FMC15 Save Updates Thread

[john1]

Well done!

Thanks

[john1]

Results so far, disappointed to see us crashed out against CRB. We dominated both games yet we found ourselves losing, an own goal on 88th minutes in 2nd leg saw us go out.

Just hope we can crack on with the Serie C league.

[john1]

Drew 0-0 against Atlético Goianiense in 2nd leg which saw us go through.

Oh yes! Think we'll get stuffed but hopefully we will sell out our home game.

[safcrhys]

Peterhead FC 2015/16 Review

A very challenging season, both on and off the pitch. It has been chaos in the boardroom with 2 takeovers collapsing and a 3rd currently underway... fingers crossed that it goes through because I am getting sick of the instability it is causing, the finances are terrible and the board had to inject £135k into the club during the winter to help tide us over. On the pitch it was a hell of a struggle, with key players not performing anywhere near to an acceptable level. The amount of stupid mistakes we made defensively was a killer, at one point I'm sure there was a run where we gave away something stupid like a penalty a game for five games. During the dark, bleak and depressing winter I seriously thought we were going to be relegated.

The board must have had some idea of what was going to happen because their minimum expectation was that we avoid automatic relegation, something I agreed with considering the poor Summer of recruitment we endured. We have a relatively young inexperienced team and it showed during the first few months of the year but thankfully we eventually found our feet and even reached a cup final.

Our first competitive game of the season was a 3-2 away win over Cove Rangers in the 1st round of the Challenge Cup. We started our league season with a poor 1-0 win over Elgin at Balmoor before we went to Hibernian in the 2nd round of the Challenge Cup and stuffed them 3-0, I consider it a high point of the season but when you consider that Hibs would be relegated from the Championship at the end of the season and will be in our division next season then maybe it wasn't such a big deal after all. The poor results and performances soon began to filter in. We lost 4 of the next 5 in the league, the only reprieve being a 2-1 win over Falkirk in the Challenge Cup 3rd round. We beat Arbroath 3-2 and then claimed a decent 2-2 draw at Airdrie but were then demolished 5-1 at Dunfermline, who would finish the year as champions.

The Challenge Cup semi final would see us take on Morton from the division above, we ran out comfortable 4-1 winners at Balmoor despite having less of the game than our more illustrious opponents to put us into the final against Stenhousemuir. The Challenge Cup was proving a welcome distraction from the league, our form was disgusting. We lost 1-0 at Elgin on October 27th and followed that up with losses to Dumbarton and Clyde to leave us bottom of the table. Ross McAllister (our supposed best player) was a joke throughout the season up front, I ended up just dropping him completely from the squad eventually and can't wait to see the back of the worthless piece of garbage, he ended the campaign with an average rating of 6.38 and I am hoping someone will take him off me in the Summer although I don't know why anyone would want to add the lazy ar*ehole to their team.

We ended the run of defeats at Stranraer where we claimed a hard fought for point in a 2-2 draw before a welcome 2-1 home success over promotion chasing Brechin. The Challenge Cup final was up next and we completely bottled it putting in a horrible performance against a Stenhousemuir team who we would finish above at season's end, we lost 3-1 but it could have been more. We then lost 2-1 at Stirling before another 2-1 defeat, this time to our Challenge Cup conquerors Stenhousemuir at Balmoor. We were in danger of being cut adrift at the bottom as December loomed.

A 2-1 success over Airdrie on December 5th gave me hope and a 3-3 draw at Arbroath boosted my confidence some more but once again it was a case of one step forward and 2 steps back. We lost 3-1 at home to table topping Dunfermline before a pathetic 1-0 home loss against Elgin. I honestly couldn't see where the next win was coming from but we shocked Dumbarton 3-2 away from home in a game where we were battered but scored with our only three efforts on target. We undid our good work with back to back 3-1 defeats to Stranraer and Brechin to leave me tearing my hair out.

It was around this point (mid January) that the second takeover failed therefore bringing an end to any hopes I may have had of getting some money to spend on some decent players. All of a sudden though, something clicked and I am not quite sure what. We went on a fantastic run and shot up the league. Stirling were comfortably seen off 3-1 at Balmoor before a great 3-0 away win at Stenhousemuir. We claimed a 2-2 draw at Airdrie before a 3-2 home win over Arbroath. We stood little hope of beating Dunfermline who eased past us by two goals to nil at their ground but we then won four games on the bounce to go unbeaten in March.

Our revival had put us unbelievably on the cusp of the play offs, we couldn't sustain our good form though and won only one of our final five games although it was an emphatic 5-1 win over Airdrie. We ended the season in same position as last season: sixth, but 9 points worse off. At the season's end it was announced that the club was to have a transfer embargo put in place as we were the subject of yet another takeover attempt, pray for me that it goes through because the club is really in the doldrums financially and we need a complete overhaul of the playing staff, the training facilities have also been downgraded.

