FM19 - Derby County: how are you doing?

[Stuniverse]

Hi, I thought I’d start a topic to share experiences of managing Derby County on FM19.

My first attempt didn’t go too well and I was sacked in early December 2018 with the Rams in 16th place. In my defence, I did have a lot of injuries to contend with. 

I’m now in February 2019 on my second attempt and things are going much better...

[Carlf788]

I have just took up the reigns at Derby actually! I didn't want to start in the premier league I want to build a club up to it. I wanted to be a decent size club who in a few years can compete with the top 7 in the premier league and compete for cups.  I failed with Leeds so Derby seems the next best option 

Edited November 18, 2018 by Carlf788

[Stuniverse]

4 minutes ago, Carlf788 said:

I have just took up the reigns at Derby actually! I didn't want to start in the premier league I want to build a club up to it. I wanted to be a decent size club who in a few years can compete with the top 7 in the premier league and compete for cups.  I failed with Leeds so Derby seems the next best option 

Good luck. Be interesting to hear how you get on...

[Carlf788]

Thanks. You too. Just evaluating the squad now and will post an update tonight. The championship is such a hard unpredictable league! I find there are no easy games at all in it and any club is capable of scoring 4 against anyone on any given day. 

 

Im hoping to at least make the playoffs first season and then once I have my own team next season be promoted by the end of the second season. Will see how that goes..

[Paggioram]

I have had the weirdest and odd experience and just started season 3.

Season 1: Finished 14th and just kept my job at the end of the season there was a takeover.

Season 2: Finished 3rd and won playoffs so promoted (Had to play some real ugly football to do it though not my style but oh well)

Season 3: I am in September sitting 15th. But beat Liverpool at Anfield 4-2 and Everton at Pride Park 5-1 But we are so inconsistent.

Team is just getting younger and younger and this season I have a regen who is 17 left winger and on his debut just the hat trick at Anfield.

I keep extending Mount and Wilson by far best decision I made. Also got 2 guys on loan from Bayern also helping.

[Stuniverse]

43 minutes ago, Paggioram said:

I have had the weirdest and odd experience and just started season 3.

Season 1: Finished 14th and just kept my job at the end of the season there was a takeover.

Season 2: Finished 3rd and won playoffs so promoted (Had to play some real ugly football to do it though not my style but oh well)

Season 3: I am in September sitting 15th. But beat Liverpool at Anfield 4-2 and Everton at Pride Park 5-1 But we are so inconsistent.

Team is just getting younger and younger and this season I have a regen who is 17 left winger and on his debut just the hat trick at Anfield.

I keep extending Mount and Wilson by far best decision I made. Also got 2 guys on loan from Bayern also helping.

Thanks. Sounds like you’re having an interesting save, but made it to the Premier League. Way to go!

[Stuniverse]

In my second attempt as Rams manager, Derby County secured promotion to the Premier League with eight matches remaining, and secured the Championship title with seven matches to go.

Edited November 26, 2018 by Stuniverse

[Paggioram]

3 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

In my second attempt as Rams manager, Derby County secured promotion to the Premier League with eight matches remaining, and secured the Championship title with seven matches to go.

Great going mate. Mine has gone the wrong way quickly in season 3 as not won since Nov in Prem so any tips you spot please feel free to share.

[Stuniverse]

My main tactic was 4-1-4-1 DM Gegenpress. When I needed a goal I’d sacrifice the DM for a second striker or, sometimes, an AMC.

Summer Transfer Window

I only made one signing, Jordan Archer from Millwall for £675K, who was happy to sign as back-up goalkeeper. Chelsea wouldn’t loan out Ethan Ampadu and I couldn’t find a striker I could afford that was an improvement on what I had.

Out went Alex Pearce (Norwich £425K, rising to £575K), George Thorne (Fleetwood free), Ikechi Anya (loan to Dundee), Calum Macdonald (loan to Fylde) and a few U23s out on loan.

Winter Transfer Window

In: Ethan Ampadu on loan from Chelsea, Eddie Nketiah loan from Arsenal (though I upset Rafa Benitez, Arsenal Manager, by not playing him), Yoann Barbet from Brentford for £700K (as Curtis Davies damaged his Achilles tendon - spooky !? - on 7/1/19), and Dan Gosling on loan from Bournemouth (as Craig Bryson fractured his lower leg on 13/12/18).

Outs: Joe Ledley to Bristol City for £375K and Kelle Roos to Chicago Fire on a free. 

Overall

For the season I spent £1.4M and brought in £950K. I reduced the wage budget down to £476,685 per week.

Next Season

With promotion confirmed, I’ve already extended the loans of Mason Mount and Harry Wilson for another season.

Edited November 30, 2018 by Stuniverse

[Olivia481]

Best formation for derby please?

[Stuniverse]

22 hours ago, Olivia481 said:

Best formation for derby please?

