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[FM19] Southampton | Turning the Ship Around


Saintmat
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[FM19] Southampton | Turning the Ship Around

Career Aims

  1. Reverse the recent fortunes of my beloved Southampton by returning them to European football and domestic cup success within 5 years.
  2. Resurrect a stagnating Academy by ensuring first team opportunities for youth team prospects.
  3. Identify and develop young prospects from China, USA and Canada.

Game Setup

Prior to starting the game I have setup a custom database, to make some minor changes. You can call it cheating if you like, I prefer to think of it as expediting my fun! Due to the amount of time I can afford to spend in FM these days I play fairly slowly and need a little helping hand I find to get me going and give me the impetus to continue. So the changes I made are as follows:

  • Affiliations with Zhejiang, Edmonton and Seattle are set up. Each incurs a standard yearly fee of around £20k. Terms of the affiliation include friendly matches, youth team players sharing training facilities, shared scouting knowledge and merchandising boost.
  • Mark Hughes and his backroom staff team are removed from the club. In my little world he was never offered a contract at the end of last season! Recruitment of my own backroom team will occur in game.
  • James Ward-Prowse now knows how to curl a ball, cause boy that lad can swing a good free kick in.

At the start of the game I have opted to remove transfers from the first window, and have removed attribute masking. Leagues loaded on a large database are as follows:

  • China (top flight only)
  • England (League 2 up)
  • France (Ligue Deux up)
  • Germany (2 Bundesliga up)
  • Italy (Serie B up)
  • Holland (top flight only)
  • Portugal (top flight only)
  • Russia (top flight only)
  • Spain (Segunda Division up)
  • Players retained from top divisions of Scotland, Croatia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Australia and Japan.
  • Players retained from top clubs of Belgium, Greece, Switzerland, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia and South Korea.

Lastly my manager profile. I'm imagining this fellow as some sort of ex-Defender type, early retirement and fast-tracked into management. So the usual FM jizz-story really. :brock:

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Strategy

So as you can see I'm a Saint at heart and my motivation for going in for a career here is to sort out the many shades of **** we currently have in the team. I really want to get the old youth conveyor belt back up and running, which has stalled in recent years. This shouldn't be too difficult given the facilities available to me. Hopefully, in doing so I can build a squad to challenge in the right half of the Premier League. To twist things up I also want to try and bring through a player or two from China, given our ownership association. Furthermore, I think it would be fun to pick out some young Americans and Canadians. Canada because the Ralph Kreuger connection, America cause lol why not.

I'm not going to nail my colours to the mast of any particular tactic, I mainly just want to find want to find a method that works. Over-time as I get used to the ME and the new training module I will maybe try and create some sort of "signature" approach, but we will see.

Aiming to update this thread 4 times a season, Pre-Season, October, January and end of Season. At time of writing I am in November in game, having started the save about a week ago - so will try and catch my tail with the next couple of posts.

 

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Pre-Season 2018

Squad Overview

I'm sure many of you reading will have some familiarity with the Southampton squad this year, nevertheless I'm going to cover here what I've inherited going into this season and where I want to go in the future. I've gone with no transfers in the first month for this save, so no changes could be made. Here's what I have to work with for the next 5 months:

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At first glance you'll see this team as well balanced in terms of positional coverage, age spread and personality. We've got lots of hard working players, good height and a good amount of technical ability in the team. When you take a closer look however there are some areas of concern. Cedric is the only right back in the team, so I've pulled young Yan Valery up from the youth squad to provide a bit of cover here. He's performed well in pre-season so I am aiming to give him some game time in the early part of this season. Fraser Forster is on enormous wages and is our 3rd choice goalie, so I'll need to send him out the door soon (such a pity given his personality type...). My main concern however is at the back and up front. Defensively we have good height, but not a great deal of speed. This makes me doubtful we can maintain a high line and will lead to us being under pressure in lots of games. Up front we have a number of hard workers, but I know that these guys don't tend to score a whole lot and certainly not consistently. Ings is probably the best of an average bunch, but I suspect we will struggle for goals this year.

In the youth team we have a few players who perhaps can make the first team, but I'm not massively convinced by any of them. As mentioned Valery has something about him. Otherwise the best of the rest are probably Josh Sims (on loan at Reading), Michael Obafemi (great physicals, needs a lot of work technically) and Callum Slattery (great techically, needs to develop mentally). These are the guys I will try and integrate over the next couple of seasons. 

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1106723196_Obafemi2018.thumb.png.a643ead21d0232cb6193cc0f6a4f8327.png463899260_Slattery2018.thumb.png.60b43a4ab05f476981eee7389f3d3c76.png

Staff Team

With no transfer business to talk of, I focused my efforts on bringing in a good staff team. All in all, I'm fairly pleased with this lot. There is room for improvement but unfortunately I couldn't attract much better than this for the time being.

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Tactical Approach

I've setup with two styles going into the start of this season. A 5-3-2 designed to get players behind the ball when the big-boys come to town and a 4-2-3-1 that aims to control the pitch when we will see more of the ball. I think one benefit of doing this is it should give the team a good amount of tactical flexibility when we need to adapt. Generally I will tweak things as we go into the season and as I find out about the fun surprises SI have left us in the ME... The setups and anticipated lineups are as follows:

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Pre-Season

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A good, solid pre-season here. Had to shift out the automatic friendlies so we played some semi-decent opposition along the way. Squad are generally fit, with no major injury concerns. Only Shane Long is out for the first month (whatever will I do!!!!).

Season Expectations

The board expect me to finish in the top half. Personally I think with this squad that could be quite tricky, and there will be long periods where we suffer. If I can navigate our way through the year without being sucked into a relegation battle then I'll be pleased. Hopefully if I hit my target of 45 points minimum this season that should be enough. I have no particular aims for the cups. August, September and October will look like this for me:

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Not the easiest of starts, with away trips to Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in the first 10 games. I'm hoping to take around 12 points from these games.

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October 2018

Fixture Review

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So, 12 points from 12 games was achieved but it's not been all plain sailing. Highlight so far has to be the dismantlement of Newcastle at home, who besides that game have an unbelievable defensive record. This was quickly followed by the low light where we had our arses handed to us by QPR. I have no idea what happened really to cause that, they got an early goal and it seemed impossible for my side to turn the tide around. We've had some difficulty breaking teams down, and goals have not been easy to come by. Liverpool and Arsenal were too strong for us, but we bounced back after a little tactical shift  to beat Palace 2-0. Consistency is the issue mainly, so that's the aim for the next part of the season. Here is the table as it stands.

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Tactical Approach

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The 5-3-2 still needs some work and I will persist with it for now. I've found against more evenly matched opposition this 4-3-3 is doing a good job of breaking teams down and making the most of the players I have.

Key Performers

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As mentioned goals have been difficult to come by and the burden is fairly thinly spread at this point. We are getting good average performances from Cedric, Hojberg and Armstrong, although I'm not entirely convinced that the game's rating system is entirely reliant. Gabbiadini, Lemina and Vestergaard have been disappointing this far.

Other Developments

I am getting an awful lot of complaints from players about playing time. Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Lemina and Vestergaard have all approached me about this and it eventually led to a team meeting to sort out. Insolent children...

 Fraser Forster has agreed a transfer to Galatasaray, very pleased to get him off the wage bill. I'm looking ahead to January and have a budget of £62 million (!) to play with. Thinking about going in for Celta Vigo's Maximiliano Gomez. If anyone has experience of him and can recommend, then let me know! I'm also thinking about a defensive upgrade. Generally I don't go in for mid-season transfers so it could be that nothing happens until the summer.

Upcoming Fixtures

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A tough start to the next period, with Man Utd, Man City and Tottenham in the next 4 games. After that though I'm hoping to put a run of form together up into the new year. Let's aim for.... 20 points.

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  • 5 weeks later...

January 2019

I did say I play slowly...

Fixture Review

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Lowlights: Losing to Wolves was gutting, as we conceded in the 4th minute of extra time. 

Highlights: Beating United with two last minute goals!! We've had a nack for turning games around, coming from behind against Leicester (from 2-0 down) and Brighton away from home. Smashing Bournemouth at home in the FA Cup was also quite satisfying...

Overall: Need to improve consistency, which is mainly down to misfiring forwards (Ings excluded).

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Look at United! :lol:

Tactics

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After starting quite cautiously I've developed a more positive mentality. The board would like me to play attacking and possession football, which with this squad and with this match engine seems like being asked to make a tower of soup. Will persist for the rest of this year with the first of the above screenshots and hope that spares me the chop...

Key Performers

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You know how I know this game is truly broken? The match engine? Bizarre AI manager behaviour? No. It's because in this game Wesley Hoedt is an absolute BEAST.

Summary: Needs more goals. 

Youth Progress

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Of the highlighted players in my first post, young Valery here has had the most opportunities to shine. Seems to be developing nicely. Obafemi is out on loan, and there's no space in the midfield yet for Slattery. In addition to those, Gallagher has been getting some game time (although my coaches don't think much of him) and I've taken a shine to Will Ferry who has a great personality type and I feel a fair bit of potential.

Transfers

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My first American has arrived! Tyler Adams from NYRB has all the makings of a great holding midfielder, which is great because that's the one area of the team we lack decent cover for anyway. Charlie Austin makes way, as he was being a donkey up front and blocking Gallagher from getting game time. Other than that the pre-arranged Forster transfer happened (freeing up ~£600k p/m in wages between them) and a bunch of youth team players were cleared out to make way for my next intake.

Upcoming Fixtures

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Here is the road to the end of the season, featuring a couple of tough spells ahead. By my odds we should finish the season somewhere between 50 and 55 points, which hopefully should be enough for top half.

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  • 2 weeks later...

May 2019 - End of 1st Season

Christmas break means quality FM time.

Fixture Review

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Lowlights: Not too many! Losing to Wolves again wasn't great, and disappointingly out with a limp in the FA Cup.

Highlights: Came through difficult periods again with minimal damage. Two terrific turnarounds in our final two games, including a last minute winner from 17 year old inside forward Alexandre Jankewitz to relegate Brighton. Think I might have something special here...

Overall: A good end to the season.

Season Review

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Mid-table mediocrity, but a good platform to build on.

Negatives:

  • Inconsistency, only put together a run of two consecutive wins at any one point.
  • Poor record against upper, bottom half sides (e.g. Watford, Bournemouth, Wolves).
  • Lack of goals in team. Reliant on Ings (14 goals) to get us through games mostly.
    • 5th for chances created and 4th for shots on target but conversion rate is only 8%.
    • Won 9 penalties all season (joint 1st in league) but scored just 4 of them.

Positives:

  • Ruthlessness. Took most points (50% of all points achieved) off bottom 5 teams.
  • Good desire in squad to come back from behind.
  • Gave opportunities to youth team players to play in first team squad.
  • Discipline. 1 penalty conceded all season. No red cards.
  • Good injury record.

Tactics

Board are much happier with the progressive Football, perhaps I gave my players too little faith in the last post. It doesn't always work, but the desire in the squad to keep going right to the final whistle has been fantastic.

Key Performers

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Cedric and Hoedt have very much been the bedrock, and Ings has got us the goals when we've really needed it.

Youth Progress

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These three have been the most impressive young players for me. Valery had the most game time, as he was 2nd choice behind Cedric. Slattery and Jankewitz have only made cameos but involving them in the first team training seems to really have benefitted them. Suspect loan moves next season would be beneficial.

Summary

A good season, achieving my slightly unambitious objective of staying up and finished in the top half. Must address inconsistency, and lack of goals in the team going forwards. Looking for some sort of cup run for next season as well.

