[FM19] Derby County - Director of Football Challenge

[kidthekid]

unlucky result against Spurs but your performance is a positive sign. How do you feel about your overall depth. Do you think Igor is doing a good job?

Edited July 3, 2019 by kidthekid

[dap1987]

Great start against Newcastle, a big 3 points even this early but really unlucky against Spurs!  A point would have been a big one.

 

And onto the next round of the Europa, the fans are ready with the "We're all going on a European Tour" song and the t-shirts are ready to print

 

Would you be happy to see Lopez move before the foreign windows close?  It would definitely make your squad management a bit easier. 

[Stuniverse]

17 hours ago, kidthekid said:

unlucky result against Spurs but your performance is a positive sign. How do you feel about your overall depth. Do you think Igor is doing a good job?

Thanks, @kidthekid. Yes, the 95th minute loss to Spurs was hard to take. Maybe I made mistakes. I dropped the RW back to a DRW and went cautious. Then when they scored, I switched back to how we normally play and that was much better. Perhaps I should've shut-up shop and time-wasted in the closing minutes, but at 2-2 I wanted to win it.

If I'm being objective about the squad I think we have more depth and are a better grouo than last season, but not significantly.

Goalkeepers, with the addition of Nubel I have two #1s, a #2 and a cheap, English #4.

In defence, Toloi, Darmian and Tomori and depth we didn't have last season. Toloi is better than Wisdom, but we haven't replaced Kenedy in terms if quality at LB. Some of my players are saying we need to add quality in defence.

Midfield was our strongest area last year. We've lost Kagawa, but young Naylor is more than ready now.

Out wide we have the same players as last season plus Espinoza.

Ings adds quality up front.

Igor probably had his best transfer window this save but he still did some irrational things. Maybe that's the FM AI, I don't know. It would be interesting to see how a DoF with top attributes did.

How do you think Igor's doing?

Edited July 4, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

9 hours ago, dap1987 said:

Great start against Newcastle, a big 3 points even this early but really unlucky against Spurs!  A point would have been a big one.

 

And onto the next round of the Europa, the fans are ready with the "We're all going on a European Tour" song and the t-shirts are ready to print

 

Would you be happy to see Lopez move before the foreign windows close?  It would definitely make your squad management a bit easier. 

Thanks, @dap1987. I was pleased with the Newcastle win and how comfortable we looked.

The late Spurs defeat was a kick-in the teeth, but I talked about that in my response to @kidthekid.

At the moment I don't want to lose Lopez because I have confidence in him. He was awesome last season, but that could change if Nubel inspires confidence.

I watch all matches on Extended Highlights and I judge the GKs based on what I see, not their match ratings.

Carson gave me confidence in the Champipnship but Igor sold him before I could see him in Prem.

I'm giving Nubel the chance to impress, Lopez is available for £30M, and Sepe is available on loan. We'll see what happens.

Unless Igor has other ideas.

Edited July 4, 2019 by Stuniverse

[warlock]

6 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

How do you think Igor's doing?

Mixed bag about sums it up. Had a mare last season, did better (albeit not brilliant) this window.

Not exactly sure how you've been playing it, but maybe the way to use a DoF is to specify the roles you need reinforcing, and to give him a shortlist of players you want. The DoF is just the general AI manifest in a role, and we all know how the AI does in the transfer market - duplicate signings sitting on the bench while they never really identify the team's weak spots. Perhaps hence your GK situation.

Hope this doesn't sound too critical but maybe you allowed Igor's Derby connections to override his quality (or lack of) in the DoF role? If I was to play a DoF challenge, I'd certainly be picking the best possible person ahead of any other consideration. As a Man Utd fan it's a thorny issue right now given the public discussion regarding United's approach to the problem (and they look like getting it wrong!)

[Stuniverse]

7 hours ago, warlock said:

Mixed bag about sums it up. Had a mare last season, did better (albeit not brilliant) this window.

Not exactly sure how you've been playing it, but maybe the way to use a DoF is to specify the roles you need reinforcing, and to give him a shortlist of players you want. The DoF is just the general AI manifest in a role, and we all know how the AI does in the transfer market - duplicate signings sitting on the bench while they never really identify the team's weak spots. Perhaps hence your GK situation.

Hope this doesn't sound too critical but maybe you allowed Igor's Derby connections to override his quality (or lack of) in the DoF role? If I was to play a DoF challenge, I'd certainly be picking the best possible person ahead of any other consideration. As a Man Utd fan it's a thorny issue right now given the public discussion regarding United's approach to the problem (and they look like getting it wrong!)

Thanks, @warlock. I would agree ‘mixed bag’ is a very good summary of Igor’s performance this save.

I would love to be able to specify the roles I need improving / reinforcing, and provide Igor with a shortlist of players I want, but I haven’t been able to work out how to do this. There doesn’t even appear to be any correlation between Igor’s signings and scouting, even though Igor is in charge of scouting. More often than not, when Igor bids for / signs a player, the player hasn’t even been scouted, at least no scout report is available to me and I get a Scouting required prompt.

It’s important to me that I enjoy the save. If I’m not enjoying the save then it will become a chore, and that will show in these updates which wouldn’t be fair on all of you reading and following this thread. For that reason, and that reason alone, I will block (if I can) the more outrageously ridiculous things that Igor may do, but only in very rare situations, and only if I think it will spoil my enjoyment of the save if it goes through.

Igor is basically in charge of all signings, sales, loans (in and out), contract negotiations, contract extensions, and decides which players and staff are released (other than Manager, the owner Mel Morris decides on my contract), and scouting. I use what I can to influence Igor by using the player’s Transfer Status details screen, including setting asking price etc., Adding a player as a transfer target (self-imposed Derby connection rule), using the Unwanted and Development lists, asking DoF to negotiate contract are all tools I use although, as I’ve discovered, just because I ask Igor to do something, doesn’t mean he will.

