FM15: Wolverhampton Wanderers "Wolves" - Out of Darkness Cometh Light

[Loud Metal Wolf]

Sako just needs an arm around him, I only play players in form as when a sub comes on like sako I find he plays much better.

Remember to praise players on good performances and working hard in training.

[Kona]

I have 6 games left in season one and I am in first 3 points up on Derby and 5 on M'Boro.

Here is my team

Gk: Ikeme/Hansen Rotation neither really beating the other out

DL: Garbutt (Loan), Goldbourne

Dc: Stearman, Blackett ( Loan)

Dc: Batth, Hause, Landell

Dr: Donohue, Ricketts

Dm : Coquelin ( Loan), Price

Mc (B2B): Rowe, Saville, Evans

ML: Sako, Jacobs

AmR: Van La Perre, Henry

AMC: Green ( Loan), Drage ( 400K), Evans

Str: Dicko, Strandberg (600K), Siggy

I sold off a lot of the old guard with high salary for whatever I could to keep wages down as funds are tight. Strandberg was a great buy and plays like a mini Bony he has 17G so far only 2 behind Dicko and carried us when Dicko was away at african nations.

Garbutt has been really good on loan as had Green(knack for big goals). MacDonald was not fast enough for my midfield role so I sold him in Jan fr 1.2 million.

I play an asymetrical 4-1-4-1 attacking and drop back to a 4-1-4-2 to close out games. Also have a 4-2-3-1 wide for certain games to mix it up.

Bako is rating at an 8.0 with 15g and 14 assists. Drage is good cover for a number of positions.

Here is hoping I hold on.

Cheers

[Long Islander]

I went 0-4 in the next 4 matches to close out the first half of the season. I had scrapped my 433 asymmetrical as it appeared to be giving up too many shots. Overall, my Wolves squad went 2w-0d-6L during this experiment with an adjusted 433. I was even upset by lowly 19th place Wigan.

To start the 2nd half, I reverted to my 433 asymmetrical. WOW. Fulham didn't know what hit them. A comfy 3-0 for Wolves and out shot the Cottagers 24-3. I continued on with this tactic and have gone 5w-2d-2L in that span and sit in 12th place. It included a 2-1 upset again of Arsenal, away this time.

We're going to stick with this for our remaining 12 matches. Seven are with clubs above us and 5 below. We lost to 2 of those lower clubs the first time around.

Drew our final match with our nemesis, Norwich 3-3. They seem to have our number. They had 17 shots, of which only one was from outside the box. I'll have to review that match to see how they did that.

Overall, possession has been excellent being over 50% in 7 of the 9 matches, including 3 over 60%. A plus for us is that we were only outshot 3 of these 9 matches.

I had changed my tactic in the middle of the season to accommodate Sako and give another winger playing time because I felt Sako would break through after scoring a goal & assist. To no avail. Benched him (again) and went back to my 433 asymmetrical. Sako on the block again.

Woodrow doing fantastic after injury and now has 12 goals. Dicko not so much.

[Gungner]

Just started with Wolves for the first time ever.

Signings so far are Ryan Mason (loan, with option to buy for £3,8 mil), Chris Eagles (free) and Lewis MacCleod (£450k from Rangers). Thought about loaning in Nicky Maynard, but with these three coming in, there's no room in the wage budget. Although I could move some money from the transfer kitty to the wage budget.

Only played one pre-season match so far, against East Stirlingshire, which was won 2-0.

[Long Islander]

I finished up the 2016-17 season in my Wolves save by going 3w-2d-7L in final 12 matches to finish in 13th place with 13-6-19. Upset Man City with 3-2 come from behind win as biggest highlight of final 3rd of season. LOW light was taking a 3-0 lead vs. Chelsea within 18 minutes and trying to park the bus too early. Got spanked 6-3 with Chelsea scoring last 2 goals while we were in attack mode at end of game to catch up. Learnt my lesson here.

Woodrow led team with 16 goals and Dicko decided to put some in also and finished with 8. Stearman was player of the season at DC but thank God I had Krul in net. Jonas Hofmann, who I picked up cheap at 2.7M from Bayern was highest rated player at 7.29 in AML position.

I'm happy with this 4-3-3 asymmetrical tactic, but it can be inconsistent for us. Possession seems to be a plus as we consistently rank above 53% but get outshot most matches. Usually play Standard-Flexible but drop to Counter against top clubs.

Now on to 2017-18...let Sako and McDonald go. Picked up a bunch of new signings. Will elaborate on them later.

[Long Islander]

Just started with Wolves for the first time ever.

Signings so far are Ryan Mason (loan, with option to buy for £3,8 mil), Chris Eagles (free) and Lewis MacCleod (£450k from Rangers). Thought about loaning in Nicky Maynard, but with these three coming in, there's no room in the wage budget. Although I could move some money from the transfer kitty to the wage budget.

Only played one pre-season match so far, against East Stirlingshire, which was won 2-0.

Good luck with Wolves. I picked up Eagles also for my 1st season and he will be with me still for my upcoming 4th. A good consistent player.

