Paolo Willenté Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 The square is an irritating feature that appears if you use notes. It basically shows you have a note on someone. Ah! That makes sense. I've wondered that for years! Thank you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted April 22, 2013 Author Share Posted April 22, 2013 Sawadogo looks quality Dburns, look forward to seeing his development. Cheers for the comments all, I'll be sticking with Chelsea and this save for as long as possible (things have been a little busy lately hence the lack of updates), the enjoyment should stick around, mainly due to the presence of my son in the game, never had that before so want to play through his entire career if I can. Just read through the whole thing. Excellent career so far, I've actually started bringing some of your ideas to Spain in my save.What is Roman's happiness like at the moment? Is he still enjoying it or showing any signs of wanting to sell up? Roman still loves the club and doesn't look like leaving any time soon, luckily it shouldn't matter if he does as we're pretty sustainable financially now that we've got the new stadium. Glad to hear you're enjoying it. The square is an irritating feature that appears if you use notes. It basically shows you have a note on someone. I did not know why that was there, thanks for that as it's been bugging me for ages. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeesterCat Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 I've come late to this thread after having a small FM break, but what a cracking thread it is. I found it after starting my own Chelsea save and it's certainly given me some inspiration. I don't normally pick saves at clubs that are already in a position to compete for the top league, but how you are going about it has opened my eyes to how interesting a 'big club save' can be. It's also answered a conundrum I've had about what strikers to use in the first season. One question about your save, Bracken: I've noticed you completed 2 seasons with basically only 2 strikers. Even in a lone striker formation, did you not get concerned about injuries, especially to Lukaku? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 I've come late to this thread after having a small FM break, but what a cracking thread it is.I found it after starting my own Chelsea save and it's certainly given me some inspiration. I don't normally pick saves at clubs that are already in a position to compete for the top league, but how you are going about it has opened my eyes to how interesting a 'big club save' can be. It's also answered a conundrum I've had about what strikers to use in the first season. One question about your save, Bracken: I've noticed you completed 2 seasons with basically only 2 strikers. Even in a lone striker formation, did you not get concerned about injuries, especially to Lukaku? I did get a little concerned, but I got lucky really. I had prospects in the youth team if needed, as well as Moses and Mata who could play there in emergencies, so I always did have emergency cover, but luckily for me at least one of them was always fit. Glad you're enjoying the thread mate Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehibb Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Just been catching up on the thread after revisiting a Chelsea save I'd started, then pretty much left alone... I do that a lot. Anyway, I'm two thirds of the way through the second season and I'm trying to bring the youngsters along. I've been giving Chalobah games at DC and been having him tutored by JT but I checked on his progress and noticed he had something like 15 creativity (which I hadnt noticed previously) and also runs through the middle PPM. Not greatly desired traits I suppose for a DC. I just checked on his progress for you and I think he'll be a beast of a DM (DLP) for us, so a little retraining when I get home from work. Ake is looking roughly the same for me as he does for you. I had been playing him a bit at DM but I'm going to go all in and try and get his stats up to make him a serviceable DC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 Just been catching up on the thread after revisiting a Chelsea save I'd started, then pretty much left alone... I do that a lot.Anyway, I'm two thirds of the way through the second season and I'm trying to bring the youngsters along. I've been giving Chalobah games at DC and been having him tutored by JT but I checked on his progress and noticed he had something like 15 creativity (which I hadnt noticed previously) and also runs through the middle PPM. Not greatly desired traits I suppose for a DC. I just checked on his progress for you and I think he'll be a beast of a DM (DLP) for us, so a little retraining when I get home from work. Ake is looking roughly the same for me as he does for you. I had been playing him a bit at DM but I'm going to go all in and try and get his stats up to make him a serviceable DC. Good luck with it mate, Chalobah was definitely always a Midfielder for me, and he's been a brilliant one. I wanted Ake to come good for me but it just never happened sadly, still he'll have a decent time of it at Norwich Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 Right, it's time for an update! January and February Fixtures A lot to get through here, so I'll start at the top. We began the month with a really poor loss away at United in the Capital One Cup, and I thought we were probably heading out. However, after a couple of solid league wins, we then destroyed United 3-0 at home in the opening 20 minutes, and though we had to wait until a double from young striker Ken Knock who's in the youth team (and isn't particularly special but Keast was injured and I needed someone on the bench) made sure of our place in the final. The league games were pretty uneventful through to Mid-February, though the draw with West Brom was very frustrating, we completely dominated but fell asleep in the last 10 minutes. We should've stuffed Sevilla easily, had so many chances, but somehow just couldn't put them in and credit to them they kept working, giving us work to do in the second leg. The Capital One Cup Final was a really tight game, we probably deserved it over the whole match, and grabbed then win from a very unlikely source, our backup Defensive Midfielder putting a penalty right into the top corner to give us the cup. We followed that up with a great 3-0 win over United and a 3-0 over QPR with Antonio our