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[FM10] When The Saints Go Marching In - Crouchy's Mighty Saints Save!

crouchaldinho

By crouchaldinho,
in FM Career Updates

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AcidBurn

AcidBurn

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Yegorov needs to be put on a nice long contract he looks brilliant should easily step up to the EPL. Fast strikers are deadly in FM10 GK and defenders are most sensible but sometimes I build from the front instead lol. Your location needs changing as well.

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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I also missed out on the England job.

Stuart Pearce was sacked after Euro 2020, which was held in England. Pearce had taken the national team backwards. If you think things are bad now in real life for England then just thank the heavens that Pearce isn't in charge and doing what he did in FM. Let's just say, I don't he would have even got them to qualify if it wasn't for the fact that they automatically qualified as hosts!

Anyway, Steve Bruce is the man to take over from Pearce apparently. According to the FA anyway. :(

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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Will get FM11 but will be carrying on with FM10 saves for some time yet.

First of all, I have this save. As we've only just got into the Premier League, I'll definitely be continuing on for some time to come!

Then, I also have my calcio career - currently at Hellas Verona - and I would like to go back to that at some point. I have unfinished business there, for sure.

So it's going to be quite a while before I load up a new long-term save on FM11.

For what it's worth, in terms of FM11, I'm a bit frustrated by the player interaction and the lack of new features that I am personally interested in. Chief among the disappointments for me is the lack of continued development of the tactics creator, where I was hoping for new roles, more options and the ability to add customisable content. So, ultimately, there is nothing that is making me want to drop FM10 and rush to FM11 at the moment.

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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Shame about Dimitrov :( Do you have a replacement target?

Looks as if I will be switching to a 4-4-2 as I have managed to bring in a couple of decent looking strikers to replace him. All will be revealed in my pre-season update! ;)

In other news, Man Utd at home is my first fixture in the Premier League.

Funnily enough, it was also Man Utd at home on FM07, which was the last time I managed to take City all the way up to the PL. I won that game and ended up finishing comfortably mid-table.

Let's hope it's a good omen!

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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20091026011547!St_albans.png

PRE-SEASON 2020/21 TRANSFERS:

This was a summer of major change at Clarence Park as I sought to take us to the next level. We needed big alterations to the squad in order to survive, and so I rang in the changes, with the risk of poor team gelling definitely a possibility.

OUT:

| Date               | Person                | To                 | Fee                | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2020           | Cuthbert, Scott       | Coventry           | £400K              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2020           | Saiz, Jokin           | Hull               | £2M                | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2020           | Baines, Leighton      |                    | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2020           | Boateng, Kevin-Prince |                    | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2020           | Albrighton, Marc      |                    | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2020           | Joynes, John          |                    | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2020           | Simpson, Neil         |                    | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2020           | Lodi, Sergio          |                    | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2020           | Bianchi, Luis         | Hull               | £900K              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2020           | Johnson, Michael      | Coventry           | £625K              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.7.2020          | Zuiverloon, Gianni    | Walsall            | £550K              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.7.2020          | Rivers, Bobby         | Southend           | £650K              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.7.2020          | Vuckic, Haris         | Dinamo             | £825K              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15.7.2020          | Hawes, Danny          | Sheff Wed          | £200K              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18.7.2020          | Kádár, Tamás          | Hull               | £450K              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.7.2020          | Strasser, Rodney      | Leicester          | £550K              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21.7.2020          | Glen Miller YP8       | Morton             | £210K              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total                 |                    | £7.25M             | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

I was ruthless in clearing players in order to make some money to spend on improving the squad.

Out went some of the older players while I could still make a profit on them. The likes of Scott Cuthbert, Michael Johnson, Gianni Zuiverloon and Rodney Strasser were shown the door for some decent profits.

Striker, Jokin Saiz, has shown considerable promise but I also axed him when I got a £2m offer. I reasoned that his poor natural fitness was always going to hold him back and cashed in while I could.

Among the others to be sold was Luis Bianchi. He had been a flop as our goalkeeper last season but at least we made a tidy sum on his transfer out of the club.

Finally, a whole bunch of youngsters were sent on their way.

