[FM21] Can I manage a journeyman save?

[Jtomsett11]

Key players August 2030

I said I'd introduce some of the key players once I new the squad a little more.

At CB, we have Nelsson, who has a great personality for a team leader. Unfortunately, having rested him, he's now injured (although we don't play for two weeks so that helps). He's pretty much good at everything. Despite his age I think we will try and keep him until he declines.

In CM, Grcic is our standout player. I don't use him out wide as he think he's much more suited to DLP. He's wanted by a few clubs, but we have him on a long enough contract to keep him for now.

Moving further forward, Obiang is another star player potentially wanting to leave. I'm using him on the left as an orthodox winger and he's made a really good start.

Daramy can also play there, and has only played 2 full games for me, becoming jaded in one, so I sent him on a holiday rather than just resting him as I had done previously, and scoring in the dead rubber second leg against Sparta Prague. I see him as my attacking forward, so I'm really hoping he improves. That agility and balance!

Two other striking options who've played really well in Daramy's absence. Firstly, nomadic striker Campana is doing really well. He scores and assists for fun so far. Priske isn't as good but has scored a hatrick in Europe already this season. I quite like him as an option at AF and DLP.

[Jtomsett11]

September 2030

September saw us face 3 league games and an away trip to Barcelona in the Champions League.

We began well, with a 3-1 victory over Brondby, rotating the side ahead of our toughest game of the season yet.

I had no idea how we'd fare, but set us up in our 'cautious' 4-4-2 formation rather than 'positive' 4-2-4. This worked well at Tromso, especially in ties against teams with much better players than us.

Wow, what a way to start off the group! We survived a few early scares, and Karlstad made 11 saves, two of which were world class, but we started to look more dangerous as the game went on and Daramy struck late to seal the victory! I've beaten Barcelona twice now in three meetings as a manager!

We rotated heavily for our game with Randers 5 days later, and paid the price as we lost our winning run, but at least we came back for a point. One of the best things about working in Denmark is that you can use 5 substitutes. I'm a huge fan of throwing on 3 subs after 60 minutes for fresh legs, so 5 suits me even better as I can put 3-4 on in one go and still have one left. The 5 at once in this game turned the tie, and unfortunately we couldn't make our late dominance count.

Our final game was a routine win.

The league doesn't look like it's going to be difficult to win... 

Champions League, let's see what we can do. I think we should be able to secure Europa League qualification at the least now, but the last time I played at this level I also won my opening game and then picked up just 1 more point over the remaining ties, so I won't be taking anything for granted. Next up, Bayern at home!

Finally, I'm really hoping to improve this in my time here:

[Jtomsett11]

October 2030

I would expect this number to be much higher considering our stature in the game. I hope by the end of my time that it will be. I guess a lot of our players end up abroad?

I couldn't get junior coaching upgraded again, but did get the youth facilities improved.

We've had an interesting month.

The Champions League has been brilliant, with a 1-1 draw against Bayern at home, followed by this.

We're on 7 points from 3 games!

We should really qualify from here, but you never know with the quality of Barcelona and Bayern and even Roma. Our only home game is against Barcelona and I'm sure they'll be itching for revenge.

The league was going well in terms of results in our first two games, but something isn't feeling right and this culminated in our first loss of the season. I suspect there's two things going wrong for us. One, we're desperately short of players in certain positions and many players are getting jaded across the team. Two, we're using round pegs in square holes in a number of positions, our ball winning midfielder and any backup LB and RBs. I'm hoping this is a blip, but we're either significantly under Xg in matches in the league, or we're not creating much at all and getting lucky. My problem as a FM player is that I like to speed through games when things go wrong, and rarely stop and deeply analyse problems. 

Obviously we're still doing very well in the league, it's just the warning signs are there.

Nice to be rewarded financially half way through the stage though, I didn't realise this happened!

[Jtomsett11]

November 2030

Ah, I knew I was on to something about a drop in performance. 

We've been really poor. I can't quite put my finger on it, and as per usual I've sped through these games ridiculously fast. The Champions League games we could have won both, but only take 1 point and thus qualification remains in the balance.

A point away at Bayern will do us, or if we lose and Roma beat Barcelona I think we could still go through on a three-way head to head as Roma have beaten Bayern. Can never work these things out. Regardless, I believe due to having a better head-to-head against Roma we're into the Europa League knockouts as a minimum which is what I set out to do! Can we go one step further?

That's where the good news stops for this month.

3 points in 5 games, after 28 from the first 10, is really poor. We're not creating, we're not finishing, we're not defending or tackling well either. This might be my first proper slump for a while in this save, as things have been quite easy and going my way for a few years.

We've got 4 games until the mid-season break.

Silkeborg and Randers are bottom and second bottom, and we play both at home. We just HAVE to win those games, otherwise my job will start to be on the line. That we're still 5 points clear at the top is bonkers. 

 

[Jtomsett11]

December 2030

I really am feeling the heat ahead of this game.

Phew. Sheer relief. Next up, Bayern Munich away.

I was all set for the Europa League, when we got the message regarding moving into 2nd position after Roma took the lead. 

I'm not really sure how we've qualified. 

Let's look at the rules. 

I lost and drew against Bayern.

1 point for us. 4 for Bayern.

Bayern lost and drew against Roma. 

1 point for Bayern. 4 points for Roma. 

We won and drew against Roma.

4 points for us, 1 point for Roma.

We have a goal difference of +2 against Roma, -1 against Bayern. +1 overall

Bayern have a goal difference of +1 agains us, -1 against Roma. 0 overall.

Roma have a goal difference of -2 against us, +1 against Bayern. -1 overall.

Is that why we went through? Does anybody know!???

If that's the case, our goal back against Bayern was crucial! Roma winning against Barcelona was also crucial, as if the tie for 8 points was just for us and Bayern, we'd have been out on the head to head record. Wow!

We get a tough tie, but they're all tough at this level!

We managed to continue our slightly improved form for the rest of the month. We're through in the cup, and we've won two in a row in the league.

Our lead is also back to 8 points, but we're going to need to keep winning to keep that lead. 

