FM12 Tottenham Hotspur Thread- The Best Team In North London

[misterawesome]

I wanted to start my save with a pretty clean slate with coaches for Spurs. I haven't been able to load the weegie update into the editor to remove them manually (I really don't want to pay Freum 2.5mil to go away if I don't have to). I thought this was possbile... I haven't played since FM10, so I'm sorry if I'm asking an easy question. I just can't figure out how to make it work.

I'm looking forward to busting out a 4-5-3-1 and had a few player role questions. Is Lennon best played as a Winger in an AMR position or as a Winger/Wide Midfiield in MR position. Also, Dempsey - AMC or AR?

Looking forward to getting after it.

[Welshace]

you can indeed do it misterawesome..

in the editor.. you first load the database... which will no doubt be 12.2 yes?

after that is done.. you go back to the same menu and choose 'load editor data' ... then pick the weegie file

that will load up the weegie update changes aswell including the likes of freund etc..

once you finish your changes, save editor data and it will save it over the weegie data... which is what you want

lennon is best at amr for sure.. he is a pure winger inside forward... having him at MR is wasteful as he can't track back etc.

Dempsey, for me, is purely a forward... so AMC, or ideally inside forward or second striker.. he isn't quick enough for a pure winger role...

particularly when you have Dembele, Gylfi, Parker, Sandro and co all fighting for those Centre mid and amc positions...

[misterawesome]

Ah, worked like a charm. Thank you very much for all of the advice. I'll definitely be dumping Defoe to raise money to buy a third striker behind Adebayour and Dempsey

[Robert the Spud]

Had a huge bust up ith Billy Gallas. We won 4-3 against QPR, and I was dismayed at the defensive performance. He didn't take it well. Only 7 games in, do you guys think i should send him packing? He may be a disruptive influence if i leave him to fester...he'll be leaving for free in july anyway, but i think he's still a top, experienced player.

[Stewart91]

Had a huge bust up ith Billy Gallas. We won 4-3 against QPR, and I was dismayed at the defensive performance. He didn't take it well. Only 7 games in, do you guys think i should send him packing? He may be a disruptive influence if i leave him to fester...he'll be leaving for free in july anyway, but i think he's still a top, experienced player.

Who else have you got at centre back ?

[Robert the Spud]

1st season, so Kaboul, Vertonghen, Dawson and Caulker.

Kaboul and one of Vert/Caulker are my starters. Dawson may have to cover the experienced back up position, though I wanted to sell him in January. Maybe just wait till Jan to decide on Gallas. He's leaving on a free anyway.

[FF15]

Best team in North London?! LOL ... Now there's optimism for you!

Same old Tottenham.

[Stewart91]

We are the best team in north london.

COYS!

[edgar555]

Best team in North London?! LOL ... Now there's optimism for you!

Same old Tottenham.

Well done for trolling last years thread. *sigh*

[Welshace]

what you talking about edgar?

[knap]

Probably a weaker squad with transfer updates but can still win 1st season without any buys.

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[misterawesome]

Firing up my new squad, my first since FM10. I put in Weegie's roster update and fired most of the staff. The 5 million transfer budget seemed unreasonably small for a team that almost signed Moutinho three weeks ago, so I upped it to 15mil. So far though, things are very quiet. Mostly I have spent money on hiring staff. The transfer updates from Weegie don't really feel like they have improved the team. Dembele and Dempsey look like they should be backups, and Vertonghen and Gylfi look like rotation players, as well. A lot of players, but I still feel like I need to replace Modric in the starting lineup. I'm looking at Moutinho, but the game suggests that he'd have no intention of signing with me.

So far, my only signing is Sanogo and he only cost me 800k. I may splash out for Baines before all is said and done, but I don't mind taking some time for this team to gel before going after some guys in January.

Here is my starting lineup, a 4-2-3-1

GK - Loris

LB - Assou Ekotto

DCl - Kaboul

DCr - Gallas (CD - Stopper)

RB - Walker (CD - Defend)

MCl - Dembele (Advanced Playmaker - Support)

MCr - Sandro (Ball Playing Mid - Support)

AML - Bale (Inside Forward - Attack)

AMC - Sigurdsson (Trequarista - Attack)

AMR - Lennon (Winger - Attack)

AF - Adebayor (Complete Forward - Attack)

INJURED: Parker, Vertonghen

SUBS: Caulker, Dawson, Huddlestone, Dempsey, Dafoe, Friedel, Naughton

Who have you all been using as Captain if you don't start Dawson? No one seems to stand out.

Has anyone been playing Dembele anywhere beyond MC?

[edgar555]

misterawesome: I would say that the squad is definitely weaker. You can't lose Rafa and Luka and not properly replace either. I think you're underrating Vertonghen and Gylfi to an extent though. Jan is amazing on this game, just takes a few weeks to settle in.

