FM10 ~ Official Leeds Utd Thread, wha-Jer-maine we're still in League One?

[Jonnieboy]

No not a typo, did my usual board request at the same time every save and I got 4mil from them! Thats why I have stopped and waiting on the full game because I like scouring leagues and finding hidden gems and with that cash would be pretty fun for leeds! I hate going to spl and finding no players in teams, just annoys me so im waiting till next week to go Leeds!

And krivtets I already tried to sign but chose wigan over me!

Actually was going to mention as well, in one of my saves I also tried asking for more funds right towards the end of the transfer window when I'd basically run out but had another transfer I'd agreed but couldnt quite afford - and they responded by upping the budget to £3.85m.

I usually forget to ask but this time needed the funds or a transfer would have been cancelled.

Well, makes sense. Will try that, too. Thanks mate!

[andywoods]

How much can you buy Krivets for?

[Coen]

How much can you buy Krivets for?

BATE will accept an offer of £475k for Krivets, the trouble is that Wigan (and a few other clubs) always put an offer in for him and he almost always chooses to join them instead even though they offer lower wages.

[andywoods]

BATE will accept an offer of £475k for Krivets, the trouble is that Wigan (and a few other clubs) always put an offer in for him and he almost always chooses to join them instead even though they offer lower wages.

Thanks. Will try it. What about if you gave them a deadline of the same day & get to offer a contract straight away before the story gets to the press??

[Coen]

Thanks. Will try it. What about if you gave them a deadline of the same day & get to offer a contract straight away before the story gets to the press??

Tried that - the club reject the offer if you try to impose a deadline on it, saying that there are other interested parties and they won't be rushed into a decision.

[andywoods]

Tried that - the club reject the offer if you try to impose a deadline on it, saying that there are other interested parties and they won't be rushed into a decision.

Fair enough.

[tugboat]

BATE will accept an offer of £475k for Krivets, the trouble is that Wigan (and a few other clubs) always put an offer in for him and he almost always chooses to join them instead even though they offer lower wages.

try offering him max wages and appearence and goal bonuses and then comment on him, and say that your do your upmost to sign him, then he should come to you,its worked the last 3 times on the trot 4 me..

[Nicko Blaggo]

try offering him max wages and appearence and goal bonuses and then comment on him, and say that your do your upmost to sign him, then he should come to you,its worked the last 3 times on the trot 4 me..

Good tip on the player interaction.

[Coen]

Cheers Tugboat, must admit I hadn't tried commenting on the player - will give that a go.

Should have thought of it really as it's obvious when you think about it that stuff like that should make a difference.

Time to load up a new Leeds game for about the 20th time.

[tugboat]

have a look at zezinho you can get him for 300k down and 1.9m over 48 months hes going to be awesome on the left wing and worth much more in a years time.. also luis guilherme i think thats how you spell it good goalie in the making and very cheap.and nigel watt for 150k at 16 one for the future

[bjoggi33]

Im 3rd in the league after 4 games and just got beaten by Wolves in League Cup 2nd round. Getting Ebi Smolarek for free and Henri Camara for free has been awesome. Plus getting Marlon Harewood has been good.

[Coen]

Just signed Krivets 2 games in a row by using the player interaction options - saying I was in awe of his ability and would do my utmost to sign him (plus offering max wages and bonues). Seems to make all the difference, cheers again Tugboat.

[weebob88]

4 mill would be outstanding! They turned me down. :confused: May I ask at what time you made this board request..?

The day it comes up and says they have sold the final season tickets, my thinking is that at that point would be the day your finances would be at its highest and usually my budget gets upped. All i can say is give it a go.

[elland road boo boys]

I have just signed Jason Beardsley (DR) on a free transfer. Great back up for Lauren & better than Jason Crowe. Could be awesome player for the future!!!

[Coen]

Thought I'd try a run through the demo using the Leeds squad without making any tranfers in or out, just to see how well I did.

And we did pretty well.

League table after 24 games:

Player stats:

Biggest surprise for me was Robinson, I usually sell him but as I wasn't changing the squad he ended up starting most games in right midfield, and finished with 15 assists in 27 appearances. All the more impressive as he generally didn't last 90 minutes due to his rubbish fitness.

Only real injury I had was Becchio out from the start of November onwards, but Grella stepped in and did the business.

