smplfc123

Whilst I don't intend on putting updates in for each individual deal, I felt this one deserved it's own post. I knew keeping hold of my best player was going to be difficult and when Newcastle came calling in Mid June, I knew I was going to be fighting a losing battle. What's worse is that due to our poor season, his value wasn't that high, with the recommended price being between £17m and £20m I did the best I could. I didn't want it to drag on and he made it clear he was going to kick off if I didn't strike a deal with the Premier League Club. After some drawn-out negotiations, I finally managed to get The Magpies to put £27m on the table upfront, with a further £11.5m in future payments (assuming he comfortably makes 20 appearances for the club). Although cheap in comparison to the market, £38.5m is still a good return, especially when we have Jenz, Boronauw and Zesiger already at the club that can play CB. It also takes my transfer budget up to £23m and my wage budget up to £125k p/w available, so for the 2/3 spots i'm looking to fill in the squad, we've not got more room to play with.

The Season Finale So before we get into how the season ended, let's have a look at how the club were doing, when I stepped through the door back in November 2023: The boys in green found themselves sitting bottom of the table, 5 points from safety and with no wins. The fact we were going into the final month in 14th position and 4 points clear of the drop zone shows that we had definitely made progress, regardless of how frustrating we have been on times. Anyhow, here's how the final month went, with bottom placed Darmstadt up first: Darmstadt (H) If a game could sum up this club, this season! I changed to a 4-2-3-1 (DM) and we will be using a back 4 from now on. I'm sticking to it. I shoe-horned Moritz Jenz into RB in an IFB (D) role and my tactical masterplan nearly paid off immediately, with the tall defender hitting the bar early on after rising highest to meet a corner. However, maybe because he was unfamiliar in his position, Jenz then took a throw in deep in our own half and decided to throw it to their striker. He laid off one wide man, whose strike hit the post and fell right into the path of Holtmann to make it 1-0. I didn't panic, we were playing well and I was confident we'd create chances in our new setup. Then, Arnold swung a free kick in and it was that man Jenz who rose highest, heading the ball across the goal for Majer to tap in. 1-1 HT. As if his first half at RB wasn't eventful enough, Moritz Jenz then showcased his aerial dominance again, this time heading home at the back post from a corner and putting us well on the way to an important 3 points. We battered them. 72% possession, 13 shot, 9 on target, it was a matter of time before we found the 3rd, or so i thought.... In true Wolfsburg fashion this season, we then conceded an equaliser to Manu, who my analysts had picked out as the league's "worst performing attacker" before the game. Classic. Thankfully Mainz could only draw against Heidenheim, meaning we maintained our 4 point gap going into Bayern away: Bayern Munich (A) We tried, but with them still needing at least point to confirm the title, we didn't really stand a chance. But, I got lucky elsewhere as Mainz lost to Dortmund, meaning I was guaranteed safety, as we were 4 points ahead of them going into our final day showdown. Due to this, I decided to start a mix of players, calling up young Kofi Amoako for his first start at CDM. Here's how Kofi and the team got on: Mainz (H) Hopefully, a sign of things to come next season. Yes, Mainz were already consigned to the relegation play off spot, but they still went full strength from what I could tell, and we absolutely battered them. Wind, being deployed as an IF (S) out on the left, got us off the mark, before the opposite wide man, forgotten Cerny made it two with an excellent long range strike. Young striker Tomas made it 3, before Mainz pulled one back. Young wide attacker Kaminski came off the bench to seal the deal and help us end the season on a high. Again, when you compare where we were when I took over to now, I have to be happy. We amassed 28 points in 23 games, meaning a full season with that return probably putting us just shy of Gladbach in 12th. The aim now is to try and continue that revival and start off next season in good form. The Bundesliga is very competitive below Bayern, with top 10 being my initial aim for next year, with anything extra being a bonus. A cup run would be nice too, as they were knocked out by lower league opposition before I had taken over this season. Transfers There's certainly going to be some movement in and out, but I'm really not one for mass clear outs and spending millions on flooding my squad with wonderkids. I have two desires from the board, not to sign over 30's and to sign from within Germany, so I will be looking for at least 1 or 2 to meet the criteria. To do so, the board have given me the following: Not a massive amount, although there will be some leaving which should boost the figures. I'm hoping I can hold on to my star player, Lacroix, but with the likes of Dortmund and Newcastle reportedly interested, it may be tough. Maehle, Jenz, Baku, Majer, Svanberg, Wind and Nmecha are all wanted too, so it could be a busy summer holding on those I want to build around.

