[FM 21] Arsenal - Still Waiting For Arteta's Tiki Taka!

[Tee2]

3 hours ago, WillyBroadband said:

That is an interesting choice, dude. Out of these players only Toure & Ramsey were actually any good (IMO & IRL) the others were either not good enough or had bad attitudes. 

Diaby was an enigma, he'd go from being "the new Vieira" to a wally. I always had a soft spot for him though. 

Quite true alas, but in this version they were more potential than what they turned out to be and the game has a soft spot for those kinds of players. Lord Bendtner always raised a smile for me, third choice behind RVP and Adebayor and somehw deadly when he did get to play, as the the researchers bought into all his self-hype.

1 hour ago, Harper said:

I always enjoyed those 2008-2011 Project Youth Era squads. Ramsey, Wilshere, Szszesny, Vela, Denilson, JET, Lansbury, Frimpong, Armand Traore, Gibbs, Nasri, Diaby, Walcott, Bendtner, et al

I kind of have that same feeling with Saka, Nelson, AMN, Azeez, TJJ, Balogun, Willock, ESR, and Medley where I want to bring the youth at the club through, rather than completely gut the squad as I did FM12-18.

I didn't really know enough about Arsenal/Premier League/Football when I first stated playing with CM01/02 to know that was the Golden Age of the squad and most of my FM memories are from FM07 (or World Wide Soccer Manager as it was branded in the States).

Yes, the current squad definitely has elements of the Project Youth era, albeit a dysfunctional blend of high rolling, overpaid "stars" and the kids.

The Arsenal squad of the early Wenger years was revolutionary. Some utter legends in that side and times when the football was about as blistering and exciting as it ever gets really. Such a shame that it couldn't be sustained.

[dothestrand]

I wonder if an Arsenal save would be too easy, but given their current woes, it would be good to return to the Wenger era and complementing French talent (Guendouzi, Saliba and good enough players from League 1) with young English players like Saka, Maitland-Niles, Tierney, Willock, Nelson, Smith-Rowe, Nketiah. New signings would need to be English or French and under 21 and the oldies would be sent off to the glue factory ASAP.

Edited December 23, 2020 by dothestrand

[Harper]

1 hour ago, dothestrand said:

I wonder if an Arsenal save would be too easy, but given their current woes, it would be good to return to the Wenger era and complementing French talent (Guendouzi, Saliba and good enough players from League 1) with young English players like Saka, Maitland-Niles, Tierney, Willock, Nelson, Smith-Rowe, Nketiah. New signings would need to be English or French and under 21 and the oldies would be sent off to the glue factory ASAP.

The players are adequately rated to succeed, if you don't let your real life take on the players get in the way. You won't walk to the title, but if you get your tactics right, you can compete and succeed.

At what point do researchers reduce some of these guys even further?

Edited December 23, 2020 by Harper

[Swills417]

Into December in my first save of FM21. We are currently in the hunt for being top at Christmas. Us, Liverpool and Everton have made flying starts to the season.  Not trying anything elaborate tactically. We are currently playing a 4-2-3-1 Gegenpress with the following lineup:

GK: Leno
LB: Tierney
CB: Gabriel
CB: David Luiz
RB: Bellerin:
CM: Willock
CM: Partey
LW: Nelsen
CAM: Willian
RW: Pepe
ST: Aubameyang.

Quick tip - look for underlap and shoot-on-sight combined could be overpowered. 

We started with Lacazette leading the line, but he has been really poor so far. No goals in 9 starts (10 appearances). Eddie Nketiah has been reasonable also, with the highest goals per ninety at the club (0.69).  
ESR and Nelsen, who is top scorer at the club currently have been the main highlights so far. Willock has also been more impressive than the other central midfielders, expect maybe Partey. The double pivot of a ball winning midfielder and box-to-box midfielder requires those positions to be filled by high energy players. Xhaka, Elneny or even Cebellos are not those players. 

Looking at making a lot of changes in personnel in the January window. We need better staff. We need to offload deadwood. Ozil, Xhaka, Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolasinac not having made a single appearance. So far Dynamo Kiev has agreed to take Mustafi and Sokatis off our hands for what could amount to a combined £8m. Staff wise, I want to bring in leading coaching in fitness to match our intensive play-style. 

Looking to bring in a few players, but they have to financially sensible. Got my eye on Gravenberch, Kessie and Depay. A lot depends on our ability to sell though. 

Furthermore, does anyone have any suggestions for young players to sign on frees or minimal fees to help bulk out the u23s? 

 

[madept]

I’ve just finished 3 seasons with Arsenal.

Season 1: Finished 4th, won Europa League. We started out very well, with 10 straight wins to open the season. However, Partey broke his leg, and the flaws with the current team really started to show once the fixture congestion got bad during the Europa knockout rounds. In FM20 I always got a nice chunk of money in the January window if we were over performing expectations, but got nothing this year and struggled to offload unwanted players.

Positives: Aubameyang was excellent as always, Willock stepped up and played very well as Mez(A) after Partey’s injury. Defense overall solid with Tierney/Gabriel/Holding/Bellerin.
The negatives are pretty true to life. Far too many old, overpaid players who are difficult to sell. Ridiculous number of CBs but few are any good. The midfield very lacking in creativity and pace in particular. Lacazette wasn’t very effective for me. Runarsson is fine as a backup but I prefer to develop a younger promising player who might eventually take over from Leno. 

Overall the team is very big but still lacking in quality depth for squad rotation once you’re playing a match twice every week.

Season 2: Main goal was a significant addition of athleticism and creativity to the midfield. Luckily after a decent first season, we got over 100M to spend, plus had a bit more success with player sales.

Brought in: Camavinga, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Isak.
Youth intake brought in a high potential Scottish GK. 
Wasn’t planning on upgrading at ST after a very good season from Auba but couldn’t resist Isak who was unhappy and had requested transfer.

Isak and Szoboszlai in particular were excellent, Isak as AF(A) and Szoboszlai primarily at BBM but also very versatile. Camavinga rotated with Partey, overall not quite ready to be a starter but obviously one of the most promising players in the game. Gravenberch showed a lot of promise at Mez-A, but picked up several injuries and never quite got going consistently, ended up rotating quite a bit with Willock.

Also got a high potential AML prospect through the youth intake.

Ended up winning the league easily and won the Champions League as well. Played kids in the FA and league cups and lost in both.

Season 3: Obviously happy with season 2, didn’t make major changes in the summer. Continued to offload unwanted players, then ended up doing most of my moves in January.

In January, got a 50M offer for AMN from PSG, couldn’t turn that down for a rotation player. Replaced him with Mert Muldur for 20M. At CB, only have really been happy with Gabriel, Saliba, and Holding. Tried to sign Upamecano who was unsettled and wanting to move to a bigger club. Had a 54M offer accepted, then he chose to take 175k p/w and go to Barca instead of accepting my 220k p/w. Instead, focused on signing Marash Kumbulla from AS Roma. He’d been an earlier target of mine but his odd situation (on loan at Roma, with agreed future transfer for the first 2 seasons) had prevented a move. Also brought in Vandevoordt, lowered his asking price by loaning him back to Genk for the rest of the season. Although I had the high potential youth player (Wardrope), he has low determination and an unambitious personality so I’m concerned he is stagnating a bit.