[Terrance]

5th Season Summary

League:

I finished the league in 1st place. This time, I am comfortably 20 points ahead from 2nd place Arsenal. Luka Jovic led the league with 29 goals in 25 games as left inside forward with a rating of 8.20 rating. I'm not sure why Falcao won English player of the year award (18 goals in 29 games with 7.37 rating), so this must be a bug? I think Falcao won due to more games played. This is the first time someone on my team won any kind of award for the league, except for GK. Maarten Stekelenburg won the Golden Glove award with the most shutouts in the league (2 years in a row). I don't rotate GK since I had trouble finding new prospect. I am finally able to beat Tottenham, but Chelsea became ridiculously hard to beat due to their new formation. They are the challenge next season.

Other competitions:

I won the both cups with ease. Again, I got really lucky with my draws.

Euro cup was tough though. I had Bayern Munich, Athletico, and then Real Madrid. Bayern was beaten 7-2 aggregate. Athletico was a beaten 3-2 in extra time (thrilling!!). Then Real Madrid 4-2 win in the finals. I accomplished everything I set out to do last season

Awards:

World Player of the Year & World Golden Ball - Youri Tieleman 1st place, Gabriel Barbosa 2nd place (I'm glad its someone other than Messi)

World Team of the Year - Gabriel Barbosa, Guido Vadala, Martin Odegaard, Alper Ademoglu, Youri Tielemans

Best Player in Europe - Gabriel Barbosa 1st place, Youri Tieleman 2nd place

European Golden Boy - Guido Vadala

European Golden Shoe - Luka Jovic

Transfers:

Towards the end of the season, I noticed a 18yr old GK (bought 2 years ago) developed very well, so I sold 37yr old Maarten Stekelenburg to Swansea and will start the 18yr old next season. I've decided I'll try to keep loyal to my brightest players in my youth intake. So far in the 5 years with the Wolves, I only managed to get 3 good prospects in my intake. Unfortunately, none of them are good enough to become starters. At best, all 3 have enough potential to become good backups. I prefer to loan them out though instead of wasting their career away on my bench. Also I decided to be a keeper for all my kids who have become world class players. My payroll is now 189mil per year, so I can afford them.

My team is loaded with high prospects, but I just hate dealing with so many contracts. It makes my offseason feel as long as a season. I ended up getting rid of the many prospects on my team via loans or just selling for cheap to a team that I like (mostly Derby and Seattle Sounders). I'm just going to bring in 2-3 of the very best prospects I can find every year so that other teams have a shot of picking up talent.

Loan Project:

During the season, I loaned out 1 world class player to Everton for first team, 1 high quality player to QPR for rotation, and 1 wonderkid to Sunderland for rotation.

I extended all of their loans to the same team, but now for first team or key player status. I like having some of my players in the Premiere League. If they have good careers, then I'll sell them each cheaply to their respective team in 2-3 years.

[Gungner]

Good luck with Wolves. I picked up Eagles also for my 1st season and he will be with me still for my upcoming 4th. A good consistent player.

Thanks. One question: Are the strikers good enough? 'Cause I've been thinking about moving some money over from the transfer kitty to the wages and loan in Nicky Maynard or some other striker...

[mg539]

Thanks. One question: Are the strikers good enough? 'Cause I've been thinking about moving some money over from the transfer kitty to the wages and loan in Nicky Maynard or some other striker...

IIRC Dicko is your only decent striker, with Clarke and McAlinden as back-up (and Sigurdarson from January). Some people on here have had success from one or both of Clarke/McAlinden but neither are 'like-for-like' so imho it's very risky not to get another striker in, just in case Dicko gets injured.

I sold Clarke and loaned in Maynard (but there are others out there!) If you really wanted to free up some wages you could get rid of Johnson on a free (though I only managed it on transfer deadline day!). There are a couple of others on high wages that you might not need, depending on your preferred formation etc

Hope that helps

[Gungner]

Well, I have £1 million left for transfers, but only £2,000 available for wages. So I'd need to move some over to the wage budget to get someone in. Which means after the money has been moved, a loan seems like the only option. Another option would be Adam Campbell from Newcastle... Him or Maynard are my current targets atm.

[mg539]

If you reduce transfer budget to £600k you'll increase wage budget to about £10k which should be enough for one of the targets (just for illustration, you may as well move it all to the wage budget...)

Have you sold anyone, or are you going to try and keep a big squad happy?

[Gungner]

I've really just started, so no one has left yet.

[Jogo Bonito]

I'm not managing Wolves, so sorry to interrupt - but if you want a striker in season 1, I would really suggest trying to get free agent Innocent Emeghara. If you are quick to make your move and can attract him there, his wages would be about £6k p/w - superb value. There will be lots of competition for his signature, so it's down to luck if you succeed.

He's the nearest thing you can get on FM to a goal guarantee at any Championship level club. What he has done for all of us at Grasshoppers in Switzerland is tremendous, and what he can do under AI management is similarly impressive.