new signing getting his first goal for the club. March Fixtures Well, let's start with the disappointment: Well, it had to end some time but for it to end like this, in a game away at our most fierce rivals, a game we deserved to win, that really hurts. Still 75 league games, almost two entire seasons, that's a hell of an achievement. So we pick ourselves up and go again. We bounced back with two good wins in cup competitions, firstly at home to Villa with a young team in the Cup, then a really good win against Sevilla in the CL. The game away at Liverpool was a stormer, Lukaku and Hazard at their very bests, while the West Ham game was a grinder but we got the result. Finally, the Barca game. It was absolutely outstanding, getting us revenge for early in the season. Here are the stats from that game: They may have had a fair few shots, but we had more and from much better positions, and we really could've had more. Ter Stegen in the Barca goal was superb, keeping out shots from Hazard, Lukaku and Oscar that I thought were definitely destined to go in. We destroyed them in 15 minutes and then just picked them off on the break from then on and really deserved more goals. The real standout player in this game was Chalobah, I set him to Man Mark Messi out of the game and he did it incredibly well. Messi had just one shot all match, with Chalobah just making sure he had no chance at all. I'm feeling pretty good about the return leg. The League Table So 11 points clear, we should hopefully wrap up the title pretty quickly. The battle at the bottom is the closest I've seen so far with five teams separated by just the one point and Norwich are not out of it. Stoke are still sniffing around the top four but I'm not sure they'll manage to get a spot this year, hope they prove me wrong though. Youth Intake Just the one player of note, but he is pretty good: Lewis Hillier (Right Back) Although his Technical attributes aren't outstanding, he's got a storming 5-star potential and really good Physicals. Literally nothing else of note, but he should be a very good player for a few years to come. Next The next update will cover the last few months of the season (once I've played them). We've got the next leg of Barca, which we should win, along with a trip to Arsenal and hosting City at our place near the end of the season. Our other games are mainly against relegation candidates, so we should win. The FA Cup semi-final is against QPR, so I'm quietly confident of another cup final this year, and with that win over Barca, who knows? Could we retain our CL trophy? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 England Update Fixtures Not much to report here, the draw with Greece was dull dull dull dull, but the win over Poland was great, they're a good team but we played excellently, and deserved the three points. World Cup Qualifying Group Three points clear, some tough games away at Wales and Scotland still to come, but we're doing pretty well and should get qualification. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 Chelsea April/May Update Fixtures We really limped over the line at the end of the season. What could've been another complete domination has ended pretty disappointingly. We started with a bizarre 3-1 loss away at Norwich, we just didn't show up in the first half, 3-0 down after half an hour. I gave the players a piece of my mind at half time and they improved, but it was still pretty awful. A simple 1-0 over Barca at home put us through to the next round in the CL to face the other Spanish giant in Jose's Real. The QPR game was awful, should've absolutely destroyed that team and it started well, but we were complacent, they equalised in the last ten minutes and we lost 8-7 on penalties. We picked ourselves up with a good 1-0 win away at Arsenal, and then dominated Huddersfield, despite some poor defending from us. Then the Real game. They scored 3 absolutely world class goals, nothing we could've done about any of them, all stunners from outside the box. We probably deserved at least a goal from the game, but they definitely deserved the win. It's definitely given me something to think about. Bounced back well with the win over Villa, and I really thought we might have a chance at turning it around against Real at home, but it wasn't to be, and our defence of our Champions League trophy ended at the Semi-Final stage. I experimented int he last league games against Sunderland and Everton, playing a 4-2-4 formation with two strikers, and although we won it didn't really work as one of the strikers never got a kick. We did well to keep up our concentration, against City we really put on a show, and it was even more impressive than it seems as I played a few players who will probably leave at the end of the season, I just wanted to give them a chance to say goodbye to the fans. So, a disappointing few results at the end of the season, but at least we kept up our concentration in the league. The Final League Table We secured the title in mid-April and in the end we got a 14 point gap. The top 4 finished disappointingly predictably for me, I would've liked Stoke or Southampton to have made it in there, but sadly Spurs got the final spot. Pleasingly though, Arsenal and Liverpool are both not in Europe next season. The relegation battle went right to the wire, and West Ham have again gone down, they're a real yoyo club on my save. Still, for us overall it was a pretty good league season. Next Well first they'll be a short England update, just two games to cover at the end of the season. Then it'll be end of season update time, and I'm going to do things slightly differently. I'll do a short competition and performance roundup as usual, but I'll probably skip out the Ethos/Style updates and maybe the Development update, and instead I'll be doing a 'Five-Year Evaluation' and look back over how everything has gone for the last five years. I may do that in a sort of newspaper style, I said I'd do that at the start of the save and just haven't since then, so that's something I'll consider too. Then I'll do a little post looking forward, I've had a few questions about how I can keep the interest in the save, and I've got a few ideas, so I'll cover that in a post later on. So that's what's coming up, hope you enjoy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 England June Update Fixtures: Two really good results. The San Marino win was obviously expected, but I gave a lot of players debuts in that match and they did very well. The Croatia result was really pleasing, even though it was a friendly they are a tough team and we destroyed them, could've even been a bigger win. Still, that's three 4-0 wins a row, gotta be pleased with that. World Cup Qualifying Group A five point gap at this stage is great, we still have the away games against the other two British teams, but we can afford a slip up against one of them now, we should be on course for qualification and a trip to Russia. Next For England next up it's a friendly against Paraguay in August, followed by a double-header against Poland and Wales away from home in September. Next for me is the Season Review. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animosama Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 This should be easy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 Very unlikely against Madrid, by the sounds of it; you can never plan for three 'worldies'! Excellent season in the league nonetheless Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted May 2, 2013 Author Share Posted May 2, 2013 Very unlikely against Madrid, by the sounds of it; you can never plan for three 'worldies'!Excellent season in the league nonetheless Cheers mate, it's tough losing out to Real but the goals were ridiculous Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted May 2, 2013 Author Share Posted May 2, 2013 Season in Review – 2016/17 A New Stadium, another League Title and Some Things to work on The Barclays Premier League Well we lost our unbeaten record after 75 league games, and ended the season with two losses. Still, we managed 100 points, over 100 goals and fewest goals conceded. It wasn’t a resounding triumph like the previous years, we really faltered at the end of the season, and City would’ve been a lot closer if they’d turned a few of those losses into draws. They had a really strange season, just two draws, a lot of excitement at the Etihad I imagine. Premier League Stats Some nice stats here, what they really show is that this was the year that Hazard took the lead. Although Lukaku was obviously our main source of goals, Hazard was the main source of trouble for the opposition. His Assists, Dribbles-Per-Game and Average Rating stats show that he had a great year in the League, and he scored some important goals as well. Chalobah kept the team ticking over as always, and Luiz did well in that respect too. Another interesting thing was the presence of Rob Terrace my young goalie on loan at Everton with the third most clean sheets in the league this year. I don’t think he’ll trouble Sellby for number one, but it’s still a great achievement. Premier League Awards Footbal Writers Player of the Year: Eden Hazard PFA Player of the Year: Romelu Lukaku PFA Young Player of the Year: Mario Gotze Barclays Golden Boot: Romelu Lukaku Barclays Golden Glove: Joe Hart Baclays Premier League Goal of the Season: Alex Nimely Barclays Manager of the Year: Me Team of the Year A good number of our players made it in this year, I really think Chalobah deserved to be in there, especially as that’s an incredibly unbalanced team but still, that’ll do me, especially pleased for Devonshire at just 19 making it in there. The UEFA Champions League Winner: Real Madrid Runner Up: Paris Saint-Germain We did well to make it to the Semi-finals and just lost out to a few real wonder goals to Real Madrid. Still, I feel better about it after they went on and beat PSG in the final (albeit only on penalties), so we’ll be back as Challengers rather than Champions next season. UEFA Champions League Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo UEFA Champions League Top Goalscorer: Romelu Lukaku UEFA Champions League Team of the Year: Madrid really dominated here this season, but Oscar and Lukaku deserved their places. That Real team is superb, but they’ve all reached their peaks now so I should be able to beat them in the future. The FA Cup with Budweiser Winner: Manchester United Runner Up: Queens Park Rangers A really poor performance against QPR in the semi’s cost us dearly. United only beat them 1-0 in the final, but it could and should have been more. The Capital One Cup Winner: Chelsea Runner Up: Stoke Good performances throughout the tournament, then a real tough battle against Stoke in the final which was settled by a 115th minute penalty from Lea Ashton, and the cup was ours again. Not the most important trophy, but always a nice one to win. The Community Shield Winner: Chelsea Runner Up: Southampton A solid if unspectacular 2-0 win. UEFA Super Cup Winner: Barcelona Runner-Up: Chelsea Barca really tore us apart in the final, we deserved to lose by more and were really lucky to take them to extra time. FIFA World Club Cup Winner: Chelsea Runner-Up: Flamengo We struggled past America (MEX) in the semi-final 3-2, though that was a pretty young under-strength team, before a decent display against Flamengo where were should’ve won by a lot more, but a 2-1 win was enough to make us world champions again! Other Competition Winners nPower Championship: Wigan nPower League One: Burnley nPower League Two: Carlisle United Blue Square Bet Premier: Braintree Town Blue Square Bet North: FC Halifax Blue Square Bet South: Farnborough Clydesdale Bank Premier League: Celtic Danske Bank Premiership: Crusaders Airtrcity Premier Division: Shelbourne Corbett Sports Welsh Premier League: The New Saints La Liga: Real Madrid Bundesliga: Bayern Munich Serie A: Juventus Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain Eredivisie: PSV Eindhoven SOGAZ Prem’er Liga: Rubin Kazan Jupiler Pro League: Standard Leige Liga ZON SAGRES: Benfica UEFA Europa League: Manchester City UEFA NextGen Series: Southampton Reserves Perfomances The Squad So that’s the squad from this year. The standout performers for me were (of course) Lukaku and Hazard, but also Chalobah, and Devonshire. Mata got a great average rating but not enough goals this year, though Pettigrew was in much better goal-scoring form from the same position. McEachran had a great year too, 6 assists being a good return from that position. Overall I’m very pleased with how the squad did, but I sense there are big changes on the horizon, which I’ll go through soon. Next That’s it for this season. I’m going to skip the usual roundups and do a sort of ‘5 Year Review’ post, before a really detailed look at the forthcoming season and how my goals and aims are going to change a little. So hopefully that’ll be interesting, I’m bogged down with a lot of stuff right now so I’m not sure exactly when that post will be, but hopefully it won’t be too long away. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doiggy_2007 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Long-term lurker, just read this from the start! Must say, brilliant read - think you've inspired me to get back to playing FM more! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBurns Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Another great league campaign mate Hazard has a sensational season! On your squad review part, you say McEachran got 20 assists but on the image it says he only got 6? Mata, who is above him has 20? Also, I know you're posting a 5 year review and will possibly be including some of these but could I have screenshots of Chalobah, McEachran (who I've just sold to Stoke for £5.25m in Jan 2016), Christensen, Baker, Lukakau as well as Hazard's instructions if you don't mind mate? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 Stoke and Southampton in Europe over Liverpool and Arsenal; thats the dream . Another great season on your part though, Hazard and Lukaku are just unstoppable. Going to be tough replacing them when they get old! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animosama Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 Does HOYD have the same personality as your squad ? Are most of your youth players coming out the same personality as his ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 Right, been away from this for quite a while as I just haven't had any time to play FM, lots been going on. However, I'm now in the middle of writing the 5-year review as I promised, and I hope to have it up soon. So yeah, watch this space! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve.rush Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Looking forward to it Bracken, I have missed this thread. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrD Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 I still can't believe how well you are doing with them, I've just started one with Chelsea but I just can't seem to get the tactics right. Also I think that Ashley Cole has some hate for me, no matter what I say in the team talks he is always switched off or worse! Congrats on the thread Bracken haven't read through it all yet but I will and enjoying it loads! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 Looking forward to it Bracken, I have missed this thread. Hope to have the first part up in the next couple of days, depending on how much time I can spend writing I still can't believe how well you are doing with them, I've just started one with Chelsea but I just can't seem to get the tactics right. Also I think that Ashley Cole has some hate for me, no matter what I say in the team talks he is always switched off or worse! Congrats on the thread Bracken haven't read through it all yet but I will and enjoying it loads! Ash definitely has some problematic personality attributes in the game, he got fed up and left me as well. I'll be doing a little tactical walkthrough of my setup as part of the next update, so I hope that might help. Good luck with your save mate Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrD Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Ash definitely has some problematic personality attributes in the game, he got fed up and left me as well. I'll be doing a little tactical walkthrough of my setup as part of the next update, so I hope that might help. Good luck with your save mate Cheers, and hopefully that will be a big help to me, I'll keep plugging away until I get sacked at least really enjoying reading this! See what I mean with the tactics, just battered Ajax 7-0 then went and got battered 3-1 by f**king QPR of all teams and they really in a way they did deserve it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champfan10 Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 I've just spent a long time reading through this thread, top career! Really enjoyed the analysis posts, you seem to look at the same details as I do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 So after five full seasons (and a brief hiatus because of outside stuff) I feel it’s time to take a look back at how my career with Chelsea has gone so far. I’ve decided to do that in a kind of Newspaper interview style, as it’s a little different, I hope it might be more interesting that the usual kind of updates. If it’s not your kind of thing, then I totally understand and you can await the more usual updates soon, but I hope it’ll be interesting enough for a few people. So, here it goes: The Five Year Review – Part One – Performances and Tactics The Trophy Cabinet 4 Premier League Titles – 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 2 UEFA Champions League Titles – 2014, 2016 1 UEFA Super Cup – 2012 3 FIFA World Club Cups – 2012, 2014, 2016 1 FA Cup – 2015 3 Capital One Cups – 2014, 2016, 2017 5 FA Community Shields – 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 The Records Highest League Points Total – 108 (2015/16) Unbeaten Season – 2015/16 Most League Goals Scored – 106 (2015/16) Fewest League Goals Conceded – 14 (2015/16) Highest Goal Scorer – Romelu Lukaku – 57 – (2013/14) Most Assists – Eden Hazard – 28 – (2013/14) Highest Average Rating – Romelu Lukaku – 8.29 (45 Appearances) – (2015/16) Overall Best Eleven: The Interview In just 5 years in charge of Chelsea, Bracken has revolutionised the club and English football as a whole. He’s established Chelsea as the dominant force in world football, wining 4 out of 5 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues and numerous other pieces of silverware. And he’s done it all without splashing huge amounts of money, without dominating the media for the wrong reasons, and my introducing a pleasing style of football throughout the club. Today, in his first ever extensive interview with the British press, the Guardian sits down with Mr. Bracken to discuss how he feels his time at Chelsea has gone so far, and what he hopes for the future. Performances Interviewer: So, Mr. Bracken, you’ve been at Chelsea for five years now and it’s been an incredibly successful period for the club. Could your first five years have gone any better? Bracken: Could they have gone better? Absolutely they could. Interviewer: Really? The popular view among the press is that this time has been pretty good to say the least. Bracken: Well if you look back historically then of course, you have to say this has been an