FM22: The English Football League thread

[Spedding]

swindon update

finished 5th but lost to bournemouth in the playoffs, 

main priority for summer is a new first cjhoice gk

[Verby]

Managed to get Louie Barry on loan from Villa in my AFC Wimbledon save & have Luke McCormick and Sean McGurk behind him = Goals goals goals.

 

 

 

[Spiegel]

2 hours ago, Spedding said:

swindon update

finished 5th but lost to bournemouth in the playoffs, 

main priority for summer is a new first cjhoice gk

 

Unlucky! 
It's promising that you've been able to push for promotion though, and gives you another year to prep for the Premier League at least!

58 minutes ago, Verby said:

Managed to get Louie Barry on loan from Villa in my AFC Wimbledon save & have Luke McCormick and Sean McGurk behind him = Goals goals goals

He's an absolute goal machine for the AI in my save. 
 

[seether]

Doing my normal Gillingham save, wow its difficult this year. 6 month transfer ban, the directors won't even consider a senior affiliate until January and Vadaine Oliver decided that he wants to consider his options rather than signing a new contract with the inevitable result that my top scorer is now off to Dundee on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Despite all of this we are top of League One and have been promoted, next season is going to be tricky, an aging squad with many out of contract, no first choice striker and a squad that with a few exceptions is not very good....

 

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by seether
typo

[Spiegel]

Hartlepool United, December 2023

It's been an interesting few months at the Vic (not calling it the Suit Direct, even if the latest patch has changed the name. Boo!)

October was a rough one.

The Blackburn game was a bit of a sucker punch. We had 11 shots on target, and just couldn't put them away. McGuiness then decides to clothesline their striker in the box in the 80th minute for them to get a winner. 
Preston have been one of the form teams in the division. The stats suggest a fairly even game, but our finishing has been appalling in stints and Preston's just blew us away. Another penalty conceded aswell!
Notts Forest was a pretty drab game, but they took their chance and we didn't. 7 shots on target and no goal!
Fellow newly promoted side Crewe was an absolute must-win to get something for the month, and we duly obliged. Cullen breaking his goalscoring hoodoo with 2 goals, and both Dan Happe and Oliver Rathbone getting their first goals for the club.

November has been much better. 

Swansea was a sucker punch, we'd held our own against them for the duration then Cavaliero bangs home a late screamer to get the winner.
Brentford have unsurprisingly been the dominant side in the division this year. We had to overturn a 2-0 deficit from two Alvarado goals. Rodel Richards popped up twice with two late goals from the bench to get us a point!
We had to fight from behind again against Bristol City. A first minute 30 yarder was a kick in the teeth, but an early red card for one of their wingers was the impetus we needed to turn it around!
A good win against managerless Millwall, with Cullen popping up with another brace. 
Absolutely overjoyed to get a result in the derby game against early play-off contenders Sunderland. Moving us into playoff contention!

One new addition to the squad. Goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli has provided a much needed challenger to Ben Killip. Bettinelli played the games against Crewe, Swansea, Brentford, Millwall and Sunderland. He's looked solid when called upon, and I feel our defenders get higher ratings when he plays. Killip on the otherhand is full of tremendous saves and regularly gets good ratings. It'll be an interesting battle for sure!

In January, I'm likely going to look for a RWB as neither Sterry nor Daniels have shown that they can be effective at this level (6.3 ratings galore!). I need to find a right sided Cadden, but right backs in general seem to be at a premium this year.

I'm tempted to look for a striker aswell. Richards, Ladipo and Cullen are all on respectable tallies (12, 8 and 5 respectively), but I feel like they need tons of chances to score. Richards in particular gets himself into loads of one-on-one situations, but repeatedly hits it straight at the keeper. Maybe I'm being harsh considering the club's status, not sure. 
 

Edited December 24, 2021 by Spiegel

[Rollin93]

After falling out of love with the game for a week after my dulwich hamlet sacking 

I have decided to try in the vanarama premier league with bromley 

they made some very clever investments 1st being omar sowunmi from Colchester 

and 2nd being George Alexander from Millwall being only 21 and on last fm being a very good lower league striker I’m expecting big things from him!

 

i will be hoping to get a few loan players in to plug the gaps left back being the main hole 

 

fingers crossed this works

[jinksy78]

After much deliberation decided to manage Port Vale,the board required a minimun of reaching the play offs which looking at the squad looked a tall order.I managed to bring in Josh Coburn on loan from Middlesborough to play up front with James Wilson,Nya a young centre back joined on loan from Wolves mainlly as cover.Started off the season a bit hit and miss at the end of Aug. we were 7th in the league and the highlite being the 6-1 drubbing we gave Forest Green Rovers at their place.In the Caraboa cup we beat Salford on penalty,s in the 1st round but then lost 3-1 at home to Newcastle in the 2nd.September saw a poor run of form but then we suddenly found are feet and went on a n unbeaten run of 10 matches which by xmas put us in 2nd place in the league.We beat Burton in the 1st round of the F.A.cup after a replat but then in the 2nd round Forest Green Rovers got their revenge by beating us 1-0 at our own ground.Our good form continued till the end of March when everything went tits up and we went on a 7 match run were we only wonn1 and drew 2 so we came to the last match of the season in 4th place 1 point behind 3rd place Salford........we scaped a 1-0 win at 22nd placed Exeter and Salford lost at Walsall so we are promoted and look forward to pitting our wits in Division 1......The board has given me the princely sum of 51k and 12k in spare wages....could be a long hard season.

The stars were josh Coburn who scored 17 goals and 2 assists in 34 games and James Wilson who scored 22 goals and had 2 assists in 42 games

 We play a positive narrow 4-3-1-2 which worked reasonably well for us....i need a goalkeeper at division 1 standard and would be grateful if anyone could recommend  someone who would be prepared to come to Port Vale.

