FM20: Life with Chelsea after the ban.

[Oxley_Oxley11111]

I'm currently at the beginning of my FM20 Chelsea save. 

 

So far so good, the young players in real life seem to be doing the job on the game, so all is well. 

 

It got me thinking though, who would, or who have, you purchased at the end of the transfer ban? My thinking so far is as followed: 

 

Marcos Alonso Out - Chillwell or Jose Gaya as his replacement 

Pedro Out - Sancho in (Undecided on this, still not sure, could be worth keeping Pedro for one season as a back up while Hudson-Odoi looks to get into the rhythm of the league.)

I like Tonali from Brescia as well, think he could work nicely in some role with Jorginho, however, with RLC coming back and my midfield already having Kovacic, Kante, jorginho, Gilmour, Mount battling for spaces, it's probably not necessary. 

What's your thoughts? 

Thanks!

[krisdonna]

14 minutes ago, Oxley_Oxley11111 said:

I'm currently at the beginning of my FM20 Chelsea save. 

 

So far so good, the young players in real life seem to be doing the job on the game, so all is well. 

 

It got me thinking though, who would, or who have, you purchased at the end of the transfer ban? My thinking so far is as followed: 

 

Marcos Alonso Out - Chillwell or Jose Gaya as his replacement 

Pedro Out - Sancho in (Undecided on this, still not sure, could be worth keeping Pedro for one season as a back up while Hudson-Odoi looks to get into the rhythm of the league.)

I like Tonali from Brescia as well, think he could work nicely in some role with Jorginho, however, with RLC coming back and my midfield already having Kovacic, Kante, jorginho, Gilmour, Mount battling for spaces, it's probably not necessary. 

What's your thoughts? 

Thanks!

Would defo look for a new striker, Abraham is good but  i would look for some extra quality there.

[Geordieboy52]

How far can you go into the game without having to buy players as Chelsea?  How deep is their reserve of players?

[Oxley_Oxley11111]

Good 

2 hours ago, Geordieboy52 said:

How far can you go into the game without having to buy players as Chelsea?  How deep is their reserve of players?

Good point. 

There's one or two players which could be of some real interest. Liking the idea of not buying anyone, realistically that would be very difficult, Alonso is pants!

[Oxley_Oxley11111]

4 hours ago, krisdonna said:

Would defo look for a new striker, Abraham is good but  i would look for some extra quality there.

Belotti? Werner?

[krisdonna]

2 hours ago, Oxley_Oxley11111 said:

Belotti? Werner?

Those two are good. Also look at Haaland & Boadu, two wonderkids who are insane.

[Geordieboy52]

16 hours ago, Oxley_Oxley11111 said:

Good 

Good point. 

There's one or two players which could be of some real interest. Liking the idea of not buying anyone, realistically that would be very difficult, Alonso is pants!

It would be a great challenge to develop players solely that they already have (because they have so many) and use their academy for future players.  Also, can Reece James not be developed as a leftback?

[Robioto]

I've decided to go Chelsea this year. I think it will be really fun developing Ampadu, James, Tomori, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic and Abraham.

But I've decided to wait until release to start my save as I'd like to edit out Brexit first.

Thinking that I'd target Chilwell for left back and maybe Aarons from Norwich so I have two young rightbacks. Not sure about other positions yet.

Edited November 12, 2019 by Robioto

[bucket]

6 hours ago, Robioto said:

I've decided to go Chelsea this year. I think it will be really fun developing Ampadu, James, Tomori, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic and Abraham.

But I've decided to wait until release to start my save as I'd like to edit out Brexit first.

Thinking that I'd target Chilwell for left back and maybe Aarons from Norwich so I have two young rightbacks. Not sure about other positions yet.

You have Reece James for the right back position and can even train Tomori to play there and he does do well as cover for James too. 
 

Ian Maatsen is highly thought of around the club IRL, hopefully he is on the game too. 

[wetfred]

Memphis Depay, can play AML and cover striker.

[essien_5]

Had a little play around, but will be starting properly next week upon the game's official release.

I try to resist buying players (at least first team players) in the first season anyway, but the reliance on the younger players stepping up this season is very exciting.

I will be trying to do similar to what Super Frank has done IRL and give ample chance to the likes of James, Tomori, Mount, CHO and Abraham. 

Longer term, if the youngsters can do the business then I would probably look to add to them and move on the likes of Pedro and Giroud. Haaland definitely looks an enticing prospect, and long term a left back will probably be necessary. However in last year's game Emerson was phenomenal for me, I think he got something like 10 goals and 25 assists from left back in the first season so I will aim to replicate this first.

[essien_5]

On 11/11/2019 at 14:18, Geordieboy52 said:

How far can you go into the game without having to buy players as Chelsea?  How deep is their reserve of players?

