[FM13] Turning the Roman Empire into Més que un Club

[Bracken]

The Aim

Turning Chelsea Football Club into a stable, profitable club with a strong ethos of professionalism and loyalty

This career thread will be a little different to most of those in the forum, as it’s not only a one-club thread, but a club starting at the very top. My aim is to change Chelsea Football Club from an unstable mess, full of players who are variously characterised by the media as money-grabbers, mercenaries, thugs and even a racist, to a club with strong financial stability and an ethos that runs throughout the players, staff and style, an ethos of professionalism, determination and loyalty.

I’ll be looking to emulate aspects of F.C. Barcelona, not so much in playing style, but the way the club is run, the ethos surrounding the club and the way they treat players and former players. This save is going to involve a lot of reading for anyone who wants to follow along, it’ll be a lot of player development and will probably involve some fake press stories etc. in the style of the story forum as well as the traditional updates. I’ll explain what I’m aiming for in a little more detail.

The Ethos

Professionalism and Determination

These two characteristics will be key to everything I’m trying to achieve. I’ll be looking for players and staff with strong attributes in both of these areas, and a style that brings the best out of these kinds of players. I’m not looking for prima donnas, no matter how talented they may be. I want players who are willing to die for the cause, who will never lie down no matter the situation, and he won’t get complacent facing an FA Cup tie against Chelmsford City on a wet Wednesday night.

Loyalty

This attribute is generally hidden in the game, there aren’t too many personality types that will tell you about the player’s level of loyalty, so I’m going to have to rely on knowledge of the players in real life or simple gut instinct. I don’t know if it’s possible to increase loyalty other than through tutoring, but I’m going to hope that by being loyal to players and staff they will reciprocate and be loyal to me and to the club. This will mean doing a couple of things:

- Firstly, any changes in the first team are going to be done slowly, with any important or well loved players generally being given the opportunities to retire at the club or leave only if they ask to. Even if I have superior young players coming through, I’ll stick with players who’ve served me well until they’re ready to retire or leave.

- Secondly, this will mean loyalty to former players and staff. When looking at buying players or bringing in staff, my first look will be at players who have come through the academy, followed by players who have played for the club previously, before I look at anybody else. Any player that wants to come back to the club and matches any of the other aspects I’m looking for will become a top transfer target, and any player who becomes a staff member will be able to find a role at my club.

- Thirdly, I’ll be trying to develop every young player of at least 1 star potential that comes through the academy. They obviously won’t all make it at the club, but I want to make sure they all have good careers in professional football, and that as many as possible have roles to play in the first team at Chelsea. Barcelona is full of home-grown youngsters, not just their first team but also the wider squad. I’ll be looking to emulate this if I can, moulding every player to fit the ethos of the club and maximise their potential, in order to fit in with the first team or join another club.

British and Irish Based

As Barcelona have a squad comprised mainly of Spanish players, I’ll be looking for a squad of mainly British and Irish players. I won’t have solely players from these countries, as obviously Barca’s best player is an Argentine, but it’ll take a really special player for me to bring them in over a British or Irish alternative. I’m especially concerned with bringing through a new British and Irish spine to the team. John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole have been and still are three of the first names on the team sheet, but they’re all coming towards the ends of their careers. I’ll need youngsters like Josh McEachran and Nathaniel Chalobah to step up and replace these players as the new core to my club, with one of the two probably taking the captaincy when JT retires.

The Style

One area where I won’t be trying to emulate Barcelona is in their footballing style. Chelsea do not, and never will, play tikka-takka football. It’s just not in this clubs blood. So I’ll be looking to develop a style that is unique to Chelsea, embodying some of our past triumphs and creating a system that suits the new and the traditional ethos of this club. This will focus on players who are physically impressive, with good pace, strength, stamina and jumping. Physical attributes will take priority for me in all positions except my 3 attacking midfielders where I’ll be focussing on technical attributes, they’re the key to unlocking defences for us.

The Formation

It looks narrow I know but I feel it will get the best out of the players I’ve got, as well as giving me a number of options and different ways of playing. It’s my variation on the formation that seems most popular among the top clubs at the moment, and I’ll explain why it fits the style I’m going for.

Team and Player Instructions

Team Instructions

Full Backs

Center Back - Cover

Center Back - Stopper

Ball Winning Midfielder

Deep Lying Playmaker

Right Winger

Attacking Midfielder

Left Inside Forward

Target Man

Power and Pace

The most successful manager in the club’s history, Jose Mourinho, built his team to over power opponents. It wasn’t always pretty, but the players had the determination and strength to keep grinding teams down, often scoring goals in the last 20 minutes of games. I want my team to have a similar approach, having power in the midfield, at the back and up front. My two central midfielders need engines to keep going until the last minute, while my centre backs and strikers need to be good in the air and rocks on the ground, with the ability to win the ball at the back and hold it up at the top end.

What Mourinho’s team also possessed was pace on the wing. Robben on one side and Duff on the other gave the team valuable outlets to break on the opposition at speed. I’m already blessed with the likes of Hazard, Mata, Moses and Marin who can use their pace and trickery to get at opposition backlines and get in behind. While in my formation they won’t be strictly playing as wingers, they will be encouraged to exploit space out wide and in the gaps between the centre backs and full backs with their pace.

