FM18: The English Football League Thread - EFL in FM18

[robterrace]

Got a feeling that this guy may be going pretty far in the game, either at Donny, or elsewhere. 

[warlock]

OK... beer and snacks are in and ready for tonight, the allotment is watered, and I've managed to get in a few games to take us up the end of the transfer window. Let's do this...

Bristol City: season 1

On arrival at Ashton Gate I was impressed with the squad I inherited from Lee Johnson. It was pretty strong across the board, with some excellent players in defence, midfield and up front, and strong back-ups to hand. In fact, in some areas we were rather too-well endowed with five good CBs, and six(!) good strikers. But that also presented a problem with certain formations - there are no natural DMs, and only one natural AMC, so the 4132 and 4231 were quickly ruled out. With so many strikers, 'two up front' seemed obvious, and with four good wide players, it took about a minute to land on a 442 system.

If we were lacking anywhere it was at fullback - with no natural LB (Joe Bryan is arguably a better left-winger) and only Eros Pisano at RB. Happily, a quick look in the U23s revealed Scott Golbourne, a strong LB who started his career at Bristol City back in 2004, and rejoined from Wolves in 2015. I've no idea why he was languishing in the reserves, but in four league appearances so far he's been nothing short of brilliant.

With only £500k in the transfer budget, signing a decent RB seemed unlikely, but I knew from other saves that Swansea's Connor Roberts would be more than adequate as backup, so he came in on season-long loan for just £2.5k a week wage contribution.

We had the opposite problem up front: six strikers is ridiculous and destined to produce nothing but moaning and whining about lack of playing time. So after giving everyone three games each in pre-season, Cauley Woodrow was identified as the weakest link and his loan was terminated (saving us £3k a week, too). I'll probably move on another one in January when I've seen who can do what.

That would have been it for the window but on transfer deadline day West Ham came in with an offer for Aden Flint. His agent insisted he wanted to go, so I managed to negotiate the Hammers up to £4.5m and reluctantly agreed the deal. We still have full cover at the back so hopefully I won't come to regret this.

So here's the squad, as rated by my AM:

In almost every position we have either three-and-a-half star ability or four-star potential. Except GK where we have two good-but-not-great options. I'll hope to strengthen there in January.

Early results

No complaints here - the 442 has delivered a strong opening to the season with lots of goals scored and very few conceded. I was seriously ticked off with that 1-1 home draw against Millwall, who had started without a win to that point. We fired in around 25 shots on goal, but only six were on target and my strikers were left in no doubt what I thought of them. On the upside, that visit to strong starters Brentford was a brilliant day, putting five past them for no reply. More like that please!

Diedhiou has been astonishing with 7 goals and three assists in just four starts. And young Swedish striker Gustav Engvall has four and two in three appearances. 

So at the first international break we sit top of the table, although only by dint of our superior goal difference. Pre-season expectations from the board were a mid-table finish, and the bookies have us down for 11th but even before our blistering start I fancied us for the playoffs, given the squad. Now, I'm worried about automatic promotion. Why worried? Because although I like this squad, it isn't premiership material and I think we'll likely struggle if we go up, just as I did with Derby. I'd almost rather a close-but-no-cigar season that let's me strengthen certain positions and put together a squad capable of winning promotion and staying up. Or maybe I'm burning my bridges before the chickens are counted. Or something .

[nico_france]

First of all cracking work @Jogo Bonito!!!

After browsing this thread, i decided to take over Blackpool in L1, used to have a nice save with them when they were in Premier League

First thing, squad had been taken over by a local businessman, no money

The squad is not so awful for this level, starting with transfers disabled, i've been able during the winter window to sign both Zubar (DC) and Ait-Fana (winger) on a free to strengthen my starting XI and a few youngsters on loan from Liverpool which as become my affiliate club in the meantime

Secure a promotion via playoffs, best attack of the league

But now that i'm in Championship, the real struggle has begun, i'm unable to sign any kind of freebies or even loanies, the young lads from Liverpool (who play constantly) won't join me for a new season at a better level

Freebies won't even try to discuss terms with me, even random guys with dual nationalities who were playing in small leagues, like Uruguay

In and out i must have like 6 players in my first team, a little bit more than 1M€ in transfer and 250K€ for the wages

Currently at the beggining of August, i feel like it's gonna be a real challenge

I saw a few lads playing with Blackpool as well, any tips ?

 

 

 

[karanhsingh]

2 hours ago, nico_france said:

First of all cracking work @Jogo Bonito!!!

After browsing this thread, i decided to take over Blackpool in L1, used to have a nice save with them when they were in Premier League

First thing, squad had been taken over by a local businessman, no money

 The squad is not so awful for this level, starting with transfers disabled, i've been able during the winter window to sign both Zubar (DC) and Ait-Fana (winger) on a free to strengthen my starting XI and a few youngsters on loan from Liverpool which as become my affiliate club in the meantime

 Secure a promotion via playoffs, best attack of the league

But now that i'm in Championship, the real struggle has begun, i'm unable to sign any kind of freebies or even loanies, the young lads from Liverpool (who play constantly) won't join me for a new season at a better level

Freebies won't even try to discuss terms with me, even random guys with dual nationalities who were playing in small leagues, like Uruguay

In and out i must have like 6 players in my first team, a little bit more than 1M€ in transfer and 250K€ for the wages

Currently at the beggining of August, i feel like it's gonna be a real challenge

I saw a few lads playing with Blackpool as well, any tips ?

 

 

 

Nicely done! I remember the Premiership days, Charlie Adam was a beast!

From my experience of managing different clubs in the Championship, loan signings really are the way to go. There's a lot of decent players  on offer. Also, if you filter by players interested in joining you on loan in the search window, not all of them will even show up. But sometimes they may still join. I end up making offers for like 20+ players on loan and then getting 5-6 of them in. You can go through the reserve squads of all the PL clubs, and even some of the top Championship clubs. Sometimes, youngsters may be marked as hot prospects but not listed for loan, but the club will accept an offer. 

[robterrace]

As has already been mentioned, the post season/preseason time was going to be busy. Several players were released, and James Coppinger along with Andy Butler both retired and joined the backroom staff, Coppinger to manage the Under 23s, Butler the U18s.

 

I was able to convince the board to up the scouting area we could use, so, putting the recommendations of the analysts into action, I was able to scout several names that were recommended in Spain and elsewhere.