The best crop of players are the ones coming through now. James, Tomori, Mount, Hudson Odoi, Pulisic, Loftus Cheek and Abraham I think are all good enough to become the long term spine in a team.

There do appear to be some more promising young players coming through after these (I'm talking FM not real life) - Anjorin is an attacking midfielder/forward who looks like he could develop well. Guehi should become a good centre back and Billy Gilmour should develop into the Jorginho role in midfield. Maatsen and Tariq Lamptey both have potential as very attack minded, pacy full backs too. Ampadu out on loan should also develop into a very good player and covers multiple positions.

The other thing to bear in mind with Chelsea is although there are a couple of older players that will probably be moved on fairly shortly, it's only Azpilicueta and Willian who would potentially be first choice players on the wrong side of 30. The core of the team are all in their mid-20's and could play for years at the club (Kepa, Emerson, Rudiger, Zouma, Christensen, Kovacic, Jorginho, Kante, Barkley, Batshuayi).

As always with Chelsea too, there is a glut of players out on loan in their teens, early 20's (even others such as Drinkwater and Bakayoko) who could possibly be used in the future as squad filler.

Edited November 14, 2019 by essien_5

[MBJ96]

Just started with Chelsea and it suits me just fine with the transfer ban. 

I would really like to develop players like Tomori (who could be a world class player in the future), James, Mount, Gilmour, Hudson-Odoi and Abraham. In the first season there is a lot of games, so the young players will have a lot of opportunities to show their potential. 

I have a dream of the following lineup for second season:

Kepa; James, Tomori, Rüdiger, Emerson; Kanté, Kovacic/Jorginho; Sancho, Mount, Pulisic/Hudson-Odoi; Abraham

I have some doubts about Abraham, but if does not deliver I will buy someone else. 

[Santa Claus]

Well post some players screenshots folks!

[tajj7]

On 12/11/2019 at 09:17, Geordieboy52 said:

It would be a great challenge to develop players solely that they already have (because they have so many) and use their academy for future players.  Also, can Reece James not be developed as a leftback?

Agree, think they are set up nicely for an easier youth only challenge, basically only use the players they have and academy prospects, especially as their 'older' players most of them are not that old so wouldn't need replacing straight away so you could have at least 3-4 youth intakes to get some players in. 

[Geordieboy52]

1 hour ago, tajj7 said:

Agree, think they are set up nicely for an easier youth only challenge, basically only use the players they have and academy prospects, especially as their 'older' players most of them are not that old so wouldn't need replacing straight away so you could have at least 3-4 youth intakes to get some players in. 

You'd have some really good tutors and role-models too - the whole vibe around the club is positive now.

[Geordieboy52]

On 11/11/2019 at 17:10, Oxley_Oxley11111 said:

Good 

Good point. 

There's one or two players which could be of some real interest. Liking the idea of not buying anyone, realistically that would be very difficult, Alonso is pants!

So I tried this...

 

[MBJ96]

2 hours ago, Geordieboy52 said:

So I tried this...

 

But why? He is probably worse than Alonso at defending.. if possible. 

I'm having a big problem with scoring goals. Neither Pulisic, CHO or Abraham has hit form. The calender says beginning of january..

Which tactic are you guys using?

[essien_5]

Looking forward to getting stuck into this, although will likely be a slow burner over the next couple of weeks due to work commitments.

My plans for the off-season will be

(1) re-haul my staff if necessary. I haven't had a good enough look yet, but based on past FM games Chelsea have never been blessed with the strongest crop of coaches. With the transfer ban, I won't be afraid to splash some compensation to re-shape this area moving forward.

(2) sort out contracts - I'll look to extend Tammy, Tomori and Reece James to longer term deals. I've noticed because of the club's policy for one year deals on over 30 year olds that a new contract that goes beyond the current year cannot be offered yet to the likes of Willian. My plan currently is to extend Willian, and let Pedro and Giroud leave at the end of their contracts in summer 2020. However I'm prepared to keep an open mind if things take a change through the season.

I'm planning to go into pre season with a 'vertical tika-taka" style and a 4-3-3 formation, although I am keen to also get the team being familiar with a 4-2-3-1.

[Phil930]

Would love to see some screen shots of the Chelsea youth coming through.  Just can't help but feel the likes of Mount, Tomori and James are underrated.  Take Mount (3 years of senior football now) vs. Foden (1 goal in 22 appearances).

[essien_5]

6 hours ago, Phil930 said:

Would love to see some screen shots of the Chelsea youth coming through.  Just can't help but feel the likes of Mount, Tomori and James are underrated.  Take Mount (3 years of senior football now) vs. Foden (1 goal in 22 appearances).

Spoiler

Hudson Odoi has -9 PA which is about right I think. Mason Mount, Reece James and Tino Anjorin have -85 PA. Surprised that Mount and James after last season aren't -9 to be honest or have fixed PA. Many Chelsea fans consider Reece James to be our best prospect of the lot, including Hudson Odoi and the season he had last year at Wigan I would have expected him to be rated that bit higher.

