FM22: The English Football League thread

[ShaunG95]

1 hour ago, robterrace said:

Young Swedish talent, Williot Swedberg was next on the list. With Hammarby receiving £2.8m for the 18 year old midfielder, who returns to Sweden on loan.

----

That remained our business for Deadline Day, with McNulty heading out to Union Berlin on loan for the season shortly before the 11pm deadline.

---

Most important item of the day was keeping Ward-Prowse, who, along with Stuart Armstrong, is a very important part of how we play.

Swedberg is awesome, was top class for me at Shrewsbury. In my last season I moved into an AM role as a shadow striker, seemed to work a treat for his average rating.

[robterrace]

Just a couple of things that have caught my eye in the last few games for me.

Preston played a low block/press against me, basically trying to cram the final third to stop me scoring.

26 is my full back, Holmgren Pedersen, he dropped in to pick up the lose ball, then puts the telling cross in for the goal.

Hlozek, my #10, drops into the channels a fair bit running after the ball, allowing JWP to push forward into the space, creating a lopsided 4-3-3 when we're attacking

Conversely, Shkiri drops between the CB when we're defending, providing support, but, also leads the ball out pretty well..

[JawZy]

Started a Reading save, this is actually my first attempt in English shores on FM22

 

Beat Coventry 2-0 in Playoff final, after spending most of the season within the top 6!

we bear Brighton and Watford in EFL but lost in the 4th round t Liverpool, In the FA Cup we lost 5-2 to Arsenal in the 3rd round

The core squad along with the various youngsters reading have, make this an interesting fun side to take charge I feeel

[robterrace]

Got to the World Cup 2022 break in my season, and, to be honest, its going pretty well. 

After 18 games of the season, our rebuilt Southampton team sit top of the Championship, 5 points clear, and not lost all season.

We started the first couple of games (first league, and cup game) playing a 3-5-2 setup, but, we weren't attacking as well as I wanted from the setup, and moved onto a more aggressive 4-1-3-2 formation that I've worked on in a non league save a few months ago.

It gives the same sort of setup when going forward, with the wingbacks pushing forward and overloading the space behind the opposing midfield, but, when defending, the DM drops deeper and allows the CBs to cover wider. Using the DM to man mark a single striker when the opposition use it is also quite effective.

As you can see, Adam Hlozek and Terem Moffi have struck up a devastating partnership, with the young Czech forward being second in the League goalscorer charts with 15 goals from 11 starts and 3 substitute appearances. Moffi is 3rd in the list, with 13 from 18, but their contributions are more than just scoring.
Hlozek naturally drops out into the channels and draws the defence wide, whereas, Moffi, is a proverbial battering ram, and uses his strength to hold up the ball, and this is where the midfield comes in, with James Ward-Prowse and Stuart Armstrong topping the assists charts with 11 and 8 respectively. JWP making the most of his set piece prowess with goals coming from corners and free kicks.

One bit of transfer news. We've agreed a £3.4m fee with Stromsgodset in Norway for their 19 year old midfielder, Tobias Gulliksen. Hes a little bit raw, but, he has the sort of potential to fit really well into the centre of my midfield in the next few years. 

I still need to find a keeper, as Eddie Beach is still a bit away, and I've got the two youngsters out on loan. With Forster out injured, I'm relying on Alex McCarthy, he is a good shotstopper, but, not mobile enough for what I want.

[warlock]

@robterrace Oddly enough, my scouts just flagged Gulliksen but he's way out of my range. He signed for Juve in summer 2022 and a year later he's valued at £21m-plus.

[robterrace]

42 minutes ago, warlock said:

@robterrace Oddly enough, my scouts just flagged Gulliksen but he's way out of my range. He signed for Juve in summer 2022 and a year later he's valued at £21m-plus.

Yeah, thats what the scouts said, they rate him really highly in game. 

Currently looking at my replacement for JWP, and my Director of Football is negotiating with a target for me.

[robterrace]

New goalkeeper signing sorted, and he comes in January, so just have 6 games after the World Cup to get through, and he arrives.

Croatian #2 (I did go after Livakovic, but he wasn't interested), Ivica Ivusic signs a 4 year deal for £1.5m (£1.6 further over 2 years), and will replace McCarthy/Forster as #1.

He may not be the strongest with the ball at his feet, but, he is the sort of keeper I want to have in my team.

[Sysiphus]

Sheffield Wednesday – 2025/26 season review

Last season review.

We had a good season last year in our second season of top flight football but the third season was a bit tougher. A solid—but unspectacular—start was followed by a rough mid-season run which saw me flirting with the sack. Directly after a meeting with the board we managed to turn our bad run of form around and ended the season really strongly, climbing up the table from 16th to 14th, which is better than it sounds as we managed to put close to 20 points between us and the relegation zone, having been hovering over the 18th place by only 1 point in January. In the end I'm not too displeased about our points tally of 46 even though it's a bit of a drop from our 62 points last season. However, we score almost as many goals and concede almost as few goals, but I still need to sure up my young defence a little. Nothing exciting happened in the cups.

 

 

I had a tough summer trying to improve the first team squad. Billy Gilmour I had to overpay for in wages but he raises our talent level quite significantly I feel and had a good season, replacing Lucas Felippe who went to Norwich for £10m. Nico Serrano never got going for us so he departed for £12m, replaced by Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty who had an OK season as Diangana's understudy. Josh Doig, Ciaran Brennan and regen Antoine Lenoir (signed for £700k) were sold for £20m but I couldn't manage to put that money to real use. Wonderkid César Álvarez arrived from Uruguay (before taking up Spanish nationality) but he's a bad trainer and not improving at all so I might try to find a loan for him next season. Another bright prospect, a right back from Serbia, was picked up for around £5m and loaned back, next season I'll try to find a loan for him in England—he looks good but not ready.

