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

[Jogo Bonito]

Excellent choice! Rovers were once a very good team in the 2nd/3rd tiers so hopefully you can bring them back to their previous level. Maybe they need to be known as The Pirates again, because it's been a bit of a shipwreck for them ever since.

P.S. They were my first ever club when I was suggested to try FM (06). My reason was also to try a fairly big club suddenly in a lower division. Sadly they never seem to make it back.

[The Art of Drowning]

Got a double promotion with Fleetwood, very surprised with that. Another recommendation is to check out the new youth intakes at the big sides from Ireland and N.Ireland. Some nice prospects there. I left Fleetwood in the Championship to join newly relegated Middlesbrough in League One. Managed to persuade the likes of Eric Dier and Will Hughes to sign which was incredible but I notice someone mention Deli Alli earlier? He was by far the star player as a goal scoring box to box midfielder. Resigned after taking them up and now hope to move to Germany. Got to Christmas now and nothing has come up to interest me yet.

[muhaimin]

Got promoted to the Championships via Playoff!! Excited for the new challenge and at the same time do not expect a very happy return to the Championships!

[Jogo Bonito]

Blimey, everybody else has done so well! I wish I hadn't continued my BETA save as the first half of my Shrewsbury season was a killer.

Entering April of season 1, we were serious candidates for relegation with six games to play. Here is how it unfolded...

Match 41, Saturday 5th April 2014: Shrewsbury 1-1 Stevenage (Holman pen 87)

We went a goal behind and didn't look at all threatening until we were gifted a late penalty, calmly tucked away by Dan Holman to earn an undeserved point.

Match 42, Saturday 12th April 2014: Tranmere 1-3 Shrewsbury (McQueen 36, Bradshaw 62 & 67)

We took the lead before the break, were pegged back just before the hour, before Bradshaw struck a quick double to boost our survival chances with a splendid victory.

Match 43, Saturday 19th April 2014: Shrewsbury 0-1 Crewe

This was a massive six-pointer against fellow strugglers, but we again flopped in our own stadium and came away with this confidence-sapping defeat.

Match 44, Monday 21st April 2014: Preston 3-2 Shrewsbury (Holman 46, Bradshaw 90+1)

Two down at the break, we battled back and I thought we had earned a good point with our late second - only for the hosts to respond with a painful 94th minute winner.

Match 45, Saturday April 26th 2014: Shrewsbury 1-2 Peterborough (Holman 73)

Again, my hopes were raised and then deflated. Holman put us ahead late in the game, but 3rd-placed Posh levelled after 84 minutes and then stole all the points after 87 minutes.

So, this left us in a very precarious position for our final match of the season at Priestfield. But it wasn't only us facing the trap door as the fixture computer had thrown up this tasty affair...Match 46, Saturday 3rd May 2014: Gillingham (20th) v Shrewsbury (22nd).

Our task was simple. We had to win, and hope other results went in our favour. If we survived, we would relegate Gillingham, and even then we would have to hope that either Crewe (19th) or Notts County (21st) lost.

The game could not have started any better, as we raced in to a 0-3 lead after just 16 minutes courtesy of Bradshaw, Mkandawire and a direct free-kick rifled home by Taylor. However, as we had done all season, we weren't capable of keeping the opposition at bay, and the hosts hit back to make it 2-3 with goals after 17 and 21 minutes.

I couldn't believe it, and felt quite sure that this was going to end badly, but still told the lads at half time that they were doing well and should keep it up. Inwardly, I was thinking 'don't throw this away you idiots' but I didn't feel honesty was the best policy at the time. Maybe that devious encouragement helped as Bradshaw gave us a bit of a cushion with a 57th minute strike to push us 2-4 ahead, and then he completed his own memorable campaign with two further goals as we came away with a ridiculously impressive win. Gillingham 2-6 Shrewsbury (Bradshaw 2, 57, 76 & 77, Mkandawire 7, Taylor 16). The Gills were down, and we had done all we could - but I still needed to anxiously check the scores of the other teams around us.

To my surprise and delight, I saw that we had performed the most incredible and unlikely of escapes: Crewe were condemned to relegation by an 87 minute Preston winner, which was fortunate for us as Notts County came from a goal behind to win at Oldham with two second-half goals. All three of us had tied on 49 points, and whilst County had a better GD than us, Crewe didn't - and they paid for it! Here are the crucial final results and the bottom half of the table...

The last word was reserved for Tom Bradshaw. In my original squad summary I said he wasn't going to be causing any problems to opposition defenders, and he was earmarked to be a back-up player only. That's how he started out, but then I gave him a chance and he responded with a staggering record of 36 appearances (31 starts) and 24 goals across all competitions. In League 1, he had netted an impressive 19 goals from 27 appearances (24 starts) which proved vital to our survival.

