FM16: Swansea City - Pride of Wales

Welcome to the FM16 Swansea City Thread!

5 reasons why should you play as Swansea!

1. A solid squad which is easily good enough to compete in the top half of the Premier League.

2. A good spine in the team with Fabianski, Williams, Fernandez, Shelvey, Ki, Sigurdsson and Gomis.

3. Financially a very stable club because it's so well run. One of only 4 clubs in the league without loan debt to start the game.

4. Room for improvement in all areas of the squad so plenty of scope for making signings.

5. The chance to become the first club legend on the game, as there are none listed(see info screen below).

A little bit of history..

In the beginning - Long before Swansea Town came into being, children had played football on a piece of waste ground on which vetch - a cabbage-like plant used for cow feed - grew wild. Vetch Field, as it became known, was leased by the Swansea Gas Light Company to the Swansea League who laid out clinker pitches. In 1912, Swansea Town were formed as a professional club and took up residence. This was an ambitious venture given the dominance of rugby union in the area. The new football club adopted the same all white strip as Swansea RFU and apart from a few seasons when black shorts were introduced, they have worn all-white for most of their career. The club was known as Swansea Town but they changed their name when Swansea was granted City status in 1969.

More recent history - There's one game in the history of the club that is easily the most important in it's history. On May 3rd 2003, Swansea beat Hull City to avoid relegation on the last day of the season at the expense of Exeter. Many believe that this game sparked a massive rise in fortunes for the Swans. Swansea crowned their last season at The Vetch with a last game of the season promotion in 2005 from League 2 to League 1.

The move to the Liberty Stadium was followed by the arrival of former player Roberto Martinez as manager. Many believe that it was his work on the training ground that sparked the attractive style of football Swansea City play today. Martinez got the Swans promoted to the Championship in 2008 by winning the League one title. He also gained a respectable 8th position in the return to English footballs second tier, missing out on playoffs by 1 point. Martinez left Swansea for Wigan in June of 2009, and was replaced by Portugal's Paulo Sousa. Swansea once again missed out on the playoffs by a point, before Sousa left for Leicester. Swansea took what many thought was a gamble on appointing Brendan Rogers but he took Swansea to 3rd in the league in his first season and won the play offs in a thrilling final at wembley, beating Reading 4-2.

Kicking off the 2011–12 in the Premier League made Swansea the first Welsh team to play in the division since its formation in 1992. The Swans defeated Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City, the eventual champions, at home during the season. The Swans finished their debut Premier League season in 11th, but at the end of the season Brendan Rodgers left to manage Liverpool. He was replaced by Michael Laudrup for the 2012–13 Premier League season. His first league game ended in a 5–0 victory over Queens Park Rangers away at Loftus Road. This saw Swansea joint top of the Premiership, making it the first time since October 1981 the team have been at the summit of the top tier, when they beat Stoke City 2–1 away and led during the 10th round of matches. On 1 December, Swansea picked up a big 0–2 away win against Arsenal, with Michu scoring twice during the last minutes of the game. This marks Swansea's first win at Arsenal in three decades. On 24 February 2013, Swansea beat Bradford City 5–0 in the League Cup final. This triumph, in a record victory, was Swansea's first major piece of silverware. Swansea City finished the season in 9th place in the Premier League, improving upon the league standing achieved in the previous season. In February 2014, Laudrup was dismissed from the club after seemingly becoming uninterested in the job. Defender Garry Monk, a Swansea player since 2004, was named as his replacement and guided the Swans to a 12th place finish and the last 32 of the Europa league where they were knocked out by Napoli. The 2014/2015 season saw Swansea in 8th place under Garry Monk with the highest points tally of the clubs Premier League adventure so far. During the season, they produced league doubles over Arsenal and Manchester United, becoming only the third team in Premier League history to achieve that feat.

So now it's your turn to make history...

Swansea In Football Manager

Having no debt and finances as "Rich" sets you up nicely for the future. As seasons go by you will get nice transfer budgets to spend. As you can see there are no club legends yet. Could you be the first?

