[FM22] Newcastle United F.C - Richest club in the world

[Tee2]

Summer Signings and the Effect of FFP

Tempting though it is to go away and look up Dani Olmo’s minimum fee release clause,  the reality is that any spending we plan to do must comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) requirements. I’ve tried playing a Newcastle save twice previously in FM22. Both efforts, one of which involved us being restricted to English players, the other without any such nonsense, led to the club being massively over its FFP limit and unlikely to be able to claw itself back towards safety. Whilst I’ve never chanced my arm with dodging these restrictions in the past, the potential is for Newcastle to be fined, or have points dropped, or miss out on a European place that we have fought hard to achieve, so it just isn’t worth irritating the Masters of Fairness. What you think about this is of course up to you. There’s a strong argument to be made for our spending being artificially restricted just to help maintain the status quo, but it is what it is, and we have no choice but to comply.

The big problem here isn’t so much the club’s spending power, rather it’s the resale value of the players we want to lose i.e. very little. I think it says a lot about Newcastle’s recent fortunes that the squad contains so little worth. Despite the low value, these people tend to be paid at a reasonably competitive rate, so even if we don’t get much back in terms of a transfer fee, we could use not having their wages to deal with any longer. It’s a fire sale. Come one, come all, (nearly) everything must go!

My aim is to sign a lot of players, none of whom cost a lot but are or will become reliable Premier League regulars. If I can have a good first eleven, mainly for taking on the league games, and reasonable back-ups for each position, and pray to the Mermaid Goddess of Atlantis that we don’t suffer too many injuries, then maybe we’ll be fine.

Goalkeepers

I’d love Andre Onana, who will still be serving a ban until November, so there’s little point for now. In the end, it comes down to a straight choice between Ugurkan Cakir and Dominik Livakovic. We opt for the latter, I suspect because he’s the first of the pair to agree terms. He’s fairly priced, at £14 million, a current Croatian international, and he will slot in as starter. I chance my arm at selling Darlow, with no luck, while Mark Gillespie does go, joining Seattle for £2.6 million, the sort of decent deal we do not get to repeat too often.

Right-Backs

Emil Krafth is already listed when I start, and see no reason to change his status. He goes to Brighton for £2.2 million. I stick with the partnership of Trippier and Javi Manquillo until the eve of the season, when I finally see the latter as clearly not being good enough. While he leaves one door (£2.6 million to Zenit), I sort out the deal for Ruben Pena, a 30 year old, reliable full-back who is transfer-listed at Villarreal. The veteran will pull up no trees, but he’s cheap (£4.5 million) and the sort of club stalwart who shouldn’t panic us too much if something bad happens to Captain Trips.

Left-Backs

No changes required. Matt Targett is here on loan from Villa, a good runner for the left flank who I may consider bringing in permanently, dependent on the upcoming season’s adventure, of course. Lewis is in great demand once he’s listed for loan, ending up with FC Koln, and a promise to start regularly. That leaves Dummett, a decent Wales international full-back who probably won’t see too much action.

Centre-Backs

Probably the main area for development. Unlike Ossie Ardiles, I like and respect a good defence, and we don’t have it. My first punt is for Alessio Romagnoli, the Milan ball-playing centre-half who can be had for around £6 million. I’m a huge fan, even if the promise of his early years hasn’t quite translated into the player he’s become. Still, he’s a brilliantly technical defender, and all I need is to partner him with a beast. This is Nikola Milenkovic, the frankly enormous hulk who we get from Fiorentina for £23 million. At just 23, I think he’s an excellent purchase, and he and Romagnoli ought to complement each other ideally.

With little faith placed in any of the incumbents, I look elsewhere to build a back-up unit to my preferred starters. We need more English players in the side, and I go for Tosin Adarabioyo, the Fulham defender who costs around £11 million. At a similar height to Milenkovic, there’s the intoxicating prospect of a land of the giants in our back line to consider. The technical alternative is Oscar Mingueza, plucked from Barcelona B for £14m. He’s only 22, can play equally well at right-back, indeed this might be his future role, and will have the time to grow and develop.

On August deadline day, we strike again to bring in Dan-Axel Zagadou, available cheaply because he has refused to agree a new contract with Borussia Dortmund. At 22, ‘Zag’ has a string of injuries, worryingly the same one (knee ligament problems), though nothing chronic has been identified by the club’s physios. Best of all is the price - £7.25 million – for someone who, by rights, should be fighting for a place in the starting eleven.

Of the outgoing players, Ciaran Clark goes to Nantes (£1.8 million), and Pachuca pick up Federico Fernandez for £2.5 million. Fabian Schar will see out the final year of his Newcastle contract on loan at Huddersfield. Hannover 96 solves the problem of Dan Burn for a year by taking him on loan. Finally, there’s Jamaal Lascelles, who I really don’t rate, is transfer-listed and joins Kobenhavn for £1.3 million. It’s a price I think is about right, but Jonjo Shelvey doesn’t think so, appalled that I’ve left the captain leave. But more on this below.

Defensive Midfielders

No changes. Bruno Guimaraes is perfect for this pivotal position and looks willing to develop within it. Isaac Hayden will do as back-up.

Central Midfielders

My only big concern here is a lack of depth. Sean Longstaff isn’t ready for consistent selection in this team, and joins FC St Pauli on loan for the season, with a brief to play all the time. A new contract is agreed for him. That leaves Jonjo Shelvey, Willock and Joelinton. The former spits his dummy out over the sale of Lascelles, and remains inconsolable about having the matter resolved. There’s only one way for this to end – another loan deal, because we can’t sell him, with FC Nurnburg in Bundesliga 2, which ought to say everything about his perceived value. Joelinton kicks off about Jonj leaving. I had no intention of selling him, but I’m not too bothered about retaining him either, and his sale is marked as our biggest of the window. Dinamo Moscow produce £13 million to make him theirs. It’s probably for the best.

Joe Willock is the only one I was absolutely keen to keep, but we’re now looking short on bodies in the middle. The first to arrive is Nemanja Maksimovic, another Serb, the box-to-box midfielder setting us back £10.5 million in moving on from Getafe. Various names are scouted as the starting advanced playmaker. Ross Barkley is looked at, with his massive salary demands being a put-off. We check out Fiorentina’s Gaetano Castrovilli, but in the end we have the opportunity to snap up Ismael Bennacer, Algerian international and Milan regular, and get him for £33 million. It’s a lot, but so’s he, a high quality technical player who can drop back into defensive midfield should the need arise.

We then sign Dani Ceballos, as the asking price has dropped during the window. £4.9 million turns out to be enough for a Mezzala whose value quadruples upon registration. His wage demand drops to £80k per week, so that’s good also. We make an additional play for Ruben Loftus-Cheek as the transfer window is starting to close, but by the time we snake in, he’s already having his medical with Union Berlin and is gone. But not forgotten.

Attacking Midfielders – Right

Ryan Fraser’s services are retained. Those of Jacob Murphy are not. He drops to the Championship, joining West Brom for £2.6 million. Various players are eyeballed as alternatives, but for reasons of economy plump for Suso. He only costs £7.5 million from Sevilla, a creative inverted winger whose younger years with Liverpool include him within our homegrown players count.

Attacking Midfielders – Left

I decide against any new faces. Miguel Almiron is good enough to be in the squad, and Allan Saint-Maximin is more important than that, the side’s only bona fide star player. There’s just Matt Ritchie, a transfer-listed player whose departure I hurry along. He joins Celtic for a cut-price £1.3 million.

Strikers

Nothing is altered for this window. I prefer advanced forwards, so Callum Wilson gets the nod of Chris Wood, a target man who I certainly believe can be useful.  Dwight Gayle goes to Oxford on loan. I can’t see him kicking a ball for anger with us ever again.

[BadAss88]

Op 26-3-2022 om 14:43 zei Steels:

Newcastle, January season 2021/2022:

IN

OUT

[Tee2]

Early November 2021 - Progress Update

Without the distraction of European games, something I hope I will be an issue for this first season only, I aim to use my first-string side in the league, and field others for the cup ties. Ideally, this will give everyone an opportunity, though I can see it growing as an issue when players who had ‘Regular starter’ status under the old regime start to realise they are barely being used. All the same, there are already very few first team players left from before this year started (whether signed by me or in that interim period betwixt Ashley departing and me joining), and getting a bunch of reasonably talented individuals working together as a well-oiled machine will take some time. In that sense, giving the same players a lot of football together should push to process. The other issue is injuries. I try hard not to field anyone who is named as high risk going into a match. This is particularly an issue after the international window, for those lucky few who are being called up to play for their countries, which in our case is not many, but those who do go are often jetting off to distant climes e.g. Chris Wood to New Zealand; Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron.

Premier League

After a shaky start, we have regularly occupied a top six slot. If we can finish in a European position, whichever of the competitions, then I’ll be happy with a side that is charged with achieving a place in the table’s upper half.

The opener at home to Spurs was rough. After easing into the game and creating a slew of chances, we finally went ahead only to concede a couple of late sickeners. I put this down to being up against a team that was at least as good as us, and wielding a group that was essentially getting to know each other still. We soon made up for it with a couple of very good results, and have since settled down to winning our home games and being competitive on the road.

Character and mental toughness among the players is developing. A turgid tie at St James against Crystal Palace looked to be heading for disaster when Zaha put the visitors in front, however a shuffling of the pack later and we responded with two late strikes, both assisted by Ryan Fraser, who had replaced the anonymous Suso on the right wing. It was especially good to see, because it suggested there is a little quality in depth within the squad; I hadn’t seen much of this beforehand.

Then there are the times when we just don’t look like we are in the race. Away to Leicester, who were second to our third at the time, we collapsed to two swiftly taken efforts by Patson Daka. What made it frustrating was that we actually racked up more shots and had better possession, but we lacked the cutting edge that Daka produced for the Foxes. Defeat to anyone other than the traditional big hitters is hard to take. It’s at this sort of moment that I look at my bench, at the likes of Almiron and Wood, and I see nothing that will strike terror into opposition defenders. But there’s context also. Leicester are probably as good as we are, and their side is far more settled, plus of course there’s home advantage to take into account. Still, a difficult day at the track.

We also have moments when we take on a big injury, and suddenly the picture looks altogether gloomier. Callum Wilson is removed from the win over Villa, quite early, with what looks like an innocuous knock. It turns out to be a calf strain, which will rob us of his services across the whole of November and into early December. Callum will miss Manchester City and Liverpool. In his absence, we have Chris Wood, and then it’ll be a case of square-pegging Saint-Maximin into a centre forward’s role. Wilson isn’t an unbelievable striker, but he has scored six in ten for us, and he looks twice the forward that Wood (no goals in five appearances) does. A big loss.

Carabao Cup

The wisdom of my decision to rest the usual starters came into question when we went down at the first time of asking, at home to Norwich. The match finished 1-1, but the Canaries prevailed in the penalty shoot-out, scoring from all five as we hit the post with our first effort. A shame, as I saw this competition as an opportunity to blood Newcastle’s lesser lights, but now we will have to wait for the FA Cup or for the rush of injuries to other players.

