FM13: Newcastle United - Alan Pardew and The Eight Year Plan.

[tommonufc]

Just got back into my save for this evening as well - should be able to finish of this season tonight. Remaining fixtures of;

Chelsea (H)

Tottenham (H) EL

Man City A

Tottenham (A) EL

Sunderland (A)

Liverpool (H)

Tottenham (H)

So two massive games in terms of the title chances in Man City and Spurs, as well as a derby game, all with two Europa League Semi-Final games against domestic title challengers Going five wins out of five in that run-in would nail on the title I think, especially considering the two teams I'd beat, more or less scuppering their chances.

Had a bit of a center back injury crisis. Yanga-Mbiwa has been injured for past couple of months, Steven Taylor I think is out for the rest of the season - so had to play Blaise Matuidi at center back alongside Colo. Gave Remie Street a couple of games in the FA Cup semi-final, but he's very raw, especially in terms of his mental side of the game - and he'd get roasted in some of the games I've faced/facing.

Matuidi has been a great loan signing; has made about 7 starts, with just as many sub appearances. Filling in for Tiote, allowing me to rest him for the big games, and bringing him on to see out the game. May look into signing him down in the summer, probably just another loan if I can.

[JD nawrat]

Into the FA Cup Final after beating Hull 3-0 at Wembley

I'll face Championship side Charlton after they beat Norwich 2-1

Newcastle 3-0 Burnley

Newcastle 2-0 Crystal Palace

Wolves 1-3 Newcastle

Newcastle 1-0 Man City

Newcastle 3-0 Hull

Newcastle v Charlton

mostly home ties and all against Championship sides except for Man City. Arguably the easiest route to the FA Cup Final ever, I guess. Although Man City give me a lot of credibility in this run, surely?

Not that I care, we're going to Wembley

[tommonufc]

Business End (Part 1) [April/May] [2012/13]

3:3 vs. Spartak Moscow (A) Europa League Quarter-Final 1st Leg

Month kicked off with a trip to Moscow to face Spartak Moscow. A full strength side was fielded, and came out of the blocks firing. The usual counter-attacking approach used this season in Europe, an approach that has been used in such ties as Napoli away in the group stages, as well as previous knockout round victories against Ajax and Stuttgart, was abandoned for the fast, fluid attacking approach that was been so successful in the domestic campaign. Collocini ponced from a goal mouth scramble to put the side in front, with Giaccherini doubling the lead four minutes later. That lead was eventually turned into a lead of 3-2 by the home side, as the game evetually turned into a end-to-end basketball match of openness. That openness allowed my side to take advantage of the pace on the break, and numbers that are pushed forward when we do counter teams. Substitute, on as a defensive midfielder, Blaise Matuidi would be played in to level the tie at 3-3 - securing a valuable draw to take into the second leg.

3:1 vs. Aston Villa (A) Premier League

Aston Villa's narrow midfield diamond allowed my two wingers, Nathan Redmond and El Shaarawy run riot down the wings; and it was Nathan Redmond who would score twice on the way to pick up the Man of the Match. Moussa Sissoko also continued his fantastic second half of the season, by getting the second of the game.

2:0 vs. Spartak Moscow (A) Europa League Quarter-Final 1st Leg

Not winning the first leg, unlike the two previous ties, meant I couldn't afford to lose this game. Had many chances to put the tie to bed much sooner than the 61st minute in which Sissoko scored in. Nathan Redmond would finish off a exhilarating Quarter-Final by making it 2-0 on the night, and 5-3 on aggregate.

2:3 vs. Ipswich Town(N) FA Cup Semi-Final

Had previously reached the League Cup semi-finals, where I was dumped out over two ties against Southampton. A very winnable fixture I thought back then, and as was this game against Championship side Ipswich. Steven Taylor was unavailable through injury for this game, and that proved clinical I think. Lots of the big names rested, and although a side attacked as normal, it couldn't match the usually effective high pressing. El Shaarawy scored inside four minutes, and I thought it to be already over. Ipwich would level, and then take the lead. Ben Arfa scored to make it 2-2 to leave me slightly more relaxed. No third goal could be found and some unwanted extra-time was forced to find the winner; and that winner would be Ipswich.

4:2 vs. Reading (H) Premier League

After going behind to a Kieran Richardson free-kick and going in at half-time 1-1 my team talk was one that instructed the side to relax and play their game. Reading, a side looked nailed on for relegation, where then taken apart with probably the best attacking display I've seen this season. Pogbrebnyak scored later on in the game to make the score 4-2, but the final score could have been won by six or seven.

2:1 vs. Chelsea (H) Premier League

The first of a handful of massive games that would make up the sides Premier League run-in. The side took massive confidence into the game on the back of a great run of form. That confidence showed against a slow Chelsea midfield and defence. Two Papiss Cisse goals in the first half were enough for a 2-1 victory that saw us jump ahead of Manchester United into 3rd place before their evening kick-off.

Part 2 coming soon..

[JD nawrat]

You have 68 from 34. I'm currently on 71 from 34...

You're tied with top of the league, I'm 6 points behind Man City

My AI brought their A game the ********.

Unlucky with the FA Cup fella, but if you somehow win the league it'll totally overshadow ever winning the FA Cup I hope you pull through and win it.

[tommonufc]

Into the FA Cup Final after beating Hull 3-0 at Wembley

I'll face Championship side Charlton after they beat Norwich 2-1

Newcastle 3-0 Burnley

Newcastle 2-0 Crystal Palace

Wolves 1-3 Newcastle

Newcastle 1-0 Man City

Newcastle 3-0 Hull

Newcastle v Charlton

mostly home ties and all against Championship sides except for Man City. Arguably the easiest route to the FA Cup Final ever, I guess. Although Man City give me a lot of credibility in this run, surely?

Not that I care, we're going to Wembley

Hate this so much! To think of my route to the semis - Doncaster, Tottenham, Crawley, Cardiff, then Ipswich Losing to god damn Ipswich!

[tommonufc]

My Chelsea fixture was a 12:45 kick off, which put me joint top for an hour or so. The two sides I was paying most attention too were Tottenham and Manchester City, two of the four title challengers, with myself and Man United - but these were two teams I still had to play.

West Brom managed to take 3 points off Tottenham, knocking them back into second. Whilst Man City would find a late winner to beat Everton 1-0. This leaves me still three points behind City, which is effectively four taking into account their superior goal difference.

Next league fixture after the EL Semi vs. Tottenham, is Man City away, so a massive game!

[JD nawrat]

Tim Krul injured in training Out for 2-3 months and only because I'm sending him to a specialist. It would have been 5-6 if I didn't want to send him

I guess it's okay because 3rd is almost guaranteed now (just need one more victory out of four, next up is the Mackems so let's do it). I'll miss him in the Cup Final but I guess it's only Charlton...no doubt I'll lose now.

edit: Just sealed top four so it's all good. 9 ahead of 4th with 4 games remaining, doubt I'll have difficulty in securing third.

e, again:

new contract signed 4 year deal. I dropped my wages wayyy down to 11k in an attempt to convince Ashley to NOT have me play Attacking Football. I haven't played Attacking all season so I'm not about to start. With the 11k wage he accepted so that's good. I wouldn't mind playing Attacking but it's not my style with Newcastle and the current Board Promises for Attacking football is like 25% so...no.

[tommonufc]

Who's your second choice?

Would give Alnwick the nod personally over Harper or Elliot. His agility makes him almost impenetrable! Had him on a Pompey save on last years game fully developed he was averaging something like 7.5 for long runs of games - just saved everything.

Looks like he could be even better this year! Agility has hit the 20 mark through training now.

[JD nawrat]

Steve Harper

Alnwick has agreed to sign for Scottish side Kilmarnock at the end of the season. Plus I guess Harper deserves his moment for being such a great servant to the club over the years.

e: Been hit hard with injuries...

Krul, Debuchy, Ben Arfa... Maybe doesn't seem like much but I've not got a lot of faith in Redmond to fill HBA's shoes, Danny Simpson is rubbish (in fact, so rubbish I'm going to start Santon at RB. Haidara has been class for me this season anyway) and Krul has been incredibly important to me. I'm losing out on three key players here.

Oh yeah and 3rd place confirmed after a 1-1 draw with Sunderland. Two games remaining and I'm 7 points clear of next place.

EDIT: FA CUP CHAMPIONS!

Anelka scored the opener (such a good player) and then Gosling came off the bench with half an hour to go and found the back of the net...before being sent off for violent conduct on the 90th minute. Gosling the badass I beat Charlton 2-0.

[JD nawrat]

Season over.

Third place finish - P38, W22, D13, L3, F60, A22, GD+38, PTS79.