A Main Man

Looking back at all the great Chelsea teams and players through history, one constant is the presence of an old fashioned centre-forward. From Osgood to Drogba, Chelsea at their best have relied on an old-fashioned number 9, and my squad will be no difference. I’ll be looking for strikers that have the whole package; pace, power, strength and finishing. I don’t want one-dimensional poachers or slow but strong target men, I want a good all-rounder. Physical attributes are going to be absolutely key in this role, I’m happy to sacrifice some technical skill to get the raw physical presence I’m looking for. Currently we have Demba Ba and Fernando Torres, both of whom have the physical attributes to play this role, though neither are world class. Thankfully we also have Romelu Lukaku out on loan who looks ready-made to be my Drogba replacement, so I’m looking forward to having him back next season.

Conclusion

So, that’s what I’m trying to achieve, I’ll probably add to these posts once I’ve started along the save a bit in case I’ve missed out anything, I hope you enjoy following along and I’ll probably be asking for a bit of advice as I go. Come on the Chels!

P.S. I should’ve said before, feel free to ask any questions/request screenshots etc. Always happy to help when I can!

[iHeadHunta x]

Good luck mate, really interesting thread.

[Bracken]

Save information

Top Divisions:

Argentina

Brazil

Belgium

Mexico

Northern Ireland

Portugal

Republic of Ireland

Russia

USA

Wales

Top Two Divisions

France

Germany

Italy

Spain

All Divisions

England

Scotland

67,000 Players, attribute masking enabled, added players to playable teams.

The Manager

Experience: Former International Footballer

Second Nationality: Irish

Favourite club: Chelsea

[Bracken]

Good luck mate, really interesting thread.

Cheers mate, will have a few more posts this evening to get things rolling

[Bracken]

Season 1 – 2012/13: A New Era

Chelsea Football Club have today announced the appointment of Dave Bracken as their new manager. The 37 year old Bracken, a former Irish international, had a solid if unspectacular playing career, playing just two seasons in England’s top flight, and has a growing reputation as an astute tactician having been an impressive pundit on the soon to close ESPN network in England.

Born in Essex, Bracken toiled away in the lower leagues before finally getting a shot at top flight football with West Ham, where he opted to play for the Republic of Ireland as his England chances looked slim. A solid central defender, Bracken played for the Hammers for two years before finding himself out of favour and dropping back down the leagues. A short career in punditry followed, but now he takes on an altogether different challenge with the reigning European Champions. Taking charge after the club chose not to keep on the popular Roberto Di Matteo, Bracken faces a tough task to get the fans onside while continuing to please his Russian master. His first press conference will offer an interesting insight into his thoughts for the future of the club.

So, here I am and I’ve got a real job on my hands to fundamentally transform this club while continuing to be successful. First job is evaluating the staff and players and making any necessary changes, while trying to stick to the ethos I’ve outlined before. I’ll update as soon as I’ve made a few changes.

[b101]

Agreed, very topical and something I'd love to see happen in real life. They have some excellent players and the attacking mids make them a great proposition. Where does Terry fall in this? Do you treat him with loyalty or see him as a barrier to where you're trying to get?

[Bracken]

Agreed, very topical and something I'd love to see happen in real life. They have some excellent players and the attacking mids make them a great proposition. Where does Terry fall in this? Do you treat him with loyalty or see him as a barrier to where you're trying to get?

Yeah I'd love this IRL, that's what drove me to the save.

Definitely loyalty for JT. I've never had a big problem with him in the game at any time previously, he'll have the opportunity to spend the rest of his career at the club. He also offers a great tutor, he's professional and determined. While he's also controversial, hopefully this can be trained out of my youngsters over time, JT will be the last tutor my top level youngsters will have, I'll use tutors with low controversy personality types first, before finishing them off with JT. This way, they're controversy won't be driven up too much by JT and they will go on to be determined and professional youngsters.

[Bracken]

Right so I've made my start. Firstly I changed the backroom staff fairly dramatically. I looked through each staff member, looking at their personalities as well as their attributes, and let those go who weren't good enough or didn't fit with the club ethos, will keeping anyone who could still do the job and had shown some club loyalty.

My biggest appointment was club coach Steve Holland to the position of Assistant Manager. Holland has been a good servant to the club and has many of the attributes I look for in a good assistant. He provides a sense of stability and continuity, while also bringing the ethos I want to the club. The rest of the coaches were all sought out for their skill and personalities, while I tried to bring in as many British or Irish coaches and scouts as possible.

Transfers

In:

Luke Shaw - £13.25m from Southampton

The big signing of our transfer window, Shaw has been brought in as a hot prospect with the intention of eventually replacing Ashley Cole and fighting with Ryan Bertrand for our first choice spot at left back. A real life Chelsea fan, Shaw is a huge prospect and while he learns from Paulo Ferriera he'll get some reserve action as well as the occasional cup game this season.

Owen Hargreaves - Free, unattached.

Ok, I know this signing seems a little weird but trust me. With Mikel due to go away on African Nations Cup duty later in the season, I would've been left with just one real defensive midfielder, so I thought it would be a good plan to go ahead and bring in some short term cover. Next season Michael Essien will be returning from loan, but until then we needed another body in midfield. Yes, he's injury prone, yes he's declined as a player, but he's also an exceptional professional who hasn't asked for too much in terms of wages. He'll be a great tutor for the season he's here, and hopefully he'll stay fit in January which is really the only month I need him. His personality fits well with my ethos, and he's still got the attributes to be useful.

