FM13: Borussia Dortmund - Echte Liebe.

[Ryknow]

Great season Número uno gunner. How has Günter developed? I found his technical attributes are good but his physical and mental ones don't increase much. Still a solid Bundesliga DC, but still young in my save.

Great to hear Kawashima is playing well. He looked really good in the last screenshot you posted.

[tomtuck01]

Great season Número uno gunner. How has Günter developed? I found his technical attributes are good but his physical and mental ones don't increase much.

They'll improve if you actively seek to improve them via individual training. The problem with doing that is that improving physicals eats up more CA/PA than mental and technical areas.

EDIT; Must say I've been hugely impressed by Kevin Grosskreutz so far. He's started one game and come on as a sub in fours others, and has scored four times. A couple of them quite important aswell.

[Ryknow]

Yeah, he's a great player to have around due to his versatility, but also he has a knock of playing well due to his extremely high work rate. Scored 9 goals and had 6 assists in my first season, with limited chances.

Re. Günter, my problem is he's loaned out, so I have no control over his development atm. I think I'll use him next season, with my newgens going out on loan. He's still only 20, so plenty of time.

[tomtuck01]

Re. Günter, my problem is he's loaned out, so I have no control over his development atm.

Surely that tells you not to loan them, (youngsters), out?

I personally never loan players out until they hit 21/22 and they haven't managed to break into the first team, or if I don't feel I can aid their development any further. The loan system on FM is almost a waste of time.

[batty1]

Looking at getting rid of Santana or Subotic or even both in January. I'd like to add a defender or two that have a good bit of pace and better mentals than Santana. And have a Luiz/Terry type partnership, with Hummels and someone that can actually defend.

[numero uno gunner]

@batty1 - Cheers, though to be honest the Champions League was a fair result, Real played well in the first leg.

@Ryknow - I think Gunter has developed really well. I've got a plethora of quality young centre backs, and its him who had secured a first team place last season. It'll be interesting if it stays the same this year.

@tomtuck01 - Grosskreutz didn't really perform for me, but glad he has for you. I've found the loan system really useful, providing you pick the club the youngster goes to carefully. Several of my youngsters have been on loan to teams in top leagues around Europe, and have performed well. That experience has proved invaluable in their development I think.

My squad looks massive at the moment, as I'm just about to start pre-season. I've arranged 9 games to give as many players opportunities to play their way into the first-team squad for next season.

I've got several contract issues to sort out, most notably Volland, Loustau, Thiago and Leitner, who are all demanding in excess of £80k a week. I've got a huge surplus in my wage budget for the season (920k at the moment), but I'm unhappy giving into their demands, especially Loustau, Volland and Leinter, who have all become stars under my management.

Santana has departed for Gladbach for £4.5m, not a bad price for a 31 year old centre back, particularly as I have his replacement at the club already.

I've just had a bid of £10.5m for Bittencourt from Valencia, and I'm seriously considering letting him go. He hasn't played very much for me at all, and is down the pecking order.

I've also just turned down a bid of £40m from Man Utd for Leitner. Now I know that might seem like crazy money, but he is essential to my long-term goal of a home-grown squad (or as close as possible) as he is going to replace Thiago in the centre of midfield. I can see him and Goretzka running games for years to come.

Speaking of Thiago, I'm considering fishing with him, to see if anyone bites with a decent offer. Whilst he is undoubtedly a quality player, he's going to have to go long-term, is out of contract next summer, and wants £130k a week, which would make him my top earner at the club.

God, I'm moaning about money with a £45m transfer fund and £920k a week left in the wages budget. Throw in all this talk about developing youngsters, and it makes me sound like Arsene Wenger in disguise...

EDIT: It looks like I'm going to spend the summer fending off bids for my players. Real Madrid have just offered me £6.5m up front, £36m over 30 months and £3.3m after 10 league goals for Volland. Now that is seriously tempting me... Any advice?

[batty1]

Yeah much like on my previous save, I sent Bittencourt on loan to Atletico where he was a first team regular in La Liga, great experience imo. Talking of which did you loan Gunter out numero uno gunner or has that all been achieved at BvB?

