FM14: Reading FC - #BuildEvolveSucceed

[Abaddon879]

[Abaddon879]

History

The club was founded on Christmas Day 1871 after a meeting organised by Joseph Edward Sydenham, who would become the club's first Honorary Secretary. They were founder members of the Southern League in 1894 and moved to Elm Park two years later; it was their home until they switched to the Madejski Stadium in 1998.

Reading were elected to the Football League in 1920, but seven years earlier went on a famously successful tour of Italy. They beat AC Milan 5-0, the champions Pro Vercelli 6-0 and the national team 2-0. The respected newspaper Corriere della Sera said that "without doubt, Reading FC are the finest foreign team seen in Italy".

The club was in Division Three or Division Three South from 1920 to 1971, bar five years in Division Two between 1926 and 1931. After three short spells in Division Four in the 1970s and 1980s during which, in 1978-79, the goalkeeper Steve Death set a new English record of 1103 minutes without conceding - they finally escaped Division Three through a different door, being promoted to the second tier in 1986. They had started that promotion campaign with 13 consecutive wins, which is still a Football League record.

They only lasted two seasons, although relegation in 1988 was tempered slightly by a crushing 4-1 victory over top-flight Luton in the final of the Simod Cup. Reading had beaten four other Division One sides, including Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest, on the way to the final.

The club went up to the second tier again in 1994 and were so nearly promoted to the Premier League at the first attempt. Reading finished second in the table but were not promoted automatically because of the need to reduce the Premier League from 22 teams to 20. Instead they went into the play-offs and reached the final against Bolton. They were leading 2-0 when Stuart Lovell had a penalty saved; the match ended in a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat.

They finally reached the promised land in 2006 under the management of Steve Coppell. Reading were promoted in spectacular style, winning the title with a haul of 99 goals and a record 106 points. In their first Premier League game they came from 2-0 down to beat Middlesbrough, the start of a memorable season in which they took the league by storm and finished eighth. Second-season syndrome bit hard, however, and Reading were relegated on the final day of the 2007-08 campaign.

After a short spell under Brendan Rodgers, Reading gave the manager's job to McDermott. He oversaw a famous FA Cup victory at Anfield in 2009-10 and then secured a joyously unexpected promotion to the Premier League in 2011-12, again as champions. Unfortunately the fairy tale story was cut short, and after spending most of the season at the bottom of the Premiership the club sacked Brian McDermott in 2013, bringing in Nigel Adkins as his replacement.

Adkins was unable to save Reading from relegation from the Premiership, and they would find themselves playing the 2013/14 season in the Sky Bet Championship. This was a time of change at the club as the new manager set about changing Reading’s style of play, looking to build for the future with possession based attacking tactics.

Kit and Crest

The first crest to appear on a Reading kit was in 1953, it featured a simple letter "R" on a shield, and it lasted for just one season. There was no crest seen again until 1981 when a new crest appeared that featured three elm trees, a reference to Reading's Elm Park ground, and the rivers Thames and Kennet.

This was dropped in 1983 when the Royals adopted a new colour scheme. The new crest, a simple presentation of the colours of the time (Yellow, Sky Blue, Royal Blue, and White), was adopted in 1987 and continued to be used until 1996.

Between 1996 and 1998, the old elm crest was revived. The significance was twofold: 1996 marked the centenary of Reading's Elm Park while 1998-99 would be the season that they would move into a new home.

This fresh start was marked by the introduction of a brand new club badge that featured the club's iconic blue and white hoops, a crown representing Berkshire's status (Windsor Castle is in the county which is often referred to as "Royal Berkshire") and the Maiwand Lion, a prominent local landmark.

In 1871, at the formation of the Club, Reading did play in hoops. This lasted for only a few years, and upon entering the Southern Football League in 1894 the Club was playing in stripes – possibly so they did not clash with other teams who were already in the Southern League and wore hoops. Reading then reverted to hoops until the beginning of the Second World War, because numbering of shirts became compulsory (in 1939), and the numbers were easier to see against a hooped background. Since then the club have had several more changes. In the mid 1960s they changed the shirts to sky blue, following the fashion introduced by Coventry City. That remained until 1969, when they returned to hoops under the orders of manager of Jack Mansell. Reading have remained in a variety of hooped shirts ever since, apart from the mid 1980s when they played in blue and white panels before hoops returned in 1992.

[Abaddon879]

Club Information

General

Full name: Reading Football Club

Nickname: The Royals

Founded: 1871

Status: Professional

Ground: Madejski Stadium, Reading

Chairman: John Madejski

Chairman Status: Will retire by 1/1/2014

Manager: Nigel Adkins

Legends: Phil Parkinson, Trevor Senior, Martin Hicks, Steve Death, Robin Friday,

Icons: Steve Coppell, Maurice Evans, Adrian Williams, Jimmy Wheeler, Michael Gilkes, Mick Gooding, Ronnie Blackwell, Alf Messer, Shaka Hislop, Glenn Little, Graeme Murty, Jimmy Quinn, Ivar Ingimarsson, Nicky Forster, Jamie Cureton, Kerry Dixon, Darren Caskey

Favoured Personnel: Gylfi Sigurdsson, Kevin Doyle, Dave Kitson, James Harper, Nicky Shorey, Shane Long, Steve Sidwell

Fierce Rivals: Oxford (Local), Swindon (Local)

Other Rivals: Southampton (Local), Bristol City (Local), West Ham (Competitive), Wycombe (Local)

Finances: Rich

Average Ticket Price: £26

Average Season Ticket Price: £495

Season Ticket Holders: 14,100

Estimated Value: £65M (loan debt: £2.7M)

Continental Competition: None

Media Prediction: 4th

Squad Personality: Determined

Captain: Jobi McAnuff

Vice Captain: Sean Morrison

Facilities

Stadium Name:The Madejski Stadium

Location: Reading

Capacity: 24197 all-seater

Year Built: 1998

Owned By: Reading

Stadium Condition: Very Good

Under Soil Heating: Yes

Roof: No

Surface: Grass

Training Facilities: Superb Training Facilities

Youth Facilities: Great Youth Facilities

Youth Setup Category: 1

Youth Coaching: Average Junior Coaching

Youth Recruitment: Above Average Youth Recruitment

Corporate Facilities: Good corporate facilities

Affiliated Clubs

The club has 6 clubs affiliated with it currently.

