[FM21] Sunderland 'Til I die

[nyg]

Welcome to the Sunderland thread for FM21. I didn't see one last year, so I decided to make one myself for this year. 

 

 

Club Details

Team Name: Sunderland AFC

Year Founded: 1879

Chairman: Stewart Donald

Current Manager: Phil Parkinson

Club Captain: Max Power

Vice Captain: Bailey Wright

Country: England

League: Sky Bet Leaue One

Media Prediction: 2nd

Fierce Rivals: Newcastle

Other Rivals: Middlesbrough, Portsmouth

Derbies: Wear-Tees Derby ( vs Middlesbrough), Tyne & Wear Derby (vs Newcastle)

Legends: Kevin Phillips, Bobby Kerr, Jim Montgomery, Len Shackleton, Ian Porterfield, Gary Rowell, Charlie Hurley, Bob Stokoe, Niall Quinn

Icons: Kevin Ball, Peter Reid, Vic Halom

Favoured Personnel: Sebastian Larsson, Jermaine Defoe, Lee Cattermole

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Club Vision

Club Culture:

-Play attacking football (Preferred)
-Play possession football (Preferred)
-Develop players using the club's youth system (Favoured)

5 year plan:
-Work within wage budget

End of current season:

- EFL Leagune One: Win promotion
-FA Cup: Reach fourth round
-EFL Cup: Reach second round

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Facilities

Stadium: The Stadium of Light

Capacity: 48,707 all-seater

Corporate Facilities: Good

Training Facilities: Superb

Youth Facilities: Excellent

Youth Level: 1

Youth Stadium: Academy of Light

Training Ground: Academy of Light

Junior Coaching: Adequate

Youth Recruitment: Average

Club Finances

Balance: £5,966,096M

Finances: Okay

Transfer Budget: £500k

Wage Budget: £179,795k p/w

Scouting Budget: £186,986

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

The Team

Goalkeepers

-Lee Burge
-Remi Matthews

Really close race between the goalkeepers, neither one should be there for the long term. Burge's best role is sweeper keeper, while Matthew's is goalkeeper. Up to the managers preferences I guess. Behind them Anthony Patterson is a real talent on this level.

 

Central defender

- Tom Flanagan
- Jordan Willis
-Bailey Wright
-Arbenit Xhemajli

Again a close race, this time with a clear standout. Wright should be the first choice centre back when fit, with Willis as his partner. Xhemajli seems to have good potential, so he should get game time during the season. 

 

Left back

- Denver Hume
-Callum McFadzean

Denver Hume should be the first choice. Clearly better than McFadzean, and he's also a product of the academy. Also have some potential to grow into a Championship level left back.

 

Right back

- Conor McLaughlin
-Luke O'Nien
-Dion Sanderson(Loan)

Hard to tell who's best here, but O'Nien seems to have an edge on the other ones. Sanderson's on loan for the season, so unless he's outperforming O'Nien in pre-season he should be backup.

 

Central Midfielder

-  Max Power
-George Dobson
-Josh Scowen
-Grant Leadbitter
-Elliot Embleton
-Dan Neil

 

Here you have some different types of players. Most of them are hard working, no nonsense players. Embleton got real potential and is a more offensive alternative to the others. The same goes for Dan Neil, could be a real gem. Leadbitter is the second highest earner in the squad so I would look offload him, even if he is from the acadamy.

Left Wing

- Aiden McGeady
-Chris Maguire
- Aiden O'Brien
- Jack Diamond
Here you got some flair and tricky players. McGeady is over the top and got a big salary on this level. All of them are at a similar level, O'Brien is a harder worker than the rest of them, and in his best age. Diamond got a big potential and could live up to his last name. All of the can play on both sides, and make up for the lack of natural right wingers in the squad. 

Right Wing

- Lynden Gooch

The best(and only) right winger in the squad. Decent overall winger who works hard. Can also look to Kimpioka from the academy for cover in this position.

 

Striker

- Danny Graham

- Charlie Wyke

- Will Grigg

None of the three are star performers on this level. All of them seems to be okay with backup-roles. Both Graham and Wyke are best as target man, while Grigg is a best as a poacher. Could form a decent duo from this three. Graham and Grigg will score you penalties. Would look to invest to strengthen the squad here. 

Academy

There are some decent talents at the club, despite the big guns stealing the best of the academy players before the season. Would have been nice to have both Hugill and Pye, but that's the reality on level 3.. Notable talents are Anthony Patterson, Dan Neil, Benji Kimpioka, Elliot Embleton, Jay Turner-Cooke, Adam Richardson, Ollie Younger and Sonny Singh.

