FM16: Leeds United FC - Everybody loves Massimo!

[chob]

Just thought I'd show you how Lewis is now, he's awesome in 2024.

[JJSaxton]

It nagged away at me that I missed out on Valencia and some of the young prospect players that I liked the look of this year (Cubas, Pavon, Mammana). So, after finishing the first season, I started again. After some research on the forum and thanks to Welshace for two of his tips, the side is better I think.

GK Sondre Rossbach (£30K buy now), Sylvestri.

DR Byram, Berardi.

DL Taylor, Gaston Silva (loan with future fee option).

DC Emanuel Mammana (loan with future fee option), Damian Schmeidt, Liassine Cadamuro, Martin Ove Roseth, Bruno Wilson.

DMC Andres Cubas (£3.5M, most over 48 months), Cook, Patrick Berg (£110K).

MC Patrick Ekeng (gets W/P), Cook, Murphy, Mowatt, Abdul Razak (free), George Green (free), Patrick Berg.

AMR Dallas, Sander Svendsen (£550K, much more than normal), Saed Haksabanovic (£200K).

AML Cristian Pavon (loan with future fee option), Petteri Forsell (£25K buy now), Sander Svendsen, Saed Haksabanovic.

ST Jose Valencia, Wood, Sander Svendsen.

I've got to say that I was amazed at the Pavon & Mammana signings, I think that I just got lucky, perhaps all the fee offers were for less than their clubs wanted?

I also signed Amr Gamal, ST (£300K). He fails a W/P but I loaned him out at 100 % of wages and a £160K/month fee. A nice little earner.

Future deals:

31.8.15 Tobias Svendsen, AML (£3.1K compensation).

1.7.16 Jhon Arango, MC (£5K compensation, but no W/P).

1.7.16 Matheus Pereira, AMRCL (£3.6M most over 48 months).

1.1.17 Lincoln, AMCL (£2.6M most over 48 months). Much higher than normal at game start so I may have got lucky with his PA?

Really happy with this side.

I sold the usual suspects. But on this save, as I received 9 bids for Phillips, I repeatedly offered him out at increasing values and was really happy to finally accept a £1.8M bid from Southampton.

How have you managed to sign all of those players? I cant seem to get any of them to join is there a knack to it, like a certain time to offer for them?

[Nicko Blaggo]

How have you managed to sign all of those players? I cant seem to get any of them to join is there a knack to it, like a certain time to offer for them?

You have to get them to immediately accept the contract offer. Typically this means improving the contract offer to the player once he has accepted. If you do not do this, unless there is no competition from other clubs for the player, they will usually accept an offer elsewhere. It takes a little practice to get it right.

[macca72]

You have to get them to immediately accept the contract offer. Typically this means improving the contract offer to the player once he has accepted. If you do not do this, unless there is no competition from other clubs for the player, they will usually accept an offer elsewhere. It takes a little practice to get it right.

This. I had to give Ajer a FORTY PERCENT sell on profit for him to accept, or he would have gone to Madrid, Bayern or some other monster team who was after him.

[JJSaxton]

Thanks for the help Nicko Blaggo & Macca72. Started again and managed to get a few of the targets that I wanted from the ones suggested:

Patrick Ekeng - Currently averaging a 7.2 in the league & 8.42 in the cup scoring a couple of absolute beauts on the way. Loves a long shot and they quite often come off.

Jose Valencia - Has scored 7 goals in 8 appearances playing as a Deep Lying Forward. Not his most favoured role but seems to suit him perfectly in my formation.

Ramadan Sobhy - Had him in previous save and was able to pick him up at a bargain price couldn't pass him up.

Will keep my eye on the rest and see how they develop. Cristian Pavon will be snapped up as hes on a loan and future fee deal.

The season has started of rather strangely with alot of teams considered as bottom half teams doing considerably well and teams like Middlesbrough propping up the league table. Long way to go yet mind.

[Rooney_08]

just finish 1st season with leeds , didnt make any signings , had a take over during the season and got next to no money ffs , here is the table and the play off final

what a ending :

Bring on the EPL

[PitchPosh]

just finish 1st season with leeds , didnt make any signings , had a take over during the season and got next to no money ffs , here is the table and the play off final

what a ending :

Bring on the EPL

Can't really write one better than that! Good luck in the EPL, it's been fun so far. I'll be posting a summary shortly.

[Hoarau]

Just read this whole thread from start to end, great guys and a really interesting opening post. Had a soft spot for Leeds since seeing them play Rangers at Ibrox all those moons ago in the "Battle of Britain".. Enjoyed seeing their amazing run to the champions league semi final, some tidy wee players back then Smith and Michael Bridges are two of my favourites.

This thread and the squads great batch of promising home grown players has inspired me to start a Leeds game.

Just started it last night and haven't down anything except set up team training and organise a bunch of easy friendlies. Players wise I was looking at bringing in Del Piero for tutoring and home games?

Who within the squad holds the most value sale wise but doesn't deplet the squad too much? cant wait to get right invested in this.

[macca72]

Just read this whole thread from start to end, great guys and a really interesting opening post. Had a soft spot for Leeds since seeing them play Rangers at Ibrox all those moons ago in the "Battle of Britain".. Enjoyed seeing their amazing run to the champions league semi final, some tidy wee players back then Smith and Michael Bridges are two of my favourites.

This thread and the squads great batch of promising home grown players has inspired me to start a Leeds game.

Just started it last night and haven't down anything except set up team training and organise a bunch of easy friendlies. Players wise I was looking at bringing in Del Piero for tutoring and home games?

