Adonalsium Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 What a great save so far. Very enjoyable read! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 5 hours ago, Adonalsium said: What a great save so far. Very enjoyable read! Thanks! I’ve loved it. Just hoping that this bad patch isn’t terminal so I can get back on track with development next season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Guess it's a step too far trying to get exact clones of the players. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 1 hour ago, BoxToBox said: Guess it's a step too far trying to get exact clones of the players. Yeah. It’s cost me dearly as I invested nearly 50m on players not good enough or players I need to develop so I won’t be able to climb the table right now... Assuming I stay in the job, I’ll be buying bigger players for next season and should be able to kick on from there. Teams like Leicester, Everton, Bournemouth etc just improved their squads far better than I did! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 Well, we're climbing the table slowly, one point away from Brighton in 10th. However, this just happened, and we've got Chelsea and Liverpool next. There are no words to describe how bad the performance was. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adonalsium Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 I'm guessing this was your initial reaction in the locker room Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingjericho Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Ouch! What better way to get back up than two easy matches up next Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 8 minutes ago, kingjericho said: Ouch! What better way to get back up than two easy matches up next I was absolutely livid! Spoiler alert though, we followed it up by beating Chelsea 2-1! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 I think you should put the player with the worst rating from that game on the transfer list! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 2 hours ago, Hootieleece said: I think you should put the player with the worst rating from that game on the transfer list! It was tempting to put them all up! If it’s possible, I’ve just had an even more frustrating game, although we only lost by one. Playing Brighton, our main rivals for a top half position, and we’d led for well over an hour. 80 mins gone and we over commit up the pitch for a nothing throw in, Brighton have a two man breakaway and score, then final min of stoppage time, they score again to win it. Just gutting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidthekid Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 We've I've been there before. But eventually things pick up. However, my distrust of the players never left. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 2 hours ago, kidthekid said: We've I've been there before. But eventually things pick up. However, my distrust of the players never left. Honestly I think the squad for next season will be very different to this one. Throughout this save the squad has come up clutch in the big games, but this season they’ve embarrassed themselves on a few occasions. We just had a 5-2 thrashing by West Ham, who are our rivals for 10th place going in to the final day. I think now I have avoided the chop, as even if I don’t make the top half, I’ve come damn close and I’ve got enough credit in the bank with the board. Assuming that is the case, I’m gonna make 2 or 3 big signings this summer as we need upgraded in major areas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 11, 2018 Author Share Posted January 11, 2018 2020-2021 Season Review: After climbing from 14th to 10th and looking good for a top half finish, we faded at the end of the season with one win in 5 games and a disappointing final day loss summed up our season as we dropped down to 12th. As you can see, 2021 has so far seen only 2 draws! I picked up a good few wins, but too often we threw away the tight games, as well as some terrible thrashings at the hands of Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal and West Ham. The Chelsea win was very important as it stopped us dropping into a real slump, but the only thing I can say about this season is that on the field, it was a major disappointment. We've been great for 3 seasons and a blip was always likely, but this was tough! Another thing to note is the pick up in wins at the end of the season largely came from me changing the team to look like this: This is notable in that it is a divergence from our original O'Leary tactic. It keeps the formation of the flat 442, but I reduced the intensity by taking off instructions to get stuck in (too many red cards this season, which wasn't an issue before) and with some role changes. The role changes came about because I felt we had to do something different to turn around our form and because these roles suited the youngsters, Quesada and Xhiri brilliantly. I'd previously been rotating Xhiri and Vieira as DLPs, but Xhiri is a wonderkid and a natural AP, so I thought I'd give him a chance to influence attacks more, which he did to great effect. He only got a few goals and assists, but made lots of key passes and had us ticking along nicely in