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The English Football League Thread - EFL in FM17


Jogo Bonito

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56 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

What makes Cambridge United tempting to you then Dan, I am thinking of doing an Oxford United save.

Luke Berry, top player and not a bad club - able to go for the playoffs but just seem to miss out irl.

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@therealpete Well done with Sheffield United. I haven't got that high up the ladder, but I'm sure you will do fine with a decent club like that.

@kozmik Welcome back and good luck with Posh. Their central midfield options are great for L1 level, and they have players with potential to perform way better than they doo IRL.

@Dan9Maguire A very good base to work from there, and I agree on Luke Berry being a real asset in L2. I always feel the GK deserves better stats in FM, but a definite promotion contender in the game. Best of luck.

@Ronaldo Beckham I managed Oxford in L2 last time out, it was very enjoyable. The loss of O'Dowda, Wright and Roofe is a shame, but the latter wasn't rated too highly in FM16. Curtis Nelson can be a very good player at L1/L2 level, especially if you use the long-throw wisely.  

I've just started season 2 with Exeter, unexpectedly in League 1 now. Ironically, one of my top signings for The Grecians in the summer just gone was from Oxford (not Nelson). Unfortunately he got injured in pre-season so I have to be patient.

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Thanks @Jogo Bonito, we're doing really well so far. The squad really is quality, defenders (esp full backs) are a bit dodgy at times but not so much that a defensively sound tactic wouldn't be solid enough. Here's the league table midway through the season:

Sky%20Bet%20League%20One_%20Overview%20P

We went unbeaten for the first 16 games (W13 D3) but have since hit a bit of a slump. Fortunately results have been mixed (W3, D1, L3) rather than consistently poor. Also the chasing pack are getting mixed results so the table looks fairly comfortable still. Board expectations in other competitions have been met, with a 2nd round defeat to Palace in the league cup, while 3rd round fixtures in the FA cup and Checkatrade await against Ipswich and Oxford respectively.

I've signed Macheda on a free transfer, as Nichols got a long term injury and Angol broke his ankle in his first start since coming back from his previous broken ankle. :rolleyes: He's started pretty well with 5 goals and 4 assists in 8+2 apps.

I've had a hard time understanding how Coulthirst's squad status at the start is hot prospect, he's been my best forward so far, with Macheda being the only one who comes even close. The in theory very good Maddison has been woeful in comparison. Coulthirst's recent slightly poor-ish form has seen him concede the 1st spot in league average rating to Ched Evans, but he's still second there with 7,48, joint 1st in the PoM table with 6 and 4th highest goal scorer with 12 goals.

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6 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@Dan9Maguire A very good base to work from there, and I agree on Luke Berry being a real asset in L2. I always feel the GK deserves better stats in FM, but a definite promotion contender in the game. Best of luck.

 

Cheers mate, Berry is a top player I feel like he could be on the move in the Summer. Norris has been fantastic so far so I can't complain at his stats yet :p

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58a9b5b243100_CambridgeUnited1986.png.a081ac7f4b861f423dfbed16f8939a86.png

Cambridge United August Update 2016/17

So I kicked off the season with a sense of optimism at the squad I had been given. There are some top individuals within the ranks and a decent amount of depth too, the only real job I had to do was find a way to get them going. I didn't plan on bringing too many players in - but the staff was a different story. A complete revamp was done of the backroom staff in order for me to prepare for the upcoming season.

58a9b6b913f84_CambridgeUnited_TransferHistory-2.thumb.png.1a7abb87ba2063435b28c42aa6304314.png

Onto the playing staff - the only real area I saw we needed was a backup centre half and with this saw the arrival of Andy Parrish who was released by Morecambe despite playing a mass of games over a long career with them since joining from Bury in 2008. We also provided more depth by agreeing to bring Tom Beadling in from Sunderland on loan until the end of the season. The Australian international is a young player who has yet to make an appearance for The Black Cats and this will be his first loan spell so it will be interesting to see how he does over the course of the season as so far he has done a good job making 3 appearances over the course of the month. Next was another loan signing as will be the next, this time it was Keinan Davies from Aston Villa. He has recently joined the Championship outfit after leaving non-league side Biggleswade Town and was loan listed immediately to give him first team football, in which will be provided here potentially. We have first able strikers, himself, Uche Ikpeazu and Sam Williamson and so far he has scored a single goal in 5 appearances. Finally we finish with Aleix Garcia from our new senior affiliate Manchester City. The Spaniard is a very able central midfielder and has made 4 appearances, providing rotation with James Dunne alongside key man Luke Berry.

58a9b5ec56b19_CambridgeUnited_TransferHistory.thumb.png.fd4e2a514345aaf12c3e6d522503703d.png

So to delve into the results this month then - it's been an incredible start to be fair. We began our campaign with a 2-1 win over Barnet with both goals coming from substitute Ben Williamson, however his second was accredited as an own goal much to my disbelief as he clearly got the last touch, however I won't argue as it was a good way to begin our season. We then started our EFL Cup venture against Nottingham Forest and it was clear they were the better side. An early goal from no other than Nicklas Bendtner gave them the lead, they then doubled their lead before Williamson yet again scored to make it 2-1 but Forest ensured they would be going through by scoring a third through Chris Cohen late on. We then got back into our League 2 season by beating recently relegated side Colchester by a goal to nil. Keinan Davis with the only goal of the afternoon in a very boring affair. We then played another relegated side in Doncaster Rovers but the scoreline was reversed this time. The hosts young midfielder Jordan Houghtan scored a penalty in the 22nd minute to give them the lead and despite many attempts to equalise Ross Etheridge in goal managed to keep us out.

