Moneyballing My Way To A Champions League Title in Every European Nation Part X: The FM23 Experiment

[DaneBramage]

Ouch, pretty brutal run of fixtures over January and February.

But at least that means the run-in shouldn't be as tough, gives you a chance of picking up the points you need.

[shaunvamos]

March 2029

 

 

 

 

 

With all the difficult fixtures out of the way, we had a pretty good month. If we win our game in hand, we're 5 points from safety with 5 games to go. It's going to be tight.

[shaunvamos]

10 hours ago, DaneBramage said:

Ouch, pretty brutal run of fixtures over January and February.

But at least that means the run-in shouldn't be as tough, gives you a chance of picking up the points you need.

Yeah, there's nothing like morale crushing defeats and then trying to cheer your players up so they can play well against teams we have a shot against 

[shaunvamos]

April 2029

 

 

 

 

 

An unbeaten month, and it all comes down to our last two games. Newcastle at home and Ipswich away. Anything less than two wins pretty much seals our fate through relegation. Crystal palace have Southampton, Man united and Tottenham. I can se them getting one point at most. Hopefully.

[shaunvamos]

 

 

 

 

We did the best we could, thanks to the heroics of Matt Lawson. But was it enough?

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, but only just. It wasn't even Crystal Palace we jumped in the end, it was preseason favourites Leicester. Did I mention the preseason predictions probably need a rethink? 

 

 

 

Best XI

 

 

 

Anselmo García McNulty  -  James Trafford  -  Leo Smothers

 

Pretty average ratings, but completely understandable given the season we had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Record Breakers

 

 

 

 

 

Progress

 

 

[Punch]

Congrats on surviving. Onwards and upwards

[shaunvamos]

2029 Preseason

 

 

 

An excellent preseason, with strong performances against top European division clubs. I'm not sure if it's a good sign for the future, but at least we've gotten some good wins on the board.

 

 

 

Transfers (In)

 

 

 

Once again, a massive revamp to the squad. I've tried to focus a little more on depth options, but there are plenty of starters amongst the new signings.

 

 

 

 

 

Nathan Phillips is a veteran CB and will partner Garcia McNulty. He's got some EPL experience with Liverpool, making 17 appearances in the 20/21 season, and also some in the Bundesliga with Fortuna Dusseldorf. For the last 5 seasons he's been in the Championship, but hopefully his top flight experience will not have left him. At only 200k he's got the potential to be a great buy.

 

 

 

 

 

DRC/Englishman Baningime will be trying his luck as right back. He has EPL experience with Everton, SPL experience with Aberdeen and Hearts and Eredivisie experience with Utrecht. He's worth 5 times as much as we bought him for, so I'm guessing he's a bargain too.

 

 

 

 

 

Fulham wanted too much to buy Roper outright, so he joins us on loan at LB. He was bought by the Cottagers for 275k a couple seasons ago from Arsenal.

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of massive bargains, Quinn might be the best of the lot. He has all the attributes we're looking for in a winger, so expect a lot of assists from him.

 

 

 

 

 

One half of our new strike partnership, I'm very excited by Curtis. There is a lot of green in his attribute profile that's for sure.

 

 

 

 

 

Our main scoring threat (hopefully) this season, he poses to be another nice bargain for us.

 

 

 

 

Still predicted last at 1001.00, but we're still getting stronger and hopefully won't struggle as much this season.

[shaunvamos]

August 2029

 

 

 

 

 

An excellent start! Yes, our first 2 games were against newly promoted teams, but to win and win well against them is a big positive. We have a relatively decent run until October, where we face City, Spurs and Liverpool in a row, and then Arsenal, United and Chelsea in December. So it's definitely less brutal than last season.

 

 

 

Transfers (Out)

 

 

 

Steven and Okine-Peters leave after not making it into the squad of 25 for the season. We make a loss of 800k on Steven but a 2.9M profit on Jeremiah. So a pretty good piece of business I think.

[TheRobert]

Nice start!