Frank Lampard goes 4-1-2-3 Wide [in FM19 I think that’s the 4-1-4-1 DM]  in real life and I find that works pretty well. I usually go with the Gegenpress. Good luck 🍀

Edited January 7, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Olivia481]

I’ve been promoted to the Premier League. Would you suggest that formation or a different one please?

[Stuniverse]

Congratulations. I’ve always found that formation / system works well for me but I guess it depends who you’ve signed and how you want to approach your first Premier League season.

[WoodyFM]

I am just starting with DC. My assistant manager is recommending we play a 541 WB Wide. I’ve never used this formation as my main before. Anyone familiar with this? Also, I’m looking to bring in some quality players to fill the void at WB R and L and also a young, exciting and affordable ST. Does anyone have any recommendations? 

[Stuniverse]

On 01/02/2019 at 20:55, WoodyFM said:

I am just starting with DC. My assistant manager is recommending we play a 541 WB Wide. I’ve never used this formation as my main before. Anyone familiar with this? Also, I’m looking to bring in some quality players to fill the void at WB R and L and also a young, exciting and affordable ST. Does anyone have any recommendations? 

Hi @WoodyFM, I hope you enjoy your Derby County save.

I’ve not tried 5-4-1, I must admit. I have considered it but haven’t gone with it as I don’t think the Rams have the CBs for it while Curtis Davies is out injured. By the time Davies is rehabilitated, Derby are usually doing well with a four at the back system so I haven’t changed.

In my Derby saves I’ve mainly stuck with the existing squad to see how they do. If you show faith in Jayden Bogle (D/WB R) and Fikayo Tomori (DC D/WB R) they will develop nicely.

In terms of signings, you can usually get:

* Jordan Archer GK from Millwall

* Przemyslaw Tyton GK free agent

* Logan Bailly GK free agent

* Jan Mucha GK free agent

* Johnny Placide GK free agent

* Carl Jenkinson RB on loan from Arsenal

* Jonjoe Kenny D/WB R on loan from Everton

* Conor McLaughlin D/WB R / DM from Millwall

* Jeffrey Schlupp D/WB/M/AM L on loan from Crystal Palace

* Diego Polenta DC free agent

* James Collins DC free agent

* Silvan Hefti DC / DR on loan from St Gallen

* Yoann Barbet DC / DL from Brentford

* Patrick Bauer DC from Charlton

* Ethan Ampadu DC / DM on loan from Chelsea (January)

* Josh McEachran DM / M C from Brentford

* Dan Gosling MC on loan from Bournemouth

* Kadeem Harris AM/M RL from Cardiff

* Eddie Nketiah SC on loan from Arsenal

* Sam Winnall SC from Sheffield Wednesday although he’s injured at the start of the season

Let us know how you get on.

Good luck 🍀 !

Edited February 10, 2019 by Stuniverse

[Fuk_ur_mum_m8]

Just started a save with Derby. I'm 7 games in and currently second in the league, with only two points dropped and a win streak of 6. The teams playing bloody great at the moment, we're the highest scoring team with 20 goals, and Marriott has already got seven for himself. with WIlson chipping in four. We usually have around 20 shots at goal per game, seem to be not the greatest at finishing - but we're winning, so thats all that matters. Worried that we'll soon run out of form though as the rate we're scoring and creating chances doesnt seem sustainable. 

In terms of transfers, I didn't do much as I am quite happy with the squad and am willing to use the youth teams if we need to. Only player I bought in wasL Lucas Piazon from Chelsea for 400k. Havent sold any players - but Joe Ledley is out on loan as well as some youngsters.

One of the main areas I've been focussing on improving is the staff - the Derby County coaches, scouts and youth coaches/managers seem to have pretty poor stats for a team with such excellent facilities - so there has been a few comings and goings. I'm going to look at increasing my scouting pool and bringing in as many youngsters with high potential as possible so I dont have to rely on signings/loans in the Prem (if I ever get there).

[Stuniverse]

Good start. Good luck 🍀

Edited February 10, 2019 by Stuniverse

[JaytheGreat]

2 months into the a save with Derby and the word to describe this team is inconsistent It doesn't look like it from our record but we really struggle at scoring goals and holding leads.

W 2-1 A Reading 

L 0-1 H Leeds

W 0-0p A Lincoln Cabarao Cup  

W 3-1 A Millwall

D 2-2 H Ipswich 

W 1-0 H Preston

W 2-2p A Nott Forest Cabarao Cup

W 2-1 A Hull 

L 0-3 A Rotherham

W 2-0 H Blackburn

D 3-3 Brentford

Jack Marriot 3 goals in 7 appearances and David Nugent 3 goals in 7 appearances are leading the team. Tom Lawrence leads the team with 4 assists playing on the left wing as an inside forward of up the middle as a mezzala. Out of the whole team only 4 players are averaging over a 7 rating, Tom Lawrence, Bradley Johnson, Florian Jozefzoon, and Harry Wilson. Currently we are 6th in the Championship and have a date with Cardiff in the 3rd round of the Carabao Cup, if we can start finding consistent form I can see uo fighting for promotion and possible making a Cup run.   

