FM19: The English Football League thread

[warlock]

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

My geography isn’t the best but I don’t believe London is very close to Portsmouth. I am wondering what has happened here?! 

Not very close, but not terribly far either. The question is where would be closer? Southampton would be the leading candidate but maybe the long-standing rivalry between the clubs would rule that out. Bournemouth probably isn't big enough, but I'd think Brighton would be a candidate (Crystal Palace, oddly, is further than Chelsea).

[Mindtrick_42]

@karanhsingh playing at Stamford Bridge is a bit weird. Also, if I remember correctly both you and Chelsea will play in cl, right? So there will be a lot of matches at Stamford Bridge

when I started to read your post I was fist sure that your board had decided to scrap the capacity increase and instead build a new stadium named Stanford bridge

Edited November 30, 2018 by Mindtrick_42

[karanhsingh]

41 minutes ago, Mindtrick_42 said:

@karanhsingh playing at Stamford Bridge is a bit weird. Also, if I remember correctly both you and Chelsea will play in cl, right? So there will be a lot of matches at Stamford Bridge

when I started to read your post I was fist sure that your board had decided to scrap the capacity increase and instead build a new stadium named Stanford bridge

Haha no that was a spelling error. Yes both in the CL- Chelsea managed by Pep Guardiola now in my game won the league and FA Cup. 

I wonder if not playing at Fratton Park will have an impact on my team. However, pleased that we are extending the capacity to almost 30k.

[karanhsingh]

5 hours ago, warlock said:

Not very close, but not terribly far either. The question is where would be closer? Southampton would be the leading candidate but maybe the long-standing rivalry between the clubs would rule that out. Bournemouth probably isn't big enough, but I'd think Brighton would be a candidate (Crystal Palace, oddly, is further than Chelsea).

Brighton are in the Championship now in my game, so maybe scheduling of home/ away fixtures would be harder since they don't always follow Premier league game weeks and have more matches overall. Southampton yes would make the most sense, but f*ck that  

[steveyisatard]

So after many hours sorting my backroom team, tactics, training and so forth I am finally through my first pre-season as Norwich manager! I have reshaped the squad a little as there were some very weak areas, but I had to make use of selling transfer clauses and shfiting out Oliveria to make some transfer money. Will keep this one short and sweet but will be happy to post aditional screenshots/answer questions if anyone has anything to ask. Now for some screenshots as thats what we are all here for!

 

 

[sedge11]

Well the Europa league dream continues. We are now in the semi finals

We were heading out but a late late goal from that man Geubbels who else, to send us through.

We have just been drawn against Liverpool in the semi final, with Monaco VS Hertha Berlin in the other semi.

[Chevie]

Oldham Athletic - Season 1 Part 3

Champions!

After one year in League 2 I have managed to return Oldham to their home. Back to League 1 we go! We set a record points tally, number of wins and number of defeats.

We sealed the title in game number 45. With a 3 point lead over Exeter City we traveled all those miles south to St James Park and with one of the most satisfying performances of the season we grabbed a deserved 1-0 win to seal the title.

One thing I was most proud of was the low amount of goals conceded. My tactic was set up as low block, designed to keep tight at the back and, as you can see, I was very successful here.

On loan Sam Surridge and Danny Rowe were my top scorer and assister respectively with 16 each. I will be looking to potentially get these two on loan again next year after their performances in my system.

Onward to League 1 we go.

[DefinitelyTaylor]

@steveyisatard: Some good signings there. I rate Xadas and Piazon highly and expect they'll play a role in any success this season. Looking forward to you documenting your progress here.

@sedge11: Fantastic! A tough semi-final awaits, but you've got to beat the best to be the last one standing.

@Chevie: Brilliant season from yourself there. Congratulations on promotion and the league title. Hopefully you'll be able to attract Surridge and Rowe back next season, whether that be on loan or permanently. Slightly surprised to see Yeovil will also be going up.