 

 

The first few names picked out were Portuguese midfielder Duarte Valente, who was highly recommended as the sort of player who would sit in front of the back 4 and break up play. At 19 years old, he would be one for the future, however, he had already made appearances in the Liga NOS, and as such, would come at a slight premium of £400k

 

Next would be a familiar face, Marcelo Djaló had spent the previous season at the Keepmoat, anchoring the defence alongside Harry Lennon. He remained on the transfer list at Fulham, and, for £160k, would provide us with a medium term defensive option.

 

The next player doesn't appear on any of the incoming transfer lists, being a product of the Rovers academy. Glyn Gardner came through in the most recent youth intake, and the 16 year old has a lot of what we're looking for in players, he would improve in coming years, but would get experience as the 3rd or 4th centre back this season.

 

Next on the incomings is Eoghan O'Carroll, the former Celtic youngster joining from Bury, where he had been an integral part of their last 2 seasons in League One. I'd observed him during our matches against them as someone who, whilst not being the quickest of players, was comfortable bringing the ball out of defence, and would also be difficult to knock off the ball given his strength. He will probably outgrow the club depending on his performances this season.

 

Thomas Glover is a goalkeeper that I'd scouted a couple of times during the season whilst watching a few games in Scotland (albeit, he wasn't the original player being watched), and he had played a big part in Dundee United getting promoted via the Championship Playoffs in 2018/19. He was still under contract for another season, so we had to pay to get him out of Tottenham, but, I see him as an upgrade on Lukas Raeder, and at 21, he fits into the type of player we can develop and move on.

 

The next player is the one I was actually watching when I spotted Glover. That being young Scottish winger Paul McMullen. He had spent the last couple of seasons at Dundee United, making over 60 appearances for them, and being part of the side that gained promotion to the SPL Able to play on either wing, and preferring to run at the defence and cutting in, he will fit the role I want my wingers to play. Again, we had to spend some money on getting him away from Dundee, but, at 23 years old, with over 130 appearances, he will develop well for us.

 

A few signings in the midfield were next up, whilst we already had Luis, Thomas, Rothwell and King, I felt we needed to upgrade our options.

First on the list is Ben Thompson. Signed from Millwall, where his opportunities had been limited over the past couple of years, a very fit player, he would be able to keep going back and forward in our system.

 

Next is Erik Andersson, spotted playing for the Swedish U21 side, the 22 year old had been at Trelleborg in the Superettan (Swedish 2nd Division) having suffered relegation with them in 2018 from the Allsvenskan. Another very mobile player, he would be more than capable of fitting into the side.

 

Regan Slater comes in from Sheffield United, making the move up the M18 for a club record transfer fee. At 19, he will be with us for a few seasons, and will definitely outgrow the club, therefore providing us with an opportunity to cash in on him. A more attacking minded midfielder compared to our previous midfield signings, he will provide some forward impetus.

 

Borja Sánchez is a bit of a shot in the dark if truth be told. He wasn't recommended by our analysts, but spotted by a scout when we were watching other targets. Signed from Castilla, and being a product of the Real Madrid youth setup, he has some of the traits that I want from a player, however, he is somewhat lacking technically, so will need work before becoming a regular in the squad.

 

Another free transfer coming in was Ryan Hedges, at 24, hes slightly older than a lot of the new signings (except for Djaló), but, is well rounded, and like McMullan, can play down both wings. He prefers playing on the right and cutting in, but, is mobile and slightly larger than the other wingers.

 

Last on the list of signings to introduce, is Rafa Mújica  A Spanish striker, who is a product of UD Las Palmas, spending his formative years at La Masia, having left the Canary Islands as a 15 year old. Technically hes a typical Spanish forward, with a good first touch and quick off the mark, he needs some work in order to make it to the top level. A free transfer, he scored 11 goals for Barcelona B in the Segunda B3, but, will fight it out with John Marquis to start the season up front.

[Jogo Bonito]

Great updates everyone, I've just been catching up with all your efforts now that the WC is over...

@nico_france Welcome and good luck with Blackpool, nice to see you in England.

[warlock]

Bristol City: Championship at the halfway mark

It's Boxing Day and you'll be astounded to learn that "it has been a season of good cheer for fans in the Championship". And to be fair, it has been for fans at Ashton Gate where we have managed to maintain our strong form of the opening weeks.

A good run in the Carabao Cup saw us beat Premiership Watford in extra-time before eventually succumbing away to Liverpool in the quarter-final. I really wanted a result there after Klopp dissed us in the media but they put out a mix of first-team and reserve players and were too strong. In the league, the home defeat to Leeds was disappointing, but losing at home to our nearest challengers Preston was a real sickener in a classic six-pointer. Fortunately, the team put that behind them and have since racked up six consecutive league wins while Preston have fallen away a little.

A 7-point lead at the top gives us reasons to be cheerful heading into the New Year.

Performances have been good across the board. Diedhiou continues to amaze with 19 goals in 20 starts (first time in FM18 I've used a target man!), and he's been ably assisted by Diony and Engvall with 11 and 8, respectively. The key creators are our wide men and all four wingers have made assists and scored another dozen between them. If there's a cause for concern it's at the back where all of the defenders have been inconsistent and - particularly away from home - we have a nasty habit of conceding early, putting pressure on the rest of the team to get us back in the game. The other identified issue is our astounding ability to find the woodwork from any distance (including from two yards out!). So far we have 535 shots on goal, and 50 have hit the woodwork.

You'll recall that I let Aden Flint join West Ham and wondered if I'd regret it. Well, I have. Shortly after he left, key CB Bailey Wright suffered a dislocated shoulder that left him out for two months so he's only managed to play 8 games so far. The problem has been compounded by the performances of fellow defender and prize idiot Nathan Baker, who has earned two red cards, missing six games through suspension. Separately, he's given away four penalties. A complete liability on the pitch, he'll be moved on as soon as I can finance a replacement.

Speaking of finances, things are tight - we're losing about £400k per month, and new contracts for several key players meant I had to move a chunk of Flint's transfer fee into the wages budget. Although there's about £3m to spend, I'm in that classic dilemma where we're looking good for promotion but certainly not assured of it. So anyone I sign now is going to have to be good enough for the Premiership, or at least a back-up role at that level. In the Interesting But Weird Department, of players who are willing to join us on loan, all of them are goalkeepers... not a single outfield player is available. Barstids!

