FM19: The English Football League thread

[IndyManager]

Club record win streak broken this morning away to Rotherham. It's these 6::30 a.m. kickoffs when its freezing cold outside in Indiana that the players just don't like.

But despite that:

 

 

So could be a season to remember of build up to a huge disappointment. Tonight and the weekend will tell.

[TottenhamBoi90]

MK Dons 2021/22 Season Preview

The Premier League awaits for MK. I had a busy night/early morning getting my team ready for the new campaign and the challenges ahead. I have had 2 wins in the algarve during a training camp and won 4 out of 4 in a tour of Germany. I am so excited about this squad. 

My most important business was the earliest business I did. The Premier League have a loan restriction of just 2 players in your squad and I have 5 loans meaning my last January intentions of adding more loans like Haksabanovic were completely unrealistic. Navarro was wanted back at Watford and although he looks good stat wise I decided not to bid for him permanently because he doesn’t really do anything for me. Baningime and Mir both have 1-2 years on their contracts at their clubs and been with me since league 2 and league 1 respectively so renewed their loans. Gribbin and Sinclair were expiring so snapped them both up on free transfers like with Galloway last year. 

Now my attention turned to the 33m budget and my first signing was ...

GK - Marcin Bulka - 500k - Yeah I know a half mil back up keeper. Unspectacular but Moore didn’t play any games last season and has no room for improvement so he and returning from loan Sietsma both on the transfer list so I can develop a younger keeper. Good history of polish keepers in the prem and I have high hopes for. 

DR - Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 10m - Broke my transfer record to replace Navarro. Palace in the Championship declared for England and a player I really like. Navarro turned out to be available for 200k but good business With bissaka.

DC - Ezri Konsa - 15m - broke my transfer record again a week later. Relegated with Swansea wanted out. I now have 6 cbs and 4 of them bpd but a significant upgrade on my current crop. Walsh and Moore-Taylor days are numbered will look to offload in jan but keeping them for continuity at the moment.

DL - Rico Henry - 2.5m - Bargain from Fulham, and that’s the 33m gone with fees etc 22m in debt but will recoup this easily with premier league income. Actually having a recognised left back should do wonders for the balance of the squad. 

AMC - Kieran Dowell - Free - Gribbin had a few injuries last season and Going to move Byers to left inside forward, Samuelson is moving to his preferred right wing. I had to change formation last season for a short unsuccessful spell so another CAM with set pieces is great bit of business. 

ST - Virgiliu Postolachi - Free - Absolute punt on this 21 year old Moldovan striker from PSG to complete my 25 man squad. Morris has gone on loan after 1 goal in about 20 sub appearances always moaning. Thomas-Asante had a good season on loan in league 2 with 13 goals and has comeback and gone out again into League 1.

Released - Kuhl, Agard, Rowan, Nombe, Asonganyi and Freeman

Full Squad

GK - Nichols/Bulka

DR - Bissaka/Brittain

BPD - Konsa/Jackson

CD - Galloway/Cargill/Walsh

DL - Henry/Moore-Taylor 

CM - Gilbey/McGrandles

BWM - Baningime/Houghton

Winger - Mir/Ginnelly/Samuelsen 

CAM - Gribbin/Dowell

Inside Forward - Byers/Nesbitt

ST - Sinclair/Aneke/Postolachi

I have faith we can stay up, My transfer policy was to keep the team together and add some quality which i certainly have done and i have brought at the back with significant upgrades to 3 of the back 4 and i brought there first because if we do stay up we will get a bigger budget next year to combat the midfield and attacking areas of the pitch. 

@warlock Thanks man, I cant believe it myself.

Edited February 1, 2019 by TottenhamBoi90

[johnjako2010]

13 hours ago, CapaJr said:

Started with Blackburn, media prediction and the board expectation was not to be relegated..
loaned and brought some players, made several tactical tweaks and look what we have achieved 7 weeks before the end of season. 

one of my most successful first seasons EVER. 

 

Congratulations man. I just started a new save with Blackburn. Looks like 95% of your side has changed. Can you show your ins and outs please? 

[IndyManager]

Just wanted to note a rather interesting penalty shootout in the Checkatrade Trophy. I was ready to lose this as long as it meant getting the thing finished, but we managed to win after going through thet entire side 1 1/2 times.

[smplfc123]

I've decided to shelve my Reading save no i'm in the prem as i feel the rebuild is complete and start a new save. As I had so much fun with my last save, i'm going to use the same set up. Going to start unemployed and then apply for jobs throughout the first season for teams who are struggling in the EFL and try to rebuild them!

[TottenhamBoi90]

MK Dons 2021/22 Season Review

Premier League: 12th 
League Cup: 2nd Round 
FA Cup: 4th Round 

Review: Very happy with my first season in the Premier League. It all started with 7 points in the first 3 matches before reality kicked in. I did manage home victories to Liverpool (1-0), Chelsea (2-0) and Man City (2-0) on the final day. A few hidings away as well Chelsea (0-4), Arsenal (0-8), Man Utd (0-5). I was top after first 2 games and 18th after 20 games but generally a steady season 44 points. Marcin Bulka took over in goal after the 8-0 to Arsenal and then Nicholls got injured for 3 months so i stuck with Bulka, He scored 2 own goals unluckily striking him off the bar and bouncing in but he also got 2 assists. 11th best defence, 20th highest scorers which was as to be expected because i spent all my money at the back. Wan-Bissaka 5 assists and Rico Henry 6 assists were brilliant going forward giving me something ive not had before but abit leaky at the back not blocking crosses getting caught behind them etc but that will improve when i upgrade the rest of the side. Konsa partnered Galloway all season but for about 6 games where i played Cargill, Walsh, Brittain, Jackson and Moore-Taylor. I was very thin in midfield with releasing Kuhl abit too early i got by with Baningime, Gilbey and Houghton. Beni 16 yellows and a red, Gilbey not really cut out for this level. Onto the wing and Mir only scored 6 Ginnelly 2 so not good. Gribbin 3 goals and Dowell 1 goal i believe can do it at this level but havnt got the strikers wingers and inside forwards to go with them. Gribbin also won a player of the month award. Nesbitt was LOL. Upfront Sinclair got 8 goals and top scorer for me which says it all, i did move him to the left though as i was struggling for options. Aneke 2 goals. Virgiliou Postolachi was a punt and half. 4 goals, got a Young Player of the month award and did well, i like him. I was 19th on wages, 2nd on profit made so expecting a good budget for next year to improve in midfield and upfront. 