attack. Quesada became our key player in the new year and managed to pick up 15 goals. I'd actually signed him last january as a hot prospect, but only given him a bit of game time here and there. He was scoring a lot in the 23s, so I decided to give him a chance in the first team and after he scored the first goal, he hit an unbelievable hot streak as all his 15 goals came from January onwards. His attributes have jumped up massively and are only showing decline here because he had an injury which meant he missed our last couple of games. I honestly think if he'd stayed fit we'd have finished top half, as he just always scored! For me, he was saviour of our season and my player of the season, although weirdly Alioski was voted POTY by the fans, even though he was nowhere near the standard I expect from him. I was more impressed with this next guy: I signed Skippers in the summer as a hot prospect for the left wing spot but I didn't expect to use him this season as Alioski was brilliant in the past and Roberts had joined. However, when things went badly I gave him a shot and he played really well when I used him. He could be big for us. In other news, the stadium expansion has been completed, and we'll be back at Elland Road next season after spending the year ground sharing with Blackburn. 16,500 more seats should be great for finance. We also got some great youth through: As you can see, they need a lot of developing, but they have huge potential! I have made sure to increase the junior and youth infrastructure as much as possible so that I can maximise use of the academy moving forwards and have just finally managed to employ Speakman with his 19 determination as HOYD, so we should see some amazing prospects coming through next year. My feelings on the season are strange, because we obviously didn't do as well as hoped on the pitch, but I'm really happy with things that have gone on in the background and really excited about Quesada and Xhiri for next season, alongside some others who will push for first team. I'm going to sign a top class Complete forward to play alongside Quesada and maybe even a new left winger to take over from Alioski. The other thing to mention is that whilst I've broken away from my original O'Leary tactic and my policy to sign players as close to the real o'Leary team as possible, I feel that I'm still happy to call this O'Leary's Leeds. It's still built on the idea of young players, being an underdog and the real dream is to have these academy players fire us up the table in the future. I realised that if I stuck to my guns this season, I would have lost my job and it would have all been for nothing, Plus, I made the rules myself, so I can choose to break them Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Honestly, there comes a point where you have to consider that football is a different game now, and there needs to be some divergence from following a system to the letter. Following in spirit is probably the most ideal way all round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 11, 2018 Author Share Posted January 11, 2018 3 hours ago, BoxToBox said: Honestly, there comes a point where you have to consider that football is a different game now, and there needs to be some divergence from following a system to the letter. Following in spirit is probably the most ideal way all round. Glad you agree! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 12, 2018 Author Share Posted January 12, 2018 Season 21-22 Preview Big squad upheaval. Only 3 players signed, but all expected to be in the starting 11. Lots of other players gone as they weren't regulars anymore and could do with losing them from the wage bill and using youngsters for cover. So in come Cutrone, a record signing for Leeds, Ward-Prowse and Trippier. Cutrone will be the complete forward and partner for Quesada. I'm excited about what they'll do together! Sierhuis is great on his day, but has been injured so much that I thought Cutrone was an upgrade. Ward-Prowse is an advanced playmaker, but I'd like to play him as a wide midfielder from the right as he has incredible passing and crossing and will play that role better than anybody else we have. Trippier and Adam Smith will compete at right back. I was sad to see Saiz and Phillips move on as they've been amazing for us, but it's time. No challenges in pre-season, but it was good to see how Quesada and Cutrone would play together. Arsenal first up isn't the best, but not a bad start after that! Here we go... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 12, 2018 Author Share Posted January 12, 2018 Forgot to show what I believe the first team will look like this season: Also, this game is silly some times! Lost the first game of the season 1-0 and this is in the inbox; It was only the first game of the season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 13, 2018 Author Share Posted January 13, 2018 Should hopefully have the January update coming in the next day or so, but this season is going much better so far! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 13, 2018 Author Share Posted January 13, 2018 Aug - Nov 2021: We're doing pretty well! The West Ham game was sensational, but we did have 3 disappointing losses against top teams and a rubbish 0-0 against Brentford, who we battered. We've got a quarter final against Preston coming up in the Carabao Cup, which I'm actually trying to win this season as we're fully established in the league. In terms of player performance, Ward-Prowse has given us another edge from the right and Cutrone has 7 goals, though they have come in only two games! Quesada has only scored twice, buthe was injured for 5 weeks and I think he'll come back strong once he hits form. It's still early doors, but I'm thinking Europa League qualification is an achievable goal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 So I’ve just signed a 21 year old Brazilian who comes in to take over from Alioski. I’ll show you him later, but he’s got 17 dribbling and ridiculous pace and still some room to develop. With Skippers pushing for that spot as well, it’s really the end of Alioski, but I’m a bit scared of the dynamics of letting him go as he’s team leader and a club legend! Argh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 I basically play Arsenal every week for the next few months... January update coming in the next day or so! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 FA Cup replay coming up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 4 minutes ago, BoxToBox said: FA Cup replay coming up. Unlikely. Arsenal nearly always beat me. Could be a bad run. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 Jan 22 Update! Things are going very well! We find ourselves 6th, with a 4 pint cushion and having played a game less than Brighton, below us. We also managed to beat Arsenal over two legs, after losing against them in the league and FA cup, to book our place in the Carabao Cup final against Spurs. I'm genuinely really wanting to win this as O'Leary failed to win a trophy and also it's another opportunity to qualify for Europe. Also, Leeds haven't won a major trophy since the last Division 1 in 91/92, so it would be a piece of club history. Our tactic tweak from last season has made us much more proactive in attack and we're therefore picking up wins in games we'd disappointingly draw or lose last season. Here is that tactic for a reminder: A key aspect of our great season has been goal scoring. Our 4 strikers have scored 43 goals! This is our version of the Cole, Yorke, Solskjaer, Sheringham strike force! If somebody's not scoring, I know I've got goals on the bench and subs have often changed games. In other news; as mentioned, I bought in a new left winger as a replacement for Alioski, who has dropped off badly. He now can't make the bench as Skippers, our youngster, and the new signing Camorinho have the position sewn up. Alioski's last chance saw him miss a stoppage time pen that would have beaten Liverpool. Here's the new guy! Pace to burn and massive potential. I will move Alioski in the summer, but I didn;t want to upset the team in the middle of the season as he is a team leader and club legend. I'll report back for the cup final! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 Get in! We have a trophy and next year we'll be on a European adventure! We actually comprehensively outplayed Spurs and led 2-0 until Dele Alli pulled one back. We were hanging on, but missed a couple of great chances from counters so I would have been gutted not to win it from there! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 11 hours ago, Ellandroadhero said: What a name! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 Just now, BoxToBox said: What a name! It’s great isn’t it? He’s been great as well. His pace causes havoc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 I love this team! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 18, 2018 Author Share Posted January 18, 2018 Goodness it's going well. We've beaten City, Man United and Chelsea since New Year and find ourselves a point clear of City in 4th! 4 games left with one of them being against Liverpool. Gonna be a tough one! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 They're not just wins either, absolute batterings! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 18, 2018 Author Share Posted January 18, 2018 Guys, this is not a drill. 2 games to go - Champions League qualification somehow in reach! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 18, 2018 Author Share Posted January 18, 2018 The dream might be over. One game to go and I need City to drop points. Gutting as we were 1-0 up against Liverpool and gave away a pen to draw. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 18, 2018 Author Share Posted January 18, 2018 2021-22 End of Season Review Well we did our job by confidently winning against Swansea... Unfortunately for us though, Liverpool weren't able to do the same to Man City as they did to us and we miss out on the Champions League by a single point. If you told me at the start of the season we'd finish 5th, I'd have snapped your hand off, but having come so close to the Champions League and to have had it in our hands with 2 games left to go, just to miss out, is bittersweet. Our form in the second half of the season was nothing short of sensational. We only dropped points on 3 occasions, losing to an own goal against West Ham, a stoppage time Christian Eriksen header gave Spurs the points against