[FM20] Derby County - Why manage the Rams? / How are you getting on?

[OJ403]

17 hours ago, ForrestGrump said:

Haha! He's just not consistent enough. He only has a handful of good games per year, and we should have cashed in on him after he used one of those good game tokens against Huddersfield on the opening day of the season. The only thing that annoys me more than watching Lawrence put his laces through every shot he takes, is the fact that pundits always talk about how much 'promise' he has. It's been three years and I haven't seen it yet!

100% agree. The petulant fouls on the half way line he gives away when he loses the ball and goes off in a paddy are a close third.

One thing I really noticed last season in particular was the difference mentally between him and Wilson and Mount. You could really see who had been let go by United as a kid and which two had been kept on at big clubs. Technically I didn't think he was too far below Wilson in particular (Mount was a different class tbf), but mentally he couldn't compete at all. 

17 hours ago, ForrestGrump said:

I adore Marriott in real life, but he just hasn't been able to settle in and I share your frustration. I don't think injuries have helped, and the murmurings of a lack of effort in training have probably had an affect too. But the biggest issue will always be that, in the system Cocu is trying to implement, he simply isn't good enough with the ball at his feet or his back to goal.

While I share many fans' feelings about Waghorn's finishing and Martin's lack of movement, they are both far better options for us right now. I actually think Waghorn is a little under-appreciated. Yes, he misses too many chances, but his movement off the ball and his ability to link play between the midfield and attack should not be overlooked.

See I'm the opposite way about Marriott. Love him in FM, but I want rid in real life. He's had his chances and like you say doesn't really suit us. Yes hes a natural goal scorer but, abit like 13/14 Chris Martin, unless your going to build the side and style around him he's a waste. I'd cash in before he loses all his value, although he could change my mind easily though

And I 100% agree with Waghorn too. Especially the missed chances bit, it's not like he does too much wrong which makes him miss, in fact 9 times out of 10 he probably makes the right call. Hes just so unlucky. Can't help but love him though. He reflected that in my save too. He played with Marriott in season 1 and did well, but was always the weak link. In season 2 he picked up an injury and when he got his place back he just missed everything all the time. In season 3 no one would buy him off me, so off hes gone on loan to get him off the wage bill til his deals up at the end of the season. And back to real life, I rate him highest off the right coming - I think his extra physicality compare to most wingers/full backs is so useful as well as his link up with Bogle

 

And I look forward to hearing what your side looks like later on @Derby man!

[Jogo Bonito]

On 15/04/2020 at 10:08, Tee2 said:

I'm in December 2019 with my Derby save and currently 4th, which I'm blogging about here - http://greyhairedgamer.co.uk/wp/ - it's a long-winded affair!

Falling in love a bit with this team, even though like others above have mentioned I would hope for the best a playoff finish and staying in the Championship for another season's rebuild. Derby just don't feel quite ready for the big league as I see it, but signing players with potential and improving them to that standard looks like a viable option. 

Players signed - Lorenzo Montipo (£3.6m), Lewis Baker (£3.2m), Bakery Jatta (£3m), Alexander Milosevic (free), with Troy Parrott and Perrs Schuurs brought in on loan, the latter with a £6m optional future fee.

Players sold - Curtis Davies (£300k), Kelle Roos (£600k), Craig Forsyth (3750k), with Chris Martin and Florian Jozefzoon out on loan ahead of end of contract release/being sold.

Best formation - Montipo (GK), Bogle (DR), Lowe (DL), Clarke (DC), Bielik (DC), Rooney (DM, and captain), Shinne (MC), Baker (MC), Jatta (AMR), Waghorn (AML), Parrott (SC).

Overall it's a fascinating team to manage. I don't normally coach anyone beyond the bigger clubs these days out of sheer laziness on my part, but I can tell they are a squad that has been assembled by many previous hands, some positions over-stacked, others really weak, and they don't start off in that good a position. Lots of potential, plenty of young players coming through, but also some relics from past regimes that are drawing big wages and contributing very little. I'm selling Ikechi Anya in January, because there's no reason why someone so weak (the coaches say he's at a point of 'total collapse as a footballer', which I haven't seen before and doesn't suggest he's a thumbs up player) should still be here and earning £28k per week.

Superb blog, I read it all and it's a great story. In my game managing Reading, I switched to West Brom in season 2 as somehow they had been relegated to League 1 along with Derby! I got them back (Derby came up with me) and will finish my 2nd season there with The Baggies. After that,  I might go back to take Derby on in League 1 (it was a close call at the time) as I like all the Derby prospects and would use them all from the start of my tenure. I may even start a new game with The Rams from the 19/20 season, depending on what transfers they made in their first relegated season.

Good to see this thread is vibrant, all are nice updates.

[Stuniverse]

19 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Superb blog, I read it all and it's a great story.

I'm part way through reading @Tee2's blog and I totally agree with you. It's well-written, detailed, and I'm loving it.

19 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

In my game managing Reading, I switched to West Brom in season 2 as somehow they had been relegated to League 1 along with Derby! I got them back (Derby came up with me) and will finish my 2nd season there with The Baggies.

