[FM22] - Changing the "Neverton" narrative and hopefully the balance of power in Merseyside

[karanhsingh]

Thanks for the kind words. I was surprised that I hadn't ever come across Kristiansen before. 

Gibson is a decent enough player and I've had him do a good job at championship clubs. Just not good enough for this level. 

[SixPointer]

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Thanks for the kind words. I was surprised that I hadn't ever come across Kristiansen before. 

Gibson is a decent enough player and I've had him do a good job at championship clubs. Just not good enough for this level. 

I had been tracking him with Sparta. And now he’s arrived in Amsterdam if he lives up to the attributes could be a really class act

[karanhsingh]

32 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

I had been tracking him with Sparta. And now he’s arrived in Amsterdam if he lives up to the attributes could be a really class act

Yes he has made a solid start for me so far! 

[13th Man]

7 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Gibson is a decent enough player and I've had him do a good job at championship clubs. Just not good enough for this level. 

Exactly this. The Portsmouth scouts had him rated as a potentially PL player, but they were off by a bit.

Kristiansen looks like a great buy. Fun that he’s in Amsterdam and signed for Ajax in a parallel universe (if I understand correctly).

[SixPointer]

55 minutes ago, 13th Man said:

Exactly this. The Portsmouth scouts had him rated as a potentially PL player, but they were off by a bit.

Kristiansen looks like a great buy. Fun that he’s in Amsterdam and signed for Ajax in a parallel universe (if I understand correctly).

He certainly has and looks to be displacing Tagalifico already 

[karanhsingh]

1 hour ago, 13th Man said:

Exactly this. The Portsmouth scouts had him rated as a potentially PL player, but they were off by a bit.

Kristiansen looks like a great buy. Fun that he’s in Amsterdam and signed for Ajax in a parallel universe (if I understand correctly).

Yes i believe so! 

[karanhsingh]

This time I really thought we were done but we ended up making one more signing...

My scouts alerted me that Tino Livramento was available for a relatively "bargain" fee thanks to Saints going down. I decided to sign him up, which means Jonjoe Kenny's days at his hometown club are now sadly numbered.

Honestly on this game if a quality young English player becomes available for anything less than astronomical money, you have to go for it. Long term I think Tino can be an upgrade on Patterson as well. Anyway, we now literally have the RB position sewn up for a decade.

[karanhsingh]

And an early season report from our last ever season at Goodison Park.

It's been a very good start to the season, I can't really have too many complaints. We are doing really well domestically and even holding our own in Europe. 

The only disappointment for me is that DCL has not been able to carry his form of last season, and is now injured for a month & a half. But it has been good to see the goals coming in from everywhere.

Of course the only slight hiccup has been the consecutive defeats against Dortmund at home (we rotated and got smashed by Timo Werner) and then we fought hard against the mighty Liverpool at Anfield but ultimately lost 2-4. 

This means I've now played 4 games against Liverpool and lost all... soon we will get a result against them!

The league table certainly makes for great viewing at this stage! Although whether we will be able to keep this up of course is another matter altogether.

In Europe we are currently 3rd in what is clearly going to be a very tight group. I expect Inter to mount some sort of a come-back as well. At this point I would be happy enough with 3rd place and dropping into the Europa league.

[Hootieleece]

Astronomical fees for Homegrown English Players......say it isn't so!  I call it the "Grealish" Effect or the "Maguire" Madness.....

[karanhsingh]

42 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Astronomical fees for Homegrown English Players......say it isn't so!  I call it the "Grealish" Effect or the "Maguire" Madness.....

Maguire madness indeed 

[KlaaZ]

Kristiansen might have a randon PA as well. I had him under my wing at Kobenhavn in FM21 and really liked him, but couldn't get him to improve enough to warrant a first team spot as he had to compete with a very good Casper Hojer.

Berg's a great player, was pivotal for me at Bodo/glimt!

[karanhsingh]

35 minutes ago, KlaaZ said:

Kristiansen might have a randon PA as well. I had him under my wing at Kobenhavn in FM21 and really liked him, but couldn't get him to improve enough to warrant a first team spot as he had to compete with a very good Casper Hojer.

Berg's a great player, was pivotal for me at Bodo/glimt!

