FM 13: Inter Milan - The finances are fading...

[D0bi]

I've been giving youth a big chance, there's a 17 year old African named M'Baye (I think) in the youth team whose been tremendous for me. As has Simone Pasa (both are CB's). Schelotto is unbelievable as either a WingBack (Attack) or a Defensive Winger. If he starts, we win basically. I've played 20 games in total, he's started just 11 of them due to injury but we've won all 11 with him getting 3 goals and 9 assists in them!

[z3n]

I still have M'baye and he is currentl on loan in a serie A club where he is a first team member so he is developing very nicely.

[D0bi]

Well, I've been revelling in how lucky I've been that Milito hasn't gotten a serious injury when he suddenly pulls up short in our game against Juventus - out for 3-4 months, I'm devastated.

Just to highlight the importance of Milito to my team:

As you can see, Milito is the only player who has even gotten to double figures, Cassano went on a 30 game goal drought, Palacio has been injury prone and I've just signed Iaquinta (ex-Juve) on a free for cover up front, looks like he'll be playing a lot more!

[D0bi]

Season 1 Round Up 2012/13

Well it was a mixed season for us, we managed to finish 2nd in the league as well as reach the final of the Italian Cup however we weren't great in Europe and only reached the second knock-out round, losing to Celtic.

Player of the Season: Well I'd like to give an honourable mention to Schelotto, who managed to score 8 goals and get an excellent 14 assists from his 42 starts, but my real Player of the Season must be Diego Milito, he was unstoppable upfront managing 30 goals in his 37 starts for us, and his season-ending injury in February effectively ruined our season, culminating in us being beaten over 2 legs by Celtic in the Europa League and almost losing 2nd place in the league.

Performance:

League:

2nd is probably a fair reflection on where we should have finished. We initially kept up with Juve but as the season wore on they were relentless, our large amount of draws didn't really help us, and we didn't score enough for my liking.

Cup:

I have an unfortunate habit of fielding a few too many youth players in cup games and whilst it technically worked (we reached the final), we had a few scares along the way. Varese came within 6 minutes of knocking us out at the San Siro until I brought on Milito and Guarin for the last 5 minutes. The injury to Milito meant that we had no consistent goalscorers when it came to the final (Milito scored 30 in all competitions as opposed to Cassano, Palacio and Iaquinta who scored a combined 14 goals between them all season).

Europe:

It all started very well, as we dominated SV Reid and Metalurg D in the Qualifiers, and the Group Stages went alright as well although we could never beat Kobenhavn who finished on Maximum Points. Due to finishing 2nd in the Group we drew Atletico Madrid, who we managed to beat (albeit due to an away goal scored in the very last minute). We then played Celtic who I thought we would annihilate but due to Milito's injury we had no one to finish of chances and could only sneak two very late goals across both legs.

Squad:

As you can see Ranocchia and Cambiasso were the rocks at the heart of our defensive work, whilst at the other end Milito and Schelotto were ever-present. Ibrahima MBaye was tremendous in the few games he played for us, and he'll certainly start more next year. Zanetti was as consistent as ever for us, and should continue until well in to his 40's.

On the other side, Cassano (Petulant little bugger he is) was awful for me; 6 goals and 12 assists may not seem too bad but he went 30 games without a goal and consistently moaned. Kuzmanovic was also a moaner, and didn't play well when I gave him a chance at first-team football so I'll probably sell him. Chivu was disappointing but will probably stay as cover unless a good offer comes in.

I anticipate selling a few of the older/slower players to inject some pace in to the team; namely Kuzmanovic, Cassano, Stankovic whilst promoting some youngsters (Mbaye could be a first-team rotation player this year, as could Pasa) and I'll try to bring some pace to the team.

Objectives for next year;

1. Reach the Last-16 of the Champions League
   
2. Finish in the Top 2 again
   
3. Win a Cup (Super Cup or Italian Cup)
   

[eple]

Ahh, Cassano scored a hat trick for me in the first game, then didn't do anything for months before he picked up a 3 month injury. You'd do well to get rid!

