alstarz01 Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 I seem to remember that is the way it happens. I hope for you it is - Unfortunately for me i had a diabolical end of the season and dropped to 3rd. Then went out of the play-off's to Rotherham Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Was a valiant performance from the lads, but just wasn't enough in the end. Hit the cross bar and had three Clear Cut Chances towards the end of the second half, just wasn't clinical... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 26, 2011 Author Share Posted November 26, 2011 Finished the season 12th in the end. Good finish and will build for the next season, will look at strengthening the squad for getting into Europe. New stadium is built, new youth and training facilities are finished. Everything is coming together nicely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 I've just found this guy sitting in Aachen's first team, a German Second Division Club. Couldn't believe it when I saw him really, snapped up him as fast as I could. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 After smashing West Brom 6-0. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Shrimper Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 I've just found this guy sitting in Aachen's first team, a German Second Division Club. Couldn't believe it when I saw him really, snapped up him as fast as I could. I think he might be the best regen I've ever seen... High attributes in the all the best places and either footed! Edit: You should post this guy in the regens thread, he'd wipe the floor with some of them! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
irussell Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Got round to finishing season 1 ending as champions with a surprisingly comfortable margin to the chasing pack. Accrington capitulated in the run in to only just scrape through while a switch to a 4-5-1 (more specifically the 4-1-2-2-1 version) seemed to shore up my very dodgy away form in the last 10 games. Still not happy with the away form (see the table for the glaring difference between home and away). On that note I’d be interested to know how people change things when playing away from home? I generally start home games with a standard mentality then step things up with duty changes or a switch to control if not creating many chances. Away from home I tend to use more defensive duties with a standard approach or start out with counter if it looks a real stretch. Let me know what approach you all take. Star of the season was Casalinuovo who was runner-up top goal scorer in the league and unjustly (in my unbiased opinion!) just missed out on the player of the season award. Start of season 2 is looking promising with Harris (who will hopefully be better on the pitch this year – going to try him as target man support with pass to feet supply as the latest effort to get some performances!) being signed as a decent player/coach for me which alongside some new staff gives me some 4 star training categories. Waited until season 2 pre-season had kicked in before getting Arsenal as a parent club, which should be nice in the long run though not many loan options in the now. I got to choose between Arsenal or West Brom...errrm, Arsenal thanks! Big fat clear out of expiring contracts has given me plenty of wage budget to play with on the recruitment front, I even managed to finally get rid of Sturrock with some poor misguided team inexplicably signing him, I almost felt sorry for them. Finally got decent, pacy fullbacks/wingbacks on both flanks and brought in a creaking 40 year old “exotic” Preston legend to play as a DLP... ...and an ex Brazilian international late thirties centre back that all the fans and players seem rather excited about. Also got another decent winger to supplement Johnson and Hall, in fact he’ll be first choice on the left. Can’t find any decent loans and still look short up top, where I only have 3 recognised strikers, if you include Johnson as a viable poacher option. I do have some nice striking prospects in the under 18’s who Harris is tutoring his way through but might have to get Rhys Murphy back from Arsenal as cover if all else fails. Given 5 new signings to integrate it might be best to go easy on the loans anyway. One last question: once you have maxed out all the different strategies from Contain to Overload in the match prep do they stay that way when your 2 or 3 active tactics don’t currently have them selected and you then switch back to them? That’s considering I’ll maintain a low workload once fluid is reached, thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share Posted December 2, 2011 My second season in the Prem is actually going so well, that in January when I was asked if I wanted to change my expecations, I actually selected 'Title Challenge'. I'm currently second, 3 points behind City and a point ahead of United. Everything has really clicked this season and new signings have really bolstered the team, as well as dropping Michael Essien into a role at RB, he is performing excellently there. A couple of my regens REALLY improved over the summer, I saw stat gains of 1-2 across a lot of important stats for the first team regens I had. Getting bids for them left, right and center, just glad I've got them tied down to long contracts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
