FM18: Blackburn Rovers - Arte et Labore

[PNEFC1880]

Does anyone have any screenshots of Joe Rankin-Costello in the future? In my save (not as Blackburn), he was signed for Leicester for £3.2 million now he is worth over £10 million and is smashing it for Leicester and England U21s.

[Lucas_26_7]

Was forced to sell him in June 2020, they haven't played him enough since. Started 12 games with 17 off the bench in the league.

 

[Tullekunstner]

On 22.1.2018 at 04:07, Lucas_26_7 said:

Wow, 2nd place in your first season in the Prem is very impressive. Any of the originals still knocking about (besides Raya)? I didn't have enough time or money to bring in a left back in the end, decided a right back was more integral and I had to buy a keeper after Raya broke his leg just before deadline day, few late transfers didn't go through.

 

Well, I just sold Raya for £4,5m to Brighton and got in Bernd Leno. Lenihan, Costello and George Wilson is still with us. Lenihan had 25(3) apps in our second place season, but only made 6(3) in the league last season + 6(1) cup games. Mostly keeping him around as he's a model professional + he can fulfill both a CB and BWM role in my first team when needed. Costello had a total of 16(15) apps in the second place season and 18(16) last season, but there's a lot of competition in his position so I wouldn't mind selling him if I got a decent bid. George Wilson has done well for me as a ball winner, but his progress looks to have stagnated a bit. Has been rotating with Lucas Tousart, but I've bought in Ndidi now, so I'm considering if I should send him out on loan or maybe just sell him while his value is still good (£6m). Derrick Williams has managed to stay around for me as well. Sent him out on loan in january though, which left me really short in depth at left back, but it worked out pretty well. Trying to sell him off now and I just sold Robertson to City for £36m as he was complaining about wanting to leave and I had a decent amount of replacements ready. Bought in Jorge for £40(+5) and Frank Fabra as a rotation option for £3m.

[Tullekunstner]

On 22.1.2018 at 08:44, PNEFC1880 said:

Does anyone have any screenshots of Joe Rankin-Costello in the future? In my save (not as Blackburn), he was signed for Leicester for £3.2 million now he is worth over £10 million and is smashing it for Leicester and England U21s.

This is him in my save, summer of '21.

 

110 games, 13 goals, 23 assists and avg. rating 7.02. First 33 games in League One, 26 games in championship and 51 games in PL. Decent player with some more room to grow, but I'm not completely sold on him yet.

[adammc]

First season in the prem done and it was a struggle with most of the season battling for survival but we managed to finish 11th with a late recovery.

Liverpool had an invincible season on 90 points.

Here was all my results throughout the season

All competitions 

Liverpool was my cup bogey team as I got to the final of the FA Cup and lost 2-0 in extra time and then knocked out in the fourth round of the carabao cup by them.

Transfers

[Lucas_26_7]

23 hours ago, Tullekunstner said:

Well, I just sold Raya for £4,5m to Brighton and got in Bernd Leno. Lenihan, Costello and George Wilson is still with us. Lenihan had 25(3) apps in our second place season, but only made 6(3) in the league last season + 6(1) cup games. Mostly keeping him around as he's a model professional + he can fulfill both a CB and BWM role in my first team when needed. Costello had a total of 16(15) apps in the second place season and 18(16) last season, but there's a lot of competition in his position so I wouldn't mind selling him if I got a decent bid. George Wilson has done well for me as a ball winner, but his progress looks to have stagnated a bit. Has been rotating with Lucas Tousart, but I've bought in Ndidi now, so I'm considering if I should send him out on loan or maybe just sell him while his value is still good (£6m). Derrick Williams has managed to stay around for me as well. Sent him out on loan in january though, which left me really short in depth at left back, but it worked out pretty well. Trying to sell him off now and I just sold Robertson to City for £36m as he was complaining about wanting to leave and I had a decent amount of replacements ready. Bought in Jorge for £40(+5) and Frank Fabra as a rotation option for £3m.

It's crazy how different players develop in different games, George Wilson is at Port Vale in League 2 (only released him last season, thought it was earlier). Lenihan is at Hull in the Championship, always felt more comfortable with Mulgrew or Wharton in the side than him before he was sold in 2019.

[silentwars]

I had a very good save with Blackburn this year. Elliot Bennett was the best player for me in both L1 and the Championship. Leko is a good signing on loan from the second season onwards.