extraordinary few years. But if we’re looking at the goals we set ourselves each year then certainly there’s room for improvement. We lost the 2014/15 Title to Manchester City and we’ve lost more Champions Leagues than we’ve won, as well as FA Cups, Super Cups and other trophies. Obviously I’m pleased with what we’ve won, but there is always more work to be done. Interviewer: In that case, would you say you’re happy with how things have gone so far, or do you think you should’ve achieved more? Bracken: I’m certainly happy with what we’ve won thus far, and I think my time has been, on the whole, a great success at the club. Could we have achieved more? I certainly think there are certain games that I feel we underperformed, both the Super Cup defeats, against Barcelona and against Porto, stick out in my mind, but I think if I were to take a step back and look at it without emotion, I would say we’ve achieved as much as we realistically could have done, but we can achieve a lot more going forward. Interviewer: Looking back at your achievements so far, what are you most proud of? What’s your greatest achievement? Bracken: I think the 2015/16 season as a whole has to be the high point. That for me was as good as it’s been at Chelsea so far. And not only that, it came as something of a surprise. I felt the 2013/14 had been the peak of my first team, the team which primarily comprised of players who were already at the club when I arrived, people like Cech, Lampard, Terry, Mikel, Luiz, these players were really the spine of the club when I arrived. At the time, I felt that the League and Champions League win of 2013/14 was the peak of that team, and that we were about to go through a few seasons of transition. The 2014/15 season seemed to prove me right, we weren’t at our best in the League and I think had we not won the FA Cup my future probably would’ve been in question. I expected a similar sort of season in 2015/16, I really thought that we were still in transition, with many players like JT and Cech approaching the ends of their careers, and the youngsters not yet ready to step up. Then, I found those players, those old pros, still had another level and we had the greatest season in Chelsea’s history, the greatest season in Premier League history, breaking every record going and winning another Champions League title. So for me, that has been the highlight so far. Interviewer: And the biggest disappointment? Has there been a low point? Bracken: There are always low points. Losing the league to City, even though I knew it was going to be very tough to win it again that year, was disappointing. The number of defeats in the FA Cup has been disappointing. I would say the most disappointing was probably the against Super Cup defeat to Barcelona. We did not play well that evening and we were lucky to be in the game as long as we were. That game, more than any other, showed me that we still have some way to go before we can be a really complete team. Interviewer: Do you have a favourite match? Bracken: I would say, there are probably two that I would put right up there. First would be the game where we thrashed United in my second season. I think, not just the result but the manner of the victory, really told people that we had something special here, that this is something that could be pretty special for a long time. Even though, statistically, we didn’t complete dominate them, we were just so clinical, and I think it was really the start of great things to come. It also contained my favourite goal that we’ve scored so far, a simply fantastic finish from Oscar. [video=youtube;j_51APbjwP0] The second would be the 6-0 demolition of Tottenham in September 2016. This time we really did completely control the game, it honestly could’ve been a lot more (we even missed a penalty!) and to give that to the fans was pretty special. Interviewer: And who has given you the biggest test would you say? Bracken: I’d say obviously the Barcelona Super Cup match was a big test that we failed, and so when we met them again in the Champions League that season (2016/17), that was something we wanted to put right, and I’m glad we did that. The other big test would be our first Champions League final against Juventus. We’d just squeaked past them the year before, and it was my first CL final as a manager, a massive test, and things started very badly. I’d say that was my biggest test as a coach, before we even had a chance to assess what was going wrong we were 2-0 down, and to come back from that in the way that we did was a fantastic result for us and we passed that test well. Interviewer: How do you feel the squad has progressed as the years have gone on? Do you think they’re still improving, or that you’re just maintaining your current level? Bracken: Well I certainly hope we’re improving. I think there certainly have been improvements year on year, we certainly look to improve with each match let alone each season. I think if you look back at our first season, we really ground out the results at times then, we didn’t have the consistency in our stylish football that we’ve got now. What we did have straight off the bat was a very solid defensive unit, that was something I tried to impose straight away, and I’m pleased how that came across. Our goal scoring was good, but that was definitely an area I was looking to improve, as in the first year we didn’t seem to be creating chances for our strikers, so I wanted to change that. We did however rack up a huge number of points, so that was a really pleasing way to begin, even if our performances in the cups left something to be desired The moving to the 2013/14 season, we did improve on creating chances for our front man, as Lukaku returned from his loan and really was a revelation for the club. Although we gained two points fewer than the first season, and our defence wasn’t quite as solid, I was pleased with the league performances, winning back to back titles was a huge achievement, and we coupled that with a Champions League win for the first time in my reign which was fantastic, I didn’t expect it at all, but in the end I think we deserved it. The Capital One Cup was a nice bonus as well. I think this season was where we really began to develop the squad, adding strength in depth throughout the team, and that was demonstrated by our ability to be competitive in every competition we entered. The 2014/15 season was much more difficult, probably because while we were less successful in managing the squad at a time where