FM18: The English Football League Thread - EFL in FM18

[Jogo Bonito]

@duds Forward planning there! You're in pretty much the area I was from before moving abroad, so I also hope Sam does well (and hopefully has more luck than Tarpey).

@YoungHoss Welcome and good luck at Chesterfield.

@Armistice Don't Hull already have four loans? Unless you are terminating any (and you're well short of fit/decent defenders anyway) don't forget that you can only have five in the match day squad. So which positions were you looking at for loan players to come in?

To everyone else, enjoy Cardiff. I think they're a really good club to pick this year. The bar has set been very high, looking at the success in real life and in here!

[kozmik]

Been staying away from the thread as I got fed up with the game. Mainly fed up with great center backs being unable to mark opposition strikers, having to take extraordinary measures to avoid my right back pressing the opposition mcr and having to build my tactics with the sole purpose of avoiding endless hopeless pot shots against teams that sit deep. Been playing a bit of FM17 and it just feels like such a breath of fresh air even though it's far from perfect itself. Not sure whether I'll get back to 18 at all or just play 17 till 19 comes out.

Anyway, I wanted to congratulate @Blue 4 Life, winning the champions league in the third season with Cardiff is absolutely amazing! 

[Jogo Bonito]

@kozmik Sorry to hear that but you play a lot more seasons than me so I can understand if you get to that stage. The only thing I noticed repeating in most of my saves was my two wingers crossing to each other for the majority of my goals. I've changed that with a purposeful tweak at Preston because it was becoming a bit repetitive!

I'll give you a shout if I need an Assistant Manager

[kozmik]

30 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@kozmik Sorry to hear that but you play a lot more seasons than me so I can understand if you get to that stage. The only thing I noticed repeating in most of my saves was my two wingers crossing to each other for the majority of my goals. I've changed that with a purposeful tweak at Preston because it was becoming a bit repetitive!

I'll give you a shout if I need an Assistant Manager

It's a deal

I actually went back to my Lincoln save after becoming too frustrated with the Barnsley one, and it was even worse even though my back line was filled with world class players. I've fired up a new save with United in FM17 and it really feels so much better even though my back line features the likes of Smalling, Jones and Rojo. I really don't even do much better, but just the way I concede goals and the way I fail to score them is a lot easier on the eye (and the brain).

I might dig up my old Peterborough save and get back to playing with my GOAT striker Marzierli. See if I can win a few champions leagues in a row.

[YoungHoss]

Cheers @Jogo Bonito set the save up this morning and started to sort my squad and staff out and put the tactic I plan on using into place so once I have all that sorted out I will do a small update with transfers and the tactics I plan on using etc 

[Jogo Bonito]

@JohnShepard In reply to your PM, the only Player Instructions used by me at Preston are for my two wide attackers to have 'shoot less often'. 

[RageMaster]

Hi all,

I am thinking about starting a save in League 2 with Coventry City, has anyone had any success with them on FM18? What signings should I be looking to make? I don't think I will have any money to spend based on a quick glance on the Editor! I have never managed in League 2 before on any FM so this will be quite the challenge for me.

[Jogo Bonito]

7 hours ago, RageMaster said:

Hi all,

I am thinking about starting a save in League 2 with Coventry City, has anyone had any success with them on FM18? What signings should I be looking to make? I don't think I will have any money to spend based on a quick glance on the Editor! I have never managed in League 2 before on any FM so this will be quite the challenge for me.

Good luck with Coventry, I'm considering another effort with them too. I've not managed them on this current database, but it's a really good team to try and revive. I think you're right on the money side, I don't believe you will have any money in transfer or wage budget. If that's the case, you'll have three choices.

1. Do what you can with the current group (they have some good young players there already).

2. See how many loan players you can bring in to any positions you think might need it most. Don't forget, you can only have five loan players in your 18-man match day squad.

