to get a winner.

Leverkusen 1-1 (a4-4) Ipswich (EL SF)

Viola

We went to Leverkusen needing to somehow claim a 3rd European away leg win in a row and Viola gave us the lead in the 10th minute. It looked good for a while, thankfully the ‘reliable’ Shoretire had showed up this time, but Leon accidentally deflected a Leverkusen cross into our goal just before half-time and while we pushed hard late on we couldn’t quite do it.

May 2022

Ipswich 2-1 Hull (PRM)

Jonas (2)

I hoped we could rescue at least some of the league season and Jonas wasted no time giving us the lead against Hull, soon adding another. They pulled one back and Marcos Paulo was sent off but we comfortably claimed all 3 points.

Ipswich 1-0 Norwich (PRM)

Stam

I hoped to get another vital win in the home derby, especially as we could seal their relegation at the same time. Pinera missed a penalty in each half but a Stam goal in the 38th minute was enough in an otherwise poor derby.

Everton 0-0 Ipswich (PRM)

We were on our travels for the rest of the season starting at Everton which saw some tense times at both ends. We came closest to a goal when a Cotter strike was chalked off because Viola went mad and jumped wildly at the Everton keeper and a defender.

Southampton 3-4 Ipswich (PRM)

Yilmaz, Viola (2) Jonas

We were flying in the first-half at Southampton with Yilmaz giving us a 5th minute lead and Viola following it up. They got a goal back but Jonas and Viola (again) put us 4-1 up at half-time. The second-half wasn’t so good as they got two goals back and might have clinched a point but we survived and the win took us up to 7th before the final day, ahead of Reading on goal difference.

Aston Villa 0-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Viola (2)

They went to Chelsea as their final game which boosted our chances of at least matching their result and clinching 7th, and maybe the last European spot. As expected Reading went on to lose while a Viola goal in each half meant we did our part and finished off a long and eventful season with a win. It was a pity Derby won as well or we could have claimed 6th as well.

Wow, this season was nothing if not eventful, at 65 matches pretty much the longest I’ve ever had, as even ‘winning pretty much everything seasons’ which would feature a couple more cup finals and maybe the CWC as well would be balanced by one less European knockout round and probably not having 2 FA Cup replays. Quite often in the Premier League we’ve felt like we’ve been moving forward when the league table tells a different story like this time but dig beneath the surface and the picture is at least a bit more positive. We did what we set out to do was to get into Europe again, even if we were expecting it to be a little more convincing, while reaching a League Cup final, FA Cup semi-finals (with 2 replays along the way) and were just an own-goal away from the Europa League final. Not that I really expected us to have much chance against Real Madrid but it would have been nice to give it a good go. Oh and we sent Norwich down with a win at Portman Road, what's not to like?

It is still a little frustrating not to get close to last season’s 5th place, especially given we only really hit our stride half-way through that year and we were more consistent this time. The number of matches we had this season didn’t seem to drag as down too badly on the surface but we were definitely sub-par before the Europa League knockout matches which cost a handful of points, as well as Shoretire’s reckless moments which is a pity as he’s so often a safe pair of hands when he isn’t, but we’ll see how Colin develops as we could use a more reliable alternative. Our strong end to the season after the Leverkusen defeat shows that we can handle even such a busy run of the bread and butter games pretty well when we haven’t got anything else getting in the way.

I’m not sure what can really be done to try and lift ourselves up the table a bit more other than ‘go out of the cups earlier’ and the fact that we’ll potentially have 4 European qualifying games this summer that we didn’t have last year won’t help us manage either that or making another Europa League challenger. As much as I like the competition, it would be nice to finally be able to compete with the big boys in the Champions League before too long.

Star Player:This was very nearly a continuation of the trend of Viola and Yilmaz alternating each year but I decided someone else was worth recognition this time. Tafuto is one of those players who looks fairly limited on paper but keeps on playing very well and he's been one of our best performers over the past few years. It's a shame he's also one of those who needs to be upgraded on in the longer-term but he'll be fine for now if he keeps on going the way he has been.

Squad Stats

Match of the Season: Unfortunately I occasionally forget to do this, just like this season but it would probably be the win in Milan. This was our first time facing one of the European heavyweights and grabbing a 2-goal away leg win isn't something that happens very often in European knockout rounds so it was something to be treasured.