Thank you. I was wondering about Kristiansen as i never came across him before. My scouts found him and i immediately was impressed. 

Berg yes seems like one of those hard working and mentally strong players every good team needs. 

[KlaaZ]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Thank you. I was wondering about Kristiansen as i never came across him before. My scouts found him and i immediately was impressed. 

Berg yes seems like one of those hard working and mentally strong players every good team needs. 

Yeah, Berg's never gonna be your spotlight player but he's a great guy to bring balance to your midfield. I think it's often harder to find defensively capable midfielders, rather than attacking brilliant ones.

[karanhsingh]

9 minutes ago, KlaaZ said:

Yeah, Berg's never gonna be your spotlight player but he's a great guy to bring balance to your midfield. I think it's often harder to find defensively capable midfielders, rather than attacking brilliant ones.

Yes I agree with you on that. 

[SixPointer]

Great start in the EPL. Tino is a huge bargain 

[karanhsingh]

2 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Great start in the EPL. Tino is a huge bargain 

Cheers! Yes i was shocked no one else was in for him. 

[13th Man]

Very good start, still early, but at the top after 10 isn’t just a fluke! Maybe won’t finish there, but it’s looking really good so far. Hate those losing streaks, especially to a rival, but I bet you’ll figure it out soon enough.

[DavidBeckham]

Fantastic start to the season mate! And Tino, what a signing!

[Cheez3y]

23 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

This time I really thought we were done but we ended up making one more signing...

My scouts alerted me that Tino Livramento was available for a relatively "bargain" fee thanks to Saints going down. I decided to sign him up, which means Jonjoe Kenny's days at his hometown club are now sadly numbered.

Honestly on this game if a quality young English player becomes available for anything less than astronomical money, you have to go for it. Long term I think Tino can be an upgrade on Patterson as well. Anyway, we now literally have the RB position sewn up for a decade.

Really nice transfer indeed.

HG players, which are not playing at the top 6 teams, are almost only avaiable for a decent prize, if the team gets relegated.

At some point you cheer for an AI team to beat the other AI team, so they get finally relegated.

[karanhsingh]

19 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Very good start, still early, but at the top after 10 isn’t just a fluke! Maybe won’t finish there, but it’s looking really good so far. Hate those losing streaks, especially to a rival, but I bet you’ll figure it out soon enough.

Yes would be very surprised if we finish the season here. But nice to be topping the table for a little while. 

9 hours ago, DavidBeckham said:

Fantastic start to the season mate! And Tino, what a signing!

Thanks bud!

7 hours ago, Cheez3y said:

Really nice transfer indeed.

HG players, which are not playing at the top 6 teams, are almost only avaiable for a decent prize, if the team gets relegated.

At some point you cheer for an AI team to beat the other AI team, so they get finally relegated.

Thanks! Yes I agree... Getting them off big clubs is almost impossible even when they aren't playing them. By the time you can buy them they will be 23 and unable to reach potential. 

[karanhsingh]

Going a bit slow the past few days, so just a month's update this time.

A perfect month! And as you can see, during DCL's injury Hlozek has been absolutely lethal up front.

And so we continue at the top of the table for now, who knows it may even be a Mersey-side battle for the title this season. Although that may be getting a bit ahead of ourselves.

The two massive away wins in the Champions League also mean we have qualified for the knock-outs! Definitely ahead of my expectations in that competition. If we can better Dortmund's result on the final day (we play Inter at home) we could also end up topping the group.

[13th Man]

Still going strong! Love a perfect month.

[karanhsingh]

As enjoyable as this save currently is, I think it'll be the last time I play with this sort of team with "recognizable" players. Hlozek is absolutely smashing it and while he was found by my scouts, I know how great he can be hearing his name around the forums and what not. Signing him for 8 million or whatever almost feels like cheating. He's now already worth 10 times that!

Next one I think will be back to more obscure leagues & players, and with a view to getting in deep so by the time you're managing the big-time it's mainly new-gens being signed.

[Cheez3y]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

As enjoyable as this save currently is, I think it'll be the last time I play with this sort of team with "recognizable" players. Hlozek is absolutely smashing it and while he was found by my scouts, I know how great he can be hearing his name around the forums and what not. Signing him for 8 million or whatever almost feels like cheating. He's now already worth 10 times that!

