FM15 - The Sky Bet Football League thread

[Jogo Bonito]

I got them promoted out of League 1 in my 5th season, and would have continued - but the new database came out and I wanted to try something on that. Not quite sure why I picked Carlisle, but just got them in to League 1 after two seasons.

[Gizmo7]

So after playing 7 games with wing-backs (and several variations of this formation) I have decided that it doesn't really improve my defense

Couple of wins against other crap teams, but our last game just took the absolute ****

5 games left and we're 9 points clear, 3 points off the magic 50. I think we'll be alright to be fair, but a serious re-think is needed in the summer to make us a solid force again The only player who seems to be enjoying this formation is Leigh Griffiths, who's scored in every game so far with this formation He's now got 23 league goals for the season, so hopefully we can keep hold of him next season, and basically build around him.

[Jogo Bonito]

Yeah Gizmo, that's not particularly tight, is it? Amazing stuff from Griffiths - I still don't like the guy though. Looking like you will survive anyway, and next season will hopefully be better. In fairness, ask any County fan if they'd be happy being a Championship team in three years and I'm sure the answer is yes. On that basis, you're still doing well.

[smplfc123]

I got them promoted out of League 1 in my 5th season, and would have continued - but the new database came out and I wanted to try something on that. Not quite sure why I picked Carlisle, but just got them in to League 1 after two seasons.

Ah fair enough mate. Nice going, I'll keep an eye out for your next update

[GG17]

So my League One campaign has begun with Carlisle. I've obviously mentioned the balls up I had with pre season but that aside the summer was a good one for us. No money to sign new players meant I've focused on free transfers and loans, too much in the loan department as I'll explain in a moment.

I'll start with players out, on top of youth players we let Dicker, Sweeney, Hanford and Griffith leave on free transfers. Alfei a right back I signed from Swansea also left as well as Gillespie to QPR for only a small fee of £20k. He was kicking up a fuss and we signed a new keeper making him 3rd choice. He really hasn't progressed like he has in Jogo's game which is mainly due to the lack of games. I wish I could have got a little more money for him but oh well.

Permanent players in included last years loan successes Jake Taylor and Dominic Gape. Both joined on free transfers after being released by Reading and Southampton. We signed Gary Sawyer on a free as well as a back up/competition to Grainger. Wade Elliot also has signed but is mainly being used as a Chief Scout but would only sign on a player contract. He's currently tearing it up in the U21's actually!

Loan signings is where we've really bought in some quality though. Firstly we gambled on Betra again. He was poor last season due to injuries but had a great tournament for France U19's and I couldn't resist getting him back. He's a little injury prone but when fit I think he'll be a big threat.

We signed Lee Nicholls on loan from Wigan to play in goal. He's better than Jalal and will be my No 1. Liam Donnelly has signed as a right back from Fulham, he can play CB as well. He played 20 games for Fulham last season in the Championship so his quality will be ideal down the right for us. Rodney Kongolo from Man City is another, he can play CB or DM. Kristian Bielik from Arsenal is another who can play both those roles and will be my first choice anchorman. Jordan Graham from Wolves. Good pacey winger, unpredictable and even though I currently don't play with wingers he's a great option to have. My last loan signing was Carlton Morris from Norwich, he was on loan at Coventry last season in League 2 and scored 18 goals so I'm hoping he can step up a level for us, especially when Betra is not fit.

Our problem is only being able to have 5 players in the squad on match days. Kongolo is the one most likely to miss out and then maybe Graham or Morris but rotating them all will be an issue.

The season is 5 games in. We started with late goals against us costing us a win against Leyton Orient which I'm putting down to my pre season balls up, the same with the Extra Time defeat to Bolton in the Capital One cup where we led 1-0 until the 80th minute. However the next three games were superb, 2-1 victories against Doncaster and Luton and then smashing Scunthorpe 5-1 away from home. Beck has started the season with 3 goals and is getting a lot of interest from Scottish clubs. I'm ever so slightly tempted to sell but would prefer to let Marquis go instead but no interest in him yet. Dempsey has started the season where he left off with 2 goals and Betra has also bagged 2 but has got injured again. Dominic Gape has also managed to get 2 this season despite not getting any last season, he's a player who has a little bit of everything to his game and is only going to get better.

