FM19: The English Football League thread

[Gilbo88]

Title secured with 2 games to spare, thanks to the Stoke result and other results going our way. Best defence and attack in the league which I'm very happy with. Solanke managed to catch up with Pukki and both end joint top scorers for us.

Now to build for our first season back in the Premier League...

Reasonable transfer and wage budget, but still going to have to make some shrewd signings. Liverpool and Man City are happy to send Solanke and Foden back on loan, but that would use up both of my domestic loan slots so not sure what to do about them. 1 free signing already secured to add a bit of experience and depth at the back...

[jonathan44]

New Summer, new formation. Decided to go 4-1-2-2-1 to get the most out of  so I've had to have a re-jig this summer. Was desperately short on numbers and wingers, wanted a new GK as backup Dawson declared that he wanted a new oppotunity (at the grand old age of 25!). He left on loan so I splurged the cash

 

It seems to be a trend, but as my finances are rubbish, the transfer list and the unhappy list are my best friends. Ocampos, Vietto and Castagne were all unwanted at their respected clubs and all were excited (at least in my head they were) to join the Owls. Rulli has true pedigree and my scout thought I could get him for his asking price. His contract is expensive (77k) so only Grealish on more, but he is world class. WIlson and Dias join on loan as 2nd choice wingers to Ocampos and Vietto. My only regen signing is Antosik, who is going to be around the first team straight away.

Liam Palmer left after >200 appearances for the club, but he was unhappy and 4th choice so I didn't mind him leaving for half his value. My other major outgoing was Bonatini, who wanted a new contract on 90k a week, which was promptly rejected as it was ludicrous for a player of his ability. Bordeaux offered his value so he went, just outside the window. I had agreed terms with Piatek to join from Genoa but as the funds for Bonatini didn't arrive in time, he will join in January. Foriesteiri is unhappy so he will probably leave in January, but he's just not performing for me at all either on the wing or upfront.

 

Very few of my players received any bids in the summer, Adam Reach (who I'd let go I think) had 8 teams interested yet not a single bid. Odd summer but looking good, In the first four games won 2 lost 2.

[DefinitelyTaylor]

3 hours ago, smplfc123 said:

I have 6 games to save them from relegation. Could be a short save, but wish me luck!

A Martin Allen-esque story, well the parts where he joins to keep Barnet up (until last time) . Good luck! 

[jonathan44]

No words can describe that.

[smplfc123]

2 hours ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

A Martin Allen-esque story, well the parts where he joins to keep Barnet up (until last time) . Good luck! 

Haha cheers mate. My voice isn't as gravelly as his mind!

[IndyManager]

That feeling when you had thought your team was set up to be competitive but you look closer and realize...it probably isn't...and the transfer window closes tomorrow. That's me with Forest in season one at the too level.

[warlock]

1 hour ago, IndyManager said:

That feeling when you had thought your team was set up to be competitive but you look closer and realize...it probably isn't

 I know that feeling!

Although, to be fair, my players have surprised me more often than not by overperforming.

[IndyManager]

4 hours ago, warlock said:

 I know that feeling!

Although, to be fair, my players have surprised me more often than not by overperforming.

Due to your inspired leadership no doubt. I may need to wait until January to sign a difference maker.

[warlock]

Post 5 updated for latest predictions and transfer budgets.

 

[Dong21]

Charlton Athletic - Season 5 - Part 3

It's been a couple of weeks since I was able to post an update, but I have now finished season 5. When I last wrote we had just won the Carabao Cup, were in the Europa League Knockout rounds, but sat 18th in the league with a real danger of relegation (and therefore the sack for me!). Roller-coaster campaign would be an understatement.