[shaunvamos]

September 2029

 

 

 

 

 

The excellent start continues, including a ridiculous win over Southampton in the EFL Cup. This won't continue though.

[Pompeyboyz]

Better to be flying high now and slowly falling than struggling and making a last ditch survival play

[shaunvamos]

October 2029

 

 

 

 

 

Got through a tricky month relatively unscathed, and even managed a point against Spurs. We're slowly falling down the table, but as @Pompeyboyzsaid above better to do this than rely on last day survival!

[shaunvamos]

November 2029

 

 

 

 

 

A mixed month, and we're still in 7th. December is the really big month though, with a match every 4 days against teams like Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea and Spurs (in the cup). They'll probably be matches we drop, but this next run of games will really test our depth.

[shaunvamos]

December 2029

 

 

 

 

 

As expected, we dropped several games in this month, but we weren't outclassed, nor was our depth ever really tested. We played pretty much a full strength side every game, even during the short turnarounds. Testament to our fitness coaches/natural fitness/stamina I guess. The opening two games of the month being wins means we end the first half of the season in 11th, with a little breathing room from 12th and every chance of rising into the European places.

 

 

 

 

 

We have made several upgrades, so the DMs better be good.

[shaunvamos]

January 2030

 

 

 

 

 

An unbeaten month, but we play the weaker teams in the division to start off again.

 

 

 

Transfers (Out)

 

 

 

We sell both these guys for pretty much double what we bought them for. Moneyball is working  

[shaunvamos]

February 2030

 

 

 

 

 

Out of the FA Cup, and a heavy loss to City, but we're in 7th with a bit of a gap to Chelsea.

[shaunvamos]

2030 Youth Intake

 

 

 

Javid Gamble 9A*  -  Stephen Cantwell 9B  -  Paul Kelly 9C*

 

Our first 5* prospect in what feels like forever! All those upgrades are beginning to pay off, this intake is probably our best to date.

 

 

 

 

 

I have no idea what the fascination with getting players from Llandough. Pretty much all of our Welsh players have come from there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shaunvamos]

March 2030

 

 

 

 

 

We beat Liverpool! We have a 5 point gap to Everton in 7th, so it'll be tight going into the last few months.

[shaunvamos]

April 2030

 

 

 

 

 

An incredible month, getting the results we needed against teams in the bottom half. But the final month is incredibly hard. We have United at home, Arsenal away, Chelsea away, before finishing at home to Everton. Whatever happens, I think we will have European football next season. But the competition is yet to be determined.

[shaunvamos]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow.

 

We have Champions League football next season! It would've been an undefeated month as well, but united scored two goals in the final 5 minutes to steal the win. But that doesn't matter. The top 3 in the EPL are all Manchester teams, but only one of them hasn't used exorbitant transfer and wage spending to do it. Spoiler alert: it's us

 

 

 

Best XI

 

 

 

Anselmo García McNulty  -  Nathan Phillips  -  James Trafford

 

Defence was the name of the game for our success this season, and it was shown in our three best players for the season. Strangely enough, Trafford is wanted by Real Madrid. We'll see what happens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Record Breakers

 

 

 

 

 

Awards

 

 

 

 

 

Progress

 

 

[shaunvamos]

 

 

This is cool and all, but I have no idea who Mike Norton is.

[Pompeyboyz]

1 hour ago, shaunvamos said:

 

 

This is cool and all, but I have no idea who Mike Norton is.

I take it he is not in the icons/legends bit of the club then?

[shaunvamos]

2 hours ago, Pompeyboyz said:

I take it he is not in the icons/legends bit of the club then?

I don't actually know where that is on this skin, usually it's on the club page but I've checked all tabs and there's nothing there.

[Pompeyboyz]

9 minutes ago, shaunvamos said:

I don't actually know where that is on this skin, usually it's on the club page but I've checked all tabs and there's nothing there.

Quick google search did show thats he is a bit of a club legend with at least 250 goals in 2 spells with the club. 

