FM15: Swansea City - The ONLY Welsh club in the Premier League..

[Phenomenon]

Welcome to the FM15 Swansea City Thread!

5 reasons why should you play as Swansea!

1. A solid squad which is easily good enough to compete in the top half of the Premier League.

2. A good spine in the team with Fabianski, Williams, Fernandez, Shelvey, Sigurdsson and Bony.

3. Financially a very stable club because it's so well run. Very little debt.

4. Room for improvement in all areas of the squad so plenty of scope for making signings.

5. The chance to become the first club legend on the game, as there are none listed(see info screen below).

A little bit of history..(don't worry, I'll try not to bore)

In the beginning - Long before Swansea Town came into being, children had played football on a piece of waste ground on which vetch - a cabbage-like plant used for cow feed - grew wild. Vetch Field, as it became known, was leased by the Swansea Gas Light Company to the Swansea League who laid out clinker pitches. In 1912, Swansea Town were formed as a professional club and took up residence. This was an ambitious venture given the dominance of rugby union in the area. The new football club adopted the same all white strip as Swansea RFU and apart from a few seasons when black shorts were introduced, they have worn all-white for most of their career. The club was known as Swansea Town but they changed their name when Swansea was granted City status in 1969.

More recent history - There's one game in the history of the club that is easily the most important in it's history. On May 3rd 2003, Swansea beat Hull City to avoid relegation on the last day of the season at the expense of Exeter. Many believe that this game sparked a massive rise in fortunes for the Swans. Swansea crowned their last season at The Vetch with a last game of the season promotion in 2005 from League 2 to League 1.

The move to the Liberty Stadium was followed by the arrival of former player Roberto Martinez as manager. Many believe that it was his work on the training ground that sparked the attractive style of football Swansea City play today. Martinez got the Swans promoted to the Championship in 2008 by winning the League one title. He also gained a respectable 8th position in the return to English footballs second tier, missing out on playoffs by 1 point. Martinez left Swansea for Wigan in June of 2009, and was replaced by Portugal's Paulo Sousa. Swansea once again missed out on the playoffs by a point, before Sousa left for Leicester. Swansea took what many thought was a gamble on appointing Brendan Rogers but he took Swansea to 3rd in the league in his first season and won the play offs in a thrilling final at wembley, beating Reading 4-2.

Kicking off the 2011–12 in the Premier League made Swansea the first Welsh team to play in the division since its formation in 1992. The Swans defeated Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City, the eventual champions, at home during the season. The Swans finished their debut Premier League season in 11th, but at the end of the season Brendan Rodgers left to manage Liverpool. He was replaced by Michael Laudrup for the 2012–13 Premier League season. His first league game ended in a 5–0 victory over Queens Park Rangers away at Loftus Road. This saw Swansea joint top of the Premiership, making it the first time since October 1981 the team have been at the summit of the top tier, when they beat Stoke City 2–1 away and led during the 10th round of matches. On 1 December, Swansea picked up a big 0–2 away win against Arsenal, with Michu scoring twice during the last minutes of the game. This marks Swansea's first win at Arsenal in three decades. On 24 February 2013, Swansea beat Bradford City 5–0 in the League Cup final. This triumph, in a record victory, was Swansea's first major piece of silverware. Swansea City finished the season in 9th place in the Premier League, improving upon the league standing achieved in the previous season. In February 2014, Laudrup was dismissed from the club after seemingly becoming uninterested in the job. Defender Garry Monk, a Swansea player since 2004, was named as his replacement and guided the Swans to a 12th place finish and the last 32 of the Europa league where they were knocked out by Napoli. So now it's your time. What history can you make?

Swansea In Football Manager

I imagine the debt will be easily managable. As you can see there are no club legends yet. Could you be the first?

Facilities are one of the things I will constantly be pestering the board to upgrade until we have the best. Will also be doing the same for the youth.

Here are the budgets. Not a massive amount of money to spend but it's enough to buy the couple of players needed. Personally I think the budget in real life would be a fair bit more but sadly this is all you'll have to work with. If you ask for more wages from the board I've found you'll always get it. Can't say the same for transfers thought sadly. Surprised to see that mid-table isn't an option this year but I suppose this shows the ambitions of the club.

[Phenomenon]

The First Team Squad

Goalkeepers

Lukas Fabianski - Your undisputed number one. Signed for free after being released by Arsenal in the summer.

Gerhard Tremmel - A good back up on cheap wages, but you may want to consider a younger prospect.

Right Back

Angel Rangel - Your strongest player in this position. A bit of a cult hero at Swansea after driving around the city giving sandwiches to the homeless on a cold night one January. At the age of 31 you may want to consider replacing him. Equally adept in both halves of the pitch.

Dwight Tiendalli - Decent enough cover for Rangel, but will never set the world alight. May be one to get rid of if you can find a good prospect.

Ashley(Jazz) Richards - Also decent cover and home grown but will never make a first choice rightback.

Left Back

Neil Taylor - A good left back who struggled through injuries and lost his place to Ben Davies, who has now left for Spurs. Taylor is now first choice and is strong enough for now.

Centre Back

Ashley Williams - Team captain and the rock in your defence. At the peak of his powers and probably one of the best central defenders in the league.

Federico Fernandez - A new acquisition from Napoli this summer. Went to the world cup with Argentina and should be a good partner for Williams.

Jordi Amat - A youngster from Espanyol who is good cover option with the potential to be an excellent premiership defender.

Alan Tate - A bit out of his depth in this division due to lack of pace. Been with the club a long time and is a fan favourite , so up to you whether you keep him around for sentiment.

Kyle Bartley - Been out on loan for a couple of years since signing from Arsenal. Starting to get his chance in real life but is no more than back up in the game.

Central Midfield

Leon Britton - This little metronome is excellent at winning the ball and keeping the team ticking over. Getting old now but can still do a good job.

Ki Sung-Yeung - Back after a good loan spell at Sunderland. Should be a starter in the centre of your midfield.

Thomas Carroll - On loan from Spurs. A good little youngster but no more than back up.

Jonjo Shelvey - Should start alongside Ki in the engine room. Great allround game.

Right Wing

Nathan Dyer - A fan favourite. Hardworking and has pace to burn. Nathan isn't the most technically gifted player in the squad but can cause defenders problems with his direct style. Massively underrated in my opinion. Also an option on the left.

Wayne Routledge - A natural on the right but capable on the left. Wayne has enough quality to do a decent job in the premiership, but probably won't set the world alight. At 29, should be at his peak.

Left Wing

Jefferson Montero - The only natural left winger in your squad, Jefferson signed in the summer off the back of a good world cup with Ecuador. Pace to burn and a goal threat. Should start in the left wing berth.

Central Attacking Midfielder

Michu - On loan at Napoli after becoming unhappy at the liberty. Napoli have an option to buy him so you may get him back, you may not.

Gylfi Sigurdsson - Returns to the Liberty on a permanent deal. A goal threat from attacking midfield and should provide you with a lot of assists.

Striker

Wilfried Bony - The record signing from Vitesse. Wilf should be the focal point of your attack. Strong, fairly quick and a deadly finisher - he should provide your team with a constant threat upfront.