[smplfc123]

It pains me to say this (in an inter-game local rivalry way), but excellent update there @warlock

Carry on the way you're going and the finances wont be tight for much longer!

 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, smplfc123 said:

It pains me to say this (in an inter-game local rivalry way), but excellent update there

Cheers, mate. Into February now and the slump is upon us - lost back-to-back games for the first time this season - but hopefully we can push on through.

/drums fingers/ still waiting for news from the other side of town, though 

[IgnorantLobster]

Lovely update @warlock. Nice to see a fellow Bristol City manager here. You mention a February slump. We certainly experienced that last season, slipping from 2nd to 6th

I have more faith in your FM18 abilities however 

[smplfc123]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

Cheers, mate. Into February now and the slump is upon us - lost back-to-back games for the first time this season - but hopefully we can push on through.

/drums fingers/ still waiting for news from the other side of town, though 

I'm sure you'll push through mate!

I'm a little too busy with work at the moment to get any proper game time done. Hoping that'll change over the next week.

[warlock]

18 minutes ago, IgnorantLobster said:

We certainly experienced that last season, slipping from 2nd to 6th

Ye gods, I hope that isn't what's awaiting me!!

 

6 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

I'm a little too busy with work at the moment to get any proper game time done. Hoping that'll change over the next week.

Ah yes, work. I remember that... 

[steveyisatard]

Have been giving a Norwich game again 4th after 12 games but hit a bit of a bad patch with form will put up a bit more detail later!

[Dong21]

Season 2021-2022 - Fulham - Part 1

I went into season 5 with Fulham full of excitement as we embarked on our first European campaign. As in all previous seasons the aim of the transfer window was to enhance the quality of the squad to take us to the next level. I also wanted to bulk up the squad in preparation for juggling the Europa League with the Premier League.

I looked into making Barkley a permanent signing, however Chelsea wanted over £50m for him so I changed tact and identified Hungarian Sallai as my new CAM. I was delighted to be able to snap up Wijnaldum and Odegaard on free transfers to enhance my midfield options. I offloaded Propper and Gustafson to make room in the squad for them, whilst also loaning out Johansen. I also loaned out Saborit after managing to secure my new deputy left back, Ochs. To my frustration Aurier handed in a transfer request which resulted in him moving to Monaco, as such I moved for Trippier to follow in his footsteps.

When the season ended I was very close to releasing Woodrow, however at the last moment I renewed and it turned out to be a mastestroke as I was able to sell him for a large fee. I improved my wing options by signing Dominguez for the right side and Under for the left. I reunited Timmy Abraham with his brother Tammy when he became available on the transfer list - I couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap up a talented English forward for a bargain fee. Finally I brought Rice in on loan purely to allow Jorge to go out on loan and develop.

With a large squad I knew opportunities would be limited for some of my younger players so once again I sent Zulu, O'Riley and S Sessegnon out on loan to the Championship to learn their craft.

After a slightly shaky start to pre-season the domestic campaign started well and we picked up wins in 5 of our first 8 league games. Highlights of this early period included a win over Spurs and a draw with Man City.

Things have since turned sour though and we are on our worst run I have experienced whilst managing this fine club. I am not sure what exactly is going wrong, however we are really struggling to score goals and win matches. Our barren run began when Dwamena was ruled out with injury for 5 weeks, however there should have been enough goals in the team to be able to carry us through this period. It is dissapointing because with the quality I have added to the squad I thought we might be able to push on for our highest league finish this season - this is now looking unlikely.

Above is the table at the half-way point. We need to start picking up some wins if we are to achieve European football once again.

The positive element this season has been our European campaign which has been running smoothly. We overcame Brondby and Thun in pre-season and were placed in a tough group by Europa League standards, paired with Napoli, Hamburg and APOEL. I was very proud to secure two draws against a Napoli side who are flying high in Serie A. I would of liked to beat Hamburg however both draws came in difficult circumstances so these were also pleasing results. In the away fixture we had to take off Wijnaldum, Grujic and Maguire who all got injured during the match and in the home match all strikers were currently injured to I played winger Dominguez up top. Two comfortable wins over APOEL were the key to our qualification from the group.

We now face Sporting Lisbon in the knockout rounds - Hopefully our league form is much improved by then so we can go into the fixtures with confidence. Wish me luck chaps!

 

[Jogo Bonito]

@warlock Great updates from Bristol City, I'm sure you won't let it slip. Delighted to see your target man doing so well, it's worked wonders for me at Forest Green. It's a shame about losing Flint, in FM18 he has been an excellent Championship level centre-back and would have been much reliable than Baker by the sound of it.

@Dong21 As usual, a very enjoyable update. You did well with Woodrow. I wanted to keep him and promote him but he refused to sign a new contract for me. It must be disappointing the way your form has dipped so dramatically, but you're still well-placed if you can build on that three match unbeaten run. I'm pleased to see you sign Trippier and Rice on loan, hopefully you defend better than I was with them in the squad though!

[robterrace]

Trying to write out the latest update now.. Should be an interesting season for me this one

[warlock]

23 hours ago, IgnorantLobster said:

We certainly experienced that last season, slipping from 2nd to 6th

I believe we actually did worse than that... here's how January and February unfolded (viewers of a nervous disposition should look away now!)

[robterrace]

Holy hell...

[robterrace]

Since the last update, there has been a bit more movement of players, with a lot coming in who will be on the fringes due to their age, and a lot going out on loan, again, to get experience.

The only first team player coming in, is full back Linus Wahlqvist, the Swede being transfer listed at Huddersfield, and coming in for £600k. At only 22 years old, and a full Swedish International, theres a definite resale value here.

 

Another with definite resale value, is midfielder Daniel Mota, at 16 years old, hes one for the future, but, with work on his technical side, he could in theory, push for first team minutes towards the end of the season.

 

As well as Mota, young Irish striker Nigel Girvan arrives from Crewe. Again, at 16, hes definitely one for the future, and, is capable of playing in any of the positions on the wings and the like. He is another who needs some work on technical and mental attributes, but, may appear sooner rather than later.

 

Charlie Brown arrives from Chelsea, who released him at the end of last season. A lot of scouting work was done, to see if he'd fit in, and again, he is capable of playing across the entire attacking midfield strata. Will need work, but, will get some minutes in low key fixtures as a rotation from Mujica and Marquis.