[stevemc]

Blackburn Rovers: 2017/18 - League One

Finally, finally, finally got round to starting this save, after my MacBook died over Christmas, but it's back and fully repaired now

Solid pre-season, 12 games in all, bedding in my 4-3-3 tactic. Added a few extra signings to the squad, but only spent money on Angelino, the left back from Manchester City for £500,000 and centre midfielder George Sanders for £52,000

Here are my staff additions:

 

Opened up the season with a dominant win, now aiming to make it into the Championship at the first time of asking:

 

EDIT: The League Cup has thrown up an away game a rivals Burnley 

[Cal585]

Managed to win League 1 in my first year, somehow staggering over the line with an injury crisis (10 first teamers out, highest in the league though still apparently confusing to my medical staff as I was 36% below expected...) and terrible last couple of months. Squandered an 18 point lead and just stayed ahead. Playing 5-3-2 which seemed to suit the team except for Conway. Antonsson came 3rd in the goal scoring charts surprisingly. Unfortunately my experiences in the Championship so far have been dreadful and haven't been able to restart my run of form. Finances have been tight with no budgets until the board gave me some extra money the day after the window shut... Just going to have to try and survive. My diamond didn't work so I'm back to the 5-3-2.

 

As an aside, has anyone managed to keep Lewis Khoury? He looks talented but I can't give him a contract extension because he keeps failing his work permit...

[stevemc]

Blackburn Rovers: 2017/18 - League One: Mid-season

Going really well so far, dominating the league comfortably with Elliot Bennett top goalscorer. Managed to play some of the younger lads too, with exceptional performances from youth players Joe Rankin-Costello (18), Ryan Nambe (19) and Joe Nuttall (20), with some promising cameo appearances from George Wilson (16) and Willem Tomlinson (19). I've tied all of these down to long term contracts too.

Our dominance backed up by beating 2nd in the league, Wigan, 6-1 at the DW Stadium:

 

We are through the Checkatrade trophy by topping the group, with a 2nd round game against League Two Lincoln City to look forward too.

 

In the League Cup, local rivals Burnley turned us over in extra time, after we came back from two goals behind

 

Rested the full team for the FA Cup first round, away at Cheltenham Town, seems like a mistake now as we lost 3-2, although we had ten men.

 

Couple of things I'm looking to improve;

• Attacking set pieces - currently bottom in the table for scoring from corners - need to improve these...

• I've got some money to spend in the next window, looking for players from the league above for longevity recommendations grateful

[Lucas_26_7]

On 4 February 2018 at 23:16, Cal585 said:

Managed to win League 1 in my first year, somehow staggering over the line with an injury crisis (10 first teamers out, highest in the league though still apparently confusing to my medical staff as I was 36% below expected...) and terrible last couple of months. Squandered an 18 point lead and just stayed ahead. Playing 5-3-2 which seemed to suit the team except for Conway. Antonsson came 3rd in the goal scoring charts surprisingly. Unfortunately my experiences in the Championship so far have been dreadful and haven't been able to restart my run of form. Finances have been tight with no budgets until the board gave me some extra money the day after the window shut... Just going to have to try and survive. My diamond didn't work so I'm back to the 5-3-2.

 

As an aside, has anyone managed to keep Lewis Khoury? He looks talented but I can't give him a contract extension because he keeps failing his work permit...

I remember I had a crazy high amount of injuries in my first season too, few of the starter squads are injury prone. Wasn't able to keep Khoury, had to sell him to St Ettiene in the end but got a big sell on clause for him. Will probably be a decent Prem player eventually I reckon.

[stevemc]

Blackburn Rovers: 2017/18 - League One: January

OUTGOINGS:

Decided to scour the market in January for some additions, it's quite clear that promotion is on the cards so I'm on the look out for Championship+ quality players or talented youth to pad out my squad.

First things first, Miguel Lourenço, whom I signed on a free transfer in the summer, did nothing but play poor, then moan about playing time. He kicked off to the media, so I banished him to the reserves and went public on his behaviour, this led to players within my squad becoming unhappy with him and backing my stance, so I've shipped him out for £550,000 plus 30% of next sale, nice little earner for 5 months work.

I'm a big fan of inserting  % of next sale clauses (not profit), I've had some great, unexpected returns on them in previous FM's. Top tip

I tried my absolute best to keep the squad together, despite bigger clubs circling like vultures. Stoke bid up to £4m for David Raya, but I stood firm. I have, however, lost Lewis Khoury to Rennes, I couldn't get a work permit for him so lost him for a measly £105,000, but I did manage to insert a 50% of next sale clause

Tried my best to sell Craig Conway too, but he's opted to leave on a free transfer under the Bosman ruling.

 

INCOMINGS:

Moving on to purchases... Joe Nuttall, after banging in 10 goals in 20 games, has unfortunately damaged his spine meaning 6 months out, so I dipped into the market for a young striker I liked the look of, Maliz Batmaz. Picked him up for a measly £135,000.

 

I added 18-year-old defensive midfielder, Duarte Valente too, from Estoril B, costing £110,000 but I might load him out for some experience.

 

Also completed a deal for 20-year-old, Jai Quitongo on a free transfer for the summer.