Of these, Galatasaray, Boreham Wood and Didcot are there purely to arrange a local friendly during pre-season, while Basingstoke and Salisbury both have player loan agreement in place as well.

Ocean City may sometimes send youth players to train at Reading, and is a long term deal involving an annual friendly match. The presence in the USA should also be of benefit to merchandising.

Finances

Balance: £37.4M

Transfer Budget: £6.75M (Winner) | £6.25M (Promotion) | £5M (Playoffs)

Wage Budget: £450K p/w (Winner) | £425k p/w (Promotion) | £400k p/w (Playoffs)

Current Wage Total: £437k p/w

% of transfer revenue made available: 100%

Sponsors: 4 year main kit sponsorship deal at £750k per season. Ends 2015

1 year away kit sponsorship deal at £10k per season. Ends 2014

Loans Outstanding: Gift loan of £16M (Repayable on departure of Chairman)

[Abaddon879]

Staff

Boardroom

Chairman - Sir John Madejski

Director - Nigel Howe

Director - Andrew Obolensky

Director - Christioopher Samuelson

Director - Ian Wood-Smith

Director - Anton Zingarevich

Management

Currently: 1 | Advised: 1 - Director of Football

Currently: 1 | Advised: 1 - Head of Youth Development

Currently: 0 | Advised: 1 - U21s Manager

Currently: 0 | Advised: 1 - U18s Manager

Currently: 1 | Advised: 1 - Assistant Manager

Currently: 0 | Advised: 1 - U21s Assistant Manager

Currently: 0 | Advised: 1 - U18s Assistant Manager

Director of Football - Nicky Hammond

Assistant Manager - Andy Crosby

Head of Youth Development - Eamon Dolan

Other

Currently: 5 | Advised: 6 - Reading Other Stadd

Currently: 0 | Advised: 1 - Under 21s Other Staff

Currently: 8 | Advised: 4 - Under 18s Other Staff

Goalkeeping Coach - Sal Bibbo

Under 18s Coach - Colin Barnes

Under 18s Coach - David Dodds

Under 18s Coach - Graham Dougall

Under 18s Coach - Lee Herron

Under 18s Coach - Martin Kuhl

Under 18s Coach - Geoff Taylor

Fitness Coach - Ed Franklin

Fitness Coach - Karl Halabi

Fitness Coach - Matt Hirons

Head Physio - Luke Anthony

Under 18s Physio - John Alti

Under 18s Physio - Steve Cottrell

Scouting

Currently: 3 | Advised: 6 - Scout

Chief Scout - Steve Shorey

Scout - Brendan Flanagan

Scout - Steve Head

[Abaddon879]

1^st Team Players

Goalkeepers

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]1 | ADAM FEDERICI

AUSTRALIA | AGE: 28

POSITION: GOALKEEPER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

[/TD]

[TD]21 | ALEX McCARTHY

ENGLAND | AGE: 23

POSITION: GOALKEEPER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]41 | STUART TAYLOR

ENGLAND | AGE: 32

POSITION: GOALKEEPER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

------------------------------------------------------------------

Defenders

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2 | CHRIS GUNTER

WALES | AGE: 23

POSITION: DEFENDER (RIGHT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]5 | ALEX PEARCE

IRELAND | AGE: 24

POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]15 | SEAN MORRISON

ENGLAND | AGE: 22

POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]17 | KASPARS GORKSS

LATVIA | AGE: 31

POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]18 | WAYNE BRIDGE

ENGLAND | AGE: 32

POSITION: DEFENDER (LEFT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]24 | SHAUN CUMMINGS

JAMAICA | AGE: 24

POSITION: DEFENDER (RIGHT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Abaddon879]

1^st Team Players (cont.)

Midfielders

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]4 | JEM KARACAN

TURKEY | AGE: 24

POSITION: MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

[/TD]

[TD]6 | CHRIS BAIRD

N. IRELAND | AGE: 31

POSITION: DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]8 | MIKELE LEIGERTWOOD

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA | AGE: 30

POSITION: DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]10 | ROYSTON DRENTHE

NETHERLANDS | AGE: 26

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (LEFT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]11 | JOBI McANUFF

JAMAICA | AGE: 31

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (LEFT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

[/TD]

[TD]12 | GARETH McCLEARY

JAMAICA | AGE: 26

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (RIGHT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]16 | HOPE AKPAN

NIGERIA | AGE: 21

POSITION: MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★ ★★★★★★ ★★[/TD]

[TD]19 | HAL ROBSON-KANU

WALES | AGE: 24

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (LEFT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]20 | DANNY GUTHRIE

ENGLAND | AGE: 26

POSITION: MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]26 | DANIEL WILLIAMS

U.S.A | AGE: 24

POSITION: DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]37 | JAKE TAYLOR

