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

[Stuniverse]

On 13/03/2022 at 12:19, Stuniverse said:

My first Rams save with FM22.0.3 Winter Update

On my current FM Derby County save (FM22.0.3 Winter Update), I used the Pre-Game Editor to reinstate the players that were sold / let go by the Administrators in real-life, and set their future transfers for the dates they actually left the club.

 

Game #40 - Home v Preston North End

Game #41 - away v Swansea City

Krystian Bielik suspended (accumulation of yellow cards) for one match.

Game #42 - away v Fulham

Game #43 - away v Q.P.R.

Game #44 - Home v Bristol City

Game #45 - away v Blackpool

Game #46 - Home v Cardiff City

[WilsonJuve]

Talk about taking it to the wire. Congratulations on avoiding the drop. I can only imagine the stress of them last few games. 

[WilsonJuve]

1 hour ago, WilsonJuve said:

Managing the Rams and we are in January first season. My setup is no players brought back to the club and no first transfer window so we have to make do with what's at the club. Just hit 1st January and after 26 games we are in 20th 4 points clear of the drop the bottom two teams are 14 and 15 points behind. Still haven't came out of administration though so the January window could really ruin the season. 

Well it feels like I have won the lottery.........



A massive amount of stress taken off myself and the football club as a whole. Sadly we lost a couple of our younger prospects from the youth teams for pennies but we have managed to keep the first team squad together. No transfer funds as of now but we are back in a positive bank balance even if it is only £950k the most important thing is we can operate in the transfer market again and refuse and renegotiate player sales. The club has £7m club debt but its been arranged to pay only £61k per month until 2032 which is massive for us going forward. Now to try and convince some of the players to sign new contracts before the end of the season.

[WilsonJuve]

Just had my first youth intake and got a 4/5 decent players but this guy was the pick of the bunch. As everyone is aware the club is severely lacking good striking options and having a value of £7.4m-£14m at only 16 makes me think he could really develop going forward. Gonna stick him in a mentoring group and try and work on a few areas of his game. He is already decent enough to be a rotation player for the first team as we play tom Lawrence AML and Sibley as CAM meaning only Dos Santos, Stretton and Plange who is useless on my save are rated higher than him. Also after 38 games we sit 12th in the championship and with the first transfer window disabled and only one free transfer and a loan in January I'm delighted with how the first season is going. Also Rooney has landed on his feet securing the Middlesbrough job on the day of the screenshot who are 3rd with only 8 games to go.

Edited April 9, 2022 by WilsonJuve
Additional Info.

[Recyclic3021]

Seen Dr Benjy has a youtue Derby saved

 

[Stuniverse]

45 minutes ago, Recyclic3021 said:

Seen Dr Benjy has a youtue Derby saved

 

I’ve been watching the Doctor Benjy one and he’s doing a great job with plenty of humour as well.

I can also recommend this one, recently started, by Cultured Left Foot:

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

59 minutes ago, Recyclic3021 said:

Seen Dr Benjy has a youtue Derby saved

 

Awesome, funny video as always from Benjy. I look forward to seeing how much of a disaster he is going to have managing them lol.

[ChrisWarner97]

So I'm in Mid January, 23rd battling a 5 point gap, still no takeover and they've just sold Morrison, Newcastle were nice enough to loan me back Knight for the rest of the season.. I feel like I've got terrible luck here bar that though😂🤦🏻‍♂️

[Recyclic3021]

Saw Derby had been relegated irl, lets hope they bounce back soon

[Lewis007]

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

Pretty outrageous really  Just not expected at all. Newcastle also got relegated after spending £133.5M in January 

[Stuniverse]

9 hours ago, Lewis007 said:

  Hide contents

 

  Hide contents

 

Pretty outrageous really  Just not expected at all. Newcastle also got relegated after spending £133.5M in January 

Congratulations, @Lewis007 Well done!

[Stuniverse]

On 19/04/2022 at 00:03, Recyclic3021 said:

Saw Derby had been relegated irl, lets hope they bounce back soon

Yes, you are correct @Recyclic3021.