Which Skin are you using BTW?

[shaunvamos]

13 minutes ago, Pompeyboyz said:

Quick google search did show thats he is a bit of a club legend with at least 250 goals in 2 spells with the club. 

Which Skin are you using BTW?

Ah well then he’s definitely deserving of the stadium name. The skin I’m using is the Zealand skin 😀 it’s fantastic, except for the no club legends tab 

[Pompeyboyz]

6 minutes ago, shaunvamos said:

Ah well then he’s definitely deserving of the stadium name. The skin I’m using is the Zealand skin 😀 it’s fantastic, except for the no club legends tab 

Found how to get it on that skin as I use it too.

Go to Club Info.  Then on any of the box at the bottom, there is a small downwards arrow.  Click that and it will give you the option to change the details shown in that box, including the 3 for favoured, icons and legends.

 

[dsousa96]

Nice to finally see a save where you don't just get promoted and instatly go to UCL.

Good job.

[shaunvamos]

11 hours ago, Pompeyboyz said:

Found how to get it on that skin as I use it too.

Go to Club Info.  Then on any of the box at the bottom, there is a small downwards arrow.  Click that and it will give you the option to change the details shown in that box, including the 3 for favoured, icons and legends.

 

Brilliant, that's just made me love this skin even more! Do you know where to find the club rivalries too? Can't seem to locate that either but could just be blind 

 

 

11 hours ago, dsousa96 said:

Nice to finally see a save where you don't just get promoted and instatly go to UCL.

Good job.

Thanks for following along!

[shaunvamos]

Preseason 2030

 

 

A nice preseason, going undefeated after our opening friendly against Manchester United.

 

 

 

Transfers (In)

 

 

 

A season with a bigger transfer budget, and of course it would be a crime not to use it. Use it we did, with all 10  set to feature as first team players this season.

 

 

 

 

 

Reinier is our Complete Forward for the 30/31 season. Bough by Real Madrid in 2019 for 26.5 million, he didn't really do much there before being picked up by Bournemouth for 1.6m. West Brom added him to the squad for their 2026/27 EPL campaign for 16.25m, spending two seasons there, before Blackburn signed him for 13.25m. I guess you could say we got a great deal on him only paying 8m, but his performance will determine that. He has English as his 2nd nationality, presumably because of residency rules.

 

 

 

 

 

England U20 international Matthew Connolly will be our starting right winger this season, with the former United junior making the jump from Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship. He's still young, and he has great physical attributes complementing his technical prowess. We stand to make some good money off him should we decide to sell later on.

 

 

 

 

 

Ambidextrous Max Bird will play at rightback, as the former Derby County academy graduate joins us from Blackburn, selling him at a loss. This is his first opportunity for a Premier League start.

 

 

 

 

 

Bobby Lovegrove can play anywhere I want him to, but DM will be where he plays most of his games. Bought for only 4.7m, the Irish international and former Manchester City product already has EPL experience with Everton, and looks to be another steal.

 

 

 

 

Ollie Hood was someone I tried to bring on loan a few seasons ago, but United wanted too much for him. Now, they were happy to hand him off for 5m, and I think that they've made a mistake in doing so. He still has plenty of room for growth, and will do that from the LW position.

 

 

 

 

 

I chased Frestle hard, as he was the best LB attribute formula-wise by a long shot, and we've always had a bit of trouble getting someone decent to fill the need there. But no more. At 13m we may have overpaid for him a little, but if he lives up to the formula's evaluation of him we're going to have a good time with him. Interestingly, he's an English U21 international despite coming out of the St Patrick's Athletic academy in Dublin. He was bought by fellow Irish side Bohemians for 125k in 2024, before Norwich noticed him and brought him in for 300k. Two seasons later he was playing for Blackburn in the EPL, and played 8 games for Brentford last season before joining us. That's a pretty impressive journey.