Also, I was very disappointed to see Zanetti lose so much of his ability. He was injury free and played most games but lost 2-3 full points in all attributes

[D0bi]

Yeah Cassano is frustratingly inconsistent, which was annoying as for about a month he was my only striker (Milito and Palacio were injured) until I signed Iaquinta. Hopefully I can get rid in Summer, although I'll probably only sign one striker if I do as I want to see how Samuele Longo does when he comes back off loan.

Ideally, Bardi (GK), Pasa and Mbaye (CB's), Donati (RB), Tassi and Benassi (CM) and Longo (ST) all come up from the youth team in Cup Games/games against lower ability teams to give them first team experience. I'm really excited for Mbaye, Donati and Tassi in particular. Mbaye blocked 2 shots off the line in my final game of the season, meaning we finished above Milan

I'd like to sign Faraoni back from Udinese if possible, they've been (surprisingly) relegated so hopefully he should be cheaper!

[z3n]

@D0bi: Nicely done with Milito and his goals Are you using Milito as a lone striker?

[D0bi]

I generally alternated between two tactics, one of them had him as a lone striker on a Deep Lying Forward setting with 2 Winger (A) supporting him, whilst the other had him set as a poacher with another striker alongside (Generally Cassano as a Treq/DLF) with Kovacic playing just behind them as an AMC.

My main problem was that while Milito banged them in, we had literally no one else to replace him when he was injured, which is a concern because he's probably only got a year or two left in him as a main striker so I need a pure finisher soon to support him. Palacio, Cassano and Iaquinta are good forwards, they just can't finish chances like Milito can!

[eple]

I really liked Longo so by all means give him a chance. I'd also pay the price to have Handanovic back. He is excellent and his mentality will have a great influence on Bardi if you have him tutored.

[D0bi]

I've just had all the co-ownership decisions come through at once, and then the next day I had 108 news items all about Co-Ownerships, loans expiring, contracts expiring etc. It almost melted my computer!

I simply delayed the Handanovic decision, means I don't have to pay him and he stays with me Udinese delayed the decision on Faraoni unforunately, although he should get lots of game time in Serie B with them. I managed to sign back Crisetig, Garritano and Benedetti for a combined £1500 (yes, £500 each!) and also the tank that is Francesco Forte for £500.

I have a soft spot for Forte, he'll clearly never do anything at a high level but I love his physical stats so much, really useful if you need someone to bruise a few defenders late on. Managed to sign Carrizo (the GK) on a free after his contract expired, only wanted £20k p/w too!

[D0bi]

I genuinely think I could play this team in the Cup and go quite far!

As you can see, every member of the team is an Inter youth product and Mbaye and Longo are set to be first-team players this year. I could do with a new striker coming through the youth ranks this year as Forte realistically won't make it, but he's a tank. (Click me for his attributes) Obi has the ability to become a very solid Defensive Winger or Wing back (Attack), I just need to get him trained in the positions.

[eple]

Forte looks like a very good player for a team in the Blue square

[D0bi]

Haha so true, but for me his main attributes are:

Strength: 18

Stamina: 16

Pace: 12

Nat. Fit.: 17

Jumping: 17

Balance:15

Heading: 15

OTB: 13

Finishing: 11

Useful for the last few minutes if you need someone to smack a ball to while defending a lead.

[z3n]

Hah, nice squad I have never really payed any attention on Forte, always sold him or he went on a loan. Every year there are tons of new regens so I basically use those regens to fill my U-20 squad.

[D0bi]

I don't like to spend money on new signings, especially if there is youngsters with potential in the youth teams.

Sold quite a few central midfielders as we have Crisetig, Tassi, Romano etc. coming up, so out went Stankovic (free - just to get his wages off the books), Kuzmanovic (£15m) and a couple others.

[z3n]

Romano, Duncan and Pasa are not really good enough as you will see. They could be valuable for a serie B club. The same goes for Forte. He is simply not a promising youngster. All the others in the picture above are really good and they should definitely take part in first team.

[D0bi]

I agree with Forte, but because I've met him I have a soft spot for him . I genuinely think Pasa, Duncan and Romano can become solid squad players, I'll post up images of them all tomorrow, Duncan in particular has come on loads!