I echo Stuniverse here @warlock Excellent season overall, just an unfortunate ending in Europe.

April Update Having finished March strongly, with consecutive 2-0 wins over Augsburg and Werder Bremen respectively, we went into April brimming with confidence. I felt like I was more settled with my tactical approach, I felt we were safe from relegation and I had even started to properly plan for how the squad would look come next season. First up for a Wolfsburg team and manager full of confidence was mid-table Gladbach. A great opportunity for another 3 points... Gladbach (H) And once again, we come crashing back down to earth And no, that's not me overreacting to a narrow defeat against a good team. I just didn't enjoy watching us. We had 1 shot on target all game, didn't create too many more chances and just looked lost in possession. The fans even got on my back after the game for how "defensively" we approached the game, despite that not being my intentions with the way I had set up. Not to fear, 3rd placed RB Leipzig away next: RB Leipzig (A) My only surprise was that we kept it at 1-0. Our shots on target doubled to two in this game, with all attacking nous that had seemed to develop over the last 2 months just vanishing. This meant that the upcoming game against fellow relegation-threatened Bochum was huge. I stuck with my 3-4-2-1, telling myself to stick to what I think i've created for the long term and persevere. Here's how it went.... VfL Bochum (H) Phew!! We were poor again though. The goal only came about from their mistake, with their CB losing it after dallying about on the ball, allowing Tomas to run through 1v1 with the GK and slot home with his left foot. I finally caved and changed at half time to a back 4. We saw the game out although not without controversy, as the away team scored in the 5th minute of time added on, only for VAR to save us with an offside call. That meant going into Freiburg away was now a little easier pressure-wise: SC Freiburg (A) Again not wanting to give up, I stayed with the 3 at the back formation. It's just not for me. I've tried to use it as I thought it was best for the squad, but I'm going to go back to back 4 for the final 3 games and use and inverted full back or a CDM that drops in between the 2 CB's to help me build up play with a back 3, but defending as a 4 when out of possession. We held our own to be fair for large parts of the game and I felt they only pinched a second when we were down to 10 due to Rogerio's season ending injury in the 85th minute, after I had used all 5 subs. This means that going into our final 3 games of the season, the table looks like this: Well, well, well. Serves me right for bragging at the end of March as to how I had confirmed our safety! Good job we picked up the 3 points against Bochum, or we could have been in serious trouble. I know you're thinking "you're still 4 points ahead", but I've won 1 of the last 4, i'm changing formation again and in the final 3 games, we have Bayern away in the penultimate game and Mainz at home on the final day of the season. With Bremen in great form and Mainz even picking up 2 wins recently, it could mean that our season and avoiding that final spot could all hinge on our next game. Home to bottom placed Darmstadt!! I couldn't have asked for a kinder fixture, but I have to go and win, because realistically i'm not getting anything at Bayern with them still not mathematically title winners yet. On paper, both Mainz and Bremen have 2 winnable games in their final 3, which is why it's absolutely crucial that we get over the line against Darmstadt! Wish us luck!

After waiting months for him to be fit enough to play for me, Nmecha has decided to explore his options with his contract due to expire in 15 months time. Hugely frustrating as I had high hopes for him. Still fairly young, German and can play a number of roles, I had him written down as part of my attacking options going forward, but after just 2 games back, he's decided he's off. I did try to convince him to stay, but he was having none of it. What's more annoying is that as he has been injured up until now, his value has continued to drop. So although part of me wants to just bench him for the remainder of the season, I feel all that will achieve is me getting even less for him in the summer. I don't want him here next year just for him to leave on a free. We don't have bags of money, so I may as well get what I can for him this summer and get the £33k p/w off the wage budget too. A shame, but I suppose with me feeling safe and planning for next season, at least I've found out early.

Excellent season so far @warlock Hopefully you can get it over the line in the league and in the Europa League against Porto. I understand why if you do, it may feel like the end, but a perfect way to end it if you did.