 

Picked up Kostas Mavropanos for £475,000 from Arsenal, who arrives in the summer:

 

And finally, signed Demeaco Duhaney for £475,000 from Manchester City:

 

Decided to trigger Danny Graham's contract extension, I know he's on £12,000p/w and he's a bit of a fossil but he's been banging them in, and I think his experience will come in handy in the Championship.

I also replaced my assistant manager, Mark Venus, with Paul Driver from Doncaster Rovers. Tom Bates from Brentford is also a handy 4* coach.

How are people getting on with scouting? I'm not entirely sure how it's working, I think I need to read up on it more. I've upped my packages to the middle "England" package for Senior and Youth, is that about right for this level?

[stevemc]

What a way to wrap up promotion!

[stevemc]

Blackburn Rovers: 2017/18 - League One: End of Season

Job done, smashed the league, achieving a couple of records along the way:

 

The season overall was a success, however we were pretty poor in most of the cups, but probably because I just used youth players and rested the first team:

 

Our under-18's also lifted some silverwear:

 

Here are a few screenshots of some of Blackburn's young players, after the first season, some real talent there when given the game time:

 

However, it's not all been plain sailing, I've had a few disagreements with the Blackburn owners over the season. They wanted me to sign high profile players, but wouldn't offer the funds or wage budget to do so. I signed a new deal in December, and I wanted to change the philosophy to play youth team players, and they wouldn't have that either. Then at the end of the season, they gave me a £200,000 budget for the Championship.

I intended this to be a one club save, but Brighton, who have been relegated to the Championship have been chasing me. Having discussed terms and backroom staff, we now have an agreement in place... I just need to think it over...

 

 

[adammc]

 

Season 2020/21

2nd season in the prem done. Think we have done well getting 7th with 62 points and fortunately got a place in the europa league. Liverpool had a shocking 6th place finish only on 65 points after there invincible season on 90 points.

Fixtures:

 

All competitions:

Transfers:

Got rid of 4 originals as Hart, Williams, Smallwood and gladwin left the club. Also got rid of Lewis Morgan (who I signed on a free back in 18/9) as he was poor in the prem and never was outstanding for me. But I managed to get 1.7 mill for him. I signed Andre pinnamonti from inter as I was amazed with how good he was as I had him on loan in 19/20 season.He bagged 15 in the league that season and 21 this season. I also got two bargains as I signed kelechi iheanacho and Albant lafont on the cheap.

[Gordson]

Started a Blackburn Rovers save to run alongside my standard Liverpool save and have really enjoyed it so far.

My first season in League One was a bit of a breeze. I brought in Lys Mousset on loan and paired him with a signing I made, Jorge Galan. Both of them bagged 20+ goals in a wingerless, narrow formation, 4-1-2-1-2. David Raya, Williams and Smallwood were amazing for me. Brought in Seydou Keita and Said Bentacour on free transfers and they performed well. Rankin-Costello, Tomlinson and Nyambe got a handful of games. Gladwin and Dack done well when needed, as did Bennet and Caddis.

Into the Championship we went, and I moved to a formation of wingers with 1 striker, 4-1-2-2-1. Lewis Morgan came in on a free but was injured for most of season. Javi Galan is a left winger who was amazing, as well as Leko on loan, he tore the league apart! Erik Thommy came in for free as back up for my wingers. Javi Munoz came in for free as my DLP, and Phil Foden on loan as my AP alongside him. Spearing came in on a free as BWM with Beningame (loan from Everton) as backup. Gyomber came in at CB for a fee, and Eric Lihaj came in as RB on a free. Mossa (LB), Rigione (CB) and Giadonato (DLP) came in for small fees as backup. Danny Graham, Peter Whittingham and Smallwood went out on loan, and were  released on free/sold at end of this season. Dack and Gladwin let me down when needed so were sold on in Jan. All in all we had a great season and won the league with 4 games to spare. Amazingly we went all the way to the FA Cup final, beating Spurs in the semi somehow; I couldn't believe it, but when we beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final I thought this was taking the mick! So long and behold, we are Euro Cup as well as the Premiership next season! Mousset and Galan were both amazing, getting 50 goals between them despite being rotated as I only played 1 striker!

This hasn't done big wonders for my reputation as a club, with only some big players willing to join, however I can't afford their wages. Leko, Mousset and Foden were not being loaned again. Sold David Raya to Chelsea for £22M and brought in a 20 yr old regen GK for £4M. Bought Ben Gibson from M'boro for £30M, a regen striker for £4M who looks a beast, a RW called Javi Ontiveros from Malaga came in for £6M as well. I paid small fees with big add ons in order to make the signings I needed. Marko Grujic came in for £5M, and N'Diaye came in from Everton for £2M as a BWM. Only loan signing was Joe Gomez at CB. One game in and I beat Liverpool 3-2 at home in my first league game, undeservedly so, bit delighted! Hoping for a mid table finish and a respectable 3rd place group stage finish in Euro Cup. Has been a great save so far!
 

