[FM22] THFC: Just like old times...

[RaySunshine]

Who remembers the old days... those days when you couldn't be an international superstar or a club hero; Football Manager wouldn't let you! You had to start as a complete novice even if, in your head, you were a club legend! Well this is still the way that I start every FM to this day. I manage but favourite club but as a complete novice! The average lasting time is around Christmas but let's see how we do this time around.

There's a lot in the vision - including that potentially toxic 'Spurs DNA' that has done for more recent managers. The ages with signings don't surprise me but the real challenege is buried down below - the club want to be self-sustaining by 2026. I've closed the transfer window this time around (sorry Harry!) and I'm just about to start my run of pre-season games.

Expectations are high - Champ's League qualification and a Europa Conference Trophy is what Mr Levy expects. Are this motley crew up to it? We shall see!

[RaySunshine]

Pre-season

So my team has been through pre-season and it all seems pretty good. Wins all round is certainly a fine thing but what does worry me is the lack of clean sheets - even against easier opposition. On the other hand though, I didn't have most of the first team until the very last game of pre-season. Even though I'd turned off transfers for pre-season, there was some work to be done...

When Nuno came to Spurs, he didn't bring his assistant with him. I did though as I felt he was a much stronger option than his predecessor Ian Cathro. I do have to say that the staff levels at Spurs are very low and it's certainly something that's going to have to be improved across the course of the save.

The board expect us to finish in the top four but the odds indicate that we've got some way to go to ahead of the big four clubs this season. I'd love to overturn the odds but can it be done with this squad? We'll see!

Just the North London Derby to open the season then?! After that, we only have one other league game against Rafa's Everton. The rest of the month is taken up with the Conference League and two games against Molde to get us into the group stage of the competition. And, finally, here is the team that will take on Arsenal in the opening game...

 

[RaySunshine]

August 2021

My football managing career begins - and it wasn't a bad start either! We played four games this month where we won three and drew the other so I certainly can't complain there. The season opened with the NLD against Arsenal (Kane 13). Despite being battered for most the match, we opened the goal scoring when Kane finished a sliderule pass from Lucas. It looked like we were going to bag all three points until Pepe scored from some pinball following a corner. Against Molde (Kane 27, Romero 77, Doherty 85) things were certainly dramatic! Both sides scored in the 27th minute before ten-man Molde took a shock lead. Goals from Romero and Doherty set things right though and gave us the win. We didn't lead the xG competition against Everton (Moura 73, Kane 79) and I feared the worst when Richarlison gave them the lead but then Moura slotted home from a Pickford error and Lo Celso set up Kane with a superb pass to send the striker through. Finally, we played Molde (Kane 48, Moura 62) and they threatened an upset again before Kane and Moura scored the goals to send us into the group stage.

We're ninth in the table at the moment but we have a game in hand on fourth-place Newcastle who have nine points. It's still very early days. In the Conference League, we have a pretty comfortable group I hope (although the real Spurs have made it look a challenge!) and I would certainly expect to progress and continue. I have noticed that players seem more tired after European games than previous versions of FM so I'm going to have to watch the rotation carefully.

And these are the games I'll need to rotate them through! Southampton, West Ham and Brentford provide the league oppostion and all appear to be winnable games. In the League Cup, we play Newcastle who thankfully haven't bought anyone as I disabled the opening transfer window. I know that situation won't last long though! Finally two European games round out the month and I'd like to win them to get our campaign going on the right foot.

[RaySunshine]

September 2021

Month two has rolled by and it's been no less dramatic than month one! We kicked off against Southampton (Son 4, Moura 9, Kane 69). 2-0 up in ten minutes and I thought we were going to thrash them out the park. At 2-2, I felt slightly different... but Kane was there to save the day! We went into Europe to play Legia (Dele 57). Despite being in control, we struggled to get a goal - Dele had a different idea though as he smashed home a 25 yard strike. Back in domestic action, we took on West Ham (Son 47) where Son had read Dele's handbook and scored a beauty from a similar difference off the crossbar. A heavily-rotated side took on Newcastle in the League Cup and it was clearly a mistake as they took us apart and progressed in the competition. I would like to have said that we took out our frustration on Brentford (Kane 76) but Kane got in on the long-range act and smashed home the winner. Finally, a rotated side took on Hammarby (Hojbjerg 15, 86, Gil 35, Bergwijn 90+3) and it was good to get some of the squad members on the scoresheet.

Three wins have seen us stay firmly in the European race which is pleasing to see. I do have to say though that I'm really impressed with Newcastle's performance under Ten Haag as he's managed to get their unchanged squad into the Champ's League race. I'm worried with what they're going to be able to do with the squad in the winter transfer window. In Europe, two wins have put us top of the group and we're looking good so far.

October is a league-focussed month. It's four winnable games again and I hope that we get plenty of points out of the games. Right in the middle, we have a single European game where we take on Kairat of Kazakhstan...

[RaySunshine]

October 2021

September was a good month for us and it's pleasing to say that October has followed in equally good form! We got the frustrations of the month out of the way early with a draw against Crystal Palace (Kane 1). Despite scoring super early, we couldn't make good on it and conceeding in the 90+1st minute was a real kick in the teeth! We took on Leeds (Kane pen 45, Tanganga 72). In a tale of two penalties, they missed theirs in min 44 before we scored ours in min 45! Tanganga scored the second to secure the result. An entirely-rotated team played Kairat (Sessegon 58, Gil 68, 90+4, White pen 88). Gil scored the goal of the game with a beautiful curling effort from just outside the box. I was pleased see their goal though and see that old-time FM legend Wagner Love is still out there playing and scoring. Norwich (Kane 22, 27) dominated possession against us but I'm pleased to say that they had no answer to King Kane and his two goals were enough to secure us all three points. Finally, we played Wolves (Romero 5, Kane pen 74, Hojbjerg 78). A Romero corner and a Kane penalty got us going before Hojbjerg crashed a beauty off the bar to give the game a moment of real class.

In terms of the league, we have managed to sneak into that elusive fourth place! I know it's early days but it's a good place to be in and I certainly hope that it will get me past the dreaded Boxing Day sack. In terms of Europe, we've one three out of three and look set to qualify from the group well.

The league games dominate in my mind for the next month. We should win the two European games but the matches against Newcastle, Liverpool and Leicester will give us a really good sense of where we're at! How long can this unbeaten league run last? Let's test it again!

[RaySunshine]

November 2021

Before the month began, I said that November would be a good test of where we are and I think that, by-and-large, we passed the test! It began with a game against Kairat (Skipp 16, Gil 35, Winks pen 72) and it was nice to see the second string put on a comfortable showing and Skipp get his first goal for the club. We followed this up with a good game against Newcastle (Son 22, Kane 53, Romero 63) and it was especially pleasing to see a super cross put home by Son who has struggled for goals so far this season. Against Liverpool, we put on an absolute no-show. We lost every battle, could have conceeded more than two and Son got injured for the next two months to add insult to injury! Against Legia (Ndombele 64, Scarlett 67), we had to wait for the goals but an Ndombele beauty and Scarlett's first goal for the club got us the win. Finally, we put on a cracker against Leicester (Kane 27, Moura 72, Romero 90).

