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

[Bracken]

A Problem

I have a real issue where the loyalty I want to show my players and my desire for financial stability and a strong playing squad have come into contention. Here’s the player in question:

Ash is a club Icon and has given a lot of good service over his eight years at the club. He is however, definitely on the decline, and he’s declining pretty quickly. His performances last year weren’t great, while his average rating is solid, it’s mainly because he’s played games I expected to win, and so has had a few eights and nines to cover his low ratings when he’s made mistakes. He’s definitely now third choice behind Ryan Bertrand and the ever-improving Luke Shaw. He also got a little annoyed earlier in the season when he said he wanted a new challenge. I calmed him down by promising to win the title, which we’ve now done so he’s happy enough again, but in my experience these things come back.

The problem is he wants a pretty huge wage for a player in third choice. He wants a basica salary of £93k p/w, and Appearance fee of £37.5k and a massive International Cap Bonus of £70k! He only asks for a backup role, but the wages are just massive, considering that both JT and Lampard have taken bigger wage cuts. His contract is now rapidly coming to an end, and I just don’t know what to do. I can probably afford to keep him on, but it’s a lot of money for a player who won’t contribute too much, isn’t a fantastic tutor and could become unhappy without a lot of football. So, do I:

Option A:

Try and get the best deal possible and just accept that he’s going to be a drag on the wage bill for at least another year, and hope that he retires/takes a big wage cut next year

Or

Option B:

Let a club Icon who’s served us for 8 years go on a free transfer, probably upsetting the fans, but really helping with the financial side of things, and getting someone who could upset the dressing room if he gets annoyed again next season.

I’m really stumped, so what do you guys think?

[iHeadHunta x]

Keep him, we all love Cashly!!!

[Bracken]

Right so that's one vote to keep him, anyone else?

[crewe_york]

Keep him for one more year, after all he is a club icon and look at whats going on IRL at the moment with the Chelsea fans wanting Lampard to be given a new contract.

[ChelseaFan7]

I'd get rid, the wages he demands are ridiculous, loyalty works both ways.

[Brizza]

Get rid - he's not the sort of personality you want. Keeping him on will only lead to him encouraging these sort of demands from your next generation of players, so nip it in the bud nice and early.

[Bracken]

Well, after some intense negotiations, here's the result:

He's still on big wages (£79k p/w) but I managed to talk his agent out of the massive clauses, and he's only got a backup role, so hopefully he knows where he stands. In the end, loyalty trumped everything else. This is the last big contract he'll get, if he wants a big deal next year he can do one, but for now I'm happy to play along.

However, I've got another issue on my hands now.

I decided it was time to cash in on Victor Moses. He's just too selfish for my team, no matter what instructions he gets he refuses to pass the ball, and basically always cuts in and shoots, which isn't what I want from my right-winger. So I've been trying to ship him out. I got a £26m deal agreed with Liverpool (even though I'd rather not sell to them), which I thought was a very good deal, only for him to turn them down because they won't pay him enough. Who the **** does he think he is? Next, £21.5m from Southampton, he turns them down too. I felt bad about selling him at first, but now I really want rid. I feel as if he's cheating me out of the money the club deserves for developing him into a good player, by demanding apparently a ridiculous wage. So now I'm just going to try and get the best deal I can and hope that he accepts a contract somewhere soon. Really frustrating.

[Reedy_1988]

This thread has been a joy to read, brilliant work.

[Bracken]

This thread has been a joy to read, brilliant work.

Thanks a lot mate, always great to hear that other people are enjoying reading this

[hibees2]

Just read through all your posts and now i'm gutted i've reached the point where i'm up to date!

Sheer quality, I never have the patience to see things through but I love the idea you have for the entire club.

My most recent save is with Rangers in Scotland where I'm hoping while getting them back to the SPL, I can eventually run them sustainably with my own-produced players, something similar to yourself with Chelski.

[Bracken]

Just read through all your posts and now i'm gutted i've reached the point where i'm up to date!

Sheer quality, I never have the patience to see things through but I love the idea you have for the entire club.

My most recent save is with Rangers in Scotland where I'm hoping while getting them back to the SPL, I can eventually run them sustainably with my own-produced players, something similar to yourself with Chelski.

Thanks a lot mate, don't worry, once Pre-season is over the updates will come a lot quicker again, just always takes me a while over the summer. Good luck with the Rangers save, I'm sure you'll be back in the big time soon enough

[rancer890]

I probably would have said no to resigning Cole, but since you resigned him at a price you're comfortable with, so be it. Of course, I'm not loyal at all to players so I would have said no to any declining player who wasn't going to play much.

Lincoln looks brilliant though.

[ssestig]

Fantastic thread mate and a very good idea that I may look at borrowing for a smaller club from the north of England.

[CornishGas]

I love this thread (as you know ). It's something I always think about with any club I manage (though not to the extent that you do! I always try to get long-serving players jobs off the pitch, and am generally loyal to long-serving players in general, especially if they came up through the youth team). You really take it to the next level though. Hopefully if/when I get Boavista up to a level where I'm not constantly fearing for my job, I can try and sort them out in this manner. Some of my current players behave like absolute children (Navas!) and Ricardo Sousa always has an air of "pretentious artist" about him, playing a blinder when he wants to, and switching off when he can't be bothered.

