FM22: The English Football League thread

[warlock]

Perhaps we can survive in the PL:

[goonergez]

@warlocki may well look to give that a go actually. I’ll have a read through @Sysiphus thread later on and see whether I fancy it. Thanks for the suggestion though

[Jogo Bonito]

Happy New Year to you all!!! 

Sorry for such a long absence and hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their FM saves.

I've not managed to play a single game in FM since moving to Malta, but hoping that might change - even if slow progress!

I can't believe I've not managed one EFL club since the launch, but if I get myself back in the FM groove (with Valencia, which was created but never got going) then I might surprise you all (and more so myself) with a reappearance in here.

Best wishes to you all, will try and check in now and again!

[warlock]

25 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Sorry for such a long absence

Howdy stranger . Good to see you around and hope life is treating you well in the Med 

[Jogo Bonito]

5 minutes ago, warlock said:

Howdy stranger . Good to see you around and hope life is treating you well in the Med 

Thanks  Settling in well, weather has been OK but certainly not as sunny and hot as those years in Africa or the Middle East 

Hopefully soon every day and evening will be blissful sunshine though - slightly nicer than Hull would be nice  

Hope you're good that side.

 

[warlock]

1 minute ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Hope you're good that side

Yeah, all fine here. Spring has arrived in west London and we're enjoying a week of sunshine (still a bit cold at night). But that means certain gardening and DIY chores will need to be confronted, which interferes with FM time . Eldest son went to uni in Hull for one year - my abiding memory is of rain howling in off the North Sea!

[Jogo Bonito]

You're the only person in UK who will want the bad weather to remain then! Chores 

Your FM time in Hull is certainly better than howling winds. Good job 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 minute ago, Jogo Bonito said:

You're the only person in UK who will want the bad weather to remain then! Chores 

Your FM time in Hull is certainly better than howling winds. Good job 

Welcome back Jogo. I was worried something happened to you.

Any plans to manage any EFL teams ?

[Jogo Bonito]

2 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Welcome back Jogo. I was worried something happened to you.

Any plans to manage any EFL teams ?

Thanks buddy, hope you are well too.

I'll surely try to take on someone from the EFL but need to get my mojo back and have a crack at Valencia first.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Just now, Jogo Bonito said:

Thanks buddy, hope you are well too.

I'll surely try to take on someone from the EFL but need to get my mojo back and have a crack at Valencia first.

I got the perfect team for you simply cos they got your boy Adebayo playing for them.

Luton.

I am going to do a Luton save at some point but probably wont post in here so feel free to do a save with them and post in here as I would be curious to see what you would do.

I have seen Adebayo go for good money on a few of the saves I have done so far.

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I got the perfect team for you simply cos they got your boy Adebayo playing for them.

Luton.

I am going to do a Luton save at some point but probably wont post in here so feel free to do a save with them and post in here as I would be curious to see what you would do.

I have seen Adebayo go for good money on a few of the saves I have done so far.

They're having a great season, and Adebayo is certainly making a good contribution. Hope you have a good time with The Hatters 

[warlock]

This was unexpected:

When I looked closer, it turns out Sheffield United have been on a dire run of form with just one win and 4 defeats in their last 5 games. Bournemouth - on a run of 13 games unbeaten - have pushed them down into 3rd. Three games to go and any of us could win the title.

[warlock]

Hull City, end of season, 2022

Well, we've only gone and won it 

An extraordinary result for a team predicted to finish in the bottom half, but I always had a feeling the squad could do something special.

Our form through March and April was excellent, if not spectacular:

New signing in the January window Pereira did us proud, with 5 goals in 8(4) appearances, and the New Year also saw the emergence of KLP as a reliable source of goals playing as a IW from the left. He ended the season as our top scorer with 19 goals in the league and 22 in all competitions.