[warlock]

@Chevie Just to add my congratulations. A great achievement, I think - and I was quite dismissive of the Latics!

@sedge11 Looks like an even game - must have been a nail-biter. Good luck against Liverpool.

@steveyisatard Hope Krul does as well in your save as he's done in all of mine - three Championship saves and he's turned in a PoM or PoM-ish performance every time I've played Norwich. Hate him . And Rhodes did so well this season I really wanted to terminate his loan (but, of course, couldn't).

Edited December 1, 2018 by warlock

[warlock]

Sheffield Wednesday: Season 1 - Success!

We secured the title with three games to go. Which sounds pretty easy but I was never totally confident. Around February through March we had a comfortable 12-point lead but the FA Cup loss to Liverpool - although totally expected - seemed to hit our confidence and a visit to bottom-of-the-table Rotherham should have been an opportunity to recover but we fell to a dismal defeat. Even after we steadied the ship with some decent results, our first back-to-back league defeats at the end of March suggested that we might bottle it. But seven points from the next nine secured the title.

We struggled up front all season, despite our excellent early form. Sam Winnall was abysmal, Fletcher went in the January window to Derby (and produced one goal in 15 appearances for them), and Gary Hooper came back from a 10-month hip injury, made one appearance, and then succumbed to a recurrence of the same injury that put him out for another four months. Lucas Joao and Adthe Nuhiu did OK with 8 goals each, but I brought in 'Fast Eddie' Nketiah on loan from Arsenal and he helped out with three goals and a few assists. Eventually, Forestieri came good in the AML position and contributed 9 goals and 7 assists but was horribly inconsistent.

But I think it's an indictment of this match engine that CB Tom Lees was comfortably our leading scorer with 12 goals, and our other three CBs added another 11 between them. So it wasn't exactly scintillating football, built on a firm defence and most of the goals coming from corners and free kicks. Star of the show was undoubtedly Barry Bannan, who bossed the midfield, scored 9 goals of his own, and led the assist charts with 19. Three of my four FBs could stake a claim to the wooden spoon - all were capable of a brilliant performance, followed by the kind of showing that earned them a half-time substitution.

Stunned by our unexpected promotion, the board has given me a £37m transfer budget for our first Premiership season. Although we have weaknesses just about everywhere, I think most of it will have to be invested in defence. We have a couple of ageing CBs who need replacing, and the FB positions definitely need an upgrade. Beyond that, we need quality everywhere but I'm pretty sure we'll have to look to the loan market for attacking talent. It promises to be a bumpy ride...

Oh, and a special shout-out to @kozmik whose beautifully simple 4141dm earned me a lot of points in tough away games!

[Mindtrick_42]

Really enjoying to read about all the different saves people are doing! Many of you are doing really good

@warlock will be interesting to see what signings you can get for your pl season! 

(I have a quite a struggle in the pl with Blackburn at the moment. Let's hope I can survive to Christmas :p) 

Edited December 1, 2018 by Mindtrick_42

[karanhsingh]

11 hours ago, sedge11 said:

Well the Europa league dream continues. We are now in the semi finals

We were heading out but a late late goal from that man Geubbels who else, to send us through.

We have just been drawn against Liverpool in the semi final, with Monaco VS Hertha Berlin in the other semi.

That’s great stuff! Good luck against Liverpool. 

I am thinking about jumping on the Guebbels train as well. Just had an offer accepted. 

[karanhsingh]

10 hours ago, Chevie said:

Oldham Athletic - Season 1 Part 3

Champions!

After one year in League 2 I have managed to return Oldham to their home. Back to League 1 we go! We set a record points tally, number of wins and number of defeats.

We sealed the title in game number 45. With a 3 point lead over Exeter City we traveled all those miles south to St James Park and with one of the most satisfying performances of the season we grabbed a deserved 1-0 win to seal the title.

One thing I was most proud of was the low amount of goals conceded. My tactic was set up as low block, designed to keep tight at the back and, as you can see, I was very successful here.

