FM11 - Tottenham Hotspur - Rise of the Triffics (take 3)

[Asim]

just got benzema offered for 6.15m!

worked out perfectly as i was looking for a new striker but didnt want to pay too much for a sub.

scored on his debut.

[graman1974]

i know this isnt a tottenham question but prefer to ask fellow spurs people. how do you set up the scouts to find good young talent? mine seem to find barely anyone.what conditions ,attributes ,age value etc do you use.ive brought in scouts that are all at least 17 for ability and potential.also best places to search.thanks

[Asim]

the scouts also need high determination if they are going to do their jobs properly.

high adaptability is also a plus if your sending a scout to different countries from their own nationality/knowledge.

[ArranoBeltza]

I finished 4th my first season, out of Champion's League in the first knockout round, out of the FA Cup in the semis to Arsenal (damn late goals), and a Carling Cup run to forget.

Fernando Llorente was kind of, meh, but had a long injury that kept him out for 4 months and Van der Vaart was good but also had a long injury then kept injuring himself many times when he came back so only played 16 league matches. Michael Dawson was OUTSTANDING in defense, always being praised by my fans with a great average rating and adding 6 goals for himself. I brought in mostly youngsters, but in my second season went on a selling spree as the board decided to expand the stadium and, I'm guessing due to that fact, they only gave me $7mil to spend and a $1.8mil p/w wage budget when I was already spending nearly $1.9mil. I'll post some transfer screens later today and some screens of two good newgens who came through my system who are rated well by my coaches, as well as my signings from both this season and last season.

[Oypus]

Just got Barcelona in the CL Quarter Final. Something tells me three in a row is unlikely.

Oh, and also managed to lose a seven point lead in the PL in two games against City and Liverpool. City is now behind by a single point. The team was undefeated up until those two games. It was March. Awesome.

[graman1974]

the scouts also need high determination if they are going to do their jobs properly.

high adaptability is also a plus if your sending a scout to different countries from their own nationality/knowledge.

thanks asim what do you get them to search for when looking for good young players?

[Robert the Spud]

One of my saves got corrupted, so that there is over 25 league games vanished. The last save i have was 2 months before this 4th season, not sure if i will go through it all again, especially when i had caught /arsenal up to 3 points. But i'll see, otherwise i'll probably wait untill the next patch and start all over again.

[skeletore2002]

Same thing happened to me a couple days ago. I've decided to wait until the next patch to start again, particularly if we sign a new striker

[Asim]

thanks asim what do you get them to search for when looking for good young players?

generally i just send them to countries and they will eventually pick them up - nothing specific.

if you have other leagues enabled then search competitions like serie A etc.

at the moment i have a scout for england, central europe, south america, then other set to scout, serie A, la liga, and brazil.

but i dont set a age range for the scouts to search.

[ArranoBeltza]

generally i just send them to countries and they will eventually pick them up - nothing specific.

if you have other leagues enabled then search competitions like serie A etc.

at the moment i have a scout for england, central europe, south america, then other set to scout, serie A, la liga, and brazil.

but i dont set a age range for the scouts to search.

I have scouts on World, Central Europe, UK+Ireland, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, South America, Scandinavia, England U18s, Spanish U19s. Working well so far, especially when the newgens start popping up!

[graman1974]

generally i just send them to countries and they will eventually pick them up - nothing specific.

if you have other leagues enabled then search competitions like serie A etc.

at the moment i have a scout for england, central europe, south america, then other set to scout, serie A, la liga, and brazil.

but i dont set a age range for the scouts to search.

thanks asim

[graman1974]

I have scouts on World, Central Europe, UK+Ireland, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, South America, Scandinavia, England U18s, Spanish U19s. Working well so far, especially when the newgens start popping up!

thanks for advice

[Saljemina]

Chaps, I too am struggling to think of a good LB who can come in and I can then kick out BAE. BAE hacked down players two games in a row to give away penalties and ultimately the games, so I knew it was time to give him the boot! Squad currently looks like this:

GK: Gomes / Smithies

LB: BAE / Bale

CBL: Bassong / Dawson / Jones (Offered to me for £4m! Bargain)

CBR: King / Kaboul

RB: Corluka / Walker

AML/ML: Bale / Kranjcar

MC: (a bit crowded) Thudd / Modric / Rodwell / Moussa Sissoko / Sandro / Verratti / Kevin

AMR/MR: Lennon / Bentley

ST: Dzeko / Defoe / Lukaku

VdV has been a pain in the bum and has never performed for me, whether it was AMC playmaker or MC, plus I favoured him over Modric and gave him a good run, so I gave him some feedback to this extent and he got the hump. So I've shipped him out on loan for two seasons running, but no-one will take him permanently, which is a shame. Defoe has been an absolute beast as a poacher, but since I offloaded greedy Keane and waiting for Lukaku to come good, Dzeko came in. £17m not too bad.

