FM13: Hull City - the year of the wing back

kccircle · November 6, 2012

Brief History

Hull City Association Football Club is an English football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. They play in the Football League Championship.

It is fair to say the club has had limited success until the 21st century and doesn’t boast a very big trophy cabinet. The club went on steady rise during the 20th century and in 1983 were promoted to division 3 (League 1), captained by future England manager Steve McClaren.

In 1986 the club were promoted to Division 2 (The Championship) but everything declined from there. Over the next 15 years the club were relegated several times and in 1997 the club were relegated to Division 4. At that time Hull were in great financial trouble and looked certain to be relegated to the Conference Premier but somehow managed stay up after “The Great Escape” where managed Warren Joyce managed to save Hull from relegation, despite being bottom of the table in November. From then on the club steadily rised through the leagues and by the 05-06 season, were back in the Championship.

In 2007–08 they achieved promotion to the top flight of English football for the first time in their history, by winning the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium. They finished the 2008–09 season 17th in the Premier League table, successfully avoiding relegation by one point. The previous highest position Hull City had finished in the English Football League was third in the old second division in 1909–10, which they matched in 2007–08 when they gained promotion. Their greatest achievement in cup competitions came in 1930, when the team reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Hull play their home games at the KC Stadium. They previously played at Boothferry Park, but moved to their current home in 2002, with Boothferry Park set for demolition. They traditionally play in black and amber, often with a striped shirt design, hence their nickname The Tigers.

Stadium

Between 1904 and 1905, Hull City played their home games at The Boulevard. This ground was used by Hull on a contract which allowed them to use it, when not used for Rugby League, at a cost of £100 per annum. Hull built their own ground, Anlaby Road, which was opened in 1906. They negotiated the deal for land between Boothferry Road and North Road in 1929, which was financed by a £3,000 loan from the FA. Due to the club's financial difficulties, no work took place for three years, and development then stopped until 1939. In that year a proposal to build a new multi-purpose sports stadium on the site temporarily halted the club's plans to relocate, but when this plan failed the club resolved to continue with the stalled development of the site, in anticipation of moving to the new stadium in 1940. The outbreak of war, however, meant that the redevelopment again came to a halt.

During the Second World War, Anlaby Road was damaged by enemy bombing, the repair cost of which was in the region of £1,000. The Cricket Club served notice to quit at the same time, and so in 1943 the tenancy was officially ended. Hull were forced to return to the Boulevard Ground from 1944 until 1945 because of the poor condition of the planned stadium at Boothferry Road. The new stadium was finally opened under the revised name of Boothferry Park on 31 August 1946. After Boothery Park, Hull City, along with one of the city's rugby league sides, Hull FC, moved into the newly-built KC Stadium in 2002. The KC Stadium was named "Best Ground" at the 2006 Football League Awards and holds 25,000 people

Squad Analysis

Goal Keepers

Both Amos and Jakupovic should be good enough for a season in the Championship. Amos is only on loan though. I'd stick with them for the first season and depending on where you finish either purchase a new No1 for season 2 or a back up to Jakupovic should you think he will be good enough for the division you are in

Full Backs

The full back slots have plenty of competition. Rosenior, Dawson and Dudgeon can play in the left back slot and both Rosenior and Elmohamady can play in the right back slot in addition to McShane too.

I found Rosie and Elmo to be the best selection choice but rotation will probably be the key here. In my game I had bids galore for Rosie during the first season and in all honesty there is probably enough cover to let him go. He is out of contract at the end of the season so unless you plan to keep for a couple of seasons it might be an opportunity to increase your transfer funds

None of the youth team full backs have the potential to make the first team. I would have hoped Max Clark might get there given his youth international pedigree but this hasn't transferred to enough potential in my save. I wonder if he has a varied potential for each save?

Centre Backs

Despite having a choice of 5 player to fill two (or three depending on your formation) you would be advised to keep them all. Hobbs is injured for most of the season and Faye is 34/35 in the opening season and takes a little longer to regain match fitness. Saying that, he is a beast and gives you opportunities at both ends of the pitch with his strength and jumping ability.

As for the youth, Cooper can fill in for an odd game. He won't let you down but he is no world beater. Bradley is out on loan at Aldershot for the first season too.

Defensive Midfielders

Corry Evans

Paul McKenna

Seyi Olofinjana

I had bids in the opening window for Evans. However, with the injury situation you have at the start of the game you would be prudent to keep hold of him. When Olofinjana recovers from injury he adds to the team as his strength becomes a real asset. I don't see a need to keep hold of McKenna and he featured sparingly during my first season

Wide Midfielders

Stewart starts the season on loan at Burnley (he returns in January). Aluko is clearly the best wide midfielder at the club. Quinn can play both in a wide and central position but he seems to have better ratings in the wide left slot. The right side is clearly a position you need to look at. Elmo is an option and Simpson an alternative choice but I think wide right is something of an issue in terms of delivering balance to the team.

In a similar theme none of the youth options will make the first team anytime soon

Central and Attacking Midfielders

Both Cairney and Koren have enough ability to perform in the Championship. With Quinn as another option you will probably rotate the three for most of the season. Koren is good for goals and Cairney has the passing ability to unlock defences

Strikers

Fryatt and Simpson are quite similar strikers who rely on pace and feeding off low crosses into the box. Proschwitz is your target man alternate option. Depending on whether you will play 1, 2 or 3 up front you could decide to cash in on one of them (or Aaron McLean who finds himself in your reserve squad at the start of the game)

Cullen is at Bury on loan for the first season but possesses enough pace to be a decent option for a bench slot to come on and potentially offer you something different towards the end of a game.

Overall, you have enough within the squad to cement a promotional push in the first season. The hardest part of the season will be dealing with the number of injuries you will face at the start of the season. Once everyone is fit you might struggle to keep everyone happy as there are several players who are of an equal level.

Good luck with your save and apologies to those traditionalists as all of the screenshots are from FMC

Previous Thread

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/277331-FM12-Hull-City-AFC-We-all-love-Cash-Converters....?p=7143372#post7143372

kccircle · November 6, 2012

Reserved for future use

kccircle · November 6, 2012

Season 2012/13

Will update tomorrow

SRL88 · November 6, 2012

Nice work :thup:

kccircle · November 6, 2012

Season 2012/13

As the above picture shows I managed to secure promotion at the first time of asking. The season started out as a struggle with the team in the bottom half of the league after 10 games or so. It took me a while to get a grip of the match engine and to find out who were my better players. Additionally, there were selection issues due to injuries in the early stages of the season

I play FMC as it suits me better. I don't expect to unlock any of the unlockables during this save however I might use the 'save as' option to give them a go if any are presented to me. Saying that, I did spend a couple of quid on getting a son in the game. However, I've immediately regretted it as it's more merited to have it generated randomly rather than via this method. It's nothing to do with him being called Kenny!

I managed to play the season without buying anyone until January when I snapped up Keith Andrews. I didn't need him in the end and questioned my purchase almost immediately. I just went through a bad patch in January and wanted someone who could find a pass and hold on to the ball when needed.

The season was about goals. I played one up front with Koren supporting from and AMC role. It seemed to work and both Fryatt and Simpson shared the goals with 19 and 12 respectively. Koren chipped in with 11 and Aluko added a further 10.

2013/14 Aim

Avoid relegation

kccircle · November 6, 2012

Season 2013/14

I've now spent every penny I had available and think I've now got enough depth to get that 17th place I need. Ivanovic is the pick of the transfers but I'm hopeful for a few goals from Sordell and Kazim-Richards

kccircle · November 7, 2012

Season 2013/14

January update

As the league table clearly shows the season is proving a struggle. If I finish where I am now I will be happy though. It's taken the newer players a while to bed in and I'm really struggling with contract renewals. Typically, I don't want to offer them what they want and this edition of the game has seen the negotiations take on a stricter aspect

From my squad list you can see I have rotated wherever possible

Sordell is starting to score and for the first time I played Aluko as an AMC (rather that wide left) and he destroyed Wolves.

Interestingly, I requested more funds from Papa Allam and he gave me c£2m. I can now use this to get a further addition in the January window

kccircle · November 7, 2012

Season 2013/14

End of Season Update

As with every edition of CM/FM I've struggled initially with City when gaining promotion to the top flight. This was certainly the same with the team residing in and around 17th spot most of the season. We did it in the end and hopefully this will be the last time we really struggle.

My plan at the start of the season was to improve the squad strength in depth with as many signings as I could get. I hadn't banked on the number of players leaving the club due to their contract expiring and we were quite short at times in some positions.

At the time of purchase I was most excited by the signing of Ivanovic and Sordell and whilst Sordell did the business Ivanovic was a disappointment.

Goalies

I will keep Gordon, but I need a decent back up having gambled on Oxley throughout this season

Defenders

Hobbs and Chester are the best partnership according to my coach. To progress I need someone better though. I will accpept bids for Gunter, Pamic and Ivanovic

Midfielders

Bentley will return to Spurs. He was only on loan and I wont renew this. I will allow Koren, Quinn and Andrews to go.