Heroes

1. Suso – the Spanish winger has settled in quickly, a constant threat down the right, teaming up well with Trippier and creating a string of chances for Wilson or our marauding midfielders.
2. Romagnoli/Milenkovic – I’m so pleased with my central defensive partnership, a twosome that complements each other almost perfectly, and deals with most opposition attacks with little fuss. The latter, a gritty defender who I see as an inspirational figure, is playing as though he’s determined to set an example, but ‘Roma’ is similarly a leader on the pitch, with the kind of vision that makes him invaluable at this level. Not bad progress for a new pair of centre-backs.
3. Trippier – now our vice-captain, Trips is the side’s only outright Team Leader (Maksimovic has taken the armband), and he’s wonderful on the pitch, someone who constantly seems to be in the right place, at the right time, on his flank.

Villains

1. Almiron – the Paraguayan winger appears to be diminishing, used as a back-up to Saint-Maximin and increasingly sparingly so. When he’s not recuperating from playing for his country, he’s largely coming on as a substitute and vanishing into dark recesses of the field. I’m not impressed. Speaking of the Saint…
2. Saint-Maximin – the squad’s only incumbent star hasn’t been playing like one. While Suso has emerged as a valuable attacking force on the right, left-sided Allan has done surprisingly little. The basics are all fine, but it’s those marginal gains – racing past defenders, putting in telling crosses, etc – that are an issue. Arsenal want him, and I’m tempted to cash in.
3. Ceballos – I can’t be too critical of someone who was signed so cheaply, yet the Spaniard has made very little impact. Riddled with training ground injuries, rarely fit to start, he hasn’t looked like breaking up the Maksimovic-Bennacer partnership in central midfield and, a bit like when he was at the Gunners, he’s disappearing into the background once again.

Overall Squad Feelings

My ideas of who to retain and get rid of are amended all the time. One good showing, as in Fraser against Palace, and I remember it’s a fluid situation, but broadly this is where I am with the squad:

Targett hasn’t impressed as much as I would like, and though he would cost around £15 million (not a king’s ransom), I get the itch that there are better players to have as regular starters at left-back. Dubravka is still injured, but Livakovic has started so positively that I can see me cashing in on him in January. Darlow is likely to be retained until we can have Freddie Woodman back as the permanent reserve keeper. Wood seems to do little when he’s called upon in attack. Our system doesn’t really favour having a target man, so he’s used more as a pressing forward; even so, the gulf in quality between the Kiwi and an all-action striker like Wilson is plain to see.

On the plus side, even in these early days I’m very pleased with my set of centre-backs. This is exactly what I want, two regulars plus some squad rotation players to come in as and when required. Zagadou has recently returned from his torn knee ligament injury and will take time to settle in, but he will. Tosin and Mingueza are perfectly fine, developing back-ups.

At this early stage, left-back and attacking areas look like the areas I will be working on next summer. FFP means I will have the capacity to do little in January, so unless an unbelievable bargain presents itself, what you’re seeing is more or less what we have. We do have one space left in the squad, and with eleven homegrown players it’s a free hit for talent across the world. I like the look of Karim Adeyemi, available for around fifteen million, nor do we have to sell in order to buy, though we will need to in order to play fair financially.

[BadAss88]

@Tee2 Nice to follow your save with Newcastle, as I'm in the same phase in my save at the moment. I've managed to avoid a relegation battle when taking over in November and I'm now battling for Europe but my FFP is red for continental competition as I signed a lot of players in January but couldn't sell high enough on some deadwood. I'm not sure if I can fix this before the end of the season..or what the board can invest to make this right.

This is my starting line-up:

Dubravka
Mukiele - Lacroix - Milenkovic - Lewis
Hayden
Longstaff - Mkhitaryan
Saint-Maximin -------------------------------- Gouiri
Calvert-Lewin

[Tee2]

1 hour ago, BadAss88 said:

@Tee2 Nice to follow your save with Newcastle, as I'm in the same phase in my save at the moment. I've managed to avoid a relegation battle when taking over in November and I'm now battling for Europe but my FFP is red for continental competition as I signed a lot of players in January but couldn't sell high enough on some deadwood. I'm not sure if I can fix this before the end of the season..or what the board can invest to make this right.

This is my starting line-up:

Dubravka
Mukiele - Lacroix - Milenkovic - Lewis
Hayden
Longstaff - Mkhitaryan
Saint-Maximin -------------------------------- Gouiri
Calvert-Lewin

Thanks, and nice one - that looks like a decent line-up and you have made more use of the existing players than I did. By the end of season one I was just over my FFP limit and the board dug out a sponsorship deal to put us in the “green”, so I don’t know if it’s really something you have to worry about, or if the club will always find a way. 
 

I’m in the second season, close to the World Cup break, with ideas of who to sign and sell, once again sailing close to FFP limits so I’ve no idea whether to stick or twist…

[warlock]

39 minutes ago, Tee2 said:

I was just over my FFP limit and the board dug out a sponsorship deal

I'm running a Fulham save, FFP losses of around £72m and got to December 1 first season. Open my advent calendar and the board have rustled up an £82m one-year sponsorship deal . Problem solved!

[Tee2]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

I'm running a Fulham save, FFP losses of around £72m and got to December 1 first season. Open my advent calendar and the board have rustled up an £82m one-year sponsorship deal . Problem solved!

Hmm, so I could be worrying about nothing then…. And I do worry about it. It feels to me as though the Newcastle save is about having all this money but carefully “growing” the club at the same time, as in performing better so that sponsorship deals, prize money, etc, increases their spending capacity. If, on the other hand, I can just go out and blow millions because NUFC will always dig out a new shaving partner or suchlike then it feels like much less of a challenge, doesn’t it?

[warlock]

56 minutes ago, Tee2 said:

it feels like much less of a challenge

Agreed. The trouble is, we don't really know how club finances work in FM. The Fulham thing is the most obvious I've seen, but I've had other saves with smaller financial issues where the club just magicks the money from somewhere. Towards the end of FM there were a number of saves posted online where people took on Barcelona in their financial meltdown. In at least one instance, it required a tremendous effort to doctor the save so that Barca's billion euro deficit didn't just melt away over the course of a couple of seasons.

On the other hand, since we have so little control over club finances I can see why SI might have opted for a 'safe' approach to money. It would be really annoying if, having done everything to build the club sensibly and cautiously, you then had the club do a Derby, Oldham or any of a dozen similar examples and become bankrupt or disappear completely. So it's rather unrealistic on the one hand, rather unfair on the other 

[Tee2]

January 2022 - Progress Update

I love the Data Hub, until it tells me things that I don’t want to hear. According to the number crunchers, we are great at attacking, but shaky defensively. I can’t argue with that. Of all Newcastle’s separate units, the defence has been reshaped most comprehensively. As well as an entire new set of centre-backs, Kieran Trippier is new to the side and Matt Targett is here on loan. All have replaced players who were much worse, but it takes a while to get this lot playing as a coherent line. The Arsenal defence of the George Graham era, drill after drill after drill doing the same thing until they got it just right, we are not. Incidentally, the Dynamics page shows that team cohesion is considered Average. This is an upgrade on Poor, however there’s work to be done. The players like working for me, and for each other, but they’re more a set of talented individuals than an actual team for the moment, and improving this takes time.

The one trick I have up my sleeve in terms of developing cohesion is to field the same eleven, as often as possible, all the time. It’s working, slowly. Because Newcastle are out of the Carabao and not in Europe, it’s normally possible to have a week between fixtures, plenty enough to get player fitness back to a tip-top level in time for the next fixture. On the downside, there’s a bunch of players becoming disgruntled over the lack of action. One is Paul Dummett, a team leader but, in my opinion, not good enough for a regular start. He wants to go out on loan. I put him up for sale instead, and he’ll be off to Saint-Etienne for £1.6 million in January. Martin Dubravka has returned to full fitness and marches in (now that he can march), demanding a new contract. Off you go, son. Dynamo Kyiv will pay £13 million in January to remove him from roll.

I don’t need to replace Dubravka, and I’m mulling over the recall of Jamal Lewis from his loan spell with Koln to cover Dummett’s absence. According to my Loan Manager, the Norn Iron full-back is improving rapidly and could now be quite ready to take part for us, even to challenge Targett for the starting spot. Tosin Adarabioyo wants to go out on loan. It looks like he’ll be off to Kawasaki Frontale.

In the meantime, we are playing Manchester City away and then Liverpool at St James. We go into these games without Callum Wilson, so it’s time to find out whether Chris Wood is a superstar within an average striker’s clothing. He isn’t. The Citizens go on riot, winning 3-0, and it could have been worse but some stiff defending. Against Liverpool, we appear to be holding our own before Kieran Trippier goes off injured, with a groin strain that will remove him from action for up to six weeks. Firmino scores after taking advantage of a sloppy back pass from Bruno, and that’s the end of it. A 1-0 reverse. Wood vanishes from both games. I’m thinking of finding a new striker in the January window, one who can do more than absolutely nothing in football matches.

Wilson’s back for Southampton, but this produces another defeat, 2-1 and after we’ve done enough to get a result. That’s three straight losses, and a team meeting, which must have the desired effect because we go on a three-game winning streak. We aren’t very good against the best teams, however. Chelsea visit and win 2-0. We then go to Old Trafford and suffer a 1-0 reverse, made worse because we deserve a lot better than going down to a simple set piece, corner kick taken and Matic (Matic!) heading in. At least there’s Wolves, stuck in eighteenth and built for clobbering time. Wilson scores a hat-trick as part of a 5-1 romp.

By the time we reach the last week in January, we have established ourselves as a team battling for the Champions League positions, which is just about everything I could ask for. Brighton, the surprise package, are tucked in ahead of us by a single point, but Chelsea and Manchester United are massing just behind. Both have been disappointing so far – it can’t last. Can it? As I see it, the most likely scenario is for the Seagulls to fade a little and the traditional big boys to ease beyond us, leaving us in fifth or sixth by the end of the campaign, and I think everyone would take that.

With a week to go in the January window, there’s been some further movement. Along with Dubravka and Dummett leaving, Chris Wood has also gone. He’s at Dynamo Moscow, who find £11.5 million for the alleged pleasure of his services. This frees up the space for me to go for an advanced forward who I really want, the young German Karim Adeyemi, who will cost close to £30 million overall, though half of this will be paid in instalments to keep FFP happy. Boubacar Kamara’s contract is expiring. The Marseille defensive midfielder agrees personal terms with us, however with Isaac Hayden moaning about a loan deal it seems we should bring him in now. £11 million is the asking price. It seems reasonable. Arsenal are the surprising bidder for Hayden. They’ll take him for the rest of the term and pay all his wages, and if he plays ten games, they will be compelled to part with £7.5 million to make the move permanent. The midfielder is a Gunner, so everything here makes sense, especially as Arsenal appear to have accepted mediocrity as their lot this season.