[tomtuck01]

numero uno gunner & batty1

I never said players couldn't have good experiences being loaned out to other clubs, just that I don't like doing it as you can't mould them how you want to via individual training, tutoring, and PPM training.

[batty1]

Thats fair enought, just down to personal preference.

[numero uno gunner]

@tomtuck01 - I guess it depends on what areas in particular you want to develop. If its a more rounded development across several attributes, I tend to go down the loan route. However if its individual attributes, they tend to play for BVB II and still be under my training and tutoring. Horses for courses and all that jazz. I'm sure both methods work well. How's your game going?

@batty1 - All achieved at BVB. He played a fair bit last season (that screenshot was taken midway through the season) and has been tutored by Hummels.

[Ryknow]

Surely that tells you not to loan them, (youngsters), out?

I personally never loan players out until they hit 21/22 and they haven't managed to break into the first team, or if I don't feel I can aid their development any further. The loan system on FM is almost a waste of time.

I never loan out the players I have a long term view on. Günter simply isn't in my plans, I have better newgens already. He will be backup CB at most, kept around as he's HG. My 20 year old Günter is similar to número's but has 17 in marking and heading already. I think he's developing well as he's played 30 games for Stuttgart this season. He would have struggled to get 10 with me, including subs as I had Indi for half of the season.

Also, most players I loan out are already moulded by 19/20 as I get them young. I only send promising players to other Bundesliga clubs, where they will be key members. Farming 17/18 year olds out to lower div clubs doesn't do much in my opinion and I don't do it anymore (tried in another save).

Finally won the title! 2014/15 Champions!

Was lucky in the end as it finished on the last day with us needing a win away at Mainz.

Table finished:

BVB - 83pts

Bayern - 81pts

Schalke - 63pts

Nürnberg - 63pts

Bayern won every single game after the winter break bar one, in which they drew. Seriously, they are too strong! I fear I won't win next season. I'll get around to doing a season review later.

[batty1]

Well done on winning the league bud. Currently got Gunter being tutored by Hummels. I'll probably loan him out next season.

[numero uno gunner]

@Ryknow - Congratulations on winning the league! Looking forward to reading your season review.

@batty1 - Gunter got game time for me simply because Subotic had already been sold before I took over, making him a back up option at that stage. In reality, stats-wise he's probably at best third choice behind Hummels and Gusmao, although there is an argument that Moreau might be better than him as well now he has returned from two years out on loan (at Montpellier and Rapid Wien respectively). The reason he keeps playing for me was that when he played, we tended to keep more clean sheets. Pre-season will see the centre-backs start on an even footing, with starting places up for grabs.

[Ryknow]

Thanks guys, was so nervous we'd fall at the last hurdle.

Número: Those are some huge figures for Leitner and Volland! In all honesty I'd reject them as well, as I have a similar direction that you take, just not as strict. Eg. HG/German

Is your rule HG at club only? Or does it include HG in nation as well?

If so, it all depends on who is coming through and whether you can replace them. The main issue is that they are young, so I don't think it would be wise to sell them, even for stupid money.

Is there any top German/HG nation newgens at other clubs? Any developed well by AI?

By the sounds of it, I'd be listing Thiago and then offering out once clubs get interested. His wage demands are excessive, not HG, and as you say his deal runs out soon.

[numero uno gunner]

@Ryknow - I'm thinking that's the way I'm going to go with Thiago. HG is nation for me, although if the chance arrives for just club HG in the future I'd consider it I think. I asked for £50m for both Leinter and Volland, just to test the water. I've got a replacement for Volland in Brendel, who simply has to be in the first-team squad next season, but Volland offers versatility due to his performances at AML. Leitner is my replacement for Thiago, so he is going absolutely nowhere. I've raided Europe for some more under-18s, as these are still young enough to be developed properly, and, more importantly, can still become home-grown long term. There are some excellent prospects at Bayern and Stuttgart, as well as a couple at Werder, Schalke and Leverkusen. Enquiries will be going in shortly to see if I can tempt a few sales my way.

