[FM21] Manchester United: A club stuck in transition

[MatthewS17]

So having reached the end of the first season, I am both delighted and disappointed with the end result. Pretty much everybody fell away early, so the league came down to Manchester United and Liverpool on the last day, with Manchester United leading by 2 points.

I was away to Everton, and Liverpool were away to Fulham. We scored and were 1-0 up against Everton until the 87th minute, when James Rodriguez hit an incredible volley from I think 30 yards that drew the match and gave Liverpool the title, matching us on 20 League titles and surpassing us as the most successful club in England thanks to an FA Cup win, completing a double. That really bloody hurts.

 

 

On the other hand, we made the Champions League final. I had a fairly easy group against Rennes, Sevilla and Eintrach Frankfurt. In the knockout stages, we played Leipzig(ha, revenge!), Inter and Barcelona, so again, not a difficult. Barca playing defensive football under Koeman just isn't threatening at all. With a very tired squad, we were wasteful in the home tie, creating chances everywhere, but it ended 0-0. In the away tie, we got an early goal and didn't create much but neither did Barca and we went through. It seemed like my players felt the effects of the league loss, because we just did not show up for the final against Atletico Madrid, losing 1-0 in extra time, handing them their first ever CL title. Barca at home and Atletico in the final are the only two games all season that I failed to score in. Atletico was the first game that I didn't look like scoring. Simeone Masterclass.

On the other hand, we won the Carabao Cup, so didn't go trophyless.

The players were incredible all season, but I think the lack of depth really hurt late on with so many players missing matches with fatigue. Here is how we looked during the season, sorted by rating:

 

 

All season, I struggled to get any kind of tune out of Martial, with him putting in some shocking performances, but he ended the season with a massive purple patch, scoring multiple goals a game, taking over Rashford as primary goalscorer, who had fallen away dramatically. Everyone was fairly solid throughout the season, but questions definitely need to be asked about the quality in this squad.

 

In terms of tactics, I added a bit of realism into it. I opted for a tactic that could work against big and small sides, being able to push forward and attack on one hand and drop deeper and counter attack on the other. 

 

 

Ignore the Team Instructions as I was clearing tactics when I did this, and those are not for this formation.. :))

 

I took inspiration from understanding of our side and a little bit of what Solskjaer does. One of the problems in our squad is the need for protection around the defence. Playing a high line wouldn't realistically be achievable given we have Maguire and Lindelof in defence. Nor would be having no protection for them as they are quite easy to expose, so playing a very advanced wingback in these cases, like Telles, wouldn't be approproate.

And so, the protection needs to come from somewhere else: midfield and right back. Fred and McTominay, as they do, will look to shield the back line, while Telles, who is actually used on CWB(S) pushed much further forward. Given how limited Fred and McTominay are, they don't add much to the attack in the first place. AWB is also poor going forward but a decent defensive option, so I planned to maximise his strengths. Unlike last year, the full back actually does tend to stay back, mostly in line with the midfield, and on occasions I opted to have him sit in midfield if I wanted Fred in a more adventurous role. 

One thing that was very important to me this year: Pressing. Pogba was never going to be in contention for a starting place for me, because his work rate just isn't good enough. Fred, McTominay, Bruno and Van De Beek created a press for me that was brilliant to watch at times, running down opponents and making it as difficult for teams to stay on the ball as possible. This is probably what made me so effective all season long. How well and quickly we won the ball back, because happily, the press on FM21 is organized!!

In attack, there was a lot of freedom of movement going forward, which is why many goals were so spread across the front line.

 

Plans for next season:

 

One thing is for sure: Liverpool must never win the title again.

 

We need to regain our status as the best in England, and later the best in the world.

 

Rashford: One of the things that is important to me is to figure out why Rashford misfired late in the season. This really would have been an issue for me if not for Martial, but I'm not sure what I did that knocked his goal scoring chances off so badly. He had 2 goals in the last 15 matches, I think.

Clear the deadwood: While the squad depth really is an issue, there is so much ridiculous deadwood in this squad. Romero, Fosu-Mensah, Bailly, Jones, Dalot, Shaw, Lingard, Pereira and Mata will all leave. I can't remember a few others. Unsure if Matic and Cavani will leave. Some I have to keep for depth, like Dan James. Pogba will also leave, as I can't find a place for him.
Pellistri will  be promoted to the first with a few others. Unfortunately Diallo looks a waste of money for me.