Great season competing on multiple fronts

It must be frustrating though to have got so far in three cup competitions but end up with no silverware...

Give your players an extra week off before pre-season training

Great season competing on multiple fronts

It must be frustrating though to have got so far in three cup competitions but end up with no silverware...

Give your players an extra week off before pre-season training

Well we're not really in the business of winning silverware on a regular basis just yet anyway.

As it happened I did decide to start pre-season a week later this time, however we will also start next season earlier due to having to play in the Europa League 3rd Qualifying round. Just as well only one of my players ended up going to the Qatar World Cup in the end because this calender year is looking like a really intense one as it is.

Just as well only one of my players ended up going to the Qatar World Cup in the end because this calender year is looking like a really intense one as it is.

This game is sooooo unrealistic. There is no way on Earth the World Cup would be given to Qatar without ridiculous corruption.

Oh wait........

I guess you just have to wait whilst your players develop that little bit more - not ideal though...

This game is sooooo unrealistic. There is no way on Earth the World Cup would be given to Qatar without ridiculous corruption.

Oh wait........

It'll probably happen again in-game as they'll be part of the 'international tournament host pool'!

I guess you just have to wait whilst your players develop that little bit more - not ideal though...

I think it's just a matter of waiting for a few things to come together, since once thing I have noticed since watching the games properly is how much work it can take to score a goal a lot of the time since we're generally on top for most games now, plus the slip ups at the back though we're otherwise rarely caught out defensively so there aren't really any inherent problems there, eccentric keeper aside. Maybe we do need a bit more growing and improvement but otherwise we're pretty close to most sides in quality. I guess last season summed us up nicely as a 'close but no cigar' team right now.

Season Roundup: 2021/22

Championship

L1

L2

BSP

BSN

BSS

FA

CL

EL

10 Season Update

Every 10 years I plan to do a little recap of how things have gone as well as the major competition winners.

After the most painfully mediocre opening season imaginable we progressed quite nicely for a few years then seemed stuck for a while as we build a new side of talented young players. We've taken a couple of steps up (and this is actually the first time we've qualified for Europe in back-to-back seasons) as things are starting to come together now but it's not easy with the number of strong clubs we have to overcome on a consistent basis to really get ourselves up there.

The Manchester sides have very much dominated (which doesn't surprise me at all in this version), City especially in the League (and with 4 CL wins are the only English winners so far) while Man Utd seem to be the cup kings, especially recently. In fact that won both domestic finals this season with an aggregate score of 9-1! There have at least been an interesting smattering of finalists, at least in the earlier seasons. Aside from Man City's run of wins, Europe still seems to be more open, with Bayern providing a consistently competitive continental team to help hold off potential English dominance. Interesting to see Benfica have won it and only missed out on a second title this year on penalties. Tottenham are the only side to have won multiple Europa Leagues.

Best XI

PL

FA

LC

CL

EL

Finally - a piece of silverware for Liverpool!

Finally - a piece of silverware for Liverpool!

A league win at that, though not quite the one they were hoping for

World Cup 2022

Pedrinho was the only Ipswich player at the tournament, which was a surprise as among those who missed out I'd have thought Viola was an especially strange omission. Docherty and Cotter probably would have been there was well if their nations had qualified. However given the very busy second-half of last season and the early start to this one with the Europa League qualifiers I think a desert World Cup was probably the last thing some of the players needed when they'd otherwise be having a break. As it happened he didn't have the most engaging of tournaments. He was unused in the first 2 games, was subbed off in the 3rd and came on late as Brazil went out to eventual winners Germany (Sounds familiar) in the second-round.

Summer 2022

This ended up as a pretty big Pre-season. As I hoped our cup runs (especially the Europa League) had opened up a better calibre of player right where we needed improvement, having identified a few potential positions for a while, but it also ended up meaning gambling with a couple of big sales.

Firstly, in goal. Philippe Colin (which I must admit is an odd surname especially for a Frenchman) had got into the best 11 at the Euro U19 championship but at just 16 was 2-3 years away from getting first-team appearances so having already sold the redundant Slovak backup I leapt at the change to get a keeper from Barcelona who not only had the potential to be a rival first-choice in the longer-term but was a bit more developed and gave me an option in the shorter-term to put in to replace Shoretire if he proved to be too much of a liability, opening up the long-term status of the No.1 shirt even more.