Who within the squad holds the most value sale wise but doesn't deplet the squad too much? cant wait to get right invested in this.

For me you can get rid of Silvestri, Antenucci, Douakara, Bellusci, Bianchi, Sloth. This should give you a few quid (but not loads) to start rebuilding.

The youth at Leeds is excellent this year, keep hold of them all and add a bit of experience and you'll be well on your way.

Good luck, keep us updated.

[macca72]

So, reached boxing day in the game and thought I'd give an update.

Before I do I'll say I've struggled massively with the game so far this year, and this is probably my 4-5 attempt at getting something going. I'll also confess that my tactical approach is somewhat taking advantage of the pressing / fullback width issue (my soul is cleansed as I have posted about it in the bugs forum )

All that been said, things are going very well.

Transfer wise, nothing massively out of the ordinary (would've loved Valencia, but he's not on my game, I only really load a small FMT database). I have future purchase options on Mammana and Bentancur. Bentancur started off pretty ordinary, but he's caught fire in the last few games.

I also have Banggaard coming in Jan. I don't think I've ever had him before and have always admired him, so will be interesting to see how it pans out.

As you might imagine my somewhat, ahem, questionable tactical approach means that Byram and Taylor are the kings of assists. Goals have been pretty spread so far with Wood, Mowatt, Botaka (who's brilliant, but I have an abundance of talent at the moment), Bentacur (more recently) & Dallas scoring the most regularly. Cook and Gourcuff have chipped in with a few each also.

The takeover has been rumbling on for ages, so will see what happens. I've got my eye on a couple of expiring contracts, so I'll be miffed if it doesn't either go through or collapse in the next week or so. I don't want to tempt fate by going into too much detail but I've started to build a shopping list for the summer, a top class complete striker is number 1 priority, any advice more than welcome.

Long way to go until the end of the season...

[JoOSTAR]

So, reached boxing day in the game and thought I'd give an update.

Before I do I'll say I've struggled massively with the game so far this year, and this is probably my 4-5 attempt at getting something going. I'll also confess that my tactical approach is somewhat taking advantage of the pressing / fullback width issue (my soul is cleansed as I have posted about it in the bugs forum )

All that been said, things are going very well.

Transfer wise, nothing massively out of the ordinary (would've loved Valencia, but he's not on my game, I only really load a small FMT database). I have future purchase options on Mammana and Bentancur. Bentancur started off pretty ordinary, but he's caught fire in the last few games.

I also have Banggaard coming in Jan. I don't think I've ever had him before and have always admired him, so will be interesting to see how it pans out.

As you might imagine my somewhat, ahem, questionable tactical approach means that Byram and Taylor are the kings of assists. Goals have been pretty spread so far with Wood, Mowatt, Botaka (who's brilliant, but I have an abundance of talent at the moment), Bentacur (more recently) & Dallas scoring the most regularly. Cook and Gourcuff have chipped in with a few each also.

The takeover has been rumbling on for ages, so will see what happens. I've got my eye on a couple of expiring contracts, so I'll be miffed if it doesn't either go through or collapse in the next week or so. I don't want to tempt fate by going into too much detail but I've started to build a shopping list for the summer, a top class complete striker is number 1 priority, any advice more than welcome.

Long way to go until the end of the season...

How are you playing? some insight on your tactic might come in handy for me, even if it takes advantage from (maybe) a bug. Nice result.

[Hoarau]

This is harder than it looks, money is very tight.

Jose Valencia is a hidden gem, bravo welsh!

[macca72]

It's nothing special. Possession game with 2 CWB(A), a Half Back, 2 IF(S) and 2 CM(S).

Not many other TI's, just look for overlap & whip crosses.

[Hoarau]

Missed out on so many targets that would have really made me excited, Ajer agreed to go to Man United and Rossbach went to At. Madrid.. Tough to take.

Have strengthened the central defence by bringing Scandanavia due Banggard and Simon Stransberg(also covers RB)in on loan with options to buy. The real coup here is another loan, Emmauel Mammana with the option to buy in the summer for £3.9m.

I've struggled to add anyone of note to the midfield, which I see we're actually blessed in but would like to add a creative type number 10 for the AMC slot, Casper Sloth has actually been very promising in the role. The other type of midfielder I'm looking for but not getting any joy is a gritty battler, we need some protection for the technically efficient duo to Mowatt & Cook. So if anyone has any suggestions I'd be more than welcoming.

My other project is somewhat controversial, with Berardi looking like a solid RB I wasn't sure what to do with Sam Byram.. I've played 8 pre season games putting Byram in the AMR spot as a W(s) and he's scored 3 but assisted 9! Of course the opposition is very poor but it does give me promise for this wee pet project.

Also I'm gonna bang on about Joel Valencia, 14 pre season goals in 8 games.. Crap teams but he looks so sharp and gets into such good positions. Love this lad.

[Nicko Blaggo]

Missed out on so many targets that would have really made me excited, Ajer agreed to go to Man United and Rossbach went to At. Madrid.. Tough to take.

Have strengthened the central defence by bringing Scandanavia due Banggard and Simon Stransberg(also covers RB)in on loan with options to buy. The real coup here is another loan, Emmauel Mammana with the option to buy in the summer for £3.9m.

I've struggled to add anyone of note to the midfield, which I see we're actually blessed in but would like to add a creative type number 10 for the AMC slot, Casper Sloth has actually been very promising in the role. The other type of midfielder I'm looking for but not getting any joy is a gritty battler, we need some protection for the technically efficient duo to Mowatt & Cook. So if anyone has any suggestions I'd be more than welcoming.