February's good form continued into March and it begun with a victory over Shakhtar in the Europa League. You may recall I made the decision to drop Hamsik for the second half of the season and move in a more youthful direction. In this particular game I selected Castellano to play behind the striker and he rewarded me with a brace. Due to the winter World Cup this game was also a one-legged affair so we went to penalties where Henderson was the hero making three saves which allowed us to win 3-0. The game against Man Utd was a strange one, we equalised in the 84th, took the lead in the 92nd, but then conceded in the 93rd. Overall it was a good result. We won three out of the remaining four league games in the month, a feat that saw us rise out of the relegation zone and up to 15th place.

The Europa League continued to be a place of great joy for us as we beat Benfica on away goals after tying 4-4. This result was particularly special to me as one of the all important goals was scored by Joe Aribo, a player who has been with me since we began in League One! In between our European legs we also achieved one of our greatest results, beating Arsenal at the Emirates in a backs-to-the-wall performance. Our form trailed off near the end of the month as we were thumped by Spurs and lost to our local rivals Palace for the second time this season. Disappointing results but our recent run of form meant this wasn't a disaster.

We got the toughest draw possible getting a rampant Man Utd in the Europa League Semi Finals. The other two options were Real Betis and FC Koln and I am certain we could have beaten either of these. You may have noticed when looking at my results that the vast majority of our goals are scored by midfielders - it does not matter what formation or who I start, my strikers just can't seem to find the net. Going into the Semi Final first leg, £18.75m striker Cannavo had not scored for a ridiculous 14 hours. He scored against United and I thought to myself all would be forgiven if we could make it to the Final - unfortunately it was not to be. The four goals United scored across the ties were a penalty and then three goals all scored after the 85th minute as we chased the tie. Frustrating, but ultimately deserved as they were the better team. Our Europa League run came to an end but it was a huge over-achievement to get to that stage. United went on to be eventual winners.

In the league in May we suffered a narrow defeat to the champions Liverpool but otherwise it was a series of good results. Cannavo scored in four of the last seven games which gives me hope that next season he may finally deliver on his promise. The strong end to the season saw us eventually finish 11th, something that looked impossible at the half-way point of the season.

I would highlight Dean Henderson as my key performer this season, he played 57 games (10 more than any other player) and repeatedly pulled off big saves. Otherwise, my wingers deserve big credit - Stengs was top goalscorer and assistor (10 and 11 respectively), whilst El Ghazi (7 and 2) and Pacheco (7 and 3) also contributed. Bielik was voted fans' Player of the Season, however I am not entirely sure why as he was decent but not spectacular.

Finally I wanted to share the above two news items as I enjoyed them. One shows that we are still operating on a small but financially stable budget and the other shows our meteoric rise in stature after our Europa League campaign.

Season 6 awaits and we once again have the balancing act of Europe and the Premier League. I'm planning another squad overhaul too, so watch this space!

Edited March 17, 2019 by Dong21

[warlock]

@Dong21 A rollercoaster indeed! But securing a mid-table finish is an excellent result; reaching a European semi-final is also impressive, and a trophy in the cabinet is icing on the cake. Hope the board give you decent backing for the next season!

[smplfc123]

HULL CITY UPDATE

So when I took over at the KCOM, Hull were sat in the relegation zone with 6 games remaining. This is how the season ended:

We started with a solid 2-0 home win against Wigan, but I was wary that that was just the new manager bounce at home to another struggling team. But no. We then went on to record excellent victories away to play-off chasing teams Middlesbrough and West Brom. We then however were brought back down to earth collecting just 1 point from the next 2 games. This meant going in to the last game against Bristol City, even though we were sat above the relegation zone, there was still a chance we could go down. Thankfully, despite going behind before half time, we rallied and a David Milinkovic double ensured our safety.

Collecting 13 points from a possible 18 is an achievement i'm very proud of, with us ending up 4 places above where I took over. I've not been given expectations or budgets for next season yet, but I have a year left on my contract and I fancy staying here. Let's see what the summer brings us.

[DefinitelyTaylor]

@Dong21: Good going mate! Glad to see you turned your fortune around in the league and also completed a great run to the semi finals of the Europa League. Looking forward to seeing if you can make it that extra step further, if not an additional one on that one, next season.  The form in the second half of the season will hopefully give the current group of players a motivation boost going into next season. With the right additions, in which you have made a number of good signings so far, you'll definitely improve on this seasons finish. Good luck!