We are currently in the process of bidding for Cole Palmer, the young Man City who’s available on loan. He will be expected to challenge Suso on the right wing. The Spaniard’s good but inconsistent, however that’s a charge you can level at many of our forwards. Even ASM, the Geordie jewel in the crown, can vanish from matches. The aim is push Ryan Fraser more as cover for the left wing, where he’s a natural, and perhaps consider finding a new home for Miguel Almiron before the window closes. I’m not a fan of the Paraguayan. I genuinely don’t see what he brings to the table.

Things to do before the window slams shut:

• Maybe sell Almiron.
• Conclude the Palmer deal, one that’s unlikely to end in him joining permanently as City want £51 million.
• Try to shift Karl Darlow off the books. He wants to leave and I am happy to let him, however from my perspective there’s no rush and no one willing to pay the £6 million fee required. If he does go, we are likely to bring in a loan option until the end of 2021/22 (most likely Sam Johnstone, transfer-listed at West Brom) before another free signing arrives. This is Andre Onana. I couldn’t resist it.

The original first team is now decimated, with few of the players I inherited still here. This is how things stack up:

By the time the dust settles, I can see only Wilson, Lewis, Saint-Maximin, Willock, and Longstaff definitely being retained from the pre-Saudi era. That’s a damning indictment of how Newcastle was run, or maybe of me, but ultimately it’s about the progress. If you look at the destinations of those departed players, there are so few of them who have landed at clubs that are better than we are, which hints at their true worth. I’m now planning to get the campaign finished, so that I can begin to really start on constructing a squad to assault the Premier League.

[Sysiphus]

Great updates, @Tee2. I did a Newcastle save pre-update as a 5-year challenge with my mates, players I got that were crucial to elevating the team from top4 contenders to the highest echelon were Lorenzo Lucca, Alphonso Davies, Declan Rice, Federico Chiesa, Raphinha, Matthijs de Ligt, Nikola Milenkovic, Aaron Ramsdale, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Sebastiano Esposito and last but certainly not least James Ward-Prowse. Really fun save. I had the same worries about FFP—and in short—you don't have to worry about it if you don't want to.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Sysiphus

[Tee2]

12 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

Great updates, @Tee2. I did a Newcastle save pre-update as a 5-year challenge with my mates, players I got that were crucial to elevating the team from top4 contenders to the highest echelon were Lorenzo Lucca, Alphonso Davies, Declan Rice, Federico Chiesa, Raphina, Matthijs de Ligt, Nikola Milenkovic, Aaron Ramsdale, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Sebastiano Esposito and last but certainly not least James Ward-Prowse. Really fun save. I had the same worries about FFP—and in short—you don't have to worry about if you don't want to.

Thanks @sisyphus  - that’s one hell of a squad there. Milenkovic is in my team, a not overly expensive but quality defender. I’ve signed Tomori in a different save - Milan are guarding him jealously in this one. I’ve very happy memories of what Esposito can do from an old FM20 save, and of course anyone could benefit from the set piece magic of Ward-Prowse.

Thanks for the FFP advice - so the onus is on me to play the game realistically then, it seems.

[Tee2]

May 2022 – End of Season Progress Update

Had someone offered me third place at the start of the campaign, I would have happily taken it. This is an excellent finish, a testament to the strong start we made in September, and putting in a good finish as the players were finally gelling into a unit. The moments that made me especially proud were when we fought Liverpool to a draw at Anfield, and then deconstructed Manchester City 2-0 back in Newcastle. The latter result was decisive in handing the Premier League to Klopp’s Scousers, and in all honesty it was the right result, an adventurous performance that made City look pretty ordinary.

The league table shows that we lost far too many matches. Not many draws, but a high number of defeats, particularly against the best sides in the division. Chelsea completed an easy double over us. Liverpool, City, United and Tottenham inflicted clear defeats, and there were also losses to Leicester and Southampton for us to come to terms wiith. At the same time, we chalked up a high number of victories. Improving defensively but surprisingly strong in attack, we ended the year with Callum Wilson as the Premier League’s second highest scorer (behind Lukaku). Saint-Maximin and Suso had more than ten in the division, while Milenkovic’s height was lethal in set-piece situations, the big Serb finding the net on seven occasions. While some played more of a part than others, everyone was involved in amassing the positives we created.

A few brief thoughts on the season…

• As expected, the players I had in mind for my first eleven were very strong, but the alternatives on the whole were weaker. This was more or less okay in 2021/22, as we didn’t have European football and could focus the best players for much of the time, but I could see the difference when, say, Ceballos or Willock played instead of Maksimovic or Bennacer. The issue was most notable on the wings. Suso and ASM were imperious. Fraser, Almiron, and even Cole Palmer weren’t as good.
• In a few areas, there was a nice sense of having a starter and an understudy who’d usurp him over time. Adeyemi largely played second-fiddle to Wilson, but is expected to start more games in 22/23. Zagadou is hot on gazumping Romagnoli’s place after taking a good long while to overcome his injury problems.
• While not taking a scattergun approach to signing players last summer, there is definitely a list of those who worked and others who didn’t. Of the latter group, Ceballos and Mingueza look like they might be one-season wonders. Pena’s a bit different, a cheap squad option, but I think that he’s done.
• It’s looking highly likely that I will be jettisoning further members of the pre-Saudi Newcastle squad by the time the dust settles in the summer. By the time we resume hostilities in August, I’m only expecting Lewis, Wilson and the sainted Allan to still be around.

The board are very happy with my league exploits. They wanted a top-half finish; we delivered the Champions League. That level of success hands me a transfer budget of £130 million, though this largesse comes with the caveat that the Magpies fly close to FFP limits so I probably won’t be able to square spunking the millions with showing some fiscal responsibility.

Where I failed was in reaching the expected rounds in the cups. As you know, we went out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle. In the FA Cup, we saw off Bolton and Plymouth, only to choke at home to Brighton, losing 1-0. This was on me. I made the call to field some of the lesser lights, and the full-strength Seagulls took advantage. The squad depth will therefore need to improve. Two good players in each position, and no excuses.

Despite those setbacks, 2021/22 ended in a mood of celebration. The club is happy that we will be fighting on the continent – my feeling is that I’d have liked a year of the Europa League, but the Champs does bring with it enormous bonuses just for being part of that elite family. Individual honours went to:

• Nikola Milenkovic was named as signing of the season, best young player of the season, and was also considered to be number one across the term. A fair award. While Zagadou was a natural alternative to Romagnoli, Adarabioyo’s loan deal meant there was no obvious replacement for the Serb and he ended up playing every minute of our league campaign, mostly very well. It will be on me to ensure this doesn’t happen again. As good as Niki was, we can only be looking at our doom if we come to depend on him.
• Callum Wilson was the team’s leading scorer with 25 goals across all competitions. A fantastic finisher who knows how to round a keeper, and enjoys doing it too, there was something of the machine about the Englishman. For all that, Karim Adeyemi is a very strong alternative, and is tipped to gently prise the starter’s jersey away from him over time. Saint-Maximin scored the second most goals, with 14. Suso bagged 12.
• Suso won the most Man of the Match awards, with seven. His eleven assists were the best in the team.

(I'll cover the summer dealings and 2021/22 in the next few days)

[BadAss88]

Nice first season @Tee2 Congrats with the CL-qualification!

Curious how you will strengthen your team for the upcoming season.

 

I'm a bit slower, but I'm battling for Europe at the moment (6th place with 6 games to go) and a semi-final in the FA Cup against Man City.

[kad38]

hello to all how do you manage financial fair play with all its millions and that the basic players at the beginning have no values except Saint Max? how do you balance the accounts? and the players trained at the club CL regulations they are very weak??

[Tee2]

5 hours ago, BadAss88 said:

Nice first season @Tee2 Congrats with the CL-qualification!

Curious how you will strengthen your team for the upcoming season.

 

I'm a bit slower, but I'm battling for Europe at the moment (6th place with 6 games to go) and a semi-final in the FA Cup against Man City.

Thanks! A semi-final is no mean feat. I have got nowhere near to that stage yet...

59 minutes ago, kad38 said:

hello to all how do you manage financial fair play with all its millions and that the basic players at the beginning have no values except Saint Max? how do you balance the accounts? and the players trained at the club CL regulations they are very weak??

My first season showed a transfer spend of £219 million, with £78 million brought in. It was hard to recoup money from the original Newcastle squad, however the money spent doesn't take into account the number of instalment arrangements that were in place. A third place finish in the league, therefore prize money and increased sponsorship, and the board finding a few million from down the back of the sofa to keep us just within our FFP limit, and we squeezed over the line. Champions League participation this year adds a lot to the income also. I haven't gone mad with my spending. In the second season there's still nearly £70 million in the transfer budget, but in an attempt to keep things realistic and play to FFP allowances, I'm refusing to over-commit with player purchases. Hope that helps.

[Tee2]

Summer 2022 – New Faces and Pre-Season

Entering the silly season, my thoughts on the squad are as follows:

Newcastle have a rigorous pre-season schedule, taking in eight matches, before the season begins in early August. Here, position by position, is what I do…

Goalkeepers

There was nothing especially wrong with Dominik Livakovic, who played every minute of the campaign in our nets, for a 6.99 overall rating. There was nothing especially great either, a competent keeper overall, who did have a mistake in him, notably on set-pieces. My feeling was that we could do better once we got the season out of the way, and when I noticed that Ajax’s Andre Onana was available the choice of what to do became a no-brainer. The Cameroonian, extremely highly rated, is now free from his drugs ban and ready to take a step up to the big time. Sam Johnstone was brought in for £1.9 million after Karl Darlow left in January. He can stay as a non-playing back-up, and I am additionally recalling Freddie Woodman to the squad in order to sustain our homegrown numbers. Livakovic ends up going to Shakhtar for £17 million, the rare instance of a small profit made.

Right-Backs

Kieran Tierney is one of the team’s best paid players, a highly reliable and responsible full-back who commands enough authority to justify the vice-captaincy. He’s certainly done enough to stay. On the flipside, I’ve never seen Ruben Pena as anything more than a makeweight, essentially as someone who’s better than Manquillo was. As I let him go to Roma for £3.5 million, losing about a million on what we paid for him last year, I eye either Kevin Mbabu of Wolfsburg, or Rangers’ James Tavernier, as replacements. The logic is that these guys were once part of the St James family, making them homegrown, and this will matter. Swiss international Mbabu is my first choice. He wants to come, but he’s after a far more important role than I’m willing to give and the negotiations hit a brick wall at that point. Tavernier is a different matter. He’s happy to play as second fiddle to Captain Trips, doesn’t want a big salary, and can be ours for £11 million. As for the VC, I give him another year or two before seeking out a replacement.