Anyway, anyone got ideas on the left-back front? I am a big fan of Criscito and he was offered to me for £12.5m which I nearly bit Genoa's hand off for, but his agent has 'hatred' (never seen that before!!) for me without having come across him before, so he wouldn't even allow me to get near to talking money. Wotsit. So I am still waiting to get rid of BAE for someone who can tackle. I bought a fairly good regen from Liverpool but he is one for the future, I need someone better fairly quickly.

Oh yes and how about this to round off - was 4-0 down in the Euro Cup semi final away to Bayer Leverkeusen, looking absolutely shot to pieces, and the team rally round in the last 30 mins and we won 5-4! Hilarious!!! We then came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Old Trafford the next match. My team has average determination too so I'm guessing someone slipped some steroids into the orange slices at halftime.

[Oypus]

I have Coentrao, and he's doing alright. Not really super-special, but no complaints. Cost a good amount though. I think it was around £15m.

Also, I think there's a good fullbacks thread around here somewhere. There's probably plenty of options there.

[Robert the Spud]

Saljemina, Criscito is the way to go imo. However, i have been playing Bassong there for two seasons now and he's solid, but thinking about moving Sahko there.

In lieu of my corrupted save i just decided to re-do my 4th season all over again. Great pre-season, then got horrendously smashed 6-1 by City in the opener! I have conceded 4 goals in a game i think 2-3 times in 3 seasons, so this was a shock. They just didn't stop attacking. Awful.

Anyway, things got much better, and i am now 3 pts behind City in 2nd place. Beat Real Madrid at the lane 1-0. I have officially given up trying to fit everyone into the team, and at heart am a 4-4-2/4-5-1 man, never comfortable with the 4-2-3-1. Lennon is the man to lose out, which is a shame because he has been brill for last 3 seasons, but VdV is just exceptional, and in his 4th season now he is still the best player by a country mile.

I bought in Trasch(versatile cover, decent player), Khedira and when we lost at City i panicked and bought in Gael Givet, who provides solid as a rock experienced cover at the back, as we were well short there.

4-2-4;

Gomes

Kaboul/Dawson/Sahko/Bassong

Sandro(ball winning mid)/Modric(Box to box or advanced playmaker)

VdV(inside forward)/Bale(Winger/Inside forward)

Carroll/Suarez

Things are so much better when simple. Really really hated the 4-2-3-1. Plus Arsenal use that system IRL so bleh.

[joe__the__man]

Another vote for Coentrao at LB, he's phenom. Look at Ansaldi if he's unavailable for some reason.

[Robert the Spud]

I don't really think Contreao is a better tackler in the game though.

Anyway, VdV is having another cracker of a season. 6 gls in 6games, assists galore and man of the match performances. He's been consistently genius for 4 seasons now, i dread the day when he has to go. Maybe i will sell him at the end of this season so he goes out on a high!

Suarez not quite the goal machine he was last yr, but he has chipped in with 7 assists in 7 games. Not bad. Defensivley we are suspect though, for the last 2 seasons we were great in defence, but now i worry about conceding in every game. I think it is due to Gallas retiring, who was phenomenal for me, and Kaboul being injured, meaning i have to put up with Kyle Walker at RB, who is definatley NOT good enough. I'm getting a pretty good idea of who is or isn't good enough tbf. Squad needs re-working in january.

[Oypus]

Coentrao definitely doesn't have good tackling, but he's got good attacking stats.

[joe__the__man]

Attacking full backs ftw.

[udimion]

Am stilll progressing my first season and things are starting to pick up.

Having lost my 10 point league lead in December with no strikers scoring since mid-Nov, I am now restored to my rightful place at the top, by 5 points, from Chelsea with Liverpool, Man C and Man U all chasing hard - there is only 12 points seperating the top 6! My CL group stage loss to Lyon is my only loss so far and beat Liverpool 6-2 in the league sandwiched between a 6-2 aggregate against them in the League Cup semi - my next match is Birmingham in the final so at least I'll have one piece of silver this season.

Even better news is that finally one of my strikers has started performing - Defoe, having scored 4 all season to January is now on 16 for the season having scored in all but one match since Dec. Pav has also chipped in with a few when he's been brought in as a sub. Lukaku, having valiantly led the line for all of Dec was dropped in Jan as his goal drought continues, now nearly 3.5 monthy since his last goal. It was a very difficult decision because he had been playing really well but wasn't getting the goals and I think Defoe's performances since his return justify it. I am still trying to get him scoring - even putting him on in my destructions of Liverpool, but he still couldn't get one - am thinking some time in the reserves may help his confidence and get the goals flowing again.