 

Ammar Ramadan is a bit of a left field option for my project, the young Syrian U23 arrives from Juventus, where he was in their U20 squad. He has Italian dual nationality, so doesn't require a work permit, and is one who can play in Midfield or anywhere in the front line.

Another free transfer, is Tiago Gouveia, a young Portuguese winger. A product of Sporting Lisbon, who has spent the last 2 seasons at Benfica, he left on loan shortly after to gain experience.

 

The last signing to mention is Jon Walters, who was spotted at FC Midtjylland in Denmark. The young Englishman (I'm guessing he appeared here due to their affiliation with Brentford) was rated highly, and this is reflected by the price paid for him. 

 

Most of those leaving on loan will gain a lot of experience, Darragh Shaughnessy, who would have found playing time limited at the Keepmoat due to Mujica and Marquis being in front of him, goes out to be first choice at Wrexham, and Ben Thompson, who signed to be a backup from Millwall, goes out to Luton, who are bottom in the Championship, where he will get match time.

 

There are a couple of players we're looking to move out, and a couple who were released. Conor Thomas and Jeff King have somewhat stagnated, and are finding it difficult to break into the squad. They couldn't get a move during the transfer window, despite having clubs interested, so, loan moves may be in the offing.

 

Released on free transfers were Miles Addison, who had been unhappy since the end of last season, and Jonathan Flatt, who, as 6th choice goalkeeper, was going to find his options highly limited.

[Jogo Bonito]

@warlock That's a tough run, but the few wins in there must be keeping you in the play-off hunt still? I've been looking around at a few other EFL clubs I want to try and City always come in to my thinking. I'm trying to get through one more season with Forest Green but I fancy managing some different players.

@robterrace Blimey, the Rovers revolution is in full effect! I'm not surprised that your 6th choice 'keeper was allowed to leave. If I have three I think it's one too many, how many players do you have in your squad? 

[warlock]

10 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

the few wins in there must be keeping you in the play-off hunt still?

Astoundingly, we're doing better than that...

I have no idea how, but we never lost top spot. Preston narrowed our lead - at one point we were top only on GD - but they couldn't amass enough points to take top. Since that run we've picked up a little, with four wins, two draws and two losses in the last eight games, and with four to go, we're still two points ahead of Preston, and seven ahead of Ipswich for the automatic promotion spot.

The disturbing thing is that I have no idea what happened. The wisdom in the tactics forum is that teams who underestimated you in the first half of the season suddenly start playing more cautiously. But that didn't happen. Stronger teams kept attacking, weaker teams often (but not always) played defensive and from January through March we just couldn't beat enough of them. What I know happened is that the strikers suddenly struggled, the winger support fell away and weren't creating, and all eight of my defensive players turned to jelly. Maybe early nerves, leading to a loss of confidence as results dried up? Who knows?

I also can't explain our first game in March. I didn't change much tactically, and the team was the same squad rotation, and we beat Sheffield Wednesday 5-0. Next game we went to Deepdale for the return six-pointer against Preston and - after they went down to 10 men early in the second half - just secured a 2-1 with late winner. Great, we're back on track.

Next we went to bottom-of-the-table Burton - and lost.

Normally after the slump ends I'm confident that we'll get back to the early season form, but I have no such confidence now. With four games to play I have no idea how we'll do game-to-game, let alone to the close of the season. We're guaranteed a playoff spot, but beyond that we could finish anywhere between first and fifth. We shall see...

[robterrace]

35 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@warlock That's a tough run, but the few wins in there must be keeping you in the play-off hunt still? I've been looking around at a few other EFL clubs I want to try and City always come in to my thinking. I'm trying to get through one more season with Forest Green but I fancy managing some different players.

@robterrace Blimey, the Rovers revolution is in full effect! I'm not surprised that your 6th choice 'keeper was allowed to leave. If I have three I think it's one too many, how many players do you have in your squad? 

About 30, of which 20 are in the first team rotation. Got 3 keepers left now, had far too many.

[Jogo Bonito]

Rob, I agree three is a fair number unless you plan on sticking a couple in goal!

@warlock Wow, incredible you never slipped off the top. It's really strange how results are all over the place, but overall to be top after 42 games is still an outstanding season. Next season, if you go up though...

[warlock]

Just now, Jogo Bonito said:

unless you plan on sticking  couple in goal!

Would have helped me out lately! 

 

1 minute ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Next season, if you go up though...

Yeah, I know. But having said at the beginning I wasn't sure about promotion, to be so close now means I really want it. And to hell with the consequences .

[Jogo Bonito]

Season 2020/2021 Pre-Season

Season 4 results (Championship)

Season 4 progress so far

 

After promotion from League 1, we had been given a generous transfer budget of £2.32 million for our inaugural Championship season. The excitement was tempered slightly by the fact that we would have to play at Swindon (in the UK's most dangerous county of Wiltshire) for the majority of the season due to stadium expansion plans.

All of my transfer business was done by 10th July, and the only money spent was £205,000 on young centre-back Ben Wilmot. Ben will continue his development with the U23 squad and has yet to feature for the first team this season. In addition to free transfers Ben Stevenson and Jamal Lowe, the other recruits are all on loan. Of all the signings, only Ethan Ampadu, Ezri Konsa and Calvin Miller are regulars, but their presence in defence has seen much-improved performances from our back four. 

As the graph shows, our league position has dipped quite a bit after an excellent start to our campaign. However, the graph doesn't tell the full story, as we are frequently playing on Sunday's due to the ground sharing with Swindon. Points picked up a day late have an impact here, but I'm very satisfied with our comfortable mid-table position.

Formation wise, it's been the same 442 that worked well last season, as this allows Stephen Humphrys and Mo Eisa to continue their goal-laden partnership in attack. Eisa missed several weeks after picking up an injury in the early win over West Brom, but still sees himself top of the Championship scoring charts due to his consistently impressive form. Humphrys has also maintained his superb form with Rovers, and this is clearly still the real strength of our team. However, the defence is now looking better than at any time under my management of the club, so these two factors are allowing us to enjoy a fruitful season so far.

[PJ Bluenose 4 Ever]

Hi,

I will be starting a game with AFC Wimbledon later.

Just wondering if there’s any key free agents to sign or any good loans that I can pick up?