INS:

| Date               | Person             | From               | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2.7.2020           | Lopes, Raúl        | Benfica            | £725K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5.7.2020           | van Dijk, Ryan     | Dinamo Kiev        | £13.25M            | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6.7.2020           | Sneijder, Wesley   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7.7.2020           | Nørgaard, Steffen  | FC København       | £6.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8.7.2020           | Lorenz, Christian  | Rapid Wien         | £2.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9.7.2020           | Leandrinho         | Tom                | £3.2M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.7.2020          | Amos, Ben          | West Ham           | £7M                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12.7.2020          | Ferreira, Vitor    | R. Madrid          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15.7.2020          | Lobato, José       | R. Madrid          | Ln Fee £55K        | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17.7.2020          | Stansfield, Tom    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23.7.2020          | Barrios, José Luis | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23.7.2020          | Bergara, Joseba    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24.7.2020          | Rossi, Gaetano     | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26.7.2020          | van Dijk, Stefan   | FC RB Salzburg     | £800K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6.8.2020           | Larrea, Aritz      | Osasuna            | £210K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £34M               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

In terms of the incomings, first of all, I was unfortunately unable to tempt Aleksandar Dimitrov to sign for the club. He ended up signing for Newcastle United.

I was given a £30m war-chest and also spent some of the incoming transfer money. I'd never seen so much money in my FM days. :eek:

During my time with the Saints, I spent £30k on JJ O'Donnell while in the BSP and that's about it. So to get £30m+ to spend was pretty exciting.

The absolutely key was to make sure that I made it count. Every single penny.

I did some major business, bringing in no less than 15 players who would be in the first-team squad this season! I strengthened in pretty much every position in order to try to give us the quality we would require to step up to the Premier League.

I pretty much thought that a spine of Abdesalem, Gomez, Yegorov and Kogeldans would step up to the next level. Other than that, I felt that I needed to really improve things everywhere.

I started building from the back. I brought in Ben Amos from temporary landlords West Ham for £7m. It seemed like a fair price for a leading Premier League goalkeeper who was the right kind of age to come in and organise the defence. In the defence, I decided to spend some money on the best centre-back I could find. £13.75m brought me a Dutch international in Ryan van Dijk. A player who, at 24, still has plenty of years service in him. Leandrinho, the first Brazilian to play for the Saints, came in to partner him at around £3m.

The legendary Westley Sneijder added something to the midfield. He may be 36 now but he still has something to offer and I managed to sign him up on a free. Tom Stansfield was another great signing on a free. A kind of Danny Murphy style player who can play in the middle or wide right.

Up front, Danish forward Steffen Norgaard for £6.5m, which seemed a bargain for a very talented young player. Jose Luis Barrios and Gaetano Rossi were also signed on frees to ensure that we would definitely have plenty of attacking options.

All in all, it was a pretty massive overhaul and rebuilding of the squad. I'll have to be patient, no doubt, due to the team gelling, but I feel we have done some great business and it gives us a real chance of staying up.

I was surprised to be given so much support from the chairman. We've essentially spent our TV money before receiving it and have taken out a loan to finance this spending spree. Hopefully, it gives the club a great chance of survival and maybe building on something for the future.

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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This is my anticipated starting XI for the first game of the season:

StAlbansCity-26.png

It's a change to a 4-4-2 formation due to having a number of quality forwards to call upon and therefore wanting to play with a front two.

New signing Ben Amos will start in goal. At the back, it's all change, as we have a new back four. At left-back and centre-back, we have the two van Dijks, but no relation! The centre-back, Ryan van Dijk, is the most expensive player in the history of the club. Partnering him is powerful Brazilian defender Leandrinho. And at right-back, we have young Spanish fullback, Aritz Larrea.

In the midfield, new signing Jose Antonio Gomez and club icon Andres Abdesalem will be joined by two new signings. Ball winning midfielder, Christian Lorenz, is a young Austrian midfielder. Wide right, we'll mostly be fielding Tom Stansfield, who is a kind of Danny Murphy style player. He can also play in the centre.

Up front, Yegorov will be partnered by Steffen Norgaard, the creative Danish forward.