Left-Backs

The coaching team have been at me to extend Matthew Targett’s loan agreement, or even to sign him outright. My own feeling is that he’s been fairly average, playing a lot of games for his 6.97 average rating, and too often beatable on his flank. He’s okay. He fills a hole, but I would like someone who could do more, so there’s a twisted logic in letting his loan spell lapse and then going out to sign an almost identically talented full-back. This is Tyrick Mitchell. He’s just been relegated with Crystal Palace, and he can be had for £14 million. At 22, he’s very improvable, which is something I didn’t think really happened with Targett.

My initial plan is to continue with Jamal Lewis as the alternative choice. That is until I see that Brandon Williams is available fairly cheaply at Manchester United. A fee of up to £14 million will do it, for a player who is (i) English (ii) a bit better (iii) renowned for his hard work and fearlessness (iv) also natural on the right. He comes in, and the Norn Iron full-back goes to Monaco for £14.75 million.

Centre-Backs

After signing five central defenders last summer, I would rank them now like this:

1. Nikola Milenkovic – sun of my moon, a massive rock, fantastic.
2. Alessio Romagnoli – hasn’t made quite the same impact, but highly polished and reliable.
3. Dan-Axel Zagadou – shaky in his early appearances following injury, but has got better and better. Ultimately, I see him as replacing Roma.
4. Tosin Adarabioyo – off on loan for the calendar year in Japan. I’ll make a call when he returns. He’s doing well out there, but then I’d expect nothing less.
5. Oscar Mingueza – decent and flexible defender, not developing as well as I’d like.

The decision is therefore made to let Mingueza go, which he does eventually, to Mainz for £8.75 million. I’ll hold my hands up and agree we paid a bit over the odds for him.

With Zagadou the ideal alternative to Romagnoli, we need to find a similar player to fill in for Milenkovic and the feeling is that Tosin isn’t it. Not yet, anyway. A search ensues, looking mainly at homegrown players who either (i) cost too much (ii) aren’t all that good (iii) are no better than Adarabioyo (iv) combination of the three factors. And so, with money to burn, I look further afield and wind up selecting another young French centre-back. Oumar Solet plays for Red Bull Salzburg. He’s 22, has played at every youth level of the French national side, has similar qualities to Milenkovic and, like the Serb, is built like one of the Clegane brothers. The asking price of £17.5 million isn’t enormous, and I get the feeling we have pulled off something of a bargain.

Defensive Midfielders

No changes required. I’m happy with my duo of regular starter, Bruno Guimaraes (rating 6.98) and understudy Boubacar Kamara (6.80). The latter can be pulled back into defence if required, while the former is just as natural in central midfield, and speaking of which, Bennacer and Maksimovic can do well in this role. I dally with the idea of taking Declan Rice, and by coincidence he has asked West Ham to be transfer-listed. They’re asking for over a hundred million, so screw that.

Central Midfielders

Like the defence, a lot of work was done on this unit last year. As Jeff Hendrick and Jonjo Shelvey complete their respective loan deals before leaving for Norwich (£4.5 million) and Fulham (£5 million), I would rank the first teamers like this:

1. Ismael Bennacer – last year’s big money deal turned out to be a superstar player.
2. Nemanja Maksimovic – commanding, box to box player, team captain, handy and reliable.
3. Dani Ceballos – mostly fine, a bit average in his third year in England. Would I trust him in a Champions League team?
4. Joe Willock – a great deal of potential as always, but appeared fitfully, rarely shone, and I don’t want to sell but I’m tempted to loan him out.

It therefore becomes clear. We need replacements for Ceballos and Willock. The pair go out on loan, both to take starters’ roles at Lille and Young Boys. I’m personally not too bothered what happens to the Spaniard, but I see Willock as having a future at St James. He’s a victim of the progress we’ve made via that enhanced spending power.

The new faces are identified and signed within days of each other. Liverpool have transfer-listed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, an advanced support playmaker for whom I have a great deal of time. Better still, they only want £18 million for him. As he’s expected to dovetail with Bennacer, I’m hopeful that we don’t put him in too many situations where we risk causing another injury. At the same time, Franck Kessie is at the end of his contract. The Ivorian from Milan has refused to entertain offers before now, and a queue of good sides is after him. We chance our arm, expecting absolutely nothing, and Kessie doesn’t even want to be especially well paid for such an in-demand player. Perhaps it’s our willingness to accede to every demand of his, but he agrees terms, and just like that we have what I consider to be a nearly perfect set of midfielders. I’m so happy that I even promote Sean Longstaff to the first team as a homegrown alternative. His loan season has gone well, and he’s ready, but how much game time he’ll get with these titans to rub shoulders against is anyone’s guess.

Attacking Right Wingers

Suso can absolutely stay. After signing for us cheaply, he’s gone on to have a cracking season, his value rising to close to five times what we paid for him. That said, there were many occasions when he looked like the above average winger that he is. He could be anonymous, nor did I find easy answers with either Ryan Fraser or latterly Cole Palmer. The City man could have been signed permanently, and seemed keen on the move, but the price - £51 million – was far more than we wanted to pay and any interest tailed off from there.

We had been scouting another young English winger since my earliest days, however, and when we saw that the 20 year old Noni Madueke was available for £37 million at PSV, then that appeared fair enough. Our most expensive summer deal, but I can look favourably on what we’ve got – a genuine under the radar talent, fast and visionary, and a perfect complement to the winger we snapped up for the opposite flank. Really, a no-brainer.

Attacking Left Wingers

The general school of thought when taking on Newcastle is that, for all the work needed elsewhere, and there is, you get to start with Allan Saint-Maximin and that isn’t a bad place to be. The one outright elite footballer from the pre-Saudi era had a pretty good first season, scoring 14 goals, but there was that Moussa Sissoko air about him, the idea that he could turn it on and off as he so chose. Possibly my most subbed player in 2021/22, ASM’s saving grace was always that he was far better than the alternatives – Fraser and especially Almiron – and now, with the Champions League to think about, it’s clear we need someone else who is just about as good as him to challenge for the place.

I end up going for Justin Kluivert, the Roma winger who spent last year on loan with Nice. Clearly, Patrick’s son wasn’t Jose Mourinho’s kind of player and could be signed outright by the French club for £12 million. They wouldn’t expect anything as small as that from me, but £15 million with an extra five spread over the next few years is enough to sweeten the deal. Clearly, Kluivert is worth a lot more than that. His pace is electric, and already in pre-season the relationship on the left between him and Mitchell looks like one set to bedazzle opposition defences.

Miguel Almiron, a dead man walking for some months, has no more business being here, and he leaves for Fulham in a £7.5 million deal. The best thing is getting his £80,000 weekly wage off the books. I might be tempted to hold on to Ryan Fraser, who didn’t do too much wrong in a Newcastle shirt, though in fairness I think he’s bang average. Neither is he homegrown, so I let him leave, using the last season as a shop window in selling him to Spartak Moscow for £12 million. Because we would like a fourth player who came through the ranks to be part of a 25-man squad, we snap up Adam Armstrong in a £10.5 million deal from Southampton. Able to play either on the left wing or as a striker, Armstrong was at his best for Blackburn, before the Saints made their move last summer. With him, Woodman, Longstaff and Tavernier in the first team, we now have the four ‘trained at the club’ ballers we need to form a full-sized Champions League squad.

Strikers

No changes, although I expect the playing relationship to switch around with Karim Adeyemi getting the lion’s share and Callum Wilson as the alternative, a contrast to how they operated in the previous season. Though Callum’s predatory instincts before goal, especially his ability to round a keeper, are hard to replicate, my feeling is that Karim will be the better one of the pair going forward, so the transition starts here. Armstrong is also here as a third choice, and I’m happy that the situation is so much healthier than it was when Chris Wood was the only challenger to Wilson.

Here's the squad at the end of the summer transfer window, presented to you in a Wikipedia style layout:

Could we have done more? Am I too worried about FFP? Should I trust the board, who have handed me a war chest and presumably feel they have the wherewithal to balance the books? Almost certainly yes on all three counts. There’s a part of me that feels this is a great squad, beautifully balanced and able to meet both the challenges of the season and UEFA’s homegrown requirements. It’s definitely a far cry from the group of players I inherited, however it isn’t without its issues. Certain players – Suso, Romagnoli and even Wilson spring to mind – all played a big role in 2021/22, but they’re lynchpins whilst at risk of being left behind. Then there’s Allan Saint-Maximin, bloody brilliant on his day yet there aren’t enough of them. I don’t feel like I can rely on him. I could give the guy a chance on the right wing and see how that works out – after all, he’s survived the cull and deserves every opportunity to succeed.

Questions, questions. There is still more than £70 million remaining in the transfer budget, and many lists of players on whom I would like to spend it. Dwight McNeil would be wonderful as a replacement for ASM, and he’s currently languishing in the second division. The young Arsenal forwards, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah, are both affordable and might make a difference. I’d like a greater homegrown presence. I don’t want to compromise on quality. But the tinkering has to stop somewhere, and for now this is that point. There’s three months of football to play, a compressed schedule that takes a break for the World Cup. We’ll be back in the interim.

[Tee2]

November 2022 - Progress Update

The World Cup in Qatar takes place in the winter, meaning a regular season’s play that is chopped in half. We are charged with getting the best part of half a campaign’s work over and done with by early November, and then picking up from where we left off in late December. Easy, right?

The challenge might not be so daunting normally, but there’s the Champions League group stage to navigate alongside fifteen Premier League games, plus two Carabao Cup ties. In total, over a three-month period we contest twenty-three fixtures, essentially two per week, and this makes running a large squad and being able to rotate the players quite critical. By the time we embark on the World Cup holiday, a string of pampered stars is demanding more playing time, and that’s fine. They can have it. But I stand by my rotational, Tinkerman credentials. We’ve endured precious few injuries, a testament to giving players time to recuperate. I have my preferred first eleven in mind, but if the medical staff tell me that someone is at high risk of getting injured then I will consider benching him.

Premier League

The board demands a Europa League qualifying finish, so they are delighted with fourth. Ms Staveley’s hard-to-move face manages a tight grin as we just about stay in touch with the leaders, though there’s not much you can do when Arsenal and Liverpool start the term with ten straight victories. The latter come to St James and win 1-0, and while no one likes losing at home we actually outplay the Scousers for the majority of the match and I would consider us to be unlucky. The Gunners come to Newcastle nursing an unbeaten record, and we are the first to put a dent in it, albeit a draw only as they are high on confidence.

Old Trafford is the only other scene of a Geordie setback, a 2-0 reverse in which we uncommonly play like second-best. Elsewhere, it’s been pretty good. We have developed a nasty habit of carving out victories, sitting on broadly the same sort of points total as we managed last year, and with European football to factor into the equation. I would obviously prefer us to be closer to the leaders, however Liverpool look frankly supernatural at the top of the table. Arsenal and Chelsea have played resurgent, vengeful football, under their new managers Joachim Low and Marcelo Gallardo respectively. I’m sure that the Manchester clubs will force their way into the upper reaches of the table, indeed Manchester United under Zidane are constantly sniffing around several of our players. Typical Reds, always on the poach.

