FM24: Manchester United - Same old problems?

[sedge11]

So after that incredible 3rd season, we move into season 4 and this is how the summer went.

It was a quiet window, with a couple of the young players leaving who just didn't quite cut it in Gore, Hannibal and Jackson. Mount also left, just never really fitted in.

Hincapie came in to replace Shaw, who wanted to leave for a new challenge, however Shaw has stayed so Hincapie is just an all round back up defender.

Thuram is a player I really like on fm, he went to Bayern and barely played so I took my chance and had to get him.

My plan was to buy Evan Ferguson, but as Toney and Hojlund both had great seasons last season, I decided to hold off on that plan with the view of buying him for season 5.

I had been using a standard 4-2-3-1, but I've decided to change it up. On fm23 I created a tactic and trained Thuram as a defensive winger and it worked incredibly well, so with him joining me again I thought I would do it again on fm24.

Before I had the DW on the left, but with Rashford, Garnacho and Fati more suited to the left, I put the DW on the right for this version. And well it has been working incredibly well. Thuram is doing just as well as he did on fm 23, with 5 goals and 3 assists in 11 games, and an average rating of 7.46.

We have been excellent, with only really the most recent game against Brighton our worst performance. Considering how well we have started you would think we would be top of the league, but no Man City have won 7 out of 7.

Though I kind of wished I had got Ferguson now, as Toney has only 1 goal so far this season, and though Hojlund has 6 goals, he got sent off against Brighton. Still I have made him my no 1 target and we are constantly scouting him.

My next game is Man City, and with Hojlund suspended I'm seriously considering using Van Persie as my striker, give him a chance.

[MatthewS17]

I know the hype and everyone is going for Bellingham, but anyone had any experience or seen any transfer that pries Saka out of Arsenal?

Won't spend more than 100m on anyone, but I'd make an exception for him. 

[Curtains-2720]

2 hours ago, MatthewS17 said:

I know the hype and everyone is going for Bellingham, but anyone had any experience or seen any transfer that pries Saka out of Arsenal?

Won't spend more than 100m on anyone, but I'd make an exception for him. 

I agree, there are few players as good as him in that position. Young and English too

[axehan1]

Financially we are in the you know what..

 

Hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel

[molemenacer]

23 hours ago, MatthewS17 said:

I know the hype and everyone is going for Bellingham, but anyone had any experience or seen any transfer that pries Saka out of Arsenal?

Won't spend more than 100m on anyone, but I'd make an exception for him. 

I've been scouting him for over a year and his estimated price has never dropped below £180 mill

As we are seen as rivals as well i reckon it will actually be over £200 mill.

[molemenacer]

13 hours ago, axehan1 said:

Financially we are in the you know what..

 

Hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel

Nice, i'm always unsure if i want a tycoon or not.  

[ThanatosAFC]

Put an hold on my Brighton save and started with United. 1 day in and we get this offer, we sure accept this one 

 

[BigV]

Yeah just an extra 40m negotiation point... wish all clubs did that 

[ThanatosAFC]

I have noticed that Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Ittihad give you whatever you ask for, wonder what they would offer after season one.

[BigV]

Wonder if it works if you offer them out to those clubs constantly and they pay over the odds for all the deadwood 

[Champ15]

Halfway point season 1 and i'm top of the table by 5 points but City have 2 games in hand. Just finished January and outgoings have been Varane for €124m inc add ons to Saudi, McTominay on loan to PSG with a mandatory fee of €40m & Lindelof to Newcastle for €40m inc add ons. Malacia gone on lone too with a mandatory fee of €20m to PSG. Incomings and trying to stick to only spending 50% of what i recieve in transfer fees sees Inacio come in as Varane's replacement for his release clause of €45m, Mukiele as Lindelofs replacement for €12.75m inc add ons and Barco who has stayed on loan til summer as part of the deal/ Mainoo, Gore & Hansen-Aroens go on loan but will come back next season as 1st team players as i look to develop from within. Diallo and Pellestri also gone on loan but might look to sell them in the summer

 

 

[molemenacer]

25/26 January Window slams shut and we did some business.

First off players out:

First off the big 2 transfers:
Marcus Thuram - Just kept moaning about everything and was constantly unhappy.  Could have got more but i was just fed up with him so he went to Real Madrid
Marcos Leonardo - Just constantly injured, has missed 12 weeks in 4 seperate injuries since September had enough so he goes to PSG where i bet he never gets injured

Bunch of loans

Players In:

Maine Yamal - A replacement for Thuram and he has already 2 goals and 2 assists in 6 games.  Pricey for an 18 y/o but potentially the best player in the world.
Pablo Gomez - Newgen CB from Argentina, massive potential
Abdulsamed Yildiz - Young Turkish forward, huge potential
Arda Guler - Real loan listed him early Jan but they wanted all his wages and massive loan fees.  Last day of the window, 20% wages and small fees
Ryan Gravenberch - So this is controversial, loan from Liverpool.  Hear me out, i needed a player that can play in the DM role and there are slim pickings in January and he was listed and they only wanted 30% of his wages covered and with 2 assists in 4 games so far looks like a good depth option.

League is looking good, battling with City at the top of the table
Out of both domestic cups, not happy at all with this will cover in the season round up
Champions League - Topped the league phase with 7 wins and 1 draw scoring 23 goals and conceding 3

[axehan1]

End of the 25/26 season and we finish second to Erling Haaland as he scores 43 of their 80 odd league goals.

Last game of the season and we are top but have to go to Chelsea while City go to Villa Park.

We blew Chelsea away but are undone by Kepa and his 8.4 rating and 11 saves and lose 1-0 to a late penalty while City win 2-0 at Villa.

On the plus side though we then had to go to the Camp Nou to face Real Madrid in the Champions League final

 

Champions League winners, EFL Cup winners (4-2 against Championship Brighton) and 2nd in the League.

Just working through pre-season 26/27.Looking to add a Centre Back, left back and a right back to the squad.

I'll update towards the end of the transfer window.

[Stevmon]

How’s everyone doing with injuries? I’m in late February in the first season I have barely had any injurie…

Nice in one way, but feels very unrealistic considering how many injuries there is irl in most teams now..

Anyone know if you can increase injuries via in game editor?

