FM15 - The Sky Bet Football League thread

[fenlander]

Good stuff so far. Did you bring in any new players since the end of season 1? I thought to myself the other day that I wasn't sure who this Motta fella was, and at first thought maybe you did mean Trotta, but when you continued I just assumed it was somebody I couldn't remember from his Fulham days.

Yes i brought in the following players -

Alex Milosevic cb £750 from AIK.....has been a great signing

Brad Smith wb free Liverpool.....had him on loan during season 1,Liverpool let him go so i jumped in

Jason Holt cm free Hearts

Steve Mouyokolo cb free Celtic

Marcello Trotta str free fulham....has scored 13 goals from his 24 starts

Josh Docherty wb loan watford

[Jogo Bonito]

Apologies - you mentioned those earlier Fenlander.

I've just completed the end of my first season with Bristol City. Having hit the top of the table at the end of March, we had patchy form over the remaining eight league fixtures. In match 44, at Crawley, we trailed 2-0 in the first half, but recovered after a passionate outburst on my part at the break to emerge 4-2 victors. At that point I thought we would see the job through, but then Chesterfield beat us as Kennedy Igboananike had two goals disallowed. Although still 2nd at that point, Oldham had a midweek game in hand, which they duly won.

Going in to Round 46, we entertained Walsall at Ashton Gate. Leaders by a point were Oldham, who hosted Peterborough, whilst Yeovil (above us on GD) travelled to MK Dons. It was a frustrating time for us as we couldn't break down our visitors, and I was sure the 0-0 draw had blown it for me. To my surprise - and delight - I soon discovered that Oldham had been beaten 2-0 at home, whilst MK Dons saw off Yeovil 2-1. Oldham therefore took the title (adding it to their JPT success) ahead of us on GD (by two goals), and Yeovil finished 3rd, just one point behind. Our record of 60 goals over 46 games was hardly anything to boast about, but only five teams scored over 70. At the other end, our 40 goals conceded confirmed we had the tightest defence in League 1.

Here is the end of season summary, with the League 1 graph charting our ups and downs throughout the season.

I used only 21 players during the season, with Kelechi Iheanacho only a bit-part player on his short term loan. My reserve keeper was there to make up the numbers, and luckily wasn't called upon. I'm not sure that the £500k spent on Igboananike was as rewarding as it might have been, but with Kieran Agard ending on a 16 hour goal drought, he still ended up as my top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions. Special mentions should go to Joe Bryan (who started 56 of my 58 games and provided a stack of assists as my left wing-back), and Luke Freeman (who had a great second half of the season).

The board have given me a transfer budget of £1.07m for next season, and a wage budget of £135k p/w. I'm not sure how that will pan out, but hopefully I can make a couple of shrewd moves in the market and stabilise the club further.

[mrplufc]

Just got promoted with preston (via play offs) any free transfers to sign? any tips? keeping largely the same team as last season with a few major additions such as owen garvan and michael bostwick so far, other signings include siegrist, steve morrison ryan mason (loan spurs) and a few other squad players, need a first choice keeper, another top striker and maybe an attacking midfielder, any tips lads?

[champ 01/02]

I didn't realise you were a City fan - probably should have asked you about your best young prospects, key players, formations and roles etc! Anyway, now I see it must have been enjoyable! Good luck with your summer recruitment, I'll be interested to see who you buy or sell/release.

I've used my 5-2-1-2-WB formation since early on, with Freeman as AP(s). His improvement came from an increasing number of assists, but he did grab a few goals too. I used JET in the same role, mainly from the bench. He got better, weighing in with a few goals as we progressed, but only one or two assists so not as productive as Freeman.

Champ - Good luck with your end of season at York. Glad to see you're still going - and you might yet grab that promotion.

Steve - I'm not entirely sure on the answer to that, sorry.

Dave - Welcome back. Championship transfer budgets are on page 1 of the thread, post number 2. Forest have the biggest backing, and promotion should be easy in season 1 (similar to Derby). Bournemouth are well rated and have a good couple of assets to fire you up (and your other half won't moan at you for playing FM if you choose them). Their budget isn't big like some of the others, and stadium is smaller than most too, so would need expanding. The Watford idea is interesting as they have some good players, but not many are young prospects - and you have those affiliate links. Birmingham would be tough, but I agree Gray looks good. Wolves are a big club to take on, and recruit much more modestly these days - lots of youngsters from within might make it too similar to Fulham though. You could add Ipswich and 'Boro to your list of possibles too!

Thanks am in the play off final against Barnsley who i beat home and away so with luck should get it Missed out on automatic promotion by 1 point in the last game of the season, had chances to win/take a point but just couldn't manage it Sorry my updates aren't detailed i don't really know how to print screen and i just thought i would add to the thread instead of just lurking Have just finished the play off final won 2-0 completely dominated barnsley who had a man sent off

[Jogo Bonito]

Champ - congrats on the promotion with York. And it really doesn't matter whether the updates are long or short, with images or without. Every contribution is appreciated and might be inspiring to others

[GJHowell]

Afternoon everyone - newbie to the thread here, but not to FM - been playing for years! Ok, first up, I'm no tactical genius - I've tried to read up on the various frameworks and theories around building tactics etc but it just baffles me! I just enjoy watching the game (in real life) and playing FM - therefore, I always tend to play with downloaded tactics, don't know if that's frowned upon or not??!!

Anyway, to the actual game - For my first longterm save this year I have started, as I always do, with my own team, Colchester United. I'm writing this from work at the moment so don't have all the detail to hand, will update later when I am back in front of my own laptop.

Was feeling quite optomistic about the game this year - we've got a few players of decent League 1 standard in the squad and some promising youngsters. I took the decision to offer lower bonuses though, in order to generate some transfer funds. I also had an offer from Sunderland for one of the promising youngsters, Alex Gilbey - I managed to negotiate them up to an immediate £500k and a decent sell-on percentage, so I ended up with around £250k I think in the kitty. I'll update later on who I've brought in as I can't recall them all off the top of my head at the moment.

Anyway, have taken some time to finalise the tactic I want to use - the first was "ok" but not spectacular, second was good and then went off the boil after the 15.1.4 patch, and now seem to be settled on a 4-1-2-2-1 formation which seems to play to my strengths for the players that I have.

Just reached the end of Nov 14 and have managed to hit top spot, having lost only 1 league game all season. The cup competitions have, however, been disappointing. Manged to reach the 2nd round of the Capital One, but went out to Peterborough on pens. JPT saw another penalty defeat to main rivals, Southend, and I've just suffered a disappointing 1-0 replay defeat to Luton in the 2nd round of the FA Cup.

Anyway, short and sweet for now, will hope to pad out a bit more later.

[fenlander]

With 10 games to go in the championship Swindon sit in 9th place but with a game in hand and if we win that game we will move up 5th place , we are our own worst enemy as we have lost 2 out of the last 3 games.The good news is that we are through to the 6th round of the f.a.cup after a surprise 3-0 home win over Chelsea,we were flattered by the scoreline and were totally outplayed by the blues but our magnificent defence held firm and we put away 3 of the 4 chances that came our way.We face a trip to fulham in the next round and a semi-final place beckons if we can overcome them,however a 2-0 defeat to them 2 weeks ago must make fulham favourites for this tie.

[Jogo Bonito]

Afternoon everyone - newbie to the thread here, but not to FM - been playing for years! Ok, first up, I'm no tactical genius - I've tried to read up on the various frameworks and theories around building tactics etc but it just baffles me! I just enjoy watching the game (in real life) and playing FM - therefore, I always tend to play with downloaded tactics, don't know if that's frowned upon or not??!!

