FM18: The English Football League Thread - EFL in FM18

[Jogo Bonito]

@Gunner 101 Nice update mate, and a solid start. Agyei was superb for me when I took him back on loan to AFC Wimbledon in FM17, I hope he can do well for you there. That's a lot of money on Franks (for a club like Blackpool) but you'll need the strength in depth so understandable. Best of luck  

[Gunner 101]

2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@Gunner 101 Nice update mate, and a solid start. Agyei was superb for me when I took him back on loan to AFC Wimbledon in FM17, I hope he can do well for you there. That's a lot of money on Franks (for a club like Blackpool) but you'll need the strength in depth so understandable. Best of luck  

I have a silly amount of strikers at the club. Oxford wanted Gnanduillet but he refused the move so here I am with 6 strikers on the books whilst playing 1 upfront. Delfouneso has kicked off so I'm having to give him game time but he's not really doing the business when given the opportunity. 

[Gunner 101]

I've reached the end of September and I think I'll do a monthly update as it might take me a while to get through a season. I'm away from tonight so won't touch the game for a week or so after today. 

SEPTEMBER 2017 TRANSFERS

The only transfer to take place in September was the departure of young goalkeeper Myles Boney on a season long loan to Maidstone. 

Fraser Franks has played in 5 games since joining the club and hasn't done brilliantly. I wasn't expecting much to be fair and he's probably just about delivering on that. He dominates in the air though which is a positive. 

Diego De Girolamo has been less involved taking part in two games but has a goal to his name. 

SEPTEMBER 2017 RESULTS

September was a busy month which started with a trip to league leaders at the time Scunthorpe United. We actually took the lead through Longstaff before we was overrun by Scunny. First choice goalkeeper Ben Williams was dropped following the match after two mistakes and hasn't played since. 

We went from top to bottom in the next game as we faced an away trip to Plymouth Argyle. We didn't play great, especially in the first half but a quick goal after the break from Vassell meant we at least earned a point. 

Oxford came next and we put in a solid performance to win by two clear goals. Colin Daniel was complaining about a lack of first team football and he took his chance with a goal. Unfortunately he also got injured in that game so has been missing for most of the other games in September. 

Our first back to back victories was complete when we beat AFC Wimbledon 1-0. Also the only two games we have managed to keep clean sheets in. 

Draws against Rochdale and Bristol Rovers were next with young Diego De Girolamo netting his first Blackpool goal in the Rochdale game. A mid-table clash with Southend to finish the month ended in defeat despite a battling performance. 

SEPTEMBER 2017 TABLE

September ends with us sat in a decent position in the middle of the table. Ideally we need to be stronger in defence but we're playing much better now than we was at the start of the season. 

[Jogo Bonito]

@Gunner 101 Nice updates mate. Given what you have to work with, that's a very respectable position in the table. More importantly, please can you get rid of those Oystons as soon as possible

I have finished my Forest Green Rovers season now, update to follow soon.

[Gunner 101]

Looking forward to this @Jogo Bonito

I keep getting teased with a takeover but still nothing yet! 

EDIT: Decided I’m going to start again when I return at the end of June. I’ll still be Blackpool but I feel like I’ve rushed it a bit and now it doesn’t feel right. So I’ll go back and give it another go. 

[hyrule_king]

First season with Ipswich and promoted, made no new signings as they have a very solid squad.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

23 hours ago, Gunner 101 said:

Looking forward to this @Jogo Bonito

I keep getting teased with a takeover but still nothing yet! 

EDIT: Decided I’m going to start again when I return at the end of June. I’ll still be Blackpool but I feel like I’ve rushed it a bit and now it doesn’t feel right. So I’ll go back and give it another go. 

Is the signing of Franks for that much money haunting you?

Will look forward to reading all about it when you get going again. Hopefully you can offload some of your unwanted strikers and get some better balance.

@hyrule_king I'm surprised it was so easy to get promoted, and to hear you say the squad is solid and didn't need anything. I'd have thought it might take more than a year, but well done.

[smplfc123]

@Jogo Bonito Eagerly awaiting the end of season update.... 

