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

[MichaelBrown]

Nope, I've simmed a season (my first one, I've been sad enough to play the 22) and I'm going to take over a random relegated club I think.

My trophy haul was pretty impressive, included nine league wins, 5 CL wins, 7 FA Cup wins, 7 Capital One Cups, four Club Worlds and three Europas.

How do I upload screenshots? I'll upload some of the players I've had, some of them are incredible.

[lewis999]

Time for the mid-season update in season 1.

First the league table.

Started the season on fire and raced to the top of the league. Have been second and third at one point with Leicester and Reading close on our heels. My aim was play-offs and I was quietly confident I would make that and at the minute (fingers crossed) we look to be on course for that.

Don't think anyone will be brought in during January as I spent all (the little there was) the budget in pre-season.

My transfers in :

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair LB as we only had Kennedy and he isn't strong enough even on his own in my opinion on FM.

Ross Draper CM Perkins was a big loss for me so we had to replace him as we didn't really irl either so in came Ross who can do a bit of everything.

Jessie Lingard AMC Didn't have any real threats running from AM except Mellis who I prefer in CM as he has brilliant PPM's.

Michael Keane CB I do rate Cranie and Ramage (Cranie more so) but Ramage is injury prone so he will be back up to both those two.

Gonzalo Colsa CDM/CM I felt like we had to bring someone in who can really receive the ball ad dictate the play and his attributes coupled with his PPM's make him perfect for me.

Also some regens who started out in the game came in for fees between 6k and 10k so in turn I got rid of all the U18's as none of them are Prem quality which is where i'm aiming to be and in turn means they're a total waste on wages.

I'll do another update in May. If I spot and manage to bring in any regens in March i'll post them in here too as it's my favourite part of the season.

Thanks for reading (If anyone actually did).

Thought i'd post in here as it's a lot more active than my Barnsley thread

[Jogo Bonito]

Welcome Lewis, and a good update. I think one of the reasons this thread was started last year by Plainlayzee (and continued this time by Hoarau), was the diverse nature. It's easier for managers of the less fashionable clubs to share their updates in here, where others are often congregated at a variety of different clubs. Apart from a handful of 'bigger' Championship clubs (and Portsmouth) who have their own progressive threads, it's less likely you will end up talking to yourself in here. Having said all that, the specific team guides for other/smaller clubs are always welcome in my book, as it gives useful information that only fans of the club would usually know.

[Hunter Lionheart]

Draper is a sweet player at that level- doing a good job!

[Hunter Lionheart]

First time I've ever had a player hit 10 for rating

[lewis999]

Got Arsenal in the 5th round of the FA Cup now. Was hoping for a weakened team but no luck.

Szczesny

Jenkinson Koscielny Vermaelen Clichy

Flamini

Ramsey Arteta

Chamberlain Candreva

Bendtner

I'll be happy losing by one goal I think.

[lewis999]

Yep lost 4-0 although that's flattered Arsenal by far. I had the same amount of the ball and they only had 6 shots on target to my 3. They had 1 clear cut chance to my 0 and I had 3 half chances to their 0 so could of easily of been a draw on another day. 2-0 or 2-1 would of been fairer.

[lewis999]

GET IN!

[Jogo Bonito]

Congrats Lewis, not many would have expected that in your first season

[lewis999]

Cheers mate. Season has just finished and I'm already in talks with a few players for the Premiership. Thought i'd get in there early and pay they're clubs a few thousand to get them before they're clean pickings for everyone else too.

Been given 9m. I expected more (not sure why knowing Barnsley in real life) but i'm not sure if that's bad or not?

I can just imagine if I were Forest, Reading, Wigan, Leicester etc. I would of got closer to 20m but hey all the more challenging I suppose. Who wants an easy game anyway?

[MichaelBrown]

Wigan start with 15m so you could easily double that with them!

If I was you I'd sign the lower league gems rather than big money players. Forshaw, Bostwick, Harlee Dean. All will be good enough for you and you can easily make a profit off them.

Good luck.

[Jogo Bonito]

A very enjoyable first season has just been completed with Leyton Orient, and as you will see, we had a season better than I could have imagined. Predicted to finish 9th, we would have been happy with that or anything similar, giving us the chance to build and push on during the second season.

After a solid start, we seemed to be well set for that kind of achievement, but after spending much of the period until the New Year in and around the edge of the play-off spots, we suddenly went on a great run of form. That upsurge, aided by the arrival of a new loanee striker from a Premier League club (more of that below), saw us leave all challengers in our wake, culminating in the lifting of the League 1 title after a 1-1 draw with Wolves on 21st April.

The stand out result for me was undoubtedly the 7-1 demolition of Notts County in September (my best ever league result in FM), which was sandwiched in between a pair of 4-1 triumphs. We also earned two 4-0 wins, at both Gillingham and play-off chasing Preston, but there were numerous other performances that made me a proud manager. Some of them may not appear to be remarkable, but winning 3-2 after being two goals down at the break, or grabbing a point in similar fashion even on our last outing, showed excellent resolve.

We didn't do too well in the Capital One Cup or FA Cup, but had a good run in the JPT - only losing 1-0 to Wolves in the final at Wembley after an extra time goal by Chris Eagles. The only other possible bad news is that our Chairman, Barry Hearn, is reportedly looking to sell the club. That was announced just a week or so before promotion, but the rumours are getting stronger. Whilst that's unlikely to see my removal as manager, I may decide not to continue in my role under a new regime.

