[FM23] Roots Bloody Roots

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // April 2033

The first half of April wasn't good. We finished March with a loss to Chelsea knocking us out of the FA Cup, and versus Man City and Bayern we were powerless to avoid defeats. The Watford match was a humiliation, but then it seems that once we only had the league to focus on, things started to click again. Three 5-0s and a good revenge win at Stamford Bridge give us confidence for the final stretch.

CL is guaranteed for next season because we won't fall below 5th and England will get an extra spot again (I suspect it will be the norm rather than the exception). And yes we're 2nd but our final two games are against Leicester and Liverpool, so if we were to win the title it would be quite an upset.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // May 2033

We did well against Liverpool, with the VAR disallowing two goals before finally validating a third attempt near the end. Man Utd clinched the title with one match left so against Leicester we were playing for a finish between 2nd and 4th.

We performed miserably on the final day and lost 2nd place to Leicester and 3rd to Arsenal. Not that it matters much but it still bothered me.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // 2032/33 end of season

We finished 4th in the league again but were much more a title contender than last season. The tactical switch to a flat 4-4-2 provided more defensive effectiveness and we ended with 2 more wind and 4 less defeats than last season. In the CL we did well in the league stage and knocked out Dortmund before losing to eventual winners Bayern. We retained the EFL Cup which is always nice to win until we can effectively win the league or the CL.

The squad looks in good shape. Some players will leave this summer but I'm not planning a revolution. Darwin wanted too much to renew so he'll leave on a free; Thiago Carioca never lived up to his ability or potential and is already confirmed to Real Madrid, and Cole Palmer will either remain at Nice if they activate the optional fee, or will remain transfer-listed to avoid losing him for free next summer.

We finally are starting to have "big boys" money, and with the €148m transfer budget I think some cool players may join us in the following weeks. This can be a very important summer because if I'm able to sign the players I've had my eyes on for a while, we will be significantly stronger and ready to be in the title race again.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // 2033/34 pre-season

We had a long-term injury to regular started CB Domenico Balbi during pre-season which will keep him sidelined for 3 months. No other players got badly injured and fitness levels are good.

The start of the summer bothered me a lot. I had all my chips set on a new ball-winning midfielder from Hertha who had a €99m release clause, the only way to negotiate. I finally had that money and out of the blue Chelsea comes in and snaps him right under my nose. I was fuming because he is world class and now I only get to play against him on a regular basis. But from my main three summer transfer targets I was able to sign the other two so it wasn't a disaster.

Spoiler

The player who broke my heart. He's the second player in this save to make me regret so much not doing more in my power to sign him. The other one was a defender from Leeds who I could have signed for €60m but when I finally had enough money he went to Spurs. He regularly features on the Ballon d'Or top 10, and I believe Mutlu will too in the near future.

Transfer priority #2 was this super nice young striker. He had a very accessible €43m release clause and my only doubt was to either sign him a or a more all-rounded wonderkid from Rio Ave (he went to Newcastle later on). Klostermann is more agile and can be the venomous arrow in front that can make a difference.

Carson is not a player I was necessarily looking for, but my scouts mentioned him and he is a very good player who will be an option to play as DR, MR, or MC. He has the attributes to play either of these three positions and I learned from last season that I can no longer build a 22-man squad for this level because there are so many matches and competitions to play, so Carson is the quintessential versatile rotation player.

After the "Serkan Mutlu" incident I needed to find another player to be my first-choice BWM. After considering a handful of options I concluded the best one was already here, and even though the loan contract had a €64m transfer clause I negotiated to a more feasible €55m, and Moya will continue his career at West Ham now as a full-time Hammer.

Transfer priority #3 was this impressive Brazilian defender from Watford. He's been on my shortlist for the past two seasons because he is a great player who can play on any position of the backline, plus he's either footed. I spend all my remaining budget to pay his €58m release clause and he's now part of the team to be the starting right-back.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // August 2033

A shy start with not many goals either way, but a perfect record and already with wins over Chelsea and Man City.

We struggled to score but we did enough to win the first four matches. Let's keep it that way.

This year's CL league stage draw is, once again, kind. PSG and Inter are the obvious hardest fixtures but it's possible that a 6-0-2 record can still be enough to finish in the top 8.

Machado's contract is up in 6 months and I set my DoF to take care of "end of contract" transfer targets. I think he was a tad too generous and Machado naturally agreed terms and he will joins us in January. I'd be glad to have him right away but the transfer budget is completely gone and I don't have €5m to buy him now.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // September 2033

Swansea was another chapter in our story of not creating dangerous chances against smaller teams (however we did a lot of that against Brentford and Brugge). Leicester advanced in the EFL Cup but I'm happy with the trade-off of then winning the league game four days later. PSG posed us some trouble but we managed to score one, enough to start our campaign with the right foot.

