FM15 - The Sky Bet Football League thread

[Stfc mason]

You cannot be a Swindon fan if you are managing Brizzle???

, never managed City on this game, wanted to see what they are like, had a very brief Oxford save on 14!

[Jogo Bonito]

Welcome along Stfc mason, I've enjoyed managing Bristol and will also be trying Swindon later myself. The squad really doesn't need much - at least in the first year. Perhaps another CM/DM to go alongside Smith, and another striker to work with Agard. What positions do you have in mind?

Welcome along to other new posters too.

[Stfc mason]

Welcome along Stfc mason, I've enjoyed managing Bristol and will also be trying Swindon later myself. The squad really doesn't need much - at least in the first year. Perhaps another CM/DM to go alongside Smith, and another striker to work with Agard. What positions do you have in mind?

Welcome along to other new posters too.

Thank you

A new striker is a must,the only striker who I am convinced can do well in the lone striker role is Wilbraham. I have put Agard out wide although I might try Agard up front in the future. I was thinking of a new CM to sign on loan, from my Swindon save I had Aaron Kuhl on loan who was very good. I also probably need a new CB to partner Flint and Williams as I will be looking to offload El-Abd soon.

[Jogo Bonito]

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake is a free agent and a proven/great striker at this level. Reuben Reid is Bristol-born and might be OK as a random name, and Nicky Maynard is available on loan - but will cost a lot per month.

I had Aaron Kuhl on loan and he was superb, I also took Ben Osborn on loan from Forest and he was very good. Lloyd James is another Bristol-born option.

I used Ayling as a right-sided CB like they have in real life this season, but you also have Osborne in the squad. Paul Hanlon or Mathieu Baudry would be others worth looking at.

Edit: Ironically for you Stfc mason, two of the best players in the game for L1 level will be players you know well from Swindon - Andrew Williams and Nathan Thompson!

[GJHowell]

A brief update, as I am at work and don't have all of the relvant info in front of me, but the first season in the Championship has ended, and relegation was most definitely avoided.......we were promoted via the play-offs with a 3-1 extra time victory over Watford. I actually cannot believe it - even more concerning is how we're going to survive the premiership.

I'll do a proper update when I'm at home, but football? bloody hell!

[Jogo Bonito]

When I suggested Colchester as being a good lower level L1 club to take on because of their youth prospects, I had no idea somebody could get them to the Premier League at that rate. Congrats on an amazing triumph GJHowell!

[Stfc mason]

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake is a free agent and a proven/great striker at this level. Reuben Reid is Bristol-born and might be OK as a random name, and Nicky Maynard is available on loan - but will cost a lot per month.

I had Aaron Kuhl on loan and he was superb, I also took Ben Osborn on loan from Forest and he was very good. Lloyd James is another Bristol-born option.

I used Ayling as a right-sided CB like they have in real life this season, but you also have Osborne in the squad. Paul Hanlon or Mathieu Baudry would be others worth looking at.

Edit: Ironically for you Stfc mason, two of the best players in the game for L1 level will be players you know well from Swindon - Andrew Williams and Nathan Thompson!

Thanks for the advice!, Nathan Thompson has been brilliant for me but I haven't really used Willo because I decided to sign Adam Campbell on loan from Newcastle who has been excellent along with Obika.I will check my strikers stats when I get home tonight but I know Michael Smith has been non existent for me.

[GJHowell]

When I suggested Colchester as being a good lower level L1 club to take on because of their youth prospects, I had no idea somebody could get them to the Premier League at that rate. Congrats on an amazing triumph GJHowell!

No, neither did I!! The really amazing thing about it is that it has been done with a backbone of the team being the players I started out with, some free transfers and youngsters - of the players I had spent money on the previous summer, Ryan Woods was out long term injured for about 4 months, and the others couldn't force their way into the first team.. I did have a bit of fortune in the January transfer window when Arsenal, Spurs and Newcastle were battling it out for one of my academy youngsters - he was not really close to first team contention as, although he had some very good attributes for his age, they weren't really suited to the role he would have needed to play. I thought I'd take a punt on asking them for £2.5m up front and they all accepted - It left me with about £1.5m net so I was able to do a bit of strenthening.

[Jackson Mourinho]

Started with Bournemouth after falling in love with them IRL.

Told the board & squad I was aiming for a mid table finish, and although initial disbelief, the squad accepted that we were good enough to give it a go.

