FM16: Reading FC - They call us the Royals

[Welshace]

Would love to see some more screenshots of how your youngsters have progressed... Fosu looks superb.

[GylfiAsCharged]

Would love to see some more screenshots of how your youngsters have progressed... Fosu looks superb.

No problem! Here are some of the better ones.

Josh Barrett | Apps: 98 | Goals: 17 | Assists: 19 | MotM: 11

Two times player of the season, arguably our most improved youngster.

Tariqe Fosu | Apps: 113 | Goals: 22 | Assists: 12 | MotM: 9

Really shone in the Premier League last season and scored some crucial goals. Now a regular for Ghana.

Jake Cooper | Apps: 136 | Goals: 6 | Assists: 4 | MotM: 2

No player has featured more in the past 3 seasons. Plenty of interest from other clubs and had his first England call-up recently.

Michael Hector | Apps: 124 | Goals: 4 | Assists: 4 | MotM: 4

Sometimes struggles for fitness but another great centre-half who complements Cooper well. Nearing 50 apps for Jamaica.

Jordan Obita | Apps: 47 | Goals: 5 | Assists: 5 | MotM: 3

Was already a well-rounded left-back but has become even better. Sold to Sheff Wed for £18.25m, re-signed for £14m.

Nana Owusu | Apps: 102 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 24 | MotM: 8

Most assists out of any player during my tenure. Consistent and can play both full-back positions.

Aaron Kuhl | Apps: 117 | Goals: 4 | Assists: 15 | MotM: 5

Has a tendency to get sent off a little too often, but a solid midfielder on the whole.

Jack Stacey | Apps: 116 | Goals: 16 | Assists: 16 | MotM: 5

Has had a difficult 6 months but performed brilliantly in our promotion season.

Liam Kelly | Apps: 67 | Goals: 8 | Assists: 9 | MotM: 3

I was surprised at how well he adapted to Premier League football. A good option in attacking midfield.

Niall Keown | Apps: 114 | Goals: 3 | Assists: 17 | MotM: 6

Capable at both right-back and centre-back. Limited going forward but a reliable player.

Aaron Tshibola | Apps: 99 | Goals: 8 | Assists: 8 | MotM: 11

Had a superb first season but injuries have severely hampered his progression.

Shane Griffin | Apps: 110 | Goals: 2 | Assists: 10 | MotM: 3

Replaced Obita well during our Championship-winning season but won't feature as much following his return.

[GylfiAsCharged]

2018/19 Season Update

Results: #1 #2 #3

Premier League: 16th | FA Cup: Third Round | League Cup: Second Round

Top Scorer: Jack Stacey (8)

Most Assists: Nana Owusu (8)

Highest Rated: Nana Owusu (7.25)

I said before the season that survival would be the primary aim, as well as keeping all of our players happy at the club, and we achieved both of those things. Our league finish would have been higher but for a late season slump once safety was guaranteed, and we spent most of the season between 11th and 13th. Unfortunately neither Wickham nor Cox scored goals consistently, only managing 8 and 7 respectively, however the likes of Stacey, Fosu and Tshibola all chipped in with key goals.

McCarthy was the best of the returning players, featuring in every game but one and making the team of the week quite frequently. Sigurdsson only managed 3 assists and didn't get on the scoresheet, but his overall contribution was better than those figures suggest. Obita's season was marred by injuries and suspensions, but he was still better than Griffin in that role. Our final signing Ikpeazu only featured 4 times for the first team, but scored twice and recorded 2 assists. He will stay around the first team squad this coming season.

Next year we may see a few new academy graduates featuring in the team, a couple of strikers and a left winger will either go out on loan to play at a decent standard or make a few appearances for us in the cups. I'm not expecting any significant changes in the squad however so it is crucial I can get the best out of the players who weren't on top form last year.

We have moved back into the Madejski Stadium which now seats 36,295 fans, our academy is now Category 1, and our youth recruitment and junior coaching budgets have again been increased. We also have £60m in the bank - things are looking very good in terms of finances and infrastructure, we just need to keep making progress on the pitch.