 

Transfer suggestions

-Jason Cummings
-John Guidetti
-Tobias Sagstuen Andersen
-Matt O'Riley
-Andre Green
-Aidan Barlow
-Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik
-Kaylen Hinds
-Donis Avdijaj
-Fernando Costanza
-Richard Nartey

Edited November 17, 2020 by nyg

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Great Opening Post. I had a very enjoyable save with Sunderland on FM2020 recently and will be managing Sunderland again on FM21.

Good luck with Sunderland.

[Mackem742]

Excellent post. I always have a Sunderland save on every version, last year I wasnt a great success. 

Started a save on Friday and Im into February in my first season, currently 15 points clear at the top.

Key signings

Jason Cummings - hes got 28 goals in all competitions at the minute, hes been outstanding. 

Papetti - central defender from Brescia, seems to be this years go to signing and I managed to get him on loan, fantastic central defender who is wanted by the top clubs but I managed to sneak in early and got him on loan for the season.

Yaya Toure - unbelievably he decided to join in the summer, got him on a free for 3k a week. Not great, but scored some important goals for us. However Auxerre came in for him in January and he kicked up a bit of a stink when I rejected the bid. Ended up selling him to Nantes for a few thousand.

Billy Gilmour, central midfielder from Chelsea on loan, he came in during January and scored on his debut. I signed him to replace Toure.

Formation

Playing a 4-2-3-1 attacking mentality, not sure of all the team instructions as im not home at the moment. Only lost 2 games, 1-0 at Rochdale who are fighting it out in the play off positions and also lost 1-0 at home to Blackpool which was a shock, they just totally nullified me and the only side to outplay me this season, they had more chances and more possession. 

Other info

Jack Diamond has been an absolute star at Notts County on loan. His reports were always coming back saying he was really impressive, he was top of the assists and average rating lists for the league he was in, he came back in January and Notts County wanted him back, I rejected it and decided to give him a go, he came off the bench against Plymouth and scored on his debut (Billy Gilmour also scored on his debut in this game). Instant hero and ill be giving him more chances as the game goes on, I think he could be a star.

On the negative side, Stewart Donald is still chairman and kind of true to real life Ive already seen 2 takeover attempts collapse 

[Nozzer]

I'm glad SI have been kind to some of our younger players this season although I would of liked to have seen Hume rated a little higher

Despite being a Sunderland ST holder (well I was till Covid) I can never be us on FM as my real life like / dislike for players gets in the way.  For example O'Brien looks pretty good in FM but, so far, he has been one of the worst players I've ever seen pull on a red and white shirt.  

[Mackem742]

I know what you mean, Im in the same boat but I just keep telling me that its just a game lol. Saying that Grigg, Wyke, McGeady were all the first 3 on my list to get rid of but no one will take them.

It shows how good Wyke is that Fylde and Southend Utd came in with loan offers for him which I rejected, I just want him out of the club totally. O'Brien is actually decent but he is one of the ones going out if we get promoted. Dobson is a good player on game despite his real life performances. Havent had the chance to play Neil as yet as he went out on loan but it looks like Diamond is actually going to be a diamond.

Im also hoping for a takeover as my projected promised budget for next season is £1.18 million, im hoping that gets increased if I get promoted.

[emil_sbn]

Hey also playing as Sunderland for the second time now, last save was fmt 19 on my ipad and that one was a very fun save! 

Almost done with the first season and leading the league for almost the whole season except the first couple of games. The last games we have dropped some points due to a tiring squad. My fault for not rotating enough I guess but just wanted to grab that promotion and now we have with some games left to play. 

My lineup most of the time were:

                      Burge

O'Nien     Willis  Flanagan  Hume

              Dobson  Power

Gooch            Maguire         Mcgeady

                        Hinds

Playing with gegenpress so choose Flanagan over Wright/Xhemalji because his pace is much better compared to the two others. And he and Willis is averaging well over 7 in average rating. 

Also signed Hinds on a free transfer because none of the others had the pace I wanted upfront and he so far has scored 20 goals. 

One worrying thing is that it looks like a takeover is about to happen and that they want to bring in another manager if they are successful. 

So far a very fun save! 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

10 hours ago, Mackem742 said:

Excellent post. I always have a Sunderland save on every version, last year I wasnt a great success. 