[D0bi]

Season 2 2013/14 Summer Transfer Round Up

The aim this summer was to inject a bit of pace and youth in to the team, whilst reducing the wages at the club. For all transfers in, simply click the players bolded name for an image of their stats.

INS:

Diego Laxalt (Coded in-game) - £2.4m. I didn't particularly want Laxalt, as I'd already sorted my left-wing positions, so I've immediately sent him out on loan to Torino (Serie A) so he can adapt to Italian football without disrupting my team, they're also covering his wages. He's done quite well in his first three games for them so there may be a place for him next year if he continues.

Diego Fabbrini - £850k from Udinese. I saw him transfer listed in the first season for a bargain price so I swooped in. He's a very direct, pacy Italian winger who's already settled well getting an assist on his debut. Also wanted low wages at just £13.25k, just what I was looking for.

Hugo Campagnaro (Coded in-game) - Free. Not sure why Inter have offered him a three-year contract, although in fairness what Inter do with "older" defenders (see: Lucio, Zanetti, Cordoba, Samuel, Materazzi etc.) is tremendous. Will be a decent squad player, offering good depth.

Bartolini - £775k. A young NewGen signed from Atalanta, has the potential to be a "leading Serie A" player and could become a very solid winger for me in future.

Marcelo Estigarribia - Free. An absolute steal coming in on a free transfer and for just £3,300 per week in wages! Has Italian second nationality so he doesn't cound as a foreign signing. Within his first game he got a goal, assist and the MOM award, he's a brilliant pacy, versatile winger.

Carrizo - Free. For some reason Lazio decided not to renew his contract so once his loan with us expired I simply offered him a contract and he joins Handanovic and Bardi amongst our three goalkeepers to add great depth to the position.

Robert Acquafresca - £2.5m. After suffering from a lack of goals last season and a heavy reliance on Milito I've sought to remedy that this year. Robbie comes in to join Longo, Milito, Cassano and Palacio up front for a bargain fee and reasonable wages at just £31k p/w.

Total: £6.5m

Outs

Kuzmanovic - £15m. Played just 17 games for me last year in total, and was extremely average, however Arsenal must have seen something in him as they initially bid £11m which I negotiated up to £15m. He has some great attributes but didn't fit with my style of play so I really hope he does well with Arsenal.

Alen Stevanovic - £1.2m (50%). I didn't think he'd ever develop in to a player that I'd be able to use in future, so when Palermo offered £1.2m for our 50% of his contract I agreed.

Dejan Stankovic - Free. This may surprise some people but he was on £79,000 a week and had the incredibly annoying shoots from distance PPM. I offered him out for Free just to get his wages off the books and Mallorca came in. I'm having to pay £16k p/w for the final year of his contract but I'm fine with that as he'd never play this season, and I'd rather pay him £16kp/w to warm someone else bench than £79kp.w to warm mine.

Chivu - Loan. Chivu again wouldn't play and would just take up a place that could be used for a player such as Pasa, Mbaye or Benedetti. He's gone to Espanyol for the season and they're paying 50% of his wages, with an agreed future fee of £425k, which I really hope they activate.

McDonald Mariga - £4.5m. Actually a very good player, however I'm committed to bringing Alfred Duncan in to the team this year so Mariga had to go. Newcastle and 6 clubs put offers in for him and I was glad to receive some much-needed funds.

Other players - £500k total sales (Mostly reserve, youth players)

Total: £22m

So as you can see, good profit was made in the window and I also managed to significantly reduce the wage bill despite increasing the quality and depth of the team.

I also want to share with you two of my biggest hopes from the youth team; Ibrahima Mbaye and Alfred Duncan.

Ibrahima MBAYE:

I have very high hopes for Mbaye, he's played 15 games in total for us this season and last season and has yet to score below 7.1 in a game. I was hoping he'd avoid being called up by Senegal until he'd qualified for Italian nationality however he's just been called up to their team so hopefully they don't play him I just need to develop his Heading attribute although I'm currently working on his Marking.

