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[FM15]Knocking Fergie off his perch. The noisy neighbours are turning up the volume

Northernpilgrim

By Northernpilgrim,
in FM Career Updates

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Northernpilgrim

Northernpilgrim

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A little context for the two signings. I brought in Voropayev as we only had Issebere who was a first team goalkeeper, and he has attributes that are better than the 2.5 star rating the scouts give him. I expect him to be an important player.

I signed Saenz as we need another striker, due to the advancing age of a couple of ours, and I wanted to weaken a rival, even if it meant spending over the odds. This will be the last window we spend big in for a while, and although we've had a poor start, the title remains the aim.

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Northernpilgrim

Northernpilgrim

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Why did you play Everton in a friendly?
It was part of a 'tour of the north west' thing I decided to do, albeit interrupted by a contractual obligation to play in New York. I wanted one game against decent opposition, but maybe playing one of my August opponents wasn't great.
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Northernpilgrim

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Great recovery from dropping back to the Conference by Newport.

You've got Fergie licked now.

I'm surprised at Newport, even though they'll almost certainly go down this year. I'd say the challenge looks like it'll be successful now, but we can't take our eye off the ball, we still need to win the remaining trophies. Don't expect a clean sweep this season though, we need to make sure of the league, and the start hasn't left much room for error.

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Northernpilgrim

Northernpilgrim

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Why does it bother me so much that you're gonna knock Fergie off his perch?? ;)

Utd fan obviously.

It's not a done deal yet, even though as I said in an earlier post it's looking good. Man Utd were allegedly close to sacking their manager last season (Ronny Deila), but they stuck with him, and he's pushing hard again this season. LVG lasted until Feb 2017, he was replaced by Ramon Diaz, who only lasted until December the same year. Ronny Deila has been in charge now for 11 years. Will he still be there when the challenge concludes?

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Northernpilgrim

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The Real Madrid game was a real classic. 1-0 down, we quickly recovered to lead 3-1, only to suffer a real wobble and go 4-3 down, before getting a deserved equaliser. We pushed to get a winner, but Real Madrid held on. If we play that well in the second leg, I would expect us to progress, but Real are still a very dangerous opponent.

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Northernpilgrim

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Only 13 goals against in 26 PL matches! :eek: Makes me realize how insane your defense is...

Thanks :) I'm not even playing a defensive formation though, I'm still using my 4-3-3 tactic that I posted earlier in the thread, and it looks like it's working :D

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Northernpilgrim

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The two Browne's, Atherton and McGorry will definitely be signed, and will be part of the future at the club. I'm pleased we're starting to see some fruit from the work we've done on youth facilities and coaching. My next target area will be looking at recruiting young players, so that we bring the age of the squad down.

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Northernpilgrim

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So, what happened in March? We opened by completing the job against Madrid, hammered Liverpool, but then suffered back to back humiliations against Stoke and Man Utd. Thankfully we got back on track by massacring Newcastle, and beating Wigan.

Mar%202029_zpsvl0sydri.png

which has left us top of the table (just), and in probably a 2 way fight for the title, but also hoping for a slip up from Chelsea

Mar%202029%20table_zpsdyrmbwyz.png

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Northernpilgrim

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On to April. The month began with a routine demolition of Sheff Utd, was followed by a pulsating 3-3 draw with Barcelona, which was just about the right result. That was followed by a bizarre game against Nottingham Forest in which we led 2-0 after 54 minutes, suffered 5 injuries, ended the match with 9 men, and conceded the equaliser in stoppage time. Next up was the second leg against Barcelona, and this time it was the ref who was centre stage, giving Barcelona 3 penalties in 6 minutes. We were never going to come back from that. The month was finished by thrashing Stoke again, and a comfortable 2-0 win over Leeds

Apr%202029_zpsj8xduv9q.png

and as Chelsea slip up, we're in the box seat

Apr%202029%20table_zpsawozfphx.png

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Northernpilgrim

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With our superior goal difference, we're now just 2 wins away from another title, and have games remaining at home to Preston, away at Reading, and home to Swansea. At least there will be no fixture chaos this season, which I hope will help us seal the title.