I had third most wins, third most draws, second least loses, fourth most goals, joint least goals conceded, fourth best goal difference. Remarkably, having the fourth most goals scored, my top goalscorer was Viktor Fischer who scored 11 League goals.

6 points off Man City who won the titles with 85 points; Man Utd came in second with 84 points. Fourth place Chelsea had 69, as did fifth place Arsenal and sixth place Spurs, GDs were 41, 26, 20 respectively. I did finish 10 points ahead of them though so that's impressive.

I won the FA Cup (as discussed).

Swansea avoided relegation by GD so i might not get Michu

Next season I'll post updates in a similar format to what Tommo does.

[tommonufc]

Business End (Part 2) [April/May] [2012/13]

2-0 vs. Tottenham (H) Europa League Semi Final 1st Leg

Couldn't afford to give too much away, certainly not allow myself to lose the game. Going into the game with such confidence in the players, and confidence from myself in the system being used I set out to blow Tottenham away and have the tie over before the return trip to London. That worked, and whilst 2-0 could still see a comeback, I'm more than confident I can score away from home to seal my passage into the final.

Tottenham only managed to get any sort of handle on the game in the final minutes, with them having their first short on goal past the hour mark. My wingers were incredible - Nathan Redmond was preferred to Giaccherini on the left wing, and the regular Ben Arfa on the right. They ran riot running across the pitch and carving gaping holes in the Spurs defence for first Cisse, and then later on, Sissoko to score from.

Result in the other Semi-Final, Dortmund 1-0 Udinese. Looking from the overview of that game it would appear Dortmund blew Udinese away despite just a 1-0 win, so I'll be hoping the Italians can pull something out of the bag in the second leg, as Dortmund could be a tough test in the Final.

1-0 vs. Manchester City (A) Premier League

The biggest game of the season. Yanga-Mbiwa and Debuchy were rushed back to fitness through specially arranged reserve team fixtures, and came straight back into center back and right back respectively. A must win game if I was hoping to catch City up on points and join them at the top of the league; I wouldn't be able to advance upon them due to their superior goal difference, but a win would allow me to crank up the pressure upon them.

From the outset they could have gone 1-0 up, and attack after attack were stopped through brilliants saves from Krul, blocks from Coloccini and any which way to avoid th ball going in. I threatened on the counter attack, but they were few and far between, until just after the hour mark I managed to pounce. City had pushed their men forward, and it was this adventurousness that cost them. Ben Arfa was more or less wide open on the right side when the ball broke to him. An immediate three on two counter was on, with Ben Arfa, El Shaarawy and the quickly advancing Sissoko outnumber City's two lone center backs. Ben Arfa was able to take the ball deep into the City half, before passing across to Sissoko who managed to sneak the ball past the Joe Hart and evade Kompany's challenge in doing so.

Every piece of luck I think had been saved up throughout the season - all the draws I endured up until February, to just one game, where the luck was with me, and seemingly every chance the opposition would have, just wouldn't go in. This was my Barcelona vs. Chelsea game!

1-2 vs. Tottenham (A) Europa League Semi Final 2nd Leg

The first leg was won comfortably 2-0, giving me a massive boost going into the second leg. Fabricio Coloccini, and Chieck Tiote were residing on yellow cards heading into this match, and due to my confidence in progression, both were left out. Yanga-Mbiwa, still not fully match fit after his length injury lined up alonside now regular center back, Blaise Matuidi. A very open game throughout, and many occasions I could have scored to put the tie to bed, as a single goal scored would need Tottenham score twice to cancel it out.

It was this means that would finally see me progress through to the final. Tottenham managed to score twice, taking the tie to extra time. Viktor Fischer was brought on for Cabaye, with Sissoko dropping back into center midfield as I pushed for a goal; and it was Fischer who managed to score that goal, with a predatory finish inside the box. Showing his two footed ability, where by defenders really struggle to show him onto any foot, he can get his shot of from almost anywhere.

Dortmund progressed through from their Semi-Final against Udinese, drawing in Italy 1-1, taking them through on away goals - so I shall play the German giants in the Europa League final.

1-1 vs. Sunderland (A) Premier League

Derby day at the Stadium of Shi.. Light. Third to last game of the season, and a chance to continue to exert the pressure on Man City at the top of the table. The mid-week fixture against Tottenham, that went to added time really took it out of many players in the side, and that was shown in team selection and general freshness in the starting XI. A very open game, and still without two first choice center backs, which proved to be costly, with Steven Fletcher managing to beat Matuidi in the air to head Sunderland in front in the first half. Cisse managed to equaliser before the hour mark, but no second goal could be found - so two valuable points were dropped, and it would appear Sunderland stopped my title challenge.

1-0 vs. Liverpool (H) Premier League

After missing out on a win the following week against Sunderland, I was now needing results in the two Manchester clubs fixtures to go my way - all that whilst assuring that I continue to win games myself. Liverpool proved to be another challenging game, and as I get one center back fit in Yanga-Mbiwa, the second in Coloccini drops in fitness - so Matuidi continued at center back once more. Dominated the game throughout, just failure to score would have no doubt resulted in a 0-0. It was El Shaarawy's mazy run that resulted in him being fouled inside the area; he dusted himself down and managed to fire home the pressure penalty kick to give a vital 3 points to the total - a vital win seeing as Manchester City were held 0-0 at Arsenal that afternoon.

This would leave three teams on 75 points heading into the final day - Manchester City, Manchester United, and Newcastle United. I would be the rank outsiders due to firstly having a much weaker goal difference, so in effect a point behind the Manchester clubs.

1-4 vs. Dortmund (N) Europa League Final

Massively disappointing defeat. The second toughest team I've faced this season, along with Man City - they just work so hard, and usually I can bully teams through the heavy pressing, but Dortmund just competed as hard. Didn't change my approach too much from the general week to week domestic style of play, which untimely proved costly. Should have conceded ground somewhat and played much more on the break rather than the open attacking approach - something I'll take into the Champions League next season.*

Final day saw me face 4th place Tottenham, so picking up three points was by no means a gimme. I faced the toughest fixture, with Manchester United having the most favorable at home to Norwich, and Manchester City away to Stoke [insert Stoke away cliche].

4-0 vs. Tottenham (H) Premier League

Was able to field two first choice center backs for the first time in a long time, Coloccini partnering Yanga-Mbiwa. Only change that was made to a considered strongest XI was the preference of Haidara over Debuchy, with Santon moving the right back - this was a move that gave me natural width on the left side, preferring Santon to Debuchy on the right.

Came out of the blocks firing, Cisse putting us temporarily top of the league on the 5th minute. This was short livid, as Manchester United also started quickly in their game, with Phil Jones' goal leap-frogging us on their superior goal difference. Manchester City also took the lead in Stoke, dropping us down to 3rd. Back in Newcastle, the single best attacking display I've seen this season from my team was happening. Tottenham struggled to get any hold on the ball, and even when they did, they just opened themselves up for incisive counter attacks. Whilst Manchester United scored goal after goal, and any chances of the title vanished, I was just enjoying the attacking movement in the game, and already eager to kick off next season!

Stoke managed to live up to the football cliches of 'Stoke away' and 'never easy' by holding Man City 3-3. That meant I was able to finish a fantastic second place!

---

[tommonufc]

Season over.

Third place finish - P38, W22, D13, L3, F60, A22, GD+38, PTS79.

I had third most wins, third most draws, second least loses, fourth most goals, joint least goals conceded, fourth best goal difference. Remarkably, having the fourth most goals scored, my top goalscorer was Viktor Fischer who scored 11 League goals.

6 points off Man City who won the titles with 85 points; Man Utd came in second with 84 points. Fourth place Chelsea had 69, as did fifth place Arsenal and sixth place Spurs, GDs were 41, 26, 20 respectively. I did finish 10 points ahead of them though so that's impressive.

I won the FA Cup (as discussed).

Swansea avoided relegation by GD so i might not get Michu

Next season I'll post updates in a similar format to what Tommo does.

Great season Edged me out on a point, and you won something!

[JD nawrat]

Ow. Unlucky loss to Dortmund fella, but just making it to the Final is a great achievement Well played on a great season. To come runner up to United is pretty special, too.

Rather remarkably, I won more, scored more, conceded less and had more points than you and still finished in a lower position and further away from the title

My off season has been VERY busy.

Yohan Cabaye went to Spurs for £27.5M. Jonas left for £4.1M, Gouffran signed permanently for Montpellier for £3.4M, Williamson went out on loan, a few players were allowed to leave on a free (Steve Harper wasn't one of them, I agreed an extension on his contract). I tried to offload Cheick Tiote to Benfica for £21.5M but he didn't agree a contract and now nobody wants him.

