FM21: The English Football League thread

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I'm pleased to see you're giving Durham a go

Cheers, mate! I'm enjoying it a lot, although I had to restart - being unused to these lower league databases I forgot to tick the box to automatically put in place the necessary staff, so on my first go I found I was the only staff member for three squads (main, u23 and u18). Without somebody to advise, it's impossible to find staff because you can't tell who's interested. And after the first week where I had to manage all three squads for friendlies, I decided enough was enough and generated a new save database.

After that, things have been much more enjoyable. The squads were riddled with rubbish newgens, but the first team had 4 or 5 decent players in addition to Chimbonda, including a good GK and striker. As with the Vanorama seasons, league games don't start until October, with a couple of very early FA Cup preliminary rounds before that, so I've had about 60-odd players on trial trying to put together a decent squad. Of course, my coaches are also rubbish - apparently every player I've had on trial has 5* potential! - but comparing our attributes to some of our rivals suggests we're well placed to compete. All but a couple of the new signings were happy with amateur "contracts" for which we're paying them absolutely nothing, and the others were happy with £50 appearance fees. That leaves them completely open to poaching offers but there's plenty more fish in the sea.

Just played a friendly against the mighty Darlington and we held them to a 1-1 draw for 90 minutes, before their winner was scored in the 92nd by another old-timer, Chris Eagles 

[Jogo Bonito]

33 minutes ago, warlock said:

Cheers, mate! I'm enjoying it a lot, although I had to restart - being unused to these lower league databases I forgot to tick the box to automatically put in place the necessary staff, so on my first go I found I was the only staff member for three squads (main, u23 and u18). Without somebody to advise, it's impossible to find staff because you can't tell who's interested. And after the first week where I had to manage all three squads for friendlies, I decided enough was enough and generated a new save database.

After that, things have been much more enjoyable. The squads were riddled with rubbish newgens, but the first team had 4 or 5 decent players in addition to Chimbonda, including a good GK and striker. As with the Vanorama seasons, league games don't start until October, with a couple of very early FA Cup preliminary rounds before that, so I've had about 60-odd players on trial trying to put together a decent squad. Of course, my coaches are also rubbish - apparently every player I've had on trial has 5* potential! - but comparing our attributes to some of our rivals suggests we're well placed to compete. All but a couple of the new signings were happy with amateur "contracts" for which we're paying them absolutely nothing, and the others were happy with £50 appearance fees. That leaves them completely open to poaching offers but there's plenty more fish in the sea.

Just played a friendly against the mighty Darlington and we held them to a 1-1 draw for 90 minutes, before their winner was scored in the 92nd by another old-timer, Chris Eagles 

Nice one. One more good player needed to complete the triangle?

Semi-pro is tough with contracts, which is why York is more my level. Which database file are you using? 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Jogo Bonito

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I am going to start a youth only save with my hometown team Kidderminster Harriers FC on the weekend so I will post how I get on. 

I am hoping it keeps me interested as I can't seem to get into a save for longer then a season.

[warlock]

32 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Which database file are you using? 

I thought I'd downloaded it from the editors forum here, but it appears to be from one of the FM fan sites. Not sure if external links are allowed, but a google search for "english non league lower leagues FM21" would find it.

Seems OK so far.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 minute ago, warlock said:

I thought I'd downloaded it from the editors forum here, but it appears to be from one of the FM fan sites. Not sure if external links are allowed, but a google search for "english non league lower leagues FM21" would find it.

Seems OK so far.

Yeah unfortunately they wont let us post links anymore so it was a good thing to be cautious on here.

[hasdgfas]

BLYTH: JANUARY 2025 UPDATE

A good first half of the season keeps us in a prime position to capitalize on the second half of the season:

7 points off the top with a game in hand, 5 ahead of 8th place. Still a couple too many draws, but we're turning some of the draws from the last couple seasons into wins and have stayed in the playoff positions instead of having to fight for them.

 

You can also see from the first screenshot that we made another solid FA Cup run. To the first round again before losing 1-0 to L1 Ipswich.

Any sort of FA Trophy success still eludes us. I don't think we've made it past the 3rd round(and the board expectations for the FAT are broken. They wanted Third Round but are upset with Third Round?)

As far as the squad:

We have 3 players really firing in goals, which is helping the cause a lot. I'll go into them in more depth at the end of the season. .For now let's just say that I'm really happy with our offensive output. Most of the time.

[warlock]

Durham City, pre-season 2020

Welcome to the historic city of Durham, one of the most beautiful in England and also famous as the spot where yours truly emerged kicking and screaming into the world. As noted earlier, it is also one of the largest cities in England not to boast a professional football club. However, the city has a long history in football, and Durham City AFC was founded in 1918. The first 30 years were chequered by financial difficulties and the club was disbanded and reformed on several occasions before finally becoming established in the Northern League in 1954-5. Since then Durham have bounced around the various divisions of the league, something we'll look to improve on!