Got a 3rd promising youth intake player, a Spanish DM.

In the end, won the league again, though much closer this time with Chelsea right behind us until the final day. Knocked out of the CL by Bayern on away goals in the 1st knockout round.

At this point, my team looks like:
GK: Leno/Vandevoordt/Wardrope
LB: Tierney/Kolasinac
CB: Gabriel/Holding
CB: Saliba/Kumbulla
RB: Bellerin/Muldur
CM(Mez): Gravenberch/Willock
CM(DLP): Camavinga/Partey
CM(BBM or AP): Szoboszlai/Guendozi
AML: Saka/Martinelli
AMR: Nelson/Pepe
ST: Isak/Nketiah

Pretty happy with the team currently. Isak has been amazing, top league goal scorer both seasons since I’ve signed him. Saka has developed very well. Szoboslai and Gravenberch both very good in midfield, getting less out of the DLP position but they do have more defensive responsibilities. 

Not sure where I’ll go for season 4 now that the window is opening soon. Willian and Mavropanos are finally leaving, and I’ve gotten a large offer for Kolasinac from China I don’t think I can turn down. Feeling like the rest of the squad is very good and the weaker positions (AMR for one) may be too difficult to upgrade significantly within our budget.

 

[BrickCommo23]

1 hour ago, madept said:

I’ve just finished 3 seasons with Arsenal.

Season 1: Finished 4th, won Europa League. We started out very well, with 10 straight wins to open the season. However, Partey broke his leg, and the flaws with the current team really started to show once the fixture congestion got bad during the Europa knockout rounds. In FM20 I always got a nice chunk of money in the January window if we were over performing expectations, but got nothing this year and struggled to offload unwanted players.

Positives: Aubameyang was excellent as always, Willock stepped up and played very well as Mez(A) after Partey’s injury. Defense overall solid with Tierney/Gabriel/Holding/Bellerin.
The negatives are pretty true to life. Far too many old, overpaid players who are difficult to sell. Ridiculous number of CBs but few are any good. The midfield very lacking in creativity and pace in particular. Lacazette wasn’t very effective for me. Runarsson is fine as a backup but I prefer to develop a younger promising player who might eventually take over from Leno. 

Overall the team is very big but still lacking in quality depth for squad rotation once you’re playing a match twice every week.

Season 2: Main goal was a significant addition of athleticism and creativity to the midfield. Luckily after a decent first season, we got over 100M to spend, plus had a bit more success with player sales.

Brought in: Camavinga, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Isak.
Youth intake brought in a high potential Scottish GK. 
Wasn’t planning on upgrading at ST after a very good season from Auba but couldn’t resist Isak who was unhappy and had requested transfer.

Isak and Szoboszlai in particular were excellent, Isak as AF(A) and Szoboszlai primarily at BBM but also very versatile. Camavinga rotated with Partey, overall not quite ready to be a starter but obviously one of the most promising players in the game. Gravenberch showed a lot of promise at Mez-A, but picked up several injuries and never quite got going consistently, ended up rotating quite a bit with Willock.

Also got a high potential AML prospect through the youth intake.

Ended up winning the league easily and won the Champions League as well. Played kids in the FA and league cups and lost in both.

Season 3: Obviously happy with season 2, didn’t make major changes in the summer. Continued to offload unwanted players, then ended up doing most of my moves in January.

In January, got a 50M offer for AMN from PSG, couldn’t turn that down for a rotation player. Replaced him with Mert Muldur for 20M. At CB, only have really been happy with Gabriel, Saliba, and Holding. Tried to sign Upamecano who was unsettled and wanting to move to a bigger club. Had a 54M offer accepted, then he chose to take 175k p/w and go to Barca instead of accepting my 220k p/w. Instead, focused on signing Marash Kumbulla from AS Roma. He’d been an earlier target of mine but his odd situation (on loan at Roma, with agreed future transfer for the first 2 seasons) had prevented a move. Also brought in Vandevoordt, lowered his asking price by loaning him back to Genk for the rest of the season. Although I had the high potential youth player (Wardrope), he has low determination and an unambitious personality so I’m concerned he is stagnating a bit.

Got a 3rd promising youth intake player, a Spanish DM.

In the end, won the league again, though much closer this time with Chelsea right behind us until the final day. Knocked out of the CL by Bayern on away goals in the 1st knockout round.

At this point, my team looks like:
GK: Leno/Vandevoordt/Wardrope
LB: Tierney/Kolasinac
CB: Gabriel/Holding
CB: Saliba/Kumbulla
RB: Bellerin/Muldur
CM(Mez): Gravenberch/Willock
CM(DLP): Camavinga/Partey
CM(BBM or AP): Szoboszlai/Guendozi
AML: Saka/Martinelli
AMR: Nelson/Pepe
ST: Isak/Nketiah

Pretty happy with the team currently. Isak has been amazing, top league goal scorer both seasons since I’ve signed him. Saka has developed very well. Szoboslai and Gravenberch both very good in midfield, getting less out of the DLP position but they do have more defensive responsibilities. 

Not sure where I’ll go for season 4 now that the window is opening soon. Willian and Mavropanos are finally leaving, and I’ve gotten a large offer for Kolasinac from China I don’t think I can turn down. Feeling like the rest of the squad is very good and the weaker positions (AMR for one) may be too difficult to upgrade significantly within our budget.

 

Great work and good to see your progress. I noticed you've kept the likes of Kolasinac and Guendouzi too which is nice to see. 

Just out of interest, is that a flat midfield three you've got there? 

[hasdgfas]

PRESEASON 2020-21

All right. I finally got over my frustration with the fixture issues from my old Arsenal save, time to start a new one. I'm starting by shaving the squad so I can hopefully use some of the young players, as well as being able to register everyone.

TRANSFERS:

Out go Cedric and Sokratis. In comes Wilshere because he's unattached and I can use him as a squad player for really cheap, plus he's homegrown and we have homegrown spots available. If offers come in for some other squad players, I'm going to just let them go. I expect a larger clearout next summer when I have more transfer funds to begin with

TACTICS

I'm trying something a bit different than I usually do and pushing back my midfield a little bit. This should hopefully protect my wingbacks, who I want to go forward very often. I'm also trying to stick David Luiz in the starting Segundo Volante role. This means he's hopefully not going to be the last defender and can be protected by Partey and the central defenders, and it gives him the freedom to venture forward the way he likes to. This is a role I had a lot of success with using Declan Rice in FM20, and maybe this will cover Luiz's weaknesses.