3. See if there is anybody you don't consider essential, that you might be able to get some funds from selling. I suggest you ask if the board will increase your transfer revenue percentage before doing this. Give serious thought to who you sell though, you'll need your best players to stay as the board will expect you to do well.

In addition to this, when the time comes to set your bonuses, set them all to the lowest possible as this will add a small amount to your transfer budget. You can also see if there are any transfer clauses you can sell.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

At the end of my last update, we were 2nd to Wolves with only two league defeats at the time.

The winter transfer window had been deliberately quiet, with only a few deals being done.

I signed striker Okyere Wriedt on loan from Bayern's reserve team, who more than justified his £800 per week cost with some great contributions.

I signed centre-back Tom Brewitt on loan from Middlesbrough purely as injury cover (no wages paid), but he didn't step on to the pitch for me.

And I signed Trinidad & Tobago striker Jamille Boatswain on a pre-contract deal from 1st April, although he doesn't yet have a work permit.

I gambled as his wages are only £210 per week, so if his nation can get their ranking higher, he will be in the first team squad.

I allowed Louis Moult to go on loan to Hull as this recouped £500k in fees for a player who had made one 13-minute cameo appearance.

And Kenywne Jones retired on 1st January 2018, more of that later...

On the pitch, we ticked along quite nicely until January, which was a poor month.

A few injuries disrupted our progress, including those that affected captain Tom Clarke and the afore-mentioned Jones.

Clarke was injured before I took over, and made one 90 minute appearance in December before being ruled out for another three months. Not great.

Jones was retiring anyway, but picked up a hip injury at the start of December which was going to rule him out for four months.

It wasn't an ideal end to his career, but although he only scored a solitary goal in 1 (10) appearances, he had been a valuable player in his short spell at the club.

With Wolves setting a pace we could not match, we were comfortable in 2nd for quite some time.

But more injuries came (for some time, three out of our four wingers were out), and a goal drought for Maguire really caused us some problems.

During this spell, we slipped to 3rd behind Middlesbrough.

We were always safe for the play-offs, but never really got that momentum back again.

Finishing 3rd, we had a semi-final against Norwich, whilst Fulham faced Ipswich over two legs.

 I wasn't too unhappy losing 1-0 at Carrow Road, but in the return at Deepdale we couldn't quite do enough - their late goal giving them a 2-0 aggregate win.

Ipswich saw off Fulham in the other semi, before Norwich won a special Old Farm derby at Wembley on penalties to book their Premier League return.

Here's the final table. When I took the job, I never imagined finishing 3rd so I should be very proud.

Right now though, it feels like we missed a real opportunity with that late slump in form costing us dearly.

I couldn't really have expected much more from most of my players, although Lee Gregory certainly hadn't done much to justify his £1.1m fee.

The fact that he moaned throughout most of the season (when it was his own form that saw him left out of the team), means I'm very open to selling him on now,

With a heavy heart, I'll also be allowing long-serving favourites John Welsh and Paul Gallagher to leave at the end of their contracts.

I'll be looking to bring back Moult, and will also have young defender Ben Wilmot arriving after his loan-back to Stevenage ends.

Tom Barkhuizen won the player of the year award, but there are quite a few others already demanding new contracts (Fisher, Davies, Browne and Robinson).

And the parting note surrounds the club itself, as I have been made aware that a takeover is in the pipeline.

Of course it may not happen, and I hope it doesn't really. Time will tell...

[Mushtaq]

Have started a save as Yeovil Town in League Two as they are the lower league team I sort of follow.

Finished 6th first season and went on to lose the playoff final 3-2 to Cambridge United late in extra time! I historically have an abysmal playoff record on FM so I wasn’t surprised.

Second season I have been in 1st spot from the opening game, and have an eight point lead in January. Have totally jinxed it now. 

Anyway, I normally start in the very bottom leagues to be realistic and end up getting nowhere, so this has been an enjoyable change so far. This thread has been a great read too to keep the motivation going.