WALES | AGE: 19

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

------------------------------------------------------------------

Forwards

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]7 | PAVEL POGREBNYAK

RUSSIA | AGE: 28

POSITION: STRIKER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]9 | ADAM LE FONDRE

ENGLAND | AGE: 25

POSITION: STRIKER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]22 | NICK BLACKMAN

ENGLAND | AGE: 23

POSITION: STRIKER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]33 | JASON ROBERTS

GRENADA | AGE: 34

POSITION: STRIKER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Abaddon879]

Reserve & U18 Players

(N.B. Many of these players have random PA so results may vary - These are the highlights from a number of saves)

Goalkeepers

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]42 | JOHNATHON HENLY

ENGLAND | AGE: 18

POSITION: GOALKEEPER

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD] - | MIKKEL ANDERSEN

DENMARK | AGE: 24

POSITION: GOALKEEPER

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

------------------------------------------------------------------

Defenders

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]3 | STEPHEN KELLY

IRELAND | AGE: 29

POSITION: DEFENDER (RIGHT)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]46 | MATT PARTRIDGE

ENGLAND | AGE: 18

POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

[/TD]

[TD]47 | PIERCE SWEENEY

IRELAND | AGE: 18

POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

[/TD]

[TD]50 | JAKE COOPER

ENGLAND | AGE: 18

POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

------------------------------------------------------------------

Midfielders

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]37 | JORDAN OBITA

ENGLAND | AGE: 19

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (LEFT)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]57 | CRAIG TANNER

ENGLAND | AGE: 17

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD]- | LEWIS COLLINS

ENGLAND | AGE: 17

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD] - | AARON KUHL

ENGLAND | AGE: 17

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD] - | TARIQUE FOSU

ENGLAND | AGE: 17

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (LEFT)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

------------------------------------------------------------------

Forwards

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]36 | GOZIE UGWU

ENGLAND | AGE: 20

POSITION: STRIKER

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

[/TD]

[TD]44 | DOMINIC SAMUEL

ENGLAND | AGE: 19

POSITION: STRIKER

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[TD] - | HARRY CARDWELL

ENGLAND | AGE: 17

POSITION: STRIKER

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Abaddon879]

Squad

In total there are 72 players on the books at Reading, although the vast majority will never make it as a professional at this level. There are a few notable exceptions which have been covered above, but you can see just how manay players are currently on the books and how much strengthening needs doing.

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]

1^st Team

-----------------------------------

1 | Adam Federici

2 | Chris Gunter

4 | Jem Karacan

5 | Alex Pearce

6 | Chris Baird

7 | Pavel Pogrebnyak

8 | Mikele Leigertwood

9 | Adam Le Fondre

10 | Royston Drenthe

11 | Jobi McAnuff

12 | Gareth McCleary

13 | Reading Fans

15 | Sean Morrison

16 | Hope Akpan

17 | Kaspars Gorkss

18 | Wayne Bridge

19 | Hal Robson-Kanu

20 | Danny Guthrie

21 | Alex McCarthy

22 | Nick Blackman

23 | Daniel Williams

24 | Shaun Cummings

25 | Jake Taylor

33 | Jason Roberts

41 | Stuart Taylor[/TD]

[TD]

Reserves

-------------------------------------

3 | Stephen Kelly

26 | Niall Keown

36 | Gozie Ugwu

37 | Jordan Obita

38 | Aaron Tshibola

40 | Lawson D’Ath

42 | Jonathon Henly

44 | Dominic Samuel

46 | Matt Partridge

47 | Pierce Sweeney

50 | Jake Cooper

51 | Stuart Moore

53 | Shane Griffin

54 | Sean Long

57 | Craig Tanner

61 | Daniel Lincoln

- | Mikkel Andersen (on loan)

- | Nick Arnold (on loan)

- | Lewis Collins

- | Ryan Edwards (on loan)

- | Samuel Fridjonsson

- | Michael Hector (on loan)

- | Guiseppe Lauria

- | Sheperd Murombedzi

- | Karl Sheppard[/TD]

[TD]

Under 18s

--------------------------------------

- | Harry Cardwell

- | Robert Dickie

- | Tariqe Fosu

- | Aleksandar Gogic

- | Noor Husin

- | Dominic Hyam

- | Shpat Ismajli

- | Jack Jeffery

- | Zak Jules

- | Liam Kelly

- | Aaron Kuhl

- | Hammed Lawal

- | George McLennan

- | Germaine Ofori

- | Nana Owusu

- | Conor Shaughnessy

- | Jack Stacey

- | De’Jaune Taylor-Crossdale

- | Tomas Urbanic

- | Bogdan Vastsuk

- | Lewis Ward

- | Amadu Waritay

- | Tennai Watson

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Abaddon879]

Possible Tactics

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Formation #1: 4-5-1[/TD]

[TD]Formation #2: 4-3-3[/TD]

[TD]Formation #3: 4-2-4[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Abaddon879]

Hall of Fame

**To be completed**

[Abaddon879]

Getting Started

**To be completed**

[Welshace]

Promising start Abaddon.. looking good

[Bradz FM]

Great work on the thread Abaddon.

Started a save with Reading. Signed Joe Bennett and Macheda for a combined £1.3M at the start of the season and Jay Simpson and Keith Fahy on frees. Takeover news started to come in by October and unsettled things a little bit but it was worthwhile as I got a tycoon takeover who upped the transfer budget to £20M. In January i signed, Tom Lees, Saido Berahino, Mulumbo, Will Hughes and Sam Byram. Hopefully this will be enough to propel me to automatic promotion

[SRL88]

Great thread .

[Hoarau]

Great thread, fantastic depth. Would you mind if i linked it in the Football League thread so any managers of Reading can join in here?