I’m quite happy with how we have progressed. We’re no longer a surprise package, but we can now a better side. It also occurs to me, given our European adventures, that the best sides in England might very well be the best anywhere. Maybe Liverpool, relentless and now bolstered with the goalscoring nous of Darwen Nunez, represent the planet’s pinnacle. Certainly, it’s taken them until late October to suffer anything less than total victory in the league, glimmers of them being human rather than divinely powered, and that gives me a little hope. All the same, if we finish the season in this place, more or less a copy of what we achieved in 2020/21 and with Champions League participation, then I’ll see that as a good year’s work.

Champions League

Newcastle have a negligible co-efficient score in Europe, which puts us in the fourth pot for the group stage and which is why we end up in a group with Atletico Madrid, Internazionale and Dynamo Kyiv. The Soccerati consider us to be fodder. The board wants us to reach the first knockout round, though this is preferred rather than a requirement.

Well, Ms Staveley, we’ve not only met your desire, but we have won all six group games. To my surprise, the Ukrainians represent the toughest opposition, only going down 1-0 in Kyiv and battling to 3-2 back in Newcastle. Inter are stunningly rubbish, particularly in the dead rubber final game when we are both through and are merely fulfilling the fixture requirement, and yet we triumph 3-0 in Milan. Worst of all are Atletico Madrid, the feared, gritty competitors assembled by Diego Simeone, who turn out to be spectacularly ordinary. In all the times I have taken them on in the past, they have always been tough, often too hard to overcome, yet even that celebrated defence and the acrobatic grace of Oblak in goal can’t prevent us from doing the double over them. Here’s the final table:

Having won the group and getting our pick of second-placed teams, we wind up being drawn against Benfica in the first of the knockout rounds. The club receives £8 million for reaching this point. Those group victories are each worth close to three million, alongside the £13 million we bank just for hitting the group stage. The Champions League is a cash cow. We are grateful for being involved in it.

Carabao Cup

Last season, we went out at the first hurdle, to Norwich, who we dispatch this time on our way to a quarter-final day of destiny with Liverpool. In the first of our ties, we down Brentford by a scoreline of 4-0, offering playing time to some of our lesser lights who eagerly grasp at the opportunity. The board would like us to make the semi, but Anfield is a hell of a place to try and meet that wish, and my feeling is that, for this year, the last eight will have to be good enough. Incidentally, the draw for the FA Cup third round pits us against Burton Albion.

Here's a very loose summary of how the players are working so far, along with some very brief sketch notes:

The commitment to squad rotation comes across clearly here, I think. Things come to a head shortly before the break, when six players demand to be used more regularly. They are Trippier, Milenkovic, Romagnoli, Maksimovic, Kessie and Adeyemi. I agree to all their demands, though quietly I begin to quietly downgrade their playing time. Many of them were brought in when they were clear first choices for their roles and could justify a status of Important Player/Star Player, but there’s too much competition now. If they moan about it, then it may be the excuse I need to ship them out and make some changes. Dan-Axel Zagadou is another complainer. I can’t guarantee him the same amount of playing time so agree to offer him out on loan. Sean Longstaff could also be leaving for the second half of the campaign. He’s not happy with the on-field scraps that he’s been offered, which I kind of feel is fair enough.

A couple of clubs are interested in signing Alessio Romagnoli, valued at somewhere between twenty-five and thirty million. After a record with us that has been poorer than it looks statistically, I’m prepared to listen, indeed my suspicion is that Zagadou may very well be the better player on the left side of central defence these days. Manchester United want Franck Kessie. I’m beginning to suspect the Ivorian might not be my kind of player, and I could sell.

The one I am thinking of parting ways with is Allan Saint-Maximin who, the longer he stays on board, is becoming my bête noire. Electric one day, anonymous the next, and while his figures look stronger than Justin Kluivert’s, the pacey young Dutchman has been picked for the tougher games and is still acclimatising to life with us. My alternative choice is Dwight McNeil, the English winger who is unjustifiably slumming it in the second tier with Burnley. Transfer listed by request, the asking price is around £20 million, a bargain, Other teams are hovering, so I am getting in there now with the hope that I can bring in McNeil and pretty much crap out ASM by the time the January window opens. If I’m really lucky, I’ll end up getting more for the Frenchman than I’m paying for McNeil. We’ll see.

[BadAss88]

@Tee2 Great start for the second season, and really love reading the thought about assessing your squad. I'm curious what tactic you use 4-3-3 it seems..

During my first season I have switched between 4-3-3, 3-5-2, 4-1-3-2 and now 4-2-3-1 but haven't settled on one tactic.. thought I had found my new routine after winning 8-0 against Crystal Palace (20th) in a 4-2-3-1 but then lost the game after against Wolves (19th) with 2-1.

 

BTW, you were facing Dinamo Zagreb not Dinamo Kiev! 

[Tee2]

On 11/04/2022 at 19:21, BadAss88 said:

@Tee2 Great start for the second season, and really love reading the thought about assessing your squad. I'm curious what tactic you use 4-3-3 it seems..

During my first season I have switched between 4-3-3, 3-5-2, 4-1-3-2 and now 4-2-3-1 but haven't settled on one tactic.. thought I had found my new routine after winning 8-0 against Crystal Palace (20th) in a 4-2-3-1 but then lost the game after against Wolves (19th) with 2-1.

4-3-3 is right, and I'm pretty rigid with it. I'm very fluid with the mentality however, changing it as the situation demands, match and match and sometimes during a game. For me, switching the tactic too often makes for a lack of familiarity, but as I say that's my opinion.

On 11/04/2022 at 19:21, BadAss88 said:

BTW, you were facing Dinamo Zagreb not Dinamo Kiev! 

[Tee2]

February 2023 - Progress Update

The World Cup comes and goes (much clicking done, Italy won, meh), and we re-enter hostilities with a developing crisis. How exactly this has happened after such a positive first half to the season is anyone’s guess. True, there was much moaning about playing time, a sense that I am fighting fires in meeting the needs of my pampered princelings, but January comes around with much dissatisfaction and the potential for everything to fall apart.

I feel quite good about arranging the signing of Dwight McNeil, a young winger who even at £20 million is viewed by me as something of a bargain. Allan Saint-Maximin is going to make way. I’m sanguine about arranging his departure, letting him go to Monaco on loan for the rest of the term. As we win our first few games, including a 5-1 shellacking of Leicester and watching Callum Wilson put five past Burton Albion in a 7-0 demolition, my dissatisfaction with Nemanja Maksimovic grows. The Serb was great in 2021/22, far less so this time around, wants more playing minutes and then stops bothering to train. It’s time to make a snap decision, and I make it – Maksimovic leaves for Porto in a £17.75 million deal, sending a message to the rest of the squad about where not pulling your weight gets you, and I snap up Stefano Sensi, the Inter Milan midfielder who is up for sale. He sets me back close to £10 million. I really like this guy. Nemanja’s countryman, Nikola Milenkovic, takes the armband. He’s a mountain and he’ll do well. I should probably have given him the captaincy from the start, in fairness.

Another midfielder is shown the door shortly after. This is Franck Kessie, someone else who just is not impressing me, demands to start but does so little with his time. Despite only being with us since the summer, I’m minded to be suspicious of free signings (why free? What was wrong?) and the Ivorian has been very average. What seals it is our Carabao Cup tie at Liverpool, in which we are dealt a 5-0 hiding. No one comes out of this well, but Kessie is poorer than most, asked to take some semblance of command in the middle, failing to, and being beaten on a free kick for Keita to score a headed goal in a show of outstanding laziness. I’m embarrassed and angry, hunting for scapegoats, and he’ll do. £31 million is the price paid by the inevitable PSG for him. Thirty million of pure profit.

We need to recruit another central midfielder then, before the obvious thing happens and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picks up a training ground injury that will keep him out for up to five months. The necessity to recruit becomes even more obvious, and I’m also minded to deny Sean Longstaff his loan move. There’s now likely to be no further Ox until the season’s end. We need the bodies. If I remember rightly, we can only make three changes to our registration for the Champions League latter stages. McNeil’s one. Another is Sensi, and then the third midfielder. My nagging feeling that maybe it’s time to push Romagnoli out to would-be suitors therefore ends here. With that one extra player, we’ll have cast our die until the end of the campaign. It ought to be enough, right?

Anyone can lose to Liverpool. There’s just no luck on our part. At one stage Kelleher fluffs a back-pass, Wilson leaps on to it and gleefully shoots over the crossbar of a wide open goal. A goalmouth melee that should end up with the ball in the net somehow doesn’t. It’s one of those occasions, though admittedly they are so much better than us. Better still, away days at Manchester City and Tottenham follow. Can we turn things around quickly? Well, sort of. The Blues win 2-0, a much closer affair than that scoreline suggests but they’re still too magnificent and flowing for the likes of us. At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, we produce a surprising and very welcome 3-0 victory. Maybe it’s the absence of Harrington Kane, new signing Luka Jovic doing precious little in a white shirt, but this turns out to be one of our easier away days. The signs are here, just about, that we are beginning to handle ourselves against the division’s bigger opposition. The likes of Liverpool and City are that bit further out in front, to be honest about as good as anyone we will ever take on, but we are getting there.

The Kessie replacement turns out to be Elijif Elmas, the young Napoli midfielder from North Macedonia who I have always considered to be a highly exciting talent. He costs £20 million, and is the last of our new faces. Before the window closes, Dan-Axel Zagadou has gone out on loan to Werder Bremen, where hopefully he will play many games and return to get the nod over Romagnoli. Adam Armstrong is off to Nurnberg until the end of the year. Tosin Adarabioyo has returned from loan and then goes off again to Napoli. I promote to the first team Nnamdi Collins, an 18 year old centre-back we signed from Dortmund to play some reserve games.  At a fee of £8 million, Collins hasn’t come cheap, but the scouts couldn’t say enough good things and the prospect of a player who will one day be homegrown was too tantalising to miss.

Collins comes into the side to take on Middlesbrough in the FA Cup fourth round. It’s one we end up losing on penalties, a poor result given the considerable firepower we can deploy and the number of chances we generate. Personally, I’m happy enough to drop the contest and focus on the league and on Europe, but this is a derby game and we have fluffed our lines.

Luckily, our league form is still good. Victories over Arsenal, Wolves, Leeds, Villa and Brentford follow. The new arrivals, especially Sensi and McNeil, look to have slotted in quickly, indeed we should now have more attacking options with the midfield additions chosen for their forward-thinking rather than ball winning qualities. To my mind, the Premier League is developing into a one-horse race. Liverpool are just better than anyone else. We’re in a battle with several teams for the Champions League spots. Andre Onana is the league leader for clean sheets, with fifteen. Nikola Milenkovic is the third top-rated player, behind Reece James and Andrew Robertson. There are eleven fixtures remaining, with our second place on the line and Manchester City on the horizon.