[smplfc123]

@Jogo Bonito Gutted for your end of season form mate, but like you said if you had been offered 3rd spot and a crack at the play offs before the season started, you'd have snapped it up. Good luck for the summer.

[superbowl145]

Just started a QPR Save, will be following to update when mi preseason is done.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I am thinking of doing a QPR save next after I get bored of my Crewe save, I look forward to seeing how you get on Superbowl.

[Jogo Bonito]

On ‎21‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 00:12, Mushtaq said:

Have started a save as Yeovil Town in League Two as they are the lower league team I sort of follow.

Finished 6th first season and went on to lose the playoff final 3-2 to Cambridge United late in extra time! I historically have an abysmal playoff record on FM so I wasn’t surprised.

Second season I have been in 1st spot from the opening game, and have an eight point lead in January. Have totally jinxed it now. 

Anyway, I normally start in the very bottom leagues to be realistic and end up getting nowhere, so this has been an enjoyable change so far. This thread has been a great read too to keep the motivation going.

Best of luck with Yeovil, do Somerset proud. 6th and then an eight point lead is excellent so far as the squad isn't very good.

@smplfc123 Thanks for that. The takeover happened during pre-season. My £3m transfer budget is now £11m, and they doubled the wage budget to £350,000 per week. It doesn't feel very much like Preston anymore, although I've not splashed any cash yet. I'll see whether it maintains my interest as my policy of keeping players mainly from UK & Ireland and a self-imposed £10k per week wage limit might not be suitable for the new regime.

Did you get going with Bristol Rovers or you didn't fancy it in the end?

@superbowl145 Good luck with QPR if you're still managing them.

[smplfc123]

@Jogo Bonito Fair one mate, a takeover can sometimes spoils things can't it?! Unfortunately I haven't had the time for an save at the moment as i'm in the process of moving house, which is taking longer than I would have liked, so just keeping my eye on here for now. Hopefully will get the game up and running and some point soon though.

[Jogo Bonito]

@smplfc123 Yeah, takeovers can be positive or negative. I'll see whether it feels right to continue or not. If it isn't, no doubt I will be starting somewhere else soon. In the meantime, I'll be progressing my BSC Young Boys effort for a bit of a break.

Best of luck with the house move mate

[Armistice]

Anyone can recommend a good CB? I am also looking for backups for LB & RB. I’m still in season one, just went through the pre-season so some players might have been sold/loaned out.

[Gunner 101]

Just started out as Blackpool. Will post an update once I reach the end of the transfer window! 

[Jogo Bonito]

3 hours ago, Gunner 101 said:

Just started out as Blackpool. Will post an update once I reach the end of the transfer window! 

Welcome back! Good luck with Blackpool. #OystonOut

[Gunner 101]

5 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Welcome back! Good luck with Blackpool. #OystonOut

Cheers Jogo! Nice to see you around still, shame you're managing Preston mind! I rarely played 2017 and literally just got 2018, purely because I couldn't bear having a gap in the collection but we will see how it goes. 

[smplfc123]

On 24/05/2018 at 21:29, Jogo Bonito said:

Best of luck with the house move mate

Thanks mate 

[Jogo Bonito]

15 minutes ago, Gunner 101 said:

Cheers Jogo! Nice to see you around still, shame you're managing Preston mind! I rarely played 2017 and literally just got 2018, purely because I couldn't bear having a gap in the collection but we will see how it goes. 

Yes, sorry about my choice of club. Hopefully you get to grips with the new version of the game and enjoy it.

[Jogo Bonito]

Sadly, I didn't feel comfortable starting a second season at Preston due to the takeover that pumped loads of money in to the club.

I've picked a new club, inheriting a team in League 2 with this league table in January 2018 (Luton and Lincoln lead the way). No club has made any transfers to this point, as the start date was obtained by loading Irish leagues and choosing a delayed start. For anybody looking for a new challenge, this is a really good way to get a slightly different starting point at L2 (or L1) level. There were (eventually) three L2 clubs on the final shortlist, but can anyone guess where I have ended up?

