deltablue

Playoffs 2038 Rotherham making the playoffs was a bit of a shock, having finished not far above the relegation zone last season and otherwise had years as a mid-table club, which was why I was glad to be playing them instead of Stoke. I thought that Pergolini had given us an early lead in the home leg only to see it disallowed. Windfeld had a goal disallowed himself before finally giving us a lead to take into the away leg. Unfortunately at we picked a bad time for one of the worst collective performances of the season as usually reliable players like Castelo, Eastham (who was poor in both legs) and Epstein in goal really let us down. It didn't take long for them to level the tie, then take the lead. Pergolini managed to get a goal just before half-time to make it 2-2 on aggregate but a poor second half saw us go down 4-1 on the night in the end. Rotherham ended up beating Nottingham Forest in the final to complete a shock promotion. The playoffs really hadn't gone our way (even the first leg could have been more comfortable) but hopefully our time will come.

May 2038 As expected, our run came crashing to an end against West Ham, before we had a surprisingly comfortable win in a '6-pointer' against Plymouth. I had finally decided to play one of the defenders on loan for nothing from Schalke and he opened the scoring in that game, proving to be a valuable member of the team for the rest of the season. Our form wavered for a little bit and we found it harder than we should gave against Swindon and Millwall, then threw away a lead late on at Swansea. However we recovered some form near the end of the season and despite failing to beat bottom club Derby, the win against Bolton was key as that gave us a 4-point margin over 7th with 3 games to go. The win against Rotherham also helped a lot and results elsewhere secured a playoff spot before we even played Aston Villa (due to playing later). I was able to make a few changes at Leicester and grabbed a late draw which didn't really matter aside from helping secure 5th. After a frustrating start to the season we spent a lot of the year either just inside or just outside the playoff places, finally doing enough to seal our place late on. That was despite a lot of changes last summer so I am glad that this team is finally starting to come together and take a big step forward, though it was clear early on that the playoffs was the best we could hope for this season. However after such a tough fight it feels like a genuinely achievement as part of Everton's gradual recovery. Star Player: This really wasn't a hard decision at all. Castelo broke his own average rating and man of the match records from last season, even managing to be man of the match in a few games where we lost! It's amazing that no one has come in for him, especially with a 5m release clause! Squad Stats

November started well enough with a win in what I thought would be a tough game away to Staveley Miners Welfare, followed by a comfortable win over Derby. However we then lost 5 games in a row (almost half our total defeats for the season so far), all by a single goal and most of those being 1-. Eastham was going through a dry spell and a general attacking slump was really costing us dear. We dropped quite a bit down the league, going from 5th to 12th and 8 points adrift of the playoffs. We started to turn it around near Christmas, winning our last 5 league games in a row (and it would have been 6 if it hadn't been for a stoppage time Brentford equaliser) to bounce right back up into 5th. That run will probably end away to West Ham next but with Villa likely ending up top and 3 more teams fighting for the other spot and likely to make the playoffs at least, we head a decently sized pack competing for the other two playoff places. However, a lot can happen in the remaining 15 matches to change things up a bit more.

Oct 2037 I haven't been too well recently but hopefully I can get back to it more now, especially with a new a faster laptop! Anyway, I wasn't too happy with what seemed like a relatively slow start to the season. We had made a lot of signings which I thought might hold us back a little but otherwise we were getting to the point where we really should be pushing on and challenging for the playoffs, if not this season than certainly next. Thankfully we gradually improved going unto autumn and soon found ourselves in a position where we were on the verge of the playoff places but not quite consistent to hold down a top 6 place for more than a match or two. The top of the table looks a lot more open than previous years with no one breaking away from the pack so it's set to be an interesting few months as we see how looks like they might last the distance and I feel confident that we can at least keep our place in the fight. I am certainly a lot happier than I was after the first handful of matches as I while we're far from perfect, I do think we're playing closer to our potential with far fewer points dropped due to goals we should have scored but didn't. It helps to have Leopoldo to finally give Eastham a partner who can actually score goals, while Stoyanov has had a fantastic season so far on the wing. It's definitely up front where we've done better, and we are at least keeping pace with the teams around us on the goalscoring front after a few seasons of having a relatively low goal tally at each end. It's a shame that the defence has let us down on a few occasions, like against Swansea, or things could be going even better but I can't complain too much about where we stand so far, especially after so many summer signings.

Thank you so much. Its been interesting to explore.

Well this isn't a criticism of you personally it doesn't help when some of you claim credit for SI releasing a patch shortly after doing a video together discussing the game's flaws. Then there are the misleadingly-titled videos claiming to discover 'The Truth' about FM and how it works but which are based on a flawed understanding of the game and a spreading of misinformation. As for your survey, some of us tried it and weren't impressed by the flawed (and in some cases clearly biased) questions which are of limited value towards helping provide proper constructive feedback to help improve the game and how SI engage. It seems designed more so you can make a big thing of how much the fanbase agrees with what you and the others have been saying. Apologies if I have misjudged your motivations but just wanted to explain why some of us have a certain negative impression of the big name FM youtubers.