[Champ15]

 

Season 1 Review

Premier League

Well what a nail biter. Found myself 5 points clear of City with 4 games remaining. City, Chelsea, Spurs & an in form West Ham. A  home win against  City would almost certainly wrap it up but despite dominating we ended up losing to 2 late goals meaning title race back on. Next game Chelsea away and nerves are creeping in beforehand. But not to worry Chelsea are taken for 3 1st half goals to give us a comfortable lead. 2nd half a complete change as Chelsea strike twice to make it a nervy last 10 minutes but we hang on. The day gets even better as our next opponents Spurs beat City to help us regain our 5 point advantage. We then face Spurs away. This is Spurs they'll sure roll over. Well it turned out to be the most boring nil all draw imaginable. Not one single highlight for the game. City win their game meaning we hold a 3 point advantage but an inferior goal difference  going to the final day against West Ham. Spirits are high going into this one as the hammers are only playing to deny us the title and all we need is a point. 8 minutes in we self implode!! Casemiro gets a straight red for a stupid challenge. On the stroke of half time West Ham strike but as it stands City are drawing with Brighton so we stay top......but not for long. City score early in the 2nd half. Around the hour mark changes are made on comes Martial for a weary Hoijlund and on 68 minutes the much maligned forward finishes clinically to level up the game. Queue every defensive tactic being instilled into our formation as we cling onto the draw to gain a 21st league title 

 

 

FA Cup Final

After a strong showing in the FA Cup we play Liverpool in the final and oh what a game. The early stages we are completely dominant but can score then boom Liverpool sucker punch us to go 1 up 15 mins before halftime. In a very open game it takes us til the 70th minute to equalise through Sancho but less then 10 mins later Salah strikes to put them in control. That lead lasted only 5 minutes as Inacio heads home from a corner to level once again in this thriller. Would that be the end of it. NO!! 2 mins later Gakpo scores on the 86th minute to surely deliver the cup to Liverpool. But as this game was crazy enough straight from kick off our final day hero in the league Martial pops up in the right place at the right time to take the game to extra time. 3 times Liverpool led and had been pegged back so could they go again? Twice they score before half time but twice they are ruled out for offside. Their heads drop after the 2nd disallowed goal and in sneaks Garnacho to double down on their misery. That man Martial finishes off the tie just after halftime and we have secured a double with a treble possibly on the way.....

 

 

                                      Champions League Final

After a gargantuan tussle with PSG in the semi finals we face Barcelona at Wembley to try and complete a 2nd treble in the clubs history. Going in as favourites and full of confidence Captain Fantastic Bruno opens the scoring after 8 mins. Again we dominate for most of the half but a slip in concentration allows Barca in to level. Not to worry we're playin well and creating chances so its no surprise when Rashford nods home just after the hour mark to give us a 2-1 lead. Again concentration comes into play and De Jong gets on the end of a cross to level matters once again. And once again a red card comes to haunt us as on the stroke of full time Shaw gets sent off to leave us a man down for all of extra time. We navigate extra time by going defensive looking to hit on the counter and that tactic see  the game finish rather drably and onto penalties.  Eriksen steps up to take our 1st and blazes over meanwhile Barca and ourselves after dispatch the next couple. Then up steps Onana who when needed pulls out a sensational save giving us a chance to level up through Casemiro who repays his sending off in the last league game. 5th penalty for Barca and Onana can't  repeat his earlier heroics and its up to Reguilon to bring the penalties to sudden death and of course............................he blazes over shattering our treble dreams

 

 

All in all a great season despite the loss to Barca. Struggling with discipline with a lot of yellow cards and red cards throughout the season. That needs working going into next year. Scored plenty of goals this year with all of our attackers scoring in or around 19 goals but all have been a little inconsistent. Much work to do for next season as some young guns coming back from loan will be replacing some senior players I'm looking to ship on plus one or two signings  to hopefully challenge for honours again

Edited November 29, 2023 by Champ15

[DominicForza]

19 hours ago, Stevmon said:

How’s everyone doing with injuries? I’m in late February in the first season I have barely had any injurie…

Nice in one way, but feels very unrealistic considering how many injuries there is irl in most teams now..

Anyone know if you can increase injuries via in game editor?

I think you're probably just getting lucky.  Most people are reporting EXTREME injuries to the point of it being "a bug."  I may be mistaken but I think SI reduced injury frequency in latest patch. 

I don't want to jinx myself, but in recent versions of that game I've had remarkably few injuries and red cards.  With injuries I do a LOT of rotating and check Medical Centre before every match to help me pick squad for given matches...also thinking ahead for upcoming matches.   That seems to make a big difference.   Or...maybe I've just been getting lucky myself.  Damn, now I jinxed myself.

[molemenacer]

End of the 3rd season 25/26

So a very frustrating season comes to a close with a disappointing end. 

 

Start with the good, Premier League

A 95 point season with a massive 132 goals scored, the issue for me though is the 50!!!! conceded, a massive 10 goals over out expected XGA.  A massive issue all season that was going to cost us.

Spoiler

The pretty good, Champions League

A decent league phase but then a tough trip through the knock outs against Benfica, Liverpool and Man City before a tough loss to Barcelona in the final.   Messi started the final perfectly for us but for the next 80 minutes we could do nothing, the didn't do much but once again Perri decided he couldn't save shots.  Last 10 we threw everything at them and missed 2 really good chances to level the game and we lost our 6th final

Spoiler

The bad, EFL and FA Cup

Derby game, xg 0f 4.3, 6 CCC and 5 HC, 10on target
The start of things to come, 2.7xg to 1.4, 2 CCC to 0, 3HC to 0,  We scored in the 93 minute to force penalties but missed 2 to lose 6-5 - Raya got a 7.7 and MOTM

First game against Newcastle, Karius in goal gets a 9.0 and we go to the replay.  They played a 19 y/o awful goalkeeper in his first ever senior game and we had an xg of over 5. It was 2-2 at 73 minutes before we finally managed to score some of our chances

The Bristol City game, 3.3xg to 1.2, 4 CCC to 2, 7 HC to 0, 17 on target to 2 and Ramsdale gets a 6.4 and their keeper gets a 9.

Both competitions were a mess in terms of whoever played in goal not being able to make a save at all and the opposition goalkeeper had a blinder. 

