[FM16] 50 Years of Hurt, Never Stopped Me Dreaming.....

[danmcconnell1]

 

Any Baddiel & Skinner fan will remember the famous lyrics that have been ever so slightly changed to cater for today's FM in the title of this thread. Yes, I'm going to attempt to make England the greatest nation to have ever played the game.

Not only did us Englishmen give the world the beautiful game, but we were actually once pretty good at it! Back in '66 we were crowned champions of the world and it looked from there as though we were going to dominate for years to come. Off we popped down to Mexico in 1970 with our heads held high only to be dumped out at the quarter final stage by 3 goals to 2 against those pesky West Germans who gained revenge after the final defeat at Wembley 4 years previous to that.

For the next decade, English football was in a rapid decline after failing to qualify for the next 4 major tournaments. England scraped through qualification into the 1980 European Championships which were held in Italy, but didn't make it out of the group stage under Ron Greenwood. They did manage to get back to the World Cup 2 years later in Spain as a seeded nation, only to once again knocked out in the second round this time against the hosts. The 1986 World Cup was one full of controversy and wonder at the same time as England crashed out in the quarters against Argentina. That match will mostly be remembered because of one person, Diego Maradona. Arguably the greatest football to have ever played the game, Maradona scored both goals in Argentina's 2-1 win. These 2 goals were perhaps the most iconic goals of his career. The first was a blatent handball, later christened the 'Hand of God' goal, past Shilton in goal yet it stood despite England's protestations. The second was awarded goal of the century by FIFA after he dribbled from inside his own half past 5 Englishmen and slotted home after rounding Shilton to score possibly the greatest goal of all time. 

The next tournament where England really made an impact was Italia 90. The World Cup was a stage where England wanted to get back to their best, and they had a very good opportunity this time with the likes of Gary Linekar, David Platt and Paul Gascoigne. It was the latter one of those 3 who still remind all England fans of that tournament, not just for his fantastic performances, but for the tears he shed in Turin in the semi final defeat to, again, West Germany.

Another disappointment was soon to follow as England again failed to qualify for a World Cup, this time in '94 in the USA. But we came back with a vengeance 2 years later hosting the '96 European Championships and England put in a stellar performance, finishing 3rd overall in our first home tournament since the joy of '66. Some national pride had been restored and went on to qualify for the '98 World Cup across the Channel in France. This tournament came to an abrupt end with the 2nd round defeat to an old enemy Argentina, again, plus some theatrics from Diego Simeone to earn a certain David Beckham an early bath. A poor showing at the following European Championship was to come, but when England went to Japan/South Korea for the '02 World Cup, there was a sense of optimism. England were knocked out at the quarter final stage against one of the greatest international sides the world has ever seen, Brazil. Ronaldinho's 'did he mean it' free kick left the marooning David Seaman out of reach and saw them progress on their way to winning that World Cup.

More heartache was to follow in Portugal 2 years later, another quarter final defeat, this time on penalties after their keeper Ricardo scored the decisive spot kick. There were two things to come out of that tournament for England, the good was the real emergence of teenager Wayne Rooney, who scored 4 goals in the group stages, but the bad was the international retirement of the legendary Paul Scholes. Not much was made of that at the time, but it was clear to see in the preceding years that he was, and maybe still is, the best midfielder England has ever produced. The '06 World Cup in Germany was another to forget, as there was an almost carbon copy of the quarter final two years previous against Portugal, losing on penalties again, only instead of going off injured in this quarter final, Rooney was sent off instead.

After that World Cup, Sven Goran Eriksson stepped down as England boss and Steve McLaren took over, only for his reputation to be left in tatters after failing to qualify from a seemingly academic group. No '08 tournament for the 3 lions. The much celebrated coach Fabio Capello took over and led us to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but his tenure never really took off. After scraping through the group stages, a damning defeat to a young and strong Germany side in the 2nd round knocked England out and before the next tournament came around, Fabio had jumped what was seemingly a sinking ship. With just a few weeks to prepare for Euro 2012, Roy Hodgson took over the reigns despite what felt like the whole country willing Harry Redknapp to get the job. England were knocked out of the tournament against Italy in the quarter finals on penalties (again).