Made 4 signings - Jack Payne for Peterborough the only permanent. Jack Grealish, Ryan Mason and Nathan Ake all in on season-long loans.

19 games into the season sitting 8th, 4 points behind the play-offs, quite happy with how it's going but the games I've lost have been frustrating, battering everyone we play. Matt Ritchie and Callum Wilson both are very very good and keeping them fit will be crucial, IMO if I add a centre half and another striker to the squad in January(Rante out for 4 months) the play-offs is completely acheivable. Jack Payne sits infront of the defence and has been quality, Jack Grealish is a real asset with his pace though his final ball sometimes a downfall. Harry Arter & Andrew Surman are a dream in midfield, top class. Going to ask the board to sign Alan Judge also, a real quality player.

The board are already proposing contract talks, although I've rejected the talks twice.

[Jogo Bonito]

Welcome along Jackson - good choice of club. It seems that Ritchie & Wilson are two of the best players in the division in most saves, so that's a good base to work from. With the decent signing and loans brought in, you should go very well - best of luck.

[MichaelBrown]

I thought I'd start posting in here again. Before I explain my current club, I'll explain what previously happened with my career.

I started in the Conference North with Barrow, in which I was promoted through the playoffs. Unfortunately, Guisley ran away with the league, meaning I just made it through. I was expected to struggle the season after in the Conference Premier. With little money or wage budget, I had to make do with the players I had, and a few loanees. I was around mid-table, when I received my marching orders as the squad's trust in me had broken down. I'd upset a back-up player who I refused first-team football, so he decided to moan alongside my captain and a few others.

Despite this, I received a job interview with Northampton who were fighting for relegation. After talks with the Chairman, I accepted the contract and immediately went to work in keeping the club in League Two with fifteen games remaining as relegation would have left us in financial ruin. My squad wasn't bad, it had some decent loanees and some lower-league veterans such as Bobby Hassell, Marc Richards and Emile Sinclair. I invested the majority of the remaining wage budget in Karim Rossi and Kevin Lisbie. Well, the season was superb, my record for the fifteen games was:

P:15

W: 11

D: 2

L: 2

Unfortunately, I finished 8th on goal difference, meaning the fairytale run Northampton embarked on was for nothing.

The season after, I had huge hopes for the team. I refused to renew a lot of contracts of the playing staff who I assumed were just deadwood. With this, I signed Wilfred Gnahore on loan (a fantastic player), Liam Feeney, The journeyman Tyrone Mears, Seb Hines, Carl Baker, John Mousinho, Chris Weale, David Mirfin and Josh Harrop. Swansea requested to be my parent club, which I granted. They rewarded me with two superb youngsters for this level, one of which had 19 pace, 19 acceleration, 14 finishing, 15 agility, 15 balance, and 13 composure.

Well, I finished second in the league to Oldham, who managed to have Rolando Aarons, Pozo from Man City and Adam Armstrong all in one team. With two promotions under my belt, I was a wanted man, with no more than four clubs interested in my services. The most interesting, however, was Yeovil who had been relegated to League Two. They offered me £1.2 million with a huge wage budget in order to win the league. Whilst this was appealing, the reason I left Northampton to join Yeovil is due to the 22 year save I had with them on FM14.

The story continues in another post when I post up my transfers. Just to make it interesting, an ex-Brazilian international joined me on loan..

[Banks_87]

For the first time in a while, I have given it a go in the lower leagues. Port Vale being my chosen Club. Ambitions were fairly low, staying in League One was the priority. With no money, no one of any real sale value at the Club either, I stuck with what I had, and scoured around for any free agents I thought would make a difference, and bought in a few premier league prospects on loan.

No-one (who I could afford) jumped out at me as free agent, apart from an Albanian CB im sure some of you would have encountered, Valentin Gjokaj. So he joined, along with Jack Dunn and Samed Yesil from my first love Liverpool FC, and Fofana, a young CM from Man City, my season got under way.

I had an absolutely blistering start to the season, Tom Pope was on fire for me scoring 20 goals by Jan. Come December I was sitting 2nd in the table, 4 points behind Bristol City. The only worrying thing at this point was I didn't seem to have many goals coming from anyone else in the side, apart from Popey.

