FM20: The English Football League thread

[Sabine]

Currently playing as my beloved Sunderland and I'm doing rather well

 

League has been an absolute cakewalk so far.  Have been playing a high pressing, possession based tactic.  Had some fantastic wins including a 2-1 home win against a near-full strength Chelsea side in the cup.

I managed to offload Wyke, Flanagan, Watmore and Ozturk and brought in quality  cheap players including Ricardo Ferreira who is an insane player at this level;

Max Power is also absolutely mental for League One, I play him in the Mezzala/Attack role and he dominates everything;

Sorry if this is a low effort post, there's really not too much to report when playing in the first season as Sunderland.. Anything less than total domination in this league with the resources you have is very much a failure. 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Rollin93 said:

it’s turnt out to be a lot harder than I expected!!

QPR looks like a tough challenge - every save (and partial save) I've played, they end up in the relegation dogfight. Hope you can pull it off.

[warlock]

27 minutes ago, Sabine said:

Anything less than total domination in this league with the resources you have is very much a failure.

Probably true... but you're doing way, way better than any AI manager I've seen at Sunderland .

[Sabine]

Just now, warlock said:

Probably true... but you're doing way, way better than any AI manager I've seen at Sunderland .

And in real life. 

I have a side save with PSG and they're currently in their third in-game season in League One.  I guess that's what I'm expecting in reality.

[Dong21]

Bolton Wanderers - Season 1 - Part 4

Season Update: Survival, just

I'm going to keep this update brief as there really aren't many positives to talk about having now finished up my first season with Bolton.

Our form completely fell off a cliff in the last three months of the season. I tried a variety of tactics and personnel combinations, but noting seemed to be particularly effective. Another injury to Brewster didn't help our cause, but I felt there was enough quality elsewhere in the squad to achieve better results than we did.

In the end it was only goal difference that saved us from relegation. Going into the final few minutes we were even going down as Rochdale (managed by David Flitcroft who left my side as assistant manager to take over a few months prior) were drawing with Lincoln, until they lost to a 92nd minute winner.

The one stand out performer this season was James Garner who consistently put in top class performances in the centre midfield. He provided 7 assists but his contributions were much wider than that. My two next best performers were also United loanees; Williams and Levitt. In terms of players owned by the club it is slim pickings, but I'd probably say right back Emmanuel performed best.

A big rebuild begins. The club's highest earners were all bit part players this season and I will not be extending any of their contracts. The board expects a top half finish next season, but has slashed the wage budget from £85k per week to £60k. I will wait to see how my transfer window goes before I pass comment on how confident of achieving our target I am!

Edited December 13, 2019 by Dong21

[warlock]

2 minutes ago, Dong21 said:

In the end it was only goal difference that saved us from relegation

Any difference will do! Good luck with the rebuild.

[Rollin93]

13 hours ago, warlock said:

QPR looks like a tough challenge - every save (and partial save) I've played, they end up in the relegation dogfight. Hope you can pull it off.

Thanks mate 

hugil and wells done that bad I cancelled there loans in January

managed to buy bereton and brought daramay in from kobenhaven  if that’s how you spell either 😂

both not championship ready yet but I’m pretty sure I’ll stay up so planning for next season already!

[Jogo Bonito]

On ‎12‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 23:42, Jamesbfc1887 said:

@Jogo Bonito

What a fantastic start to the season that is! Keep up the good work, I'm sure it's not a flash in the pan. 

Thanks mate. I hope you're right. Pleased to hear you are enjoying Birmingham.

@Rollin93 I like hearing stories where it's a struggle, every success is well deserved no matter how long it takes. How is Eze doing for you, and where does he play best?

@Dong21 You did what you had to, well done on survival and now you can really make this squad your own

@Sabine You're finding it much easier with Sunderland than those of us with Ipswich!

[Rollin93]

2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Thanks mate. I hope you're right. Pleased to hear you are enjoying Birmingham.

@Rollin93 I like hearing stories where it's a struggle, every success is well deserved no matter how long it takes. How is Eze doing for you, and where does he play best?

@Dong21 You did what you had to, well done on survival and now you can really make this squad your own

@Sabine You're finding it much easier with Sunderland than those of us with Ipswich!

Eze has been possibly my worst player 😂 playing him inside forward as that’s were it says he’s Best 

 

im managed to stay up with 1 game remaining 

[Jogo Bonito]

2 hours ago, Rollin93 said:

Eze has been possibly my worst player 😂 playing him inside forward as that’s were it says he’s Best 

 

im managed to stay up with 1 game remaining 

Congrats on staying up. I'd have thought Eze would be one of your better players, perhaps he could be more suited to a no. 10 role next season?