How do you know when to stop training a player in a specific attribute and switch to another one? Is it simply "when they get as good as you want them to be or stop improving", or is there a knack to it?

[Bracken]

I probably would have said no to resigning Cole, but since you resigned him at a price you're comfortable with, so be it. Of course, I'm not loyal at all to players so I would have said no to any declining player who wasn't going to play much.

Lincoln looks brilliant though.

Yeah he's quality, looking forward to seeing how he develops. In the end, loyalty is so key to what I'm trying to do that Ash gets one more year at least, if he wages are still insane next year then he's off.

Fantastic thread mate and a very good idea that I may look at borrowing for a smaller club from the north of England.

Cheers mate, good luck with your save too

I love this thread (as you know ). It's something I always think about with any club I manage (though not to the extent that you do! I always try to get long-serving players jobs off the pitch, and am generally loyal to long-serving players in general, especially if they came up through the youth team). You really take it to the next level though. Hopefully if/when I get Boavista up to a level where I'm not constantly fearing for my job, I can try and sort them out in this manner. Some of my current players behave like absolute children (Navas!) and Ricardo Sousa always has an air of "pretentious artist" about him, playing a blinder when he wants to, and switching off when he can't be bothered.

How do you know when to stop training a player in a specific attribute and switch to another one? Is it simply "when they get as good as you want them to be or stop improving", or is there a knack to it?

Can't be getting on with players like that, just got rid of one my self (pre-season update will be up today). There's no real knack to it, I tend to change when they've either gotten as good as I'd like them to, or they don't seem to be making any progress and might be better served with a different focus. It all depends on the player and the attribute. I find Jumping probably the hardest to improve, so if after a while a player has made no improvements there, I'll switch their focus, and you often find their jumping will then improve naturally instead.

I also switch the focuses when I switch the general training. Most players will have a physical attribute focus while I focus on Fitness in general training, then this will change to another attribute when I move from Fitness to Tactics or Defending general training. Hope that helps.

[Bracken]

Pre-Season 2014/15

Transfers

Not quite as bit as last season, with most of the outgoings being loans, but still quite a bit to talk about.

Players Out:

Demba Ba - £25m to Real Madrid

£25m for a 29 year old backup player? Couldn't say no really. I was unsure whether to sell him going into this window, but that offer was far too good for the club to turn down, and also a great opportunity for the player to be a major player for a major club. Demba goes away with the best wishes of the club, having served us well in his two seasons, but being eclipsed by the Wonderboy Lukaku

Thibaut Courtois - £19m plus clauses to Juventus

Now a lot of people may think I'm crazy for making this deal, but hear me out. As in real life, the club faced a choice between continuing with Petr Cech as number one, or letting the young Belgian take the gloves. While I expect the club to go with Courtois, my save is heavily based on loyalty, and at only 32, Cech still has plenty of time at the top of his game. I probably would've preferred to have kept Courtois another year, but the offer from Juve came in and I felt I couldn't stand in his way. Courtois wasn't going to be first choice, I'm sticking loyal to Big Pete, and I have Jamal Blackman who's homegrown and deserves a chance as backup. I also have a youngster called Niall Selby (screenshot later) who could well become England's number one in the future, and I'd love to have England's number one as Chelsea's number one, something we haven't had for some time, but have got a great history of within the club. So good luck Thibaut, I'm sure he'll be a top keeper for Juve for years to come.

Victor Moses - £12.25m to FC Porto

Good riddance you selfish ungrateful sod. I was planning on selling Moses, but I felt bad about it at first. Liverpool bid £26m plus a percentage of profit, which I felt was a great deal, and he'd be heading to a good club where he'd be guaranteed first choice, so I didn't feel too bad. Then he rejected them, wanting more money. I no longer felt bad at all, as he'd shown that he was as selfish off the pitch as he had been on it, and I felt he'd basically cheated me out of a healthy profit for the club. Southampton came in with £21m, he rejected them too. At that point I was probably a bit rash, and should've held out for more money, but I just wanted him out of my club as he'd shown he wasn't Chelsea material. A shame, because I like him in real life, but there's no place for players who think more about themselves than the club, so off he goes.

Jeffrey Bruma - £8m plus clauses to Stuttgart

It's a shame he didn't make it, but his work rate just wasn't good enough to fit into the kind of team I want for the future. He did ok in his season in the first team, but not well enough to convince me he had a real future. So off goes Jeffrey and I wish him all the best in Germany, where I'm sure he'll do well.

Patrick Bamford - £400k plus clauses to Brighton

Billy Clifford - £250k plus clauses to Charlton

Two youngsters who were never going to find a role in the first team, but I'm glad we got them good moves to good Championship clubs where they should develop well in the years to come. It's a shame, but neither had the potential to get anywhere near the first team.

Mitchell Beeney - £0 plus clauses to Barnsley

Doesn't seem like a transfer worth highlighting, except for this message:

I hadn't seen this message before, but it shows the fans understand and approve of exactly what I'm doing, shows that the loyalty I'm trying to breed in the club is already there in the fans, and that we're becoming a club that ensures its young players get good careers whether with this club or another.

Yossi Benayoun, Matej Delac and Joao Rodriguez - Free Transfers

Yossi's contract was up and wasn't going to be renewed, he did well enough in his first season but got no chances in his second, so it was right he moved on. Delac was refused a work permit or would've been renewed, though I'm not too down about it, and Rodriguez left to join Sunderland on a free (I'll get some percentage of future deals etc.) so that's a good move for him as he won't make it here.

