FM13: The Swansea City Thread - The only footballing team in Wales..

[PartWelsh]

Second Season.

I've actually abandoned the save 9 games into the BPL Season after I read the following in my match confidence:

Bayern were the seasons previous winners of the Champions League for context (also, they're still Bayern Munich).

This was the breaking point for me as clearly me editing the reputation had caused the game to be incredibly distorted to the point where it was destined to become unmanageable. Regardless, here is the tale that was starting to tell.

Results.

Again, some good results there but the same story as last season, goals at both ends of the pitch and some lucky late winners.

Transfers.

A lot more movement in the second season purchase wise with the bulk of the money (18 Million Budget) going on Georginio from PSV to replace di Guzman who I never renewed his loan/moved to sign. In his 8 appearances he's pulled in an average rating of 7.24, providing 3 assists and 2 goals and a Player of the Match award (would love your opinion on the £13.75 Million price tag). Expensive purchase for sure, but he was looking sharp in the side as a replacement for Michu in the AMC role (who was now rotating with Graham having been trained as an ST).

Georginio Wijnaldum

The rest of the budget was dedicated to providing reinforcement to the unchanged Swansea team who was now expected to be performing at a much higher level. 2 Full Backs were brought in on loan (with the intention of signing the LB Horst to replace Tiendalli - who was up for sale in January). Was very pleased with the way they had both performed and would happily look to sign them in on the future.

Horst

Lopes

On scouts recommendations, I'd also moved on further youth members for the team:

Stemmer

In to provide an alternative to Wijnaldum at ACM as an Inside Forward. The fans were not happy about me bringing him to the squad and despite his performances (2 goals) and his massive potential. I was happy with him though and would have been keen to see how his career progressed.

Yaisien

Signed on a free from PSG. Massive potential for him and would have looked good as an attacking replacement to Britton for must win games.

Pukki

Final signing, and the only one that was proving to be a disappointment. I was looking to start providing a strike partner up front in a 4-3-1-2 formation and this guy seemed like an ideal poacher. Only the 1 goal from him (and a complete fluke at that). There's every chance that he could have surprised me later in the season and it probably would have been better to have brought him in on loan for 6 months first, but probably not a signing I'd be looking to recreate in the future.

Overall.

Making the decision to end the third save wasn't easy but knowing that every game had an expectation of win (despite only ever making changes to the line up in the second season) meant that my days were numbered. Worst still, my wage budget was set to explode with each existing squad member set to receive new contracts, most of which had doubled given the level they were now playing at it and the adjusted club reputation.

This is the point where I decided that I'd learned all that I could from playing the game and made the decision to start googling better advice. The very fist thing I'd done was attempt to find a 'Prima', published strategy guide for FM2013, only to find that nobody had ever taken on the task. I instead started to look toward finding FM blogs and community sites for tips and advice but found that the only ones turning up on search results on one off articles that primarily started out life here on the sigames boards.

As I said, I've lurked incredibly heavily over the past two weeks whilst I contemplate how to setup for a reset to normal database game with the Swans once more, picked up tactics advice, had my mind blown by features of the game that I wasn't paying any attention to at all, and found some reassurance that I wasn't the only one suffering from Vorms mistakes. I've now started a 4th save as Swansea to try put it all into practice and am incredibly pleased with how things are going, dominating most matches (which I can't turn into goals!), building an effective backroom staff, managing training myself rather than leaving it on auto and making the most of all of the tools the game provides.

I'll follow up with another post showing where I'm currently at and giving due credit to all the authors of the many great threads on the boards who've helped to show me the FM2013 light.

Hi to all!

[PartWelsh]

Hey all, very keen to contribute on the thread but found that after typing up a post with images, that it was pushed to mods pending approval. Absolutely fine with that and don't mind that it's taking a while to approve, just curious if you know any reason for it having triggered that? i.e. Post too long, images were hosted on an unapproved site?

Thanks all (Major thanks for all the advice shared on this thread)

Edit - All sorted now! 2 posts are above

[Phenomenon]

Hey all, very keen to contribute on the thread but found that after typing up a post with images, that it was pushed to mods pending approval. Absolutely fine with that and don't mind that it's taking a while to approve, just curious if you know any reason for it having triggered that? i.e. Post too long, images were hosted on an unapproved site?

Thanks all (Major thanks for all the advice shared on this thread)

I was wondering why it said you had typed on this page, yet when I clicked on it there was nothing there. I've never had this happen to me, and I'm usually one for a long-winded post. Hopefully a mod will read this and sort it out for you. Looking forward to reading your contributions.

[PartWelsh]

Thanks Phenomenon - There was nothing offensive in the posts, no bad language. The only thing that sprung to mind was that I had linked images that were hosted on imgur? But can't find anything to suggest that folks shouldn't be using it? Probably way off the mark and trust the mods will sort it

[Welshace]

Hey all, very keen to contribute on the thread but found that after typing up a post with images, that it was pushed to mods pending approval. Absolutely fine with that and don't mind that it's taking a while to approve, just curious if you know any reason for it having triggered that? i.e. Post too long, images were hosted on an unapproved site?

Thanks all (Major thanks for all the advice shared on this thread)

Hey part! It's automatic when someone is new to posting after lurking around for a while, nothing to do with the content or anything don't worry

It just gives mods an easier job of weeding out spam bots and other unsavoury things

Sorry it took a while to approve, should be fine now.

[Phenomenon]

Firstly, thanks for sorting that out welshace.

Secondly, just read your posts PartWelsh. I also found it difficult when first taking to the game. I hadn't played much of fm11 and none of fm12. I was being stubborn and trying to ignore most of the tools available but the truth is once you embrace them the game becomes much easier and more enjoyable. Be interested to see how attempt number 4 is coming along for you.

Reading your post makes me want to start as the swans again, after I over-populated the squad in my last save with bosman freebies and ruined it. Will probably start later on this evening actually.

[f0rmat]

Man Utd are ridiculous in my game. Just won their second consecutive treble and are still have the European and FA cup to win this season.

