Dong21 Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 The pictures wouldn't attach to my fourth season update that I posted above. It has now let me do so, so if anyone is keeping track of my progress at Hull please scroll up and take a look! @Romers good luck with your Hull save - I've found it to be an enjoyable challenge so far! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Hey guys. Just got into a game with Hull. Basically I did the challenge where you start the game around Christmas time and take over the team bottom of the league. Which happened to be Hull with a whopping 9 points from 19 games. Have managed to get some results by switching to a 3-5-2 formation. In the month of January I got rid of Huddlestone (too slow), Diomande and Meyler (too crap) for about 6 million totally. Signed Lautaro Martinez & Giannetti in a double swoop from Argentina. We are 16th in the league now with 29 games done, just two points above the drop zone. Have some winnable fixtures coming up so hoping to put a few more wins together. The next match is the big one though - league cup final at Wembley against Tottenham. When I took over we were in the semis against Burnley who were dispatched 5-2 on aggregate. However I think we will need a mini miracle to get past Spurs. Really interesting to read about everyone's games! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 I'm in pre-season for what will be my fifth season with Hull but finding it extremely frustrating that I can't spend my budget. We will be competing in Europe for the first time so I would like to add further strength in depth. I have £42m to spend but I can't offer any wages to anybody because of the wage deficit. The board will not allow me to adjust my budget and move some of the transfer budget into the wage budget. I understand that I have increased the wage bill fairly significantly, but that has had to happen to get better quality players to come to Hull. Clearly we have a large transfer budget so financials are doing okay, I just wish they would let me spend it... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamjames_ Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 The joys of FFP. Could you plead with the board to expand the stadium to help in the future? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 @adamjames_ Good idea, but I already expanded the stadium two seasons ago and they won't let me ask again. Luckily the problem has sorted itself out! I just sold Henrikson to Everton for £19.5m. After that happened I went to the Board and I was now able to adjust the budget using the slider - it now looks like this (much more room to maneuver!): Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke4387 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 How are people getting on with Henriksen? I like him in the game and IRL and hoping to get round to a Hull save eventually! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 @luke4387 This is how Henriksen got along for me: As you can see he was a key player for me in my first four seasons, making a significant number of appearances. I always played him as a deep lying playmaker. In the fifth season I was reluctant to sell him, but a great offer came in from Everton and I now had Adrian Rabiot, Ruben Neves, Kristoffer Ajer and Marko Grujic as CM options, so I decided to cash in and reinvest the funds elsewhere. As you can see he appears to be having a great season at Everton, who are top of the Championship in March 2021. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Season 5 - Cup Success A landmark season for my management of Hull City as we won the EFL Cup and reached the Quarter Finals of the Europa League. My number one priority heading into season 5 was to secure the long-term futures of Kimpembe and Odegaard who had both been on loan at the club for the last two seasons. I was delighted to secure Kimpembe on a free when his contract expired and signed Odegaard for £14.75m. Throughout my tenure at Hull I have prided myself on making the most of the free transfer market and this season was no different, securing Sterling and Grujic in coups for the club. I reinforced my midfield by signing Ruben Neves from Man City. I spent most of the transfer window trying to find a top class striker who could take us to the next level. I ended up spending big on Gerard [Moreno] who had averaged over 15 goals a season in La Liga in the last three years. I signed talented youngsters Baker and Diaz to add depth to my squad. I added both Perotti and Baptistao on deadline day with the dual purpose of having back-ups if there was an injury crisis and to weaken Roma who were in my Europa League group! In terms of exits; I received big bids for Rossiter, Henrikson and Seferovic which I could not refuse and I was able to purchase superior replacements for lower prices. Hadergjonaj was unhappy so I allowed him to leave. I therefore recalled Wahlqvist from his loan, to act as back-up to Chambers. I allowed squad players such as Green, Gudmundsson and Costil to move on. Due to an injury crisis in the centre midfield position in late October I signed free agent Andre Martins on a one year contract. Martins proved to be a useful squad option. The headline event of the fifth season was winning the EFL Cup, the greatest achievement in the history of the club. The highlight of the run to the final was defeating Manchester United over two legs in the Semi Finals. We beat Bournemouth in the final by way of a stunning free-kick by Odegaard straight into the top corner of the goal. Winning the EFL Cup meant that