[Jogo Bonito]

@smplfc123 Hahaha, great foot tapping! OK, I guess I will get the end of season update done and posted tonight then...

Still at Bristol Rovers?

 

[Gunner 101]

@Jogo Bonito Mate I’m still haunted from signing Tom Hopper for more than a million and I’m sure that was FM15 or earlier. 

I think I just need to take my time a little bit more and now I’m a little more used to the game, having not played for so long, I think I’ll be better prepared. 

Get that update up will you! 

[Jogo Bonito]

So, with four games left to play, we were 21st in League 2. And it was tight.

But here is...the final countdown

OK, here is the final countdown...

So yeah, we scraped good results in the first two of these games to give us some breathing space ahead of the trip to runaway leaders Luton.

And we were 2-0 down early on as the League 2 champions tore in to us. But we rallied, and came away with a superb point against all the odds.

By the time we hosted Grimsby, we needed a point mathematically, but it needed more than a five goal swing to relegate us even if we lost.

Here's how the final fixtures panned out. Morgan Gibbs-White had been sensational and yet again saw us gain the points we needed.

Ironically, our 2-0 win over Grimsby, combined with an unlikely 4-1 win on the road for Newport saw the unlucky Mariners relegated on GD in front of our eyes.

And here is the final league table. Remarkably similar to real life, the top teams were up there and the strugglers, well, struggled.

Stevenage bucked the trend a little, but it played out fairly well otherwise.

Here is our progress and key performers. It doesn't show here, but Gibbs-White can take a lot of credit for hauling us to safety.

Playing as an attacking midfielder in a 4-5-1, or in a number 10 role behind a lone striker, his goals were invaluable as we saved our season. 

And here is a summary of our season in the various competitions.

The league graph isn't exactly impressive is it? But that curve is just about good enough to see me pull off a modest first season success.

 There will be some big changes in the summer. Contracts are expiring, and I'm not going to be able to keep all of my loan men.

Still, despite having virtually no budget, there will be plenty of new faces arriving.

Stay tuned for the next episode of...

 

[Gunner 101]

Great work @Jogo Bonito

Looking forward to your next update already. 

Great choice of pictures too. 

[Jogo Bonito]

8 minutes ago, Gunner 101 said:

Great work @Jogo Bonito

Looking forward to your next update already. 

Great choice of pictures too. 

Haha, thanks mate. I try and put a bit of thought and effort in to telling the story. I probably spend more time on the updates than playing the game though

I always use Roy Race as my profile if I'm managing in England. A club called Rovers is just ideal for him

Now, what's Tom Hopper up to, maybe I should go in for him? Luckily he's not very good even on a free transfer - and I wouldn't after his Leicester antics back in the day!

[Gunner 101]

@Jogo Bonito Yeah that’s the same with me, always spend the time writing out, especially back in the day doing my diary updates. 

Yeah that’s true, can’t remember what he actually did for me on the game to be honest! 

[Armistice]

11 hours ago, hyrule_king said:

First season with Ipswich and promoted, made no new signings as they have a very solid squad.

 

Very nice mate, I always see Ipswich struggling, usually ending in the bottom half of the table.

 

Looking forward to read your updates guys, nice work to beat the drop @Jogo Bonito

[Jogo Bonito]

@Gunner 101 I remember your diary updates, always a really enjoyable and different style.

I'm now on 1st August and I've formed my 24-man squad already. There might be one or two reserves on their way out if anybody is foolish enough to take them, but apart from that I am done early.

I've noticed that when players contracts expire and they're released, they don't show as players out in the transfer history of the 'all transfers' page. I released 13 men in total this summer, many of them from the first team or reserve squad, and have also sold one and loaned another out. It looks like I've just had those last two departures, which would be madness as 11 are on the incoming side! In reality I've shrunk my squad size, and spent less on recruits than I gained in sales. I must say I don't like this being different to how it was before.

@Armistice Thanks, very pleased to keep Rovers up and reasonably happy with my season 2 signings.

[Gunner 101]

@Jogo Bonito Those updates literally took forever to write out. 

That’s good that you’ve managed to get your squad in place before the season begins. I have to admit that’s something I need to do better. 

