FM12: Borussia Dortmund - 'Wo Champions sind Geboren'

[AlexCRONALDO]

After finishing 3rd last season on the same points as Koln who camed 2nd and Bayern who came first, my team is as follows:

http://steamcommunity.com/id/nyceee/screenshot/631856881909592701?tab=public

One of my star regens who came through in january has really impressed me and his valuation is just incredible, let me know what you think.

http://steamcommunity.com/id/nyceee/screenshot/631856881907642331?tab=public

EDIT: Please welcome Jesus Navas who will be taking over Leitners spot until he has matured

[tcoleman1]

Once Koch is over his injury, and you have him on the right training schedule then he can easily become a great RB, also I don't really rate Lowe but since I didn't get to buy a back-up LB for Sczmelzer he actually hasn't done too bad when I have needed to count on him.

Lowe's defensive attributes are pretty bad but he has played well there for me in Schmelzer's absence. Currently played 2 games of the season. Beat Schalke 4-0 in the Super Cup which was great. Kagawa was outstanding. Then beat Trier 2-0 away in the cup but have a tougher draw away at Hannover in the next round. Finally got Wollshied in a CB and other than Zohore I have just bought Diego Rodriguez, decent DM with good stats but not as determined as I would like. Only 250k so he is a great for backup and only 21.

[Babak G]

Guys, I am playing the Hoffenheim save and wanted your advice as Dortmund people.

Big decision to be made. I have to confirm it. Ive got 60m Euros at the end of this season and will have a clear out and my stadium will have 15k new seats in October and Im in the CL group stages so that ensures about 30m extra next season.

Gotze would cost 60m over 48 months and 5m in 50 appearances and a further 5m in 50 league goals. Ive never paid more than 16.5m for a player all throughout my FM career and this would be big.

I will play him as a IF on the left side. Yay or nay?

[liv222]

Just reached half way in my first season as Dortmund manager. Really enjoying it so far I'll give you a quick break down of how i'm doing before asking for some advice.

Firstly, my summer ins consist of:

Danny Welbeck - Loan

Sime Vrsaljko - £2 million rising to £4 million

Summer outs:

Damien Le Tallec - £1.5 million

Florian Kringe - £1.3 million

So far, my form in the league has been fairly inconsistant, which includes a 5-0 thrashing by Bayern However, after settling on a 4-1-2-2-1 formation form has picked up and I currently sit 4th with 28 points. Koln are top with 37 points! Welbeck has been a revelation with 10 league goals in 14 starts!

I have managed to qualify from my champions league group with 10 points from a group including: Real Madrid, Lille and Cska Moscow! - Very pleased with this indeed

Just need a suggestion now for a solid centre back who can play left back comfortably for around the £1.5 million mark. Although I do intend to sell few fringe players in the Winter window, so this could potentially be closer to the £4/5 million mark.

Cheers Guys

[Babak G]

Look at Bassong at the end of the first season. Should be transfer listed. You may get him for about 2m-2.5m max. He is a monster.

[Manden]

Babak G - go for it, he is the best German player in the game:thup:, probably in the top 4 or 5 in the AM spot, and since he is a natural AML he should do quite well out there as well

[tcoleman1]

Just lost to Inter away in my first CL game. Quite annoying as they scored really late on to win 2-1 I had led through a Barrios goal. Need to make sure I beat Zurich and Lyon in my next two games to get in 2nd place.

I then go and lose the next game at home to Zurich 3-1. Gotze got a second yellow for diving in the first half and they somehow scored 3 times. Pretty sure I'm not making it out of this group. Saying that if I can beat Lyon home and away and Zurich lose both to Inter then I would be 3 points ahead of Lyon. Also team meetings are rubbish, nobody ever seems to be bloody happy with them

[buster]

Alex that is an awsome regen - what you have there is Leandro Damiao at 15 but better. I'm currently on holiday without FM hence lack of updates. Going to miss this weekends match - can anyone tell me what time it kicks off so I can hunt for live updates?

[AlexCRONALDO]

Alex that is an awsome regen - what you have there is Leandro Damiao at 15 but better. I'm currently on holiday without FM hence lack of updates. Going to miss this weekends match - can anyone tell me what time it kicks off so I can hunt for live updates?