Anyway, to the actual game - For my first longterm save this year I have started, as I always do, with my own team, Colchester United. I'm writing this from work at the moment so don't have all the detail to hand, will update later when I am back in front of my own laptop.

Was feeling quite optomistic about the game this year - we've got a few players of decent League 1 standard in the squad and some promising youngsters. I took the decision to offer lower bonuses though, in order to generate some transfer funds. I also had an offer from Sunderland for one of the promising youngsters, Alex Gilbey - I managed to negotiate them up to an immediate £500k and a decent sell-on percentage, so I ended up with around £250k I think in the kitty. I'll update later on who I've brought in as I can't recall them all off the top of my head at the moment.

Anyway, have taken some time to finalise the tactic I want to use - the first was "ok" but not spectacular, second was good and then went off the boil after the 15.1.4 patch, and now seem to be settled on a 4-1-2-2-1 formation which seems to play to my strengths for the players that I have.

Just reached the end of Nov 14 and have managed to hit top spot, having lost only 1 league game all season. The cup competitions have, however, been disappointing. Manged to reach the 2nd round of the Capital One, but went out to Peterborough on pens. JPT saw another penalty defeat to main rivals, Southend, and I've just suffered a disappointing 1-0 replay defeat to Luton in the 2nd round of the FA Cup.

Anyway, short and sweet for now, will hope to pad out a bit more later.

Welcome along! I think Colchester represent a good choice for a smaller League 1 club as their squad is young and there are a few decent prospects amongst them. Your facilities aren't the worst either. I've been deploying the same 'lower bonus' theory exclusively since FM14 in order to give myself every chance of better squad-building, whilst also maintaining better club finances. I've never yet had this cause an issue with any of my clubs, so it's a good idea for most Sky Bet teams in my opinion (I do the same in other countries too, but that's just me being strict). As for downloaded tactics, it's not frowned upon at all - as long as you're happy with how you play the game, that's all that matters. Personally (as I keep it all very basic) I haven't ever downloaded any tactic, and don't use the tactics/training forums here as I like to fathom it out myself. Good luck with your progress at Colchester, that's a great start in the league and it will be good to see your updates as you progress!

Fenlander - you're doing very well on all counts, good work! How has Williams done in the Championship for you? I'm in pre-season ahead of season 2, and had a chance to sign him on a free for Bristol City. In my game, he was top or second in the L1 scoring chart last year for Swindon with over 20 goals - but in the end I delayed the deal as I know that one day I will want to be managing Swindon, and I try to avoid using the same players over and over.

[champ 01/02]

Champ - congrats on the promotion with York. And it really doesn't matter whether the updates are long or short, with images or without. Every contribution is appreciated and might be inspiring to others

Thanks Am kind of dreading the championship as even though we are scheduled to make a 3 million pound profit money is very tight, my wage budget is tiny with no transfer budget, but i hope i can keep asking and get money. Also thanks for being so nice about contributions

[angusadams]

Hi All, I am new to this thread and have no idea if i will be a regular contributer, but am struggling to get into a save this year, I have done notts county and Swindon saves in the past with success, but anyway I was beggining to get into a save this year with sassuolo but then at the end of January season 2 i got sacked, so have now taken over Barnsley on the 15th of february second season in League 1 they are currently in 8th, 3 points away from playoffs , i believe the team is strong enough to get into the playoffs and go up as it is, which is good as i cant make any big signings.

Key Players that werent there at the beginning are owen garvan, Ross Wallace, Dean Whitehead, Jay Tabb, Jay Bothroyd and tyrone mears.

First thing i did was bring in an assistant manager as they didnt have one, and then bring in a a certain callumcooke onloan from middlesborough.

Then first game at home to 7th place Crewe, I win 5-2 and move up to 7th.

That will be it for now and will update at the end of the season

Forgot to mention i had 2500p/w wages to work with and 678,000 to spend transfer wise.

[Quinby]

Hey guys just got promoted to L2 with Barnet after winning the Conference.

Any ideas for some free transfers and loans in season two for League Two?

Looking for a DR, DCs, MCs (DLP S and CM D).

Cheers, Quinby

[fenlander]

Swindon went into the last game of the season needing 1point to secure a place in the play-offs,our opponents Huddersfield had already qualified for them so with home advantage we were favourites and after a tense 90 mnutes we came out 2-1 winners.So it has been a good season for us with low expectations of just avoiding relegation we by far exceded that,the only disappointment was the 1-0 defeat atFulham in the 6th round of the f.a.cup.Fulham have been our bogey side this season beating us 3 times and who do me play in the 1st round of the play-offs..........Fulham.

The player with the best ave. rating was cm Yaser Karim at 7.27,the leading goalscorer was Trotta with21 goalsbut it was our defence that was outstanding and conceded the least amount of goals in the championship at 39.Williams was the 2nd highest scorer with 10 goals but he was sharing the 2nd striker duties with Obika and then got injured so only started 25 games.

[Jogo Bonito]

Hi All, I am new to this thread and have no idea if i will be a regular contributer, but am struggling to get into a save this year, I have done notts county and Swindon saves in the past with success, but anyway I was beggining to get into a save this year with sassuolo but then at the end of January season 2 i got sacked, so have now taken over Barnsley on the 15th of february second season in League 1 they are currently in 8th, 3 points away from playoffs , i believe the team is strong enough to get into the playoffs and go up as it is, which is good as i cant make any big signings.

Key Players that werent there at the beginning are owen garvan, Ross Wallace, Dean Whitehead, Jay Tabb, Jay Bothroyd and tyrone mears.

First thing i did was bring in an assistant manager as they didnt have one, and then bring in a a certain callumcooke onloan from middlesborough.

Then first game at home to 7th place Crewe, I win 5-2 and move up to 7th.

That will be it for now and will update at the end of the season

Forgot to mention i had 2500p/w wages to work with and 678,000 to spend transfer wise.

Welcome along, and good luck with the rest of your season at Barnsley. They have some decent players (unless sold before you arrived) so hopefully you can do the business!

Fenlander - Impressive to make the play-offs, and a good FA Cup run too. Good luck against Fulham.

Quinby - you could have a look at Jake Cooper (Reading) for centre back and/or Anthony O'Connor (RB/CB). For midfield, perhaps have a look at Ben Osborn (had him in L1, not sure if he will agree L2), Matt Palmer, Aaron Kuhl, Aaron Wildig or Ted Bishop.

[thomas_e]

Great thread Jogo Bonito! Thank you very much!

Started with Shrewsbury Town in League Two, media predicted a 2nd place finish. Took good advantage of loan deals which gave me a great starting 11, working in a classic 4-2-3-1 formation, really trying to exploit the use of the inside forward. I had Danny Graham on loan from Aston Villa, he scored 26 goals in the league for me, playing as an inside forward on the left. Finished 1st with 98 points, happy with that, even though I played horrible at the end of the season. Beat Nottingham Forest (0-5) and Cardiff in the Carling Cup, then went out against Reading on penalties. Got knocked out by Carlisle from the FA Cup, that really was dissapointing.

Now I've started the new season in League 1 and after 21 games I'm in 2nd place (!) with 43 points. Can I do back-to-back promotions? Would certainly love to! I still have Danny Graham, Laste Dombaxe and Andres Pereira on loan and they are my first choice players for the three AM postions (AMC, AML, AMR). I would love a couple of quality signings on bosman in january so I don't have to rely on loan signings in the Championship.