 

[Stuniverse]

@JaytheGreat, I tend to go 4-2-2Wide-2 when I need a goal. A front two of Waghorn on the left and Marriott on the right seem to work well for me.

But, generally, I use a 4-1-2-3 which seems to work very well. When everybody is fit I go:

Carson GKD; Bogle RWB auto, Keogh CBD, Tomori BPCBD, Forsyth LWB auto; Huddlestone DLPMD, Bryon BBM, Mount APA; Wilson IFA, Lawrence IFA; Marriott PFA. I’ll rotate Waghorn WA for Lawrence on the left and Bennett WA or Jozefzoon WA for Wilson on the right. I try to give Davies playing time when he’s back from injury and Johnson does ok at DM whilst Huddlestone’s out injured.

I like the Gegenpress tactic.

Good luck 🍀

Edited February 21, 2019 by Stuniverse

[JaytheGreat]

When everyone is healthy I play the 4-1-2-3 Gegenpress, attacking at home and cautious away. As for roles I have almost the same except I have Bogle as a WBS, Keogh CBS, Tomori CBD, Forsyth FBA, Johnson BWM, and Marriott as AF. 

[JaytheGreat]

Got promoted to the Premier League, as we finished 2nd by beating West Ham on the game 6-0, but we are under a take over and it'd rumored the new owner will want to bring in a new manager. The season was up and down, we were holding steady in 9th from late October to the beginning of January but from there we really turned it on including having a unbeaten month of February. 

Key players were Marriot, Lawrence, Mount, Wilson, and Wisdom. Marriot lead the team in goals with 22 in 34. Lawrence lead the team with 11 assists and also had 6 goals. Wilson lead the wingers rating wise with an average 7.16 contributing 9 goals and 5 assists. Mount leads the midfielders with 7.06 rating and had 7 goals and 4 assists. Wisdom played really well offensive and defensively. I'm hoping to re loan Mount and Wilson for next. Also want to recognize Bradley Johnson, and U23 LB Calum Macdonald, Johnson was 2nd in the Championship with 4.40 tackles a game. Macdonald filled in as our starting LB as Scott Malone and Craig Forsyth got injured for 2 months at the same time. 

I'm excited to build this team this offseason and take on the Premier League, hopefully I get the chance.   

[Stuniverse]

Congratulations, @JaytheGreat. That’s fantastic.

[JaytheGreat]

A few games into the Premier League and we are unsurprisingly struggling, I've been thinking if I should switch out the gegenpress for something else. So thoughts on should I ditch it to something else or stick with it?  

[JaytheGreat]

I finished my 1st season in the Premier League in 12th place which is pretty good considering we were considered the worst team in the league by the media. We grabbed Pierre Emile Hojbjerg for $20mil from a relegated Southhampton, CB Chris Mepham from Brentford for $11mil, Predrag Rajkovic for $2.3mil, and CB Svetozar Markovic for $2.3mil. Unfortunately Rajkovic and Markovic couldn't get work permits till very late in the season so they had to spend the year on loan. We also re loaned Harry Wilson, and Mason Mount plus we added striker Willem Geubbels on loan from AS Monaco.

The season brought a lot of good and bad news for us. The good; Jack Marriott and Harry Wilson tore up the Premier League, Marriott had 19 goals and 5 assists while Wilson had 13 goals and 8 assists, we made it to the semi finals in the Carabao Cup, Scott Carson was fantastic, we made it to the 5th round of the FA Cup, and we had a great record against teams outside of the big 6. The bad; we lost every game against the big 6 including games in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, our defense is not good at all mainly at the full back spots, we desperately need quality in the midfield Hojbjerg and Mount are very good but isn't enough against high quality teams.   

This offseason I'm looking to upgrade CB, a BWM DM, Right and Left Backs, and some depth at the wings. I have 2 people I'm looking at to upgrade the CB position and that's Ben Davies or Edson Alvarez.   

[Stuniverse]

A great, detailed update, @JaytheGreat. Congratulations on your success. I hope you can build on a great first season in the Premier League next season.

[JaytheGreat]

Small update, WE'VE WON THE CARABAO CUP!!!! Which means Derby County will be playing in the Europa League next season! 

p

Our run consisted of beating Cardiff 3-0 at Home, Fulham 2-0 at home, Local Rivals Leicester 1-1 (5-4P) Away, West Ham 3-1 at home, and Aston VIlla 6-2 on aggregate, and Man Utd 3-1 at Wembley to win it all. 

Edited April 6, 2019 by JaytheGreat

[Stuniverse]

Congratulations, @JaytheGreat. That's brilliant news.