I'm actually not that bothered by relegation as all I've wanted this horrendous season is for DCFC to survive as a football club.

Right now, there is a communicated plan and positive noises coming from the Chris Kirchner / Garry Cook preferred bidder camp so fingers crossed.

It may actually be easier to rebuild in League One with less pressure / expectation.

Let's hope there's still a Derby County Football Club to manage in FM23!

[Stuniverse]

On 12/04/2022 at 01:03, ChrisWarner97 said:

So I'm in Mid January, 23rd battling a 5 point gap, still no takeover and they've just sold Morrison, Newcastle were nice enough to loan me back Knight for the rest of the season.. I feel like I've got terrible luck here bar that though😂🤦🏻‍♂️

Thanks for sharing, @ChrisWarner97.

Yes, it does sound like you rolled the dice and got double one with your save.

Hope things improve for you soon - some FM managers have reported their takeover came late in season one.

Five points is a gap you can make up. Come on you Rams!

[joshtownend]

Was a bit late to this challenge, decided to take it on once Derby had gone down irl. Haven't been watching much of the Championship this season so didn't have much idea of what could be learned to try and survive myself. Got a takeover in autumn 2021 but didn't get given anything to spend in January. Sold Ravel Morrison in January because he had barely even picked up tools to begin with, let alone downing them. That gave me a little bit to spend (just the wage budget he left behind mainly) so signed Korey Smith and Nathan Young-Coombes on loan. We were doing well up to that point anyway, we had cut the gap from safety down to 7 points, just needed a couple of bodies in to play closer to the way I wanted to set up. Secured survival with 2 games left and ended up with a 7 point cushion over the drop. Was given 7m to spend in summer which helped me pad out a squad that ended up as the division's overachievers. Main signing was Benteke for 1.1m from relegated Crystal Palace, who agreed to pay 30k p/w of his 42k p/w contract. It's felt like cheating having him in this league, he's scored 15 in 15. We're in 2nd, just 2 points off Sheffield United, the only team that's beaten us so far

Edited April 24, 2022 by joshtownend

[Jogo Bonito]

Nice to see some stories of struggle, which is satisfying if you like a challenge that doesn't get too easy too soon.

@StuniverseI guess if the takeover happens before the January transfer window, you'd be allowed to make pre-contract signings (to join in January) from places like Ireland, Norway, USA etc? And even free agents, who I guess can come in at any time - even before the winter window - once the embargo finishes? I'm assuming the embargo finishes as soon as a takeover happens.

[Jogo Bonito]

A potential Derby story in the making. What do you think @Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

On 24/04/2022 at 14:16, joshtownend said:

Was a bit late to this challenge, decided to take it on once Derby had gone down irl. Haven't been watching much of the Championship this season so didn't have much idea of what could be learned to try and survive myself. Got a takeover in autumn 2021 but didn't get given anything to spend in January. Sold Ravel Morrison in January because he had barely even picked up tools to begin with, let alone downing them. That gave me a little bit to spend (just the wage budget he left behind mainly) so signed Korey Smith and Nathan Young-Coombes on loan. We were doing well up to that point anyway, we had cut the gap from safety down to 7 points, just needed a couple of bodies in to play closer to the way I wanted to set up. Secured survival with 2 games left and ended up with a 7 point cushion over the drop. Was given 7m to spend in summer which helped me pad out a squad that ended up as the division's overachievers. Main signing was Benteke for 1.1m from relegated Crystal Palace, who agreed to pay 30k p/w of his 42k p/w contract. It's felt like cheating having him in this league, he's scored 15 in 15. We're in 2nd, just 2 points off Sheffield United, the only team that's beaten us so far

Thanks for the update, @joshtownend and congratulations on a successful season avoiding relegation after a 21 points deduction.

Although what happens with the takeover and when appears to be random - I’ve seen wide variations as to what happens and when through my experience and what has been reported on here - but your takeover seems like a typical one DCFC managers get.

Some excellent signings there both during the first season and in the Summer 2022 window.