The other positions involved were the midfield playmaker and on the wing. The former position was one where I’d already gambled with a 15yr old (at the time) last year who arrived now having already been on loan last season, and a 16yr old Croat provided a potential long-term option out wide, even if both were destined for Crewe for the time being. However that was before Juventus provided the sort of players I’d been looking for all this time, even if I felt I need to sell Tafuto and Allione (who they were essentially replacing) to fund their transfers, with enough left for one more defender having resisted the temptation to get a forward from the Milan sides (as I had a choice) we really didn’t need.

In the short-term it was a bit of a gamble, as selling ‘limited on paper but high-performing’ players always are, especially in light of Tafuto being one of our best players in the past few years and Allione being as veteran as the side got. However aside from the fact that their replacements would potentially be players of a quality that they never could be and we really needed, we already had Eraldo and Jonas as established and trustworthy alternatives and experienced players were no longer in such short supply as we had a core who were 22-23 yrs old now. Not exactly battle-hardened veterans but also hardly babies especially as they’d mostly been here for a while and could be considered on the verge of hitting their prime, so it wasn’t quite as much as a risk as it may appear, though as always the proof of the pudding is in the eating so we’ll see how things go on the pitch.

The final thing to mention is that I finally made a deal the Argentine forward I’d been after for a couple of years but had been too young for a work permit. He’ll actually arrive next year along with the Ukrainian and the option of Crewe aside decisions will have to be made as to who remains in the longer-term but that’s thankfully not something to worry about just yet.

As mentioned above, we’ve taken a bit of a short-term gamble so I’m still not sure if we can worry the top 4 just yet, depending on how many extra games in the cups we get, but surely we’ve put ourselves in a better position to do so in the future. Even if it doesn’t happen this year, we’ve hopefully laid the groundwork to move forward before too long and this summer may be seen as an important one if it does.

Signings

Future Signing

Jul/Aug 2022

Viktoria Zizkov 0-3 Ipswich (EL Q3)

Yilmaz (2), Viola

The season started in the Czech Republic against Viktoria Zizkov and it was Yilmaz who hit the ground running most of all. He gave us the lead in the 8th minute, set up Viola for 2-0 and finished off a great performance with a solo run that ended in another goal to seal a 3-0 win.

Ipswich 2-0 (5-0) Viktoria Zizkov (EL Q3)

We didn’t bother to try too hard in the home leg, especially after Yilmaz again gave us the lead. It looked like that was that but another great solo effort from Yilmaz gave us a comfortable 5-0 aggregate win.

Ipswich 2-1 Stoke (PRM)

Pedrinho, Yilmaz

Stoke were more of a challenge in the first league game but we eventually broke through with goals from Pedrinho and Yilmaz early in the second-half. Shoretire deflected a cross into his own net making the rest of the game a lot more tense but we managed to hold on well enough.

Ipswich 6-0 AEK (EL Q4)

Viola (3), Jonas, Yilmaz (2)

AIK (a legendary club of mine from FM10) were our next European opponents and Viola gave us the lead with a header in the 27th minute. Obviously I was hoping for rather more against this standard of side so I was delighted when Jonas slotted home in the 55th minute and that was followed by two more Viola goals and one from Yilmaz, the latter getting one more at the end for a 6-0 win that was a lot more like it.

West Ham 2-4 Ipswich (PRM)

Yilmaz (4)

Yilmaz was on a roll so far and he gave us the lead again at the start at West Ham. They equalized but he restored the lead a few minutes before the break and extended it in the second-half. They pulled it back to 3-2 but Yilmaz had another goal up his sleeve (his 11th for the season and taking him to 5 in the league already) to seal it.

AEK 0-2 (0-8) Ipswich (EL Q4)

Linias, Jonas

We didn’t need to try too hard in Sweden but Linias and Jonas got goals to give us an 8-0 aggregate win in the end. Rangers, Krylja Sovetov and Rapid Bucharest were our group opponents.

Ipswich 1-0 Huddersfield (PRM)

Linias

We pounded away for ages against Huddersfield and Linias finally gave us a breakthrough after half-time.