No one stands out as captain (Dawson shouldn't be near your 1st team unless you have an injury crisis), but I'd go for Kaboul probably, maybe Gallas or I'd be tempted to take a risk on Vertonghen.

[coxy100]

The transfer updates from Weegie don't really feel like they have improved the team. Dembele and Dempsey look like they should be backups, and Vertonghen and Gylfi look like rotation players, as well. A lot of players, but I still feel like I need to replace Modric in the starting lineup. I'm looking at Moutinho, but the game suggests that he'd have no intention of signing with me.

Who have you all been using as Captain if you don't start Dawson? No one seems to stand out.

Has anyone been playing Dembele anywhere beyond MC?

Just finished my first season with Spurs. Won the league with 98 points - gutted I didn't get over 100, never done that on FM12, and lost my final game to Swansea of all teams

Anyway Sigurdsson was awesome for me - top drawer and my biggest assists bloke I turned down a bid of £31 million for him from City.... Vertonghen was also first choice and played very well - he is left footed so it's great having that balance with Kaboul.

My team now:

Lloris (simply outstanding)

LB - Cissokho (not many good LB's around and Baines was far too expensive)

DCL - Kaboul (man city and ac milan desperate to buy him)

DCR - Papadopolous (sp?) young but playing as a limited defender he is class

RB - Walker (not many better than him on the game)

Anchorman - Sandro (my vice captain)

MCL - Hemsik (my captain, outstanding player)

MCR - Sigurdsson (as already said - my best player last year)

AML - Bale (took a while to get going but now fantastic)

AMR - Lennon (played well but I have Willian waiting to take over - only playing Lennon still as he is English and not many english players in team)

TM - Cavani (Defoe and Ade did well in first year but I love this man)

Dembele was good for me but sold as always unfit and I wanted a captain - Hemsik was ideal. Vertonghen is my first choice replacement in defence. Dempsey is a fantastic replacement in either AM position too.

[misterawesome]

coxy100: how'd you raise the funds to bring him Hamsik, Cissokho, Willian and Cavani? Squad sales? 48-month installments? I'm trying to bring in Cissokho, but will have to pony up 12mil to do so. And that's with manipulating my transfer budget in the editor.

edgar555: thanks for the vote of confidence on Gylfi and Vertonghen. I was not looking forward to playing with "new spurs" if they all ended up as rotation players.

[coxy100]

mister - Gyfli and Vertonghen were fantastic for me - honestly all good.

I bought Cissokho outright (11 million) and Willian (around 11 million I think - cant remember and at work) but yeah 48 month deals for Papadopolous, Hemsik, Cavani and also Zouma. I like to get my team built up all at once and watch them grow together, so I always tend to do 48 month deals - but obviously my outgoings each month is very bad - but in 3 years time it will be over and I won't need to buy anyone as they are still young.

[Robert the Spud]

Jan and Gylfi are pretty great on the game, even without updates. I have an issue getting Gylfi playing though, because i'm not sure where to fit him in. I play either a 4-2-3-1, which is so open, or a 4-5-1, which he does not fit into imo.

I bought Ytegaar Jenssen to replace Modric, he's the ideal replacement imo, if you believe in playing someone for their stats over CA/PA, which i do. Dembele plays really well next to him with Sandro behind. Sometimes in a 4-2-3-1, which has one DM one CM ahead, i'll play Sandro infront as a ball winner, and Livermore/Jenssen behind as DLP.

Retraining Walker as an AMR, Sandro as a CD, and Bale as a Striker. This means that the more versatility i have in my squad, the smaller i can make it, and less i have to buy. I'm not fond of specialisers in my squad tbh.

[misterawesome]

Dembele plays really well next to him with Sandro behind. Sometimes in a 4-2-3-1, which has one DM one CM ahead, i'll play Sandro infront as a ball winner, and Livermore/Jenssen behind as DLP.

So you're playing Livermore/Jenssen as DM and Sandro as CM? Where does leave Dembele in your formation?

For what it's worth, I've switched Glyfi's role as AMC, Advanced Playmaker/Support and he scored in his first game in that role.

In everyone's experience, how accurate are the Ass Man's reports for the preferred roles of individual players? I've been leaning on them very heavily as I get used to the squad and how to put my tactic together.

Finally plowed through my friendlies and am getting ready to kick off the PL.

[Robert the Spud]

In this case Dembele plays either as an inside forward or behind the striker, Gylfi dropped to the bench.

[soundboyy]

Started a Tottenham save a few days ago. Really like their potential, the squad takes abit of work, but is already capable of a respectable league finish.

I try and have a policy of always making a profit in the transfer market, so tried to bring in young cheap players with abit of potential.