Strikers

I only play one up front. Sordell is the first choice at the moment. I will listen to offers for Simpson and keep Fryatt as a back up.

Aim for 2014/15 - again I need to avoid relegation but anything from 14th to 17th would be a reasonable expectation

whitmore23 · November 7, 2012

Is this a team guide or a FM Story? I'm confused...

Purefun · November 7, 2012

Teamthread mate.

Great posts imo. Keep it up.

kccircle · November 9, 2012

Season 2014/15 Update

I've managed to do a little better this season. At the close of the January window we are sat comfortably in mid-table with little fear of moving upwards nor facing a relegation battle.

Of the players who have left the club so far I've written a few notes to let you know how they have been doing

Alex Bruce

Alex left following a £140k bid from Blackpool. He was a bit part player at this stage. He played 15 games for them and when they were promoted to the Premier League he moved to Donny on a free transfer

Andy Dawson

Andy left the Tigers to move to Donny on a free transfer. I let him go at the end of the first season as the board kept telling me he was not up to standard. As always, when he left, the board then criticised my decision to get rid. He played just the one game for them before leaving on a free again. He is due to retire and shows no signs of moving to a coaching / scouting role

Abdy Faye

Faye moved to Blackpool on a free at the end of the first season. He played the whole season for them but didn't figure in their plans the season after so moved on loan to Carlisle in League Two. He is averaging over 7 for them so is probably in the right place for what will probably be the last season of his career

Cameron Stewart

Cam didn't really feature much when he returned from his loan spell at Burnley. A bid of £3.2m came in from Sunderland which was above market value so I let him go. At this stage he joined a Sunderland who had been relegated to the Championship. He played 29 games in what was to be a promotional season scoring 4 and assisting in 3 goals. He has only played 3 times up to the end of January this season as Sunderland have reverted back to a McLean / Johnson combo on the wings

Eldin Jakupovic

Eldin was a bench player in my first season and starting asking for a move from about January onwards. I let him go on the list and West Brom came in with a £675k bid. He has played just the one game for them in two seasons now which probably says more about the game rather than the player. Why would WestBrom sign a player who was unsettled at his previous team due to not featuring only to play him just once in two seasons?

Jamie Devitt

Devitt spent the first season on loan at Torquay. In the January window I sold him to Dagenham for £9k. He played all season as they were relegated to the Conference. The season after he again played all season scoring 6 and assisting in 2 as promotion was obtained. He has played about 50% of the games this season as Dagenham struggle once more just above the relegation spots.

Jay Simpson

In the first season Simpson rotated with Fryatt for a starting slot as we cruised to the Premier League. I figured he was not part of my plans towards the end of the 1st Premier League season and was relieved to get £1m for him from Peterborough. He has scored 6 in 16 for them as they enjoy a mid table position in the Championship.

Joe Dudgeon

Joe was released at the end of the 2nd season had had plenty of options for a change in club both north and south of the border. He opted for Hibernian in the end and has been an ever present for them this season

Lewis Clarkson

Lewis spend season two on loan at Barrow. I'm not sure where they played him but he scored 6 in 36 for them. He was released at the end of season two and moved to Stockport in the Blue Square Premier League. He is probably one division above where he needs to be as isn't really featuring at all for them

Liam Cooper

I could have kept Cooper as a reserve/back up centre back. However, I released him for one reason or another and he was snapped up by Aberdeen. He played 21 games for them and secured a £850k move to Rangers. The Rangers of old would have been a fantastic move but of course Rangers are only in the First Division. Still, at £850k he is doing the right things as he is an ever present and averaging 7.3.

Mark Cullen

Mark played for Bury for the whole of the first season. In season two he was released and moved to Port Vale where he only featured 8 times. In season 3 he has managed 24 appearances and scored 8 goals.

Nick Proschwitz

Nick didn't really have the pace to play in my season during season 1. For season two I let him go on loan to Bristol City where he played really well scoring 21 in 45. I still didn't really fancy him so when Bolton slapped a £750k bid on my table I accepted. In season 3 to date he has scored 16 in 29. I guess I should have kept him but unsure how he would cope in the Premier League as all of his goals have been in the level below. He is worth £1.3m at the moment.

Paul McKenna

McKenna was released at the end of season 1. He moved to Dundee United (there seems to be a Scottish theme here) and played pretty well appearing 29 times an averaging 7.17. At 37 he has appeared less this season with just 13 appearances (6 as a sub)

Paul McShane

McShane featured prominently for me in season 1 (32 appearances) but due to his wage demands I let him go. Incredibly he moved up to the Premier League with West Ham but only played 6 games for them. He now plays for Charlton in the Championship following a £150k move. He is an ever present for them too.

Seyi Olofinjana

Again, due to wage demands, I released Seyi following promotion in season 1. He didn't play again and now has a scouting role. With those stats though I'm not sure he will be snapped up any time soon

Sonny Bradley

Sonny was also released at the end of season 1. He moved on a free to Northampton in League 2. He is pretty much a first choice for them having played 80 odd games in two seasons.

kccircle · November 9, 2012

Season 2014/15

The season ended just as I said earlier. We were middle of the road - nothing more and nothing less. And it was great!!

I'd have taken 17th again and whilst we were absolutely rubbish for many parts of the season we had a couple of runs that were pretty decent

Jack Hobbs played amazingly well - so good that he made the subs bench for team of the season

Marvin Sordell had a great season scoring 17. He had a £9m bid from Liverpool in January that I rejected.

Other than these two we had notable performances from Corry Evans and record signing Rafael Toloi

Squad List

kccircle · November 15, 2012

Season 2015/16

A much improved season with a finish in the European places. I actually didn't have to finish that high in the league as I managed to secure my first main trophy with the FA Cup beating Wolves on penalties in the final

From my squad the following excelled

Other notable current Tiger performances

Notable ex-Tigers

McKenna - now a manager with Barnet

Dawson - now a manager with MK Dons

Cooper - left Celtic and moved to Premier League Norwich

Stewart - now with West Ham

Hoping someone else posts a Hull City save soon

Ukchris · November 23, 2012

kc: Congrats with promotion and reaching Europe, as usual! Nice to see a few more starting players still with you, Evans finally getting more potential this year in particular. Dong and Toloi look like great signings, will have to take a look at them myself. Awesome getting top goalscorer with Dong too, impressive considering his average speed and low work rate. What formation are you playing mostly, is he a lone striker?

How's your save going, played another season yet?

That Classic skin actually looks quite good, though I have to say I couldn't play that version - I like the depth of the full version, even if it does mean slower games. Speaking of which, I've finally finished my first season after starting it on release day and will post it up shortly. Been a slow one!

Ukchris · November 23, 2012

Season 1: 2012 - 2013

Wolves pushed me hard but I just managed to hold on to 2nd position for the automatic promotion and not have to go through the nervy playoffs. I started the season a little slow, hovering around 6th - 7th before going on a 14 game unbeaten run over Christmas that pushed me up to 2nd. I briefly overtook Bristol before dropping back a spot. All in all a great season, mission accomplished. Happy with having the best defence in the league.

Transfers Out:

Aaron McLean (£1.2m) - Huddersfield

Paul McShane (£1.2m) - Bolton

Transfers In:

DL - Fabio Grosso (Free)

AMC/FC - Joel Pohjanpalo (£100k)

MC - Rudi Skacel (Free)

DMC - Cristiano Zanetti (Free)

DR - Habib Beye (Free)

MR - Kiko Femenia (£750k) - January

DC - Sergi Gomez (£70k) - January

AMC - Lars Gulpen (£45k) - January

Screenshots of the new signings taken at the end of the season. The older players started with a bit higher speed/stamina.

Squad stats

I sold McLean at the start as I didn't like his attributes and McShane was on too high wages for my liking. I tried to offload Olofinjana too but he was injured and no one wanted him.

My squad for the season was huge, having brought a few veterans in on free transfers to ensure I had more than enough depth - and though Zanetti and Beye were purely as backup and didn't play much, Skacel played a lot for me in the middle and was very tidy on the ball while Grosso was solid at left back for most of the season. Pohjanpalo was eased into the team as a 17 year old with plans to develop for the future. My reasoning with Beye was that I only really had Rosenior at right back if I played Elmohamady on the right wing, though I found myself playing Elmo at RB when Rosenior wasn't fit and putting Koren out wide.

That fueled my January signing of Femenia, a young Spanish winger from Barcelona who had the pace to play out wide and potential to develop further, allowing me to focus Koren in the middle. In a similar vein Gomez came in as a young, cheap central defender with potential, looking ahead to Faye leaving in the summer and Bruce not really up to standard. Gulpe is another cheap (almost free) youngster I signed mostly to develop a bit and then sell on as I don't expect to use him really, but he spend most of the time injured since joining in January - picks up a knock every reserve match. Might not gain much value there but nothing lost if so.

You can see from the squad stats that I made use of the vast depth and rotated a lot, not many starting over 30 games.