Strange about the transfer page. I always liked the “Where Are They Now?” feature so it would be a shame if players aren’t included for whatever reason.

[Jogo Bonito]

2 minutes ago, Gunner 101 said:

@Jogo Bonito Those updates literally took forever to write out. 

That’s good that you’ve managed to get your squad in place before the season begins. I have to admit that’s something I need to do better. 

Strange about the transfer page. I always liked the “Where Are They Now?” feature so it would be a shame if players aren’t included for whatever reason.

Yes those diary updates were a work of art!

The released players show if you pick the tab 'released players' but not in 'all transfers'. The 'where are they now' is there, but you'd have to be in the released players tab to see where those ex-players are. If they're in the sold/loaned 'out' transfers, there is a separate 'where are they now' for these ones. I guess if a player went on a free transfer to another club, they would show in transfers out, but all of mine were so poor that they didn't join another club so they're hidden on the main page.

 

[Gunner 101]

@Jogo Bonito I’d like to say I’ll bring them back but I don’t think I’d get anywhere in the game by doing that these days! 

Ah I see. I might make it to the end of a season before FM19 comes out.  

[Jogo Bonito]

@Gunner 101 Yes true. One full season? Nah, I can't see it myself. Anyway, as a taster, here is the released player list...the more exciting transfer pages will follow sometime.

Forest Green Rovers - released players ahead of the 2018/19 season

[Gunner 101]

@Jogo Bonito I’m determined to not do the 72 this time. 

Exciting! Don’t leave it too long! 

[Jogo Bonito]

7 minutes ago, Gunner 101 said:

@Jogo Bonito I’m determined to not do the 72 this time. 

Exciting! Don’t leave it too long! 

Well, when I said exciting, this is a League 2 team that just about avoided the drop and have no money. Don't expect miracles...

It would have been exciting if I hadn't bottled the signing of my man Mo Eisa for £275k from Cheltenham. I just couldn't do it having worked so hard to keep the wage budget down in view of the dwindling club finances. Instead of that we have recruited...ah well, to find that out, you'll have to log in from wherever the holiday is taking you

 

[Gunner 101]

@Jogo Bonito You’ve signed Fraser Franks haven’t you? 

[hyrule_king]

16 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Is the signing of Franks for that much money haunting you?

Will look forward to reading all about it when you get going again. Hopefully you can offload some of your unwanted strikers and get some better balance.

@hyrule_king I'm surprised it was so easy to get promoted, and to hear you say the squad is solid and didn't need anything. I'd have thought it might take more than a year, but well done.

@Joga Bonito I maybe back in the championship next season. If you look at the squad you start with you have Waghorn, Mcgoldrick and Garner up top. Solid 15-20 goal men if you provide them with good service.

Defence is very strong with Webster, Chambo and Iorfa on loan.

Midfield in Skuse, Adeyemi and Gleeson is very solid. 

In goal you have in my opinion the best gk in the championship. 

[OlivierL]

Anyone playing with a (lower) English team and uses the 'british or English' singing only policy ?

[smplfc123]

@Jogo Bonito Congratulations mate! Excellent job. Really interested to see how you fair in the summer with all those players leaving and not much money to spend.

Unfortunately it's been a bit too hectic for me to get in to a game at the moment mate, but when I do, I think your save has drawn me in to starting half way through league 2 like you did! 

[Jogo Bonito]

11 hours ago, Gunner 101 said:

@Jogo Bonito You’ve signed Fraser Franks haven’t you? 

Haha, not quite. I'm not saying Franks is terrible, just no better than many other L2 types that you could get for free or on loan. £70k is a big fee to pay for him in L2.

@hyrule_king I did try to sign Waghorn at Preston but couldn't afford him. Anyway, however you did it, well done. You say you might be getting relegated? I defy you to do worse than I did with Fulham in the PL

@Olivierlandman I pretty much do British only in the EFL. At Forest Green Rovers the only foreign players I have are both HG in the nation (and one of those is English really).

@smplfc123 Time is precious, agreed. If you come back, the taking over part way through a season gives some very different challenges in respect of inherited league positions. January starts give you a transfer window, you can often terminate any loans like you don't like, and the players with expiring contracts are that much closer to being released. Everybody has the original squads too, so it's not liking you're starting off with a team somebody else 'put together' for you.

