FM14: The Sky Bet Football League Thread - Sponsored by William Hill

[Hunter Lionheart]

So transfers thus far are...

OUT:

Kris Commons (Free)

Scott Wiseman (Free)

John Welsh (£70k)

Christopher Dilo (£70k plus 50% sell on fee)

Florian Neiderlechner (£575k)

IN:

Mikkel Andersen (£975k)

Dejan Iliev (Free)

Aaron Hunt (Free)

Libor Kozak (£675k)

Shane Duffy (£3m)

Grzegorz Krychowiak (£2.6m)

Still have a little bit of money- really happy to have picked up Krychowiak so cheaply. Any ideas on a decent left footed AM L in 2017 who might not cost too much? I need to replace Commons, and I'd rather not use inside forwards when I'm trying to supply a target man.

[Hunter Lionheart]

Midway through the season and I can tell you guys that I'm struggling with Brentford. Players are not living up to the price I pay for them and they are getting pissy every time I address that to them

Too many new signings might be keeping your squad uneasy with one another?

[Jean0987654321]

Too many new signings might be keeping your squad uneasy with one another?

Not really. I needed a new backline and I bought Dario Dumic and Kasper Larsen for around 1.5M. Yennaris was solid at RB and at DM. Diego Laxalt is being retrained to LB but he can only play DW/LW right now. I wanted a new striker for Will Keane to compete (Darko Bodul and Andy Johnson). Bodul gets pissy all the time when I criticize his shittyness and Johnson can score IF HE WANTS :o

[Welsh Wizard]

Was looking for a sleeping giant and managed to narrow it down to the following clubs. Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday.

Joining them on an initial list were Portsmouth, Huddersfield, Burnley, Derby, Sheffield United, Preston, and Ipswich Town.

All have won the F.A Cup and League titles and a few have attracted crowds over fifty thousand.

Sheffield Wednesday just edged it with Wolves likely 2nd.

They were picked mainly for the following reasons:-

• 
  
• Based in the country's fifth biggest city.
  
• One of the most recognisable football grounds in the world. Hillsborough
  
• The club intended to increase Hillsborough's capacity to 44,825 by 2012 and 50,000 by 2016(Sign of the huge fan base)
  
• Notable former players such as Chris Waddle, Roland Nilsson and John Sheridan
  
• Ex-managers include the first ever £1 million pound player, Trevor Francis and England World Cup winner, Jack Charlton
  
• Lack of youth products coming through compared to local rivals Sheffield United
  

Now the challenge beings with keeping them in Championship. Squad got some decent seasoned players(Oguchi Onyewu, Chris Kirkland, Anthony Gardner and Kamil Zayatte to name a few) Some prospects (Jérémy Hélan, Rhys McCabe and Paul Corry) Defence wise we look solid but could do with improvement further forward or otherwise it will be more about not getting beat and try to snatch wins than trying to win games from the off. With 350k to spend and close to the wage budget it will be hard to add players to the squad so I'm looking forward to the challenge

[Hunter Lionheart]

Loans are fantastic for bulking out your squad.

My last update for the night- found a left winger- Jaime, who apparently starts the game on loan to Real Madrid from Udinese? He'd been at Aberdeen, playing well for the past 3 years, so I picked him up for £2.1m plus a few add ons. His wage was a little hefty, but he seems to be worth it.

A little worried about my full backs, but I won my opener 2-0 away at Reading, so I can't complain right now! Duffy had an excellent debut, likely would have been MOTM if not for Andy Najar grabbing a goal and an assist. Pre-season was worrying me, so really glad to get off to a good start!

Probably done in the transfer market unless I can sell Grigg (Harsh on him, he came in and did a great job when I got promoted to the championship, but switching away from 4-4-2 spelled the end for his career here!)

[Duckelfsc]

Just started a game with Leeds. Squad is looking decent at the start. 3 quality centre backs in Pearce, Lees and Wootton. Byram looks like a great prospect but haven't had the chance to see him in action yet as he starts the game injured.

My transfer dealings so far have been: Vellios on loan, Boetius on loan, Kasper Kusk for £525k, Simon Tibbling for £2.5m and Enock Kwakwa on loan. I sent Tonge out on loan and sold Adam Drury or £65k. I'm a bit worried that I spent too much on one player with Tibbling and he's only 18 but I think that it'll pay off in the future and I should be able to make a profit off him if I want to.

Won the first game of the season 2-0 away to Ipswich. Really good performance that is encouraging for the rest of the season.

