FM19: Leeds United - Home of Bielsa's bucket

[macca72]

Football Manager 2019: Leeds United

Welcome to the thread for Leeds United in Football Manager 2019, hope you enjoy.

 

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by macca72

[macca72]

 

Bailey Peacock Farrell -   Unusually for Leeds you have two good keepers ready to battle it out, BPF has some potential so you can definitely keep him for the long term, even as back-up after you've progressed.

Jamal Blackman - Another good Keeper at a good age and can battle it out for the No.1 spot.

 

Luke Ayling - Arguably the best right back in the division, can pretty much do most roles however his PPM's will force you to use him in either Wing Back or attacking Full back role. 

Barry Douglas - Had a fabulous season for promoted Wolves last year and comes to us as a ready made for promotion left back.  His crossing is great, so get him firing balls into the box.  Get him on free kicks too.

Liam Cooper - Fair to say a player who's capable of up and down performances, no doubt he's mentally strong.

Pontus Jansson - Owner of a magic hat.

Tom Pearce - Recently forced his way into first team reckoning and has potential.  Likely to go all the way and become one of the most gifted through the academy.  Keep and develop.

Gaetano Berardi - Full cult hero, versatile strong and brave.  Handsome too.

 

Adam Forshaw - Solid, well rounded Championship player, we're blessed with an abundance of midfielders this year, so your tactical approach will dictate how much game time he (they all) get.

Gianni Alioski - Should be better than he is, works hard and is versatile but can lack end product, frustrating to watch but capable of being very good.

Samu Saiz - Creative hook in the midfield and has some incredible stats for a Championship player, find a way to get the best out of him consistently.

Stuart Dallas - Versatile again, plays both sides and is a good squad player.

Pablo Hernandez - Another quality, experienced Championship player.  Very similar to Saiz, so you'll have to have Bielsa levels of tactical genius to get them both in the team playing well.

Jack Harrison - Potentially amazing, one that Pep-son-of-Bielsa-Guardiola rates very highly, I'd play him every week and see if you can extend his loan again in January.

Kalvin Phillips - The fact that he's now a natural at DM shows you the progress he has made in the last few months.  A very good player in almost every role.

Lewis Baker - Another best suited to the playmaker role, but is rather surprisingly mentally weak in game.  He may not get that many games in FM.

Mateusz Klich - Been a revelation since he came back and physically and mentally well rounded.  Again depends on your tactic but the Polish Zidane should probably get plenty of games.

Jamie Shackleton - A midfielder we've seen at right back more IRL but has potential.  Maybe focus on training & mentoring with the odd first team appearance and see how good he can be.

 

Kemar Roofe - Started the season very well and has a good eye for goal, one of the 2 main strikers.

Patrick Bamford - Injured IRL at the moment but is an intelligent well rounded striker.  Can play the CF role in FM which is a luxury at Championship level, if you can get the best out of him he'll get plenty.

Tyler Roberts - Young and needs game time, will be hard to get him in the team if everyone else is fit and playing well.  Has potential though, so keeping him happy could be the biggest challenge.

Izzy Brown - Another Chelsea loanee with plenty of experience in getting promoted from this division.  Another in the playmaker role but could function very well as an inside forward. 

Ryan Edmondson - The biggest teenager in the world.  This lad is a unit, really excited by him, Clarke and Pearce as the best prospects from the academy.

Jack Clarke - Should be a midfielder really as has come through as a winger / IF.  Tons of potential, get him developed.

Edited October 21, 2018 by macca72

[macca72]

Expectations

Board will want playoffs - minimum - and that's realistic.  That said with the core of the players available, automatic promotion is more than achievable in the first season.  The club is set up well with a stable board, good staff members and the core of a strong squad.

Players

Predicted to be top 5 in game probably tells you we've got a good squad, which we do.  It is however quite thin and reliant on loans.  There are no huge weak links however keeping everyone happy this year will be a challenge.  Some very exciting prospects in the academy as well so keeping a close eye on youth development is even more important. 

Defence is the major point of weakness - as FM isn't as much of a genius as Bielsa is - if you start playing full backs at centre back chances are you'll lose.  Need to find at least 1 CB to bring in.

We've an awful lot of players out on loan too - Ideguchi is the pick of the bunch but there seems to be a optional future fee in the game, so keep an eye on how he's getting on.  The rest you'll probably want rid of ASAP as there's actually a very chunky amount of wages still being paid (Anita).

Finances / Transfer budget

Finances are strong with circa £15m in the bank, there does seem to be some debt / loans lingering in the background but shouldn't hurt you too much.  No real transfer or wage budget available to speak of so if you want to  remould the squad it'll come from sales. 

Alioski would be top of my list to go to raise funds as you have players capable in his role / duty - as well as potentially giving some space for Clarke in / around the first team.  Dallas could be another candidate and maybe even Roofe IF you can find a potential wonderkid kicking around somewhere.