Both the tables look good so far. Will last? Who knows?!

December is always a monster month - seven league games and a European tie to round it off. It starts on a pretty hard double-header but we're really going to have to rack up points after that And..

I have a fan!

[RaySunshine]

December 2021

December was always going to be a busy month - little did I know that it would be an almost perfect month too! We began with a week where we played both Chelsea but first Man United (Romero 37, Kane 48). Ronaldo gave them the lead but Romero pulled it back with a bullet-corner header - something he's getting pretty good at! Kane then gave us the lead with a super volley after Bergwijn chipped the ball over the top. We then went on to play Chelsea (Kane 14, 66, Romero 83). Kane got the goals going with another super-volley and then two corners secured us the win. A fully-rotated side played Hammarby (Scarlett 26) and it was good to see Scarlett net again. We took on Burnley (Bergwijn 40). The game was tough and tight but, in the end, one goal was enough to get the win. Brighton (Kane 60, 66). A brace from King Kane was enough to get us the win and it helped again against Watford (Moura 32, Kane pen 70) where a penalty was enough to get the win. The first of the Christmas games was Aston Villa (Bergwijn 47, Sanchez 73, Kane pen 90+1) where it was good to score three goals before going on to play Everton (Moura 14, Dier 55). The month was complete - we'd won seven league games and achieved a pretty remarkable league position.

I'm having to rub my eyes to believe where we are in the league at the moment! Half of the season has been played and we're top of the tree - I'll say that again - top of the tree! I certainly wouldn't expect this to last but being ten points above fifth place is a pretty good place to be and I'd certainly hope to finish in the top four without a serious disaster. Spurs are also top of the group going out of the Europa Conference League so all good there too!

Well... it's certainly not a pretty picture youth-wise. It's good that this isn't going to be a youth-only save as we wouldn't get very far, very fast with this intake coming in. It will be interesting to see what we get when the players actually arrive. We'll see more later!

Arsenal and Man City - not much to open up the month then! Everton sit inbetween as the cup game and we're certainly taking that seriously as I'd love the chance to get my hands on silverware. Southampton and West Ham are the other two games. Let's see how we do - four crucial games to play and important points to win.

[RaySunshine]

January 2022

Even though there have only been four games, January has certainly been a pretty busy month! There has been plenty of transfer action coming up to discuss as well as the results...

We began with the small matter of the North London Derby where we took on Arsenal (Kane 75). We were under the cosh for most of the game but, in the 75th minute, Dele split their back line with a pass out wide for Davies to run onto. His cross skipped by Ben White and Harry Kane smashed home. He was injured though when we went on to play Everton. A combination of injury and fatigue meant that our team toiled with little joy and dropped out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle. We then moved on to the month's major hurdle: Man City (Alli 56, Kane 83). The first half was cagey but the second lit up when Kane nodded down a cross for Alli to volley home. Alli repayed the favour with a fine dinked cross that Kane tapped into the back of an empty net. Finally, we played Southampton (Kane 43). Just as the first half came to an end, Moura got to the byline and whipped a cross in for Kane to volley home. It looked like that would be enough to win the game until a last-gasp corner gave Southampton a share of the spoils.

 

As you can see, certainly in numbers, the outs outnumber the ins! Most of the outs were poor potential youth players or loans. However, there are a few notable exceptions to discuss. The first of these is Tanguy Ndombele. He becomes the first player of the Newcastle revolution as I decide to cash in. He has divided opinion in his time in North London and, with arrivals to discuss later on, I decided now was the time to get as much of his fee back as I could. Notable 2 is Joe Rodon with the Welsh international going out on loan to Real Madrid (!) of all places in order to get more minutes. Finally, permament prospect Jack Clarke is out on loan at Derby County.

Gi

Giorgian is our first player and the first buy of my reign. Neither Ndombele nor Alli have fully convinced for me in the AMC role so Arrascaeta comes in to shake up the pack. Still plying his trade in South America, Arrascaeta comes in at a bargain £13.5m and I expect him to fight his way into the starting line-up in short order.

Eliot was a young prospect plying his trade in Monaco. Our scouts picked him up and, for the values spoken about, I thought we couldn't say no. I do wonder whether he will live up to the potential but it will be interesting to see.

Dodo was the last - and possibly biggest - move of my window. I hit the button that said 'Transfer Deadline Day' and when he came up as an option, I simply couldn't say no! He was far too good a prospect to miss and so he joins the squad. This may mark the end for the 30yo Matt Doherty as we look to get cash before he gets too old!

After all that fuss, we reamain top of the table with a game in hand to spare. I'm really happy with how it's all going and the way that the club is responding to the template that I'm trying to apply to it. All I wonder is - how do I get coaching badges?! The club seem to have no interest in letting me do any at all!

This is another month with a whole series of winnable games. Once we have got through the challenge of a visit to the blue side of Manchester, the next set of games see us take on teams almost all in the bottom half. Brentford are 9th but Palace and Norwich are propping up the table so we really need to be winning there...

[Dustman2015]

COYS!!! Love that you’re getting a lot out of PEH and Kane. Kane can be inconsistent for me. 
 

You should throw some of these updates in the good team and player guide Tottenham page. I’m sure the other fans would love to see your progress and journey.

[RaySunshine]

@Dustman2015 Thanks for the reply - great to hear from people following the save. I'll certainly have a look at how to drop a link to the people following Spurs in the other forum. I might also post about Giorgan who seems to be a real steal! PEH and Kane have both been regularly superb - my challenge is Sonny who isn't tearing it up for my team so far!

The games keep coming and the results continue to be important - although they're not always perfect as you can see! Game one meant we played Man City and it was another no-show. We really didn't show up. What really annoyed me though was two of the goals being scrappy set pieces. We've certainly got to cut that out of our game. Following on, we played Brentford (Kane 20, 42, Moura 51, Skipp 64). Kane got us going after a superb through-ball by GDA but Skipp's stunning volley was goal of the game when he put home Reguillion's cross. In mid-week, we played West Ham (Kane 14, Hojbjerg 44). GDA played a beauty of through-ball for Kane to finish first-time with his left foot. We switched off though to allow Bowen to come through and score. Hojbjerg made the difference though - peeling away at the near post to volley home Reguilion's curled free-kick. Goals flowed again when we played Crystal Palace (Kane pen 39, 56, De Arrascaeta 49, Son 89). GDA scored his first goal - a lucky header falling to him after a couple of rebounds and, right at the end, Hojbjerg sent a beauty of a ball over the top for Son to score and find some form. I fully expected us to follow that up with a win against relegation-threatened Norwich (Bergwijn 85). It wasn't to be though - we just about matched them in the first half but went in goalless at the break. They then took a shock lead through a scrappy set piece. I thought Bergwijn had stolen us a share of points with his late goal but we let them through again and left Carrow Road shaking our heads.