 

 

[AccyScott]

9 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Sadly, I didn't feel comfortable starting a second season at Preston due to the takeover that pumped loads of money in to the club.

I've picked a new club, inheriting a team in League 2 with this league table in January 2018 (Luton and Lincoln lead the way). No club has made any transfers to this point, as the start date was obtained by loading Irish leagues and choosing a delayed start. For anybody looking for a new challenge, this is a really good way to get a slightly different starting point at L2 (or L1) level. There were (eventually) three L2 clubs on the final shortlist, but can anyone guess where I have ended up?

 

 

Just a guess, but Forest Green?  

[smplfc123]

Yeah, I'll guess at Forest Green too....

[Jogo Bonito]

@AccyScott @smplfc123 Really guys? I would have to be mad to try and save them.

But yeah, you're both right. Forest Green Rovers it is. It might not last for long as I will be barred from the thread if I don't keep them up!

[warlock]

7 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I will be barred from the thread if I don't keep them up!

Yeah, you will. ()

I might be back here in a while, but I've been distracted by the SAF Challenge thread here:

If you have some spare time on your hands, I highly recommend it.

[Jogo Bonito]

FOREST GREEN ROVERS

I didn't want to miss the opportunity of managing Forest Green Rovers in their debut Football League season.

After changing the starting point (loading Irish leagues), this is the situation that 'attracted' me to The New Lawn in January 2018.

I say attracted, but after 27 games of the League 2 season, this shocking set of results suggested that League 2 survival might be beyond the club.

Yes, that's right. Just 3 wins in 27 games under the previous manager. Nicely sat in 24th place...

The positives? Due to the way the game is loaded, no clubs in the game had made any transfers to this point.

The squad was mainly injury free, and included one or two reasonable players for League 2 level.

I had six or seven loans I could terminate and I did just that. Every loan player at the club was sent packing immediately.

The club also had a small amount of cash to spend, but I was mainly hunting in the loan market, 

I hoped that bringing in my own loan players would be the catalyst to better form, but I knew that I had to limit my loan signings.

I targeted areas of the pitch that seemed weak, and spent a considerable amount of time looking to bring in an array of new recruits.

As you can imagine, not every player was keen to join a team adrift at the foot of the table, but we did OK.

The majority of the loan players are ones that might be available for free in the summer, so if they do well they could be staying here a bit longer.

At the end of the window, I did some cash deals that seemed like decent investments. Well, they will be if they help preserve our EFL status.

I signed Tranmere striker Andy Cook for £12k after initially bringing him on loan, so that I had no more than six loan men on the books.

Goalkeeper Ian Lawlor is also arriving permanently in June for a fee of £10k, but for now I just use one keeper in my 18-man squad so the numbers work out fine.

Michael Ihiekwe was a big money signing, but I am hopeful he can make a valuable contribution in our fight for survival.

In addition to the new boys, I'm lucky to also have Christian Doidge and Reuben Reid here. But will it be enough?

 

[Gunner 101]

Looking forward to the next update Jogo! How’s Osbourne on the game? 

[Jogo Bonito]

3 minutes ago, Gunner 101 said:

Looking forward to the next update Jogo! How’s Osbourne on the game? 

Cheers mate. He's rated as the key player on the profile page and his stats look quite decent for L2 level. I've considered Bryn Morris and Reece Brown to be my best options, so as my third choice central midfielder it depends if I'm playing two or three in the middle of the park as to whether he starts or comes off the bench. His contract expires in the summer and Portsmouth are interested, so I'm not sure if I can keep him beyond June.

[smplfc123]

@Jogo Bonito Good luck mate, look forward to the next update.

[duds]

Hi Guys,

Apologies for no update from me but spent four nights in hospital after collapsing twice. Turns out I had two cardiac arrests and was only saved by my pacemaker-defibrillator kicking in.