Other news

The youth intake looks reasonable from this. Fingers crossed for some more homegrown talent!

And in Norway, Tromso win the league again to carry on from my good work

[Jtomsett11]

January 2031 transfers

We've had a late flurry of transfers. 

Firstly, we bring in Svetlicic and Karic to strengthen the defense. We've let Wober leave as well as Manea, a deal that was set up before I arrived. Wober was 32 and not really suited to the LB role I prefer, so I offered him out for £5 million and accepted all offers that came in. It's a risk, but I'd rather get the money and get his £49.5k a week wages off the bill.

Svetlicic looks quality to me, especially for a 17 year old. Great personality, strong mentals and good physicals. The issue is his jumping and strength and technicals. However, I'm sure we can focus his development here and he will qualify as home grown after a few years too. He'll probably replace Nelsson who is 32 now and may only last another year (unless we sell him, and I do have a habit of selling players while I can recoup some of their value).

Karic is my replacement for Manea. His pace is good, while he is pretty solid elsewhere. We'll add a PPM of gets forward whenever possible (I think the lack of this at LB and RB has cost us this season in terms of overloading the wings) and train up his technicals. He's got a great personality so even if he doesn't improve much he'll be a solid option. 

Kruse is yet another arrival from Tromso. Having done some digging, and watching of highlights, I believe we're struggling without pace and tackling/ aggression in our BWM. Jakub Moder didn't play well there, and at 31 we let him go despite him being one of our, on-paper, better players. Kruse comes in to fill the role, while also offering cover at RB. Is he going to set the world alight? No. However, he's a better option than Martinsen who I suspect isn't going to make it here.

I also let Priske go. I liked him early on, but the goals dried up and he hasn't added much either as an AF or DLP, so we cash in on him, except to bully smaller teams in the cups. Both Moder and Priske left after the window had shut, but we've got enough depth to easily cover their departures. 

We've still got work to do with the squad. Long term, we need a RB, LB, BWM and probably an AF who actually suits the role. Potentially a proper DLF as well if I'm honest.

If I look at how the squad have performed, there's also a few other issues that stand out when comparing Kobenhavn performances with Tromso.

Firstly, key passes and assists. Panic has by far the best ratio per minutes played, with Grcic (the other DLP) not performing very well in this regard. However, both are way down on what Azeez was managing. One to monitor over the rest of the season.

In terms of RW/LW, we're just not seeing enough from Thomsen and Obiang, who are first choice. I may need to look at individual instructions for them to get them to try more through balls perhaps, or get them to actually cross the ball . Something just isn't quite working in that regard.

Campana is clearly doing very well in goals and assists from DLF, but overall I've been mostly disappointed with Daramy. I think his PPMs are probably restricting his use out there as an advanced forward for us, and he'd be better off as an option at RW or cutting inside from LW. Again, work to do.

I'm pleased with Karlstad, who has 6 goals this season. Will he break the 10 goal barrier?!

 

 

[Jtomsett11]

February and March 2031

I got a bit carried away and played three months, forgetting screenshots at the end of February, so I'll do both Feb and March together.

My first screenshot from February:

Okay, we weren't great here, but Chelsea were in another world entirely. This is the most outplayed I've felt in 10 years. We missed two or three good chances and a penalty, but were torn apart time and again, and they were just sooo clinical. I may have been better off in the Europa League!!

A week later, and Daramy picks up an injury.

I've been saying I'm not happy with him as an advanced forward, but Reinholtz has 3 goals in 20 odd games, so he's going to have the make the step-up quickly.

He had an immediate impact, with two excellent goals in another drubbing by Chelsea. 10-2 is pretty embarrassing, but it gives us a good idea of where we are at, and honestly they were just so good! I'm delighted for Reinholtz, who started to look like a proper forward, so perhaps he's settled in a bit more now.

Those two results aside, I'm not too upset with our progress. We progress in the cup, courtesy of an aggregate win over Midtjylland which was hard fought. The OB and SonderjyskE results aren't brilliant, but crucially we're unbeaten in 9 league games, and we've won 5 of those. That's much better form.

We're still struggling to put teams away at times. Yes, we scored a penalty against SonderjyskE, so the xG is slightly higher than open play only xG, but we still should be winning that game with that. Reinholtz scored again against AaB and Obiang scored twice, so I am overall happier. We've switched back to an older version of my Positive 4-2-4 and it's working a bit better I think. We're creating good chances, just not finishing teams off.

Those results see us finish the Preliminary Phase a comfortable 9 points clear of SonderjyskE. The next 10 games should really test us. 

Looks like Reinholtz will be keeping his place for a while...

Comes back from international duty, having only just been back from injury, with this...

Let's keep faith with our 17 year old!

 

[Jtomsett11]

Youth and facilities March 2031

I had to fight for the latter, but we've now got everything maxed. 

My first youth intake comes in.

Looking at the personalities and attributes of the 3 star players, I may just sign the first three.

[Jtomsett11]

April 2031

This was a good start to the Championship Group! Reinholtz had been improving steadily and the Chelsea game was his first brace, but here he tore Sonderjysk apart. 

A few games later, he also got a hatrick to make it 8 goals in 4 league games!

His stats for the season now look a lot better!

If we can keep working on some of his mentals such as off the ball, I think this guy could go all the way.

So, overall, our best month for a long time and I really feel things are coming together. The league is pretty much wrapped up, and we're in the cup final. It's what the board asked for at the start of the season, so we're meeting expectations and exceeding them in the Champions League where we were only expected to get to the Group Stage.

I organised my squad by key passes again, and am much happier with the improvement in numbers since I last took a detailed look. Panic is now first choice DLP, and the more I look at Grcic the more I realise he isn't completely suited to playing there. His favoured position is IW in the RM slot, which I don't play. I think if a decent offer comes in, I'll move him on, despite his ability.

Mozzoni is clearly going to be a big loss when he goes. 

My wingers are also performing better, Thomsen, Gillberg and Obiang all performing to a much better level. 

I think having Kruse as a BWM has also helped us significantly, as we're seeing less of the opposition picking the ball up and carrying it straight through our midfield!