Keiran Crossan - £325k from Dundalk

A regen produced right at the start of the game for Dundalk in Ireland, Crossan attracted a fair bit of interest so I moved for him quickly. Very good attributes for a 17 year old, he needs some improvements on his concentration, positioning and physical attributes, but he fits very well with my hope for a British and Irish core, and he's already developed enough to merit a loan move. He's moved to Millwall for the season and hopefully that will help him push on.

Out:

Nobody permanently, just some loans amongst the youngsters who aren't being tutored or are already developed enough.

I'm only going to be moving people on when the time is right, hoping to sell as few people as possible and just let them leave naturally when it feels like the perfect moment. Malouda almost left for PSG but rejected their contract which is fine by me, he can stay for another year as a backup to my 3 attacking midfielders. I removed Hilario, Ferriera, Benayoun and Malouda from the transfer list and restored them to the first team fold. This was about loyalty as well as making sure we had a bit more depth to the squad as it'll be a long season in a number of competitions.

Another reason to keep hold of these players is that Hilario, Ferriera and Benayoun are all model professionals. This personality is incredibly valuable as it's not that common and is perfect for the ethos I'm trying to develop. So they've not only been retained as players, but also as tutors, with Ferriera tutoring new singing Luke Shaw, Hilario tutoring young goalkeeper Jamal Blackman and Benayoun tutoring Bertrand Traore, a youth player who is ineligble to play for a year.

The Squad

Torres is still here, just lurking out of sight at the bottom too. It's a big squad, partly due to my reluctance to let anyone leave, partly because they can be useful tutors, and partly because of the long season we have ahead of us. As you can see, almost everyone in the squad is either tutoring or being tutored, with the only exceptions being a few players who's personalities aren't what I want to pass on to the youngsters. I'm pretty happy with the squad and the balance we've got, we've picked up a couple of injuries in pre-season but nothing too serious thankfully, and we should be ready for a good season. The tutoring is going well so far, no bad reactions as yet and I'm hopeful they will all get along.

Training

The first month in charge I had a high training workload focussing on fitness in the general training and tactics only in the match preparation. We now have a good knowledge of our main tactic and decent working knowledge of our backups, as well as a good level of fitness for the year ahead. After the first month I reduced the overall workload and began focussing on the individual training elements that were needed, I'll be operating a 3 month rotation of individual focuses, though some of these will be extended if necessary. Nobody has complained since I've lowered the workload, so hopefully it'll stay that way.

Conclusions

I'm pretty pleased with my summer dealings, I have a good backroom staff who embody what I'm trying to do and are all good at their jobs. I also have a solid scouting network focussing primarily on the UK and Ireland, with a good knowledge of South America and Central Europe too. The squad looks in good shape with a lot of options in different positions, so I'm ready for the season ahead. Next up will be a quick post about the pre-season friendlies.

[Bracken]

Pre-Season Friendlies

Overall I have to be pleased with a perfect record through pre-season. We were pretty good at the back (admittedly against generally poor opposition) and scored a good number of goals. However, we were quite reliant on crosses and set pieces (as shown by the number of goals scored by John Terry), we certainly haven't clicked with the attacking players yet, but hopefully that will come. The win against Dortmund was very pleasing, we played exactly as I'd like us to by keeping the ball, drawing them onto us and then breaking with pace. Hopefully we'll be able to keep this form going into the season. Next up, Man City in the Community Shield and the start of the Premier League Season

[AK22]

Can't say I'm a huge fan of Chelsea as a football club, but good luck with this anyway. It's an interesting project

[Bracken]

Can't say I'm a huge fan of Chelsea as a football club, but good luck with this anyway. It's an interesting project

Ha, cheers mate, I'm sure you're not alone in that respect anyway

[Bracken]

August 2012

Fixtures

Not a bad month overall and our first silverware of my career, albeit at the second attempt. We were definitely second best in the game against City, we went 2-0 down early on, clawed it back to 2-1 and then conceded in the last few minutes to their new signing Kaka (yes, that one). This precipitated a couple of changes in my instructions to the players, we just weren't getting the ball forward quick enough. The changes seem to have done the trick as we've been much better since. We could've scored more against Stoke and Atletico, but two hard fought wins with a good dominant performance over Southampton are a good start. We also should've kept a clean sheet against Southampton, they scored with their only real chance of the game which came from poor defending from us and a rash decision from Cech to come out. Still, 6 points and the UEFA Super Cup are a good start.

Next Month

We'll kick off our Champions League campaign Schalke, the toughest team in our group, and we face a tough trip to Arsenal along with Man United at home in the League. Two good results in those games and it'll be a great start.

[iHeadHunta x]

Im a huge chelsea fan so I'm loving this, hope we follow this ethos in real life

[Bracken]

Im a huge chelsea fan so I'm loving this, hope we follow this ethos in real life

Me too mate, would love us to have more stability. Interesting article from the independent says the club is basically trying to do exactly this, fits in well with my save:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/gus-poyet-and-gianfranco-zola-join-jose-mourinho-in-the-reckoning-to-replace-rafael-benitez-8515665.html

[iHeadHunta x]

I would adore Jose to come back, Zola on the other hand is my favorite player of all time - An absolute God - and if he came to the Bridge the respect we show him would be disrespectful for a chelsea great like Di Matteo!