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Pre-Season 2019

Squad Changes

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So, a few moves of note. Leaving us are 3/5 of our forward line last year in Long, Gabbiadini and Gallagher. Having given Gallagher the opportunity, he clearly needs a good few seasons in the Championship before he will reach our standard so he has left on a loan to buy. Gabbiadini was earning far too much for a rotational option player, who scored 3 last season. Cut price deal, but had to be done. The only unplanned move was Ryan Bertrand, who at 29 was only going to decrease in value. I feel the amount West Ham paid justifies the deal, and we have two left backs in Targett and McQueen to replace him already.

Coming in is Callum Wilson. I paid a lot more money than perhaps he is actually worth, but then there is a premium in trying to pry players away from Bournemouth when you are Southampton! He was 3rd top scorer last season and should hopefully help to up that 8% conversion rate from last season.

Unfortunately we come into the start of the season with a bit of an injury crisis. Redmond picked up an ACL in March, while the returning Boufal and Elyounoussi both have 3/4 week injuries - leaving us rather short of wide options. Jankewitz who played so well in the last game of last season, and having impressed in pre-season, will come in to fill the gap. Michael Obafemi has also had a good pre-season and will perhaps get an opportunity too.

The young CAMs, Hesketh and Slattery will soon be out on loan to aid their development.

Staff Team

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A few changes in the backroom. New DoF and a much better HoSS being the main two.

Tactical Approach

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Continuing more-or-less with the same strategy at the end of last season, but with the injuries we are better off playing a horizontally flipped formation in the first few games.

Pre-Season

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Mixed feelings about pre-season in general, mainly due to the injury issues but very pleased to see Jankewitz have such an impact. Promising much at this stage, but will have to manage him carefully and avoid overburdening him.

Season Expectations

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This year the aim is another top half finish and at least a quarter final in the FA or League cup. Would like a minimum of 57 points in the league, which would have placed us 7th last year. Tough start to come, but hoping that we can pick up some consistent wins after the Man City game.

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October 2019

Fixture Review

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Lowlights: Disappointing to go down to Man United and Liverpool, but I can't really complain as we've had a good run of results prior to that.

Highlights: Some consistency at last! And what a win on the first day against Spurs. JWP is the new captain and he marked his first game with a brace, and a debut goal for Callum Wilson. Couldn't get any better really! In our most recent match, I was delighted to see Redmond get a goal on his return from an 8 month injury lay-off, even if we did lose.

Overall:  Really pleased. Need to follow this up now.

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A terrific start. At the top, United will be the team to catch this year (they have signed Dybala & Isco, and now are managed by Pellegrini - yes that one) though I doubt we will be in that race come May!

Tactics

Same as before, but I'm starting to feel it's a bit imbalanced when we play the stronger sides in the division. Will look at developing something a bit more counter-attack orientated across the rest of this season

Key Performers

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Summary: The introduction of Wilson to the team has had the desired effect, thankfully given my penchant for big money flops. Boufal and Carillo have made an impact on their return from loan spell, maybe I'll be able to make something out of them after all... Targett has stepped up to replace Bertrand and JWP has excelled in his captaincy role.

Youth Progress

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It's all about this guy. Redmond's injury left us short of players who could make an impact out wide. Whenever I've introduced him, he's come up with the goods. Now Redmond is back I will have to think carefully how I can continue to best develop him. Not convinced a loan spell is right, but I don't want him to be short of opportunities. It looks likely Elyounoussi will be leaving us come the end of the season, which should free up the spot for him in the first team so long term I think I am sorted. I'm convinced he is one for the future though (if not now!).

Upcoming Fixtures

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A tricky run in December to navigate, but otherwise the fixtures list looks like we will have some spells to pick up wins. With Spurs and West Ham under-performing, I think we have an opportunity for continental qualification. Exciting times at St Mary's!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Pleased to see Jankewitz looking good. Still in the first season (I'm slower than you!!!!) but he's the outstanding youth in the squad so far by the looks of things. (Slattery is very good too, but nowhere near as versatile)

Have you been able to get anything worthwhile out of Redmond? He's been disappointing for me so far, as has Vestergaard whenever he has played, but the rest seem to be very solid.

It's interesting to see how things differ on different saves.

Looking forward to the next update!

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1 hour ago, MrMungo said:

Pleased to see Jankewitz looking good. Still in the first season (I'm slower than you!!!!) but he's the outstanding youth in the squad so far by the looks of things. (Slattery is very good too, but nowhere near as versatile)

Have you been able to get anything worthwhile out of Redmond? He's been disappointing for me so far, as has Vestergaard whenever he has played, but the rest seem to be very solid.

It's interesting to see how things differ on different saves.

Looking forward to the next update!

Hah I'm glad to hear I'm not the slowest player out here!

Yes Slattery looks great attribute wise but I'm yet to see him be a game changer for me. I think it might be a few years before he breaks into the first team consistently. Quite a few good looking players in the U23s but not as many in the U18s as I was expecting (pre-youth intake of course). That reminds me to do a bit on the youth intake, perhaps at the end of the season.

For me Redmond has been hit and miss, but after a big injury he has returned with some good performances. I play him as an Inside Forward on the left (which tbf is his preferred position) of a front 3, which gives him space to get in behind defences. I think that he might need a bit of a boost attribute wise given his real life form in the January patch - but it is unlikely.

Vestergaard has also been disappointing. I think in game he is too slow to play well in a high line and does not have the ball playing skills to distribute the way I need him to. Sneak peak to my next update - I have now let him leave on loan.

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1 hour ago, Saintmat said:

Hah I'm glad to hear I'm not the slowest player out here!

Yes Slattery looks great attribute wise but I'm yet to see him be a game changer for me. I think it might be a few years before he breaks into the first team consistently. Quite a few good looking players in the U23s but not as many in the U18s as I was expecting (pre-youth intake of course). That reminds me to do a bit on the youth intake, perhaps at the end of the season.

For me Redmond has been hit and miss, but after a big injury he has returned with some good performances. I play him as an Inside Forward on the left (which tbf is his preferred position) of a front 3, which gives him space to get in behind defences. I think that he might need a bit of a boost attribute wise given his real life form in the January patch - but it is unlikely.

Vestergaard has also been disappointing. I think in game he is too slow to play well in a high line and does not have the ball playing skills to distribute the way I need him to. Sneak peak to my next update - I have now let him leave on loan.

Rest assured you're not the slowest player out there. That goes to Vestergaard! :P

He's just been poor for me with general defending duties aswell. Wanted to keep him as injury cover, but he's already whinging, so think he'll be on the way out soon for me - either loan or full transfer.

Will give Redmond some more game time - got Nasri coming in once his ban is finished, so will have options there soon at least.

Looking forward to the next update. Hope the youth intake is kind to you!

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On 17/01/2019 at 12:49, MrMungo said:

Rest assured you're not the slowest player out there. That goes to Vestergaard! :P

He's just been poor for me with general defending duties aswell. Wanted to keep him as injury cover, but he's already whinging, so think he'll be on the way out soon for me - either loan or full transfer.

Will give Redmond some more game time - got Nasri coming in once his ban is finished, so will have options there soon at least.

Looking forward to the next update. Hope the youth intake is kind to you!

Hah! Well good luck with yours. Will be interested to hear how you get on!

On 18/01/2019 at 14:50, WillHoward42 said:

I always usually enjoy a Southampton save due to their youngsters.... but none seem to have that * factor like they used to. Will be following your progress though!

Are we talking newgens or the players in the team at the start? Thanks for reading!

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January 2020

Fixture Review

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Lowlights:  Being dumped out of the FA cup by Liverpool, as I was hoping for a run to the quarters this year.

Highlights: An enormous unbeaten run, from mid December to now, has really cemented our position in the table.

Overall: Very pleased!

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Great points gap between us and Everton.

Key Performers

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Ward-Prowse, Hoedt and Cedric continue to excel and Wilson is still getting the goals we need. Dissapointed in Elyounoussi so far this year. Curious to see if the AI managers are still interested in him at the end of the season. Gunn has been whinging so I am going to play him in most games between now and the end of the year, rather than risk losing him. Have been pleased with Boufal and Carillo's contributions on their return to the squad from a year in exile!

Youth Progress

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Jankewitz and Valery continue to shine. I am pleased with the amount of game time I am finding for them at the moment. Alfie Jones has been in the youth team most of this season but I want to try and give him a run and see if he can turn into anything greater. Out on loan, Obafemi is tearing up League 1 with Wycombe and my trio of Freeman, Vokins and Slattery at Walsall seem to be faring well in the Championship.

Transfers

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Just the one incoming - Jonathan Panzo from Monaco. Very highly rated by my scouts and was being released for just £1 million. Couldn't say no to that. For the outs we say goodbye to two center backs, Vestergaard (on a loan to buy) and Yoshida. Panzo slots in very nicely to that gap.

Upcoming Fixtures

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With no cup action left, it's a run of Premier League games to the end. The Everton game will be very important. 

Edited by Saintmat
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  • 2 weeks later...

May 2020 - End of 2nd Season

Fixture Review

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A solid end to the season.

Highlights: Putting the Cherries in their place :cool:

Lowlights: Losses to West Ham and Palace on the final day of the season are the sorts of games I really want to stamp out.

Season Review

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Quite the incredible season really! 6th place and a European campaign to follow.

Negatives:

  • Improved on return against 3rd ¼ of teams, but still some room for improvement. Seems to be more complacency against these sides.
  • Goals conceded from corners (3rd bottom).
  • Central defensive midfield position seems to consistently get low performance ratings. Unsure if this is a ME issue, or if the players I have aren’t well suited to the role.
  • Being dumped out of the cups, with rather unfavourable draws. Need to figure out how to play consistently well against the best teams in the league.

Positives:

 

  • Points taken from (and denied to) teams around us  (55.5% of all possible points).
  • Callum Wilson has been a big success, scoring 21 goals in the league.
  • Number of goals overall (4th in the league) and 2nd highest conversion rate.
  • Consistent spells, winning games we should be.
  • Didn’t concede a single penalty all season!
  • No major injuries all season.
  • Squad happiness, managed to give players enough game time.

In other news, the title race this year was something else...

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English teams going deep into Europe had a knock on effect meaning Liverpool played Arsenal on the Wednesday after the final day of the season - winning and overtaking Man Utd. Speaking of Arsenal, they had one hell of a packed May fixture list.

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On the other side of North London, Spurs had an awful campaign in the league. This resulted in Zidane coming in for Pochettino and then this...

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And as if that wasn't enough, the Bundesliga saw Hertha Berlin take the title and Atletico Madrid topped La Liga. Utterly bonkers...

Tactics

The 443 attack from my earlier post seems to still be doing the trick against the majority of teams. I am tweaking a variation of this tactic when I play the stronger teams in the league, with mixed results. The formation does not necessarily stay the same, but I adapt depending on where I anticipate the danger zones are going to be.

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Key Performers

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Star man this year has been James Ward-Prowse, who has really impressed after being handed the captains armband, finishing the season as our 3rd highest scorer. Cedric and Wesley Hoedt have both been fantastic for me again. Callum Wilson's arrival really had the desired effect, adding 21 goals to the team and lowering the pressure on Ings to provide the goals.

Youth Progress

455565819_AdamsMay2020.thumb.png.2708f877ea2df4cd5f4a5d972cba3135.png417862689_SimsMay2020.thumb.png.6534112087ae25c43fb9ea0f6fabfdff.png376293565_SlatteryMay2020.thumb.png.13dda86b5cc39f2f93aa3bb8e99a542a.png1758418007_VokinsMay2020.thumb.png.ecd341ccaf0acf9838709af21ca0b9c3.png1302171665_ValeryMay2020.thumb.png.ae486340b244611d25c602215d0a2e11.png581309270_JankewitzMay2020.thumb.png.d46c0c5ac46d18a80131d3722fcf46b6.png

Starting with this years loan contingent, Tyler Adams and Jake Vokins are the two to have really excelled. Both are looking like tidy little youngsters who could very easily be involved in the 1st team, with us hopefully competing on multiple fronts. Josh Sims had a bumpy year with Hamburg, but did finish the season as a DFB-Pokal winner. I really like the look of him, but it is difficult to see exactly where he fits into my team at the moment. I will experiment with him in pre-season and see if there is a way to integrate him. Slattery didn't pull up trees out at Walsall, but continues to develop well. Depending on his performances in the early parts of the season I will decide whether to keep him around the 1st team.