The training facilities have been upgraded since FM15, along with the youth recruitment and youth level. For some reason the stadium expansion plan for 2018 has been removed. Last I read was that it was set to go ahead.

Here are the budgets. For the second season in a row, I find myself disappointed with the budget. Although the Swansea board keep a very close eye on finances in real life, I also believe they are willing to make funds available providing the deal is right. Minimum expectations of finishing in the top half of the league show how far the club has come in the few years in the league. By selecting Euro Cup qualification, Semi final of FA Cup and Semi Final of Capital One Cup you can up your budgets to £4.6m and £1.170,999 pw wages. Risky game if you ask me though! If you ask the board, they are likely to give you more wages for players, but will not give more transfer budget. I recommend asking for an Affiliate club to improve the fincancial situation going forward.

The First Team Squad

There should be enough at the club to get you into the top 10 position that is expected of you. With Fabianski keeping goal, Williams and Fernandez proving to be a solid central defensive partnership, an engine room run by the ever improving Jonjo Shelvey, pace out wide with Montero and Ayew and the goalscoring threat of Bafe Gomis, the squad foundations are in place to make a solid start to your Swansea career.

Goalkeepers

Lukas Fabianski - Proved to be one of the best keepers in the league last term after signing for free form Arsenal, keeping 12 clean sheets along the way. First choice for a few years to come.

Kristoffer Nordfeldt - The 26 year old was signed in the summer from Heerenveen. Looks to be a steady backup but nothing more.

Gerhard Tremmel - Released in the summer, only to be resigned. Past his best at 36 and should be moved on.

Right Back

Kyle Naughton - First choice since moving last January from spurs for £5m. Kyle is steady in defense and attack but not brilliant at either. Has enough to cut it in the premier league but probably not in Europe.

Angel Rangel - A bit of a cult hero at Swansea after driving around the city giving sandwiches to the homeless on a cold night one January. At the age of 32 you may want to consider replacing him. Equally adept in both halves of the pitch.

Left Back

Neil Taylor - Your best option in this position. Very good defensively but had a significant downgrade to his attacking prowess this year. Easily good enough for Premier League but possibly not the player for you if you like attacking fullbacks.

Franck Tabanou -A summer signing from Saint-Etienne, Tabanou is natural at both LB and LW with the latter being his more capable position judging by his stats but is the only cover you have for Neil Taylor. Defensively too weak to be a regular starter.

Centre Back

Ashley Williams - Captain of club and country, Ashley is your best defender and one of the best defenders in the league. At 30, he is in his prime and should give you a few good years.

Federico Fernandez - A solid defensive partner for Williams. Pace lets him down a touch, otherwise very good. Best years yet to come.

Jordi Amat - Decent back up and still room for improvement. Potential to become a good premier league option at CB.

Kyle Bartley - Kyle is a back up player but no more than that. Quite injury prone so maybe worth moving him on if you can find a better option.

Central Midfield

Leon Britton - This little metronome is excellent at winning the ball and keeping the team ticking over. Getting old now but can still do a good job. Good tutor!

Ki Sung-Yeung - Ki has come on leaps and bounds over the last couple of years. Excellent all round game. Should be competing for a starting spot in the centre of your midfield.

Jack Cork - Signed in January from Southampton, Jack is probably your best midfield battler for those tough games.

Jonjo Shelvey - The creative spark in the centre of your midfield. Should be a starter and often draws interest from the big clubs.

Right Wing

Andre Ayew - A new arrival from Marsielle on a free transfer, Andre comes into the squad and immediately becomes your best player. He is natural on either wing but is the only good right winger in the squad so should probably be deployed there like he is in real life. Has great stats for an inside forward.

Modou Barrow - Mo has pace to burn and his stats aren't too bad for a 22 year old. Don't think he grows into anything too special but can provide decent back up at RW or ST.

Left Wing

Jefferson Montero - The Ecuadorian flyer has the pace to terrify defences on the left wing but probably isn't technically good enough to be much more than an out and out winger.

Wayne Routledge - The versatile winger has the ability to be a menace but is on the wrong side of 30. A good rotation option but you may wish to sell him on and buy in a young prospect.