Great start to the 2022/23 campaign. Good luck 🍀 in your Promotion Push!

[Stuniverse]

On 26/04/2022 at 20:00, Jogo Bonito said:

Nice to see some stories of struggle, which is satisfying if you like a challenge that doesn't get too easy too soon.

I think since the FM22 Winter Updates, when there’s a much depleted first team squad at the start of the save, the Challenge of keeping Derby County in the Championship has got a lot tougher. The original launch version had a -12 points deduction as well, rather than the -21 that Derby County had in real-life as the EFL added a further -9 after FM22 release date (although this was included in an update later in 2021).

On 26/04/2022 at 20:00, Jogo Bonito said:

I guess if the takeover happens before the January transfer window, you'd be allowed to make pre-contract signings (to join in January) from places like Ireland, Norway, USA etc? And even free agents, who I guess can come in at any time - even before the winter window - once the embargo finishes? I'm assuming the embargo finishes as soon as a takeover happens.

As I mentioned in my post above, I think what happens in the takeover and when is, for the most part, random but yes, generally speaking, you are correct. When the takeover goes through, the transfer embargo is lifted and normal rules regarding player signings and sales resume - it’s a good feeling not having the Administrators make all the decisions in an extreme version of the Director of Football Challenge I can tell you.

Of course, the wage and transfer budgets are down to the financial resources and ambition of the (random) new owner you get but, unless you are very lucky with a tycoon new owner, I wouldn’t expect much of a budget for the 2021/22 season.

[Stuniverse]

On 27/04/2022 at 19:47, Jogo Bonito said:

A potential Derby story in the making. What do you think @Stuniverse

Well, first of all @Jogo Bonito we need a new owner of the football club which, hopefully, will be preferred bidder Chris Kirchner otherwise we really will be in a mess.

Once there’s a new owner - whether it’s Kirchner, or someone else - then they can look at new sponsorship deals but having a local shirt sponsor like Rolls Royce would be nice.

In his press conference yesterday, Wayne Rooney sounded the most upbeat he has in a long while and spoke of a “very positive week off-the-field”: https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2022/04/pre-match-press-conference-wayne-rooney-blackpool-a

Hopefully, Chris Kirchner’s takeover of Derby County is very close now.

🤞🐏⚽️

[Jogo Bonito]

Wazza seems confident the Kirchner deal will be sorted within the week, which will be good for you if it happens by then. It sounds like Rooney has all the deals ready including recruitment, according to his comments a few days ago. If that is true, it really is incredible as most clubs even without your issues are nowhere near that stage and wouldn't be for a month or two. Maybe he has exaggerated a little, but a full pre-season would go a long way to reinventing your club.

I've not committed to Derby, but if I do it will be with Rolls Royce as sponsors and using the kits I have created. The challenge of managing them on the winter update is quite appealing. No choice but to go with youngsters, potential that some free transfers may be possible after the takeover, and no doubt a real struggle to get to safety.

A bizarre thing I noticed in my Valencia game on the winter update was that Derby got promoted during the first season via the play-offs. I have no idea how the AI would have achieved that 

Edited April 29, 2022 by Jogo Bonito

[priority76]

Just finished trying the Derby county "challenge".  An extremely frustrating season saw us relegated on the last day.  We were out the relegation zone for about the last month or so, being as much as five or six points clear at one point.  At the end of March I was sure we would stay up, we even managed an inexplicable 3-1 win away at Bournemouth.  However, our form in April dropped off a cliff and we went into the last game needing a win against Cardiff to avoid relegation.  We never looked like getting anything from the match and Stoke's victory against Coventry sent us down. 

It might have been different if the injuries hadn't been so bad.  Craig Forsyth damaged his cruciate ligament and put himself out for 7 months.  Also Bielek, upon returning from his eleven months out decided he wanted more time off and put himself out for another eight months.  Another problem was Ravel Morrison, I fell out with him pretty quickly and his attitude saw him put in the reserves and later transferred for free.  I was able to sign some players in January.  Stephen Welsh came in on loan from Celtic as a much needed centre back and did fairly well.  However, João Resende from Benfica and Hudson on a free were absolute rubbish.

