warlock

Looks pretty good! Does he have an end product to go with that pace and dribbling?

@Dong21 @smplfc123 @Jamesbfc1887 Cheers, all. Enjoying it so far. When I did my early save with Sheff United, I had some good success switching between a 4132 for tougher games, and a 4312 for easier opponents just by moving the DLP from DM to the middle of the midfield three, and a CM up to AMC. I've always felt that a flat 3 in the middle gives you better coverage across the field than the narrow diamond. But it's hard breaking out of your comfort zone and figuring new setups from scratch. I love wingers, so most of my success comes from tactics that employ them. Also think QPR is a really tough challenge this year - they're currently in 23rd spot in my save, with six defeats in their first 8 games. I'll be interested to see how he performs. In my slow United save I'm barely up to September in season 2 and just started introducing him (and Angel Gomes) for cup games. Cause for optimism from those January results - more like that should see you back in contention for Europe.

Nottingham Forest: Season 1, September So, I know I said it would be back to Sheffield United but, as much as that save appealed, I realised that I'd been talking about a Forest save for more than a year and never got around to it. So, I decided the time was right... The squad Normally at this point we'd be talking about all the great players I'd signed to make up for all of the holes in the squad. Forest present a rather different problem - the squad is ridiculously large, with a number of loan signings who aren't much (if at all) better than players already at the club, and we were paying a huge amount of money for them. In central defence we had five CBs on the books and had loaned in Molla Wague for an extra £10k a week - perhaps justifiable if we were going to play three at the back, but we don't have the wingbacks to play that setup. Wague was sent home. Speaking of wingbacks, we have two decent-ish RBs, including loan signing Saidy Janko, but had also loaned in Sam Byram from West Ham, for whom we were paying around £30k a week in wages plus loan fees making him the most expensive player in the squad. And he starts with a long-term injury. Bye Sam! In midfield, we have more than enough bodies to cover either a 442 or 433, but had loaned in Pele from Monaco for £33k a week. Good player but a luxury we can't afford. Terminated! For reasons known only to the idiots on my board, we were also paying £35k a week for the services of Jack Colback. Er... no thanks! On the right-wing, we have Joe Lolley and Matty Cash, two good players, but have also loaned Diogo Concalves from Sporting Lisbon. Unfortunately, his loan can't be terminated; fortunately, he's only costing us £4k a week; unfortunately he's the worst of the trio, so we just have to live with it. Up front, we are also paying a fortune for the loan services of Leo Bonatini from Wolves. Leo has good days and bad days, but not enough of the good ones to justify paying Wolves £26.5k a week. Sadly, since I'm resolved to play a classic 442 with Forest, I need him as a fourth striker and can't find anyone better. Reluctantly, I allow him to stay. The only alternative was to put my faith in an ageing Daryl Murphy, and having managed him at Ipswich last year I had very little faith. When US clubs started showing an interest, it was easy to let him go to DC United for £100k. Also leaving was Liam Bridcutt, a decent player but good for only a DM role, which I had no intention of using; he went to West Brom for £2.6m. Also aboard the outbound train was 32-year-old Jamie Ward, who joined Orlando City for £400k. All told, we raised more than £3m in transfer fees, and freed up more than £150k a week in wages. Did we actually sign anyone? In fact, we did. On first joining, the squad has no LB, with only Colback providing makeshift cover. Languishing in the u23 squad was 24-year-old Jack Robinson, who looked to me more than capable of doing a job. No sooner had I brought him back to the senior squad than Middlesboro and Swansea showed transfer interest, which was duly rebuffed. But that still left us short of cover. There was talk on the (virtual) street of a hot young Spanish LB at Real Madrid who was available for loan. Enquiries were made and quickly Sergio Reguilon was lured to the exotic realm of Nottingham (@Jogo Bonito: cheers, buddy!!) Early form Pre-season presented the usual lack of obstacles and nothing is to be read into the results. Except, perhaps, the fact that in 7 games we scored 33 goals and conceded only 3. Whatever... Happily, we carried that form into our first competitive game, beating Sheffield Wednesday away. Less happily, we followed that with a pretty dismal home draw against a poor Ipswich side who did just enough to prevent us finding the net for the first time since I took charge. By the beginning of September, we are unbeaten in the league and with just a single defeat - in R2 of the Carbao - to blemish our record. So, third place - got to be happy with that. Board expectations are top-half finish; media prediction is 8th; my own expectation is a playoff place but, inevitably, hoping for better. The only downside so far (apart from the early Carabao Cup exit) is the form of Lewis Grabban up front - despite tipped as a candidate for the league's top scorer, he's found the net only once, and that from the penalty spot. Well, that and the performances of CB Yohan Benalouane, who thinks he's god's gift to football but in fact has the worst record of all our backline. Two players who need to buck up their ideas!

Why? If he played well it seems like the perfect time to ask for more starts.

@Dong21 Well played, sir!

I'd say so, especially in Europe. A couple of frustrating draws in the league, but only one league defeat looks impressive. Top 3 for Christmas?

Welcome to the party! I thought Sunderland would be a top choice this season, but hasn't worked out that way. Hope you can turn them around.

Fingers crossed! A pretty mixed bag of results, and a sickener against Blackburn to score 3 and come away with just a draw. Seems like you're still looking for the right balance between attack and defence. I'm sure you'll figure it out

We all have our little foibles . In the 20-odd years I've been playing CM/FM, I've never once managed Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea or Arsenal (or Leeds, come to that). Some things just can't be countenanced

Sure thing... tomorrow probably, given the rate at which I get through a season; I'm into season 2 with United and three seasons is about my limit.

Was afraid that question was coming . Just wasn't feeling it, couldn't get a tactic working, Rudd in goal has a nasty habit of parrying everything - usually straight to the feet of an opponent - and I reckon he cost me at least one goal every single game. Enjoyment level was close to zero so I binned it. At the moment I'm enjoying my first save of the year with Man Utd so I'll run that for a bit. After that, I'm kinda sorta thinking I have unfinished business with Sheffield United... see if a back-three tactic might hold my interest for a while.

Must admit I hadn't. Having done a bit of reading I can see why you're excited.

An excellent read, as always . I've come close to signing Obafemi several times in recent saves but couldn't quite bring myself to pull the trigger - be interested see how he does for you. Good luck!

Depends what you want, but the point that it comes with no fixed instructions is the attraction. Maybe you don't want him to roam, or maybe you don't want him to close down more, or to take more risky passes. The other, more specialised roles may have downsides in terms of your tactic - you can configure the CM to do pretty much what you want.

Certainly suggests that @Jogo Bonito and I massively overachieved with Colchester