[Abaddon879]

Great thread, fantastic depth. Would you mind if i linked it in the Football League thread so any managers of Reading can join in here?

Go for it, sounds like a great idea.

[Abaddon879]

Great work on the thread Abaddon.

Started a save with Reading. Signed Joe Bennett and Macheda for a combined £1.3M at the start of the season and Jay Simpson and Keith Fahy on frees. Takeover news started to come in by October and unsettled things a little bit but it was worthwhile as I got a tycoon takeover who upped the transfer budget to £20M. In January i signed, Tom Lees, Saido Berahino, Mulumbo, Will Hughes and Sam Byram. Hopefully this will be enough to propel me to automatic promotion

Sounds like a really promising career save with Reading, with the sort of money a lot of fans thought we might have seen. Was it Anton Zingarevich that took over, or was it someone else? Apparently in the game he is supposed to take over, however in last years game I found he was often pushed out.

I had Tom Lees in last years game and he was a hugely promising defender who even at a young age was very solid. Is he still looking promising this year, I haven't had a chance to look? Congratulations on Will Hughes - great signing! You have possibly one of the best English midfielders for the next 10 years there. How is Berahino rated, I saw him recently at an England U21 match and he looked superb, are these stats reflected in FM?

How much did you pay for those players? I'm guessing they inflated the prices due to your new found wealth?

[Jogo Bonito]

Great thread Abaddon. That's a serious transfer budget for the second tier - maybe somebody should have alerted Anton to where those funds are hidden. To be fair, I reckon all the finance/ownership issues must be a nightmare for the research team, given that the real life situation isn't consistent/clear.

[Bradz FM]

Sounds like a really promising career save with Reading, with the sort of money a lot of fans thought we might have seen. Was it Anton Zingarevich that took over, or was it someone else? Apparently in the game he is supposed to take over, however in last years game I found he was often pushed out.

I had Tom Lees in last years game and he was a hugely promising defender who even at a young age was very solid. Is he still looking promising this year, I haven't had a chance to look? Congratulations on Will Hughes - great signing! You have possibly one of the best English midfielders for the next 10 years there. How is Berahino rated, I saw him recently at an England U21 match and he looked superb, are these stats reflected in FM?

How much did you pay for those players? I'm guessing they inflated the prices due to your new found wealth?

Yep it's Anton Zingarevich that took over!

Lees and Byram look still look very promising. I had a long term Leeds save last year in which they were in a multi-title winning team so was eager to try them out again.

Prices for other signings:

Mulumbo £4.5M

Hughes £7.75M

Byram £6.25M

Berahino £5.75M

Lees £4.9M

Notable sales:

Federici £3M

Gorkss £170k

Jake Taylor £450k

Managed to win the title. Was 5 point ahead of Burnley going into the last 2 games with the final game being against Burnley. However they slipped up in the 2nd last game deeming my match against them pointless.

Berahino is 4.5* PA. Only scored 4 in 15 games but always seemed to get important goals and get good match ratings.

Le Fondre was top scorer with 26 leagues goals including goal of the season.

Sean Morrison was the star of the team for the season.

Looking forward to the Premier League challenge ahead!

[Abaddon879]

Yep it's Anton Zingarevich that took over!

Lees and Byram look still look very promising. I had a long term Leeds save last year in which they were in a multi-title winning team so was eager to try them out again.

Prices for other signings:

Mulumbo £4.5M

Hughes £7.75M

Byram £6.25M

Berahino £5.75M

Lees £4.9M

Notable sales:

Federici £3M

Gorkss £170k

Jake Taylor £450k

Managed to win the title. Was 5 point ahead of Burnley going into the last 2 games with the final game being against Burnley. However they slipped up in the 2nd last game deeming my match against them pointless.

Berahino is 4.5* PA. Only scored 4 in 15 games but always seemed to get important goals and get good match ratings.

Le Fondre was top scorer with 26 leagues goals including goal of the season.

Sean Morrison was the star of the team for the season.

Looking forward to the Premier League challenge ahead!

Good to see they've got it right this year with Anton taking over. I wonder if those sorts of funds are available in most saves, as I presume he has been set as a tycoon in that case... I'll have to run some tests. Could make Reading a very popular option if so.

Good business with Jake Taylor and Federici. Neither will really get a look in. Gorkss provides adequate cover in my opinion, but with the other signings you were able to make, it makes sense to move him on while he still has value.

Will Hughes could be a bargain at that price. How has he performed so far for you?

What tactics/formation did you use?

[Abaddon879]

Great thread Abaddon. That's a serious transfer budget for the second tier - maybe somebody should have alerted Anton to where those funds are hidden. To be fair, I reckon all the finance/ownership issues must be a nightmare for the research team, given that the real life situation isn't consistent/clear.

Thanks, good to see you around again. You going to give Reading a go this year? I am excited by that sort of transfer budget if true and repeatable. I am looking forward to making Reading my youth development club for years to come with the right investment in infrastructure and youth recruitment.

[Jogo Bonito]

Thanks mate, yes I probably will at some point. Keep us posted with your progress (well done Trevomac too).

[dovEs]

I got 20m ish too. Got Shane Long back for 1m immediately after West Brom paid a million quid transfer clause.

[Abaddon879]

I got 20m ish too. Got Shane Long back for 1m immediately after West Brom paid a million quid transfer clause.

Looks promising for this to be a regular occurrence. I'm just about to holiday a few games and see what the results are.

Excellent business in bringing Shane back to the club, and effectively for free! How did the fans react to a favourite returning?

[Abaddon879]

Thanks mate, yes I probably will at some point. Keep us posted with your progress (well done Trevomac too).