January transfers OUT: Brittain (250k), Moore-Taylor (150k), George Byers (150k)

Edited February 2, 2019 by TottenhamBoi90

[smplfc123]

Good first season in the Prem there @TottenhamBoi90. Interested to see who you bring in to help with the attacking options in the summer.

I'm not sure if they'll be any good in your save, but 4 years in to my Reading save, Kevin Cannavo and Adam Idah have developed in to excellent strikers. 

[IndyManager]

Halfway through the League One season with Port Vale. I keep waiting for the bubble to burst but so far, so good, as the table indicates.

 

We've also made it to the third round of the FA Cup and the group stage of the Checkatrade Trophy. That i more important than you might think as it allows me to give regular games to almost everybody in the squad, helping harmony there. I've been taking a good number of injuries so having cover has been huge.

My biggest concern is that my strikers aren't scoring goals. I have some transfer budget for a change so I'm looking, but it's hard to say at this point if I can convince anyone to come in.

 

[robterrace]

All being well, I'll have an update this evening. Taken a while to get 6 months of the season in with work and everything.

[TottenhamBoi90]

@smplfc123 Thanks mate, I wanted to improve 3 positions mainly, CM IF and DLF and i think i have for 1m quid lol.

MK Dons Season 5 (2022/23) Season Preview

Transfers IN: Beni Baningime (Free), Rafa Mir (Free), Tashan Oakley-Boothe (Free), Harvey Barnes (1m), Mason Greenwood (Loan).

Transfers OUT: Carlton Morris (Loan), Joe Walsh (Loan), Jordan Houghton (Loan)

Released: Thomas-Asante, Stuart Moore

Promoted Newgen: Matt Comer

So then, Quite a busy window, I have continued building my MK Dons Premier League side. I finally have a good Inside forward and upgraded my centre midfield. I am lacking depth at full back because i want rotation or hot prospects to avoid any friction it may cause with game time. In midfield i have promoted a youth player who can play Anchorman, BWM and half-back to understudy Beni and to give me the option to go 433, i have got Mezzala Sam Field which may help away at the big 6. I am hoping the improvements in midfield get the strikers a bit more goals and freshened it up again with Mason Greenwood. I also lack some really good bench quality. I do have a very competitive 11 but will struggle if i get injuries. I still have 40m so will access again in January. The Premier League has been moved forward to July so a very short pre-season. 2 wins on a tour of Italy and 3 wins in a training camp in China but let a 1-0 lead slip on my final game at Betis and lost 2-1. 

Samuelsen, Aneke and McGrandles are all transfer listed in the U23s so my registered squad is as follows...

GK - Bulka/Nicholls
DR - Wan-Bissaka
BPD - Konsa/Jackson
CD - Galloway/Cargill
DL - Henry
CM - Oakley-Boothe/Gilbey
BWM - Baningime/Comer
WING - Mir/Ginnelly
CAM - Gribbin/Dowell
INSIDE - Barnes/Nesbitt
ST - Greenwood/Sinclair/Postolachi
Mezzala - Field

Edited February 3, 2019 by TottenhamBoi90

[DefinitelyTaylor]

@TottenhamBoi90: I'm really glad to say I've played a part in helping you in your quest to the Premier League!  You've done an excellent job in doing so and I hope you can continue to bring success to the club - despite my lack of love for them.  Not a bad first season either! 

@CapaJr: Congratulations on promotion! A lot of faces brought in, but it has clearly paid off for you. Good luck in the Premier League next season.

@smplfc123: Good luck in your next quest. If you can replicate your success at Reading, I would be amazed.  

@IndyManager: To say you're concerned by the lack of goals from your strikers, you must be doing enough since you're top of the table and have only lost four games at the halfway stage. Glad to see Nathan Broadhead and Ben Whitfield are amongst the top players in the division.

[Chevie]

Oldham Athletic - Season 2 - Part 3 - January Transfer Window, Early 2020 Form, Current Standings and Youth Intake

Transfers

In:

Out:

I didn't plan on doing any business during the window but I can always be tempted into something. I forgot to mention that Giles Coke had left in my last update but after 10 appearances in 18 months he wasn't exactly happy and even though Ashton didn't take any wages off my hands I was just happy to be rid of him (he'd rejected a couple of permanent moves in the summer even though he'd asked for a move). Rob Hunt was also not completely happy with the amount of football he was receiving so I decided to cash in on him with just 6 months remaining on his contract and not looking like he'd be signing one anytime soon. Tom Hamer, who has higher potential than Hunt anyway, was recalled from his loan to provide the right back cover for the rest of the season so hopefully he can develop more at his parent club. Benteke and McCourt were also playing very few games each so wanted out. I was glad to get McCourt off the wage bill and Benteke can get some game time elsewhere and hopefully return a better player. To cover the loss of a striker, I used the money from Hunt on top of the spare wages budget to bring in Brown from Bolton who looks like a very useful player for my AF (At) role:

Hopefully he can form a great partnership with Novakovich.

Early 2020 Form

Being a Manchester United fan, beating City's Under 23 side was highly satisfying and then qualifying for the final with a nail biting penalty shootout win over Burton nearly gave me heart attack. However, after all this, we booked out ticket to Wembley! This is not a stadium I expected to be playing at so soon into my career at Oldham.

They may not be performing to their pre-season billing of league winners, but Sunderland are still a big team at this level. A dominant performance against them was very nice indeed.

An eight game unbeaten run going into the final three months of the season is form I hope we continue with.

Current Standings

3 points clear at the top! Ipswich's form has plummeted since the turn of the year, with 5 defeats and 2 draws in their last 7 games, which has allowed me to overtake them and push 9 points clear. Portsmouth have been in good form since the turn of the year so are now the team pushing me for the title.