 

[Jtomsett11]

Transfers agreed

I've agreed two purchases on free transfers for the summer. 

Marinello will come in to rotate as DLP. I really like the greens on the scout report. Fairly consistent, big game player, and he actually spent a season on loan with us a few years ago, so speaks Danish. 

Sharman I'm also pleased with in terms of his consistency and personality. I plan to use him as a full back rather than CB as I'm pretty strong at CB. I initially thought his crossing and dribbling were higher when i signed him, so I do think we've got some work to turn him into a proper full back. 

[Jtomsett11]

May and June 2031

The perfect way to start the month! I've only just realised new signing Svetlicic is a wonderkid too as I post this, so that's always a bonus. He does have a £17 million foreign release clause so I'll have to be wary of that.

We then managed to secure the double!

All in all, a pretty near perfect last two months (and a day) of my first season in charge of Kobenhavn. We've definitely also had a few worrying moments, and got annihilated by Chelsea in the Champions League. However, they also beat everyone else, so we can't feel too bad! 

This is how the table ends:

Our record points is 86, while our lowest in our 11 year title winning streak is 68, so a very competent season overall. Our run towards the end has left me very positive with regards to next season too. I shall do a full write up next and analyse where we need to improve the squad.

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by Jtomsett11

[Jtomsett11]

End of season 2031 Part 1

We can only qualify this season as a success. I've moved to a third team, which is something I've never done on any version of Football Manager before. I've won a national cup, for only the second time, and won the league at the first time of asking, continuing FC Kobenhavn brilliant run of 11 straight league titles. We match the best run in the Champions League, although they did make it to the Semi Finals of the Europa League 2027/28, the year before I did it with Tromso. My aim here is definitely to win a European Competition. I won't be moving on until I do so!

Karlstad dropped off in terms of goals towards the end of the season. He missed 4 penalties in total, so could have made double figures! If I hadn't had Ferlin on penalties in 2029 I'm sure he'd be top of this list already. He'll definitely stay as number one next year, so I'm aiming for 8 goals next year so he hits 20 overall. Double figures might be being greedy, as I've not managed this yet! I'm nowhere near the stats other FM'ers have managed in the goal scoring keeper challenge, but I'm now up to 47 goals scored by goalkeepers in my 10 and a half seasons (9 and a half of attempting it), so I'm relatively pleased with the outcome of trying this out.

 

[Jtomsett11]

End of season 2031 Part 2

This was the squad over the whole season, excluding players who have been sold.

Goalkeepers

I bought Karlstad from Tromso and he was solid enough, and a big improvement on Harm, who with his personality and determination of 4, will probably never match his potential. We have another 5 star potential youth player, so Harm will bench warm/ play in cups and qualifiers this year and probably then be loaned out to see if he can make something of himself the year after. 

Left backs

Mozzoni is the real star here, and it's a shame I'm unlikely to be able to keep him. He may only have 4 assists, but his 3 key passes per game on average shows how useful he is. Avbelj played more towards the end of the season, as his lack of pace (10) at CB made him a greater risk there, and I wanted to give him game time as he was unhappy and not progressing as he should be. He didn't do too badly to be honest, and chipped in 3 assists. Long term I would like to push him to CB due to his height, but his pace needs to come up by 1-2 minimum for him to play the high line.

Right backs

Karic came in to replace Manea, who left on a free in the January transfer window. I'm training him to get forward whenever possible, and this should help him to continue on his good start. In the news article regarding our title win, he was listed as the key player, which does show how impressive he was for us in the short time he spent with us this season. I'm looking forward to his development with his excellent personality. Kruse provided some cover here in the games I rested Karic for, but ultimately we need another option, perhaps one who is natural at both RB and LB. I'm concerned that Sharman, who is coming in on a free to play LB may not be good enough to start, so this will be a focus over the next month or so before the league starts again.

Centre backs

We have loads of these now! Nelsson and Svetlicic have become first choice, with Bojdys and Winther both also very capable. If Avbelj eventually moves to CB, it may be when we say goodbye to Nelsson who, now 32, will probably have one more season in him before I sell him. Bojdys also played as a BMW towards the end of the season, so his versatility counts for him. This is a very strong area, especially with Sharman who is joining also able to play there.

Centre midfielders

Kruse made a big difference to us once he joined as a BWM. He's a stop gap really, so we will look to strengthen here as a priority. Martinsen is probably out of his depth, and lacks the pace that makes Kruse so effective in this tactic. I may loan him out next season to continue developing elsewhere. Bojdys can also play here, so we don't really need the Norwegian. 

In the DLP role, Grcic, Panic, Kwang and Singh all had their chances. Panic emerged as the most effective, and although his average rating still isn't very high I never manage to get high ratings for DLP in this tactic. Grcic did okay, but probably isn't best suited. Kwang has all the attributes needed to succeed, but was really poor to be honest. I may sell or loan him out as his natural AMC role just doesn't suit us, and he wasn't great as a DLF either! Singh also is on the outgoing list in one way or another.

Right wingers

I started the season with Thomsen here, and Lukic as back up. However, Lukic never looked comfortable in the league and only started to show some ability right towards the end of the season. Thomsen was inconsistent, but racked up decent figures over the season. He can be so wasteful though! Later on, Obiang and then Daramy played here, and I think, bar any change of heart, Daramy starts as first choice RW with Obiang LW. These two can easily swap positions, which would be very useful in tight games. Lukic may go out on loan if he doesn't get enough game time by the time he turns 18.

Left wingers

I've mentioned Obiang above, but special mention has to go to one of my favourite players at the club, Gillberg. Lots of assists, and what he doesn't have in pace (13), he makes up for in dribbling (15), first touch (19), passing (16) and technique (18). If his vision (12) and decisions (11) were higher, he'd be sensational. I may still train him with tries killer balls often and see if this helps add a dimension to his play.

