FM14: Tottenham Hotspur - "“ Sold Elvis and bought The Beatles..."

[kubo]

Halfway through the second season, and it's been a bumpy ride trying to defend our triple.

LONG TERM PROSPECTS

Let's look at the long term prospects before going on to the results. The expansion of WHL into a 50k stadium is well underway and will be completed in the fall of 2015. Until then we're renting the Olympic Stadium (beat West Ham to it, ha!). Last season's success has seen a surge in sponsorship and season tickets money, in fact we've already surpassed last seasons turnover of £210m - with half the season to go!

Policy wise, I've not managed to articulate my desired vision yet. I'm thinking maybe max one foreigner per departement or something similar. However, I don't wanna end up having to sell Lloris or Lamela over a rigid, self-enforced rule, so for now there's only one principle: no foreign buys allowed. Period.

TRANSFERS

There was a lot of dead weight to ship out: Friedel, Gomes, Falque, Livermore, BAE, etc. We got good money from Juve for Vlad (never rated him) and finally, after whining and crying about not getting a new contract, Sandro got his big move to PSG who offered £30m straight up. At least the Beast was honest when he admitted that the move would "benefit his family financially" or how the game put it.

The Sandro deal went down during deadline day, so we had to find a replacement. The best british equivalent I could think of that would join us was Jack Rodwell, who signed with only hours of the window left. £20m including addons. He hasn't been great yet, but maybe in time. Our other notable buys were Shaw and Caulker (welcome back, lad!) to lead our defence into the future.

RESULTS

We started the season slowly, with a couple of draws before gathering some steam. After 19 games we're sitting 6:th on a facit of 10w 6d 3l, five points behind leaders Chelsea. We have fewer losses but considerably more draws compared to last season.

We got a kind draw in the CL and qualified with ease from Group F with Barcelona, Anderlecht and Sparta Prague. (Q: Did Lennon run in circles around a 36y old Ujfalusi, filling in at LB? A: Yes, he did.) In the knock out round there was only one possible opposition: Juventus, who else? I'm sure they're dying to get revenge from the Europa League final, I'm sure Vlad has something to prove.

+

The obvious highlight of the fall was when we parked the bus at Stamford Bridge and won 3-0 thanks to a Soldado hat trick (one penalty, two counter attacks). Another fun match was when both Lloris and his deputy Stockdale were injured and we had to give the not very talented Jordan Archer his Spurs debut, at home, against Man Utd. Of course he kept a clean sheet. After a while, we decided to cut out sloppy goals (well, almost) and corner stupidity, and we've only conceded once in seven league games since.

-

It's good that the defence has stepped up, cause we're struggling to find the attacking flow of last season. It feels like we have to work twice as hard for every goal, and some of last year's performers haven't reached the same heights this year. Worst of all: last season's European Golden Boy has turned into the Great Danish Ghost. I don't know if the opponents is triple marking him or if he just forgot how to kick a ball over the summer, but it's really frustrating to watch.

(Eriksen's league stats).

Anyhow, let's see what 2015 has in store!

[waitsfornone]

So I have been playing this in the Europa League, and against weaker BPL teams. Into December, and I have lost Lamela for a couple of months making this tactic a bit less effective. The F9 is much better at connecting than a DLF is (Soldado is the backup in that spot atm). I have made a change after a number of early yellows for the BWM(d) position. It is now a CM(d) to prevent the aggression. I may go back to BWM(d) and some less aggressive tactics during the offseason. Another note is that Kane is not quite good enough for this formation. The AF(a) is asked to do a bit more running and his quickness stats are a bit low. Again PAOK in Europa he kept getting into good positions only to be caught by the defenders. First 60 min we had 0 chances on goal (a lot of long shots and last minute tackles), I put Ade on at 60 and we made 3 chances, 2 CCCs and scored 2 goals. Oddly enough one goal came on the half chance, and a great save on the second CCC.

On the development side, Chiriches and Velkjovic are getting there on the sweeper training, and Fryers is picking up the WB positon, which made him perform much better in the PAOK match.

January is going to bring me a choice... AM(L) purchase and shelve the 3-5-2 for the rest of the season? or purchase Otavio (or another F9 striker) and keep playing the 3-5-2 even if against tougher opposition (where I play a 4-2-3-1) we will be a bit goal shy?

Edit: I forgot to mention Naughton's ability in the 3-5-2... he is pretty darn good out there on the WBR! PAOK double marked him all night and he still managed to be a threat and that left Fryers open much more (got an assist). 4-man lines do seem to have a bit of a problem with this formation so far. As it shifts to a 2-1-3-4 in possession the D-line no longer has an extra man for cover. Hence the number of late blocks and tackles in the first 60 minutes. With the F9 pulling much deeper the defenders ALSO get pulled out of position.

[crippledx]

Just started my spurs season last week and onto my second season. Won the Europa League, League Cup and EPL ahead of Arsenal by 1 point.

My new additions were Andre Ayew for a good left winger and ricardo rodriguez. Ricardo rodriguez seems to be a good current and future left back.

For EPL, I scored the most goals despite my top scorer being andros townsend with only 9 goals!!!!

Soldado was total crap having scored 10 goals from 23 apps and 10 subs. Had a one month long spat with him after dropping him in reserves.

Harry Kane managed to step up after awhile and Adebayor took over after I reinstated him when he was dropped long enough.

Vertoghen doesn't play exceptionally well and has disappointed me this pre-season. Sticking with him but getting let down with his performance. Dawson is not that good but he performs well in derbies.

Paulinho is also another problem, his league average rating was just 6.71...even bentaleb performed better than him. Getting disappointed this season as well.

Zeki Fryers played decently well but his attributes doesn't seem good enough. Trying to nurture Harry Kane to become a good striker through lots of tutoring. Having Sigurdson tutor him right now.

I sold chadli, soldado and chiriches straight away in the next transfer window. Bought lorenzo insigne for a left IF, alvarez balanta and michy batshuayi, last season's europa top scorer and a few other youngsters as future prospects and backups. Hopefully Spurs' next generation (tom carroll,etc) will turn out well and having a shaky start to the season with a away draw to recent promoters Watford.

The 1-1 misses and corner scrambles are so unbearable!!!!

