FM21 LIVERPOOL - PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

[Tullekunstner]

Alright, so the transfer window is now over. I had a couple of goals in mind going into it:

- Trim down the first team a bit, specifically reduce the squad with one CB and one CM (spoiler alert: I failed).

- Get the Norwegian wonderduo of Haaland and Ødegaard to strengthen the first XI.

- Prepare long-term replacements for some of the aging starting players (Mané and Salah are both closing in on 30).

Out:

Adrian (Fenerbahce, £4.5m)     -  Grabara (Fulham, £5.5m)

van den Berg (Leeds, 1.7m)      -  Tsimikas (Dortmund, £19m)

Grujic (Monaco, £25m)              -  Gini (Juventus, £50m)                -  Ox (£57m)

Wilson (Leipzig, £18m)               -  Woodburn (Brest, £1.7m)           -  Minamino (OL, £29m)

Origi (£66m)                                -  Firmino (PSG. £74m)

Total: £351,4m

So my sales are pretty much 50/50 first team/u23 players (or returning loan players), with Tsimikas, Adrian, Gini, Ox, Minamino, Origi and Firmino being the first team players that would need some kind of replacements. I wanted to trim the squad slightly as well though, so I didn't want to replace them one-for-one. All in all I'm pretty happy with my business, but I think I should've maybe waited a bit with Gini as I could probably squeeze out another £5-15m from him. Either way I got a lot more than I were going to get if I sold him in the first window like I first planned to do, so I guess I can't complain.

Without further ado, here's who's come in:

Ryan (£15.5m)

Alaba (0)

Camavinga (£60m)        -  Ødegaard (£100m) - Pedri (£86m)

Yusuf Demir (£15+5m)  -  Haaland (£117m)

Total: £398,5m

In addition to that, Harvey Elliott is back from loan and I'll try to develop him a bit and see how it goes. Demir doesn't have a work permit and refuses to go out on loan, so I'll just have to see if he'll get it when I can reapply, or if I'll loan him out in January.

So Mathew Ryan is my new second choice GK, Kelleher keeps his 3rd choice status as Grabara sadly figured he'd never be good enough for us. Fair enough, I thought, so I let him go. Alaba on a free was too good to not go for, so I got rid of Tsimikas and will now have the luxury of juggling playing time for two of the best LBs in the world. Alaba, as mentioned earlier, will probably get plenty of game time as a box-to-box midfielder as well.

Midfield was an area I wanted to trim down a bit to make room for Curtis Jones. With both Ødegaard and Camavinga coming in though, I weren't able to in the end. Thiago was impossible to sell and I couldn't sell Keita as that would leave me really thin when it comes to midfielders being able to play the box-to-box role. However, with Origi, Minamino and Firmino being sold, and Pedri and Haaland (and Elliott) coming in, Jota and Salah will be my main backups for Haaland which means Ødegaard and Curtis Jones will probably have to get used to playing quite a bit of matches on the wings.

Overall, I haven't really trimmed the first team squad at all, but I did at least get rid of some of the loan army. Not exactly as planned, and ideally I would've been without Matip, Thiago and Shaqiri right now. Trimming down will be january's mission, along with trying to get in Bellingham and train him as a box-to-box midfielder than can take over from Henderson. I've probably done more transfer dealings than most would though, and I've made the squad significantly stronger imo.

My current squad/tactics/backups:

Spoiler

A look at the development of last seasons 'newcomers':

Spoiler

 

Menino and Papetti is still squad/fringe players, but Garcia will soon be my first choice partner for van Dijk.

 

Meanwhile, Haaland and Ødegaard has started even better than expected! Absolute beasts! Alaba was injured a little bit so haven't played much and Ryan did excellent while Ali was away on international duty:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Tullekunstner

[Tullekunstner]

First game after the transfer window closed

Calm down, Erling, Jesus Christ! 13 goals in 6 matches so far, 12 in 5 in the league.

 

edit-

so just a small update as I don't want to take over this whole thread... but now, after only 9(1) games, Erling Haaland is already listed as 'favoured personnel' at my club page. Granted, he has scored 18 goals and has 1 assist in those games, but that is absolutely insane. Never seen anyone getting favoured that fast. Legend in the making, without a doubt. 

