FM21: The English Football League thread

[robterrace]

Its that time of the year in my save.

Youth Intake day.

 

John Wood

Dave Dyer

Joe French

Dave Randall

Keston Hart

With the exception of Dave Randall and Joe French, it appears that most have favourable personalities for development too.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

At Last!!!!

[karanhsingh]

On 05/12/2020 at 04:35, warlock said:

Thanks for the updates, everyone. Some interesting saves, some interesting starts, some interesting transfer business .

As for me, I've had a frustrating week - every time I tried to set aside some time for FM I was subjected to constant interruptions, and I've struggled to find a save that grabs my interest. Eventually I found a club that I've never managed before but we'll leave it at that for the time being - it might not stick. But so far it looks OK and I've played the first few friendlies, with a tactic that looks like it might work.

I'll only add that the relegated PL clubs might not be the walk in the park they seem at first glance. I've looked at Bournemouth and Norwich so far and there are hidden pitfalls. Bournemouth has a good squad, but most of your best players have 12 months remaining on contracts and there's no money to renew, especially if they want a pay rise, so you need to sell before you can do much (or risk losing them on free transfers next summer), and there's no guarantee you can find replacements as good, let alone better. Norwich is a different challenge - there's a little money (but not enough for major new signings) but the club is quite a bit over FPP budgets. The threat there is that you might win promotion and find yourself subject to a transfer embargo. And there are plenty of players who are happy to talk about a move away, but refuse every contract offered to them 

In both cases it makes for a good challenge but not the relatively comfortable introduction to FM21 I was looking for. But I'll definitely have a crack at both before the winter window update.

How about Watford then? Or Brentford also should be both a good challenge but relatively comfortable. 

Excellent updates all across the board, enjoyed catching up.

[karanhsingh]

A quick update from my first month at Derby

Results wise it could not have been much better - a lot of games but we managed to stay unbeaten (started off after the Coventry game).

Whittaker has been on fire! Long may this continue.

Steadily climbing up the table. Safety should be comfortable, we are now looking up rather than down.

Here is the tactic I seem to have settled on and the first team at the moment.

Getting rid of a few unwanted players in Jan, confirmed transfers already for Forsyth & Holmes, in negotiations for Curtis Davies & George Evans. They will all be replaced by academy products. 

[robterrace]

So.

Stage 1 of 'Conquer Everything' is complete

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Cambridge United Transfer Record Broken

[r_amanze]

10 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

How about Watford then? Or Brentford also should be both a good challenge but relatively comfortable. 

Excellent updates all across the board, enjoyed catching up.

Yeah I was wondering if @warlock might consider a Watford save. I’m tempted to start a save with them myself. Need a Guinea pig! Ha

[AddicksFan]

Finally got round to starting my Charlton save. I'm in control of pretty much everything except the scouting (can't sign anyone unless recommended to me by scouts) and staff (hiring, firing, contracts).

Playing a positive high pressing 4-2-3-1

Managed to persuade the board to get a senior affiliate, ended up with Liverpool

First the transfers out, given the number of bodies that can play in the middle of the park in the Charlton squad and with interest from the start in Forster-Caskey I decided to let him go to Doncaster for a fee £200K rising to £250K with that £50K an installment in 12 months, this also presents the highly rated Albie Morgan with an opportunity for more first team minutes. Next to go was Deji Oshilaja to MK Dons for £170K rising to £215K depending on appearances, a first teamer but he was in the final year of his contract, plus the free agent I brought in was better all around. I then let Darren Pratley move on to Nashville for £20K, He was the highest earner at the club and 35, so freeing up his wages was important. A number of Youth were also loaned out.