The Erling Challenge

Wanted to sneak this in.  You'll all be aware of Erling Haaland and the fact that he's a massive Leeds fan.  He's just agreed a deal to go to Salzburg, but I challenge you to bring him to Elland Road as soon as you can and complete his dream.

#MOT #theonlyplaceforus #lufc #ALAW

Edited October 22, 2018 by macca72

[Jogo Bonito]

Great thread @macca72 and Leeds are very high up on my list of potential clubs to manage this year. I like some of the young guys you have, so would be looking to terminate most of the loans and use them as the squad fillers (or more). The defence certainly needs some attention (especially centrally) but I like that and have some potential acquisitions in mind.

[macca72]

3 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Great thread @macca72 and Leeds are very high up on my list of potential clubs to manage this year. I like some of the young guys you have, so would be looking to terminate most of the loans and use them as the squad fillers (or more). The defence certainly needs some attention (especially centrally) but I like that and have some potential acquisitions in mind.

Cheers   Please come back and let us know who you go for in terms of signings, could be a good year for us this year.

[sherifelgendy87]

You can sell Ayling and Roofe for a total of 28 millions or something in that range.

I have been struggling finding good signings because of what I think might be a bug with the scouting system as the scouts take like a few month to give me incomplete report about a player when I have a queue of players to scout

[Jogo Bonito]

17 minutes ago, macca72 said:

Cheers   Please come back and let us know who you go for in terms of signings, could be a good year for us this year.

Will do if I take the job on. By the way, didn't you miss a logo in the OP

[macca72]

1 minute ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Will do if I take the job on. By the way, didn't you miss a logo in the OP

[JamLUFC]

So mid January and I'm currently 18 points clear of second place which means one of three things

1. I'm really good
2. Leeds are really overpowered
3. The games broke

Lost two of my first five games but now on a run of 21 games in the league unbeaten and been able to get some game time to youngsters. Bamford currently has 17 goals from 21 starts and Berardi is the key performer with a rating of 7.40 (and keeping Ayling out of the team). I've just sold Alioski for £12m plus add ons which I'm planning on reinvesting in the summer. 

Edited October 21, 2018 by JamLUFC

[macca72]

Post the tactics Jam, Tactics....

Good work though, that's a great effort.

FWIW I don't think we're OP.

Edited October 21, 2018 by macca72

[Paul_LUFC]

Hey everyone MOT.

New member here, I've followed many posts on previous FM but never contributed. So here goes...

Really struggled with finances, thought I'd have at least 3 million to spend and adjusting the budget to accommodate a couple of loans left me with 400k.

Had to choose who to sell, was a toss up between Roofe and Ayling originally, but my decision with Ayling being so influential in the dressing room was to let Roofe go and promote Clarke, Edmondson, Temenuzhkov for pre-season to see how they go. Alioski is another I have more than adequate cover for so he's was listed too along with Stuart Dallas.

Transfers Out; Roofe - 5.25 million, Alioski - 6.5 million.

I also do not like the fact that I cannot terminate any loans to free up wages either, Izzy Brown & Lewis Baker are not seemingly in my plans but if they perform for U23's they might just get back into them. 

Transfers in so far have been pretty bleak but I've only just got the 15 million from sales so will update after a scouting session this morning;

I've taken Charlie Adam (4k wages), Ibrahim Afellay (4.5k wages) from Stoke and Oliver Burke (6k wages) from WBA on season loans as I feel I need a solid CDM plus cover on the wings for next to nothing. Stephen Caulker (free transfer 3k wages) as cover at CB just in case Pontus or Cooper gets injured I feel Shaughnessy is not quite ready to be thrown straight into the first team. Venancio Monteiro (free transfer, 900 wages) youngster from Stoke immediately loaned out to Stevenage for development. 

Disappointed in Guiseppe Rossi who rejected 19.75k a week 2 year deal to head to CSKA for 13k. Still in the market for a striker. 

Formation and tactics, playing tika taka with sole striker and inside forwards and either a CDM or AMC depending on opponent and still unbeaten (albeit against lesser oppostion). Jack Harrison looks class and scored in 3 of 4 friendly games so far. Bamford and Roberts rotation up top, but in the market for a striker.

Leeds u23's 3-0w, FC Kobenhavn 2-2d, Kilmarnock 2-0w, St Mirren 2-0w.

I'll update as I go, if anyone has any tips, bargains I'd bemore than happy to hear them

Edited October 22, 2018 by Paul_LUFC

[Welshace]

Great thread.. will update my progress here once I get going.

[SouthernLeedsFan]

Big Leeds fan here just started my FM19 save. Decided to keep the squad mostly intact and try to raise a bit of money through minor sales and loans. Managed to sell shaughnessey for between 800k and 1m which was a big boost to my finances for a player I had no intention of using. A few other u23's went out on loan to free up some wages - around 4/5k p/w.

My squad as is at the moment.

GK - BPF 1st choice with Blackman good backup.

LB - Douglas definite 1st choice and Pearce looking great as an understudy.

RB - Ayling solid 1st choice with Jonjoe Kenny signed on loan from Everton as a backup. Berardi is being utilised as cover across RB, LB, CB, and DM when needed.

