[FM22-Derby County] Why manage the Rams? How are you getting on?

[Stuniverse]

Important Information

Please note that this thread is for discussing Derby County saves on FM22 only.

If you spot a Derby County data error, please report it on the [England EFL Championship] Data Issues thread.

If you want to report a bug in FM22, please use the Bug Tracker and post in the most appropriate thread.

[Stuniverse]

FM22 - Beta Version

Why manage the Rams? How are you getting on?

Well, if you love a challenge, or if you enjoy developing youth players, managing Derby County on FM22 could be the save you've been looking for.

ODDS AGAINST YOU?

Quoting the Equaliser, is the only way I can sum it up because as the manager of Derby County on FM22 you will begin your save:

Bottom of the Championship on -12 points.

Riddled with debt.

In Administration.

Under a Transfer Embargo.

With only 15 players who were aged 21 or over on the 1st January 2021, technically 16 if you include the Goalkeeping Coach who has been registered to provide cover for the U23s as Derby County have only one U23 goalkeeper.

The full squad, at all levels, is:

Notes:

i) IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are wanting to do a long-term save as manager of Derby County, we recommend you wait until the FM22 Full Release from 9th November 2021.

iI) If you want to keep things as realistic as possible, by managing the squad Wayne Rooney has in real-life up to the January transfer window, then I recommend you Disable the first transfer window when setting up your save.

iiI) On the other hand, if you want to experience a potential fire-sale, leaving you with a squad that's potentially weaker than Wayne Rooney has in real-life, making it a more difficult challenge, then do not disable the first transfer window.

Good luck!

If you decide to take on the Derby County FM22 Challenge please do let us know how you are getting on.

Edited October 23, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

FM22 - Full Release Version (from 9th November)

Derby County wise there were no significant data changes from the FM22 Beta version to the FM22 Full Release version.

NOTES:

i) If you want to keep things as realistic as possible, by managing the squad Wayne Rooney has in real-life up to the January transfer window, then I recommend you Disable the first transfer window when setting up your save.

ii) On the other hand, if you want to experience a potential fire-sale, leaving you with a squad that's potentially weaker than Wayne Rooney has in real-life, making it a more difficult challenge, then do not disable the first transfer window.

Good luck!

—

Pre-game Editor changes

There's a few minor things that either didn't happen, or as Derby County researcher I didn't become aware of, until after data lock. If you want your Derby County save to be as up-to-date as possible, these are the changes I'd make using the pre-game editor:

• Adam Thorley - (Derby U18 AM in FM22) moved to Chelsea as U15 Lead (approx. 30/10/2021) after data lock. I will be setting him as Chelsea U18 coach for my saves as the game doesn't include roles at U16 level and younger
• Osazee Aghatise  - squad #44, named on the first-team bench for the away game at Barnsley on 03/11/2021 and came on as a late substitute away at Millwall on 06/11/2021
• Louie Watson - brother of Noah Watson (Crystal Palace).

—

My Personal Preference

Also, and this is purely my personal preference, whenever I start a save as Derby County manager I will be using the pre-game editor to change:

• Wayne Rooney - job role change to AM (from M) on a salary of £TBC per week
• Liam Rosenior - job role change to FTC (from AM) on a salary of £TBC per week.

--

Derby County -21 points deduction

If anybody is interested in playing with Derby County's points deduction increased from -12 (full release version) to -21, @ben_champ has created a custom database that includes Reading on -6.

Thank you, Ben, much appreciated.

 

Edited November 18, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

FM22 - Winter Update

Before you start a new save...

I'd recommend you disable the first transfer window when starting a new save.

There are some changes, I'd suggest you consider making with the pre-game Editor because of the club's unique Administration - transfer embargo situation but, as follows:

[1] Adding the players Derby County lost in January back as Rams players for the start of the season and setting their future transfer for the January Transfer Window (see below in this post for details).

[2] If you don't want to do the above, I'd suggest you remove the injuries for the players who are injured at the start of the season (Bielik, Kazim-Richards, Knight, Buchanan at least).

Basically, the combination of Derby County's threadbare squad (you'll start a new save season with the squad Wayne Rooney has at his disposal now) plus the injured players at the start of the season make it incredibly difficult to name a competitive team at the start of the season unless you make one or other of the above changes.

Derby County First Team Squad

Note: These are the players who have featured in a match day 18-player squad (not all of them are genuine first team players) this season:

U23 Squad

Note: These are the players in the U23 squad who haven't been allocated a squad number:

U18 Squad

Note: These are the players in the U18 squad who haven't been allocated a squad number.

The Derby County U18 squad has featured 11 U16 schoolboys this season who cannot be included in FM22 for legal reasons.

--

Ins:

Josh Butler - U18 Coach 30/10/2021  (promoted from within Academy)

Luke Plange - on loan from Crystal Palace 31/01/2022

—

Outs

Adam Thorley - joined Chelsea as U15 Academy Coach

Kain Ryan - joined Brighton & Hove Albion 26/11/2021

Dubem Eze - joined Norwich City 09/12/2021

David Marshall - joined QPR 11/01/2022

Sam Baldock - released 13/01/2022, joined Oxford United 04/02/2022

Phil Jagielka - released 13/01/2022, joined Stoke City 14/01/2022

Graeme Shinnie - joined Wigan Athletic 16/01/2022

Dylan Williams - joined Chelsea 22/01/2022

Jordan Brown - joined Leyton Orient 24/01/2022

Isaac Hutchinson - joined Crawley Town on loan 31/01/2022

Andres Perez De Gracia - released 31/01/2022

Seb Thompson - released 31/01/2022

Luke Plange - joined Crystal Palace 31/01/2022

 

Edited February 27, 2022 by Stuniverse

[karanhsingh]

7 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

FM22 - Full Release Version (from 9th November)

Important Note:

If you are wanting to do a long-term save as manager of Derby County, we strongly recommend you wait until the FM22 Full Release from 9th November 2021.

 

Placeholder - more to follow after the Full Release Version is out.

Just out of curiosity why do you recommend this? Are some major changes expected? 

[Stuniverse]

15 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Just out of curiosity why do you recommend this? Are some major changes expected? 

No, nothing major expected @karanhsingh, but by definition the Beta version isn’t the finalised version of the game which will be released from 9th November - there will definitely be further data changes (Mick McCarthy was sacked today), some data errors have been picked up that will be corrected, and there could be changes to the game code itself as the programmers are still working hard on various issues, the Match Engine is still being improved, and there’s still time for bugs to be reported, investigated and fixed.

In short, you’ll get the best experience with the full release version as it will be the most up-to-date and robust version. SI wouldn’t have released the Beta if they weren’t happy with it but it is not the finalised FM22 product.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Stuniverse

[JaytheGreat]

Can't wait to play with the Rams!

[Stuniverse]

20 minutes ago, JaytheGreat said:

Can't wait to play with the Rams!

Great stuff, @JaytheGreat. I hope you enjoy managing the Rams. It’s certainly going to be a difficult challenge this time.

Please let us know how you get on.

Come on you, 🐏s.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stackalee]

Looking forward to this, I didn't end up getting FM21 but Derby in FM20 was probably my most fun save in years and the Derby thread is always well maintained. Pretty sad seeing no Marriott, that guy was amazing in FM20!

Any insights into Ravel? How is he getting on in real life for Derby and does he look useable ingame? I'd love to try and build something around him if possible he was an absolutely fab player to watch in the United youth teams and it's a tragedy how his career worked out.

[Stuniverse]

34 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

Looking forward to this, I didn't end up getting FM21 but Derby in FM20 was probably my most fun save in years and the Derby thread is always well maintained.

Thank you, @Stackalee, that’s very kind of you to say. Welcome back to FM with FM22 and, hopefully, a successful Derby County save.

34 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

Any insights into Ravel? How is he getting on in real life for Derby and does he look useable ingame? I'd love to try and build something around him if possible he was an absolutely fab player to watch in the United youth teams and it's a tragedy how his career worked out.

Ravel Morrison has been an ever present pretty much since he signed on a one-year contract under transfer embargo salary restrictions. Rooney tends to play a 4-2-3-1 where Ravel plays in the three behind the striker either centrally or on the left. More recently Rooney has gone 4-1-2-3 (when he’s not started a natural striker through injury / form) where Ravel has played as one of the midfield two, on the right. He tends to drop deep, looking for the ball, likes to run with it, and pass it around, but his decision making on when to pass in the final third can be questionable at times.

There’s definitely a player in there somewhere but I don’t think Rams fans have seen the best of him yet.

Ravel scored a sensational goal against Salford in the Carabao Cup.

Extended highlights of the game:

If you do decide to take on the Derby County FM22 Challenge please come back and let us know how you get on.

Good luck🍀

Edited October 24, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

19 minutes ago, brez22 said:

Its hard work I tell you. I've only got 8 points from 11 games and i've only won once. Obviously not losing them all but the lack of depth up front combined with me getting nothing out of Lawrence or Morrison is hurting.