[PartWelsh]

I haven't played in a single game with any team where they haven't at least won the BPL having scored a ridiculous number of goals. Very scary stuff!

Might start a save with them and give them a go. I don't really like playing as big teams as you have absolutely nothing to aim for long term, you'll have won everything you can after 2 seasons surely?

[Phenomenon]

Yeah they're regularly the ones to beat no matter who I'm playing as. I tried a save with them but found it way too easy. Won everything I was competing for in season one except the FA cup, then won absolutely everything in the second season.

[f0rmat]

Yes! Won the FA cup at the second time of asking by beating Utd (the same team that beat me last season in the final).

That's 2 Capital One cups and 1 FA cup so far. Now for the Premier League, and to get further than the quarter finals of a European trophy.

I promised myself I won't make any signings this summer because we've stopped being profitable. Time to shore up the finances and maybe make a sale or two.

[PartWelsh]

Yes! Won the FA cup at the second time of asking by beating Utd (the same team that beat me last season in the final).

That's 2 Capital One cups and 1 FA cup so far. Now for the Premier League, and to get further than the quarter finals of a European trophy.

I promised myself I won't make any signings this summer because we've stopped being profitable. Time to shore up the finances and maybe make a sale or two.

Big Congrats dude How did Leonardo Lopez work out for you in the end?

[PartWelsh]

As promised, wanted to come back and let you know how I was getting on with a 4th save.

So with a default database (no increased Club Reputation that eventually killed me last time!), I'm back in charge and I've completely changed how I'm looking to run the save.

As I said in my last post, was very comforting to find folk on the boards that were running into issues with the game and seeing how they were then trying to solve their own problems. One thread in particular that got my attention was wez007’s thread on passing analysis. I don’t really make use of the actual passing analysis feature itself to quite the same depth (though I have stuck my head in once or twice to see how effective change x has been), but certainly Cleon’s detail surrounding shouts showed me that there was just far too much about the game that I wasn't making use of.

One of the biggest changes I’ve made in how I play FM2013 is to stop abandoning the game to ‘chance’ on match day too. I know it’s not fair to call it chance given that I’m sure it’s working on a very fine set of logical rules, but I’ve found that physically letting the game be played with highlights on full actually increases the effectiveness of my team (or at least makes me feel better). I found that rashidi1’s detail in point 3.0 on this thread to be really invaluable toward actually making some genuine tactical decisions based on how the team is playing, rather than simply how I saw them line up on the pitch pre-kickoff.

I've also set myself up with some fantastic custom views (that I never realised had so much depth to them!) that have been extremely helpful in communicating key information about the squad. I typically flick through the various position views once every two-three weeks to see how the players are coming along and the data is invaluable in deciding lineups.

So back to the save itself, complete overhaul of the backroom staff:

This has really provided me with some much better options in training and really increased the level of feedback I get back from my staff (especially in scouting and reports). I've maybe shot myself in the foot by only pulling in predominately British Scouts, but the stats for many of them to support/suggest that they'll cope with the jobs. I'll be re-evaluating that after the end of the season I imagine.

Getting that involved with the backroom staff really did make me feel more in control of the game and so setting up the tactics and then drilling in Team Cohesion and Tactics has really made a big change for me pre-season.

Or at least it's made me feel better. Here was how pre-season and the first run of matches went:

You'll notice that pre-season went fantastically well with Rory Donnelly on fine form. I opted to try out a 4-4-2 to see if there was any merit in giving Graham some support up front (whilst Michu was trained as a ST). Sadly Donnelly was injured in training just after the Villa game and so I dropped back to a Swansea typical 4-2-3-1 (sometimes switching out the CAM for a CDM if I felt it was needed).

This created a real issue for me in actually finding the back of the net. The Norwich game for example I'd utilised the 4-1-2-2-1 (pushing the CM's into Attacking roles) and despite having fantastic passing rates and the majority of the possession away, all of my shots bar one was from outside of the box and none of them were from Graham in the sole striker position.

Graham wasn't even playing badly and was consistently pulling in some good ratings. The issue was that as a DLF (S) he was really doing the CAM job and trying to hold up play to see if some chances could be created by other players on the pitch, of course with the only attacking options being my wingers, they weren't really operating under instruction to provide that support.

I spent a huge amount of time analyzing that game, which is strange as it wasn't really a score to be too disappointed with. This has been another big change for me in how I've approached this save, as I no longer see every game as must win - especially if I'm tweaking the tactics beyond my initial gameplan.

As you can see in the results, I'm scraping through most matches by this point (an OG against Bournemouth and a late goal to seal the deal, two late goals at Fulham) and goals are not being found.

The goals themselves were very scrappy too and not really anything that I can point at and say was a result of anything on my part - just pure luck. One of the big faults in my game that I found was that nearly every shot was a long shot, which is something repeated all over the forums for most people and not really having the players to pull it off, then I was always going to suffer as a result. I was looking for advice here and deliberated for a while on why it was I couldn't recreate the way Swansea actually play. Instead of continuing to tweak the 4-2-3-1 (which suits Swansea very well), I actually just went back to the original plan: 4-4-2.

At the point in the season, Michu isn't certified as a Striker but in wanting to have him, Britton and Ki on the pitch (I'm reluctant to give di Guzman too much playing time as he really doesn't feature in my plans all that much beyond January) at the same time, I was willing to risk it.

Take a look at what happened when I reverted to it:

Some less than ideal results against QPR, United and Sunderland, but goals are finally starting to go in!

Probably the crowning glory was in the Capital One Cup result against Arsenal:

Winning that game 4-1 was especially pleasing given the dominance they had in possession. The very few shots on target from Arsenal was credit to the defence, and to Tremmel who has taken over between the sticks since Vorm let in 4 shocking goals against United (don't get me wrong, I expected to lose that game I'd have been better off with a Clown in goal).