You chose West Brom over The Mighty Rams... shame on you LOL 🤣

19 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

After that,  I might go back to take Derby on in League 1 (it was a close call at the time) as I like all the Derby prospects and would use them all from the start of my tenure. I may even start a new game with The Rams from the 19/20 season, depending on what transfers they made in their first relegated season.

Seriously, if you do take on a Derby save, please do come back and tell us all about it.

19 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Good to see this thread is vibrant, all are nice updates.

Yes, indeed. As I said in the original post to this thread, I think the current situation at Pride Park, particularly around the Derby County first-team, U23 and U18 squads, offers the FM gamer who's wanting a challenge, plenty to get their teeth stuck into and there's a number of different ways to go about it from the starting point you find at the beginning of the save.

🐏

Edited April 18, 2020 by Stuniverse

[FlareOfIodine]

Another real-life Derby fan here, been really interesting reading about other people's experiences managing them. Here's mine. Also, has anyone else replaced Scheepers on the staff and felt pathetically sad?

 

Season 1

Finished 7th. 

Signed Ramsdale in goal. 

Backups signed: Jordi Escobar ST, Cyrus Christie on loan. 

 

Season 2

Finished 3rd, promoted in playoffs.

Signed Gordon Paton backup GK, Angileri CB, Ricci backup DM, and te Wierik joins. 

Angileri CB. 

 

Season 3

Finished 10th in the prem.

Signed Sam Field as DLP, Will Hughes as CAM (instant captain), Haksabanovic as a winger (and Tutino as a backup winger). Short-term cheap backups Mandzukic and Zabaleta, who never really got much time in the end. Particularly because Ebosele did incredibly well filling in for Bogle during a 2 month injury. 

It killed me to let Waghorn and Martin go before the season started. Finally sold off backup Lawrence for 3m in Jan.

Before the prem I had been using an attacking 4-2-3-1 formation, but switched it up a bit and used positive this season. Occasional 4-1-4-1 cautious for big away matches etc.

I know someone was asking about Marriott in the premier league, he grabbed 15 goals for me and was worth ~20m. Holmes had a fair few bids close to 20m and had a record of 12-9-11 goals across the three seasons. Couldn't sell him though as he's probably my favourite real life player and just keeps stepping up.

 

Currently in Pre-Season 4

Had a couple ~40m bids for Bielik who I'm still playing as a CB, fairly big bids for Lowe, Bogle too. Knight, Sibley and Bird are all worth between 10-20m, although I don't tend to play Knight at all now. Will probably look to sell a couple of these soon. Shinnie still regularly plays and has been brilliant through all seasons. 

Going for 4-4-1-1 as my cautious formation this season. 

 

Signed Fiete Arp to rotate/improve Marriott up front. Jonathan David as winger/CAM/ST.

Frees: Sokratis backup CB, Matuidi BWM to rotate with Shinnie particularly for tough away games. Yarmolenko extra depth on wings. 

Muric as GK from Man City, Ramsdale moaned about wanting to play in a better league all through season 3 and refused to sign a new contract with a few months left on it. Obviously he changed his mind once I signed Muric so he can rot on the bench. 

 

So yeah, you can do pretty decent things without signing too many players, I found just the odd quality addition here and there worked well. This season I'll still have Marriott regularly rotating with Arp, Lowe and Bogle (with Buchanan and Ebosele as backups), Bielik (te Wierik backup), Holmes rotating on the wings, Shinnie regularly starting, and Sibley/Bird getting reasonable time (and Knight potentially). Also still have Whittaker on the books but I never really favoured him so he's not developed as much as he should have and I ought to get rid.

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by FlareOfIodine

[Stuniverse]

10 minutes ago, FlareOfIodine said:

Also, has anyone else replaced Scheepers on the staff and felt pathetically sad?

No. I don’t like sacking any of the existing Backroom staff. I normally ‘promote’ Phillip Cocu to Director of Football (in the pre-game Editor) before starting a Derby County save.

 

[FlareOfIodine]

15 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

No. I don’t like sacking any of the existing Backroom staff. I normally ‘promote’ Phillip Cocu to Director of Football (in the pre-game Editor) before starting a Derby County save.

 

That's a good idea. Cocu managed Watford in my save and tried to poach my best players. I did keep my backroom staff until starting the fourth season but then thought I better upgrade. Lampard was keen on becoming the U23s manager which I quite liked, although Wassall seems great, unsurprisingly.

[Stuniverse]

4 hours ago, FlareOfIodine said:

Season 1

Finished 7th. 

Signed Ramsdale in goal. 

Backups signed: Jordi Escobar ST, Cyrus Christie on loan. 

Solid first season, @FlareOfIodine. Missing out on the playoffs by one place. Ouch!
 

4 hours ago, FlareOfIodine said:

Season 2

Finished 3rd, promoted in playoffs.

Signed Gordon Paton backup GK, Angileri CB, Ricci backup DM, and te Wierik joins. 

Angileri CB. 

That’s a great second season. Congratulations on the promotion. How did te Wierik do?
 

4 hours ago, FlareOfIodine said:

Season 3

Finished 10th in the prem.

Signed Sam Field as DLP, Will Hughes as CAM (instant captain), Haksabanovic as a winger (and Tutino as a backup winger). Short-term cheap backups Mandzukic and Zabaleta, who never really got much time in the end. Particularly because Ebosele did incredibly well filling in for Bogle during a 2 month injury. 

