[FM20] Irchester Utd. Tier 10. England. Home. Youth Only.

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2052. 

Premier League. 2 wins and 2 draws is ok and I'm happy with our form, but unlike last season there are only 2 rubbish teams in the league and we're in a right battle with about 5 other sides to escape that last relegation spot. The Man Utd game in particular was a brilliant performance by our back-ups.

[swooperproop]

Could Chelsea get relegated?

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2053. 

Premier League. We're out of the relegation but it's a real dog-fight down there at the moment to escape that 3rd relegation spot. @swooperproopwas right in questioning if Chelsea could get relegated. They have dropped into the relegation zone and are well and truly in a battle for survival. 

Cup games. Our priority was and is the league, but we had a good go at this. It just came in a really busy period and we came up slightly short. 

[Jimbokav1971]

15 hours ago, swooperproop said:

Could Chelsea get relegated?

It's been coming for a while. They are being very poorly managed. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Wonderkids. Jan 2053. 

We've now got a 2nd Wonderkid at the club. 

[deez0r]

35 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Wonderkids. Jan 2053. 

We've now got a 2nd Wonderkid at the club. 

Okoro looks an absolute beast! Where are you using Conway currently?

[Jimbokav1971]

11 minutes ago, deez0r said:

Okoro looks an absolute beast! Where are you using Conway currently?

He's never played a single game anywhere other than centre-half. Never will. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2053. 

Premier League. The month was ok, but it should have been much better. We hit the woodwork twice against Everton and were unlucky to come out of the game with nothing to show for our efforts and then I went with a weakened squad against Man Utd and I think if we had gone with a full strength side we would have won. The pressure is on to win against Bournemouth and then Leeds at the beginning of next month. If we get valuable points out of these 2 games then the loss v Man Utd will be fine. Otherwise....... 

[Jimbokav1971]

5th fine of the season. Mar 2053. 

We won. 

[Jimbokav1971]

6th fine of the season. Mar 2053. 

We lost, but that has more to do with the 2 red cards, (the 1st after 27 mins). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Disaster. Mar 2052.

(47c) Doyle (IRL) (Bal) has been our main goal threat this season. He's scored 14 goals in 21 appearances which equals his highest return for us. With any luck he will be back for our last few games. He's become a really big player for us. 

It's interesting that he has scored his 14 goals in 21 appearances, when the 4 players on the list ahead of him have all made at least 6 more appearances. He's contracted for 3 more years, and how things develop over the next couple of years will determine whether I try to get him to extend or look to sell him. 

[Jimbokav1971]

7th fine of the season. Mar 2053. 

8 yellows and 2 reds. We lost. 

[swooperproop]

3 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

It's been coming for a while. They are being very poorly managed. 

I completely understand why they tried to sign you so many times

[Jimbokav1971]

2 minutes ago, swooperproop said:

I completely understand why they tried to sign you so many times

There is no reason for them to be performing so poorly. 

The players they are producing via their Academy are ridiculous. 

In other circumstances I would love to manage them. 

[Jimbokav1971]

On 21/09/2020 at 16:12, Jimbokav1971 said:

Youth Intake preview. Dec 2052. 

Youth Intake day. Mar 2053. 

Squad by PA. 

Nations represented by previous Youth Intakes. 

New Nations represented by this Youth Intake.   Forget about the quality of the intake, we got 2 new Nationalities. 

(53a) Grant (Temp) is the typical striker that we produce. Quick with good dribbling but not that great at actually putting the ball in the net. 

(53b) Whyley (L.Heart). I don't really know what to make of this bloke. 

(53c) Victor (ESP) (Bal) is Spanish and Spanish only. No 2nd Nationality for a foreigner is often an indication of high PA. (Fingers crossed). 

(53d) Nwachukwu (NGA) (F.Pro) looks a little raw compared to some of the other keepers we have at the club. 

[rodesire]

all top3 players look amazing this intake.  watch them feature in first team in 2 years time.

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, rodesire said:

all top3 players look amazing this intake.  watch them feature in first team in 2 years time.

I can't work out what to do with (53b) Whyley (L.Heart). Any suggestions? 

[rodesire]

14 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I can't work out what to do with (53b) Whyley (L.Heart). Any suggestions? 

looks a 10 in a 4231 system, some sort of false nine maybe?  If all fails, he can be a space investigator a la Muller.

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2053. 

