JayArr Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Barton and Kilgallon should be really good signings. I've had to start rotating my strikers as nobody's scoring with any consistency. Welbeck has 9 (3 of which came in one game), the Danish regen Bakke has 4 and Campbell has 3. But the kid below just scored 2 against Arsenal playing as a target man, although we lost 3-4 at home. It was such a shocking display in defence that I've just sold Daniel Ayala for £60k - he'd been bugging me to play for the last couple of months and when one of my first choice DCs got suspended I gave him a chance, only for him to be bloody awful. I probably should have been forewarned by the fact that he'd already been relegated from the Prem twice with Norwich. Anyway, my new prospect up front: Signed him for £600k from Fulham and he's starting to find his feet now. The goals he got against Arsenal were excellent so hopefully he can do that again. He's one of about 60 regens in my game with the name Fusca, all of whom are Brazillian and most of whom look really good. I know this one says he's Spanish, but he was born in Brazil and has Spanish nationality from somewhere. There's about 75 regens called Lapa as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 Fusca looks awesome, very similar to my new French striker. With Skyrim coming out tonight I don't know how much game time FM will get for a little while. Oh and we made it to page 4! \o/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayArr Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Penultimate game of the season, and the last ever match at Roots Hall: Not bad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 Penultimate game of the season, and the last ever match at Roots Hall: Not bad. Survived the relegation dog fight, I suppose? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayArr Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Yep, 14th in the end: Struggled for goals for a lot of the season, so I've got the top scorer in the SPL (a 22 year old French regen) coming in for £2.8m in the summer. Generally there won't be much incoming transfer activity. My squad's probably too big as it is but I've got the usually array of expiring contracts that'll clear some space. The only other deal lined up is a 20 year old DM from Yeovil who I had on trial a couple of years ago and should have signed at the time. Still, he's only £600k, not really stretching the budget. I've given Lampard and Diarra another year each. Diarra didn't have an easy job but he was always solid, and Lampard just kept going, never really excelling, but always proving useful. He's mentoring one of the best youth players. Welbeck was top scorer with 14, Fusca and Bakke each had 7, Will Keane had 4 and Fraizer Campbell only managed 3. Flenley understandably wasn't as good as he was in the Championship, but he still had 15 assists and 2 goals. Best players in the squad were my Danish regen left back Rasmussen (who has to win young player of the year) and Jordan Spence, who was a lot better than I expected him to be. Next season will still be all about avoiding relegation. I got lucky with the awful standard of some of the teams at the bottom and it wouldn't take much to get dragged into a relegation battle. The new stadium will almost certainly make us a lot of money, and the board have just splashed out £5.5m on upgrading the training facilities, which will definitely help matters. Onwards and upwards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 Lampard still won't sign for me. Going to sign a 26 year old Adel Taraabt... got a feeling this might back fire, but he's got a few years left. Just hope he doesn't cuase problems in the squad. I wanted to sign Spence as well, but he recently moved to Birmingham. Went for a similar player - Craig Dawson, but he won't budge from wanting 28k/week. What was your transfer budget in the 2nd season? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayArr Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Initial budget is £25m and £200k a week for wages, which gives me £52k surplus to work with before the various contracts expire. I always forget how much money there is to be made in the Prem when you compare it to the Championship. Even with the naff stadium we made enough money to pay off the debt owed to the chairman and still be comfortable after paying out for the training facilities upgrade. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 Just signed Craig Dawson and Steven Whittaker for some much needed quality in defense. Barker is in the reserves and still plodding along, he announced his retirement at the end of the season but then told me he was considering his future at the club when I named Joey Barton the new captain. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 12, 2011 Author Share Posted November 12, 2011 Just kicked my Prem season off - away to Everton. Came away with a 1-0 win, courtesy of a poachers effort from the brilliant Ivan Herceg. Everton had a man sent off in the second half which made the game easier for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayArr Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 Heading into season 2 in the Premier League. Couple of decent signings - Jack Hobbs in from Watford for £500k, Barry Bannan on loan from Villa for the season and Yoni Buyens on a free to challenge Diarra for the DM position, along with the usual regen prospects my scouts have found across Europe, including a keeper who's probably ready for first team football and a really promising winger who was released by Espanyol. I've got Oliver Norwood on trial at the moment and I'm probably going to offer him a contract. He was still playing in League Two last season but he was the best player at that level and won't be on high wages. A few excess players have left including Kane Ferdinand, meaning that there's officially none of the original squad left. He'd been out on loan for the last two full seasons but hadn't really progressed so I've let him go to find somewhere new. Chances are he'll end up at Rotherham along with Lee Sawyer and Anthony Grant. Biggest deal of the summer was selling a young kid to Chelsea. I'm not normally one to let high potential teenagers go, but £5m for a 16 year old who'd only been at the club for about 4 months was too good a deal to turn down. Also, I figured I've already got too many striker prospects around the club as it is, and this one didn't look anywhere near as good as some of the others. Basically paid for the upgrades to the training facilities in one go with a player who wouldn't have been near my first team for at least 3 years and is nothing but potential at this point. 