[dafuge's FM21 challenge]

@goonergez Hey, I'm in a similar position, went to play other saves and have come back to delve into reloading hell. Was just about to quit for the night when Cray showed up for me. For whenever you're keen on 'em, save file should be uploaded here! 

https://www.mediafire.com/file/acodo4ddy1masny/cray.fm/file

[dafuge's FM21 challenge]

49 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Ok, are there any other clubs that anyone is looking out for because I plan on re-loading until I get AFC R&D and it obviously might take me a while so I might as well save and upload anything else that someone wants. 

I believe someone above was looking for them too, but if Taunton happened to come up that would be excellent. Really like their look for my first real shot at this challenge. Good luck with your hunt for R&D!

[FM20: The English Football League thread]

@Jogo Bonito That's always how FM goes, isn't it? One day your squad is the healthiest on earth and the next half of them are in the amputation ward. Wonderful finish though, that league position chart is downright awing in its rise. The Championship will be a real test, but if nothing else you'll have a bit more financial flexibility to be able to continue the overhaul. 

Those Shrews though... pretty good team there!  

@TottenhamBoi90 I remember signing Gribbin for a save over in Portugal a couple years ago, real class player back then. Seems like you're in the same boat as one or two others with a loan striker being your talisman, so hopefully you can keep renewing him as long as it takes while you rebuild the core squad. Good luck in the Championship! 

@Fubz Can't tell you how relieved I am to see your squad get their form back. That City match looks downright insane too, what a statement win! Apparently they're good to hand out one of those a season, between you here and Norwich IRL. Just now noticing you've got Duhaney too, I've got massive remorse from not picking him up for pennies upon promotion to the Championship myself. Looks like a real hidden gem for these kinds of saves. 

Seeing your group not just be cut adrift so early is heartening, too, because I’ll have to look to Notts for inspiration…

----------------------------

Shrewsbury Town F.C. ~ 2020/21 Recap

Last time I posted, we were in 4th after the winter window, 6 points adrift of Stoke in 2nd and 4 points clear of 7th. All we had in front of us were 16 Championship matches plus a FA Cup tie at Tottenham. Let's start with that real quick: Ryan Sessegnon scored in the 26th to lead their B team's vanguard. Natural. What wasn't natural was that with the last touch of the first half, CB and vice-captain Omar Beckles headed in a beautifully swerving Sean Goss free kick from the far post, and improbably, we went into the break knotted up. Impossibly, we were inseparable through 90 minutes, not just in scoreline but in the 50/50 possession split. It took a flukey pinball own goal off loanee Ben Johnson for Spurs to wheel away as winners, a result that would be more gutting if I didn't have two more matches to play that week, including hosting the league leaders in Brighton. After dispatching of them, a string of soulless draws saw us slip a hair down the table and made me fear I'd been found out. After that, though, we won three of our last four, which put us in a solid enough spot...

to get promoted! The highest Shrewsbury had ever finished before this season was 8th in the second-tier, which they achieved back to back in the 80s. Somehow, this team that was tipped for relegation (and made it as high as 20th in the season preview later) made Huddersfield's run look like nothing. Jason Cummings once again torched everyone, and in the process torched his release clause to teams in a higher division (though Celtic are sniffing at him now). Sean Goss and Bruno Costa each had double digit assists, our no-name starting GK made the Championship's TOTY along with Cummings, while captain BBM Ollie Norburn somehow came up with 11 goals, half of which came in the clutchest moments or from 30 yards out. And thank god for the offensive fireworks, because Ro-Shaun Williams' departure made me feel preeeeetty shabby at the back. His replacement hasn't grown at all, and any ball over the top inevitably finds its man with our CBs running in molasses behind the striker. No surprise that pace will be my main target in the transfer window, though my first transfer talks are seeing me dining with the £1.3m-rated Emre Mor, who's not so much pacey as just downright slippery. Whatever works!

This is an entire team in need of a facelift. Cummings is entrenched up top and in Shrews lore, while my central midfield is set other than maybe a cheap BBM. But I'll need a new winger (one could say I need one Mor winger...), practically an entirely new starting crew at the back, and hell, even the physical infrastructure needs some work:

It's exciting and terrifying times in Shropshire, for sure. Rather than setting up training camp down the road, we're headed to Andalusia this summer (as a Bético I selfishly jumped at the chance when it came up as an option), and we have just under £30m in the transfer budget before possibly offloading a couple players, but this is a massive leap for a club with probably just 3 legitimately PL-caliber players and a less-than-towering reputation (or wage structure) to attract new talent. All I can do is try to set us up right for the future and hope the 4-3-3 that has clicked so well up to this point keeps on chugging, but it won't be enough to just find budget youngsters now. Not gonna lie, this upcoming season will be the greatest challenge I've ever undertaken in FM to date, and I'm fully expecting the worst. At least the board just wants me to fight bravely. If nothing else, we've definitely done that thus far.