The end of the season couldn't have been tighter with ourselves, Bournemouth and Sheffield United battling for the title, and I thought we'd blown it with the loss away to Bristol City in the penultimate game of the season. Fortunately, our rivals also slipped up and we went into the final day needing a result to take the title. The lads did me proud:

Shout-outs to our defence, who were excellent all season - including on-loan GK Nathan Baxter who kept 24 clean sheets in 56 appearances, and Manchester United's Di'Shon Bernard. Both of those loans have been renewed for another season.

Looking ahead

The obvious issue is that this is not a team that - on paper - was capable of competing in the Championship. It's nowhere near good enough to take on the PL. George Moncur is a case in point: he led the team in assists, but his tally doesn't instil a great deal of confidence.. Of a squad of 22, I'd be happy to take 4 or 5 into the next season as first-choice players, and maybe another 3 or 4 as backups. The board has given me a transfer budget of £25m, and doubled the wage budget to £400k a week, neither of which seems likely to build a competitive squad. Will I do a PL season? I honestly don't know - I think I'll do the transfer window and gauge our chances after that.

But it's been a great season, and one I've enjoyed a lot... some great results but ultimately in the balance until the final day. We'll see what the future holds!

[Sysiphus]

Last update.

A quick update as I head into January in season 2 with Sheffield Wednesday, currently in the Championship.

For some reason our form hasn't slowed down since the second half of last season and we find ourselves in promotion contention. I have played enough of lower league saves to know that when you think your team's not strong enough to play in the division it got promoted to, it usually is and you'll be fine. Therefore, in the past I might have said that the team is not ready at all to play in the Premier League, but if we're playing like a top 6 club in the Championship then why not? Let's try and go for the promotion and see what happens.

Our defence has been very solid but we're not scoring too many. Callum Paterson, our striker, is a weird case as he doesn't score a lot but he almost always gets a very good rating, and has—as can be seen from the screenshot above—won the joint most man of the match awards in the league. I might look for a striker with goalscoring ability this January but there's currently no room in the wage budget and no transfer budget available to me and I'm trying to tie down my best talents for 2-3 more years so I'll see if I can do anything about the striker situation later on in the Jan window.

Here's our transfer activity from the summer, first the ins:

And then the outs:

As you can see I brought in about 1.8M and spent only 60k, without losing any of my starters and important rotation players. Missing from the 'ins' screenshot are Tyreece John-Jules and Lewis Gibson who were with us on loan last season and had their loans renewed. Lee Buchanan I very much want to buy on a permanent basis, but Derby still want about 200k for him and I don't have that. The other loans were just to bolster my wing options, McLoughlin was brought in as he's a model citizen and I desperately needed a strong and good personality in my squad. Martim Neto is a young Portuguese midfielder who I'm very excited about, see his profile here below. He's playing as a mezzala currently but I can myself moving him deeper into a playmaking role in the future.

Edited March 26, 2022 by Sysiphus

[warlock]

2 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

McLoughlin was brought in as he's a model citizen

I approve . He was great for me at Hull, probably didn't get as  many games as he deserved but never complained. Equally dependable at LB or LCB.

Neto on a free looks like an incredible piece of business.

[Sysiphus]

24 minutes ago, warlock said:

I approve . He was great for me at Hull, probably didn't get as  many games as he deserved but never complained. Equally dependable at LB or LCB.

Neto on a free looks like an incredible piece of business.

McLoughlin is great, the perfect backup.

I'm really happy with the Neto deal but I'm still waiting for him to spring into form. He's been okay in an overperforming team but I he'll come good I'm sure.

[Parmie]

Bradford City - Season 11 (2032/2033)

Squad adjustments continue with no real big deals either way. I refresh the full backs, selling Evgeny Kychanov who was causing dressing room issues by complaining not being in front of the stalwart Calvin Ramsay, and Guilerme on the left side had continual bad performances, we also needed depth at centre back so last season's loanee Manuel Perez is signed for £11m and Belgian Nils Bosmans is our first team ready left back signing.

We head into our first ever Champions League campaign.

Season Review

We have a smattering of losses to start off August through to October but against teams I'd expect to struggle against, and otherwise we're picking up wins against lesser opposition. Our Champions League group is Bayern, Ajax and Sociedad, with a tough start at home to Bayern but we smash them 3-0.