So it's a lot of new changes but we've improved the quality and depth of the squad quite dramatically. Hopefully the players will blend well and quickly. This could be key to our survival.

So have I done enough this summer to ensure that we have a great chance of survival come the end of the season? Time will tell. The main worry right now is that we will probably have a slow start due to all of the changes, but if we can shake that off quickly and find some form, we'll hopefully have a good chance of staying up.

COYS!

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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20091026011547!St_albans.png

UPDATE FOR AUGUST 2020:

Aug2020.jpg

Manager Comments for August 2020:

Well it doesn't get much harder than starting with Manchester United and I also quickly noted that we would also have to play the champions, Arsenal, in August. A tough month.

There was no romance on the first day of the season as plucky St. Albans City were well beaten by Manchester United at their temporary home Upton Park.

Christian Gross is the new boss at Old Trafford and has recently taken them to Premier League success a couple of seasons back and the Champions League final last season, where they finished as runners-up. It was, therefore, always going to be a big challenge. It became an even greater challenge when Andres Abdesalem got himself sent off early on. After that, it was smooth sailing for Man Utd.

A 1-0 defeat away to Bolton showed that we could mix it with the big boys. It wasn't a great performance but we were in the game right up until the final whistle.

A 2-1 defeat at 'home' against Arsenal made it a pretty miserable start for the no-so-mighty Saints in the Premier League. Victor Yegorov at least scored our first goal in the Premier League after approximately 220 minutes of Premier League football. Tony Mowbray, the Arsenal manager, sent some kind words in my direction before the match suggesting that we would stay up. I felt he was right and that even though we had zero points to show for our first three games, we had been in every game and not been hugely outclassed.

The league cup provided a nice little break from the pain of losing as we cantered to a solid 2-0 win against Crystal Palace.

Then in the final game of the month, we got our first win in the Premier League away to Newcastle United. Newcastle had a player sent off after 18 minutes and I sensed that we could win the game. Asking my side to raise the tempo and attack more, I felt confident that we would be victorious, and I was proved right as we scored three goals in the second half as Newcastle capitulated. It was a great feeling to get that first win!

So, three losses and one win. Not a great start but we've got better with each game and I feel we are a solid enough side. It's going to be tough though, that's pretty clear. A long way to go.

Current League Position:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Arsenal      |       | 4     | 4     | 0     | 0     | 7     | 2     | +5    | 12    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Aston Villa  |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 6     | 1     | +5    | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Man City     |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 4     | 1     | +3    | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Man Utd      |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 4     | 1     | +3    | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Bolton       |       | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 0     | +2    | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Liverpool    |       | 4     | 2     | 1     | 1     | 5     | 5     | 0     | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Sheff Utd    |       | 3     | 1     | 2     | 0     | 7     | 4     | +3    | 5     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Newcastle    |       | 4     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 4     | 5     | -1    | 5     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Blackburn    |       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 6     | 5     | +1    | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Tottenham    |       | 2     | 1     | 1     | 0     | 3     | 2     | +1    | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Norwich      |       | 4     | 1     | 1     | 2     | 6     | 7     | -1    | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Stoke        |       | 4     | 1     | 1     | 2     | 6     | 8     | -2    | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 13th  |       | St. Albans   |       | 4     | 1     | 0     | 3     | 4     | 5     | -1    | 3     | [/b]
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Fulham       |       | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 3     | -1    | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Everton      |       | 2     | 0     | 2     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 0     | 2     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Southampton  |       | 3     | 0     | 2     | 1     | 4     | 6     | -2    | 2     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Bristol City |       | 4     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 3     | 9     | -6    | 2     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Chelsea      |       | 2     | 0     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 2     | -1    | 1     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Hull         |       | 4     | 0     | 1     | 3     | 1     | 4     | -3    | 1     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Sunderland   |       | 4     | 0     | 1     | 3     | 2     | 7     | -5    | 1     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

COYS! gialloblu.gif

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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Can I get a round of applause for the legendary youth product, Luke Hoyte!

He has now played in every division from step 2 of Non-League to the top flight of English football.