[batty1]

So just hit January and I'm compiling a list of who might improve the team. Looking towards home grown players. So if you have any suggestions they would be appreciated.

Andre Hoffmann - only 19 and a great utility man with potential (natural DM but can play RB, CB,CM and RM if needed), great in the air too

Leon Goretzka - I'm sure you know who he is

Sead Kolasinac - 19 year old German CB at Schalke, good physicals, and technical stats but needs some work on his mentals. Can play LB and DM if needed

Sebastian Rode

Andre Schurrle

Lars Bender

Julian Draxler

Samed Yesil

Maupay

EDIT:

So Hannover want £13M for Hoffmann after negotiating them down from £20M odd.

Bochum want £8.5M for Goretzka again after negotiating for my life.

Still trying to agree a fee for Kolasinac.

Not sure if these are worth it.

[numero uno gunner]

@batty1 - Maupay develops into a really good striker, so would definitely recommend him over Yesil. I've been banging on about Goretzka enough to tell you my view on him (sign him!), and would probably opt for him over Rode, although the latter wouldn't be a bad shout either. That said, if you can tempt Lars Bender to join his brother, do it. Schurrle made a promising start but wavered a little towards the end of last season, so I'd be tempted to plump for Draxler, who tears teams apart on a regular basis on my game. Kolasinac looks a solid if unspectacular centre back, so I guess would be a cheapish option for back up, and probably better than Hoffmann, though there isn't much in it. I assume you are in January '13?

I'm in pre-season, and I'm fending off bids left, right and centre. In addition to the Leitner and Volland bids, I've had offers to take both Bittencourt and Cuenca on loan, a £15m bid for Brendel (£15m wouldn't even buy his right arm, let alone the rest of him) and a £10m bid for Schmelzer. I'm not opposed to letting any of Schmelzer, Bittencourt or Cuenca go, providing its a permanent transfer for what I consider an acceptable amount. That hasn't happened yet.

Oh, and I've just received three £30m bids for Thiago, who is out of contract next summer, from Man Utd, Chelsea and PSG. I've got to accept, as long-term he needs to go anyway, but now am searching for a replacement. Its August '17, so recommendations gratefully received! Obviously, home-grown options only need apply. Whilst I'm at it, I also want a decent keeper to play back up to Kawashima. I've got Volpicelli, my young Italian regen, but I'd like him to get some game time with either BVB II or out on loan to aid his development, but that means someone else needs to come in, so suggestions on a postcard (or in a reply on here if you prefer) please...

[batty1]

Yep I'm in Jan 13, got a £6M Deal in place for Maupay. Leverkusen are 2nd bottom at the minute, so I might run the risk of them staying up and bid at the end of the season and the like.

The £11M wanted for Kolasinac is too much imo. Everyone wants a crap tonne of cash for fairly mediocre players.

xxxxxx

Numero Uno Gunner:- Dominik Kohr of Leverkusen depending on what his mentals have turned out like as a DM/CM.

[numero uno gunner]

£6m is what I paid I think for Maupay, and its a bargain.

Kohr hasn't developed overly well, so probably not going to opt for him. Ideally I'd love a box-to-box style midfielder, but may have to see what I can find. I'd love to bring Gundogan back from Real Madrid, but that's very unlikely.

Gk-wise, I'm looking at either Leno or Sippel, although Bayern have a 19 year old regen who is looking very promising indeed.

[batty1]

I've got 2 box to box midfielders in mind but they're both Brazillian.

---------------------------

Anyway first game back after the winter break and I think my team are trying to say save any cash until the summer boss!

Just realised my two wingers, striker and Am got 2 each lol.

[And Could He Play]

Just started a game with Dortmund using the latest summer update. One week before the season starts Lewandowski has handed in a transfer request. Any ideas of a good replacement for him (hoping to get £40m), however the majority of good strikers have recently moved clubs during the transfer window (higuain etc.) or have people found Aubameyang a suitable replacement?

[JackInDerBox]

Thought I would provide a season review for my game with Dortmund. May or may not continue with the save. Played with the latest official patch no summer transfers.

