FM 2008 : Tottenham Hotspur - Home of The Spurs

[Azeryk-]

Yeah a lot of the players I used to go for are now unavailable, am using the dmeo to scout new ones but I bet I end up signing a different bunch of people instead

Have looked at the following and all appear fairly decent, anyone else got any experience with them?

Ivan Rakitic

Anton Sosnin

Sergio Mota

Breno

[urbanjunkie]

Impressive start to the season.

2-0 W v Newcastle (away)

3-0 W v West Ham (home)

3-0 W v Sunderland (home)

4-3 L v Man Utd (away)

The Utd game was insane.

Utd - 15 shots / 11 on target / 52% possession

Spurs - 19 shots / 11 on target / 48% possession

In the other games:

Newcastle 5 shots / 1 on target / 54%

Spurs 13 shots / 5 on target / 46%

Spurs 12 shots / 8 on target / 45%

WHU 3 shots / 1 on target / 55%

Spurs 22 shots / 14 on target / 49%

Sunderland 6 shots / 2 on target / 51%

I seem to be losing out in possession within my own penalty area - though not concending (other than at OT). Finding this a bit curious at the moment.

For the record, I'm playing a 2-3-2-2-1 formation. The team who lost out against Man Utd was:

GK Robbo

CB Kaboul

CB Ignashevich

WBL Bale

DM Zokora

WBR Stalteri

MC Aaritalo

MC van der Vaart

AMR Malbranque

AML Keane

FC Berbatov

King, Dawson, Ekotto, Lennon and Sivok all returning from injury soon (I hope).

[paulinho]

Originally posted by knap:

If you reject an offer some players get unhappy, however if you negotiate at a high value I find they stay happy.

You got it.

[paulinho]

Originally posted by urbanjunkie:

One question I do have is is - if I continue with my saved game when FM is released on the 19th - do I lose out re: database?

You have the database you started with in that saved game, nothing can be added except by the generation of the game itself.

It's not updatable in that saved game but any other that you start in the game proper will of course be with the new games db.

[urbanjunkie]

Originally posted by paulinho:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by knap:

If you reject an offer some players get unhappy, however if you negotiate at a high value I find they stay happy.

You got it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This worked with Defoe. They came in for him (Pompey) and I asked for 20Million and that got rid of their interest.

[urbanjunkie]

Anyone finding that Paul Robinson always seems to be the key man in match analysis before the game and after the game?

[paulinho]

Originally posted by urbanjunkie:

Anyone finding that Paul Robinson always seems to be the key man in match analysis before the game and after the game?

Nope, for me it's always Aaritalo or Berbs.

BTW did you retrain Aarilto?

He's only competent at MC on my game.

[knap]

Key man usually Berbs for me and Chimbonda and Berbs appear in Team of Week on most regular basis

I run a season long holiday test on tactics in FM07, and the biggest difference was inj to Berbs.

Obtaining WPs appear harder.

Has anyone tried a feeder club and then offering new contract.

[mtjffry]

two players that might come in handy for a season to play on the left hand side are Harry Kewell and Patric Berger get the both for about 3.2 mil

[Majick]

I went for Gary Speed on the left as Steed broke his ankle and is out for two months. Also got Ismael from PSV, so Speed is cover for that and for my defensive midfielder (Hudd to start, Kaboul after King and Dawson come back).

Playing my standard 442 based on the Free version in 06. Lost to the Toon 2-0, drew with Sunderland 1-1 (conceding in the last minute of injury time ), beat WHam 4-2 and lost 2-1 at OT to an 86th minute offside Rooney goal.

There's always seems to be some controversy in my matches that I'm interviewed - is that a deliberate new feature, or just coincidence?

[Azeryk-]

How is Ismael?

Am still having major issues finding a good enough ML - who is cheap enough to buy and who will join the club straight away - Any ideas??

I NEVER get Sergey Ignashevich on a free at the beginning even when I offer more than Palmero do - how much in wages are you guys offering??

Will start properly tomorrow and see where I can get. Was third in Movember in my last mess around.

[knap]

Levy accepted £10M for Chimbonda from Aston Villa.

With Ignashevich you may need to approach early and at least rotation rather than back up. Improving squad status tends to work better than cash.

[Azeryk-]

I've been approaching straight away after laoding a game and offering £16k a week + squad rotation

[knap]

May need to be 1st team.