Playing two tactics, one 4-2-3-1 Control and one Counter. Been using the Control far more (every game over 1 1/2 season except for maybe 5-10) with short passing, work ball into box, close down more and play out of defence. Working really good, and for someoene who almost always have been playing high tempo/direct passing it's even more fun!

Key loan signings: Danny Graham, Laste Dombaxe, Andres Pereira (loan)

Key permanent signings: Zach Clough, Alex Bruce (the Hull defender, trained him to a CM (D)), Owen Garvan, Reda Johnson, Joe Dudgeon (all of them in the 2nd season).

Will keep you guys posted! If anyone wants SS's, let me know!

[Jogo Bonito]

Great thread Jogo Bonito! Thank you very much!

Started with Shrewsbury Town in League Two, media predicted a 2nd place finish. Took good advantage of loan deals which gave me a great starting 11, working in a classic 4-2-3-1 formation, really trying to exploit the use of the inside forward. I had Danny Graham on loan from Aston Villa, he scored 26 goals in the league for me, playing as an inside forward on the left. Finished 1st with 98 points, happy with that, even though I played horrible at the end of the season. Beat Nottingham Forest (0-5) and Cardiff in the Carling Cup, then went out against Reading on penalties. Got knocked out by Carlisle from the FA Cup, that really was dissapointing.

Now I've started the new season in League 1 and after 21 games I'm in 2nd place (!) with 43 points. Can I do back-to-back promotions? Would certainly love to! I still have Danny Graham, Laste Dombaxe and Andres Pereira on loan and they are my first choice players for the three AM postions (AMC, AML, AMR). I would love a couple of quality signings on bosman in january so I don't have to rely on loan signings in the Championship.

Playing two tactics, one 4-2-3-1 Control and one Counter. Been using the Control far more (every game over 1 1/2 season except for maybe 5-10) with short passing, work ball into box, close down more and play out of defence. Working really good, and for someoene who almost always have been playing high tempo/direct passing it's even more fun!

Key loan signings: Danny Graham, Laste Dombaxe, Andres Pereira (loan)

Key permanent signings: Zach Clough, Alex Bruce (the Hull defender, trained him to a CM (D)), Owen Garvan, Reda Johnson, Joe Dudgeon (all of them in the 2nd season).

Will keep you guys posted! If anyone wants SS's, let me know!

Thanks, I'm glad you like the thread. You did well first season (although of course the promotion was quite likely) but to be doing it again in League 1 is very impressive. The hard part when you're progressing is to make these players your own, the first year or two it's often the better quality of loanee that makes the difference. So in that respect, Clough, Bruce and Johnson are all excellent signings. I managed Shrewsbury in FM14 BETA and it was a real struggle with the team they had then in L1 - but it's a completely different side now. Good luck for the rest of the season.

P.S. I assume you mean Jordan Graham (not Danny)..

[angusadams]

Welcome along, and good luck with the rest of your season at Barnsley. They have some decent players (unless sold before you arrived) so hopefully you can do the business!

Thank You Jogo,

Yes they do have some good talent, they only sold Cranie in the first season, and before i came in the second they got rid of Lita, Noble Lazarus and Treacy.

I would be laughing if they had kept Cranie.

[angusadams]

At the end of my first half season in charge as Barnsley, I managed to win promotion by grabbing 6th place and going up through the playoffs, preparing for the season in the champiuonship looking at potential signings. Any ideas for any position althoughpreferably a DM and some defence. My aim is to consolidate and avoid relegation by building from the back.

EDIT: my first 2 targets have just resigned with their respective clubs , these were Adam Campbell and Lloyd Jones

[thomas_e]

P.S. I assume you mean Jordan Graham (not Danny)..

Obviously ?

[champ 01/02]

Hey guys just got promoted to L2 with Barnet after winning the Conference.

Any ideas for some free transfers and loans in season two for League Two?

Looking for a DR, DCs, MCs (DLP S and CM D).

Cheers, Quinby

pierece sweeney for center back and midfield is more attacking but liam kelly, both from reading both have done wonders for me.

[GJHowell]

So, an update on my Colchester United save.

It was always going to be a tough challenge, particularly on tight finances and with low crowds. I traded a lower bonus for transfer funds at the start of the season, which gave me about £140k, bolstered by a further £150k when Sunderland agreed a £500k fee for Alex Gilbey. Most of this was spent on bringing in Jack Connors from Dagenham & Redbridge as back up to Ben Gordon at a Left back initially, but also with an eye on the future. The remainder was used after the deadline to tie up a January deal for Mark Anderson, a striker from Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

To support that, George Moncur was already a loan member of the squad at the start of the game, and further loan deals were arranged for Richard Brindley (Rotherham) at Right Back, Steven Hewitt (Burnley) and Tommy O'Sullivan (Cardiff) to bolster the midfield, and Mikey Drennan (Aston Villa) up front. A further departure in January was Macaulay Bonne, a promising young striker, but the £500k Burnley were offering was too good to turn down. That money is still sat in the bank and will hopefully give me some funds to play with in the summer.

The first half of the season was unbelievable and at the end of November we hit the top of the league, where we remain now, at the beginning of March. At one point we had an 11 point lead, but we have hit some very patchy form (coinciding with 5 regular first choice members of the team being out injured), and the lead is now down to 2 points, with Bristol City breathing down our necks. Currently on a 6 match winless streak, and my strikers seem to be, well, on strike, having scored only 4 goals between them since the beginning of the year (of which 2 were pens!). Luckily, we still have a 10 point cushion to 3rd place, so am hoping we can keep that intact and at least gain automatic promotion. That said, with tiny crowds, tight budgets and a lot of my first team out of contract in the summer, it could end up being a long hard season if we do get promoted.

Star performers so far are Sanchez Watt, top scorer with 14 goals to date, most of which have come from left wing, and 11 assists, with his right wing counterpart, Gavin Massey, running him close with 9 goals and 10 assists. Mikey Drennan had a good first half of the season, weighing in with 11 goals, although only one of those has come since the turn of the year. Whereas my highest rating player is Frankie Kent with an average of 7.35 - a 19 year old central defender who is a product of the academy and has made 24 appearances to date.

Moving into the home stretch of the season now, hoping to get over this sticky patch and gain promotion (although that will be met with some trepidation!). I will update again when the season is over.

[Quinby]

pierece sweeney for center back and midfield is more attacking but liam kelly, both from reading both have done wonders for me.

Thanks. Used Kelly before in L2 and is impressive. But looking for more deeper midfielders though. Sweeney definitely an option.

[Quinby]

Quinby - you could have a look at Jake Cooper (Reading) for centre back and/or Anthony O'Connor (RB/CB). For midfield, perhaps have a look at Ben Osborn (had him in L1, not sure if he will agree L2), Matt Palmer, Aaron Kuhl, Aaron Wildig or Ted Bishop.

Thanks for these. O'Connor can definitely be an option. Used him in FM14 and was excellent. Out of contract too. Had palmer on loan in Conf and was quite good. Wildig won't come and will cost to much. Kuhl, Cooper and Bishop definitely options. Osborn unlikely to come.