[Bracken]

I would adore Jose to come back, Zola on the other hand is my favorite player of all time - An absolute God - and if he came to the Bridge the respect we show him would be disrespectful for a chelsea great like Di Matteo!

I'd be happy with anyone from that article really, we live in hope I guess

[Bracken]

September 2012

Fixtures

6 games over a space of two weeks stretched the squad, but overall it wasn't a bad month. Going out of the League Cup was very annoying, we played a second string due to it falling in the middle of a mad week with games every two days, and we were ahead until the 85th minute when we ignored Mulumbu and somehow he snuck through and grabbed the equaliser. Then sadly we lost on penalties. Still, other than that result it was a pretty good month, a win in our first Champions League game and a draw away to Arsenal were all topped off with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Man United at the Bridge.

One issue you might've spotted from my first two months is the lack of goals from my strikers. In fact, in two months my two strikers have just one goal between the two of them. Obviously that's not good enough. It's been a mix between poor finishing and a real lack of chances created for them. The midfield have no problem making space and chances for themselves, but they haven't put any on a plate for the frontman. It's something I definitely need to look at, I think it's more a case of a problem with how the team is set up rather than the players themselves, so I'll look into it and see what I can do about it. What I have been pleased with is the defending, while we may have conceded one or two goals, the players have really fought for the cause with some tremendous blocks and last ditch tackles, really embodying the spirit I want in the club.

Next Month

On paper our fixtures look pretty easy, facing the other two seeds in our Champions League group as well as Wigan and West Brom at home and Newcastle away in the League. I'm hoping for 9 points from the three league games, we're currently just top of the table by a couple of points, if we can use this month to create a nice gap that would be great. Come on the Chels!

[DBurns]

Not a big fan of Chelsea IRL but I like a few of their players and had a quick save with them before Christmas.

Good luck transforming the club from top to bottom, will take a few years to do whilst staying successful and pleasing Roman.

[Bracken]

Not a big fan of Chelsea IRL but I like a few of their players and had a quick save with them before Christmas.

Good luck transforming the club from top to bottom, will take a few years to do whilst staying successful and pleasing Roman.

Cheers mate, going to be tough but should be a fun long-term project

[Bracken]

October

Fixtures:

So overall a pretty decent month, we got the 9 points I was after out of our League games and even manager to grab a few goals for Demba Ba! I was really struggling to get my strikers involved, but I may have solved it. I've changed my formation very slightly, so will update the OP, it's just a case of moving my two wider attacking midfielders to the wide positions. They still have pretty much the same instructions, but this change has opened up a little more space in the middle which seems to have helped Ba get a bit more space to operate in. I'm pleased with the spread of the goals, I've been rotating the squad a fair bit and it seems to have been working, keeping them all fresh and getting the results.

League Table

That's a lovely gap after just 9 games, nobody so far is putting together a serious challenge. I'm delighted by our consistency at the back, the defending has been as solid as I could hope for and is exactly the foundation I was looking for to build upon. Liverpool and Arsenal have had awful starts to the season, Rogers is already under-pressure and may get the sack. I'll try a cheeky bid to bring him back to the bridge if I can

Champions League

Obviously I'm frustrated by the defeat to Fenerbache, a team we really should be beating, but we've got enough time in the group to hopefully turn it around and finish top.

Next Month

4 League games and 2 Champions League games, as well as some reconsidering of my training focuses. The biggest game will be at home to struggling Liverpool, but an away trip to West Ham should prove a tough match too. Come on the Chels!

[iHeadHunta x]

Keep the blue Flag Flying High!

[Bracken]

Keep the blue Flag Flying High!

I'm doing me best! Haha. It's been pretty good so far

[Bracken]

November

Fixtures

A very solid month, unbeaten again, the 5-0 victory over Liverpool obviously being the highlight. Goals are still a little light up front, with Ba scoring just twice and Torres failing get a single goal. However, the strikers have been more involved in overall play, getting a number of assists and more chances than before. The formation change has certainly worked, defensively we're still solid and we're creating a lot more up front. The best result is probably the West Ham game, we were determined and professional right until the end and eventually got our rewards.

League Table

Still a healthy 6 point lead and still unbeaten in the league which is a great achievement. The league itself is pretty strange, Liverpool are in real trouble and Rogers has already lost his job (he wasn't interested in signing for me ) Allardyce and Pardew are also out of work, with Martinez taking the Newcastle Job, Pelligrini showing up at Anfield, and West Ham still without a coach. Arsenal and United have also started the season very slowly, meaning our main rivals so far are Tottenham and City, with QPR massively over-achieving at the moment. Delighted with our defensive solidity and we're beginning to open teams up a little more on the break which is very pleasing.

Champions League Group

We're through which is great, though it certainly hasn't been as easy as I'd like. It's all to play for between Fenerbache and Schalke for second place, we've got Salzburg at home in our final game, so it'll be a nice chance for some rotation.