[warlock]

5 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I'd have thought Eze would be one of your better players

Yeah, this. However, I have noted that he ends up transfer listed at the end of season 1 more often than not, so it might be a question of finding how to get the best out of him.

[robterrace]

Hmmm..

 

Although, I have just been offered an interview at Bristol City, who are 21st in the Championship, and Preston who are 14th, so, clubs are circling.

[Rollin93]

18 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Congrats on staying up. I'd have thought Eze would be one of your better players, perhaps he could be more suited to a no. 10 role next season?

I think That will be the case he seems completely lost at times on the wing 

 

[robterrace]

So.

This has happened.

Since the last update at the end of August 2021, we've lost 2 games, one at Sunderland, and a really disappointing defeat at Wycombe. It really is a home fortress for us.

Theres been a few times where we've really struggled to score, but, we're still 2nd top scorers in the division.

Valentino Cernaz has more than made up for the departure of Symons, by scoring 10 goals in 20 appearances, at an average of 126 minutes per goal. All in, he has 52 goals in 124 games for the club, and is the top goalscorer in League One this season.

Dimitar Mitov is the top goalkeeper in the division in terms of clean sheets, keeping 12 in his 22 games, the Bulgarian getting to the verge of a call up for his national side.

Looking at how the team have performed, however, we top the division in possession, successful passes, and pass completion ratio (59%, 8379, over 700 more than the 2nd placed team, and 80%). This is what I wanted to do when I took over the club, play attractive, passing football, and this season has seen us go from strength to strength in that regard. 

Its going to be interesting to see if I can replicate that success at Preston, as, they were promoted from League One last season, and , the Championship is a far more competitive division.

Looking at the squad I'm inheriting will come in the next post.

 

[robterrace]

So. The move has been made.

This is where we stand in terms of squad make up, with 5 players on loan (Including Troy Parrott, which gives me something to 'play' with)

The aims are pretty solid, and what I worked with at The Abbey Stadium, so, they're not too bad.

So, introducing the squad.

Goalkeepers

Vaclav Hladky is the first choice when I arrive, with 19 appearances this season, having joined at the start of the 2020/21 season from St Mirren.

Connor Ripley is an adequate backup, and his contract expires at the end of this season. Corcoran and Booth look good for the future, but, theres stuff to work on.

Defenders

Patrick Bauer and Ben Davies are the first choice centre half pairing with loanees Lee O'Connor, and Christian Ganea filling in on both sides. Philip Heise can also play at left back, and the highly rated Jordan Storey will also fit in on the right side of the centre back pairing when required.

Midfielders

Preston always seem to do well in the midfield department,  with Ben Pearson and Alan Browne performing well in the engine room in the centre of midfield. Tom Barkhuisen and Sonny Lo-Everton will provide some width, although, I may need to look within the squad to see if theres better options on the left flank.

Attackers

Up front we have loanee Troy Parrott, who is top scorer this season with 7 in his 19 appearances, (although, he got injured between me accepting the job and moving) and Sean Maguire, who has provided cover from the bench. Other than those, we have no natural goalscorers in the squad, so, priority has to go to find another striker to play, as Parrott is out long term. 

[fairsy]

Despite a few poor runs, I did get ITFC up in my first season, won the league on 84 points.

I needed to win one of last 2 games and managed to lose the first one 7-3 to Doncaster.....! But got over the line at home to MK Dons.

Made a few ins and outs for 2nd season, am trying to get a faster team, as play a high line and often get caught out, have managed to get Garbutt in on a permanent deal, will do a full update at some point - but I had a transfer budget of £0 so have had to sell to buy. Kaziah Sterling for a few £100k my only real cash signing. Have sold Nsiala, Bialkowski and Kenlock for decent money to re-jig the squad slightly. Try and tyake a moneyball approach of selling when an offer exceeds value and then re-invest in young players. I sold Zak Brown as a stickler to the rules when really didn't want to which was a bit silly but he was still a way off playing.

[Jogo Bonito]

Congrats @fairsy and good luck at PNE @robterrace

[robterrace]

The job in hand at Preston is a bit interesting, when taking them over, they were 14th, with the expectation to avoid relegation. With Parrott being injured, they're left with Maguire and Tom Barkhuisen to plough away up front, so, desperately need a new striker or two.

This is where Cambridge United come in.

One of the younger strikers at the club, Stephen Duffy, had been getting scouted by Championship clubs all season, as his performances in the U18 setup and U23s had been eye opening in terms of goalscoring. He'd been the subject of several bids, all of which had been turned down, and in the end, Preston, now with me at the helm, came knocking.

Before making the move, I had scouted him (most of my scouting team moved with me from Cambridge), and he got a 93 rating. Theres still some weak spots in his game, but, at 18 years old, he will develop as the 2nd or 3rd striker in this team. For £1.2m (the lowest I could get to, thanks to a release clause in his contract), he joins on a 4 year deal on January 1st.