The board had awarded me a new contract even when we were in the drop zone, and never once mentioned my job was in jeopardy. I don't intend to continue for a second season but you have to admire a club who give the manager a chance to perform. I'm pleased to have kept them up, and hope that somebody else will fancy the challenge of repeating the trick.

[D0bi]

I guess this is what Football Manager and being a football fan in general is all about, conceding last minute goals and throwing the game away:

We managed to scrape a flukey 3-2 win at home in the first leg after finishing 6th in the Championship (Special thanks must go to Burnley who threw away a 3-0 lead against Huddersfield to draw on the final day) and we looked all set to join Millwall in the Championship Final until Jay Spearing caught one of those "nasty" injuries that don't show up after the game in the 85th minute after all my subs had been made.

Last minute goal from Reading to level the tie on aggregate before they absolutely battered us in extra time thanks to having an extra man (seriously the possession was 70-30, I deserved to lose) but considering I was hoping for mid-table at best I'm quite happy to be in the play-offs.

Long season of rebuilding ahead next year, I'm looking forward to getting Lee, Holden and Mark Davies back finally. Although I think I need a new strike force and defence, not that I'm asking for much

[robterrace]

[Jogo Bonito]

Very unlucky D0bi, good luck for next season.

Nice work rob, and a very impressive defensive record so far.

[Nottingham Forest]

October & November 2015

Having joined the club on the 30th October. I had no time to think as we played Fleetwood Town the following day. It was an even game which turned bad for us in the space of two minutes as they scored two in two. We got one back ten minutes later but couldn't find the equaliser. Cup runs can often be the pain of a lower league side in a relegation battle. For us it was no different. We had to travel to Shrewsbury to play them and within ten minutes four goals had been scored. Both sides getting two. Neither side could get a winner and once again an even game was played out. We travelled to the capital to play Leyton Orient in a game which saw them in and around the play-off mix and us scrambling to get away from the drop. Just before half-time we took the lead which last until the fifty-seventh minute when they equalised. Once again two goals were scored in quick succession for the other side as Orient scored two in three minutes late on to add another defeat to our tally. The FA Cup replay proved to be a welcome distraction as we managed to pick up our first win since the middle of September. We took our chances much better than they did and managed to win 2-0 and book a game against Stevenage away in the next round. Franchise FC were next up at home for us where they completely outplayed us and won 3-0. There seems to be a recurring pattern in my games. We have the possession, the opposition have most of the shots. That was no different in our game with Carlisle. They had a massive twenty-four shots whilst scoring three goals. We still lost 3-2 in the end with new signing Kepa getting a brace. Our final game of the month saw Bournemouth visit us. We fell behind in the nineteenth minute and it stayed that way until left back Luigi Vitale scored in stoppage time to help is pick up the first point of my reign and our first point since the middle of October.

We finish the month rooted to the foot of the table. We're seven points off safety but I do feel we can still get out of this mess. The players are doing well, it's just confidence is low. The quality I have at my disposal isn't the greatest and whilst I tried to improve the squad before the window closed. There wasn't much on offer.

We have had five players join the club since my arrival and they are Damien Mozika, Kepa, James Demetriou, Juan Carlos Menudo and Fran Miranda. We've also had a number of backroom staff join as well and a one member of staff leave. John Deehan was relieved of his duties as director of football. Incoming however, we see Paul Haverson, Glyn Chamberlain and Gavin Tait all join as scouts as they departed Yeovil when I left. Haverson has joined as chief scout. Brian McGorry also joins as a coach as he departed Yeovil as well. We also see Josip Simunic join as my assistant whilst John Finnigan joins as a coach and Mathew Monte-Colombo joins as a fitness coach. Patrick Kratschmer. Damir Salcin and Sandro are the other members forming my scouting team.

I've reverted to my trusty 4-1-3-2 formation which means all wingers are surplus to requirements. One transfer has already been arranged as Lee Croft will join MK Dons in January for £100k. We also seem to have a number of left backs as well but some look like they could do a job in midfield.

[Nottingham Forest]

December 2015

We started off the festive month with a trip to Stevenage. We managed to secure a 2-1 win there. Next up was a league match against Colchester United, who at the time were twenty-third in the table. They battered us and won 5-2. Our next game was a home trip against Port Vale where we managed to get a draw. Our final two games of the month saw us get great wins against Preston and Bradford. Two teams we're battling against in the relegation scrap.

We managed to get off the foot of the table and the picture looks a lot better than it did a month ago.