And then it all changed, apart from a successful FA cup run, made better than it should have been by lower league opposition,(I lost to Castle 1-0 in the 4th round), I recorded only 2 wins from the turn of the year, up until the middle of March. By now I was hanging around 6th, nowhere near 5th, and battling out with 3 or 4 other sides for that last play off spot. I also managed to bring Pablo Aimar in on a free, who I thought could do a job, and he was absolutely key to the turn around. With ten to go and sitting 8th in the league I couldn't see how I would make it to the play offs, especially when I considered my remaining 7 fixtures, 4 of which we're against the 7 sides above me. From these 7 I managed to pick up 5 wins and recorded 2 draws, to nick 6th.

The play-offs were again another story, 3-1 down to MK Dons at home in the first leg, I hit 3 in the last 10 minutes to win 4-3, and after securing a 2-1 win in the revese fixture, we were off to Wembley. Colchester awaited us. It took extra time, but we managed to scrape it 3-2, Tom Pope hit 2 goals, more noticeable by the fact that he finished the season on 23 goals (after hitting 20 by Jan).

It seems like we were always destined to go up, and with no money it looks like ill have to utilize the loan system once again in the coming Championship season, hopefully we can stay up and build a platform to eventually reach the Holy Land that is the Premier League and provide the Vale/Stoke fans with the most highly anticipated of derbies!

[Jackson Mourinho]

Welcome along Jackson - good choice of club. It seems that Ritchie & Wilson are two of the best players in the division in most saves, so that's a good base to work from. With the decent signing and loans brought in, you should go very well - best of luck.

Cheers mate, a wee update here.

December & January saw us rise to 4th after 6 good wins, including 2-0 home to leaders Norwich. Brought in John Brayford on loan in defence really pleased with that signing, a player I admire. Jake Forster-Caskey also came in on loan from Brighton, massive potential and will be an important player in the last third of the season. Ryan Mason's loan was terminated as a result of this signing.

February was a disaster. 2 points from 5 games, losing to Huddersfield, Wigan and Derby. We've slipped to 10th and sit 5 points out of the play-offs after 31 games, 15 games left to push on from here and try get in the top 6. Wouldn't be a disaster if we didn't but the feeling is that we are good enough, if we stop conceding silly goals.

Callum Wilson is a goal machine, keeping him in the summer will be tough probably.

[Stfc mason]

My Swindon team have a thing for scoring in the 90th minute, in 9 games this season I have managed avoided defeat or win a game because of this

[Jogo Bonito]

Welcome Banks_87 and well done on promotion with Port Vale. Good luck at Championship level!

Michael, I was happy to hear you were at Northampton - but I guess it's no surprise you ended up back at Yeovil. Good luck with that.

Jackson, that's a couple more good additions at Bournemouth. I'm interested to see if you make it or not this year, but it's no bad thing if you don't and need another bash at it.

* Is everyone on the 15.2 update and are you finding it better or worse? I haven't updated yet...I'm finding the 15.1.4 version very good and don't want to ruin it!

[MichaelBrown]

I think it's a good patch, although it crashed my game after it downloaded. I've seen a few other people mention that as well.

[Jackson Mourinho]

My Swindon team have a thing for scoring in the 90th minute, in 9 games this season I have managed avoided defeat or win a game because of this

March killed our chances of a top 6 finish after 1 win in 5. Disappointing as we dominated most game we play in, just silly mistakes at the back. Andrew Robertson came in on loan from Hull and was very impressive. We ended the season very well winning 5 from 7 but wasn't quite good enough as we finished 8th.

Signed a new contract and also turned down an approach from West Ham to talk about the managers job, going to give it a real go here at Bournemouth. Would like to bring in Brayford, Forster-Caskey and Robertson permanently, keep my key players and bring in my long term target Alan Judge and a striker or two to take the weight of Wilson, though I've no idea what the budget will be like. Jack Grealish and Nathan Ake were outstanding second half of the season so maybe try bring them back. Going to have a look in France, Spain, German lower divisions to bring it some talent, and very much looking forward to another season in charge.

Going to give it a real blast today will have my transfers and pre season update tonight.

[Jogo Bonito]

Unlucky Jackson, but a good effort and hopefully it will be second time lucky for you at Bournemouth!

I've got through to the end of February in my second season at Ashton Gate, and the league form has picked up nicely. We now sit on the edge of the play-off places, but it's very tight all the way down to mid-table with just a few points separating a host of clubs.