 

Spoiler

 

The squad is in good shape but I'm still searching for some extra bit of quality. I might lose a couple of players in defence, like Oxford and Bielik, and try to bring in fresh upgrades. My star striker, Mancisidor, wants to leave and I've promised him that he can leave for his release clause of £79m, with some big clubs eyeing him.

 

[warlock]

Nottingham Forest, September 2023

Transfer window now closed and, as expected, little business was done. The only senior players to leave were LB Nikolas Ioannou, who departed for his native Greece on a pre-arranged end-of-contract deal; CM Cafu, who left on a free after declining a new contract, and CB Jonathan Panzo, who joined Strasbourg for £1.5m.

Coming the other way, our first priority was to replace Ioannou at LB and I found a promising young prospect from Portugal:

A fee of £1m was enough to sign him from Vitoria Sport Club, and he's competing for the starting spot with ex-Hull youngster Brandon Fleming, who joined us in January.

To replace Cafu I found Elias Hagen, a young Norwegian who was prepared to join us on a season-long loan from PSG:

With AM Joe Lolley having declared that he would consider his options at the end of last season, his replacement was a Slovenian u21 international Tamar Svetlin, who was signed for a bargain £1.1m. In the event, Lolley suffered an injury at the end of the season that kept him out for most of the window and, therefore, remains at the club.

Finally, we needed a striker to replace Eddie Salcedo, whose loan we couldn't renew because of work permit issues. Despite a long and tedious search for a good prospect, I couldn't find a likely candidate and finally resorted to the loan market again, bringing in Man City youngster LIam Delap.

All of these new recruits are taking a little time to settle and gel, but that's to be expected and I have no complaints so far. In fact, we've begun our season in storming form:

Here's hoping we can keep it up!

[Sysiphus]

Astute signings, @warlock, and a very good start to the season. 

[hasdgfas]

Bolton - Summer Transfer Window 2027

With safety secure, we went a bit crazy this summer to hopefully take another big step up in the Premier League.

First, a few notes on the outs. Lacko and Henrique had release clauses triggered (for profits of 11M and 23.5M respectively), so they had to be replaced. Koroma just wasn't good enough, so relegated Sunderland bought him for their Championship stint. Kamara  was the starting keeper but I replaced him with someone younger so I let him go, and Maylon was a young keeper I had picked up on a free, but he couldn't get a work permit to renew his contract, so I let him go cheap with a big percentage of next sale clause.

Now, info on the 9 players I brought in.

I had my eye on Isaac Urbina last January to solidify our DL spot with that Determination, Natural Fitness, and Work Rate. We didn't have the budget last season, but I was able to trigger his release clause as soon as we confirmed safety

Silvio Rodrigues is a young backup for the wing that I also triggered the release clause for. I have high hopes for him.

Ferran Quetglas is the young keeper I mentioned above. He looks fairly comparable to Kamara, but is younger and has more room to grow, I think.

Rory Johnston was a Chelsea youngster who they didn't seem to want, so I decided to spend 2M on him and see if I can utilize his pace.

Willy Kambwala was on loan from Lazio last year and performed admirably, so I triggered his option to buy.

Christian Eksola's contract was expiring at Inter, so I snapped him up.

Liam Delap is a City youngster you may be familiar with. His contract was also expiring, and I figured he would be a good addition to our strike force.

Alvaro Zambrano looked like a steal at under a million pounds to add to our midfield depth.

Filip Mrsic was another midfield depth signing for us.

 

With that, our squad to try to establish ourselves further in the Premier League is complete (until January). I'm pretty happy with our depth everywhere except for central defense, where I'm content with the depth but would like to add more. I'll keep my eyes out for someone for January if we need them.

----

But how have we done so far, before the window closed?

Very very well. That draw at Newcastle was huge to show our ambition, IMO.

Flying high early, but we haven't had any super tough fixtures yet. They'll be coming, I'm sure.

[warlock]

17 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

I couldn't manage to put that money to real use

The cry of FM managers down the ages . The "lagging reputation" problem is hard to deal with - hopefully another good season will stand you in good stead.

1 hour ago, hasdgfas said:

Flying high early

Good start, keep it up!

[StePratt]

Just a quick update on my first season back in the Championship. 

 

Still a few games to go until the season ends but I really, really didn't want to go up!!

[warlock]

4 minutes ago, StePratt said:

I really, really didn't want to go up!!

Gotta ride that rollercoaster, right? 

[Sysiphus]

Not related to my team but Wales just won the WC 2026—not in an easy manner!

Edited June 22, 2022 by Sysiphus

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Sysiphus said:

Wales just won

Life in a parallel universe 

[warlock]

Nottingham Forest, November 2023

Our season proceeds in a pleasing manner:

Well, apart from that loss against Sunderland. Neither side created anything but we lost to one of those infuriating FM own-goals when my LB intercepted a through-ball 25 yards out, laid it back to Samba in goal, and then Samba just stood and watched it approach him, go past him, and roll into the net . The rest of the month was pleasing - even a draw against promotion favourites Bournemouth was fine. And our form continued:

The defeat against the Baggies was disappointing - they're a mid-table Championship side at this point, while we're pushing for promotion, but we just didn't turn up.