Well a 3/5 month sees us finish second in the table - two points behind Liverpool and on the same number of points. There are now just eleven - eleven - games to go. We're fourteen points clear of Chelsea at the moment but I'm not taking it for granted. I know we have some tough games to go before the end of the season and, as the slip-up against Norwich shows, no game in this league is a gimme.

After a two-month break, Europe comes back onto the scene. We have three league games and I think we can win all of them - even if Newcastle will now be a significantly different propostion having spent just £165 million since we last met! Rotation will be important as we need to get past Spartak and progress in Europe too. I want a trophy!

[RaySunshine]

March 2021

Oh... heck! I don't know if I've been updated if it's poor management on my part or just bad luck but it suddenly looks like we're in trouble! Game one saw us play Wolves and we were terrible - simply awful. This was right up there with the games against Liverpool and Man City so I was severely annoyed to say the least! We then took on Spartak Moscow in the Conference League and were 2-0 by HT. I went ballistic in the break and we picked up the pace - I think their posts had magents for the ball in; never have I seen a team hit the woodwork so often without joy! We followed this up with a dominating performance against Leeds but we didn't score anything. However, we did let Bamford through one-on-one and he duly finished. Finally, we got a green spot against Spartak Moscow (Kane 20, Romero 53). They took the lead to make us getting through almost impossible but a wicked Moura cross was finished at the near post by Kane and Romero headed home a corner for us to take a consolation win. Morale wasn't good before the game and the team are beginning to complain about the atmosphere about the place. I feel like a noose has been placed around my neck...

Despite taking a pummelling, we're still second. However, we're on a bad run and the next month looks simply terrifying...

Yikes! You look at that lot. We have Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea as serious teams to play alongside Leicester and moneybags Newcastle providing serious threats. Poor Burnley finish off the month if I'm still in post by that point...

[Guest]

4th looks tied on unless you Spurs this up. 

[RaySunshine]

@Crazy_Ivan That's what worries me - that extra bit of code in there to make sure that Spurs are Spurssy lol! Fingers crossed it doesn't come to that by the end of the save!

April 2022

As scary as it looked on paper, it turned out that April wasn't too bad a month for us and going unbeaten was pretty pleasing! The month opened with us playing Liverpool (Moura 3, Romero 6, Kane 15). Moura headed home a Hojbjerg cross and Romero quickly doubled up beating the offside trap to score the second. Henderson's daisy-cutter pulled one back before Kane made it three. They took control of the second half though and we finished with points shared. Newcastle (Kane 4). Son split the defence with a beautiful pass and Kane smashed home from the edge of the box. They bossed the game but couldn't score to make use of it. I also thought you might like a look at the new line-up they boasted for the game...

Next up were Leicester (Moura 4, 18, Kane pen 8, 42, Romero 16) who have been struggling. I certainly wasn't expecting to have scored five by HT though. On the other hand, it's not a result that I'm going to complain about either. Man Utd (Son 7) were the first of a big double-header. We took an early lead when Son smashed home a Moura cross but they fought back and Van Der Beek rounded Lloris to ensure that the points were shared. I feared the worst when we went a goal behind to Chelsea (Kane 50, Son 56) who were in fifth place and chasing down the Champ's League places. We fought back however when Moura crossed for Kane to smash home a long-range strike and then took the winner when Son chipped home Lo Celso's eye-of-the-needle pass. It was a stunning move and really pleasing to see! We knew that, if we beat Burnley (Kane 81, 90+5). We made hard work of it though - waiting for the last ten minutes before a Kane double secured the result and our top four place! Happy Days!

So here we are - securely in the top four and still with an outside chance of winning the title but I do think that's pretty unlikely! We just have to keep winning and keep playing and see what results we can manage before the end of the season.

Three games round out the month - they're all winnable and we're going to go for it to see how many points we can amass before the end of the season.

[abulezz]

Liverpool might slip up in 2 of their games - its feasible!

[edgar555]

Going good mate, well done COYS

[RaySunshine]

@abulezz - that's what we're fighting for - we'll keep on going until the finish to see what we can achieve! @edgar555 - thanks for the follow. I'm here to lead my beloved club to glory playing the glory glory way!

May 2022

We had three games to see if we could chase Liverpool down and steal the title from them. The first item of news was that Lloris had twisted his ankle and was out for two months. We kicked off against Brighton (Kane 1, 20, Son 32, Moura 40). We'd scored four goals by half time with the pick of the bunch being Lo Celso threading a beauty of a pass through for Son to smash home between the keeper's legs. We then took on Watford (Romero 30, De Arrascaeta 63). Hojbjerg sent in a corner for Romero to head home and we needed the insurance of De Arrascaeta's long-range super-strike in order to guarantee the three points. The final game was against Villa and they gave us a huge challenge. Although we didn't win in the end, it was enough to get us a draw and secure second place in the league at the end of the season.

It's stunning to see just how well we did in the season - especially considering the state of the real team ! I feel super-proud of what we've achieved and I hope that we can build on it for the next season. Maybe, just maybe now, they'll let me do a coaching badge now?!

[abulezz]

No slip up from Liverpool but a great season nonetheless!

[edgar555]

Great first season. Don’t worry about Liverpool, they’re a monster. Took me 3 seasons to beat them, luckily it was a title decider but something like 9 games, 8 losses and 1 defeat to that point. 
interested to see what you do in the summer window. 
COYS

[RaySunshine]

@abulezz - I'm certainly pleased with what we've managed to do. Who knew this squad had it in them?! @edgar555 Thanks for the encouragement! I'll keep chasing them down as far and as hard as I can - COYS!

Season Review

Most of the XI are as I would expect them to be. Lloris is the only real choice there was in goal. RB was interesting with Doherty starting, Royal getting a middle patch and then Dodo taking the spot from his arrival. Bergwijn is the other surprise inclusion for me with Son coming back to form at the end of the season. I guess though that with Son being injured for a long spell, no-one did much to make the place their own with a string of stellar performances.

Kane wiped the floor with his rivals scoring 38 goals across the course of the season and it was GLC who came up from most the assists throughout the course of the campaign. I do hope that GDA gets more involved with that basis over the course of next season. Sergio led the way with overall performances and with interest from Man City, Liverpool and Inter amongst others, I'm going to have to work to keep him here.

The vision hasn't changed but it's nice to have some pleased and very pleased votes in there - especially with so much that I need to do! The fact that I only have £54mil to play with in the transfer window does concern me though. Especially as it will take £43mil to get Romero to stay permamently.

Now we go on into an unexpected summer treat...

I don't quite know how we qualified... but we did! Let's see how we get on against the world's best eh?!

 

 

[edgar555]

2nd in the PL gets you in that cursed Club WC. Awful awful tournament designed to mess with your squads fitness. Sorry to be a doom monger, I just can’t stand that thing. Typical FIFA, think of the money not the players. 
 