Thanks , I have high hopes for this kid, got another one coming in at january

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197992586404/screenshot/631856881944657802

[phoenixbasileus]

Small question, does the long injury hamper Julian Koch too much?

I played a Dortmund game for 3 seasons in FM11 and he was quite a tidy RB and it'll be a shame if he ends up rubbish being so long out

[Mike_Cardinal]

It still seems like he has the potential to become the best German right back in the game or thereabouts, so I wouldn't worry too much.

[Chicha_14]

Has anyone been able to get Kagawa to sign a new deal?

[AlexCRONALDO]

Has anyone been able to get Kagawa to sign a new deal?

I sold him and got around 17m for him, i really dont think hes a good player as he cant create anything

[ShirazS]

I have tried in 2 different saves and he just will not sign. Looking at the info on his information tab, looks like he does not like playing in the Bundesliga, not sure how factual that is?

On a seperate note, I was in the second season of my first Dortmund save, doing pretty well, when I decided to start again without any transfers in the first season and my aim is to win the league. I have not sold or bought anyone and am giving alot of the lesser known youngsters, like Hoffman, Hubner (sp?), Hornschuh and Focher, a chance in the first-team as backups, will update on how it goes.

[Chicha_14]

I sold him and got around 17m for him, i really dont think hes a good player as he cant create anything

He's chipping in with a few goals on my save, got his playing as an attacking midfielder with duty to attack. Will look to sell if theres any interest in him over the next year or so.

[AlexCRONALDO]

He's chipping in with a few goals on my save, got his playing as an attacking midfielder with duty to attack. Will look to sell if theres any interest in him over the next year or so.

Definately sell him asap mate, an attacking midfielder should be getting more assists than goals, however its good that hes giving you a few goals here and there.

[Chicha_14]

Definately sell him asap mate, an attacking midfielder should be getting more assists than goals, however its good that hes giving you a few goals here and there.

He's not in my team to assist he plays next to Eriksen who is my playmaker, he has 24 assists in 20 games.

Here's my tactics, going well so far in the league. Top by 3 points in the winter break though went out of CL finishing 3rd in my group behind Arsenal and Shakhtar.

[Patze]

Can anybody upload a screenshot from Mateo Kovacic and how good he become(like FM11)? Thanks a lot.

@Chicha_14 : When do you use Götze as a OMF , he's gettin worldclass. Try to switch him with Kagawa sometimes. Im happy too see that the Potential from Mario is like in real life.

[tcoleman1]

Right little update from my game. Didn't play it for a while after being annoyed losing 2-0 away to Hannover in the 2nd round of the cup. Nevermind though, just something to try and win next season.

Had a nightmare start in the CL after losing to Inter away and Zurich at home. Made it up by beating Lyon home and drawing away. Currently 2nd in the group but me, Lyon and Zurich all on 4 points. I have Inter at home next.

The league has gone a lot better and after 12 games I have won 8, drawn 3 and lost 1 which was away to Leverkusen. Top by 1 point against Bayern who I play in a few games at the Allianz Arena. I have a 4-5-1 I usually play for tough away games to try and knick goals on the the counter. Didn't quite work against Inter but I should have gone more attacking after scoring.

[Addave]

Currently in my second season. Won a league a cup double in my first season! Yeah i know. I was surprised as you are.

Anyway in October Season 2 and this is my squad.

I play a 4-2-2-2. Two centre mids, 2 wingers, 2 strikers.

GK's: ter Stegen, Weidenfeller

Defs: Schmelzer, Hummels, Subotic, Vrsaljko, Anderson Martins, Kara, Corluka, Romario

Mids: Di Maria, Badelj, Willian, Gotze, Sidney Sam, Perišić, Kehl, Bender

Strikers: Lewandowski, Doumbia, Barrios, Wilfried, Wellbeck (loan)

Few notes:

Subotic and Hummels are amazing. So many goals from corners and are the best upcoming young defenders in the game. Keep at all costs!

Wellbeck was my top goal scorer in season 1. Great pace. Got him on loan for free again in season 2. Cant go wrong.