If there's a cloud on my horizon it's the appalling form of AMR Brennan Johnson. After a good start to the season, his form has dropped off a cliff, with an average rating of 6.5 for the season, and for his last 5 games. I criticised him for it but in his next game he rated a 6.1, and in his latest match he missed the penalty that gave West Brom the cup victory. One of those baffling situations - he's happy, seems confident, and plays well for Wales, but can't do anything in a Forest shirt. The only option I have left is to play him in the u23s for a couple of games and see if that makes a difference.

But having doubted the board demand for a top half finish, I have to say the team is exceeding my expectations:

[John Joe O'toole]

On 19/06/2022 at 00:28, JawZy said:

Started a Reading save, this is actually my first attempt in English shores on FM22

 

Beat Coventry 2-0 in Playoff final, after spending most of the season within the top 6!

we bear Brighton and Watford in EFL but lost in the 4th round t Liverpool, In the FA Cup we lost 5-2 to Arsenal in the 3rd round

The core squad along with the various youngsters reading have, make this an interesting fun side to take charge I feeel

Nice man, what formation?

[hasdgfas]

Bolton - January 2028

Had a bit of a rough middle of the fall her, but we seem to be getting back to it, and the losses to Spurs/United/Arsenal/Chelsea/Liverpool aren't bad losses!

It's pretty tight in the middle! We should be fine to stay up again, the question is how high we can fly.

[Sysiphus]

Two big pieces of news from my save. First, I couldn't manage to hold on to Stipe Biuk any longer, and he leaves for European football with Leverkusen for big money. It will be tough to replace him..

I also venture into my first national managerial job since FM12—if I recall correctly—as I accepted Englands spontaneous job offer. The position had been vacant since the resignation of José Mourinho (of all people) after England's shameful exit against neighbours and 2026 World Cup winners Wales. The squad is quite exciting but lacking in young talent, there have been a few exciting regen centre backs and a couple of strikers that have caught my eye, but no one with superstar potential. We'll see how it goes, I have a large window until the next World Cup.

[hasdgfas]

42 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

The squad is quite exciting but lacking in young talent, there have been a few exciting regen centre backs and a couple of strikers that have caught my eye, but no one with superstar potential.

These are some of my favorite times to take a national job, to try to see who develops quickly and/or who outplays their attributes.

[Sysiphus]

56 minutes ago, hasdgfas said:

These are some of my favorite times to take a national job, to try to see who develops quickly and/or who outplays their attributes.

Yes I'm quite excited for it, it's a bit of a changing of the guard with Kane, Sterling, Henderson, Maguire, Stones, Walker and co getting over the hill. Plenty of good players around 25 but the talent pool of U-21 players is shallow.

In other news: Another blow for my Sheff Wed team as a release clause has been activated for my star man. Now I've lost my two best players and am struggling to find adequate replacements. I'll probably go for potential rather than ability here (as I can't find anyone that matches their ability and is available for me), and hope that I can safely stay clear of relegation while the young players grow.

[warlock]

4 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

we seem to be getting back to it

Yes, bad November (if not unexpected) but a great December. If you can carry that form (December!) into the New Year you should do well 

3 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

I accepted Englands spontaneous job offer

Ah, the poisoned chalice . Two futures beckon: the Legend, or the Turnip; I hope you achieve the former!

[JawZy]

On 22/06/2022 at 06:25, John Joe O'toole said:

Nice man, what formation?

433 with a deep laying playmaker in dmc position and IFs on the wing

[warlock]

Nottingham Forest, February 2024

We've made it to the end of the January transfer window and there have been a significant number of changes... or at least, a number of significant changes. But first, we continued our excellent league form in an attempt to meet the board demand of a top half finish.

As always, Reading were expected to do well in the Championship so a defeat was no cause for alarm, especially as we followed up with a series of wins against two of the better, recently-relegated teams. I was also encouraged by the fact that Johnson and Delap put in rare goal-scoring appearances against Palace.

But we did even better in a hectic December, racking up convincing wins against promotion rivals Ipswich, West Brom, and early league leaders Cardiff, even if we ran out of steam at the end of the month. As we headed into the transfer window I wasn't planning on much business, despite the continued poor performances from Brennan Johnson. Unfortunately, FM had other ideas.

First problem was a low-ball bid for Alex Mighten, who suddenly decided that a return to his native America was vital. I managed to negotiate the fee up a little but he eventually departed to Los Angeles for £5m. In similar fashion, Canadian RB Richie Laryea left the club for Sporting Kansas City for £3m. Although I hoped to stem the losses at that point, we were only mid-way through January when Aston Villa and Wolves (both PL outfits) set their sights on Johnson. Given his poor form this season I wasn't unhappy to let him go but we were already short in the AM positions. A final bid of £15m plus add-ons was enough too sway me and he eventually signed for Villa.

Those deals left me with a handsome transfer budget of £19m and in need of two new AMs and a RB. First in was a loan deal that saw us sign Man City youngster Filip Stevanovic on loan for the eminently reasonable cost of £8k a week wage contribution. Next I decided to bring former loan signing Djed Spence back to the City Ground for an initial £5m fee that will rise to £9m over three years. Spence is perhaps best known for his performances at RB, but my aim is to play him at AMR - a role he is fully accomplished at - while he can also cover in defence. As extra cover, I also promoted young RB Fin Back to the first team squad; not quite ready for prime time but minutes at the senior level will only help him along.

