warlock

And you're right... whatever happens from here (we've just secured Champions League football for next season) it's been a great year. We snuck past Athletic Bilbao so we have a Europa League semi-final, and we're about to face Man City in the FA Cup semi-final, and we're still in with a good chance of clinching the Premier League title. We could end up with a quadruple... or just the Carabao Cup . I know I'm the problem - I tend to get frustrated if we're not making concrete progress year on year, and I'm also guilty of "greener grass" syndrome where other clubs look more appealing. I shall sit down and have a stern conversation with myself (But if you'll forgive a teeny, tiny whinge... after 56 games played so far this season, a two-legged FA Cup semi-final is a breach of my human rights!)

Sinners & Saints March 2027 At the beginning of March we were unbeaten in all competitions since New Year's Day. But league wins were harder to come by - in February we'd drawn 3 of 5 games. Could we hope to do better this month, or fear the worst? In the event, it was more of the same - wins in the FA Cup and Europa League, more draws in the Premier League. It's hard to be disappointed by our league performances, facing three of the top teams, but given that we'd beaten all of our opponents in previous encounters I was hoping for more. Against Rapid Vienna we did just about enough in the away leg before edging them at St Mary's to set up a quarter-final against Athletic Bilbao. In the FA Cup we faced a Brentford side who, despite regularly fighting relegation in recent years, always seem to turn up against us, and it was the same story again. We went into the interval with a comfortable 2-0 lead but the Bees refused to give up. Their formidable strike partnership of Evan Ferguson and Ivan Toney combined to give them hope late on and we were somewhat lucky to hang on to our lead. We put Liverpool to the sword at Anfield back in November and I was hoping for a repeat performance at home, and it looked likely when Abraham gave us the lead after 17 minutes. But Gakpo levelled the scores 10 minutes later and we were hanging on for the draw until full-time. Against Man Utd, who we hammered in November, it was the opposite as they led through a Rashford strike after 14 minutes and it took us until the 4th minute of added time for Nino to claim the latest possible equaliser. We ended the month with a visit from Newcastle, another side we'd beaten in the reverse fixture: The stats suggest we should have won; that list of Notable Events tells a different story. The two sides nullified each other and a draw was unarguably a fair result. But while we were failing to win, our closest rivals - Arsenal and City - hadn't been able to overtake us: We are still - just! - hanging on to first place but Arsenal have that game in hand and - unless we can start finding winning form again - it seems inevitable that they will topple us. On a positive note, we've now played all of the Top Ten except West Ham and most of our run-in is against teams in the bottom third of the table. Arsenal, however, face Man City midway through April and still have to face Chelsea, Newcastle, Spurs, Liverpool and Man Utd. If we can do our bit, we could still pull off an unlikely season.

That's a good question. Really, this was only a save to fill the time until the winter update but it turned into quite the adventure. On one hand, we're doing very well, consistently overperforming. On the other, there's very much the same feel as my Brentford save last year... running to stand still. I think it will depend on how the remainder of the season shapes up. I'm not convinced we can win the PL - Arsenal, managed by Pep now, are on a charge while we're running out of steam. We've played 51 games so far this season with at least another 10 to play . If we did win the title I might call it done; if we fall short, I'll probably give another season. But my mind constantly turns to unfinished business in Malaga after my hard drive failure brought that one to an untimely end. Anyway, update incoming...

I feel your pain! I've pondered all the possible reasons you have, but playing in the Premier League I think it really is fatigue - both mental and physical. We've played an average of two games a week from November to March and even with full rotation and days off training for all of the match starters, it's impossible to put out an eleven in reasonable shape and sharpness. The fact that I'm running a young squad that's long on talent and short on experience probably doesn't help. Ultimately, I think what the big transfers and high wages of the top clubs buys you is that combination of ability, experience and mental toughness. I mean spending £4m or £5m a week on wages has to buy you something, right?