[egernunge]

Second season done now and we finished as runners-up in the league. Again. The four point gap to Chelsea is escpecially frustrating since we lost a couple of games that we should have won, and also had some draws that should've been wins, but well. Maybe next season.

Eriksen was English Footballer of the Year again, ending the season with a 7.69 rating, 13 goals and 16 assists in 32 league appearances. He was also club topscorer with 22 goals in all competitions. Mitrovic broke his ankle in January and was out for most of the spring, ending the season with a goal tally of 17 and Soldado had a really bad season and scored just 7.

We beat Swansea in the League Cup semis and faced Man Utd in the final. They won it 1-0. In the FA Cup we knocked out Blackburn and Wigan before getting knocked out ourselves by Norwich in the 6th round.

In the CL, we saw off Olympique Lyonnais before facing Porto in the quarter finals which turned out to be some experience. The first leg was played in Porto and we won it 2-0. The second leg started really well for us, we were 3 goals up after just 22 minutes played and now had an aggregate score of 5-0. And then the craziness started: they scored two quick goals just before half time and added another just after. When they scored the fourth 15 minutes later, I decided to park the bus and we held on for the rest of the match. Phew. I don't think I've ever been so relieved to hear the final whistle! In the semis we were drawn against defending champions Bayern. They outplayed us completely and deservedly went through to the final (which they won).

The transfer window in January was a quiet one: I sold Gylfi, who had become third choice in the AMC position and wasn't happy about not playing. Javier Hernandez joined us on loan from Man Utd after Mitrovic's injury. And that was it, really.

This season's most exciting youth prospect:

If I can get his crossing ability up, he should become a decent full back.

[R1ku]

Just sold Lamela to PSG for £65M january window, season three, all of the money straight up. He was doing well, but it was just too good to refuse. Zivkovic will get more playing time and thinking about bringing in Stanciu.

[enders357]

Just sold Lamela to PSG for £65M january window, season three, all of the money straight up. He was doing well, but it was just too good to refuse. Zivkovic will get more playing time and thinking about bringing in Stanciu.

Not sure I could part with Erik even for that much money!

Are you back from yr honeymoon, R1ku? Did you have an amazing time? I was just reading an article about how big the Premier League's getting over there so hopefully you found someone to talk Football Manager with

[R1ku]

Not sure I could part with Erik even for that much money!

Are you back from yr honeymoon, R1ku? Did you have an amazing time? I was just reading an article about how big the Premier League's getting over there so hopefully you found someone to talk Football Manager with

Lamela had been okey for me in the two and a half seasons, but nothing phenomenal, so I went with it. It's a sh*tload of money and will be good to balance the books. Andrija Zivkovic is turning into a really good player and it'll be good to get him even more games. Stanciu might be a good buy, as he can play in so many positions and will probably cost under £10M. And I still have Townsend as well.

Yeah, back from NYC, unfortunately. Came back a week ago and it's been hard to adjust to normal life again. It was an unbelievable trip all the way. Something t remember for a long long time. Two NHL games, a Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon taping, good food, sightseeing of course and so much other stuff. Sadly no FM talks, though.

[kubo]

Second season turned into a great disappointment. From the treble to zero in a year.

TRANSFERS

My transfer policy was simple enough: sell off foreign imports and replace them with the best british talent I could find. Caulker replaced Chiriches, Rodwell replaced Sandro, McCarthy replaced Capoue.

I didn't really need Tom Ince, but Stoke were trying to sign him and when I noticed that he had been dubbed "the new Chris Waddle" I just had to save him from Mark Hughes's clutches. Gave him his debut as a sub against Wigan, after two minutes he scored the game winning goal. In 181 PL minutes he scored twice and assisted twice - before breaking his leg. Ouch.

COMMUNITY SHIELD

Season started alright, 2-2 against Man City and victory on penalties.

SUPER CUP

Man City again as Champions League holders. Lost 2-1 after Dzeko scored a late goal assisted by a horrendous Christian Eriksen back pass.

CAPITAL ONE CUP

Out in the 4th round, losing with a reserve side away to Villa.

THE FA CUP

Maybe the one that got away. No replays this year unlike last time around. Defeated Brighton, Doncaster, Swansea and Man City before drawing Man Utd in the semis. Unfortunately, we started the game in sleepwalker mode. After five minutes Utd got a penalty. Not long after van Persie added his second on a corner. Game over.

Chelsea won the final on penalties after a scoreless 120 minutes. Typical Mourinho.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

An easy group with Barca, Anderlecht and Sparta Prague, thank you UEFA. We had no problems against the belgians and czechs, and as a bonus beat Barcelona at home. Barcelona actually managed double figures against Prague, I wonder when that last happened in the group stage of the CL.

Getting drawn against Juve in the knockout round had me worried, but they weren't even close to getting revenge for the Europe Leagua final loss. 4-2 on aggregate. Quarter final against Chelsea started alright, with a close 1-0 victory at home. However, the return meeting was a different story. With Lloris and 50% of our defense line injuried, the team simply fell apart. 1-6. Ouchouchouch. Chelsea would later get spanked against PSG in the semis, Zlatan scoring four goals over two matches.

PREMIER LEAGUE

A slow start saw us playing catch up most of the season. Only three goals scored from the first four matches against Wigan, West Ham, Stoke and Leeds would unfortunately set the tone for the rest of the year. Basically, we were too wasteful in front of goal. It even went as far as several players felt we underachieved and former managers questioning my abilities, before better form saw us into the top four. But a lack of cutting edge meant last year's only two draws turned into eleven this time around.

At least we did the double over Chelsea, thus denying them the title. Instead, the deadly duo of Ben Arfa and signing of the year Kalou made sure Newcastle won their first title since 1927. Congrats, I guess. Let's see how Newcastle fare next season with CL as a slight distraction.

+

Few obvious highlights, unfortunately, but at least we improved the league goals conceded from 40 to 34. Hopefully we can continue down that path.

+

The belgians. Vertonghen and Dembele had okay seasons, but our standout performer was - believe it or not - Nacer Chadli. Leading the assist league and scoring second most goals behind Soldado. A wonderful surprise from the big man.