And while all that was happening, we continued to exceed expectations on the pitch:

The most notable feature of the month was Spence bagging a brace on his return debut to Forest, although he was subsequently outshone by RB Danny da Costa who not only scored his first goal for the club against Hull, but added a vital double against Sunderland (in what was, admittedly, a very disappointing draw against a side cemented in the relegation spots).

And while all that was happening, our promotion rivals Cardiff and Bournemouth were enduring a major winter of discontent, dropping points and succumbing to defeats, that allowed us to open up a massive lead at the top of the division:

That Pereira is the leading scorer is no surprise, but just looking at that screengrab I must admit that I am indeed surprised that Colback is our leading source of assists, and that da Costa now holds the most PoM awards for the season. We also boast the best attack, the best defence, the best disciplinary record and the best pass completion rates in the league. I now have to face the prospect that we will, in fact, earn promotion to the Premiership... are we really read for that???

[robterrace]

January Transfer Window update part 1 (of I don't know how many)

James Ward-Prowse departed mid month, Newcastle his destination. The North Eastern side shelling out £32m for the midfielder.

Coming the opposite way, on a 6 month deal, with Newcastle paying £35k per week of his wages, was Jonjo Shelvey.
Whilst not as quick as some players in the side, he offers more as a playmaker and will contribute mainly off the bench to start with.

Departing the club on loan (with a permanent fee agreed), is Ibrahima Diallo. He heads to play in the SPL for Celtic, the lure of European football too much to turn down.

His replacement, initially on loan for the rest of the season (costing nearly £2m in fees), with a permanent £4.1m deal at the end of the season, is 23 year old Barcelona midfielder, Riqui Puig. He'd been transfer listed at the Spanish giants, and was more than happy to come for first team football.

Heading out, on loan, with a fee agreed pending appearances (£18m due after 15 appearances), was Stuart Armstrong. This time to Leicester, who, like Celtic, had the lure of European action to draw the Scottish international to the East Midlands.

His replacement came the opposite direction, on the transfer list at the King Power. For a fee of £12.25m, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall arrived on a 4 year contract. 

As mentioned previously, Tobias Gulliksen arrives on a 4 year deal. He heads straight back out to Stromsgodset for a season to push himself further to full international recognition, and in the process, earn his work permit in the process. His mentality is a big thing for the team.

Also joining, with an identical mental makeup, is fellow Norwegian, Syver Aas, who arrives for £2m from Norwegian champions, Odds BK. The 18 year old midfielder heads out on loan as well for work permit purposes, again, being close to a full international call up.

Another raid was undertaken on Norway, for a young striker, albeit one with a very talented and famous cousin.
Albert Braut Tjaland was picked up for a fee of £300k from Molde, and, if he shows anything like the talent of his cousin, he'll more than pay that back. Like the other Norwegian youngsters, he heads back to his homeland on loan.

 

Defender Lyanco also left on loan, with Cagliari the destination. His departure left a space in the defensive setup available, although, with Anselmo Garcia out on loan for the rest of the season, this is something that isn't too urgent yet, and at the point of writing this is covered by Tino Livramento, who can play in the centre or on the right, however, a fee has been agreed for a possible replacement, pending contract discussions.

 

 

[robterrace]

January Transfer Window Part 2...

The next player to arrive at St Marys, to make up slightly for the leadership that was lost with the departure of JWP and Armstrong, was Crystal Palace midfielder, Luka Milivojevic.
The 31 year old had found himself on the fringes at Selhurst Park over the last couple of seasons, but, he would bring great experience and leadership qualities to the midfield of the side. He brings a 'perfectionist' personality to the group, and would be essential in leading the youngsters in the side over the rest of the season.

We chipped into the English market once more shortly afterwards, using some of the funds raised this window to head to Bristol and spend £10m on Bristol Citys young midfielder Alex Scott. The Guernsey born 19 year old returns to Ashton Gate on loan for the rest of the season, and if he has a Southampton career like another Guernsey born attacker, then, he'll do well.

As mentioned previously, our defensive issues were subject to contract talks, and the answer of these came through. Signing for a fee of £1.4m from Spanish side Atletico Madrid, Nehuen Perez filled that hole. He was more than happy to come as a backup, and the former Argentine U21 will do exactly that for the remainder of the season, and get some first team starts as well. 

Our last signing of the window arrived on the same day, with £13.75m being spent on Manchester United midfielder James Garner.
The 21 year old Liverpudlian had spent the first half of the season on loan at West Brom, and had found his chances in the senior setup at Old Trafford somewhat limited. A 4 year deal and a (not exact) replacement for what we had lost with JWP leaving. Hopefully he now kicks on with his potential.

Centre back, Jan Bednarek also left, this time on loan to become permanent to Sporting, a fee of £16m has been agreed.

[StePratt]

As mentioned before, Barnsley are back in the Premier League. Consecutive promotions from League One into the richest league in the world has me quite apprehensive. 

 

Our run in the League Cup gives me some hope that we might do ok.

 

 

That Galbraith goal in the 96th minute was pure joy, especially as Liverpool had scored in the 93rd minute to take the lead. Oakwell was rocking. Oakwell would have been rocking all season, to be fair, with only two defeats coming on home soil all season, to Bournemouth and Blackpool.

Last season we broke the record points haul in League One, this season we equalled Reading's record of 106 points, we should have beaten it but a draw away at Burnley in the final few games scuppered that ambition. Zirkzee finishing as top scorer in the league with 22, 29 in total.

Our transfer dealings followed a similar path to last season, young and cheap. We managed to sell Liam Kitching who was our fifth choice centre back for 800k, so happy days. 