My other project is somewhat controversial, with Berardi looking like a solid RB I wasn't sure what to do with Sam Byram.. I've played 8 pre season games putting Byram in the AMR spot as a W(s) and he's scored 3 but assisted 9! Of course the opposition is very poor but it does give me promise for this wee pet project.

Also I'm gonna bang on about Joel Valencia, 14 pre season goals in 8 games.. Crap teams but he looks so sharp and gets into such good positions. Love this lad.

Just a 'heads up' for you & Macca on Mammana and the option to buy. I confess that I'd naively assumed that the option to buy him would be a straight forward process. The reality was that when you make the offer to him he is immediately offered a new contract with River and he always accepts it. To the point where, for example, you'd offer him £25-£28K/week and bonuses and he'd still renew his contract for a fraction of this. To land him you have to 'make him an offer he can't refuse' which he accepts immediately. The other option is to buy him straight at game beginning with a contract of around £10K that he immediately accepts.

[macca72]

Just a 'heads up' for you & Macca on Mammana and the option to buy. I confess that I'd naively assumed that the option to buy him would be a straight forward process. The reality was that when you make the offer to him he is immediately offered a new contract with River and he always accepts it. To the point where, for example, you'd offer him £25-£28K/week and bonuses and he'd still renew his contract for a fraction of this. To land him you have to 'make him an offer he can't refuse' which he accepts immediately. The other option is to buy him straight at game beginning with a contract of around £10K that he immediately accepts.

Excellent Nicko, cheers.

Assume you got promoted, how are the transfers for prem coming on?

[Hoarau]

Cheers nicko, noted.

Although I'm screwed either way currently as I don't have £10k spare for him, tried to offload Bamba but no one is interested. I think I may just have to enjoy him while hes here and hope he can help us get promoted. I can even dream that he falls in love with Elland Road and I can convince him to stay... I know..

[Lufcberg22]

Im managing Wolfsburg at minute but like popping into this thread to say how Super Leeds are doing. Hows Taylor, Cook, Mowatt & Phillips getting on for you lads?

[Nicko Blaggo]

Excellent Nicko, cheers.

Assume you got promoted, how are the transfers for prem coming on?

Yes, got promoted Macca but I wasn't happy with things. The failure to convert Mammana & Pavon to permanent contracts (Mammana because the money required to do it didn't sit happily with me & Pavon because he wouldn't discuss a contract at all) left me 'scrambling around' for key signings. So, I've started again. This time I sold literally every one I could and took, for example, the money on Berardi (£325k) who I couldn't offload at all in the Premiership and Sylvestri (a meagre £210K). I used the money to buy Mammana, Cubas & Pavon (didn't get a w/p this time so I've loaned him gambling that I'll get one in the future) outright.

However, this was what I'd come up with before I abandoned the game. I've not included first season signings or existing players like Byram, Cook, etc.

GK Martin Silva (free), Uruguay. Get's a w/p and almost always runs his contract down at Vasco). Rulli usually runs his contract down but I couldn't get near to the £70-80k/week he was looking for before he got snapped up.

DR Petar Stojanovic, Maribor (£1.6M minimum release).

DL Walter Kannemann (£4.4M).

DC Eder Alvarez Balanta (free), Marco Torsiglieri (free). Occasionally you get can get lucky with Balanta and he runs his contract down. Torsiglieri always does.

DMC Gaston Gil Romero (£4M) gets w/p straight away.

MC Marcelo Meli (£6M) also get's w/p straight away but you need to offer him £25K+ straight away or you'll mess up the negotiations and Boca start demanding more £ when you go back in for him.

AMR Andija Zivkovic (free). Hector Villalba at San Lorenzo (buy now after contract offer from 1.7.16) gets w/p.

AML Robert (Fluminense, really tricky winger), Matheus Pereira at Corinthians who is a 'wonderkid' on arrival.

ST Lucas Alario at River (£5.25M). Top ST but like Meli you have to go with a big offer of £22-£25K straight away to get his agent talking.

So, it was a decent side. I'd gone with players that I knew and had used previously. The lack of decent staff who'll come to you first season left me short of good scouted options. The other difficulty I experienced was a failure to raise anything like the sort of £ I'd expected through transfers. For example £2.5M or so a go for the likes of Wood, Dallas, etc. Infact I found it harder, relatively, to raise money second season than first. In short, second season is a challenge.

[I Like Pie]

Had a poor first season in the PL, finished only 8th.. no Europe means that half of my squad wouldn't get enough playing time. Season haven't started yet and players like Ben Arfa, Wilshere, Tielemans and Wanyama already moaning going to be a tough season.

Some of you bought Mammana, is he world class? I agreed a deal with him, but now I noticed that I can buy Romagnoli, who looks amazing, but a bit pricey ~ 40m..

[I Like Pie]

AMR Andija Zivkovic (free).

Wow, what an amazing deal. I've been trying to sign him from the start of the game and he always refuses to join me He's the only player in the game that I desperately want in my team.

[macca72]

Yes, got promoted Macca but I wasn't happy with things. The failure to convert Mammana & Pavon to permanent contracts (Mammana because the money required to do it didn't sit happily with me & Pavon because he wouldn't discuss a contract at all) left me 'scrambling around' for key signings. So, I've started again. This time I sold literally every one I could and took, for example, the money on Berardi (£325k) who I couldn't offload at all in the Premiership and Sylvestri (a meagre £210K). I used the money to buy Mammana, Cubas & Pavon (didn't get a w/p this time so I've loaned him gambling that I'll get one in the future) outright.