Borussia Dortmund 2012/2013

As you can see by my team of the year I did not add much to the squad, De Sciglio was one of a few loan signings but the only one who ended up being used as more than just a backup since he was able to cover left back as well and Piszczek went through a period of injury. The whole year I was relatively lucky in terms of injury, with Lewy, Reus and Goetze hardly missing anything and since they are the most important part of my tactic which we will come to in a minute it helped me immensely.

League Table

League went down to the last day as I was struggling to rotate a thin squad handling the later stages of the Champions League. Actually required Bayern to lose a relatively winnable game for them to give me the title but oh well. Two defeats were against Bayern and Freiburg, Bayern in particular was a struggle as we only snuck a win in the Super cup having been dominated by them, and was easily pumped both league games. Lost this years Super Cup as well against them unfortunately. Did nothing of note in the Domestic Cup as I did not care about it.

Champions League

Was very happy to win it in the first season which came as a complete and undeserved surprise. I qualified relatively easily from a group of AC Milan, Galatasaray and Valencia. Despite being first I drew United in the next round. We drew 1-1 at Old Trafford before my favoured front 4 bagged a goal each at home to go through 5-1 on aggregate. Next up was Juventus who's counter attacking football was very effective against mine. Lewy gave us a 1-0 advantage from the home leg, before Giovinco took us to extra time in the away leg. Kuba snuck one in after a good counter attack from us and we were very luckily through. In the semi's we drew Real Madrid. We got absolutely dominated at the Bernabeau, Higuain (twice) and Ozil giving Real a seemingly unassailable lead. At home however an early Lewandowski goal followed by an Arbeloa OG meant we had them on the back foot for the whole game practically, Kuba again scoring in the 85th minute to take it to extra time then ultimately penalties where we just got through by the tiniest of margins. The final was a standard affair where we scored a corner early on and neither team really threatened to add. Anti-climax but was delighted to win the double.

Tactic and Key Players

I know a lot of the people in this thread have gone for a Control possession oriented tactic which I completely understand. However I feel it is not really how Dortmund play. It is all about vertical football with them and that is roughly what I tried to implement. However I went for a more extreme version of their's as mine coupled with the shouts I use means my possession even against teams who are noticeably worse than me barely ever reaches over 50%. This is no problem however as a large percentage of my chances are easy enough for my front 4 in particular to take advantage. As you may have noticed they all have relatively balanced numbers for goals with no standouts. However Reus in particular was my favourite to watch as time and time again he would simply make a goal all by himself and a direct pass from a deeper player. Lewy played as only he can play as an advanced forward and it has become apparent in my friendlies that the role will have to change without him as he plays it in a unique way with his PPMs and stats.

Season Two

Will start with the major changes to the squad during the window. I started with the hope of signing Claudio Yacob and Stephan El Shaarawy who were both on the transfer list but both decided that lesser squads and higher wages were for them. This was before I decided to bite the bullet and sell Lewy since he obviously wont sign a new deal. Offered him out and Benfica offered the most so he went there for the handsome sum of £41.5M. Julian Schieber who was a super sub for me last year also left online to PSG for 300k a month which was too good to refuse for someone I had no intention of using due to his sometimes shocking finishing. Kirch, Bittencourt and Leitner all left for smallish fees due to poor performance for the latter two and for obvious reasons with the first. Felipe Santana left next along with Grobkerutz with neither providing much to the team, although Santana may have been more useful than I gave him credit. I obviously signed a few regens for cheap to supplement the squad but I also needed to add a fair few players just to add some depth, this hasn't really been achieved and I am lacking in some areas but overall the squad is nearly as strong as it was with Lewy which is all I can ask for since he was just a superstar for me.

