kingjericho

West Ham // Premier League // March 2031 As expected, we struggled against the sharks and lost our two league games of March. Galatasaray were easy prey - in the first leg at least - and now we face Eintracht Frankfurt. It seems it will be up to us, City, and Arsenal. The youth intake produced a super potential centre back and two interesting midfielders. These three plus a young goalkeeper are the ones who'll be signed by the DoF.

West Ham // Premier League // February 2031 The FA Cup elimination raised some doubts in the board and fans' mind as they were expecting a lot more in that competition. Fortunately, the league performances have been excellent. We're alone at the top but March will be a decisive month, with EL matches and Arsenal, Spurs, and Man Utd in the league.

West Ham // Premier League // January 2031 Despite losing at home to relegation-threatened Brentford, the rest of the month went very well. The top 3 are starting to distance from the others. This stage was a walk in the park, often getting huge scores playing my second choices. Two players arrived in January. Rúa was on his last 6 months at Barça and we got him for a symbolic fee immediately. Doherty was, in my eyes, a great deal. Liverpool wanted between €30m and €50m for him, but they were also interested in my CB Lloyd Kelly. I proposed a direct swap and they accepted. I get a player 9 years younger, maybe less capable on the immediate but with more potential, and around €90k less per week. Plus, Kelly's contract ran out next season so it was either sell him in the summer or renew a 32 y/o contract for big wages.

West Ham // Premier League // December 2030 We struggled against theoretically weaker sides, beating Luton and QPR marginally and losing to Brighton. Sevilla took our first points away in the EL but we're still in the top 8 which qualifies for the round of 16. We continue to hang out among the big boys but we have a tougher calendar in the coming months. One of the reasons I was keen on managing West Ham is because of their youth setup and this early youth intake preview looks promising.

Forget about Buffon, Oliveirense just signed a 55 y/o Japanese midfielder

West Ham // Premier League // November 2030 Great wins over Chelsea and Arsenal, and complete domination in the EL. The season so far has been going better than expected but we're in a sort of injury crisis, with three players from the U21 promoted to the first team to make numbers, sometimes even in the starting lineup.

Fun idea, cool to see how's everyone doing

I'm not interested in moving so briefly after joining West Ham, but I applied just to see if I would be considered for a 5* club.

West Ham // Premier League // October 2030 The good form continues domestically and in the EL. Tottenham are sniffing our toes but we're well within European places and as long as we're there I'm happy.

Just keep winning every now and then to stay clear of relegation

West Ham // Premier League // September 2030 Impressive away wins over Liverpool and Porto. We were, however, unable to beat Liverpool again three weeks later, and they knocked us out of the EFL Cup. So far, so good!

Congrats on the deserved promotion. It's time to start taking advantage of the facilities and get those youth prospects into the first team before the current squad starts declining.

If you want them to handle contracts then a good "negotiating" attribute can be important.

West Ham // Premier League // August 2030 After a shaky start we destroyed Wolves and advanced in the EFL Cup. Media prediction is 11th but I want to be ambitious and aim for the European places. Owain Williams - DC - €23m - we sold a 29 y/o DC to Napoli for €29m and replaced him with a younger, more talented, and for a slightly smaller fee. This the base XI after the transfer window closed. The first options are good, and some of the bench too. But the average age is high, and I need to start rebuilding the squad, but with such a small transfer budget this summer was impossible to do more. Both DR are on the last year of contract, don't want to renew and I couldn't find any interested clubs. Marcos António and Darwin Nuñez renewed their contracts because they're still very good players. But everyone else who's nearing 30 and on high wages is in risk of being sold and replaced with younger players with lower wages and more potential.

Regardless of winning the league or not, I'm impressed at how well you're doing with 11 players in a very schedule-heavy league such as the VNS.

West Ham // Premier League // 2030/31 pre-season The club only played one friendly before I arrived, no wonder the rest didn't go so well since everyone was out of shape. The focus since I arrived was to evaluate the squad and see what kind of transfers were needed. Unfortunately a budget of €11m is not enough to do anything big in the Premier League so only one player arrived so far. Dennieer Candanoza - AMR - €2.4m - a great option for either side at a very good price, this is the kind of deal we can do this season.

This should interest you. As you can see other have used styles such as Fluid Counter Attack to good success. Personally I often try the Wingplay style but it doesn't that well. I don't fully understand the use of a low block and overlaps in the team instructions.

To put it very directly in regards to the OP: Gegenpress is the ones who generally works better in FM's match engine. However be wary that tired players in a gegenpress have a serious effect and the team is much likely to concede late goals.

I must admit I was curious as to what I could achieve with Luton in the Premier League, and the job offer from Wolves that I rejected was a sign of that. However, West Ham is a massive club and has all it takes to be the "best of the rest" from day one, with great facilities and a big stadium. The past ten season have all been mid-table finishes ranging from 6th to 14th. In 2027/28 the club won the Conference League and that's all for trophies. So the primary objectives are to qualify for Europe and start to build a young competitive team.

Default throw ins don't hurt your shape that much, I reckon. Centre backs don't go forward, or do you notice something like that?

Traditionally left footers play on the left side, and right footers on the right. In the modern game it's usual to see inverted wingers too, but for the other positions the same foot/side logic is still the norm.

Yep, I signed Travis Akomeah from Chelsea and he scored 8 goals from corners. Plus he had the best average rating in the league because his headers won % is almost 100% every match.

For corners: https://youtu.be/LYHqftDxDpE

As the save progressed I added playable top division from the top ten nations to increase realism, player production, and transfer activity. Porto is the first interview I've received without applying. But the mission of returning the prestige back to the classic English 4-4-2 is not over yet, and this is, at least in theory, a England only save so that's where Wingplay Crossicho will remain.

I'll be honest I don't look for any staff attributes except for scouts JPA/P and Ass Man. All the others I sign whoever has the best rating (you can add that column in the staff search)