England headed to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup in pretty low spirits, nobody really expected anything. And that's exactly what we got. Wayne Rooney finally broke his World Cup duck, but apart from that, we didn't make it out of the group. Luis Suarez made sure of that with a scintillating performance which effectively knocked us out.

Now, the latest Football manager only allows me to start at the end of the qualification process for Euro 2016, so let's all pretend that the tournament we all watched in France over the summer didn't happen (from English eyes) and try to do a little better this time. 

I'm going to attempt to take the England team on a journey to unrivalled success. The aim is to better Brazil's current record of 5 World Cups and become the most decorated national side in the world. 

My first update will take us from July 2015 through till the warm up friendlies ahead of Euro 2016 (should we get there) where we'll be preparing to take on Europe's best in Euro 2016.

Onwards and upwards......

 

[danmcconnell1]

July 2015 - March 2016

So as England came to the end of another seemingly easy group to qualify from, there were still a few matches left to be played.

My first match in charge was a trip to Basel to face Switzerland at St Jakob Park.

We were hot favourites heading into this one, unfortunately it seems my perfect start wasn't written in the stars as we fell to a 2-1 defeat.

The only positive from this match was the debut goal for Saido Berahino, hopefully this would be the first of many for him.

Our next match was a trip to the Sportni Park Stozice to face Slovenia in what would be a stern test of our resolve after losing for the first time since the World Cup last time out.

Luckily, the players put in a much better performance this time as we brushed Slovenia aside. Another 2 goals for Berahino took his international tally to 3 after winning just 2 caps so far.

This result did mean that we had now qualified for Euro 2016 in France.

The next match was a friendly, this time my first at Wembley against Nigeria. 

We managed a strong performance against the Nigerians and won the match by 3 goals to nil.

Jamie Vardy scored his first 2 international goals on the same day Wayne Rooney equaled the English all-time goal scoring record. His next goal would be his 50th, making him England's all time top goal scorer.

Our next match was back to qualification and we faced a trip to the Lillekila Stadion to face Estonia.

We carried on our good form with another victory, this time three goals to one after falling behind.

Berahino got on the scoresheet again as well as Adam Lallana scoring his first international goal.

Our next match was back at Wembley and was another qualifier, this time against Lithuania.

We managed yet another strong performance and won the match 3-0.

It was a special night for Wayne Rooney whose 15 minute strike meant he was now England's all time top goal scorer with 50 goals for his country. It was also pleasing to see Jamie Vardy get on the score sheet twice again.

Also, as Switzerland could only manage a draw against Estonia, this result meant we topped our qualification group and would be seeded when the draw for the tournament group stages was made.

A month later we welcomed to team back to international duty with a friendly against lowly-ranked Eritrea at Wembley.

We managed to see off the minnows but were left slightly embarrassed after the team ranked 209th in the world managed to get a late goal.

In other news though, Jamie Vardy did score his first international hat-rick whilst John Stones scored his first England goal.

Our final match of 2015 was a trip to Helsinki to face Finland.

We could only manage a draw in this friendly.

A pleasing point was Jamie Vardy carrying on his fantastic international form with another goal.

In December, the draw for the group stages of Euro 2016 was made, and in what is somewhat a rarity, my England side will be playing in the opening game as well as playing against the hosts in our final group game.

Our next game was a friendly in March 2016 at Wembley against the Czech Republic.

We managed a comfortable victory over the Czechs with Jamie Vardy getting on the score sheet yet again. 6 caps have brought 9 goals for him now.

Wayne Rooney was not selected for this squad after an indifferent season at Man Utd. My current England vice captain may well be coming towards the end of his glittering international career.