The club is now owned by former Newcastle United fullback Olivier Bernard, who became chairman after retiring from professional football in 2007. Currently playing in Division 2 of the Northern League, we're looking for quick progress up to the Vanorama North where, realistically, progress might well falter .

In real life Durham have already lost a few of their best players, but in FM they are mine, at least for now.

GK - Quinaceo Hunt

RW - Maurice Kone

ST - Tevahn Tyrell

 

Tevahn may not look impressive, but at this level and playing as a targetman he is godlike:

I haven't been able to find players equal to our stars, but we have a decent squad who look capable of dominating this division.

Pre-season form

We breezed through the friendlies, with just the annoying late defeat to Darlington and the draw against Bishop Auckland (who are a division above us) to blot our record. We've been arguably even better in the early rounds of the FA Cup, which has already featured a trip to Wembley  (a team who ply their trade in the Spartan Southern Midlands league). Up next, a visit to Liverpool, where we'll play City of Liverpool FC who will, hopefully, be less daunting than their namesakes.

[Jogo Bonito]

Wins and goals galore in two parts of the North East. Good work both. 

[hasdgfas]

Some good news in early March, as we have a chance to go up:

However, I don't intend to leave it up to that.

8 matches to go and if we win them all, we win the League and don't have to worry about the playoffs.

[CityAndColour]

@warlock - if you want some proper 3D kits for Durham let me know, I recently learned how to make them.

@Jogo Bonito - not sure. Tiverton's two prolific strikers were Jared Lewington (former Torquay) and Alex Fletcher (former Plymouth). The latter has moved on but they've retained Lewington so should remain a contender.

[Jogo Bonito]

5 minutes ago, CityAndColour said:

@warlock - if you want some proper 3D kits for Durham let me know, I recently learned how to make them.

@Jogo Bonito - not sure. Tiverton's two prolific strikers were Jared Lewington (former Torquay) and Alex Fletcher (former Plymouth). The latter has moved on but they've retained Lewington so should remain a contender.

Ah yes, Lewington is decent. I was thinking of Jordan Rogers but it seems he moved on a couple of years ago.

[Jogo Bonito]

Part 9

News that had been held back was that Reading had been unlucky in the draw for their FA Cup Quarter Final in March

Well, financially the board were happy be facing Liverpool - but Veljko knew that at a trip to Anfield was going to be the end of that little adventure

Leading up to the clash it had been an unbeaten month in the league with two wins and two draws from four Championship fixtures - and the league would now be a clear priority

A hat-trick from Sadio Mane for the full-strength hosts saw there was no shock, but for Veljko it was about how they recovered from the 4-0 loss

And the answer in April was pretty good, with just one notable exception

Good wins over Barnsley and Derby saw Reading head to Watford (4th) in confident mood, but the journey home was much more humble after a 4-1 hammering was dished out

The nervous response saw more dropped points in a bore-draw at home to QPR, but good wins over Cardiff and Swansea and a point at Luton was much more satisfying

As May approached there were just two more league games - but Royals (6th) had to visit Norwich (3rd) and host Huddersfield (5th)

Nottingham Forest were six points behind, so there was still work to be done to book a play-off spot

The trip to Carrow Road wasn't a pleasant day out as The Canaries came out comfortably on top with an easy 3-1 win

But Forest only drew themselves and so The Royals had a five-point advantage heading in to the final weekend with their top-six spot assured

A late winner from the rejuvenated Lucas Joao sent the fans home happy as Huddersfield were edged out - but now it was time to face Norwich again over two legs

Joao and Ovie Ejaria were both in fine form though, and helped to earn a 2-1 home win over the shell-shocked visitors who had finished 13 points clear

However, with an away goal in the bag Norwich were still expected to win the return and book their place in the final

Veljko stuck with the 4231 formation that had been used in every single match during the season, as he knew his team had to play to their own strengths 

The hosts found it hard to find a way through though, and an ultra professional display ensured a fantastic 0-0 draw and an aggregate win

Watford came back to beat Huddersfield in the other match, and so it was off to Wembley to face the strong favourites in the showpiece event  

The game saw Watford have more shots but Reading edged the possession, and extra time looked the inevitable outcome  

However a swift counter-attack saw substitute Ejaria roll in Michael Olise's low cross from the right after 81 minutes, and glory awaited the Berkshire boys

Focus from then on was just to block out The Hornets, but Joao still had time to thump home a header from Olise's right-wing corner deep in stoppage time to seal a 2-0 win

Sealing promotion was a very unexpected outcome, and this was achieved against the backdrop of some key absences too

Long-term absentee Yiadom was joined on the side lines by vice captain Morrison (ill), meaning McIntyre was forced to play with an injection in place of the latter 

Over the course of the season, not even Veljko would say promotion was deserved over Norwich or Watford - but his warrior spirit calls were well answered

Here is the match review for the FA Cup loss to Liverpool in March

And the summary of the Play-off Semi Final legs with Norwich in May

And finally, the all-important Final where Watford were stung by Veljko's boys

The final season review is as below...