Sept 2022

Ipswich 3-1 Tottenham (PRM)

Linias, Yilmaz, Pinera

The fixture list got a lot tougher starting against Tottenham but I had become a lot better at setting up against such opposition and Linias gave us the lead in the 24th minute. They equalized early in the second-half from a penalty rebound but Yilmaz soon restored the lead and as we broke later in the game the ball was crossed in to a waiting Pinera to finish off a 3-1 win at close range, sealing a club record 10 wins in a row.

Ipswich 2-0 Krylja Sovetov (EL)

Tupazinho (2)

The Europa League group stage started against Sovetov but we suffered from complacency up front. Stam and Tupazinho came on and demonstrated how it’s done, the Dutchman setting up the Brazilian twice in the first 20 minutes of the second-half and Tupazinho was unlucky to have a 3rd disallowed.

Chelsea 0-0 Ipswich (PRM)

I was surprised to see that we had most of the first-half chances at Chelsea but they woke up after the break and piled on the pressure as the match wore on and I was happy to hold on to 0-0.

Ipswich p3-3 Man Utd (LC R3)

Stam (2), Mol

We faced Man Utd in the League Cup for my 500th career match. Given the nightmare fixture pile-up last season it was a no-lose situation as far as I was concerned. They took the lead in the 2nd minute and retook itafter Stam equalized, being 3-1 up at half-time. Mol and Stam scored in the second-half to level it at 3-3 and a goal-less extra-time meant it was down to penalties. All 10 regular penalties were converted, with Pinera, Jonas, Shoretire, Moroni and Stam netting for us. Shoretire saved their 6th leaving it down to Docherty to slot home past De Gea to send us through.

Man City 3-0 Ipswich (PRM)

Unfortunately the shootout was the last thing I wanted before going to Man City. They took an early lead but the game could have been very difference had a very rusty Viola not been a chance-wasting machine for most of the first-half and they scored again before half-time. This was the first game where Shoretire had performed poorly enough to be taken off for Carrion to go in goal and the Spaniard had a very strong second-half, even if we couldn’t prevent a 3rd at the end.

Rapid Bucharest 0-4 Ipswich (EL)

Yilmaz (3), Gandarillas

The month finished off in Bucharest and although we failed to really impose ourselves on the game, Yilmaz and Gandarillas still gave us a 2-0 lead at half-time. Two Yilmaz penalties in the second-half sealed the sort of win we were hoping for.

There's something a little different about the team this year. Last season we often clearly outplayed opponents but didn't always make the most if it. This time the attacking has been toned down a little bit and flair has partly given way to consistency, which is precisely what we needed most and even the early 'bread and butter' games were an improvement so far on our record against the same opponents last time. I generally don't include Pre-season friendlies in the fixture list but I couldn't resist adding them this time to emphasise how well things have gone so far. It helps that Shoretire has been much better in goal but that hasn't stopped me from giving Carrion a go for the time being after a poor display against Man City, which so far has been working very well and he might prove to be the more solid and reliable alternative I bought him to be.

We've had a few big early tests but have performed reasonably well. Tottenham have been almost as tough as anyone else all save long so a good win over them was a good sign of our ability to compete with the top sides, the draw at Chelsea was also valuable and while Man City was rather less impressive, Man City away is pretty much the most difficult game possible and we were worn out from the League Cup, not helped by a few injuries and players unfit after injury meaning that I couldn't put in as many fresh replacements as I wanted to, so I'm not reading too much into that. I'm pretty optimistic about our top 4 chances this time around if we can keep it up, and while I have a soft spot for the Europa League (and some teams in the Knockout stages are still challenging) I just don't feel it's our level and don't want to wait much longer to test ourselves on the big stage.

I hate to sound a squad number nerd, but 12 for a substitute GK? You're not Italian, sir!

I hate to sound a squad number nerd, but 12 for a substitute GK? You're not Italian, sir!

Nor Danish!

I hate to sound a squad number nerd, but 12 for a substitute GK? You're not Italian, sir!

Nor Danish!

I'm quite a few things but not those (some of my cousins however...)