I've abandoned my saves for a while to avoid unnecessary stress. I will follow updates here though and wait for FM19 to come out.

I've had heart issues my whole life, two open heart surgeries and thankfully had the pacemaker fitted last October.

Good luck to all with your saves and I look forward to following your progress.

Duds

[Armistice]

42 minutes ago, duds said:

Hi Guys,

Apologies for no update from me but spent four nights in hospital after collapsing twice. Turns out I had two cardiac arrests and was only saved by my pacemaker-defibrillator kicking in.

I've abandoned my saves for a while to avoid unnecessary stress. I will follow updates here though and wait for FM19 to come out.

I've had heart issues my whole life, two open heart surgeries and thankfully had the pacemaker fitted last October.

Good luck to all with your saves and I look forward to following your progress.

Duds

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that pal. I hope you are alright. All the best, wish you have a speedy recovery!

[Gunner 101]

Take it easy Duds! 

[Jogo Bonito]

@duds Really sorry to hear that you've suffered like that, but good to hear that you're doing a bit better now and hopefully fighting fit. I think it can be a bit stressful when you get immersed in the game, so it makes sense to take a good, long break. It will be nice to have you browsing the thread or maybe chucking in the odd comment, but most importantly I wish you all the best and trust that you will take it easy. If I can relate this back to football, it sounds like you might need an Assistant Manager to help you out with your personal recovery until FM19 time 

[Gunner 101]

Sorry for not updating on my Blackpool save yet (don't worry Jogo, I've not swapped teams) unfortunately it's a case of when I can find time to play so my progress will likely be slow however I've just received this delightful piece of news in pre-season. Whilst it would be good to see Owen leave, it's hardly ideal being placed under a transfer embargo whilst talks continue.

                                 

[Jogo Bonito]

@Gunner 101 I find time hard to come by too mate, so totally understood. I think any chance to have the Oyston family out has to be a positive, although hopefully it won't drag on too long in pre-season and ruin your plans.

[Gunner 101]

36 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@Gunner 101 I find time hard to come by too mate, so totally understood. I think any chance to have the Oyston family out has to be a positive, although hopefully it won't drag on too long in pre-season and ruin your plans.

Transfer embargo has been lifted a full day later as the takeover collapsed. 

[Jogo Bonito]

That's a shame, isn't it? Hopefully a new owner will not be far way though.

[Gunner 101]

Pre-season is complete finally and with a mixed bag of results I'm not entirely sure it's ideal preparation for the new season.  Currently no one has left the club nor has anyone joined. This isn't helped by the fact I have a £0k transfer budget and no wages to begin with. I've lowered the bonus options so that's given me a little to play with however I'm struggling to find the right quality for the right price. I'm ideally looking to ship out a few players, mainly Delfouneso, Philliskirk and Gnanduillet due to going with only one striker and Cullen, Vassell and Agyei being better options and I really could do with the extra space in the wage budget to help tie down players and strengthen in key areas, particularly in central defence. 

Performance wise strong showings have come from Ryan, Menga and Clayton but I'm not really paying too much attention to that from the friendlies. Fitness levels have improved over the course of the games and the squad is pretty much ready to go with regards to fitness and match sharpness. Tactics wise I'm a little concerned with the gap between the rest of the team and my striker at times so I need to think how I can change that for the better but it's all a work in progress I guess. 

The season opens with back to back games against Bradford City in the League and then the League Cup. 

Come on the Pool! 

EDIT: I reckon swapping Spearing (Currently DM & BWM) and Ryan (CM & DLP) may work better? Spearing can then move forwards and close down the ball whilst being able to help bridge the gap between midfield and attack whilst Ryan sits deeper and sprays passes from deep? Thoughts?

[Jogo Bonito]

@Gunner 101 Not a bad pre-season in difficult circumstances with the embargo and with little or no budget help even when it was lifted. Your central midfield idea could be a good one, time will tell! How has it been working?