* Apologies, I got the wage wrong. Signed for AI clubs and for me on just under £6k p/w.

[mg539]

Thanks for contributing Jogo, more than welcome

I don't have a particularly great knowledge of players so any tips are gratefully received!

btw my tip on Dicko - play him and give him heavy focus on finishing and it can rise by two or three points in season 1 alone!

[Gungner]

Unfortunately, Emeghara wanted £15k a week... Managed to get him down to £8k, but he opted to go to Bari instead. So I signed Nicky Maynard on loan, and he has certainly delivered. 4 goals in 5 friendlies. Next match is the first of the season, home to Norwich.

Sako got injured and is out for 5 weeks, so he will be missed :/

[Long Islander]

Well, I got midway through my 4th season at Wolves and got sacked on New Year's Eve as we went 3-3-13 in the league. The only bright spot was that we went on a Capital Cup run by upsetting Southampton 3rd round, Arsenal on penalties in 4th round before losing to Tottenham in the quarter final 1-3.

Goals were few and far in between as Woodrow had only 7 in all comps. with 2 others being the next highest with 3 apiece. Defense was horrendous. Changed tactics a few times to find a solution to no avail.

Sako's contract was not renewed at the beginning of the season and after 6 months he had not signed with anyone. Dicko was sold to Cardiff by my DoF and he scored against us in his return to Molineux. But he only had 3 goals in 11 matches at midway point.

Oh well, it was enjoyable while it lasted. Wolves showed improvement in 3 seasons as we finished 6th in the Championship in the first season and won promotion via playoff. 2nd season saw us finish 16th then 13th in the 3rd season. I left the squad in 19th place in the 4th season and wondered why it took so long to get the sack.

Next manager, Danny Wilson, did worse as he brought Wolves to a last place finish.

Good Luck to all other Wolverhampton managers out there.

[Terrance]

I'm halfway through season 6. I had 2 draws and 1 loss, the rest of the games I won.

8 of my players is part of the world team of the year. My striker is (Gabriel Barbosa) won world player of the year.

Most of my players are still in their early 20s, so I think I'll continue to win for another decade no problem. Also my payroll is now 360+ mil per year (current wages less than 100mil per year), so I can still afford everybody.

I had lot of fun with this save. It's now time to call it quits and start my new journey with Tottenham (favorite team) and continue my Derby save. I'll start a new Wolves save for FM16. Good luck guys.

[mg539]

Thanks for your company Long Islander and Terrance, it sounds like you both had an entertaining few seasons at the helm!

Gungner unlucky mate, at least you've brought in a few attacking players to cover the loss...

[Gungner]

Yeah, I'm happy with my signings so far.

Nicky Maynard (loan, with option to buy), Anthony Stoakes (loan, with option to buy), Ryan Mason (loan, with option to buy), Lewis MacCleod (£650k), Chris Eagles (free) and Joe Mattock (can't remember the exact price atm.).

Started the season off with a 3-3 draw away to Norwich, then beat Rotherham 3-1 before beating Southend 4-3 in the Capitol One Cup. Next match is Fulham...

[Long Islander]

Watching former Wolves defender Zubar playing for NYRB in preseason MLS match v Toronto.

[Welshace]

Watching former Wolves defender Zubar playing for NYRB in preseason MLS match v Toronto.

Keep it to game related topics please.

There is a forum for real life football.

[JackEdwardsHappel]

Started a new game, and in the third season we won the league! Only won by a single point, mind, but my young team held their own all season and had some great results like a 6-1 win over Arsenal. We trailed Liverpool pretty much all season! Lost the Capital Cup final, and also the FA Cup Semi

Check out the team etc.

Now lets try and get some CL success

I got really bored of my first Wolves save, as I signed the usual players, but this time I'm trying to do it on the cheap.

[Wolves4Lfe]

Does Wolves researcher get hold on Afobe's stats for FM16 or does MK/Arsenal's do them ?

[craiigman]

Does Wolves researcher get hold on Afobe's stats for FM16 or does MK/Arsenal's do them ?

I'd very much doubt it will the the Arsenal one since he's not played for us in a long time. Maybe the Dons. Check here and ask: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/399912-ENGLAND-(Official)-Wolverhampton-Wanderers-Data-Issues

edit: I actually came to this thread to see if Afobe's any good, but I guess his stats weren't updated in the last update?

[Merdain]

Whilst his stats are not that impressive, they are in the places that count. first season in the premiership and he scored 27 in 32(10) with 12 assists. Season 2 was injury plagued but still managed 15 in 23. Then Leverkusen came in with an offer of 22 million so he went there!

[joewolves7]

With Wolves, I obtained promotion first season, with Afobe and Dicko both scoring well.

Managed to finish 11th second season, with big wins over Arsenal, Man Utd, Man City and Chelsea - I actually struggled against the "lesser" teams.

I managed to get £18m for Batth (couldn't turn that down), currently looking for a solid goalscoring CF. I'll put a full screenshot of my team up later!