You can see just how long we were at the bottom of the table, a miracle that we finished in sixth.

[safcrhys]

The takeover failed again.

We are having to settle for young players with good potential but poor CA in the transfer market. Another season of struggle beckons, I just need to keep developing these youngsters and hope that we will have a decent team in a couple of years. Really enjoying the challenge though.

[BoxToBox]

Failed takeovers, annoying as heck.

[john1]

Just finished Serie C 1st Stage.

Serie C results

Such a shame we only sold 38,000 against Palmeiras in our home game. We was given 111K after we got knocked out by them.

Serie C table

[john1]

Second Stage Quarter Final draw

Hope we can get a good result in first leg. They finished 4th in other group.

[john1]

Serie C 2nd stage results

PROMOTED

Thanks to Zuba saved 2 penalties

Players stats

A special mention goes to him. 40 years old guy and amazing he's still going.

[BoxToBox]

Cracking stuff, well done!

[john1]

Good to see our finances is starting to build up nicely

[john1]

Cracking stuff, well done!

It was very intense in the final against them. But glad we came out on top \o/ Now we can finally add a title to our trophies collections.

[Burnsey85]

Well, that season was frustrating. Home form alone would have seen me finish 7th, away form had me 20th. Managed 2 wins away all season, and only 2 draws. Finished 12th over all which isn't too bad but god knows what I'm going to do for away games next season. Tried different formations, different mentalities, different TI's... even stole a few from the tactics forum but nothing seemed to look anywhere near working.

My transfer activity this season has been embarrassing too. Brought in center backs Vedran Corluka, James Tomkins and Steve Cook - all flopped badly. My current CB pairing is a lad who came through my youth team and Kyle Bartley, who isn't great but says more than enough about the 3 I've bought this year! Juan Carlos Parendes, the RB my scout loved has been patchy and only kept his place because my only other option has been even worse. On the plus side on loan Connor Wickham has been really good but injury prone(which is why I probably won't activate his buyout clause) and Sondre Rossbach has over taken Hennessey as my number one keeper.

Looking forward to next season though, really going to go on a fire sale when the transfer budgets get announced. Got quite a few decent prospects who according to my ass. man are nowhere near ready for Premier League football but I'm going to give them a chance anyway. The only thing I might look for is a creative midfielder and another striker since I'll only have Dwight Gayle next season - I don't even have one in my youth team pre-youth intake.

[BoxToBox]

Any particular targets for next seasons overhaul?

[RTHerringbone]

Those crowds in Serie C john1

[Burnsey85]

Any particular targets for next seasons overhaul?

My main aim is to make sure everyone I bring in has good determination and work rate. So far I've brought in Massadio Haidara(£1.8m), Curtis Davis(£1.2m) & John Guidetti(£4.5m). I've also brought in a 16 year old striker Terje Strand for 300k, and it looks like he's going to be my 3rd choice striker for the season. Great Work Rate, Determination & a potential 5 star rating so quite happy to give him game time, despite only having 1 star CA.

I've managed to have a decent clear out too. Steve Cook(£3.4m), Jack Hunt(£1.5m), Charlie Austin(£1m), Paul Dummett(£450k) & Vedran Corluka(£2.2m) along with 8 free transfers. Left me with 200k available wage budget and £11.5m to spend after I've done all the transfers I feel I needed to make.

I really need to sort my tactics out though. Think it's time to drop the 4-2-3-1wide that I worked so long on and get back to playing a DM. So ideally if I can find a good young player, with good determination and work rate, who's a good DM but also a great Advanced/Deep Playmaker I'll probably go for him too - it's not asking too much is it?!

[BoxToBox]

I think a 4-2-3-1 is a very, very difficult formation to get working well, especially defensively.

As for finding those guys, it's always best to aim high!

I've been quite lucky this save, it seems the auto picking of tutors has gotten De Rossi to tutor everyone, at least everyone who can play in midfield, squad determination skyrocketing.

[john1]

Pre seasons fixtures

Have I just arranged a hardest pre season for the club? It's like sending them to boot camp, club arranged Universitario and Viktoria match and I arranged the rest.

Transfers

Transfers I have made so far and pretty happy with it.

Robertinho - Just been released by Sao Paulo. Brought him in with other 2 midfielders left the club, will probably be a starter for us. Seems I have signed Bruno Mars lookalike

Kaique - Been released by Corinthians at end of the season, snapped him up as we're short up front.

Abner - A decent signing for us, as we only got one left back at the club.

Misael - Just a back up signing, will sell on in the future.

Feeder club

Board arranged new feeder club in Argentina.

Other news

Decided to retire at end of the season Did try and convince him to reconsider but decided to retire in the end.