 

After taking charge of Forest Green Rovers with them rooted to the foot of the table in January 2018, here are the results under my management so far.

I was delighted with the win at Swindon (and unexpected clean sheet) as the team hadn't won for seven games prior to my arrival (2 points from 21).

In fact, with 3 wins from 27 games of the 2017/18 season, five points adrift of 23rd and nine from safety, I wasn't sure when a win might come.

That victory seemed to boost confidence though, and by mid-March we had only suffered one more loss as we eliminated the gap to our rivals.

It could have been better if we'd not drawn games against strugglers Newport and Stevenage, but at least we didn't lose those six-pointers.

The win over Crawley also kept them in the relegation battle, so that was helpful too.

Having cut the gap right down, we then seemed to lose focus (or our nerve) and three straight defeats dashed my optimism.

But a decent comeback gained a point against Colchester, and then a penalty helped us on our way in another six-pointer against Barnet.

We're now out of the drop zone and in our highest position of the season - but the safety margin is still slim so we're not out of this mess yet.  

Here is the current table showing how close it all is, and the run in. I guess it's in our own hands, at least.

Our fixtures don't look too bad, but Luton are something like 20 points clear at the top of the table.

A hammering against them might make the Grimsby clash harder, so we might need to take our points before Kenilworth Road.

Stevenage are the form team after being cut off at the foot of the table just a few games back, whilst Grimsby are on an awful run and dropping like a stone.

I don't recall ever having a fight to stay in League 2 before, so this is a new challenge to test myself with. So far, it's been going OK but let's see what happens!

 

[Gunner 101]

I’ll update later on today, I’ve got two games left in August to play and it’s been an unfortunate start, will explain more in my update.

With regards to the formation I’m tempted to change it so I have more of a presence further up the pitch and close down from the front. The idea is to change to a 4-2-3-1 DM Wide formation. This would mean playing Ryan (DLP) and Spearing (BWM) in the DM positions whilst moving Longstaff into an attacking midfield role, but I’ll see what I think is best. 

Good work with FGR Jogo! Definitely a tense finale and hopefully you get it sealed before the last game otherwise that could be interesting.  

[Jogo Bonito]

The trouble with teams like ours is we don't have much permanent quality so we always need to tweak things to extract something out of the players. Hopefully the changes work out well, and I'm sure that eventually you will find something that does. I will look forward to your update and to seeing about this unfortunate start!

Yes, we have been doing reasonably well and now have to see the job through. There could be big changes in the summer as quite a few first teamers have contracts expiring.  I try to mirror the actual club, releasing those they let go and keeping those they retain. I want to cut the wage bill and reduce the loan numbers down, so if I can sign a number of the loan players I brought in on free transfers, that would be nice. 

[Gunner 101]

Yeah I always try and sign loan players that I feel that I can keep after the temporary spell is finished. 

Was thinking back before about how many of these topics we've posted in over the years and it's been 5 years (FM13)! Time goes way too fast.

[Dong21]

I've been super busy recently so haven't had a chance until now to write up my second season with Fulham, which I completed several weeks ago. Hopefully I can remember what happened! Here goes...

Fulham - 2018/2019 - Part 1

After winning the Championship I was handed a £35m transfer budget and tasked with keeping the club in the Premier League. Four of my key players from the previous season were loanees (Targett, Kalas, Norwood and Mitrovic) who all returned to their respective clubs, so I had a lot of rebuilding to do, whilst also looking to add a touch of quality to adjust to Premier League life. One of the most important things I did as soon as the season ended was to renew the contracts of key players such as Cairney, Ream, Johansen, Bettenelli and Sessegnon to ward off any interest in their services.

I was delighted to be able to sign Kalas permanently as he had formed such a solid centre-back partnership with Ream in the previous season. I also signed a 21 year old CB Jorge who had great potential and an attractive minimum release clause fee. I replaced Targett at LB with the signing of Masina from Bologna and brought in Saborit (formerly of Bilbao) as his understudy. I loaned in the 'keeper Periera with the intention of selling David Button, but changed my mind and terminated Periera's loan days later.