I have stuck with the 4-1-1-3-1 since Dec and it seems to be paying off with all my players are doing well (excluding Keane and Crouch). The defence it still dominating despite leaking more goals of late with Corluka, Kabul, Dawson, Gallas, BAE and Bassong rotating due to tiredness and all performing excellently. Woodgate even had a run-out and performed so well he is back into the squad - King plays well but has been really struggling with fitness. Had an enquiry for Kabul from Villa and normally I would offload but he has been so good I just can't justify letting him go at the moment. Huddletsone and Rodwell had developed a good partnership at CM & DM but with Huddlestone out for a game Sandro came in at DM and pushed Rodwell up to CM and it seems to be even better - Sandro has even pitched in with a few goals! Palacios has been well and truly benched by the three of them and will likely make way in the summer to free up squad space for a youngster. Bentley - in for a tired Lennon - was exceptional and only some equally exceptional work from Lennon has kept in out in the last few games. Modric has also been brilliant recently as AML playmaker or moving in to AM playmaker when VdV is out. VdV has really come into his own in the last few matches (trained up as ST but played as Trequartista behind a poaching Defoe). Bale has been really poor - played at AML or higher and tried as winger and inside forward - his average is well down into the 6s with a few 5s in some important matches - so bad in fact that I even subbed him for Bentley on the left against Man U in the first half!

I did have Hazard in the Jan window for £16m but didn't take it because I didn't want to disrupt the squad harmony and because outside of my starters Kranjcar and dos Santos have been performing well enough. Plus I only bid to stop him moving to Sunderland as I may buy in the summer. Lost Capixaba to Barcelona which was disappointing as he has been good in previous saves.

Getting the youth facilities upgraded and am now 'untouchable' as manager but really need to keep the momentum up as the fans were apparently unhappy with a 1-1 at home to Inter in the CL first leg knock-out.

Got rid of Bond as my Ass Man after the poor December and some players not liking his comments and brought in McGuinness from Man U (all my first choices refused including Jol who considered but wouldn't accept the wages). He's been pretty good so far but isn't too good with the tactical - thankfully though Sherwood has been great with it and I can see him being a decent Ass Man in a couple of seasons (have him on the youth team at the mo with Allen on the Reserves). Also packed out my scouts to try and spot some newbies in the off-season and am currently rotating them around countries and competitions to build up the club knowledge but I really want some young Englishers. Does anyone know if upgrading the youth facilities help with getting some youngsters from within Spurs? I always get rubbish intakes and have to poach the good newbies from other teams, at a cost.

Also rid myself of some of the weaker coaches, including most of the youth coaches who weren't great for my first team, which has been the focus this season. It freed up some room for a fitness coach and a some more technical expertise but I have a feeling this will impact on my youth development so may have to redress this balance once a couple of contracts expire in the summer.

I have Cudicini, Gallas, Woodgate and Keane all with staff stats although all still only as players with me - none of them too bad but not better then my current coaching staff - so I'm hoping that someone may want one of them and poach them from me to free up some wage space. I am also trying to get King to go staff as he just isn't playing enough for his wages but he is sticking to playing for the moment.

Am looking at Suarez or Dzeko in the summer but I'm not sure which will be better in my 4-1-1-3-1 formation and who would be better to help develop Lukaku as my future match-winner.

[AustSaint]

I would recommend M'Bengue from Toulouse at LB. He has been really good and consistent for me, first season average over 7

[Robert the Spud]

Just gave Bolton an absolute drubbing- 8-0. VdV 3 goals/2 assists. Carroll 3 goals, Bale and Dawson with the others. Felt really sorry for Owen Coyle as he's my mate on the game and he's doing a really good job with Bolton. Turning out to be a two way tussle with City for the title. They are like a juggernaut, but i nicked the title of arsenal last season so can do it again. Unfortunatley it means no room for error, but i have now played all the big boys away from home so i will have to win on our ground, which incidentally we have not lost at in the league since the season before last, about 2 years now. Happy days!

Back to work

[Ayub95]

Epic result. Bale raped Maicon again with a 8.6 rating and 2 assists

[marklufc24]

not been on the forums for ages but after loads of new games started I'm finally settled with Tottenham. Just finished my second season and I have won the league by 8 points as well as winning the FA Cup, that is on top of winning the Euro Cup and the FA Cup again in the first season. The most pleasing part of the game though is having success without having to sell the whole team and bring in better players. Here is my first 11 that pretty much won me the league.

Gomes

Corluka Evans Gallas Jose Angel

VDV Modric Palacios Bale

Pav Defoe

I want to have a proper go at the Champions League this season so I've signed Benzema for a nice £4 mil and got Khedira in on loan to replace Sandro as good back-up.

The only negatives for me are Luis Suarez who I spent £20m quid on and has been poor ( I usually play him as an advanced forward on attack role) and also I am struggling to find a RW to replace Bentley who is off on a free.