It killed me to let Waghorn and Martin go before the season started. Finally sold off backup Lawrence for 3m in Jan.

Before the prem I had been using an attacking 4-2-3-1 formation, but switched it up a bit and used positive this season. Occasional 4-1-4-1 cautious for big away matches etc.

I know someone was asking about Marriott in the premier league, he grabbed 15 goals for me and was worth ~20m. Holmes had a fair few bids close to 20m and had a record of 12-9-11 goals across the three seasons. Couldn't sell him though as he's probably my favourite real life player and just keeps stepping up.

10th in the EPL is fantastic in your first season Back in the Big Time. Some good signings there, including Will Hughes. Nice to hear Ebosole stepped up and did incredibly well.

4 hours ago, FlareOfIodine said:

Currently in Pre-Season 4

Had a couple ~40m bids for Bielik who I'm still playing as a CB, fairly big bids for Lowe, Bogle too. Knight, Sibley and Bird are all worth between 10-20m, although I don't tend to play Knight at all now. Will probably look to sell a couple of these soon. Shinnie still regularly plays and has been brilliant through all seasons. 

Going for 4-4-1-1 as my cautious formation this season. 

Signed Fiete Arp to rotate/improve Marriott up front. Jonathan David as winger/CAM/ST.

Frees: Sokratis backup CB, Matuidi BWM to rotate with Shinnie particularly for tough away games. Yarmolenko extra depth on wings. 

Muric as GK from Man City, Ramsdale moaned about wanting to play in a better league all through season 3 and refused to sign a new contract with a few months left on it. Obviously he changed his mind once I signed Muric so he can rot on the bench. 

What sort of Budgets are you getting at this point?

Good luck 🍀 in your second season in the EPL. Let us know how you get on 🐏

[Tee2]

21 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Superb blog, I read it all and it's a great story. In my game managing Reading, I switched to West Brom in season 2 as somehow they had been relegated to League 1 along with Derby! I got them back (Derby came up with me) and will finish my 2nd season there with The Baggies. After that,  I might go back to take Derby on in League 1 (it was a close call at the time) as I like all the Derby prospects and would use them all from the start of my tenure. I may even start a new game with The Rams from the 19/20 season, depending on what transfers they made in their first relegated season.

Thank you so much, that's really appreciated. As you say they have some terrific prospects. They remind me a bit of what my own Middlesbrough were like around ten years ago when the side was underpinned with Academy graduates - Joe Bennett, Matty Bates, Rhys Williams, Anthony Taylor, Adam Johnson, etc - all of whom went on to have very varied careers and some achieved a bit of unwanted notoriety. 

 

20 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Superb blog, I read it all and it's a great story. In my game managing Reading, I switched to West Brom in season 2 as somehow they had been relegated to League 1 along with Derby! I got them back (Derby came up with me) and will finish my 2nd season there with The Baggies. After that,  I might go back to take Derby on in League 1 (it was a close call at the time) as I like all the Derby prospects and would use them all from the start of my tenure. I may even start a new game with The Rams from the 19/20 season, depending on what transfers they made in their first relegated season.

That has to be very tempting though, what a challenge with their resources and presumably some of the existing squad still there. 

 

18 hours ago, FlareOfIodine said:

Another real-life Derby fan here, been really interesting reading about other people's experiences managing them. Here's mine. Also, has anyone else replaced Scheepers on the staff and felt pathetically sad?

 

That looks like a good effort; if I could emulate anything like that I'd be very happy. It's also interesting to read Derby fans' experiences of managing the Rams, the wrench you guys are feeling when letting go of your favourite players even when it's the right time to do it. Personally it's something I've rarely experienced. I'm ruthless! 

[FlareOfIodine]

On 18/04/2020 at 21:36, Stuniverse said:

Solid first season, @FlareOfIodine. Missing out on the playoffs by one place. Ouch!
 

That’s a great second season. Congratulations on the promotion. How did te Wierik do?
 

10th in the EPL is fantastic in your first season Back in the Big Time. Some good signings there, including Will Hughes. Nice to hear Ebosole stepped up and did incredibly well.

What sort of Budgets are you getting at this point?

Good luck 🍀 in your second season in the EPL. Let us know how you get on 🐏

Cheers! te Wierik was really solid, probably performed as well as Bielik and Angileri at CB, I rotated him a fair bit and probably favoured the other two because of their younger age. Now he is backup but still reliable. 

I think the first season in the prem was a budget of ~30m, and they added another 20m to that in the January window. Wage budget was something like 800,000 I think. This season they gave me 1.4m for wage budget, and around 50m in the summer for transfers. Only spent about half of it in the end. On a dreadful run of something like six games without a win in the league since the start of the season, so it looks like it's going to be a lot more difficult this time around!

[ForrestGrump]

Checking in after another season for anyone interested. Didn’t manage to defend our CL title after getting knocked out by Chelsea in the semi finals, but managed to get revenge by winning the Premier League on the last day of the season.
 

This seasons (2028/29) budget was only £35m transfer and £500k wage, with 60% of revenue made available.
 