The end of season financial summary and performance graph, plus most influential players

And the final league table - look at the large gaps between each of the top six sides

Here are the player stats across all competitions - excluding Dejan Tetek who played six or seven times before going out on loan to Barrow

Rafael won the player of the season award and played every minute of all 58 competitive games

Joao (24 goals with 18 in the league) and Olise were also key components of the team

The board announced the following new season budgets for the Premier League

But this deal which was automatically triggered upon promotion was not being taken out of the new budget

Edited January 29, 2021 by Jogo Bonito

[CityAndColour]

Great work @Jogo Bonito, you really do seem to achieve promotions on a regular basis. Will you be continuing in the EPL or starting anew?

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, CityAndColour said:

Great work @Jogo Bonito, you really do seem to achieve promotions on a regular basis. Will you be continuing in the EPL or starting anew?

Thanks, I was just adding a bit more to the above post.

Promotion was never really on the cards, even the top-six looked beyond us for most of the season and I didn't expect to get any results in the Play Off games.

I usually don't fancy the EPL but I will give it some thought on this occasion.

I definitely was prepared for a second Championship season so it hasn't gone to my own personal plan really.

[warlock]

3 hours ago, CityAndColour said:

if you want some proper 3D kits

I've never used 3d kits so I don't know what I'm missing. Appreciate the offer though 

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I will give it some thought on this occasion

Who are you and what have you done with my friend??

Congratulations on the promotion - definitely did it the hard way. And it would surely be interesting to see what Joao and Olise can do in the big league 

[Ewan0404]

@Jogo Bonito well done on the unexpected promotion.

Hopefully you can put up a good fight to to stay in the Prem.

[dozzie]

About to start my second season in the EPL with Cambridge. I wasn't sure if I'd have the appetite to continue struggling the make my up the EPL table, but a strong end to my first season resulting in a mid table finish, the promise of a new stadium at the end of this campaign and some exciting signings have spurred me on.

First up, the signings. There was a lot to do over the summer and I started with my defence, moving on regular starters Alfie Jones and Rhys Williams who had been with me since League 1 and just weren't making the grade in the EPL. I also moved on Hlozek who no longer fitted my tactic and was on too much money to just sit around in the squad. My targets were through the spine of the team, GK, CB, CM and a rotation striker to work with Tjaland and Kalimuendo. So far, I've got everything I wanted aside from the GK - finding a significant improvement on Kelleher (who is decent, but not top class) has been a struggle.

Here's who I brought in:

Plus a couple of the end of last season

You'll notice i've loaned Ethan Laird again - I tried to sign him permanently but Man Utd wouldn't budge on a £40m price which is ridiculous. So a much more cost effective loan seemed a better idea!

My most exciting signing is Marinic, a newgen who had elite clubs sniffing around him but I managed to land. He's just got back from the Olympics so I haven't had much pre-season with him, but I'm hoping for big things.

Next up is Bella-Kotchap - i've been tracking him this entire save because in my last save on FM20 he turned out to be immense and was someone I took with me and managed at three separate elite clubs. I'm hoping he turns out the same here - a definite improvement on my League 1 CB signings I used last season!

Yuce is another newgen who had elite clubs interested in him when his contract expired, but I got in early and got the deal done. Will be a backup, but a capable one I hope.

Finding a striker to drop in and out of the team with Tjaland and Kalimuendo (who have earned some loyalty from me) was difficult so a load signing seemed best at this stage. Very excited to have brought Sala in from Real Madrid. Already priving a goal machine in pre-season.

I also picked up Essahel, who had a low release clause on £1.9m and was absolutely tearing up his local league with an AVR over over 8 and so many assists. I couldn't get a work permit but I went with the signing anyway and have loaned him out. Hoping he will get a permit in time for me to recall him in January and make a difference in the second half of the season.

DJokanovic and Willie Smith are to bolster the numbers and quality in the squad - not expecting amazing things, but they have give me some more depth.

I also stumbled across Jevon Corinaldi (What. A. Name) who had a great goalscoring record at Cardiff Met Uni.... those giants of world football. I like the look of him though.

So, unless I find a quality keeper to bring in now i think i'm all set. Not liking the look of my opening fixtures though. Might be a tough start!

Also, just finally, i'm now ready to integrate my first newgen purchase into my team. Cowley spent the second half of last season on loan in the Championship with Derby and did great. My coaches rate him as my second best centre back after Ehlers; better than Kotchap so he deserves his chance.