[Nottingham Forest]

January 2016

We started the month with Watford visiting The New York Stadium. A close and nervy game followed as we managed to scrape through to the next round. Our next game was a trip to then league leaders Crewe. We gave them a good run for their money but lost 2-1. Two home games followed as we managed to get a good 2-1 win against Crawley before a draw against Doncaster. We finished the month with three away trips. Of which was the FA Cup Fourth Round game against Hull. We were going well until stoppage time of the first half when they scored two goals which killed us off. We conceded one more in the second half to lose 3-0. We stayed local in our next game as well as we played Barnsley. They completely played us off the park and were 4-0 up with ten minutes to go when we got a late consolation goal. Our final game of the month was a relegation 'six pointer' against Dagenham & Redbridge. Both of us had games in hand so whoever won this would have the better chance of getting to the rest of the pack. We managed to grab a 1-0 win to put us in a good position going into February.

We finished the month in twenty-second which isn't bad considering where we were before. We do have a game in hand which should we win and other results go our way could see us move out of the relegation spots for the first time since I've joined.

Transfers

I was looking to improve the squad over January but not many players were available or interested. I made bid for three players at Yeovil but either couldn't agree personal terms or decided that we didn't need the player. The two players that did join the club were Ciaran O'Connor who is a striker who was playing for Shelbourne and Vedran Celjak who is a right back who I've been tracking since I've joined. Personal terms couldn't be agreed before but in December he wanted to join on lesser terms so I was more than happy to conclude this deal.

We see a number of players depart the club who do not fit into my tactical approach or are no longer needed. Alan Lowingand William Edjenguele agreed mutual terminations of their contracts for a combined £75k. Lee Croft left the club for £100k which was shortly done after I joined. Salim Kerkar joined Wrexham on loan until the end of the season. Aaron Tumwa left the club on a free transfer which was arranged just after I had arrived at Rotherham. Paul George left the club in a deal worth £100k whilst two youngsters left the club on loans until the end of the season. Josh Carson will be moving north of the border in the summer to Hibs whilst AJ Leitch-Smith has rejected has rejected mutual termination of his contract and also declined to move to Championship side Notts County on deadline day.

[Nottingham Forest]

I also had this at one stage as well.

[Nottingham Forest]

February & March 2016

We started off February with the visit of Coventry. Things didn't get off to the best of starts as we found ourselves one down within the first ten minutes. Things didn't improve and we eventually lost 2-1. Our second home game of four ended up with a 0-0 draw against promotion hopefuls Sheffield United. We had three shots all game with none on target couple with thirty-eight percent possession. Sheffield United on the other hand had twenty-four shots with fifteen of those being on target. I guess you'll appreciate that I was happier. Bristol City were next to visit us having only lost one game in ten. We upset that form by grabbing a 1-0 win despite just being second best. Torquay were our final game of the four and another that we lost 2-1. We travelled to the south coast next only to be served with another loss as we fell 3-0 to Pompey. Our next game was away and it was the same old outcome. Another loss as we were well beaten by Oldham 3-1. We faced relegation rivals Peterborough next and having taken the lead on seventy-four minutes. You could imagine my disappointment and annoyance when we found ourselves 2-1 down by eighty minutes which consigned us to our fourth straight defeat. Our fifth game saw us travel to Brentford. We were hammered 5-1 so I'd rather forget about this. Our next two games saw us grab two wins. The first at home to Gillingham as Karleigh Osbourne grabbed a winner in Fergie Time and more. Next up was a match against Fleetwood who also happen to be a relegation rival. When we went one down on six minutes, I expected the worse. However, much to my surprise we were 2-1 up by fourteen minutes and that's how it stayed. We travelled to Franchise FC in our next game as we lost 1-0 in a really poor game. Leyton Orient was our final game of this two month spell as we managed to grab ourselves a draw.

The league table currently looks like this. Not over by any means but the pressure is definitely mounting. The board called me into a meeting to discuss my future which I bravely told them it would look better in a month.

[Nottingham Forest]

The Run-ins

I suppose with teams having five or six games remaining it would be a best time to show you the remaining fixtures for Peterborough, Preston, Fleetwood and myself.

Peterborough

Not an easy run in as they have to play Sheffield United, Leyton Orient and Brentford who are all chasing promotion or places in the play-offs. They also have to play Fleetwood Town and Gillingham who are still fighting for their lives.

Preston

Another team who don't have an easy run in. They are still to play Barnsley and Crewe who still have a chance of promotion or cementing their places in the play-offs. They also have to play Doncaster who have a slim chance of the play-offs and ourselves in the final game of the season.