What I found odd about the takeover in 2026 is that the new chairman immediately placed two bids for Joao Felix and Justin Kluivert, both in excess of £100m. I didn’t want either player, and thankfully they both turned down contract negotiations. But then if I asked the board to handle a transfer for a player worth £50m, they refused, stating they didn’t have the funds! My transfer budgets have been lower than they ever have since the takeover, too. I miss Mel Morris! 
 

I haven’t made any big signings this season and instead looked to buy young players to develop. Even with £5m left in the bank the board took my entire budget, reduced the wage budget, and then reduced the % of transfer revenue to 45%. If this is what goes on behind the scenes in real life then I could not cope with being a manager.
 

Currently sitting in 5th after 14 games, 6 points behind 1st place. Qualified for the CL knockouts top of our group, but knocked out of the Carabao Cup in our first game - which seems to be a running theme every year. 
 

In terms of current squad troubles, I’ve got a 21 year old striker (valued at £65m, already capped by Brazil 26 times) that hasn’t scored in over 17 hours of football. Not to mention that he actually missed a matchday because he was out on the lash the night before. Aside from him, four of my starting XI are injured, three of my subs are moaning about not getting enough playing time, and one of the team leaders is complaining about the lack of squad depth. The joys of football manager, eh?

[Luke6]

I'm only a few weeks into my derby save. Week before the championship season starts and my word I'm impressed. The youngsters coming through are incredible. None more so than Max Bird who has been filling in at RB during pre season as bogle and wisdom are injured. 5 games, average rating is 8.7. Playing at RB! 

Jack Marriot had 63% condition in the last pre season game and I thought I'd take the risk as I am keen to start him in the opener after reading this thread, so I brought him on for the last 10 minutes..  bagged a goal from 22 yards and then got an assist for my debutants Isaac Success who I brought in with thanks to this thread.

Never been more excited to start a season on fm in all the years of playing it. Managed to convince Emiliano Viviano to join in goal. Ryan Porteus from Hibernian looks a real bargain at £1m, probably could have got him for less though but all in all, could have started with the squad from the start thanks to the potential of these young players.

To finish.. anyone else have issues with josefzoon? Barring Kelle Roos throwing a wobble after me bringing in Viviano, everyone has been excellent. Josefzoon however, has been bloody dreadful everytime hes played. Think his time his up.

[Stuniverse]

17 hours ago, Luke6 said:

I'm only a few weeks into my derby save. Week before the championship season starts and my word I'm impressed. The youngsters coming through are incredible. None more so than Max Bird who has been filling in at RB during pre season as bogle and wisdom are injured. 5 games, average rating is 8.7. Playing at RB! 

Good to hear, @Luke6. I'm about to start a save where I use just the current squad for the first-season and I'm giving both Max Bird and Festy Ebosole game time at RB in pre-season. Bogle and Wisdom both injured at the same time makes RB a problem position at the start of a DCFC save. A lot of people bring in a half-season loanee to play RB.

17 hours ago, Luke6 said:

Jack Marriot had 63% condition in the last pre season game and I thought I'd take the risk as I am keen to start him in the opener after reading this thread, so I brought him on for the last 10 minutes..  bagged a goal from 22 yards and then got an assist for my debutants Isaac Success who I brought in with thanks to this thread.

That's quite a risk at only 63% condition. Did Marriott get through the game ok? Gad to hear thi thread is helping as well.

17 hours ago, Luke6 said:

Never been more excited to start a season on fm in all the years of playing it. Managed to convince Emiliano Viviano to join in goal. Ryan Porteus from Hibernian looks a real bargain at £1m, probably could have got him for less though but all in all, could have started with the squad from the start thanks to the potential of these young players.

That's great to hear. Sometimes it can be difficult to feel at home managing a new team in FM so it's great that you have an affinity with the Rams so early. Goalkeeper, in my opinion, is the key position that needs addressing in the first transfer window.

17 hours ago, Luke6 said:

To finish.. anyone else have issues with josefzoon? Barring Kelle Roos throwing a wobble after me bringing in Viviano, everyone has been excellent. Josefzoon however, has been bloody dreadful everytime hes played. Think his time his up.

I don't know what's happened to Florian Jozefoon in real-life. He was quality at Brentford and we all thought he'd be a great signing for us, but Frank Lampard couldn't get anything out of him and neither could current manager Phillip Cocu... and Jozefzoon played under Cocu in Holland so he's been given every chance this season but even Cocu appeared to have given up on him by Christmas. Reports are Jozefzoon's the most skillful player we've got on the training ground but he's been unable to reproduce it on the pitch. My updates for FM20, and then the FM20 Winter Update, had to reflect Jozefzoon's decline in the pecking order and limited playing time.

Edited April 25, 2020 by Stuniverse

[causticgrip]

Just finished my 3rd season with Derby, 2nd season in the Premier League:

 

A big improvement on the 16th place last season. I was actually around 5th place in March but a hard run of fixtures and some injuries, messed things up.

As you can see, I favour using English players. Signed a mix of experience and potential, with several players also being versatile.  Cavani was my top scorer even at his advanced age, made a huge difference. The defenders I signed were all a massive improvement on what I had as well.

As for real Derby players:

-Knight has become a fantastic player and is still improving. Lucked out on his PA there I think!

-Lowe does a respectable steady job at FB, can see him being around for a while.