I am quite old and although a big follower of football my knowledge of tactics/systems are limited as when i played you had 2 full backs,right half,centre half,left half,2 wingers,2 inside forwards and a centre forward so any help or advice would be grarefully recieved.

[Spiegel]

@jinksy78 Great job getting promoted with Port Vale. They've got a few of our old lads in Dan Jones, Ryan Johnson and Brad Walker. Think Lewis Cass is on loan there aswell.

I used a 4-3-1-2 on the previous version of the game with AC Milan. It's a great system if you can get it working! Need good attacking full backs to make it work. 

In regard to a goalkeeper, I stuck with Ben Killip as Hartlepool, and he's been excellent for me. He's only just started getting competition this year in the Championship. Keep an eye out for who's getting released at the end of the year though. Plenty of freebies to be had! Is Colovan not doing a job for you? We love to hate him for his exploits in the VNL Playoff Final, but I'm sure his stats were fairly good on this?

Edited December 24, 2021 by Spiegel

[Spedding]

swindon end of january

going well so far got offered the newcastle job just before january .

 

[Spedding]

swindon end of season

well tale of two halves upto february was excellent then from end of february we forgot how to play and from 1st dropped to 4th and into playoffs turn in form was due to my loan gk getting recalled on deadline day  

 

[Spedding]

swindon 

first season in premiership survived by the skin of our teeth 

form from april was what saved us with the last 3 games against fellow relegation teams.

[Alejandro1202]

Barnsley: Summer Transfers (22/23)

In:

• Sam Hughes: He came for free from Leicester, spent the last season at Burton Albion, he has the stats to be useful now in the championship, at 25 he probably won´t improve more, if he does, he could be a really valuable asset for us when we get up to the Premier League, with good mental stats and decent physicals, he could be the tower we need at the back.

Spoiler

• Maximilian Bauer: The 22 y/o German came for a 1.1M fee from the relegated Greuther Furth, he will be competing with Hughes for that 3rd Center-Back role, he isn´t that far from the English, but Bauer has more room for improvement being 3 years younger than him, at his young age he is a well rounded Center-Back that can only become better when he gets older.

Spoiler

• Luke Bolton: The 22 y/o came also for a free transfer from City, he comes to be the reserve Right Wing-Back, he is young, but also he is not that far from his potential, we can only train hm to be a decent replacement but he can also exceed our expetations and give us a surpirse, his most notable attribute is his pace, being really fast, but his other attributes fall behind a little bit.

Spoiler

• Gerard Nolan: He came from the youth intake we had last season, being the best talent, he is going to be training with the first team but he will be playing some matches with the U-18 and with the first team, at 16 y/o the Irish has a good amount of decent attributes, and could be a really good bench player, using him in cups on not that important matches for him to develop little by little.

Spoiler

• Tom Morgan: He is the other talent alongside Nolan that came out last yout intake, his attributes aren´t as high as Nolan ones but he can impprove like him in the future, I´m seeing him as the pilar of my midfield, he is not really ready for the first team yet, so he will be trainign with us but playing most of the matches at the U-18 team.

Spoiler

Departures:

• Brad Collins: Our first choice GK left us for Premier League side Spurs for a fee of 8M, he had a really good last season, Spurs were lacking a substitute GK, so they started to knock the door for him and Walton, at the end, he was the one who was sold and left us with a really good profit for a player who came for free 2 easons ago.
• Mads Andersen: The Center-Back was sold to Union Berlin for a fee of 8M, he was really pissed that I didn´t accepted a really bad offer of Borussia M. for 2.5M when he had a value of 5-8M, so I accepted the first offer of 8m, it didn´t matter what team it was, and the Berlin side where the winers of our angry player.
• Callum Brittain: Same as Andersen he got mad because I dind´t accpeted a pitful fee from WBA, but he was just worst, he started to demand contracts when he lost his place to Williams after a really, really poor form in the second half of the last season, at the end he went to Preston NE for a 2.7M fee.
• Patrick Schmidt: The austrian was sold to Derby for a 475K fee, altough he is young, he wouldn´t had that much playtime when he had really good competition at the Left Wing and Striker Position, so I accepted the first fee that came to us for him and cashed in before his value dropped.
• Other Departures are Obbi Oulare to NY City FC for 1M, Leya Iseka to Sporting Kansas for 600k and Devant Cole to Hull City for 1.5M  

[Spiegel]

erm guys...

[Urke17]

Hi guys,

I was thinking to start a long term save with Blackburn Rovers, but I have a few doubts.

First of all is formation, which one to play?

4-3-2-1 

Kaminski-Nyambe-Lenihan-Ayala-Pickering-Buckley-Travis-Rothwell-Dolan-Khadra(new signing)-Bereton

or

5-3-2 with wing backs and two AF forwards (Dolan and Bereton)

Also, I have doubt Bereton's role, should I put him on AF or PF , and is he capable to play as a lone striker in 4-3-2-1 or is it more suitable to play with two strikers in 5-3-2?

Regards

[Spedding]

swindon survived again

[warlock]

Some good updates from @Spiegel, @Spedding and @Alejandro1202. You guys seem to be rattling through the seasons 

I have fallen victim to a passing virus. Daily LFTs insist it is not covid, but I'm not convinced - went to bed on Christmas night and didn't emerge for 36 hours. Have spent most of the time since either sleeping or trying to cough up a lung; today has seen the first small signs of recovery. Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

[Spiegel]

Bloody hell @warlock - hope you're alright! 

I've finished the season with Hartlepool. 17th with 27 points! 
Not quite sure where to go with the save now. I've been playing home games at QPR's stadium (just down the road!) due to Premier League restrictions. Board have advised they're building a new one though which is promising. 

