WI5ARD Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Hello all, just thought i'd let you know that i nearly broke the mouse on my Newcastle save last night when Sporting Lisbon give me 15m over 48 months for cisse. Now as i play a system with no strikers to say i was over the moon was an understatement, especially getting on top of that getting 5m for marveaux, 2.5 for williamson, another 5m for gouturez and the same for obertan. All of which over 48 months but not to concerned as just ensured my purchases were over 48 months as well. managed to tie down HBA Cabaye Santon Teito all on long term contracts before the usual suspects started circling, thou is anyone else surprised by the amount of yellow and red cards especially! Don't play an aggressive formation and have the players set to hassle opponents and stay on there feet but really having trouble getting through a game without having to make subs for fear of not ending a game with 11 men on the pitch - 1 game was down to 8 men! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambolic Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Probably the best news of the season. Got 21 assists for me last season, absolutely killed it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackster Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Started with Newcastle and took some advice from this thread here is what transfers I have done so far quite pleased with what I've got Gaitan has been very good first few games A few good young lads with Gauld and Souttar coming from Dundee, Tielemans from Anderlecht, Zuculini a great freebie. Sold a lot of players got good prices for Tiote,Santon and built up some funds from others Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DandyDon Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Season 1 - 2013/14 - Close but no cigar February got off to a horrible start for us with consecutive defeats to Man Utd and Liverpool, followed by a lucky 2-2 draw with Southampton that dropped us from 1st place down to 6th. Things were still very tight at this point with 5 or 6 teams all still in with a chance of the title. We bounced back over the next few weeks to claw our way back into the Champions League places and stay in the title chase as a couple of sides like Liverppol, Everton and Chelsea fell away slightly. I thought our defeat against Man City might end our hopes of any title challenge, but we took 7 points from our next 3 games and neither of the Manchester clubs showed any great consistency possibly distracted by their Champions League Semi-Final against each other. Their dropped points meant we headed into the last day of the season in second place, one point behind Man Utd and one point ahead of Man City. We had probably the easiest final match against a Palace side who safely secured their Premier League status already and had nothing left to play for while City had a home game against Liverpool who were in 4th and could still be leapfrogged for the last Champions League spot while Man Utd had to go to Everton who had an outside chance of claiming that 4th spot if they could beat Utd and Liverpool lost. For a while I thought we'd done it as we took an early lead from a Shola penalty and went in at half time with Utd still drawing at Everton. Bartra then grabbed the second that pretty much wrapped up our win. At that point we were champions....for all of about 2 minutes. Unfortunately any chorus of 'Championes' died quickly as I saw that the 'Little Pea' had done his super sub act for Utd with 2 late goals to retain the title for them. However galling it was to lose out on the title like that I can't really complain about the season given we secured Champions League football and exceeded expectations. The undoubted star of the season for us was Andre Ayew who put our strikers totally to shame, finishing the season with 21 goals in all competitions. Cisse only managed 3 and Remy 5 throughout and I doubt I'll be trying to sign Remy on a permanent deal, or trying too hard to hang on to Cisse next season. Fortunately we had plenty other goals shared around our midfield and defenders. Adam Campbell also chipped in with a nice little run of 4 goals in 8 matches (plus a couple of assists) toward the end of the season and he finished with 6 goals in total from 16 matches and I'm hoping he can push on and claim a regular spot after the summer. I won't be looking to do much business in the transfer window, managed to get most of the jigsaw pieces in place this season. I'm not planning to cash in on any of the existing squad (except possibly Cisse) and I've already secured a deal to bring in Antonio Candreva from Lazio on a free. The only area I might look to make changes is upfront, after such disappointing showings from both Cisse and Remy, I will definitely look to spend any funds I'm given on a more reliable striker. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodds' Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 I find it far easier this year with our ratings of players, to challenge for the title from the off. Rather than having to rebuild like past years... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackster Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 As you can see a good start with strong results at home to Arsenal and Chelsea with a good point away to Liverpool Cisse really struggling looking to sell him but I want a replacement Remy and Zaha are good but I want someone who will light up the premier league any ideas??? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abramovic Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Was scared to update on my progress earlier in case i jinxed my season but i couldnt hold off any more. After 22 league games we're top of the table by 2 points and 2/3 games on the current top 4. arsenal, liverpool and tottenham are keeping pace. Downside to all of this is i crashed out of both domestic cups. FA 4th round and in the semi's of the league cup African nations are having a diverse impact on my side and few results have been dodgy due to playing out of form Coloccini. Might just have to get rid off him at the end of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambolic Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 beautiful stuff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_wilko Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 I`m taking a short break from my Newcastle save to try out AC Milan, just finished my third season with them and won the league again. Also won a bunch of tinpot trophies in the Community Shield, World Club Championship and the European Super Cup. Doubt I`ll be gone long, but good luck for the time being with all your saves. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Had no intention of playing him that much so ditched Marveaux as soon as I could, 5M was decent enough especially considering his wages. Williamson and Elliot soon followed him out the door. I do like/rate Gutierrez but he's not really the kind of player I need and I was happy to get 5M for him. I didn't realize Santon could attract such massive fees later in the game and didn't think twice when Arsenal offered 7.75M for him. I didn't plan to get rid of Tiote but 10M seemed more than reasonable considering Anita was already in the squad, with the 50 percent I got from transfers being easily enough to replace Tiote with someone just as good. I didn't really intend to sell Obertan but Marseille came in on deadline day and thought 4M was pretty good for a player who would barely feature. Took in Gaitan on loan from Benfica to play on the left, pretty good player and will slot straight into the team. Diame was a no brainer at 3.5M, same can be said about Keisuke Honda, though Sissokko was not pleased about this arrival. Gibbs came in to replace Santon, more or less like for like and I prefer Gibbs anyway. Reveilliere came in on a free to give competition to Debuchy at RB. I got Alvarez in to add a bit more competition to the AMR/AML spots, Salvio was taken in once Obertan was sold. I did intend to get a striker in and potentially play with 2 up-front, unfortunately I