However, this was what I'd come up with before I abandoned the game. I've not included first season signings or existing players like Byram, Cook, etc.

GK Martin Silva (free), Uruguay. Get's a w/p and almost always runs his contract down at Vasco). Rulli usually runs his contract down but I couldn't get near to the £70-80k/week he was looking for before he got snapped up.

DR Petar Stojanovic, Maribor (£1.6M minimum release).

DL Walter Kannemann (£4.4M).

DC Eder Alvarez Balanta (free), Marco Torsiglieri (free). Occasionally you get can get lucky with Balanta and he runs his contract down. Torsiglieri always does.

DMC Gaston Gil Romero (£4M) gets w/p straight away.

MC Marcelo Meli (£6M) also get's w/p straight away but you need to offer him £25K+ straight away or you'll mess up the negotiations and Boca start demanding more £ when you go back in for him.

AMR Andija Zivkovic (free). Hector Villalba at San Lorenzo (buy now after contract offer from 1.7.16) gets w/p.

AML Robert (Fluminense, really tricky winger), Matheus Pereira at Corinthians who is a 'wonderkid' on arrival.

ST Lucas Alario at River (£5.25M). Top ST but like Meli you have to go with a big offer of £22-£25K straight away to get his agent talking.

So, it was a decent side. I'd gone with players that I knew and had used previously. The lack of decent staff who'll come to you first season left me short of good scouted options. The other difficulty I experienced was a failure to raise anything like the sort of £ I'd expected through transfers. For example £2.5M or so a go for the likes of Wood, Dallas, etc. Infact I found it harder, relatively, to raise money second season than first. In short, second season is a challenge.

Like a lot of that.

I can tell season 2 will be a challenge, I was hoping to do some business in January but I've renewed Cook / Mowatt contracts and they took well over 500k in agent fees. Bar-stewards.

Can't offload Sloth, Wootton, Bamba for anything and Vann is unhappy now as I've turned down about 9 bids from Newcastle for him (he does look like he's going to be good to be fair).

No Zivkovic for me, he's going to Real.

EDIT: This save is going the way of the dodo. Having won the championship with a record points total I have lost my first EIGHT games in the PL.

[Nicko Blaggo]

Wow, what an amazing deal. I've been trying to sign him from the start of the game and he always refuses to join me He's the only player in the game that I desperately want in my team.

Unless he has already been picked up, offer him a contract on or around 30th December, tell him he'll be a legend and make him sign immediately (around £17K/week should do it).

[Nicko Blaggo]

Like a lot of that.

I can tell season 2 will be a challenge, I was hoping to do some business in January but I've renewed Cook / Mowatt contracts and they took well over 500k in agent fees. Bar-stewards.

Can't offload Sloth, Wootton, Bamba for anything and Vann is unhappy now as I've turned down about 9 bids from Newcastle for him (he does look like he's going to be good to be fair).

No Zivkovic for me, he's going to Real.

With Sloth I found that listing him on 29th June (I start the game on 26th June by loading the German first divsion as it gives you an extra few days to gel the team together) usually sees Fulham buying him. With Wootton I sell him straight away and you can get £425K from Bristol City. Sometimes he'll go to Wigan for £1.1M, but often he'll turn them down. I've been usually able to sell Bamba during early to mid November, but not afterwards.

The other, very tempting, option is to sell Murphy as soon as his injury indicator turns from red to orange. In my game this was on or around 27th July. I sold him to Watford for a straight £5M A very interesting deal because it's a lot of money early in the game and it's also a lot more than the maximum value of around £3.1M that I got for him in June 2016. I'm now researching who I can spend the money on.

[I Like Pie]

Unless he has already been picked up, offer him a contract on or around 30th December, tell him he'll be a legend and make him sign immediately (around £17K/week should do it).

He refused to even negotiate a contract with me and joined benfica instead

[macca72]

Ok, so last roll of the dice for this patch. The last 2 saves have gone, this will be my final go until the update is released.

First preseason going well, have managed to sign...

Mammana - Can't really turn him down, pot luck I got him and have a £3.5m future fee

Cubas - Love this bloke (even though he looks like a child on the 3d ME). Decided not to sign Ajer and loaned him with a future £4m fee

Driussi - Not seen him before but he looks handy a £5m future fee for him (wouldn't go lower) but did beat off Bayern etc to get him so he must be good

Out - Doukara, Bellusci, Antenucci & Bianchi - I have a £2.5m to spend so will be keeping an eye out.

[Hoarau]

Had Druissi last year macca and he turns into a really tricky player that can fit ink a few different roles. He become a top level player for me alongside another Argentinian playmaker, Luciano Acosta(should be at Boca) could be worth a look for you bud.

You say this is your last go till the update, is there one due of note?

[macca72]

Had Druissi last year macca and he turns into a really tricky player that can fit ink a few different roles. He become a top level player for me alongside another Argentinian playmaker, Luciano Acosta(should be at Boca) could be worth a look for you bud.

You say this is your last go till the update, is there one due of note?

Cheers mate, I'll be watching him closely. Sloth has blown me away so far, playing him as an IF(A) as I've hit an injury crisis and he has 4 goals and 3 assists in 3 games.

The game clearly hates me as I have just lost Byram and Berardi to 2-3 month injuries. No clue on update, I've struggled a lot this year getting the team to play how I want, and the 2 saves I had where I was in the PL, I was just getting battered every game.

Crikey - Sloth is on fire. Now read Played: 4 Goals: 6 Assists: 3 POM: 2 AvgRating: 8.75

[macca72]

Ok, so approaching deadline day and have been doing some scouting around. With Byram & Berardi injured I was looking around for a cover RB/CB (as I won't be playing Bamba) and found this guy.