Players In:

Bryan Keast (Striker/AML) - £1.1m from Linfield

Ba's replacement, at least for now. He's cheap, British (now a full Scottish international in fact) and he could be a solid tutor with good Determination and a solid Professional personality. He's currently at one and a half stars of a three star PA, so some development still to go, I doubt he'll set the world alight, but he should provide adequate backup at a much lower cost than Demba Ba, and could be sold for a profit in the future.

Youngsters - Totalling £9m

Nothing to really shout about this year, I've brought in a couple of foreign wingers such as Bruno Conti (Left Wing) and Rafael Goni (Right Wing who have good potential but don't necessarily fit my way of playing. They're mainly there to help out the youth teams, develop well, and either convince my they're good enough or be sold for profit. Other than that, there wasn't much to shout about, just a few players to supplement the youth squad, more foreign players than I'd like, but most of them won't make it into the first team picture I would think.

Pre-Season Friendlies

A solid pre-season, though the defeat to Boca was very disappointing. Some good goal scoring, and everyone seems in pretty good form and morale going into the season. Just a couple of injuries, with Mikel and Wallace out for a couple of weeks, so nothing too annoying which is good.

The Squad

So the new promotions to the squad this season are Blackman, Wallace, Ake, Baker and Keast, so three players who'd spent time in the youth teams at the club, one transfer arranged before I arrived, and one new signing. I think it shows pretty good continuity, with the bulk of the squad and basically the entire first 11 being the same as last year. Todd Kane has been replaced by Wallace, but he hasn't been sold, he's having a year out on loan in the Championship, so I've got a bit more time to consider what I'll do with him when he gets back. I'm happy with the options I've got, especially with Baker who can play a lot of different positions which is very useful. Should be enough for the season going forward, though I've got options in the youth teams too.

Youth Team

A bigger squad than last year, you'll see Ashley Cole is in there too, that's just because he's currently available for the Reserves as I think he'll add a bit of experience in there when needed. A big squad with quite a few options, we're a little light at centre back, that's mainly due to the number of loans, which I'll cover now.

Loans

We've had a lot of players leaving on loan this season, and I can't cover all of them. The most pleasing thing is that I've got 3 players out on loan at Premier League clubs, 2 on loan in La Liga, and one out in Serie A, showing that we've been developing them well, and they may be ready for the first team squad next year. I'll give a quick overview of those three in the Premier League, as they're the most important really.

Niall Selby (Goalkeeper) - Season Long loan to Norwich

In 9th place last season still under Chris Hughton, they've got a solid defence but Selby should still be tested. Listed as an Important First Team Player, he'll be competing with Declan Rudd for the first choice position. I'll be constantly checking to see he's getting games, and if not I'll recall him in January, but hopefully he'll get some good Premier League experience. I've got high hopes for this lad, and I really think he could be England's first choice in a few years.

Scott Devonshire (Centre Back/DR) - Season Long loan to Stoke

Where better to toughen up and learn the art of defending that at Tony Pulis' Stoke City? They finished a solid 8th last season, and I expect them to be around there again. Devonshire is listed as a Key Player for Stoke, so he should get a lot of good experience, and as he has no glaring weaknesses that needed specific attention, I'm happy for them to develop him, and send him back ready to replace JT in a few years.

Billy Britton (Right Back/DC) - Season Long loan to Everton

Everton finished down in 10th last year, they haven't been the same since Moyes left for Tottenham. Still, under Martin O'Neill I'm sure Britton will get a good run in the team, he's listed as a First Team Regular, so I'm confident he'll get games. Again, he doesn't need much specific attention, so a well rounded development at Everton should see him ready for the squad next season.

Other Business

2014 FIFA World Cup

Winner: Argentina

Runner Up: Italy

Third Place: Brazil

Argentina won it on penalties having beaten Brazil in the semi-final. I was linked with the England job after Hodgson retired, but I didn't put my name in the hat, and it went to Brendan Rogers instead, an odd choice but fair enough. He's since called up McEachran, Shaw and Chalobah so they're now full internationals, I expect Baker to follow soon

An Offer I can Refuse

Thanks but no thanks, I'll stick where I am. Still, nice to see they're interested in me, must be doing something right.

One other arrival

Welcome back Didier My Under 18's coaching staff is now like a whose-who of Chelsea legends.

Moving Forward

We're predicted to finish 2nd by the media, but what do they know? I do feel this will be tougher than last season, as JT and Lamps are a year older, and some of our backups aren't quite top quality yet. Man City should be the main competition, though United won't be far off if they get their act together this season under new manager...Roberto Martinez. Ok then. Should be a tough season, a lot of trophies on offer, and I'm back to monthly updates now

[CornishGas]

Where the hell did Southampton get £21m from? Did Rickie Lambert finally get his big money move?

Also, nice to see Barcelona offering you the job. Kinda validates the career in a way, doesn't it?

[AcidBurn]

Great to see Drogba back as a coach, I was disappointed to see you sell Courtois but your reasons for doing so do make sense.

[Bracken]

Where the hell did Southampton get £21m from? Did Rickie Lambert finally get his big money move?

Also, nice to see Barcelona offering you the job. Kinda validates the career in a way, doesn't it?