 

We have agreed a few sales already, with the Premier League on the horizon a few new faces are needed. Mads Andersen is going to Norwich for 5.75m, Carlton Morris is going to Sunderland for 4.5m and Aaron Leya Iseka to Aberdeen for 3.3m. I'm hoping to use this money to unearth more young and cheap signings that will do a job next season and get us back into the Premier League after the probable relegation next season.

 

 

[robterrace]

3 hours ago, StePratt said:

We have agreed a few sales already, with the Premier League on the horizon a few new faces are needed. Mads Andersen is going to Norwich for 5.75m, Carlton Morris is going to Sunderland for 4.5m and Aaron Leya Iseka to Aberdeen for 3.3m. I'm hoping to use this money to unearth more young and cheap signings that will do a job next season and get us back into the Premier League after the probable relegation next season.

Thats the big thing. Making sure you've got enough firepower to ensure you get back up should the worst happen, but, at the same time, prepare/aim to finish 17th.

[warlock]

2 minutes ago, robterrace said:

prepare/aim to finish 17th

I think there's a lot of truth in that. After breezing through the lower leagues and Championship, it's hard to manage your expectations when finishing 17th would represent an excellent season and not an abject failure.

If only I could learn this lesson 

[robterrace]

Deadline Day Bonus Jan 2023...

A couple of wheels were in motion for deadline day, mainly outgoing loans, but, something had come to light, especially in the last few weeks since the movement involving my midfielders.

Enzo Diaz, our current first choice left back, was struggling with a niggling ankle injury, and as such, was short of fitness regularly in the last 10-15 minutes of matches. At this point in time, Will Ferry, our only other left back, isn't good enough to replace him (he has also gone out on loan on Deadline Day), and our best other left back, is our right back, Holmgren Pedersen.

As such, there was a space that needed filling as a squad option for left back. To save on work permit issues, the focus was to find a young British or Irish full back, who would come to us. One was found in Bologna left back, Aaron Hickey, and the 20 year old was more than happy to return to the UK on a 3 year deal for a fee that could go up to £12m. 

We also had an issue at centre back, with Oumar Solet, our £13m signing from RB Salzburg, put in a transfer request, as he wasn't happy playing as a normal centre back, and despite playing him as a ball playing CB, he still wasn't performing. 
RB Leipzig came in for him, and a loan was agreed with a fee that would reach £20m to make it permanent. A £7m profit isn't too bad for a 6 month spell.

He was replaced in the back 4 by a loan deal, as I didn't want to waste money on an area that I'd be strengthening in the summer. Nathan Collins arrived on a 6 month deal from Burnley, where he hadn't been getting game time. There was no future fee involved, but, I was happy enough with the deal.

Our last deal of the window (incoming, there were still a couple of fringe players heading out on loan), was Portuguese midfielder Bruno Costa, who arrived on loan from Porto. The 25 year old had been transfer listed there, and arrives in search of regular football, and will be a key part of our run in.

The window came to a close with Alex McCarthy leaving for Celtic for £1m, which, given he was out of contract in 6 months, is a good fee. Also heading up north was Sean Longstaff, who never quite lived up to his promise, again, to Celtic, for £4.5m.

The last move was Tino Livramento, who went to Sporting for a £10m loan/transfer, not unexpected, but, I now had cover with both Hickey and Collins able to play right back as cover, and young full back, Lewis Payne showing some positive development too.

[StePratt]

8 hours ago, robterrace said:

Thats the big thing. Making sure you've got enough firepower to ensure you get back up should the worst happen, but, at the same time, prepare/aim to finish 17th.

Wolves just triggered Zirkzee's release clause. Tried to offer him a new deal but he wanted over 100k a week. Nope. 17m, 40% to Bayern. Going to be a struggle now. 

[ShaunG95]

On 20/06/2022 at 23:58, warlock said:

With AM Joe Lolley having declared that he would consider his options at the end of last season, his replacement was a Slovenian u21 international Tamar Svetlin, who was signed for a bargain £1.1m. In the event, Lolley suffered an injury at the end of the season that kept him out for most of the window and, therefore, remains at the club.

 

I loved this guy on FM20, I don't think he's as potentially as good nowadays but he became a really solid mid-table Premier League player back then.

[Jogo Bonito]

It's been a while since my last post which saw Bradford sat 3rd in League 2 at the end of August 2022

Expectations were high at that point, and we were convinced that automatic promotion would be on the cards

The reality has been completely different, and the smiling face profile picture is a complete contrast to the tale of woe that follows...

It's fair to say that things have been terrible, with so many disappointing results and literally everything conspiring against our side

We concede a number of penalties early on before setting our stamp on matches and end up just chasing a game

We concede long range screamers from players who should not be capable, and we concede frequent late goals to drop vital points

At the other end, we hit the bar and post an unbelievable amount of times - and we have endured torrential injury problems that just never let up

It seems unlikely, but much of this can be traced back to the 10-month injury caused to left-back Max Clark after just eight appearances

As a result we became unbalanced, weaker in defence and less effective when attacking

Of course there are ways to fix these things, but when we address one thing, something ese comes back to bite us

In truth, despite the chopping and changing of formations (forced) and personnel, we just haven't been good enough

We are now out of all cup competitions (a blessing), and need to turn some of these draws in to wins - we just don't claim victory in enough games

The below performance graph shows we have been battling to stay in the top half, and we have not been in the PO spots for literally months now