Tammy has fixed PA of 160 and Tomori 162. This isn't bad and if they reach their potential should develop into top players. To give you an idea Kante's CA and PA are 165.

Ampadu also has a fixed PA of 157 so he too should become a pretty good player within the squad.

 

[Carefree_Since_1905]

When can you offer extensions to the over 30 players? I started a save on the beta and was looking to extend Willian but could only give him a wage increase with no extension around November time.

I sold Pedro for £30m to United which, when i start the game in the full release, I am not sure if I will try to do or not. It was decent money (as opposed to letting him go for free at the end of the season) but left us short. I didn't have any injuries and Mount/Barkley can cover there in an emergency. Thinking something similar for Giroud as well.

 

[essien_5]

6 hours ago, Carefree_Since_1905 said:

When can you offer extensions to the over 30 players? I started a save on the beta and was looking to extend Willian but could only give him a wage increase with no extension around November time.

I sold Pedro for £30m to United which, when i start the game in the full release, I am not sure if I will try to do or not. It was decent money (as opposed to letting him go for free at the end of the season) but left us short. I didn't have any injuries and Mount/Barkley can cover there in an emergency. Thinking something similar for Giroud as well.

 

Good spot it looks like United are prepared to buy Pedro at the start for approx £30m. 

It does leave things a bit short in that first year but i think once Hudson Odoi is back fit it shouldn't be too much of an issue as you'd still have Willian, Pulisic, Hudson Odoi and at a push Mount and Barkley can also do that job.

Having spent a bit more time now looking into the squad in more detail, I think left back will be my priority next summer. My initial thought was Chilwell but I think there are better options available for similar prices. Jose Gaya looks top drawer and Alex Grimaldo looks very good too. Otherwise Alex Telles would also be a good option and his release clause seems pretty low at £34.5m. Hopefully these options are still on the board to cherry pick from next summer.

[Geordieboy52]

You'd be surprised. He plays as a complete wingback - utilising many aspects that are relatively strong for me.  He played 53 games across the season, all at left back (it was an experiment) with only one mistake leading to a goal.  He made 84% of his tackles and was part of a championship winning team being selected to the TOTY for his performances.  Seems to have worked to me

 

[essien_5]

Having reviewed the staff I think a good overhaul is needed here. It's nice having old legends at the club in these positions but you also need to strike the right balance with this and good quality staff.

Any good staff to recommend to get on board? With the transfer ban I don't mind paying out some compensation for the right staff if they are interested in making the move.

I'm curious for people's suggestions in all departments to be honest except head of development as Neil Bath is quite rightly very well rated on the game.

[Robioto]

I'm top after 20 games with 14 wins and 6 draws so far. Including beating City and Liverpool away. Playing a flat 4-4-2, it's going well.

I'm retraining Hudson-Odoi as a LM and I've been successfully playing and training Loftus-Cheek as a target man.

It's a pretty fun save so far. I'll post some screenshots and a bit more detail tomorrow. 

[essien_5]

5 hours ago, Robioto said:

I'm top after 20 games with 14 wins and 6 draws so far. Including beating City and Liverpool away. Playing a flat 4-4-2, it's going well.

I'm retraining Hudson-Odoi as a LM and I've been successfully playing and training Loftus-Cheek as a target man.

It's a pretty fun save so far. I'll post some screenshots and a bit more detail tomorrow. 

Well done mate. If everyone is fit what would you deem your strongest XI?

I'm surprised that 4-4-2 is working so well because on the face of things the strongest area of the pitch for Chelsea is utilising the midfield 3 of Kante, Jorginho and Kovacic, whilst using 2 from our striking options sounds like hard work!

[Robioto]

3 hours ago, essien_5 said:

Well done mate. If everyone is fit what would you deem your strongest XI?

I'm surprised that 4-4-2 is working so well because on the face of things the strongest area of the pitch for Chelsea is utilising the midfield 3 of Kante, Jorginho and Kovacic, whilst using 2 from our striking options sounds like hard work!