We bounced right back however with a home win to Carlisle. Williamson bagged a third of the season to give us a deserved lead and go into half time ahead but Jordan McKee levelled it for Carlisle with just over half an hour to go. But that wasn't the end as defender Legge was brought down in the box and another defender, Beadling stepped up and confidently scored a penalty to win it 2-1. The Abbey Stadium is very much becoming a fortress so far in the league, as we then beat Luton Town 2-0 as Luke Berry scored early on and then Ikpeazu, who has struggled thus far, came off the bench to score in the 94th minute to ensure victory against The Hatters who are languishing at the bottom end of the table so far. August was then completed in the Checkatrade Trophy against Grimsby in which finished 1-1, it wasn't a game I cared about as I disagree with the competition irl so we'll swiftly move on.

58a9be4bab7ba_Cambridge1.thumb.png.10aa2a2f0bfe1d3c6f4aab7beec10a1f.png

This is the Sky Bet League Two table so far then - 

58a9b5cf831ab_SkyBetLeagueTwo_OverviewStages-21.thumb.png.0f76d221915b3a4d11db009f6646fc8e.png

This month also saw me claim the Manager Of The Month in my first month as a manager - perfect.58a9b5d362ca2_DanMaguire_Inbox-2.thumb.png.382167c5310374fa479fefd7652ade93.png

 

 

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One of the struggles I"m finding with Sheffield United in my second season (currently in the championship) is that I didn't do enough long term planning for my squad. As I am facing to lose a lot of players at the end of the season due to age! I'm going to have a very difficult time next replacement players and to field a big enough squad to take on the following season.

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Eric%20Idle_%20%20Inbox-2_zpsxlgybpfy.pn

Promotion secured with four games to spare. At that point we were five points behind MK Dons in first place. Even though they tried their best to help us win the title by losing one and drawing two of their last games, we lost two and drew one to clinch it for them. Then in the final dead rubber, away at Charlton, we absolutely demolished them 5-0. :lol: I think there might be some issues in the squad with handling pressure or something... Anyway, here's the final table:

Sky%20Bet%20League%20One_%20Overview%20P

A huge points gap between us and Sheffield in 3rd in the end. I made a few January transfers as well, which helped me sort out the defense that was leaking goals a bit at that time:

Peterborough%20United_%20%20Transfer%20H

Rivierez (RB) and Dielna (CB) slotting in the first choice back four immediately. Chong was mainly a backup for Maddison, did ok. Beeney was a freebie loan to replace backup GK Lainton, who moved to Wimbledon for about 25k.

As for the summer, the main priority is to get rid of as many unwanted players as possible. There are several in the squad who have no future here, hopefully will be able to move them on. In terms of signings, a new first choice left back is a priority. Binnom-Williams has been one of my best performers on average, but he has way too many poor games, a problem that would likely get worse in the Championship. I've signed Giliano Wijnaldum on trial and will probably offer him a contract, he looks pretty good and has potential to improve. Other than that, I'll just look at what's available and who we might end up selling.

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It's oh so quiet... Shhh... Shhh... :lol:

Great start to life in championship:

Sky%20Bet%20Championship_%20Overview%20P

Not exactly had an easy start either, as we've played Bournemouth, Reading, Blackburn, Wolves and Sheffield United so far. At home vs. Wolves the best game so far:

Peterborough%20v%20Wolves_%20Analysis%20

Complete domination and humiliation. :D

Transfers:

Peterborough%20United_%20%20Transfer%20H

A bit of a blow to lose Da Silva-Lopes but he had a release clause so I couldn't really do much. On the bright side it was a decent fee, he hadn't really improved and wasn't in my first choice midfield, as I had pretty much settled on Da Silva-Forrester-Anderson. I managed to get rid of all the deadwood and got a decent fee for Macheda who I replaced with N'Gamukol, who fits this year's system a lot better. He hasn't played any competitive matches yet though, as he got a double hernia just before the start of the season. I've taken Jake Forster-Caskey on a trial as a potential replacement to Da Silva-Lopes, looks pretty decent with potential to improve and is a free agent.

Edit: Just realized the transfer history doesn't show loan extensions for Luke McGee and Tahith Chong, they'll both be here for the season.

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@Dan9Maguire A very impressive start with Cambridge. Keep up the good work and let us know how it goes.

@kozmik Congratulations on that season, it looks like you had a very comfortable promotion. It's a shame to lose Leonardo, but as you say it hasn't really affected your progress or form. I had short-listed Wijnaldum for one of my clubs, is he first choice left-back now? If so, how is he doing?

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4 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

 

@kozmik Congratulations on that season, it looks like you had a very comfortable promotion. It's a shame to lose Leonardo, but as you say it hasn't really affected your progress or form. I had short-listed Wijnaldum for one of my clubs, is he first choice left-back now? If so, how is he doing?

He is indeed first choice, has played 23 out of 27 league games, Binnom-Williams has played the cup games. He's been unspectacular but good, 7,23 average rating, 2 goals, no assists, playing mainly as fb/s in a back four. Seems very reliable and hasn't really had bad games, looks like he's not got a worse rating than 6,6 all season. Our overall defensive solidity obviously plays a part in that though. We've only once conceded more than 2 goals in a game the whole season, and that was in 120 minutes against Stoke in the league cup.

I'm currently in early January, will be posting a mid season update once the transfer window finishes.

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Preferably League 2, but League 1 would be okay.