[Cal585]

On 07/02/2018 at 21:43, Lucas_26_7 said:

Wasn't able to keep Khoury, had to sell him to St Ettiene in the end but got a big sell on clause for him. Will probably be a decent Prem player eventually I reckon.

Yeah I ended up selling him for peanuts in the 2nd Jan window. Threw in a 50% of next transfer clause but still really disappointed there was nothing I could do. Seems like a bug to have no way or retaining your own youth players.

In the Championship relegation zone now in my 2nd season. Overloaded with CMs but just can't string any results together. All my strikers are suffering goal droughts. Only player doing well is Chis Long who I got on a free. And Raya just got bought by Brighton who met his 8 mill release clause. Not sure how much longer I will last

[Lucas_26_7]

Finished the 2021/22 season, and it was a successful one as we made the Europa League for the first time!

In the transfer window I was planning on keeping a similar squad, but Mikel Merino unfortunately forced through a move to Everton for 29m, I also ridded myself of my back up RB Sean Klaiber. In terms of incoming players, the defence was our main focus as we brought in Phil Jones (9m), Riccardo Marchizza (5.5m) and a regen right back from Bayern with incredible potential named Selcuk Serifoglu (24m). I also bought a keeper due to David Raya suffering a leg break in pre-season that would see him miss most of the season and brought in Jack Butland (10.25m) and replaced Merino with Harry Winks (19m). This left us with a lot of depth all over the pitch.

We started the season brilliantly, after rescuing a late 1-1 draw against Huddersfield we followed that up with wins over Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Wolves and Manchester City. However after getting knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the 3rd Round by Everton, we went into an inconsistent patch where we failed to put together consecutive wins for a couple of months. This changed when we got a dramatic 94th minute winner from Scott Wharton to defeat Newcastle 2-1 and set off us on a nice little run over the Christmas period. We had a tough schedule in January, and it didn't go very well as it started with a 5-0 loss to Arsenal followed up by close losses to City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Bournemouth. We were drawn against Liverpool in the 4th round of the FA Cup which was unfortunate as I felt that was my best route to the Europa League and we were knocked out by superior opposition. 

In January we brought in Ryan Bertrand (13m) and had to say goodbye to Calvert-Lewin (8m), Williams (300k) and Besic (500k). But after being knocked out of the FA Cup our fortunes changed, as we beat surprise CL contenders Crystal Palace and Sunderland. It seemed like our UEL hopes were dead and buried after consecutive losses to Everton and West Ham. But a nine game run where we collected 23 points out of a possible 27 was enough to sneak us into the top 7, where thanks to English teams winning the Europa League and Champions League we qualified for the early rounds of the Europa League. To top this all off, the deciding game was against our rivals Burnley where not only did we qualify for Europa League but we also sent them down to the Championship with an emphatic 4-0 win and for goals from Blackburn 'icon' Lys Mousset.

At the conclusion of the season I had a World Cup campaign with Australia to look forward to on home soil, and we were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Spain after a last minute goal in Sydney. After Blackburn were taken over by new owners, I had started looking around at other jobs as it is my goal to win all top 5 European leagues in this save as well as doing well with Blackburn. So applied at the likes of Juventus, Real Madrid and PSG. I was unsuccessful in those interviews but was more than happy to stay at Blackburn and try and get in the Champions League. I hope to leave us in a good position when I do eventually leave.

 

Our star men in the 2021/22 season were our wingers, Gabriel Barbosa and Richarlison. I somehow convinced them both to stay in the transfer window despite Richarlison being linked to Barcelona in the window and Barbosa getting offers from Monaco and Real Madrid.

[Dong21]

Decided to get involved with the challenge of attempting to restore Blackburn to their former glories.

Season 1 - League One

First season was fairly plain sailing as one would expect, winning League One comfortably and setting a record points total for the division.

As the squad clearly has sufficient quality at this level I decided to be keep expenditure to the minimum, mainly relying on only the loan market to strengthen the squad. I am hoping the club keeps this in mind and rewards me with a decent transfer budget in the Championship! Unfortunately after only 6 appearances Nkoudou injured his cruciate ligaments and was out for the entirety of the season. My key signing was Mousset who scored 39 goals in all competitions. I reinforced the squad in January with Miku, Herrera, Mutch and Bartley coming in to see out the season. The only significant departure was that of exciting prospect Khoury - as I could not secure him a work permit I was unable to stop Lyon from snatching him.