-Bielik is a useful utility player, covering  CB and DM 

-Marriot scores every now and then off the bench and I can probably sell him for a decent price.

-Lawrence didn't really do much, a definite sale.

-Bogle and Archie Brown seem to have potential and got some valuable games out on loan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Luke6]

7 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Good to hear, @Luke6. I'm about to start a save where I use just the current squad for the first-season and I'm giving both Max Bird and Festy Ebosole game time at RB in pre-season. Bogle and Wisdom both injured at the same time makes RB a problem position at the start of a DCFC save. A lot of people bring in a half-season loanee to play RB.

That's quite a risk at only 63% condition. Did Marriott get through the game ok? Gad to hear thi thread is helping as well.

That's great to hear. Sometimes it can be difficult to feel at home managing a new team in FM so it's great that you have an affinity with the Rams so early. Goalkeeper, in my opinion, is the key position that needs addressing in the first transfer window.

I don't know what's happened to Florian Jozefoon in real-life. He was quality at Brentford and we all thought he'd be a great signing for us, but Frank Lampard couldn't get anything out of him and neither could current manager Phillip Cocu... and Jozefzoon played under Cocu in Holland so he's been given every chance this season but even Cocu appeared to have given up on him by Christmas. Reports are Jozefzoon's the most skillful player we've got on the training ground but he's been unable to reproduce it on the pitch. My updates for FM20, and then the FM20 Winter Update, had to reflect Jozefzoon's decline in the pecking order and limited playing time.

Bird has fit in nicely since the start of the season but only from the bench when needed as I went and got cyrus Christie on loan. Tom Lawrence and Isaac Success have been immense, Rooney has 3 goals already from DPM and Max Lowe is making that left back his own.

Josefzoon couldnt sell. I was offering to clubs for below a mil and no1 wanted him. Hearts tried for a loan move but it fell through so know hes in my u23's. 

Christie has just this second got injured in what was my 6th league game. 3rd right back injured, it's a curse this Derby Right Back situation. Luckily Andre Wisdom has just returned and I'm at the international break...

Top of the league, with 4 wins, a draw and a loss to Bristol City. 5-0 hammering over West Brom a particular highlight! 

 

[causticgrip]

Finished my fourth season with Derby

Same position as last season, 1 point worse off but this time I had the best defence in the league! 26 goals conceded

Sold Lawrence and Marriott- decent enough players but not top-half PL quality

My first 11 at the end of the season, when I beat Spurs and Liverpool away 1-0

Up until November, I tried to play a bit more attacking with AML/AMRs but it didn't work out and Saka+Roberts were disappointing. This was also a season to far for Cavani unfortunately, with Brobbey also being a letdown. So I just relied on being hard to beat instead and never conceded more than 2 goals in a game.

Also, Lowe and Knight still going strong and I think Bogle is ready to play some games at RB next season.

[Stuniverse]

That’s a cracking Derby career you’re having, @causticgrip. Congratulations. Thanks for keeping us updated.

[Stuniverse]

On 23/04/2020 at 15:22, ForrestGrump said:

What I found odd about the takeover in 2026 is that the new chairman immediately placed two bids for Joao Felix and Justin Kluivert, both in excess of £100m. I didn’t want either player, and thankfully they both turned down contract negotiations. But then if I asked the board to handle a transfer for a player worth £50m, they refused, stating they didn’t have the funds! My transfer budgets have been lower than they ever have since the takeover, too. I miss Mel Morris! 

I haven’t experienced this myself on FM20, @ForrestGrump, but I have heard of new owners buying players immediately following a takeover. I would imagine it’s pretty frustrating if they’re not players you want.

[Luke6]

Currently on 31st December 2019..

I've somehow got to the semi finals of the carabao cup, dismantling Southampton and Burnley en route.

2nd in the championship, 9 points behind runaway leaders brentford but my form is dipping. Lucky that everyone around me is as inconsistent as we are. Spent the season mostly in and around the play offs but a good run of form as got me to 2nd. That was until this Christmas period started. Back to back defeats to Wigan away and Charlton at home. Both clubs were in the relegation zone before kick off.

Jack Marriot is becoming a very frustrating player to manage. Missing chance after chance and only has 6 goals in all competitions so far. Very tempted to cash in on him now but is he worth giving more time?

Transfer window is opening and transfer budget is very low meaning I should look into the loan market. Tempted for a Jack marriot replacement but struggling to find who? And who would come on loan for the rest of the season! 

For anyone starting out though... SIGN ISAAC SUCCESS!! Got him on loan and he is incredible at this level. 13 goals in 25 games from an Inverted Winger is amazing numbers. Top scorer and more to come! 

2nd half of the season about to start and now to see if I can make it to the prem. If my recent form is anything to go on, looks like I'm going to agonisingly fall short as derby have a tendency to do! 

 

[Stuniverse]

Thanks for the update, @Luke6. Sounds like a good but frustrating first half of the season. 2nd is a very good position at the turn of the year. Hopefully, you can arrest your dip in form.

Good luck 🍀 for the transfer window and the rest of season.

[Luke6]

1 hour ago, Stuniverse said:

Thanks for the update, @Luke6. Sounds like a good but frustrating first half of the season. 2nd is a very good position at the turn of the year. Hopefully, you can arrest your dip in form.

