Revival of the Frauds: The Sir Alex "Fraud" Ferguson FMCU Community Challenge

[Hootieleece]

Bournemouth Oct-Dec 2023

The team was on a high but October was going to be a tough month.....all 3 matches against the Big 6 teams. We ended up losing all three matches even though we were competitive (sort of). 

 

The big news though was in the improvements to the Infrastructure of the Club.

The board did decide that youth coaching should be upgraded to allow us to fulfill academy graduates in the Starting XI. We have one Backup Goalie Mark Travers in Match Day Squad.

50% more seats! Entertaining football must be played to fill them!

Better Youth Facilities is a plus for the future.

The teams place in the table was in good shape even with the terrible month on the pitch!

We either win or lose no draws!

Even with the terrible month our Analysis shows we are playing well, but conceding less than expected is still mostly due to GK Pacheco!

November came with more matches to play but the most important thing was the ending of a Takeover Saga.

December also had more matches and saw us find some form!

Nathan lasted much longer than IRL.....but then again somehow, they finished 9th last season.

Youth Intake 2024 preview

Complete Dross.....one possible winger LOL!

We finished the Boxing Day Match in front of the Home Crowd!

Another note Two players with expiring Contracts Dominik Solanke and Lloyd Kelly made it clear I need to sell them because no matter how well we do they want to be at a bigger club!

I ended up selling Solanke at a Discount $20M to Celtic in Scotland.

Lloyd Kelly starting Left Back was sold to a German Club for $14.5M

I am bringing in two strikers to bolster the attack for this season and the future from Watford and Arsenal.

Schedule

League Table

I am very happy to be in the Continental Football places at the midpoint of the season. I don't think it is realistic that we will stay there. I am happier that we are only 3 wins away from the 40 Point target. We will play each game hoping for points and doing as well as possible.

The Solanke Transfer will hurt.

 

[wynter]

A rare win over Juve kick-started our campaign and we followed it up knocking over Inter and Napoli away from home with some quality performances from Pellegri and Miranchuk.

Miranchuk with 9 Goals from 5 games has been a standout, nabbing 4 when we dismantled Brianza. Really looking at signing him in the off season if we get the funds we need.

6 Points off of a European Spot, which would be amazing if we managed to sneak in. At this point, happy just getting into the Top 10 and going for a full overhaul in the offseason.

[andychar]

Fulham Season 1

I was terrible at taking screenshots here so everything will be from the Season 2 start!

I took over Fulham not in a horrible position. 19th (obviously) but only 1 point away from safety. The goal was simple, just survive. Nothing else mattered.

Annoyingly (as I'm sure you've all found out) you play one game in the league before its the World Cup! My first game was away to Spurs. Lovely stuff.

We got beat but I saw shoots of promise. I was as happy as possible with a defeat. 

(I lied, we beat Plymouth in the Carabao Cup the game before but it didn't seem nearly as exciting).

December saw us march on it a competition I had to interest in. We won a relegation 6 pointer before getting absolutely demolished. 

More cup heroics before another humbling defeat against Leeds. Chelsea scored in stoppage time to stop us picking up a huge morale lifting win. We continues to impress in the Cups and were only 90 minutes away from Wembley. FA Cup is important and we were lucky we had 2 good draws. This continued in the Fifth Round with a home draw against Bournemouth. Still, survival was far from secure. At this point the bottom 2 had been left while there were about 10 teams who were both looking at Europe and looking over their shoulder.

We were busy in January. I made a difficult decision of cashing in on interest for Mitrovic. West Ham offered 46.5m and I thought that was too good to turn down.

Axel actually joined us in November to shore up the defence.

Paul was bought in as a back up LB as there was interest in my first choice LB at the time, he didn't leave and hasn't left as of writing this. As you can tell by the screenshot. Dummett has left. We paid 475k for him, he played 3 games and we sold him for 625k. Just call my Lord Sugar.

A free transfer. At the time I wasn't happy with my keeper Leno. So he was bought in, didn't set the World alight and now its back to Leno number 1. He is my 3rd choice keeper as my current back up is the only 1 who is currently Home Grown!

I can talk in hindsight about this one. I thought he would be better than he actually is. He scored on his debut against Chelsea and that was the peak really. In and out the side. He cost me 7.5m and I regret it!

Signing of the Season for us. He played mainly on the wing which meant Vinicius could play up front (who had a belting second half of the season). For 15m I was delighted with this one.

Last but no least, 14m and a bright bright future. I am hoping I can build around Fabian. 

6 new signings. Just within the rules.

We just couldn't get anything going. No consistency. We were keeping ourselves in with a shot of survival, just not able to pull away. The Palace game was probably the game where we showed what we could do. Then March happened.

We were shaky against Bournemouth but we were suddenly in the Quarter Final of the FA Cup. Time to get serious. Liverpool away was a smash and grab while the following 2 home games were fully deserved. Two games where we played to our full potentially and finally I thought it had all clicked.