Tactics-wise I tested various things but mostly switched between a 442 and a 41221 (DMC, 2xMC, wingers and a striker). The 41221 was used the majority of the time with 442 if I felt I needed to spread the play more with teams defending against me.

I'll run through the starting players with my own personal observations and recommendations.

Goalkeeper:

Amos was the clear number 1 for me with better communication and command of his area, he organised the defence well. He played every game when fit. That left Jakupovic to warm the bench, but expect him to ask for a transfer if so. With Amos I didn't feel the need to sign anyone else, great for the Championship and will develop through the season.

Left Back:

A weakness for me, hence my signing of Grosso. Dawson starts the season very slow and only gets slower while Dudegon isn't developed enough at the start for my liking. I was glad to sign an extra player here, and eased Dudegon into games for development. Chester can perform well here in a defensive fullback role if required for tough away games.

Right Back:

Rosenior is great for this level but as I mentioned above I wasn't happy with Elmo as the only real cover, as I planned to use him a lot on the right wing. Rosenior and Elmo are great for the position if you don't want Elmo in midfield - they were my pairing here after I signed a new winger in January - but if you want Elmo elsewhere another backup RB is good to have.

Central Defence:

Chester and Faye are both very good for the Championship, particularly at the start of the season. When Hobbs comes back from injury he takes a while to get match fitness but then settles into a starting spot well, which is good as Faye ages a little more and tires a little easier. Keep the 3 of them fit and things are good for rotation here. I feel Bruce is a cover player for emergencies and McShane could be good but on his wages it's really worth selling him.

Defensive Midfield:

Evans isn't the most creative but has energy and is fairly solid, with the bonus of developing through the season. McKenna is pretty good at the start of the year too, and I even made him Captain for the year, but he will get very slow by the end of the season. Olofinjana isn't a natural here but can cover, if you use a DMC.

Central Midfield:

Cairney and Koren are a good pair, both comfortable on the ball and able to create. The problem they have is neither is great defensively, which is why I played them (and Skacel) with a DMC covering behind them. Either is capable of an attacking central role in a 2-man midfield. Evans and McKenna are both decent here too, though Evans might lack some creativity and McKenna struggle for pace in a 2-man pairing. Olofinjana, again, is a cover player for me. Frustrating given his wages but he's not a brilliant passer, not a great shot and fairly weak in a tackle. Quinn may be a natural wide player but he's better than Olofinjana in the middle for me, though as with Cairney he benefits having a DMC behind given his lack of strength for the middle.

Right Wing:

Elmo and Koren offer two different approaches to wide play for the starting squad. Elmo offers the pace and a great cross, someone you can look to get the ball, run down the wing and put the ball in the box - particularly useful if you want to use Proschwitz' height. Koren, on the other hand, is slower but more creative with his passing range, the type of player you can play deeper and look to make through balls for forwards like Fryatt to run onto. Simpson does have the pace to play advanced right wing if needed but suffers with no positional rating if played in a deeper MR role and isn't particularly creative. Stewart returns in January but while he's extremely fast I prefer players with a bit more skill on the ball so didn't risk trying him without being comfortable doing so in a promotion push. I'm sure Stewart could be great with the right tactics to use his pace, though.

Left Wing:

Aluko and Quinn are both good players for the left and again offer slightly different playstyles. While both have good pace, Aluko has the flair and technical ability to be unpredictable and produce some brilliant play. That said, with his low work rate and teamwork he can go missing at times. Quinn lacks that edge from flair but is a hard worker and will help cover the left back better, getting involved in play and dropping back when needed rather than waiting for the ball. Both are good players and both have their uses.

Striker:

Fryatt is the best forward in the squad, hands down. Don't let his mediocre pace worry you, with his off the ball and anticipation he gets in the right positions while his agility lets him turn defenders with ease and the finishing, composure and techique are sufficient to see him hit the target most of the time with some glorious finishes. Simpson is a useful forward for the championship too, his pace allowing him to get onto through balls and not being as weak as McLean in terms of technical skill he can hit the target fairly well. Proschwitz is an interesting one - he has the finishing to smash the ball into the net when given the chance but while he has similar average pace to Fryatt he lacks the agility to make up for it and is more... static. Big Nick's strength is his height, offering an extra dimension - if you can't unlock defences on the ground you can throw Proshwitz on and while it won't work every time he did get me some crucial goals late in games in the air.

Ukchris · December 8, 2012

Start of Season 2: 2013 - 2014

After promotion I spent a long time looking through available players and putting bids in. As usual, there were plenty of times clubs accepted bids within my budget but the players had too high demands or simply weren't interested. I had quite a few on my watchlist though as I knew I'd be letting quite a few players go in the summer when contracts expired - some because they're too old/slow now, others as they simply aren't high enough quality to renew for the Premiership.

Transfers Out: Summer 2013

Cristiano Zanetti (Released) - Old, slow, injury prone.

Abdoulaye Faye (Released) - Was great last season but pace dropping off and other attributes beginning to decline at 35.

Andy Dawson (Released) - Old, slow, never played.

Habib Beye (Released) - Old, slow, was a short-term backup.

Jay Simpson (Released) - Wanted too high wages to renew and he's not worth it for the Premiership.

Seyi Olofinjana (Released) - Ageing and on silly wages.

Rudi Skacel (Released) - Was a nice player last season but turning 35 his accel/pace would drop to 5-6 this year which is too low for my liking.

Fabio Grosso (Released) - Selected at Left Back for Championship Team of the Year but 8/7 speed only going to get lower, too low for a fullback.

As replacements I signed the following:

Transfers In: Summer 2013

van der Kolk is a 15 year old with great potential, will see how he develops as a possible future striker. The other signings are all for the first team. Andujar Was the first, coming in as a £2.3m new GK to replace Amos who went back from the loan, and Selnaes for £1.2m looks like a nice little technical midfielder to pass the ball around. Britton isn't the best player on the ball but with those mental attributes he should provide the work rate to play the role sitting in front of the defence in rotation with Evans and at £400k he barely cost anything. Del Grosso replaces his namesake at left back with more experience/quality than Dudegon, and as a free signing is a nice addition. Michu is my big money signing, not the fastest but hopefully has the timing to get in the box and contribute goals from midfield. Fernandez joins to provide competition for Rosenior at right back while Hansson completes my signings as a cheap second Goalkeeper - Jakupovic is still here but I don't really rate him and he wants to leave.

I looked for a new striker but no one 'complete' was interested, everyone had a flaw - either fast but poor technically or good and composed on the ball but slow. I decided to stick with Fryatt and the young Pohjanpalo, with Proschwitz still here if I feel height might help. Given that, and the fact that I'll have the lowest reputation in the league, I decided to stick with a counterattacking 41221. Hopefully I can defend well and use pacey wingers to hit teams on the break, with some good central midfielders to help control possession.

The squad rotation will look a little like this:

GK: Andujar (Hansson, Jakupovic)

DR: Rosenior (Fernandez)

DCr: Hobbs (Gomez)

DCl: Chester (Bruce, Cooper)

DL: Del Grosso (Dudgeon)

DMC: Britton (Evans)

MCr: Michu (Koren)

MCl: Cairney (Selnaes, Gulpen)

AMR: Femenia (Stewart)

AML: Aluko (Quinn)

STC: Fryatt (Pohjanpalo, Proschwitz)

The formation will change if and when I feel it's necessary against certain teams, maybe go 442 for the good home fixtures, but for now I figure most teams will attack me so this setup should work well for most games.

Along with squad changes I used the increase in staff allowance to boost my training setup, all coaches now 4, 4.5 or 5 star rated, and expanded the scouting network. As finances settle with tv money coming in I'll see about upgrading facilities too.

Now the summer business is about done it's time to set about securing promotion!

White Rose · December 9, 2012

You have persuaded me to start as Hull City, as a huge Tigers fan i have always loved managing us but i have never had any real success bar FM10, mainly because i stick to the systems we play in real life, when really they never seem to suit the match engine. I have decided against playing with the 3-5-2, as the match engine will just tear it apart. Just setting up the game now i have adopted a 4-4-2 to suit it quite well. Well more a 4-3-3 now, it started out more defensive. Thinking of starting with Cairney and Evans in the middle, Aluko on the left and Elmo on the right, with Fryatt and Prossy up top.

Signings wise, i will be looking at signings that can help me in my second season as much as they will in the first season. Will update you more as i go along. Also kccircle are you using FMClassic mode?

Hopefully we can get a few more playing as Hull.....

Tyler42 · December 9, 2012

Well I'm back in my Hull save Always end up playing my favorite team. I must say that I'm struggling to adjust my tactics for the team this year. I had one for a Lower League team that did wonders for me but it doesn't seem to work for Hull so I'm trying to get it right.

Anyway I finished 11th, I was in the top fight in Jan. but things went downhill from there. I keep losing with scores like 0-1 or 2-1. They never managed to dominate the games.

And since I did not get promoted, I'm on a very tight budget and it was impossible to find a GK that wanted to join the team! They all turned me down, except.... Boaz Myhill! Kind of glad to have him back on the team.