One thing Preston have done well in recent years, is plucking players from the League of Ireland and making solid EFL players out of them. In the current side, there was Sean Maguire, Alan Browne and Graham Burke, and in the past, the likes of Daryl Horgan have all made the move across the Irish Sea to Preston, to varying success. 

The next one to make that move was 21 year old striker, Glen McAuley, joining on a free from St. Pats Athletic, of Dublin. A product of Liverpools youth academy, McAuley had left Anfield in June 2019, making the move back to his home city, In the 2 and a half seasons since his move, he had picked up 27 goals in 82 games for the side, as they finished 4th, 8th and 4th again in the league. With 9 goals in 35 games this season, spent mainly out on the right wing, he hasn't been prolific, but, presents a bit of a rough diamond to try and make something from.

Another area I'm looking at, is goalkeeper, as whilst Hladky is a good keeper, I need a long term prospect to come in. On top of that, I need a left winger who can come in and compete. 

[Jogo Bonito]

Ipswich - Season 2

Another short update from Portman Road, and my team is still punching well above it's weight

Despite some disappointing draws, I'm very satisfied with remaining unbeaten in the league (the only side that can say so after 10 games)

I was also proud of the display at Anfield, where my boys shaded this Carabao Cup tie before going down 7-6 on penalties

A very average month became significantly better with an away win at Birmingham in the last outing, keeping my team 4th in the league

Unfortunately the next fixture sees Marcus Forss ineligible to face his parent club Brentford, and it will be a big blow to lose my star player

Having said that, a change of role last time out for strike partner James Norwood (playing as a poacher) seems to have helped him find some form

The 532 formation with wing backs is still my only tactic, and really suits this group of players 

 

[robterrace]

The beginning of the transfer window always sees a team I'm in charge of make some moves, and, that was the case this time.

My Scandinavian scout, who had come with me from Cambridge, had earmarked a couple of youngsters who had the potential to fit into the Preston side, and possibly straight away. One was available immediately, as his contract was ending at his current club.

Enter, Noah Solskjaer. At 21 years old, he fits the profile of players the board want me to buy, and, he knows the game in England, as his father is Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Norwegian U21 joins on a 3 year deal, and slots straight into the side in the centre of midfield.

The second signing comes from a little bit closer to home. with Polish U21, Lukasz Bejger joining for £300k from Manchester United. He'd been at the Premier League club since 2018, after leaving his homeland and Poznan, to move to Old Trafford.

He came highly rated by scouts, having initially been a target of mine at Cambridge, however, he didn't want to move to League One at the time. Convincing him to move for Championship football was easier, and the rangy centre back, who has been likened to former Poland captain Tomasz Waldoch, arrives on a 2 and a half year deal.

Also coming in, from Inter, is 22 year old goalkeeper, Vladan Dekic. He'll backup Hladky this season, as he needs some work on his physical attributes, and hopefully get a few games under his belt, before I try and move him into the team next season.

Someone with that free kick rating as well.. I'm seriously tempted.

 

Joining for £90k from Bayern Munchen, is Swedish U21, Alex Timossi Andersson. Definitely one for the future, he can also offer something now, although, he will need to work on his crossing a bit.

The other side of Manchester also gets raided, with Spanish/Senegalese full back, Alpha Dionkou joining for £275k from Manchester City.

The 20 year old has made a handful of cup appearances for the club, however, he was deemed surplus to requirements. He has the pace and stamina to go up and down the wing all day, and, if Andersson is in the side, will provide some potent pace down the right flank.

We go back across Manchester for the next signing, as young left winger, Anthony Elanga joins from United. Again, he is very quick, and will offer something down the left flank. Hes not got a fantastic deal of experience, but, on a 3 year contract at Deepdale, he'll get it here.

The last player to join us, also comes via Old Trafford, although, he has spent this season on loan at Charlton already.

Reece Devine, a 20 year old left back, who again, is blessed with pace, but also has the determination to succeed. He'll slot into the first team straight away.

The loan deals for Ganea and Diaz have been terminated, as the money spent on the wages for those two (£25k p/w) would cover most of the incoming signings, and Troy Parrott has also returned to Spurs after a serious knee injury finished his season.

Theres still some spaces in the squad, but, for the moment, I don't want to create too much turmoil by buying any more.

The youth intake also looks interesting.

 

[warlock]

@Jogo Bonito That's a very impressive start for your return to the Championship. I'll certainly keep an eye on Forss when I get around to a Brentford save!

@robterrace For anyone else, that would count as a busy January window . Looks like you've added quite a bit of depth to the squad.