I'm trying to bring Josh Harper in as a winger on a free also after he was released by Manchester United. His agent wants a fee that I cant afford just yet, hence why I'm trying to sell Marquis.

[Gaz1808]

First full season with Carlisle is over and it ended in promotion. Finished up as the league champions however it wasn't easy and I was very inconsistent during the second half of the season.

http://gyazo.com/75d1ee3eebef0d1b088b413a5e109da2

Stand out players:

Kyle Dempsey - Took him a while to get going but excelled in the second half of the season in particular. Ended up as the league 2 player of the season and finished with 12 goals and 14 assists with a 7.40 average rating.

Patric Brough - Ended the season with 13 goals and 16 assists despite playing at least 10 times at Left Back. Actually debating whether to retrain him and use him as a Left Back permanently next season as he's so good going forward.

Tom Eaves - Finished the season with 19 goals from 36 games and the third highest scorer in the division.

Harry Winks - Got him on a free after he was released by Spurs and didn't really know what to expect. Ended up playing an awful lot because of injuries and suspensions but was different class in Central Midfield and finished up in the League 2 team of the year.

Disappointments were Mendez Laing who didn't contribute much at all in 20 appearances and Mark Beck who only managed 2 goals all season despite 16 games.

Already signed 4 players from the Scotish leagues on free transfers and will need a few more recruits as i've got 8 loans ending and 4 first team players who's contracts expire. Mark Gillespie has told me he wants to leave for Birmingham too and i granted his wish so hopefully it wont be too difficult to find a replacement.

Also allowing all of my staff to leave when their contracts expire. Would've preferred to bring in my own instantly but the only way i'd get the job was if i agreed to work with who was already here!

Can't imagine doing that well in League One but as long I recruit well i should stay up!

[fyrefuze]

Has anybody watched "

" on youtube? quiet interesting I must say. nice work bigasfcfan.

[sammo10]

Plymouth Argyle Season 16/17 Preview

Transfers

Outs -

I released four players in the summer. Deane Smalley never got a look in in the past two seasons and offers very little. Happy to get him off the books. Lee Cox was a good option to have and did okay but he wanted to play more regular football and it gave me the opportunity to get someone on who might provide more competition in midfield. Kane Hemmings never really provided any competition to Reid's spot and too avoid Reid becoming complacent I decided to let Hemmings go and strengthen this area. Krysiak was a tough decision, however he was not the great in his only season and I wanted to get a better keeper in.

In -

First piece of business was to make Kadeem Harris' move permanent. He was a very big player for us, so it was a no brainer at £100k. Jake Kean, was the second player to come in. I'm hoping he can become the number one goalie for a long while. He has great technical stats, but could do with some work on his mentals. With Jonjoe Kenny going back to parent club Everton, my next move was to bring in Aaron Martin. He played regular Championship football for Coventry last season, and can cover both right back and Centre back. He should settle in nicely. Tarique Fosu has come back for a third season on loan. Always been a big player and is improving with every year. Who knows ? Maybe we will get him in permanently one day.. Sam Hutchinson came in to provide competition all across the pitch. With his contract up at Sheffield Wednesday, he was available for no fee and can cover RB, CB, CDM and CM. A great player to have. The second player that we spent money on was Eunan O'Kane. He was unwanted at Bournemouth and had been brought in to provide competition for the three Central midfield spots. The final signing was Will Keane from Man Utd. He has all the ability to score plenty of goals in this league. He will hoepfully keep Reid on his toes, and if Reid does not perform or gets injured, I am certain Keane will come in and perform.