An additional surprise is the fact that we are still in the FA Cup - despite needing replays in all three rounds to progress. In Round 6 we host Norwich, so we have a 50/50 chance of making it through. I play a lot of FL saves, but I think that is the best FA Cup run I ever had - so it's a nice change!

Kennedy Igboananike (my top scorer last season in League 1) has an even better return this term, and is second top scorer in the division. Luke Freeman, now valued at over £5m, is second in the league's average ratings, but is still part way through a three month injury absence. His starting spot as AM (advanced playmaker) has been taken by Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who had often been an unlucky substitute in the past. Fernando Pacheco, a free transfer in the summer and now valued at over £5m, is also out for three months - giving another chance to Frank Fielding in goal. I'm still using the same formation 5-2-1-2-WB and counter/structured philosophy.

I've made some changes to my squad in the winter transfer window, mainly part of very considered decisions. An exception to that rule involved Remi Matthews, a young Norwich goalkeeper, who was only recruited to sit on the bench as back-up to Fielding whilst Pacheco is out. I decided to send Craig Gardner back to WBA in January as I had never felt comfortable with the £30k p/m fee or 30% wage contribution of his loan. He had performed well, but I was able to pick up two cheap alternatives for central midfield that suit my mantra quite well. Cole Skuse is a well-known face at Bristol, and was snapped up for a modest £195k once I lowered his wage demands by about 50%. The second deal was for Lloyd James, who is Bristol born and would provide good depth for a small fee (and is on an even lower wage than Skuse). The only drawback on these changes are that the two new men are cup-tied, and so with them and Gardner no longer eligible for the FA Cup, we have had to rely on Ben Osborn and Korey Smith as the only men able to play the defensive role in central midfield whilst we remain in the competition.

Heading out of the door on a permanent basis was Jordan Wynter, whilst I conned another Egyptian club in to paying 100% of Adam El-Abd's wages on loan. The only real income made, apart from the saving on the Gardner deal, was the £40k p/m and 100% wage contribution applied to the loan of Eero Markkanen, who was only my 5th choice striker but had not been wanted by any club permanently.

[Jackson Mourinho]

Pre-season and playing squad update (July 2015)

Well after an exciting first season in charge of The Cherries it was time to assess my squad and try keep hold of my better players, improve on the areas needed and remove deadwood. However, things didn't go to plan when I went to open talks with Matt Ritchie over a new deal, to see he had no interest. Interest was high and with a £4m release clause, I went with my head and offered him to clubs for £6m, ended up selling to relegated Sunderland for £5m. Disappointed. Andrew Surman who had good season for me was subject to a £4.6m bid for Leicester and and reluctantly I agreed to let him move on.

10 fringe players where let go and at the minute (end of July) we have raked in just over £11m in transfers, the board trusted me with £8.5m to make my own squad and use the money to get players in capable of firing us to a top 6 finish. Missed out on Patrick Bamford and really disappointed on that. The target was to bring in a goalkeeper, 2 centre halfs, a left back, 2 wingers, central midfielder, 2 strikers to beef up the squad, though not just going to sign any tom dick or harry, my signings would be brought in to improve the quality and depth of the squad. Set myself a limit on wages of players, with £15k the highest a player will earn at Dean Court.

Signings in:

Brian Murphy GK (free)

Nathan Ake (loan)

Roger Johnson (free)

Michael Morrison (1m)

Paul Dummett (loan)

Jake Forster-Caskey (loan)

Alan Judge (£3m)

Luke Hyam (£2.7m)

Darren Bent (free)

Happy with business so far, signed some experienced players there along with good young players, and my main target Alan Judge. Still on the look-out for another maybe another attacking winger and a striker on loan, probably Sam Gallagher. Squad at the minute:

Lee Camp

Brian Murphy

Adam Smith

Steve Cook

Simon Francis

Michael Morrison

Roger Johnson

Nathan Ake

Tommy Elpwick (transfer listed)

Paul Dummett

Charlie Daniels

Jack Payne

Luke Hyam

Harry Arter

Dan Gosling

Jake Forster-Caskey

Alan Judge

Junior Stanislas

Brett Pitman (transfer listed)

Darren Bent

Callum Wilson

Definitely need to add another winger and striker.