Are you using 442 std tactics? I tried not buying anyone and using a tactic from FM07, and it was a disaster start, although having Chimbonda sold just before start of season did not help.

[Azeryk-]

Am using a standard 4-4-2 attacking, I rarely make my own tactics anymore, since they made it all more complicated I've found that area of the game very boring. Am more of a youth scout kinda player, can pick up decent young players for cheap to make up for it

[paulinho]

Originally posted by Majick:

There's always seems to be some controversy in my matches that I'm interviewed - is that a deliberate new feature, or just coincidence?

New feature & a crap one at that.

90% of goals scored are dubious offsides.

Needs to be sorted along with the lack of closing down.

[jamesf18]

Really pleased with Bale on the game, he has had a fantastic start on my game (as in real life), bagging 3 goals in about 7 games. Mind you they have all been free kicks. Thought 16 was a bit low for his set pieces but obviously not.

[mitze90]

In my game i decided the left side was the place to spend my money. Unfortunatly my main target Downing choose Arsenal over us and went for 16.5m, as soon as Arsenal bid i went after other targets so i was prepared. I picked up Peter Halmosi from Plymouth for 1.5m his attributes are very similiar to Downing and he's faster and plays D/AML. I also bought Mbark Boussoufa an AMLC from Anderlecht for 3m, who is young and is either footed so im training him up for the right aswell. With my remaining money a brought Akinfeev for 14.5m, lots of clubs went in for him aswell after i had my bid accepted, luckily they all offered under 10m so everyone was rejected by the club and before they could make another bid he signed a contract.

Nearly sold Defoe, Portsmouth made a bid but when i negotitated 10m they turned it down.

[Azeryk-]

Originally posted by jamesf18:

Really pleased with Bale on the game, he has had a fantastic start on my game (as in real life), bagging 3 goals in about 7 games. Mind you they have all been free kicks. Thought 16 was a bit low for his set pieces but obviously not.

Bare in mind he is only 17 though so his set-piece skill could still improve, just like in real life

[Azeryk-]

Originally posted by mitze90:

In my game i decided the left side was the place to spend my money. Unfortunatly my main target Downing choose Arsenal over us and went for 16.5m, as soon as Arsenal bid i went after other targets so i was prepared. I picked up Peter Halmosi from Plymouth for 1.5m his attributes are very similiar to Downing and he's faster and plays D/AML. I also bought Mbark Boussoufa an AMLC from Anderlecht for 3m, who is young and is either footed so im training him up for the right aswell. With my remaining money a brought Akinfeev for 14.5m, lots of clubs went in for him aswell after i had my bid accepted, luckily they all offered under 10m so everyone was rejected by the club and before they could make another bid he signed a contract.

Nearly sold Defoe, Portsmouth made a bid but when i negotitated 10m they turned it down.

Akinfeev is well worth the cash, I had to pay £16M but I know he will be worth it. I don't think there any any young keepers as good as him in the game.

If you need a cheap ML as well try Daniel Carvalho from CSKA Moscow - you should be able to get him for £5M and he's a Brazilian International

[Skinaldo]

dani carvalho well underrated in fm08 tbh,anyone else agree that taarbat stats are way low too?

[jaydeee]

taarabt, bale and kaboul should all hopefully be improved from the last version

[samios]

Finding FM08 pretty hard on the signing players side of things..

[Azeryk-]

I think the game now reflects the recent hike in transfer prices and due to Spurs not being one of the top 4 clubs in England should make it harder to sign big names. What kind of people are you after as maybe someone on this thread can help??

[Azeryk-]

hardest UEFA Cup group ever?

Ajax, Galatasaray, FC Koberhavn and CSKA (Sofia)

[pravduggal]

Players arent recovering properly from mid week games, its stupid. Jenas is one of the most natural athletes in the premiership

4-2-3-1 has gone tits up now, not scoing enough and drawing all the games. Attacking mids were too inexperienced

switched to 4-1-1-2-2 with the 2 1's in the middle and the attacking 2 out wide with 2 central strikers. Working much better with Modric sitting deep as the 2nd central midfielder with creative freedom. Won 3 in a row now.

Bale & Lennon are both wonderkids along with Ismeal from PSV

[paulinho]

Originally posted by Skinaldo:

anyone else agree that taarbat stats are way low too?