COYS

[RaySunshine]

@edgar555 Let's see what it does to our squad! I guess a lot will depend upon how many games we actually end up playing!

June 2022

There were two group games to play in the Club WC. Game one saw us play Atletico Minerio (Moura 14, Sanchez 31, Scarlett 79). There was something of a surprise Chelsea reunion with David Luiz and Diego Costa on the other side. We took the lead when Moura smashed home a stunner from GLC's superb ball over the top and Sanchez doubled up courtesy of a corner. Finally, Scarlett smashed home a stunner to secure the result. In game two, we played Egypt's Al-Ahly (Gil 12, Alli pen 28). Gil scored a thunderbolt to get the game going and Alli doubled up with a penalty to send us through. The only bad news was Bergwijn picking up an injury that will keep him out for the rest of the tournament.

We face Liverpool in the QF before playing one of Gremio or Real Madrid in the SF. Chelsea and Man City complete the English representation on the other side - it definitely appears to be our nation's tournament!

[RaySunshine]

July 2022

Our story of the knockout stage is brief. We took on Liverpool and were taken apart! I started off with a balanced 4-3-3 and got smashed in the first half. I moved back to 4-2-3-1 in the second half and we did get back into the game but they still scored in the second half to send us spiralling out of the tournament. Pre-season beckons...

[Stlducks]

My first post on this site, just read through and caught up on your career. Very exciting! I'm a huge Tottenham fan myself and am just getting into FM so this was a great read. Interesting to see how your season played out compared to real life. I wish your Kane would show up for the real Tottenham! 

 

Hopefully you can make a deep Europe run and keep pushing towards a title.

[RaySunshine]

@Stlducks Glad to have you along for the ride! It's been a pretty exciting first season and I hope to make good on it as we go through! I just this season to be as good as the last, that's for sure!

Pre-Season

Having had a pretty amazing season last season, it's vital that we build on it well across pre-season. It doesn't take long for boards to forget what success there has been in the past and so I need to do just as well again if I don't want to be put out on my ear!

I'll start with the outs. I've gone overboard in trying to get all my 18yo+ youngsters out on loan for first team football next season and they take up most of the list. The notable exception to this is Matt Doherty. Matt had a rough first season at Spurs. In the second, he took the starting spot as RB but, once he was injured Emerson Royal - and then Dodo - took his place meaning that the 30yo irishman had to move on. Romero had his loan made permament which took a fair chunk of our transfer budget all in one go. The next few in's are going to have to be deals but I do have some of those lined up...

Joshua Zirkzee is the first to come in new. The youngster kicked off his career at ADO Den Haag and Feyenoord before being picked up by Bayern Munich. He played nine games four the German team in 19/20 scoring four goals. He spent last season on loan at Anderlecht scoing 13 in 36 in Belgium's top tier. The scouts assure me that has the potential to be the big deal and that's certainly what I'm hoping for. I think that, with Zirkzee here, I can afford to send both Scarlett and Parrott out on loan so that, even if this guy doesn't make it, for very little money, he can help one of the others do well instead. Competition is a good thing!

There are also some more irons in the fire looking at both coming in and going out...

Having been playing in the World Club Cup Championship, pre-season has been a pretty short affair. Liverpool won the double last season which means that we will take part in the Community Shield. This leaves us with space for two games in a week to keep the team fresh but hopefully not too tired for the season ahead!

We're predicted fifth again. However, out odds have shortened compared to what they were last season so hopefully that reflects the improvement that we've made in the team. The intersting note has been the fact that Newcastle have shot into view and thy're now thought to be as good as Arsenal. That's pretty quick progress it has to be said!

We only have two games in August and what a pair of games they are! I have my first trip to Wembley and chance to get some silverware in Community Shield followed by the small matter of hosting Man Utd on the opening day of season! COYS!

[edgar555]

Good luck for the season ahead. I like Zirkzee, I think he’s a smart signing. £10m for Doherty is alright money too and at least with him out of the PL he won’t be back to bite you (unless you get Napoli in europe). 
COYS

[Stlducks]

Good transfer business. Very realistic to Spurs real approach. Selling Doc, bringing in a cheap talent that originated from the Netherlands. 
 

How is Emerson in a back four? 

[RaySunshine]

Thanks for the messages @edgar555 and @Stlducks! I'm aiming, much like the real Spurs, to be careful with the money and move on players as they get older. Anyone hitting the 30 mark is going to subject to a review from me and, if I think we can do without them, they're moving on!

July 2022

The season opened with the traditional curtain-raiser of the Community Shield. Here, we took on our frequent nemisis Liverpool (Moura 67) and once again, they were comfortably better than us. Kane did have the ball in the net first but was ruled offside and Lucas did offer something a of fightback later on with a smart finish but, generally, we couldn't outdo them. I haven't played five at the back yet but I've got a feeling it might be called for against them. That might be made easier by the arrival of...

He's a young CB with some serious potential. As I see it, he frees the exit door for Rodon certainly and possibly even Sanchez if I risk going really thin. He's going to fight it out on form with Eric for the starting spot next to Romero (who is coming back from a pre-seson injury) and I want him to grow into the real deal. None of this did me any good in the game against Man Utd though who, with Mbappe added to an already pretty frightening frontline, proved too powerful for us to resist.

It's still very early days but I don't want to see too much of that red stuff there thanks. Let's move along quick!

August is a jam-packed month as we try to get everything done before the World Cup comes a-calling in November. Big games against the Arsenal and West Ham are highights and all this is before we get any news of who we'll be playing in the Champ's League group stages. Will Leicester be as bad as they were last season? What effect will Brendan Rodgers have on Leeds? So many questions to be answered!

[Stlducks]

Rough start but Liverpool and United with Mbappe are always going to be very difficult games. Bringing in a CB to rotate with Dier is a good idea. I like Rodon in the game but him and Sanchez are both a level below where Spurs want to be imo. 

[RaySunshine]

It is indeed @Stlducks! Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to get much better this month either! I really need a a good stroke of luck to come my way quick!

August 2022

After a rough start, it doesn't get much better in August. As you can see, it's 50-50 in results and that makes for a less than insirpring season start! The month began with us playing Southampton (Kane 56, Alli 85). When they took the lead, I feared the worst but we turned it round in the second half and saved the day when Kane pushed the ball across to Alli who shoved it home close past the keeper. This didn't help us in the North London Derby though when Arsenal (Alli 79) played us off the park. Alli gave us a flicker of hope in bringing it to 2-1 but Arsenal scored as we pushed forward and had a fourth ruled out - ouch! Any tips on good strategies for flinging it all forward?! Aston Villa (Kane 14, 45+2, 72) were kind enough to have a player sent off and that allowed us to dominate the game with Kane scoring my first hattrick of FM22! Leeds (Son 69) proved tougher oppostion but Son's super-strike was worth the wait and worth the three points! Against West Ham (Alli 76), we flattered to deceive and despite another late strike from Alli, we couldn't find the second to back it up. Finally, we took on Leicester and in an end-to-end game, they got the only strike to seal the points.