I play with Sortitoutsi's data update.

 

I am looking for a team, which has a lenient board expectancy. Eg. board wants me to avoid relegation, but the team has enough quality to finish mid table.

Can someone point me towards some teams that would fit that?

 

Tried Plymouth, but I reckoned playoffs would be a tough ask of a quite mediocre squad.

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On 2/19/2017 at 15:49, Dan9Maguire said:

58a9b5b243100_CambridgeUnited1986.png.a081ac7f4b861f423dfbed16f8939a86.png

Cambridge United August Update 2016/17

So I kicked off the season with a sense of optimism at the squad I had been given. There are some top individuals within the ranks and a decent amount of depth too, the only real job I had to do was find a way to get them going. I didn't plan on bringing too many players in - but the staff was a different story. A complete revamp was done of the backroom staff in order for me to prepare for the upcoming season.

58a9b6b913f84_CambridgeUnited_TransferHistory-2.thumb.png.1a7abb87ba2063435b28c42aa6304314.png

Onto the playing staff - the only real area I saw we needed was a backup centre half and with this saw the arrival of Andy Parrish who was released by Morecambe despite playing a mass of games over a long career with them since joining from Bury in 2008. We also provided more depth by agreeing to bring Tom Beadling in from Sunderland on loan until the end of the season. The Australian international is a young player who has yet to make an appearance for The Black Cats and this will be his first loan spell so it will be interesting to see how he does over the course of the season as so far he has done a good job making 3 appearances over the course of the month. Next was another loan signing as will be the next, this time it was Keinan Davies from Aston Villa. He has recently joined the Championship outfit after leaving non-league side Biggleswade Town and was loan listed immediately to give him first team football, in which will be provided here potentially. We have first able strikers, himself, Uche Ikpeazu and Sam Williamson and so far he has scored a single goal in 5 appearances. Finally we finish with Aleix Garcia from our new senior affiliate Manchester City. The Spaniard is a very able central midfielder and has made 4 appearances, providing rotation with James Dunne alongside key man Luke Berry.

58a9b5ec56b19_CambridgeUnited_TransferHistory.thumb.png.fd4e2a514345aaf12c3e6d522503703d.png

So to delve into the results this month then - it's been an incredible start to be fair. We began our campaign with a 2-1 win over Barnet with both goals coming from substitute Ben Williamson, however his second was accredited as an own goal much to my disbelief as he clearly got the last touch, however I won't argue as it was a good way to begin our season. We then started our EFL Cup venture against Nottingham Forest and it was clear they were the better side. An early goal from no other than Nicklas Bendtner gave them the lead, they then doubled their lead before Williamson yet again scored to make it 2-1 but Forest ensured they would be going through by scoring a third through Chris Cohen late on. We then got back into our League 2 season by beating recently relegated side Colchester by a goal to nil. Keinan Davis with the only goal of the afternoon in a very boring affair. We then played another relegated side in Doncaster Rovers but the scoreline was reversed this time. The hosts young midfielder Jordan Houghtan scored a penalty in the 22nd minute to give them the lead and despite many attempts to equalise Ross Etheridge in goal managed to keep us out.

We bounced right back however with a home win to Carlisle. Williamson bagged a third of the season to give us a deserved lead and go into half time ahead but Jordan McKee levelled it for Carlisle with just over half an hour to go. But that wasn't the end as defender Legge was brought down in the box and another defender, Beadling stepped up and confidently scored a penalty to win it 2-1. The Abbey Stadium is very much becoming a fortress so far in the league, as we then beat Luton Town 2-0 as Luke Berry scored early on and then Ikpeazu, who has struggled thus far, came off the bench to score in the 94th minute to ensure victory against The Hatters who are languishing at the bottom end of the table so far. August was then completed in the Checkatrade Trophy against Grimsby in which finished 1-1, it wasn't a game I cared about as I disagree with the competition irl so we'll swiftly move on.

58a9be4bab7ba_Cambridge1.thumb.png.10aa2a2f0bfe1d3c6f4aab7beec10a1f.png

This is the Sky Bet League Two table so far then - 

58a9b5cf831ab_SkyBetLeagueTwo_OverviewStages-21.thumb.png.0f76d221915b3a4d11db009f6646fc8e.png

This month also saw me claim the Manager Of The Month in my first month as a manager - perfect.58a9b5d362ca2_DanMaguire_Inbox-2.thumb.png.382167c5310374fa479fefd7652ade93.png

 

 

What tactics and first XI are you using? I'd be interested to see how you are playing Ben Williamson and Uche as IRL Cambridge strikers struggle for goals

 

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So... Mid season update.

It's been one of those seasons where, in theory, we're doing really well and I'm happy:

Sky%20Bet%20Championship_%20Overview%20P

But in practice we've been going through a rough patch and I'm very disappointed and frustrated:

Sky%20Bet%20Championship_%20Overview%20P

A run of four games without a win (D1 L3) saw us concede the top spot to Huddersfield, then a little later a run of four consecutive 1-0 defeats saw us slip to 5th. We've had a bit of a resurgence since then with results like 5-0 vs. Sunderland and 6-2 vs. MK Dons, but we're still too inconsistent and our strikers still can't score. Anyway, top 2 is still within touching distance and a playoff spot looks likely even if we don't make the promotion spots.

We had one January transfer, with new backup GK Kjetill Haug joining us on loan from City after the previous guy requested to terminate his loan. We got a nice bit of money (about 2,5 mill) as Forest sold Assombalonga to Sunderland but there was just nothing available on the market that would've improved the team enough to justify spending several millions.

