FM22: The English Football League thread

[robterrace]

Also...  

[hasdgfas]

The 2027-28 Premier League season has been completed at Bolton.

Rough second half of the season, honestly. Just couldn't find much consistency. The losses weren't really that bad, but I would have loved a few of them to turn into draws.

That inconsistency did leave us in about the same spot as last year, right in mid-table. Easily safe, but not really fighting for Europe.

Next season we'll have a new stadium though! Hopefully that will help us kick up to a new level.

You can see the inconsistency in the performances. Even our star last season, Henrik Thomsen, was unable to find the level he found last season.

I think another season with these young players will be very important. A little bit of additional quality from the existing players and a couple transfers in should be what we need for Europe.

[robterrace]

August deadline day is always a bit of fun.

Having seen Aaron Hickey have a bad day in both our league games so far, and Ryan Sessegnon still very short of match fitness, there was a choice to be made. Hickey needed more experience and as such, Rangers came in for him on loan for the season, a move which suits everyone

Arsenal full back Nuno Tavares was available for transfer, and, whilst I didn't want to pay the £28m+ fee for him, they were very receptive to a loan deal (Especially after a bid for Brandon Williams at Manchester United was accepted and he wanted ridiculous money to sign). As such, a deal was done, and the Portuguese wing back joins for the season. It will cost about £3m including fees to loan him, a price I'm happy to pay.

Also arriving, for a fee of £9m from Boca Juniors, was Gaston Avila. The 21 year old filled my need for a left footed more technical centre back, and was highly rated by the two scouts I sent to watch him. He'd played Copa Libertadores for Boca this season, and had shown himself well in those matches. The presence of his fellow Argentine, Nehuen Perez is a bonus as well.

In the last move of the transfer window, Switzerland was the next port of call. I'd previously watched Cedric Zesiger when he came up against another target of mine a while ago in Europe, and his strength and aerial prowess marked him as one to watch. In the process of signing Avila, I noticed that he was available for just over £5m, and, at that price, a player with over 200 career appearances at 25, will provide a lot of experience to the back line.

 

[robterrace]

Now I get a decent affiliate club  

Watch out for the Basque nationals coming through at the Saints

 

 

[warlock]

3 hours ago, robterrace said:

August deadline day is always a bit of fun

I've sort of lost count now, but I reckon your first-team squad must be up around 50 players, no? 

[robterrace]

5 minutes ago, warlock said:

I've sort of lost count now, but I reckon your first-team squad must be up around 50 players, no? 

I do it on every save.. 

"I'll not be stupid and buy 6000 players"....

6 months later...

I think the first team squad at the moment is about 24 players, with another 4 'first team' candidates out on loan.

Most of my outgoing loans have been U21s for work permits and the like, with a few fringe players getting more match time.

Looking at my future transfers, I've got 11 coming in over the next few years, all between 16 and 18.

Out of the loans, Swedberg will come back into the first team squad in December, hes got his work permit, and is on the fringes of the national side. Gulliksen and Tjaland, if they get permits this time round, will stay out on loan until December, and they'll be looked at when they return. One who should get a work permit, is Syver Aas, who is on loan at Odds, and with the Champions League appearances he has made, should reach the threshold.

Other than that, I'm working on being slightly more flexible tactic wise, my 4-1-3-2 isn't as potent in the PL at the moment, but, we've come up against 3 of the 'big guys' so far.

[warlock]

13 hours ago, robterrace said:

Most of my outgoing loans have been U21s for work permits and the like

There's a topic in General Discussion at the moment about loaning out players for work permits. If you have time to share your thoughts I'm sure many of us would appreciate it since you seem to make it work 

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by warlock

[robterrace]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

There's a topic in General Discussion at the moment about loaning out players for work permits. If you have time to share your thoughts I'm sure many of us would appreciate it since you seem to make it work 

 

I think the system is still pretty hit and miss, which is how it is here, but, the bit that gets me is that your scout reports when your player is on loan doesn't give you an idea of if/when a WP will be given.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

On 26/06/2022 at 22:47, Dong21 said:

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!

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. 

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!

Thanks @Dong21 yes that's very true about how satisfying such a period can be if you come out the other end. Things did improve at Bradford with a three-at-the-back system, helped by a small upgrade in player quality and a massive drop in significant injuries. A settled side, like at the end of 2021/22 when I first took over, and at the start of this season, seemed to make a massive difference. An update will follow.

Sorry for lack of comments on everyone else's games when I last posted my update. Limited time, even less limited posting time these days.

Congratulations @warlock for a comfortable title-winning season. I'll start the EPL countdown clock 

To everyone else, I hope you're all enjoying your various careers which I've only been able to skim through so can't make detailed comments on unfortunately.

Edited June 29, 2022 by Jogo Bonito

[hasdgfas]

Bolton - Transfer Window Summer 2028

Several purchases this summer to build depth.

Let's talk about them.

Antonio Carlos was grumpy at West Ham and I feel like he has massive potential, especially with that 20 determination.

Triggered a release clause for 18-year-old Brazilian Nycollas to build depth in midfield.

Billy Gilmour was relegated with Sheffield United, so I triggered his relegation release clause to add additional quality to the midfield.

All our RBs left, so I had to try to find people to play there. Arnau Martinez should be pretty good, I hope. 

Kilian Fisher was bought to start at LB and backup RB if needed.

Kisa was a very cheap purchase who was immediately loaned back to Fortuna Dusseldorf. Hopefully he'll develop into a good GK.

Owen Graham was a very cheap pickup from Scotland to backup both LB and RB.