Player Performance

I kept the faith with Russell Slade's 442 formation, and wherever possible used the players that I felt deserved the chance to remain in the side. The rock in the centre of defence was Mathieu Baudry, who was 4th in the divisional rating averages. Wide player Dean Cox was excellent until suffering a broken foot injury (5 months) in mid-February, and the striking pair of David Mooney (our top scorer with 16 goals in 46 league games, and 20 overall) and Kevin Lisbie (not far behind despite his fairly lengthy injury absences) also played important roles. It's fair to say that I felt all of the 'traditional' squad, like Moses Odubajo and Romain Vincelot, made noteworthy contributions to the season - although injuries reduced some of the players opportunities. To keep it realistic, I usually even deployed Shaun Batt from the bench - attention to detail, you see!

We suffered badly from injuries on numerous occasions, especially in the first half of the season. There were a handful of times when we couldn't name a full set of substitutes, but we just about managed to force our way through those tough times. Brief outings were given to some of the youth and reserve players - early on because of limited availability, and later on when faced with a central midfield crisis which resulted in young Harry Lee being afforded a League start. Towards the end, a few other rookies got odd minutes on the pitch.

Here are the stats of the players (excluding Sawyer and the loanees that had already left the club). This list is based on all competitions and sorted by number of appearances:

Transfers - In

With only £50k to spend and no room in the wage budget, it quickly became apparent that the only way to strengthen in the first season was by use of the free transfer and loan markets. The small starting squad of just 15 players (including Marvin Bartley on a short term loan until early January) was good in quality, but would never be big enough to handle injuries and suspensions. I wanted to sign Londoners or players with local connections, although I had to look further afield sometimes for loanees.

The list of signings, in date order of joining, is below:

Vences Bola - VCD Athletic, free

My first signing was a young striker with exceptional pace and finishing attributes. Picked up for my U21 squad, he arrived from the non-league scene, but was a former Crystal Palace youth product. After an initial loan spell at feeder club Dulwich Hamlet, he returned and showed some glimpses of potential when making two assists in his only league start at MK Dons in May.

Marcel Henry-Francis - Dulwich Hamlet, free

Another young forward signed for my U21 squad, he was once on the books of QPR. Upon his arrival, he was loaned back to Dulwich Hamlet, scoring six goals in 28 league appearances for them.

Etienne Eto'o - unattached

The (much) younger brother of Samuel, this striker from Cameroon has never made much of a name for himself, but with raw potential and Spanish as second nationality, he was a good option to boost the numbers of the first team squad. He's developed reasonably in training, and added a goal in the FA Cup and JPT. Most of his appearances for the club have been from the bench, but he's capable of starting if required - and that probably explains his current desire for more first team football.

Ross Gaynor - Sligo Rovers, free

He was once on the books of Millwall as a youth, but only made a handful of appearances there before returning to Ireland. His ability to play anywhere down the left side, and some surprisingly good attacking attributes made him the perfect acquisition on wages of just £600 p/w at the start of the season. He was my reguar left-back until mid-February, when the loss of Cox to a lengthy injury left a hole further forward. He slotted in comfortably there too, and was definitely a major factor in the successful season we had.

Jack Stephens - Southampton, loan

A promising young central defender that I signed for the whole season with no contribution. I was certain he would easily step up to first team level, but his spell was over just one month after arriving. It seems he wasn't prepared to wait for a chance from the bench, or an injury, and demanded a return to his parent club before making a single appearance.

Jordan Cousins - Charlton, loan

Arriving on a seasonal loan on deadline day (summer) his arrival was a welcome boost to my options in central midfield. The youngster performed adequately whenever called upon, but played more times from the bench than as a starter.

Momar Bangoura - Marseille, loan

He signed a loan deal on the same day as Cousins, and was another young central midfielder with a decent pedigree. Despite agreeing to spend the whole campaign with the club, we allowed him to go back to France in January when a permanent signing was made and I felt his opportunities would be too limited. He performed adequately in his 10 league appearances for us.

Kenny Lala - Valenciennes, loan

The third and final signing of a busy summer deadline day, the young right-back only made one Cup appearance for the club. I'm sure he was good enough, but allowed him to return to his parent club at the end of November when a short-term injury crisis had eased.

Matt McClure - Wycombe, loan

A short-term loan deal from November to February, he was a back-up striking option when Lisbie was out injured. He scored an important stoppage time equaliser on his debut, coming off the bench and scoring within a minute to earn a late point. He made six further league appearances from the bench without troubling the scorers, but would have played a few more games if he hadn't been Cup-tied.

Jermaine Grandison - unattached

The unattached former Shrewsbury right-back was signed on New Years Day, having worked his way back from a five-month injury. His performances were distinctly average, but he did offer a good solution when Cox's injury forced a series of switches. With Gaynor having to move forward in to the vacant left-midfield role, I had to drag Omozusi from right-back to left-back, so Grandison served a purpose. His arrival allowed me to let Lala leave, but I'm not sure he has done enough to justify the contract extension clause being triggered.

Robert Milsom - Rotherham, free

With his Rotherham contract expiring at the start of January, and with doubts over who I could retain from my own squad, I was keen to add another permanent signing to the ranks. The former Fulham midfielder is an average League 1 player, but would be a decent back-up in the area of the pitch that was short once Bartley's loan spell finished at the start of the New Year. His signing also allowed me to let Bangoura hop back to his own club in France. Injured on his debut, he was mainly seen on the bench - but did fill in a couple of times.