Tactics were standard 4-4-2, only changes I made were to set Doyle as a ball winning midfielder, and to switch the wide midfield roles depending on who was playing (Snodgrass and Robinson set as wingers, Johnson and Howson set as wide midfield when they played on the flanks.) Also used the "exploit the flanks" shout when I had wingers on and switched the overall strategy depending on the game (generally used "attacking" at home and "standard/counter" away).

The values of quite a few players increased a lot as well - e.g. Becchio is showing a value of £2.2million, Kilkenny £1.6m, Parker £1.5m. Makes me wonder if I should do this in the full game and wait until January before rebuilding the squad, as I'd be able to generate a lot more money from player sales.

[tugboat]

nice one, did you ask uncle ken for some more money as well, as he always gives another 3+ mil b4 the window closes, then ask for some more in jan..

[Coen]

nice one, did you ask uncle ken for some more money as well, as he always gives another 3+ mil b4 the window closes, then ask for some more in jan..

Yep, asked for more transfer funds at the end of the demo and got the budget increased to £3.85 million even though I hadn't spent any of the original budget.

I will still sign a few players in the full game though, as there are some great players to pick up on frees plus players like Krivets are a lot more expensive if they move (his value at Wigan at the end of the demo was up to £3.6 million.)

Also, if I'd picked up more injuries to key players like Beckford/Doyle/Robinson/Howson then I would have struggled so there is a need for more cover in the squad.

[Nicko Blaggo]

Thought I'd try a run through the demo using the Leeds squad without making any tranfers in or out, just to see how well I did.

And we did pretty well.

League table after 24 games:

Player stats:

Biggest surprise for me was Robinson, I usually sell him but as I wasn't changing the squad he ended up starting most games in right midfield, and finished with 15 assists in 27 appearances. All the more impressive as he generally didn't last 90 minutes due to his rubbish fitness.

Only real injury I had was Becchio out from the start of November onwards, but Grella stepped in and did the business.

Tactics were standard 4-4-2, only changes I made were to set Doyle as a ball winning midfielder, and to switch the wide midfield roles depending on who was playing (Snodgrass and Robinson set as wingers, Johnson and Howson set as wide midfield when they played on the flanks.) Also used the "exploit the flanks" shout when I had wingers on and switched the overall strategy depending on the game (generally used "attacking" at home and "standard/counter" away).

The values of quite a few players increased a lot as well - e.g. Becchio is showing a value of £2.2million, Kilkenny £1.6m, Parker £1.5m. Makes me wonder if I should do this in the full game and wait until January before rebuilding the squad, as I'd be able to generate a lot more money from player sales.

The player values are superb, but could you sell them at those prices? Probably be Championship level clubs who would be the purchasers - would the AI give them the cash to buy Becchio for £2.2M?

[Coen]

The player values are superb, but could you sell them at those prices? Probably be Championship level clubs who would be the purchasers - would the AI give them the cash to buy Becchio for £2.2M?

Good question, and no idea really - although in my games it's tended to be Boca Juniors who come in for Becchio and as one of the biggest clubs in Argentina they might just have the cash.

I am thinking I might hang on to Becchio in the full game until the Jan window provided I can still raise the cash to get the key transfers I want (which is basically Krivets+Cristaldo). The other players with decent values I was probably going to hang on to anyway, and even with his great performances Robinson's value had only increased to about £400k so would probably still sell him at the start.

[Nicko Blaggo]

Good question, and no idea really - although in my games it's tended to be Boca Juniors who come in for Becchio and as one of the biggest clubs in Argentina they might just have the cash.

I am thinking I might hang on to Becchio in the full game until the Jan window provided I can still raise the cash to get the key transfers I want (which is basically Krivets+Cristaldo). The other players with decent values I was probably going to hang on to anyway, and even with his great performances Robinson's value had only increased to about £400k so would probably still sell him at the start.

Very good point on Becchio - Boca would have the transfer cash.

You've played Leeds on the demo a lot more than me, in advance of the full game on Friday can I therefore ask you please:

Firsly, which players would you definitely sell at game commencement?

Secondly, have you settled on an effective tactic?

[elland road boo boys]

My formation at the moment is Crouchaldinos Simplicity 3 sets of 442 with the defensive mifdfielder playing as a ball winning midfielder and the attacking midfielder playing as the advanced one.

Players I have sold at outset are Ankergren, Sheehan, Michalik, Rui Marques, Hughes, Prutts, Showunmi & Kandol.

Players bought in are Lauren (Free) Glauber (Free) Van Der Meyde (Free) Skacel (Free) & Senicanin (Free).

Hope this helps

[Coen]

Very good point on Becchio - Boca would have the transfer cash.