[Dong21]

@Jogo Bonito Great start to your Championship campaign, especially considering you have barely spent a drop of your budget and have stuck with most of your team that gained promotion. Were you not tempted to splash the cash? I look forward seeing how you get on in the rest of your season!

[warlock]

4 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Formation wise, it's been the same 442 that worked well last season, as this allows Stephen Humphrys and Mo Eisa to continue their goal-laden partnership in attack.

That's a pretty good start... what are you expected to achieve? Looking like a solid mid-table finish at the moment. Encouraging that you've only failed to score in two games.

From my  own experiences, I know it can be tough to find good Championship defenders for less than £2m (and I guess as the division's new boys your rep will make it tricky to attract good loan signings). Here's hoping your gunslingers up front can outscore the opposition.

[robterrace]

I will say that this guy is becoming my Iniesta type player in the middle... Mainly due to me working on his PPMs..  

[warlock]

Bristol City: Championship, end of season 1

When we last left our intrepid Bristolians, we were top by two points with four games to play. After a torrid few months to start 2018, I had no confidence and could only hope that the boys would see us through. Well, we weren't great:

Not very convincing, eh? But would it be enough?

Yes! As poor as we were, Preston were equally poor and we hung on to win the Championship by our fingernails.

Even poorer than that was Diedhiou's second half of the season, scoring - by his standards - a measly six goals in the last 15 games. Even so, I'd have said he was our most important player. What do I know...

So, yet again, I prepare for life in the Premiership with a team that isn't well-suited to it. After doing it with Wolves (twice!) and Derby, you'd think I'd know what I was doing now, but this one seems tougher than ever. My feeling is that our strikers and wingers can take the plaudits for the success; our defence has been poor - even for the Championship, and I have no confidence they can survive in the Premiership. Equally, central midfield have not exactly impressed, and we definitely need an upgrade at goalkeeper. So we need a lot of strengthening in key areas of the pitch.

On the upside, I have been given £30m to strengthen the squad, and I already have a couple of outbound transfers that will add a couple of million to that. Even better, there appear to be a number of good players on the transfer list so I'm hopeful that we can do some business and end up better than we are now. Financially, we end the season only £200k in the red, and I know that we'll rapidly turn that around with Premiership TV money.

When I started this save, I said it was time a city like Bristol had a team in the top flight. Whatever happens, I've given them that!

[robterrace]

I like this game at times

[steveyisatard]

11 minutes ago, robterrace said:

I like this game at times

All those clauses though, so much money to spend!

[karanhsingh]

Nice updates guys! 

@warlock - super stuff with promotion! I am sure your team will be fine in the Premier league as well, should be able to attract better quality players. Or are you going to be keeping faith with the guys who got the club up?

@robterrace - you seem to love a lot of wheeling & dealing! I could never deal with a squad of more than 20 players, don't know how you do it. How are you getting on in the league?

@Joga Bonito - good stuff with Forest Green! which league did you start off in again? I know it's really difficult to keep making the step up. I remember getting to the end of summer with AFC Wimbledon in the Championship and just not being able to attract the kind of players I needed to. Unfortunately ended up deleting all my saves when my computer ran out of space. Tempted to give it another crack though

[robterrace]

8 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Nice updates guys! 

@warlock - super stuff with promotion! I am sure your team will be fine in the Premier league as well, should be able to attract better quality players. Or are you going to be keeping faith with the guys who got the club up?

@robterrace - you seem to love a lot of wheeling & dealing! I could never deal with a squad of more than 20 players, don't know how you do it. How are you getting on in the league?

@Joga Bonito - good stuff with Forest Green! which league did you start off in again? I know it's really difficult to keep making the step up. I remember getting to the end of summer with AFC Wimbledon in the Championship and just not being able to attract the kind of players I needed to. Unfortunately ended up deleting all my saves when my computer ran out of space. Tempted to give it another crack though

At the moment, I'm top half of the table. Set a target this season of avoiding relegation and being in the midtable mix. A lot of the deals I'm making are for players that will probably only have a couple of years at the club. I've got interest in a couple of my better players now, so I'm working down my list of targets to see who I can replace them with if they go, but, at the same time, I've picked up some youngsters just to flesh out the U23 and U18 squads.

I've got a couple of players called up for U21 squads, including a 16 year old in the England U21s (Jon Walters, for those who saw my earlier post), and hes nearly ready for first team football now, which I'll probably start to do in the coming weeks.

The first team squad is probably about 20-25 players, but, only about 16/17 are in regular use.

[robterrace]

Also had a 'Brexit Update' come through. Looks like we're heading along the lines of keeping it the same as it is. Which means I can still shop abroad for some players

[robterrace]

January has come and gone, and with it, the majority of our first season in the Championship.

My board have come through once more, paying to upgrade the youth facilities, which will come at the end of the season, as well as getting me an affiliate in Croatia, in Primorac from the Druga Liga. They're not at the standard of Dinamo or Hadjuk, but, they give me a slightly different option in youth recruitment and the like.

 

 

As you can see from the table above, we've taken pretty well to Championship football. Scoring the second highest amount of goals, and having one of the better defences in the division. My board still want me to avoid relegation, so, I'll still aim for that

 

In terms of transfers, Jeff King has left to go to Colchester, and Conor Thomas has departed to Burton Albion on loan. Coming in, have been Ismahil Akinade from Waterford in Ireland on a free transfer (mainly to provide some cover on the wing), and Dutch youngster Perr Schuurs, from Ajax, who joins for a club record fee of £5m (£3m up front, plus £2m in installments). He can drop either into the back 4, or in the defensive midfield role, depending on where he is needed. At 20, he is one for the future, which is recognised with the 3 and a half year contract he signed.

 

Moves have also been made for Portuguese central midfielder Tomás Azevedo, from Setubal, who fits into the strong, team orientated player that will do well in the team. At 19, again, he is one for the future, but, I have also earmarked him as a potential replacement for Miguel Luis, should anyone come in for him in the summer.

 

Also signing in the summer, on a free transfer, is 22 year old German midfielder, Max Besuschkow, who can play in all midfield roles, and is particularly proficient in the centre. Like most German players, he is technically outstanding, and will hopefully provide drive going forward in the team.