[Gungner]

Was just wondering if there were any Bournemouth managers out there? 'Cause I'm tempted to start a save with them, and was just wondering if anyone had any advice to dish out. Such as potential signings and / or tactics that would fit them?

[Stfc mason]

Quick update on my Bristol City save. I have decided to sign 5 players on loan. Aaron Khul, Adam Campbell, Benjamin Siegirst, Ryan Mason and Nathan Ake. Unfortunately Ebanks-Blake decided to sign for Preston, I got priced out of the Bandury deal as well he ended up going to Saint-Etienne for 625k. I have also offered a contract to Jon Ostembor and pre-season is going okay so far only played 3 games which was a 7-2 win over my under 21's, a 2-2 away at Exeter and a 3-2 away win at Macclesfield. Mason's loan signing is going to signal the end of Wade Elliot's career at Bristol City.

[lewis999]

Was just wondering if there were any Bournemouth managers out there? 'Cause I'm tempted to start a save with them, and was just wondering if anyone had any advice to dish out. Such as potential signings and / or tactics that would fit them?

I had a fantastic season with them. I wish I could go back to the end of the first season/start of second pre-season. I lost interest as I rushed through it.

My end of season 1 update is here.

[Gungner]

Thanks! An interesting read indeed.

[Jogo Bonito]

Jackson: that looks like a pretty good Bournemouth squad to me, although it's a shame losing Ritchie & Surman. Good luck with the next season.

Gungner: apart from the good save lewis had going (shame you felt you lost the fun from it lewis), you will not be alone with Bournemouth.

Stfc mason: good loan signings there. I used Aaron Kuhl at Reading and with Bristol - he is an absolute must have on loan in season 1 for any team that can get him. He's a great prospect in real life too, so deserves the attribute ratings given to him. Ryan Mason is another superb loan player to acquire, I tried to get him myself at the start but couldn't. I'll be trying to loan him when I take on Swindon at some stage (had him at Portsmouth in FM14 but he wasn't rated so well and wasn't a key player). Interesting about Ebanks-Blake, because I had him at Preston in FM14 and he was absolutely superb. In both my Sky Bet saves in FM15 he has ended up joining Preston, and in real life he has been/is training with them in view to a permanent deal - FM is smarter than we think!

[smplfc123]

Hey guys

First proper attempt in the lower leagues!

Hopefully I'll have more success than I did on FM14.

[Jogo Bonito]

Hey guys

First proper attempt in the lower leagues!

Hopefully I'll have more success than I did on FM14.

Welcome back, will look forward to hearing about it!

[smplfc123]

Cheers Jogo!!

I've decided to give Barnsley a try. Although knowing my track record, there'll be a number of clubs before long....

[Jogo Bonito]

Cool. I think Barnsley players seem quite well rated, although lewis might not agree.

Good luck mate.

[lewis999]

Cool. I think Barnsley players seem quite well rated, although lewis might not agree.

Good luck mate.

Haha not in a good way, a few are over-rated with the way they play in front of me on a Saturday afternoon. A few are under-rated too though. I've just started as Barnsley too.

[MichaelBrown]

Just a off topic question Lewis, are you from Barnsley itself or on the outskirts (Dalton, Wombwell etc)?

I live 15 minutes away by car.

[lewis999]

Just a off topic question Lewis, are you from Barnsley itself or on the outskirts (Dalton, Wombwell etc)?

I live 15 minutes away by car.

In Barnsley itself mate, unfortunately

[Jogo Bonito]

I've finally completed season 2 with Bristol City, finishing 7th in the Sky Bet Championship and missing out on the play-offs by just three points. Overall, it was a very good season - especially after a really poor start. We never quite managed to get in to the crucial top six spots, but right up until the final weekend we were in contention and could have finished anything from 4th to 12th - it was that tight.

We also had a fantastic run in the FA Cup - my best for many years - mainly with the aid of replays. Ultimately though, it was a replay that finished us when we faced Norwich without my injured top scorer (Igboananike) and my two most valuable assets in monetary terms (Freeman and Pacheco). Their absence (the latter duo for three months each) was partly responsible for a spell of poor form over a number of weeks, before we picked up a little.

Here are the results from March and April...

Here is a summary of our performances in the relevant competitions, and the graph showing weekly league process, which I think is a really great analysis tool...