Fleetwood

I'd probably consider this to be the toughest run in of the lot due to the teams they're having to play. They still have to play Brentford and Oldham who still have promotion and play-off dreams. Torquay still have a slim opportunity whilst Peterborough and Gillingham are still in the relegation scrap.

Rotherham

We have a tough run in ourselves with visits to Bournemouth and Port Vale. Bournemouth are still in promotion fights and Port Vale still have a good chance of gatecrashing the play-offs. Our home games need no introducing. We have to play Carlisle who in theory still reach the play-offs. We then of course have the games against Colchester United and Preston which could confirm our fate.

[Nottingham Forest]

They say you should never go back but well........

Huish Park

After just a couple of weeks out of work I am back in work. It maybe a surprise for some of you but I am delighted to be back. Having left Rotherham I was eager to get back into work. I'd applied for and been offered the Colchester job as well as being offered the Forest Green Roversand Drogheda United posts as well. But when the Yeovil job became available just after the Colchester one. I decided I wanted to return. I'd also had interviews with Dagenham & Redbridge and applied for the jobs at AZ, Everton, Forest, Norwich, Cardiff and Zwolle. AZ I wasn't successful with.

On my return the board have told me that staying clear of relegation is a must and that the wage budget and transfer budget at my disposal is £85k and £2.4m. I must also play possession football, defensive football and sign youngsters for the first team. Hopefully I am not sacked in a few weeks.

I anticipate things will be different this time but I am looking forward to it. I have only put pen to paper on a one year deal worth £850 per week with promotion bonus of £4.3k and a avoid relegation bonus of £2.1k.

Let the fun begin.

[Plainlayzee]

Blimey, everybody else has done so well! I wish I hadn't continued my BETA save as the first half of my Shrewsbury season was a killer.

Entering April of season 1, we were serious candidates for relegation with six games to play. Here is how it unfolded...

Match 41, Saturday 5th April 2014: Shrewsbury 1-1 Stevenage (Holman pen 87)

We went a goal behind and didn't look at all threatening until we were gifted a late penalty, calmly tucked away by Dan Holman to earn an undeserved point.

Match 42, Saturday 12th April 2014: Tranmere 1-3 Shrewsbury (McQueen 36, Bradshaw 62 & 67)

We took the lead before the break, were pegged back just before the hour, before Bradshaw struck a quick double to boost our survival chances with a splendid victory.

Match 43, Saturday 19th April 2014: Shrewsbury 0-1 Crewe

This was a massive six-pointer against fellow strugglers, but we again flopped in our own stadium and came away with this confidence-sapping defeat.

Match 44, Monday 21st April 2014: Preston 3-2 Shrewsbury (Holman 46, Bradshaw 90+1)

Two down at the break, we battled back and I thought we had earned a good point with our late second - only for the hosts to respond with a painful 94th minute winner.

Match 45, Saturday April 26th 2014: Shrewsbury 1-2 Peterborough (Holman 73)

Again, my hopes were raised and then deflated. Holman put us ahead late in the game, but 3rd-placed Posh levelled after 84 minutes and then stole all the points after 87 minutes.

So, this left us in a very precarious position for our final match of the season at Priestfield. But it wasn't only us facing the trap door as the fixture computer had thrown up this tasty affair...Match 46, Saturday 3rd May 2014: Gillingham (20th) v Shrewsbury (22nd).

Our task was simple. We had to win, and hope other results went in our favour. If we survived, we would relegate Gillingham, and even then we would have to hope that either Crewe (19th) or Notts County (21st) lost.

The game could not have started any better, as we raced in to a 0-3 lead after just 16 minutes courtesy of Bradshaw, Mkandawire and a direct free-kick rifled home by Taylor. However, as we had done all season, we weren't capable of keeping the opposition at bay, and the hosts hit back to make it 2-3 with goals after 17 and 21 minutes.

I couldn't believe it, and felt quite sure that this was going to end badly, but still told the lads at half time that they were doing well and should keep it up. Inwardly, I was thinking 'don't throw this away you idiots' but I didn't feel honesty was the best policy at the time. Maybe that devious encouragement helped as Bradshaw gave us a bit of a cushion with a 57th minute strike to push us 2-4 ahead, and then he completed his own memorable campaign with two further goals as we came away with a ridiculously impressive win. Gillingham 2-6 Shrewsbury (Bradshaw 2, 57, 76 & 77, Mkandawire 7, Taylor 16). The Gills were down, and we had done all we could - but I still needed to anxiously check the scores of the other teams around us.