Not setting any worlds on fire, but for 350k a current international who my scouts reckon is a decent Premier League player is fine in my book.

Still would like some cover at LB and ideally a new striker...

EDIT: I've removed my little rant

[Hoarau]

League Standing



Took me a while to get a tactical handle on the season, finding FM16 a bit more challenging to get a foot hold in, set ups that seem logical don't reap the required results you'd think they would. I actually like that though as it's making me try styles and layouts I might not veer towards. I was sitting 2nd for a wile but a few tough away games and a couple of poor results at home against the sides in the top six has seen us slip down into the playoff spots. We're one of the higher scoring teams in the league but on the flip side we still concede too many. Having played both Sheff Wed & Wolves I can see why they are where they are, both very strong, dominating teams. Hoping now I've played most of the top six I can get a run of games and secure a playoff slot which if i'm honest not entirely sure we would win if not for some luck.

Player Performance

Jose Valencia



Welshace, all thanks to you bro. I've chopped and changed his role so many times i'm surprised he's scored as many as he has. Settled down a bit now and gets vital goals, seems to score in bunches instead of consistently. Great find though man, wouldn't be having the season we are without him leading the line.

Sam Byram



This is my highlight of the season, with me liking Berardi at RB I had to think what to do with Sam. I had a look at the squad and didn't really fancy any of the right sided midfielders available so I decided to try and develop Byram into our version of Gareth Bale, in terms of Bale was a LB who developed into a "handy" LW. So Sam has become our first choice RW and he's handled it very well, beats his man, gets to the byline and puts in good balls. His goalscoring exploits so quickly has been an added bonus.

Now to get on with the business end of the season..

[Welshace]

Got a fair amount of time off work now, so going to start a real save with leeds, or attempt to.. been struggling to get into any save recently.

Will update with the usual stuff later.

[Hoarau]

Glad to hear Welsh.

I'm opposite, I have, no lie, 10 saves currently on my pc. This Leeds one is top long term project though.

Good news, bad news in my save... Mammana now has Leeds as his favoured club & declared his love for the fans for the time spent here this season, hoping that helps when/if I can get the money raised to activate his £6.5m clause.

Bad news, I'm into the playoffs. Brown trousers time.

[macca72]

Got a fair amount of time off work now, so going to start a real save with leeds, or attempt to.. been struggling to get into any save recently.

Will update with the usual stuff later.

Quick heads up for you Welshace.

He won't come in the first window (or wouldn't for me) but around October time he'll be interested. Cost me the quite outrageous sum of 170k.

A legend in the past for me, and look at those stats for an experienced dominating CD.

[Nicko Blaggo]

Quick heads up for you Welshace.

He won't come in the first window (or wouldn't for me) but around October time he'll be interested. Cost me the quite outrageous sum of 170k.

A legend in the past for me, and look at those stats for an experienced dominating CD.

Oh my. I loved Cahais. I think I do again. What a find.

[macca72]

Oh my. I loved Cahais. I think I do again. What a find.

I know. I'm now racking my brains to think why I forgot him in the first place, must've been a couple of versions ago.

You'll love his wage demands even more, you can get him for peanuts. I don't even care if he's Johnny-no-stars, his attributes are great and he brings memories

[Welshace]

Awesome Macca.. I did see him a few tries ago, from a list of previous leeds bargains I looked into, but as you say, wouldn't come..

He's looking great there for you though, there is certainly a lot less great players to pick up for that sort of money in the first window in fm16.

[Hoarau]

FM loves to mess with you sometimes... I Just know our mad Italian is gonna screw this up.



Just writing my end of season 1 update, but that could all change with this possibility.

[Blokeinleeds]

FM loves to mess with you sometimes... I Just know our mad Italian is gonna screw this up.



Just writing my end of season 1 update, but that could all change with this possibility.

I had exactly the same and the Tycoon ( a Danish business man) really did bring in the bacon. I was promoted in season 1 and opted for mid table finish. Was given £48m pre season then another £46m in Jan. Finished 11th. Given a new 3 yr contract at end of season 2 and a transfer kitty of £100m and £2mp/w wages! I've bought every version from CM in the early 90's through to now and this is the first time a Tycoon has come on board. I'm quite enjoying it too. Am 5 games into season 3 having spent my £100m and things are looking positive! Just had a £45m European tv investment to "raise our profile"!

[PitchPosh]

Hello gents, I blew through my first season at Leeds resulting in promotion to the Prem. Thought I'd throw my save into the ring. Here's a little retrospective on my first season.

Leeds 2015/16 Season Summary

The season ended up being a little more comfortable than I originally anticipated. While winning the league and gaining promotion to the Prem was always the goal, I was realistic in expecting it may take a playoff run or at the very worst 2 seasons. After a thrifty summer transfer window (below) and a handful of good friendlies in the preseason, we were ready to mount our attack on the league.

Transfers



As was mentioned above, my summer transfer window stayed pretty thrifty. Originally, Reed, Eagles, and Traore were brought in during the summer, while I kept the money made from the sales of Doukara and Bamba as an emergency fund pending any injuries brought upon the squad leading up to January. Thankfully I kept that money as I was able to shift it into the wage budget and bring in some loanees in McManaman and McEvoy for the injured Dallas and Eagles I had. No permanent deals were made as there just wasn't much quality available during January. While neither of them set the world alight, they performed their duties in covering for the aforementioned until they returned to the side. Hopefully there is a bit more excitement next season!