[Rooney_08]

28 games into my 1st season with sheffield United and im destroying everyone its awesome.

played 28

won 25

drawn 2

lost 1

Gd 53

will update with screens when season is done , plus chairman is looking to leave , fingers crossed a tycoon comes in haha

[fenlander]

Well its another season in the championship for Swindon after losing both legs of the play-offs,Fulham beat us 2-1 on our ground and then 1-0 on theirs a pretty disappointing end to what had been a pretty good season up till then.Have stuck with 3-5-2 right from season 1 and while it has been very tight defensively we have struggled to score goals perhaps the quality of my strikers isn,t good enough,Trotta scored 21 goals and looked the part but both Williams and Obika have struggled and my scouts rate Williams a good div.1 striker which i think is right and Obika has been a big disappointment and will not be offered a new contract.So armed with a budget of £1.7m and spare wages of £30k am scouting the globe for 2 strikers who can hack it in hte championship

[Jogo Bonito]

So, an update on my Colchester United save.

It was always going to be a tough challenge, particularly on tight finances and with low crowds. I traded a lower bonus for transfer funds at the start of the season, which gave me about £140k, bolstered by a further £150k when Sunderland agreed a £500k fee for Alex Gilbey. Most of this was spent on bringing in Jack Connors from Dagenham & Redbridge as back up to Ben Gordon at a Left back initially, but also with an eye on the future. The remainder was used after the deadline to tie up a January deal for Mark Anderson, a striker from Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

To support that, George Moncur was already a loan member of the squad at the start of the game, and further loan deals were arranged for Richard Brindley (Rotherham) at Right Back, Steven Hewitt (Burnley) and Tommy O'Sullivan (Cardiff) to bolster the midfield, and Mikey Drennan (Aston Villa) up front. A further departure in January was Macaulay Bonne, a promising young striker, but the £500k Burnley were offering was too good to turn down. That money is still sat in the bank and will hopefully give me some funds to play with in the summer.

The first half of the season was unbelievable and at the end of November we hit the top of the league, where we remain now, at the beginning of March. At one point we had an 11 point lead, but we have hit some very patchy form (coinciding with 5 regular first choice members of the team being out injured), and the lead is now down to 2 points, with Bristol City breathing down our necks. Currently on a 6 match winless streak, and my strikers seem to be, well, on strike, having scored only 4 goals between them since the beginning of the year (of which 2 were pens!). Luckily, we still have a 10 point cushion to 3rd place, so am hoping we can keep that intact and at least gain automatic promotion. That said, with tiny crowds, tight budgets and a lot of my first team out of contract in the summer, it could end up being a long hard season if we do get promoted.

Star performers so far are Sanchez Watt, top scorer with 14 goals to date, most of which have come from left wing, and 11 assists, with his right wing counterpart, Gavin Massey, running him close with 9 goals and 10 assists. Mikey Drennan had a good first half of the season, weighing in with 11 goals, although only one of those has come since the turn of the year. Whereas my highest rating player is Frankie Kent with an average of 7.35 - a 19 year old central defender who is a product of the academy and has made 24 appearances to date.

Moving into the home stretch of the season now, hoping to get over this sticky patch and gain promotion (although that will be met with some trepidation!). I will update again when the season is over.

Excellent update and I like how you have approached this. You're giving those youngsters a chance, and making some astute signings that are not breaking the bank. If you can pull it off, promotion would be a great achievement - but if not, you will hopefully be strong again next season in League 1.

Well done angus, it's time for somebody else to suggest some signings for you at Barnsley as I don't want to keep coming up with the same old names!

Unlucky fenlander, but that was still a great season with Swindon. I'm quite pleased that I didn't sign Williams on a free for season 2 now, as his limit does seem to be League 1. Buying strikers is one of my favourite parts of the game, so I'm interested to see who you end up with.

Welcome Rooney. I'm intrigued to see what you say about a tycoon possibly coming in at Sheff Utd, as the Saudi Royal family is hardly broke

[angusadams]

No Problem Jogo, I made my own mind up of who to sign anyway

So going into this season my board want an attempt to avoid relegation, didnt increase my wage budget or my transfer budget so it was left at 500k, which i think it is still very workable especially with so many fringe players set to leave on expired contracts.

I have set up a link with Tottenham, and hope to make use of some good loans that they send our way

My transfers so far for my first season in the championship

In:

Marc Tierney 115k from Cardiff

Samed Yesil Free (Regret this now)

Marnick Vermijl Free (had on loan in league 1 was solid)

Mike Williamson Free

Brian Turner (Loan, Permanent in January, Toronto) DMC Regen who it seems the world is his ocean

Kelechi Iheanacho Free

Chris Mccann Free

Out: (loads on frees)

Main Ones: Bailey, Mears, Whitehead, Bothroyd, Gros and Mulholland + loads of useless

Nyatanga went to Leicester for 800k

Formation is a 4-1-3-2 DM Assymetric aparently

This is my first team atm

GK Turnbull/Davies

RB Vermijl/Bree

CB Williamson/M'voto

CB Reece Brown/Mccombe

LB Tierney/Hourihane

DMC (Anchorman) Turner/Hourihane

MC (BBM) Mccann/Luke Berry

MC (AP) Garvan/Tabb

AML(IF) Jennings/Ross Wallace

STR (Trequartista) Iheanacho/Winnall

STR (AF) Hemmings/Yesil

Really hope this tactic works , i settled on it after beating M.Tel Aviv 4-0 in pre season pure dominated it.

EDIT: Lost 4-0 at Home to Birmingham in first league game (Could be a tough season)

[thomas_e]

Okay, so two great seasons in for my Shrewsbury save. Back-to-back promotions and really happy with my League 1 season. Ready for the Championship!

[nicko]

Hi,

Just started my first full career with Birmingham City on FM2015 and needless to say this is going to be the toughest challenge I have faced on any FM due to a complete lack of funds.

Players in -

Etien Velikonja....£425k

Players out -

Andrew Shinnie - £800k

Lee Novak - £900k

Paul Robinson - £100k

Neil Eardley - Free

Currently lying 3rd place on 7 points after 3 games and the board have frozen any funds for players/wages so I'm expecting a very difficult and challenging season, should be interesting...will update after the first window

[Jogo Bonito]

I'm just about ready to kick off the 2015/2016 season at Ashton Gate, with the board setting very reasonable expectations - avoid relegation back down to League 1.

Staff News

I've not changed much on the staffing front, but added Jamie Hewitt (U18 physio) and Mick Halsall (scout) at the end of May. I'm told that Joe Corrigan (U18 goalkeeper coach) will retire at the end of the season, so I will need to replace him as it's a necessary requirement for our Academy status - that was the factor behind the hiring of the new youth physio too.

I was finally able to release unwanted veterans Wade Elliott and Aaron Wilbraham in the summer, along with Marlon Pack, Billy Murphy and Dave Richards. The first two announced their retirement from the game, and Pack was never going to get any pitch time whilst I was at the club. Youngster Murphy wasn't going to be good enough, and rookie keeper Richards was never going to make the grade even as a stand-in keeper. I am still trying to offload Adam El-Abd (so far that hasn't been possible), and I've now made Aden Flint and Jordan Wynter available too.

I'd identified I wanted a good (young) British keeper as deputy to Frank Fielding, another striking option, and another defensively reliable central midfield player to replace Aaron Kuhl, whose loan was expiring and could not be extended.

The Bernabeu was not where I expected to solve any of those issues, but the first and last of those three searches were surprisingly answered there with the acquisition of Real Madrid squad players Eero Markkanen (£250k) and Fernando Pacheco (free). The former, a striker from Finland, had been recruited by Zinedine Zidane so hopefully will prove to be worthy of our modest outlay. Pacheco (who joined on 9th June) was a far cry from the likes of young Englishman Luke McGee (Spurs) that caught my eye as good prospects for the future, but once I found he was available and with affordable wage demands, I decided that it was an opportunity to take advantage of. He arrived officially on 1st July, the same day that released Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford also joined on a free transfer - at least I know he is eligible this season!