Ander Herrera came in so I did not have to play a youngster when Goetze needed a rest. He cost me £14M which I think was a reasonable fee for a quality player, ter Stegen who I have never used before came in to take the number one spot from Weidenfeller straight away for £20M exactly. Ezequiel Munoz came in for £5.5M to be my Santana replacement. Pablo Armero has arrived to be my backup left back since Di Sciglio has no intention of returning . Alongside that Gervinho and Nicklas Bendtner have arrived on loan from Arsenal for some depth since they were available for tiny loan fees and smallish wage demands. Andre Schurrle who I most definitely did not need also joined for a very low fee of £13M which I will at least manage to recoup but he has played well so he may get more game time than I imagined. Now for the interesting part who replaces the big man up front. Well it is not one player directly but rather two, I picked up Christian Benteke who I think can be molded into a Lewy-esque player for £11.5M which I think is a bargain and he has settled in okay despite not scoring he bagged two assists in his league debut. The second player you may have noticed featured in my best eleven for last season as a sub, Omar Afkir. My scouts found him and rated him only as 3 star potential, however a quick look at his stats made me think I could make the very most of his presumably limited potential. Here he is after being tutored by Lewy before he left. Coaches now rate him as 5 star potential so hopefully that means he has more room for growth than the scouts thought.

Lost the Super Cup to Bayern which was no real surprise as I was still tweaking the tactic to fit the team without Lewy, however I won the European Super Cup 1-0 against Benfica which had Lewandowski wondering why he joined them instead of signing a new deal.. First league game was perfect with Goetze becoming much more involved than last season since I swapped the attacking duty from the striker to him.

Losing the motivation to continue however, really want to try this tactic with my beloved Arsenal. If anyone has any questions or indeed read this massive wall of text let me know!

[phoenixemperor]

Just started a game with Dortmund using the latest summer update. One week before the season starts Lewandowski has handed in a transfer request. Any ideas of a good replacement for him (hoping to get £40m), however the majority of good strikers have recently moved clubs during the transfer window (higuain etc.) or have people found Aubameyang a suitable replacement?

Abel Hernandez at Palermo might be worth a shout, he's not as good as Lewa now, but has solid potential. Probably hard to get a like for like replacement for Lewa since the most obvious targets have moved in the update though, but you could use the cash to get maybe 3/4 solid players with potential for the future. You could try Leandro Damiao but you might not have high enough starting club rep to get him interested.

JackInDerBox: If the Milan AI is anything like my game, they won't use De Sciglio much and you can get him for 10-15m end of second season or so. I did enough in his season on loan to get myself as favoured personnel and he liked Jovetic as well so maybe that helped.

[Ryknow]

Will do my season summary after I finish the transfer window, but it's all kicking off now. Got a bid of €44.5mil for Gündogan from Man City, out of no where. I told them where to shove it, as 24hrs earlier he had signed a new 5 year deal. Then they bid for Leitner, I rejected that. Then they went for Garmash, and I let him leave as he's not German and took a nasty injury last season. Great player but I got €20mil so I'm happy.

One of my 4.5 star PA HG right wingers, basically my Kuba replacement, wants €18,000pw, and 15% yearly wage rise. I was so shocked. He looks really promising but that's completely bullsh*t. He hasn't even played a competitive game yet, and is currently on €65 a week...

Then, Man City and Real Madrid bid Kirchhoff's value (€13.5mil) and Bayern accepted! He's their best centre back and they didn't even fight for him. I bid the same and they said, err...no €41mil from you will do it. I see what it means, eg. They don't want to sell to me, but the shocking thing is they sold him for so low a figure. Idiots.

Bayerns team is looking depleted as people get older. Gomez however scored 35 league goals last season, and Hernandez 20 something. Hopefully they suddenly strengthen as Robben and Ribery are useless, and wanting to leave. They can't sell them because their attributes are bad, and their wages are huge.

My chances are looking better for the title if they don't invest heavily.

[numero uno gunner]

I've just about reached the end of my pre-season, and my squad still isn't ready for the campaign ahead.

Goalkeepers: In Kawashima and Volpicelli, I've got two talented young keepers. However, I need to bring another keeper in, and have my sights set on Leno from Leverkusen. He's German, will provide competition for Kawashima, and will allow me to send Volpicelli out on loan. Now I need to get Leverkusen to sell at an acceptable price.

Right back: Loustau and Bertani provide excellent options, and as both will eventually be home-grown, there is definitely no need to make any additional purchases here. I've also got Peter who can play here if needs be.