Early Results

The season started with a slightly dissapointing draw at home to Walsall. I was expecting three points from this but a debut goal from Eunan O'Kane was only enough to get the point. We progressed through the first round of the Carling Cup. 2-0 at Burton with goals from Omar Rowe and Reuben Reid opening his account for the season. We then made it two draws from two in the league. An away trip to Portsmouth saw us get another 1-1 draw. Peter Hartley popped up with the goal in a game we could easily have lost. Our first win was a home one against Fleetwood. Will Keane, making his first start made a great impression, scoring twice. We could not replicate our Carling cup win at Burton in the league, however. A 2-1 defeat was not what we had planned in a game we were very sloppy in and deserved to lose. We went out of the Carling cup in a tough 2-0 defeat to Leeds, we were never likely to win this one but the put in a good showing. We were back to winning ways in the league with a 1-0 win at home to Scunthorpe. Anthony Grant making a trademark late run into the box got on the end of a cross to give us the win.

It has been a mixed start to the season . We haven't played as well as last season, and have not looked convincing in the wins. Hopefully Reid can return to last seasons form ans start banging in some goals.

[Jogo Bonito]

Sorry, not had time to write anything on here for a bit - and certainly not had any time to progress my game...

Nice updates from my fellow Carlisle managers GashGuff and Gaz - and also from you sammo. Just clicked your link too fyrefuze, it sounds like an interesting series to watch, although the voice of Stuart Hall is going to really reduce my enjoyment of it!

Hopefully at (or just after) the weekend I can crack on with my save. Keep updating, fellow Sky Bet managers

[Jogo Bonito]

After the closure of the January 2017 transfer window, it's time for another update from Brunton Park. As the graph below will show, we've managed to maintain a mid-table position over the last few months, with a mixture of good, average and poor results in League 1. After more than two seasons with it, the 532/352 is still working better than anything else I could create, and I can't see that being changed anytime soon. There haven't really been any stand-out performers, but we seem settled with a small squad of about 23 players serving us well - occasionally pushed to the limit with injuries and suspensions.

We did well enough in the Cup competitions this season too, eventually losing on penalties in the JPT (North) semi final at Crewe, and having a great run in the FA Cup. Ultimately that adventure was finished in the 4th Round where, unsurprisingly, Manchester United were much too strong for us at Old Trafford. Despite the lack of TV cameras (I was shocked by that), an attendance of more than 72,000 earned us significant gate receipts - which was essential as we were losing massive amounts of money every single month. That one big pay-day may actually have saved the club, as the bank balance was plummeting to seriously big (negative) numbers.

There was no transfer activity in the winter window, with no arrivals or departures. In fact, we only made just one tentative enquiry - for Callum Paterson, who was going to be out-of-contract with Hearts at the end of the season. I'd identified that he might be an upgrade on David Symington for the right wing-back role (which would have been harsh on a player who had just finished first and second in the December goal of the month awards), but even a Bosman deal was never close as soon as his wage demands of £7.5k p/w were announced. The young Scot earns £1.5k p/w with Hearts, but I wouldn't have gone over the £1.9k p/w barrier that my highest earner gets paid.

In view of the previously mentioned financial worries, I've put a price on the heads of strikers Mark Beck, Charlie Wyke and Michael Smith - but there has been no interest registered. Even if one or two of them were sold, I wouldn't be looking to bring anybody in as we have plenty of striking options at the club now anyway. Added to that, we would only receive 20% of any funds received - but I do want to do my bit to keep this club on an even keel.

[Gizmo7]

Decided to put my Notts County save on hold for now, there's a few others I want to start with and I'm losing a bit of interest with this save, so for now I shall leave you all.

It's been a pleasure as always - great thread Jogo and if I'm not back this season, then I'll definitely be back here when FM16 is released to start another save with a Football League team.

I wish all you guys the best with your saves!

[Jogo Bonito]

Decided to put my Notts County save on hold for now, there's a few others I want to start with and I'm losing a bit of interest with this save, so for now I shall leave you all.

It's been a pleasure as always - great thread Jogo and if I'm not back this season, then I'll definitely be back here when FM16 is released to start another save with a Football League team.

I wish all you guys the best with your saves!