So after what has been a good first 8-9 months in charge of England, I will be taking the squad to France after some warm up friendlies, which will be featured in a little more detail in the next post.

[danmcconnell1]

Pre-Tournament Friendlies

We set up 3 matches against relatively high caliber opposition ahead of Euro 2016 to get the lads ready for what was going to be a tough test in France after a disappointing showing at the last major tournament for England. We'd be facing the Ivory Coast, then a trip to the Ukraine followed by a final send off game at Wembley against the boys from down under, Australia.

Before any of this though, my staff and I had to decide who we'd be taking to France.

Our initial 30 man squad looked like this.

Perhaps a few surprise inclusions as well as exclusions for that matter, but based on the season's some of these lads have had they deserve a chance at getting on the plane to France. We organised a training camp at St George's Park to determine who we'd be cutting from our squad.

After a week or so of hard graft at the camp, we finally decided on who we would be cutting from our squad to trim it down to the final 23. 

With some seasoned internationals in the squad coupled with a lot of younger talent, I really feel this could be a tournament to remember for England. First of all though, we had 3 warm up matches to get us in the mood for Euro 2016.

First up was the Ivory Coast at Wembley.

We were absolutely fantastic in the first half against the Africans,  racing into a 4-0 at half time thanks to goals from Harry Kane, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and a brace from the man of the moment Jamie Vardy. The game finished this way after a flurry of changes in the second half, all the while still dominating large periods of the game.

Our second warm up friendly saw us make the trip east to the Ukraine, more specifically to the home of Dnipro.

We found ourselves 2-0 down at half time thanks to goals from Kovalenko and Zozulya and I deservedly gave the lads a good talking to at half time, as well as making a couple of changes. One of these was Daniel Sturridge, who equalized just 9 minutes into the second half after that man again, Jamie Vardy had got us back into the game just moments into the second half. The lads then boldly carried on pushing and got their just rewards with a late winner thanks to Jamie Vardy yet again, now meaning he had scored 13 goals in just 8 appearances for his country, a phenomenal record.

England's final friendly was back at Wembley against the Socceroos from down under.

We went 1-0 down thanks to a Robbie Kruse goal and after being told exactly what I thought of the players at half time, they didn't respond in the same way as they did in the Ukraine a few days earlier and slumped to a defeat at home. It was just my second loss in charge of the national side and it couldn't have come at a worse time just ahead of a tournament.

Our first group match was against Sweden in the opening match of Euro 2016 in 5 days time, we will definitely need an improved performance if we want to make any sort of impact in this tournament.

Next, I'll review our group stage results in France.

[danmcconnell1]

So, the tournament we'd all been waiting for for 2 years since the last World Cup is amongst us. Strangely, the host nation will not be opening the tournament, it'll be us, England, against Sweden in the Stade de France in Paris.

Sweden came into the tournament as 3rd seeds and possess some dangerous players. The likes of John Guidetti, Albin Ekdal and of course, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will all have to be kept a close eye on, but I feel we should still win the match against the Swedes. Here is how both sides lined up for the tournament opener in Paris.

After his heroics under my stewardship so far, it is almost impossible to leave Vardy out of the starting 11. A somewhat unorthodox 4-4-2 formation is how we start, but with Vardy playing as a defensive striker, he will help out in midfield when it comes to trying to win the ball back, as well as running forward from a deeper position using his pace when we attack. Stones and Smalling will have their hands full trying to contain the ageing Ibrahimovic, a task I feel they should be able to achieve. All that's left to do now is see how we got on....

What about that for a start! Sweden were barely a threat for the majority of the match and in truth we should have won the match by a lot more. Kane had a goal disallowed for offside which would have made it 3-0, whilst James Ward-Prowse had his headed effort tipped onto the woodwork by Sweden's goalkeeper. The Swedes were down to 10 before half time too after Philip Helander received his marching orders after a second bookable offence. But it was the star of the show, Jamie Vardy yet again that will steal all of the headlines tonight, his two goals ensuring England get off to a positive start in a tournament for the first time since 2006.