Final League Table



In the end, we ran away with the league. While not expected, I knew the quality of the squad could make it happen if we stayed injury free. Winning 4 out of our first 5 games made a fantastic start to the season, however, rough patches coincided with cup fixtures and our best runs of form came after exits from the Capital One Cup in the 4th round (Man Utd) and the FA Cup in the 4th round (West Brom). It was a 2 horse race for the title with QPR all the way up until March, where we parted ways. Their downfall began on the first of that month where they only won 3 of their last 13 matches, while we went on an unbeaten run starting in the middle of February, winning the last 12 of 17. At that point I was able to play some of the younger players in the squad and begin preparing for life in the Prem!

Star Players

I narrowed my star players down to a list of 3, with a few honorable mentions. These players, of course, were integral parts of our title run and eventual promotion.

Sam Bryam

An absolute marauder down the right side of the pitch, he constantly opened things up for us and delivered a boat full of dangerous crosses, a good portion of which were converted. Offense aside, his defensive work was top notch where he was rarely beaten. No worries on the right!



Stuart Dallas

A fantastic player for us all season, his stats would have been even better if he hadn't spent 2.5 months sidelined with an injury. He was played on both flanks and performed equally well on each. The quantity of goals was great, but the quality outshone even that. It seemed like he was the only one to score important goals the entire season. When we needed him, he was there. Fantastic player.



Bertrand Traore



And then comes our loanee super sub, Traore. It's a bittersweet feeling having a player on loan make the list. While he stepped up hugely when called upon to replace Dallas when he was injured, he was absolutely fantastic when coming on late in matches and made the difference quite a few times. Sad to see him go, but we wouldn't have had the same season without him.



Honorable Mentions: Mirco Antenucci, Lewis Cook, Marco Silvestri

Next Up



The Prem! Been given the standard £10m transfer budget going into the next season and am feeling like a tycoon took over compared to the first season. Scouting is being done and preparations are being made. I'll be back with an update of the second season soon. Hope you enjoyed reading!

[PitchPosh]

In other news, it's just hit Nov. 1 and I ended a 3 game losing streak with a 2-0 win over Man Utd. and Massimo has decided to give me an extra £26m to spend!

[Nicko Blaggo]

I had exactly the same and the Tycoon ( a Danish business man) really did bring in the bacon. I was promoted in season 1 and opted for mid table finish. Was given £48m pre season then another £46m in Jan. Finished 11th. Given a new 3 yr contract at end of season 2 and a transfer kitty of £100m and £2mp/w wages! I've bought every version from CM in the early 90's through to now and this is the first time a Tycoon has come on board. I'm quite enjoying it too. Am 5 games into season 3 having spent my £100m and things are looking positive! Just had a £45m European tv investment to "raise our profile"!

I'm quite envious about these tycoon takeovers. All I've had are rubbish consortiums who inject minimal money into the club.

[Nicko Blaggo]

Hello gents, I blew through my first season at Leeds resulting in promotion to the Prem. Thought I'd throw my save into the ring. Here's a little retrospective on my first season.

Leeds 2015/16 Season Summary

The season ended up being a little more comfortable than I originally anticipated. While winning the league and gaining promotion to the Prem was always the goal, I was realistic in expecting it may take a playoff run or at the very worst 2 seasons. After a thrifty summer transfer window (below) and a handful of good friendlies in the preseason, we were ready to mount our attack on the league.

Transfers



As was mentioned above, my summer transfer window stayed pretty thrifty. Originally, Reed, Eagles, and Traore were brought in during the summer, while I kept the money made from the sales of Doukara and Bamba as an emergency fund pending any injuries brought upon the squad leading up to January. Thankfully I kept that money as I was able to shift it into the wage budget and bring in some loanees in McManaman and McEvoy for the injured Dallas and Eagles I had. No permanent deals were made as there just wasn't much quality available during January. While neither of them set the world alight, they performed their duties in covering for the aforementioned until they returned to the side. Hopefully there is a bit more excitement next season!

Final League Table



In the end, we ran away with the league. While not expected, I knew the quality of the squad could make it happen if we stayed injury free. Winning 4 out of our first 5 games made a fantastic start to the season, however, rough patches coincided with cup fixtures and our best runs of form came after exits from the Capital One Cup in the 4th round (Man Utd) and the FA Cup in the 4th round (West Brom). It was a 2 horse race for the title with QPR all the way up until March, where we parted ways. Their downfall began on the first of that month where they only won 3 of their last 13 matches, while we went on an unbeaten run starting in the middle of February, winning the last 12 of 17. At that point I was able to play some of the younger players in the squad and begin preparing for life in the Prem!

Star Players

I narrowed my star players down to a list of 3, with a few honorable mentions. These players, of course, were integral parts of our title run and eventual promotion.

Sam Bryam

An absolute marauder down the right side of the pitch, he constantly opened things up for us and delivered a boat full of dangerous crosses, a good portion of which were converted. Offense aside, his defensive work was top notch where he was rarely beaten. No worries on the right!



Stuart Dallas

A fantastic player for us all season, his stats would have been even better if he hadn't spent 2.5 months sidelined with an injury. He was played on both flanks and performed equally well on each. The quantity of goals was great, but the quality outshone even that. It seemed like he was the only one to score important goals the entire season. When we needed him, he was there. Fantastic player.



Bertrand Traore



And then comes our loanee super sub, Traore. It's a bittersweet feeling having a player on loan make the list. While he stepped up hugely when called upon to replace Dallas when he was injured, he was absolutely fantastic when coming on late in matches and made the difference quite a few times. Sad to see him go, but we wouldn't have had the same season without him.