Edited January 29, 2021 by dozzie

[Jogo Bonito]

7 hours ago, warlock said:

Who are you and what have you done with my friend??

Congratulations on the promotion - definitely did it the hard way. And it would surely be interesting to see what Joao and Olise can do in the big league 

Thanks, yes there are greater than usual temptations, but I don't know if I can actually go through with it. The fact that I am even considering PL hardship is a shock even to me. Finishing 6th with Reading was not unrealistic, winning promotion probably is. Time will tell but I will pause there for a period of contemplation!

@Ewan0404Thanks for that, yes it was a surprise to get over the line. I don't usually do PL seasons but will see.

[CityAndColour]

It's been a busy but very productive off-season in Gloucestershire, as we looked to bounce back from playoff final heartbreak.

Things were made a lot easier by the fact I am able to offer multi-year contracts, meaning I was able to tie down key players prior to now, meaning it was really just a case of adding to what I have rather than any sort of rebuild. The only player I lost who I was keen to retain was reserve 'keeper Kieran Hodges who left for Chester; all other departures were fringe players whose contracts expired.

Lomas is the big signing. The former Crewe youngster can play either wing and up front, and is also left-footed, which is a huge bonus as I play with a winger on the left and an inside forward on the right. Pereira is the same and joins again on loan, while Bailey adds some steel and leadership to central midfield.

My scouts also found a couple of unattached youth players in Steve Clifton and Paul Austin - they both look promising, however have negative personalities, so finding some suitable mentors will be a priority.

The start has been swift, with 4-1-0 and a goal difference of +12 seeing us top the table ahead of WSM (on goals scored).

[goonergez]

I’m late to the party but yes @Jogo Bonito!!!! With limited transfers that quite a first season! You should definitely stick at least one season in the premier!

[robterrace]

Just a little insight into the type of striker I'm looking at.

The blue polygon, is Andrea Adorante, who I spent £725k on in my preseason.

The green, is Bayern striker, Robert Lewandowski, perhaps the best striker in the world at the moment.

Whilst its not a perfect match, he has everything in the right place to be a similar sort of striker.

 

[Balotelli]

Been a while and after a few restarts I've finally got into my crewe and alexandra save 😂. I'am part way through January and i'am top of the league on goal difference. Its really tight at the top with maybe six point's between 1st and 6th. Not had much luck with injuries so I've had to rely on some youngsters and some loan signings. We play a very fast and exciting gen gen press style. Great at scoring goals but leak loads too. I've been 2-0 up three times so far this season and ended up drawing them 😡. Think I've only been actually beaten once but a few too many draws mean we're nowhere near as clear at the top as we should be. 

Signings I've made are a few freebies mat o'riley who starts the game as a free agent after being released by Fulham. Not a bad player if unspectacular in any one position but young and the potential is there. 

I've also signed a backup keeper who has probably played more than I would've liked, due to the amount of goals we concede. He is a young German lad called Constantine frommann. Again not a bad player with potential to get better. 

Now the signing of the season so far and the only player I spent any money on (I was predicted 18th so took low bonuses to free up 170k for transfers). Leighton Clarkson a young midfielder from Liverpool who I got for most of the 170k plus add ons and bonuses. Totalling 500k and Including a 30% sell on fee. He has been brilliant and really consistent. He's also from Blackburn (like me). Which I never realised until after I'd signed him. His stats have come along really well for just over half a season and he is - 8 potential so he could go really far. 

I've then singed a young ish defender called joao silva from Portugal who was a free agent. Mainly to cover the injuries I've had on a deal until the end of the season. 

Loans I've got in Ben Johnson from West ham he's been fairly consistent , gelthard from Leeds who took a while to get going but is now scoring most games. Branthwaite from Everton who is good but has been out for a while injured. I also had Harvey White from spurs but Jose kept complaining about me not playing in our agreed position. Which is my fault I should've unchecked it before making the offer. I've cut his loan short and got Tommy Doyle in from city. Better player and they only want 10% of his wages paying. 

I also managed to get josh Martin on laon from Norwich who has been really good so far. He is massively under valued and if we go up I'll be doing my best to keep him. 

Pickering py and towrey have all really shone out of my squad. Which is no surprise as they were my best players. kirby is really adapting to the style of play and contributing 14 goals so far and has probably been the player of the season so far. 

Sorry the lay outs abit all over but I've been putting off posting or delaying it,, so wanted to update half way through the season 😂. 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by Balotelli

[warlock]

3 hours ago, dozzie said:

Not liking the look of my opening fixtures though. Might be a tough start!

Hmm... might be!  Looks like you've searched far and wide for your recruitment.

2 hours ago, CityAndColour said:

The start has been swift, with 4-1-0 and a goal difference of +12 seeing us top the table

Can't complain about that - it's a cracking start!