Left back: Schmelzer has stayed put, despite a £10m bid from Athletico, and will be first choice again this year. That said, I had expected Ademola to push him further, but he has just been injured for 3 months in pre-season. I haven't got another decent left back option at the club, so definitely going to have to bring someone in now. I guess I'm aiming to improve on Schmelzer, so I can let him go next summer.

Centre back: Possibly the best stocked area at the club, with Hummels, Gusmao, Gunter, Moreau and Peter all worthy of a place in the first team squad. I'll keep Peter in the BVB II rather than loaning him out, as he can also cover at right back if an injury crisis hits. Santana has departed to Gladbach for £4.5m, a decent amount for him.

Centre midfield: Bender and Goretzka provide solid, ball-winning options, and Leitner will be partnering Bender in my first choice starting line up. Thiago was persuaded by the abundance of quality food and wine on offer in France's capital to join PSG, providing me with £30m in the process. I can't say I'm disappointed with that deal, as he was out of contract next summer, and isn't part of my long-term home grown plans. Evidently, this leaves a massive hole in the squad. Internally, the only real option at this stage would be Bittencourt, who was handed in a transfer request, as my other options are all 17 year old youngsters who, despite having quality, are not ready for the level of football we will be playing at this season.

Attacking midfield right: Reus will be first choice, and deservedly so. Cuenca was his back up last season, but I'm thinking of letting him go if I can get a decent offer in. He came in on a free, so all of his transfer fee would be profit. This will allow me to bring Vukasinovic into the squad, as he has done well during pre season.

Attacking midfield left: Schurrle and Volland will vie for this position, chopping and changing throughout the season. I'm also bringing Eggert into the squad, and will try to give him some game time against some of the weaker sides we face. He deserves his chance, much like Vukasniovic, after a good pre-season.

Attacking midfield centre: Gotze will obviously be first choice, and Halilovic will step in when needed, although I don't like his weakness of important matches. I've also got Lazarou in and around the squad, and will try to give him some game time as well, particularly as he will be home-grown and Halilovic isn't. If Lazarou develops well, I could be tempted to let Halilovic go next summer.

Striker: De Jong, Maupay, Volland, Karanka and Brendel. Something's got to give in a formation that only requires one front man. Volland will mostly be used as an aml, so that solves part of the dilemma. I'm likely to send Karanka out on loan, providing I can find a decent option for him. He needs to be playing regularly in a top league, and he is more than capable of that. De Jong should really be first choice, yet I started with Brendel in the Super Cup against Furth, his first competitive start for BVB, and he hit five. Yes, 5. Unbelievable really.

So, potential departures for Bittencourt and Cuenca in the pipeline.

A goalkeeper, left back, and, most importantly, a central midfielder to replace Thiago, are now required. Time to spend the £75m war chest...

[GingerFurballmkII]

My Dortmund save is at the start of the 2014/15 save. Won the Bundesliga in 2012/13, reaching the semis of the Champions League and won the Super Cup, Bundesliga, Pokal and Champions League in 2013/14.

Current squad:

Marc-Andre ter Stegen

Jack Butland

Danilo

French regen RB

Marcel Schmelzer

Slovak regen LB

Mats Hummels

Neven Subotic

Jan Kirchhoff

Paul Martin (US regen)

Ilkay Gundogan

Moritz Leitner

Sebastian Rode

Leon Goretzka

Marco Reus

Jarsoslav Machala (Czech regen)

Mario Götze

Leonardo Bittencourt

Isco

André Schürlle

Robert Lewandowski

Edinson Cavani

Memphis Depay

fap away lads.

[john1]

Good to see more people starting with Dortmund I'm back after few days away from FM. Firing it up

[batty1]

My Dortmund save is at the start of the 2014/15 save. Won the Bundesliga in 2012/13, reaching the semis of the Champions League and won the Super Cup, Bundesliga, Pokal and Champions League in 2013/14.