And boy had it clicked. 3 wins against the teams around us then a win against City which would be the start of their derailment. They were 7 points clear at the top before we played them. Wolves away, I played a weakened side because it was Semi Final of the FA Cup at the weekend and I wanted to give it everything.

And what a game of football it was! Back and forth, both going hammer and tonuge but amazingly we came away with the win and a place in the Final. Newcastle stood between us and the first part of this challenge completed.

Two shaky results to finish the month but at this point relegation was in the rear mirror and we were actually chasing a top 7 place.

The season couldn't have finished any better. Its amazing, you can pinpoint the performance and result that turned this season from a relegation battle into....

A 6th place finish. Don't get me wrong. 57 points isn't a huge amount but I'll take it. We just had the FA Cup Final to get through and a chance to turn Conference League into Europa League.

And breathe!

I thought it was going to be one of those games when Isak scored against the run of play but we were behind long, then 12 minutes later we were leading. We soaked up a lot of pressure towards the end of the game but we held on and amazingly. We had WON THE FA CUP. 

It means we can now focus on turning this side into one that can challenge for the title!

[andychar]

Fulham Season 2

I've done Pre-Season in Season 2. I'm very unlikely to make any more transfers so here we are...

Transfers

Once again I've spent this window thinking I was losing my starting LB. He's still here, but I've got his replacement lined up ready. 15m from Rangers and the last of the Mitrovic money.

The big one for me. 29m. He comes with an 88m release clause but he is somebody I want to keep for his career. Amazed I managed to get him as I assumed he's be hot property.

5.75m is a bargain for this player. 

We had Manor Solomon on loan last season but his contract was up and we managed to snap him up on a free. Delighted as I thought he was great for us last season, gives us plenty of options.

7m for Tah. As you can see most of my signings have been to shore up the defence, its the one aspect of the team I'm worried about.

5.5 for an Argentinian Wonderkid. I'd be amazed if we can keep him. Another signing I'm delighted with.

6 more new signings. So I can get another in come January, question is, will I need to.

Squad

Team is too big for my liking. Actively trying to get rid of Graterol and Cavaleiro. Might be interested in offers for Palhinha as he just doesn't fit well into what I want. 

Tactics

The Future

There are two players who came through the Youth Intake that look like they will be fantastic.

It was brilliant getting a keeper in. Because worse case scenario with this guy is, he can sit on the bench for the next 20 years and I can really cheese the rule of them only needing to be in the match day squad!

One thing is for certain, the beards on these 16 year olds are impressive.

So that's everything caught up.

We are predicted 11th, which I think I'll happily take. A nice European run and a Season of Growth. 

[wynter]

A near perfect run in with some massive wins meant that on the final day we entered the league in 7th, and were able to make it into the Europa League after Lazio tripped at home to jump us to 6th and a Europa League Group Stage appearance. 

Biggest decision of the save was made immediately after as Singo, the clubs only HG star demanded to leave and after a lot of consideration and some hefty offers I decided to move him on. 

 

The part of the challenge to always play at least one HG player in the starting lineup means that we're going to lose out in terms of HG quality in the immediate future. On the flipside though he allowed us to make some massive signings to add quality in depth and Ciammaglichella, a name I don't ever really want to try and spell ever again will take over his duties as our HG talent.

Ciamma will take over our BWM role, while Gaetano trots up to AMC to replace the departing Miranchuk and Ndour will split duties with Blas as our Mezzala alongside taking Regista duties from Ricci in place of injuries. The one I'm super excited for though is Beljo.

A big tall animal to throw himself around in the box, cutting in from that Left Wing to help Pellegri bully defenders up top.

Ola Aina will take over Singo's spot, while Valeri adds depth to the backline.

[Helginho]

Season 2 Part 2 - Bert Fraudmann - VfL Bochum (Bundesliga)

 

 

 

 

Bertie is turning into a somewhat survival specialist - second from bottom with five games to go and probably one game away from the sack, but his Bochum side turned the tide and managed to stay up once more without relegation playoffs, a draw against Darmstadt on the final day was enough to confirm another Bundesliga season at the Ruhrstadion. Our little cup run continued to the semi final after a dramatic late charge at Hannover, scoring twice in the last two minutes of regular time before nicking the tie in extra time - Borussia Dortmund were waiting for us, a short journey across the A40 highway to Dortmund where BVB thumped us back to Bochum with an emphatic 5-1 win. I hope we can repeat this sort of cup run soon...

 

[wynter]

52 minutes ago, andychar said:

Once again I've spent this window thinking I was losing my starting LB. He's still here, but I've got his replacement lined up ready. 15m from Rangers and the last of the Mitrovic money.