I didn’t take your comments as criticism, @warlock. Derby don’t, historically, use a DoF model, although I know the owner has considered it, but our British managers have been against it. It may yet come in with Phillip Cocu, although the owner sees the role as a way to help the manager.

I admit wholeheartedly I picked Igor Stimac for DoF on this save for his Derby connection and for sentimental reasons. Igor was a legend for us as a player and my hero. I did bump into him, once, and speak to him at East Midlands airport in the WH Smith’s there and, surreally, I was wearing a Stimac baseball cap at the time.

In real-life, Igor has said he has unfinished business at Derby County and hopes to come back one day. His managerial record is not that great, sadly. So, for all those reasons, he seemed the ideal choice for DoF. I did check his attributes before setting up the database; although not great, they weren’t too shabby  either.

Unfortunately, the DoF functionality in FM19 isn’t as integrated with the manager as I’d like. It feels clunky at times and also isn’t always consistent. Even now, about to start my 4th season of this save, I’m not sure what Igor will do in certain circumstances.

I think if I was to do another DoF save, I’d go for a DoF with very high numbers in the key attribute areas to see if that made much of a difference, or not, or I’d create my own DoF in the pre-game Editor.

Edited July 5, 2019 by Stuniverse

[kidthekid]

14 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

How do you think Igor's doing?

I think he's doing a good job, he has made some good signings, but at the same time, he's not doing as well as you would if you could sign players yourself. But I think this is what makes the save a challenging one, which is a good thing.

I think it replicates real life situations, when managers complain about wanting players but the people in charge don't buy the players they want.

[warlock]

7 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

I would love to be able to specify the roles I need improving / reinforcing, and provide Igor with a shortlist of players I want, but I haven’t been able to work out how to do this

I never really use a DoF for anything, but @fmFutbolManager has a great blog where he went into a lot of detail about how he does it:

https://theresonlyoneball.com/2018/05/15/my-approach-to-utilising-a-director-of-football-in-football-manager-2018/

About halfway down the page, he explains how to put your targets into groups (eg, RB, CM) and set the priority for each. He was playing FM18 at that point, but as far as I can tell it works the same way this year.

[Stuniverse]

19 minutes ago, warlock said:

I never really use a DoF for anything, but @fmFutbolManager has a great blog where he went into a lot of detail about how he does it:

https://theresonlyoneball.com/2018/05/15/my-approach-to-utilising-a-director-of-football-in-football-manager-2018/

About halfway down the page, he explains how to put your targets into groups (eg, RB, CM) and set the priority for each. He was playing FM18 at that point, but as far as I can tell it works the same way this year.

Thanks very much @warlock, very much appreciated. I’ll check that link out later...

[Stuniverse]

4 hours ago, warlock said:

I never really use a DoF for anything, but @fmFutbolManager has a great blog where he went into a lot of detail about how he does it:

https://theresonlyoneball.com/2018/05/15/my-approach-to-utilising-a-director-of-football-in-football-manager-2018/

About halfway down the page, he explains how to put your targets into groups (eg, RB, CM) and set the priority for each. He was playing FM18 at that point, but as far as I can tell it works the same way this year.

Thanks again, @warlock. I've had a look at the link and it makes perfect sense. I can see what he's doing and, yes, it looks like I can do the same in FM19.

He's going for a slightly different dynamic  between DoF and Manager to what I'm looking to achieve with this save, I think, but I can see how I can use that at times. For example, if I'd used the groups and prioritised the groups last season, when I needed CBs, it sounds like it would've improved my chances of Igor signing a CB.

Many thanks. Much appreciated.

[Stuniverse]

Game date: Thursday 19 August 2021

Pre-match v Ludogorets Razgrad (H) - Euro Cup Best Placed 4th Qualifying Round (1st Leg)

Match Preview

RamsFanzine: Have you shaken off the pain of that late defeat to Tottenham?

Stuniverse: Yes. We analysed the game and we've moved on. Tonight is a different competition, a different challenge, but we've prepared well and we're ready.

Team Selection

RamsFanzine: Three changes including Sepe in goal. Is he your Euro Cup goalkeeper right now?

Stuniverse: Yes. I told Luigi Sepe he could play in the cup-ties and I'm keeping my word unless Luigi gives me reason to change my mind.

The other two changes are Max Lowe in for Matteo Darmian and Harry Wilson for Cristian Espinoza.

Post-match: Derby County (0) 2-0 (0) Ludogorets Razgrad

RamsFanzine: Did you think the goals were never going to come?

Stuniverse: It was a bit like that. We had to be patient. But I think you have to give Ludogorets a lot of credit. They defended in numbers. They threw themselves into blocks and tackles, and when the shots got through their goalkeeper saved them, parried them, got something on them. We kept going, we didn't panic, we kept doing the right things, and two great goals from Tom Lawrence sealed the win.

RamsFanzine: Wilson didn't look too good when he limped off. Any news?

Stuniverse: Yes. Harry Wilson's twisted his ankle. It's difficult to put a time frame on that. 3-6 weeks, maybe.

Edited July 5, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: Sunday 22 August 2021

Pre-match v West Ham United (a) - Premier League (3)

Match Preview

RamsFanzine: It's back to the league again. Does the switch between competitions cause any additional complications?

Stuniverse: Look, we've heard other managers talk about the Euro Cup messing up their league campaign but we don't see it that way. Yes they're different competitions, with different challenges, the away ties in particular with all the traveling, but, honestly, we just see them as football matches and we prepare for them the same way. I guess today we'll find out if there's any hangover.

