swansongs Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 He's spent all of my games either injured or on the bench, so no Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomenon Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 Season Two Review The League To say we got off to a terrible start would be an understatement. After finishing 5th in the first season I had my eye on possibly breaking into the top 4, but Chelsea brought me back down to earth with a 5-1 slapping at Stamford Bridge to kick the season off. From there it went down hill very fast. By the start of November I was sat in 14th and fearing the sack. Luckily we kicked into gear from this point and moved through the gears to an eventual finish of 6th. Again, we had the opportunity to break into the top 4 but lost a couple of games in the run-in. but overall after the terrible start we made, I'm happy with 6th. The Cups Once again the domestic cups were seen as a chance to rotate the squad and give some youngsters and back up players game time. We crashed out in the third round of the Capital One Cup to Nottingham Forrest, losing 3-1 at home which I was not happy about. Our FA Cup run lasted a little longer. We actually made it to the 6th round by beating Derby, Oxford and Norwich before eventually being beaten by Ipswich away from home. Not great cup runs but plenty of experience gained for young players. The European Adventure Finishing 5th in our first season meant we walked straight into the Europa league group stages. We were however seeded 3rd but managed to get a relatively east group of Atheltic Bilbao, Braga and Qarabag. We coasted through the group without ever really being troubled. Most of the group games we're played by rotation, backup and young players to keep my best players fresh for the league. In the first knockout round we drew Werder Bremen and beat them home and away in a 5-2 aggregate win. Ajax in last 16 was comfortable after winning 2-1 away, we struggled to a draw at home and went though. We then played Fenerbache and lost 1-0 at home to a Nani strike. I stuck with my weakened team for the away leg and managed to somehow go 3-0 up at half time through a M'baye Niang hattrick. The second half was a different story and with 10 minutes to go, Fenerbache made it 3 all and we were heading out. In the 92nd minute, substitute Gabirel Barbosa popped up to score a goal that would see us through to the semi finals. Milan were the opponents and the home game was easily the game of the season for us. We beat Milan 5-1 at home and went on to go through comfortably despite losing 2-1 at the San Siro. Then there was the final. The opponents - Man City. They'd finished 3rd in their Champions League group and dropped into the competition. In the league this season they beat us 1-0 at their place, but we had stuffed them 4-0 at the Liberty. So it was set to be an interesting one. I was confident.... ...but despite a relatively even game, their quality shone through. Devastated. Transfers The first season trend of signing a shedload of players continued as I looked to build a squad capable of competing on all fronts. I was very happy to be able to bring in some top class young players like Youri Tielemans as a replacement for Ki, Hirving Lozano as a winger prospect and in January, I took up the opportunity to bring back season one's best player, Angel Correa. He was not getting games at Atletico and was listed. I was happy to shell out. Player Performances So at the end of season one I mentioned how I had got a good first season out of Gabriel Barbosa but I wanted to see more from him in the second season. He delivered. The 20 year old Brazilian played 37(6) games in all competitions and bagged 31 goals, 26 of which were in the league. He missed out on the league top scorer by one goal to Diego Costa. He almost managed 8 assists and an average rating of 7.35. Another notable mention has to go to Jack Cork, who played as first choice at DM and managed to get an average rating of 7.36 over 32(3) games with 2 goals and 3 assists. He made the position his own despite fierce competition from the emerging Andres Cubas. Lastly, credit has to be given to M'Baye Niang, who came in from Milan as back up for Barbosa and played his part in the Europa League run. He played 20(18) games altogether and scored 19 goals. It's his Europa league record that stands out though with him playing 13(1) in the competition and scoring 11 goals and getting 3 assists. At 22, he will provide competition upfront for a few years yet. So it's onto season three.... The club made profits last season of £105m and because of this, I've been entrusted with a transfer budget this season of a whopping £53m. Crazy. I can't see myself spending it UNLESS..... Gabriel Barbosa is currently refusing to sign a new contract at the moment, and is saying that the squad isn't good enough to play at a level to match his ambitions. He has a £36m release clause in his contract and PSG are showing major interest. I will be gutted. I do have Munir signing for free at the end of the season along with a 17 year old regen striker called Radosevljevic from PSV who I'm singing for £8.25m. Onwards and upwards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansongs Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 At some point your career stops being relevant to a Swansea City thread when you make that many transfers. Who have you got left? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomenon Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 At some point your career stops being relevant to a Swansea City thread when you make that many transfers. Who have you got left? Although I agree that I've done far too much in the transfer market, as long as I'm managing Swansea I believe it's relevant. How I play the game may be different to yourself but I'm still managing the club. How boring would football manager be if you didn't spruce your side up with new signings? Players I am still using in the first team are Williams, Cork, Shelvey, Ayew and Grimes. Williams will be phased out in this season though. Just to continue this post... in the first two seasons and start of the third I've signed 25 permanent players for the squad. Since the start of the 2013/14 season, Swansea have signed 20+ in real life. Admittedly they haven't sold as many first team players as me, but I just wanted to show how it's not massively unrealistic. Every club makes changes, the only advantage I have is that I know that the players I'm signing are going to become decent players. The club doesn't have that advantage in real life. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansongs Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 As a Swansea fan (and trust member) I have the right to give the manager all the stick I want. Phenomenon out. How has Grimes developed? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomenon Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 As a Swansea fan (and trust member) I have the right to give the manager all the stick I want. Phenomenon out.How has Grimes developed? Haha fair point but I'm a bit of a fans favourite at the moment after my European run so you might be on your own! I sent him out on a few short term loan spells last season and he's coming along really nicely. Would like him to develop a bit more physically so I think I'll keep him around this season and try to train him in the right areas. Probably won't have the quality to end up being a first team starter but definitely looks to be good enough as rotation with a little bit of care. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomenon Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 How are people feeling about the real life managerial position? It's in the news again today that the board are considering Monk's position. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansongs Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I've not been impressed with his transfer strategy (neither has he by the looks of things), and his selections this season have been increasingly baffling. Bad results are one thing, bad performances with no sign of improvement are quite another. Gained a reputation last season for being able to change systems to good effect. No evidence of that any more, and he looks like he's run out of ideas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomenon Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 Some of the transfers made in the summer were odd. I feel like no-one at Swansea must have watched Eder before signing him because he's always been a donkey. How he's a Portuguese international is beyond me. Saying that, I'm glad he started on the weekend because it might give Gomis the kick up the backside he needs. I agree that he seems to have run out of ideas but I still feel we're too strong to go down, so I'd like to see us stick with him and and if things are still shakey at the end of the season then look at a change from there. Realistically, who is out there to come in? Would you take Brendan back? I wouldn't. Moyes? No thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansongs Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 1 point from 3 games against the promoted teams. 1 win since August, and that was a last gasp winner against a relegation candidate. We're in the mix to go down, make no mistake. Even the weakest teams in this league are capable of putting together a run and getting points. Something has to change. Whether Garry is the one to change it or he's the change that has to be made, we'll have to wait and see. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansongs Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 £12m is way more than I ever got Newcastle to pay for Shelvey. Nice work, Huw. Don't know if I want them to buy a striker now or leave that cash in the bank for my next career game after the update comes out. I'm a bad fan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaaamees Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Just finished my first season with Swansea. I am a huge fan in real life so I naturally picked them on this game but I wanted to keep the team largely unchanged as I am way too attached to some of the players. Here's a round-up of my season - just after Christmas I went on an eleven game run without a win in the league and it completely damaged my chances at continental football (gutted can't describe it). I did beat United 7-0 though so can't complain hahaha. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirManager Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Surprised not many people is Swansea. Back in the 2014/2015 season I literally they played the most enjoyable football in the premiership despite results. Always considered them for a save but don't feel it'll be much of a challenge due to their financial capability and players. May re consider shortly though as I would personally like to try them out Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansongs Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Swansea are hard mode now. Two strikers and neither can stay onside. I hate that PPM. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMUFC Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Swansea are hard mode now. Two strikers and neither can stay onside.I hate that PPM. How is the team looking in general on the update? Any large changes? Have been strongly considering starting up a save with them since I've started following them since they got Paloschi and Guidolin (I'm a big follower of Parma and Paloschi was one of the players who got me interested in them in the first place, when Guidolin was in charge!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansongs Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Gomis and Montero are probably the only significant downgrades, and they're still decent when used to their strengths. Squad is short on numbers due to a few season-long loans. First eleven is a solid mid-table outfit but you have to be mindful of injuries if you've got first transfer windows turned off. More money available than in the last database if you don't though, so can flesh it out with a few new faces without selling more. Paloschi looks promising in real life, hoping I can get him firing in my new career. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMUFC Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Gomis and Montero are probably the only significant downgrades, and they're still decent when used to their strengths.Squad is short on numbers due to a few season-long loans. First eleven is a solid mid-table outfit but you have to be mindful of injuries if you've got first transfer windows turned off. More money available than in the last database if you don't though, so can flesh it out with a few new faces without selling more. Paloschi looks promising in real life, hoping I can get him firing in my new career. Admittedly I have only been watching highlights of Swansea so far this season, but Paloschi looks like hes adapting very well, very strong for his size, and he seems to have a knack of being in the right place at the right time, a proper poacher! He's had a fair few chances already, and I think its just a matter of time before he starts banging them in, doesn't rely on pace particularly either so should improve as the years go by. Anyway, I might get started with a Swansea save, as my admiration for Paloschi is motivating me haha, along with fond memories of a great Swansea save I had the year after they won the Capital Cup, when they were in the Europa. I quite like bringing youth through, which Swansea seems to have plenty of, and they seem to have the finances to bring in some more promising prospects. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansongs Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 He looks like he would benefit from having a strike partner up with him. Think that's what he's used to in Italy. Not quite the physical lone striker Swansea have been playing with for the past few seasons. More Danny Graham than Wilfried Bony. Not quite the insult it sounds, I liked Graham's work ethic and Gylfi was great alongside both. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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