us and a penalty cost us against Liverpool. Had our form in the first half of the season been like this, we'd have obliterated the league! If I can keep this team together then Champions League has to be the goal for next year. As I showed you at the mdiway point, our goal scoring was sensational: When I brought in Cutrone, I expected him to score a few goals but mainly supply Quesada as the top scorer, but it ended up the other way around. Often Quesada would break the defensive line and then cross the ball for Cutrone to arrive from deep and his 27 goals were far and away the most I've got from a striker in this save. Quesada really should have scored more goals, but his finishing was at times wayward, but he's only 20 and will be prolific in future as we saw in the second half of the previous season. Hugill and Quesada were regular scorers from the bench and when they started in squad rotation and both played important parts in getting us to the final of the Carabao Cup, which we of course won! The other amazing thing about the season was how well we defended in the second half of the season as Butland went on to win the golden glove. The other person to pick up an award, was myself! My personal highlights of the season have to be the Carabao Cup win as well as the 4-0 win against City, which was a counter attacking masterclass, and the 6-0 against Chelsea, who did have a very poor season by their standards, but we completely destroyed them. I'm a little unsure about the next steps for strengthening the squad as I think I found a great balance and I don't want to ruin the dynamics. However, to fight on a European front as well, means we'll need greater depth if we want to do well there as well as hopefully qualify for the Champions League. As I mentioned in the opening posts, European glory is the aim and I will be taking the Europa League seriously as a stepping stone to that. It's gonna be a fun one! P.S - the Youth Intake was crap so I've not spoken about that. Some of my prospects from the last few intakes might push into the first team squad as back up for next season, but I'm a little disappointed with how they've developed so far, so signings will be more important. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidthekid Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 Great second half of the season. Looking forward to where you go from here Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 2 hours ago, kidthekid said: Great second half of the season. Looking forward to where you go from here Pretty much the best second half of a season I’ve ever had! Pre season is interesting so far. A few good signings, but a couple I really wanted haven’t worked out. Signing English players post British is a definite challenge as well! They’re all valued crazy high by their clubs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 Pre Season 22-23 No challenges, just building fitness and morale. Quesada scored loads, I hope he does this season! Transfers A lot of youngsters who need game time are loaned out and Murgia, Velazquez and Taylor all move on due to me strengthening in their positions. Alioski was bound to leave, but it's still hard to see a club legend move on. Milner also left, but he retired. In come: Bueno - who will rotate with Phiri in the AP position. We didn't have anybody else with the passing and vision and we'll certainly need another option there now that we're competing in Europe. Keane is the big one! I think we overpaid, but British players come at crazy prices now and post-Brexit, I need them. He'll form our number 1 centre back partnership with Sanchez. Tymon - I wouldn't have gone for him, but he was available cut price as Stoke were relegated. Charlie Taylor hadn't really been good enough, and again we need two strong options now we're competing in Europe. Strootman - this is a massive signing for us and he came in for free! Described as 'world class', he comes in to fill a leadership void with Milner and Alioski gone. Him and Tousart will compete for the defensive central midfielder role. Soukup - he was the first choice keeper at Slavia Prague and a genuine wonderkid. Whenever Butland has been injured Peacock Farrell hasn't been good enough, so I decided to pay his release clause and bring him in. He'll be pushing for Butland's position before long and I will play him in cups this season. I think we've done well here - I wanted to get a couple of other British players in but the fees requested were ridiculous. I'm also after a Brazillian wonderkid in central midfield but he doesn't want to talk to me due to recently signing a contract at Palmeiras, so I hope to go back for him in January. First game up is Leicester. Hopefully will be a big season of progress! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajcardall Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 Cracking progress at Elland Road! Also good work getting a bit of silverware! Much more to follow, surely! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 1 hour ago, ajcardall said: Cracking progress at Elland Road! Also good work getting a bit of silverware! Much more to follow, surely! I hope so! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 I don't understand this game. We're second in the league and this happens: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fer Fuchs Ake Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 Where were they in the league? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said: Where were they in the league? 17th! I’ve never seen a game like it. Every change I made just seemed to make it worse. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 On 11/01/2018 at 12:22, BoxToBox said: Honestly, there comes a point where you have to consider that football is a different game now, and there needs to be some divergence from following a system to the letter. Following in spirit is probably the most ideal way all round. Can you tell Arsene Wenger this, please? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 34 minutes ago, Deisler26 said: Can you tell Arsene Wenger this, please? 👏 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 38 minutes ago, Deisler26 said: Can you tell Arsene Wenger this, please? He won't return my calls any more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 January '23 Update: Well it's going pretty well! After losing our opening game of the season, we went on a fantastic winning run and found ourselves in 2nd in the league. Unfortunately though, we had an abberation against West Ham and lost our winning form and fell back into a shootout for 4th. Perhaps the most disappointing result was actually the Burnley game, as we were 2-1 up and cruising in the 75th minute, only to throw it away and lose! In Europe, we dominated our group, and now have a tough tie against Espanyol, but I'm confident. Once again, our strikers are key, though Cutrone isn't as hot as last season, Quesada has been on excellent form. 13 goals and 6 assists in all competitions. Camarinho has been brilliant on the left as his pace has destroyed teams and changed games at key moments. 8 goals and 5 assists for him. Transfer wise, I went back in for Victor Hugo from Palmeiras who strengthens us in midfield. The bad news though is this: I didn't have any warning about this, but somehow wage rises I've given have meant we'll fail FFP for the Prem next season. Not sure what to do about this? Can I avoid a points deduction for next season? Can I release somebody and be ok? Could put a downer on a great season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fer Fuchs Ake Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 I don't know if this is still the case in FM18 but in FM17, it didn't take into account the money you get at the end of the season. So it would predict that you'd fail but you'd actually end up passing. Also, spending too much on wages only leads to a fine IIRC. You only get a points deduction if you lose a certain amount of net money I think. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 6 hours ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said: I don't know if this is still the case in FM18 but in FM17, it didn't take into account the money you get at the end of the season. So it would predict that you'd fail but you'd actually end up passing. Also, spending too much on wages only leads to a fine IIRC. You only get a points deduction if you lose a certain amount of net money I think. I hope so! There was no warning that I would fail anything when I gave people new contracts. I’m not overspending my wage budget or anything. It would be ridiculous to get a points deduction! Then again a points deduction after some financial mismanagement would be very Leeds. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 May '23 Update: Well, I couldn't be happier. A month left of the season and we're in pole position to qualify for the Champions League, we've beaten the top two in the Premier League during an excellent run of form (our win against Man United actually allowed Arsenal to seal the title, which had great parallels to the O'Leary days, as Leeds defeated Arsenal to gift the title to Manchester United.) and the big one - we've made it to the Europa League Semis, which Leeds haven't made it to since 2000, again under O'Leary. This tie was infamous as it was marred by violence and 2 Leeds fans were murdered by Galatasaray fans the night before the game. Of course, Leeds subsequently lost the game as their heads were gone. I'd love to win this one to bookend those horrendous events, even in FM world that means a lot to me, however, we've got a nightmare tie as, inexplicably, Barcelona are our opponents. They're massively underachieving in my save as they find themselves in 4th in La Liga, but I'm definitely nervous to face them and they are heavy favourites. Fortunately, I think we'll still qualify for the Champions League without winning the Europa League, barring an abberation form-wise. Wish me luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellandroadhero Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 Ummm..... This is mad! We could have won by 6, one goal disallowed and 2 penalty misses! I don't think Cutrone has missed a pen for me before, so 2 in a game was a real shock, but our tempo and heavy pressing their building from the back was too much for them. We've given ourselves more than a chance to reach the final! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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