Can't wait to see your progress. I will be providing regular updates on my exploits with Reading once the full game is released - no doubt with a release day patch. I'm going to get a Hall of Fame going so we can get some records going for those playing. Hopefully see your name on a few of them!

[Bradz FM]

Good to see they've got it right this year with Anton taking over. I wonder if those sorts of funds are available in most saves, as I presume he has been set as a tycoon in that case... I'll have to run some tests. Could make Reading a very popular option if so.

Good business with Jake Taylor and Federici. Neither will really get a look in. Gorkss provides adequate cover in my opinion, but with the other signings you were able to make, it makes sense to move him on while he still has value.

Will Hughes could be a bargain at that price. How has he performed so far for you?

What tactics/formation did you use?

Hughes got a steady 7.05 rating in the 15 games he played in the Championship. Averaging 7.41 so far in the 7 PL games he's played so far.

Alternating between a 4-4-2 with AM R/L and a 4-1-3-2 with DM. Using the latter more in the PL. Mainly used this as an away tactic against promotion challengers

Was given £20M again in the Summer to strengthen.

IN

Callum McManaman £7M

Tom Ince £5.5M

Didier Drogba £2M - could have got him on a free if I noticed earlier

Alvaro Morata £9.75M

Steven Caulker £7.75M

Adam Smith Free

Jese Lindgard Free

OUT

Baird, Stephen Kelly, Cummings, Akpan, Macheda, McAnuff, McCleary amonst other for a combined £11M

[dovEs]

Can't remember if I got a special news item, there was a question on it in the press conference though. He's been as good as I expected him to be, got 16 in 14 as we walked the league with 102 points.

[Abaddon879]

Can't remember if I got a special news item, there was a question on it in the press conference though. He's been as good as I expected him to be, got 16 in 14 as we walked the league with 102 points.

Fantastic points return - almost beat our record! How are you shaping up for the Premiership?

[Abaddon879]

Hughes got a steady 7.05 rating in the 15 games he played in the Championship. Averaging 7.41 so far in the 7 PL games he's played so far.

Alternating between a 4-4-2 with AM R/L and a 4-1-3-2 with DM. Using the latter more in the PL. Mainly used this as an away tactic against promotion challengers

Was given £20M again in the Summer to strengthen.

IN

Callum McManaman £7M

Tom Ince £5.5M

Didier Drogba £2M - could have got him on a free if I noticed earlier

Alvaro Morata £9.75M

Steven Caulker £7.75M

Adam Smith Free

Jese Lindgard Free

OUT

Baird, Stephen Kelly, Cummings, Akpan, Macheda, McAnuff, McCleary amonst other for a combined £11M

Looks like Hughes will be one of my main targets this season then, as I want to try and play a 4-2-3-1 formation similar to that which Adkins has liked to play, but we currently dont have a player capable of playing in the hole. Will Hughes could be my answer possibly. What position have you been playing him in?

Well done to get £11M for those. Surely your squad is a little light now with all those leaving?

[Bradz FM]

Looks like Hughes will be one of my main targets this season then, as I want to try and play a 4-2-3-1 formation similar to that which Adkins has liked to play, but we currently dont have a player capable of playing in the hole. Will Hughes could be my answer possibly. What position have you been playing him in?

Well done to get £11M for those. Surely your squad is a little light now with all those leaving?

I don't like having a large squad in the PL. Usually 25 would be my limit. Just signed Andros Townsend and Leon Goretzka in January and sold Drenthe who doesn't cut it in the PL.

I've been playing Hughes as a CM DLP

Current squad

GK's

Alex McCarthy

Joe Lewis

Defenders

Sam Byram

Chris Gunter

Tom Lees

Sean Morrison

Alex Pearce

Steven Caulker

Adam Smith

Wayne Bridge

Midfield

Goretzka

Mulumbo

Will Hughes

Danny Guthrie

Dan Williams

Callum McManaman

Andros Townsend

Tom Ince

Robson-Kanu

Lingard

Attackers

Berahino

Drogba

Le Fondre

Alvaro Morata

[Abaddon879]

I don't like having a large squad in the PL. Usually 25 would be my limit. Just signed Andros Townsend and Leon Goretzka in January and sold Drenthe who doesn't cut it in the PL.

I've been playing Hughes as a CM DLP

I agree with your squad of 25 rule - there are always plenty of youth prospect coming through to fill the worst injury crisis!

I must admit when we signed Drenthe I was quite excited, but having watched many of his performances this season I am disappointed. For every moment of brilliance he has, there are three or four moments of stupidity. In FM I have yet to see him show any sign of brilliance. Better off without I would suggest. Did you manage to get much for him?

Current squad

GK's

Alex McCarthy

Joe Lewis

Defenders

Sam Byram

Chris Gunter

Tom Lees

Sean Morrison

Alex Pearce

Steven Caulker

Adam Smith

Wayne Bridge

Midfield

Goretzka

Mulumbo

Will Hughes

Danny Guthrie

Dan Williams

Callum McManaman

Andros Townsend

Tom Ince

Robson-Kanu

Lingard

Attackers

Berahino

Drogba

Le Fondre

Alvaro Morata

Looks like a very strong squad you have put together. Drogba must be showing his age by now, but I bet he still gets the goals? Ince and Townsend make the wings very dangerous, and very English. Good to see nice amount of young English players in your team.

How are you performing in the Premiership?

[Bradz FM]

Drogba got 12 league goals for me. None of my forwards were clinical enough often going on dry spells. Berahino ended the season well with a few. Finished 11th in the league which was OK but dropped so many points concedeing late goals.