Yes, Derby County on FM22 is hard work, I agree, during the first transfer window particularly (hence why I recommend disabling the first transfer window) and also during the January transfer window.

What formation and tactics are you using @brez22?

23 minutes ago, brez22 said:

Im through the administration after the transfer window but still no budget in sight for any changes.

Can you remember when approximately the takeover went through for you? What happens with Administration, the takeover, and the transfer embargo isn’t hard coded so can vary from save to save including the type of new owner you get.

Depending on what kind of takeover you get in-save, things do start to settle down in the summer after the 2021-22 season finishes but, yes, often there isn’t much change to the budgets when the takeover first goes through.

27 minutes ago, brez22 said:

Still I didn't lose any of the young players with potential and im hopeful as the season goes on some of them develop. I've put a lot of them in the first team squad but the ones that are getting games due to depth are Ebosele, Thompson, Stretton, Soloman and Williams.

That’s a good result. Well done.

Good luck 🍀 with the rest of your save. Please do keep us updated.

Come on you, 🐏s !

[Stuniverse]

YouTubers - doing Derby County FM22 saves

Here’s a couple of early Beta Derby County saves I’ve found on YouTube.

Average Bears

SamuraiHex

 

SHD Games

 

Please let me know if you’re aware of any more and I’ll add them on here. Many thanks.

Edited November 1, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

50 minutes ago, brez22 said:

I think the takeover went through at the beginning of October so not long to wait really. I can see that by the end of the second season the projections now look better. 

Thank you. That’s good news, @brez22

50 minutes ago, brez22 said:

I am playing a 4-3-3 with Max Bird as a HB. I have just changed to an attacking mentality from a balanced or potentially defensive mentality. It has made the football better so far without too much defensive sacrifice. We're a low defensive line team due to the lack of pace with Stearman and Jagielka, tending to always let a goal in but never getting hammered. 

I’m leaning towards a Control Possession, 4-2-3-1 Narrow, with an Attacking mentality.

• Roos and Allsop as sweeper keeper, Marshall as G-De.
• Both full-backs on WB-At
• BPD-De for Jagielka and Stearman, CD-De for Davies
• Both the CMs on De, usually Shinnie BWM-De until he gets booked and Bird on DLP-De
• The attacking three are all on At but the role depends on who’s playing
• The striker role changes based on who’s playing too (not that there’s much choice)

50 minutes ago, brez22 said:

To put in perspective my attacking struggles. Through 11 games I have only 2 goalscorers. Baldock with 7 and Stretton with 1. I've just lost Baldock for 4 weeks so this could get nasty. 

Yes, scoring goals is the big problem as it is in real-life. I’m finding with the tactic I mentioned above I get the Attacking three contributing goals.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Stuniverse

[SamuraiHex]

6 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

YouTubers - doing Derby County FM22 saves

Here’s a couple of early Beta Derby County saves I’ve found on YouTube.

Average Bears

SamuraiHex

Please let me know if you’re aware of any more and I’ll add them on here. Many thanks.

Hey thanks for recommending me on here.

Derby is definitely tough this year considering the club's predicament.
I won't spoil my upcoming episodes on my channel but I'll post about stuff that's already come out.

Episode 1
I had the transfer window on cause to be honest I forgot it'd be harder if I had it on but got lucky that only big player to leave was Ebosele and that was only on loan!

Episode 2
Got lucky again that the new board got the club (a promotion within which is weird cause does that mean an administrator bought the club?). Was able to recall Ebosele after the 28 days had gone by and I was undefeated in the first few games. This episode had the Forest game.

Episode 3

In this episode if we hadn't have gotten the -12 point deduction we would actually be in the playoffs!

[OJ403]

Started my beta save last night. I was insistent it wasn't going to be Derby - there's enough trauma in real life I don't need it in game too! So as you'd expect I've started a beta save with Derby that, enjoyment pending, may translate into the full game.

Inside the first 5 or 6 games we had wiped out the -12 points deduction and lifted ourselves from the bottom of the table due to Middlesborough's abysmal start. We were effectively third in the table at one point. In reality Wayne Rooney has discussed having two tables in the dressing room, with and without the deduction, and I am doing the same in order the plan for next season.

Unfortunately, things slowed as we headed into September, with the wins turning into draws and draws into defeats. This saw us sink back to the bottom of the table, but still only 5 points from safety.

Injuries to key players in Byrne, Jozwiak and Buchanan (following the injury he starts with) have hindered our progression but following the October international break we are due a clean slate barin Colin Kazim-Richards and Bielik.

I have been particularly impressed by my back 3 and goalkeeper of Forsyth (WCB-A), Davies (CD-D), Jagielka (WCB-D) and Roos (SK-S). The ability of Roos coming off his line and the mental qualities of my central defenders have allowed us to play a higher line as I like to. However, going forward we have been poor. Neither Baldock nor Stretton (nor Lawrence or Sibley...) have nailed down the starting role, whilst Lawrence and Sibley fall in and out of form rotating as my AMCL, SS-A in our 3-4-2-1 with WBs. Ravel Morrison has been excellent as our AM-S. I'm eagerly awaiting the return of CKR to provide a more physical presence up top to compliment our more nimble options (realistically I won't renew Baldock's contract past January so this will be Stretton, Lawrence and Sibley).

I'd be interested to hear how others are setting up and what they're attacking output is like. As this is a problem we face in real life I am less concerned than I otherwise would be, but nonetheless it is still a concern.

Takeover wise I am in early October and have still heard nothing, though we do have the opportunity to negotiate transfer deals now. If I can help it virtually no one will be going anywhere as I like the playing squad and we are only 3 or 4 players away from being play-off contenders.

[Stuniverse]

4 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Started my beta save last night. I was insistent it wasn't going to be Derby - there's enough trauma in real life I don't need it in game too! So as you'd expect I've started a beta save with Derby that, enjoyment pending, may translate into the full game.

Hehehehehe, there’s a certain lure to Administration and starting on -12 points, especially for us 🐏s fans.

4 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Inside the first 5 or 6 games we had wiped out the -12 points deduction and lifted ourselves from the bottom of the table due to Middlesborough's abysmal start. We were effectively third in the table at one point. In reality Wayne Rooney has discussed having two tables in the dressing room, with and without the deduction, and I am doing the same in order the plan for next season.

That’s a great start to the season, @OJ403. Well done. Let’s hope you can keep that amazing ‘playoff’ form going.

4 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Unfortunately, things slowed as we headed into September, with the wins turning into draws and draws into defeats. This saw us sink back to the bottom of the table, but still only 5 points from safety.

Ouch! Hopefully just a blip.

4 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Injuries to key players in Byrne, Jozwiak and Buchanan (following the injury he starts with) have hindered our progression but following the October international break we are due a clean slate barin Colin Kazim-Richards and Bielik.

Ah, does that explain the drop in form? With such a threadbare squad of genuine first team players, injuries can really hurt you. Particularly a key player like Byrne with only U23 players as cover. Who did you use to replace Byrne?

Hopefully, with the medical staff less busy, your form will start improving.

4 hours ago, OJ403 said:

I have been particularly impressed by my back 3 and goalkeeper of Forsyth (WCB-A), Davies (CD-D), Jagielka (WCB-D) and Roos (SK-S). The ability of Roos coming off his line and the mental qualities of my central defenders have allowed us to play a higher line as I like to. However, going forward we have been poor. Neither Baldock nor Stretton (nor Lawrence or Sibley...) have nailed down the starting role, whilst Lawrence and Sibley fall in and out of form rotating as my AMCL, SS-A in our 3-4-2-1 with WBs. Ravel Morrison has been excellent as our AM-S. I'm eagerly awaiting the return of CKR to provide a more physical presence up top to compliment our more nimble options (realistically I won't renew Baldock's contract past January so this will be Stretton, Lawrence and Sibley).

As in real-life. Getting goals out of this squad is a challenge. Are any of the non-strikers contributing goals? Were you tempted to try Duncan from the U23s? Baldock not impressing you then, I take it.

What about Jagielka who, like Baldock, will be out of contract at the end of December?

4 hours ago, OJ403 said:

I'd be interested to hear how others are setting up and what they're attacking output is like. As this is a problem we face in real life I am less concerned than I otherwise would be, but nonetheless it is still a concern.

On 24/10/2021 at 12:46, Stuniverse said:

I’m leaning towards a Control Possession, 4-2-3-1 Narrow, with an Attacking mentality.