[NDavis95]

Currently in the fourth season of a hugely enjoyable Wolves save. I am an Arsenal fan and decided to use Wolves as my final FM15 save due to the exciting trio of Afobe, Dicko and Sakho.

Just a quick summary of what's gone down:

Playing an Asymmetric 442. Standard and Balanced

AF/A DLF/S

W/A

CM/D CM/S W/S

FB/S CB/D CB/D WB/A

GK

1st season: Won the Championship fairly comfortably on the last day finishing on over 100 points. Automatic promotion was in the bag with a good few games to spare. Us and Reading both finished on over 100.

2nd season: Managed to finish 4th and get into the Champions League play offs.

3rd season: Lost in Champions League play off to Napoli but got to the quarter finals of Europa before being knocked out by Arsenal. Finished 5th on the last day of the season after a terrible run of form. A loss on the last day to Southampton meant I slid from 3rd to 5th with both the Manchester clubs overtaking me. Was sat top until just after Christmas.

4th season: Sitting top after winning first 3 games. Looking to secure a top 3 finish this season and win a bit of silverware. Stadium is being expanded to 45,000 seats and both training and youth facilities are the best they can be.

Financials are looking very healthy. Currently have over £72m in the bank and the high performance of our players is leading to brilliant sell on values. Signed Kakuta and Grimaldo on frees and sold both for £20m.

Still have a few of the original team from the Championship. Afobe, Dicko, Golbourne, Batth (captain).

Been one of my most enjoyable FM saves ever and will definitely be looking to take the mighty Wolves back into the Prem in FM16.

[Ajax_Barcelona_Cruyff]

Any ideas how Steve Morgan's decision to step down will be implemented in FM16. I was tempted to start as Wolves but will it be the case of some new owner coming in within a few weeks of the game start and potentially sacking any new manager ?

[Tuukkas]

Yes, its possible. At my save we got new owner at second season. I was supposed to be sacked, but new chairman liked my results and we became good buddies. He gave me additional 30M transferbudjet for my midtable premier finnish target. At that point my wolves team was just promoted and i had played about 10 games at premier division, winning about half of them. Chairman have granted almost every request I have made

[ponchos]

Anyone playing with Wolves in FM16? How you getting on?

In a nutshell, I got promoted as champions in season 1. Currently in March in season 2, comfortably in the top 4, lost in the final of the League Cup, knocked out in fifth round of the FA Cup. After two bids for the clubs failed (both during first winter window and then season 1/2 crossover window, so transfer embargo was very annoying), a third bid came in and the club was sold. yet to see the millions, but the new chairman is up for any kind of upgrades to the club which is good news. Few good and cheap signing have helped. Iorfa, Hause and Afobe are progressing very well, Graham is doing better than his stats and the coahces say he should do, and Ennis is (hopefully) going to be a very good in the first team by the age of 19/20.

[Long Islander]

About to start a FM16 Wolves save. Do one every year. Usually go 3 seasons.

[Gareth1808]

Anybody had any luck with Jordan Graham? I signed him with Crewe 2 seasons ago for just 35k and he's turned out to be an absolute steal! 6 goals and 13 assists last season and 5 and 8 this season. Just been promoted to the Prem and he's now worth 5.5M so hoping he can make the step up.

Would advise anybody just beginning a save to keep hold of him, particularly if you like to play direct wingers, he's perfect.

[ponchos]

Anybody had any luck with Jordan Graham? I signed him with Crewe 2 seasons ago for just 35k and he's turned out to be an absolute steal! 6 goals and 13 assists last season and 5 and 8 this season. Just been promoted to the Prem and he's now worth 5.5M so hoping he can make the step up.

Would advise anybody just beginning a save to keep hold of him, particularly if you like to play direct wingers, he's perfect.

I'm playing as Wolves and he's doing brilliantly. First season I got prmoted as champions and he did well despite staff saying he was only League 2 level, just finished my season in the Prem and managed to finish 2nd, and he's again done a really good job, despite staff saying he's League 1/Championship level. Very direct, gets good assists and goals. Definitely one to keep hold of and train up as he's young at the start of the game so lots of room to improve.

Think I might do a run down of my Wolves players in the near future, there have been some really good signs and some players you should/shouldn't use.

[ponchos]

As mentioned, here's my review of Wolves so far (as of mid-June 2017). Playing 4-2-3-1 wide

Season 1

Finished as champions and set a new points record for the division. Progressed further than expected (by the board) in the League Cup, and got knocked out of the FA Cup by Man City in the semi-final. Brought in Matheus Pereira from Sporting on loan in the summer window, and then Sebastián Driussi and Sead Kolasinac on loan in the January window. Didn't really want an permanent signings until I was in the Prem, plus I had virtually no transfer budget (just like in real life!) and also the bids that came in for the club came in around the windows which meant the board put on a transfer embargo (The first two bids failed, and then a third came in from an Italian who now loves the club and is very keen to upgrade anything I ask him to). After promotion I tried to sign Matheus Pereira but he was way too expensive and quickly went on loan elsewhere (though definitely take a look at him), I also tried to sign Kolasinac, but his agent was a colossal b*ll*nd and wanted way too much money himself, so he went to AC Milan instead (probably would have gone anyway though!). Driussi didn't do enough to impress me to try getting him back.