In midfield, I secured the loan of the talented Grujic from Liverpool, who replaced Norwood as the Regista of the team. I signed Meffert on loan as a squad option to play BWM if required. Playing three in the middle, I bulked up my numbers here further with the free transfer signing of Gustafson. I had also had Gustafson's twin Samuel on trial but decided in the end that it would be detrimental to the development of O'Riley to sign a further CM.

Due to his great potential I wanted to stick with Sessegnon as my first choice on the left wing, however I identified the right wing as a key area to look to add some quality. I decided we needed an additional goal threat if we were to stick with one up top and therefore targeted left footed inside forwards for this position. I was able to secure two, signing Orsolini on loan from Juventus and picking up Medeiros for a bargain fee from Sporting.

Up front, I wanted to retain the services of Mitrovic (either on loan or permanently), however Newcastle would not allow it. I spotted that Augsburg had been relegated so I moved for Finnbogason to be my new leading man. To add additional goals I snapped up a 20 year old exciting prospect, forward Coman.

Due to the small size of my squad, there were limited outgoings besides sending youth out for development opportunities. I managed to make good money from loan fees generated by Kamara, Williams, Woodrow and Kebano.

The only significant move in January was the signing of striker Lapadula from AC Milan. I moved for him as Finnbogason was failing to deliver and the side was really short on goals. I was able to make the money back through the sale of Rui Fonte, who had been involved very minimally in first team action to that point.

[Dong21]

Fulham - 2018/2019 - Part 2

Despite initial apprehension about being too attacking in the Premier League, I decided to stick with the exact same tactics that fared me well in the Championship. The only real difference is that we played more counter attacking against the bigger sides, however the shape remained largely the same.

I had thought that we could potentially be involved in a relegation battle, especially after not making any big money signings, however we exceeded all of my expectations. We finished 9th, which I was very pleased with, however there are some twinges of disappointment considering we were 4th for two months of the season, before falling away near the end. Our defensive record was fairly good, however our weakness was clearly goal scoring - evidenced by our eventual goal difference of only +1. This is something that will clearly need to be addressed in the upcoming transfer window.

As you can see from the above, we started the season really well, winning 10 of our first 15 Premier League games, including a victory over Arsenal who were leading the table at that moment. We then had a tough 6 weeks in December and January in which we didn't win a league game, although we did draw with Liverpool and Tottenham. We then picked up form again in February and March, before ending the season in dismal form for the last two months, plummeting to 9th.

Bettenelli had a great debut season in the Premier League, producing an impressive 17 clean sheets, and conceding only 36 goals in 38 appearances. Ream, Kalas and Masina were ever present in front of him and also deserve credit for our defensive solidness. I ended up rotating Fredericks and Christie at right back, with both playing equally well, but Fredericks produced more assists. Grujic had a solid season however my star men in the entire squad were Cairney and Johansen, who both adapted to the Premier League with ease. Neither produced a great deal of goals or assists, however they always seemed to play well.  Young prospect O'Riley, who started 7 games and was a regular sub, continued to develop nicely.

The biggest disappointment for this season was the poor form of Sessegnon. I stuck with him and allowed him to start 28 games, however he only scored 2 goals, got 3 assists and had an average match rating of just 6.79. I am not sure what I am going to do with him next season. I had more success on the right wing where Orsolini produced 7 goals and 6 assists and his understudy Medeiros got 3 goals and 4 assists.

As noted in part 1 of this season review, Finnbogason failed to deliver the goals our team desperately needed, only scoring 6 all season. I signed Lapadula at the end of January and he was revelation, scoring 11 goals in just 20 games. What was satisfying was the form of young 'super-sub' Florinel Coman who, despite only starting 10 of his 33 appearances, produced 5 goals and 7 assists.