 

Transfer Plans:

Ah, this part. Will look to bring in 4 first team players. No more, but crucially no less. I don't like overhauling squads too quickly, but I need to form a team that is capable of dominating anyone else from now on, and to play the style that I want. What we need:

 

Defensive Midfielder:  This is dependent on who I sign in Central Midfield. Declan Rice, Ruben Neves, Sandro Tonali and Wilfried Ndidi are key targets. Koopmeiners also looks interesting.

Central Midfield: This is my big conundrum. I am undecided between Eduardo Camavinga and Martin Odegaard. Camavinga is brilliant, and it seems he will be an absolute world-beater in the future. But he isn't good enough to be a starter straight away, and it seems he's more of a defensive 8 with attacking abilities rather than an attacking 8 with defensive abilities. 
Martin Odegaard is my other ideal target. Perfectly suited to controlling games and will be able to go straight into the first XI. His passing, mental and technical skills are superb. I can probably improve his defensive skills slightly to be more solid as an 8, but his shooting also needs improvement. Great team player.

Who I sign here is dependent on who I sign as DM. If I sign Odegaard, I'd want a more solid out and out protector of the back line in Ndidi or Rice. If I signed Camavinga, I'd want more of an orchestrator behind in Neves or Tonali. Rice and Camavinga would feel far too defensive for me, especially given there's more protection in AWB on the right.

Right Wing: It's a toss up between Yusuf Demir, Jadon Sancho and Heung-Min Son. Son is not a RW, but he's two-footed and a superb player, good enough to play there. Spurs' low finish means he's available and he's exactly the type of player I like with his willingness to work hard for the team. On the other hand, Sancho is self-explanatory, and I've managed to get him down to having Dortmund accept around 90m for him to be accepted. Demir is available for 30m, and looks like he could have similar attributes to Sancho.

The fourth player is entirely Nuno Mendes. Selling Shaw, with Telles being 28, I want someone to hold a rotational role now until he can take over. Mendes is exceptional going forward as well as defensively so is too good to pass up. 

Naturally, this means that I forego a central defender, unless I choose to opt for Eric Garcia on a free, who's despicably rotted away at City all season. Might feel a need for revenge there. He's home grown too which is a nice addition.
I'm also undecided on my central defensive targets, as nobody seems available in my mould and price range, so it might be better to wait a season and look at Kounde, Gvardiol or Todibo. Upamecano's mental attributes just aren't enough for me.

 

I dislike having to spend this much money at once, especially looking at two potential record deals in one window, which hurts my soul, but there's no question Manchester United need drastic improvement if they are to realistically take it to the next level.

 

But all is on hold till the Newgen bug is solved, as I don't want to break anything in this save.

Edited December 11, 2020 by MatthewS17

[RazorsEdge]

11 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

@RazorsEdge @duvels

I'm guessing you are both using the AMR as either a IF or IW considering you both use Greenwood there? So he cuts inside onto his left?

IF-S. He's doing alright, could be better. God 15 goals and 11 assists in 44(6) in all competitions in season 2.

[RazorsEdge]

11 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

@RazorsEdge @duvels

I'm guessing you are both using the AMR as either a IF or IW considering you both use Greenwood there? So he cuts inside onto his left?

IF-S. He's doing alright, could be better. God 15 goals and 11 assists in 44(6) in all competitions in season 2.

[Gee_Simpson]

5 hours ago, MatthewS17 said:

But all is on hold till the Newgen bug

What's that?

Oh, and nice to see someone else who disables 1st window like me

Unbelievable to get 100 points with the default squad! That's absolutely insane.

[MatthewS17]

1 hour ago, Gee_Simpson said:

What's that?

Oh, and nice to see someone else who disables 1st window like me

Unbelievable to get 100 points with the default squad! That's absolutely insane.

Apparently, newgens don't generate in non-playable leagues, so eventually they run out of players, etc. For long term saves, it's a big issue.