I'll try and put my season 2 FGR squad and transfers up later. 

[hyrule_king]

39 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Haha, not quite. I'm not saying Franks is terrible, just no better than many other L2 types that you could get for free or on loan. £70k is a big fee to pay for him in L2.

@hyrule_king I did try to sign Waghorn at Preston but couldn't afford him. Anyway, however you did it, well done. You say you might be getting relegated? I defy you to do worse than I did with Fulham in the PL

@Olivierlandman I pretty much do British only in the EFL. At Forest Green Rovers the only foreign players I have are both HG in the nation (and one of those is English really).

@smplfc123 Time is precious, agreed. If you come back, the taking over part way through a season gives some very different challenges in respect of inherited league positions. January starts give you a transfer window, you can often terminate any loans like you don't like, and the players with expiring contracts are that much closer to being released. Everybody has the original squads too, so it's not liking you're starting off with a team somebody else 'put together' for you.

I'll try and put my season 2 FGR squad and transfers up later. 

Currently holding on in there. Cleared out alot of the promotion winning team in the January and brought in more prem experience.

[Jogo Bonito]

Forest Green Rovers - Season 2

Pre-season opposition wasn't very testing and so results don't give a big clue as to how well prepared we are for 2018/19

Unfortunately, most of those fixtures were with affiliate clubs and could not be cancelled. I've since cancelled most of the links so that next summer works better

In addition to the 13 players released on free transfers, I've sold Scott Laird to Portsmouth and got Morecambe paying the wages of unwanted Gavin Gunning

Coming in are 11 players, but at a cost of just £10k

I signed Ian Lawlor and Craig MacGillivray on loan last year, and I'm happy to bring them both back permanently as they're two decent keepers for League 2

Louis Dennis had a decent season for Bromley and can play a few attacking roles. He replaces the departed Keanu Marsh-Brown as a likely bench option 

Young defender Wes Harding is another one I took on loan last year and was happy to sign on a free transfer this summer

He's listed as a central defender, but I've only seen him as a right-back for Birmingham. I think he can play in any position at the back for me when I need him to

Striker Dan Newton has done well at non-league level and has looked useful at Stevenage. My other strikers are target men so he might add something different

Harrison Dunk has the ability to play anywhere down the left, and although I expect him to play in midfield, he can drop back if required

Jordan Tillson has been a regular at Exeter as a defensive midfielder, and he should provide competition to Isaiah Osbourne for that position

With all of these deals done, I was then able to fill out my loan slots with players I wanted for specific positions

The loan of Shrewsbury midfielder Bryn Morris had already been extended, as he had performed steadily for me in the last campaign

With Morgan Gibbs-White not allowed to return by Wolves, I chose Martin Samuelson from West Ham as a direct replacement for the attacking midfielder role

Joshua Emmanuel was always a target and the Ipswich man is likely to start ahead of long-serving Dale Bennett at right-back this season

Lloyd Kelly is an automatic pick to play at left-back, as the highly rated Bristol City man will flourish with regular first team football

And finally, after deciding that I could not justify £275k to buy Cheltenham striker Mo Eisa, I decided that Stephen Humphrys of Fulham would be great in attack

In truth, I hadn't planned to have more than three loan men this season, but some of my long-term targets signed last minute contract extensions at their clubs

Jordan Moore-Taylor (Exeter) and Dan Potts (Luton) are just two examples of this, as both were going to be first team starters here before my hopes were dashed

All in all, I am happy with the balance of my squad. I have 24 men capable of playing first team football, exactly the right number for me

I have understudies for all first choices, and in nearly all cases the back-up players will come in and perform exactly the same role as the men they are covering

I'm possibly one striker heavy (with five) as I generally play only one up front, and four of the five are target men so we may be a bit one dimensional at times

With Christian Doidge and Reuben Reid vying with Humphrys to start, it's likely that either Andy Cook or Newton might make way before too long

The target man role fits in with my tactic, but Newton might edge Cook out of the club as he should be a better partner if we ever want two up top 

I'll decide on this after seeing how the pair perform in the U23 squad, but other than that I am comfortable with how we are shaping up 

10 of the 24 first team squad are original Forest Green players (Bennett, Collins, Grubb, Doidge, Brown, Cooper, Wishart, Rawson, Reid, Osbourne)

[Gunner 101]

@Jogo Bonito Good stuff Jogo! I’m not sure what you want from pre-season but I’m happy just getting fitness up and not really worried about the opposition. 