To my surprise and delight, I saw that we had performed the most incredible and unlikely of escapes: Crewe were condemned to relegation by an 87 minute Preston winner, which was fortunate for us as Notts County came from a goal behind to win at Oldham with two second-half goals. All three of us had tied on 49 points, and whilst County had a better GD than us, Crewe didn't - and they paid for it! Here are the crucial final results and the bottom half of the table...

The last word was reserved for Tom Bradshaw. In my original squad summary I said he wasn't going to be causing any problems to opposition defenders, and he was earmarked to be a back-up player only. That's how he started out, but then I gave him a chance and he responded with a staggering record of 36 appearances (31 starts) and 24 goals across all competitions. In League 1, he had netted an impressive 19 goals from 27 appearances (24 starts) which proved vital to our survival.

The board had awarded me a new contract even when we were in the drop zone, and never once mentioned my job was in jeopardy. I don't intend to continue for a second season but you have to admire a club who give the manager a chance to perform. I'm pleased to have kept them up, and hope that somebody else will fancy the challenge of repeating the trick.

Congratulations on the survival Jogo, a very good result there on the last day to save yourselves!

Just out of interest, has anyone experiences any of these bugs that others are saying are making the game unplayable? Excessive amounts of shots or dodgy transfer deals?

[Jogo Bonito]

Cheers mate. Even in FM13, I felt the game seems to throw up 'something spectacular' for the last game of the season. This time it went in my favour!

Personally I didn't like the ME in the original BETA, and even went back to FM13 for a while, but since converting to full game mode I felt everything seemed to work quite well.

There are quite a lot of shots (seem to see more highlights than in FM13) but I can't agree it would make it unplayable. Also, I didn't find anything wrong in the transfer part. Will let you know as/when I start my first 'full-game' save - just in case anything different comes to light.

[Srg11]

Second season playing as Derby... Employing a 4-3-1-2 formation with 3 CMs. 8 points clear in March.

Current squad:

Romo

Paul Caddis - Richard Keogh - Sebastian Coates - Jack Robinson

Guedioura - David Fox - Jeff Hendrick

Will Hughes

Johnny Russell - Chris Martin

Bench:

Guedes

Alex Nimely

Jesse Lingard

Michael Dingsdag

Kieron Freeman

Davide Petrucci

Lee Grant

The link with Liverpool really helping!

[Nottingham Forest]

Pre-Season 2016-2017

We started pre-season with us looking at trying to reduce the wage budget and strengthen the squad where possible. Having received the news that we could only spend £106k per week on wages I felt relieved as we were compliant. It also stated other rules as well and in the end we were only spending just short of £25k. Four key players from my original spell as boss had expressed their desire to leave and I nearly granted their wishes. However, I had a change of heart and cancelled the permanent transfers of Luke Ayling and Ed Upson. Upson literally just as he was about to sign on the dotted line. I figured I'd sooner lose Upson for free at the end of the season than lose him now. I then remembered that I put in an extension clause of another two years so he'll be here until 2019 at least which means I just have to worry about Ayling in 2018. No one bid of for Kevin Dawson and Marek Stech's suitors didn't offer me enough.

Our pre-season started at home with Spurs sending the under 21s this year. We played extremely well having six shots with all on target and scoring three goals. We also managed to have seventy percent of possession. Our next game saw Andover visit Huish Park. We managed to have fourteen shots with six on target again and once again having a lot of the possession which was seventy-one percent. Our third game of pre-season saw us beat Blaenrhondda 5-0 at home. We managed to have twenty shots this game with twelve on target whilst having seventy-seven percent of the possession. Our final game of pre-season saw us travel to Wales to play Cemaes Bay. The same process followed as we managed to have nineteen shots with nine on target and seventy-one percent of the possession again.

Transfers

Outgoing we have seen a number of players leave on frees, transfers and loans. Francis Massampu left the club to join Amiens FC for a meagre £45k as part of his loan agreement. We managed to shift Andre-Pierre Gignac from our wage bill as he was an expensive flop and he joined Francis at Amiens for £135k. Prince Buaben and Joey Jones left the club after their contracts expired and finally we had six players join clubs on loan as no one was interested in taking them on permanent deals whilst we saw six youngsters join clubs on loan to aid their development.

Incoming we only saw one arrival despite my attempts to strengthen further. The new arrival was a thirty-three year old Jermain Defoe on loan from Spurs with no fee or wages being required on my behalf as per the terms of our affiliation. I also tried to sign a young central defender called Tyler Blackett for the season from Manchester United. I also tried to bring in four other players from Spurs but all rejected me. They were Roberto Soldado, Harry Kane, Max Clayton and Milos Veljkovic. Kane and Veljkovic have been promoted to the Spurs first team whilst Clayton has gone back to Millwall where he had a successful spell last season after rejecting me. Soldado still sits in the Spurs reserves transfer listed with no one interested in him.