Now the Ins:-

Richard Nartey - Free - Will be the starting right sided ball playing DC

Aidan Barlow - Free - Will compete with the injury prone Jonny Williams and Chuks Aneke at AMC

Curtis Jones - Loan from Liverpool - too good for League One, happy he's with us and would love to renew or buy next season

and the last reinforcement, born out of a mini injury crisis - Sepp Van Den Berg - £0 wages so no impact on the wages is a bonus

I have £300K in the budget with 12K wage room...might look for one or two prospects

Albie Morgan - looks like he could be beastly

Just at the start of October, had quite the friendly Carabo Cup draw which has enabled us to get into the last 8. Had a hiccup first game of the League against Crewe but since then 5 wins in a row

[warlock]

1 hour ago, r_amanze said:

Yeah I was wondering if @warlock might consider a Watford save. I’m tempted to start a save with them myself. Need a Guinea pig! Ha

Sorry - of all the relegated (and recently relegated) sides, Watford interest me the least . Brentford are a prospect, being my local club, but I managed them at least twice last year. QPR is also a strong contender as my next-nearest club and I haven't managed them for years.

Plenty of time... 

[Jogo Bonito]

2 hours ago, warlock said:

Sorry - of all the relegated (and recently relegated) sides, Watford interest me the least . Brentford are a prospect, being my local club, but I managed them at least twice last year. QPR is also a strong contender as my next-nearest club and I haven't managed them for years.

Plenty of time... 

QPR is a really good shout. A team I have never managed myself, and it won't be easy to do much with them. They fit my ideas of having ex-players on the staff and I have some personal reasons for taking them on at some time too. Reading is likely to be my first Championship side in this version (but not yet) although QPR represents a much harder challenge. You've done Brentford more than once, so give the men from down the road a go (unless you want to be winning easier). Swansea are only really one extra striker away from being a great team too.

As for me, I've struggled to decide on my League 2 club but can reveal the three I've created games for already are Crawley (Career Mode), Tranmere (Create A Club Mode) and Walsall (with some minor Pre-Game Edits).  All three have real merits and I'll probably do all three. Of the rest, I'd suggest Cambridge as the best 'out of the box' option with transfers disabled as you don't need to do anything with their squad. Brief mentions to Carlisle, Exeter, Oldham and maybe even Bolton if you like a squad size even bigger than their club reputation is for that level. 

My League 1 choice has narrowed down to Lincoln and Blackpool (again probably both) as I think both clubs can do well with little changes on Career Mode. Of the others, Ipswich, Hull, Bristol Rovers, Gillingham, AFC Wimbledon and possibly Oxford are also good shouts - but not really for me as I have managed them all before. For anyone that hasn't done Ipswich ever or recently, that would be a perfect club to take on in my opinion.  

[robterrace]

I'm tempted to go as Stevenage on my long term save.

[robterrace]

Love this for an assist from one of my academy products on his league debut.

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

You've done Brentford more than once, so give the men from down the road a go

Wise words, but I fired up a Brentford save tonight. Blame @karanhsingh for that! 

But I will be taking on QPR at some point, and Gillingham and Lincoln are clubs I've also identified for future saves. My real hope for this year is to play fewer but better saves - I had a good time last year but I think I played too many one- and two-season saves. Ipswich is the main ambition for this year: I really want to get them playing like the UEFA Cup-winning side in a 4312 setup but they're a long way from the required quality for that, especially in the fullback positions. But that's the appeal - a long-term rebuild towards a definite goal.

Interesting that you tagged Oxford - that was the L1 club I mentioned earlier and it was looking good through pre-season. But when we got to competitive games, both Taylor and Winnall - who had been scoring for fun - simply stopped playing. Nothing I tried made any difference and, in the end, I simply got frustrated and binned it.

From what you posted, I have no idea where you're going to start, but I wish you all the best wherever it is 

[robterrace]

At the start of April, we had 6 games left, and were 2 points behind Rotherham, them being on 92, us on 90.

It was game on.

Rotherham picked up 10 points from 5 games, a disappointing defeat at Wigan breaking their 10 match unbeaten record.

Going into the last game, we had been on a healthy run, picking up 13 points from our last 5 (going 24 games undefeated, with 10 points dropped out of 72). That last game, however, was at home to Crewe, the last team to beat us (breaking a 15 game [11w, 4d] unbeaten run, our only defeat in 40 league games, going back to the end of August 2022)

So. We were in the box seat, leading Rotherham by 1 point in the table, 103 to 102.

 

The team had got themselves prepared for this, and a strong team was picked for the match.