Youth Intake

One player here who I will be promoting into my first team squad to hopefully get them some minutes - Defensive midfielder David Hughes. This works well after getting rid of Jak McCourt so will free up some time in the cups for him.

[Jamesbfc1887]

Start of the season:

So first of all as you can see we've lost Zanzala to non league Billericay but £900k is a great price for someone who was so poor in-front of goal but we managed to bring in Thierry Ambrose (on loan of course). And he's been fantastic tbh.

A great start to the season just outside the playoffs is more than I could have expected. We're still heavily a one man team with Billy Kee firing in 10 goals in 11 league games. Farrugia has been brilliant as well and I'm really positive about the start of this season and our prospects this season.

Well at least I was,

Somehow we've managed to fail FFP despite having the lowest wage in the league . FFP never came into my mind with us hardly having any of our own players, we're only paying for 14 players with 9 loan players!!!

Now we find ourselves in a transfer embargo needing to find £2k a week of wages we've only got 4 players on £2k. I'm struggling now big time, I haven't signed a new deal at the club and I'm thinking about trying to find a way out.

To move forward we have to spend more on wages, which is money we don't have or maybe we just be happy being where we are.

[smplfc123]

@DefinitelyTaylor I'll be amazed too with what I've been dealt this time.

2nd week of January and I get offered the job of taking over at Sheffield Wednesday.

They sit in 19th spot, just 3 points above the relegation zone, with an old depleted squad and the board expecting mid table and attacking football. However, with just £422k for transfers and the wage budget being already being £129k over the limit, there's no room to bring anyone in. No one wants the old high earners such as Jones, Boyd, Abdi etc.

This is going to be a really tough ask. I took over on the Friday and was chucked straight in to an away game against Hull. With only 16 players fit, I succumbed to a 2-0 defeat. It's going to be a long, hard journey this, if i'm not sacked before-hand that is.

Wish me luck on reviving the Owls. 

 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Chevie said:

3 points clear at the top!

That's a great performance, and a fantastic run of results in Jan/Feb - always my toughest months of the season. Hope you can secure promotion ASAP!

 

1 hour ago, Jamesbfc1887 said:

I'm thinking about trying to find a way out.

A tough situation, indeed. I think that is the big problem for the smallest clubs like Stanley... there's such a long lag between success on the pitch and commercial returns off it. Unless you can find a sugar daddy to write blank cheques the minnows will always struggle (as I'm finding with Darlington back in L2).

 

18 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

It's going to be a long, hard journey this, if i'm not sacked before-hand

There's not much harder than taking over a struggling team mid-season. Morale is in the tank, confidence shot, and it feels like you're a goal down before you leave the changing room (I tried and failed miserably at the Alex Ferguson Challenge several times last year). Hope you can manage to turn things around - grinding out a few ultra-defensive draws can help but even that's easier said than done. Wish you well in the challenge!

I've just started a new save with Brentford, but won't get too much done tonight - Superbowl night, and I'll be hoping Brady and Belichick can produce another victory for the Patriots.

 

[Corndog69]

I’m really struggling to get into a save abroad, I think I’m coming home to England and the championship.

I’ve narrowed it down to four.. my team Wigan, Preston, Brentford and Bristol City! 

Any help choosing or advice would be very much appreciated

[smplfc123]

@Corndog69 Do you have any preferences that may narrow down the choices? Do you want a young/old squad to start? Expected to fight relegation (Wigan)? Bit of money to spend? etc.

All 4 are decent choices though, with some good players in various positions. Wigan would be the tougher option I would say due to just arriving back in the Championship.

[warlock]

20 minutes ago, Corndog69 said:

Any help choosing or advice would be very much appreciated

 

10 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

All 4 are decent choices though

I agree with m'learned friend! Across the saves I've played in the Championship all four are capable of Jekyll and Hyde seasons, often finishing in the playoff places or battling against relegation. For me Bristol City and Brentford are quality sides and should be looking at the playoffs as a minimum. As new boys in the league Wigan might be expected to struggle, while Preston are somewhere in the middle. With the latter two, I think a lot comes down to who you can bring in on loan - a couple of quality signings can make a world of difference.

But you also need to ask yourself, is this going to be a really long-term save? Otherwise, just manage them all one after the other. Whowever you choose, you'll get lots of support and advice here .

[DefinitelyTaylor]

@Chevie: Great work mate. Glad to see you've continued your strong run this season and have enjoyed a good run of form. No reason why it can't continue - back-to-back promotions are on the cards!

@Jamesbfc1887: That's a strong start considering your worries going into the season. A decent little run in the cup too, which should raise some additional cash. The sale of Zanzala for such a fee is surprising, although it's Billericay and only they would blow that sort of cash! A massive blow in failing FFP, especially when you say you've got the lowest wage bill in the league. Hopefully it won't be too much of an issue - as silly as it may sound. 

@smplfc123: Good luck with Wednesday. It sounds a tough challenge that you've undertaken with them, but given your time at Reading, I have full faith that you'll be able to get them on track soon. It may take some time, but I look forward to my prediction coming true.  

@Corndog69: I love all four of those teams. Personally, I would go either Bristol or Preston - purely because they haven't been posted on as far as I'm aware in this thread yet. Both those sides have the quality in certain areas and with some sprinkling of quality in the market, there will be no reason as to why you can't push on with either club. Good luck with whichever club you decide to go with and I hope to see you posting in here with them!

[Corndog69]

Thanks for the help guys, I’ve plumped for Preston! A club with lots of history and some good players, aiming for play offs! I’ll keep you updated...

update! I’ve started well, only signed Chong on loan from Man U and Trevor Clarke from shamrock... should be 3 from 3 but got totally fm’d by stoke in the last minute. Enjoying it.

Edited February 4, 2019 by Corndog69

[Chevie]

13 hours ago, warlock said:

That's a great performance, and a fantastic run of results in Jan/Feb - always my toughest months of the season. Hope you can secure promotion ASAP!