Forwards

In the DLF role, Campana excelled. Top goals, assists and average rating were all claimed by him. Others tried to play there, with Reinholtz at first, then Kwang, Panic (early on) and later with some success, youngster Hartmann, who picked up 2 goals, however, nobody got close to him. This is despite his PPMs suiting an advanced forward really. I may try and bring in another DLF as Daramy is now first choice RW, which leaves me with just Reinholtz as an AF. A 17 year old shouldn't really be playing 45 games a season, so I need another option, but I'd rather have him as first choice, so signing an out and out advanced forward won't happen unless someone superb is available.

Reinholtz deserves a special mention too, because he overcome a dreadful start of something like 3 goals in 17 games to finish with 17 in 41 (24 starts). His 8 goals in 4 matches was the highlight of his form, and I'm looking forward to him progressing further.

Transfer targets

We've already secured a new DLP and LB/CB. I think another natural LB/RB option is needed. I also want a BWM and a DLF. Anything else will depend on depatures of our big names being lured by bigger clubs abroad. 

[Jtomsett11]

End of season 2031 awards

This is the first time on this save that the end of season awards have actually worked for me and reflected the season. Previously, the awards have listed players from 2-3 years ago! I maybe should have reported this as an error, but always forgot to do so.

I think this is pretty realistic and a fair reflection. However, Moder's rating appears very off, I'm sure he wasn't rated that highly in the game I played with him! He did play 7 games before I joined, so perhaps that's why?

I feel a bit for Campana, who got highest average rating, assists and goals and yet didn't get player of the season. Daramy is now the record appearance and goalscorer for the club. 

Some other good news:

If we can get into the top 10, I think we get an automatic group spot which would cut out all the qualifiers (really useful considering the lack of holiday in the summer months for my players due to internationals, and the fact the the league ends early June and begins in late July!). As it is, only having to play the play-off next year will be brilliant.

[Jtomsett11]

One bit of bad news, our training facilities have been downgraded, and the board are refusing to upgrade them. This annoys me as we now have £68 million in the bank. I'll try a different angle when I next complain when they refuse the request! I'm trying to keep notes on the reasons that don't work - keeping up with our rivals definitely didn't persuade them!

I've spent the first few days of the summer break improving the staff across the board, so will now switch focus to improving the squad.

[Jtomsett11]

Transfers pre season 2031/32

Firstly, I spent quite a bit of time improving the staff.

I now have coaching that looks like this, with similar, but slightly worse set ups in the B and U19 squad. I notice the AI build particularly poorly balanced coaching sides, so this has taken a while to get right.

Additionally, I've overhauled the medical department and scouting team to give us much better coverage over most of Europe.

As a result of this, we bring in two European defenders to fill in the LB and RB (backup) slots.

Romero arrives on a free transfer, while Macedo arrives for £1.5 million.

While that meets the requirements for RB and LB, I've really struggled with signing a BWM and a DLF in this window. I'll go into that more in the next post.

It means we start the season looking like this:

We've sold a few of those on the edge of the squad (including Kwang and Singh) and sent a lot of youngsters on loan with renewed contracts.

[Jtomsett11]

Failed/ incomplete transfers

I've found it really hard to pick up a BWM. 

My top target was this guy:

However, in contract negotiations, he wants £95k per week. I'm not prepared to offer him, or any player that sort of money. In fact, I'm trying to recruit younger players as it's often much easier to secure players on cheaper contracts, which I much prefer to do.

Other targets have included Makhetha and Garfield Campbell. Makhetha's positioning puts me off, while I'm not sure about Garfield despite securing a deal for him (currently awaiting permit). At £8 million and £39k a week, it's a lot of money for a him. Is he really much of an upgrade on Kruse? 

In the DLF role, my main target was free transfer Dejonghe, who would have been perfect. However, again he wanted £95k a week, and although he would have been superb, I couldn't afford it. He signed for SLB and is worth £27.5 million, so he would have been class.

In his place, nobody quite matches up. Lundberg would have been a free transfer, but signs for Inter instead of me. He would have been a rotation option at attacking forward too.

Tesic is available, but for a significant loan fee, or significant transfer, and I'm not 100% convinced. His vision and passing aren't good enough for me for the £9 million Inter want. Perhaps he's worth a go!

Finally, the wildcard is Boskovic. He's only 17 and is a rough diamond, but with high enough key attributes that I could mould him. I'm waiting for the scout report to be finalised as I don't want to sign him on compensation only if he turns out to be inconsistent, injury prone etc. 

I've dithered a little on these transfers, which is unlike me. I think I'm aware that they're two crucial roles for my team and I really don't want to get it wrong. 

[Jtomsett11]

July 2031

July was a really good and solid start for us. We put away Connah's Quay 16-0 on aggregate, beat Brondby 1-0 on the opening day, and dispatched newly promoted Hobro IK 4-0. Marinello in particular has settled well, and his two assists here, along with no less than 13 key passes show exactly why I signed him. I'm now entering a stage with my football manager signings where for the majority of the time I am signing players based on key attributes as well as things like ability rating. Marinello is a perfect DLP. I still do get too excited by a high PA in a report, and often still overlook key attributes and then regret it, but I am learning to be much more strict with my signings, and not just focus on the star ratings.

Another play worth mentioning from the first month is Hartmann, who will get more game time now that Singh, Priske and Kwang have been moved on over the last 6 months. He got a hat-trick from DLF against Connah's Quay and I've been impressed with him overall. He, along with Reinholtz, is still 17, so lots of time to grow and mature.

Next month sees us face 3 league games, and if we qualify we will also play the Playoff before the end of the month. I won't show you the league yet as we've only played twice!

Edited April 10, 2021 by Jtomsett11

[Jtomsett11]

August 2031

We started off with a few transfers.

I decided to cancel the transfer for Garfield Cambell. I couldn't justify £8 million for him. I've got a plan to perhaps retrain a CB as a BWM. More on this as it plays out this season. I did however, agree to pay compensation for Boskovic. His mentals, physicals and technical ability will make him a very good deep lying forward. His finishing is obviously the big drawback, but we can work on that as that really isn't the main role for a deep lying forward in my team. He's now our third 17 year old forward!

We also sanctioned the £20 million sale of Grcic. He's immediately worth £37 million, but for me this is worth the sale as he never quite worked as well as Panic as a DLP last season. Perhaps his decision making just reduces the effectiveness of producing key passes/ through balls? This is a record fee for us and a sale from a Danish side.