Yeah you're right   I was pretty set on a 4-4-2 as I usually start with that on new FM games as I know where I am with it and really wanted to try Chelsea this year with the transfer ban and young talent. So here is my first 11 when everyone is fit:

• GK Kepa / Caballero (SK)
• DL Azpilicueta / Emerson (WB)
• DR James / Azpilicueta (WB)
• DC Tomori / Rudiger (BPD)
• DC Christensen / Zouma (BPD)
• MC Mount / Kante (MEZ)
• MC Kovacic / Jorginho (MEZ)
• ML Alonso / Hudson-Odoi (WM)
• MR Pulisic / Willian (WM)
• SC Giroud / Loftus-Cheek (TM)
• SC Abraham / Batshuayi (PF)

I've had quite a lot of luck in FM2019 with the Mezzala role in a 2 man midfield so I've done the same here too and it seems to work. Mount and Kovacic get a lot of goals. I rotate Jorginho and Kante, but I've found Mount and Kovacic far more effective. I was quite surprised as Kante is rightly a beast on the game, but doesn't fit my system as well as the other three midifielders. If I get a good offer for Kante or Jorginho in January I'll probably let one of them go, Manchester United are interested in Jorginho so I'm hoping them will come in with a big offer and I'll sell. (I'm up to 30 December when I saved last night)

As for strikers, Giroud and Abraham have (if I remember correctly, I'm not at home) 14 and 11 goals respectively, I had to play with the roles and instructions of my forwards quite bit as they just weren't getting the goals at the start of the season. For cover Batshuayi has been pretty bad not scoring a single goal all season, so I threw Loftus-Cheek in straight after he came back from injury and he's been very effective with goals and assists in the TM role (which I am now training him for as his stats are pretty much perfect for it). But Giroud and Abraham have avoided injury and have been pretty consistent, with both having a barren run of goals thankfully at different times.

Hudson-Odoi has been disappointing, I've been retraining him as a ML and he's learning pretty quickly, but he has not been performing at all, with no goals yet and only 2 assists. Alonso on the other hand has been fantastic in the ML role, scoring goals, getting assists - he's surprisingly been my best player so far. Maybe it is better suited to a defensive minded player in that role in my formation. I might retrain Hudson-Odoi as a Pressing Forward and sign another player to play on the left in the summer.

So I've been trying to plan for the summer spending spree once I have access to that transfer budget. This will probably change after the January window if players I want move, but this is my rough plan at the moment, the squad is huge and needs trimming right down:

OUT: Batshuayi, Barkley, Bakayoko, Willian, Pedro, Drinkwater, Zappacosta, Morata, Moses, Rahman, Miazga, Pantic, Kenedy, Musonda, Piazon (Chelsea have so many players!!!)

POSSIBLE OUTS (if I can replace them): Giroud, Kante, Jorginho, Zouma, Rudiger

IN: Max Aarons (Norwich), Jadon Sancho (Dortmund), Erling Haaland (RB Salzburg), Odsonne Edouard (Celtic), Ethan Ampadu (return from loan, EXETER LAD!)

That's my current plan, will change several times! I also want another MC but I'm not 100% on what type of MC I want, so will do a bit of scouting and studying before the summer and I will probably try and develop a 4-1-2-3 formation as well for the next season. I'm trying to stay British where I can, so would love to oust Mason Greenwood from 13th placed Manchester United if I can. I don't want to make too many changes within my current first team squad.

Edited November 21, 2019 by Robioto

[essien_5]

51 minutes ago, Robioto said:

Yeah you're right   I was pretty set on a 4-4-2 as I usually start with that on new FM games as I know where I am with it and really wanted to try Chelsea this year with the transfer ban and young talent. So here is my first 11 when everyone is fit:

• GK Kepa / Caballero (SK)
• DL Azpilicueta / Emerson (WB)
• DR James / Azpilicueta (WB)
• DC Tomori / Rudiger (BPD)
• DC Christensen / Zouma (BPD)
• MC Mount / Kante (MEZ)
• MC Kovacic / Jorginho (MEZ)
• ML Alonso / Hudson-Odoi (WM)
• MR Pulisic / Willian (WM)
• SC Giroud / Loftus-Cheek (TM)
• SC Abraham / Batshuayi (PF)

I've had quite a lot of luck in FM2019 with the Mezzala role in a 2 man midfield so I've done the same here too and it seems to work. Mount and Kovacic get a lot of goals. I rotate Jorginho and Kante, but I've found Mount and Kovacic far more effective. I was quite surprised as Kante is rightly a beast on the game, but doesn't fit my system as well as the other three midifielders. If I get a good offer for Kante or Jorginho in January I'll probably let one of them go, Manchester United are interested in Jorginho so I'm hoping them will come in with a big offer and I'll sell. (I'm up to 30 December when I saved last night)

As for strikers, Giroud and Abraham have (if I remember correctly, I'm not at home) 14 and 11 goals respectively, I had to play with the roles and instructions of my forwards quite bit as they just weren't getting the goals at the start of the season. For cover Batshuayi has been pretty bad not scoring a single goal all season, so I threw Loftus-Cheek in straight after he came back from injury and he's been very effective with goals and assists in the TM role (which I am now training him for as his stats are pretty much perfect for it). But Giroud and Abraham have avoided injury and have been pretty consistent, with both having a barren run of goals thankfully at different times.