Giving them a helping hand I see 😉

[andychar]

4 minutes ago, wynter said:

Giving them a helping hand I see 😉

Life is pain

[andychar]

That's it. Build him up for failure!

Yeah that's more like it.

Go get them Farias!

I should mention Farias has a 48.5 release clause to teams in the Champions League. That one could come back to bite me.

[andychar]

Fulham Season 2

Community Shield

We started Season 2 with a glorified friendly against Arsenal. Thing is we have to win 10 of these for the challenge so lets give it a go eh.

Yep cool. Not annoyed already at all.

[wynter]

 

1 Goal, 10.00 Rating. Dion is looking nasty.

[wynter]

I am in love with a man called Dion

[Helginho]

Dion Dublin, Dion Beljo... can't be a coincidence!?

[Helginho]

 

This is great fun.

[andychar]

22 minutes ago, Helginho said:

 

This is great fun.

Unbeaten in at least 5!

[Helginho]

vor 12 Minuten schrieb andychar:

Unbeaten in at least 5!

Unbeaten in 10, three games later it's winless in 9. 

[andychar]

Fulham Season 2

This draw could have been better, could have been worse. We should at least have Europe after Christmas I think.

Tough start to the season with some tricky fixtures. Good performances in the wins. 2 draws were we were lucky to get anything and the loss...well...we have halved the last loss at OT so we are moving in the right direction!

I think this is where we are going to spend most of our season hovering. Not expecting much. Just get those players progressing in the right direction.

[Hootieleece]

Bournemouth January 2024

Schedule

We had one game left against Table Propping Burnley and we played a great game and won 2-0!

After the match during the Press Conference my favorite question came up....

After that we started a gauntlet run of playing Chelsea, Liverpool, Fulham, Man City, Aston Villa. Liverpool is league leaders and are in different class from everyone else. I hoped to draw against Chelsea, win versus Aston Villa and Fulham, and remain competitive versus Liverpool and Man City.

The Liverpool match was close and we even scored first and had a second taken away shortly after.....then the onslaught came......

This was a surprise, but I think the first 60 minutes or so against Liverpool gave us some belief we could play with the big boys. The backups had beaten Fulham in the Cup midweek and that helped morale.

Diego Simeone's team played a 5-2-3 DM Formation, and we picked them apart and got lucky as well.

League Table

We should be safe from the Drop now, but with a lot of luck we may make Europe a year early.

Transfers

The Transfer window was busy. Two Stars out and Three players in.

Transfers Out

Dominik Solanke-Celtic-$20M

Lloyd Kelly-Eintracht Frankfurt- $13.75M

Transfers In

Khayon Edwards-Arsenal-$9.25M

Ray Manaj-Watford-$8M

Rico Henry-Brentford-$14.75M

@smp20 I know we are limited to Eight Transfers. I did 5-6 over the summer, lost two players, and brought in 3 more. Is this breaking the rule? Also, what about AI Staff signing U21's and U-18's does that count towards the total? I have let them do it if for nothing else build up the youth ranks. If it is wrong. I won't sign anyone during the Summer Transfer window except extensions to current players.

Team Ability

 

 

[Fudal]

Joining this challenge! I have tried and failed at this challenge many times, so hopefully this time goes better.

Bournemouth it is!

[Kubson]

2023/24 Season: August-January 1st

One thing that is very apparent is that we're not losing very many games (just one in fact), but instead picking up a lot of draws, 8 draws in 18 matches! Thankfully we've also won half of our games but it could have been more, a lot of these draws were as a result of us either missing key chances or conceding late goals, but this is the difference between a good side and a genuine title contender. Not losing to Man City away twice, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham is a very good sign though.

Our title defense of the Carabao Cup is progressing very nicely, through to the semi-finals where we will face Wolves in a match in you'd think that we will be the favorties. I honestly expected us to be eliminated by Man City in the Fourth Round, but switching to a 3ATB was a masterstroke as we held them off and won on penalties.

 

Our form sees us in 4th spot at the beginning of the year and if we can keep up that run of form there is no reason as to why we couldn't snatch that last Champions League spot which would be a massive achievement, though Arsenal and Chelsea are very close in pursuit. Still I'm pretty confident that we will qualify for Europe again, whether be it for the Europa or the Champions League.

This season also sees us make our European debut. We got a very kind draw (especially as we were the 3rd seed team) in Salzburg, Olympiacos and Swiss side Servette. 5 wins and 1 defeat sees Brentford comfortably win the group and advance straight into the second knockout round. That one defeat against Salzburg was a result of overconfidence and squad rotation, after the Austrians battered us I didn't rotate the team again lol Olympiacos made it through as the second place team and Salzburg dropped into the Conference League.

As for our transfer dealings this season, here is the list of the players that we've signed. We took advantage of West Brom's and Crystal Palace's relegations to snatch Styles and Olise for cut prices. Olise is a fantastic player and a fantastic prospect and he'll be a great starting winger or a attack minded midfielder, while Styles will provide the depth that we need (he can play at CM, DM, LWB and I'm training him as a LB)

Eric Bailly was transfer listed for just 4,5 milion pounds and for a player of his quality and experience that is a bargain price.