[Jogo Bonito]

Job done offen, nice one. Everything looks in good order there, and hopefully next season sees your consolidation continue. Well done with Owusu too!

[Welshace]

Offen, You've done incredibly well.. it's amazing how you've developed those players, congrats.

[GylfiAsCharged]

Job done offen, nice one. Everything looks in good order there, and hopefully next season sees your consolidation continue. Well done with Owusu too!

Offen, You've done incredibly well.. it's amazing how you've developed those players, congrats.

Thanks guys. Doing anything meaningful at this level and delivering league or cup success still looks some way off, but hopefully we'll get there eventually.

Funnily enough our latest youth intake featured a very talented young goalkeeper called Ellis Bibbo! That surely can't be a coincidence?

[Welshace]

I may have missed it along the way but what happened to Novakovich, Cardwell, Semedo?

[GylfiAsCharged]

I may have missed it along the way but what happened to Novakovich, Cardwell, Semedo?

Novakovich is still at the club and contracted for another couple of years, although he hasn't fulfilled his potential and I regret not selling him to LA Galaxy for roughly £4m a few years ago.

Similarly, I should have accepted Celtic's significant offer for Harry Cardwell a while back, because he didn't grow as I'd hoped either. He's just moved to Hamilton on a free, but I'm keeping an eye on how he develops there in case I wish to re-sign him in future.

I let Semedo leave the club at the end of his contract after remembering that he wasn't actually an academy graduate. He is now at Southend and is also a full international for Cape Verde.

[Abaddon879]

I applaud you, as you have reignited my interest in FM which had gone missing since FM16.

It's time to work the Reading FC academy to its maximum! It also gives me the chance to try and re-work an old favourite tactic of mine from FM13 - TheBetterHalf's Asymmetric 451 Split. This should work perfectly with some of the young players at the club and give me a great chance to embed the philosophy into them from a young age!

I shall start to provide more regular updates as I progress, but the first act was to appoint a very familiar face...

[Jogo Bonito]

Ellis Bibbo, what a random name

I look forward to reading your updates too Abaddon. Great stats for Hughes, much better than Forster, Roberts and so many others. I've noticed that Salako sometimes looks decent though, and Whitbread.

[Abaddon879]

Ellis Bibbo, what a random name

I look forward to reading your updates too Abaddon. Great stats for Hughes, much better than Forster, Roberts and so many others. I've noticed that Salako sometimes looks decent though, and Whitbread.

If only I could arrange for the return of Sal... one day perhaps! Unfortunately the wounds are still too fresh for him to consider a return.

To be honest, the main reason I came across Hughes was due to his stats, not so much due to his affiliation with Reading teams of the past, but I do like that connection. Lets get the spirit back in the club and bring back the good times! I would love to arrange the return of some of the club greats.

I am very tempted by a certain Hahnemann who looks like he could be a decent if unspectacular goalkeeping coach. Murty is also on the radar for the future in some capacity if I can prise him away from Norwich. Roberts sadly is extremely poor, so would only be to lighten the workload if I were to get him, but I'm slightly tempted now.

Forster is not actually in my db currently, so I guess I've got too many from other countries loaded. Salako was one I had not actually considered, but his role at Palace makes him currently unattainable. He does have us listed as a favourite club however, so this could change in time.

P.S. Does Martin Keown count? He's actually really good. One for the future of course!

[GylfiAsCharged]

If only I could arrange for the return of Sal... one day perhaps! Unfortunately the wounds are still too fresh for him to consider a return.

To be honest, the main reason I came across Hughes was due to his stats, not so much due to his affiliation with Reading teams of the past, but I do like that connection. Lets get the spirit back in the club and bring back the good times! I would love to arrange the return of some of the club greats.

I am very tempted by a certain Hahnemann who looks like he could be a decent if unspectacular goalkeeping coach. Murty is also on the radar for the future in some capacity if I can prise him away from Norwich. Roberts sadly is extremely poor, so would only be to lighten the workload if I were to get him, but I'm slightly tempted now.