As for the Champions League, we defeat Benfica with surprisingly little fuss. A fairly even game at Estadio da Luz goes with the superior cutting edge, which is ours as we take 3-0 back to the north-east. A 1-0 victory at home follows, one in which we get to play many of the second stringers. I’m not sure who we will be up against next, but I hope it isn’t Liverpool.

[Tee2]

May 2023 – End of Season Progress Update

In the end, a spell of very good form in February and March help us to finish in second place. It might have been even better, but a combination of Liverpool ever staying out of harm’s reach and our sudden inability to win a game away from home – starting with a 1-0 defeat at Leicester at the end of March, and never recovering – leaves us a safe twelve points adrift. There is much to be pleased about. We accrued two more points than in 2021/22, and achieved a much stronger goal difference. Newcastle score seven fewer goals, but we are much tighter at the back, conceding twenty-five throughout the entire campaign. Everyone likes scoring goals, but a mean defence is critical. Just ask league champions, Liverpool. They were always fragile as long as Mignolet or Karius was betwixt the sticks and the likes of Lovren lynch-pinning the defensive line, but put an actual good goalkeeper there, and a centre-back who may very well claim to be the best in the world, and you can consider that corner to be turned.

At home, we are pretty deadly. Only Liverpool beat us here; otherwise, we won all but two within the confines of St James. Away, it’s a different story. Six defeats, four draws and only nine victories, with Chelsea as well as the inevitable Reds out-performing us. It’s hard to know exactly what went wrong here. We could finish anyone off at home. At Southampton, we could only draw after McNeil’s early strike was followed by a peppering of shots at Forster, a failure to score more that was punished when Che Adams equalised late in the game. At Goodison, Everton left it even later, Debbie Alli finally making it 2-2 five minutes into added time. By the time we take on Fulham at the Cottage, our confidence on the road is shattered, and the last tie of the season, which takes place at Anfield, is one we’d rather forget. All the while we are busy putting five past Bournemouth and beating West Ham 4-0 at St James.

My Assistant Manager, Jason Tindall, produces a list of things to think about. The squad lacks leadership overall. We aren’t very determined, nor strong, nor very fit, nor good in terms of stamina; we don’t work very hard and commitment and our low aggression levels are issues. If this sounds depressing, then it’s worth considering that the bullet-point of strengths is a lot longer. Tindall’s summary seems clear enough. We have a good squad, but it’s as flawed as a cobbled together unit always will be, and tweaks are required. Maybe some star power.

Good home form also comes to bear in the Champions League. After seeing off Benfica we are tied with Manchester City. Playing at St James first, we demolish them 5-1. Martinez scores a stunner for the visitors. He makes it look very easy, but otherwise it’s all Magpies as old City boy Kieran Trippier inspires us to an emphatic victory. We are able to shut the door at the Etihad, a welcome 0-0 against shockingly limpid opposition, and that earns us a semi-final place against the red half, Manchester United. Again, we are playing at home first, and we put in a 2-1 win, once more parking the bus and drawing 0-0 in the second leg to book a berth in the final. This is historic for the club. It’s against that familiar foe, Liverpool, who have humiliated us a couple of times already, and don’t repeat the feat at the Ataturk Olympiat Stadyumu, though they are good enough to beat us 1-0. It’s a case of what might have been. We win an early penalty, but Adeyemi thumps his effort off the crossbar. Salah scores shortly after, and then the Pool put us to the sword, a bunch of chances missed while we rarely cross the halfway line.

For the record, Liverpool have an air of complete invincibility this season. They have won the Champions League, the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup, and the Community Shield. As nice as it might have been to break their winning run on all fronts, for us it’s a step too far. Klopp’s boys demonstrate the advantage of being a world class team, settled and happy, the luxury of being able to replace the outgoing Firmino with Nunez, even more emphatic and deadly. They’re a glimpse of what we want to be, and we simply aren’t there yet.

Here, by squad number order, is a breakdown of the team…

1. Freddie Woodman (Goalkeeper, 26,  Played 0, Rating N/A, Goals N/A) – here purely to boost the homegrown numbers.

2. Kieran Trippier (Right-Back, 32, P 34(1), R 7.35, G 2) – despite the advice that he’s beginning to wane, our vice-captain has been a real asset, attack-minded and determined, who’ll work until he drops. It’s hard to imagine life without him.

3. Tyrick Mitchell (Left-Back, 23, P 34(3), R 7.24, G 2) – really good work from the former Palace attacking full-back, a fast and dangerous athlete who is resolved to make it to the top.

4. Stefano Sensi (Central Midfielder, 27, P 18(10), R 7.38, G 6) – the Italian has already scored six goals and created eight more; brilliant free-kicks and technically excellent.

5. Nikola Milenkovic (Central Defender, 25, P 38(1), R 7.53, G 6) – the team captain sets a brilliant example, a no-nonsense defender who represents nothing less than a wall at the back. He can score goals too.

6. Nnamdi Collins (Central Defender, 19, P 2, R 7.30, G 0) – teenager who still mainly plays for the U23s, but he can be used in games that we’re expected to win. Fast and determined, but currently too raw to figure much more for us right now.

7. Ismael Bennacer (Central/Defensive Midfielder, 25, P 35(5), R 7.33, G 2) – flexible and technical-minded Algerian, brave and hard-working, and with excellent balance. I love him.

8. Noni Madueke (Attacking Right Winger, 21, P 36(16), R 6.97, G 11) – like an English Adama Traore, quick and a spiffing dribbler, but too often without an end product and lacking some vision. He’s only 21 and is still improving these qualities.

9. Callum Wilson (Striker, 31, P 18(18), R 7.00, G 19) – beginning to recede as a striking force, scoring nineteen goals but drifting away by the season’s closing stages. I am likely to sell him while he still has value.

11. Karim Adeyemi (Striker, 21, P 38(7), R 7.12, G 24) – effortlessly wresting the regular starting berth from Wilson, a wickedly quick and driven forward who has improved us. He’s on other teams’ shopping lists, no doubt a consequence of his £89 million release clause, and I’ll be shoving contract offers under his nose until he gets fed up and signs one.

12. Dwight McNeil (Attacking Left Winger, 23, P 16(12), R 6.94, G 7) – just about did enough to expunge memories of ASM; a lover of big games who has enough technique to make a difference and appreciates his opportunity at a Champions League side. Currently my enemy, as I have failed to play him in his strongest role, which is genuinely my mistake.

13. Alessio Romagnoli (Central Defender, 28, P 33(1), R 7.10, G 3) – after his star turn in 2021/22, the Italian is beginning to fade, losing his automatic starting place to Solet. Good but short of the elite standard we’re aiming for; may be sold.

14. Oumar Solet (Central Defender, 23, P 34(2), R 7.38, G 6) – a great signing, now considered a regular in the eleven, technically ideal and very tall. He’s formed a terrific brick wall alongside Milenkovic.

15. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Central Midfielder, 29, P 12(7), R 7.12, G 0) – played well before getting injured for the second half of the season. Technically great and resolute, but injuries will always be an issue.

17. Justin Kluivert (Attacking Left/Right Winger, 24, P 29(18), R 6.80, G 5) – improving but a bit disappointing on the whole, with his future likely to be more on the right wing than the left he was picked for previously. He does have all the necessary assets, but something isn’t quite clicking.

19. Eljif Elmas (Central Midfielder, 23, P 14(4), R 6.98, G 2) – settling in slower than Sensi, but he’s a lot younger and clearly the longer term prospect; a sublime passer of the ball with a terrific future.

20. Boubacar Kamara (Defensive Midfielder, 23, P 20(8), R 7.09, G 0) - a good season from the Frenchman, second fiddle to Guimaraes but he can also play as a centre-back. Other teams want him.

21. James Tavernier (Right-Back, 31, P 18(2), R 7.18, G 1) – started really well, diminished towards the end and falling behind both Trippier and Williams in his role. A shame to see his physical decline at just 31.

22. Bruno Guimaraes (Defensive/Central Midfielder, 25, P 38(2), R 6.98, G 4) – a decent return in his second season, with the nagging thought that he simply isn’t ever going to be better than he is now. His match vision, a key asset for his role, is a big plus for us.

24. Andre Onana (Goalkeeper, 27, P 54, R 7.18, G 0) – easily the best of our three free signings this season, a top-level keeper with terrific distribution who comes off better in one-on-one situations. He is eccentric, though.

25. Suso (Attacking Right Winger, 29, P 19 (27), R 6.97, G 4) – lost his starting place to Madueke and has become a squad rotation player; still, for someone who cost £7.5 million there’s no doubting his overall value. Creative and technical, but likely to be sold with (i) Kluivert moving to the right (ii) his demands for a fat new contract.

26. Sam Johnstone (Goalkeeper, 30, P6, R 7.22, G 0) – played a handful of games, no more than an emergency back-up.

27. Sean Longstaff (Central Midfielder, 25, P 7(5), R 6.97, G 1) – wants to leave due to his lack of playing opportunities, which is fair enough. His homegrown status provides some ‘squad armour’, but despite hard work and a willingness to bleed for the cause, he basically isn’t good enough.

28. Brandon Williams (Left/Right Back, 22, P 26(2), R 7.29, G 1) – a lot to like, notably his acceleration, bravery and burgeoning technical qualities. He’s an improvement on both Lewis and Matt Targett.

[BlackEnd]

It's been amazing reading your updates @Tee2. I've had similar success with the players you mentioned. I'm currently in the 26-27 season and still use Willock as a Regular Starter. Woodman is my backup keeper to Onana but I have a new wonderkid I bought for 5m who will take over this year as Woodman wants to leave. I kept Isaac Hayden as well because no one bought him and he's an ok backup who does not ask for much. Willock tried to leave a few times because he wanted to be Important and no one ended up making an offer for him. He is definitely a decent player to keep. I kept Callum Wilson till he was 33 and SLB picked him up at the end of his contract with me. I managed to net 75m for Saint-Max about 2 seasons ago when he wanted to leave to a larger team. Almiron I sold early on for 30m or so. I made a good 70m profit on buying Sekou Mara (bought 6m) and Sebastiano Esposito (bought 6.5m) early and selling them after 2 seasons. This is how I financed my later goals

Over the last 2 years, I kept buying wonderkids at the rate of 1 per transfer window and I feel I kept a good money balance on the books, my 25-26 season ended with 104m spent and 53m received. I have Ceballos like you as well and he's been a good rotation player for me so I've kept him on so far.

My current squad is,

Onana
Livramento - Lacroix - Sule - Victor Kristiansen
Bellingham - Musiala - Gragera - Calegari
Belotti - Moukoko

Subs: Woodman, Ceballos, Hudson-Odoi, David Neres, Hayden, Bergmann Johannesson and 3 spawned wonderkids all under 19.

I prefer lining up my teams with young players normally so I've taken that approach. My next replacements will be Sule who is now 31 and Belotti who is 32. Let's see what the transfer window holds!