The search for my new central midfield player has been a much harder task, even after immediately extending the loan of Forest's Ben Osborn for another season. Going in to the opening Championship fixture against relegated West Ham, this situation still hasn't been managed - and it's definitely a void that needs to be filled. It's not as if I didn't have a plan - I had a very clear target early on, as Paul Coutts was being released by Derby. A wage was offered that met the player's demands, but unfortunately he preferred a similar deal at Leeds and joined them instead. In hindsight, I should have not been so cautious on the terms, as a whole host of players have repeatedly rejected me since then.

I'm fine for the more forward thinking central midfield roles, but have only Korey Smith and Osborn with any degree of nous to tackle. Amongst those that I tried to bring in after the Coutts deal collapsed were Craig Gardner (couldn't afford the loan fees West Brom demanded), Nabil Bentaleb (chose another club on loan), Conor Hourihane (couldn't afford the fee), Sambou Yatabare (player rejected a loan), and Bristol-born Lloyd James (fee was more than I thought he was worth). Louis Thompson could have solved my problems, with Norwich happy to send him on loan, but I decided against taking him as I will one day want to manage Swindon and prefer to gain experience with as many different players as possible.

After taking the decision to offer Flint for transfer, I recruited centre back Kyle Bartley (Swansea) on loan for the season, and finally I decided to bring back Nicky Maynard on loan, with hopes that he can rekindle a career that looked so promising during his first spell with the club. I now have one striker more than I need, so may look to cash in on top scorer Kennedy Igboananike.

That last swoop (for Maynard) persuaded me to put young forward Wes Burns back in to the U21 squad as he will have more playing opportunities, and with Flint and Wynter joining him and El-Abd there, we currently have a group of 21 players to select from in first team matches. If I can lose a striker and replace him with that elusive midfielder before the transfer window closes, I'm hopeful that will be enough.

There were some very handy players that I could have signed in the current window, but there didn't seem to be much need for any radical overhaul, and I like to remain loyal to players when they have done well. There were also some good wingers and wide midfield players that would have been useful, but as I don't intend on altering my 5-2-1-2-WB formation, it didn't seem worthwhile bringing them in. Instead, I've taken the opportunity to renew contracts for all of my main squad players except for Fielding, who rejected the chance to open talks - probably realising he now has a battle on his hands to remain first choice in goal.

Transfer summary

In: Eero Markkanen (Real Madrid, £250k), Fernando Pacheco (Real Madrid, free), Patrick Bamford (Chelsea, free), Ben Osborn (Nottm Forest, loan extension), Kyle Bartley (Swansea, loan), Nicky Maynard (Wolves, loan).

Out: Wade Elliott (retired), Aaron Wilbraham (retired), Marlon Pack (free), Dave Richards (free), Billy Murphy (free), Lewis Hall (Basingstoke, loan)

Provisional squad for season 2015/2016

Goalkeepers: Fernando Pacheco, Frank Fielding

Defenders: Luke Ayling, Karleigh Osborne, Derrick Williams, Kyle Bartley (loan), Greg Cunningham, Mark Little, Joe Bryan

Midfielders: Korey Smith, Ben Osborn (loan), Bobby Reid, Joe Morrell, Scott Wagstaff, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Luke Freeman

Strikers: Kieran Agard, Kennedy Igboananike, Patrick Bamford, Eero Markkanen, Nicky Maynard (loan)

I set myself up quite a few friendlies, but with mainly non-league opposition as I wanted the players to take confidence in to the new season. Regardless of the opposition, I've been happy with performances and results. In particular, I'm pleased that all the strikers have contributed goals (Maynard has only just been signed and has not yet been involved).

[GJHowell]

So, 1st season over and promotion was gained, along with the League 1 title. After my last post, the sticky patch was well and truly consigned to history, and we remained unbeaten for the remaining 11 games, 10 of which were victories. Promotion was achieved with 5 games to go, and the title won with 4 to go. The decisive goals in each game coming, fittingly from Sanchez Watt, who finished up the season with 21 goals, 16 assists and an average rating of 7.21, as well as being named League 1 player of the year. Whilst I won the manager of the year award!

Final tally was P46 W30, D10 and L6 (5 of which were in that sticky Jan/Feb Period), 100 points and 99 goals scored, with a goal difference of 49. We provided 4 of the top 5 rated players in the division over the course of the season, the no1 spot going to young Frankie Kent with an average of 7.28 - not bad for a 19 year old who started the season in the U21's and was only thrown into the 1st team due to injuries to others - he seized his opportunity with both hands and never looked back, and I'm hoping he'll be a key foundation of the team in the years to come.

As soon as promotion was achieved, the board confirmed that there would be a transfer kitty of £363k with which to try and attain Championship survival, along with a £20k increase in the wage budget to £61k pw. Once this was known, I set about securing new contracts for some of those first teamers who were nearing the end of the current contracts, with Sam Walker, Tom Eastman, Craig Eastmond, Sanchez Watt and Freddie Sears all agreeing extensions - this was great news, the first four agreed a further 2 years andhad formed the base of the team that had been so successful this year, and I want to build the Championship team around them too. Freddie has been a bit of an enigma this year, only pitched in with 5 goals, and has been by no means a regular in the starting lineup. His contract is only extended by a year, and he will need to step up and prove himself in 2015/16 in order to earn another contract after that - I still think he has potential, but need to work out how to get the best out of him. Added to this, I have also I spent £90k of the transfer budget signing loanee George Moncur to a permanent deal, and agreeing a deal for Sean St Ledger, who has been without a team - I'm hoping he will bring some experience to the back line, and hopefully providing some mentoring to Frankie Kent. My intention is to again "trade" the league and cup bonuses at the start of the season to boost the transfer fund further. The only cloud on the horizon is one of my young wingers, Drey Wright is refusing to sign a new contract, and wants a move. He hasn't been a regular this season - 9 starts, and 12 sub appearances, but has weighed in with 3 goals and 4 assists, with an average rating of 7.04 - but is only 20 and has bags of potential. He has attracted interest from Burnley (who have avoided relegation from the EPL) and is valued at £400k, so I may be able to at least get a good deal if he won't sign a contract (doesn't expire until 2016) which will give me more funds to strengthen.

So, to summer recruitment - I think my defence is pretty sorted, will need to some back up for my right back, but that should be about it. There are goals in this team, but the attacking options will need bolstering - Mikey Drennan, Dan Holman and Mark Anderson have been my main options through the middle this season, and only Drennan has really made an impact. Holman and Anderson won't be up to it at Championship level, but may retain Holman as back up, but my main concern is central midfield - I have Eastmond and Moncur signed up, but need at least a couple of others to provide competition.

Will also need to consider my tactical options. The wingers have been the stars this season, so need to try and keep them firing. I think we'll score goals, maybe not to the extent of this season given the step-up in quality, but hopefully we'll score enough, so I need to make sure we're tight at the back (we have been a little gung-ho maybe at times this season). Either way, I'd be delighted with 20th place at the end of the season!

