thomas_e
-
Posts
980 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
1
Content Type
Forums
Articles
FAQs
Online Manual
Support: Blocks
Support: Games
Bug Tracker
SIGames Manual (beta)
Profiles
Posts posted by thomas_e
-
-
Great progress @XaW! Being Norwegian myself it's extra exciting to follow your progress. The geographical location in Follo and a history for youth development it should be possible to do really well in this challenge, at least domestically.
But i abandoned my NK Zadar (Croatia) save after winning the league, as for me it was impossible to win the CL. Hopefully @grff will prove me wrong on that one, but with a Norwegian club using only homegrown players? Now that's a challenge!!
0 -
1 hour ago, Cookie147 said:
I've just come across another weird one. Can you see the Harrogate defender just in front of the D. He's wearing, what I presume, is their away kit, and not the usual home yellow kit that everyone else is wearing. Anyone else seen this?
Yes, this is a known FM20 bug. This has happened to me quite a lot as well, often with 3-5 players on the opposite team wearing wrong colors.
0 -
South Shields FC
Season summary 2037-2038
First top 4 finish
Once again we managed to improve on last year's finish, going from 5th to 4th place. This gives us Champions League next year which is great!
On the last day we faced Cardiff at home. Chelsea was taking on Man Utd at home and I needed to win and for Chelsea to drop points. Chelsea and Man Utd drew 1-1, but we struggled at creating chances against a stubborn Cardiff side that was already relegated. A magical moment when club icon Bob Sterry came of the bench to make it 1-0 in the 80th minute! Champions League here we come!
Our defense was good this season and Ryan Hughes is a world class central defender. At 23 he already has 23 games for England and luckily we managed to secure a new contract for him in January without a release clause. He now makes £245k per week which is a lot, but he is worth it!
We reached the semi final of the Europa League where we got knocked out by Sevilla.
Season Summary
Top Performers
Top Talents
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 | Vanarama Nat. League South | 1st | 1st round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | N/A 2021/22 | Vanarama Nat. League | 7th | 3rd round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | N/A 2022/23 | Vanarama Nat. League | 5th | 3rd round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | N/A 2023/24 | Vanarama Nat. League | 7th | 1st round | 4th Round (FA Trophy) | N/A 2024/25 | Vanarama Nat. League | 1st | 2nd round | 3rd Round (FA Trophy) | N/A 2025/26 | Sky Bet League 2 | 7th | 1st round | 2nd round | N/A 2026/27 | Sky Bet League 2 | 3rd | 2nd round | 1st round | N/A 2027/28 | Sky Bet League 1 | 13th | 4th round | 1st round | N/A 2028/29 | Sky Bet League 1 | 1st | 1th round | 2nd round | N/A 2029/30 | Championship | 20th | 4th round | 1st round | N/A 2030/31 | Championship | 11th | 4th round | 3rd round | N/A 2031/32 | Championship | 2nd | Qtr final | 2nd round | N/A 2032/33 | Premier League | 16th | 4th round | 3rd round | N/A 2033/34 | Premier League | 14th | 3rd round | 2nd round | N/A 2034/35 | Premier League | 9th | 5th round | Qtr final | N/A 2035/36 | Premier League | 6th | Semi final | Semi final | N/A 2036/37 | Premier League | 5th | 5th round | 3rd round | N/A 2037/38 | Premier League | 4th | 3rd round | 3rd round | Europa League semi-final3 -
What facepack are you using for regens @darren1983? I like it, although 16 year old Richard Litherland looks 50.
0 -
Fantastic job @vikeologist!! Superb effort!
0 -
13 hours ago, dkouv said:
Too right, I think somehow in defense you can compensate a bit by good organisation, but upfront you can't do too much if you don't have the talent. Although until the last few years I had a pretty terrible defense which was not much fun, losing big-4 away games by 5+ goals... I'm hoping for a bit more depth up front in the next few intakes too, at the moment whenever Harmon gets injured there's nobody close to his level to fill the void (and as I type this he is out for 6 weeks with a fractured arm).