14 minutes ago, Balotelli said:

I've had to rely on some youngsters and some loan signings

Seems to be working for you, and nice to see some different names performing. I had young Ben Johnson in one of my early saves and he looked a good prospect, although his attitude annoyed me (usually complacent/uninterested).

@robterrace How old is Adorante? If he's still young it looks like he has tremendous potential.

[robterrace]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

 

@robterrace How old is Adorante? If he's still young it looks like he has tremendous potential.

He's 20. Scored 2 and had 1 disallowed on his debut.

[dozzie]

3 hours ago, robterrace said:

Just a little insight into the type of striker I'm looking at.

The blue polygon, is Andrea Adorante, who I spent £725k on in my preseason.

The green, is Bayern striker, Robert Lewandowski, perhaps the best striker in the world at the moment.

Whilst its not a perfect match, he has everything in the right place to be a similar sort of striker.

 

This is exactly the kind of analysis I am here for. That's great work. I might start doing this when i'm checking out young prospects too.

[hasdgfas]

BLYTH SPARTANS - 2024/25 SEASON REVIEW

Last time, I said I had 8 matches left, and if I won them all, we were up. Did we?

No, we did not. Two incredibly disappointing home draws against teams not even in the playoff spots, as well as a classic FMing away. 30 shots from us to 5 shots from them and we lose 3-1. But with the inconsistency of most of the league, was it still enough?

It was! By about as slight a margin as possible, but it still means promotion.

Let's look at the squad:

As you can see, a few players really carried us this season. Let's look at them.

Kai Murphy was one of our two main strikers and got 14 League goals, 19 overall. This was his second season with us, I picked him up after Everton released him as a youth player. A great pickup, hopefully he can step it up in VNL.

Jack Doherty just rotated with Murphy depending on who was in form. Doherty got more goals, 23 League, 26 overall and had a better average rating. However, Doherty was on loan from Accrington and will have to go back. That's fine. Maybe I'll get him back next season? Maybe he won't be good enough for VNL? I don't know, this is new territory for me.

Ryan O'Neil was the star of the season. 17 goals and 7 assists from the wing. It was his second season here after Blackburn released him. I'll really miss him when he goes to Scotland next season, but I couldn't give him the money he wanted, and I assume Scottish League 1 is better than VNL.

Signing of the season, Callum Gribbin is a name you might recognize if you paid close attention to Manchester United's youth team IRL a couple years ago. He fit in perfectly with 14 goals and 17 assists. To be fair, most of those goals were penalties, but they still count. It really seemed like he was too good for VNN based on his performances.

Matthew Osborne is our best central defender and is a full Barbados international, with 19 caps and 6 goals already for the national team! As cool as this is, it also meant that he was missing from some of our matches on international duty. We don't get a break for that down in VNN, I tell you what. This is his second season with us after being released from Newcastle, and what I'm noticing is that finding youth players being released from big sides is very helpful down here in non-league.

------

So yeah, a really tight season, ending in promotion, which I think might be the first time in all of my FM attempts that I've gotten out of VNN/VNS. The goal for next season is just to stay up, hopefully the board agrees and isn't more ambitious. Now I have to try to figure out how to improve the squad for Vanarama National League. Hopefully I can continue the plan that improved me in VNN and just look for young players on frees, whether they're just free agents or if they get released from higher-up leagues.

[warlock]

14 minutes ago, hasdgfas said:

just look for young players on frees

It's a good plan, but don't forget to keep a few older, wiser heads around - experience can help a lot. But congrats on the promotion and good luck in the VNL!

[robterrace]

1 hour ago, dozzie said:

This is exactly the kind of analysis I am here for. That's great work. I might start doing this when i'm checking out young prospects too.

Have a read of this, it basically goes into depth about how to search for what you're looking for, but, at the same time, be realistic with the sorts of attribute levels you're looking for, so, a 12 or above for Championship in the relevant areas. 

https://mattylewis11.medium.com/fm21-monchi-masterclass-removing-the-luck-factor-from-recruitment-b141052b6d45

I'm looking to take it slightly further in coming windows, looking at similar players in areas I want to have specific styles, so a van Dijk for defence, a Busquets for midfield and so on.

[Jogo Bonito]

Do these forums allow you to poste in a different font style? I wrote out a big intro and history in to a Word document including lots of images. I was going to create a new FMCU thread but whatever way I try to copy & paste it, I can't get the font style as I created it (the colour/size can be changed). The images don't copy either although I know I could painfully add these manually myself.

[robterrace]

Couple of departures arranged before the transfer window, gives me opportunity to try and use the budget a bit.

Also doing another deep dive of recruitment, basically aimed at picking up a centre back, a right back, and perhaps a playmaker to sit deep in midfield.