[vossmaj]

Ehm, I just ruined my Kvik Halden save by trying to go on holiday "until next month" after season 2 - at least that's what I am convinced to have done. Then I went away from my laptop to care for my ill son. Returned after half an hour or so. I was still on holiday, 1 year in-game has passed (!), my team got promoted (!!) and as nobody cared for contracts all players had left on a free. But the worst thing is that my auto-save overwrote my REAL save making it impossible to restore where I had left the save. Now I start again after season 1 (that save is still there) and see what happens this time in year 2. I feel like... ehm, actually leaving FM alone for a year or two...

[john1]

Ehm, I just ruined my Kvik Halden save by trying to go on holiday "until next month" after season 2 - at least that's what I am convinced to have done. Then I went away from my laptop to care for my ill son. Returned after half an hour or so. I was still on holiday, 1 year in-game has passed (!), my team got promoted (!!) and as nobody cared for contracts all players had left on a free. But the worst thing is that my auto-save overwrote my REAL save making it impossible to restore where I had left the save. Now I start again after season 1 (that save is still there) and see what happens this time in year 2. I feel like... ehm, actually leaving FM alone for a year or two...

Gutted

[BoxToBox]

Ahhhh, that must have hurt.

[Burnsey85]

I think a 4-2-3-1 is a very, very difficult formation to get working well, especially defensively.

As for finding those guys, it's always best to aim high!

I've been quite lucky this save, it seems the auto picking of tutors has gotten De Rossi to tutor everyone, at least everyone who can play in midfield, squad determination skyrocketing.

I completely forget about tutoring on FMC, might have a look see who I've got with high determination and get him to tutor some of the lesser ones.

This is proper coincidence but I looked for a DM who's contract had expired and Bruno Zucilini was there. 17 work rate, 14 determination, and a natural as a Playmaker or Defensive Midfielder. Unbelievable timing!

I spent ages getting that 4-2-3-1 together, be handy when needed but I've had decent games against big teams in preseason with my new tactic. Problem is my first 6 games are Man City(a), Arsenal(h), Spurs(a), Chelsea(h), Fulham(a, phew!) & Liverpool(h) - think it'll be a case of accessing the tactic in the games after then.

Ehm, I just ruined my Kvik Halden save by trying to go on holiday "until next month" after season 2 - at least that's what I am convinced to have done. Then I went away from my laptop to care for my ill son. Returned after half an hour or so. I was still on holiday, 1 year in-game has passed (!), my team got promoted (!!) and as nobody cared for contracts all players had left on a free. But the worst thing is that my auto-save overwrote my REAL save making it impossible to restore where I had left the save. Now I start again after season 1 (that save is still there) and see what happens this time in year 2. I feel like... ehm, actually leaving FM alone for a year or two...

Jesus, that's bad mate. Sorry for your loss.

[vossmaj]

Guess I just need to be more careful when going on holidays... funny though that they won the title with me on holidays... wellwellwell, ight as well leave them alone then and just make sure that the right players prelong their contracts.

In fact I restarted the save after season 1 and tried to sign the same players as before. Didn't succeed 100% but will let you know what came out of it THIS TIME.

[safcrhys]

I think a 4-2-3-1 is a very, very difficult formation to get working well, especially defensively.

As for finding those guys, it's always best to aim high!

I've been quite lucky this save, it seems the auto picking of tutors has gotten De Rossi to tutor everyone, at least everyone who can play in midfield, squad determination skyrocketing.

That is what I play and I do seem to concede a lot of goals, although I am unsure whether its because of the tactic or if my defenders are just poor.

Takeover of Peterhead has finally been completed, first thing the board did was take out a bank loan and inform me that they had no plans of investing in the team at the present time.

[BoxToBox]

I've only tried it once in 15, with a well built Hull side. Conceded tonnes of goals, but won a league cup. Need to try it again, on a long term save.

Hard luck with the takeover.

[RTHerringbone]

I actually think it is easier to get "gappy" formations (i.e. without a DM) working on FM15 than ever before. I started a throwaway save with Chelsea on the night they played Paris-SG this week, and we're using a 4-2-3-1. Also used the same formation to good effect at other saves on FM15 too.

[safcrhys]

Peterhead FC 2016/17 Review

A fairly satisfying season this one, a takeover of the club by a local businessman was finally completed in early September bringing an end to the uncertainty hanging over the club. The players responded well to a new tactic although we seemed to struggle at home but perform better away for some reason. We were tipped to struggle again and finish 8th for third year running but we were never below sixth throughout the season and ended up in a play off place.

We knocked East Fife out of the Challenge Cup in the first round but were knocked out of the League Cup on penalties by Stirling away from home. The league season began with a 4-0 humping of Elgin away from home before a 1-0 win over Ayr at Balmoor. We then drew 2-2 at Airdrie. Hibernian were huge favourites to run away with the league and they did in the end but we caused our more illustrious opponents some trouble along the way throughout the campaign although they did come to Balmoor and beat us 1-0 in our fourth league game. Whereas last year we made it to the final of the Challenge Cup our campaign was ended in the second round by Dundee who beat us 5-4 in a thrilling game at Balmoor.