On loan Sam Surridge and Danny Rowe were my top scorer and assister respectively with 16 each. I will be looking to potentially get these two on loan again next year after their performances in my system.

Onward to League 1 we go.

Great stuff! That is indeed a very good defensive record, something I’ve never been able to achieve. Did you play a deep defensive line as well?

[karanhsingh]

@warlock - congratulations on the promotion! For defenders look out for Fry, Mepham, Konsa. I signed the latter when we got promoted and he’s been quite solid. The 2 player loan limit in the premier division is quite annoying, so has to be used judiciously. 

[Jogo Bonito]

Great to see so many different games going on, well done to @warlock and @Chevie for your promotions and good luck for your next seasons. I'm not sure what idiot was managing Grimsby to 22nd in League 2 though Chevie 

To those that have started and are in their first season, it's always good to see how people approach things so thanks for sharing.

I'm only in November of season 2, will update once I have progressed.

Edited December 1, 2018 by Jogo Bonito

[karanhsingh]

I have a 40+ million transfer bid negotiated for Erving Haland who looks like an absolute beast now in my game. That would pretty much be our whole budget on one player. But I’m having second thoughts about spending so much money on someone. Will post up a screenshot in a bit. 

[Chevie]

Thank you very much @DefinitelyTaylor, @warlock And @Jogo Bonito! Hopefully season 2 won’t be a relegation scrap as I feel the quality jump between the leagues isn’t too bad (I’ve jinxed myself now - out by Christmas!)

I’ll have to check when I’m home who made Yeovil so good and who ruined Grimsby!

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Great stuff! That is indeed a very good defensive record, something I’ve never been able to achieve. Did you play a deep defensive line as well?

Yeah it was a deep defensive line and a deeper line of engagement. My tactics are on page 5 of this thread if you want to check them out

Edited December 1, 2018 by Chevie
Spelling

[DefinitelyTaylor]

@warlock: Glad to see you've finally found a bit of form and got going on this thread. They do say third time is the charm!  To say your strikers weren't producing a consistent flow of goals and you still earned promotion says it all, as well as Tom Lees being your top goalscorer . Looking forward to seeing how you do in the Premier League.

[Dong21]

@Chevie Congratulations on your promotion. Oldham back in their rightful home, League One! Looking forward to seeing how you get on. As you say there isn't to much of a gap between the divisions so hopefully you can continue your momentum.

@warlock Great work winning the Championship, and by some margin too! Good to see you achieving your objectives with a Sheffield team - and a more positive update too! Good luck in the Prem!

[karanhsingh]

Yikes I just made a 48 million pound signing... 

[Dong21]

1 minute ago, karanhsingh said:

Yikes I just made a 48 million pound signing... 

@karanhsingh By contrast, I just had to cancel a free transfer signing because I couldn't afford the £44k signing on fee!

[Jogo Bonito]

@Dong21 and @karanhsingh you too really are on different spectrums! But both doing well with your clubs

A £48m signing? It can't be Jack Rodwell then...

[steveyisatard]

So, my season is going great in the leauge...played five won five. However I was knocked out of the Carabao cup on penalties against Grimsby

[warlock]

1 hour ago, steveyisatard said:

I was knocked out of the Carabao cup on penalties against Grimsby

Their manager is a tactical genius, so there's no shame in it .

[Jogo Bonito]

1 hour ago, steveyisatard said:

So, my season is going great in the leauge...played five won five. However I was knocked out of the Carabao cup on penalties against Grimsby

Going well in the league, but can't be happy losing to Grimsby

38 minutes ago, warlock said:

Their manager is a tactical genius, so there's no shame in it .