[JaytheGreat]

A huge 2nd season in the Premier League has we finish 8th in the League, making the Semi Finals in the FA Cup and winning the Carabao Cup. And even more impressive we did so without our best attacking player for most of the season Harry Wilson who went down with a damaged cruciate ligament in the beginning of November. In the offseason we brought 5 new players, 2 of which are starters; Antoinee Robinson LB from Everton for 3.7 mil, 26 year old Wilmar Barriors BWM DM for 11 mil from Boca Jrs, Josh Brownhill from Bristol City for 4.2 mil to be our back up box to box midfielder, Wesley Hoedt Ball Playing CB from Southampton for 11.75 mil (we brought him to be a starter next Mepham but lost his starting spot about 3 months in), Italian regen striker Alessandro Pesce for 12 mil from EA Guingamp, and on the winter market we bought Siberian AMR regen Zoran Vujosevic Partizan for 5 mil (didn't play for us because I couldn't get a work permit). But the biggest additions were last year's signings GK Predrag Rajkovic , and CB Svetozar Markovic. Rajkovic did a fantastic job coming as our number 1 GK, and Markovic was our best CB all year. 

Not surprisingly Jack Marriot didn't continue his incredible Premier League goal scoring pace scoring 12 goals in 30 starts but he turned it up when he needed to.  With Wilson out we needed another player to step and a one did in the form of Tom Lawrence. Lawrence had 12 goals and 6 assists over all competitions, including going 7 goals and 5 assists in the Premier League. Taking over the full time spot for Wilson was Duane Holmes who may have been pretty bad in front of the goal but made up for it with a team leading 9 assists. The midfield triangle of Hojbjerg, Mount, and Barrios were solid but not fantastic, while Brownhill (who started off his Derby career red hot), and Huddlestone provided some decent cover. The defense started out slow but soon meshed together to be a pretty solid unit. Max Lowe and Antoinee Robinson split the LB duties, Robinson being better defensively while Lowe has better attacking. In the middle Mepham, Markovic, and Hoedt played very well with Markovic leading the entire squad in avg rating. On the right Bogle separated himself from Andre Wisdom. And Rajkovic was fantastic all year around.

2 seasons into the Premier League and it's safe to say we are a top 10 team, although we are still quite a ways a away from the big 6 and Everton. Last season when I played a big time team I went defensive and still got smashed, this year I kept true to my gegenpress counter system and stopped listening to my assistant manager about tactical changes and we started to beat the big teams. Also I just want to rant for a second about how frustrating it is at how much top talent the big teams have. The last time I played Totthenham  they started Xadas at CAM, and Eriksen and Frenkie De Jong at CM and proceeded to bring Dele Alli off the bench, meanwhile I'm throwing out over 30 past their primes Tom Huddlestone and Bradley Johnson. 

Plans for the offseason, I have a transfer budget of 80 mil and a wage budget of around 18 mil. I desperately need attackers anywhere in the attacking 3rd Lawrence is 27, Holmes isn't Premier League quality and Marriott scores in streaks, another starting CM would be nice, and LB is still a need. But you've got money and the promise Continental League football so let's see what I can come up with.  

[Stuniverse]

Another fantastic season, @JaytheGreat. Hope the offseason goes well and good luck next season 🍀

What wage and transfer budget did you get your first season in the PL?

Edited April 9, 2019 by Stuniverse

[JaytheGreat]

15 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Another fantastic season, @JaytheGreat. Hope the offseason goes well and good luck next season 🍀

What wage and transfer budget did you get your first season in the PL?

I'm not sure if I can go back and look and see for sure but best guess would be around 40 mil for the wage budget and around 30 mil for the transfer budget. 

Edited April 9, 2019 by JaytheGreat

[JaytheGreat]

So normally I wait until the end of the season to do the transfer write up but I'm doing it now instead. So Watford has made an enemy for life as they swooped in and signed Hojbjerg ( no big deal he was just my best CM) by activating his 22 mil release clause, so that got me fuming. Watford is kinda like my team fighting to solidify themselves as a top 10 team in the Premier League and also are in the Europa League because they won the FA Cup.

But that meant I had a cool 100 mil to shape the team, and shape it I did.

1st signing Ruben Loftus Cheek CAM - Free

Basically I saw the 25 year old available  and I decided to pounce. I have yet to run a 4-2-3-1 with Derby but I'm installing it and possibly use it against lower competition. He's got pretty solid all around stats and can fill in at striker if needed.

2nd signing Andreas Poulsen LB from Borussia M'Gladbach - 12.5 mil

The 21 year old LB is an instant upgrade who brings a lot of pace and crossing. He's not as good defensively as Lowe or Robinson but he's only 21 so there's definitely a chance to improve. He also has a 19 in long throws which hopefully means I don't have to watch another highlight of Bogle throwing the ball straight to the other team. 12 mil well spent IMO, although I'm not sure what to do with Robinson and Lowe now.