Might try to get in Hauge for a Norwegian trifecta.

Edited December 3, 2020 by Tullekunstner

[Staf9]

20 hours ago, Tullekunstner said:

First game after the transfer window closed

Calm down, Erling, Jesus Christ! 13 goals in 6 matches so far, 12 in 5 in the league.

 

edit-

so just a small update as I don't want to take over this whole thread... but now, after only 9(1) games, Erling Haaland is already listed as 'favoured personnel' at my club page. Granted, he has scored 18 goals and has 1 assist in those games, but that is absolutely insane. Never seen anyone getting favoured that fast. Legend in the making, without a doubt. 

Might try to get in Hauge for a Norwegian trifecta.

Thats some start by Haaland. 

 

dont worry about taking over the thread, the more updates the better. hope to get started properly this wknd myself

[Siven]

Finally finished pre-season, just beat Arsenal 1-0 in community shield.

Was having a look at my shortlist and figured i'd have a go at asking the board to sign Milinkovic-Savic......and they have done for £62million!

Quite happy with that, will be a cornerstone of my new midield i am looking to build. As Gini will leave, Milner is on the verge of retirement, Chamberlain, Thiago and Keita are injury prone, and Hendo is on the wrong side of 30.

So over the next few transfer windows is hope to move on the above, and replace with others.

Fabinho, Hendo (until retirement) and Savic will be my new Midfield 3, with Jones, Menino and any others to step in.

[guruhd]

Half way through January in the first season and I'm top of the league by a few points, with Juventus lined up as my first opponent in the knock out round of the Champions League.

As I mentioned before I'm struggling to accommodate Thiago.  My first choice midfield is Fabinho Henderson and Wijnaldum/Keita as they just suite my teams style of play, bringing more energy.  Once I have leads in games I do tend to slow the pace down, and try to just keep the ball more and he often gets on at this point but he hasn't started many games for me.

In terms of signings, I have just signed Leonidas Stergiou, 18 year old centre back from St.Gallen who joins at the end of the season and will be my fourth choice centre back, I think he's good enough to do that and he should get enough game time to develop further.  Other than that no signings or sales.  Unlike some of you, I hate the thought of selling our players, so where as some of you have sold the likes of Ox, Keita or Matip etc, I can't bring myself to do it!  I love these guys in real life.  I often think why some of you play as Liverpool, when in 2 seasons time, your team bears no resemblance to Liverpool.  But hey, that's just me.

End of the season I imagine I will look to move on Shaqiri and Origi as they aren't barely playing and I will use that money to invest in a younger option.  Somebody like Boadu or maybe Szoboszlai, but we'll see.

[Tullekunstner]

17 hours ago, Siven said:

Finally finished pre-season, just beat Arsenal 1-0 in community shield.

Was having a look at my shortlist and figured i'd have a go at asking the board to sign Milinkovic-Savic......and they have done for £62million!

Quite happy with that, will be a cornerstone of my new midield i am looking to build. As Gini will leave, Milner is on the verge of retirement, Chamberlain, Thiago and Keita are injury prone, and Hendo is on the wrong side of 30.

So over the next few transfer windows is hope to move on the above, and replace with others.

Fabinho, Hendo (until retirement) and Savic will be my new Midfield 3, with Jones, Menino and any others to step in.

Curtis Jones is starting to look like a proper player for me. My ass man don't think he has much room to grow though, which is a bit worrying, but we'll see how it goes

Spoiler

 

 

4 hours ago, guruhd said:

As I mentioned before I'm struggling to accommodate Thiago.  My first choice midfield is Fabinho Henderson and Wijnaldum/Keita as they just suite my teams style of play, bringing more energy.  Once I have leads in games I do tend to slow the pace down, and try to just keep the ball more and he often gets on at this point but he hasn't started many games for me.

I've tried experimenting with him as a regista, but alas, he was awful. Whenever I play him as an ap(s) next to either hendo, keita or milly as b2b he's played excellent this season though.