Team Selection

RamsFanzine: Two changes today. Were you tempted to make more?

Stuniverse: I was, yes, but I think this is a key game to get momentum in the league. It's a squad game, and we will need to give more players playing time soon, but I didn't think West Ham today was the right match. Alexander Nubel replaces Luigi Sepe in goal, and Cristian Espinoza plays wide right for the injured Harry Wilson (ankle). Martin Naylor has recovered from his groin problem and is on the bench.

Post-match: West Ham United (0) 0-1 (1) Derby County

RamsFanzine: No sign of a hangover at the London Stadium. Were you happy with that?

Stuniverse: Yes. I was. Very. It's not often you go away in the Premier League, to a place like the London Stadium, and comfortably control the game. I thought defensively we were superb and with the ball we created a lot of chances, particularly with Cristian Espinoza looking dangerous down the right. We should've scored a few more but Fabianski was brilliant in their goal. Fortunately for us, Danny Ings did what we signed him to do, after being put through by Mason Mount's killer ball, Danny ran in at pace and confidently finished past Fabianski. 

RamsFanzine: The win puts you 9th and you still have a game in hand at Burnley. Not a bad start?

Stuniverse: Not a bad start at all. We're only three games in though so it's far too early to know how we're going to do this season, but we're very happy with our performances so far.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: 24 August 2021

LOPEZ WANTS TO STAY

RamsFanzine: Derby County club sources understand that 26 year-old Rams goalkeeper Pau Lopez no longer wants to leave for Chelsea.

Lopez's decision appears to be based on the fact that Chelsea have signed two goakeepers this transfer window and are no longer interested in him. Chelsea signed Geronimo Rulli from Real Sociedad for £66M and Ruben Blanco from Leeds for £1.1M (possibly rising to £1.4M).

This leaves Rams manager Stuniverse with four goalkeepers at his disposal. Alexander Nubel has played all three Premier League matches this season and Luigi Sepe has played all five Europa Cup games.  Lopez and Frank Fielding have not played, nor have they made the bench.

Stuniverse recently told us, "Lopez has had his head turned by Chelsea and he won't play for us again until he gets his head right." On numerous occasions though, Stuniverse has said, "Pau was outstanding for us last season, world class at times."

With Lopez wanting to stay at Derby, and Nubel already signed to replace him, the Rams goalkeeping situation is one to watch between now and the end of the January transfer window.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[kidthekid]

oh gosh, now the goalkeeping situation has become even more chaotic

[Stuniverse]

Game date: 26 August 2021

SWANS V RAMS

RamsFanzine: Derby County have been drawn away to Swansea City of the Championship in Round 3 of the Carabao Cup. The Swans are currently 15th in the Championship.

The Rams will visit the Liberty Stadium on the evening of Wednesday 22 September 2021.

[Stuniverse]

13 minutes ago, kidthekid said:

oh gosh, now the goalkeeping situation has become even more chaotic

It certainly has, @kidthekid. It’s going to be impossible, I think, to keep all three of Nubel, Sepe and Lopez happy so the question is which goalkeeper do I want as my #1? That’s Lopez over Sepe, but I haven’t seen enough of Nubel to make that decision yet. Is it Lopez over Nubel as well, or Nubel over Lopez?

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: Thursday 26 August 2021

Pre-match v Ludogorets Razgrad (a) - Euro Cup Best Placed 4th Qualifying Round (2nd Leg)

Match Preview

RamsFanzine: You're in the exact same situation as you were in the last round against Olexandriya. Going into the away leg with a 2-0 lead. You must be hoping for a similar result?

Stuniverse: Absolutely. The important thing is to be professional and not panic. The clean sheet, denying Ludogorets an away goal, was massive. It means if we can score, and score first like we did against Olexandriya, then Ludogorets will face a very steep, uphill task.

Team Selection

RamsFanzine: You've had some injury issues this week we understand.

Stuniverse: Yes. Max Aarons tweaked his hamstring, Fikayo Tomori felt his thigh tighten, Louie Sibley went down with a groin issue. All sustained in training. Harry Wilson is still out with an ankle problem. 

RamsFanzine: Seven changes today. The most you've made this season. Why's that?

Stuniverse: Two reasons. Partly forced by niggly injuries, partly to freshen things up and keep the squad involved.

The changes are Luigi Sepe for Alexander Nubel, Jayden Bogle for Max Aarons, Matteo Darmian for Max Lowe, Max Bird for Will Hughes, Martin Naylor for Domingos Quina because he's one yellow card away from  suspenson, Mason Bennett for Tom Lawrence and Jack Marriott for Danny Ings. 

RamsFanzine: Lopez on the bench, his first involvement of any kind this season.

Stuniverse: Yes.

RamsFanzine: Anything you want to add on that?

Stuniverse: No. Pau Lopez is on the bench. Correct.

Post-match: Ludogorets Razgrad (0) 1-3 (0) Derby County
Derby win 5-1 on aggregate.

RamsFanzine: Congratulations. You've reached the Group Stage with a hundred per cent winning record.

Stuniverse: Thank you. My players deserve the credit though. They've worked hard and have taken to the Euro Cup like a duck to water. It'll be interesting to see who we draw in the Group Stage now.

RamsFanzine: Espinoza was the best player on the pitch, wasn't he?