I'm still casting about for my next save. After thinking long and hard about Stoke I decided they weren't for me. I'm now considering my annual attempt to replicate Brian Clough's historic achievements with Forest. I always think that should be done with a 442, but I'm not sure the Forest squad is right for that - they're stacked with central midfielders and a bit light in other departments, particularly the strikers.

[robterrace]

11 hours ago, warlock said:

 

@robterrace For anyone else, that would count as a busy January window . Looks like you've added quite a bit of depth to the squad.

Thanks.

The squad is thinner on the ground than I thought it was, as Preston are operating without an Under 23 side, which, is something I'll rectify in the off season. I've lost 3 academy prospects, all of whom have gone out for about £250k each, with future fees taking them over £1m, and I've also lost Adam O'Reilly to Leicester for £3.5m, going up to £6m. The O'Reilly sale I'm really happy with, as I didn't see him being a first team player for a couple of seasons, and didn't want to send him out on loan. 

Two signings, both midfielders came in from the proceeds of O'Reilly.

The first Mateo Tomic, joins from Istra in Croatia, he had a dozen other English clubs after him, and was happy enough to come over and go back out on loan, 3 clubs in Croatia have made offers to take him, and he'll go out to the end of the season.

 

The second signing, and our last of the window, comes over from Croatia as well, where he started his career at HNK Gorica. There were a couple of Italian clubs looking at him, but he also had a release clause to foreign clubs of £1m, so, that was activated, and he came to us. Another player for a couple of seasons time.

As for league performance, we're plodding along in 15th, which is about where I want to finish the season, it gives us a chance to build for next season.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

12 hours ago, warlock said:

@Jogo Bonito That's a very impressive start for your return to the Championship. I'll certainly keep an eye on Forss when I get around to a Brentford save!

May the Forss be with you! Why don't you leap in to Brentford now instead of going to Forest again? At this rate, you'll be turning in to our dear friend @DefinitelyTaylor

@robterrace You do love a transfer or two! Agreed about Preston's ability to scout well from the lower leagues and Ireland, although not many of your signings are from that template. I've had some really good spells in charge of them in the last few years, a cracking club to manage.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Jogo Bonito

[warlock]

1 minute ago, Jogo Bonito said:

May the Forss be with you!

1 minute ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Why don't you leap in to Brentford now instead of going to Forest again?

That's a good question. I'd like the Brentford save to be an enjoyable one, and I'm not sure I've got the hang of this match engine yet. I dabbled with Brentford a couple of times last year and I don't want a repeat of those half-hearted attempts. A bit like @Jamesbfc1887 taking on Birmingham before the save he wants with Bristol City.

Besides, I'm about two months into the Forest save - just about to post progress so far .

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, warlock said:

That's a good question. I'd like the Brentford save to be an enjoyable one, and I'm not sure I've got the hang of this match engine yet. I dabbled with Brentford a couple of times last year and I don't want a repeat of those half-hearted attempts. A bit like @Jamesbfc1887 taking on Birmingham before the save he wants with Bristol City.

Besides, I'm about two months into the Forest save - just about to post progress so far .

That makes sense, good luck with Forest

[warlock]

Nottingham Forest: season 1 - October

The squad you inherit is pretty much complete (although of variable quality) and I didn't see the need for much transfer business, especially since the club had already made 16 signings before I arrived. On the downside, a number of players start with long-term injuries so I was short of options in a few areas. Among these were strikers, where Grabban is backed by Rafa Mir on loan from Wolves, and the lightweight Zach Clough who clearly isn't good enough for this level; and the RB position where ex-Arsenal man Carl Jenkinson is reliable but the only rotation option is Matty Cash who should play further forward really. There are also minor concerns about the AMR and AML spots. Joe Lolley is excellent in the former position, and Sammy Ameobi is adequate for the latter. But there's only 31-year-old Albert Adomah to cover both positions, and he is declining rapidly.

That prompted my only transfer business. We have an affiliation with Portuguese outfit Benfica and they were prepared to loan us tricky winger Jota for free. He has pace, flair and good technical attributes, and he is two-footed so is natural on either wing. He's taken a while to settle into the side but I'm hopeful he'll make a big contribution going forward.

Early form

Pre-season proceeded in the usual manner, with convincing wins against poor opponents, and a couple of deceptively good performances against better teams. But our opening league game saw us entertain West Brom - and we spanked them 5-0. Next up, an away game at Leeds and when we secured a creditable draw I was increasingly optimistic. Which lasted about three days when Leeds came to Nottingham for the opening round of the Carabao Cup and nicked a 1-0 win. Happily, that looked like a minor blip as we picked up good wins and another battling draw away at Fulham. But then Preston, mired in the relegation places, came to town for a match we really should have won; instead we gifted them their only victory in 9 games so far this season.