We're hampered by early season injury issues, Hugo Felix injuring his cruciate ligaments, and both big man strikers, Hansen (broken ankle), Biereth (hip injury) out for the long term at the same time.

We get a couple of poor league results in November but continue through the Champions League easily, Sociedad do their bit and together we pump out Bayern and Ajax. 

At this point we're in the upper mid-table and potentially not going to recreate last season's success, however, we rally in December and go on to only lose 1 game in 15, outdoing ourselves and another record-breaking finish.

We get knocked out of the Champions League in the 1st knockout round, a respectable 4-3 aggregate loss to Dortmund. But our domestic cup campaigns are impressive, getting to the semi-final of the Carabao and the FA Cup final, where we lost 2-0 to Man United.

All this while still being 18th in the wage budget league!

Off the pitch

Chairman Stefan Rupp, much disliked in real life by Bradford fans, eventually makes way in a low key takeover by director Franciso Brenes, with club finances unchanged but extremely healthy due to our continued successes. We're half way to repaying the stadium build loan, with £36.5m remaining. The previous board agreed a further expansion so we'll soon have a capacity of 47,000.

Signings:

Spoiler

Academy Prospect:

Spoiler

The team has reached it's generational peak, Biereth, including his initial loan is now 30, and Calvin Ramsay has been with us for 9 seasons. To push on further it looks as though our centre backs are decent but not at the level of the midfield and strikers, two top defenders could see us grab a trophy.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Parmie

[warlock]

32 minutes ago, Parmie said:

We head into our first ever Champions League campaign

Another good season! Maybe disappointing not to life a trophy but it looks like you're well-established as a European contender and PL Top 6 side.

What's the endgame? European champions, or just play on and on...?

[Parmie]

2 hours ago, warlock said:

Another good season! Maybe disappointing not to life a trophy but it looks like you're well-established as a European contender and PL Top 6 side.

What's the endgame? European champions, or just play on and on...?

Unless I get sacked beforehand I will probably go by age and retire at 65, which gives me 17 seasons to go!

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Parmie said:

retire at 65

 Retire at 66 now. Probably 70-something by then 

Best of luck next season!

[Sysiphus]

Sheffield Wednesday – 2022/2023 review

Last update.

As seen in my last update we were beginning to make a run for the Championship's playoffs as we headed into January. I wanted to add a strong attacker as we weren't scoring enough goals, while the defence was really strong. Leeds' Tyler Roberts was transfer listed and I brought him in as our star player for a hefty 275k sum, which I needed to offset later. Danny Loader was brought in on loan as Arsenal recalled Omari Hutchinson as they didn't want him to play out wide where I was playing him.

I decided to sell Barry Bannan who was running out of his large contract in the summer, as I needed to make room in the wage budget and adjust it into the transfer budget. Bannan was on 22k p/w while our next highest paid player was on around 12k p/w. Joe Wildsmith and Jack Hunt were loaned and sold to make further room in the wage budget, other outs were u23 players who were getting to old and had no potential of note.

These dealings spurred us on as we achieved the 6th place ahead of Crystal Palace. We came into the playoffs on a high and despatched of Watford pretty easily in two legs before turning a final against Nottingham Forest around from 1-0 down—to achieve promotion to the Premier League!

This changes everything in this save as this eases our financial concerns considerably and we can finally move to buy some players. The board has given me a hefty wage budget which will be eaten into a bit by promotion wage rise bonuses. I also get more money than I'd have imagined, with a provisional budget of 34M.

I have my big stars tied down to at least a 3-year contract. I will probably not be renewing any of the loans unless Everton lower their requirements for Lewis Gibson. It will be incredibly fun to reshape the club a bit now, expand the scouting system, hire some quality staff, improve the facilities and signing exciting players. This is my current squad and how they performed this season:

[hasdgfas]

Lots of good stuff going on in this thread as always! A bunch of huge successes. Keep it up, y'all!