Here is the final league table, and the divisional info including final weekend results. You will see that, despite a lengthy spell of no goals from mid-February to mid-April (injury and loss of form), Igboananike still managed to finish second in the league scorer table with 22 goals (23 in all comps). That's 41 goals from him in two seasons, which is reasonably good for an outlay of £500k...

Finally, here are the player stats. Excluded from the list are Gardner (who had been on loan for the first half of the season), Markkanen and Morrell who had been out on loan and hardly featured for us, and Burns who had to accept reserve team football this season...

I wouldn't expect there to be much change in the squad for season 3. I'll look to see if Bartley and Osborn can be signed permanently, but Maynard's return to Ashton Gate wasn't successful enough to maintain my interest in him. None of the first team squad have expiring contracts, but Markkanen will be offered out to other clubs again. In other news, former club favourite Louis Carey has been brought back as U18 Assistant Manager and the pre-planned stadium expansion is due to complete on 30th June 2016.

[BenW.]

I've had an incredible 2 seasons with MK Dons.

In the first season I only signed Koby Arthur and Larnell Cole from Birmingham and Fulham respectively on loans, and I routed League One with 101 points, on loan Benik Afobe getting 28 goals and winger Daniel Powell getting 24.

The second season saw me in a bit of debt, so I sold Powell to Blackburn for £1 Million (then he didn't start a single game). Sold the young prospect Rasulo to Burnley for £1 Million because he wasn't getting in the team ahead of Dele Alli, and a young newgen called Jack Deal was sold to Newcastle for £750k plus add-ons.

I managed to get a lot of decent free transfers in. Benik Afobe rejoined permanently, becoming my top earner in the process on £7k a week. I also managed to snag Will Keane, Grant Hall, Mustapha Carayol and Adrian Regattin, whilst also getting Rolando Aarons on loan from Newcastle and Ivorian centre-half Mory Koné from Troyes on loan, originally as a back-up centre back but he quickly transformed into a key player. Later in the season I managed to draft in the Fulham forward Moussa Dembele, Sierra Leone ball winner Medo from Bolton and Stephen Quinn from Cardiff, all on loan.

And what a season it was. Ended up sneaking into the play-offs after an 18 game unbeaten run, and despite losing Benik Afobe for the second leg of the semi-final, and the final, I was promoted after a 1-0 win. MK Dons in the Premier League. Controversial. Also LOL at a 90,00 attendance for Wigan v MK Dons, would barely scrape 30/40k

I also had a brilliant FA Cup run which saw me get into the Final and lose to Man City 3-1. This means i'm also in the Europa League for next season, hopefully meaning i'll be able to attract some brilliant players.

Also my players smashed the invdividual stats. 4 players top of the average ratings.

[Stfc mason]

Very happy with the way the season has gone even if I have only played 3 league games so far, 6-1 away win at Sheffield United was fantastic. Adam Campbell and Luke Freeman have been excellent so far. In terms of transfers 5 in and none out tried to offload El-Abd but failed and see no point in him not playing when he is still capable of doing a decent job.

[Jogo Bonito]

Congrats Ben, great success at MK Dons. Premier League and Europa League football for next season is quite amazing.

Stfc mason, excellent start to the season. Quite a bold formation you have there. I'm a little surprised if Bryan isn't in your team, he was great for me - especially in the first season (assists galore). I guess it's early days, and it's not that Cunningham is a bad player either so a win-win really. One thing that interested me was that you had your two centre-backs set with Ayling left and Williams right - both on their 'wrong' foot. Was that a specific tactical idea?

[Stfc mason]

Congrats Ben, great success at MK Dons. Premier League and Europa League football for next season is quite amazing.

Stfc mason, excellent start to the season. Quite a bold formation you have there. I'm a little surprised if Bryan isn't in your team, he was great for me - especially in the first season (assists galore). I guess it's early days, and it's not that Cunningham is a bad player either so a win-win really. One thing that interested me was that you had your two centre-backs set with Ayling left and Williams right - both on their 'wrong' foot. Was that a specific tactical idea?

Bryan is normally first choice but he has just come back from injury and will feature quite soon (although started the Rochdale game without him) Cunningham has been quite good so it will be a difficult decision to drop him. Regarding the wrong footed CB's this was entirely down to randomness although it seems to be working alright so far so no reason to change it!.

Noticed the point on formation at the very start of the season I had 3 CB's and no AMC but then Mason came along and also JET best position for me is in that role so decided to sacrifice one CB to create the AMC.