Squad Overview:

Despite Hojlund getting 27 goals he was awful until February, big question marks over him going into next season 

Spoiler

Messi's contract runs out in the summer, he is retiring in November (no idea why November) but he wants £275k still.  For his final year though he has been great for me

Spoiler

Bellingham was the big money signing of last summer for me and he has been great.  Started playing in the Segundo Volante role but moved to the AP role in the second half of the year and very happy with his return, hoping for more next year

Spoiler

Kobbie Mainoo, i was hoping he would step up this year and he did.  Rotated with Bellingham until Bellingham moved forward and he took over the Segundo Volante role and was a revelation.  He will be my started player next season

Spoiler

Garnacho, i wanted more out of him this year and did he provide it.  Up until Hojlunds turn around in February he was top scorer and assister, then he kept picking up little knocks that meant he missed a fair amount of games and kept having to keep finding his form again.  Hopefully next year he has a better fitness record and can kick on again.

Spoiler

Summer window:

Goakeeper - Priority, i have my eye on 2 at the moment so we will see what happens here.
Right back - Happy with my options so unless someone goes out nothing will change
Center backs - I have 4 very good center backs so again not expecting anything here
Left back - Same again, not really expecting any movement here
DMs - Would love to get Gravenbirch in but don't know if Liverpool will allow it.  I need a body here so someone will come in.
AP - Maybe sign Guler on transfer but that is the only potential
AMR/AML - Not sure yet.  Not happy with Rashford really so he may go as he wants crazy money to renew.
ST - Annoyed at Hojlund bbut Roque stepped up well.  They are both young still so may give them a go next season

Transfer budget of £111 million so there is a budget to do a few deals

Edited November 30, 2023 by molemenacer

[axehan1]

The transfer window is into its last 2 weeks and i only wanted to strengthen the defence so i bought in 4 defenders.Garcia was on loan from last season with a mandatory buy clause, i like him he's comfortable playing in the DM position as well

as CB.

2 games into season 4 and we have started with a home win over Liverpool 2-1 and 1-0 win away to West Ham.

Strongest starting eleven is.

[Monsieur-Beev]

So 6 games into the new season and I feel like all my tactical knowledge has just gone out of the window. 0 consistency and shipping goals for fun. Anyone else seriously struggling defensively? 
 

what the hell am I doing wrong this year? I missed fm23 so maybe I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of the ME. 

[Stevmon]

On 29/11/2023 at 17:00, DominicForza said:

I think you're probably just getting lucky.  Most people are reporting EXTREME injuries to the point of it being "a bug."  I may be mistaken but I think SI reduced injury frequency in latest patch. 

I don't want to jinx myself, but in recent versions of that game I've had remarkably few injuries and red cards.  With injuries I do a LOT of rotating and check Medical Centre before every match to help me pick squad for given matches...also thinking ahead for upcoming matches.   That seems to make a big difference.   Or...maybe I've just been getting lucky myself.  Damn, now I jinxed myself.

I hear you! And also heard a lot of people have had a lot of injuries. I don’t check medical centre, however I am very careful with the minutes and rotating sensibly.

As I mentioned I barely had any injuries (or a red card) first half of the season. Since I also went out of Europe all together I sent quite a few players out on loan and went with a small squad second half of the season.

Well, my luck has turned 😂

Casemiro and Shaw have both gotten straight red cards in March and in the same month McTominay (great season) broke his foot (at least 3 months out) and Shaw managed to get a double hernia (3-4 weeks) from an Antony tackle in training..

I’m at April 1 season 1 and have a fight for 4th in the league and a semifinal with Villa coming up.

Suddenly hoping to stay healthy 😂
(however I like to have a few injuries for the challenge and realism)

[BigV]

10 hours ago, Monsieur-Beev said:

So 6 games into the new season and I feel like all my tactical knowledge has just gone out of the window. 0 consistency and shipping goals for fun. Anyone else seriously struggling defensively? 
 

what the hell am I doing wrong this year? I missed fm23 so maybe I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of the ME. 

IMO you have shaw and rashford going completely ham down that left side leaving you so open. With martinez not playing a covering role I assume your left side is being overan. 

Put shaw as a WB support or FB support. IWB is pushing into midfield so maybe on transition your wide play is far too exposed, maybe either try putting dalot on Inverted fullback and leave shaw to bomb it down with a support role not attack or play him as a normal IWB but pull shaw back with FB. Shaw or Rashy need to be a supporting role otherwise they're just so far gone forward it's leaving for a huge counter. 

Also i'd say some teams you're gifting them too much time in their defensive third so they get a hold of games, try pushing the LOE a bit higher against lower teams, not neccessarily big teams if you're countering, 

[saware]

On 18/11/2023 at 08:17, saware said:

Made it to Christmas, there’s just under 2 weeks to go until the transfer window opens. Haven’t settled on any targets specifically, although it looks like Barco is the way to go for the IWB-S role. Still need an improvement at IFB on the right as have used Lindelof & Wan Bissaka so far & neither have set the world alight.

Will have to wait & see what the budget situation is before any major incomings. Casemiro was unhappy & wanted an improved contract, that was refused, but he’s settled down now so hopefully I can keep hold of him this January.

Dalot is looking for a way out as he’s not getting games, so I’ll be looking at offloading him as well as Van De Beek. Have extended Martial’s contract, initially to try & get some value out of any sale but he’s done well when needed as cover up front. Hojlund is out for the season.

In terms of progress, we’re still hanging in around the top 3, which is positive after a really tough November that saw me play Liverpool, Man City, Tottenham, & Chelsea back to back in the league. In the CL we’ve managed to qualify for the next round, mainly thanks to a last minute winner from Maguire against Lazio. Our reward is a next round tie against PSG.

Went out of the League Cup, somewhat frustrating but may well have worked out for the best. Have a FA Cup 3rd round game at home against West Ham coming up so fingers crossed we can make good headway into that.

Now into the 2nd week of January & the window is open! Varane has already gone, Al Hilal were determined to snatch him away & he was happy to leave so I managed to negotiate a fee of around £125m including add-ons. Also, Madrid took Dalot off my hands for £28m, & Diallo has gone to Wolves for would could turn out to be £26m + 40% of profit on any future sale. Malacia was listed for loan as he needed some game time, PSG came in with a great offer that not covered his wages but will give us a monthly income & around £21m in fees should transfer become permanent. Still struggling to find a permanent home for Donny & a temporary one for Hannibal but plenty of time left.

In terms of incomings, went to go for Barco but he wanted to be an important player on a huge wage so I decided against it. Will stick with Regullion until the summer & then reassess things at left back. Was looking at Hincapie to add cover at left centre back but Leverkusen were asking for far too much to make that deal possible. Still need to replace Varane so have put a bid in for Diomande, will cost around £60m but will also mean I’ve got added options at right back too.