Hudson-Odoi has been disappointing, I've been retraining him as a ML and he's learning pretty quickly, but he has not been performing at all, with no goals yet and only 2 assists. Alonso on the other hand has been fantastic in the ML role, scoring goals, getting assists - he's surprisingly been my best player so far. Maybe it is better suited to a defensive minded player in that role in my formation. I might retrain Hudson-Odoi as a Pressing Forward and sign another player to play on the left in the summer.

So I've been trying to plan for the summer spending spree once I have access to that transfer budget. This will probably change after the January window if players I want move, but this is my rough plan at the moment, the squad is huge and needs trimming right down:

OUT: Batshuayi, Barkley, Bakayoko, Willian, Pedro, Drinkwater, Zappacosta, Morata, Moses, Rahman, Miazga, Pantic, Kenedy, Musonda, Piazon (Chelsea have so many players!!!)

POSSIBLE OUTS (if I can replace them): Giroud, Kante, Jorginho, Zouma, Rudiger

IN: Max Aarons (Norwich), Jadon Sancho (Dortmund), Erling Haaland (RB Salzburg), Odsonne Edouard (Celtic), Ethan Ampadu (return from loan, EXETER LAD!)

That's my current plan, will change several times! I also want another MC but I'm not 100% on what type of MC I want, so will do a bit of scouting and studying before the summer and I will probably try and develop a 4-1-2-3 formation as well for the next season. I'm trying to stay British where I can, so would love to oust Mason Greenwood from 13th placed Manchester United if I can. I don't want to make too many changes within my current first team squad.

Fair play mate, hopefully you can keep it up. I'm going to start properly tonight and my idea was to use Kovacic as a mezzala in a midfield three with Mount as an alternative so it's good to see that both have been effective for you in that role.

Agree with the sheer number of players, you will have such a bloated squad next summer when everybody returns from loan. Your wage bill may soar too if a number of those are having their wages paid by the loan club. However if you can sell a few of them it helps inflate your transfer budget a little more. With a bit of luck getting rid of a lot of those players will help you raise funds for a couple of your targets before you even dig into your transfer budget.

[CR#7]

Im really having fun with chelsea this year.

got a message that the embargo cancelled on december 1st.

Abraham with great half season with 13 goals on premier league, also mount with 7 assist. We’re now 2nd with 5 points less then liverpool.

brought Lautaro Martinez (111m release clause) & Everton from gremio on 30m. Pedro 15m and Giroud 9m Sold 

 

Kepa - SK

James & Emerson WB’s - S

Tomori & Rudiger - BDP - CD

Jorginho - DLP - S

Kante - BBM

Mount / Kova - Mezzala - A

Willian / Pulisic - W-S

Everton / Odoi / Pulisic - IW-A

Lautaro / Tammy - AF

Edited November 22, 2019 by CR#7

[bucket]

8 hours ago, CR#7 said:

Im really having fun with chelsea this year.

got a message that the embargo cancelled on december 1st.

Abraham with great half season with 13 goals on premier league, also mount with 7 assist. We’re now 2nd with 5 points less then liverpool.

brought Lautaro Martinez (111m release clause) & Everton from gremio on 30m. Pedro 15m and Giroud 9m Sold 

 

Kepa - SK

James & Emerson WB’s - S

Tomori & Rudiger - BDP - CD

Jorginho - DLP - S

Kante - BBM

Mount / Kova - Mezzala - A

Willian / Pulisic - W-S

Everton / Odoi / Pulisic - IW-A

Lautaro / Tammy - AF

Is Lautaro any good? I’ve just hit December too and been given £88m to spend. This is after the board agreed to sign Florentino Luis from Benfica for £67m. Have agreed a deal to sign Haaland for £30m. Selling Willian to United for £30m - 6 months before his contract is due up. 

[CR#7]

1 hour ago, bucket said:

Is Lautaro any good? I’ve just hit December too and been given £88m to spend. This is after the board agreed to sign Florentino Luis from Benfica for £67m. Have agreed a deal to sign Haaland for £30m. Selling Willian to United for £30m - 6 months before his contract is due up. 

Lautaro was absolutely amazing with my 3seasons save with inter.

 he is getting better especially from the 2nd season .

 

Edited November 23, 2019 by CR#7

[bucket]

46 minutes ago, CR#7 said:

Lautaro was absolutely amazing with my 3seasons save with inter.

 he is getting better especially from the 2nd season .

 

Sweet, Giroud hasn’t really played much football for me, Bats is awful. 

[SirCular]

How is everyone getting Mason Mount to perform?

He's currently been my best performer with 4 goals and two assists in 5 appearances playing as an Inverted Winger (AML). Cannot get Abraham going at all though despite me really wanting to build the team around Tomori, Mount and Abraham.

Also, I've noticed a few big names being transfer listed, with Paul Pogba being one - very unfortunate with the transfer ban being active but I'm hoping I can get this removed prior to February.