Cauley Woodrow - Fulham, loan

The young Fulham striker is an old favourite of mine since FM13, and had scored 7 in 10 league games for Portsmouth earlier in the season. When he became available to join us on a 3-month loan from January to April, I didn't hesitate. Although Cup-tied, his arrival at a time when Lisbie was unavailable with injury was a major factor in our improvement after the turn of the year. This turned us from a team sat in 5th/6th in to a an outfit chasing automatic promotion. He grabbed 8 goals in 14 league games (plus three assists) before heading back to London, leaving a legacy that will be remembered for some time by the O's manager and faithful alike.

The pick of the new recruits were most definitely Woodrow and Gaynor. They both performed superbly, and here is a snap of how a free transfer from Ireland earning just £600 per week can look after one season at the Leyton Orient school of football. For the record, the finishing stat of 12 was already there when I signed him - not bad for a full-back...

Transfers - Out

The only departure during the season was Gary Sawyer. He had been on the bench for most of the campaign but despite renewing his contract, asked to be allowed to move on. When Sligo Rovers came in with an offer, I negotiated the fee up to £90k, and he departed on 28th February. That also allowed us to show a healthy profit on transfer dealings as we had not spent any money on transfer fees or loan fees.

Future transfers

I didn't feel that reserve team forward Yohann Lasimant would ever become a regular. With a contract due to expire in 2014 - and a dwindling value - there were no clubs willing to pay even a modest fee for his services after many months of trying. Eventually though, I managed to agree a swap deal with Stevenage which will see me bring former favourite Jimmy Smith back to the club. No fees were involved either way.

Contracts

With no expenditure in the transfer market - and the £90k courtesy of Sawyer's sale - we were able to sort out the many expring contracts within the first team squad. At certain stages, both Cox and Odubajo asked to leave, which I reluctantly agreed to. However, I put very high prices on their heads, and as we improved they both came back and asked to stay. I followed up on this and signed them both on again until 2016. Another five or six players that I wanted to keep beyond the first season have also extended their contracts for at least another year.

There are a few reserve and youth players that I haven't offered new deals to yet, as I was undecided on their futures even if we had stayed in League 1. So, that means that both Johnny Gorman and Jack Sherratt have not been helped by the promotion. Another one to ponder on is Grandison, who had been my most extravagent signing on wages of £900 p/w. The free transfer included an option to extend his contract by a further year, but if I can find a better right-back (which I think I will), we will probably not trigger the clause.

I've taken on five new kids from the youth intake, and think there are a few gems in that little group. Three of them are strikers, but goalscorers will always be in demand!

Staff

When I took on the role we only had a small number of staff - there weren't any coaches except for goalkeeping, and we had no scouts. I got to work on this straight away, and started by releasing two out of the three physios, and also the fitness coach. I brought in some coaches for the first team and U18 squad (the U21 team were not in any league), added a good fitness coach. Then I formed a small scouting network, before later hiring a HOYD and DOF. The new men are solid if not spectacular, but most of them have connections to London or the region, which was important to me. The obvious exceptions to that rule are the two foreign recruits, namely ex-Barcelona and Espanyol idol Ivan De la Pena, and a promising young American goalkeeping coach, Steve Cronin. The only members of staff retained from my arrival were Kevin Nugent, Andy Edwards, Kevin Dearden and Nick Dawes. Here is the backroom team, listed in salary order:

Any other business

With the board not prepared to increase my transfer or wage budgets, I asked for a parent club as I thought it could lead to some further loan opportunities. I was hoping for Fulham or Tottenham, but had to accept Swansea as the best of three underwhelming options. Apart from the annual fee, we didn't benefit anything from this link. I also asked for a feeder club, and was delighted to get Dulwich Hamlet as one of the options - a perfect fit, being a local team. I'm hoping that will remain a long-term partnership.

The final league table was interesting in that five of the top six were the same as the clubs involved in the actual SkyBet season. The exception were Stevenage, who claimed a play-off spot, and Rotherham - who suffered a last-day relegation under the management of, amazingly, Russell Slade. That must have been his way of avenging that cruel defeat at Wembley!

[Jogo Bonito]

Pre-season planning for the second season is under way now at Leyton Orient. The takeover by one the existing directors has fallen through, but remains a distinct possibility.

I've been handed an acceptable transfer budget of £500k for survival in the Championship, and a wage budget of about £55k p/w (increase of about £20k p/w). So far I've added a central defender (free), loaned a wide midfielder able to give cover on both flanks, and extended the loan of Cousins for another season. However, I have three tricky decisions to make, and I'm unsure what to do.

1. My top targets for a first choice right-back have rejected me (two turned down a loan, and one joined Aberdeen instead of his own local club on a free). I do have one deal lined up on a seasonal loan, but I managed the same player on FM13 for five or six seasons, and was hoping for somebody different.

2. Elsewhere, Woodrow rejected another year long loan - choosing to go to Leeds for the season instead. Of the handful of players I wanted for that striking position, none can be acquired - which forced me in to making an offer for a Dutch striker I also managed for about four years on FM13. A fee of £400k and personal terms have been agreed, but I've delayed the completion three times already. I know the guy will deliver, but again was hoping to use somebody else this time.

3. A club in Scotland has offered me £500k for centre-back Cuthbert. My new free transfer replacement is certainly of similar ability, so the first team won't be weakened, and financially, it would be sensible to take the money on offer as he is out of contract at the end of 2015. However, I was trying to keep the 'original' team together, and I could even keep him as my first choice right-back, where I think he played in the actual season just finished.

