Insert Interesting Name Here - Tomtuck's Second FM Career Adventure

[deltablue]

How much of a pay rise?

[tomtuck01]

Information On Images

So it looks like a load of my screenshots, (most them until the bottom of the last page in actual fact), have disappeared and won't be available again until May 1st. Really sorry about that.

Photobucket give you a 10GB bandwidth limit with a free account and when that is exceeded your images stop showing and won't again show until the day of the month you joined has next passed. This for me was the 1st, so most of the images in the frist 11 pages won't be available again until May 1st.

Over the last page or so though I have set up a new account so I will still be able to post updates with all the regular fancy images.

Again I'm sorry about this - there must have been a bit more traffic on images this month than in previous months! For that I thank you as it means the thread is still getting plenty of attention and that you are following my career.

Not much I can do, but asl people catching up or reading for the first time to be patient. Bit of a *******, but out of my hands.

[tomtuck01]

How much of a pay rise?

Just £5,500. I'm still on less than I was at Tottenham!

[fmFutbolManager]

Not remotely interested.

The club really has changed in recent years and now it's just a bit lifeless. Flooded with expensive foreign buys, the youth have not been given the chance to flourish and the club has simply stagnated. I wouldn't leave what I have at Bayern for the mess at Barca.

But I thought you liked a project. Fixing Barcelona and returning them to what they're famous for sounds like a good one to me. But completely understand the reasons for wanting to stay at Bayern for the foreseeable future.

And congrats on the new contract.

Information On Images

So it looks like a load of my screenshots, (most them until the bottom of the last page in actual fact), have disappeared and won't be available again until May 1st. Really sorry about that.

Photobucket give you a 10GB bandwidth limit with a free account and when that is exceeded your images stop showing and won't again show until the day of the month you joined has next passed. This for me was the 1st, so most of the images in the frist 11 pages won't be available again until May 1st.

Over the last page or so though I have set up a new account so I will still be able to post updates with all the regular fancy images.

Again I'm sorry about this - there must have been a bit more traffic on images this month than in previous months! For that I thank you as it means the thread is still getting plenty of attention and that you are following my career.

Not much I can do, but asl people catching up or reading for the first time to be patient. Bit of a *******, but out of my hands.

Ever thought about using http://imgur.com ?

[tomtuck01]

But I thought you liked a project. Fixing Barcelona and returning them to what they're famous for sounds like a good one to me. But completely understand the reasons for wanting to stay at Bayern for the foreseeable future.

And congrats on the new contract.

The way I see it, I'm already in a project. (Hate that term, by the way).

Ever thought about using http://imgur.com ?

Will take a look.

[tomtuck01]

A sign of what the summer has turned out like. Chased him at Tottenham after leaving Benfica, and then at Bayern. Nearly signed him a year ago for £46.5million but decided to cancel the deal. Delighted to have got him at last.

[fmFutbolManager]

Can you post a screenshot?

[tomtuck01]

Can you post a screenshot?

Coming up in my preseason update.

[forameuss]

Will take a look.

Second imgur - I had the same problem with photobucket, and have used imgur ever since It's much better to use IMO.

[tomtuck01]

Second imgur - I had the same problem with photobucket, and have used imgur ever since It's much better to use IMO.

Thanks for the second recommendation. Have got a second Photobucket account set up, (have done for some time), and will just use that this week until I go away. Will give imgur a proper going over when I come back to, ahem, sunny England.

[tomtuck01]

Bruno Gama's Management Career - Preseason 2025/26 - Bayern Munich

Transfers

(Deals below the red line were made after the start of the season).

Quite a busy summer in the end, as late in the window a couple of long term targets became available. The early players to leave were just small pieces of business. Ross Hobbs had a few injuries in his time with us and never kicked on, so to get £3million for him was very pleasing. Tobias Lang is a 19yr old goalkeeper, but he was never going to be good enough to be even a back-up goalkeeper - £2.5million was a great fee to recieve. Cristian Machuca was always going this season. I'd have rather it not being to Dortmund, but the fee was the best we got by some £5million or so. We got a decent fee's, (with sell-on clauses), for youngsters Schumacher & Kruger, who were never likely yo get into my first team. Pavlo Denys had done a good job for us over 18months, but I was delighted to get the money we did for him. I was also pleased that some of it went to Bukovyna. The money we got for Paulo Jorge was great after we signed for nothing last summer. He did a good job last season when called upon, but I felt I had to sell to let younger players get more game time. We left on good terms, so I'm happy. As for the three we loaned out, it's basically make or break time for them. I rarely loan players out, but it worked with Martin Schmidt and I hope it works out for Fink, Chagas, and Scherer.