 

Yeah, it feels wrong not to disable the first window. It also gives me time to see what I want to do.

[Gee_Simpson]

8 minutes ago, MatthewS17 said:

Apparently, newgens don't generate in non-playable leagues, so eventually they run out of players, etc. For long term saves, it's a big issue.

They fixed it though did they not? Or has the fix not worked?

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by Gee_Simpson

[duvels]

8 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

Nice. I'm guessing Sancho is 1st choice going by those stats?

Yes he is, but plenty of rotation going on, so every players gets plenty of time on the pitch.

[MatthewS17]

2 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

They fixed it though did they not? Or has the fix not worked?

 

Hasn't worked, apparently. So I thought it would be better to wait for a complete fix first. May take a while.

[Gee_Simpson]

I suppose I won't be affected by it much as I plan to run 50 leagues to start with.

[axehan1]

Well i've started a new save as my beta save continued into the full game had the fixture bug.I thought i'd be ok with it but into season 4 having to play Liverpool away twice in the league again finally convinced me to reload and start a new save.

Nice balanced 4231.Pogba normally has the central playmaking role but he has had 2 seperate 6 week injuries in the 1st half of the season .I started with him as RPM but both he and his midfield partner start to deep so DLP is the main playmaking role although i'm not 100% convinced that's the ideal role for either him or Bruno.

Plenty of transfers were done before i took over,these were mine once i took over.

Camavinga and Mendes are no brainers,£80m for Camavinga included installments as did Mendes but the others were all upfront.Barrenetxea has been absolutely brilliant,A cheaper alternative to the Sancho's of this world and 4 star potential.Milik was available for the silly price of £7.5m, I just couldn't pass up an opportunity like that especially with his traits "plays with back to goal" and "plays one two's".The other lad Chotard was bought in to cover for Pogba and only 19 has plenty of development ahead of him.

We've had a very good start to the season only drawing 1 league game at home to Newcastle.

The champions league has gone down to the last game in the group stage, we sit in 3rd place and have to beat Celtic at Old Trafford to progress.

Finally the only part of the game that irritates the you know what out of me.

It's a bit hard to sign high profile players when you only have £60m as a starting budget plus sign English players(who cost a bomb anyway)whilst also buying youngsters for the future and develop kids in the youth system.

I know not all of them are required but isn't it a little bit of overkill?

Anyway away to Leicester next and then Celtic at home in the Champions League.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Smaldini]

Pretty sure “Sign High Reputation Players” is bugged. On the beta I signed Saul and Alaba, yet the board were still devastated.

Edited December 11, 2020 by Smaldini

[Sanityfm]

15 hours ago, MatthewS17 said:

Clear the deadwood: While the squad depth really is an issue, there is so much ridiculous deadwood in this squad. Romero, Fosu-Mensah, Bailly, Jones, Dalot, Shaw, Lingard, Pereira and Mata will all leave. I can't remember a few others. Unsure if Matic and Cavani will leave. Some I have to keep for depth, like Dan James. Pogba will also leave, as I can't find a place for him.

Pellistri will  be promoted to the first with a few others. Unfortunately Diallo looks a waste of money for me.

 

 

 

 

Does Diallo look bad on your save then? Currently managing Bournemouth and he looks like a great back up option on that save. If I didn't have Marcus Edwards and Brooks I would have attempted to sign him up. 

[MatthewS17]

4 hours ago, Sanityfm said:

Does Diallo look bad on your save then? Currently managing Bournemouth and he looks like a great back up option on that save. If I didn't have Marcus Edwards and Brooks I would have attempted to sign him up. 

Yeah, for me he seems at best a championship winger. Dan James is preferred over him. 

Pellistri seems pretty good though, so I'll work with him instead. 

[sedge11]

On 10/12/2020 at 19:27, OleGunnarSolscharl said:

Hey man, interesting tactic, looks like you've had some success with it! 

I played something on FM20, just with 2 strikers and no AM. If I could offer some advice: I always found it better to have a ball winner on the exposed flank, ie I'd probably switch Pogba and McTominay around in your set up and move my pacier CB to the left as well (though looks like you're doing well anyway!) 

Well I usually have a left winger, with Bruno slightly off the right, so the ball winner is on that side.