Ongenda, Leandro, Niang, Tolga, Digne and Rochina are all fantastic prospects. Rochina is already a brilliant player considering he only cost 750k, his left foot is unreal. Some of the goals he's scored already are fantastic. I picked Santa Cruz up because I always liked him in real life before he made the mistake of moving to City. So I took him in the hope of maybe bringing back his former glory, just for my own personal enjoyment. Torassa is actually not a bad player, can nick a goal at any point, plus he was only 350k so if he doesn't work out, it's not much loss.

I got rid of Bale and Lennon because I don't play with wingers. Could probably of got more for Lennon but wasn't too worried as I don't really rate him highly anyway. The offer came in for van der Vaart, I was hesitant to accept but I can find a younger, better player for £18 million I figured.

Made £18.5 million profit so I'm happy with that. I think I got some really promising players in.

Also, thought I'd chance my arm and ask for a new stadium. The board initially declined, but after I told them I thought it would increase revenue, they said yes. I'm genuinely excited about it.

Friel,

Do the new loan payments have a big effect on your transfer budgets?

[misterawesome]

misterawesome: I would say that the squad is definitely weaker. You can't lose Rafa and Luka and not properly replace either. I think you're underrating Vertonghen and Gylfi to an extent though. Jan is amazing on this game, just takes a few weeks to settle in.

No one stands out as captain (Dawson shouldn't be near your 1st team unless you have an injury crisis), but I'd go for Kaboul probably, maybe Gallas or I'd be tempted to take a risk on Vertonghen.

I swapped out Dawson for Kaboul as my captain, and Parker for Huddlestone as my Asst Captain. After appointing Kaboul, there was a lot of discontent among players in the squad. For example, Gallas and Defoe thought they would be better choices than Kaboul.

This all went down days before our opening match against QPR. Combine a dispirited squad with some aggressive, demanding team talks from my Ass Man, and we barely eeked out a 2-2 draw. I'll be taking back control of team talks after that mess.

A question as I seek to bring some order back to the team - will it be a mess if I switch my captain again, from Kaboul to Gallas? Kaboul was not especially happy to be named captain, but Gallas was noticeably upset. I realize it sounds like I'm overreacting here. I'm ultimately looking to keep the Captains seat warm until Vertonghen takes it over in Season 2, but don't want to face any more scorn from the squad.

[ShirazS]

If you change the captaincy again, there will be even more discontent as a lot of players will think you changed it too quickly. Been there, done that

[Robert the Spud]

You should just keep it with Dawson as is. If you don't play him, choose another captain before each match, everyone will remain happy.

There's a lack of leadership in the squad as it is.

[misterawesome]

I'm wondering how others are using Dembele, as he's gotten off to a slow start for me in my game. I'm playing a 4-2-3-1, and Dembele has been playing as an MCl as either a DLP(S) or AP(A) next to Sandro. Here is how he's looking:

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As you can see, his performances have been substandard. Do you think I should play him on the left, as a backup to Bale, or as an AMC? My other option would be to sell him (or Dempsey) to bring in a first choice MC.

[misterawesome]

Also thought I'd throw up an update on the season. Off to a predictably sluggish start. Facing City and Chelsea this early was a tough start for a new squad.

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I'm hoping the 7-0 drubbing of Newcastle is a sign of things to come as the squad settles in.

[Robert the Spud]

Dembele isn't creative enough to be a playmaker- use him as a box to box player imo, or inside forward right, though Lennon is too good to drop really.

I finished a season, but more as a prep for FM13- so i'm not going to carry on with FM12 due to time. However, a Europa League trophy and 4th place was a good send off. Hope to repeat it with fm13.

[misterawesome]

Into January in Season 1 with with Weegie update. Sitting in 6th Place, which is pretty good for me as I've never been able to apply a new tactic and win the league straight away. My team has been hit with a lot of injury, which has forced a lot of different, and compromised, lineups. In addition to Dempsey and Dembele not finding roles at the club, I've also had Parker and Gallas see their form come crashing down. As a result, my plan to "stay the course" in Season 1 has gone out the window, especially as I try to fill the gaping hole in Midfield with Modric out. So, I made some moves at the opening of the January window.

Parker and Dembele have been loaned out, with Parker hopefully getting bought up at the end of the year by Malaga. I almost sold Dembele, but I'm not ready to give up on him yet. Hopefully getting some regular football in a more stable environment will help Dembele come back and at least take control of a backup spot in the midfield. He'll be a backup because I splashed out big money (30 mil over 48 mos) to bring Marek Hamsik to North London. Paired with Sandro, they should be a dominant midfield group, with Huddlestone as a valuable third option.

Vertonghen has stepped up to start alongside Kaboul, with Caulker and Gallas serving as backups. Up top, Gylfi has been our best player and highest scorer, topping 10 goals already as a Trequarista behind Ade or Defoe.

Man Utd has been sniffing around on Walker and Caulker, and City has been looking at Kaboul, but none have stepped up with an offer. Hamsik's arrival shot Bale's wages through the roof, which has been successful in keeping City away from him so far.