@smplfc123: I'll be calling you Martin Allen from now on!  Fantastic work mate, absolutely brilliant.

[Dong21]

Thanks @warlock and @DefinitelyTaylor - I have been handed a budget of £60m and intend to spend it going in a more youthful direction. I brought in Hamsik and Perisic last season as experienced heads to lead us into Europe and neither impressed so I'm going to put faith in a new generation!

[smplfc123]

Haha cheers @DefinitelyTaylor

[Rollin93]

Any ideas? I’m stuck between Bristol City or Preston? 

Also open to other ideas want a team with a good youth in the first team and potential to be class

thanks in advance

[warlock]

17 minutes ago, Rollin93 said:

Also open to other ideas want a team with a good youth in the first team

Norwich have a few, including the impressive Max Aarons, as well as Ben Godfrey, Todd Cantwell, Jamal Lewis and Emil Buendia.

[DefinitelyTaylor]

1 hour ago, Rollin93 said:

Any ideas? I’m stuck between Bristol City or Preston? 

Also open to other ideas want a team with a good youth in the first team and potential to be class

thanks in advance

I would encourage you go Bristol. Players like Josh Brownhill and Famara Deidhiou will do very well for you. 

[Gungner]

Decided to start as Norwich post-update... Any ideas of cheap options? I know a lot of the freebies and players going for peanuts are not available anymore.... 

[Rollin93]

2 hours ago, warlock said:

Norwich have a few, including the impressive Max Aarons, as well as Ben Godfrey, Todd Cantwell, Jamal Lewis and Emil Buendia.

I tried them before but couldn’t get the striker scoring 😂I’ll give them another look

[Rollin93]

2 hours ago, warlock said:

Norwich have a few, including the impressive Max Aarons, as well as Ben Godfrey, Todd Cantwell, Jamal Lewis and Emil Buendia.

I tried them before but couldn’t get the striker scoring 😂I’ll give them another look

 

1 hour ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

I would encourage you go Bristol. Players like Josh Brownhill and Famara Deidhiou will do very well for you. 

I was swaying more towards Bristol out of the 2 might be worth a try 

[IndyManager]

OK – struggling with Forest in the Prem – 18^th a little past midway and very much in doubt about staying up – but having a blast. 

A couple of game points and then a question for everyone:

1.       The VAR is too much – but I fear it may be what it ends up being like in real life. Every goal it seems,  goes to review. I’ve watched some German football and they don’t seem to go to it so often, but we’ll see what it looks like. A little heavy on FM it seems to me.

2.       The game action on the ME is much better to me. I see more things happen that I would expect, more choppy play, fewer 30-yard screamers. I don’t know if it was updated in the past couple of months but it looks better to me.

Now my question/moan:

I had a forward who wasn’t playing and came to me about it. I said I would sell him on (not loan him) by the end of January. He said OK and thanks. I set his sell price at 2 million, about 40 percent of what his value had been. There were two weeks left in the window. The very next day a club comes in with a loan offer, paying ZERO percent of salary and non-negotiatble. I reject. Immediately the player is mad that I didn’t keep my promise. He still has two weeks left in the window. He comes to me again, straightaway and I say I will move him when I get a fair offer. He asks how much I say 2 million, and he says OK. But n ow he’s mad and the locker room atmosphere drops.

The very next day same club comes back with the same    zero loan offer, which I reject. AGAIN, He’s all mad about hit and it says he has set himself completely against me. This in turn has made the captain upset because he had been promised an improved atmosphere which was happening until this stuff.

So how have I failed to keep two promises when there’s still plenty of time left in the window.

Oh btw, the wantaway player “holds me in the highest regard as a head coach.”

I know people are unreasonable with criticisms and I really love playing the game – but this can’t be right – can it?