I'm also giving Ozil a shot since I can't get rid of him anyway. He has a short leash though. Ceballos and Willock are right there for this season ready to take over if he gets lazy, and ESR is my long term plan in that position:

[madept]

32 minutes ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Great work and good to see your progress. I noticed you've kept the likes of Kolasinac and Guendouzi too which is nice to see. 

Just out of interest, is that a flat midfield three you've got there? 

Yeah, my preferred formation is 4-3-2-1, with a flat midfield three. The flexibility of the players I’ve got now allows for changing things up when needed. Partey or Camavinga can go to DM if trying to close out a tight game, or Szoboszlai or Gravenerch can go up to CAM if we’re trying to get a goal.

Had a lot of success in FM20 with gegenpress but have found control possession to be more successful this year, though I’ll switch to a higher intensity pressing style if struggling to create chances.

Tried to give most of the current team a chance, despite any current feelings I might have as Arsenal struggle. Kolasinac and Guendozi I’ve found to be really good players in game. Torreira went out on loan as he was unhappy with playing time but he’s still around as well. Tried to give Ozil a chance but just didn’t perform that well. Willian is decent and his flexibility to play throughout midfield is useful, though he’s probably been the most affected by my current real life feelings. And also in game I just don’t see a big role for a 32 year old when there’s so much young talent particularly on the wings. 

[kuraeero]

Any recommendations for Kolasinac replacement? I kind of like the guy in game as he has great physicals and a good personality, but when I offered him a new contract, he wanted star player status and big wage raise. Obviously I didn't want to give him either because he is just a backup left back.

[Tee2]

8 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

PRESEASON 2020-21

All right. I finally got over my frustration with the fixture issues from my old Arsenal save, time to start a new one. I'm starting by shaving the squad so I can hopefully use some of the young players, as well as being able to register everyone.

TRANSFERS:

Out go Cedric and Sokratis. In comes Wilshere because he's unattached and I can use him as a squad player for really cheap, plus he's homegrown and we have homegrown spots available. If offers come in for some other squad players, I'm going to just let them go. I expect a larger clearout next summer when I have more transfer funds to begin with

TACTICS

I'm trying something a bit different than I usually do and pushing back my midfield a little bit. This should hopefully protect my wingbacks, who I want to go forward very often. I'm also trying to stick David Luiz in the starting Segundo Volante role. This means he's hopefully not going to be the last defender and can be protected by Partey and the central defenders, and it gives him the freedom to venture forward the way he likes to. This is a role I had a lot of success with using Declan Rice in FM20, and maybe this will cover Luiz's weaknesses.

I'm also giving Ozil a shot since I can't get rid of him anyway. He has a short leash though. Ceballos and Willock are right there for this season ready to take over if he gets lazy, and ESR is my long term plan in that position:

Good luck, and nice effort in trying to find a place for Ozil - let us know if he works out, and what you decide to do with him in the future. Do you want to keep him or are you happy for him to see out his contract, and if the former will he rebuild the bridges and agree to stay on?

[WillyBroadband]

13 hours ago, Swills417 said:

leading coaching in fitness

I always go for Oliver Bartlett for fitness & Tony Culbert is available too (old Arsenal fitness coach from years ago)

[WillyBroadband]

1 hour ago, kuraeero said:

Any recommendations for Kolasinac replacement? I kind of like the guy in game as he has great physicals and a good personality, but when I offered him a new contract, he wanted star player status and big wage raise. Obviously I didn't want to give him either because he is just a backup left back.

I signed Greg Taylor from Celtic & a Duth lad from Feyenoord called Tyrell Malacia, for a combined fee of about £7.5M - Taylor unluckily got a long term injury but Malacia has been a very good backup for me, mate. Am playing him atm in the team as Tierney is out & I got rid of Kolasinac. 

[WillyBroadband]

11 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

TACTICS

I'm trying something a bit different than I usually do and pushing back my midfield a little bit. This should hopefully protect my wingbacks, who I want to go forward very often. I'm also trying to stick David Luiz in the starting Segundo Volante role. This means he's hopefully not going to be the last defender and can be protected by Partey and the central defenders, and it gives him the freedom to venture forward the way he likes to. This is a role I had a lot of success with using Declan Rice in FM20, and maybe this will cover Luiz's weaknesses.

I'm also giving Ozil a shot since I can't get rid of him anyway. He has a short leash though. Ceballos and Willock are right there for this season ready to take over if he gets lazy, and ESR is my long term plan in that position

Hi @hasdgfas it's weird, I'm in March 2021 & I still don't have anyone connecting well in my starting lineup - like you have with Bellerín & Pépé and Özil & Lacazette. Silly to moan really as I'm doing really well, I just thought some players might have connected - Elneny & Partey and Tierney & Auba, especially

[Harper]

5 hours ago, kuraeero said:

Any recommendations for Kolasinac replacement? I kind of like the guy in game as he has great physicals and a good personality, but when I offered him a new contract, he wanted star player status and big wage raise. Obviously I didn't want to give him either because he is just a backup left back.

Greg Taylor from Celtic. 2.5-3M no fuss.

[hasdgfas]

6 hours ago, WillyBroadband said:

Hi @hasdgfas it's weird, I'm in March 2021 & I still don't have anyone connecting well in my starting lineup - like you have with Bellerín & Pépé and Özil & Lacazette. Silly to moan really as I'm doing really well, I just thought some players might have connected - Elneny & Partey and Tierney & Auba, especially

I wish I could tell you. I don't really understand that feature, besides "if people play well together eventually it turns green"

[RossoneriGunner]

Here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and hopefully a better New Year 🍺

[hasdgfas]

JANUARY 2021 UPDATE:

COMPETITIONS:

A very strong start to the save and a good first half of the season. Good progress in all competitions so far, and a better performance in the League than I had anticipated.

MATCHES:

You can see that we've been firing in the goals so far this season. It's slowed down a bit in December with our tired legs, but only two losses and two draws to sully our record is absolutely fantastic.

PLAYERS OF NOTE:

Nkeitah is the top goalscorer so far this season with 13 goals. 9 in the League. He started off the season on fire and has also slowed down a bit lately, just like the team has, but hopefully a bit of rest after the holidays will help him.

Ozil. Well, I tried. I gave him some game time early, then he started complaining about feeling homesick. So I dropped him to the bench after about 3 starts. Instead...

Willian is outperforming all expectations in that position and role. Forget putting him on the right wing, I stuck him in the center and he's the best performing player in the squad so far this season with 7 goals and 8 assists.

Luiz is not performing as I had hoped as a Segundo Volante, and nobody else is performing well in that role either. I think I might tweak it.

Partey is great, performing excellently protecting the defense.

---------------

I've got a few future transfers arranged already, I'll post about those at the end of the season..

Overall, very successful so far. I hope we can keep it up in the second half of the season.

[BrickCommo23]

Hi all

Just about at the end of the first season and Everton, Villa and West Ham have been relegated. I've got a little leaning towards starting Operation Clean Sweep with Rice, Calvert-Lewin and Grealish. 

Anyone had any joy with any of them? 