Next one I think will be back to more obscure leagues & players, and with a view to getting in deep so by the time you're managing the big-time it's mainly new-gens being signed.

Understandable.

I think the main problem here is the Premier League and their infinite money.

 

If you can sign a "big player" at a small team with average players or even HG players around him, its feels much better.

 

The PL gets really boring really quick for me atleast.

Im fine to manage there for couple season as part of a Journey Man.

But a longer one, I need to atleast have one FM break in between.

[karanhsingh]

1 minute ago, Cheez3y said:

Understandable.

I think the main problem here is the Premier League and their infinite money.

If you can sign a "big player" at a small team with average players or even HG players around him, its feels much better.

The PL gets really boring really quick for me atleast.

Im fine to manage there for couple season as part of a Journey Man.

But a longer one, I need to atleast have one FM break in between.

Yes the money is a "problem" indeed, because the world becomes your oyster very quickly. Strangely, in FM at least, it's the same in Germany with the insane prize money you get for your league placements. I wonder if that is reflective of IRL, because if so the German clubs should be battling it out with the English on transfer spends.

Edited June 3, 2022 by karanhsingh

[karanhsingh]

December was a crazy busy month, really took a lot out of the players.

That being said, it was almost perfect, save for the defeat at Stamford Bridge. We bounced back though with a win at the Emirates that we probably didn't deserve in all honesty. We are also in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

At this point I think it's safe to say that we are in a title race. Liverpool are definitely the strongest team in the league, and will certainly push all the way to the end. Chelsea could also compete because in my opinion they have the best attack in the game on my save, with a front 3 of Mbappe, Vini Jr & Osimhen.

January looks set to be another crazy busy month with no less than 9 fixtures - including Liverpool twice, in the league and FA Cup. That will be massive.

[karanhsingh]

Oh and also the win against Inter meant we topped our CL group, although we have been "rewarded" with a round of 16 tie against Atletico Madrid.

[13th Man]

8 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Oh and also the win against Inter meant we topped our CL group, although we have been "rewarded" with a round of 16 tie against Atletico Madrid.

Hate when you top a group only to get a top club who got some poor results! Yes it’s the CL, but if you top a group the idea is an easier path to the quarters!

But yes, I think it’s safe to say you’re in the title race!

[Hootieleece]

On 03/06/2022 at 03:53, karanhsingh said:

Yes the money is a "problem" indeed, because the world becomes your oyster very quickly. Strangely, in FM at least, it's the same in Germany with the insane prize money you get for your league placements. I wonder if that is reflective of IRL, because if so the German clubs should be battling it out with the English on transfer spends.

When I play in Germany often a lot of that Prize Money is taken up by "Big Contracts" ($3-4M/Year) for Hot Academy Products. 

I had a lot of trouble during a while managing Hertha (during my annual Journeyman Save) keeping Payroll costs down because of this as well as having every club bigger than them knocking on the door for the same players. (I was well into the 2030's and most players were Regen's by then)  Also none of them were really wonderkids.

[WilsonJuve]

Not considering letting Pickford go he is on extremely high wages and worth a load of money a much better and younger goalkeeper could be found for a fraction of the salary.

[karanhsingh]

14 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Hate when you top a group only to get a top club who got some poor results! Yes it’s the CL, but if you top a group the idea is an easier path to the quarters!

But yes, I think it’s safe to say you’re in the title race!

Yes! Also I'm quietly confident about Atletico. Lets see what happens. 

10 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

When I play in Germany often a lot of that Prize Money is taken up by "Big Contracts" ($3-4M/Year) for Hot Academy Products. 

I had a lot of trouble during a while managing Hertha (during my annual Journeyman Save) keeping Payroll costs down because of this as well as having every club bigger than them knocking on the door for the same players. (I was well into the 2030's and most players were Regen's by then)  Also none of them were really wonderkids.

Maybe that's true. I haven't had a proper long save in Germany since two editions ago. 

10 hours ago, WilsonJuve said:

Not considering letting Pickford go he is on extremely high wages and worth a load of money a much better and younger goalkeeper could be found for a fraction of the salary.

I suppose you're right but it would likely be a marginal upgrade. As we can't really attract world class players yet. 