[steveyisatard]

@Jogo Bonito @warlock wasn't our finest hour! Rhodes missed the only penalty in the shootout

[Jogo Bonito]

GRIMSBY TOWN - SEASON 2 (LEAGUE 1)

Having adapted well to League 1, my team was 5th at the end of August - way above expectations

The 0-0 draw in that last outing began a sequence of 10 games that saw my defence concede just one goal in the next nine fixtures

Considering this was the area of team I felt might struggle, this was somewhat surprising, but incredibly satisfying

This solid form saw the club fluctuate between 3rd and 5th for most of September and October

But a run of four games without a win (three in the league) made me realise this management lark wasn't as easy as I suspected

The last of those winless games was particularly disappointing as I couldn't break down non-league Chesterfield at home in the FA Cup

The rest of November looks easy here, but it certainly wasn't in reality

A very late goal was needed to edge past a very young and weak Burnley U23 side in my favourite Checkatrade Trophy

Chesterfield also took my side to extra time in the FA Cup replay, but the league form continued to be excellent

The win at Colchester was another example where I had good fortune as a goal after 94 minutes was needed to grab victory 

And finally, Carlisle were edged out 1-0 in the 2nd Round of the FA Cup - again a bit of a struggle against a team in a lower league 

But as December arrived, this is how the club was looking

2nd in League 1 is quite incredible, although it's still very tight and some teams have played a game less

Next up is a massive fixture against leaders Reading (they had been relegated with Ipswich and Bolton the year before)

To add some extra spice, they're managed by former Grimsby boss Paul Hurst

And my Assistant Manager is Kevin Dillon, a former Reading player who also served as their right hand man to Steve Coppell some years ago

As you can see, the club finances are healthy and with continued involvement in two cups too, this should continue to be the case

The only negatives on the playing side are Jack Rodwell and Kyle McFarlane

Rodwell has been pretty mediocre since signing, but hopefully will play more of a role going forward

And McFarlane has only managed six goals so far this season, with only three of those in the league (from 20 appearances)

Considering he got 23 in 46 league games last year, it's a bit disappointing - but luckily Rodel Richards & Josh Bohui are doing their jobs well

Edited December 2, 2018 by Jogo Bonito

[warlock]

@Jogo Bonito That's a very impressive start to the season. For me, only that home defeat to Bolton looks annoying.

And we did try to warn you about Rodwell... .

[Jogo Bonito]

4 minutes ago, warlock said:

@Jogo Bonito That's a very impressive start to the season. For me, only that home defeat to Bolton looks annoying.

And we did try to warn you about Rodwell... .

Rodwell may still come good, and with a wage of £2k p/w he's not earning enough to make me panic if he doesn't. But yeah, not great so far.

I agree about the loss to Bolton. Of three defeats in the league so far, two have been at home and they've been to Bolton (14th) and Luton (who are 18th).

[DefinitelyTaylor]

@Jogo Bonito: I didn't expect such a strong start to life in League One at all. I feel like I've discredited you there after the start you've had, wow. Amazed to see you doing so well with the Mariners. For some odd reason, I'm not surprised by Rodwell's shortcomings...  However, hopefully he'll improve as the season goes on. For such a bright future not too long ago, it really hasn't worked out for him. Six goals for McFarlane isn't the worst at all and the fact you're disappointed by his goal return shows the quality within the side. I believe he's only young and therefore it could just take some time for him to properly adjust to League One. By the time he does, you may be going up to the Championship... who knows! 

[Jogo Bonito]

2 minutes ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

@Jogo Bonito: I didn't expect such a strong start to life in League One at all. I feel like I've discredited you there after the start you've had, wow. Amazed to see you doing so well with the Mariners. For some odd reason, I'm not surprised by Rodwell's shortcomings...  However, hopefully he'll improve as the season goes on. For such a bright future not too long ago, it really hasn't worked out for him. Six goals for McFarlane isn't the worst at all and the fact you're disappointed by his goal return shows the quality within the side. I believe he's only young and therefore it could just take some time for him to properly adjust to League One. By the time he does, you may be going up to the Championship... who knows! 