[essien_5]

Is this a regular occurrence that the transfer ban is lifted prior to January?

[CR#7]

1 hour ago, SirCular said:

How is everyone getting Mason Mount to perform?

He's currently been my best performer with 4 goals and two assists in 5 appearances playing as an Inverted Winger (AML). Cannot get Abraham going at all though despite me really wanting to build the team around Tomori, Mount and Abraham.

Also, I've noticed a few big names being transfer listed, with Paul Pogba being one - very unfortunate with the transfer ban being active but I'm hoping I can get this removed prior to February.

King of premier league assists until now with 8 assists Playing as Mezz-A played a bit as IW on AML

[MBJ96]

2 hours ago, essien_5 said:

Is this a regular occurrence that the transfer ban is lifted prior to January?

Did not happen in my game. 

[tcoleman1]

9 hours ago, essien_5 said:

Is this a regular occurrence that the transfer ban is lifted prior to January?

No mine was rejected and we also didn't leave the EU! 

Have finished my first season with Chelsea. Will try post screenshots later if I can!

It was a strange season. I started off with a few straight wins and then hit some bad results around September/October. I had a generally good results between November and April which left me 4th, 9 points clear of United and Spurs with just 7 games left.

Then it happened.

A draw with West Ham, loss to Atletico in CL 1/4s, draw with Watford, loss to Atletico, loss to Liverpool in FA cup semi, draw with Palace. I then finally manage to bear Sheffield United and I am 3 points clear. With 3 games left, Norwich at home, Liverpool away and Wolves at home.

I go into the Norwich game relatively confident and lose 2-0. I then get beat 4-2 at Anfield. United are now 1 point ahead of me with 1 game left. I've been 4th for about 6 months. 

I play Wolves at home with United away at Leicester who have been okay but nothing special. I'm beating Wolves early and I check the score updates. Jones has been sent off and I'm up to 4th.

I don't trust United not to win with 10 men so I keep checking the updates. Nothing for ages. Until the don that is James Maddison scores. I'm still not relaxed even when my game is in to the 94th minute. Another update, Ndidi has scored. The games finish and I've finished 4th.

The board were satisfied with what I'd done and a few of the players went from supporting me to having no opinion due to the amount of abuse I gave them in the bad stretch!

Tammy scored 20 goals for the season but didn't score in his last 11!

Now time to actually buy some players!

[CR#7]

22 hours ago, CR#7 said:

Im really having fun with chelsea this year.

got a message that the embargo cancelled on december 1st.

Abraham with great half season with 13 goals on premier league, also mount with 7 assist. We’re now 2nd with 5 points less then liverpool.

brought Lautaro Martinez (111m release clause) & Everton from gremio on 30m. Pedro 15m and Giroud 9m Sold 

 

Kepa - SK

James & Emerson WB’s - S

Tomori & Rudiger - BDP - CD

Jorginho - DLP - S

Kante - BBM

Mount / Kova - Mezzala - A

Willian / Pulisic - W-S

Everton / Odoi / Pulisic - IW-A

Lautaro / Tammy - AF

Just Finished 1st season.

reached champions league final, lost 2-1 to liverpool.

Premier league - 84pts , finished 2nd after ... liverpool.

Lautaro is beast, mount finished with 19 assists. Also tammy is great for rotation. 

[hbsssj]

21 horas atrás, CR#7 disse:

Just Finished 1st season.

reached champions league final, lost 2-1 to liverpool.

Premier league - 84pts , finished 2nd after ... liverpool.

Lautaro is beast, mount finished with 19 assists. Also tammy is great for rotation. 

What style of playing? I tried Gegenpress, but is not working very well

[CR#7]

Working very well for me. I tweaked it of course but the base is gegenpress, also vertical tiki taka was decent

ill upload later my tactics & transfers

[Robioto]

I ended up winning the Champions League in my first season while missing out on the FA Cup in the final and the League on the final day, although the league was very unlikely going into the the last three games of the season and Liverpool who won the league had a little wobble in the run in.

I'm not sure this save will keep my long term though, you get so much money with sales in the summer after your first season it almost feels like cheating. I spent 509m and raked in around £300m. Man United finished 9th and didn't qualify for Europe so a number of their players wanted to leave, included Pogba, who i picked up for £65m, on top of that I got an unhappy Asensio to rotate on the left with Hudson-Odoi for £55m and Chiesa from Fiorentina for £52m as he was also listed by request. As well as signing an entire new strike force to play with Tammy Abraham. So after the summer transfer window my team looks like this:

• GK Kepa / Blackwell
• DL Azpilicueta / Alonso
• DR James / Aarons (£50m)
• DC Tomori / Christensen
• DC Rúben Dias (£52m) / Rudiger
• MC Mount / Kante
• MC Pogba (£65m) / Kovacic / Florentin Luis (£40m)
• ML Asensio (£55m) / Hudson-Odoi
• MR Chiesa (£52m) / Pulisic
• SC Abraham / Haaland (£40m)
• SC Lautaro Martínez (£75m) / Moussa Dembélé (£40m)