Our league form remained decent, we stuffed Dumbarton 5-2 before a 3-1 away win over Stranraer. We then fell to a disappointing three defeats in a row though against Cowdenbeath, Stranraer and Stirling. We got back to winning ways with a thrilling 4-3 triumph over rivals Elgin at home but then slipped to a very late 2-1 loss at Ayr - who we played four days later in the 3rd round of the Scottish Cup and this time we were the victors, coming out on top 3-2. We then thumped Airdrie 6-3 before back to back away draws with Hibernian and Dumbarton. We had 2 men sent off at home to Stranraer on November 23rd but we held out valiantly until the final ten minutes when they scored twice.

Dunfermline knocked us out of the Scottish Cup in the fourth round before we played Cowdenbeath in the first of two successive away games (the second would be against Arbroath). We remained undefeated against both opponents, picking up a 2-2 draw against the former before picking up a solid 1-0 win against the latter. Our home form was beginning to become a concern though and we lost 1-0 to Stirling at Balmoor. On Boxing Day we put 4 past Elgin away for the second time this campaign with a 4-1 win before three league defeats in a row (including two at home). On January 21st we played Hibs at home and played well in a 1-0 win before we suffed a 2-0 defeat (also at home) to Cowdenbeath.

Back to back aways wins over Stranraer and Stirling were followed up by a disappointing 0-0 draw at home with Arbroath. We then drew 2-2 with Ayr before a 1-0 win over rivals Elgin, our decent form had catapulted us up into the play off places. A disgusting 3-0 home loss to Airdrie left me with more questions about my team than answers but we then went to Dumbarton and looked to have secured the three points before they scored a last minute equaliser from a corner to salvage a 2-2 draw. We beat Stranraer 3-2 at home before giving Hibs a scare at Easter Road, the Hibees did score a late winner though to triumph 2-1. A tough game against Cowdenbeath away beckoned and we were 1-0 down with 10 minutes to go after a woeful performance but my winger Andy Stirling scored two magnificent freekicks late on to hand us an unlikely 3 points. We were four points clear of fourth place with two games left.

We lost both of those games 3-0 to Stirling and Arbroath but still finished 3rd, setting up a promotion play off with Cowdenbeath. Again our home form would let us down though as we lost 2-1 at Balmoor before a 0-0 draw away which means we will be playing third tier football again next year.

You can see just how tight the league was, there is not a lot of difference in terms of quality between the majority of the teams in League One. We finished third but we only five points clear of the team who were relegated in ninth.

[john1]

I actually think it is easier to get "gappy" formations (i.e. without a DM) working on FM15 than ever before. I started a throwaway save with Chelsea on the night they played Paris-SG this week, and we're using a 4-2-3-1. Also used the same formation to good effect at other saves on FM15 too.

Are you having fun with Chelsea?

[john1]

Peterhead FC 2016/17 Review

A fairly satisfying season this one, a takeover of the club by a local businessman was finally completed in early September bringing an end to the uncertainty hanging over the club. The players responded well to a new tactic although we seemed to struggle at home but perform better away for some reason. We were tipped to struggle again and finish 8th for third year running but we were never below sixth throughout the season and ended up in a play off place.

We knocked East Fife out of the Challenge Cup in the first round but were knocked out of the League Cup on penalties by Stirling away from home. The league season began with a 4-0 humping of Elgin away from home before a 1-0 win over Ayr at Balmoor. We then drew 2-2 at Airdrie. Hibernian were huge favourites to run away with the league and they did in the end but we caused our more illustrious opponents some trouble along the way throughout the campaign although they did come to Balmoor and beat us 1-0 in our fourth league game. Whereas last year we made it to the final of the Challenge Cup our campaign was ended in the second round by Dundee who beat us 5-4 in a thrilling game at Balmoor.

Our league form remained decent, we stuffed Dumbarton 5-2 before a 3-1 away win over Stranraer. We then fell to a disappointing three defeats in a row though against Cowdenbeath, Stranraer and Stirling. We got back to winning ways with a thrilling 4-3 triumph over rivals Elgin at home but then slipped to a very late 2-1 loss at Ayr - who we played four days later in the 3rd round of the Scottish Cup and this time we were the victors, coming out on top 3-2. We then thumped Airdrie 6-3 before back to back away draws with Hibernian and Dumbarton. We had 2 men sent off at home to Stranraer on November 23rd but we held out valiantly until the final ten minutes when they scored twice.

Dunfermline knocked us out of the Scottish Cup in the fourth round before we played Cowdenbeath in the first of two successive away games (the second would be against Arbroath). We remained undefeated against both opponents, picking up a 2-2 draw against the former before picking up a solid 1-0 win against the latter. Our home form was beginning to become a concern though and we lost 1-0 to Stirling at Balmoor. On Boxing Day we put 4 past Elgin away for the second time this campaign with a 4-1 win before three league defeats in a row (including two at home). On January 21st we played Hibs at home and played well in a 1-0 win before we suffed a 2-0 defeat (also at home) to Cowdenbeath.