-----

An ok start to the season I guess. Looking forward to more home games in our new stadium.

yup, this is about right for 4 points from 3. Just start winning.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

At the close of the January transfer window we had 15 league fixtures remaining of the 2022/23 season, and we had edged up to 8th in League 2

A busier than desired transfer window saw a bit more quality added in defence, and Mallik Wilks brought in to boost the attack

Most of those new players had been here in January though, and the results were less good than expected

February kicked off in similar fashion with three draws from the first four games, our inability to win remaining a major frustration

But eventually the tighter defence (three central defenders) and decision to play Wilks as one of two strikers rather than wide, began to pay dividends

A run of six straight wins took us through March and in to mid-April - a sequence unthinkable since the start of this campaign

Another reason we clicked was the arrival of teenage Irish left-back Alex Murphy in January, the youngster has been performing superbly at left wing-back

The run of wins was ended by Lincoln (3rd) and Leyton Orient (2nd) but we recovered well to those results with a big 5-2 win at fellow Yorkshire side Harrogate

Game week 45 saw the visit of Salford (5th) in a quirky day of fixtures that saw all of the top eight sides playing against each other

A Play-Off spot had been secured when beating Harrogate, but the 2-0 win against Salford was important so we could finish above them (home 2nd leg advantage)

We rounded off the regular season with a win at Barrow and claimed 5th spot - a two-leg reunion with Salford now awaits

Given where we had been for much of the campaign, finishing 5th has to go down as good - even though our pre-season hopes were aimed at automatic promotion

Now that we have the defence and wing-backs all in good form, we'll be confident of having enough quality in midfield and attack to see us through

But a sense of realism remains, we only have a 25% chance of progress and Lincoln, Salford and Wrexham will all have similar belief in themselves

The final table looked like this, with Bristol Rovers lifting the title and Leyton Orient and Crewe going up with them automatically

Stevenage and Scunthorpe were very much cut-off and relegated with little resistance put up

We'll do another update to show how the Play-Off campaign goes, as these games have not yet been played

For now, let's get those 'Valley Parade' scarves, flags, flat caps and rattles at the ready...

[robterrace]

Some cracking signings in that lot.

Coming up to the January window in my save. Currently sit 9th after 19 games.

Couple of bits of news first.

3 in 14 in the League for him this season, been slightly more difficult for him, but, the other strikers have picked up the slack well.

Sesko has 8 in 16 (League) this season, and has been outstanding overall.

------

Syver Aas arrives, having got his work permit playing for Odds in the Eliteserien and Champions League. He'll be a massive player in our future plans. Hopefully he gets international recognition in the coming months.

------

This is the first one of the new group of youngsters that I'm picking up from abroad. He'll be going out on loan to Spain or one of the Scandinavian countries.

-------

So.

First offers come in for Hlozek and Moffi. Moffi the subject of a single bid from Dortmund. His ceiling in terms of performance is probably lower half Premier League, so, a £25.5m bid was accepted for him. We paid 6m just under 18 months ago, and taking everything into account, hes more than repaid that, as well as chipping in with 4 goals off the bench this season.

The Hlozek offers, so far, have come from Ajax, offering £37.5m and a sell on, and Wolfsburg, offering a loan with confirmed £37.5m fee at the end of the season. There are other clubs sniffing around, so, it remains to be seen what happens.

 

 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Congratulations @warlock for a comfortable title-winning season. I'll start the EPL countdown clock 

Cheers, mate! Still midway through the transfer window and struggling to recruit a decent striker to backup Pereira and - terrifyingly - he's now wanted by a couple of top Brazilian sides and is making noises about going home . So the clock is ticking 

Glad to hear things have taken a turn for the better at Bradford; I'll look forward to the update.

[warlock]

36 minutes ago, robterrace said:

Couple of bits of news first

I'm envious... across many, many saves in FM I've never managed to sign a genuine wonderkid. I've tried for Sesko several times in FM22 when I've had the money and he either doesn't qualify for a work permit or costs even more money than I've had . Still, we can dream...

[robterrace]

With the way things are with my side at the moment, Ellyes Skhiri, whilst being a fantastic player in my side, is a little bit limited. He will cover ground all day, and make the solid interceptions, but, he gets knocked off the ball easily. A little bit of forward planning saw us move for Czech midfielder Ladislav Krejci. The Sparta Prague player is stronger, and has a better work ethic than the Tunisian, but the club weren't willing to let him leave mid season. For £7m + a couple in add ons, Krejci is a good upgrade.

A few days after this, Moffi moved to Dortmund. With sell on clauses, we make a profit of about £15m on him, which isn't too bad.

Also departing, was Fraser Forster. Wolves came in with just under £1m for him, and he wanted the move.

With Moffi departing, there was space for another striker. It wasn't an urgent need for them to be a Premier League standard one to start with (Although, if Hlozek does depart, one will have to be signed), so, a young English born striker would be targeted (it helps with the homegrown quota as well), as the young academy strikers were heading out on loan to get a taste of first team football.

Both players identified, were ones that had cropped up when we were scouting, so had knowledge of them anyway. Both were also sons of former Premier League footballers. At this point in time, offers were made for both of them, and as such, negotiations started.

At 24 years old, Tyrese Campbell was going to be the more expensive player. Son of former Arsenal striker, Kevin, he'd scored 15 goals in 20 games for Stoke in League One. Its always a bit of a risk, but, he could prove to be an option off the bench.

The next player, at 21 years old, still has time to develop. Andri Gudjohnsen, the son of former Bolton and Chelsea striker Eidur, was born in 2002, in London, when his father was at Chelsea. Very much in the style of his dad, a good finisher, he was playing in Spain for Castilla. He would be the cheaper of the two strikers, and the one I was leaning towards.

----

This became the signing we made shortly afterwards, as a 4 year deal was agreed. Hopefully, Andri can go on to gain full International recognition.

[robterrace]

The departure of Adam Hlozek came around shortly after Gudjohnsen signed. 

Offers were on the table from Ajax and Wolfsburg, but, it was an offer from Juventus that secured the Czech forward.

It was less than I'd been offered by the other clubs, but, in our position at the moment, we don't have the financial might, or reputation to hold on to him, especially when one of Europes giants comes in offering Continental football.

With Forster departing, we found ourselves a little bit short of leadership within the squad. Skhiri remained captain, with Stuart Armstrong as vice captain, but there were no other real leaders.

One was found in the SPL, who could play anywhere in the 'spine' of the side (defence or midfield), and he arrived for £4m from Aberdeen.

At the same time, the replacement for Hlozek, albeit, not a direct one, accepted his contract, and the relevant work for a work permit was done.

We also agreed a new 'affiliate' club, with Scandinavia being our next focus. The board were quite good in offering a list of teams to deal with, and out of them all, Djurgardens stood out the most. Hopefully we can use them to develop our young players in a very competitive environment, as well as helping them as a club.