We started the month beating FC Hermannstadt 11-3 on aggregate. We beat them 4-2 at home, and when 1-0 down in the away leg to temporarily worry me, but we ended up winning 7-1. 

We were rewarded with a draw against Club Brugge. This is probably the toughest draw we could get, but also a good test for us.

We drew the first leg 2-2, although we should really have won with the chances we had. Good job we're good from set pieces! I have rejigged the set pieces this year and they are more effective than ever before now.

In the second leg, we used our cautious 4-4-2 formation. After a tense first half, Brugge conceded a terrible own goal and that's how the score stayed. We're through to the Group Stage again.

This time we're also a third seed, meaning the draw is much kinder for us.

Well, kinder in terms of there being one team that are, on paper, weaker than us. Our aim is again to reach the Europa League knockouts as I feel that we could aim to win this competition.

 

 

In the league, we win three more times, to go 25 unbeaten. I'm really pleased with how we're playing.

We've already got a four points lead at the top of the the league.

 

[Jtomsett11]

September 2031

We start off with another free kick goal for Karlstad. He's definitely the best goalkeeper I've had at freekicks, although it's worth mentioning that Brian Harm also scored one earlier in the season in the Champions League qualifiers. This one from Karlstad was a belter though!

That helped us seal a 3-1 victory before our first Champions League game of the group stage, home against Barcelona. We produced one of our best performances of the season. It was quite an even game overall, which is extremely impressive considering the opposition. Reinholtz did the damage, and we start off with an excellent 3 points. Perhaps we can qualify for the knockouts again this year?

Unfortunately, we followed this result with two draws in the league. 

Nordsjaelland and SonderjyskE are both in the top three, so these results aren't too bad. However, Karlstad missed a penalty in the 1-1 draw, and we had to come back from 2-0 and 3-1 down to seal a draw against SonderjyskE.

I'm wondering if I'm rotating too much, especially in defense. Still, we head into October with a 5 point advantage at the top.

 

[Jtomsett11]

October 2031

After a great start to the month, we picked up a few injuries to our defense and Daramy is also injured. Romero is out for 5-6 weeks, so Kruse may have to drop back into RB position temporarily.

It definitely affected us towards the end of the month. We started off really well, beating Dynamo which is expected, and beating OB comfortably. From Horsens onwards, our defense hasn't been as strong, and I'd put that down to using Kruse at RB rather than CM.

The result against United is obviously very good, but the draw against AaB involved conceding two calamitous goals, which involved multiple failed clearances, deflections and terrible decision making from goalkeeper and defenders alike.

We're still 4 points clear at the top, so it's nothing huge to worry about, but our November form last year was awful so I'm hoping that this isn't us descending into a rut again, as Sonderjysk Elitesport are a lot closer behind this year, and Nordsjaelland aren't far behind them either, with a game in hand that they should win.

In the Champions League, we are top at the half way point. This is amazing, but we must remember we were exactly the same at this point last year (I think!) and then finished on 8 points, just sneaking in to the knockouts. I'm hopeful this year as we have yet to face Dynamo at home. If we beat them and manage another point somewhere, we should finish in the top two. If we get into the knockouts two years running, that really is an achievement to be proud of.

[Jtomsett11]

November 2031

In the end, the start to November means we don't repeat last year. However, this game against Hobro IK was incredibly tight until Karlstad scored his penalty just before half time. From then on it was pretty comfortable, and Reinholtz got another hat-trick for us.

This was a really good way to go into our pivotal game against Manchester United. A win would guarantee us a place in the last 16 due to our head to head record.

The game was incredibly tense to watch. Haaland should have bagged himself at least one goal in the opening 10 minutes alone. However, as the game went on we grew into it and began to have a few chances. Then, in the 86th minute, Reinholtz, who had missed from a one on one a few minutes earlier, slotted home after a lovely run and through ball from Campana. 

I can't quite believe we're unbeaten against United over two games, and we've knocked them out. I mean, look at the value of their players!

We lost against Barcelona 2-0 later in the month, but I cannot complain at all about how the squad has performed in the Champions League over the last year and a half. If we beat Dynamo, which we should, in our final game, and Barcelona lose to United, we would go through in first place, which would be sensational.

The rest of the month in the league was a bit up and down, but overall, better than our form this time last year!

Both draws were incredibly frustrating. Yes, we remain unbeaten, but we seem to be either getting too complacent when ahead, or, against Midtjylland, making stupid mistakes. We gave away two penalties against Midtjylland and had another one overruled. I berated the entire squad after the game, and demanded better before Vejle and we were much, much better, so fingers crossed we will continue in this vein going forward.

The gap is now up to 8 points due to some average form from the chasing teams. 

Campana and Reinholtz are both performing very well in terms of goals.

When we get to the end of December, I will review how the rest of the squad are getting on.

 

[Jtomsett11]

December 2031

Another pretty decent month, although the overall form hides the one win from two in the league this month, which keeps us unbeaten, but unspectacular. 

I'm never sure where they get the goal and appearance statistics, as it doesn't really add up for us at all, unless it includes friendlies/ reserve games, but Reinholtz really has made a breakthrough with us this last year and is thus fully deserving of this award.

Karlstad is also in good form, notching another free kick and penalty this month to put him on 7 goals for the season. Can he make the magic 10 for the season?! 

We also had our intake preview this month, which looks pretty good!

So we enter the winter break, as I said, looking solid but unspectacular (considering the strength of our team compared to others in the league). Our form really isn't brilliant, with just 2 wins in 5, but luckily nobody else seems capable of putting together a significant title challenge at this stage. 

In the Champions League, we finish a convincing second, with just the one loss away to Barcelona. I can live with our league form if we can carry this forward.

We have a slightly kinder draw this time, although it must be said that Hertha are the German champions currently, so we would do well not to underestimate them.

Before we move on to the transfer window, it's time to review the team.