There was a while where sorted my squad into first choice and second choice 11's giving them 1-11 and 12-22. I ignored squad numbers for a few years but a little earlier in this save I started designating 1-11, and with the three keeper situation happened to specifically give the others 12 and 23 this year.

I totally see where you're coming from, as I have my own weird numbering systems.

As for keepers, I always give my first choice and reserve nos. 1 and 16 (traditional in Denmark). Other keepers (second reserve, youth) then get 22, 33, 44 etc.

Unless one of them specifically prefers some weird number, in which case I just give in...

Oct 2022

Ipswich 1-1 Reading (PRM)

Yilmaz

We went behind early on against Reading and while Yilmaz eventually equalized in the 57th minute, we failed to push on until it was too late and had to settle for a draw.

Wigan 2-4 Ipswich (PRM)

Linias (3), Docherty

We went behind early again at Wigan but Linias came to the fore with a brace, the first being his 50th goal for the club. Docherty converted a free-kick at the start of the second-half and though they caught us on the break with 5 minutes left, there was still time for Linias to complete a hat-trick. I had been worried that Linias would be stuck in Viola’s shadow and not get enough opportunities to develop into the deadly poacher I knew he could be but he now has 52 goals in 101 matches for the club and he’s still just 22. Not bad for a ‘second choice’.

Ipswich 4-0 Rangers (EL)

Yilmaz (2), Linias, Eraldo

We had drawn Rangers for the 3rd time in 4 European campaigns and they seemed to get easier very time. Yilmaz got the ball rolling with his 10th European goal of the season, adding another before half-time. Linias scored a 3rd and Eraldo scored a free-kick for an easy 4-0 win.

Ipswich 2-0 Newcastle (PRM)

Linias, Yilmaz

We laboured quite a bit against Newcastle but Linias finally gave us the lead in the 57th after a great solo run and while it didn’t look comfortable, Yilmaz rifled home another in stoppage time.

Liverpool 1-2 Ipswich (LC L4)

We seemed incapable of losing cup matches I wish we would and that continue at Liverpool. Linias scored in each half, though the second one only came after confusion between the Argentine and Yilmaz as to who should actually go for the ball right in front of the goal. They got one back too late to threaten.

Middlesbrough 0-1 Ipswich (PRM)

Gandarillas

We were really working hard for our wins which was rather stressful. The trip to Middlesbrough looked like a case of 2 points dropped but Gandarillas headed home a corner in the nick of time.

Nov 2022

Rangers 1-4 Ipswich (EL)

Tupazinho (3), Linias

We easily did the double over Rangers in Glasgow with Tupazinho being the main man this time, getting a brace in the first-half with Linias adding another. They became the first team to score against us in Europe this season just before half-time but it meant little and Tupazinho wrapped it up in the second-half.

Leeds 2-5 Ipswich (PRM)

Pinera, Marcos Paulo, Linias, Tupazinho (2)

We got off to a bad start at Leeds, going behind in the 8th minute and again after a Pinera penalty levelled it. However within a few minutes, Marcos Paulo and Linias (after one of those amazing solo runs he does so well) turned it around and Tupazinho added two more in the second-half.

Ipswich 0-0 Fulham (PRM)

The game against Fulham was the complete opposite of Leeds as we struggled to a 0-0 draw.

Bristol City 0-0 Ipswich (PRM)

We looked much brighter at Bristol City but still couldn’t find a way through as we dropped 2 points again, giving them just their 4th point of the season.

Arsenal 2-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Marcos Paulo, Moroni

We had a double header against Arsenal starting away in the league, and as they were 4 points behind us in the race for 4th this was the one that mattered most. They took the lead in the 33rd minute but Marcos Paulo equalized just 5 minutes later. I was delighted when Moroni rifled us in front early in the second-half and even though they levelled it almost immediately, the draw suited us a lot more.

Ipswich 5-1 Arsenal (LC QF)

Viola (2), Jonas, Leon, Stam

We played them again in the League Cup which was yet another I didn’t want to win (especially as I wanted them saddled with the January Semi games) and I was really tempted to put Colin in goal but I never throw a game away and Viola gave us the lead in the 1st minute. They equalized but Jonas practically dribbled the ball into the net to restore the lead before half-time. We really tore them apart in the second-half with Leon and Viola scoring in quick succession and Stam finished off a 5-1 win after a performance I really wish we’d managed in the last few league games instead.