[sedge11]

21 hours ago, MatthewS17 said:

To get 100 points and miss out is gutting, but Liverpool are incredible on this game, as they were on fm20. Adds abit of a challenge which is nice.

[sedge11]

Sorry for the triple post ha.

Anyway after 1 season and not being able to fix the registration bug, I had to start again.

Staff wise I got same people in as last time.

We have just finished the jan window. This has been our transfer outs from the start and January.

Mostly the same as last time. Jones was difficult to get rid of, but is joining Bournemouth at the end of his loan for 5.5 mi, with me paying about 35k of his wages.

There was only one in, who I brought in jan on deadline day, it was an unplanned signing but felt I had to do it.

For 30mil its a bargain, he had loads of teams sniffing round him so I acted quick. That is now the right winger position sorted.

I wanted Pau Torres again, but Villarreal were being a pain, and wanted to sign a replacement before they would let me have him, and they didn't even try so that deal got cancelled. I am however laying the ground work to sign him in the summer. Just hopefully the defence can hold out till the summer.

This is how the league looks.

Doing well, but Liverpool just too good at the moment.

We have PSG in 1st knockout of the champs league, Villa in the 5th round of the fa cup.

We sadly couldn't win the carabao, which I had done in the 1st save, getting knocked out in the 4th round.

[warlock]

37 minutes ago, sedge11 said:

Adds abit of a challenge which is nice

But according the General Discussion forum, FM21 is far too easy 

[sedge11]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

But according the General Discussion forum, FM21 is far too easy 

There’s no doubting it can be easy depending on your tactics, team and players you buy. I wonder how many people in that forum use downloaded tactics, that they know will win 90% of the games regardless.

But as MatthewS17 shown in his post, there is still challenge in the game, to get 100 points and still not win the title.

[Chapman7]

10 minutes ago, sedge11 said:

There’s no doubting it can be easy depending on your tactics, team and players you buy. I wonder how many people in that forum use downloaded tactics, that they know will win 90% of the games regardless.

But as MatthewS17 shown in his post, there is still challenge in the game, to get 100 points and still not win the title.

Can't really complain of it being easy if your going to be a big club and just spend big each season. I very rarely buy a well known player that are of a quality that would walk in the team. I usually get rid of deadwood and bring in young players to bleed into the first team over the seasons 

[warlock]

42 minutes ago, sedge11 said:

There’s no doubting it can be easy depending on your tactics, team and players you buy

Yeah. Long term, it can be easy - the AI isn't very smart at squad management or squad building. But for the first couple of seasons (which, to be honest, is what I play mostly) there's plenty of challenge if you choose the right team and build your own tactics. And - as much as I'm a fan of United - I never play more than a couple of seasons with them because it gets a bit too easy. But we all find our own enjoyment from the game 

[MatthewS17]

7 hours ago, sedge11 said:

To get 100 points and miss out is gutting, but Liverpool are incredible on this game, as they were on fm20. Adds abit of a challenge which is nice.

It's worse because I was quite far behind quite early. Making up that deficit, taking the lead by 4 points, only to lose it in the last 3 minutes of the season is soul destroying. 

But on the other hand, maybe it's a good thing.

 

5 hours ago, Chapman7 said:

Can't really complain of it being easy if your going to be a big club and just spend big each season. I very rarely buy a well known player that are of a quality that would walk in the team. I usually get rid of deadwood and bring in young players to bleed into the first team over the seasons 

Honestly, I probably will spend big in my first season. The players at the club are frankly just dire and it needs a big injection of quality, and so blooding in youngsters doesn't work for me, as it would be unrealistic to achieve anything with this squad. Once I get that quality, I don't really spend as much as the focus becomes continuity in the squad.

My core focus is squad building and the tactical side of things over the 30 seasons, with the aim to be the biggest club in Europe, but with that old culture of mopping up all the home-grown talent with occasional quality coming from outside the league.

[duvels]

On 11/12/2020 at 02:03, MatthewS17 said:

...

The players were incredible all season, but I think the lack of depth really hurt late on with so many players missing matches with fatigue.

...

