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

[Tellos]

A 7.5 for a keeper that conceded 5 including an own goal is quite impressive. Good fun game though for the fans

[shoonaldo]

Not just for them. I was expecting quite a heavy loss so it was a pleasant surprise

[tommonufc]

International Friendly against the French - Toon have taken over! No Luke Shaw, he's injured, he'd be my starting left back over Baines - and Samuel Umtiti is injured, he's usually first choice at centre back for France. Moussa Sissoko, and Ben Arfa injured as well.

[Cesc_cil]

Just been sacked as psg boss, same happened in the save before this with arsenal. so decided to try a nufc save, as the thread is quite active i wondered if anyone would help me out with tactics, i like 4231 or 41221, i like to have a core of english players, but if anyone has suggestion on who is a defiant buy that would be welcome.

I am rapidly losing patience with FM13, Can a newcastle game stop me deleting it?

JUst loading up, no starting budgets, medium data, 8 european leagues loaded.

[Tellos]

@Cesc_cil - With the starting squad I had success with an asymmetric 4-1-2-2-1 that looked something like

GK - Krul (GK)

DR - Debuchy (WB/A)

DC - MYM/Taylor (standard)

DC - Colo (standard)

DL - Santon (FB/auto)

DMRC - Tiote (A/D)

MLC - Cabaye (DP/S)

ML - Jonas (DW/S)

AMR - HBA (IF/A)

AMC - Sissoko (AM/S)

ST - Cisse/Gouffran (P/A)

This means most attacks are going down the right, and Tiote or Anita drops into the gap left by HBA and Debuchy, with Cabaye pulling the strings in the middle. I usually run on Rigid with Attacking, and If I've manged to get the lead or am away at a big club (City, Utd, Chelsea, Spurs) I'll switch to counter.

A core of english players would need to be purchased as most of the ones here (S.Taylor and Campbell + Other youth excluded) aren't really of the quality needed to be challenging for top honours. They're useful, but there are better options out there.

[Cesc_cil]

thanks for the advice tellos

[tommonufc]

Just been sacked as psg boss, same happened in the save before this with arsenal. so decided to try a nufc save, as the thread is quite active i wondered if anyone would help me out with tactics, i like 4231 or 41221, i like to have a core of english players, but if anyone has suggestion on who is a defiant buy that would be welcome.

I am rapidly losing patience with FM13, Can a newcastle game stop me deleting it?

JUst loading up, no starting budgets, medium data, 8 european leagues loaded.

Think tactically your need to start reading, and looking for some advice in the Tactics threads - hopefully that will help you no end in your frustrations with the game. You can ask for advice in here, feel free, but the best thing to do is start to understand the workings of the game yourself, so anything that is advised is easily understandable, and you can start to question or critique advice

Regarding your approach, heading down an English route - I brought Nathan Redmond, and Luke Shaw in the first window. Luke Shaw may seem a bit expensive, but will turn into a world class left back, so worth paying that sort of money if your even thinking of having a core of English players. Nathan Redmond too, he can be brought much cheaper, and again turn into a top winger.

Viktor Fischer, not English, but equally worth bringing in within the first transfer window - he'll turn into a world-class player.

Any over of the best English talents I also picked up on my way through the first three or four seasons, not worrying what it would really cost. For example paying £17M for Nat Chalobah. Any of these sort of players you should be keeping a look out for - Chalobah, McEachran, James Ward-Prowse, Luke Shaw, Will Hughes, Mason Bennett, Nathan Redmond

Starting from the players you have, you've got enough quality to be placing in the top four in the first season easy enough (Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Tiote, Debuchy, Anita, Santon, Coloccini, Santon, Krul, Taylor, Yanga-Mbiwa) Those are the players you want to keep hold of over the first three or four seasons. They'll give you a great base of a squad, where you can improve on buy bringing in a new first choice winger, and improve on the back-up selections by getting in your players that will develop into your world class players - Shaw, Fischer, Redmond etc.

Of course, your need to get some funds in if you want to make transfers in the first window - Gutierrez can be sold for quite a lot, start offering him out at £20M until you get offers, going down to £15M, and you should be able to sell for that sort of money. That's the best approach to use, offer out players at high amounts, and work down. Williamson, Raylor, Marveux, Jonas, Simpson are all expendable. I would move on Simpson first window, as his contract runs out at the end of the year, and isn't worth you renewing it - so can get £4/5M for him.

To make the best use of the money your bringing in through selling those expendable players, structure your incoming transfers over 48 months - that allowed me to bring in Luke Shaw, who would ordinary eat up your budget. But that's the approach that is used in real life transfers dealings, so don't feel like your cheating at all.

[-rudi-]

Finished 3rd in my first season and how much transfer budget do I get for playing in CL? £5m.

WHERE'S MY MONEY?!

[shoonaldo]

Update End of season 5

We managed to finish 4th this season after a difficult start seeing us lose 6 matches until the end of the year. After that we only lost 1 more match and slowly caught up to the leading pack with a goalless draw against Tottenham ending our (realistic) title hopes. We did however end up with the best defence in the league.

The domestic cups weren't too special with the youngsters reaching the 4th round of the C1C and the 6th roung of the FA Cup.

The Champions League however was a very different story. After finishing second behind PSG in our group and a rather lucky away goal win after extra time against Juventus who are dominating italian football we really got going and quite easily beat Inter and CSKA. Then in the final we came up against Bayern who had been strengthened quite nicely by Pep. They now had Falcao, Insigne, Thiago, Danilo and a few decent newgens. With this in mind I decided to use our pace and hit them on the counter attack. It wasn't easy to watch but in the end two of our three shots on target went in to give us our first piece of silverware during my reign.

stats

Sissoko did really well this season, getting into double figures for both goals and assists. But really there wasn't anybody that didn't do well. Even Tiote with his relatively low average rating did his job very well, breaking up every opposition attack close to him.

[Cesc_cil]

Thanks tommonufc. I 4t Bennett had a downgrade in the last patch, my scouts gave him a potential 3 star rating. How are the likes of Shawcross and Caulker?

Disappointing Cabaye has handed in a transfer request siting a new challenge and bigger club, he will not be leaving for less than £30m however.

[Welshace]

Tell me you didn't use 4t as an abbreviation of 'thought'?

[Cesc_cil]

Tell me you didn't use 4t as an abbreviation of 'thought'?

Sorry my bad, i'm lazy

[james_wilko]

Just sold Anita for 30million at the end of the second season. He was primarily Cabaye's back up in the first season but Bigi's great improvement means he got less and less game time as the season progressed. I still wasn't planning to sell him 'cause he's so versatile, but who would turn down 30mil?