[Hunter Lionheart]

Byram turned into a classy full back in my game. I nearly signed him, but his wage demands were too high

I did make one more signing before the window shut- Gael Clichy on a free. He's 32, but I dearly needed a better left back, I don't trust the younger 2 in this division, and Laird is solid, but not good at this level.

Was having a scout around and found Zlatan Ibrahimovic, aged 36, playing for £3,100 a week at Goteborg. He's actually still quality, and I figured he'd make a good cheap signing for me. Had a 12k offer accepted as his contract was about up, but he expects me to pay him £30k a week!? Even the £20k minimum my scout reckoned seems utterly absurd considering the peanuts he's on right now. Anyone know why this would be or how to fix it?

I'm currently on 13 points after 10 games in the league, which is a great success for me. Took some pastings, the worst of which was a 6-0 thrashing at home from Chelsea, but scraped out a few wins- hoping I can stay up!

[Duckelfsc]

Who are you playing as? I am looking forward to having Byram back but Lee Peltier has been really good so far. I guess it's a good problem to have!

[MichaelBrown]

Byram turned into a classy full back in my game. I nearly signed him, but his wage demands were too high

I did make one more signing before the window shut- Gael Clichy on a free. He's 32, but I dearly needed a better left back, I don't trust the younger 2 in this division, and Laird is solid, but not good at this level.

Was having a scout around and found Zlatan Ibrahimovic, aged 36, playing for £3,100 a week at Goteborg. He's actually still quality, and I figured he'd make a good cheap signing for me. Had a 12k offer accepted as his contract was about up, but he expects me to pay him £30k a week!? Even the £20k minimum my scout reckoned seems utterly absurd considering the peanuts he's on right now. Anyone know why this would be or how to fix it?

I'm currently on 13 points after 10 games in the league, which is a great success for me. Took some pastings, the worst of which was a 6-0 thrashing at home from Chelsea, but scraped out a few wins- hoping I can stay up!

Bonuses...

[Hunter Lionheart]

Playing as Preston.

And he's got bugger all bonuses right now.

£450 app fee and goal bonus, £150 unused sub.

So why does he think he, at 36, is suddenly entitled to 10 times as much money?

[MichaelBrown]

I guess you are a bigger club perhaps than the one in Sweden? When I said bonuses, I meant you could try to lower his weekly wage and dramatically increase his bonuses. Also, could you pay his agent a bit more?

[Hunter Lionheart]

Oh, I could negotiate and maybe get him. I just resent him asking for such a ludicrous pay rise!

[MichaelBrown]

It'll be because of his reputation.

[Hunter Lionheart]

So we stayed up! 15th position, and very happy with it. Got the board to approve Training ground and youth improvements to celebrate our survival in the Premiership. Signed a 20 year old Swede rather than Zlatan, and after a sluggish start, he scored a few crucial goals in league and cup by the end of the season. Got a cheeky trip to Wembley too, where Liverpool trounced us 5-0 in the FA Cup semi final.

A few players will be on their way out of the club, mostly holdouts from the Championship who still think they're first teamers. Hopefully I can re-enforce well!

[smplfc123]

Right, that's it. I've had enough of playing a premiership teams, it just isn't as interesting or challenging as starting in the lower leagues!

I need a challenge guys to get back playing in the football leagues! My last wolves game ended up in me getting them to the prem, moving to the hammers for a season then lazio for 2 then to sunderland before I ended the save. Best game i've had in years!

Anyone got any good recommendations?

[rosscopeako]

Finished my first season with Leicester and won promotion :-) went to the board and got a big increase in the wage budget. been informed by the board i have £21.5m if i avoid relegation (hopefully) looking for reommendations for players in any position except GK and staff. didnt renew contracts of nugent/dyer/koncheskey as were demanding too much in wages (£35k+pw). Thanks

[MichaelBrown]

Right, that's it. I've had enough of playing a premiership teams, it just isn't as interesting or challenging as starting in the lower leagues!

I need a challenge guys to get back playing in the football leagues! My last wolves game ended up in me getting them to the prem, moving to the hammers for a season then lazio for 2 then to sunderland before I ended the save. Best game i've had in years!

Anyone got any good recommendations?

Something challenging so Barnsley, Yeovil, Charlton?

[CityAndColour]

Thought I'd post in here, as the Skrill thread has die d a little bit of late.

I'm currently in my 5th season with Alfreton, but I'm in League One after two promotions in four seasons. We're currently top too although I expect we'll fall away.

Thought I'd list some of the lesser known players I've had a lot of success with so far...

Antoni Sarcevic - starts at Fleetwood, and can play all MRLC and AMRLC. He is an absolute class act, and has all the right attributes for a creative attacking midfielder (passing, dribbling, decisions, creativity, long shots, technique, first touch and flair are all 12+). He is 21 at the start of the game so could easily be developed in the Championship.