Premier League. By winning against Bournemouth we validated the decision to rotate the squad against Man Utd at the end of last month. but I've got to admit the Leeds result was a disaster and one of the few occasions where we have really targeted a game and got nothing out of it without the result being influenced by red cards. I would have even been ok with a draw against Leeds, but losing was a proper disaster. If we take 2 points off them and add 1 to our total, (as would have been the case with a draw), we would be 5 points clear of the relegation zone. Instead we have just a 2 point gap and it's really tight down there. 

We play Boro and West Brom next month and then Leicester in May. If we beat both West Brom and Leicester then we will probably be safe. If we can win 3 games then we will almost certainly be safe. 

[Jimbokav1971]

23 minutes ago, rodesire said:

looks a 10 in a 4231 system, some sort of false nine maybe?  If all fails, he can be a space investigator a la Muller.

Mmmm. Don't plan on changing formation. May look to convert him into something that I can squeeze into the right side of central midfield position. Love his heading attribute on day 1. 

[deez0r]

42 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I can't work out what to do with (53b) Whyley (L.Heart). Any suggestions? 

I would like him in a deep lying playmaker or Segundo volant role.

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, deez0r said:

I would like him in a deep lying playmaker or Segundo volant role.

Interesting. I don't see him technical enough for a DLP role, but we will just have to see how he develops. I like my midfielders to be able to pass the ball, (even those who play on the right of the 2). but playmaker doesn't jump out at me initially. 

[Tajerio]

46 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Interesting. I don't see him technical enough for a DLP role, but we will just have to see how he develops. I like my midfielders to be able to pass the ball, (even those who play on the right of the 2). but playmaker doesn't jump out at me initially. 

Depends how much room he really has between his CA and his PA. If he's really a proper 3.5/4 star player, you could easily see his Passing, Vision, and Technique all increase by 4 at least. First Touch probably always likely to be a little lower of course. Also got quite good Decisions for a 16-year-old.

[Jimbokav1971]

14 hours ago, Tajerio said:

Depends how much room he really has between his CA and his PA. If he's really a proper 3.5/4 star player, you could easily see his Passing, Vision, and Technique all increase by 4 at least. First Touch probably always likely to be a little lower of course. Also got quite good Decisions for a 16-year-old.

I suppose I'm comparing him to other midfielders who have come through and who looked far more suitable to a playmaker role. I'm looking again though and maybe you are right. 

(53b) Whyley (L.Heart) is most suited to an AP(s) role out of the box, and that's what the shaded/highlighted areas indicate. 

He doesn't have any suitability at all right now to play in any MC role, but honestly this colour-coded system means absolutely nothing to me. When I say absolutely nothing I am not exaggerating even a little bit. Earlier on in the save when players produced via the intake were often good enough to play quite quickly for the senior team, I didn't have any hesitation in playing players in positions/roles where this system told me there was little/no suitability. I try and completely ignore it. 

Here are some players who have come through the intake and who I did see as potential playmakers. 

If you notice, I have rarely if ever included player position section with these profile pictures, because I think it often skews our thinking and we automatically assume that a player can only play in that position and blinds us to alternatives. 

(52a) Marko (SVK) (Bal) came through last season, but again I was and still am a little torn as to where and how to use him. I'm just loading the game up now and I will to see what training I have given him, but I think his physical limitations would have pushed me towards playmaker rather than AF. I've just checked and I'm training him as a Roaming Playmaker support even though I will never use him in that role. I prefer the RPM(s) ahead of the DLP(s) for training simply because it trains tackling and DLP doesn't. 

(51e) Jordan (F.Pro) is perhaps an example of how flawed my thinking is. To be completely honest with you, I was attracted/blinded by his passing attribute of 15 and I also like that he has tackling ability even though he's a playmaker. Both by full-backs bomb on and the right of my 2 midfielders are encouraged to get forward wherever possible, so even though he is a playmaker, the player playing on the left of the middle 2 often has to defend, (by default). This is obviously 1 contributing factor in why we concede so many goals, but that's a whole different conversation. If I actually look at (51e) Jordan (F.Pro) and compare him to (53b) Whyley (L.Heart), then while I have obviously looked at passing, I think I have ignored decisions and vision. 

I'm not going to go any further back looking for players to act as a comparison because I think (51e) Jordan (F.Pro) is the perfect example to maybe how blinkered I am in favour of some attributes for some positions, (and there has already been discussion about my preference for the 3 top left attributes for GK's, which is another example of this). Here is (51e) Jordan (F.Pro) again, now 2 seasons later. 