Stuniverse: Cristian Espinoza ran the show and thoroughly deserved his two goals. I was so delighted for Martin Naylor though. Martin hasn't had a holiday this summer. He was named Player of the Tournament when he helped England U20s win the World Cup. Then, back with us, he picked up a groin injury. In his first start since, he scored a stunning goal to give us the lead in the second-leg.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[samboing]

Good start to the season @Stuniverse, got to be happy with how it’s going (of course except the gk situation) but I suppose that is a nice headache to have or so they say. Have you done a head to head comparison of the two? Also @warlock great little link there, definitely some useful bits in there especially the training which I generally leave to my assistant although I am always keen to do it myself, but every time I do the players moan about not enjoying it so this will definitely help

[Stuniverse]

1 hour ago, samboing said:

Good start to the season @Stuniverse, got to be happy with how it’s going (of course except the gk situation) but I suppose that is a nice headache to have or so they say. Have you done a head to head comparison of the two? Also @warlock great little link there, definitely some useful bits in there especially the training which I generally leave to my assistant although I am always keen to do it myself, but every time I do the players moan about not enjoying it so this will definitely help

Thank you @samboing. I'm very happy with the start we've made to the season. In all competitions: Pld 9, W8, D0, L1. F24 A7. I can't complain at that and the 95th minute loss to Tottenham was partly because I spooked myself and changed how we normally play to start more cautious and defensive. After the 2-3 defeat, even Mauricio Pochettino  admitted we were the better team.

I hadn't done a direct comparison between Pau Lopez and Alexander Nubel, but I have now...

And yes, thanks again for the link, @warlock.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: 28 August 2021

BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS TO GERMANY, ITALY AND PORTUGUAL

RamsFanzine: Derby County have been drawn against Atalanta, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Maritimo in Group I of the Euro Cup.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[samboing]

Nice draw there, good chance of getting out of the group I reckon as long as one of those sides haven’t signed Messi or something!

Wow literally nothing really between the two keepers, one or two points either way on stats. Toughie especially as Nubel has been in all league campaign and started well BUT Lopez was awesome last season! Why did he have to kick up such a fuss lol

[Stuniverse]

36 minutes ago, samboing said:

Nice draw there, good chance of getting out of the group I reckon as long as one of those sides haven’t signed Messi or something!

Wow literally nothing really between the two keepers, one or two points either way on stats. Toughie especially as Nubel has been in all league campaign and started well BUT Lopez was awesome last season! Why did he have to kick up such a fuss lol

'Nice draw', @samboing? I was thinking it was quite a tough one myself. I assume (probably should check the rules) that the top two in each group qualify for the next round?

Exactly lol. Why did Pau Lopez kick up such a fuss and will he kick up such a fuss again?

Lopez or Nubel? Nubel or Lopez?

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: Sunday 29 August 2021

Pre-match v West Bromwich Albion (H) - Premier League (4)

Match Preview

RamsFanzine: What are your thoughts on the Euro Cup draw?

Stuniverse: It's a difficult group and we'll do well to qualify. But it was always going to be a difficult draw given the calibre of the opposition. We've got confidence in our own abilities and we'll give it our best shot.

RamsFanzine: You played in Bulgaria on Thursday and then flew back. Are you ready for this match?

Stuniverse: We're as ready as we can be, under the circumstances. We made seven changes against Ludogorets to freshen it up and we've needed to freshen it up again today.

Team Selection

RamsFanzine: Is that why you've made seven changes?

Stuniverse: Pretty much. Yes. Alexander Nubel for Luigi Sepe, Max Aarons for Jayden Bogle, Max Lowe for Matteo Darmian, Will Hughes for Max Bird, Tom Lawrence for Mason Bennett, Domingos Quina for Martin Naylor and Danny Ings for Jack Marriott.

RamsFanzine: Pau Lopez on the bench. Do you plan to start him any time soon?

Stuniverse: Pau Lopez isn't match fit at the moment. We plan to play him in the U23s to get his match fitness level right and then we'll have some decisions to make.

Post-match: Derby County (2) 2-0 (0) West Bromwich Albion

RamsFanzine: You don't often see an assist from one centre-back, to the other, inside the penalty area, do you?

Stuniverse: No you don't [laughs]. Chris Smalling showed great awareness when the corner came to him, to just play it square to Rafael Toloi, and Toloi side-footed home his first goal for the club. Domingos Quina added our second with a typically powerful shot.

RamsFanzine: You go into the International break in 9th, with a game-in-hand, knowing that if you were to win that, you'd climb to 3rd or 2nd based on goal difference. How does that feel?

Stuniverse: It feels good, knowing we've made a positive start to the season. We've only played four leaue games though, so we're not getting ahead of ourselves.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[samboing]

31 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

'Nice draw', @samboing? I was thinking it was quite a tough one myself. I assume (probably should check the rules) that the top two in each group qualify for the next round?

Exactly lol. Why did Pau Lopez kick up such a fuss and will he kick up such a fuss again?

Lopez or Nubel? Nubel or Lopez?

I’d say that’s a decent draw but who knows what they are like until you play them I guess.

Nubel has what 3 clean sheets in 4 league games? Hard to just swap him for Lopez at the moment! Did the squad react when Lopez was unhappy? My youth save I have a 17 year old scoring for fun 28 goals with 3 games left and at the start of the season moaned he wanted to leave as I priced him out of a move apparently, think he thought I’d let him leave for free if someone came in, but some of my squad turned on him. 

[Stuniverse]

35 minutes ago, samboing said:

I’d say that’s a decent draw but who knows what they are like until you play them I guess.

Nubel has what 3 clean sheets in 4 league games? Hard to just swap him for Lopez at the moment! Did the squad react when Lopez was unhappy? My youth save I have a 17 year old scoring for fun 28 goals with 3 games left and at the start of the season moaned he wanted to leave as I priced him out of a move apparently, think he thought I’d let him leave for free if someone came in, but some of my squad turned on him. 

Yes, @samboing, we'll see what they're like when we start to play them. I'll be picking the strongest eleven I can each time.

Nubel? Let's see - 2-0 Newcastle (11th), 2-3 Spurs (7th), 1-0 West Ham (18th), 2-0 WBA (17th)  - so yes, you're correct, three clean sheets in four games, albeit two of those against struggling teams.