Edited May 9, 2022 by priority76

[Stuniverse]

Thank you, David Clowes…

 

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Svartowiz]

I have a question regarding transfers. I'm no longer in administration and I try to sign some players. Free transfers is no problem, but when I try to buy players from other clubs it says that the transfer will go through next summer even though there's a January window right around the corner. Have I missed something? Shouldn't I be able to buy players after the takeover?

[Stuniverse]

20 minutes ago, Svartowiz said:

I have a question regarding transfers. I'm no longer in administration and I try to sign some players. Free transfers is no problem, but when I try to buy players from other clubs it says that the transfer will go through next summer even though there's a January window right around the corner. Have I missed something? Shouldn't I be able to buy players after the takeover?

That does sound a bit odd. Are there any clues on your Finances screens?

[Svartowiz]

16 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

That does sound a bit odd. Are there any clues on your Finances screens?

Do you mean this screen? I'm in the red, but I'm not under any embargo as far as I know. I've signed two players on a free as well. The projection is also showing us to get better in the coming seasons and getting our balance positive.

 

This is what it says on every player I try to bid on even though I'm in December:

[Stuniverse]

No clues there, @Svartowiz, what about on your Club Information screens?

[Svartowiz]

I think it might be a bug. I've just reached January and I'm able to sign players immediately now. Just weird that I couldn't prepare transfers before the window. Thanks for trying to help @Stuniverse 

[Stuniverse]

58 minutes ago, Svartowiz said:

This is what it says on every player I try to bid on even though I'm in December:

The only thing I can think of is are the players you are bidding on currently out on loan for the season?

Failing that, I’d suggest you raise it in the FM22 Bugs Tracker section of this Forum under Transfers: https://community.sigames.com/bugtracker/football-manager-2022-bugs-forum/transfers-contracts-scouting-recruitment-meetings-and-staff-responsibilities/

[Stuniverse]

3 minutes ago, Svartowiz said:

I think it might be a bug. I've just reached January and I'm able to sign players immediately now. Just weird that I couldn't prepare transfers before the window. Thanks for trying to help @Stuniverse 

It does sound like a bug. Glad you are able to sign players again.

How is your season going?

[Svartowiz]

8 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

How is your season going?

I’m not with my computer for a few days, but I can give a brief summary. I’m still in the relegation zone, but only by a few points.

I’ve had a hard time deciding on which formation to use with the team, but I’ve used a 4-3-1-2 most of the season with mixed success. I’ve beaten some of the best teams in the league but also lost some games against teams I should be beating.

I feel that I’m missing a clinical striker to win some of those 50/50 games, so that will be my main target this January. I would also like to bring in a decent central defender which isn’t 30+. Right now the only transfers in are Jerome Sinclair and Brandon Mason which were both signed for free. Sinclair is a starter with Tom Lawrence on top, while Mason is a backup for the left back position.

I’ve mutually terminated the contracts of Ravel Morrison and Kelle Roos because there were no buyers and I wanted to get rid of the wages. I’ve sold Chris Forsyth and Colin Kazim-Richards while Bobby Duncan was sold during administration.

[Svartowiz]

I'm done with the first season now and we survived!

It was a tough season and we had lots of losing and winning streaks through the season and as seen in the picture our end of the season was dreadful with only 1 win in 5. Therefore it was an open relegation battle to the last couple of rounds.

Regarding transfers we made some business in January. Our first purchase was Danilo Pereira from Ajax which has been key to our survival. He only costed us £160K and I'm sure he will bring in much more than that in the future with 12 goals in 18 games in the league.

I also wanted some younger central defenders, and we spent almost £3M in total on our new partnership made out of Maxime Estève and Dominic Hyam. Lastly we loaned José Izquierdo to be backup for our strikers, but he didn't make any difference for us when he got the chance.

Lastly we sold Louie Sibley for £11M + 40% of next sale to Man Utd. He was loaned back to us for the rest of the season.