we had a huge number of matches. To lose the title to City was a real disappointment, even if we ran them close, we drew far too many matches and our attacking play wasn’t of the quality I expect from my team. Although we did win our first FA Cup under my management, I was concerned that we weren’t performing to my expectations. I was still confident with what we were trying to achieve, and as I said I expected that this could be a transitional season, but I was still disappointed with the results. Interviewer: Did you fear for your job at any point during that season? Bracken: I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. We all know the reputation of the owner, but I have to say from my point of view he’s always backed me, I’ve never felt really under threat, but that history was at the back of my mind, and I think had we not won the FA Cup and then started well in the next season, questions would’ve been asked. Interviewer: And you certainly did silence any doubters with the next season! Bracken: Yeah that has to go down as the best year we’ve had so far. Going unbeaten with a huge new points record, a new record low of goals conceded and record high goals scored, we really did dominate the league that year in a way I could never have expected. To couple that domestic glory with another Champions League triumph and another Capital One Cup made it a really fantastic season. And then we have the 2016/17 season just finished. Although we lost our unbeaten record, and we weren’t as solid defensively as I would’ve wanted, our goal scoring remained extremely consistent, and another 100 point season is something to be very proud of, as well as retaining our Capital One Cup title. So overall, I think we can see the improvements we’ve made since I came in, even if there have been setbacks along the road. It’s a constantly evolving project, and one I think that we can continue to improve on in the years to come. Tactics Interviewer: Now, most managers like to keep their tactics a little close to their chest, but you seem to be fairly open about how your tactic works, would you care to walk us through it? Bracken: Sure. The reason I’m more open with this tactic is that I feel we have the best squad in the world, and even if people find a weakness in the system, we’ve got the players capable of covering that and keeping us at the top. Bracken: The tactic has essentially three phases of play Defensive When defending, the team essentially moves to a kind of 4-3-3 formation, with the attacking midfielder dropping into the centre of midfield to help win the ball back and the wingers remaining high up the pitch to occupy full backs and ready to counter. The more defensively minded central midfielder will drop deeper and act as a shield in front of the back four. Transition During the transitional phase, the team will have the 4-2-3-1 formation you most commonly see on the line-ups before a match. This the phase between defending and attacking, as we seek to move the ball from back to front with short, fast passing through the opposition, opening up space and exploiting the gaps. Attacking In the final phase of play, when the ball is just outside the opposing 18-yard box, the formation will look like something between a classic 4-4-2 and an old fashioned 4-2-4 formation. The attacking midfielder will push right up the pitch alongside the striker to form a front two, and the wingers will look to get the ball forward before finally getting into the box themselves to try and get on the end of any through balls, passes, crosses or loose bits and pieces. These three phases, for me, embody the different styles and qualities I was looking for. Defensively, we resemble the Mourinho team of 04/05 and 05/06. In transition we move the ball quickly up the pitch, a la Arsene Wenger’s invincible team and the United treble winning side down the wingers. Finally, in attack we become a classic English side, putting crosses in the box and looking to dominate with power and as well as skill. Bracken: In order to make get the desired effect, each player has a defined role. I can walk you through the roles here. The Goalkeeper is fairly obvious, I’ve been blessed with some fantastic keepers at this club, and their job is primarily simply to be the last line of defence, they don’t have to come and claim too many crosses, we prefer the centre backs to take care of that, their job is to just stop the ball hitting the back of the net. The full backs have a great deal of responsibility. Defensively, their job is to try and push wide players away from goal towards the touchline, and then when possible nick the ball back, or at least stop the cross coming in. Offensively, they provide crosses from deep areas towards the Target man, or the back post. They won’t make overlapping runs, but rather offer a deeper option and put the ball in from close to the touch line. By not overlapping, they’re ready to get back if the move breaks down, maintaining that defensive base, and allowing our winger space by dragging the opposing midfielder back towards the halfway line. The two centre-backs have these complimentary roles as I’ve outlined before. The ‘Stopper’ is slightly more aggressive, more dominant in the air and leads the team out from the back. He’ll make fewer tackles than the other defenders, but plays a vital role in the air and in leading the team towards the transitional phase. The ‘Interceptor’ sits slightly deeper, looking to mop up anything that falls behind the stopper, cutting out those final through passes that are trying to get through the back four, and making last ditch tackles when necessary. The ‘Interceptor’ will generally get less praise and recognition than the Stopper, but his job is just as, if not more, important. The defensively minded midfielder (the Ball Winning Midfielder) has a fairly limited role in terms of possession, but an incredibly important one. He keeps the team ticking, he needs boundless energy, pace and strength to win the ball, hold off the opposition, and move it to his midfield partners. He’s the engine room in the midfield, who will cover a huge amount of ground and perform the leg work so that the other players are freed up to express themselves. My other central midfielder is my Playmaker, the man who keeps the play moving, he sets the pace for the team, controls the tempo of the match and gets us moving from back to front. This role is probably the least “flashy” role in the team, it’s the most understated. Whereas my anchorman