Central Attacking Midfield

Gylfi Sigurdsson - Siggy is your most creative player and your most valuable. He tends to attract interest from big clubs early on and is your only natural CAM option. The kind of guy you build your team around.

Striker

Marvin Emnes - Became an insant fan favourite after his goal in the 1-0 win against Cardiff back in 2010. It might be time for Marv to leave however. He's not good enough for this level.

Bafetimbi Gomis - Stepped up to the plate since Wilfried Bony left for city. Gomis is a bit of an all rounder and is in his prime. Should provide you with the goals you need.

Eder - Signed from Braga in the summer as competition for Gomis, Eder is a Portuguese international with a steady all round game. Will play second fiddle to Gomis and probably shouldn't have a long term future at the club as you look to progress.

Other players to consider

Nathan Dyer - A fan favourite. Hardworking and has pace to burn. Nathan isn't the most technically gifted player in the squad but can cause defenders problems with his direct style. On loan at Leicester for the season.

Tactics

Philosophy

Once again the Swansea board has one request. Play possession football. It's the clubs philosophy to keep the ball on the floor, play out of defense and work the ball into scoring opportunities. This philosophy is spread through the clubs youth system too. I was at a child welfare course which was taken by a gentleman who is part of the junior set-up at the club and he told me that every second of every training session involves ball work. They believe that a young footballer is better off learning the technical side of the game early and developing physically as they get older(so no warm up laps or sprints, wooo!). The video below shows the Under 18's scoring a 32 pass goal involving all 11 players, moving the ball from side to side and pulling the opposition around before striking at the opportune moment.

[video=youtube;WPc2sKHVwlg]

Formations

Here are the three formations I will be using for Swansea.

This 4231 formation is the one I will be using most. Having numbers in midfield will allow for good possession but both wingers and the attacking midfielder should provide support for the loan striker. Having fullbacks on support will hopefully provide width and stretch the pitch to allow us to create gaps to exploit in the opposition defense.

I will use this 41221 formation in games were I am the underdog(mainly games against the big clubs away from home). It is a little more defensively solid and should allow us to keep a greater control of the game. The support for the loan striker should still be provided however, with one of the central midfielders being on attacking duty.

This tactic is something Garry Monk was playing around with at the start of the season and seemed to be working well so I will test it in cup games to see how it does. The width in this formation has to be provided by attacking fullbacks because the setup in midfield is so narrow. The tactic should make ball retention easy and having two upfront allows more of a goal threat.

Obviously, there are other tactical options. If you think you'r approach has brought you good results and you want it added to the tactics section of the opening post then let me know.

Potential Signings

Before we can look at potential signings, we must first work out what areas of the team need strengthening. So for the sake of this assessment I will be basing my views around the idea that people will be playing a 4-2-3-1 formation. The problem with the Swansea squad is it lacks in depth. Once you look past the first 11, the back up players are not very strong. Don't get me wrong, they're good enough as back ups, but if you get long term injuries you may have to rely on those backups long term. With only 3.6m to spend, the first thing you need to do is ask the board for more money. They won't give you transfer budget BUT if you're persistent they will give you wage budget which you can then transfer. They will also increase the transfer revenue percentage to 100% is you say please. For the sake of showing you what will be available once you've done this, I have just started a new game and got the extra budget. Here's a screenshot of the new funds.

The first area of weakness I would like to point out is the lack of quality cover at full back. In my opinion you should look to sell Rangel as he is too old and replace him with a younger player who can provide real competition for Naughton. Some options available are Mayke - a Brazilian from Cruzeiro who will cost around £7m, Sam Byram from Leeds who will cost around £8m or a cheaper option of Gino Peruzzi from Boca with the Argie being avialble for just over £2m.

If you have intentions of buying competition for Neil Taylor at left back so you can play Tabanou as a winger some options are Charlie Taylor of Leeds for around £7m, or you could bring back Ben Davies for around £9m.