couldn't find anyone that was value for money enough to be worth bringing in. The only guy I almost signed was Gomis, but he wanted outrageous wages so I had no choice but to stick with Cisse, Remy, Gouffran and the Ameobi's. Aside from the disappointing opening day loss at Southampton it has been a pleasing start to the season. I didn't risk putting the kids out against Crawley as the LC is a competition I would like to win. Pretty happy with the first 11 and the squad in general. Sissokko may have to be sold in January as his morale is really low after I had a go at him for moaning about me signing Honda. Steven Taylor is also unhappy, he popped up on deadline day demanding to be sold, offered him out but nobody was interested so he is another one that will most likely leave in January. Posted the formation I have generally played with and am relatively happy with it, obviously have the likes of Reveilliere, Ryan Taylor, Haidara, Steven Taylor to rotate the defence with then the likes of Anita, Sissoko, Gosling and Vuckic in the middle, as well as Salvio, Alvarez to rotate on the wings, with Remy and Gouffran able to play on the wings but primarily back-up to Cisse up-front. Hoping the Ameobi's wont have to feature too much. I'll probably but the best two out of the three wingers I have on loan at the end of the season, depending on how they all get on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DandyDon Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Some good wheeling and dealing there Paul, if you're still struggling for a striker at end of the season you'll probably find that Gomis' wage demands are a lot more reasonable once he's out of contract. He ended up as a free agent on both my saves so far after refusing to sign new deals with his current club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abramovic Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 End of season 2014/2015 update - well sort of My main goal of the season was to do well in europe and secure european football. After the last update i sort of extended that to breaking the top 4 and getting into champions league. Which i am delighted to say was achieved. I dont know how, i cannot come to terms with it but the premiership title is in the bag with 1 game to go UNBELIEVABLE Arsenal pushed the team hard and mid week games in the Europa Cup werent helping. Eventually going out in the semi's to Everton, i as raging. Trophies are key to long term success no matter what trophy it is League Table | Pos | Team | | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Newcastle | | 37 | 25 | 6 | 6 | +35 | 81 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Arsenal | | 37 | 22 | 9 | 6 | +33 | 75 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Man Utd | | 37 | 18 | 15 | 4 | +38 | 69 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | Liverpool | | 37 | 20 | 7 | 10 | +26 | 67 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Tottenham | | 37 | 17 | 12 | 8 | +10 | 63 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | Chelsea | | 37 | 17 | 9 | 11 | +16 | 60 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | Man City | | 37 | 15 | 11 | 11 | +10 | 56 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | West Brom | | 37 | 16 | 7 | 14 | +9 | 55 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | Cardiff | | 37 | 15 | 8 | 14 | -7 | 53 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | Everton | | 37 | 14 | 10 | 13 | +2 | 52 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | Aston Villa | | 37 | 12 | 10 | 15 | -14 | 46 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | Southampton | | 37 | 10 | 14 | 13 | -10 | 44 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | Swansea | | 37 | 11 | 8 | 18 | -9 | 41 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | West Ham | | 37 | 11 | 7 | 19 | -13 | 40 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | Leicester | | 37 | 10 | 9 | 18 | -16 | 39 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | Sunderland | | 37 | 8 | 13 | 16 | -4 | 37 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | Brighton | | 37 | 8 | 12 | 17 | -17 | 36 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | Fulham | | 37 | 7 | 15 | 15 | -22 | 36 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | Crystal Palace | | 37 | 8 | 8 | 21 | -33 | 32 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | Burnley | | 37 | 8 | 6 | 23 | -34 | 30 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Squad | Pkd | Inf | Name | Position | Morale | Last 5 Games | Con | Apps | Gls | Av Rat | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | GK | | Tim Krul | GK | Superb | | 95% | 59 | 0 | 6.65 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DR | | Mathieu Debuchy | D (R) | Superb | | 79% | 52 (1) | 2 | 6.76 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DCR | | Fabricio Coloccini | D (C) | Superb | | 83% | 52 (4) | 7 | 6.62 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DCL | | Ezequiel Garay | D (C) | Superb | | 82% | 38 (12)| 7 | 7.10 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DL | | Massadio Haïdara | D (L) | Superb | | 91% | 27 (4) | 0 | 6.81 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MCR | | Yohan Cabaye | M (C) | Superb | | 75% | 44 (5) | 5 | 6.87 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MCL | | Mohamed Diamé | DM, M (C) | Superb | | 79% | 37 (3) | 2 | 6.92 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | AMR | Wnt | Hatem Ben Arfa | AM (RC) | Superb | | 78% | 35 (9) | 11 | 6.90 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | AMC | | Keisuke Honda | M/AM (C) | Superb | | 74% | 35 (11)| 8 | 7.13 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | AML | Wnt | Sadio Mané | M/AM (L) | Superb | | 77% | 37 | 6 | 6.88 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | STC | | Papiss Cissé | ST (C) | Superb | | 80% | 42 (1) | 21 | 6.88 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | S1 | | Jak Alnwick | GK | Superb | | 94% | - | - | - | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | S2 | | Danny Rose | D/WB/M/AM (L) | Superb | | 88% | 38 (8) | 3 | 6.84 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | S3 | | Vurnon Anita | DM, M (C) | Superb | | 100% | 15 (19)| 3 | 6.78 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | S4 | | Orhan Ademi | ST (C) | Superb | | 97% | 30 (11)| 14 | 6.97 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | S5 | | Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik | D (C) | Superb | | 100% | 27 (4) | 1 | 6.80 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | S6 | | Moussa Sissoko | M/AM (C) | Superb | | 100% | 33 (17)| 6 | 7.00 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | S7 | | Georginio Wijnaldum | M/AM (RLC) | Superb | | 100% | 22 (18)| 6 | 6.90 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Vasilis Torosidis | D/WB (R) | Superb | | 100% | 21 (11)| 0 | 6.86 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unr | Carlos Gurpegi | D (RC), DM, M (C) | Fairly Good | | 99% | 20 (5) | 1 | 6.54 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Wnt | Steven Taylor | D (C) | Superb | | 94% | 1 (5) | 1 | 7.04 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unr | Sammy Ameobi | M/AM (RL), ST (C) | Good | | 100% | 27 (8) | 4 | 6.71 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Wilfried Zaha | AM (RL), ST (C) | Good | | 94% | 4 (16) | 2 | 6.72 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | - | Adam Campbell | ST (C) | Fairly Good | | 86% | 0 (12) | 4 | 6.63 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Sorry about code bits far too lazy to upload images Cisse turned in a proper striker. Honda and Ben Arfa bosses the midfield. Everything just fell into place Slightly worried about the future. Need to invest in a quality striker and centre back at least, but potential takeover was mentioned during the season so i dont know if i'll get to invest. Need funds badly now to kick on Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abramovic Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 FOR FECK SAKE Takeover completed and im out of a job Hope they relegate