I predominantly used a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the left midfielder operating as an inside forward. Mousset was supported admirably by Chapman (12 goals, 17 assists), Bennett (8 goals, 17 assists) and Gladwin (9 goals, 9 assists). Gladwin only broke into the team in the second half of the season, replacing the under-performing Dack. Other key players, besides the attackers, were Raya, Caddis, Whittingham, Williams and Mutch and Bartley for the end of the season. Bennett won League One Player of the Season and he was joined in the League One team of the year by Raya, Caddis, Chapman and Mousset. Somewhat surprisingly Graham only featured 6 times for me as he was repeatedly injured or played poorly at the start of the season, and then was kept out by the terrific form of Mousset.

As well as league success, we were winners of the Checkatrade Trophy, beating Oxford in the Final. Mulgrew got sent off in this game to add extra pressure to the occasion, however we were able to overcome this obstacle. We defeated Stoke, Rochdale, Bury Newcastle, Doncaster, Bury (again) and Scunthorpe en route to the Final.

Also of note was our successful run in the Carabao Cup. After thrashing Carlisle in the 1st Round we went on to produce upsets against Preston and Southampton in the 2nd and 3rd Rounds. Our journey ended in the 4th Round when we were defeated by Manchester City, however I am proud to say we did not concede until an 88th minute penalty, and then only conceded again as we went attacking to try and get back into the game.

Overall a very enjoyable season - I look forward to strengthening my squad and taking on the Championship!

[Lucas_26_7]

4 hours ago, Dong21 said:

Decided to get involved with the challenge of attempting to restore Blackburn to their former glories.

Season 1 - League One

First season was fairly plain sailing as one would expect, winning League One comfortably and setting a record points total for the division.

As the squad clearly has sufficient quality at this level I decided to be keep expenditure to the minimum, mainly relying on only the loan market to strengthen the squad. I am hoping the club keeps this in mind and rewards me with a decent transfer budget in the Championship! Unfortunately after only 6 appearances Nkoudou injured his cruciate ligaments and was out for the entirety of the season. My key signing was Mousset who scored 39 goals in all competitions. I reinforced the squad in January with Miku, Herrera, Mutch and Bartley coming in to see out the season. The only significant departure was that of exciting prospect Khoury - as I could not secure him a work permit I was unable to stop Lyon from snatching him.

I predominantly used a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the left midfielder operating as an inside forward. Mousset was supported admirably by Chapman (12 goals, 17 assists), Bennett (8 goals, 17 assists) and Gladwin (9 goals, 9 assists). Gladwin only broke into the team in the second half of the season, replacing the under-performing Dack. Other key players, besides the attackers, were Raya, Caddis, Whittingham, Williams and Mutch and Bartley for the end of the season. Bennett won League One Player of the Season and he was joined in the League One team of the year by Raya, Caddis, Chapman and Mousset. Somewhat surprisingly Graham only featured 6 times for me as he was repeatedly injured or played poorly at the start of the season, and then was kept out by the terrific form of Mousset.

As well as league success, we were winners of the Checkatrade Trophy, beating Oxford in the Final. Mulgrew got sent off in this game to add extra pressure to the occasion, however we were able to overcome this obstacle. We defeated Stoke, Rochdale, Bury Newcastle, Doncaster, Bury (again) and Scunthorpe en route to the Final.

Also of note was our successful run in the Carabao Cup. After thrashing Carlisle in the 1st Round we went on to produce upsets against Preston and Southampton in the 2nd and 3rd Rounds. Our journey ended in the 4th Round when we were defeated by Manchester City, however I am proud to say we did not concede until an 88th minute penalty, and then only conceded again as we went attacking to try and get back into the game.

Overall a very enjoyable season - I look forward to strengthening my squad and taking on the Championship!

Yep Mousset is a brilliant signing, try to get him permanent if you can. 93 goals in 153 games since I signed him. His four goal haul against Burnley to get us into the Europa League and relegate Burnley will go down in Blackburn folklore!

[Dong21]

10 hours ago, Lucas_26_7 said:

Yep Mousset is a brilliant signing, try to get him permanent if you can. 93 goals in 153 games since I signed him. His four goal haul against Burnley to get us into the Europa League and relegate Burnley will go down in Blackburn folklore!

@Lucas_26_7 Managed to get him on loan again for the Championship season! 0% of wages and no fee once again. If he performs well I will try and make permanent  

[TheBigBoss]

What formation do you find suits this Blackburn side the most ?

[adammc]

4 hours ago, TheBigBoss said:

What formation do you find suits this Blackburn side the most ?

I used to use a 4-4-2 back in league one and the championship. But now I’m in the prem and have none of the original players so I’m using the 4-3-3. I also got back to back promotion to the prem.