No worries Gizmo, always good to have you on board. I think everybody else heard the rumours of your exit in advance and disappeared before the emotion got too much for them

Which clubs are you going to have a crack at?

[Gizmo7]

No worries Gizmo, always good to have you on board. I think everybody else heard the rumours of your exit in advance and disappeared before the emotion got too much for them

Hopefully not! I still enjoy reading everyone else's stories here, so keep us updated everyone!

Which clubs are you going to have a crack at?

Well it probably sounds stupid, but I just fancy winning a few games, and competing for the big competitions, so I'm looking at Real Madrid Was also toying of the idea of Manchester United, or Tottenham Hotspur, but decided on Real Madrid for a bit, see how long it keep my attention for.

[Jogo Bonito]

I know what you mean about mixing it up, and going somewhere to win some games. I usually have a save in another country between my Football League ones, just to break the pattern. I started my first one in Germany a few months back with Gladbach, but only got to January - the long winter break and fact that it was on the old database stopped me picking it up again. I also want to try Lyon as I like their young squad. Good luck with Real Madrid, it should be a nice change!

[Gizmo7]

Thanks, it should be fun to dominate games for a change

Good luck with Carlise too!

[brod]

Apologies if someone has covered this, just wanted some advice...

I'm playing as Peterborough and got promoted to the Championship, all well and good.

Peterborough currently having standing behind one of the goals at their stadium, and I believe I'm right in thinking that in the Championship you get 3 seasons where you're allowed this and then after those 3 seasons all stands have to be seating or they're not used. As Peterborough have already had 3 seasons in the Championship with the standing terrace, their next promotion (my one in the game) would mean that they would need to change this terrace to seats or the stand can't be used.

This is happening in my game, in League matches the stand is completely empty. In cup games it has fans. This is fine, it's how it should be. Except, and this being the big point here, on my facilities page, it says my stadium is a 14000 All Seater. It's not an All Seater!

And to make matters worse, I know Peterborough don't own their stadium (I'm a fan of the Posh), and so in the Board requests page I can only ask to build a new stadium or buy one. I can't ask to improve it. I asked to build a new stadium but they said no. I'm now in my third season in the Championship.

Is the statement of an All Seater, when it's clearly not, an error? Has anyone else had this issue?

[fyrefuze]

great to have that pointed brod. Should be raised here as data issue.

[brod]

I've copied in it there. Just wondered whether any guys here had the same issue?

Or been promoted with a standing section and not had any fans in that stand?

Looks funny when I play my games. Though it's where I watch from in real life, it may be one of the coldest places on Earth.

[wiganlover11]

Hello guys! I've decided to takeover as Morecambe manager as they're a very interesting team and are fairly local to me! The club are predicted to be fighting to stay up, according to the media and we weren't expected to be doing much excited either. However, it's been the complete opposite so far! We have took the league by storm(I suppose) and have shocked some of the bigger teams in this league already. We have really settled into the formation and tactic we are using and I'm glad we're doing as well as we are, couldn't be happier really. As mentioned the results have been brilliant and the boys have really shocked me. We have lots of strikers here (Redshaw, Sampson, Amond, Mullin and loanee, Fewster) and they are all happy rotating, which is great because of them are great for League Two and can bang in goals, so they have really helped along the way for sure. Here are the results, table and transfer dealings!

[Jogo Bonito]

Welcome along and good luck with Morecambe. It's a good start - and certainly Redshaw should be a major asset in League 2, and quite possibly beyond! You must also have been pleased by the 3-0 loss to Wigan, right?

[lewis999]

Decided to start my annual long term save with my local team. Just renewed my season ticket so hopefully we have a good year next year and although it's been a little later than I anticipated, I decided to get one going now and at the minute it's going absolutely perfect....literally.