[hasdgfas]

5 hours ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Hi all

Just about at the end of the first season and Everton, Villa and West Ham have been relegated. I've got a little leaning towards starting Operation Clean Sweep with Rice, Calvert-Lewin and Grealish.

Anyone had any joy with any of them?

I picked up Rice in my old save before the fixture bug and he was fantastic as a DLP(Su) on the right side of midfield. I also used him in FM20 as a Segundo Volante mixed with a BWM(De) to similar success.

[WillyBroadband]

10 hours ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Hi all

Just about at the end of the first season and Everton, Villa and West Ham have been relegated. I've got a little leaning towards starting Operation Clean Sweep with Rice, Calvert-Lewin and Grealish. 

Anyone had any joy with any of them? 

I had all three on my FM20 save with Everton & Rice was honestly incredible, I ended up selling Calvert-Lewin & Grealish. Never had any of them for Arsenal but if those teams were relegated, it's a no brainer mate.

What about James Rodríguez, Doucouré or Allan as options too? In fact Everton have some good players, dude. 

[WillyBroadband]

10 hours ago, RossoneriGunner said:

Here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and hopefully a better New Year 🍺

Same to you Sir! And all other Gooners (& non Gooners) on here 

[bigman]

So, I’m still second with 9 games to go. 1 point off Liverpool and they have a game in hand. Got third place utd away next, can’t see Liverpool dropping many points

i lost to inter 1-0 on aggregate in the Europa. Should’ve won the second game at home, but of course, Alexis Sanchez scored the only goal of the tie on a breakaway from a corner. Of all the players!

managed to beat spurs 2-0 at home and Jose got sacked the next match after, then beat Watford 3-0 away in the fa cup quarter final. Their manager talked some smack so I cussed him out post match 

I’m praying for an x mas miracle of Liverpool dropping points but second place looks likely. Also have them in the fa cup semis 

I have signed a young right back from Portugal on a free and rugganni from Atalanta b as a young left back and my favourite, camavinga arrives in July after finally agreeing a reasonable fee for him. I still have about 18 million of this seasons budget so the aim is a young keeper (I’m going for that kid from genk and the young English lad at Ajax) 

reqlly looking forward to the summer window. I’m playing xhaka to get clubs interested, el neney has Sevilla looking at him, Laca is wanted by Everton, luiz wil leave on a free, holding hopefully too and maybe chambers. That should add loads of funds and reduce the wage bill. Then I’m going to try and buy young English talent. Oh, I may offload Willian as well but he’s been great

villa and West Ham look like relegation fodder so hopefully rice and grealish would be cheaper 

[BrickCommo23]

So, finally finished Season One with the Arse. Ours was a bit of a mixed bag - as you can see below.

 

The Europa and FA Cup exits were harsh and rubbish but both came during a period when I was struggling with tactics and roles and games were very unpredictable. 

However, I am strangely pleased with a fourth place finish. It feels the best we could realistically hope for given the squad and standard of players - but a massive well done to those of you who I know have done much better than me!

Now, the real fun begins and we take a massive broom to this squad and try to trim it right back in one transfer window. The cull has already started as Luiz, Mustafi (both on frees) and Runnarrson (Watford - £4mil) have deals agreed and are on their way.

The squad have strangely taken issue with me trying to move Willian on too but the season is over now so shouldn't cause any problems. 

Will update when I get to preseason but the transfer history may well need to be 3 screens...

[RogerC]

I started a new game without team and lowered the morale of the Arsenal squad to abysmal and went on holidays until December. They're 15th in the table but Arteta's position is still 'stable'. Looks like FM is really realistic, lol. I will take over from december and start a save.

 

[RossoneriGunner]

4 minutes ago, RogerC said:

I started a new game without team and lowered the morale of the Arsenal squad to abysmal and went on holidays until December. They're 15th in the table but Arteta's position is still 'stable'. Looks like FM is really realistic, lol. I will take over from december and start a save.

 

Also noticed Brighton and WBA are below us and we play them both after the Chelsea game

Edited December 26, 2020 by RossoneriGunner

[BrickCommo23]

So, just about finished the summer of 2021 and Operation Clean Sweep has claimed a number of victims but also (hopefully) delivered a vastly improved playing squad and (if I can get it to work) an exciting new system.

So, first of all (and this is so far as we are in pre-season) - the following have gone (and let me just say I am very jealous of the amount of cash some of you got for this lot...)

- Mustafi (Free Transfer to China)
- Luiz (Broke his ankle in November so couldn't sell him - Free Transfer to Ukraine)
- Runnarsson (£4m - Watford)
- Xhaka ( £13.5m - Milan)
- Elneny (£17.5m - Real Sociedad)
- Chambers (£14.5m - Leicester [this was a difficult one but I am keeping AMN so he's got no game time])
- Kolasinac (£8.75m - Atalanta)
- Mari (£16m - Milan)
- Guendouzi (£26m - Hertha Berlin)
- Nketiah (£19.75m - Bournemouth [I know he's been amazing for some of you but not for me, sadly)
- Ben Sheaf (£1.75m - Cardiff)

My only blemished are Willian and Lacazette - both of whom have refused to leave and turned down any offers landing. Willian was ok playing from the left wing for me but I was hoping to get some cash - but I've royally upset him and he won't leave. Lacazette was really just a reaction to getting my new striker below. For now, they're both in the U23s and taking in £280k per week off me. Hopefully something will happen before the window closes!

Anyway - overall that's a lot of dead wood out the way and some serious wage bill reductions. In total since the start of the game, I have recouped circa £138m. 

And these are the new arrivals and hopefully this season's tactical system:

As shared previously, our new CB which allows Mustafi, Luiz and Mari to all leave.

Cost - £2.5m (rising to £5m)

Spoiler

 

I play attacking wing backs and AMN wasn't cutting it for me in that role.

Cost: £20m (rising to £40m)

Spoiler

A replacement for Runnarsson - who will develop and also help with the homegrown quota

Cost: £2.5m (rising to £4.5m)

Spoiler

Lacazette and Nketiah didn't really do it for me in Season One (which may well have been my fault) but as mentioned some big names were relegated this year which provided an opportunity:

Cost: £25mil (rising to £41m)

Spoiler

Another big club was relegated which also presented this opportunity to sell and upgrade on Xhaka and Elneny

Cost: £35mil (rising to £55m)

Spoiler

And last but not least - this is my 'statement' signing and the one I am most excited about. He played as a RMD in the Europa League and destroyed us. I am hoping he will be our star player for years to come and the price feels very reasonable to me...

Cost: £69m (Min Fee Release Clause)

Spoiler

In the second half of the first season, I operate a fairly standard 4231 but I am hoping of moving to the following now I have upgraded many of the players:

Spoiler

But, worst case scenario we can continue with the following system and hope the better players help:

Spoiler

To note - Oyarzabal isn't playing HB (obviously) but I can't be bothered doing another screenshot! You get the point...

Edited December 26, 2020 by BrickCommo23
Figuring out spoilers!