Honorable Mentions: Mirco Antenucci, Lewis Cook, Marco Silvestri

Next Up



The Prem! Been given the standard £10m transfer budget going into the next season and am feeling like a tycoon took over compared to the first season. Scouting is being done and preparations are being made. I'll be back with an update of the second season soon. Hope you enjoyed reading!

Fantastic update that. I'm looking forward to reading about what you did in the Premiership.

I've just finished my transfers for this season too. I'll put up the team later today.

[Lufcberg22]

Might have to start as Leeds after finally getting to grips. Using my own tactics. How has Cook, Mowatt, Taylor progressed for you all?

[Hoarau]

Leeds United : Season 15/16





Liking this thread, great to see the numerous different approaches to what is a fun challenge managing Leeds. I'm gonna keep updating from my save as its one of the more fun I've had going in the last few versions, working within the restraints gives a sort of "real" feel to it. As a Scotman I love the fight!

Overview :

Not the season I anticipated, especially after a less than stellar start. We had a good base to build off of which was one of the main reasons I choose Leeds. The lack of funds was challenging but I knew that going in, I instead decided to use an approach not favoured by all and make use of the loan market to really boost the depth in the team, it work out in some regards while others basically just made up the numbers, I'll go more into that later in my update. I'll start at the top and let you know our "Mini-Berlusconi" is still in charge, we only received on takeover approach which actually sounded promising with the potential buyer hoping to buy the club and float it on the stock market which the news item said would reap lucrative funds for the club. 1 week later it falls through... That was February and it's not the summer and not a whiff of anyone else taking an interest, hoping my exploits might attract a bid or two soon though. I posted up about with a news item I got saying a tycoon was eyeing us up, well he approached to buy us but that mad Italian ******* went and screwed us over again with a potential buyer, they couldn't agree a fee apparently so the tycoon stepped away.. Great.

I hadn't given much thought to the goal for the season, if I'm honest it was more of a consolidation season where I would use it to build a squad for next season to aim for automatic promotion and tie down the talented young players in the squad to long term deals.

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Transfer Centre :



Ins & Outs - Loans, loans and more loans! Yeah as I alluded to earlier I fully made use of the loan market, some where if I'm honest just filling in gaps at points, as I felt the squad was quite thin for the long slog of a championship campaign. I'll go over the stand outs so to not ramble more than I am.

Adrian Ortola



Missed out on my number 1 target Sondre Rossbach who choose Atl.Madrid, this couple with me not liking the look of either Turnbull or Silvestri meant i needed to draft in a body quickly, I scouted a number of keepers but the clubs either wanted too much or the players weren't interested. After agreeing a deal for another player from Barcelona I happened across young Adrian, asked for a scout report which came back glowing but more importantly a combination of Barcelona willing to loan him to me and the player him self declaring he would be very interested in joining on loan.

He's of course not a top level keeper, yet, but he does have well rounded stats and is an age with room for development which I've already seen thanks to the number of games he's played. He's a decent shot stopper and one thing I've seen on a number of occasions is his command of the area, despite the stat not being the highest when I watch him play he really dominates when he comes for a cross or set piece. His contract with Barcelona is due to run down and I'm definitely going to make an approach. If he doesn't stay number 1 he's definitely reliable enough to stick around as our back/rotational option. Great wee surprise.

Emmauel Mammana



I know him, you know him, we all know him. This was a pure punt when I put the loan bid in with a future fee, I couldn't believe it when River Plate sanctioned the deal. Due a number of factors, learning the language, my tactical chopping and changing plus having a bomb scare of a CB partner(Bellusci) it wasn't until the second half of the season when he really came to the forefront. Once he settled down he showed real glimpses of his class, strong in the tackle, flawless in the air and composed on the ball.

As I mentioned I've got a £6.5m release clause in the loan deal and I'm about 95% sure that I'll activate it, he's too good an investment to let slip. The next few years that's how I'm going to have to approach transfers, buy to sell basically.

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Competition Review :

Championship -

Terrible. That's how I'd describe my first maybe 5 months in this league, started off well as I was sitting 2nd after 8 or so games & things were looking really good, then I started messing around tactically and as you can guess it went tits up. Sank to at point until January as low as 10th, then sort of yoyo'd between 7th and 3rd right up until the wire. So close was it that I could have slipped right out the playoffs places on the last day if I hadn't picked up the points needed. As it was things went out way and we ended up finishing the season sitting 3rd, we got past first Derby County winning 4-1 on aggregate which put us up against the impressive Brighton Hove & Albion in the final. I really did think the final would be a step too far, BHA were so strong during the season in the two games we had with them that I wasn't totally confident.

How wrong was I?



i won't lie, delighted with it even if I feel we aren't fully prepared for the season ahead it was a great feeling to put our stamp on the three games leading to our promotion. Bit early yes and I would perhaps have liked another season to try and get more prepared for a survival fight back in the top league, that aside its great for the fans and the club..

Domestic Cups[/i] -

Less said the better, knocked out in the early rounds in both cups by Premier League opposition. Poor all round but I did have my eye on other priorities.

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Player Performance :

Squad -

It was thin at the start, with a number of bodies I didn't really trust if I'm honest. I made use of the loan market to fill gaps an tried to develop the really good young players at the club. Cook & Mowatt really did run the show, I'm dubbing them my "Xavi & Iniesta".. Bit of a stretch I know but they work so well and keep us ticking over. It's the many things they do well as opposed to any single thing they excel at. They really are the life blood of this club and I'm gonna do my upmost to keep them here. You know who surprised me, it's a similar story to Bellusci, in that I noticed a number of people get rid of him but I wants to keep him and see how it works out.. Casper Sloth, played him in front of Cook & Mowatt at the AMC position and he done rather well, handful of goals, handful of assists so happy enough with contribution. I'm gonna keep him around as a squad player for next season as he never lets me down.