4 hours ago, guruhd said:

Other than that no signings or sales.  Unlike some of you, I hate the thought of selling our players, so where as some of you have sold the likes of Ox, Keita or Matip etc, I can't bring myself to do it!  I love these guys in real life.  I often think why some of you play as Liverpool, when in 2 seasons time, your team bears no resemblance to Liverpool.  But hey, that's just me.

I can only speak for myself, but Liverpool is always my first FM save for two quite simple reasons: 1) I'm a fan and 2) I know the squad like the back of my hand. It makes it ideal to get into the new aspects of each game iteration and it makes it fun to create a 'dream team' as well as finding new superstars, wonderkids and bargain buys. You also got to take into account that after 2 seasons, Salah, Mane, Gini, Henderson, Firmino, Shaq, van Dijk, Matip and Thiago will all be on the wrong side of 30 (and Milner will be 36), so you kind of have to start making wholesale changes at that point.  I still think I have a very distinct core of Liverpool players though, and will have so for the next season as well (probably), but I don't really care about making 'realistic' signings or whatever. At least not on my first save. When I've gone back and made a second LFC save, I usually try only signing u19 players or something similar. Probably won't this year, as the squad is just too good to begin with so it's not really much of a challenge.

 

I'm in november of my second season now, and besides one home loss to Arsenal, I've been pretty much smashing any team I've come up against. Despite a short injury break, Haaland is still banging them in. Mané's performances has been a bit worrying with only 3 goals and 4 assists in 14(3) appearances. 2 of the goals and assists has come in the last 3 matches though, so maybe he's turned a corner. 

Might be my final season with the team if I can manage to win the champions league. I have plans for a Palermo save after this, but I want at least one CL trophy before I retire this save, so I'll see how the rest of the season pans out before making any decision. 

Spoiler

Results:

The main man:

 

Edited December 5, 2020 by Tullekunstner

[Peluch]

Definitely a good way to start a season 

[Siven]

12 hours ago, guruhd said:

In terms of signings, I have just signed Leonidas Stergiou, 18 year old centre back from St.Gallen who joins at the end of the season and will be my fourth choice centre back, I think he's good enough to do that and he should get enough game time to develop further.  Other than that no signings or sales.  Unlike some of you, I hate the thought of selling our players, so where as some of you have sold the likes of Ox, Keita or Matip etc, I can't bring myself to do it!  I love these guys in real life.  I often think why some of you play as Liverpool, when in 2 seasons time, your team bears no resemblance to Liverpool.  But hey, that's just me.

Its always hard to sell players we know irl.

But at the end of the day, we have to look to the future, and several of our players are getting old. So i'd rather sell them for a good price rather than be like Arsenal and get nothing on free transfers. Also i especially look to sell on the injury prone players, despite how good they are, if they arent playing then their not pulling their weight.

[makul]

I just finished my first season at the club and it was excellent. I didn't make any transfers for the first team or sell anything, just youth signings and I loan several players.

Spoiler

We won all the tournaments and the U23 won the EFL Trophy.

Spoiler

The general performance was good, also in the local cups I have used several youth players (Rhys, Koumetio, Papetti, Gallacher , Clarkson, Rovella, Dembele, Cardero, O'Rourke, Appia, Woodburn).

Spoiler

 

While I'm happy with the squad, there were a lot of injuries this season and some changes are needed. I have already agreed the fiches of Upamecano, Haaland and Camavinga, in addition to many youth.

 

 

Edited December 5, 2020 by makul

[RLC]

On 03/12/2020 at 18:26, Tullekunstner said:

First game after the transfer window closed

Calm down, Erling, Jesus Christ! 13 goals in 6 matches so far, 12 in 5 in the league.

 

edit-

so just a small update as I don't want to take over this whole thread... but now, after only 9(1) games, Erling Haaland is already listed as 'favoured personnel' at my club page. Granted, he has scored 18 goals and has 1 assist in those games, but that is absolutely insane. Never seen anyone getting favoured that fast. Legend in the making, without a doubt. 

Might try to get in Hauge for a Norwegian trifecta.

Wow Haaland really is amazing, just bought him myself first season in january. Have him and Alexander Isak up top and thinking about geting Dejan Kulusevski for a scandinavian tridente. 
Will do an update as well soon on my season so far. 