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Even though the season can only be described as a tremendous overachievement considering we were tipped for relegation, it ultimately ends in bitter, bitter disappointment.

Sky%20Bet%20Championship_%20Overview%20P

Here are the last few fixtures:

Peterborough%20United_%20%20Senior%20Fix

We were second after the Huddersfield game. :( Our earlier games against Wolves were 4-0 win at home and 4-2 win away, it's pretty fair to say they got their revenge.

Anyway, I've already started making transfers to push for the top two next season. Three deals have been agreed, two of them addressing positions where we need improvement (center back and striker) and one who's more of a luxury signing. Hopefully we'll be able to renew loans for Chong and McGee again. I'll also be looking for a new right back and ideally another center back and a dm. But will likely have to sell players first.

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@kozmik That's very unlucky in the end. As you say, it was still a really great season though, and I am confident you will come back better and stronger for the next season.

I'm just about to complete my pre-season for the 2017/2018 campaign in League 1 with Exeter. I released a lot of players on free transfers as they were either too old or not good enough, or sometimes both. I then recruited some new players who have been (or should be capable of) playing at League 1 level. I extended one of my two loans for another season, but generally went for permanent transfers of players who had expiring contracts. The only money spent was on a new striker, and I actually paid a club record fee of £100,000 to bring him in (beating the £65,000 the club paid for the late Tony Kellow in March 1980). My new man had been on loan in League 2 during the first season, and was divisional top scorer for a struggling team, so it made sense to take the plunge. He's still young enough to improve, and hopefully he will add extra firepower.

None of the reserve or youth players were worth keeping, and all had expiring contracts (Ethan Amapdu is not in the game, but he would have been retained). After releasing them all, I declined the opportunity to field an U23 team in any league, and the board then asked if I was happy to stop running the youth team too. I confirmed that was fine, so now I just have a first team squad of around 24 players to manage.

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So, here are my signings for the 2017/2018 season with Exeter.

six.thumb.png.f8b9c075368a4a6e9cdfcd0fb558e74f.png

I'm very happy with the return of Liam Sercombe in particular, whilst James Shea and Aaron Pierre should also be sound acquisitions.

58b8797b1fdf1_RoyRace_Inbox-2.thumb.png.2f2f700dad04ea130589cd7df1a13873.png

In addition to these super six, I also loaned central midfielder Marcus McGuane (Arsenal), and winger Josh Sims (Southampton).

My £100k record transfer fee was for this man, Rhys Healey.

He scored 26 in 45 games on loan at Newport last season, so should be a good asset.

58b877ed14e0a_RhysHealey_OverviewAttributes.thumb.png.a97a2988a6712f22a4217858bda5ca3e.png

There are a few days left of the transfer window, so there may even be time to sign a first choice right-back...  

 

 

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  • SI Staff

As Head Researcher for the EFL here at SI, I'm managing to find some time to look around the wider forum now that the winter update is out. 

I've really enjoyed looking at this thread, and it has helped me feel inspired to 'go again' for next season's release. The use of snipped images really does help support your stories. I'm also reinvigorated to start a new save myself (not really had time before), but there are so many good stories to try to emulate that I do not know which club to start with! That's testimony to the great writing and enthusiasm in this thread, so thank you all very much for that.
 

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@Jogo Bonito Striker with positioning 17, interesting. Way better than any of my defenders. :lol: In my Ebbsfleet save Exeter had become a fairly established Championship side by the time I moved on from the save (2025 I think). I think they were in their third consecutive season there and not really looking under relegation threat. So there's certainly potential to a higher level there. Good looking signings, especially on free transfers! :thup:

@Gripper Good to see you getting enjoyment and inspiration from this thread. Hope to see updates from your career if/when you get one going!

We're about to kick off the new season against Brentford at home. Ideally I also like to use free transfers until I get my hands on the premier league money, but there were very few suitable players of sufficient quality available. So ended up spending a lot, though we sold a couple of players on relatively high fees as well.

Peterborough%20United_%20%20Transfer%20H

That makes for six new players in our first XI: Palencia, Romagnoli, Pennington, Zelalem, Boschilia and Dicko. The difference between Zelalem and our first choice playmaker of last season, Forrester, looks huge based on the pre-season games. So many wonderful through balls. If he can replicate that in competitive games he'll probably break our assist record. :D

Also renewed loans for McGee, Chong and Haug, McGee still being the first choice GK, Chong a rotation winger and Haug a backup keeper. Would've liked to have renewed Brad Smith's loan as well but would've been too expensive.

There's still a couple of weeks left in the transfer window, but I won't sign anyone unless Hull end up making an offer for Coulthirst I can't refuse. They already made one bid but wasn't good enough for me to accept, even though I expect Dicko to do what N'Gamukol failed (miserably, I might add) to do last season and displace Coulthirst as first choice striker. There's some interest in Adil Nabi as well, so might end up selling him as he's basically 5th in the pecking order for the two cm positions. Barring an injury crisis I can't really see him getting a game. He's on low wages though, so won't mind keeping him for the season as emergency backup if we don't get any bids. He'll be out of contract next summer.

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2 hours ago, Gripper said:

As Head Researcher for the EFL here at SI, I'm managing to find some time to look around the wider forum now that the winter update is out. 

I've really enjoyed looking at this thread, and it has helped me feel inspired to 'go again' for next season's release. The use of snipped images really does help support your stories. I'm also reinvigorated to start a new save myself (not really had time before), but there are so many good stories to try to emulate that I do not know which club to start with! That's testimony to the great writing and enthusiasm in this thread, so thank you all very much for that.
 