We're scoring less but we're rock solid in defence which is music to my ears.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // October 2033

Our goals/game ratio increased as the month progressed. We had another two important wins over title contenders Spurs and Liverpool, and also beat Inter in a match played during international break which meant both teams had about half the players unavailable.

That Swansea match really was frustrating, otherwise we'd be with a perfect record after 11 matches which is incredible in a league like this. 

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // November 2033

November saw us continue our impressive winning streak, even with four away games including current champions Man Utd.

Good stuff. Arsenal were the closest to taking points away from us as they pulled back from a 3-0 to 3-3 but we were able to score one more near the end.

Best attack and defence, and a big gap to the rest of the pack. December will be a busy month with seven matches and I want to maintain this point difference from 2nd place.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // December 2033

We scored loads of goals against several opponents but then struggled a lot in the last two games of the month. Also a draw against Lyon in the CL although we're already qualified in the top 24 but I still want top 8.

We finally lost in the final match of the calendar year and we play Leicester next. But we have gathered a very impressive points tally in this first half of season. I say we are big title challengers!

Machado has arrived from Botafogo after his contract expired. The DoF agreed to his "important player" status which I don't think will happen but nonetheless I very much appreciate his attributes and I count on him performing well whenever he has the chance to play.

The youth intake early assessment mentions once again a striker. I'd like to have other positions with good prospects as there are already at least three promising strikers in the U18 squad.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // January 2034

New year but the same efficiency. We did enough to win (almost) every match, including important wins over Leicester and Spurs. Also, 10-0 in the CL who does that?!

We are fifteen points ahead of another big surprise, Leeds. They're the only team with a better defence than us by one goal; offensively we blow everyone out of the park. I'd say we're very close to a huge upset.

A very peaceful league stage, the hard work begins now.

The board asked me if I wanted a €30m increase on the transfer budget so I immediately paid €6m for an 18 year-old and hope he turns into a club-grown full member of the main squad.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // February 2034

Aston Villa are in the Championship but they outperformed us and knocked us out of the FA Cup way sooner that I had expected.

We're having a storming league campaign and one hand is on the title. We play well, and when we don't we still manage to scrape narrow wins. Next month will be heavier on the calendar with the return of the CL knockouts against Milan, and we piled up some injuries in the final days of the month.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // March 2034

We did just enough to get by Milan in the CL, however in the league we played very poorly and were lucky to get anything out of the Brighton match, deservedly losing the other two.

Fortunately we have a very significant gap and two more wins make the title virtually ours.

Definitely a disappointing group of players, maybe Kerry Philip can turn out into a good right winger.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // April 2034

Is this my best month ever in a FM save? Probably. 23 goals scored and 0 conceded in six matches including the CL quarters and one semi final.

In addition, we are champions of England! What a dream campaign this is, with unbelievable results. Usually finishing with 5 draws and 5 losses will be enough or close to winning, but our record is a lot better than that. For the remaining four league matches my goals are to keep the record as best attack and best defence, and keep the players fit for the upcoming CL final.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // May 2034

Oh well, better luck next time I guess. We didn't play that well but we scored first in the most important match of the club's history, but Real Madrid's experience proved key as they scored twice in five minutes after the break and then controlled the events of the match for a cold-blooded 1-2 win.

I was on the look for a possible yet unlikely relegation of Everton or Newcastle, who have some interesting players who might have been unhappy with that outcome.

West Ham will play the CWC for the first time but it's still three years away. Who knows what happens until then.

[kingjericho]

West Ham // Premier League // 2033/34 end of season

After four seasons the philosophy of Wingplay Crossicho has lead him to glory, with West Ham's first ever league title. Also a honourable performance in the Champions League. The FA Cup was once again a disappointment, as was the EFL Cup but that's the last priority. For sure our best season yet but the challenge isn't over, as I still want to win a CL to fully prove that English wingplay is still a possible way of thinking football.

The squad rebuilding project that started in the summer of 2030 is almost complete, with the few remaining players from four years ago entering their final years of contract. Some will stay and some will leave, but this squad is fully familiarized with the wingplay style and most of these are top class players.

We're not "filthy rich" like some of our rivals but we're working to get there. For now our transfers still need to be for reasonable fees and controlled wages. Our top wage is still under €200k per week which says a lot about our expenses. Clubs like Everton or Newcastle who finished the season struggling against relegation are paying over €350k p/w to their best players.