CB - Pontus and Cooper currently look like a good starting partnership. I managed to sign Robert Huth on a free for just 6.5k p/w which I felt was an absolute steal as CB cover, currently rated as a leading championship player and will be a great mentor as well. Currently looking for another young CB to develop, hopefully find a bargain somewhere.

CM - Phillips and Klich as starters with Baker, Forshaw and Shackleton providing rotation options, Izzy Brown and Pablo can also cover my deep playmaker role if needed.

CAM - Saiz main starter with Pablo and Izzy Brown providing competition (not sure who is better centrally or out wide yet)

AML - Alioski with Dallas covering.

AMR - Harrison with Hernandez and Izzy Brown covering.

ST - Roofe and Bamford fighting for the starting spot. I tend to ask my strikers to press their defenders a lot so cover is essential and I'll sometimes throw two up top if needing a goal. Cover in the form of Roberts and Clarke.

New signings - very happy to sign Huth for free with low wages and Jonjoe Kenny looks a great player (very low loans costs). Looking for a young CB to develop and a young attacking midfielder to develop.

I'll let you know how it all goes but results have been good in pre season with the team scoring a lot of goals. Will be reading to see how you all get on with Leeds but they look really good this year. Still refining my tactics but trying to set up with quite a deep defensivein line which will allow the team to explode forward quickly when they win the ball. Our attack is lightening quick and technically great on the ball so hoping that's how it turns out!

[SouthernLeedsFan]

16 hours ago, sherifelgendy87 said:

You can sell Ayling and Roofe for a total of 28 millions or something in that range.

I have been struggling finding good signings because of what I think might be a bug with the scouting system as the scouts take like a few month to give me incomplete report about a player when I have a queue of players to scout

28 million, really?

[sherifelgendy87]

Both get offers from Newcastle and Bournemouth and you can negotiate to raise it to 14M $ each 

[SouthernLeedsFan]

6 minutes ago, sherifelgendy87 said:

Both get offers from Newcastle and Bournemouth and you can negotiate to raise it to 14M $ each 

That's awesome, probably worth going for that if you can get that much. Right back is easy to fill and bamford looks a great option up too anyway!

[sherifelgendy87]

3 minutes ago, SouthernLeedsFan said:

That's awesome, probably worth going for that if you can get that much. Right back is easy to fill and bamford looks a great option up too anyway!

TBH, I never liked Roofe since last year. He seems like a good player and all but he wastes a lot of chances. I'm not sure yet if there's a good replacement upfront or not but for RB, I noticed Patric from Lazio is listed for 2.9$ and he is a good player and almost the same level as Ayling

[oliscott]

Won promotion in the play off final last night, had a terrible start to the season but after a tactic change to a 4-2-3-1 I pretty much coasted towards the final month in second place.Slipped up on the final day losing 4-0 to 23rd place Ipswich and ended up in third place but beat Sheffield United in the Semis and convincingly took Reading in the final.

Sold a few players during the season but noticeably Ayling for 17 million to West Brom and Roofe for 16 million to Norwich, neither of which got promoted. Used the funds to bring in Scott Mckenna from Aberdeen and Christian Mbulu from Wigan (Previously at Motherwell) for a combined 18 million. Loaned in a few players but the only one of any note was Ethan Ampadu who devolped nicely over the year so i decided to bring him back for my first year in the Premiership.

Decided after being 3-0 down to Sheffield United in the semis at one point to switch up the formation and go for a 5-2-3 which I've been buying players to support during the build up to my first premiership season, when i have the game loaded up again tonight Ill post my signings and the first few results.

[JamLUFC]

20 hours ago, macca72 said:

Post the tactics Jam, Tactics....

Good work though, that's a great effort.

FWIW I don't think we're OP.

Formation hasn't changed much although I've rotated the team regularly throughout the season. The below is what I'd pick for a key game if everyone's fit

 

 

[GeesusChrist]

46 minutes ago, JamLUFC said:

Formation hasn't changed much although I've rotated the team regularly throughout the season. The below is what I'd pick for a key game if everyone's fit

 

 

alright Jam, Can't quite see everything in regards to Out of possession? I want to say you have selected offside trap but not sure? Also is BPF/Blackman a G or a SK please?

[JamLUFC]

Offside trap on, BPF as a SK

Only major change I do throw in is if i have an away game against someone like Villa, West Brom, Swansea etc is defend deep and have a lower line of engagement for the striker. Bamford just kills them on the counter

[macca72]

Just got to the end of the August window, sitting 2nd, still unbeaten.

Haven't done much transfer wise, shipped out O'Kane and Dallas on loan deals making circa 70k per month total.

Brought in 2, but only a loan and a back-up.  Loan CB is an 18 year old from Bayern called Lukas Mai, looks good.  Free transfer was an old favourite in Diego Poyet - only on 3.5k per week and is back-up for Phillips in the DLP role, for that money I doubt there's a better back up in the Championship and I'll in all likelihood make money off him.