[RossoneriGunner]

For those guys who bought Declan Rice, how much did you pay for him?. Thanks

[bigman]

Oyarzabal looks like he could be iniesta mark 2 as a cam or cm

 

I have aouor but he looks decent aml so I may look at oyarzabal as my playmaker 

there is a lad at fiotentina who looks like an amazing cm as well

[BrickCommo23]

19 minutes ago, bigman said:

Oyarzabal looks like he could be iniesta mark 2 as a cam or cm

 

I have aouor but he looks decent aml so I may look at oyarzabal as my playmaker 

there is a lad at fiotentina who looks like an amazing cm as well

Think that is Castrovelli. Someone else on here bought him... 

[hasdgfas]

2020-2021 SEASON REVIEW:

COMPETITIONS:

A good season, but also a disappointing one in a lot of ways. Obviously a fantastic performance in the league, 2nd by 3 points. But we had a chance to win the league. We were tied with Liverpool with 3 matches to go and played them. Unfortunately our loss to them was something we were unable to get help for, and even our 6-0 win to end the season didn't let Liverpool lose to United on the final day.

The Europa League was equally disappointing. We rolled through the knockout rounds until Lazio just tore us apart 3-1 in the final. We looked awful.

The FA Cup repeat was nice, mind, even though it wasn't a particuarly tough road.  Brentford/Sheff Utd/Villa/Spurs/Leeds, then Burnley in the finals. 3 Extra time wins as the last 3 though, which I think tired us out for the Europa Finals.

Carabao Cup and Community Shield I tend to care less about. Man United tore us apart in the Carabao finals, as did Liverpool in the Shield.

MATCHES:

Squad review coming up shortly in my next post.

[hasdgfas]

2020/21 SQUAD REVIEW:

Time to do a review of the players who were in and around the first team and see who still has a future.

STRIKERS:

Alexandre Lacazette - Led the line in the Europa League, and with 11 goals in 11 appearances he did really well in that role. Only 5 in the Premier League in 24 appearances kept him relegated to the backup striker position, even though a total of 20 is decent return from him. 7 assists in all competitions, 4 in the Europa League also solid. However, with only one year remaining on his contract, unless he wants to take a pay cut(which I doubt), I think his time is up.

Eddie Nketiah - Took the starting League striker position from Lacazette early in the season and never gave it up. 14 goals in 22 appearances(19 starts) is a good league return for a 21-year-old, and 22 in all competitions meant he was our top scorer. 6 assists in all competitions, 4 in the League is also strong. Very excited to see him develop further as undisputed starter(unless I find a fantastic striker in the transfer market).

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS:

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Starting AML for the tactic, and a fantastic performer. 14 League goals and 4 League assists kept him neck-and-neck with Eddie for strikes in the league. 8 assists(4 in the League) meant he was an unselfish contributor as well. He'll stick around.

Nicolas Pepe - Starting AMR, and someone I am consistently impressed with in FM. 10 goals and 10 assists in the league, 17/12 in all competitions. He consistently plays well and will continue to get regular game time.

Willian - My surprise player of the season. After Ozil got homesick(and then subsequently complained when I didn't sell him after he rejected 3 different contracts from different teams that wanted him), he took the starting AMC spot. He was great in the cups, but eventually fell off in the League. 13 goals and 13 assists in all competitions was still way better than I expected. I anticipate him becoming a squad player at most next season, and might try to offload him as he isn't getting any younger, and his performances got worse as the season went on.

Gabriel Martinelli - I was excited for him to get back from his injury so I could give him some time. He got a good amount of Europa League time, as well as some appearances in the League and the Cups. His best performances were definitely in the Europa League, but a total of 4 goals and 1 assist across all competitions was slightly disappointing, especially as he tore knee ligaments sometime in the spring and is out again. I think I might try to loan him out so he can get consistent game time.

Reiss Nelson - Knocking on the door of a starting spot. 7 goals and 16(!) assists in all competitions, he was excellent, and it was just the fact that Auba and Pepe were consistent that kept him from taking over starting. He'll get plenty of time next season.

Bukayo Saka - Got a bunch of time, although some of it was due to an injury crisis among the fullbacks in the second half of the season. At one point only Saka and AMN were uninjured in those positions. I tried to give him some attacking time, and he repaid that with 10 goals and 6 assists. His best performances were easily in the Europa League, but I aim to give him some more time next season.

Emile Smith Rowe - I sent him on loan to Feyenoord, but he wasn't getting any game time and I recalled him in January. He then became a backup and didn't get many appearances, but still got 2 goals and 1 assist. I may try to loan him out again next season, but he's also a good squad backup and I really want to see him develop.

Joe Willock - A solid squad performer. I don't think he's ready to be the starting AMC, but 2 goals and 6 assists meant he contributed. I anticipate him being a backup to a new AMC I pick up for next season.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS:

Jack Wilshere - Performed much better than I expected as a squad player that I picked up to fill out the homegrown quotient. 2 goals and 7 assists and his performances got better as the season went on. He's getting a new contract this offseason  as thanks(unless he wants way too much)

Granit Xhaka - Terrible. Ended up as a backup, and with only 4 assists all season he definitely deserved to. He wants to leave for a new challenge and I'm going to let him.

Dani Ceballos - Also bad. He didn't perform as DLP DM, and didn't perform in the couple opportunities I gave him as AMC. 1 Goal and 3 assists is just not good enough. He's going back to Real and they can have him.

Thomas Partey - Fantastic as BWM DM and even contributed 5 goals and 4 assists. Will be the starter again next season.

Mohamed Elneny - Partey's backup and performed as a backup. 3 goals and 1 assist was fine, but his performances were lacking. I'm going to try to offload either Elneny or Torreira, maybe both depending on the market.

David Luiz - I tried. I stuck him in the more offensive DM role and he just didn't perform. I wasn't going to try to keep him in the central defender positions, and he didn't perform well enough as DM for me to keep him around. Bye.

CENTRAL DEFENDERS:

Calum Chambers - Only 9 appearances, most of which were in the Europa League. He was fine, but nothing special. Leicester are sniffing around, and I think I'm going to let him go.

Shkodran Mustafi - Performed fine in his 7 appearances, even though 4 of them were in the FA Cup. I just don't want to give him a new contract, so I kept him out of the starting lineup.

Pablo Mari - A solid performer. He got 22 league appearances, 35 in all competitions and did a very serviceable job. Not outstanding, but consistent and solid. I intend to keep him around.

William Saliba - Inconsistent. Not all that unexpected as he's still young, but he got most of the time in secondary competitions. 23 total appearances, only 7 in the Premier League. He'll be more of a factor next season, I expect.

Rob Holding - Another serviceable player, although he didn't perform quite as well as Mari. Better than Saliba, which is good because he's older, but definitely more of a backup than a starter. And if he's ok with that he'll stick around.

Gabriel - My first name on the teamsheet for central defenders. He was good. I think it'll be him and Mari to start going into next season, with Saliba and Holding as backups.