@Gripper Thanks very much for the post. It is really nice to get some feedback like that from somebody like yourself, and I would really be delighted to come on here and find you sharing your management experience with us. If you need any pointers on which of the 72 to go for, let us know and maybe we can give you some ideas.

I think i am planning to continue with Exeter (from the original beta) for at least another season. However, it's really hard to use 'older versions when something newer is out there, so i am planning to start another one on the new 17.3 version too. That will probably be Millwall and/or Scunthorpe from League 1, and probably Doncaster in League 2. I'm also nearly at the end of season one with Reading, where I was attempting to manage them without making any new signings, instead relying on giving the younger players an opportunity to replace any players I sell or release. For this reason, although the squad is better in 17.3, I will probably continue that with the season's original squad where those youngster opportunities will come along slightly faster.

@kozmik Thanks for that. Yes, I was very pleased to bag those six all on free transfers. I think that Healey could do with having the 17 positioning stat lowered and re-distributed somewhere else, but hopefully he will do a good job for me anyway. I released many more players than I signed, hence recruiting a few more players than i would normally do.

Good to see your latest update, and best of luck trying to get your side promoted this time. By all means, send the likes of Forrester down to Devon! 

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1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

 

@kozmik Thanks for that. Yes, I was very pleased to bag those six all on free transfers. I think that Healey could do with having the 17 positioning stat lowered and re-distributed somewhere else, but hopefully he will do a good job for me anyway. I released many more players than I signed, hence recruiting a few more players than i would normally do.

Good to see your latest update, and best of luck trying to get your side promoted this time. By all means, send the likes of Forrester down to Devon! 

Nah, mate, he'll still be an important player at least for this season, 3rd choice for the two CM spots behind Anderson and Zelalem.

Got knocked out of the league cup in the first round by Northampton. :lol:

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After the latest patch I've decided to start a save with my team - Cambridge. Nice to see they are a popular choice! Got budgets off, so it will be minimal changes to the team. Pretty impressed with the side, we just need another striker.

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20 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@smp20 I was really close to picking Cambridge, their squad looks balanced and strong. I've actually been surprised they haven't done better IRL during the last two seasons. You could well be the one to do it for them!

Cheers! Pleased to say that the first season has gone really well. Will post up a few screenshots later once I've wrapped it up :)

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I have to admit I've rarely been this close to just abandoning a save out of sheer frustration as I am now. We've played 16 competitive games this season. In those games we've scored 18 goals. Out of those 18 goals, seven have been scored by one of the front three (wingers&striker), with strikers scoring 4. Out of those 16 games, my striker has finished with a rating of 7.0 or better a grand total of THREE TIMES. This includes one of the games where Dicko scored but finished with a 6.9 nonetheless. The average rating of all my wingers and strikers is 6.8. I have honestly never seen anything like this with any team on any level.

We're not doing too badly overall, results have been mixed but we're still in the races for the top two. Currently 4th with 5 points behind 1st and 4 behind 2nd. But it's getting pretty close to the point where the enjoyment-frustration ratio is so badly skewed towards frustration that there's very little point in playing at all. I don't mind losing games, I don't mind players not being in form all the time but seven players, all the players vying for three playing positions, being completely off the boil at the same time just feels so incredibly artificial.

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I want to get a successful game going with my team Port Vale but after previous attempts, I just haven't been able to get things right tactically, we would start well in the first couple of games and then tail off badly.

Has anyone got any tips or articles centred around lower league tactics?

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Started a save with Burton as I wanted to try a team where expectations were minimal. My hope was to survive in the Championship aiming for 21st. After 24 league games I can very well say, that the goal has been achieved. We are sitting in a very surprising 6th, and I can't figure out how. I have made very few changes to the team, I am playing with my own tactics but it just works. We are in mid January, and I haven't lost a match since September.

Ironically, the success is slowly taking away the fun, as I wanted to establish slowly. Too much success early on kills saves for me unfortunately

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My favourite ever save so far on FM2017 was with Burton, best thing to do with them is only sign free transfers, get decent scouts to scout Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Gibraltar etc cos I managed to sign some awesome regens from there and then sell them on for profit, I managed to get into the Prem after 6 seasons, I usually ended in mid table in Championship and in my 3rd season I only just stayed in the division on the last day of the season, such an awesome save.

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I also like the slow-burner saves where it takes time to build something. That's why i usually start in L2, it's been ages since I started at Championship level, apart from with Reading where I put myself a no-signings policy in place to make it more difficult.

Even my L2 effort, continued from the demo, went a bit off-plan as I somehow got Exeter promoted in season one, and they are now in L1 earlier than I would have preferred.

On 17.3, I just started a second save with Doncaster in L2. It's a good squad, but they have major injuries in defence to start with and so it should be a bit more difficult than usual for any title favourite. Unfortunately, they already had three loan players at the club, so despite having a number of deals lined up, I had to limit myself to those positions that really needed some strengthening. In the end, i recruited three players on loan so I now have to leave one of the six out of every match day squad. It's not ideal, but at least I covered the bases for the first few months.

 

@kozmik It's fair to question that if the fun isn't so high. I think if you're that high up in the table, it might just be one minor bit of tweaking that could make the difference. Either that, or they will return to form soon. Best of luck however it goes though.

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I've just started a Wigan save (FMT) and have finished my pre-season.