My tiny squad for this season;

Transfers so far:

kccircle · December 12, 2012

Been playing as a few other teams as my game failed to save a while back. Will get back into this and let you know were I'm at. UKchris - well done on your promotion

Andy 23 · December 14, 2012

I've not had a game as Hull City yet but I'd be thinking with these players I'd go 4-5-1:

GK: Amos

D: Rosenior - Chester - Hobbs/McShane - Dawson/Dudgeon

DM: Faye/Evans

M: Koren - Cairney

AMR/L: Elmo - Aluko

S: Fryatt

Good players in reserve for all positions so no need to strengthen. I'd sell Mclean at the price the other poster got. Probably just bring in loan signings when necessary.

Biggest difficulty would be getting that midfield right. With Koren, Cairney, Aluko and Elmo, there'd only be one defensive player in the five. It seems a waste leaving Cairney in reserve, perhaps he or Koren would need to be sacrificed into playing a deep-lying playmaker role instead of a more advanced position.

Ukchris · January 5, 2013

End of Season 2: 2013 - 2014

What an up and down season. I started great with a 3-1 win at home to West Brom, then went on to lose 11 and draw 3 in the next 14 to sit rock bottom on 6 points after 15 games. At this point I sat down and reworked tactics, switching from the 41221 to a fairly attacking 442 for home games and a defensive 4411 when away. That worked immediately as I reversed my form, getting 6 wins and 3 draws in the next 9 (including great 1-0 wins over Chelsea and Liverpool) that pulled me up into 15th over Christmas. After that miracle run I went back to losing/drawing, but 4 more wins towards the end against relegation competition kept my head above water and I finished in that 15th spot on 38 points, 6 above the relegation zone (32, 31 and 30 got the drop).

I added Marco Sau from Serie A club Cagliari in January for £5m, a striker with a decent scoring record there (9 goals in 18 games so far that season) and someone I felt would add to the team with his creativity and agility, with a bit more pace than Fryatt:

It took him a little time to settle and he only picked up 3 goals, but a couple of those were important winners. I'm hoping he'll score quite a few in the coming season as he settles more and I improve the squad around him, though I need to play him properly as with his 9 strength he can't really fill my typical 'drop deep and hold up' role from a creative supporting forward.

Top Performers

1. Andujar - Solid performances in goal, kept Hansson out of the team. Against chelsea he scored over 9 rating and somehow kept out 33 shots as I won 1-0. Rarely made mistakes, great reflex saves.

2. Hobbs - A rock in defence. Dominant in the air and made some great interceptions. Acceleration and Pace improved over the season as he stayed healthy.

3. Pohjanpalo - He didn't set the world alight but 10 goals and 6 assists in the league made him my top scorer and gave valuable wins.

Disappointments

They didn't play badly as such but I expected more from Michu and, after January, Sau. Michu got 2 goals and 1 assist all season and as with forwards and wingers I'm starting to see agility as being vital for the middle now too (Michu has 11) with FM13 collision detection. Sau has already been outlined, I'd simply hoped he'd get more goals. Hopefully with a stronger squad all-round next season I can find a way to utilise both better and improve performances.

Original Hull Players

Hobbs - As mentioned, a rock in defence and makes great interceptions. Pace a slight weakness against top teams but playing deep then to help with that.

Chester - Almost as solid as Hobbs on the ground but his 12 jumping is a weakness as I conceded quite a few in the air from Chester being beaten.

Cooper - Went out on loan as he never played, Hobbs and Chester stayed fit all season. Will be sold.

Rosenior - Played ok as backup right back but not starting quality.

Dudgeon - Had a couple of ok games as backup left back but Del Grosso started most matches.

Koren - Was Captain for the season but didn't play much, losing energy at 33/34. Low pace and agility hurt his game and he'd move on when his contract expired at the end.

Cairney - Rotated in and out after I dropped to 2 central midfielders, used mostly as a deep playmaker in the middle but did have some good games at left midfield with his good dribbling, balance and agility. Lacks the pace to burst past players there but can make space with skill on the ball.

Quinn - Was my preferred left midfielder, not the flashiest but worked hard and didn't give the ball away too much. A position to improve on, though.

Aluko - Struggled in the Premiership on the left wing as his 14 pace isn't as good here as in the Championship and at only 10 agility he struggles to weave past defenders. While he has some good technical stats, that weakness and low work rate saw him get benched.

Stewart - Played on the right when Femenia got injured and did surprisingly well. While like Aluko he lacks agility to weave past players he still has an edge with 19/19 accel/pace which combine well with his 'knock ball past opponents' ppm. Bursts past players with pure speed and gets behind defences. Weak on the ball but can exploit his pace.

Evans - Rotated with Britton early on at DMC and did ok without playing great. Struggled to get into the 442 after switching formations due to low creativity. Decent for cover/depth.

Fryatt - Did ok as a deep forward supporting Pohjanpalo but struggled to score much and his low pace showed as defenders caught him to waste many chances. Decent for support but won't plan to keep long.

Proschwitz - Low pace and agility really show at this level, as his height doesn't give the same edge it did in the Championship. Didn't see much use and will be sold.

And that's about it. My 35 goals scored were almost lowest in the league and the reason for many draws and 1 goal losses so I'll look to improve the attacking side of my squad in the summer. Better attacking play should also give me more of the ball and pressure opponents to reduce some goals, though if I can improve my defence I will (fullbacks being the main weakness currently).

Not entirely sure which formation to start next season with as it depends who I can bring in but hopefully I can improve the squad and get more points, likely with less original players to comment on as some will be sold to make room.

Ukchris · January 5, 2013

Start of Season 3: 2014 - 2015

I'm posting again quite quickly but I just hadn't posted the end of last season when it happened, the past couple of days have just been spent micromanaging the summer transfer window and preaseason with quite a few changes made. With money flooding in due to the small wage bill the board agreed to upgrade both training and youth facilities which is nice, though I can't persuade them to expand youth recruitment at this point. Might look at buying the stadium soon as the balance is good. Along with facility upgrades I made some key staff changes, securing a Head of Youth Development with a great professional personality (Dave Parnaby) and good new Reserve and U18 Managers, along with a couple of 0.5 star coach upgrades and some new scouts.

Onto the players, the first step was to lose some players I knew wouldn't be in my plans...

Players Out: Summer 2014

Robert Koren (Released) - Too old, slow and lethargic to stay.

Liam Cooper (£650k) - Wouldn't make the first team so he's off to Scotland where he should do ok.

Nick Proschwitz (£1m) - A shame he's not better in-game but he's back to Germany to play regularly.

Lars Gulpen (£300k) - A young player I got for £45k before, I'd hoped to make a little more profit but he's extremely injury prone and just couldn't stay fit to increase value.

Not many out so far then as most of the squad remains intact. To add to those staying I signed the following:

Players In: Summer 2014

Valmas, Pablo, Comis and Pufal are all youths to go in the U18 squad and see how they develop over the next few years.

Karabelas is coming in as cheap cover/competition for Del Grosso at left back as I feel Dudgeon is still a bit too weak, though I really want to find a better player for this position.

Kakuta was cheap and has weaknesses but he also strengths I can look to exploit. With that agility and his technical ability I'll look at playing him as an attacking midfielder roaming around the edge of the box, and he may have some more potential to improve.

Williams wasn't going to be signed as Brighton were rejecting bids and I was lined up to sign Fletcher from Sunderland as a stronger forward for £10m but at the last minute I backed out of that deal (£38k wages demanded) and went back to pushing for this regen. Fast, able to jump and at 17 still room to become quite strong, I have hopes he can develop into a strong all-round forward.

Diagne completed the signings as a strong all-round defender, a bit stronger in the air than Chester coupled with good pace. That gives me 3 decent players there, as Sergi Gomez is too weak to rely on if one of the others gets injured and my new youth (Valmas) still needs development. Getting Williams instead of Fletcher allowed this extra signing.

With the squad I have now I'll start the season based around a 442 but I have versatile players to try different shapes and ideas if needed. The depth chart will look something like this:

GK: Andujar (Hansson)

DR: Fernandez (Rosenior)

DC: Hobbs (Chester)

DC: Diagne (Gomez)

DL: Del Grosso (Karabelas, Dudgeon)

MR: Femenia (Stewart)

MCr: Michu (Cairney) - Box to Box

MCl: Cairney (Selnaes, Evans, Britton) - Deep Playmaker/Defender

ML: Quinn (Kakuta, Aluko)

STCr: Sau (Pohjanpalo, van der Kolk) - Advanced forward

STCl: Williams (Fryatt) - Support forward

Anyhow, will see how my new 442 goes this season and adapt if/when needed as I have players who can move around. Will also rotate a few positions as I have forwards who can interchange too. A base of 4411 will be likely for tough away games, with central mids dropped deeper to 2x DMC for extra cover.