Looking forward to a strong finish to the season.

[Welshace]

yeah.. really looking forward / dreading seeing what the researchers do with Dembele, Dempsey and co... they dropped the ball with those too in particular last year...

[Kier]

Just wondering if anyone else has had good results with Emmanuel Adebayor?

I got him for £10m in 2012/13, and since then he has been nothing but outstanding.

2012/13 - 50 goals in 37 league appearances, 87 goals in 63 total games.

2013/14 - 55 goals in 34 league appearances, 108 goals in 62 total games.

2014/15 - 65 goals in 37 league appearances, 102 goals in 63 total games.

I play him in the centre of three forwards, Edinson Cavani on the right and Mario Balotelli on the left generally.

I've also kept Gomes as my number one keeper, he is doing brilliantly for me. Got a couple of younger keepers coming though to replace him in a year or two, but can't believe how well he is doing.

[Robert the Spud]

yeah.. really looking forward / dreading seeing what the researchers do with Dembele, Dempsey and co... they dropped the ball with those too in particular last year...

I don't think Dempsey warrants a big change, perhaps 3-4 attributes and a slight CA boost. Dembele will have to be worked on, but i'm certain the Fulham researcher rates him highly.

[Welshace]

the issue is that the fulham researcher is the one who did him last time aswell.. and his stats suggest a completely different player to what dembele is frankly..

[Draigh]

the issue is that the fulham researcher is the one who did him last time aswell.. and his stats suggest a completely different player to what dembele is frankly..

FM researches always seem to be about a year behind in player development. For example Iker Muniain had long ceased to be a poacher-type striker before he finally was considered a midfielder in FM (only in the last update of FM 12), let's hope they get Dembelé's qualities somewhat more accurately next time 'round.

[CLS]

Doing a final save before FM13 (although if the beta is anything to go by that could be quite a while!).

Playing a 4-2-3-1 formation (2CMs, AM, 2 wingers).

First season I came 3rd in the league behind both sets of mancs, won the FA Cup (put out 2nd string players most of the tournament but had lucky draws and won a couple of replays) as well as the Europa League, satisfyingly defeating Arsenal 1-0 in the final At least they get to try again next year after a 5th placed finish...

Just in July of 2nd season, flogged VdV as I was happy with Gio at AM, he was injury prone and getting on a bit. City offered £25M but couldn't agree a contract, so he eventually went to Liverpool for £22.5M (on a 105K p/w contract!). Bought in Seydou Doumbia for £16M/30k p/w to replace Adebayor who wanted 200k p/w . Just had an offer in from City of £18M for Tom Huddlestone. No idea why, he averaged a 6.99 last season and was mediocre although had a fantastic Euros for England who won the tournament. I was only going to rotate him with Sandro and Parker anyway so I'll bite their hands off for that and see who's in the transfer market. Maybe a new LB? Benny played pretty well but doesn't have the best attributes and isn't matching Walker on the right. COYS.

[lil82]

my spurs team about to start 3rd season

gk loris

rb walker

cb kaboul

cb caulker

lb hartherz 7

bwm sandro

dlp kroos 17

lw bale

rw yarmelenko 18.5

am isco 16

cf cavani 32

also got gaston ramirez for 16 chicarito 7.5 carrol 4.5 . looking for a eng cb and rb jones fits bill perfectly but utd want to much

[CFC1983]

Can anyone recommend team instructions and player roles for my Tottenham team in a 4-2-3-1 formation. I have edited it so Sigurdsson, Dempsey, Dembele and Adebayor are there at the start, my only signings were Fellaini and Baines from Everton. I have tried 4-2-3-1 in my first season but didn't get good results with it so changed to a rigid 4-4-2 and ended up finishing a respectable 3rd (ahead of arsenal more importantly). I don't mind 4-4-2 but wanted to stick with 4-2-3-1 so any help would be appreciated

[misterawesome]

Take a look back through the thread - Edgar555 has some helpful breakouts of player roles for a 4-2-3-1. Here is what I use:

LB - BAE (Fullback - automatic)

DCl - Vertonghen (Ball Playing Defender - Cover)

DCr - Kaboul (Central Defender - Stopper)

RB - Walker (Fullback - automatic)

MCl - Sandro (Ball Winner - Support)

MCr - Hamsik (in my save)/Huddlestone (DLP - Support)

LW - Bale (Inside Forward - Attack)

AMC - Sigurdsson (Trequarista)

RW - Lennon (Inside Forward - Attack)

ST - Adebayor (Adv Forward - Attack) / Defoe (Poacher - Attack)

Dempsey and Dembele could never crack the first team for me - they both seem better IRL than on the game. Sigurdsson is amazing as a Treq - he'll be the biggest add to your starting XI