Alfred DUNCAN:

I forced through the sale of Mariga because of Alfie, set to make his breakthrough this season. Fantastic Physical and Mental stats and he's steadily improving his technicals at the moment. Still has another full "star" of development as well.

[eple]

Well done getting £15m for Kuzmanovic. I think I eventually sol him for half that. Mbaye looks like a real talent, but his team work and bravery is what worried me. I don't think I even noticed Duncan and let him go for free..

I was amazed by Fabbrini. Scored some crackers and was always likely to create a chance with the ball at his feet.

[D0bi]

Yeah I thought I was pushing it when I asked for more than £11m from Arsenal tbh. Duncan has been solid, and Fabbrini is tremendously direct, brilliant to bring on when we need a goal as he just picks the ball up and runs for goal.

Mbaye has just been capped by Senegal, damn!

[z3n]

Yeah Fabbrini runs with the ball like a master with his pace and acceleration. Hmm, Duncan looks nice in your save, in my save he is slightly weaker. What about Benassi, are you planning to use him? I still have Kuzmanovič in my team, he is rotating in the MCR position with Guarin.

[D0bi]

Benassi has gone out on loan for me this year, although I negotiated a recall clause in there in case he wasn't getting games for Vicenza.

Just had Cassano sent off in the 13th minute of our game against Roma, but we managed to win 3-1 due to a fantastic game of counter attacking. After the game I warned Cassano and he "feels the warning was harsh". He's such a b*stard on Football Manager! Next time it's 2 weeks wages.

[z3n]

Nice win with 10 players If you will fine him for 2 weeks then he will 100% start hating you

I just made a new home tactics http://postimg.org/image/br8cbezdz/

Previous game I beat Shakhtar 7-0 with this tactics

[z3n]

Just scored a nice goal against Lyon:

You can check some of my other goals on my channel on youtube. Some earlier goals are from different saves too.

[D0bi]

Nice goal! Hows Siqueira doing for you?

Estigarribia has been tremendous for me, averaged over a goal/assist per game so far, just devastating on the wing.

[z3n]

Quite good. In his first season he made 26 app. and had a rating of 7.43 with 5 goals and 8 assists. This year with 10 app. 2 goals, 3 assists and an average rating of 7.32

Bale is on TL and spurs want 26.5M€ for him. He is valued 24M€. I have made a bid and I hope he accepts. That would mean that Nagatomo will have to leave us. Nagatomo's value is 10M€, so I hope I will get around 15M€ for him.

[D0bi]

Impressive. I keep rotating Nagatomo and Pereira at left back so neither of their values has increased significantly. I prefer Pereira due to his attacking ability as well as his defending. Acquafresca started like a house on fire for me, but hasn't scored in 10 now! However the beast that is Samuele Longo has been firing them in, he scored in a "fiery" Milan Derby that ended 1-1 and with both teams having a player sent off.

After that game, I've got Juve up next, talk about a tough couple of games!

[D0bi]

Just had a scare against Vicenza! Tried to play a ridiculous passing tactic that worked in Pre-season (Albeit against a Serie C1 team) that saw me end up with 80%+ of possession and a stupid amount of passes completed in a 5-0 win, but it didn't go so well and I was 1-0 down at half-time. At 70 mins I went on Overload and switched the formation round, it luckily paid off.

For my third goal, Castellazzi (ex Inter backup-GK, now with Vicenza) tackled Acquafresca on the touchline (my defence pumped a long-ball up) but then ran after his tackle, managed to then tackle Estigarribia about 40 yards from goal but then chased it yet again - this time he lost out to Romano who squared it to Obi for a 45-yard lob in to an open goal! I'll try to save a replay of it!

[D0bi]

Here it is, I just have to laugh

[video=youtube;nNPj7t84Z9s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNPj7t84Z9s

[z3n]

Haha nice goal You replied to my goal instantly Yeah those possesion tactics dont really work. I have to say that Bale has accepted an offer from Liverpool so I guess Nagatomo is staying with me for now.

Lets keep those goals coming, if they are nice, please upload

[eple]

Hah, the goalie just kept on going. Good stuff!