They sold Ramirez to Spuds, so that'll be some of it, not sure where the rest comes from. Yeah nice to be offered, nice to be able to turn them down too

Great to see Drogba back as a coach, I was disappointed to see you sell Courtois but your reasons for doing so do make sense.

I also just have this weird thing about really one-footed players, I've never been a fan, not sure what it is really, just never liked em, while I love either-footed players. Didi's attributes are pretty bad but I'm hoping he can improve with a few coaching courses.

[Bracken]

August 2014

Fixtures

Hmmm. Well it seems like I may be right that this season is going to be more difficult than the last. The performances against Southampton and Porto were not good enough, Porto really hurt as they had Victor Moses in their line up and I really wanted to show him what he was missing for being a prat. We ground out the result against Liverpool, and while the West Ham performance was much better, we conceded a stupid goal from a set piece which really annoyed me, so much that we're now focussing on defending set pieces full time. For some reason, the team just isn't clicking right now, and that's going to have to change if we're to meet our expectations, which are to win the league and reach the final of the Champions League. Those seem a bite excessive to me, but it's a big club and we have to aim for the top.

The League Table

Only two games played, but those two wins for City are more important than they seem, as they've already faced United at home, so that was a big result for them. I can already feel it's going to be a long hard season this time, my job is currently Very Secure, but I really think that could be tested this year.

Champions League Group

The big draw is obviously Juventus, the team we just about squeaked past in the final, so that's gonna be a huge game. They play a really awkward formation, and it seems the best way to play them is to go full on Stoke-style, and just lump it in the box, as they're very difficult to get through or in behind. Other than that the group isn't too bad, a trip to Cyprus will be fun and hopefully will give some rotation players a chance, and we should get through, but getting on top of Juve is the main challenge.

Next Month

Cardiff at home to kick us off before a big game against Juventus at the Bridge. Then Liverpool come to visit before a series of away games against Norwich, Tottenham and Braga. I'd say we need at least 10 points from the League games, and 2 wins in the Champions League to stay on track to win the League and reach the Champs League final. Going to be tough, but that's why we love the game. Hopefully my team can find some form again, I'm really not sure what's wrong right now, so it's hard to know what to change. Oh well, I was due a challenge, right?

[Bracken]

September 2014

Fixtures

See, once the summer is over the updates come thick and fast This month, the results definitely hide the performances. The game against Cardiff was good, we were dominant and looked to be back to our old selves, but we lost Oscar to a fractured arm, he'll be gone until mid-October time, which is a real blow and leaves me with just Ramires and Baker as our only two players who can player AMR. The scoreline of the Juve game is great, the performance wasn't. We had 6 shots, 4 on target, and scored 4 goals. Thank you Courtois still we really rode our luck, with Hazard scoring two sublime goals to put us over the top. It was an important win nonetheless. We ground out another win over Liverpool, then the Norwich game, which was hugely disappointing. Keast got his first for the club, and when De Bruyne scored we were coasting. Coasting so much that the team switched off and conceded twice in the last ten minutes in a display that simply wasn't good enough. We ended the month with another lucky win, but it was a huge one, away at Spurs. We were under a lot of pressure, until Hazard took advantage of their high pressing, found Lukaku with a beautiful cross-field pass, and he did the business as usual. So some good results and we're unbeaten for the month, but we've dropped another two points at Norwich which is disappointing. I said I wanted 10 points from the league and 2 wins from the CL, and I got them, though the 10 points came from a different combination than I expected, I guess I have to be happy, but the performances leave a lot to be desired.

The League Table

So just a point behind and still unbeaten, though I can't see us staying unbeaten for long. Stoke have had a cracking start, owing in part to Devonshire who's playing really well for them. If Cahill doesn't improve, as he hasn't been great, Dev may be back before the season is over. Spurs and Arsenal have started slowly, but the battle at the top is already proving to be as tight as I expected between, City, United and ourselves.

UEFA Champions League Group

Just the one game played and due to our goals we sit top, but interestingly the Cypriot minnows beat Braga, so perhaps I was underestimating them. We'll see in the month to come I guess.

Next Month

Now this should be a good month for us. We start with Braga away in the CL, Sunderland away in the Prem, and Fulham away in the league cup, but we've got home games against Villa, Swansea and Omonoia, games we absolutely should be winning and dominating. Really, we should be aiming for a perfect month, but there's just something wrong right now, and I'm not confident we'll get what I want right now. Going to be interesting at least

[Animosama]

Any of your under-18 coaches pushing for a first team coaching spot ?

[Bracken]

Any of your under-18 coaches pushing for a first team coaching spot ?

Not yet, Gudjohnsen is the best of them but he's not there yet, he's not far off though. The others are pretty terrible to be honest, just here for sentimental loyalty reasons, and the hope they can improve a lot

[crewe_york]

Very interested to see how you get on this season having only promoted players into the first team rather than buying a couple in. Were you not tempted during the transfer window to bring in a marquee signing?

[CornishGas]

It's always nice to see loan players spurring their adopted teams onto great things (even if it's not entirely their doing, it's nice to think it is ). Except when you play against them, of course...

[Bracken]

Very interested to see how you get on this season having only promoted players into the first team rather than buying a couple in. Were you not tempted during the transfer window to bring in a marquee signing?