The players already at the club are more than capable of finishing higher than the board’s request of mid table. Van La Parra and Henry will do a very good job for you on the right, and Pereira and Graham did a very good job on the left. Edwards does his thing at CAM, and MP filled in there as well at times. Batth, Hause and Iofa are solid at the back. I generally played Batth as right-sided CB with Iorfa next to him, rotating with Hause (left sided CB) and Ebanks-Landell. Doherty and Golbourne will do well for you and will get some good assists too. Coaches will suggest playing Iorfa and Hause at full back, but we those aren't their real positions. Hause is strong, and Iorfa is tall and quick, and both do well at CB. It could get to the point where captain Batth gets dropped to get them both in the middle. As IRL, Dicko is out for the whole season (you might get him back to play the last few games as a sub, but not much more), so Afobe and Le Fondre did the business. I also had Ronan and Ennis on the bench for a few games when Afobe and ALF were tired/injured. As for central midfield, Coady as a supporting Ball Winning midfielder and McDonald as a DLP worked well, with Price coming in to do either role, and Saville sometimes doing well too. Byrne, Wallace, Deslandes also can be useful but aren't going to get the world alight. Finally managed to get rid of Siggy and Boukari after contracts ran out too!

Season 2

Up into the Prem, the board want to avoid relegation, but I say we can reach mid table. Half the squad agree with me, a fair few believe we'll never stay up. I bring in Stanciu (£3.3m), Duelund (£1.3m), Stojanovic (950k), De Bock (£4.9m), Møller Dæhli (£4.9m), Rajkovic (£2.9m), Balic (£6m , could go up to £8.5m)to strengthen the first team, and then Nicoletti (£1.2m) and Almeida (free) to go into the U21s. Stanciu (for Edwards), Stojanovic (for Doherty), Rajkovic (for Ikeme), De Bock (for Golbourne) and Balic (for McDonald/Edwards) all go straight into the starting XI, with Duelund and Møller Dæhli battling it out for AML. ALF has gone back to Cardiff but Dicko is fit again. I tried to bring in another striker but funds dried up or work permits failed, so made do with just those two strikers, but kept Ennis in the U21s so he could benefit from better coaches. I also loaned him out and made sure I could recall him. Between the summer and the January window is when the new owner came in, upgraded some facilities and pumped in £12m without me asking, but didn't give me much to spend in January. Brought in Papadopulous from Atletico for £2.5m and Maximiliano Romero from PSG on loan (set as rotation, ended up not using him much). Somehow, managed to finish 2nd! Also ended up runners up to Mourinho's Man United in the League Cup and got knocked out in round 5 off the FA Cup by Liverpool (who went on to win it). Some highlights along the way were 5-0 win away at Swansea on the opening day, a 6-0 thraping of A****n away, knocking Man City out of the League Cup in R3 (with a strong City team played), 2-0 v Liverpool at home, 5-0 v Stoke at home, 3-2 v Spurs away, and 1-0 wins against Arsenal home and away.

Now, the players...

Afobe

In all competitions, 2nd season: 31 (1) apps, 25 goals, 2 assists, 3 PoM, 7.26 ave. rating. Goals included a hat trick in the 5-0 away win at Swansea and 5 against A****n. Also finished as the Prem Top Scorer with 24 (by virtue of playing the least time) and also runner up to European Golden Boot, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (again, by virtue of minutes played). Is regular international for DR Congo, who he picks right at the start of the game. This is annoying as her disappear off to the Cup of Nations and other random matches mid-season. Currently valued at £21m, earning only 32k p/w.

Iorfa

In all competitions, 2nd season: 28 (2) apps, 1 goal, 1 PoM, 7.24 ave. rating, and only 3 yellow cards. Staff keep on saying he's a right back, but he's a centre back. Alongside Batth he's been pretty good. Still needs refining but I think he could go far. Was wanted by Sampdoria at start of season 2. Tall, strong and fast, he could be trained to cover. Also got 6 goals in the Championship. Valued at £5.5

Hause

In all competitions, 2nd season: 21 (14) apps, 1 goal1, 1 PoM, 7.08 ave. rating, only booked once. Again, staff say he's a left back for most of the time but now he's starting to be rightly recognised as a CB. Rotate with Iorfa alongside Batth or play at LB when De Bock is off form. Not nearly as attacking as De Bock though, better if you're up against the likes of United, City, Arsenal, Chelsea, etc. who will attack down the flanks. Like Iorfa, strong, tall and quick. Valued at £5.5m

Coady

In all competitions, 2nd season: 35 (1) apps, 1 goal (winner against City in League Cup), 4 assists, 3 PoM, 7.19 ave. rating. As a BWM, he does get booked a lot, 13 yellows and 1 sending off (through 2 yellows rather than a straight red). Does very well at his task, doesn't try to get too involved in attacks which is how he should be. At the end of season 2, he's valued at £9m and has just been called up to the England squad for the Confederations Cup.