Ive tried setting up a couple of new tactics - one being very narrow, another more 'traditional' (4-2-3-1), but I keep returning to my 4-1-3-2 that worked so brilliantly with Spurs - only downside is it means players like Obertan can't get a game.

 

Ill add add more details later, but aside from signing a RB from Brentford for £1.5m (winter update has us with a £2m budget) and a couple of youngsters, I've only brought in some on loan. I've terminated a few loans where we paid wages, including one who was injured for 7 months, and sent out a few on loan (100% wages paid by them). 

 

Early reports suggest I've a somewhat decent squad, but I chose the 'avoid relegation' option, to give me more breathing room - and we're 1,001-1 to win the league!

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On ‎09‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 09:19, Malicious Penguin said:

I've just started a Wigan save (FMT) and have finished my pre-season.

Ive tried setting up a couple of new tactics - one being very narrow, another more 'traditional' (4-2-3-1), but I keep returning to my 4-1-3-2 that worked so brilliantly with Spurs - only downside is it means players like Obertan can't get a game.

 

Ill add add more details later, but aside from signing a RB from Brentford for £1.5m (winter update has us with a £2m budget) and a couple of youngsters, I've only brought in some on loan. I've terminated a few loans where we paid wages, including one who was injured for 7 months, and sent out a few on loan (100% wages paid by them). 

 

Early reports suggest I've a somewhat decent squad, but I chose the 'avoid relegation' option, to give me more breathing room - and we're 1,001-1 to win the league!

Best of luck with Wigan!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I intend on using him as a Deep Lying Playmaker in my 2nd season at West Brom (2018-2019 season), he has decent stats for a Championship side, not sure if he can cope at Premier League level though, but I don`t have anyone better atm in that role. And there`s little money in the bank left to sign a replacement.

Btw, is it alright if I post my progress with West Brom in here? There isn`t a Premier League thread or a West Brom one.

 

 

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On 3/26/2017 at 09:48, Marius_R said:

I intend on using him as a Deep Lying Playmaker in my 2nd season at West Brom (2018-2019 season), he has decent stats for a Championship side, not sure if he can cope at Premier League level though, but I don`t have anyone better atm in that role. And there`s little money in the bank left to sign a replacement.

Btw, is it alright if I post my progress with West Brom in here? There isn`t a Premier League thread or a West Brom one.

 

 

Yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine

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Doncaster Rovers Season 16/17 - FM version 17.3 

58e1308193878_DonnyFM17header.thumb.jpg.c7234414ea3dd30e05771459c2bbbfa5.jpg

So, what attracted me to Yorkshire as my first club since the winter update?

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Nope, it was not One Direction's Louis Tomlinson...

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Maybe it was this group of girls, who were given the rather unfortunate nickname of 'The Call Girls'...

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Maybe it was to witness these tastefully dressed cheerleaders?

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Or enjoy this decent looking all-seater stadium...with it's own moat?

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Well, all of that may have played a part. But there was a much better reason for me to accept this challenge...

 

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Doncaster Rovers Season 16/17 - FM version 17.3 

58e13b64ad42f_RoyRace.png.4e1f8ae317d5a82988316e5ddd4d7e3d.png

It was the opportunity to finally use this banner for my manager meme, Roy Race (formerly of Melchester Rovers fame)

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And then it was on to the serious business of exiting League 2 at the first time of asking. The board and fans expected no less.

 

 

 

 

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58e13df449c32_ForeverRoversheader.thumb.png.a2010b6c6e3335092f17821a409e0001.png

My first task was to assess the squad and the staff.

We had an injury crisis that ruled out our best four defenders, and I wanted more midfield options too.

I also had to get rid of the staff that had been brought in by my predecessor, Darren Ferguson. I didn't want them around under my new regime.

I inherited a trio of loan men: Conor Grant (Everton) and Jordan Houghton (Chelsea), along with Aston Villa utility player Niall Mason.

I decided to terminate Mason's loan early on, as I thought I could then go back and sign him cheaply on a permanent deal.

Unfortunately, this action made him hate me and the club, and he still does. Oops!

Luckily for me, the club reputation allowed me to add some seriously talented youngsters, all without paying a penny. And striker Simon Murray.

Ben Godfrey only lasted until January. He was generally 7th on my loanee list, and only made four appearances before departing.

Sam Hart became my regular left-back, whilst Marcus Edwards, Daniel James and Connor Ronan were all rotated in midfield.

Murray was disappointing. I thought he could adapt to English football and be a good bench option. I was wrong.

And I didn't bring in many defenders in the end, because I knew when mine were eventually fit, I had plenty of decent options.

That decision was a tough one to make, and it certainly played a part in what happened early on.

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Staff recruitment was even better I felt. I picked up some wise old heads with many years of playing experience.

I thought it was a coup to snap up Nigel Worthington as my Assistant Manager. This is League 2, don't forget!

And my new physio was guaranteed to give most a real lift. Welcome Eva Carneiro.

58e1413623010_DoncasterRoversStaffTransfers1.thumb.png.27ecb95e45749ce271a04d10b8a1ad66.png

 

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58e158e5b499d_ForeverRoverspitchview.png.55d18cfb7d72670ef5a799a231ec7541.png

So, how did it start on the pitch then?

Pre-season wasn't too bad. We ran Everton close, but escaped an embarrassing defeat at Barrow with two late goals.

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And then on to the serious stuff.

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Hit and miss then. We always had goals in us, but it took until the end of September to see any sort of sensible defending.

But whilst it got better, there were still plenty of lapses.

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The above summary was right. So I continued to look for different tactics and formations.