One player I have found who I like the look of but isn't interested in signing yet is this bloke.

Looks like he just signed, but they'll take £2m for him so I'll be back in Jan.  Upgrade on Cooper IMO and can probably do it making a small profit.

EDIT: Another I like - but no WP yet - is this lad.  Not sure how many international games exactly he'll need to play before he gets one (does anyone know?) but he's played the last 2 internationals. 

The new Andile Jali (for  those who remember him) ?

EDIT 2: And another

Edited October 22, 2018 by macca72

[LucasRadebe]

Im in a similar boat to an earlier post as I walked the league and unsure if there is something wrong haha.

I am always Leeds when FM is released and usually the 1st year I scrape through the playoffs but this year I flew up top.

First Year:
Promoted Top. 
Achieved the most wins in the championship ever (33).
Drew with the max points ever (106)

1st year transfers

In:
Andre Wisdom - 1.5mill - Nothing much to write home about. I wanted a CB but struggled to find any as Huth went to Qatar for more money. He was a panic buy on deadline day. He was great back up for CB and RB but didn't really need him. 

Samir Nasri - Free - Signed in December on a free and was a decent enough signing. 

Out:
Stuart Dallas - 2.7mill -  Fans weren't happy with this but he was expendable
Eunan O'Kane - 500k - No brainer sell. 

Exceptional Players through the Year

Lewis Baker - Was great as a BBM. So good that I signed him when promoted (for a cut price 7m - valued at 14m)

Patrick Bamford - Joint top goalscorer and started every game

If interested I can upload tactics etc as they seem to be smashing it 1st year in prem (5th at xmas so far). I will try and update end of each season too!

 

Edited October 22, 2018 by LucasRadebe

[GeesusChrist]

47 minutes ago, JamLUFC said:

Offside trap on, BPF as a SK

Only major change I do throw in is if i have an away game against someone like Villa, West Brom, Swansea etc is defend deep and have a lower line of engagement for the striker. Bamford just kills them on the counter

so defend deep and leave offside trap on? I guess BPF is on Defend?

 

[GeesusChrist]

27 minutes ago, LucasRadebe said:

Im in a similar boat to an earlier post as I walked the league and unsure if there is something wrong haha.

I am always Leeds when FM is released and usually the 1st year I scrape through the playoffs but this year I flew up top.

First Year:
Promoted Top. 
Achieved the most wins in the championship ever (33).
Drew with the max points ever (106)

1st year transfers

In:
Andre Wisdom - 1.5mill - Nothing much to write home about. I wanted a CB but struggled to find any as Huth went to Qatar for more money. He was a panic buy on deadline day. He was great back up for CB and RB but didn't really need him. 

Samir Nasri - Free - Signed in December on a free and was a decent enough signing. 

Out:
Stuart Dallas - Fans weren't happy with this but he was expendable

Exceptional Players through the Year

Lewis Baker - Was great as a BBM. So good that I signed him when promoted (for a cut price 7m - valued at 14m)

Patrick Bamford - Joint top goalscorer and started every game

If interested I can upload tactics etc as they seem to be smashing it 1st year in prem (5th at xmas so far). I will try and update end of each season too!

 

By all means Lucas - that is very impressive to be fair - I am testing a few tactics before the full game release. Then see if I can create something of my own that is effective!

[LucasRadebe]

12 minutes ago, GeesusChrist said:

By all means Lucas - that is very impressive to be fair - I am testing a few tactics before the full game release. Then see if I can create something of my own that is effective!

Works a dream for me!

[GeesusChrist]

25 minutes ago, LucasRadebe said:

Works a dream for me!

Cheers Lucas Pal

[Coolio5]

7 league games in and won 6 and drawn 1, so started really well. I disabled transfers in the first window so I've just got the original squad. 

It seems that if you use a base tactic and tweak it, you won't go far wrong. 

[GeesusChrist]

I've found it hard to score so far. Even playing 4-2-4 I struggled to create chances, and the ones we did they put wide or straight at the keeper. I must've been missing something as it was so good for me on FM18 that system

[Paul_LUFC]

October Update;

Transfers in; Connor Wickham, C.Palace; loan, Stefano Okaka, Watford; Loan, Aaron Lennon, Burnley; Loan, Paulo Gazzaniga, Tottenham; Loan.

Out: Pablo Hernandez, Al-Sadd; 3.2million.

New contracts to. Bailey Peacock-Farrel, Conor Shaughnessy, Kalvin Phillips.

Pablo Hernadez was sold due to complaining about lack of first team football, Samu Saiz has been quality in the league (notably a hat-trick against Middlesborough) but in the cups Pablo performed poorly. Stuart Dallas same predicament, wants first team football and isn't going to get it so listed and with the u23's. 

Starting to pick up some momentum towards the end of September. Currently sitting in 2nd a point behind Sheffield United after 12 games. After a bad start to the season. 