Next Month

Some huge games in December. We kick off at home against 3rd placed City, followed by our final Champions League group game and then the FIFA Club World Cup, which will be a nice chance to win a trophy the club have never claimed before. Following that is a massive clash against our current main challengers and huge rivals Tottenham at White Hart Lane. If we win that one, we'll really open up a good gap at the top. Following that are three home games against mid-to-lower table opposition, so we should end the month strongly. At the end of the month I'll do a mid-season review and update you on the player development progress. Come on the Chels!

[DBurns]

Fantastic start to the season with a healthy 6 point lead

Keep it going! Any transfer targets in mind for January?

[Bracken]

Fantastic start to the season with a healthy 6 point lead

Keep it going! Any transfer targets in mind for January?

Cheers mate. Nothing really, I don't feel like we need to hugely strengthen. There are a couple of regens who were created at the very start who I've had my eye on, a young Irish goalie and an English centre back, strangely from West Brom when you'dve thought the game wouldn't have needed to add any to their squad. The goalie should be fairly cheap so I'll certainly go for him, the centre back looks expensive but he's got 5 star potential, so I'll see if I can get him for a reasonable price.

[Bracken]

December 2012

Fixtures

Well, what can I say about this month? At the start I definitely did not predict having a perfect December, a month packed with fixtures, with some very tough ones thrown in. The performance against City was probably my favourite so far, we played exactly how I wanted us to, soaking up pressure, keeping the ball at the back and drawing them onto us, then attacking with pace down the wings and through the centre. We couldn't have played it better. The game against Sunderland was bizarre, with JT bagging a hat trick, and not all from corners. He's really been amongst the goal this season, I'm hoping I haven't found any sort of exploit, but he's doing brilliantly and helped us out of some tight corners too. A win in the Club World Cup adds another honour to my CV and helps breed that winning mentality that I'm looking for. Overall, a great month.

League Table

A 14 point lead with a game in hand. It's safe to say that right now, we're running away with this. Admittedly, United and City who should be our biggest rivals just haven't turned up this season, which is odd, but we've still had to be professional in every game and so far we've done that. To be unbeaten at this stage is an amazing achievement for the first season, I'm delighted with how it's going so far.

Champions League Group

An easy game against Salzburg for us, while Schalke made it through the crunch match against Fenerbache to make it into the next round. We've got Benfica in the first knockout round, which is one of the better draws we could've hoped for, so I'm expecting us to make it through.

Next Month

The transfer window opens, though I'm not planning any real major moves, just the odd youngster if I can get a bargain. The FA Cup also starts up, we've been drawn away to Chelsea Legend Gianfranco Zola's Watford team, which should be a good game and a tough test. In the league we've got a big game against Arsenal, so that should be exciting.

Next post will be a mid-season review, which I'll post tomorrow. Come on the Chels!

[Bracken]

Mid-Season Review: 2012/13

Performance

I can't really have many complaints about the performances, especially in defence. We've been very strong, really restricting most of our opponents to long shots. We may concede a fair few fouls each game, but I'm ok with that if it means we're keeping more clean sheets and preventing teams from getting in behind. Most of the goals we concede are either directly from free-kicks (nothing I can do about these, we do concede quite a few this way which is a little unrealistic but not much I can do, you're always going to give away the odd foul), or from corners and other set pieces. I'll try to tighten up our set-piece defending, but other than that we've been great at the back.

Going forward has been a little less pleasing, with our struggles to create chances for our striker still an issue. It has improved and both strikers now have decent goal-scoring ratios, but it really relies on them converting virtually every chance they get. There has been progress, but we still have further to go in this area. I am really pleased with the number of goals coming from my attacking trio, they've really hit the ground running, and the key will be to maintain their influence and performances while bringing the striker further into play.

Style

I'm delighted with the style of football the team is playing, particularly in how we're moving the ball from defence to the attacking three behind the striker. My only concern is that once the attacking trio get hold of it, they're a little reluctant to bring the striker into play, tending to go for goal or keep the ball between them. But the transition from defence to attack has been superb so far, and that was the hallmark I'm looking for. It enables us to really hit teams on the break, while also allowing us to draw them in, keep the ball, and then suddenly launch a pacey attack.

The defending, as I said, has been great and really embodied the spirit I'm looking for with a 'never say die' attitude at the back, throwing their bodies at things and making last ditch tackles. There doesn't seem to be much that needs changing in this respect.

Ethos

This has been the hardest area of course, but we've made some good strides towards this. The biggest challenge has come from a player who's not even still at the club, Michael Essien. He's requested a new challenge which is a big blow as I was hoping to bring him back into the first team fold next season, for his ability as well as his professional personality. Instead, he'll have to be let go, with the best wishes of the club as a servant like Essien deserves. It's a shame as bringing him back would've been a good symbol of the loyalty I want at the club, but sadly it's just not to be. We've also had the odd rebellion on the tutoring front. These youngsters will probably be shipped out, as I don't want whiners at my club, with the exception of Ake, who's progressed well and has a professional personality, but for whatever reason he did not get on with Ferreira. As long as his next round of tutoring goes well, then he'll be able to stay.