After a disheartening loss in the semi finals of the Carabao Cup, we received the news that our new striker had been successful in his work permit application.

For a fee of £12.5m, split £5m up front, and £7.5m over 3 years, Italian striker, Lorenzo Lucca heads to England, from Italian club Sassuolo, who spent £8.5m on him less than 6 months before. 

 

[robterrace]

Another deadline day rolls around, this time, with only a couple of potential moves being looked at. Most of them were excessively priced for what we want. 

Since the last update, a couple of signings for the U23 and U18 setups, as well as a future first team prospect.

Scottish U21 international, Murray Johnson arrives for £500k from Hibs, the 19 year old goalkeeper being an exciting project to fit in with the U23 setup.

Also coming in, was 18 year old Irish prospect, Patrick Sheehan. The centre back has some very interesting attributes, and if he develops well enough, he will probably end up captaining his national side.

The first team prospect comes in on Deadline Day, a player who I've scouted several times, Roony Bardghji, a Swedish youth international arrives for £7.25m, this having been his release fee at the Danish club.

There were opportunities to bring players in, but, they were dependant on players leaving, as there was interest in Marcus Holmgren Pedersen and a couple of fringe players, but, the deals offered weren't worthwhile.

[CityAndColour]

Another absolute slog in our 5th season as a Conference South club!

It was yet another summer of extensive scouting, trying to find those loans and freebies that would keep us in the division and also keep us somewhere around wage budget. Sadly, Cheltenham and Aldershot wouldn't let us renew the loans of Christoph Welsch and Kevin Ward respectively, robbing us of two of our key players, while our first choice left back, 'keeper and left winger all left due to earning wages that weren't representing value for money. Club icon Finn Tapp also left after 218 club appearances.

We again relied on loans, bringing back Jed Chilwell and Bobby Greaves from Swindon and Aldershot respectively, and finding new talent in John Murray and Obinna Chibueze from Yeovil and Woking. This was despite clubs consistently denying us players on the basis they wanted them to "play with higher standard players", so a good deal of the off-season was painstakingly spent scouring through pretty much every club in and around the south-west of England just to find those who would be open to a temporary move.

From a permanent point of view, our marquee signing was Ashley Woolston. The versatile midfielder came through the Bristol Rovers academy and arrives via a season at Larkhall in the Southern Premier, with a great personality and leadership credentials. If I can keep him around I am looking forward to seeing how he develops:

 

After we christened our new stadium with an opening day loss to Slough, we managed to get last season's top scorer Greg Hughes back on loan again from Torquay, and he marked his return with a goal the very next match as we beat Corinthian-Casuals. A couple more wins, a draw and a couple of losses followed to plant us firmly in the top half, before before we welcomed 18th placed Chippenham to Willand Stadium...

I've never seen anything like it. Our left back was sent off for a dubious professional foul after two minutes, they scored directly from the resultant free kick (of course they did), before going completely bananas. I changed shape, mentality, touchline shouts, anything I could to try and stem the tide, but even playing on extended highlights the match went for about 20 minutes as it seemed every 2-3 minutes they would pass their way through my ten men and find a shot. Remarkably, our 'keeper ended up with our highest match rating despite shipping seven!

 

Predictably, this led to a slump, as we ended up losing five in a row, and I once again started casting an eye over vacancies elsewhere (albeit half-heartedly). However, three wins in four to start November has arrested the slide and keeps us well clear of relegation, thanks to Cray's awful start:

 

Our finances continue to worsen and we have a chairman who "loves the club" (a terrible combination) and has somehow found his way onto the club's favoured personnel, so this save may just be me trying to avoid relegation from the Conference South every year because I can't see any pathway to promotion.

We currently have five academy products in and around the first team too (six if you include my reserve 'keeper), and while none are world-beaters, it does add a further immersive element to the save.

[robterrace]

End of Season 2023/24

Heading into the last match of the season, we're 8th in the league. Far better than I was expecting, especially since after the transfer window, we had problems with key players picking up injuries.

Syver Aas broke his leg in a match in March, and will miss the best part of 6 months, the worst part of that, is his bravery attribute has taken a knock as a result.

Goalscorer wise, Benjamin Sesko has more than lived up to his reputation, with 19 goals in 37 games (15 in 29 in the league), with Andrea Pinamonti getting 15 in 35 (12 in 25 in the league). 

The last game of the season was Newcastle away, and their squad, expensively assembled, was there for the taking.

A 1-1 draw, testing a tactic due to a couple of injuries.. 

1100 pass attempts though....

That result sees us finish 8th, with Spurs down in 11th..

----------------

Few little bits of business that will be occurring over the summer that have already been agreed.

As mentioned earlier, Fabio Carvalho will be joining Atalanta on a permanent deal, after he played a big part in their performance in Serie A.

Ladislav Krejci will join from Sparta Prague for £7m, and the great named Allan Madrid will join from Mirassol in Brazil, with the intention of sending the young Brazilian to Spain for a couple of seasons to develop.

Williot Swedberg returns from his loan at Randers as well, adding his guile to the midfield, with over 100 league appearances, plus European appearances at just 20 years old.

At this point in time, the main position that needs strengthening, is left back, but, they're few and far between.

--------------

The board target is to finish mid table next season, with no real focus on the cup competitions.

 

[robterrace]

The aim, as every club has, is to break even, or make a profit in terms of transfer fees.

Season 1 (2022/23) saw us make a £92m loss (although £33m of that was spent after the end of the season).

This season, has seen us reverse that trend, with £201m coming in, and £97m being spent (not including the fees for Carvalho to Atalanta, and any incoming players).

--------

One move that needed to be made, was to strengthen at left back/left wing back. I didn't want to go in for Nuno Tavares, who would have cost us £30m+, as he was more of a winger, than a full back. Our answer, came in the Valencia full back, Jesús Vázquez, who wanted game time, but wasn't getting it there. He had a minimum release clause of £17.5m (found out due to my scouting and agent questioning :D), so everything we saved compared to Tavares could be put towards Vazquez wages and other fees.