Marvin Emnes - Signed permanently after a couple of loan spells from Middlesbrough over the years. Nothing more than back up.Bafemtimbi Gomis - Arrived in the summer from Lyon. A free transfer who will provide good competition for Bony.

Modou Barrow - Young player who's doing really well for the under 21's in real life and also made a couple of substitute appearances in the first team where he showed he has pace to burn. Sadly, not rated that highly by FM.

Rory Donnelly - Still a youngster and looks decent, but doesn't have the potential to be great.

[Phenomenon]

Tactics

I think the Swansea squad is most suited to a 4-2-3-1(wide) formation. This tends to be the formation they use in real life, with the focus being on 'possession with penetration'. The team likes to keep the ball, moving the ball around the pitch, drawing out defenders and then changing the pace of the attack when the opponent has left gaps to exploit. The defenders will always try to play their way out of defence(sometimes foolishly) rather than clear their lines. The goalkeeper also distributes the ball to his defenders whenever possible, and often receives the ball from his defenders to help keep possession. The central midfielders do not roam too far from their positions and one of them always sits if the other pushes on to join an attack. The fullbacks will always look to help out their wingers in attack, and the wingers always track in to help their fullbacks defend. The attacking midfielder will look to get on the ball as much as possible, organising the attack before eventually arriving late in the box to get on the end of chances. Finally, the lone striker will look to hold up the ball, bring others into play and look to get on the end of any opportunity to score in the box.

Here are the three formations I will be using for Swansea.

This 4231 formation is the one I will be using most.

I will use this 433 formation in games were I am the underdog(mainly games against the big clubs away from home).

I will use this tactic when I am a very firm favourite or need to get a goal. This tactic also allows you to use both Bony and Gomis, so one isn't wasted on the bench.

Obviously, there are other tactical options. If you think you'r approach has brought you good results and you want it added to the tactics section of the opening post then let me know.

Potential Signings

You may want to consider replacing Tremmel with a young understudy for Fabianski. I would recommend Timo Horn, a young German goalkeeper with potential to be your number one for a long time. He has a release clause of £3.8 million.

In defence, if you're looking to replace an ageing Angel Rangel I'd recommend Gino Peruzzi who should be available for around £3.5 million and is a good all rounder. You may also want to sign Eder Alvarez Balanta for about £6 million. He will provide good competition for Williams, Fernandez and Amat and he will eventually become a world beater. Massive potential for profit in him.

Leon Britton is another ageing player you may want to consider replacing. Options in the centre of midfield are vast. Lucas Romero is a favourite on these forums and can be bought for around £7 million. I've seen him be sold after 2 or 3 seasons for £50+ million. His Argentinian counterpart Gaston Gil Romero is another option. Slightly cheaper at around £4 million, he's not quite the rounded player that Lucas Romero is, but will provide your midfield with much needed steel. A cheaper option is another, more experienced Argie.. Fernando Gago. Available for around £1.6 million. Lastly, you may want to splash the cash(around £12.5 million) on Youri Tielemans. More attacking than the previous suggestions, this young Belgian is one of the most exciting prospects on the game.

An area you may want to strengthen is the left wing. Jefferson Montero is the only natural LW you have so why not sign Pavel Savitskiy?! If you catch him at the start of the game you can approach to sign him for free, and he will arrive in January. Other options are Dorin Rotariu, the Romanian who is available for around £5 million.

Other things to consider

I have noticed that Liverpool are willing to loan Suso out for no monthly fee and 50% of his wages. You may want to consider bringing him in as he looks very good on this years game and can provide good competition for Sigurdsson. Another player available on loan for no monthly fee is Adama Traore. He is available to approach as a free signing but unless you're a champions league club, he pretty much always resigns with Barca. Offer them 100% of his wages and you can loan him for a season.

Just want to say that this thread is open to additions and changes if anyone wants to contribute. Just let me know!

[Phenomenon]

Swansea Manager Records

Beaten one of these records? Post proof in the thread and I'll update it.

Premier League points in one season:

Win streak:

Unbeaten streak:

Biggest competitive win:

Most goals in one league season(team, not including cups):

Most goals in one league season(player, not including cups):

Most goal in one season(player, including cups):

Least goals conceded in a league season:

Biggest transfer fee paid:

Biggest transfer fee recieved:

Highest average rating over a season(atleast 30 games played):

Biggest win against Cardiff:

Most league titles won:

Most cup competitions won:

Earliest club legend:

Think of anymore records to be kept? Post in the thread and they'll be added.

[Snowy]

Thanks for this thread mate, great start, good job

[john1]

Good OP I do find Gylfi Sigurdsson excellent as AP- Attack. I'm managing West Ham btw.

[Bigpapa42]

Well, about time! Glad to finally see a Swansea City thread and a nice one at that.

I never Swansea much thought until I was managing in The Netherlands on FM14 and saw Swansea win the Premiership first season. I ended up playing around with the club on 14, but will give them a proper save on FM15. So I'll be following the thread, and hoping to contribute soon enough.

[Phenomenon]

Thanks everyone. I'll be starting my long term Swansea save right now. Will be updating regularly. Anyone else playing as the Swans at the moment?

[Welshace]

I may start one now we have a thread... good job

[Phenomenon]

I may start one now we have a thread... good job

It's very similar to the one I did last year(lots of copying and pasting), which means it's probably very similar to the one I did the year before. I was just fed up of playing as other teams while waiting for someone else to do a Swans thread.

[Snowy]

I have a swans save mate but I'm very early into the season, gutted about spurs beating us today btw in the dying moments of the game, we were a much better team on the day, anyway I will let you know who I managed to sign/sell tomorrow when I load my game up.

[oakesypvfc]

Started a save of my own with Swansea and have played the first season

Ended up ninth, but look at those goals conceded :O

Found gomis to be more than just a backup for Bony, Bony was on and off injured all season and Gomis more than filled in. Have added Peruzzi, Horn and brought back de Guzman on loan for this season, hoping I can stop us conceding so many.

[Phenomenon]

Wow, that's a lot of goals conceded! Saying that, I just lost my managerial debut game 4-1 to Arsenal at the Emirates. It's a harsh scoreline as we competed well looking at the stats but Giroud was clinical.

What expectations have you gone for this time?

[Bigpapa42]

It's very similar to the one I did last year(lots of copying and pasting), which means it's probably very similar to the one I did the year before. I was just fed up of playing as other teams while waiting for someone else to do a Swans thread.

I have to admit that I gave some thought to doing the Swansea thread over the past few weeks. But I haven't really got going with a save with them. Started a few games but never got more than a couple weeks in. Kinda hesitant to get one going before the game seems sorted and settled with patches, at least mostly. Didn't seem right to create the thread if I'm not actually playing the game with the club yet. Ironically, now that this one is rolling, I'm very likely to give into the temptation of starting a proper save with Swansea in the near future.

Did manage to sign Lucas Romero in one of those start-up saves, but it took pretty much the entire wage budget to do it. I assume you could probably get Eder Alvarez but it would be much the same - you wouldn't have much left over for another other purchases.