[Svartowiz]

The second season has been completed, and it went beyond all expectations. We won The Championship comfortably with 107 points! A big reason for our dominance was certainly to be found in our transfers. We loaned (and later bought) Christopher Scott and Roberto Fernández who both did really well. In addition, we brought in a couple of free Swedes in the form of Simon Gustafson and Jacob Rinne, both of whom were regular starters for most of the season. However, they have both been sold on after promotion for a total of £15M.

A little money was also spent. Shayne Lavery scored a lot of goals for Blackpool the season before, including a hattrick against us, and we chose to buy him for £3.8M, which was well worth it as he became our top scorer with 26 goals in the league. Gastón Pereiro came in for just £825K, which turned out to be the Player of the Year in The Championship.

In January we also brought in Freddie Woodman for £400K as a replacement for Rinne, as well as Felix Passlack for just £210K after he was left out in the cold at Dortmund. He was seen as a replacement for Festy Ebosele who we unfortunately had to sell as he refused to extend his contract and only had half a year left. Unfortunately we only got £3M for him, which must be said to be far too little. Dominic Hyan was also sold on for £1.4M as he was unhappy with a lack of game time and Krystian Bielik who was constantly injured and our highest paid player was sent home to the Polish league on a free.

We've got relatively big transfer budget for next season, so I'm excited to see if I can get some Premier League quality in before the start of the season. The objective must clearly be to survive, as on paper we have the weakest team (besides Stoke) and the smallest economy.

Edited August 29, 2022 by Svartowiz

[Stuniverse]

Congratulations, @Svartowiz. Great signings and fantastic achievement.

Survival season 1, Champions season 2.

⚽️🐏😀

Edited August 29, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Svartowiz]

53 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Congratulations, @Svartowiz. Great signings and fantastic achievement.

Survival season 1, Champions season 2.

⚽️🐏😀

Thank you! I'm excited to see how we're going to fare in the Premiership. 😅

Are you playing with Derby at the moment?

[Stuniverse]

1 hour ago, Svartowiz said:

Thank you! I'm excited to see how we're going to fare in the Premiership. 😅

Understandably so after a great season. Please keep us updated on your progress.

Good luck!

1 hour ago, Svartowiz said:

Are you playing with Derby at the moment?

Sort of... but not really.

As the (Assistant) Researcher for Derby County (DCFC) I'm busy working on getting the DCFC data in good shape for FM23. I've been the DCFC researcher for a few seasons now but, to be honest, there has never been as much work to do in the off-season / pre-season / first transfer window as there has been this summer. A new Owner, a new (interim) manager, and only five players contracted beyond the end of last season. There's been a lot going on, and lots for me to research and work through from a data perspective.

I probably will fire up another Derby save (with changes made in the FM22 pre-game Editor) once the transfer window has closed and I'm on top of the data research.

 

[L7M]

Heading into my final season before FM23. So far..

Relegated from Championship first season

Won League one with 125 points losing only the first game of the season.

Won Championship after getting off to a great start winning the first 17 games.

Premier league finishes 17th, 13th, 13th, 12th, 3rd & 3rd.

1 Cup final and several semi finals.

Won the world cup with Wales in 2026.

[Stuniverse]

18 minutes ago, L7M said:

Heading into my final season before FM23. So far..

Relegated from Championship first season

Won League one with 125 points losing only the first game of the season.

Won Championship after getting off to a great start winning the first 17 games.

Premier league finishes 17th, 13th, 13th, 12th, 3rd & 3rd.

1 Cup final and several semi finals.

Won the world cup with Wales in 2026.

Congratulations. Impressive performance there, @L7M. 

So are you about to start the 2030/31 season?

Good luck 🍀

[L7M]

On 04/09/2022 at 19:14, Stuniverse said:

Congratulations. Impressive performance there, @L7M. 

So are you about to start the 2030/31 season?

Good luck 🍀

31/32. Forgot to include the season I just done finishing 5th.

[L7M]

Had more time on my hands than I thought.