• Roos and Allsop as sweeper keeper, Marshall as G-De.
• Both full-backs on WB-At
• BPD-De for Jagielka and Stearman, CD-De for Davies
• Both the CMs on De, usually Shinnie BWM-De until he gets booked and Bird on DLP-De
• The attacking three are all on At but the role depends on who’s playing
• The striker role changes based on who’s playing too (not that there’s much choice)

—

4 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Takeover wise I am in early October and have still heard nothing, though we do have the opportunity to negotiate transfer deals now. If I can help it virtually no one will be going anywhere as I like the playing squad and we are only 3 or 4 players away from being play-off contenders.

Interesting that the embargo has been lifted but you’ve not heard anything about a takeover yet. Are the club still in Administration? Can you make transfer decisions yourself now or is that still out of your hands?

Edited October 25, 2021 by Stuniverse

[OJ403]

6 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Ouch! Hopefully just a blip.

Thankfully form has picked up and in November we sit 2 points from safety. However there has been an unexpected catalyst for this - Sam Baldock. He scored 5 goals in October leading to me to offer him a deal til the end of the season. Negotiations didn't go well as he wanted too high a wage and 2 years so he will be leaving in January.

6 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

What about Jagielka who, like Baldock, will be out of contract at the end of December?

Unlike Baldock, Jagielka has been very impressive forming a key part of our back three. He has missed a few weeks with injury, which coincided with a 6-1 home defeat to Luton. Not my finest moment. He has signed an 18 month extension taking him through to the end of the 22/23 season, which will probably be the end of his career.

On 24/10/2021 at 12:46, Stuniverse said:

I’m leaning towards a Control Possession, 4-2-3-1 Narrow, with an Attacking mentality.

• Roos and Allsop as sweeper keeper, Marshall as G-De.
• Both full-backs on WB-At
• BPD-De for Jagielka and Stearman, CD-De for Davies
• Both the CMs on De, usually Shinnie BWM-De until he gets booked and Bird on DLP-De
• The attacking three are all on At but the role depends on who’s playing
• The striker role changes based on who’s playing too (not that there’s much choice

Interesting to read. Looks like we share similar styles just varying formations. I've gone with the three central defenders to cater for the age and lack of pace. I also have ambitious plans to operate with a back three featuring Bielik as a L-S (think Connor Coady) flanked by at least one WCB, either attack or support. CKR is back for Leeds in the Carabao Cup next game so I plan to shift to a more physical striker, which should benefit our attacking play.

7 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Interesting that the embargo has been lifted but you’ve not heard anything about a takeover yet. Are the club still in Administration? Can you make transfer decisions yourself now or is that still out of your hands?

I had a look into this this afternoon. Turns out I missed the item in my inbox. We had a "promotion from within" in September, however he has put no money into the club so the though times are likely to continue for the time being. Hopefully we have an external takeover or achieve promotion soon. If I'm feeling ambitious I back us to go up in season two, however I'm realistically targeting season three.

But in answer to your question transfer negotiations are in my hands and I have a couple of loans in mind for January.

[Stackalee]

Unable to wait until full release I started my Derby save yesturday. That first part of the season on negative points is grueling, it sounds stupid but the lack of feedback from the table left me with no sense of perspective on results - nothing you can do removes you from the bottom of the table. Grim.

With that said, it's now October, we're out of the relegation zone and Ravel won the player of the month award for September - couldn't be happier. 

The squad seems okayish, midfield is fairly stacked so I was considering playing a diamond (again). The lack of talent or even just pace in the forward line put me off that though so I've settled on a counter attacking 4-4-1-1 with Ravel playing off the striker.

My major summer "signings" were Eiran Cashin and Bartosz Cybulski, both from the U23s. Cashin actually looks a talent so I'll try and see how far I can take him I think, so far when played he's kept things very tidy at the back and averages 98% pass completion. 

Cybulski looks pretty dreadful, but unlike the rest of the striker options at the club actually has a discernible selling point, in that he's bloody enourmous. This size has ended up being tactic defining for my side so far, as we are now pretty much hitting the ball out to the wings and getting it to the big man up top - an option which was not available using the first team forwards. Cybulski has performed insanely well given his fairly poor technique and mediocre mentals, pretty much all he's doing is being big and he's currently the league top scorer, averaging a goal every 96 minutes. 

[Stuniverse]

3 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Thankfully form has picked up and in November we sit 2 points from safety.

Good to hear you’re out of the relegation again, @OJ403. Well done.

3 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Sam Baldock. He scored 5 goals in October leading to me to offer him a deal til the end of the season. Negotiations didn't go well as he wanted too high a wage and 2 years so he will be leaving in January.

3 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Unlike Baldock, Jagielka has been very impressive forming a key part of our back three. He has missed a few weeks with injury, which coincided with a 6-1 home defeat to Luton. Not my finest moment. He has signed an 18 month extension taking him through to the end of the 22/23 season, which will probably be the end of his career

Yes, Sam Baldock and Phil Jagielka only being signed until January is one of the many issues to be faced. It’s great that you’ve been able to extend Jagielka’s contract.

3 hours ago, OJ403 said:

We had a "promotion from within" in September, however he has put no money into the club so the though times are likely to continue for the time being. Hopefully we have an external takeover or achieve promotion soon. If I'm feeling ambitious I back us to go up in season two, however I'm realistically targeting season three.

But in answer to your question transfer negotiations are in my hands and I have a couple of loans in mind for January.

Ah, yes, that makes sense about a promotion from within, but without any cash injection by the sounds of it. 

Have you got any targets in mind for the January transfer window? I guess you need a striker or two but that won’t be easy with little money to spend. Loans and free agents unless you’re planning on selling someone for decent money.

Well placed to survive relegation and then build from there. Good luck 🍀

[Stuniverse]

1 hour ago, Stackalee said:

Unable to wait until full release I started my Derby save yesturday.

Hehehehehe, nice one, @Stackalee.

1 hour ago, Stackalee said:

That first part of the season on negative points is grueling, it sounds stupid but the lack of feedback from the table left me with no sense of perspective on results - nothing you can do removes you from the bottom of the table. Grim.

Yes, 12 points is a lot to make up initially, especially if you don’t hit the ground running or if no team goes on a losing streak at the start of the season.

1 hour ago, Stackalee said:

With that said, it's now October, we're out of the relegation zone and Ravel won the player of the month award for September - couldn't be happier. 

Great stuff. That’s good to hear. Where are you playing Ravel Morrison and on what role? I’m seeing people saying they are struggling to get the best out of him.

1 hour ago, Stackalee said:

The squad seems okayish, midfield is fairly stacked so I was considering playing a diamond (again). The lack of talent or even just pace in the forward line put me off that though so I've settled on a counter attacking 4-4-1-1 with Ravel playing off the striker.

Midfield is where Derby have the most strength in depth, I would agree.

1 hour ago, Stackalee said:

My major summer "signings" were Eiran Cashin and Bartosz Cybulski, both from the U23s. Cashin actually looks a talent so I'll try and see how far I can take him I think, so far when played he's kept things very tidy at the back and averages 98% pass completion. 

Cashin has been in the U23s a couple of seasons now and has struggled with injuries. He’s an unfortunate victim of the current embargo restrictions in real life as Rooney is on record as saying he would’ve given Cashin playing time but can’t because one appearance would’ve made him a ‘player of professional standing’ and taken away a squad slot for a free transfer signing.

1 hour ago, Stackalee said:

Cybulski looks pretty dreadful, but unlike the rest of the striker options at the club actually has a discernible selling point, in that he's bloody enourmous. This size has ended up being tactic defining for my side so far, as we are now pretty much hitting the ball out to the wings and getting it to the big man up top - an option which was not available using the first team forwards. Cybulski has performed insanely well given his fairly poor technique and mediocre mentals, pretty much all he's doing is being big and he's currently the league top scorer, averaging a goal every 96 minutes

Cybulski is a first year professional. You are right, he is very tall, but he’s struggling a bit in real life to make the adjustment to U23 level.

It’s very interesting to hear how “insanely well” he’s doing for you with his “poor technique and mediocre mentals”. Top scorer in the league though, you can’t argue with that.

Keep up the good work.

The 🐏s are staying up!

Edited October 26, 2021 by Stuniverse

[OJ403]

18 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Ah, does that explain the drop in form? With such a threadbare squad of genuine first team players, injuries can really hurt you. Particularly a key player like Byrne with only U23 players as cover. Who did you use to replace Byrne?

Missed this yesterday. At times Kamil Jóźwiak filled in, he has mainly be used as a wing back on either side this season, however he has been very disappointing. As soon as I have enough funds to strengthen the side he will be sold. Ebosele also filled in and showed promising moments, but ultimately like Dylan Williams on the other flank, he's not quite ready for Championship football. Thankfully Byrne is back now, which has coincided with our improved form.

6 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Yes, Sam Baldock and Phil Jagielka only being signed until January is one of the many issues to be faced. It’s great that you’ve been able to extend Jagielka’s contract.