Valery and Jankewitz both formed part of my 1st team squad this year. After Jankewitz's blistering start, he struggled to replicate his form consistently. I should maybe take the blame for some of this, as I only used him sporadically. I think I will try and make him a starter in European games this season. Yan Valery ended up as my highest average rating player, however this was from a handful of appearances when Cedric was not available. The plan with him is to continue as is current, unless Cedric leaves.

719208804_DolanMay2020.thumb.png.6103c71fc459995afaeebe3e958af265.png84139768_HuntMay2020.thumb.png.a2da2208be17ef7f62b924ec5e838411.png2050146651_ManningMay2020.thumb.png.24fc72ad8a134a471eff6e3ac15a6e30.png825272940_MooreMay2020.thumb.png.d52d745757092b7b1538958d76d7ba7f.png157602745_SouthwoodMay2020.thumb.png.ffd362444a7151700538cd9c063e0c1c.png308964977_WestMay2020.thumb.png.eabbc455f6c3732350557ff45e07311b.png

I've realised that I haven't talked very much about my youth intakes! Here is a selection of my most promising newgens to have come through. All apart from Paul Dolan and Stewart Manning are from 1st season intake. Southwood has even already scored for me this year!

Summary

An excellent campaign. Season 3 ought to be fun. I am hoping for a similar finish in the league and at least one cup run!

 

Edited by Saintmat
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I started a game with Southampton recently and it’s really interesting to see the different approaches. 

I went with a 4-3-3 from the offset, 3 strikers. Ings and long as PF’s either side of Austin as a Poacher, which has been devastating. Austin is on 12/13 goals at Christmas and I’m flittering between top and fourth. I’m trying to emulate the Klopp gegenpress so have been pushing the players hard. Unfortunately Austin just got injured for a few months so I will need to dip into the market.

First window I only signed one player of note, Thomas Soukek (sp?) who plays as a half back and has been a colossus. I also signed Lars Stindle as another option up top and he was dire before a big injury and is now out for the season.  

This winter window I just signed Victor Lindloff but it wasn’t hugely necessary as Stevens and Hoedt have been amazing. So now on the look out for a striker to fill the void while Austin is out. Have been looking at Wilson but don’t know if I have the finances to get it over the line. 

Anyway, really enjoyed the read, thanks. 

 

Good luck

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 05/02/2019 at 17:58, dancochrane said:

I started a game with Southampton recently and it’s really interesting to see the different approaches. 

I went with a 4-3-3 from the offset, 3 strikers. Ings and long as PF’s either side of Austin as a Poacher, which has been devastating. Austin is on 12/13 goals at Christmas and I’m flittering between top and fourth. I’m trying to emulate the Klopp gegenpress so have been pushing the players hard. Unfortunately Austin just got injured for a few months so I will need to dip into the market.

First window I only signed one player of note, Thomas Soukek (sp?) who plays as a half back and has been a colossus. I also signed Lars Stindle as another option up top and he was dire before a big injury and is now out for the season.  

This winter window I just signed Victor Lindloff but it wasn’t hugely necessary as Stevens and Hoedt have been amazing. So now on the look out for a striker to fill the void while Austin is out. Have been looking at Wilson but don’t know if I have the finances to get it over the line. 

Anyway, really enjoyed the read, thanks. 

 

Good luck

 

 

Sounds like you took to life at Saints much better than I did! Interesting about Lindeloff - he popped up as an option on mine too. Part of me is trying to stick to a realistic model of how Saints operate in real life, and his wages would have blown that out of the water (even though I probably could have got him). Good luck with yours if you're still playing and thanks for reading!

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Pre-Season 2020

Squad Changes

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An interesting campaign to prepare for this year. With the added pressures of the Europa League and a desire to go deep into cup competitions (got to win some silverware after all!) I have bolstered the depth of the squad and kept very much to the Southampton model in doing so. The major transfer here is the outgoing Mohammed Elyounoussi for £50m to Newcastle (they've had an Italian tycoon takeover). Although Mohammed was an important player around the first team squad, I felt he was a replaceable asset with the players we have competing for that position. Incoming are Patrick Roberts, on a free from Man City, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for a cut-price £8.25m deal from Chelsea. I'm very pleased with these two, as they add versatility and quality to the squad.

It has also been a window for goalkeepers. Wolves came in for a deadline offer for McCarthy of £16.5m and with Angus Gunn pushing him for a spot I thought this was a good offer. Tom Heaton comes in to provide first team cover to Gunn. Two other keepers were signed in the window. Freddie Woodman was picked up on a free just as 3rd choice cover, as were really lacking in depth. And lastly, newgen Angel Jaramillo, from the other Barcelona! As he does not have a work permit I have loaned him to new affiliate club Excelsior for the next 5 years...

Also outgoing is Vestergaard, who I finally offloaded to Krasnodar. The last incoming of note is Gary Young, a Scottish newgen from the states. I signed him a couple of years ago but it seems that his PA has dipped considerably since then so I have slight buyers remorse (especially as we are well covered in the forward department at youth level!). Oh well...

Tyler Adams and Josh Sims return to the squad to compete for places and with that I feel we are well prepared for the year ahead.

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Tactical Approach

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The lop-sided 4-3-3 will still be the main approach, but I have developed two alternative shapes to play against better teams (as this is where we fell down again last year) - a 4-1-3-2 and a 4-4-2. I'll be running a counter-attacking strategy with these and tweaking as I go along. If anyone has any thoughts on player roles to use here please do let me know! I'm hoping that with the winter update now enforced we might have a little more luck with this approach. 

Pre-Season

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Pre-season could have been slightly better results wise. Nonetheless I feel it was productive. Last three draws were from a mixture of playing with the new tactics and playing weakened sides. One thing I've learned is that Sims might well be suited to the CM position. He played really well here against championship opposition in Bristol City, it has given me confidence to try him there in competitive fixtures.

I had a weird bug where my board arranged a training camp in China, prior to my players returning from holiday. I'd be interested to know if anyone else seen this?

Season Expectations

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As mentioned I want to compete on as many fronts as possible this year. At least a quarter final in the FA Cup or League Cup, and getting out of the group in the Europa League would be a good season as far as I'm concerned. With regards to the league I would like to qualify for Europe again, but won't be disappointed as long as we finish at least top half.

Thankfully the fixture list seems to have been as kind as it can be again and we have avoided any run of difficult fixtures. That said, August is a rather dense period for us this year... Anything between 20-25 points from the first three months will be a good run. Obviously the Europa League draw is yet to happen, so impossible to comment on that until it has taken place.

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October 2020

The 'yes this is still being updated' update.

Fixture Review

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Highlights: A really good start to the season goal-scoring wise, Callum Wilson has been on fire (more on that later)! We scored 4+ goals in half of all our games this period.

Lowlights: While handling teams of similar levels or below has not been anything of a challenge, we generally still find it difficult against the big boys. Defeats to Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool in the league have frustrated our progress. Also, being dumped out of the League cup in the 4th round on penalties to Man Utd (having come back from 2-0 down) was pretty gutting.

Overall:  I have mixed feelings. We have played well in many games and defensively capitulated in others. I should be pleased but I am frustrated at why we can't turn up against the better teams in the league.

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A somewhat mad start to the season see's Bournemouth (powered by Hwang Hee Chan and Josip Ilicic) top the table, with us in 5th. Last season's champions Liverpool have had something of a hangover but are fast on our tail.

Tactics

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As mentioned in the last post, I was toying with a 4-1-3-2 and although it offered a lot going forwards I could not seem to get the balance right at the back. These two shapes (4-4-1-1 and 4-1-4-1) are the latest versions I am toying with. If anyone has any suggestions as to good strategies to use in these games please feel free to let me know. I feel a visit to the tactics corner might be required.

Key Performers

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Summary: Callum Wilson has made an absolutely incredible start to this season, scoring 17 goals in 14 appearances and recording an average rating of 7.83 across all competitions. 16 of those goals have come in the league, where his average rating is currently 8.02 (see pic below)! Absolutely phenomenal numbers from our main man up front, I anticipate needing to fend off some bids come next transfer window (and fairly derisory ones at that knowing the AI...). It's not all been all been about Wilson though. James Ward-Prowse continues to post strong numbers and has made most appearances so far this season. Jan Bednarek has made the step up at centre back and now holds that position as his own. There have been some great performances from the young players, notably again from Jankewitz - but more about that in the next section.

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Youth Progress

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748503590_JankewitzOct2020.thumb.png.277c52d75eb489f8b9c55d44818b3f0e.png524430904_PanzoOct2020.thumb.png.7dcee3cde0592b6719be38660b9ea4dd.png832715916_FreemanOct2020.thumb.png.5eebb96febeefa02aab6263718aa43fe.png302856664_VokinsOct2020.thumb.png.e759052198f86e3722020033c8e214db.png565412146_ValeryOct2020.thumb.png.86538d0dd015fc00de277e7442542459.png520294681_AdamsOct2020.thumb.png.2ed0e31b694298b8e67792301ce17c1f.png

As mentioned, we have had some great performances from young players. The six highlighted here have all played roles, but none more-so than Jankewitz. I made a conscious effort this season to give him more games, and boy did he repay me, getting seven assists in his first five games of the season. Performances from the young man have wavered, but the only way to overcome inconsistency is by being afforded game time - so lets hope he gets out of this habit. Freeman and Vokins came in during the early games this year while full backs were struggling with injury, and they have certainly given me something to think about - proving that performances at this level are not beyond them. The return of players in the same positions has forced them back to the U23s for now, and one of those returning players is Yan Valery, who is now posting better figures than Cedric. Panzo has found it hard to get in the team ahead of Hoedt, but when he has he seems to be playing well. The only issue there is a lack of concentration, which has cost me goals. Tyler Adams often pays the price for his versatility, but in the games so far this season he's been getting time in his favoured central midfield position and doing quite well.

Upcoming Fixtures

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Another busy few months ahead, with more group stage matches to play. Man Utd are only just around the corner and I'm hoping we can exact some revenge for the League Cup defeat. Mostly though I'm hoping to progress in the Europa League, mainly for the adventure!

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January 2021

Fixture Review

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Lowlights:  Close to none! A 2-0 defeat to Man Utd was not the revenge I was hoping for, but I made some progress in developing an effective strategy against bigger teams. We are also conceding slightly more often than I'd like, but it's hard to complain given our prowess at the other end.

Highlights:  As you can see, we are unbeaten in nearly 3 months across the densest part of the season so far. Goals are not proving to be difficult to come by. The 1-0 win vs Chelsea was a victory for my newly developed 3-5-2 and certainly the most satisfying.

Overall: A phenomenal season so far. I think the fairy tale of the title is beyond us but a champions league spot could be within our grasp.

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As you would expect from that run of form, we are flying high and just two points off Man Utd who have a game in hand on us. We have a near-identical record with Luciano Spaletti's Man City, and a 10 point lead on 4th place Tottenham and 5th place Arsenal. All to play for and all to lose!

Key Performers

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Callum Wilson continues to lead the way with 27 goals in all comps and counting, but the real story here is with our young guns. Jonathon Panzo stepped up in the absence of Wesley Hoedt to post a 7.65 average rating from 15 games (a little more on him later). Wing backs Vokins and Valery have played with enormous confidence, and with Kieran Freeman also impressing I am tempted to try and find Cedric a way out of the club. James Ward-Prowse remains our captain fantastic and has most assists so far with 11. I also want to mention Josh Sims, who I have been playing out of position (at least according to the game) in central midfield to great effect, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek who has been terrific in cup competitions this year.