When I joined I also got rid of a Head of Youth Development that was appointed by Alex McLeish. We still sit about £19k over wage budget but finances are over two million pounds in the black.

[robterrace]

So..

30 points clear of 3rd.. 10 games left..

Which team is next up?

We can't do it there, can we?

[MichaelBrown]

Congratulations Jojo! I hope you continue so you can progress with them, small steps at a time..

[Srg11]

I have now won the league as Derby with 4 games to spare. Using the team as laid out above.

[MichaelBrown]

Just curious, but what site do people use to upload screenshots? Also, how do you guys get the screenshots from steam to that specific site? Gonna be doing monthly updates on my save here.

[robterrace]

Done it!!!

[bubunabu]

After looking through teams I finally found my first long term save on FM 2014.So I present to you:

Why Rovers?

I always spend a lot of time developing own players.Because of excellent youth facilities and bad finance situation it will be even more important trying to develop players instead of buying them.

First glance

Well Rovers have a team able to at least compete for playoff spot from first season.The main problem is finance situation.You have a lot of players that earn to much.So on top of my list will be getting rid of high earners.

-Dickson Etuhu

-Paul Robinson

-Leon Best

-DJ Cambell

If i manage to sell them (aint looking for profit just to get rid of their wages) i will be over 100.000 pounds per week lighter.

I am also planning to give youngsters a decent run in first team.And I hope Rhodes can produce a good season.

I wont update on monthly basis but lets say 3 times per season (after first transfer window,end of january,end of season).

So lets try our best if anyone else is playing with Rovers input is much appreciated.Hope someone will make team guide soon.

[muhaimin]

Season 2015/2016 in the Championships with Portsmouth ended.

Finished 11th overall. A good achievement. We have a good home record that if the playoff spots are based on Home records, we would already be in the playoff. Our away record lets us down.

Overall Standing:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Home record:

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Away record:

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Transfers:

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Squad:

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Next season, I hope to replicate the same kind of form from my team and hopefully we will improve our away form as well. In terms of transfers, Defence is my top priority. We conceded lots of goals during the course of the season. Hopefully I am able to re-signs Rekik and Bossaerts. Or get Michael Keane on free which I find it difficult due to his wage demands. My current Boardmembers only allow max of 6k p/w wages for players on Key Player contract terms... Next priority is to sign a better striker to challenge Ashley Harris and Tim Payne...

[D0bi]

Not happy with my board at the moment! After making a profit in the transfer market of almost £6m in the first season (As Bolton) and finishing 6th, making the play-offs, the board have offered me a new, reduced contract on the condition that I reduce the £400,000 wage budget by £75,000 down to £325,000. This could be an interesting season.

EDIT: Not content with knocking £75,000 off my budget they've now effectively halved it. Instead of the £400,000 per week I had last year I've gone down to £260,000. Ahh the joys of not being in the Premier League 6 years ago today we drew 2-2 against Bayern Munich away in the UEFA Cup. Now this!

[MichaelBrown]

Just curious, but what site do people use to upload screenshots? Also, how do you guys get the screenshots from steam to that specific site? Gonna be doing monthly updates on my save here.

Anybody?

[D0bi]

Anybody?

I personally use photobucket.

[MichaelBrown]

I personally use photobucket.

How do we upload the screenshots from FM on to photo bucket?

[D0bi]

How do we upload the screenshots from FM on to photo bucket?

If you're playing FM in Full Screen mode on Windows, press Alt+F9 when you're at the screen you want a screenshot of. This will then save it in your Sports Interactive Folder under "screenshots" (The SI folder is normally in MY Documents).

Then, simply go to http://www.photobucket.com and create an account. Click upload, select the files you want and then copy the link to that picture in to your post inside [ /img] tags and it should appear.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Took the plunge and attempted the Coventry challenge. Luckily enough I survived administration only losing two players (one of whom was loaned back to me for the season). New owners were nice enough to pump a fair amount of money into the team, and they also gave me a £3m transfer budget which is more than enough in League One. Squad is very thin so I beefed up a few areas with some signings. The focus was on youth anyway and I tried to keep it that way with my transfers. One of my best young players (Conor Thomas) did want a move to a bigger club and was placed on the transfer list but no one came in for him and he recently asked to be taken off it. That has kinda made me regret signing Jed Wallace but I won't complain about that extra depth.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/705106203839981412/723B3C8299E4DD990EED0CC818D41F31D7F8D3AC/

So far in the league, so good. If it wasn't for the 10-point deduction I would be top. The goalscoring prowess in the team has been great, although the defence could do with some work. Tinkered with my tactics a tad after the ridiculous double whammy of a 4-4 draw with Stevenage and 5-4 loss to Portsmouth in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. Seems to be an improvement there.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/705106203840056703/561B64995312FCF75B0C7E234DA9A9DA2BFAA45F/

I've been unfortunate with injuries so far (lost Luke Freeman for 5 months after he made a fantastic start as a goalscoring wideman) but it hasn't disrupted my form too much yet.