Daniel Ballard as captain, had led from the front for the last few games, Pedro Marques top scorer in the league had 24 goals for the season (over 30 in total), and Ben Cottrell made his first appearance for a month, returning from a broken arm to play in the #10 role.

As we have done for most of the season, we hit the ground running, and after Noah Emeran intercepted a pass from George Lapslie, he found Cottrell, whose lofted ball was volleyed into the top corner by Josh Barrett, the former Bristol Rovers winger hitting his 5th league goal of the season, and probably his most important.

The mood at The Technique Stadium got even better after 20 minutes, as news came through from Home Park that Plymouth had taken the lead through fullback Archie Davies. 70 minutes to go, and we were pushing on.

On the stroke of half time, Rotherham hit their 98th goal of the season, to equalize and put the pressure back on ourselves to stay in front or increase our lead.

15 minutes into the second half, the atmosphere went stratospheric, as Pedro Marques got on the end of a Ryan Burgess pass to slot past Jaaskelainen. The Portuguese striker with his 25th league goal (34th in all competitions), giving us a bit of breathing space. That was 11 goals for him in 12 games since making his move permanent.

Sylvester Jasper saw red for Rotherham with little over 20 minutes left in the game, and Rotherham shut up shop to try and preserve the point. 

Full time came at both grounds, Rotherham finishing 1-1, leaving the Championship to come to Northern Derbyshire.

 

[robterrace]

Chesterfield 2022/23 Season - Squad Info. [Key Players]

Goalkeepers

1. Will Huffer. 29 appearances, 16 clean sheets. Moved to Bournemouth in January for £475k
28. Ben Amos - 8 appearances, 3 clean sheets. Arrived in August as an emergency backup for Huffer after the reserve keepers were also injured. Provided experience and leadership in the run in.
20. Remy Mitchell - The 20 year old former Arsenal trainee made 2 appearances between Huffer getting injured and Amos arriving.
18. Josh McNamara - 7 appearances, 2 clean sheets. The former Manchester City trainee has come on massively this season, and will be first choice next season.

Defenders

6. Daniel Ballard -  14 app, 1 goal.  The Northern Ireland international arrived in January as a replacement for Dan Happe, who left for Rotherham. He fit the role left by the big centre back perfectly, and led from the back.
17. Luca Ercolani - 30 app, 1 goal. At home anywhere across the back 4, he filled holes and provided cover for the first choice full backs, as well as slotting in the centre of defence when Kirk or Ballard were being rested.

Midfielders

11. Noam Emeran - 34 app, 9 goal, 6 assists. The French winger, on loan from Newcastle, provided one of the tips of our attack, cutting in with his pace and linking up with the attacking players.
8. Ben Cottrell - 29 app, 12 goal, 12 assists. Playing in the #10 role, he picked up a couple of nasty injuries, missing a portion of the season. By far the best player in the division at times.
39. Josh Barrett - 27 app, 5 goal, 12 assists. Played wide left after loanee Roshaun Mathurin broke his ankle. Scored important goals, and supplied Marques with 8 goals.
12. Ryan Burgess - 13 app, 3 goal, 4 assist. The Italian/English dual national, signed from Pro Sesto in Italy in January provided hard work and mobility at the base of midfield, filling the spaces where his more attacking colleagues had pulled opponents out of position.

Attackers

16. Pedro Marques - 32 app, 25 goal, 6 assist. Scoring 14 goals in 20 before Christmas was enough to convince us to part with a club record fee for the Portuguese striker. He more than repaid that in the second half of the season, pulling opposing defences apart, and allowing the 3 amigos behind to run riot.
26. Dan Green - 20 app, 8 goal, 4 assists. The 18 year old was a backup option at the start of the season, but his development alongside Marques in training saw him force his way into the first team equation. His pace has caused issues for defences all season.

I'll put profile shots up when I get the chance.

[karanhsingh]

5 hours ago, robterrace said:

Love this for an assist from one of my academy products on his league debut.

It's like watching Barcelona! Sweet goal.

4 hours ago, warlock said:

Wise words, but I fired up a Brentford save tonight. Blame @karanhsingh for that! 