There are murmourings in the camp. Performances have not been good and the players have begun to notice again that the person stood in front of them is entirely unqualified and was never a footballer. I have 90 days to persuade them that I can do the job...

Our mixed results leave us firmly in mid-table. It's early enough to turn things around but still worrying times ahead if we don't pick up some speed and fast. We really need to find another gear before we end up out of the serious running.

In happier news, our Champ's League group has been drawn and it doesn't seem too bad at a glance! Juve are the obvious favourites but I think we should be able to do enough against the other two to sneak out of the group behind them.

As you may have noticed, the rest of month was quiet in transfer terms. We had no money left to spend and received no interesting offers except and insulting £7mil bid for Ben Davies that wasn't going to have me tempted any time soon! September continues the packed theme as we get half our Champ's League group played around games against Brighton, Wolves and Liverpool. Fingers crossed that the opener against Bristol Rovers raises morale and we storm on from there!

[Stlducks]

Good draw in the Champions League. Some exciting matches in recent years with Juve, Benfica is a fun away day and Galata should be an easy win. But if results do not improve, you're fate might be the same as mine in my career. I was sacked the start of December so good luck!

[RaySunshine]

I think I'll be following you pretty soon @Stlducks unless I really manage to pull a second-season miracle out the bag!

September 2022

We'd hit a tough run in the opening month of the season and it's pretty safe to say that things weren't getting much better in September. In a vital morale boost, a full-strength team played Bristol Rovers (Moura 13, Alli 37, pen 51, Sanchez 66) ran out with a comfortable win - even if the key players did score the goals. We just about squeaked past Brighton (Kane pen 68, 90+1)  when they equalised through Mac Allister's David Bentley style 27m worldie but Dodo slid it through to Kane to steal the points at the death. We then took on Galatasaray where we did dominate the game but simply couldn't score. Against Wolves (Kane 50) we went behind when Neto finished a smart passing move but GSA had a defence-splitting pass of his own to send Kane through. Back in Europe, we took on Benfica (Kane 72) and it looked like we would have a share of the points when Kane slotted home Moura's slide-rule pass but they had other ideas when they're goal kick beat our back line and they jumped highest to head home! I tried 5-3-2 against Liverpool and it worked for 58 minutes but even this couldn't keep them at bay. I tried the same against Juventus and, despite conceeding most of the play to them, we did squeak out with a point!

At home, things haven't got any worse, but they haven't got any better either. I'd really hoped that we'd be making serious progress by now. But, apparently not. Next month maybe? Europe is already looking like a serious struggle. We're still in it but we've got to show an upturn in form and fast!

Man U, Man City and Juve - just what you need when you're trying to build confidence in a shattered team eh?! I hope that we do better against Blackburn, Sheffield United and Galatasaray as that might be all that's keeping me in a job!

 

[dunk105]

Was struggling with NDombele then realised what a great wingback he could be as sold Doherty and didnt have enough for a true upgrade on Emerson.  Will see how he goes in season 2 as only realised in pre-season.

Have also found Bryan is better as an AMC than a winger, and Dele as backup striker to Kane works too. They were both useless in my beta save but changing their positions gave me much better season 1 numbers for both:

Bryan:

Dele:

Emerson also works as a wide centre back.

 

Edited January 4, 2022 by dunk105

[RaySunshine]

Thanks for the reply @dunk105. I'll let you know how I get with Gil and Alli for the rest of the season!

October 2022

October kicks off and hopefully helps kick us up and onwards! We began the month playing Blackburn (Kane 27, Moura 43). I feared the worst when we went 2-0 down but we fought back. It was frustrating though to not capitalise when they dropped down to ten men later on. A heavily-rotated side took on Man United in the League Cup. We were poor. There's no other way to describe it and we crashed out. We restored our pride however in playing Man City (Kane 45, Son 61). Kane gave us the lead with a close header and then Son profited from their keeper's spill to ensure us the points. We took on Juventus (Alli 85, Zirkzee 90+1). I was over the moon when Alli and Zirkzee struck late but left stunned as Juve fought back from 90+1 to draw! It was good to see Zirkzee net his first goal though. Playing Sheffied United (Romero 33, Moura 44, 57) was a similar story where we threw away a 3-1 lead to draw the game. A vital win was gained against Galatasary (Reguilon 47) and our energetic wing-back scored a beauty of a chip over their keeper to help us close up what is proving to be a highly entertaining and close-fought group. Finally, we played mega-rich Newcastle (Kane 9, Moura 55). Reguilon again played provider sending over a smart cross that Moura headed home to give us the win.

Two wins and two draws mean we've finally begun to push our way up towards to the magic, coloured part of the table! We're now only three points behind Fulham but I don't see them staying in the European places so let's see how quickly we can play our role in bringing them back down to Earth!

It's here that things become really, really interesting! Our win over Galatasary combined with Juventus and Benfica's 2-2 draw means that the group is wide open. It would be ridiculously easy to finish top or bottom with just one game to go!

Finally - a coaching badge is on the horizon. It's only an option though if I can make sure that all my coaches have a reasonable workload for the next month. It's not a promise I've had to make before so let's see if it gets me that coaching badge journey going!

The next month only has two games in as the World Cup kicks into gear next month. However, we will be facing those games, including the crunch game against Benfica, without our superstar striker Harry Kane! Big news indeed...

[RaySunshine]

November 2022

In contrast to the rest of the season, November only had two games in it - for us at least! Harry Kane-less, we took on Benfica (Romero 36, Moura 71). Romero headed home the first from a corner and Moura followed up later after he brought down Winks' ball over the top and we progress from the group by the skin of our teeth! We went behind early against Brentford (Lo Celso 57) and I was worried we were going to lose by GSA had other ideas when he smashed a screamer home. It's just a shame that Delli smashed wide the late penalty that would have given us the win!

So, following our single league game, we remain in the chase for the European places. We have reined in Fulham yet but, hopefully, point-by-point, we're working on it. I certainly want to get higher than the Conference League but we can't guarantee anything.

And breathe! At times, we were going out bottom of the group but, in the end, we squeaked it through and progress to the knockout stages!

An interesting fixture kicks off December. Lloris has somehow survived ten years of Spurs and more than deserves his testimonial. All his friends on the game are ex-Arsenal players so it will be interesting to see who turns up to play! Al-Hly is the other friendly before the small matter of playing fellow London pair Chelsea and Fulham!