Having a lot of fun with this one so far.

[Vazza]

So unfair that you got £3m and I got nada

[MichaelBrown]

If you're playing FM in Full Screen mode on Windows, press Alt+F9 when you're at the screen you want a screenshot of. This will then save it in your Sports Interactive Folder under "screenshots" (The SI folder is normally in MY Documents).

Then, simply go to http://www.photobucket.com and create an account. Click upload, select the files you want and then copy the link to that picture in to your post inside [ /img] tags and it should appear.

Thanks mate. What's the case if I play windowed?

[D0bi]

Thanks mate. What's the case if I play windowed?

Instead of pressing alt +f9 you can just click Print Screen on your keyboard. You'll then have to open Paint (or something similar) and paste the image in to that before saving it.

[MichaelBrown]

Instead of pressing alt +f9 you can just click Print Screen on your keyboard. You'll then have to open Paint (or something similar) and paste the image in to that before saving it.

Cheers mate.

[Vazza]

So, I finally get promoted to the Prem after 2 seasons in the Championship with Coventry and Eddie Mitchell decides that a £11m transfer budget (which if I adjust the slider allows me to offer key players £15k/week only!) is enough to keep us up. Half tempted to quit and apply for other jobs.

[Jogo Bonito]

@ Vazza: I'm pretty sure that last year when I got Coventry to the PL, my budget was much lower than that - and I survived and made the Europa League twice. Keep going..and congratulations!

I'm struggling with a few issues in FM14, which is delaying me to start at Coventry/Wolves/Portsmouth. In the meantime, as we wait for the new patch (and for reasons that even I can't explain), I decided to go through the pre-season grind at Shrewsbury to see how the 2nd season might look if I continue.

On the back of League 1 survival, a good run in the FA Cup (and JPT), I managed to make the club a profit of £1.4 million in season 1. The board therefore gave me a wage budget of £34k p/w and transfer budget of £176k for season 2. We also got an extra sell-on fee as Nottm Forest inexplicably bought James Collins back down from Scotland (for £525k) and we earned a 20% share of the profit. The deal and clause was nothing to do with me at all, but it delivered a nice little bonus of £75k to the project.

I've just played one pre-season friendly so far, a 3-0 win at Vauxhall. Whilst results could change my thinking, I'm quite pleased with the transfer business done so far as it looks like the quality of players at the club is much stronger now. Also, it has been good business financially as (1) None of the recruits cost a penny, all command weekly wages of less than £1.5k p/w, and agent fees were only just over £1k per person (2) The loanees are all without monthly fees, and the wage contributions of all five combined sits at just £3.2k p/w.

* The reason for selling my number 1 'keeper (Iain Turner) is that he wanted a new contract after I rejected several transfer offers for him. However, after refusing to match his increased wage demands (from £950 p/w to £2.5k p/w), and noting that he was in the last year of his contract, it seemed a good idea to sell him on but with a seasonal loan-back option included. That way, I can still play him during the new campaign, and I earned the club a decent fee for a player who would have walked for nothing at the end of the season.

Seven players were allowed to leave on free transfers but none of them are going to be missed and I've saved a hefty amount on wages. I should look to bring in another goalkeeper to take over from Turner later on, and might still be in the market for a more physical finisher, and possibly a more agile (quicker) central defender to complete the squad, but none of that looks to be essential.

[Jamo456]

I think I've finally decided on a team to begin my long term save with (taken me long enough), and it is going to be Derby, the club I support.

My aims for the first season will be to have a good bash at making the play offs, as well as clearing the deadwood in the squad and assembling a backroom staff I can work with.

[MichaelBrown]

Jogo, I never experienced any issues when playing with Portsmouth. I've started with about six teams so far (just messing around with tactics and the like), but I won the league with Portsmouth first season. They've got a good base of players and with a few additions, you should easily get promoted.

[MichaelBrown]

After a long, hard think about it, I've gone with Scunthorpe. No particular reason really, just asked a mate to pick a team from 1-24 and he picked 4. I'll update monthly, the first update being pre season.