Vorm has sadly become the prime candidate to be leaving the squad in January. As I mentioned in my previous post, I've noticed a lot of people suffer because of his mistakes and so I've become reliant on Tremmel leading into Christmas (who I originally transfer listed, which now details in his Information that he's looking to prove his worth to the club - looking to take him off the list in January unless any solid offers come in. My thinking so far for replacing him is either Ruddy (Norwich), Guzan (Villa), or Begovic (Stoke - if only for his penalty taking!):

I know that it's hardly a diverse shortlist, 3 BPL Goalkeepers, but my scouts have presented no realistic candidates from their searches who do the job I need them to do. I have a lot of great future candidate recommendations, some of which are arguably close enough to perhaps warrant taking the risk and becoming very reliant on Tremmel for important matches whilst I rotate in any prospective new superstars - but it's not really an area you want to take a lot of risk in. Bringing in players who won't be unsettled by the move to Swansea and can make an impact right away is exactly what I need to keep a tidy second half to the season.

Regarding transfers, most threads I’ve looked in all seem to point towards the same three players: Drenthe, Adryan and Wellington Nem. I have no doubt these are exceptional players, and I have welcomed all of the advice provided on these boards with open arms, but it just seems that I’m ‘cheating’ in some sense by picking these folk up. It’s a horrible terminology ‘cheating’ and I mean no disrespect to anyone who brings them in as you still have to jump through hoops to get them and then to find a good function in your side, all credit is always due. I just feel that this is the one area of the game where you absolutely have to stamp your mark on it and look to make a signing that really draws you into the game through knowing that it was you, and you alone that made the difference here.

I'm currently very pleased with the rest of the team and the two signings I've brought in, so if possible, I'm very happy to make this a key focus and then look to make youngster signings + a new Striker (Maybe Juanmi!) next season:

At 10 Million for the pairing, it really has swallowed the 11 Million budget but they've been incredibly consistant for me. I know that bringing in a DR is a strange choice given how solid Rangel is, but given that I'm being very demanding of him by frequently playing him as a WB (with Dyer sometimes moving to the right wing as an IF if I stray from my 4-4-2), he's been an amazing rotational player that also serves as a superb MR when I'm playing a defensive 4-4-2.

Probably one of the most pleasing aspects of his game is his tendancy to run with the ball (I know that sounds suicidal, but it's great to watch!):

[video=youtube;KNG3mhzJTpc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNG3mhzJTpc

There are so many things I love about that clip - Graham pulling those defenders out of position at the end of the move is sublime.

Fortunis was a bit of a gamble at nearly 6 million, but at 20 years of age and able to provide support in any position across that Attacking Midfield line, I'm confident that he'll repay that fee by the end of the season (currently a 7.3 AVR). I also wanted to ensure that in the event that I decided to sell Routledge (likely) or should anything happen to Dyer, that I'm covered in a way that doesn't compromise the style of football I'm trying to play. As I said before, I'm not looking to keep de Guzman on the books past January so having him in the squad makes sense.

The outbound list is to be expected:

Happy with the funds gained from Moore and Agustien (as well as the offload of Gower before he keels over). As I said above, I'm still thinking about whether or not to sell Routledge and Vorm is also likely to join that list.

Gary Monk is also likely to leave the club as he just doesn't feature in my plans and has had the lowest AVR for the backline so far this season (I'd much sooner play Williams and Chico on a more regular basis and look to support them next year with new talent). I have transfer list warned the player which has picked his form up to a 7.3 from the last 5 so I'll reassess in January. At 33 years old, I just view him as dead weight.

Donnelly is also a player I want to sell, but I want to really get him playing some great football and keep putting away some goals to increase his value. He's had a fantastic season so far (4 goals in 11) given that I would never normally use him. At age 20, he also has the potential to really grow too so not someone I'll give up on. I'll have to reevaulate at the end of the season, decide on if who I'm bringing in can take over. I may also make use of that lethal 19 flair he has and try him as a Treq.

There's also a lot of players on that loan list who will hopefully have attracted some attention to clear out the ranks. I've never found much worth in having a strong reserves team and so would much rather free up those slots for young lads - Would be very keen to hear other people's views on what the reserve team provides them.

Still, a lot of the season left to go yet, currently sitting pretty in 8th (a 3 point gap to 4th) and a rough second half of December ahead:

The 3-0 win against Chelsea in the Cup was sensational, complete dominance in the game that just humiliated them so much that they came back a week later and made me incredibly thankful to walk away with the point. The stats below from the cup game are great to read though:

Given that my cup run so far included that result, plus the 4-1 win against Arsenal, I'm quite optimistic about reaching the Final (Man Utd v Brighton on the other side - so actually winning the final is a long shot!). The FA cup draw has also been kind so as long as I can keep my good form up to keep a close game with City, and take some points in the Away games following, I'm confident of being in a good position in the new year.

[f0rmat]

Big Congrats dude How did Leonardo Lopez work out for you in the end?

Thanks. He's developing really well. I've been retraining him to play on the AMR spot though, because I have two very talented young AMCs (not to mentioned Wellington Nem, who has been shunted out left). He's gotten to 'competent' there, and has been turning in some brilliant performances.

Got so much potential from my young side!

[f0rmat]

Aw, *****.

Man Utd just bought this guy

He absolutely dominated my team in the CL quarters last season. Scouts quoted me at least £35m to buy from Benfica, so I thought 'hey at least he won't be playing against me any time soon'!

Wrong, so so wrong. Utd got him for £41m

[f0rmat]

Season tickets are sold out, and I have ~£45m in my transfer budget (around £20m of that is from sales) that I don't plan on using. Think I'll ask for a stadium upgrade at the end of teh season./

Edit: have asked owners to purchase the stadium so that upgrades can be carried out.

[PartWelsh]

Am I right in thinking that you can get away with asking the Training facilities to be upgraded in Season 1?

[f0rmat]

Am I right in thinking that you can get away with asking the Training facilities to be upgraded in Season 1?