we once again qualified for the Europa League. Competing in Europe was what I was most excited about for this season. After defeating Shakhtar Soligorsk and Heerenveen we qualified for the Group Stage. The Group Stage went well, with a highlight being beating Roma 2-1 at home, and we finished in 2nd place. In the Knockout Stage we defeated Spartak Moscow and Hamburg, both 3-1 on aggregate. We exited the competition at the Quarter Finals due to the away goals rule, after drawing 3-3 with a very strong Napoli side. Napoli went on to win the Europa League, demonstrating we were not far from winning the competition ourselves. I am very proud of our first season in Europe. One consequence of our EFL Cup and Europa League success was that our league form suffered at times. Quite often I would play my strongest team in Europe and rest players in the league. As such we finished 11th, lower than our two previous seasons. The board however seemed to understand that this decline was countered by our success in the other competitions. It was noticeable that our league form improved once we went out of Europe, for example beating Arsenal and Liverpool. As we will be continuing to be compete on multiple fronts next season we will need to look to improve on the strength of our second team. Above is the formation we utilised for most of the season. Against top opposition we would often drop the wingers back, this tweak helped us get some useful draws against top four teams. The above is also what I would consider to be my strongest eleven, although Grujic was injured for a long period of time and therefore Neves played a large number of games. The star of the season was undoubtedly Memphis who contributed 15 goals and 9 assists from the flank. Sterling also had a great season, scoring 5 and setting up 8. Other key players were Chambers, Kimpembe, Odegaard and Taylor. As mentioned previously I gambled and spent a large amount on the striker Gerard in the hope that he would take us to the next level. His time with Hull started badly and he didn't score his first goal for the club until late November. Gerard looked like he was going to be a real flop, however I persevered with playing him. Much to my relief, Gerard finished the season with 13 league goals (including a hat-trick at Anfield!). Luckily whilst Gerard had been firing blanks, loanee Baker was having a phenomenal season. The 20 year old scored 22 goals (the majority of these in Europe) and contributed 7 assists - I will be fighting tooth and nail to get him on loan again for a second season. During the campaign I was offered both the West Ham and Liverpool jobs, but I turned them both down as I am still thoroughly enjoying the project with Hull. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nextqprmanager Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Dong21, top progress ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Squad Update 2021 - Part 1/3 As I have now completed five seasons with Hull I thought I would share with you all what the players in my squad look like in a little bit more detail. Goalkeepers Areola is my first choice goalkeeper, however as you can see Lafont is of very similar ability. Right Backs Chambers is my first choice right back, with Walhqvist the young understudy. Taylor has established himself as the first choice left back. Young Tymon is my only player home-grown at the club. Centre Backs Goldaniga is club captain and forms a good partnership with key man Kimpembe. Phil Jones is a very strong third choice centre back. Jones and Maguire are important because they help make up the required home-grown in nation quotas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Squad Update 2021 - Part 2/3 Central Midfielders I am delighted to have four quality central midfielders and I am confident whichever combination I play. Grujic and Rabiot are most often utilised as deep lying playmakers and Neves and Ajer as ball winning midfielders, however this is flexible. Right Midfielders Raheem Sterling is my first choice right attacking midfielder. Bittencourt supports him, although it should be noted he is equally comfortable playing on the left flank. Left Midfielders Memphis is my first choice left attacking midfielder, often found cutting in and unleashing shots at goal. Cervi acts as back up to Memphis but also sometimes fills in attacking midfield. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Squad Update 2021 - Part 3/3 Attacking Midfielders Martin Odegaard is my first choice attacking midfielder, playing behind the striker in a support role. Diaz is the support option who I have had on loan from Manchester City this season. Strikers As noted in the season review Baker (on loan from Chelsea) has been my first choice striker, with Gerard often featuring in the Premier League. Compared to previous seasons, Berahino and Batshuayi have mainly operated as support options from the substitutes bench. I have not included the profiles of Martins, Perotti and Baptistao as they all started less than five times during the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 Is anyone else still playing as Hull? It would be great to hear how people are getting on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 You have got decent team there Dong21 Good luck in Europa League Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 Thanks @john1! Really enjoying this long term save 😀 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 Season 6 - Title Challenge My sixth season at Hull went even better than expected as we ended up challenging for the title, eventually