Ezri Konsa returned to Brentford for 29 milion pounds in total and he will be a key part of our defense.

Swedish midfielder Svanberg joins us after impressing at Bologna and I'm very excited about that deal, he is great as both a DM and a CM.

Haller joined us on loan from Leeds after he was transfer listed on the final day of the summer transfer window, we only pay 50% of his wages with no monthly fee so that is a great transfer, we also have an option to buy him for 27 milion. He will be an impact player for the Premier League and a starting forward for most of our cup matches.

In terms of our performances so far, Eriksen benefited a lot from switching his role from a Mezzala to a Central Midfielder on attack with him scoring more goals at the halfway mark than he did last season, not to mention 7 assists.

Brereton Diaz, Henry, Bogle, Ajer, Kent and Raya continue to impress, while Winks and Worral have improved since last season.

Olise, Konsa, Styles and Haller look like great additions already. I'm especially impressed with Olise, he's great as a CM(A) but even better as a winger and that resulted in Mbuembo being benched.

Our top goalscorer is Cucho Hernandez with 9, but it's also worth mentioning how evenly the goals are spread around our attackers.

[Helginho]

Season 3 - Bert Fraudmann - VfL Bochum (Bundesliga)

 

We are slowly improving, but we're still lightyears behind the top guns of the Bundesliga. Avoiding relegation on the penultimate day with a great 4-1 win against Leipzig finishing in 13th position is more than alright, the loan signing of Dane Scarlett from Spurs proving decisive for the slow rise in the table. Personal highlight was the 4-3 win against Dortmund and the 2-1 win at Schalke within a few days showing everyone who the real #1 in the Ruhrgebiet area is. We finish with a decent goal difference, Stuttgart and Hoffenheim going down is a rather big surprise, same with newly-promoted Mainz storming to Champions League football in their first year back. Darmstadt lose the relegation playoff against Holstein Kiel 1-2 on aggregate.

 

 

Unfortunately the DFB-Pokal will be the reason why next season will most likely be my final season in charge of VfL Bochum. Some great wins against Stuttgart and Gladbach before we exit the competition with a stupid defeat away to Hertha Berlin in the quarter final. Leipzig end up winning the final against Bayer Leverkusen after extra time.

 

[Kubson]

2023/24 CARABAO CUP SEMI-FINALS

We were the better side in the first-half and probably should have taken the lead but we were poor in front of goal. Things went from bad to worse in the second half, as Wolves improved in the second half and delivered the sucker punch through Fabio Silva in the 84th minute. Plenty of work to be done ahead of the second leg at Molineux if we are to go through. The fact that Balcombe had to play due to Raya having a minor injury didn't help either.

We found the finishing touch that we lacked at home as we beat Wolves 3-0 after extra time at their ground. Eriksen's goal saw the game head to extra time and the substitutions of Mbeumo and Brereton Diaz had great impact as they scored in extra time to seal our place in the final. Raya coming back made all the difference as Wolves themselves were able to create dangerous chances but our Spanish number one saved all of them and ensured that Wolves' Carabao Cup run would come to an end.

Unlike last year where we were fortunate to play a team of similar strength in Aston Villa, this time the final challenge will be much more difficult as we face one of the best teams in the world and the most successful side in League Cup's history: Liverpool. We will have to play a near perfect match if we are to retain our title.

[noikeee]

First time I've been sacked in a while.

 

The 8-1 was particularly amusing.

 

I had hired 2 players, didn't even get to play Dewsbury-Hall as he picked up a bad injury just before joining us.

[andychar]

9 hours ago, noikeee said:

First time I've been sacked in a while.

Its an unforgiving game sometimes.

[andychar]

Made several changes to my side away to Arsenal. Thought "I'll Instant Result it, get it out the way"

Fraud mode activated.

[Hootieleece]

Bournemouth Feb-May 2024

We were either win or lose and we won more than we lost.....need to work on the defense for sure.

We finished with a team record 7th place. and this.....

Thanks to this

Liverpool won the Quadruple. Premier League, Carabao Cup, FA Cup, and Super Cup

Team Summary 

This is how the team finish playing during the season.

Jamal Lowe was our Player if the Season. He scored a team high 19 goals. 16 in Premier League!

We overperformed offensively but where expected defensively. The offensive numbers are because we take more shots and put more of them on target than average.

XG Table shows we outperformed expectations but we would have easily avoided relegation anyway!

This was a very successful season even if there were no trophies. We did it by only spending 29% of our turnover about $70M dollars.

Due to our success and financial acumen the Board has decided to build a new stadium!

The Pressure is on to keep the good times rolling!