But I will be taking on QPR at some point, and Gillingham and Lincoln are clubs I've also identified for future saves. My real hope for this year is to play fewer but better saves - I had a good time last year but I think I played too many one- and two-season saves. Ipswich is the main ambition for this year: I really want to get them playing like the UEFA Cup-winning side in a 4312 setup but they're a long way from the required quality for that, especially in the fullback positions. But that's the appeal - a long-term rebuild towards a definite goal.

Interesting that you tagged Oxford - that was the L1 club I mentioned earlier and it was looking good through pre-season. But when we got to competitive games, both Taylor and Winnall - who had been scoring for fun - simply stopped playing. Nothing I tried made any difference and, in the end, I simply got frustrated and binned it.

From what you posted, I have no idea where you're going to start, but I wish you all the best wherever it is 

 Glad to have been of help. Brentford seem to have gone a bit backward this season (expected after losing Watkins & Benrahma). Hope you can put things right.

[karanhsingh]

Jan 2021 update from Derby County

Having lost progress from the Preston game, I had to replay a few of them and this time we went one better, incredibly winning all of our league games. Fingers crossed we can keep this up.

The Arsenal game was the exact same result as last time, 1-1 and then going through on penalties. However we got a really tough tie in the next round at Anfield and they gave us absolutely no chance.

The league table is looking a whole lot better, we have actually broken into the play-off positions and I am hoping we can stay there.

Finally the January business was mostly done by my DOF - he also suggested bringing in Laird on loan when Byrne got injured for 2 months. What is not captured here is that we have agreed sales of Davies, Wisdom, Forsyth, and Holmes all to MLS teams, which will bring in another 1.7 million and crucially bring the wage bill down from 308k a week currently to 261k which would be well under budget.

[robterrace]

9 hours ago, robterrace said:

Chesterfield 2022/23 Season - Squad Info. [Key Players]

I'll put profile shots up when I get the chance.

Goalkeepers

18. Josh McNamara

20. Remy Mitchell

28. Ben Amos

-----

Defenders

Ballard, Kirk and Ercolani finished the season as first choice CB, however, Bondswell and Jonas have also played there.

2. Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel

3. Matthew Bondswell

5. Alex Kirk

6. Daniel Ballard

17. Luca Ercolani

32. Lee Jonas

45. Joel Wilson-Esbrand

------

Midfielders

Davenport added some much needed bite to the midfield after January, with Turner and Barr chipping in with the hard work alongside him. Cottrell, Donovan, Emeran and Mathurin were the tip of the attacking prowess, with Barrett contributing.

7. Joe Donovan

8. Ben Cottrell

11. Noam Emeran

12. Ryan Burgess

15. Lewis Barr

19. Ollie Turner

21. Matthew Craig

29. Roshaun Mathurin

31. Jacob Davenport

39. Josh Barrett

------

Attackers

Pedro doing Pedro things. 34 goals in total for him this season, with another 8 assists giving him a goal contribution every game he plays. Dan Green gave his all, and the 18 year old will go from strength to strength.

16. Pedro Marques

26. Dan Green

55. Luke Plange (Scored 9 in 25 on loan at Solihull in first half of season)

-----

Loan Players

 

 

 

 

 

 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

The league table is looking a whole lot better

Amazing turnaround! Looks like you're getting a song out of young Whittaker, too.

[Parmie]

Bradford City Season 6 (2025/26):

Transfers:

Still without a right winger, I go for the highest value loanee I can get, Joe Haigh from Fulham, without any other option, Cleary, who we had last season too rejoins to give some depth. I find myself concentrating on the 'promising' description, assuming that those players will develop rapidly and become better than their more mature positional counterparts.

Coming into the transfer window, based on the league performance, I start spending some money on players who are still young, but closer to first team readiness. I'm happy at the depth but not sure I have improved the current ability of the squad.

League performance:

It's another mid-table season. We have a few wins, look good and then have a bad few games. Most of the money from the sales of last season has gone on operating losses, so I feel like we're not making progress any longer, albeit continuing to exceed expectations by comfortably avoiding a relegation scrap. I am hoping that my youngsters develop into top Championship players as their scouting reports threatened they would be, but I wonder despite regular first team football, do we really have the quality of facilities and coaching staff that will make them realise that potential.