I did it for two seasons consecutively

[jaaaws]

After a long absence from FM I reactivated my Swansea savegame which I only played halfway through the first season. Within 2 days I now have finished my second season in which I finished 7th. We could have done much better but hitting a slump in the final third meant no european football for Swansea in the third season Right now I am in the 2014/2015 pre-season und ponder about my squard. There are definitely a few positions I need to strengthen. I need a new GK (although Vorm did quiet good the last season), a new RB and 1-2 Wingers who could cover for Redmond/Weiss.

So far I have bought:

- G Cahill €8M (Chelsea)

- G Hooper FREE (Celtic)

- L Lopez €5.25M (Panathinaikos)

- T Cleverley €5.25M (Man Utd)

- D Daffyd €1.2M (Portsmouth) *newgen

- R Ndy Assembe FREE (AS Nancy)

My current squad looks like this:

GK: M Vorm/R Ndy Assembe

RB: S Coleman

CD: S Strandberg/A Williams/J Okore/L Lopez/G Cahill

LB: N Taylor/F Hartherz

DM/CM: Leon Britton/N Reo Coker/T Cleverley/O Selnases/R Yttegard Jensen

LM/RM/AM: Michu/N Redmond/Wellington Nem/V Weiss/D Buonanotte/F Midstjo

ST: G Hooper/D Graham/N Helenius/N Maupay/D Daffyd

[liuzzi]

Started my Swansea game yesterday, got through the pre-season and managed to win all the friendlies. Have signed Wellington Nem (3,5M) to play behind Graham and Leon Goretzka (2,2M) to provide cover for Britton. Sold Lita, Moore and Agustien for 6M combined. My first team for the season opener against Newcastle:

GK: Vorm

DR: Tiendalli (Rangel injured)

DC: Williams

DC: Chico

DL: Taylor

MC: Britton

MC: Michu

AMR: Hernandez

AMC: Nem

AML: Dyer

FC: Graham

[PartWelsh]

Rangel injured for the opener? Hearbreaker!

I've been playing a network game with some friends and ended up taking over Swansea. Was gutted to find out that Rangel had been sold to Wolves. Absolutely Gutted.

[manchester]

thinking of starting a swansea save with the latest LFC Marshall update does anyone have any advice also any advice if i use the default database

[f0rmat]

Love this guy. Came through my academy and everything. Just destroyed Rubin with a hattrick in the Champions League.

[liuzzi]

Haven't really had much time to play but won both of my first two first premier league fixtures against Newcastle (2:1) at home and Everton (3:2) away. Graham has 3 goals from 2 games. Vorm was horrible in Everton game, both conceeded goals were his mistakes. Brought in Luke Shaw (6M) and Sean Murray (7M), probably overpaid for both but finding it hard to sign any targets for more reasonable prices. Next up Southend in league cup, then Arsenal and Wigan in the league. Wish I had more time to play!

[oakesypvfc]

Love this guy. Came through my academy and everything. Just destroyed Rubin with a hattrick in the Champions League.

He is phenominal, me likey.

Just started my Swansea save again after getting the tactics completely wrong first time wrong and conceding a shed loads of goals.

Currently played 6 games, won 2, lost 2, drawn 2. Just lost to stoke despite battering them for 90 minutes. Really need to break down teams more easily :@

[liuzzi]

Won the league cup game with Southend 2:1 in extra time needing 117 minute goal from Guzman after another Vorm's mistake had gifted Southend the equalizer. Played mostly reserves though. After this we amazingly beat Arsenal at home 2:1 after 87th minute Taylor wonder goal. I also played last 20 minutes with 10 men as Dyer got injured and I had already made all substitutions. Rabello was my last signing on the deadline day, he was available for 700k and has 4,5 star potential.

Current squad:

GK: Vorm / Tremmel

DR: Rangel / Tiendalli

DC: Williams / Chico / Bartley / Monk

DL: Taylor / Shaw

DMC: Britton / Goretzka

MC: Michu / Guzman / Ki

AMR: Hernandez / Rabello

AMC: Nem / Murray

AML: Dyer / Routledge

FC: Graham / Schechter

[jkae]

Season tickets are sold out, and I have ~£45m in my transfer budget (around £20m of that is from sales) that I don't plan on using. Think I'll ask for a stadium upgrade at the end of teh season./

Edit: have asked owners to purchase the stadium so that upgrades can be carried out.

ive had the stadium purchased won the league and champions league and they still wont incresed the capacity annoying. due to low fan base apparently

[f0rmat]

My 18 year old academy regen just won European Golden Boy

[liuzzi]

I'm in December first season, currently 2nd in the league with P17 W12 D1 L4, 5 points behind Man City. 4-5 teams just behind me have few games in hand, but still very happy with how things are going. Went out in quarters in the league cup against Southampton.

Dyer, Graham and Britton have been my best players. Goretzka has been my best signing so far, he is improving well and is my first choice CM now, Nem is also doing well as AML. Very dissapointed with my other signings though, Shaw has personality issues and is not taking training seriously as per my coaches and his attributes have not changed at all in half season, furthermore he cannot be tutored as he is not accepting any possible tutors in the team. He has also been simply awful in the games I have played in him. Murray is being tutored by Dyer and is at least improving but he has also been useless on the pitch. And they cost me 13M combined!

Terminated Schechter's loan as he was injured for 3 months and trying to offload Monk who wants different challenge and Routledge as I need money to buy a new GK to replace Vorm. Krul is my first choice target, he is not happy in Newcastle and is available for about 8M.

[nico_france]

ive had the stadium purchased won the league and champions league and they still wont incresed the capacity annoying. due to low fan base apparently

After my first season when i just finished 3rd, i asked to buy the stadium, and it was accepted

After my 2nd season where i won the league and the Capital one cup, i asked for an upgrade, they add a little bit more than 5000 seats

I m' now in my third season, and i'm gonna see what's going on at the end of the season

By the way, i'll post a story of my save asap, that's a really refreshing save and i really loved to play that team so far !

Thanks to all of you to make me discover that brilliant squad !