I played around with a standard 442 (my starting formation), 433 wide, 433 with three central strikers, and even a 442 diamond.

The only constant was that my main strikers John Marquis and Liam Mandeville scored goals. Quite a few of them.

58e15c227e81e_DoncasterRoversFixtures2.thumb.png.19db999193923e2e0285203039e681db.png

We started to lose less games, but were still throwing lots of points away.

Some of our best form came in the FA Cup, which was lucky as we had debts. Penniless Doncaster was the phrase usually churned out.

The defence tightened up, and we kept ourselves in contention for promotion. But Crewe were streets ahead of the field at this point.

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Ace marksman Marquis went quiet for about six weeks in February and early March.

And we finally exited the FA Cup, with a 3-1 defeat at Newcastle in Round 5.

League 2 was tight. Nothing separated us, Luton, Grimsby and Yeovil for quite some time. Crewe were dominant.

Luton then surged away from us in April, so we had to hold off the challenge from Grimsby and Yeovil.

Conceding a stoppage time goal at home to Exeter hurt, but other results meant we just needed a point at Hartlepool to get up.

Unfortunately, we were poor. 2-0 down and struggling before a goal at the end of the first half.

I demanded more, but we couldn't get another goal.

Luckily for me, Yeovil threw away their chance and lost. Grimsby even pipped them to 4th on the final day.

So we did it. Stuttering. Choking. But we did it. We're back in League 1.

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The graph suggests it was always under control - but it wasn't. We were always in the mix, but never comfortable.

Well done to Crewe and Luton, and eventually Grimsby for beating Wycombe at Wembley.

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The board made me wait too. No new contract was offered until promotion was secured.

They clearly weren't going to tolerate failure, but I'm here for another two years. And I'm happy with that.

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And so to the players. The ever-popular James Coppinger somehow won our fans award with 50% of the votes.

It should have been Marquis or Mandeville, but fans can be strange at times, right?

Anyway, here are the stats for all players across all competitions.

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Next up, planning for League 1....

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Got a question, are tactics more important at this level that say Premier League/Championship? In other words, can you promote with below average players from League Two/One but using a good tactic? Because the team I am going to play with is surely relegation contenders rather than promotion contenders and I struggle to recruit better players, can't find them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Started a save as Forest because once again we're a good challenge with a first team squad of about 35 players and most of the dreadful players are new signings. Not sure how long it'll last as I reckon I've got to be close to getting sacked as I've only won 1 in 9. Fawaz has left and he's been bought out by Anthony Armstrong-Emery(who is a real life person). I knew they usually are but this one is interesting. He's turned us into a PLC and then increased my wage budget by £400k and transfer budget by about £900k. SO in turn I've gone and signed some 17 year old left back from Falkirk iirc as well as John McGinn and Bradley Dack. The board aren't happy with Dack's signing as I spent £5m on him. Not all in one go obviously. I'll do a full update later.

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Just starting as Leyton Orient and loving it!

Building my team as they are/will have to with youth team players. Good depth with Sargeant and Grainger in goal, Judd at right back, Clark, Pollock and possibly Happe at centre half. Semedo playing anywhere down the left, Koroma as my electric winger and the classy Alzate pulling the strings in the middle. Add them to Adeboyejo and Abrahams up front who provide pace and power, plus Dalby who is the crown jewel.

Really looking forward to building the team with these players. Will add the odd loan player where needed and a bit of experience to the squad, even if they don't play but have a mentor role instead.

Highly recommend people trying Leyton Orient!

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Nice to hear @luke4387 ! I've also got an Orient save on the go (about the seventh I've started because I've really struggled with them this year). Tried my usually effective 4-4-2 to no avail, as well as a wide 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1. Now onto Conte's 3-4-3/5-4-1 system which is a challenge because I don't really have the players for it and there's no money to bring anyone in.

Currently three games in, lost 1 drawn 1 and won 1. Lost to Cheltenham first game out 1-0 despite then having a man sent off. Got caught with a ball over the top late on. Beat Coventry in the cup 1-0 thanks to a solid defensive effort and just drew with Newport 1-1. Conceded a late equaliser from another ball over the top so I'm thinking even Normal is too high for my defensive line!

I've brought in Haamelainen from QPR on loan as well as Bradley Fewster from Boro and Lauri Dalla Valle on a free transfer. Shipped McCallum out because he's too lazy for the system and Moore has gone to Crawley. I'm currently re-training most of my attackers to be defensive forwards, inside forwards or advanced playmakers in a desperate attempt for them to fit my system by Christmas. My one major concern is that Becchetti is obviously a nutter so could sack me at any point but if a takeover happens, I might be replaced by the new guy (that's what happened on all my previous attempts).

Still plugging away with the 3-4-3. It think I've got the defensive shape right, it's just going forward and creating/scoring that I still need to get right.

With regards to some of the Orient players, quite a lot of the kids are underrated in my opinion. Alzate in particular is well below where he should be (no criticism aimed at Stu the researcher though because Alzate only really came through after the data lock). Clark and Happe also a little low and Ochieng possibly too. I also think the youth facilities and recruitment and junior coaching is a little on the low side considering the players we've brought through recently and I've raised that with Stu to possibly be changed next year.

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1 hour ago, OrientTillIDie said:

Nice to hear @luke4387 ! I've also got an Orient save on the go (about the seventh I've started because I've really struggled with them this year). Tried my usually effective 4-4-2 to no avail, as well as a wide 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1. Now onto Conte's 3-4-3/5-4-1 system which is a challenge because I don't really have the players for it and there's no money to bring anyone in.