So any tips on how to play Suarez? and any ideas for a RW who has the potential to eventually be as good as VDV or Lennon?

I'm in my third season now and have around 18 mil to spend. Cheers in advance.

[Robert the Spud]

Good stuff Mark, i also bought Khedira in on loan, had 8 great games then out for rest of season, but i'd do a deal for him in june if available. his techs are a crappy but in our squad his attributes are very complimentary.

Right, regarding right wing-For the first 3 seasons i played Lennon there and he averaged about 7.20-7.50 each season, and was generally pretty good there. This was when i'd play VdV just off the main striker. Now i have suarez in, and VdV is still my greatest player, so lennon loses out and VdV is on the wing as an inside forward. But if you really need a right winger, how about the Croatian lad Ivan Rakitic? I'm not sure he is VdV standard, but he's worth a look and probably as good as lenners.

Suarez i bought in january of last season, and the man was a major factor in me winning the title, with 9 goals in 13 games. It's tricky finding a position for him as he is versatile yet inconsistent. I've played him as a poacher, advanced forward, or on the right wing as an inside forward moving into channels, sometimes he's great sometimes not. It really depends who you pair him with upfront. He's potent with Carroll. Anyway Suarez only has 11 goals in 25 games this season, but he has many assists and great average rating. I usually use him as a poacher or advanced forward.

But Suarez is a great versatile player, and i can interchange him with VdV, Bale or Carroll at any point in the match, so he doesnt get marked out of the game

[Piwo]

Guys, how do you play VdV? As a playmaker? I have him at AMC position as a inside forward with Modric at MC and at the moment I'm playing without a playmaker as I want both of them to get ball and play it. Do you think my squad will benefit if I assign one of them as playmaker?

Thanks.

[Robert the Spud]

Guys, how do you play VdV? As a playmaker? I have him at AMC position as a inside forward with Modric at MC and at the moment I'm playing without a playmaker as I want both of them to get ball and play it. Do you think my squad will benefit if I assign one of them as playmaker?

Thanks.

I would assign Modric as your main playmaker, and give VdV the free role. I play VdV as an inside forward, trequarista and occassionally an advanced playmaker but that is rare. Inside forward off the main striker, moving into channels, roam from position, no closing down, no tackling, much creative freedom, long shots and through balls to often. So far he's scored 12 in 17 and 11 assists. But always make sure he's as high up the pitch as poss and max creative freedom.

Modric is more difficult to get the best out of, as he suffers from having bale and vdv above him, but box to box, advanced playmaker or inside forward for him.

[udimion]

I also play VdV as trequartista off-set to the right just behind the striker but I have him, like all the team closing down often. He took a couple of months to settle into the role and struggled to perform at first but has really started to dominate games. I also trained him up as a striker so he is now accomplished and can be pushed into a ST position, although even there he performs best as trequartista or deep-lying forward. He has occasionally had to go out on the right as inside forward and has been decent enough but it is a complete waste to have him out there.

As Robert-the-Spud has indicated, it can be difficult to fit Modric in depending on your formation. I did have Bale starting up on the left but he failed to perform and Modric has come in and performed brilliantly as AML advanced playmaker. He has also moved to AMR, AMC & CM all as advanced playmaker and has been one of my best players. He doesn't score many but when he is on form we can't help but annihilate the opposition.

I won the league cup - 2-0 and having brought Lukaku on as a 13 minute sub for Corluka (had a bit of a shuffle with the players to put in 2 strikers) and he finally scored and dominated the game. After well over 10 hours without a goal and having been benched for a month he finally came good when it really mattered.

Went on to beat Man U with Lukaku & Defoe both scoring at will. Also just beat my main title rivals Chelsea 3-0 with Lukaku getting two but they injured my top scorer Defoe (I'm sure it was deliberate) who is now out for 2 months with a dodgy hip. Going to have to get Lukaku leading the line again and hope his renewed confidence will keep him in the goals.

Also have Corluka, Kaboul & Pav out for the next few weeks but Walker has performed well at RB and rotating the CBs doesn't seem to be hurting their form at all. Gomes has also been great - I've never had a GK get so many 8s and 9s.

Is it worth me speaking to board for a better stadium/facilities now or wait until the end of the season. Also how do you find the feeder clubs we currently have and is it worth asking for some more/better ones - I have the scouts looking for youth but with losing a £2m a season due to rodwell & Lukaku, I want to limit my spending as much as possible.

Also has anyone tried buying out any transfer clauses? Didn't even know they had that feature but keep getting asked about Carrick who has international appearances but isn't even on the England radar and seem stupid to lose out on £400k for him.

[Robert the Spud]

what season are you in? The board automatically expand the stadium so no problem. I think i have 56000 seats now. I want a 70k seater but they won't re-build yet.

As for feeder clubs, the ones we have are s**t, so just go to the boardroom and request one.