No, Taarabt is nowhere near good enough for the Spurs 1st team yet in real life & I have reflected that in the game.

He's -9 potential though so with the right training & games etc. could develop into a really good player in real life & in the game.

[paulinho]

Originally posted by jaydeee:

taarabt, bale and kaboul should all hopefully be improved from the last version

I have improved Taarabt, the other 2 have been raised too but not by me.

[paulinho]

along with Ismeal from PSV

Is that the young Spanish Keeper Ismael?

he was great on FM2007.

[Skinaldo]

did his stats not vary?i thought he was great however his height varied which put me off as he was 5ft 9' which is too small imo.

p.s. Paulinho i added you on msn if your on by your email address on your profile just to talk about a few things

[udimion]

Been looking at Sivok but he doesn't seem to be that much better then Huddlestone and they are wanting 6.5M for him. Is he really worth it?

Has anyone tried out Vasco's Morais? He is going for 6.5M and looks like a pretty decent AM RLC.

Trying to get rid of Chimbonda and have brought in V Berezutskiy because he seems pretty good and is a buddy of Akinfeev. Is it easier to get Akinfeev if he is unsettled or will he still cost a good £16M?

[knap]

As Ignashevich requires another Russian in squad, I picked up Akinfeev 14m (Robo just makess to many errors just like Sunday) (both Akinfeev and VDV can be unsettled). With more limited funds added EJ and Modric.

I doubt Sivok is good enough to get a game. The DM Aston Villa buy is good but can unsettle Kaboul. The LM Ismael play well but is not cheap but could be funded from sales, should get offers for Chimbonda, Zakora, keane and Defoe.

[udimion]

What do people do about the Ass. Man.? do you just keep Hughton. His stats are great in 08 but I'm not sure who would be a decent replacement, or whether it is better to keep him for a while. I tend to move out most of the coaches, scouts and physios and bring in my own team but I always struggle with whether to get rid of Hughton.

[knap]

Moniz Ass and offer Houghton coach.

Finished 2nd with only Robbo back as 1st choice keeper an only Modric making starting 11 from buys.

[Azeryk-]

Originally posted by paulinho:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Skinaldo:

anyone else agree that taarbat stats are way low too?

No, Taarabt is nowhere near good enough for the Spurs 1st team yet in real life & I have reflected that in the game.

He's -9 potential though so with the right training & games etc. could develop into a really good player in real life & in the game. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think his stats are spot on atm, he's good enough for lower league teams, cup games but not good enough for a proper first team space yet. But well worth keeping for the future.

[pravduggal]

Originally posted by Skinaldo:

did his stats not vary?i thought he was great however his height varied which put me off as he was 5ft 9' which is too small imo.

p.s. Paulinho i added you on msn if your on by your email address on your profile just to talk about a few things

No attacking mid centre / left. Got him for 2.5 up front and 5m over 18 months, didnt know it but hes a wonderkid. Left wing and attacking mid problems are solved with this

Tarabaats should be a -10 to be honest. His dribbling stats are way too low as well

[oswald]

I've not actually played as Spurs yet but from playing the Fútbol Manager Demo it's clear there are some work permit-pending bargains in South America in Tottenham's 'problem areas'. Damián Escudero is a good left-winger available at around £1m, then Ever Banega of Boca is an excellent DM available at under £4m. Both would be wonderkids I'm sure. If we signed those players IRL I would be ridiculously happy.

Fernández of River Plate might also be worth a look, he can play LW I think. Alejandro Gómez, legend on 07, can be picked up for about £400k, one for the future definitely.

[Hootieman]

just played against man u.. lost 2-1.. Evra outjumped berbatov several times. Tevez won headers over Kaboul and ignashevich. easy ...

and my players just stand and wait for them. they dont try to close em down

any of this happent to any of you..?

[Majick]

Yes, closing down is a noted problem in the demo. I don't use it much in my tactic, but I've seen several others comment that players don't close down - they just run alongside.

[aliosha]

Nice start to the season (expectations, EURO qual.):

Players out (unfortunately pretty loosy deals, however it enabled me to raise quality transfer money through freed up wages):

Defoe (5.5m)

Jenas (5m)

Zokora (2.5 m)

Tainio and Roca (100k both)

Ifil (1m)

..and about 14 awfull reserve players. Stalteri and Ghaly are simply not soldable, at least in my game. However I am not a good seller as you might see.