+

Soldado. After mainly being the cup specialist last year, he stepped up his scoring in the league. Five goals over two league games against Chelsea is the pinnacle of his season.

-

FREAKING SET PIECES. For the second season running we're conceding corner goals like crazy. This is costing too much points, is unacceptable and has to stop.

-

Eriksen. Despite improving during the spring, wonder boy had an awful season. For example, it took until mid march for him to play his first assist in the league.

PLANS

Three goals for next season. Taking back our league title, signing more british players and finding a tactic that is less dependent on individual danish brilliance.

[egernunge]

-FREAKING SET PIECES. For the second season running we're conceding corner goals like crazy. This is costing too much points, is unacceptable and has to stop.

I conceded a lot from corners too - until I changed my set-up to this:

Now I've just conceded three goals from corners in the last 50 matches. To contrast, I've scored 13 goals from corners in those same matches.

[waitsfornone]

Well, my no transfer window and 3-5-2 experiment failed utterly....

I picked the save back up on the tails of a 3-1 Capitol One Cup victory over Liverpool and managed to parlay that victory into crap BPL form. Even though I was blowing theough the Europa group, I couldn't score a goal in the league until December. I got called in front of Levy and managed to get myself 5 matches to pull 10 points. We were off to the races with 3 straight wins, and then we played Arsenal...

Sczezcny played a blinder and Podolski ran riot, Arsenal won 2-0. 3 days later (this is over Christmas) we played Newcastle away and lost in the 90th minute when Lloris bumbled an easy save and placed the ball over the line.

I was sacked the next day. So I will soldier on and try again with the 3-5-2 experiment... but this time I will make some August signings. Cheers!

[nico_france]

I think Jonathan Silva from Argentina possibly maybe a LWB?!?!?! Worth checking. Oviedo normally costs about £4-5m

You should go for Coentrao from Réal Madrid

You can buy him for 5/6 M euros , bargain according me

Will post a thread of my first season with Spurs, such a nice game and some really good performances...

[kubo]

I conceded a lot from corners too - until I changed my set-up to this:

(Image)

Now I've just conceded three goals from corners in the last 50 matches. To contrast, I've scored 13 goals from corners in those same matches.

That's good to hear.

I started a new tactic from scratch and left the default settings unchanged on defending set pieces. 3 corners conceded in 19 league games is a bit better that before, so...

I got called in front of Levy and managed to get myself 5 matches to pull 10 points. We were off to the races with 3 straight wins, and then we played Arsenal...

Those types of demands can be so cruel. Sometimes I wish they would just sack you right off and get on with it.

[kubo]

Steaming through the third season and it's looking promising at the half way point.

Decided to ditch the 4-2-3-1 for a 4-3-3 (or 4-5-1 if you want), mainly to ease the creative burden off Eriksen, but also to get more involvement from the MC's. It has worked a treat. Eriksen looks more relaxed in an AP/s role, while big man Dembele is really rocking the CM/a role (6 goals and 5 assists in 18 league games). Lamela has finally found his feet in english football, while Rodwell is looking more and more comfortable in the DLP/d role at the base of the midfield. In defence, Dawson is old, slow and lowly rated by the coaching staff, but still has the best AvR.

Pretty early on I realized that we just weren't able to cut out all the silly, sloppy goals - so I adopted a score-more-than-you philosophy. Works great, most of the time.

Funniest story of the season. Signed young striker Max Clayton from Newcastle. When Soldado lost his form I dropped him and gave Clayton his first league game from start, away to Newcastle no less. It took him a whopping 27 seconds to find the net behind Krul, and help put the Magpies back in their place after last season's overachievement.

I have a pretty remarkable signing lined up for the january window, but let's see how that pans out before discussing it further.

Finally, wish that the real life Levy would also recognize this.

[kubo]

Of course, the corner problem could be worse.

Apparently, IRL Fulham have just conceded their 30th and 31st goals from set pieces this season, against Spurs no less.

[waitsfornone]

Anybody have experience buying Iker Munain, whether for Spurs or on another save? Looking to him to fill my AML spot as he can also play in the center and up top. He would be able to fit into the 3-5-2 I am still working on.

Also, Chriches picks up SW very quickly, I have just finished the first pre-season in my restart and he is already competent.

[R1ku]

Finished season three last night and it ended with with us winning the domestic quadruple and losing to Barcelona in the CL quarters. We beat them 2-0 at home in first leg but in the second leg it was the Leo Messi Show as Barca beat us 5-2, Messi scoring four goals, including Barca's fifth goal with three seconds left in injury-time sending them through. Tough loss, but it leaves us something to be better at next season. So a second Premier League trophy in a row for us and first two major cup trophies to go with them, so I can't be too unhappy. Stand-out performers were Adnan Januzaj (27 goals + 12 assists in all comps.), Facundo Ferreyra (20 goals) and Eriksen (10+26). More on the season later maybe, I'm at work now and don't remember every detail.. Can't wait for season four, the first one at New White Hart Lane, it's gonna be fun!

[edgar555]

Just finished my first season.

Got rid of a lot of the coaches but kept Ramsey as Assman, he isn't good enough though and I'll sack him in the summer and recruit better.

Players sold/let go: Gomes (released); Friedel £75k to Genoa. Both overpaid and over the hill. Neither good enough for my aggressive sweeper keeper position either.

Players bought in: Coentrao £5.5m, it was clear a left wing back was needed and he was the stand out choice. Ospina £3.5m from Nice. Quality young back up keeper, similar in style to Lloris. Andre Hansen £275k from Odd, young Norwegian international keeper, to be sent on loan this season.

Start of the season informed Dawson that he wasn't going to be captain anymore, gave the job to Kaboul with Verts as vice captain.

Tactic: Control, Very fluid, 2-3-2-2-1 with higher line, higher pressing, retain possession, work ball into box, play out of defence, stay on feet. For tough opponents the WB's drop back to regular FB's and high line is removed.