Coming in... Stevan Jovetic for £20M, Antoine Griezmann for £21M, Clement Chantome for £4.6M and Jorge Fucile for £2.2M. I am just looking to get in a CB and that's me. I signed McDonald Mariga on a free transfer which is why I'm looking to offload Tiote. Anita is better than Tiote imo so why have two quality players when it'll lead to unhappiness?

Monaco came in for Tiote for £12.5M and I begrudgingly accepted...and then Sevilla came in for him for £16.5M so I then rejected Monaco's offer and he's off to Sevilla. Perfect timing, that.

[tommonufc]

2012/13 Season Review

Premier League & Europa League Runner's Up

Newcastle United Player of the Season -

Fabricio Coloccini

Newcastle United Young Player of the Season (PFA Players Young Player of Season Winner) - Moussa Sissoko

Newcastle United Top Goalscorer 2012/13 - Papiss Cisse [24 goals]

Premier League 2012/13 - [Results]

Europa League 2012/13 - Runners Up

---

[tommonufc]

Ow. Unlucky loss to Dortmund fella, but just making it to the Final is a great achievement Well played on a great season. To come runner up to United is pretty special, too.

Rather remarkably, I won more, scored more, conceded less and had more points than you and still finished in a lower position and further away from the title

My off season has been VERY busy.

Yohan Cabaye went to Spurs for £27.5M. Jonas left for £4.1M, Gouffran signed permanently for Montpellier for £3.4M, Williamson went out on loan, a few players were allowed to leave on a free (Steve Harper wasn't one of them, I agreed an extension on his contract). I tried to offload Cheick Tiote to Benfica for £21.5M but he didn't agree a contract and now nobody wants him.

Coming in... Stevan Jovetic for £20M, Antoine Griezmann for £21M, Clement Chantome for £4.6M and Jorge Fucile for £2.2M. I am just looking to get in a CB and that's me. I signed McDonald Mariga on a free transfer which is why I'm looking to offload Tiote. Anita is better than Tiote imo so why have two quality players when it'll lead to unhappiness?

Monaco came in for Tiote for £12.5M and I begrudgingly accepted...and then Sevilla came in for him for £16.5M so I then rejected Monaco's offer and he's off to Sevilla. Perfect timing, that.

Post January form was untouchable though. Once El Shaarawy arrived to play on the left and I worked out how to get the best out of the Sissoko/Cisse partnership I was away.

Selling Cabaye is madness! Worth a lot more than £27.5M - how much would clubs be asking you to buy a player like that! Go try and get Moutinho from Porto for that money, good luck I'd say.

Tiote and Anita aren't the same player. Said this loooooads of times now. Just don't know why people sell Tiote seeing as he's one of best ball winners/enforcers in the game; and to sell him for £12.5M is incredible. Wouldn't get Wanyama for that, and he's an inferior player to Tiote.

Obviously I have clear Newcastle United supporter bias, but I think I just regonise how good these players are in the game. The Cabaye, Tiote midfield axis will be there for years to come in my team - and hearing that you've just sold both, is just, ahh I don't know.. So much rage!

Not sure what I'm targeting close season - probably move on Giaccherini. El Shaarawy has come in and displaced him in the side. Will see if I can bring in Adam Lallana if I can move him out for enough money. Would like to bring in James Ward-Prowse from Southampton too.

Been scouting Umiti from Lyon, looks to be one of best French prospects available, as well as Benzia from Lyon - those two will probably be my primary focus.

[JD nawrat]

I'm a huge fan of Cabaye and Tiote IRL, you wouldn't believe.

However Cabaye was injured a lot this season for me, I didn't see the point in keeping a player who was my top earner and could garner that much money so easily. I cashed in, which was quite sensible if you ask me. As for Tiote - I know he and Anita aren't alike and IRL I think Anita is a waste of space compared to Tiote who is one of the best defensive midfielders in the country, but Anita was consistently performing at a great level compared to Tiote who was not. Tiote was also my top earner with Cabaye and I don't want to pay a top earner's wage for a back-up player. Tiote played 15 league games for me last season and I got £16.5M out of him and a cheap replacement (for free) in McDonald Mariga. No harm, no foul. Oh and Tiote has Decisions of 10. He's prone to making stupid passes and putting my side under pressure.

I guess we'll see if this is a mistake at the end of the season. I signed Clement Chantome as my replacement to Cabaye, by the way. Chantome and Bigirimana will be able to rotate quite well and that's something Cabaye would not allow.

I'm confident of my future now.

GK - Krul (Harper)

RB - Debuchy (Fucile)

RCB - Yanga-Mbiwa (Streete)

LCB - Coloccini (Taylor)

LB - Santon (Haidara)

DM - Anita (Mariga)

MCR - Chantome (Bigirimana)

MCL - Sissoko (Gosling)

AMR - Ben Arfa (Redmond)

AML - Fischer (Griezmann)

ST - Jovetic (Hernandez)

Going to be a great season

[tommonufc]

Well, everyone has their reasons, as I see you do now, but initially can't understand anyone selling two of the most important players in my team. Each save is different, and each manager sets up their sides differently, and will therefore get different results from players, and therefore place higher importance on these players.

I play with a style of play that's build off pressing the ball aggressively, and the duo of Tiote and Cabaye just works brilliantly in that aspect.

Quite a few names on the transfer list this summer - Baines, Andre Ayew, Pastore, Sakho to name but a few. Only name I'm tempted in is Olivier Giroud from Arsenal. Would mean I'll move on Gouffran for sure, and would be better option to playing Fischer as my second choice striker, as Campbell isn't yet ready, and I don't think will be until next season.

Arsenal had a bad season, finishing 9th - so given them the going over as far as scout reports go - Wilshere, Walcott, Giroud, Jenkinson, Oxlade-Chamberlain. Also scouted Luiz Suarez from Liverpool, as they had a pretty bad season, may be able to tempt him away.

Staying well clear of Andy Carroll though...

Next season I'll be looking at loaning out some of the younger players I've been tutoring this season, who haven't had the game time - Jon Williams, Will Hughes, Luke Shaw, that Argentine I can't remember the name of, probably Bigi too.

Will be big season for Fischer and Redmond, they're going to be year older and will get even better.

Really like the idea of Oliver Giroud - probably should stay loyal, but he'd just fit into the French vibe I've carried on with. Will get Matuidi on another season loan too!

Any chance of a screenshot of Dan Gosling too? You seem like you actually play him - never bothered with him in all the years he's been at Newcastle.

[JD nawrat]

I put in an offer of £3.5M on Andy Carroll just to see what happened and they accepted! He wanted 120k though ahahaha. Jog on, fella.

I've tried to keep my transfers relatively low-key. I've spent £41M on just Jovetic and Griezmann but I sold more than that in just Cabaye and Tiote. I'm trying to keep my sales>buys and accomplished that quite well in season one and so far in season two.

Giroud is a great player to have, on my Arsenal save he scored something like 53 goals in 50 games. He's immense. Would be quality if you got him

EDIT: Gosling is one of my bench warmers, primarily. He tends to come on to either give Bigirimana or Sissoko a rest but he's impressive when he does come on. Here's a screenshot of him - I'm not actually sure how much he's developed (if at all) but I like what I get from him and he's not on a big wage so I'm quite happy to keep him on the bench. He starts most of my Cup/European games, although with me being in the Champions League this season he'll play less in Europe (unless injuries occur).

[tommonufc]

Been given a pretty big budget to work with, for 'Title Challenge' - transfer budget can be worked to a maximum of £33M. Have had bids accepted on deals for Benzia and Umtiti from Lyon.

Giroud is going to cost £12M - will be structured so it doesn't take that out of this windows budget, but going to go for him. How did you play him at Arsenal? He'll be playing as a DLF(A) with me, but more on how did he score most of his goals?

He's always scored against me in matches against Arsenal on this years game. I'm thinking he might be able to just edge Cisse in the fact that when crosses are put in the box he'll be able to get on them, without having to resort to a Andy Carroll player.

Recon I could move Cisse on this window for £20-25M, but want to keep him until at least January, to see how Giroud does,

[JD nawrat]

I sold Cissé for £20M so if he had a good season last year with you he'll be easy to ship out

I played Giroud as a Poacher alongside a DLF/S (Mason Bennett, Bojan, Berbatov), with Wilshere as an AP/S in behind. I played a narrow 4-3-1-2, quite an experimental shape that worked wonders for me.