Campbell's development as the Ginger Aguero is going well, tutoring off Eduardo for the second half of the second season has saw his stats rocket up. He also became the main man after January when I sold Cisse who wasn't performing, and he definitely lived up to my expectations. 47 games, 26 goals and 11 assists. He even scored the goal which won us the Champions League. He was the 5th highest goal scorer in the league with 18, not bad when he wasn't first choice all season as well as 7th highest for assists. Highly recommend training him to be an all rounder, he's definitely capable.

Season as a whole was outstanding. Winners of the Champions League, Premier League and European Super Cup. Only lost twice in the league, winning 29 games and drawing 7.

The expected players were brilliant, Cabaye, Sissoko and HBA were dominant in midfield and all three were rewarded a big fat pay rise at the end of the season.

[Tellos]

@Cesc_cil - Haven't tried Shawcross, but on the last patch I got Caulker on loan 1st season to Newcastle (or rather my DoF did) and he played well. Managed to buy him 2nd season even though he didn't really want to move and he continued to be pretty good. Couldn't tell you about the new patch though.

I guess I'm quite lucky with tactics, haven't actually read anything about the match engine or FM13 tactics on here, just going with common sense and adapting my tactics from the last 3 years. I just follow the rules of always have 3 different tactics set up and ready, be prepared to switch if needed, don't be scared to switch player rules (e.g. Poacher to Advanced Forward), and make sure you can adapt to a tactic mid game using the players on your bench. If you try to switch to a formation with an AMC, without an AMC in the 18 somewhere, you are immediately at a disadvantage.

One thing I can't seem to master is half time team talks when 2+ goals up. Always seem to let in goals and do crap in the second half if I tell them I am happy or make everyone angry when I suggest that they shouldn't become complacent (and still let in goals).

Right ho, onto my little update.

-----

2013-14

October

Europa League Group Stage

Newcastle 3-2 PSV

I decided that PSV were the main threat in the group (with the final team being Hannover), and that I needed at least 4 points off them to win the group. Thinking this, I put out the strongest side I could. It took us until the half hour to get the opener, with HBA hitting them on the counter. Cabaye was the only player ahead of him, and when the pass came through he finished well, straight between the keepers legs. Jonas scored a second just before half time, turning in a rebound from a Cisse shot. Toivonen pulled one back from a corner midway through the second half. Cisse was brought down in the box by Willems a few minutes later, but HBA saw his spot kick saved, despite it heading for the top left corner. We kept the pressure up, and eventually Sissoko slid home a third for us, again the keeper letting it through his legs. Narsingh pulled it back to 3-2 on the counter, outpacing Colo to fire past Ospina.

Premier League

Southampton 1-2 Newcastle

I switched to 3 in midfield after seeing Southampton had been playing well, and it paid off, with Sissoko finding Cabaye in the box after a forward run to round the keeper and score an easy finish. Cabaye seemed to be on the end of every rough challenge from the Saints, with him eventually coming off injured after 25 minutes. Cisse rifled in a 2nd from the edge of the area 10 minutes after half time. Cisse knocked over his man defending a free kick in the box and a penalty was awarded, which Albaek put into the top corner. Krul guessed the right way, but couldn't stop it thanks to the pace on it.

Premier League

Reading 0-2 Newcastle

With Krul out for a month and Cabaye out for 3, Ospina and Bigi came in. The opener came after less than 3 minutes, with Cisse turning in Fischer's cross. Fischer set up the second as well, Laying the ball off just outside the D for Sissoko to run onto and curl into the corner. Both sides had chances in the second half, but both sets of strikers were wasteful, particularly Cisse who missed an open goal twice.

Europa League Group Stage

Hannover 0-2 Newcastle

With Krul out injured, the last thing I wanted the day before the game was to see that Ospina had injured his hand in traing and would be unavailable. With Bardi not in the Europa League squad, and Alnwick out on loan, Aidan Grant was called upon to start in goal. I gave him as much cover as I could, with a first choice back 4 and Tiote holding in front of them, with Jonas coming in for Fischer, who probably would have started had I trusted my keeper. The job was made easier with Hannover being reduced to 10 men after 23 minutes. It was added time in the first half before we made any headway, with Gouffran teeing up Hughes for his first goal in Newcastle colours. We had a couple of nervy moments throughout the second half, but there was mass relief when Cisse tapped in Debuchy's cross in added time to secure the win.

Premier League

Newcastle 2-1 Swansea

With Ospina still not fit, I chose to give Bardi his debut in goal, moving Aidan Grant to the bench. While he was good enough in midweek, I felt he was still some way off being capable to play in the Premier League. Gouffran picked up a knock against Hannover so Campbell came in to partner Cisse. Sissoko gave us the lead early on, getting into the box to follow up a Cisse effort. A second goal was a long time in coming, but eventually it did. Williams dallied on the ball too long in his own box, allowing Anita to slide in and take it from him. The ball bobbled into Cisse's path, and after messing up multiple times already today he buried it in the back of the net. Moore pulled one back from a corner, but we held on to the win. My choice of keeper was justified, with Bardi making a string of great saves to deny Swansea's strike force and also into the team of the week.

Capital One Cup 4th Round

Reading 1-2 Newcastle

It took us 40 minutes to muster any form of decent attack, with HBA cutting inside and finding Fischer on the edge of the area. He shot, and manged to hit both posts with the shot before seeing it eventually cross the line. That was to be Fischer's last act of the evening, as he was taken off injured at half time, replaced by Redmond. Guidetti made it 2-0 shortly after the break, latching onto a pass from Hughes before finishing well. Jem Karacan pulled one back on the hour with a superb volley from 30 yards that hit the angle and went in. Not the easiest of rides, but Will Hughes got himself man of the match so thats a promising sign.

November

Premier League

Newcastle 3-0 Sunderland

My first home derby, and I returned Ospina to goal. Hughes stayed in the center, with Sissoko saved for the visit of Hannover on Thursday. Campbell started up front with Cisse as I put out an attacking side, to hopefully bring out a crushing victory, or at least an open fun game for the fans. By the end of the first half the latter looked more likely, with Sunderland having a goal chalked off for offside before Colo headed us into the lead from a HBA corner. Within minutes Jonas had added a second, running onto Campbell's layoff to smash past Mignolet. Anita made it 3 soon after the hour, firing in a low shot after Vuckic had seen his effort rebound off a defender. Unfortunately we couldn't add to this, despite hitting the bar 3 times from free kicks in the second half.