Forster is not actually in my db currently, so I guess I've got too many from other countries loaded. Salako was one I had not actually considered, but his role at Palace makes him currently unattainable. He does have us listed as a favourite club however, so this could change in time.

P.S. Does Martin Keown count? He's actually really good. One for the future of course!

Good luck Abaddon, interested to see how things go for you. Hopefully you can get more out of Novakovich and Cardwell than I managed to, as my one-striker formation and Simon Cox's great form really hindered their growth.

Martin Keown sounds like a good shout, even if he only played a few games for us. Lives nearby and of course with Niall in the U21s it would make perfect sense to get him on board!

[Abaddon879]

Plan is to really make a start on it tonight and over the weekend.

Novakovich looks like he will be in rotation with Cox, although I am also tempted to sell Cox as Wolves have come in with a £1M offer and I'm not sure I should turn down that kind of money for him, even if he does fit my team style well. I feel it may be a missed opportunity to help the youth develop with first team chances.

Cardwell may need re-training as an AMC to fit in in plays, and I need a more complete target man striker up front, with a quick pacy shadow striker behind him. Currently Barrett is my main go-to man for this role, and Cardwell may be able to be rotated. This would however move Kelly further down the pitch, more towards a DLP style position, which again would require further retraining.

Overall, my main objective in the first season I fear will be to keep my job. Expectations will be mid-table at minimum, and I fear that a bad start with a team full of youth could put this at risk.

[GylfiAsCharged]

Plan is to really make a start on it tonight and over the weekend.

Novakovich looks like he will be in rotation with Cox, although I am also tempted to sell Cox as Wolves have come in with a £1M offer and I'm not sure I should turn down that kind of money for him, even if he does fit my team style well. I feel it may be a missed opportunity to help the youth develop with first team chances.

Cardwell may need re-training as an AMC to fit in in plays, and I need a more complete target man striker up front, with a quick pacy shadow striker behind him. Currently Barrett is my main go-to man for this role, and Cardwell may be able to be rotated. This would however move Kelly further down the pitch, more towards a DLP style position, which again would require further retraining.

Overall, my main objective in the first season I fear will be to keep my job. Expectations will be mid-table at minimum, and I fear that a bad start with a team full of youth could put this at risk.

I'd be inclined to keep Cox even if you plan to start Novakovich regularly, as having an option of his quality available could keep you your job if things aren't going well. Once you've scrapped all the non academy grads, your wage bill will be so low that £1m won't be that significant, and there's only a limited range of players to use that money on. Shame you can't recall Samuel during the first season too.

Interesting to hear your plans for individual players, I'm considering retraining Kelly as a wide midfielder as he's not getting much football at AM behind Sigurdsson and Barrett in the pecking order.

Looking forward to seeing how you get on!

[Abaddon879]

So the tactical testing has been completed and I am glad to report it went well. In a trial season I finished 7th, just a single point outside the playoffs. I will add however, that this was using the existing squad largely (minus the loans). Still, it proves that the tactic is solid and up to the test!

The defensive record was second best in the league, conceding only 41 goals all season. The main problem appears to be scoring goals, with only 50 scored throughout the season! I believe is due to the striker becoming isolated and being the main source of goals. Something to work on as the season progresses. Looking at our other attacking stats however, we had the highest pass completion rate (75%) and our possession was also the highest average (56%). Both of these point to a tactically sound base to build a possession based game from.

The intent now is to reload the save back to the beginning of pre-season and try to shift as many of the high earners as possible. I know that Williams and McCleary appear to attract instant interest. Some of the others such as Ferdinand, McShane, Kermorgant I may consider loan moves just to get them off the wage bill as they are unlikely to play any part.

I am undecided yet as to whether I will allow the likes of Norwood and Gunter to play any part. They will leave the club eventually, however if I cannot get a good offer for them, I may allow them to play until such time as a reasonable offer comes in.