[scott MUFC]

Started a save with Wigan.

15m to spend on transfers

so far Grabbed David Bentley on a Free and Yaya Sanogo on loan

played 1 Preseason game against RFC Leige who are Belgian semi-pro team outside D3 won 0-11 anyway

[scott MUFC]

Started a save with Wigan.

15m to spend on transfers

so far Grabbed David Bentley on a Free and Yaya Sanogo on loan

played 1 Preseason game against RFC Leige who are Belgian semi-pro team outside D3 won 0-11 anyway

dunno why i got these silly preseason games against Belgian Nobodies beat another none league 0-8 and Tournai in Belgian D3 3-0

my signings and outs so far.

I remember Sanogo from FM12 where he was a monster, and Rhodes is the best striker in the league IMO

[MichaelBrown]

Good luck Scott MUFC! Must be hoping for automatic promotion at the very least?

[scott MUFC]

yea, and a good run in Europe

[Jogo Bonito]

Jogo, I never experienced any issues when playing with Portsmouth. I've started with about six teams so far (just messing around with tactics and the like), but I won the league with Portsmouth first season. They've got a good base of players and with a few additions, you should easily get promoted.

MB, I'm not really happy with the ME at the moment and don't want it to ruin my enthusiasm for saves with those three clubs. For now, I will see how season 2 goes at Greenhous Meadow as it saves me having to 'set up' a whole new game (I take ages doing that, sourcing my transfer targets, changing my staff, setting up my strategies etc). If it's still not up to my liking I will wait until the improvements come in.

Good luck at Scunthorpe. I managed them for about five consecutive versions (until the last couple) because they always had a terrible squad but usually a red-hot striking partnership which I could build my team around. Nostalgia might tempt me back there sometime, now that they are in L2. Perhaps you can let me know what the transfer and wage budget options are please?

[MeesterCat]

So, after starting up a few FM14 saves and never really getting into them I have decided it's time to take the plunge and break the habit of 20 years of CM/FM playing. That's right it's time to take over the club I support and not get them relegated (again).

So I'm now the Plymouth Argyle manager.

I'm glad to see that their reputation has been dropped and the board no longer expects promotion with a pretty weak squad. Now only a midtable finish is required. I'm hoping I can achieve that. The board gave me £130k transfer budget and £32k p/w for wages. I've immediately tweaked that to give myself more wage as there aren't really any players that will come to me that are worth spending money on (weirdly, about the only players that seem interested are from Skrill clubs).

I'm eventually going to try and build them into a 352 ish formation, but I'm being pragmatic this first season and am going to stick with a tried and tested 4411. I'm going to attempt to get them playing slower, possession football but I don't know if thats a pipe dream at this level.

Only one transfer so far: Grant Basey on a free as I need a couple of fullbacks. Typically however, he gets injured for 2 months the day after I hold the press conference for his signing. Grrr. I'm still on the lookout for a DR and probably a striker as we're not particularly blessed up front, though I have high hoped for the youngsters, uhm Young and Harvey in the AMC slot.

Initial friendly games have been promising, if unspectacular. We're doing ok though, thumping by Lille Reserves aside. No idea how this will translate into actual competitive games though.

[Jogo Bonito]

Good luck MeesterCat, nice to see another 'different' club being controlled.

Your budgets are about the same as mine in League 1 (season 2) so not bad really. If you can get him on loan, Anthony O'Connor (Blackburn) could be a good addition for the 'DR' role. There are numerous 'Skrill' strikers that could deliver some goals for you at modest outlays.

[Hoarau]

I miss this thread, great to see so much going on in it. Can't wait to get started, unfortunatly im one of the superstious lot who's awaiting the new patch before getting it underway.

[Jogo Bonito]

It won't be long Mr. Threadstarter! I'm also still in pre-proper mode, hence not diving in to one of my preferred clubs until it's all sorted and working a bit better.

You won't be bringing many of your Shakhtar Brazilians to FL72 clubs so enjoy them whilst you can

[MeesterCat]

Good luck MeesterCat, nice to see another 'different' club being controlled.

Your budgets are about the same as mine in League 1 (season 2) so not bad really. If you can get him on loan, Anthony O'Connor (Blackburn) could be a good addition for the 'DR' role. There are numerous 'Skrill' strikers that could deliver some goals for you at modest outlays.

Cheers Jogo. I found O'Connor through some manual scouting (no LLM for me!) but he's not interested. I guess my target for season 1 (if promotion isn't possible) is to try and up mine and the clubs reputation so we can start attracting some Championship level players on loan. I've got the board searching for a parent club, but given their usual uselessness at finding one, I'm not getting my hopes up.