[champ 01/02]

Thanks. Used Kelly before in L2 and is impressive. But looking for more deeper midfielders though. Sweeney definitely an option.

maybe someone like giles coke at sheffield wednesday, can always do a job? but if you scout around for free's more often than not you'll be able to find someone who fits the bill

[champ 01/02]

Hi as promotion was secured i needed to build upon what was a good team but a team which had overachieved in league 1. I had only expected a mid-table position and ended up winning the play offs. As a result my board are delighted with me and am already in the favoured personnel of the club. I had hoped i would become an icon since this is the first time york have played in the championship since the 73/74 season but alas it was not to be. My transfer budget was 0 and my wage budget was just 40,000 a week, which meant i had 8,000 to play around with to try and bring in the right players after everyone on the fringes of the squad was released barring wes fletcher.

Due to the budget constraints and rise in wages for my first team i have had little to nothing to play around with, i shored up the wings and attack with leon best signing, while he is injury prone he is versatile and with the wage budget i need players who can play in several areas. i needed a right back who could also shore up the center back position so brought in mark o'brien on a free. As i let russ penn go on a free i also replaced him with Marvin Bartley, who is slightly younger and has better attributes all around. I tried to sign various players like lewis mcgugan but they weren't interested in dealing with a club my size, then moving to teams like mansfield in the third tier. I did manage to acquire steven hewitt on a free from Burnley who shores up the midfield core which i am now happy with as i have Kelly, Lundstram, Corry, Hewitt and Bartley who are all comfortable in there. I am also happy with the back four, with two keepers in tuffey and price (a very promising youngster) looking good with sweeney and naylor first choice center backs and floro and o brien filling in on the left and right full back positions respectively. However i am considering selling sweeney or price just for the money to improve the squad. In fact i have just offered him out for 1.5 million plus a percentage of future transfer profit, while he is one of the few players i have who will be good enough i felt i needed to find some funds otherwise the club in the long term will go nowhere without investment.

Up front we still have jake hyde and wes fletcher who on attributes based ratings can do something in this division. Fletcher rarely made an impact in league 1 however he played few games, I'm hoping with a new contract and being happy again maybe he can turn on the form. Hyde scored almost 20 goals in league 1, if we're to survive i think i am going to need him to score at least 10-15 goals and i am quite confident he can do it. Leon best isn't a natural goalscorer but i needed someone to fill the gaps who would be cheap and versatile. Danny haynes is still at the club, he did a job in league 1 and have tried to offload him but no-one wants him so he will be used in emergencies.

On the wings we have the young pairing of carson and coulson, carson i think can do a job, coulson i don't think will be good enough. Mendez Liang and Haynes can fill in here same with leon best but i think this is the weakest area of my squad.

Any ideas on loans where no wages are needed would be great, as i think we'll be lucky not to finish bottom of the league with this squad. I think promotion was gathered too quickly for this team. The board are tight on budgets and despite making a 500,000 profit last season just aren't giving me a penny. We are predicted to make a 3 million pound profit this year but unless loans/signings can be made i doubt we'll stay in the championship long.

[Hoarau]

Just finished my first full season with Kidderminster and managed to secure promotion through the playoffs up to League 2. Gonna be a huge step up as resources are tight and a lot of the playing staff have left. I'm a weird place this preseason as the chairman has announced he's looking to sell so he's not allowing any adjustments or additions to the wage budget.

Transfers wise I'm really scraping the barrel just to get a deep enough squad to survive the first season of league football, I'm hoping the owner sells up soon and the new board give a slight bump in funds as I've got my eye on a player who I think would be huge for us, former Arsenal youngster Mark Randell is on a free and is asking for a reasonable £1.5k a week, Unfortunatly that's too steep for us currently..

Once I do my full preseason ill do a proper post now I'm in the journey.

[Jogo Bonito]

So, 1st season over and promotion was gained, along with the League 1 title. After my last post, the sticky patch was well and truly consigned to history, and we remained unbeaten for the remaining 11 games, 10 of which were victories. Promotion was achieved with 5 games to go, and the title won with 4 to go. The decisive goals in each game coming, fittingly from Sanchez Watt, who finished up the season with 21 goals, 16 assists and an average rating of 7.21, as well as being named League 1 player of the year. Whilst I won the manager of the year award!

Final tally was P46 W30, D10 and L6 (5 of which were in that sticky Jan/Feb Period), 100 points and 99 goals scored, with a goal difference of 49. We provided 4 of the top 5 rated players in the division over the course of the season, the no1 spot going to young Frankie Kent with an average of 7.28 - not bad for a 19 year old who started the season in the U21's and was only thrown into the 1st team due to injuries to others - he seized his opportunity with both hands and never looked back, and I'm hoping he'll be a key foundation of the team in the years to come.

As soon as promotion was achieved, the board confirmed that there would be a transfer kitty of £363k with which to try and attain Championship survival, along with a £20k increase in the wage budget to £61k pw. Once this was known, I set about securing new contracts for some of those first teamers who were nearing the end of the current contracts, with Sam Walker, Tom Eastman, Craig Eastmond, Sanchez Watt and Freddie Sears all agreeing extensions - this was great news, the first four agreed a further 2 years andhad formed the base of the team that had been so successful this year, and I want to build the Championship team around them too. Freddie has been a bit of an enigma this year, only pitched in with 5 goals, and has been by no means a regular in the starting lineup. His contract is only extended by a year, and he will need to step up and prove himself in 2015/16 in order to earn another contract after that - I still think he has potential, but need to work out how to get the best out of him. Added to this, I have also I spent £90k of the transfer budget signing loanee George Moncur to a permanent deal, and agreeing a deal for Sean St Ledger, who has been without a team - I'm hoping he will bring some experience to the back line, and hopefully providing some mentoring to Frankie Kent. My intention is to again "trade" the league and cup bonuses at the start of the season to boost the transfer fund further. The only cloud on the horizon is one of my young wingers, Drey Wright is refusing to sign a new contract, and wants a move. He hasn't been a regular this season - 9 starts, and 12 sub appearances, but has weighed in with 3 goals and 4 assists, with an average rating of 7.04 - but is only 20 and has bags of potential. He has attracted interest from Burnley (who have avoided relegation from the EPL) and is valued at £400k, so I may be able to at least get a good deal if he won't sign a contract (doesn't expire until 2016) which will give me more funds to strengthen.

So, to summer recruitment - I think my defence is pretty sorted, will need to some back up for my right back, but that should be about it. There are goals in this team, but the attacking options will need bolstering - Mikey Drennan, Dan Holman and Mark Anderson have been my main options through the middle this season, and only Drennan has really made an impact. Holman and Anderson won't be up to it at Championship level, but may retain Holman as back up, but my main concern is central midfield - I have Eastmond and Moncur signed up, but need at least a couple of others to provide competition.

Will also need to consider my tactical options. The wingers have been the stars this season, so need to try and keep them firing. I think we'll score goals, maybe not to the extent of this season given the step-up in quality, but hopefully we'll score enough, so I need to make sure we're tight at the back (we have been a little gung-ho maybe at times this season). Either way, I'd be delighted with 20th place at the end of the season!

Great write-up - and that's a remarkable season. £363k is a small transfer kitty but you showed you can go far with small funds so hopefully you will be capable of achieving survival and pushing in to the top half. I look forward to reading about your transfers and squad update.

Champ - another success story. It's amazing to have York playing Championship football so soon, but will be a massive challenge to keep them up with your zero budget and lack of resources. Best of luck with that!

Hoarau - welcome back mate, you're like a VIP guest in here . I'm always happy to read your posts...although technically as you started outside the Football League, the thread you want is the excellent 'Vanarama' one created by CityAndColour. Congrats on the promotion though .

* As for me, I have only been able to play one match with Bristol City in the second tier - we played well but lost to West Ham. I'm looking forward to getting some game time very soon.