[Jogo Bonito]

I agree, there isn't much to choose between Cunningham and Bryan - the former is probably better at defending, the latter at attacking.

Also agree that with Mason and JET available, it makes sense to have somebody in the AM role. Believe it or not, I used Freeman there (instructions to roam and dribble more, as it wasn't a natural position for him), as I thought it would work. Unfortunately that did mean JET was the understudy/bench option, but he seemed to suffer from fitness issues so it worked well over two seasons.

With essentially four attacking outlets, plus pushed up wing-backs and a B2B midfielder, it's brave and must put a lot on your three 'defend' players - but (as with the CB situation) if it ain't broke, don't fix it...

[Jogo Bonito]

Wishing all Football League managers, prospective managers, observers and contributors, a very Happy Christmas.

[Stfc mason]

Wishing all of you guys a very merry christmas have a good one today!

[BenW.]

Congrats Ben, great success at MK Dons. Premier League and Europa League football for next season is quite amazing.

Turns out I didn't get Europa League football...Man City won the cup and gained Europa League qualification in the process as they didn't finish in the Champions League places.

Still after promotion, £30 Million was well spent as I finished a massive 7th in the Premier League in my first season, missing out on Europa League football again but some superb performances along the way. Significant buys were Paul Georges-Ntep, Kyle Naughton, Emmanuel Badu, Nelson Oliveira and Ryan Bennett. Oliveira and Ntep got around 15 league goals each and sold them for healthy profits the season after.

I've started season 4 now (season 2 in the Premier League). Could not say no to the sales of Nelson Oliveira to Hoffenheim and Ntep to Lyon for £7.25M and £9M, Badu also left to Everton for £7.25M. In came a club record signing in Wilfreid Bony from a relegated Swansea for £15M, Winston Reid from Monaco for £10.5M, among others like Diego Poyet, Romain Alessandrini, Corentin Jean, the loans of Zakaria Bakkali, Cristian Manea and the re-loan of Jordan Rossiter. So far, not so good. 16th after 7 games despite beating Spurs...Dele Alli is the leading light but it'll be a struggle to keep hold.

[champ 01/02]

I am currently halfway through my first championship season as York city manager, Am currently sitting 9th but only 3 points outside the playoffs. Results have been mixed, have gone on runs of 4 wins in 5 and 1 win in 7 but have only lost 6 games in the league all season which is something i am quite happy with. My team is settled and the small additions i added from the league 1 squad has been more than enough for us to do relatively well. Leon Best has been injury prone but has still added 8 goals in the campaign, Jake Hyde has stepped up to the plate with 12 goals in 23 games as an advanced forward, however wes fletcher hasn't performed and is out of chances. Paul Corry has been a revelation as a roaming playmaker and liam kelly on loan from reading as an enganche has been even better. I have rejected a club record bid of 1.8 million pounds for my center back pierce sweeney with him, tom Naylor and Mark Obrien all averaging upwards of 7's. In midfield John Lundstrum has played well when not injured, but steven Hewitt from Burnley has replaced him well and Bartley is an adequate 3rd stringer who is useful in most games. Jordan Graham on loan from leicester has been inconsistent although can terrrorise defences on his day, but Josh Carson is better, has been called up to the Northern Irish squad and has got good stats.

I am also able to get rid of the deadwood at the end of the season after not renewing their contracts which is something i am happy with. Not only with players but with coaches especially the under 18's and 21's who i am not happy with. Hopefully can have a makeover. Sorry for the lack of screenshots will add some print screens up soon as it is easier when visuals are provided.

Results against the top teams haven't been great and i probably lack that bit of quality to get promotion this season which would be a good thing i think. Two promotions in a row great, three would be a step too far and in the end i would go a step backwards i think. However if i ended up in the playoffs i would love to go on and attain that unfancied promotion. Sadly I am still only pulling in 4,000 due to stadium restrictions so something needs to be done.

[Gungner]

Just kicked off my Bournemouth save, and I'm hoping for a long-term save.

Played 3 friendlies so far, 3 wins. Next is Atletico Madrid, so I doubt I'll keep the 100% record...

I've made two signings so far: Jack Grealish has joined from Aston Villa on a season-long loan, while Lewis Macleod has joined from Rangers FC for £300k.

[jac4121993]

Just picked up FM15. So here starts my annual Colchester rage save.