 

10 hours ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

Great work mate. Glad to see you've continued your strong run this season and have enjoyed a good run of form. No reason why it can't continue - back-to-back promotions are on the cards!

Cheers guys! Unfortunately my form hasn't quite continued into March and Portsmouth keep winning (they've just confirmed minimum of a play-off spot) so I think my title challenge my be over. Still in second place though so can hopefully hold on! Play offs wouldn't be the end of the world though and would give me a chance for a second crack at Wembley but don't particularly want that risk of disappointment 

[TottenhamBoi90]

MK Dons 2022/23 Mid-Season Review

Premier League: 15th
League Cup: 4th Round

Review: After an appalling 5 wins and 11 defeats in the first 16 games the Qatar 2022 winter world cup provided a welcome break between November until new years eve when action returned with the FA Cup. My worst half season by a mile since i have been manager of MK Dons and i reacted accordingly with a lot of signings confirmed for January 1st and i now have 0 loyalty to the players that got me here. The only positives being that CM Tashan Oakley-Boothe and IF Harvey Barnes have definitely improved on what i had and my top 6 away plan of going 433 with a Mezzala has kept the scores down thought Sam Field hasn't really done much in those games. I will show a comparison in my end of season review. I have played all the big 6 away already but i am short on time as i have to go work shortly. 

Transfers IN: Will Mannion (1.5m), Robert Gunby (5m), Reece Oxford (3m), Jamal Lewis (5m) and Oliver McBurnie (5m)

Transfers OUT: Oran Jackson (350k), Lee Nicholls (850k)
Currently Transfer Listed: Cargill, Samuelson, Gilbey, McGrandles and Aneke. 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

As I had a lot of time on my hands, I was sad enough to go from start to finish in the thread and note down all the teams that had been documented on in the thread. That means teams that have had at least one post on them, documenting progress. 

15 of the 24 Championship teams have been chosen.

9 of the 24 League One teams have been chosen

10 of the 24 League Two teams have been chosen. 

This probably helps nobody, but I thought I would share!  

[warlock]

1 minute ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

I had a lot of time on my hands

Obviously .

I'm struggling to get into a save at the moment. I've tried three or four times with Brentford but for some reason it just doesn't click. If you have the info to hand, I'd like to see the L2 teams that have been done and I might take on one of the unloved 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

1 minute ago, warlock said:

Obviously .

If you have the info to hand, I'd like to see the L2 teams that have been done and I might take on one of the unloved 

When you have three hour breaks at college, time is very much of the essence .

From what I've got noted down - Bury, Carlisle, Colchester, Forest Green, Grimsby, MK Dons, Notts County, Oldham, Port Vale and Swindon have all been done. @warlock

[warlock]

1 hour ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

Bury, Carlisle, Colchester, Forest Green, Grimsby, MK Dons, Notts County, Oldham, Port Vale and Swindon have all been done.

Cheers, mate . I'll have a ponder.

[Jamesbfc1887]

Yep there we are. But of the wage spend.

Makes for pretty sorry reading considering we've got more than £2m in the overall balance. A sugar daddy would be incredibly nice at this stage we desperately need a massive improvement in revenue, almost all of our income is transfers out. 

 

[robterrace]

Signed these two.. Abouchabaka for £4.2m, and Marin for £10m (£5m + £5m installments)

 

More interested in this guy on a free though.. :P

 

[IndyManager]

On 03/02/2019 at 12:28, DefinitelyTaylor said:

@TottenhamBoi90: I'm really glad to say I've played a part in helping you in your quest to the Premier League!  You've done an excellent job in doing so and I hope you can continue to bring success to the club - despite my lack of love for them.  Not a bad first season either! 

@CapaJr: Congratulations on promotion! A lot of faces brought in, but it has clearly paid off for you. Good luck in the Premier League next season.

@smplfc123: Good luck in your next quest. If you can replicate your success at Reading, I would be amazed.  

@IndyManager: To say you're concerned by the lack of goals from your strikers, you must be doing enough since you're top of the table and have only lost four games at the halfway stage. Glad to see Nathan Broadhead and Ben Whitfield are amongst the top players in the division.

Yeah, well they've picked it up a bit now and we're in the stretch run of a promotion battle - pretty exciting stuff but I'll give you a better update tomorrow.

Question for anyone: I'm in the Checkatrade Trophy Final. I've been rotating for these matches and the league is still my priority of course. I'd rather keep some of my top players fresh for the league match afterward - do you think leaving them out of this one will affect morale? The fans don't seem to care about this competition, not sure how it is in real life. Anyone?

 

[smplfc123]

Save The Owls Update

So as stated in my previous post I took charge of Sheffield Wednesday sitting in 19th place with 33 points, just 3 points above the relegation zone. Here's how the fixtures have gone so far:



So after that initial defeat to Hull, we've done really well. 4 wins and 3 draws have seen us pick up 15 points. I just got the players back to basics, switching between a 4-4-1-1 and a 4-4-2. We now sit in 14th spot on 48 points, just 2 away from that magical safety number.

I can't describe how tough this is though. The club is struggling financially big time. In January, I sold Hooper for £600k and Winnall for £1.2m, whilst Wildsmith was sent out on loan. Onomah and Hector's loan deals were both cancelled, yet we still sit £50k over the wage budget, meaning I wasn't able to bring anyone in. 

I've got Westwood, Pudil, Fletcher, Jones, Abdi, Boyd and Lee all the wrong side of 30 years old and all earning between £12k and £30k a week. Even though safety looks secured, with the club in debt and some ageing stars on big wages, this is going to be a bigger rebuild than Reading I believe.

Wish me luck, come on the Owls.
 

[warlock]

9 hours ago, smplfc123 said:

So after that initial defeat to Hull, we've done really well

Yeah, that's a great turnaround in form. I don't understand how they're so deep in the mire financially. In my Owls save I had to put all of the little transfer budget into wages but never went over budget; we constantly lost money but no more than usual for a mid-table Championship side. I guess a lot of those wages will go in June, although you might lose a fair bit in lost transfer fees as contracts run out?