Sidney Sam has got a lazer of a left foot. Play him on the right and he cuts in and unleashing thunderbolts. He is pushing Di Maria for a first team starting spot.

Willian, Kara, Andersson Martins, Vrsalkjo - all came in season 1. 8m, 900k 500k, 1.5m. Bargains!

Wilfried is a great super sub. He got 15 goals in his first season. Tbh all my strikers got into double figures. Keep a small degree of rotation going for best results.

Annoyingly Kagawa was being a whining Bitch so i had to sell him before his went and did a Campbell. So he pack his bags for PSG in the summer for £20m.

He was my player of the year in the first season - setting up a truck load and chipping in with a dozen goals himself.

Hopefully this season i will do better than L16 of Champs League (lost 7-6 on agg to arsenal). Target is to win within 3 years and then take a job at the likes of PSG,

Napoli, Shakhtar, Aziz, Malaga, Spurs etc (teams with a basis to build for the future)

[DandyDon]

Well finally getting round to starting my Dortmund save which I'll be running alongside my current Toon save (expect progress to be slow as I'm running a raft of leagues).

I've only got through the first couple of weeks so far and reached the 4th of July in the summer window. Haven't quite decided who I'm going to try and move on as yet, but I used the transfer budget available to organise a few deals that went through on the 1st of July and brought in 4 players to add some more options and cover while I decide on who'll be leaving. I would like to raise some cash to bring in another left back as Schmelzer will be out for a month or two with injury.

Players Signed:

Andile Jali - 21 year old South African DM,MC/AMC signed from Orlando Pirates for £350,000. looked a real prospect on my other save, has solid all round stats for a midfielder and can cover all three central midfield positions.

Ivan Bandalovski - 24 year old Bulgarian D/WB® signed from CSKA Sofia for the princely sum of £20,000. Brought him in provide back up to Piszczek as Koch and Owomoyela are injured.

Kara - 21 year old Senegalese D©,DM, M© signed from Tromso for £950,000. Seen this lad get rave reviews on FM11 as a bargain signing, and is getting pretty good reviews on other threads this year too. He's big, strong, hard working, good in the air and again can provide cover in three areas.

Michael Krohn-Dehli - 28 year old Danish M(RL),AMRLC signed from Brondby for £2.5 million. Snapped him up due to a couple of early injuries in training, mostly to provide cover at the AMR position, but he can also play pretty much anywhere else in midfield if need be. At 28 he's obviously not one for the future but he has the attributes to do a job when called on.

[edgar555]

Just started a Dortmund save. Working through pre season. Playing a 4-2-3-1 but with a DMC (anchor) and MC (b2b). Not made any signings yet but looking for a cheap right back and possibly DC back up too.

Gotze and Kagawa have both picked up 5-6 week injuries in my 3rd pre season game which is a blow as they were looking really sharp. Kagawa at AMR (inside fwd) and Gotze AMC (ad playmaker). Both had scored and assisted multiple goals in the 2.5 games they'd played. Oh well, time to test the squad depth for the start of the season. Bayern up first does not bode well in the Bundesliga and missing those two will hurt, as they'll be missed against Schalke in the Super Cup.

[phoenixbasileus]

Well well well

Drew a ridiculously tough CL group of Barca, Man City and Benfica and Weidenfeller decided to injure himself 6-8 weeks 2 days after the transfer window closed...

First game away at Man City, played 4-2-3-1 deep on counter and won a shock 4-0 win, Kuba and Grosskreutz scoring early on and Lewandowski slotting two home in the second half to finish the rout. Bender and Kehl at DM are like granite

[ShirazS]

Just started a Dortmund save. Working through pre season. Playing a 4-2-3-1 but with a DMC (anchor) and MC (b2b). Not made any signings yet but looking for a cheap right back and possibly DC back up too.

Gotze and Kagawa have both picked up 5-6 week injuries in my 3rd pre season game which is a blow as they were looking really sharp. Kagawa at AMR (inside fwd) and Gotze AMC (ad playmaker). Both had scored and assisted multiple goals in the 2.5 games they'd played. Oh well, time to test the squad depth for the start of the season. Bayern up first does not bode well in the Bundesliga and missing those two will hurt, as they'll be missed against Schalke in the Super Cup.