I think you would all agree that his improvement is pretty significant. I should point out that his PA on Day 1 was "only" 3.5, where as now it's "4.5". You have to remember though that we can't really rely on the 4.5 rating, although it's going to be more accurate than the 3.5 rating. 

This sort of progress in 2 years is pretty impressive if you ask me. I have trained him as a RPM(s) with additional focus on passing and that might explain why his vision attribute has risen so much. The reason that passing has only gone up 2 points is because it was already at a high starting point of 15. 

I've obviously prioritised his introduction into the senior team. Largely on the back of the fact that we didn't really have a suitable DLP coming through on the conveyor belt before him. 

(46a) Gérard (FRA) (F.Pro) * was our 1st choice DLP(s) before he left, and is so again now that he has returned. 

While (46a) Gérard (FRA) (F.Pro) * was away, (45d) Ndlovu (ZIM) (F.Pro) * moved across from the right hand central position to the playmaker role and with some success too. There is absolutely no arguing that he is better on the right of centre though. 

With that it mind, I think that a DLP role should hopefully be quite suitable for (53b) Whyley (L.Heart) and that's what I will go for. 

Thanks for the responses @deez0r @rodesire and @Tajerio I think sometimes it just helps to have a fresh pair of eyes or a dissenting voice to make you look at things again. 

[deez0r]

29 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I suppose I'm comparing him to other midfielders who have come through and who looked far more suitable to a playmaker role. I'm looking again though and maybe you are right. 

(53b) Whyley (L.Heart) is most suited to an AP(s) role out of the box, and that's what the shaded/highlighted areas indicate. 

He doesn't have any suitability at all right now to play in any MC role, but honestly this colour-coded system means absolutely nothing to me. When I say absolutely nothing I am not exaggerating even a little bit. Earlier on in the save when players produced via the intake were often good enough to play quite quickly for the senior team, I didn't have any hesitation in playing players in positions/roles where this system told me there was little/no suitability. I try and completely ignore it. 

Here are some players who have come through the intake and who I did see as potential playmakers. 

If you notice, I have rarely if ever included player position section with these profile pictures, because I think it often skews our thinking and we automatically assume that a player can only play in that position and blinds us to alternatives. 

(52a) Marko (SVK) (Bal) came through last season, but again I was and still am a little torn as to where and how to use him. I'm just loading the game up now and I will to see what training I have given him, but I think his physical limitations would have pushed me towards playmaker rather than AF. I've just checked and I'm training him as a Roaming Playmaker support even though I will never use him in that role. I prefer the RPM(s) ahead of the DLP(s) for training simply because it trains tackling and DLP doesn't. 

(51e) Jordan (F.Pro) is perhaps an example of how flawed my thinking is. To be completely honest with you, I was attracted/blinded by his passing attribute of 15 and I also like that he has tackling ability even though he's a playmaker. Both by full-backs bomb on and the right of my 2 midfielders are encouraged to get forward wherever possible, so even though he is a playmaker, the player playing on the left of the middle 2 often has to defend, (by default). This is obviously 1 contributing factor in why we concede so many goals, but that's a whole different conversation. If I actually look at (51e) Jordan (F.Pro) and compare him to (53b) Whyley (L.Heart), then while I have obviously looked at passing, I think I have ignored decisions and vision. 

I'm not going to go any further back looking for players to act as a comparison because I think (51e) Jordan (F.Pro) is the perfect example to maybe how blinkered I am in favour of some attributes for some positions, (and there has already been discussion about my preference for the 3 top left attributes for GK's, which is another example of this). Here is (51e) Jordan (F.Pro) again, now 2 seasons later. 

I think you would all agree that his improvement is pretty significant. I should point out that his PA on Day 1 was "only" 3.5, where as now it's "4.5". You have to remember though that we can't really rely on the 4.5 rating, although it's going to be more accurate than the 3.5 rating. 

This sort of progress in 2 years is pretty impressive if you ask me. I have trained him as a RPM(s) with additional focus on passing and that might explain why his vision attribute has risen so much. The reason that passing has only gone up 2 points is because it was already at a high starting point of 15. 

I've obviously prioritised his introduction into the senior team. Largely on the back of the fact that we didn't really have a suitable DLP coming through on the conveyor belt before him. 

(46a) Gérard (FRA) (F.Pro) * was our 1st choice DLP(s) before he left, and is so again now that he has returned. 

While (46a) Gérard (FRA) (F.Pro) * was away, (45d) Ndlovu (ZIM) (F.Pro) * moved across from the right hand central position to the playmaker role and with some success too. There is absolutely no arguing that he is better on the right of centre though. 