A 5 year deal, and £30k a week (increasing after 20 games), would see the young Spaniard move to England this summer.

Another outgoing transfer, this time, making a near £39m profit. 

Nehuén Pérez was the subject of an offer from Fulham. I thought I'd try and push the offer up a bit, just to see if they'd back off when it went to twice his value.

Money into the coffers to replace him, and Fabio Carvalho departs at the start of July to Atalanta, bringing another £25m in.

At this point in time, we have 3 centre backs ready to replace him, in Gaston Ávila, Cédric Zesiger and Chris Richards, with Ross McCrorie also able to drop back. However, we don't really need to replace him immediately, as Anselmo Garcia McNulty returns from his loan, and will slot into the squad to continue his development.

Nathan Wood is currently being offered out for loan, as he needs some matches to develop further.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

On 29/06/2022 at 23:33, warlock said:

Cheers, mate! Still midway through the transfer window and struggling to recruit a decent striker to backup Pereira and - terrifyingly - he's now wanted by a couple of top Brazilian sides and is making noises about going home . So the clock is ticking 

Glad to hear things have taken a turn for the better at Bradford; I'll look forward to the update.

Cheers. How about trying for the Nigerian striker they just bought back to England from Germany?

My Bradford update (February to May 2023) was above, but now it's time to reveal the outcome of the Play Off matches...

Season 2022/23 - League 2 Play-Off Semi Final

We faced Salford home and away only a short time after beating them in our 45th league match, and solid defensive work saw us through 1-0 on aggregate

What you don't see here is that they had a 94th minute penalty saved in the second leg to prevent making it level in the tie with a 1-0 win

Imagine the scenes with 23,463 fans at 'Valley Parade' witnessing that let-off, especially as only 251 of them accounted for the visitors pitiful following

Season 2022/23 - League 2 Play-Off Final

Wrexham had seen-off Lincoln on penalties to reach the Final, and whilst we hoped for a more entertaining spectacle it never worked out that way

Solid defence again was our highlight, but it needed our five penalty takers to keep their nerve and see promotion delivered after a 5-3 win on spot-kicks

Here is the final statistics page, with the bank balance positive again due to competition monies paid out

And here is the summary of the playing squad at the end of the term, across all competitions (excludes those who departed mid-season)

The four players highlighted are on expiring contracts and due to promotion, new terms won't be offered to any of them

That's a bit harsh on Tom Eaves who performed well when needed and won the Player of The Season award from the fans, but we need to look to the future now

Sam Hornby was only ever a back-up and has left the club in real life, whilst Luke Hendrie (son of John) is a Bradford fan but sadly not rated too well in the game 

Lee Angol was rarely used, and rarely fit - ruled out with six injuries in the season (the longest one being three months due to a torn hamstring)

On that note, Max Clark started eight games early on and then missed the rest of the season with damaged cruciate ligaments (nine months and counting)

Alistair Smith missed 25% of the season (including two months with a broken foot) and Reece Staunton (son of Steve) missed 18% with a hamstring injury of two months

The end of season improvement was due to the change to a back-three & wing-backs, and the extra quality of those recruited to play there in the winter window

There really won't be many additions in the summer, and more will leave than arrive as a few sales might be made

We hope to recruit a second goalkeeper, an alternative right wing-back, an extra backup central defender and one defensively adept central midfielder  

Another striker may be added if he can be found for free or a nominal fee, but unless he goes in as 'best striker' we will just promote one of our U18 options

The youngsters did well to finish 2nd in their division and the strikers were all in good form, including the over-age appearance makers

Colm Whelan (10 in 8 games), Rakealan Jeffers (33 in 31+7 games), Josh Stones (5 in 9+2 games) and Mark O'Mahony (8 in 9+5 games) all show promise

And on top of that we have Dewain Sewell who scored 2 goals for the youth side in just one outing, as he went on loan to Solihull Moors and was under-used there

 

Edited July 2, 2022 by Jogo Bonito

[warlock]

4 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

promotion delivered

Well played . Contributions from me will be limited for the next couple of weeks - just arrived in Athens to begin a Mediterranean tour that will end in Rome in two weeks. Restricted to forum viewing on  my phone... and I hate typing on my phone. Emojis incoming 

[Jogo Bonito]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

Well played . Contributions from me will be limited for the next couple of weeks - just arrived in Athens to begin a Mediterranean tour that will end in Rome in two weeks. Restricted to forum viewing on  my phone... and I hate typing on my phone. Emojis incoming 

Thank you! Enjoy your European tour, two weeks sounds great. I've not yet been to Athens, but one to do definitely. Rome as we both know will be a fantastic place to finish - although you can detour to Malta one day to bring your standards down a bit  

[robterrace]

This should be the summer of 'least disruption', at least, in terms of if I have players leave, the replacements should already be in the squad, or, have been scouted enough that fitting them in causes least issues.

One thing I've got already, is a decent stream of new talent coming through the youth setup. A couple of whom went out on loan last season, one with amazing effect in Conference South football.

Brenton Harris - Probably my best young prospect at the moment, still a couple of seasons away from first team football. Will head out on loan again this season, probably to League One, and we'll see what happens.

Josh Lodge - Probably on a similar level to Harris, however, his loan last season didn't work out for him, and Blackpool only used him off the bench. A lower league loan for the season is the aim.

Lee Bower - We've already had to fend off interest from other Premier League clubs for the midfielder. Needs a little bit of work on his passing, but, has the potential to be the metronome in the midfield in a few seasons.

Laurie Powell - Young goalkeeper, in need of some development work after an injury in February took him out for the remainder of the season. A bit raw, but, already has England youth representation.

Oliver Henry - Jewel of the 2023/24 intake. I really rate him, and, once he gets into contention of a first team place, he'll be my free kick taker. Still needs some work on a few areas, but, hes still young and has a lot of time.

Altan Yağcı - The second best player out of the most recent intake, and I think he may go on to be better than Henry. Already represented Turkey at U21 level, and, will most probably end up on the bench for the first team this season.

------

Theres a few others in the system that have come in from elsewhere, but, I'll focus on them as and when the time comes.

------

 

[StePratt]

January 1st 2025. 

 

Think this Barnsley save might have run it's course. 