Europa League Group Stage

Newcastle 4-2 Hannover

After saving Sissoko for this game I realised that Chelsea away was the next fixture, so Hughes was allowed to continue. Gouffran returned up front after injury, and Guidetti joined him. Gouffran marked his return to the team with a lovely headed goal that he flicked over the keeper 10 minutes in. Jonas repeated his trick from the Sunderland of hitting them while they're down, again scoring within 100 seconds of the first goal going in. Hughes continued his good run of form, getting on to Guidetti's lay off to slide under a despairing Zieler. Things got worse for Hannover when Stindl was give a straight red for a handball in the center circle. Redmond had the game wrapped up before half time, again receiving a pass from Guidetti on the counter to fire in. Jonas must have felt bad for Hannover, as just after half time he passed back to Ospina, despite their being 3 Hannover players being between them. Diouf intercepted, and rounded Ospina easily. Somehow Diouf managed to head in a second within a couple of minutes of his first, and we really had a game on again. After that I switched to my "Oh crap they're fighing back" tactic, and it worked, as nobody had any chances for the rest of the game. PSV only managed a 4-4 draw with the Austrians with the long name, leaving my 5 points clear at the top after 4 games, qualifiying with 2 games to spare.

Premier League

Chelsea 2-3 Newcastle

If I could beat Chelsea then I would go 7 points clear of them at the top of the league, so the incentive was there. Chelsea took control of the match for the first hour, not really letting us in and getting goals from Mata and Adrian. Fischer came on after 65 minutes in and things changed. Jonas pulled one back, then Fischer scored twice late on to give us the win I wanted.

Premier League

Man Utd 1-2 Newcastle

We spent the first 50 minutes under constant pressure, but we hit them on the counter, with Gouffran heading in after his original header was batted back at him. Ashley Young, who had been a thorn in our side all night eventually leveled. Despite having to make two subs for injuries, the one sub I made that I wanted to in bringing on Cisse worked, with Gouffran lofting it into his path before giving de Gea no chance. Unusually, we ended up with only 40% posession, but I was much happier to have the 3 points. What I wasn't happy about was Santon tearing his groin and putting himself out for 2 months.

Premier League

Newcastle 3-2 Everton

Coming quickly after the Man Utd game I had to make some changes, so Campbell made another appearance despite not getting any goals yet this season. Will Hughes got the scoring underway midway through the first half, turning inside the penalty area and scoring at the near post. Hughes turned provider for the second, lobbing the ball into the area for Cisse to round Howard and slide into the empty net. Cisse struck again on the hour in similar fashion, this time Redmond playing him in. Ross Barkley pulled one back, getting his head onto Mirallas' cross. Our defense then fell apart, letting Osman through to score easily.

Premier League

Newcastle 1-1 Tottenham

The 3rd game this week, 8 changes were made from the last game. After some end to end stuff to start the game, Gouffran gave us the lead 19 minutes in. Lennon equilized after a shot from Dembele was parried out by Krul right into his path. That was how the match finished, as despite dominating, we couldn't find a way past Lloris or the extremely defensive Spurs team. That point moved them into 2nd, and now we had to prepare to play them in a few days time in the league cup.

The League

[Tellos]

Campbell's first hat trick Made even sweeter thanks to the goals being scored past ex Sunderland keeper Jurgen Macho. His first goals of the season as well.

[Tellos]

Things really seem to be going for me today -

Goal 1 - 15 Seconds - Williams

Goal 2 - 97 Seconds - Jonas

Goal 3 - 3 mins 31 seconds - Cisse

There could be more, still got 86 minutes to play.

edit:

Slightly disappointed - Only managed 7 in the end

[tommonufc]

Thanks tommonufc. I 4t Bennett had a downgrade in the last patch, my scouts gave him a potential 3 star rating. How are the likes of Shawcross and Caulker?

Disappointing Cabaye has handed in a transfer request siting a new challenge and bigger club, he will not be leaving for less than £30m however.

Managed Caulker for two seasons in a Spurs save, would highly reccomend him

Shawcross, mehh, good defender, but not worth the sizeable fee needed when you have Steven Taylor. Taylor will perform to the same levels, and is fundamentally equally as good.

Caulker is more cultured, better on the ball, where as Shawcross is your classic center half - which is ostensibly what Taylor can do, and what your get from Streete in the near future.

The only name I'd recomend fully would be Samuel Umtiti - has turned out to be the best defender I've managed in ages. Brilliant on the ball, great defender, have trained him to play DM and CM now.

[tommonufc]

Things really seem to be going for me today -

Goal 1 - 15 Seconds - Williams

Goal 2 - 97 Seconds - Jonas

Goal 3 - 3 mins 31 seconds - Cisse

There could be more, still got 86 minutes to play.

edit:

Slightly disappointed - Only managed 7 in the end

I'll see your 7-0, and raise you 4! 11-0

[Cesc_cil]

tommonufc if only you posted that 10 mins before, panic buy on shawcross done.

However think i have my tactics sorted know, on a 8 game unbeaten run which has seen me go from 15th to 8th and only 2 points off 7th placed liverpool, and completed the double over Sunderland with an agg score of 7 -1.

[Tellos]

tommonufc - 7 is my best margin for quite some time, 11 is just greedy Somehow my defense has worked itself out without me doing anything too it, now not letting in as many as it used to which is probably more promising than my attackers scoring goals.

Cesc_cil - wins over Sunderland are always appreciated It should be easy enough to shift Shawcross for a profit in 18 months or so if you find that you want Caulker or someone else pops up.

bah, just as Cabaye comes back from injury Tiote gets himself put out for a month.

[Tellos]

Just hit 1.1.14 and my DoF has had a 10.5m bid for Destro accepted. Is he worth it? Just a damn shame he didn't bother to look when he was listed by request, was only 7.25m then.

[tommonufc]

yes! Yes! YES!

Strike a deal to move Cisse on - should be able to get around the £22M figure for him. Destro will turn into a brilliant player, as will Campbell.

Broken ankle at the moment, but is the complete striker. Have taken to pairing him up front with Campbell in a 442 for most of my games now, and the pairing is highly destructive.

[jlawlor91]

Sitting in 5th place at Xmas in the 2nd season and my 1st full season. I said about it before but a lack of players being available / good enough / value for money is making it hard to enjoy this save.