I think you're obsessing about something that is only an indicator of goalscoring ability, not overall performance. What really matters over the course of the season is points earned. To get a better idea of your overperformance (if that's what it is) you can look at eXpected Points. I'm not an xG expert, but my feeling is that teams that do well in a season generally exceed their xG. There's also the question of what the teams around you did - obviously some of them underperformed. Tl;dr - enjoy the success while it lasts. And make sure you have enough squad depth to compete on two fronts next season. Keep up the good work

Sinners & Saints February 2027 Our opening game of the month was the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. Taking a 3-1 lead from the home leg proved crucial as the Hammers made it tough for us at their place, even if after they went down to 10 men on the stroke of halftime. That set up a Wembley appearance where we'd face Arsenal in the final. But for most of the month it was all-eyes on the league as we battled to hold on to our narrow lead at the top of the table: The draw against Leicester was disappointing, the draw against Man City rather more impressive, especially as we so very nearly claimed all three points: It was another of our smash-and-grab performances. They were wasteful in attack, we were clinical when we had the chance, and the officials denied us the win. We were in the fifth of four added minutes (no added-time goals, injuries or substitutions) but the referee allowed the clock to run and run until City had one final corner and Haaland eventually poked it home to equalise. Mad? I was furious. We followed that with a handsome win against Norwich (now managed by Mauricio Pochettino) before that Carabao Cup final. Still smarting from the City result, I decided to unleash the team and go toe-to-toe with the Gunners and may the best team win: We were the best team - the consolation goal from Saliba was their first shot on target - and we won comfortably: The month also saw us progress in the FA Cup, edging past a determined Forest Green Rovers, before heading to north London and a trip to Spurs. I was happy enough to come away with a point; my analysts saw things differently: Most of that difference in xG came down to a 12th minute penalty that Abraham passed straight to the Spurs 'keeper, the start of a downward spiral that saw him hauled off at halftime. It took Spurs until the 70th minute to take the lead, but Abraham's replacement Fer Nino bagged a share of the points 10 minutes later. With our first trophy in the bag, we go into the business end of the season with everything else still to play for: Arsenal still have that annoying game in hand, while City are on a terrible run - just one win and three defeats in their last 5 games - but we're far from consistent ourselves. Our March schedule includes games against all three of the 'best of the rest' contenders in Man Utd, Newcastle and Liverpool, plus both legs of the R16 tie against SK Rapid of Vienna in the Europa League. And we face Brentford in the FA Cup quarter-final. Quadruple, anyone?

Tough month, tough run-in, load of injuries... you did say you wanted a challenge . Hopefully, you can it around. A couple of draws would help.

Yeah, that's a problem. It's always put me off managing anything other than a first-team squad - you have so little control. I think it can work in countries where B-teams are run like independent affiliates (Spain and Germany, maybe?) But I guess it is realistic.

Another chance to rewrite history

Just dive in! There's room for all sorts. I prefer a straightforward, FM-focussed story but that's just me. There are plenty of 'careers' I enjoy reading, from the in-depth analytical types to the fantasy-biographies. Someone around here posted the other day - and I apologise that this old man can't remember who - that the best approach is to write for your own entertainment and your 'audience' will find you. I'd go along with that.

Cheers mate. Nice to have a few of the old EFL thread stalwarts around.

I'm familiar with that issue . Just a thought... in season 1 Saints set up with Che Adams as a DLF-a with the aim of making Adam Armstrong our primary scorer as an IF-a. Worked beautifully, and Adams still bagged a fair few goals. Good luck

Hope you're recovered

Glad you asked We just beat Everton, City lost to Wolves . It's basically Top Three and then everyone else (still a long way to go, though).