 

[andychar]

On 20/02/2023 at 15:09, Helginho said:

 

This is great fun.

[Kubson]

JANUARY 2024

This has been one of the, if not the best month of my tenure at Brentford. No defeats in the league with 4 wins in 6 matches including victories against Man City and Man Utd, it's just a shame about that Blackburn result lol Still that run of form is enough for us to keep 4th spot coming into February.

We also did well in the cups, battering Championship side Newcastle and pulling off a comeback against Wolves in the Carabao Cup.

TRANSFERS

We made two additions on the deadline day of the winter transfer window as we needed more depth with both domestic cups and Europa League making our schedule more packed. That meant that we signed 8 players this season, 6 of them coming on pernament deals.

Renan arrives from Brazil for a cheap price of 8 milion and he is able to be both a DC and a LB, especially happy with this as clubs like Milan or Roma were sniffing around.

Veretout joins to provide depth to our midfield and with no loan fees involved this was a no-brainer. He has fantastic technical attributes and if we want to buy him, the permanent transfer fee isn't large.

Edited February 22, 2023 by Kubson

[Hootieleece]

Bournemouth 2024 Preseason

Transfers

Yes, it seems I have spent a lot of money on Transfers but some of these are early transfers ($57.5M) for next season.

Most of the money was spent on this player to be the star playmaker of our "New" 4-2-4 Formation.

Ashley Phillips-CB-$16.5M (Loaned back to club for Season)

Sinclair Armstrong-AMR/STC-$1M

Brahima Diarra-CM-$475k

Only Johnson is definitely in the First Team, the others are for depth (shuttling between U-21's and First Team) or for Next Season in the case of Phillips.

Season Review

Preseason Schedule

New Tactic

 

2024-2025 Season Preview

Even after spending $100M and coming in 7th place last season we are still being tipped for regulation.

 

 

[Deisler26]

Congratulations everyone, it seems this challenge is really rolling!

Commiserations @noikeee, will you be back?

[Deisler26]

The Carabao Cup Final
6 Mar 2023
15:00

Crystal Palace  0-0 (a.e.t) West Ham United (Palace win 5-3 on pens)

Another season, another cup. I think I need to stop prioritising the cups, but there's not much point until my backups get better.

Cresswell's miss led to our academy player Jack Wells-Morrison slamming home the winning penalty.

Edited February 23, 2023 by Deisler26

[Helginho]

It's season 4 and we are still in the DFB-Pokal, playing struggling Mainz in mid-January... we're doing alright in the Bundesliga as well - hope we can win the cup so this save can continue!

 

[Kubson]

2024 CARABAO CUP FINAL

Against all odds we find ourselves in the final for the second consecutive season and we have a chance to defend our title. Unlike last time where we faced Aston Villa, this time Liverpool stand in our way and they are very much as strong as you'd think, coming into this match they are 2nd in the Premier League and of course they have a good history in the Carabao Cup, being the most successful side in the competition's history.

The odds reflect that, with Liverpool being the slight favorites. Rico Henry is not fully fit coming into this match which means that means either Styles or Renan will have to slot in as the left back.

MATCH

We've done it! After a tight match in which we came from behind twice, we took the game to penalties and won. I'm not going to lie after Mane scored the second or when Keita was stepping up to take Liverpool's 5th penalty I was sure that it was over for Brentford, but we came back each time to win the cup and defend our title! This has got to be one of our best team performances this season.

Just like last season, winning The League Cup secures our spot in the Conference League, at the very least but with us fighting for the Champions League spot I doubt that we will enter the competition. Still it is nice to be assured of something at the very least.

[Hootieleece]

Bournemouth August 2024

Schedule

The change to the 4-2-4 Gegen press is effective against equal teams but not against the top teams. Alex will probably go back to the 4-4-2 against them home or away.

We will see about using it in the Europa League!

This is a tough draw for us, but Alex thinks we will be competitive.

League Table

Off to a good start won all the matches against relegation battle foes which is a good omen.

 

Monthly Awards

Player of the Month (Bournemouth)

 

Player of the Month (Premier League)

 

Manager of the Month (Premier League)

Transfer Window

No final day splashing the cash for Bournemouth we have made 6 signings this season and Alex wants the flexibility to add a player or two in January.

[wynter]

Second Season is off to a solid start, mainly looking at a good run in Europe and to aim for a Top 6 spot again. 

We got off to a bit of a shaky start in the league with Juve and Inter b2b but we've picked up some steam in October and our Europe Campaign is flying, having almost sealed qualification inside three games.

Mid-Table in the League and in 1st place in the Europa League, aim for the next month is to try and keep the run going but there's some tricky away games coming up. 

With an eye to the HG rule of the challenge we've made our 7th and final signing for the season due to arrive in January

6.5 Million but 18 years old and he could be a hybrid WCB/Midfielder very easily. Can see him being a core part of the team or at the least a solid rotation option for a long time.