My side currently (4-2-3-1):

Krul / Enyeama (Loan)

Debuchy, Colo, Yanga-Mbiwa, Santon / Haidara, S.Taylor, Martins Indi

Cabaye, Anita / Wanyama, Malanda

Ben Arfa / Aubameyang

Lacazette / de Bruyne (Loan)

Sissoko / Knockaert

Cisse/ Kweuke / Campbell

- Selling Aubameyang and Kweuke as they haven't cut it compared to Gutierrez last season

- Need 2 x ST, a LW and a RB for cover

Gameiro is on the transfer list, but at £11m! Not a lot out there that looks good enough to be honest, especially for the 2nd season! Any ideas? I previously had some answers but those targets were too much. I spent £17m on Lacazette for christ sake because the transfer list is SHOCKING!

[tommonufc]

Those players are more than good enough to succeed with. It will be down to your set-up of them.

You certainly don't need two strikers, neither a left winger.

[jlawlor91]

Those players are more than good enough to succeed with. It will be down to your set-up of them.

You certainly don't need two strikers, neither a left winger.

I'm not fully convinced with Kweuke, and I only bought him because of a lack of options. As for Aubameyang he was another panic buy who didn't have a great season for St Ettienne.

If I get a LW I'll move Lacazette back up front and rely on Campbell more often. James Rodriguez has just gone on the transfer list so I'm praying I can get him; up against Man City though. Any strikers you can recommend?

Edit: Got £26m in January, my objective is only for finishing in the top half! Sold Aubameyang, kept Kweuke and signed Rodriguez and Peruzzi in the end

S.Taylor was awesome in my 13.0 save but on 13.3 he got injured and his stats have decreased tons. Dilemma at the end of the season whether to get rid of him and Colo.

[Tellos]

tommonufc - Will accept him. the DoF organised a 42k/week deal, moving to 59k/week after 1 international for him and that was where I saved last night. Will move Cisse at the end of the season, he's on fire at the minute, just less than a goal a game IIRC, and Gouffran is almost as good.

Lawly Boi - I hope the new signings do the job for you, I'd probably have moved Aubamayeng up front and signed Redmond. As for Steve Taylor, apart from saying that he thought he had achieved everything at the club at the beginning of the season (2nd) he has been a model pro since, putting in a good shift whenever asked. He's also not had any injuries, so I wouldn't know how his stats decrease from them. I'd say keep as long as he isn't unhappy as he is a HG in Toon player and they are important. As for right back cover, you could bring in new cover for Tiote and move Anita there?

Referring to the Transfer List - I've not found it too bad, if a club wants to sell a player, they put them for lower than their value. If its a player who is on by demand, usually the club doesnt want to sell so they stick the value up a bit. Which is exactly what I'd do in their shoes.

[Newcastle United FC]

It's starting to work for me now. Startet a new game with Newcastle playing a flat 4-4-2. As always i buy and sell a lot during the first couple of seasons.

This is my team the start of the first season:

GK Krul/Elliot

DR Debuchy/Santon

DC Dede/Yanga-Mbiwa/Tomkins

DC Subotic/Albiol/Okore

DL Shaw/Haidara

RM Belhanda/Redmond

CM Mkhitaryan/Sissoko/Diame

CM Nainggolan/Anita/Bigirimana

LM Lamela/Ayew

SC L.De Jong/A.Hernandez/Cornelius

SC Jovetic/Fischer/Campbell

I've sold players for £148m.

[Tellos]

2013-14

December

Capital One Cup Quarter Final

Newcastle 4-1 Tottenham

We played Spurs on Friday, had the weekend off, then played them again on the Monday. We won a penalty early on when Naughton brought down Cisse. HBA, whose spot kick record is a bit shakey, stepped up, sending Lloris the wrong way to give us the lead. Spurs had a corner before the half hour but it was easily cleared, allowing Gouffran to play in HBA to score his second, this time from the edge of the area. Spurs tried to get back into it, but that allowed Jonas to lob the ball over the defence to Debuchy who drilled the ball under Lloris for 3-0. HBA took a knock before half time so Redmond replaced him at the break. Spurs changed things around at the break as well to give themselves more attacking threat, but it was Redmond who made the difference, a cute ball into the box finding Gouffran, who finished in exactly the same way as Debuchy. Gouffran soon had the ball in the net again but was ruled offside. Dempsey pulled one back with 10 minutes to play, rounding Debuchy who couldn't touch him in the box thanks to being on a yellow already and then around Ospina to tap into the empty net.

Europa League Group Stage

Newcastle 5-0 FC Admira Wacker Modling

Almost complete change after playing Spurs on the Monday, only Ospina and Haidara stayed. HBA was put out for 3 weeks, joining Santon and Cabaye on the treatment table so more juggling would have to be done. We were already qualified so while the result didn't matter, prize money is always nice to aim for, Fischer forced the opening goal within seconds of kick off, beating and rounding ex-Sunderland keeper Jurgen Macho at the edge of his box on the byline, crossing past him for Campbell to poke home his first goal of the season into an empty net. Guidetti and Campbell paired up well for second goal, playing the ball off each other until they reached the edge of the area, when Guidetti smashed the ball past the keeper into the center of the net. Campbell seemed to be having a great time, and this showed as he volleyed in Clyne's cross in added time at the end of the first half for his second of the game. The only negative in the first half was Haidara getting booked, as he would now miss the next game. Campbell completed his hat trick 10 minutes after half time. Fischer crossed the ball from deep, Guidetti nodded it down and Campbell slammed it first time past Macho on the turn. Guidetti was at the center of the next goal as well, receiving a ball in the box, gathering defenders too him, sending a back heel across the area to the onrushing Will Hughes to slam yet again past the hapless Macho.

Premier League

Cardiff 0-3 Newcastle

The 6th game of the past 2 weeks, more changes were made, but after the hat trick Campbell stayed, keeping Gouffran out of the team. The last few games caught up with us, as we didn't make a break through in the first half, with Sissoko being hauled off injured. Campbell didn't disappoint, giving us the lead after Cisse played him in. Cisse made it 2-0 when he headed in Bigi's free kick. Colo headed in Bigi's corner to seal the win.

Premier League

Aston Villa 1-3 Newcastle

After rare week off, I named mostly the same team, with only Sissoko being replaced due to his injury. Cisse gave us the lead after Haidara's shot came back off the post. A second quickly followed, with Anita turning home Debuchy's cross. Delph pulled one back with a long shot that passed through a lot of bodies on it's way through and past Krul. Villa went hunting an equilizer, but with 10 minutes to play we hit them on the counter, Campbell lobbing the ball over the defence for Jonas to run onto. He then rounded the keeper and smashed the ball into the top of the net.