Yeah, and I shoudn't complain at all to be honest! Part of this challenge clearly is to compensate for weak ares on the pitch! England just played a friendly at my save, and at one point my GK and two CB's were on the pitch at the same time! You can compensate with good organisation as you say, but only up until a certain point.
But a weak striker is difficult to do anything about for sure! My striker actually has a decent 14 goals in 31 games, but the last three of them came at home to Bournemouth when they got a player sent off after 5 minutes.. He does work hard and score some goals, but against the top teams I know before kick off that I probably have to rely on a set piece, a long shot or a great individual performance from a winger/amc if I want to score. He has great physical stats, but 9 in finishing! I have a huge striker talent in my U18 (dubbed the new Michael Owen!), but he is only 17. I will give him until next summer (15 months) and then I will just use him upfront, even though he might not be ready.
0 -
South Shields FC
Youth Intake 2038
A dissapointing intake and should this be our HOYD's last intake? It just might be. Yes, James Warren is a big talent, but I expect more, with top notch facilities and recruitment. Maybe i'm just greedy
0 -
Good luch @Cookie147! I am also doing the challenge with South Shields as you might have seen. Jason Gilchrist was fantastic for me, scoring a bunch of goals all the way up to League 2.
Nathan Lowe was also fantastic for me and finished with an above 7.0 season rating for something like 12 seasons straight.
Best of luck!
0 -
1 hour ago, dkouv said:
Thanks! Also enjoy reading yours, and looks like you're getting closer, too
I had a weak moment and tried to get Jebbison to reconsider retirement even though he's nowhere near good enough even to be a backup. Thankfully he refused and spared me any selection dilemmas for next season
Yes, we are going along quite similar aren't we! Hopefully I can make CL this year too! I envy you your striker Nick Harmon. I don't have a steady goalscorer atm (but a huge talent in the U18), and it's so important! But I have world class CB's, and that's also key to completing this challenge I reckon. Hard to compensate for a terrible defense!
When I completed the challenge with Real Jean I had what was maybe the best striker in the world up front and that made all the difference!
0 -
Welcome @Motlhen! Looking forward to following your journey!
1 -
Really enjoy reading your updates @dkouv
What a legend Russell Jebbison has been for you!
1 -
South Shields FC
Season Summary 2036-2037
European Qualification!
Our best season so far, finishing 5th place. Champions League qualification was not far away, and hopefully we can grab a top four spot next year. We have two rock solid central defenders in Ryan Hughes and Bob Dolan, both wonderkids, and quite possibly the future England pairing at the back. Derek Graham in midfield had a great season in the AMC spot. Carl O'Hanlon is a very good central midfielder and he brings a lot of balance to midfield. We are not very strong on the wings, but the biggest worries are the striker and left back. Club icon Bob Sterry is getting old and he had a poor season upfront. He scored 8 goals, but I would guess 4 of them were penalties. Shane Ireland on the left back is okay defensively, but he has passed 30 and I need to find a solution. James Farmer in the U-18 squad has endless potential, but he is not ready to replace Sterry up front yet. I am also thinking of using a right back on the left next season.
We controlled quite a few games this year and I think we have our two tactics (control & counter) well suited to the players in the team. We are also good at set pieces which really helps!
Our finances are extremely good as can be expected. We got more upgrades to our facilities, getting close to top standard in both training and junior facilities.