Marinello's 97 key passes and 7 assists stands out for me, showing him to have been a very good acquisition. His 'gets forward whenever possible' is the only drawback, as he can wander forward and when we play with Kruse, who also has this ppm, we can be exposed in behind on the counter. To that end, Svetlicic and Bojdys have started to play in CM as BWM. Both are reasonably suited to this role, but also have vision and passing ability so are not unable to contribute to our build up play as Kruse does. This is a work in progress as I do need someone to fill this role eventually. 

Thomsen has played really well this season, but I have a feeling Lukic may be overtaking him soon. They have a very very similar attribute spread, and their contributions are also quite similar. Thomsen is wanted by Bayern Munich, and now valued at £7.5 million with limited room for growth I won't fight if they make a good offer, as Lukic is maturing and will be able to fill the backup AMR role behind Daramy. 

Reinholtz has done superbly considering he has only just turned 18. Campana has been a reliable DLF, but the assists have dropped off a bit. Boskovic has had a slow start, but has chipped in a few more goals recently. It's worth remembering that Reinholtz scored 1 in his first 17 games or something similar to that, so we will give Boskovic time.

 

[Jtomsett11]

Transfer madness

I last played a week ago, and had been playing pretty solidly over the last few weeks. I hit a kind of wall last Sunday in terms of playing to the point where I wasn't really enjoying individual games and was just clicking continue to get the season done as soon as possible. Part of the reason for this is that I have an idea for another save that's really exciting me, and wanted to get this save to a point where I could consider it 'done'. Therefore, before I saved for the evening last Sunday, I embarked on a little bit of transfer madness before realising that I should probably just have a little break from playing. 

I've not finished the transfer window yet, but I've made some large sales and equally large signings, especially when considering the wages I've committed to spending! I think I was thinking that I could give the Champions League a really good go, as it seems likely that we're going to be consistently battling it out in that European cup, rather than in the Europa or Europa Conference League, making my aim of winning a European trophy with Kobenhavn much more difficult to achieve. I will post the full transfers when the window closes/ league games start again. I'm not quite sure if I've made the right decisions!!

Edited April 17, 2021 by Jtomsett11

[Jtomsett11]

Transfers 

Outgoings

The two big names are Winther and Campana.

Winther has been on the edge of the squad and was a useful CB, but when a bid came in for £15 million it was an easy decision. Campana I offered out after his 8 league goals so far this season. I think it's a bit of a risk, but now I've had time to get use to it having not had the time to play the last week or so, I think it's the right decision.

In other 'outgoing' news, my first big sale of the save has just left PSV for big money.

He's developed into the perfect DLF in my opinion.

 

Incomings

Straight away here, you can tell I've gone overboard by the number of incomings. 

Some of them are reasonable, and then there's definitely two unneeded players, but they did come in on free transfers.

Let's start at the back. Overgaard has been on my radar as Karlstad is very solid as a goalkeeper, but unspectacular if we exclude free kicks. Overgaard handed in a transfer request, and at £8.75 million I think he's a great deal. If we can improve the top three stats slightly, I think he would be top class. I'll rotate him with Karlstad this season and then see if I need both!

In defense, we have bought in two CBs. We definitely don't need two, in fact we barely need one really. We already had Nelsson, Avbelj, Svetlicic and Bojdys who all play there. I have been using Bojdys and Svetlicic as CMs recently, but not enough to warrant two new CBs.

The long term target has been Mork, another arrival from Tromso. Tall, quick and mentally strong. One or two attributes could be higher, but he's brilliant really. 

Tarragon arrives on a free. I thought he would arrive at the end of the season. He's again, pretty solid, although he was rated as 4 star on the scout report. At worst we will sell him on for good profit, but I really like his mentals.

Looking at it again now, I realise why I signed two. Avbelj wants to leave having not had enough playing time. Nelsson is also unhappy - I accepted a bid despite promising not to. He's also 33. I've obviously signed replacements and then neither has left! 

The other defender we've signed is a RB/CM (BWM) signing. I'm going to try and work on his physicals to make him a BWM who can also play a pass.

The other young player who comes in on a free is Willian. I think I'm going to convert him to AML as another option as I don't use inverted wingers. I definitely only signed him because he was free 

The final signing is to replace Campana. I've paid Terzaghi waaaayyy too much. He's also got a £17.5million release fee, but he looks really good. I may adjust the role slightly to Complete Forward (S) instead of DLF (S) when playing him, as he doesn't 100% suit the DLF role. 

Very quickly, I'm reminded why you shouldn't buy 6 players in the January transfer window.

I have a number of unhappy players now, and an unbalanced squad. However, I'm excited to play again with the slightly refreshed squad. 

[Jtomsett11]

Yeah, they're not very happy...

[Jtomsett11]

February and March 2032

I may have gone mad in the transfer window, but it seems to have paid off. 

Terzaghi made an instant impact, with a goal and two assists in his first game.

Panic has also improved and taken over Marinello as first choice DLP.

Overall form has been brilliant in the league. 21 goals scored and 1 conceded in 6 games. One thing I have tried is not rotating too much and it's really helping. It makes it harder to give game time to some of our fringe players, but I'm happy with that at the moment. Mork has played in every single one of these games, which I think also helps. We take an 11 point advantage into the Champions Group.

Cups

The one real blip in this period was our first leg loss to Brondby. This was the only time I rotated too much and we paid for it. 

Hobro are bottom, so I will allow greater rotation for these two legs as I think we're relatively assured of a second consecutive final appearance.

The real success of this period is our performance in the Champions League.

This was the complete performance. We tore Hertha apart, and the icing on the cake was a 10th goal of the season for Karlstad. Finally, 11 years into the save I've got a goalkeeper to score 10 in a season!!

The second leg we kept it tight at the back, conceding only in the 87th minute. This is really impressive considering Hertha won the Bundesliga last year.

Next up, Juventus!

I have to say, the quarter final draw is really interesting. Two Dutch teams, and one Danish side is very unusual. 

Other news

Good news, we've going to get the training facilities upgraded back to state-of-the-art. Additionally, I've signed a new contract. 

[Jtomsett11]

Youth intake 2032

I'm disappointed by this intake.