I started so poor, losing my first game 0-2 to Stoke at home, I was completely dominated and lucky to lose by 2. Derby away again I was lucky to come away with a draw 0-0, defending over 20 shots by the home team. I figured it was because of too many loan signings and the team needed time to gel however it was clear the signings I'd made was not necessarily first teamers. 

Apart from a 2-1 loss to Fulham in the cup I';m currently enjoying an 11 game unbeaten run pushing us to 2nd in the league.

Bamford & OKaka rotate up top, Bamford has started scoring freely now and has 8 for the season. Jack Harrison and Oliver Burke are the wingers with Saiz just behind playing AMC. Klich & Phillips are first choice midfielders with the usual back 4 of Douglas, Jansson, Cooper & Ayling. GK I had Blackman taking the number 1 shirt for the first games but errors led me back to playing BPF as sweeper keeper and since we haven't lost in the league with Gazzaniga now my number 2.

Loan signings Afellay, Lennon, Adam and Wickham all featured at the start of the season, but have been unable to dislodge the team currently who's performances have been worthy of first team spot. Adam Forshaw came back and I was excited not to rush him, only of him to pull his calf muscle (another 4-6 weeks out). He'll be like a new signing when he's back to full fitness.

Full results so far; Oldham Cup, A W1-0; Rotherham, H W2-0; Swansea, A W0-3; Norwich, A D1-1, Fulham Cup A L2-1; Middlesborough, H D3-3; Millwall, A D2-2; Preston, H W3-2; Birmingham, H W3-2; Sheff Wed, A W1-2; Hull, A D1-1; Brentofrd, H W 2-1. 

Happy with my start to the season, a few of the games could have been much more clean cut. A couple of last minute goals conceded too or else I could have been clear at the top. Lewis Baker broke his leg so he returned to Chelsea with Izzy Brown I didn't believe would play much. A few more loans will be terminated in January and the wages put to better use. I also have 8million to spend on players with Luke Amos already signing from Tottenham for 475k, looks a good prospect at CDM and only 21 years old.

MOT.

Edited October 22, 2018 by Paul_LUFC

[sherifelgendy87]

Anyone managed to terminate current loans or recall some of our players from loans?

[robbo3d]

9 minutes ago, sherifelgendy87 said:

Anyone managed to terminate current loans or recall some of our players from loans?

I dont think you can terminate loans in the first 28 days. You should be able to after that.

[sherifelgendy87]

3 minutes ago, robbo3d said:

I dont think you can terminate loans in the first 28 days. You should be able to after that.

That's what I'm asking about. I haven't been able to advance through the first week yet

[DumbestGuyInTheRoom]

8 hours ago, sherifelgendy87 said:

Anyone managed to terminate current loans or recall some of our players from loans?

If there’s any players without a termination clause, you can submit a loan extension until End of Next Season and put the clause in there. Once it’s gone through, you can cancel after 28 days. You can also use this to lower the wages - they’ll sometimes ask for less than current and often take less than they ask for. I’ve done that with all my loans and took about 30k off my wage bill.

Edited October 24, 2018 by DumbestGuyInTheRoom

[DumbestGuyInTheRoom]

Thanks, great post @macca72 . Starting from this post, I picked Leeds for the demo and figured I needed:
- CB cover
- A no-nonsense BWM
- An attacking RB 

After doing my usual trick of offering a trial to every free agent I can find and scouring the forums for recommendations, I ended up bringing in:
- Huth on a free for 6k/w
- Robbie Keane as Player/Coach for ST cover on a free for 950/w for some up-front guile
- Marcello Trotta on loan from Sassuolo for 6k/w for depth up-front
- Dennis Diekmeier as an attacking RB / RW for free at $6.5k/w
- Mikel Rico from Athletic on loan with a 350k option for $3.5k/w as a BWM
- Alessandro Murgia from Lazio on loan for 4.5k/w as a BBM who seemed better (and cheaper) than Baker
- Hamit Altintop on a free for 2.5k/w as some experience and backup in the centre
- Gianluca Gaudino on a free for 5.5k/w who went straight out the backdoor @ 100% of wages to Paderborn

I also took a couple of pre-scouting punts and bought a Brazilian - Italian called Bressan for 30k/game and 6.5k/w, which worked out ok, and Juan Sánchez Miño from Independiente on loan for 2.3k/w who looks potentially very useful as a LWB / LW.

I then sold Dallas for 4m (5.25m with add-ons) to Middlesborough, renegotiated the loan contracts to bring my wage bill down by 30k and give me cancellation options on all my loans, as well as a 2.4m option on Blackman and Baker. I tried to get rid of Alioski but couldn't get anyone high enough to let him go.

Some of the Dallas money went on Antonio Marin from Dinamo for 675k (1.5m with add-ons) who looks spectacular.

Izzy Brown is going back once I can return him.

Some of the squad were complaining about depth in goal, so I bought in Alessandro Plizzari without scouting him, who isn't developed enough yet so he'll go back and I bought in Freddie Woodman from Newcastle on loan at 1.5k/w.

Then, in the deadline day madness, Phil Foden got loan listed and so he came straight in for $6k/w.