Giroud for £12M is a bargain, take it if you can get it

[tommonufc]

2013/14 Summer Transfers and Squad

Transfers

Adam Lallana; £7.75M [southampton]

Samuel Umtiti; £11.25M [Olympique Lyonnais]

Yassine Benzia; £7.5M [Olympique Lyonnais]

Oliver Giroud; £12M [Arsenal]

Mattia Destro; £9.5M [Genoa]

Papiss Cisse; £22.5M to Barcelona

Yohan Gouffran; £3.3M to Blackpool

Shane Ferguson; £1.8M to Blackpool

Rob Eliott; £650K to Manchester City

Dan Gosling; Free to Leeds United

Shola Ameobi; Free to Leeds United

First Team Squad (Was going to screenshot-link each player, but any requests feel free to ask!)

Goalkeepers

Tim Krul

Jak Alnwick

Defenders

Fabricio Coloccini

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa

Steven Taylor

Samuel Umtiti

Davide Santon

Mathieu Debuchy

Massadio Haidara

Remie Streete

Luke Shaw

Curtis Good

Midfielders

Yohan Cabaye

Chieck Tiote

Vurnon Anita

Moussa Sissoko

Adam Lallana

Hatem Ben Arfa

Stephan El Shaarawy

Emmanuel Giaccherini

Nathan Redmond

Viktor Fischer

Brandon Miele

Leandro Paredes

Gael Bigirimama [on loan @QPR

Will Hughes [on loan @Aston Villa

Jon Williams [on loan @Blackburn Rovers

Forwards

Olivier Giroud

Mattia Destro

Adam Campbell

Yassine Benzia

Fernando Foresteri

Haris Vuckic

[james_wilko]

11.25 for Umtiti? I know he's good, but I can never bring myself to splash that sort of money on a young player. Mind, he will be a cracking player in a season or 2 so it's not exactly money wasted.

Your squad is massive Tommo, you're gonna have some unhappy players this season.

Could you show me how well Campbell, Streete and Miele have developed for you? I've noted them as the three young players in my squad with the most potential and I'd like to see how they're developing for you.

[tommonufc]

11.25 for Umtiti? I know he's good, but I can never bring myself to splash that sort of money on a young player. Mind, he will be a cracking player in a season or 2 so it's not exactly money wasted.

Your squad is massive Tommo, you're gonna have some unhappy players this season.

Could you show me how well Campbell, Streete and Miele have developed for you? I've noted them as the three young players in my squad with the most potential and I'd like to see how they're developing for you.

I always seem to hoard players! Have about 20 senior players in the U18s for tutoring as well! Quite a few of the younger players will be loaned out as the season goes on once they've completed tutoring.

Never signed Umtiti before, only scouted him at the start of the specutivly, as I remembered him from scoring that pinger against Spurs in the Europa League the other week! Looks like he's going to quality - just as good as Kurt Zouma, and a fraction of the price, so £12.5M is a price I was happy with. Would rather spend that on a young player I can watch grow than a 28-year old center back already good.

Here is Campbell. Played quite a few games in the first season, a lot more than I played him in within my previous save. Looks to have the same world beating potential. Game time will no doubt help him grow even quicker, but just isn't quite ready for the risk.

Game time will also help Streete. Played him a few times last season, and didn't fair too help. Is far from ready for top-level Premier League football, and was a bit of a disaster defending so high up the pitch as I was asking. Defiantly one for long term, bloomed quite late in my previous save, as he does start out very, very raw.

Never made anything out of Miele in my last save, so hoping I can get something from him this term. Had him tutored by Owen Hargreves start of last season, then loaned to Barnsley for second half. Now being tutored by Phil Neville, but broke his leg playing for Ireland end of last season.

A massive suprise for me this save has been the potential of Adian Grant, the U18's goalkeeper. Had him tutored by Rahovic(sp), an older Bosnian keeper, and his PA just shot up it would seem, obviously his professionalism took a massive injection and now has the potential to be a leading PL goalkeeper. He could be Tim Krul's replacement in four or five years I think, as with Jak Alnwick, really excited about them.

[james_wilko]

Nice improvements on Campbell. I've got him tutored by Cisse at the moment (not ideal really) and he made his debut in the League Cup V Liverpool coming off the bench, got himself a goal which was great.

Grant isn't that highly rated by my coaches but I've got Harper tutoring him for now and even if he reaches his potential of 'top championship' which is what my coaches reckon, he'll still be a good 3rd choice and HG to boot.

Streete's an odd one, I know he's injury prone so I don't know if he'll be worth the effort. If he stays fit I've no doubts he could be great, but it's a big if...

[tommonufc]

Nice improvements on Campbell. I've got him tutored by Cisse at the moment (not ideal really) and he made his debut in the League Cup V Liverpool coming off the bench, got himself a goal which was great.

Grant isn't that highly rated by my coaches but I've got Harper tutoring him for now and even if he reaches his potential of 'top championship' which is what my coaches reckon, he'll still be a good 3rd choice and HG to boot.

Streete's an odd one, I know he's injury prone so I don't know if he'll be worth the effort. If he stays fit I've no doubts he could be great, but it's a big if...

Cisse is a good tutor actually - has right personality So is Anita.

[james_wilko]

I've got Cabaye with Miele, HBA with Jon Williams, Tiote's with Mini-Tiote (Bigi), Debuchy's tutoring Haidara and Krul's working with Jan Alnwick. Was thinking they seem to match up the best.

I'm very proud of my defence this season, we've just played our 21st game and we've still only conceded 5 goals. We're not doing too bad in front of goal either, scoring 46 times in those 21 games. Cisse's leading with 10 goals, followed by HBA with 7 then Sissoko & Cabaye on 4. Each of my 5 defenders have got at least one this season as well which is nice.

Normally I have a team where one guy gets all the goals, but for once I've got a nice spread. Hoping Cisse ups his game in the league though, 12 games and 4 goals isn't ideal. It's in Europe he's flying with 6 goals in 7. Hopefully he'll start putting them away in the league too.

[JD nawrat]

August [2013-14]

Man City 0-1 Newcastle [Community Shield]

We played to our strengths - counter-attacking football and letting City pile on the pressure. Things paid off very quickly as Jovetic played in Santon who decided to maraud down the wing. A neat powerful finish into the far bottom corner was enough and we held on. City didn't really threaten us, despite dominating the game.

Aston Villa 0-1 Newcastle

The start to the new season. It couldn't have got off to a better start really as Ben Arfa went down in the penalty area. Jovetic stepped up and slammed the ball down the goalkeeper's throat. Guzan couldn't hold onto the ball thankfully and Jovetic slotted in the rebound. A late scare occurred when Krul wiped Darren Bent out but it proved to be nothing more than a scare, as Krul got across to save the penalty.

Newcastle 2-1 Man City

Second game against City within a month. A considerably easier task since I was at home. Or so I thought. Silva gave City and early lead and things weren't looking good, until Viktor Fischer played a beautiful little reverse pass for Moussa to get onto. He walked around Hart and slotted into the bottom corner. The second half got off to a flier and HBA once again won us a penalty - something he seems to be making a habit of. Jovetic stepped up and once again slammed the ball down the centre of the goal, sending Hart the wrong way to make it 2-1. We played well and probably deserved our win.

Middlesbrough 0-2 Newcastle

Our first rivalry of the season, and sadly our only rivalry since Sunderland got relegated last season. Newly promoted Boro would prove to be a tougher task than I initially expected, but we still done enough. Jovetic scored a header from a Chantome free-kick and then Sissoko added another late on. The stats once again didn't seem to favour us, but we came out victorious.

Overall it has turned out to be a successful August. We didn't play particularly well in any of the games - all of the statistics suggest we were the inferior side - but we won all of them and that's all that matters to me. Jovetic has bedded in brilliantly, scoring three and assisting one in his first four games. Moussa Sissoko is also continuing where he left off with some great performances. Not much else to discuss so here's my Transfers etc.

Transfers Out

A successful off-season, getting rid of some deadwood and also generating some huge sums from Cabaye and Tiote. Steven Taylor requested a transfer which I accepted. I tried to trade him + £12M for Ryan Shawcross but Stoke wanted £19M + Taylor so no dice. It helped fund my new signings...

Tranfers In

Chantome came in to replace Cabaye; Mariga for Tiote. Since Anelka left I splashed on Jovetic who'll lead my line. With Gutierrez gone, I decided to bring in an equivalent to Redmond - someone quick who can deliver a good cross. I now have two Inside Forwards (Fischer and HBA) and two Wingers (Griezmann and Redmond). Jorge Fucile came in to replace Danny Simpson who was allowed to leave.

So a great start to the Premier League and an interesting Champions League draw. I'm confident that we can get through in second place. Plus we're hosting Barcelona and traveling to the Camp Nou so there's plenty to look forward to

[Suarez2]

Hi guys, i've just started a save on the new update (January) im playing a 5-3-2 but with a Dm being one of the 3, So im playing

------------------Krul

----------Mbiwa-Taylor-Collocini

Debuchy-------Tiote-----Santon

-------Cabaye----Sissoko-------

------Goufran------Cisse--------

So im not using wingers, So what to do with Ben arfa, Jonas, Obertan & Marvuex?

