jeaku14 Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Hi guys! Thought I'd share what's quickly become my favourite save on this years FM. Inspired by Ole's turnaround with the current squad, I wanted to see how far I could take them as well. I've done the Youth Academy Challenge before, and I like the simplicity of it - makes the game go faster, can streamline the club down to some really core philosophies, and you have to work with what you've got. Obviously this is a bit easier with a club like United, but in terms of longevity I was definitely worried about keeping my job with the money in the EPL. I've found previously it gets really competitive really quickly, and without decent regens I thought it might get pretty tricky. Especially since most of us United fans think this squad needs about 3-4 signings in the summer! Anyway, I'll quickly summarise the 6 seasons I've done so far, in terms of competition, then squad shaping, and show a few of the regens I've gotten into the team so far at the end. Competitions While I am an experienced FM player, I haven't always succeeded on this years edition, and I don't spend much time at all watching games/analysing tactics - so I was a little worried about getting sacked. But to be honest it's been far easier than I expected.... Makes me wonder just how important continuity in the squad/tactics is. I think in normal (not youth-only) saves going forward I'll probably aim to try and make far fewer transfers after seeing this. Squad harmony and tactical familiarity seem to make huge differences, given how much game time I've given to squad players like McTominay, Lingard, Fred, TFM, Tuanzabe etc. and still beaten world-class XI's. 18/19: I embarrassingly finished 5th in the league in my first season, but managed to hang onto my job because I won the Champions League. Rashford scored the only goal in a particularly boring game against Barca in the final... 19/20: Won Carabao, World Champ, EPL, Champs League: Somehow followed up last year with a successive Champions League victory. Was 1-0 down to Valencia in the final and struggling to make it back. Highlight loads - its a freekick just outside the box. Despite Pogba and Mata being on the field, for some reason David de Gea steps up and nestles it in the top corner. I don't know why he took it - he was way down the pecking order. He then goes on to win us the penalty shootout, making two saves. Huge. Next four years: I've won the EPL every year, and every year Liverpool have been runners up. Won the Carabao and FA cup a couple of times each. Champions League has evaded me though! I think I've only made it through to the semis once, and got knocked out by Pool. This year Liverpool look verrrry strong. So far they've played 7, won 7. Goals scored: 21. Goals against: 1. Could well break my run of Premier League wins. Gonna be a tough season for sure. Squad While United obviously have a very good team to begin with, and some good youngsters coming through, we definitely over-achieved. It wasn't until 2021/22 that I felt the young players could step up - at which point I let go of Darmian (who was v important!), Matic, Mata and Sanchez. Since then I've tried to consistently add a player or two into the first team squad each season. I like to keep a small squad, usually 21-22, so most talented players will go out on loan after they reach 18 until they're ready to take a spot in the team. This includes older players - I still send Henderson and Mctominay out on loan at the age of 27 if I don't think they'll play enough. Currently have a transfer budget of 540 million.... Goalkeeper Nothing to be said here really, De Gea going strong at 33, no signs of slowing down. I do have the England U21 keeper coming through who should be ready to take over when de Gea retires. Defence Haven't needed to change much yet. Lindelof and Bailly have been brilliant, I've had 100m+ offers for both of them. Jones and Smalling stayed as backups until 22/23. Tuanzabe has developed nicely and is ready to take over when Lindelof slows down, alongside Halford, a regen from my first year. Dalot developed a little slowly, but is now brilliant. One of my best regens is also a RB though, looks like he'll be equally as good as Dalot, which has been my first real conundrum. Thought about retraining Dalot as a B2B, but I have a few CM prospects he'd be in the way of. For now, I'm just planning to have both in the squad sharing the spot. Shaw's played almost every single game, and I've re-trained Fred as his understudy, he plays well there as a CWB(a) when I'm chasing a game. Do have a decent regen coming through... but Shaw still has a good 2-3 years left in him I reckon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeaku14 Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 Midfield Pogba is so good. Have bids of 150m+ every year, and every year he remains happy and keeps our team winning. He's 31 now, and physicals seem to only improve, but he did retire from international football at 29, so that could be a factor. A little worried about what's going to happen when he doesn't have the legs anymore, because I think this team is definitely overreliant on him - being the only world-class player we have. Pereira has probably been my biggest surprise, he's been an amazing back up to Pogba and Martial, normally playing around 30 games a season and getting a really good goal and assist numbers. Herrera stayed till he was 33, still kicking it in the EPL with Swansea now. Had to hold on to him because it took a while to get some decent prospects in CM. Mctom and Garner both developed okay, but weren't quite in that upper echelon that I needed. Saying that, they both have still played a lot of games for me. Normally i loan one out and keep the other, depending on the squad at the start of the year. I've also been playing Halford (see above in the Defenders section) in DM, where he plays pretty well but never great. Last couple of years I've finally seen some breakthroughs though, particularly in regard to young Alfie Davidson, who looked decent but not much more before spending a year and a half in the Championship, where I recalled his loan early, stuck him in the first team and he hasn't looked back. Should be playing for England sooner rather than later... Then last year, I think my best regen yet came through - he's played a few games, but his stats are outstanding for a 16 year old... may have finally found my Pogba replacement. I think Jones and Davidson will soon form my midfield 2 for years to come, just need a DM, or might have to permanently switch to a 4-4-2 or something.. Forwards Not had much luck here on the regen front. Fortunately though, Martial, Lingard and Rashford have been brilliant. Martial in particular is really patchy, but when he's on form he is unplayable. 20 dribbling and flair, 18 composure and acceleration, 17 first touch and finishing... too good. Had to rely on Sanchez and Mata for longer than I wanted to because Gomes, Greenwood and Chong did not make great leaps in the first few years. Chong has suddenly blossomed though, replacing the other late developer in the team, Lingard, in the last couple of seasons. Greenwood is probably the biggest disappointment meanwhile, not developed much at all. Doing well on loan at Everton this year though. Roughly a goal every other game. I have a couple of players coming through here though. Calum Elliot isn't rated so highly by my stuff but he looks pretty damn good to me, has played well in the couple of first team appearances he's made too. Thomas Lee is the other one that looks like he might have a good future. Very quick, but lacking in mentals/technicals. Looks like he's got a bit of room to grow into though. Anyway! Thought I'd share my game so far cos it's been a lot of fun - would recommend this challenge with a top team to others too, I think it's going to get increasingly more difficult as my first team get into retirement age. If you want to see any other screenshots, or have any questions etc, hit me up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeaku14 Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 Current Squad Probably worth adding in here that this is what my current squad looks like: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
numbas2 Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Interesting! Nice work so far. Good to get entrenched in and attached to the growth of a squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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