Siyanda Xulu is good for DC and cheap. Also, you could take a look at Vrsaljko for RB although he is a little expensive for Dortmund's budget and you probably know of him already

[edgar555]

Siyanda Xulu is good for DC and cheap. Also, you could take a look at Vrsaljko for RB although he is a little expensive for Dortmund's budget and you probably know of him already

I got Sebastian Jung (I think its Sebastian??) from Nurnberg for RB. £500k up front + £2m over time and appearances. He'll be a good back up for Piczscek. Couldn't get a cheap DC that I liked so going with what I have for now.

Season has started and been a mixed bag. Results are excellent, injuries woeful! Beat Schalke 4-0 in the Super cup, but in that game lost Ilkay for 9 months and Le Tallec for 4 months. Considering I was already missing Kagawa, Gotze and Grosskreutz these are massive blows. Ilkay was looking quality too. Perisic has stepped up and Gotze is coming back into the side 3 games into the season. Beat Bayern 2-0 away in first league game. They had Gustavo sent off after 2 minutes but still dominated us. We stood strong and hit them twice on the break. Won next 3 matches by at least 4 goals each time. Lewandowski scoring for fun. Home to Augsburg had Kehl sent off after 2 minutes and still won 5-1. Once Kagawa is back and Gotze reaches full fitness along with Barrios I'm gonna have some real selection dilemmas. Looking like it could be a good season.

[phoenixbasileus]

Hmm is Bernd Leno worth the 10m Stuttgart are asking, or should I wait until a new season and try and sign ter Stegen instead

[Sextoy]

First time poster in here! Started as BVB last night on my first FM2012 game. Signed Kara and als Paulo Ferriera on loan from Chelsea. Tied Gotze to a 5 year contract. How are you guys affording all of these players? I haven't been able to sell any of my listed players...

[tcoleman1]

Well it's been a disappointing end to my first year at Dortmund. In the final 9 games (still gotta play Hoffenheim) I have only won 3, drawn 1 and lost 5. Not good enough but still if I had won my last 2 games against Gladbach away and Kaiserslauten at home then I would be top by a point so Bayern haven't been great either. My team just seemed to crumble at the end. Everyone has had a decent season but I want to buy a gk (Stegen) a rb (probs Beck) and a winger (Reus maybe) and also could do with a striker if I change formation.

The bad run of form and the fact Gotze wanted a new contract which was a lot more than what he wanted earlier in the season (managed to reduce it to 65k a week 3mill to him/agent and he's staying til 2017). Haven't played for a couple of days but I did enjoy it.

The board are very pleased with me so it's not all bad. My aims for next season are to challenge for the league again. Get further in the cup and CL. I may try and develop a new tactic as my current ones at great against most teams but some of the bigger ones home and away can bea struggle. I also need to score a few more and concede less currently conceded a goal a game.

[phoenixbasileus]

Paying off in instalments I imagine

Dortmund is financially stable, the board is just stingy to begin with.

[phoenixbasileus]

So has anyone had any luck re-signing Shinji Kagawa?

Seems pretty strange he has a preference not to play in Germany, what exactly is this based on...

[davehibb]

Great OP!

I've been following this thread with a view to starting a Dortmund save but when I got around to setting it up last night I realised the German national team was greyed out... I remembered that the 'fake inc' files needed deleting but unless I was being dumb I couldn't find them... I tried doing a quick search of the FM12 FAQ and forums but couldn't find anything...

Please tell me I don't have to start messing around in Steam.

[tcoleman1]

So has anyone had any luck re-signing Shinji Kagawa?

Seems pretty strange he has a preference not to play in Germany, what exactly is this based on...

Nope I could never get him to sign a new contract but I only got to May 2012 so I don't know about after. Was considering cashing in on him in the summer though if he really won't sign on.

My save game is corrupted It somehow happened on Friday and there is nothing I could do to fix it. So annoying as although then end of the season was a bit disappointing we were in a good position. Will probably start again in a few months but for now I will take on a new challenge.

[ShirazS]

Great OP!