irussell Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 My second season in the Prem is actually going so well, that in January when I was asked if I wanted to change my expecations, I actually selected 'Title Challenge'. I'm currently second, 3 points behind City and a point ahead of United. Everything has really clicked this season and new signings have really bolstered the team, as well as dropping Michael Essien into a role at RB, he is performing excellently there.A couple of my regens REALLY improved over the summer, I saw stat gains of 1-2 across a lot of important stats for the first team regens I had. Getting bids for them left, right and center, just glad I've got them tied down to long contracts. Nice & gl for the title! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Be good to see a Southend Team top of the Prem Anyway, going back to my own game. 2nd in League 1 - looking like this could be the year if i can get my wages down too - then i think i can make the Prem and look at improving things possibly soon. I wanna stay in the championship for a bit though and get my finances sorted before i go up again. I think that it is of importance to improve the team off the pitch before i go up - Obviously im going to try and go for the league straight away - but i wont be disheartened if i dont go up in the first couple of season's Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayArr Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Finally picking up where I left off with my Southend game. Currently halfway through the 2016/2017 season, my second in the Premier League, nice and comfortable in 10th place with 27 points from 20 games. Got a Carling Cup semi final against Birmingham coming up, which should be an easy win against a mid-table Championship side. That'll probably set up a final against Arsenal, which would be tough, but I beat Chelsea in the quarter final so it's doable. Just changed the season expectations from 'avoid relegation' to 'mid-table finish', which has increased my wage budget from £190k to £325k and given me £40m to spend if I want it. Crazy money! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
irussell Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 ...and given me £40m to spend if I want it. Crazy money! 40m quid!? Please tell me they aren't still playing at Roots Hall if money like that's being chucked about? Roots Hall is kind of like Venice...in it's subsiding, only it doesn't have the romance, history and style! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayArr Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Ahah, no, this is our first season in the 19,000 seater Tilson Park. We sold out Roots Hall for pretty much every home game last season, but have done so only five times so far this term. Average attendance is about 15,500 and we only sold a few hundred more season tickets than last year but we're still raking it in thanks to the low overheads. Just won the Carling Cup, a brilliant 3-1 over Arsenal: Two assists from wonderkid regen Patrick Flenley, who somehow STILL hasn't made it in to the full national side, but is finally being linked with a call-up. He had a quiet start to the season, but I switched from a 4-1-2-1-2 to a 4-3-1-2 with Flenley in the midfield three and it's working better for him. Still improving nicely as well - http://oi39.tinypic.com/14njtq8.jpg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayArr Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I rather like the look of this DC from my latest youth intake: Potentially 'one of the best players of his generation' according to the coaches. As long as his physical attributes develop well, his natural ability will take him a long way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 I rather like the look of this DC from my latest youth intake: Potentially 'one of the best players of his generation' according to the coaches. As long as his physical attributes develop well, his natural ability will take him a long way. He looks amazing mate, get him on a good physical training regime and you'll have a top class CB by time he's 18/19. Didn't get much time to play this weekend, but it's looking like top 4 is the best I'll achieve (which is way more than I could ever have expected), I originally wanted just Europa League, but CL money will be great for the club if I can push for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayArr Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Just finished the 2016/2017 season. 9th in the table and Europa League next season from the Carling Cup win. Only lost ten games, but drew 15, way more than anyone else in the league. Jack Hobbs was reliable all year, but I could do with bringing in a solid, experienced DC to play alongside him. I've got a really promising 22 year old Italian regen DC, but he's still makes more mistakes than I like. Craig Cathcart looks extremely good, and should be available at a fair price. Fusca was the star man with 20 goals, Fraizer Campbell got 16 and Giroud got 13 so I should have enough goals in the side for next year (even though Welbeck didn't manage a single goal all season). Toying with the idea of making a permanent bid for Barry Bannan as he's had a really good season on loan from Villa, but it depends on his wage demands. I can easily afford to pay him £30k+ a week, but I still find that kind of money galling for a club like Southend. The board have just decided to expand the stadium by another 10k seats, which is gonna cost nearly £12m. Really doesn't seem like we have the fanbase to warrant that; we only sold out the stadium for half our home games. Still, I just managed to talk them in to upgrading the junior coaching and youth training facilities, so hopefully there'll be even more outstanding youth players coming through. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayArr Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Huh, just been offered the Arsenal job (which is the second time I've been approached by a club who have just sacked David Moyes), and they've only got £2.6m in the transfer fund. No thanks, Arsenal! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayArr Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Just started the 2018/2019 season with a nice 1-0 win over Liverpool. 