I managed to finish the following season in 9th. Does moving stadiums while your curent home ground is being expanded make a difference? I had terrible form.

Couldnt leave it at that, Followed it up with a Cup and league double the following season. 

 

Edited October 2, 2022 by L7M

[Stuniverse]

12 hours ago, L7M said:

Had more time on my hands than I thought.

I managed to finish the following season in 9th. Does moving stadiums while your curent home ground is being expanded make a difference? I had terrible form.

Couldnt leave it at that, Followed it up with a Cup and league double the following season. 

Congratulations, @L7M.Well done!

I suspect it does make a difference (where did you play?) but having never experienced that myself, I wouldn't know.

[L7M]

8 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Congratulations, @L7M.Well done!

I suspect it does make a difference (where did you play?) but having never experienced that myself, I wouldn't know.

Played home games in Leicester, Stuart Pearce Park 😁. Had more losses in that season than the previous 2 combined.

[Stuniverse]

[FM23-Derby County] Why manage the Rams? How are you getting on?

Thank you to everybody who has contributed to or read this FM22 thread. I have now created the FM23 version...

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Stuniverse

[Stomalomalus]

Started a Derby save. Struggling a little with bad luck, poor finishing, and poor keeping.

Got lucky that I got taken over before the end of the transfer window, and didn't lose anyone. I could sign Lamine Sane on a free transfer, and then bring in Billy Koumetio, Sam Greenwood, Tyler Morton, and Adam Karabec on loan. After a decent start, I've just gone 5 without winning, culminating in our worst performance, a 3-0 loss to relegation rivals Preston.

The thing is, they beat us on xG...just. Alsopp is conceding way too many, and our forwards are wasteful.

We're scoring 1.5/game from an xG of 1.7, which is OK. But we're conceding 1.8 from an xGa of 1.3. So something needs to give.

 

I'm going to give Alsopp a rollicking and hope that improves things. I've struggled to keep my wing backs fit, been a lot of rotation, especially on the right. Lawrence is going to leave on a free, which is a shame, but also we have the problem that our performances are linked to his. We need to solve that.

[kopfan1977]

19 minutes ago, Stomalomalus said:

Started a Derby save. Struggling a little with bad luck, poor finishing, and poor keeping.

Got lucky that I got taken over before the end of the transfer window, and didn't lose anyone. I could sign Lamine Sane on a free transfer, and then bring in Billy Koumetio, Sam Greenwood, Tyler Morton, and Adam Karabec on loan. After a decent start, I've just gone 5 without winning, culminating in our worst performance, a 3-0 loss to relegation rivals Preston.

The thing is, they beat us on xG...just. Alsopp is conceding way too many, and our forwards are wasteful.

We're scoring 1.5/game from an xG of 1.7, which is OK. But we're conceding 1.8 from an xGa of 1.3. So something needs to give.

 

I'm going to give Alsopp a rollicking and hope that improves things. I've struggled to keep my wing backs fit, been a lot of rotation, especially on the right. Lawrence is going to leave on a free, which is a shame, but also we have the problem that our performances are linked to his. We need to solve that.

Put your faith in Kelle Roos. I was the same with Alsopp. He kept blundering so dropped him and never looked back.

[Stomalomalus]

 

3 minutes ago, kopfan1977 said:

Put your faith in Kelle Roos. I was the same with Alsopp. He kept blundering so dropped him and never looked back.

Sold him. Wages were too high and I still wanted to try and keep Lawrence. Bought in Alnwick as backup instead, he's on 2k a week, that's a huge difference.

 

But my changes worked. Held a team meeting, told Allsop I believed, and Morrison, too, and we thrashed Luton 5-1. Also restored Plange, who looked good up top, and bought Morton back in at the base of midfield. Also helps to have a fit Festy at RB, he's a difference maker.

[Stomalomalus]

A quick follow up before I turn off the computer. So after 5 without a win, it's now 5 won in a row. The team meeting worked. After 17, we've crept up to +7 points. Without the points deduction, we'd be just outside the playoffs.