Development

We've made great strides here. Lewis Baker, Islam Feruz and Alex Kiwomya have made some really good progress, with Baker looking ready to step up to the first team squad either next season or the season after. Tutoring has played a big role, but they've also made good progress in each of the individual attributes I've been focussing on. Thus far they've had general training focussing on fitness, but that will now change to tactics for the second half of the season. I wanted to improve the overall physicality of the squad first, before focusing on their mental attributes to improve the mental toughness and strength of the squad. I'm hoping this will help with the development of both my youngsters and my seasoned pros. I'll post some screenshots at the end of the best prospects I've got coming through the ranks, as well as probably a review of my first team.

Transfers and Finances

Luke Shaw has progressed well since his big money move, and he'll be involved more and more as the seasons go on. Hargreaves has so far stayed surprisingly injury free and acted as a good tutor, which is very encouraging. He's now facing his main reason for being here, providing competition to Romeu during the African Cup of Nations. The youngsters Crossan has been doing well for Millwall and I'm looking forward to having him back next season.

The finances of the club are pretty worrying. Because I wanted to keep the first team squad together in the first season, I haven't reduced the wage-bill at all, and so the club is steadily losing money. Hopefully a League win will reduce the pressure, as well as a few outgoings at the end of the season, but right now we're deeply in the red. This tension between wanting to keep players out of loyalty, and the financial pressures of the club, is going to leave me with big decisions come the end of the season. But, for now, we should be ok.

The Rest of the Season

I really can't see us going the whole season unbeaten in my first year, though it would be a fantastic achievement. My main hope is that we can wrap up the league early on, giving us the rest of the fixtures to give my youngsters experience. The FA Cup is my second top target, as we failed miserably in the League Cup I'd like to try and put that right. It would be fantastic to retain the Champions League but that's a tough ask, I'm not sure we have the full package yet, so I can't see us bringing that one home, but obviously we'll give it a good go.

I'll resume my monthly updates now, and then do a full roundup at the end of the year. Come on the Chels!

[Sabine]

Great read and a managing philosphy that a lot of people could imitate.

Can't wait to see more of this.

A transfer target I could suggest in the winter transfers is Ryan Gauld of Dundee United. 17 years old, fairly professional personality and really looks the part for his age.

[iHeadHunta x]

Fantastic read mate, doing well at my club

[Bracken]

Fantastic read mate, doing well at my club

Cheers mate, I'll try and keep making you proud

Great read and a managing philosphy that a lot of people could imitate.

Can't wait to see more of this.

A transfer target I could suggest in the winter transfers is Ryan Gauld of Dundee United. 17 years old, fairly professional personality and really looks the part for his age.

Thanks a lot mate, appreciate it. Having a look at him now, he does look solid, just sent my scouts out after him, could very well fill a spot in my squad as a backup on the wings, good find

[Bracken]

January 2013

Fixtures

Well, after the high of that perfect month in December we came back down to earth in January. Obviously the big disappointment is losing our unbeaten league run to Man United. The month started so well, I felt we'd be able to cope with losing Ba to the African Cup of Nations as Torres bagged a great hat trick, but then everything started to go wrong. We lost Oscar for 5 weeks just at the wrong time, as with Moses away I was only left with Marin and Benayoun who could play on the right, and neither have really set the world alight. We struggled through, grinding out wins and draws until we were finally undone by Man United in a game which to be honest was one of our better performances of the month, but sadly it wasn't to be. Time to pick ourselves up and go again next month.

League

Fourteen points clear is fantastic at this stage, despite that loss we're still clearly in the driving seat. We should see out the league comfortably, but we have to remain professional throughout to make sure we don't have any slip-ups.

Transfers

We didn't do much business to be honest, only the two purchases and one of them will arrive at the end of the season rather.

Joe Harkin - £550k from Crusaders. A good young goalkeeper, I needed some more cover with Blackman going out on loan and this kid has potential as well as a professional personality. Should develop into a strong contender with the right traning

Ryan Gauld - £550k from Dundee United. As recommended by Sabine, a good young Scot, who adds to my British contingent, is already fairly professional, and can add cover in a number of positions. Will probably never be a world beater, but will provide good backup and competition.

Next Month

Back into the Champions League with Benfica, and Brentford up next in the FA Cup. The League games shouldn't be too tough, the most challenging probably being West Brom away towards the start of the month. I'm actually already well into February, so this update will probably come soon KTBFFH!

[Dexter_Morgan]

I'll do you a deal, you can clean up on FM with them and United score 8 on Sunday

Seriously i'd imagine you've got to be pretty much winning every week on FM as in real life so to see if someone can put some stability to the club should be interesting.

[JackJCFC]

A Torres hat-trick? Thats realism right out the window then.

[LozRyu]

how deep is your defensive line? would be interesting to see your teams instructions because I have never had the sort of start you have had in the first season with chelsea, i've partly blamed it on having too many players that werent developed yet, you seem to have an amazing style of play going for chelsea, i too play 4231 but seem to struggle to break teams down sometimes, not to mention arsenal have gone on a mental run of only losing 1 in the first 23 so its making it difficult for me.

[iHeadHunta x]

^ I thought the torres hat-trick was unrealistic but Arsenal unbeaten once in 23 ? Pfttttt

[Bracken]

I'll do you a deal, you can clean up on FM with them and United score 8 on Sunday

Seriously i'd imagine you've got to be pretty much winning every week on FM as in real life so to see if someone can put some stability to the club should be interesting.

No deal Yeah that's going to be the real challenge, thankfully it seems I've gotten off to a good start.