finishing 2nd in the league! As you will see from the above, I began the season by signing a quality AM from the Brazilian league, Vitor Bueno, to challenge Odegaard for his position and once again raided the free agent market to snap up talented winger Rafa Silva. Along with these signings, I took regen winger Roberts on loan from Arsenal and was delighted to renew the loan of Dale Baker. I reluctantly sold Batshuayi, Berahino and Cervi - talented players who did not feature heavily for me last season - as I was getting good bids for them. I was happy to start the season with my squad after these minimal dealings, but when Juventus came in with a large offer to re-sign my captain Goldaniga I had to let him go. St Juste was transfer listed and a better player in the opinion of the scouts, so I snapped him up at what I feel is a bargain price. I also signed O'Rourke for potentially an excessive fee, he is a 21 year old striker with 5 star potential. You will see I loaned a striker called Causse, however I terminated his loan as soon as O'Rourke arrived. Frustratingly, I wanted to loan O'Rourke out in January but he could not go as he had already been registered at two clubs. On reflection I should have loaned him back to Ajax as part of his transfer. I released a large number of youths who had no future at the club. The signings that I haven't referenced in the 'In' column are youths with decent potential who I have recruited. I am conscious that I only have one 'home grown at club' player and this is something that I need to focus on. To this effect I persuaded the club to invest in improved youth and training facilities, these will come into effect during season 7 and should assist with this concern. In January quite a lot of my players were being courted by opposition clubs. I managed to persuade Kimpembe, Odegaard and Rabiot to stay at the club. There was also interest in Ruben Neves who had been a key player for me, but I had spotted Barkley was transfer listed and a suitable replacement so I listened to offers. I signed Barkley in preparation and then considered the best Neves offers which were from Bayern and Juventus. Separately, Bayern had transfer listed Kelechi Iheanacho and I had had a £12.5m offer accepted. I decided to request Iheanacho as part of the deal for Neves and Bayern were happy to oblige - I feel this was a great piece of business. Finally, Maguire had been complaining that he felt he had achieved all he could at Hull and therefore wanted to leave. I signed Carter-Vickers as his replacement. When I offered Maguire out I didn't get the offer I desired, so I loaned him out with a view to sell in the summer. I am absolutely delighted that we finished 2nd in the league and qualified for the Champions League for the first time. I believe the improvement in league standing from the previous season is twofold; (1) we improved the overall quality of the squad and my young players matured further, and (2) last season I prioritized the Europa and EFL Cups playing weakened teams in the league, whereas this season I did not. As well as things went, I do have some frustration that we were unable to win the league. As you will see from the past positions chart we were 1st at gameweek 34, we then played Manchester United and lost 3-1 dropping to 2nd. If we had managed a draw with them, and our final three games finished the same as they did, we would be champions. We scored 72 goals in the league, which is the most we had ever done so by a long distance. Equally pleasing we only conceded 31 goals, the least we've ever conceded. We also had a fairly successful Europa campaign again. We won our group and then progressed to play AaB who we beat 4-0 on aggregate. We went out to Chelsea in the 2nd Knockout Round. They beat us 4-1 in the away leg. We were winning 2-0 in the home leg and therefore needed one more goal to go through. We were going all out attack and they scored a late deflected goal, so we lost 5-3 on aggregate. Leo Bittencourt with the top assistor in the Europa League with 6. We were knocked out at the 4th Round of the EFL and FA Cups. We utilised the same formation as we had used the season before, with the above being an example of a common line up we used in the final stages of the season. Kimpembe was my key player, playing the most amount of games and getting the highest average rating. Due to the strength in depth of my squad I rotated heavily. For example, Odegaard and Bueno effectively job shared the AM position. They both had great seasons despite Odegaard starting 28 times (8 goals and 12 assists) and Bueno starting 26 times (9 goals and 11 assists). Gerard repaid the faith I put in him last season, delivering me 20 goals. Baker also got 16 goals and 7 assists. Special mention should also go to Chambers, Silva, Barkley, Memphis and Taylor, who all had great seasons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nextqprmanager Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Dong 21 - good post / signings ! btw how do you get away with one HGN player? ps. it seems that most cannot beat Man Utd on this game ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Fantastic season Dong Surprised to see Everton got relegated Not bad transfers dealing, I am sure you could have got more for Neves Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth1808 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Currently playing as Hull, almost completed my first season. Don't think i've ever struggled as much as I am here. Struggled for weeks with who to play where, what system to play and everything else. I