Here are the players that came into the club over the summer;

Luis Manuel Sanchez

Not a brilliant goalkeeper compared to Neuer in his prime, but more than capable of stepping into his shoes. Better than Horn as an all-round goalkeeper, so will probably be first choice.

Sander van Grinsven

Hardly appeared during his loan spell lat season, but decided to spend the £3million needed to make the move permanent. Only 18 so can improve an awful lot yet.

Christoph Wolf

Only just turned 18 and already has some nice attributes that have plenty of room to be developed further. Another big plus is that he can play a few positions/roles. A right sided David Alaba!

Tandogan Atalay

A decent young striker who has plenty of time to get even better. Lookinf forward to developing him.

Jose Alejandro Tapia

A man I have bought before. Twice. Hes had some injury issues over the last few years but I'm sure he can remain fit of managed sensibly. Delighted to get him for this fee - his annoyance at Spurs not getting Champions League football finally led to them accepting his transfer request late in the window.

Rui Miguel

A man I have chased for years since leaving Benfica, and finally I have got him! He's 27 now but has a long time left at the top - and he's so complete! Can do any job I want him to in my midfield.

Preseason Friendlies

A two game tour of Thailand and then a trip to South Korea for three games will hopefully increase merchandise sales in the future. We then played a friendly cup at home, and we actually lost on penalties to Tottenham in the semi-final! We did however hammer Marseille 4-1 to head into the Super Cup game on a high. Aside from first teamers getting some much needed match practice, the performances of some of the young players in preseason were very exciting indeed.

DFL-Supercup

Not at all surprised by this. Dortmund are a great side who regularly tear through us when playing at home. We did infact take the lead in the first half before they equalised in the 66th minute, but we eventually lost on penalties, and I couldn't complain in the slightest.

We start the season with the DFB-Pokal 1st Round match away at VFL Frohnlach, before opening up the Bundesliga campaign at home to Schalke.

[b101]

Some class signings there - I look forward to a great season!

[tomtuck01]

Some class signings there - I look forward to a great season!

Definitely looking to push towards another Champions League crown this term.

[deltablue]

A man I have chased for years since leaving Benfica, and finally I have got him! He's 27 now but has a long time left at the top - and he's so complete! Can do any job I want him to in my midfield.

I couldn't help but read this with quite a bit of romantic subtext

[tomtuck01]

I couldn't help but read this with quite a bit of romantic subtext

Well you wouldn't be wrong.

[fmFutbolManager]

Some good singings there, Tom. Looking forward to seeing how they work out this season. Treble is on (inc. Champions League). There's my prediction.

[tomtuck01]

Some good singings there, Tom. Looking forward to seeing how they work out this season. Treble is on (inc. Champions League). There's my prediction.

I'm sure they'll fit in just fine, especially Rui Miguel. I did at times have a little trouble getting Tapia to score at both Benfica and Tottenham, (although I did only manage him for a season and a half altogther), but he's so good that it can't be that hard to figure out a way to sort him.

And the treble? It's quite fanciful...........

[tomtuck01]

Bruno Gama's Management Career - August 2025 - Bayern Munich

Bundesliga

Four wins from four, but I cant say I'm delighted with this start.

Schalke played really well against us on the opening day, and it was left to Pedr Rodrigues to lash one home to put us a goal to the good with just eighteen minutes to go. Schalke hit back in the 78th minute, but just three minutes later Rodrigues got the winner flicking home a corner to give us a 2-1 win. We followed that up with a 1-0 win at Pep Guardiola's Wolfsburg. It has heading towards a 0-0 draw before Joao Pedro went on a lovely run and finish to give us the three points with just three minutes remaining. A terrible performance against Dusseldorf, where we had to come from behind to take the three points. Joao Pedro equalised their 24th minute opener, and then Gunther Lange got the winner early in the second half. We rounded the month off with a decent enough 3-1 win at Hannoever, but again we failed to keep a cleansheet. We were 2-0 up just after the half hour mark but Hannoever immediately pulled one back. We made it safe though with a little over twenty-eight minutes to go when Gunther Lange slotted home.