Started a save on Friday and Im into February in my first season, currently 15 points clear at the top.

Key signings

Jason Cummings - hes got 28 goals in all competitions at the minute, hes been outstanding. 

Papetti - central defender from Brescia, seems to be this years go to signing and I managed to get him on loan, fantastic central defender who is wanted by the top clubs but I managed to sneak in early and got him on loan for the season.

Yaya Toure - unbelievably he decided to join in the summer, got him on a free for 3k a week. Not great, but scored some important goals for us. However Auxerre came in for him in January and he kicked up a bit of a stink when I rejected the bid. Ended up selling him to Nantes for a few thousand.

Billy Gilmour, central midfielder from Chelsea on loan, he came in during January and scored on his debut. I signed him to replace Toure.

Formation

Playing a 4-2-3-1 attacking mentality, not sure of all the team instructions as im not home at the moment. Only lost 2 games, 1-0 at Rochdale who are fighting it out in the play off positions and also lost 1-0 at home to Blackpool which was a shock, they just totally nullified me and the only side to outplay me this season, they had more chances and more possession. 

Other info

Jack Diamond has been an absolute star at Notts County on loan. His reports were always coming back saying he was really impressive, he was top of the assists and average rating lists for the league he was in, he came back in January and Notts County wanted him back, I rejected it and decided to give him a go, he came off the bench against Plymouth and scored on his debut (Billy Gilmour also scored on his debut in this game). Instant hero and ill be giving him more chances as the game goes on, I think he could be a star.

On the negative side, Stewart Donald is still chairman and kind of true to real life Ive already seen 2 takeover attempts collapse 

That happened to me loads of times when I was Sunderland on FM2020 but it come good in the end as I had a tycoon take over so fingers crossed the same happens to you.

[Sabine]

Finished my first season with Sunderland and absolutely stormed the league, managing to win 41 times.

My best signing has by far been former FM wonderkid/legend back in 15/16 versions; Donis Avdijaj who I managed to sign on a free and got 26 league goals alongside Grigg's 23. I managed to get rid of the high earners so I was able to sign a few players in to get by the salary cap.  

I've played two games in the Championship so far and Niall Ennis for £475k is already looking like the signing of the season 

[Sabine]

38 minutes ago, emil_sbn said:

Hey also playing as Sunderland for the second time now, last save was fmt 19 on my ipad and that one was a very fun save! 

Almost done with the first season and leading the league for almost the whole season except the first couple of games. The last games we have dropped some points due to a tiring squad. My fault for not rotating enough I guess but just wanted to grab that promotion and now we have with some games left to play. 

My lineup most of the time were:

                      Burge

O'Nien     Willis  Flanagan  Hume

              Dobson  Power

Gooch            Maguire         Mcgeady

                        Hinds

Playing with gegenpress so choose Flanagan over Wright/Xhemalji because his pace is much better compared to the two others. And he and Willis is averaging well over 7 in average rating. 

Also signed Hinds on a free transfer because none of the others had the pace I wanted upfront and he so far has scored 20 goals. 

One worrying thing is that it looks like a takeover is about to happen and that they want to bring in another manager if they are successful. 

So far a very fun save! 

 

18 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

That happened to me loads of times when I was Sunderland on FM2020 but it come good in the end as I had a tycoon take over so fingers crossed the same happens to you.

Stewart Donald was sold up by October in my first season.  Only taken over by a local businessman though, and got £5 million transfer budget for getting promoted so been relying on frees and bargains. 

 

[nyg]

Nice. A lot of good info and tips here, guys. 
Just played the first game of the season myself. Managed to get rid of Flanagan, Willis and McGeady so far, but I can't for the life of me manage to sell Leadbitter, Wyke or Grigg. No takers even when I'm asking for 0,-.. McGeady's clearly a still a decent player, but the wages are killing me, had to go. 

Brought in Jason Cummings, Osame Sahraoui, Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik, Richard Nartey and Fernando Costanza. Also got Liam Millar on loan, so hopefully he will score the goals this season. Gelhardt can also be loaned in, and in retrospect maybe I should've gone for him.. 

[Mackem742]

Save update. Now 18 points clear at the top as I head into March, however I did suffer another loss and it was the worst performance of the season, losing 3-1 at MK Dons. No one performed well in that one.

Bounced back straight away though and Im now planning for the Championship, it would take a spectacular collapse for us not to be promoted now. 