In my opinion it is also worth selling Leon Britton and buying in a younger player who can develop. Options are Lucas Romero, Gaston Gil Romero and Andres Cubas. The Argie trio are all available for just shy of £4m each. If I had to suggest one it would be Cubas, who is the youngest with the best potential. If you would like a British option instead you can always pop back to Leeds and enquire about Lewis Cook who looks to be a great prospect but may cost you around £10m at a guess.

Another area of the squad that lacks depth is at central attacking midfield. If Siggy get's injured you have very few options. If you wish to buy a player for this position a couple of players you could look at are Louis Schaub from Rapid Wien who is available for between £5-6 million. Luan from Atletico Mineiro is also an option and can cover many positions. He will also cost around £6m. A real steal at £2-3m is Kristoffer Ajer. However, in this instance it may be worth your while to look at the loan market for this position. Angel Correa tends to be available from Ateltico Madrid and is superb. Rodrigo De Paul is another good loan option from Valencia.

Players to consider for each position

I will list some options for each position now for you to check out. All of these should be interested in a move to Swansea.

GK - Jeroen Zoet(£2.5m), John Ruddy(£8.5m), Timo Horn(£6.5m), Ron-Robert Zieler(£6.5m)

RB - Mayke(£5.75m), Sam Byram(£8m), Gino Peruzzi(£2.5m).

LB - Charlie Taylor(£8m), Ben Davies(£9m), Jonathan Silva(£6.25m), Ludwig Augustinsson(£2.5m)

CB - Emmanuel Mammana(£4m), Eder Alvarez Balanta(£3m), Jorge Mere(£6m), Enzo Roco(£6m), Walter Kannemann(£3m), Dede(£5m)

CM - Gaston Gil Romero(£4m), Lucas Romero(£4m), Andres Cubas(£4m), Iver Fossum(£1m)

RW - Pione Sisto(£5m), Luan(£6m),

LW - Demarai Gray(£5m), Cristian Pavon(£4m), Hirving Lozano(£7m)

CAM - Lewis Schaub (£6m), Hakim Ziyech(£7m), Kristoffer Ajer(£2m)

ST - Gabriel Barbosa(£13m), Lucas Pratto(£9m),

Just want to say that this thread is open to additions and changes if anyone wants to contribute. Just let me know!

Swansea Manager Records

Beaten one of these records? Post proof in the thread and I'll update it.

Premier League points in one season:

Win streak:

Unbeaten streak:

Biggest competitive win:

Most goals in one league season(team, not including cups):

Most goals in one league season(player, not including cups):

Most goal in one season(player, including cups):

Least goals conceded in a league season:

Biggest transfer fee paid:

Biggest transfer fee recieved:

Highest average rating over a season(atleast 30 games played):

Biggest win against Cardiff:

Most league titles won:

Most cup competitions won:

Earliest club legend:

Think of anymore records to be kept? Post in the thread and they'll be added.

Seems like a greatly run club, I remember having a right blast with their team a few years back when they were in the Europa league and had Vorm, Davies, Hernandez, Michu and Bony...

Very nice opening post.

Didn't know that Swansea is set up so comfortable financially.

And looks like an interesting squad.

Seems like a greatly run club, I remember having a right blast with their team a few years back when they were in the Europa league and had Vorm, Davies, Hernandez, Michu and Bony...

Those were the days! I'm just in my second season now(will post about it once the OP stuff is done) and got them back into Europe. Time for a new adventure!

Very nice opening post.

Didn't know that Swansea is set up so comfortable financially.

And looks like an interesting squad.

Thanks! I'm still updating so the squad isn't correct yet but it's a solid squad, still room for improvement though!

Yeah our chairman(Huw Jenkins) has his head screwed on properly and doesn't allow us to get ahead of ourselves with all this silly money floating around. It's both good and bad, depending on how you look at it!

"In Huw we trust!"

Got excited for a second, saw Bony was in the squad and Michu...

Great to see the thread up and getting there. Very solid squad, but extremely small with next to no backup if one of the first XI goes down with injury, I think some able backup is all you can do in first season. Will certainly have a save with them at some point.

I've been interested in getting a Swansea game going since I saw them win the Prem in the first season while I was managing in Holland on FM15. One of the more random AI accomplishments I've seen on the past few versions. Want to do saves with Hull City and Vitesse first, but Swans are on my list.