Europa League Group Stage

PSV 2-2 Newcastle

We were guarenteed top spot, so this was just for bragging rights. Clyne came in for the suspended Haidara. We took the lead quickly, Redmond heading in a freekick from Hughes. Wijnaldum did the same for PSV from Willems' free kick just before half time. Tiote was sent off for a second harsh yellow card. Mertens gave PSV the lead soon after the sending off. It took a lot of fighting, but eventually Campbell's cross found Redmond at the far post and his second drew us level. It was a nice point to get after the sending off as I was ready to accept my first defeat.

Premier League

Newcastle 7-0 Blackburn

It took just 15 seconds for us to make the breakthrough, Williams running straight from kick off for the Blackburn box, playing the ball off Gouffran then a defender before firing low past Robinson. The second was scored 82 seconds later. Blackburn had tried to attack from their kick off, but MYM made a good tackle that released Gouffran, who played in Jonas to slide past Robinson. By 3 mins 35 seconds we had 3, this time Cisse getting through the defence and at Robinson only to see it cannon off him into the net. Despite picking up a knock 10 minutes in, Gouffran scored no. 4, passing in Williams' pull back with a quarter of an hour played. Gouffran soon added his second, Williams passing the ball straight through the defence, Gouffran rolled his marker and tucked the ball through Robinson's legs. Gouffran was brought off at half time to prevent his injury from getting worse, with Campbell coming on. It only took him 3 minutes and 15 seconds to contribute, getting onto Ryan Taylor's backpass (for Ryan Taylor was sold to Blackburn at the beginning of the season) and rounding Robinson before passing into the empty net from the edge of the area. For most of the rest of the match we took our foot off the gas, but with 4 minutes to play Haidara was played in and he scored his first goal for the club.

Premier League

Newcastle 4-0 Watford

Campbell came in to partner Gouffran to give Cisse a break, and Cabaye returned to the team on the bench after recovering from a torn hamstring. We seemed to have used up our goal ration for the month as it took us 35 minutes to find the opener, though that could also be down to the flat back 5 that Watford were playing. Haidara broke into the box and took a shot, though that shot was so far off target that Gouffran was able to stop it at the back of the 6 yard box and fire in from a much nicer angle. Debuchy was sent off for a bad tackle on 55 minutes, with the player he tackeled having to be taken off injured. Campbell was sacrificed, as he hadn't been able to find the space in the box that he thrives on due to the 5 defenders playing pretty much in their 18 yard box and 2 holding midfielders helping out. This change meant that Watford changed their approach slightly, which created more space in their box. We took advantage, with Gouffran adding his second from Fischer's cross. MYM made it 3, bringing down Redmond's corner on his chest on the near post before turning and firing low through the keeper. Cabaye was brought on for Redmond for the last 5 minutes and instantly delivered, with his corner inch perfect for MYM to head in his second.

Premier League

Stoke 1-2 Newcastle

Debuchy's sending off meant that Clyne had to come in for him and not Haidara, who probably needed the rest more due to playing most games since Santon's injury. Guidetti replaced Gouffran up front to save him for Liverpool. Stoke defended resolutely, showing how they had managed to finish 4th last season. It took us 26 minutes to break them down, with Campbell's cross finding Hughes in the center to tap in. With the game winding down Stoke tried to press for an equilizer, but Cabaye intercepted the ball and split their defense with a great pass, finding Guidetti who finished superbly. It was just as well that he did, as Walters pulled one back soon after. The only real blight on the game was HBA limping off in added time having sprained his ankle, ruling him out for 6 weeks.

January

Awards

Cisse was named African Footballer of the year, and was also named in the African XI of the year first XI. Fischer won Danish U19 Talent of the year, Danish Young Player of the year and was named in the Danish team of the year. Cabaye won French player of the year. Jon Williams won Welsh Young Player of the Year. I won December Manager of the Month. Being top of the league, I decided to raise my season expectations from Europa League qualification to Champions League qualification.

Premier League

Liverpool 1-1 Newcastle

Taking advantage of the disiplinary committee not meeting before the New Year, I brought back Debuchy after his one game ban, expecting a couple more games to follow for the straight red. Cabaye made his full return to the center of midfield, partnering Williams. Gouffran thought he had given us the lead after 15 minutes but he was offise when the ball was played into him. Instead, it was Liverpool that took the lead, with Sturridge firing in from the edge of the area. Redmond levelled shortly after half time, lashing in from 6 yards out after Cabaye's corner fell to him. It finished at 1-1. I was happy with the point, as Liverpool were the stronger side, injuries and tiredness catching up with us at last.

FA Cup 3rd Round

Gillingham 0-1 Newcastle

Debuchy got the expected additional two game ban, but I doubt he would have figured here anyway. Lots of changes, and Sissoko recovered enough from injury to find a place on the bench. Gillingham refused to leave their 3rd of the field, making it quite difficult for the players I had on to really get anywhere. Clyne was taken off injured midway through the second half, and the first chance we got was when Guidetti was fouled in the area on 90 minutes, winning a penalty. He stepped up and put it into the top corner, giving us the win in a game where we were appaulingly bad, despite having 61% posession. Clyne's injury puts him out for 7 weeks, which makes it just as well that Santon would soon be returning from his injury.

Capital One Cup Semi Final First Leg

Arsenal 4-2 Newcastle

Destro made his debut, joining Campbell up front. Steve Taylor filled in at right back, with Debuchy suspended and Clyne injured. Campbell gave us the lead halfway into the first half, running onto Destro's lobbed pass and rounding the keeper before firing into the empty net from the edge of the area. MYM gave away a penalty, apparently pushing over Batra from a corner. Arteta had no trouble scoring from the spot. Destro grabbed the goal that gave us the lead again, scoring on his debut. Taylor had bombed forward down the right and crossed. The ball came through to Campbell who nudged it back to Destro, and he didn't have any trouble firing in. Arsenal got another equilizer, this time Diaby heading in a corner. Arsenal were going in hard with the challenges, with both Haidara and Cabaye taking hits in the first half. Not wanting to change too much Haidara was told to make do, but Cabaye was replaced with Sissoko. The second half passed in a blur of not much until Oxlade-Chamberlain tapped in at the far post after Colo missed a header. Ramsey made it 4-2 from Giroud's knock down. We played well first half, but couldn't get it together in the second as I suffered my first defeat in 52 games as manager.