[Abaddon879]

Season 2015/16 - Pre-season

Staff In

Assistant Manager - Peter Farrell

Coach - Andy Hughes

Scout - Mick Halsall

Scout - Joe McLaughlin

Peter Farrell was the perfect match for what I am trying to do here. He is excellent with young player and is a great man manager and motivator. He also has a good sense of players abilities, so should provide valuable feedback throughout all levels of the club.

Andy Hughes should need no introduction, however his stats in this save were more impressive than usual, so I couldn't turn down the opportunity to sign him.

Mick Halsall and Joe McLaughlin were brought in for their judging youth potential. Mick will primarily be scouting the U18 English league, while Joe will be sent abroad to perform a similar role across the various youth leagues across Europe. This should hopefully give us a great idea of the young players out there, with the intended purpose being to poach these youngsters from the academies early on in their development.

Friendlies

A number of friendlies were arranged to gain match fitness and help familiarise the squad with the tactical style they are being asked to play.

| Date            | Time     | Opposition    | Venue    | Result   | Competition  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Fri, 3/7/2015   | 19:45    | Wokingham     | H        | 5 - 0    | Friendly     |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Tue, 7/7/2015   | 19:45    | Maidenhead    | H        | 2 - 0    | Friendly     |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Sat, 11/7/2015  | 15:00    | Waterford Utd | A        | 2 - 0    | Friendly     |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Tue, 21/7/2015  | 19:45    | Clermont      | H        | 1 - 1    | Friendly     |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Sat, 25/7/2015  | 15:00    | Dundee Utd    | H        | 0 - 0    | Friendly     |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Wed, 29/7/2015  | 19:45    | Bracknell     | H        | 1 - 0    | Friendly     |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Sun, 2/8/2015   | 15:00    | Basingstoke   | H        | 5 - 1    | Friendly     |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |

Tactic

The tactic plays out much like a 4-4-1-1

Squad Rotation

Below are the intended roles and positions that each player will take within the team.

GK - Moore / Southwood

DL - Obita / Griffin / Owusu

DR - Gunter / Keown / Owusu

DC - Hector / Sweeney / Andrésson

DC - Cooper / Hyam / Osho

DMC - Norwood / Kuhl

MC - Tshibola / Friðjónsson / Collins

MR - Stacey / Frost

AML - HRK / Fosu / Kelly

AMC - Barrett / Cardwell

CF - Cox / Novakovich

[GylfiAsCharged]

2019/20 Season Update

Results: #1 #2 #3

Premier League: 15th | FA Cup: Fifth Round | League Cup: Third Round

Top Scorer: Jack Stacey (9)

Most Assists: Gylfi Sigurdsson (7)

Highest Rated: Tariqe Fosu (7.25)

A 15th placed finish in the league this season, but in truth we survived relegation without much of a scare. At the moment the side is lacking a little in both the quality and depth needed to crack the top half in my opinion, however we have a few promising youngsters ready to feature more next season who could be the difference. We fared better than usual in the FA Cup, reaching the Fifth Round and taking Chelsea to a replay having already put out Man City in the Third Round. League wins over Tottenham and Liverpool were other highlights in what was overall another fairly uneventful season.

Jack Stacey led the scoring charts for the second year in a row, operating on the right side of midfield with the attack command. Gylfi led the team in assists, with plenty of others from the wingers and full-backs. Connor Wickham struggled in front of goal, only scoring seven times despite me keeping the faith with him during his barren run. His link up play with those around him is encouraging however, and he brings Fosu and Stacey into the game nicely.

Another key performer was Nana Owusu who was as consistent as ever at right-back. He has become a regular for Ghana, and is now recognised as a Reading legend, even over the likes of Steve Coppell, Ady Williams and Graeme Murty... (For the record, I've been removed from favoured personnel and no longer feature at all!) Jake Cooper has just made his first appearance for the England national side, and becomes the first Reading academy graduate to represent the Three Lions at senior level. He looks set to feature in Euro 2020, but I don't expect he will start ahead of Stones and Smalling.

Next season I'd really like us to kick on in one way or another. I don't mind if that's in the form of a couple of new youngsters breaking into the team, an improved league finish or a great cup run. Very little of note has happened in the past three seasons, and the fans may start losing patience if we cannot better ourselves.