Agree with Welshace that its a fairly shallow squad, so adding some quality depth might be the most important move off the start. You probably aren't landing a whole host of top caliber wonderkids with that amount of money to spend, so targeting less expensive players but promising who aren't quite at Prem starting level and using them for depth is probably the direction I'll go.

Got excited for a second, saw Bony was in the squad and Michu...

Great to see the thread up and getting there. Very solid squad, but extremely small with next to no backup if one of the first XI goes down with injury, I think some able backup is all you can do in first season. Will certainly have a save with them at some point.

I've been interested in getting a Swansea game going since I saw them win the Prem in the first season while I was managing in Holland on FM15. One of the more random AI accomplishments I've seen on the past few versions. Want to do saves with Hull City and Vitesse first, but Swans are on my list.

Agree with Welshace that its a fairly shallow squad, so adding some quality depth might be the most important move off the start. You probably aren't landing a whole host of top caliber wonderkids with that amount of money to spend, so targeting less expensive players but promising who aren't quite at Prem starting level and using them for depth is probably the direction I'll go.

Appreciate the input lads.. and you're right, the squad does lack depth in terms of quality. That part of the OP is coming soon! I actually made about 15 signings in the first window after a few sales... got a little overexcited, with it being my first fm16 save. Will reveal all later but for now I must continue to tidy my flat... I have one of those dreaded inspections tomorrow!

I instantly dismiss any 48 month buys ... I hate that tactic

I instantly dismiss any 48 month buys ... I hate that tactic

No no, I'm not that guy. Not in the style of the club. I sold Siggy to Chelsea.. that's where most of the coin came from!

Fair enough

3 players I could never sell as Swansea though, Williams, Gylfi and Montero ... love them.

Fair enough

3 players I could never sell as Swansea though, Williams, Gylfi and Montero ... love them.

I'm like that with Shelvey. Gonna take an astronomical figure from Chelsea, who've been interested for over a season now.

How's Shelvey been performing? in previous editions he's been reliable but not really outstanding.

How's Shelvey been performing? in previous editions he's been reliable but not really outstanding.

Pretty much exactly as you described. He played 28 games for me last season, scored 6 goals and got 2 assists. 7.11 rating. Playing in a BBM support role. Probably not suited to him as well as a DLP role would be but I need extra numbers in the box for when we get down the flanks.

The training facilities have been upgraded since FM15, along with the youth recruitment and youth level. For some reason the stadium expansion plan for 2018 has been removed. Last I read was that it was set to go ahead.

Hey, great thread.

The stadium expansion has been removed from the data because it has been "set to go ahead" every January for the last few years, and not only keeps getting pushed back, but the scale of the works keep changing, too. Assigning it a definite date in-game, and adding the requisite debt for its construction, didn't feel like a step towards realism.

Given the solid financial situation of digital Swansea, stadium expansion is something that you as manager can push for if you think it's in the club's best interests (and Huw agrees).

Before spending money on promising young players it might be worth taking a look at the club's existing youth ranks. Matt Grimes is an England under 20s international with a growing reputation, and a few members of Wales table-topping under 21s side play their club football in Swansea.

The growing clan of Scottish lads is showing great promise out on loan in the Football League as well this season.

Very good point, I have every intention of adding Grimes and Fulton to the Other players section, as well as Kingsley, King, Rodon, and Gorre. Just haven't got round to it yet. The thread is still a working progress!

Do you have a save running at the moment?

I do, but I'm only ~8 games into my first season. Currently somehow undefeated after a pair of dour draws against Norwich and Liverpool (who had 10 men for an hour) were followed by a 4-0 thrashing of Palace (including two penalties), cup wins over Luton and Leicester, and league victories over West Ham, Bournemouth and Leicester (again!). Sitting in 4th or 5th, with Man City up next. All good runs must end eventually.

Playing a 4-4-1-1 with Ki and Cork central (Shelvey picked up a 5 week injury in pre-season and can't get a look in, has already complained about game-time). Standard Monk setup really with Ayew narrow and cutting inside on the right, Montero as a wide winger on the left with Taylor playing as a FB-D behind him.