3rd signing Xavier Schlager CM from RB Salzburg - 22 mil  

The CM I brought in to replace Hojbjerg for the box to box role. The 23 year old Austrian is all around very good, he's better offensively then he is defensively. He's got some terrific attributes; 17 passing, 14 dribbling, 14 long shots, 17 work rate, 16 teamwork, and 16 strength. I'm very excited to bring in Schlager, he's probably the best box to box midfielder I could bring in at Derby's current level, we'll slide in perfect with the midfield triangle along side Mount and Barrios. Another plus is that his release clause only applies for Champions League teams and it's at 72 mil, so he's going to be staying here for a very long time. 

4th signing Matheus Cunha Striker from RB Leipzig - 25 mil

I needed to improve the attack and this was the first step. The Brazilian 22 year old has great technical stats combined with a high level of flair. He also has top stats of acceleration and agility but the pace is nothing to write home about. He's 2 footed and is also very well suited to play as an inside forward on the right wing.  He'll be splitting time with Marriott up top, and he's already better then Marriot in the air, and creating, and also shows up in big games. I didn't need a striker but when I found Cunha I had to try and snap him up, the sky is the limit with Cunha. 

5th signing Zakaria Bakkali AMR from Anderlecht - 13 mil 

Bakkali is a complete Inside Forward, great dribbling, first touch, technique, flair, along with top level physicals. Sevilla had some interest but backed off after they signed another winger. He's probably above my current standard but I'm not complaining, we really is a total package and enjoys playing in big games. He could easily turn out to be the best signing of the bunch. I'm going to try ease him in squad as he still have Tom Lawrence coming off a career year. 

All in all I'm extremely happy with how the summer transfer market went. I think we are very well suited to play in the Europa League and not only make some cup runs but even stealing a top spot from the big 7. I'm really excited for the season to start.  

[JaytheGreat]

Another season done and dusted, and it sees Derby moving up the table once again. We ended up placing 5th so another year in the Europa League, and we did it by out placing Tottenham and Man City by a point. Our success started in the summer as additions Ruben Lotus Cheek, Andreas Poulsen, Xavier Schlager, Matheus Cunha, and Zakaria Bakkali all played key roles in our League and Continental campaigns. Last year we had 2 guys with over 10 goals (Marroitt and Lawrence) this year we have 6 (Marriott, Cunha, Bakkali, Wilson, Cheek, Vujosevic). We also had 5 players with more then 6 assists (Mount, Wilson, Bakkali, Poulsen, Vujosevic). As I mentioned the attack was vastly improved this season with Marriott scoring 34 (19) goals in 38 games, Cunha 19 (6) in 22 games, and Cheek 12 (10) goals. The wingers Tom Lawrence, Zakaria Bakkali, Harry Wilson, and Zoran Vujosevic all played outstanding, it was a slow start to the season for Bakkali who didn't score his 1st goal until October 16th but really turned it on after. Lawrence had atleast 2 or 3 goals coming of the bench late in the game to tie or win the game. Mount was incredible this season leading the team with 16 assists and also adding 4 goals. New comers Schlager and DM Douglas Luiz settled in and good 1st years in the team, and Barrios continues to be excellent at his Ball Winning Midfielder spot at the back of the midfield triangle. Defensively the CBs seemed to play worse then last year but still played with quality, from an offensive stand point Poulsen and Bogle did a great job offensively but were a little spotty a defense. Max Lowe played well when we wanted to go more defensive and Andre Wisdom was not good with either facets of the game. Rajkovic was solid like always in net and was even offered by Chelsea (but their offer was crap so it got turned down.

In the Europe League we made it to the Quarter Finals losing 2-1 on aggregate to Chelsea. We went undefeated in our group that consisted of Wolfsburg, Young Boys, and AA Gent. Then knocked out Galatasaray, and Lazio fairly easy. I would call our 1st test in European Competition a overwhelming success. We got knocked out in the FA Cup Semi Final by Man Utd, and knocked out in the 4th round of the Carabao Cup in the 4th Round by Arsenal. As mentioned above we made it to 5th in the Premier League, the team I declared last year that would turn the major 6 into the major 7 got relegated (Everton) and one of the 2 managers in the Premier League that I had never beaten before (Zidine Zadane) got fired after a comeback loss to us at home. 

We have a really good summer ahead of us, we have about 95 mil to spend I am great at spending transfer budgets. Most glaring needs are RB, and possibly a playmaking CM, along with more depth at CM, and CAM. And I'll probably find something shiny on the market that will improve the team (possibly Richarlison, Arp, Declan Rice, or maybe a certain Brazilan winger from Real Madrid). My youth intakes have been super weak and I have to fight tooth and nail to get anything improved at the club, but a CM from my 1st intake will be making the 1st team next year. Lets see how high I can get this team to soar.   

[Stuniverse]

Another fantastic season, @JaytheGreat. Enjoy spending that transfer money and good luck 🍀 for the next season!