[wiganlover11]

Well then! The fairytale has continued here at Morecambe and I just can't believe it! We have overachieved so much this season and I just hope it continues. The only negatives come in the Capital One Cup and the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, which we went out in in the first round. However, we went through to the 3rd round of the FA Cup rather convincingly, but ended up just coming short in a 4-2 loss to Nottingham Forest. I mentioned last update that the strikers would be key this year and this continues. Jack Redshaw has been amazing and has become a first man on the team sheet player for us and at the time of writing, he has bagged 15 goals this season. The defence has been rather poor and you can see that on the table below, so if we remain where we are and go up, we really do need to strengthen the defence for next campaign. But here are the results, table and one transfer we have made.

[wiganlover11]

Well then! The fairytale has continued here at Morecambe and I just can't believe it! We have overachieved so much this season and I just hope it continues. The only negatives come in the Capital One Cup and the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, which we went out in in the first round. However, we went through to the 3rd round of the FA Cup rather convincingly, but ended up just coming short in a 4-2 loss to Nottingham Forest. I mentioned last update that the strikers would be key this year and this continues. Jack Redshaw has been amazing and has become a first man on the team sheet player for us and at the time of writing, he has bagged 15 goals this season. The defence has been rather poor and you can see that on the table below, so if we remain where we are and go up, we really do need to strengthen the defence for next campaign. But here are the results, table and one transfer we have made.

[lewis999]

Think this might be the best 20k i've ever spent.

[Jogo Bonito]

@lewis: Bartley is a very good signing for L1, especially at £20k. He was very solid for me when I took him to Bristol City some time ago. I can't fault you much on that start!

@wiganlover: Still going very well there at Morecambe. In fact both of you guys have started much better than I ever do when taking over a new club.

[pedromanuelpinto]

Hi,

It's possible to have some suggestion about Cewe? Tactic/Style/Transfer? Oportunity (easy) to go to the championship in the first season?

[Spiegel]

Jammiest ending to a league season going. The last day we were level on points with Shrewsbury. We lost our last game 2-0, all but surrendering the title...

...Shrewsbury lost 1-0. Conceded in the 90th minute :')

I have 50k to try and compete in League 1. Lelan and Tshibola have both returned to their parent clubs, and I feel the need to make reinforcements.

[Jogo Bonito]

Congratulations on a job well done!

[Spiegel]

Thanks Jogo! Flew through this season, been the first game I've been interested in for a long time!

I've secured a bosman deal for what appears to be a very good centre back, and hopefully a worthy successor to the excellent Josh Lelan (tempted to try and loan him again though!)

and Paul Corry from Sheffield Wednesday, who looks a solid midfielder and a possible replacement for Tshibola, or possibly the ageing Tommy Miller.

Desperate for a striker, Porter and Fenwick went considerable stretches without scoring, and I'm not convinced Jonathan Franks (surprise package!) is quite good enough to maintain that form...

Everyone seems to want £4K+ wages, my highest earner's £1.7K

[Jogo Bonito]

I thought your Spanish defender looked familiar, I managed him at Sociedad in FM14. He should be decent at your level. Corry is a solid addition, and can also fill in as a central defender if necessary. Obviously, Joe Gormley was a good purchase for me at Chesterfield (£45k in season one) so his value might be low depending on his contract expiry date. If you're stuck with loans, perhaps Dominic Samuel, Tyler Walker, Elliot Lee, Kwesi Appiah etc. I really wanted to sign one of my favourite players in the African domestic leagues (Mfon Udoh) but he kept having work permits rejected

[hyrule_king]

This guy looks a decent prospect with the right training and tutoring, i have him being tutored by postiga.

https://i.gyazo.com/86f2ff2df6e861e414279928833638a4.png

[therealpete]

This thread appears a bit dead so I hope I don't get in trouble for bumping it. But I have been playing for just a bit now and picked up the manager spot at Port Vale. I'm an American, so managing an english club at this level is actually very very difficult for me, because I don't know anyone or who's who! But I did read the first few posts of this thread, so thank you for the in depth summary of all three tiers. Anyways at the moment I'm sitting 11th, with a media prediction of 17th. I managed to seek out Manchester United as my senior affiliate club which is proving to be very rewarding. In addition to a nice annual fee of 160k, I can bring in loan players for free! Hopefully this thread will kick back up again...