Back to back aways wins over Stranraer and Stirling were followed up by a disappointing 0-0 draw at home with Arbroath. We then drew 2-2 with Ayr before a 1-0 win over rivals Elgin, our decent form had catapulted us up into the play off places. A disgusting 3-0 home loss to Airdrie left me with more questions about my team than answers but we then went to Dumbarton and looked to have secured the three points before they scored a last minute equaliser from a corner to salvage a 2-2 draw. We beat Stranraer 3-2 at home before giving Hibs a scare at Easter Road, the Hibees did score a late winner though to triumph 2-1. A tough game against Cowdenbeath away beckoned and we were 1-0 down with 10 minutes to go after a woeful performance but my winger Andy Stirling scored two magnificent freekicks late on to hand us an unlikely 3 points. We were four points clear of fourth place with two games left.

We lost both of those games 3-0 to Stirling and Arbroath but still finished 3rd, setting up a promotion play off with Cowdenbeath. Again our home form would let us down though as we lost 2-1 at Balmoor before a 0-0 draw away which means we will be playing third tier football again next year.

You can see just how tight the league was, there is not a lot of difference in terms of quality between the majority of the teams in League One. We finished third but we only five points clear of the team who were relegated in ninth.

Decent season Hopefully you will go up next season.

[Burnsey85]

That is what I play and I do seem to concede a lot of goals, although I am unsure whether its because of the tactic or if my defenders are just poor.

I actually think it is easier to get "gappy" formations (i.e. without a DM) working on FM15 than ever before. I started a throwaway save with Chelsea on the night they played Paris-SG this week, and we're using a 4-2-3-1. Also used the same formation to good effect at other saves on FM15 too.

I found it quite easy with Man Utd and a short lived Arsenal save, but usually with anything but the big sides I find it hard to get the balance right. Like I say it worked really well for me for one season but last season away from home it was a disaster and this season I've only been using Attacking 4-2-3-1wide in the last 20 minutes to good effect, as my side tends to be a bit more energetic as I'm playing a tighter formation for the first 70 minutes.

...my first 6 games are Man City(a), Arsenal(h), Spurs(a), Chelsea(h), Fulham(a, phew!) & Liverpool(h) - think it'll be a case of accessing the tactic in the games after then.

Just played this run. Man City beasted me in the first game. Managed 2 shots and lost 4-0 - fair to say I was worried! Then beat Arsenal 3-2 coming from 2-1 down, then had Blackpool in the Cup which I won 4-1 with kids, two 2-1 losses to Spurs and Chelsea but I think I deserved something from those, then won 5-2 against Fulham and drew 2-2 against Liverpool. Trying to rethink my save as a lower Premier League team again so I'm quite happy with the games so far. Just hope they play as well against smaller teams, worried about that as I went 2-0 down to Fulham in the first 15 minutes and 1-0 down to Blackpool(albeit with a weakened team).

[Burnsey85]

HOW did this end 1-1?! They only equalized in the 80something minute from a freekick too. Tried 4 formations and didn't come close to containing them. Should hang my head in shame having 34% possession with lower tempo and shorter passing selected for most of the game.

[safcrhys]

HOW did this end 1-1?! They only equalized in the 80something minute from a freekick too. Tried 4 formations and didn't come close to containing them. Should hang my head in shame having 34% possession with lower tempo and shorter passing selected for most of the game.

I'd be furious tbf.

[BoxToBox]

HOW did this end 1-1?! They only equalized in the 80something minute from a freekick too. Tried 4 formations and didn't come close to containing them. Should hang my head in shame having 34% possession with lower tempo and shorter passing selected for most of the game.

"Broken match engine."

Did you try "get stuck in"? That always seems a massive help for me when I'm loosing the possession battle.

[RTHerringbone]

Are you having fun with Chelsea?

In a shamelessly shallow way, yes!

Costa is scoring for fun. If I didn't rotate him every game, I reckon I could get 80 goals out of him

EDIT - And now porting that tactic over to my Saints team :o

I definitely need to think of a new save for the final update.

[Burnsey85]

"Broken match engine."

Did you try "get stuck in"? That always seems a massive help for me when I'm loosing the possession battle.

Nah. My team has an awful disciplinary record, they get enough red & yellow cards with stay on feet. Looks like they didn't get stuck in at all in that game though so probably should have noticed that and shot it on.

Getting a bit bored of this save now to be honest. A lot happier with my team but the board rejecting any requests for improving my declining facilities despite having a good amount of money in the bank is a bit frustrating, plus overall don't think I'm really going anywhere. Think I'm gonna have a quick fun save with Napoli until the new patch lands.

[john1]

Decided to go back to this save Currently in pre season, which will be updated shortly.