I've paused the game whilst I try and decide...but current thinking is to keep Cuthbert, cancel the deal on the other right-back, and toss a coin on the striker one!

[MichaelBrown]

£500k is a lot of money for a CB though Jogo. That could fund two players for the entire year.

Have you looked to loan another CB?

[Jogo Bonito]

Michael, don't complicate matters

It is a lot of money, and I'm sure I could loan or sign another CB easily enough - but I've got a couple of loans already and would then need a RB on loan and possibly another CB. I just have the preference for trying to keep the real side together - I think I have some odd and fairly fixed ideas on FM strategies

[MichaelBrown]

I sold the majority of the players at my new club and just signed a load of released ex-Championship players.

Please sign my favourite Adam Forshaw! In the future that is

[danm2501]

Been playing a career as Fleetwood. Had a pretty exciting first season, we triumphed in the Johnstone Paint Trophy, and then secured automatic promotion on the last day of the season. Going in to the final day, I was sat 4th, 2 points behind Exeter and Hartlepool. Luckily for me, they played eachother on the final day. So all I needed to do, was beat Wycombe at home, and hope for a result in the 2nd vs 3rd match. Exeter ended up winning comfortably, I beat Wycombe, and earnt myself a last ditch promotion.

I brought quite a few players in in the summer, including Nile Ranger, Davide Petrucci on loan, Eidur Gudjohnssen, Joe Dudgeon and a couple of free transfers to boost the squad. I also signed a young Scottish goalkeeper, Scott Bain, and so decided to sell the keeper that would be my 3rd for that season. Strangely, upon offering him out, I had offers from Man Utd, Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea. The £300k I earnt selling him was a massive boost to the finances.

League One has started incredibly well. I've just got to February, and am sitting top of the pile, 6 points above Charlton. It's been a slightly unbelievable season really. I was hoping for a consolidation season, finish mid-table and build for promotion the following year, so to go into the last few months of the season favourites to be promoted is a real shock. Some of my players have been magnificent. Jeff Hughes is a guy I would recommend to anyone in the lower leagues. I've been playing him as an AML Wing Attack, and he's always involved when we play well, scores plenty, and gets loads of assists. Lewis Milne, a young scottish midfielder has also been an excellent signing, and one I'd really recommend. He trains very well, has improved a hell of a lot, and has very well-rounded statistics for a League 1 player. My right-back McLaughlin has been excellent also, and well worth a buy if you need a cheap wing back.

Loving my save as Fleetwood. This is my first save on FM14 below the Championship, so pretty happy it's going so well!

[Jogo Bonito]

Great work danm2501! It's always good to hear mentions of different players at this level. Jeff Hughes was excellent for me in FM13 at Coventry, so nice to see he still delivers the goods. I can't imagine what on earth would make anybody want to bring Nile Ranger in to their club, but each to their own - and I guess it's 'virtual' so you don't run the risk of his off-pitch behaviour actually affecting you. Good luck on finishing the job with another promotion.

[danm2501]

Yeah, Nile Ranger was an interesting one, and a signing I didn't really want to make due to his actions off the pitch IRL. I was desperate for a striker though, with both my main strikers out with injuries; his stats looked pretty decent, and his wage demands weren't too bad, so I thought he was worth a punt. He turned out well first season, did a handy job alongside Ball, bagged a few important goals. Have since sold him in the 2nd season, and replaced with Jonathan Obika. Ended up making £200k profit on him, so I'd say it was a successful signing. If I had more time, and there were other options, there's no way I'd want to sign him again.

[CityAndColour]

damn2501, how have you found Sarcevic? He was sublime for me at Alfreton, and I ended up selling him to Palermo for £1m after signing him on a free.

[danm2501]

Didn't have any luck with Sarcevic TBH. His stats were really poor, and he didn't fit into my system at all. I ended up selling him at the end of the first season. Probably should have kept him, as I ended up bringing in Eidur Gudjohnsen and playing him in Sarcevic's position, at AMC, so he could have played a good back-up. His stats were awful, and he wasn't really improving either, so made sense to sell him off.

[CityAndColour]

By stats do you mean his performance or his attributes?

I played him as a box to box or an advanced playmaker in the CM slot and he was immense.

[danm2501]

Both, but mainly attributes. Wouldn't have helped that I played him mainly on the left wing, but his attributes weren't good, and he showed no signs of improvement.

[MichaelBrown]

You've just broke CityAndColour's heart.

[danm2501]

Haha, sorry CityAndColour!

Boom. League One champions. Fleetwood are in the Championship after 2 seasons. I'm so surprised at how well this is going. Expecting a tough season next season!

[CityAndColour]

You've just broke CityAndColour's heart.

Haha, maybe he has random attributes. This is him in my save, 12 months after moving to Palermo...

[danm2501]

Yeah, those attributes look better than the ones I had for him, so they must be slightly randomised. Probably should have given him more of a run in the side though, just everytime I played him, he was poor, so I just gave up with him, and sold him to a non-league side.

Money is a real issue again. It's been an issue throughout, been in the red for pretty much the whole of the last 2 seasons. Probably haven't helped myself in this transfer window by spending £300k on Callum McManaman, but I couldn't miss out on signing him, some much needed Championship-ready quality in the ranks. Desperate for a striker though. Ball wouldn't sign a new contract, wanted an increase from £975/w to £4k, which wasn't happening, so the only striker I have left is Obika, and then Eidur and McManaman could fill in if required, but could really do with a new front man.