Dec 2022

Krylja Sovetov 0-2 Ipswich (EL)

Viola (2)

We went to Russia and managed to avoid freezing solid with Viola giving us the lead early in the second-half. He slid in a Jonas cross for another as we kept out 100% European record intact. Oddly we had 3 players out with thigh strain afterwards from miskicking the ball.

Ipswich 1-0 Man Utd (PRM)

Viola

Man Utd was our 4th match in just over a week but we still managed to be their equal from the start. Viola set off on a fantastic run down the right wing before heading inwards and slotting home for a potentially vital win as I wanted to see if we could do better than ‘just 4th’ and it took us to within a point of them.

Ipswich 0-0 Aston Villa (PRM)

Having a longer rest before facing Villa didn’t do us much good as we found ourselves frustrated again and looking behind at Arsenal once more.

Ipswich 2-0 Rapid Bucharest (EL)

Viola (2)

We were never going to have much trouble against Rapid Bucharest and a Viola header in each half meant we won the group with double the points of Sovetov in 2nd. The knockout round draws were a little better than last year, giving us Trabzonspor in the next round and potentially Genoa or Spartak Moscow after that.

Derby 0-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Shoretire, Fanti

We went to Derby and took the lead from a Shoretire penalty after 25 minutes. Fanti put it beyond them later as we kept up the pressure on the teams ahead of us.

Hull 1-0 Ipswich (PRM)

We had a bit of a shock at Hull in Boxing Day when we went behind in the 36th minute. We threw the kitchen sink at them later on but couldn’t equalize.

Ipswich 2-0 West Ham (PRM)

Viola, Docherty

We were lucky that West Ham had an early goal disallowed but we eventually took control and Viola gave us the lead in the 59th minute, soon followed by a Docherty free-kick.

Stoke 0-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Viola, Fanti

We were a little more comfortable at Stoke, with Viola rounding a Stoke defender to slot home in the 29th minute. We were still a little vulnerable but Fanti fired home to seal it.

We've played 34 games so far this season (more than a full campaign in a lot of nations, a few cup games included) and won 26 of them, which is really good going though that figure really should be a few more. In Europe we've scored 31 goals and conceded just once, and we've overcome Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal in League Cup games I wasn't really trying to win. Not a bad season so far then. It's a pity we'vre started drawing a few more blanks in the league in recent weeks otherwise we'd be a lot more comfortable in the CL places and close to Man City at the top as well. Obviously I wouldn't have been seriously thinking of a potential title challenge anyway (one step at a time and all that) but it would be a nice gesture of intent to be closer for a lot longer. As it is we're just 2 points from 2nd and while I'd still very much accept 4th, it would be interesting to see if can go for a top 3 finish while we're at it.

The second-half of the season is potentially tougher than the first, especially January and it's not likely to ease off much for some weeks afterwards. We actually could have drawn Norwich in the League Cup Semi finals, with actual opponents Southampton being the 'middling' option between them and Man City. In the FA Cup we have Aston Villa and if we beat them, we already know we've got Shrewsbury in the next round so an early exit is unlikely. It's odd how we were so poor in the cups for so long early in the career and now we're a lot better than I wish we were, leading to a punishing schedule even when we have plenty of opportunities to be knocked out by a big side early on, and only lose later when we've gone far enough that I'm then looking to go all the way.

The line-up of Europa League teams doesn't look quite as bad as last season. Sure we've got Napoli, Arsenal (playing each other!), Atletico, Roma and the Leverkusen side that knocked us out last year, but given our knockout opponents in the previous campaign were Gladbach, Monaco, Inter Milan and Leverkusen, with Real Madrid (giving the presence of Valencia and Sevilla a bit of perspective) being the eventual winners, the road to a potential challenge doesn't look anywhere near as bad, and we know it won't be until the Quarters at least should we make it that far. Last season was such a 'close but no cigar' year that it'll be interesting to see if we can do it do better this time.