I've signed a few of the players, essentially any of the 3 star potential players with reasonable attribute distribution or good personalities. Nobody stands out yet. Often the judgement changes over the first few months, so we will wait and see if any start to look like potential first team players.

[Jtomsett11]

Champions League April 2032

I am struggling for game time at the moment due to work commitments, but managed to play the first part of April, including the two Champions League ties against Juventus.

I went in to the Juventus game playing our positive 4-2-4 formation, rather than the cautious 4-4-2 that I often use in Europe. This had worked against Hertha and I thought I'd take the risk and try and blow Juventus away.

After 8 minutes I was really worried, Juve took the lead and missed another good chance. However, Terzaghi scored a brilliant volley before crossing to Reinholtz for him to slot home his own volley just before half time. The second half was full of chances for both sides, but both keepers played well and I had settled for a 2-1, which would have given us a slim advantage going into the away fixture. However, Avbelj, our wantaway 19 jumping LB/CB, who had only just come on for a tired Mork then nodded in from a corner late on. 3-1! Just as I was silently fist pumping away on the sofa, Terzaghi then picked up the ball from a Juventus corner just inside his own half. He knocked the ball forward, speeding past two tired defenders, and then calmly finished to make it 4-1 to Kobenhavn. 4-1!

 

My transfer madness seems to have been worth it! Terzaghi was phenomenal with 2 goals and an assist. Overgaard played superbly. Mork was excellent until his late substitution. Terzaghi now has 6 goals and 6 assists from 11 games, which is way more than I expected of him, especially as he's currently unhappy I didn't strengthen the squad!

Speaking of which, after this game, Mork dropped his own concern of the same nature.

We travelled to Turin knowing that any decent result and we'd be through to the Champions League Semi-Final. Additionally, we're just one goal shy of the record set by Tromso and I for goals in the Champions League.

Juventus started the better side, and Jeremy Doku scored a wonderful solo effort after 36 minutes. That had me worried, but after half time we suffered some really poor luck. Gravenberch hit an effort that smacked against an unwitting defender and looped in. 2-0 Juventus, and one goal away from knocking us out. 

At this point I went back to our 4-2-4, having started with a 4-4-2. Within 4 minutes we had that crucial away goal, Reinholtz again our man. However, the game was still a nervy affair, and Vega scored for them after 82 minutes after another ridiculous mix-up in defense involving a slide tackle from Bojdys that then slid through 10-15m to Vega. 3-1 on the night, one more goal for Juventus to take us to extra-time. 

89 minutes in to the game, the ball falls to Daramy out on the RW. He cuts inside, looking for a man to pass to, but senses that the Juve defenders are tiring (or in this case, standing next to each other looking like they're having a chinwag rather than defending). He puts on a burst of pace, and dribbles past the static back line and into Juve's half. I'm willing him on, and he looks like he's gone too wide and will simply shoot into the final defender (as forwards so often seem to do). However, the Juve man makes a play for the ball, misses and Daramy cuts inside slightly, before slotting the ball under the keeper! 3-2 on the night, now it's 5-4 on aggregate and Juventus would need 2 late goals to go through! Wild (but silent, my little boy is sleeping) celebrations ensue!

Juventus can't do anything about the deficit, and we're through!

Up next, Inter Milan. I'm starting to dream of winning the Champions League this year. It would be an unbelievable achievement, up there with anything I've managed on any iteration of Football Manager. Obviously I'm not there yet, and regardless of whether we progress further, I'm delighted with how competitive we're proving on the big stage.

[Jtomsett11]

Rest of April 2032

The rest of the month has been very good, continuing our excellent form.

In the league we've won every game bar one despite rotation of the squad between the Champions League games. The one draw was against our closest challengers Nordsjaelland, so I'm fine with that. 

We will win the league if we win our next game. This is a much more convincing performance than last year, especially since the end of the January transfer window. We won 9 in a row, 8 of those coming after our January signings. I do feel it is becoming my squad now, rather than one I inherited, so perhaps that is behind the upturn in form as my players are now more suited to the roles I require them to play. Alternatively it's down to the strengthening of the squad itself. Mork and Terzaghi in particular have been superb.

In the cup we face Vejle, who aren't in the Championship Group, so you'd expect us to win that one to make it two in a row in the cup as well as the league.

The big unknown in the Champions League. We won 1-0 at home against Inter Milan. However, that only tells half the story.

Bearing in mind the one goal we did score was a screamer from Daramy and the xG shows we really should have buried them. I'm hoping this won't come back to haunt us. Reinholtz is going through a mini drought and that's cost us as if Daramy plays out of the right, which he did here, we don't really have another player suited to the advanced forward role. I may have to rectify that going forward. 

I'm nervous about the away leg, but also must stand back and appreciate the result for a minute. We've dominated Hertha BSC, Juventus and now Inter Milan at home. Huge teams, and we're competing. This is a massive step forward for us and regardless of whether we win or lose against Inter, I'm extremely proud of the progress the team has made. 

Looking at coefficients, Denmark may rise to 7th at the end of this year, which I think would earn us a guaranteed group stage spot. If we have continued success, and other Danish sides step it up a little, we could really do something special for the nation. 

 

[Jtomsett11]

May/ June 2032

3F Superliga

We started off the month by sealing the title. Reinholtz smashed the winner late on to end his slight goal drought. 

I had an undefeated season to aim for now, but also wanted to rotate the squad to give some of the younger players more game time. Unfortunately I overdid it slightly.

After 48 games unbeaten, we lost 2-1 to Sonderjysk. Incredibly frustrated by this as it means that the season ends with us only 3 points further ahead than last year despite it feeling like we did significantly better. Our goal difference is significantly better this year though, so perhaps that reflects our dominance better.

Sydbank Pokalen

We sealed a double double by winning the cup with relative ease. Another superb goal from Reinholtz to set us on the way.

This win took me to 8th place in the Hall of Fame for English managers, so that was pleasing.

Champions League

We started the month with our away leg against Inter. It was a really cagey game, but in the end that suited us and we kept the game goalless to go through to our first ever Champions League final!

As a result of this, we've qualified for the Club World Club. I've not played this in its new format so this is pretty exciting!