Ukchris · January 11, 2013

End of Season 3: 2014 - 2015

Not exactly an active thread but I'll update anyway Things started nicely with 3 wins putting me top of the table but it wasn't long before a mid-season slump saw me drop to top 10, then top 15, and with around 12 games to go I dropped into the relegation zone. The 442 had picked up a few nice wins (including those first 3) but it was leaving me open too often, though the deep 4411 was doing well against top clubs with nice wins against the likes of Man City and Tottenham hitting them on the counter. I made a few squad changes in the January window as the season unfolded:

Transfers Out: January 2015

DC: Sergi Gomez (£825k) - Birmingham, Championship

DL: Nikos Karabelas (£825k) - Birmingham, Championship

GK: Par Hansson (£950k) - Wolves, Premier League

Gomez simply wasn't needed with Hobbs, Chester and Diagne all playing well ahead of him and as he wouldn't develop further I moved him on with youngsters ready to provide backup. Karabelas I'd only brought in 4 months earlier but he was a backup complaining about not starting so I let him go and kept Dudgeon for cover. Hansson was similar, he wasn't starting ahead of Andukar in goal but constant complaining could unsettle the team so I let him go too with the youngster Kadu improving in training for cover.

Transfers In: January 2015

Only one signing, the winger Jires Kembo-Ekoko on a free transfer:

For some reason his club in the United Arab Emirates released him, despite rating over 7.50 each season with them and getting plenty of goals/assists. I figured he'd add some much needed creativity to mix on the wings with Femenia and Kakuta, as I lacked talent there if either of them was injured or needed a rest.

After dropping into the relegation zone I put the 442 away and stuck with the 4411 in all games, though with new changes to make it less defensive at home.

The changes worked and I finished the season in great form, stringing wins together to finish in 13th, two positions higher than least season with much better goal difference and 6 more points as a result. Sau finished as my top scorer with 14, joint 7th for the league, and played well as a creative AMC behind a young, pacey striker. Kakuta, Femenia and Kembo-Ekoko all did well on the wings in this system as it plays to their strengths - they're midfielders rather than forwards but all fast, agile and good runners so by starting deeper in MR/ML rather than up at AMR/AML in a typical 4231 they ran at defenders, made space and either burst past to score or played it across to others.

Top Performers

1. Marco Sau was fantastic after being disappointing his first 6 months with me last season. With his creativity and technical ability he adapted to dropping deeper into AMC well and even got a hat-trick from there in a 7-1 thrashing of West Brom. A much improved season for him and he adds that ability on the ball my young strikers don't have (yet).

2. Jack Hobbs was a rock once again, and back to club captain. Chester and Diagne were both great too but I saw little errors with both of them that Hobbs didn't seem to make and he edged it as strongest of the three in a good defence.

3. Gael Kakuta started the season unfit after Chelsea never used him and picked up two niggling injuries to slow his progress early on but once he came back after January, got to full fitness and stayed healthy he added a spark I'd been missing on the left to help bring the team to life.

Disappointment of the Season

Without a doubt, Michu once again. It's mostly down to his PPM of 'Shoots from Distance' as he can be in good passing positions but throw it away with a rubbish shot from range, even with long shots set to rarely. He just lacks the ability with long shots to use that PPM and rather than hitting them with power to force rebounds they mostly trickle along the ground towards the corner flag. He won't unlearn the PPM either so he ended up on the bench by the end of the year and I may look at selling him and moving on.

Pohjanpalo was another disappointment this season, though it was bad luck. After being my top scorer the previous year and developing well he tore a calf muscle and was out for 4 months, with more time after to regain fitness. The injury destroyed his physical attributes, dropping him from 14/14 accel/pace down to 12/12 and where he had been improving further he now won't regain any of that - his development has stalled since the injury, so this may be his limit. He's still not bad technically but he's lost that bit of pace and may need to adapt to a deeper role now.

Original Hull Players

To help anyone starting a Hull save, here's my ongoing assessment of players I still have from the start...

Hobbs - As mentioned, still a rock in defence. Leads the team in interceptions, makes key tackles and is a good captain. Resolute personality also great for tutoring youngsters.

Chester - Still going strong too. That slight weakness of his height can show when up against tall forwards but aside from that he's up there with Hobbs.

Rosenior - Did ok when called upon but didn't play much in a backup role as my first choice RB stayed fit. He might go this summer as his contract is up and I have some youngsters coming through.

Dudgeon - As with Rosenior he did ok when needed as cover but simply won't become a first choice player. I might keep him while his wages are low for extra depth but as soon as I'm happy with new youth players I'll let him go.

Evans - He'll never be a flashy player but he plays a simple game well. Let him sit deep, collect the ball from defence and pass it on to more creative players. Reliable without being world class, he's still good for rotation. Also a good tutor with a Resolute personality.

Cairney - Still a good squad player, he rotated with Selnaes this season as both are very similar. Used in the Box to Box role in the 4411/4231 with Evans sitting behind him he's still good on the ball at this level, though can show a slight weakness defensively.

Quinn - A broken leg and 5 months out really hurt Quinn this season as he dropped speed along with other attributes. While he was a decent backup before, now he's come to an end of being useful. I'll let him go as he can still be a good player at a lower level.

Aluko - A backup this season and did ok when needed but doesn't fit my system now. He has some pace but lacks agility so can't turn defenders the way my other wingers can and when played deeper he has the technique to pass the ball nicely but lacks decisions to do so at the right time. I'll probably let Aluko go soon too.

Stewart - Developed a bit but will always be one-dimensional with great pace and not much else. Can destroy lower league teams in cup games but struggles at this level.

Fryatt - Another original player who now has a bit-part role. He didn't stand out when I did use him and lacks the pace to play as my fast, advanced forward. Can't drop back to AMC in the way Sau can. With my youngsters developing nicely, Fryatt may also be on his way out soon.

That's about it then. A good season overall finishing 13th and I'm liking how my new system is coming along with players starting to fit it well. Will be pushing heaviliy towards youth development now I feel I have a decent squad base to work from. Facilities improving nicely too with the following all improved this season:

-Training facilities x2 (2nd upgrade to finish before next season)

-Youth facilities x2 (2nd upgrade to finish before next season)

-Stadium bought.

-Stadium expansion to 28k.

-Youth academy increased to next level.

-Junior coaching increased.

The only thing I haven't had the option to ask for yet is expanding Youth Recruitment Network, but hopefully soon.

Looking forward to next season as I have a bunch of youngsters with good potential on the way and a couple of free signings I made for the first team but I'll show them in the update at the start of the new season. All in all a good season of consolidation and setting myself in position to develop the squad with youth to push on.

Ukchris · January 14, 2013

Start of Season 4: 2015 - 2016

After two seasons consolidating my position in the Premiership (15th and 13th), and gaining the financial rewards, I'm happy now that I'm in a stable position to build for the future. Facilities are constantly being upgraded, the bank balance continues to increase and I'm ready to push on now. No more being happy with avoiding relegation, it's time to make a top half finish the minimum and work on pushing for Europe.

To start with I found a few players last January with their contracts expiring so rather than buying then I got them for free over the summer, along with £3.8m on a young left back for the first team.

Players In: Summer 2015

-Duplus (£800k) replaces Rosenior as backup right back. He's no world beater but should be steady if/when needed and has a Resolute personality to help develop 15/16 year olds for the future.

-Fabbrini (free) is another pacey, dribbling winger for the team with a decent creative side to add another dimension.

-Djuricic (free) will be a creative option for the AMC role.

-Cirigliano (free) gives me another holding midfielder with more creativity than Evans, somone to sit deep and open teams up.

-Mendy (free) needs a little more development but Del Grosso is getting old and Dudgeon isn't first team standard.

-Ngoyi (free) was a late addition but for free I felt he'd add value as a strong holding player with good height to use against physical teams like Stoke.

-Barlocco (£3.8m) joined after to compete with Mendy for left back and development, my highest transfer of the season at over £3m.

-Costil (free) completed the first team signings as another freebie. I hadn't planned on a new keeper but Costil has slightly better stats and is younger than Andujar who's now in his thirties - I couldn't say no.

In addition I signed 16 youth players aged 14 - 16 so my U18 squad now has players developing in every position. Some won't make it to the first team, others might, but I got them all pretty cheap and I enjoy development so I'm happy with having plenty to work with there.

That's a long list but as mentioned most are youths and the total spent isn't much more than I received for selling a few players. I won't post screenshots of all the youths as that would be too much spam.

Players Out: Summer 2015

With the new players on free transfer arriving in the summer I had surplus players in certain positions to let go, including several starting Hull players.

Leon Britton (Released) - Ageing and slow.

Liam Rosenior (Released) - Into thirties and demanding high wages.

Matty Fryatt (£1.2m) - Gone back to the Championship with Sheff Utd. Should do well there.

Joe Dudgeon (£1m) - Joined Middlesbrough in the Championship, the right level for him now.

Stephen Quinn (£500k) - Also dropped to the Championship with Bolton.

Michu (£4.4m) - Gone to Werder Bremen as he didn't fit with what I want now. Hadn't performed well for me.

Cameron Stewart (Loan, £100k p/m) - No one wanted to buy but Everton have a depleted squad and wanted him on loan as cover.