Further forward Mainoo is doing well in midfield when required & Eriksen has started to become an important rotation option so I think I’ll wait to make changes unless there are any outgoings or injuries.

Up front, I’ve decided that Anthony is too hit & miss, I’ll look to sell him in the summer as Sancho & Pellestri are doing well for me on the right. If I wasn’t using Rashford as cover for Martial up front due to Hojlund’s absence then there’d probably be movement sooner. Speaking of Martial, he’s managed to stay fit & has been doing really well since he came into the team so, currently, he’s staying.

Away from sales & recruitment, progress has been made. Now top of the league, only just, but City & ourselves have pulled away a bit from Liverpool in 3rd. Managed to fly past West Ham in the FA Cup 3rd round with a 5-0 win so now have an away tie with Wolves up next.

Have taken a bit more time to look at the staff situation. Brought in plenty of new additions in the medical & scouting departments, however there’s still a fair amount of work to do with the coaches & the reserve/youth team to get them to where I think they need to be. Have also requested improvements to the training ground as well as the youth recruitment.

[sedge11]

So season 4 is done.

First off we got an incredible player through the youth intake. Easily the best so far.

He even got 2 sub appearances at the end of the season, scoring his first goal.

Lets start with the cups.

Carabao cup.

We won the carabao cup for the 2nd year in a row. Also we have now faced Man city in 3 finals, winning all 3.

We lost out in the quarter finals of both the FA cup and champs league, which meant we couldn't defend those titles.

Now the league, the one trophy we hadn't won.

We dominated the league from game 1, there was just no stopping us. We had the best defence and best attack.

We are also currently 17 league games unbeaten, with our last defeat coming away to City on new years day.

What made the league win even sweeter, was the game that clinched the title.

Beating Liverpool at Old Trafford to clinch the title was such an incredible way to finally win the league.

Hojlund ended the season as the top goal scorer with 21 league goals. Bruno won player of the year, while Mainoo won the young player of the year for the 2nd season in a row.

So a league and cup double ended a brilliant season.

Here were the player stats.

Thuram as a defensive winger was just incredible, and had our highest average rating. Garnacho and Mainoo continue to do well and I was very happy with their contributions.

Hojlund was much better overall this season, must of known I was looking at Evan Ferguson.

So going into the summer for season 5, I don't think I'm going to do much business.

Johnstone will leave on a free, so will need a new back up RB. Wan Bissaka wants to leave and Toney will be sold.

I am a little torn whether to buy Ferguson, or give Van Persie more of an opportunity along with Denner.

Edited December 1, 2023 by sedge11

[saware]

16 hours ago, saware said:

Now into the 2nd week of January & the window is open! Varane has already gone, Al Hilal were determined to snatch him away & he was happy to leave so I managed to negotiate a fee of around £125m including add-ons. Also, Madrid took Dalot off my hands for £28m, & Diallo has gone to Wolves for would could turn out to be £26m + 40% of profit on any future sale. Malacia was listed for loan as he needed some game time, PSG came in with a great offer that not covered his wages but will give us a monthly income & around £21m in fees should transfer become permanent. Still struggling to find a permanent home for Donny & a temporary one for Hannibal but plenty of time left.

In terms of incomings, went to go for Barco but he wanted to be an important player on a huge wage so I decided against it. Will stick with Regullion until the summer & then reassess things at left back. Was looking at Hincapie to add cover at left centre back but Leverkusen were asking for far too much to make that deal possible. Still need to replace Varane so have put a bid in for Diomande, will cost around £60m but will also mean I’ve got added options at right back too.

Further forward Mainoo is doing well in midfield when required & Eriksen has started to become an important rotation option so I think I’ll wait to make changes unless there are any outgoings or injuries.

Up front, I’ve decided that Anthony is too hit & miss, I’ll look to sell him in the summer as Sancho & Pellestri are doing well for me on the right. If I wasn’t using Rashford as cover for Martial up front due to Hojlund’s absence then there’d probably be movement sooner. Speaking of Martial, he’s managed to stay fit & has been doing really well since he came into the team so, currently, he’s staying.

Away from sales & recruitment, progress has been made. Now top of the league, only just, but City & ourselves have pulled away a bit from Liverpool in 3rd. Managed to fly past West Ham in the FA Cup 3rd round with a 5-0 win so now have an away tie with Wolves up next.

Have taken a bit more time to look at the staff situation. Brought in plenty of new additions in the medical & scouting departments, however there’s still a fair amount of work to do with the coaches & the reserve/youth team to get them to where I think they need to be. Have also requested improvements to the training ground as well as the youth recruitment.

Now into February and the window has slammed shut! Donny did eventually leave on loan for a fraction of his wages but hopefully he’ll make a permanent move to Anderlecht for £20m.

Wasn’t sure how to progress once the Diomande deal was done, had plenty of money left in the budget but didn’t want to make wholesale changes & risk upsetting the balance of the team. Was light at RB with Dalot gone & found Sildillia was transfer listed for £9m so that seemed like a bit of a no brainer.

With plenty of cash still in the bank I looked around for several other potential signings & defensive midfield stood out as a particular weakness so I decided to go big & bring in Tchouameni. Haven’t had any bids for Casemiro as yet but with his age & wages against him I’d be happy to let him go in the summer if there was a decent enough offer.

As far as competition progress goes we’re still holding our own in the league, jostling no for top spot with Man City, with Arsenal & Liverpool a couple of wins behind. Sadly we were beaten by Wolves in the FA Cup, a full strength team was uncharacteristically poor & we lost 3-2. Have a big Champions League tie against PSG to come so hopefully we’ll buck our ideas up for that one!

[axehan1]

December of season 4,City are having a poor season while we are unbeaten

[molemenacer]

Summer 2026 transfer window closes and i think i am happy, been an odd one really.

First off players out:

Main deals out

Riad: Real Madrid wanted him and he was not first choice and was signed for £40 mill so a decent profit
Kameri: He wanted a big new deal, £150K, and then would be very hard to shift on so a deal worth £57 mill made sense.
Ramsdale: Not happy with him last year and then he spent 6 months moaning about not playing despite being awful whenever he played so a good deal for £35 mill, a profit of £12 mill in 12 months.  He is also backup to Pope at Newcastle as well!!!
Vermeeren: Same as Kameri, wanted a big deal and this was the best time to cash out on him.  Signed for £13.75 mill so a nice profit on him as well.
Gore: Academy product that was so close to being in the first team but he wanted a move and £28.5 mill was a good deal all round
Aaroen: Was never going to make it so £15.5 mill seemed good to me.
Kleijn: Same, never going to play and with contract running down get some decent money for him.