With that it mind, I think that a DLP role should hopefully be quite suitable for (53b) Whyley (L.Heart) and that's what I will go for. 

Thanks for the responses @deez0r @rodesire and @Tajerio I think sometimes it just helps to have a fresh pair of eyes or a dissenting voice to make you look at things again. 

I agree there are times when I dont have a clue what to do with a player and others pick up on these things!

[Jimbokav1971]

Poached. Apr 2053. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Clauses. Apr 2053. 

There are only 2 clauses with deals available for them. 

Both players are 26yo and there is still a reasonable chance of a deal that bring in more than we are being offered. I'm going to leave them alone for the moment. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Profit. Apr 2053. 

Would someone mind telling me if this is a feature that has always been in the game and I just haven't seen it because I haven't managed in a top tier in FM20, or if this is a new feature that was contained in the recent update? (Yes I know it's highly unlikely to be a new feature but I'm just surprised that if they have this feature in top tiers, why don't they also have it in lower tiers?)

[Jimbokav1971]

We are in serious danger of being relegated.  Apr 2053. 

Premier League. We've now lost 5 of our last 6 games. We're 1 point behind Leeds and 2 points behind Chelsea with 3 games to play. We play Leicester(a), Fulham(h) and Arsenal(a). Basically we need to beat both Leicester and Fulham I think, and hope 1 out of Leeds and Chelsea don't do as well as we do. 

Leeds play Brighton(h), Villa(a) and West Ham(h). 
Chelsea play Liverpool(a), Leicester(h) and West Brom(a). 

[Jimbokav1971]

On 19/09/2020 at 16:41, turnip said:

Good first season at the top, Jimbo. Beware of that second season syndrome, though 

#Soothsayer

[Pompeyboyz]

Brighton and West Brom, could both be dragged into the mix if result go right though

[Jimbokav1971]

The 1st of 3 Finals. May 2053. 

We absolutely smashed them despite a 59th min red card.  (44b) Big Don (JAM)(Bal) 6'5" scored a 1st half hat-trick and also provided the assist for the other goal. It was a straight red for (46a) Gérard (FRA) (F.Pro) * and I think his ban is likely to be extended meaning that we've seen the last of him this season. 

We played on the Friday. I'm not sure if that'e because of ground-sharing or TV, but either way the pressure is well and truly on Leeds and Chelsea, (and even Brighton above us). 

[Jimbokav1971]

New record. Apr 2053. 

We might be running a little short on yellow cards, but we have absolutely smashed the red cards this season. 12 is really...... impressive is not the correct word but c'est la vie.  Significantly, we have also had quite a few 1st half red cards this season and this has definitely impacted on results in those games. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Other results. 4th May 2053. 

Premier League. Leeds and Chelsea both lost, (which is good), but the vanquishers of Leeds were Brighton and I think I would have preferred a draw. 

With 2 games to play it leaves the table looking like this. 

We're 1 point ahead of Chelsea and 2 points ahead of Leeds, but Chelsea have a better goal difference. West Brom are 3 points ahead of us and Brighton are now 4 clear after their win at Leeds. 

We have Fulham next and our last game of the season is against Arsenal who have just gone top of the table and haven't won the Premier League for 25 years. (Come on Wolves!)

[Jimbokav1971]

2nd of 3 Finals. Apr 2053. 

Our last game is against Arsenal who are top of the table so we needed to win this, (and didn't). 

Chelsea won and both Leeds and Brighton haven't played yet. 

I'm talking about Brighton as if anything that happens above us makes the slightest difference. 

We are not going to get anything against Arsenal so we need Leeds to take no more than 3 points from their 3 remaining games and for the goal swing not to be huge, (because Arsenal might give us a hiding). 

Leeds play Villa away today, (who are fighting for a European place, and then they are at home to West Ham next week. I basically need Villa to win today. 

[Jimbokav1971]

57 minutes ago, Pompeyboyz said:

Brighton and West Brom, could both be dragged into the mix if result go right though

It's not happening. 

It's us or Leeds. 

[Tajerio]

Squeaky bum time indeed. Good luck!

Also, love that there's an M. Nobile among the goalscorers for West Ham against Fulham last matchweek. Hopefully his first name is Marco.

[Jimbokav1971]

Get me my brown trousers. Apr 2053.

Leeds got a point against Villa. 

If they win their last game at home to West ham and we lose to title challengers Arsenal then we are relegated. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, Tajerio said:

Squeaky bum time indeed. Good luck!