Amazing start to the season - fingers crossed that you can keep it going

really enjoying this career, hope you can keep up you good start to the season, you're overdue a run in the champions league

Amazing start to the season - fingers crossed that you can keep it going

really enjoying this career, hope you can keep up you good start to the season, you're overdue a run in the champions league

Thanks guys. We've managed pretty well so far in January as well, and I agree that CL qualification is something that's been on the cards a little while now, though given the situation with as many as 5 top class rival teams the bar to do so has really been that high. Just getting into it will show that we can compete with pretty much anyone else.

I've also decided to load another nation into the game from the start of next season, partly for the purposes of possible future international management (since it's otherwise just England for the most part) which would be interesting both to take on my Ipswich players at International level and to nurture players for the national team at Ipswich.

Jan 2023

Southampton 3-4 Ipswich (LC SF)

Viola (2), Fanti, Tupazinho

We had it tough early on at Southampton in the League Cup but Pinera dispossessed a Southampton player deep in our half to set off a really long team move (think Argentina 2006) culminating in a rebound which Viola converted. He soon added another from a Fanti cross and repaid the favour immediately afterwards as the Italian made it 3-0. They pulled one back at the start of the second-half but I didn’t mind too much until they got a late second. I was then fuming at the end of the 90 minutes as Gandarillas attempted a back-pass to Pedrinho which missed, allowing a forward to nip in between the Brazilian and Shoretire to equalize. However having laboured to get a 4th all half long we finally got it from Tupazinho to clinch the win after all.

Ipswich 4-1 Chelsea (PRM)

Viola (4)

We had a tough run of league games among everything else starting against Chelsea but it became the latest fantastic display in a season with a decent number of them. Viola gave us the lead and restored it just before the break after they equalized. He pushed on with two more in the second-half with Tupazinho playing his ‘support’ role to perfection as well. It took us 3 points ahead of Hull with a game in hand, and a full 7 ahead of Arsenal who I was mainly focussing on.

Tottenham 1-0 Ipswich (PRM)

We had 2 midweek games with a league trip to Spurs first, which I was happy to keep quiet and it was for a while. It started to liven up later on at both ends and we had a goal disallowed. I couldn’t complain because Viola was practically off the pitch but it was a pity given the way Coulibaly charged in out of nowhere to fire the ball to the Argentine. They snatched the win from close in right at the end.

Ipswich 3-0 Aston Villa (FA R3)

Yilmaz (2), Jonas

We played Aston Villa in the cup and easily overcame them, with Yilmaz and Jonas soon giving us a 2-0 lead. The former scored again just before half-time and I was happy to just sit back and rest for the remainder of the match.

Ipswich 2-1 Man City (PRM)

Linias, Eraldo

Once again we faced Man City in a very worn out state but this time they were just had tired (having also had a midweek pair of games) and I was able to make a lot of changes, with a goal from Linias making the difference at the break. They equalized early in the second-half and the game could have gone either way but Linias set up Eraldo to give us the win.

Ipswich 2-1 (6-4) Southampton (LC SF)

I had hoped we could easily finish off Southampton at home but they scored first to level the tie. Leon wasted no time in equalizing and Yilmaz gave us a late winner on the night.

Huddersfield 1-2 Ipswich (PRM)

Nasta, Linias

Nasta gave us a 7th minute lead at Huddersfield but it wasn’t going to be that easy and they soon equalized. Linias restored the lead after half-time and we had to focus more on holding the lead than extending it.

Reading 2-1 Ipswich (PRM)

Moroni

We found ourselves 2-0 down at Reading after 15 minutes and while we hammered hard, Moroni only bundled in a goal with a few minutes left.

Ipswich 1-0 Wigan (PRM)

Linias

We looked to be hitting a brick wall for a while again against Wigan but Linias finished off a fantastic run to eventually give us the lead. He then got sent off and again we had to hold on rather than finish the opposition off.

Ipswich 2-1 Middlesbrough (PRM)

Yilmaz, Eraldo

Yilmaz gave us the lead against Middlesbrough by taking a penalty which was deflected back at him. Eraldo extended the lead but they pulled a goal back to keep it close.

Feb 2023

Ipswich 1-0 Leeds (PRM)

Linias

The game against Leeds was very different from the goal-studded encounter earlier in the season and it looked like being 0-0 but Linias (a late sub after Viola got a knock) gave us a win in the nick of time.