[Deisler26]

2024 Youth Intake

A 'golden generation' eh? I'll believe it when I see it tbh. Let's have a look at the top 3 prospects.

1. Jonty Oldacre (DC)

Some sexy talent there. Gonna have to hot house him nicely. Can't have him being overexposed in the league too soon
 

2. Joe Thornton (DL)

Another full back. We'll have to see who develops best out of this prospect and last year's, but hopefully, at worst, we have two servicable players!
 

3. Stuart Robinson (DRL/WBR)

Well. This guy is going to need to be utterly retrained, his physicals are completely shot  but he could end up being a good HB or SV with retraining. 

We also had this goalie come through: Coşkun Duran. And his name means Enthusiastic in Turkish, but he's far too eccentric for my liking, he'll be sold and never make my first team

[Kubson]

UEFA Europa League 2023/24 Knockouts

Second Knockout Round

As group winner we went straight into the second round where we'd be drawn against an unseeded team. That team turned out to be Galatasaray who were knocked out of the Champions League previously.

Coming into this tie I was confident as we had beaten teams of similar statue (Olympiacos and Salzburg) in the group stages and this was one of the easier teams for us to get on paper. This turned out to be true as we dominated in Turkey and managed to get an important 2-1 win in Istanbul. We won again in England after a closer match to seal a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Quarterfinal

The next round would be much more difficult as we drew Spanish giants and 2004 Uefa Cup winner Valencia who had finished 4th and 5th in the two previous La Liga seasons and were top of their domestic division coming into this tie. With players like Gaya, Soler or an in-form partenrship of Duro and Maxi Gomez they were very strong on paper and they proved it by beating Benfica 6-1 in the previous round.

Despite the Spanish side being the surperior team in both matches we've advanced! The first leg in England has got to be one of the stranger games I've had on FM, we started superbly with a goal from Olise and it looked like we could beat Valencia comfortably. Then Kent and Renan both got sent off in the space of 31 minutes leaving us with 9 men, predictably Valencia then dominated the proceedings but they couldn't finish any of their chances as Raya, Ajer, Konsa, Bailly and Styles put in a superb shift and one of our few attacks resulted in a goal thanks to Cucho Hernandez. 

We beat La Liga leaders 2-0 with 9 men! With a 2-0 lead coming into the second leg we played counter-attacking brand of football and went up 4-0 on aggregate after 40 minutes, Duro and Vallejo made it 2-2 but it wasn't enough for Valencia as we won 4-2 and advanced into the semi-finals!

Semifinal

We would come up against a fellow English side: Spurs, the two time UEFA Cup winners and last season's Europa League finalists in the semifinal of the Europa League. Domestically they were having an abysmal campaign, they were 14th coming into this match, a massive downfall considering they finished 4th in the previous season. Spurs were also knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage, but fared much better in the Europa League, they beat Lille, Hertha and Arsenal (!) on the way to the semifinals. I was happy with this draw as we had beaten them before, they weren't at their best and Arsenal would be harder to beat but they were still the favorties. 

Tottenham didn't turn up in this tie and they looked much closer to their disappointing league counterpart rather than the team that got them this far in the Europa League. We dominated the match at the White Hart Lane, scoring three but Muriel's 90th minute strike gave Spurs a glimmer of hope coming into the second leg. That hope was quickly gone after Cucho Hernandez's double put as 5-1 up in the space of 19 minutes, Tottenham could only manage one goal through Son and we are through to the final in our first ever European campaign!

In the Europa League final we will face 3 time Europa League winners Atletico Madrid, who will be determined to win the final as this could be their only hope of getting into the Champions League. Atletico were the favorties to win the cup at the start of the competition and have lived up to the expectations by reaching the final.

This match reminds me a lot of Fulham who had a similary sensational run and lost to Atletico in the 2010 Europa League final, hopefully we can do one better than our bitter rivals!

 

[Deisler26]

2 hours ago, Kubson said:

UEFA Europa League 2023/24 Knockouts

Second Knockout Round

As group winner we went straight into the second round where we'd be drawn against an unseeded team. That team turned out to be Galatasaray who were knocked out of the Champions League previously.

Coming into this tie I was confident as we had beaten teams of similar statue (Olympiacos and Salzburg) in the group stages and this was one of the easier teams for us to get on paper. This turned out to be true as we dominated in Turkey and managed to get an important 2-1 win in Istanbul. We won again in England after a closer match to seal a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Quarterfinal

The next round would be much more difficult as we drew Spanish giants and 2004 Uefa Cup winner Valencia who had finished 4th and 5th in the two previous La Liga seasons and were top of their domestic division coming into this tie. With players like Gaya, Soler or an in-form partenrship of Duro and Maxi Gomez they were very strong on paper and they proved it by beating Benfica 6-1 in the previous round.