Price

In all competitions, 2nd season: 17 (13) apps, 2 goals, 2 assists, 3 PoM, 7.20 ave. rating. I play him either as BWM or DLP and he has a good game in either role. Much less aggressive/more careful than Coady, only 3 yellows. He probably won't win you the league, but he's a very good player to have.

Graham

In all competitions, 2nd season: 22 (12) apps, 9 goals, 15 assists, 6 PoM, 7.51 ave. rating. Don't listen to the staff, they will say he's League 2 standard when you're in the Championship and League one standard when you're in the Prem. I think the stats above suggest otherwise. Can play AML as an IF or AMR as a winger (where I usually play him). Very direct, goes past his man often and finds good crosses, can also cut inside and score or pop up at the back post to knock in a cross from the other side. If you bring in someone new, just loan him out, DON'T sell him! He's definitely worth keeping hold of, even if you build him up to sell him on later. He's a great option to have though. Half way through the Prem season I gave him a new contract, and even though he was playing lots, he was happy to be a backup player and signed for 4.6k p/w.

Van La Parra

In all competitions, 2nd season: 24 (5) apps, 5 goals, 17 assists, 4 PoM, 7.56 ave. rating. I wasn't sure what to do with the right side at the start of the Prem season, but henry quick got an injury and was out for the season, so that was my mind made up. VLP has done very well, and while at time he's frustrating as hell, he does put a ball in and can pop up at the back post as well. Finished the season with a flurry of high rating, probably because his contract is expiring. I did offer him a new one, but his agent was demanding way too much for VLP and for himself for his ability. Because of that, I'm letting him go for free and bringing in Bentacur instead.

Dicko

In all competitions, 2nd season: 16 (11) apps, 16 goals, 4 assists, 2 PoM, 7.29 ave. rating. After a full season out, he's rusty and his stats have stalled so I was unsure how he would do. He has pitched in well as an alternative to Afobe. Probably won't be around for the long haul, but will give you a good first season.

McDonald

In all competitions, 2nd season: 27 (7) apps, 1 goals, 2 assists, 7.36 ave. rating. Played as a DLP or occasionally an AP (in central midfield), K-Mac will do a solid job for you. Again, he won't set the league alight or get many awards, but he'll do the business in the first season after promotion.

Other mentions

-Doherty gave me a good alternative to new signing Stojanovic (who came in as a hot prospect and was first choice straight away. Very good signing)

-Golbourne was a mediocre alternative to De Bock, so much so that when De Bock went through bad form, I went with Hause at LB instead of Golbourne (De Bock is a good signing though, very capable at Prem level and will get forward to support the attack). Golbourne regularly complained about game time, despite his status being lowered. I've just accepted a bid of 885k from Bournemouth who have just been promoted back to the Prem.

-Ikeme rarely played thanks to a solid Rajkovic being in goal (another good signing, and will get a work permit). Ikeme didn't complain though, at no point did he ask to talk about playing time or to leave)

-Edwards will give his all like he does in real life, and will be a good alternative. Didn't play him loads as I put new signings Stanciu and Balic in his place. After the first season I offered him a new deal but a greedy and unrealistic agent spoiled it, that plus he'll soon be 30 and on the decline so played the new young signing in his place.

-Ennis hasn't played much but has been out on loan a few times and done reasonably well. Now rated as League 1 level but had one month spell at MK Dons in the Championship. Definitely keep an eye on him, loan him out with recall options in case you need him for the bench or he's not happy at his loan club. Now 18, just signed a contract until 2020 as a hot prospect for 1.4k p/w. You can't really not keep him for that!

-Byrne, Wallace, Evans and Saville are just along for the ride. Loan them out, sell them, do whatever, they're no good. They might do you well if you get lower league teams in the cups or against lower Prem opposition, but otherwise get rid.

-Henry had a brilliant start in the Championship and then it all fell apart. Bad form, wanting to leave when I dropped him for bad form, more bad form when VLP got injured and then got a cruciate ligament injury that put him out for the season - that's the third of his career (including real life), so despite him having an extra year I can trigger, I'm letting him go.

-Enobakhare is another one worth keeping an eye on. He's down as a CAM but I'm retraining him as an AF. Doing well so far, decent looking stats. Another one too keep an eye on.

-Ronan is a bit of a wild card choice. Recently done very well out on loan at Grimsby (I know it's only Grimsby!), but he has one year left on his contract so I'm going to see how he does.

- All the new signings have done well, be keen to see how they do after a settling season done.

Staff wise, I've brought in David Coles, Antonio Pintus, Julen Masach, Gianni Vio (about to retire though), Valter Vio, and Brian McClair as first team coaches (which gives me the best coaching team by comparison in the Premiership in EVERY category!), David Fevre as Head Physio, Jon Whitney and Peter Friar as Physios, Jon McLaughlin, Heiko Laesigg and Dave Magrone as Scouts (really need more scouts!), Gerhard Huber as U21 physio, René Renno (GK) and Alfonso Azzura (Fitness) as U18s coaches, and retained Darren Ryan (4* in a couple of areas).