You've played Leeds on the demo a lot more than me, in advance of the full game on Friday can I therefore ask you please:

Firsly, which players would you definitely sell at game commencement?

Secondly, have you settled on an effective tactic?

The ones I'd definitely offload are Robinson, Sheenan, Michalik, Huntington, Hughes, Kandol, Showumni, Rui Marques, Prutton. Offloading that lot reduces the wage bill by about £27k (although it might not be possible to get rid of em all, even offering them for free.)

Possibly having second thoughts about offloading Robinson but then he's on quite high wages and isn't as good as players like Krivets, and even when he does great his value didn't really increase (still only worth £325k at the end of the demo where I kept him.)

Still not entirely sure about whether to hang on to Becchio or sell him at the start either - when I tried to do the demo without selling him he got injured for most of it!

This would leave a core first team squad of Higgs, Ankergren, Parker, White (after promoting him from the youth team), Bromby, Kisnorbo, Naylor (as cover only), Crowe, Howson, Johnson, Kilkenny, Doyle, Snodgrass, Robinson (maybe), Becchio (maybe), Beckford and Grella. Would also send Elliot out on loan somewhere.

Priorities for strengthening are then a DC, DR, MR, and Striker (possibly 2 depending on if I keep Becchio). Possibly look to get another defender/midfielder on loan for cover.

Tactics wise I've been playing a standard 4-4-2, only change I made was to set Doyle as a ball winning midfielder (defend). I think Doyle playing this role is key to the tactic as he's very well suited to it based on his attributes.

Wide midfielders set on either winger or wide midfielder depending on their abilities, Beckford as an advanced forward (attack) with whoever is along side him a deep lying forward (support.) All other settings (team instructions etc) as default/balanced/standard apart from the team strategy which I changed depending on the opposition (e.g. going attacking at home)

Only other change I made was to play Krivets in the AMR slot rather than MR if I signed him, but still set as a winger. Plus I think I varied the other CM role, sometimes he was set on attack rather than support.

Very similar set up and squad changes to those posted by Elland road boo boys actually.

[elland road boo boys]

The ones I'd definitely offload are Robinson, Sheenan, Michalik, Huntington, Hughes, Kandol, Showumni, Rui Marques, Prutton. Offloading that lot reduces the wage bill by about £27k (although it might not be possible to get rid of em all, even offering them for free.)

Possibly having second thoughts about offloading Robinson but then he's on quite high wages and isn't as good as players like Krivets, and even when he does great his value didn't really increase (still only worth £325k at the end of the demo where I kept him.)

Still not entirely sure about whether to hang on to Becchio or sell him at the start either - when I tried to do the demo without selling him he got injured for most of it!

This would leave a core first team squad of Higgs, Ankergren, Parker, White (after promoting him from the youth team), Bromby, Kisnorbo, Naylor (as cover only), Crowe, Howson, Johnson, Kilkenny, Doyle, Snodgrass, Robinson (maybe), Becchio (maybe), Beckford and Grella. Would also send Elliot out on loan somewhere.

Priorities for strengthening are then a DC, DR, MR, and Striker (possibly 2 depending on if I keep Becchio). Possibly look to get another defender/midfielder on loan for cover.

Tactics wise I've been playing a standard 4-4-2, only change I made was to set Doyle as a ball winning midfielder (defend). I think Doyle playing this role is key to the tactic as he's very well suited to it based on his attributes.

Wide midfielders set on either winger or wide midfielder depending on their abilities, Beckford as an advanced forward (attack) with whoever is along side him a deep lying forward (support.) All other settings (team instructions etc) as default/balanced/standard apart from the team strategy which I changed depending on the opposition (e.g. going attacking at home)

Only other change I made was to play Krivets in the AMR slot rather than MR if I signed him, but still set as a winger. Plus I think I varied the other CM role, sometimes he was set on attack rather than support.

Very similar set up and squad changes to those posted by Elland road boo boys actually.

Thanks Coen, Great minds think alike.

The only thing I will change for FM10 will be getting rid of Naylor (when fit) & keeping Huntington.

Also will try to sign better AMR in January (got van der meyde at the moment as Krivets works out expensive)

[Coen]

Small update to my last post - on reflection I think I'll probably keep both Robinson and Becchio in my first proper Leeds game as I reckon they are both useful - and by spreading the bids for Krivets and Cristaldo over installments its possible to still afford them both without having to offload Becchio (plus the fact that it seems fairly easy to get extra transfer funds.)