[lennon67]

Lol that goalie is mad. How has Marco Benassi turned out in your saves? I signed him for Parma in my 1st season and I am just currently into my 2nd season, he seems to be developing well for me I am training him to be a box to box midfielder, he has played well when I have used him in this role so hopefully he can become a star for me.

[D0bi]

He's developed all right on my save, nothing special at the moment though. I've sent him on loan this season (coincidentally, to Parma or perhaps Vicenza) to get some game time because right now I'd play Romano and Duncan ahead of him. If he does alright on loan I'll consider him for next season.

[lennon67]

Cheers for the reply d0bi.

[D0bi]

Moratti has gone, end of a dynasty really.

No investment which isn't great, I was hoping for some kind of investment in the facilities. Hopefully he lowers the season expectations because I'm fearful of playing too many youth players in case it jeopardises my title challenge. I don't want to be sacked for not meeting expectations, after all.

EDIT: Juve are once again unstoppable, After 28 games they're 10 points clear of me in second, and have a game in hand. In turn, I'm 10 points clear of third place.

[D0bi]

I seem to have finally unlocked how to beat Juventus in my Save: Defend like mad, for 90 minutes, and counter for 2!

I beat them 3-0 (the first time I've beat them) in the second leg of the Coppa Italia Semi-Final to see me through to the final. Zanetti got all three assists, with Milito (2) and Kovacic scoring.

This means I can win my first piece of silverware with Inter soon, after drawing Bologna in the final.

[z3n]

Woow. Thats very similar to Inter IRL They often field 7 defensive players and only 3 attacking. Congrats on beating Juve. I think there is no question about beating Bologna...you MUST do it

[D0bi]

2013/14 Season 2 Round Up

Well, it was certainly a mixed season, however it had a superb ending. The Serie A is proving almost impossible to win, with Juventus extending their grip on the League with a third straight win, utterly destroying anyone put before them. It says a lot that I finished a whole 14 points ahead of third place Sampdoria, yet I was still 14 points behind Juventus come the end of the season.

We had more success in the Italian Cup, beating Bologna 1-0 in the final after thrashing Juventus 3-0 at the Giuseppe Meazza in the Semis, which gave me my first piece of Silverware with Inter!

It was not to be my last Final of the season either, with our magical run in the champions league resulting in a Final against Real Madrid at the Estadio De Luz. My player of the season this year has got to go to one of our defenders; Juan Jesus, he was our most capped outfield player and recorded an average of over 7.50, scoring some crucial goals. This season also saw Mbaye, Duncan and Pasa all step up and become prominent first-team players. Mbaye in particular is seriously pushing Ranocchia and Juan as a first-choice centre back.

Squad:

Special mentions must go to some of this seasons new additions; Diego Fabbrini managed 6 goals and 12 assists while Samuele Longo returning from a loan at Espanyol took some of the burden off Diego Milito up front and finished with 12 goals and 4 assists.

Serie A:

As you can see, Juventus were quite simply uncatchable. They finished a mammoth 28 points clear of third place Sampdoria and essentially had the title wrapped up with 8 games to go. I was impressed with our performance though, the 81 points we got this year was 10 better than last year, but we still couldn't get the win. We also managed to improve both our defence and attack, with Longo and Acquafresca providing added firepower.

Coppa Italia:

Well! My first Silverware with the Nerazzurri, and it came courtesy of el Principe, Diego Milito, who scored the only goal of the game. For me, the final was slightly underwhelming and beating Juve 3-0 in the second Semi final was in my view the decider of who would win the cup. It was nice to get one over on Juve after they constantly beat us in the Supercoppa and Serie A.

Champions League:

My God! Our first season back in the Champions League and what a run it was! We didn't make it easy for ourselves, going through on away goals twice, first against a Sneijder-inspired Galatasaray and then against a solid Manchester United side in the Quarter Final. We got lucky in the Semi Final, drawing arguably the easiest team left in the competition whilst Real and Dortmund had to fight it out. Falcao netted a hat-trick for Dortmund in a 4-3 defeat. We still didn't make it easy against Leverkusen, with Samuele Longo scoring in the 120th minute with the last kick of the game to send us to the final. Bernd Leno in goal for Leverkusen had the game of his life and finished with a 8.4 rating.