[RLC]

As anyone ever tried retraining Firmino as a CM? He’s so well rounded that he can play most ST and AMC roles but I was thinking that he’d probably pull of the BBM, AP and mezzala as well. Having trouble getting him to score as ST so thought I’d maybe give it a go. 

[makul]

hace 51 minutos, RLC dijo:

As anyone ever tried retraining Firmino as a CM? He’s so well rounded that he can play most ST and AMC roles but I was thinking that he’d probably pull of the BBM, AP and mezzala as well. Having trouble getting him to score as ST so thought I’d maybe give it a go. 

Just I'll try to retrain in a AP as CM.

[guruhd]

12 hours ago, Siven said:

Its always hard to sell players we know irl.

But at the end of the day, we have to look to the future, and several of our players are getting old. So i'd rather sell them for a good price rather than be like Arsenal and get nothing on free transfers. Also i especially look to sell on the injury prone players, despite how good they are, if they arent playing then their not pulling their weight.

Yeah, definitely.  Its always a slow process for me.  I don't think I've ever got more than 5 seasons into a game, and I often still have half the existing team in tact.  At the point I stopped playing last seasons last years game I was five years in and still had the whole back 5 still in place, I saw no reason to move on from them, though in my mind at 34, it was VVD's last season.  I also still had Salah and Henderson.

In this game, if the opportunity presents itself I'll probably cash in on Mane or Salah in season 2 or 3, I think like in real life, you can't let all these guys get old together, and if really good offers present themselves, will have to be considered.

Edited December 6, 2020 by guruhd

[Siven]

9 hours ago, RLC said:

As anyone ever tried retraining Firmino as a CM? He’s so well rounded that he can play most ST and AMC roles but I was thinking that he’d probably pull of the BBM, AP and mezzala as well. Having trouble getting him to score as ST so thought I’d maybe give it a go. 

I have been thinking the same tbh. With his low finishing i'd rather not use him as a ST now, and with his great all round stats i think he'd do well in CM if he can learn that position quick enough.

How is everyone going to use Curtis Jones btw? I dont think he has enough pace to play as an inside forward for me, so ive been planning on using him as a central midfield. 

Edited December 6, 2020 by Siven

[Tullekunstner]

34 minutes ago, Siven said:

I have been thinking the same tbh. With his low finishing i'd rather not use him as a ST now, and with his great all round stats i think he'd do well in CM if he can learn that position quick enough.

How is everyone going to use Curtis Jones btw? I dont think he has enough pace to play as an inside forward for me, so ive been planning on using him as a central midfield. 

I'm splitting his playing time between IW(s) and AP(A) in the CM slot, mostly to give him playing time and because I've had more need for backups in the forward positions than in midfield (where I'm way too stacked). His future is definitely in midfield. I'm in the middle of december of my second season now, and so far this season he has 8(6) games, 5 goals, 6 assists and an average rating of 7.17. He has 14/14 acc/pace, which honestly isn't too bad even for a winger. As a more supporting/playmaker type winger he's great, but he's not a run-behind the defences type.

Edited December 6, 2020 by Tullekunstner

[RLC]

1 hour ago, Siven said:

How is everyone going to use Curtis Jones btw? I dont think he has enough pace to play as an inside forward for me, so ive been planning on using him as a central midfield. 

Yeah I’ve been playing him in the central midfield as well, as AP(s) or Mezzala(s) and he’s been doing well, scored a few even though he’s mostly been a back-up. 

[makul]

I just finished the second transfer window.

As for the arrivals, we weren't looking for much but we were looking for quality. We went to Haaland, Upamecano and Camavinga to rejuvenate those areas and already have players for many years. 
We brought some young players for U23, Grabara was going to be the second goalkeeper but in the middle of the pre-season he asked to leave and we had to go out and find another one. We decided on Fariñez, who was cheap, young and a good performer. At the end we went for Nuno Mendes after many recommendations from our scouts.

We had a good squad, a very strong XI that is the same as last season and a younger replacement. We wanted to sell to Wijnaldum and Thiago, but they did not accept the offers that arrived to them.

We are negotiating with Firmino the renovation, which I reject and asked to be transferred but we rejected all offers that arrived by him.