Currently undergoing a minor rebuild, with Killip, Sterry, Odusina, Cadden, Slater, Smallwood and Richards all leaving - probably more to follow. All back in League 1, League 2 bar Killip who oddly got a move to Liverpool! 
It's proving really hard to attract players though, with players preferring to join Championship clubs over joining me. @Spedding don't know if you've had the same? 
Resorting to plucking regens on the cheap (some aren't getting work permits either!)

Edited December 31, 2021 by Spiegel

[Spiegel]

On 29/12/2021 at 19:24, Urke17 said:

Hi guys,

I was thinking to start a long term save with Blackburn Rovers, but I have a few doubts.

First of all is formation, which one to play?

Sorry, just seen this. 

Hard to say without knowing Blackburn's team particularly well. Best I can suggest is have a play about with both and see how you get on! 

I've enjoyed using a 5-3-2, using the new WCB role and it's been good to watch. 

[warlock]

43 minutes ago, Spiegel said:

hope you're alright!

Cheers mate! Fingers crossed, I seem to be over the worst of it - had a really good sleep last night and the coughing fits seem to be fewer and farther between.

45 minutes ago, Spiegel said:

players preferring to join Championship clubs over joining me

The downside of rapid success and swift promotions - your reputation takes ages to catch up. I think all you can do is keep plugging away; once you're seen as an established PL outfit things will improve.

[Jogo Bonito]

19 hours ago, warlock said:

Some good updates from @Spiegel, @Spedding and @Alejandro1202. You guys seem to be rattling through the seasons 

I have fallen victim to a passing virus. Daily LFTs insist it is not covid, but I'm not convinced - went to bed on Christmas night and didn't emerge for 36 hours. Have spent most of the time since either sleeping or trying to cough up a lung; today has seen the first small signs of recovery. Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Really sorry to hear that, fingers crossed that you're over the worst and make a full and fast recovery. Best wishes old bean.

Echoing the other comments, some really fast play going on there and successful seasons too. Well done all.

 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

make a full and fast recovery

Cheers, buddy - I'm working on it  Currently self-medicating with a very nice rioja . So a Happy New Year to you, and to all our contributors 

[Spedding]

swindon 3rd season in premier league

 

slight improvement on last two seasons

[Jogo Bonito]

On 01/01/2022 at 00:34, warlock said:

Cheers, buddy - I'm working on it  Currently self-medicating with a very nice rioja . So a Happy New Year to you, and to all our contributors 

Good man! Belated happy new year and keep the recovery going 

@Spedding You're doing very well to stay up three seasons running. Nudging up the table is commendable.

[Spiegel]

Prep is underway for my second season in the Premier League. We've spent a fair amount in comparison to previous seasons, but there's hundreds of millions getting spent around the league so need to keep us competitive. 

I've not done a proper update so will give a run down of the squad. 

Goalkeepers
1. Marcus Bettinelli
16. Charlie Setford
27. Neil Etheridge

No. 1 going into the season will be Marcus Bettinelli. The veteran was instrumental in keeping us up last year, with 7.00 average rating last year. 
I have signed England U21's Charlie Setford from Ajax this summer for £3.5mill. He'll serve as Bettinelli's understudy with the view to replace him long term. 
Veteran Neil Etheridge was an emergency signing last year following Ben Killip's move to Liverpool. He has Premier League experience with Cardiff and is a capable option. 

Defenders (Centre)
2. Dion Sanderson
4. Josh Pask
5. Maxime Awoudja
14. Haydon Roberts
18. Dan Happe

We're still using three centre backs; a ball playing defender on cover duty, flanked by two supporting wide centre backs. 
Dion Sanderson was brought in on loan from Cagliari while we were in the Championship, and proved to be very effective wide centre back. We signed him permanently for £625k for our first season in the Premier League and he didn't disappoint.
Josh Pask has been with us since League 1 and has been continually solid ever since. Quick and good in the air, he'll typically play in the middle of my three but found himself rotated to the right hand side following the addition of Awoudja. 
Maxime Awoudja was a recommendation from Director of Football Ralph Rangnick, and was signed last summer for £1.3mill. Average rating of 7.24. 17 jumping, 16 pace, decent on the ball and can pass with both feet. Highly recommended. 
Haydon Roberts is a new signing. I felt the need for a left footed centre back to compete with Dan Happe, and this guy fits the bill. Only 23 years old aswell! £11mill from Brighton. 
Club Captain Dan Happe has been extremely solid since joining in our Championship season. He's a more than capable Premier League centre back, though his lack of agility and dribbling ability means he's not the most press resistant. 

Wing Backs
3. Josh Tymon
20. Jason McCarthy
21. Jeremy Ngakia

Josh Tymon was a free signing last summer. Initially signed to serve as backup to Nicky Cadden, Tymon eventually proved himself to be the more capable Premier League defender, while also popping up with 7 assists.
Jason McCarthy was signed while we were in the Championship. While not an elite attacking threat, he's very solid. Bargain for £67k.
Ngakia is a new signing from Bournemouth. They bought him last summer for £6.25mill, we paid £575k for him . Decent Premier League experience while still being young (24). He's pretty two footed and will serve as cover on both sides.

Midfielders
6. Callum O'Hare
8. Beni Baningime
15. Oliver Rathbone
22. Marco Brescianini
23. Joao Soares
28. Matty Daly

O'Hare was a free signing last season, and spent the most part of the season as my starting B2B. An agile playmaker with a bit of bite, he's been good! 
Beni Baningime is a new signing from Hearts (£8.5mill). A high energy destroyer in a midfield that is a little bit lightweight. 
Oliver Rathbone's been a cracking little player since joining two seasons ago. He's an effective B2B with 18 work rate and 15 stamina. 
Marco Brescianini was my starting Mezzala following his free signing from Milan last season. A great athlete who can tackle and pass.
Regen Joao Soares was possibly my key player last season at the DLP spot. 15 dribbling, 18 technique and ideal mentals for a playmaking role. Appeared on the NxTGEN list last season. 
Matty Daly is the only survivor of the starting Hartlepool team. While only a squad player now, he's still a capable lower Premier League option. 