Despite the Spanish side being the surperior team in both matches we've advanced! The first leg in England has got to be one of the stranger games I've had on FM, we started superbly with a goal from Olise and it looked like we could beat Valencia comfortably. Then Kent and Renan both got sent off in the space of 31 minutes leaving us with 9 men, predictably Valencia then dominated the proceedings but they couldn't finish any of their chances as Raya, Ajer, Konsa, Bailly and Styles put in a superb shift and one of our few attacks resulted in a goal thanks to Cucho Hernandez. 

We beat La Liga leaders 2-0 with 9 men! With a 2-0 lead coming into the second leg we played counter-attacking brand of football and went up 4-0 on aggregate after 40 minutes, Duro and Vallejo made it 2-2 but it wasn't enough for Valencia as we won 4-2 and advanced into the semi-finals!

Semifinal

We would come up against a fellow English side: Spurs, the two time UEFA Cup winners and last season's Europa League finalists in the semifinal of the Europa League. Domestically they were having an abysmal campaign, they were 14th coming into this match, a massive downfall considering they finished 4th in the previous season. Spurs were also knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage, but fared much better in the Europa League, they beat Lille, Hertha and Arsenal (!) on the way to the semifinals. I was happy with this draw as we had beaten them before, they weren't at their best and Arsenal would be harder to beat but they were still the favorties. 

Tottenham didn't turn up in this tie and they looked much closer to their disappointing league counterpart rather than the team that got them this far in the Europa League. We dominated the match at the White Hart Lane, scoring three but Muriel's 90th minute strike gave Spurs a glimmer of hope coming into the second leg. That hope was quickly gone after Cucho Hernandez's double put as 5-1 up in the space of 19 minutes, Tottenham could only manage one goal through Son and we are through to the final in our first ever European campaign!

In the Europa League final we will face 3 time Europa League winners Atletico Madrid, who will be determined to win the final as this could be their only hope of getting into the Champions League. Atletico were the favorties to win the cup at the start of the competition and have lived up to the expectations by reaching the final.

This match reminds me a lot of Fulham who had a similary sensational run and lost to Atletico in the 2010 Europa League final, hopefully we can do one better than our bitter rivals!

 

What a run that was 

[Hootieleece]

Bournemouth 2024-2025 Season Midpoint

 

League Table

Schedule

Player of Year (So far)

Youth Intake Preview

Other News

 

I am doing about as well as I can with Bournemouth but If I don't win a trophy in this third season, I think that this attempt is over. (Ferguson won trophy in 3rd season) That leaves the Europa League as our chance.

Wish me luck!

[wynter]

Being restricted to 8 signings a season, we've made our last purchase as the Jan window has opened with Mane joining to fill out the back, and a new signing in Mvuka

Classic winger bought in for the AML/ML slot out left to play an inverted role. 21, rapid and has the tools to dominate out wide. 

 

No more signings until the end of the season.

In the meantime pumping by rangers aside we're doing good. Made the Europa League Knockouts and with our streak of wins in the Serie A we end the year in 6th, with a six way shootout for the top spot.

 

[Kubson]

FEBRUARY-MAY 2024

Our form has been all over the place, with March and May being our best months in terms of results. Of course, we've been competing in the Europa League and the FA Cup, as well as that we had to play a Carabao Cup Final so it's understandable that we would drop some points, but we've had quite a bit of dissapoitning results, like losing to Everton, Bournemouth, Wolves or Villa. 

Our FA Cup run came to an end in the 4th round again, as this time we lost to Chelsea which was unfortunate especially as we were able to beat them in the league. The fact that the replay came jut before the Carabao Cup final certainly help. The pressure is now on as we will have to win this cup next season.

That Aston Villa defeat was very costly as we bottled Champions League qualification on the final day of the season  We've been in 4th pretty much the entire year too. We now have to do things the hard way and defeat Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final if we want to play Champions League football, and both sides will be up for it as the Spanish side finished 5th in La Liga.

Elsewhere Tottenham have had an abysmal season as mentioned previously as they finished in 14th, 10 places lower than the previous season. Chelsea have nothing to brag about either as they miss out on Champions League football. Southampton, Blackburn and Fulham have all gone down.

That match against Villa was especially frustrating as we dominated and should have easily won it. We couldn't finish our dinner and Aston Villa scored with one of their few attacks of the match. Not only that but Jayden Bogle got injured and won't be able to start against Atletico in the Final.

[Deisler26]

The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final
21 Mar 2024
15:00

Crystal Palace  2-0  Birmingham City
Edouard 26, 39

Edited February 27, 2023 by Deisler26

[Deisler26]

UEFA Europa League Round of 16, Second Leg
24 Mar 2024
19:45

Crystal Palace (5) 3-1 (3) SC Freiburg (Crystal Palace win 5-3)
Edouard 63, 79, 90.............................Höler 7

A great hat-trick sees us through!