[Lucas_26_7]

13 hours ago, Dong21 said:

@Lucas_26_7 Managed to get him on loan again for the Championship season! 0% of wages and no fee once again. If he performs well I will try and make permanent  

I think his contract should be expiring at the end of the season unless Bournemouth have given him a new one, you should be able to pick him up on a free like I did

[Lucas_26_7]

11 hours ago, TheBigBoss said:

What formation do you find suits this Blackburn side the most ?

Think I have always used 4-3-3 with a DM and two CM's as my 'base' formation. Used a LOT of other formations along the way but sort of moulded my team to eventually fit this tactic perfectly.

[Joe Markland]

Hi guys, was debating a Blackburn or Preston save and decided on Blackburn meant to post sooner but never got round to it so through to 19/20 now and back in the Prem!

 

League One

I like to have a go with the 'real' squad and so just added a few loan signings most notable being Scott McTominay & Callum Gribbin (raided Man Utd as they are the team I support!) season was going reasonably well hovering around the top 3 for the majority of it, at the half way point I was sat in 3rd 6 points off Fleetwood in top spot. From Jan to April I managed to go on a spell winning 12 out of 14 games that took us back to the top, including a 9-1 win over Wigan! Finished winning League One with 91 points, 3 ahead of Mk Dons.

Wasn't overly bothered about the League Cup but knocked out arch rivals Burnley 3-0 in the third round at home before going out to Chelsea in the forth round in extra time. FA Cup wise I beat Rotherham 4-1, Grimsby 4-0, Crystal Palace 1-0 & was knocked out by Huddersfield 3-2 with them scoring in the 88th minute. Checkatrade trophy went as expected with us finishing as Winners highlight being beating Wigan 5-2 in the Semi.

Championship

With not much of an increase in transfer budget I stuck to my loan signings bringing Adam Armstrong, Scott McTominay & Callum Gribbin back for another season. James Wilson & Axel Tuanzebe joined the Man Utd loan party along with Jonjoe Kenny from Everton & Grigoris Kastanos from Juventus. In terms of perm signings Darron Gibson & Niko Kranjcar came in for a bit of experience on free transfers & I signed Will Keane from Hull for 240k.

Started well in the Championship going 8 games unbeaten, before a mixed spell in October/November, at the half way point I was in 2nd 1 point behind Brighton. I decided to strengthen in January bringing in Reyes for 40k on a 5 month contract & Ross Wallace for 235k, although Wallace made a bit of an impact (2 goals and 2 assists in 11 games) my squad showed what they were capable of and we went unbeaten from 9th Feb to the end of the season winning the Championship with 99 points, 18 in front of Brighton. Will Keane was my stand out player scoring 29 goals in 44 games with 13 assists, Joe Rankin-Costello came into his own as well scoring 19 goals from AMC.

Cup wise I didn't enjoy as good of a run, I made changes in League Cup first round was knocked out by Peterborough 3-1, FA Cup I beat Yeovil 4-1 and was then knocked out by Stoke 5-2.

Premier League

The board gave a budget of 33 million which I was more than happy with, brought James Wilson (1.1M) & Callum Gribbin (1.3M) in straight away on perm deals, Matt Miazga (1.8M) from Chelsea & Robert Snodgrass (3.7M) followed with a whole bunch of free transfers Leighton Baines, Keiren Westwood, Ashley Young & Nick Powell. Axel Tuanzebe returned on loan along with Yangel Herrera from Man City.

Outgoing wise I sent out George Wilson, Kyle Connell & Scott Wharton on loan as they needed more gametime to improve, Amari Bell went to Portsmouth for 575k, Paul Downing to Millwall for 375k & Bradley Dack to Birmingham for 1M, Corry Evans, Darron Gibson, Niko Kranjcar & Jayson Leutwiler all left on free transfers.

Last week of the transfer window I decided to bring in a few more bodies as the squad was looking light and we had a few long term injuries, Axel Bakayoko & Ricardo Campos both came in on loan, Santi Cazorla on a free & Will Grigg for 550k. I tried signing various high profile players, Drinkwater, Barkley, Ox, Ramsey even David Silva but none of them were interested in coming in.

Two games in so far have drawn 1-1 with Brighton and lost 1-0 to Swansea, playing a 4-2-3-1 have a feeling I may have to adapt this from Attacking now we're in the Prem but shall see how we get on for a few more games.

[Cal585]

Seems everyone else is racing through the Championship. I must be doing something wrong...