[Hunter Lionheart]

See if you can pick up Mark Beck on the cheap? He cost me about 200k overall, but I reckon he can be snapped up for less. Had a 30 goal season in the Championship for me. Will Grigg on a free scored in bursts but in good numbers too.

[danm2501]

Beck looks promising. Can't afford him, or Grigg though. Have £0 transfer budget, but can offer up to £7.5k a week on a contract. Just offered a deal to Marcelo Trotta, but not sure he's good enough, and he's bloody expensive. Gonna need to try and get someone in on loan from a big side's Under-21 side I think!

[Jogo Bonito]

Is Cauley Woodrow available on loan? He's always been great for me - but I'm not on the latest database yet.

[danm2501]

Signed James Wilson on loan from United. Also signed a new contract, and stipulated that I wanted a bigger wage budget, and luckily the board offered it up. With a bit of adjusting, I've now got £10k a week spare on wages, and £456k to spend on transfers, so just need to plan who I'm buying now.

[MichaelBrown]

Have you got anybody you can sell who has value?

[danm2501]

Not really, got a pretty small squad, and the only guys worth any decent money are guys I want to keep.

Had a really tough start to life in the Championship. After 13 games we're sat in 21st, 1 place above the relegation zone, with 2 wins, 4 draws and 7 losses. Thought we'd started to turn things around after a win against Watford, followed by an away draw at Barnsley, but we've since lost 1-0 to West Ham, and got smashed 4-0 by Derby. Injuries and suspensions have been a real issue too. Can't settle on a strongest XI, as there's always someone out injured, or suspended.

My summer signings in the end were:

Callum McManaman - £350k

Cyrus Christie - £195k

James Wilson - Loan

Leonardo Capezzi - Free

Richard Dunne - Free

Then the Strongest XI is:

--------------------------Bain-------------------------

---McLaughlin---Dunne------Roberts---Dudgeon----

-----------------------Kovacevic-----------------------

-----------------Capezzi------Milne-------------------

--McManaman----------------------------Hughes------

---------------------Obika/Wilson----------------------

McManaman, Wilson and Capezzi have been decent, Capezzi looks like a really promising midfielder, the scouts and coaches rate him incredibly highly, so it's extra annoying that he's just got injured for 4 weeks. I signed Dunne to add a bit of top level experience to the side, and hoped that his lack of pace wouldn't be an issue. I was wrong. He's been awful. We've conceded so many goals which have come as a result of terrible defending. I'm just hoping we manage to pull it around, avoid relegation, and can build over the summer towards a more successful second Championship campaign. Staying up is going to be a real battle though.

[Jogo Bonito]

I'm now entering in to January of the second season with Leyton Orient, my first in the Championship after winning League 1.

July & August, 2014

I didn't feel it was necessary to use the full transfer budget of £550k as I was happy to operate with a small squad of 22 players. I also wanted to keep faith with the majority of the original squad, so there wasn't a great deal of activity in the summer. Expectations were low, with a media prediction of 23rd, and no pressure from the board for much more.

I replaced Swansea as my parent club, having decided that the extra cash and prestige offered by a partnership with Liverpool may be more rewarding. I don't plan to raid them for loanees, as it goes against my desire to grow with a strong London bias. Feeder club Dulwich Hamlet were retained.

The first piece of business was to renew the loan of Jordan Cousins (Charlton) for another season, quickly followed up by a straight swap deal which saw me bring Stevenage midfielder Jimmy Smith back to the club. Going in the opposite direction was winger Yohann Lasimant, a reserve player and soon to be out of contract anyway.

Central defender Gabriel Zakuani, another former club favourite, was the next man in - returning to Brisbane Road on a free transfer when his Peterborough contract expired, and Marc Pugh then arrived on loan for a year from Bournemouth to provide midfield cover on both flanks. The final arrival saw £350k being splashed to bring Dutch striker Glynor Plet from his club in Israel as I felt Kevin Lisbie was struggling with age and fitness. I had hoped to sign another 'Londoner' after being turned down on my first choice (Cauley Woodrow), but couldn't convince either Harry Kane to join on loan, or Millwall to make John Marquis available.

In addition to Lasimant, the only other departures were Jack Sherratt - a young reserve I didn't feel would make the grade - and right-back Jermaine Grandison, after I decided not to trigger his extension clause. The pair were both allowed to leave for free, although I pulled the plug on a £500k sale of Scott Cuthbert when Tottenham full-back Adam Smith chose to join Aberdeen on a free transfer instead of his local club.

Pre-season went fairly well, but the absence of David Mooney before the first friendly (hip injury, two months) was in no small part responsible for the lack of goals we delivered in the first month of the Championship campaign. New striker Plet also had some fitness issues, which meant he didn't deliver enough early on. The narrow loss to Newcastle in the Capital One Cup, after extra time, gave some hope going forward.

September & October, 2014

September produced some much better results, and we dragged ourselves away from trouble and in to mid-table security. We weren't really ever outclassed in games, but seemed to struggle converting draws in to wins, particularly at home. The lack of goals was still an issue - with the exception of four goals at bottom club Peterborough - but Mooney did return from injury.

November & December, 2014

The 442 that worked so well last year wasn't creating enough goals, so I switched to 352 and wing-back's when visting table-topping Hull, and it worked better than I could ever have expected. I felt a corner had really been turned when we followed that up with a fine 4-1 win at high-flying Derby next time out, but two more stalemates at home quickly disproved this theory. I reverted back to 442, and we finished the calendar year with a mixed bag of results.