A Torres hat-trick? Thats realism right out the window then.

It's only happened the once, I don't hold out too much hope of a repeat

how deep is your defensive line? would be interesting to see your teams instructions because I have never had the sort of start you have had in the first season with chelsea, i've partly blamed it on having too many players that werent developed yet, you seem to have an amazing style of play going for chelsea, i too play 4231 but seem to struggle to break teams down sometimes, not to mention arsenal have gone on a mental run of only losing 1 in the first 23 so its making it difficult for me.

I'll post some player/team instructions in a bit, I've actually changed the formation to a wider version of the 4-2-3-1, so I need to update the OP too.

^ I thought the torres hat-trick was unrealistic but Arsenal unbeaten once in 23 ? Pfttttt

Haha. Poor Nando really hasn't been up to it, I think he'll be moved on at the end of the season, if possible. February Update on the way!

[Bracken]

February 2013

Fixtures

Well a great month in the league, with a crazy Champions League game in between. The Benfica game was nuts, we finally had Demba Ba back in the team and he returned with a goal, but our defence wasn't having it's greatest day and conceded from a set piece, another direct free kick and finally a mistake at the back which lead to an easy tap in. Still, 3 away goals isn't bad, Oscar grabbing the equaliser in the last few minutes made sure we had a solid result to fight for at the home leg. The games against Brentford and Fulham were very pleasing, some very nice attacking play and another two goals for JT which is a little crazy but I'll certainly take it.

League Table

This screenshot actually includes one game from March too as I forgot to take one before. A 21 point lead at this stage is really huge, just a few more games and we'll be done with the league and can focus on the FA Cup and the Champions League. Tottenham, City and United have pretty much locked in the top four, While Swansea are as good as relegated, along with Reading, with Villa, Wigan and West Ham fighting to stay above that other place. I'm delighted with our league season so far, and it'd take something huge for us to mess it up from here.

Next Month

The return leg against Benfica and an FA Cup game away at Tottenham, which should prove a tough match as it's 1st vs 2nd in the league. If we can make it through that, I make us favourites for the trophy, though the winner faces a semi-final against Arsenal or Walsall (come on Walsall! ) which could be another test. It's also Youth Intake time, and I've already improved my junior coaching and recruitment to the max, so I'm praying for something special, I'd love a central midfielder but I'll take anything to work with really. Building from the academy is key to what I'm trying, so I'm hoping the game will give me something to work with. I'll post screenshots of whoever comes through.

I'll also post some links to my team and player instructions tomorrow when I get a chance. Thanks for reading as always

[smgers]

This is a fantastic read and I also love the approach you've taken with Chelsea.

I'm just about to start my long term save with Chelsea and I also do it in much the same way as yourself. I like to build the team to be hard to beat (much like the Mourinho days) where we look to be solid at the back and hit teams on the counter. I like a team that will fight for each other rather than it being about individual players.

One thing I like to do is completely overhaul my backroom team - mixing it with top coaches and a few club legends in there for the feel good factor.

It can be a challenge trying to turn the club from the big money spending mercenaries they are into a professional, tightly run club that hit the headlines for all the right reasons! As in real life you don't get given the time to do this without also winning trophies along the way.

You've certainly given me a few ideas and I'll continue to read whilst also trying to rebuild the Super Chelsea!

[ollie laaaaaaaad]

A great read mate, can't wait for more updates! Keep it up!

[Bracken]

This is a fantastic read and I also love the approach you've taken with Chelsea.

I'm just about to start my long term save with Chelsea and I also do it in much the same way as yourself. I like to build the team to be hard to beat (much like the Mourinho days) where we look to be solid at the back and hit teams on the counter. I like a team that will fight for each other rather than it being about individual players.

One thing I like to do is completely overhaul my backroom team - mixing it with top coaches and a few club legends in there for the feel good factor.

It can be a challenge trying to turn the club from the big money spending mercenaries they are into a professional, tightly run club that hit the headlines for all the right reasons! As in real life you don't get given the time to do this without also winning trophies along the way.

You've certainly given me a few ideas and I'll continue to read whilst also trying to rebuild the Super Chelsea!

Great to hear that you'll be having a go as well, hope you're successful mate. It's an approach that obviously I'd love to see mirrored in reality, and I'm doing my best to bring the club under control, but it'll certainly be a long term problem as I don't want to be disloyal to our current stars.

A great read mate, can't wait for more updates! Keep it up!

Cheers mate, really appreciate hearing that people are reading and enjoying this

[Bracken]

March 2013

Fixtures

A solid, if unspectacular, month. The victory at home against Benfica is no more than I expected once I saw their two main strikers were out of action. The other games were victories we ground out, Hazard was superb against Tottenham and probably could've had more goals to be honest. We definitely should've scored more against West Ham, they were down to 9 men with half an hour to go, but as I had to rest players for the next CL game we just weren't able to capitalise. Still, overall pretty pleased, although it was a light-scoring month for the strikers, Ba was heavily involved in most of the play which is what I've been looking for, and we've been playing pretty well overall.