This is exactly why I spent big on the front 4: I just wanted to have 2 good options available so I can rotate throughout the season without having to sacrifice in level. Rashford, Martial, Greenwood and Cavani is just not enough players for the striker and winger roles for the whole season and players like Lingard, Mata, James, Diallo and Pellistri didn't perform well enough (yet). By getting Sancho and Haaland (over 2 summer windows) has helped massively with that and getting a good alternative for Fernandes in Grealish helps me quite a lot as well.

I still have my preferred 11 for the big games, but you know you can just change 4 or 5 players without fearing to be toothless in the next game. 

[MatthewS17]

30 minutes ago, duvels said:

This is exactly why I spent big on the front 4: I just wanted to have 2 good options available so I can rotate throughout the season without having to sacrifice in level.

I wanted to get acquainted with my squad for a season so I can plan, but it actually really hurt. I'm very confused as to Rashford's loss of scoring form(despite playing well), but I do think one issue was that I had to rest him for every second game, and every match he did play, he was tired by half time. Even without scoring, him and Bruno really became my undroppable players, so I had to have them playing as often as possible. I'd like Grealish, but I think he's too good for a squad role, and I'm not too comfortable with him in midfield.

The plan is the same though. Spend big on four or five new players who can play a variety of positions. 

Fixtures in the first season are pretty tough to negotiate without depth. Hoping when I start my second, it won't be so bad.

[Gee_Simpson]

@MatthewS17 I take it you are happy with Martial's attributes on FM21?

[MatthewS17]

45 minutes ago, Gee_Simpson said:

@MatthewS17 I take it you are happy with Martial's attributes on FM21?

His off the ball movement and anticipation seem a bit high. 

But he's probably becoming second choice very quickly for me. Greenwood came on leaps and bounds, so he's likely going to be first choice soon, and I might sign another striker and sell Martial to continue running down the wage bill. 

[Gee_Simpson]

5 minutes ago, MatthewS17 said:

His off the ball movement and anticipation seem a bit high. 

But he's probably becoming second choice very quickly for me. Greenwood came on leaps and bounds, so he's likely going to be first choice soon, and I might sign another striker and sell Martial to continue running down the wage bill. 

Yeah I was delighted to see Greenwood's improvements but I tend to play my tactics using Complete Forwards, do you think he'll be able to play there after a season or two? Obviously his strength going from 6 to 12 is a massive improvement, which should help. I was pretty much going to play him as an AMR cutting inside on to his left, not sure yet. For the 1st season at least, I will be doing so then may move him to CF (A) after a season or two at IF/IW.

Edited December 12, 2020 by Gee_Simpson

[MatthewS17]

10 minutes ago, Gee_Simpson said:

Yeah I was delighted to see Greenwood's improvements but I tend to play my tactics using Complete Forwards, do you think he'll be able to play there after a season or two? Obviously his strength going from 6 to 12 is a massive improvement, which should help. I was pretty much going to play him as an AMR cutting inside on to his left, not sure yet. For the 1st season at least, I will be doing so then may move him to CF (A) after a season or two at IF/IW.

For the first season, I trained him individually for a CF role, but he plays on the right as an IW(S). Given we both leave the window disabled, it's a nice way to keep him improving constantly. And he really, really does improve. 

 

I'm unsure on a CF role this year. It seems this year there's more emphasis on the physicality of the CF, and I saw Martial being played out of games quite often in that role. 

Greenwood's distribution is shifting up nicely, his finishing is already good and I'm working on his aerial ability, but right now I see him mostly as a PF(A), who can play as a DLF(A). I might try him at CF in future but not right now. I like the CF role because I like my front 3 to have the most freedom, so I'll probably have a go at it again. 

Second season, I'll definitely try to see how he fits best. 

Just waiting on the update. 

Edited December 12, 2020 by MatthewS17

[Gee_Simpson]

1 hour ago, MatthewS17 said:

For the first season, I trained him individually for a CF role, but he plays on the right as an IW(S). Given we both leave the window disabled, it's a nice way to keep him improving constantly. And he really, really does improve. 

 

I'm unsure on a CF role this year. It seems this year there's more emphasis on the physicality of the CF, and I saw Martial being played out of games quite often in that role. 