[GylfiAsCharged]

2020/21 Season Update

Results: #1 #2 #3

Premier League: 7th | FA Cup: Quarter Final | League Cup: Third Round

Top Scorer: Connor Wickham (14)

Most Assists: Jack Stacey (9)

Highest Rated: Nana Owusu (7.57)

I mentioned in my previous update that I felt it was time we achieved something beyond just surviving relegation for another season, and we did exactly that. 7th place was by far our best finish yet, and thanks to Spurs' two cup successes it was enough to land us our first ever European qualification. We started the season with a superb defensive record, rarely conceding more than one goal in a game before the turn of the year. A winless December put our hopes of a top half finish in jeopardy, but a favourable run of games in the following months saw us rack up some more valuable points and snatch 7th place from Newcastle by a whisker.

As usual, there was minimal change in personnel this season, however a handful of youth players began making an impact on the first team. Connor Wickham finally broke the 10 goal barrier, netting 14 times from his role as the lone striker. Stacey and Fosu were superb again on the wings, however once again our Player of the Season was "club legend" Nana Owusu. A consistent performer at right-back, he has featured 214 times in total under my management without scoring a goal. Despite this, he earned plenty of plaudits at international level. He picked up the African Promising Player of the Year award, was named in the African XI of the Year, and came second in African Defender of the Year behind Jonathan Tah (Jordan Obita placed third in the same category).

Next season will see plenty of new youngsters involved, as we will require them for depth in order to cope with the added strain of European competition. Only one thing is for sure - we won't struggle with the homegrown player rules!

[Abaddon879]

Shame it looks like Owusu won't have anywhere near as big an impact in real life, having just been released by the club, along with Collins and Friðjónsson.

[GylfiAsCharged]

Shame it looks like Owusu won't have anywhere near as big an impact in real life, having just been released by the club, along with Collins and Friðjónsson.

Yeah, was a shame to see that. Collins and Fridjonsson both left my team in the summer of 2021 having not made any real impact, but Owusu has been superb. Hope they all have a good career in the professional game elsewhere.

[Abaddon879]

After an awful first season where we finished 19th in the Championship, I have decided to try a slightly different approach to thing. Inspired by Ö-zil to the Arsenal! and his AC Milan and Ajax threads, I have decided to try and bring a dutch flavour to our football.

Given todays announcements, the links with the Ajax and their philosophy seems to make sense.

So with our first dreadful season out the way, we look forward with a new sense of purpose.

Out with the old rules, in with new... Instead of relying entirely on our youth academy, I will also look to sign round, well-rounded players under the age of 19. In keeping with 'the Reading way', we will cap the maximum transfer spend at £2.5M to match our record transfer budget (at least for the first few seasons)

I shall update once pre-season is complete and the new style introduced.

[Abaddon879]

So pre-season went very well... but the same happened last season and look how that turned out!

[color=#3E3E3E]| Date            | Time     | Opposition             | Venue    | Result   | Competition  | 
[/color][color=#3E3E3E]| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
[/color][color=#3E3E3E]| Fri, 3/7/2015   | 19:45    | Maidenhead             | A        | 4 - 1    | Friendly     |
[/color][color=#3E3E3E]| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
[/color][color=#3E3E3E]| Tue, 7/7/2015   | 19:45    | Bracknell              | A        | 8 - 0    | Friendly     |
[/color][color=#3E3E3E]| [/color]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Sat, 11/7/2015  | 15:00    | AFC Rushden & Diamonds | H        | 5 - 0    | Friendly     |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Tue, 21/7/2015  | 19:45    | Ajax                   | A        | 3 - 3    | Friendly     |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Sat, 25/7/2015  | 15:00    | ADO Den Hang           | A        | 6 - 2    | Friendly     |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Wed, 29/7/2015  | 19:45    | Hearts                 | H        | 2 - 0    | Friendly     |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Sun, 2/8/2015   | 15:00    | Man Utd                | H        | 1 - 1    | Friendly     | 
[color=#3E3E3E]| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |[/color]

Going unbeaten during pre-season was very beneficial for moral, and particularly pleasing were draw against Ajax and Man Utd which highlight that the team have the ability to go head to head with much bigger teams.