Cheers, and I'm just as shocked as you by the season so far. I'm not sure it will last, but it's enjoyable so far! By the way, George Glendon has done really well, with seven assists and a couple of goals from 15(6) appearances in all competitions (average rating 7.15) . I'm pleased I went back in for him, not so pleased with the back-tracking I did to sign Rodwell though! Still, even a tactical genius can get some right and some wrong

McFarlane has only scored one goal since a brace at Leeds in August (Carabao Cup) so he does need to come good. Bizarrely he gets a 10 in training almost every week, so I have to praise him for that (his attributes are always rising) and yet his match performances are really disappointing. I can't really work that out.

[DefinitelyTaylor]

Shrewsbury Town Football Club - Introduction

And so, I am back to contributing in this wonderful thread. This time I will be managing League One side Shrewsbury Town. You may be wondering why I decided to choose the club nicknamed Salop, here's why:

- The club is one I have a strange liking for, especially after their efforts last season.

- They signed Barrow keeper Steve Arnold in the summer, despite him being bang average for us...

- They've lost a number of key personnel, as well as their manager in the summer. Therefore setting up an interesting challenge.

- The squad is large, but lacks quality in a large amount of areas.

- The expectations are mid-table and therefore allows breathing room.

- I don't recall seeing many saves with the club, so it's something fresh

 

Without further ado...

Transfers

I made three of my own transfers in the window, these were:

Jean-Yves M'Voto - The French central-defender has been brought in as a rotation/backup option at the club, on a twelve month deal. He possess incredible strength and whilst only rated as a League Two defender by my scouts, has the key attributes needed to be a no-nonsense defender. He will work incredibly well in my tactic that will be revealed...

Will Keane - Shrewsbury lack a striker. Beside Lee Angol, our next best striker is 22-year-old Fejiri Okenabirhie, who joined from Dagenham. He is far too inexperienced right now and therefore it was important we found a suitable option. Keane, whilst he hasn't scored many goals in his career, has the attributes and ability to provide as competition for Angol and should get some goals this season.

Scott Golbourne - Arguably the most important signing of the window from myself. Released by MK Dons, I had to splash £5 p/w to attain his services which is higher than any other player at the club. Usually, I would neglect this and simply not sign the player, however he is far too talented not to. We lack the options on his side of the pitch with Luke Hendrie loaned out, therefore leaving us with just Ryan Haynes on the left-side of defence. 

Tactics

 

This is what we will be using primarily this season. Due to the lack of quality we have up front, with a real lack of wingers too, it was important we utilised the quality at the back. Therefore, we will be using a five at the back formation. Josh Emmanuel is unfortunately injured for three months on the right-hand side, so Bolton is going to pivotal on that flank.

Waterfall and Beckles are the two more agile players and will play alongside the slower Sadler in the middle. Docherty and Norburn are likely to be our main two in the midfield this season, especially Docherty. Charlie Colkett remains a credible option, however.

Sean Whalley is most likely our key man this season. He and Gilliead will be massively important to us this season and any injury to them could hamper our season, given the lack of quality outside the two. I would look to improve, however with a lack of quality on the free market and no transfer funds, it leaves us stuck due to already having five loanees at the club.

Opening Result

 

We managed to record a 2-0 victory against Bradford to opening the season. As the stats show, we dominated the game and looked comfortably throughout. This was consequently helped by the sending off of David Ball in the opening six minutes of the game. Will Keane opened his account for the season on his debut, which was particularly pleasing.

You will see we only named six substitutes. This is as a result of having zero HG players who have trained with the club for three years prior to their 21st birthday. It's unfortunate, but something we will have to live with for the season. 

Once again, I'll look to update you as frequently as I can. 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

Forgot to mention that James Bolton received an offer from Burton Albion for £350,000 which I rejected. He promptly complained about it and I agreed to let him go if they came back in - however they didn't and everything is sorted between the two of us. Just as well considering Emmanuel's injury!  

[Jogo Bonito]

14 minutes ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

Forgot to mention that James Bolton received an offer from Burton Albion for £350,000 which I rejected. He promptly complained about it and I agreed to let him go if they came back in - however they didn't and everything is sorted between the two of us. Just as well considering Emmanuel's injury!  