Good luck 🍀 for the transfer window and the rest of season.

Thanks. 

This transfer window is only a week old and is killing me.

Knight is being chased by arsenal and is now upset I rejected their offer and Morgan Whittaker is wanted by Palace for £11m. 

Kill me now! 

[Stuniverse]

2 hours ago, Luke6 said:

This transfer window is only a week old and is killing me.

Knight is being chased by arsenal and is now upset I rejected their offer and Morgan Whittaker is wanted by Palace for £11m. 

Unless you need the money, @Luke6, or are wanting to sell either of Knight or Whittaker, I’d be tempted to bite the bullet and keep hold of them, particularly if you want to embrace the youth development aspect of the Club Vision. Once the window closes, if you continue pushing for playoffs / automatics they should get back onside.

[Luke6]

So little update..

Managed to keep both Whittaker and Knight in the end. That deadline day was pretty stressful!

Heading into the the final 6 games...Evening kick off against Forest, needing a win to leapfrog West Brom back into 2nd! A draw also puts me back in by virtue of goal difference but I play them next away and then runaway leaders Brentford straight after! Squeaky bum time as Sir Alex used to say!

Knocked out of the Carabao by Liverpool in the semi finals, gave them a right scare in the 2nd leg. 

Marriot I was really looking forward to managing, everyone almost on this thread said he had scored goal after goal for them but hes scored just once in FIFTEEN games. He will be following Chris Martin out the door in the transfer window that's for sure! 

[Stuniverse]

17 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Managed to keep both Whittaker and Knight in the end. That deadline day was pretty stressful!

Excellent. Did either of them kick up a fuss?

17 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Heading into the the final 6 games...Evening kick off against Forest, needing a win to leapfrog West Brom back into 2nd! A draw also puts me back in by virtue of goal difference but I play them next away and then runaway leaders Brentford straight after! Squeaky bum time as Sir Alex used to say!

That’s a tough three games.

18 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Knocked out of the Carabao by Liverpool in the semi finals, gave them a right scare in the 2nd leg. 

Ooh, that’s unlucky. Great job getting to the semis though.

18 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Marriot I was really looking forward to managing, everyone almost on this thread said he had scored goal after goal for them but hes scored just once in FIFTEEN games. He will be following Chris Martin out the door in the transfer window that's for sure!

Who will be your main strikers then?

[Luke6]

15 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Excellent. Did either of them kick up a fuss?

That’s a tough three games.

Ooh, that’s unlucky. Great job getting to the semis though.

Who will be your main strikers then?

They did but after a few games they seemed to get over it which was ideal. I normally play waghorn as a false nine after Marriot stopped scoring. Need reinforcements, that goes without question! Any recommendations for both if I go up or stay in the championship?

[Stuniverse]

On 03/05/2020 at 23:48, Luke6 said:

Need reinforcements, that goes without question! Any recommendations for both if I go up or stay in the championship?

If you can get them, probably on loan, how about Rhian Brewster or Isaac Success?

Here’s a list of players I know people have signed during the first season, including summer 2020, for Derby:

Please post more if you know any additions...

Aaron Hickey - DRL

Aaron Ramsdale - GK

Adalaberto Penaranda - SC

Adam Federico - GK

Adam Hlozek - AMR, SC / AML

Adam Idah - SC

Ademola Lookman - M/AML, SC

Alan Hutton - D/WBR

Alexander Milosevic - DC

Alexander Nubel - GK

Alfonso Pedraza - DL, WB/M/AML

Angel Gomes - AMLC

Axel Tuanzabe - DC

Bakery Jatta - M/AMRL

Bruno - DC (from Levante)

Cameron Dawson - GK

Che Adams - SC / AMRL

Christian D’Urso - DM, MC

Coniah Boyce-Clarke - GK

Cyrus Christie - DR

Daniel Bachmann - GK

Dimitri Foulquier - DRL / WBR

Dirk Proper - MC / AMC

Ellis Chapman - MC / M/AML

Emile Smith Rowe - AMLR, AMC

Emiliano Viviano - GK

Filipe Cruz - DR, WBR

Gregory Van der Wiel - DR

Isaac Lihadji - AMR

Isaac Success - AML, SC / ML

Ivan - DC, DM (from Levante)

Jack Clarke - AMR / MR, AML

James Garner - DM, MC

Javi Manquillo - D/WBR

John Lundstram - MC, DM

John Souttar - DC

Jon Stankovic - DC

Jordan Corke - DC / DR

Jordi Escobar - SC

Josh Maja - SC

Juan Hernandez - SC, AMC

Kevin Stöger - DM, MC

Liam Hegarty - DR

Leigh Griffiths - SC

Lewis Baker - M/AMC

Lorenzo Montipo - GK

Luca Lezzerini - GK

Luis Munteanu - SC

Marc Stendera - MC/AMC

Marco Sportiello - GK

Marcus Olsson - D/WBL

Matt Phillips - M/AMR

Matty Longstaff - MC

Mike te Wierik - DC / DR (deal agreed to join Derby on 01/07/2020)