Of course, Curtis Davies has been great, but he's only our joint top scorer with Sam Greenwood, who's been very good these past games. Lawrence is still far our best player, though. Festy has been incredible since stringing together a run of games, though: looking forward to how he develops.

[Stomalomalus]

So today's quick run took us to 21 games played, and saw us escape the relegation zone. Wonderful win over Bristol City sees us in 21st.

In bad news, though, Lawrence has asked to leave. I told him I'd accept offers, but won't actively sell him. Part of me hopes no-one comes in for him, but also, it might be worth cashing in on him now, as he doesn't want to stay anyway.

Question is, who to replace him with? McAtee has gone on loan to Hull and Cole Palmer is in City's first team squad. Hopefully they still make him available for loan in Jan, then I could replace Lawrence with him, potentially. Bielik is also approaching fitness. I may just look to change up my formation slightly, as Morrison isn't working in CAM as an APa. Maybe I drop that position back to the centre and have a 41311. I'll have to have a think about that. Otherwise, maybe Knight moves forward. Not sure Karabec is good enough for the starring role as SS.

[Stomalomalus]

Game 42 and a last minute winner from Sam Greenwood against champions elect Fulham saw us mathematically safe from the drop, in 13th place with 52 points.

Tom Lawrence has been magnificent for a different reason recently, as corner goals have dried up, he's found his shooting boots in a new role as AP instead of SS. He's not even our top assist maker, that goes to Sibley, who has been superb.

Tied everyone I want down to a contract for next season. This is my squad right now, minus the loans:

GK - Foulkes and Roberts - yeah, I need a first team goalie or 2.

RB - Ebosele and McDonald - these two have been very good. Byrne is always injured, and his wages are better elsewhere, so no new contract.
LB - Buchanan - that's it right now. I like the look of Grewal-Pollard, but not sure he's up to it. I've had loanee Adaramola in to back up Buchanan since Jan.
CB - Sane, Davies, Cachin - again, need a new body in here, though Bielik can cover.
DM-DLPd - Bielik and Bird - both can cover elsewhere. Morton has been excellent on loan, I wouldn't say no to taking him again.
BWMs - Thomson - Bird has mainly played here, but Thomson is looking good, imo, for a lot of games next season.
BTB - Sibley and Knight - Definitely good enough here.
SS - Ebiowei - need someone here, for sure.
APa - no-one. Sibley can play here, and well, but another place I need someone. Lawrence would be good to keep...but not sure that's going to happen, and his wages are huge.
AF - Duncan and Stretton - Not good enough. Duncan could be backup next season, but Stretton isn't good enough. Need someone here, I'd like Greenwood or Simic back.

So, work to be done. I'm looking at a lot of Man City youth to come in, and checking on who becomes available for transfer. I didn't get a big takeover, so no real money to spend. Will have to wheel and deal, so a cup run would be nice. Get some attention in.

[Stomalomalus]

So turns out I made a happy mistake.

It showed my next season transfer budget as 64k. But at the end of the season, I was given 16m to spend. Needless to say, I wasn't spending that much, but I did end up spending a little more than planned.

In came:

Charlie Goode CB 2m
Tudor Baluta CB/DM Free
Angus Gunn GK 400k
Adam Davies GK 500k
Kieran Dowell CAM 115k
Niels Nkounko LB 1.2m
David Strelec CF 4m

I also renewed the loans of Naci Unuvar, Tyler Morton, and Sam Greenwood.

That leaves me, after loans out, with a first team squad of:

GK: Gunn, Davies, Foulkes
RB: Ebosele, McDonald, Bardell
CB: Goode, Davies, Baluta, Sane
LB: Buchanan, Nkounko, McDonald
DM: Morton, Bielik, Bird, Baluta
BWM: Thompson, Bird, Bielik
BTB: Knight, Sibley, Bird
SS: Naci Unuvar, Strelec, Solskjaer
AP: Dowell, Sibley, Unuvar
AF: Greenwood, Strelec, Unuvar

With players covering across multiple positions, I like to have three players for each position. So we're sorted there with Bielik also capable at CB.