Be interesting how Jordan Tilson does for you. I looked at him previously on my Blackpool save. 

[Jogo Bonito]

Something interesting has happened at the start of season 2 with Forest Green Rovers. Due to the EFL regulation change for 2018/19, each club must have one 'home grown at club' player in the 18 man match squad (does not apply to Carabao Cup, not sure yet about FA Cup).

My club doesn't have any such player in the first team squad, and there is nobody remotely close to being of this quality in the U23 or U18 squads either. None of the players I released or sold qualified for this either, so it's nothing I have done that has caused this issue.

I tried the scouting page with the added condition of 'home grown at Forest Green' and the search found six or seven players in a database of 120,000. Again none of these were anywhere near good enough (currently or potential) to be considered for the squad. 

As such I'm now facing an entire 46 match League 2 season with only six nominated substitutes

[Dong21]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Something interesting has happened at the start of season 2 with Forest Green Rovers. Due to the EFL regulation change for 2018/19, each club must have one 'home grown at club' player in the 18 man match squad (does not apply to Carabao Cup, not sure yet about FA Cup).

My club doesn't have any such player in the first team squad, and there is nobody remotely close to being of this quality in the U23 or U18 squads either. None of the players I released or sold qualified for this either, so it's nothing I have done that has caused this issue.

I tried the scouting page with the added condition of 'home grown at Forest Green' and the search found six or seven players in a database of 120,000. Again none of these were anywhere near good enough (currently or potential) to be considered for the squad. 

As such I'm now facing an entire 46 match League 2 season with only six nominated substitutes

Frustrating rule that one, can limit your options on match day if you don’t have a good youth setup. I had a similar problem managing Cambridge in a save earlier this year, had to have a youth on my bench who I never used as he wasn’t up to the standard 

[Jogo Bonito]

@Dong21 Yeah, frustrating. I'd not encountered this before. I've re-signed a teenager I let go and going to put him on high intensity training to see if he can create a future for himself. I guess £160 per week isn't going to break us, but it wasn't part of my master plan

[Jogo Bonito]

After guiding Forest Green to safety when I took over in January 2018, I was looking forward to a fresh start in season 2

I've made quite a few changes with players released and others coming in, but smart business has helped trim the wage bill considerably

I'm particularly happy with the fact that our five loan men are only costing £400 per week in total (all of that on Bryn Morris who returns for a second year)

I'm less pleased at having no home grown at club players, but have re-signed a teenager I let go to see if he can become my 7th wonder

Being able to name only six substitutes for 46 games is very frustrating, but the club just didn't have any players that had made it through the ranks  

This is the formation and tactic that I changed to in the last couple of games in season 1, after trying 433, 4411 and 442 as we battled the drop

I felt this really suited us, giving the midfield a chance to control the ball, and providing a bit more of a barrier to penetrate

The loss of Morgan Gibbs-White from the attacking midfield role was one that worried me, but Samuelson and Brown are doing a decent job there

The main thing I want from this tactic is to keep a good shape, be solid, and then hope that the wide players and playmaker can support the target man

Most of our goals are coming from long balls forward, and this seems to be working a treat with the form of our current striking sensation

As four of my five strikers are target men, it doesn't really suit playing two strikers. In fact Reid, Newton and Cook haven't seen a minute of action yet

That's unfortunate for them as they probably deserve games, but you'll see why they can't get on the pitch below

I'm delighted with this early set of results. Some of the points gained have been right at the death, so it's perhaps a bit flattering if you break it down

The results against Plymouth (CT), Crewe and even Doncaster showed our spirit and desire, so I have to be pleased with that

The graph looks a lot healthier than last season, although I have no expectations of how high we might finish

As you can see from above, Stephen Humphrys has been a revelation in attack. He has 16 goals already, with an amazing eight braces to his name!