Forwards
7. Erling Beck
9. Adam Idah
11. Tyreece John-Jules
12. Liam Cullen
19. Luis Maya
26. Kieffer Moore

The front line's probably seen the most change since our promotion to the Premier League. Previously built around Rodel Richards and Freddie Ladipo. Ladipo saw decline due to his age, and Richards looked nowhere near the player that fired 30 goals in the Championship. 

Regen Erling Beck was signed last season for £5mill, but couldn't get a work permit. Following a loan to Feyenoord, he's been able to get one this year. Quick (15 pace, acceleration, balance, and 20 agility) and technical (14 dribbling and 17 technique). I'm hoping he can play the Advanced Forward role this year. 
Adam Idah is a new signing (£350k). He's a good allrounder, with good pace, jumping and strength. He warmed the bench for Championship Norwich last season, but hoping I can get more out of him. There's a player there. 
Tyreece John-Jules was a free signing last season, and finished as top scorer with 14 goals. He's not the most consistent player, with his form deteriorating in the second half of the season, but he'll get another chance this year. 
Liam Cullen was a signing while we were in the Championship and hit double figures the last two seasons. Really kicked on in the second half of the season when he was moved to Advanced Forward. 
Colombian Regen Luis Maya is a new signing (£1.5mill). Has good technique, first touch, and great physicals. I think he'll be used in the DLF (S) spot more often than not. 
Veteran Target Man Kieffer Moore was a January signing last season, scoring a respectable 5 in 13 games last season. He gives us something a little bit different up top. 
 

Edited January 2, 2022 by Spiegel

[Dong21]

After a busy December in which I didn't find any time to play FM, I have made the most of the quiet period between Christmas and New Year by picking my Charlton save back up and playing a few months worth of games. So, how have things been going?

Charlton Athletic - September, October and November 2021 

These three months can certainly be described as a mixed bag. 

September Performance:

The standout highlight in September was our away win at Premier League side Watford in the Carabao Cup. We rode our luck to a degree as Watford had more shots and better xG, although we had more possession. That said, it was a stellar performance from the team which saw us take the lead in the 3rd minute and then work hard for over 90 minutes to retain the victory. 

League performance was inconsistent. Goals from Oumar Niasse was the recurring theme in victories over Cheltenham, Wycombe and Bolton. After a slow start to life at The Valley for my Senegalese striker, these 5 goals in 3 league games reassured me he would prove to be a decent signing. There was also a recurring theme in our two losses in the month, as Ben Watson bagged penalties in losses to Gillingham and Portsmouth. Pompey are title favourites so this was no disaster, but slipping up to the Gills was disappointing. 

Victory over Bolton put us in 6th position and I was starting to feel confident that this season could see us end up in the Playoffs...

October Performance:

...Woah. That was painful. Our form completely fell off a cliff in October and I did not see it coming! 

In the League we lost twice and drew three times, which saw us fall down to 11th position. Charlton legends started to speak out in the press and my job seemed under threat (I thought this save was supposed to be a bit of fun, to start me off on FM22?! ). The loss against Sunderland was frustrating as we were set to get a creditable draw away at the Stadium of Light, when against the run of play they delivered a 95th minute sucker-punch winner. 

With our form in ruins, I had no faith we would pull off another Premier League scalp when we took on Burnley in the 4th round of the Carabao Cup. To be honest, I was just pleased we only lost 2-0 so morale wasn't dented further.

November Performance:

Football Management can be a rollercoaster experience, right? After the stress of October, things got back-on-track in a big way in a fixture packed November.

I had an exhausted squad, depleted by several injuries, so played a very changed side against automatic promotion contenders Rotherham. A draw seemed like a big disappointment at the time, as we threw away a 2-0 lead, but reflecting back it was a point against a good side and proved to be the start of our revival. 

An FA Cup fixture against mid-table League Two side Walsall could not have come at a better time. I went full strength, in an attempt to secure a morale-boosting win and things went even better than I expected when we won 7-0. Jonathan Leko got a well-deserved match rating of 10, after he scored two and set up three more. 

The Crawley win in the Papa John's Trophy showed that the team has spirit. We were 3-2 down and going out in 3rd place in our group, when we came back to win 4-3 and top the group. I shifted Coentrao from left back to inside forward late in the game and it paid off for us, as he struck the winning goal. I would not have been heartbroken to exit this competition but wins are valuable when you are attempting to rebuild spirits. Later in the month we delivered another big win in this cup, smashing Cambridge 6-0 in the Second Round. 

We lost 2-0 to Burton despite having 55% possession, 23 shots to their 9 and an xG that was double that of our opposition. I had been predominantly playing 4-2-3-1 (with a 'wing play' tactical style) approach up until this point, but after the Burton defeat I decided I wanted to try playing with two strikers to increase our chances of finishing off games. I switched to 4-4-2 for the visit of Plymouth and have since gone on to win four games in a row. Interestingly, it has been my wingers who have benefitted most and have been getting on the scoresheet. The other change for these four games is that my 'keeper Craig MacGillivray got injured and the experienced Stephen Henderson came in to deputise. MacGillivray is now back fit for the start of December, but I am tempted to stick with Henderson since our form has been good.

League Standings:

At the end of November we sit 9th in the table. We are just four points off the Playoffs (although we have played more games that many teams around us), so getting something out of this season still seems achievable. I am experimenting a lot with different tactics and having fun with this save, so I will continue on with the Addicks for now. 