In terms of selling players, it seems that Ashley Williams (Everton), Neil Taylor (West Ham), Jonjo Shelvey (Southampton), and Wayne Routledge (West Ham) are all wanted in almost every new save. I've had bids come in for Taylor and Shelvey multiple times, but they are always structured deals that aren't that appealing. You might be able to negotiate them up to being worth it, but I wasn't. The players are very unhappy if you don't let them go, too. Offered Routledge once and got an offer, but similarly not an appealing one compared to his value. I'm not sure that any player is actually all that expendable, but it really depends on your formation and who you buy.

When I do get a save going, the intent is to address the fullback positions first and the midfield depth. I've signed Gino Peruzzi as mentioned above on a test save, but will likely go after Pavel Kaderabek, who is similarly priced and I have found he performs at an extremely high level. Would like at least a developmental backup leftback but undecided on the target yet. A couple versatile midfielders - Lewis Macleod, Joshua Kimmich, possible Dele Ali - should stretch the funds out and set the midfield up for the future quite nicely.

[Phenomenon]

I have to admit that I gave some thought to doing the Swansea thread over the past few weeks. But I haven't really got going with a save with them. Started a few games but never got more than a couple weeks in. Kinda hesitant to get one going before the game seems sorted and settled with patches, at least mostly. Didn't seem right to create the thread if I'm not actually playing the game with the club yet. Ironically, now that this one is rolling, I'm very likely to give into the temptation of starting a proper save with Swansea in the near future.

Did manage to sign Lucas Romero in one of those start-up saves, but it took pretty much the entire wage budget to do it. I assume you could probably get Eder Alvarez but it would be much the same - you wouldn't have much left over for another other purchases.

In terms of selling players, it seems that Ashley Williams (Everton), Neil Taylor (West Ham), Jonjo Shelvey (Southampton), and Wayne Routledge (West Ham) are all wanted in almost every new save. I've had bids come in for Taylor and Shelvey multiple times, but they are always structured deals that aren't that appealing. You might be able to negotiate them up to being worth it, but I wasn't. The players are very unhappy if you don't let them go, too. Offered Routledge once and got an offer, but similarly not an appealing one compared to his value. I'm not sure that any player is actually all that expendable, but it really depends on your formation and who you buy.

When I do get a save going, the intent is to address the fullback positions first and the midfield depth. I've signed Gino Peruzzi as mentioned above on a test save, but will likely go after Pavel Kaderabek, who is similarly priced and I have found he performs at an extremely high level. Would like at least a developmental backup leftback but undecided on the target yet. A couple versatile midfielders - Lewis Macleod, Joshua Kimmich, possible Dele Ali - should stretch the funds out and set the midfield up for the future quite nicely.

A nice, informative post for people starting as the Swans so thanks for that.

I made the effort while making the thread to start a test save and look at possible sales of players. I found it extremely difficult to get rid of Routeledge, who at 29 is one of the players I would have considered replacing. You can get around the £2.5 million mark for Angel Rangel which isn't too bad as it means you only need to pay a million over the top to get Peruzzi or Kaderabek(who I looked at but opted for Peruzzi based on his defensive stats). I wanted to sell Leon Britton and replace him with Lucas Romero but Britton is injured at the start of the game so on my test save I played around with the idea of selling Ki Sung-Yeung. Found you can get his value for him(£7.5m) which will allow you to buy Romero. Getting money for players was actually pretty difficult at the start. A lot of the fringe players are either new to the squad or unwanted.

Left back is such a difficult position to buy a top prospect in. There aren't that many in the game and the ones that are happen to be at big clubs or be very expensive. For £2.8 million you can get an Argie called Nicolas Tagliafico who's good enough to provide competition for Taylor at a young age and will improve. Truth be told, I've got my heart set on getting Ben Davies back at some point, along with Joe Allen and maybe even Scott Sinclair, so what I decided on was that I would buy Balanta and let him be my LB cover.

[oakesypvfc]

Wow, that's a lot of goals conceded! Saying that, I just lost my managerial debut game 4-1 to Arsenal at the Emirates. It's a harsh scoreline as we competed well looking at the stats but Giroud was clinical.

What expectations have you gone for this time?

My aim has to be Europa League qualification this time around. Am extremely happy with the team assembled, still doesn't seen like I can defend set pieces though

[Phenomenon]

My aim has to be Europa League qualification this time around. Am extremely happy with the team assembled, still doesn't seen like I can defend set pieces though

If it's any help, here's the corner and freekick defensive set ups on my tactics.

[Phenomenon]

Just invited Man United to the Liberty Stadium in the league. United had played 7 and won 7. I had to field a weakened side due to Peruzzi, Balanta, Shelvey, Montero and Bony all being on less than 90 percent fitness so Richards, Fernandez, Carroll, Routledge and Gomis replaced them. I won't lie, I was worried we might get a hammering. Then this happened....

Excellent result! Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next so may get brought back down to earth quickly...

[FjollFan]

I am currently in my 3rd season with Swansea and having a blast

First season:

Got rid of Routledge to WBA for 3.5m and bought Gonzalo Piovi from Velez for 2,5m, Borek Dockal from Sparta Prague for 2m and Iver Fossum from Strömgodset for 1m. Was somewhat happy with my transfers, wanted another fullback but had to rely on Tiendalli for backup.

It was a very up and down season with us being 3rd when Christmas because of some brilliant perfomances from Gylfi and Bony in particular but we completly lost our form in January/February due to an injury on Gylfi but got back on track come April and we managed a very respectable 7th place which got us into Europe.

Standout players: Gylfi, Bony, Shelvey

Second season:

Due to Shelvey playing so well (and him whinging when Liverpool showed interest) last season I was forced to sell him for 12m. I also got rid of Tiendalli and Barrow for minor money. Brought in Jordan Obita (7m), Matias Kranevitter (6m), Fernando Pacheco (free), Gabriel Iancu (7m) and Mayke (8m).

Got a decent group in the Euro-cup (Athletic, Dnipro and Pribram) where we got through without too much trouble and faced Braga in first elimination round and beat them as well, however we lost to Legia in the second elimination round.

In the league, we was once again very inconsistent, but managed to snatch 6th place just ahead of Southampton by 1 point which once again got us into the Euro-cup.

Standout players: Bony, Williams, Dockal

Third season:

This time I have struggled with both Bony and Mayke wanting to go to bigger clubs, Bony have calmed down but Mayke is still after more money but I am in no position to sell him right now. I have brought in Tomas Kalas (8m), Jorge Enriquez (8m), Ward-Prowse (14m) and Felipe Anderson (7m).

Current team:

GK: Fabianski/Pacheco

LB: Taylor/Piovi

CB: Amat/Fernandez

CB: Williams/Kalas

RB: Mayke

CM: Enriquez/Fossum

CM: Ward-Prowse/Michu/Ki

AML: Felipe Anderson/Obita

AMC: Sigurdsson/Michu/Iancu

AMR: Dockal/Dyer

ST: Bony/Gomis

Hopefully the lack of RB backup won't cost me too dearly

[Phenomenon]

I am currently in my 3rd season with Swansea and having a blast

First season:

Got rid of Routledge to WBA for 3.5m and bought Gonzalo Piovi from Velez for 2,5m, Borek Dockal from Sparta Prague for 2m and Iver Fossum from Strömgodset for 1m. Was somewhat happy with my transfers, wanted another fullback but had to rely on Tiendalli for backup.