After all this I still have a transfer budget of £130m and wages of £300k a week to spare. I've also just sold Rudiger as he lost the plot after I refused him a new contract, he's gone to United for £65m. I sold Barkely for an eyewatering £65m in January to United as well, who have now transfer listed him. I managed to sell everyone who came back from loan and for good money, except Drinkwater and Pantic which the board blocked them (clearly shows the board interaction doesn't really work properly yet in FM2020). The weirdest was that United offered me £186m for Tammy Abraham! Probably should have accepted it but really wanted to keep him as he as my top scorer in the first season.

So yeah, the challenge of no transfers very quickly goes away when you have so much money to spend the following summer.

[Geordieboy52]

Right then, little update so far.  Seems really easy from what I have seen - won the league twice and Champions league 2nd season.  I  have only signed 2 players Erikson on a free and Haaland for around £45m.  I am regularly playing as many youngsters as possible and trying to keep the academy ticking over. My team is currently:

SK/ Kepa

RWB Reece James/Azpilicueta

RCB - Zouma/Christensen

LCB (BPD) - Tomori/Christensen

LCWB Pulisic/Emerson

DMC - Jorghino/Kovacic

RCM (Mezzala) - Kovacic/Erikson

LCM (B2B) - Kante/Gilmour

AMR (Winger) - William/Mount

AML (IF) - Hudson-Odoi/Nathan (he's been amazing since returning from loan)

ST (AF) - Abraham/Haaland

 

Subs:

Christensen

Erikson

Gilmour

Emerson

Mount

Haaland

Young academy keeper

Young academy ST

 

There are some great prosects in the academy whose names I cannot remember off then top of my head.  I like the B2B midfielder (Connor something?) and there are a couple of theres who will get some game time next season.  I think I will offload Barkley this summer if I can - he's rated at £50+m but rarely plays - got two exciting players from my academy after S1 who have been given debut but nothing this season so will look to bring through talent that is already there. I needs some depth at RB so thing Sterling will step up a lot next season

[Deano565]

First season went pretty well, finishing 3rd in the PL just a point behind Liverpool and Man City (Liverpool winning it on goal difference). No trophies to show for it, but we performed okay in all of the cups reaching the Quarters/Semis. 

The ban was still in place in January so I made a lot of pre-agreements for ins/outs for the summer, and have had a major overhaul of the squad whilst trying to maintain the young English core. 

Abraham was top PL scorer with 21 goals, whilst Pulisic tore it up with 16 assists. I just couldn't get Loftus-Cheek to perform, with an average of 6.71. I like him but felt he wasn't going to develop to the standard I want, so let him go to Southampton for £20m in the summer. 

Ederson got unhappy at Man City's refusal to give him a new contract, so I forked out heavily (£115m) but feel it's worthwhile for his distribution both long and short. That's GK sorted for the next decade. 

Jorginho was my player of the season, contributing 8 goals (mostly pens) but performing very well in the CDM (D) role, regardless. However I had interest in both De Jong and Luis, and Barca came in with £65m, so off he went. 

Cavani came in on a free at the end of his PSG contract, replacing the hapless Batshuayi. He's still top class and should be a good influence for the younger players - I'll rotate him with Tammy. 

I had intended to keep Emerson and Rudiger as they started almost every game for me and performed well, but they were going to be relegated to backups behind Chilwell and Dias. As I received offers of around £45m for both, I snapped up Nathan Aké for £35m to provide cover in both positions. The defence looks a little light, but my two best newgen prospects are a CB and LB so they can be emergency cover in the event of an injury crisis. 

Bruno Fernandes and Chiesa also came in to add yet more quality. The squad for my second season is now: 

GK: Ederson, Kepa
RB: James, Azpilicueta
LB: Chilwell, Aké
CB: Dias, Tomori, Ampadu
DM: Frenkie De Jong, Florentino Luis
CM:Kante, Kovacic
CM: B. Fernandes, Mount
AMR: Chiesa, Pulisic
AML: Sancho, Hudson-Odoi
ST: Abraham, Cavani

Looking 12 months ahead I'll be trying to tempt Harry Kane and Max Aarons to replace Cavani and Azpilicueta. Phil Foden is also somebody I covet, as once the squad gets a bit older and improves I may shift to a more attacking 4-2-3-1. 

[bucket]

Is no one playing Loftus-Cheek?

[Robioto]

1 hour ago, bucket said:

Is no one playing Loftus-Cheek?

I used him as a CF in my first season and he did pretty well. But I've now sold him in my 2nd season as I have far better players both up front and in midfield. Out of the English lads at Chelsea I've only sold him and Barkley as they just aren't quite good enough.