Jason Cummings is still doing the business and is now on 34 goals in all competitions. I also brought in Layton Stewart from Liverpool on loan in January and he has scored 2 in 2 games.

[Nozzer]

Right at the end of my first season with Boston United, for some reason the National League North runs later than the EFL leagues which are already finished and Sunderland have been relegated to League 2.  They have also been taken over by a South Korean business man and are listed as Rich.  I've applied for the job as they have just sacked their second manager of the season and I want to see what kind of transfer / wage budget they have, I'm expecting it to be massive for a L2 club though

Think Sunderland in L2 with the squad / youngsters they have and a big transfer budget is the ultimate rebuilding job 

[emil_sbn]

How did you approach the championship tactically did you make some adjustments or did you just stick to your original tactic?

I´m using a 4-2-3-1 now with gegenpress and afraid that it  wont work in the championhip...

[Mackem742]

Promotion looks a certainty now, 24 points clear of 3rd with only 27 points to play for and my next game is away at 3rd place Bristol Rovers so a win there and promotion will be secured, even a point should be enough as my goal difference is massive compared to theirs.

On a side note Jason Cummings seems to have downed tools, his last 4 games has had him score no goals and have a 6.3/6.4 rating, Ive criticised his recent form so Ill see how he goes. Ive been bringing on Layton Stewart (youngster I signed on loan in January from Liverpool) and he has been rescuing us in quite a few of those games.

Jack Diamond is also a quality player, pleased I recalled him from his loan spell as he now has 5 goals since January. Im at the end of March now so hopefully my next update will be to report promotion.

[tomzo_2]

What backroom staff have you got in place? Are you leaving training to your Ass Man or doing it yourself?

[Mackem742]

57 minutes ago, tomzo_2 said:

What backroom staff have you got in place? Are you leaving training to your Ass Man or doing it yourself?

I havent really concentrated on backroom staff yet, I normally just hire the ones that come up in briefings etc but once I start getting more of a budget Ill try and bring in staff that I actually want. The only 2 staff who I can remember their names are ex Sunderland player Steve Hetzke and Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips. I hope to bring in other ex Sunderland heroes as time goes on if they decide to become coaches.

I leave training to my assistant too.

[tomzo_2]

33 minutes ago, Mackem742 said:

I havent really concentrated on backroom staff yet, I normally just hire the ones that come up in briefings etc but once I start getting more of a budget Ill try and bring in staff that I actually want. The only 2 staff who I can remember their names are ex Sunderland player Steve Hetzke and Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips. I hope to bring in other ex Sunderland heroes as time goes on if they decide to become coaches.

I leave training to my assistant too.

Yeah makes sense - Steve Hetzke was at Palace last year, not sure if he still is?

[smplfc123]

Yes I've brought Kevin Phillips in as my assistant manager to try and get some fans on board straight away!

I feel I need the extra help as I've started with transfers off and with a low reputation.

[Mackem742]

Season 1 complete, successful season was an understatement. Finished with 109 points and now the preparations for the Championship begin. The club has been taken over but its not the big takeover I was hoping for, transfer budget is £3.4 million.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

 

On 19/11/2020 at 14:41, Mackem742 said:

I havent really concentrated on backroom staff yet, I normally just hire the ones that come up in briefings etc but once I start getting more of a budget Ill try and bring in staff that I actually want. The only 2 staff who I can remember their names are ex Sunderland player Steve Hetzke and Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips. I hope to bring in other ex Sunderland heroes as time goes on if they decide to become coaches.

I leave training to my assistant too.

 

On 19/11/2020 at 15:16, tomzo_2 said:

Yeah makes sense - Steve Hetzke was at Palace last year, not sure if he still is?

Personal opinion, but a very nice guy is Steve Hetzke. He's an ex-Reading favourite (nickname of the day Big 'Un) who I had the pleasure of watching on many occasions and meeting too, including once long after he had retired on the outskirts of Stockport after I'd been to watch a midweek away game. He was attending a wedding with some of his pals of the time (Norman Whiteside and ex-Superstars champion Brian Jacks) but came and introduced himself to me and my mates, bought us drinks etc. Anyway, I digress, he's usually a good scout in game and invariably unattached. Nice to see him getting some FM virtual love.

I've also had quite a few interactions with Phil Parkinson in years gone by. I appreciate and understand he isn't universally popular as Sunderland manager, but he's a top fella and always went out of his way to engage with fans and make guest appearances at fan events etc. 