[RaySunshine]

December 2022

December had four games in it with two of them being friendlies getting the squad going again after Holland took the World Cup crown! We started off against Al-Ahly (Morato 54, Zirkzee pen 75). The Cairo-based side shocked everyone though by taking an early lead that threatened to derail my morale-boosting exercise! A scruffy corner happened to fall to Morato in the second half for him to put home and then Zirkzee made good from the spot to give us the win. Nice had to cancel their game against us and so Lloris's testimonal will wait for another day! We took on Sparta (Zirkzee 90+1) and they also proved hard to break down but Davies's last minute corner was headed home by the Dutch youngster! Both games were a good chance for Alfie Whiteman to train up as we'd lost Lloris to injury so he wasn't available to play Chelsea (Morato 21, Bergwijn 31). It didn't matter though as they barely had a shot and Morato headed home a free kick before Bergwijn profited from a keeper's spill to secure the result! We couldn't produce the same finishing against Fulham though and a game that we'd dominated finished goalless...

After having had a pretty unexciting youth draw last season, it's pretty pleasing to say that we could be getting a much better crop this time around. It will be exciting to keep working on bringing a youthful edge to the squad.

The league table has begun to look much better and it's nice to keeping a European place for ourselves! We've snuck up above Fulham by a point and I now have Southampton in my sights as the next overachievers that we need to get beyond! I'd also say that, considering we were unseeded, our Champ's League draw has been pretty favourable and I'd hope to be able to get the better of Wolfsburg and keep proceeding. We take nothing for granted though!

This annoucement dropped into my inbox and has completely changed my January view! I had not expected to buy anyone so the fact that money has been made available to this degree is a serious shock! I'll have to some proper thinking before the window opens. Son has struggled for form for me so I beginning to wonder if his time in North London is drawing to a close...

Two games a week in the general rule for January and even the cup game sees us play top-flight opponents! It will be interesting to see what my squad can take as the season goes through. I've got some decent options at the back and in CM but apart from that, the rest of the squad feels pretty thin for rotation. It's certainly going to work us hard, that's for sure!

 

[dunk105]

Quite slow with my progress but this is NDombele as a wingback- he's first choice now, retrained really quickly and is surprisingly good defensively.

[RaySunshine]

Interesting to see @dunk105. Quite different to the distinctly average output that he's putting into Newcastle's midfield on my save!

January 2023

We kick off the new year in style with a hard-fought win over Everton (Romeron 14, Dodo 37, Kane 44). I feared the worst when we were two goals down inside six minutes. However, our team turned it round and somehow, we got out of the game with three points! We took on Blackburn in the cup and, despite not being able to get a goal against them in 120 minutes, we did manage to squeak past them on penalties and on into the next round - well done Whiteman! Against Burnley (Kane 55, Moura 58, Zirkzee 84). We again found ourselves in a shock deficit but managed to turn it round - especially pleasing was Zirkzee putting away his first league goal for the winner. Lloris returned for our game against Man Utd but he could little as the team in front of him proved simply unable to compete. The game also marked the debut of new club record signing Giovanni Reyna. Kane got us a quick goal against Arsenal (Kane 21). They equalised just before half-time and a close game finished level. Against Villa (Kane 1, 16), Kane scored a quick corner and then robbed them trying to play out for the second. Finally, we played West Ham (Son 68, Kane pen 78). I had been struggling with the IF on the left and was looking at replacing Son, but making him a winger made him a new man. Now there's real competition with our new record transfer...

So, our outs have a couple of recognisable names in there. First up Rodon leaves the club permamently as I didn't think he had the potential to make a first-team place his own. Royal, Devine, Lo-Tuala and Gil all leave to get first-team football and hopefully improve their skills. Finally, the really big news: Eric Dier leaves the club. He was our substitute CB and I didn't really want him to go. He really wanted out though and out is what he got with a journey back to Portugal.

Giovanni Reyna is the club's new record signing. He has all the potential to be truly one of the world's best players and I look forward to seeing him make good on that potential. I think that there are two positions that he can be fighting for and so he could be either a winger or the CAM. Let's see where he turns out best!

When you're stuck, call the AA! We signed Anel Ahmedhodzic in order to push in for first-team football and, hopefully. become a top defender. He was desperate to leave Man U as he had barely played. At only £11 million, I felt he's not much of a risk in terms of a big transfer fee.

Last time round, I said that Southampton were in our sights and, this time around, we got up above them and kept our place within the European section of the club. The Champ's League places have even crept into view with Arsenal only four points ahead. They do happen to have a game in hand on us though.

February sees the month's headline coming up last with the key game against our nemisis Liverpool! All the rest of the month's games we view as winable. I also want to make good progress in the cup and see if we can get a good hold on the Wolfsburg tie too!

 

[edgar555]

Ahmedhodzic is a good signing. And at a good price. 
Liverpool are everyone’s nemesis, so OP in this game. 

[RaySunshine]

Thanks @edgar555! You're right in the challenge that Liverpool pose. There is some big(gish) news on that front below though so keep reading!

February 2023

Having finished January with two wins, we looked to build on our good form in February. We did indeed do this against struggling Brighton (Kane 47). Hojbjerg swung in a corner for Kane to head home and that was enough. We took on Aston Villa (Kane 2, Hojbjerg pen 89) and Kane again benefitted from a superb run-and-cross from newboy Reyna before Hojbjerg finished the scoring with a penalty later on. Leicester (Kane 32, Reguilon 42) Kane profitted from Lo Celso's ball over the top before Reguilon smashed home from the edge of the box following a pass from Lo Celso. We took on Wolfsburg (De Arrascaeta 30, Kane 52) without the benefit of Reyna. The player he replaced in GSA stepped up though for a close finish before Kane tapped home a goal-mouth scramble. We kept the level of play against Wolves but failed to score. They didn't though as Jao Pedro sent Nketiah through. Finally, we took on Liverpool. They dominated the game, as I expected they would, but we were up to the challenge and kept them out to earn a point that I'm pretty proud of.

Unfortunately, that shock defeat to Wolves has deprived us from being right in the mix for the top four. As it stands, we're now five points off the pace and I think it would be a real challenge for us to haul both Chelsea and Arsenal in. We're also only four points ahead of Southampton so we can't take life for granted there either.

The next month begins on day one with Liverpool in the FA Cup. I hope that we can step up one further from our league draw to get a cup win but I'm not taking any sense of that for granted! I would expect to beat Fulham and Blackburn before taking on the challenge of Man City at the end of the month. Finally, there is the second Champ's League game agianst Wolfsburg. We beat them at the Lane, can we do it again...

[RaySunshine]

March 2023

As you can see, March was a pretty good month for us except for one glaring error! We completed our double-header against Liverpool (Kane 35, Son 73) and got our first win against them! Kane scored from Dodo's squaring pass and Son made it two after Kane nodded down Moura's superb cross. We followed this up with a win against Fulham (Reyna 16, Kane 40). Reyna smashed a volley into the top corner when the ball came to him in the D and Kane headed home a corner to secure the result. We then had a complete abberation against Wolfsburg. Despite having a couple of early promsing shots, we somehow capitulated for what must be one of the worst results of my regin. We duely go crashing out of the Champ's League. We took our frustration out on Blackburn (Son 43, Kane pen 45+2, Zirkzee 90+3). Son got the goals going with a superb daisycutter from just inside the D and Kane followed this up with a penalty. Dele's late shot was spilled to Zirkzee who scored the third.