Greenwood's distribution is shifting up nicely, his finishing is already good and I'm working on his aerial ability, but right now I see him mostly as a PF(A), who can play as a DLF(A). I might try him at CF in future but not right now. I like the CF role because I like my front 3 to have the most freedom, so I'll probably have a go at it again. 

Second season, I'll definitely try to see how he fits best. 

Just waiting on the update. 

Yeah I see him as a PF (A) or AF (A) atm but the latter is more for counter attack systems. I prefer the CF (A) though for what it brings  to the game though, so will probably keep it at that and just play Greenwood at IW for now. By update, you meaning the fix for the youth intake?

Edited December 12, 2020 by Gee_Simpson

[MatthewS17]

12 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

Yeah I see him as a PF (A) or AF (A) atm but the latter is more for counter attack systems. I prefer the CF (A) though for what it brings  to the game though, so will probably keep it at that and just play Greenwood at IW for now. By update, you meaning the fix for the youth intake?

Yeah, I like this save(despite that I'm going to spend enormous amounts of money), so I don't want to break anything. 

 

I really don't want so spend so much money, but there's something so alluring about the prospect of that all English front 3 of Rashford - Greenwood - Sancho.

 

I like to have at least five British players in my first choice XI, just as a given.

Edited December 13, 2020 by MatthewS17

[sedge11]

On 12/12/2020 at 00:25, Chapman7 said:

Can't really complain of it being easy if your going to be a big club and just spend big each season. I very rarely buy a well known player that are of a quality that would walk in the team. I usually get rid of deadwood and bring in young players to bleed into the first team over the seasons

I weren't complaining it was easy, I was responding to someone, I know with Man utd it's never going to be massively difficult. But there is still some challenge which I like, I've just finished my 1st season (for a 2nd time) and didn't win the league, as Liverpool only lost 1 all season.

[sedge11]

So season 1 is now finished. It turned out to be quite a disappointing season as well in the end.

This is the league.

Liverpool were just too good and we didn't score enough, we only scored 67 goals in the league. We went through a spell in April where we really struggled to score, during that time we drew 2 and lost 1 in 5 games.

We also suffered heartbreak in the fa cup final losing on penalties to man city.

Champs league we lost to Madrid in the quarter finals, Bayern went and retained.

Carabao cup we went out early, which Chelsea won.

So sadly we went trophyless in the 1st season, very disappointed especially as my original save that had the bug, we won a trophy and were alot better. 

Player stats for season 1.

Bruno who I made captain again was my best player. Rashford was the top scorer.

Pogba and Martial both really struggled and were poor throughout.

So onwards and upwards to season 2 for massive improvement, this is going to be an important summer.

DM is the main priority, 2 targets in mind in Ndidi and Rice, Ndidi has just been transfer listed so he will be the easiest to get.

CB is the next one, Pau Torres is the one I want.

CM will be an option if I sell Pogba, which is very likely.

Players I will look to sell will be Matic, Bailly, Dalot and Pereira once back off loan, Mata who will be released and then Pogba.

I have activated Cavani's 1 year extension, he did well and can still do a job for 1 more season. Martial needs to massively improve otherwise he will be sold after season 2.

[hyrule_king]

[axehan1]

2 hours ago, sedge11 said:

So season 1 is now finished. It turned out to be quite a disappointing season as well in the end.

This is the league.

Liverpool were just too good and we didn't score enough, we only scored 67 goals in the league. We went through a spell in April where we really struggled to score, during that time we drew 2 and lost 1 in 5 games.

We also suffered heartbreak in the fa cup final losing on penalties to man city.

Champs league we lost to Madrid in the quarter finals, Bayern went and retained.

Carabao cup we went out early, which Chelsea won.

So sadly we went trophyless in the 1st season, very disappointed especially as my original save that had the bug, we won a trophy and were alot better. 

Player stats for season 1.

Bruno who I made captain again was my best player. Rashford was the top scorer.

Pogba and Martial both really struggled and were poor throughout.

So onwards and upwards to season 2 for massive improvement, this is going to be an important summer.

DM is the main priority, 2 targets in mind in Ndidi and Rice, Ndidi has just been transfer listed so he will be the easiest to get.