But I have every confidence in your ability to pull off this rescue!

[DefinitelyTaylor]

On 04/02/2019 at 08:23, Corndog69 said:

Thanks for the help guys, I’ve plumped for Preston!

should be 3 from 3 but got totally fm’d by stoke in the last minute. Enjoying it.

Good choice mate. I like Preston as a club, they have plenty of good players and a Barrow-born defender in Ben Davies. I'm surprised we don't sing his praises a bit more round here!  

23 hours ago, Chevie said:

Unfortunately my form hasn't quite continued into March and Portsmouth keep winning (they've just confirmed minimum of a play-off spot) so I think my title challenge my be over. Still in second place though so can hopefully hold on! Play offs wouldn't be the end of the world though and would give me a chance for a second crack at Wembley but don't particularly want that risk of disappointment 

That's a shame. The playoffs are a lottery, so obtaining second position is a must, personally. Fingers crossed for you and hopefully you can report back with some good news soon.

20 hours ago, TottenhamBoi90 said:

MK Dons 2022/23 Mid-Season Review

Premier League: 15th
League Cup: 4th Round

Review: After an appalling 5 wins and 11 defeats in the first 16 games the Qatar 2022 winter world cup provided a welcome break between November until new years eve when action returned with the FA Cup. My worst half season by a mile since i have been manager of MK Dons

Transfers IN: Will Mannion (1.5m), Robert Gunby (5m), Reece Oxford (3m), Jamal Lewis (5m) and Oliver McBurnie (5m)

Transfers OUT: Oran Jackson (350k), Lee Nicholls (850k)
Currently Transfer Listed: Cargill, Samuelson, Gilbey, McGrandles and Aneke. 

Not the greatest of starts for you, which is unusual considering how well you've done on the road to the Premier League and in your debut season. I have full faith that you'll come back after the World Cup and push on though, given your success so far. Those outgoings really do highlight the rapid rise of the club, though.  

11 hours ago, Jamesbfc1887 said:

Yep there we are. But of the wage spend.

Makes for pretty sorry reading considering we've got more than £2m in the overall balance. A sugar daddy would be incredibly nice at this stage we desperately need a massive improvement in revenue, almost all of our income is transfers out. 

That's deeply worrying. It would take a lot to get out of this situation, like you say, a sugar daddy would really help! 

11 hours ago, robterrace said:

Signed these two.. Abouchabaka for £4.2m, and Marin for £10m (£5m + £5m installments)

 

More interested in this guy on a free though.. :P

 

They all look exciting players! Marin has been raved over for a while now - I expect big things from him.

10 hours ago, smplfc123 said:

So after that initial defeat to Hull, we've done really well. 4 wins and 3 draws have seen us pick up 15 points. I just got the players back to basics, switching between a 4-4-1-1 and a 4-4-2. We now sit in 14th spot on 48 points, just 2 away from that magical safety number.

I can't describe how tough this is though. The club is struggling financially big time. In January, I sold Hooper for £600k and Winnall for £1.2m, whilst Wildsmith was sent out on loan. Onomah and Hector's loan deals were both cancelled, yet we still sit £50k over the wage budget, meaning I wasn't able to bring anyone in. 

I've got Westwood, Pudil, Fletcher, Jones, Abdi, Boyd and Lee all the wrong side of 30 years old and all earning between £12k and £30k a week. Even though safety looks secured, with the club in debt and some ageing stars on big wages, this is going to be a bigger rebuild than Reading I believe.

Wish me luck, come on the Owls.

Fantastic work in getting a good string of results together. To only drop six points in seven games is an impressive statistic. When you're in the situation you were in, it's good to go back to basics - and this has been proven here. I would highly recommend this when you're struggling to get a run of results together. The financial situation looks tough and it must be difficult not being able to bring in some of your own players, although you have started well and there's no reason why you can't continue that. Best of luck! 

Edited February 5, 2019 by DefinitelyTaylor

[Rollin93]

I’m thinking of doing something similar to what I’ve seen above

im going to take a team over in January who are close to falling out of the football league and try and restore them 

 

[IndyManager]

So the weekend started very well and I was sitting pretty with the Valiants, riding a 10-match unbeaten run to 1^st position in the table with seven matches remaining. I lost an away match to Forest Green to fall to 2^nd, but immediately rebounded with a 1-0 win in the Checkatrade Trophy final, my first trophy win in four seasons. Bojan Radulovic scored the first half winner.

But following that I lost two more in the league, drew and then lost again and now I am third with four matches remaining. We went from great to anemic in VERY short order and I’m not sure what to do now to right the ship.

 

Officially stressed over this game.

 

[warlock]

59 minutes ago, IndyManager said:

Officially stressed over this game.

Success (or near-success) is often more stressful than mid-table mediocrity. One final push....

[CapaJr]

On 01/02/2019 at 18:21, johnjako2010 said:

Congratulations man. I just started a new save with Blackburn. Looks like 95% of your side has changed. Can you show your ins and outs please? 

Ladies and Gentleman, please gather around here for a historical FM achievement 

 

FIRST SEASON WITH BLACKBURN: LEAGUE LEADER WITH 111 PONTS!!

SECOND SEASON WITH BLACKBURN IN EPL: FINISHED 3RD, ONE MORE WEEK TO GO. 

Edited February 5, 2019 by CapaJr

[smplfc123]

Cheers @warlock and @DefinitelyTaylor

Yes losing fees is going to hurt me, but it'll also be good to just get some of these ridiculous wages off the books.

I have feeling the better performing players such as Bannan and Reach may angle for a move to a higher-placed club too and with their transfer value, I may just have to accept.

Good luck with the challenge @Rollin93 it's really good fun!

[Jogo Bonito]

Great updates from you all and well done on all your successes.

@DefinitelyTaylor excellent research on those clubs!

@smplfc123 well done with Reading and now Sheff Wed - an excellent start made.

@Rollin93 I did that in FM18, taking over FGR in January when they were 24th and five points adrift at the foot of L2. Saved them and enjoyed a really good time after that. Be careful that you have one HG player in the squad you take on though, otherwise you'll have to promote one youth player or run with six substitutes for years, something clubs like that could do without!