Lots of loan deals as well to give players game time

Players In:

Henderson and Johnstone come in as 2nd and 3rd choices to replace Ramsdale and Patricio who retired.  Made some money and saved a bunch in wages as well.  Also both home grown so fill that quota out nicely.
Diomande: Replacement for Riad, money made and wages saved again.  Also in my view an upgrade.
James Garner: The academy product returns, i needed more players in the DM role and he suits it perfectly.  Tried other options all window but either huge transfer fees or monster wages stopped me so in comes James Garner again.  Aldo got £7 mill back so less than £50 mill for him.  (Still overpaid though)
Calonge, Wulf, Afonso & Kroupi are all young players that i should be able to flip for decent money going forward.

Made almost £100 mill in transfer fees and i think i have improved the squad.  Not sure if i am 100% happy with the DM positions but we will see.  I have a transfer budget of £200 mill still if i need it in January.

Wages are great, under £4 mill a week.  City have gone even crazier this window as that is due to player contract renewals not new signings. 3 players over £500k, 4 players over £400k, 2 over £300k, 4 over £200k.  

Champions League fixtures have also been drawn and i think i have been done here

Didn't know you could face teams from your country, let alone 2 of them.

Going into the season my starting lineup is

Perri has started the season really well and is averaging 7.43 in 4 games with 2 clean sheets
Barco is amazing in the WB(A) role
I have 4 CBs to rotate but to start with Scalvini and Silva start
Not 100% happy with Geertruida as an IFB but i have played Diomande there once and he great so he might take that position this season
Tchouameni starts in the BMW role, he is immense
Mainoo make or break season for him, he needs to step up this year or i will be looking for a replacement
Garnacho has turned into one of the first names on the team sheet.  Last year was so good for us.
Bellingham is perfectly suited to this role hoping for another big season
Smith Rowe is starting here but i have Yamal and academy product Shea Lacey for here as well so will be interesting to see who makes it theirs.  Smith Rowe can also play in the AMC role so if Bellingham has to play in the DM role this spot might change
Hojlund was awful for 6 months last year and only appeared in January.  He has 0 goals in 3 games this season and Roque has 4 in 2 starts and 2 sub appearances.  Vitor's to lose this year

Rashford has been dropped and might be sold, he has 2 years on his deal and wants £400k, no chance at all, he has 14 and 15 goals in the last 2 years and for that amount of money i need more.  Lets see

[molemenacer]

Christmas 2026 is going to be interesting

Current state of the league

7 points separating the top 4 at the half way stage.

Next 3 fixtures in 5 days

Away to Liverpool and City either side of a home tie against Arsenal.  I am struggling a bit away from home this season in scoring goals.

Liverpool:
Beat me 5-2 at Anfield in the CL group stage, and i have only ever avoided defeat once at Anfield 3 years ago

Arsenal:
Better record against Arsenal won all 3 home games in the league 3-1, 2-1, 2-1so tight games

City:
Not a good record in general against them and they beat me 2-0 in the EFL Cup earlier in the season as well.  The last 2 league games there i have lost 3-2 and 2-1.

Based on this Liverpool is the toughest tie but i know Haaland is going to score again against me, he has 12 in 10 games.

Edited December 8, 2023 by molemenacer

[axehan1]

Coming towards the end of the 26/27 season and we have walked away with the League

We are playing some lovely football at times

My biggest issue is Rasmus Hojlund!!! He isn't scoring enough goals.

I do have a theory though, i've tweaked the tactic slightly by changing Kjaergaard from a Wide Target Man to an Inside Forward .I think that because he has been playing as a target man the play has been directed towards him, he's had a great goal scoring season so far with 16 in the league so hopefully Hojlund will start to get a few more chances.

[axehan1]

Well, it's the end of the 2026/27 season and the Premier League has been amazing

most notable result being a 7-0 thrashing of Man City.

Unfortunately that was the only trophy this season as we fell short in the Champions League

Quarter Final defeat to City as 2 goalkeeping errors as we try playing out from the back gift Haaland with 2 sitters.

Newcastle knocked us out of the FA Cup at the Quarter Final stage.

And in a repeat of last seasons EFL Cup Final this time we lost to Championship Brighton

Top Goal scorers were as follows

Kjaergaard was top scorer coming off the AMR slot.Hojlund had an average season only netting 17 times in the league, I need to get him closer to at least 25 in the league going forward.

I have Shaqueel Van Persie coming in from Feyenoord for £40m and barring anything surprising it should be a quiet summer.

[molemenacer]

The Christmas period is over and we are into January

Liverpool (A) - Took the lead through Jude, a well worked chance and great finish.  Liverpool offered nothing first half as my tactical tweaks seemed to be working well.  56 minute Liverpool break quickly, Nunez shoots from a difficult angle that smacks the post and ends up at the feet of Gakpo with an open goal , 1-1.  Not much else happens really and the game peters out, was disappointed in the end as they scored from their only chance but a 1-1 at Anfield is a good result.

Arsenal (H) - They came for a draw and apart from a goal from a corner on 40 minutes nothing really happened.  We had a few chances not much

Man City (A) - What a tough game, not much happened until

                                       26th minute, corner goal from Silva 0-1
                                       31st minute corner cleared cross back in and Haaland scores an unmarked header in the 6 yard box (no idea where my defenders went!!!) 1-1
                                       32nd minute straight from the kick off, we work the ball well into Smith Rowe who slides it through to Vitor Roque who slides it past Ederson 1-2
                                       45+2 thought is was half time but a thrown in from the right corner flag gets played in Garnacho gets tackled and the ball drops to Smith Rowe who smashes it past Ederson 1-3
                                       56 minute and a free. kick from Foden slides it down the side and somehow it ends up a Phillips feet who smashes it in for 2-3

A few tweaks for the games to be a bit more stable at the back have worked well and after those 3 games

Not much has changed but being unbeaten in the 3 games means they didn't close the gap so very pleased with the Christmas period.

 

EDIT:
Also just noticed that we play an FA Cup game and then play 5th placed Chelsea at Old Trafford who are 11 games unbeaten and beat us 3-2 first game of the season at Stamford Bridge.