Only one player has struggled particularly so far, and that is Pierre Emile-Hojberg. My best guess is that I have had to rotate much more this season and he has struggled with inconsistent game time.

Tactics

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So here is my big team buster. An asymmetric 3-5-2, I can switch the sides of the WB and DW depending on where the opposition seem to play their inside forward (typically I find it is from the left, hence the setup I'm showing here). What I have found is that if I play two wing backs I do not have enough thrust on the counter attack, and by playing one in the wide midfield positions it offers much more going forwards without sacrificing much defensive stability. This was demonstrated in the 1-1 draw with Man City, where Matt Targett managed to secure us the equalising goal, cutting in from the left. I will continue to tinker, but I think I am onto a winner here.

Youth Progress

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In this update I just wanted to highlight these three guys Adams, Panzo and Jankewitz. All three have made the step up to being first team regulars this year, which I might have expected from Jankewitz but certainly not Adams and Panzo. In Adams' case the CM(d) position was one that I struggled to find someone who could perform in, but Adams has come in and made that spot his own. Panzo has developed massively in the first half of the season, but then lost his place to injury just as Wesley Hoedt came back into fitness. For Jankewitz's screenshot I have switched the attributes view to see how he has developed since the start of the game. Despite a somewhat weird drop in his determination, you can see how far the boy has come.

Transfers

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Not a great deal of business to talk about. Harrison Reed and Sam McQueen make long overdue exits after finding themselves surplus to requirements. A number of young players have been allowed to leave the club on early free transfers. Michael Obafemi was not quite up to premier league scratch so has returned to Wycombe where he was previously a prolific goal scorer.

In coming are two youngsters, Giordano Pavesi (Italian-American) and Dick Leatemia. Pavesi was a player I followed for a little while, being one of the random American newgens you can find across the start of the game. Leatemia was more of a spur of the moment purchase, but we have a little gap in the left back production line and I felt he was well worth the punt for £400k. Leatemia doesn't really fit the bill for the kind of player I set out to buy at the start of this save, Pavesi more so. The difficulty has been work permits, and this will only get more difficult with the incoming brexit rules.

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Before I get to that though, a quick bit of AI ******** to whinge about! Man Utd decide on the final day of the transfer window that they are in need of a 3rd choice goalkeeper, and so put in an absolutely derisory offer for my 1st choice - Angus Gunn. The move is rejected and Gunn is obviously furious about this. If this is something the AI has been coded to do (i.e. disrupt rival teams by putting in **** bids for their important players) then I must applaud the team responsible at SI, cause it's worked here to perfection. :mad:

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Brexit then. My scenario rules are:

  • Squad limits of 17 foreigners.
  • Irish players are treated as British.
  • Foreign players must earn £34.6k p/m to play in the premier league.
  • Under 23 years, foreign players must earn £13k p/m to play in youth or cup competitions, or go on loan.
    • I can have a maximum of 5 players that fit this category.
  • Players are exempt from these rules until they change clubs.

That shouldn't be too problematic. I have 10 players across all my squads that don't have a UK passport, so well within the 17 player limit. All first team players earn way over £34.6k p/m, and those rules don't apply to players I already have anyway. Three U23 players would be in violation of the £13k p/m stipulation, Alan Tchaptchet and the two players I just signed! I am pleased I manged to bring them in before the rules kicked in.

Upcoming Fixtures

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Here is the run to the end of the season as it stands. We drew Liverpool away in the FA cup (boo) so there goes any hopes of a nice easy run to the final. Standard Leige should be interesting opposition in the Europa League, I am hopeful of getting through these ties without too much fuss. After that it is another busy end of season. We still play reverse fixtures against Arsenal and Liverpool at home, then in early April the big one at Old Trafford. Thankfully they are all spaced out quite nicely.

Wish me luck!

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4 hours ago, WillHoward42 said:

Quality run of results there. Think you can sustain the challenge for the title?

Hard to say really. Man Utd's squad is just absolutely ridiculous (I'll put a screenshot below), it'll be hard to keep pace and especially if we go deep into cup competitions.

Even if we don't, we should be able to secure champions league football and that will be an enormous achievement in itself. So I'm trying not to worry about the title really and just play each game as it comes!

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I mean it's a little top heavy, but bloody hell.

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May 2021 - End of 3rd Season

League & FA Cup

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Liverpool away went as Liverpool away does. We took them to extra time having played with a man down for much of the game, but could not get over the line into penalties. No domestic cup glory for me this year!

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So, as for the league. We put in some good performances along the way, including a very credible draw at Old Trafford, but had something of a stuttering finish to the season.

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Nevertheless, we did just about enough to secure a runners up spot (even if it was only on goal difference in the end!). Chelsea finished the season strongly after appointing Guardiola and I suspect they will be a force to be reckoned with next season.

Highlights: Finishing the season with two wins to cement our runners up spot and the draw against Man Utd after going 2-1 down.

Lowlights: A fixture pileup in April left the squad fatigued and prevented us from taking full points from Leicester, West Ham and Wolves (who certainly feel like a bogey team for me at this point). 

Europa League

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A really fun Europa League campaign this. We conquered Belgium and Holland in the first two knockout rounds. We managed to concede 5 against Betis, but pulled back 2 late away goals. Into the semi-final against a really exciting Hamburg team and... well we wiped the floor with them! So, our European adventure has continued all the way to the final! Where we will face....!

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Ah.

Well I didn't want to win it anyway. :rolleyes:

I'll do an extra update for the final.

Season Review

Negatives: 

  • We conceded 48 goals this season, more than double the amount Man Utd conceded. That's where the league was lost this year.
  • Home form vs Away form. I took 40 points at home and 40 points away this season. Obviously a great return, but you would expect a slightly better ratio than 1:1 on home vs away.
  • We dropped points (7) in the final run in. This is likely due to having a fatigued squad from our European exploits.

Positives:

  • Goals! Lots of them! 93 in the league to be exact.
  • Defensive corner routine has worked a treat, conceding just two goals from corners in the league all year. This is in contrast to being 3rd worst in the league at this last season.
  • 0 penalties conceded in league all season.
  • Squad rotation, with all players getting opportunities. When little injuries picked up towards the end of the campaign, we had the cover we needed available.
  • Opportunities afforded to youth team players.

Tactics

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So my two styles are quite contradictory but they seem to work. The 4-3-3 is used in most games, where I feel we can take the game to our opponent. I also play with a mirrored variant from time to time. The 5-3-2 has become my strategy of choice for games against stronger teams. My plan from here is to use these tactics for a couple of seasons and try to get players who fit the moulds.

Key Performers

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We couldn't have done it without the goals of Wilson (39), Ings (24) and Jankewtiz (18). Ward-Prowse had another good season (7.27 avg rating), and Stuart Armstrong really stepped up when we needed him (7.34 avg rating, 10 goals, 12 assists). The biggest surprise however has been the performances of our younger players like Vokins at left back (7.44 avg rating from 14 starts) and Panzo at center back (7.38 avg rating). These guys have set themselves high bars for next season!

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And just to contrast some of these numbers in the league - Wilson strolled away with the top goalscorer prize with second place Mane 13 goals behind the pace.

Youth Progress

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This year's youth intake was another good one, although I have been flooded with yet more defenders! The most exciting players I have screen-shotted here.

One member of the intake is rather keen on blessing the rains down in Africa.

I'm not going to go back over the likes of Jankewitz and co. in this post, but one little development I would like to report is that Jankewitz and Panzo are now described as 'Wonderkids' :cool:

Summary

What a season - and it's not even over yet!

Next season the aim is to keep our place in the top 4 (although I feel that could be a stretch).

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The Final!

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So as per usual, I go into this with a 5-3-2 shape. We've warmed up for this with a match against the U23s a few days prior - otherwise we wouldn't have had a game for two and a half weeks going into the match.

Man Utd have their typically ferocious looking side out today. It's going to be a tough game.

The game starts well for us. We are passing it around nicely, controlling the possession. Valery is looking rusty at right back so I drop Ward Prowse deeper to help him out somewhat. The Man Utd players seem to know this and are giving him lots of attention.

But then, with 15 minutes played...

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Disaster. Panzo falls asleep and loses his man, Martial puts a peach of a cross in and all of a sudden it's 1-0.

To make matters worse, just 1 minute after the restart and Ward Prowse pulls up. Hojberg comes on to replace him.

The team continue to push on without their captain, but can't really create much.

Then all of a sudden Martial breaks away with the ball, fizzes it across the box. It comes out to Isco who puts a ball into the box towards Pogba and... Oh for ****s sake!

Hoedt has brought him down, it's a penalty.

Pogba smashes it home. 2-0. 25 minutes gone. Despair.

We somehow stumble our way through to half time, which feels like a miracle in itself. The team are clearly demoralised and to make things worse Wilson now has a groin strain.

I can't see anyway out of this other than to go for it, so we switch to the 4-3-3. That necessitates a shift in personal, and I use my final two substitutes after just 45 minutes. Panzo off for Redmond, and the knackered Wilson comes off for Jankewitz.

The game is much more stretched out now. We create some half chances. Danny Ings gets in around the far post with a header but it screws wide.

70 minutes played and now Valery is hobbling around. It's not that surprising, but without the option of a 4th sub, I leave him out there.

80 minutes played and Valery picks the ball up wide on the right. The ball goes in and, oh wait, Jankewitz is free at the far post here! He must score!

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Nope.

85 minutes are played, and finally we are put to bed. Isco swings in a corner. Dybala heads it towards goal. Tah pops up with the killer.

....

Disappointing doesn't quite capture it.

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All in all, it went pretty much as badly as it could have. It was key to keep them quiet early doors but the Rashford goal put us on the backfoot and we couldn't quite recover.

Lessons will be learned.

Edited by Saintmat
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Just a quick one to say really enjoying this thread. You've done some amazing work especially in developing the youngsters. Fantastic league campaign, although tough luck in the Europa final. United continue to be overrated in the game.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Pre-Season 2021/22

Squad Changes

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The squad has not changed massively since last season, it has been a relatively quiet transfer window. My first objective was to ship out Cedric and Stephens. Cedric was turning 29 and Yan Valery had taken his first team spot, in the end I managed to squeeze Wolves out of £15m for him. A couple of seasons ago I was fending off bids double that, so it is a shame, but I am pleased he has left on my terms. I'd lost faith in Jack Stephens to put in the level of performance I needed, so another engineered move saw him go to Stoke. Incoming is just the one defender, Mouctar Diakhaby. He was not my first choice, but I am pleased nonetheless. He has good physical attributes, and should be able to give Bednarek a run for his spot. Jens Jonsson is a Swedish newgen I had my eye on for quite some time. Interest was increasing in the guy from big clubs, so it was the right time to make my move. We were lacking young left sided center backs (although seem to have far too many right sided ones!) so he fits the bill quite nicely.

In the absence of much transfer business, I set about trying to tie down current players to contracts. Lots of players were heading into the last year of their deals, and some players were not getting the sort of money that reflected their importance to the team. Panzo and Jankewitz were sorted out first, then Callum Wilson given a new three season deal. Our main and original midfielders of Ward Prowse, Hojberg, Lemina and Armstrong also get new contracts. Danny Ings and Matty Targett have been secured as well.

I'm really pleased with the balance in the squad at the moment. There doesn't feel to be any deadwood in the team, and not too much competition for places that players will get grouchy at not playing. The depth in the youth team is great (although much of it is out on loan), so were I to get injuries then I feel we could cope.

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Staff

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Garip Capin and Jens Lehmann join my coaching team, and I now have 4+ star coaching across the board!

Pre-Season

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Some great results across the board here, lots of goals scored. I was hoping Gent might put up more of a fight in our home friendly but alas no. Perhaps some stronger opposition would have been a better test.

Season Expectations

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So how to follow a season like the one I just had? I was seriously expecting the teams around me to strengthen in the window, and they certainly have. To reflect that I played quite conservatively in my points predictions ahead of this season, and I am aiming to get around 75 points. We have a tough start, with games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal consecutively. It's these matches that I have struggled with in previous seasons, so there is a challenge to be met there.