 I was concerned that my first 10 goals all came from him, but others are chipping in now

Doidge has provided a couple of assists from the bench recently, but in most games I've not wanted to take Humphrys off (for reasons that are obvious)

His two goals against Plymouth in the Checkatrade Trophy both came after 90 minutes, and a penalty win finished off an amazing comeback from 2-0 down

If Humphrys form tails off a bit or he suffers an injury, I'm still confident the likes of Doidge, Reid, Newton and Cook can grab some goals of their own

 

 

[Dong21]

@Jogo Bonito Great start to the season! You've obviously created a formation that gets the most out of Humphrys. If I recall correctly I believe he actually came through the Fulham academy, so a nice tie in with your previous save. I look forward to seeing how you get on in the rest of the season.

[Jogo Bonito]

1 hour ago, Dong21 said:

@Jogo Bonito Great start to the season! You've obviously created a formation that gets the most out of Humphrys. If I recall correctly I believe he actually came through the Fulham academy, so a nice tie in with your previous save. I look forward to seeing how you get on in the rest of the season.

Cheers, I didn't expect it to be going quite so well - either for the team or Humphrys! I think he is a bit more mobile than a lot of target men (at this level) so he seems to add a bit of everything. As you say, he is on loan from Fulham and I am pleased with that as he never got close to playing for me in my season at Craven Cottage.

[Gunner 101]

@Jogo Bonito Great work Jogo! I’m excited to get back to my game once I’m back home! 

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, Gunner 101 said:

@Jogo Bonito Great work Jogo! I’m excited to get back to my game once I’m back home! 

Cheers mate, will look forward to hearing about it when you're under way again.

[Gunner 101]

@Jogo Bonito How have the strikers who haven’t played taken it? I had a lot of moaning strikers during my Blackpool save that kind of ruined it. 

[Jogo Bonito]

Yeah, what with the six subs issue, I have had a few moaning in the squad. Funnily enough only one of the strikers has complained so far (Reuben Reid). I think I'll look to get rid of Newton and Cook in the winter window as they're too good not to be playing. None of those three have played a solitary minute yet so they're not going to be happy. I would like to have Doidge in the team, but he seems to accept the situation as first bench option. He's now clocked up a massive 200 minutes of action

My second-chance teenager Jordan Morris has played 33 minutes off the bench in games I could risk him. I'll be amazed if he ever turns in to a pro footballer, but I have to try. He was the least worst of all the youngsters I released with the club grown status in place.

 

[Gunner 101]

@Jogo Bonito You never know mate, have to give it a try don’t you like you said. 

My plan is to try and keep two players happy per position and try and rid the squad of the extra players as much as I can this time around. 

[Armistice]

Hey guys I wanted to contribute to this section more but got myself involved in the Tactics section as I was having some questions to ask and never came back here to post what I did so far. I just finished playing, will post more pictures tomorrow if anyone’s interested but long story short I won the Championship with Leeds and now I’m preparing for Premier League. My scouts were sent since the start of the first season to get info about talented players so I created a shortlist obviously. I had to sell some fringe players, still have a lot of them to sell to save more wage budget but right before I saved the game and shut the laptop down, I received an offer from Bournemouth for Alioski and managed to get it up to 20m. I would have kept him probably if he wasn’t a moaner and had some annoying PPMs. But yeah I am looking for replacements for him guys, I need to buy someone who can play as a winger down the left or an inside forward down the left, so if you got any suggestions please let me know. I’m not looking to spend a fortune on the replacement, I tried to get Grosicki from Hull but they asked £13m for him so I rejected that.

Also if you know any decent all rounded strikers, I got Isak on loan and I’ve got some youngster as backup but he’s not reliable yet.

Cheers.

[Jogo Bonito]

@Armistice Well done on getting Leeds promoted. I can't really help much on PL quality as my one season there with Fulham was pretty poor.

If you want a left winger and inside forward for the left, I guess two-footed players would be better for you. Unless you mean IF for the right, in which case more possibilities would emerge. Ken Sema might work as a cheap option, or people like Andros Townsend etc. As for striker, you could have a look at those from relegated clubs. I picked up Charlie Austin and he scored goals in a poor side, but tended to get injured quite often. If you have a shortlist, you probably already have better options than these.