Summer after season 2 has begun already got Rodrigo Bentacur coming in for about £8m (including signing fees) and Baptise Santamaria coming in on a free. A lot of staff contracts are expiring so I need to fill a lot of positions as most of them are not good enough in the slightest.

Bit of a ramble, but there you go

[Long Islander]

Finally got started on my Wolves' save and are halfway through the 1st season. Just played match 23 in the Championship and are sitting on top of the league (just barely, on goal differential). Match 23 was played on Boxing Day and thus the 2nd half will start in 2 days. I figured this was a good time to do a write up.

Preseason

A good preseason as we went 7-1 with the final 2 matches shutouts. The only loss was a friendly vs Sheffield United 2-5 (but we were to get even when it counted later on).

The season starts and again we win the first league game and 1st Capital One Cup by shutouts. Then we had disastrous matches vs Hull and QPR where we went down 1-3 and 1-2, respectfully. Something as got to change. My tactics have been inconsistent as I have been doing things for years based on a few things learned on the forums.

Then I found this thread and I recommend it to everyone."Tactical Central & Insight: FM16" by Loversleaper. It's in the "Tactics & Training Discussion" forum. I changed all my tactics & strategies based on the what was written in this thread. This has opened my eyes up to what I have been assuming and doing incorrectly for years.

So now Wolves go 7 wins and 1 draw in the next league games and another Capital One Cup victory by aggregate scores of 22-4 with 5 clean sheets in the most recent 5 matches. WOW!

Then we go to Derby and get humiliated 0-4. Totally my fault as I analyzed the match up incorrectly. Actually, wasn't that bad as we were down 1-0 until the 63rd minute and then only 2-0 until the final 5 minutes when Derby scored two more.

Oh, I forgot to mention that in the middle of all this, Wolves were sold and the new owner has put much more $$$ into the team and allowed me to expand my coaching staff, scouting staff and Physio staff greatly. His name is Claude Heil. I don't know if it's a real person or not.. Googled him and he might be a French oil executive. Me being from the USA would not be familiar with French companies.

Well, now go 3 wins and 1 draw in the next 4 matches, but it includes a 3-0 Capital One drubbing of West Brom at The Hawthorne and a 2-1 victory at Birmingham. The fans were ecstatic. Too bad we're not playing Aston Villa too.

Now We get shutout 2 matches in a row vs Bristol City and Burnley. Time to review the Tactical Central thread again. Learned a few new things as we go 5 wins and 2 draws with the only loss being a 0-1 extra time defeat to Middlesborough in the Capital One Cup quarterfinals. We outscored our opponents 15-5 in the 8 matches. The 2 draws were both 1-1 affairs.

We sit on top of the league at 14w 4d 5L at 46 pts. GD of 19.

Behind us is Ipswich at 15w 1d 7L. Also at 46 pts and GD of 17.

3rd is QPR 45pts, 4th Derby 42 pts and Reading 5th 4pts.

Afobe has 14 goals in 19 matches. He was injured for a spell and also missed the quarterfinal vs Boro. 7.60 rating.

Watford is expressing HIGH interest and I do not want to lose him. January transfers should be interesting.

Henry has 7g and 7a.

Siggy has 7g and 6a.

VLP has 6g and 5a.

Both Siggy & VLP were injured for that quarterfinal too.

Lefonde has 5 goals and 2 assists but has been a disappointment. He only has 1 league goal. Hope for a better 2nd half.

IKEME has been SENSATIONAL. He has kept us in the matches with many great saves.

McDonald has controlled the midfield and has played every match.

Defensive midfield has been held down by Coady & Price. Cody has been injured for quite a while.

Defense has been solid with the foursome of Goldbourne, Hause, Batth and Iorfa.

Filling in are Rowe, Ebanks-Landell, and Dougherty and Byrne.

Have not gotten much from Edwards, Graham and Wallace even though I have given them many chances.

Transfers: This is the weakest part of FM for me. Also scouting.

I sold Conor Hunte and the fans are impressed that I got 375,000 pounds for him.

I also have Jamie Walker coming in from Hearts arriving on 1/1/2016.

Renewed Henry's contract as well as Iorfa's. I'll get down to the rest after the new year.

Tactics: Main one is a 4222 Wide. Usually on Control-Fluid.

Also use a 4-2-3-1, which I thought would be more attacking but has not done too much. Might be because the only AMC I have is Edwards.

My defensive tactic is a 451 (433) which works well on the counter or standard.

I'll do a quick report after the next 11 league matches as well as results from the FA Cup competition.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Started a Wolves save recently, signed a few good loans from my parent club Man Utd, managed to get Lingard, Perreria and Will Keane, was nice to see a Keane up front for Wolves again, Keane has got 4 goals in 8 games so far me, also resigned former Wolves favourite in Michael Kightly for 1.5m, signed a great striker on a free in Max Urruti who I knew from my previous save with Bristol City, I reccomend you guys signing him as he can bang the goals in.