Several youngsters who either have club home-grown status now or can't get it (Brazilians signed too old) have also gone on loan, with options to recall if needed or they don't get games.

Squad and Season Outlook

With the new signings I'm quite happy with my first team now. I have 4 wingers all good on the ball, strong central defence, good depth in the middle and up front a couple of pacey young strikers constantly improving backed up by a couple of creative players. I'll be basing most games around my 4411 with the ability to shift to 442 when I want to be more open and attacking. I'm looking at this first team squad, with youngsters either developing or out on loan with recall options if needed to cover injuries (hopefully not!).

Note: Player roles/duties reflect base tactic and things are adapted based on opponents, specific player etc. (eg. Cirigliano usually plays as a DLP/Def there at DMC, rather than DM/Def for Evans.)

GK: Costil - Andujar

DR: Fernandez - Duplus

DC: Hobbs - Chester - Diagne

DL: Mendy - Barlocco - Del Grosso

DMC: Cirigliano - Evans - Ngoyi

MC: Cairney - Selnaes

MR: Fabbrini - Femenia

ML: Kakuta - Kembo-Ekoko - Aluko (only got bad loan offers for Aluko, no transfer bids this summer)

AMC: Sau - Djuricic

SC: Williams® - van der Kolk® - Pohjanpalo

* ® = regens.

* Red = Original Hull player still in the first team squad.

Hoping for a good season with a top half finish and potential push for a European place.

Tyler42 · January 15, 2013

I forgot to update my save in here, and since I'm on the year 2029 I'll post some images regarding what has happened during those years.

So my way to the top was to spend money on youth and upgrading facilities once I got to the PRM. That's the reason why my success took a lot longer then it usually has in my previous Hull saves. I also let a lot of players from the Hull U18's get their chance for some first team appearances. Once I had built up a pretty solid team I came in 2nd place 3 times in a row, by then I had won the EC and Club World Championship a couple of times and had started signing players for a lot higher transfer fee's than I had before.

My club page: http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/Team-Status_zps75806fb2.png

As you can see, Hull is the best club in England and in the world. But Barca has higher reputation than me.

My Squad: http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/squad-3_zpsecb2dec7.png

My team, the best in the world atm.

My best players (And also the best player in the world): http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/james-collins_zps7e065280.png

Jadan Collins's history: http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/jadancollins_zpsec766976.png

My best player, yet he only became a regular for the English national team when he turned 27, he had won the World Golden Ball even before that. Some sort of bug it seems.

My best Striker: http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/ceripeagram_zps89858e04.png

Got him from Liverpool 3 seasons ago for 29m pounds. He can't stop scoring.

Overall best eleven: http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/BestEleven_zpsbe8de8ae.png

Some of Hull's best players.

Competition wins: http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/competitions_zps02885594.png

My trophies.

Trashing R.Madrid in the EC finals: http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/championship-final_zpsedf485be.png

My EC final against Madrid. It was exciting until the last 20mins of the match i suppose...

General club info: http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/generalinfo_zps7d1d3450.png

General info.

Knockaert's history: http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/knockaert_zpsfde22a5d.png

Why he is considered a Legend at Hull.

Tacics: http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/tactics_zps6d380006.png

My 1st team line up and my own made tactic.

Any info that you guys want, just ask for it and I'll be happy to give it to you.

Ukchris · January 18, 2013

Nice status you have Hull at now Tyler. Which of the original Hull players did you find the most useful / keep longest? From your Overall Best XI it looks like just Cairney long-term? Nice to see Pohjanpalo had a good run with you, and Knockaert looks to have been a great purchase. Some of these regens you have now are insanely good, looks like players develop better long-term at AI clubs in FM13 rather than Man Utd etc. becoming weak after 6-7 seasons. Good to see. Did you invest much in developing your own youth from 15/16 or stick to buying players in their early twenties from other teams ready to be immediate first team regulars?

My updates won't continue the same way too much longer as I'm getting low on original players and there's no point in me making lengthy posts here as I get full of regens. Half way through Season 4 so far and sitting nicely in the top 6, ahead of expectations, though I have 7 away games in a row now which might be tricky - great scheduling there. The free transfers have been brilliant (Fabbrini in particular is destroying teams) and the added talent has really helped Cairney to shine too.

Amusingly Stoke have a front strike pair of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa in my game and got a Champions League spot with them last season, though in their mid-thirties now they don't have the physical side to be as good as they were.

Tyler42 · January 20, 2013

Nice status you have Hull at now Tyler. Which of the original Hull players did you find the most useful / keep longest? From your Overall Best XI it looks like just Cairney long-term? Nice to see Pohjanpalo had a good run with you, and Knockaert looks to have been a great purchase. Some of these regens you have now are insanely good, looks like players develop better long-term at AI clubs in FM13 rather than Man Utd etc. becoming weak after 6-7 seasons. Good to see. Did you invest much in developing your own youth from 15/16 or stick to buying players in their early twenties from other teams ready to be immediate first team regulars?
My updates won't continue the same way too much longer as I'm getting low on original players and there's no point in me making lengthy posts here as I get full of regens. Half way through Season 4 so far and sitting nicely in the top 6, ahead of expectations, though I have 7 away games in a row now which might be tricky - great scheduling there. The free transfers have been brilliant (Fabbrini in particular is destroying teams) and the added talent has really helped Cairney to shine too.

Amusingly Stoke have a front strike pair of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa in my game and got a Champions League spot with them last season, though in their mid-thirties now they don't have the physical side to be as good as they were.

Tom Cairney was there until he turned 32, then I sold him. He was good as a AMC - AP capped 62 times for Scotland, 6 goals. Jack Hobbs also stayed until he was 30, then I managed to sell him for 6m, Hobbs even managed to get 3 caps for England while he played for Hull. I also managed to get Boaz Mhill back for 2 season, then I replaced him with my current regen Aspinall.

I've been buying young players a lot, but now since I'm making such high figures I usually just buy one good players that's under 23yrs for 10-40m, thats how I got Collins and Peagram. And yeah I tried to always have the best youth facilities, junior coaching and youth recruitment that my reputation allowed. It brings me a good player that will get into 1st team football about every 3 years. I find it a little low but its better than the older games.

I might makes this the last season for me, if I win the EC and PRM yet again. Might head over to Spain and build up a club there.

Tyler42 · January 20, 2013

In other news, I won everything except the Capital One Cup & Community Shield.

The PRM, EC, Club World Championship, Euro Supercup and FA Cup.

Me trashing the PRM:

http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/table30_zps01d8d5bd.png

Fixtures, how did I lose 0-6 to Tottnhm? I still dont know:

http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/fixtures30_zps095ca567.png

Squad:

http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/Megalomaniac42/squad30_zpse5b37d62.png

Fun fact; Only one of my player mad it to the top 5 goals scorers charts in the PRM, placing 5th. And that player was out for 2 months.

Ukchris · January 21, 2013

Blimey, that's one hell of a goal difference! Safe to say you're dominating world football now - except the League Cup

Ukchris · January 26, 2013

End of Season 4: 2015 - 2016

I wanted a top half finish and got it comfortably, exceeding expectations to finish 5th. It went down to the last day for 4th place and I drew against Burnley when a 3-0 win or better would've seen be ahead of Spurs on goal difference. Disappointing to miss out on the Champions League when so close but I'm still very happy with the season and the Uefa Cup will bring more money (and reputation).

Squad (sorted by minutes played)

Gold = Starting Hull player still in the squad

Red = Regen

Mostly played the 4411 variant pictured in a previous update, though I used 442, 4231 and 41221 at times when I felt them better suited to handle opposing formations.

Best Performer

A number of great performances through the season - Kakuta very good again, Cairney contributing a lot more in the middle and my regen striker Williams developing well but it has to be Diego Fabbrini. Played as a Winger/Support at MR in the 4411 most of the season he was lethal and finished as my top scorer. A great signing on a free transfer.

Biggest Disappointment

It has to be Jack Hobbs, but not for playing badly. After two solid seasons as my captain I expected the same again and sure enough he was on 7.88 with no mistakes for the first 11 games. Then he got a nasty inury (tendonitis) keeping him out for the rest of the season. He came back to training with 3 games to go but at 40% match fitness he didn't get back in shape to play again. With the long time out he's declined with some bad attribute loss. I'll see what I can do to help him regain some but I fear he's no longer my top defender, particularly with a number of regens pushing for a start.

Starting Hull Players

Not many left now with several leaving before this season started, but along with the stats above here's a brief note on each still with me.

Jack Hobbs - As mentioned he started the season great, was solid as ever until his long injury. Had he stayed fit he would've stayed in the team but this second lengthy injury may have derailed his career. Resolute personality will still make him a good tutor if he can't regain lost attributes to reclaim his starting spot next season.

James Chester - Started as 3rd choice behind Hobbs and Diagne but stepped up to a starting role after Hobbs' injury, and as Vice Captain with Hobbs out he captained the team every remaining match he played. Played decently against most teams but his aerial weakness as always was a concern against teams with big forwards like Carroll.