[Robert the Spud]

Got a Q/F with Milan now. Should squeeze past, they are a spent force and managerless, 13th in Serie A. the table is tight, Arsenal and man city breathing down our necks.

Bale is out for the season though, only played 20 games. A shame considering his astonishing form but what can yer do?

[Ledley is our Leader!]

Hey all

Great thread...have been reading on and off for months, getting great hints n tips to lead our beloved Spurs to glory

Apologies if I waffle on a bit...I will try and outline my issues as best as possible.

OK, so I am slow getting off the mark and restricted with my playing time, so I am only in October-ish (sorry, utter memory lapse lol!) of first season but I am currently second behind Man Utd. Also, I have just lost my first, and sadly my second, game...albeit away to United (3-2) themselves and Milan (3-1) at San Siro in CL.

Here's where I may need a few pointers, some of which I can kinda pick out from things on here already. We basically pick most teams apart and create a lot of chances...but I think these two losses against top sides showed us up for the 'incomplete project' I am managing. There were obvious gaps in tactics and maybe approach. However, I have still managed to keep morale up...the team talks and people management side of things I seem to have down to a T.

Transfer wise I have bought in the following:

GK: Alex Smithies (Ditched Stipe to bring this guy in, has performed nicely as my CC goalie and strong for Eng U21s too)

DR: Rafael (Been on n off form so far but got great stamina)

DL: Dodo (great youngster, loaned out to Palace and doing great!)

DL/ML: Jose Angel (has the potential it seems, and plays v well at left wing if needed)

ST - Humberto Suazo (Strong striker and has come with much promise, hatrick against Young Boys in CL Quals. Also rated as my best ST)

Shown the door:

Hutton and Jenas (both loan to buy on reasonable deals to Porto)

Have tried offloading Keane but to no avail...he annoys suitors with his demands!

I have been tinkering with a few formations...mainly 4-4-2 (traditional approach) and 4-2-3-1 (both defensive and attacking version)....v occasionally 4-4-1-1. I think some of my problem is that i might chop n change things round too often ie. change formation from one game to another (dependent on opponent of course, not just for sake of)...maybe the tactics and blend fall apart then. Oh by the way, loving the team blend inclusion...I believe it really works and you can reap benefits.

With the formation decision in mind, in turn I am not fully decided on what my best line up is and I am still rotating a little bit. Another factor in my recent defeats possibly? I really want to get together a top class first eleven (not hard with this squad I know) and have a decent back up set in mind as well...for Carling Cup maybe.

Most of the time at the moment I am using this sort of team...in my current starting order:

GK: Gomes

RB: Rafael/Corluka or Walker (AUTO)

LB: Assou-Ekotto/Jose Angel (AUTO)

CB: King/Dawson/Bassong/Kaboul (DEF)

CB Gallas/Dawson/Bassong/Kaboul (DEF)

MR: Lennon/Gio/Bentley (ATT) winger

MC/DM: Hudd/Palacios/Sandro (DEF) ball winning

ML: Bale or Modric (ATT) winger

MC or AMC: VDV/Modric (ATT) generally as advanced playmaker or treq

ST: Defoe/Suazo (ATT) advanced forward

ST: Crouch/Pav (SUP) target man

This formation would change to the 4-2-3-1 if using one striker with Palacios coming into the midfield or maybe Modric sitting back...the wide men pushing up with VDV.

As for instructions...generally Fluid and Control to start, short passing...target man to feet/head depend on who it is....I don't really touch anything else other than tweaking the individual instructions depending on that particular player.

My future thinking, especially after reading on here, is as follows:

1. Get one of my CBs on Cover or Stopper

2. Use the Inside Forward role more for the likes of VDV and Modric, maybe Bale.

3. Get JD on Poacher role and Run On To Ball.

4. Hudd onto DLP?

5. Maybe adapt my starting Team Instructions to hone tackling, pressing, creativity?

6. Probably a whole lot more!!!

Yes I know this post probably all sounds a little disjointed but I would love to hear your opinions and advice. Appreciated in advance

Cheers!!!

COYS!!!

[sparey]

any tips for transfer/tactics first season? Im not a spurs fan so not really up with who to sell, but seem a good save with VdV, Modric, Lennon attacking.

[ArranoBeltza]

any tips for transfer/tactics first season? Im not a spurs fan so not really up with who to sell, but seem a good save with VdV, Modric, Lennon attacking.

The only area where you really would need a player would probably be left-back, and maybe a young backup GK. It couldn't hurt to get a more world-class striker (I brought in Fernando Llorente, Romelu Lukaku, and Connor Wickham), but you don't absolutely need it to succeed. I play a very attacking 4-2-3-1: fullbacks set to auto, CBs set to defend, Huddlestone plays as a defensive ball winner, Modric is a supporting Adv. playmaker AMC; Bale plays from the left wing as an attacking inside fwd, VdV is an attacking Trequartista, and Lennon is an attacking RW; Llorente plays upfront as an attacking TM or Lukaku plays up there as an attacking complete fwd.