I've been following this thread with a view to starting a Dortmund save but when I got around to setting it up last night I realised the German national team was greyed out... I remembered that the 'fake inc' files needed deleting but unless I was being dumb I couldn't find them... I tried doing a quick search of the FM12 FAQ and forums but couldn't find anything...

Please tell me I don't have to start messing around in Steam.

Google is your friend

It cannot be spoken about on these forums due to legal reasons

[phoenixbasileus]

Well since Kagawa wouldn't re-sign, I cashed in and sold him off to Napoli for 20m euros. Got Marin in for 25m after a month of back and forward, so him with Reus who came in January means my AM front is just as strong. Sold off Piszczek and Koch and bought in Mario Fernandes to rotate DR with De Silvestri who was one of the signings of the season. Got in Andrea Bertolacci, Zakaria Labyad and Lennart Thy on free transfers and a nice looking AML regen from Furth for 1.4m compensation

Looking to defend my league and cup titles after a race down to the wire against Bayern last season. At one point they were 9 points ahead but slipped up and I capitalised.

[Sextoy]

Right, roughly halfway through the season (my first) and this is how things are going:

League:

P W D L GS GC GD Pts

1st Dourtmund 20 13 4 3 40 20 +20 43

2nd Bayern 20 11 9 0 45 14 +31 42

3rd Koln 20 10 5 5 34 19 +15 35

Doing okay. over 2 points per game which was my target. Scored in each of my last 16 league games. Unbeaten at home. Lost to Bayern, Mainz and Stuttgart away.

Cup:

3-0 away win vs Wiedenbruck

3-1 home win vs Aachen

1-0 away win vs Stuttgart

Quarter final away to Wolfsburg

Champions League:

Shakthar 1-2 BVB

BVB 1-1 Olympiacos

BVB 2-1 AC Milan

AC Milan 1-0 BVB

BVB 3-0 Shakthar

Olympiacos 2-1 BVB (Reserves)

Finished second to milan on h2h (they got an away goal) Regretted playing the reserves away to olympiacos as it turns out a point would have won me the group as Shakthar beat milan.

Last 16 i've drawn Barcelona!

My line up:

Wiedenfeller

Piszczeck Hummels Subotic Paulo Ferreira

Kara Kehl

Gotze Kagawa Perisic

Lewandowski

Signing Adler in the summer

[edgar555]

So back from my trip to Paris and resumed with Dortmund last night. Got a tricky CL group, Man U, Benfica and Basel. Played 2 already, ManU at home 2-2 and Benfica away lost 2-1. Still unbeaten in Bundesliga and sitting 3 points clear of the rest. Injuries are taking their toll though. As soon as Barrios comes back I lose Lewandowski for 6 weeks. Kagawa and Gotze keep getting kicked all over the place by opponents and it's rare for both to finish a game. Annoying!! Still can't moan at our form and some of the back ups are proving their worth, Leitner looks tasty.

[DandyDon]

2011/12 - Update - Transfer window and opening fixtures

I already detailed my first few signings of the transfer window a few posts up, with Andile Jali, Ivan Bandalovski, Kara and Michael Krohn-Deli all arriving at the club by the 1st of July. Those four signings took up pretty much all of the transfer budget and didn't leave much of the wage budget to play with either. So I didn't plan to make any more signings unless we could offload some players before the window closed.

With only a few days of August left I finally got concrete bids for a couple players, managing to sell Mohamed Zidan to Fulham for potentially £2.5 million (only £500,000 upfront and the rest over 36 months, with some dependant on appearances and goals) and Florian Kringe on his way to FC Gronigen for £0 upfront, but possibly £1 million to follow. I was just happy to free up some space in the wage budget though.

Now that I had some space for new signings on our wages I offered contracts to Timo Hildebrand and Arne Friedrich to provide some capable back up options (although Arne won't be able to help out till January admittedly). As Lewandowski seemed to be struggling slightly in my formation I also offered a season long loan deal to Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge. Those three players arrived at the club on the 30th of August during the international break, Sturridge went on to make a sensational debut a few days later, bagging a hattrick against Kaiserslautern in a 4-0 win at home. As a final peace of insurance I offered Luciano Figueroa a contract, just in case of injury to Sturridge or Barrios, and he joined on a season long contract from the 6th of September.