Edit;

Just lost to Leyton Orient 2-3... They scored in the 93rd minute.. I really shouldn't watch in 3D because it showed my goal keeper watch the ball roll into the goal, right by his feet. SO FRUSTRATING.

[Gizmo7]

Welcome to the thread Pete How'd you end up at Port Vale?!

Yeah this thread is a bit dead now, I think everyone's waiting for FM16 before they start a new save, I know I am! Keep us posted with how you do though, I know a few of us still drop in here to read-up on how everyone else is doing.

[therealpete]

Welcome to the thread Pete How'd you end up at Port Vale?!

Yeah this thread is a bit dead now, I think everyone's waiting for FM16 before they start a new save, I know I am! Keep us posted with how you do though, I know a few of us still drop in here to read-up on how everyone else is doing.

They haven't been the most successful of clubs. No debt on the balance sheet, survived the previous season after being promoted, and a big stadium for future growth.

[Nottingham Forest]

I remember when Port Vale were in Division One(Championship). I remember when a few lower league clubs were in there. 11th isn't too bad tbh Pete.

[Jogo Bonito]

Welcome along 'therealpete' and good luck with Port Vale. For the level, they do have a decent stadium size, which will be useful if success comes your way and attendances rise. I can imagine as an American it must be tough managing an English club in the third tier, probably similar to when I tried in the MLS a few years back! Anyway, nice to know that the opening few posts gave you some guidance, and hope it's an enjoyable one for you. The starting squad isn't so bad, with a few young players that could be developed, but little in the way of pressure with modest expectations. Tom Pope could be a useful big lump in attack if used properly, and Marshall and a few others are decent League 1 players too.

As others have said, the thread used to be very active but interest drops a lot at this time of year with the new game about to be released. I didn't want to end up talking to myself, but happy for anyone else to bump it along. In the meantime, there should always be people popping in to hear your progress and offer help (if needed). And I'm sure the thread will be back for FM16 too, whether it's the original creator, somebody else, or even me doing the hard work to set it up!

[therealpete]

Welcome along 'therealpete' and good luck with Port Vale. For the level, they do have a decent stadium size, which will be useful if success comes your way and attendances rise. I can imagine as an American it must be tough managing an English club in the third tier, probably similar to when I tried in the MLS a few years back! Anyway, nice to know that the opening few posts gave you some guidance, and hope it's an enjoyable one for you. The starting squad isn't so bad, with a few young players that could be developed, but little in the way of pressure with modest expectations. Tom Pope could be a useful big lump in attack if used properly, and Marshall and a few others are decent League 1 players too.

As others have said, the thread used to be very active but interest drops a lot at this time of year with the new game about to be released. I didn't want to end up talking to myself, but happy for anyone else to bump it along. In the meantime, there should always be people popping in to hear your progress and offer help (if needed). And I'm sure the thread will be back for FM16 too, whether it's the original creator, somebody else, or even me doing the hard work to set it up!

Thanks Jogo. Tom Pope & Nimley have been my attacking duo, Pope is deadly as a target man. My problem right now is I'm conceding so many goals.. I've since sunken down to 16th after drawing once and losing three matches in a row. Morale is in shambles, everything is crumbling around me unfortunately. I'm trying to make it to the winter transfer window to bring in another defensive player on loan to help fortify the back line.

[Gizmo7]

What sort of formation / tactics are you using?

Jogo is the king of clean sheets

[Jogo Bonito]

After a poor run of form, switch off. Next time you start the game, things will probably be better. To be honest, 16th is about what you're expected to do, so don't worry about that. Keep in sight the overall expectation, which you're still just about matching, and once you pick up a win again, things should improve.

As for defensive shape, what Gizmo is trying to say (quite correctly) is that I'm a boring safety-first manager! But maybe seeing your formation and tactics might give an indication of how to tweak things a little. Good luck with the player you're searching for, don't forget a defensive midfielder can also help you defend better as a team. As a matter of interest did you do many transfers in or out, and what is your budget for the winter window?