Interesting to see two of the legends listed in the OP were both managers of Reading too (Hurley doing much better than Porterfield). There are more links than I would have imagined between the two clubs, although the worst one was when Dave Swindlehurst virtually ended the promising career of Paul Canoville.  

Anyway, good luck to all those managing Sunderland. Sorry for taking this off topic.

Edited November 20, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Mackem742]

15 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

 

 

Personal opinion, but a very nice guy is Steve Hetzke. He's an ex-Reading favourite (nickname of the day Big 'Un) who I had the pleasure of watching on many occasions and meeting too, including once long after he had retired on the outskirts of Stockport after I'd been to watch a midweek away game. He was attending a wedding with some of his pals of the time (Norman Whiteside and ex-Superstars champion Brian Jacks) but came and introduced himself to me and my mates, bought us drinks etc. Anyway, I digress, he's usually a good scout in game and invariably unattached. Nice to see him getting some FM virtual love.

I've also had quite a few interactions with Phil Parkinson in years gone by. I appreciate and understand he isn't universally popular as Sunderland manager, but he's a top fella and always went out of his way to engage with fans and make guest appearances at fan events etc. 

Interesting to see two of the legends listed in the OP were both managers of Reading too (Hurley doing much better than Porterfield). There are more links than I would have imagined between the two clubs, although the worst one was when Dave Swindlehurst virtually ended the promising career of Paul Canoville.  

Anyway, good luck to all those managing Sunderland. Sorry for taking this off topic.

Ive got no doubt at all that Parkinson is a decent bloke but sometimes a manager just doesnt fit in at a club. Thats not me being arrogant but he just hasnt got it right here and we need a change.

[Mackem742]

2nd season has begun, happy with my transfer dealings. Couldnt resist bringing back Defoe on a free, also re-signed Papetti, Sanderson and Gilmour on loan.

Had a really good start, 3 wins out of 3 so far.

[emil_sbn]

Dont know what is happening but this first season in Championship I have hammared Palace with 7-0 and Bristol City 6-0 without doing any major signings.

[psychonutter]

On 21/11/2020 at 16:17, Mackem742 said:

2nd season has begun, happy with my transfer dealings. Couldnt resist bringing back Defoe on a free, also re-signed Papetti, Sanderson and Gilmour on loan.

Had a really good start, 3 wins out of 3 so far.

What pack are those pics in bud? I love the look of them at top of the screen

[pedromanuelpinto]

How is going on the second season?

[Mackem742]

On 27/11/2020 at 10:17, psychonutter said:

What pack are those pics in bud? I love the look of them at top of the screen

I cant remember to be honest mate. I just drag them over from previous years games, Ive had them for a couple of years. Ill have a look tonight to see if I can find out 

[Mackem742]

5 hours ago, pedromanuelpinto said:

How is going on the second season?

Im doing better than expected. Im joint top with West Brom in January but its incredibly tight between the top 4, 2 points between us, West Brom, Blackburn and Brentford. I havent signed anyone in January as yet. Jason Cummings has come alive again after a poor start to the season where I was playing a 38 year old Jermain Defoe in his place but Cummings has scored 6 in his last 4 games. Its going to be an exciting end to the season. Not sure what kind of money I would get if we got promoted so Im in 2 minds whether I want to go up or not.

[Mackem742]

Also I just could not get rid of Grigg and Wyke, offered them out for 1k each and still no takers. Ive ended up terminating their contracts which has eaten up my remaining transfer budget but I just wanted them out. My dislike for them in real life meant they had no chance with me in the game. I dont think either of them have started a game for me  

If I do end up getting promoted I am going to need a big step up in quality for a striker. Cummings has been amazing for me and Ill probably keep him around as backup but I need an upgrade. Ill start to look around when I load the game up tonight.

Also I was very surprised to get Papetti on loan again for the season and again he has been incredible, he was my top performer in League 1 and he has done it again in the Championship. I didnt think id be able to sign him on loan for a second season so their is no reason to believe I cant sign him again if I get promoted to to the Premier League.

[nyg]

I've noticed that it was easier getting rid of Grigg,Wyke, Leadbitter and so on when the Scottish league is loaded. Could be a coincidence, but I sold several of them to scottish teams. 

[ryanstevo]

Only bought the game the other day after doing as I do every year and saying it'll be the same as last years then buying anyway...