September starts with a visit of Galdbach.

DFB-Pokal - 1st Round

As usual I treated the first round of the cup as our final preseason game, and a very strong side battered our lowly opponents. Joao Pedro scored four, though two of them were penalties, and young DM Veroljub Markovic got the other in a very comfortable win.

In the second round we face a trip to Hamburg.

[tomtuck01]

Champions League League Group Stage Draw

Top seeds as per usual. The draw of course offers plenty of potential bannana skins, but I'd hope we'd be able to cope with any challenges that come our way. With Internazionale and CSKA Moscow amongst the fourth seeds though, there really is a chance of drawing a group full of tough teams.

Well it wasn't so far off as tough as it could be. Still, we did well away at Shakhtar last season in the knockout stages and beat PSG in the group stages twice. I'll be looking to top the group.

[DavidBeckham]

Despite what you say, your Champions League group still looks the toughest out of the eight groups!

[tomtuck01]

Despite what you say, your Champions League group still looks the toughest out of the eight groups!

Indeed overall it is. But it could have been tougher if you look at some of the other sides. Lyon for instance would have been a tougher side to face than Shakhtar from pot three.

[fmFutbolManager]

Great start in the league! Little blip by Dortmund. That's an excellent group! Some really good teams to test yourself against

[john1]

Cracking signings Tough group but finishing top is doable.

[tomtuck01]

Great start in the league! Little blip by Dortmund. That's an excellent group! Some really good teams to test yourself against

Dortmund will come good - they always do! And I agree with you, there'll be some good tests to keep us on our toes.

Cracking signings Tough group but finishing top is doable.

We should definitely finish top. Inter shouldn't be a problem at all you see - they've been pretty dire for a long time. I'm really surprised they've managed to get to the Champions League.

[fmFutbolManager]

Will there be anymore updates before your holiday?

[tomtuck01]

Will there be anymore updates before your holiday?

Not sure. Maybe one or two.

[tomtuck01]

Bruno Gama's Management Career - September 2025 - Bayern Munich

Bundesliga

Three wins from three with more goals scored - things have started well!

We began the month with a 5-1 win over Gladbach, with Gunther Lange in sparkling form. Debutant Jose Alejandro Tapia scored on his debut, and other debutant assisted one from the bench. A trip to Eintracht Frankfurt followed and we took them apart - 3-1 really didn't do us justice. After taking the lead in jut the opening minute, Frankfurt immediately hit back. Despite having chance after chance we had to wait until the 64th minute to retake the lead, and then with nine minutes to go Joao Pedro got his second as we sealed the win. The month was rounded off with a 5-0 thrashing of FC Köln, with Joao Pedro again taking centre stage. He hit a stunning hattrick in the first half to put us in a commanding position. Young defender Mykola Yablonskyi added a fourth, before Thomas Muller got the fifth in stoppage time from the penalty spot.

In October we start with a trip to Hertha Berlin.

DFB-Pokal - 2nd Round

Not our best performance by a long way, but I'm glad I kept some first teamers in the side. We fell behind early, but after just half an hour Joao Pedro had put us 2-1 ahead. Late on Martin Schmidt made it 3-1, though we let Hamburg got one back in stoppage time to make things a but nervy.

In the 3rd round we Osnabruck at home.

Champions League - Group Stage

An excellent start as we to Ukraine and repeated last seasons 3-0 win. I brought some of the experienced players into the side, and after just twenty minutes one of them, Thomas Muller, had put his mark in the game by putting us ahead. Another one, Javi Martinez, flicked in a corner to put us 2-0 up just before the hour mark, and Joao Pedro added a third late on.

Up next it's PSG at home.

[fmFutbolManager]

A perfect month. 10 points clear of Dortmund already. What's happening there...?

Good win away in Ukraine, too.

[tomtuck01]

A perfect month. 10 points clear of Dortmund already. What's happening there...?

Good win away in Ukraine, too.

Dortmund have spent big again this summer bringing in a few players, and it seems they may be having some issues gelling the squad together this time whereas they haven't when they have done similar before. Not that I'm moaning.