[warlock]

4 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Do these forums allow you to poste in a different font style?

Sadly, I don't believe so. Assuming you mean a different font, rather than the changes in style (bold, italic) that are allowed.

[Jogo Bonito]

5 minutes ago, warlock said:

Sadly, I don't believe so. Assuming you mean a different font, rather than the changes in style (bold, italic) that are allowed.

Ah that's a shame. But I think you are right. Yes I wanted to use a different font. Never mind 

[warlock]

Durham City, November 2020

After a busy pre-season and a September that saw us alternating friendlies and the early rounds of the FA Cup, we finally got down to league business in October. And - thanks to our success in various cup competitions - it developed into a relentless month that eventually saw us play no less than 11 games in four weeks. Happily, we continued our excellent pre-season form with some storming performances, the highlight being the goalscoring prowess of our strike unit:

The two Tyrells - targetman Tevahn Tyrell and poacher Tyrell McKenzie - continued to build on their partnership, but were ably supported by their backup pairing, Ewan Bange and Charlie Ball. Those four have 45 goals between them in fewer than 10 appearances each, all scoring at a rate better than a goal-per-game. Not surprisingly, the rest of the squad cannot match that level of performance but no-one has disappointed and only a couple of the younger players have average ratings below 7.0.

We were unlucky to exit the FA Cup after taking VNS outfit Billericay the distance. We were 3-1 up in the first tie but conceded two late goals to force a replay (perhaps a limitation of the database that didn't ensure a result in that game). It was a replay we could have done without, our fourth game in six days, but once again we matched the so-called superior side and only lost the shootout to the last of 7 pens apiece. Fears of a loss of confidence after that tough result were unfounded as we scored another 18 goals en route to four consecutive wins in the league. Although we're not keeping many clean sheets, most of the goals against are from unstoppable thunderbolts from around 25 yards out and there aren't too many of those.

We're continuing to bring in a steady stream of prospects on trial and have signed two of note. First, former Bradford City winger Ellis Hudson who had several loan spells with my Darlington sides in previous FMs, and CM Osagi Bascombe, another player familiar from Darlington saves. Both were decent at VNN level so have plenty to offer four tiers down the pyramid.

Bitter experience suggests these terrific runs of form can come crashing to a halt, but for now life couldn't be much better 

[Jogo Bonito]

@warlockWow, goals galore. Definitely Kings of the Castle and it looks like this year should be an absolute breeze for you.

[John Joe O'toole]

On 28/01/2021 at 23:53, Jogo Bonito said:

Part 9

News that had been held back was that Reading had been unlucky in the draw for their FA Cup Quarter Final in March

Well, financially the board were happy be facing Liverpool - but Veljko knew that at a trip to Anfield was going to be the end of that little adventure

Leading up to the clash it had been an unbeaten month in the league with two wins and two draws from four Championship fixtures - and the league would now be a clear priority

A hat-trick from Sadio Mane for the full-strength hosts saw there was no shock, but for Veljko it was about how they recovered from the 4-0 loss

And the answer in April was pretty good, with just one notable exception

Good wins over Barnsley and Derby saw Reading head to Watford (4th) in confident mood, but the journey home was much more humble after a 4-1 hammering was dished out

The nervous response saw more dropped points in a bore-draw at home to QPR, but good wins over Cardiff and Swansea and a point at Luton was much more satisfying

As May approached there were just two more league games - but Royals (6th) had to visit Norwich (3rd) and host Huddersfield (5th)

Nottingham Forest were six points behind, so there was still work to be done to book a play-off spot

The trip to Carrow Road wasn't a pleasant day out as The Canaries came out comfortably on top with an easy 3-1 win

But Forest only drew themselves and so The Royals had a five-point advantage heading in to the final weekend with their top-six spot assured

A late winner from the rejuvenated Lucas Joao sent the fans home happy as Huddersfield were edged out - but now it was time to face Norwich again over two legs

Joao and Ovie Ejaria were both in fine form though, and helped to earn a 2-1 home win over the shell-shocked visitors who had finished 13 points clear

However, with an away goal in the bag Norwich were still expected to win the return and book their place in the final

Veljko stuck with the 4231 formation that had been used in every single match during the season, as he knew his team had to play to their own strengths 

The hosts found it hard to find a way through though, and an ultra professional display ensured a fantastic 0-0 draw and an aggregate win

Watford came back to beat Huddersfield in the other match, and so it was off to Wembley to face the strong favourites in the showpiece event  

The game saw Watford have more shots but Reading edged the possession, and extra time looked the inevitable outcome  

However a swift counter-attack saw substitute Ejaria roll in Michael Olise's low cross from the right after 81 minutes, and glory awaited the Berkshire boys

Focus from then on was just to block out The Hornets, but Joao still had time to thump home a header from Olise's right-wing corner deep in stoppage time to seal a 2-0 win

Sealing promotion was a very unexpected outcome, and this was achieved against the backdrop of some key absences too

Long-term absentee Yiadom was joined on the side lines by vice captain Morrison (ill), meaning McIntyre was forced to play with an injection in place of the latter 

Over the course of the season, not even Veljko would say promotion was deserved over Norwich or Watford - but his warrior spirit calls were well answered

Here is the match review for the FA Cup loss to Liverpool in March

And the summary of the Play-off Semi Final legs with Norwich in May

And finally, the all-important Final where Watford were stung by Veljko's boys

The final season review is as below...