2017/2018 was a decent season - didn't win anything, but had a nice run to the second knockout stage of the Europa League before going out on away goals to Dortmund (we went 2-0 up in injury time, only for them to pull back to 2-1 straight from the kickoff), and finished 7th in the league. It's all about gradual improvement for me now, so I'm aiming for top 6 this time round which I should be able to manage without much investment in the first team. Only two notable transfers over the summer - Jese on a free from Real Madrid and Ross Barkley from Everton for an absolutely criminal £3.3m. Fusca and Frederic Giroud will carry on as my main strike pairing - Fusca got 30 goals in 45 games last season and is getting a lot of interest now he's in the Spanish national side. Turned down a few £15m bids during the summer, which isn't bad for a guy I signed for £650k from Fulham. Lucky for me he really likes playing for Southend. Giroud got 25 in 43 last season. Patrick Flenley has carried on developing well and did a lot better in the Prem last year than he had before. Still no sign of him getting called up for England though, which I find baffling, but it's probably got something to do with their inability to stick with a manager for more than six months. The young DC who appeared last season has come along nicely as well, the result of training with the senior squad as soon as he joined the club. My best signing last season was Abel, a young midfielder who was released by Barcelona. He doesn't look like he'd be much of a DM, but he had a 7.29 rating from 45 games and 15 assists somehow. Meanwhile, Danny Welbeck has moved on to Blackburn for £3m, which is good money considering he scored one goal in the last two seasons and I got £6m for an Italian DC who signed for £600k and never really managed to cement a place in the side. And the £12m the board sunk into expanding the stadium to 29,000 seats seems to have been unnecessary. Had an average attendance last year of just under 18,000 and there's only been a slight increase in the number of season tickets sold this year, to about 8,400. Oh, and I'm manager of Cameroon now, just because it looked like fun. Might try and sign a couple of the players I've come across there, like this guy who's been a bit of a star so far - http://oi40.tinypic.com/ve0ksp.jpg Needlessly detailed updates, hell yeah! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 Quite glad that Ron Martin didn't intervene and accept the bid... dunno what I'd do without him. and after finishing 4th in the 2016-17 season, I get this play-off tie for the Champions League... not going to be easy at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 Could've been a lot tougher, that's for sure. Sevilla had a man sent off early in their home game, which I won 4-1. Took them back to Tilson Park and won 2-0. Quite confident I can atleast get to the round of 16. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 Oh and I finally got added to the club icons list. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
irussell Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Oh and I finally got added to the club icons list. Should think so too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
irussell Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Just finished my 2nd season finishing in 7th spot just a point outside the playoffs in League 1 after a late season run took me up from mid table. Ryan Hall still performing wonders as an AMR with 2 seasons on the bounce in the top few of the league for assists. Just goes to show if you have the stats in the right areas for a given role you don't have to have a monster CA to perform. My previous years star striker, Damian Casalinuovo, never recovered from a long term pre-season injury, losing a little in his stats and drifting in and out of the team off the back of mediocore performances. His main weakness is his personality with him lacking motivation to play for both me and the captain (whom the rest of the team love) since his reputation rocketed to the giddy heights of national after last seasons exploits. Should have listened to whoever warned against James Beattie as, in a weak moment during an early season injury crisis, I inadvisably signed him and have been counting down the days to offloading the hefty wage bill ever since. Considering a lack of goals (Hall was top scorer somehow with the mighty haul of 8!) am pretty happy with 7th. Managed to stretch to getting Deegan from Coventry as a strong all round MC and playmaker with some much needed creativity but desperately need a 20+ goal a season striker with a bit of pace to play on the counter away from home. Finally, really need to get round to checking Quintain Fortune's adaptability (now I'm releasing him) on the editor as he's still "blending in" after joining a season and a half ago! *Edit - seems that's a possible bug given the editor shows his adaptability is pretty good.* Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 *knock knock* Anyone still here? Going to fire the Southend save up again tonight after a long break... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewpeterstock Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I've had a long break too Ricky, getting back on it tonight. Not sure if to start again or continue with existing one. What are you doing? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewpeterstock Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I've gone for start again, got a load of regens and already in season 10. A fresh start will get me back into it all, plus I can do better job this time! Prem title in 8 years rather than 10. That's the target Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Button Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 With the announcement of FM13, does anyone want to do the Southend thread (and hopefully keep it a bit more up-to-date/active than I was able to...) this time round? If nobody else wants to then I'll end up doing it again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstarz01 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Ricky - If you want to do the Thread, then i will happily be in here to help out with things - just your threads look a lot nicer than mine ever did. But i will be playing as Southend United straight away. Hopefully i can improve on how I normally perform with them Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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