Ideal line up/roles/depth chart:

GK - SK/A - Lloris/Ospina (Hugo for league games, Ospina for all cup games)

DC - CB/D - Kaboul/Dawson

DC - BPD/D - Vertonghen/Chiriches

WBR - CWB/A - Walker/Naughton

DMC - HB/D - Sandro/Capoue

WBL - WB/S - Coentrao/Rose

MC - CM/A - Paulinho/Dembele

MC - AP/S - Eriksen/Bentaleb

AMR - IF/S - Lamela/Townsend/Lennon

AML - IF/A - Sigurdsson/Chadli

ST - F9 - Soldado/Adebayor/Kane

We had a great season, finishing second in the PL, 1pt behind Chelsea, although they'd clinched the title with 3 games to spare. We got knocked out of the FA Cup in the semis on penalties to Man Utd (who sacked Moyes in February, replacing him with Hiddink). We got knocked out of the Europa in the semis by CL drop outs Dortmund 4-3 on aggregate who went on to win the trophy. We did however win the Capital One Cup, beating Man City 1-0 in a bore fest. We went on a new club record 31 game unbeaten run in all comps mid way through the season as we charged up the table. We were undone by our own success though as a fixture pile up around the EL QF's and FA Cup semi saw us play every two days and the injuries piled up.

Stand out players: Lloris and Ospina were both fantastic between the sticks. All the defence were steady, Kaboul the best of the bunch. Eriksen won Young Player of the Year, but I felt both Paulinho and Dembele were better players overall. Lamela was top assister (level with Chadli, but most of his came in the cups) and second top scorer with 17. Soldado was the best overall player and top scorer with 34 in all comps, 24 in the PL making him league top scorer.

Bentaleb, Velkjovic, Kane, Lameiras all got some playing time and and all looked potentially good, especially Bentaleb and Kane. They'll get more game time over the next season.

Worst players/leaving soon: Dawson, not good enough and played less and less as the season went on, he's asked to leave, he didn't need to ask. Lennon, started season as first choice but never seemed to 'want' it. Kept moaning about not playing but never turned it on when picked, ended the season training with the U21's and transfer listed. Adebayor, took until December to get his first goal and only got 6 all season despite getting plenty of starts, he'll be leaving.

Transfer targets: Virgil van Dyk (Celtic CB) watched him all season and he's my first choice to replace Dawson in the CB rotation. Nicolas Castillo (Club Brugge, ST) Chilean youngster who looks perfect to back up Soldado as F9. Maybe a wide player (Yarmolenka/Konoplyanka) to play AML, Siggy and Chadli are decent but maybe not quite good enough.

Decisions to be made: Holtby? Poor season at Fulham, I'd love him to work out but not sure he has a role at the club. Carroll, poor season at QPR, another loan season maybe? BAE, decent at QPR but he can go. Livermore, done well at Hull but not sure he's got what it takes at CL level.

Looking to consolidate top 4 and add another trophy this season.

COYS

[enders357]

Anybody have experience buying Iker Munain, whether for Spurs or on another save? Looking to him to fill my AML spot as he can also play in the center and up top. He would be able to fit into the 3-5-2 I am still working on.

I'm a big Athletic fan IRL so always follow his progress closely on my saves. I've not signed him myself but he seems pretty inconsistent generally. I'm not sure he's quite at that top level - there's probably better out there.

[R1ku]

It's the summer after season three and I have a £46M offer on the table from Barcelona for Bentaleb and I have no idea should I sell or not.. He's a good player already, but only a rotation player behind Dembele in CM slot. But..what to do, what do..

[edgar555]

So, into summer after the 1st season and I've been busy.

Out:

BAE £1m to Aston Villa

Lennon £2.6m to Southampton

Dawson £1.9m to Southampton

Adebayor £500k to Lille (also paying him £40k per week for two years). I just needed to get rid and this was the best offer we got.

Falque £2.9m to Crystal Palace

Kenny McEvoy £2.9m to Celtic. Wasn't looking to sell but this offer was for more than 8 times his value and couldn't be refused.

Holtby £11.5m to PSG. Was prepared to give him a chance but PSGs new boss, AVB, was obviously keen and after a low initial bid met my valuation of Lewis so he's off.

Vertonghen £30m to Real Madrid. Definitely wasn't looking to sell but first PSG came in with a £25m offer that I was mulling over. While I was considering Madrid slapped £30m on the table and it was too good to refuse.

Dembele £25m to PSG. Again not looking to sell and after PSG bid £10m for him I really wasn't expecting them to react well to my £25m negotiation but they didn't even blink and called my bluff. For that money I'll find a replacement.

Lots of players released.

Loaned out(highlights, certainly not an exhaustive list): Tommy Carroll to Liverpool for the season (they finished 12th in the PL last season and now have Redknapp in charge), they're offering him first team football, something I couldn't.

Soulemayne Coulibaly to Wolves for the season. Championship football will do him good and see if he's got the ability to go further.

Shaq Coulthirst to Swindon.

IN:

Virgil van Dyk £7.5m from Celtic. 1st choice target signed to join the CB rotation.

Andrey Yarmolenko £9m from Kiev. Great value for an almost certain 1st choice AML.

Nicolas Otamendi £12m from Valencia. Signed once Vertonghen had gone.

Nicolas Castillo £9m poss rising to £11m from Brugge. Very happy with this signing, could be a surprise hit as Soldado's back up.

Also signed 4 under 17's with 4*+ potential for a combined £2.5m to join my U18's.

Still deciding whether Dembele money will be spent or if Siggy can be Paulinho's back up.

Meanwhile, Kyle Walker had a great summer as England won the world cup beating Brazil 2-0 in the final.

[R1ku]

It's the summer after season three and I have a £46M offer on the table from Barcelona for Bentaleb and I have no idea should I sell or not.. He's a good player already, but only a rotation player behind Dembele in CM slot. But..what to do, what do..

Sold him.. and surprise, surprise, Sandro and Hughes both out for 2-3 months with pre-season injuries. Who'd have known. Luckily I have two good prospects from my own academy who get more playing time now and thinking about bringing in Diego Reyes maybe..

[nico_france]

I began a Spurs save with the last update

Pretty happy with the results, need to made some tweaks to my tactics, you’ll see in the end that I have a good journey so far !!

SEASON 2013/2014

A few change needed from the transfer market, this what I decided to do for the first window

THANKS YOU SO MUCH MONACO

My main concern was about having Soldado as my only striker in the team, hopefully he did well and didn’t get injured.