I'll only splash the cash if it's someone exceptional who ticks pretty much every box and I don't have a youth player that could fill the role. I have a very extensive scouting network, so in theory not too many should slip through my net and I shouldn't have to spend too much, but the money is there if I need it. So far I haven't, with the exception of Ashton who I'm sure will be worth the money going forward.

It's always nice to see loan players spurring their adopted teams onto great things (even if it's not entirely their doing, it's nice to think it is ). Except when you play against them, of course...

Yeah, they're all doing well so far which is great, hopefully it'll continue that way, Stoke are going to be even harder to beat now. Even Selby is doing well, despite Norwich being bottom of the league, he's been one of their standouts so far.

[Bracken]

October 2014

Fixtures

So some...interesting results Braga was great, with Keast getting his first (though obviously not last) European goal, we then went back to grinding mode, just about getting results in our next three games. The Fulham game was the toughest, with a game every two days we had to really rotate the squad, and it looked like it had worked as we were hanging on to a 1-0 win until the 85th minute, when they equalised. I put young Lincoln on to give Keast a rest, and he pulled out a fantastic finish that I'll show at the end of this. Then the Omonoia game, and it seems I had not underestimated them, they were pretty awful. They scored twice simply because I had a real reserve backline at the end of the game, and Keast had a feast Then Swansea and we absolutely battered them, having 18 shots but only 5 on target, we hit the woodwork 4 times and just somehow failed to score. Dropping points like this could really cost us in the games to come. We finished the month we another reserve team grinding out a win away at Brighton to keep us in the Capital One Cup.

The League Table

Well, it's tight up at the top. United have dropped a few points so we have a nice 5 point gap over them, but City are really breathing down our necks, and any slip up will be punished. Their only defeat came against surprise package Stoke, with Devonshire playing brilliantly for them in what's looking like an amazing season. We need to be at our best this month to make sure we don't fall behind and keep the pressure on City.

UEFA Champions League

We're sitting pretty in our group with an amazing number of goals scored. A win against the Cypriots away should see us through, I'd love to have top spot nailed down before we face Juve but it'll be tough.

A Problem

Well, it looks like I made a mistake

He wanted a new challenge last year, but I convinced him to stay and I thought it was all done with as he's coming to the end of his career and he seemed happy to see out his time with the club. As you know I debated whether to give him a new deal, but decided I'd be loyal to him and hope he repaid that. Looks like he hasn't. Doesn't matter what I say, he wants to leave, and won't even wait until the end of the season, so if anyone wants him they can have him for nothing. Really annoyed that he's done this as I thought we'd sorted the problem. Oh well, he can sit in the reserves until I can get rid. A real shame.

Next Month

We kick off with a massive game away at United, they seemed to have switched to the same formation Juve have been playing which is awkward to be up against but I think I know how to counter it. We also have fixtures away at Arsenal and Stoke, so some really tough fixtures coming up. If we can pull out two wins from those three, we'll have had a big month. We also have Fulham and Huddersfield at home which should be easy wins, and two away games in the Champions League against Omonioa and Juventus, four points from those would be great.

[Bracken]

November 2014

Fixtures

Our defence is fantastic. Conceding only two goals this month is a great achievement. While we haven't been setting the world on fire up front, our defensive solidity is great, so that's something at least. This season has been such a grind, though it didn't have to be that way. I actually beat Huddersfield 6-0, but my computer decided that was a good time to die for a bit, so I'm saving after every game from now on to prevent that happening. Luckily I had a save from just before so I didn't lose much, still annoying to love that massive win. The United game was a real smash and grab, with Rom's goals coming either side of a superb penalty save by Cech from RVP, and although they had a fair bit of possession, they never threatened too much. The Arsenal and Juve games show we still have the spirit and ability to fight back when we're down, even if it's late in the game, but those are games we would've come back and won last year, now it's just two draws. Still, we're unbeaten so far this season (which snuck up on me) and unbeaten in something like 33 league games (which really snuck up on me), so that's great, if we could rediscover our free-scoring form we'd be absolutely unbeatable. Still, not a bad month on the whole.

The League Table

Just 5 league goals conceded so far, which shows how solid we've been at the back, but we're 6 goals behind City in the goalscoring department. 4 points is a very good lead considering we haven't been exactly on fire, if we can keep grinding out results we might just sneak the title this year and make it three on the bounce. Stoke have slipped behind a bit, which comes at the same time as Devonshire finds himself out of the team. Britton and Selby are both still regulars, but both teams have lost their managers and aren't performing well. Still, they're both getting valuable experience and are improving nicely. The new Norwich boss should help Selby improve and learn the Chelsea way, as they've appointed one Gianfranco Zola as their new coach

UEFA Champions League

We're safe in top spot thanks to the draw with Juve, so I can rest people in the last game at home to Braga. Not the easiest group we've had, but we made short work of it, would've liked to have won by more in Cyprus after we scored 8 against Omonoia at home, but still, a win's a win.

Next Month

After the Braga game we have the FIFA Club World Cup, followed by our Capital One Cup quarter final against the mighty Stoke. We have one really massive game coming up, Manchester City at home, if we can win that one we'll have a really good gap at the top, and hopefully that'll see them slide away. Other than that it's West Brom and Southampton at home, and Newcastle away, so the home matches should be easy enough, just the Toon tie which may be tough. Going to be another interesting month!