Andre Boucaud - veteran Trinidadian central midfielder. Starts at Notts County and is an excellent playmaker for the first few seasons.

Harry Lennon - a Charlton youth product, develops into an excellent left-sided centre half

Yado Mambo - former Charlton youth product, now at Ebbsfleet. With the right development he ends up a Championship quality centre half.

[smplfc123]

Something challenging so Barnsley, Yeovil, Charlton?

I actually enjoyed a spell with Yeovil not long after my Wolves save, but lost interest after a while.

I've decided to give Peterbrough a try. Don't know why. Promotion will be tough with some good teams in League 1, but good youngish squad, room to make this club big and with little trophies in the cabinet, a long save will give me a good chance of becoming a club legend!

Anyone else been or playing as them?

[Kelron]

Not sure of the best place to ask this. I'm currently managing Rochdale in League 2 and managed to turn an awful start to my first season around and finished just short of a playoff place. I'm getting decent performances out of my squad, but I think my coaching staff could be better. I'm getting 2-2 1/2 stars in most areas, probably not awful for a low tier team but there's room for improvement. Trouble is that when I took over the team had 4 out of 3 allowed "other" staff, so I'm going to have to fire 2 coaches if I want to replace any of them, giving them all more work to do. Is there any way I can increase this staff limit - my wage budget can easily cover it - or any suggestions for good multi-role coaches?

[smplfc123]

Have you asked the board if you can have more coaches mate?

[Kelron]

Heh, thanks. Not sure how I missed that option. Of course I made the mistake of offering all my staff new contracts without thinking about it at the end of the season, so I'm stuck with them for another year.

[smplfc123]

Haha no worries mate. It doesn't always work mind, depends how much money the board has and how well you are doing!

[Gunner 101]

I'm back! People from last seasons topic will, maybe, hopefully remember me..

Anyway I have decided to take up the position at Blackpool in the Championship.

[Gunner 101]

Blackpool FC - Season 2013/2014 - Sky Bet Championship

I was welcomed to the club by club chairman Karl Oyston and informed of the clubs objectives, a top half finish and the budgets available to me. These were a transfer budget of £500k and a wage budget of £160k per week, of which £15.5k per week was still available to me.

The first thing I set out to do was to form a decent back room team, as this is something that is missing currently, with no assistant manager at the club. I decided Bob Malcolm wasn't going to add anything to the club so terminated his contract with the club at no cost. This also put me down to right number of coaches. I then placed job adverts for the following; assistant manager, under 18's manager, under 18's assistant manager, scout (x 5), under 18's coach, under 18's goalkeeping coach, under 18's fitness coach and under 18's physio.

Next up was looking at the squad to find a formation to fit the players presented to me. Having looked at my options I have plumped with a 4-2-3-1 formation. My current squad is the following;

Goalkeepers:

Matt Gilks - Experienced Scottish stopper who will be number one. Been at the club for 5 years making 137 appearances. Many believe that if he had not been injured for the second half of the Premier League campaign The Pool would have stayed up.

Mark Halstead - 22 year old Mark came through the youth set up and has made 3 first team appearances. Nowhere near Gilks ability wise and never will be. Back up for now before releasing when his contract ends in 2014, League Two his level.

Tony Warner - Experienced back up. Only in the squad due to coupling playing duties with coaching role.

Right backs:

Tony McMahon - A free transfer from Sheffield United in the league below, McMahon is the only proper right back available to me. Contract up at the end of the season and his performances will shape his future.

Left backs:

Jack Robinson - On loan from Liverpool for the season, Robinson is the only recognised left back in the squad. A decent player with potential to grow.

Centre backs:

Craig Cathcart - The best centre back at the club, the Northern Ireland international arrived in 2010 from Manchester United.

Kirk Broadfoot - A Scotland international who will form a centre back partnership with Cathcart.

Gary MacKenzie - Signed following a successful loan spell last season from MK Dons. MacKenzie is a big, strong centre half who will provide competition for a starting spot.

Right wingers:

Elliot Grandin - Back for a second spell at the club, Grandin possesses good dribbling and crossing abilities.

Left wingers:

Andrew Halliday - Loaned from Middlesbrough for the season, Andy is a young winger with a growing reputation in football and the potential to develop into a leading left winger.

Central midfielders:

Faris Haroun - A new signing from Middlesbrough, the Belgian international is hard working in the middle of the pitch.

Barry Ferguson - Experienced Ferguson will be the leader of the club on and off the pitch. Hopefully he will dictate the tempo whilst Haroun does the dirty work.