The champions league will also complicate things. If we make it through the group stage I may need to strengthen in January. We'll see.

Let's go!

Edited by Saintmat
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On 10/05/2019 at 21:12, karanhsingh said:

Just a quick one to say really enjoying this thread. You've done some amazing work especially in developing the youngsters. Fantastic league campaign, although tough luck in the Europa final. United continue to be overrated in the game.

 

On 10/05/2019 at 21:12, john1 said:

Gutted :( however, a superb season :applause:

Cheers guys! Sadly Man Utd have strengthened even further this season. They've only gone and signed Hazard now...

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9 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Good luck! Yes it's always hard to compete with the top sides in England. I am finding the same. They set the bar very high.

How has Slattery developed? He seems to have good potential too.

So he has been out on loan for the last couple of seasons in the Championship. He hasn't turned up trees but I am pleased with his progress. Going against him is that he has been hampered with a series of injuries during that time, and is competing for spots in a very strong part of the team. However I feel that his attributes now warrant giving him a try in the first team, so I will keep him around until January and judge his progress from there.

Screenshots provided for interest :)

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  • 4 months later...

October 2021

The 'I will make it to 5 seasons, even if life tries to stop me' update.

Fixture Review

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Highlights: Overcame a somewhat challenging opening part of the season with wins over Guardiola's Chelsea and Arsenal. Performances in our first season in the Champions League have also been good, with a win away at Spartak and credible home results against Atletico Madrid and Benfica.

Lowlights: Where to even start... I seem to have cracked a formula for playing against the big teams (besides Man Utd and Liverpool - more on that in a minute) however the fixture pile up saw us drop points against Brighton, Everton and most disappointingly another loss to our bogey team Wolves. As for Man Utd, we were handily put aside again, this time going 3-1 down within the first 20 minutes. It's hard to see how I can even come close to competing with them (which grates even more knowing how **** they are in real life at the moment!). Liverpool have already beaten us twice this season. The league match was close, but playing them in the 3rd round of the League Cup was not an ideal draw for us and extra frustrating because it was one I was hoping to go far in this year. Oh well!

Overall: All in all, despite the low-lights I don't think we are too far off track. In fact, we have taken more points overall than I had aimed for at the start of the season. We need to arrest this inconsistent form soon, and hopefully that will be possible with a more comfortable run of fixtures between now and Christmas.

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6th place and it's fairly tight looking up the table. It could be worse!

Tactics

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Not a great deal of change here, other than I have been experimenting with playing our CDM as a Regista in the DM slot - it has helpfully restricted Hojberg and Lemina's tendencies when playing this position to bomb forward (as per their PPMs).

May return to tinkering if form doesn't pick up from here on in.

Key Performers

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Not really any standouts here. Wesley Hoedt has played well in the games he has been fit for. Ward-Prowse started the season well, but form has tailed off. More notably, Wilson has not been the prolific goalscorer he was for me last season. I have left myself a lack of options up front, and am even considering getting some cover up top in January.

Youth Progress and Squad Development

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The only player to have made any sort of positive impact from the youth pathway so far this season is Michael Obafemi, who picked up his first couple of Premier League goals against bottom of the league Stoke in October. He has developed nicely, and is getting more minutes now without anyone obscuring his place in the team. That said, I don't feel confident he is quite at the level where we can rely on him to get us the 10-15 goals that ideally my 2nd striker would normally, so I'm considering another loan deal for him in January. Slattery hasn't got quite as many games as I would have liked, partly due to competition, however he did get his first goal for us against Spartak in the Champions League. Otherwise, the young full backs Freeman and Vokins have cameo'd, but training performances have been poor and I feel they still have some way to go before they can really challenge for those positions. 

To shake things up, I am wondering about moving on a few players at the end of this season. Generally I'm quite loyal to my players, however I am slightly regretting not preparing for this season in the Champions League with garnering some greater squad depth. Patrick Roberts has now put in a transfer request, which has been accepted, as he wasn't getting game time. Another one of my signings, Loftus Cheek, has had a few moments where he has asked for more time and I have obliged - but performances haven't quite justified this so I am thinking he could be on his way too. There really isn't anyone in this team that shouldn't be replaceable, so perhaps I need to be more brave and let players go when the right offers come in...

Upcoming Fixtures

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A good run against bottom half teams until we face Man City in mid December, so hopefully there are better things to come this season. January gets tougher again, so hopefully there will be enough in the tank by that point. We sit top by three points in our Champions League group, so barring a total collapse we should be making it through the next round. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

January 2022

Fixture Review

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Highlights:  A really good run of form saw us go unbeaten until mid-January, when we met with an inform Chelsea under Guardiola. Prior to that however, I managed to squeeze out a narrow 1-0 win over Liverpool, ending a terrible run of results against then. During the middle of that run we put in a great performance against high flying Man City. We also qualified from our potentially tricky CL group without any issues.

Lowlights:  Dropping silly points against Watford and Huddersfield along the way, and having a general malaise in front of goal compared to last season (we are 19 goals behind where we were last season :eek:). Then an injury crisis saw us struggle for players against Chelsea and Arsenal, costing us ground to positional rivals.

Overall:  It's hard to complain as form has generally been pretty good, but the league is much tighter this season and I feel there has been a little bit of an opportunity missed.

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We sit 5th in the league, just a point behind Liverpool. The top 3 are well bunched together and I will be hard pressed to get near them by the end of the season. Champions League football in 4th place is not beyond us, but my real goal is to get some silverware in the cabinet. Things have been made tough however with a 5th round tie against Chelsea (I don't get much luck with draws...).

Transfers

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So two in, two out, this January. Considering our lack of goals, I went fishing for a forward player. Nabil Fekir had been sideline by Pep's Chelsea and was transfer listed for £55m. To keep down wages I negotiated Chelsea into paying a portion of those, but paid slightly more in the transfer fee. Overall I am very pleased to bring him in, as he is something very different to what we have and the right level of quality to compete where we are in the table. He has already contributed with 2 assists, but sadly did miss a crucial penalty against Arsenal in our 2-1 loss to the Gunners. I'm still to find quite the right role for him. The other incoming is Gianluca Busio, our 2nd yank to join up. I'd scouted this kid for a while, and think he will make a better long term option in our central midfield position. He'll stay with us until the end of the season, but may be out on loan for the next.

As mentioned in my last post, I was considering selling Ruben Loftus-Cheek - and after he complained about being left out of the first XI for one game, for about the 100th time, I decided enough was enough. Atalanta came in for him and I even made a profit, so not too disappointed. Mind - he did offer a good physical presence up front. Hopefully that won't cost us too much between now and the end of the season. The major out is Angus Gunn. After Man Utd tried to nab him this time last season, Tottenham came in this time. He had 18 months left on his deal, and I didn't feel that he was improving all that much. So I decided to let him go for a relatively good fee, and the starting GK will now be newgen Angel Jaramillo (more on him later).

Key Performers

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As mentioned, goals have been harder to come by this year. Callum Wilson and Danny Ings continue to have the lions share of goals, but injuries to both have disrupted our forward line over the last couple of months. JWP continues to step up when we need him most, but beyond that there have been no major standouts. I am pleased with how Diakhaby has settled in to the defense, and Matt Targett continues to be the epitome of consistency at LB.

Tactics

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Previously I had used 3 man defenses to try and thwart the better teams in the league, but I found that a 4-2-2-2 formation really helped protect the team better. The plan is to continue using this when needed.

The modified 4-3-3 is pretty similar to my usual tactic, but due to injury and trying to find a good spot for Fekir I have been experimenting with shape. This one has been most effective at getting the best out of Fekir.

Youth Progress

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Angel Jaramillo was expected to be the 1st choice GK at Sevilla this season, when I sent him out on loan. Unfortunately they signed two very expensive GKs on deadline day, and since then Jaramillo hadn't even had a sniff of the 1st team. So I decided to bring him back in January and it is a good job I did because Gunn was off not long after. I'm pleased with how he has played in the few games he has been in the team already.

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The only other player to highlight from a developmental point of view is Michael Obafemi. For a little while I wondered if he really had what it took to be part of the first team, but he has chipped in with a neat haul of 5 goals so far this season. Perhaps he does have a future after all...

Upcoming Fixtures

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So our CL adventure continues in Lyon - this will be a stern test. February is a bit of a mental month for us, but beyond that the run of fixtures looks good. Minimum target is Europa League qualification.

Vamos!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nice work on the youngsters mate, ill be looking to emulate your work with them starting my third season by playing Jankewitz, Sims, Slattery, Valery and Obafemi who have all had great loan spells so hopefully they can break into my first team.

Comparing my save and yours the only consistency was that Hoedt is indeed incredible ! Ive been very lucky as Ings has turned out to be a goal machine for me winning the golden boot and Ward-Prowse getting loads of assists from DLP, and lemina winning player of the year who is an amazing box to box midfielder. I managed to win the league in my second season (thanks to selling alot of the dead weight the squad had such as Carillo, Boufal, Reed, Matthews, Forster) but fair play to you for sticking with the youth, its bound to pay off and youll be set for the future !

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I couldn't give a rat's ass about Southampton until Hasenhüttl took over. That and reading this post has inspired me to start a save with them!

I'll definitely be using this as reference, fantastically written and very gripping. I want to hear how you get on, and win a trophy! Keep it going!! 

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On 15/10/2019 at 16:41, dlong992 said:

Nice work on the youngsters mate, ill be looking to emulate your work with them starting my third season by playing Jankewitz, Sims, Slattery, Valery and Obafemi who have all had great loan spells so hopefully they can break into my first team.

Comparing my save and yours the only consistency was that Hoedt is indeed incredible ! Ive been very lucky as Ings has turned out to be a goal machine for me winning the golden boot and Ward-Prowse getting loads of assists from DLP, and lemina winning player of the year who is an amazing box to box midfielder. I managed to win the league in my second season (thanks to selling alot of the dead weight the squad had such as Carillo, Boufal, Reed, Matthews, Forster) but fair play to you for sticking with the youth, its bound to pay off and youll be set for the future !

Thank you! Hope you have as much success with Jankewitz as I have. If the game is anything to go by I think it won't be long before we see him emerge to the 1st team in real life.

Like you, I can see Ward-Prowse moving to being a DLP at some point but for the time being he's a more attacking midfielder.

On 18/10/2019 at 14:14, BanOly said:

I couldn't give a rat's ass about Southampton until Hasenhüttl took over. That and reading this post has inspired me to start a save with them!

I'll definitely be using this as reference, fantastically written and very gripping. I want to hear how you get on, and win a trophy! Keep it going!! 

Haha, well I'm glad that this has been inspiring for someone at least! The plan is to make it to 5 seasons. I'm working through my mad February (when I actually get around to playing...) in S4, so hopefully I should get there in the next couple of months. Think I will switch to FM20 after that.

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  • 5 weeks later...

May 2022 - End of 4th Season

I mean, who needs FM2020 anyway?

League

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We are a class apart from the hum-drum in the league, and even managed to conquer our bogey team Wolves with a rather fortunate own goal from our former keeper. Sadly, picking up results against the big boys has been somewhat harder.

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Lowlights: Alas! There will be no Champions League football at St Mary's next season. Despite bettering our points total from last year, the traditional competitors at this end of the table have bounced back with a vengence. Tottenham under Jorge Jesus have been steady, and Liverpool again had a little too much (not enough to save Klopp from the chop however). Man Utd have dominated, despite Man City's (A Spaletti outfit these days) best efforts. Toppling this juggernaut will be quite the task.

Highlights: As mentioned a better points total than last year, and the goals finally started to flow, scoring 4 goals a game for 4 consecutive games in April.