[JaytheGreat]

Well if you thought last summer's transfer window was impressive this one might just take the cake. 

1. (Regen) Casper Bengtsson 21 year old Striker from Brondby IF -  6 mil

With Marriott and Cunha I really didn't need another striker but yet here we are. This Danish striker is incredible 17 dribbling, 17 finishing, 16 heading, 16 Technique, 17 Strength, and 15 agility and acceleration. He's a crazy good Complete Forward who convinced me to sign him over Fiete Arp. Cunha can slide into rotation on the Left Wing or move back to striker if Marriott or Bengtsson go cold. Considering what Marriott has done in his 3 seasons in the Premier League I can't wait to see what Bengtsson is going to unleash on this league.   

2. Renato Sanches 24 year old CM from Bayern - 36 mil

Another player I didn't really need but I could afford him and haven't been able to pry him off Bayern since FM 16. He's going to start at the box to box role as I move Schlager over to the Deep Lying Playmaker spot. While his attacking attributes aren't the best in the world his physicals are very close to be. 19 balance, 16 agility, 16 strength, 17 natural fitness, 15 strength and acceleration. He's going to be part of our midfield for years and I can't to see how he preforms.

3. Pablo Maffeo 24 year old RB Bayern - 32 mil

My biggest need was RB and he got one of the better in the world and he was available very cheaply for his quality. He's incredible quick; 16 acceleration, 18 agility, 15 pace. While he's not the greatest attacking forward he's very good defensively 14 marking, and 16 tackling. He's the perfect RB to pair with the more offensive minded Poulson. Bogle moves to the back up option but he will still get his chances. My defense is starting to tighten and tighten and we are starting to compare with the big 6.  

4. Mason Mount 23 year old CM - Free

He's already spent 4 years here at Derby so seeing that his contract was up I decided to sign him. He's coming off an amazing year, he fits my my scheme very well as the main attacking midfielder. 21 goals and 31 assists all time here at Derby. While his physical attributes aren't amazing, his technical attributes are quite good and well rounded. I'm very happy to be able to bring Mount on a permanent deal here as we will continue to leads us to great heights. 

5. (Regen) Sergio Casaprima 22 year old CAM - Free

The young Argentinian is much more of a playermaker then a goal scoring threat. Very good all around stats, his finishing could be better then a 9 but we'll live as he slices open defenses in the final 3rd getting the ball to our talented attackers. Not sure if he kept rejecting contract extensions or not but I'm glad he's here. He'll be rotating with Ruben Loftus Cheek at the CAM position but he might have to go on loan if we can't get the work permit.

We are now very deep all over the board, another Europa League challenge and a big battle in the Premier League. Our expectations from the board is pretty high but I now I have the team to take on the challenge. 

                                                    

[Stuniverse]

Some very impressive looking signings there, @JaytheGreat.

Interesting to see you picked Mount up on a free at the end of his Chelsea contact, after loaning him every season. Out of interest, how have Chelsea been doing in your save?

Good luck 🍀 for the coming season!

[JaytheGreat]

1 hour ago, Stuniverse said:

Some very impressive looking signings there, @JaytheGreat.

Interesting to see you picked Mount up on a free at the end of his Chelsea contact, after loaning him every season. Out of interest, how have Chelsea been doing in your save?

Good luck 🍀 for the coming season!

Chelsea have been top 4 since I've been in the Premier League. They've brought in some huge names like Bentacur, Jose Gimenez, Romagonli, Suso, Gnarby, Zaha, Icardi, Guedes, Kimpembe, Richarlson, and ironic enough even Will Hughes. Sarri is still the manager and they actually sold Eden Hazard to Arsenal in the 2nd season.

Also I let Harry Wilson go back to Liverpool and he immediately got put on the transfer list for around 15 mil. I don't understand this game sometimes, both players have killed it every year for me but there's no interest at all for them, before I signed Mount.  

 

Edit: I'm at the end of September and Marriott, and Maffeo have been disappointing so far. Cunha is thriving on the right wing, Sanches has played well but is a yellow card magnet. 

Edited April 25, 2019 by JaytheGreat

[Irobinson69]

After a great start in Season 1, with some high scoring away wins using Gegenpress, we faded away a bit to finish 3rd, scraping the the playoffs against WBA.

Now in Premier League, struggling to put away chances despite picking up Munir on a free and keeping Harry Wilson on loan for another season.

I’ve focussed on young signings with the lowest average age in the division. Key ones being:

Marin

Tonali

Souttar 

Wilson (loan)

Foden (loan)

Pellegri (loan)

Lukas Mai (loan)

Theo Hernandez (loan)

Away form has been pretty shocking, but few decent wins at home and in 13th with 10 games played. Hopefully once all the new signings gel we’ll get a comfortable mid table finish then kick on next season.