8th is as high as we have been for ages, so even that position is papering (thinly) over the cracks

The strikers all started the season well, but all stopped scoring at around the same time

Defensively it's not been a horror show, but it's not been good enough either, and we need to improve in defence, midfield and attack

The transfer window was therefore much busier than expected, although it hasn't made much difference to results so far

Incoming transfers 

Picking up forward Mallik Wilks from Hull was a massive coup, but we had to pay a big wage of £4k per week to secure his services

He can play a wide-right attacking role or as a striker with a partner, but we haven't yet seen the best of him at Bradford

Teenage left-back Alex Murphy has been brought in to take over from Foulds who has been very disappointing when deputising for Clark

Ireland also delivered two young strikers - Colm Whelan has been added as one for the future, and Mark O'Mahony was only 17 and is doing well for our U18 side

Winger Dion Pereira was signed after a stint on loan last season (the club wanted him to sign IRL before going for Harry Chapman)

The final three additions to talk about all add quality, experience and defensive strength which has seemingly been badly needed

Paul Digby drops from League 1 to fill the void as a defensive midfielder (we allowed winger Gilliead to go in part exchange)

Meanwhile, Callum Connolly & Jordan Thorniley can both expect to start in central defence as we now plan to try three at the back

Outgoing transfers

Before the turn of the year we allowed a couple of players to leave on loan as they were too old for the U18 team and we have no U23 side

In the January window we allowed Vernam (just one sub appearance), Dhanda (just one assist in 9+9 games) and Gilliead (the need of Digby was much greater) to leave

Central defender Cousin-Dawson will also depart in February as he heads to Forge FC in Canada for a fee of £30,000

Other news

Doncaster approached Assistant Manager Mark Hughes some months ago to take on their vacant manager role

Despite the £200k compensation deal agreed, we asked him to stay and he surprisingly agreed to do so

We did however lose Stephen Gent since then, with Millwall paying £115k compensation to steal our Chief Scout

So far we have been unable to pay enough wages to the only person identified to replace him, so we are just operating with two regular Scouts currently

We now have 15 league games of the regular season to break in to the PO spots

The ongoing horrific injury list (will share details at season end) and long-term lack of form makes this quest very unlikely

Having said all this, it's been nice to experience a challenging season

It wasn't expected to be like this, but at least it's given some real challenges and tests for a change

Edited June 25, 2022 by Jogo Bonito

[JawZy]

 

and we were relegated, very tough season, board only want mid table in championship next season!

[robterrace]

So.

Adam Hlozek.

This was what he looked like when he signed for me.


This is him now.

Hes improved across the board generally, helped in part by the amount of matches hes playing, but also, the fact I'm training him as a complete forward, so he gets the best of everything.

The only forwards near him in terms of xG/90 and G/90 are Raul Jimenez (28 in 28 for Wolves before leaving for Newcastle) and Michy Batshuayi (currently on 3 in 3 for Norwich).

Hes a clinical finisher, and I only see him getting better.

[robterrace]

Now. 

I like this.  

The 5* prospect - Laurie Powell
He needs a little bit of work, his passing is a bit poor for the sort of keeper I want to develop, but, hes got time on his side, and plenty of room to grow.

The top rated prospect - Joshua Lodge
The dual national (He holds Irish nationality as well as English) is the player that is highest rated by the staff. He is already pretty well developed, but needs some work on areas such as strength and composure, but, I've every faith that with his personality, he'll do fine.

Another highly rated player is Lee Bower . At 5'9" he won't be playing in the central defensive role that he has in his positions (unless I go mad and decide to play him like Gary Medel), but, he has some well rounded attributes already, and can be moulded into a well rounded player.

Also, NxGn list came out. 2 Saints on there..

Overall, 3 English players (Bellingham, Harvey Elliott, Jamie Bynoe-Gittins) and 1 Scottish player (Calvin Ramsay) make the list, with Bellingham ranked the best in the world.

[hasdgfas]

I am cackling.

My youth intake just came in. I have an actual elite talent who is going right into the first team, but this is my favorite player.

[Hootieleece]

Not sure if VNN teams qualify for this thread.....

 

[Dong21]

Twelve games undefeated and a really healthy lead at the top of the table - you look like you're on course for a great season @warlock!

On 24/06/2022 at 02:35, warlock said:

I now have to face the prospect that we will, in fact, earn promotion to the Premiership... are we really read for that???

Classic catch-22  You want to have a successful season, but going to the Premier League could kill the enjoyment of the save. Fingers crossed it doesn't. 

On 25/06/2022 at 10:55, Jogo Bonito said:

Having said all this, it's been nice to experience a challenging season

It wasn't expected to be like this, but at least it's given some real challenges and tests for a change

I definitely agree with this sentiment @Jogo Bonito - it's often more fun to go through the struggle as it provides more of a challenge and when you finally turn things around (if you do) the success feels more rewarding. 

Despite your difficulties, I wouldn't be surprised to read soon you've managed to sneak into the Playoffs... and at that point anything could happen!

Edited June 26, 2022 by Dong21

[warlock]

4 hours ago, Dong21 said:

going to the Premier League could kill the enjoyment of the save

We're about to find out...

[robterrace]

16 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

I am cackling.

My youth intake just came in. I have an actual elite talent who is going right into the first team, but this is my favorite player.

I love the randomness of FM names at times

[robterrace]

The 2022/23 Championship season comes to an end.

Honestly. Its been one of the best seasons I've ever had on any iteration of Football Manager.

Promotion was achieved. But, thats only part of the story.