will be making tackles all over the place and getting in peoples faces, this is a more disciplined role, holding a deeper position and just moving the team from back to front. On the defensive side, it’s also important for the player to be a good a tackler and a shield to the defence, aiming to intercept passes and get his body in the way of shots and crosses. The Three Amigos So then we move onto the three players behind the striker. On the right, I like to use a Traditional Winger, think of Ryan Giggs at his best, committing defenders, getting to the byline and putting crosses into the box. They also tend to get into the box to finish things at the far post if the opportunity arises. This position is all about directness and quality, I like players who can really get into the oppositions faces in this role. In the centre you have probably the most flexible role in my team. The Central Attacking Midfielder has a lot of different duties and responsibilities, so it takes a very special kind of player to make it work. Defensively, this player has to drop deep and form a central three with the other two central midfield players. This player will be the least likely to make a challenge, more interested in cutting out passes and closing down the space, making it more difficult for the opposition to play through us. In the transition phase, the attacking midfielder will drop away from the striker, looking to pick up the ball in a deeper position and drive the team forward at pace, often counter-attacking from set pieces helping get the ball from back to front as quickly as possible. Finally, in the attacking phase, the attacking midfielder will get into the box alongside the striker, forming a front two. They will be creating space for the striker and wingers by occupying defenders, and also looking for opportunities to get a shot away themselves. The player in this role will cover a lot of ground for the team, but also means they’ll be incredibly difficult to mark and have a vital role in the team. On the left of the three, we find the more modern style Inside Forward. This player looks to find spaces in between defenders and exploit them with pace and power. Where the right winger looks to get crosses in the box, the left winger looks to get into the box themselves and grab goals themselves or put it on a plate for a team mate. This player needs a very specific set of skills, including pace, acceleration, finishing, technique, composure and good decision making. I’ve been blessed with a few players with these attributes in my time at Chelsea, and this role has become a really important part of our attacking play. Finally we have The Number 9. The main man. Much of my team is based around creating chances for the striker, but in order to put them away, you need a front man capable of finishing any kind of opportunity. That means he needs pace, strength, jumping, heading and of course great finishing ability. Not only that, the striker is expected to bring others into play and create chances for those around him, as well as grabbing goals himself. It requires a player who can do almost everything, the whole package if you will, and if they work hard, I know the rest of the team will provide them with chances. Next time we’ll focus on how his players have developed over the years, how the manager has developed them, and the ethos and philosophy that has been installed at Chelsea FC under Bracken’s management. Look out for the next instalment of The Five Year Review soon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smgers Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Great to see you back with the updates Bracken - have been missing reading them. Loved the style you've used and hopefully that will be Mourinho talking like that in five years time!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Great to see you back with the updates Bracken - have been missing reading them.Loved the style you've used and hopefully that will be Mourinho talking like that in five years time!! Cheers mate Would love that to happen, so glad he's back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hibees2 Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Hey Bracken, I tweeted you the other day with no reply as yet. Was just a question about your tactic. I've been testing it out a bit, and it's absolutely devastating in the first half. But I find as the game goes on, the other team comes more into the game. Is there anything you do to modify your tactic while the game is going on? I've found the defenders often get dragged out of position too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 Hey Bracken,I tweeted you the other day with no reply as yet. Was just a question about your tactic. I've been testing it out a bit, and it's absolutely devastating in the first half. But I find as the game goes on, the other team comes more into the game. Is there anything you do to modify your tactic while the game is going on? I've found the defenders often get dragged out of position too. Hi hibees2, didn't see your tweet for some reason, bit odd, did you tweet my personal account or my FM account? My FM account is @PlayingTheLines, that's usually best for this stuff. I don't usually change too much during the game, if I'm looking to see it out I'll usually drop the mentality to 'Counter', and sometimes possibly in the last few minutes I'll drop the AMC back to CB with a sub, but that doesn't happen often. If your defence is getting pulled about it could be to do with the opposition making formation changes which will affect your Opposition Instructions. The tactic I use has to be used with a certain kind of opposition instructions, which I've outlined here: http://wp.me/p3kbcw-1G Basically, you need to be showing opposition wingers on the outside (even if it's their stronger foot) rather than the inside, and tight marking of Stikers unless they have epic pac. Also, you have to stay on top of any opposition formation changes as the game goes on, as this will affect you OI's. Other than that, it's a pretty physically demanding formation, so a high level of fitness and a fair bit of rotation usually helps.Hope that helps mate, sorry I didn't see your tweet before. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hibees2 Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 No worries man, yeah it was Playing the Lines I tweeted! I've modified the formation. Mentality changed to counter and playing style to very fluid. Dropped the AMC back to central midfield to make a 3 and changed his role to box to box midfielder. It seems to work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 Hey guys, I'm afraid I may have to call time on this thread. I'm just not finding the time to write like I was before, a lot of new commitments have limited my playing time and my writing time, so I think this may be the end. I'm still going to continue this save when I get some time, and maybe at some point I might be able to pick up the thread again, but I think it's unlikely I'm afraid. I really appreciate everyone who's read and enjoyed this thread, I'm more than happy to post screenshots of anything people would like, just PM me with anything, if I get any time I'll post at least the rest of the 5-year update if I can but I'm afraid this will probably be it. Thanks a lot for reading, and maybe I'll find myself with a little more time by the time FM14 comes out. If so, I hope to see you all there, and in the meantime, I'll still be around the forum reading the updates of others. Cheers people Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMourinho Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 What a coincidence! I found this thread yesterday and since then I have been reading in detail almost the whole story. Just jumped to your last post to see if it was still alive. To my disappointment I saw that this will be the end and you posted it a couple of hours ago. Astonishing coincidence with me finding it yesterday. I felt I have to say that this is the best story about FM I have ever read. You have inspired me and many others to play the game in a certain way. Tomorrow I will start a new, long save that will follow in your footsteps. Before I lost interest in the game after about three seasons when I had bought a lot of star players and packed it within my team. I am from Sweden and work as a football coach at a decent level. I am also a Chelsea fan since I was five and my late Father introduced me to his passion: English football and Chelsea. I try to visit Stamford Bridge at least once a year. I am excited as a child on Christmas Eve, now Jose is back.. I have played CM/FM since 96/97 and despite two young kids I still love to play FM as much as time allows. When I play it's always with Chelsea, can't seem to get interested with another team. I have a few question regarding how I will set-up my Chelsea team. I might PM you if that's okay with you? My wife has wondered what I've been reading for many hours now, so I better head back to the domestic work now. Brilliant story. By far the most engaging story I've read! Thanks! P.s. If I would have Roman's and Jose's adresses I would print it and send them a copy Anders, Sweden Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracken Posted June 23, 2013 Author Share Posted June 23, 2013 What a coincidence! I found this thread yesterday and since then I have been reading in detail almost the whole story. Just jumped to your last post to see if it was still alive. To my disappointment I saw that this will be the end and you posted it a couple of hours ago. Astonishing coincidence with me finding it yesterday. I felt I have to say that this is the best story about FM I have ever read. You have inspired me and many others to play the game in a certain way. Tomorrow I will start a new, long save that will follow in your footsteps. Before I lost interest in the game after about three seasons when I had bought a lot of star players and packed it within my team. I am from Sweden and work as a football coach at a decent level. I am also a Chelsea fan since I was five and my late Father introduced me to his passion: English football and Chelsea. I try to visit Stamford Bridge at least once a year. I am excited as a child on Christmas Eve, now Jose is back.. I have played CM/FM since 96/97 and despite two young kids I still love to play FM as much as time allows. When I play it's always with Chelsea, can't seem to get interested with another team. I have a few question regarding how I will set-up my Chelsea team. I might PM you if that's okay with you? My wife has wondered what I've been reading for many hours now, so I better head back to the domestic work now. Brilliant story. By far the most engaging story I've read! Thanks! P.s. If I would have Roman's and Jose's adresses I would print it and send them a copy Anders, Sweden Wow, thanks a lot mate, really means a lot that you're enjoying it. I'm sorry I won't have time to keep it up, maybe if things change I can bring it back, but right now it looks unlikely. Feel free to PM me any time with any questions, and I hope your Chelsea save goes well too. Also, have a look at the Chelsea thread in the football forum, we could always do with a few more people posting in there! Roman and Jose, if you're reading, I am available for a call any time I assume with Roman's connections he can find my number, address, and probably all other personal details too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBurns Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Hey guys, I'm afraid I may have to call time on this thread. I'm just not finding the time to write like I was before, a lot of new commitments have limited my playing time and my writing time, so I think this may be the end. I'm still going to continue this save when I get some time, and maybe at some point I might be able to pick up the thread again, but I think it's unlikely I'm afraid.I really appreciate everyone who's read and enjoyed this thread, I'm more than happy to post screenshots of anything people would like, just PM me with anything, if I get any time I'll post at least the rest of the 5-year update if I can but I'm afraid this will probably be it. Thanks a lot for reading, and maybe I'll find myself with a little more time by the time FM14 comes out. If so, I hope to see you all there, and in the meantime, I'll still be around the forum reading the updates of others. Cheers people Devastated to hear that this is the end of the road for this thread Hopefully you'll still be in the Chelsea thread to show off some off the regens! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pricey687 Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 This has been a great read Bracken I haven't really posted in here much,not on purpose I just usually forget,but I have been following anyway I look forward to any future thread you make Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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