The schedule for September included just three games and we started well with a good away win at Swansea and a comfortable home win against Barnsley, before falling to an ugly defeat against mid-table Stoke, thanks to a scruffy own-goal in the first half, and a second-half goal that looked offside from a free-kick.

Which leaves the table looking like this:

Leeds doing their usual runaway performance early, and many of the usual suspects in a tightly-grouped following pack.

Lolley and Grabban have been the star performers up front, while Jenkinson at RB, and Joe Worrall and Chema at CB have been reliable in defence. Bryce Samba has been excellent in goal. Areas of concern are at AML where Ameobi produced a stunning display against West Brom and has been rubbish since, and several of the loan signings who are not contributing much but costing us more than £30k a week in wage contributions. Some of those may be terminated in january.

A good start, then. Can we keep it going?

[robterrace]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@robterrace You do love a transfer or two! Agreed about Preston's ability to scout well from the lower leagues and Ireland, although not many of your signings are from that template. I've had some really good spells in charge of them in the last few years, a cracking club to manage.

That part of the plan is coming. Got several youngsters coming over from Ireland.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

@robterrace Have you thought of taking over as Ireland national team manager in the save if the job comes available ?

[robterrace]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

@robterrace Have you thought of taking over as Ireland national team manager in the save if the job comes available ?

Don't know whether to do Ireland, or Northern Ireland. Will do an introduction of the new Irish talents I'm after soon.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

4 hours ago, warlock said:

Nottingham Forest: season 1 - October

A good start, then. Can we keep it going?

A very solid start, with a couple of away wins in the bank already.

[warlock]

33 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

A very solid start

Yes, it was pleasing. But gods, this match engine is hard to love. Just lost at Wigan - they hoofed a clearance towards the halfway line, clearly going out for our throw-in, and my defender races 30 yards to stop it on the line, he runs off the pitch, the Wigan winger casually collects the ball, strolls into our area and slots it past my keeper. I'm afraid I rage-quit .

[Ronaldo Beckham]

3 hours ago, robterrace said:

Don't know whether to do Ireland, or Northern Ireland. Will do an introduction of the new Irish talents I'm after soon.

 

Ireland do have the better players coming through like Obafemi. Parrot and Cassidy but Northern Ireland probably have a few coming through as well, I think Jamal Lewis is elligable for Northern Ireland.

[Jamesbfc1887]

3 hours ago, warlock said:

Yes, it was pleasing. But gods, this match engine is hard to love. Just lost at Wigan - they hoofed a clearance towards the halfway line, clearly going out for our throw-in, and my defender races 30 yards to stop it on the line, he runs off the pitch, the Wigan winger casually collects the ball, strolls into our area and slots it past my keeper. I'm afraid I rage-quit .

This with bells on.

Decent start though nonetheless. I've not really progressed much with my Birmingham save, my man fly turned out to be a rather nasty actual bout of flu.

@Jogo Bonito What a fantastic start great to see the momentum being carried over from last season 

@robterrace Interesting article this week about Championship finances, for all Preston's impressive scouting it looks like they've been making significant losses for a while now. 

[robterrace]

10 minutes ago, Jamesbfc1887 said:

This with bells on.

Decent start though nonetheless. I've not really progressed much with my Birmingham save, my man fly turned out to be a rather nasty actual bout of flu.

@Jogo Bonito What a fantastic start great to see the momentum being carried over from last season 

@robterrace Interesting article this week about Championship finances, for all Preston's impressive scouting it looks like they've been making significant losses for a while now. 

I have seen that, its a little concerning, but, not surprising.

 

[Sabine]

So this has just happened.. 

Very possible to get into the final as we have Fulham in the semi finals. 
January is right around the corner and I already have a few pre-arranged transfers in and outgoing

[warlock]

9 hours ago, Sabine said:

So this has just happened.. 

FM'd them 

Good luck in the next round. (And I assume that cup run has been quite lucrative?)

[Jamesbfc1887]

 

Birmingham City FC:

 

 

We struggled with form at the start of the season with what I'd call mixed form to say the least. We've struggled against the better teams that we simply can't dominate the ball against. We almost went the whole of August before Harlee Dean was sent off and Babou Ndiaye tucked home a 89th minute winner!!!

October was a hugely disappointing month, we really struggled to grind out a result when we were playing poorly. The Wigan game was exactly why I really don't like this ME,

Joe Garner runs through 5 of my defenders whilst being the only attacker in our half, not one of them thought to take a yellow card for the team, let alone the fact I'm fairly sure he could never do that on his own. 

We convincingly beat Boro then had Leeds hand us a footballing lesson. We've struggled to finish our dinner recently but I began to stick us on some attacking training.