The only other thing to mention is our successful FA Cup run that saw us make it all the way to the Semi Final stage. We were then cruelly defeated by Chelsea due to a 93rd minute penalty, that the press described as 'controversial'! Who knows what could have happened in a final against Liverpool...

[Gunner 101]

Great work there @Dong21! Unlucky that form dipped at times and you ended up 9th but that's still a really good first season in the Premier League. Looking forward to seeing what you do over the summer. 

[Jogo Bonito]

Nice one @Dong21 and you've proven yourself to be a much better Fulham manager than I was! 9th is a really good finish, best of luck for next season at The Cottage

[Dong21]

Thanks @Gunner 101 and @Jogo Bonito!

I shall try and better that first season if possible. The board have given me a budget of £31m, but I'll try to wheel and deal!

[Gunner 101]

I've finally made it to the end of August 2017 in my Blackpool save and it's been a decent start to the season. However I wouldn't say I was fully prepared for the start of the season and would have preferred pre-season was a little bit longer. My transfer troubles were well documented previously and it came down to the deadline day before any arrivals walked through the door. 

Fraser Franks arrived from League Two Stevenage. He was the best of a pretty mediocre bunch however I couldn't afford to bring no one in and I had to settle for Franks. He arrives as a back up but will compete with Aimson and Tilt to play alongside Robertson in defence. One thing Franks does offer is height (6'1" when compared to 5'10" Aimson) and leadership qualities which the squad is lacking currently. Earlier in the summer I had a bid accepted for Alfie Jones (on loan from Southampton) however he decided to join QPR of the Championship instead. Franks is on a one year deal with an option of a further 12 months. 

Diego De Girolamo was a spontaneous capture however I'd tried to find a back up for Jimmy Ryan in the former Blackpool player David Fox from Plymouth but his agent was too greedy and so that move fell through. De Girolamo has good potential and will free up Callum Cooke to play back up to Ryan if need be.  He's only on £375 per week wages and like Franks joins on a one year deal with an option for a further 12 months. 

Surprisingly the board and fans are pleased with the transfer business and the two captures on deadline day at least means I have a couple of extra bodies for the campaign. 

Williams and Richards are two young players who left the club for experience.

AUGUST 2017 - RESULTS

The season started with a tough trip to Bradford in which we fell behind to a long range strike. After that we dominated play however could only muster the one goal which meant we opened the season with a draw. Admittedly it was a point more than we was expected to get.

It was Bradford at home next in the first round of the Carabao Cup and due to lacking strength in depth I made the decision to start with 3 youth team players. We played well however I think tired legs meant we succumbed to two quick fire goals in extra time. Youth teamer Jack Newton actually struck in the post in normal time and so nearly gave us the goal to take us through. 

Another tough game in the league saw MK Dons arrive at the seaside. Two (yes, two) questionable penalties put them in complete control and the match was over after 64 minutes when Kieran Agard celebrated his hattrick. This game led to me opting to change formation, switching from a 4-1-2-3 to a 4-2-3-1.

A easier game on paper in Doncaster was the first test of the new formation and it presented us with our first 3 points of the season. Longstaff and Cullen getting on the end of assists by the impressive Dolly Menga. To be fair to Doncaster it was an even game but luckily we had that little bit extra in front of goal on the day. 

Oldham presented a chance to continue where we left off however it proved a much tougher test than first thought and only a Mark Cullen penalty helped ensure we took a share of the spoils. 

We ended the month with our first group game in the Checkatrade Trophy against an in form Accrington Stanley. We seemed to be on the end of a defeat, going two down before super sub Daniel Agyei scored twice in a minute to take it to penalties. We managed to keep our composure to win on penalties and take away the two points instead of one.

AUGUST 2017 - TABLE

We end the month sitting in mid table and overall I'm pretty pleased with how it's gone. The two results against Bradford could easily have been different and we've managed the squad quite well so far with limited options so I'm hopeful we won't fall too far down the table over the next 4 months till January.