Got a whopper £56 M budget for the upcoming season. Will be hoping to get into Europe

[Jogo Bonito]

Shane Long was happy to drop in to the Championship and only cost £1m?!? Wow, that's enough to guarantee me having a go at some stage.

I had a brief spell in charge during FM13 before my game crashed towards the end of season 1, and could not be accessed again. I only signed Long and Sunzu and chose the most defensive settings the game would allow, but Long was on fire in my 451/541 and nearly always grabbed a goal due to individual brilliance. I think his scoring rate was almost one per game, despite the fact that we hardly ever attacked and probably never scored more than one in any match. With Shane doing his thing and a ridiculously mean defensive record, we had managed to sit comfortably in the top 10 until the crash.

In FM14, now that we are at our 'true' level, a more expressive approach should work well. I would guess that with the starting squad being quite strong (on paper at least), and the rather inflated transfer budget, that first season promotion should be fairly easy to achieve. I think I would have to try and put some special 'restrictions' in place in order to make it last beyond a one-season allegiance.

Keep up the good work guys.

[Bradz FM]

Just completed my third season finishing 5th in the league. Again Drogba led the way in the scoring charts with 15 league goals. Alot of players were sold and released at the beginning of the season.

In

Ander Herrera £7M

Rodrigo £10.75M

Garreth Barry £750k

Jan Kirchoff £3.6M

Alexis Sanchez £5M

I had another takeover by a consortium during the season so the cash will have to be spent more wisely now.

Drogba and Wayne Bridge and retiring despite my best efforts to keep them on. I'll be looking to replace their experience in the off season and maybe expanding the squad to to the rigors of the Europa League

[Abaddon879]

Fantastic progress Trevomac. What happened with Anton, did he choose to leave or did he get bought out? Bit concerning that after only three seasons there have been two takeovers...

[sarstedt]

Just finished a first season with Reading. Great fun! Targeted promotion but ended up running away with the League. Went 34 games unbeaten from game 8 to 42. Finished on 114 points (W35, D9, L2) scored 103 and conceded 41. Brighton finished second on 87 points.

Initially, I signed:

Ramon Arcas (Free)

Anthony Annan (Loan)

Riza Durmisi (550K)

Andrea Caracciolo (275K)

Most bar Annan were signed as back up. Durmisi eventually broke into the team in January after an injury to Drenthe.

In October the inevitable Takeover occurred allowing me to seriously bolster the squad with the following:

Eder Alvarez Balanta (11.75M)

Youri Tielemans (3.4M)

Massimo Bruno (5M)

Stefan Strandberg (3.4M)

Nacer Barazite (loan)

The signings helped improve the squad and the feared mid season slump did not materialise and promotion was secured in April. Lost out to Crystal Palace in 4th round of League cup and Chelsea defeated me in the FA Cup 3rd round.

I survived the takeover pretty easy. Probably as we were going so well.

I sold Gorkss (250K), Leigterwood (1K) and Federici (2.2M) early on, with Cummings (775K), Roberts (25K) and Williams (loan) when new signings arrived.

On the scoring front, ALF was an absolute beast netting 43 in 46 games in the league and 45 in total. POG weighed in with 15 and Blackman 6. Sean Morrison was a beast for corners and nabbed 8.

The best performers overall were:

Le Fondre 7.47

Morrison 7.38

Pog 7.17

Pearce 7.15

Drenthe 7.12

Big improvement needed for next season. So far Afellay has been signed on a free.

[oi_oi_ginger_roy]

Good stuff sarstedt - what formation did you play?

Also what instructions did you set?

[Abaddon879]

Reading FC 13/14 Pre-Season

As I like to build for the future, my first priority once appointed at any club is always to sort out the facilities and coaching staff. Without these, I would need to constantly buy my success, whereas if I get these right I can develop players myself and it sets the club up much better for long term, sustainable success. Cleon has written a very good guide - Ajax Youth Development - When The Real World Meets Football Manager

With this in mind, I walked straight into the board room and set down my long term goals and what I required from them to help achieve these.

First off, I did not agree with the existing club philosophies. Whilst the idea of buying young players appealed, I felt we should be looking to develop our own from a young age rather than signing them from elsewhere. This would help to reduce our transfer costs and allow us to make money from player sales.

Secondly, I was not comfortable with the board trying to dictate what style of football we played. They appointed me the manager and therefore should trust my judgement. Whilst I intend to play an attacking style of football, I don't want them trying to dictate how we play.

In return for these two allowances, I wanted to give something back to set out how I wanted to run the club. I therefore suggested that we look to develop our own players.

Philosophies

Give Youth a Chance

In line with my philosophy of wanting to develop the best players we could, I felt it imperative that our facilities and coaching environment was at the highest level possible, so I requested that the Traing and Youth facilities were improved, as well as increasing our Junior Coaching budget.

Board Requests

Improve Training facilites

Improve Youth facilities

Increase junior coaching

To help with these infrastructure changes, I felt it important to get a solid backroom team capable of getting the best out of those players we had, and helping them to achieve their potential. I want this to be a club where players know they can reach their peak.

I performed a complete overhaul of the coaching staff, from U18 and U21 manager, right through to the Physio department. No stone was left unturned in striving for perfection. My main focus was on the physical side this season, and in doing so I brought in one of the best physiotherapists in the world. I partnered him with two of the very best fitness coaches to ensure that all players were able to meet the physical requirements of the modern game. I also brought in an additional coach and U21 coach to add some specialisation to my coaching department. This will be boosted further next summer, but for now I am able to deliver very high quality coaching to all players through all age groups.