And boy it has begun to pay off, 9 wins from 11 games in 2 months has put us firmly in the play-off picture, if not the automatic places. The top 3 are setting some pace and we've struggled to match them. 

 

A good start all in all, I'm hoping to get a few deals done in January to maybe give us a little extra fire power to fire us towards the top!

 

Lukas Jutkiewicz and Daramy have both been fantastic for me upfront, Crowley has been very disappointing, he hasn't been able to adapt to the defensive responsibility I've given him, too lightweight in midfield foe that role and not much use as a box to box either. Villalba has been excellent as well, he's a Premier League player in the eyes of me and my assistant.

[warlock]

2 hours ago, Jamesbfc1887 said:

A good start all in all

I'd say so!

Daramy looks like a good find, and Villalba was a standout for me, too. Crowley did best for me either as an AP or Mez - you're right... he hasn't the toolbox for a defensive role. But you're getting far more out of Marc Roberts, who was by far the weakest of my defenders. Hopefully, you can keep that excellent form going at home while picking up a few points away.

[Jogo Bonito]

@Jamesbfc1887 That's a very impressive run of form and a massive improvement on your early returns. Anything in the top half is decent, but a PO spot or more would be excellent work. In fact it might even be good enough to send you to Ashton Gate

I'll do an Ipswich update at the end of December 2020 (hopefully in game rather than actual time)...

[Jamesbfc1887]

5 hours ago, warlock said:

I'd say so!

Daramy looks like a good find, and Villalba was a standout for me, too. Crowley did best for me either as an AP or Mez - you're right... he hasn't the toolbox for a defensive role. But you're getting far more out of Marc Roberts, who was by far the weakest of my defenders. Hopefully, you can keep that excellent form going at home while picking up a few points away.

Yeah Roberts has been excellent for me, great speed for a high line. 

4 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@Jamesbfc1887 That's a very impressive run of form and a massive improvement on your early returns. Anything in the top half is decent, but a PO spot or more would be excellent work. In fact it might even be good enough to send you to Ashton Gate

I'll do an Ipswich update at the end of December 2020 (hopefully in game rather than actual time)...

Haha, I think I'll be staying here for the minute anyway. I don't think they'd let me leave, board are absolutely loving it. 

[Fubz]

 

Notts County 2020/21

After one season in the National League (and a very good one at that!) Notts County are back in the Football League (and in this thread) at the first time of asking.

Last season was record breaking in more ways than one. We romped to the title, broke most wins for the National League in a season & the highest points total.

So, before I start going on about transfer business this season, club vision going forward and other stuff going on in the background since promotion back to the football league I'll recap last season.

Transfers 2019-20

National League Table 2019-20

Notts County Player of the Season 2019-20

As you can see, a very good season all round in the league. Cup competitions not so much but my main focus was promotion back into League Two.

Regan Booty was an assist machine all season, playing from DM as a DLP (he takes our set pieces) he got 17 assists which is a new club record. He also broke the Player of the Match record here as well.

Thomas Oualembo broke the goal scoring record in a season for the club with 31 in all comps, and Will Huffer (on loan from Leeds) also broke a club record for number of clean sheets in a season at 21.

As you can see from the round up, records tumbled last season (we also broke the club record for least amount of losses in a season with only 3) and broke the highest attendance record in the National League.

All in all, a very successful season with a very young first XI (average age of around 22).

So that's the recap, I'll post the stuff I've done during the summer to prepare for life back in the football league later in the week. Don't want the first post to be huge. just thought you'd like a little inside into our journey last season and how we did.

 

[robterrace]

So, the season has ended at Preston, having taken over in December with us in 15th, I wanted to maintain the position, then build onwards.

Lots of victories, and some rather disappointing defeats at times.

Stephen Duffy, my signing from Cambridge, won the clubs signing of the season, as he scored 6 in 11 in the run in, he has shown improvements in most areas, so, will only get better.

The one thing that was highlighted, however, was we were lacking a playmaker/ballplayer in the centre of midfield, as we had a lot of possession, but, didn't use it well, and, from watching the games back, a lot of that was because the final ball was missing.

So far, we've agreed 6 signings coming in this summer, with another 5 coming from abroad in 2023, joining on their 18th birthdays.

The first signing coming in is Scottish midfielder Liam Burt. At 23, hes towards the top end of the age range I want to work with, but, he's a little project at no cost, and may make money in the future.

The next is big centre half, Chris Bennett, who will cost us £250k from Middlesbrough. 

Technically, hes a little lacking, but, with some work, he'll fulfil a role for me.

Alen Hari was found in the Under 18s at FC United, and whilst low in determination, has decent Flair, First Touch, and Teamwork, as well as technique, so may find more of a home at the base of midfield.