[Rollin93]

So I decided to jump on the bandwagon and I am

Norwich!

[warlock]

22 minutes ago, Rollin93 said:

I decided to jump on the bandwagon

Good man 

It's been a bit quiet in here lately, and I'm as guilty as the next manager. But it's taken me an age, post update, to figure out my next save... spent hours staring at squad lists throughout the EFL clubs. I have to say it puts all of the criticism of the AI squad management into perspective - human managers are doing a fantastic job of stuffing up their real-world teams! 

Just started a save with Brentford. The injury situation is as bad as ever, but some creative management has conspired to make the situation worse. Star CB Chris Mepham has been sold to Bournemouth, but hasn't been replaced and only a pittance of the transfer fee is available. RB/RW Josh Clarke has been shipped out on loan - he isn't very good but with one first-choice RB on holiday through pre-season, and the other injured for months, he would have been useful cover (he was also the only first-teamer with HGC status so I'm playing for the foreseeable future with just six subs).

So on taking over we have: two GKs, three CBs, one LB, one RB, two DMs, one CM, three wide AMs and two AMCs, and one (count him!) one striker. That's a lot of positions to fill and a transfer budget of just £2.5m.

First order of business was to raise some money, so I was grateful when Stoke came in with a £4m offer for Romaine Sawyers. Done! RB Dalsgard came back from his hols and, 30 minutes into his first pre-season friendly, does his hamstring and goes out for six weeks. Immediately after, Ezri Konsa suffers shin splints and goes out for 2-3 months. I'm losing players faster than I can sign them!

Matters were complicated by two aspects of the database update. First is the usual - we're dealing with the consequences of *two* transfer windows, so a lot of potential signings have already been snapped up on transfers or loan signings - there are slim pickings out there. The second seems new - teams are demanding much higher percentages of wages and fees for loans so cheap options are few and far between. Eventually, I managed to bring in one CB - Liam Lindsay from Barnsley, who had been a standout performer for me in an earlier save, and loan signings in the form of Tom Ince from Stoke, to provide cover at AMR and AML; and Kevin N'Doram from Monaco and Angelo Fulgini from Angers, both filling midfield slots. Although I spent only £1.2m on Lindsay, those signings consumed almost all of my cash as much of the transfer budget had to be moved into wages. I wasn't able to bring in a rotation striker.

With the transfer window just closed, I have 20 fit players available, including a u23 backup striker who should be nowhere near the first team. Four more first-teamers will be missing for at least another month. We're just about managing - although weeks with two games are challenging - but another injury or two might be the end of us.

For those who don't know, Brentford dismantled their youth setup a few years ago. The result is that the u23 squad has just 10 players excluding a few on loan; and the u18 squad has only 9. In real life, the club does not operate with u23 and u18 squads - it uses an A- and B-team setup. If you look at the club's official website, you find that many of the listed A-team are actually in the B-team as well!

I like Brentford, they're my local club. But right now they're rather shambolic.

[Sean3h]

Will be jumping on the Norwich bandwagon as well this weekend! It's where I grew up, so I always like to play games with them.

Out of curiosity, how are people using Buendia? On the games I've played with Norwich before in this game I've struggled to fit him in (partially because he seemed to only play AMC) but would like to try to get him move involved this time around.

[Rollin93]

42 minutes ago, Sean3h said:

Will be jumping on the Norwich bandwagon as well this weekend! It's where I grew up, so I always like to play games with them.

Out of curiosity, how are people using Buendia? On the games I've played with Norwich before in this game I've struggled to fit him in (partially because he seemed to only play AMC) but would like to try to get him move involved this time around.

I’m only 3-4 games in I’ve been playing him as a inside forward on the right 

he’s doing alright 

[Gungner]

Yeah, inside forward on the right, and he's a beast!

[Gungner]

 

After a great pre-season and a fantastic August, we slipped and had a terrible September, seing us slipping down to 2nd spot (which in itself isn't that bad, I guess)... We were expected to reach the 3rd round of the Carabao Cup, which we did, going out on penalties (4-5) to Everton. A shame, but I can accept that. 