didn't win in my first 13 games (6 draws at least) and couldn't find anything that worked. I kept changing between Hernandez and Berbatov (signed on a free) but neither of them scored a goal. Eventually Niasse buried but i'm since playing a false 9 with Maloney as the main man, that's how desperate i was! I've got a little bit better now and with 3 games to go i'm 17th but only 2 points from safety. I was in the bottom three up until about gameweek 33. Had a great F.A cup run but was beaten in the semis by Newcastle on penalties after an epic 4-4 draw. EFL cup i lost to Walsall.... Star player has probably been Robertson, at one point he was my top scorer, he's got 6 now in all comps with 7 assists. Maloney has 9 with 10 assists in all comps and he's my top scorer. Transfer market i got a bit done. Got rid of Meyler, Diomande, Bowen and Tymon on loan and in January i let Hernandez go to WBA for 8M, Evandro to Newcastle 4.5M and Elmo out on loan, couldn't wait to get rid of him. Signed solid players who have improved my squad but nobody has really stood out. Wanting a takeover soon although I have made a nice profit of 50M so hoping for some funds next season whatever league i'm in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 On 30/05/2017 at 09:20, nextqprmanager said: Dong 21 - good post / signings ! btw how do you get away with one HGN player? ps. it seems that most cannot beat Man Utd on this game ! Cheers @nextqprmanager! It's a struggle with only one HGN player, I basically have to register three less players for Europe than I would like to. The Premier League is less difficult as there are less stringent rules about registering under 21s. First half of the season I omitted Sterling and O'Rourke from the squad. Sterling was chosen because he had a 6 week injury - it still affected his morale though. Second half of the season I had to leave out O'Rourke, Iheanacho (cup tied anyway) and Carter-Vickers. Yeah United are certainly the team to beat. Won the league the last three seasons. They are still managed by José Mourinho after all this time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 3 hours ago, Gareth1808 said: Currently playing as Hull, almost completed my first season. Don't think i've ever struggled as much as I am here. Struggled for weeks with who to play where, what system to play and everything else. I didn't win in my first 13 games (6 draws at least) and couldn't find anything that worked. I kept changing between Hernandez and Berbatov (signed on a free) but neither of them scored a goal. Eventually Niasse buried but i'm since playing a false 9 with Maloney as the main man, that's how desperate i was! I've got a little bit better now and with 3 games to go i'm 17th but only 2 points from safety. I was in the bottom three up until about gameweek 33. Had a great F.A cup run but was beaten in the semis by Newcastle on penalties after an epic 4-4 draw. EFL cup i lost to Walsall.... Star player has probably been Robertson, at one point he was my top scorer, he's got 6 now in all comps with 7 assists. Maloney has 9 with 10 assists in all comps and he's my top scorer. Transfer market i got a bit done. Got rid of Meyler, Diomande, Bowen and Tymon on loan and in January i let Hernandez go to WBA for 8M, Evandro to Newcastle 4.5M and Elmo out on loan, couldn't wait to get rid of him. Signed solid players who have improved my squad but nobody has really stood out. Wanting a takeover soon although I have made a nice profit of 50M so hoping for some funds next season whatever league i'm in. Who have you got in last 3 games? I hope you can keep them up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 On 30/05/2017 at 17:36, john1 said: Fantastic season Dong Surprised to see Everton got relegated Not bad transfers dealing, I am sure you could have got more for Neves Thanks @john1! Yeah Everton have had a torrid time on my save. 15th first season, then 20th and relegated. Then spent three seasons in the Championship, eventually came up and then back down in 20th! Considering I got Iheanacho as part of the deal I was pretty happy with my sale of Neves Also, Barkley came in for much cheaper and has performed better in that position so I certainly can't complain! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 3 hours ago, Gareth1808 said: Currently playing as Hull, almost completed my first season. Don't think i've ever struggled as much as I am here. Struggled for weeks with who to play where, what system to play and everything else. I didn't win in my first 13 games (6 draws at least) and couldn't find anything that worked. I kept changing between Hernandez and Berbatov (signed on a free) but neither of them scored a goal. Eventually Niasse buried but i'm since playing a false 9 with Maloney as the main man, that's how desperate i was! I've got a little bit better now and with 3 games to go i'm 17th but only 2 points from safety. I was in the bottom three up until about gameweek 33. Had a great F.A cup run but was beaten in the semis by Newcastle on penalties after an epic 4-4 draw. EFL cup i lost to Walsall.... Star player has probably been Robertson, at one point he was my top scorer, he's got 6 now in all comps with 7 assists. Maloney has 9 with 10 assists in all comps and he's my top scorer. Transfer market i got a bit done. Got rid of Meyler, Diomande, Bowen and Tymon on loan and in January i let Hernandez go to WBA for 8M, Evandro to Newcastle 4.5M and Elmo out on loan, couldn't wait to get rid of him. Signed solid players who have improved my squad but nobody has really stood out. Wanting a takeover