North Macedonian U21, Aleksandar Krstevski was playing in Serie B in Italy, and, is a natural striker or left winger. Hes got some very good attributes in most areas, but just needs a bit more in terms of acceleration and his decision making.

Another player whose low determination has seen his scout report slew towards a lower number, Anestis Touloupakis may find his feet further forward in midfield, however, he will develop in the U23s for the future.

The last of our free signings for next season, is Portuguese midfielder, Bernardo Sousa.

Having been released from Sporting last summer, he dropped down to play for Amora in the Portuguese third division, finishing as the stand out player for them, with 16 goals and 7 assists in 31 matches. This doesn't translate completely to Championship football, but, he is a well rounded player, with attributes that don't need a great deal of work, and all being well, will be our playmaker this next season.

-------

There is some interest in a couple of our long standing players, so, should an offer come in that matches our valuations of them, we can work along those lines, and look to strengthen from our scouting reports.

 

[Fubz]

 

Notts County 2020/21

A busy summer of wheeling and dealing lay ahead for us in the transfer market after promotion back into L2. A lot of the older players from last season contracts ran down, and, with how our club vision lines up we let them leave.

We had a very young starting XI last season any ways, they proved age is just a number by helping us back into L2 so it made sense to build the squad around them. We tied down the core of the team to new contracts & set about plugging the gaps.

Summer Transfers

As you can see, we were very busy in the window and managed to fill out the squad for the coming season. We needed to sign 2 centre midfielders in the summer, as both of the center mids here last season were successful loan signings. 

We tried our hardest to get Matt O'Riley back in on loan but to no avail (he wanted to rejoin us but Fulham wanted him to play at a higher level), that left us with a huge void to fill in the middle of the park.

Jack Clarke came in on a free from Aston Villa to fill O'Riley's position and, even though we got Ellis Chapman back on another season long loan deal we signed Harry Charsley on a free from Everton.

Both look very good for L2, both in their early 20's and both suit our style of football. The other position we desperately needed reinforcement in was left wing. Enzio Boldewjin was hot and cold there last season, so in came Rafa Mujic on loan.

We also managed to pick up some decent newgens that our scouts found, all look like decent players for the future at this level so I'm looking forward to seeing how they progress during this save.

 

Notts County Club Vision

Pretty much the same from last season, which is how we've been running since I took over. All of my signings (except David Stockdale) have been 23 or younger. I just felt we needed an experienced GK after Huffer had a shaky start to the season.

The board expect us to avoid relegation, yet the media have us as 2nd fav's to get promoted this year. I'd happily take a solid mid-table finish myself, although a cheeky push for play-off's would be nice!

Good start to life back in the Football League

Things have gone much better than anticipated so far, pre-season we focused on generating some extra income from friendlies (nothing too much, just to make sure finances where secure) with the odd game in there to boost morale.

 

As you can see, a 9 game unbeaten run in the league has put us top after 14 games of the season. Still a very long way to go and I expect us to tail off as the season goes on.

Thomas Oualembo (club's top scorer last season) has struggled to adjust to this league though, which is a bit disappointing. Luckily for us Marco Ramkilde has, and has now taken his spot up top for now.

The defeat to West Brom in the EFL cup was unlucky as well, we more than matched them, so to lose on pens was a hard pill to swallow.

Youth Prospects

With hardly any thing coming through in our youth intake last season I sent scouts out to try and find some young talent to fill the U18's and maybe one day make the step up into the first team.

Meet Abdoulaye Paye, Tyler Blackman, Sam Jones and Taylor Rees-Zammit

Granted, these are not world beaters by any stretch of the imagination, but they look fairly decent for this level and who knows, they may even turn us a profit in a few years!

So there you have it, you have now caught up to where I am in my save. It's been a fun project so far and I'm enjoying managing them this year (even if the ME makes me thump the table every once in a while )

[robterrace]

Coming up to the start of the new season, we're making a few moves in, and a few moves out.

Departing at the start of July, will be Patrick Bauer.

The German centre half is out of contract in June 2023, and his demands for wages were well above what I wanted to pay. He heads back to Germany and Werder Bremen for £7.5m.

Also departing, is Vaclav Hladky. Again, he was out of contract in 2023, and, his demands were above what I wanted to pay him. He goes to Millwall for £1.9m. 

We also got just under £2m in for selling a couple of clauses to do with the Adam O'Reilly sale.

The replacement for Bauer comes in from Portugal, where he'd been playing at Braga, but had spent last season on loan at Penafiel.

He is quick and has the height to cover balls over the top as well, and for £300k, is a decent purchase.