next season , as you can see im not bitter about it at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 HBA so irritating, goes past entire teams like he's Messi then shoots straight at the keeper when there's a team-mate he could pass to for a tap in. Even told him to stop shooting as much and if anything he shoots more Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Just as I post that he goes past half of Everton's defence, then places the most un-selfish pass across goal for a debuting Adam Campbell to smash home a winner against Everton in a match we were 3-1 down in at half time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Reasonably pleased with how things are going at the moment, reckon West Brom will drop off and we can grab 7th which I would be pretty pleased with. HBA left us on January 1st to join Chelsea for 30M. Really didn't seem to fit in with the system I am playing with and he really pisses me off constantly shooting and never actually scoring, had 1 goal and 2 assists in 14 games ffs. Cisse and Remy have pissed me off to the point where I have dropped both of them in favour of Adam Campbell, despite playing less games than them at the moment he has out scored both of them (not hard considering they've only scored one each). We're not scoring enough goals, our main goal threat comes from Gaitan and Salvio who both have 7 each, Honda is next with 5. Progressed to the semi's of the LC (have had a very easy run tbf, got Spurs in the semi's which will be our first real test) and have City away in the FA Cup which I imagine will see us out of that earlier than planned. About to play Southampton, hopefully can get some revenge for the 3-0 loss on the first day of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerobianchi Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 FOR FECK SAKETakeover completed and im out of a job Hope they relegate next season , as you can see im not bitter about it at all. I don't understand why that's even part of the game, honestly. Who would find that fun? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abramovic Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 I would have taken it on the chin had the results been poor but 2 seasons 2 major trophies. joke of a club for what its worth i did enjoy my time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_wilko Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 I don't understand why that's even part of the game, honestly. Who would find that fun? Realism. Some owners want to bring in their own man. But yeah it`s really annoying. Part way through my 3rd season Ashley sold up, and Brian McDermott was sniffing round, showing up at matches and the owner even said they were looking at replacing me. But I won the Premier League, got to the semis of the Champions League and won the World Club Championship in the time they took over the club. So they shut up and realised they can`t remove me. What are you planning to do Abramovic? New manager and put yourself in charge or you looking to start a new save? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abramovic Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 What are you planning to do Abramovic? New manager and put yourself in charge or you looking to start a new save? Im continuing the save (laziness at its best) after couple of months i managed to take charge of Nottingham Forest Its heart breaking to see your team languishing in 10th place , after 9 games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spedding Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 maybe they should put in a meeting with the new owner in the next game similar to a job interview, i'm sure some would at least meet with the current boss before they make the decision to sack the manager. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DandyDon Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 FOR FECK SAKETakeover completed and im out of a job Hope they relegate next season , as you can see im not bitter about it at all. maybe they should put in a meeting with the new owner in the next game similar to a job interview, i'm sure some would at least meet with the current boss before they make the decision to sack the manager. That is a real kicker there Abramovic, really unlucky Like that idea though from Spedding, where maybe new owners could outline their plans and set you a potential target. Making pretty slow progress of the close season on my save at moment as I've organised a ton of friendlies to help the squad adapt to the tweaks I made with my tactics. Not really looked to sign anyone as yet by middle of July, apart from Antonio Candreva on a free and making Salvio's loan deal permanent, most of the transfer activity has been fending off bids for our players and there's been a lot of those so far. Had a couple of very highly rated regens come in to the youth team, plus my Head of Youth development signed up a young Czech player who looks very promising. The first two are new arrivals in the youth team and I have particularly high hopes for the new 'Gazza', put both players in the squad for our summer training camp in Germany and had them play in a couple of friendlies out there and Humphreys bagged himself a couple of goals already. The third player cost us over £3 million from Viktoria Plzen, but I think that might prove to be a bargain if he gets anywhere near fulfilling his potential. Urban's arrival means at least I'm not too upset about missing out on Lewis Holtby this time round, he didn't end up transfer listed unlike my beta save, but just moved to Borussia Dortmund for £11 million which was a bit more than I was happy to spend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamzterz Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Just finished my third season with Newcastle! This time we won the title: Got knocked out by PSG in the 2nd round of CHL - Lucas Moura ripped us apart. We've been changing a bit between 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-2-2-1. Got a new owner before the start of the season. He invested in the youth section, but let me continue managing the team Tielemans has developed really nice! Barca and Bayern are interested, but seems like i convinced him to stay. Will be my main AMC this season, after we sold Vuckic for £9.25M. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheInvisibleMan Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Just started with Newcastle on the new game after having a fairly successful career with them on 2013 before moving on to bigger things at Barca. I've turned budgets off in the first window to add a bit of realism and force me to work with the starting squad. I've sneaked Benayoun in on a free transfer though (he somehow accepted no loyalty bonus or agents fee!) and have approached Reveillere. Made an approach for Honda on a pre-contract too. Aiming to finish in the top half, as high up as possible, and also have a good crack at one of the domestic cups. Will probably go with my strongest team in the Capital One Cup and see how we get on. Will keep you all updated once I've progressed further. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_wilko Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 Tielemans is looking really good there Hamzterz, and congratulations on winning the league! Your Tielemans looks a little better than mine, I have him beat with my physicals (both pace and stamina are higher) and technically they`re around the same but your mentals are better where it counts. How much have you played him? Just for reference when I get back into my Newcastle game. We`re at the same point in the game, so mine is a little behind but he too will probably be my main CAM when I start it back up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Ended up 6th in my first season, happy to have finished that high especially as we were only 4 points off Arsenal/City in 4th. Krul was pretty good in goal, made a lot of saves where I thought we'd end up conceding. Yanga-Mbiwa and Coloccini had a decent partnership and Steven Taylor never really got a look in. Gibbs and Debuchy were good enough as full-backs, rotated Haidara and Reveillere in every now and then when they dropped off in form. Diame was good at DM, didn't really give Anita a look in. Started off with Cabaye and Honda in the middle, Sissoko weren't happy at first but to be fair to him he did eventually prove he deserved a place in the first team and for the last few months dispatched Honda. The 3 on loan Argentines were all pretty good, Gaitan and Salvio being the clear stand-outs. It got to the point where Salvio and Gaitan were performing so much better than HBA I just stopped playing him and sold him for a great price to Chelsea. Papiss Cisse was frustrating to the point I transfer listed and dropped him. Remy was pretty poor too especially considering the wages he is on. Gouffran was poor but I didn't expect much from him. I ended up playing Adam Campbell as he had the excuse of being young if he was poor, he wasn't amazing but I was impressed enough with him to play him. I got Claudio Pizarro for 100K in January from Bayern on a 6 month contract that was heavily insentive based, there was also a clause that if he played 15 league games he'd get an extension. He was good but he wasn't prolific enough to convince me to extend his contract, didn't play him the last 4 league games just to avoid extending his contract Made a £53M profit this season on transfers so I am hoping that Mike Ashley will give me some money (unlikely) to spend. If I can't get at least two of the three Argentine wingers then we're probably gonna be quite ****ed. Qualifying for the Europa League could end up being quite difficult for us as if Ashley doesn't give me a decent transfer budget I don't think we're gonna have the depth for it. Could do with a new CB as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13xForever Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 So I am going to end up reviewing my first season in a post once the season is done. Had to post these screenshots as i have never laughed so much since playing FM. So Gus thinks Colo might be a weak link huh? They even had a disallowed goal as well. Oh Gus i do hope you don't get relegated this season. Its been quite amusing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamzterz Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Tielemans is looking really good there Hamzterz, and congratulations on winning the league!Your Tielemans looks a little better than mine, I have him beat with my physicals (both pace and stamina are higher) and technically they`re around the same but your mentals are better where it counts. How much have you played him? Just for reference when I get back into my Newcastle game. We`re at the same point in the game, so mine is a little behind but he too will probably be my main CAM when I start it back up. Well, hes been in the first team all three seasons, but been playing 60-90 minutes for the U/21-team a lot. On the first team it's 4(4) in 1st, 14(5) in 2nd and 28 games in the 3rd season. I've been training him as Advanced Playmaker (hard) - maybe thats why he lacks a bit physical? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Mike Ashley such a **** Despite making £53M profit on transfers last season, reaching a cup final and qualifying for Europe he's only given me £15M to spend with an extra 150K worth of wages. You can guarantee he will demand I at least reach the Europea League places again. I'm now pretty stuffed. The club needs a striker as despite the fact I'm happy to play Campbell, he needs to be rotated and is not yet good enough for a top 6 club. I don't know whether to keep Pizarro on his 69K a week contract for another season or not, it was meant as a short term solution signing but I can't see myself having enough money to get a replacement in that's even of the same quality let alone better, even if I manage to sell Cisse I still wont have that much money. Gaitan, Alvarez and Silvio's loan deals all end soon, I highly doubt I'll be able to get them on loan again and I'll be lucky to be able to afford to sign even one of them which will leave us desperately short on the wing's. I've also got the additional pressure of the Europa League games with a very small squad, which could potentially become even smaller. An injury crisis could see us monumentally ****ed. Oh and all my new youth prospects were crap, the best one was 2 and half stars Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Just noticed I can sack Joe Kinnear... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_wilko Posted November 13, 2013 Author Share Posted November 13, 2013 Well, hes been in the first team all three seasons, but been playing 60-90 minutes for the U/21-team a lot. On the first team it's 4(4) in 1st, 14(5) in 2nd and 28 games in the 3rd season.I've been training him as Advanced Playmaker (hard) - maybe thats why he lacks a bit physical? Yeah probably, his stamina was so low I had him focus on that for basically two seasons. Will be putting him on a playmaker friendly training schedule when I start back up. Paul, have you checked the transfer list? And who got relegated? I can`t recommend exact players as I don`t know what type of player you want, but there`s your best chance of signing a good player for a decent fee. If you can get 10mil for Cisse, provided you get most of that you`ll have over 20mil to spend which should be enough to sign a good striker and some players who can improve the squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 I didn't really plan to sell Yanga-Mbiwa or Cabaye but felt like both of the offers were too good to turn down, I've got a 50 percent next sale clause on Yanga-Mbiwa so if he moves again should get another nice fee. Sammy Ameobi isn't going to be good enough long term despite his bonus of being HG at club, Ryan Taylor, Claudio Pizarro, Shola Ameobi, Paul Dummett and Dan Gosling were also surplus to requirements. I finally managed to get rid of Cisse after having him transfer listed for what seems like forever, 2.5M is a terrible fee but I needed the money to complete my "big" striker "signing". Considering the budget is basically based off selling Cabaye, Mbiwa and Cisse I was very pleased that I managed to get in some much needed depth into the side. I was delighted to be able to pick up Alvarez and Salvio on loan again, Gaitan could also have joined them but had his work permit denied despite several appeals. Sergi Roberto for 1M was an absolute steal and a complete no brainer. In June I wasn't anticipating being able to get the Argentine's back in on loan so spent money on Victor Moses who I was pleased to pick up for 6M especially since he's on cheap wages and is HG. Borini for 1.8M was too good to turn down especially considering his versatility. I got Ashley Williams after selling Mbiwa as despite not being as good, for 2M he was a massive bargain in my eyes. I'd planned to sign young promising Brazilian left winger Vitinho and Bafetimbi Gomis for a while and picked them up on free transfers, Dandy Don you were right he did accept much lower wages than he had wanted previously in the year. I realized I didn't have a particularly good choice of CB's so went looking and was amazed to find Chris Smalling available, maybe paid a little more than I'd have liked but he has great potential and is English. I wanted a bit more depth in the middle of midfield and saw Rodwell available for loan and couldn't let the opportunity pass by. The big move though was of course bringing in Fernando Torres on loan. There's no chance in hell we'd be able to pay his wages, luckily we were able to only pay 30 percent of them and pay 235K a month for his services, hopefully he will provide the goals we were lacking last season. I was a bit nervous when we drew Dinamo Moscow in the Europa League qualifiers but after a convincing 4-0 win at home and a 1-1 in Moscow we were through very comfortably. I am quite happy with the Group we have been given, we were 2nd seeds and could easily have ended up with one of Inter, Bayern or Napoli in our group. I'll post what I think is my strongest first eleven below. The 4 defensive guys aren't injured they're just travelling for