Sold Barrow for a couple of million and brought Ryan Hedges up from the 21s to fill in on the right as he matches Ayew's attributes somewhat (tallish, left footed, cuts inside). Scored a header on his debut in the Palace game, then got a goal and assist against Luton. Earned his spot on the bench.

Tried to buy Dennis Praet from Anderlecht to provide backup to Gylfi at 10, and had successfully unsettled him into skipping training and whinging to the media, but couldn't get an acceptable deal sorted in time. I don't pay £10m for players that aren't going to immediately improve my first team. He's going to be the real deal though imo, and my scouts seem to agree, so that's a top priority in January.

Sounds like a good start! Haven't looked at hedges to be honest, I'll have a look when I'm home later!

I'm in my second season and just replaced Ki(sold to PSG for £20m) with Dennis Praets Anderlecht team mate, the obvious Youri Tielemans. Only paid £12.5m so it may be worth you taking a glance in his direction. He's not natural at CAM but he's definitely more of an attacking midfielder than a defensive one.

Tielemans is too obvious and I saw an Anderlecht game last season where he threw a strop to get to take a penalty. We had enough of that sort of thing in the cup final .

Very good player but I would find it a lot harder to give him gametime than I would Praet (or a couple of others I have on my shortlist), who is comfortable on the wings so could feasibly play in 5 different positions in my formation.

Haha still can't believe De Guzman took that. Didn't see the Tielemans incident but if he throws a strop for me he'll be brought back down to earth with a bang when he finds himself in the reserves. No room for nonsense.

Yeah I understand where you are coming from, I think if I started again I'd try to sign lesser known players but I just get caught up in trying the players perceived to be the best from the start. if he fits your system better then snap him up. I really struggled to find a natural CAM for my second season when Correa went back to Atletico. Ended up signing Rodrigo De Paul permanently from Valencia.

Last year I took on Alessandro Schöpf who is a quite Gylfi-like number 10, being less about pace and trickery and more about quality in end product and set pieces. No idea what his situation is in FM16, though.

Never heard of the guy. Will check him out later though. I sold Siggy in the first window to Chelsea so I could strengthen.

I suspect Gylfi attracts Chelsea's interest as a result of an innocuous bit of data that has nothing to do with his playing attributes. Did it happen in the beta as well, or just the release candidate?

The move wouldn't make much sense if it happened in real life, as they're not short on quality at AM are they? I'll have to fix it in the next database update, even if the cash boost does come in handy.

Part of the Gylfi interest is because he is homegrown. Therefore it gives added value to him

I suspect Gylfi attracts Chelsea's interest as a result of an innocuous bit of data that has nothing to do with his playing attributes. Did it happen in the beta as well, or just the release candidate?

The move wouldn't make much sense if it happened in real life, as they're not short on quality at AM are they? I'll have to fix it in the next database update, even if the cash boost does come in handy.

I have no idea. I didn't play the beta, I always wait til the full game comes out. Yeah it does seem unrealistic. They're also interested in Shelvey and Ki quite regularly. Same goes for PSG's initial interest in Federico Fernandez. They already have Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marquinos etc.

Part of the Gylfi interest is because he is homegrown. Therefore it gives added value to him

That may well be it. It's quite possible the issue is purely down to how AI managers operate and nothing to do with me.

I can only hope

Part of the Gylfi interest is because he is homegrown. Therefore it gives added value to him

Good point. Plus we all know he's better than Fabregas, Oscar, Willian and the likes..

How much are people selling Gyfli for? Getting offered 35m from chelsea at the start

I was getting offered maybe £15m including clauses. They withdrew when I asked for £30m, and I'm glad they did.

Offer him out day one get 35/36m with negotiations. Gyfli is one of my favourite players especially in FM but for that money I cannot really say no...

I've found it depends on what database and leagues you have loaded. On my save where I have 7 or 8 leagues loaded and a large database I sold him for around £25m which was the most I could get out of them, but when I loaded a new save to take screenshots for this thread I only loaded the premier league and a small database and when they offered I negotiated to £30m thinking they'd go away and they offered it all upfront straight away.