The Dynamics Hierarchy  is below. Lopez is the only one of the four goalkeepers who support me currently but, in the case of Nubel and Fielding, I think that's more because they are new signings this summer than anything else.

The squad didn't really react at all when all this was kicking off with Lopez and Sepe and the dynamics didn't appear to be affected either. The players didn't turn on Lopez or Sepe, neither did they come to see me in support of their teammates. The news items basically said, 'Manager Stuniverse will be relieved to hear that Lopez / Sepe's unrest hasn't spread to the rest of the dressing room' or words to that affect.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: 30 August 2021

SEPE HAPPY WITH PLAYING TIME

RamsFanzine: After falling out with manager Stuniverse, 30 year-old Rams goalkeeper Luigi Sepe has revealed he is happy with the playing time he is currently getting. Although hehasn't played in any Premier League games this season, Sepe has played all six of Derby County's Euro Cup matches.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: 5 September 2021

MARRIOTT LOVES BEING A RAM

RamsFanzine: Derby County's 26 year-old striker Jack Marriott has signed a new contract keeping him at Pride Park until the summer of 2024.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: 6 September 2021

TOMORI SIDELINED

RamsFanzine: Derby County's 23 year-old centre-back Fikayo Tomori will be out of action for around three weeks with a calf injury.

 

[Stuniverse]

Game date: 10 September 2021

TOLOI CREATES CENTRE-BACK CRISIS

RamsFanzine: Deby County's 30 year-old centre-back Rafael Toloi has pulled knee ligaments in training and he could be out for up to three weeks. With Fikayo Tomori also ruled out with a calf problem, manager Stuniverse only has one fit, recognised centre-back available to him in club captain Chris Smalling.

Almost certainly, Stuniverse will need to draft in Matteo Darmian or Jayden Bogle as an emergency centre-back. Both of them have already filled in at centre-back late on in matches this season.  Now, one of them will get to play 90 minutes at the heart of the Rams defence.

 

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: Saturday 11 September 2021

Pre-match v Everton (a) - Premier League (5)

Match Preview

RamsFanzine: Something of a rarity this season, playing on a Saturday, isn't it?

Stuniverse: Yes. With the Euro Cup, we're usually playing Thursday and Sunday.

RamsFanzine: You've lost to Everton the last three times you've played them. What have you got to do to change that? 

Stuniverse: In simple terms, and I mean this quite seriously, we need to find a way past Pickford. He's been world class every time he's played against us.

Team Selection

RamsFanzine: A bit of a patchwork team selection today, if you don't mind me saying, is that because of injuries?

Stuniverse: I think you're spot on. It's injuries and fatigue from International duty. Tom Lawrence was away with Wales, Max Aarons was away with England U21s, both came back fatigued and aren't ready to start. We lost Rafael Toloi (knee) and Fikayo Tomori (calf) to training ground injuries. Harry Wilson (ankle) and Louie Sibley (groin) are still unavailable.

In come Jayden Bogle at right-back, Matteo Darmian at centre-back, and Mason Bennett on the left wing.

Post-match: Everton (2) 2-1 (0) Derby County

RamsFanzine: Pickford did it again. That's four straight defeats to Everton now.

Stuniverse: Don't remind me. Pickford did make a couple of fine saves but we didn't lose because of their goalkeeper. Not this time. We were sloppy in the first-half and gave away two very soft goals. We have to do better than that.

RamsFanzine: Unusual for you to makes substitutions at half-time. Today you made two and changed the system. Is that a sign of how unhappy you were?

Stuniverse: Yes. I had to change something. We were sloppy in the first-half and way off the pace. Second-half, I thought we were a lot better and we almost rescued a point we wouldn't have deserved over the 90 minutes.

RamsFanzine: You may have lost, but you've only dropped one place to 10th, and you still have your game in hand.

Stuniverse: We do. But we need to play better than we did first-half today.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: 12 September 2021

12/09/2021

Dear Diary,

GOALKEEPER DILEMMA

So after what happened in the summer transfer window when we rejected a bid of £17M (possibly rising to £21M) from Chelsea (and others including Inter and Roma) for Pau Lopez, my #1 from last season has been out in the cold - not playing a single match. About three weeks ago, Pau informed us that he no longer wanted to join Chelsea and was happy to stay. Since then, I've named Pau on the bench for the three matches we've played - two in the League, one in the Euro Cup. As a club, we've played 11 games so far this season and Pau doesn't have a single minute of playing time, although he's recently got 180 minutes in for the U23s and has a match fitness of 88% now.

Igor signed Alexander Nubel from Schalke 04 for £9.75M in the summer as the replacement for Lopez because we expected him to leave. That, we felt, was the prudent and responsible thing to do so that we weren't left with no #1 at the last minute. We held firm over the £30M in Pau's release clause, then towards the close of the window dropped to £25M, but the highest bid we received was £21M and we weren't going to sell him for an amount we'd already knocked back as that would send out the wrong message to all concerned. So, in the end, Pau went nowhere and Alexander, his replacement, is already in the building.

Alexander has played all five of our Premier League games so far this season, keeping three clean sheets in the process.

Luigi Sepe, who was my back-up goalkeeper last season, got caught up in the cross-fire of all this, through no fault of his own, and became unsettled. To be fair, he signed in January last season and I hadn't given him any playing time even though I consider him a better than average #2. We were very comfortable in the top-half of the league so I decided to pick the strongest 11 I could for every FA up-tie; that meant Pau, not Luigi.