Edited January 2, 2022 by Dong21

[Alejandro1202]

Barnsley: Mid Season Update (22/23)

Half of the season has already passed and I can describe it as a mixed performance from my players, all has happened this start of the season, from injuries to players wanting to leave and underperforming, 

Performance:

The performance we had was mixed, September is the month that gave me most headaches because Injuries started to happen and Brighton came to my door asking for Woodrow, now he wants to leave, but I´m having a debate if selling him is a good idea or not, since he started to underperform, but now he is back at full force, so if a really good offer comes, he will be leaving.

Player Stats:

Woodrow and the newcomer Colidio are fighting between them to get the club top scorer, both with 6 goals, arriving when I need them most, Colidio started slow like Woodrow but shortly after both of them started to recover and banging goals everywhere, Halik is again our top avg rating with a 7.22, to my surprise no one form the Premier League has come to snatch it so I will hold him until I can.

 

League Table: 

New Signing:

A bit before the winter transfer market opened I found myslef a gem from Brazil, a 23 y/o left-back who has the capabilities to play up-front as a righ-wing, he came for a free, so when he arrived I started to train him as an Inside Forward because he has the attributes to play there and also as a plan B, because Oduor has started to attract interest from other top clubs and it will be matter of time till he leaves us.

Now that the Transfer Market is open, things will be a little bit chaotic, but I hope no one from my top players leave until the end of the season.

[Spedding]

swindon 4th season in prem

finished 12th two places higher but 2 less points than the previous season form from march was 0w 3d 7l

 

[warlock]

Forest Green Rovers, November 2022

Seems like an age since I reported on our promotion to L1, but between Christmas, New Year and a major battle with the flu (PCR test came back negative today), I have been plugging away.

I can't remember much about the transfer window, but I do know it was a hugely frustrating experience. Despite a massive transfer kitty of more than £1.5m I simply couldn't spend it. Multiple bids were agreed with clubs, only to have players laugh at our lack of stature or, having agreed contracts, they then signed for other clubs. We also increased the transfer budget thanks to some unwanted outgoings... top prospect and leading striker Jake Young was lured to Brentford for £1.3m, although club and player agreed to his return on a season-long loan. Then we lost flying wingback Opi Edwards to QPR for £135k. An additional complication was financial fair play rules. Despite our healthy transfer surplus, I was not allowed to sign a couple of players because we only had limited room in the wage budget.

In terms of players we did manage to sign, Demeaco Duhaney came in on a season loan as a replacement for Edwards; young CB Billy Sass-Davies impressed me in my Crewe save recently, so he was signed for £180k, and versatile midfielder Connor Malley came from Middlesbrough for a similar fee. I also signed experienced LB James Husband from Blackpool for £68k (which turned out to be prescient, as will become obvious). Regan Slater, another CM, joined on a free from Sheffield United, as did Nya Kirby from Crystal Palace. Our business was concluded with a couple of additional loans - Ricky-Jade Jones from Posh, and GK prospect Carl Rushworth from Brighton. We ended the window with £1.75m in the transfer budget 

Early form

With free transfers and loans making up the bulk of our business, I wasn't sure we'd improved enough for the step up in competition, and the opening day of the season did nothing to ease my worries as we succumbed to a pretty thorough schooling away at Blackpool. But after that we managed to demonstrate our post-promotion credentials:

September was significant for another reason, too - injury hell! In the space of three weeks we lost Kane Wilson with a broken arm, RJJ with a twisted ankle, and to crown it all, Nicky Cadden with a broken leg. With other less severe injuries during the month, we struggled to put out a team for some games, making the results even more impressive, I think. Unfortunately, Cadden will miss most of the season and isn't expected back until March/April, which makes the signing of Husband look like a stroke of genius! As we headed into a much busier October I expected our form to suffer. In the event, it didn't suffer much:

We continue to have the happy knack of scoring from all areas of the pitch - if the strikers struggle the midfield steps up - and despite having no candidates for the golden boot, we are still the second-best scorers in the division. We've also been established in the playoff places for most of the season so far:

Despite the frustrations of foiled transfers and injuries, we're enjoying  life in L1 and - depending on what happens on the pitch and in the January window - might allow ourselves to look up at that automatic promotion spot.

[Spedding]

swindon 5th season in prem

end of january already matched last seasons points total 6th

 

[Spedding]

swindon end of season 5

finished 8th 1pt below european spots a liverpool equalizer in last minute of injury time denied us.

[Alejandro1202]

Barnsley: January Transfer Market (22/23)

This is going to be a small update post, because I only made a move at all on the January Market.

Ins:

• Ronnie Edwards: The 19 y/o English man comes on loan for the rest of the season from Brentford, he comes to be part from our rotation, but is expected to play as a starter at some games due to him being able to play in diferent positions, he is someone i had my eye for a while and if he manages to impress me I will be looking to buy him. 

Spoiler

Departures

Most of the departures were loans, the most important ones were:

• Sam Hughes was loaned to Coventry City.
• Jack Aitchison was loaned to Rotherham United.
• Luke Thomas was loaned to MK Dons.

This Transfer Market was a bit quiet, but the next one I don´t epect it to be, a revolution is coming to us, now or main core of players are strated to being couted by clubs from the top 4 european divisions, I will try to make them stay as much a I can, but the net window will be a really chaotic one.

 

[Dong21]

Charlton Athletic - December 2021 Injury Update

Bad news to report - Fabio Coentrao, who has arguably been my player of the season to date, has picked up a long-term injury that will likely see him out for the rest of the season 

I've played him most frequently as an attacking left wing back but also as a winger or inside forward. He had an average match rating of 7.29 over 24 appearances and provided 10 assists and 5 goals in the first half of the season.

As an aside, I read an article a few days ago that said Coentrao has now hung up his boots and is now working as a fisherman. Given his retirement, he will likely be removed from the database in the next update so I am glad I had the chance to manage him before then as he has provided me some enjoyment in my first FM22 save! 