It was a very up and down season with us being 3rd when Christmas because of some brilliant perfomances from Gylfi and Bony in particular but we completly lost our form in January/February due to an injury on Gylfi but got back on track come April and we managed a very respectable 7th place which got us into Europe.

Standout players: Gylfi, Bony, Shelvey

Second season:

Due to Shelvey playing so well (and him whinging when Liverpool showed interest) last season I was forced to sell him for 12m. I also got rid of Tiendalli and Barrow for minor money. Brought in Jordan Obita (7m), Matias Kranevitter (6m), Fernando Pacheco (free), Gabriel Iancu (7m) and Mayke (8m).

Got a decent group in the Euro-cup (Athletic, Dnipro and Pribram) where we got through without too much trouble and faced Braga in first elimination round and beat them as well, however we lost to Legia in the second elimination round.

In the league, we was once again very inconsistent, but managed to snatch 6th place just ahead of Southampton by 1 point which once again got us into the Euro-cup.

Standout players: Bony, Williams, Dockal

Third season:

This time I have struggled with both Bony and Mayke wanting to go to bigger clubs, Bony have calmed down but Mayke is still after more money but I am in no position to sell him right now. I have brought in Tomas Kalas (8m), Jorge Enriquez (8m), Ward-Prowse (14m) and Felipe Anderson (7m).

Current team:

GK: Fabianski/Pacheco

LB: Taylor/Piovi

CB: Amat/Fernandez

CB: Williams/Kalas

RB: Mayke

CM: Enriquez/Fossum

CM: Ward-Prowse/Michu/Ki

AML: Felipe Anderson/Obita

AMC: Sigurdsson/Michu/Iancu

AMR: Dockal/Dyer

ST: Bony/Gomis

Hopefully the lack of RB backup won't cost me too dearly

Nice to see someone who's a little further along in their career. How's Michu been since returning? Also noticed you don't have Matias Kranevitter in your side at the end there. Did you sell him? I'd be interested to see some screenshots for your transfers over the last few seasons if you could?

In other news I just followed up that Man United win with this....

Don't know what I'm doing right but loving it!!

[FjollFan]

Nice to see someone who's a little further along in their career. How's Michu been since returning? Also noticed you don't have Matias Kranevitter in your side at the end there. Did you sell him? I'd be interested to see some screenshots for your transfers over the last few seasons if you could?

Michu has been excellent although a bit inconsistent but that goes for the whole team .

Yeah sold Kranevitter to Liverpool for 16,5m, I really couldn't get the best out of him and he wanted to leave.

14/15

15/16

16/17

On another note, does anyone know how good Lewis Thomas can be? He looks like he became useful later down the line

[Phenomenon]

I don't think Lewis Thomas can become anything more than a back up option and by the time he's fulfilled his potential, he may not even be good enough for that.

[Bigpapa42]

A nice, informative post for people starting as the Swans so thanks for that.

I made the effort while making the thread to start a test save and look at possible sales of players. I found it extremely difficult to get rid of Routeledge, who at 29 is one of the players I would have considered replacing. You can get around the £2.5 million mark for Angel Rangel which isn't too bad as it means you only need to pay a million over the top to get Peruzzi or Kaderabek(who I looked at but opted for Peruzzi based on his defensive stats). I wanted to sell Leon Britton and replace him with Lucas Romero but Britton is injured at the start of the game so on my test save I played around with the idea of selling Ki Sung-Yeung. Found you can get his value for him(£7.5m) which will allow you to buy Romero. Getting money for players was actually pretty difficult at the start. A lot of the fringe players are either new to the squad or unwanted.

Left back is such a difficult position to buy a top prospect in. There aren't that many in the game and the ones that are happen to be at big clubs or be very expensive. For £2.8 million you can get an Argie called Nicolas Tagliafico who's good enough to provide competition for Taylor at a young age and will improve. Truth be told, I've got my heart set on getting Ben Davies back at some point, along with Joe Allen and maybe even Scott Sinclair, so what I decided on was that I would buy Balanta and let him be my LB cover.

I tried to sell both Routledge and Dyer on FM14 and couldn't get a half decent offer. If you can get anything over 1m for Routledge, its probably doing well. Given that his wages aren't huge, I would prefer to keep him. Especially as I won't be playing a narrow formation as I was on FM14. Most offers seem to be structured ones on this version. Which is sorta understandable since that's pretty much the only way I make transfer offers, but still... I want more up front from teh buying club lol

I'm not sure about the likes of Rangel and Ki. I'm debating how much I want to change the squad off the start. Getting rid of 3 or 4 first team players can start to feel like I'm changing too much too quickly and kinda spoil a save for me. Happened already with Southampton.

Kaderabek is indeed much more attacking than defensive. I might have consider Peruzzi a bit more and really compare them again. I don't know if being as open and attacking as I was planning will work all that wonderfully in the Prem. Very much agree on left backs. One worth targeting looks to be Andrew Robertson at Hull. I'm actually playing a save with Hull at the moment, and it was Robertson who initially caught my eye.

I don't think Lewis Thomas can become anything more than a back up option and by the time he's fulfilled his potential, he may not even be good enough for that.

I'm not sure about that. The coaches and scouts always seem to rate him highly in any save. I've seen two different sim games where the AI was able to develop him into a reasonable backup level player through a couple of loans, which makes me think he can be a fair degree better through human manager development. Use of mentoring, blood him a bit in cup matches, and you might end up with Ashley Williams Version 2.0. Ironically, I don't think he plays as a defender. From what I could find, he's actually a goakleeper.

[Phenomenon]

I'm not sure about that. The coaches and scouts always seem to rate him highly in any save. I've seen two different sim games where the AI was able to develop him into a reasonable backup level player through a couple of loans, which makes me think he can be a fair degree better through human manager development. Use of mentoring, blood him a bit in cup matches, and you might end up with Ashley Williams Version 2.0. Ironically, I don't think he plays as a defender. From what I could find, he's actually a goakleeper.

I just checked the Editor as I was intrigued as to what his PA was. He is a

CA of 65 and a PA of -8 which I believe means between 130 and 150.

For me, this means he could potentially be a back up player if you get lucky with him random PA, but more often then not he probably won't make the grade. You are correct about him being a goalkeeper in real life though. He's actually played for Wales at U19 level as a goalkeeper too so not sure what the researcher was doing.

[Bigpapa42]

I just checked the Editor as I was intrigued as to what his PA was. He is a

CA of 65 and a PA of -8 which I believe means between 130 and 150.

For me, this means he could potentially be a back up player if you get lucky with him random PA, but more often then not he probably won't make the grade. You are correct about him being a goalkeeper in real life though. He's actually played for Wales at U19 level as a goalkeeper too so not sure what the researcher was doing.

A -8 means it could be as high as 160.