Premier League

Newcastle 4-1 Fulham

Debuchy returned after suspension, and I made a few other changes hoping we would bounce back from the defeat in the week. Cisse started us off well, getting an early goal before Sissoko doubled it just before half time. Cisse and Colo each got goals early in the second half to wrap up the victory, with downsides being Sissoko getting put out for 4 weeks injured and Berbatov pulling one back with 15 minutes to play.

Premier League

Newcastle 2-1 Man City

We had a rare week off, so the only thing stopping the naming of a full strength team were injuries, with Clyne, Sissoko and HBA joined by Vuckic out of action. Guidetti wasn't allowed to play, meaning Destro and Campbell started out up front. Destro made good on his first league start, a diving header 2 minutes in from a deep cross from Jonas. Yaya Toure pulled City level with a scrambled goal that we just couldn't get off the goal line. I brought on Haidara for Santon at half time as he took a beating from Tevez in the first half. It didn't take long from the start for Redmond to play the ball across the area to find the young Frenchman who smashed the ball into the roof of the net. City had more of the chances but we held strong.

Capital One Cup Semi Final Second Leg

Newcastle 4-1 Arsenal (6-5 Aggregate)

Cabaye strained his back in training so Hughes came in. We had to pull back two goals to get into the final. Cisse got us underway early on, but Ramsey pulled Arsenal level. Two in two minutes from Guidetti and Fischer pulled us to 5-5 with away goals taking us through. It took until the 90th minute to secure things, with Cisse securing the win with his second of the game.

FA Cup 4th Round

Newcastle 1-1 Tottenham

A 4th home game on the spin was another visit of Spurs, who had already taken a point away from here in the league and been defeated in the other cup. Spurs kept us closed down and for most of the game it worked, we were barely able to offer anything constructive at all. That changed in the 75th minute when Santon went on a solo run from left back, cutting into the box and firing us into the lead. Spurs then flicked a switch and equilized, Adebayor heading in a corner. Both sides were poor in not creating many chances, and a replay is only fair. Not something I wanted, given that we are already playing 2 games a week until mid march.

Premier League

Arsenal 0-1 Newcastle

Our first away game since our first defeat, and it's back to the Emirates.

It took us an hour to get anywhere, with Destro finally breaking the deadlock after coming off the bench. Both sides had chances but nobody scored any others. Both sides left with a player being taken off, Diaby for Arsenal and Debuchy for us, leaving us without a right back for 2 weeks as Clyne is still out.

Overview

With the month at an end, and the Window closed, we only did one deal, that of Destro joining, but so far it seems good business. Would have liked to shift Marveaux but having Sissoko, Cabaye and HBA all out injured for long periods in midfield led to a lack of cover.

We're top of the league, 10 points clear of Spurs after 23 matches. We're into the Final of the Capital One Cup to play Chelsea on a Saturday in February, with Europa League games against Celtic in the first knockout round either side of it on Thursdays. We have a replay against Spurs in the FA Cup 4th Round, and if we win we get a visit from Millwall.

[Newcastle United FC]

About to start the second season. Lost the Europa League final to Atl. Madrid and finished 5th in the 1st season. Not that great. On the positive side we didn't lose in the last 18 league games!

I've build a fantastic squad over the summer. Used A LOT of money so we have to win the championship in the new season.

GK Krul / Ospina

DR Debuchy / Clyne

DC P. Jones / Okore

DC Dede / Tomkins

DL Santon / Shaw

RM Willian / Belhanda

CM Mkhitaryan / Sissoko

CM M'Vila / Capoue / Diame

LM Lamela / Ayew

SC Jovetic / Carroll

SC Neymar / Rodrigo / Fischer

[Tellos]

Thats quite a squad. How does it match up against HG regulations and injuries?

[Newcastle United FC]

No problem. Everyone can play in the Premiership. Only M'Vila can't play in the Europa League. Think my spending is over. Have about 10 players in the reserves out on loan. Players who are going to be sold next summer to boost my finances.

[tommonufc]

Theres not a chance you can assemble that sort of squad by start of season season by the book.

Neymar? Fairly confident in saying even if you had the sort of money to buy him he won't be moving to you if your outside CL.

[Tellos]

Has anyone had any success in getting Ashley to agree to a new feeder club? Have tried asking for one for loaning players, one for increasing reputation and for increasing scouting knowledge, all shot down.

[Welshace]

It's starting to work for me now. Startet a new game with Newcastle playing a flat 4-4-2. As always i buy and sell a lot during the first couple of seasons.

This is my team the start of the first season:

GK Krul/Elliot

DR Debuchy/Santon

DC Dede/Yanga-Mbiwa/Tomkins

DC Subotic/Albiol/Okore

DL Shaw/Haidara

RM Belhanda/Redmond

CM Mkhitaryan/Sissoko/Diame

CM Nainggolan/Anita/Bigirimana

LM Lamela/Ayew

SC L.De Jong/A.Hernandez/Cornelius

SC Jovetic/Fischer/Campbell

I've sold players for £148m.

That's hilarious...

[Cesc_cil]

second season i had £8m to spend, so that isn't happening. I did get given £500m to spend on the 1st April, turned out it was an April fool, ironic really!

And i play as Arsenal a lot (hence my screen name) and i struggle to sign Neymar with them, don't want to upset anyone but arsenal have a higher rep and we where in the CL!

[Geordie111]

If people choose to play a game like that it's up to them I suppose, not much of a game from where I'm standing though. Don't post about it on the forum though

[Tellos]

Think I have new Slayer in the making -

2 shots, 2 goals, from Full Back! Though at times it does seem as though he and Clyne/Debuchy are operating as forwards

The man himself

He started the season only playing well behind Jonas who would provide more cover than Fischer could, but for the last couple of months he has been brilliant.

[Newcastle United FC]

Theres not a chance you can assemble that sort of squad by start of season season by the book.

Neymar? Fairly confident in saying even if you had the sort of money to buy him he won't be moving to you if your outside CL.

I've sold players worth £218m. I've just startet the 2nd season. Brought players £396m. All brought for 25% up front and the rest over 48 month. It's fair to say that I will have big financial problems if I don't win a lot of titles over the coming seasons.

Neymar wasn't interested at the start of the window. He became interested at the end of July.

[Newcastle United FC]

Has anyone had any success in getting Ashley to agree to a new feeder club? Have tried asking for one for loaning players, one for increasing reputation and for increasing scouting knowledge, all shot down.

At the start of the second season he's accepted two for increasing reputation. A Japanese and an American.

[Newcastle United FC]

second season i had £8m to spend, so that isn't happening. I did get given £500m to spend on the 1st April, turned out it was an April fool, ironic really!