13LukeHoyteYP1.png

13LukeHoyteYP1-2.png

He will probably need to be sold on soon, which is a shame, but I'd like to see him getting some regular football somewhere. A great servant to this club.

I'll follow his career on wherever he ends up and I hope we'll see him back at the club as a staff member one day. :)

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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It's funny but I had to wait for another 7 seasons to get another decent youth product in David Waite YP8b.

Now, in my 12th season, it seems I've lucked out somewhat, as I have a new youth player called Dean Smith YP11, who has basically gone straight into the first-team squad. He looks like he could be my most successful youth product yet.

My youth facilities are still pretty awful, so I guess that it's just down to a bit of luck more than anything. Most of my youths have not been good enough over the years. I really need to get some money spent on improving the academy as I'd love to have more youth players coming through the ranks.

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Flamers

Flamers

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still a 7.2 in his only game surely he can be a sub or something? :p keep him for this season and see what happens :) my second top goal scored is a midfielder with long shots 12 and finishing 12 who scores more than strikers with 16 finishing and they only have close shots...

i am keeping some of my original players until they retire just for old times sakes :p

Flamers

EDIT: This was my first youth prospect, now 21 and his physicals are AMAZING!

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu327/flamers1500/FM/35.jpg

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hrbfcrule

hrbfcrule

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Woah thats a lot of transfers, someone enjoys the transfer market :D

Hopefully that league cup win can turn the results around but 13th is pretty good even if its only 4 games in. Think of it this way: you are higher than Chelsea :D

Also congratz to Luke Hoyte:thup:

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Wavelberry

Wavelberry

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Glad to see Hoyte go through the division. Always nice to see and something for everyone to aim for.

Good start to the month there Crouchy given the opposition. It'll take a while for your players to gel as well given all the ins. I know you probably don't want to consider it (especially this early) but if you went down and after all the money you've spent are you gonna be in trouble.

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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still a 7.2 in his only game surely he can be a sub or something? :p keep him for this season and see what happens :) my second top goal scored is a midfielder with long shots 12 and finishing 12 who scores more than strikers with 16 finishing and they only have close shots...

That's true. Some players can have the hidden mental traits that make them seem to play on above their level. I'll keep him as a backup but the fact is that I will find better players and he will have to be moved on at some point.

EDIT: This was my first youth prospect, now 21 and his physicals are AMAZING!

Looking good! :thup:

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu327/flamers1500/FM/35.jpg

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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Woah thats a lot of transfers, someone enjoys the transfer market :D

I did enjoy it. It was a lot of fun actually, although a little frustrating as I kept finding gems here and there once my transfer budget was all gone! :D

Hopefully that league cup win can turn the results around but 13th is pretty good even if its only 4 games in. Think of it this way: you are higher than Chelsea :D

There is that I suppose!

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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Glad to see Hoyte go through the division. Always nice to see and something for everyone to aim for.

Good start to the month there Crouchy given the opposition. It'll take a while for your players to gel as well given all the ins. I know you probably don't want to consider it (especially this early) but if you went down and after all the money you've spent are you gonna be in trouble.

I imagine player sales would save us in that event. We've got quite a lot of sell-able assets now.

Hopefully, that won't be the case anyway. I'd like to think that I've spent wisely.

I think the team gelling will be the major issue. Fingers crossed the team blends quickly.

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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No problem with the 8 home grown players. The following players qualify: Luke Hoyte, James Rhodes, David Waite, Ben Amos, Tom Stansfield, Andres Abdesalem, Rob Kogeldans, Borja Rodriguez Sanchez and Billy Malone. So that's nine players.

In the starting XI, in terms of English players, I have Ben Amos and Tom Stansfield as first-team regulars. And in terms of regular squad players, I often have the likes of Billy Malone (backup goalkeeper), David Waite and Dean Smith to call upon.

I'd like to have more English or British players, there is no doubt about that. But it's really just a case of what represents value for money and I'm trying, at all costs, to survive. English players are more expensive and difficult to get hold of.