I finished 4th my first season, and with the table very close my second season I have been bouncing a bit around the top 5.

[ArranoBeltza]

Llorente started off slow for me- he only scored 10 goals in 32 apps (all comps) my first season, but did have a long injury that kept him out for a few months- that injury came just as he started hitting his stride.

However, he has come good my second season: he has 22 goals in 22 apps (all comps), with 11 goals in his last 5 games. Oh, and this:

[Robert the Spud]

Sparey, i do not buy/sell anyone untill the jan transfer window. You don't really need to. All the players can do a good job for you, but obviously as time goes on and you want to evolve the squad, then players like Cudicini, Hutton, Jenas, Palacios, Bentley, Dos Santos, Keane, Pavlyuchenko, Crouch for a start can all be improved upon. That said they can all do an efficient job in the first season. I hate Keane in real life so although he is a very good player in the game and easily 1st choice, i never play him and loan him out to buy in january. I also loan Bentley out to buy, even though again he is excellent cover, but my natural aversion to the player means he'll never get in my team. I keep the rest untill summer though as i don't tinker massivley

To give you an indication-i've just finished my 4th season in charge, and from the original squad i still have these players, all of whom are key, 1st team, brilliantley consistent players;

Gomes, Kaboul, Dawson, Bassong, Lennon, Huddlestone, Modric, Sandro, Van De Vaart, Lennon and Defoe(he's leaving though to make room for youngsters). That's the core of my squad really that i still keep and will not sell. Kaboul at RB, Dawson at CB and Bassong at LB have been immense. I'll post screenies if i find out how...

anyway, in my 4th season i retained the league and won the champions league. A great season on a small, 21 man squad;

Key players- Gomes(again), Kaboul, Dawson, Sahko, Bassong- Modric, Van de Vaart(21 goals/18 assists in 35 appearances in all competitions-only 25 appearances in the league due to injuries), Suarez(22 goals in 42 apps in all competitions), Carroll(20 goals in 40 appearances + European golden boot-only played 26 prem games not sure why though?), were all the main men.

defoe also piped up with 18 in 30 in all competitions. However, at the age of 31/32, he will be leaving the club this summer on a free in order to make room for Kadlec and Sanogo, who face make or break seasons, but have proven themselves well in the last season. I have decided to look to youth-and therefore A.Diarra has left and so will Pienaar. In come Khedira(ok so not that young), and an absurdly overpriced Jones, but he is class and will challenge Dawson(average rating of 7.40 for 3 seasons now) and Sahko, plus he has pace which we lack in defence. Walker might leave the club as he is not getting games and i don't trust him to come in and do a solid job as kaboul has done(a rock for 3 seasons running now0

In terms of shopping, i really need to sort out the reserves and u'18's. The facilities are getting upgraded constantly, but i've just stripped the reserve squad down to 5 players, the rest were pony. So i will go for a youth recruitment drive, and possibly look to bring in one or two more senior players if i need to, or if there is anyone who will improve what i have. Which there are not many player of.

anyhow, i am putting my Spurs and FM career in general(although i might dabble in LLM) on hold for a long time, which means i won't be posting on here for a good long while. Good luck with all yer careers, and taking Spurs to the top of Europe!

[Oliseh]

Some good results there, Spud.

Have been messing around abit with Spurs, and agree with alot of what Spud wrote. I can't stand Keane either...

One thing to consider is the Match Preparation thingy. Not using anything but a 442 until you get accomplished or more with whatever formation you want to use (takes a couple of months for me) seems to be a good idea. I've had an excellent start to my current save holding off on the fancy stuff and just using Spurs standard formation.

THudd is doing incredibly well for me so far, which is quite surprising.

[Bren_D]

Not really game related, but what's with the hate for Robbie?

I no longer rate him as a player, his legs have gone and his spell oop north seems to have screwed his brain up to the extent that all he is good for is standing, pointing and shouting, but he has put some shifts in for us over the years and the Liverpool deals pocketed us a few mill. I could never bring myself to hate him, remember the 'we all dream of a team of Robbie Keane' chants weren't that long ago.

[Robert the Spud]

Not really game related, but what's with the hate for Robbie?

I no longer rate him as a player, his legs have gone and his spell oop north seems to have screwed his brain up to the extent that all he is good for is standing, pointing and shouting, but he has put some shifts in for us over the years and the Liverpool deals pocketed us a few mill. I could never bring myself to hate him, remember the 'we all dream of a team of Robbie Keane' chants weren't that long ago.

How about that time when he left us for 'the team i've always wanted to play for since a little boy' stuff, after he called Tottenham his 'spiritual home'.