And i play as Arsenal a lot (hence my screen name) and i struggle to sign Neymar with them, don't want to upset anyone but arsenal have a higher rep and we where in the CL!

Maybe it's because I've two teams improving my reputation? Vancouver and Hiroshima.

[Tellos]

Cheers, will keep pestering him.

Had my first youth intake of the game and got quite excited when I saw that one of them was rated as "the best to come through the youth system in quite some time."

Craig Lewis - Seems to have decent physicals to go with his 19 determination

The best of the rest (i.e. the others i'll keep)

Marc Preen - Rated the same as Lewis above so is probably just lower in potential to miss out on being "best player".

Joe Lovell - The same high determination of Lewis but not quite the physicals

Max Mills - Looks like he could be a decent target man in the future

Luke Espinoza - Not entirely sure what role to train him in but Bravery 20, Determination 17, Teamwork 18 and Work Rate 16 is begging to be developed.

Finally, this lad. He doesn't have the skills to be kept but I feel that since he is my first foreign newgen to come through a youth system run by me for a hell of a long time that I should keep him. Plus he has a beast of a last name.

edit - apparently there is a first time for everything. Gouffran's agent demanded a new contract due to form (18 goals and 10 assists in 22 games so far, Av Rating 7.72) which I said no to as it's either him or Cisse leaving at the end of the season (Cisse is 20 and 9 in 28 with 7.79). I said no, he couldn't have a new deal, at which point I got a message from Gouffran saying he was concerned. I decided to risk things and say that he wasn't getting a new one due to his finishing in 2017, to which he backed down and apologised. First time I've been able to hit that option without the player throwing a hissy fit and demanding a transfer.

[SeanNUFC]

Managed to over come Inter in the CL playoff. 1-1 in first leg with Bed Arfa giving us the lead, he then scored the winner in the 2nd leg at home, we dominated them easily enough. Have bought Andy Carroll back to the club which is going alright so far, got his 1st goal for the club even though we lost that game to Bolton 2-1 due to tiredness from the Inter game. Season got off to a good start though with a 3-0 win over Millwall. Looking forward to this season.

Edit: CL Group is: Barcelona, Basel and Shakhtah, should be able to come at least 2nd and maybe cause an upset....

[Dark Demon]

Just completed my first season as Newcastle after restarting, very enjoyable save so far and won the Euro cup 1-0 against Bilbao, Jovetic scoring at the 90th minute to win a rather poor game, shame though that we lost the Capital One Cup to Everton on penalty-shoot out and a poor finish to the season saw us finish seventh but still, enjoyable season and actually believe we could get into the CL next season,we were challenging for fourth for most of the season.

Adam Campbell scored 11 goals in his first season 3 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup, 2 in the Capital One Cup and 4 in the Euro Cup.

[Cesc_cil]

need a stricker start of second season, only have Cisse and Fierro, £5.25m in bank?

[Tellos]

2013-14

February

Premier League

Newcastle 1-0 West Ham

No fit right backs meant Steve Taylor filled in, and Shane Ferguson returned from the distant land of Boro to take a place on the bench. Fischer gave us the lead close to half time, firing in first time when he received a pass from Williams on the edge of the 6 yard box. We didn't create much else, and when Ferguson was brought on for Gouffran he was off again within minutes, having been taken out for no punishment. Thankfully there was no lasting injury.

Premier League

Newcastle 4-0 Southampton

HBA returned from injury, though only to make the bench. Streete also made the bench for the first time, thanks to a lack of other options. We took the lead early, a long ball forward headed down by Destro into the path of Campbell, and he rarely misses from 10 yards. Destro then added a second, Marveaux and Santon linking up well on the right to provide a cross for him to finish from just inside the box. MYM displayed some unexpected technical ability to rocket in a free kick from 20 yards out, right into the top corner. I told the lads at half time to not get complacent, and for a change everyone got focused rather than angry. We came out of the blocks flying, Destro scoring his second soon after the restart, following up on a Campbell shot that was saved. HBA played the last 10 minutes, and while he didn't contribute anything it was good to have him back on the pitch.

Premier League

QPR 1-3 Newcastle

Whitehead gave QPR the lead from the center circle, volleying Krul's clearance straight back over his head. We were level within a couple of minutes, Destro lashing in Redmond's cross. Redmond supplied the second as well, chipping the ball over Ferdinand for Campbell to run onto and fire in. We then hit them on the counter, a long clearance from Santon finding Destro ahead of the defense just beyond the halfway line. He ran until the edge of the area and had no problem finishing past Julio Cesar. With the game pretty much won I brought on Sissoko to get some game time after coming back from breaking his arm and also Streete for his professional debut.

FA Cup 4th Round Replay

Tottenham 1-3 Newcastle AET

The first in a line of big games and HBA was given his first start in a while. HBA gave us the lead, tapping in when Lloris parried Cisse's shot. Spurs hit us on the counter early in the second half and Defoe rounded Krul easily to level. It took us until the 112th minute for us to take the lead again, with Cisse smashing in from the edge of the box. We hit them on the counter again and just as Cisse was preparing to shoot, Caulker brought him down and a penalty was awarded. Sissoko marked his return to the team by easily beating Lloris to give the victory a comfortable vibe.

FA Cup 5th Round

Newcastle 4-1 Millwall

After going the full 120 against Spurs the last thing I wanted was the next round to pop up within days. A fresh XI, with Debuchy returning from injury and Streete making his full debut. Given the patchwork team, it took us 38 minutes to get the lead. Redmond crossed, and Gouffran tapped in. Gouffran added his second, this time firing in from Ferguson's cross. Remie Streete headed in his first goal for the club, connecting with Marveaux's corner. We took our feet off the gas and almost paid for it when Patrick Burger put the ball in the net, only to see it ruled out for offside. Malone fouled Redmond in the area and the ref awarded a penalty. Gouffran stepped up and completed his hat trick. Streete flattened a striker as they challenged in the box and gave away a penalty which Burger scored.

Europa League First Knockout Round First Leg

Celtic 0-1 Newcastle

I put out an almost completely changed team for my trip up to Glasgow. Fischer gave us the lead on 52 minutes, heading in Debuchy's cross. Neither side was particularly great, both cancelling each other out. This scoreline is probably more effective than a 2 or 3 goal lead for me as it means I shouldn't have too much trouble motivating people in the next game.