Quite happy with Stuart Dallas as well, he runs endlessly and chips in with a goal here and there. He gets in good positions and either plays a pass or distracts the opposition enough to open space for someone else, which I find vital and really valuable. Gonna stick with him next season and let him have a run in the Premier league, most if not all of the current squad minus the loanees of course will get their chance to take the next step in the Premier League next year, it'll help having a squad that knows each other.

Managers Player Of The Season -



Sam Byram





Delighted with how he played this season. I wrote in a post in this thread a while ago how I was doing somewhat of a project with him and playing Berardi at RB. This allowed me to focus training Sam as a winger and play him at AMR where he excelled. Decent return of goals and assists for someone who started the season as a RB. He owned that right flank and really didn't cause opposition left backs nightmares most games, he was a lot more attacking than I though he'd be, constantly turning up in the box to either have a shot or put up a goal ball for someone else. Next season I may revert him back to RB for the first year, to make our defence a bit stronger, perhaps play him out on the RE in the cups and towards the end of the seasons of we're safe.

Signing Of The Season -

Jose Valencia





This was an easy choice, without Jose we wouldn't have got promoted of that I have no doubt. He was such a danger from the moment he joined. Thanks again to welshace for the recommendation, an absolute bargain. He had some dry spells but at time we struggle all over to supply and finish so I don't hold it against him. When he did score he seemed to score in bunches, if he got one he tended to help himself to 2 or 3 which is a great trait in a front man for me. Will definitely be sticking with him to lead our line in the forthcoming campaign, his valued has reached £5.75m in his opening couple of months in the Premier League so the sky's the limit.

A new FM favourite for me now it seems, anymore welsh?

Under Performer Of The Season -

Giuseppe Bullusci

Ooft.. He's hard work. I had all the intentions of sticking with him and making him club captain but... He's just such a bomb scare. I'm always nervous when he's on the ball and terrified when he picks up a yellow as I know another is just around the corner. I'm going against my better judgment and keeping him on next season and hoping the step up inspires him to push on and perform at the highest possible level. I just feel we need to stick with continuity and experience in this first season back at the top table.

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Pre-Season :

Departures -

There won't be many as mentioned before I want to give the core of the squad their shot at glory and a chance to push on at the highest level. So the outs will be those who are unhappy and those who I've been trying to ship on since last year. The likes of Bamba, Silvestri, Bianchi, Wood and a couple of others.

Great news is I've had no offers for any of the squad, Cook & Byram has had the most interest but no concrete bids.

Targets -

If i thought the squad was thin for last season it's sparseness is too apparent this time around and that's with a mammoth task ahead of us this campaign. I want to stick with the core of the side, both due to loyalty and the other being development of Cook & Co.

It's apparent we need a new goalkeeper but not sure if it will be a back up to our Ortola or if I'll try and get an experienced head in for this first season especially. I'm leaning towards doing the same for the centre of the defence, with the definite arrival of Mammana we really need an old hand to give us some assurance at the back, im currently eyeing a former Premier League CB on a free transfer or one of two no nonsense types on a loan/future fee deal.

I said I was gonna keep Sloth in the squad and while he was capable enough in the Championship last year I can tell if we are to survive we need a bit more of a creative spark behind our front men and on that I've been

Tactics -

I had great fun making my own tactics last season and I'll keep going tweaking things. I don't think this is a game where you can just keep going with one thing and not get found out, I'm making changes to shape, roles & instructions which while not ideal to most has and is working to some extent for me. At home I got with a flat back 4, two central midfielders, a winger on the right and an IF on the left. We're top by a SS to the right of our lone AF. I can post screenshots of anyone cares.

Away from home or at home again tougher opposition I tend to favour the exotic and I'm using a 3 at the back system. 3 CB, 2 WB, 3 CM's and 2 strikers. The two strikers is still iffy, I'm currently using a Poacher who's being supported by a TM which is two roles I've used before so that's kinda fun.

Expectations -

Survival.

I'm using this season to boost the bank balance and develop the squad some more, I've promoted young Jack Vann and he's already played twice which is great as if like to bring him more into the first team and hopefully by the end of the season he can cement a starting spot alongside Mammana and Bellusci in my back 3. There's one or two others who's names escape me but I'd like to bring them into the fold after their loan spells are up, keep the squad as home grown as I can as I feel that's always been a part of this club.

[PitchPosh]

Great season there for you, Hoarau! Great depth to that post, I enjoyed reading it immensely. Interested to see who you target for life in the Prem. I wasn't able to attract much, but I feel like if I were able to do it over my player knowledge would help me on a bit with that. That, and there is certainly a great wealth of value buys here in the thread.

[Hoarau]

Anti-football.

[Welshace]

Brilliant update mate... Would love to see your tactical setup.

[Hoarau]

I'm not the greatest with tactics but here goes, any obvious holes let me know.

This is what I go with mostly at home :





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And this I use in away games and against tougher opposition at home, I actually feel we play better in this set up.





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Another great result..

[higgins]

It's nice to see this thread so active, unfortunately my Leeds save has taken a back seat for now, but I'll come back here, sooner or later

Good luck to everyone involved.

[Hoarau]

I love this lad, 50th goal(in two seasons) for Leeds..