I told Luigi I'd play him in the Cup games and he wasn't happy with that. He wanted to leave. Igor tried to loan him out in the summer but couldn't find any takers. I kept my word though and Luigi has played all six Euro Cup-ties, keeping three clean sheets. Luigi came to see me about 12 days ago and said he was now happy with his playing time and no longer wanted to leave. We've taken him off the loan list.

So with my three main goalkeepers all happy and talking to me again, I decided to put Pau on the bench for all games, whilst building up his fitness in the U23s, and continuing with Alexander playing in the league and Luigi starting in the Euro Cup. I haven't really seen enough of Alexander to form a concrete opinion on him yet, whereas I had a full season watching Pau and saw him produce some out-of-this-world saves, sometimes winning us points almost single-handedly. Last season, Pau kept 17 clean sheets in 38 Premier League games.

GOALKEEPER DECISION TIME

I knew at some point Pau would get unhappy not playing and come to see me about his lack of playing time. I hadn't expected it to happen so soon, just three weeks after telling me he was happy to stay, but it's happened. Pau asked to speak to me today and told me he was concerned that he wasn't featuring in my first-team plans because he was good enough to be playing more than he is.

I told Pau that I'd give him some starts in the next few games. To be honest, I agree with Pau. He was outstanding last season, world class at times, and I haven't seen anything from Alexander yet to give me confidence he's at Pau's level but, being fair to Alexander, a small sample size of five games is an unfair comparison to a full season.

So here it is, goalkeeper decision time!

The one thing I do know is that Luigi Sepe is my #2 goalkeeper. He's on £14.5K a week which is very reasonable for a back-up goalkeeper and I'm going to treat Luigi like the #2 he is. Luigi will continue to play in the Euro Cup.

Pau Lopez and Alexander Nubel are both #1s but I can't afford the luxury of two #1s for too long as Pau earns £70K per week, and Alexander £72K per week. So I need to decide which one should be my #1 and then ask Igor to offload the other one. Pau is wanted by Inter and Roma still, Alexander isn't being tracked by anybody at the moment.

I think I'm going to start Pau in the league matches and see what happens with Alexander, maybe giving Alexander Carabao Cup matches to keep him involved. Ideally I'd like this sorted during the January transfer window.

It's unfair on Alexnder, I understand that, but after last season Pau is the #1 in my mind. I pride myself on not holding grudges and believe everybody deserves a second chance... BUT My big concern though is will Pau throw a hissy-fit again if Inter or Roma bid for him in January? I may believe in second chances, but I'm not sure I believe in third chances...

Edited July 7, 2019 by Stuniverse

[samboing]

Wow this goalkeeper situation isn’t getting any easier is it! Lopez could have waited a few more weeks before moaning couldn’t he so at least you’d see a bit more from Nubel. Such a hard decision to make, for me I’d be slightly concerned that Lopez could kick up a stink again if another side want him and if you’ve upset Nubel in dropping him for Lopez you have another issue! Major headache for you, I’m glad I don’t have to make it! Good luck I’m sure you’ll make the right call

[Stuniverse]

6 hours ago, samboing said:

Wow this goalkeeper situation isn’t getting any easier is it! Lopez could have waited a few more weeks before moaning couldn’t he so at least you’d see a bit more from Nubel. Such a hard decision to make, for me I’d be slightly concerned that Lopez could kick up a stink again if another side want him and if you’ve upset Nubel in dropping him for Lopez you have another issue! Major headache for you, I’m glad I don’t have to make it! Good luck I’m sure you’ll make the right call

Yes, @samboing, that’s my concern about Lopez too. Lopez does have me listed under his Favourite Personnel ❤️ and supports me in the dynamics 😀 but if he kicks up a stink again I think I’ll banish him to the U23s and ask Igor to offload him. But he’s such a great goalkeeper.

Nubel is squad status Rotation, whereas Lopez is Key Player, so I’m hoping Nubel will be more patient but, if Nubel comes to see me about lack of playing time, I’ll have another BIG decision to make.

We’re also going to have to make a decision in a January about trying to sell one of Lopez or Nubel. I’ll probably discuss this with Igor mid-window when we know if anybody has bid for Lopez and, if they have, how he’s reacted.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: Thursday 16 September 2021

Pre-match v Atalanta (a) - Euro Cup Group I (1)

Match Preview

RamsFanzine: You're here in Italy for your first Euro Cup Group game. What are you expecting?

Stuniverse: We're expecting a very hard and very tough match against Atalanta. No disrespect to Hapoel Be'er-Sheva, Olexandriya and Lodogorets Razgrad, but the three teams in our Group all represent a step up in quality. We're prepared and confident. Let's see how we get on.

Team Selection

RamsFanzine: You've not been able to name a senior defender on the substitute's bench and have gone for U23 player Scott MacDonald. Is that a sign of how bad the injury situation is?

Stuniverse: Unfortunately, yes. We're without Rafael Toloi (knee), Fikayo Tmori (calf) and Jayden Bogle (ankle). Matteo Darmian again has to play in an unaccustomed role of centre-back. At least Harry Wilson (ankle) is back in training and on the bench, though we probably will max him out at 75 minutes. Louie Sibley (groin) is available again but not on the bench.

RamsFanzine: Three changes in total.

Stuniverse: Yes. Luigi Sepe in goal for Alexander Nubel. Max Aarons returns at right-back for Jayden Bogle. Tom Lawrence comes back in for Mason Bennett.

Post-match: Atalanta (0) 0-2 (2) Derby County

RamsFanzine: Congratulations. That was a complete performance. How does it feel when a tactical switch like that reaps immediate rewards?