FULLBACKS:

Sead Kolasinac - Got more time than I was expecting him to due to a bunch of injuries , and he did well! I'm worried about him wanting a new contract though, since he only has one season remaining. He's backup to Tierney, and if he's not ok with that I'm going to get rid of him.

Kieran Tierney - Actually didn't perform as well as Kolasinac did according to the game's ratings, but I rate him much higher(and he gets all the tough matches).

Hector Bellerin - Honestly? Disappointing. He was the starter, but he didn't actually perform as well as I hoped, or am used to. Atletico is sniffing around, and if they come in with a good enough bid I'll let him go. And I usually try to keep him around in FM saves.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles - Performed admirably for the backup, and he might actually be the starter going into next season? Especially depending on what's going on with Bellerin.

GOALKEEPERS:

Bernd Leno - The obvious #1. He was also the winner of the Premier League Golden Glove. Easily #1 and sticking around.

Runar Alex Runarsson - Was my cup keeper and performed well in that role, but I don't rate him and am going to try to offload him during the summer.

----------------

Overall, good performances from most of the players I expected. I've got some plans for players to offload this season, and hopefully I can get in some good replacements.

OUT(hopefully): Lacazette, Willian, Elneny/Torreira, Ceballos, Xhaka, Mustafi, Luiz, Chambers, Runarsson

[hasdgfas]

SUMMER 2021 TRANSFERS:

A much busier transfer window than I'm used to, but one that has me excited.

This doesn't seem to have all my released players(it's all loans if I scroll down), but I also released Mustafi, Luiz, and Ozil

NOTABLE OUTS:

Runarsson for 13.5M going up to 19.25M???? Thanks Fenerbahce???

Willian out for 16.75M going up to 20.5M is great business, IMO. Good return on a free.

INS(MOST NOTABLE IN ITALICS):

Let's look at all the ins, the most exciting part.

Samed Onur - 1.5M possibly up to 2M from Leverkusen. Took a cheap punt on a young winger. I don't think he'll end up developing to a starter, but maybe I can make a profit on him.

Chrislain Matsima - 1.8M possibly up to 2.4M from Monaco. A young central defender. He definitely has some potential and I'm trying to get him some loan time to develop further. I think he may end up no more than a squad player, but that's fine. Someone has to be 4th choice central defender. He may do a good job at it.

Thiago Almada - 6M up to 7M from Velez. Classic FM wonderkid. Not quite as good as FM20, but he still looks great. I promised to loan him out(and did to Koln), but I expect him to be fighting for the starting spot next season.

David Raya - 5M up to 7.5M from Brentford. Homegrown backup to Leno to replace Runarsson. I'm ecstatic to get him cheaper than I sold Runarsson for. I don't think he'll end up being the starter at any point, but he may surprise me, and I think he'll do a great job in the cups.

Eduardo Camavinga - 45M to 50M from Rennes. The big pickup of the window after Xhaka, Ceballos, and David Luiz left to take over as DLP defensive midfielder. I have never been able to pick him up in FM before and am excited to give him time.

Adrien Delphis - 400k from Sochaux. Seemed like another cheap winger to take a punt on. He couldn't get a work permit, but hopefully some loans will help him develop and earn one.

Brenner - 6M up to 9.5M from Sao Paolo. A cheap, young striker as backup to develop. He was intended to be Nketiah's backup, but I couldn't offload Lacazette, so he's third choice, and I think that should be fine. He should get some time.

Samuel Major - Bosman from RB Salzburg. With the 18 determination I figured he was fine to try to develop a bit, even without earning a work permit. I don't have hopes for him making it at Arsenal, but we'll see.

Filipe Cruz - Bosman from Benfica. Was brought in as backup in case Bellerin got taken, but the interest never materialized, so I loaned him out for this season. I think he'll develop nicely and, even if he doesn't become world-class, will be a solid pickup for free.

Jaume Jardi - Bosman from Barcelona. Another young winger I'm trying to develop. I think he has some nice potential and am hoping for big things from him.

Hakan Calhanoglu - Bosman from AC Milan. With the intent to offload Willian and Ozil's imminent departure, I was looking for someone to take over the starting AMC role, as Willock isn't quite ready to do so. Calhanoglu never looked like signing a new contract, and I kept a close eye on him until May/June when he actually was ready to discuss a contract. He looks fantastic and has started off the season strongly. Especially with only wanting 80k/week, replacing 450k/week between Willian and Ozil, he seems like a massive upgrade.

Kostas Tsimikas - 11.25M from Liverpool. Kolasinac had a year left on his contract and I didn't want to renew it, so I wanted to find a backup, especially after Atalanta bought Kola for 18M up to 23M. Tsimikas was transfer-listed at Liverpool and seemed like a fine squad player. He might not start over Tierney, but I think he'll do fine in this role.

-------------

As you can see, quite a few transfers in, even if many of them are youth. I have high hopes for the immediate future of Camavinga and Calhanoglu, as well as looking forward to the development of Brenner and Almada and their long-term future. Hopefully at least 1 other acquisition will develop nicely.

[Tee2]

16 hours ago, RossoneriGunner said:

For those guys who bought Declan Rice, how much did you pay for him?. Thanks

I paid a fee that will rise to £65 million if all the various bonus clauses become activated, which I hope they do because that will mean he's been a success here. A lot to pay, but I really wanted the fella.

 

8 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

2020/21 SQUAD REVIEW:

Time to do a review of the players who were in and around the first team and see who still has a future.

STRIKERS:

Alexandre Lacazette - Led the line in the Europa League, and with 11 goals in 11 appearances he did really well in that role. Only 5 in the Premier League in 24 appearances kept him relegated to the backup striker position, even though a total of 20 is decent return from him. 7 assists in all competitions, 4 in the Europa League also solid. However, with only one year remaining on his contract, unless he wants to take a pay cut(which I doubt), I think his time is up.

Eddie Nketiah - Took the starting League striker position from Lacazette early in the season and never gave it up. 14 goals in 22 appearances(19 starts) is a good league return for a 21-year-old, and 22 in all competitions meant he was our top scorer. 6 assists in all competitions, 4 in the League is also strong. Very excited to see him develop further as undisputed starter(unless I find a fantastic striker in the transfer market).

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS:

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Starting AML for the tactic, and a fantastic performer. 14 League goals and 4 League assists kept him neck-and-neck with Eddie for strikes in the league. 8 assists(4 in the League) meant he was an unselfish contributor as well. He'll stick around.

Nicolas Pepe - Starting AMR, and someone I am consistently impressed with in FM. 10 goals and 10 assists in the league, 17/12 in all competitions. He consistently plays well and will continue to get regular game time.

Willian - My surprise player of the season. After Ozil got homesick(and then subsequently complained when I didn't sell him after he rejected 3 different contracts from different teams that wanted him), he took the starting AMC spot. He was great in the cups, but eventually fell off in the League. 13 goals and 13 assists in all competitions was still way better than I expected. I anticipate him becoming a squad player at most next season, and might try to offload him as he isn't getting any younger, and his performances got worse as the season went on.