As far as absences are concerned, players such as Matip, Shaqiri, Origi and Ox who already knew they would not have a place this season. Grujic wasn't going to be sold at first, but I didn't like how he performed in the pre-season and put him on the market, Tsimikas left before the arrival of Mendes and many youngsters who had no future left + several on loan to continue improving.

 

 

[Siven]

Im playing the usual 4-3-3 DM.

But i can never decide what the 2 CM positions and the ST position should be. I seem to change the role every game

I think i may have to restart. I tried doing my own training, and overworked everyone, so now loads are jaded already in November.

Edited December 6, 2020 by Siven

[br1an13]

anyone got good ideas for how to setup an 'lfc injuries challenge' ?

basically i'd like to start a save w/gomez and vvd out.. maybe give a month or two for thiago also

seems most db updates out there haven't got them out, i'd just do it w/the editor but haven't got that (yet)

 

[Tullekunstner]

Just finished my second january transfer window, and honestly, it was quite uneventful. Thiago was sold for £50m to Tottenham (most of it coming in over the next 36 months). Shaqiri rejected a £40m move to China, and Demir is still refusing to go out on loan even though his latest work permit application was once again rejected. 

As for incomings, it seems like I've fallen into old habits, spending around £70m total on 6 wonderkid regens that will be completed in 2023/2024 at which point I've probably abandoned the save.. but how can you refuse that 5 star potential? The only new player I actually got for my squad was Sebastiano Esposito for £19m. Jota has been injured for some months, which has often made me play Elliott as a striker in cup games.. not really ideal. With Thiago out and Esposito in, I feel I have a better balance to the squad. Matip is injured, so I'll have to wait until summer before I can move him on, hopefully I sort out the Demir situation and get some cash for Shaqiri then as well.

Results:

I've gotten a couple of ties since last time, but still haven't lost since that Arsenal game. I comfortably won my CL group and I'm 1 point ahead of United in the league with two less games played. I'm about to play a replay of the FA cup fourth round against Chelsea, and later I will face Arsenal in the carabao final.

Will come back for a bigger update at the end of the season.

[Siven]

Got to Jan in my first season, currently top of table and unbeaten.

Going to play Kelleher more and see if he can become a good backup keeper. Might have to loan him out 2nd season for more game time.

I may have to get a backup right back too, as Neco only has 7 positioning in my game atm which is terrible. And i dont think i'll be able to train it upto 12-14, tho i hope i can.

Also after being hit by a few injuries, i may try to get a 4th CB, looking at Chris Mepham, 23yr old welshman with good potential and low injury proneness.

Edited December 7, 2020 by Siven

[Brandoman10]

Just got to the January window and I didn't get any transfer funds. In the beta the board provided 70m...was this removed for the full version?

[Siven]

13 minutes ago, Brandoman10 said:

Just got to the January window and I didn't get any transfer funds. In the beta the board provided 70m...was this removed for the full version?

Unsure.

I didnt get any either, but i had got the board to buy Savic  at start of season so i kinda expected no funds.

[Brandoman10]

1 hour ago, Siven said:

Unsure.

I didnt get any either, but i had got the board to buy Savic  at start of season so i kinda expected no funds.

Well, looks like my injury crisis is suddenly a lot more worrisome than I was anticipating it to be. Was hoping to get Eric Garcia for cheap but now I'll probably lose out to him since the European clubs can already offer contracts. 

[Siven]

Jan transfer window.

Just sold Alex Oxlade Chamberlain for £63million (35m upfront, 23m with 1 installment 12months and 5mill after 10 goals) to Chelsea.

Didnt want to see him go, but very injury prone and better players infront of him really.

Bought Yunus Musah to replace him at £21.5m (10m upfront and 11.5m over 3 years). Fantastic prospect who is still 18 so can get homegrown. Also English second nationality so wont count as foreign.

 

Going to keep Neco as backup right back, and Kotchop and Papetti as backup CD.....and they get time as Matip is out for 3-6 weeks just as Gomez came back from injury!

[Tullekunstner]

12 hours ago, Brandoman10 said:

Just got to the January window and I didn't get any transfer funds. In the beta the board provided 70m...was this removed for the full version?