Good luck at Shrewsbury! Only the fact that I managed them once (maybe four or five years ago) stopped me going there again. I had a disastrous season  when they were really weak in League 1, just about avoided the drop! James Bolton looks alright to me, considered him for Grimsby in the summer.

[DefinitelyTaylor]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Good luck at Shrewsbury! Only the fact that I managed them once (maybe four or five years ago) stopped me going there again. I had a disastrous season  when they were really weak in League 1, just about avoided the drop! James Bolton looks alright to me, considered him for Grimsby in the summer.

Thanks Jogo. Last season was a real surprise as they were very much still one of the favourites to go down at the beginning of the season. 

Bolton seems a good player and I'm familiar with him from his Halifax days, so hopefully he does well.

[sedge11]

On ‎01‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 00:15, warlock said:

@sedge11 Looks like an even game - must have been a nail-biter. Good luck against Liverpool.

 

On ‎30‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 23:50, DefinitelyTaylor said:

@sedge11: Fantastic! A tough semi-final awaits, but you've got to beat the best to be the last one standing.

Sadly we lost to liverpool but was a great run.

[Dong21]

@Jogo Bonito What a great start to life in League One! I'm impressed with how defensively solid you've been. You've left us on a cliffhanger as I'm intrigued to find out how you get on against league leaders Reading in your next game!

@DefinitelyTaylor Good luck at Shrewsbury! I was at Wembley for the League One Playoff Final last season and was impressed by how hard they work. Will Keane seems like a shrewd signing and I've managed Mvoto before on Oldham saves over the years and he was always very solid.

Charlton update incoming...

[Dong21]

Charlton Athletic - Season 2 - Part 1

I began the summer by converting my £400k transfer budget into wages, as I knew I would get the most value for money in the loan and free transfer markets. I once again upgraded my coaching staff with 9 leaving and 9 incoming. The most notable was the return of Bradley Wright-Phillips to The Valley, but this time as my under-23s manager! One of the most important things I did was that I was able to renew the contracts of my key or young players such as Taylor, Aribo, Fosu and Page.

Three of my most essential signings are not displayed in the image above - I managed to renew the loans of Leko, Cullen and Bielik, all of whom had been essential to my League One winning campaign. This meant I could start the season with the same front six who created/scored 100 goals in the prior campaign. Our area of weakness in the previous season was our defence where we shipped 54 goals, therefore I prioritised strengthening this area. I signed De Laet as my new first choice RB, Robinson came in on loan to be my new LB and I was delighted to secure Ecuele Manga to partner Bielik at CB. To make way, and to balance the books, I cashed in on Afougou and club captain Solly. Solly had been dependable but not spectacular so I was comfortable letting him go. They are not shown above, however I also released Billy Clarke, Nicky Ajose and Dillon Phillips to free up some wages.

Steer returned to the club on a free, after spending last season with us on loan. Long-term I will likely look to improve in this position, but in the short-term he was a familiar face at an affordable wage. I added strength in depth to my squad with the signings of Washington, Gapka, Kamara and Tchouameni. The other incoming signings are youth prospects, many of whom will likely see game time in a long Championship season.

I thought I would share this news story I received about wage expenditure as it perfectly puts into perspective the challenge I face this season! Although operating on a shoestring budget, and the board expecting us just to fight to attempt to avoid relegation, I actually went into the season quietly confident that we could exceed these expectations. I have a young, talented squad who I think could cause a few upsets.

Pre-season went well, with lots of goals to build up our collective confidence. Wins against Toulouse and Krasnador were satisfying, however as always, the main objective was just to make sure the entire squad was match fit going into the new season. I had a large number of players on trial at the club during this period, some who impressed me and secured contracts and others who did not and were promptly released back into the wild.