[Bracken]

December 2014

Fixtures

Right well let's start with the good news. We breezed the FIFA Club World Cup, it really couldn't have been easier, Lukaku was just unplayable in the final. We were very, very good at the back for most of the month, carrying on from the last month. Then we came to the City game. We were doing well, 3-1 up until the last 10 minutes, when Luiz picked up an injury, which royally screwed us. Obi Mikel is not a centre back. But having made all my subs, I had no choice, and they capitalised by scoring twice in the last few minutes to snatch a point. It hit the team hard, and morale took a real dip, resulting in the first league defeat of the season up against Newcastle, a game we deserved nothing from as we played poorly. Now we need to regroup, pick ourselves up, and go again.

The League Table

It's as tight as it gets at the top, we've got a game in hand but we've also got an incredibly busy month coming up where we could easily drop points. This is a real battle now, and we need to hold our nerve, but morale has taken a big hit and it's going to be tough. We're still in all competitions, so this could easily end as a fantastic season for the club, but it could also be a disaster.

UEFA Champions League

So with that we finished comfortably top of the group. We have Valencia in the next round which is one of the better draws we could've hoped for, we should be able to make it through that but then the hard work will start.

Next Month

A double-header against Arsenal in the Capital One Cup, and two tough league games away at Anfield and at home to Tottenham present the man tests. We start with an away game at QPR which could be a challenge too. To be honest, every game is a challenge right now as morale has dipped, so the main task next month is to group together and get back on form, especially at the back. Luiz is out for a few weeks, which is a big problem as he's been so important at the back as those last two games proved. We also lost Lampard for all of January and most of February too, and while we've got good cover there, we're going to miss his leadership. I think Devonshire will be coming back in January as his appearances have dried up and we'll need more cover with Luiz out.

[Bracken]

January 2015

Fixtures

We've basically been all over the place this month. Miss Lampard and Luiz (injury) and Mikel (African Cup of Nations) we've not been up to the task. Those three are real leaders in my team, and so to have all out at the same time has been problematic, especially as it's lead to JT getting tired as he's our only other real leader outfield. We started with a solid win thanks to a Rom hat trick, then a shocking performance by the youngsters meant we were really up against it to get through to the Capital One Cup Final. The 0-0 draw against Norwich was like the draw against Swansea earlier in the season, we were all over them but couldn't make the breakthrough. We went 1-0 to West Ham but roared back to be 4-1 up, and I thought maybe we'd found or form again, but no as we gave away two sloppy goals. The next few games were solid enough, except the draw against Arsenal where they fought back from being 2-0 down, and we're out of the League Cup. Then came the Liverpool game, and James Rodriguez just destroyed us.

After that, I brought the team in for a team meeting, which went really well and morale started to bounce back. Then came the Spurs game, we went 2-0 up but they got one back late on, I thought we were going to throw it away again, but we grabbed a late goal to secure the points. So at least that was a good way to end the month.

The League Table

So those poor results this month have resulted in us dropping down to second for the first time in a while when all games are level. It's not great, but if we show the fight we showed against Spurs we can claw back the lead soon enough. I should mention one thing right now that's going to be pretty important I think:

The last game of the League season is Manchester City v. Chelsea

and right now, it'll looking like it'll be the biggest title decider in years.

Transfers

Ashley cole refused to leave, which is pretty annoying as he wants to go but nobody's interested in buying him except Swansea, who apparently he doesn't want to join despite being told he's not needed here. Real Madrid started hoovering up all the talent in South America that I've had my eye on, I wasn't too bothered about most of that, but there was one player I was determined to have, so I went into battle against Jose's team, and we came out on top. Let me introduce the future heartbeat of Chelsea's attacking trio, Antonio

If that's how good he is right now, imagine what he'll look like at 21

Next Month

We'll welcome back Luiz and Mikel, and it can't come soon enough. Thankfully, the fixtures aren't too bad. We have Sunderland at home and Villa and Swansea away in the league, with Palace at home in the cup. The Champions League kicks off again with us facing Valencia at their place in the first leg. Hopefully we can rediscover our form and get back on top in the League, but I just know this is going to come down to the wire.

[Bracken]

So I had a long train journey yesterday and get to play through February and March, and I've got some pretty Massive News!

Here's a little teaser:

More updates coming soon

[JackJCFC]

Hope he's a gooden!

[Bracken]

Hope he's a gooden!

He's actually more than a bit good. The FM gods have definitely been smiling on me in this save, 3 good youth intakes and one of them a son! It's crazy.

[B.W.G]

Doing very well throughout the season,hopefully City slip up and you'll be able to take advantage of that!

[Bracken]

Doing very well throughout the season,hopefully City slip up and you'll be able to take advantage of that!

Cheers mate, it's going to be tough but we'll keep plugging away

[Bracken]

February 2015

Fixtures

We're suffering from a real lack of defensive solidity. Part of that has been the injuries that Luiz has been suffering on and off, but part of it has just been a lot of individual errors that we need to cut out. As with the rest of this season, this month has been a real slog. If I'm honest, I just want the season to end so I can really look at what's been going wrong and start changing things if necessary. The game against Valencia was very pleasing, but the Swansea game was a massive disappointment. 1-0 down, then 2-0 up, then 2-2, then 3-2 down in the 91st minute only to equalise in the 92nd. I'm glad we got the equaliser, but we're really drawing too many games and I think it's going to cost us.