That gives us the following standings come the end of September:

 

 

I brought the following players in before the season, however the two loanees have spent some time on the sidelines with injuries. 

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by Gungner

[Jogo Bonito]

Now the new update is out, I'll be getting underway with a new EFL career.

Ideally this will be starting from League 2 and hopefully with a team that I haven't ever managed in FM before. That doesn't leave many, and even less that I will even consider when I look through the squads, facilities etc. I might cave in and go with one that I've managed before (Forest Green or even Carlisle), but currently seem to have narrowed it down to three. I'm also planning to have a League 1 game (again, hard to find a club I like that I haven't managed before) and maybe even a Championship game too. I'm also going to be continuing my pre-update career with Olympique Lyonnais, as I'm really enjoying my first season there. I don't know where all this time is going to come from though.

Good to see everyone's updates, and I guess a few more will be shared soon with the fresh database inspiring some new challenges.

[enders357]

I've just started a save with Norwich as I was excited by them having a few good youngsters in Buendia, Aarons, Lewis and Godfrey. I've cashed in all the clauses - including over £3m on one for Nathan Redmond - so I have around £4m to spend, though I suppose I will need to put some of that in to the wage budget too. Any recommendations of potential signings - promising young players who can impact the first team in the first season, or any must-not-miss bargains?

[Gungner]

6 minutes ago, enders357 said:

I've just started a save with Norwich as I was excited by them having a few good youngsters in Buendia, Aarons, Lewis and Godfrey. I've cashed in all the clauses - including over £3m on one for Nathan Redmond - so I have around £4m to spend, though I suppose I will need to put some of that in to the wage budget too. Any recommendations of potential signings - promising young players who can impact the first team in the first season, or any must-not-miss bargains?

I can strongly recommend Xadas from Braga. As you can see a couple of posts above, I got him for £750k and he has not dissapointed. 

And as always, there's Antonio Marin. Dinamo now asks around £25 mil for him, but he can be unsettled through several low bids and declaring interest, and then they'll list him for around £3 mil. I did that, but didn't manage to snap him up before deadline day. I'll try again in January.

Edited March 9, 2019 by Gungner

[enders357]

2 minutes ago, Gungner said:

I can strongly recommend Xadas from Braga. As you can see a couple of posts above, I got him for £750k and he has not dissapointed. 

And as always, there's Antonio Marin. Dinamo now asks around £25 mil for him, but he can be unsettled through several low bids and declaring interest, and then they'll list him for around £3 mil. I did that, but didn't manage to snap him up before deadline day. I'll try again in January.

Funnily enough I already have a bid in for Xadas having bought him on my only previous save, with Lyon. I'll have a look at Marin too, thanks.

[Dong21]

Welcome back @Jogo Bonito, looking forward to hearing where you end up in the Football League!

[Jogo Bonito]

4 hours ago, Dong21 said:

Welcome back @Jogo Bonito, looking forward to hearing where you end up in the Football League!

Cheers @Dong21, it looks like I have found a new home in League 2. No transfer budget isn't going to make this easy, but the starting squad is quite decent for the level. A new affiliate link with a club in the same geographical region seems like it will be useful too, and I should be able to get a handful of decent young loan players from them. Pre-season is nearing completion, and it's been solid if uninspiring against lower league opposition. There are a few more deals to finish, and although any incoming deals won't involve transfer fees, I should be able to get a small amount of funding from a couple of sales to put the club in a better financial position.

[DefinitelyTaylor]

47 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Cheers @Dong21, it looks like I have found a new home in League 2. No transfer budget isn't going to make this easy, but the starting squad is quite decent for the level. A new affiliate link with a club in the same geographical region seems like it will be useful too, and I should be able to get a handful of decent young loan players from them. Pre-season is nearing completion, and it's been solid if uninspiring against lower league opposition. There are a few more deals to finish, and although any incoming deals won't involve transfer fees, I should be able to get a small amount of funding from a couple of sales to put the club in a better financial position.