[Earnie is God!]

First off, I suppose I should tell you that I'm a Cardiff supporter so get your hate out of the way

I am obviously managing Cardiff and was just curious to see how you guys are doing with Swansea as they are struggling for survival in my game.

The Cardiff thread doesn't have many posts on it (almost half of them are mine! lol) and it's pretty difficult managing them - unless you gain promotion in the first season you are pretty screwed so it puts a lot of people off.

I see a lot of you are signing the same players at the start but I guess you don't have mounds of money to spend so it's understandable. Don't really get to sign anyone at Cardiff until halfway through the 2nd season due to lack of funds.

I have learned something though: "Long before Swansea Town came into being, children had played football on a piece of waste ground on which vetch - a cabbage-like plant used for cow feed - grew wild." Never knew that was why it was called the Vetch field.

And yes, my username comes from way back when Earnshaw was amazing for us. Just wish he could have one last, great season for us before retiring but that looks unlikely.

[f0rmat]

First off, I suppose I should tell you that I'm a Cardiff supporter so get your hate out of the way

I am obviously managing Cardiff and was just curious to see how you guys are doing with Swansea as they are struggling for survival in my game.

The Cardiff thread doesn't have many posts on it (almost half of them are mine! lol) and it's pretty difficult managing them - unless you gain promotion in the first season you are pretty screwed so it puts a lot of people off.

I see a lot of you are signing the same players at the start but I guess you don't have mounds of money to spend so it's understandable. Don't really get to sign anyone at Cardiff until halfway through the 2nd season due to lack of funds.

I have learned something though: "Long before Swansea Town came into being, children had played football on a piece of waste ground on which vetch - a cabbage-like plant used for cow feed - grew wild." Never knew that was why it was called the Vetch field.

And yes, my username comes from way back when Earnshaw was amazing for us. Just wish he could have one last, great season for us before retiring but that looks unlikely.

[liuzzi]

Picked up only 4 points from possible 15 over the holiday season and dropped to 4th in the League. Losses against Chelsea, Newcastle and Arsenal, draw against Man C and win against Everton. Man City is first and way ahead now, Spurs and Chelsea few point ahead but Chelsea has 2 games in hand, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man U all close behind with games in hand as well.

Signed Krul for 9M from Newcastle as Vorm was way too error prone for my liking and had average rating of 6,8 while the rest of my first team are all over 7,1. Sold Vorm to Newcastle for 4M and first game there he gets 9.3 rating. I don't think he ever got over 7.1 for me. Anyway Krul has done fine so happy with the change.

[PartWelsh]

Signed Krul for 9M from Newcastle as Vorm was way too error prone for my liking and had average rating of 6,8 while the rest of my first team are all over 7,1. Sold Vorm to Newcastle for 4M and first game there he gets 9.3 rating. I don't think he ever got over 7.1 for me. Anyway Krul has done fine so happy with the change.

Ospina and Ruddy are always favorites to replace Vorm. I've never enjoyed a season with him between the sticks and have so often just pushed Tremmel in as No.1 while I get a replacement in. Great results for you! I've never had a meteoric rise to stardom like this, always been a slow burner.

So time for a new story for the thread!

My previously discussed save is still on going but have become far more interested in the network game I've been running with two friends. As a bit of backstory, we all started out with relegation candidate teams (Myself as Norwich, my friends as Saints and Baggies), I was sacked in December of Season 1 having managed far too many draws and not enough wins. From there I somehow wound up as AC Milan manager, who were sitting mid table of Serie A -with a board expectation to get them into Europe. Quite a tough sell given that they were getting battered whilst a great deal of the league were overperforming and that there was no pre-season to get/find any kind of form. Sacked again and with their being zero option to re-enter the Premier League, Mike Bassett - the champion of the 4-4-2 - was retired.

Enter Warren Gatland.

Ousted Laudrup (sorry!) and took over with three games left in the 1st season. Swans were 12th with Newcastle (A), Villa and Utd (H) left to play. Lost all 3 and finished 15th.

Some odd decision by Laudrup in the Transfer Market prior to taking over:

Was gutted to see that I'd lost Rangel and dissapointed that Routledge had been moved on. He's great backup for the team and if you can keep him happy, he's a good servant. The inbound transfers were also odd. Having managed Butterfield at Norwich, I didn't see any profit in the deal at all. McLean has some promising attributes but with him really only there as backup to Dyer, you again have to go back and ask why Routledge was moved on.

Perfectly happy at having lost the last few games to be honest. I know it's sly but to have held/improved that mid table position would have shot me in the foot for season two, losing the ability to just say to the board 'Avoid relegation' whilst I find my footing.

Season Two

No surprises as to who my first sale was. Vorm was out and Ruddy was poached from Norwich (who never recovered from what I did to them), I also moved on Dyer as he'd had a blistering season and was not intrested in re-signing. With his contract up in the following season, it was sell now or watch 11.5M walk out the door next year. I did manage to hold onto Graham though who was the BPL's second most prolific scorer in Season #1 though, between Adebayor and Bale (who took Tottenham to an incredibly dominant Title Win).

Transfer wise, the plan was to bring in backup to Graham and get in a young apprentice, I also needed to shore up the left flank with McLean the only option and knowing that I was in for a rough ride whilst I figured out what to do with the squad, make sure that the defensive line was well covered.

A lot of money going each way. Crusat was moved on given that I found him in the Reserves having only played 2 games under Laudrup, the fans were pleased I moved him on, even if it did make him an incredibly expensive 2 game player! Three youth players have been brought in Ademilson, Adao Cleiton (January), Berkay Ozcan and Nathan Thompson (the latter three both being regens).

Each of them look promising, may be looking to start rotating them in to the lineup next season.

The remaining signings were all promising. I've used Kostas in a past save and found him to be a good investment that can still be effective in the team. Ninis was similarly brought in as a great prospect that can still be effective and provides good cover for Michu having not had the funds at the end of season to keep de Guzman at Swansea (AVR 7.3 for Season 1) at his bargain price of 5M.