Ben Arfa: He's too good to let go, so re-train to Cm, or St (Deep lying forward)?

Jonas: Was going to sell, but due to him having 14 tackling, i thought i'd re-trian him to LWB, Or should i sell?

And as for Obertan and Marvuex, i thought just straight sell?

Any other ideas?

Also, If i can sell Obertan and Marvuex, or anyone else, who should i sell, and how much should i expect to get for them? and who have you lot found to be a good 1st season signing?

Thanks

[nickbirdspain]

Nice work there JD and Tom - how are your second seasons progressing? Re. your comments on Carroll, the romantic inside me took a pump on him. £5M AND £69K week wages. Have to admit he's not let me down. 15 goals in 29 appearances, and working well with Cisse. Don't see him as a long term solution but ultimately i see him filling that super-sub role currently filled by Shola. Good to bring on with 20 mins to hold up the ball. His form has been dipping these last few games but still proved to be an absolute steal.

[tommonufc]

August/September [2013/14]

Manchester United 3 - 1 Newcastle United FA Community Shield

Not a particularly good start to the season, but bigger fish will be fried this year. Impressive debut from Mattia Destro, coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute, and getting sent off him in the 82nd with a horrific challenge that broke Nemanja Vidic.

Newcastle United 1 - 0 Manchester United Premier League

Out to avenge defeat from the previous weeks loss at Wembley. Managed to score the only real chance of the game with Ben Arfa scoring the goal to win the game.

Chelsea 3 - 1 Newcastle United Premier League

A tough start to the league season continued with an away fixture against a strong Chelsea team. Was torn apart too often, and couldn't get the ball forward quickly - only to find I'd tinkered with the passing length in pre-season. Giroud scoring his first goal for the club was the only positive to be taken.

Newcastle United 3 - 0 Sunderland Premier League

An exiting start to the season continued with a derby day at St. James'. Sissoko was injured from the defeat to Chelsea, so I decided to tinker and switch to a 4-4-2, moving in Fischer up front to support Giroud. The wingers were dropped, in favor to wide-midfielders who could work a bit harder to make up a two-man midfield. This saw me look to get the full backs forward into the high areas and provide the width, Santon was preffered to Debuchy after he was run ragged at Chelsea, and Haidara played on the left.

It was Santon who would get the scoring under way, recieveing the ball high up the right flank before getting into the box and scoring. Lallana made his full debut for Newcastle, and would crown this occasion by curling in a free-kick to double the lead; and Olivier Giroud completed a great display with another goal to make it 3-0. Very pleased with how the 4-4-2 worked - shall defiantly be using that again this coming season; allowed me to really press the opposition by having two strikers chasing down different zones.

Back in the Champions League this season after last seasons 2nd place finish. Due to lengthy exile from the top-table of European competition I was placed in the third seeds, which could have seen me face a tricky draw. That wasn't the case, and I came out with the draw very happy with the opposition I'll be facing - could have been a lot worse.

Newcastle United 5 - 2 Swansea City Premier League

Attacking movement, and the quality available in the offensive third blew away Swansea - especially as they went down to ten men relatively early on in the game. Giroud scoring a 18 minute first half hat-trick, but the two wingers whom also scored - Ben Arfa and El Shaarawy were vital, linking up with their full backs to great effect to get to the byline to lay on goals for Giroud. Hoping for a lot more games like this in the coming season - should have goals in abundance across my attacking four.

Newcastle United 2 - 0 Bayer Leverkusen Champions League Group Stage

Last time Bayer Leverkusen came to St. James' Park, Alan Shearer would send them packing with a hat-trick in a 3-1 victory. This time it was just 2-0. A very confident performance, Adam Lallana continued a fantastic start to life on Tyneside with another goal, this time ghosting into the box to score a Lampard esque. strike from a Ben Arfa byline cut back. Giroud was almost unplayable, rounding his performance of with another goal. Love this guy already!

[video=youtube;6_TYvhNgntQ]

Southampton 0 - 2 Newcastle United Premier League

Adam Lallana kept his place in the side for his return to Southampton as midfield options were stretched. Sissoko would play deeper, alongside Mathieu Debuchy in central midfield positions due to Cabaye, Anita, and Tiote all out injured. Giroud headed home an El Shaarawy byline cross inside two minutes, and would then score before half time to double the lead - but it was the fantastic defensive performance lead by Coloccini that kept us in the game throughout the second half.

Newcastle United 2 - 0 Charlton Athletic League Cup 4th Round

A strong side fielded, made up with a few names returning from injury and being given chances to get match fitness. Went for the 442 against the Championship side, with Adam Campbell and Mattia Destro leading the line. These two would get the goals in the 2-0 win, with Campbell showing the predatory instinct that will only get better, and better!

Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 3 Newcastle United Premier League

Yohan Cabaye and Chieck Tiote both returned in time for a tough game away to Spurs. That meant I could field the strongest XI possible, with a favored front four of Sissoko behind Giroud, and Ben Arfa and El Shaarawy either side. Samuel Umtiti would continue at left back due to Santon's excellence on his favored right side. Not a especially attacking option, but a very strong play that can dominate a winger defensively.

Fantastic performance that took apart Tottenham with fast paced counter attacking. Giroud was once again predatory, scoring of the great work by El Shaarawy.

Finish a testing start to the season with one defeat, which will be seen as a learning curve ahead of the coming months. Other than that I've picked up the form I ended last season with and the injection of Giroud up front looks to have given even more of an edge.

Player of the Month (August/September): Oliver Giroud

Was slightly apprehensive at first on signing Giroud. He was a name I looked at, as his face fitted the make up of the side (Allez le Toon, n' all that...) so was instantly a player I'd take a shine to. Didn't think Giroud would hit the ground running, but he's fitted into the the striking role in the system perfectly. My thinking on going for Giroud, was one that so many crossing opportunities are made through the advanced full backs, and wingers from the byline, and I needed a player that could finish these sort of chances made. Cisse was too passive in these sort of situations, and would rarely score with his head.

9 goals in 8 games so far, and looks destined to to score many, many more. His play deep is very good, linking up the midfield and keeping the ball, but he is seemingly unstoppable in the box. Defiantly the man to lead the line and finish the chances made from Ben Arfa and El Shaarawy. Mattia Destro was also signed in the summer transfer window, as Cisse moved on to Barcelona - he's a similar sort of player to Giroud, and looks to have the potential to be even better, so very excited on that front. This therefore gives me massive headaches up front in regard to Adam Campbell. Adam Campbell and the pursuit of the 201 goals - AGGHH!

[james_wilko]

Have the opportunity to sign Micah Richards from City for 8mil. Should I take them up on that? Looking at around 60k/week in wages, he'll be used as a CB and will provide some real competition for MYM and Taylor as the left/right centre backs.

But, both of them have been great this season, and I have Alderweireld from Ajax coming in at the end of the season to be Colo's long term replacement. I'm thinking he'd be a needless signing, but I'd like another good player at CB for depth...

Had a great Christmas over the first season. A close 1-0 win over Swansea had me sitting pretty at the top, and we then followed it up with a 3-0 win at home to Chelski before beating Man City 2-0 at The Etihad. So we're still top, 1 point ahead of Man Utd, we've also qualified from the group stages of the Europa League, are up to the Semis in the Carling Cup and are about to play Port Vale in the FA Cup. So theoretically we're fighting for 4 trophies... However with the ACON about to take two of my first team players (Tiote and Cisse) and the squad not being the biggest I have doubts over how seriously we'll challenge for them. I'll be happy with top 4 & one of the domestic cups, but I'll be fighting all out for everything.

[JD nawrat]

Sign Richards as a back-up to Debuchy imo. Infinitely better than Simpson and Richards is, imo, the best defensive fullback in the game (because he is essentially a centre back). I think he works well on FB/D in the big European games where you need someone solid at RB. An example of this being when I was Arsenal and he was my RB against Real Madrid. I set him up to Man Mark Ronaldo on the Left Wing and he shut him up the whole game.

Nice going Tommo Recovered well from that defeat to Chelsea. Quite a tough CL group but you can win all 6 games and I'm sure you'll get through eventually. I'm not sure if I'd rather your draw or my draw - on one hand I've got Barcelona which is tougher than anyone you have, but then I get an easy-ish tie out of Olympiacos. I guess neither of us have an 'easy' group unfortunately. GL with that fella.

Loading up to play now, was at work since that update above. I'll update at the end of September (almost there).