I play with the majority of leagues loaded and a database of 100,000 players. Chelsea can probably find a cheaper option or two elsewhere.

Yeah exactly. I can only assume you'll get the most money if they have a lesser amount of players to choose form.

So finally time to update you on my first season as Swansea manager.

The League

A strong performance in the premier league saw us finish 5th. Weirdly, I was a little disappointed with this after the way the season went. It seemed like no one wanted Champions League football. We were a mainstay in the top 4 throughout the season and eventually threw it away with 3 losses at the end of the season to Liverpool(H), Everton(A) and Aston Villa(H). The Liverpool game was a killer because we were dominating the game until Jefferson Montero got sent off for a two-footed tackle. I lost my temper and fined him 2 weeks wages, transfer listed him and put him in the reserves. Ended up missing out on Champions league football by 6 points. Here's a look at the end of season league table.

The Cups

I maintained my Wenger-style stance of using the cup competitions to give rotation and back up players a chance to get game time. We crashed out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle against QPR, going out on penalties after a replay. Disappointing as I expected us to progress but wasn't too fussed as the winner had drawn Arsenal at the Emirates in the next round.

The Capitial One Cup was a similar experience. After beating reading in the second round away from home, we drew 2 all with Ipswich at home and lost on penalties. I think it's fair to say that spot kicks are not my squads strong point.

Transfers

Before I show you the transfers I would like to explain that I was like a excited little school kid at the start of the game as this was the first save I had played on the new FM. So I was throwing in offers left, right and centre for anyone with a pulse. In hindsight I wish I'd taken a step back and been a little bit more tactful. In the end my transfer strategy just turned into "Yeah he looks decent, bring him in whether we need him or not." So... please allow yourself to see the transfer merry-go-round of my first season in charge.

So, allow me to explain a few things.

1. Although I rate Siggy in real life, I don't think he's a £24m player. So I thought by taking that, it would allow me to strengthen a few positions.

2. I was always going to, and will always continue to sell Gomis in the first window. Although he's a good striker on the game, I didn't like the guys attitude when he was moaning about not getting games when Bony was still here. Although many swans fans have, I've not really forgiven him for throwing his toys out of the pram. Plus at 29, £11m was a good sum of money.

3. I regret selling Amat. I should have kept him and replaced Bartley with one of the 3 CB's I actually signed(probably Mammana). I got too excited.

4. Another sign of excitement was replacing Leon Britton with all 3 Argie midfielders mentioned in the OP. I couldn't pick which to go with and I had the funds. Problem is none of them are developing that well because they're sharing the games that one of them should be getting. Mistake!

Player Performances

My big money signing of Gabriel Barbosa to replace Gomis was a good choice, but not a great one. He got off to a flying start to the season but also ended it on an 11 hour drought. With 18 goals and 8 assists in 36 games, he didn't do too badly but I will be looking for an improvement next season. My best performer was the on loan Angel Correa. Playing in the CAM position he notched up 9 goals, 5 assists and an average rating of 7.36, which was enough to see him placed in the Players Team of the Year. The surprise package of the season was Mayke, who was very solid at right back and kept Sam Byram on the bench all season. He's really starting to look like a top quality signing.

Disappointments included Eder who only scored 2 goals from 11 games, Balanta and Mammana who both got an average rating of less than 6.8, and finally Lukasz Fabianski who was very error-prone and had a final average rating of 6.74. So all in all a good season, but not a great one. There's a definitely room for improvement in the league, both cups and player performance wise.

So it's onto season two....

First things first, the board have thrown a cheeky £30m my way so things are about to get real.

I agreed a deal to sign Geronimo Rulli for free back in January as a long term replacement for Fabianski but after his season, I've decided it needs to happen now so Fabiasnki has left for Atalanta for £4.9m. I've also sold Kristoffer Nordfeldt to Lyon for £625k and brought in Matej Delac on loan from Chelsea as back up.