 

[Jayddwoo]

Tee2 you need to start a thread in career updates. Having a good time keeping up with your progress

[BadAss88]

Really enjoying everyones updates and progress in this thread!

Finally finished my own first season with Newcastle, after taking over on the 22nd of November 2021. I've lead them from 16th to 5th and a semi-final in the FA Cup. So pretty pleased with Europa League-football next season hope we can reach the later stages and challenge the top 4 for Champions League-football. Already brought in some reinforcements in the form of André Onana, Boubacar Kamara, Nuno Mendes, Ruben Neves, Yves Bissouma and Dani Olmo.

[jackripper]

On 19/04/2022 at 22:56, Jayddwoo said:

Tee2 you need to start a thread in career updates. Having a good time keeping up with your progress

second this.

[Tee2]

Sorry I've been a bit quiet recently. It took me longer than expected to complete the third season (which I have now done), and I try to have it all done before updating.

On 19/04/2022 at 13:16, BlackEnd said:

It's been amazing reading your updates @Tee2. I've had similar success with the players you mentioned. I'm currently in the 26-27 season and still use Willock as a Regular Starter. Woodman is my backup keeper to Onana but I have a new wonderkid I bought for 5m who will take over this year as Woodman wants to leave. I kept Isaac Hayden as well because no one bought him and he's an ok backup who does not ask for much. Willock tried to leave a few times because he wanted to be Important and no one ended up making an offer for him. He is definitely a decent player to keep. I kept Callum Wilson till he was 33 and SLB picked him up at the end of his contract with me. I managed to net 75m for Saint-Max about 2 seasons ago when he wanted to leave to a larger team. Almiron I sold early on for 30m or so. I made a good 70m profit on buying Sekou Mara (bought 6m) and Sebastiano Esposito (bought 6.5m) early and selling them after 2 seasons. This is how I financed my later goals

Over the last 2 years, I kept buying wonderkids at the rate of 1 per transfer window and I feel I kept a good money balance on the books, my 25-26 season ended with 104m spent and 53m received. I have Ceballos like you as well and he's been a good rotation player for me so I've kept him on so far.

My current squad is,

Onana
Livramento - Lacroix - Sule - Victor Kristiansen
Bellingham - Musiala - Gragera - Calegari
Belotti - Moukoko

Subs: Woodman, Ceballos, Hudson-Odoi, David Neres, Hayden, Bergmann Johannesson and 3 spawned wonderkids all under 19.

I prefer lining up my teams with young players normally so I've taken that approach. My next replacements will be Sule who is now 31 and Belotti who is 32. Let's see what the transfer window holds!

 

That's a really cool set-up, interesting that we only share Onana and Woodman in our line-ups. I did have Ceballos at one point (cheap and can hack it), but better players came along. I'd love Bellingham, Moukoko, Musiala and Hudson-Odoi. Livramento was a player I tracked, but in season 3 went for an alternative English right-back instead (England does good right-backs). For my part, I haven't been able to find places for Hayden or Willock, unfortunately. I would rate them both as decent, but no more than that, and there are better options that have made them surplus to requirements. I have tried loaning Willock out to bring him up to speed but sadly have seen no real improvement. Right now, I can only maintain a first team of 22 to meet European registration requirements, so places are tight and there's less and less room for luxuries.

On 19/04/2022 at 22:56, Jayddwoo said:

Tee2 you need to start a thread in career updates. Having a good time keeping up with your progress

Thanks @Jayddwoo - I have thought about that, but I tend to see career updates as more detailed than the brief summaries I put out. Happy to go with the consensus, though.

On 20/04/2022 at 03:35, BadAss88 said:

Really enjoying everyones updates and progress in this thread!

Finally finished my own first season with Newcastle, after taking over on the 22nd of November 2021. I've lead them from 16th to 5th and a semi-final in the FA Cup. So pretty pleased with Europa League-football next season hope we can reach the later stages and challenge the top 4 for Champions League-football. Already brought in some reinforcements in the form of André Onana, Boubacar Kamara, Nuno Mendes, Ruben Neves, Yves Bissouma and Dani Olmo.

Nice one, keep them coming. Some terrific signings there. Absolutely nothing wrong with Kamara (so flexible), and it looks as though you are intent on building the best midfield in Europe! I've never managed Neves but imagine it would be a pleasure. I have managed Olmo, definitely a good acquisition. Well done on getting Mendes, who looks terrifying to me. 

[causticgrip]

Great thread, enjoyed reading. I did avoid doing so before starting my save however, as I didn't want to end up being too influenced by or copying others hah. Even so, seems like I have made signings seen elsewhere here.

Newcastle Season 1

• A bit up and down to start with but when the team gelled, climbed up the table and finished 3rd. Joint top scorers too!
• Kind of surprised to get to the League Cup final, often rotated a lot for those games. Did pick a strong team for the final but lost annoyingly to Arsenal
• FA Cup semi was a good run, lost to a Liverpool team that did The Treble, so no shame there. At least we inflicted a league defeat on them.

Calum Wilson such a beast on this game. Gravenberch a great young talent too

 

I feel like I have a team with some great performers at good ages and young talent that will only get better. My aim is to improve the LB, LCB and GK positions and challenge for the title again.

[bruffell06]

@Tee2@causticgrip I'm just wondering how you 2 set up Callum Wilson as the lone front man? I pretty religiously play a 4-3-3 and whenever I do tend to prefer a DLF upfront but I'm conscious this isn't probably getting the best out of him. He still ended up on 25 goals at the end of my first season though but my patterns of play are more geared towards runners from the wing or from deep.

 

I feel he's more suited to an AF role and I also have Adeyemi who is the same. Although, I have started training him as an inside forward.

Edited May 2, 2022 by bruffell06

[causticgrip]

16 hours ago, bruffell06 said:

@Tee2@causticgrip I'm just wondering how you 2 set up Callum Wilson as the lone front man?

I believe i had him as Advanced Forward with PI's Dribble More, Roam from Position and Tackle Harder

[causticgrip]

Newcastle Season 2

Won a trophy this season!

There we go, a surprise CL win. To be honest, I didn't expect to get past PSG but when I did, the route to the final was fairly soft. In the final Bayern, with Mbappe, fell beneath the might of Callum Wilson hah!

It was a good title race but a few too many laboured draws cost me. I think Man Utd bit overrated on this game but whatever. Ronaldo still a monster for them.

Apart from the CL win, highlight of the season ^

Some great performances. Onana, Theo Hernandez, Coates, Lamptey and Zagadou all decent additions this year. Wilson and Gravenberch still my main boys though, with Adeyami also coming along nicely.

Haven't gone to crazy with the wages either

I have some big signings in mind for next season. Hopefully can win the title

[Robioto]

I started a save last week for fun and after coming 6th in my first season (1st transfer window disabled), I then won the league and Europa League in my 2nd. At the start of the third season this is my squad... it's a little ridiculous!

GK Onana / Woodman

DL Lampety / B. Williams

DR Aarons / Timber

DC Gvardiol / Zabarnyi

DC Inacio / Kaiky

DMC Rice / Bruno G

MC Bellingham / Bissouma

MC Gravenberch / Willock

AML Fati / Hudson Odoi

AMR Saka / Hlozek

SC Calvert-Lewin / Barbosa

Dummet as emergency back up due to home grown quotas.

Edited May 30, 2022 by Robioto

[Bohaska]

Hi everyone! I just started playing as Newcastle after I got frustrated with my Norwich save. 

We're nearing the winter transfer window right now, which is a good time to reflect on our first half of the season

Signings
I made a couple of signings in the summer, which included

Raphinha: 40mil

His debut went great, snagging a 7.6 rating, but he's been disappointing so far compared to expectations, with an average rating of 6.87 and only 4 assists. He's also racking up lots of yellow cards, and will face a suspension if he gets another one. 

Lewis Dunk: 25mil + Emil Krafth

He's been doing ok so far, with an average rating of 6.82. At least he's not as expensive as Raphinha. 

Nikola Milenkovic: 19mil plus 2mil in potential future fees

He's been performing better than Dunk, most likely due to his prowess in winning headers. He's averaging 6.91.

Alberto Moreno: 13.5mil

This 30mil left back was a steal. He's been doing great, making several 7+ ratings while we were on our winning streak, and averaging 7.02. 

Mauro Arambarri: 10mil

He hasn't really been doing much to capture my attention. Decent guy averaging 6.90. 

Rémy Cabella: Free

Totally worth it. Made 5 goals and 4 assists for me, with an average rating of 7.05

I've also signed Maxence Lacroix for 34mil, due to come when 2022 arrives. 

Players

Callum Wilson: He's been averaging 7.4, scored 18 goals and assisted 3. He's the league's top goalscorer right now. His form has dropped recently though

Karl Darlow: Averaging 7.09. He saved a penalty in our important 2-1 with vs Man City. Sadly, his form has also dropped recently. 

Saint-Maximim: Not performing as well as expected, with only 3 goals and 3 assists and declining form. Whatever potential he has, I don't think I'm unlocking it right. 

Jonjo Shelvey: Although sitting on the bench and performing average most of the time, he scored the winning goal in our 2-1 win vs Man City, a 30 yard screamer. 

 

Current results
Premier League: 16 games played, 2nd place

A great run of form paired with a relatively easy fixture list propelled us to 1st place and we stayed there for quite some time, racking up a 7 win streak, but December was a particularly awful month. We had matches against Leeds (0-2 loss), Liverpool (1-3 loss), Tottenham (1-2 loss) and Wolves (2-1 win), and still have matches with Chelsea, Aston Villa and Arsenal to go. 

Our kryptonite seems to be Man Utd, who we lost to both in the EPL and in the Carabao cup. 

FA Cup: Has not started yet, drawed with Bournemouth

Carabao Cup: Knocked out in 4th round by Man Utd, luckily i asked the board not to grade my performance based on it. 

Board: I currently have a job security of Untouchable and a rating of A+ and won October Manager of the Month. 

 

Edited May 31, 2022 by Bohaska
Players section added

[Robioto]

On 30/05/2022 at 03:51, Robioto said:

I started a save last week for fun and after coming 6th in my first season (1st transfer window disabled), I then won the league and Europa League in my 2nd. At the start of the third season this is my squad... it's a little ridiculous!

GK Onana / Woodman

DL Lampety / B. Williams

DR Aarons / Timber

DC Gvardiol / Zabarnyi

DC Inacio / Kaiky

DMC Rice / Bruno G

MC Bellingham / Bissouma

MC Gravenberch / Willock

AML Fati / Hudson Odoi

AMR Saka / Hlozek

SC Calvert-Lewin / Barbosa

Dummet as emergency back up due to home grown quotas.

There seems to be zero risk of failing financially. You can just pump money into transfers and wages often using the fee over 48 months option, haemorrhage millions and millions of pounds every month, plunge yourself into debt and the club will muster up a ridiculous sponsorship deal to cover the costs. In my 2nd season I had over £300,000,000 in sponsorship money.