I dont really hate him, but he is a bit of a useless player who gets paid too much for being...useless.

[ArranoBeltza]

Just got Hamsik for $40mil from Napoli in January 2012. I mainly got him because Van der Vaart is already 28 and is consistently getting injured and tired between matches- Hamsik is younger and has higher stamina and natural fitness, so maybe I will sell VdV on the next season...

[Oliseh]

I dont really hate him, but he is a bit of a useless player who gets paid too much for being...useless.

This. I was ecstatic when we managed to get the spanish waiter to pay big bucks for him, and gutted when Harry brought him back (though I do recognize his influence helped us at a critical time). And I think there is some truth to the story about the Birmingham deal falling through due to excessive wage demands on his part. I've always rated Defoe as the best Spurs striker over the last 5-6 years (yes, even better than Berba-Keane in their prime), so having him back goes a long way towards redeeming Harry in my book.

On topic I'm 12 games into the Prem season 10W 1D 1L. I've qualified for the knockout of the CL after four games as well, but got dumped out of the LC in our first game to Fulham.

Quite surprised how well it's going. My strikers take turns being red-hot before going off the boil for a while (except Keane, who is somewhat subdued). Defence is awesome - everyone is performing for me this year, and Charlies early injury meant that Walker is now 1st choice on RB, doing very well. Midfield is great, except for VDV/Modric. I am still tinkering with tactics to get the best out of them.

The board agreed to improve training facilities - but not to expand the stadium (they don't believe we have the fanbase?!). They have, however, given me a wad of cash to spend in January, and if I can get some of the deadwood out (Keane, Bentley, Jenas, Hutton, possibly Kranjcar), I might make use of it. My scouts alerted me to the availability of Alexis Sanchez for less than 10M, and I'd like a young striker to back up Defoe. That kid Babacar is on the loan list, so might try a loan-to-buy to see how he works out.

Tacticswise I am using a creator-made 442, with little tweaks to player roles depending on the line-up. Surprised how well it works.

COYS!

ArranoB: Good luck with Hamsik. I never could get him to really shine in a 442 on last years FM - hope you have better luck (or a different formation!).

[Ledley is our Leader!]

Oliseh...sounds like you are at a similar position in season to me (see my above post), maybe a lil further on. Doing well though it sounds...and you have similar tactic/player quirks as me...ie. where and how to play VDV and Modric.

Following on from my post yesterday I cleared my tactics and instructions mostly and started a fresh, setting up a 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 with various tweaks and updated roles etc. Obviously I will take each game as it comes and hone the tactics according to the match in hand.

Anyway...after my first two losses in a row that I mentioned, Milan in CL and MU in PL, I had Chelsea up next at home. I knew it would be tough, especially with a massive international break to contend with beforehand too (VDV got injured in a Dutch training session as was a doubt...I didn't risk him), but I was confident that I had managed to keep morale up and my updated tactics would bring me a victory!!!

TEAM:

Gomes (GK, Def)

Rafael (DR, Auto)

Assou-Ekotto (DL, Auto)

Dawson (DC, Cover)

Gallas (DC, Def)

Sandro (DM, Def, Anchor)

Hudd (MC, Sup, DLP)

Modric (AML, Att, Inside For)

Gio (AMC, Sup, Inside For...full creative freedom)

Lennon (AMR, Att, Winger)

Defoe (ST, Att, Poacher)

End result...I won 4-3!!! I was one up and they equalised...then went 4-1 up before they staged a good comeback, but generally I bossed the game, kept Fat Lampard shackled and didn't really look like losing. My new approach certainly looks good and the players performing well...Defoe scored twice in his new poachers role and obviously gutted about being left out by England helped push him, Modric played great in his left hand role and scored...and Lennon is still awesome for me on the right getting the opener. Hudd was the genius behind it all though...two assists and settled in his DLP role. Defence was solid and threw everything at attacks...Sandro was awesome in one of his first starts...and Gio relished in the central role VDV is likely to fill. By the way...Bale was tired so I kept him on bench, though might drop him in at DL.

I will probably play some more tonight...i need a good few hours at it...but the wife might lose her normally cool head lol!

[PVentress]

Well finally got round to starting a proper full on Spurs save,

Have just finished the first season

I have posted the full tactic and details in the tactics forum so if anyone is interested in that, here is a Link

But here are the details of a fantastic Season,

Premier League Champions,

Champions League Winners,

FA Cup finalists

All in all it could not have gone better

Just hope i can reproduce next season

Screen Shots

Competitions

League Table

Premier League Fixtures

Champions League

FA Cup

Carling Cup

Player Stats

Transfers

Selected Match Highlights

- Premier League

- Premier League

- Champions Group F

- Premier League

- Premier League

- Premier League

- Champions League QF Leg 1

- Champions League SF Leg 1

- Champions League SF Leg 2

- Champions League Final

[Robert the Spud]

Awesome season Ventress, getting 30 goals out of Crouchy is either genius on your part or an issue with the match engine!