[Rollin93]

2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Great updates from you all and well done on all your successes.

@DefinitelyTaylor excellent research on those clubs!

@smplfc123 well done with Reading and now Sheff Wed - an excellent start made.

@Rollin93 I did that in FM18, taking over FGR in January when they were 24th and five points adrift at the foot of L2. Saved them and enjoyed a really good time after that. Be careful that you have one HG player in the squad you take on though, otherwise you'll have to promote one youth player or run with six substitutes for years, something clubs like that could do without!

So I’ve ended up with Colchester! A better team than I expected to get! 

[smplfc123]

Cheers @Jogo Bonito 

2 Steady saves in a row, definitely a record for me 

[IndyManager]

9 hours ago, IndyManager said:

So the weekend started very well and I was sitting pretty with the Valiants, riding a 10-match unbeaten run to 1^st position in the table with seven matches remaining. I lost an away match to Forest Green to fall to 2^nd, but immediately rebounded with a 1-0 win in the Checkatrade Trophy final, my first trophy win in four seasons. Bojan Radulovic scored the first half winner.

But following that I lost two more in the league, drew and then lost again and now I am third with four matches remaining. We went from great to anemic in VERY short order and I’m not sure what to do now to right the ship.

 

Officially stressed over this game.

 

OK - one product of my stress is I'm struggling to recall my details when I'm away from my save. So here are my current table and list of results so far:

 

 

And the results: 

 

The draws were during my 11-match unbeaten string and now I've lost three league games on the trot, with the Checkatrade Trophy win intermixed.

 

So as you see I've got four matches remaining. I'm almost a lock for the playoffs which at the beginning of the season I would have been ecstatic with, but after being on top for so long, I hate to think I can't win auto-promotion now. But if I'm honest, it doesn't seem too likely at the moment. I'm going to finish the season now and I'll update you tomorrow.

 

 

[TottenhamBoi90]

MK Dons 2022/23 Season Review

Premier League: 18th (Relegated)
League Cup: 4th Round
FA Cup: 6th Round

Review: A sad sad day on Match Day 37, A 1-0 defeat to Southampton ends MK Dons 2 year stay in the Premier League. I believe i did not sign well enough in the summer and in january to keep my place in the promised land. A massive injury crisis in the first half of the season, A bit of fight after Jan then 7 successive losses plumeted me back down to the Championship and with a 62m balance and 57m budget for next i have now quit my position at MK Dons and am looking to start another save. I have really enjoyed the save but i took them as far as i could. 

[warlock]

@IndyManager Good luck. Hope you can pull through!

@TottenhamBoi90 Unfortunate end to a brilliant save, but many of us struggle after reaching the Promised L... Premier League. But £57m in the Championship could fund an awful lot of fun.

For myself, I fulfilled my promise to take on an unloved team from L2 and started a save with Mansfield Town this morning. After playing - on and off - for about eight hours I'm in no state to post a full update. Suffice to say that the Stags currently sit on top of the division. I commit to a full accounting tomorrow!

[Chevie]

Oldham Athletic - Season 2 - Part 4 - Wembley Heartache but Promotion Joy

Results

Dropping 7 points during March really scuppered my title bid as Portsmouth (who won all 5 games this month) moved into a commanding lead at the top of the table. The month also ended with a defeat to Tottenham's Under 23 side in the EFL Trophy final, a game in which we were arguably the better side. Geronimo Rulli in the opposition net was not an ideal opponent to come up against! Fortunately, we didn't let this average month to derail our season and a strong April / May consolidated a rather comfortable (in the end) second place.

Competition Results

A very, very successful season for a team who were predicted to finish 21st at the start of the season. My first cup run in this career was also highly enjoyable, even if it did have a bitter end.

Player Stats

As I thought might be the case at the beginning of the season, Novakovich was indeed my top goal scorer. Unfortunately, the goals did dry up in the second half of the season which I hope isn't a long term problem going into the Championship. Second top goalscorers were Baxter and Surridge with 10 each and in joint third were Pringe, McKendry and Ihiekwe with 7.

I'm not sure Ihiekwe is showing as my highest average rating since Christopher Missilou got an average of 7.05 during the course of the season? Ihiekwe was in fact 5th on the list!

Most of Pringle's assists were from corners, a route to goal my team enjoyed a lot this season (18 in total). This is what lead to my central defenders scoring 14 in total during the course of the year. Second was Baxter with 10. Finally, Third was Bowler and McKendry with 7 apiece.

All this meant highest goal involvements this season were: Baxter 20 (10 goals/10 assists), Pringle 19 (7/12) and Novakovich 18 (14/4).

Team Stats

Two seasons on the trot with the best defensive record in the division is exactly what I wanted when I set up my low block tactics at the start of the first season. What is more pleasing is the fact we were higher in the goal scoring charts this time around. Although we scored 8 fewer, we went from 8th to 3rd top scorers. A good disciplinary record is also very nice to see for a defensive side.

[DefinitelyTaylor]

On 05/02/2019 at 09:43, Rollin93 said:

im going to take a team over in January who are close to falling out of the football league and try and restore them 

Good luck with Colchester. They have some good players in the ranks, so I'm sure you'll be able to improve with them.

22 hours ago, IndyManager said:

Officially stressed over this game

FM tends to make me very stressed too, glad I'm not the only one!  

19 hours ago, CapaJr said:

FIRST SEASON WITH BLACKBURN: LEAGUE LEADER WITH 111 PONTS!!

SECOND SEASON WITH BLACKBURN IN EPL: FINISHED 3RD, ONE MORE WEEK TO GO. 

Two exceptional campaigns, very well done! 

13 hours ago, IndyManager said:

And the results: 

 

It's incredibly tight going into the final four fixtures. The form has been poor recently, but hopefully you can pull a few results out of the bag to ensure you get over the line and win automatic promotion. The playoffs can be a nightmare, especially when you're going into them off the back of a poor run of form. Fingers crossed for you! 