Sadly, I didn't manage to find the extra left back I'd wanted, but Chris Lowe did a decent enough job deputising until Schmelzer recovered.

Unsurprisingly I settled on a fairly standard 4-2-3-1 as our main tactic for the season with a couple of tweaks depending on the perceived standard of opposition.

We got the season off to a solid, if unspectacular start, beating Schalke on penalties in the Super Cup and we've been motoring along quite nicely in the league so far. A dull 0-0 draw with Koln apart, we've won every game so far and only conceded 1 goal. The best performance so far the 6-1 hammering of Hertha Berlin.

In Europe we've been landed in a group with Barcelona, Zenit St Petersburg and FC Copenhagen. In our opener against Barca we actually dominated the 1st half with 60% possession, but went in at half time drawing 1-1 having missed several chances. We rued those misses when they sneaked into the lead with a fluke goal from Messi. Kara won a header in our box defending a corner, then went to clear the ball only to kick it into Messi and the rebound wrong footed Weidenfeller. They then coasted to a 4-2 win after that. Fortunately we were able to offset that defeat with a good away win in Copenhagen.

Obviously with such a good defensive record in the league Weidenfeller and all of the defenders are playing well (especially Hummels so far), Sturridge has proved to be a very useful signing with 4 goals from his 5 games so far and Barrios has made a sensational return from injury to score 6 in his 3 games since recovery. Michael Krohn-Deli has proved to be the surprise package so far with the Swedish winger scoring 4 and setting up 5 goals from 7 appearances.

[f0rmat]

Anyone else finding the board really stingy?

Came second in my first season, losing out to Bayern. Won the German cup and got the semis of the Europa League.

My net spend was £10m (£25m out, £15m in) last season, and at the start of this season I've already sold Lucas Barrios for £15m to Liverpool. That £15m went nowhere near my transfer budget though and they've only set my budget to £10m, with the two options for targets being £10m for challenging for the league and £11m for winning it.

I need a new LB, a striker to replace Barrios and someone to replace Kehl, and I'd also like Ter Stegen for long term GK replacement, but there's just no way I can afford it all. Will they give me more money if I ask?

[Lommi]

In game, as well as in real life the current board wants to buy young, cheap players... So unless you win the champions league, you wont get that much to spend on new players.

[Bladi]

In game, as well as in real life the current board wants to buy young, cheap players... So unless you win the champions league, you wont get that much to spend on new players.

I am playing season 2014/15 and found that German first division is really easy. I won league every year and already CL winner. After CL win I only got 15M transfer budget/1.1M salary (start season 2014/15) so board is very stingy even when you are topping expectations. It is actually very easy to get quality players after first season. After first season I cashed Kagawa (24m Inter) and Barrios (17m Liverpool). This gives you more than enough money to buy few quality players who are moaning about first team football (you should eye: 1. Vladimir Weiss, Man City (after loan ends) ~4-5m 2. Ibrahim Affellay, Barcelona ~7-8m 3. Fernando, FCP ~5m 4. Boyota, Man City ~4-5m). Usually all of those players doubles their value in season or two if you wish to cash them. There is always one player that I am looking to buy in first transfer window (if allowed and managing team with financial resources) and he is mr Douglas Costa (around 12m first transfer window). No matter what I do with him he will always perform for me. Only player that I signed at the start (12m/48months) and after first season ManU offered 40m from him but it was no deal.

[buster]

The board are stingy, however if you are winning often, and are getting to the latter stages of the CL, and making sound sales (always for a profit!) then your club balance should be very high - I'm halfway through season 3 have won the league two years in a row, and picked up the CL last season and the club has £110 million on the books. I only got a budget of £12 million this season but with sales, and because of the healthy bank balance I've been able to structure far bigger deals over 48 months to brig in the players I need (I spent 55Million and took 48 Million in sales - I still have a budget of 6 Million for january).

My biggest buy so far was 27million for Lars Bender (way over the odds but I couldn't resist putting the brothers together -also Levrkusen have replaced Bayern as my main challengers, so they didn't need the cash from sales.)

[phoenixbasileus]

Is anyone else having problems with the German NT being greyed out again after the patch?