The season began with a defeat to Brentford, but the fact that we scored three goals gave me confidence that we might just have a fighting chance. I was disappointed to exit the League Cup in the first round, frustratingly we had been leading 2-1 against our old rivals Barnsley, before conceding a 92nd minute own goal and then going out on penalties. Since then we have exceeded expectations and picked up three wins in the league. One big blow to our season was that Lyle Taylor went off injured in the 5th minute against Aston Villa and has been ruled out for three months with a hip injury. The silver lining has been that Washington has performed really well in his absence, which I hope to see continue. I took James Wilson, Will Keane and Fraizer Campbell all on trial with the hope of signing one to bulk up our forward options in Taylor's absence - unfortunately due to our tight budget constraints I could not afford any of them (@karanhsingh @DefinitelyTaylor Keane was the free transfer I had to cancel as I couldn't afford the signing on fee!)

So we sit in 8th place with 10 points, after the first month of the season - which is better than I ever expected. There is a long way to go and I do worry our form could drop off and we could find ourselves in the relegation mix. We don't have a great depth to our squad, so I am hoping that Taylor will be our only significant injury this season. That said, things are going great and hopefully this can continue.

Edited December 2, 2018 by Dong21

[sedge11]

Right season 6 is now over, it had been a great season but mixed with a ting of disappointment.

Our Europa league run ended in the semi final against Liverpool, but we had a great run.

In the league we were in contention for top 4, but with the Europa league, we just had so many fixtures that our league form dropped off abit and we struggled towards the end. But 6th place is still great.

Our top performers were our 2 loanees, in Foden and Geubbels. Ndombele also proved to be a great signing.

So onwards to season 7

The board gave us 64mil to spend and we had a wage budget of 900k, which I upped to just over a 1mil.

We have made some good signings, including 2 players who I have chased for 2 seasons. I shall post the transfers later on, once I finish off the last couple of ins and outs.

[warlock]

11 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Bizarrely he gets a 10 in training almost every week, so I have to praise him for that (his attributes are always rising) and yet his match performances are really disappointing. I can't really work that out.

I've seen this consistently at Wednesday - the best performances in training rarely if ever translated to on-pitch performances. I have some thoughts but few conclusions:

1. There isn't necessarily a correlation, if training is about improving various attributes and tactical familiarity, and match performance is about determination, workrate and application. The only player who did consistently well in training and in match was Bannan.

2. I'm leaving training to my Ass Man; maybe he's making training too easy so poorer players can overperform on the training pitch?

3. Perhaps there's a familiarity factor that takes time to kick in, so improvements in training take some weeks/months to show on pitch.

4. Maybe there's a program issue with the new training module. It would be presumptuous to call it a bug, but perhaps it isn't working exactly how SI envisages it.

At this stage, I'm inclined to believe (1), and since my Ass Man is generally not very good, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if (2).

[warlock]

12 hours ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

This time I will be managing League One side Shrewsbury Town.

Good to see you back in the game. I was starting to worry... there's only about 45 weeks before FM20 will arrive!

A good choice for a small-club challenge, I looked at them myself. And I like your signings, too. 

[warlock]

@Dong21 That's a pretty good start to life in the Championship. Any points earned away this year are valuable.

@sedge11 Looks like you're well-established in the PL now - I take it 6th will see you back in the Europa Cup next season? Geubbels will be a hard act to follow.

[DefinitelyTaylor]

@Dong21: Some really impressive signings there, to say you had issues with your budget! Glad to hear you managed to keep some of the loanees from last season too. I find it important to try and keep the spine of your team when you gain promotion. Too many changes can be disastrous. 

You haven't missed out on anything with Will Keane... I shall reveal soon. 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

 

It has been an absolute disaster-class from us. We have scored THREE goals in the league, with two coming on the opening day. Will Keane and Lee Angol have been absolutely shocking and no matter what we do - we just can't seem to score.

As a result, I will be attempting again with Shrewsbury and therefore the previous post is irrelevant 

Whoever said this game was easy, how? 