12 hours ago, TottenhamBoi90 said:

MK Dons 2022/23 Season Review

Premier League: 18th (Relegated)
League Cup: 4th Round
FA Cup: 6th Round

Review: A sad sad day on Match Day 37, A 1-0 defeat to Southampton ends MK Dons 2 year stay in the Premier League. I believe i did not sign well enough in the summer and in january to keep my place in the promised land. A massive injury crisis in the first half of the season, A bit of fight after Jan then 7 successive losses plumeted me back down to the Championship and with a 62m balance and 57m budget for next i have now quit my position at MK Dons and am looking to start another save. I have really enjoyed the save but i took them as far as i could. 

 After such an incredible spell in charge, it's a shame to end it in such a fashion. I can understand your decision though and if you're not 'feeling' the save anymore, it becomes a chore. I'm looking forward to seeing who you opt to go with next - hopefully it'll be with a team that I can tolerate a little more. 

58 minutes ago, Chevie said:

A very, very successful season for a team who were predicted to finish 21st at the start of the season. My first cup run in this career was also highly enjoyable, even if it did have a bitter end.

Two seasons on the trot with the best defensive record in the division is exactly what I wanted when I set up my low block tactics at the start of the first season. What is more pleasing is the fact we were higher in the goal scoring charts this time around. Although we scored 8 fewer, we went from 8th to 3rd top scorers. A good disciplinary record is also very nice to see for a defensive side.

Congratulations on promotion to the Championship. It'll be a tough ask next season to survive, but you've really impressed in both League One and Two - so there is no doubt in your quality as a manager. It's a shame to lose in the cup, especially at Wembley, however you can't have it all I guess. I would rather have won promotion than the trophy, albeit having two trophies would have been nice! 

The defence seems to be a key part to your success and it's clear that there is a lot of improvement in the team, as you progress. Hopefully the defence can remain as stout next season, combined with a strong attack, to allow you to survive. Good luck!

[IndyManager]

Well it was a roller coaster even within the evening. We started out continuing our run of poor form (no in-betweens for this team it seems – it’s either feast or famine), losing at home to Coventry City 3-1 and then away to Luton 1-0, to make it  five league losses in a row. That had us in 5^th position and four points out of automatic promotion (but four points ahead of eighth position, which of course is out of the playoffs.

I called a team meeting and the reaction was all positive. So for our final home game we had Scunthorpe, but could only play them to a scoreless draw, which cost us any chance at automatic promotion, and kept us two points ahead of 7^th.We finished the regular season at Mansfield and drew with them 1-1. Mark Delaney, one of my two main January signings, scored in the 85^th minute to earn the point, although we were already going to keep a playoff berth. The point instead took us to 4^th in the league table at 80 points.

Emotionally I was pretty down (yes, for real) and basically had resigned myself to not winning promotion. Nonetheless I went over everything in my tactics and training to make sure I wasn’t missing any instruction could hurt us by being given, or not being given. I should add here that I have been addled all season by conflicting tactical advice given by one of my coaches and my assistant manager (who won’t be returning).

Despite press and social badgering re my sticking with the 4-4-2,which is what has gotten us to this position after all, I stuck with that, playing a cautious mentality for the road leg of the playoff semifinal vs. MK Dons. The team managed a 1-1 draw in that opening leg and looked more like themselves, including an opening goal from Joseph Adjei, my other big signing in January, who had been shut out until that point. In the return leg at home we dominated (a term I mostly avoid, but we did) with Nathan Broadhead and Lucas Green-Birch scoring the goals in front of a stellar defensive effort.

That led to a 20-day wait before the final (don’t remember this in real life at all). I focused on striking the balance in training, wanting of course to avoid injuries (more on that later).

The big day vs. Burton Albion at Wembley came and perhaps with the help of some pre-match hiccups (more on THAT later as well), we fell behind almost immediately, surrendering in the 1^st minute. Burton added a second later in the half and we were down at the break 2-0. I didn’t lambaste them at the break, but reminded them how big of an opportunity it was. Still, it looked bleak as we remained down 2-0 after 70 minutes.

Then seemingly out of nowhere everything changed. Harry Clarke scored a great goal from outside the area, and in the 75^th minute, team captain Ben Whitfield thundered home a penalty to draw us level. “Maybe we are going to go up,” I started thinking.

In the closing of minute of regulation, optimism shifted back to despair as Tayo Edun managed to pick up a second booking and a dismissal, meaning we would be playing the extra 30 minutes a man down. “So this is how we stay down,” I then thought. I brought in Mathias Kait to fill in the midfield slot, sacrificing a striker and going to 4-4-1, switching to cautious (from positive) and trying to hang on for penalties.

But rather amazingly, we actually dominated the extra time. My loan  signing from Brighton, Bojan Radulovic, got behind the defense to run onto a long ball, and slotted past the keeper to give a 3-2 lead. Near the end of the first 15 minutes, Broadhead hit a beautiful free kick into the top corner to double our advantage. Burton scored one in the 2^nd 15 but it was ruled out for offside, and before you knew it my boys were on the platform celebrating promotion!!!

Defender Matthew Platt and club legend Tom Pope were singing my praises in the press. The board said all kinds of nice things about me, as did the fans.  Then I was named League One Manager of the Year. Loan signing Tayo Edun was voted player of the year, with 24-year old Broadhead the younger player of the year and Mathias Kait the new signing of the season (he and Edun basically rotated the more defensive central midfield spot, with Clarke and Aidan Barlow doing the same in the attacking central mid role. It was Edun and Clark who were first choice when we were only playing one match per week. I ended up having two strikers as my leading scorers in Jamie Thomas (20 goals) and Lucas Green Birch (14). Ben Whitefield set a club record for assists with 14, having played all four midfield positions over the course of the season, but mostly at left wing.

The board has already started putting on the brakes re finances for next season in The Championship. The payroll is higher but there is basically no transfer money. Preseason hasn’t begun and in fact, the transfer window hasn’t opened yet, but I am wondering if this might actually be the best time to step down. Can anyone out there still reading this tell me about reputation and how it works. Has whatever credit I get for winning promotion (and being named Manager of the Year) been applied to me within the game engine yet?