[JD nawrat]

September [2013-14]

Millwall 1-2 Newcastle

The game of Clement Chantome. He's been good thus far but in this game he really let the world know about his arrival. Two stunning freekicks saw us take a 2-0 lead. Millwall scored with their first shot of the game rather frustratingly. But still, victory is victory, right? Very pleased to win against the newboys.

Olympiacos 0-5 Newcastle [Champions League]

Our first time in the big leagues. I couldn't have wished for a better start. As you can see, I played a relatively mixed side of first-teamers and back-ups, but it worked brilliantly. Abel Hernandez scored his first ever goals for me...it only took 16 games to find the net. But man oh man, did he do it in style? Griezmann's goal was a beauty, as well.

Newcastle 1-2 Manchester United [Capital One Cup]

My first defeat of the season so far. Bit frustrating since I feel we deserved to win. By their first goal, we had 2 CCCs and hit the bar. Still, no hard feelings because we can focus elsewhere now. We didn't win in the 3rd Round of the Capital One Cup last season either. Frustrating, sure, but I don't really care. Also notice the gap between Olympiacos and United games... 2 days. Shocking management, there.

Newcastle 3-1 Norwich

Fairly dominant display. Jovetic came from the bench to score yet another goal. Superb. Norwich scored their first shot of the game which brought proceedings to 1-1. Hugely frustrating. Griezmann scored a neat goal and Jovetic seized upon an error from the opposition defence to make it 3-1. Relief, in all honesty.

Newcastle 3-0 Southampton

Superb performance from the side as we overpowered Southampton who, prior to kickoff, had won 6 and lost only 1 (to United). Stevan Jovetic continues to prove himself as a great purchase, as does Antoine Griezmann who set up the first two Jovetic goals. Jovetic now has 8 goals in 7(1) appearances. Frightening form from him at the minute. He's currently the top Premier League goalscorer alongside Chelsea's Demba Ba.

Overall it has been a great September. We played well in most of our games and set ourselves up for a great run in Europe after a stunning display in Greece. With any luck we'll make it far in Europe. Barcelona beating Zenit in St. Petersburg gives us a great chance of progressing but it's still early days. The league couldn't be going better. I'm a bit disappointed to be out of the runing of the Capital One Cup so soon but at the same time it allows focus elsewhere, so I'm not too disheartened.

_____

Brilliant start to the league. Things are going more than great at the minute. I'm fairly sure that this will be a superb season

[james_wilko]

I've decided against Richards. He asked for 65k/week, and while that's not a huge amount that would've made him our top earner which I don't think he's worth.

However, we've agreed to sign a brilliant looking Dutch youngster called Bruno Martins Indi on a free at the end of the season.

Looks like he'll be great in a season or so. Hopefully anyway. Scouts rate him as a 4.5* potential which is brilliant when he's costing me the grand total of £0.

[tommonufc]

October [2013/14]

Atlético Madrid 0 - 2 Newcastle United Champions League Group Stage

One of the tougher, probably the toughest fixture in the group stages. Giroud scored one of the simplest goals he'll ever manage to open the scoring, Madrid's goalkeeper coming out to clear a ball over the top, he'd miss the ball allowing Giroud to score in an open net. Yanga-Mbiwa was played in a DM position in a 4-1-4-1 in this game, and instructed to mark Madrid's attacking focal point, and danger man, Falcao out of the game. He did this brilliantly, marking the Colombian out of the game and picking up a man of the match for his selfless performance, which included a fantastic goal. Ben Arfa would run down the right on the break, eventually pulling the ball back to the edge of the area for Yanga-Mbiwa to run onto double the lead to 2-0 and crown a brilliant individual and team performance.

Newcastle United 1 - 1 Aston Villa Premier League

Everything was going so fantastically up until the 7th minute. Adam Lallana scored in the 4th minute, and it looked set from then that goals would keep coming. That was only until 3mins later when Steven Taylor would be shown a straight red. Team shape had to be shifted around, and that allowed Aston Villa to gain a much stronger foothold in the game. In the end fortunate and grateful to come away with a point.

Norwich City 1 - 3 Newcastle United

Back on track in the league after fulfilling a full 90mins with eleven men on the pitch throughout. El Shaarawy scored in the second minute as the side came out flying from the start. After that Norwich proved many a match, with their system that mirrors Manchester City's forcing me on the back foot. That led to make a couple of changes to help assert my control back into the game. Both full backs would be marked high up the pitch by the wingers, and Sissoko would drop on to Stuart Holden in the midfield position. This stopped them playing out as easily, and getting their full backs high - effectively cutting out any width they had. Coloccini and Giroud would score goals to make it two and three, before Norwich scored to finish the game 3-1.

Porto 1 - 0 Newcastle United Champions League Group Stage

A similar approach was taken that proved so successful in the last game against Madrid. This time it wasn't so successful, and nothing really happened for the side. Fortunately Porto weren't at the races either, but they had a bit of luck on their side as they scored from a corner in the final minutes of the game. This meant after the first half of the Group Stages, I was tied on points with the other two sides I'd eyed up as contenders for the top spot. Main advantage is that I've played both of these sides, At. Madrid and Porto away from home - so two wins from the next three games will see me go through, possibly even a win and a draw.

Manchester City 2 - 2 Newcastle United

Tactially set-up as a 4-4-2, allowing me to press City high up the field and stop them at source. Worked very, very well. City's two goals came from set-pieces, a Thomas Muller free-kick that Krul couldn't get to, and a Giroud own goal following a goal mouth scramble from a corner. The two stars of the show were Tim Krul, and Yassine Benzia. When ever playing City you need your goalkeeper to show their quality, and anything City's front line of Dzeko, Muller, Tevez and Aguero throw at him, he stopped. Benzia, making his first full start for the side, dovetailed brilliantly with his compatriot Oliver Giroud - eventually scoring right at the death to scrape a point from the game.

West Ham United 2 - 0 Newcastle United Carling Cup 5th Round

Used this game to give match time to a few players, which ultimately meant that too many players weren't fresh for the tie. Should have won the game inside the first half, chances weren't taken, but not really fussed dropping out of the League Cup, as more important competitions this year that I need to focus on.

Very pleased with the start of the season. Taking a lead of two points in front of Man City ahead of a nice run of fixtures, could see me stretch my lead at the top towards Christmas.

Player of the Month (October): Tim Krul

Torn between Krul and Yanga-Mbiwa. The latter had two man of the match performances in the Champions League away ties this month, but it was also Krul that excelled in those games. Ultimately his brilliance against Manchester City edged this decision. Jak Alnwick played in the Carling Cup tie, so you can see how fantastic Krul has been in October with his Last 5 game form of 8.08.

[Fulax]

Our first time in the big leagues. I couldn't have wished for a better start. As you can see, I played a relatively mixed side of first-teamers and back-ups, but it worked brilliantly. Abel Hernandez scored his first ever goals for me...it only took 16 games to find the net. But man oh man, did he do it in style? Griezmann's goal was a beauty, as well.

Took Hernandez a while to get going for me, too. He scored twice in his first 15 games, then his stats just exploded and he got almost 50 league goals in the following two seasons. Quite brilliant as DLF-attack with Cisse as poacher.

[tommonufc]

Sent Will Hughes out on loan, seems to revitilised Aston Villa. Stayed up on goal difference last season, now at the heady heights of 10th - and Hughes is in great form.

[nickbirdspain]

Alright folks, second season is wrapped up and what a season it turned out to be. Going into the season only two major additions were added. Carroll returned to Tyneside for £5m and Tom Ince arrived for £7m. Aim for the season was to do one better than last seasons second place finish. Tactics wise set up again with the very successful modern warfare 4-4-2 with Cisse and Carroll leading the line and i'm pleased to report they didn't disappoint.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/534/englishpremierdivisionov.png/

An incredible season saw finish ahead of the pack with a record points tally and saw the title come back to Tyneside for the first time since 1927. Hard to pick a star of the show but special mentions must go to Cisse and Carroll for leading the line and chipping in 46 goals between them.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/42/newcastleunitedsquadplaz.png/ - squad overview

In addition to the title, i also wanted to give the cups a good go. FA Cup we crashed and burned straight off against Spurs, however, the league cup we fared better getting all the way to the semi's losing over on aggregate over the two legs to City. This left us with the Champions League, we qualified easy enough for the knockout stages where we firstly easily passed Benfica before being drawn against Man Utd in the quarters. Over two legs we came out 4-2 wins on aggregate booking our place in the semi-s and Real Madrid. First leg in Spain, despite being battered we managed to leave Madrid 0-0. Back to SJP and a Cabaye pen and Shola tap in, saw us reach the final for the first time in history against Barca. Fresh of the back of the league success, i thought we might be in with a chance but 10mins into the game we were 1-0 to a Messi goal. Somehow we managed to get a foot hold on the game and just before the stroke of halftime Captain Colo equalised from the corner. Start of the second half and disaster struck when Mbiwa was sent off for two bookable offenses. Switched the team around with Cisse leading the attack on his own. On 71 minutes the unbelievable - Obertan flies down the wing and plays an inch perfect pass for Cabaye who slips it under Valdes.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/109/europeanchampionscupmat.png/

Short of it - we hold on 2-1 winners and Newcastle are the champions of Europe!! Spooky thing is on my FM12 save in the second season i won the league and then beat Barca in the European Champions League final. Hopefully, this is the start of something special. No ideas what i'm going to do with the squad but i think i'm looking to bring in a big name striker. Onwards and upwards.