The consistently good performances of Mathieu Baudry and goals of Mooney have been satisfying, whilst young 'keeper Jake Larkins has now played 7 games after a couple of injuries kept Jamie Jones out of the side. Plet has not been as explosive as I expected, but he is performing OK in some aspects of play and will hopefully flourish soon. A bid of £120k from Colchester for midfielder Robert Milsom was seriously considered, but eventually declined as I prefer to keep the status quo and keep my small squad together.

After months of talks, existing Director and Chief Executive, Matthew Porter, finally took over the club from Barry Hearn. It's probably the least revolutionary takeover in history though, with no change to how the club is being run, no more funding supplied, and no threat to my job. The involvement of Barry was one of the factors that brought me to Brisbane Road, but at least it's good that it has been kept 'in house' with the appointment of a man who already knows how the club works. Here is the new man in charge, courtesy of his very own twitter page...

At the end of the year 2014, we sit in 13th place with 36 points from 26 games. Leeds are top on 46 points in a very tight division which sees only a six point gap between us and 20th-placed Bournemouth. We are 12 points above the bottom three, so unless the wheels fall off big time, survival should be achieved.

I've renewed nearly all staff contracts, and those of all key players. Only a couple remain un-signed, and they're people whose future contributions are not going to affect me anyway.

Our first game of the New Year is a real money spinner - we host Chelsea at home on 3rd January in FA Cup Round 3. Apart from the guaranteed full house of 9,300 spectators, a further £120k will be brought in because it's been chosen for TV coverage.

[MichaelBrown]

How do you crop your screenshots?

They look impressive.

[Jogo Bonito]

How do you crop your screenshots?

They look impressive.

I only learned how to do it about one week ago myself, hence it's like a new toy :o

I don't know the technical terms but: Take screenie in usual way and save it. Open up paint, from within that locate where your saved pic is, within paint press on select, within paint move the 'selector' in to the right positions to form a box containing just the parts of the image you like, then press crop. I then close down paint on the 'x' and it asks if you want to overwrite the save, press yes. The crop pic has then replaced the original screenie. If you don't want to overwrite the screenie, press no and you should keep both.

I'm quite sure that isn't much help, and hope somebody else can come along and direct you better.

[MichaelBrown]

I'll give it a try tonight.

Not gonna be long with my updates, never am. Anyway, I left Yeovil after 22 years and was out of contract for a year, looking for a decent team to play with. Was getting the usual offers from Bayern, Arsenal (tempted), Bayern, Inter etc, but I eventually decided (with six games left!) on Deportivo, a team who were struggling in the Spanish second division.

Unfortunately, they went down and I kept my job. The first season was easy, winning the minor cup and the league comfortably. I spent over £1.5m on players with players on £6k, in comparison to some teams who had an average wage of around £300 a week.

The second season I strengthened and I won the league again. In the Spanish Cup, I went all the way to the semis where I met Athletico. In the first game, I destroyed them 3-0, with my star striker Jim Evans scoring a hattrick. I'll screenshot him, think he scored 35 in the third division and 28 in the second in the league which explains his quality. However, in the second I lost 5-1 which kicked me out. I was fuming :L

My star right back at Yeovil has become my assistant, extending our work together to an impressive 19 years.

I'm not sure whether I want to stay here, or move on. I'll need to strengthen as some of my players are old, or simply not capable of the step up. However, Deportivo have a large debt, so if I receive less than £8m in transfer funds, I'm probably going to call it a day.

[Jogo Bonito]

I've just completed my second season at Leyton Orient, so here is how it went...

January & February, 2015

We put up a brave fight in our FA Cup fixture with Chelsea, before two late goals killed us off. The league form was reasonably good, with a mixture of wins and draws plus a couple of defeats. Glynor Plet found some better form, but Moses Odubajo suffered a season-ending injury in early February.

Transfer business was minimal in the winter window. However, after rejecting £500k for Scott Cuthbert in the summer, I decided that £700k from Aberdeen was too good to turn down. The only arrival was Stuart Taylor, on loan from Motherwell in February, as my regular 'keeper (Jamie Jones) suffered a second injury of the season. The cash for Cuthbert enabled us to turn a profit of £350k on transfers during the season.

March - May, 2015

A very poor March saw us stumbling towards the bottom third of the league, but we addressed that and our form and results improved through April and May. The striking partnership between David Mooney and Plet began to function better, and we finished on a high.

Final League Table

The run of wins at the end of the season propelled us up the table, but for most of the campaign we were just below mid-table. We never had a shot at the play-off places, but the aim of survival was achieved quite comfortably. The away record was decent, but there were far too many home draws. It was also satisfying to see we had the best defensive record in the league, something we held throughout the term.

Player stats, based on number of appearances in all competitions (excludes Cuthbert who had made 12 league appearances before being sold in January)

The best performers were the same as the previous year (Mathieu Baudry, Ross Gaynor and Mooney), whilst Plet came on strongly in the second half of the season too. There were a few injuries to contend with, the longest being that of Odubajo. He suffered a broken foot on 7th February and is still a month or more away from a return to training. My main goalkeeper (Jones) also missed 16 games, courtesy of two seperate spells on the sidelines.

[MichaelBrown]

Good end to the season there.

On my long-term save, I've became a bit of a journeyman. Deportivo offered me little to no transfer budget, which meant that relegation was the most likely outcome. I resigned, meaning that once again I was unemployed. Around October time, the Wolves job became available, which I took. Their team, predicted third, were languishing in 18th and the board wanted promotion from me.