Any help with these questions is appreciated.

Now I want to share a few complaints here – and please take these in the context of someone who is grateful for the progress we have been in our society, economically and technologically, that I can spend multiple hours, almost daily, playing a game for entertainment and enjoy how realistic it often seems. Despite my reference to emotions above, I never lose sight that this is a game. I also don’t think the following are bugs, just ways that maybe the game could be improved in a couple of fairly glaring incidences.

I think the injuries are actually more realistic than they’ve ever been in the game, especially the little niggles throughout the season. No doubt that is very much like real life, BUT, (and like Tina of LL Cool J fame – this one is a big ole BUTT). Before my final league match and then again just before the playoff final, I had key player hurt themselves with the old FM favorite of overexerting during weights training.. Thing is, we weren’t doing any Physical training at that day’s sessions, and in fact for the latter example, THERE WAS NO TRAINING for that day and the day before. No training at all. I think this old standby can be done away with and there should at least be a provision to whatever causes an injury to pop up in the game engine, that if there is no training, a player shouldn’t get a training injury. Maybe you want him to hurt his back getting out of his car if you’re after something fluky, but this one was pretty irritating last night considering how careful I was to set up the training to avoid injury.

The second thing is team meetings. I have had an excellent relationship with the players throughout, and I’ve worked for this. More than half of the players talk about their high regard for me as the reason they enjoy playing. But when we had a team meeting before the playoff final, I encouraged everyone to seize the moment and take the opportunity. More than half the squad got up in arms about it and said I shouldn’t remind them how big the situation is, and in the end, everybody’s mood seemed to go down. Is that a realistic scenario for such a team meeting on a big occasion?

Following the big win, with everyone sky high in morale, I do the obligatory meeting about next season. I tell them all to enjoy the break and hopefully they will be back to help us fight against relegation and hopefully we will have some new faces around. The reaction again, from more than half of the team, is that I’m off my rocker and no way are we going to avoid the drop. Seriously, would players say that? Because in real life my reaction would probably be to get a new group of players.

Anyway, the first bothers me more than the 2^nd, but it seems like both could be tweaked.

So pardon the long update. I’m happy at promotion, hopeful some minor changes can come about in the game engine, and seriously contemplating whether this is the right time to move on from Port Vale and try to break into the big(ger) time.

(I want to point out to the board that in real life, Port Vale just lost their manager and are facing fan protests at the ground. I don't see that option in the interface. :-) )

Thanks for reading.

Edited February 6, 2019 by IndyManager

[warlock]

24 minutes ago, IndyManager said:

Can anyone out there still reading this tell me about reputation

Not really, but I can tell you what has happened to me across various saves. As a club your reputation will take far longer to increase than you think and you'll find it hard to attract the players you rate as Championship quality. Mostly (and perhaps realistically) everyone will expect you to go straight back down, so you'll still be fishing in the same pool of players you had in L1. When I took Barnsley into the PL I still couldn't attract anyone of decent quality.

As a manager, I think your reputation increases more rapidly (depending a lot on what badges/experience you chose at the beginning of the save). So if you're thinking in terms of another job you might well get offered a more settled Championship team.

Some responses to your other points: footballers being what they are it's entirely possibly that a player would sneak into the weights room for a bit of adhoc body sculpting. As for team meetings, you rarely get a unanimous result. If you get the majority on your side, that's OK. If you call it wrong and the majority are against then a quick bit of back-tracking usually sorts it. And I don't think it's unrealistic that players react badly if (in their view) you're putting a lot of pressure on and holding them to impossible standards - in game terms there's a big difference between fighting bravely against relegation and avoiding a relegation struggle.

Anyway, congratulations on a job well done, and we'll be looking forward to your next updates, with a new club or not.

[smplfc123]

So since my last update, the players decided it was time to go on the beach.

We collected just 7 points from the last 11 games, meaning we ended up finishing 19th on 57 points:

 

Luckily, we were never really in any danger of dropping in to the bottom 3, but the poor end of season run forced the board in to giving me an ultimatum of picking up 10 points in the first 5 games of next season or i'm sacked. Ridiculously harsh I feel, considering the squad and financial problems. Going in to mid June and this is what I have to work with due to contract expiration and players wanting out:

Yep! And to make matters worse, this is what I've got for improvements/strengthening:

Something tells me I won't be at the Owls for much longer, but wish me luck nevertheless 

[warlock]

3 minutes ago, smplfc123 said:

this is what I have to work with

Well, you could put together a reasonable first team there, but the lack of depth is going to be an issue. That ultimatum is tough, though - three wins and a draw from five games is a stretch at any time, let alone with a squad like that. As always, I wish you luck!

[IndyManager]

3 hours ago, warlock said:

Not really, but I can tell you what has happened to me across various saves. As a club your reputation will take far longer to increase than you think and you'll find it hard to attract the players you rate as Championship quality. Mostly (and perhaps realistically) everyone will expect you to go straight back down, so you'll still be fishing in the same pool of players you had in L1. When I took Barnsley into the PL I still couldn't attract anyone of decent quality.

As a manager, I think your reputation increases more rapidly (depending a lot on what badges/experience you chose at the beginning of the save). So if you're thinking in terms of another job you might well get offered a more settled Championship team.

Some responses to your other points: footballers being what they are it's entirely possibly that a player would sneak into the weights room for a bit of adhoc body sculpting. As for team meetings, you rarely get a unanimous result. If you get the majority on your side, that's OK. If you call it wrong and the majority are against then a quick bit of back-tracking usually sorts it. And I don't think it's unrealistic that players react badly if (in their view) you're putting a lot of pressure on and holding them to impossible standards - in game terms there's a big difference between fighting bravely against relegation and avoiding a relegation struggle.

Anyway, congratulations on a job well done, and we'll be looking forward to your next updates, with a new club or not.

Thanks. I see your point on the player meetings, not so much on the weights, but basically it tells me there is no way to avoid injuries.with certainty.