CB is the next one, Pau Torres is the one I want.

CM will be an option if I sell Pogba, which is very likely.

Players I will look to sell will be Matic, Bailly, Dalot and Pereira once back off loan, Mata who will be released and then Pogba.

I have activated Cavani's 1 year extension, he did well and can still do a job for 1 more season. Martial needs to massively improve otherwise he will be sold after season 2.

How do you set up your formation?I'm going to change my 4231 but i'm not sure what roles to give my midfield 3.

[Tummyowl]

I have just finished my first season with Manchester United (I would have finished sooner but you know, I have to go and bloody teach).

Good season, very happy with the football played and performances. Annoyed by (what I assume is a bug) the board being 'devastated' by my lack of high reputation player signings.

Did not win a domestic Cup, knocked out early in the FA Cup by Cardiff and knocked out in the latter stages of the League Cup on penalties by Manchester City .

European Champions!

Very pleased with the double.

Very pleased with the squad and signings.

Rice became my midfield anchor, and built a very good relationship with Pogba.

Sancho performed exceptionally when fit.

de Vrij was an immense signing (I was unable to sign de Ligt) and made the entire defence much more solid.

Diallo was not my signing, and did not really feature other than as a last resort.

I managed to move on a number of players; Mata (£5 million), James (£17.5 million), Fosu-Mensah (£5 million), Lingard (£17.5 million), Rojo (£10 million), Lindelof (£30 million), Jones (£9.5 million). None of which featured in my plans.

I have agreed to sign three English regens for a total of £4.25 million (2x midfielders 1x forward). I have also agreed to sign Depay on a free at the end of his contract.

The plan for next season...

I want to move De Gea (~£60 million~) on and bring in Donnarumma (~£85 million~)

I want to move Bailly (~£20-25 million~) on and maybe Maguire (£40+ million). I would ideally like to sign de Ligt, however, he has signed a new contract, so will look at Kimpembe (~£85 million~) as an upgrade over Bailly and bring in Mengi and try for de Ligt again later.

Telles, while having a great season, is free to leave (£25 million +) as I want to upgrade to Mendes (£41 million). Dalot is also free to a good home.

I have been trying to move Matic on, but cannot, so will try again. Fred is free to go to a good home (£20 + million), Hannibal is free to leave (£10+ million), Pereira (£10+ million), Chong (£10+ million).

Looking to bring in Camavinga (~£60 million~), Grealish (~£55 million~) and, one of Haaland (£??), Kane (£??), or Martinez (~£80 million~).

Offering Pogba, Tuanzebe new contracts (a year remaining). Laird and Wan-Bissaka will be offered new contracts too (maybe Williams).

Edited December 13, 2020 by Tummyowl

[MatthewS17]

Think I'm going to forego the signing of Sancho. 

 

Not decided yet, but spending over 200 odd million in a window just doesn't sit well with me even if that's the gross spend, rather than net. 

Will probably sign Thauvin on a free, with someone younger to develop or work with Pellistri. 

Son was the alternative, but it seems they want 78m for him. Boooooo, Levy, boooooo. 

Possibly may try to sign Sancho the following window, but it feels unlikely. 

I take this all way too seriously. 

[sedge11]

19 hours ago, axehan1 said:

How do you set up your formation?I'm going to change my 4231 but i'm not sure what roles to give my midfield 3.

Roles I use in the midfield are a Mezzala, box to box and a deep lying playmaker in dm.

 

[RazorsEdge]

22 hours ago, sedge11 said:

CB is the next one, Pau Torres is the one I want.

Be careful as he is quite injury prone.

[DominicForza]

2 hours ago, RazorsEdge said:

Be careful as he is quite injury prone.

That may be random attribute.

[pele10]

Starting my United save tonight and keeping the first window closed  

The first seasons aim stop Liverpool.

 

[Gee_Simpson]

2 hours ago, pele10 said:

keeping the first window closed  

I'm waiting for the patch which I think will be out this week.

Although I'm thinking if I'm loading 50 leagues maybe I won't be too affected by the bug anyway? So I can probably just start now.

Edited December 16, 2020 by Gee_Simpson

[pele10]

Hopefully saved game compatible.