Gabriel Martinelli - I was excited for him to get back from his injury so I could give him some time. He got a good amount of Europa League time, as well as some appearances in the League and the Cups. His best performances were definitely in the Europa League, but a total of 4 goals and 1 assist across all competitions was slightly disappointing, especially as he tore knee ligaments sometime in the spring and is out again. I think I might try to loan him out so he can get consistent game time.

Reiss Nelson - Knocking on the door of a starting spot. 7 goals and 16(!) assists in all competitions, he was excellent, and it was just the fact that Auba and Pepe were consistent that kept him from taking over starting. He'll get plenty of time next season.

Bukayo Saka - Got a bunch of time, although some of it was due to an injury crisis among the fullbacks in the second half of the season. At one point only Saka and AMN were uninjured in those positions. I tried to give him some attacking time, and he repaid that with 10 goals and 6 assists. His best performances were easily in the Europa League, but I aim to give him some more time next season.

Emile Smith Rowe - I sent him on loan to Feyenoord, but he wasn't getting any game time and I recalled him in January. He then became a backup and didn't get many appearances, but still got 2 goals and 1 assist. I may try to loan him out again next season, but he's also a good squad backup and I really want to see him develop.

Joe Willock - A solid squad performer. I don't think he's ready to be the starting AMC, but 2 goals and 6 assists meant he contributed. I anticipate him being a backup to a new AMC I pick up for next season.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS:

Jack Wilshere - Performed much better than I expected as a squad player that I picked up to fill out the homegrown quotient. 2 goals and 7 assists and his performances got better as the season went on. He's getting a new contract this offseason  as thanks(unless he wants way too much)

Granit Xhaka - Terrible. Ended up as a backup, and with only 4 assists all season he definitely deserved to. He wants to leave for a new challenge and I'm going to let him.

Dani Ceballos - Also bad. He didn't perform as DLP DM, and didn't perform in the couple opportunities I gave him as AMC. 1 Goal and 3 assists is just not good enough. He's going back to Real and they can have him.

Thomas Partey - Fantastic as BWM DM and even contributed 5 goals and 4 assists. Will be the starter again next season.

Mohamed Elneny - Partey's backup and performed as a backup. 3 goals and 1 assist was fine, but his performances were lacking. I'm going to try to offload either Elneny or Torreira, maybe both depending on the market.

David Luiz - I tried. I stuck him in the more offensive DM role and he just didn't perform. I wasn't going to try to keep him in the central defender positions, and he didn't perform well enough as DM for me to keep him around. Bye.

CENTRAL DEFENDERS:

Calum Chambers - Only 9 appearances, most of which were in the Europa League. He was fine, but nothing special. Leicester are sniffing around, and I think I'm going to let him go.

Shkodran Mustafi - Performed fine in his 7 appearances, even though 4 of them were in the FA Cup. I just don't want to give him a new contract, so I kept him out of the starting lineup.

Pablo Mari - A solid performer. He got 22 league appearances, 35 in all competitions and did a very serviceable job. Not outstanding, but consistent and solid. I intend to keep him around.

William Saliba - Inconsistent. Not all that unexpected as he's still young, but he got most of the time in secondary competitions. 23 total appearances, only 7 in the Premier League. He'll be more of a factor next season, I expect.

Rob Holding - Another serviceable player, although he didn't perform quite as well as Mari. Better than Saliba, which is good because he's older, but definitely more of a backup than a starter. And if he's ok with that he'll stick around.

Gabriel - My first name on the teamsheet for central defenders. He was good. I think it'll be him and Mari to start going into next season, with Saliba and Holding as backups.

FULLBACKS:

Sead Kolasinac - Got more time than I was expecting him to due to a bunch of injuries , and he did well! I'm worried about him wanting a new contract though, since he only has one season remaining. He's backup to Tierney, and if he's not ok with that I'm going to get rid of him.

Kieran Tierney - Actually didn't perform as well as Kolasinac did according to the game's ratings, but I rate him much higher(and he gets all the tough matches).

Hector Bellerin - Honestly? Disappointing. He was the starter, but he didn't actually perform as well as I hoped, or am used to. Atletico is sniffing around, and if they come in with a good enough bid I'll let him go. And I usually try to keep him around in FM saves.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles - Performed admirably for the backup, and he might actually be the starter going into next season? Especially depending on what's going on with Bellerin.

GOALKEEPERS:

Bernd Leno - The obvious #1. He was also the winner of the Premier League Golden Glove. Easily #1 and sticking around.

Runar Alex Runarsson - Was my cup keeper and performed well in that role, but I don't rate him and am going to try to offload him during the summer.

----------------

Overall, good performances from most of the players I expected. I've got some plans for players to offload this season, and hopefully I can get in some good replacements.

OUT(hopefully): Lacazette, Willian, Elneny/Torreira, Ceballos, Xhaka, Mustafi, Luiz, Chambers, Runarsson

This was a great read, and it looks as though we coaxed a similar level of performance from these players and reached broadly the same conclusions after a season working with them. The only big difference is Willian, who you clearly had some joy with using as an AMC, but it looks more or less as though the future direction of the Gunners is there on the page. 

[dennislauridsen]

Hello Gunners

i Hope u all had a Great Christmas.

i also play with arsenal, and just finished first season.

as u can see we ****ing won the league. we played so well at the end, and the other big clubs losing points to smaller clubs.

I also end up winning Europa League agianst A.C. Milan.

 

Here is a screen of my transfers. I am very pleased with all the deals. The focus is to keep it realistic, and i think i have did that. 
 

 

 

Here is a screen of my transfers. I am very pleased with all the deals. The focus is to keep it realistic, and i think i have did that. 

It's so ****ing nice, we shipped so many players out.

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by dennislauridsen

[evilpimp972]

Hope we get winter updates that actually reflect that Gabi and Saka are our best attackers tbh

[RossoneriGunner]

1 hour ago, Tee2 said:

I paid a fee that will rise to £65 million if all the various bonus clauses become activated, which I hope they do because that will mean he's been a success here. A lot to pay, but I really wanted the fella.

 

This was a great read, and it looks as though we coaxed a similar level of performance from these players and reached broadly the same conclusions after a season working with them. The only big difference is Willian, who you clearly had some joy with using as an AMC, but it looks more or less as though the future direction of the Gunners is there on the page. 

I got him for a flat £40mil and I've also got Donnarumma coming in on a free from AC Milan

[WillyBroadband]

5 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

Willian out for 16.75M going up to 20.5M is great business, IMO. Good return on a free.

Ah man, I am jealous! I can't get rid of him, even for free. I'm only at beginning of second season. 

[WillyBroadband]

League table at the end of my first season...