David Perkins - Perkins, like Haroun recently joined the club and has a similar hard working style of play as the Belgian. His ability to dribble with the ball will hopefully open teams up.

Angel Martinez - The Spaniard will be back up but brings a different style to the others in that he's more lightweight than the others but can pass the ball just as good as Ferguson.

Attacking midfielders:

Stephen Dobbie - On loan at Blackpool for a third time, Dobbie will look to unlock defences with good dribbling and passing ability as well as a good long shot.

Strikers:

Ricardo Fuller - New signing Fuller will be my main starting striker. Strong with the ability to hold onto a ball, run with the ball and be a physical presence, he will provide a focal point of my attacking play.

Andrew Keogh - Loaned from Championship rivals Millwall, Keogh has won the league in the past with Wolves. A unselfish player, he will provide for players around him.

Michael Chopra - Another new summer signing, Chopra has been there and done it. Maybe a little past it but give him the chance in the box and he will more than likely score.

Steven Davies - Signed from relegated Bristol City, Davies is capable of some magic goals.

As you can see from the above there are still quite a few gaps in the squad if we're to finish in the top half of the league.

I will update once pre-season is complete with friendly results and any new signings, incoming and outgoing dealings.

Sea, sea, Seasiders!

[Nottingham Forest]

Blackpool have such an average squad . Don't they have like 11 average players in the reserves as well?

[Gunner 101]

Blackpool have such an average squad . Don't they have like 11 average players in the reserves as well?

Yeah it's not great unfortunately especially when you compare it to the squad from say two seasons ago. Players like Charlie Adam, David Vaughan, DJ Campbell, Matt Phillips, Ian Evatt, Tom Ince, Alex Baptiste, Seamus Coleman, Barry Bannan, Jonjo Shelvey to name just a few and you can see the massive difference in the talent available.

[Hunter Lionheart]

Hrm, just occurred that I never posted this season's transfers. I'm pretty underwhelmed to be honest,scouting reports seemed to let me down!

OUT:

Ryan Fraser -£575k

Reece Brown- Free

Milan Lalkovic- Free

Will Grigg- Free

Mark Beck- Free

Dan Butler- Free

Ben Davies- Free

Ben McLaughlin- Free

Islam Feruz- Free

IN:

Magnus Wolff Eikrem- £4.9m

Rafal Wolski- Free

Hayden White- £4.5m

Liam Donnelly- £2.5m

Frederik Eriksson (19yo regen) £350k

Season has started reasonably well, but only White has really impressed me thus far of my signings.

[Jogo Bonito]

Welcome back Gunner and smplfc. I'm finishing my great 14.2.2 save with Saint-Etienne soon (probably when I finish season 6), will then update on to 14.3 and pick a FL club.

It's good to see the thread still active, and the variety of clubs being managed

[MichaelBrown]

Who you want to be Jogo? What league? I'll find you a team to be

[The Top Canary]

Blackpool FC - Season 2013/2014 - Sky Bet Championship

Faris Haroun - A new signing from Middlesbrough, the Belgian international is hard working in the middle of the pitch.

It may not be obvious but Haroun was a beast for me at MR (wide midfielder - A) when I had a Blackpool save going not long ago! He was in double figures for both goals and assists

[Gunner 101]

It may not be obvious but Haroun was a beast for me at MR (wide midfielder - A) when I had a Blackpool save going not long ago! He was in double figures for both goals and assists

Thanks for the heads up, however I very rearely listen to any tips/advice given as I feel it takes away some of the enjoment of the game and it doesn't feel like all of my work.

[Gunner 101]

*Following me not saving the game last night, I have just started again

Blackpool FC - Sky Bet Championship - 2013/2014

I was welcomed to the club by club chairman Karl Oyston and informed of the clubs objectives, a top half finish and the budgets available to me. These were a transfer budget of £500k and a wage budget of £160k per week, of which £15.5k per week was still available to me.

Next up was looking at the squad to find a formation to fit the players presented to me. Having looked at my options I have plumped with a 4-5-1 formation. My current squad is the following;

Goalkeepers

Matt Gilks, Mark Halstead & Tony Warner

Defenders

Tony McMahon, Jack Robinson, Kirk Broadfoot, Craig Cathcart & Gary MacKenzie

Midfielders

Chris Basham, Barry Ferguson, Faris Haroun, Isaiah Osbourne, Angel, David Perkins, Elliot Grandin &Andy Halliday

Forwards

Ricardo Fuller, Andrew Keogh, Michael Chopra & Steven Davies

As you can see from the above there are still quite a few gaps in the squad if we're to finish in the top half of the league.