Players in:

Saivet (500k)

Barazite (250k)

Ignashevich (free)

Samba C. (1.1m)

Piatti (900k)

Mezenga (1.9m)

Aaritalo (200k)

Van der vaart (10m)

Adrien (1.5m)

Renato Augusto (8m)

Simply put, I offloaded dead wood or players I simply hated in FM2007 (Jenas), refreshed reserves with young talent and brought in brilliant VDV and backup AM Augusto.

I am playing fast, direct, counter-atacking game game, 442 diamond.

Now, what is really out off my mind, I am just few games into season :

*Samba, 1.1m backup for injured King and Dawson is now my starting CB, along with healthy again King. He's terrific.

*Malbranque is now starting RM and has average 7.38, with 3 goals and 2 ass, in 8 matches, all his golas against top opposition, ussualy volleys or something even more difficult. Aaritalo is starting LM (till Augusto will be able to step up) with 7.25 avg from 8 games.

*Bent is biggest treat. He's just awesome counter-atacking forward, 11 goals in 8 games.

*Berbatov has most assist: 4 goals only, but 9 ass in 8 games.

*VDV not surprisingly 9 games, 5 goals, 5ass, 7.67 avg.

*Robbo is reliable!

*Keane is nice substitute forward, 2(8) apps, 5 goals, twice MoM.

It took quite a while to settle things down, because of injuries and changes, and I got some really wild results, but now it seems, that it might be interesting season.

Results:

vs. Middlesbrg 4:0 (H)

vs. Newcastle 3:2 (A)

vs. Reading 4:3 (H)

vs. Bolton 3:2 (A)

vs. Man City 1:1 (H)

vs. Birmingham 2:0 (A)

vs. Toulouse 5:0 (A) UEFA

vs. Liverpool 4:0 (H)

vs. Arsenal 2:0 (H) LC, but both first squads

vs. Sunderland 4:2 (A)

Few thoughts:

Taarabt might be retrained to solid backup AML in matter of week or two, tutoring from VDV also helps. Bale is fine on LB, with forward runs just mixed, else he's making too much space for opposition. Ignashevich is nice CB/RB backup and a must. Huddlestone is not good enough at least on start. Rock solid triagle of Kaboul (DM), Samba and King (CB), with combined strenght of 57 is really hard to beat.

Comfortably sitting on 1st, with enough money to finalize squad with one or two signings in January if needed.

[udimion]

I've had problems with my team closing down too. They run up to the player and just stand and wait for them to pass them by. So infuriating!

But anyway I just wanted to check who I could get to replace Defoe as a decent striker from the bench for under £3M, or possibly decent AMLC. So far have bought: Akinfeev - £14.5M, V Berezutskiy - £6.5M, Mezenga £2.2M.

Sold: Defoe £10M, Chimbonda £4.5M and a couple of youth for nominal amounts.

Is O'Hara worth keeping and playing as ML or should I sell him, Charlton want him for £1.5M, and getting someone else?

[urbanjunkie]

Does Akinfeev really make that much of a difference?

VdV is immense, as ever. 11 goals in 16 games.

[paulinho]

Originally posted by Skinaldo:

did his stats not vary?i thought he was great however his height varied which put me off as he was 5ft 9' which is too small imo.

p.s. Paulinho i added you on msn if your on by your email address on your profile just to talk about a few things

Dont have MSN mate, feel free to email me though.

[Azeryk-]

Is it just me or are Reading over-rated, they are currently top of the league in my game... are they doing well in everyones game or are they just lucky in mine?

I bought 4 players:

Akinfeev - Well worth all of the money and I couldn't find a younger keepers who was as good.

Iago - AMLC from Barcelona (£2M) and only 17y.o. and playing well, played a good number of first team games and looks well worth the money - someone everyone should look at.

Juan Manuel Mata, on loan from A.Madrid - looks extremely good and plays alright. Impossible to buy from the start of the game - still not sure what to think of him though.

Ignashevich - Free from CSKA Moscow - Much better spare player than Rocha and can play in DR too. A MUST purchase who won't cost a penny.

[Azeryk-]

Forgot to mention I also have Sergio Mota and Breno, both young Brazilians turning up when they reach 18

[urbanjunkie]

Can Lennon be trained for the left side?