Just one example of how ridiculous it has become. 

 

Another one.

It's taken the realistic feel out of the save. Not sure what to do. I've made some signings to come in at the end of the season with a view to changing shape and going towards a winger formation, to add a bit of intrigue. 

This is my current first team squad. Helik is going to Trabzonspor when the Turkish window opens, Jang Sang-Bin is going back to Wolves due to lack of game time. It's a similar story for Matteo Lovato. These players will be replaced by a number of wonderkids found by my scouts. 

 

In my two and a half seasons, I have spent around £18m and recouped £40m, before Helik's departure. 

Like I say, I feel that some realism is missing. This is my first season in the Premier League. For context, Bournemouth and Sheffield United were promoted alongside me. 

[Woolly]

Thought it was time for a quick update on my Rochdale save. 

This little North-West Club with a Icelandic Manager continues to defy the odds. Now into my 3rd season in the Championship and with 5 games to go promotion is within our grasp currently sitting in 2nd place and guarenteed the club's highest league position ever no matter what. Yet another year where I have spent little (broke the club transfer record however, by signing Charlie McNeill from Rangers for £800K) £811.5k and sold high, incomings £9.5m (Brighton paid £7m for Owen a 19 year old former academy player, which is also a club record). 

I'll do another more detailed update at the end of the season hopefully it will be a celebration of Rochdale achieving the impossible and becoming a Premiership Club. In the mean time, Up the 'Dale!!!! Watch out City and United we are coming for you.

[Woolly]

2025/26 So Close to The Promised Land for The Dale

It was always going to be a big ask for a bunch of cast off youngesters to defy the odds but my Rochdale team always have defied the odds. Promotion to the Premiership was within touching distance right up until the last game against Norwich. Indeed it was a winner takes all game with 2nd place on the line. Unfortunately it was a game to far. It started so well with club topscorer Etete home fans into ectasy after just 2 minutes. Leading still at half time the fans were daring to dream of trips to Anfield, Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge. Then came the second half and a rude awaking by Carlos Vincius once more (he had scored twice alread in the away fixture) with two goals to send the pucky Rochdale players into the lottery that is the play offs.

The play offs saw the club firstly facing Yorkshire Rivals Barnsley a club the 'Dale have had many tough game. The first leg was over at their place and things did not get off to a good start despite 'Dale taking the lead through Powell the club went into the dressing room at halftime 3-1 down. The promotion dream was hanging by a thread. It was a tough ask to win and indeed the two goal advantage did make it tough. The second half allowed us to at least cut the defect to one with a first club goal by Charlie McNeil who had recently returned to the side after 2 months out with a broken ankle. 3-2 with all to play for in the second leg. The Second leg was nailbiting to say the least both clubs were fighting hard for the place in the final at Wembley. Both sides were so closely matched in the first half and it looked increasingly like Barnsley were going to hold out for a draw. A penalty was to change that, Powell powered the shot past the hapless goalie to level the score in the 66th minute. No more goals were scored in normal time so it was on to extra time. Legs all round were getting tired and mistakes were beginning to creep into both sets of players game. All that was needed was for one player to go for glory. The inconsistent McMilian was that man two goals in extra time meant the dream was back on.  On to Wembley and Sheff Utd. After a tough long season it was all down to one game. Could we do the impossible and nick the win. Sadly for the Dale fans Wembley was a damp squib clearly Utd were not only up for it but they were vastly more experienced than us and the contest was over effectively by half time. It ended 3-0 to Sheffield and the dream was over for another season. 

Now I need to pick these players up off the floor and prepare them for next season. Year on year the club has got stronger, how long I can rely on making rejects into stars is up for debate, it is getting harder to make any sort of profit with a small ground and no real reputation but I live in hope. We've had 3 seasons in the Championship now all three of which the club have been expected to fight the drop and all three where we have defied the odds but even the most dedicated fan knows that it may change at anytime.

Oh well on to next season and maybe just maybe the Promised Land of the Premiership will become reality. Up the Dale, pride of the little guy!

[Jogo Bonito]

Season 2023/24

With promotion to League 1 comes a new home kit, delivered under the long-term kit deal with Macron

In an ideal world everybody associated with Bradford wants the team back in claret & amber, but their decision to go with white home kits in FM22 cannot be undone

Transfer business was kept to a minimum after last season's revolving door, and more players left than joined

Incoming transfers

Goalkeeper Ross Doohan, right-back James Brown, central defender Jasper Moon & defensive midfielder Jacob Davenport all arrived on free transfers

The quartet are likely to operate as back-up players, but with weekly wages of £1500 per week or less, they all offer excellent value for money

A small number of young players were added to the U18 pool just to populate the squad, but only Reuell Walters (Arsenal) is likely to progress through the ranks

Outgoing transfers

We released understudy goalkeeper Sam Hornby, rotation defender Luke Hendrie, and strikers Lee Angol & Tom Eaves as alluded to in my end of season report

Central defender Kyron Gordon wanted to leave and was sold to Wrexham (£100k), and attacking midfielder Jamie Walker was allowed to join Bolton (£100k)

Two young strikers were sent out on loan as they were too old for the youth side, these being Colm Whelan (Derry City) & Dewain Sewell (Altrincham)

Squad Review

Our incoming business finished on 7th July, but the season kick-off is today and the window remains open

We have accepted a bid of £250k from Forest Green Rovers for Elliot Watt, so if he departs we will possibly look to replace him 

For the time being, we have the following 23-man squad at our disposal, plus two or three youngsters in the U18 group in mind if injury woes return again 

Pre-Season results

We enjoyed good preparation for the new campaign, and the following results set us up for the season opener

The intention is to stick with the solid system that served us well in the last few months of 2022/23 (three defenders, wing backs for width, and a defensive midfielder)

Edited July 4, 2022 by Jogo Bonito

[Jogo Bonito]

11 hours ago, Woolly said:

2025/26 So Close to The Promised Land for The Dale

Sadly for the Dale fans Wembley was a damp squib clearly Utd were not only up for it but they were vastly more experienced than us and the contest was over effectively by half time. It ended 3-0 to Sheffield and the dream was over for another season. 