The end of season financial summary and performance graph, plus most influential players

And the final league table - look at the large gaps between each of the top six sides

Here are the player stats across all competitions - excluding Dejan Tetek who played six or seven times before going out on loan to Barrow

Rafael won the player of the season award and played every minute of all 58 competitive games

Joao (24 goals with 18 in the league) and Olise were also key components of the team

The board announced the following new season budgets for the Premier League

But this deal which was automatically triggered upon promotion was not being taken out of the new budget

Well done on the unexpected promotion. I followed suit with another unexpected promotion. My form really dipped Jan/Feb and i only won 2 out of 11 games so  i fell out of the play off spots (i was top at one point) things picked up a bit just enough to claim the last play off spot with two games to go.

 

I drew Watford who finished 3rd and about 20 points above me, first game i swept them aside 3-0! The away fixture they beat me 2-0 but Joao had missed a penalty.

 

Play off final was v Bournemouth who i beat and lost to during the season. We turned up again, Meite with 2 powerful headers gave us the advantage. They did score late one but we held on to take the massive win.

 

Id be pissed off if i was a Watford fan!

 

 

[Jogo Bonito]

5 minutes ago, John Joe O'toole said:

Well done on the unexpected promotion. I followed suit with another unexpected promotion. My form really dipped Jan/Feb and i only won 2 out of 11 games so  i fell out of the play off spots (i was top at one point) things picked up a bit just enough to claim the last play off spot with two games to go.

I drew Watford who finished 3rd and about 20 points above me, first game i swept them aside 3-0! The away fixture they beat me 2-0 but Joao had missed a penalty.

Play off final was v Bournemouth who i beat and lost to during the season. We turned up again, Meite with 2 powerful headers gave us the advantage. They did score late one but we held on to take the massive win.

Id be pissed off if i was a Watford fan!

Great stuff, the year turned out quite similar for us then! Will you be giving it a go in the PL?

[goonergez]

After a failed attempt in Turkey I’ve still been plodding along with my Crewe side and doing ok. After a bright start we’ve fallen away a bit and currently sit about three places and three points outside of the League One play off places. It’s been a solid yet unspectacular season. I’ve just come to the end of the January window and we’ve got around thirteen games left to try and put a run together. I’m about to start a save in Spain alongside this one so posts may be somewhat slow. I’ll be keeping a keen eye on how everybody is getting on in here though. There’s some really enjoyable reading going on right now! Loving the sheer mix of clubs being used as well!

[Jogo Bonito]

22 minutes ago, goonergez said:

After a failed attempt in Turkey I’ve still been plodding along with my Crewe side and doing ok. After a bright start we’ve fallen away a bit and currently sit about three places and three points outside of the League One play off places. It’s been a solid yet unspectacular season. I’ve just come to the end of the January window and we’ve got around thirteen games left to try and put a run together. I’m about to start a save in Spain alongside this one so posts may be somewhat slow. I’ll be keeping a keen eye on how everybody is getting on in here though. There’s some really enjoyable reading going on right now! Loving the sheer mix of clubs being used as well!

Did you get sacked in Turkey? You're doing OK in League 1 - one might say the So Solid Crewe!

[CityAndColour]

10 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Ah that's a shame. But I think you are right. Yes I wanted to use a different font. Never mind 

If you typed it all out with pictures etc, just take a screenshot and upload it to an image hosting site, then upload it as a picture in your post.

[goonergez]

35 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Did you get sacked in Turkey? You're doing OK in League 1 - one might say the So Solid Crewe!

I didn’t get sacked but ten games in I was sat 1-1-8 and conceding for fun. Had only scored 3 goals too!

[Jogo Bonito]

28 minutes ago, goonergez said:

I didn’t get sacked but ten games in I was sat 1-1-8 and conceding for fun. Had only scored 3 goals too!

Ah, that was tough!

52 minutes ago, CityAndColour said:

If you typed it all out with pictures etc, just take a screenshot and upload it to an image hosting site, then upload it as a picture in your post.

Thanks for the tip. I'll see if I am smart enough to do that. I don't have any image hosting site account and would prefer not to create one, but will check if such a facility is available in Google.

So the first stage is via print screen, then 'file as' to save it as an image format?