COMPETITIONS

For that season, as my squad lacks of depth, my priorities are : Premiership and UEFA, if I perform well in domestic cups, that’s fine but I know that I will have to make some clear choices…

Premiership

That was a wonderful campaign, with a terrific Chelsea with Hazard on fire, but my Super Danish (8 goals, 21 assist) did even better I guess

First objective, done.

Players awards

Soldado : European golden boot, Top scorer of the league (obvious), BUT had not been called to play the orld Cup with Spain, weird

Eriksen : Golden Boy, Best rookie of the year

I won't speak about domestic cups, knocked out so easily

UEFA

A main objective for the club

I wouldn't think it would have been so easy to win it

On my way to the title, a new record, beating 9/0 Zeljeznicar away

Beating Celtic "only" 2-1 seems hard, but they scored the only chance they had, just ve' been quite unlucky;but anyway i won !

Lamela and Soldado were lethal, 12 goals each, best scorer of the campaign is Bony from the Swans

That was a good start with the team, i 'm glad the new stadium is on his way

And i'm looking forward to post my second season as soon as i can, currently in the boxing day and...sitting of the top of the league

[enders357]

Not been playing much lately but fired FM up last night and played through December and January in my third season. After winning the EPL and CL in season two this year isn't going as smoothly and I'm 5th at the end of Jan - having been 8th/9th for a while.

I've tried to stir things up a bit with a change of tactics; I've dropped the two central midfielders in my formation back to DM spots (as a DLP and an RGA) and changed from control to counter. It seems to be working at the moment and Bentaleb and Sandro are playing excellently in there, with Diego Reyes providing good back up to them both while Ilkay Gundogan recovers from a long lay off.

Moussa Dembele and I had a big falling out when he said he thought we were underachieving. I banished him to the reserves for a couple of months and sold him to Benfica for £15m in mid-January. He's worth more but he only had 18 months left on his contract so I wasn't in a strong position. I also sold Roberto Soldado to Atletico for £12m towards the end of the month; partly because he's been underperforming and partly to raise funds for a £30m bid for Wilfried Bony, who I snapped up on deadline day. He's scored 15 league goals in each of his first two years at Swansea and already had 17 this season when I signed him (top scored in the division so far). He grabbed a goal and an assist on his debut and I'm hopeful he'll push us back in to the CL spots.

Progressing in the FA Cup (albeit with easy ties so far), and I have Bayern coming up in the first knockout round of the CL. Don't rate my chances!

[enders357]

Ended up finishing 4th, scraping in on the last day, and losing in the FA Cup Quarter final to Chelsea and the Champions League Quarters to Shakhtar. That was the big disappointment - lost the home leg 4-2 and went out 5-5 on away goals. It was an injury ravaged season; Sandro missed the whole thing, Gundogan missed 5 months, Rues, Doria, Bony and Vertonghen all missed 2-3 months. I think I did well to come through it in a CL place but the board aren't overly impressed. My success in the previous two seasons has done me a lot of favours with them but I doubt they'll have a lot of patience if I start the new season badly.

Only transfers in are a couple of newgen younsters, Tim Horn (£3.2m) as back-up keeper, James Ward-Prowse (£23m) and Danny Welbeck (£1.1m - didn't trust him not to sign a new contract before the summer so made a low bid as it was expiring). JWP will add competition in midfield where Sandro's deteriorated hugley after a year long injury and Welbeck will rotate upfront. Only one significant sale; Sigurdsson left for Newcastle (£9m) after a really, really disappointing season. I have a youngster I want to give more game time so it made sense.

That makes my team for 2016/17 something like this:

GK (SK): Lloris, Horn

RB (CWB): Walker, Capoue

LB (CWB): Shaw, Rose

CB (CD): Doria, Balanta, Veljkovic

CB (BPD): Vertonghen, Diego Reyes

DM (RGA): Gundogan, Ward-Prowse, Diego Reyes

DM (DLP): Bentaleb, Sandro, Carroll

RW (IF): Lamela, Reus

AM (AP): Eriksen, Reus, Ward-Prowse

LW (W): Rotariu, Reus, Lindsay (newgen)

CF (AF): Bony, Welbeck, Barbosa

[edgar555]

Second season almost done. Two league games left and just secured our first Premier League title.

In addition to the signings listed above, Franco Baldini decided to present me with a couple of gifts prior to the end of the transfer window, Sven Bender for £29m and Jackson Martinez for £19m. I didn't really need Bender but he's a quality player. Martinez was a result as Soldado picked up a 4 month injury in our last friendly. To balance the books, Sigurdsson was sold to Dortmund for £19m.

So at the start of the season this was how the squad looked

GK - SK/A - Lloris/Ospina

DC - CB - Kaboul/van Dijk

DC - BPD - Otamendi/Chiriches

WBR - CWB/A - Walker/Naughton

DM - HB - Sandro/Bender/Capoue

WBL - WB/S - Coentrao/Rose

MC - BBM - Paulinho/Livermore

MC - AP/A - Eriksen/Bentaleb

AMR - IF/S - Lamela/Townsend

AML - IF/A - Yarmolenko/Chadli

ST - F9 - Martinez/Castillo/Kane with Soldado injured

We started the season well Yarmolenko on fire and looking like the true successor for Bale flying down the left cutting in and scoring stacks of goals. The defence was also imperious & we had 8 clean sheets from our first 10 games. Then the wheels fell off and we couldn't score and went on a 12 game run in all comps of 1 win, 5 draws, 6 losses culminating in 5 games without a goal. Mid November we were 9th in the PL and speculation was rife that my next game could be my last. The fact it was away to Man City did not fill me with confidence. However we somehow eked out a 1-0 win and then went on an 11 game winning streak in the PL and in fact went unbeaten for the rest of the PL season.

In the CL we had Barca, Roma and Olympiakos. Couldn't have asked for a tougher group. However we finished second and progressed, drawing Porto in the first KO round.

We went out the Capital One cup as soon as we entered, losing to Crystal Palace AET.

In January Jake Livermore moaned about a lack of games and was sold for £3m to Stoke. We then lost Bender and Paulinho for 2-3 months and Bentaleb to the ACoN. All of a sudden my midfield was looking to be at bare bones so into the transfer market I went. Having lost Jake I decided I needed HG talent, this of course comes at a premium. In came Jack Rodwell for £19.5m and Will Hughes for £12m.