Transfers wise, I know I said I wouldn't be signing anyone over 19, however the return of this guy could not be denied. He fits in with the style of football extremely well.

I also brought in Ivica Olic for tutoring purposes, and he has been helping supplement my attack as well.

[Tajerio]

I just picked up FM for the first tme ever last month, and my very first save was with Reading, for no particular reason.  We actually made it all the way to the finals of the CL by the fourth season, fired there by an incredible regen who was already scoring goals in bunches by 18.  We had to beat Barcelona, Real, and Bayern to get to the finals, and I'm honestly not really sure how we did it.  In the Barcelona leg, we lost 2-1 at the Camp Nou after holding tight defensively most of the way, and then we came back and beat them at the Madejski 4-1.  The AI, in its arrogance, didn't play Messi, and Arjen Robben, whom I signed on a ridiculous contract because I didn't know what I was doing, scored two goals for us in the last hurrah of his career.  Real and Bayern we both beat the same way--nil-nil draws at their place, 3-2 victories at ours.  And then we lost to SLB on penalties in the final, which was a crushing way to end the fairytale, but was still beautiful.  Of the original squad, Cooper, Obita, Norwood, and Robson-Kanu were the most important contributors--Robson-Kanu actually scored the winning goal for us against Bayern.

[ramie]

I was just listening to Harry Rednapp on Talksport and he mentioned that he recently watched Reading vs Bournmouth u21's IRL and said that there was three outstanding young Reading players, just wondering who he was talking about. Any ideas?

[STaphouse]

Started a new Reading save last night with Whizzkid's transfer update (no Tshibola  do have Norwood though..?). I didn't get very far because I started it at like 10pm and needed to go to bed so I just did all the general set up. 

Just read through the thread and I might do something similar to GylfiAsCharged and get some of the youngsters developed at a cost of promotion for a couple of years. 

I don't think I'll be as strict as only youth players though because I get impatient but I want the core to be the youth since there are a number of players in the youth team that can turn into capable players. 

I will try to post any progress.

[Jogo Bonito]

I've not managed the club for a couple of versions now, but have plans to have another crack in FM17.

[STaphouse]

This is my 3rd time starting as Reading . I just can't get into a save at all this year.

Not really moved along much further since that opening post for this save. I sold Norwood though as I plan on playing Kuhl in midfield. 

Barrett looks like he's going to become an absolute star though. The only problem I have is that I don't play with an AM (haven't been able to get one to work this FM). I am currently retraining him as a CM (AP) but I don't want to limit him too much.

[Abaddon879]

On 07/09/2016 at 03:27, Jogo Bonito said:

I've not managed the club for a couple of versions now, but have plans to have another crack in FM17.

Great to hear! 

I sometimes find my interest at managing Reading can be related back to the form in real life, which has been poor in recent years past the first few months. Hopefully the start of this season is a turning point and will drive me on.

I am planning on a major academy project in FM17 in honour of Eamon Dolan. I want to make our academy one of the best in world football and promote the majority of the squad from the youth system.

 

On 08/09/2016 at 00:28, STaphouse said:

This is my 3rd time starting as Reading . I just can't get into a save at all this year.

Not really moved along much further since that opening post for this save. I sold Norwood though as I plan on playing Kuhl in midfield. 

Barrett looks like he's going to become an absolute star though. The only problem I have is that I don't play with an AM (haven't been able to get one to work this FM). I am currently retraining him as a CM (AP) but I don't want to limit him too much.

I've been the same this year. Really struggled to get into a save which has been a shame. 

My young team managed to get promoted, and then won the league cup the next season, but have constantly been battling with relegation which has started to see many of the up and coming stars requesting transfers away - threatening to derail the entire project.

Barrett has been a star for me. Great rounded stats, although a little inconsistent at times. When hes on form though he can be a match winner for me.