Current squad:

Marc-Andre ter Stegen

Jack Butland

Danilo

French regen RB

Marcel Schmelzer

Slovak regen LB

Mats Hummels

Neven Subotic

Jan Kirchhoff

Paul Martin (US regen)

Ilkay Gundogan

Moritz Leitner

Sebastian Rode

Leon Goretzka

Marco Reus

Jarsoslav Machala (Czech regen)

Mario Götze

Leonardo Bittencourt

Isco

André Schürlle

Robert Lewandowski

Edinson Cavani

Memphis Depay

fap away lads.

Nice looking squad, just out of interest how much did you play for Kirchhoff and Schurrle?

[GingerFurballmkII]

I started this save ages ago (pre-January updates), Kirchhoff had a €17.75m release clause and Mainz wouldn't settle for a penny less.

Schurlle was €22m off the top of my head.

I wanted to try and keep the squad as German as possible but went for Isco after Draxler turned me down.

[numero uno gunner]

@batty1 - Schurrle is available quite a lot by the looks of it. I paid £15m for him from Man Utd, and was worth it. And £8.5m is still a good price for Goretzka.

@GingerFurballmkII - How is Lewandowski still in your squad? (And no real need for the 'fap' comment, I'd back my predominantly German / Home-Grown squad to beat yours, even with Cavani and Isco).

@john1 - Glad to see you're back, you just can't stay away from BVB!

I'm looking at bringing in Rode myself (ironic really after actively encouraging batty1 to go for Goretzka) but may opt for Scnellhardt instead, as he looks to be more the type of player I want for the role. At left back, I'm hoping to bring in Plattenhardt to provide cover after Ademola's pre-season injury. Playing the negotiating game for Leno at the moment.

[batty1]

Cheers just had a look at the transfer list and saw Leverkusen were being reasonable and wanting £12M for Schurrle. He chose me over Madrid and joins in July.

Have to play the last Bundesliga game of the season soon, Bayern are 3 points behind and need me to lose and they also need to make back 15 goals on me lol so league is in the bag really. Going to poach Rode of relegated Frankfurt may also pinch Trapp (had him on a previous Granada save and he was excellent).

[GingerFurballmkII]

@GingerFurballmkII - How is Lewandowski still in your squad?

He's my number 1 striker. Only just signed Cavani this summer, he was available for €35m, I had the money and decided to splash the cash. Makes rotating so much better, Cavani's quite the step up from Schieber in terms of a first reserve.

[batty1]

I'm finding Piszczek to be quite the clumsy oaf and big Roman too for that matter. I know who I want to replace Roman with but for Piszczek's replacement is Jung the only decent German RB? If so I might bring Carvajal in and get him his German citizenship.

Also thinking my wingers next season will be : RW:- Reus/Gotze and LW:- Schurrle Draxler

[numero uno gunner]

@GingerfurballmkII - What I meant was he should have left by now as it is hard-coded into the game that he wont sign a new contract, hence all of us selling him at some point and discussing his replacement in depth.

[batty1]

Hes on the pre january patch. Only hardcoded on the post window patch afaik

[GingerFurballmkII]

I'm finding Piszczek to be quite the clumsy oaf and big Roman too for that matter. I know who I want to replace Roman with but for Piszczek's replacement is Jung the only decent German RB? If so I might bring Carvajal in and get him his German citizenship.

Also thinking my wingers next season will be : RW:- Reus/Gotze and LW:- Schurrle Draxler

How did you get Draxler?

[batty1]

I haven't yet, but him and Howedes are my no1 targets

[phoenixemperor]

I haven't yet, but him and Howedes are my no1 targets

I'd say good luck with that lol, I'm shocked I got Bayern down to 13.5m for Emre Can and he wasn't at the same level then as Draxler and Howedes. Although if Schalke have been rubbish and they demand transfers..., I signed Phil Jones in my Liverpool save for 16.5m when he demanded a transfer from Man Utd.

[Ryknow]

Batty1: I found Jung to be quite good and develop well but he'd sometimes get taken out of position, or make a random mistake and I never felt confident in using him as my no.1 RB. He also can't win anything in the air.

You might be different, but he just didn't work for me. Going to sell him this window as Corchia arrived on a free, and Piszczek still performed well. I have two promising newgen left backs so might convert one to RB. Doesn't look like any good German newgen right backs atm.