So, with Coentrao out for the rest of the season (or near enough!) and another left back of mine, Pape Souaré, transfer listed by request after we were advised he would not receive a new work permit at the end of his contract (which is due to expire at the end of the season), I was in need of a new left back. 

I decided, after the success (until injury) of my Coentrao signing, to once again sign a free agent who is novelty and has vast experience at the very top level.

Welcome Zhirkov

He's 38 so obviously not a long-term signing (this save, after all, isn't designed to be long-term anyway!) but his attributes are still solid all round and I have only given him a 6 1/2 month contract. Coentrao has set a high bar, but let's see how Zhirkov gets on! 

Edited January 7, 2022 by Dong21

[warlock]

4 hours ago, Dong21 said:

Bad news to report

Yes, that's a pity. Interesting choice of replacement, though 

[hasdgfas]

Ah, love to see this thread! I don't think I'll do the full climb from VNN like I did with Blyth in FM21, but once I'm sick of my annual Arsenal save I think I will jump into something lower leagues again, on full FM this time 

[Spiegel]

So I think the Premier League's 'Young Player of the Month' is bugged 

August

September

October

November

Edited January 7, 2022 by Spiegel

[Urke17]

Blackburn Rovers / Season 2021/22

YES, WE MADE IT !!!

PREMIER LEAGUE WILL BE WATCHED AGAIN ON THE EWOOD PARK! 

It was really stressful season, full of ups and downs, but we made it!
Bournmouth...they did not want to surrender, but somehow we managed to finish 2nd in very demanding league.
I will post images bellow because I can't manage to put them between text.
Basically, it was really tough season, but we played good , so gratefull to Bereton, Dolan, Nyambe, Pickering, Ayala, Rothwell  and etc..everybody gave 100% and we deserved it!
In last round, it was 57' minute, I was loosing 3:0, Bornmouth was leading 2:0... and I did not want to give up so I changed everything in our style and formation and somehow we managed to get draw.
Best players are for sure Bereton and Dolan, finished as best goalscorers, Dolan 27, Bereton 26 goals. Great partnership between them. Also, Rothwell was amazing , Nyambe was constantly the best player by the rating, Ayala was commanding defence alongside with Lenihan, Pickering was amazing with 12 assists.
Dolan- 46 apps /27 goals/7 ass
Bereton- 43apps /26goals/11ass

When it comes to transfers, I did not have enough money to bring some quality players, so I decided to loan most of them like Drameh, Connolly and Ramsey.
Signed Lautoa on free, he was good but i replaced him with Van Hecke in the middle of the season.
Formation 5-3-2 did good job really, I gave all freedom to Bereton, Dolan and Rothwell. Pickering was amazing on the left flank with so many crosses and assits, in the same time on the right flank Nyambe did lovely job really. 

That would be it for now, I have 44m to spend in this window, will try to ugprade this team and to bring some quality players.
See you guys at the beggining of the next season!
Cheers! 

 

[Dong21]

19 hours ago, warlock said:

Interesting choice of replacement, though 

Looking at his attributes I think he is more than capable to do a good job in League One for six months. Time will tell I guess! 

Hope you are now feeling now by the way @warlock? Hopefully you are fully recovered from your bout of Covid! 

2 hours ago, Urke17 said:

Dolan- 46 apps /27 goals/7 ass

Very impressive given he only has finishing of 10!

Congrats on returning Blackburn to the Premier League @Urke17! 

Look forward to seeing how you get on in your next season. 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Dong21

[warlock]

6 minutes ago, Dong21 said:

Hopefully you are fully recovered

Cheers! Much better, thanks. Looks like it was flu - daily LFTs were all negative, and managed to get a PCR test on Tuesday, which was also negative.

8 minutes ago, Dong21 said:

he is more than capable to do a good job in League One for six months

Agreed 

[Urke17]

2 hours ago, Dong21 said:

Looking at his attributes I think he is more than capable to do a good job in League One for six months. Time will tell I guess! 

Hope you are now feeling now by the way @warlock? Hopefully you are fully recovered from your bout of Covid! 

Very impressive given he only has finishing of 10!

Congrats on returning Blackburn to the Premier League @Urke17! 

Look forward to seeing how you get on in your next season. 

 

Thanks.

I put him on "roam from position" and "dribble more" so he can create chances for himself and create space for Bereton. 

Now, I am working on transfers so will inform you guys soon as I am done with that.

It is really tough for now, only brought Dan Burn as backup player. 

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Urke17

[OdaFootball]

 

Finished the first season with an incredible 108 Points which is the record for League 2. 

Next season I will try to get a spot in the Playoffs if I can get a good transfer window.

 

[Dong21]

Charlton Athletic - December 2021 & January 2022

After an extremely poor October, in which my job looked to be on the line, you may recall that I had turned a corner in November and won six out of our last seven games.

December Performance:

The catalyst to our uptick in form appeared to be a switch from 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2. With this change, we went from having Oumar Niasse as a lone striker with Elliot Lee operating as an attacking midfielder / support striker behind him, to introducing Jayden Stockley to the team up front alongside Niasse. Stockley lacks any pace and has little finesse but is big, strong and good at heading - I asked him to play a target forward role in our new look formation. 

Our fine form continued into December, suffering only one shock defeat to lowly Cambridge, and Stockley was the undeniable star. Far outperforming my expectations, he bagged 8 goals during the month!

I had mentioned that I had contemplated retaining backup Stephen Henderson as my first choice 'keeper after a good spell deputising, but I changed my mind and restored the now-fit Craig MacGillivray to the first team against promotion hopefuls Ipswich. He put in a magnificent performance, keeping a clean sheet despite being peppered with shots, and we pulled off a huge 3-0 win. MacGillivray has remained first choice ever since.