I'd have liked to haven given Baldock until the end of the season but ultimately his demands didn't suit my vision for the club so he will have to leave. Unfortunately given the financial situation no players can break the wage structure and plans. On Jagielka, if he wants another year after his new deal expires (highly unlikely I admit) I will gladly give him one. Technically and mentally he's still right up there and as a third reserve central defender I can get over his complete lack of physicals.

6 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Have you got any targets in mind for the January transfer window? I guess you need a striker or two but that won’t be easy with little money to spend. Loans and free agents unless you’re planning on selling someone for decent money.

Though I am looking to sell Jóźwiak, we are currently retainig 0% of transfer revenue so his sale would only offer wages. I may yet keep him around until the summer depending on if his wages need using elsewhere. I'm only looking a loan signings so as not to become stuck with players I wouldn't have signed (e.g. Stearman, Baldock, etc.) and have a couple of targets in mind.

I am yet to identify any strikers for reasonable value, and am also waiting to assess CKR's performance as a different kind of striker.

I have identified a left sided wingback/central defender to provide competition for Craig Forsyth as our WCB on the left. His name escapes me but he is a relatively young African lad from Spurs. I'm not sure if he has transfered there in game or not, so I'll update with a name next time I'm at my laptop. He's the sort of player who could be with us longer term if all goes well.

Really this is all I'm looking for right now as I don't want to make wholesale changes mid-season. Whilst there are more players I'll look to move on going forward, two points adrift in January is not the time in my eyes.

 

 

Good to have you on board!

8 hours ago, Stackalee said:

With that said, it's now October, we're out of the relegation zone and Ravel won the player of the month award for September - couldn't be happier. 

The squad seems okayish, midfield is fairly stacked so I was considering playing a diamond (again). The lack of talent or even just pace in the forward line put me off that though so I've settled on a counter attacking 4-4-1-1 with Ravel playing off the striker.

Interesting to hear you've got the best out of Ravel. He's blown hot and cold for me (well boiling and freezing he's been that inconsistent). He's operated best as an AM-S in the AMCR slot of my 3-4-2-1, however this too has been in spells. What has helped you get the best from him?

Also interesting to hear you're formation. I went with 4 central players for the same reason you considered it. How are you accommodating Knight, Sibley and Bird into the team?

8 hours ago, Stackalee said:

This size has ended up being tactic defining for my side so far, as we are now pretty much hitting the ball out to the wings and getting it to the big man up top - an option which was not available using the first team forwards. Cybulski has performed insanely well given his fairly poor technique and mediocre mentals, pretty much all he's doing is being big and he's currently the league top scorer, averaging a goal every 96 minutes. 

This also shows me promise for the return of CKR into our side. Hopefully a big central striker could improve our attacking play and our wingbacks involvements. Interesting to hear you've gotten the best of one of the lesser talked about academy graduates.

[Stackalee]

7 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Great stuff. That’s good to hear. Where are you playing Ravel Morrison and on what role? I’m seeing people saying they are struggling to get the best out of him.

54 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

Interesting to hear you've got the best out of Ravel. He's blown hot and cold for me (well boiling and freezing he's been that inconsistent). He's operated best as an AM-S in the AMCR slot of my 3-4-2-1, however this too has been in spells. What has helped you get the best from him?

I've got Ravel as an advanced playmaker on support, playing in behind the striker - we're playing pretty deep with the striker on attack, so he has a lot of space to work with most of the time. He is also taking most of the set pieces, which are an emphasis in training so he picking up some stats there. 

8 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Cybulski is a first year professional. You are right, he is very tall, but he’s struggling a bit in real life to make the adjustment to U23 level.

It’s very interesting to hear how “insanely well” he’s doing for you with his “poor technique and mediocre mentals”. Top scorer in the league though, you can’t argue with that.

1 hour ago, OJ403 said:

This also shows me promise for the return of CKR into our side. Hopefully a big central striker could improve our attacking play and our wingbacks involvements. Interesting to hear you've gotten the best of one of the lesser talked about academy graduates.

Something seems off with Cybulski, I can't swear to anything because I can barely find my way around the FM user interface now, but it feels like he's getting around 4-5 free headers in the box every game (and generally converting 1 of them). With his mentals this feels a bit high to me, and makes me worry how this match engine is with an actually good target man. Four of his twelve goals so far have come from corners.

1 hour ago, OJ403 said:

Also interesting to hear you're formation. I went with 4 central players for the same reason you considered it. How are you accommodating Knight, Sibley and Bird into the team?

Those three are mostly rotating in midfield behind Ravel, with Silbey also providing cover as a wide midfielder on the left, and Knight providing cover at 10. Bird is frustrating me currently, his average rating is pretty poor even though he's doing everything I want him to in games (sitting deep and keeping it simple basically) which is all fine for the team but going to be ruinous for his development. Sibley has been my best source of non-forward derived goals, scoring 4 belters from 30+ yards (including the goal of the month). Knight has been just poor for me so far. I feel as though the system is getting the goods from Ravel, and helping dig the club out of a bit of a hole but perhaps I'd be better off playing more to the strengths of those young midfielders and thinking more about the future of the club.

[Stuniverse]

18 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

Something seems off with Cybulski, I can't swear to anything because I can barely find my way around the FM user interface now, but it feels like he's getting around 4-5 free headers in the box every game (and generally converting 1 of them). With his mentals this feels a bit high to me, and makes me worry how this match engine is with an actually good target man. Four of his twelve goals so far have come from corners.

If you’re thinking that @Stackalee it would be worth reporting it on the Bug Tracker https://community.sigames.com/bugtracker/

[OJ403]

3 hours ago, Stackalee said:

I've got Ravel as an advanced playmaker on support, playing in behind the striker - we're playing pretty deep with the striker on attack, so he has a lot of space to work with most of the time. He is also taking most of the set pieces, which are an emphasis in training so he picking up some stats there. 

I dare say the lack of space he has is one of my problems then. Currently he plays directly ahead of Jason Knight (BBM-S), so they often occupy the same space. In the last few games we have gone to a wider 3-4-3 style system with Ravel as an AP-S from AMR, however he's been shocking here. When CKR returns I intend to trial two up top with Ravel centrally in behind where hopefully he will have more space. Ultimately I plan to phase him out in favour of Sibley once his off the ball attributes have improved.

3 hours ago, Stackalee said:

Something seems off with Cybulski, I can't swear to anything because I can barely find my way around the FM user interface now, but it feels like he's getting around 4-5 free headers in the box every game (and generally converting 1 of them). With his mentals this feels a bit high to me, and makes me worry how this match engine is with an actually good target man. Four of his twelve goals so far have come from corners.

That does sound odd. Although if CKR can utilise this to keep us up I can get over that! His mentals are significantly better than Cybulski's so I'll update with how I see this unfold.

3 hours ago, Stackalee said:

Bird is frustrating me currently, his average rating is pretty poor even though he's doing everything I want him to in games (sitting deep and keeping it simple basically) which is all fine for the team but going to be ruinous for his development

This is pretty similar to how I've used Bird. Hes an odd player in FM, being solid across the board whilst excelling at nothing but not having the physicals to operate as a BBM. I've put him on a training regime to improve his passing, vision and technique (I think it trains those three, but I could be wrong) so this could help him as a DLP.

3 hours ago, Stackalee said:

Sibley has been my best source of non-forward derived goals, scoring 4 belters from 30+ yards (including the goal of the month)

I've seen similar from Sibley. I think I'm utilitising him too far forward. As mentioned I'm training his disappointing off the ball attributes, and until they improve I'm not sure this is good enough to operate as a goal scoring attacking midfielder. I might be best suiting moving towards a flat midfield 3 so that I can get the trio I mentioned operating together.

3 hours ago, Stackalee said:

Knight has been just poor for me so far

Since returning from injury Knight's been good for me. Technically he is raw, but physically and mentally he offers a lot of energy which is a pretty fair reflection of how he plays in real life. He's training as a MEZ-A at the minute to rectify this. I've used him as BBM-S and a CAR-S to decent effect.

3 hours ago, Stackalee said:

I feel as though the system is getting the goods from Ravel, and helping dig the club out of a bit of a hole but perhaps I'd be better off playing more to the strengths of those young midfielders and thinking more about the future of the club.

Maybe this is why I'm seeing better from the three young lads overall than Ravel as my system is intended to give them the best opportunities. I feel the squad is fairly balanced with few clear stars, in my eyes Ravel won't become one but the other three might.

Ultimately though season one is a results business with the points deduction, season two is where the fun can really begin!

[Stackalee]

49 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

Maybe this is why I'm seeing better from the three young lads overall than Ravel as my system is intended to give them the best opportunities. I feel the squad is fairly balanced with few clear stars, in my eyes Ravel won't become one but the other three might.

Ultimately though season one is a results business with the points deduction, season two is where the fun can really begin!

I would think so, although it's not exactly like I'm selling them out putting them in CM (s) and CM (d) - it clearly isn't getting the best from them.