Edited December 11, 2023 by molemenacer

[FifaBing]

On 09/12/2023 at 14:31, axehan1 said:

Well, it's the end of the 2026/27 season and the Premier League has been amazing

most notable result being a 7-0 thrashing of Man City.

Unfortunately that was the only trophy this season as we fell short in the Champions League

Quarter Final defeat to City as 2 goalkeeping errors as we try playing out from the back gift Haaland with 2 sitters.

Newcastle knocked us out of the FA Cup at the Quarter Final stage.

And in a repeat of last seasons EFL Cup Final this time we lost to Championship Brighton

Top Goal scorers were as follows

Kjaergaard was top scorer coming off the AMR slot.Hojlund had an average season only netting 17 times in the league, I need to get him closer to at least 25 in the league going forward.

I have Shaqueel Van Persie coming in from Feyenoord for £40m and barring anything surprising it should be a quiet summer.

 

Your season was remarkably close to season I had in 26/27 (just entered 27/28 season). We finished top of table, had no losses, and only 3 draws. Lost in CL finals on penalties after 120 mins to Real Madrid. Only blemish on a near perfect campaign. 

[axehan1]

1 hour ago, FifaBing said:

 

Your season was remarkably close to season I had in 26/27 (just entered 27/28 season). We finished top of table, had no losses, and only 3 draws. Lost in CL finals on penalties after 120 mins to Real Madrid. Only blemish on a near perfect campaign. 

Having loads of fun, just can't get either Hojlund or Ferguson to score.

[Matty89]

Starting my MUFC finally this is the formation im using in the screenshot

My question is any massive issues you can see with it ive always struggled to get this formation to work so would appreciate any advice 

Also any gems you guys would suggest i try and sign looking at the following areas to sign when i can

CB

RW

ST 

[Marc Lister]

5 minutes ago, Matty89 said:

Starting my MUFC finally this is the formation im using in the screenshot

My question is any massive issues you can see with it ive always struggled to get this formation to work so would appreciate any advice 

Also any gems you guys would suggest i try and sign looking at the following areas to sign when i can

CB

RW

ST 

Do you want a first team CB or cover? I loaned Macquire out to Spurs, sold Lindelof later on and found Evans too slow for most league games. I got Goncalo Inacio to partner Varane. As I'm still on my beta save I replaced Lindelof (Newcastle for £23.5m) with a cheap Daniele Rugani from Juventus. I used to buy Rugani in previous FMs so kept that up. For RW I've found Pellestri to be very good for me. 14 starts, 13 subs, 10 goals with an average rating of 7.08. By contrast Antony has made 24 starts, 8 subs with 5 goals and an average rating of 6.87. I use Pellestri and Antony both as a winger (support). Because I loaned Martial out I used Rashford up front with Hojlund so I use Sancho and Garnarcho on the left wing.

Are you having problems scoring or defending? Have you tried theFFM spreadsheet to see what roles might work better for each player? https://theffm.co.uk/category/spreadsheets/

Goncalo Inacio from Sporting CP for £38.5m.

Daniele Rugani from Juventus for £2.2m.

[Matty89]

2 minutes ago, Marc Lister said:

Do you want a first team CB or cover? I loaned Macquire out to Spurs, sold Lindelof later on and found Evans too slow for most league games. I got Goncalo Inacio to partner Varane. As I'm still on my beta save I replaced Lindelof (Newcastle for £23.5m) with a cheap Daniele Rugani from Juventus. I used to buy Rugani in previous FMs so kept that up. For RW I've found Pellestri to be very good for me. 14 starts, 13 subs, 10 goals with an average rating of 7.08. By contrast Antony has made 24 starts, 8 subs with 5 goals and an average rating of 6.87. I use Pellestri and Antony both as a winger (support). Because I loaned Martial out I used Rashford up front with Hojlund so I use Sancho and Garnarcho on the left wing.

Are you having problems scoring or defending? Have you tried theFFM spreadsheet to see what roles might work better for each player? https://theffm.co.uk/category/spreadsheets/

Goncalo Inacio from Sporting CP for £38.5m.

Daniele Rugani from Juventus for £2.2m.

CB looking for someone i can develop as gunna keep Varane most likely and get rid of maguire and or victor

[Marc Lister]

35 minutes ago, Matty89 said:

CB looking for someone i can develop as gunna keep Varane most likely and get rid of maguire and or victor

Inacio has made 18 starts and 5 sub appearances in the league scoring 4 goals with an average rating of 7.06. Well worth the £38.5m I paid for him.

[Matty89]

2 minutes ago, Marc Lister said:

Inacio has made 18 starts and 5 sub appearances in the league scoring 4 goals with an average rating of 7.06. Well worth the £38.5m I paid for him.

issue is he wants to be a star player and right now he wont be as martinez and varane will start more unless u ditch varane now for big money like

[Marc Lister]

Just now, Matty89 said:

issue is he wants to be a star player and right now he wont be as martinez and varane will start more unless u ditch varane now for big money like

I am indeed trying to get rid of Varane. Might start a new game on the full release and start all over again, trying to learn from my mistakes!

[Matty89]

7 minutes ago, Marc Lister said:

I am indeed trying to get rid of Varane. Might start a new game on the full release and start all over again, trying to learn from my mistakes!

yeah just signed him now gunna try and get rid of another CB

[PaulC2K]

I never bought FM24 around release and kept fancying the idea of jumping into it and hoping its more enjoyable than watching them on TV lately. I'd completely forgot i had access to it on GamePass until Thursday, so i've been having a read on here, and jumped in.

Last FM i played was FM22 i think, and was interested in seeing just how unpleasant it was going to be with the club in the state it is these days, and fully expected it to be miserable and equally demoralising, but somehow everything seems to be going really well.

8 wins in 8 in the league, just about keeping ahead of City through goal difference (+16 vs +13). We had a kind fixture list, Forest (2-0), Burnley (5-2) & West Ham (2-1), then a potential speed bump in Chelsea (2-1) & Liverpool (2-1, coming from behind), followed by Sheff Utd, Palace & Brighton (3-0, 1-0 & 4-0). Villa are 3rd 5pts behind, then Arsenal (-6) and Liverpool & Newcastle (-10). 
In Europe we got Sevilla, Milan and Union Berlin. I rested most of the squad in Berlin and it finished 1-1, and battered Sevilla 5-0 at home. 
League cup, we got City away ffs. I put out a largely rotated side and lost 1-0 which was better than expected tbh. Its a chance of silverware lost, but with how the season has gone, dropping some of the early season cup fixtures might do us a lot of good later on.