January Transfers

I assessed my squad at the beginning of the transfer window. Our biggest strengths, in my opinion are our selection of talented wingers and having four centre back of a similar decent quality. Our biggest weakness was definitely the centre of midfield. The two centre midfielders who have played most frequently, Harry Arter and Alex Gilbey, have never put in a match winning performance, both getting an average match rating of around 6.7. The only central midfielder who has done well is Ben Watson - he has delivered 7 assists and 6 goals with an average rating of 7.13. Watson is 36 however and his goals and assists have come from penalties and set pieces (corners and free kicks) - these are, of course, important contributions, but if he was to get a match rating for his in-game play it would likely be similar to that of Arter and Gilbey's. 

As soon as January began I terminated Arter's loan, freeing up £5k per week wages in the process. I was absolutely delighted to be able to bring in two central midfield loanees of the quality of Olexandr Andrievskyi from Dynamo Kiev and Liam Shaw from Celtic. They are now my first choice midfield partnership. Jake Forster-Caskey feels like a new signing too - I did not register him in the first half of the season due to his 4 month injury and our squad limit of 22 players, although he came back earlier than expected from injury at the end of 2021 and played well in Papa John's Trophy games. To make room for him in the squad I loaned Albie Morgan out to Leyton Orient. Finally, I had a deal arranged to sell Watson to Shrewsbury for £10k (he has performed admirably but I now don't really need him following our signings and it would have been good to get his £5k per week wages off the bill) however he rejected that deal and signed a pre-contract with Toronto FC and will now leave at the end of his contract in July. 

Striker Jamie Soule was recalled by parent club West Brom after a lack of game time (I shed no tears over this one), so I needed an additional forward to ensure we had squad depth. Club scouts only rated Ricky-Jade Jones as a two star player and recommended I signed alternatives, but I brought him in on loan as he is a player who has done so well for me on previous FMs and his pace is always going to be dangerous. 

Adam Matthews has spent most of the season injured and is a poor back up to right back Bogdan Butko, so I was happy to be able to get a fee from New York Red Bulls. I replaced him by taking Derby's young full back Kornell McDonald on loan for the remainder of the season. Finally, Pape Souaré was sold with his work permit due not to be renewed, and as detailed in my last update, Yury Zhirkov was signed to reinforce us at left back. 

January Performance:

January was even better than December, as we started 2022 with six wins in a row. I have highlighted the success of Stockley since the change in approach, but I should also flag that winger Sean Clare has also been a revelation. A pure winger, whereas many of my other wide players are more forwards, the switch to 4-4-2 has suited him perfectly. Having barely been involved in the first few months of the season, he has now started 16 times, assisted 5 and scored 6. 

We played for a draw against rampant Portsmouth and getting a 0-0 was what we were looking to achieve. I didn't want to damage morale and momentum with a loss so decided this was the best approach.

 

Our consistent league form has put us back in promotion contention. We have Sunderland breathing down our necks, so top six isn't a given, but equally we are only three points behind 3rd place Ipswich. The top two spots seem unattainable, so it will be a battle of five into four places in the remaining three months of the season. 

We have juggled our league resurgence with two good cup runs. We beat West Ham U21s and Doncaster to progress to the Papa John's Trophy Semi Finals, where we will meet Ipswich. In the FA Cup it was Ipswich we beat in a hard-fought 3rd Round match - our reward? A visit from Manchester United who are 2nd in the Premier League. Wish us luck! 

Edited January 9, 2022 by Dong21

[OdaFootball]

On 08/01/2022 at 22:05, OdaFootball said:

 

Finished the first season with an incredible 108 Points which is the record for League 2. 

Next season I will try to get a spot in the Playoffs if I can get a good transfer window.

 

Finished my second season with a Playoff spot unfortunately lost in the semi finals against Sheffield Wed.

Regarding  Cups  won the Papa Johns and the rest we were eliminated on the first rounds.

I hope this is the season I can get a promotion to the Championship.

Edited January 10, 2022 by OdaFootball

[Alejandro1202]

Barnsley: Play-offs here we go (22/23)

So the season has ended and we sit on a maravillious 3rd place, allowing us to enter the play-offs for another season, this time we are facing Ipswich Town, on a match that is really going to be harsh, but im confident on the team to at least make the finals this season and why not maybe give the surprise winning the play-offs, but first I need to settle down the sqaud because some players are starting to turn their heads and are looking for being transfered as top clubs are sniffing around them and making them unstable.

League Table

Player Stats

This season was the best for Woodrow in terms of perfomance, banging 21 goals for the club, making it the best record he had since arriving Barnsley, the previous record was 14 goals for the club, Oduor was the player with the most assists for the club and the entire league, with 15 assists for his bag, the best performance was for Styles who had a 7.24 avg rating for the season, He and Oduor share the title for the most POTM awards, with 8 for each one.

Transfers 

I made some backup plans for the players who are going out of the club the next transfermaket which is around 90% of the starting lineup, so I had a look at my shortlist and found 2 good players that can be backup for those who are going out.

• Diego Alemida The 19 y/o spaniard comes on a free from Barca B, being formed at "La Masia" gives him a boost for being a first-team Ball-Playing Defender, he is a really well rounded Center Back, having a really good mix of attributes, but his physique is the one that shines above the others, he can develop into a really good Center Back for us in the future, and he is ready to make an inmediate impact.

Spoiler

• Vitaly Shitov the 20 y/o Russian winger was bought by 1.9M, he is a prospect as he will be behind Vinicios on the left wing, he is still green and developing, so he will have time to imporve and show why he was bought, he lacks on both mental and technical departments, but his physical attributes are really good and are going to get better once he develops completely.