[Geordieboy52]

5 hours ago, Deano565 said:

 

Ederson got unhappy at Man City's refusal to give him a new contract, so I forked out heavily (£115m) but feel it's worthwhile for his distribution both long and short. That's GK sorted for the next decade. 

 

Kepa was amazing for me 26 clean sheets in the league 35 across all competitions in 2nd season.

[tcoleman1]

First two signings have been made for me in my second season, Sancho and Martinez. That's my wingers and strikers sorted for quite a while. I obviously paid a lot for Sancho and Martinez I upped his wage after agreeing 250k (to 275k) as Liverpool came in for him and I couldn't let them have him!

I did sign Willian to an extra year only to try and get a fee for him and will then get another right winger. Undecided on who yet. 

Don't know how some of you got such great fees for Barkley! I've had to accept £13.25mill from Bournemouth and still pay him 16k a week. Did manage to sell Alonso to Arsenal for 50mill though.

Trying to get Chilwell but is he worth £65mill that they want? 2nd choice is Digne for about £25mill. Maatsen is developing nicely for me as a backup.

Connor Gallagher also had a great season at Charlton so is taking Barkley's place! Also want to fit Ampadu in as he looks great so might need to sell a CB. Rudiger is my best on paper but I would prob take a big fee from Barca who are sniffing around.

[Robioto]

On 25/11/2019 at 10:00, Robioto said:

I ended up winning the Champions League in my first season while missing out on the FA Cup in the final and the League on the final day, although the league was very unlikely going into the the last three games of the season and Liverpool who won the league had a little wobble in the run in.

I'm not sure this save will keep my long term though, you get so much money with sales in the summer after your first season it almost feels like cheating. I spent 509m and raked in around £300m. Man United finished 9th and didn't qualify for Europe so a number of their players wanted to leave, included Pogba, who i picked up for £65m, on top of that I got an unhappy Asensio to rotate on the left with Hudson-Odoi for £55m and Chiesa from Fiorentina for £52m as he was also listed by request. As well as signing an entire new strike force to play with Tammy Abraham. So after the summer transfer window my team looks like this:

• GK Kepa / Blackwell
• DL Azpilicueta / Alonso
• DR James / Aarons (£50m)
• DC Tomori / Christensen
• DC Rúben Dias (£52m) / Rudiger
• MC Mount / Kante
• MC Pogba (£65m) / Kovacic / Florentin Luis (£40m)
• ML Asensio (£55m) / Hudson-Odoi
• MR Chiesa (£52m) / Pulisic
• SC Abraham / Haaland (£40m)
• SC Lautaro Martínez (£75m) / Moussa Dembélé (£40m)

After all this I still have a transfer budget of £130m and wages of £300k a week to spare. I've also just sold Rudiger as he lost the plot after I refused him a new contract, he's gone to United for £65m. I sold Barkely for an eyewatering £65m in January to United as well, who have now transfer listed him. I managed to sell everyone who came back from loan and for good money, except Drinkwater and Pantic which the board blocked them (clearly shows the board interaction doesn't really work properly yet in FM2020). The weirdest was that United offered me £186m for Tammy Abraham! Probably should have accepted it but really wanted to keep him as he as my top scorer in the first season.

So yeah, the challenge of no transfers very quickly goes away when you have so much money to spend the following summer.

I sold Rudiger to United for £62m and replaced him with Milan Škriniar for £80m, will both go through in January. Still have £67m transfer budget, £350k wage budget and £270m in the bank.

Second season I lost the Super Cup to Arsenal, but other than that I've steamrolled the Premier League so far. Played 12 won 12 conceded 5 goals, beat Liverpool away 3-1, Spurs and City at home both 4-0. Lautaro Martinez and Pogba are a real step up, they are unstoppable.

I'm going to try and sell Kante and Dembele in January and buy Mbappe. Just going to have fun with this save now until the match engine is improved in the next major patch and I'll start my LLM game with York City. There is only so much enjoyment I can get with steamrolling the opposition!

[Robioto]

Second summer, this is now my team, won the treble in season 2. Will probably play one more season and then I'll move on to another save:

• GK Kepa / Blackwell
• DL Alaba (£115m) / Gaya (£67m)
• DR James / Aarons (£50m)
• DC Škriniar (£65m) / Christensen
• DC Rúben Dias (£52m) / Tomori
• MC Mount / Arthur (£60m)
• MC Pogba (£65m) / Florentin Luis (£40m)
• ML Asensio (£55m) / Hudson-Odoi
• MR Chiesa (£52m) / Sancho (£97m)
• SC Mbappe (£215m) / Haaland (£40m)
• SC Lautaro Martínez (£75m) / Abraham

Spent £700m in one season. You get so much money.