The League Table

6 points behind but we have a game in hand. The problem is, City just don't look like dropping points. They remind me of what this team was like last year. We need to find consistency, and we need to find it soon, or else we're going to be out of the running before that major last game. We're still in the cup and hopefully we can keep going there, but without any consistency or some solidity at the back, we're going to have problems.

Next Month

We start against United at the Bridge, a really tough game as they're in decent form right now, before home games against Blackburn in the cup and Valencia in the champions league, both of which we should win comfortably, if we're on form. Injuries and fixture congestion have been problems in the last two months, but this month we have a bit more time between games. We also of course have the youth intake, and having now played through the month, I have to say it's the best intake I've ever had on FM. But you'll have to wait until I get round to doing that update, probably later this evening

[ShortSharpShock]

I really admire what you're doing with the academy in this save. Makes a refreshing change to see this approach being taken. KUTGW

[AcidBurn]

The title challenge isn't over yet if you win your game in hand, good luck!

[CornishGas]

To go from conceding 10 in 20 games to 22 in 28 games is harsh, but still a record that a lot of teams in real life would be proud of! Certainly more of case of "your defence is no longer invincible" than "your defence has gone to hell!"

Especially as when you look at it, you've conceded heavily:

- To the two highest-scoring teams in the league other than yourselves (Man City and Arsenal, the latter of which you seem to struggle against every season)

- In high-scoring matches that you still won.

- In that one freak Swansea result which was a draw.

Both your league defeats (and the fact that I'm saying "both" instead of "all of" after 28 games is an achievement ) have been 2-1 away to strong European qualification contenders, and all of your league draws except the one with Man City have been away from the Bridge. At the Bridge, you're pretty much invincible still.

It's hardly a disaster. But I guess with Man City on such a rampage, anything short of perfection is going to leave you trailing them. And you've still conceded 9 fewer than the real Barcelona this year in as many games... although you have a bit of catching up to do in the other column.

[Bracken]

I really admire what you're doing with the academy in this save. Makes a refreshing change to see this approach being taken. KUTGW

Thanks mate, glad you're enjoying it.

The title challenge isn't over yet if you win your game in hand, good luck!

Just wish they'd drop some bloody points, they're on a bit of a run

To go from conceding 10 in 20 games to 22 in 28 games is harsh, but still a record that a lot of teams in real life would be proud of! Certainly more of case of "your defence is no longer invincible" than "your defence has gone to hell!"

Especially as when you look at it, you've conceded heavily:

- To the two highest-scoring teams in the league other than yourselves (Man City and Arsenal, the latter of which you seem to struggle against every season)

- In high-scoring matches that you still won.

- In that one freak Swansea result which was a draw.

Both your league defeats (and the fact that I'm saying "both" instead of "all of" after 28 games is an achievement ) have been 2-1 away to strong European qualification contenders, and all of your league draws except the one with Man City have been away from the Bridge. At the Bridge, you're pretty much invincible still.

It's hardly a disaster. But I guess with Man City on such a rampage, anything short of perfection is going to leave you trailing them. And you've still conceded 9 fewer than the real Barcelona this year in as many games... although you have a bit of catching up to do in the other column.

Those...are all very good points. I guess it's one of those things where I'm just kind of too caught up in it and can't step back to see that we're still doing very well, just slightly less well than last time out. Thanks for that, always nice for a kind of reality check.

March update on the way, including the big youth intake news

[Bracken]

March 2015

Fixtures

It really has been a funny old season. We battered United but only grabbed the goal in the last minute, but at least we kept working which was really pleasing. Then the youngsters had a really poor performance against Blackburn until Lincoln came on and completely changed the game, making it look comfortable. Then we face Valencia and absolutely destroy them and I think "Finally, we're back" and then Fulham. We just couldn't score, we had plenty of chances, loads of possession, but we got caught on the counter and that was that. Just a strange season all round, we haven't had a real consistent run of good results since early in the season, and it's taken its toll.

The League Table

That Fulham result may end p being the killer, though really it's too many draws that have cost us. 6 points behind with 6 to go doesn't seem awful, but they're goal difference advantage is really another point, and as we face them away rather than at home, they have a huge advantage. It could even be finished before that last game. Still, we've worked hard and we just have to hold our hands up and say they've been better than us. It's a tough old game this one, but there are moments when you just have to thank the Gods of FM.

Moments like this...

Youth Intake 2015

Introducing the newest member of my team, and the new member of my family:

This is the first time I've ever had a son on FM, and he's a beast. Not only that, he's the absolute perfect partner for Devonshire, so my two centre-backs in the future will both be home grown and should complement each other perfectly. He obviously has some work to do on his Heading, Positioning and Strength, but he's got the pace to make up for Devonshire and the mental and technical abilities to be fantastic. My coaches are a little divided on his CA and PA (between four and a half grey stars and one gold star CA, and between four and a half stars and five star PA) but whichever way it works out he's going to be sensational. Even his personality is perfect for my team, with just a little tutoring to improve his Determination a possibility. He also has pretty good Influence for a youngster, so he may well be a future captain, but only if he earns it, he doesn't get a free ride just because he's the bosses son

Not too much else to shout about in the rest of the intake, one two and a half star midfielder and a couple of two-starers, who I'll post at some point. But really, asking for anything more would just be greedy

I'll do a full post on what having a son will mean for this save at the end of the season, obviously it's going to have an impact as I've never had one on FM before, so it'll be a big feature, but I'm not going to give up on my overall plans for the future, I'll just tweak them a little.