Nathaniel Clyne - DR

Oliver Batista Meier - M/AMRL

Olly Miles - SC / AMC

Pascal Kopke - SC

Pedro Chirivella - DM, MC

Perr Schuurs - DC, DM / DR

Ricardo Krishna - M/AML / MR, AMRC

Rob Dickie - DRC

Ruslan Malinovskyi - M/AMC

Ryan Porteous - DC

Sam Cosgrove - SC

Scott Carson - GK (recalled from loan at Man City)

Scott McKenna - DC

Sebastiano Esposito - SC

Troy Parrott - SC

Will Hughes - MRC, AMC / DM, AMR

Yaya Toure - MC

Zakaria Bakkali - AMRL, ML

Good luck 🍀

Edited May 9, 2020 by Stuniverse

[OJ403]

Good work mate, sounds like your doing well! Long may it continue

14 hours ago, Luke6 said:

Marriot I was really looking forward to managing, everyone almost on this thread said he had scored goal after goal for them but hes scored just once in FIFTEEN games. He will be following Chris Martin out the door in the transfer window that's for sure! 

On Marriott, hes been exceptional for me in the first 3 seasons (all championship unfortunately) as the more attacking of two strikers, which probably suits him better than being a lone striker being asked to link up play.

14 hours ago, Luke6 said:

I normally play waghorn as a false nine after Marriot stopped scoring

Assuming you also played Marriott as the F9 then this might be why hes been poor, which is a similar story to real life. Although I may be wrong about this, its just a guess

14 hours ago, Luke6 said:

Need reinforcements, that goes without question! Any recommendations for both if I go up or stay in the championship?

And to add to what @StuniverseStuniverse said these are my singings from the summer of 2020 ahead of the 20/21 championship season, none cost a more than a few million at most and all my S1 signings have been mentioned;

Oliver Batista Meier, 🇩🇪 Bayern, to play all down both wings and as an AM

Marco Sportiello, 🇮🇹 Atalanta, GK

Jon Stankovic, 🇸🇮 Huddersfield, CB (I also had an option the extend Matt Clarke's loan but I went with Stankovic. I resigned Clarke on loan again in S3)

Pascal Köpke, 🇩🇪 Hertha Berlin, ST

Angel Gomes, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester United, both wings (on a loan, didn't impress)

Jack Clarke, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Spurs, MR/AMR (also on loan)

[Luke6]

Thanks @Stuniverse a few of those I have already so looks like I'm on the same wavelength as others. 

@OJ403 Marriot plays as an AF when he plays mate. Waghorn plays as a false nine with success and Lawrence either side who have been incredible. I bought Leigh Griffiths from Celtic who gets a goal every other game so he is ahead of Jack at the moment. I really, really want Jack to bang them in for fun but hes just not scoring. Hes training well but not performing in games! 

Those look like great signings, especially Gomes! Where have you been finishing in the championship? The youngsters like Lowe, Bogle, Knight etc will be almost fulfilling their potential by now surely? 

[OJ403]

1 hour ago, Luke6 said:

Those look like great signings, especially Gomes

Actually much to my surprise he was the worst of all my S2 singings. He barely got a game after January when youngster Archie Brown took his place.

1 hour ago, Luke6 said:

Where have you been finishing in the championship?

In season one we came either 5th or 6th I can't remember which and lost to Leeds in the playoff semis. In season 2 we came 5th and lost the playoff final on penalties to Stoke. In season three were currently top of the league undefeated after roughly a third of the season. In all honesty things have been very Derby County with bottle jobs costing us every year. So fingers crossed its our year this year!

1 hour ago, Luke6 said:

The youngsters like Lowe, Bogle, Knight etc will be almost fulfilling their potential by now surely? 

Of the youth is only those 3 plus Archie Brown who have made an impact. As I said earlier in the thread Bird has disappointed and Whittaker not given a chance.

Knight's been a sub player really, initially playing second fiddle to Rooney and now Ruslan Malinovskyi, so he's probably a top end championship player maybe lower premier league. I've rejected £20 million+ offers from Norwich this summer as the only replacements I could identify weren't any better but more expensive.

Lowe's been first choice left back throughout and has been exceptional. He is indeed reaching his peak and could go on to have a successful Premier League career, hopefully with us.

And finally Bogle, what a star. Factually the best right back in the league, frequently courted by top clubs and somehow I've kept him happy with I'd guess at least 5 pay rises of the course of the save. He's worth every penny. I'd say hes got room to grow into an European class right back with ease.

How are they looking for you?

Edited May 4, 2020 by OJ403

[Stuniverse]

Festy Ebosole

Has anybody given Festy Ebosele a prolonged run in the team? I’ve recently started a new Derby save where I’m going to stick with the existing squad (by and large) for the first season (although I have set myself some rules, in line with the Club Vision / Philosophies).

I’m up to the end of the August international break and both RBs (Jayden Bogle and Andre Wisdom) are still out, although Wisdom is close to a return. Primarily, I’ve used Max Bird at RB, but Ebosole has played two Carabao Cup games (7.2 v Mansfield) and (7.4 v Walsall) and one league game (7.6 v WBA), to be averaging an impressive 7.40, with three assists from three appearances.

With Wisdom and Bogle both due back, it’s unlikely Ebosole will get much more playing time... so I wondered what anybody else’s experiences with him are?