 

 

 

 

 

Leonel is an interesting one. Bought by Arsenal for 3.4m from Boca Juniors almost as soon as he appeared in the game, he only ever got to be a fringe player for the club. The 5 year residency rule kicked in, and boom, he was eligible to be signed by us. I think 5.75m is a massive bargain for him, even though we are paying a fortune in wages. But he has all the primary tools to be our main scoring threat this season.

 

 

 

 

 

A CB who can also play wherever we need him, Ronnie came out of the Barnet system in 2019 before being picked up by Peterborough for 150k. Two seasons later he was making his EPL debut with Aston Villa as they bought him for 4.9m. A series of unimpressive loans with the likes of QPR, Cardiff and Hull City followed, before Cardiff decided to pick him up permanently for 3.5m. After 46 appearances Watford signed him for 5.25m, as he made 80 odd Championship appearances for them. EPL football in the form of West Brom came calling last season for 7.25m, and after 10 apps there we've now signed him. It's been a long journey, but he will be crucial in our defensive line.

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie is our first keeper signing in a few seasons, and has EPL experience with West Ham. Dutch-born, he's also played a few games in the Eredivisie with Ajax, whose system he came through.

 

 

 

 

 

Amione is another solid looking player who will be our other CB this season. He's spent the last 8 seasons in England with Norwich, Brentford, Bournemouth and Brighton, with around 50 games of EPL experience.

 

 

 

Transfers (Out)

 

 

 

Just the one player out so far. Kennedy never progressed beyond a fringe player with us, but we managed to break even on him.

 

 

 

 

 

Clearly, the media thinks our 3rd place finish last season was a fluke. That being said, they also think newly-promoted Leicester will finish 5th. The same media that predicted they would win the league the year they were relegated. Someone fix these media predictions  The missing team is Nottingham Forest at 1001.00.

[shaunvamos]

August 2030

 

 

 

 

 

A tough start, but we were able to turn it around against Fulham to open our account.

 

 

 

 

 

It's a tough group, but it could have been worse. I wouldn't want to be in Groups D, G and H. I think we can beat the Austrians, so maybe the Europa League knockouts is the expectation here.

 

 

 

Transfers (Out)

 

 

 

Aston Greaver's fantastic story will continue in Austria, as we make 9.5m profit off his sale, Debayo departs for Spain for a small profit and we make over 3m profit on Briffa. Good pieces of business I think. 

[shaunvamos]

September 2030

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The slow start continues, with a few disappointing results.

[Pompeyboyz]

7 hours ago, shaunvamos said:

Brilliant, that's just made me love this skin even more! Do you know where to find the club rivalries too? Can't seem to locate that either but could just be blind 

Exactly the same process.  Titled Rivalries under the drop down 

[shaunvamos]

October 2030

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we win our game in hand, we shoot up the table. Could this be the turn around we need?

[shaunvamos]

3 hours ago, Pompeyboyz said:

Exactly the same process.  Titled Rivalries under the drop down 

I can't actually see it, I must be blind.

[Pompeyboyz]

7 minutes ago, shaunvamos said:

I can't actually see it, I must be blind.

Assuming you are using the 3.0 version of the skin?

[shaunvamos]

6 minutes ago, Pompeyboyz said:

Assuming you are using the 3.0 version of the skin?

I don’t think I’m that up to date, looks like you have a bigger screen than me as well.

[Pompeyboyz]

I use a 1920x1080 screen with 85% zoom. 

[shaunvamos]

November 2030

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A much better month, probably helped with an easier set of fixtures. We're also the first team in our Champions League group to qualify, with a couple of impressive results.

[shaunvamos]

December 2030

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A busy month, and a pretty mixed month. We either got flogged or did the flogging. But that win over Tottenham to end the year is a great sign for the second half of the season. We also face Inter Milan in the CL knockout stages, which is probably one of the easier teams we could've drawn. It could've been Real Madrid, Bayern, United or PSG, so we're pretty lucky. 

 

 

 

 

 

This is far from ideal. We've spent the last two years continually upgrading our facilities, and this is the result? Come on, man.