When it came to the final I was pessimistic, Real Madrid had made some incredible signings and featured a team of:

Jovetic

Ronaldo - Kroos - Di Maria

Modric - Alonso

Marcelo - Ramos - Varane - Rafael

Casillas

It was genuinely impossible to find a weakness, and our game-plan was not made any easier by Milito's injury after just 7 minutes, and then Alfred Duncan's red card after 68 minutes. I played the formation posted a few replies above, with 4 defenders, 3 DM's and three attackers. It certainly worked for us, with club legend and il capitano, Javier Zanetti scoring the only goal of the game in the 77th minute with what can only be described as "against the run of play", Handanovic getting the assist. We managed to hang on, basically playing with 10 men behind the ball at all times, ending unsurprisingly with just 35% of possession, however we were European Champions and over the moon. Now we just have to do our best to defend the title next year. Forza Nerazzurri!

Zanetti's goal! [From a Handanovic Goal Kick

[video=youtube;SzEfD8tKCb0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzEfD8tKCb0

Board Promises:

Just wanted to show you this as my new board are really annoying me.

My status is only "secure" and I've actually been "under review" a couple of times this season. Obviously they're delighted with the Champions League win, but I do feel they should make more of an issue about the Italian Cup.

What really annoys me is that I was told to challenge for the title, and whilst I admit I was quite far off the title you'd hope they'd recognise that 81 points has historically been enough to win the title, or to come within a point or two of winning it, we were just unlucky in that Juventus had an amazing season.

Next Season:

I'm not sure if much needs changing next year, Cassano, Hargreaves and a few others will leave as their contracts are expiring, but rather than bring in new players I'll look for the likes or Pasa, Longo, Tassi etc. to step up and fill in. I tried bringing in a few players on Pre-Contracts (De Vrij etc. but all of them chose other clubs over me, unfortunately. I don't think many places need strengthening really, I may sign another striker as Milito is getting on a bit and Acquafresca scored in fits and starts this season. It could be a big year for Samuele Longo if he can improve on last years tally but I may go in for another striker as Cassano is leaving who can push for a first team place.

Overall I'm happy with this year, the Champions League win was sensational, and that Zanetti scored the winning goal as captain. Diego Milito also scored in the Coppa Italia final to show that some times a bit of experience is just what you need.

Zanetti, Samuel and Campagnaro have all announced that they will retire when their contracts expire next season, and I've asked Zanetti to reconsider. If he still decides to retire I still have him for another season and having looked at his staff attributes I can't wait to have him on board; he looks genuinely unbelievable as a coach.

[lennon67]

Well done d0bi on winning the Champions League brilliant achievement, am sure you'll win the league soon enough too. In my Parma save Juventus don't seem to be too dominant in mine like they are in yours, I have just finished my 3rd season and have won Serie A twice in a row and Juventus finished 3rd but I had a Parma save be fore the latest update and they were impossible to beat the 1st three seasons they won Serie A three times in a row, two Champions League in a row and loads a cups. Good luck on winning Serie A!

[D0bi]

Been given £51m to spent for this third season, and while I generally don't like spending much money (particularly due to our financial state) and my most expensive signing to date has been a 5* Newgen called Kyle Hammond (after that, Acquafresca on £2.5m) I do really think that to win the Serie A we're going to have to do what Juve have done and really splash the cash.

There are 9 Argentines in the squad at the moment still, and at least 4 will be gone at the end of the season, due to retirements. I'd like to get rid of Palacio and a few others and bring in a world-class striker, so £50m would certainly help with that.

[30.Beast]

Lol, lucky to have gotten Leverkusen instead of Barca, but great achievment against Real

[DaveMUFC]

Been given £51m to spent for this third season, and while I generally don't like spending much money (particularly due to our financial state) and my most expensive signing to date has been a 5* Newgen called Kyle Hammond (after that, Acquafresca on £2.5m) I do really think that to win the Serie A we're going to have to do what Juve have done and really splash the cash.