[ShaunG95]

I had a successful game with Shrewsbury on FM21, just started up with them again on FM22. Plugged in the exact same tactic as I started with on my FM21 save with them and working wonders! Currently sat at the top of the league in October. It helped that they actually have some decent finances at the start to really work the loan market.

[warlock]

9 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

promotion to the Premier League

Impressive 

2 minutes ago, ShaunG95 said:

Shrewsbury on FM21, just started up with them again on FM22

Good to have you with us, and best of luck. Looks like a good squad 

[ShaunG95]

What a game this was! Ipswich were 1st and I was 3rd before we played, fair to say Josh Vela's late heroics put me back on top. I just love how reactionary and determined most of the players are when I actually 'demand more'. I tried a save with Accrington recently and the players didn't have close to the same mentality. I'm big on having proper mentality monsters in my teams.

[ShaunG95]

Smashed it! Faired a lot better than my League 1 season on last year's edition of the game. I'd attribute Tom Bloxham's buff as being the reasoning behind that. Although attribute wise he isn't miles better than Daniel Udoh, he's 6"5... 

I'd encourage anyone managing in League Two to snag him on loan as he's really, really good.

[Sysiphus]

The summer transfer window before my third season at Sheffield Wednesday and our debut in the Premier League post-millenium is shut. I made big changes as the squad was paper thin and lacked quality, so I'll make this single post dedicated to my dealings.

I spent big, as I was given 34M to spend. I felt really uncomfortable going above 2M for a single player though, our finances are still very unstable so I want to be careful with the money I spend. Missing from the image above is Grady Diangana, who was signed for 1.4M from Burnley. Overall, I'm really happy with the dealings, having spent a lot of time scrutinising tons of deals over the past week. Short notes and a screenshot of each player:

Grady Diangana – Comes in with what is needed from the wings: quickness, agility and finishing ability. I think I got a very good deal on him and he still has plenty of good years ahead of him.

Kieran Dowell – Comes on a free to play in midfield or back up Diangana. He'll not start every game but he'll play a lot. Lacking a bit physically but his intelligence and composure makes up for that—at least when in possession.

Daniel Ballard – A bargain in my opinion to get him for free. A resolute full international, a captain material.

Reece Oxford – He sadly never lived up to his hyped potential after his West Ham debut, but there is still a very good player in him. I'm looking to bring that out of him and think him and Ballard will fit well together.

Krystian Bielik – I had really high hopes for him in real life, but he never really kicked on after his Charlton loans. Now he'll take his first steps in the Premier League with us, staying deep in midfield and spraying out passes. I'll be working on some traits for him as he'll have to make up for his speed by moving the ball efficiently.

Marcus Forss – Strikers are really expensive and no one I wanted was cheap enough for my liking. Marcus is a good finisher with a solid all around game and will play a lot of minutes for us in the front three, mainly as a striker.

Josh Doig – I overspent a bit here but I really like his traits and think he'll work very well in the current match engine. Still some room to develop into a solid PL full back.

Stipe Biuk – Our star player, a wonderkid with bags of potential. I think he'll go very far and might make us a pretty penny if his current value is anything to go by.

Adam Miles – It's hard to nick exciting regens from English teams under 1M so I took up the chance on this one who was sought after by the biggest clubs in the country. Plenty to work on but with his passing ability and solid physicals, I think I can turn him into a neat player.

Lucas Felipe – My scout recommended him after a mission in Portugal. He was transfer listed for a meagre 140k so I snapped him up as a rotating, well-rounded midfielder.

Still plenty of budget left (around 18M) and 100k in the wage budget so I'll probably do something in January. There's an incredibly exciting 16 year old left back from France that I really want, but he costs up to 4M and Sheff Wed really can't be spending so big on such a young player. Will shortlist him and follow closely, but I'm sure that it will be too late by then.

[ShaunG95]

18 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

The summer transfer window before my third season at Sheffield Wednesday and our debut in the Premier League post-millenium is shut. I made big changes as the squad was paper thin and lacked quality, so I'll make this single post dedicated to my dealings.