Corry Evans - Played roughly a third of possible gametime he was backup defensive midfielder. As with previous seasons he did a good job when called upon without being spectacular. Still a reliable squad player and good tutor with Resolute personality.

Tom Cairney - Had his best season with me so far, 7 goals and 8 assists in his Box to Box role at MC. Played the most out of the original players this season and is my midfielder best suited to that role currently.

Sone Aluko - As you can see he only played 1 game, and his 7.70 with a goal is misleading as it was the League Cup against a lower league team. I simply didn't need him, and the only reason he stayed was that no one wanted to buy him. With his final year of contract coming up I'll do my best to sell him this summer.

That's about it. A good season, European competition next season and only a handful of original players remaining. Will see how long these last players stay with me with a number of young regens developing.

White Rose · February 6, 2013

Well i have got back into my Hull save, where i won promotion in my first save. Just spent a very busy summer, i have ended up with a smaller squad than i thought and i have had a huge overhaul. In the long term i think i will appreciate it, however short term i don't think i can expect anything more than surviving. Most of the players i have signed should stay with me for a while, but with quite a lot of foreign players its going to take time to settle, and personally i will give them that. I am yet to choose the system i am going to play, i have a lot of players who are strong centrally so i may take advantage of that.

Will post in more depth tomorrow, when i've got my game loaded.

Andy 23 · February 12, 2013

Still looking forward to the next patch before starting my Hull City save. Lots to think about with this overstocked squad. I wonder if it may be wise to cash in on some players at the start of the game who will be out of contract of surplus to requirements if promotion is achieved in the first season.

Rosenior and Dawson are prime candidates as their contracts are due to expire and they are old. This leaves the squad bereft of full backs, but these can usually be picked up on loan from Premier League clubs.

Will anyone take McShane and Olofinjana on their wages?

Is Simpson worth keeping?

Cairney's contract either needs renewing or sell him on.

Is Koren expendable before he reaches his sell-by date?

I think with a few sales you can put out a 4-5-1 that's strong enough for promotion (and contracts are tied up to do it in season 2 if not):

GK: Stockdale

D: McShane, Faye/Hobbs, Chester (Bruce), Dudgeon

M: Evans/Meyler, Cairney, Quinn (Olofinjana, Faye)

AML/R: Aluko (Brady/Quinn), Elmohamady (Stewart)

F: Fryatt (Proschwitz)

Strong in all positions except full back and a lack of cover for the striker if you sell Simpson. Mclean could be recalled?

Andy 23 · February 12, 2013

...I am of course forgetting the two new Egyptian players on loan. Fathi is probably the best option at right-back, leaving McShane in reserve. Gedo would provide the extra backup for the striker.

So just left-back where options are short if Dawson and Rosenior are sold. Might want to spend some of that money raised on a permanent goalkeeper.

Niksa83 · February 13, 2013

Still looking forward to the next patch before starting my Hull City save. Lots to think about with this overstocked squad. I wonder if it may be wise to cash in on some players at the start of the game who will be out of contract of surplus to requirements if promotion is achieved in the first season.
Rosenior and Dawson are prime candidates as their contracts are due to expire and they are old. This leaves the squad bereft of full backs, but these can usually be picked up on loan from Premier League clubs.

Will anyone take McShane and Olofinjana on their wages?

Is Simpson worth keeping?

Cairney's contract either needs renewing or sell him on.

Is Koren expendable before he reaches his sell-by date?

I think with a few sales you can put out a 4-5-1 that's strong enough for promotion (and contracts are tied up to do it in season 2 if not):

GK: Stockdale

D: McShane, Faye/Hobbs, Chester (Bruce), Dudgeon

M: Evans/Meyler, Cairney, Quinn (Olofinjana, Faye)

AML/R: Aluko (Brady/Quinn), Elmohamady (Stewart)

F: Fryatt (Proschwitz)

Strong in all positions except full back and a lack of cover for the striker if you sell Simpson. Mclean could be recalled?

Dawson is too old, let him go after the first season.

I personally kept Rose because he has pretty decent acc and pace. As far as i remember he is only 27.

Mcshane can be sold, i sold him cheap for some scottish team, rangers perhaps for 100k or so.

Olofinjana i sold for free and promised to the buying team to pay half of his wages untill his original contract with Hull ran out. This way i saved about 600k on his wages.

Simpson is so-so. Not good but decent backup.

I'd definetly keep Cairney, in my game he has developed quite a bit and is worth keeping.

Koren is OK for 2 season, so ditch him after that.

Faye,hobbs,chester are good on DC, Ditch faye after 2 seasons. Keep Chester and Hobbs. I'd recommend concentrating on improving Hobbs quickness as he is very slow.

Cairney and Evans are good on midfield.

AMR/L Quinn,Aluko and Stewart are great. Stewart has 20acc and 20 pace and he is beast on the right wing and he will develope even further.

Fryatt is good all-around player as striker and you can use 4 or 5 different roles for him, Proschwitz is best used as target man. Fryatt as advanced forward on attack duty + Proschwit as a target man with support duty is very good combo.

Biggest weakness with Hull is the left back position as dawson is slow and pretty old and Dudgeon just ins't up to the task IMO.

Edit: try the assymmetric pre-set formation, it suits Hull perfectly.

Andy 23 · February 14, 2013

I'm more looking at who can be cashed in on at the start of the game rather than having players who won't get a game in my squad for a year then run out of contract.

Rosenior is good but it means renewing his contract and keeping him in the Premier League while he gets to 30 and loses some pace. I've firmly got my eye on season 2, achieving promotion in the first season!

Having thought about it, I'll probably keep Koren to help me get promotion, but give Cairney as much game time as possible as he's the long term bet. Koren can be sold after promotion is achieved.

Niksa83 · February 14, 2013

Wau, i started a new Hull City game because i got corrupted save game in my 3rd season. Now that we have the new updated match engine im actually strugling to get consistent results with any tactic. Preseason went really well scoring lot of goals and only conceding 2, now that the season started i've been strugling really hard and my team morale is going down the toilet.

Hey Andy, what tactic you've been playing with? Do you use AML/AMR wingers or ML/MR wingers? I was thinking about swapping Wingers for Wingbacks and stacking more players in the midfield to help with the posession football. I'll post a screenie later.

Andy 23 · February 14, 2013

Hi Niksa, at the moment it's all in my head Planning how I will set my team up when I start a new savegame, but I'm waiting for the data update.

It will be a back four, 3 MCs, AML and AMR, and SC. Variations for different circumstances will probably be moving an MC to DM or AM, and moving the wingers back to ML and MR.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on playing wingbacks. However, I'd be concerned moving these players out of their natural positions and asking them to defend. I'd rather they just do what they're best at, which is attacking, and use specialist full backs.

Niksa83 · February 14, 2013

Using

WBL/WBR

CD/CD

DMC

MC/MC

AMC

ST/ST

Dang, definetly a posession footbal. My team is totally dominating in the final 3rd pulling through balls and getting loads of chances. Hull going all-out Barca! Sadly im really prone for counters. Since quality of the players are not so high i decided to ditch this approach and save this formation for later use incase i can get super awesome pacey DC's at some point.

After bad string of results i had pretty aggressive team meeting and lo and behold........my team has been winning again. Scoring as much as 4 or 5 goals a game. Biggest suprise being Alex Bruce, whom was supposed to be backup DC is now in my starting 11 with whooping average rating of 8.10 after 15 games or so. Despite the bad attribute this guy somehow is better than anyother DC in my team. It really doesnt make any sense but ill take that kind of form with open arms.

I've been changing tactics before every game, im basicly trying to counter what my opponent is throwing at me formation wise. So i've been using flat 4-4-2, 4-5-1, 4-3-3, 4-2-2-2. Even though i've been changing the formations alot. my team is still capable of producing good results even though they are not familiar with the formations being used.

Ukchris · February 26, 2013

End of Season 5: 2016 - 2017

This was my first season in Europe after finishing 5th the year before so the Uefa Cup brought extra games. Rotation wouldn't be a huge issue though as I have many youth being developed and in need of gametime. All in all it went rather well, top 6 in the league all season and after a bit of bouncing between 3rd - 5th I finished 4th to secure Champions League football for next season. The Uefa Cup went ok, dominated my group but lost in the first knockout round to Sevilla on away goals - their 89th minute goal to go from 3-1 to 3-2 at our ground in the return leg was gutting! I played youth in the Carling Cup where, as usual, Man Utd beta me (why do I get them ever single year) while in the FA Cup I reached the semi-finals this year. No silverware then but a productive season and the focus is on youth anyhow.

For games I felt comfortable winning I played 442 to make use of my strikers but utilised other shapes when I felt it was needed, such as 41221 to counter strong teams with quality players at AMC. As I have a large squad full of regens I won't spam all the stats so here's the top 7 in the table plus brief stats of my top 6 attacking players for the year. I had regen defenders playing brilliantly but they're not shown here as their product isn't so easy to quantify as goals/assists.