I have been trying to bring through young English players but I have rarely succeeded to be honest. In my reserves, I have nine young English players currently out on loan at various clubs. I'm hopeful some of them will make the grade eventually. In the long-term, I really want to get some players from St. Albans City representing England. So far, I have quite a few youngsters in the U19s, U20s and U21s, as follows: Billy Malone (U21), David Waite (U21), Shaun Ramsey (U20) and Dean Smith (U19). So it's not particularly true to say I'm not playing anyone English.

There is a real shortage of quality English players in the Premier League in 2020 actually. Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City have just three in their first team squad. Arsenal just two. Hopefully not a sign of things to come in the real future! :eek:

In the future, if I can establish myself in the Premier League, I'll be looking to buy and bring through more young English players for sure. I'd like to operate with 5 or 6 first-team regulars who are English or British ideally.

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Chutney132

Chutney132

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Ah fair enough. Thanks for the confirmation!

I agree, its very hard to get a predominantly English/British team when you first appear in the Premiership. As you said, you had about 30m to buy essentially an entire team, and I find English players in particular are very expensive in comparison to equivalent quality foreigners...

Maybe once you dominate the League (and Europe) you can do a Dafuge-style all Saints team?

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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Ah fair enough. Thanks for the confirmation!

I agree, its very hard to get a predominantly English/British team when you first appear in the Premiership. As you said, you had about 30m to buy essentially an entire team, and I find English players in particular are very expensive in comparison to equivalent quality foreigners...

Maybe once you dominate the League (and Europe) you can do a Dafuge-style all Saints team?

I'm not sure I'll ever quite manage a Dafuge-style team as I'm a much slower player, so I doubt I would find the time for such a plan to be put into action!

I would like to try to have an all English or maybe British side at some point though. If I was to get the England job, it would be a great incentive to try to get as many Saints players in the squad as possible!

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Flamers

Flamers

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i would suggest trying 2 central mods on defensive first, little changes can make a big difference, i went from mod table to champions and conceded fewer goals in the second half of the season by going from a 4-4-2 flat to a 4-3-3 attacking with a defensively minded midfield :)

Flamers

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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20091026011547!St_albans.png

UPDATE FOR SEPTEMBER 2020:

Sept2020.jpg

Manager Comments for September 2020:

Well, the Premier League keeps on getting tougher and tougher. There is no rest from playing the top teams week in, week out. This time we had Liverpool at home and Aston Villa away. I wasn't feeling too hopeful of coming away with anything.

And so it proved. A good performance against Liverpool, in which we matched them, but ultimately we couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. Then, away to Villa, our worst performance yet in the Premier League, as we more or less fell apart and ended up on the wrong side of a 3-0 scoreline.

We were knocked out of the League Cup away to Stoke. I wasn't too worried really as I couldn't care less about it this season. The whole point of this season is to survive in the league.

Then, our first six-pointer of the season! Sheffield United at home! We absolutely hammered them 3-0 and got a well deserved first 'home' win at Upton Park.

What seems clear already is that we are miles away from the best teams but that we can compete with some of the teams in the bottom half. I may need to have a rethink on the formation front though, as suggested above, as I don't think I am getting the most from my squad tactically.

Current League Position:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Arsenal      |       | 7     | 5     | 1     | 1     | 14    | 5     | +9    | 16    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Aston Villa  |       | 6     | 4     | 2     | 0     | 14    | 2     | +12   | 14    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Man Utd      |       | 6     | 4     | 2     | 0     | 10    | 5     | +5    | 14    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Man City     |       | 6     | 4     | 1     | 1     | 8     | 2     | +6    | 13    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Blackburn    |       | 7     | 3     | 2     | 2     | 15    | 10    | +5    | 11    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Liverpool    |       | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 7     | 7     | 0     | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Norwich      |       | 7     | 2     | 2     | 3     | 9     | 9     | 0     | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Sheff Utd    |       | 6     | 2     | 2     | 2     | 9     | 9     | 0     | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Southampton  |       | 5     | 2     | 2     | 1     | 6     | 6     | 0     | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Newcastle    |       | 7     | 1     | 5     | 1     | 9     | 10    | -1    | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Stoke        |       | 6     | 2     | 2     | 2     | 9     | 10    | -1    | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Bolton       |       | 6     | 2     | 2     | 2     | 5     | 9     | -4    | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Tottenham    |       | 4     | 2     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 3     | +1    | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 14th  |       | St. Albans   |       | 7     | 2     | 0     | 5     | 7     | 9     | -2    | 6     | [/b]
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Bristol City |       | 7     | 1     | 3     | 3     | 7     | 13    | -6    | 6     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Everton      |       | 5     | 1     | 2     | 2     | 6     | 9     | -3    | 5     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Fulham       |       | 7     | 1     | 2     | 4     | 7     | 14    | -7    | 5     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Chelsea      |       | 3     | 0     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 3     | -1    | 2     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Hull         |       | 6     | 0     | 2     | 4     | 2     | 7     | -5    | 2     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Sunderland   |       | 6     | 0     | 2     | 4     | 4     | 12    | -8    | 2     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