I spent big, as I was given 34M to spend. I felt really uncomfortable going above 2M for a single player though, our finances are still very unstable so I want to be careful with the money I spend. Missing from the image above is Grady Diangana, who was signed for 1.4M from Burnley. Overall, I'm really happy with the dealings, having spent a lot of time scrutinising tons of deals over the past week. Short notes and a screenshot of each player:

Grady Diangana – Comes in with what is needed from the wings: quickness, agility and finishing ability. I think I got a very good deal on him and he still has plenty of good years ahead of him.

Daniel Ballard – A bargain in my opinion to get him for free. A resolute full international, a captain material.

Reece Oxford – He sadly never lived up to his hyped potential after his West Ham debut, but there is still a very good player in him. I'm looking to bring that out of him and think him and Ballard will fit well together.

Krystian Bielik – I had really high hopes for him in real life, but he never really kicked on after his Charlton loans. Now he'll take his first steps in the Premier League with us, staying deep in midfield and spraying out passes. I'll be working on some traits for him as he'll have to make up for his speed by moving the ball efficiently.

Marcus Forss – Strikers are really expensive and no one I wanted was cheap enough for my liking. Marcus is a good finisher with a solid all around game and will play a lot of minutes for us in the front three, mainly as a striker.

Stipe Biuk – Our star player, a wonderkid with bags of potential. I think he'll go very far and might make us a pretty penny if his current value is anything to go by.

Some really good signings here, particularly like the ones I've left in on the quoted post! I managed to snag Stipe Biuk on loan for Shrewsbury in League One and now in the Championship and he's fantastic. I've got an agreed fee of £3.5m for him also which is a big plus if I manage to get back-to-back promotions like yourself.

[Sysiphus]

1 hour ago, ShaunG95 said:

Some really good signings here, particularly like the ones I've left in on the quoted post! I managed to snag Stipe Biuk on loan for Shrewsbury in League One and now in the Championship and he's fantastic. I've got an agreed fee of £3.5m for him also which is a big plus if I manage to get back-to-back promotions like yourself.

Cheers mate. Biuk has started really well, not quite sure I'll be able to hold on to him for too long but that's fine, we need the money. 3.5M would be a great deal, hopefully you can do it!

[warlock]

14 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

I made big changes

That's an interesting shopping list. Dowell was fantastic for me in a Norwich save last year, but only as an AMC. When I tried him elsewhere on the pitch his performances suffered, so I hope he works for you. Bielik has always been reliable over multiple Derby saves. I've tried to sign Ballard a few times and failed, so I'm quite jealous you got him on a free.

I'm curious to see how Forss works out. I've managed him a lot in the last couple of years, usually at Brentford but most recently on loan at Hull, and he's never done well for me. I've seen others have great success with him so I hope you've got the good version 

[Sysiphus]

6 hours ago, warlock said:

That's an interesting shopping list. Dowell was fantastic for me in a Norwich save last year, but only as an AMC. When I tried him elsewhere on the pitch his performances suffered, so I hope he works for you. Bielik has always been reliable over multiple Derby saves. I've tried to sign Ballard a few times and failed, so I'm quite jealous you got him on a free.

I'm curious to see how Forss works out. I've managed him a lot in the last couple of years, usually at Brentford but most recently on loan at Hull, and he's never done well for me. I've seen others have great success with him so I hope you've got the good version 

My tactic doesn't include an AMC currently but hopefully Dowell can perform at CM-A. However, that's Martim Neto's spot so he'll not play that much there. We'll see how that works out, Dowell's played a few game as IW-S on the right but not performed, probably lacks the dynamism.

Forss has started very well, starting up top as a PF-A and coming off the bench as an IF-A on the left. Got some goals and assists and looks to be slotting well in.

I'm about 10 games deep into the season and have around 12 points so it looks like we're ready to be fighting for our place in the league.