First season just finished, pipped Hull to the title on the final matchday. I led all season, they had a ridiculous second half of the season winning 14, drawing 9 and losing 0. My gegenpress starting taking its toll on my tired players and they took over me on the second last game on GD, then drew their last game to charlton away whilst I beat northampton at home. Also managed to win the Papa Johns Trophy, got to the 5th round of the FA cup and lost away to Newcastle 😒 in what was a very close encounter. 

Transfer wise I was sleeping at the start of the season. Didn't really bother watching any videos of decent players to pick up cheap ASAP as i normally tend to, just got straight into it because i'd had about 10 beers at this point 🤣, which explains my next decision.. Ended up re-signing Nicklas Bendtner who managed 20 goals this season in just 28 starts. Panic bought Mo Eisa dirt cheap from p'boro who barely got a game.  Picked up Teden Mengi on loan from Man.U who's been solid all season, and a free left back called Janick Kember. Other than those, I just had our normal squad. Picked up Tommy Doyle and Folarin Balogun in mid season window because they didn't count towards squad limit. Doyle was good rotation in the middle, Balogun notched 10 goals in 16 starts. I think he would've been a great player to have from the start of the season.

I couldn't help but notice how poor our squad is on paper compared to both Hull and Pompey! No players of any real value bar Bailey Wright. 

[WKTHFC]

What are peoples experience of being taken over. I'm still waiting

[ryanstevo]

23 hours ago, WKTHFC said:

What are peoples experience of being taken over. I'm still waiting

i got taken over by a woman called natalie christopher half way through first season. Got £5m/£250k wage budget to spend first championship season

[nyg]

On 06/01/2021 at 20:47, WKTHFC said:

What are peoples experience of being taken over. I'm still waiting

First time half way through first seasond, got some extra cash. Second time half way trough second season.. Hope that's enough for a while..  

[monobloko]

during the transfer window 2021/22, i got taken over twice within a period of a month

[biioniicbatman]

i have been following this thread for a while and thought i would register an account to join the discussion

fyi THANK YOU for the suggestion of Jason Cummings. OMG he has been a right baller for me.

- I stormed League One with 113 pts, 27 pts above 2nd place. Cummings, making 43 apps and scoring 31 which is pretty impressive.

- I am currently flying the Championship as well, 27P with 71 pts (13pts clear of 2nd place Newcastle  ) . I'm just coming the the end of January and Cummings still banging in the goals. Hes played 23 and scored 26. Literally, he is a BOSS.

My take over was ok i guess, I got 14 mil to play with when i moved the Championship. That helped get me into the position i'm in i suppose.

From reading the post, people are having issues off loading player. Like someone mentioned above, the Scottish league took all the players, i didn't want, off my hand (apart from Leadbitter).

Loving the Sunderland TID challenge though  :P 

 

Edited January 11, 2021 by biioniicbatman

[WKTHFC]

Just woke my neighbours up screaming, running round the house

[Mackem742]

Im afraid Ive jumped ship from Sunderland. Currently in my 4th season, 2nd season in the Premier League and I started off poorly. Going into November I was 16th and then I received an interview offer from Wolves (who were 14th at the time), normally Id reject the offer straightaway but I had a look at the club and noticed they had just had a takeover so I decided to do the interview. I then got the question of whether id be comfortable with a £98 million transfer budget, I have never had that amount of money to spend before and I just went for it. I got offered the job and Ive dragged them from 14th to 6th. Sunderland are currently 18th, Newcastle are 17th but Sunderland do have a game in hand. Im still attending and watching Sunderland games if I can. They have just made a golden opportunity to leapfrog Newcastle but could only manage a 1-1 home draw.

[biioniicbatman]

On 12/01/2021 at 09:52, Mackem742 said:

Im afraid Ive jumped ship from Sunderland. Currently in my 4th season, 2nd season in the Premier League and I started off poorly. Going into November I was 16th and then I received an interview offer from Wolves (who were 14th at the time), normally Id reject the offer straightaway but I had a look at the club and noticed they had just had a takeover so I decided to do the interview. I then got the question of whether id be comfortable with a £98 million transfer budget, I have never had that amount of money to spend before and I just went for it. I got offered the job and Ive dragged them from 14th to 6th. Sunderland are currently 18th, Newcastle are 17th but Sunderland do have a game in hand. Im still attending and watching Sunderland games if I can. They have just made a golden opportunity to leapfrog Newcastle but could only manage a 1-1 home draw.