I got on my save, but not until deadline day if I recall correctly. It probably depends a bit on your finances though.

[EnigMattic1]

OK, going by his recent performances in real life, who else is going to use Kelleher over Adrian? 

[Siven]

59 minutes ago, EnigMattic1 said:

OK, going by his recent performances in real life, who else is going to use Kelleher over Adrian? 

Even though i sold Adrian and bought Smithies, i have been using Kelleher as my cup keeper to try and make him my backup. Bonus is hes homegrown at club, so that'll help nicely.

[Rangieboy]

Great to read people giving feedback on their first seasons. Here goes mine!

I tend to play Liverpool as close to the real deal as possible, and as usual refrain from buying in the first season.

Competitions:

 

• Won the league W31, D6, L1, GD +80, 99 PTS
• Won League Cup
• Won Community Shield
• CL: Lost Quarter Final 2-1 to Lazio
• FA: Lost 3rd round to Soton on pens.

Player stats:

• Top goal scorer: Salah 32 (27 PL) IF(a) on the right wing,
• Assists: Salah (15), Thiago (12) as AP(s)/DLP(s) and TAA as WB(a) (11)
• van Dijk stand out preformer 7,65 over 43 games. 11 goals + 3 assists.

Formations played:

Played 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and 4-2-2-2
Based on an attacking mentality and gegenpress. Tweaking slightly to control away from home.

Transfers:

Sales:
Milner (£5m to Barca), Shaq (£54m to Spurs), Origi (£30m to Arsenal), Keita (£56m to Real Madrid), Minamino (£30m to Leicester), Wilson (£15m to Leeds) + some releases.

Bought:
Aaron Ramsdale (£45m) from Sheff Utd. Alisson broke his leg in the last match of the season.
Upamecano (£66m) from Leipzig
Camavinga (£85m) from Rennes
Sancho (£105m) from Dortmund

Goals for next season:

• Retain the PL title.
• Do better in the CL, prefer a final this season!
• Work the youngsters into the first team (Jones, Koumetio, Stewart)

Final comments:

I saw the debate over Firmino in midfield, that is an interesting one. I used him in the #8-role, as an AP(s) here and there and he worked out pretty well. I havn't retrained him or anything, and he usually filled in the role late in the game when players were tired.

 

 

[Siven]

12 minutes ago, Rangieboy said:

Great to read people giving feedback on their first seasons. Here goes mine!

I tend to play Liverpool as close to the real deal as possible, and as usual refrain from buying in the first season.

Competitions:

 

• Won the league W31, D6, L1, GD +80, 99 PTS
• Won League Cup
• Won Community Shield
• CL: Lost Quarter Final 2-1 to Lazio
• FA: Lost 3rd round to Soton on pens.

Player stats:

• Top goal scorer: Salah 32 (27 PL) IF(a) on the right wing,
• Assists: Salah (15), Thiago (12) as AP(s)/DLP(s) and TAA as WB(a) (11)
• van Dijk stand out preformer 7,65 over 43 games. 11 goals + 3 assists.

Formations played:

Played 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and 4-2-2-2
Based on an attacking mentality and gegenpress. Tweaking slightly to control away from home.

Transfers:

Sales:
Milner (£5m to Barca), Shaq (£54m to Spurs), Origi (£30m to Arsenal), Keita (£56m to Real Madrid), Minamino (£30m to Leicester), Wilson (£15m to Leeds) + some releases.

Bought:
Aaron Ramsdale (£45m) from Sheff Utd. Alisson broke his leg in the last match of the season.
Upamecano (£66m) from Leipzig
Camavinga (£85m) from Rennes
Sancho (£105m) from Dortmund

Goals for next season:

• Retain the PL title.
• Do better in the CL, prefer a final this season!
• Work the youngsters into the first team (Jones, Koumetio, Stewart)

Final comments:

I saw the debate over Firmino in midfield, that is an interesting one. I used him in the #8-role, as an AP(s) here and there and he worked out pretty well. I havn't retrained him or anything, and he usually filled in the role late in the game when players were tired.