Formation-wise, I've ended up with a 4-2-3-1 Wide:

GK: Blackman
RFB: Ayling / Berardi
LWB: Douglas
CBs: Cooper & Huth / Jansson

BWM: Rico
DLP: Murgia / Klich

AML Winger: Alioski
AMC: Saiz / Hernandez 
AMR IF: Roofe

AF: Bamford

My Roofe is on fire, Bamford is consistently crap, Rico is a rock. I'm 2-for-2 so far (Stoke 1-0, Derby 3-2).

Edited October 24, 2018 by DumbestGuyInTheRoom

[evertonmarc]

Having a blast with Leeds, managed to squeeze out some deals, will update tonight with full details.

Alioski went for 6.5m to boro i think (of which i only saw 3.5m back in the transfer pot). 

Nearly got Marin but heee got injured before i could complete, so will have to wait till january to try again.

Gronli was bought (the new kuki!)

Abd got boubakar from marseille on loan at centre back and mousa diaby (winger) from psg

Top after 6 games (5 wins, 1 draw), banging the goals in left right and centre. Last 2 friendly games netted 19 goals, and averaging 3-4 per game in the league

[LucasRadebe]

Just finished season 2 and it echoes my first season of me finding it relatively easy. I think the formation really is working.

I finished 5th and missed out on Champions league last day of the season. Ecstatic with this being my first year in the prem. The finishing position has enabled the board to pay off all debt and upgrade all youth facilities/recruitment.

 

Transfers: Board gave me 32m after promotion. Was little disappointed but heyho.

In:
Phil Foden - Loan - Great signing. Trying my hardest to sign him at the end of the season but city want 200m plus haha.
Ben Woodburn - Loan - Another Great Signing. Played up top or wide left as an inside forward.
John Souttar - 15m - CB. Started every game until damaging his spine and out for 5 months. I was gutted as he was potential 4.5stars.
Rodrigo De Paul - 17m - AML inside forward and was a great signing. Now worth 28m
Livakovic - 2.5m - GK. Cheap and solid
Lewis Baker - 7.5m - 5 month injury shortly after.
Nicolas Dominguez - Free - 21 yrs potential 5 stars and already a first teamer. Now worth 15m
Andrea Pereira - Free - First teamer now worth 26m

January I signed this young striker. Always love to play a young lad up top and hope he scores loads. He doesn't come until July though.
Fabio Silva - 15m potentially rising to 25m.

Out:
Roofe - 10.25m - Interestingly as soon as he landed at Brighton, he was transfer listed again for 8m haha.
Klich - 2.9m - Sold to Blackburn as wasn't good enough anymore
Ekuban - 2.6m
Sako - 1.9m
Anita - 3.2m
De Bock - 2m
Forshaw - 5m
Ideguchi - 3.5m
Nasri - 7.5m

Notable:
In both years played so far I have got 2 5 star youth players come through our academy. One a CM (Stobbs) and one a AMR (King) who is already a championship winger. Although not good enough yet I am blooding these so pretty excited about that. 

Next year aims are to get champos and build on the young lads I already have. Need an overhaul on defence as I haven't really touched that since starting!

[macca72]

Well done @LucasRadebe 

[Jamie SW]

On 22/10/2018 at 18:05, JamLUFC said:

Formation hasn't changed much although I've rotated the team regularly throughout the season. The below is what I'd pick for a key game if everyone's fit

 

 

Started trying this tactic on my Leeds save after my 4-1-4-1 which had been perfect until January randomly became totally useless. Early days but I'm getting totally dominated in matches using this tactic despite following it as posted. Any ideas?

[roggiotis]

Anyone kept Dallas ,Roofe, Saiz ,Alioski in premier league 2nd season ? are they good for that level ?

Seems that I ll promote easily , I have offers for these players and I am thinking about it....

[JJSaxton]

@macca72 Great start to the thread for this year 

Only realised today that the game was out for Beta already! Downloaded it this afternoon and will be starting a save tonight.

Cant wait, Leeds should have a good squad for this years FM just need to get my head around the new tactic changes.

 

~Edit:

Noticed a fair few free agents which might be worth looking into at the start of the game:

Didier Ndong (Former Sunderland CM, 24 - Was good on 2018 so could be a money maker if he can be brought in and sold at a later date) - Made a contract offer for him.

Papy Djilobodji (Former Sunderland CB, 29) - Possible good option for centre back cover, taken him in on trial but may have WP issues.

Dennis Diekmeier (Mentioned here already but could be a good back up to Ayling, 28) - Brought him in on trial to give him a chance.

Assane Gnoukouri (DM / CM, 21) - Might be worth a punt if WP is possible. Again thinking of selling on at a later date to make a profit.

Serdar Tasci (CB, 31) - Similar to Robert Huth just a little Younger and a little quicker. Could fill a gap for a season.

 

Has anyone been able to sell any of the existing squad / send any loan players back? (I've noticed you can extend the loans for an extra season on 50% less wages and remove the loan cant be terminated option - but when could you cancel these loans then?)