[karanhsingh]

We will anyway lose two high earners the coming summer in Mina and Allan. After that the next to go will be Doucoure (he's on 150k a week) who's contract will not be renewed at age 32 and a new top quality b2b mid will be needed. 

[karanhsingh]

Just the one game played since the last update but it was a hugely significant one.

After 4 consecutive defeats against our cross-town rivals could we finally end the run?

No is the answer. The fact that we came close and pushed them all the way is scant consolation.

And just like that, they have done the double over us AGAIN, and our lead at the top is cut down to 2 points. 

A frustrating game as we completely froze at the beginning and could not get started. Before you know it, we are down 2 goals. We fought bravely after that and pulled one back, but the last 20 minutes of the game when we were on the attack Liverpool just shut the game down and barely gave us a sniff. 

Can't help but feel that this will end up being a huge result in the title race.

[SixPointer]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Just the one game played since the last update but it was a hugely significant one.

After 4 consecutive defeats against our cross-town rivals could we finally end the run?

No is the answer. The fact that we came close and pushed them all the way is scant consolation.

And just like that, they have done the double over us AGAIN, and our lead at the top is cut down to 2 points. 

A frustrating game as we completely froze at the beginning and could not get started. Before you know it, we are down 2 goals. We fought bravely after that and pulled one back, but the last 20 minutes of the game when we were on the attack Liverpool just shut the game down and barely gave us a sniff. 

Can't help but feel that this will end up being a huge result in the title race.

Hard result to take, but still ahead so need to lift them and go again for the title 

[karanhsingh]

We finally got one over them! In the FA Cup 3rd round.

It was a full strength Liverpool side as well with the Salah, Mane, Jota front 3 and the likes of VVD, Fabinho, JWP, etc.

Of course I'd rather have taken the league win over this, but maybe this will give us the confidence boost to really take them on.

[Cheez3y]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

It was a full strength Liverpool side as well with the Salah, Mane, Jota front 3 and the likes of VVD, Fabinho, JWP, etc.

And you beat them at home.

This shows you are gettin close and its pretty much "who got the better day"

[karanhsingh]

3 hours ago, Cheez3y said:

And you beat them at home.

This shows you are gettin close and its pretty much "who got the better day"

Yes absolutely

[karanhsingh]

Ok finally the marathon month of January 2024 is done. Here is how we got on:

So when Liverpool beat us at Goodison, that cut the lead down to 2 points. But we have responded really well, winning all the other league games this month. 

We also got through to the Finals of the Carabao Cup with a hard-fought ET win over Wolves, to face, yes you guessed it, Liverpool. It seems we cannot get enough of each other. Another Merseyside derby it is (this time at Wembley).

Back to league action, the players were absolutely destroyed through fatigue and injuries. The wins over Aston Villa and Brentford (DCL late winner!) were extremely hard fought and vital points.

All of this has left the table looking like the below:

And so yes, our 5 point lead has been restored. Liverpool had a shock defeat against Leeds, although they bounced back to beat Chelsea away and therefore have not let the lead go up even more.

And now into the final few months - it's make or break time!

[karanhsingh]

We also had a fairly active January window. In all, 4 fringe players moved on. The 3 you see above and also Jonjoe Kenny. Sad to see Kenny & Davies go as they both have come through the academy but were just not getting too many games.

We've managed to bring in 2 loan players in order to make up the squad numbers - the young CB Colvill from Chelsea and former Liverpool man "Ox" from Inter on short deals.

Somehow after all of this, and reducing the wage bill to 1.7m per week, and all the UEFA money, we are still 34m in the red. Just how badly was this club run?! I shudder to think what would have happened had we not made it to Europe.

[SixPointer]

Neverton could well be a thing of the passed very soon 

[karanhsingh]

What a result! This is the type of come-back which can separate the challengers from the pretenders.

We are not going to go away easily, that's for sure.

[13th Man]

A lot of really close big matches here coming in quick succession.  Hard to have Man Utd and then the CL right after, but that's what you get when you're challenging on several fronts.

Tough loss to Liverpool in the league, but got them in the FA Cup...and hopefully the League Cup too!  And why not?  Nothing more 'fun' than playing rivals, right?

[karanhsingh]

2 hours ago, 13th Man said:

A lot of really close big matches here coming in quick succession.  Hard to have Man Utd and then the CL right after, but that's what you get when you're challenging on several fronts.