Season Summary
Top performers
Top talents
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | League Cup | Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 | Vanarama Nat. League South | 1st | 1st round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Promotion! 2021/22 | Vanarama Nat. League | 7th | 3rd round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Made the playoffs 2022/23 | Vanarama Nat. League | 5th | 3rd round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Lost VNL playoff final 2023/24 | Vanarama Nat. League | 7th | 1st round | 4th Round (FA Trophy) | Lost first playoff leg 2024/25 | Vanarama Nat. League | 1st | 2nd round | 3rd Round (FA Trophy) | Promotion! 2025/26 | Sky Bet League 2 | 7th | 1st round | 2nd round | Lost first playoff leg 2026/27 | Sky Bet League 2 | 3rd | 2nd round | 1st round | Promotion! 2027/28 | Sky Bet League 1 | 13th | 4th round | 1st round | Solid mid-table finish 2028/29 | Sky Bet League 1 | 1st | 1th round | 2nd round | Promotion! 2029/30 | Championship | 20th | 4th round | 1st round | Survived on the last day 2030/31 | Championship | 11th | 4th round | 3rd round | Mid-table finish, great progress 2031/32 | Championship | 2nd | Qtr final | 2nd round | Promotion to the Premier League! 2032/33 | Premier League | 16th | 4th round | 3rd round | Avoided relegation! 2033/34 | Premier League | 14th | 3rd round | 2nd round | Avoided relegation once again 2034/35 | Premier League | 9th | 5th round | Qtr final | Solid mid-table finish 2035/36 | Premier League | 6th | Semi final | Semi final | Good 6th place finish 2036/37 | Premier League | 5th | 5th round | 3rd round | 5th place finish, EURO qualification0 -
South Shields FC
Youth Intake 2037
Another intake without a left back, but a couple of good attacking players. I am now desperately trying to train the weak foot of my right full backs, but is that even possible to accomplish?
Anyway, James Farmer is labelled the next Michael Owen, and hopefully they are right. We have to find a replacement for Bob Sterry up front and we don't really have anyone to fill his shoes. Hopefully Farmer can be that man!
0 -
-
58 minutes ago, Padders said:
No surprise to be relegated yet again
1 win in 25 is nothing short of a joke
Too bad! Hopefully you can go straight back up!
Btw, i dont think i've ever seen someone play as fast as you!
0 -
South Shields FC
Season Summary 2035 - 2036
We were unlucky missing out on Europe next season. Finished 6th place, but Chelsea grabbed the FA Cup and took the last spot. We had a great season with our best ever finish. Solid at home, but struggling away. We only had 5 draws all season!
We have had success playing a 4-3-3 with a DM and attacking wingers. Next season we will change to a 4-2-3-1 with CM's. I hope to provide some more support for our striker and control possession a little bit more.
We brought back Bob Dolan from loan in January and put him into the starting eleven. This was a success and I hope he and Ryan Hughes can be a good partnership in the coming years. Hughes, our best player by far, signed a new contract at the end of the season. Unfortunately with a release clause, but there was no way around it!
We have some top talent in the U23 team, but no Championship team seems interested in getting them on loan. If that doesn't happen next year we will have to promote them into the first team.
We made the semi final in both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup which was great.
Season Summary
Top performers
Top talents
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | League Cup | Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 | Vanarama Nat. League South | 1st | 1st round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Promotion! 2021/22 | Vanarama Nat. League | 7th | 3rd round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Made the playoffs 2022/23 | Vanarama Nat. League | 5th | 3rd round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Lost VNL playoff final 2023/24 | Vanarama Nat. League | 7th | 1st round | 4th Round (FA Trophy) | Lost first playoff leg 2024/25 | Vanarama Nat. League | 1st | 2nd round | 3rd Round (FA Trophy) | Promotion! 2025/26 | Sky Bet League 2 | 7th | 1st round | 2nd round | Lost first playoff leg 2026/27 | Sky Bet League 2 | 3rd | 2nd round | 1st round | Promotion! 2027/28 | Sky Bet League 1 | 13th | 4th round | 1st round | Solid mid-table finish 2028/29 | Sky Bet League 1 | 1st | 1th round | 2nd round | Promotion! 2029/30 | Championship | 20th | 4th round | 1st round | Survived on the last day 2030/31 | Championship | 11th | 4th round | 3rd round | Mid-table finish, great progress 2031/32 | Championship | 2nd | Qtr final | 2nd round | Promotion to the Premier League! 2032/33 | Premier League | 16th | 4th round | 3rd round | Avoided relegation! 2033/34 | Premier League | 14th | 3rd round | 2nd round | Avoided relegation once again 2034/35 | Premier League | 9th | 5th round | Qtr final | Solid mid-table finish 2035/36 | Premier League | 6th | Semi final | Semi final | Good 6th place finish1 -
South Shields FC
Youth Intake 2036
An okay intake. I was told that I would get a great talent at full back. I did, but I wish it was a left full back! There seems to be an error in the game as I can't renew my starting left back's contract. He has started basically every game for 10 years, but he refuses to negotiate as he want's confirmation of more playing time... And time is running out!