£98 mil :O 
in that case, i do not blame you. since i have been playing FM i have never had that much cash to play with so i think i would have done the same :P 

I have hit a bit of a bad run at the moment, got knocked out 2 cups in the same week by Liverpool then Man.Utd  Since that i have hit a bit of a bump. Lucky i built up a bit of a gap between me and rest of the teams in the champ.

Do you have any recommendations on players to sign ready for my PL promotion? 

[biioniicbatman]

On 11/01/2021 at 20:09, WKTHFC said:

Just woke my neighbours up screaming, running round the house

this just doesn't happen to me :L 
Its nice to see Cummings is bossing it for you as well  

[biioniicbatman]

What everyone's teams looking like? 
Would love to know what people are doing other than the classic gen press

(Ignore the injuries, just to show my normal first team)

And yes, i'm still playing Gooch. Hes my favorite Sunderland player LOL (im a Sunderland fan in real life).

Edited January 13, 2021 by biioniicbatman

[Mackem742]

1 hour ago, biioniicbatman said:

£98 mil :O 
in that case, i do not blame you. since i have been playing FM i have never had that much cash to play with so i think i would have done the same :P 

I have hit a bit of a bad run at the moment, got knocked out 2 cups in the same week by Liverpool then Man.Utd  Since that i have hit a bit of a bump. Lucky i built up a bit of a gap between me and rest of the teams in the champ.

Do you have any recommendations on players to sign ready for my PL promotion? 

I still had Papetti on loan from Brescia, not sure if you would be able to sign him now as I signed him on loan on the beta while still in league 1 and I managed to sign him every year after that just on loan. Im listed as his favorite personnel now. He is a great player, he struggled a little this season but the whole team has. Billy Gilmour from Chelsea on loan was tremendous in my first season in the Premier League but he didnt want to come back in the second season. I cant remember my other signings as Im at work but ill have a look when I boot the game up later.

[Mackem742]

1 hour ago, biioniicbatman said:

£98 mil :O 
in that case, i do not blame you. since i have been playing FM i have never had that much cash to play with so i think i would have done the same :P 

I have hit a bit of a bad run at the moment, got knocked out 2 cups in the same week by Liverpool then Man.Utd  Since that i have hit a bit of a bump. Lucky i built up a bit of a gap between me and rest of the teams in the champ.

Do you have any recommendations on players to sign ready for my PL promotion? 

Also, Cummings was a star for me in League 1 and the Championship but the Premier League was a step too far for him and I ended up selling him as he started to kick up a fuss about not playing. Whenever I did play him he was getting 6.2/6.3 ratings.

[WKTHFC]

All hail the Cumdog and Ricky-Jade Jones and their 83 Championship goals

 

[andyph84]

Having an absolutely tremendous save with Sunderland so far this season. 

After decades of playing the game, I'd say this is one of my favourite saves ever.

Stormed through League One and The Championship, getting to a League Cup final in the second season (lost to Man Utd).

Worked through probably three teams in the four seasons - one for each league, then refining at the beginning of this season. With Brexit, I've mostly focused on British recruitment - I think there's only been a couple of signings from outside the UK. 

Aaron Connolly is counter-attacking machine. Finished top scorer in the Prem last season and is doing well this season too. Marcus Edwards on a free from Portugal has been a great signing too, completing the attack with Keane Lewis-Potter. 

The Champions League money has been a massive help too; brought in Brandon Williams for £15mil (starting England left back - no idea why Utd let him go that cheap) this Jan and then Mepham for £70mil (massive spend but he's a huge improvement on Jack Simpson) which has helped to sure up what had become a quite leaky defence (conceded 4 to Man Utd, 6 to Liverpool before Christmas).

How have people got on with George Dobson? He has been an absolute star for me throughout - captain from game one and a solid 7/10 through each season so far.

Tactically it's pretty much hard counter through the Gegenpress - fast forwards (and now Brandon Williams), hitting teams on the break. I've also got a possession based and fluid counter attack trained for situations where plan A isn't working. 

[Brads-Wigan]

Hi All, I was toying with a Sunderland save, but decided to start unemployed, holidayed for a few months and look what I came across, Sunderland bottom after 16 games, and a job vacancy, so I applied and here I am. I had transfers in first window turned off, so the squad is the same. So my Sunderland save just got a little bit more interesting. 

Having not managed in League 1 since the salary cap,  I noticed Dobson and Matthews arnt registered. So ill have to have a reassess at the first opportunity. 

[Welshace]

On 26/01/2021 at 12:39, andyph84 said:

Having an absolutely tremendous save with Sunderland so far this season. 