[John Joe O'toole]

2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Great stuff, the year turned out quite similar for us then! Will you be giving it a go in the PL?

Yes can’t wait to get started, will have low expectations and just aim to stay up!

the only additions I think I need would be maybe a winger, and another CB. I have 29million to play with though and normally I could get 5/6 players with that. 
 

I do want to promote the youth though, samuels turns out very good so he’ll be my 2nd choice left back. Boyce-Clarke will be my 2nd choice GK. Tetek will be a cup CM. RJJ will be in and around the first team in cup games etc 
 

My top target for CB is Jake Cooper because his stats are great, he’s a HGC reading player and he’s English so no problem with work permits. 
 

I may need a new RB if Esteves goes back to Porto.  

[goonergez]

[Jogo Bonito]

4 hours ago, John Joe O'toole said:

Yes can’t wait to get started, will have low expectations and just aim to stay up!

the only additions I think I need would be maybe a winger, and another CB. I have 29million to play with though and normally I could get 5/6 players with that. I do want to promote the youth though, samuels turns out very good so he’ll be my 2nd choice left back. Boyce-Clarke will be my 2nd choice GK. Tetek will be a cup CM. RJJ will be in and around the first team in cup games etc 
My top target for CB is Jake Cooper because his stats are great, he’s a HGC reading player and he’s English so no problem with work permits. I may need a new RB if Esteves goes back to Porto.  

Good luck! Cooper would be good, I like him and was disappointed he was let go. In this window we have been linked with USA centre-back Aaron Long on loan (but since then so have Liverpool) and he might not get a WP in FM. For example, over many years I have tried to sign strikers Mbwana Samatta and Mbaye Diagne to English clubs in FM and never could  - both found it easy IRL.

For winger, Neeskens Kebano of Fulham is another player linked in this window. My first target (should I continue) for that role is Bright Osayi-Samuel on a free transfer.

For right-back I would use Yiadom. Holmes has been my understudy as I prefer him there than centrally, Ex-Royals to consider are Jack Stacey and of course Bynoe-Gittens is a winger to keep an eye on. 

CBC, Samuels, Bristow, Tetek and Nevers should be able to step in occasionally.

Edited January 30, 2021 by Jogo Bonito

[CityAndColour]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Ah, that was tough!

Thanks for the tip. I'll see if I am smart enough to do that. I don't have any image hosting site account and would prefer not to create one, but will check if such a facility is available in Google.

So the first stage is via print screen, then 'file as' to save it as an image format?

If you use your "print screen" key on your PC it will save an image of whatever is on your screen, then you can just upload it directly as a picture to your post on here.

Probably an overly-complicated way of doing things just to get a different font though!

[goonergez]

[Jogo Bonito]

@goonergezNice work. For me it's a competition I want to lose in the group stages - but if you get past that, winning it is the next best thing. Congratulations.

[robterrace]

Well.

This could be interesting.

 

[nyg]

                                                                                                                                                     2021/22 season part two

As mentioned in the last post the season started immense and a lot better than anyone could demand or even expect. We've gone from victory to victory and score goals for fun. Averaging around 3 goals per game, and to be honest it almost feels like I'm cheating. I'm taking the promotion as given and have started planning for Championship next season. Went early out of all the cups, so all the focus have been on the league, that could have affected the results a bit. 

 

This is the most used eleven so far this season. Charlie Brown left for Derby on deadline day after 28 goals in 31 games. He will almost be impossible to replace short term, but the money will come in hand when preparing the team for next season. Will definitely miss him up front though I'm happy to sell players to bigger clubs and make a profit. Frommann was also close to leaving on deadline day, but couldn't get a work permit at Burnley - need to look for a new keeper after the season I think.
The only player in was Martin Svidersky from Man Utd, a talented midfielder that can also play on the wing. Will get some game time from the bench this season to phase him in to the squad. Wilshere has been dominant in League One though it's hard to manage him. I'm taking him off after around 60 minutes every game, if we lead. I think I'll get more games out of him that way, rather than if he plays 90 minutes every game. It's really two different teams with/without him. 

Dan Happe has really been impressive and had no problems stepping up from League Two. So far he's averaging 7.23 in the league and has contributed with 7 goals!

It's nearly impossible now to miss out on promotion, so I hope that in the next update I'll be managing a Championship team. 

[hasdgfas]

Not at my Blyth computer, so a text-only update. 10 Matches into the VNL and things are going WAY better than expected. We are sitting 8th, just outside the playoff positions. We signed a new striker after his release from Rotherham and he has 9 goals in the league already. He has a massive heading attribute for this level and is just a bully in the air. I expect us to drop off a bit soon and not continue this playoff push into the late season, as many of our matches so far have been against lower-half sides, but maybe the team will surprise me. They have so far.