[Burnley92]

First update on my save as Luton Town. I don't have a clue how to post screenshots so words will have to do 

 

I chose to start without the transfer window so there's no news of any new players. We won 5 out of our 7 friendlies, including a brilliant 2-0 victory over Sassuolo. We drew 2-2 with Hibernian and lost 3-1 against Sheffield United.

 

Our first league match was a rather difficult trip to Fratton Park to face Pompey. We were right in the game until a 44th minute red card for my defensive midfielder Glen Rae. This proved to be our downfall and we went on to lose the game 2-0.

 

Rae was banned for 3 games after the ban was extended. We had Sunderland at home next up, another tough game. We somehow found ourselves 2-0 up after just 18 minutes, both goals coming from Jorge Grant who is on loan from Nottingham Forest. We conceded from a corner in the 89th minute but went on to win the game.

 

Jorge Grant has gone on to score 4 more goals in the next 4 games in all competitions, knocking Oxford out of the Carabao Cup in the process. We currently sit 3rd in the league and have a tough trip to Bournemouth in the next round of the cup.

 

Up the Hatters!

Edited December 2, 2018 by Burnley92

[DefinitelyTaylor]

2 hours ago, Burnley92 said:

First update on my save as Luton Town. I don't have a clue how to post screenshots so words will have to do 

If you download Gyazo, just click on the logo and it'll give you a link automatically. Just paste that and the image should appear.

A good start to the season, sitting in third and still in the Carabao Cup. Best of luck.

[Burnley92]

46 minutes ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

If you download Gyazo, just click on the logo and it'll give you a link automatically. Just paste that and the image should appear.

A good start to the season, sitting in third and still in the Carabao Cup. Best of luck.

 

Great, thanks for that! 

 

I lost to Bournemouth on penalties after a hard fought 0-0 draw. Can concentrate on the league now!

[steveyisatard]

After a flying start to the league campaign - things have taken a more realistic turn given them relative inexperience in the squad and pre-season expectations of trying to push for a playoff place - but we currently sit relatively comfortably in 2nd place. The Brentford win was especially pleasing as we finished the match with 9 men thanks to ill-discipline from the boys - with Lucas Piazon being dismissed before half time.

 

I have taken a bit of a risk in bringing in Samir Nasri on a free having given him a two year deal - given that he is suspended until January - but his experience could prove valuable later in the season. I have promised promotion to the EPL in 2019/20 but I am optimistic we can go up this season so that should not be an issue.

 

 

 

 

 

[kroshot]

here we go my first save on fm19 with my club Birmingham city (as always)with a new laptop so hopefully no crashes like before.Firstly looking at the squad the first 11 looks ok but we have no strength in depth so we have had to move a couple of players on and sell dimari grays sell on clause which got us around 4m in.Out of the door first was Kuszczak to Torino for 500k with Stockdale and camp being more than enough in goal,then Brock Madsen went back to demark joining Nordsjaelland for 375k and finally Craig Gardner going to Hibs for 675k.nearly forgot ended Bogle loan as well

Now we have 3 new members of staff Phil Cannon,Keith Bertschin and Darren Robinson,with regards to incomings I wanted to try and keep the side young and hungry so in came Brendan Galloway 200k from Everton ,Petter Strand from Molde for 170k(contract expires in 6 months)and my biggest buy Xadas from Braga for 300k with a big sell on.i then looked to the free transfer market picking up Kaylen Hinds,Gianluca Gaudino and Fausto Rossi.Finally looking at the loan market we brought in Sam Gallagher and Ademola Lookman on loan for the season,

The squad now looks a lot more balanced with cover for most postions.Ive just got to the end of August we sit top with 4 wins from 4

will update later

[karanhsingh]

Hey guys, I just caught up on everyone's posts. Good work all around. Unfortunately I did not have much time to play this weekend.

Enjoyed reading everyone's updated. @sedge11 - did you manage to get Geubbels or Foden back? I really want to manage Foden in my game, but he has broken into the City first team so I am afraid it will be close to impossible now