 

 

Of course, these are the main moves, also coming in, on loan, is 23 year old Dutch striker, Richairo Zivkovic, from Oostende until the end of the season. Whilst I've been getting goals from Marquis, and to a slightly lesser extent, Mujica, Zivkovic provides a bit of pace so that if I want to mix it up, and get at the opposition a bit, he can use his pace to get behind the line, and cause trouble for the defence. He comes to England averaging a goal just under every 3 games, and if he can keep that rate up until the end of the season, he'll be fine.

 

 

So, until the end of the season, the objective will be to keep learning about my side, and push for the playoffs. I won't be disappointed should we fail to make it, as anything better than a relegation battle is a win.

 

[steveyisatard]

Anyone played as Norwich and found any good tactics or players that work?

[Dong21]

Season 2021-2022 - Fulham - Part 2

I have now concluded a season of highs and lows!

Only two transfers incoming during the January transfer window. I pre-arranged a deal in October for talented young defensive midfielder González after spotting an attractive release fee clause in his contract. The second transfer was on deadline day and was for Everton centre-back Mawson. With our poor league form during the first half of the season I had been considering tactical changes, so this transfer was with the idea of trialing a back three.

González was an improvement on my current defensive midfield option Pérez so I allowed him to move on, turning a nice profit as I had brought him in on a free a few seasons ago. I also sold Pritchard and Lapadula as due to the size of my  squad they were not getting any game time. Lapadula in particular had been a great player for the club over his three year spell, however at the age of 31 I decided I needed to move him on and prioritise the future development of forwards Coman and Zulu.

From a domestic perspective we started the calendar year poorly , albeit against tough opposition, however things picked up after a morale boosting friendly and we only lost two of the next nine Premier League fixtures. As mentioned earlier we stitched to a 3-5-2 with Maguire, Tarkowski and Mawson at the back, Sessegnon and Trippier as wing backs, González at DM behind Grujic and Wijnaldum, and Dwamena and Abraham up top. This allowed us a bit more defensive stability, whilst getting two forwards on the pitch. Wingers Under and Domínguez were both ruled out with three month long ankle injuries in January so this formation also suited our lack of wingers. Although I enjoyed using this formation, we did change back to 4-2-3-1, starting with the 2-0 win against Swansea.

The Lows

We got beaten handily by Man Utd who had stormed the league, picked ourselves up again with a friendly victory and then picked up good results against Watford, Liverpool and Everton. The end to our league campaign was dreadful though and saw us get thrashed on three occasions. After beating Everton we were 8th in the table and in with a chance of matching last seasons 7th placed finish. Due to our poor finish however we ended 11th, our worst final standing during our four seasons back in the Premier League.

The Highs

So onto the good news...

Although our domestic form was disappointing, we were able to go undefeated during our entire Europa League campaign, which concluded with us beating RBL convincingly in the Final!

The unexpected star of First Knockout Round was Tomas Kalas. Kalas has been a periphery figure in recent seasons after the signings of Tarkowski and Maguire, however as we had switched to three at the back and Mawson was cup tied, I brought him into the side for both legs. It was a move that paid off as he scored in both legs, including a 40 yard screamer at home! We went through on away goals and were drawn against another Portuguese side, Braga. We beat them 3-2 in Braga with Dwamena, Sessegnon and Tarkowski being the stars of the win. We then had a tough test against Everton, a team I have struggled against in previous league seasons, however we overcame them in a tight two legged affair. We then were drawn against another Portuguese side in the Semi Finals. I decided to attack in the home leg and picked up a 3-1 victory and then went with a defensive approach away from home to secure our place in the Final. Attacking mid Sallai had a fairly underwhelming league campaign only scoring 2 goals and providing 4 assists. The Europa Final was his big moment though, as he scored a brace to help us claim the trophy.

Dwamena and Tarkowski were both selected in the Europa League team of the season.

Dwamena was my star man scoring 27 goals in all competitions. Sessegnon had a great season as he continued his development. Bettinelli played an impressive 60 games during a very long season.

Winning the Europa League means that we have qualified for next season's Champions League! Based on our league form I think we are going to have to work hard in the transfer window to create a team that will be competitive. I have been handed a £100m transfer budget and the scouting process has begun.

[robterrace]

I like football  

[warlock]

50 minutes ago, robterrace said:

I like football  

That's just showing off 

[robterrace]

At the end of January, I set my target as qualifying for the playoffs, which was achieved.

There was a time where it looked like we were going to go up automatically, but, that fell away as some players picked up knocks.

Still, a 3rd place finish, and top scorers in the division was a bonus for us.

The vast majority of our goals came from midfield, with Paul McMullen finishing as top scorer, and Erik Andersson not far behind him

 

 

Heading into a double header against Fulham, we were greeted by the return to fitness of Richairo Zivkovic, who had missed the last month of the season due to injury, in the 12 games played for us, he had scored 12 goals, and caused trouble with his direct running, allowing for Marquis and Mujica to come in and make the most of his actions off the bench.

 

A 3-0 defeat at Craven Cottage was disappointing, and the vast amount of the first team showed they were angry with the result, as Miguel Luis pulled the strings in midfield, creating goals for McMullen and Zivkovic, before getting on the end of an Abdoul Kabore through ball to place the ball in the top corner. It wasn't to be however, as James Wilson, top scorer for Fulham, was left in space with a couple of minutes left to put the visitors through 4-3 on aggregate.

Lessons learned, and ambitions made for next season.

The End of Season Awards also showed how important Luis had been to us this season, winning 3 awards at club level, as well as Championship Player and Young Player of the Year.

 

Off the pitch, incredible backing was shown once again by the board, as they announced their intention to upgrade the facilities for Youth Development and Training, as well as pushing us to the next level on the Academy scale.

Of course, we would need to see an improvement on the standard of youngsters coming through into the setup, but, these moves can only help.

 

 

As the young players at the club go, several were sent out on loan, with a couple of exceptional young talents being dripfed first team football. They were both called up by the England U21 squad in the second half of the season, and played full games in both matches after they were called up.

Glyn Gardner made 8 appearances, was sent off once for two bookings, but, gained experience off the bench and, started several games when Schuurs and Djalo were unavailable.

 

The same could be said of Jon Walters, Linus Wahlqvist missed several games due to suspension, and the 16 year old gave performances that defied his age. He made 7 appearances, and spent a large portion of the season in the U23s standing by in case he was needed.