I hope to god you haven't gone with Morecambe... 

[Jogo Bonito]

@DefinitelyTaylor I've done Grimsby, I've taken Forest Green in January when they were five points adrift at the foot of League 2, I've done teams in administration with points deductions, but no way am I going to try and take on Morecambe

One more friendly to go, and I think my incoming business is complete (four loans and two free transfers). I've sold two players (both to Burton) for a combined sum of £205k, and there are just two more players I would like to sell if possible in order to drop the squad size to 22 plus some secondary youngsters.

Three of my four loan signings came from my new parent club (for free), and I'm very happy with the back-up 'keeper and two central midfielders they allowed me to borrow. One of these midfielders is even money to be L2 player of the year, and has actually played PL football this season IRL, so it should be a good bit of business. The other loan player in the squad (a striker from a Championship side) doesn't seem to see much of the ball, which is probably why I don't have anyone tipped to be anywhere near the top scorers in L2.

The reason for the striker failing to shine in pre-season is that I'm currently playing a 4-1-3-1-1 DM AM narrow. This is a first for me, and it's kind of quirky having five central midfielders in the starting X1! This tactical choice made me terminate the two original loans at the club as they were both wingers, and I don't expect to be needing them. I do have a couple of players in the squad who can play those roles if I change strategy or need to use the bench to change my formation. So far it's been defensively great and quite (very) blunt in attack, so this approach may not succeed.

So, which club am I?

 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

8 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

So, which club am I?

Well, at least it's not Morecambe! Could be miles off with this guess, but I think Yeovil. 

[Gilbo88]

@Gungner @Rollin93 @Sean3h @enders357 Good to see a few people joining me at Norwich. I’ve just got to the end of the season 2 transfer window and about to play my first game back in the Premier League away at Brighton.

Will post my transfers when I get a chance. Of the current squad Jamal Lewis has been great at LB, rejected a couple of bids from Premier League teams last season. Max Aarons didn’t play much for me last season but will be 1st choice RB this season. Godfrey I’ve played DM and he’s also been good. He has picked up an injury so will miss the 1st part of the season and I’ve signed another DM on a free transfer to compete with him this season. And Louis Thompson has been good in CM as a BBM too. There’s also a lot of dead wood to get rid of, most of whom are out on loan 1st season with contracts expiring in the summer. Buendia I haven’t really used much as I don’t play with an AMC. Pukki has been frustrating - was joint top scorer for me with 11 last season but I brought in Solanke on loan in January (which won’t be possible now he’s joined Bournemouth) who equalled him having only played half a season

[Jogo Bonito]

@DefinitelyTaylor Geographically miles out, update will follow after I've progressed a little more.

I like all the interest in Norwich, a really good choice of club with the quality young players, facilities etc.

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Gilbo88 said:

Buendia I haven’t really used much as I don’t play with an AMC

According to my scouts he's far better as a winger at AMR than an AMC. Looks an excellent choice there in a 433 or 4231.

I'm afraid I've binned my Brentford save. That was my fifth attempt with the club and got murdered by injuries every time. This time was the worst of the lot because the squad is so thin to start with - by October I hadn't been able to play Dalsgard for more than two games, Rico Henry came back from injury and did his knee ligaments in his first training session. To make matters worse, Canos was out for a month and when he came back he kicked off about playing time, I couldn't talk him down and half the squad took his side. Thank you, and goodnight!

So I'm back to searching for a save I can get into. Might have tried Norwich but looks like they're well done now. I said a while ago I'd have a crack at Forest and still might, but the current favourite might be Cambridge.

@Jogo Bonito Man of mystery . I'm looking forward to seeing who you've chosen.

[Jogo Bonito]

10 minutes ago, warlock said:

According to my scouts he's far better as a winger at AMR than an AMC. Looks an excellent choice there in a 433 or 4231.