Harry Kane also went on loan to Championship side West Brom.

We were also setting out on an FA Cup run, unfortunately both new signings were cup tied so the likes of Alex Pritchard got their chance in those games. Pritchard surprised me, getting a MotM performance in the 4th round versus Arsenal, scoring and assisting in a 2-1 win.

We continued to roll over opponents domestically but fell to Porto in the CL. We went there and drew 0-0, not a bad result but Jackson Martinez was terrible against his old club and missed two sitters that should have sent us home with an away goal.

With 6 games to go in the title race, 5 teams (us, City, Chelsea, United and Liverpool) were seperated by only 2 points at the top of the table (Arsenal were a further 6 points back). We faced two massive games back to back that could decide the title. First up Chelsea at home. We smashed them 5-0 with Jack Rodwell grabbing a hat trick (and instantly became club favoured personnel). 3 days later we met City at the Lane also and destroyed them 5-1 with Soldado doing most of the damage ably assisted by Will Hughes. This left us more than in the driving seat and when we faced Palace away winning 4-1 and Chelsea only drew at home to Everton we clinched the title!

We have two league games and an FA Cup final v Man City to come.

Stand out players: Lloris, simply incredible. has conceded only 13 league goals with 2 games left. Kaboul and Otamendi have been better than Kaboul/Verts last season and are absolute rocks. Walker and Coentrao are excellent wing backs and I've been surprised by how good Rose and Naughton are as back ups.

In midfield Bender is incredible but has spent too much time out injured. Same goes for Paulinho. Will Hughes has been a revelation with 8 assists in 16 games (9 as sub) since joining. His arrival has forced Christian Eriksen to really up his game and in the last two months Eriksen has averaged over 8.5, before that he'd chugged along at 6.9 and didn't get his first goal until March, since then he's got another 4, all game winnners.

Out wide, Lamela has been excellent but gets injured a lot. Yarmolenko has been outstanding and is our top scorer (17 in all comps) and top assister (15). Chadli and Townsend have both disappointed when called upon.

Up front Martinez started on fire but cooled off and struggled since December. Soldado came back in the team at this point but really struggled for form and fitness until February. Both of them are on 11 goals for the season. My big hope Castillo has struggled to put it mildly and despite being given plenty of chances, particularly in the FA Cup he has failed to score his first Spurs goal in 20 appearances. He's also missed 3 penalties. Martinez also missed 2 out of his 5 taken. Luckily Soldado and Yarmolenko are 100% from the spot.

From the youth ranks, Shaq Coulthirst has been on fire on loan in the Championship, Harry Kane scored 15 in 20 for WBA and both will get time in pre season to see if they can hold a squad place. Alex Pritchard as mentioned above was excellent when needed and I feel I'll find room for him in the squad. Josh Onomah and Nathan Oduwa both also look capable of progressing.

For next season I'll be looking to press on in the CL as we play our last season at WHL.

Transfer wise I won't be looking to do much business. Sandro has attracted interest from Utd and City and if they offer big cash I'll let him go. If he goes I may bring Sven's twin Lars in. I may need to look for a new back up keeper as Ospina wants (& probably deserves) more regular football. I may also look to upgrade Chadli. I can afford to lose Capoue but interestingly he's had to fill in at RWB a couple times late in the season and has been excellent. His versatility may mean I cash in on Naughton, who's attracting some decent offers.

COYS

[stevemc]

How much money do Spurs start with?

[edgar555]

How much money do Spurs start with?

Can't remember exactly but around £15-£20m.

[enders357]

My plans not to change much in summer 2016 went out of the window... Atletico bid £12.5m for Sandro (whoo was injured for over a year and is no just 2* and played terribly after his return) so I took that and also accepted bids for Tom Carroll from Norwich and Everton, which led to me being able to overhaul my midfield. I'd already brought in Ward-Prowse as an option in both central midfield and attacking midfield, but I was also prompted to sign Lucas Evangelista. I'd been watching him closely for a couple of years and when Juvenutes had an £11m bid accepted I stepped in and gazumped in. I also felt I needed a DM specialist as I often play with two DM's and with Sandro gone that left with me just Reyes who considers it his best position, so I bought in Sergi Samper from Barcelona for £12m.

With JWP, Samper, Reyes, Evangelista, Gundogan, and Bentelab I'm overflowing with great midfield options... possibly, now I look at it written down, one too many options. We'll see how it pans out.

I also let Gabriel Barbosa go when Wolfsburg offered me £28.5m; a £22.5m profit on a player that had never settled too well and wasn't developing as quickly as I'd hoped was too good to turn down. With Bony and Welbeck already in the squad I'm well covered and will keep Harry Kane around for emergencies. Reus also played upfront a few times last season when injuries struck and did well.

GK (SK): Lloris, Horn

RB (CWB): Walker, Capoue

LB (CWB): Shaw, Rose

CB (CD): Doria, Balanta, Veljkovic

CB (BPD): Vertonghen, Diego Reyes

DM (RGA): Gundogan, Diego Reyes, Samper

DM (DLP): Bentaleb, Evangelista, Ward-Prowse

RW (IF): Lamela, Reus

AM (AP): Eriksen, Evangelista, Reus

LW (W): Rotariu, Reus, Lindsay (newgen)

CF (AF): Bony, Welbeck, Kane

[edgar555]

So finished season 2 off.

Won all 3 of our remaining games 3-0. Home to Norwich and away to QPR in the league and beating Man City in the FA Cup final to complete the double. Aside from winning the final the highlight of these games was Nicolas Castillo coming off the bench in the QPR game and finally bagging his first Spurs goal!

Has anyone had success with Kane or Carroll? I'd like them both to stick around as their home grown status is crucial. Kane scored 21 in 30 games for WBA in the Championship and Carroll spent the year at Liverpool on loan under Redknapp but they've underused him. Both are rated as 3 stars with another .5 star to go on potential. I think they might have something to offer but would be keen to hear of any success stories.

[egernunge]

I finally got around to playing again, and ouch.