March Update After losing our final 3 games in February, it was crucial that I picked up points in March. With Stuttgart 3rd (H), Bayer 9th (A), Augsburg 8th (H) and Werder 15th (A) to play, I knew it was going to be tough, but I thought if I could just get a result somewhere before that Bremen game at the end of the month, it would take the pressure off that game massively. I'm going to try a change of approach to match updates too, with me finding the previous ones a little too clunky. Here's how we got on: Stuttgart (H) First up was high-flying Stuttgart and when the visitors took the lead early on, I feared the worse. We managed to weather to storm and after a motivational half time speech, Vaclav Cerny continued his resurgence from the fringes of the squad, getting us back on level terms in the 49th minute. A penalty put the visitors back in front and it started to feel like they were just going to have too much for us, when up stepped Maehle, who bombed forward as our RWB in our new formation to blast home an equaliser. I was happy with a point here. Next up, Leverkusen away and 9 minutes in, this happened: And as per all the teams who faced Casteels' back up in previous months, Leverkusen took advantage of the injury by basically just shooting... Leverkusen (A) At half time, I was wondering what I could do to just stop it being 6 or 7-0 come full time. Fast forward 8 minutes and we're level! I went from fear to elation within minutes, wondering if we could sneak all 3 points. And yet, the cruel side of FM struck again, with Hoffman putting the home side back in front just 7 minutes later, which is how it ended. To be honest, losing Casteels that early and putting up a fight like that, I couldn't really complain. I knew Augsburg at home was my biggest chance for a win this month and that's who we faced next: Augsburg (H) HUGE 3 POINTS. A dominant first half performance, with us really settling into our new formation and style, we never looked like producing anything other than a win. Interestingly, the change of formation has seen us score goals, with 6 different goal scorers across the 3 games. This gave us a massive boost going into our trip away to fellow relegation-threatened Werder Bremen and with our tails up, there was only ever going to be one outcome: Bremen (A) That's right, we actually played up to the narrative and won! Another 2 goals, another different goal scorer, with a massively welcome return to the squad from injury for Lukas Nmecha, Again, we dominated proceedings and were absolutely value for the win, ensuring we took 7 points from 12 in the month of March. This means the table looks like this going into April: I think I can now say i'm probably safe. We're 7 points and 14 goals clear of 16th placed Mainz, and still have to play 3 of those 5 below me at home. Not only that, but we really seem to have settled into our new formation and style of play. The only problem is, young wingers Wimmer and Kaminski aren't getting any game time due to not fitting in, but I feel much more comfortable with the formation and they'll either accept their retraining or I'll have to move them on. All in all, a good month that has probably secured our safety, giving me the chance to start to focus on next season and squad-planning.

Yep I can't complain and my lack of professional footballing background means the players aren't exactly motivated by my passionate team talks. But, I've added some staff and I'm now sticking with a tactical plan that will hopefully help settle us down a bit. I'm hoping a couple of draws and a win somewhere in the next month will help settle us down and edge us away from the bottom 3.

February Update Going into what definitely looked like our most difficult month on paper, with all 4 opponents occupying a top half position, losing our GK wasn't ideal. Never mind, hopefully our star striker, Jonas Wind, will ensure we outscore our opponents instead.... Yep. 8 days into February and this happens, ruling him out until the beginning of March. That leaves me with goalless youngster Tiago Tomas, goalless veteran Kevin Behrens and the prolific 1 goal all season, Amin Sarr. You can see where this is going... Thankfully, Wind was available for our first game of the month and probably most-winnable, Hoffenheim at home: And win we did! A fairly even game between two nervy sides, with Hoffenheim seemingly settled on picking up a point from us. However, Wind denied them that, scoring the only goal of the game in the 56th minute. A clean sheet for our Austrian Veteran in Goal too . Hopefully that fills him with confidence for the rest of the month. A trip to the lofty Union Berlin was up next. I'd have taken a point if you had offered me it before the match: Why didn't you offer me that point?! Again, the stats will show you we weren't exactly battered, they just worked out the key component that Hoffenheim couldn't; shoot at Pervan! I appreciate the graphics aren't exactly like watching a Premier League game on Sky Sports, but the replays showed that the first 2 were awful pieces of goalkeeping and without Wind upfront, we just couldn't hurt them at all. I mean, they could have scored 5 if not for the narrow offside. A feeble performance, with table-topping Dortmund at home coming up next.... Let's be honest, with form, injuries and morale all affecting us, it was always going to be a defeat. But it was just so tough to take. We really did try and take the game to them, but their 2 shots on target by the 46th minute, both went in We broke with freedom, but they were clinical and we weren't. Sarr did manage to pull one back after Cerny, who I had overlooked to this point, came off the bench with a point to prove and provided Sarr with a great assist. Gutted it was another defeat, but a lot happier with that performance. Hopefully that will spurs us on to get a positive result away to 4th placed Frankfurt. As you can imagine, those hopes were all but gone come the 36th minute Again, the opposition just worked out that if you pretty much just shoot at Pervan, it's probably going to go in. Our defence was all over the shop to be fair to him, with me really struggling to settle on a formation and back line alongside Lacroix. I'm as every bit to blame as Pervan in fairness to the OAP. We did manage to show some fight in the second half and I even thought we might pinch a draw after Gerhardt and Fischer got us back to within 1, but to be honest we didn't deserve a point. With 3 defeats and a win from the month of February, here's how the table looks: Those 3 points at the start of the month saved us from ending the month in a much more precarious position, as the bottom 3 all failed to pick up a single win between them. Bremen's better month has seen them sneak outside the relegation zone, with Freiburg and Heidenheim still on the edge of being able to be dragged back in with a bad run of results. March sees us go up against Stuttgart 3rd (H), Bayer 9th (A), Augsburg 8th (H) and Werder 15th (A). I think we need to try and stop the bleeding in the first 3 games and try to avoid defeat. We mustn't go into the Bremen game on the back of another 3 defeats, it could be an absolute killer for us. We're being saved at the moment by the ones below us being just as poor, but we can't bank on that. Tactical Style Part of the reason for our inconsistency is my inability to find a formation and style to settle with at Wolfsburg. Our defensive options scream back 5, with full backs that only like to attack and 4 centre halves all promised first team starts. Our centre midfield options are limited, but then we have multiple out and out wingers, with little quality upfront behind Wind. It's a bit of a mess to be honest. I love the idea of building up with 3 at the back and even try to replicate when playing a back 4, by having one full back tucking in as an IFB (D), but we don't have any full backs with the ability carry out that role defensively. It also means rotating the LCB option to partner Lacroix, as the other 3 were all promised regular starts in their contracts. What puts me off going with a back 3 is that you normally build a squad around it, one that's only really suited to playing that way. I don't like playing wingers as well as wing backs as it leaves too many gaps in the centre of the pitch for my liking, so i'll either have to retrain the wingers or look to move them on the summer and commit to playing a 3 at the back formation. Either way, I think i'm going to go down that route for the rest of the season to see if we can get some consistency in results and team selection, and then I can reevaluate at the end of the season. Wish me luck, it's going to be a tough run in.