What skin are you using by the way i've been trying to find that exact one-

[PVentress]

Awesome season Ventress, getting 30 goals out of Crouchy is either genius on your part or an issue with the match engine!

What skin are you using by the way i've been trying to find that exact one-

Cheers, the whole season actually seemed a bit surreal,

I was 25pts clear at christmas and only lost a few games in the league right at the end once the title was in the bag,

Crouchy bagging 30+ was a bonus, but the real surprise Package was Daws chipping in with 16 Goals

Best moment though had to be the 5 - 0 humiliation of Real Madrid at the Lane - Epic Stuff

The Skin is Stekelo (LHS) which i got in the Skinning forum

[ArranoBeltza]

ArranoB: Good luck with Hamsik. I never could get him to really shine in a 442 on last years FM - hope you have better luck (or a different formation!).

I use a 4-2-3-1 with wingers. I've played Hamsik mostly in VdV's Trequartista role at AMC where he did superb, scoring in both of his first two starts there. I also have given him some time in Modric's adv. playmaker MC position where he's also done well. So far he's played in 13 matches (2 of which he came on as a sub) for me in the league and cups where he has 4 goals, 4 assists, and an average rating of 7.25.

As I said, I may sell VdV after this season, but right now Hamsik is ineligible for the Champion's League so he'll hang around at least till the summer.

[Oliseh]

Arrano: That makes sense. I always saw him as a B2B-midfielder, but he never performed. You might have a point playing him more advanced.

Spud: Crouch does score a fair few goals on FM, which is obviously unrealistic, if you see him play. I still havent forgiven him for that miss against united...

Ventress: Great job - looks like you made a good tac.

Ledley: Glad to see you got one over Chelski. I just lost 2-1 at Stamford bridge, both from Drogba. God I hate him (and Gomes/King for making the two mixups which gave him his goals). Still 1st in the prem, if only by a point, though.

[PVentress]

2nd Season Champions League Group

Just had a Cracking Result

Just watch how Dos Santos skins Maicon for the second

[video=youtube;9TcAXmWPrwY]

[Arakorn]

Finished the second season as champions (for the second time in a row) and Champions League runner-up (lost against Barca in the final for the second time in a row). In addition, I won the league cup.

Have brought in Neymar and Kjaer so far, in addition to Dzeko, De Gea, Zapata, James RodriguezBaines and De Jong that were already in the team. Have sold Palacios (15M€), Assou-Ekotto (7,5M€, could probably have gotten more) and Khumalo in addition to Keane, Pavlyuchenko, Hutton, Jenas, Kaboul, Bentley, Naughton, O'hara that were sold before. King's contract ended and I felt I didn't have use for him anymore, but made him an assman (didn't sign him though). Several other players were let go at the end of the first season.

Coentrao went to ManC in the first transfer window, but his new contract got him a 20M€ release clause, which I am currently exploiting (had higher wage demands than Dzeko and Kjaer though).

I am still looking for a central midfielder that is capable in both offense and defence, as I felt I lacked one last year. My commonly used tactics include a 4-4-1-1, a 4-4-2 diamond (with wingers) and a 4-2-3-1. In the long term I am also searching for a replacement for Modric and van der Vaart, Silva and Hazard (both at ManC) being the obvious alternatives, though I could make a move for Hamsik as he could be quite "cheap" now that I have a transfer budget of 55M€ (of which at least 10M go to Coentrao). Defoe has been immense for me both seasons, but I feel that Crouch is no longer useable, and I might still bring in an extra attacker. I am also pondering if I should get another right wing back, I currently have Corluka and Walker, both are good but neither are world class. Same goes for right winger, Lennon and dos Santos just doesn't seem like world class material. James Rodriquez (left winger from Porto) was immense last season, while Bale disappointed. Could retrain one of them for right flank.

[Oliseh]

That's some fine results, and good players. I was wondering last night - is FM11 easier than the previous couple of installments? I keep seeing people winning the League with Spurs, and almost the CL in the first/second season.

I am sitting 1st in the EPL with an 8 point cushion halfway through the season, just dominated Liverpool at Anfield 3-1. This is with the original squad (no transferbudget 1st season) and using the creator for tactics. Had the same when I did a quick Liverpool-save.

By the way Bentley is playing out of his skin for me after Lennon got a long term injury. Quite a few goals from him, which is surprising. Almost (only almost) makes me regret arranging a 11.75M transfer for Alexis Sanchez, which will surely mean the end of Bentleys days as a Spurs player.

[ArranoBeltza]

I am still looking for a central midfielder that is capable in both offense and defence, as I felt I lacked one last year.

Maybe take a look at Athletic Bilbao's Javi Martinez.