[urbanjunkie]

REVIEW OF HALF-SEASON, 08

bought:

van der Vaart - £11.75M

Sergey Ignashevich - Free

Mika Aaritalo - £450K

Tomas Sivok - £5M

sold:

Barcham - £120K

Chimbonda - £4.1M

Riley - £75K

coaches bought:

Jon Dalzell

Frank de Boaer

Vincenzo Pincolini

Assistant Manager:

Moniz

A 2-0 W v Newcastle

H 3-0 W v West Ham

H 3-0 W v Sunderland

A 4-3 L v Man Utd

H 2-0 W v Birmingham

H 3-1 W V Mlada Boleslav - UEFA Cup 1st Rd Leg 1

A 2-2 D V Bolton

H 2-1 W V Man Utd - League Cup 3rd Rd

H 3-0 W V Fulham

A 1-1 D V Mlada Boleslav - UEFA Cup 1st Rd Leg 2

H 2-0 W V Reading

H 2-0 W V Numberg - UEFA Cup Grp H

H 2-0 W V Boro

H 4-1 W V Birmingham - League Cup 4th Rd

A 1-1 D V Blackburn

A 4-0 W V Dnipro - UEFA Cup Grp H

H 5-1 W V Derby

A 2-1 W V Man City

A 3-3 D V Portsmouth

H 4-1 W V Aston Villa

H 3-1 W V At. Madrid - UEFA Cup Grp H

A 1-0 W V Wigan

A 2-1 W V Everton

H 1-0 W V Chelsea (91st minute winner!)

A 3-0 W V RC Lens - UEFA Cup Grp H

A 1-1 D V Arsenal (91st minute equaliser!)

H 2-0 W V Everton

H 2-1 W V Newcastle

24 game unbeaten run.

2nd in Prem - 14 won 4 drawn 1 loss - 46 pts

For - 44 (second best scoring record in Prem)

Against - 15 (second best defence)

(Utd and Arsenal remained unbeaten, utd on 54 pts, arsenal on 45)

Average Rating:

van der Vaart - 7.40

Keane - 7.21

Berbatov - 7.20

Bale - 7.15

Goals:

van der Vaart - 25 games 17 goals (17 league apps - 11 goals)

Keane - 25(3) games 9 goals

Boateng - 16(10) games 7 goals

Berbatov - 23(2) games 7 goals

Defoe (6), Bent (5), Bale (3)

Sivok, Lennon, Aaritalo - 2

Assists:

Berbatov - 14

Man of the Match:

van der Vaart - 6

Best Eleven:

Formation 2-3-2-2-1

GK-Robbo

DC-King

DC-Dawson

WBL-Bale

DMC-Kaboul

WBR-Ignashevich

MC-Boateng

MC-van der Vaart

AML-Lennon

AMR-Keane

FC-Berbatov

subs:

Cerny

Aaritalo

Defoe

Sivok

Bent

Mentality - Defensive

Creative Freedom - Normal

Passing Style - Direct (should be mentioned that the players have different instructions)

Tempo - Quick

Closing Down - Often

Time Wasting - Rarely

Defensive Line - Normal

Tackling - Normal

Focus Passing - Mixed

Marking - Zonal Marking

Target Man Supply - Mixed

Passing Style:

DC = Direct

WBR/L = Mixed

DMC = Mixed

MC = Mixed

AMR/L = Short

FC = Short

Tight Marking is ticked.

Target man, playermaker, play offside, counter attack are not ticked.

The AML and AMR positions do not have arrows.

The MC positions do have forward arrows.

The WBL and WBR do not have forward arrows.

The two DC's have tight marking ticked.

The DMC has 'free role' ticked.

The FC has tight marking ticked.

All defenders have 'little' creative freedom. The MC's are on 'normal' along with the AMR/L.

The FC (Berbatov) is on 'much'.

Many of the goals scored are right down the middle - with interchanging passing between the two MC's and Berbatov.

I'm going to tweak this further. Having the DMC as a free role is working ok at the moment (allowing him to sweep up) but would be interesting to see how it works without that option. Obviously, the better the DMC - the more success. Its a vital position.

Having the tempo quick is working a treat.