I went and deleted the fake.lnc files again but it still hasn't seemed to have sorted itself out even after restarting the game and the next selection date

[JackEdwardsHappel]

Started a Dortmund save, trying to go far with the young team, like the facilities, and the finances look quite healthy.

First season the board were stingy, gave me a measly £3,000,000 to play with, I tried bringing in a few loans such as Ibrahim Affelay, but they opted to join other clubs. No problem, I started the season with no additions, and just releasing some wage hoggers in the u23s' and u19s'.

The season was pretty disappointing, finished 7th in the league, Koln smashed it finishing top and winning the German cup.

The second season I got given £10,000,000 to play with, also some transfer rumours sparked Shinji Kagawa to bitch and moan at me, so I decided to let him go for £15,000,000, not a bad deal considering he only had 12 months left on his contract. Also, Lucas Barrios left for AC Milan for £15,000,000 again. £30,000,000 for two replaceable players is good business in my opinion!

I decided we needed a real playmaker, I wanted to play a 4-2-1-3 system, with wingers, and one frontman. I shortlisted all available candidates until I saw a Transfer Listed Rafael Van Der Vaart, I snapped him for for a cool £6,500,000 over 48 Months, a steal for a international player in his prime, he should help me to compete. I also bought in a free transfer coup to be his understudy, Nicolas Lodeiro. Even if he doesn't play, he can give good cover and I can sell him for £4,000,000+ in January, good business for me and the club.

I then went about letting several senior players contracts' run down, such as Mohammed Zidan, Seb Kehl, Le Tallec, Kringe, Owomeyela, and Antonio Da Silva.

In the middle of the transfer window is was apparent what we needed was a fresh group of players, that are used to winning. So I got rid of several senior players who were on the fringes, this included ; Jakub Błaszczykowski for £500,000, Dimitar Rangelov retured from his loan to be put on the transfer list, £60,000 was sufficient enough to get him off the wagebill! Mitchell Langerak left for £1,000,000. This summed my outgoings to £31,560,000 decent in my opinion, leaving me to wheel and deal on the transfer market! Also a healthy chunk of my wage budget was now gone! Excellent.

The squad was pretty thin, but I already had my eyes set on some players, I bought in clinical striker, Seydou Doumbia from CSKA Moskow for £15,000,000 over 48 Months, it was apparent that a new full back was needed, I bought in Andreas Beck for £4,000,000 and then another £6,000,000 over 48 months, a steal for a player who will be vital in my plans for the future, he can play on both sides. Stefan Bell arrived from Mainz for £4,500,000, decent, young, talented player, who will be back up and a cup player. I then wanted more...tenacity in my midfield, looked on the transfer list, and to my suprise, a 29 year old Michael Essien was on there, £7,500,000 over 48 Months, problem was wages, I negotiated it down to £78,000 a week! He will be one of the first names on the teamsheet, I realised he was injury prone, it is a risk im willing to take.

Finally, the three loanees arrived. Per Mertesacker from Arsenal, only paying 30% of his wages too! Thibault Courtois from Chelsea, and Soloman Kalou from Chelsea. All of which will be contending for a starting place!

Ins:

Seydou Doumbia - £15,000,000 over 48 Months

Rafael Van Der Vaart - £6,500,000 over 48 Months

Andreas Beck - £10,500,000 over 48 Months

Nicolas Lodeiro - £0,000,000 - Free Transfer

Stefan Bell - £4,500,000

Michael Essien - £7,500,000

Per Mertesacker - LOAN

Soloman Kalou - LOAN

Thibault Courtois - LOAN

Carlos Fierro - £2,500,000

Total: £48,000,000

Outs:

Shinji Kagawa - £15,000,000

Lucas Barrios - £15,000,000

Jakub Błaszczykowsk - £500,000

Mitchell Langerak - £1,000,000

Dimitar Rangelov - £60,000

29 Players - FREE TRANSFER

Total: £31,560,000

Will let you know how it goes, pretty impressed with the squad!