The one time I had one was when I already had a top quality team and all the money I could possibly need.

Yep.

They are a tycoon team in my save who have reached the Championship

Good progress so far.

Those things make no sense sometimes.

What World Cup?

Well Bromyard Town and Staveley Miner's Welfare are tycoon clubs. I have seen a couple of others as well though those are the only two to make it that far up. The Premier League isn't that different with Plymouth perhaps being the most notable team to have made it that far The conference is much more interesting even if some of those clubs may have 'only' had to go up a couple of divisions. Guernsey in League 2 are the most notable non-tycoon team to make it to the football league, though there was Weymouth for a while before that. On the otber end of the scale, Lincoln have been struggling in the Northern League for years now and are currently a mid-table Northern League Division 1 South club, while Preston have also long become a Conference North club. I do really like seeing things change over time like that.

Summer 2037 This was a much busier summer than expected for a few different reasons. The first deal made had actually been for the Bulgarian defender Stanchev back in January, but he wasn't actually the first to arrive. We had Schalke as a parent club but nothing came of it until it was cancelled and immediately re-established, leading to a defender and a forward coming here on loan. It's nice to get good free players like that though neither of them will be first choice. The big event was the sale of Stokholm. Cardiff came in for a 5m bid and while I rejected it, I then immediately realised that he was the best bet for the big sale we need to make pretty much every year, especially as he was relatively expendable and the third highest earner in the squad (after Castilo and Eastham at 10kpw) at over 8kpw, without performing well enough to justify it. It worked out pretty well as an example of the transfer model I am trying to follow, so hopefully we'll get that interest in other players in future. Stokholm's sale actually gave me a proper transfer budget to use for a change, though I didn't want to spend too much of the money I had just raised. There was a focus on trying to get rid of a bunch of squad players who had done well for us but who could be replaced (or already had been) with clearly better ones. That was the thinking behind spending actual money on Leopoldo as our latest attempt to give Eastham a reliable partner, as an alternative to Pergolini and as a vastly superior replacement for Rush. Miki was another example of this policy in action. There was another problem I wanted to address, and that was the lack of homegrown players, given how players in England are just too expensive compared to what I can occasionally find in other leagues and non-English free agents. We had to have 6 in a matchday squad and we only had 8 (including one I really hoped I wouldn't have to use). We had a few players who would get that status in time, with Epstein and Basic thankfully being just a year away, but I felt I needed a stopgap. I searched for decent free agents who would accept relatively low wages, eventually finding Millington and Richards who should also provide decent depth. That just left my young 'investment' signing for the year, kind of like my version of the 'galactico' policy except trying to find a young player who would cost relatively little. It was actually pretty hard this year, as I wasn't going to spend anywhere near as much money as I could and I wanted players young enough to eventually get homegrown status and help solve the aforementioned issue. The Kourkoutis signing was an example of how I was being a bit more flexible on previous hard transfer fee and wage limits if it could be justified as a worthwhile investment, both to improve the team and to hopefully reap a big profit if need be. He was too expensive (and too good already) to count so despite the number of players I knew I was signing, I still wanted to go for Windfeld to tick that box. Again, it was all about the potential low-cost and high reward investment. Hopefully all those signings hasn't put us back too much, especially as I took the rare step of raising expectations to top half for a bit of extra budget (which was less necessary after the Stokholm sale). We have plenty of budget one or two more signings, which I will go for if the right player comes along (especially a right-back). Things are progressing slower than expected but Rome wasn't built in a day. I have already dealt with many situations where I have built a strong young squad like this and it takes a few years to click in terms of consistency and efficiency, as what I am seeing on the pitch points to a team that could easily be doing a lot better in terms of goals, points and wins. Surely our time will come. Barton Forte Kourkoutis Leopoldo Miki Millington Richards Stanchev Wacker Windfeld

May 2037 March was an excellent month as it looked like we might be able to make a late push for playoff contention after all. We also pulled off an excellent FA Cup win over Arsenal, somehow finding ourselves 3-0 up at half-time after taking the lead through a penalty, and restricting them to a single late goal. However going into April we hit a perfect storm of a hectic Easter weekend, having to save ourselves for the FA Cup semi final and having injuries really rack up once more, especially in midfield. I thought we would be favourites for the Bristol City game and we certainly dominated the first half but our failure to score in normal time cost us dearly as we were hit by a red card and 2 more injuries (including to Eastham) in extra time and lost on penalties. It felt a bit like a missed opportunity but I am still happy with our run and beating Arsenal. Bristol City ended up winning the whole thing. By that point we were clearly running on empty with injuries and other fitness issues, not helped by the FA Cup semi adding to a hectic schedule of games, with Chesterfield and Charlton being tough teams to face under the circumstances. We improved in the final few games (and really should have beaten Bolton at least, as well as Rotherham) to at least secure a decent top half finish. Add that to the cup run and while again I was wondering what might have been, I feel satisfied that we're showing signs of promise. Star Player: For all his goals, Eastham has been too inconsistent to win this award over the past couple of seasons. However this was his best year yet (even though he noticably scored far fewer league goals in the second half of the season) and we would probably be in League 1 without him. Squad Stats