Capital One Cup Final

Chelsea 2-3 Newcastle

A fresh attack and midfield lined up at Wembly to play Chelsea, lead by Cisse and Gouffran. Cisse had to be taken off after 15 minutes injured, replaced by Destro. He headed in the resulting free kick, but was offside. We took the lead on the half hour, Destro pulling defenders out of the way for Gouffran to run into space to receive Cabaye's pass, before he buried it low past Courtois. Chelsea drew level just before the break, Chalobah heading in from a corner. We retook the lead just after half time, Cabaye scoring his first goal since returning from injury, with his freekick deflecting off the wall and sending Courtois the wrong way. Chelsea again equalized from a corner, this time Terry. Fortunately, with Cabaye on the pitch we presented the same danger to Chelsea, and Taylor headed in. The only downside to the performance was losing Cisse for a month to injury.

Europa League First Knockout Round Second Leg

Newcastle 2-0 Celtic (3-0 Aggregate)

Fraser Forster returned to St James Park for the first time since leaving for Celtic, and I was determined to make sure he didn't come away with victory. Steve Taylor headed in Redmond's freekick just before the half hour, doubling our aggregate advantage and guaranteeing no extra time. Redmond supplied the ball for the second goal as well, clipping in for Sissoko to volley in. Celtic had a number of chances to get back into the game but were blocked time and again by Taylor and Ospina.

March

Premier League

Sunderland 1-3 Newcastle

We had an international break between the Celtic game and this one, meaning most players got a long rest and left only Cisse out of action so an almost full strength side went across to Sunderland. The first half was mostly spent hacking chunks out of each other, but we did find time to let Campbell cross in for Redmond to volley in. Cabaye came off at halftime having started at 100% fitness and been reduced to half that by tackles that were apparently fair game. Just after the hour Cattermole caught Anita off the ball and having already been booked, he walked. Haidara added a second soon after that, connecting well on the volley with Clyne's cross, showing skill that had rightly seen him awarded Young Player of the Month for February. Haidara added his second in pretty similar circumstances, this time firing in on the run when he received a pass through from Hughes. Bruma pulled one back for the Mackems late on.

Europa League Second Knockout Round First Leg

Zaragoza 2-2 Newcastle

We traveled to Spain knowing we had met the board's goal in getting to this round, but given the opposition we wanted to make sure we at least got to the next round. Gouffran gave us the lead when he turned in Santon's cross. Postiga equalized as the second half started, intercepting Santon's pass then smashing the ball into Colo to see it fly past the stranded Krul. Gouffran added his second of the game, playing a one two with Guidetti around his marker to get into the box and finish. Luis Garcia leveled for Zaragoza, getting on the end of Wakaso's cross. I had wanted to leave Spain with the tie in the bag but a draw is a good result and it puts us in a strong position to go through.

Premier League

Newcastle 2-1 Reading

The game didn't start well, with Anita fouling Santa Cruz in the area. Pogrebnyak scored the resulting spot kick. Before the game the media had been quick to point out that both Campbell and Guidetti hadn't scored for a while, but they combined with deadly effect midway through the first half with Guidetti playing in Campbell to fire home the leveler. Leigertwood felled Sissoko as he went up for a corner and we had a penalty to match theirs. Guidetti stepped up, but he couldn't break his goalless streak, seeing it saved. Sissoko pulled us in front shortly before the end, reacting quickly to Campbell's through ball. We made this a lot harder than it could have bee, due to most of the midfield not really turning up until 10 minutes from the end.

Europa League Second Knockout Round Second Leg

Newcastle 4-0 Zaragoza

We didn't start well, the midfield apparently sleeping in. Things perked up when Zuculini got sent off for a second yellow. Guidetti took advantage of a header back to the keeper that fell short, positioning himself to get a header in just as the keeper dived at him, letting the ball sail past him into the net. We quickly made it 2-0 when Redmond's free kick found Gouffran in the 6 yard box. he had the composure to bring it down and turn before firing in. Santon secured victory with 15 minutes to play, overlapping Fischer and drilling in at the near post. Guidetti added his second, turning in Redmond's cross. The only negative was MYM picking up a yellow card, which rules him out of the first leg of the quarter final against AZ.

FA Cup Quarter Final

Newcastle 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday

It was the battle of the Campbells as Adam lined up for us, and DJ for Wednesday. It was our Campbell who scored first, passing a cut back into an empty net, Kirkland beaten at the near post. The second goal took a while in coming, but eventually it turned up, Destro heading in Ferguson's cross.

Premier League

Newcastle 3-1 Chelsea

I forgot to change out Bardi after the FA Cup game and didn't notice until I got a note from my assistant saying that he wasn't communicating well. It was another Italian who stole the early glory, Destro dribbling through half the Chelsea team before firing low past Cech. Campbell made it 2-0, latching on to Destro's pass and lashing in. Santon finished off a well worked passing move not long after Campbell scored. To make things fairer to Chelsea, they were awarded a penalty after Ba fell over in the area a few yards away from MYM, the player who committed the "foul". There was nothing Bardi could do as Lampard finished easily into the top corner. Mata was given a straight red with 5 minutes to play for taking out Debuchy with two feet.

Premier League

Everton 1-1 Newcastle

My first change was to bring Krul in for Bardi, and Cisse came in for the injured Destro. Zaha gave Everton the lead but Cisse swiftly pulled us level. I was more concerned with injuries to Fischer and then Cisse than I was about the fact that we wasted multiple chances and almost let Everton have others.

Overview

I'm 13 points clear in the league with a game in hand, 30 games played, so the league isn't far from being guaranteed. The Capital One Cup is in the bag, and the FA Cup Semi is against Bolton meaning I should be in the final. Europe is AZ then CSKA or Leverkusen, then Lille, Zenit, Bestiktas or Man Utd in the final.

[Tellos]

need a stricker start of second season, only have Cisse and Fierro, £5.25m in bank?

try Guidetti on loan, been decent for me. 35k/month and 40k/week wages I think. No Campbell? Check the Transfer List and ask for your assistant to look for loan options, some of those may be open to permanent moves.

[Cesc_cil]

Campbell on loan, Torres is listed? good shout on Guidetti will have a look

[Tellos]

A loan move for Torres might work, should give you the season then start using Campbell from the start of 3

[shoonaldo]

Just wanted to post the last match I played. Really enjoyed that and a real life repeat this month would be nice.

[tommonufc]

Start playing Campbell right away. Get him back from loan and play him.

The guy can become one of the best players, if not the best player in the game - certainly the most clinical striker your ever likely to have in the game. Anyone who doesn't play him, and instead sends him on loan to the AI is a fool!