I have City (H), Arsenal (A) and Spurs (H) as my first 3 fixtures for December, hopefully i can get the ECL group wrapped up before Game 5 and rest players ahead of those league games.

Im playing 4-2-3-1 Wide, with either Positive mentality or Cautious, depending on the opposition, and really not doing anything special. We're getting a nice spread of goals now Hojlund is fit. Even Hugill got on the spreadsheet after 6min against Sevilla. McTominay got a brace in his first game at Shadow Striker following what people had said on here, hasnt scored since but come close a few times. Defensively i feel like we havent been great, 8 conceeded in 11 games, but with 5 clean sheets it suggests we're just a little sloppy some times. Thankfully we're scoring so for the time being its not a problem but with 3 big PL games in December we could do with tightening up at the back, as either the goals will dry up or we'll face opposition who dont give us the same chances.

Varane has been great (alongside Martinez), and Maguire has covered well, but i think both will have to go to freshen up the defence. Same story with Casemiro, but im seeing no issues with either of them currently and so that can might get kicked down the road for another day, see if i can get 2 seasons out of them both. I've been encouraged by what ive seen about Mainoo on here, so immediately promoted him to first team and been giving him regular minutes. He's been topping the training session feedback regularly so thats something i like to go off when putting players like him in, obviously it doesnt work for everyone but i'd imagine if the game implements training performance, it also integrates that into the players expectations & happiness and so giving them games rewards that. He played 90min vs Chelsea & Liverpool (scoring the equaliser), and while he hasnt particularly stood out in highlights, he's been reliable and just as in real life seems composed and moves the ball around cleanly. For now he's rotating with Eriksen, and occasionally Mount, but i expect he'll be my #8 next season. Garnacho hasnt done much of note yet, but hasnt been given as much opportunity. Sancho has been playing okay, im trying to utilising him over Garnacho in the hope of encouraging an offer.

I started with transfers locked, and ive already shortlisted a handful of names from this thread. So far though, im actually happy with the squad, the only person who hasnt been involved so far is Donny & Evans (injured), and Lindelof has only had a couple of games. 
I think we need another striker for rotation, and any fringe & aging players will need offloading and replacing. Hopefully injuries are kind to me and we can carry on this vein of form. 

 

Does anyone have any advice for things like Mentoring and individual training? A lot of these things im either ignoring or leaving to van der Gaag to deal with. I think the last time i went to give someone new training instructions the game wanted me to either take full control or step back, is there no way to let someone else operate it and still tinker when i feel like it?
I couldnt find a way to give the whole squad the day off after a big win. I know i can do it manually per player, is there a way to tell everyone they've earned the next day/morning off? I shouldnt have to call each of them into my office to thank them and say take the day off etc.

[axehan1]

2027/28 Review

3 titles in 4 years as we win the League quite comfortably

103 scored and 24 conceded with Hojlund top scoring with 27 in all Comps and 21 in the League.

That was our only trophy as Man City knocked us out of the Champions League after doing this to us after we take a 4-0 lead into the away leg of the Quarter Final.

How can you have 50/50 of the ball and yet fall apart like that??

We didn't last long in the FA Cup as a typical FM draw saw us face Liverpool in the 3rd round

Also an early exit from the EFL Cup as we go to West Ham in the 3rd round and get dumped out on penalties.

Most of my losses (Man City aside) are against the 4231 formation, very frustrating but hopefully i can eventually figure out how to put a stop to that.

Towards the end of the season from the Man City defeat onwards we suffered with a crippling injury list most of my front players getting 3-6 week injuries.

Tactic and strongest line up is looking like this

Rashford and Hojlund remain from the original team but i have a couple of youngsters that play regularly during the season

Harry Amass

Shea Lacey

Summer 28 so there is the Euros to scout.I will do a transfer update before the start of the 28/29 season.

Just before i go the prat owners are trying to leave the club, we have have had 3 takeover attempts during this save but they won't bloody leave, it's almost like SI have hard coded that they take an eternity to leave.

 

 

 

[ThanatosAFC]

Loaned Sancho out to Bayern, they pay like 80% of the wages and have to buy him for £40 million (might be cheap) if he plays 15 games for them.

[BigV]

On 17/12/2023 at 23:43, PaulC2K said:

Does anyone have any advice for things like Mentoring and individual training? A lot of these things im either ignoring or leaving to van der Gaag to deal with. I think the last time i went to give someone new training instructions the game wanted me to either take full control or step back, is there no way to let someone else operate it and still tinker when i feel like it?
I couldnt find a way to give the whole squad the day off after a big win. I know i can do it manually per player, is there a way to tell everyone they've earned the next day/morning off? I shouldnt have to call each of them into my office to thank them and say take the day off etc.

I always set up individual training at the very start of the game, leave it for a month and check the progress, unless they come to me and say individual training isnt working, I leave it until its good enough. 8/10 it works but just manually change it to ass man or whoever when you cba with it. 

On the squad screen, highlight the squad or the players you want (usually has a tick to the left side and highlights the player), right click and pick rest, it usually says how many players in brackets. 

[vrig]

Took some time off FM and came back with a fresh Man United save in the last couple of days. First season done, and it's gone pretty well.

Maybe a bit lucky that City and Liverpool didn't have their usual wrangle around the 90-point mark, but still pretty happy with how we played, especially since it took us til the 4th league match to record our first win! Beat the latter in the Carabao Cup final, and wrapped up the FA Cup against Palace (the only team besides the big two to beat us in the league) to bag three trophies for the first season. We fell at the quarterfinals stage against Real Madrid, although it was a close-run thing. We couldn't capitalise on a good 1-1 at the Bernabau, losing 1-0 in the absence of suspended Casemiro at Old Trafford.

Over the course of the season, Hojlund was great up top:

33 goals in all competition certainly isn't bad, but my physios now regard him as an injury prone player owing to a recurring hamstring issue, so I'll be badly needing to get somebody in to rotate with him if I didn't already.

As for transfer business, the first window was disabled, but there was some movement in January:

Varane left for a good fee, Donny out on loan with a mandatory buy, and Malacia out to Newcastle. I didn't bother replacing Varane in the winter window, as Maguire and Lindelof were both playing pretty well and it was an area we were coping alright with. As you can see, however, Todibo will be joining in the summer.