Just been linked with FC Twente job :| Not sure if I should stick with Excelsior ? Also declared interest in Feyenoord job as well.

EDIT: Roberto Donadoni took FC Twente job

[john1]

Pre season results

Pretty happy with our pre season despite us getting raped in last 2 games, defence was bloody joke and gifted them the ball ffs. We put 7 past Bayern II which pleased me the most out of the pre season.

Transfers

Will be back up to midfielders.

Brought him in as cover for right back.

Back up for strikers, will play in cups.

Pre signed him few months ago, will be either starter or back up, undecided.

Found him while looking through National team, won't join us til next season.

Again as above, got big hope for him and hopefully will develop into decent player.

[RTHerringbone]

Guess who is starting a new save? :o

Given all the recent turmoil at Parma, a club who were so strong back when I watched Football Italia, it seemed remiss not to go to Serie A to try to revive the fortunes of a club who so relatively recently had such an impressive squad.

So I've started with Fiorentina

[john1]

Guess who is starting a new save? :o

Given all the recent turmoil at Parma, a club who were so strong back when I watched Football Italia, it seemed remiss not to go to Serie A to try to revive the fortunes of a club who so relatively recently had such an impressive squad.

So I've started with Fiorentina

No surprise there I did nearly start new game with Parma earlier but decided not to

[RTHerringbone]

No surprise there I did nearly start new game with Parma earlier but decided not to

Fingers crossed, this one might last

I've wanted to play in Italy for years, but honestly can't remember doing so for a prolonged period since CM Italia! Fiorentina have a lot of good points: no debt, decent stadium, good players and a good mix of positions covered by their starting squad. Still in pre-season but I'm doing this one "properly" - no Instant Result or anything like that, so I can feel a bit closer to the save. Hopefully.....

Hit and miss pre-season is over:

First Serie A match was at one of my favourite football grounds, the Luigi Ferraris in Genoa. A 3-1 away win puts us top (ignoring the fact that only 6 teams played )

Toyed with a 4-4-1-1 in pre-season, which has become a flat 4-5-1 for the time being. We have a few loanees who are important to the team, but ideally I want to use my own players. Giuseppe Rossi is someone I'm desperate to do well with when he returns from his latest cruciate injury, and Khouma Babacar is a guy who has caused me trouble in recent FM's, so that pairing plus Mario Gomez should see me try some sort of exciting formation, if they are ever all fit at the same time

[BoxToBox]

Hmm, Fiorentina look a cracking team to play as.

Got some massive funds baked right in if you don't want/need Cuadrado.

[RTHerringbone]

Second league game was tied at 1-1 until Chievo had a man sent off for a second yellow. Thereafter, it was plain sailing. Onto the Europa League next; Standard of Belgium at Artemio Franchi.

[BoxToBox]

Joaquín!

[Footix]

My boys at Forfar were sitting 1st in SL1 and looking like strong candidates for promotion, when a job offer from Chesterfield (FL2) suddenly popped up in my inbox. They are a far bigger club, and I figured IF I was to be promoted with Forfar, the coming season would probably be really hard and end in relegation anyway. Chesterfield it was, then. Better players and facilities, bigger stadium, professional status and I've doubled my wage. Yay!

In the job offer, the Chesterfield chairman said he would be happy with a mid-table finish. We finished 13th. That's about as mid-table as it gets, but someway along the road the chairman changed his mind and wanted me to push for playoffs instead, so he was seriously angry with the end result. I've kept my job for now, but unless we do better next season, I'm probably out. Also, I'm getting a lot of news and rumours about a possible takeover. Maybe I'll be out before I know it anyway.

[john1]

Good start there RTH! What formation have you gone for? 3-5-2?

[safcrhys]

Borrussia Dortmund 2016/17 Review

After the successes of last season I expected more of the same this time round, we set one impressive record of going 37 games unbeaten in the league, a run which began on January 26th 2016 and ended on February 15th 2017, but in truth we trailed Bayern for the majority of the season and ended the season with some disappointing results, although we were still fighting on three fronts right up to the final couple of weeks of the season. The only couple of signings I made all year were Maxym Koval (an exciting young keeper from Kiev who would become an automatic starter, replacing Weidenfeller) for £9m and in January we paid PSV £9.5m for wonderkid striker Malcom. We raked in £34m in transfer fees, the biggest one being the sale of Mauro Icardi to PSG for £29m.

We suffered our third successive Super Cup defeat to Bayern on August 6th, although this time we were away from home because we were the German champions so I guess the 2-1 loss could have been expected. On August 13th our German Cup campaign got underway with a 4-1 defeat of Hauenstein and we then started the league campaign with four successive wins, the best of which was a 5-0 rout of Cologne on the opening day at Signal Iduna. Our Champions League Group was a relatively straightforward one - Plzen, Red Bull Salzburg and Juventus being the opposition. Our first group game was against Salzburg and we suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat, something which no-one could have foreseen. After this loss we drew two games on the bounce in the league, drawing 1-1 with Bayern at home and 1-1 against Wolfsburg away.