If he develops to within a reasonable distance of his max PA, then he would be a pretty solid player. If you look at the PA of some solid, dependable, Prem-caliber players, many do not have elite potential. For a point of comparison, do a CA search in the Editor for players within 10-15 points of his max possible and see what kind of player he could develop into. Of course, he may not develop to that level. But it at least makes him a prospect worth pouring some work into trying with.

The position error has been reported on the Data Issues thread, so hopefully will be fixed on the next data update. Hoping his potential doesn't get nerfed, though.

Edit - have to say that being able to discuss the club makes starting up that Swansea game very very tempting. The last couple of saves I've put any real time into have been Vitesse and Hull City, where there are no discussion threads and they aren't common to play as, so this just makes it more enjoyable. Love reading about how others are doing, who they have signed, etc.

[Phenomenon]

Season one update

Well I've just got to the 1st of January 2015 and I can't really believe what is happening to me at the moment. I think I've stumbled across some sort of super tactic. I downloaded quite a few tactics about a month ago in an attempt to see what styles of play create the most clear cut chances. I never even looked at a few of them because I got bored and just wanted to play. I decided to use one of these at the start of my Swansea save and it's been absolutely unreal. It's a 4-1-2-2-1 tactic with wingers and a false 9. Here's what it's done...

I would expect the kind of results I've been producing to see my sitting top of the league but quite honestly, Man United have been incredible. We're the only team to defeat them in the league so far. Falcao has scored 20 league goals for them already. They're gonna take some stopping but so are we at this rate!

Here's my transfer business.

Sold Ki to make sure I could bring in both Balanta and Romero. Both have been solid and Romero's value had risen to £10.5 million already. Peruzzi replaced Rangel at RB and has done really well. Decided to loan Tielemans with an option to buy him for £12.5m. I pay no monthly fee and 100% of his wages, so I think everyone should do this! My aim is to buy him with next years budget once they give it to me. I just hope it's enough.

The form of Dyer and Routledge has seen interest in them from Newcastle and Everton respectively but I'm gonna keep them unless an offer comes in which I can't refuse. Wilfried Bony had a cry about Everton being interested in him. I put him in his place so he's unhappy but I won't be selling unless a club comes in with a huge offer.

Crashed out of the League Cup in the 3rd round. Beat Chesterfield in the 2nd round but lost to Chelsea 4-2 in the 3rd. Not all that fussed, I only ever use that competition as a chance to show off the kids and give back up players a go.

My plans for transfer business in January are to maybe sell Leon Britton(32 years old and declining) and bring in Martin Odegaard. After that it will depend on whether big offers come in.

[FjollFan]

Season one update

Sold Ki to make sure I could bring in both Balanta and Romero. Both have been solid and Romero's value had risen to £10.5 million already. Peruzzi replaced Rangel at RB and has done really well. Decided to loan Tielemans with an option to buy him for £12.5m. I pay no monthly fee and 100% of his wages, so I think everyone should do this! My aim is to buy him with next years budget once they give it to me. I just hope it's enough.

The form of Dyer and Routledge has seen interest in them from Newcastle and Everton respectively but I'm gonna keep them unless an offer comes in which I can't refuse. Wilfried Bony had a cry about Everton being interested in him. I put him in his place so he's unhappy but I won't be selling unless a club comes in with a huge offer.

Crashed out of the League Cup in the 3rd round. Beat Chesterfield in the 2nd round but lost to Chelsea 4-2 in the 3rd. Not all that fussed, I only ever use that competition as a chance to show off the kids and give back up players a go.

My plans for transfer business in January are to maybe sell Leon Britton(32 years old and declining) and bring in Martin Odegaard. After that it will depend on whether big offers come in.

Aren't you a bit low on full backs right now since you sold both Rangel and Tiendalli?

[Phenomenon]

Aren't you a bit low on full backs right now since you sold both Rangel and Tiendalli?

My defence consists of...

RB: Peruzzi, Richards

LB: Taylor, Balanta

CB: Williams, Fernandez, Amat, Bartley, Balanta

Not had any problems so far..

[FjollFan]

My defence consists of...

RB: Peruzzi, Richards

LB: Taylor, Balanta

CB: Williams, Fernandez, Amat, Bartley, Balanta

Not had any problems so far..

Oh yeah, good old Richards. Completly forgot about him since I always sell him

In other news, Iancu is a monster against teams that give him space

[Phenomenon]

Oh yeah, good old Richards. Completly forgot about him since I always sell him

In other news, Iancu is a monster against teams that give him space

In fairness to Jazz Richards, he's been really good when called upon. I usually sell him too.

I remember back in FM14 on a Swansea save I had Stanciu RW, Iancu AMC and Rotariu LW. They were all lethal!

[montylwo17]

Started my annual Swansea save so I am looking forward to seeing how far I can go with the team. Decided to not have a large turnover in the squad. I feel the squad is strong and I have alot of affection for the old stalwarts of the team such as Williams, Britton and Rangel. Will try not sell Bony at any cost.

Transfers

IN: Dele Alli - 3 M from MK Dons. Backup for first team and potential star for the future

Ajer - 10 K from Start (one for the future)

Traore - loan from Barcelona to provide depth on the right side.

Out: Tate 275 K Birmingham - not good enough to play and had no future in the team

Cornell - 25 K Man City - kind of a weird place for him to go

Tactics: three tactics to chose from

4141 - more of a structured formation that will be for of a counter attack strategy that will utilize the speed on the outside in the squad

4123 - little more of an aggressive strategy that pushes the wide players higher up the field

442 Narrow - specifically designed to get Bony and Gomis on the field at the same time as well as moving Gylfi higher up

Preseason was good as I took the team on a training camp in the USA. 10 games played with 8 wins and 2 draws. Now on the the season.

August and September

EPL (A) Man U 3-1 - Routledge, Bony, OG - great start to the season. Luckily did not have to face Rooney, RVP and Di Maria due to injury

EPL (H) Arsenal 1-0 - Dyer - excellent game by the team and we should have won by more

COC (A) Wycombe - 4-2 - Traore Gomis Carroll Sheehan - good game for the backups and youngsters

EPL (A) Newcastle 2-1 - Dyer Bony

EPL (H) Sunderland 4-1 - Bony 2, Fernandez, Montero

EPL (A) West Brom - 3-0 - Dyer 3 - Dyer has been a force for the team all season

COC (H) Leyton Orient 1-0 - Sheehan - hard fought game that we scraped thru thanks to a late winner

EPL (H) Chelsea 4-1 - Gomis 2, Bony 2 - broke out the 442 diamond formation due to injuries and suspension.

Absolutely ecstatic with the perfomance of the team. 100 % record and we are 5 points clear of Chelsea and Man U. Dyer has been unplayable in the wide midfielder attack role in our 4141 formation. Ki has been deployed in the Anchor Man role and has played very well. We have been strong defensively with Williams/Fernandez being the centre back combo.

[oakesypvfc]

I actually did something not many would do and sold Amat, he was unimpressive for me so I think I got around £8m for him. Replaced him with Arrebas who looks very solid.

Also, interested to know how you all play Bony, I have him as complete forward currently but he hasn't been all that consistent.

[Phenomenon]

I actually did something not many would do and sold Amat, he was unimpressive for me so I think I got around £8m for him. Replaced him with Arrebas who looks very solid.