[Punch]

In FM21 that would result in an intake full of 5*s 

[shaunvamos]

January 2031

 

 

 

 

 

Apart from the back to back 3-0 blowouts at the end of the month, we did pretty well. We're still within touching distance of the European spots, but it looks like 4th is the best available spot we can get.

 

Transfers (Out)

 

 

 

PSG have seen something in Trafford, and as he's only a backup I'm happy to let him go for an inflated transfer fee. We make 10m profit on him.

[shaunvamos]

February 2031

 

 

 

 

 

An excellent month, making progress in every competition, and we head to Milan with a 2 goal advantage.

[shaunvamos]

2031 Youth Intake

 

 

 

Nathan Powell 10A  -  Corey Jones 10B  -  Cameron Deacon 10C*

 

Overall it's a pretty disappointing intake, but it's headlined by our first ever "promising" player, a two-footed midfielder from Crewe. He'll be trained as a winger though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shaunvamos]

March 2031

 

 

 

 

 

Another strong month against teams hanging around the relegation zone, as well as reaching the last 4 of the FA Cup and last 8 of the Champions League. We play Liverpool in the FA Cup and Man City in the CL, so that'll be where we exit.

[shaunvamos]

April 2031

 

 

 

 

 

Out of all the cups, but new PBs in each is nothing to be disappointed about. On the face of it 4th looks doable, but our last 3 games are United, City and Arsenal. 1st, 2nd and 4th. At least we should have European football next season.

[shaunvamos]

 

 

 

 

 

 

A rough end to the season, but we manage to stay 5th. We'll be in the Europa League groups next season. Overall, I'm not too disappointed, I did think finishing third was a bit of a fluke, and I'm just happy to finish in the top 6.

 

 

 

Best XI

 

 

 

Bruno Amione  -  Matthew Connolly  -  Charlie Setford

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Record Breakers

 

 

 

 

 

Awards

 

 

 

 

 

Progress

 

 

[shaunvamos]

2031 Preseason

 

 

 

A strong preseason, capped off with a thrashing of Sevilla.

 

 

 

Transfers (In)

 

 

 

Our quietest transfer window yet, as these were the only players my scouts could find that were better than our current squad. Well, there was one player my scouts didn't find, rather I did.

 

 

 

 

 

Alessandro is the number 1 rated wonderkid over the last calendar year, and seeing he was from Aberdeen gave me hope that I could land him for a reasonable price. I input his attributes into the spreadsheet, and he's already the best Complete Forward we have at 18. Couple that with our Superb training facilities and the fact that he still has room for improvement and we might have a real superstar on our hands here, and for only 15m!

 

 

 

 

 

Gemmell came out of the Manchester City academy, and has played a few games for them before moving to Rangers last season. We may have overpaid for him a little, but he's the best CB on our team by 2 points, which is a big difference.

 

 

 

 

 

The half English Halliday started off in Australia at the Central Coast Mariners, before jumping to Frankfurt. We pick him up after his first season there, and he'll be one half of our DM partnership.

 

 

 

 

 

Filip gained English citizenship thanks to his tenure at Sheffield United, West Brom and Brighton, so is no stranger to EPL quality games. He's our new RB.

 

 

Transfers (Out)

 

 

 

Guys who didn't make the final squad of 25 were moved on. We made a small loss on Lawson but made profit of the other two.

 

 

 

 

 

Slowly moving up the reputation ladder. The final team is Sheffield United.

[shaunvamos]

August 2031

 

 

 

 

 

A very rough start. Our wonderkid got sent off against Chelsea, and it's kind of hit the fan from there.

 

 

 

 

I think we'll definitely beat Slovan Bratislava, but the other two are a little more difficult.

[shaunvamos]

September 2031

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ship steadies, but another red card robs us of a result in Newcastle.

[estewu]

On 07/12/2021 at 08:18, shaunvamos said:

 

 

Hi buddy, I'm just curious how do you measure these overalls? Just key attributes etc or something completelly different?