Next up for the 3 Lions was a trip to the brand new Stade de Lumieres in Lyonnais. In a stadium purpose built for the tournament but owned by Olympique Lyonnais, we will be facing Iceland. It's Iceland's first major tournament ever and after a 3-0 defeat to hosts France (which in turn means France now top Group A) in their first ever tournament match, they're going to be up for it even more against England as they attempt to look for one of the best third place finishes in order to try and qualify from their group in the new European Championships format.

Sweden faced France before our tie in Paris, meaning we would know if we could qualify automatically should we win against Iceland later that day. Due to that match ended in a scoreless draw, a win against the Icelandics would guarantee our qualification into the knockout stages, could we make things easy for ourselves ahead of the France match...? Here's how we lined up.

We made a few changes due to some aching limbs after the Sweden game, and although I'm not expecting an easy match, we should be beating teams like Iceland with relative ease.

It wasn't as easy as I'd have liked, but a win is a win. Iceland took an early lead after some shoddy Phil Jones defending and they held it until the break. A couple of tactical tweaks at half time to the forward line made all the difference, Iceland were sitting back and, despite their 11 shots, there was absolutely no space for Vardy to run in behind into. We knew Austin would win balls in the air, so we resorted to him being the target man, with Alli looking for knock downs and Milner cutting inside from wide right, which he did brilliantly to win the penalty, which Vardy dispatched for his third goal of the tournament already. Charlie Austin then powered a header into the net less than 2 minutes later to score his first England goal to complete the turnaround and give us the points which we held onto meaning we would definitely be qualifying from Group A. A side note from the match also, Phil Jones picked up his second booking of the tournament, meaning he would miss the final group game.

Our final match of the group stages was against the hosts, France, back in Paris but this time in the Parc des Princes. Rightly or wrongly, I see this as an opportunity to rest key players ahead of the second round tie. The squad is already tired after a long English season so those who will be playing a key role in the knockout phases will be given a break in this one.

We headed back to Paris in high spirits, but professional enough to realise we'd only won 2 games. We'd need to win more if we wanted to get our hands on the European Championship trophy for the first time. Here's how we lined up against Les Bleus...

Of course we'll be looking to avert the French supply to Benzema out wide from Griezmann and Coman so Clyne and Cresswell will sit deeper than usual, whilst Ward-Prowse and Barkley in the middle will look to be the creative sparks in midfield as well as stopping Pogba and Grenier from getting forward. Here's how we got on...

Unfortunately for us, France were too strong on the night. Karim Benzema was almost unplayable and proved that by scoring 2 goals against a much changed England team. He should have scored a lot more were it for the fantastic Chris Smalling in defence for England. Even a late red card for Aymeric Laporte couldn't see England getting on the score sheet. A disappointing way to let the hosts into top spot but we will fight in the second round where we'll be facing....

Switzerland! The side which beat us in qualifying for the tournament back in 2015, we'd have to be a lot better than what we were back then to have any chance of beating this talented Swiss side in Lens. The next update will show our progress in the knockout stages of Euro 2016.

[danmcconnell1]

Knockout Stages

Our second round tie was against Switzerland in Lens.

We were wary of the Swiss after they beat us on their own patch back in 2015, but we were poor that night and I expect a reaction after the France game. I'm pleased as the way the draw has panned out it's meant that we've had 6 days to recover from the France match as opposed to 4 that we had between group matches, meaning the players have more time to recharge. Here's how we lined up for the match...

Again, a lot of changes, but the relative comfort of a so called dead rubber against France meant that a lot of the key boys could be rested ahead of this one, so Vardy, Henderson, Hart, Sterling and Alli all came back into the starting 11 as we look to meet the FA's expectation that we make the quarter finals. Of course, I want to go further, but meeting that would mean my job 'should' be safe heading into World Cup qualifying, but let's try and win this one first!