Do you know, I hadn't even spotted that. A laser-like focus on my own team

One of the toughest gigs in FM is taking on a team in the relegation zone, midway through the season. The "on paper" stuff often goes out the window. A couple of wins can make a world of difference. Good luck

Either the Vanarama National or the Championship, but probably the Championship, especially if you're in a save where you're climbing the leagues. In the Championship you're competing against 3 teams that were just relegated from the Premier League, and about 7-10 teams that were recently in the top flight. So near-enough the top half of the Championship is occupied by teams that feature some/a lot of seriously good players, who have budgets boosted by parachute payments. On the other hand, if you're a newly- or recently-promoted side, there isn't very much money available, so it's much harder to compete at the top of the division. If you're doing a non-league to legend save, the Championship is usually the biggest pinch-point.

Sinners & Saints January 2027 The winter transfer window is always an odd one. It's always a risk bringing in new signings halfway through the season, even if their clubs are willing to let them go (and most aren't). While I had concerns over some of our players, I didn't feel any sense of panic or an urgent need to improve. After all, we were top of the Premier League, had reached the latter stages of the Carabao Cup, were close to the top of the Europa League, and going well in the FA Cup. As I noted last time, any business we did would be driven by incoming offers. In the event, there was very little action. We batted away a couple of lowball bids for GK Seimen from Hoffenheim (he wasn't interested anyway), the rumoured interest in LWB Josh Doig never materialised, and the other media fluff didn't amount to much. The one transfer that did go through was my fault - DM Will Smallbone signed for Nice on an end-of-contract deal. Smallbone is an odd case... he was good in the Championship but I wasn't convinced he could perform in the Premier League. In the event, he turned out to be one of our most reliable DM options: He doesn't look like much but he's been Mr Dependable this season. I'd say he gives the lie to the current nonsense about attributes being irrelevant in FM. He's a long way from the "meta" physical beast, and his standout attributes are the passing and vision. But if you look at the requirements for a DLP, he's pretty good all round - first touch and technique, composure and decisions, teamwork and workrate... they're all pretty good, and that's reflected in his stats for the season: So while I was dithering over a new contract, Nice nipped in and made him the offer. A big mistake on my part. The only other business was done on deadline day. That huge transfer budget was burning a hole in my pocket but I'd managed to resist the temptation until the last minute. Then my scouts flagged the availability of this guy: With lingering doubts about Edozie on the left, and Armstrong and Bardghji on the right, he looked like an ideal signing since he's adept on either side, and at all roles - winger, inverted winger, and inside forward. He has good attributes in all the right places and potential to develop considerably. And his £35.5m release clause looked like excellent value. So that was our transfer window. In the meantime, there was football to be done: On the whole, we did the football rather well. The Forest game was one of those... they presented us with an early goal and then we sat on our hands for 85 minutes. My pleading, cajoling and threatening made no difference and we succumbed to defeat for the first time in ages. Luckily, we followed that with an easy game against lower-league opposition in the FA Cup and we duly took advantage. Then came Bournemouth, the team who had beaten us on the opening day of the season. I wanted revenge and we just about managed it. We then picked up another league win, made further progress in the FA Cup, and look to have secured another Carabao Cup final appearance, assuming we can do a professional job in the away leg. In the Europa League we had already qualified for the Round of 16 while Fiorentina were fighting for their place, but we showed good resilience in securing the draw with a very late equaliser. And finally, the match against Arsenal was an odd one. The loss to Forest had allowed Man City to slip ahead of us to take top spot, we were in second, Arsenal were in third. The Gunners subjected us to the usual onslaught, peppering our goal and pinning us in our own half - we didn't muster a single on target. But wasteful finishing on their part, and a stellar performance by Carnesecchi in our goal, meant we secured a point to keep us in the title challenge. Looking ahead to February, it's another ridiculous month. After 8 games in December and 9 in January, we will play another 9 games in the shortest month of the year. We'll face Man City, Newcastle and Spurs in the league, and either Arsenal or City in the Carabao Cup final. Almost certainly a season-defining month.

Ah, well... he was on the books. He was released back in 2024 when the youth staff advised me not to offer a new contract. He's now the top scorer for Bendel Insurance in Nigeria

A good start, and I like that you've had a different PoM in every game. It does look like Kelvin (let's just agree to call him Kelvin ) will be very important to you.