I will update once pre-season is complete with friendly results and any new signings, incoming and outgoing dealings.

[Mr.Delph]

Started a new game a few days ago as Sheff Utd. Just completed the first season and I won the league playing a narrow diamond formation. It was a race between myself and the posh for the title, I ended up on 99 points and they had 93 points. I started with the first transfer window budgets disabled and brought in 4 loan players for free who were, Daniel Johnson from Villa who was sent back after picking up an injury which kept him out for 4 months. Joao Teixeira as back up to Baxter, I even had Liverpools new manager Klopp messaging me every other week complaining that he is not being played in the agreed position. The best loan signing was John Marquis from Millwall, he hit the ground running and hit double figures before returning to Millwall. I brought him back on loan with an agreed fee of £180k where he scored 10 goals in 17 games providing 10 assists. Frank Simek & Mikael Silvestre signed 1 year contracts and are due to leave. Mikael had a optional 1 year extension should he play 20 games, I stopped playing him after his 19th game.

January came along and I signed Keegan from Doncaster on loan who was superb before turning that deal into a permanent contract for £60k. Lee Miller from Carlisle joined us for £180k, he had scored 18 goals in 20 odd games for them and finished the season scoring 6 and assisting 5 in 12 games. Cyrus Christie also joined from Coventry, I didn't really need a right back but he cost £200k which I thought was a bargain. In 18 games he scored 5 times and assisted twice.

Jamie Murphy & Ryan Flynn were let go for £1.5m and £700k, great deal imo. Ended the season in profit. Maguire and Long complained during the season that they wanted to join bigger clubs, thankfully both are happy now we've been promoted. Looking to keep most of the squad together adding a few championship quality players.

[Gunner 101]

So following a couple of days playing with Blackpool I came to the conclusion that it wasn't the right club for me. I have therefore, in light of their recent playoff game decided to go with League Two Burton Albion instead.

Burton Albion - League Two - Season 1 - 2013/2014

First things first were to decide upon a formation that fit the players available to me. I decided to go for a standard 4-4-2 and following a brief look at the players I felt I needed a new Goalkeeper, Rightback, Leftback, Rightmid and Leftmid before the season begins in August.

Wednesday 19th June 2013

Having looked at the back room team at the club, I decided all I would require to start the season would be the addition of two more scouts. Bobby Roberts joined the club following spells at Oxford United, Grimsby Town, Wrexham and Colchester United.

*Matchday - Pre-Season Friendly - Burton Albion vs Burton Albion Under 21's*

We opened our pre-season with a game against the Under 21's side. The highlight of the game coming from a superb hat-trick by Michael Symes.

Burton Albion 4-1 Burton Albion Under 21's

Symes x 3, McGurk

Saturday 22nd June 2013

The final piece of my back room team would be scout Laurent D'Jaffo. Previously taking up a scouting role at his former club Sheffield United, D'Jaffo will had some international experience to the back room team.

Monday 24th June 2013

*Burton sign Castanheira*

Burton have snapped up American young goalkeeper Dylan Castanheira on a free transfer.

Castanheira, 17, has only been available for a short time on a free transfer since his Bristol City contract expired.

*Burton sign Martin*

Burton have snapped up Scottish goalkeeper Alan Martin on a free transfer.

Martin, 24, has only been available for a short time on a free transfer since his Crewe contract expired.

Wednesday 26th June 2013

*Burton loan Kavanagh*

Fulham's Irish left back Sean Kavanagh has joined Burton on loan until the end of the season.

Kavanagh, 19, arrived at Craven Cottage from Belvedere for a fee of £50k in 2011.

*Burton sign Peters*

Burton have signed Canadian right back Jaime Peters on a free transfer.

Peters had been without a club for a while and is said to have welcomed the opportunity to get back into football.

[Jogo Bonito]

Gunner - it's pleasing to see the revival of your unique 'club-hopping guide to all FL72 clubs (in one week)'...

On a serious note, I do like your diary-writing style, and Burton should be a good club to manage. I'm not sure about the 14.3 situation, but the original squad had some very useful players. I assume McGurk is presumably still rated rather kindly? Kavanagh looks a good loanee to acquire, and Peters on a free - I looked at both of them myself.

Good luck in your effort.

I still have some unfinished business with Saint-Etienne (season 6), but had a quick experiment with Wigan to see if I could totally revamp the squad with 'decent' Championship players in the first window. The answer is that (with £15m) it can be done, and on paper I assembled a great squad within two months. The reality is, it just wasn't working for me, and I didn't enjoy it.