I took them to third which I was pleased with as there was only 6 points between third and 10th. Anyway, I lost in the playoff final. The board offered me a new contract which I was surprised about considering I went from 'secure' to 'insecure' when I lost two in a row earlier in the season, taking me to 8th from 5th. However, I applied for the Genk job and we struck a deal. Season 2039/40 will be spent in Belgium where Anderlecht and Club Brugge have swapped first position for the majority of my game.

[lewis999]

Has anyone noticed that if you have the transfer budget straight away you can get some high profile youth players from the Premier League even though they say they aren't that interested. I have just got one from Liverpool with Crewe straight away. Feels unrealistic and not sure if I should of done it out of like I say, realism.

[Jogo Bonito]

Lewis, if it can be done and suits your strategy I don't see why not.

Michael, good luck in the SkyBet Belgian Pro League thread .

On a serious note, I finally updated to 14.3 and after three days looking at every side from Championship level to Skrill North/South, I've decided to start a new game with Wolves.

There are a few high earners I'd like to move on, but most of them are already out on loan. There is a £500k transfer kitty, but that doesn't really get you much - certainly not enough for a marquee signing that would really improve the squad. Having said that, I like the young talent they have spread across their three squads anyway, so don't expect to do much trading in season 1. I've never managed Wolves in FM before, but only plan for a short blast with them, either one or two seasons.

I really enjoyed managing Leyton Orient, but 14.2.2 felt very outdated now, and I wanted to have the new database. After this new game, I plan to manage a few different clubs in new locations but think I'll go back to Leyton Orient later, as their starting squad is greatly improved on the new database.

It appears to be the time of year where the forum loses lots of followers - the SkyBet managers certainly seem to have reduced alot.

[Jogo Bonito]

July 2013

Staff

Contracts were mutually terminated for seven staff, who I didn’t feel were going to offer me too much. In addition, my U18 goalkeeper coach was poached away by Reading. I recruited a new Assistant Manager (Garry Pendrey), and a new Head Physio (Nick Worth), but I was disappointed that the board would only allow three coaches (we had none). Two of those slots were quickly filled by Steve Davis (defensive coach) and Iwan Roberts (attacking coach).

Transfers

The board gave a transfer budget of £500k for the season, but expected promotion. I was very satisfied with my squad, and so the only player arriving at the club was Alan Sheehan, who joined for an initial outlay of £350k from Notts County on 16th July. My only other transfer target was Joe Mason, but the forward rejected the move after a non-contributory seasonal loan had been agreed with Cardiff.

I had a few unwanted players already out on loan, and a couple more I would have been glad to move on – e.g. Jamie O'Hara - but there were no takers.

Results

Apart from a blip at Burton, I was very pleased with the results in our pre-season friendlies. By the end of the month, and with Leon Clarke and Nouha Dicko gelling nicely in attack, I felt suitably prepared for the promotion challenge that awaited us.

August 2013

Transfers

Three loan deals were arranged for youngsters from our U21 and U18 squads - Jamie Tank (Guiseley), David Moli (Bath), and Sam Whittall (Cambridge).

Disappointingly, Mason continued to reject the chance of regular first team football, despite Cardiff still willingly approving a free loan. I took a tentative look at one other player - Michael Mancienne - but a loan deal couldn’t be afforded.

Results

We made a solid start in the league, and produced two victories in the Capital One Cup – one of which eliminated Premier League side West Ham in Round 2. My striking pair of Clarke and Dicko continued their good form, whilst Sheehan settled in quietly at left-back.

September 2013

Transfers

With the deadline on 2nd September, I was once again rebuffed by Mason so instead turned my attention to another target. Languishing in the reserves at Videoton in Hungary was striker Nemanja Nikolic, a player with a decent scoring rate at that level, and some impressive attributes. A low-risk deal (£1.1k p/m loan fee and 50% wage contribution amounting to £550k p/w) was quickly completed to bring him on loan for the season.

Results

A perfect month saw five straight wins – four in the league and success in the 3rd round of the Cup. My new man (Nikolic), bagged four goals in his first four games, including a late brace from the bench on his first outing. It was looking like an inspired signing, and timed perfectly to coincide with an injury to Dicko.

October 2013

Results

A second successive month unbeaten in the league was satisfying. Clarke and Nikolic were still scoring freely, and Dicko returned at the end of the month from injury. We exited two Cup competitions though, as Sheffield United dumped us out of the JPT via penalties, and Swansea finally ended our brave run in the COC, defeating us 2-0 in the 4th Round.

November 2013

Staff

Paul Stephenson joined as a third coach, whilst Alan Rough filled the vacant role of U18 goalkeeping coach.

Transfers

Youngster Moli was sent on his second loan, with Hereford being the destination this time.

Results

Another perfect month saw us claim maximum points from our five league matches, and a comfortable win at Margate in FA Cup Round 3. Nikolic continued his glut of goals, Dicko regained his early season form, whilst Bakary Sako and Danny Batth continued to excel at every opportunity. Unfortunately, Sheehan suffered fractured ribs on 23rd November, and would miss the next four weeks.

[Jogo Bonito]

December 2013

Transfers

We received some good financial news on 29th December, as a £1m sell-on clause included some years ago on the transfer of Matt Jarvis to West Ham was activated...