 

3 young strikers were sent out on loan, to League Two, Conference and Conference North, and finished as top scorers for their relative clubs, despite having differing results throughout the season.

In League Two, Sameron Dool scored 16 goals for Notts County as they finished 9th.

Darragh Shaughnessy saw his Wrexham side promoted from the Conference, as he scored 20 goals for them, in a very freescoring team, and finishing second in the division Golden Boot behind Christian Doidge of Forest Green.

Finally, in the Conference North, Adam Davie scored 16 for Kettering, which wasn't enough to save them from being relegated.

Recruitment for next season is continuing, and I feel that Marquis isn't going to continue scoring at Championship level, despite his effective season this year, and I'm still not sure about Mujica. 

One bonus of the upgrades we've received to the scouting at the club, allowed me to watch the French Leagues pretty well, and as such, a 22 year old French striker was spotted, who was out of contract in the summer. He was watched several times, and is up to the physical standards required, as well as having a decent technical ability that can be worked on.

As well as being able to play up front, he can play on either wing, so, depending on how he is needed, he will fit in well. Especially if Luis and Andersson stay and feed him the sort of balls that he will thrive on.

 

---

Away from Doncaster Rovers, Manchester United won the Premier League by 1 point from Manchester City, with Everton, West Brom and Newcastle being relegated. 

In the Championship, QPR were promoted as Champions, with Cardiff 5 points behind them. 6th place Fulham go up through the playoffs, thanks to an 89th minute winner from Luc Castaignos. Luton, Derby and Millwall dropped out of the division.

In League One, Barnsley came up as Champions, with Jaap Stams Nottingham Forest following them, and MK Dons doing so via the Playoffs. At the other end of the table, Rochdale, AFC Wimbledon, Yeovil and Stevenage went down to League Two.

League Two saw Walsall promoted as Champions, with Plymouth and Gillingham behind. Scunthorpe disposed of Swindon at Wembley in the Playoffs. Crewe and Morecambe dropped down, with Crewe swapping places with Southend on the last day of the season.

Wrexham came back to the league as Conference Champions, with Forest Green following behind with a 1-0 victory in the playoffs.

Manchester United completed the double, with a penalty shoot out victory over Chelsea, which saw Fernando Muslera save 2 spot kicks for the victors.

---

In Europe, Lyon won the Europa League with a 2-0 victory over RB Leipzig at Wembley, Spanish forward Mariano with both goals in the 2nd half. 

Dortmund and Arsenal fought out the Champions League Final in Amsterdam, with the English side retaining the trophy, thanks to penalties, and Petr Cech keeping out Mario Gotzes penalty.

---

Away from the Cup competitions, Real won the title in Spain by 7 points, stopping Barcelona winning for a 3rd successive season. In France, PSG kept Monaco at bay, as they ran up 102 points in Ligue 1. Bayern kept up the stranglehold in Germany, winning the Bundesliga by 9 points from Leverkusen. It was a similar story in Italy, where a Gonzalo Higuain inspired Juventus won Serie A for the 9th successive season. Lastly, in Holland, Vitesse won what can only be described as a shock title, overcoming the challenge of Ajax by 1 point.

---

 

Theres plenty of work to do as Doncaster look to strengthen for next season, I think I need a new left back, and potentially a new defensive midfielder.

 

[warlock]

Bristol City: Premiership - What do the bookies know?1?

Meant to do a series of updates for our first season in the Premiership, but somehow just kept playing and the updates got put aside. So here's an all-in-one!

We were odds-on favourites for an immediate return to the Championship, with a predicted position of 19th. Pah! We showed 'em! Our final position of 14th was well-earned and, in fact, I was more than a little disappointed. We spent most of the first half of the season in the top half, going as high as 5th at one point, and didn't look out of place. But a long run of games without a win, and then another of consecutive losses, saw us fall slowly but inexorably down the table. The only explanation was a lack of confidence among the squad, and failing morale when results started going against us. I have no doubt that the squad was capable of better than 14th, but they didn't seem to believe it themselves. In the end, I was holding team meetings every month trying to shore up morale and keep everyone believing - and even so through March and April it looked as though we were going to get sucked into the relegation mire.

Transfers

First transfer window was a busy one as I tried to reinforce the team with players who could keep us up.

First signings were players I had a lot of confidence in, having signed them in other saves. Florinel Coman is a quality striker and I was sure he'd bag us a few goals (spoiler: he didn't). In the hope of shoring up the defence I made the (perhaps foolish) decision to switch from the tactic that got us promoted, to what looked like a more-secure 4123dm, and with that in mind I signed Dragos Nedelcu in expectation that he would make the DM spot his own (spoiler: he didn't). Most of the other signings were in defence, which definitely needed reinforcing for the new challenge, and with No. 1 goalkeeper Luke Steele retiring I brought in Predrag Raikovic as his replacement.

Unfortunately, disappointment ensued. Although on paper he looks easily the best of our striking department, in practice Coman was the weakest. Nedelcu hasn't yet settled and was mediocre at best. The other defensive signings, although good on their day, didn't have many good days. By the January transfer window we were so deep in The Slump that I had to go back to the transfer market and bring a better choice than Nedelcu. I was also persuaded that the 4123dm  wasn't working so I reverted to a 442, which meant we needed another striker for rotation. James Wilson - perennial disappointment at Man Utd - was transfer listed at a bargain price so I took a punt (spoiler: cheap doesn't equal a bargain).

Jack Deal is a curious tale... He was the outstanding recruit in my first youth recruitment window, a 'once in a lifetime' goalkeeper of 5-star potential. Over the winter I had signed popular HOYD Kristjaan Speakman and given him responsibility for signing youngsters... he let Deal go on a free!?! When I realised what was happening I had to throw myself at young Jack's feet and beg him to return which, thankfully, he did. That's Mr Speakman's card marked!

All told, I'm hoping at least some of the new signings will come good, but the summer window is going to present some problems. Do I immediately look to move on the disappointing newcomers, or keep the faith and wait a while? Some of them have become highly-influential so shipping them out risks a revolt.

[robterrace]

Thats not a bad season, given the prediction

[warlock]

6 hours ago, robterrace said:

Thats not a bad season, given the prediction

Cheers! It wasn't bad at all; just that I believe we could have done much better.

Commiserations on the playoff loss. I hate the playoffs... would almost rather stay down than go through the extra anguish.