[Stuniverse]

My current save is a Derby County - Director of Football Challenge. I’m into November 2019 (second season).  If you’re interested, I’m writing about it in the Career Updates section: 

 

[Stuniverse]

On 28/04/2019 at 18:18, Irobinson69 said:

After a great start in Season 1, with some high scoring away wins using Gegenpress, we faded away a bit to finish 3rd, scraping the the playoffs against WBA.

Now in Premier League, struggling to put away chances despite picking up Munir on a free and keeping Harry Wilson on loan for another season.

I’ve focussed on young signings with the lowest average age in the division. Key ones being:

Marin

Tonali

Souttar 

Wilson (loan)

Foden (loan)

Pellegri (loan)

Lukas Mai (loan)

Theo Hernandez (loan)

Away form has been pretty shocking, but few decent wins at home and in 13th with 10 games played. Hopefully once all the new signings gel we’ll get a comfortable mid table finish then kick on next season.

Congratulations on your promotion, @Irobinson69. Good luck 🍀 in the Premier League!

[Irobinson69]

Cheers. Finally got 3 wins on the bounce now into January in 10th. Antonio Marin is killing it with 11 goals and 8 assists in 18 starts, even somehow beat Mbappe to Golden Boy award. Not bad for £2.8m.

Enjoying following your DoF challenge too, though I think it would drive me nuts not being able to make my own signings!

[Stuniverse]

15 hours ago, Irobinson69 said:

Cheers. Finally got 3 wins on the bounce now into January in 10th. Antonio Marin is killing it with 11 goals and 8 assists in 18 starts, even somehow beat Mbappe to Golden Boy award. Not bad for £2.8m.

Enjoying following your DoF challenge too, though I think it would drive me nuts not being able to make my own signings!

Thank you, @Irobinson69. Sounds like you’re doing very well. 10th and with a goal scorer is great news. Congratulations.

[JaytheGreat]

On 30/04/2019 at 14:49, Irobinson69 said:

Cheers. Finally got 3 wins on the bounce now into January in 10th. Antonio Marin is killing it with 11 goals and 8 assists in 18 starts, even somehow beat Mbappe to Golden Boy award. Not bad for £2.8m.

Enjoying following your DoF challenge too, though I think it would drive me nuts not being able to make my own signings!

Awesome job so far!  Your team is impressive already, it's going to become a force in the next few seasons. 

[JaytheGreat]

And Derby County is going to the Champions League!!! We finished the season at 4th in the Premier League, reached the Quarter Finals in the Carabao Cup, 6th round on the FA Cup and lost to Tottenham in the Europa League final. On the way to the final we beat Lazio, AC Milan, Man City, and OL (my next save). It was our best year yet, beating out Arsenal, Man City, and Tottenham for the top 4 spot. The game says new striker Casper Bengtsson was the player of the year for Derby, but I disagree. For me it was Matheus Cunha who got moved from striker to an attacking Inside Forward on the Right WIng, Cunha went on to score 20 (15) goals in 33 games. He used his cannon of a leg when he cut inside to devastating effect. Bengtsson was are leading scorer but also had some dry spells, Bakkali, Lawrence, and Vujosevic all played solid but each ended up getting injured in different parts of the season. New signing Renato Sanches was everything I hoped he would be, his 17 aggression lead to him picking up quite a few yellow cards but his production was fantastic. His 9 goals and 4 assists are the type of numbers I want to see from my box to box CM. Mason Mount had his best season at Derby scoring 8 goals and 9 assists and keeps on proving that the game is insane for letting me pick him up on a free. Schagler, Barrios, and Luiz were are all solid. The back 4 were up and down, Poulson and Lowe played very well at LB, while Maffeo and Bogle were disappointing on the right. I solid Hoedt for 30 mil in the winter to some Chinese team, which left Markovic and Mepham as are only 2 CBs, which they played ok, not up to their usually standards. Rajkovic was his usual solid self in net and I'm incredible happy I got his contract redone in the offseason before PSG triggered his release clause. 

So this offseason brings up a big question, what to do with this team. I'm at the point were only top players are an improvement and I don't think we finish 4 again without some help. I can go after possible one or 2 big time improvements or we can burn this down. Ruben Loftus Cheek is on his way out because he wasn't getting the time he wanted, Jack Marriott wants out as his playing time is diminishing, and there's interest in Mepham, Lawrence and Schagler.  I don't want to sell Marriott as I consider him a hero of the club and this save. But he's 28, coming off a down year, I have younger players that are better then him and need the game time, and he wants more minutes. It still feels wrong to sell but I suppose if you want to hang with the big teams you have to constantly evolve. We have money to burn, potentially a lot more on the way if we tear it down, and positions that need help. So in the offseason my priority will  be CB, and a GK, after that we'll see what shiny things I'll be able to find. 

Edited May 3, 2019 by JaytheGreat

[Stuniverse]

That's absolutely brilliant, @JaytheGreat. Well done. Good luck in the off-season.