[FM20: The English Football League thread]

Shrewsbury Town F.C. ~ 2020/21 Winter

(Player pics are a bit late but nobody new has really taken a huge leap forward in training or anything. The squad was worried about depth after a winter window twist, but that's been solved. Some players aren't happy that I'm not giving my 4th string CB a huge raise after Blackburn came in for him under his value, though...)

Transfers:

The step up meant we had a lot of work to do in the market, and for once I went in with a clear strategy. I had two targets in mind immediately, and by good grace both of them were transfer listed as soon as the window opened. I was familiar with Goduine Koyalipou from a brief Niort save last season (well rec'd btw, nice young team in Ligue 2 with no real history), and leapt on him right quick. Two-footed right winger with solid pace but not lacking in the technicals, and only 20 years old with massive room to grow! Meanwhile, Gonzalo Villar was dirt cheap as a playmaker who can make the step up to the Premier League once we reach that hallowed ground, and between him and the talismanic Goss we're set on midfield creation. 

Berthier and Costa (along with a dash of Alberico) rounded out our newfound wing rotation, while we dipped into another second division (this time in Germany) for our new starting goalkeeper in Uphoff, with Max O'Leary having returned to Bristol City after a relatively underwhelming loan spell last year. We also renewed loans for Louis Thompson (Norwich BBM), Luke McCormick (Chelsea BBM), and Ben Johnson (West Ham DR/DL), then brought in Nathan Trott from the Hammers to deputize Uphoff and Kieron Freeman from the relegated Blades to start at left back. The only untouched positions (in the summer) were CB and ST, as a tl;dr, but this 1.3m summer overhaul gave us solid hope that we could hang with the regulars in one of the most competitive leagues in the world. But have we...?

Table:

Boy, have we! Absolutely incredible season thus far for us Salops. We've never been lower than 8th, and only two weeks spent outside the playoff positions compares favorably to 5 weeks atop the league (mainly in November before a 4 match winless streak bumped us down). It took us until mid-October to draw a match as well, as a case in point of our downright enterprising play. Jason Cummings has been streaky at times, but when he connects it’s with haymakers. Sean Goss has produced 7 assists despite being dropped back to DLP (with Villar as our 10) and just recently recovering from an injury suffered in a Boxing Day destruction of Derby. That injury by itself wasn't awful, but Villar was in the midst of a 2-3 month absence himself, leaving us light on playmakers and relying a little too heavily on the very raw McCormick to be our glue at BBM. The kid's determined as hell, but his more tangible skills are too far behind for him to be any more than a backup.

We made it a round further in the Carabao Cup than expected, erasing Sheff Wed 5-0 and Sunderland on pens before bowing out at Preston. A couple kind draws to Dag & Red and Wimbledon have us in the 5th round of the FA Cup, where we'll face... Manchester United or Tottenham. Away. At least we'll get some revenue from the gates, because you know those home fans are so excited to see them face a squad with our caliber.

So everything is going swimmingly, and honestly as much of a dream as promotion would be, I can't say I'd be too displeased with, say, a cameo in the playoff semi-finals before saying deuces and taking next season to build/develop a legit promotion-chasing squad. But of course, as a small team living large in the Championship, there's always the threat of a relative giant seeing us as ripe for the picking. Cummings has been of interest to various teams since the summer, and Goss had a brief moment of fame in the market as well, but instead they came for the raw, uncut gem of a player that really sold me on this save. Out of nowhere on deadline day, Newcastle swept in for Ro-Shaun Williams, triggering his 7m release clause. In a flash, he was whisked north on over double his previous wages. £1.6m went into our transfer kitty, less than the £1.77m that Manchester United received as a sell-on fee, and suddenly we were scrambling for a new starting CB. Instead of going for another 16 pace 14 strength monster like Ro-Shaun though, I've taken a slight risk with a slow and savvy defender who's been plying his trade in Holland recently:

If I can get that speed even just up to an 11, I'll feel pretty good given a nice array of stats elsewhere, but that's still an if. I also had a little cash left over to nab the ever-popular Aaron Hickey and help shore up my wingbacks.

With 16 matches left (17 counting our impending FA Cup doom at the hands of a Big 6 club), we have the position and the tools to make a go at the top still. Our run-in sees us facing the current 19th-22nd teams too, so if we can survive the top table Brighton-Stoke-Wigan gauntlet preceding it, we could really shock everyone for the second season running. Again though, just remaining hereabouts would be nice, even if it risks us being picked apart in the summer. I'm already lining up a couple possible replacements for Cummings...

[FM20: The English Football League thread]

@Parmie Keepers can be real rough to find for sure, yeah. Really dig the recruitment there though, Portugal is always a gold mine and it just seems like a good diversity, with a couple names I was looking to sign myself. Phenomenal job in the league too, even with what looks like a rough run of form to close out the season. Here's hoping you can keep that up in Championship Year 2.