Out of interest, what are people planning to do about Bielik when he comes back? 

[AverageBears]

So I’ve just dropped Ep 3 and what a struggle this is becoming.. 

head over and let me know your thoughts.. I’m not sure where I’m going wrong 😂 

 

[OJ403]

8 hours ago, Stackalee said:

Out of interest, what are people planning to do about Bielik when he comes back? 

I'm going slightly left field I think. I'm planning to make a few changes to our back three with Bielik stepping into the centre of it as either a L-S or BPD-D. I'm thinking a L-S (maybe with hold position PI) to get him playing sweeping balls out from the back in a similar manner to Connor Coady at Wolves. Hopefully this we'll help us recycle the ball and build in a more controlled manner.

I've also pushed our two attacking midfielders up as strikers into a narrow front three - Sibley (PF-A), Baldock (P-A), CKR (TF-S). This seems to be helping in terms of chance creation but we can lose momentum (my favourite new feature in a long time) and become dominated in some games. Hopefully this Bielik move will help this.

We're heading into a two week international break sitting just inside the bottom three, with Bielik 2-4 weeks away so hopefully he'll give us the final lift we need.

[Stuniverse]

9 hours ago, Stackalee said:

Out of interest, what are people planning to do about Bielik when he comes back? 

I haven't really been playing a full season yet, just a mix of playing a few games and holidaying through, mainly making sure the Derby County data looks ok in the game and seeing what happens with the Administration, Takeover, Transfer Embargo etc.

I've set the formation to 4-2-3-1 narrow (as I've mentioned a couple of times above) but when I start playing properly following the full release, once Bielik is fit again, I'd consider playing 4-1-2-3 with Bielik as the one behind Bird and Shinnie.

Edited October 26, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stackalee]

1 minute ago, Stuniverse said:

when I start playing properly following the full release I'd consider playing 4-1-2-3 with Bielik as the one behind Bird and Shinnie.

Interesting, so Knight and Sibley are more for attacking positions in that scenario?

[Stuniverse]

21 minutes ago, Stackalee said:

Interesting, so Knight and Sibley are more for attacking positions in that scenario?

Yes. Although I probably won't know until I reach that point in the save. Derby have a threadbare squad but there's certainly quantity in midfield.

Being short on DCs in the squad, who knows, I may need to play Bielik as DC if we have injuries or loss of form from the other DCs.

[SamuraiHex]

On 26/10/2021 at 16:38, AverageBears said:

So I’ve just dropped Ep 3 and what a struggle this is becoming.. 

head over and let me know your thoughts.. I’m not sure where I’m going wrong 😂 

 

Hey I'll check your channel after I've eaten dinner. It's interesting to see how other FM YouTubers are getting on in Derby County saves!

 

For those wondering what's happening on my save Episode 7 has just gone live with the second season!

Don't really want to spoil for people who might see these posts and want to watch them but it's going well!

Anyone who has missed the other 6 episodes can view it on this playlist

[OJ403]

It's been a while since my last update, November has become the summer and season one has been completed.

Somehow I managed to negotiate reduced terms for Baldock to keep him at the club until the end of next season. This proved to be wise as he finished as our top scorer with 18 goals. Only Stearman and Kazim-Richards will leave on free transfers. I would have happily extended CKR's deal but he wanted to "explore his options" and will return to Mexico.

In January two players left on permanent deals, Ravel to Swansea for £1.2 million and Allsop to Reading for £65k. I was happy to let both players go, more so Ravel as he no longer fitted our new system (more on this later) however I had no issues with Allsop leaving either as Roos has established himself firmly as our number one.

Allsop's departure led me to bring in Dejan Stojanović on a cheap loan from Middlesbrough as a backup, making no appearances.

I also brought in Sam Gallagher from Blackburn on loan - CKR had disappointed and had already agreed to leave in the summer so I wanted a higher quality TF-A to play on the right of our front three.

Finally, I loaned Luke Mbete from Manchester City to play on the left of our back three and compete with Craig Forsyth for this role. He quickly made this position his own and sured up our defence significantly whilst also improving our playing out from the back. I was so impressed I have extended his loan already until the end of next season.

Somehow I resisted temptation to sign Carlos Tevez for £2k a month on a six month deal...

Form was inconsistent throughout the second half of the season, often going long spells without winning whilst having near perfect months here and there. But in the end we did enough, finishing 12 points clear of the relegation zone in 18th. Without the 12 point deduction we would have finished 12th, a fair reflection of our performance across the season.

In this period we settled on a 3-4-3 system (5-2-3 in game - 3 central defenders, 2 wing backs, 2 central midfielders and 3 strikers) as shown below.

Lawrence excelled on the left of our front three as a F9-S, getting goals and assist.

The Bielik as a L-S experiment failed in no uncertain terms. However, he found a home as our right sided central defender as a WCB-S, with PIs to take more risks and pass more directly. He's also learnt the "long passes" PPM and is making progress towards learning to "play killer balls", which will aid the sweeping diagonals over the top and across the pitch he plays so effectively.

Somewhat controversially, Sibley has found a home as our left wingback, WB-S. Poor performances from Buchanan, Jóźwiak and Williams led me to experiment to geat success. One thing Sibley offered the others did not was a goal scoring instinct. With Lawrence dropping off there was often space to exploit arriving in the left hand side of opposition boxes, especially when we worked play from right to left quickly. This unexpected position change also allowed me to get our three best prospects (Sibley, Bird and Knight) into the same side, as no successes were found in a three man midfield.

Moving into season two I have £9 million to spend, however I plan to touch as little of this as possible as we sit just inside the red at present. Instead I inted to look to the free agent market and loans to improve the squad to consolidate on our hypothetical 12th placed finish and push for 8th-5th position. This is the squad I intend to work with:

I don't intend to actively sell any players. Although anyone baring Sibley, Bird, Knight and Bielik would be available for the right price. Jóźwiak may leave as he had an abysmal season averaging less than a 6.50. However he provides a wide option should we go that way as well as decent cover as our left sided striker and right wingback, thus reducing the need for signings in these positions. I have two targets in mind.

I'm looking for a pacier player to play in the centre of our back three, potentially on a cover duty, so that we can step our defensive line up to higher. I'm considering former Ram Teden Mengi from Manchester United on another loan.

I'm also targeting another ex-Ram in Liam Delap to lead our line on a season long loan from Manchester City to link up with fellow City loanee Mbete. He would provide an upgrade on Baldock and Stretton after performing well for Oxford (who he rejected us for on deadline day) in the second half of the season.

Outside of these two, I am unsure who to bring in to play as both our starting and rotation TF-A, backup goalkeeper and (should Jóźwiak leave) backup F9-S and right wingback. Any recommendations or suggestions are more than welcome for all the positions I'm looking to strengthen.

[Stuniverse]

Transfer Links

This summer transfer window was a strange one for Derby County as the club were linked with a lot of players as usual, but given that the club was under a transfer embargo, could only sign free agents, and was limited to who they could sign in terms of salary restrictions, half-season loans, and a maximum squad of 23 players of professional standing, a lot of those links were unrealistic and never going to happen.

These are the more realistic links:

✖️GK - Joshua Chapman (Sheffield Utd) - on trial back-end of 2020/21 season, joined Rotherham United

DR / DC - Andre Wisdom (free agent - Derby County) - trained with Derby County during pre-season

DR - Brad Burton (free agent - Aston Villa)  - on trial early 2021/22 season

DC - Pascal Kpohomouh (free agent - Southampton > Weston AFC)  - on trial back-end of 2020/21 season, joined Weston AFC in August 2021, made three appearances, but it didn’t work out and he became a free agent in September 2021

DC/DR - Teden Mengi (Man Utd) - on loan with Derby County 2020/21 season

DL - Reece Hutchinson (free agent - Burton Albion)  - on trial early 2021/22 season and, at the time of posting, still playing for Derby County U23s as a trialist

MC / AMC - Jack Wilshere (free agent - Bournemouth)

✖️MC / DM - Tom Carroll (free agent - QPR) - trained with Derby County during pre-season, but joined Ipswich Town. Also played for Derby County previously on loan from Tottenham Hotspur

✖️AMRL - Kamil Grosicki (free agent - WBA) - joined Pogon Szczecin

✖️AMRL - Patrick Roberts (Man City) - joined Troyes (loan) - on loan with Derby County 2020/21 season

✖️AMRLC / SC - Sone Aluko (free agent - Reading) - trained with Derby County during pre-season, but joined Ipswich Town

AMRL Kaide Gordon (Liverpool) - former Derby County Academy player

SC Ali Al-Hamadi (free agent - Swansea City) - on trial early 2021/22 season

✖️SC - Lee Gregory (Millwall) - joined Sheffield Wednesday - played for Derby County on loan 2020-21

SC - Liam Delap (Manchester City) - former Derby County Academy player

 

--

If you're interested, here's a longer list of all players I saw Derby County linked with during the summer of 2021, including the unrealistic transfers that were always going to need a transfer fee which Derby County were not in a financal position to pay.