The replacement for Hladky, which, in the long term, will be Vladan Dekic, whom I'm trying to send out on loan to get a bit more experience, is Caoimhin Kelliher, who arrives from Liverpool for a fee of £450k. He has spent a season on loan in Cyprus at APOEL, and a season in League One at Doncaster. He is a well rounded keeper, and has a decent level of determination so will want to do well.

A further defensive signing was made, with 23 year old Scot, Tom McIntyre signing from Reading for £75k.

A left footed centre back, he will initially back up Ben Davies.

Moves have also been made to strengthen the options in midfield, with some going into the Under 23s to develop, and others coming to provide some competition.

First is French Congolese midfielder, Durel Avounou, who joins on a free transfer from Caen of Ligue 2 in France. The energetic centre midfielder will offer a different option for us.

Next to arrive, also on a free, from within the setup at PSG is playmaking midfielder, Adil Aouchiche. The 19 year old French Algerian lacks experience at any level, and will head out on loan until December to get experience.

22 year old Irish midfielder Kian Flanagan comes in from Crystal Palace on a free. Hes spent a couple of seasons on loan in League One and Two, as well as time in Ireland at Dundalk.

Theres stuff to like about him, but, again, he needs some work.

Coming in specifically to play in the U23s is Diogo Teixeira, who arrives from Rio Ave in Portugal. The 23 year old attacking midfielder, who can play anywhere in midfield, is 'middle of the road' in terms of talent, and will need nurturing if hes to make it in England.

The last signing of this bunch, is a player I've been watching for a couple of seasons, but, hes developed so well this last season, I've jumped in to sign him on a free.

Dave Ward is a Welsh U19 international, who has been a regular at Connahs Quay Nomads in the Cymru Premier. Quick, and good in the air, hes definitely one for the future.

Theres also this lad, whos just agreed a deal with me for January, although, I don't think I'll use him at centre half due to his size.

[robterrace]

Also, this is the first time I've seen this.. Bloody Man United.

Although, I do like this..

And, a 33 year old Alexis Sanchez in the Championship

[warlock]

1 hour ago, robterrace said:

a 33 year old Alexis Sanchez in the Championship

Quite a switch from your usual transfer policy . Hope it works out for you.

[robterrace]

4 hours ago, warlock said:

Quite a switch from your usual transfer policy . Hope it works out for you.

Couldn't avoid that one. If he pulls the strings a little bit, then hes done his job

[Barnetfan]

6 minutes ago, robterrace said:

Couldn't avoid that one. If he pulls the strings a little bit, then hes done his job

Recommend you take a look at Malik Batmaz, I bought him from Karlsruhe for 300k. He plays as a striker but as all the attributes to be trained as an attacking midfielder. Before I left Lincoln to take the Everton job I rejected an offer of 3.5 million from Norwich, only 19 at the start of the game so plenty of potential.

[Jogo Bonito]

@robterrace Is that Stephen 'Tintin' Duffy? If he fires you to promotion it could be the icing on the cake...

 

Ipswich - Season 2

My side was surprisingly still unbeaten in the league at the end of my last update

October came and went, and that record was still intact as I clung on to the coat tails of the three sides above me

November started with draws in hard home fixtures against Forest (2nd) and West Ham (top) but the unbeaten run continued

It was extended to 18 league games this season (19 in total) after beating Barnsley but then the inevitable happened

Mid-table Reading didn't seem the toughest task, and 1-1 deep in to injury time was another satisfactory effort

However, a penalty to them seconds before the final whistle and it was 2-1 and a long overdue defeat in the record books

December started badly as that first loss seemed to affect confidence

A home game with bottom club QPR saw us concede late again and a point from that was disappointing

A very mediocre Blackburn team then rocked up at Portman Road and rode off with maximum points

The performance at Brighton (top by then) was much improved but an early lead was overturned and I fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat there

Luckily I scraped past a poor Swansea side in the next outing with a goal that had never looked like coming, and this halted the slide  

The win at Wigan was also fortunate, throwing away a 3-1 lead and then against the odds finding a stoppage time winner to emerge 4-3 victors

The final match of the year was a little bit more mundane, but a valuable 1-0 win over Sheffield United saw me retain 4th spot in the league

At least the board and fans seem happy enough, despite a tough run that at one stage threatened to catapult us down the table

Marcus Forss and James Norwood have struggled a bit for goals recently, and will need to find form for results to go our way

I think the absence in the last month of right wing-back Kane Vincent-Young has also had an effect on performances

But overall this is 10-15 places higher in the table than I would have expected, so lets see what happens in the transfer window and beyond

Next up is Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in FA Cup Round 3

Edited December 19, 2019 by Jogo Bonito

[robterrace]

19 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@robterrace Is that Stephen 'Tintin' Duffy? If he fires you to promotion it could be the icing on the cake...

Unfortunately not.