@Fubz Damn, Odubeko looks immense and then some, no wonder you're mauling every division you enter! Sucks that his value's skyrocketed so much, but at this rate you might be able to pick him up anyways after a promotion. Quite a few loanees there though, so the goal def looks to be fleshing the squad back out a bit more after those departures. 

@Gunner 101 Good luck with Carlisle! Starting with that winger situation is rough (speaking from experience... it took me a whole season to get it sorted), but it seems like you've got a good handle on the squad already. They're definitely a team that has some potential in them, not to mention a nice swath of the country to themselves.

[FM20: The English Football League thread]

@Fubz Great business there with Paye, and heartening to see Notts on such sound financial footing! Hopefully you keep that group effort up with the goal-scoring, but that cushion over 4th and below is mighty nice. Kinda got my fingers crossed Aldershot stay up there too, would be insane to see both promoted clubs do the double up to L1!

@warlock Will do! Netted my main transfer targets to boost the attack, so it's just a matter of bringing it onto the pitch. I feel like this year I've seen Sunderland either crush L1 or completely falter with hardly any in-between... which somehow makes sense. 

Wonderful start, especially considering the odd depth of the club you had to begin with. Nice that Big Sam was spreading some holiday merriment to you lot as well! Badly needed it sounds like. Have always had a soft spot for Brentford though, and it looks like you've established a nice core group to rely on, especially if you hold your lofty position through the end of the season.

[FM20: The English Football League thread]

First time I've ever really felt hooked with an EFL save, normally I either go straight to the Prem with a midtable club or I take on the lower tiers elsewhere. Been looking at this save for a while though and finally got into it this season after seeing the transfer business they did this past summer. They've got a lot of potential, but not a lot in the way of attention this year!

Shrewsbury Town F.C. ~ 2019/20

The starting squad is... interesting. The main issue is a dire lack of wingers, which definitely didn't fly with my preferred 4-3-3:

Even after bringing in a little help, I essentially had the same front three for every match when healthy. That said, there are definite strengths. The CBs are absolute beasts, and made it easier to cope with the 5-3-2 I used to stick out the first half of the season. The central midfield is also quite strong and has phenomenal depth (almost too deep tbh), and up top Jason Cummings is a phenomenal player for this level. As a result...

We started off sketchy, but took well enough to my slapdash 3-back system to hang around midtable. We rang in the new year with a crazy hot streak though, benefited in part by bombing out of the cup competitions earlier and reducing our focus. Despite a couple injury crises (one of which ended our streak when our wingbacks dropped like flies), we clawed our way up and clinched promotion with a match in hand. Cummings went on an absolute tear in the second half of the season, while Sean Goss (contracted as a fringe player for reasons I can't fathom) is also attracting attention from a myriad of Championship clubs. I'm desperate to hold onto both, but a well-deserved new contract for the latter should stave off all the suitors lining up for my key playmaker and set-piece wizard.

With the first season window off, the only transfers I made for 19/20 were a West Ham loanee who can play either wingback position, and a Portuguese winger listed for next to nothing by Tondela. I did nab a couple youngsters (from Wolves and Hoffenheim) on frees with their contracts expiring this summer, but both are really just with the hopes of developing and selling for profit. Hoping I can properly flesh out my staff and clear out some of the old chaff in this squad to help fund our consolidation efforts; there's a couple players due south of the Channel listed for  prices that I'm desperate to lock down. Not got my hopes up on them, but we'll see...

Side note: Lincoln going up to complete this bizarre trio of promoted teams is made further incredible by the fact that they only nabbed 6th place because Sunderland AND Portsmouth lost to midtable clubs on the final day, while the Imps beat up on Rochdale 5-0 to draw even with Sunderland on GD and edge them on the goals scored tiebreaker! That's one for the Netflix series right there...

[Teams to Manage - FM19]

For those who don't want to start in the top division but want a team with a lot of growth potential, Brescia is a fantastic shout. Sandro Tonali is of course the pick of the bunch as the ultimate young regista, but you have a deep group of young mids beyond him to work with as well. You have some other phenomenal youth products all around and a team that's pretty much set to go up upon first asking, but your CB situation needs touching up (esp. if you make the early leap) and I felt forced into a narrow formation because of their lack of wingers (luckily they have solid wingbacks at least). 

16 hours ago, cacace8 said:

I’ve just started a save with Brescia in Serie B . Any recommended center backs for under 500k ?? 

Assuming you need one immediately, scout Portugal; I know some CBs like Marcao on Chaves and Nelson Monte on Rio Ave are cheap and very solid, and there's also always values from the Big Three's B teams in the first year or two. If you want a someone for the 2019 summer, Pawel Dawidowicz (loaned to Verona from Benfica B first season) was listed in the summer of '19 for €325k so I scooped him up for my own Brescia side upon promotion.