However, I have started a more realistic attempt with Leyton Orient (still on 14.2.2) as I admire what they have done with a small squad this season. I'll pop an update on when I have something worthwhile to write.

[Gunner 101]

Gunner - it's pleasing to see the revival of your unique 'club-hopping guide to all FL72 clubs (in one week)'...

On a serious note, I do like your diary-writing style, and Burton should be a good club to manage. I'm not sure about the 14.3 situation, but the original squad had some very useful players. I assume McGurk is presumably still rated rather kindly? Kavanagh looks a good loanee to acquire, and Peters on a free - I looked at both of them myself.

Good luck in your effort.

I still have some unfinished business with Saint-Etienne (season 6), but had a quick experiment with Wigan to see if I could totally revamp the squad with 'decent' Championship players in the first window. The answer is that (with £15m) it can be done, and on paper I assembled a great squad within two months. The reality is, it just wasn't working for me, and I didn't enjoy it.

However, I have started a more realistic attempt with Leyton Orient (still on 14.2.2) as I admire what they have done with a small squad this season. I'll pop an update on when I have something worthwhile to write.

You know what I am like! If it doesn't feel right, I have to move on and infact, barring 6 months with Dynamo Kiev, i've hardly got past a couple of games in a season on FM14.

McGurk and Weir seem to be the standout players in the squad but overall it's a pretty tidy squad/club.

Wigan wouldd be good due to the mix of Europa League and trying to gain promotion but they have too much money and I think you (like me) prefer those teams that don't offer the luxury of large transfer budgets! Orient should offer a very good save and one that I was going to do myself before deciding on Burton.

[Gunner 101]

Monday 1st July 2013

Following some contract offers the following decided to extend their current contracts with the club; Laurent D'Jaffo (2015 - Scout), Zander Diamond (2015), Jack Sharkey (2015 - Fitness Coach), Billy Kee (2016), Jack Dyer (2015), Kevin Poole (2015 - Goalkeeping Coach), Kevin Summerfield (2015 - Assistant Manager), Lee Bell (2015), Dean Lyness (2015), Damien McCrory (2015), Paul Molesworth (2015 - Chief Scout).

Tuesday 2nd July 2013

Today saw the first round of the Capital One Cup draw take place. We found ourselves drawn against Championship side Leeds United at Pirelli Stadium. The match will take place on Tuesday 6th August 2013.

Wednesday 3rd July 2013

More contract offers were accepted from the following; Gary Alexander (2015), James Rowland (2015 - Head Physio), Mark Sale (2015 - Head of Youth Development), Mike Whitlow (2015 - Under 18's Coach), Chris Hussey (2015), Phil Edwards (2016), Marcus Holness (2015), Robbie Weir (2015).

Saturday 6th July 2013

*Matchday - Pre-Season Friendly - Burton Albion vs Port Vale*

A hard and bouncy at Pirelli Stadium saw Port Vale come out on top against a surprisingly lacklustre Burton Albion side.

Burton Albion 1-2 Port Vale

Kee

Saturday 13th July 2013

*Matchday - Pre-Season Friendly - North Ferriby United vs Burton Albion*

A gritty performance by North Ferriby United saw them come away from Grange Lane with a 2-1 win.

North Ferriby United 2-1 Burton Albion

Weir

Tuesday 16th July 2013

*Burton sign Santangelo*

Burton have signed young goalkeeper Dean Santangelo on a free transfer.

Santangelo, 19, has only been available for a short time on a free transfer since his Man Utd contract expired.

Saturday 20th July 2013

*Matchday - Pre-Season Friendly - Belper Town vs Burton Albion*

Fans sang the praises of their heroes at Christchurch Meadow as Burton Albion ran out 5-0 winners over Belper Town in their latest friendly fixture. The highlight of the game was undoubtedly a superb hat-trick from Burton's Gary Alexander.

Belper Town 0-5 Burton Albion

Alexander x3, McGurk, Own Goal

Tuesday 23rd July 2013

*Matchday - Pre-Season Friendly - Stockport County vs Burton Albion*

Burton Albion could count themselves highly unlucky to only draw in their friendly match at Edgeley Park.

Stockport County 1-1 Burton Albion

Hussey

Monday 29th July 2013

*Matchday - Pre-Season Friendly - Burton Albion vs Derby County*

Despite battling hard Burton Albion were unable to prevent a superior Derby County side coming away from Pirelli Stadium with a 3-2 victory. A brace from Connor Sammon helped Derby to victory.

Burton Albion 2-3 Derby County

Sharps, Edwards.