I'm afraid I've binned my Brentford save. That was my fifth attempt with the club and got murdered by injuries every time. This time was the worst of the lot because the squad is so thin to start with - by October I hadn't been able to play Dalsgard for more than two games, Rico Henry came back from injury and did his knee ligaments in his first training session. To make matters worse, Canos was out for a month and when he came back he kicked off about playing time, I couldn't talk him down and half the squad took his side. Thank you, and goodnight!

So I'm back to searching for a save I can get into. Might have tried Norwich but looks like they're well done now. I said a while ago I'd have a crack at Forest and still might, but the current favourite might be Cambridge.

@Jogo Bonito Man of mystery . I'm looking forward to seeing who you've chosen.

You've had a tough time with Brentford, hoping to see you in League 2 though!

[Rollin93]

So I have a confession I binned off my Norwich save way to quickly 

I decided nottm forest looked interested and the history behind the club made it even more appealing 

Edited March 12, 2019 by Rollin93

[Gilbo88]

Some decent transfer business prior to life back in the Premier League. Very pleased to pick up Arthur and Tierney on loan. Boyata adds experience at CB, and my 2 other free transfers are instantly worth upwards of £20m. Butland wanted to leave Stoke and although he was a bit pricey he is definitely an upgrade on Krul. Gnabry and Falque both have some Premier League experience and will improve things out wide, on top of Antonio Marin who I signed in the previous January window. I've also managed to get decent money for the players I've sold who either wanted to leave or were never going to challenge for a 1st team spot.

So far, so good. 2 wins and a draw with 3 clean sheets. Hopefully this form can continue. The board are targeting a mid table finish (they didn't even give me the option of going for anything less than that!) so there's a lot of work to be done!

[enders357]

On 12/03/2019 at 16:21, Gilbo88 said:

Some decent transfer business prior to life back in the Premier League. Very pleased to pick up Arthur and Tierney on loan. Boyata adds experience at CB, and my 2 other free transfers are instantly worth upwards of £20m. Butland wanted to leave Stoke and although he was a bit pricey he is definitely an upgrade on Krul. Gnabry and Falque both have some Premier League experience and will improve things out wide, on top of Antonio Marin who I signed in the previous January window. I've also managed to get decent money for the players I've sold who either wanted to leave or were never going to challenge for a 1st team spot.

So far, so good. 2 wins and a draw with 3 clean sheets. Hopefully this form can continue. The board are targeting a mid table finish (they didn't even give me the option of going for anything less than that!) so there's a lot of work to be done!

Looking good! Some awesome signings there

[Gungner]

I'm considering starting a save with Stoke City... A starting budget of £10 mil in the Championship doesn't sound too shabby, and around £60k in available wages. 

[warlock]

20 minutes ago, Gungner said:

I'm considering starting a save with Stoke City

Is there any club in Europe you haven't managed yet? 

[Gungner]

1 minute ago, warlock said:

Is there any club in Europe you haven't managed yet? 

Oh there's plenty! 

I have only managed in England (5 teams), France (1 team), Italy (4 teams), Holland (1 team) and Germany (2 teams)... So there's plenty still unexplored 

[warlock]

3 minutes ago, Gungner said:

Oh there's plenty! 

You'd better get a move on... there's only 7 months 'til FM20 

[Gungner]

Just now, warlock said:

You'd better get a move on... there's only 7 months 'til FM20 

I know! It's just that I haven't found a team that really intrigues me... Other than Marseille (but I've gone dead in that save after almost 4 seasons). 

I don't know if it's this version of FM, or just me finding the teams really boring or too hard / easy

Edited March 14, 2019 by Gungner

[Brian]

Exeter City / Sky Bet League Two

England / Nation

Plymouth Argyle / Rivals

St James Park / Stadium

 

I was looking for a fun save, where there was no pressure from the club or myself really and I have never managed in England (a part from a lost season with Burnley (FM17) in the Championship in a save, 3 years in). Fasten your seatbelts.  

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by Brian