Wolves getting 100pts, and not getting automatic promotion... 

Adam Hlozek was the top scorer in the division, with an amazing 37 goals in 37 starts (and 3 sub appearances). 9 clear of Raul Jimenez, who left Wolves in January. Terem Moffi finished 4th in the list with 24 goals.

Another big key to our season, was our full backs, Enzo Diaz providing solid play on the left wing side, supplying the midfield with balls to chip in with 30 assists between the 3 highest ranking ones (Armstrong, Ward-Prowse and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall), Dewsbury hall also scored 7 goals as well, being a massive part of the supply line.

On the other wing, Marcus Holmgren Pedersen used his pace and acceleration to provide 18 assists with his crosses, the Norwegian also breaking back into the national side in the process. It'll be interesting to see if he can be as effective in the Premier League.

Since arriving in January, Ivica Ivusic has been excellent. The Croat keeping 11 clean sheets in 19 appearances, with his fellow countryman Ivan Nevistic making 3 appearances when Ivusic had a groin strain in February. Fraser Forster, whilst not making an appearance since August, has been an essential part of the squad, signing a new 1 year deal to take him forward, whilst also being an effective 'mentor' in training.

Of course, the recruitment process needs to begin for the Premier League, in order to sustain the stay.

With interest starting to pick up in some players (especially Hlozek), I've got a list of replacements that are affordable, as well as potential loan signings to make.

Firstly, Riqui Puig will be making his loan move permanent. That was part of the deal that saw the Spaniard arrive on loan to start with. For £4.1m, he offers a great resale value in the future as well. He struggled a bit with the intensity when he first came in, but, a lot of that was because he hadn't played a great deal at Barcelona before leaving. 

As part of my desire to have 2 players for every position, the need to recruit another right back came up. 

The big thing for me was to have a non work permit player, and someone who was more than happy to get experience off the bench in the first season. For this, Scottish U21 international, Calvin Ramsay fitted our criteria (good work rate, determination and fitness, with pace being a secondary), and a deal of £4m over 4 years sees the 19 year old move south.

The second area we needed to improve, was centre back. With Perez and Ballard being first choice (at the moment) for next season, Anselmo McNulty probably having another season on loan (most likely in the Championship), theres a requirement for at least one centre back. 

Again, fitting the requirements outlined in looking at Ramsay, 20 year old Middlesbrough centre back, Nathan Wood was picked out. His pace being a big marker in my decision to sign him. A fee of £6.75m spread over 3 seasons, coupled with a long contract, will see him become our second signing of the summer.

-------

At this point in time, its looking likely that Stuart Armstrongs move to Leicester will not be made permanent. He picked up an injury which saw him miss the last month of the season, and therefore, will not meet the appearance threshold agreed. If this is the case, he comes back in as an experienced head in the side.

-------

 

[hasdgfas]

19 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Not sure if VNN teams qualify for this thread.....

 

Yup! They're definitely permitted. I posted my full climb from VNN with Blyth in FM21(and the first post mentions they're allowed since you'll be an EFL team soon, hopefully)

[warlock]

20 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

VNN teams qualify for this thread

No problem, all Vanorama sides welcome 

[Hootieleece]

3 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

Yup! They're definitely permitted. I posted my full climb from VNN with Blyth in FM21(and the first post mentions they're allowed since you'll be an EFL team soon, hopefully)

 

2 hours ago, warlock said:

No problem, all Vanorama sides welcome 

Fighting it out un the VNL as a Semi-Pro Team right now. Just hoping to survive.....and maybe move on and manage a EFL team! (This is a journeyman save.)

[robterrace]

Time to reveal a few more signings for the return to the Premier League.

--------

Before the first transfer, Nathan Wood has agreed to go back to Middlesbrough on loan for the season. Theres a recall option in place, so should he not be getting match time, we can bring him back and send him somewhere he will.

--------

First up, for a fee of £11.75m from Benfica, Florentino Luis.
The 23 year old will fit in the side in front of the back 4, and is stronger defensively than Skhiri who currently plays that role (alongside Milivojevic, who will be leaving in the summer)

Next up, filling the role that Adam Armstrong currently fills, but the striker should be leaving over the summer as he hasn't really performed well, is Andrea Pinamonti. The 24 year old is taking a pay cut to come to St.Marys, and, is also quite happy to play a squad rotation role in the side.

Next arrival is a player with a decent pedigree. With over 100 appearances in Germany, and spending the last season on loan at Koln, Chris Richards is a full US international, who is quick and will also bring the ball out. Capable of playing anywhere across the back, he will play alongside Nehuen Perez (who recently won his first Argentina cap). A fee of £6.5m was agreed.

[robterrace]

Another new signing, mainly as Ivan Nevistic has a year left on his contract, and won't get a work permit, Eddie Beach is probably still another couple of seasons away from contending, and its better having a couple of English backups in the squad.

For £23.5m from Stoke City, Joe Bursik makes the move south.

As well as Bursik, a few players came in on free transfers.

Firstly, coming in from Fulham, was young Scottish forward, Kieron Bowie. The former Raith man had been at Dumbarton last season, and had scored 7 in 14 there. He'll be heading out on loan, hopefully to the EFL.

Also moving, this time from Manchester United, was young midfielder, Dylan Levitt. The 22 year old had been at Hearts in the SPL last season, and comes to St.Marys to further himself. He'll also head out on loan.

A target from further afield this time, as young Turkish midfielder, Arda Guler arrives from Fenerbache. Having only made a couple of appearances at Sukru Saracoglu, he will head back into Europe on loan, and get some experience.