[Nottingham Forest]

I've found my 4-3-2-1 formation to be quite successful in both an attacking and defensive shape. It's a similar type of formation Dougie Freedman uses in real life.

In my Macclesfield Town save, we currently line up like this;

GK - Support

FB - Auto

CD - Defend

CD - Defend

FB - Auto

B2B

BWM - Support

DLP - Support

W - Attack

W - Attack

AF - Attack

Within that I vary how we play from a quick natured wing attacking game and getting the ball clear to a passing game where we take a slow build up.

In my first season we scored 80 goals in the league in 46 games whilst conceding 40. We had the second best attack behind Gateshead and the joint second best defence along with Gateshead. Only Halifax bettered us. Gateshead won the league and we finished 2nd.

Into my second season now and we're still gelling and we've already scored 21 goals in 10 league games and only conceded 9 in 10 games. We currently sit 6th. This season I've gone back to more of a passing game.

I tried a similar formation with Accrington as well where I spent five seasons. However, that formation took time to tweak and the tactics were a lot more difficult to get right.

[Jogo Bonito]

Having not played for a while, since short term experiments to see how I enjoyed Nice, West Ham and Aberdeen, I have decided to try a quick 'refresher' game with Peterborough in League 1.

I haven't managed them for several versions, having routinely done so for four or five years running. I liked the fact they had some cash to spend, the small group of staff could be terminated easily and replaced by better without harming the first year finances much, and there were some transfer clauses that might help going forward (if I get that far). I'd also look to try and lure the likes of Dwight Gayle and Britt Assombalonga back to London Road at some point in the future - if I get that far before FM16 arrives.

I've got through pre-season and now in October, going quite well despite having had no left-back as Kgosi Ntlhe was injured when I took over (there was no left-back in the youth side). After using Joe Newell as a makeshift in that position for the first month, I had to fork out £275k to bring in a youngster from his club in Ireland, even though my first choice was coming back to fitness a few weeks later. My new teenage striker from Latvia (who I think cost £100k) has formed a really effective partnership in attack with Conor Washington, and they are equal top scorers in League 1 so far. Apart from the two signings mentioned, I signed a very good quality 'keeper from a rival League 1 club for £275k, and two young back-up strikers for a combined cost of about £80k (one of them doesn't even have a WP but my HOYD sealed the deal before I could stop him).

I'll pop some more details up soon.

[Nottingham Forest]

I'm back in here if you'll allow me. Just completed my second season as Macclesfield Town and I won the league. Trying to re-sign Harry Beautyman on loan after having him on loan for the past two seasons but unfortunately he's rejected me twice. Signed a former England international who could prove to be a cracking signing.

[Nottingham Forest]

League Two hasn't got off to the best of starts and whilst we haven't been playing particularly badly we've been beaten 5 times in a row now as we sit bottom.

[smplfc123]

Hello again lads, apologies for my latest absence, hope all is well

@Jogo I think you'll appreciate this one mate.

So whilst looking for one last big save on FM15 before the next installment comes out, I had failed attempts with Newcastle, Sunderland and Aston Villa to name a few.

So I decided that I would take the ultimate challenge. I loaded a save with No Licences and a Sunday League Footballing past and started unemployed.

After simulating for a few months, only 2 jobs caught my eye that I felt I could realistically get, St Mirren and Plymouth Argyle. I managed to get an interview with both, however St Mirren stated they didn't like the fact that I was confident of over achieving on the targets they set and Plymouth decided that I wasn't the right man for the job.

I simulated a little more and found myself at the beginning of January. That is when I applied for an opening with a League 2 Club. After impressing in the interview, I was offered the job. I accepted immediately and began working with my first club in management.....

Exeter City

Sitting in 11th with no real fears of relegation, I've landed on my feet with a club in which I can build a base and experiment with tactics for 6 months before starting the next season. Unfortunately even if I hit the ground running, the fact that the club is currently suffering from some long-term injuries to key players means a push for the play-offs is probably unlikely.