The team responded to this minor blip with a six game win streak, Plzen were put to the sword 5-1 at home before back to back 3-0 wins in the league over Freiburg and Kaiserslautern. We were very fortunate to beat Juventus 2-1 at home in the CL Group Stage so I wasn't looking forward to the return game in Italy. On October 22nd we beat Hannover 4-0 before a comfortable enough 2-1 win over Freiburg in the German Cup 2nd round. We dropped points away in Leverkusen with a disappointing 1-1 draw before another poor result, this time at home to Schalke, we just couldn't break them down and ended up drawing the game 0-0.

We were again battered by Juventus in Europe but somehow overcame them 2-1 again, Marco Reus and Ciro Immobile grabbing a goal each to put us in a great position in the group. That game was the start of an amazing 11 game winning streak. On November 19th we beat Nuremburg 4-2 away from home before exacting revenge on Salzburg with a 5-1 win at Signal Iduna. Hamburg were then dismissed 2-1 before we confirmed top spot in the group with a 1-0 away win over Plzen, setting up a last 16 clash with Sevilla in February. December began with a 4-0 thrashing of Augsburg before a 5-2 humbling of Frankfurt in the German Cup 3rd round. Mainz were then seen off 4-2 in the league before we signed off 2016 in style with comfortable back to back wins over Bremen and Stuttgart.

After the winter break us and Bayern were neck and neck in the league but our form over the second half of the season would fail to match that we had shown before Xmas. Our first game of the new year was a poor 0-0 draw in Cologne but we booked our place in the German Cup semi-final with an easy 4-0 win over BMG in the Borrussen derby, we then swept Hertha away winning 5-0 in Berlin. The first leg of our CL last 16 clash with Sevilla was played in Spain on February 7th and we ground out a satisfying 1-1 draw. We then overcame Frankfurt 2-1 at Signal Iduna to bring our consecutive number of games without defeat in the league to 37, a run which would be ended by Bayern Munich who beat us (somewhat fortuitously) 2-0 in Munich.

The players responded to the disappointment by hammering Wolfsburg 5-0 before the 2nd leg of our European tie with Sevilla. We were dominating the Spaniards when they scored a breakaway goal through Luuk De Jong in the 77th minute and I had dé ja vu from the year before when we were knocked out by Porto. With us seemingly destined for more heartbreak in Europe up popped Mkhitaryan to equalize in the 83rd minute and send the game to extra time. The Spaniards ran out of gas during the extra 30 minutes with one tired defender in particular giving away two penalties. Marco Reus scored in the 95th minute and then in the 99th from the spot. Malcom got his first goal for us in the 100th minute and the rout was completed on 110 minutes when Fabio Coentrao made it 5-1 from the penalty spot, we would be up against Liverpool in the quarter finals.

We won only three of the next six games in the league including a dismal 2-1 loss to Schalke away from home to lose some ground to Bayern - who were stuttering themselves - the gap was four points in early April. On 11th April we travelled to Merseyside and eked out a fortunate 1-1 draw, Sturridge gave them the lead in the first half but Aubameyang equalized with 16 minutes left. We then beat Nuremburg 5-2 in the league (Reus scored all five) before Liverpool came to the Signal Iduna. A thoroughly professional performance saw Reus, Immobile and Odegaard secure a 3-0 win (4-1 on agg) and a semi-final date with Atletico. Confidence was high and we demonstrated that we still had hopes of landing the treble when we dismantled Hamburg 5-0 away from home a few days after beating Liverpool. We then booked our place in the German Cup final with a comfortable 2-0 home success over Bremen, our opponents in the final would be rivals Schalke, a team we had failed to beat in the league during the league campaign.

On April 29th we saw off Augsburg 3-0 before our trip to the capital of Spain on May 3rd to face Atletico. We soaked up some early pressure before taking the game to our opponents, Mats Hummels scored a screamer from the edge of the box early in the second half and when Aubameyang made it 2-0 the game seemed as good as over. Antoine Griezmann pulled one back though with 25 minutes left and it was a nervy end to the game but we held on to take a priceless advantage into the home leg. On May 6th we missed a golden chance to move within a point of Bayern after they lost at Hertha by losing ourselves, 3-2 at Mainz in a very poor performance, it effectively ended our hopes of retaining our league title. On May 9th we faced Atletico in the 2nd leg of our CL semi-final and put in our best performance of the seeason. Aubameyang was outstanding, netting a hat-trick whilst Odegaard, Immobile and Balanta all scored in a 6-1 rout, we'd face Man Utd in the CL final.

With 2 games left in the league we were four points behind Bayern and needing a miracle to retain the title, we gave ourselves every chance with a 3-0 win over Bremen but the Bavarians had little trouble in beating Hannover and they captured the league for the first time in a couple of years. We ended our league campaign with a poor performance and loss at Stuttgart but we had two cup finals to look forward to.