Tuesday 30th July 2013

*Burton sign H'Maidat*

Burton have snapped up Dutch young winger Ismail H'Maidat on a free transfer.

H'Maidat had previously been on trial at Johnstone's Paint Trophy holders Crewe.

[MichaelBrown]

Similarly, I like the diary-type writing that you use. Hope you stay with Burton long term!

On my save, I'm hoping to win 10 league titles and around 7 CL titles before I move on. I'm currently on 7 and 4 respectively.

[Gunner 101]

Thanks both! I have now started my season and will update again come the end of August.

[Hunter Lionheart]

So, season 2018-2019 went pretty well. I finished 14th, which whilst not much better than the year before, was much more comfortably away from relegation in practical terms. It left me confident enough to predict a mid-table finish for this year!

So, out went Tom Hopper and Charlie Horton, two younger players who never made the grade, for free. Scott Laird, Aaron Hunt and Gael Clichy are all on the transfer list, but failed to move before the window closed.

In came regens, alas, so I'll provide links.

This guy came in for 93k from Valerenga in Norway. Very happy with him, now that he was able to get his work permit!

This lad (just about recovering from a pre-season calf injury) cost me £3m, but looks to have a ton of potential, and the ability to start already. He was signed last January, but had already played for 2 clubs, so is yet to make his competitive debut!

Another January signing, for just under £2m I was very happy to pick up this young man to replace the ageing Clichy and Laird. Konate has given him competition at full back, but his attacking prowess makes him a very useful option anywhere on the left.

Finally this was my big signing of this year. I wanted a new 'keeper, since I don't feel Mikkel Andersen is strong enough to be a first choice in a good Premiership side. I was struggling to find anybody better to sign immediately, but this gem seems like he's worth the investment. Nearly £18m to get his signature, but he's already my number 1 between the sticks, and I hope he'll only get better with a lot of first team football at the top level!

Right now I'm in 11th place after 11 games. A tough start to the season left us on 1 point after 3 matches, but we bounced back well and took a good scalp win over Spurs to leave us in a solid position to continue the season!

[Hootieleece]

I just started playing and have been playing with SkyBet League2 Teams........to learn the game. I don't want to screw up Premier League Team like Moyes......So I have tried Fleetwood, AFC Wimbledon, York, Accrington and Dag&Red. York and Dag&Red have some potential for promotion(haven't made it yet, but playoffs) after fixing the squads. I am a Novice at this game but I find it more fun to start lower and work my way up so when I get to Premier League I can win.

[Jogo Bonito]

I've started my final save on version 14.2.2, and it's a return to familiar FL72 territory. However, I've taken over a club that I never managed before, in admiration of their excellent efforts this season. Yes, it's time to climb aboard the (Leyton) Orient Express...

The background

I like the challenge of controlling a small, well-run club and the O's meet that criteria in several ways. The original club was formed in 1881, but has not been higher than L1 level for almost 40 years now. Their most significant moment in my lifetime was back in 1978, when they reached the FA Cup Semi-Final, losing to Arsenal.

The home of The O's since 1937 is Brisbane Road, London E10. After modernisation it's now seen as a modest all-seater venue with a capacity of around 9,300 - currently sufficient for their needs. Due to the involvement of the well-known sports promoter Barry Hearn as Chairman, the ground is now commonly known as 'The Matchroom Stadium'.

Resources

I mentioned the word 'small' earlier, and that is again reflected in two more ways that make this attempt appealing to me. Firstly, the squad itself is very small. And I don't just refer to the midfielder Dean Cox at 5'4" here. I actually mean they are short (sorry again Dean)...on numbers. The first team squad that you inherit is a mere 15 players (including one short-term loanee), plus a handful of 'extras' in the reserve and U18 squads. I'm a big fan of retaining, developing and promoting youngsters, but I'm not really expecting any of these extras to become a noteworthy part of this story.

Apart from squad depth, the other striking thing is that half of your main squad have contracts expiring at the end of the first season. You are given a starting transfer budget of just £50,000 to play with and the wage budget is pretty much used up (circa £30,000 p/w), so even free transfer and loan signings are going to be difficult what with agent fees etc. The board rejected my request to increase either the transfer or wage budgets, and to be honest that fits in well with the 'nicely managed club' structure which actually enticed me to take on the job. The club value is estimated to be £3m - with a loan debt of just £150k - so I still feel it has some solid foundations to build upon.

The media prediction for the first season is 9th, which I think is fair given the limited resources. There isn't any expectation to deliver a rapid promotion, so a gradual progression is more than satisfactory to both me and the board. Having said that, I'm looking to see if we can make an outside push for the play-off spots anyway.