international games. I've got a decent bench/back-up with Reveilliere, Coloccini, Haidara and Steven Taylor for defensive options. Rodwell, Roberto and Anita for the central midfield and DM positions. Victor Moses, Gouffran, and Vitinho for the wings with Borini also able to fill in there if needed. Gomis, Borini and Adam Campbell are my striker options, though I may loan out Adam Campbell soon as it doesn't look like he'll be getting in the team this year unfortunately barring an injury crisis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DandyDon Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Season 2 - 2014/15 - Update Right been away for a couple days, but was able to get stuck back in to my Newcastle save today. Finally made it through a busy pre-season schedule where I'd organised 9 friendlies to help get the squad familiar with some of my tactical changes, and also build up match fitness. By my usual standards we had a pretty quiet transfer window which I was actually pretty happy with this time. The early deals involved Antonio Candreva arriving on a free and Eduardo Salvio making his loan deal from Benfica permanent which gave me the options I wanted on the right wing. Robin Urban was brought in by our Head of Youth development, bt I like the look of him and he'll be getting some game time this year as understudy to Hatem Ben Arfa. Those were all deals set up during the previous season though, the first move I made in the summer was to take a little gamble on the striker front. After noting that Southampton had accepted a £925,000 bid from West Brom for Rickie Lambert, I decided to match it and he ended up signing for us on the 16th of July. I figured he'd give us a very different option to Cisse or Campbell and while he's 32 he still has a great spread of attributes plus that fabled 'great touch for a big fella' . That was my only inbound deal until the very last day of the transfer window, I'd been keeping an eye on Steven Caulker who'd been transfer listed by Cardiff after their relegation. Throughout the summer AC Milan also kept chasing Giuseppe Bellusci and when I saw Norwich go in for Caulker when his price had dropped to £3.1 million I made my move. offered Bellusci to Milan for £12 million, and accepted their counter offer of £9.25 ill while we matched Norwich's offer for Caulker. Fortunately we were able to get the deal done with a couple hours of the window to spare. I've recently also picked up Darren Fletcher on a free outside the window, just to provide some cover for Vurnon Anita though only in the Cup matches until the next registration window. Apart from Bellusci, the only major departure was Gouffran who joined Cardiff on loan earlier in the window. I did turn several bids for Debuchy, Santon, Ben Arfa and Sissoko as none of them got anywhere near an acceptable amount. Progress so far The friendly schedule went well and di the trick getting everyone back into shape for the new season, and with plenty goals in most of them the squad confidence levels were pretty high as things kicked off. Lambert picked up a small hamstring knock, so he'd miss the first couple league matches, but otherwise was able to field what I felt was our strongest line up as we opened things up with a home match against Man Utd. Newcastle 2 - 1 Man Utd 70' Anita 83' Cisse 88' Van Persie Great start to season as we largely controlled the game. 55% of possession and 12 shots on target to Man Utd's 6. A man of the match performance by Anita saw him open the scoring arriving late in the box to bury a pullbac from Ayew, then create the opening for Cisse with a great little ball over the Utd defence. A defensive slip at the end let RVP in to score, but we saw the game out pretty comfortably despite that setback Stoke 0 - 0 Newcastle Zip, nada, bupkiss, zilch...big fat nuthin in this game as we struggled to stop hitting the bus that Stoke parked in front of the Artic, in front of the oil tanker in front of their goal. Newcastle 7 - 2 Norwich 4' Lambert 10' Tadic 11' Lambert 17' Doumbia 48' Lambert 50' Salvio 58' Bartra 64' Lambert 73' Lambert Well we had to wait for his debut...but what a debut when it happened. A perfect 10 for Lambert as he bagged 5 goals on his first competitive match for Newcastle. Was very thankful for Lambert in first half as Norwich actually played us off the park and we really should have been 3 or 4 behind but for him. A half time bollocking though saw the rest of the team step their game up and we repeatedly sliced through their backline after the restart. Crystal Palace 1 - 2 Newcastle 33' Graham 65' Bartra 77' Campbell Slow start in this game saw us go in at half time a goal down, but we were gradually getting stronger throughout the match. Finished with 29 shots of goal, over half on target and a MotM award for Steven Caulker in his first match after his move. Steua Bucharest 1 - 2 Newcastle 7' Castillo 35' Lambert 89' Ince Cabaye Injured 65' Another slow start away from home saw us fall behind again. We responded quicker this time with Lambert equalising before the break. We dominated the second half but had to rely on a late, late finished from Ince who chipped the keeper from outside the box on the run. Liverpool 1 - 1 Newcastle 32' Suarez 45' Ben Arfa Debuchy red card 70' A pattern begins to develop as we again fall behind in a match and take a while to get going. We also dominated proceedings thereafter even with the sending off, but couldn't manage to grab a winner this time round. However a point away an Anfield was a result i was still happy with overall Newcastle 4 - 1 Wolves 8' Campbell 13' Urban 42' Ince (Pen) 52' Campbell (Pen) 63' Doyle Our first League Cup tie and a chance to rest a couple of key players. Started Urban at AMC and played Campbell as the lone striker and they both repaid me with excellent performances, especially during our flying start to the match (for once!) Newcastle 2 - 1 West Ham 48' Ayew 74' Collison 81' Candreva Bit of a callback to last season as despite creating numerous chances and dominating a match our strikers just couldn't take them and we had to rely on the wingers to grab us the win. Newcastle 1 - 0 Ajax 32' Ben Arfa I started Cisse upfront in this match for the first time since the dull draw against Stoke, but again he failed to take any one of a number of chances created as we had 63% of possession against the Dutch team. Thankfully HBA was a little more accurate and the result kept us level in our Champs League group with Real Madrid. League Table Largely happy with progress so far, especially happy with Lambert's impact though I am a little worried at the lack of clean sheets so far and how many games we seem to start slowly in. Hopefully that will improve as the season wears on though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSundlofer Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Newcastle 7 - 2 Norwich 4' Lambert 10' Tadic 11' Lambert 17' Doumbia 48' Lambert 50' Salvio 58' Bartra 64' Lambert 73' Lambert Well we had to wait for his debut...but what a debut when it happened. A perfect 10 for Lambert as he bagged 5 goals on his first competitive match for Newcastle. Was very thankful for Lambert in first half as Norwich actually played us off the park and we really should have been 3 or 4 behind but for him. A half time bollocking though saw the rest of the team step their game up and we repeatedly sliced through their backline after the restart. Rickie Lambert undoubtedly looks like a superb signing so far! Good start to his Newcastle career. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DandyDon Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Season 2 - 2014/15 - Update Newcastle 5 - 2 Birmingham 10' Lambert 17' Lambert 36' Lambert 38' Sordell 67' Ayew 84' Ebanks-Blake 89' Lambert A deceptively comfortable league win. We looked very good going forward obviously having scored 5 and had several other chances, but didn't dominate possession the way I hoped and gifted Birmingham plenty chances themselves. Lambert had to make do with 9.9 rating for this game as he only managed 4 compared to his debut Chelsea 0 -1 Newcastle 83' Ince (Pen) Very hard fought game here where we actually edged possession on their ground. Looked like it was going to end in a draw (which I would have been happy with) until Campbell who'd come on to replace a tiring Lambert was chopped down in the box by Luiz after he'd already made it past Mikel and Terry. Was a little worried that I'd taken the best 2 penalty takers in the side off at this point, but Ince didn't let me down. Newcastle 2 - 1 Real Madrid 18' Di Maria 48' Lambert (Pen) 87' Lambert Marcelo injured 31' Almost definitely our best performance in this save so far. Recovering from the early setback of the Di Maria goal we went on to dominate the match. Equalising from the spot after a Pepe handball we probably should have gone ahead before we did, but the woodwork denied us a couple times before Lambert thumped home a Debuchy cross late on. Delighted with Lambert making a massive impact in a real big game as well. Man City 0 - 2 Newcastle 3' Ayew 75' Hart o.g. Zabaleta red card 5' Rather flattering result for us. We started well and grabbed an early opener with Ayew sneaking in at the back post to volley home. Things looked even better when Zabaleta got himself sent off after trying to kick Ayew into orbit. However we struggled to make the extra man tell and City actually edged possession overall so it came as bit of a relief when Hart made a hash of diving to save a long range effort from Ayew missing the save and as it rebounded off the post he deflected it into his own net. Newcastle 2 - 1 West Ham (after extra time) 38' Haidara o.g. 53' Candreva 115' Cisse Another match against the Hammers, in the League Cup this time, and another struggle. Match looked destined for penalties until Cisse came on for Lambert (who had a very poor game unfortunately) and finished off a counter attack move from a West Ham corner. Newcastle 1 - 0 Tottenham 88' Santon Very even game this with Spurs tough to break down and hitting fast on the counter. We eventually managed to sneak it when a nice little triangle of passes between Santon, Ayew and Hughes inside the Spurs box created an opening for Santon to just leather it in from about 6 yards out. Real Madrid 4 - 1 Newcastle 15' Ronaldo (Pen) 20' Ronaldo 45' Lambert (Pen) 72' Di Maria 80' Ronaldo (Pen) Bartra injured 77' A not entirely unexpected result as Madrid got revenge for their defeat at SJP. Rough old game as well and only surprised there wasn't a couple of red cards for either side alongside the 9 yellows. Not the best of nights for ex-Barcelona player Marc Bartra as he gave away 2 penalties and actually crocked himself in the process of conceding the 2nd one with a trip on Benzema. Newcastle 3 - 1 Southampton 24' Cisse 26' Sissoko 61' Kiyotake 66' Cisse Recalled Cisse to the starting lineup as I chose to rest Lambert after that battle against Real Madrid. He responded with probably his best game so far grabbing 2 goals with nice close ranger poachers finishes. Sissoko was the star of the show though, scoring our second with a screamer of a half volley (ala Tiote against Arsenal in the 4-4 match) and setting up both of Cisse's efforts. Little disappointed that we didn't keep a clean sheet as Southampton scored with their only shot on target. This result also saw us go top of the League as Arsenal dropped points in a surprise defeat at home to Crystal Palace. Wigan 1 - 2 Newcastle 36' Sissoko 60' Lambert 88' Keogh Made it more difficult than it needed to be by conceding a sloppy late goal, but for 88 minutes we were very comfortable against Wigan who are struggling just above the relegation spots. Another fantastic performance from Sissoko who is linking up very nicely alongside Anita in central midfield, Cabaye will find it hard to get his place back if Sissoko keeps this sort of form up. Newcastle 3 - 2 Steau Bucharest 24' Coloccini 45' Chipciu 58' Lambert 66' Tanase 83' Salvio Result confirmed qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League but it was a pretty poor performance overall. Despite home advantage we allowed Steau 53% possession and 25 shots on goal and were very, very lucky that we took the chances we did. However at least it was a case of job done in Europe and the chance to rest a few players in the last group game against Ajax if I decide to. All of that leaves us 2 points clear of Arsenal in the league with 12 games played, however I'm expecting them to overhaul us again shortly as their defence has been in great form keeping clean sheets in 10 of those 12 matches so far. We've got a League Cup quarter final against West Brom to come and I fancy our chances of a possible cup final (though Arsenal and Man City are still in there too it has to be said). Still not entirely satisfied with our form defensively as we've conceded in most games, thankfully we've carried more of a goal threat upfront this time round though. Rickie Lambert undoubtedly looks like a superb signing so far! Good start to his Newcastle career. Yup have to say I'm delighted with Lambert so far. He's already scored more that Remy and Cisse did together for me in the first season, 15 in total so far by the end of November. Proving to be an absolute steal at the price we got him for. The fact that he's been taking more of the chances that come his way has also meant that Andre Ayew already has more assists this season than he did in whole of the last (although he did bang in 20+ goals that year....probably got fed up of Cisse fluffing them) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 well played Mike Ashley, well played Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully11 Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Well third season and im nearly into the January transfer window heres my league not too bad but i expected a bit better. Ive had a couple of dodgey results like my last game i lost 2-1 to Stoke who were bottom of the league although i have beaten all of the teams above me so far Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamzterz Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Yeah probably, his stamina was so low I had him focus on that for basically two seasons. Will be putting him on a playmaker friendly training schedule when I start back up. 3 games in to the new season he got an injury = 6 months off the field Will try to boost his stamina and tackling - not sure if I will play him as DLP or AP. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DandyDon Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 well played Mike Ashley, well played This company wouldn't happen to have the initials SD would it now? Game gets more true to life every day... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodds' Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Just finished my first season and finished 4th (story in career updates). This is how some of the young lads have gotten on with stats, Kemen looks like a monster! Improved Youngsters! Adam Campbell Alex Gilliead Gael Bigirimana Olivier Kemen Ryan Gauld Sammy Ameobi Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Through_The_Loop Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Started my Newcastle save earlier this week using this tactic - http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/share-download-fm-14-tactics/147408-truly-tiki-taka-kun-81.html It's going amazing so far, here are my transfer; Results Table Stats Man City result Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMick Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 I am late to the fm2014 party but thought I would let you know how I am getting on with the game in my Newcastle save game , I bought the game last year but never really played it that much but I am enjoying this years game even though I get annoyed when you dominate games and still draw or even worse but that is how it goes I guess , I finished 6th in the first season which I thought was not bad but didn't do any good in the fa or capital one cup's which was a big disappointment . http://imageshack.com/a/img17/544/5pfy.jpg I have pretty much changed the team but not because I wanted to sell a lot of the players they just wanted to leave when clubs started sniffing around . First season transfer info . http://imageshack.com/a/img708/9890/79h9.jpg Second season transfer info up to my current game status . http://imageshack.com/a/img89/7561/zixl.jpg For the money I paid and how good the player is Nicolas Nkoulou was a bargain in my eyes . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlawlor91 Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Struggled massively on FM14, even though I'm not making massive changes to any tactics keeping things simple and using logical strategies against different opponents. Its really doing my head in. I've holidayed the big games because I'm getting battered 3/4-0 minimum regardless of being Home or Away or whether I'm defensive, countering or going attacking. Its ridiculous. Although I'm sat on top of the Prem on GD after 32 games I got to the Carling Cup Final and played it, losing 3-0 to Arsenal and I just lost 4-0 to Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi without holidaying. Much of my success has been down to my assistant so I re-loaded the Chelsea game and holidayed it and we won 2-1. How much difference can my assistant make ffs! It just seems so scripted, the performances I play against the bigger sides should reflect our league position not end up being another battering. Especially when compared to my Assistant! I'm not cheating and taking the win btw, just did it to see whether my initial thoughts of being written out of the game were correct. And they are! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_wilko Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 Constantly changing your approach means the players have to adapt to a new style on a game by game basis, that will confuse them and you`ll play poorly. Try sticking with a tactic, you might get spanked 3-0 off Man Utd, but you`ll develop an approach that the players will be used to and you`ll start winning more often. Also, if your assistant is getting wins with your tactics and you`re not then it`ll be down to your team talks. They seem to be very important this year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlawlor91 Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Constantly changing your approach means the players have to adapt to a new style on a game by game basis, that will confuse them and you`ll play poorly. Try sticking with a tactic, you might get spanked 3-0 off Man Utd, but you`ll develop an approach that the players will be used to and you`ll start winning more often.Also, if your assistant is getting wins with your tactics and you`re not then it`ll be down to your team talks. They seem to be very important this year. I'll bear in mind sticking with my most used attacking strategy, but if that was me in real life I wouldn't attack in every game because opponents are different?! I'm attacking for 3/4 of my games and switched when playing away against the bigger sides but I was getting spanked. My team talks are all good as moral is very good/superb and I acknowledge we're not good enough to beat the likes of Man City, Man Utd every time we play them but I've just finished the season in 3rd (first season in charge) yet get battered when playing the big sides on different approaches that I use. Btw, I sold Williamson and I seem to get a news item about his opinion players performances every week lol. Has this happened to anyone else to specifically Big Mike or any other player you sold? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlawlor91 Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Season Review - 2013/14 Premier League - 2nd - Was in and around the top 2 places for the majority of the season but never had a look in against Arsenal after around 33 games. FA Cup - Lost 3-0 in the Semi Final to Chelsea. Carling Cup - Lost 3-0 in the Final to Arsenal with Cabaye getting sent off after half an hour. 2 horrible games at Wembley. Transfers: In - Anthony Reveillere - Free - Didn't register for the league, offered a capable back-up in the cups though Stefan de Vrij - £2m - Didn't get a look in after playing rubbish 4 or 5 times Itumeleng Khune - £475k - Played awful in the cups Tom Ince - £3.5m - Started off poorly but did a half decent job mid way through the season when Ben Arfa got injured and is improving all the time Nico Gaitan - Loan - Hit and miss, made a lot of assists but too many poor performances. I won't buy him Ibrahim Afellay - Loan - Hit and miss too, got injured too much. I won't be buying Leandro Damiao - £4.5m - Utter rubbish. Remy, Cisse and Adam Campbell did well as a poacher but Damiao was awful Out - Obertan - £1.5m, Dummett - £200k, Williamson - £1.9m, Tavernier - £675k, Gutierrez - £3.5m, Shola - £300k, Sameobi - £1m, Elliott - £500k, Gosling - £400k. Formation:4-2-3-1 GK -Krul - Too many poor performances so I'll reluctantly have to get rid. RB - Debuchy - WB Automatic - Played well. CB - Coloccini - CB Defend - Monster, scored 8 goals in 44 games. CB - S.Taylor - CB Defend - Kept Mbiwa out of the team, best defender. LB - Santon - WB Automatic -Played very well and attracted interest. CM - Tiote - BWM Support - Played very well and got sent off a couple of times as expected. CM - Cabaye - DLP Defend - Played great but the sending off in the Carling Cup final annoyed me. RW - Ben Arfa - IF Support - One of my best players even though he got injured mid season. CAM - Sissoko - Attacking Mid Support -I'd say the best player on the team, so many goals and assists. LW - Remy - Wide Target Man Attack - Another key player. Scored ST - Cisse - Poacher Attack - Ended up top goalscorer but very hit and miss. 3 goals one week and none for the next 4. Subs not already mentioned: Mbiwa - Filled in very well, unlucky not to start Haidara - Very solid. His potential doesn't match how he's playing atm but he could well replace Santon if I get a good enough offer Anita - Nothing spectacular although most half of his appearances were off the bench Campbell - Only played a handful of times but scored the 4th in the derby Best results - 5-0 Away vs Palace, 4-0 Away vs Hull, 4-1 Home vs Sunderland, 7-1 Away vs Villa, 2-0 Away vs Arsenal, 5-1 Home vs Everton Worst results - 3-0 In Carling Cup Final vs Arsenal, 3-0 In FA Cup Semi vs Chelsea Summer Transfer Window: In -Signed Gomis on a free and I need to tie up a deal for Remy. Also need with outgoings 2 x GK, a 2nd RB, a 4th CB, 4th CM and 2nd LW. Maybe even another ST Out - Hopefully Marveaux, Gouffran, Damiao, Khune, de Vrij, Reveillere (contract) Just not looking forward to my transfer budget. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vidji Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Anyone actually managing to score consistently by open play in this game? Feels like superkeepers all over the place saving everything, and fullbacks gets ran around like they were schoolboys. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_wilko Posted November 18, 2013 Author Share Posted November 18, 2013 I`ve dove back into my Newcastle save, nearly half way through season four so will be updating in January. That`ll probably be tomorrow. Get to show off Adam Campbell who has brilliant attributes but doesn`t seem to play well enough, as well as the great newgens I currently have. Basically have England`s midfield for the next 8 years sorted with Barkley, Wilshere and the three newgens. Vidji, I score quite often, highest goal scorers this and last season, second highest the season before that. Most of my goals come from midfield, don`t seem to get a dominant CF in this no matter who I try. Andre Schurrle was top last year with 27 in 51, and is this season with 15 in 21(1) but he is my main penalty taker so he gets a lot of goals from them. My big striker signing last year got 24 in 46(4) last year which is good, and none were penalties but I`d be much happier if I could have got another 10 goals out of him. How are you set up? We might be able to help if we can see your tactics & players. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dishy91 Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Anyone actually managing to score consistently by open play in this game? Feels like superkeepers all over the place saving everything, and fullbacks gets ran around like they were schoolboys. I've found my Strikers goal scoring to be problematic - It took until 11th of Feb for either Cisse, Remy or Gouffran playing as a Poacher or Advanced Striker to score more than 1 goal in a game! (Cisse 21 starts 6 goals / Remy 13 starts 3 goals - i'm not doing too bad overall though, down to 7th now but I was 5th two games ago and now on 1st of March) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_wilko Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 Update - January 2017. Last season was another successful season, winning the league comfortably and also winning the European Super Cup and World Club Championship. Lost in the semis of the CL to FC Bayern and went out in the domestic cups since I only played the kids. Southampton beat us 1-0 in the quarter finals of the C1C and Everton knocked us out of the FA Cup in the 5th round. The board decided to extend SJP by over 7000, meaning we now have a 60000 seater stadium. Think next season I may start bugging them for a new ground provided we are successful in the league and Champions League. So I went into the Summer feeling good about the team, knowing with a little tinkering we could keep ourselves top and push back into the finals of the CL. First signing was Ross Barkley from Everton, another English player to up the domestic players at the club. I also brought in Maya Yoshida from Southampton to take the place of 4th CB as Colo was retiring into a coaching role for us, and Fraser Forster returned on a free from Celtic. Following those three came a batch of great young players, the best two being Gordon Baxter for 8mil from Celtic, a CB who already looks lower prem level and in a few seasons will be a starting CB for us. He was touted as the next someone who I can`t remember, but some Scottish CB. No idea why it wasn`t Moncur, seems an obvious choice to me... Also brought in a young striker/AML from Southampton called Wayne Alderton who looks like he`ll be brilliant too. Needs a bit more work than Baxter, but with some time and effort he`ll be a star. One of my potential stars was sold for 10mil to City, mainly cause he was a little s***. Fell out with everyone I tried to tutor him and hadn`t improved in the two season I had him so I kicked him out. Can have all the potential in the world but if you won`t put the work in you won`t get a game here. He was a CM and currently I have Tielemans, Wilshere, Cabaye and Hernanes for that role, as well as a couple new youngsters who look to have the potential for first team football. No point wasting my time with him when I have better players already. No worries from me letting him go, and on top of the 10mil I`ll get a chunk of his next sale too. Doesn`t look like he`s getting a chance at City either, never played a game for them and doesn`t get a chance in the reserves. In January I sold Batshuayi to Atletico Madrid for 10mil + 25% sell on clause, and Alnwick went to Man City for 1mil and 50% of his. Batshuayi was too greedy on the ball and kept shooting when he could set someone up, and he was just so inconsistent I lost patience. For the half season I`ve played so far Gouffran has out performed and out scored him. Replacing him is Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona for 16mil. Not a bad signing for Newcastle eh? Also have signed Meyer from Schalke and Bakkali from PSV for a combined 6mil. Both out of contract at the end of the season so I jumped in to get them first. Doubt they`ll become stars but Meyer can cover all of my attacking mid roles and Bakkali should be able to cover either wing. The future`s bright... The future`s black and white Links to my best young players below, includes known ones such as Campbell and Tielemans, but also a lot of regens: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/543/wpux.png/ http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/543/26ze.png/ http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/33/isyt.png/ http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/856/ael2.png/ http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/841/iwxw.png/ http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/833/t4nb.png/ http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/23/s8xr.png/ Campbell has finally started fulfilling my Ginger Aguero hopes. Apparently has two more stars of potential to fill in so he is only going to get better. The two right sided players (Matthews - RW and Patterson RB) are both playing somewhat often in my first team already. Patterson will be replacing Debuchy soon, and Matthews will eventually take over from Schurrle. May be a bit of an ott view, but I honestly see Matthews being for us what Ronaldo is for Real Madrid. Honestly, look at those physical stats at 16! 5* potential, and I believe that. Strangest thing about those two is they are both 6ft5, meaning my right hand side in a few years is going to be giant. New season, new tactics: Well not so much new, just a slight twist on my old variations of 4-1-1-3-1. Switching the CF to a DLF(S) means he is playing better (no more >6 games from them) and the team is performing much more consistently. Ross Barkley is loving the Shadow Striker role and Schurrle... well you`ll see the player stats soon. and the stats to follow that. 21 goals and 10 assist from the right, sure half those goals are penalties but that doesn`t matter. I don`t think he knows how to have a bad game he is just so consistent and so good. Chelsea tried to resign him at the start of the season and I laughed them off. He currently has a 32mil buy out clause which I`ll be getting rid of at the end other season as well as giving him a big fat pay rise. If it wasn`t obvious, we are top of the league and still in the Champions League, FA Cup and C1C. Premier League is a bit easy, 14 points clear after 21 games. Top goal scorers, second best defence and only 1 loss (away to City) domestically. Recommendations for you guys: Just a few suggestions I have from my time as Newcastle manager, feel free to ignore what you don`t agree with. #1 When training Campbell, don`t just focus on him being a poacher. It seems limited strikers in this game struggle, much like they have been IRL. Start him off as a poacher to up his important goal scoring stats, then give him a supporting/creative role to develop. I started off with a Trequarista and now he`s on as a DLF. #2 Sign Schurrle. If you`re lucky he`ll be available at the end of the first season from Chelsea, he only cost me 10mil and I would say he`s been my best player these past 2.5 seasons. If you can`t sign him try and get someone like him because players like this are perfect for any team. #3 Similar to the above, SIGN CAULKER! England`s most valuable CB now, 31 caps at 25 and very consistent for us. Brought in for around 12mil at the end of the first season and has basically been an ever present for the past 2.5 seasons. #4 Hold onto Sissoko/Anita/HBA for at least one season. The combined fees I got for these three is pushing 100mil, and the only one playing regularly for his new club is Anita with Sissoko on the transfer list at PSG for 10mil (been debating bringing him back actually) and HBA never getting a game for Real Madrid. Don`t sell them early as they help push the squad into European football, and if you do decide to sell them you`ll be making your entire transfer budget with some spare change to bribe the agents. #5 Force the board into putting money into your youth teams/recruitment and bring in as many good scouts for judging potential as you can. Without my scouts I wouldn`t have signed half the youngsters I have and a my giant stars Matthews and Patterson would be wasting away at West Ham and Wolves respectively. Also look at bringing in a good DoF, my new one brought in three young players, including Baxter who look like cracking prospects. Don`t let him have the ability to complete the signings but let him make the bids so you can decide at contract level whether you rate the youngster. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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