Grant Brooke, Joe Goodman and Christopher Taylor all look like decent prospects, exciting to see their development over the next 12 months.
1 -
South Shields FC
Season Summary 2034 - 2035
Great Premier League progress
Last season we finished 14th, but as I said in my 2033-34 summary, we were really lucky. Yes, we finished 9 points above relegation, but with only 39 points in total we could easily have gone down. This season we were a lot better and I would say we deserved to finish 9th! We started the season great, beating Arsenal 1-0 at home. Two losses against Chelsea and Liverpool away followed, but after this we picked up a great streak of form, losing only 2 of our next 11 league games. We stayed in mid-table for the whole season, beating the bottom teams solidly at home and putting up a good fight against the top teams. A 6-0 win over Swansea at home was the highlight of the season.
In the last game I experimented with a 4-2-2-2 with two DM's and to attacking wingers. With some good strikers coming up through the ranks, but a shortage of central midfielders this might be something to consider in the future, but I will stick to my classic 4-3-3 for the next campaign.
Two players really stepped up this year. One being Carl O'Hanlon in defensive midfield. He is like a poor man's version of Xabi Alonso, but with better tackling and much worse vision (5
). He controls the game really well from his DM spot and is also a really good set piece taker. 11 assists and a 7,15 rating says it all, what a season!
Our other highlight came from club icon Bob Sterry. His first two seasons in the Premier League only saw him score only 12 goals in total. This season he rediscovered his form, scoring 16 goals. Not bad for a lone striker for a mid-table team.
Ryan Hughes is still king of the defence, what a player we have on our hands. Too bad he refuses to sign a new contract without a release clause! Alex Robinson also did really well on the right back at only 19 years old. He has been on full back with support duty, but next year we will change him to full back (attack) to get him more involved on the final third. I moved Derek Graham into the first team and he is developing nicely, playing as an inside forward on the left wing.
If we can keep performing this way and our young players keep developing in their current pace I think we can make a push for Europe in 2-3 seasons.
Season Summary
Top Performers
Top Talents
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | League Cup | Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 | Vanarama Nat. League South | 1st | 1st round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Promotion! 2021/22 | Vanarama Nat. League | 7th | 3rd round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Made the playoffs 2022/23 | Vanarama Nat. League | 5th | 3rd round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Lost VNL playoff final 2023/24 | Vanarama Nat. League | 7th | 1st round | 4th Round (FA Trophy) | Lost first playoff leg 2024/25 | Vanarama Nat. League | 1st | 2nd round | 3rd Round (FA Trophy) | Promotion! 2025/26 | Sky Bet League 2 | 7th | 1st round | 2nd round | Lost first playoff leg 2026/27 | Sky Bet League 2 | 3rd | 2nd round | 1st round | Promotion! 2027/28 | Sky Bet League 1 | 13th | 4th round | 1st round | Solid mid-table finish 2028/29 | Sky Bet League 1 | 1st | 1th round | 2nd round | Promotion! 2029/30 | Championship | 20th | 4th round | 1st round | Survived on the last day 2030/31 | Championship | 11th | 4th round | 3rd round | Mid-table finish, great progress 2031/32 | Championship | 2nd | Qtr final | 2nd round | Promotion to the Premier League! 2032/33 | Premier League | 16th | 4th round | 3rd round | Avoided relegation! 2033/34 | Premier League | 14th | 3rd round | 2nd round | Avoided relegation once again 2034/35 | Premier League | 9th | 5th round | Qtr final | Solid mid-table finish3 -
South Shields
Youth Intake 2035
A good intake potential wise. The current stats of the players coming in are rather low, but hopefully a couple of years in the U-18's can do them some good! I hoped for a good left full back, but hopefully our prayers will be answered next year!
0 -
13 hours ago, uroszila said:
Great overview, really interesting read. I see you are building a really strong team - well done
I wonder, what's your recipe for keeping the best players in your team without getting purchased from bigger clubs?