The first was the German Cup final against Schalke, the game certainly lived up to the hype! Marco Reus scored in the 10th and 39th minutes to give us a 2-0 lead at the break. Abel Hernandez pulled one back for Schalke four minutes after half time but Malcom struck in the 64th minute to put us 2 goals ahead once more. Max Meyer scored in the 78th minute for our rivals to make it 3-2 and a very nervy final 10 minutes or so but Aubameyang and ended any doubts by scoring our fourth in stoppage time to seal a 4-2 win and see us retain the German Cup.

Now for the small matter of playing Manchester United in the CL Final. The first half was fairly even and ended 0-0 but Wayne Rooney opened the scoring in the 59th minute to leave us staring at defeat. Thankfully Shinji Kagawa equalized in the 78th minute but just as it seemed we were more likely to nick a late winner, United hit us on the counter in the 90th minute and Rooney grabbed the winner. Absolutely sickening! Don't know when we will get a better chance to win our first European Cup since 1997.

I have a very good team but there are certain areas that could be improved, Piszcek has been a fine servant at right back but he is now 32 years old so I could do with some younger blood in that position, we are also going to be a little light at centre-back with the impending departure of Sokratis to Monaco so that is another position I may look to shore up.

[the_gaffa]

Still enjoying my Crewe Alexandra save and after finally settling on a somewhat unorthodox 4-3-3 wingback formation, I'm starting to get some much needed consistency in my results.

After having a bit of a nightmare (and getting relegated to League 2) in my first season, I've since been promoted as champions two years in a row and I'll be starting next season in the Championship!

The problem now is that my squad is pretty poor compared to the rest of the league (most of our current players are of midtable League 1 standard) and I think next season will be quite a struggle. I've used a free transfers only policy so far but even with that I've only got a £1.15 million transfer budget next season.

I've also had quite a few interesting job offers recently too...

Hull City, Fulham and Wigan Athletic all came calling (the latter two have recently been relegated to the Championship and have some fantastic Premier League quality players)

Yeovil Town also offered me a job and despite being in League 1 they have recently been taken over by a tycoon, have a great squad and a whopping £25 million to spend on players!

I did originally intend on sticking with Crewe for the long run and I probably will do that but I've gotta admit that some of those job offers are starting to look pretty damn good!

[john1]

August 2016

Didn't expect how we start the season at all.

Disappointed how we conceded the goals against ADO Haag, As two individual mistakes could have possibly denied us a point.

Gutted not to pick up 3 points against them, we was the better side most of the match, but beggars can't be choosers

Fantastic performance from the team, coming behind to win 2-1.

Superb win over Heracles. Botaka was superb and single handled destroyed them.

Another win on the trot for us. An brace in first half from Manu was enough to see us picking up another 3 points. Their goal came from Ben Schar in second half.

Can't fault the players efforts against Vitesse, They was too good against us and we conceded all 5 goals from close range. We was 4-1 down and came back to 4-3 before they got the goal to give them breathing space. Botaka also has a goal disallowed before their fifth goal.

Eredivisie league table

News

Good to see us sold out our season tickets, huge jump from last season.

[BoxToBox]

Still enjoying my Crewe Alexandra save and after finally settling on a somewhat unorthodox 4-3-3 wingback formation, I'm starting to get some much needed consistency in my results.

After having a bit of a nightmare (and getting relegated to League 2) in my first season, I've since been promoted as champions two years in a row and I'll be starting next season in the Championship!

The problem now is that my squad is pretty poor compared to the rest of the league (most of our current players are of midtable League 1 standard) and I think next season will be quite a struggle. I've used a free transfers only policy so far but even with that I've only got a £1.15 million transfer budget next season.

I've also had quite a few interesting job offers recently too...

Hull City, Fulham and Wigan Athletic all came calling (the latter two have recently been relegated to the Championship and have some fantastic Premier League quality players)

Yeovil Town also offered me a job and despite being in League 1 they have recently been taken over by a tycoon, have a great squad and a whopping £25 million to spend on players!

I did originally intend on sticking with Crewe for the long run and I probably will do that but I've gotta admit that some of those job offers are starting to look pretty damn good!

I'd save a copy with that Yeovil offer, even if you stick with Crewe, it'd be nice to come back to that later and have a bit of fun with 25m in league 1.

[RTHerringbone]

Good start there RTH! What formation have you gone for? 3-5-2?

It's a flat 4-5-1 at the moment, a very versatile shape as it can easily become anything from a 4-4-2, 4-1-4-1, 5-5-1, 4-2-3-1, 4-1-2-2-1......

A few Role / Duty tweaks before matches let me aim to keep the same basic formation, but a better approach based on what I'm guessing the AI shape will lead them to do.

EDIT - Got distracted Now fiddling with formations featuring three central strikers.....