Also need to possibly remove 'tight marking'from Berbatov - though he generally causes havoc, but as a lone striker hasn't scored an abundance. Maybe allowing him more freedom will allow him more goals. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has given instructions such as 'free role' or 'hold up the ball' to their striker. As mentioned, he is on 'much' for creative freedom - hence his excellent assists record.

His play has allowed van der Vaart to score a shedload.

I'd basically bring on Defoe and Bent to replace the AMR/L positions or the FC position, and rotated them with Keane and Berbs upfront too.

As for the players:

Robbo - Not to shabby. Obviously doesn't suffer from confidence issues with a decent defensive in front of him.

Ignashevich - Excellent, just excellent. Very consistent. Must-have, considering he is a FREE transfer.

Dawson - Comes back from injury well and partners King perfectly.

King - Out injured for an age, and is still prone to picking up a knock. Wondering if a op will be needed at some point. Still brings superb stability.

Kaboul - Love him. Really fits into the DMC position, and played at the back for a while too.

Bale - Fantastic. 3 goals, will score a lot more. Can play DL - WBL - ML. Will attempt to also re-train at AML. This kid is special.

Huddlestone - Like IRL, needs work

Zokora - Didn't play him, when he played in DMC he had a couple of bouts of lack of concentration leading to opposition goals. Anyone rate him in the game? Am I wrong to discard him?

Aaritalo - Great little squad player. Well worth the money.

Lennon - Came back well from injury. Wondering if he can be retrained for the left hand side.

Boateng - Brilliant. Love his determination.

Taarabt - Didnt use him too often. Hoping he is 'one for the future'.

Sivok - Decent enough player, but maybe the £5M spent on him could be spent better in the full game.

Keane - Spent most of the (half) season in the AMR position. True warrior.

Defoe - Always impressed, though spends a lot of time on the bench (sound familiar?)

Bent - As above.

Berbatov - Brilliant. Probably down to my tactics that he didn't score more, but works his socks off and creates so much for the team.

Jenas - Sadly out injured for most of the season.

Malbranque - Excellent, scored some vital goals, good cover for the AML position too.

van der Vaart - Best thing since slice bread. Makes the team tick. Freekicks from heaven and generally the talisman of the side. Also picked up the European Midfielder of the Year award. Well deserved.

Retrained Lennon on left (though only thought to do this before the end of the demo season). Also retrained Bale for ML and will look to see if I can gain any success with him for the AML position come the full game.

Wondering what I should do on the 19th. Bent - can he be sold for £16M? Although I rate him and Defoe, I might have to do the right thing and let them go to bring in more cash which would allow me to buy a big name player for the AML position and a new striker.

Though, the demo is only 6 months, so over the course of a full season, they may prove to be vital. Anyone have any opinions of Bent and Defoe?

Also - is Jenas worth keeping? Anyone experiment with Ghaly? Tainio? Ekotto? These are players I struggled to sell along with Young-Pyo, Rocha, Gardner and Stalteri.

Very happy with the demo and with the Spurs team. And all this in just half a season. Because of time constraints I probably won’t continue with this saved game when the full game is released. Just start over using this experience as a blueprint (i.e. buy the same players, play the same system).

[knap]

Urbanjunkie

Excellant post and will try your tactics.

The game does not work too well with std 442, so tried the diamond with good results apart from the games like Wigan and MU but won 3-1 away to Arsenal.

Most players improve if played and Zakora/Ekotto/Jenas in FM07 were all solid but lacked any potential.

Levy sold Hudds for 4.2m and this aspect of FMO8 is annoying.

Samba is very good and keeps Dawson out.

Robbo is prone to errors in first part of season but improves and came back to keep Akinfeev out

[urbanjunkie]

Samba? Players full name and club?

Regarding Akinfeev - he was touted by the media as a Spurs prospect towards the end of my demo game.

Will look into signing him in the game proper, but this will mean having to sell Bent or Defoe or both.

Levy has been well behaved in my game, probably because i always scare clubs off by asking them to pay over the odds.

[knap]

C Samba as above with Blackburn? Paid £800k but may be possible to get for less.

Levy sold Defoe as well for 6.25m to Blackburn.

What was odd with Hudds was that he was playing well as DM in Diamond with Kaboul out injured, and I usually ask £30m for Lennon etc so unlikely to stop Levy. Maybe any player playing well will get sold and with release clauses in the contracts it may be more difficult to hang onto players.