[WillyBroadband]

My transfers - highlighted are ones I made in the close season - I don't normally like paying huge fees but I saw that Liverpool had bid for Lautaro Martínez, he fits my tactic perfectly & I thought "why not!", never signed him before & as Lacazette left for only £8M less, it was a no-brainer. 

The transfer you can't see on the left was Eric García on loan - he signed for PSG in the January & I hardly played him after that. 

[WillyBroadband]

7 minutes ago, WillyBroadband said:

 

Buendía was transfer listed as Norwich didn't get promoted, not a fan of his mentals (although I like his flair & composure) but he will fit nicely as an AMR for me. Matvienko will be my backup LB & can also play as a left sided BPD - I signed him for Everton on FM20 & he was great. 

Castrovilli I'm excited about, should be good. Ramsey won "Signing of the Season" but I actually found him to be quite frustrating, inconsistent & injury prone. I've demoted him to a Squad Player for now.

Ajer I love, he broke his toe & was out for 2 months - no coincidence that I went through my worst patch of form in that time.

One transfer on the right you can't see is Saliba to Brentford - who were my feeder club until they were promoted. 

Edited December 27, 2020 by WillyBroadband
Typo

[WillyBroadband]

Three B's got promoted from the Championship - Bournemouth, Brentford & Bristol City 

[WillyBroadband]

My transfers part 2. 

Didn't really want to sell AMN but he's such a douchebag in the game - Max Aarons felt like an obvious replacement & again, as Norwich didn't get promoted I got him cheaper. 

I love clearing deadwood off the wage bill & worked out I shaved off £1.295M a week with selling Sokratis, Luiz, Özil etc - that's a hefty figure. 

[WillyBroadband]

39 minutes ago, WillyBroadband said:

 

I won The FA Cup - against Chelsea again, haha - lost to Atalanta in the Quarter Finals of Europa League & won the Community Shield. 

Leno won Golden Glove & Auba the Golden Boot, too.

Also, this hasn't happened before but my U23's won the Premier League 2 Division One - woohoo! 

[WillyBroadband]

So, a slight problem for me now, potentially, is that Real Madrid are interested in signing Auba & he has a preference to play for them in his career plans. I know he's getting on a bit but he was sensational for me as a AML IF/Sup. 

[hasdgfas]

3 hours ago, WillyBroadband said:

Ah man, I am jealous! I can't get rid of him, even for free. I'm only at beginning of second season.

He performed so well for me that I think that's the reason why he got interest. I usually have issues shipping out players like him.

 

2 hours ago, WillyBroadband said:

So, a slight problem for me now, potentially, is that Real Madrid are interested in signing Auba & he has a preference to play for them in his career plans. I know he's getting on a bit but he was sensational for me as a AML IF/Sup.

He's 32 at the start of the second season and his physical attributes will start to decline soon. If they come in with a good enough offer I'd sell to keep the team younger. Players need to be special for me to keep them long after 30, I'm much more willing to sell at that age.

Edited December 27, 2020 by hasdgfas
wording change

[Clifton]

Hi @hasdgfas.

Good write up.   I'm having another go with the 4231 DM, although I think I am not as brave as you with roles and duties!   What roles and duties did you end up with for your two  DMCs?

[hasdgfas]

4 minutes ago, Clifton said:

Hi @hasdgfas.

Good write up. I'm having another go with the 4231 DM, although I think I am not as brave as you with roles and duties! What roles and duties did you end up with for your two DMCs?

Great question! I'm still playing around with it, as the DMs were not that consistent last season and I really want to unlock Camavinga now that I've purchased him. During S1, I ended up running DLP(Su) with Shoot Less Often, Take More Risks, and Hold Position + BWM(De) with Shoot Less Often, Dribble Less, Take Fewer Risks, Hold Position, and Tackle Harder.

I've tried a few different things with Camavinga in place of the DLP(Su), and I'm back on my Segundo Volante(Su) nonsense. I just can't get away from this role. No additional instructions right now, just the basic role. As I get further along in the season I'll report on how it goes. I was able to get an 8.0 rating and a goal out of Camavinga with Segundo Volante in the most recent match, so hopefully he can keep it up.

[WillyBroadband]

1 hour ago, hasdgfas said:

He performed so well for me that I think that's the reason why he got interest. I usually have issues shipping out players like him.

Same here mate, he got 12 goals, 9 assists with an AR of 7.22 in the first season. I just want him off the wage bill. 

[hasdgfas]

JANUARY 2022 UPDATE:

Been zooming through season 2 and wanted to post an update on progress.

COMPETITIONS:

We are crushing the league right now. 16 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. 42 goals for, and only 7 against. Not quite scoring as many as United or Liverpool, but conceded the fewest by a fair margin. Next is Man City with 12. CL Group was Bayern, Atalanta, and PSV. We won the first four, drew with Atalanta at home, and then capitulated away at Bayern to end up second in the group and got absolutely punished for it by drawing Real Madrid. That draw with Atalanta hurts a lot. I would have rather had any of the second seeds. I was putting out a fairly young team for the Carabao Cup, and away at Liverpool was their downfall, losing 1-0.

MATCHES:

Yes, you're reading that correctly. Our one loss is at Leeds. Our draws, at Spurs and at United. Not looking forward to Liverpool, Chelsea, and City away, but I think we're in a very strong position for the second half of the season.

PLAYER CHECK-INS:

First, let's check in on the new signings for the first team.

Camavinga - 2 goals and no assists, which is a little disappointing, but since I switched to let him push forward further as Segundo Volante, his performances have improved immensely and he's much more of a factor. He was injured for about a month, from the end of November to the end of December and is just getting back.

Calhanoglu - A star. 2 goals and 10 assists. Easily our best player so far this season and has slotted in very easily. This position and role was made for him in this team.

Tsimikas - Only gotten a few appearances, but has been disappointing even in those. 1 Assist, and nothing else special, but still was worth buying since he's happy being a backup/cup player.

Brenner - Crushing his appearances with the U23s, but due to a resurgence from one of our first team strikers(I'll get to that), hasn't gotten much time. 6 appearances with the first team, 1 goal, and 1 assist.

Raya - 5 Cup Appearances. 3 shutouts. He's been good. A very solid cup keeper.

Now, some additional players of note:

Lacazette - A man reborn this season. He's crushing it. 13 goals in 20 appearances, 11 in the League. He's taken back the starting spot, and I offered him a new contract. It did help that he seems to be ok with a paycut. He even won a French Player of the Year Award!

Aubameyang - Continuing his great performances from last season, with 12 goals in 23 appearances. He and Lacazette are just incredible and definitely why we're so easily top of the league.

And it's not like my other offensive players are underperforming! Nketiah has 7 goals, Pepe has 8, and Saka has 6.

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I've been very impressed with us so far this season and hope we can keep it up and don't hit a bad run of form. We have some tough matches coming up and need to not get discouraged by a couple inevitable losses.

Edited December 27, 2020 by hasdgfas
additional screenshot

[VP.]

SEASON 6

Pictures are a little jumbled

Edited December 28, 2020 by SortitoutsiVP