[phoenixbasileus]

35 league games unbeaten, one off equalling the league record and the team decides to have a complete brainfart against Hoffenheim and lose 4-2

[fyrefuze]

Board are a bit stingy but has also granted some favors for me... In the start of the season I went to the board to ask them - increase my txr budget, they instantly denied but I got granted a increased share of txr sales (85%) and a increase in staff limits. signed a few good scouts, physio and coaches. I am looking for a complete staff overhaul in next summer when most of my staff contracts expire.

sold Lewandowski for (8.5m), Langerak (2.5m), Kringe (1m) and few others. used the money to bring in few talented players. My best signings were dos-santos (0 + 5.5m over 48 months) and Deco (3m). missed out on Milan Badelj (though got a bid of 4.8m accepted).

I then signed a few value for money players and much needed cover for my full backs Matthias Ostrzolek (DL), Nika Kvekveskiri (DR) and Lenny Nangis (ST) all ~1m.

come November, My board, pleased with my undefeated run (a few draws though) and a position on top of the league, granted another 1.1m for txrs. I used the money to inflate my wage budget and went in the jan txr window with an eye on contracts expiring this summer. I am overwhelmed after successfully negotiating the contracts with Yaya Sanogo, Adler, Bertoclacci, Martín Montoya, Andrés Guardado and two other players all joining come summer . With 5.5m still available as txr money I decided to wait for the right players to become available.

jan txr window got over but soon after that snapped bell (2.2m) and cigerci (5m). Going good till now leading bundesliga with 3pts and just defeated Basel in CL knock out stages... have to face Chelsea in Qtrs with Sturridge injured and Hummels suspend for both legs :confused:

[f0rmat]

Vrsaljko has injured 3 of my other fullbacks in training now. How the hell do I stop this?

[phoenixbasileus]

Just over halfway through season 2 now, just ended the winter window. Erik Lamela demanded to be listed and Roma accepted an offer of 12m over 36 months for him. Some great potential so I'm happy with. Also accidentally got Lars Bender in for 11m; I originally intended to have him arrive end of season as my long-term replacement for Kehl but after the first deal fell through because the new patch didn't let me fudge my transfer/wage budgets, I forgot to set my second offer to end of season which went through

Got David Ospina and Danny Wilson arriving on frees next season which will be nice as after his 4 month hamstring injury, Arne Friedrich isn't worth re-signing and Asmir Begovic has been getting uppity about first-team action.

My basic squad now

Weidenfeller

Mario Fernandes/Hummels/Subotic/Schmelzer

S. Bender/Gundogan

Reus Gotze Marin

Barrios or Lewa

2nd atm in league - 18 games played, 11-6-1 record. Qualified for 1st knockout round of the CL too after a close call with Europa League, needing to ensure a win against already-qualified Chelsea on Matchday 6 to finish over Benfica, we won 6-0:cool:.

Top scorers: Barrios and Lewandowski on 12, Gotze with 13 assists and highest rating of 7.55

[fyrefuze]

Start of second season for me.. only 15m offered as txr budget and 1m available for wages. Cavani (31m) and Falcao (39m) both txr listed on demand. Have sold Barrios and Kagawa (~19m each) and thus could easily afford either of them. My difficulty though is their wage demands and loyalty bonus.. I am looking fwd to sell a few more players to make some for funds available. what do guys think who should I go for?

[NorthernGooner]

Sorry I haven't been on these forums much lately, just for some reason I can't get into FM12 as much as I would like to, infact in any of the saves that I have had I haven't got to December in the first season. Hopefully sometime within early Jan when I have sometime off work I will have a bit of time to do a Dortmund save.

fyrefuze

Out of Cavani and Falcao without a doubt I would go for Cavani, no question about it, great all around striker.

[Bladi]

I use 4-2-3-1 tactic where Götze is in AML position (Advanced Playmaker with changes: Rarely long shots, max creative freedom, roam and he is playmaker in team instructions). In AMR position I have more like striker-type of player (pace, dribbling, finishing) playing as a inside forward with target man ticket with run on ball supply (you can use Cavani here). Obviously I want to focus my passing to the flanks and put maxium pressure on the opposition fullbacks. In season 2016/17 most teams are playing with 5 man defensive line with DMC/anchor man (FBs + 3xCBs + DMC) against me because my flanks are causing havoc.