I had spotted your new thread. Good luck in Germany

If it's not one thing, it's another

Sinners & Saints December 2026 At the end of October we were on a long unbeaten run, with a tenuous hold on first place ahead of Arsenal, who had a game in hand. That situation lasted about a day after the last update as the Gunners picked up the extra 3 points and returned to the summit. Despite our run of good results I was continuously tinkering with the tactic - nothing major, but minor tweaks to address a number of things I saw in games. The first issue was that our form felt precarious. Even in games where we won by a good margin, it felt as though we were just a mistake away from disaster. And there were lots of mistakes - almost all our problems were of our own making.... underhit passes, passes to a team-mate who was well covered, lazy balls out of defence that went straight to the opposition. That version of the tactic was marked by a total lack of in-possession instructions, so I started to add them back in, one at a time - shorter passing, narrower width, a slight drop in tempo. I'm not overly concerned about possession stats, but I did want us to have more control of games. I'm happy enough with 45-50% of the ball because we still carry a good threat on the counter. But against the likes of Arsenal and Man City it's easy for that figure to drop to around 35%, and it's difficult to do anything when you only have the ball a third of the time and most of that in your own half. The other issue was offensive efficiency. There were many games that we dominated but were wasteful with our finishing, so I added back in 'work ball into box' and 'dribble less'. The tactic was a work in progress through November but the signs were encouraging: Liverpool manager Simone Inzaghi was in trouble before our game, with Liverpool well down in the bottom half of the table. But we drove the final nail and he was fired the next day: I'd guess Liverpool played the game on either 'attacking' or 'very attacking', attempting to blow us away with a barrage of shots but just seemed desperate. Their only goal came from a corner to level it up on the hour. On the other hand, we were resolute in defence and chose our moments to attack. Having taken the lead in the 80th minute, we endured another onslaught and then picked them off on the counter to put the game beyond doubt. A week later we faced Man Utd at St Mary's and did even better: The score makes it look like a walkover, the stats tell a different story. Worth recording the stellar performances of GK Carnesecchi, too. So after those unexpected victories I was left extremely dischuffed by our performance against Brentford. The Bees had been in and out of the relegation zone all season and this looked like our easiest game of the month. I don't know whether it's complacency, a lack of fight against underdogs, or something else, but this wasn't the first time we've struggled against "lesser" opponents. But I resisted the urge to make further changes to the tactic and went, with some trepidation, into the traditional brutality of the December schedule: To my amazement we emerged unscathed, despite having to rotate the playing 11 almost every game. And everyone played their part: Abraham has recovered something of his best form, Fer Nino continues to prove an able backup, and we're getting goals from all over the front 6. Our bright young stars, Carboni and Nyheim, continue to shine. All of which has cemented our place at the top: Forest and Wolves are doing surprisingly well, Liverpool have managed to haul themselves up to 12th while Newcastle are down in 14th and Chelsea sit one point above the relegation zone. On the eve of the transfer window we have a ton of money available (£108m) but how much we'll need to spend depends - as always - on offers for the current squad. I have a particular dilemma with backup GK Dennis Seimen - he wants first-choice status but he's not yet at the level of Carnesecchi, but he's wanted by Valencia and Hoffenheim and is making wantaway noises. Other potential problems include CB Callum Doyle (wanted by Leverkusen), DM Juan Sforza (Real Madrid), and defenders Josh Doig and Lorenzo Pirola, both targets for a bunch of Saudi clubs. I said at the start of the season, at some point we have to transition away from being a selling club. These are all players we should be keeping. There may be trouble ahead.

Highly likely, I think. You won't be alone Good luck - both here and with other opportunities

Thanks mate - I hope so too . As I'm sure you've noticed, my current tactical approach is heavily influenced by Unai Emery so feel free to chip in. I've been playing through since the last update and should get to the January window tomorrow, so there'll be a major update soon.