Also, interested to know how you all play Bony, I have him as complete forward currently but he hasn't been all that consistent.

I play Bony in a false 9. He does okay but in fairness he's being out performed by Gomis. I tend to give them equal game time because of this.

[Phenomenon]

Quick update on my January transfer window dealings...

In

Pavel Savitskiy - Free

Lazar Markovic - Loan(40% wages and no monthly fee)

Out

Leon Britton - £1 million

Marvin Emnes - £1 million

Gerhard Tremmel - Free

So for the second half of the season my squad looks like this..

GK - Fabianski, Zabret

RB - Peruzzi, Richards

LB - Taylor, Balanta

CB - Williams, Fernandez, Amat, Bartley

DM - Romero

CM - Sigurdsson, Shelvey, Tielemans, Carroll

RW - Dyer, Routledge

LW - Montero, Markovic, Savitskiy

ST - Bony, Gomis, Barrow

Probably left myself a little short in the middle of midfield but I've crashed out of both cups so should be okay. Now to try stay in the top 4....

[FjollFan]

I actually did something not many would do and sold Amat, he was unimpressive for me so I think I got around £8m for him. Replaced him with Arrebas who looks very solid.

Also, interested to know how you all play Bony, I have him as complete forward currently but he hasn't been all that consistent.

I play him as a Advanced Forward with no additional instructions and he scored 26 goals season 2 and he has generally been very good for me.

[FjollFan]

Halfway through season 3 and I gotta hand to Mayke, never before has a player been more irritating than him so I will look to get rid of that money grabbing pest in January and getting another less annoying RB. Besides him the team has worked nicely and my summer signings has gelled nicely especially Felipe Anderson and Ward-Prowse.

Got trashed in the Capital One Cup 3rd round by Everton, not too sad about that. Got Dag & Red in the FA-cup, but only managed to beat them 2-1.

In the PL we are doing OK, currently sitting at 6th, 5 points to the desirable 4th place although with Man united and Liverpool behind me which is worrisome.

Besides a new RB I probably won't be looking for another signing right now unless something great shows up since the bank is......pretty dry

[montylwo17]

first season update

continued our excellent form in the league as we won our first ten games in a row before losing away to liverpool 2-3 on at injury time own goal by ash. have an amazing record of 12w 0d 1L at the end of the month and a 9 point lead over chelsea. defense has been the key as we have let only 7 goals in 13 league games. Bony and Dyer have been the catalysts for the team with 10 and 9 goals respectively over the season. Gylfi has been very good is his CM Roaming Playmaker role with 1 goal but 9 assists. Routledge has stepped up for an injured Montero and clinched the November Player of the Month award with 5 goals and 2 assists in 4 games. crazy league so far as the two manchester teams and arsenal are struggling and all their managers are on the hot seat. we are thru to quarters of the league cup after a 2-1 victory away to Derby thanks to a 35 yard piledriver goal by jonjo. usual busy december coming up with 6 league games and a league cup away to spurs.

[edswan]

I too have just started a Swansea save. Have one other save ongoing which I started unemployed so am doing the working my way up the leagues thing but after seeing just how many managers the Swans went through on that thought I would give it a shot.

Am currently in November of Season one and disabled transfer budgets on first transfer window so other than a few free youngsters the squad is as is.

What I have found is that Richards and Tiendalli are capable backups for Rangel and Taylor respectively (Richards being very competitive with Rangel for the spot), Barrow has forced his way into first team considerations as a second choice right winger and currently have Donnelly as third choice striker.

Going decently and am in 10th place. Will admit however to turning my eye to the January window and have been scouting a number of players in readiness for this.

[FjollFan]

Season 3:

Okay, so this season has been a success. After a somewhat rocky winter with a loss home against Huddersfield was the absolute downpoint, a whiny Mayke and Gylfi who wasn't performing that well we basically exploded with victories away against City and Spurs being the really surprising ones.

On the negative side of things we only managed to get to the 2nd round of the Europa League where we was knocked out by AC Milan and we only got to 4th round of the FA-cup against Chelsea.

A lot of the players had good ratings with no real stand out which I am quite pleased with, hate relying on one player to do all the magic

Now with CL-play next season I need to upgrade on a few positions as well as bringing in some overall depth, a new AMR, new RB and a prospect MC will probably be the focus.

For next season I hope to stay about the same place in the league as well as doing better in the cups than I am currently doing because the board is not liking me getting kick out of everything so early

[Phenomenon]

End of season update - 2014/15

The League

Massively overachieved for my first season in charge. After the first few months I thought I was going to be involved in the title race but that faded towards the latter stages. Managed to finish 3rd though! Man United were literally unstoppable, losing only 3 games all season(mainly due to Falcao scoring 35 goals in 36 league appearances with 21 assists, Mata scoring 24 in 37 in the league with 15 assists and Rooney scoring 19 in 26 with 6 assists. Goal machines!!) and won the league by 9 points from Chelsea in second. Really happy to finish in the CL spots but may have to strengthen the squad to compete in that competition next year.

As you can see from my results, the second half of the season was what let me down. Annoyed to get spanked by both United and Chelsea, but more annoyed to lose at home to QPR. Easily the worst performance of the season.. literally created nothing.

Cup Competitions

As always, I use both the FA Cup and the League Cup to give my back up and youth players a chance. This usually means I crash out fairly early in cup competitions and this season was no different. Beat Scunthorpe 4-1 away, before crashing out to Newcastle away 3-2 in the 4th round. In the Capital One Cup I beat Chesterfield 3-2 away, before crashing out to Chelsea 4-2 away from home. Maybe next season I'll get a home draw in a cup competition..maybe.(hint hint)

Player performances

Goalkeepers - Fabianski was solid all season with Tremmel as back up until January, before Zabret moved to number 2. Nothing outstanding from any of them. Managed to give Zabret 4 appearances which should be good for his development.

Defenders - Federico Fernandez was my best defensive performer and managed to get himself into the Premier League team of the year! Excellent debut season from the Argie! Peruzzi and Taylor were decent in the fullback positions and Williams and Balanta were both solid at CB. Richards, Amat and Bartley all made a good amount of appearances and all did okay when called upon.

Midfielders - Gylfi Sigurdsson was the standout performer in the whole team for the season. With an average rating of 7.58, 10 goals and 6 assists in all competitions, he really did shine in CM(advanced playmaker-attack). Nathan Dyer managed to get himself on the bench of the PL team of the year and chipped in with 14 goals in all comps. Routledge got 10 goals and Montero got 9 as my wingers thrived on cutting inside. Youri Tielemans' loan was successful, finishing with a 7.44 average rating which lead me to spend £12.5 million of my new budget on making his move permanent. Lucas Romero and Jonjo Shelvey were both solid, Lazar Markovic failed to make an impression during his loan spell.

Forwards - Wilfried Bony somehow managed to turn a dire season into a good one in the last 6 or 7 games. He got hid goal tally up to 18 in all competitions(17 league) thanks to a good late run. This run also put him as a strike partner for Falcao in the PL team of the year. Bafetimbi Gomis was excellent backup and also managed 18 goals(14 league) but he did have easier games to play in than Bony. Modou Barrow got a few appearances but spent a lot of time out on loan. James Demetriou got two sub appearances towards the end of the season and will hopefully benefit from that.