Edited October 28, 2018 by JJSaxton

[tugboat]

I can cancel all the loan players at the end of July before the season starts without making any changes to there loans, so must be the same for everyone

[tugboat]

And has any one noticed Bamford is on 35k and performs crap on my save

[roggiotis]

Bamford has 17 goals in 33 league appearances in my save so far.

I wonder why he doesn't play irl

[tugboat]

59 minutes ago, roggiotis said:

Bamford has 17 goals in 33 league appearances in my save so far.

I wonder why he doesn't play irl

He's injured irl till the new year

[roggiotis]

45 minutes ago, tugboat said:

He's injured irl till the new year

Ah ok !

There is a player in Under 23s start of the game .( Jamie Shackleton )

Anyone trained him as a fullback ?

Can he post a ss after 3 years ?

[3rik]

Played half of season 1. I have also used the gegenpressing tactics and it has worked out great! The last 5-10 games the goalscoring have been a bit troubling. Before that Bamford had scored 10 in 12 games. Roofe took until his 8 game to score his first but since then it's been quite even between them. 
No big transfers. I've got Diekmeier, Moungongu and Bednarek on a loan since Huth went to West Brom instead.
The only match I have lost waas to Aston Villa in the 23:rd game after Harrison took an early red card.

[Paul_LUFC]

Hey everyone,

I planned on updating my progress in the January transfer window, but I was so immersed in the game this year that I couldn't stop playing long enough to type anything. It's been a while since I've felt this into the FM series for a while (probably because Leeds have a serious squad this year making it more enjoyable than the Michael Brown days). 

One big mistake I realised I made was the players I took in on loan, Adam, Affelay, Okaka, Lennon and Wickham all faded away from any first team action and just picked up their wages playing U23's being unable to terminate their loans (school boy error). Gazzaniga became my number 2 permanently as Blackman was recalled due to lack of appreances. Oliver Burke however was a sensation, playing wide right, winger role he became a regular on the team sheet putting in excellent performances. Harrison also on the left would end the season with most assists. I managed to get Harrison to come back for another season from Man City in 2019 however WBA rejected all offers as Burke was destined for their first team and values at over 10m I couldn't afford to buy him. 

As the January transfer window rolled up, I was yoyo'ing between 2nd and 4th, Sheffied United, Fulham and Aston Villa all trading places at the top. From the Brentford game I won my next two against Blackburn and Ipswich before going down 2-1 the Nottingham Forest. I beat Wigan 1-0 then lost again to WBA. From the WBA loss on the 10th November I went on a 20 game unbeaten league run (losing to Sheff United with my U23's in the 3rd round of the FA Cup as I didn't care about the cup). Until I finally lost 3-2 away to Sheffied United (again) on 16th March. By this point I was top of the league with a couple of points to spare and the league was in my hands. 

January window was a relatively quiet one, but I knew I had the squad already in place to push for promotion so decided to look for some hot prospects to nurture into stars. Rayan Ait-Nouri came in from Anger SCO for 800k plus add ones, Luke Amos from Spurs for 475k, Max Broughton from Bolton for 550k plus add ons, Theo Ndicka Matam from OL for 1.7m and Nikolas Nartey from FC Koln for 3m (5 star wonderkid who had already started pushing Klich for the DLP role). 

Sarkic, Pearce and Shackleton all left on loan and Miazek and Wollerton left for next to nothing on permanent transfers. Stuart Dallas left for Blackburn for 1.9m.

I also brought in Nampalys Mendy from Leicester on loan until the end of the 2020 season for cover at CDM as Forshaw got injured again and again and struggled to make any impact at all. 

Pawel Cibicki returned from loan and due to an injury to Burke played a vital role towards the end of the season scoring 4 in 5 games from the right wing. Max Broughton, Nartey, Matam and Ait-Nouri all featured for the first team at some point due to injuries. 

April was a pretty good month, I had a buffer at the top of the league so I knew I could drop points in 2 games, Beating Millwall, Sheff Weds, Wigan and Brentford comfortably, drawing to Preston and Losing to Birmingham I had won the league with 2 games to spare. The Aston Villa and Ipswich games I chose to play a very young squad to test my youth for the upcoming season, after a 2-0 loss to Villa they beat Ipswich with goals coming from Edmundson and Clarke. The future is bright. I finished on 88 points and was given a transfer budget on 35m to avoid relegation from the Premier League. 

Notable mentions for the season;

Leeds United U23's - 2018/19 Champions. Congratulations. Leeds Uniteds future is looking great,.

Samu Saiz - supreme at AMC 17 goals and 10 assists in 42 games

Patrick Bamford - played lone striker most of the season, 16 goals in 36 games.

Kalvin Phillips - Ever present and Mr reliable, average rating of 7.30 in 42 games plus chipped in with 6 goals and 6 assists.

Kun Temenuzkov - youngster with bags of potential, appeared 17 times due to injuries or tiredness and did well. 7 goals to his name and his max potential flew up to 5 stars. Full Bulgarian International at the age of 18. 