35% of any future profit as well. Oh, just drew the first game of the season, 0-0 at Anfield. I'll take that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 12, 2011 Author Share Posted November 12, 2011 Just signed a 32 year old Michael Essien on an 11k/week contract. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinthead Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Gunna give Southend a go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinthead Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Just finished my pre-season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 Just finished my pre-season. Good start to the season there mate, hope you can carry that form into competitive games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Doing ok at the moment in the first season in League two Top of the league but we are struggling slightly in defense. Harry Kane is looking very good and I just signed Miquel on a 3 month loan to see how we do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 16, 2011 Author Share Posted November 16, 2011 Doing ok at the moment in the first season in League two Top of the league but we are struggling slightly in defense. Harry Kane is looking very good and I just signed Miquel on a 3 month loan to see how we do. I loved Miquel for Southend on FM11, hope he is just as good in this one for you. Played a few matches today, another win in the Prem against Leicester, went to penalties against Peterborough in the 3rd round of the FA Cup and won and beat Huddersfield in the Prem. Points coming along nicely, but still not played any of the big boys. Essien about to make his debut. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Yeah - Miquel did well when he was called apon - but has gone back to Arsenal now - his someone im going to think about for next year in League 1 i think - as well as some others as Southend's Defence seems a bit weak with the formation that im using. I have two seperate tactics and they work well, scoring for fun although we have made a slight slump in Feb and are drawing a few games which need to be sorted Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilus Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Took over Southend prior in December in season 1 after Sturrock was sacked. Seemed a bit rash; although they were 13th, they were only 4 points off the play-offs, so a good run would have seen them in contention. Anyway, after some confidence building wins, stripped the reserve team practically to nothing during the Jan transfer window, and let loose some of the dud youths as well. Needed to try to stem the flood of cash ebbing away from the club. Managed to get the wage budget £2k below the upper limit, which the board are very happy with. Also got rid of the loan signings we had where we were paying a wage contribution, and took on Tunnicliff from Man Utd and Cullen from Hull both for £0 contribution. Cullen was a revelation, banging in 15 in 12, thanks mainly I think to his 17 for Determination, which really is telling at this level. Also brought in some free transfers; Aluko, who has been a similar revelation, with 12 assists in 15, and I got hold of Michael Woods and Josh Walker on frees as well, although their wages are a bit on the high side. Not complaining though. After about 6 games finding his fitness and rhythm, Woods is dominating games, his range of passing is superb. With 3 games to go for the season, have just been crowned champions after Crawley lost. However, Ive just soiled myself at the sight of how many players have contract expiry dates coming up. Gonna be a busy summer. Just seen a monster of a player called Nengomasha who Id love, but I dont think Im gonna be able to convince him to join. How did other people fare on season 2 in terms of wage and transfer budgets...?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 17, 2011 Author Share Posted November 17, 2011 How did other people fare on season 2 in terms of wage and transfer budgets...?? Welcome to the Southend thread, hope you enjoy your stay! I think season 2 in L1, we still had no transfer budget and around 60k wages, I suggest harassing the board as much as possible to ask for a bigger wage budget, if they decline use the "lack of ambition" reason and most of the time they've granted my request. Important players to keep hold of for L1 are Kane Ferdinand, Ryan Hall and Neil Harris. Those three are still amazing then (hell, Hall and Ferdinand are still getting games for me in the Prem), most of your transfer dealings are going to be free transfers and loans, so you may as well keep your best players. Chris Barker still has another good season left in him too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilus Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Welcome to the Southend thread, hope you enjoy your stay! I think season 2 in L1, we still had no transfer budget and around 60k wages, I suggest harassing the board as much as possible to ask for a bigger wage budget, if they decline use the "lack of ambition" reason and most of the time they've granted my request. Important players to keep hold of for L1 are Kane Ferdinand, Ryan Hall and Neil Harris. Those three are still amazing then (hell, Hall and Ferdinand are still getting games for me in the Prem), most of your transfer dealings are going to be free transfers and loans, so you may as well keep your best players. Chris Barker still has another good season left in him too. Cool, thanks for that. Yes, Id earmarked those 3 as definite keeps, although I have been looking at new left backs. Dickinson has also had a great 2nd half to the season for me, so I might give him a shot. Sounds like my talent identification skills are gonna be tested to the limit... Would make things easier if the board would let me have a parent club that might loan me promising youngsters, but they refused me in January on the grounds that they didnt see the benefit. Didnt push it too hard though in case it ended with my sacking...! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 17, 2011 Author Share Posted November 17, 2011 Cool, thanks for that. Yes, Id earmarked those 3 as definite keeps, although I have been looking at new left backs. Dickinson has also had a great 2nd half to the season for me, so I might give him a shot. Sounds like my talent identification skills are gonna be tested to the limit...Would make things easier if the board would let me have a parent club that might loan me promising youngsters, but they refused me in January on the grounds that they didnt see the benefit. Didnt push it too hard though in case it ended with my sacking...! As long as you never 'Issue Ultimatum', the board will never sack you for bugging them with requests. Keep trying to get a good parent club, it's very worth while. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I just got QPR in League 2 - I think thats a pretty decent one if they stay - which i doubt they will Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Uploaded with ImageShack.us Not a bad result i think Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Its funny, as soon as I start posting in here - everything dies! lol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I've Lost Kane for the League 1 Campain, but i have picked up a couple of other players including Reece Brown, Michael Ngoo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey170 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I'm halfway through my first season, top of the league. Zeki Fryers just scored a hat-trick for me against Shrewsbury! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Fryers is another player im keeping my eye on, I need to bring in a striker that will keep his own in Championship too. I signed Beattie for this season but i dont know how long his gonna be there for. His not improving that much with Man Utd though. But for a left-back, a hat-trick is a hell of a achievement for him!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey170 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Well I got affiliated with Manchester United, I took Fryers, Petrucci, Morrison & Cofie on loan. Currently Petrucci is bossing the central midfield, Fryers has a fantastic partnership with Kane Ferdinand at the back, Morrison's loan has finished but he was a monster from the bench and Cofie scored 5 in 3 and then broke his foot! Signed Jason Banton on a free transfer, his value is £325k and he's my top scorer from the wing - bargain Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuincyOwusu-Abeyie Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 what's Jack Payne like in a couple of years, worth keeping? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 He doesn't look like his improving on my game, but that may be that he could not be a fixed pa - he could have a - pa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey170 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Just offered him a professional contract, he's bagged 10 goals in 18 games for the U-18's Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 sounds good NGoo is looking good for me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 what's Jack Payne like in a couple of years, worth keeping? He never progressed for me after five seasons, but could be a useful squad player in L2 and L1. I'll be back in here soon alstarz, just quite addicted to Skyrim at the moment so any FM time is just a game here and there, once Skyrim is out of the way I'll be back to good ol' FM. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzy968 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Any tips for when you make it into League 1? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Make sure you have a good parent club. QPR gave me Angelo Balenta for this season, look for bargains within the free agents as well. I just picked up Ben Mee in defense and Reece Brown! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzy968 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Just been offered 250k + 25% for Ferdinand, do I take it?! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey170 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Don't take it, or at least hold out for more. Who is the bidding club? If they are club with a decent reputation, arrange a friendly as part of the deal, that will see you earn a few more quid in ticket sales Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Im starting to like the look of Ferdinand to be honest - his improving nicely. So is Hall. Im coming up to Janurary sales now in League 1 so im imagining that im going to get a lot of interest in some of my players. Im worried that if someone bigger comes in for the likes of Bouzanis or Hall or Ferdinand then they may request to leave! Ricky, what would you suggest to do, at the moment im 2nd in the league and looking good for back to back promotions, how hard do you think it is going to be to keep my good players? Also, what did you think of Harry Kane's record? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 Im starting to like the look of Ferdinand to be honest - his improving nicely. So is Hall. Im coming up to Janurary sales now in League 1 so im imagining that im going to get a lot of interest in some of my players. Im worried that if someone bigger comes in for the likes of Bouzanis or Hall or Ferdinand then they may request to leave!Ricky, what would you suggest to do, at the moment im 2nd in the league and looking good for back to back promotions, how hard do you think it is going to be to keep my good players? Also, what did you think of Harry Kane's record? Might struggle in the Championship after back to back promotions, but I seem to be doing fine in the Prem after back to back promotions from L1->Champ->Prem. You can definitely handle it, it'll just be very tough and you'll need to be shrewd on the transfer market. Find players that are going to work well and bed in quickly, get good free transfers and loans. Kane's goal scoring record is awesome, definitely seems like he'll be worth signing on a permanent basis if you get the chance. He has developed quite well for Spurs (despite always being a loanee player), aside from his mentals he looks a good player. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benaldinho Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Southend - PNE tomorrow, Ricky, you'll win, We are terrible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Yeah - He wont come back to me just yet. He is a good player, but Ngoo is performing really well too at the moment! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 What a fantastic result. Blackburn gave me a hammering in the League recently, glad to get a bit of revenge there. Been drawn against Liverpool or Bristol City in the semi-final, I know who I'd rather get! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
irussell Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Very interested to read all of the above. Am in my first season with Southend in a 3 way battle for 2nd spot with about 10 games to go with Accrington romping away with top spot. Anyone got any tips on how to get Harris to start performing??? His stats are great for League 2 (bar his obvious lack of pace) but despite keeping his morale up all season and further stat improvements in training he's one of my worst performing players. Although he's been dropped for periods given he went 20 games without a goal through mid season I probably should have played him even less but kept thinking he must come good soon... I've mainly played him as either a Deep Lying Forward - Support or Trequartista in a standard, flat 4-4-2 for most of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 Very interested to read all of the above. Am in my first season with Southend in a 3 way battle for 2nd spot with about 10 games to go with Accrington romping away with top spot. Anyone got any tips on how to get Harris to start performing??? His stats are great for League 2 (bar his obvious lack of pace) but despite keeping his morale up all season and further stat improvements in training he's one of my worst performing players. Although he's been dropped for periods given he went 20 games without a goal through mid season I probably should have played him even less but kept thinking he must come good soon... I've mainly played him as either a Deep Lying Forward - Support or Trequartista in a standard, flat 4-4-2 for most of the season. It is strange you couldn't get him performing - I played him as a deep forward or a trequartista and he set the league on fire with his goals. Not sure what to suggest really, aside from stick by him, he's a beast if you get it right. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I have to admit, i haven't really used him too much - League 2 i was using Harry Kane and Dickinson as they were on fire, then i have Ngoo on his own upfront and he is playing well Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
irussell Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Ok, thanks folks. Am guessing he's just having a random poor season that can happen in FM as much as reality. The good news is that randomly acquiring a prolific Argentian/Italian called Casalinuovo on a free means I haven't missed him as much as I might have - 23 goals from him this season and counting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 I'm in the League cup final after beating Bristol City (who beat Liverpool to get there!) in the semi-final. I'm up against Manchester City, who seem nailed on for Premier League champions this season. Only saving grace is that they've been playing a "weakened" team in the League Cup, but even the weakened team is still better than mine. It's looking that I will comfortably avoid relegation, first season in the Prem so it's pretty good going. Would be amazing if I could somehow beat Man City and get into the Europa League, but I'm not gonna complain too much if I get my arse handed to me. I did manage a 0-0 draw with City at Roots Hall, but this is a Cup final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Don't Forget Ricky, your in Europe already, Man City have won the League so there Champs League - the Europa place goes to you automatically Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Shrimper Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Southend in Europe?! Congratulations, RickyButton. I'm sure I'll get round to starting a game with the Shrimpers again this year, but I like the look of PSG and maybe Vitesse at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Don't Forget Ricky, your in Europe already, Man City have won the League so there Champs League - the Europa place goes to you automatically I'm not 100% sure it works that way, I asked in the OTF FM thread and people were certain it was only for the FA Cup that those rules stood. Only one way to find out though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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