Transfer plans

The budget that was given to me(in april for anyone that wants to know) was set at £22.9 million. I have already arranged to spend over half of that on Tielemans however. I am looking at certain players on bosmans to boost the squad ready for the CL. Looking at Micah Richards, Roberto Pereyra, John Guidetti, Tom Cleverly and Hatem Ben Arfa. I'm also considering bids for Sergi Roberto, Lucas Boye, Martin Odegaard, Nicolas Tagliafico, Gaston Ramirez, Jack Rodwell, Connor Wickham, Danny Ings, Adam Johnson, Leandro Damiao, Michael Keane, Kyle Naughton and Lacina Traore. Naturally I will only look to bring in some of these players.

Player sales will depend on who comes in, but I will probably look to offload Bartley, Modou and Routledge.

[FjollFan]

Wow, that's a nice performance there Phenomenon!

Personally I wouldn't go for neither Ben Arfa or Gaston Ramirez, my experiences with them is that while they are pretty good players (when they feel like it) they will also throw hissy fits for the smallest things. Besides that seems like good targets

In my game I haven't done much besides buying Melker Hallberg and a couple of english youngsters. Hallberg does look immense though!

[Phenomenon]

Thanks FjollFan! Gaston Ramirez ended up signing for Arsenal, but I did bring in Ben Arfa. I'll let you know how he gets on. If he flops I'll get rid!

Never heard of Hallberg before you just mentioned him so I thought I'd have a look. He looks like a decnt youngster on my game, guessing he develops nicely?

I've played up until the beginning of August 2015 on my game now and transfer business has been mental. Sold Modou Barrow for £600k, Routledge for £3.7m but couldn't manage to get rid of Bartley even though I offered him out for £100k. Stupidly Charlton ended up loaning him for a 60k monthly fee and 100% wages in the end. Michu returned from Napoli after rejecting a permanent move, but then was sold to Torino for £8.25m. Then things got interesting....

All winthin the space of 3 days I had..

Southampton offer £11.25m for Nathan Dyer

West Brom offer £7.5m for Jefferson Montero

St Ettiene offer £5.75m for Bafetimbi Gomis

To be honest, I thought all 3 offers were good money so I accepted all 3! Didn't really want to shake my squad up this much but I may not get those kind of offers for them as well, especialy now that I've been strengthening my squad with better players. So all three were sold.

Players who have come in so far are..

Micah Richards - free

Roberto Pereyra - free

Hatem Ben Arfa - free

Youri Tielemans - £12.5m

Danny Ings - £3m

Lucas Boye - £2.7m

Nicolas Tagliafico - £2.8m

Michael Keane £750k

And then I decided that with a lot of money in the bank I'd got for a marquee signing on the wing. Problem was, ideally I wanted him to be English. Had a look at who might be interested and ended up having a £17.75m offer accepted for Ross Barkley, I had to go for it! He accepted 75k p/w wages and is now in the squad. I'm training him to play LW.

So as if all that action wasn't interesting enough....

Monaco literally just offered me £17m for Bony. He'd already moaned about wanting to leave if they came in so I negotiated it to £40m. They've offered it.

What do I do?!!!

[FjollFan]

That's a ridiculous transfer window there, 11,25 for Dyer is insane!

If you have enough time to get a suitable replacement for Bony then do it, that's a lot of cash.

Here is Melker Hallberg

[FjollFan]

Back from the Christmas festivities both IRL and in-game, I am currently halfways through the fourth season and unlike earlier season we don't play like garbage during the autumn so we sit at a nice fourth place with no distance to speak of to second place.

However, we got a brutal groupstage in Champions League with Juventus, Dortmund and PSV. While we managed to snatch one victory against PSV and one home against Dortmund it was not enough as the germans and italians was to strong for us. The EL draw wasn't much friendlier as we got Porto and if we beat them most likely Monaco.....

Stand out players so far has been Amat and Ashley Williams, somehow it feels like the defence falls apart without Old man Ash. Besides them the biggest surprise by far has been this fella Dominic Davis, whom I got through my own academy:

Gave him the chance when we was up 2-0 against PSV and this happens:

In terms of January strengthenings we have brought Jean-Marie Dongou from Barcelona for a measly 1,7m who hopefully can replace Gomis who will leave at the end of the season.

I hope the spring will be as delightful as previous seasons...

[swandive]

I never normally start a save with the Swans until I get my own tactic working well. I've now got a nice fun tactic which scores a massive amount of goals and doesn't concede as many as some of my other tactics I've made on FM15. It's a 2-3-2-3 (2 CB, 2WB, 1DM, 2AMC, 3ST). I'll fire up a save with the Swans and see how we go. I'll pick up a few wonderkids on the cheap. I'll let you know how I'm doing at Christmas.

I uploaded this Brendan Rodgers tactic a few years ago and it got good reviews. I can't get onto my old account now though which is a shame.

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/307912-A-Swansea-fan-s-long-running-Brendan-Rodgers-project.-LFC-fans-look-here.

EDIT: A great start!

[FjollFan]

I never normally start a save with the Swans until I get my own tactic working well. I've now got a nice fun tactic which scores a massive amount of goals and doesn't concede as many as some of my other tactics I've made on FM15. It's a 2-3-2-3 (2 CB, 2WB, 1DM, 2AMC, 3ST). I'll fire up a save with the Swans and see how we go. I'll pick up a few wonderkids on the cheap. I'll let you know how I'm doing at Christmas.

I uploaded this Brendan Rodgers tactic a few years ago and it got good reviews. I can't get onto my old account now though which is a shame.

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/307912-A-Swansea-fan-s-long-running-Brendan-Rodgers-project.-LFC-fans-look-here.

EDIT: A great start!

That's a nice result there What players have you brought in?

I will do a season 4 update soon-ish

[FjollFan]

So despite a pretty good start the second half of the season was pretty rubbish and we only managed to hold onto the 4th with the skin of our teeth. Stupid losses against Bournemouth, Nottingham and Burnley being the lowpoint and draws against Norwich and Newcastle certainly doesn't help

In the EL we managed to get to quarterfinals before Roma whom we had dominated scored an equaliser in the 90th minute and then the winner in 119th

However we do have a nice memory from the EL atleast

The other cups went pretty garbage as well with only reaching the 5th round of the CA-cup and the 3rd of Capital one.

This is what I have done in terms of transfers

Transfers in

Adama Traoré 1,8m

For 1.8m why wouldn't I, strong and quick, he should be able revitalize my right wing a bit.

Patrick Roberts 8m

One of Englands finest talents and one I have wanted to sign fore a while, this time he was available for 8m

Yannick Kurth 10m

A regen my scouts sniffed out in Köln and looking at his stats (see below) I am pretty sure he can be a great poacher. While 10m is a lot for a 18 year old I really hope that he can be our long term goal scorer and just the fact that he is either footed made me pretty excited

Transfers out

Gabriel Iancu 8,5m

He hasn't been good enough this season as well as being quite whiny, when Everton came sniffing it was not hard to depart with him for 8,5m

Federico Fernandez 7m

This is a bit of a gamble as he was good last season but I had trouble rotating my four CB's without them whining. As well as having some youngsters that I want to give some first team foot ball someone needed to go.