[JD nawrat]

October [2013-14]

Newcastle 4-1 Zenit St. Petersburg [Champions League]

Next test in Europe. If we were to have any hope of coming through the groups and into the knockouts, we simply had to win this game. After 3 minutes my head was in my hands - we'd cocked it up big time. A quick penalty decision and 0-1 to Zenit made prospects look grim. My immediate reaction whenever we fall behind is to pile on pressure, play quick, sweeping passes, force the defence into panicky decisions and looks to slice them open. Within 10 minutes of the changes, Viktor Fischer had handed us the equalizer. The young Dane had fallen out of sorts recently because of Griezmann's impressive performances but this got him firmly back into my good books. I decided to continue with our system of searching for goals as this was, quite frankly, a must-win game. After we went up 3-1 - Gael Bigirimana bossing it - I reverted back to our usual style and comfortably saw the rest of the game out, also managing to add another before half-time.

Stoke 1-1 Newcastle

Shocking performance in the first half which saw Stoke dominate us and deservedly lead at the break. It stung even more to have Ryan Shawcross, the man I targeted, score their goal. We regrouped at half-time and came flying out of the blocks but couldn't find the back of the net. I had all but given up until McDonald Mariga headed the ball off of the bar and the rebound fell kindly to Yanga-Mbiwa's feet for him to slot it in. Desperate finish but we managed to get a deserved point, in my opinion.

Newcastle 1-0 Tottenham

Big game, this. If Spurs had won they would have moved top of the league ahead of us on goal difference. We hadn't beaten Spurs in two previous attempts - both games finishing 1-1. This game turned out to be perhaps the most even but most open game of the three so far. Both sides had plenty of chances, but the telling statistic was perhaps how few shots Spurs had on target. In the end Moussa came up to give us the winning goal and help us get our first defeat over Spurs. Lovely.

Newcastle 1-0 Barcelona [Champions League]

This was it. Barcelona. St. James' Park. What I had been waiting for. I tried to control the game against Barcelona but immediately realised this wasn't possible as we failed to register a single shot inside 15 minutes and, at the same time, had 23% possession. I decided it was wise to go to counter-attacking and hope for the best. A draw would be enough because it would mean only one win would be needed at home to Olympiacos to confirm progression (in theory). Things progressed and we stifled Barcelona beautifully, hit them on the counter well and eventually started to look like the more dangerous team. I brought on Anita from the bench for the disappointing Sissoko who was having rings passed around him. Anita came in with a slightly more defensive role, as we looked to hold on for a point. Anita then robbed Xavi beautifully and played through Abel Hernandez who rounded the goalkeeper and then backed on himself to square it for Anita to slot in rather selflessly. Beautiful goal. I immediately set up shop and we managed to get an amazing three points!

Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle

I played an unchanged side against Chelsea, who if they won would move top of the league. There was plenty of incentive to win the game and so I decided to play my full strength side despite them being knackered after facing Barcelona. Things got off to a bad (and rather dodgy) start as Chelsea were given a penalty. Pretty furious, I instructed the players to go in harder and this resulted in another penalty, even more ridiculous than the first. We failed to get back into the game unfortunately and suffered our first defeat and also dropped out of the top spot. I aggressively criticised the referees' decisions after the game and received this...

Overall October proved to be a mixed bag. Our Champions League campaign took priority and could perhaps be perceived as the reason behind our poor league form - playing Stoke away immediately after Zenit and then Chelsea away after hosting Barcelona - but I'm not so sure. I think my focus was built too much upon Europe and as such we suffered a bit domestically. However, fret not, we're sitll in a great position and it's still very early in the season to begin to worry about anything. Our hopes of progressing in Europe are all but confirmed now providing we don't choke at home to Olympiacos, something I will ensure doesn't happen. I'll also try to ensure that we don't lose by anything more than 2 goal margin to Zenit in order to go through on head-to-head, if that's even required. I think we can comfortably go to St. Petersburg and play for the victory. After what we managed in Greece, winning in Russia isn't out of the question.

_____

Done well to build early leads on both tables but unfortunately Chelsea lead the table. Still 29 games to change that

[tommonufc]

November [2013/14]

Newcastle United 1 - 0 Everton Premier League

This would be the start of five straight fixtures where I'd targeted enough points to be taken where by I could extend a healthy lead at the top of the league. Oliver Giroud scored the only goal to give us three vital points that where hard fought towards the end.

Newcastle United 1 - 1 FC Porto Champions League Group Stage

Steven Taylor gave us a well deserved lead inside the first 20mins, a lead that should have been extended before the break. In the second half Porto came to town, and looked a much better side. El Shaarawy fouled James Rodriguez with a typical forwards challenge. The Colombian would then see his penalty saved by Tim Krul, but he was able to stick his rebound in to equalise for Porto. A 1-1 draw not disastrous, although taking points of qualification challengers from the group would have been extremely advantageous.

Newcastle United 0 - 0 Fulham

Fulham robbed themselves a point here. A solid defensive performance stopped them in their tracks, but it would then be relied on the forwards to stick away the chances to get the win for the side.

West Ham United 0 - 3 Newcastle United Premier League

Fantastic display in the capital, El Shaarawy on top form, cutting in from the left side onto his right foot with both goals before coolly finishing. His two goals were met either side of a Fabricio Coloccini header, from an El Shaarawy free kick.

Bayer Leverkusen 0 - 4 Newcastle United Champions League Group Stage

After dropping points to Porto in the previous round even more importance was placed in recording another win against the German side. This game I would play with the standard open attacking approach used in the league, but lining up from a 5-4-1 shape. Plenty of chances were created, and Giroud would show his quality - scoring all four goals, but the final result could have been five, six or seven.

This win leaves the group finally balanced heading into the final round of fixtures. Atletico Madrid will visit St. James' Park, with only a win being enough to see them through. I'll undoubtedly be going for a win, but a result from Bayer Levekusen in their match against Porto will what I'll be hoping for, as the head-to-head record between us favors the Portugese in pursuit of 1st place in the group.

Newcastle United 3 - 0 Millwall Premier League

A confident performance, one that proved too much for newly promoted Millwall. Moussa Sissoko powered his way through the Millwall midfield, and then defence scoring a fantastic goal from a run just inside the Millwall half. A fantastic Ben Arfa performance, he would cut inside from the right and score a curling effort with his left foot to give the side a 2-0 lead going into half time, and then finish the scoring in the second half with a poachers effort at the back post following a Nathan Redmond cross.

November ends with the side in second place, but with a game in hand over the leaders Chelsea - so it would appear the defeat at Stamford Bridge in the second week of the season is already proving important. That game in hand comes against Stoke away - [insert 'never easy' cliche...]

November Players of the Month: Hatem Ben Arfa and Stephan El Shaarawy

Cant choose between the two wingers, statistically or otherwise. Both are having first class seasons! Somehow Ben Arfa cant get in a French starting XI - but El Shaarawy got his first goal for Italy this month, as he looks to be growing into one of the best wingers in the world.

[tommonufc]

@JDownie

Chelsea seem to have brought their A game in your save too! Us both losing to them as well. Our saves continue to mirror each other!

[JD nawrat]

@JDownie

Chelsea seem to have brought their A game in your save too! Us both losing to them as well. Our saves continue to mirror each other!

Indeed They seemed to burst into life - 6 wins in their last 6 now (7 in 7 actually, but as of the last update it was 6/6). Unbelievable

Also stop copying my save

[Suarez2]

Anyone else notice Krul to be a good penalty stopper? Liverpool only scored 1 out of the 5 in a pen shootout in the cup, and he has saved the last 3 pen's in league and cup, the latest being a stop at 0-0 in the league cup final vs Brighton which I just won 1-0 thanks to Cissé, I will post a season review once i've finished but so far am looking very good for a 1st seaosn, currently 2nd 4 points behind Arsenal, Cmon Toon!

[tommonufc]

Anyone else notice Krul to be a good penalty stopper? Liverpool only scored 1 out of the 5 in a pen shootout in the cup, and he has saved the last 3 pen's in league and cup, the latest being a stop at 0-0 in the league cup final vs Brighton which I just won 1-0 thanks to Cissé, I will post a season review once i've finished but so far am looking very good for a 1st seaosn, currently 2nd 4 points behind Arsenal, Cmon Toon!