[Darkside Pioneer]

I've just been promoted to the premier league and have been struggling to get the best out of my striker. I currently play a 352. With an advanced forward and a pressing forward. however my pressing forward has since left as he wanted silly wages. 
Do I switch the PF into a DLF(S) to accommodate Puerto. I use a AM or SS behind the strikers, the idea is the PF (S) or now DLF (S) drop in and the AM and winger on Attack occupy that space.

[warlock]

41 minutes ago, Darkside Pioneer said:

Do I switch the PF into a DLF(S) to accommodate Puerto

I would - should work OK (although I'd like better passing from the DLF). You might be better off asking the question in the tactics forum - I don't know that many of us in these parts would say we were tactical experts 

Edit to add: Well done on getting Orient to the PL, that's quite an achievement 

Edited April 1, 2022 by warlock

[warlock]

Fulham FC, December 2021

After my Hull save went the usual way - complete disaster after winning promotion to the PL and being unable to strengthen the squad - I've been casting around for the next gig. After a couple of abortive efforts that just didn't stick, a new venture with Fulham might have legs, but I've played through the first few months of the season just to make sure.

Surely, you're thinking, Fulham are nailed on for promotion? And surely that will just hasten the end of the save as I do my usual post-promotion abomination? Possibly... but there's method in my madness. Fulham are much closer to being PL-ready than almost anyone else in the EFL, so the transition should be easier. And if I can secure a second season in the PL just once, I'll have the experience to be able to do it again. So the goal of the save is not to win promotion - I'll almost certainly be sacked if I fail that - but to manage the step up and secure the club's PL survival. 

In terms of managing that promotion, we're in a very good place as of the beginning of December. Our early form has been rock solid:

Just one defeat and two draws in the first 20 matches. We lead the division for both goals scored and fewest conceded and, not surprisingly, sit as clear leaders:

The ever-present threat of failing FFP has just been eliminated - in true FM financial fashion, the club just announced a new one-year sponsorship deal that wiped out the debt, so we couldn't be in a better position to push on for promotion. The January window might be a bit tricky - there are a few players whose contracts are expiring at the end of the season so they'll need to be sold in January, but might not raise enough cash to fund replacements. Otherwise, we just need to avoid complacency and keep on pushing.

[ShaunG95]

14 hours ago, warlock said:

Fulham FC, December 2021

After my Hull save went the usual way - complete disaster after winning promotion to the PL and being unable to strengthen the squad - I've been casting around for the next gig. After a couple of abortive efforts that just didn't stick, a new venture with Fulham might have legs, but I've played through the first few months of the season just to make sure.

Surely, you're thinking, Fulham are nailed on for promotion? And surely that will just hasten the end of the save as I do my usual post-promotion abomination? Possibly... but there's method in my madness. Fulham are much closer to being PL-ready than almost anyone else in the EFL, so the transition should be easier. And if I can secure a second season in the PL just once, I'll have the experience to be able to do it again. So the goal of the save is not to win promotion - I'll almost certainly be sacked if I fail that - but to manage the step up and secure the club's PL survival. 

In terms of managing that promotion, we're in a very good place as of the beginning of December. Our early form has been rock solid:

Just one defeat and two draws in the first 20 matches. We lead the division for both goals scored and fewest conceded and, not surprisingly, sit as clear leaders:

The ever-present threat of failing FFP has just been eliminated - in true FM financial fashion, the club just announced a new one-year sponsorship deal that wiped out the debt, so we couldn't be in a better position to push on for promotion. The January window might be a bit tricky - there are a few players whose contracts are expiring at the end of the season so they'll need to be sold in January, but might not raise enough cash to fund replacements. Otherwise, we just need to avoid complacency and keep on pushing.

So far, so good! That Fulham squad is great fodder for promotion. Have you renewed Carvalho?

Also, I find it interesting that you're using Muniz as on my Shrewsbury save, he's been severely underused and is listed for loan. Surprised to see he's bagged more than Mitrovic.

[warlock]

8 minutes ago, ShaunG95 said:

interesting that you're using Muniz

He started in a blaze of glory, bagging 8 goals in the first two months but then just two more goals in the most recent two months. Mitrovic has been rather more "slow and steady". Most of the AMs have also notched up 3 or 4 goals each.