In my current save with Havelse (Germany) I have big troubles with keeping my best players in the team as they are frequently poached from bigger clubs in country already when they are under youth contract.Thanks @uroszila!
I'm not sure if I necessarily have a recipe, luck is a big factor! When I played with NK Zadar a few months ago I lost my best youngster (poached) and my three best players to big clubs, the board just sold them without me having a say in it.
But I only sign youngsters on pro contracts. Some of them are obviously too young for the pro contract to take effect, but as long as they accept a pro contract that starts when they are 17 they can't be poached by other clubs. I also always put in a three year extension clause in the contracts. That makes for example a 4 year contract on paper into a 7 year contract in reality.
I also try to do all my contract renewals just before transfer windows start. In some cases the January windows, but I like to focus on the summer window as it's the longest. I usually do the contract renewals one week before the transfer window starts. That gives me enough time for players to accept new contracts, and with players having just resigned their contract it usually keeps other clubs away. A player who just signed a contract is often highly unlikely to get upset about a refused transfer offer.
PS! Be careful, as there seems to be a bit of a bug with new contracts affecting loan offers. Sometimes it's difficult to find clubs to make loan offers when a player has signed a new contract. Makes no sense, I know! On that topic though, I would strongly recommend to not loan out players before they are at least 18 (unless they are crazy good but have another top quality player playing in that excact position in the first team).
I also took a gamle this time, as the club accepted a bid for Bob Sterry a few years ago. I then threatened to leave if they didn't reverse their decision. Luckily they did and that was the last time they tried doing something like that.
0 -
South Shields
Special Talent Update
Youth Intakes 2032 - 2033: Our golden generation(s)?
I have gotten quite a few seasons with South Shields under my belt now and we have seen some great progress, making it to the Premier League, and staying in it for the last couple of seasons. In the lower leagues it was mainly our regen striker Bob Sterry who pulled most of the weight, getting the top goal scorer title basically every season.
The last few seasons have seen some good regens arrive. Goalkeeper Ross Finnie in the 2030 Youth Intake has been fantastic, I see him as a potential England no. 1 in the future, and in our last intake (2034) we got a great talent in Martin Hutchinson, an allround offensive player with great potential. But as in most intakes, the vast majority of players never become good enough.
But I think the foundation for what can be a stable Premier League team came in the 2032 and 2033 intakes. Two great intakes with potentially 9 future Premier League players.. I thought I would do an extra update regarding these two youth intakes, now 17 months and 29 months since they arrived at the club. Hope it's an interesting read.
The youth intakes when they arrived
2032 2033
2032 Youth Intake
This is my third save doing the youth academy challenge. Once in Spain with Real Jean that I completed and one in Croatia with NK Zadar (only won the league). Ryan Hughes in our 2032 Youth Intake is by far the best player I have ever gotten in any youth intake doing this challenge. I couldn't get him to sign a contract soon enough and put him straight into the team. He was our best defender in our debut season in the Premier League, at 17 years of age. Carl O'Hanlon from the same intake has now taken over the DM spot and is also our first choice set piece taker. Ryan Gibbons is still in the U23, but I still see a great future for him.
Ryan Hughes - March 2032 Ryan Hughes - September 2034
Carl O'Hanlon - March 2032 Carl O'Hanlon - September 2034
Ryan Gibbons - March 2032 Ryan Gibbons - September 2034
2033 Youth Intake
The 2033 Youth Intake showed great promise in terms of star rating, but I wasn't that impressed as my HOYD. I guess that just shows why I am not the HOYD as the players have progressed great! Derek Graham, originally a central midfielder, is being re-trained as a striker and I think he as massive potential! Bob Dolan is knocking on the door for a first team spot. Too bad about his horrendous personality. Alex Robinson is far from Premier League quality, but injuries have led to him playing as my first choice. He is having a very tough time against big sides, but I think he is a star in the making! Shane Long, Ross Corker (pace, pace, pace) and Stuart Hunt all have potential to become Premier League-quality players.