Becchio is also well suited to playing a "target man - support" role which none of the other strikers can really do, so probably worth having him around. Will look to test him some more in this role to see how well it works with Beckford playing as "advanced forward - attack" (which is what I always play him as anyway.)

I still don't think either Robinson or Becchio would really cut it in the Championship but it's probably worth keeping them in League 1, at least until January when I'd assess the situation again.

[elland road boo boys]

Small update to my last post - on reflection I think I'll probably keep both Robinson and Becchio in my first proper Leeds game as I reckon they are both useful - and by spreading the bids for Krivets and Cristaldo over installments its possible to still afford them both without having to offload Becchio (plus the fact that it seems fairly easy to get extra transfer funds.)

Becchio is also well suited to playing a "target man - support" role which none of the other strikers can really do, so probably worth having him around. Will look to test him some more in this role to see how well it works with Beckford playing as "advanced forward - attack" (which is what I always play him as anyway.)

I still don't think either Robinson or Becchio would really cut it in the Championship but it's probably worth keeping them in League 1, at least until January when I'd assess the situation again.

Coen, re your last post,

I am using Becchio as a deep lying forward & Beckford as an advanced forward.

Combination seem to work well.

I agree with you about Robinson (Just wish his wages were not so high!!!)

Only solution I can think of is buy Krivets as first team AMR or MR and then Van Der Meyde as backup or alternatively get Skacel on a free and use Snoddy in a dual AMRL role.

[Nicko Blaggo]

Small update to my last post - on reflection I think I'll probably keep both Robinson and Becchio in my first proper Leeds game as I reckon they are both useful - and by spreading the bids for Krivets and Cristaldo over installments its possible to still afford them both without having to offload Becchio (plus the fact that it seems fairly easy to get extra transfer funds.)

Becchio is also well suited to playing a "target man - support" role which none of the other strikers can really do, so probably worth having him around. Will look to test him some more in this role to see how well it works with Beckford playing as "advanced forward - attack" (which is what I always play him as anyway.)

I still don't think either Robinson or Becchio would really cut it in the Championship but it's probably worth keeping them in League 1, at least until January when I'd assess the situation again.

Good thoughts from you and Elland Road Boo Boys on who to sell. You've pretty much convinced me to keep Becchio and use him as a target man, but I'll still move on Robinson I think; I'm always short on wage budget and his £7k is a lot.

[andywoods]

Started a new game with Leeds:

Transfers in:

A Karemi - £1.5m over 48 months

J Cristaldo - £800k

Krivets - £200k up front/£250k over 48 months

Lauren - Free

Campo - Free

Smolrak - Free

H Camara - Free

Matt Hill - Season long loan from Wolves

C Clark - Season long loan from Villa

Osbourne - Season long loan from Villa

Transfers out:

Kilkenny - £525k - west brom

Becchio - £475k - Boca

Sheehan - £200k - Notts County

Michalik - £120k - Shrewsbury

Showumni - £85k - Middlesbrough

Huntington - £26k - Chesterfield

Prutton - £40k - Preston

Hughes - £25k - QPR

Grella - £100k - can't remember

Elliott - 6 month loan - Hereford

Trying to bring in Zaki. Had a £2.5m bid over 48 months accepted & agreed a contract but it kept saying I didn't have enough funds to complete the deal. Trying to get him on loan with an option to buy him for £3m at a later date.

Agreed loan deals with dos santos (spurs), Gosling (Everton) & O'Conner (birmingham) but all turned me down. Lost out on signing Sol Campbell, Michael Ball & Danny Mills on free's to Championship clubs.

I have Villa as my parent club. Osbourne has some great stats for league 1 & Clark is great cover at centre half.

Trying to offload Kandol & somma. If I can get Zaki will get rid of Smolrak.

I have no transfer cash left & are £10.5k over my weekly wage budget.

I play a basic 4-4-2.

gk - Ankergren

dr - Lauren

dl - M Hill

Dc - Kisnorbo

dc - Bromby

Mr - Krivets

ML - Snodgrass

MC - Campo

MC - Karemi

FC - Cristaldo

FC - Beckford

Subs:

1 - Higgs

2 - Clark

3 - Osbourne

4 - Johnson

5 - Howson

6 - Camara

7 - Smolrak

Robinson, Crowe, Parker, Doyle, Naylor(injured) are available for the reserves

Season so far:

Leeds 3-0 Exeter - L1 - Krivets, Camara, Karemi

Darlington 0-3 Leeds - CC1 - Camara 2, Robinson

Wycombe 1-3 Leeds - L1 - Beckford, Cristaldo, Camara

Walsall 0-4 Leeds - L1 - Beckford, Cristaldo, Kisnorbo, Karemi

[Nicko Blaggo]

Started a new game with Leeds:

Transfers in:

A Karemi - £1.5m over 48 months

J Cristaldo - £800k

Krivets - £200k up front/£250k over 48 months

Lauren - Free

Campo - Free

Smolrak - Free

H Camara - Free

Matt Hill - Season long loan from Wolves

C Clark - Season long loan from Villa

Osbourne - Season long loan from Villa

Transfers out:

Kilkenny - £525k - west brom

Becchio - £475k - Boca

Sheehan - £200k - Notts County

Michalik - £120k - Shrewsbury

Showumni - £85k - Middlesbrough

Huntington - £26k - Chesterfield

Prutton - £40k - Preston

Hughes - £25k - QPR

Grella - £100k - can't remember

Elliott - 6 month loan - Hereford

Trying to bring in Zaki. Had a £2.5m bid over 48 months accepted & agreed a contract but it kept saying I didn't have enough funds to complete the deal. Trying to get him on loan with an option to buy him for £3m at a later date.

Agreed loan deals with dos santos (spurs), Gosling (Everton) & O'Conner (birmingham) but all turned me down. Lost out on signing Sol Campbell, Michael Ball & Danny Mills on free's to Championship clubs.

I have Villa as my parent club. Osbourne has some great stats for league 1 & Clark is great cover at centre half.

Trying to offload Kandol & somma. If I can get Zaki will get rid of Smolrak.

I have no transfer cash left & are £10.5k over my weekly wage budget.

I play a basic 4-4-2.

gk - Ankergren

dr - Lauren

dl - M Hill

Dc - Kisnorbo

dc - Bromby

Mr - Krivets

ML - Snodgrass

MC - Campo

MC - Karemi

FC - Cristaldo

FC - Beckford

Subs:

1 - Higgs

2 - Clark

3 - Osbourne

4 - Johnson

5 - Howson

6 - Camara

7 - Smolrak

Robinson, Crowe, Parker, Doyle, Naylor(injured) are available for the reserves

Season so far:

Leeds 3-0 Exeter - L1 - Krivets, Camara, Karemi

Darlington 0-3 Leeds - CC1 - Camara 2, Robinson

Wycombe 1-3 Leeds - L1 - Beckford, Cristaldo, Camara

Walsall 0-4 Leeds - L1 - Beckford, Cristaldo, Kisnorbo, Karemi

A good side and interesting to see that you got a w/p for Karemi - I was unable to get a w/p for him on FM09.

I wonder how the w/p system will work this year? Last year I found it really hard to get w/p's for players from lower ranked top 75 countries.

[elland road boo boys]

My only concern for this Leeds Squad at the moment is Doyle.

Is it worth sending him back & just playing Kilkenny & Howson as the 2 mc's with Johnson as back up? They both have 3* & should be good enough for League 1..

Thoughts please

[Nicko Blaggo]

My only concern for this Leeds Squad at the moment is Doyle.

Is it worth sending him back & just playing Kilkenny & Howson as the 2 mc's with Johnson as back up? They both have 3* & should be good enough for League 1..

Thoughts please

I'd send him back too, but until I get my hands on the full database I can't suggest a replacement. I think the 3 boys are good enough for rotation, but I'd like a quality MC (like Appiah last year) to hold it together.

[tugboat]

My only concern for this Leeds Squad at the moment is Doyle.

Is it worth sending him back & just playing Kilkenny & Howson as the 2 mc's with Johnson as back up? They both have 3* & should be good enough for League 1..

Thoughts please

i would def send him back, and get that 8k of the wage budget, there are better options out there like james rodriguez one for the future, 100k plus 700k over 48 months:thup:

[tugboat]

My only concern for this Leeds Squad at the moment is Doyle.

Is it worth sending him back & just playing Kilkenny & Howson as the 2 mc's with Johnson as back up? They both have 3* & should be good enough for League 1..