soon although I have made a nice profit of 50M so hoping for some funds next season whatever league i'm in. @Gareth1808 I feel your pain, my first season was a struggle and I only managed to scrape 17th on the final day of the season. Hopefully you stay up and then you can rebuild your squad as you desire and push onward and upwards! I'm also sure you will get that takeover soon as it is programmed into the game that the owners want out Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Just had a great bit of news, they are going to build me a new stadium! Interested to see what size they decide it will be. Also hoping that the cost of building it does not impact my transfer budget, as I already receive a lot less than my rivals. Thinking that if I'd have managed to win the league they might have named the stadium after me! Sidenote - Recently rejected both the Liverpool and Chelsea jobs as I am loyal to Hull! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 I am sure they will name the stadium after you @Dong21 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
enders357 Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Been really tempted to start a Hull save and seeing this thread - and especially the posts from @Dong21 has convinced me. Wish me luck, I have a feeling I'm going to need it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Good luck @enders357 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I look forward to hearing how you get on @enders357! It's certainly a good challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth1808 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 On 6/1/2017 at 01:45, john1 said: Who have you got in last 3 games? I hope you can keep them up! I had Spurs at home followed by Palace & Watford away. I actually beat Spurs 1-0 but got done comfortably 2-0 at Palace. Left me needing a point on the last day at Watford but that was assuming WBA won. They didn't and I got a point away so stayed up with just 38. I got a budget of 50M to spend in transfers! I wish Assem was this kind IRL. Here is who i signed I tried to get players in as early as possible and needed more bodies after the 6 loans expire. Most of them pretty cheap apart from Mere who had a relegation clause and Traore who was transfer listed due to Boro going down. Wasn't sure how he'd fit my system as I don't play wingers but i couldn't turn down somebody that quick! I set my expectations again to attempt to avoid relegation. Anyway, the season started and it was the complete opposite to last season! Unbeatenin the first 8 games and looking unplayable at times. I have since lost 5 of the next ten but 3 of those were United, City and Spurs. Stand out players were Adama Traore, Henriksen & Bruno Cesar (signed him last Jan). Traore had 6 goals and 4 assists in 11 but then got a 3 month injury, Cesar had 5 goals and 7 assists in 13 before he got injured for 3 months and Henriksen has 7 in 18 but his form has dropped a little since the other 2 got injured. Currently under another embargo and we're coming up to the January window so might not be able to do any business. A top half finish would be nice but it's very unlikely i'll get relegated so a third season in the Prem it is! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Brilliant start @Gareth1808 Decent signings as well Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smplfc123 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Like @enders357 I've decided to give this challenge a shot. Wish me luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Good luck @smplfc123 - I'm sure you'll enjoy the challenge! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ukchris Posted June 9, 2017 Author Share Posted June 9, 2017 Nice 2nd place there Dong, good to see improvement each season. And congrats on survival Gareth I found a little time to finish off the 4th season from months ago. Started slowly but by the later stages I was in with a pack of several teams fighting for the spots from 4th - 8th (the top 3 being some way ahead). In the end I had a strong finish and just claimed 4th position, giving me Champions League for the upcoming 5th season after missing out on Europe completely last time. That should help me keep this squad together and add a couple more, though it's this stage in a save I normally switch focus to finding regens. I decided to stay focused on a back 3 this save as in previous versions I've always ended up using some version of a 4231, 4411 or 442. This season I tried a few things but settled on a 3511 which brought my best results (more or less a 352 but an AMC in behind a lone striker). For original players I still have Robertson and Tymon at left wingback, and hope to keep them both as long as they want to stay. Robertson is still first choice with the big teams making bids. Mason is still here, but instead of being a key first choice he's now usually on the bench to come on at either MC or AMC. Maguire is a constant at the centre of my back 3 and has broken into the England squad as a result, with the top teams trying to sign him. I also still have Kuciak and Mannion as keepers, with Mannion going out on loan to get regular games for development while Kuciak sits on the bench as backup for Szczesny. Key signings for me recently have been Oliver (Spanish) as a creative AMC, Jack Wilshere as a creative MC and Marco Grujic as a great all-round box to box MC. Batshuayi also came in as new first choice striker to good effect, though I may look to see if I can find someone better for the Champions League. The aim now is to become a constant