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Northernpilgrim

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For preseason this time, we went on a tour of the Americas, starting with the obligatory visit to New York. We finished preseason with a Community Shield triumph, just..

Jul%202029_zpsvsbob2z2.png

Just one arrival this summer, as we paid £50m for Luiz Gustavo from Real Madrid (not THE Luiz Gustavo...) this guy

Luiz%20Gustavo_zpsx3rwyenc.png

And one departure, with 30 year old Asier Franco, who had one year left on his contract, joining Juventus for £34m. I wouldn't normally have sanctioned a deal for a first teamer, but he was already suggesting he wouldn't sign a new contract, so I couldn't turn that offer down. I might look for a replacement in January, if it looks like we need one.

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Northernpilgrim

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We started September by hammering Chelsea, but we were undoubtedly helped by them being reduced to 10 men when they conceded the penalty from which we scored the opening goal. We were impressive in dispatching Middlesbrough by the same 3-0 scoreline. We led CSKA by 3-0 before they pulled it back to 3-2, but luckily the decisive 6th goal of the game went our way. More a case of complacency than them deserving something, but a win's a win. We battered Sheffield United for the whole game, but couldn't find a way through. Southampton deserved their win, as we were poor in the League Cup. The month concluded with a more comfortable than it looks 2-1 win over Wigan

Sep%202029_zpsmvpu7ty5.png

all of which leaves us right on the heels of surprise leader Southampton, and Stoke are still in the Champions League spots

Sep%202029%20table_zpshpnvngpu.png

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b101

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Really enjoying the thread and the perseverance in the face of some really hard luck, particularly in the Champions League. A couple of things stood out, wondered what your thoughts were:

- Regarding the bad luck in some games, have you considered working the ball into the box or cutting down on long shots? From what I recall about the Match Engine, playing a Poacher up top on his own is a bit of a no-no as they tend to get isolated - maybe try DLF (S/A), AF (A) or CF (S/A) so that they get involved a bit more? Additionally (admittedly, this was back when you still had Yaya), I wouldn't have the DM on a support duty as he'll tend to leave the centre backs unprotected, meaning goals on the counter. You may well have sorted all this so feel free to ignore me :)

- I get that you have nigh on unlimited money, but some of the transfer fees you are paying seem ludicrous for some actually pretty average players. Do you feel you're overspending?

Neither are criticisms (honest!), but interested to hear your thoughts - keep up the good thread!

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Northernpilgrim

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Really enjoying the thread and the perseverance in the face of some really hard luck, particularly in the Champions League. A couple of things stood out, wondered what your thoughts were:

- Regarding the bad luck in some games, have you considered working the ball into the box or cutting down on long shots? From what I recall about the Match Engine, playing a Poacher up top on his own is a bit of a no-no as they tend to get isolated - maybe try DLF (S/A), AF (A) or CF (S/A) so that they get involved a bit more? Additionally (admittedly, this was back when you still had Yaya), I wouldn't have the DM on a support duty as he'll tend to leave the centre backs unprotected, meaning goals on the counter. You may well have sorted all this so feel free to ignore me :)

- I get that you have nigh on unlimited money, but some of the transfer fees you are paying seem ludicrous for some actually pretty average players. Do you feel you're overspending?

Neither are criticisms (honest!), but interested to hear your thoughts - keep up the good thread!

Always great to get feedback from people, as I'm keen to think about ways I can improve (at FM and the quality of the thread), so thankyou :)

To answer your questions, I'm still playing with the 3 strikers, the central one is a poacher, I also have a complete forward and a false 9, and I find the three work well together. That formation doesn't even have a DMC, it has three MCs, and we have a mix of duties in midfield, including one on a defensive setting, one on support and one on attack. I have the mentality set to normal, so wouldn't think I'm being overly aggressive going forward.