Feb 2037 It's fun playing FM at a pace that I haven't managed for a long time, even with family distractions right now. It also helps get through seasons quicker until things hopefully start to click. This is now my 3rd full season at Everton, and while we will probably end up in a similar position, this year our form has been the most consistently mid-table, aside from a poor January where we lost all 4 league games (but really didn't deserve to), though February saw our form recover nicely despite an injury to Eastham (though thankfully just for a couple of weeks). This about as quiet a league season as we could have, not having to worry about relegation after our poor start, and nor are we getting anywhere near the playoffs. The FA Cup has been the main point of interest. We conceeded early against both Staveley Miners Welfare and Watford (a big problem we had at the time) and beat them both comfortably in the end anyway. Then we had an easy time of it against League 1 leaders Notts County, even if that's where Eastham got injured. That brings us to the quarter-finals, where we face Arsenal away. We haven't done much in the cups so far (in contrast to my adventures at Grimsby) so it's nice to get this far and have a big occasion, even if we'll almost certainly lose.

I don't really use a DM, so he will probably be used both in central midfield and defence. I usually use a ball-playing defender with my formation but there was no point trying at the low levels and even players who should be suited do it haven't worked so far at Everton. Hopefully he will though.

Given your form you should hopefully be able to do it.

Looks like a great battle at the top.

Great promotion season and it's a shame you didn't stay.

Flamingo Land is an actual theme park in North Yorkshire (and I've been there). It makes for an odd name as a stadium sponsor though

Good luck in the cup final.

At least you did your bit on the final day.

Oct 2036 It's fair to say that this is not the start of the season I was expecting, starting with the 3-0 defeat to newly (re)promoted Brighton. Only a very late comeback against Middlesborough rescued us from losing our first 3 league games. While converting chances was the issue last year. This time the defence were so often the culprits. However there was definitely an inconsistency involved as despite a few early wobbles, Castilo is a clear second in average rating so far, behind only Eastham. That justifies paying them both more. We also had a bunch of injuries to contend with (including to our first choice keeper Milic), which coupled with a busy schedule in the first couple of months meant the team was having to change constantly and I ended up using players I thought I didn't need more. I even made Karabatzakis the youngest player in the club's history against Plymouth because none of the other players we had in his position (and we had a few) were quite fit enough. He actually had a really good game as well! That Plymouth match was the start of a relatively good October, given we played 2 out of the 3 sides relegated from the Premier League, as well as a Hull side who I still saw as one of the bigger and tougher teams despite their recent struggles though to their own recent Premier League history. 2 wins and 2 draws was a good record for the month, especially as we came close to beating Plymouth as well after going 2-0 up! That leaves the Watford draw as the one disappointing result. Hopefully that marks a change of fortunes as we climbed up the table to get closer to the playoffs than the relegation zone, especially as our injury struggles almost entirely cleared after the October international break. There is one more player arriving shortly, using up all the available wage budget left. Vieira was the sort of player I was looking for in the summer, so it will be great to have him here when his Djurgardens contract expires. However I might have to wait an extra month until January to use him as he arrives outside the free agent window (which closes in late November), and he probably doesn't count as one for being able to be registered outside the usual windows anyway.

Summer 2036 As expected it was a quiet pre-season relatively speaking. The first two signings were arranged in January, first with the DoF going for the young Danish winger Stokholm, then when I looked for another player to sign on the same basis I went for Fikret. The logic was that at the time we badly needed a forward to play alongside Eastham who could actually score but by the time he arrived that was less of a necessity, and his time at Goodison really hasn't gotten off to the best of starts. Looking for someone else, I came across the excellent Portuguese defender Castelo. I broke my usual wage rules to get him for 10kpw, twice what I would otherwise consider my limit, but then I had already done so to extend Eastham's contract so I thought that justified making an exception. Finally came my 'investment' signing, a very young Greek midfielder. I had been rather less successful in getting rid of players, though I should have more luck when some of their contracts expire at the end of the season. A takeover late last season meant a new loan to bolster the coffers enough to not need a big sale, which was just as well as we didn't have anyone suitable anyway. The unhappy Hakoyan ended up being the only sale for a fee, thanks to Castelo's signing. I would soon come to be thankful that I didn't get rid of everyone I wanted to, especially as I still did enough for the signings I wanted to make, with room for one more. We did rise from 3rd from bottom in the wage spend table at the start of last season to 5th from bottom at the beginning of this season but I still feel happy that I am running a tight enough ship on that front. Castelo Fikret Karabatzakis Stokholm