Currently three games in, lost 1 drawn 1 and won 1. Lost to Cheltenham first game out 1-0 despite then having a man sent off. Got caught with a ball over the top late on. Beat Coventry in the cup 1-0 thanks to a solid defensive effort and just drew with Newport 1-1. Conceded a late equaliser from another ball over the top so I'm thinking even Normal is too high for my defensive line!

I've brought in Haamelainen from QPR on loan as well as Bradley Fewster from Boro and Lauri Dalla Valle on a free transfer. Shipped McCallum out because he's too lazy for the system and Moore has gone to Crawley. I'm currently re-training most of my attackers to be defensive forwards, inside forwards or advanced playmakers in a desperate attempt for them to fit my system by Christmas. My one major concern is that Becchetti is obviously a nutter so could sack me at any point but if a takeover happens, I might be replaced by the new guy (that's what happened on all my previous attempts).

Still plugging away with the 3-4-3. It think I've got the defensive shape right, it's just going forward and creating/scoring that I still need to get right.

With regards to some of the Orient players, quite a lot of the kids are underrated in my opinion. Alzate in particular is well below where he should be (no criticism aimed at Stu the researcher though because Alzate only really came through after the data lock). Clark and Happe also a little low and Ochieng possibly too. I also think the youth facilities and recruitment and junior coaching is a little on the low side considering the players we've brought through recently and I've raised that with Stu to possibly be changed next year.

Completely agree with some players being rated too low. I'd say Alzate is the best of the lot IRL but lots of youth at the Orient.

I've kept McCallum so far, he is doing ok but by first choice pairing is Abrahams (who has 3 goals and 4 assists in pre-season) and Adeboyejo. Apart from Abrahams, the best of the youth players so far has been Judd and Michael Clark who has formed a solid pairing with Tom Parkes at CB.

I would say that it's best to drop slightly deeper as I kept getting done by the ball over the top in pre-season.

Made no signings as yet but after a left back as Kennedy has performed poorly and has a bad attitude. Happy with the squad, may sign the odd player for experience but mainly looking for youth to add to what I got already.

Cheltenham first game coming up after work today, looking forward to seeing how far I can take the Orient youth!

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5 hours ago, OrientTillIDie said:

What does your tactic look like?

Standard 4-4-2

Sargeant (Cisak was poor in pre-season)

Judd, Clark, Parkes, Kennedy

Massey, Alzate/Collins, Kelly, Koroma (I swap Massey and Koroma mid-game occasionally).

Adeboyejo, Abrahams

Play quick, direct, attacking or control football and depending on who I'm playing, I play on the counter.

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8 minutes ago, luke4387 said:

Standard 4-4-2

Sargeant (Cisak was poor in pre-season)

Judd, Clark, Parkes, Kennedy

Massey, Alzate/Collins, Kelly, Koroma (I swap Massey and Koroma mid-game occasionally).

Adeboyejo, Abrahams

Play quick, direct, attacking or control football and depending on who I'm playing, I play on the counter.

Interesting. I've tried the 4-4-2 and just couldn't get it working the way I wanted it. I'm quite stubborn though and if the players don't get my system then I get annoyed!

My Conte system is working fairly well. Sitting in 9th at the minute which is the best I've done with Orient on this years game.

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Currently debating on Morecambe or Hartlepool... obviously Morecambe have a lot of financial issues and it would be a challenge to try and establish them as a top half side and then into promotion contenders etc. etc. but Hartlepool are pretty much relegated to the National League in real life and Jeff Stelling, bless him, had a meltdown about Dave Jones so it makes me want to make a change at Victoria Park... 

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So I've finished my first season in charge and here's the overview of it. I'm struggling with screenshots on my laptop at the minute so no images I'm afraid.

I finished the year in 10th having had a spate of injuries late in the season which cost me a run at the playoffs. As I mentioned previously I'm playing a 3 centre back system based on Conte and I lost most of my centre backs in the last 10 games. However it was a fairly pleasing season as I still managed to finish the campaign with the best defensive record in the league. Sadly I had one of the worst scoring records which didn't help my cause. Gavin Massey and Sandro Semedo were the standouts throughout. Lauri Dalla Valle ended as top scorer.

The big summer news was a long drawn out but eventually successful takeover of the club by one Jeremy Peace. He is in the process of clearing the clubs debts and thus my wage budget increased.

I shipped out a lot of the aging players like Janse, Hunt and Atangana as well as Collins, Clark, N'nomo. Also sold Weir to Shrewsbury and Dalla Valle to Mansfield.

In came Jake Shepperd and Smith-Brown (right back and left back) on loan as well as Jack Vann and Cameron Burgess in defence. In midfield I picked up Amine Linganzi, Anton Rodgers and Aaron Kuhl. On the wing I grabbed George Green and up top I signed Dan Holman and Cole Stockton who amassed 40 goals between them for Cheltenham and Tranmere respectively in an effort to bolster my goals.

A good start saw me hit 5th after 5 games despite only managing a goal in each game I played. Then a dreadful run of 5 without a win saw me plummet to 17th. Fortunately I then played newly promoted York at home followed by Forest Green away. A 3-0 win against York thanks to Stockton, Judd (first pro goal) and a classy solo run by Koroma eased my concerns. Then a sensational Stockton hat trick resulted in a 3-1 win against Forest Green, including one of my favourite ever FM goals (a left foot half volley from the edge of the area). I'm now 7th. More to follow soon.

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