At fullback I decided that Neil Taylor was not strong enough going forward to command a place in the team anymore and he has left for Sociedad. In his place comes Charlie Taylor from Leeds for £8m. At CB Federico Fernandez is about to join Fabianski at Atalanta for £8m and replacing him is 28 year old Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Dortmund for £4.7m. I am also looking at the possibility of bringing in Phil Jones who is on the transfer list but his wage demands my rule me out. If Jones comes in I will look to loan Balanta and Jorge Mere out for the season.

In midfield, PSG have just bought Ki for £20m, a figure I couldn't really turn down. In his place comes Youri Tielemans for £13.25m. Wingers Modou Barrow and Nathan Dyer have also left for Brentford and Southampton respectively for a combined £5.3m. Coming in on the right flank as competition for Ayew is Yannick Bolasie for a cool £3m. Jason Eyenga-Lokilo also joined from palace as a young prospect for £800k. Rodrigo De Paul has made his loan move from Valencia permanent for £8.75m as competition for Schaub at CAM this season.

Other signings I am looking at is a Complete Forward rotation option to compete with Barbosa after Eder just left for newly promoted Reading. I have a deal for M'Baye Niang pretty much sealed for £7.5m but not sure if I'll accept just yet. I'm also keeping an eye on Hirving Lozano, Predrag Rajkovic and Julian Brandt. Jefferson Montero is still transfer listed after his two footed tackle and is likely to leave.

So that Ladies and Gentleman is my save so far.... I shall update as I go along from here!

That's way more wheeling and dealing than I'd ever be comfortable with. Norwich got a cracking deal.

Yeah, I went way too crazy with it. It didn't affect the team at the start of the season though, strangely.

I lost 2-1 to City despite having 9 shots on target and 4 clear cut opportunities, then lost 3-0 to Spurs (two late goals off counters because I was chasing) and Gomis broke his foot.

The wheels are coming off the bus.

They fell off completely on my save last night. Played up until early December of the second season. I'm 10th in the league! Absolutely awful performances, creating very little. I was in 14th but went to bed on a 2 game win streak. Hopefully start to climb the table now, otherwise I could find myself in the job centre later this evening!

I have done something similar to you Phenomenon. Bought/sold an awful lot of players as I wasn't happy with the swansea backups. Will post pictures end of season!

I have done something similar to you Phenomenon. Bought/sold an awful lot of players as I wasn't happy with the swansea backups. Will post pictures end of season!

Look forward to it fella! I'm at the January transfer window of season 2. Will update later when I finally get home from this hell hole I call work!

I could cry at that transfer screenie Phenomenon ... who from the original side are still in your first xi if any? if you don't mind me asking of course.

Wait til you seen mine Welshace ! I did even worse. Kept a Swansea starting 11 and sold everyone else.

I could cry at that transfer screenie Phenomenon ... who from the original side are still in your first xi if any? if you don't mind me asking of course.

I don't mind you asking at all. I'm just coming towards the tail end of my second season and the original swansea players that I'd consider to be in my strongest 11 are Williams, Cork, Shelvey and Ayew.

I started a new career after editing Michu's remaining contract back in (he went down with a recurrence of his ankle ligament problem within a week ). Sold Gylfi on deadline day to United for £50m cash upfront.

As much as I love him, that shouldn't be happening.

Jeez £50mil?! A few of you have sold him for a fair amount now, I think you should log it as a bug. That can't be realistic.

Strictly speaking I don't think it's a bug. AI decision-making seems to be working as intended (managers of CL clubs trying to increase home-grown quota) just with over the top results.

I'll have to check if United had sold someone to leave them flush & short at AM. Might have made them desperate enough to go for my counter offer. Chelsea backed off right away.

edit: No sales, Martial and Ashley Young out for 4 months each. Nick Powell torn hamstring. Gylfi's starting games and scored on his debut.

I still think 50 mil is unrealistic, home grown or not. Makes the eventual £27m after addons that I got look like nothing.

Has anyone else had the same problem as me where Chelsea are forever interested in Jonjo Shelvey but never make a bid. I'm coming towards the end of March in my second season and they've been interested in him from the start of the game until now. It's only 'minor interest' according to his profile but never seems to go away.