Spoiler

Goalkeepers

✅GK - Harrison Foulkes (free agent - Hull City)

✖️GK - Joshua Chapman (Sheffield Utd) - on trial back-end of 2020/21 season, joined Rotherham United

✖️GK - Louie Moulden (Man City) - joined Wolves  - on trial back-end of 2020/21 season

✅GK - Ryan Allsop (free agent - Wycombe)

Defenders

DR - Brad Burton (free agent - Aston Villa)  - on trial early 2021/22 season

DR - Stephen O’Donnell (Motherwell)

DC / DR - Akin Odimayo (Swindon Town)

✖️DC - Gary Cahill (free agent - Crystal Palace) - joined Bournemouth

✖️DC - George Edmundson (Rangers) - joined Ipswich

DC - Pascal Kpohomouh (free agent - Southampton > Weston AFC)  - on trial back-end of 2020/21 season, joined Weston AFC in August 2021, made three appearances, but it didn’t work out and he became a free agent in September 2021

✅DC - Phil Jagielka (free agent - Sheffield Utd)

DC - Phil Jones (Manchester United)

✅DC - Richard Stearman (free agent - Huddersfield Town)

DC - Shane Duffy (Brighton)

DC/DR - Teden Mengi (Man Utd) - on loan 2020/21 season

DL - Callum Elder (Hull City)

DL - Reece Hutchinson (free agent - Burton Albion)  - on trial early 2021/22 season

Midfielders

✖️AMC/MC - Alex Pritchard (free agent - Huddersfield Town) - joined Sunderland

MC/AMC - Felix Miles (Cheltenham Town)

MC / AMC - Jack Wilshere (free agent - Bournemouth)

✖️DM / MC - James Garner (Manchester United) - joined Nottingham Forest

✖️MC - Joey Dawson (Scunthorpe United) - joined Celtic

 MC - Matrix Einer (Paide Linnameeskond)

MC - Matty Longstaff (Newcastle United)

✖️M/AMC / DM - Matt Crooks (Rotherham United) - joined Middlesbrough

✅M/AMC - Ravel Morrison (free agent - Ado Den Haag)

✖️MC - Ryan Tunnicliffe (free agent - Luton Town) - joined Portsmouth

✖️MC / DM - Tom Carroll (free agent - QPR) - trained, but joined Ipswich Town - on trial 2021/22 pre-season

Wingers

AMRL Albert Adomah (QPR)

AMRLC / SC - Anthony Gordon (Everton)

M/AMRL - Callumn Morrison (Falkirk)

AM/ML / SC - Isaac Success (Watford)

✖️AMRL - Josh Bowler (Everton) - joined Blackpool

✖️AMRL - Kamil Grosicki (free agent - WBA) - joined Pogon Szczecin

✖️AMRL - Patrick Roberts (Man City) - joined Troyes (loan) - on loan 2020/21 season

AML/SC - Ronan Curtis (Portsmouth)

AMRL / SC - Siriki Dembele (Peterborough)

✖️AMRLC / SC - Sone Aluko (free agent - Reading) - trained, but joined Ipswich Town - on trial 2021/22 pre-season

Strikers

SC Ali Al-Hamadi (free agent - Swansea City) - on trial early 2021/22 season

SC - Andy Carroll (Newcastle United)

SC / AMRLC - Connor Wickham (free agent - Crystal Palace)

SC / AMRLC - Dion Charles (Accrington Stanley)

✖️SC - James Collins (Luton Town) - joined Cardiff City

✖️SC - Joe Pigott (AFC Wimbledon) - joined Ipswich Town

✖️SC - Kyle Lafferty (free agent - Kilmarnock) - joined Anorthosis Famagusta

✖️SC - Lee Gregory (Stoke City) - joined Sheffield Wednesday - on loan 2020/21 season

SC - Liam Delap (Manchester City)

SC / AMR - Luke Jephcott (Plymouth Argyle)

SC - Martell Taylor-Crossdale (Fulham)

SC - Oumar Niasse (free agent - Huddersfield Town)

✅SC / AMLC - Sam Baldock (free agent - Reading)

✖️SC - Serdar Dursun (SV Darmstadt 98) - joined Fenerbahce

✖️SC - Uche Ikpeazu (Wycombe) - joined Middlesbrough

 

Edited October 31, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

38 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

It's been a while since my last update, November has become the summer and season one has been completed.

38 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

Form was inconsistent throughout the second half of the season, often going long spells without winning whilst having near perfect months here and there. But in the end we did enough, finishing 12 points clear of the relegation zone in 18th. Without the 12 point deduction we would have finished 12th, a fair reflection of our performance across the season.

Congratulations, @OJ403. That’s an excellent job overcoming a 12 point deduction to avoid relegation so comfortably.

A hypothetical 12th placed finish, mid-table in the Championship, gives you an excellent foundation for the 2022-23 season and with £9M to spend, even though you don’t want to spend it all given the club’s financial situation, should allow you to strengthen the squad in the right areas.

Thanks for a very comprehensive report on your ins and outs during the 2021-22 season and your plans for the summer transfer window.

38 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

Any recommendations or suggestions are more than welcome for all the positions I'm looking to strengthen.

You’re actually further along in your save than I am so I’ll leave this for others.

Now you have a clean slate, good luck 🍀 for the 2022-23 season. I look forward to hearing how you get on.

Come on you 🐏s.

Edited October 29, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

Players signed for Derby County on FM22

These are players I’m aware of that have been signed by managers of Derby County on FM22.

2021-22 Season

Goalkeepers

Spoiler

GK - Dejan Stojanovic

GK - Lee Grant

GK - Nathan Trott

GK - Zan Luk-Leban

Defenders

Spoiler

DRC - Andre Wisdom

D/WBR - Anthony Ralston

DR - Bali Mumba

DR - Bogdan Butko

D/WBR, DC - Osman Kakay

D/WBR - Salva Ferrer

--

DC / DR - Andre Wisdom

DC - Aubrel Koutsimouka

DC - Billy Koumetio

DC - Bright Arrey-Mbi

DC - Charlie Goode

DC - Chey Dunkley

DC - Dynel Simeu

DC - Isaac Rice

DC - Jamie Hamilton

DC - Julian Jeanvier

DC / DL - Kortney Hause

DC - Luke Mbete

DC - Malachi Fagan-Walcott

DC / DM - Nir Bitton

DC - Sebastien De Maio

DC - Steve Cook

DC - Tim Klose

DC / D/WBR - Tom Holmes

DC - Tomas Araujo

DC - Tyrell Ashcroft

DC - Williams Velasquez

DC - Yerson Mosquera

--

D/WBL - Brandon Mason

D/WBL - Greg Cunningham

DL - Reece Hutchinson

DL - Sam McQueen

Midfielders

Spoiler

DM / MC / D - Jack Rodwell

DM / MC - Kevin McDonald

DM/MC/DC - Niklas Tauer

DM/MC - Xavi Simons

--

M/AMRL / AMC - Connor Mahoney

MC / AMRC - Dan Crowley

MC - Jack Roles

MC - Jan Zamburek

M/AMRL - Joe Pritchard

MC / DM - Korey Smith

MC / DM - Lewis Bate

MC - Liam Shaw

MC / DM/AMC - Matt O’Riley

MC / DM - Ryan Ledson

Attacking Midfielders / Wingers

Spoiler

AM/MRL - Aaron Rowe

AMC / MC - Callum Gribbin

AMC - Carlos Tevez

AMRLC - Cole Palmer

AMLC, SC - Danny Loader

AM/MC, SC - Gabriel Vidovic

MC - Gonzalo Maroni

AMRL / SC - Hal Robson-Kanu

AM/MRL - Isaiah Jones

AMRC - Ivan Saranic

AMRL - J’Neil Bennett

AMR - Karamoko Dembele

AMR - Kayky

AM/MRL - Michael Jacobs

M/AMRLC - Robert Snodgrass

AMRL / SC - Wayne Routledge (Beta only, he’s hung up his boots by full release)

Strikers

Spoiler

SC - Adam Idah

SC - Dane Scarlett

SC - Danilo Pereira

SC - Dwight Gayle

SC - Ellis Simms

SC - Facundo Colidio

SC - Facundo Ferreyra

SC - Jahmal Hector-Ingram

SC - Jermain Defoe

SC / AMRL - Jerome Sinclair

SC - Joe Hugill

SC - Jonathan Bolingi

SC / AMC - Josh Coburn

SC - Liam Cullen

SC - Liam Delap

SC - Lukas Jutkiewicz

SC - Matt Godden

SC - Oliver Sarkic

SC - Rodrigo Muniz

SC - Roko Simic

SC - Sam Gallagher

SC - Sean Maguire

SC - Sergey Stepanov

SC - Steven Fletcher

SC / AMLC - Tom Bradshaw

—

2022-23 Season

I don’t normally cover season two but, as Derby County are transfer embargoed during season one, here’s a bonus season two first transfer window:

Goalkeepers

Spoiler

GK - Ashley Maynard-Brewer

GK - Christian Walton

GK - Connor Ripley

GK - Freddie Woodman

GK - Max O'Leary

GK - Mikki Van Sas

Defenders

Spoiler

WBR - Ashley Richards

D/WBR - Jonjoe Kenny

DR / DM - Kevin Sessa

DR / MR - Louie Chorlton

DRLC - Luke Offord

D/WBR MR - Ryan Fredericks

--

DC / DR - Andre Wisdom

DC - Bright Arrey-Mbi

DC - Charlie Goode

DC - Erik Palmer-Brown

DC - Jaroslaw Jach 

DC - Malachi Fagan-Walcott

DC - Marc Roberts

DC - Matt Clarke

DC - Myles Sohna 

DC / DR - Teden Mengi

--

WB/D/ML - Declan Frith

D/WBL - Jake Bidwell

DL - James Morris

D/WBL - Joe White

DL / DC - Leif Davis

D/WBL - Reece Devine

DL - Reece Hutchinson

DL - Sam Sharrock-Peplow

Midfielders

Spoiler

DM - Ibrahima Sissoko

--

M/AML / SC - Ademola Lookman

MC / AMRC - Callum Wright

MC / AMRC - Connor Ronan

MC - Conor Hourihane

MC - Harry Gordon

MC / DM - Jayson Molumby

M/AMRL - Joe Pritchard

MC / DM - Kyle Dempsey

MC - Luca Connell

MC - Matthew Smith

MC / DM - Patryk Dziczek

MC / DM - Sean Longstaff

MC - Tom Bayliss

Attacking Midfielders / Wingers

Spoiler

AMRC / MC - David Brooks

AMLC / MRL - Demarai Gray

AMR / SC - Devante Cole

AMRL / SC - Jonathan Leko

AMRL - Kaide Gordon

AMR - Karamoko Dembele

AMRL / SC - Mallik Wilks

AMRLC / SC - Nathaniel Nkunku

AMR / SC - Terry Ablade

AMRLC - Tom Ince

Strikers

Spoiler

SC - Aaron Pressley

SC - Adam Idah

SC - Ashley Fletcher

SC - Folarin Balogun

SC - Jonathan Bolingi

SC - Jude Soonsup-Bell

SC - Lukas Jutkiewicz

SC / AML - Tyler Walker

SC - Uche Ikpeazu

—

If you’re happy to share the names of players you’ve signed for Derby County on FM22, I’d love to hear from you on this thread or by Direct Message. This will allow me to update this post regularly.

Note: If you’ve already mentioned signings on this thread there’s no need to repeat yourself as I’ll review all the posts in this thread and pick up the signings as I go.

Many thanks.

--

Tagged: @AverageBears @brez22 @OJ403 @Paggioram @SamuraiHex @Stackalee

Edited March 21, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

8 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Any recommendations or suggestions are more than welcome for all the positions I'm looking to strengthen.

7 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

You’re actually further along in your save than I am so I’ll leave this for others.

Having said that, @OJ403, Norwich City’s young striker Adam Idah did well for me on FM20 and FM21 so if he’s available, he may well be worth a shot (pardon the pun).

Also, two U23s I was surprised Derby County released in the summer, Jahmal Hector-Ingram and Josh Shonibare might be worth giving a second chance to. Also Cameron Cresswell, who was quite prolific in the Rams U23s and was making the first-team bench by the end of the 2020-21 season, but as he joined Start in the summer, you need to load the Norway Nation (top league only, I think, but check first as Start play Tier 2) otherwise he’s not included in-game.

Edited October 29, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

16 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Any recommendations or suggestions are more than welcome for all the positions I'm looking to strengthen.

Good question, @OJ403. 

This reminded me that I hadn’t gotten around to creating the ‘Players signed for Derby County’ and ‘Transfer Links’ posts that I normally make. You’ll find them both further up this page.

Hopefully you’ll find them helpful in shortlisting your transfer targets.

I’ll update the ‘Players signed for Derby County’ post as regularly as I can when people post about other signings they’ve made.

15 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Players signed for Derby County on FM22

15 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Transfer Links

 

Edited October 29, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

FM22 Derby County & Tactics Guide
 

 

[Scott_Allen]

As I draw my first season at Derby to a close what a season it has been! I won't lie with 7 games left to go we have just made it outside of relegation on goal difference.

January really was the turning point for me the biggest signing being Dwight Gayle on loan scoring 8 in the last 13 really helping with the 12 game unbeaten run we are on. Before his arrival we were right up against it. I also brought in some other loans Sam McQueen (Southampton), Salva Ferrer (Spurs), Charlie Goode (Brentford) and Joe Hugill (Man Utd). The focus really on defence and attack. I also managed to get Callum Gribbin in on a free but he hasn't played much.

Anyway on to finish the last 7 and see where we can finish! 

[Stuniverse]

9 minutes ago, Scott_Allen said:

As I draw my first season at Derby to a close what a season it has been! I won't lie with 7 games left to go we have just made it outside of relegation on goal difference.

That’s brilliant, @Scott_Allen. Well done. You just need to remind your players that the job isn’t done yet but hopefully after seven more games your Derby County will still be a Championship club.

11 minutes ago, Scott_Allen said:

January really was the turning point for me the biggest signing being Dwight Gayle on loan scoring 8 in the last 13 really helping with the 12 game unbeaten run we are on. Before his arrival we were right up against it. I also brought in some other loans Sam McQueen (Southampton), Salva Ferrer (Spurs), Charlie Goode (Brentford) and Joe Hugill (Man Utd). The focus really on defence and attack. I also managed to get Callum Gribbin in on a free but he hasn't played much.

Some really good signings there. I assume you got a Takeover to come out of Administration and Transfer Embargo.

Did the Takoever finance your transfer business or did you have to offload some players?

12 minutes ago, Scott_Allen said:

Anyway on to finish the last 7 and see where we can finish! 

Good luck 🍀

Come on you 🐏s !

[Scott_Allen]

Yeah takeover to get out of the embargo. Didn't really invest money but offloaded David Marshall and Kelle Roos. Bit of a risk leaving one keeper but got me 700k and also cleared loads off the wage bill. Gayle was a steal at just 7k a week.

Just moved 4 clear of relegation with 5 to go. Should only be a result or two away from being safe which will be a solid result.

[Stuniverse]

15 minutes ago, Scott_Allen said:

Yeah takeover to get out of the embargo. Didn't really invest money but offloaded David Marshall and Kelle Roos. Bit of a risk leaving one keeper but got me 700k and also cleared loads off the wage bill. Gayle was a steal at just 7k a week.

Brave decision leaving yourself with just one goalkeeper but yes that would create significant headroom in your wage budget.

Did you put an U23 / U18;goalkeeper on the bench or go with all outfield players?

17 minutes ago, Scott_Allen said:

Just moved 4 clear of relegation with 5 to go. Should only be a result or two away from being safe which will be a solid result.

Excellent. Five games to go and then, hopefully, prepare for the new season in the Championship with a clean slate.

[Jamesbfc1887]

Really struggling after 11 games, losing the dressing room already. Ravel kicked off at me for being harsh in team talks and we're now 7 without a win.

Takeover went through with one day of the window left so I managed to get some loan reinforcements (no thanks to the new board that haven't given me any money to work with at all), which I think may well have disrupted the squad more than anything.

Davies got injured for 6 months as well so that's his career over.

Feels quite harsh given the XG tbh, I know you have to account for the -12 but even still it's a worrying trend that we can't hit a barn door. All the scatter graphs tend to suggest we're better than we're actually doing.

 

[OJ403]

46 minutes ago, Jamesbfc1887 said:

 

Nice to have another person on board! If I'm honest, I don't think your start looks too bad. In reality you ought to be 14th with 12 extra points, and you're only 7.5 points off your true xPts. Having completed season one recently, in my experiences these points will balance themselves out it just looks worse than it is because of the deduction. Keep the faith and keep the players happy and you'll be fine.

[Stuniverse]

1 hour ago, Jamesbfc1887 said:

Really struggling after 11 games, losing the dressing room already. Ravel kicked off at me for being harsh in team talks and we're now 7 without a win.

Thanks for sharing, @Jamesbfc1887. It can be tough when you’re still cast adrift at the bottom whilst trying to claw back those -12 points, but try to stay positive, there’s still 35 Championship games and 105 points to play for. That’s a lot of football still to be played.

Wayne Rooney says he has two league tables he uses with the Derby County players. One, the actual league table with the -12 and, two, the league table as it would be without the points deduction. On that second league table you’d be 14th. Take confidence from that.