With Andre and Oosterwolde, I wanted to try out a couple of signings I hadn't made before, and they're both pretty interesting profiles. Andre is obviously a pretty good midfield prospect and was able to chip in with some goals and assists from midfield, despite that not really being his game. I can see him being a good midfield partner to Kobbie Mainoo, who himself had a productive season - 32 appearances with 15 of them coming from the start.

Oosterwolde was a bit of a wildcard. Basically I wanted the option of playing with an inverted role on the left side of defence, and Malacia isn't really suited to that, so I traded Dutch for Dutch. My scouts didn't really rate him, my coaches don't really rate him, and I'm not even sure if I really rate him as anything more than a filler. But he's quick, strong in the air, and has a great personality at 22, so I thought why not? He's started well, playing mostly as an IWB, although he's probably more suited to IFB.

This was probably the first choice XI over the course of the season:

The spot next to Casemiro was a bit  of a revolving door, with Eriksen picking up a few injuries. Mainoo played most of his matched in that role, but Andre - who I initially had down as more of a long-term replacement for Cas - really did make it his own towards the end of the season. We also got some great results with McTominay in there in big games against tough opposition.

Fernandes on the right worked a treat as well by the way. It took a while for me to settle on that tactic, with it starting life as a standard 4231. but after firstly going 4411 and then playing around with Bruno's role a bit, it just kind of clicked. There is now Saudi interest in him though, so we'll have to see how that goes. I don't think I'll be able to get anyone to match the "Beckham" role he plays in the team, so I would have to shuffle things around a bit if he were to leave. One option could be to move Mount out to the right and get a #10 who can dribble, but his crossing is pretty poor. I do still have Antony and Sancho knocking about if I want an actual winger, but I've just enjoyed having an auxiliary midfielder there.

Aside from that conundrum, I'm after a striker. Ivan Toney is there as a HG option and Guirassey as a cheap one, but I'm not completely sold on either just yet. I'm also keeping an eye out for another left-footed defender to cover Martinez and/or Shaw. By and large, though, it'll be who goes out that dictates who comes in.

I'm really hoping somebody bids for Sancho. He kicked up a fuss halfway through the season and tried to lead a revolt. It was pretty funny when the players complaining about my treatment of Sancho mostly consisted of youngsters I had promoted in order to give them the odd match. I sent a couple of them out for loan, dropped one or two back into the U21s for a bit, and sold Joe Hugill, Mutiny resolved and Sancho has no friends - still bloody stuck with him though!

[axehan1]

End of the Summer transfer window for 2028/29 and it was very quiet as I expected

Marc Bernal was the only major signing, a fantastic young midfielder from Barcelona.

On the takeover front, a boardroom shuffle saw all bar one of he Glazers leave, just Darcie Glazer is still here for some reason

The new Chairperson has not given me any transfer budget but this has happened to the finances.

All in all we're now in a better place with projections all heading in the right direction

[CR#7]

Finished 3rd in season 1.

no summer transfers except Antonio Silva, loaned back to benfica for 6 months.

Oscar Gloukh and Guirassy Came in Janaury.

 

 

 

 

Won the Champions league after massive win on arsenal in the semi final and great performence vs Bayern in the final.

 

 

 

And the happiest news of the season, next year will be very busy window.

 

[matt_west]

Starting the 26/27 season still no takeover sadly and debt pilling up getting approximately £40 million to spend so selling to make additional transfer funds.  No one wants Casemiro or McSauce typical lol.

3 back to back titles and 2 champions league wins, finally got that illusive FA Cup!

Rebuilding the team and changing tactics slightly this year so not sure how well we are going to do.  Need to sign a new left back soon! I have Patrick Dogu but don't think he's quite ready for the first team yet and he's out on loan.

Not my starting 11 by the way just picked for the next match.

First Team:

 

Edited January 8 by matt_west

[sedge11]

I ended my previous Man Utd save after 4 seasons, as I messed the summer up and just wasn't happy with my team or the balance of the team. 

But with how bad we are doing in real life, am really tempted by the your world mode for another Man Utd save. Redo the whole summer, as Hojlund is the only summer signing I like, the others I think we could of definitely done better for the money spent.

There would even be a temptation to sell Bruno and Rashford down the line, in fact the whole team bar Mainoo, Martinez and Garnacho .

Edited January 18 by sedge11

[BigV]

Started a save couple weeks back, pre season looked a mess, we were strong going forward but my god our defense was shocking. Few wins, couple draws, 1 or 2 losses against bigger teams which wasnt filling me with confidence. Decided a 433 would be much more useful as I could never get them working in previous versions and with the game engine improvements, thought why not give it a shot. 

Outs: Antony £130m *some saudi or qatari team*, Malacia on loan, AWB £40m to spurs, bunch of u21's loaned.

Ins: Andre £25m, Aaron hickney £50m, Valentin barco £8m, Free backup striker (forgot his name but old and a target man), Brahim Diaz on loan from madrid (Couldn't get inaki, bid 45m, got rejected, signed a new deal after and was never told till I checked his contract and his release clause was now 85m RIP) 

I think scouting is bugged, only getting 1 or 2 players with 2* ability and potential as the criteria, usually they rack up players fairly quick with low criterias but this time getting 1 or 2 in like a month is broken. 2 or 3 scouts sent per big nation, even did top priority for certain positions and best I got for 3 positions was 3 players which seems very wrong. So had to go by my own scouting knowledge, getting Andre was worth it for the long run, hackney training to be right back and taking up that spot aswell as having home grown status is clutch. Same with Barco at the opposite end, but I feel like he should be playing LW instead of LB, gonna need to tweak tactics- Played really well at LW in pre season during the time first team players were on holiday. 

Anyone else noticed scouting is pretty wack atm? Seen a few posts in bug section but nothing has been mentioned in terms of fixing it. 

[Gee_Simpson]

6 hours ago, BigV said:

Anyone else noticed scouting is pretty wack atm? Seen a few posts in bug section but nothing has been mentioned in terms of fixing it. 

Yes, scouting is awful this year. There are so many players I have thought to myself why on earth haven't the scouts found this guy? They are literally useless. I have had to rely on manually scouting certain players myself. For example I bought Andre in my Benfica save but I don't think my scouts would have found him if I didn't manually scout him myself. Got him for £13.5m which was an absolute bargain.