Now I need to pick these players up off the floor and prepare them for next season. Year on year the club has got stronger, how long I can rely on making rejects into stars is up for debate, it is getting harder to make any sort of profit with a small ground and no real reputation but I live in hope. We've had 3 seasons in the Championship now all three of which the club have been expected to fight the drop and all three where we have defied the odds but even the most dedicated fan knows that it may change at anytime.

Oh well on to next season and maybe just maybe the Promised Land of the Premiership will become reality. Up the Dale, pride of the little guy!

Very unlucky, an excellent effort and hopefully you can take that final step in the coming season. You'll deserve to enjoy the success if you do eventually make it.

[robterrace]

In preparation for the new season, we had one departure to start, that of James Garner.

With Swedberg returning and pushing for a first team spot, Garners playing time would be down, and Brentford took advantage of this, paying £15m for him.

One new arrival came in, mainly to help with team rotation. Once more, it was a raid on the Red Bull group, after picking up Sesko from Salzburg last summer, we return to Austria to get Seskos replacement, Roko Simic, a 20 year old Croatian.

With the high energy style my tactics have, its important that I have 4 strikers, so that I can rotate them as and when. With reserve strikers out on loan, Simic is a low risk option, the £7.5m fee meaning that we can make our money back as and when needed.

We had another departure after the arrival of Simic, with Portuguese midfielder Florentino Luis heading off for Bayern Munchen in Germany. Unfortunately, the offer of Champions League football was more than enough to lure him away, but, the £25m we took for him, would cover replacing him and more.

One who turned down the chance to leave, was Chris Richards. The American being subject to several near £20m offers from German clubs, but, he chose to stay at the club.

Another arrival, but not really a major one, was 21 year old Dutch midfielder, Xavi Simons. 
A product of La Masia at Barcelona, who had spent the last 5 seasons at PSG, he was more than happy to come to Southampton, having made 3 first team appearances, and a load more for the PSG2 team. A fee of £550k (set by PSG on an enquiry), was paid, and he'd complete a preseason workup in the U23s before moving to the first team setup.

Straight after Simons arrival, another departure went out, this time, Marcus Holmgren Pedersen, leaving for a fee of £22m for Tottenham Hotspur.

The fee from Holmgren Pedersen departing, was spent the same day, picking up Norwegian midfielder Patrick Berg, from RC Lens for £21m on a 5 year deal. He has the sort of personality that will help the younger professionals develop, and will become part of the senior players group of leaders that I want in the squad.

I've also put an offer in for a new full back, but, its likely that any move will happen after the first game of the season at Sunderland, so, at this point in time, with Calvin Ramsay out on loan, it will fall to Aaron Hickey to fill in for us.

[hasdgfas]

Mid-January 2029

A really good few months, followed by a late December collapse when the fixtures piled up. Really need to turn it around.

We had been in the Europa League positions for a while, but our losing streak has caused us to fall out of them. If we can start to win again, we might be able to make Europe, which would be a great next step.

[robterrace]

After the initial offers for Richards were turned down by the defender, Hoffenheim made the next offer, one which he was likely to accept, as the German club is one of his favoured teams. This went through on the Thursday before the first game of the season.

An offer was made for a replacement player, however, this would be a loan signing, as I don't want to disrupt the development of Anselmo McNulty, who is the next in line, but is out on loan for the season, along with the other potential youth centre backs.

With Seziger, McCrorie and Avila, we have 3 very good centre backs (along with Krejci, who can play there in an emergency).

More important, however, was the future of Benjamin Sesko. 
Last seasons player of the season and top goalscorer was attracting interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe, so, it was only right that we would try to get the best deal for him.

Chelsea were the first to test our resolve, with a bid of £58m, with £12m in instalments, with 20% of any future fee in clauses. Dortmund, Wolfsburg and Juventus also made offers, but, with Chelseas offer being the more acceptable one, they were negotiated, and the Slovenian striker was allowed to talk to last seasons 3rd place team.

This would mean another striker would have to be looked at, or given the line of strikers out on loan or in the U23S for development, a change of position for Roony Bardghji, who I could see playing in a similar way to Fabio Carvalho, as without Sesko, we'd already got 3 big strikers, and a more 'mobile' playmaking one could help out a lot.

--------

Less than 24 hours after the departure of Richards, we were able to confirm the loan signing of Levi Colwill from Chelsea.

The left sided centre back adds balance to the back 4, as well as being very quick.

Also signing, but, spending a season in Scandinavia with Bodo/Glimt, is young Norwegian full back, Mikael Akersvatne.

A product of the Norwegian clubs youth setup, he is really highly rated, and hopefully, he'll get plenty more match experience with them before coming to us.

The new right back was signed the day after the Sunderland match, and, is one that will fit our style well.

Former Spanish U21 Sergio Carreira makes it a second Spanish signing of the window, as he joins from Celta Vigo.

[robterrace]

 

Although

 

[hasdgfas]

Bolton - Mid April 2029

I said last time that we needed to start winning again to give us the opportunity for Europe. Did we?

We sure did! A few draws, yeah, and the loss at West Ham, but a famous win at the Etihad and a couple huge wins at this season's new Nat Lofthouse Stadium against Arsenal and Tottenham have us looking strong.

Really, really strong. Not only are we in a great position for Europe, but also the Champions League is a possibility, thanks to the performances of Terem Moffi.

So the question is: How does our run-in look?

not bad actually? I think if I can get 7 points from this I'm in a great spot. 

[CityAndColour]

Re-signing key players in December and for two years each? That is certainly not the Willand way but I'm not complaining.

Maybe this new chairman bloke isn't so bad after all...

[Sysiphus]

Found an evening to play, finally. Just started the 26/27 season and we've had a rocky start with 7 points from 7 games. I made some exciting signings this summer but I of course lost my two best players in Stipe Biuk and wonderkid Iván Mancisidor. Will go into better detail of that when I finish my season later this month hopefully.

This guy is getting real good btw...

And this one I got through the intake and he's making big strides already:

Edited July 9, 2022 by Sysiphus

[robterrace]

Concluding a few things before the transfer window closes.

In need of a bit of experience, this 36 year old veteran was available on a free, and, the experience he brings is magnificent.