 

 

11 Goals for Van Dijk! 

He hasnt even scored 1 for me yet

[Rangieboy]

35 minutes ago, Siven said:

11 Goals for Van Dijk! 

He hasnt even scored 1 for me yet

Yeah, I was surprised too. Gomez and Matip pitched in with some goals too. Got a corner routine where one CB attacks near post while the other lurks at near post. That seems to be working really good.

[Siven]

Jan window is over.

Sold Chamberlain and bought is Musah as posted above.

Also bought 18yr old scottish full back Hickey for 13.5m (6m upfront and 7.5m over 3 years). Has 2 strong feet and can play both left and right back. Fantastic option i think.

Kelleher got a new contract as my backup keeper too. Lots of green arrows on stat improvements.

Bella-Kotchop and Woodburn both went on loan to championship clubs. Kotchop looks liek a star, but Woodburn seems to be a lost cause now

[RLC]

18 hours ago, Rangieboy said:

Final comments:

 

I saw the debate over Firmino in midfield, that is an interesting one. I used him in the #8-role, as an AP(s) here and there and he worked out pretty well. I havn't retrained him or anything, and he usually filled in the role late in the game when players were tired.

 

 

Yeah he's useful all over, looking at his attributes you could play him in so many different positions and roles all over the pitch I think. Just considering his attributes I think he could play DM (DLP, Regista), CM (DLP, B2B, AP, Mezzala), AMC (AM, AP, Enganche, Treq, SS), ST (All except maybe Poacher and AF) and also I think he'd do ok as a Wing-back. He's such an all-round player, only thing he's missing is maybe quickness and finishing.

[RLC]

12 hours ago, Siven said:

Kelleher got a new contract as my backup keeper too. Lots of green arrows on stat improvements.

Nice! How does your coaches rate him potential wise? On FM20 I always preferred Grabara over Kelleher but maybe Kelleher will be my back up on FM21 then.

[Siven]

47 minutes ago, RLC said:

Nice! How does your coaches rate him potential wise? On FM20 I always preferred Grabara over Kelleher but maybe Kelleher will be my back up on FM21 then.

2.5 stars.

I had a look at his PA in the editor, its not great tbh, but with luck he can be an ok backup.

Spoiler

-7 PA 110-140

 

[Staf9]

7 hours ago, Siven said:

2.5 stars.

I had a look at his PA in the editor, its not great tbh, but with luck he can be an ok backup.

  Reveal hidden contents

-7 PA 110-140

 

might be a chance of his potential being upgraded with the fact that he has been playing and doing well in the first team now

[makul]

Just finished winter transfer windows, only sign Fernando Ovelar from Cerro Porteño for 500k up to 1 millon and sold Sheyi Ojo (he plays 12 games in all competitions with 2 goals and 2 assist) to Brighton for 3 millons.

[Staf9]

havent gotten far in my save but might restart with the window turned off at the start. might help be get a bit more into the save and avoid going transfer crazy too early

[guruhd]

Just lost top spot for the first time, during season one.  Winning my game in hand will take me back above Man City though.  I've played 29, won 20, drew 8 and lost 1.  I hope the draws don't cost me!  I've only conceded 9 league goals so far in the PL.

In the Champions League I pulled off a Barca style comeback against Juve to get through the first knock out round, scoring 4 consecutive goals, including a 92nd minute penalty to eventually win 5-4 on aggregate.  Then I beat Man City 3-0 in the first leg of the next round with the second leg still to come.  I have a FA cup semi final to come against Chelsea too.

Its the league I want most though, and I'm starting to get nervous about it, especially having looked at the remaining fixtures and seeing my final game is Man Utd away!!! 

[glenn28]

I restarted my save a few times but finally got one going in December of season 1 only lost 1 game so far already out of the league cup as I fielded a 2nd string team will post a full update when I complete season 1 

[RLC]

Looking ahead, who tends to be your Henderson replacement, like the next captain, next ’heart’ of the midfield? I know he’s not that old but I’m trying to plan ahead a bit for coming seasons and was wondering how you guys usually handle it? I think I’d prefer another english player at least. 