After decades of playing the game, I'd say this is one of my favourite saves ever.

Stormed through League One and The Championship, getting to a League Cup final in the second season (lost to Man Utd).

Worked through probably three teams in the four seasons - one for each league, then refining at the beginning of this season. With Brexit, I've mostly focused on British recruitment - I think there's only been a couple of signings from outside the UK. 

Aaron Connolly is counter-attacking machine. Finished top scorer in the Prem last season and is doing well this season too. Marcus Edwards on a free from Portugal has been a great signing too, completing the attack with Keane Lewis-Potter. 

The Champions League money has been a massive help too; brought in Brandon Williams for £15mil (starting England left back - no idea why Utd let him go that cheap) this Jan and then Mepham for £70mil (massive spend but he's a huge improvement on Jack Simpson) which has helped to sure up what had become a quite leaky defence (conceded 4 to Man Utd, 6 to Liverpool before Christmas).

How have people got on with George Dobson? He has been an absolute star for me throughout - captain from game one and a solid 7/10 through each season so far.

Tactically it's pretty much hard counter through the Gegenpress - fast forwards (and now Brandon Williams), hitting teams on the break. I've also got a possession based and fluid counter attack trained for situations where plan A isn't working. 

 

Would be really interested to find out who you signed first few seasons etc if you have time!

[Mackem742]

I think Im going to give the lads another go. My previous save with Sunderland started on the beta and I got 4 seasons in before leaving to take over at Wolves. This time im going to try and stick with them, Im not going to sign the same players as last time either, even though Jason Cummings was an absolute hero on my last save I want to try and make it different. Im going to load up a few different leagues this time too and look for some European gems.

[Mackem742]

2 hours ago, Brads-Wigan said:

Hi All, I was toying with a Sunderland save, but decided to start unemployed, holidayed for a few months and look what I came across, Sunderland bottom after 16 games, and a job vacancy, so I applied and here I am. I had transfers in first window turned off, so the squad is the same. So my Sunderland save just got a little bit more interesting. 

Having not managed in League 1 since the salary cap,  I noticed Dobson and Matthews arnt registered. So ill have to have a reassess at the first opportunity. 

 

Quite a challenge there! As a Sunderland fan this makes me very sad ha ha

[Brads-Wigan]

2 hours ago, Mackem742 said:

 

Quite a challenge there! As a Sunderland fan this makes me very sad ha ha

Haha, certainly made the start of the save more interesting. 

[andyph84]

7 hours ago, Welshace said:

Would be really interested to find out who you signed first few seasons etc if you have time!

Sure!

From reading through other peoples experiences, I think I got very lucky with shifting players early on. I've noticed a lot of players from League 1 in general seem to go to MLS, which as you can see really benefitted me in the first season:

  

This is pretty typical of my first choice line up during the League One season:

 

I brought in Wing and Simpson on loan initially then signed permanently asap. Bradshaw was a good signing too, but I wasn't sure he could hack the Championship so replaced him. I also had Cummings, but he was more of the 12th man rather than a starter - I couldn't get the physicality from him I want from a lone front man.

The Championship season:

The total spend is a bit misleading as the vast majority was spent after promotion - everyone from Connolly down. 

My typical starting line up that season was:

The team really evolved in January with Bryan, Rodriguez and Kamara coming in. That's something I've done every season which I haven't really done before in FM - really use the January window to freshen up the team and add more quality. Best signing this season was Ostigard - I enquired with his agent and they quoted £2mil. Absolute bargain for a Norwegian international and dominated in the Championship.

First Premier League season:

More outs than in here - mostly shifting last season's teams. Also started bringing in a few young players for the U18. Justice Agyiri is current first choice for England U21. After a season on loan he is likely to be my number 2 for season 3 in the Prem. Typical team in my first Prem season was:

Coyle was a really solid signing. I'd say he has the quality to be a mid-table Prem right back at this point. 

Then most recent season - 23/24:

 

As of now there's five games left to play and I am clinging onto the top of the league. Out of the Champions League in the Quarter Finals and Semis of the FA Cup. To be honest, the fixtures have piled up so much I doubt we will have the steam to win the league, but should be Top 4 again. 

I'm not really sure where to go next with transfers. I'm trying to bring through an U18 winger and holding midfielder so they will get more time next season. I'll also probably look at a couple of new wingers to see if there's someone who fits the style better than what I have now. 

Oh and from day one, my assistant manager has been:

 

 

Edited January 27, 2021 by andyph84