League Table

We're one win away from bringing the title back to the Bridge. If I'm really honest, the league has pretty much been a cakewalk for us this year, Tottenham haven't seriously threatened our position for a while. Our defensive solidity has really been the backbone upon which we've built this success, and the fact that we've been the league's top scorers so far is just a huge bonus. Swansea and Reading should be confirmed as relegated soon, I doubt there are any players I'll look to pick up from there, but Swansea have some good professionals who might be worth a look. Stoke have a had a tremendous second half to the season, and I really hope they finish above Arsenal, the ultimate triumph of determination over flair

Youth Intake

Well I was hoping for something special from the intake, and the FM Gods seem to have blessed me

Scott Devonshire

A 5 star PA Centre Back. Okay, I wanted a defensive midfielder, but this guy looks the absolute dogs proverbials. He also brilliantly fits the ethos I'm looking for, look at that Work Rate and Teamwork! I really couldn't have asked for much more. But wait, it's even better than you think...

That's right, he's not only dubbed the next John Terry, he's also a Chelsea fan. He's basically the perfect player for this save, and while his influence is currently only 8, I'll be looking to make him my captain at some point in the future. It really couldn't be better. As for the others, here's a little look at the best of the rest.

Tom Godfrey a 3 star potential midfielder, already has some decent attributes and with a lot of work he'll hopefully make it into my first team squad.

Mauricio Segredo 2 star central midfielder, attributes are decent but he's also either footed, which is something I really like. I'll be hoping he can push on and maybe become a useful squad member, or at least get a good career elsewhere

Rogan Marriott Really poor starting attributes, but an okay potential rating from my coaches means that maybe he'll one day make it as my backup goalie. It's worth a look at the very least.

All in all, a very pleasing youth intake. I'll start using the rest of the season to cast my scouts about to fill up the rest of my youth squad for next year with players from the UK and Ireland supplemented by one or two special players from the continent if I find anyone who fits the mould.

Next Month

I'm really hoping we can finish off the league against Liverpool so that I can use the last 6 games for youth development and rest my full first team for FA Cup and Champions League games. We've got Arsenal in the semi-final of the FA Cup, and Juventus in the next round of the Champions League with the first leg away from home. It'll be a tough challenge as they're running away with the League in Italy in almost the same way that I'm doing in England. Should be a cracking game and I'm hoping Ba can bag a goal or two.

[LozRyu]

any chance of those team instructions yet? my cfc season is starting to waver and I'm not sure how to pull it back, would like to here from any successful tutoring you may have done also? I've managed to get Ake from 10 to 17 determination through 2 tutors which has been great.

[Bracken]

any chance of those team instructions yet? my cfc season is starting to waver and I'm not sure how to pull it back, would like to here from any successful tutoring you may have done also? I've managed to get Ake from 10 to 17 determination through 2 tutors which has been great.

Sorry, sure I'll get those up now, I'll probably put links to them in the OP, so just check back there in a few minutes

[crewe_york]

Fantastic idea for a career thread Bracken. This could quite easily be turned into a guide you've described what you doing so well Looking forward to seeing your Chelsea team in a few seasons time.

[Bracken]

any chance of those team instructions yet? my cfc season is starting to waver and I'm not sure how to pull it back, would like to here from any successful tutoring you may have done also? I've managed to get Ake from 10 to 17 determination through 2 tutors which has been great.

It's up now, I'll do a roundup of my tutoring and stuff at the end of the season. My formation and style is still definitely a work in progress, but I hope it helps

[Bracken]

Fantastic idea for a career thread Bracken. This could quite easily be turned into a guide you've described what you doing so well Looking forward to seeing your Chelsea team in a few seasons time.

Thanks a lot mate, really appreciate it

[iHeadHunta x]

This thread gets better and better !

[LozRyu]

thanks bracken, just curious when you come out of your counter strategy? because ive tried playing counter a few times previously and sometimes I just seem to invite pressure and not soak it up and hit other teams on the break like I should, do you play every game on counter? home and away? strong and weak opposition? would be good to hear when you change to control or attack etc if you do.

also the luck on that regen, he looks amazing! so jealous

[Bracken]

This thread gets better and better !

I aim to please

thanks bracken, just curious when you come out of your counter strategy? because ive tried playing counter a few times previously and sometimes I just seem to invite pressure and not soak it up and hit other teams on the break like I should, do you play every game on counter? home and away? strong and weak opposition? would be good to hear when you change to control or attack etc if you do.

also the luck on that regen, he looks amazing! so jealous

So far I do play the same way home and away, but I have had some of the same problems you're talking about. The formation does work extremely well away from home, but at home I don't control the game as much as I'd like, whereas if I switch to a balanced or control strategy I don't seem to get the supply to the target man as I'd like. I'm still developing the formation, it'll never be finished as such, but I'll keep working on it and I'll update you as I go. Hopefully I'll find a way that makes us more dominant in possession at home, but still tough to to beat away.

[smgers]

Bracken - do you use any other formations other than the one you've posted?

I've just started my Chelsea career and have set up a 4-2-3-1 but with 3 AMC's as my first formation and the 4-2-3-1 that you've just posted I have as my second formation. Also as a third one I have a 4-1-2-2-1 which I will be looking to use in tough European games and probably when I'm away from home to the top teams.

I'm not sure why but I just can't get a formation with two strikers to work - in fact I don't think I've ever been able to play with two strikers since FM 11. True to life I suppose though as you rarely get a team playing with two out and out strikers these days. Even when they do there's always one striker that comes a lot deeper and links with the midfield more.