As a matter of interest, who were the stand out original players at Leeds in season 1?

[Armistice]

Well I tried to create a tactic to get the best out of Saiz because when I analysed the squad, he stood out as the best player. His return was 12 goals and 7 assists in 35 games which wasn’t too bad but I expected a bit better from him. Also unexpectedly, Cibicki was in good form when Saiz was out injured and he scored 11 goals and Roofe finished the season with 15 assists or so coming from the wing which again was a bit unexpected tbf. Jansson was very solid in CB and had a good partnership with Pennington.

Hernandez and Alioski were dissapointing and they didn’t perform too well especially Alioski, his PPM Shoot from Distance frustrated me a lot.

[Jogo Bonito]

Cheers, interesting to know.

[Jogo Bonito]

Forest Green Rovers - Season 2

I'm very happy with our results since my last update

In League 2 we have dropped from 2nd to 5th, but that's more than acceptable for a club like ours - especially after last season's struggles

It was disappointing to exit the FA Cup in Round 1, but a tricky tie at Bury was always going to be difficult

On the other hand, the competition I couldn't care less about is going pretty well. We're still in the Checkatrade Trophy, but have Chelsea U23'S next in that

I'm still playing the very same 451 flat formation and tactics, I can't see any reason to change it, but very occasionally go to 442 late on in games

So here we are at the start of the transfer window. I'm not sure whether we'll be bringing many players in, nothing is lined up at the moment

I've got a couple of sales due to be completed (Rawson has been awful when called upon, Newton just couldn't get an opportunity to play)

One or two more may leave, but I'll need to keep about 23 available for first team duties

And the final word goes to Stephen Humphrys. He's been sensational since arriving and has far exceeded my expectations

It was inevitable that his early form would dip a little, but he now has 18 league goals from 22 league games (25 from 25 starts in all competitions)

[smplfc123]

Wow @Jogo Bonito what a tune you're getting out of Humphreys! Sorry if I missed it, but role are you playing him as? Great update again mate. Reckon you'll hold on to a play off spot? You have a decent gap between you and Yeovil at the moment.

I've managed to get some game time back under my belt this weekend, but it was with Rangers to shake the cobwebs off before challenging myself to getting back in to the EFL.

[Gunner 101]

Great stuff once more @Jogo Bonito

Any chance of keeping Humphreys past the current campaign? 

Tillson loooks to be a little bit hot headed? 

 

[Jogo Bonito]

@smplfc123 Humphrys plays as a target man on attack in a flat 451, it seems to suit him. I've got a transfer window to slow me down now, but a play-off spot would be a good achievement I think, time will tell.

Good luck with Rangers, I tried them out very early on but didn't keep it going as all the players I wanted couldn't get their WP. I really hope you kept Graeme Murty on the staff there

@Gunner 101 I keep seeing his value drop as his Fulham contract expires in the summer. His original value was over £250k when he joined and is now only £115k. Last time I made an offer they wanted multiple millions though. But yeah, I'd definitely like him to stay. Tillson has been a bit of a concern, but in fairness I think it's the role because I only use him as BWM deputy for Osbourne, and both of them pick up plenty of cards. 

 

I spent all evening progressing from 1st January to 4th January, playing just one fixture as I was reviewing some transfer targets. So far, I've signed one new player in the current window, and I think he's a really good addition for Forest Green. The new man is a free transfer that I now have under contract until 2020 on a wage of £1.5k per week (he wanted three or four times that much when I tried in the summer). The mystery player has made well over 100 league appearances (all in the Championship) since 2010, he's a 27 year old Englishman, and plays as a central or defensive midfielder. Any guesses?

I've got a couple of other offers in, and if I go ahead on any of these deals I'll need to ensure three or four of my less important players will be on their way out in this window.

[Gunner 101]

Going to need some more clues on that one @Jogo Bonito

Looking forward to your next update already. 

I’m home for a few days so I’ve restarted my Blackpool save. I doubt I’ll get chance to update as I’m back away from Friday but will get through as much as I can.