Also arriving, for £20m, is Troy Parrott from Spurs. He'll fulfil the 3rd/4th striker role .

Former PSG midfielder, Xavi Simons heads out on loan to Bristol City.

Jesus Vazquez, who joined us in June, heads back on loan to Spain, hes a little bit homesick. However, we moved for a replacement leftback who joins from Sporting. Able to play either side of the defence, Brandon Williams moved on a free from Manchester United, and the Portuguese club make a £4m profit in less than 3 months. His strong personality also makes us quite good.

 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

After returning from a short holiday, I decided it was time to start a new save. I haven't really given England much of a look-in this year but having followed this thread once again, albeit commenting far less than last year, I thought I would give it a go.

The team that interested me the most were Scunthorpe United given their poor performance irl but also the challenge that they present as within FM. I attended Glanford Park earlier this year and the atmosphere was horrifically flat. It was obvious that the club were on a downward spiral and they made a very poor Barrow team look far better than they were, although the scoreline didn't quite reflect that, in a 1-0 win.

Scunthorpe have a transfer embargo placed upon them which means I cannot sign anybody until January and must put faith in the current team. There are a few decent players such as George Taft and loanees Luke Matheson and Hayden Hackney, but largely this is a squad that are, expectedly, set for a season of struggle. I'm looking forward to giving this a good go! 

[hasdgfas]

Last time, I said I wanted 7 points from the run-in.

We got 9! With the spot we were in, that was good enough, right?

It was! We really need to increase our strength in depth this summer with European fixtures.

And really, a great performance from most of the squad, but the defense in particular.

I think we're likely to lose our midfield talisman Henrik Thomsen this summer, but hopefully Champions League will help us replace him.

[robterrace]

OK..

Slightly unexpected..

[StePratt]

Barnsley 2024/25

 

Since my last post bemoaning the lack of realism our form at Barnsley plummeted. We only won 7 games in the 2025 portion of the season. Due to our early season form we managed to finish 5th. City won the league and then signed Mbappe. Riiight.

 

My standout player was Lorenzo Lucca who we had signed on loan. Despite many efforts to try and sign him permanently we couldn't reach a deal with Spurs. He eventually left to join RB Leipzig.

 

Tidy profit for the North London side, as he fired us above his parent club.

With European football on the horizon at Oakwell moves were made to upgrade both the training and youth facilities, we also purchased Oakwell back from the local council. Great moves to secure the future of the club.

We were handed a modest budget for the summer and I have put a new restriction on signing loan players, unless I can agree a fee to buy. Three major signings have been completed already this summer with Andreas Schelderup, Roony Bardghji and some lad called Sesko joining us. Hopefully they can replicate the goals that Lucca scored last season. 

Aims for the summer are to target a centre back to challenge Mai and Kovacevic. Godwin-Malife is good but could be better. I also have this Chilean newgen to  train and introduce to the squad this season. 

I'm thinking he can be a big player for us over the next 5 seasons, unless bigger clubs come knocking.

[hasdgfas]

Bolton - Summer Transfer Window 2029

Mostly just a summer of strengthening our depth, getting rid of some of our fringe players who just weren't going to make it, but sadly losing our midfield talisman Henrik Thomsen as well.

He was kicking up a fuss and only had a single year left on his contract, so I decided it was time to cash in. 60M plus 50% of next sale (not profit, whole sale!) feels like a great deal, after buying him for 7.5M back when got to the Premier League the second time. But we had to replace him. So let's talk about the ins.

-----

Pablo Torre is not to Thomsen's level, but was among the top quality I could find without paying over the odds. 30M that might go up to 36M is pretty good for a replacement.

 

Especially with Vladimir Molano for additional midfield depth, costing only 17M. I feel like the midfield is in good hands.

Jeremy Civil was defense depth since we have Europe to deal with this season. 15M raising to 16.25M seems quite reasonable for him.

Luca Gallicchio was a bit of a coup for us, honestly. He had a LOT of interest with one year left on his contract. I had my eyes on him for a while but he was being quoted like 80M+ and I didn't want to pay that. But with one year left, I was able to pay only 17M and Fend Off a lot of other interest! He immediately drops into the starting lineup for us(and you can see from his stats that he's been great in his first two matches).

Speaking of those matches.

An awesome start to the season.

Which has led to us top of the League after 2 matches. Maybe that'll stick

Our CL group is...fine? Should be at least third and fighting Wolfsburg for 2nd, IMO. I think we're well below Zebre's level still.

[hasdgfas]

Made it to January:

We've been really good! Our only losses are very understandable. the draws against Derby and Wolves are huge disappointments, but that just shows the importance of depth, and we're not QUITE deep enough yet to be super consistent.

However, we were consistent enough to put us in a great spot in both the League and the CL. Incredibly safe qualification to the knockouts, where we get

Oh good. Real Madrid. Been fun.

[robterrace]

Sort of left the Southampton save to one side for a bit. Taken over at Cheltenham in a new save at the end of the first season. They finished 14th in League One, and are currently subject to rumours of a takeover.

First few signings, two keepers as backups to my first choice, Owen Evans.

Dimitar Mitov from Cambridge, who were relegated to League Two.

Liam Hughes, who joins from Liverpool. He may go out on loan depending on whether Scott Flinders decides to retire or not.

A return of someone who came through the youth setup.

Also, the first loan signings of the new season, mainly looking to those in order to boost the squad, as I want to keep the other budget spare for any very important signings (such as a new centre back)

 

[hasdgfas]

We've stayed mostly consistent up until the last few matches. So where does that leave us for the run-in?

Oh. Well this was unexpected. We got crushed by Real Madrid in the CL, but the League consistency has led to a title! I'm probably not going to do more than like 1-2 more seasons trying to also get CL, because I don't really enjoy grinding for Europe in the Premier League, at least compared to other countries that are easier to dominate with a rotated squad to keep your first team fresh for Europe. But I'm going to give it a couple more gos.

 

(also, Title-winning squad review coming at the end of the season)

Edited July 14, 2022 by hasdgfas

[warlock]

16 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

Well this was unexpected

[hasdgfas]

Our celebrations led to us getting destroyed in our final two matches. Fine, I was playing rotation players and youngsters for the most part anyway.