After 8 games without a win (6 losses), I needed 2 wins in a row and either Leeds or Derby to lose as well to escape relegation. Gave up on my 5-3-2 and switched to a 4-1-3-2, with an attacking LWB and DM on that side. Somehow won both remaining games and my mate beat Leeds with 10 men to enable me to escape the drop somehow. Will need to improve on my -34 GD next season though

[Dong21]

Season 2 - Championship

I was handed a fairly small transfer budget for my first season back in the Championship, however I felt that if I successfully utilised the loan and free agent market I would have a shot at achieving a second successive promotion. My first action was to renew the loans of Mousset, Bartley and Mutch who had all performed well for me in my first season. Also incoming were the talented Yiadom, Palmer and Nono - all of whom came in on frees, with nominal compensation fees having to be paid due to their ages. Left back Bong joined on a free and I brought attackers Calvert-Lewin and Haksabanovic in on season-long loans. Other than loaning out young or unwanted players, the only significant outgoing was the sale of an exciting 16 year old regen prospect (Robinson) after a bidding war between Premier League sides.

Ultimately I came up short in my objective of promotion to the Premier League, finishing 8th in the Championship, 3 points off the Playoffs. We scored 75 league goals, more than the top three teams achieved, but were let down by our defensive record as we conceded 63 goals. Mousset once again was terrific, scoring 37 goals in all competitions - his 34 in the league making him the division's top scorer. Mousset was joined in the Championship Team of the Season by Lenihan. Mousset was ably supported by a trio of attackers: Calvert-Lewin (11 goals, 14 assists), Bennett (11 goals, 10 assists) and Haksabaovic (10 goals, 8 assists). After Mousset, I believe my key player was my playmaker Matty Palmer (5 goals, 10 assists). No players made more appearances than Lenihan, Bartley and Raya, who were the solid foundations of my team.

Although I did not achieve my league objectives, I was delighted with this season as I achieved the unthinkable and won the FA Cup! This success means that we will play in the Europa League group stage next season. Our FA Cup run saw us defeat 5 Premier League teams on our way to lifting the trophy:

 

[Dong21]

On 2/20/2018 at 02:01, Lucas_26_7 said:

I think his contract should be expiring at the end of the season unless Bournemouth have given him a new one, you should be able to pick him up on a free like I did

He signed a new 3 year contract extension (£37k per week!) and they have refused to let him go on loan for a third season - Gutted.

Update: Crystal Palace just bought him for £19.25m , which was a little out my price range!

[mathial]

On 3.2.2018 at 17:53, stevemc said:

Blackburn Rovers: 2017/18 - League One

Finally, finally, finally got round to starting this save, after my MacBook died over Christmas, but it's back and fully repaired now

Solid pre-season, 12 games in all, bedding in my 4-3-3 tactic. Added a few extra signings to the squad, but only spent money on Angelino, the left back from Manchester City for £500,000 and centre midfielder George Sanders for £52,000

Here are my staff additions:

 

Opened up the season with a dominant win, now aiming to make it into the Championship at the first time of asking:

 

EDIT: The League Cup has thrown up an away game a rivals Burnley 

SteveMc, how do you get to have the stadiums in the background during matchday?

I thought this was not possible in FM18..

[stevemc]

On 16/03/2018 at 11:12, mathial said:

SteveMc, how do you get to have the stadiums in the background during matchday?

I thought this was not possible in FM18..

Have a read here: https://community.sigames.com/topic/420815-fm18mod-match-day-backgrounds-mod/

[Dong21]

Season 3 - Europa League & Championship

I have finally finished what felt like the world's longest ever season! Competing in the Europa League and the Championship at the same time was certainly a slog.

I began the season by releasing some overpaid senior squad players (Mulgrew, Evans, Smallwood, etc.). Other than selling Miku, the rest of the pre-season outgoings were loan based. Five of my key players the season before were loanees, all of whom were unavailable to take on loan again though, therefore I needed to replace them. Foyth came in on loan from Spurs to be my first choice CB alongside Lenihan. I also loaned in a whole new forward line; Ryan Kent, Izzy Brown, Jeff-Reine Adeleide and Nicholas Meister. A significant signing was DM Jonas Meffert from Frieberg. I signed goalkeeper Muller on a free, he was probably too good quality to be a backup but many teams were sniffing around Raya so I brought him in as a potential replacement. With the extra fixtures involved with the Europa League I bulked up the squad signing the likes of Johnson, Cox, Nani, Blackett, Tettey and Hause. I was concerned I may not have enough forwards at the end of the transfer window, so I splashed out on Wickham.

The season started well as we beat Man Utd in the Community Shield.

As expected we weren't able to qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League but we did record two famous victories at Ewood Park, against BMG and Lokomotiv Moscow respectively. The margins for qualifying were fine as in away fixtures against AA Gent and Lokomotiv we were twice drawing 1-1 before conceding in stoppage time to lose both games.

For long periods in the first half of the season we often were in a position where we had around 4 games in hand on the rest of the teams in the Championship (because of Europa League commitments). This meant that despite good form we often found ourselves mid-table, which led to negative press reaction. This, and some morale-sapping defeats in Europe and the domestic cups lead to a dip in confidence and form mid-season. To boost morale, on deadline day I splashed out bringing Calvert-Lewin back on loan and signing all-action midfielder Olivier Ntcham, for the entirety of my transfer budget. I raised the money to do this by selling Dack, who had become a marginalised squad player.