Coming into the next season, I am thinking about what I really need to do, we haven't had a loan from Man City for several seasons now as the players won't join us, so there doesn't seem a quick cheap fix to instant squad improvement....

[Parmie]

Bradford City Season 7 (2026/27):

Transfers:

In the summer I make a decision, the important first team players are getting older and not producing enough results for us. I can't improve upon them without a clearout, and are they holding back the development of the youngsters I thought were going to overtake them? I embark on an attempted purge, Faupala, such a monster in leagues one and two, still getting 20 goals a season leaves us on a cut-price deal back to France, others like Joe Lumley, don't get bids other than loans. It seems that with over-performing and decent contracts, they aren't attractive to other clubs.

League Performance:

Transfers and league performance start to merge in this season, our youngsters still aren't giving a consistent run of good form, to the point where I feel like we'll start to be in danger if I carry on as I am. So I reverse my decision on youth focus and re-invest in Rhian Brewster, transfer-listed by Bristol City but far improved on anyone else we currently have. There isn't an immediate impact but we finish the season with 6 unbeaten.

My conclusion is, I must prioritise improving the 1st choice team, much as I did in the lower leagues. Youth development seems to be a luxury that can't be afforded, the investment required to improve youth to the point of replacing the need for older, ready made players, is unrealistic (unless you have a board that truly puts it first which will cost them millions and take years, which I don't have).

[robterrace]

How does Brewster look? Has he developed OK, or is he damaged goods?

[Parmie]

8 minutes ago, robterrace said:

How does Brewster look? Has he developed OK, or is he damaged goods?

He's looking good for the Championship, but since leaving Liverpool no one made him first choice so he's suffered a little, doing very well for me in my new season.

[Lufcberg22]

Ive chosen 2 clubs which i really fancy to take forward:

Lincoln City

Fleetwood Town

Not sure who to go ahead with.......

[robterrace]

4 hours ago, Parmie said:

He's looking good for the Championship, but since leaving Liverpool no one made him first choice so he's suffered a little, doing very well for me in my new season.

Still good enough that with a bit of work he'll do a lot for you.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

To the surprise of nobody I have decided to end my save with Cambridge United as I got bored of winning too much lol.

I am going to start a Sporting Lisbon Youth Only save for a few seasons but I will be back in here at some point.

[Jogo Bonito]

28 minutes ago, Lufcberg22 said:

Ive chosen 2 clubs which i really fancy to take forward:

Lincoln City

Fleetwood Town

Not sure who to go ahead with.......

I'm very close to starting with Lincoln and another poster in here already has. So if you want some competition go with them. Otherwise, go for Fleetwood! To be honest there must be plenty of satisfaction you can get for making Joey Barton unemployed 

8 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

To the surprise of nobody I have decided to end my save with Cambridge United as I got bored of winning too much lol.

I am going to start a Sporting Lisbon Youth Only save for a few seasons but I will be back in here at some point.

My serious tip for you next time is to come back, use your own tactics and experience the ups and downs of League 2 (and without a senior affiliate). That way should make it more realistic rather than just churning out wins. In fact with Cambridge, I really think they have the most balanced default squad in League 2, maybe you should have tried a no-transfers challenge with them..

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 minute ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I'm very close to starting with Lincoln and another poster in here already has. So if you want some competition go with them. Otherwise, go for Fleetwood! To be honest there must be plenty of satisfaction you can get for making Joey Barton unemployed 

My serious tip for you next time is to come back, use your own tactics and experience the ups and downs of League 2 (and without a senior affiliate). That way should make it more realistic rather than just churning out wins. In fact with Cambridge, I really think they have the most balanced default squad in League 2, maybe you should have tried a no-transfers challenge with them..

Yeah I might do a a Youth only challenge with them or Exeter as Exeter have produced some good young players over the years.

I hope I aint too annoying Jogo lol.

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Yeah I might do a a Youth only challenge with them or Exeter as Exeter have produced some good young players over the years.

I hope I aint too annoying Jogo lol.