[john1]

Not surprised to see you're unbeaten so far

Where are you off to on holiday?

[tomtuck01]

Not surprised to see you're unbeaten so far

Where are you off to on holiday?

Well it's my usual way - start fast and build up a lead so we can concerntrate in the Champions League in the second half of the campaign.

Going to Tenerife as usual. We have friends over there so go over a couple of times a year.

[tomtuck01]

Announcement

As you will all know by now I am going away on holiday tomorrow so that means no more updates for the time being. This is due to the fact that I am not sad enough to take my laptop away with me when going to Tenerife for some sun and a distinctly large alcohol intake.

I'm away for seventeen nights(!!), so updates should start again around the 14th/15th May.

[RavingLibDem]

Aww, and I'd just caught up! An amazing career thread, you've certainly got the Midas touch.

[deltablue]

See you in a few weeks.

[jonnyriv]

FM gets angry with you if you don't play it for a while. Its like when you don't hover the mouse in the right place during a game, you will be punished :-/

[fmFutbolManager]

FM gets angry with you if you don't play it for a while. Its like when you don't hover the mouse in the right place during a game, you will be punished :-/

I thought I was the only one that did that! Always has to be the bottom left of the screen for me.

[aderow]

FM gets angry with you if you don't play it for a while. Its like when you don't hover the mouse in the right place during a game, you will be punished :-/

I thought I was the only one that did that! Always has to be the bottom left of the screen for me.

Dunno what you too are on about. I never have it on the pitch ever.

[fmFutbolManager]

Bottom left of the screen, not the pitch.

[numbas2]

Have loved reading this thread over the last week. Congratz on your career so far.

Could you show me a screenie of Lange? He pops up in match reports a lot but can't remember seeing his profile. Can't believe how much you get out of Pedro, he looks like he performs much better than his stats suggest he might! Also loving your tactical astuteness, commendable!

[tomtuck01]

Aww, and I'd just caught up! An amazing career thread, you've certainly got the Midas touch.

Thanks. Think it's just about luck at times - joining clubs with great players, etc.

See you in a few weeks.

Just the best part of three.

FM gets angry with you if you don't play it for a while. Its like when you don't hover the mouse in the right place during a game, you will be punished :-/

I thought I was the only one that did that! Always has to be the bottom left of the screen for me.

Dunno what you too are on about. I never have it on the pitch ever.

Bottom left of the screen, not the pitch.

Cheers for clogging up the thread with nonsense guys.

Have loved reading this thread over the last week. Congratz on your career so far.

Could you show me a screenie of Lange? He pops up in match reports a lot but can't remember seeing his profile. Can't believe how much you get out of Pedro, he looks like he performs much better than his stats suggest he might! Also loving your tactical astuteness, commendable!

I'll pop a screenie of Lange up when I'm next on the game.

As for Joao Pedro, if you take a good look at his attributes then he has anwful lot of good ones for the positions/roles he plays in. Great Composure, Off The Ball, Flair, Dribbling, Passing, Work Rate, Technique. Add to all that, he's bloody quick! Need to look closure sometimes than just Finishing when viewing a goal scorer.

[tomtuck01]

As promised to numbas2, here is a screenshot of Gunther Lange; clicky!

[numbas2]

Cheers Tom. Nice! And yes, you're not wrong about Joao. Looking forward to future updates... hope you enjoyed your break...

[tomtuck01]

Cheers Tom. Nice! And yes, you're not wrong about Joao. Looking forward to future updates... hope you enjoyed your break...

Thanks. And always happy to provide screenshots.

[tomtuck01]

A great record to break. Had little idea we were close to this.

[tomtuck01]

Bruno Gama's Management Career - October/November 2025 - Bayern Munich

Bundesliga

October

A good month as we won three from three to maintain our 100% start to the season.

Hertha took the lead early again us, but we came back strong and by halftime we were 2-1 infront, Thomas Muller getting the second. Just nine minutes into the second half Joao Pedro wrapped up the three points. Borussia Dortmund then came to town and we took them apart. We went 1-0 up early through summer signing Jose Alejandro Tapia, but Drtmund hit back before the break. In thirteen second half minutes though we hit the back of the net three times, with Tapia getting a second and Joao Pedro a brace. 4-1, a stonking result. The month was rounded off with a 1-0 win at Hoffenheim, with Tapia netting again to give us victory.