I agree with you that some of the fees have been too high, and one of the problems I've had is scouting a player, the scout gives him 4 stars and says buy him whatever the cost, when I sign him, the Ass Man says he's a 2.5 star player. I don't know if others have had the same trouble, and if so what I can do about it?

I'm hoping to get more updates done tonight or tomorrow, I'm a write as I play type, so when I put an update on, you can be assured that the month was completed only minutes earlier. I find it easier to do that than play several months, and then write them up, as I'd be crap at keeping people in suspense and I think it would ruin it. Not that there is much suspense in this thread, it's almost assured now that I'll beat him, just a matter of when. I do have something up my sleeve for if it happens with seasons to spare, but I'll leave that as my only cliff-hanger....

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b101

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Always great to get feedback from people, as I'm keen to think about ways I can improve (at FM and the quality of the thread), so thankyou :)

To answer your questions, I'm still playing with the 3 strikers, the central one is a poacher, I also have a complete forward and a false 9, and I find the three work well together. That formation doesn't even have a DMC, it has three MCs, and we have a mix of duties in midfield, including one on a defensive setting, one on support and one on attack. I have the mentality set to normal, so wouldn't think I'm being overly aggressive going forward.

That makes much more sense - it was your earlier 4-5-1s that made me think that.

I agree with you that some of the fees have been too high, and one of the problems I've had is scouting a player, the scout gives him 4 stars and says buy him whatever the cost, when I sign him, the Ass Man says he's a 2.5 star player. I don't know if others have had the same trouble, and if so what I can do about it?

Depends what rating the Ass Man has for JPP/JPA. I'd trust the scout generally as that's what they're paid for. That said, I also make certain my Ass Man is pretty near 20/20 for those two attributes for that reason - particularly given that you take his view (and his view only) on youth products as well.

I'm hoping to get more updates done tonight or tomorrow, I'm a write as I play type, so when I put an update on, you can be assured that the month was completed only minutes earlier. I find it easier to do that than play several months, and then write them up, as I'd be crap at keeping people in suspense and I think it would ruin it. Not that there is much suspense in this thread, it's almost assured now that I'll beat him, just a matter of when. I do have something up my sleeve for if it happens with seasons to spare, but I'll leave that as my only cliff-hanger....

Ditto - looking forward to it!

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Northernpilgrim

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October wasn't disastrous, but could definitely have gone better

Oct%202029_zpsmppjrjj9.png

as we definitely should have got something against Fulham

Fulham_zpseu2we03n.png

and the league still has a very unfamiliar look to it, but Stoke are sliding

Oct%202029%20table_zpsbqq3urcb.png

but the Champions League group is looking very good

CL%20Oct%202029_zpsayhbbxef.png

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Northernpilgrim

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November wasn't too bad, but we threw away three points as we gave up a 2-0 lead against Everton, and had loads of chances against CSKA but just couldn't put them away

Nov%202029_zpszsuxozhw.png

all of which leaves us still trailing Southampton

Nov%202029%20table_zps2wpkmnxc.png

and on course in the Champions League

CL%20Nov%202029_zpsq77nptzu.png

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Northernpilgrim

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I felt we needed midfield reinforcements as Hojbjerg is now 34 and won't go on forever, and Jack Brown, although not yet 31, is already starting to decline, so he will need replacing. Mané is a world class midfielder already, but was almost out of contract, so I got him for a steal, and Znaor is rated as a decent (2.5 or 3 star) midfielder, but his stats suggest he's almost as good as Mané, and the fact his club's supporters were disappointed he went for such a low price says even he will be a good signing. I'm hoping to get the trophies we need knocked off over the next 2 seasons, 3 at the most, so I will restrict transfers to replacing departing players from this summer onwards.

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Northernpilgrim

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Apologies for the lack of recent activity, been off on holiday. Normal service resumed, and here are February's results

Feb%202030_zpsc3f5dlhx.png

Annoyingly, despite a perfect month, because Arsenal matched it, and have played their game in hand, we've lost top spot

Feb%202030%20table_zpsnehsv28p.png

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