And we end up winning the League by a point, with the lowest ever champion's point total. Doesn't matter, won the League.

-----

Squad Review!

GKs:

Ferran Quetglas, our starter, is...good enough, I guess? He didn't develop the way I hoped, so I think I need an improvement to fight for the CL.

Martin Moreno is a solid backup I was able to bring in for free. Also not good enough for our ambitions, but good for free!

Fullbacks:

Arnau Martinez has been fantastic as our RB and, more importantly, consistent. He's not the best going forward, but he's been very good.

Owen Graham was able to fill in as backup RB admirably, as well as at LB a couple times when I really needed him to.

Isaac Urbina took a huge step up this season and took over the starting LB spot as it progressed. He's real speedy and a good crosser. Does his job well.

Killian Fischer was really disappointing and regressed heavily. I'm planning to offload him this summer.

Central Defenders:

Willy Kambwala might not look like much technically, but he's a rock at the back and a physical beast. He got the most game time of any of our central defenders and you can see from his PL ratings that he was awesome.

Jeremy Civil was our second most-played central defender and started strong, but fell off as the season went on. He was good, but I was hoping for better.

Washington started slowly, but became a beast next to Kambwala as the season went on, and solidified himself in that starting pair. Another rock at the back.

Kenny Morgan, an academy player, is very good as a squad player, even if he can't quite overcome the other 3 for regular play.

Midfielders:

Nycollas has been...fine? He fits into multiple spots in the midfield, more defensively minded, or B2B, and he was great to start off the season but fell off over time.

Alvaro Zambrano is pretty much just a backup, and he's not happy with that. He's not performing well either, so I think it's time to move him on.

Billy Gilmour didn't hit the heights of last season due to some tactical tweaks, but was solid enough when he did play.

Pablo Torre was our big midfield signing to replace Henrik Thomsen, and he was good! Not as good as Thomsen, but after some tactical tweaking, he was unlocked a little bit and was very solid.

Vladimir Molano was also pretty good, but was more inconsistent than Torre. I think he'll be way better over time though.

Academy player Garry Thompson has been a great backup/rotation/cup player. Not getting much playtime anymore, but he's done well enough when he's played.

Front 3

Rory Johnston was the breakout player of the season. He hadn't quite been unlocked yet, but this season he was unbelievable on the right, with 28 G+A in all competitions.

This was also the season where Liam Delap found himself on the left, finally. 26 G+A in all competitions, he was fantastic.

Luca Gallicchio was bought for the right, but made a name for himself leading the line this season due to his pace, anticipation, and off the ball. A massive 31 G+A in his first season with us, he was definitely the final piece to unlock the team and the tactic.

Terem Moffi started off the season by leading the line for us, but at his increasing age, he just couldn't keep up, and got benched fairly quickly as the rest of the squad earned their spots. He was very important last season so we could qualify for the CL, and I'll be grateful to him for that, but he's hitting the end of his time with us.

Joe Gelhardt is a squad player and a backup who can play anywhere along the front 3 if needed, but he's just not good or consistent enough to start regularly.

Antonio Carlos has been a huge disappointment, frankly. I was excited about him, but he hasn't fit in the places I've tried him. I'm attempting to retrain him as an MC, because I think he's best there and just hasn't fit our tactics yet.

---

And that's the squad! They may not necessarily look like much, but they really clicked this year. So from L1 to the Premier League title in 9 seasons? That's pretty good! 

[robterrace]

Since my last update, I've added a few more..

Signing from AS Trencin, for a fee of £11k, comes Lazar Stojasavljevic. The Serb is a solid backup player, and will definitely add some physicality.

Next up, a few loans from north of the border, as we pick a couple of defenders and another winger up from the Old Firm.

First up, Akin Famewo. The centre back has only just signed for Rangers from Norwich, and they want him to get some minutes under his belt for development.

Also coming in, from Rangers, Leon King. He can play all across the back, and has great physical attributes as well.

The last signing of the window, was winger Karamoko Dembélé, from Celtic. Whilst not as much of a physical specimen as the others, he offers something with the ball at his feet, and will definitely earn his time at this level.

The aim is to finish mid table, especially since we've had a board takeover, and the new owner has said there will be no change financially.

[robterrace]

In the run up to the Christmas period, with the focus being on the World Cup for Championship and Premier League teams, we had a mini injury crisis.

Firstly, Charlie McNeill twisted his ankle in a match in early November, and will be out until January. Lazar Stojsavljevic suffered his second pulled groin in as many months, and misses a month this time out, and Akin Famewo pulled his back and will miss a month.

With my defence thinning due to these injuries, a few scout reports were looked at for players on a free (specifically focussing on not needing work permits). Of those, former Chelsea defender, Jake Clarke-Salter stood out. A large proportion of his recent match experience was in the Championship, and this would come in handy for the next few months, especially if I was going to have a few fitness problems in the back 4.

We also made our first precontract signing for the end of the season, with Scott Robertson agreeing a deal to move from Celtic. The diminutive midfielder agreeing a 3 year deal.

So. January rolls round, we're in 9th place in the league, and just about to play Aston Villa in the FA Cup. Thats going to make us a bit of money to keep things going well.

[robterrace]

The first business of the window for us, was an outgoing one.

Goalkeeper Owen Evans had attracted SPL and Championship attention with his performances, and it was to the Championship he went, with Sheffield United paying £120k for the 26 year old.

We had a replacement available in Dimitar Mitov, but, I wanted to test the water and see if there was a better goalkeeper available for the rest of the season, as Mitov had missed 4 months due to a broken leg he suffered in a friendly, only returning to the squad at Christmas.

For a goalkeeper, I wasn't going to stick to my unofficial rule of buying players 25 and under, as a player with more experience is definitely what I want behind my young defence.

With that in mind, Will Norris was signed for a nominal fee from Burnley, the 29 year old having wanted a new challenge away from Turf Moor.

Also coming in, for a fee of £20k, was attacker, Josh Eppiah, a 24 year old who leaves Leicester to come to us.

The aim of these signings is to slowly increase the standard of the squad, whilst not weakening it in the short term. Appiah is definitely a signing that does that.