[guruhd]

16 minutes ago, RLC said:

Looking ahead, who tends to be your Henderson replacement, like the next captain, next ’heart’ of the midfield? I know he’s not that old but I’m trying to plan ahead a bit for coming seasons and was wondering how you guys usually handle it? I think I’d prefer another english player at least. 

I’ve got my eyes on Jude Bellingham probably for the start of season 3. I signed Gini to a new contract which will be up then so I’ll let him go at that point and hopefully if Bellingham is still at Dortmund and I’m able to sign him, I’d like him. I guess he’ll be 20 at that point. No idea if he’s captain material, but fits the bill as English. 

[RLC]

11 minutes ago, guruhd said:

I’ve got my eyes on Jude Bellingham probably for the start of season 3. I signed Gini to a new contract which will be up then so I’ll let him go at that point and hopefully if Bellingham is still at Dortmund and I’m able to sign him, I’d like him. I guess he’ll be 20 at that point. No idea if he’s captain material, but fits the bill as English. 

Yeah I've had my eye on him as well in my save, a bit low on leadership maybe. Was thinking about Grealish and Rice as well.

[makul]

Now yes, I finished the winter transfers windows and there were quite a few outings.
Some youths were given away to earn minutes, others were ending their contract and I decided to sell them as they were not going to renew.
The exit that angered me the most, being a little strange, was that of Stephen McCarthy. The boy arrived free from Keterring, Chelsea offered him a contract just started January and I offered him a professional contract. He accepts my offer on January 7 but on January 9 he goes to Chelsea for no contract (WTF). 

 

IN

 

OUT

 

 

Edited December 12, 2020 by makul

[EnigMattic1]

5 hours ago, RLC said:

Looking ahead, who tends to be your Henderson replacement, like the next captain, next ’heart’ of the midfield? I know he’s not that old but I’m trying to plan ahead a bit for coming seasons and was wondering how you guys usually handle it? I think I’d prefer another english player at least. 

Surely that would be Trent? Although I am playing him as a right back at the moment, he is going to take over from Hendo when I decide I have a decent replacement for Trent. 

[EnigMattic1]

Well, I have restarted my save..... AGAIN! This time, the focus is on youth and English players. Obviously, Charlie Setford is on his way to Anfield, as is Bynoe-Gittens and Dane Scarlett. I couldn't, however, turn down Gavi, Papetti and Rav van den Berg. 

Kelleher, N. Williams, Clarkson and Jones have all been moved to the first team and Edwards has been instructed to sell Adrian. 

My next job is to gut the scouting and coaching teams to try and increase the potential in their respective departments, as well as actually building a medical team. 

My long term targets are Sancho, Bellingham and Reyna (he was born in England so he counts) and, maybe, bring Conor Coady 'home'. 

Edited December 12, 2020 by EnigMattic1

[RLC]

14 hours ago, EnigMattic1 said:

Well, I have restarted my save..... AGAIN! This time, the focus is on youth and English players. Obviously, Charlie Setford is on his way to Anfield, as is Bynoe-Gittens and Dane Scarlett. I couldn't, however, turn down Gavi, Papetti and Rav van den Berg. 

Kelleher, N. Williams, Clarkson and Jones have all been moved to the first team and Edwards has been instructed to sell Adrian. 

My next job is to gut the scouting and coaching teams to try and increase the potential in their respective departments, as well as actually building a medical team. 

My long term targets are Sancho, Bellingham and Reyna (he was born in England so he counts) and, maybe, bring Conor Coady 'home'. 

Yeah I guess you’re right, as captain I’ve always wanted TAA irl and in game. Are you playing him as a DLP in the DM position then?

Speaking of his replacement, how have Neco been doing for you? I’ve had him on positioning training last few months, got him from 5 in positioning to 7 so far. 

[glenn28]

Season 1 review 

League: won

Champions league:won

fa cup:4th rd

league cup:3rd rd

comm shield :won 

won the league losing only 2 games my front 3 Firmino,Mane & Salah all were my top goal scorers will trim my squad & sign some youth in season 2 the surprise in my save is Tottenham getting relegated 

[glenn28]

Just lost VVD with a broken ankle for 3-4 months start of season 2

[glenn28]

Gee it’s hard to offload players in this version of FM