The scouting department was also improved to help me search out the hottest young talent in Europe and the rest of the world. If this philosophy is to work, I need to be working with the best young players available to me, and working with them from a very young age.

Staff In

U21 Manager - Marcel Desailly

U18 Manager - Al Stewart

Fitness Coach - Martyn Pert

Fitness Coach - Darlan Schneider

U21 Coach - Marcel Lucassen

Coach - Marco Riela

Head Physio - David Fevre

Scout - David Hamilton

Scout - Paul Montgomery

Scout - Jeff Vetre

Despite selling more than I bought, I do not feel the squad has been unnecessarily weakened. If anything, the squad has been strengthened, especially in defence. Further additions will be made in January depending on form and team performances.

The sales in particular were too good to turn down. Despite a slight lack of quality wingers at the club now, £4.4M was too good to turn down for McCleary, and Hal Robson-Kanu almost went for £6.5M but they pulled out at the last minute. Federici was only ever going to be backup, and at £5M for a player who would become unhappy, I snapped up the offer before they realised their mistake. Pearce was the only sale I feel I may live to regret, however I have never forgiven him for his contract dispute last season and as a result he was shipped off to Stoke for £3.9M where I hope he emulates Ibrahim Sonko and Dave Kitson's career choices.

Doria and Balanta will become a world class centre back pairing I am sure in years to come, and will easily offset the loss of Pearce and Gorkss.

Players In

Doria - £6.95M

Eder Alvarez Balanta - £6.8M

Mohamed Sissoko - FREE

Players Out

Gareth McCleary - £4.4M

Adam Federici - £5M

Kaspars Gorkss - £925k

Pearce - £3.9M

[STaphouse]

Brilliant post and thread yet again Abaddon!

Now i've got to grips with the game a bit i've started a save with Reading yet again. Currently played 4 league games with a record of W2 L2. I will update further once the transfer window has closed.

[Abaddon879]

Anyone found an effective role for Drenthe? I've tried him as IF(s) and AP(s) but he just doesn't seem to be playing well and is always uninterested. I did toy with playing him in an attacking role, but he wastes too many chances for my liking. He is currently being kept out the team by McAnuff and HRK.

Shockingly, Blackman is my top scorer and has been lethal from the right wing as an IF(a).

[oi_oi_ginger_roy]

I play this formation - no signings, wanna keep the squad true to life.

GK - McCarthy

Right to Left

Gunter (WBR - Att)

Pearce

Morro

Bridge (WBL - Sup)

Middle

Williams (BWM - Def)

Guthrie (DLP - Sup)

Right to Left

Robson-Kanu (IF - Sup)

Drenthe (W - Att)

Middle

Pog (TM - Sup)

Alf (P - Att)

[KorbenRyan]

Just bought 14 tonight and started as Reading for my first save as they seem to have decent finances and a well balanced squad.

Took my time through pre season tinkering with tactics, won all 4 friendlies including a 5-1 win over Brescia.

Only signing so far Boyata from Man City for 500k to add a bit of depth at the back.

Opened up with a 1-0 win at home to Ipswich with 33 efforts on goal and followed it up with a 5-0 win at Bolton so off to a promising start.

[Abaddon879]

Just bought 14 tonight and started as Reading for my first save as they seem to have decent finances and a well balanced squad.

Took my time through pre season tinkering with tactics, won all 4 friendlies including a 5-1 win over Brescia.

Only signing so far Boyata from Man City for 500k to add a bit of depth at the back.

Opened up with a 1-0 win at home to Ipswich with 33 efforts on goal and followed it up with a 5-0 win at Bolton so off to a promising start.

That sounds very promising, would be interesting to know what tactics and team you are playing?

Boyata should be an excellent tutor for your young defenders. Matt Partridge seems to often have a fairly high PA for this level if you are lucky.

[Abaddon879]

Reading 13/14 Pre-Season Tactics & Friendlies

I tried to follow Cleon's advice with regards to Pre-Season match fitness and tactical familiarity - Approaching Pre-Season - My Take On It

I set about deciding what formation I wanted my team to play. With the limited attacking options available, and the surplus of midfielders, I decided it best to pack the midfield and play a 4-5-1 formation. Eventually, after much tinkering, I settled on this:

I had been playing with Bridge as the attacking full back on the left, to counter balance the wingers, and overlap the left wing who was set to Inside Forward(s), however I found this to be a little limiting, and due to a lack of left footed full backs, I struggled during Bridge's knocks and niggles. I therefore swapped this to the right, where we have a much stronger batch of attacking full backs to fill that role. I also swapped the Inside Forward to the right, but left his attacking role as I found there aren't many right footed wingers who can play the inside forward role well on the left, whereas HRK, Blackman, and McAnuff can all fulfil that role on the right.

The midfield trio were a major headache for me. Whilst I knew I wanted to play a defensive role in the Defensive Midfielder position, I was less certain of how to play with the remaining two midfield roles. llama3's thread - Pairs & Combinations - Part 1 - Central Midfielders was of great help. I originally tried a CM(s) and AP(a), but found that this was sometimes a little weakened and the players were often pushed too far up the field for my liking. Also, there isn't really any creativity in the squad except for Guthrie, and he didn't have the stats to really pull off the AP(a) role.

I decided to swap them around a little and these became a CM(a) and DLP(s). This allowed Guthrie to drop deeper and play killer balls from deep, and allowed him midfield partner more freedom to push forward and support the attack. One thing I noticed with this however was that the CM(a) would often become greedy with the ball or try too many long range shots. I wanted their role to be more supportive and for them to provide more cover for the wide players to lead the attack.