By my calculations, 11 games in, you’ve just played Swansea City on 2nd October so Jason Knight and Colin Kazim-Richards are not long back from injury and you still have Krystian Bielik to come back.

1 hour ago, Jamesbfc1887 said:

Takeover went through with one day of the window left so I managed to get some loan reinforcements (no thanks to the new board that haven't given me any money to work with at all), which I think may well have disrupted the squad more than anything.

Yes, you’ve also only had about a month for your six new signings to settle in. Six games since they signed, I’d reckon. How many of those six new signings did you throw straight into the starting-11 and could that have contributed to the run of no wins in seven? Hopefully your form should improve as those new players start to gell or, perhaps, consider going back to the core team you were playing before the signings as it sounds like you were getting some wins before the signings.

Hopefully your new owners will free up more funds for future transfer windows.

1 hour ago, Jamesbfc1887 said:

Davies got injured for 6 months as well so that's his career over.

Ouch! That’s a bad break in a DC position where there’s not much cover in the squad. How is Bright Arrey-Mbi doing there since joining on loan from Bayern Munich?

1 hour ago, Jamesbfc1887 said:

Feels quite harsh given the XG tbh, I know you have to account for the -12 but even still it's a worrying trend that we can't hit a barn door. All the scatter graphs tend to suggest we're better than we're actually doing.

That suggests that your Derby County team are playing quite well and performances are better than results at the moment. That, plus the fact that you’d be 14th without the points deduction, should give you confidence. Keep going, and keep positive, a couple of wins and you’ll have Hull City, Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough and Millwall firmly in your sights.

Good luck 🍀

Edited October 30, 2021 by Stuniverse

[OJ403]

Just played through the summer transfer window of season two and beat Phillip Cocu's Stoke (not Barcelona - watch this space...) 3-1 on the opening day.

In terms of targets, I missed out on my main two with Delap and Mengi both refusing to join on loan despite their agents suggesting they were interested in joining on a loan deal.

In terms of sales we moved on Baldock following a fallout regarding an incoming signing taking his place in the team. He wasn't, but Baldock wouldn't accept this so was moved on. I also loaned out Ebosele and Cashin to get experience.

My first incoming was Uche Ikpeazu from relegated Middlesbrough on loan with an option for a £600k (plus £700k in installments) permanent deal. He will operate as our first choice TF-A, not AF-A as Baldock thought.

Lukas Jutkiewicz has joined on a loan to provide cover for Ikpeazu. He's only costing me 10 grand a month, a good deal in my eyes.

Conor Hourihane has joined on a free transfer to provide cover and compete with Max Bird as our DLP-D. Both players are of similar ability, so I can interchange according to form and fitness without weakening the side. Previously, either Watson or Jagielka (with Bielik stepping up into midfield) would have come in for Bird, weakening the side significantly.

Less excitingly, Christain Walton has signed on another free to play as a backup goalkeeper. Its a bit of a boring transfer, but necessary given Allsop's departure the previous January.

After Mengi's disappointing rejection, I had both Emanual Goldaniga and Erik Palmer-Brown on trial. Both players are similar in terms of technical ability, with Goldaniga better mentally and Palmer-Brown physically. In the end I offered both contracts, Goldaniga's work permit was rejected so Palmer-Brown will start as our central centre back this season. I'm going to continue pursuing a loan for Mengi, so he may find himself on the bench soon.

And finally, following @Stuniverse's recommendation Adam Idah has signed on a permanent deal from Norwich City. Initially I targeted Delap, then a loan for Idah when Delap rejected us again. However, Norwich wanted a ridiculous optional future fee which exceeded £4 million including installments and loan fees with a percentage of next sale, so I opted to sign him on a permanent deal for a total of £3.4 million including installments. He's impressed on matchday one, providing an assist for our first goal.

[Stuniverse]

43 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

Just played through the summer transfer window of season two

Looks like you’ve made half a dozen good signings there, @OJ403, who should improve your squad. Interestingly, in Christian Walton (Phillip Cocu) and Uche Ikpeaza (Wayne Rooney) you’ve signed two players Derby have been heavily linked with in the last couple of seasons. Ikpeazu was linked this summer but I didn’t include him on my Transfer Links post as Wycombe were looking for a transfer fee which Derby County were in no position to pay.

We’ve also been linked with Lukas Jutkiewicz in the more distant past, possibly even as far back as Nigel Clough’s tenure.

43 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

And finally, following @Stuniverse's recommendation Adam Idah has signed on a permanent deal from Norwich City.

Excellent. Do I get a finders fee?

I’ll be very interested to hear how he gets on for you but don’t blame me if he turns out to be rubbish.

43 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

beat Phillip Cocu's Stoke (not Barcelona - watch this space...) 3-1 on the opening day.

Fantastic start to the season.

Good luck 🍀 for the rest of the campaign.

Come on you 🐏s !

Edited October 30, 2021 by Stuniverse

[OJ403]

7 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Interestingly, in Christian Walton (Phillip Cocu) and Uche Ikpeaza (Wayne Rooney) you’ve signed two players Derby have been heavily linked with in the last couple of seasons

7 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

We’ve also been linked with Lukas Jutkiewicz in the more distant pass, possibly even as far back as Nigel Clough’s tenure.

I hadn't realised this at the time, but now you mention it maybe this subconsciously played a part in me bringing these players to the club! I was aware of the Ikpeazu link as I was incredibly keen for him to join, although I had forgot about both Walton and Jutkiewicz. In real football I'm not a huge fan of Jutkiewicz, I think he has very little ability and has made a career scoring jammy goals by being big and annoying but then given how I feel he must be doing his job right and thats all I want from him in FM too.

10 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Excellent. Do I get a finders fee?

I’ll be very interested to hear how he gets on for you but don’t blame me if he turns out to be rubbish.

Unfortunately even after selling Moor Farm (does anyone know if this actually has an impact to anything in game?) we can't afford such a fee! Although if his £5.75 million release fee gets activated before I can renew his deal and remove it that's definitely on you...

12 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Fantastic start to the season.

Good luck 🍀 for the rest of the campaign.

Come on you 🐏s !

The media currently predict us to come 13th, which I think is harsh. Personally I'm thinking around 8th, maybe a place or two either side of that according to our form across the season.

I feel slightly light at centre back as all three of our backups (Forsyth, Davies and Jagielka) are seeing the physicals plummet with no one's pace or acceleration above a 7 so incomings in this position are likely, even on a loan basis. Upfront I'm trusting Stretton and Duncan to cover Idah, so a loan here isn't out of the question either.

For context our squad looks like this heading into matchday two:(Sibley provides cover for Lawrence as our F9-S with Buchanan coming into the left WB-S role. I don't expect to sign out and out cover for Lawrence so as not to block Buchanan and Williams' paths to the first eleven.)

[Stuniverse]

17 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

In real football I'm not a huge fan of Jutkiewicz, I think he has very little ability and has made a career scoring jammy goals by being big and annoying but then given how I feel he must be doing his job right and thats all I want from him in FM too.

Exactly that. Although Jutkiewicz normally makes a nuisance of himself whenever he plays us and is a handful for the Rams DCs.

18 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

Unfortunately even after selling Moor Farm (does anyone know if this actually has an impact to anything in game?)

I don’t know categorically on this, and I’ve never seen the training ground sold in-game before, but I’d expect any sale or purchase in-game will be reflected in the finances. As FM is a football management simulation, not an accountancy simulation, it may only be reflected in a rudimentary way though.

20 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

Although if his £5.75 million release fee gets activated before I can renew his deal and remove it that's definitely on you...

🤣⚽️😂

21 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

I feel slightly light at centre back as all three of our backups (Forsyth, Davies and Jagielka) are seeing the physicals plummet with no one's pace or acceleration above a 7 so incomings in this position are likely, even on a loan basis. Upfront I'm trusting Stretton and Duncan to cover Idah, so a loan here isn't out of the question either.

Do you have your eye on anybody?

21 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

For context our squad looks like this heading into matchday two:

I’d be slightly nervous about Jozwiak as back-up for Byrne. If I remember correctly you’ve loaned Ebosele out. How is McDonald progressing?

[McKenzieCoach17]

Just finished my first season with Derby, luckily hit the ground running and made the 12 points back straight away. Ive been taken over twice and neither guy had money. The save was a real struggle up to January until I got some players in, the administrators let so many players leave on loan in the first window I was left with very little cover for all of the injuries. Luckily my new owners gave me some of the cash for Sibley (think it was 10%) and I could sign some cover. Koumetio in defence was amazing think he ended up my player of the year. Steven Fletcher got me out a slump of 9 matches without a win, played 4 scored 4 with 2 assists before rupturing his achilies. Fun so far and looking forward to my second season, a lot of players leaving big contracts on frees.