Thoughts please

Started a new game with Leeds:

Transfers out:

Kilkenny - £525k - west brom

Becchio - £475k - Boca

Sheehan - £200k - Notts County

Michalik - £120k - Shrewsbury

Showumni - £85k - Middlesbrough

Huntington - £26k - Chesterfield

Prutton - £40k - Preston

Hughes - £25k - QPR

Grella - £100k - can't remember

Elliott - 6 month loan - Hereford

Season so far:

Leeds 3-0 Exeter - L1 - Krivets, Camara, Karemi

Darlington 0-3 Leeds - CC1 - Camara 2, Robinson

Wycombe 1-3 Leeds - L1 - Beckford, Cristaldo, Camara

Walsall 0-4 Leeds - L1 - Beckford, Cristaldo, Kisnorbo, Karemi

you can make more money than that with your tranfers if you offer them as soon as the game starts,

kilkenny 900k

becchio 800k but wait a couple of weeks and boca will pay 800k

sheehan 325k

michalik 325k

showumni 190k

hunts 70k

pruts 50k

hughes 45k

grella 160k

robinson 325k

[Coen]

Whilst I don't really rate Doyle overall, I always like to play with one CM playing a defensive role, and he's really the only CM in the squad who has the attributes (mainly tackling, positioning and marking) to do this effectively.

It's not pretty, but he really is very effective in the defensive ball winning midfielder role. He's generally top of the pass completion/tackles per game player stats for League 1 in my games.

Ideally I'd like to get another CM in who has similar tackling, positioning, marking etc but also has decent passing, technique, decisions - more of a rounded player, but so far I've not been able to find anyone suitable in the demo. Maybe the larger database in the full game will make it possible to find someone better, but at the moment I'd be happy to stick with Doyle for the first season and look to get someone better in for the Championship.

[elland road boo boys]

Whilst I don't really rate Doyle overall, I always like to play with one CM playing a defensive role, and he's really the only CM in the squad who has the attributes (mainly tackling, positioning and marking) to do this effectively.

It's not pretty, but he really is very effective in the defensive ball winning midfielder role. He's generally top of the pass completion/tackles per game player stats for League 1 in my games.

Ideally I'd like to get another CM in who has similar tackling, positioning, marking etc but also has decent passing, technique, decisions - more of a rounded player, but so far I've not been able to find anyone suitable in the demo. Maybe the larger database in the full game will make it possible to find someone better, but at the moment I'd be happy to stick with Doyle for the first season and look to get someone better in for the Championship.

I thought of putting Howson there with Kilkenny as the more attacking, and just using Howson as a Ball winning midfielder for now until the new version comes out (Roll On Friday!!!)

[Coen]

I thought of putting Howson there with Kilkenny as the more attacking, and just using Howson as a Ball winning midfielder for now until the new version comes out (Roll On Friday!!!)

That would probably work fine tbh, and I've had to do the same myself on occasions as Doyle does tend to pick up quite a few suspensions! Given the strength of the Leeds team overall I'm probably being a bit too cautious by always having a defensively strong CM in there, but it's just the way I prefer to play.

On another note, just finished trying Becchio out for most of a demo as a target man (support) with Beckford to see how he did and it maybe wasn't that impressive after all:

Smolarek did much better in my other game when I played him as a deep lying forward (support) alongside Beckford

Based on this I can't see Becchio ever really being first choice as both Cristaldo and Smolarek (and possibly Camara) seem to perform better in a support role. But - he's only on £1.5k a week and his value again increased to £2.1m by January, so I'll possibly keep him anyway.

[elland road boo boys]

That would probably work fine tbh, and I've had to do the same myself on occasions as Doyle does tend to pick up quite a few suspensions! Given the strength of the Leeds team overall I'm probably being a bit too cautious by always having a defensively strong CM in there, but it's just the way I prefer to play.

On another note, just finished trying Becchio out for most of a demo as a target man (support) with Beckford to see how he did and it maybe wasn't that impressive after all:

Smolarek did much better in my other game when I played him as a deep lying forward (support) alongside Beckford

Based on this I can't see Becchio ever really being first choice as both Cristaldo and Smolarek (and possibly Camara) seem to perform better in a support role. But - he's only on £1.5k a week and his value again increased to £2.1m by January, so I'll possibly keep him anyway.

Never been able to get Smolarek always goes to Ajax & Camara's wages are crippling!!!

Have you looked at Neil Mellor for that role? He's at Preston you can get him for £95k & wages aren't too bad.

See what you think.

[Coen]

Never been able to get Smolarek always goes to Ajax & Camara's wages are crippling!!!

Have you looked at Neil Mellor for that role? He's at Preston you can get him for £95k & wages aren't too bad.

See what you think.

Not tried Mellor myself but I have noticed others saying good things about him, and looking at his stats he does seem well suited to a target man role - probably better than Becchio.