Finally.

Adam Armstrong departed to Bournemouth for £12m, of which, the majority was spent on a player who I scouted massively when in the Championship, but couldn't sign, however, he signed a new contract with a release clause in, so, I took advantage of that. Arriving, from Red Bull Salzburg, on a 5 year deal, for a fee of £9.75m. Benjamin Sesko.

[warlock]

Nottingham Forest, May 2024

Apparently, it was a season of unlikely but jubilant success for Forest as we cruised to the Championship title. When I left you last time we had just completed the January transfer window having replaced several departing first-team players. Would the new signings quickly settle in? 

We remained unbeaten in the league and, although there were a few too many draws for comfort, we maintained our lead at the top of the table. We also made good progress in the FA Cup - a home draw against PL side Leeds was not too shabby, and we then went one better to beat them on their own turf. Unfortunately, that run came to an entirely expected end as we fell to defeat against Arsenal. But we left the Emirates with our heads held high after taking an early lead, before we succumbed to two late goals. Other highlights of the spring included a flurry of goals from on-loan striker Liam Delap, and young RB Fin Back scoring his first senior goal for the club.

 Down to the business end of the season and the strain started to tell. A home defeat to promotion-chasing Brighton was disappointing, a severe defeat against Cardiff was worse. By that time, though, the title was already ours and we celebrated with a crushing 5-1 victory against Luton. The away victory against Ipswich should have led to a final-day celebration in front of our fans but it wasn't to be... the players put in an abject performance that saw Huddersfield take a lead after the first minute, go 2-0 up before the 10th, and take a 3-0 lead into the break. Compensation goals from Baptiste and Garner were too little too late. A mere flesh wound, though - by the time we lost to Brighton we had gone 22 games unbeaten in the league and eventually secured the title by a 14pt margin:

We finished with the best attack, the best defence, and the second-best possession stats (after Norwich). Individually, Pereira was pipped to the golden boot by Ipswich's Jerome Sinclair by a single goal, while RB Danny da Costa turned in an excellent season and won fans Player of the Year.

The board have given me £37m to try to avoid relegation next year. Areas requiring reinforcements include a replacement for Joe Lolley who wants away; at least one backup striker to support Pereira; and backups at both RB and LB. It also remains to be seen whether we can renew Garner's loan for a fifth year - I'd certainly love to do that because he remains out of our reach as a permanent signing.

[robterrace]

In the final run up to the season, interest picked up in Fabio Carvalho, and Enzo Diaz. 

Carvalho was subject to a loan bid from Atalanta, with an option to make the deal permanent after 20 matches for £20m. The same club also came in for Enzo Diaz, agreeing a fee worth £7m to make his deal permanent if he performed well enough. 

I try to convince all clubs to include a mandatory transfer in the loan, it helps me for succession planning, and this is definitely a situation where the work had already been done.

I didn't really need a replacement for Carvalho, given the purchase of Pinamonti and Sesko, who would fit into the rotation, and the Diaz transfer would work out OK, as I'd got a couple of lists to work from in order to replace him.

This would be an Option 'B' replacement, drawing a player who could step in and play immediate minutes when needed.

That player was Ryan Sessegnon. The 23 year old had been on the transfer list at Spurs for a season, and found his opportunities hard to come by. He fit the criteria the board had (no over 28s, and preferably, players for the future under 23), and for £5.5m, wasn't going to cost a great deal for us.

Another player who came onto our radar, was young Portuguese defender, Gabriel Bras. The 19 year old was in the B team at Porto, and had been earmarked as a potential future player by our scouts. A tentative offer was made for him, and he came in for a fee that will reach £3m. However, he will go out on loan to get more competitive experience.

Someone else who attracted some interest was Daniel Ballard. The Northern Irish international had been outstanding in the second half of the previous season, and interest was coming from Premier League clubs for him. Not wanting to stand in his way, as there were teams with Continental competitions to play in interested, he agreed a deal to go to Leeds, with a future fee reaching £12m agreed for him. 

As a result of this, Nathan Wood was recalled from his loan at Middlesbrough, and would be our 4th centre back for the season.

Squad - 2023/24 Season

Joe Bursik and Ivica Ivusic start the season as the first choice goalkeepers, with the Croat taking the starting berth. Ivan Nevistic will play cup games and provide cover for the first team, with Fraser Forster playing for the U23s and being an emergency backup.

Outside the first team, England U19 international Laurie Powell is extremely highly rated, and Spanish keeper Julen Agirrezabala is heading out on loan to improve his chances of getting a work permit.

Defensively, Richards and Perez start the season as first choice in the centre of the back 4, with Hickey and Holmgren Pedersen either side. Outside of those, the likes of Wood, Ramsay and Sessegnon are in with a shout of first team football, and former Arsenal youngster Zach Awe came for U23 football, but, depending how he does, he may get some cup games.

Midfield wise, I'm really happy with how this is beginning to look. Andy Stockbridge and Cameron Elliott were picked up from Bradford City and Rochdale following glowing scout recommendations, and the better players can also be seen. Stuart Armstrong signed a new deal over the summer, and has 2 more years with us.

Apart from Sesko and Hlozek, the two names that stand out for me, are Joshua Lodge and Brenton Harris. Both came through last seasons youth intake (alongside Laurie Powell), and in the case of Lodge, he already has international recognition. Hlozek has a £50m release clause in his contract, and it remains to be seen if anyone will trigger it.