Not annoying me at all, we all play for fun. But I see that you get bored of winning all the time (like I do, when it happens unrealistically) so they were just some ideas how you can challenge yourself a bit better if you want to 

You're right, Exeter have an excellent youth system and some good young players already in the first team squad.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

2 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Not annoying me at all, we all play for fun. But I see that you get bored of winning all the time (like I do, when it happens unrealistically) so they were just some ideas how you can challenge yourself a bit better if you want to 

You're right, Exeter have an excellent youth system and some good young players already in the first team squad.

Yeah in fact I am going to do a Youth Only Exeter save. No loans or Parent clubs.

I can do a Sporting save another time.

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Yeah in fact I am going to do a Youth Only Exeter save. No loans or Parent clubs.

I can do a Sporting save another time.

Best of luck, try not to let any blips put you off. Although if you start not enjoying the challenge, don't force yourself to continue. It's all about getting the fun you want from the game, whichever way that is  

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Just now, Jogo Bonito said:

Best of luck, try not to let any blips put you off. Although if you start not enjoying the challenge, don't force yourself to continue. It's all about getting the fun you want from the game, whichever way that is  

Yeah I can always have a few saves on the go. Youth only Exeter save. A Sporting Lisbon save and maybe another save and just switch between the 3.

[robterrace]

So, preparation for the inevitable moving about of players that will happen (I have to raise a little bit of funding for new signings).

Josh Barrett requested a transfer after he failed to negotiate a new contract (he wanted over £6k, something I wasn't willing to offer)

A few incomings had already been arranged, and would join the club in the summer (although, in both cases, they may head straight back out on loan)

First, young Scottish CB Liam McAllister (he'll get a 'proper' face soon), joins for free at the end of his contract.

Next, young striker, Marc Bell, who had just won the Golden Boot in the Vanarama Conference, for £250k, with a lot of development potential.

 

[tomprice04]

Does seem that IRL Lincoln are playing above most people's expectations. With cracking signings over the summer such as Montsma and some of the signings from January adding depth to the squad they look to be a good choice for a save. Interesting to see if people can match real life and what happens in season 2 onwards.

[Parmie]

Bradford City Season 8 (2027/28):

Transfers:

Our reputation has been nudging up with each successive Championship season, and good youngsters, within reason, will be agreeable to loans. Beckles is a quality deep lying forward to partner Brewster. Thomson is a left back with excellent mental and physical attributes and I change my tactic slightly to left back attacking for extra support up front. Travis Clark, an American an Bayern is a decent right winger and will interchange with Dusty Burke, his compatriot we signed last season as a striker and have converted.

Bambo Diaby, one of my original signings who was banned for 18 months finally moved on after desiring a new challenge. I continued to try to clear out the wider squad of players who weren't up to standard, with mixed success, several going on loans. I'm not entirely comfortable loaning out both backup centre backs but I reason that TJ Eyoma is natural there and I have cover for right back.

League performance:

The impact of the loans coming in is obvious, we go 17 games without loss to kick the season off (losing in the 2nd round of the Carabao to Championship Burnley). Although as my chief scout retired and I recruited a new one with next opposition scouting, perhaps this upturn might even be helped by actually setting counter player instructions in games for the first time. The much improved form runs all the way to April, when again, the realistic prospect of getting automatic promotion kicks in and the squad start bottling games. We throw away a 5 point lead for 2nd place and face Hull in the playoffs.

We get a solid 2-0 win in the first leg followed by a 1-0 loss in the second to keep things interesting for the whole match. Portsmouth come from a first leg defeat to dispatch favourites Stoke.

The final is a back and forth encounter, Brewster gets a penalty save and I begin to suspect the worst. After the break we win another penalty and Beckles scores it with aplomb. We move to a countering mentality now we have the lead and there are several close calls before Dusty Burke makes it safe in the final minutes. 

We have finally reached the holy land of the Premiership. This still doesn't impress the club enough to mark me as favoured, although Elliot Watt, with us since I took the reins and still bossing central midfield, is now a club legend. Callum Cooke, who has been Watt's central midfield partner throughout, and been at the club a year longer, still hasn't done enough for any recognition either.