Summary: Poor results earlier in the season may have cost us a place at the summit of European football, but we are improving. If anything, this drives me on to finish my final 5th season on this save.

Champions League

So how did we get on in our one shot at the Champions League. Well first up it was a return to Lyon for new signing Nabil Fekir. Having shown a little promise cutting in from the right flank, I set him up as a Trequartista and watch with intrigue.

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:eek::eek::eek: HOLY SH!TBALLS BATMAN. He was not messing about. 4 goals for Fekir, 7 away goals to take home to St Mary's. Even in my wildest dreams I wouldn't have seen this coming.

(Incidentally I played this the same evening Bayern beat Tottenham by the same result in real life - FM, eh?)

A 1-1 draw in the return leg saw us go on to face Real Madrid. Now this, is what it's all about. Looking at their squad I see an aging team, who have not been well reinforced in the last few years, and sporting a few injuries. Optimistically I set out to attack at home, and well, it works a treat...

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A real coming of age day for Jankewitz, who up until this point hadn't been having the greatest of seasons. The return leg however is somewhat sketchier. After going behind relatively early, JWP steps up with a crucial away goal. We are 3-1 down at half time, and somehow hold out until the 84th minute. After a nail-biting finish, we have made it through to the semi final. Not the ideal way to have squeezed through, but still, it's a semi final!

Fortunately we avoid drawing our old nemesis, Man Utd in the draw. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an easy draw in the Champions League, and we come up against PSG instead. Can this dream run get any better?

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Well... no, sadly :( We are outclassed in the first leg, and are fortunate to only lose by two goals. Without picking up an away goal in the first leg I did not see any easy way through in the second leg. Despite this, my team do me proud. Callum Wilson gets the goal that gives us a 1-0 win, but nothing more was forthcoming. A great night for the Saints... (if only we were this good in real life!).

United do make it through to the final of course, and it will certainly be interesting to see which of these teams comes out on top.

FA Cup

So, the domestic competition. You may recall one of my main aims this save was to bring silverware to the St Mary's cabinet. Well after two early cup victories over Birmingham and Huddersfield, we drew Chelsea in the 5th round. Typically this has been our downfall, but on this occasion, we made it through...

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An incredible effort see's us crack them in extra time. Not long after Guardiola loses his job (so much for my prediction from this time last year! FM does not seem to like the guy...).

The next two rounds see us take on a somewhat resurgent Stoke, who are less than convincingly dispatched in a 2-0 win. Going into the semi final, I was expecting a tight game. Instead, I got the opposite.

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5-0! Five-bloody-nil. In a semi final. Couldn't be more proud of the boys.

(Particularly cathartic as this happened not long after the result that shall not be named featuring these two teams)

Our reward in the final is, yep, you guessed it.

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:rolleyes: Here we go again!

Final post will follow this - when I have played it!

Season Review

Negatives: 

  • 11 goals short of last seasons (admittedly high) total. 
    • This shortfall can mainly be attributed to the drop in hit rate for Callum Wilson (39 goals last season, down to 24 this season) and Danny Ings (24 goals last season, down to 13 this season).
    • Shots on target (CW = 55% down from ; DI = 59% down from ) and shots per game rate (CW = 2.72p/g down from 2.99p/g; DI = 2.30p/g down from 3.46p/g) has dropped considerably for both players.
  • Mean average of 4.16 recovery days between games. I am not sure how this compares to last year's as we were also in the Europa League, I imagine it is broadly similar. Perhaps the increase in standard of opposition cost our team more this time.
  • Points dropped against silly teams (e.g. Brighton, Watford, Everton etc.). If one of those draws was a win, we'd be in the top 4. Ultimately though, we still need to make strides against the top 4, and beat the teams around us.

Positives:

  • Our style of play solidified. We ended up with 51% possession and 3rd in chances created. I'm delivering attacking football! (Most of the time)
  • Despite our goal-scoring woes, we actually boast a 13% conversion rate (1st in League). Perhaps this suggests I need to be creating more chances (although we were 3rd in the league on this measure). 
  • 17 goals from corners (joint top with Man Utd). Set pieces have always been important for us, and with Diakhaby adding to Hoedt's threat we continued to do well in this department.
  • Only 1 penalty conceded all season.

Key Performers

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There have been some incredible one-off results this season, but I must say the general performances of my players, particularly in some of the crunch matches has been a little disappointing. Sadly, I don't think I have the calibre of player to mount a proper title challenge, not with the way the opposition are playing. One of our main issues this season has been goals (as mentioned in the season review). Callum Wilson has not been as productive as previously, and so it might be worth shaking things up in this position next year. The positive performances have come from our two core Saints, JWP and Matt Targett. Targett has been incredibly consistent at LB for us this year, contributing to both our defensive and offensive play. Ward Prowse struggled in mid-season but his overall performances show what a terrific engine room he is for this team. I'm also delighted with how well Nabil Fekir's transfer has worked out. He definitely provided that creative spark I was looking for. The challenge, is finding a role for him in games against big teams, when we can't afford to carry anybody at expense of defensive solidity.

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For some context, you can see how the figures match up against some of the best in the league.

Youth Progress

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Our youth intake this year. Not the best, not the worst. I have taken a more detailed approach to managing the pathways and so the players picked up primarily represent where there are holes for next season in the U18s.

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The highlights of this crop are Prince and Wild (a good cop-bad cop duo if I ever knew one). Prince especially looks very promising, but is sadly not in natural in a position catered for by my team.

Jankewitz.thumb.png.93866ca83465af6709739b67105c101e.pngPanzo.thumb.png.52e8cfc8163a034d4a25337930840ed4.pngValery.thumb.png.98d5caa3d82af999b8bed109d0900bfa.png

I thought I should give an update on three players I haven't spoken about in some time, Jankewitz, Panzo and Valery. Jankewitz did not have the best season, his assists total increased at expense of his goal tally. I feel he is finding the right balance, and could really explode onto the first team next year. Panzo has made great strides forward, but Hoedt is in his way at the moment (which may well change this summer). Physically he is terrific, and his concentration has stepped up massively. Valery is an interesting one. He is playing ok, but defensively is ill-disciplined. I sense a big bid coming in for him this summer, and I have half a mind to cash in at the moment for an improvement. The alternative, is to stick and invest in a more reliable defensive deputy than Kieran Freeman (a good player himself, but very similar to Valery).

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Lastly, I wanted to highlight Busio. My plan was to keep him around the first team without much pitch time until next year, but he got a chance after some injuries and suspensions opened up a gap in the center of midfield. Boy did he take his chance, and has finished the season with five goals in three games in the league. Everything just seemed to click tactically for him. Honestly, I wasn't expecting such a big impact but he has certainly given me food for thought about his status next season.

Summary

A bittersweet season. Missing out on Champions League football was a big blow, but interspersed with this were some incredible highs. Beating Lyon 7-2 away, Real Madrid 3-0 at home and 5-0 vs Leicester in the FA Cup semi final are all huge highlights of my FM playing career.

Nevertheless, there is an opportunity for glory still - just the small matter of Man Utd to take care of. When that is played, I will put up another post, similar to what I did last time.

Regardless of how that turns out, I am determined to see out a 5th (and probably final) season, where-after I will think about what to do with FM2020.

 

Edited by Saintmat
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May 2022 - FA Cup Final

Pre-Match

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So, here we are again. Silverware is one of my key targets, and after a hard fought cup run we find the opportunity to challenge Manchester United once more.

Positives:

  • We have a nearly fully fit squad, with some players in good form from the end of the season.
  • Tactically my approach to these games is a lot more refined, and the gulf in quality is minimized against teams of similar stature.

Negatives:

  • United are good. Very good. Irritatingly good. I mean christ look at their squad...

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Alongside some familiar names, you'll note they have accrued Tah, Semedo, Sessegnon, Dybala, Hazard, Bailey, Felix and Isco. Not only that, but players like Rashford, Martial and Pogba are all at their peak. The salt in the wounds is Bo Konradsen, a Danish newgen who despite the aforementioned luminaries is good enough to cement a CM berth at the tender age of 21.

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Our record is dreadful against them, so if we can get ourselves to extra time I will consider that an enormous success.

So how do I go about this? Well, taking a cue from some early-season Hasenhuttl strategies, I have deployed a 4-2-2-2 cautious shape that aims to frustrate space in the middle of the park and force the play out wide. Hoedt and Diakhaby are excellent in the air and should hoover up crosses like noot noot. The trouble of course is that even with an 8 man block, these opposition are more than good enough to find space anyway. We will need more than our fair share of luck today.

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My one less than typical call is to play Jankewitz in central midfield. He is not typically used here, but I fear without him we won't create the chances we need for Ings and Wilson. If push comes to shove I can resort to a more typical 4-3-3 and force him up front, without having to make a substitution. Unfortunately Fekir is cup-tied having already played for Chelsea in an early round. Without his contribution, my attacking options on the bench are somewhat thin on the ground. Redmond has suffered from irregular game time and injuries this season, Busio and Slattery can offer something, but are young and still developing. Armstrong is ok, but not an improvement in anyway on the starting midfielders.

Set pieces are checked, and I set my opposition instructions to tightly mark and close down every single player in the attacking half (dw I wouldn't normally do this, but if I don't then I'm going to be punished here). No space, no time. I send the boys out with the knowledge they are underdogs, and we can take it to them. I get a good response.

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Man Utd line up like so:

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The Match

2 mins: An early chance for Isco see's Mario Lemina covering Matt Targett at LB. Looking back he seems to have wandered completely out of position and decided to be a RW briefly. There is nothing in his instructions telling him to mark a weird position or to invert his runs. I tell him to stay wider when we have the ball and decide to keep an eye on things.

4 mins: A long throw from Valery makes it into the box, is headed out and the ball is shifted back to Valery. He puts in a great ball, which sadly no one is on the end of. Dodo covers and puts it out for a corner. JWP takes, but it doesn't beat the first man.

6 mins: ****. We push slightly too high, and Rashford turns and moves the ball to the penalty area. His ball is deflected out to Shaw, then they quickly move it to Pogba, then Konradsen and finally into Dodo who has overloaded our left hand side. He cuts into the box with the whole goal to aim at and smashes it past Jaramilo. 1-0 United. Dreadful start. I continue on as before, but ponder moving Ings to LW which may give Dodo something else to think about.

 

7 mins: Dodo is full of beans today. A long ball up to Ings and our man is bundled over by the Brazilian right back - into the book he goes. JWP steps up and OOOF, a great save from De Gea at the near post. Nothing comes of the rebound.

14 mins: Noticing that Dodo is weak in the air, and on a yellow already, I move Ings to play as a wide target man on his side. Straight after the tactical switch, a throw in from that flank is delivered into the box and a back peddling Ings gets his head to the ball. Nowhere near enough power and De Gea gratefully collects.

16 mins: The switch to LW for Ings nearly pays off! We defend well and quickly get him in behind Dodo. Ings switches the ball again quickly to Wilson, who has a moment of opportunity to get his shot away. He duly does, with power, but it will take more than that to beat De Gea. Another corner for us which gets cleared, moved out to Targett, and a great ball in the box which Wilson get's agonisingly near too. Frankly I don't feel we deserve to be 1-0 down given the chances so far. I have confidence we can get back into this.

20 mins: Another long throw get's Diakhaby under the ball, but it deflects out for another corner.

24 mins: Dybala this time with a free kick, goes narrowly over the bar.

27 mins: A ball shifted from right-to-left by Pogba gets former Saint Luke Shaw on the ball in the penalty area. A drop of the shoulder puts him one-on-one with Jaramilo, but unlike his Brazilian counterpart he powers it straight at the keeper. Pogba is getting far too much time on the ball, and that is a direct result of having Jankewitz in that position. I am slightly regretful I did not put in someone like Adams instead at this point. It is much too early to make a substitution, so for now I ask him to directly mark Pogba and hopefully negate some of that influence.