As a result of this, and the generally good defensive stats of the midfielders available to me, I settled on the BBM(s) and DLP(s) pairing. This seemed to fulfil all my criteria. It allowed the BBM to cover lots of ground, both supporting defence and attack when necessary. It also allowed Guthrie to play his killer balls and try to create chances from deep. The only problem that I can see with this is the over-reliance on Guthrie to pull the strings, however this can be addressed in the upcoming transfer windows with a more creative midfielder (Strongly considering Will Hughes if I can justify the £9M or so they want).

I also set about arranging several extra friendlies in addition to those which already were scheduled. I tried to aim for a match every 2-4 days to keep the intensity up, and to help with our very high fitness training. The aim is to get them back to match fitness and ready for the season ahead.

My pre-season fixture list looked like this:

As you can see, we were undefeated during Pre-Season, and had scored 25 goals compared with only 4 conceded - albeit against a much lower standard of opposition than we would be facing in the league. Nevertheless things were looking promising, and I was confident of challenging for promotion during the forthcoming season. My attacking players in particular were playing unbelievably well and scoring for fun. ALF in particular bagged 7 goals, averaging a goal a game!

By the end of pre-season, all players who were likely to be involved in the first team were at full match fitness, or thereabouts. The tactical familiarity wasn't quite there, but I put a lot of this down to the tactical tinkering. We knew what shape we wanted to play, just hadn't yet mastered the roles each person was to play. This familiarity would come with time, and I wasn't too worried for now.

First game of the season, a home fixture against Ipswich Town...

[KorbenRyan]

That sounds very promising, would be interesting to know what tactics and team you are playing?

Boyata should be an excellent tutor for your young defenders. Matt Partridge seems to often have a fairly high PA for this level if you are lucky.

I've only played the 2 league games so far and haven't had to rotate. Playing the same shape as you with Attacking,Standard and Counter variations loaded. I've gone with The same CD and DM roles as you but complete wingbacks and inside forwards on Attack on the flanks, DLP(s) and CM(s) in midfield and a CF(s) up top.

Team instructions I have push up and hassle opponents on Attacking and Standard.

The players aren't all ideal for these roles but I'm going with the system and looking to bring in players that are a more natural fit as we progress.

I play Drenthe on the left because I find with an attack instruction he is looking to get in behind and then has more options with his natural foot on the outside, if I was using supporting IF's I would look to play him on the right.

[KorbenRyan]

I've just got to mid September. All going well so far.

I brought in a couple more players to strengthen the depth of the squad, signings in the summer window were:

Dedryck Boyata (Man City) £500k

Joe Ledley (Celtic) £1.2m

Ayoze (Deportivo) £300k

The only 2 players of note to leave were Hope Akpan (Hull) £1.1m and Adam Federici (Krasnodar) £2.2m

Results have been:

Ipswich (H) W 1-0

Bolton (A) W 5-0

Watford (H) W 2-0

Blackpool (A) W 1-0

Morecombe (A) W 5-0 (COC)

Yeovil (A) D 1-1

Brighton (H) W 3-0

Leeds (H) L 0-1

Derby (A) W 1-0

Chelsea (A) L 1-3 (COC)

The League has gone really well, we played poorly in the draw at Yeovil and were quite unlucky to lose against Leeds in a game we dominated but were hit on the counter towards the end. We sit top 3 points clear with some difficult games already played.

In the Capital One Cup our second string brushed aside Morecambe and then we drew Chelsea. I decided to go for it at the Bridge and went full strength, we performed above expectations for the first 80 mins with the score at 1-1 we hit the post and missed a penalty before Chelsea eventually proved too strong with a Torres hattrick sealed in the dying seconds. By the end of the game they had Torres, Mata, Willian, Hazard and Lampard on the field so I'm happy that we gave it a good go against top drawer opposition.

Top performers so far have been ALF with 5 in 9, Alex Pearce who has been a big factor in our solid defensive record, Chris Gunter with 3 goals and 3 assists in 9 and Danny Guthrie with 4 assists and the general fulcrum of our play.

[oi_oi_ginger_roy]

Thought i would give you a little update on my career too...

Being a die hard [real life] RFC fan, i tried to keep the squad the same for the first season (you can see my team above somewhere)

So far the results are

Ipswich (H) W 1-0

Bolton (A) W 1-0

Watford (H) W 2-0

Blackpool (A) L 1-0

Blackpool (H) L 2-1 (COC)

Yeovil (A) L 3-1 - WTF?

Brighton (H) W 4-0

I got in Edu Bedia on loan from Barca, as cover for Guthrie should he get injured.

I'm currently sitting in 5th spot, only a point off leaders Yeovil (yes, Yeovil)

Drenthe has got 3 goals, Morro 2, Alf, Pog, Guthrie, Pearce & Gunter 1

[oi_oi_ginger_roy]

Help!!

I've hit a mid-season slump that has seen me drop from 1st to 9th. I seem to be leaking goals and not scoring any

Using the core players (ie no signings) what formation/set up do you guys recommend i play?

[Abaddon879]

Have you passed the January transfer window? Is it too late to bring any signings in?

Generally the central defence is one of Readings strongest assets, so I'm surprised by this. What tactics are you playing your back four? It might be the complete wingbacks, are they venturing too far forward often? Can you check to see where most of your goals conceded are coming from in the analysis?

[oi_oi_ginger_roy]

I'm in December now - so got £12m to spend in January

Most goals come from a pass, in the middle of the park

I used to have wingbacks but changed to supporting full backs.

I am playing a 4-2-2-2 (wide, not narrow)

gk

fb(s) cd cd fb(s)

dlp(s) bwm(d)

if(s) w(a)

af(s) p(a)