COYS! gialloblu.gif

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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Here is my new signing, Steffen Norgaard. He was young player of the month for September.

10SteffenNrgaard.png

Note the wonderfully ginger hair. This is probably one of my best signings. I bought him from FC København for £6.5M.

He is rated as a wonderkid and is a very talented attacking player.

In terms of my formation, I am thinking of making some changes and building a team around Norgaard, who would play in a purely creative role.

I think I would stick with 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 attackers, but I think I'm going to apply some of my lessons from the world of calcio and convert to a 4-3-1-2 formation (a simple variation on 4-4-2, most common in Italy, i.e. the diamond midfield).

My wide players are not the strongest and this would allow me to focus on fielding my strongest players in the midfield (e.g. the likes of Abdesalem, Stansfield, Lorenz) while also allowing me to field some of my talented forwards in Yegorov, Rossi and Barrios. Between the lines, I can then field Norgaard as a pure creator. He is probably going to be our great hope this season.

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Flamers

Flamers

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damn thats one confusing fixture :p i'm glad you didnt go for the 4-5-1 it has never seemed to work for me very well.. if you get safe at the end of the season try a 4-3-3 with 3 strikers and see what happens

Flamers

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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damn thats one confusing fixture :p i'm glad you didnt go for the 4-5-1 it has never seemed to work for me very well.. if you get safe at the end of the season try a 4-3-3 with 3 strikers and see what happens

Flamers

I don't really like the 4-5-1 (DM, MC, MC / AMR, AML) very much to be honest. I've used it a few times but I don't like the football it produces. If I'm going to go 4-5-1, it'll be 4-2-3-1.

Not too keen on the 4-3-3 with the tight strikers either to be honest. Not something I would tend to use in my games.

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Flamers

Flamers

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i play 4-3-3 with a wide midfield and 3 narrow strikers and it produces some attractive football, with a lot of possession even against teams who are far better (i lost 2-1 against tottenham who are top of perm and im bottom of league 1) i might post the strategy up at some point so you can have a look at it :)

Flamers

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crouchaldinho

crouchaldinho

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i play 4-3-3 with a wide midfield and 3 narrow strikers and it produces some attractive football, with a lot of possession even against teams who are far better (i lost 2-1 against tottenham who are top of perm and im bottom of league 1) i might post the strategy up at some point so you can have a look at it :)

Flamers

A wide midfield a three narrow strikers? Doesn't sound like my cup of tea, to be honest! ;)

You'll have to excuse me as I'm somewhat of a tactical purist/snob. It's quite a sad condition really, as it means that I am a bit of a boring old git who takes FM way too seriously. :p

Basically, I tend to only play formations that I think work pretty much as teams play it in real life (in my opinion, of course, and within the obvious limitations of a computer game!)

Formations I have played and enjoyed with my teams include: 4-4-2, 4-4-1-1, 4-2-3-1 deep, 4-3-2-1 (but I use a proper narrow version and not the tactics creator version), 4-1-3-2 and 4-3-1-2. Those are like my foundation formations really and I don't often tend to move away from them.

I also quite like to be on a par with the AI teams, which means I only tend to use formations that they use, if that makes any sense. Formations that come close to an exploit (like the three strikers one) are ones that I would tend to avoid at all costs.

Yes, I know it's only a game, but I'm stuck in my ways! ;)

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