Stuniverse: Thanks. And yes, it does feel pretty good. As you know we play an Avanced Playmaker and a Deep-lying Playmaker in central midfield. Mason Mount, our Advanced one, was looking tired so I sent Martin Nalor on for him after 56 minutes. As the game went on, we got the inspiration on the bench to swap them round, so we pushed Will Hughes further forward and told Martin to drop-off. Within two minutes, Will had scored, and he doesn't score many. I have to admit, we all jumped off the bench to celebrate that one. And then Cristian Espinoza scored our second goal.

I also have to praise our defence. I thought the whole back four, back five, were magnificent. I don't normally single out individuals but Matteo Darmian was superb in a centre-back position he's not a natural at. 

RamsFanzine: Maritimo beat Leverkusen 1-0 in Germany so you're top of Group I on goal difference.

Stuniverse: It's a good, positive start that gives us confidence. I'm so proud of the players and I'm so happy for the 1,600 Rams fans who traveled to Italy to cheer us on. 

Edited July 7, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: Sunday 19 September 2021

Pre-match v Manchester United (a) - Premier League (6)

Match Preview

RamsFanzine: You could go above Man Utd with a win today, but are you worried about 'Continental fatigue' ahead of your visit to Old Trafford?

Stuniverse: Diego Simeone's team haven't had the start to the season they would've wanted but Manchester United are still very formidable opposition. Three days ago we had an evening game in Italy and then had to fly home. I'll be honest, there is some tiredness in the squad, but these are a very professional squad of players and they shouldn't need motivating for a trip to Old Trafford.

Team Selection

RamsFanzine: Just the one change today. Lopez back in goal. Why now?

Stuniverse: I don't want to talk too much about this. As you know, Pau Lopez had his head turned in the summer by Chelsea, but he's over that now. What happened in the summer doesn't change the fact that he's an excellent goalkeeper. Pau needs some playing time so why not give him a game at Old Trafford to see how he gets on? 

Post-match: Manchester United (3) 5-0 (0) Derby County

RamsFanzine: You'd made all three subs before half-time. I don't think I've ever seen that before. Why?

Stuniverse: We were terrible out there. OK, the first one was forced with Tom Lawrence getting injured, but our performance was woeful. I could've substituted any of the outfield players to be honest if I could've used more subs. In hindsight, I probably should've made more changes and freshened it up more than I did.

RamsFanzine: How is Lawrence?

Stuniverse: Bad, I'm afraid. Tom's strained his calf; he'll be out a while.

RamsFanzine: You bring Lopez back and he let in five.

Stuniverse: Look, I don't think there's too much blame we can apportion to Pau; he wasn't the one giving the ball away all the time, and then not tracking back or defending properly afterwards. The very least I expect when my players give the ball away is that they try and win it back. Maybe Pau could've done better for their second goal, but without Pau the score would've been a lot more embarrassing.

RamsFanzine: You're now 12th, five points above the relegation zone, albeit with a game-in-hand. With your next two league fixtures being Liverpool at home, and Chelsea away, is there a danger you could get dragged into a relegation scrap?

Stuniverse: It's still early days, we've only played six matches after all, but I certainly hope not. That said, Liverpool and Chelsea will be very difficult opposition.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Jogo Bonito]

Nice approach to a game, it's different and an enjoyable read with the RamsFanzine interactions. I hope you make the right call on the keepers!

[warlock]

On 06/07/2019 at 13:30, samboing said:

Also @warlock great little link there

 

On 06/07/2019 at 14:35, Stuniverse said:

thanks again for the link, @warlock.

Pleasure - always happy to contribute where I can.

[Stuniverse]

12 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Nice approach to a game, it's different and an enjoyable read with the RamsFanzine interactions. I hope you make the right call on the keepers!

Thank you for commenting, @Jogo Bonito, and many thanks for your kind words. Much appreciated.

I like the detailed nature of this match by match style and I’m glad you’re enjoying it.

The goalkeeper saga is going to run and run I think until either Lopez or Nubel has left the club. They are both deserving of being #1, but at £70K per week and £72K per week (£142K p.w. in total), we can’t afford to keep both of them long-term, and certainly wouldn’t be able to keep them both happy.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Jogo Bonito]

FWIW, I would keep the German. I believe he was in the U21 Euros team of the tournament from the competition in Italy recently, and in FM terms he seems more mellow!

[Stuniverse]

5 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

FWIW, I would keep the German. I believe he was in the U21 Euros team of the tournament from the competition in Italy recently, and in FM terms he seems more mellow!

Thank you, @Jogo Bonito. I certainly haven’t ruled out keeping Alexander Nubel, and if Pau Lopez throws his dummy out of the pram one more time I think that will be the end of his Derby County career, as long as Igor can offload him for an acceptable fee.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: Wednesday 22 September 2021

Pre-match v Swansea City (a) - Carabao Cup Round 3

Match Preview

RamsFanzine: After a bad day at the office at Old Trafford, does a visit to Championship Swansea present a good opportunity to get back on track?

Stuniverse: It does, but we won't be underestimating Swansea. Jan Siewert and his side will want to cause an upset. We're determined to make sure that doesn't happen.

Team Selection

RamsFanzine: Four changes today. Is tiredness still an issue?

Stuniverse: We do have a challenging fixture list at the moment, and some key players out injured, so yes I've looked to freshen things up a bit. Jayden Bogle for Max Aarons. Martin Naylor for Will Hughes. Harry Wilson for Tom Lawrence (calf). Jack Marriott for Dany Ings.

Post-match: Swansea City (0) 1-2 (0) Derby County

RamsFanzine: Just after the break you had Lowe sent-off, a minute later you went a goal behind but, still, you found a way to make it through to the next round. How did you do it?

Stuniverse: The players showed tremendous character today. The red card was harsh and we'll appeal it. Yes, Max Lowe mistimed his tackle. It was a foul, sure, but nothing more; I don't think it even warranted a yellow card. We were still reorganising when they scored but we never gave up. The players worked so hard to get back into the game and I'm delighted for them.