top 4 team and start bringing youth through. Oh, I also had a new Stadium set into motion which will be a 39k capacity. Not the biggest increase, but every bit helps in the long run Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 @Ukchris Great work qualifying for the Champions League in only your fourth season! Look forward to seeing how you get on. Good signings too - Grujic plays very well for me and Batshuayi did a good job when I had him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakarooney Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 As soon as I get my laptop I'm going to have to give Hull a go. I was going to try Burnley as I haven't for a few seasons but @Dong21's posts have convinced me. Wish me luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Good luck @Jakarooney! Great to see so many people getting involved with this challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakarooney Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 16 minutes ago, Dong21 said: Good luck @Jakarooney! Great to see so many people getting involved with this challenge. Should be a good challenge. I'll post on here to let people know how I'm getting on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 Season 7 - Champions League It shows how far we have come that I was disappointed to finish the season 5th in the Premier League! The highlight of the season was our run to the Champions League Quarter Finals. I was given a £40m budget for my seventh season with the club, I was a bit underwhelmed by this budget considering I'd finished 2nd the season before and qualified for the Champions League. To give context Chelsea spent £85m, Man City £185m, Man Utd £171m and Spurs £95m. I began the transfer window by attempting to renew the loans of Dale Baker and Phill Roberts, however both Arsenal and Chelsea rejected this as they wanted them to play in their first teams. I inquired how much Chelsea wanted for Baker, but they valued him at £115m, which was out of our reach. Baker went on to score 39 goals this season for Chelsea. My transfer activity this season was very minimal compared to previous seasons, mainly because I was happy with my squad after a successful previous season. I signed target man Crivelli to fill the void left by Baker. Rabiot came to me saying that he wanted to leave the club as he heard Man Utd were interested, I said no but this sent his morale to abysmal and he only had one year left on his contract, so I auctioned him out to the highest bidder. He went to Burnley in the end for £19m and I was delighted when he was rewarded for his greed when they got relegated. I signed Brazilian midfielder Hélio to replace Rabiot and the scouts rated him a better player than Rabiot. I signed experienced midfielder Rakitic as player/under 18s coach as a back up. I also cleared out Mannion, Maguire and Jones as they all became surplus to requirements. I saved £25m of my budget to use in January, as the strategy of spending mid-season worked well for me the season before. I signed Marcus Rashford as he was available at a bargain price and I was also conscious that Iheanacho was going off to the AFCON. Annoyingly after that my board took my remaining £17m off me as they said they had to repay debts the Brazilian owner had incurred buying the club. It feels like a shame that my hands were being tied financially, as we could have achieved even more. In April, 2023, the club was taken over for the second time. Hopefully my new chairman is more generous with transfer budgets! We finished 5th in the league and qualified for the Europa League. We were more inconsistent than I would have liked and suffered too many defeats, however it was a solid finish in the end. We exited both domestic cups at the 4th round. The real highlight of the season was our Champions League campaign, the first in the club's history. We finished 2nd in our group, with the highlight being a 3-0 win against Dortmund. We then drew Real Madrid in the 1st Knockout Round and beat them 4-0 on aggregate, which were shockingly comfortable results. I feel that our 2-0 win at the Bernabeu is the greatest result of my management tenure. We exited the Champions League at the Quarter Final stage, losing 3-2 on aggregate to Napoli. We won the first leg 1-0 at home, but they were then too strong away. Above is the formation I played most frequently. We also utilised a 4-4-2 formation against lesser teams, which allowed me to play more of my four quality strikers. Kimpembe and Odegaard both had brilliant seasons which I was really pleased with as I have been developing them since a young age. Both players even made it into the Premier League Team of the Year. Odegaard was top assistor in the league with 13 assists. Iheanacho had a terrific season, scoring 21 goals in 27 starts. Odegaard scored 13 and got 16 assists in all competitions, this was achieved in 40 appearances. Moreno chipped in with a very helpful 12 goals, with most of his appearances coming from the bench. Other key performers this season, who have not been mentioned previously, were Bittencourt, Grujic, Chambers, Taylor and St Juste. Lafont kept 17 clean sheets in all competitions, which I was pleased with. Unfortunately Bittencourt, Rashford and Taylor all picked up long-term injuries at the end of the season that may mean they miss the start of the next campaign. There has been no mention of my new stadium that is supposedly going to be built, since last season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 Season 7 - Star Players I thought I would share with you some screenshots of the star players in my current squad: Let me know if you want to see anything else from my save and looking forward to hearing how everyone else is getting on! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