The biggest problem - just starting to emerge - is too many players on 'important' or 'regular starter' status so I have about 6 or 7 who are now "concerned" about their playing time but won't accept a change. There may be trouble ahead 

[Jogo Bonito]

@warlock Great job at Hull, the PL brick wall did for you again.

I agree about Fulham, it's about the only time I remember finishing a season at a club I got promoted to the PL. But despite being too strong for the second tier, I still had a shocker and took so many hammerings. I think I survived on GD and it wasn't fun for me. I hope you do better when you get promoted 

By the way, shocker against Forest. Did you consider offering your resignation? 

[warlock]

51 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

the PL brick wall did for you again

Yeah, I've lost count . And yes, I was a tad upset about that Forest result.

I'll be checking in on the Valencia thread imminently!

[Sysiphus]

Last update.

I am on January 20th and the season with Sheffield Wednesday has been rocky. We started relatively well and were hovering between 11th and 14th until we went on an absolutely horrendous run where nothing seemed to work.

Mid way through the run (after the Burnley game), I called a team meeting which went as wrong as it could have (I get them right most often!) and the morale plummeted.

We are scoring very few goals, Marcus Forss is our only goalscorer pretty much as unfortunately Stipe Biuk has been very unlucky with injuries. I am on the lookout for a new striker but they're either very pricey or not a big enough upgrade on Forss. I had an offer accepted for Sam Surridge who has been scoring like a madman in the Championship with N. Forest, but his demands were too high for me to sanction them. Josh Doig, my left back, just got a 3-month injury and I was very light in that position beforehand so I will try to get a body in before the window slams shut. We'll see what happens. Fortunately, we won the 6-pointer against Villa which puts us in a more comfortable position and hopefully turns our form around.

[warlock]

2 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

hopefully turns our form around

Sympathy! This is about the point where I bail on a save... and, yes, I'm a spineless, embarrassment of a fair-weather manager . It's not just the defeats, or the inability to strengthen the squad, or the dressing room revolt. It's that they hit you all together and the save becomes very unfun. Even when you hope and believe things will improve, the grass always looks greener in a new save.

I wish you all the best!

[warlock]

Job One: done!

Now for the hard bit. Board have given me a £32m transfer budget and almost doubled the wage budget so no excuses on that front.

We still have 5 games to play, which gives me plenty of time to plot and plan.

[ShaunG95]

Huzzah, back to back promotions! Again, largely down to a 25 league goal haul from Tom Bloxham who has improved tenfold - the 'fringe player'. He reminds me of like a Benjamin Sesko-lite.

I'll quickly go over signings in League 1 and the Championship for those starting new saves. The *'d players are still with me in the Premier League.

League 1

Loans - Xavi Simons*, Stipe Biuk*, Tyler Morton*, Lewis Neilson, James McAtee, Jack Jenkins, Jude Soonsup-Bell and Xavier Mbuyamba.

Transfers - Jon Aramburu* for £50k (rising to £350k on installments/clauses) and Osayamen Osawe.

Championship

Loans - Nathan Wood*, Dejan Tetek, Maro Katinic*, Oliver Dovin, Louie Barry (terminated early) and Daniel Jebbison.

Transfers - Charlie McArthur* for free, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens* for free, Alex Padilla* for free, Phil Jagielka for free, Marino Hinestroza* for free, Marlon for free, Sean McLoughlin* for £20k, Kevin Stewart for £350k, Joe Powell* for £550k, Saikou Janneh for £75k, Robert Hernandez for £150k, Adam Zrelak for £200k and Charlie Colkett for £100k.

Total budget in the Championship was around £1m, vast majority of players were bought on installments and I also got just shy of another million by promising low league/cup bonuses which is often something I do that works well for cash strapped clubs.

I was given £26m for the Premier League which I was a little downhearted about given that @Sysiphus was given £34m but I have made it work so far.

Will update on Premier League endeavors in my next post. As expected though, I've not had it all my own way. The gulf between League 1 and Championship quality isn't that pronounced compared to the jump from Championship to the Premier League.