[Gee_Simpson]

11 minutes ago, pele10 said:

Hopefully saved game compatible.

It has been confirmed it will be 

[pele10]

Just now, Gee_Simpson said:

It has been confirmed it will be 

Champion, I'm only 8 games in anyway.

[pele10]

The halfway point looks like a two horse race.

[milan_manutd]

Does anyone think of McTominay as potentially DC? He's very god mentally and physically and maybe the marking is the only problem.

Starting season 2 with winning Charity Shield and UEFA Super cup, both matches against PL sides (Chelsea and Arsenal) and both big wins 4:1 and 4:3 with.

Nicolo Rovella is in first 11 instead of Pogba who is unhappy because I refuse 62mil£ from PSG (yeah right 62mil puffff) and he debuted with asist and 3 weeks injury. I want to sell Pogba and bring Camawinga, but also try to offload Lindelof, Matic, Jones. Andreas Pereira also on that list but in pre season he play very very well. Just don't know about him. Fred have great season and he stays my first choice for B2B. My biggest problem is that I sign to many players and I with couple of them returned from Loan it will be pretty hard to keep all of them happy.

Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina) is also new face at OT. In my last 2 FM him and Upamecano are partnership for the future and Milenkovic can also play DR (he is right DC in 3-5-2 Fiorentina formation in RL).

One more thing - Laird was good on FM20, but every month Phelan report me with Lairds poor performance on training and no progress. Just let me know how good he is on your save.

[DominicForza]

34 minutes ago, milan_manutd said:

My biggest problem is that I sign to many players and I with couple of them returned from Loan it will be pretty hard to keep all of them happy.

Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina) is also new face at OT. In my last 2 FM him and Upamecano are partnership for the future and Milenkovic can also play DR (he is right DC in 3-5-2 Fiorentina formation in RL).

 

That's always the delimma playing with the Big Clubs - buying too many players!  Still, rather have the problem of too many good players then not enough.

 

Since Prandelli replaced Iannchi (early-mid November), Fiorentina has gone to back 4.  

[sedge11]

3 hours ago, milan_manutd said:

Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina) is also new face at OT

I love Milenkovic, he was my go to cb on fm20 for my Man Utd save and a Lazio save I done.

Haven't brought him this year as of yet though.

[sedge11]

So the summer of for season 2 is done (no registration bug ). I'm very happy with my business, ready to put the disappointment of season 1 behind us, and build towards stopping Liverpool surpass our 20 league titles, after they equaled our haul by winning the league in season 1.

1st the outs.

Pogba is gone, obviously would of liked more money, but with him being in the final year of his contract, it was the best I could negotiate. The others I don't need to explain, they weren't good enough. Andreas Pereira is being a **** and won't leave but am hoping to get rid of him on loan with a mandatory fee in.

Mengi, Hannibal and Williams all go out to develop. With Williams going out on loan, Laird steps up to be my back up right back and has a chance to shine.

Now the In's.

 

Ndidi was always my 1st choice dm. Sule was not my original choice, Pau Torres was but in the end Villarreal were pissing me about, so I ditched him and went for Sule.

Grealish is English so keeps the board happy and is just generally a player I really like and can be used in multiple positions.

I only wanted to sign them 3 players, so Tolisso was an unexpected transfer, he is one of my favourite players to use on fm and has been for many years. Man City were sniffing around and I couldn't have that so I signed him haha.

So this is my best 11.

I have also set up a 4-4-1-1 formation that might come out and get used from time to time.

We have played 3 games, and have won all 3. Grealish and Bruno have started on fire together, with Grealish getting 3 assists all to Bruno.

Edited December 16, 2020 by sedge11

[Sherkey]

Anyone tried to get in Chris Mepham? I'm close to finishing up my first year and plan to sell Lindelof and Jones. I wanted to get in Kimpembe as my left sided CB, but too expensive. While Mepham is right footed, he still seems pretty good and Homegrown. Only thing is he is shown at Championship quality, but his attributes are at PL level. Available for about 30 Mn $ on 78k wages.

[Gee_Simpson]

Have any of you downloaded any of MajesticeEternity's editor data files and used them in your Utd save? Would you recommend them if so?