Spoiler

 

[warlock]

23 hours ago, Dong21 said:

Our consistent league form has put us back in promotion contention

Good going. Keep it up 

6 hours ago, OdaFootball said:

Finished my second season with a Playoff spot

Playoff disappointment aside, that's a good season I think. Hope you can go one better next time.

2 hours ago, Alejandro1202 said:

allowing us to enter the play-offs for another season

Championship is hard to get out of. Good luck in the playoffs!

[Alejandro1202]

Barnsley: Bitter Play-Off Run (22/23)

We finished the play-offs with a bitter result, losing at the final by 2 missed penaltis from our players, we managed to succeed this time, we may have not won the series, but we can learn from this so we can do better next season.

Play-Off Semifinals

We were put agaisnt 6th place Ipsiwch Town, they were a really diffcult rival, we started the run at their home, almost losing the 1st game of the series but fortunately Vinicios appeared at the last moment to give us a tie, ending the 1st game with a 1-1 when Ipswich deserved the win, at Oakwell the things were different, we dominated them all the match, tnaks to Woodrow with his double, gave us the pass to the finals, with a result of 2-1 (3-2 agg.)

Play-Off Finals

We were facing a really complicated rival on Norwich, who came after beating 5-2 on aggregate to Stoke City, the match was a really close one, none of us had a real advantage all the time, the keepers were the ones who had the most oportunities to shine, at the 90 minute Sibbick decided that it was a good idea to make a strong challenge at half-mid of the field, getting an straight red card, leaving us with 10 for another 30 minutes at extra time, ET wasn´t really different, so we arrived at penalties, only 2 misses from our homegrown player Jasper Moon and our midfielder Romal Palmer (Who is in talks with Aston Villa to leave) giving Norwich their promotion to the premier league.

Squad Problems

We really surprised everyone this season reaching the finals, so it is normally for our players to start being scouted from top clubs, and this is were problems come from, by the time I´m writing these, 8 players from my starting XI are being followed by top club teams from other countries, Walton, Halik, Bauer, Sibbick, Styles, Palmer, Oduor and Woodrow are being followed and started to make a mess with our peaceful team atmosphere, from those 8 Styles, Halik and Palmer requested being transfered when the new market is opened, so this transfer market is going to be really chaotic and could harm us, but the board stepped up and gve us a really good Transfer Budget of 21M, giving us a really good amount of money to spend on the areas that are going to be wakened by the transfers, so next season if the squad doesn´t fall, I hope we can push for that play-off  finals or even an automatic promotion spot.

[goonergez]

Hey guys. There are some really enjoyable saves going on in here and I spent a few hours last night trawling the thread and seeing where everybody is at. I've been locked into the FM Ultimate Challenge for the end of FM21 and so far on the new game too, but now see it as my opportunity to branch out and try something that makes a change.

I've decided on my club and it's one that is yet to make an appearance in these pages. The intrigue can build and I will be starting my save later this afternoon. Look forward to communicating with you all in here as its been a while since I took on a Football League side.

[warlock]

9 hours ago, Alejandro1202 said:

We finished the play-offs with a bitter result, losing at the final by 2 missed penaltis

Well, that sucks! Losing a playoff final is always disappointing, but losing in a penalty shootout might be the worst. Good luck next season - automatic promotion has a lot to commend it 

[warlock]

51 minutes ago, goonergez said:

its been a while since I took on a Football League side

Hey Gez! Welcome home 

[goonergez]

July 2021: Career Update

So having had a bit of a quiet spell with regards to FM with Christmas and a new found love for F1 on the PS5 I have found myself falling out of love with the save I had running. I ended the last edition of this game with a shot at the Ultimate FM Challenge and I began a new one when the newest edition was released. That save saw me through until Christmas time but now I feel it’s time for me to return to my homeland and in particular the Football League.

Finding a club was a relatively difficult choice as I was spurred onto the idea having watched my side falter to Nottingham Forest on Sunday evening. Initially I thought I would head to them but then fluttered with the idea of my local side Maidstone United or having read through this thread Forest Green Rovers. In the end I found my club though and I am excited to get cracking with this save.

One of my best friends is a boyhood Chairboy's fan and so after a discussion with him I decided to head there and try my luck. The club is in League One after nearly pulling off a miraculous escape from relegation last season in the Championship. They endured a difficult campaign before finding some form in the closing stages and very nearly keeping themselves in the division. 

The squad is fairly decent but lacks some quality in certain areas. Up top Sam Vokes looks good enough and on the wings their are plenty of decent options. At full back there is some quality and in goal is former Premier League stopper David Stockdale. The transfer budget is limited and I’ve already identified that centre back and central midfield are two areas that could do with a new face or two.

Financially the club isn’t in great shape but that’s mainly down to the stature of the club rather than wage expenditure or anything. I’d like to push for a play off spot here but a media prediction of ninth means that may be a long shot. I certainly haven’t taken on an easy challenge but I’m very excited to get cracking and see what I can do with this football club. I’ll return at the beginning of the campaign to update on how the transfer activity around the club has gone.
 

[Urke17]

Blacbkurn Rovers 2022/23

Survival

Our main goal is to survive and stay in PL.

So far, I played 4 games, 1w(Fulham), 2 draws (City and Vila), and 1D(Liverpool).

We were leading against City for a while and then of course, referees gave strange penalty to them, and we got only a draw even we deserved to win.

I am pleased so far, we had good transfer window, brought really good and cheap players like Winks, Soares, Sarr etc

Did not want to separate great duo (Dolan-Bereton), they will be first option in attack, just brought Benteke and Andone to support them.

Also, I have changed couple of roles in MID, now playing with DLP-D(Winks),  Box to Box, really hidden gem( Makouta, signed for only 1.5m  from Boavista) and Mezzala or AP-S (Filipe Soares).

See you guys in January, cheers!!!