[Deisler26]

2023/24 Relegation Battle

We, undoubtedly, have the toughest run in, but matching Sheff Utd for the next 2 matches will see us safe.

[Deisler26]

UEFA Europa League Quarter Final, Second Leg
18 Apr 2024
19:45

Olympique Lyonnais (3) 1-0 (2) Crystal Palace (Lyon win 3-2 on aggregate)
Aouar 1.

I basically threw this match by playing the second XI, as we had more chance of beating Spurs in the FA Cup Semi Final a few days later than winning the Europa League, although we would have had Club Brugge in the Semi Final

Edited February 27, 2023 by Deisler26

[Deisler26]

The Emirates FA Cup Semi Final
21 Apr 2024
15:00

Tottenham Hotspur 0-1  Crystal Palace
...............................................................................Edouard 21

We were incredibly lucky to pull this off. Spurs hit the woodwork three times and dominated the game from start to finish

[Deisler26]

Premier League - Match 38
19 May 2024
14:00

Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace
Lang 25
Sarabia 29

Normally, I wouldn't post a Premier League season, but with safety guaranteed and a cup final on the horizon, I decided to put an almost third XI, with a lot of youth prospects for a game where it didn't matter. And despite a howler of a second goal, they acquitted themselves well, if no cutting edge

We had academy Premier League debuts for Bryn Gardiner (GK, 2023 youth), Breandan Bennett (DR, 2023 youth) Jonty Oldacre (DC, 2024 youth), Alex Phipps (DL, 2023 youth) and Stewart Archibald (AMC, 2023 youth)

[Deisler26]

The Emirates FA Cup FInal
25 May 2024
15:00

Manchester United 2-4 Crystal Palace
Sancho 31..........................................................Eze 14, 35
Ronaldo 69........................................................Edouard 45, 77

First game back from injury and Eze nets a double and sees us retain the FA Cup. Ironically, concentrating on this, robbed us of facing United in the Europa League Final haha.

Edited February 27, 2023 by Deisler26

[Deisler26]

2023/24 Season Review

Premier League

Not the best of seasons again, but when you prioritse three cups, the teams you put out aren't of Premier League standard. Especially with a youth only challenge, which I will break from next season, in that, I will only buy under-18's from lower league UK clubs.
This practice will hopefully see us make a profit on players, whilst using the scouting system for once, as I've never given it a chance in many, many FM's

Premier League fixtures: Aug - Dec
Premier League fixtures: Jan - May

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Cup Results

Carabao Cup Results - WINNERS
UEFA Europa League Results - Quarter Final
The Emirates FA Cup - WINNERS

Player Stats
Commercial Summary

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Oof. And a third of those were scored by Edoaurd who is refusing to sign a new deal...

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Data Hub

A poor season, with only our Passing and Defending to recommend us

 

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by Deisler26

[Kubson]

2024 EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL

May 30th, Aviva Stadium, Dublin

In their first ever season in Europe Brentford have defied all the odds to reach the Europa League final, while pre-season favorites Atletico Madrid prepare for their 4th appearance in the competition's final. This match will have extra significance as neither of the finalists qualfied for the Champions League through their domestic league (both finished in 5th).

Atletico Madrid have never lost a Europa League final, winning all of their three previous attempts and with their quality and vastly surperior european experience they will surely be the favorites for this match, while Brentford will look to cause one final upset to win what could be the most important cup in the club's 135 year old history.

On route to the final Brentford won a group containing Servette, Salzburg and Olympiacos, and defeated Galatasaray, Valencia and Tottenham Hotspur in the knockout stages, Atletico also won their group (Partizan, Dynamo Kyiv and St. Gallen) and overcame Gladbach, Porto and Lyon in the knockouts.

 

The Match

We've gone and done it! Europa League comes to Brentford at the very first attempt and what a story this has been! We started out brilliantly with two quick goals from Ryan Kent and our Europa League hero Cucho Hernandez to put us 2-0 up within the first 5 minutes. Our 4-3-3 formation was effective in controlling the match and keeping Atletico at bay and we could have had more in the first half. Trincao's penatly in the 77th minute brought Atletico back to life and gave them a glimmer of hope, but we held on for the remainder of the match and survived their attacks to win the match and the cup itself. A deserved win after a fantastic performance.

This result caps off a fantastic season where we've won the double consisting of the League Cup and the Europa League. This is our first ever European trophy and indeed our finest achievement ever.

Before the season I was hoping that we would reach the quater finals and gain some experience, but I certainly didn't expect us to win the cup when there were teams like Atletico or Arsenal and the media certainly agree that we were the overachievers and the most beautiful story of this season's Europa League. 

I will cover the season as a whole soon, but what a game this has been! We most certainly made up for that final day blunder against Aston Villa in Premier League's final match 

Edited February 27, 2023 by Kubson