femizzle Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 I have just finished season 1 hull with the march database here are the results Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
femizzle Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 So very happy with the position here are my transfers Jakupovic only left in the summer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
femizzle Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Here are the majority of average ratings My tactics were a conte style 3-5-2 that I tweaked after consulting on here and slack Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
femizzle Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Here is the tactic I alternate between control and standard depending on the opposition Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Season 8 - Champions After eight seasons managing Hull City I have managed to achieve something I once would have thought not possible and have won the Premier League! I had initially intended to complete very minimal transfer activity as I believed I had a good squad who just needed slight refinement. My transfer incomings were also dictated by my outgoings. Ajer wanted to leave for Man Utd, so I allowed him to go and replace him with a young DM with great potential, Roche from Celta Vigo. Spurs were persistent in their pursuit of Areola so I allowed him to leave, replacing him with Navas, a better goalkeeper who was cheap because of his age. A benefit of this deal is I requested a youth RB (Buisson) and youth GK (Harris) from their academy as part of the deal. Signing Buisson allowed me to cash in on Wahlqvist. Having lost Phil Jones in January, I decided to promote youth CB Kirby rather than sign a fourth CB, as he has great potential. I also signed Arsenal winger Nelson as he was an improvement on my options at the club and was available for a good price. I then realised that I had 5 first team strikers and often play just one up front, so decided to cash in on O'Rourke as RBL were interested. I was then was in a position whereby I had a transfer budget of approx. £45m but was very happy with my squad. I was going to start the season with the money in bank but towards the end of transfer window I decided to gamble in an attempt to win the league this season (which turned out to work!). I signed Manolas who at 32 was a short term signing, but he was of greater ability than St Juste who I sold to Arsenal. I also smashed the club's transfer record by signing young striker Santos from Arsenal for £35m. I was then back to the scenario where I had 5 strikers so I offered Rashford out on loan and Moreno for transfer, but nobody would take them sadly. In January I loaned out Rashford and Memphis as they weren't getting very much game time. In winning the league we got the most points in a league season during my tenure. Interestingly we conceded the least goals in a season (with Lafont getting 16 league clean sheets), but had scored more league goals in the season when we came 2nd. I think this demonstrates one of the key features of this campaign that we were more secure at the back with Lafont, Manolas, Kimpembe and Taylor being real standout performers. We were then more clinical in games than previous seasons with Iheanacho, Santos, Odegaard and Nelson in particular impressing. As you will see from the league stages graphic we spent most of the season in 2nd place behind Man City, often only on goal difference. The title was decided on the last day of the season when we beat Aston Villa 4-0 and they lost 2-0 to Southampton, with one of their players being sent off in the 15th minute helpfully. Some nice accolades were as follows: For the second season running, Odegaard was my key player, scoring 18 goals and getting 10 assists in all competitions. Odegaard got 10 MOTM awards, which is the highest total in my eight season at the club. My key goalscorers were Iheanacho with 21 goals and Santos with 16 goals, however goals were fairly evenly spread amongst the squad. There was creativity throughout my squad, with other key creators including Silva (10 assists), Nelson (9), Taylor (8), Sterling (8), Bueno (8) and Helio (6). The back four of Buisson, Manolas, Kimpembe and Taylor all had high average match ratings, which shows their contributions to Lafont's 20 clean sheets in all competitions. In the Premier League nobody won more games than Manolas (24) which demonstrates his impact. Manolas made 510 interceptions in the league, the fourth most of anyone. My first choice CM partnership of Helio and Grujic were in the top 5 for pass completion in the league. I predominately utilised the 4-2-3-1 formation that I have been using for several seasons. The above image is my most frequently used first team line up. I also sometimes used a 4-4-2 in cup competitions and against lesser opposition in attempt to play more strikers as I had so many good options in this position. We were knocked out of the FA Cup in extra time of the Quarter Final stage against Arsenal and out of the EFL Cup by Man City in the 4th Round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Season 8 (cont.) - European Success In our eighth season we actually completed a double by also winning the Europa League. We entered the Europa League at the Group Stage, having finished 5th in the league last season. We were handed a group that was not