For the second season in a row we just missed out on the Playoffs. Only Leeds and Villa lost less games than us, but unfortunately we drew too many games. An inability to see games off was the main issue, which was a combination of our forwards not being clinical enough and the defence caving in and conceding late equalisers on various occasions.

Above is the formation I predominantly utilised, although we did switch to 4-4-2 for a period during the season to try and freshen things up. That is also my most consistant starting eleven, except for the second half of the season when Palmer and Brown were replaced by Ntcham and Calvert-Lewin.

Meister scored an impressive 25 goals in all competitions (and got 9 assists), but unfortunately no other player breached double figures for goals. Wickham got 9 in a support role and Rankin-Costello was in a rich vein of goal scoring form, getting 8 in 18 games before suffering a broken foot that saw him miss 3 months of the season. The main creators were Reine-Adeleide (14 assists and 7 goals) and Kent (12 assists and 8 goals). The biggest disappointment was Izzy Brown who only contributed 3 assists in 38 appearances (28 of them starts). No player played more than Juan Foyth and other mainstays of the team included Raya, Yiadom and Lenihan. Tyler Blackett forced his way into the team at LB for large parts of the season after a string of good performances.

Now in two minds whether to have another crack at the Championship, or jump to one of the many Premier League clubs that are seemingly interested...

[rastaman219]

Started off as Blackburn and have walked league 1. Only bought in Sam Field on loan, oh and also Michael Dawson in January. Chapman and Armstrong were extremely good, as was Bradley Dack. 

In the championship I've had to bring in a few more faces to strengthen the team, although mainly loanees due to the paltry transfer budget of 800k. Got LB Angelino for a free off Man City, Joe Rothwell for 100k from Oxford as a squad player and Jason Lowe and Simon Cox on frees. All have been great signings, Cox gets goals, Lowe a good ball winner and work horse and Angelino a solid attacking FB.

Loan wise I got -
Foyth from Spurs, who is levels above any other CB in the league.
Sam Field again, gives good passing options in the middle.
Samuelsen and Haksabanovic from wide options from West Ham.
Tavernier off Boro, again for width.
Mousset and James Wilson as attacking options.

Been playing a 4-2-3-1 
Raya
Nyambe Foyth Downing Angelino
Field Smallwood
Bennett Dack Haksa 
Mousset

Bennett and Angelino have been great for assists on their respective flanks, and Mousset and Simon Cox both getting a fair few goals. 

Mainly through solid defence we're 3rd 26 games in, although I'm not sure I really want us to get promoted with the current squad due to loan restrictions in the Prem.

Am playing on the touch version on iPad by the way, which makes it a bit trickier transfer wise due to the small database.

[Tinboy75]

Hi! 

 

Any one got any tips for the second season? Got promoted to Championship but with no transfer budget to speak of and negative wages it's a bit though. Another problem is that the board will only accepted 30% of the wages on loans. Makes it hard to get any players in there. I'm trying to offload the players I don't use and have sold Bennet for 2,4 million. Now I have 30k for wages and a lot of players on the last year. Any pointers? 

[Lucas_26_7]

Just won the Champions League in the 2025/26 season!! Absolutely buzzing this is the first time I have accomplished something like this in FM.

 

[Lucas_26_7]

On 25/08/2018 at 02:35, Lucas_26_7 said:

Just won the Champions League in the 2025/26 season!! Absolutely buzzing this is the first time I have accomplished something like this in FM.

 

And now done it for the second time in 2027/28. Have won everything - Champions League (2026,2028), Europa League (2025), FA Cup (2025), Carabao Cup (2027), Super Cup (2025, 2026, 2028), Club World Cup (2026), Championship (2019), League 1 (2018) - EXCEPT for the Premier League which is proving extremely difficult, two second placed finishes and a couple of 4th places. Also the Community Shield but not quite as bothered about that.

Just made a big move, brought back Joe Rankin-Costello at the age of 28 for 30m from Roma. Not actually that good in the context of my team nowadays, but he holds a special place in my heart and is a good back up CM. Left me in my 5th season for Spurs where he was brilliant then got a huge move to City who kind of ruined him and caused his stats to drop but went to Italy and flourished now it is time to come home. I also have Lys Mousset still at the club who signed in 2019. He is 32 now and not good enough for the first team stats wise but as a back up striker he has a great goals to minutes ratio. He is now the record top scorer for Blackburn, BUT the game doesn't list top scorers anywhere they list Top LEAGUE scorers which is annoying. He is 16 goals off breaking that record so I am trying to break that record before he moves on/retires.