The squad - version 14.2.2

Goalkeepers: Jamie Jones, Jake Larkins

Defenders: Elliot Omozusi, Scott Cuthbert, Nathan Clarke, Mathieu Baudry, Gary Sawyer

Midfielders: Romain Vincelot, Lloyd James, Marvin Bartley (loan), Moses Odubajo, Dean Cox

Forwards: David Mooney, Kevin Lisbie, Shaun Batt

The squad is small, but of reasonable quality, and several players have versatility allowing them to perform in a couple of different positions (especially in defence). I'll be looking to emulate the 442 formation and tactics used by Russell Slade this season.

The signings I make will be as realistic as possible. This means I will be predominantly going for young, hungry players with a point to prove. Wherever possible these will be from London and the surrounding areas, or have some connection to the club or local area. I will also be re-shaping my backroom team, and again I'll mainly be trying to recruit staff that have a feel for the South or the club itself.

[CityAndColour]

Has anyone else had experience with Tyler Harvey at Plymouth?

I bought him for my L1 Alfreton side in the 5th season, and he has been developed really well by the AI. I've got him playing as an F9 and my coaches rate him as a good Champ/potentially good Prem striker. Seems to have really well rounded attributes for both a midfield and striking role.

Current attributes.

[Jogo Bonito]

Has anyone else had experience with Tyler Harvey at Plymouth?

I bought him for my L1 Alfreton side in the 5th season, and he has been developed really well by the AI. I've got him playing as an F9 and my coaches rate him as a good Champ/potentially good Prem striker. Seems to have really well rounded attributes for both a midfield and striking role.

MeesterCat managed Plymouth (early pages of this thread IIRC) and had some good returns from him. I'm not sure how many seasons he managed him/them for though.

[Hunter Lionheart]

Update time! So, a strong Premiership season kept me top half all the way through! Robbin Andersson had a good year, 20 league goals helping us along very well. For a while I thought I'd make Europe, but then lost the last couple of games of the season to slip down to 9th.

Then we won the Fair Play award and made the Europa League anyway! (This was fantastic news, as it made sure Grzegorz Krychowiak didn't want to leave)

So, pre-season was largely taken up with qualification games, which allowed my attackers to put in some good work! I'm trying to keep the squad young and fairly paid, so wage demands are starting to trouble me a little. However I keep making sure to ask for training and youth improvements every year to try and sort out standards! At some point, I likely need to ask for a new stadium, but if I'm gonna do that, I might as well wait to try and be a club legend and get my name on there first, right?

My squad right now is becoming more and more regen heavy, as happens by year 8, but there are a couple of holdouts from my first season- Bailey Wright and Alan Browne, whilst not amazing at this level, are decent squad members, and I'm certainly glad to have them around for the homegrown players rule in Europe!

So Summer saw me move out Laird and Clichy on frees, Iliev for £650k and Bossaerts for £500k. Marcos Lopes also left for £300k

January I brought in this fella for £2.5m.

He did great work for me in the AMC position, grabbing 4 goals and 5 assists in 15 league appearences

Then we got to summer, and I decided I wanted a third striker of quality, so paid £7.5m for this young gentleman to add a good finisher to my strike force.

Along with that, I wanted better quality in my deep lying playmaker position, with Browne not quite good enough, and Wolff Eikrem starting to show his age.

I think he was £4.6m well spent, and he slots straight into the first team (even scoring on his debut)

Wheras for £3.2m I think this guy represents a solid investment in the future who can easily play right now.

So I'm pretty happy with how things are going- another top half finish and a decent run in Europe would make me a very happy manager!

Any questions, feel free to ask

[Jogo Bonito]

Good work Hunter, nice to see Preston back at the top table and in Europe. Lionheart Lane as the new stadium perhaps?

It's interesting to hear Browne is still in your squad, as I tried to sign him from Cork at the start of my new Leyton Orient game (not on the new update yet). He was valued at £800 but they wanted about £70k for him - over my entire transfer budget. When I finally load the update, I will take a look at how his stats have been changed for the better.

[Hunter Lionheart]

Yeah, he's pretty good- he's been in the odd position of developing enough to be a 2nd string player at every level I played at. He was finally a first teamer, then I got myself promoted out of the championship, so he slipped back into a rotation role again. Nevertheless, he's been a solid, if unspectacular performer for me for a while.

[MichaelBrown]

Just left Yeovil after 22 seasons Only reason I left is because my first regen (a free transfer from Basel) retired after 17 (iirc) years at the club.

[Jogo Bonito]

22 seasons, epic. Time for a new FL72 game then?