Currently 2nd after 8 games played, won the first 4 leagues games in a row, also beat Stevenage and Bristol City in the Captial One Cup but lost to Watford in the 3rd round.

Jesse Lingard is a beast for me, my best player so far and top scorer with 5 goals.

[Long Islander]

My Wolves played 13 more league games and 2 FA cup games since my last report. Again, we are in the first season, 2015-16 and we had a rough time of it recently. The first 3 matches saw WWFC win 2 and draw 1. Then only went 4w 2d and 5L to drop to 4th place. In the middle of those matches we played Man City twice in the 4th round of the FA cup. Because of the congestion of matches, I rested my entire 1st team and played the 2nd team. Surprise, they drew with Man City 0-0 and almost won it in the final 5 minutes as a bullet shot hit the post. The replay was not as close as we played the same players again and got destroyed 0-4.

Although we are in 4th place, we have a game in hand over 3rd place Reading who we trail by 2 points. QPR and Sheffield Wednesday seem to be settling in to the 2 automatic promotion slots. Ten games remain.

Afobe now has 23 goals in all competitions.

Afobe 23g 6a 6pom 7.51

Siggy 13g 7a 3pom 7.19

Henry 12g 10a 8pom 7.49

McDonald 7.51 Iorfa 7.41 and Hause 7.25

Picked up Jamie Walker from Hearts and he has 2 goals in 9 matches. He replaced VLP who has done nothing since last report.

Picked up Kieran Richardson to play LFB when Goldbourne got injured. Of course, Richardson got injured in his 1st match. Had to move Hause over to LFB.

All contracts have been extended except Goldbourne. He agent wants a ridiculous agreement that would include a 4,900,000 fee if we don't get promoted. Walked away.

McDonald, although signed until 6/30/2018 wants a new contract with a 5,000,000 fee also.

Connor Ronan has been doing well in the u21 squad and have loaned him to Grimsby where he is also doing well.

Niall Ennis leads the u18 squad with 32 goals and 15 assists in 38 matches.

Jordan Graham was moved to the u21s where he has 8 goals and 8 assists in 24 matches. 7.54 rating.

I changed my expectations from mid table to playoff slot. We must do well in these final 10 matches. I'll let you know.

[ponchos]

Jordan Graham was moved to the u21s where he has 8 goals and 8 assists in 24 matches. 7.54 rating.

Move him up to your first team. I had him on rotation in my Championship winning season, and again in my first season in the Prem when I finished in the top 3. If you're going on what the coaches say about his ability, ignore them, he can definitely do a job for you. He won't win you the Premier League, but he is a good option.

[Long Islander]

Move him up to your first team. I had him on rotation in my Championship winning season, and again in my first season in the Prem when I finished in the top 3. If you're going on what the coaches say about his ability, ignore them, he can definitely do a job for you. He won't win you the Premier League, but he is a good option.

I had him in the 1st team in the first half of the season and he didn't do much.

Beat Birmingham again and moved up to 3rd place, 3 pts behind Sheffield Wednesday. But Ipswich and Reading are both only 1 point behind us. 9 matches to go

[ponchos]

I had him in the 1st team in the first half of the season and he didn't do much.

My suggestion would be play him or sell him. His stats don't go through the roof later in the game, and if he's not good enough to get in the team now then he won't be in the future when you're able to attract better players. However, I rotated him a fair bit and he got good game time over the last three years (just finished my third season and won the domestic treble).

Season 1- (Finished 1st in Championship) 11 apps, (17) sub, 2 goals, 5 assists, ave. rating 7.02 (all comps)

Season 2 - (Finished 2nd in Premiership) 17 apps, (12) sub, 8 goals, 9 assists, 5 PoM, ave. rating 7.47 (all comps)

Season 3 - (Finished 1st in Premiership) 15 apps, (15) sub, 8 goals, 6 assists, 4 PoM, ave. rating 7.44 (all comps)

He's now an Irish international, worth £10m, and is still happy with being considered as Backup and is on £5.25k p/w. A good return from someone who doesn't complain, is cheap to pay and will get you a decent if I choose to sell him! I do need to keep him as a home grown player for the Champions League though.

But again, if you don't want to use him now, sell him, as he won't get better by playing in League 1 or 2, so loaning him out to get him ready for your first team is a waste, in my humble opinion.

[GreenTriangle]

Very good players. This was my 5th save (after Ipswich, Sheffield W, Leeds and Cardiff). Wolves squad is (by far) the most complete and easy to manage. A lot of good choices available for almost every position (except ML/AML). And they can play very good (sometimes brilliant !) without any special tactic.

[GreenTriangle]

[Welshace]

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/451318-Wolverhampton-Wanderers-%E2%80%93-In-Afobe-we-trust-!!

[Long Islander]

I will continue my Wolves final 1st season report over in the FM16 Wolves thread. Post 21