I'm given a war chest of £36m and I look at my squad page thinking that only 2 or 3 players are actually good enough for a Premiership campaign.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Exeter City Season 1 Squad Overview Part 1

Here is my squad by positions.

GK's

Lewis Ward will be my number 1 until a youth prospect comes along. Very solid. Jonny Maxsted will provide good cover.

Lewis Ward

Right Backs

Pierce Sweeney will be my main right back but Josh Key is the one I want to build my future on at Right Back. 

Josh Key

Left Back's

Lacking in the Left Back position. Lewis Page is my main left back but not much in depth in that position.

Lewis Page

Centre Backs

The stand out at centre back for me is Will Dean.

Will Dean

 

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Exeter City Squad Overview Part 2

Central Midfielders

Archie Collins is my best prospect in this position. He looks really good.

Archie Collins

Wingers & Attacking Midfielders

I got a few stand out players in these positons, Joel Randall and Jack Sparkes being the best long term prospects at 20 years old and 19 years old. Randell Williams is currently the best overall player at the club but his contract expires next season and he doesn't think the squad is good enough. He is currently valued at £550k so I am offering him out for £750k and 20% of profit on his next tranfer to see if I get any takers.

Joel Randall

Jack Sparkes

Randell Williams

Strikers

Ben Seymour is my best prospect up front and will get game time this season. Ryan Bowman will be good back up.

Ben Seymour

I will post updates as I go along.

I am looking forward to the project.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I will not be using downloaded tactics in this save. I am just sticking to what my Assistant Manager suggests.

Here is the basic tactic I am using but will tweak as the season goes on.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I managed to negotiate a decent deal for the sale of Randell Williams to QPR. 

£400k up front and then £250k in clauses and a 20% of profit from the next sale.

[Jogo Bonito]

Best of luck @Ronaldo Beckham. I'd suggest Jack Sparkes as back-up to Page at LB. He started as a winger but can now be used as an attacking LB. Bowman would be very awkward at AMR as more of a target man than a winger. I'd have used Williams there and Randall on the left flank, but with Williams gone you'll need a different answer.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

30 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Best of luck @Ronaldo Beckham. I'd suggest Jack Sparkes as back-up to Page at LB. He started as a winger but can now be used as an attacking LB. Bowman would be very awkward at AMR as more of a target man than a winger. I'd have used Williams there and Randall on the left flank, but with Williams gone you'll need a different answer.

Yeah I just quickly let my Assistant Manager auto select the team just to show my tactic. Bowman has played up front every league game. My first two games were cup games so I played my youngsters in them.

Good to know Sparkes can play left back as I am lacking in that position.

Not the best of starts in September but hopefully I can start to pick up some wins in October.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Yeah I just quickly let my Assistant Manager auto select the team just to show my tactic. Bowman has played up front every league game. My first two games were cup games so I played my youngsters in them. Good to know Sparkes can play left back as I am lacking in that position. Not the best of starts in September but hopefully I can start to pick up some wins in October.

Ah that makes sense about Bowman. Hang in there, hopefully any success will bring you a great sense of achievement if you try this way.

[robterrace]

Well, an offer from left field here.

The player said he wanted to go, so, we weren't going to stand in his way, and having signed him in January 2022 for £2k, making a near £3m profit on him is something I can get behind.

We keep getting bids for Donovan, but he keeps turning down the moves, his loyalty must be through the roof. That, coupled with the fact he'll be playing more first team football next season as I look to cut down on loans, makes me happy. 

Hes definitely improved this season, but, hes still a midget.

One loan definitely coming in, was Kane Ritchie-Hosler, on loan from Rangers. The tall right winger has excellent control, and provides a bit more physicality in what will be a difficult division.

We were missing a left sided centre half, as after the departure of Dan Happe, who was a natural left sided CB, Luca Ercolani and Alex Kirk filled in, and it was no surprise that most of the goals we conceded after January came down the left channel.

Coming in, for a fee of £525k, was Pedro Alves. The former Porto centre back is a natural left sided player, and had spent the last few seasons at Oliveirense in the Segunda in his homeland.