Draxler on my game sucks. Not sure if he got injured but he just hasn't developed like he did on another save I had. Dissapointing, but judging by the amount of attacking midfielders my academy produces, he wouldn't have been needed anyway.

How does everyone deal with contracts with their youth products. All mine seem to ask for €1-3k pw, and yearly wage rise, and the really promising ones ask for €5-10k pw. What are your 17 yr olds on?

I think I might bite the bullet and give that RW HG talent the €14k pw. If he doesn't perform I could get a fair amount of money for him, better than him leaving on a free. Also, I gave Donovan €28k pw just to be a tutor/backup. It's just the principle of an unknown youngster asking for €14k pw, and not being proven.

After getting sacked at Leverkusen, Klopp is now at Stuttgart.

[phoenixemperor]

Klopp manages Bayern after going to Stuttgart in my game which is just horrifying.

On the plus side, I have 2 from 2 against Bayern in Bundesliga this season so...

[Safce]

I haven't yet, but him and Howedes are my no1 targets

Baring in mind my Dortmund team have won 5 champions leagues 5 league titles and 5 DFB Pokals as well as any other tournament associated with winning these. And draxler wouldn't speak to me and chose a languishing Man utd team when he requested a transfer. Think he may have an innate hatred of BVB since he plays for shalcke.

[tomtuck01]

Draxler has Dortmund as a disliked club in the database, so even getting him to talk to you would mean a strong media campaign to get on his good side would be required.

[Safce]

I afforded plenty of effort into a media campaign based around him but alas it was not to be, wasn't as though I needed him as I have superior players for any position he plays. However it's always nice to have top Germans in your squad.

[Ryknow]

Apparently Schweinsteiger and Gomez are willing to join me after I won the title. Pretty tempting considering how good they both are, but my team is sorted now.

A 29yr old Rooney got released because he didn't want to sign a new deal. Another tempting situation, but I don't sign British players.

Sold a lot of rotation players as I've promoted around eight 17yr olds to my first team. One of them scored a volley in the DFL Super Cup v Kaiserlautern. I think they're my bogey team. Knocked me out the DFB Pokal last season, and went on to win it, and took me to penalties in the DFL Super Cup. My newgen goalkeeper (ter Stegen injured) stepped up and saved 3 out the 4 penalties.

Draxler will be hard to get but Höwedes is another story. Depending on if you are successful and Schalke are poor, he'll want to join you. The issue is the price to buy him.

[GingerFurballmkII]

I haven't yet, but him and Howedes are my no1 targets

Draxler has 'would prefer not to play for Dortmund' in his career plans section. He wasn't even interested in discussing terms after I finally agreed a price of €31m with Schalke.

[batty1]

Draxler has 'would prefer not to play for Dortmund' in his career plans section. He wasn't even interested in discussing terms after I finally agreed a price of €31m with Schalke.

Yeah just seen that same with Howedes. Still at least Schurrle is coming for £12M

@Ryknow Cheers for that, will probably steer clear of him for now and see how he developes under the AI.

PSG have bid £38M and 20% of profit of the next sale. Not sure if I should bite their hand off. Was kinda hoping for £50M after this:

[Ryknow]

If you can, and still have time, hold out for a bit longer. They won't be selling him on for a profit, or at all tbh. You should get around £42-£50mil, £40mil being the least you should accept.

[batty1]

Plenty of time yet, only just about to hit July. Looking up Chicharito at £7.5M to £10M as a replacement or possily Rodrigo at around £20M

[Ryknow]

Sounds good. All depends on how you want to play. I chose Lukaku because I wanted someone to mould into a complete forward. He can play as my lone striker and control a goal kick, or long pass from deep then hold it up, or he can play along side Volland/Reus and cause havoc.

Hernandez will get you goals, and for under £10mil it's a good price. Bayern spent €35mil to get him in 2014 in my game.

[batty1]

Barca have come in with a bid of £48M for Lewy which was duly accepted. Unfortunately Hernandez went to PSG for £15M.

Bayern are getting on my nerves they are after my 5 star potential german/american newgen defensive midfielder.