[champ 01/02]

Great write-up - and that's a remarkable season. £363k is a small transfer kitty but you showed you can go far with small funds so hopefully you will be capable of achieving survival and pushing in to the top half. I look forward to reading about your transfers and squad update.

Champ - another success story. It's amazing to have York playing Championship football so soon, but will be a massive challenge to keep them up with your zero budget and lack of resources. Best of luck with that!

Hoarau - welcome back mate, you're like a VIP guest in here . I'm always happy to read your posts...although technically as you started outside the Football League, the thread you want is the excellent 'Vanarama' one created by CityAndColour. Congrats on the promotion though .

* As for me, I have only been able to play one match with Bristol City in the second tier - we played well but lost to West Ham. I'm looking forward to getting some game time very soon.

My wage budget has been increased to 70,000 a week which i am still 5,000 below, have bought in hoolahan to cover the advanced midfield and a couple of leicester loanee's for nothing and no wages because i am linked with them Also have scott golbourne in at left back on loan which i am delighted with have also signed a scandinavian wing back who comes in january who seems good have played 10 games with 14 points so am very very happy although only 1 win in 6 now but four of those have been draws.

[DaveMUFC]

Finally picked a team to start with i debated starting with Bournemouth but wasn't really a big fan of their squad, so I've decided to go for Nottingham Forest. I quite like their team in general, with their rich history, and with players like Assombalonga, Antonio and Wilson, they have a solid base to stay in the premier league. Looking to start it tonight so will keep you guys updated!

[Jogo Bonito]

Finally picked a team to start with i debated starting with Bournemouth but wasn't really a big fan of their squad, so I've decided to go for Nottingham Forest. I quite like their team in general, with their rich history, and with players like Assombalonga, Antonio and Wilson, they have a solid base to stay in the premier league. Looking to start it tonight so will keep you guys updated!

Good luck with Forest then Dave. Everything is definitely in place for season 2 in the Premier League

Champ, Golbourne is a good signing for York. You'll do very well to stay up though!

I've had a real struggle to get going with my Championship campaign, but have just managed to secure my first victory. That timely result has lifted us up to 20th place after five games, but we had earlier suffered a disappointing exit in the 1st Round of the Capital One Cup at Shrewsbury! Unfortunately, I had to re-play the season opener against West Ham as it hadn't been saved properly.

The less than impressive start saw me commit to a ghastly sum of £30k p/m (plus 30% of his £28k p/w wages) for the loan of Craig Gardner from WBA. That deal was completed just before the end of the summer transfer window and for that kind of outlay he really must deliver. The only other movement saw Adam El-Abd finally move on loan to Egyptian club ENPPI (with them paying 100% wages).

[GJHowell]

OK, so lets bring things up to date. It was a busy summer! Once again, I traded bonuses for transfer kitty, increasing the funds available by almost £300k up to just about £650k. The wage budget increase was quite generous, so I didn't have too many concerns in that respect. I had managed to secure contract extensions for all of the first team players that I wanted to keep, so there were a number of outgoings - with 5 first team squad players leaving on frees and a number of youngsters that I didn't feel were going to progress enough.

10 players came in - St Ledger and Moncur, as mentioned earlier were already signed up, and another of last season's loanees, Steven Hewitt, signed from Burnley for £90k. The biggest expenditure being on Ryan Woods from Shrewsbury in a deal that could eventually cost £450k - he's young, but can play in a few positions, has decent attributes and the scouting reports pointed to his good potential - at present he's battling Sean Clohessy to make the RB berth his own, but can equally play in midfield. There were only two other players that I paid for (Andy Taylor from Morecambe, to provide competition at LB and Nicky Ajose from Leeds to bolster the striking ranks). All in all, I have around £18k left in the transfer pot! A couple of the frees where overseas players offered by agents who, after trials, looked like they could add to the squad, and then a couple of youngsters released by other teams - Anthony O'Connor and Jack Powell - Powell being the star so far with four goals from midfield so far this season (of which 3 have been sweetly struck Beckahm-esque freekicks). Other than that, Jack Barmby came in on loan from Leicester - problem is that I've changed my formation since then, the wingers have gone, and he's a winger!

Pleasingly I have also managed to hold on to some of my stars. Burnley were sniffing around Frankie Kent and eventually made an offer of £250k up front, with additional payments tbringing it upto around £500,000. I decided to chance my arm and tell them I would take a straight £2.5m with a 20% sell on clause (hoping they wouldn't notice the £1m release clause in his contract!) and they went away. Jack Connors, the youngster I spend a fair amount on last season, has gone out on loan - When I signed him, I never dreamed we'd get promoted this season, and I think the Championship may be too much for him too soon, so am hoping he'll benefit from getting more first team football at Oxford.

So, to the season itself - well, it's been tough, as expected. The reality is that this squad does not have the quality in enough measure for this division (a look at the comparisons will show you that, where we're rated inside the top 20 on just a few areas, with the rest mainly between 22nd-24th). The opening game was away against Birmingham, and was a narrow 1-0 defeat, which actually gave me some confidence. Following that was another away game at Charlton, where we got turned over 4-1. Our first home game brought our first win, a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth, but we were hanging on at the end, and then two more defeats in which we conceded another 8 goals. I had to make changes, and they started to work because the next 4 games brought 3 victories and a draw before another two defeats on the bounce. To be honest, I suspect that is how it is going to be for much of the season, but we're currently sitting 18th in the table after 11 games, which I'd happily take come the end of the season. We made the 2nd round of the Capital One cup where we were dispatched by Aston Villa, albeit only by a 1-0 scoreline.

Star performer to date has been Jack Powell, top scorer with 4 goals, and an average rating of 7.46. Special mention must also go to another of our youngsters, Byron Lawrence, a midfielder who has pitched in with 2 goals and an average of 7.20 from 7 appearances.

My strikers concern me, I just don't think they're of sufficient quality - of the 18 goals we've scored so far, they have been responsible for 3 goals between them, 2 coming from Freddie Sears in one match- but I can only pick a team from the squad I have, although I haven't really utilised the loan system much as yet. Frankie Kent is finding the step up more challenging - he has played most games and has an average of 6.69, so not too bad, but he's still developing and his profile still shows green arrows, so I'm happy with that.

Right, back to it - lets see if we can move any further upwards.

[Jogo Bonito]

Great update, it really gives a flavour of what's going on there. I think you and me are both in for tough seasons, but you're just a little ahead of me at this stage! Good luck.

[king_karl]

It seems as though after a brief Southampton save and a slightly longer Arsenal save my long save with MK Dons is about to start.

[GJHowell]

So, halfway through the season and, touch wood, we may have turned a corner. In the 12 games since the last update I have lost 4, drawn 4 and won 4 - but the last 5 have been unbeaten (although the last 3 were draws). Some notable results in that time being a 3-0 away win at Huddersfield, in a game we totally controlled, and another away win at West Ham. Frustrations in that time being 3 occasions where we threw away points by conceding in the last 10 minutes. The strikers are starting to find the net a bit more often with Freddie Sears notching up 4 in those 12 games, and Nicky Ajose netting 5 times. Have been tinkering with the formation again, and the wingers are back - playing a 4-2-3-1. Drey Wright (an academy graduate) has been in good form, helping himself to a couple of goals, and Sanchez Watt is beginning to show glimpses of his form of last season. Also coming in is Scott McDonald who signed on a free - yet to score as I am struggling to get him match fit. The net result is that at the halfway point we sit in 15th place, with 29 points - We're 9 points off the play-offs (well, you have to have some ambition!!), but more importantly have an 8 point buffer from the relegation zone, so I'm delighted. So, we'll head off into the second half of the season and see if we can maintain. In the FA Cup, we kick off with a home tie against Mansfield, from which I expect nothing but a win.