Well, what about that for a roller coaster of a game. The fantastic Harry Kane bagged himself a hat-rick within 29 minutes and Jamie Vardy got himself his obligatory goal 5 minutes within the restart meaning we won the game quite easily in the end by 4 goals to 2. Clyne scored an own goal and Fabian Schar got one for the Swiss but they crash out against the ever improving England side who march on to the quarter finals where they will face either Croatia or Portugal. I'm not really bothered who we face out of those two as they're both going to be very tough tests, although the opportunity to put to bed those demons of quarter finals against Portugal would be a challenge I'd love.

But it was one I wouldn't get to take on as Croatia beat Ronaldo's Portugal by a solitary Ivan Rakitic goal in the 10th minute meaning we would be facing the Croats in Lille with another 6 day rest between the second round and the quarters, another piece of welcome news.

So off we headed to Lille to face Croatia in our quarter final.

I felt as though it was going to be a midfield battle so to not lose our potency upfront we stuck with the 2 strikers but added more steel in midfield with the inclusion of James Ward-Prowse in what will be the biggest game of his career so far. Chris Smalling also returns to the starting 11 after missing the Switzerland match due to a suspension.

Could we carry on from where we left off and make the last 4?

You bet they can!? A fantastic first half performance with goals from Harry Kane, Chris Smalling and Jamie Vardy saw England race into a 3-0 lead at half time. Croatia got themselves right back into the match with 2 second half goals from substitute Brozovic and Mario Mandzukic, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sealed the victory and England's ticket to the semi-finals with a late goal to send England into delirium. Yet another fantastic performance capped with 4 more goals as England look to become European champions!

England will have to wait to find out who they'll be facing in the semi's as the Dutch face Austria in Bordeaux next. As silly as it sounds at this stage of a major tournament, I think it's pretty obvious England would much rather face Austria as they look to progress to their first major final for 50 years, but either way, a semi final is always going to be tough, so we'll have to put in an even better performance if we're to progress any further.

As it turns out, England will be heading to the Stade Velodrome in Marseilles to face Holland. They beat Austria 2-0 in their quarter final. The Dutch will be out biggest test so far after they have played good football at this tournament so far and we will need to play as well if not better than we did against Croatia to even contemplate getting anything from this game. We make our way south to Marseilles to play in the newly renovated Stade Velodrome. Again, pleasingly, we get another 6 days respite ahead of our semi final.

Before our semi final took place, the hosts France booked their place at their own party by beating much fancied Spain by 2 goals to nil in Lyon. But now, it was our turn to try and join them. Against perennial tournament specialists of late Holland, we knew it was going to be tough, but with the goals in our team we know anything's possible. Here's how we line up for the semi.

I'm asking the lads for 2 more pushes, one in the semi, the other in a potential final. Every single member of the starting 11 is already knackered, but they're playing with so much quality at the moment I'm unable to drop any of them! They're all desperate to play, and who can blame them. I'm particularly worried about our 2 full backs, they're struggling the most. I might have a decision to make should either of them pick up a booking up against tricky wingers like Robben and Depay. Let's see how we got on then...

Dreamland!

A single Harry Kane goal was enough to see us through to an historic first European Championship final for England where they will face France. It was a slow burner, but 6 minutes into the second half, Harry Kane smashed home to fire England into the final. I couldn't be prouder of the lads as they try to make history and ruin the French party on Sunday back at where this tournament began for us, at the Stade de France in Paris.

We made our way back north to Paris the night after the Holland game to make sure we had plenty of time to prepare in the capital ahead of the final just 3 days away.

So, here we are again, the wonderful Stade de France for the European Championship Final between France and England. Here is what the players will be playing for.

That trophy could be the difference between eternal history or failure. Lift it, we're heroes. Don't, we go home with nothing. I wonder how that'll go down with the lads ahead of the match? What do you say to them before they go out for a game as big as this one? You keep it simple, just as before, it's just another game.

We go again.