So, to the final.

It was a really good game. Liverpool have some seriously good players. Balde and Peralta caused us so many problems. 

Balde got Liverpool off to a great start, scoring a header. However, a really well worked move allowed Reinholtz to slot home from close range and we went in at half time with the scores level at 1-1. We were slightly ahead on xG at this point, and over the first 10 minutes of the second half I thought we might do it. Peralta then scored two in 5 minutes. They were really well taken goals and he's a world class player, so I can't complain too much. Overgaard then scored a free kick to make the last few minutes interesting, but we couldn't get an equaliser.

We're the biggest overachievers as can be expected for a team of our size. Our reputation has been boosted and our finances have more than doubled this year, so this run has been superb for the club. I obviously feel quite disappointed as we came very close. I'm going to keep going with Kobenhavn to try and win this competition, as I feel it is doable.

 

[Jtomsett11]

End of season 2032 review

A really good season all in all. In the league we only have 3 points more than last season, however, we did break the record of goals scored. Considering the club won 10 league titles in a row before I arrived, I'm pleased with this. We also won the cup again without much trouble.

The big success is obviously our progress in the Champions League. We've qualified from our group two years in a row, and this year we've made it to the final. Whether that's indicative of our strength now we'll know next year, as our aim has to be to try and go deep into the knockout stages again. 

Another big success is our goal scoring goalkeepers. This year we had 18 goals from our goalkeepers. That's a new record for me, although I appreciate many others have achieved significantly higher numbers. The one who has done the best is Karlstad, with 14 goals, including 3 free kicks. 

He now has over one goal in every 5 games. Bear in mind 30 odd of those games he played without taking penalties as well, so the ratio is probably closer to 1 in 4. Overgaard has also made a really strong start including a free kick in the Champions League final.

Squad review

Goalkeepers

I only include Harm from his games before Overgaard arrived. I will likely sell him as although he has potential, his determination is 5 and he is unambitious so he's unlikely to ever reach his potential. Karlstad is very good, but I like that Overgaard is slightly better coming off his line. Having both gives me options and Overgaard is Danish so that's a bonus.

Defence

Mork is the standout player despite being here for such a short amount of time. I'm so glad I bought him. Tarragona has slotted in well at CB as well, while Svetlicic has the highest nuber of minutes at CB. Nelsson is off as he starts to decline, so Avbelj has been playing more. He wants to leave as he felt he wasn't getting enough game time. I'm hoping he may change his mind. However, there are a few CBs available on free transfer who may provide a solution should he, or Svetlicic, who is wanted by Dortmund, decide to leave.

Macedo was our player of the year. 8 assists and 97 key passes from LB is very impressive. Karic is slightly less effective at RB, while Perez Romero has played in both roles. I think having my DLP on the left suits Macedo as he often receives the ball in a good position to put in a cross, whereas the BWM on the right provides less support to the RB. I'm pretty happy with how they've done this year.

Comerford and Kruse played some games at RB. I eventually see Comerford as a BWM if he can pick up his pace (currently 12). Bodjys has also been playing BWM really effectively, but a goal for the summer is another player for this role. I'd probably sell Kruse if I can find one, but he is also Danish which is useful for Champions League registration. I am very aware I have almost an entirely foreign squad now!

Midfield

Marinello started the season as first choice DLP, but towards the end Panic took over and they ended up with very similar minutes played. Outzen only played as a sub in the final game due to missing 11 players on international duty, but he looks a good prospect if he improves his passing attribute (10).

We're a bit spoilt for choice in the wing positions. Thomsen, Lukic and Daramy on the right and Obiang, Gillberg and William on the left (once he has retrained as he is left footed only). I'm surprised looking back that Daramy played so few minutes, but I think he was injured for a period of time. He is likely to leave at some point, so I will keep all three right wingers for now as it is likely that Lukic will become first choice with Thomsen as a backup. As all three are Danish, they're important for our squad registration rules. On the left Gillberg and Obiang have pretty similar statistics until you look at key passes. Gillberg is a real creator on the LW. Obiang is wanted, and there is potential that if a big bid comes in and I can find a replacement (which I think I can) that I'd let him go. He's very good though so I'm happy if he stays. William needs more time to adjust to LW where he could go on to be a star. He will also be home grown in two summers time, so again a bonus for registration. 

Hartmann is a natural AMC which we don't utilise, so he's a bit of a misfit. He's done well in the deep lying and advanced forward roles, but this is mainly against weaker opposition. I am thinking of loaning him out next year as I'm not sure he's a strong enough backup.

Forwards

Reinholtz has had a really good season, leading the goal charts and chipping in a number of assists too. Terzaghi did have a goal drought of 8 games, but apart from that he made a real difference when he came in. I suspect somebody might trigger his £22 million release fee clause, so I'll be looking for a replacement. Boskovic didn't really have the impact I hoped he would. The lack of assists and key passes as a DLF is disappointing. He's got potential, so we'll stick with him for at least another season. Now I've switched the DLF to CF (S) to suit Terzaghi, Boskovic is a little out of his depth with his poor finishing (8). In an ideal world, I'd have another CF(s) who can also play AF to support Reinholtz when he needs a rest. Terzaghi likes to drop deep so isn't really suited to the role at all, and Hartmann isn't good enough either. To be honest, Reinholtz's natural fitness is great and he rarely seems to need a break.

It's interesting that Gillberg gets in over Obiang. 

Let's see how many of my players get offers from big clubs following our Champions League run!

 

[Jtomsett11]

I think I'll be pausing this save.  I tried to summon the motivation to try another season,  but to be honest the league is very easy and the chances of winning the champions league seem quite low despite my appearance in the final this year. 

I have another project underway so may start posting about that as I've enjoyed the process of posting about my save. As much as I've enjoyed my first ever real journeyman career, the lure of a one club save remains strong... I love the story aspect of building a club up from minnows to challenging for titles at the top level. I'm going to finish season 1 with my new side tonight and just make sure I'm committed before posting. 

Hopefully those of you who have been reading have enjoyed it and I'll see you in a new thread shortly!