Jack Baldwin is still consistently performing with an average of 7.21, but has only scored one more freekick since my last update. Leading the way now is Kevin Bru, one of my overseas free transfer signings in the summer - playing as an advanced playmaker he has now scored 7, created 4 and picked up 5 man of the match awards.

If we can carry on as we're going then we are hopefully looking good for staying up.

[Jogo Bonito]

So, halfway through the season and, touch wood, we may have turned a corner. In the 12 games since the last update I have lost 4, drawn 4 and won 4 - but the last 5 have been unbeaten (although the last 3 were draws). Some notable results in that time being a 3-0 away win at Huddersfield, in a game we totally controlled, and another away win at West Ham. Frustrations in that time being 3 occasions where we threw away points by conceding in the last 10 minutes. The strikers are starting to find the net a bit more often with Freddie Sears notching up 4 in those 12 games, and Nicky Ajose netting 5 times. Have been tinkering with the formation again, and the wingers are back - playing a 4-2-3-1. Drey Wright (an academy graduate) has been in good form, helping himself to a couple of goals, and Sanchez Watt is beginning to show glimpses of his form of last season. Also coming in is Scott McDonald who signed on a free - yet to score as I am struggling to get him match fit. The net result is that at the halfway point we sit in 15th place, with 29 points - We're 9 points off the play-offs (well, you have to have some ambition!!), but more importantly have an 8 point buffer from the relegation zone, so I'm delighted. So, we'll head off into the second half of the season and see if we can maintain. In the FA Cup, we kick off with a home tie against Mansfield, from which I expect nothing but a win.

Jack Baldwin is still consistently performing with an average of 7.21, but has only scored one more freekick since my last update. Leading the way now is Kevin Bru, one of my overseas free transfer signings in the summer - playing as an advanced playmaker he has now scored 7, created 4 and picked up 5 man of the match awards.

If we can carry on as we're going then we are hopefully looking good for staying up.

That's decent progress, and to finish mid-table would be a good season. I'm in a similar position to you, 14th after 10 games (W3, D4, L3) at the end of September. After the poor start we had, I'm hopeful we can get in to the top half and stay there, but it's not as fluid as it should be so definitely not counting on that happening.

Welcome along king_karl and good luck with MK Dons...

[fenlander]

Have been away for a week so thought i would log on and give a brief update incase you all thought i had abandoned ship,it has been a busy closed season with a number of comings and goings:-

transfers in :-

mike hanke str. free a german international striker

manus lundemo cm £1.2m signed from lillestrom

marius amundsen cb £450 also from lillestrom

john hou saeter mc £1.1m ex rosenburg

emil bergstrom dc £575 ex djurgarden

phillipp max wbl free ex karlsruhe

dominic ball dc loan from spurs

ismael azzaouri str loan spurs

out:-

yaser karim £2m huddersfield

mick smithstr released

andrew williams str released

jo abika str released

ryan harley cm released

Started the season with2 wins in the league beating leeds 2-0 at home and sheff.utd 2-1 away in between we beat yeovil 2-0 away in the capital cup,hanke seems to have settled in well and the partnership between him and trotta has got of to a promising start the only cloud on the horizon is that milosevics contract is up at the end of the season and he is refusing to discus a new one.

[Jogo Bonito]

Fenlander, forgive me being cheeky here...but did you spend your week away in Scandanavia? I see you have lost five of the 'originals' there, but hope you have another impressive season. It looks like another great start anyway!

I'll get an update at Bristol done soon, when I get to the end of December in season 2.

[Jogo Bonito]

I've just hit the January window of season 2 with Bristol City. Since my last update we have been stuck in mid-table - mainly through an inability to win matches. The loss record and GD is not too bad, but we are the league's draw specialists.

At one point, Igboananike had 11 league goals in 13 appearances, but that form has tailed off quite a bit since. None of the other strikers have been consistent, and with rotation of course their form hasn't really picked up. I have a positive GD but we are conceding too many goals and although within touching distance of 6th place, we could just as easily drop in to the relegation scrap.

I don't plan to do much (if any) business in the January window, but would like to move Markkanen out as he didn't impress early on and has been excluded from the squad since the early part of the season. Next up is Blackburn in FA Cup Round 3 - but it's away, so I won't be expecting to progress there.

[dewey]

Just took on my biggest challenge on FM15 for a good few years. Got a bit bored of my Rangers save so I resigned in Oct. 2022. The first team to catch my eye were Crawley who just sacked Sami Hyypia while languishing in 23rd in League 2.

With a shoestring budget I am aiming to get to the Premier League within 5 years. It's going to be difficult but I do love working with a tight budget.

I've played 2 games and won my first and drew my second in disappointing circumstances having thrown away a 2 goal lead.

Brought a couple of emergency loans in for 3 months since I have 6 serious injuries out of my squad of 18.

Definitely won't be easy but hopefully be worth it

[LincolnCanary]

Fabulous thread. Wanted somewhere I can discuss my Norwich games. I'm playing football manager classic - as I always do.

So, season 1 was a mega success. I won the league comfortably, undefeated and won the Capital One Cup. Which was a huge surprise. But I got very lucky - the only Premiership opposition I met was Arsenal in the final and I beat them on penalties after setting up ultra defensive to do just that. Gary Hooper and Lewis Grabban were superb. I played Hooper as an advanced striker and Grabban as a false nine. The two together were amazing. Hooper scored 35 goals and Grabban 21, with as many assists. Transfer wise, I added only one player - Todd Kane from Chelsea. Paid £800k for him, replacing Steven Whittaker who i got £3m for.

The next season, I relied upon pretty much the same core group of players. I was somewhat unhappy with having just £12m to spend and a requirement imposed on me to finish in the top half of the table. I thought it pretty unrealistic. In this season, Lewis Grabban was again superb, scoring 13 goals and setting up a further 8. Nathan Redmond and Josh Murphy were also amazing. In January, I loaned Harry Kane and bought Felipe Caicedo. Caicedo was a poor purchase and quickly lost his place to Grabban. Harry Kane was amazing, however. I've paid £11m for him to join us next season. Finished 4th, amazingly. Can't believe how well I did.

Season 3 has started roughly. A much bigger budget has lead to far greater expectations. John Ruddy and Seb Bassong have been injured. Two of my key players. Hoping I can cope without, but we'll see.

[thomas_e]

After two consecutive promotions from League 2 with Shrewsbury Town I finished fourth in my first season in the Championship. Unfortunately I lost to Fulham in the Play Off's.

Played 30 games of my second season in the Championship. I'm top off the table, 13 points ahead of Southampton in second place, just beat them 3-0 at St. Marys.

Shrewsbury will get promoted to the Premier League after 3 promotions in 4 seasons

And finally got the club to increase the capacity at the stadium.. then I saw they were going to increase it from 9900 to 11200... at a cost of 1,6 million.. fantastic

[Stfc mason]

Only playing the demo at the minute, had lots of success with my team Swindon, now I have decided to start a save with Bristol City!. Does anyone have any recommended players for me to sign and has anyone cashed in on Emanuel-Thomas? carefully considering doing so.

[Jimbo_the_red]

You cannot be a Swindon fan if you are managing Brizzle???