November

We won the first three to take our winning run at the start of the season to thirteen, but we finally dropped points in the final game of the month.

Hamburg came to town in the opening game of the month, and we gave them a 6-2 thumping. After just thirty-seven minutes we were 4-0 up thanks to doubles from Yuriy Polischuk and Gunther Lange. Hamburg grabbed one before halftime, but Lange completed his hattrick as he made it 5-1 20mins into the second half. HSV grabbed a second consolation late on, but Lange got his fiurth of the game in stoppage time. A comfortable 3-0 win at Kaiserslautern followed with Joao Pedro hitting a brace and Martin Schmidt, (the forward), hitting a third. Stuttgart were then thumped 4-0 at the Allianz as fullbacks Bieler and Bittroff scored in the first half and Joao Pedro added two after the break. We then rounded off the month with a trip to Mainz, and they proved to very stubborn opposition. We took the lead early in the second half, but Mainz hit back just two minutes later. Despite having chances to win a second goal wouldn't arrive and 1-1 it finished.

Five points clear after just fourteen games - I'm thrilled with that! We travel to Werder Bremen next.

Champions League - Group Stage

October

Two fairly poor performances, so I was thrilled to take four points.

We took the lead very early against PSG, but thereafter we failed to create decent chances. We had some very difficult moments late on and were lucky, and relieved, to take all three points. It was kind of the same against Inter - we didn't create enough good chances, though this time we weren't lucky enough to get away with a win. Twice we took the lead, but twice we were able to come from behind and I was delighted with a point.

November

Two much better performances here that saw us secured qualification from the group and then win it.

Within the opening nine minutes we were 2-0 up against Inter. Two minutes into the second half a third arrived, and it really could have been many more. Still, 3-0 was enough to ensure qualification for the next round. A fairly lacklustre performance against Shakhtar followed, but we won the game 1-0 thanks to a fine strike from Joao Pedro to win the group.

The group is rounded off away at PSG.

[numbas2]

Lange continuing his awesome season :-)

Dortmund having a mare!

[tomtuck01]

Lange continuing his awesome season :-)

Dortmund having a mare!

He's doing well, but gets rotated a fair bit regardless - there's only one certainty in this team!

As for Dortmund, I'm shocked. They've already lost two games more than they did in the whole of last season. I'm sure they'll recover, but not enough to get near us.

[tomtuck01]

Another record broken.

[tomtuck01]

Bruno Gama's Management Career - December 2025 - Bayern Munich

Bundesliga

Three wins from three in December means we head into the winter break seven points clear of second placed Schalke.

Werder took the lead early but we were soon level thanks to Joao Pedro. The winner arrived eleven minutes into the second thanks to fullback Pascal Bieler charging forward to slot home. In what I expeced to be a tough game against Leverkusen proved to be anything but as we thrashed them 4-0. Joao Pedro was as alwys influential, grabbing the opening goal and then getting two assists. Rui Miguel also notched his first goal for the club, and striker Martin Schmidt, (remember there are two), also scored a welcome goal in what has been a tough season for him. We went into the winter break with a comfortabl 3-0 win at Union Berlin. Rightback Martin Schmidt got the opener before that man Joao Pedro doubled the lead. Young centreback Serge Essomba rounded it off nineteen minutes from time.

Our first game after the break is against Wolfsburg at home.

DFB-Pokal - 3rd Round

A much changed team won comfortably enough against Osnabrück, but it should have been more. We were frustrated in the first half but early in the second we got the breakthrough when Mykola Yablonkyi headed home from a corner. With just over twenty-five minutes to go our other young Ukrainian, striker Yuriy Polischuk hit the second to seal the victory.

In the next round we face Stuttgart at home.

Champions League - Group Stage

A good win the round off the group stage. I chose not to rest many players as I thought PSG would give us a bit of a drubbing otherwise, and we just about managed to come out on top. It was of course Joao Pedro who got our goal with a lovely finish a quarter into the game, and that proved to be enough as we ran out 1-0 winners.

In the next round we face Granada, a side who have consistently been in the top four of La Liga over the last few years.

[tomtuck01]

Second year in a row he's won these awards.