It was nice to see that Kane's goal was a historic one for the Spurs legend! We rounded out the month in style by beating West Ham (Moura 24, 31, Son 45, Zirkzee 85) in order to secure our progress to Wembley for the FA Cup semi-final! Exciting times!

A short, but positive, month in league terms sees us enter the Champ's League chase as we're now only three points behind our old foes and all of us are on twenty-nine games. We're also six points ahead of Newcastle in the chase for Europe.

What was promised to be our A-grade youth intake turned into a C by the time that it arrived! Nevertheless, these are the headline names that I look forward to lighting up the Lane with one day in the future!

April is once again jam-packed but, once you look past Man City, there are plenty of potential wins there. The other highlight is, of course, the FA Cup semi-final. Spurs are on their way to Wembley!

[RaySunshine]

April 2023

Nearly - but sadly not quite - perfect! We began the month playing Sheffield United (Kane pen 2). Kane started the scoring with a pen in the second minute and... that's where it stopped! We then took on Newcastle and, despite dominating the game, Dembele's header secured them all three points. We saved our best for the Chelsea (Kane pen 22, Ali 90+2) game: a Kane penalty got us on our way again and Alli finished off the game late on. We're in the FA Cup Final! I feared the worst when dropped two behind against Southampton (Son 37, Kane 50, Reyna 57, Alli 75). The team had other ideas though and we turned it round - the highlight being GSA's wonderful chip sending Alli through to score. It looked like we were going to share the points with Brentford (Kane 9, Son 90+3) but Son seems to have refound his golden touch and smashed home Bergwijn's cross. Against Man City (Romero 90+2), we were battered - totally dominated - but a late Romero header from a corner made sure we FM-ed them! Finally we took on Leeds (Kane 37). The team seemed to run out of steam - it seemed to be one game too far for the squad and, on our knees Leeds breezed past us.

Three games to go and four points behind Arsenal. Sadly, with our last shock defeat to Leeds, it seems unlikely that we'll squeak past them and get into the Champ's League spot. We'll keep fighting though to see what we can achieve!

Three league games make up most of May with the small matter of Chelsea amongst them. The headline has to be that last one. The first FA Cup Final for Spurs since 1991. Can we do it again?!

[edgar555]

4 points in 3 games is a tall ask. Still a decent season and if you can 'FM' City again it'll be a succesful one! COYS

[RaySunshine]

It's certainly not been a bad season @edgar555 and certainly enough to get my another contract which is exactly what I'm after!

May 2023

The month of May began with a game against Everton. We were really under the cosh here and it was only the heroics of Hugo Lloris that kept us from being absolutely blasted out of sight. Thankfully, we were much better against Burnley (Lo Celso 15, Mee OG, Reyna 63). Lo Celso and Reyna both traded superb free-kicks and, in the middle, Mee had the unfortunate honour of deflecting Bergwijn's cross home. The last game of the season saw us take on Chelsea (Kane 23) and we took a great lead via Harry Kane's head. However, a quick Lukaku brace after HT saw us leave empty-handed. It was the same story when we went to Wembley; Man City against dominated the game but this time had the end product to go with. Goals from Silva and a 25-yard daisy-cutter from Rodri meant that we left Wembley only with runner up medals for our effort.

So we finish the season fifth. I wasn't really expecting to make second again as I think we far overachieved last season. Sadly, however, I do feel like we let fourth out of our grip with too many dropped points along the way - perhaps next season we can step it up again?!

[dunk105]

On 13/01/2022 at 19:40, RaySunshine said:

Interesting to see @dunk105. Quite different to the distinctly average output that he's putting into Newcastle's midfield on my save!

January 2023

We kick off the new year in style with a hard-fought win over Everton (Romeron 14, Dodo 37, Kane 44). I feared the worst when we were two goals down inside six minutes. However, our team turned it round and somehow, we got out of the game with three points! We took on Blackburn in the cup and, despite not being able to get a goal against them in 120 minutes, we did manage to squeak past them on penalties and on into the next round - well done Whiteman! Against Burnley (Kane 55, Moura 58, Zirkzee 84). We again found ourselves in a shock deficit but managed to turn it round - especially pleasing was Zirkzee putting away his first league goal for the winner. Lloris returned for our game against Man Utd but he could little as the team in front of him proved simply unable to compete. The game also marked the debut of new club record signing Giovanni Reyna. Kane got us a quick goal against Arsenal (Kane 21). They equalised just before half-time and a close game finished level. Against Villa (Kane 1, 16), Kane scored a quick corner and then robbed them trying to play out for the second. Finally, we played West Ham (Son 68, Kane pen 78). I had been struggling with the IF on the left and was looking at replacing Son, but making him a winger made him a new man. Now there's real competition with our new record transfer...

So, our outs have a couple of recognisable names in there. First up Rodon leaves the club permamently as I didn't think he had the potential to make a first-team place his own. Royal, Devine, Lo-Tuala and Gil all leave to get first-team football and hopefully improve their skills. Finally, the really big news: Eric Dier leaves the club. He was our substitute CB and I didn't really want him to go. He really wanted out though and out is what he got with a journey back to Portugal.

Giovanni Reyna is the club's new record signing. He has all the potential to be truly one of the world's best players and I look forward to seeing him make good on that potential. I think that there are two positions that he can be fighting for and so he could be either a winger or the CAM. Let's see where he turns out best!

When you're stuck, call the AA! We signed Anel Ahmedhodzic in order to push in for first-team football and, hopefully. become a top defender. He was desperate to leave Man U as he had barely played. At only £11 million, I felt he's not much of a risk in terms of a big transfer fee.

Last time round, I said that Southampton were in our sights and, this time around, we got up above them and kept our place within the European section of the club. The Champ's League places have even crept into view with Arsenal only four points ahead. They do happen to have a game in hand on us though.

February sees the month's headline coming up last with the key game against our nemisis Liverpool! All the rest of the month's games we view as winable. I also want to make good progress in the cup and see if we can get a good hold on the Wolfsburg tie too!

 

Do like that!  So disapointing that Gil  has so low potential that we have to sell him. Same with Bergwin although after last night surely he deserves a boost. Or is there a hidden Spursy attribute....

Ended up selling Dele and NDombele as despite them both having great seasons and picked up League winner medals they didnt like that they played in postions they requsted ffs!

Dele:

 

Ndombele:

 

Spurs, feel they are missing out....

 

TBF the game needs to reel in Levy allowing this due to  payments over 3 years:

 

 

 

Imagine if he allowed it in real life?!

 

 

 

 

[RaySunshine]

@dunk105 - it's certainly quite a different transfer story that's for sure! I feel like mine might be something similar with what could be coming up. Depends who says yes!

Season Review

Our season XI contains no surprises this year with exactly what my first-pick choice would be. I think Son stands out rather as the only one below 6.80. Shall we say I have irons in the fire to compete with him in that position. I'm also aware of the age of Lloris and am making a plan there too!