I had attempted to bring in O'Shea along with Cuellar from relegated Sunderland (20th) but he ended up accepting an offer from Stoke. Pedro Lopez was signed as my replacement for Rangel with Javi Chica providing excellent backline cover (playable in all positions - but a determined Wing Back on the right). I also brought in an understudy for Taylor who has just not turned up in training yet. He's been putting in some good performances so far this season (AVR 7.00) but he's got too buck up his ideas or he's leaving soon.

Tactic wise, the intention was to play the same type of football I've always played with Swansea, Sole Striker, Attacking Wingers, Flat back 4 and then alternating DM/AMC depending on the opponent. It provided at first day of the season win at home to Man City, a close run loss at White Hart Lane and then a minor tragedy in the Capital One Cup with a defeat at Home to Wolves where Pablo Hernandez suffered a broken foot (4 months). Given that neither Ninis or Fortunis was prepared to take over on the wings just yet, this caused a few issues which led to me stepping back to a 4-4-2, where Danny Graham just stopped scoring.

A lucky two wins in the aftermath of that and then nothing for just over two months! The absolute low point was losing to Cardiff, away, putting me in 16th place with not all that much to separate me from eighteenth. Nothing was working, goals were coming mainly from scrappy encounters or set pieces, minor injuries being picked up too often and the press were putting the pressure on by pointing out how my tactical adjustments to compensate for all of this was never providing any profit.

Enter 5-3-2

Knowing that any chance of achieving the kind of success my compadres were managing with the Saints and the Baggies was out of the window, the plan switched to Survive no matter the cost. The only consistency I've had in the team has been the defence, with Cuellar, Chico and Williams being consistently playing out of their skins, with most games coming down from a lack of ability to take the chances given to them up front rather than making any mistakes at the back - so a back 5 made sense.

Deciding what to do in the middle of the park was tough. Playing DM's was just going to invite too much pressure and provide no opportunity link up in the other half of the pitch, having attacking wingers would similarly keep too much of a gap, plus the players there were too weak to compensate for that. Keeping it tight in the center of the park should at least give me some posession and create some chances. The only risk was selecting the BBM's - I didn't really have quality I'd have liked to pull it off, with most of my players being either too aggressive or passive to be efficient and doing either to a satisfactory level.

Up front, I needed to ease the pressure on Graham and so gave him a strike partner. I debated having him as a lone striker with an AMC setup as an IF just behind him, but this was set to be far too narrow. and so the logical solution was try my luck with a DLF/P combo.

The Results

The FA Cup 3rd Round Exist aside, some solid performing that has finally seen Graham get back on the scoresheet. Most matches see me in control, with opposition sides rarely managing to break down the defense (most of their goals coming from set pieces and scrappy finishing for once!), forcing teams to be firing in shots from well outside the box which Ruddy will mop all day.

I was initally concerned that the lineup would be too defensive with far too much congestion in the middle of the pitch but the width has been superb with the games where I've felt compelled to attack switching the FB's for WB's that often see them in posession of the ball, uncontested in opposition territory, and in the instances where someone has broken away to challenge them, it's just created more opportunities for me.

Wigan, Newcastle, QPR, Man Utd, Cardiff, Hull, Chelsea, Everton (Remaining Fixtures, Home ties in Bold)

If I can hold form, not drop any silly points (and more importantly, beat Cardiff) then I'm going to end this nightmare season in a much better shape than I could have hoped for at the start!

Questions

What to do next season? I've only picked this formation up to save me from relegation but if this current run of form can continue, would it not be time to build upon it?

If I do build upon it, I genuinely don't see a need to bring in new faces (which scares me). If I can keep Kyle Bartley in the team without him causing too much of a fuss then I'm well covered at the back (concerned about bringing in too many egos), I have good promise on the wings. Admittedly in midfield, I'm actually doing a lot of repurposing by having players I'd originally brought in to play in the AM positions drop back to MC. Up front I'm happy to keep Molina on the bill as cover for Graham (hugely intelligent player that's dominant in the air, has a penchant for smashing the ball into the post though!) and my Brazilian stars dropping in alongside him to offer a burst of pace whne the opportunity presents itself.

Or do I try to go back to the attacking style of Swansea? Revert to 4 at the back, forget about the DM's and push them in as CM's, reintroduce the Wingers and go back to a sole striker with an alternating AM/DM depending on the opposition? I'd love to start testing a few things but the home stretch of the season is not the time to do it!

I feel that I've changed Swansea away from team that I'm used to playing them, into something wildly different. I enjoy it, but I'm so very tempted to see if I can turn them into a real monster given the talent that's emerging in the side.

The only thing I know for certain is that I need to bring in a new keeper. Tremmel ruptured his cruciate ligaments in training a few days after I fielded him against Liverpool. He's announced his retirement with him feeling that he's too old to come back from it. He's played well for the reserves squad all season and it's sad for him to have to bow out given that I'd have happily kept him on the books, but I now have the challenge of searching for an apprentice for Ruddy.

[liuzzi]

Fantastic update PartWelsh! Where are Britton and Taylor in your save? They are doing great for me. I'm actually trying to play the way Swansea are playing in real life with Taylor, Chico, Williams, Rangel as flat back four (all doing superb), Britton as DMC (doing fantastic), Guzman and Goretzka as MC's (both doing alright), Nem and Dyer on the wings (Dyer is probably my best player with top 5 average rating in the league) and Graham as AFC (top scorer in the league). Have 7 games left to go, currently 2nd in the league, Man C is 9 points away so have given up on the title but looking to qualify for Champions League. Krul has also been great, very happy with paying 5M + Vorm for him.

[PartWelsh]

Taylor's still in the side - 20 Appearances at left back this season averaging 6.97 with 4 Assists - he's been pretty special for me in creating chances though I am having him almost at the byline some games!