[Bohaska]

2 hours ago, Robioto said:

There seems to be zero risk of failing financially. You can just pump money into transfers and wages often using the fee over 48 months option, haemorrhage millions and millions of pounds every month, plunge yourself into debt and the club will muster up a ridiculous sponsorship deal to cover the costs. In my 2nd season I had over £300,000,000 in sponsorship money.

Can I see a picture of your finances or sponsorship announcements?

[Robioto]

@Bohaska

Yep. It's not just with Newcastle though, it seem to be impossible to get your self into trouble financially in Football Manager:

This Season = £157,001,508 (it's only August)

Last Season = £203,303,213 (also see "Other" for a further £74,956,716 which miraculously appeared in my account straight after the season finished without notification) 

You can see from the other screenshot that the latest deal was £71m

That's in excess of £400,000,000 in less then 2 years through 1 year sponsorship deals and the other column.

Edited May 31, 2022 by Robioto
Image didn't work

[Robioto]

Had two more 1 year sponsorship deals in Season 3.  One for £21 million in November and another in for £45m in February. 

[Robioto]

Third season. Even more sponsorship than before, £300m other appeared in my account with no notification as well. Spent £890m in the summer transfer window with a £480m net spend. It is impossible to go into debt, just spend spend spend. Really disappointing this.

[Welshace]

On 05/06/2022 at 13:41, Robioto said:

Third season. Even more sponsorship than before, £300m other appeared in my account with no notification as well. Spent £890m in the summer transfer window with a £480m net spend. It is impossible to go into debt, just spend spend spend. Really disappointing this.

I don't really understand the issue... it pretty much follows what would happen in real life and has with PSG and Man city before them.. A new sponsorship deal that is definitely completely unrelated to the owners at all comes in to cover any losses

[mikenevo]

Well it seems like most of you are enjoying the save with Newcastle United, so I've decided to have a bit of fun myself and who knows where it will take me...

I have finalised my squad for the summer transfer window, with a few outgoing deals to go through. I've put some emphasis on defenders for this window as I feel going forward, Newcastle aren't a bad side, but at the back they aren't so good. We have signed...

Gabriel Paulista

Tanguy Nianzou

Declan Rice

Jamal Musiala

Youssoufa Moukoko (Joins in January 2023)

Jules Kounde (Loan to buy)

Unfortunately due to Kounde having a £68mil buy out clause, I wasn't able to buy him due to our other business which would have put us in peril with FFP. However, I came to a compromise with Sevilla thankfully where I pay them £1.4mil per month to loan and then buy him next season for the £68mil. I just didn't want to go into this season without Kounde, so will happily give up the extra funds to secure him.

This means we now have 2 central defenders of good quality in Gabriel Paulista and Jules Kounde, whilst Tanguy Nianzou has good potential and can play as backup for both central defenders and Declan Rice in Defensive Midfield.

Jamal Musiala signing speaks for itself really, not much to say except I'm excited to see how he performs. Youssoufa Moukoko is worth waiting on and will hopefully get some game time with Dortmund before he arrives as an improved player and our star striker of the future.

[Robioto]

On 06/06/2022 at 16:58, Welshace said:

I don't really understand the issue... it pretty much follows what would happen in real life and has with PSG and Man city before them.. A new sponsorship deal that is definitely completely unrelated to the owners at all comes in to cover 

You really don't see an issue with this? You really think it's normal for PSG and Man City to generate £400m of EXTRA sponsorship each season and that £200m mysteriously appears in thier account (not an owner cadh injection with an inbox message, it just appears)? This doesn't just happen with Tycoon clubs by the way my save either Everton and Coventry City the same happens on a smaller scale, I just spend recklessly and get saved by these absurd cash injections.

In my third summer I spent £850m with a £480m net spend while increasing my wage budget from £4m, to £6.5m. Is that normal? No, no it is not.

Would it be normal for PSG to buy Bastoni, De Jong, De Ligt, Moriba, Moukoko, Theo Hernandez, Lautaro Martinez, Vinicius Junior and Giovanni Reyna in one window without consequences? Because that is what I've just done with Newcastle. It's not in the slightest bit realistic, it's ridiculous that the game allows it.

I know I'm banging my head against a brick wall though, the ardent defence of serious issues with the game from select users on this forum is why I rarely bother to post here anymore.

[mikenevo]

1 hour ago, Robioto said:

You really don't see an issue with this? You really think it's normal for PSG and Man City to generate £400m of EXTRA sponsorship each season and that £200m mysteriously appears in thier account (not an owner cadh injection with an inbox message, it just appears)? This doesn't just happen with Tycoon clubs by the way my save either Everton and Coventry City the same happens on a smaller scale, I just spend recklessly and get saved by these absurd cash injections.

In my third summer I spent £850m with a £480m net spend while increasing my wage budget from £4m, to £6.5m. Is that normal? No, no it is not.

Would it be normal for PSG to buy Bastoni, De Jong, De Ligt, Moriba, Moukoko, Theo Hernandez, Lautaro Martinez, Vinicius Junior and Giovanni Reyna in one window without consequences? Because that is what I've just done with Newcastle. It's not in the slightest bit realistic, it's ridiculous that the game allows it.

I know I'm banging my head against a brick wall though, the ardent defence of serious issues with the game from select users on this forum is why I rarely bother to post here anymore.

But if you feel like its a cheat of some sort, then why do it in the first place? The game isn't forcing you to make those decisions. In this scenario you appear to be your own enemy really. 

[Welshace]

19 hours ago, Robioto said:

You really don't see an issue with this? You really think it's normal for PSG and Man City to generate £400m of EXTRA sponsorship each season and that £200m mysteriously appears in thier account (not an owner cadh injection with an inbox message, it just appears)? This doesn't just happen with Tycoon clubs by the way my save either Everton and Coventry City the same happens on a smaller scale, I just spend recklessly and get saved by these absurd cash injections.

In my third summer I spent £850m with a £480m net spend while increasing my wage budget from £4m, to £6.5m. Is that normal? No, no it is not.

Would it be normal for PSG to buy Bastoni, De Jong, De Ligt, Moriba, Moukoko, Theo Hernandez, Lautaro Martinez, Vinicius Junior and Giovanni Reyna in one window without consequences? Because that is what I've just done with Newcastle. It's not in the slightest bit realistic, it's ridiculous that the game allows it.

I know I'm banging my head against a brick wall though, the ardent defence of serious issues with the game from select users on this forum is why I rarely bother to post here anymore.

No, as I explained... that is exactly what has happened with man city for example in the past... a mysterious new sponsor appears to save the club from FFP doom...

PSG's wages account for 90% odd of the whole league ..... this is real life.

And frankly, if it is a serious issue.... why do it? it's like someone finding a bug in a game that crashes it and going out of their way to do it every time..... weird.

You're posting in the good player and team forum.... if you want to rant about an issue you claim there is with the game... go find the right place maybe?

And just because someone doesn't agree with your point, it doesn't mean i'm ignorant to any issues there are with the game... maybe calm down a little.

[mikenevo]

Having a great start as Newcastle United! Got a lot to fine tune over the coming seasons, but I've made a start on staff, I'm working on training schedules, keeping a close eye on the way my players train, getting really good performances from the players, not spending beyond FFP and just generally having a good time.

Callum Wilson is an absolute beast with 16 goals in 16 games and we are sitting top of the table, although I'm under no elusions that things get harder after December due to fatigue and such things, but I'm hoping my training schedules can negate some of that.

A few things I still need to implement are  scouting and youth production. I have several players in the first team complaining about lack of game time, so hopefully next season I can have those replaced with potential talent, which means I need to get that scouting department overhauled! 

 

[mikenevo]

[mikenevo]

Our best performance all season and our most important game to date! Liverpool were just 1 point behind us and we've just blown them away! Look at those Liverpool match ratings! Robertson has the 2nd best average rating in the league and we've just made him look like a Sunday league player...

Our average positions were also impressive compared to Liverpool, it's as if they were parking the bus!

[mikenevo]

Few signings and a few out of the door in January. Most notably out of the door were...

• Jamaal Lascelles (£2.4mil)
• Martin Dubravka (£17.25mil)
• Sean Longstaff (£1.4mil)

Both Lascelles and Longstaff were complaining about game time and had to be moved on. I would have preferred to get more for Longstaff due to his potential, but ultimately I need players who want to be here.

Martin Dubravka was moved on despite his good form after he returned from injury for two reasons. One being that we signed a new goalkeeper and two being that he's 33 years old. I feel we got an amazing offer considering his age.

The players in were...

• André Onana (£7.5mil)
• Rodrigo Ribeiro (£5.5mil)
• Christian Mosquera (Loan to buy for £17mil)

For whatever reason Andre Onana was on the transfer list due to a dispute with Ajax. We had a goalkeeper who only had a couple of seasons left really and with the price tag of Onana it was a complete no-brainer!

I've also been searching for quality prospects to play as backup for the team since November when players started asking for moves away. I found two players at Sporting, but due to financial restraints, I was only able to bring in Rodrigo Ribeiro. The other lad is still 16, so I wasn't able to get him on loan to buy. Then I found Christian Mosquera at Valencia who has been doing well for the B team and with Lascelles out of the door, we needed a backup center back.

[hasdgfas]

hey folks! I'm hitting the lull between FMs after losing motivation for a Bolton save after I had taken them to Premier League Champions so I moved over here to Newcastle, because I just wanted to spend loads of money.

These are my first summer ins:

I wanted a defensive-minded midfielder and bought Doublas Luiz, as at 23 I think he has good room to grow and he's a bit better on the ball than Hayden.

I bought Raphinha to play on the opposite side as ASM(who I adore), because I was not particularly impressed with the other options already at the club, at least long-term.

Connor Goldson might have clogged up the central defender spot a bit too much? But he looks impressive as a bit of a stop-gap while I clean up the squad.

a few outs:

That puts my ideal starting XI as this(still not sure about central defense tbh):

I'd really like a few more outs, but I think those will have to wait for January. Squad feels like it's full of a lot of squad players I really need to improve upon. That plus one more top defender feels about right to me, based on my early assessments of the squad.

[kad38]

hi friends of Newcastle I started to see what it gives with a team with unlimited money here is the 1st season.... I am not an expert as @Tee2 of the presentation sorry

 

1st season and PL champion on the last day .... FA cup final and Carabao cup lost on penalty

 

Edited July 31, 2022 by kad38

[kad38]

Start of the 2nd season and victory in community shield against West Ham + big transfer window and 2nd time consecutive champion in PL .... in CL elimination in the quarter-final against Dortmund and again in the final of the FA cup and Carabao cup and again Lost to Liverpool!!!

[kad38]

Start of the 3rd season and defeat in community shield against Liverpool and 3rd victory in PL .... in CL elimination in the quarter-finals again against Arsenal and this time final victory finally in the FA cup against Man City and Carabao cup victory finally also against Brentford....