In which case as he's so cheap it seems pointless holding on to Becchio for anyone wanting to play a target man, would seem to make more sense to sell Becchio and get Mellor instead.

Something else to try on another demo save before Friday I think! (and I keep telling myself I've done enough playing around with the demo. )

[elland road boo boys]

Not tried Mellor myself but I have noticed others saying good things about him, and looking at his stats he does seem well suited to a target man role - probably better than Becchio.

In which case as he's so cheap it seems pointless holding on to Becchio for anyone wanting to play a target man, would seem to make more sense to sell Becchio and get Mellor instead.

Something else to try on another demo save before Friday I think! (and I keep telling myself I've done enough playing around with the demo. )

I always find it difficult to get the "pacy" strikers to gel in previous formations, So I normally use the "Deep Lying Forward" & "Attacking Forward" mentality. Boring I know but until I can get my head around the Team Tactics for playing with 2 pacy stikers I will stay as I am, unless you can give me some hints......

[tigerhgrrrrrr]

The player values are superb, but could you sell them at those prices? Probably be Championship level clubs who would be the purchasers - would the AI give them the cash to buy Becchio for £2.2M?

Sold Becchio to Boca, only £750 + clauses though.

[elland road boo boys]

Sold Becchio to Boca, only £750 + clauses though.

When did you sell him?

If you sell him start of season normally Boca come in for him at £475k:D

[Coen]

I always find it difficult to get the "pacy" strikers to gel in previous formations, So I normally use the "Deep Lying Forward" & "Attacking Forward" mentality. Boring I know but until I can get my head around the Team Tactics for playing with 2 pacy stikers I will stay as I am, unless you can give me some hints......

I normally use the same combination, an "advanced forward (attack)" and a "deep lying forward (support)" - Beckford as the advanced forward and someone else playing the support role. In League 1 this seems to work so I'll stick with it for now as well.

Trying Becchio or Mellor meant changing this slightly to "advanced forward (attack)" and "target man (support)". But so far it doesnt really seem to work as well. I've tried Mellor now for about 10 games and he's been rubbish, not sure why - maybe his lack of pace and flair means he's no good in a support role but he's so far played 10 games and got no goals and only 1 assist.

So I'm back to playing the advanced forward/deep lying forward combo, with Beckford as the advanced forward and someone like Camara/Smolarek/Cristaldo/Sibierski/Harewood/even Grella as the deep lying forward, as they've all done a decent job of it for me.

Will still be looking for other forwards with decent passing/creativity who also might be able to play this deep lying support role in the larger database come Friday.

I've managed to get £750k from Boca for Becchio at the start of the game as well on occasion - I think it must be slightly random as to what you can get for players in each game.

[gfvfbbv]

I got a million for Becchio from Middlesborough

Just finished my last friendly beat stoke 3-2 pretty good result against a premier league club.

Sold Becchio, Robinson, Huntington, Hughes, Marques, Sheehan and Michalik for a total of 2.1m so far at the end of July. Struggling to get rid of Shownumi, Kandol and Prutton.

Brought in Lauren, Campo, Harewood, David Wright(Ipswich), Wotton(Southampton) for 1.1m so far also Bouzanis, Baxter and Brandy on Loan.

Snodgrass is on the way out for 700k waiting on contract and have Cristaldo coming for 1m waiting on work permit.

[elland road boo boys]

I normally use the same combination, an "advanced forward (attack)" and a "deep lying forward (support)" - Beckford as the advanced forward and someone else playing the support role. In League 1 this seems to work so I'll stick with it for now as well.

Trying Becchio or Mellor meant changing this slightly to "advanced forward (attack)" and "target man (support)". But so far it doesnt really seem to work as well. I've tried Mellor now for about 10 games and he's been rubbish, not sure why - maybe his lack of pace and flair means he's no good in a support role but he's so far played 10 games and got no goals and only 1 assist.

So I'm back to playing the advanced forward/deep lying forward combo, with Beckford as the advanced forward and someone like Camara/Smolarek/Cristaldo/Sibierski/Harewood/even Grella as the deep lying forward, as they've all done a decent job of it for me.

Will still be looking for other forwards with decent passing/creativity who also might be able to play this deep lying support role in the larger database come Friday.

I've managed to get £750k from Boca for Becchio at the start of the game as well on occasion - I think it must be slightly random as to what you can get for players in each game.