Here's how we lined up for this momentous final.

Just to highlight how knackered the team is, here is the starting 11. I simply cannot drop the players that have gotten us this far, it would not be fair to not give them the opportunity, and just one last final push could see them become legends. They know and understand that, and I'm pretty sure adrenaline alone will see them through.

And that is exactly what happened. My team, dead on their feet, are European champions, beating France in their own back yard, could it get any sweeter? And it was that man, Jamie Vardy, who scored 2 first half goals which sealed the victory for us! 

And for the first time, England are champions of Europe. My journey as England boss couldn't have gotten off to a better start with this victory. I'm hoping to now take this momentum into World Cup qualification and hopefully try to hold both the continental title and world title at the same time, and do it over and over again.

A special mention has to go to one man though, Jamie Vardy. Without him, we wouldn't have got anywhere near this trophy. He had one cap before I took over, but in the 14 caps he's gained in my team, he's scored 20 goals, won the European Championships Golden Boot and won a major international honor, all in the space of a year and 15 caps. It's absolutely incredible to think he was playing non league football in Stocksbridge as little as 6 years ago, now he's a European Champion.

And on that note, I'll retire for the evening and bring you more over the coming weeks ahead of FM17.

Hope you're enjoying this also by the way!

[Northernpilgrim]

Congratulations, great start and great idea for a thread

[danmcconnell1]

14 minutes ago, Northernpilgrim said:

Congratulations, great start and great idea for a thread

Thanks a lot Northernpilgrim, was unexpected to say the least! 

 

Just to add, I've been offered this after my reputation significantly rose following the Euros win...

I have also been overlooked for the Juventus job as well as been offered the Wolves job in the Premier League after Kenny Jackett and Luis Enrique left for their national team jobs.

What should I do guys?

[Earnie is God!]

As a Birmingham fan, why would you even consider Wolves?

Especially when compared to Barcelona. You'll only have a decision to make if they insist on you leaving the England post but it doesn't look like it.
What's wrong with doing both?

[danmcconnell1]

6 hours ago, Earnie is God! said:

As a Birmingham fan, why would you even consider Wolves?

Especially when compared to Barcelona. You'll only have a decision to make if they insist on you leaving the England post but it doesn't look like it.
What's wrong with doing both?

I am quite good at not letting my heart rule my head when it comes to FM decisions, as Wolves have just been promoted I think it could be a good challenge.

But Barcelona is Barcelona, having slept on it I think I'll be heading there (when I get in from work) and continue with the England post as they are happy for me to split my time between the two.

I'll post updates later on this evening to see how I get on!

[clarkehwbu]

Congrats on immediate success, I'd suggest sticking just with England to fly through the years and get as much success as possible and start using newgens/regens

 

Your decision though!

[danmcconnell1]

2 hours ago, clarkehwbu said:

Congrats on immediate success, I'd suggest sticking just with England to fly through the years and get as much success as possible and start using newgens/regens

 

Your decision though!

Thanks clarkewbu!

As the day's gone on I'm leaning more towards your advice and getting through a few years before possibly taking on a club job too. It would mean a lot more time and effort into something I don't necessarily want at this point.

It'll be difficult to say no to a club the size of Barca, but I'm sure some more international success could bring this opportunity again in the future.

Thanks for the advice again 

[danmcconnell1]

Apologies for the lack of progress, I have been sent on a trip to Barcelona for work and will be here until Monday evening. Hopefully I'll be able to get an update going on Tuesday night.

Cheers for the support as ever 

[Nobby_McDonald]

You could play as Barcelona in Barcelona.

[danmcconnell1]

14 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

You could play as Barcelona in Barcelona.

I wish I could Nobby! Was very busy I'm afraid. Back in the country now though so will be able to update tonight!

[Nobby_McDonald]

That's a shame. I play as Newcastle Town in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

[danmcconnell1]

Unfortunately, due to the release of FM17 Beta, I'm not going to be continuing with this story.