Also, love that there's an M. Nobile among the goalscorers for West Ham against Fulham last matchweek. Hopefully his first name is Marco.

I noticed that. In my head I have decided that he is the strange love-child, (or Grand-son maybe), of Mark Noble and Frank Nouble. 

[Jimbokav1971]

3rd of 3 Finals. Apr 2053. 

Arsenal have a Michael Thomas who scored against us and Danny Henry is surely a relation to Thierry, (no he's not), but despite hammering us 5-1, they didn't win the title. 

Wolves did the double, but I'm not completely sure why their 6-1 obliteration of us was deemed pivotal. Wolves have now won 5 out of the last 7 Premier League titles and have 2 of our Academy products in their ranks. 

We finished 17th, which means that we are NOT relegated. 

As Leeds could only draw 2-2 with West Ham. 

Which means that we have escaped by the skin of our teeth. 

That was too close for comfort. 

[rodesire]

had leeds drawn with brighton you would have stayed up on goal difference

[Jimbokav1971]

32 minutes ago, rodesire said:

had leeds drawn with brighton you would have stayed up on goal difference

To be honest, I had assumed that if they drew we would have stayed up anyway on goal difference, but conceding 5 goals against Arsenal meant that had they drawn, the margin of our survival would have been a single goal. That's way too close for comfort. 

[rodesire]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

To be honest, I had assumed that if they drew we would have stayed up anyway on goal difference, but conceding 5 goals against Arsenal meant that had they drawn, the margin of our survival would have been a single goal. That's way too close for comfort. 

not until you have lost a title on goals scored..

[-Jef-]

This is what I meant few seasons ago about being lucky to stay with less than 40 pts  

Good season tho, every season that you stay up is good for now! 

Also, just seen that Arsenal have Danny Henry in their squad. Is he by any chance French left forward?  

[Jimbokav1971]

9 hours ago, rosque said:

This is what I meant few seasons ago about being lucky to stay with less than 40 pts  

Good season tho, every season that you stay up is good for now! 

Also, just seen that Arsenal have Danny Henry in their squad. Is he by any chance French left forward?  

Yeah. That Arsenal side had a Michael Thomas and a Danny Henry but neither are related to the originals. 

Yeah, @Pompeyboyzexplained things and I get what you mean. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Season Summary. May 2053.

Premier League. Last day survival saw Leeds relegated instead of us. Villa in Europe? 

FA Cup. We were up against it the league again so it was my priority. It would be good to have a good start to the next season so that we can prioritise the Cups. 

Carabao Cup. Our 2nd-string are decent, but not good enough. 

Leasing,com Trophy. (U23's). A little bit more progress here, and I expect us to keep improving. 

Development League. (U23's). A 1st undefeated season at this level. 

FA Youth Cup. Champions for the 1st time. 

U18 Premier Division Cup. We won this to make it a double. 

U18 Premier League. A treble, and a quadruple if you count the Playoff Final. 

Goal-scoring keepers. This was (47a) Best (F.Det)'s last season as 1st choice GK. (50b) Okoro (NED) (F.Det) ended the season as 1st choice and that's it done as far as I'm concerned even if I can't sell (47a) Best (F.Det).

Overall Best XI. 

Awards. From the left wing position being a "problem" because I couldn't get the best out of (44b) Big Don (JAM)(Bal) 6'5", he's now our Player of the Season. 

Squad by Appearances.

Discipline. What a season in terms of cards. The red cards especially were phenomenal this season. 

Finances. I splashed out the cash a little this season, but always within the safety net that we would still be secure financially if we dropped back into the Championship, (which if I'm honest I thought was likely for the most part this season). 

Income. 

Expenditure. 

Facilities. 

Transfers. 

Tracker. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1st fine of the season, (in the 1st game of the season). Aug 2053. 

We lost, (to a 96th min goal). 

Edited September 24, 2020 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

2nd fine of the season, (in the 3rd game of the season). Aug 2053.

We lost. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Poached. Aug 2053. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Big Bid. Sep 2053.

When I signed (46a) Gérard (FRA) (F.Pro) for £40M I was pretty sure that I had over-paid. At the same time I was happy to pay the money and I was happy that even if we were relegated we would be able to afford it. Despite that, I was pretty surprised to get this bid from Milan. 

If this was a normal save then I would happily take the £55M, and go and buy someone else, but obviously in a #YouthOnly save like this I don't have that luxury. He's going nowhere.