Shrewsbury 0-2 Ipswich (FA R4)

Viola, Yilmaz

We went to Shrewsbury and quietly saw them off with goals from Viola and Yilmaz in the first-half, not wanting to push ourselves more than we needed to.

Ipswich 0-0 Chelsea (FA R5)

The next round against Chelsea followed immediately and was pretty quiet for the most part. We were the team that really pushed late on but would need a replay.

Trabzonspor 1-4 Ipswich (EL KO1)

Viola (3), Yilmaz

Europe returned with a trip to Turkey and Viola soon gave us the lead, before setting up Yilmaz (who happens to be half-Turkish) for 2-0 at the break. Viola went on to get a 3rd but then Shoretire’s idiotic streak stuck again. His record in that regard this season had been pretty much perfect but he went way out to clear the ball leaving it open when it ended up with a Trabzonspor player. However we were still looking very comfortable in the tie and Viola added one more from the spot as we were pretty much through already. I read a few years ago that in the Brazilian cup they play at the smaller club’s ground first and if the bigger team wins by more than 2-0 they don’t bother playing the second leg to save the small side a long and probably futile trip. It would be nice if that applied here.

Ipswich 1-0 Man City (LC Final)

We played Man City in the League Cup final hoping for a rather better showing than last year’s disaster against Man Utd. I think it helped that we were comfortable in Europe and didn’t need to save ourselves as much for midweek as last year when we needed a comeback against Gladbach. We were generally under more pressure from the start but Fanti made a great run down the wing before crossing in for Yilmaz to gleefully leap up and head home at close range after 20 minutes, which proved to be the difference though Yilmaz also had another disallowed in stoppage time.

Ipswich 4-0 (8-1) Trabzonspor (EL KO1)

Yilmaz (3), Mol

We easily finished off Trabzonspor with Yilmaz giving us the lead from an 8th minute penalty and he had a hat-trick 15 minutes later. Mol got a 4th later on and they were lucky not to be hit for a couple more.

Newcastle 2-3 Ipswich (PRM)

Fanti (2), Yilmaz

We went behind to an admittedly good goal early on at Newcastle but Fanti and Yilmaz (with his 30th goal of the season) soon put us 2-1 up. They equalized from a penalty (given for a foul on our former defender Andia) before the break but another Fanti goal saw us through.

Chelsea 1-2 Ipswich (FA R5 Rep)

Viola, Leon

I was going to go cautious at Chelsea for the FA Cup replay before I saw they weren’t quite at full strength so I stuck to our default controlling game and was rewarded with Viola giving us the lead in the 9th minute. We looked like getting another in the second-half only to concede and equalizer but a Jonas free-kick was headed in by Leon to send us through.

For a while now I've been thinking 'How on earth are we only 4th?'. However the absolutely massive gap we now have over Hull in 5th and even more so the teams below that and the fact that we're not far off the teams in front of us means that the league table does give us a little bit of credit. In fact if it hadn't been for a couple of disappointing away-days too many we might even be in the title hunt, but that's probably a step too far this time. I was worried we'd drop off a little but instead we just keep on going. We're not necessarily getting the job done comfortably, but we're getting it done consistently and that's been the main story of the season from the beginning.

We managed to do what we failed last time and actually claim a trophy this season, as well as what's looking like probable CL qualification, a situation that I was thinking 'yep, that would make for a very good season indeed' in the run-up to the final. That might not only be the only final we appear in either. Conquering Chelsea gives us League 1 Bolton in the FA Cup Quarter-finals with Spartak Moscow as our next European opponents, though we've still got a way to go in the Europa League so it's a bit too early to target success there. We have still got a 100% record in Europe this season over 12 games, scoring 39 goals now and conceding just twice (and the second of those was Shoretire leaving the goal exposed) and even given the relative lack of quality of the opposition, that's still pretty good consistency in European competition, especially in away games and as part of a hectic season (52 matches and counting). When we drew against Chelsea I suddenly got really worried that the replay would be in the same midweek as a European tie, which has happened a few times before but thankfully not this time.

Isn't loading leagues bugged in FM13? Or was that FM12?

Going great.

Isn't loading leagues bugged in FM13? Or was that FM12?

Going great.

That was FM12, in keeping with the fine 'tradition' of big new features not always working properly first time around