Britton has made 19 (6 from the bench) this season at AVR 7.14. He's actually become crazily aggressive up front and isn't afraid of taking a pot shot. If it wasn't for Faurlin driving the whole squad, he'd be in in my MC(AP) position any day of the week.

See I'd love to have kept hold of Dyer but he's always wanting 70K after the first season and I just can't find it in the budget! How does anyone keep him in? Pleased he's doing well for you (Just checked how he was getting on at Fulham - 7.09 from 22 on the right side of the pitch).

No Michu in the squad liuzzi?

[liuzzi]

Michu is not doing too well, for some reason he has a tendency to try a wild shot whenever he gets the ball and this doesn't go too well with the possession based game I'm trying to play. Currently using him as a substitute but will probably sell him in the summer. He looks so underrated in the game.

Dyer became unhappy with his wage right away and as he was asking for 50k per week I just left the negotiation. Then Newcastle came bidding but they wouldn't bid more than 6M so I rejected all their offers. I set his asking price to 15M but this made him even more unhappy to the point when he asked to be transfer listed which I refused. When season started the ass man suggested I talk to Dyer which I did, he was asking for higher salary and I told him to earn it on the pitch. This made him happy again and after about 10 games into season ass man suggested I praise him for his form and offer new contract, to my surprise he was asking only 30K this time which was fine so I signed him up for until 2017. He is currently in England squad and one of the candidates for PL player of the season. He also just scored a hat trick against Sunderland.

[PartWelsh]

I swore a lot when I read just how simple that would have been!

Well managed!

[f0rmat]

Edging ever closer... the title will be mine! This is the longest I've ever gone on a save in FM without winning the title. I've one the FA Cup and the Capital One Cup twice, as well as reached the quarters and semis of the CL.

Utd are just so good.

I'll get there though, and I'll remain financially stable whilst doing it! For example - I could have signed a 26yr old Wilshere for £30m & 120k p/w and still had £30m in my budget but I decided to stick to my frugal ways.

[liuzzi]

Finished 2nd in the league 10 points behind Man C and point above 3rd placed Chelsea, Tottenham was 4th, Arsenal 5th, Man U 6th. Man U is in Champions league final so they might make it to the Champions League next season instead of Tottenham. Dyer finished with highest average rating in the league (7.77) and was premier league player of the year. Graham finished as league's top scorer (27 goals) ahead of Giroud and RVP. I will need much bigger squad for next season so hope I will receive a decent budget. I will be letting Tremmel and Cornell go as they contracts will expire, will not buy Guzman for 5M, he did alright but I have already signed Fana for free to play on the left wing and will be moving Nem to the center for next season which is his natural position. I will also probably be selling Bartley, Shaw, Michu, Ki and Proctor as I am not happy with their performances so far.

[liuzzi]

Real Madrid won the Champions League, Porto won the Euro League, Newcastle got FA cup and Chelsea league cup. Guzman has left as his loan expired. I got a provisional budget of 20M and wage budget of 400k (currently spending 300k), pretty happy with that and have already lined up about 10 regens to bring up the number of players in my squad. Overall pretty happy with my first team and not planning any big changes unless someone truly world class will become available for reasonable price.

[Andy Goram]

Wow Ben Davies is great in this update :O

[PartWelsh]

Sorry for the split post, boards was giving me a 403 error :/

You've inspired me to boot up a new save just to see what's new. Thought I'd post everyone the headlines (with comparisons) in case any one is equally as curious!

---

Board Expectation

First noted change is the addition of 'Play posession football', and of course the departure of Erik Larsen for Morten Wieghorst.

Avoid Relegation - £15M / £421K p/w (up from £10M / £375K p/w)

Mid-table finish £17.7M / £447K p/w (up from £12.25M / £400K p/w)

Top half finish £19.2M / £455K p/w (up from £13.4M / £401K p/w)

This brings the absolute Maxium possible transfer budget to £23,597,172 with a £371,520 p/w wage budget (up from £17,366,872 & £325,217).

The current club wage budget is £361,020 p/w (up from £317,717 p/w).

Transfer

Out

Danny Graham () - Sunderland

Gwion Edwards - St. Johnstone -Loan

Daniel Alfei - Wrexham - Loan

Ashley Richards - Crystal Palace - Loan

Leroy Lita - Shef Wed - Loan

In

Roland Lamah - Osasuna - Loan

Tactic and Team

The default club tactic remains 4-2-3-1 (Noted in game as 4-3-3). The backroom meeting now correctly nominates Free Kick Takers as Pablo and de Guzman (previously just Pablo), Corners change to Ki from Gower and Pablo. Monk/Tate remain Captain/VC (sorry Ash!)

Alan Curtis will also now suggest that 4-5-1, 4-1-2-1-2 (the Diamond) & 4-1-3-2 (1 DM/3 CM's) serve the club best (previously 4-5-1, 4-4-2, 4-1-3-2).

Most exciting Youth Prospects note Kyle Kopp, Alex Samuel, and Josh Sheehan (previously Pennock, Samuel, Bray).

Respective PA's: 1 Gold, 2.5 Gold, 2.5 Gold

The Senior team remains at 24 players, Reserve at 12, whilst youth grows by one to 17 players.

[PartWelsh]

Player Changes.

Players not noted have not changed

Tremmel: +1 Aerial, +4 Free Kick Taking, +4 Kicking and a value increase to £1.2M from £190K (He's also wanted by Fulham!)

Tiendalli: Value increase to £2.8M (£2.6M)

Taylor: +2 Determination, value increase to £3.9M (£3.4M)

Routledge: +1 Crossing, +1 Technique, +1 Anticipation, +1 Composure, +2 Creativity, +1 Off the ball, +1 Teamwork, -1 Acceleration, and a value increase to £4.4M (£3.1M!)

Angel Rangel: Value increase to £3M (£2.7M)

Moore: +1 Concentration, +1 Creativity, +1 Decisions, +1 Off the ball, value increase to £3M (£1M!)