Next Month

The big matches will be Benfica in the Champions League, which is one of the better draws we could've asked for, and Tottenham in the FA Cup Semi-Final. I'd love to get to the Cup Final, where I'll face the winner of a Manchester Derby. City are also still in the Champions League, so we're almost going head-to-head over a treble right now. We also have Huddersfield and Everton away, and Arsenal and Newcastle at home in the League to be going on with, hopefully we can pick up some points and close the gap to three (really we need it to be two) before we face City away on the last day in May. Still, a huge month for us, and young Graeme is just a gift from somewhere that I really do not deserve.

[Sabine]

that is awesome! you actually have your son to manage now. I'm going to be most interested in how he develops more than anything now.

[rancer890]

First B.W.G, and now you have a son. I think the rest of us lot are due for a footballing son. 2 sons for FMCU within the same week?

And your son is amazing. Mine was an average striker in FM09. He did get over 20 caps for Canada and scored 10 goals tho.

[ShortSharpShock]

Do you still have Kenneth Omeruo on the books?? He starts the game with bags of potential and I was wondering how he has developed so far.

[Crazy Billy-Jay Jones]

This is such a good premise, and fantastically written. I've spent the best part of the last two hours reading through it all, and loved it.

One of my fave career updates for sure, keep up the good work, mate!

[b101]

great updates - this is a really good read. Great to see someone turning Chelsea into a decent club . Congrats on being a father as well!

[Bracken]

that is awesome! you actually have your son to manage now. I'm going to be most interested in how he develops more than anything now.

It's definitely a new challenge, I can't wait to really get cracking with him next season. As long as he earns his place that is

First B.W.G, and now you have a son. I think the rest of us lot are due for a footballing son. 2 sons for FMCU within the same week?

And your son is amazing. Mine was an average striker in FM09. He did get over 20 caps for Canada and scored 10 goals tho.

That's pretty solid at least! Some of them that others have posted have been truly awful. It is weird we got them at pretty much the same time, I just told him we need to make a managers' kids team

Do you still have Kenneth Omeruo on the books?? He starts the game with bags of potential and I was wondering how he has developed so far.

He's still with my club but has spent all his time out on loan, I don't think he'll quite find a place for me, but he looks solid and I'll post a screenshot at the end of the season

This is such a good premise, and fantastically written. I've spent the best part of the last two hours reading through it all, and loved it.

One of my fave career updates for sure, keep up the good work, mate!

Thanks a lot mate, always great to hear people are enjoying it

great updates - this is a really good read. Great to see someone turning Chelsea into a decent club . Congrats on being a father as well!

Thanks buddy, the son thing came completely out of the blue as I've wanted an FM son for ages but never thought it'd actually come off!

[JackJCFC]

Looks like he could be a JT sort of character at the back, already got pretty decent influence for his age. Future club captain?

[Bracken]

April 2015

Fixtures

What a crazy, up and down month. The first thing to notice is that Lukaku clearly had his scoring boots on this month. Then of course, there's out defence. We somehow managed to concede 8 goals in our first 3 games, yet still won two and drew the other! So clearly our defending was still not good enough but we were grinding out some results, the Spurs one being very satisfying, despite our really poor defending we kept plugging away and got the win I think we deserved. Then the Benfica game came round and no matter what we did, we couldn't get the goals we deserved and they caught us out on the break twice and suddenly a winnable tie with a good first leg result had seen us dumped out of the competition. I don't like losing, but I hate losing at home, and that result wasn't good enough. We had another Team meeting after that, and it had the desired effect as we dominated Arsenal from start to finish and could've had even more goals. The Everton draw was disappointing, and probably sees the end of our title challenge. City slipped up once this month losing away at Liverpool, but our failure to capitalise will end up haunting us I'm sure. That result made me think we had nothing to lose really, so I've switched to a more attacking starting mentality, and it worked nicely against Newcastle with a really dominant performance to end the month.

Young Graeme Bracken has had his first couple of appearances off the bench, the first coming in the closing stages of the Arsenal game. I can't see him getting a lot of game time, but I will have him on the bench in the Cup Final, just so he can get a medal

The League Table

So as you can see, the title seems to have slipped out of our hands. Obviously it's still possible, but with the form they've been in all season I don't see them slipping up, which means our final day game away at City will probably not matter. Still, we'll keep pushing in hope that they'll sip up, our last three games have been really pleasing and we've looked more like the team of last season, so hopefully we'll keep that form up next month.

Next Month

Just four games left this season, three in the League and the Cup final. We start at home to QPR, then away to West Brom in midweek, before a final double-header against Manchester City in the Cup Final first and finally in the League. They're going for a treble right now as they're still in the Champions League too, with a semi-final against Celtic that I expect them to win. My main aim for the rest of the season is to stop them winning the Treble at all costs. We haven't won the real treble yet, and I'll be damned if I see City do it before we do. There's only room for one tycoon-fueled super team here, and it's going to be us

[Bracken]

Looks like he could be a JT sort of character at the back, already got pretty decent influence for his age. Future club captain?

If he earns it definitely, no favouritism from me. Well, maybe a little favouritism from me