Yes I was pleasantly surprised, although I'm hoping the £11m they've agreed to pay out for him doesn't affect my summer budget too much. Thanks mate, i'll definitely consider that, although as you'll see after the next update, i've moved away from having the option of an IF...

Classic, just as the window shuts..... Looks like it's going to be at least 4 weeks before he's even back in training. Time for the 36 year old Austrian to step up!

January Update So we went into the Winter Break riding high after finishing 2023 off with a home win over Bayern. I didn't really have any plans for the window, with me only 5 games played, I was more interested in giving every one of the current squad a chance to nail down the places for next season. Whilst I would like more depth in a couple of positions, I only had £2m in the kitty and I wasn't really interested in selling anyone just yet to fund signings. Here's how we got on. First up was a trip to fellow relegation candidates Mainz: What a performance and what a win. We dominated the home side from the off and had pretty much had all 3 points wrapped up by half time. Wind, playing off the left as an IF, played in Majer as he burst into the box from his AM position and finishing brilliantly across the GK. Young loanee Amin Sarr, getting a start upfront, slotted home an instinctive first time finish after Lacroix flicked on a free kick into the box. We sealed the deal in the second half, with Wind confidently dispatching a penalty in the 65th minute. So that was Bayern and Mainz beaten in successive games, with 4 goals scored and 0 conceded. This had all the hallmarks of the classic FM tide being turned, the squad were going to turn into superstars and we were going to go on an unbeaten run that will eventually see us rise from the bottom 3, to clinching the title with games to spare.... Yeah...not quite. Heidenheim had other ideas. Quite frankly, we were awful. They did to us what we did to Mainz just 1 week earlier and despite us mounting up 61% possession, we did very little with it, with the home team hurting us every time they attacked. No complaints about this one. What it meant was that, going into our final game of the month at home to the league's surprise package Koln, who sat in 4th place, I had no idea really what to expect from my team. Naively thinking after the Mainz game that I had nailed my tactics, nailed my starting 11 and my style of play, I realised there was still plenty of work to do. Anyway, here's how we got on: So of course, we finish with one of the most evenly contested draws you'll see. Although I did think we had pinched it when Wind slotted home in the 87th minute, only for VAR to call it offside. It was Wind who had got us back in the game earlier on, with him dispatching his second penalty of the month. All in all, 4 points from 2 away games and a home game against a top 4 side isn't to be sniffed at. I'm disappointed with our defeat, but was equally as pleased with our 3-0 win, so it was quite fitting that we then finished the month with a draw. Here's how the table looks going into February: As you can see, we're out of the bottom 3 and even created the smallest of gaps between ourselves and the drop zone too. Heidenheim's win over us has managed to create a good gap for them, although there's still scope for anyone as far up as Freiburg in 12th to slip down into the mix should they go on a bad run. As for the top of the table, our win over Bayern seemed to knock them slightly, with them only winning 1 of their next 3 games, allowing Dortmund to pinch top place for now. Transfer Update Transfer wise, there's no real update. As per my plans at the start of the window, I didn't really have the money, nor the interest to do much business. Aston Villa came in with a loan option for Baku with 45 minutes to spare, which I rejected. I did find out though that the club had already agreed a future transfer for the summer of 2024 for Polish GK Kamil Grabara from Kobehaven. At least that saves me the task of searching for Casteels' replacement in anticipation for this summer. We have a tough run coming up, with the next 5 fixtures being against teams in the top half. Added to that, i'm still not fully settled on my set up. The squad has the defensive options to play a back 5 and Wind's best role is as a DLF, so a 3-5-2 really stands out. But then that means leaving out the wingers, such as Wimmer, Kaminski and Cerny, or making the commitment to retrain them. It's a tough one and one I need to get right if i'm going to keep moving up the table. I may stick with a 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 for now, but it could all change.