So far this season has been pretty frustrating. We're losing or drawing way too many matches and what's worse is that I can't really figure out where things are going wrong. I tried tweaking my tactics but that only made things worse. We're also very inconsistent; one week we'll lose 0-1 to West Ham and the next we'll win 4-1 against Chelsea. One positive is that things have been improving a bit in December, so hopefully results will be better in the spring.

We were knocked out of the League Cup in the 3rd round by Norwich. In the CL we were drawn in what I thought was a tough group: PSG, Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, but we breezed through and won the group with two games to left. Barcelona waits in the 1st knock-out round. I doubt we'll progress past that.

Eriksen was selected in the World Team of the Year for the third year in a row. He also came third, behind Messi and Ronaldo, in the Ballon d'Or.

Transfers:

Quite a few players left in the summer: Kane, Dembélé, Chiriches and Livermore all asked to be sold. Chadli didn't, but I received a decent offer and accepted so I could put the funds towards an upgrade on the left wing.

In came four new players:

Julian Draxler - was the upgrade I chose. It took him a couple of months to settle in, but after that he's been brilliant.

Luka Djordjevic - since Kane left, I needed another striker. He has done very well so far and is now my second choice striker behind Mitrovic. Soldado has apparently completely forgotten how to score.

Alessio Romagnoli - a young central defender signed on a bosman. He's struggled a bit but is slowly improving.

Rubén Duarte - another young central defender who's spending the season on loan at Burnley where he's doing very well. He was this season's McDermott signing. It seems he's building from the back. I'll be eagerly awaiting a midfielder in the summer

In January, I'll be looking to sell Lennon. He wants a new challenge and since his contract runs out in June, I might as well try to get some money for him now rather than letting him go for free in the summer.

[Pipson]

I started a season with Spurs to test my tactic and did the treble almost quadruple without selling or buying anyone (to make sure tactic is good enough) for more info check my thread = http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/390304-Pipson.Tv-4231-Triangle-is-back!-Treble-with-Spurs-NO-Transfers-almost-quadruple!?p=9591157

[stevemc]

Tottenham H - 2013/14

I decided to get on board with a Tottenham save, so here we go. I chose Champions League qualification for £24m, upon spending that, I spoke to the board for more money and they threw another £19 my way:

Had a great start to the season too:

[egernunge]

Had a great start to the season too:

[pic]

I bet the fans weren't happy about that defeat to Arsenal though!

[stevemc]

No, that was pretty grim

My new signing Balanta, gave the first two goals away in the first 15 minutes, so I subbed him off after 18 minutes. Up hill from there though!

[enders357]

Alessio Romagnoli - a young central defender signed on a bosman. He's struggled a bit but is slowly improving.

How's this guy coming along? I downloaded a "time machine" save from sortitoutsi the other day and Romagnoli was at Tottenham in 2030, having been there for the best part of 12 or 13 years. He was captain and had led the team to several trophies and a couple of titles. Interestingly (bizarrely!), Sherwood was still manager!

[egernunge]

No, that was pretty grim

My new signing Balanta, gave the first two goals away in the first 15 minutes, so I subbed him off after 18 minutes. Up hill from there though!

Well, this happened in my first match after I wrote that. The fans were not amused.

Also, I don't think I've ever seen this description before:

[egernunge]

How's this guy coming along? I downloaded a "time machine" save from sortitoutsi the other day and Romagnoli was at Tottenham in 2030, having been there for the best part of 12 or 13 years. He was captain and had led the team to several trophies and a couple of titles. Interestingly (bizarrely!), Sherwood was still manager!

I'm still only in January so not much has happened since the update. He put in a decent performance in our FA Cup win against Southampton, though. Good to hear that he had success at Spurs in that save.

Sherwood still at the club in 2030? I hope that's one thing FM doesn't get right!

[edgar555]

How's this guy coming along? I downloaded a "time machine" save from sortitoutsi the other day and Romagnoli was at Tottenham in 2030, having been there for the best part of 12 or 13 years. He was captain and had led the team to several trophies and a couple of titles. Interestingly (bizarrely!), Sherwood was still manager!

FM is so bugged.

[enders357]

Sherwood still at the club in 2030? I hope that's one thing FM doesn't get right!

FM is so bugged.

Let's hope so! I can't take any more of him.

[waitsfornone]

Let's hope so! I can't take any more of him.

To be honest, he is winning. I can't stand Mourinho, but if he managed Spurs for a season or two I would revel in the winning.

That being said... I don't think Timmy could improve the team with $1 billion dollars. He would just buy a bunch of busy midfielders and pick a different 11 every match.

[enders357]

To be honest, he is winning. I can't stand Mourinho, but if he managed Spurs for a season or two I would revel in the winning.

That being said... I don't think Timmy could improve the team with $1 billion dollars. He would just buy a bunch of busy midfielders and pick a different 11 every match.

I think it's what he says in his press conferences and pre- and post-match interviews that winds me up the most (even more than his tactical naivety). The guy is clueless, he contradicts himself all the time, he's rude about the players - they must all hate him.

[enders357]

I'm about 10 games in to season four and I keep getting linked with the Real Madrid job... kinda tempted!

[stevemc]

Tottenham H - 2013/14

Finished the first season, and I'm pretty happy with the results. Got knocked out of the semi-final of the League Cup to Everton, and Manchester United beat me the in the FA Cup 4th round. But I comfortably finished the season in the targeted Champions League spot, finishing third:

Also won the Europa League

Re-trained Gylfi Sigurdsson into a False Nine and he's been incredible there. 49 games: 24 goals, 11 assists.

Time to strengthen in the Summer now.

[edgar555]

Moving into season 3.

Players out:

Nacer Chadli £10m to Atletico - wanted to upgrade him, preferably with a HG player so moved along at decent money

Vlad Chiriches £16m to Napoli - too good to turn down this offer for a 3rd choice centre back who could have moments of madness

Sandro £35m & Paulinho £24m both to PSG - AVB once again came calling with his Qatari cheque book and the offers on both were too good to say no to

Harry Kane £10m + add ons + future %age to Southampton - wasn't looking to sell but an offer for double his value and then some was too good to say no to

Fabio Coentrao £16m to (new European Champions) Marseille - Getting 3 times what we paid for him was great value

Kyle Naughton loan + future fee to Newcastle - Kyle was looking for a new challenge, Newcastle shall certainly provide that for him.