All expiring player contracts were reviewed and renewed, with the exceptions of Richard Stearman and Batth. I’d like to keep my first choice central defensive pairing, but their agents were very demanding and rejected the initial offers put to them. Hopefully those talks will be concluded in a positive manner shortly.

Results

Despite a couple of draws, a further five league games unbeaten saw us end the year 10 points clear at the top of League 1. It wasn’t always plain sailing though, as 2nd placed Rotherham gave us a scare going 2-0 up early on in Yorkshire, before we fought back with four goals of our own. We also progressed in the FA Cup, with a Round 2 victory over Crawley. Nikolic missed a couple of weeks through injury, but returned before the end of the year, as did Sheehan.

End of year league table

January 2014

Transfers

Before the New Years Eve party had even finished, I’d taken the opportunity to sign the impressive Nikolic on a permanent deal. His contract in Hungary was ending in the summer - after his loan spell with us finishes – at which point he will now join on a free transfer. With wages of just £1.7k p/w he will be a useful option in the squad until 2016, especially as the only expense was a modest agent fee of £4.5k.

However, had I been aware that the following would happen later that day, I may have had some more thinking to do...

A busy first day of the year also saw the departures of Kevin Foley (Wigan, £500k), George Elokobi (Dundee, free) and Tongo Doumbia (Valenciennes, £1m) from the club. A few days later, Georg Margreitter also completed a £500k move to FC Copenhagen. There are still no takers for the overpaid O’Hara, but Ethan Ebanks-Landell agreed to join Falkirk on a free transfer at the end of the season.

With slight concerns over the expiring contracts of Batth and Stearman, I had loan offers for Alex Bruce (Hull) and Marc Wilson (Stoke) accepted by the respective clubs. However, both players declined the move, and with Mason still not tempted, the whole £16.3m transfer kitty remained untouched.

Results

On the pitch it was a disappointing month. We crashed out in our FA Cup Round 3 tie at Mansfield, and only took one point from the last two home matches in the league.

[Jogo Bonito]

February 2014

Transfers

A mini injury crisis forced me in to the transfer market for a third player on 23rd February, as Jake Buxton arrived on loan from Derby. Such a move hadn't been contemplated, but he could provide some extra cover in central defence if his services were required.

Results

We opened the month with a solid win over Bradford, but victory came at a cost with Stearman (3 months), Sako (6 weeks) and Scott Golbourne joining a growing injury list which was already including David Edwards (6 weeks). The rest of the results were erratic, but just about acceptable, given that six men were missing.

March 2014

Results

The absence of Stearman had a massive impact on our defending, but usually we managed to out-score our opponents. Dicko and Nikolic continued to fire the bullets, in fact the former scored in six successive league games.

We needed just a point in our first game of the following month to clinch automatic promotion...

April 2014

Transfers and Contracts

New contracts were finally sealed for both Batth and Stearman, whilst David Davis was also rewarded with an improved deal. Michael Hector has also agreed to join in the summer, with an initial payment of £100k securing the services of the young Reading central defender.

Results

An expectant crowd of 20,124 fans were in attendance to see us edge out Peterborough on 5th April 2014, confirming our swift exit from League 1. Dicko netted in that game and the next, to make it eight successive matches on target, but he couldn’t manage to score as 26,492 fans saw us clinch the title in our next match against Rotherham. His lethal partnership with Nikolic was somewhat unfortunate on Clarke, who had to make do with brief cameo appearances since the turn of the year despite cracking plenty of goals himself early on.

May 2014

Results

With one fixture to go, and having already broken the League points record, there was one final challenge to overcome. Three more goals were needed to break the 100 barrier. We scored in the first minute, and again in the second, and by 16 minutes it was all wrapped up. We couldn’t stop the visitors from a late consolation penalty, but it was a more than satisfactory end to the season for the 29,354 spectators that packed in to Molineux.

The end of season league table

Seasonal stats of our players in all competitions

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Strikers

The star performers of the season...

With only £350k spent on one player, two loanees, and sales to the tune of £2m, I was delighted to achieve so much with a young and mainly homegrown squad.

[Jean0987654321]

Had a save with Brentford but got sacked. So, I made a new save with Fleetwood and I got them a League 2 W in the first season.

[lewis999]

Might join you in League One Joga with Peterborough.

[Jogo Bonito]

Go for it lewis, there are few of us left in here. I always managed them on previous FM's but haven't this time, you'll have a strong squad (especially Assombalonga) so promotion should be fairly easy. If Nikolic can score me 32 league goals and Dicko 25, I reckon Britt should be capable of doing the same for you...

If anything, I found it a little too easy at Wolves - despite not touching my £16m eventual transfer kitty - and may have to find a harder challenge from L1/L2.

[lewis999]

Go for it lewis, there are few of us left in here. I always managed them on previous FM's but haven't this time, you'll have a strong squad (especially Assombalonga) so promotion should be fairly easy. If Nikolic can score me 32 league goals and Dicko 25, I reckon Britt should be capable of doing the same for you...

If anything, I found it a little too easy at Wolves - despite not touching my £16m eventual transfer kitty - and may have to find a harder challenge from L1/L2.

16m is a hell of a lot for L1. I've not 100% decided who to be yet.

[Jogo Bonito]

Yes, I agree. We started with £500k but I spent only £350k of it on one player in the first window. On New Years Day they gave me a further £15m due to 'improved finances', and I sold £2m of unwanted 'talent' so ended up with over £16m. I didn't need to spend any of that, but just imagine if I had!!

[lewis999]

Did you line up any particular players as soon as you got it? Or did you never even think about touching it?