I've never signed him myself, but Nusa always seems to reach impressive heights on my saves, so at that price, I reckon you've got yourself a bargain!

And yet they're my favourite types of saves on FM. I think, with my experience set at semi-pro, it can be one of the harder FM Challenges as you need to somehow get onside an already depleted squad morale-wise, whilst not exactly having the reputational clout to galvanise the squad motivationally. I feel it puts a lot more pressure on you to get it right tactically and I love the challenge Thank you! It really did come as shock, but our defence has been solid even in our draws and defeats since taking over. Hopefully beating Bayern was a sneak preview into future seasons, when we're fighting with them for the title. Thanks mate, good luck with them. Feel free to post your updates in here too (if you haven't already got your own thread that is). Be interesting to see how others get on with them.

December Update So one month in and after facing RB Leipzig at home at the end of November in our first game in charge, December's fixtures filled me with a bit of confidence, with Bochum, Freiburg and Darmstadt all to play before seeing off the end of 2023 with a home game against league leaders Bayern. Here's how the matches turned out: First up was a trip to the Vonovia Rhurstadion to play Bochum. An even game when you consider all the metrics. Yes we had a lot more of the ball, but their XG shows they clearly had the better chances. Svanberg put us ahead early on, but a very late first half equaliser from the spot put us 1-1 at HT. With both teams in a relegation scrap, neither were really prepared to chase the 3 points, with us both settling to put another point on the board, with that point being my first as Wolfsburg boss. I'll take it. Next up was a home game to Freiburg: A bit of a strange one again. I started with a 3-5-2, hoping that going with 2 up top at home might get us in to an early lead. The change in formation and unfamiliarity to it meant we conceded a lot of possession in the first half, but despite the shot count rising, Freiburg failed to make the most of it. A half-time change back to a 4-2-3-1 worked, with us dominating the second half chance-wise, with that man Svanberg popping up with another goal, with this one being enough for us to secure all 3 points. My first win as Wolfsburg boss and a win I was adamant we would back up away to fellow relegation threatened Darmstadt.... Yeah... maybe not. Despite dominating possession, we just couldn't find a way through. We outperformed them in pretty much every metric other than the most important one, the score line. Even their goal was scrappy. Their 21 foul count tells you just how they approached the game, making sure they did everything to prevent us from getting any sort of rhythm. Despite our 4 points in the previous 2 games, this defeat kept us bottom, with league leaders Bayern now coming up. Great... Don't you just love football eh?! In a role reversal from our previous games, and well, as to be expected, Bayern outperformed us in every metric, but it was us who took home the 3 points, with young Polish winger Kaminski (who had come on after just 18 minutes due to an injury to Wimmer), heading in a Rogerio cross at the back post. And so, with 7 points from 12 taken in December, here's how the table looks going into the winter break and the January transfer window: Those wins have lifted us off the bottom, with Mainz and Werder now slipping down into those spots. I don't really have many plans for the window, although Roy Hodgson has been spotted in the crowd in an attempt to unsettle Jonas Wind. Right now, i'm not getting anything out of any of the strikers so far, so may even be tempted into cashing in should I highlight someone I could replace him with, but I won't be actively looking to sell. Mainz away and Heidenheim away are our first 2 games back in January and positive results in those could go a long way in helping us move away from the bottom 3, but adversely, negative results could sink us back to the bottom. Either way, January should be an intriguing month!