Yep! Those high reflexes - fantastic at the old penalty saves. Usually concede to the fact of losing a goal when I give away a penalty, but whenever Krul's in goal I'm slightly more confident.

[tommonufc]

December [2013/14]

Blackpool 1 - 3 Newcastle United Premier League

This was the final of the five games where I targeted points to be acquired - following Everton, West Ham, Fulham and Millwall; ahead of a more sterner test of Arsenal. Newly promoted Blackpool couldn't provide a match for a side that saw a couple of key players rested ahead of the mid-week Champions League game. Giroud would put the side ahead inside 3mins, forcing Craig Cathcart to register an own goal; and he'd make no doubt of who would be the scorer when he doubled the lead around the 20 minute mark. Coloccini completed the scoring as Blackpool rallied to get something from the game towards the end.

Newcastle United 4 - 0 Premier League

Steven Taylor gave us a well deserved lead inside the first 20mins, a lead that should have been extended before the break. In the second half Porto came to town, and looked a much better side. El Shaarawy fouled James Rodriguez with a typical forwards challenge. The Colombian would then see his penalty saved by Tim Krul, but he was able to stick his rebound in to equalise for Porto. A 1-1 draw not disastrous, although taking points of qualification challengers from the group would have been extremely advantageous.

Newcastle United 4 - 0 Atlético Madrid Champions League Group Stage

A draw or a win would see me through, but the the placing would be dependent upon Porto's result in Leverkusen. This was one of the best performances I've seen my side play - everything was on song and was a joy to behold. Pace in attack everywhere, wingers cutting inside from both flanks with speed and incision, and full backs overlapping to provide crosses. Madrid were pressed and forced out of the game, and their danger man Falcao couldn't get a touch. Yanga-Mbiwa wasn't needed to stop Falcao, as the whole team did by defending high and forcing the Spaniard's to concede possession.

Bayer Leverkusen managed to pick up their only points in the group, beating Porto 4-1 at the Bay Arena. This was the result I needed, allowing me to finish top of the group, and gain the more favorable draw in the first knockout round. A favorable draw indeed, and an exciting one too. A British derby on the cards for, seeing me travel to Celtic Park to face the runaway leaders of the SPL.

Newcastle United 1 - 0 Arsenal Premier League

A tougher level of competition than previously faced in the league in the recent month. A great defensive display allowed me to counter attack to great effect and pick off Arsenal and quickly outnumber them in attack. Sissoko would score the only goal of the game in the first half, ghosting past Mertersaker to receive a through ball to allow him to strike past Szechney. Tiote got himself a second yellow card to threaten to throw a spanner in the works, but after changing a few things tactically I managed to prevail with a well fought 1-0 victory.

Stoke City 0 - 1 Newcastle United Premier League

This was my game in hand over the sides at the top. Chelsea had dropped points, with Liverpool taking the temporary position at the top of the table. A must win game for me, and was eventually won through 'super-sub' Viktor Fischer in the 91st minute of the game.

Newcastle United 4 - 0 Ipswich Town Premier League

The bread and butter sort of game for any side wanting to finish top come May. It was exactly that, and the Tractor Boys were put to the sword fantastic fast paced attacking football. Sissoko would get himself a hat-trick, thriving in his new role, breaking from a deeper position of CM, rather than the second-striker role he'd played last season.

West Bromwich Albion 0 - 2 Newcastle United Premier League

Maddening fixture scheduling saw me play this game on a Sunday, just two days ahead of a 1st vs. 2nd game away to Liverpool on the Tuesday. This meant players influential players were rested where they could be. The two players that would eventually be brought off to be rested at half-time, Ben Arfa and El Shaarawy, scored symmetrically identical goals to each other. Both drifting off the flanks into the penalty area, receiving the ball on the favored feet and placing the ball in the far post.

Liverpool 0 - 0 Newcastle United Premier League

I could afford a slip up here to the second placed Liverpool, and still reside top of the table due to the lead I'd created. That allowed me to play much more open and attacking away from home to a side of this strength. A pretty poor game from both sides, I had the better of the chances, and Liverpool were defended against pretty easily - with the center back pairing of Coloccini seemingly playing with his pipe and slippers on against their lone front man Andy Carroll.

A draw in the end, so two points dropped, but allowed me to maintain an eight point lead going into the New Year. First half of the season passed with flying colors, the only scar to the standings being the defeat in August to Chelsea.

December Player of the Month: Moussa Sissoko

He's magic you know, you're never get passed Sissoko.

[video=youtube;R4AIMsYjZh8]

Fantastic month for Moussa. Have shifted the team shape from 4-4-1-1 to 4-1-4-1, so Sissoko now plays as an attacking midfielder from the cm position rather than the am position. Was originally done to get better defensive shape as often the AM and ST would stand together and not do any closing down. Since moving to this deeper position he gets on the ball more, gets forward more effectively and is a general beast! On for 20 goals this season I think. At least I hope so, will allow me to sing that catchy song every-time he scores!

[jlawlor91]

I appreciate reading peoples games, but does anyone agree every result typed and a paragraph on each is a little too much?

[nickbirdspain]

Not really - people are interested in how the various saves are progressing. I quite like the ongoing duel between JD and Tom.

[Suarez2]

Just beat Spurs 2-1 with a Papiss Cissé double in the FA cup semi-final, into the final I go! either City or Wolves.. think i know who i'll be faceing..

[tommonufc]

January [2013/14]

January Transfer Window

Given the opportunity to boost the transfer coffers - took that opportunity, although I didn't intend to splash the cash. Wayne Rooney was on the transfer list, available for £35M - think his stats have taken a hit as he's just recovering from broken leg. Could have probably agreed a deal on that fee for him, but just didn't see him being worth it. Didn't look to be the same player, and would have cost far too much. Instead I paid out on a long term target, James Ward Prowse, from Southampton. Had previously been quoted up to £30M for the player, but eventually settled on an upfront payment of £12.5M. Alex Song came in on loan to strengthen the defensive midfield area, a move that was used last year to great effect with Blaise Matuidi.

James-Ward Prowse; £12.5M (Southampton)

Alex Song; End of Season Loan (Barcelona)

Mason Bennett; £5M (Derby County)

Carl Keehan; £500K Comp. (Brighton)

Jordy Clasie; End of contract (Feyenoord)

Emanuele Giaccherini; £7.5M to Everton

Manchester United 0 - 1 Newcastle United Premier League

Last kick of the game Sissoko goal sealed a massive three points. Not a brilliant performance at Old Trafford, but fantastic way to win a game.

Carlisle United 1 - 2 Newcastle United FA Cup 3rd Round

Not a vintage display, played plenty of the kids. Lacking of fit right back options short of playing a tired Anita, meant I handed a debut to Alex Nicholson. Not sure he'll cut it at the club long term, but did okay against Carlisle!

Sunderland 1 - 1 Newcastle United Premier League

Somehow managed not to score, and should have won the game by 3, or 4-0. Ben Arfa won a penalty late into the game, and as Captain Cabaye stepped up I thought I'd snatched a winner. That was until, for the second season running, Steven Flecther equalised to snatch a draw for Sunderland.

Newcastle United 2 - 2 Chelsea Premier League

Another top of the table clash as the chasing pack tussle between positions between them. Happy with the draw in the end, positives were some great attacking play that should have seen a lot more goals scored. In the end the quality of Chelsea allowed them to get a draw, where a lesser team would have been unable to take anyting from this sort of game. The draw meant it stayed the same at the top going into February. Points dropped in the final minutes in Sunderland meant the gap was closed to just 3 points.

Norwich City 0 - 3 Moussa Sissoko FA Cup 4th Round

Sissoko hat-trick. He's magic you know...

December Player of the Month:

Moussa Sissoko...again!

Second month in a row. Having a fantastic season, last minute winner at Old Trafford this month, goal against Chelsea, and hat-trick against Norwich. All from central midfield.

Special mention therefore to Fabricio Coloccini. Having storming season

[JD nawrat]

Fairly flying through the season there Tommo, well done on what's shaping up to be a good season

I'm still stuck back at November. Haven't had the motivation to load up. Think I might do now, will be playing all day until around 4am so I could knock a lot out of the park (could even catch you up Tommo haha)

e: I dunno if people bother reading all of my posts but I read all of Tommo's. Since we have had such similar saves, it's interesting to see how he's progressing in comparison to me. Despite our similarities, we play quite different systems and we're slowly getting to the point where our teams are very different (I have no Cabaye or Tiote, soon won't have Coloccini, different strikers etc).