Derek Graham - March 2033 Derek Graham - September 2034
Alex Robinson - March 2033 Alex Robinson - September 2034
Bob Dolan - March 2033 Bob Dolan - September 2034
Ross Corker - March 2033 Ross Corker - September 2034
Shane Long - March 2033 Shane Long - September 2034
Stuart Hunt - March 2033 Stuart Hunt - September 2034
Head of Youth Development
Key Coaching Staff U-18
Key Coaching Staff U-23
Honourable mentions of Ross Finnie and Martin Hutchinson as they were menitoned as key talents in the post
6 -
South Shields
Season Summary 2033-2034
Another year in the Premier League and we survived once more. But I don't think a table has ever lied this much! We finished 14th, but only a few weeks ago I was 100% sure we were going down. We were miserable! A change in set piece tactics and a new defensive midfielder made it a little bit better, and luckily we had a decent fixture list at the end of the season. We managed to win 3 out of our last 7 games, but next year will be just as tough, and we are in no position to look upwards at the table. Luckily for us Leicester were terrible all season, despite finishing 7th last year. Fulham was also beyond help, but Cardiff started a great run at the end of March, and at times it looked grim. As I said, a great finish to end 14th, but the table does lie this time!
But we have some brilliant talent coming up, and two wonderkids already in the team, so if we can hang on I think the future might look bright! We had terrible cup runs this year, but that was okey, as we want to focus on the league.
We got new facility upgrades and we started the work on new upgrades straight after that. Combines with rock solid finances the overall state of the club is good!
Season summary
Key players
Key youngsters
Season | League | Position | FA Cup | League Cup | Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 | Vanarama Nat. League South | 1st | 1st round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Promotion! 2021/22 | Vanarama Nat. League | 7th | 3rd round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Made the playoffs 2022/23 | Vanarama Nat. League | 5th | 3rd round | 2nd Round (FA Trophy) | Lost VNL playoff final 2023/24 | Vanarama Nat. League | 7th | 1st round | 4th Round (FA Trophy) | Lost first playoff leg 2024/25 | Vanarama Nat. League | 1st | 2nd round | 3rd Round (FA Trophy) | Promotion! 2025/26 | Sky Bet League 2 | 7th | 1st round | 2nd round | Lost first playoff leg 2026/27 | Sky Bet League 2 | 3rd | 2nd round | 1st round | Promotion! 2027/28 | Sky Bet League 1 | 13th | 4th round | 1st round | Solid mid-table finish 2028/29 | Sky Bet League 1 | 1st | 1th round | 2nd round | Promotion! 2029/30 | Championship | 20th | 4th round | 1st round | Survived on the last day 2030/31 | Championship | 11th | 4th round | 3rd round | Mid-table finish, great progress 2031/32 | Championship | 2nd | Qtr final | 2nd round | Promotion to the Premier League! 2032/33 | Premier League | 16th | 4th round | 3rd round | Avoided relegation! 2033/34 | Premier League | 14th | 3rd round | 2nd round | Avoided relegation once again1 -
South Shields
Youth Intake 2034
Another good intake for us. We already have massive potential in our U-18 squad and if they all can reach their potential we might just have a good team on our hands.
Alex Leverton and Martin Hutchinson looks really good. We have quite a few right backs now, luckily Leverton looks like he can operate on both sides.
Now we just need to keep our place in the Premier League!
1 -
4 hours ago, Crayam99x said:
Congrats on staying up. Massive achievement just to get to the prem btw! Also, how hilarious is it that your starting CB is earning 350 a week. He'll need some financial support from his mom just to live on his own.
haha! I know, it's crazy. I beat West Ham at home this year and Ryan Hughes had a great game. All of West Hams attackers had a salary of around £200k a week. Lazy and overpaid. Ryan had them all in his pocket, but thats all he had in his pockets.
1
I had a weak moment and tried to get Jebbison to reconsider retirement even though he's nowhere near good enough even to be a backup. Thankfully he refused and spared me any selection dilemmas for next season
). He controls the game really well from his DM spot and is also a really good set piece taker. 11 assists and a 7,15 rating says it all, what a season! 
The FM20 Youth Academy Challenge
in Challenges, Sign-Ups & Experiments
Posted
How about Holland?