[robterrace]

23 minutes ago, warlock said:

Commiserations on the playoff loss. I hate the playoffs... would almost rather stay down than go through the extra anguish.

Not fussed about the playoffs really, I wasn't ready to go up, and losing to Fulham sort of proved that. I'm trying to make a few decent moves to get players in, and hopefully, I go into next season able to improve.

[warlock]

9 minutes ago, robterrace said:

I'm trying to make a few decent moves to get players in, and hopefully, I go into next season able to improve.

Well, it seems like you're not far away. Good luck!

[robterrace]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

Well, it seems like you're not far away. Good luck!

As if by magic, preseason update.

 

 

2020/21 Season

 

 

 

Following the disappointment of the loss in the playoffs, there was work to do in order to prepare for an improvement this time round.

Come the beginning of June, there was movement of players beginning in ernest, with 4 deals completed, of which 1 would be a first team player straight away. 

The one that would be in the first team picture, was Pedro Marques. Hes a player I'd been watching since we signed Miguel Luis, and despite the inability to properly scout him, he continued to score goals in the Portuguese second tier for Sporting B. After the last update, and the end of the season, I was approached by his agent, who stated he had been transfer listed. A bid of £160K, and a healthy wage for a Championship footballer (making him the second highest paid player in the squad, behind Erik Andersson, who signed a new deal until 2023 in May), saw him come to the Keepmoat on a 2 year deal (this was all I could really offer him, as he didn't want to sign a longer deal).

 

 

The next player to come in, was another player of Iberian origin, Manu Hernando had been plying his trade at Castilla in the Spanish 3rd tier, and had also made an appearance in the top flight last season for Real Madrid. Over the last couple of seasons, he'd shown steady improvement in his game, which had obviously told one way or another as his appearance in the main squad indicated. Whilst he wasn't a fantastic option to break into the first team initially, he would be a squad member who would offer a great deal this coming season, adding a bit of physicality despite his small size.

 

 

The next thing to impact football, not just at Doncaster, but, throughout Europe, was the announcement of changes following Brexit. This was going to have less impact than anticipated, as it was decided that there would be no changes to work permit rules and regulations following the UK departure from the EU.

As the first of July approached, 4 more signings were finalised, most of which have been covered in previous posts.

French striker Papis Dembelé and German midfielder Max Besuschkow joined on free transfers, Portuguese U19 international Tomás Azevedo joined for £100k from Vitoria Setúbal, where he had developed into a good future signing. It is hoped that he can develop in a similar way to Miguel Luis, and hopefully have a similar impact in the coming seasons. The last name on there is a young Spanish goalkeeper, who originally appeared on a scout search last season at Ferrol, and didn't get kept on, and dropped into the amateur leagues. He reappeared as a recommendation when he played for Spains U19s, and on looking into him, he'd kept 28 clean sheets in 38 games (at a low level, but, still very good), and the scout reports showed him as being a very good player, who was only going to get better. As he was out of contract, we could get him for no fee, and more importantly, very little risk.

 

Of course, there wasn't going to be signings without a few departures, the biggest one of all, being Demetri Mitchell.

The former Manchester United youngster had joined us at the beginning of last season on a free transfer, following his release from Old Trafford, and proceeded to fit right into first team action, contributing going forward. His defensive contribution was sometimes lacking, as was his consistency, and a fee that would go up to £6 million was agreed for him. Given that in reality, the total outgoing on him was about £500k, this represents a good financial deal for us.

 

 

As with every player at the club, I can't get rid of one of them without having a replacement ready, and, an offer was made for Hull City full back, Max Clark, who had been on loan at Cardiff last season, where he made 10 appearances in the second half of the season. At £875k, the deal was good value for money, given what we had just received for Mitchell, and Clark also offers a viable dead ball option as well. In terms of wages, he is on a very similar weekly wage to his predecessor, with less money for appearances and goals on offer.

 

 

The most important signing of the preseason came off the field, as a new Head of Youth Development came in. The person in question is a multiple Premier League winner with his last club, and is someone who has captained his country and his club. 

Of course, this wasn't the reason he came in, he was offered the job because of his personality, and the type of player he could develop because of this. As a 'model citizen', he often stood out as a leader, and was driven to succeed. 

So, without further adieu, welcome the new Head of Youth, Vincent Kompany.

 

 

Several players left the club on loan, with Darragh Shaughnessy heading to Fleetwood for the season, Borja Sanchez to Peterborough, and Indy Boonen to Tubize in Belgium. Marcelo Djaló, who had made 78 appearances for the club, before losing his place to Per Schuurs, was sold to Mallorca. Highly rated youth player, Glyn Gardner was sent on loan to Exeter for the season, as I couldn't guarantee he'd be getting playing time every week. In League One, he'd get time, either starting, or off the bench, and would get valuable experience. Also departing on loan, was young Frenchman Hakim El Mokeddem, who signed on a free transfer from Toulouse, he was going to his home nation to play for Gazélec Ajaccio.

 

One more signing was made, again, a player who showed up on several scout searches as a first team/rotation option. Playing at Genk in Belgium, a fee was agreed, and Dries Wouters came in. He agreed a 3 year contract, and is more than happy to be a backup to the first team, as Hernando, Schuurs, and O'Connell will be sharing starting duties to begin with.

 

Lastly, a change in playing style is being considered. I only started using the formation being used currently in order to stop us from being overrun defensively, so, a newer style, based on Maurizio Sarris style is being looked at and worked on.

 

[robterrace]

Not doing a post window update, as I could be here all day..

 

 

[warlock]

On 24/07/2018 at 10:43, robterrace said:

Not doing a post window update, as I could be here all day..

Crikey... you like a deal don't you?!

I'll eagerly await a report on David Brooks. Having read Cleon's rave reviews of the fella - but never having signed him myself - it will be good to see how he does for you.

[robterrace]

5 hours ago, warlock said:

Crikey... you like a deal don't you?!

I'll eagerly await a report on David Brooks. Having read Cleon's rave reviews of the fella - but never having signed him myself - it will be good to see how he does for you.

Brooks is an interesting one on my save. Tried buying him at the start of the season, was quoted £8m for him, despite him never playing. He got listed on deadline day, so I picked him up for that, 

Strangely enough, I'm trying to follow Cleons development thread of him a bit, so that I can get him up to speed.