28 mins: United are growing into the game and now should be 2-0 up. Dodo charges forward and crosses for Rashford, who somehow finds himself free on the penalty spot. Miraculously his shot cannons straight off Jaramilo. I bellow at my players for more energy. If we do not keep up they will be out of sight before half time and I do not want that.

30 mins: Another near miss. Jaramilo fires the ball out to the flanks with haste, but it goes straight to Dodo, then Dybala. The Argentine pings a cracking ball to Hazard, but the shot is well deflected by my keeper. Jaramilo has been a busy boy today. Looking at his instructions, I accidently seem to have left him looking for the full backs with his distribution. Now is not the time for those risks, so I ask him to find Wilson/Ings if he can and knock his risk taking down for good measure.

36 mins: Another great long throw finds Lemina this time. De Gea is off his line but gets a paw to it and it goes behind. We have not had a shortage of chances.

43 mins: The game settles for a little while, before a flurry of pinball football around our box. A buoyant Dodo jinks past Targett, the shot is parried out to Dybala, his shot deflects off Hoedt into Hazard's path who again fires into Jaramilo. Christ. If we can keep it to this scoreline at half time I will be satisfied.

HALF TIME - Jankewitz has not had the freedom I need to make a difference, so he has to come off. The more experienced Armstrong is in his place and he will be setup to harry Pogba and hopefully nick the ball quickly to our forwards. I tell the lads they've been fine, to stick at it and send them back out there.

50 mins: Jaramilo fields a few crosses well. We get the ball out to Ward Prowse with an opportunity to thread one through to Wilson. I know he can do it, but inexplicably passes backwards, straight to Pogba, who gets it to Hazard then Rashford. The shot thankfully goes wide. I go into JWPs instructions and ask him to take some more risks (but hopefully not the wrong kind of risks!).

54 mins: Ings has been terrific out on the left flank, hassling Dodo. Unfortunately his clearance doesn't find Wilson and instead a lofted ball comes in towards Hazard. Valery is so far out of position I want to tear my hair out, but his pace and strength allow him to recover and get the ball behind for a corner. The first corner nearly reaches Tah, the second is well caught by Jaramilo.

60 mins: Dodo is out in space this time, a long ball comes across and they win another corner. This one is dangerous, dropping right to Rashford at the far post. So far, we have been very lucky and once again his shot is buried right into Jaramilo's stomach.

67 mins: An overhit cross reaches Dybala, who buys a corner from Targett. The first one falls to Shaw, but it deflects for another corner. This one takes a little nick from Dybala in the box and Rashford has the goal at his mercy. It takes another deflection, Jaramilo jumps the wrong way but Ings is on the line! It cannons into the crossbar, then to Hoedt who pushes it out further. It only reaches Hazard and the ball comes out to Pogba who tries to curl one. Fortunately it is a few yards wide and we can breathe.

I need to figure out a way back into this game. I decide that I will bring on Gianluca Busio, for Hojberg and shift up formation a little. Busio will sit in the hole and act as a conduit between midfield and attack. To compensate defensively Valery and Targett are asked to hold back and we will focus our play through the middle. Ings will remain out wide and Lemina will now need to cope with managing the AMC position on his own. It's a tall order, but we need to find a goal from somewhere.

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75 mins: I see nothing for a few minutes, then United are on the attack. Targett loses out to Isco, and he finds Dybala in some space in that position I have freed up. The ball fortunately goes wide. I am pleased however as we look well coiled for an effective counter attack, and this is the risk I have to accept.

79 mins: Still nothing more, and now Hazard finds Isco with a good cross from inside the box. His shot is tame and well gathered by Jaramilo. I notice we have not created any chances of note this half. I move from a cautious to a balanced approach and shift the engagement line higher. I ponder my next move and wonder if it might be time for Redmond to come on. I could replace JWP and put him into RW. I hesitate for a couple minutes more.

80 mins: Finally some aggression comes in. Targett and Valery continue to explore up the pitch, and a cross comes in from Ings. Wilson is offside.

I decide my last throw of the dice will be to take off Wilson for Redmond. I need more of a threat out wide but cannot sacrifice any more control in the middle of the park. Ings goes to Advanced Forward and Busio is moved out to play Inside Forward from the right flank. I shift up to attacking, and pray.

83 mins: DRAMA. My tactical instructions don't even have time to take effect. We shift the ball into Callum Wilson, who brilliantly turns Luke Shaw. The cross comes across the box to an on-rushing Ings. Dodo struggles to keep up, and much like in the 10th minute, bundles Ings over. We have a penalty! In my head I am demanding a second yellow for the right back, but Mike Dean does not give me the satisfaction. Ings will step up.

84 min: BURIED!!!!!!!!!!!!! DANNY INGS YOU BLOODY BEAUTY!!!!!!!!!! With 6 minutes of normal time to play the ball is smashed into the bottom right hand corner of De Gea's net.

If we can defend this, we will make it to extra time. I cancel my previous instructions and revise my thoughts. United will certainly be looking for a winner. Weighing up my options, I decide that James Ward-Prowse needs to be one I sacrifice. Thinking a long way ahead to penalties, bringing off a forward seems a bad idea. JWP hasn't had the greatest of days, but with Adams slotting into a DM slot and Armstrong shuffling around for space in front of him and Lemina, I can see a counter attack working. I stick with my team instructions, and hit the play button.

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89 mins: As we move towards added time, I ask Adams to stop tracking Dybala. His opposition is too clever and pulls the American all over the pitch. Discipline is needed here.

90 mins: 3 minutes of added time...

93 min: A cross comes in from the United left, but it is comfortably headed away by Armstrong. Mike Dean's whistle blows and now we are into extra time.

EXTRA TIME

I said before the game that reaching this point would be a huge achievement, and it is. But glory has never felt closer, and I have to find a way past this United side. The scary thing is they take off Rashford and bring on Martial, who has a terrific record against us. They still have another sub to use as well. A monumental effort will be needed.

I decide to stick with the current setup, and drive it home that we need to fight for this one. Opposition instructions are adjusted, and away we go...

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92 mins: A huge chance! Valery with another long throw, and Tah gets his head to the ball. However it drops, right into the path of Busio with about 5 yards of space. His shot is hit with power and precision, but De Gea is still too good. Unlucky.

97 mins: Adams over stretches for a ball, but fortunately does not pick up a niggle. United make their last roll of the dice. Paul Pogba off, Joao Felix on. If only I had these resources...

99 mins: We are moving the ball well when we have it, but Felix is busy when he comes on and tidies up after himself. A corner is cleared and Dybala is one on three of our defenders. Valery isn't taking any chances though, crashes into him and takes a yellow card. Not sure I can blame him.

100 mins: The ball is played short, then wide and Isco gets a shot away from the edge of the area. Straight into Targett though and we clear.

102 mins: I'm an idiot. Man Utd make their fourth substitution and I remember the new rules about extra time. They bring Semedo on for Dodo, who has had an up and down game (in that order). To directly combat that, I bring off Targett and bring on Panzo. As a left back he is not bad, and offers some more solidity. It does leave Valery on a yellow card and waning condition, on the other flank. However he has been ok today, and I fear the threat down our left flank more than the right.

106 mins: Half time, in extra time.

111 mins: Disaster. We push high but are caught out, as Isco finds some space to ping a delicious pass between Valery and Diakhaby. There is too much space between them, and Martial charges through. He doesn't need an second invitation, and buries it into the near post. 2-1 and 9 minutes to play. I switch to attacking, but fear this game may be beyond us now.

112 mins: There is good desire in this team. We move the ball out to Valery and cross comes in for Ings, but his header is straight at De Gea from a tight angle.

115 mins: CLOSE! Valery throws it in from the right, Panzo meets the flick on. Wilson is an inch away from tapping it in but someone gets a block in and we have to settle for a corner. Diakhaby gets on the end of the corner at the near post, and De Gea catches comfortably.

120 mins: We enter two minutes of added time, with another long throw into the box. De Gea claims authoratively, and it pings around on the counter for a United corner. The ball is whipped in and Konradsen crunches one straight at Jaramilo. As it canons around we get it clear. But there are just 30 seconds left...

FULL TIME

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Heartbreak again. :( We were agonizingly close to penalties, and I am proud of how far we came. Sadly, United are completely overpowering with their talent and there is only so much you can do to contain it. My hope is that Pellegrini opts to retire and this team is broken up, but I cannot see it.

On the bright side, there is more than enough motivation now for me to take on a 5th season.

Up the Saints!

Edited by Saintmat
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Pre-Season 2022/23

It's been a busy old summer...

Squad Changes

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It's been a summer of revolution at St Mary's. In my attempts to win a trophy, I have made a few big calls and the personnel has shifted considerably from the team that finished last season.

First - the outs. A few big names have departed, Wesley Hoedt possibly the biggest. He has been superb for me in the game (if only he was as good in real life), but we have Jonathon Panzo pushing him on and as he wasn't getting any older I decided to cash in. I do slightly wish I got a bit more than £30 million, but the AI weren't budging any higher than that. The other big name to go is Yan Valery. Frankly, he is a very good player but also a frustrating one at that. He'd been tapped up a few times already, and in the end I decided a £33 million fee was worth it, especially when I sourced the upgrade... Josh Sims had been kicking up a fuss about a lack of game time, and with the way the squad has developed I didn't see that changing for him. I'm pleased with the money Wolves paid. Patrick Roberts was brought in on a free a couple of seasons ago, made a handful of appearances, and has been sold on for £12 million to Villa. Jan Bednarek was not one I was planning on losing, but when a good offer came in I decided that this was a good time to cash in on a player not likely to improve further.

I am very, very excited about some of the replacements...

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Erling Haland, baby!!! The guy hadn't yet left Salzburg, but is clearly one heck of a player. I paid quite a lot, but I think this ought to kickstart our forward line's goal scoring output. Ross McCrorie is the replacement for Jan Bednarek. Strong, good in the air and good on the ball, I think he will be ample cover for Diakhaby. Passlack is the other major signing, replacing Valery of course. While he might not be as quick as Valery, he looks better in almost every department is only a year older. I'm delighted to have him in. The last first team signing has been Ruffier, cover at GK and a good mentor for Jaramilo.

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The remaining four are all newgens. I raided Malmo some more, and I am particularly excited about Getge. We outcompeted with the rest of the Premier League for Kenneally. Zouaoui is a newgen from the one of the US academy clubs, and must hold a record for most vowels in one name??? Seems a good little player too, and worth a punt.

Pre-Season

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Pretty straightforward pre-season, if not a somewhat compressed one. Of course this being 2022, we are preparing for a winter world cup and a very early start to the season. Speaking of which...

Season Expectations

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HOLY MOLY :eek: That start! The fixture gods have decreed we must face three of last season's top four (and Chelsea) in our opening four games. Part of me is actually pleased, it may give us a chance to capitalise if any of them are slow starters. Nevertheless it is a daunting task, and we have very little recovery time between games with the mid-season break (November through December) looming.

Our ambition this season is of course to win a title. The Europa League ought to be entirely achievable, so I am targeting that. With any luck, we will have a good run in one of the cups. And lastly, I'd really like to send us back into that top 4.

To do so, we will need to mount an enormous points tally.

Fingers crossed! 

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  • 2 weeks later...

October 2022

Fixture Review

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Highlights: Nothing hugely of note, but we do win games we should win. The goal spread across the team seems to have returned. The Europa League campaign is going well.

Lowlights: We don't win games against anyone with a backbone... still... (can you sense the frustration?) We coped ok with the absurdly harsh opening four games, but I wanted to get one win at least from those games, which we didn't achieve. Generally performances haven't been great, which perhaps owes something to a few changes in personnel this year and the chaos meaning we've spent about 2 weeks of the last 3 months actually training (as opposed to match prep and recovery). My main gripe is that we are conceding too many goals (21, 8th in the league). There are some things to be fixed.