Remind me, which season are you in now on your save?

I see Tom Lawrence and Jack Marriott are still doing it for you, plus Mason Mount. Jayden Bogle and Max Lowe still in the squad too. Are any other current players still around and did any of the other youngsters come good for you? Max Bird or Louie Sibley maybe?

Thanks for the continued updates.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Stuniverse

[JaytheGreat]

@Stuniverse

The season I just finished was the 2022/2023 season. Lawrence and Marriott have been great throughout the save. Mason Mount has been awesome, cheap, young, and uber talented. Bogle and Lowe fill their purpose nicely. Bogle is good all around but I still don't really trust him defensively, Lowe is a very good defensive LB (I play him on support), and I expect next to nothing from him offensively, which is fine if I want offense I go with Poulson. I sold Bird after my 2nd or 3rd season, Sibley gets some game time but not too much. Jonathan Mitchell is my back up GK for the past 2 seasons but he wants to move on. I have one regen CM from the youth intake who might play here or there but other then that my youth intakes have been hot garbage (I must just have extremely bad luck because I have great youth facilities, good junior coaching and extensive youth recruitment) which stinks because I love to try and develop players. Funny story Harry Wilson just signed with LAFC in the MLS on a free.  

Edited May 3, 2019 by JaytheGreat

[Irobinson69]

Doing awesome @JaytheGreat. When did you get Cunha? I’ve got my eye on him as can’t be sure I’ll be able to keep getting Wilson on loan the way he’s kicking ass for me. My scouts don’t think he’ll get a work permit. 

Leipzig have loaned him out to FC Zurich and Sion for the first 2 seasons, but he’s not played that much.

[JaytheGreat]

 

@Irobinson69

I got him at the start of the 3rd season, my scouts also said he wouldn't get a work permit but after I reapplied he got one. If you can get him at a reasonable price I would definitely try to sign him, he works well as a striker and on the right winger. I loaned WIlson for about 4 seasons and never had a problem as long as I loaned him as soon as I possibly could.   

[Jamesbfc1887]

Really enjoyed my Derby save so far, been updating on it in the

I decided to go with Derby because of the chance to try and 'master' 5 at the back, it's been going well, yet somewhat steady, very similar to the Derby team irl.

[JaytheGreat]

What better way to celebrate my 100th post then with a transfer review. 

1. (Regen) Hector Murrilo 21 CB from Boca Jrs - 13 mil  2.27 mil/year 

I've been tracking Murrilo since the winter market last season after selling Hoedt, but never pulling the trigger due to him not liking big games, but after playing half a season with 2 CBs my mind quickly changed. Murrilo is one of the better CBs in the world, and his attributes back it up. Physicals all 15 or above, 17 positioning, 16 heading, 15 marking, and 15 tackling. We will fit right in with Mepham and Markovic, he's got the stats to dominate but I may have to shield him against the bigger games but we'll see. He's a better aerial presence then Markovic, and have better speed and physicals then Mepham. Seeing that he's only 21 he should be leading the the back line for the next decade.   

 

2. Denis Zakaria 26 DM from Watford - 35.5 mil  5,14 mil/year

With Barrios at 29, we needed to find a potential replacement at the Ball Winning DM spot and considering there are very few Derby quality players like that around we went for one of the best ones. Barrios has the advantage in mentals and tackling, but Zakaria is much more improved in the physicals department and a very big improvement in heading and jumping reach. Zakaria is all around one of the best Ball Winning DMs in the world and will fit very well into my 4-1-2-3 system.   

 

3. Xadas 25 CAM from Tottenham - 27 mil  7.54 mil/year

My shinny signing of the season, we sneaked him under the noses of Juventus and Bayern. He over takes Pablo Maffeo as the highest earner here at Derby but I think he is well worth it. The "midfield orchestrator" takes over the place of Loftus - Cheek at the starter at the CAM role. Small note he paid Tottenham 27 mil for him, while we sold Loftus - Cheek to Young Boys for 27.5 mil with add on bonuses that can go to 40 mil. Pretty good physicals, 16 flair, 16 vision, 15 off the ball, 15 dribbling, 15 passing, 15 first touch, 15 long shots, and 15 technique. He's also has the preferred moves of Tries Killer Balls Often, and Shoots From Distance which matches up quite well with his attributes. He also has 16 free kick taking so he will be our main free kick taker. He joins an attack of Marriott, Bengtsson, Cunha, Vujosevic, Lawrence, Bakkali, and Mount. 

We only made 3 signings so I do have some money to spend in winter if I want to spend it. Marriott and Luiz want to stay but I doubt that will last for very long, so maybe more money coming in. I'm very happy with this team, I think hwe can challenge for top 4 again this year and potentially be able to make it out of the group stages in the Champions League.    

[JaytheGreat]

@Jamesbfc1887 what a month after a really slow start! Keep up the awesome streak.