Tough loss to Liverpool in the league, but got them in the FA Cup...and hopefully the League Cup too!  And why not?  Nothing more 'fun' than playing rivals, right?

Absolutely! A part of me already knows that if we do get past Atletico, we will probably draw Liverpool in the CL too 

[karanhsingh]

February was a seismic month for the English Premier League title race. 

We held our nerve to win the 3 "tough" fixtures this month - Spurs, Man Utd & Arsenal. The United result above was definitely the most hard fought as it was a comeback win. Luckily, both London sides rolled over for us.

Meanwhile, Liverpool went on to drop points at away games against both Man City & Spurs. Which means:

We now have an ELEVENT point gap at the top of the league. Now, we really should win it from here.

A quick one about the other comps, we needed a replay and a late(ish) winner to get past Wigan in the FA Cup. Also while we lost in Madrid, a narrow 1-2 scoreline definitely keeps us in the leg.

Another huge month coming up starting with the Carabao final against Liverpool!

[SixPointer]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

February was a seismic month for the English Premier League title race. 

We held our nerve to win the 3 "tough" fixtures this month - Spurs, Man Utd & Arsenal. The United result above was definitely the most hard fought as it was a comeback win. Luckily, both London sides rolled over for us.

Meanwhile, Liverpool went on to drop points at away games against both Man City & Spurs. Which means:

We now have an ELEVENT point gap at the top of the league. Now, we really should win it from here.

A quick one about the other comps, we needed a replay and a late(ish) winner to get past Wigan in the FA Cup. Also while we lost in Madrid, a narrow 1-2 scoreline definitely keeps us in the leg.

Another huge month coming up starting with the Carabao final against Liverpool!

Would be ludicrous to throw it away from here!!

[Cheez3y]

2 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

February was a seismic month for the English Premier League title race. 

We held our nerve to win the 3 "tough" fixtures this month - Spurs, Man Utd & Arsenal. The United result above was definitely the most hard fought as it was a comeback win. Luckily, both London sides rolled over for us.

Meanwhile, Liverpool went on to drop points at away games against both Man City & Spurs. Which means:

We now have an ELEVENT point gap at the top of the league. Now, we really should win it from here.

A quick one about the other comps, we needed a replay and a late(ish) winner to get past Wigan in the FA Cup. Also while we lost in Madrid, a narrow 1-2 scoreline definitely keeps us in the leg.

Another huge month coming up starting with the Carabao final against Liverpool!

Whats happening at City?

No Haaland? Or did he went somewhere else?

Edited June 7, 2022 by Cheez3y

[karanhsingh]

1 hour ago, SixPointer said:

Would be ludicrous to throw it away from here!!

45 minutes ago, Cheez3y said:

Whats happening at City?

No Haaland? Or did he went somewhere else?

City have Kane and Darwin Nunez. Haaland is at PSG.

Chelsea is the under-performing team. They have Mbappe, Osimhen, and Vini Jr (and Lukaku). Give me that front 3 and I'll win you the treble every season!

[13th Man]

What a month! And with the big matches coming think and fast!

One bad result in Madrid, but with you lead in the title race, you can probably rest/rotate ahead of the return leg so that you can get Liverpool in the quarters.

[Cheez3y]

2 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

City have Kane and Darwin Nunez. Haaland is at PSG.

Chelsea is the under-performing team. They have Mbappe, Osimhen, and Vini Jr (and Lukaku). Give me that front 3 and I'll win you the treble every season!

I always forget, that Haaland isnt at City at the start of the game. He just almost always end there in 2022 

 

Surely this should be the title. 

[karanhsingh]

1 hour ago, 13th Man said:

What a month! And with the big matches coming think and fast!

One bad result in Madrid, but with you lead in the title race, you can probably rest/rotate ahead of the return leg so that you can get Liverpool in the quarters.

I will be taking no chances in the league, will happily sacrifice the champions league if needed! 

41 minutes ago, Cheez3y said:

I always forget, that Haaland isnt at City at the start of the game. He just almost always end there in 2022 

Surely this should be the title. 

Oh yes thank God city went Kane instead of Haaland on my save. I was not happy when Mbappe moved to Chelsea but they seem generally useless so it's fine.