Overall:  We go into the World Cup break in 4th place, so really I shouldn't complain too much. But this is my final season, and I want to leave the team in a good spot, and with some silverware.

Tactics

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I have reset my tactical load-out. Partly because I have tinkered so much the in-game listings have a very confusing order of players, and partly so I can return the team back to a few fundamentals. I have decided that while the 4-2-2-2 (midfield box) formation was working ok defensively, we did not create enough chances of note. So I am using the direct counter attack style offered by the game with a 4-5-1 in those games.

Key Performers

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JWP, the usual cornerstone, has only managed a 6.9 average this season so far. I need much more from him in the rest of the season. Panzo has replaced Wesley Hoedt comfortably as I thought he would have. Passlack has been a relative success, although picked up an injury which hampered his consistency. Jankewitz has found his shooting boots again this year. Injuries to him, and Danny Ings, have left me looking around for options up front in this crazy period, so Southwood has broken into the team on a few occasions.

Youth Progress and Squad Development

For once there is not a great deal I want to show off. Many of the young players in the squad have been performing well, without any drastic attribute rises. Perhaps the lack of time on the training pitch has something to do with it. I've been pleased with the progress of the new recruits this year and suspect they will be useful to the club for the long term. Sadly, I don't think I will get to make the most of them!

Upcoming Fixtures

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With the World Cup to come this is our fixture list until the end of January. Fortunately we don't have a repeat of our hellish opening fixtures, and they have spaced out slightly more. That said, Spurs, Chelsea and Man Utd all feature and I'll be hoping to pick up some more points this time.

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  • 3 weeks later...

January 2023

Fixture Review

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Highlights:  WE BEAT MAN UTD! FINALLY! It's been a great month really, but the cherry on the top of the cake was this win, with Haaland really turning on the style. A hard fought draw with Chelsea was pleasing too, and a nice 8-0 in the Europa League to get us back up to speed after an inconsistent mid-season run of friendlies.

Lowlights:  We are however, out of the League Cup to Watford. Revenge was gained not long after fortunately.

Overall:  Triffic stuff (as 'Arry would say).

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We sit in 4th, but it's tight at the top.

World Cup News

Brazil won, England came third.

Transfers

Nothing major to report. I have sent Gianluca Busio out on loan. Unfortunately his explosion onto the first team at the end of the previous season was something of a false dawn, he has struggled for form since then.

Key Performers

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Our good form in January has mainly been the result of Erling Haaland starting to deliver what I hoped he would. He has scored 10 goals in the last month, and relegated the previously untouchable Wilson and Ings to the bench. I have also found space to give Matt West, our newgen LW, time in the first team. He offers a directness and seems to play with the confidence of youth. I must also give a shout out to Panzo and Adams, who have stepped up recently too.

One negative of note has been the form of Nabil Fekir. Admittedly there is not really a consistent position for him in the team, but I have expected much more of our record signing.

Upcoming Fixtures

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So, the packed season continues. The Europa League seems to have become one-legged, which is news to me but well received. The objective is simple - win something, finish in the top 4.

Then, that will be that (and I might be able to move onto FM2020...)

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21st May 2023 - Battle for the Premier League

So here we go, it's come down to this. A final day showdown, we face Leicester. Our arch-nemesis Man Utd are facing Everton. It's in our hands, but only a win will do today.

This is the team I've selected to take me to victory. Stuart Armstrong has been itching for a move away, and it looks like this will be the last time he turns out in a Southampton shirt at St Mary's. Two other decisions of note; Freeman starts ahead of Passlack, to save legs for some other big games we have coming up(!), and Ings gets the nod over Wilson. I have found Ings to be a better foil for Haland than Wilson is.

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1:00 - Everton will do us no favours today. They immediately fall behind to Man Utd. As expected it's up to us!

2:00 - An early skirmish finds Ward Prowse first, then Jankewitz. Both shots are blocked. A positive start though.

7:00 - Eric Lamela pulls up on the ball and is injured, but Leicester decide to keep him on. Perhaps we can make something of this.

13:00 - James Maddison mishits a pass which is easily cleared by Matt Targett. The ball drops to Ward-Prowse, who spots Haland's run - the ball is played with pin point precision to his path and BANG! 1-0. It's in our hands.

14:00 - Leicester won't lie down though. A good ball from the right is headed by Ndidi from just outside the area. There is a lot of power on it, but it doesn't trouble Jaramillo.

19:00 - Jankewitz is found out on the right, and dribbles past two or three players before being caught out by Chillwell. Great intent.

20:00 - Oh no. The injured Lamela plays a wonderfully timed through ball to Fernandez (their FW), who rounds Jaramillo and makes it 1-1. Thought it might be offside, but alas. Much work to be done.

24:00 - A beautiful long ball reaches Haland again. This time he takes a heavy touch though and Schmeichel parries it away, against Haland.

26:00 - Haland is busy today. Freeman has space on the right to put in a great cross, but the resulting header goes just over the bar.

28:00 - A throw in on the Leicester right finds Ndidi. He pummels a shot from distance, which is well parried away by Jaramillo.

29:00 - Jankewitz goes down injured. I think it is time for Nabil Fekir to have an impact on the game, so he is replaced.

38:00 - Things aren't going great. United are 2-0 up, and Leicester are growing into the game. Shaqiri picks up the ball on the counter attack, and puts in an effort from a tight angle. Thankfully nothing comes from it. This team needs a rollicking at half time.

44:00 - To get us into the break at 1-1, I switch up the pressing a notch and ask Danny Ings to track back a little more. It pays off better than I could expect. Ings gets the ball and allows us to come back up the field. Freeman overhits a cross, and it comes out to Ings on the left wing. Cutting inside he whips a ball onto the penalty spot. Stuart Armstrong is on-rushing and has time to take a touch, then curl it into the right corner of the net! 2-1 :) And a perfect goal scorer too!

HALF TIME: I tell the players to buck their ideas up. We might be winning, but Leicester are dangerous and we will need to be at our best to see this out. I've also decided that Freeman can't cut it here. He was at fault for the Leicester goal, and hasn't looked particular competent with Shaqiri running at him. Perhaps with Fekir on the field he isn't getting quite as much cover as he did before. I'll see what I can do to resolve that...

52:00 - A long ball from Targett finds Fekir in behind, but he can only get a head on it from a tight angle, which rolls harmlessly across goal. United go three up.

64:00 - We have a counter attack on the right hand side. Passlack crosses to Targett, who in turn puts another devilish ball into the box. Armstrong is involved again, and forces a header at Schmeichel - who can't hold it! The ball drops right into Haland, who can't miss! 3-1 BABY!!!

67:00 - We're flowing now. The ball is rolled back to Adams, who plays a great ball to Targett on the left. He steps in and hits a cross-shot. The ball crashes off the inside of the bar back into the box - but straight to Haland! It's hammered home. Haland has a hat trick. 4-1. :cool:

68:00 - Leicester rally, bringing on Calhanoglu and Harvey Barnes. Calhanoglu plays a great ball into Fernandez, but this time the striker hits it straight at Jaramillo. We got away with it a little there. I pop into the tactics window and make my final adjustments. Armstrong is brought off to a standing ovation. A dream performance from a great servant to the club, what a way to go out. Our young winger Matt West is coming on so we shuffle the pack. Fekir drops into midfield and I flip the asymmetry of the team so Ings is on the right hand side and West can play off the left. I instruct the players to dial down the urge to counter attack, and try to see the game out by winning set pieces and controlling the ball. I think that should be manageable here. 

74:00 - Maddison hits a free kick from range, but it flies over the bar.

80:00 - "We know you don't believe us, we know you don't believe us, we know you don't believe ussssssss........ BUT WE'RE GONNA WIN THE LEAGUE!!"

81:00 - Targett wins the ball on the edge of our area and feeds it down the line to Haland. The Norwegian turns, and plays the ball in-field to Ward-Prowse. It moves up to Ings, then quickly back to Haland who is out on the left now. He doesn't have great options in front of him, so swings the ball out to Passlack on the right. A first time ball comes in, and Ings crashes in at the near post. 5-1...............

82:00 - We're crushing Leicester now, it's basically animal cruelty at this point. They are deep in their own area, and a headed clearance only makes it as far as Fekir. The ball is slotted in to Matt West, who on his weaker right foot slides the ball past Schmeichel for the 6th (sixth!). The veteran keeper has had an absolute shocker today and has posted a 5.4 average rating. To be fair to us, we've given him a lot of business to deal with.

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FULL TIME: Wow. Well that couldn't have been any more perfect. A hat-trick from Haland, who is head and shoulders the top goal scorer in the league this season. A goal for Armstrong on his swansong. Danny Ings the home-grown lad getting one, then Matt West, very much the future, getting the final nails in the coffin.

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VICTORY!.thumb.png.f681dc7190e50dee2e85a9fab7cf5502.png

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May 2023 - End of 5th Season

 

League

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So here we are, top of the Premier League mountain. Going into this final season I never really had any aspiration to win the title, but the second half of our season was really kickstarted by that win over Man Utd at the end of January. From there we dropped 7 points in the league, which combined with some erratic form in our competitors allowed us to take top spot going into May. We had a slightly hectic win against Wolves, then a tight one vs Sheffield United. And as detailed in my last post, the Leicester game looked like it would prove tricky for a short while, but in the end my team came good :) 

Europa League

The European front of our campaign has seen us through to the final, where we will play Marseille.

We comfortably slipped through the one-legged rounds against Betis and Atalanta. Then the competition returned to the two legged format, where we faced Dortmund in the quarter finals. We lost the away leg, but took 3 away goals with us back to St Marys where we sealed our place in the semi final against Levante. The Valencian outfit had made a surprising run to the semis, knocking out Benfica in the round of 16. It was a tough game in the away leg, where we scraped a 1-1 draw. That game was played in the middle of a 4 game week, so I had been rotating quite a lot by that point and was pleased to escape without any great damage. Back at St Mary's, we trounced them 5-0.

The final will be played in Seville.

FA Cup

Once again, we have made it to the FA cup final. I'm sure you can guess who we will be facing...

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I will cover each of these games in separate posts :) 

Key Performers

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There are a great number of players that have contributed to our title push, but none more so than Erling Haland. 29 goals in the league, 43 in all competitions. I'm just sad that I won't be able to use him in my next save!

Shoutouts to a few more. Matt Targett has once again been the picture of consistency for me. His attributes don't stand out as amazing, but he flourishes in my system. Passlack on the right flank has also been great, giving us 18 assists and generally looking like a more competent defender than Valery was. Tyler Adams seemed destined to be the utility man in this save, but in the second half of the season has put in some tremendous performances as a DM/DLP. It has consistently been a problem position for me, so I am delighted with his contribution. Nabil Fekir has offered the star quality we would occasionally lack, and gets an all round hall of 12 goals and 14 assists. Lastly, I do love a newgen - and Matt West has been my guy this year. A left footed left winger, he offered something else when usual tricks weren't working. His partnership with our forwards really kick started the drive after January.

5 Season Review

When I set out on this save I wanted to immerse myself in a game, in a way I hadn't for a long while. The experience has been really rewarding. I have learned a great deal about the mechanics of FM, and it has given me a platform to think about football clubs and the machinations of how they are run. I can't honestly say it is the greatest save I have had, but I enjoyed the challenge involved this time. Regarding my original targets, I somewhat strayed from my ambition to find American, Canadian and Chinese talent! Something to learn for next time. Otherwise, I met the rest (and more!) so I am left with the satisfaction of making a plan and sticking to it.

Thank you to SI for a great version of FM! I haven't played this much of a version since my Uni days with FM13. Great value for money as always, and I'll be moving on to FM20 soon.

Thank you to everyone who has read my posts so far :) I mainly have been doing this for my own personal satisfaction, but it is great to know people are reading too.

The plan now is to play our cup finals, then I might holiday through 5 seasons and see where the game takes my players. I am undecided whether I will post about it, but may do if anyone requests it!

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