Kane once again leads the way on goals as will not be a surprise to anyone. Lo Celso led the assist chart for the club this season but, considering that the league's leader was on not far short of double, I do feel that have improvement on that front. Lloris doesn't let age be a barrier and it's also pleasing to see Dodo storming into his prime.

There are lots of green ticks here so that's pressure of my back and will hopefully keep me at the club for the forseeable!

[RaySunshine]

Pre-season

It's been a busy pre-season here at Hotspur Way and I thought I'd start with describing the outs. The headline departure was that of Davison Sanchez to Leicester as another CB I'll describe later on. Once I knew the new guy was coming in, this offer - well above what I'd been told Sanchez could bring us - was too good to refuse. The other was that of Japhet Tanganga to Bournemouth in a similar vein. We have some good prospects coming up through the youth ranks so, sadly, it was time for Japhet to move on.

As you can see, there have been fewer ins than outs but I think they're all pretty significant and will describe them in more detail below!

As I've hinted at before, I've had trouble with the form of Son so Jamal Musiala comes in to provide serious competition. He has spent most of his career at Bayern after starting off at Chelsea. 11 goals and 6 assists last season seemed like a good return and I hope that he has more to come in the UK!

With Hugo Lloris's playing career coming to an end, I've begun planning for his replacement. I'm hoping that Maarten Vendevoordt can take on the mantle in years to come. There are two years left on Lloris's contract and I anticipate that Maarten will spend that time out on loan getting first-team experience.

The second of the season's headline signings is that of Merih Demiral. I assessed the ratings of players last season and CB came up as a spot to improve. Having moved to Atlanta from Juventus, he's had seasons of 7.01 and 7.21. I hope to see more of the same at WHL!

The final incoming is that of Josh Wilson-Esbrand. With my plan to loan out as many of my young players as possible and with the departure of Ben Davies to West Ham, he's been brought in to cover at LB across the course of the season.

Pre-season has looked good: Davies, Sanchez, Dier and Ndombele came back for Lloris's testamonial and it was Ndombele who showed what he could do again with a superstrike. The rest was all pretty straight-forward and pretty good!

This struck me as being one of the most interesting parts of this post! Despite my team's odds on the title not reducing, we've dropped down two places. Newcastle continue to spend and this is predicted to be the season where they finally catch us up. Also, Vlahvoic made something of a surprise £61m pound deal to Southampton and it's believed that that will be enough for the Saints to push past us and secure Champ's League football next season!

14th, 17th and 16th are the predictions against the teams that we open the season against. I'm hoping for WWW to get us going and see us plough into what could be another great season!

[RaySunshine]

August 2023

We kicked off the season in action against Leeds Utd (Moura 75). We dominated the game and Musiala looked lively on his debut. The icing on the cake was when we swung a cross over and Lucas Moura headed it home to bag us the points. The domination continued well against Fulham but, with Musiala off injured early, we failed to get a cutting edge. Fulham didn't though as Harry Wilson scored a super curling shot and then a penalty. We struggled in general against Brentford. Toney headed home their first and then a scuffed effort fell to them on the edge of the box and they volleyed home. Not a good day at the office.

As you can see, more players have gone out on loan. I'll be interested to see how Scarlett gets on in the Premier League as I hope that he'll scoop all those potential stars waiting for him. An offer was also made for Jack Clarke on deadline day and, as he looked unlikely to make the grade, it seemed a good opportunity for us to cash in.

It's been a slow start to the season but it might be considered vaguely encouraging that Arsenal and Southampton are down here with us. Let's see if we can shoot up the table quicker than they can!

September is a busy month. Our promising early run in the season continues and I really hope that we make more of it than we did in August! The cup runs also begin with a League Cup game against Leicester. We're still chasing silverware wherever it can be found.

[edgar555]

Musiala is an interesting signing. I had him at Spurs in FM21 and he was mentally weak, hated big matches etc so only lasted a year with me. So I haven't looked at him in 22, will be keen to see how he gets on for you. Demiral is a good signing. Good luck. COYS

[RaySunshine]

I think he's had a mentality upgrade this year @edgar555 so I hope that he'll come out well as the season plays through.

September 2023

After a pretty rough August, it's fairly safe to say that we've had a much better September! The early season frustrations had seemed to continue against Wolves (Demiral 45+1). Demiral headed home his first Spurs goal to give us the lead by Jimenez got free later on and we finished all square. We made amends in our game against Bournemouth (Moura 25, Kane 80). Moura rose up to head home a Kane cross and then Kane rolled home Dodo's square pass. A rotated side played Hibernian (Morato 10, Son 17, Zirkzee 25,30, 56, 80) and it's safe to say that the rotation did us no harm as we got the win and Zirkzee netted four! We carried on against Aston Villa (Romero 66, Son 81). Romero played his favourite trip of heading a corner home and then Son was sent through by Lucas to smash home the second. We took on Leicester (Morato 27, Kane 67, 71) and Kane scored twice against the team he once played for to send us on in the cup. We finally played Forest (Kane pen 79). For much of the game, it looked like the reds would get their first point of the season but a late push on Moura gave us the penalty and then the win!

Level on points with fourth? Given where we were at the start of the month, I'd have bitten your hand off for that! I'm also pretty hopeful that, with Wolves and Villa being ahead of us, we can rein them in a grab fourth place... maybe? In Europe, one stonking win puts us top of the group.

I spent a long time with Braga on FM21 so that will be something of a nostalgic return even if it means nothing in my FM22 story! We then have some big games in the league including Southampton and Chelsea so it will be interesting to see how we get on there!

[RaySunshine]

October 2023

We'd had a pretty good September and it's pleasing to see that October has followed in the same suit. We began the month against Braga (Son 28, Kane 58) in a pretty entertaining affair! We went behind to a shock goal but scored almost straight away. The replied in kind though and took the lead straight back. Finally, Kane ensured that the points were shared! We improved our form in the game against Everton (Musiala 4). Reyna crossed the ball and Musiala bundled home from close range to score his first Spurs goal. The same score saw us beat Southampton (Kane 31) with Kane scoring when Musiala nodded down Moura's cross for him. A rotated side took on Krasnodar (Morato 9, 11) where two corners tapped home from Morato gave us the win. Finally, we took on Chelsea. It was a close tight game but I'm not going to complain about a point taken home from the Bridge!

It's been a good month and, after ten games, we're in the Champ's League places and only three points behind leaders Man U. We also have three points on Man City in fifth place so it's a pretty good start all round.

I must say that I feel for Forest though who have found their return to the top flight a much harder experience. Could they be rivalling that Derby team of yesteryear?

We're currently top of the group and six points clear of third place. I can't see that we'll fail to qualify but can we pip Braga to top of the group?

The games keep coming. We start with a League Cup game against Burton and finish off with that Europa League game v Braga so we shold have a good sense of where we're at after that game. The challenge then is that league game against Man U - it will be interesting to see where that result leaves us in the nascent title race!