the toughest, which allowed me to play squad players in these fixtures. A particular highlight was that youth centre-back Kirby played in all 6 group stage fixtures, which is great for his development. After winning our group we progressed to the knockout stages where we reverted to playing stronger starting elevens. We beat Aalborg 3-1 on aggregate in the 1st Knockout Round and then beat Sampdoria (who we had previously played in the group stage) 4-2 on aggregate in the 2nd Knockout Round. We then continued our good form against Real Madrid (who we beat home and away in the Champions League last season) by beating them 2-1 on aggregate in the Quarter Finals. I then beat Marseille 5-2 on aggregate in the Semi Finals. I was particularly pleased about this result as OM frequently show interest in my players which unsettles them. Iheanacho and Odegaard scored in the first leg, continuing a theme of them stepping up and scoring important goals. We played Napoli in the Final, which had filled me with dread as they have knocked me out of European competitions in two previous seasons. We played well and lead for most of the game, however conceded a 91st minute equaliser after a long-range strike deflected off one of my defenders and into the path of Malcolm for a tap in. I was worried heading into Extra Time as my team were fatigued from playing the last game of the league season days earlier, however we were able to remain composed and the game went to penalties. The penalty shoot out was very low scoring, as we won just 2-1! Lafont was the hero of this game as he saved three of Napoli's missed penalties. By contrast the misses by players hit the post or were skied over, rather than their 'keeper saving. Odegaard was second to only Malcolm for highest average rating and most MOTM awards throughout the competition. Rafa Silva was 1st and Odegaard 2nd for highest distance covered per game, highlighting how hard we worked in the competition. Grujic completed the highest average tackles per game, with Roche 4th, showing we had to be more combative than in the Premier League. Lafont only featured in the knockout stages, however it is worth noting he conceded the least goals per game in the competition. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvertonblokesMobile Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 After rage quitting at Everton at the start of the 4th season I got a job at championship strugglers Hull who were 20th after about 12 games. I'm really enjoying this part of my save and currently we're up to 6th with about 12 games to go. Abel Hernandez is flying up front for me which is nice as I used to buy him as a youth a few years back so inheriting him now was pretty sweet. I pulled Will Keane out of the ressies to partner Hernandez and he's doing really well too. Tysom at left back is excellent and I'm hoping could get into the England squad in the future. Mannion is first choice keeper for me and can still improve, but seems to be a bit erratic. Huddleston is still around but only as a back up now. I'm hoping to get automatic promotion but I have a habit of getting rubbish form just when I need to push on, we will see what happens here. Overall well chuffed with Hull and my turnaround of fortunes since leaving the Toffees Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 @Dong21 Congrats on winning the double Such a shame you conceded in injury time against Napoli has there been any interest in Odegaard?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 8 hours ago, EvertonblokesMobile said: After rage quitting at Everton at the start of the 4th season I got a job at championship strugglers Hull who were 20th after about 12 games. I'm really enjoying this part of my save and currently we're up to 6th with about 12 games to go. Abel Hernandez is flying up front for me which is nice as I used to buy him as a youth a few years back so inheriting him now was pretty sweet. I pulled Will Keane out of the ressies to partner Hernandez and he's doing really well too. Tysom at left back is excellent and I'm hoping could get into the England squad in the future. Mannion is first choice keeper for me and can still improve, but seems to be a bit erratic. Huddleston is still around but only as a back up now. I'm hoping to get automatic promotion but I have a habit of getting rubbish form just when I need to push on, we will see what happens here. Overall well chuffed with Hull and my turnaround of fortunes since leaving the Toffees Very interesting move to Hull from Everton Which seems to be perfect timing for you Off to good start with Hull And hope to see you promoted shortly! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dong21 Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 17 hours ago, john1 said: @Dong21 Congrats on winning the double Such a shame you conceded in injury time against Napoli has there been any interest in Odegaard?? Thanks @john1! Yes that was frustrating, but at least we won on penalties in the end! Luckily I haven't received any bids for Odegaard this summer! After we won the league I renewed his contract so that gives me more security. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 10 hours ago, Dong21 said: Thanks @john1! Yes that was frustrating, but at least we won on penalties in the end! Luckily I haven't received any bids for Odegaard this summer! After we won the league I renewed his contract so that gives me more security. He looks immense What is your club finances like? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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