Michu 475k

Similar to Iancu but coupled with high wages it wasn't hard for me personally to depart with him but the fans and board didn't take it well.

Besides that I have left the 4-2-3-1 I have used before and started with a assymetric 4-1-4-1 instead to hopefulley get some more stability in the back. I think this should suit my new signings as well so we can only hope for a better season

[montylwo17]

Back into my Swans save after time off for the holiday. Right now we are at the end of the transfer window in Season 1 and the results have been outstanding in the league where we are firmly in first place by a whopping 10 points. Our record for Dec and Jan was 7 wins 2 draws and 1 defeat. Lost to Southampton away and tied City and Sunderland, also away. The Liberty has been turned into a veritable fortress as we have a perfect home record after 11 games. Lost Bony to the African Cup for the month of January and first week of February so we have not been a high scoring outfit. We did manage to 3w and a draw in the games Bony has missed but we only scored 4 goals. Gomis has scored 3 in the four games, all game winners. Defence has carried the team as we have four clean sheets on the trot in the League. Managed to get to the League Cup Semi where we were knocked out by Man City after a 2-1 loss at the Etihad and 0-0 home. I played the backups exclusively for the cups and we went far in the League Cup but got knocked out by Birmingham 1-0 in the third round of the FA Cup. Only have the league to concentrate on now so our lack of depth should not hurt us much.

Transfers: very quiet as the only player in was Savitsky on a Free. Tried to transfer out the weaker players in the squad but the only one to leave was Cornell to, of all places, Man City for 25k.

[FjollFan]

Season 5 review

I am quite disappointed with the 3rd since I was hoping to stay with Chelsea but a few losses towards the end sealed our fate and even more annoyingly Man Utd came and stole our 2nd place on goal difference Unlike previous seasons we managed to cut away the stupid losses against lesser teams and only lose against tougher opponents. Especially Chelsea and City seems to be our kryptonite.

European crash landing, Capital one glory and FA-disappointment

In the Champions League we had compared to last season a nice stroll in the park with Fenerbache, Olympiakos and Athletico Madrid. With good spirit we entered the elimination rounds and even a bit hopeful as there were a few manageble teams like Zenit, OL, Monaco and Malmö FF and we get......Barcelona. Yay.

At least we weren't embarrased as we did play quite well at Liberty but goals from Bony and Obita were not enough as we got pummeled at Camp Nou as expected.

As for the other cups we snatched the Capital one cup and even though I am satisfied with the trophy I am more happy with the fact that we beat Chelsea in the final 4-2

As for the FA cup we only got to the 5th round before Arsenal away proved to difficult as Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the winner in the 92th, what is with us and getting knocked out at Fergie Time?

Stand out players

Adama Traoré

I fully understand now why people on this forum rave over him now, despite being stuck in Barcelona B for 3 years he proved to be a nightmare for many LB's as he scored 13 goals and 14 assists across all competions. Named signing of the year

Wilfried Bony

For the first time he has been consistent for the whole season and it shows, 21 PL-goals and 9 assists despite the pesky African cup getting in the way is mighty.

Patrick Roberts

Another signing who played great. Roberts was the man when it came to assists, getting 14 only in the PL. The only negative is that he was quite horrid in Europe.

Jordi Amat

The solid rock in defence and was probably the one who started the most counter attacks with his brilliant interceptions and tackles. Also the one with the most appearances at 52 played games this season and only 4 (!) yellow cards and no reds is impressive.

Future plans

Of course we are looking to knock down Chelsea from their little doom fortress that they have built and to that end I will probably open the wallet and spend the 40m I got to spend this season.

We have already secured the services of Mateo Musacchio who I got for a ridiculous 675k and I am looking to get a really good goalie as well as another DM because we have sold Jorge Enriquez to Stoke. Riechedly Bazoer has already been brought in as replacement but he is the only "real" DM in the team. I am also looking to offload Dongou who as been completly eclipsed by Kurth. Besides that I am looking for full backs as well as a new ML but no one interesting on the market yet.

In none-transfer related news we have bought the stadium and got my favorite feeder club Sparta Prague

[montylwo17]

Well it has been awhile but I thought I would update the progress of my Swansea save.

2014 - 2015

EPL - Champions!!!! Amazing performance from the boys. Record was 30w 4d 4L for 94 points, 16 points better than 2nd place chelsea. Clinched the title with 4 games left in the season. 6 players in the Team of the year: Fabianski (22 clean sheets, won Golden Gloves, Fernandez, Rangel, Sigurdsson, Dyer and Bony (Golden Boot winner withe 20 goals in 30 games). Dyer was named Player of the Year (29 Games, 11 goals, 14 Assists, 7.48 Avg.) We were very consistent and the defence was the best in the league.

COC - lost in the Semi Final to Man City 2-1 on aggregate. Very strong run by the second string squad

FA Cup - lost in 3rd Round 1-0 to Birmingham. Very poor result and the board was still quite concerned by the result at the end of the season even though we had won the league!

Of the transfers in Dele Alli (3M from MK Dons) is really progressing well and is now pushing for a starting spot. Ajer is developing nicely and will certainly be a key member in a couple of season. Savitsky came on in January but has not shown much due to injury.

2015 Summer

To build on the success the board gave me a 25million pound was chest in order to achieve Qualification for Europe. I like to get all my transfers done early in order to get the squad playing together for as long as possible in the pre season. Looking to add quality and depth to the side, especially at RB (Rangel was great but a little to old for my liking) and DM as Britton was injured alot and is aging quickly: still a great tutor but not a first teamer.

Tranfers IN:

Tudorie (Otelul) - 1.8 M - a depth signing up front with room to grow.

Pereyra (Juventus) - Free- definite first team player and signed to a reasonable 40K per week

Grealish (Villa) -1.1 - massive potential who can play both flanks

Mayke (Cruziero) 8 M - starting right back who still has loads of potential

Malcolm (Corinthians) 10 M - forced by Gomis demanding a transfer I splurged on the player who will potentially be world class

Kranevitter (River Plate)- 7 M - pencilled in as the starting DM

Tranfers Out

Barrow - Wolves 525K - depth player who was not good enough

Routledge - West Ham 3.5 M - actually played well for me but is under rated in the game.

Michu - Porto 8.5M - don't play an AMC in my systems so he did not fit

Emnes - Ipswich 500 K- never had much playing time as he is crap in the game

Rangel - West Ham 1.1 M - sad to see him go but I feel comfortable with Mayke replacing him and Richards as the back up

Gomis - Leicester 4.75 M - never really had the opportunity to play extensively as I only use 1 striker in my formation and Bony is awesome. Happy to get his large wage pack off the books

Amat - Valencia 10.25 M plus 40% of next sale - wanted to keep him but Valencia were interested. He wanted to renegotiate his contract to 60k per week in order to stay so had no real choice but to sell him. Now I have to start looking for another CB and it is one week till the deadline.