For a fee of £40k, on an 'End Of Contract' deal, Adam Flint came in from Hartlepool. Identified by my scouts at the back end of the 2021/22 season when he broke into the Hartlepool side, he made 35 appearances for them last season, scoring 10 times. I see him as a trequartista or enganche in the coming seasons, due to his flair and first touch.

Another free transfer coming in from Tottenham, was Michael Craig. The centre back/midfielder joins his brother Matthew at Chesterfield, and will be a rotation option in defence and midfield, as I'm looking at a potential formation change for the coming season.

On the way out was Jerry Yates. The striker had been on the fringes for most of the season, and was pushing for an undeserved contract extension. He goes to Scotland and Ross County for £100k.

 

[karanhsingh]

Feb & March 2021 - Derby County

February was a bit strange. Our players just forgot how to score. In the first 4 games of the month, we had around 80 shots on goal and all we got was one goal from a corner and one penalty. It was pretty frustrating to watch, especially that game at Wycombe.

A formation change to 442 rescued a point at home against Hudds. And then it was a personnel change that got us the derby win vs Forest - moving Whittaker to the left wing, dropping Lawrence and playing Waghorn up top.

Have kept this line-up for the most part during March and Whittaker has actually been excellent on the left. Jozwiak also now in good form, and Sibley has made a strong return from injury - to wrap up a perfect month for us.

All of this means -

That we are now up to 3rd in the table. We could have even been 2nd if not for those stupid dropped points, but that would surely be asking for too much. The home stretch now.

Meanwhile also got our youth intake.

Not very inspiring, I reckon the only one with a chance of making it is this guy below as a BWM for us - maybe long term replacement for Shinnie in the squad.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

8 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Ah that makes sense about Bowman. Hang in there, hopefully any success will bring you a great sense of achievement if you try this way.

Yeah as long as I don't get sacked and achieve the board's expectations then I aint bothered if I win loads first season. My favorite saves are saves that I struggle but survive etc.

 

[Mackem742]

Back to back promotions for me with Sunderland. Currently 2 games into the Premier League season, started off with a 3-1 win at home to Cardiff which briefly put me top of the league () but brought back to Earth with a bump with a 2-0 away defeat to Brighton.

Ill put up a full list of my signings later when I get home but stand out player so far has been Rafa Mir, signed for £1 million from Wolves, scout report had him down as a quality signing so I took a punt on him, he scored 2 on his debut against Cardiff.

Im assuming I can still provide updates even though Im now in the Premier League?

[karanhsingh]

10 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

To the surprise of nobody I have decided to end my save with Cambridge United as I got bored of winning too much lol.

10 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

My serious tip for you next time is to come back, use your own tactics and experience the ups and downs of League 2 (and without a senior affiliate). That way should make it more realistic rather than just churning out wins. In fact with Cambridge, I really think they have the most balanced default squad in League 2, maybe you should have tried a no-transfers challenge with them..

I agree completely. Doing that now with Derby. 

10 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Not annoying me at all, we all play for fun. But I see that you get bored of winning all the time (like I do, when it happens unrealistically) so they were just some ideas how you can challenge yourself a bit better if you want to 

That, or take over a Championship club and get them promoted to the EPL. Once there, the problem of winning all the time will definitely go away!

[Ronaldo Beckham]

13 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

I agree completely. Doing that now with Derby. 

That, or take over a Championship club and get them promoted to the EPL. Once there, the problem of winning all the time will definitely go away!

Yeah I am enjoying a save I have with Exeter City. Youth only, No downloaded tactics and I have only won once in September but I am enjoying it more then other saves I have done so far.

[craiigman]

I decided I was over thinking a lot of things, so I decided to holiday until last game of the season and see how we got on. I played games up to here and were going quite well really:

Handed over to the Assman while I took I nice trip away, fair play to the man.

I'll take some credit I told him to use my tactics and no transfers were made in or out while I was in holiday mode. Might let him play out the rest of them.

[craiigman]

So I bottled it and decided to play the games myself, sorry assman. But off to Wembley for us!

 

And then my first choice keeper gets called up for Ireland and is going to miss the final. Bloody hell