MICHU!: +2 Dribbling, +1 Finishing, +1 First Touch, +1 Technique, +2 Anticipation (to 18!), +5 Composure (to 19!), +2 Concentration, +1 Creativity, +2 Decisions, +2 Determination, +1 Off the ball (to 18!), +1 Teamwork, +1 Balance, -1 Jumping, +1 Stamina, +1 Stength, value increase to £12M!! (£5M) - He also goes from GK rating 3 to 4!?

Ki: +1 Tackling, +1 Technique, +4 Positioning, +1 Balance, +1 Strength, no value change

Dyer: -1 Pace, value drop to £4M (£4.4M)

de Guzman: -2 Decisions, +3 Determination, -1 Off the ball, no value change (though another +1 to GK!?)

Ben Davies: +7 Corners (13), +6 Crossing (16), +1 Dribbling, +1 First Touch, +3 Long Throws, +2 Passing, +2 Tackling, +1 Anticipation, +10 Bravery! (18), +5 Composure (15), +1 Concentration, +1 Creativity, +3 Decisions, +5 Determination (17), +3 Off the ball, +1 Positioning, +2 Acceleration, +2 Balance, +3 Jumpiung, +2 Natrual Fitness, +1 Pace, +6 Stamina (14), +6 Strength (13), value increase to £3.2M! (£350K)

Chico: +3 First Touch, +3 Technique, +1 Composure, +2 Creativity, +1 Positioning

Britton: +1 GK Rating, value increase to £3.4M (£2.8M - Just goes to show, put the effort in as a GK and you're worth more!)

Bartley: +1 Heading, +1 Anticipation, +1 Composure, +1 Concentration, +1 Positioning, +1 Balance, +1 Stamina, +3 Stength (15), no value increase

Agustien: +2 Composure, +1 Creativity (16), +1 Decisions, +2 Off the Ball, +1 Positioning, value increase to £3.1M (£2.9M)

Williams: +2 Passing, value increase to £4.8M (£3.7M)

And just for curiosity:

Graham: No changes! (Sorry Sunderland-ers!)

Staff

No changes beyond Morten/Erik

Finance

Additional 1 year general sponsorship deal at £250K per season (ends 2013).

Rent increase from £1.32M to £1.39M.

Misc.

Pitch Dimensions have increased by a meter (it will make all of the difference!)

World Scouting Knowledge has changed from Normal to Sporadic, with increases in Central Europe from Average to Very good, Scandinavia from Average to Decent.

Knowledge levels now include 100% for Holland via ADO Den Haag and Scotland via Morten.

Top earner is now Michu (35K - previously Vorm), Neil Taylor has now lost weight to become lightest player at 64 kg

Average player wage is up to £14K p/w, average value jumps to £3.5M, the team has also shrunk by 1cm as an average.

Work rate at the club has dropped to an average of 13.67 from 14.21 (previously 4th best in the league), we're still the least aggressive too at 9.71!

Midfield is now rated as having the worst Stamina in the league at an average of 13.09, with tackling staying the worst at 7.91.

In attack, Swansea are no longer the worst for pace, but are the worst at heading (9.00)

---

So concludes my useless statistical update!

Thoughts?

[j@cko]

Evening all. I'm sure this will sound ridiculous - would love to get a Swansea save going but I'm so put off by the kit colours (which translate into the font colours on the UI). I think the gold colour is so, so hard to see - does anyone else find this? What can I do to make it better?

[f0rmat]

Evening all. I'm sure this will sound ridiculous - would love to get a Swansea save going but I'm so put off by the kit colours (which translate into the font colours on the UI). I think the gold colour is so, so hard to see - does anyone else find this? What can I do to make it better?

I don't see any gold in my UI.

On another note - Spurs are mental. They've spent around £90m in the last 3 transfer windows.

[nickwales]

Tempted to do a Swansea for a while and following new patch was interested, disheartened to see they dont have michu as a striker as a natural position for him tho.

[PartWelsh]

I don't see any gold in my UI.

On another note - Spurs are mental. They've spent around £90m in the last 3 transfer windows.

dem yids! 90M is quite insane though, I think the most I saw a club spend was City splashing 60M on Isco + Xabi and a few others. Who did they buy?

Evening all. I'm sure this will sound ridiculous - would love to get a Swansea save going but I'm so put off by the kit colours (which translate into the font colours on the UI). I think the gold colour is so, so hard to see - does anyone else find this? What can I do to make it better?

Its a White/Black UI, which you can invert through the preferences menu to be Black/White if it pleases you - the game did not take into account the centenary kit so it doesn't ever appear.

Tempted to do a Swansea for a while and following new patch was interested, disheartened to see they dont have michu as a striker as a natural position for him tho.

I've retrained him as ST before the new database, takes half the season and then a season later, he turns into a real monster ^-^

[liuzzi]

I'm in July now preparing for second season. Graham who was last seasons top European marksman and is now a first choice striker for England has just asked for 60K weekly wage (I think he is currently making 12K) so it looks like he will be going. West Ham have offered Tomkins for him as a straight swap which I accepted. Top teams in England are all spending like crazy, all teams in last years top 7 besides me have made at least 2 signings over 10M in June (Man U got Fer and Neymar, Man C Muller and Thiago etc). I have 30M to spend (sold Michu, Ki, Hernandez for 5M each and Shaw and Bartley for 3M each) but no players to spend it on as I can't offer more than 45K max as weekly wage. My first team going to first friendly of the season:

GK: Krul

DR: Rangel

DC: Williams

DC: Chico

DL: Taylor

DMC: Britton

MC: Goretzka

MC: Mathis (18 year old French regen signed for 1M, 4,5 star potential)

AMR: Dyer

AML: Nem

FC: Napoles (19 year old Mexican regen signed for 1M, 4,5 star potential)

[f0rmat]

dem yids! 90M is quite insane though, I think the most I saw a club spend was City splashing 60M on Isco + Xabi and a few others. Who did they buy?

[PartWelsh]

Very surprised to see Llorente go out on a free again from Bayern - quite a career he seems to be having!