RamsFanzine: Another inspired substitution. Was it planned?

Stuniverse: You can't plan for something like that. We know Danny Ings is a quality striker, we'd hoped we could give him a rest tonight, but that wasn't to be. For Danny to score within a minute of going on was something special. Cristian Espinoza's winner has to be a contender for goal of the season, even at this early stage of the season. 

[Stuniverse]

Game date: 23 September 2021

RAMS WIN APPEAL

In all my years playing FM, and CM before that, I don't think I've ever had an appeal against a red card go in my favour before with the player's ban being rescinded.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: 25 September 2021

RAMS OFF TO TURF MOOR IN CUP

RamsFanzine: Derby County have been drawn away to Burnley in the Carabao Cup 4th Round.

With two places, and three points, separating the two teams in the Premier League this one could easily go either way.

The cup-tie will be played at Turf Moor on the evening of Wednesday 27 October 2021.

[dap1987]

Had a big catch up just now. 

 

Some really good results, a big win away at West Ham, a 10 man win in the League Cup and  then Atalanta in the Euro Cup!  Shows a lot of positive signs, I wouldn't be at all disheartened at losing to United though, even though it was 5-0 those games happen, especially with a weakened back 4 and a few extra games being played. 

 

The GK situation is a strange problem to have.  Personally, despite you not thinking he at the same level as Lopez I'd be playing Nubel.  I see it as it is only a matter of time and a few good performances before Lopez wants out again and you don't want to be at a point where your replacement is unhappy as well because he isn't playing.  And playing Sepe in  Europe is very Guardiola-like  

[Stuniverse]

15 hours ago, dap1987 said:

Had a big catch up just now. 

Some really good results, a big win away at West Ham, a 10 man win in the League Cup and  then Atalanta in the Euro Cup!  Shows a lot of positive signs, I wouldn't be at all disheartened at losing to United though, even though it was 5-0 those games happen, especially with a weakened back 4 and a few extra games being played. 

The GK situation is a strange problem to have.  Personally, despite you not thinking he at the same level as Lopez I'd be playing Nubel.  I see it as it is only a matter of time and a few good performances before Lopez wants out again and you don't want to be at a point where your replacement is unhappy as well because he isn't playing.  And playing Sepe in  Europe is very Guardiola-like  

Thanks @dap1987. Yes we’ve started well, and the Man Utd game just came at a bad time. We have Liverpool (H) and Chelsea (a) next so the EPL doesn’t get any easier.

It’s not that I don’t think Nubel is at the same level as Lopez, because the comparison @samboing suggested I do (further up this page) showed there was hardly anything between them, it’s just that I saw how amazing Lopez was last season over the course of a full campaign (on Extended Highlights I find I get a much better impression of how my players are doing) and I can’t easily forget that. Nubel’s unlucky, I just haven’t seen enough of him.

The risk with the approach I’m taking, as you and others have pointed out, is that Lopez may have his head turned again.

Lopez and Sepe are both happy again so I suppose I’m hoping that if Nubel gets upset, I’ll be able to win him around as well.

But it’s a risk and it’s far from ideal.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Just a quick update to let you know the next Phase of FM20 research started today so if I don’t get chance to continue the save or update this thread this week, that’ll be the reason why.

[Stuniverse]

Game date: Saturay 25 September 2021

Pre-match v Liverpool (H) - Premier League (7)

Match Preview

RamsFanzine: Today you go up against top of the table Liverpool at Pride Park.

Stuniverse: At least we're at home, but we're under no illusions how difficult this is going to be. We may be less than 10 matches in still, but Unai Emery's team are top for a reason.

Team Selection

RamsFanzine: How are the injuries?

Stuniverse: Getting better. Rafael Toloi (knee) isn't quite ready to start, but he's back on the bench. Tom Lawrence (calf) and Fikayo Tomori (calf) are still out.

RamsFanzine: Three changes today.

Stuniverse: Yes. Harry Wilson can't play against his parent club, Mason Bennett comes in. Danny Ings replaces Jack Marriott up front. Max Aarons plays right-back for Jayden Bogle.

Post-match: Derby County (2) 2-2 (1) Liverpool

RamsFanzine: Did you expect to be 2-0 up after nine minutes.

Stuniverse: No [laughs]. No, not at all. But we deserved it. We started the game very brightly and both wingers, Mason Bennett and Cristian Espinoza, deserved their goals.

RamsFanzine: After that it was a rear-guard action, and you so nearly held out.

Stuniverse: We didn't deliberately go more defensively until they pegged us back to 2-1. Then, the way they were playing, we felt we needed to. But we still had chances to stretch the lead. Unfortunately, conceding an 88th minute equaliser, feels like a defeat. But Liverpool are a very good team and it's a good point for us.

RamsFanzine: The draw brings to an end a run of two league defeats. You must be pleased about that?

Stuniverse: Of course. Two defeats, and then Liverpool and Chelsea, could easily be four defeats, so to draw with Liverpool, and to be so close to getting a win, that gives us confidence for the Chelsea game and the rest of the season. But we have Bayer Leverkusen to play first.

Edited July 12, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Game date: 27 September 2021

DERBY COUNTY'S UPCOMING FIXTURES

[JaytheGreat]

Well atleast after Chelsea the quality of teams starts to go lower for about a month. 

[Stuniverse]

12 hours ago, JaytheGreat said:

Well atleast after Chelsea the quality of teams starts to go lower for about a month. 

Exactly, @JaytheGreat, I’m looking forward to that run of EPL games to get a better idea of where the 🐏s are at league wise this season.

The Euro Cup is making this Thursday-Sunday schedule interesting, particularly when the Thursday Euro game is away.