I'm really looking forward to building my career up from nothing. It's just a strange coincidence that I've somehow ended up back at St. James' Park.

[Jogo Bonito]

Welcome back 'smp'. How spooky that you ended up back at Exeter again, and I hope it goes well for you there.

Quite remarkably, I had to attend a business meeting at St James Park a week or two ago. I actually thought of you and FM - also nabbed a fixture list to mark the occasion too! Isn't it funny how we both keep getting these connections to ECFC? In view of my recent trip there, I'll probably end up taking them on again in FM16 too

[smplfc123]

Haha, that is remarkable! I think I too, will be looking at doing an Exeter save on FM16

Have you got any saves going on at the moment?

Back to this game, hopefully I can find a tactic to take in to the next season with me and go from there

[Jogo Bonito]

Haha, nice one. Good luck with it, keep us updated.

I have one going with Peterborough at the moment, in December of season 1. Also had started ones at Aberdeen, Nice and West Ham, but all slowed down in Season 1.

Now going to try and tune in to Sky and watch The Grecians this afternoon.

[smplfc123]

A few games on the go then!

I'm still sitting in mid-table after 7 games in charge, won 2, lost 2 and drawn 3.

Tom Nicholls and Will Hoskins doing well up top. I've brought in Mark Howard on a free at CB as Baldwin and Brown were my only options.

Still aiming to finish in the top half and secure my better players on longer contracts.

Sounds like the game with Stevenage was a cracker too

[Jogo Bonito]

The novelty of West Ham and Aberdeen didn't last long, but the Nice one was quite...nice! However, it's all about London Road at the moment. It's not the typical L1/L2 challenge, due to the £1m transfer kitty, but getting good players to come isn't easy even if you can afford them. It's money that might have to be spread over a while in order to really shape the squad like I want, but I see good early signs - especially from the teenage Latvian striker I grabbed early on.

Back to Exeter, I really like Tom Nichols and David Wheeler from the original squad. I'm guessing you're on a transfer update if you have Hoskins and Brown - not sure they make up for the loss of Bennett and Sercombe, but finances are probably a bit better than they were. Good luck mate.

P.S. Yeah the game today was decent enough but neither side could defend, and Exeter threw away two points at the end.

[smplfc123]

The novelty of West Ham and Aberdeen didn't last long, but the Nice one was quite...nice! However, it's all about London Road at the moment. It's not the typical L1/L2 challenge, due to the £1m transfer kitty, but getting good players to come isn't easy even if you can afford them. It's money that might have to be spread over a while in order to really shape the squad like I want, but I see good early signs - especially from the teenage Latvian striker I grabbed early on.

Back to Exeter, I really like Tom Nichols and David Wheeler from the original squad. I'm guessing you're on a transfer update if you have Hoskins and Brown - not sure they make up for the loss of Bennett and Sercombe, but finances are probably a bit better than they were. Good luck mate.

P.S. Yeah the game today was decent enough but neither side could defend, and Exeter threw away two points at the end.

Just seen the goals on Sky Sports News, quality goals from Whelpdale and Wheeler!

Boro is a good challenge, with a chairman who will be expecting results no doubt!

We miraculously managed to sneak in to 7th spot by winning our last 3 games on the bounce. It left us with the tough task of facing 4th place Crawley over 2 legs. We were 2-0 up in the first leg in the first 45 mins, I couldn't quite believe it. Unfortunately, a late comeback and a Rafa Branco (Loan from Swindon) red card meant the game ended 2-2. Still, it gave me a chance going in to the 2nd leg. After a hard fought 90 mins, the game ended 1-1, taking us in to extra time. I knew that regardless if they scored, I had to score. Unfortunately, the only goal in extra time was for Crawley and we went out 4-3 on Agg.

Now, considering I took over in mid table and the aim was to keep us there safely, so to make the play-offs was an over-achievement. I'm not going to get too excited, as I'm still not convinced the squad is good enough overall yet and with a small budget to work with, it's going to be hard to improve it.

I'll be aiming for the play-offs next season, whilst trying to implement my passing football at the same time.