There are 9 Argentines in the squad at the moment still, and at least 4 will be gone at the end of the season, due to retirements. I'd like to get rid of Palacio and a few others and bring in a world-class striker, so £50m would certainly help with that.

I like to make realistic transfers for every team, so I'd probably be looking at players they've been linked to, Icardi maybe? And that Mohamed Salah if he's any good on the game? Could also grab Destro and Borini, who are meant to become amazing......

[D0bi]

I like to make realistic transfers for every team, so I'd probably be looking at players they've been linked to, Icardi maybe? And that Mohamed Salah if he's any good on the game? Could also grab Destro and Borini, who are meant to become amazing......

Yeah, I generally try to stick to that principle too, hence signing Acquafresca etc. but unfortunately Destro was sold to Wolfsburg only last year so won't come, although Borini may be a good shout. Icardi looks a little raw on my game, and I already have players like that in Longo and a few Newgens; I could do with someone to come straight in and make an impact, like the Crespo, Vieri and Ibrahimovic's of the last decade

[DaveMUFC]

Yeah, I generally try to stick to that principle too, hence signing Acquafresca etc. but unfortunately Destro was sold to Wolfsburg only last year so won't come, although Borini may be a good shout. Icardi looks a little raw on my game, and I already have players like that in Longo and a few Newgens; I could do with someone to come straight in and make an impact, like the Crespo, Vieri and Ibrahimovic's of the last decade

Yeah, so with sticking to that principle, I'd probably be looking at Italians or Argentines...Borini would be a good shout, he must be around 22-23 on your game now so nearing his best, a proper poacher aswell, although I've got to say he is a bit overrated on the game How about someone like Higuain? Surely after the 1st season you'd be able to get him in around the 20m region?

[eple]

I signed Criestig in my Crewe game. He looks decent enough, but he been amazing so far. 7.68 in AVR after 28 games in his first EPL-season. Chipped in with a few goals and assists and has an average of 9.64 successful tackles pr game.

[D0bi]

Crisetig, unfortunately, isn't to great on my game at the moment, plus there's ridiculous competition for his position. I've had much more success with Tassi, who after a year in the U20's now looks like a brilliant DLP.

Re the striker situation; Higuain's done barely anything for Real the last couple of years, probably due to their signings (Jovetic, Rodrigo, Kroos etc.) pushing him out of the team. I'm a bit annoyed as I was tracking Rodrigo, and he's basically the same player as Jovetic and Benzema who they'd already signed. They've just sold Benzema to Man City for a reduced £11m as well!

[eple]

Are you looking for someone who has a realistic connection to Inter? Then how about Luc Castaignos? Very similar to Longo, but looks like a decent striker. Perhaps not the leading striker though, maybe Luuk de Jong?

Crisetig on my game

[D0bi]

Looks better on your game, probably due to the game time he's been getting for you. Luc Castaignos has only just left (irl) so I doubt he'd return to Italy so soon. Looking at Damiao, but Samuele Longo is seriously staking a claim for the first team, he's scored 6 in 3 pre-season games!

[30.Beast]

I like to make realistic transfers for every team, so I'd probably be looking at players they've been linked to, Icardi maybe? And that Mohamed Salah if he's any good on the game? Could also grab Destro and Borini, who are meant to become amazing......

Yeah, so with sticking to that principle, I'd probably be looking at Italians or Argentines...Borini would be a good shout, he must be around 22-23 on your game now so nearing his best, a proper poacher aswell, although I've got to say he is a bit overrated on the game How about someone like Higuain? Surely after the 1st season you'd be able to get him in around the 20m region?

Icardi is a little underrated by the Samp researcher in certain areas, so he's not going to be better than Luongo.

You could bring in Cirigliano, a brilliant DLP from River(I think). Otherwise Estigaribbia who is on loan at Samp, and perhaps Davide Astori. Depending on money, Benteke is a good one too. He scores tons.

[D0bi]

I got Estigarribia on a free transfer last season, and he was excellent for me.