Pontus Jansson - Solid as a rock, I sent him on a leadership course as I intend on him becoming my captain for 2019/20 as I'm not sure Cooper is up to Premiership standard.

Luke Ayling & Barry Douglas - solid full backs. Never had to worry when they were both in the side.

As I ended my first season, I'm extremely happy how things went. Apart from the loan signings I made which didn't work out. I'll be making sure I learn to put the terminated clause in all loans in future. 

Onto the Premier League, the friendlies have already begun but I'll post once I've played a few games and seen what my team starts to look like.

MOT

 

Edited October 31, 2018 by Paul_LUFC

[Paul_LUFC]

Pre Season 2019 Update;

I've just updated to Version 9.1 and immediately notices the difference. I scored only 2/8 penalties last season and got so many injuries (slight knocks) during games. i never gave it much thought until I saw the fix list, Then I realised that I did actually suck at pens and my team where very fragile. Scoring all 3 penalties awarded pre-season. 

I don't think I could have asked for a better pre-season, looking back with my first game in the Premier League, away at Arsenal looming. I feel I got some good buys to add to my squad and my results I thought were fantastic. 

Jansson is now my captain, with Cooper (Vice) with Ayling as back up. I feel Cooper will not be an ever present this season however Jansson will. I saw throughout the squads there is a lot of potential talent coming through but also a lot of players who simply will not cut the first team.

Transfers Out; Gotts, Odour, Stevens and Buoy all left on free transfers. Hugo Diaz 23k Real Irun, Vurnon Anita Feyenoord 1.4m, Laurens De Bock AEK 1.3m, Claeb Ekuban Trabzonspor 2.1m, Coyle Norwich 825k & Jay Roy Grot FC Groningen 500k have all been sold. I could have potentially got more but as quick sales they left for what I saw reasonable. Clarke, Dalby, Edmundson, Pearce and Nicell all have high potential but their playing time will be limited so all out on season loans as first team or key player. Randall, Amos and Spanoudakis will all follow out on loan. 

The sales left me with around 40m to spend. I didn't want to rush into signings like last year but I targeted the spots I thought needed strengthening the most with a few youngsters thrown in to see how they develop. 

Transfers in; Dael Fry Middlesborough 9.25m, Antonio Marin Dinamo 5.75m, Timo Horn FC Koln 11.5m, Keyendrah Simmonds Man City Free, Georgios Spanoudakis Vit.Guimaraes 105k, Ben Woodburn Liverpool Season Loan, Connor Randall Free Transfer, Samuel Grandsir AS Monaco Loan (8.75m buyout). I also have Jesus Medina signing on a free transfer January 1st from NYCFC who has 5* potential. 

Pre Season results have be great, using the same formation as last year with a mix of youngsters in the squads for experience.

Jabonlec (H) - W3-1  

OHL (A) - W3-0 

Brescia (A) - W4-0 

Sassuolo (H) W2-0 

Guiseley (A) W5-1

Notes for the season ahead; 

Mallik Wilks & Yosuke Ideguchi - have returned from loans and will be used in the first team. Wilks has 5 star potential so could be huge if he can reach it. 

Nikolas Nartey - now worth nearly 10m. Keeping Klich out of the first team and will for the foreseeable future. Great signing at a great price. 

Timo Horn - FC Koln got relegated, I needed a keeper - no brainer. Immediately worth nearly 18m and the stats are class. Will be number one for Leeds for many years. 

Jorge Mere / Dael Fry - I knew I needed a CB to partner Jansson, and as FC Koln got relegated all their players were for sale. I had a bid accepted by them for 17m for Mere. It took me a good 10 minutes of negotiations, however he would not budge from 60k a week which I couldn't afford, sadly I had to pull the plug. Dael Fry was then on my radar as Everton, Bournemouth and a few other bid for him and I saw him as a good CB with great potential. He signed for 7m up front plus add ons taking it to 9.25m. Hopefully he reached his potential and I never regret not signing Mere. 

Tyler Roberts - Huge potential, can he dislodge Bamford as number 1 striker, this season will tell. 

Finally Antonio Marin - HOW GOOD IS HE? 5.75m. What a steal. He's lethal on the left playing inside forward or winger. I can't see him giving up the spot to Jack Harrison at all this season. An absolute beast with 5 star potential and a 5 year contract a Leeds.

Here's to the new season. Avoid relegation is expected. I think I'll aim for mid table and maybe, just maybe sneak a Euro Spot 

Edited October 31, 2018 by Paul_LUFC

[Jambo_]

On 22/10/2018 at 20:27, LucasRadebe said:

Works a dream for me!

I use this exact tactic (but with different player roles) and it's worked brilliantly for me.

 

I won the Championship in my first season and am going really well halfway through my second season, think I'm 4th/5th in the Premier League at the minute. I'll go into more detail when I'm home from work later into my transfers and how I'm doing. Halfway through my Championship season I thought the January window was going to ruin my season because a lot of my main players demanded transfers to bigger clubs, but I replaced them all very well and managed to win the league.