Have you tried playing Becchio or Mellor in the Deep Lying Forward role? I normally don't use the Targetman role

[Coen]

Have you tried playing Becchio or Mellor in the Deep Lying Forward role? I normally don't use the Targetman role

Not really tried them as deep lying forwards as based on their stats they don't seem well suited to it at all, and I've always ended up getting other players in to play that role who on the face of it have much better attributes for it.

Might be worth a last try of a few games from Becchio/Mellor in the deep lying forward role though just to see how they do - as I'm pretty much certain thats how I'll have my 2nd striker play in my team. I'm fairly certain it won't work but no harm in trying.

I don't really like playing with a targetman either - much prefer the advanced forward/Deep lying forward pairing, that's effectively how I set my strikers up in FM09 as well and played like that for about 12 seasons so for me it's a tried and tested combination.

The only time I've found playing with a targetman to work well was when I once tried a 4-5-1 formation with a lone striker and supporting attacking midfielders - but with 2 strikers I don't really like it.

[tigerhgrrrrrr]

When did you sell him?

If you sell him start of season normally Boca come in for him at £475k:D

It was into the season - I didnt want to sell him so I upped all the options expecting them to go away - but they didnt. Also got a friendly out of it!

A bit disappointed Bates is sticking his oar in, sold Sheenan from under me - mind you thats looking like a good call, so maybe the Board will come good when I play FM10 "for real" on friday.

[elland road boo boys]

It was into the season - I didnt want to sell him so I upped all the options expecting them to go away - but they didnt. Also got a friendly out of it!

A bit disappointed Bates is sticking his oar in, sold Sheenan from under me - mind you thats looking like a good call, so maybe the Board will come good when I play FM10 "for real" on friday.

Get rid of Sheehan!!!

Keep Parker as No1 DL with Aidy White as backup;)

[elland road boo boys]

Not really tried them as deep lying forwards as based on their stats they don't seem well suited to it at all, and I've always ended up getting other players in to play that role who on the face of it have much better attributes for it.

Might be worth a last try of a few games from Becchio/Mellor in the deep lying forward role though just to see how they do - as I'm pretty much certain thats how I'll have my 2nd striker play in my team. I'm fairly certain it won't work but no harm in trying.

I don't really like playing with a targetman either - much prefer the advanced forward/Deep lying forward pairing, that's effectively how I set my strikers up in FM09 as well and played like that for about 12 seasons so for me it's a tried and tested combination.

The only time I've found playing with a targetman to work well was when I once tried a 4-5-1 formation with a lone striker and supporting attacking midfielders - but with 2 strikers I don't really like it.

Although they play allright in that role (the linkup play is good) player ratings are a bit disappointing TBH Beckford is not as high as he should be (Just over 7 per match!!!) I might just look for a striker with good Finishing, Creativity, & Strength to play in that role Camara me thinks:D

[andywoods]

anyone got the game early & started as Leeds yet? Any nice finds with a huge database???

[Coen]

Although they play allright in that role (the linkup play is good) player ratings are a bit disappointing TBH Beckford is not as high as he should be (Just over 7 per match!!!) I might just look for a striker with good Finishing, Creativity, & Strength to play in that role Camara me thinks:D

Tbh I think Beckford + any of Camara/Cristaldo/Smolarek (depending on who you can get) is a good enough partnership to get out of League 1. Will try Becchio as a deep lying forward a bit more but it sounds like Becchio and Grella are fine as back up strikers.

My main squad rebuilding will probably happen after getting promotion to the Championship as the Leeds squad is good enough to get out of League 1 without really making any changes. Plus the quality of players available as a Championship side will be much better anyway.

[elland road boo boys]

Tbh I think Beckford + any of Camara/Cristaldo/Smolarek (depending on who you can get) is a good enough partnership to get out of League 1. Will try Becchio as a deep lying forward a bit more but it sounds like Becchio and Grella are fine as back up strikers.

My main squad rebuilding will probably happen after getting promotion to the Championship as the Leeds squad is good enough to get out of League 1 without really making any changes. Plus the quality of players available as a Championship side will be much better anyway.

Totally agree with you there mate. Will probably keep Becchio, Grella & Elliott as backup (Elliiott out on loan).

Will keep my CM's as Doyle, Howson, Kilkenny, & Johnson with Doyle playing as the Ball winning midfielder (support) & Howson as Attacking midfielder (Attacking)

DC's in a defensive role and Fullbacks as a support role in 3 forms of a 442 (Attack) (Balanced) & (Defensive)

Will have a closer look tomorrow, but I am 99.9% certain thats how I will keep things:D

Getting Impatient now for Friday!!!!!!