R = Regen

As Fabbrini and Kakuta (my two first choice wingers) are both available from the start as real players rather than regens I'll show them both quickly as they're now hitting mid-twenties and reaching their full development. Very happy with both of them.

Original Hull Players

There aren't many of the starting squad left with me but here's a rundown of where they stand after this season.

Tom Cairney: Still my preferred central midfielder for the attacking role when I want my strongest squad. He usually plays as a Box to Box with a DLP sitting deeper alongside/behind him and makes use of attacking space nicely. As I have 3 young central midfielders being developed, plus Duricic as the other senior player for the position, Cairney doesn't play every game but always performs well when he does. Will stay in the squad as first choice until a regen becomes stronger.

Corry Evans: Didn't play much this season as I was mostly playing 442 with Cirigliano (Captain) the first choice and Ngoyi seemed a touch stronger as 2nd choice but Evans was used when I played a 41221 setup, sitting deeper as a DMC to cover the back four. He made a decent backup captain when Cirigliano was injured but definitely lacks the ball skills to be a regular starter, particularly in a 2-man central midfield. He's now a fringe player, useful as backup and for tutoring with his Resolute personality but will find himself pushed out when regens develop further and surpass him.

James Chester: After being a regular every season he's now been replaced, his 11 Jumping and 9 Agility making him a liability, too easily beaten in the air and turned on the ground. He ended the year in the reserves and will be sold in the summer as I now have 4 stronger regens for the position and he'll be entering his final year of contract.

Jack Hobbs: He was unable to regain any attributes after the two lengthy injuries the previous season and now, as with Chester, is simply inferior to my regens. I'd kept him this year to tutor youngsters with his Resolute personality but now he's also entering his final year of contract he'll be sold in the summer along with Chester. Fans won't like it but I won't be paying £27k a week for a reserve player when I can get several million for him.

That's about it then. A good year securing Champions League and a lot of regens developing nicely. Hopefully I'll be able to start winning things soon. Cairney remains a strong first team players and Evans a capable backup but they'll soon be the only two original players left with me when Chester and Hobbs move on in the summer.

Ukchris · February 26, 2013

Andy: Did you get a save going after the data update? It'd be interesting to see how it goes with the liked of Meyler and Gedo available now.

Niksa: Sounds like you're doing well. That shape you posted is one I used to great effect around 10 years ago when the game was commentary only. I haven't had the courage to try it since! Did you get promotion? Going well in the Premier League?

Andy 23 · February 26, 2013

I'm currently 'testing' my plan before starting a new game proper when the data update arrives! The injuries throughout pre-season (Fryatt, Evans, Olofinjana, Rosenior, Dawson, Hobbs) look like a niggle to get everyone fit for the opening weeks of the season, but otherwise it's a very strong squad.

Ukchris · February 28, 2013

Aha, I was thinking the data update was out before today Good luck now it is! While I'll be continuing my existing save hopefully the mention of youth wage demand changes will mean I can spend a bit less paying my youngsters before they've even played a game.

Playing a bit risky in Season 6. Several senior players had contracts expiring so I sold them rather than wait for them to go on frees - but now I'm relying on youths to rotate in to fill the squad rather than buying new seniors. Only 10 players older than 20 now but it should allow more room for player development. Could hurt my Champions League campaign though, only just scraped through qualifying against the Portugese champions with an 87th minute goal to reach the group stage!

Andy 23 · March 5, 2013

I wasn't expecting to get quite so many serious injuries and suspensions so I've revised my thoughts on how to start the game a little. I will now keep Liam Rosenior to be first choice right-back, with Fathi and McShane covering this and a couple of other positions (and Rosenior also an option at left-back). Simpson will be my only sale.

LFC Chupa Chups · March 6, 2013

Decided to start as Hull a few weeks back and I don't regret it one bit. Quite sad that i'm not on the latest update but I can't seem to bring myself to start again, having too much fun at the moment.

I will post my what I think is success later on when I get home.

Tyler42 · March 8, 2013

Well I'm doing fine, but it looks like I'm about to lose the title race for the first time in 8 years. I´ve been losing some amazing games where I have completely dominated. Unlucky I guess.

It's also time to say goodbye to some of the club's legends. I don't know how I'm going to fill up some of the spots they will leave empty. I'm already starting to notice a decreased success after their aging and declining in stats.

Here's a list of my soon departing legends:

Michael Aspinall - History - Bio

Micahel Aspinall has been a long serving GK, now at the age of 38 and the most capped English player of all time. Retiering at the end of this season. He will be joining the backroom staff room though, as a GK Coach. Although he is not listed as a club legend (GK's never make it to that list) he truely is one.

Femi Adebola - History - Bio

Femi Adebola was signed to add some creativity to the attack. His high Passing skills and Technique were the main reasons for him being signed. He holds the club record of most assists in a season, at an amazing 39 assists.

Mitch Pendleton - History - Bio

Mitch came trough the Hull Youth team, and became the heart of the defense at the age of 21. Him and Terry Lee were a great combo as CB's.

Jadan Collins - History - Bio

Collins has been the best player in the world 6 years in a row. Only now for the first time did he not win the Gold Ball, at the age of 34 he is still proving a worthy asset to the team. And his scoring days are far from over.

Terry Lee - History - Bio

Terry rose through the Hull Youth ranks and proved to be a loyal and a good CB. Never fails to please and still has a few ears left in the game.

Hull's Trophy Room

Want more info of my game? Feel free to ask.

kccircle · March 24, 2013

I'm still playing as Hull City and in the 20/21 season. Still not managed to qualify for the Champions League.

Only Cairney remains although Hobbs left on a free at the end of the previous season. Hobbs has managed to get a bench slot in the team of the season for me on three occasions. Quite a remarkable achievement given we'd not placed in the top 4 of the Premier League.

I'm on the 'lite' version so unsure whether I can even get stadium upgrades but I did have an embargo last season as the Allems moved on.

Andy 23 · March 25, 2013

kccircle: I'm interested to hear about Cairney's development, which role you found to get the best out of him, training regime, attribute increases etc.

Ukchris · March 26, 2013

Tyler: Some great players you've had. Did you retain your title in the end and replace the old players?

kc: I'm on the normal version but haven't been able to get past 30k capacity. The stadium has been bought but so far (2018) the Allams don't think there's enough demand to expand.

Andy: Cairney is actually the only starting player I have left in my 7th season, after I sold Evans in the summer. I'll post some info up on him soon for you.

Ukchris · March 26, 2013

Here he is in December 2018, half way through season 7:

Early on I was using him as a Deep Lying Playmaker primarily in a 3 man midfield so to make him a bit stronger in that deeper role I focused specific training on his Strength (from 9 to 13), Positioning (from 8 to 12) and Marking (from 7 to 11). I also wanted him a little more agile to help avoid being tackled so boosted that from 12 to 15. You can see in those first couple of seasons he didn't score and only had a few assists as he played deep and controlled possession but he did what I wanted for that point. I didn't have anyone in the squad to tutor him at the start so his personality stayed the same.

I then got stronger defensive players to sit back as DLP so was able to push Cairney higher, playing as a Box to Box MC (though his long shots were usually set to rarely as I do with almost all my players), sometimes in a 3 man midfield and other times as a pair in a 442. From there he started scoring, and playing higher up the pitch his assists increased too. From around 2015 he reached full development and though various attributes increased by 1 or so his main development was during the first 2 seasons as I focused on the attributes mentioned above. After my early specific attribute focus, when he seemed to stop developing further I switched to Box to Box role training to maintain those areas.

The last couple of seasons I've been focused on a 442 with a Deep Playmaker / Attacking Playmaker combo in the middle. When Cairney has played it's been as the AP but he's now more of a backup player as I have high potential regens I've been developing and now passing Cairney in terms of quality. You can see from his career stats how appearances are now dropping back. As for his attributes, the screenshot is with him just returning from a couple of 2-month injuries that have seen his attributes drop slightly across the board (eg. Technique down to 15 from 16) but when he regains fitness and plays some more games he should get a few of those back. He's slightly below his peak attributes after the injury but not lost too much.

At this stage in my save (playing in Europe every season, pushing top 4 in the league each time) he's a versatile squad player - he can play AP in the middle and cover at DLP if needed, and has even played some games at left midfield if I've had bad injuries there. He's not a first team starter any more due to the regens I mentioned but he rotates in and out. He'll stay the rest of this season but in the summer I'll look at potentially letting him go if he hasn't played many games. I'd like to keep him longer but with the group of regens I have he keeps dropping down the order.

2015 - 2016 was definitely his best season for me, when he was one of my key starters as Box to Box MC playing a mix of 4411 / 442 / 4231 as I finished 5th and secured European competition for the first time. Since then he's gradually played less due to my focus on youth development but as said, my only original player remaining.

Andy 23 · March 27, 2013

Thanks Chris, that's much appreciated. Sounds like he's been a tidy player without ever being a match-winner. You achieved some really important attribute increases, was that just through attribute focus in training and game-time? Or role training?

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FM13: Hull City - the year of the wing back

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