[masci0]

Hey guys, I want to start a save in League 1. Wondering which teams has the most attacking talent from the off?

[Jogo Bonito]

Champ, good to see you still going with York. Attendances of 4000 are incredibly low - best of luck.

Gungner, good luck with Bournemouth. Two very good signings there to boost what is already a very good squad.

Jac, welcome back. The youngsters at Colchester seem reasonably well rated this year (to me, at least). What is the rage-quit record to beat?!?

Masci, welcome to the thread. I'd suggest one of the four following teams for you in L1 with good attacking talent. Bristol City have some very good attacking midfielders, one good forward (Agard) and about £400k to spend if you want another good striker. The rest of the squad is strong too. Swindon seem to perform very well in the game with Williams, Obika and Smith regular scorers. Preston have one of the best strikers (Garner) but the others are questionable. Peterborough have a reputation for finding young strikers that they turn in to gems, but it might take a while before they perform in game. However, they do also have £1.4m to spend (more than three times higher than any other team in the league) if you want to bring your own in. You could have a look at the excellent club thread for them created by Maxey if they interest you. Good luck whoever you pick, whether one of them or somebody else.

[Gungner]

I'm still in search of a goalkeeper for Bournemouth, although Lee Camp looks more than capable. I need a back-up though, or a better keeper than Camp. I have £1,2 million left, and I'm looking at Fernando Pacheco. Finished my pre-season, which gave me 5 wins and 1 loss. The loss being at home to Atletico Madrid. Even though they were miles better than us, we managed to come away with an acceptable loss of 0-2. First game of the season is against Millwall, a match I hope we can win.

[Jogo Bonito]

Good start Gungner.

Pacheco seems to usually be available on a free at the end of season 1, so you should be able to sign him in January on a pre-contract deal. He won't have a problem joining a Championship team (joined my promoted Bristol City on £8k p/w, but wanted match highest earner clause).

I'd suggest getting a temporary keeper on loan so you don't end up with more than two if/when Pacheco joins. Immediately upon signing for me, his value became £5m so it's a perfect choice. Camp should be more than good enough in the meantime, but plenty of other British keepers will be available on loan. If not, Nyland, Lindner or even Harush are good foreign options to consider.

[masci0]

Champ, good to see you still going with York. Attendances of 4000 are incredibly low - best of luck.

Gungner, good luck with Bournemouth. Two very good signings there to boost what is already a very good squad.

Jac, welcome back. The youngsters at Colchester seem reasonably well rated this year (to me, at least). What is the rage-quit record to beat?!?

Masci, welcome to the thread. I'd suggest one of the four following teams for you in L1 with good attacking talent. Bristol City have some very good attacking midfielders, one good forward (Agard) and about £400k to spend if you want another good striker. The rest of the squad is strong too. Swindon seem to perform very well in the game with Williams, Obika and Smith regular scorers. Preston have one of the best strikers (Garner) but the others are questionable. Peterborough have a reputation for finding young strikers that they turn in to gems, but it might take a while before they perform in game. However, they do also have £1.4m to spend (more than three times higher than any other team in the league) if you want to bring your own in. You could have a look at the excellent club thread for them created by Maxey if they interest you. Good luck whoever you pick, whether one of them or somebody else.

Thanks JB! will take a look at these four. All seem like really good options. Decisions, decisions!

[Gungner]

Good start Gungner.

Pacheco seems to usually be available on a free at the end of season 1, so you should be able to sign him in January on a pre-contract deal. He won't have a problem joining a Championship team (joined my promoted Bristol City on £8k p/w, but wanted match highest earner clause).

I'd suggest getting a temporary keeper on loan so you don't end up with more than two if/when Pacheco joins. Immediately upon signing for me, his value became £5m so it's a perfect choice. Camp should be more than good enough in the meantime, but plenty of other British keepers will be available on loan. If not, Nyland, Lindner or even Harush are good foreign options to consider.

Yeah, I think I'll wait until the end of the season, or in january to get a new keeper. Camp has impressed me in the pre-season, so he should be my number one. Two more players have joined Bournemouth, that being Ryan Mason of Tottenham, and Unai Lopez of Athletic Bilbao, both on a season-long loan.

[danm2501]

After getting Fleetwood to the Premier League in 4 seasons on 14, I'm going Northern again in 15, and planning on doing the same with Morecambe!