Season has started well. First game was 0-0 against relegated Norwich, and second was a 1-0 loss against Hull - with another 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough in the Carabao sandwiched. Since then, all wins. Hoping for promotion, to be honest. I will need to do some pretty substantial rebuilding to the squad if that happens, especially at CB, but as both Davies and Sane will leave at the end of the season, I'd have needed to anyway.

Need to get there first, which means wins, wins, wins.

[Stomalomalus]

A great run until the World Cup pushed us up toward the top of the table, but Norwich and Brighton were already running away with the league. And then my usually winter slump came. Poor results and injuries, including Sam Greenwood, who was having a stonking season, dropped me very close to leaving the playoffs. And then January bought upheval, as both Ebosele and Bird wanted to leave. I kept the former, though he wouldn't be happy, but Bird left for Watford for 9m. In his place came Josh Dasilva from Brentford, while I also bought in Phillips from Liverpool on loan and Sieb up top, also on loan.

Greenwood finished the season with the golden boot with 34 league goals, while Dowell got the most assists, with a huge 24, at least half of which came from open play.

And we won the playoff final, beating Stoke to get promotion.

It started well enough. Liverpool wanted OK money for both Phillips and Morton, and while Leeds wanted a bit much for Greenwood, I thought it was doable. Then Bielik came asking for a new contract. Fine, let's talk. 70k a week. Jeez. So he left for Russia. Sibley, Thompson, Goode and Dowell all also wanted new contracts, but with wages in the 20s, that was fine. Cut into my wage budget for new signings, though.

Morton then didn't want to sign. Greenwood wanted insane wages. Ajax wouldn't loan Unavar back. But suddenly I noticed Gvardiol was available for 24m. Sure, it was half my budget on a player I didn't exactly need, but still. So I signed him. Who wouldn't. Phillips joined, too, as did Soumare from Leicester and Flynn Downes from Swansea. Cardoso also joined from West Ham for pittance, and Roerslev joined to replace Burnley bound Ebosele. Which left me with a forward problem. No-one wanted to join. At least no-one of the quality I was after.

Nketiah said no.
Greenwood wanted too much.
Sieb turned me down.
All loanees came with huge fees.
 

I ended up with a choice between Jebbison from Sheffield United for almost 20m or Koita from Salzburg for 7m... Yeah, I wonder who I went for. The whole aim with signings is that they have resale value. I didn't want to splash out on players I'd make a loss on. Pre-season went well, despite some niggling injuries, and I was very tempted to promote a couple of youths to the first team squad. In the end I loaned them out instead.

I looked at both Lewis-Potter and Johnson from Forest as attacking midfielders, but they both wanted to be star players...that wasn't going to happen. I thought I'd take my time, but before the first game, I lost DaSilva and Strelec to injury, along with Knight. So I signed Kozlowski on loan from Brighton to fill the gap, and then tried to fill the final forward slot. After a lot of searching, Hwang Hee-Chan joined from Wolves for a bargain fee, but only after the first game of the season...which I'll get to later.

So my squad was:

GK: Gunn, Davies, Foulkes
RB: Roerslev, McDonald
CB: Gvardiol, Goode, Phillips, Cardoso, Baluta
LB: Buchanan, Nkounko
DM: Soumare
BWM: Thompson, Downes
BTB: Knight, Sibley
SS: Dasilva
AP: Dowell, Kozlowski
AF: Koita, Strelec, Hwang

 

First game of the season is against Liverpool. Kozlowski had just joined, DaSilva passed a fitness test but was in no state to start, Nkounko was out, McDonald had no fitness, and Knight and Strelec both missed out. Hwang hadn't signed yet.

We were losing 1-0, no big deal against Liverpool, when Koita went and got himself sent off. Sigh. Duncan had to come on, despite me trying to usher him out the door. 5-0 it ended. Not good.

We have an exciting signing arriving in January, Roony Bardghji, let's hope we're not cut adrift by then.