[hasdgfas]

Wishing you the best of luck on the Premier League attempts, @warlockand @ShaunG95!

[warlock]

47 minutes ago, ShaunG95 said:

back to back promotions!

Well played that man 

[Woolly]

On 19/03/2022 at 00:07, warlock said:

@Woolly How's it going? You still at Rochdale or were you tempted to move on?

@Dustman2015 Similar questions - how is going at Forest? You were off to a good start so I hope you managed to build on that.

Still at Rochdale, now in the Championship, sitting comfortably in mid-table despite being tipped for relegation. Hopefully in the next couple of seasons the team will start looking to push for promotion. 

[Sysiphus]

20 hours ago, warlock said:

Sympathy! This is about the point where I bail on a save... and, yes, I'm a spineless, embarrassment of a fair-weather manager . It's not just the defeats, or the inability to strengthen the squad, or the dressing room revolt. It's that they hit you all together and the save becomes very unfun. Even when you hope and believe things will improve, the grass always looks greener in a new save.

I wish you all the best!

Yeah, it can get really tough. I very seldom manage to turn this kind of a run around but I'm hoping that being in the middle of a transfer window will help me...

[warlock]

And just to wrap up the Championship season with Fulham...

It wasn't even close. After Christmas both Bournemouth and Barnsley began dropping points. We had our own wobble at the end of March with back-to-back defeats, but we quickly put that right and dropped just 2pts in the last 7 games. We set new records for most wins, most points, and bagged our 100th league goal in the last match of the season against Sheffield United. Sadly, Muniz missed the last month of the season with a twisted ankle otherwise he would probably have scored well over 20. In his absence Mitrovic stepped up and finished with 15 goals.

Onwards and upwards...

[CityAndColour]

Season has been a bit of a long slog, mainly due to real life getting in the way, but with one match to play it's definitely squeaky bum time...

Have to win as can't really rely on the three teams below us all dropping points. We have Hendon at home, who are 16th and have just avoided relegation so have nothing to play for, although sometimes they can be the most dangerous opponents as there is no pressure. Our form over the last six (2-2-2) has been patchy, and we will be without our defensive lynchpin Finn Tapp due to suspension, so three points is certainly not a foregone conclusion.

Not sure I fancy us in the playoffs either as it's been a long season with a small squad. Staying in this division for another season or two would not be a disaster as we're not close to being ready for tier six football, but the title is in our hands so it would be disappointing to blow it.

[warlock]

13 hours ago, CityAndColour said:

it's definitely squeaky bum time...

Yeah, that's pretty tight . Hopefully, you can pull off the win - there's not a lot of difference between divisions at that level (IMHO) so you might as well take the promotion.

[Darkside Pioneer]

2026/27 season with Leyton Orient

First season in the premier league after a surprise promotion from the championship the board gave me £30M and a much improved wage budget. Managed to spend all the money and then some before the window shut and set ourselves up with a decent squad going into the season. We never really flirted with the relegation zone opening up the season strong with a few wins and draws in the early months somehow managing to beat united 2-0 at home just a week after getting battered by Fulham. 

 

we got some reinforcements in the January window with came in the form two new towering CBs as we were conceding a lot from corners and crosses both brought in for a combined fee of £5M and we also brought in a Mexican wondered CM who although didn't have the best end to the season will be key for us moving forward as he is a physical presence in midfield. A very good end to the season saw us somehow finish 9th in the league in our first season in the prem. Mainly due to 20 goals from our star striker who I brought in the championship for £900k. 

End of season squad 

 

Final league table 

 

Tactic

Coimbra finished with 20+ goals on the season and Peurto with 9 goals and 8 assists in the league after a slow start. Mace was signed from France for only £2.5M and has come in and averaged a 7.8 over 16 league games to finish the season (boosted slightly by 3 goals from corners). The board have set initial budgets at £40M and £875K a week for the wages. Hopefully we don't hit the 2nd season wall 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Darkside Pioneer