Players in:

Ricardo Rodriguez £12m from Barcelona - a younger cheaper version of Coentrao (or thats the idea)

Jay Rodriguez £8.5m from Southampton - HG winger/striker back up

Aymeric Laporte £30m from Athletic Bilbao - not someone I went for, a Baldini pick. Quality young centre back though.

Sam Byram £3.5m from Leeds - HG RWB back up for Walker

So this is how we'll line up:

GK - SK/A - Lloris/Ospina

DC - CB - Kaboul/van Dijk/Velkjovic

DC - BPD - Otamendi/Laporte

WBR - CWB/A - Walker/Byram

DM - HB - Bender/Bentaleb/Capoue

WBL - WB/S - R Rodriguez/Rose

CM - BBM - Rodwell/Hughes

CM - AP/A - Eriksen/Carroll

AMR - IF/S - Lamela/Townsend

AML - IF/A - Yarmolenko/J Rodriguez/Coulthirst

ST - F9 - Martinez/Soldado/Castillo

Season started off with a routine 3-1 win over Man Utd in the Community Shield. Then it was all downhill. After 8 games we have 2 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses and sit 13th with a lot of players moaning about us underperforming. Yet when I want to hold a players meeting we're supposedly 'not in bad form'. These FM irritations really grate. To add to this, Kaboul and Byram have both gone down with 4 month long injuries. Byram isn't a massive worry tbh, Capoue can fill in as back up to Walker but Kaboul was looking solid prior to injury.

Selling both Sandro and Paulinho and thinking I can rely on youth may well be my mistake and could cost me. Baldini had a £1.8m bid for 31 year old Schweinsteiger in the summer but when we sat down to talk contracts he wanted £245k per week, £65k more than I could afford and more than double that of my highest paid player (Lloris) so I walked away. How I could do with that kind of experience right now. I also walked away from a £35m deal for Balotelli and with Soldado and Martinez unable to locate the goal at all this season I'm regretting this. Harry Kane is also out to prove a point it seems, he's got 6 in 5 for Southampton so far.

If, and its a big if, I can keep the job till January I'll be looking to use the £80m sat in my transfer budget on a striker and possibly look at the Schweinsteiger deal again.

Here's hoping.

COYS

[egernunge]

Aymeric Laporte £30m from Athletic Bilbao - not someone I went for, a Baldini pick. Quality young centre back though.

Laporte is great. I'm also the manager of France and he's one of the sure call-ups. If I didn't already have a lot of talented, young defenders I'd buy him for Spurs.

[enders357]

Laporte is great. I'm also the manager of France and he's one of the sure call-ups. If I didn't already have a lot of talented, young defenders I'd buy him for Spurs.

Seconded. Sure he'll be great for you.

[enders357]

Jay Rodriguez £8.5m from Southampton - HG winger/striker back up

Will be interesting to see how he does. He's someone that doesn't seem to do all that well for computer managed teams but can be great if used properly by a human manager.

[edgar555]

Laporte is great. I'm also the manager of France and he's one of the sure call-ups. If I didn't already have a lot of talented, young defenders I'd buy him for Spurs.

Seconded. Sure he'll be great for you.

I'm sure he will be, but his first two appearances were disasters, akin to Woodgates Madrid debut

Will be interesting to see how he does. He's someone that doesn't seem to do all that well for computer managed teams but can be great if used properly by a human manager.

Well my whole team's struggling right now and J-Rod is no different, though his chances have been limited with Footballer of the Year Yarmolenko and YPOTY Lamela in front of him. It should be noted however that neither of those two are playing to their abilities either.

[egernunge]

So I've finished the third season now and league-wise it was pretty bad. Whilst form did improve in the beginning of the year, it deteriorated again towards the end of the season. We needed a win against Southampton on the last day to secure CL participation; we lost 2-4. Europa League it is for us, then.

In the Champions League we somehow managed an aggregate win over Barcelona and progressed to the quarter finals, where we were drawn against Real Madrid. We couldn't replicate our performance from the Barca matches and the campaign ended there. Real Madrid did go on to win the whole thing, though.

In the FA Cup, we first saw off Southampton, Derby and Bournemouth before facing Hull in the 6th round. With the second leg of the CL 1st knock-out round coming just three days later, I gambled and rested all the best players and instead fielded the back-ups. To my delight, they had no problems winning the tie. The semi final against Man Utd went all the way to a penalty shootout which we won, 12-11. The final was a North London derby and it was a very even affair until Arsenal gave away a penalty in the 66th minute that Mitrovic coolly slotted home. It turned out to be the only goal and we lifted our first domestic trophy since I became manager. Yay!

Christian Eriksen was English Footballer of the Year for the third time in a row, ending the season with 15 goals, 13 assists, and an average rating of 7.52 in 30 league appearances.

I sold Lennon to Everton in January and I suppose playing for them in the championship next season is definitely a new challenge

Needing another right winger my eye fell on Agustín Allione who was doing very well for Ajax. Somehow they had failed to renew his contract, so I approached to sign him on a bosman and then paid the ridiculously low fee (£1.5m) to bring him in immidiately. So far, he hasn't disappointed.

This summer I'll try to sell Rose, since we've fallen out and he's now very unhappy. Instead I'm contemplating bringing in Leighton Baines who's desperate to leave Everton following their relegation.

So all in all, my squad for the next season will look like this:

GK: Lloris, Trapp

DR - CWB: Walker, Chambers

DL - FB-S: Davies, (Rose/Baines)

DC - CD-X: Kaboul, Dawson

DC - CD-C: Balanta, Romagnoli, Duarte

MC - BWM-D: Sandro, Capoue

MC - BBM: Paulinho, Bentaleb, Carroll

AMC - AP-A: Eriksen, Holtby

AMR - IF-S: Lamela, Allione

AML - W-A: Draxler, Townsend

ST - DLF-A: Mitrovic, Djordjevic, Soldado

Exciting youth prospect of the season:

[enders357]

Well, it's happened. Like Luka Modric and Gareth Bale before me I've moved from Spurs to Real Madrid.