Edited May 4, 2020 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

33 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

Of the youth is only those 3 plus Archie Brown who have made an impact.

How much playing time have you been able to give Archie Brown or did you loan him out?

[Luke6]

@OJ403 oh that is surprising, I thought Gomes would have been a dead cert to start! 

I do feel your pain, although going into the last 2 games I'm still 2nd, we could easily have confirmed promotion by now if it wasnt for some strange results. West Brom will definitely pop me to it, I can feel it! 

Lowe and Bogle are unbelievable! If I do go up, their places are not under threat whatsoever! Archie Brown I haven't used really apart from a carabao cup game but I am keeping an eye on him and will be looking to at least loan him out. Whittaker for me has really impressed, especially after I rejected a 12m bid from Palace. Has scored some vitals goals too! 

@Stuniverse I used Bird at right back at the start of my save and he did really well but I caved in and got Christie on loan ahead of the start of the season. I regularly get urged to bring Ebosele into the team due to his performances in the u23s but then got injured after 10 minutes against Barnsley and is ruled out until November! Was gutted! 

[Luke6]

@OJ403 @Stuniverse guys.. lost to Birmingham last game and missed out on promotion by 2 points! 😭 

On the plus side, I've got Nottingham Forest in the play offs semi final. 

[Stuniverse]

2 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

lost to Birmingham last game and missed out on promotion by 2 points! 😭 

Oh no, that’s gutting! Who did go up? WBA, I’m guessing, and one other...

3 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

On the plus side, I've got Nottingham Forest in the play offs semi final. 

Wow! You have to win that one.

Who’s in the other SF?

[Luke6]

@Stuniverse West Brom pipped me and Brentford won the league. Theyve walked it surprisingly! 

The other semi final is Preston against Middlesbrough. I'm hoping for Preston as I picked up just 1 point against boro and didnt score in either game! 

[Stuniverse]

4 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

@Stuniverse West Brom pipped me and Brentford won the league. Theyve walked it surprisingly! 

The other semi final is Preston against Middlesbrough. I'm hoping for Preston as I picked up just 1 point against boro and didnt score in either game! 

Good luck 🍀

[serg__23]

Currently on 21st of December 2019, so we have already played half of Championship games (23). My choice was Derby, because they have a lot of excellent young players, so I can play without overhauling whole squad in 2 seasons  At the beginning extended contracts of our young stars such as Knight, Bogle, Sibley, Bird, Whittaker, Buchanan, Lowe with club options for 3 years extension. Overpaying in 2019, but as I said goal is to develop my current squad.

Our results:

Despite starting with two consecutive losses to Huddersfield and Swansea (due to my poor tactical choice to play some kind of gegenpress) we have turned the corner with 3 wins with my vision of tiki-taka. But I did not like our chance creation. So after 0-2 defeat to Brentfod I have changed tactic to more simple and balanced (tactic will be posted below). Currently we are 1st in Championship with best defence (14 conceded, that's our biggest achievement in my opinion) and best attack (40 goals, but I think that's luck, because we are not best in chance creation and have 5/5 from penalties). 

We are also in the semi-final of Carabao Cup against Crystal Palace (Man Utd vs Leeds in other SF). But we had very easy road with 1 team from League Two, 3 from League One and Huddersfield in QF. So do not consider it as success right now.

Tactic with most used players on each position:

PI: Both IW(s)- sit narrower. Some times Lawrence with Take More risk.

BBM(s)- Take more risk. But it depends who is playing on this position.

Left WB(a)- Stay Wider.

When drawing or loosing: Increasing mentality and LOE with DL

Commmon substitues:

1)  Martyn Waghorn for Morgan Whittaker

2) Wayne Rooney for Louie Sibley along with moving Bird to BBM and Knight to CM(A). I know that benching Rooney does not look like a smart choice, but in my opinion he is most effective when comming on 60th minute when we are not winning. And as was mentioned goal is to develop my current squad.

Personalities:

Jack Marriott- 11g 2a. Our best goalscorer and excellent Championship striker.

Jayden Bogle and Max Lowe- heart of our team, Bogle our leader with 5 assists and one magnificent winning solo goal, when he dribbled past 2 opponents. 

Jason Knight- developing and playing very well, our best young talent.

Max Bird- playing very well, but not developing as fast as Knight.

And biggest disappointment: Louie Sibley- despite playing a lot, only three goals (two in one game) and a lot of missed chances. Also bad development and I dont know why but he is getting worse.

Our plans for winter transfer window 2020:

Out:

Craig Forsyth- curretnly under 240K EUR transfer bid from Colorado Rapids. Does not have any chance to play with Lowe, Malone, Buchanan in team.

Ikechi Anya- not good enough and rapidly regressing.

Chris Martin- too slow for our style of play. May keep him till the end of season.

Florian Jozefzoon- 5th wide player in the pecking order. May keep him till the end of season.

In:

Do not plan to buy or loan any players during winter window. But may try to buy some young talanted youngsters for the future (for example, Aaron Hickey from Hearts, two-footed fullback capable playing on both flanks, shall be excelent backup for my main fullbacks). Was considering CB, but decided to give Buchanan every chance till the end of season.

Longterm transfer plans for summer 2020:

-Left-footed CB as Matthew Clarke is only on loan and having big doubts Buchanan can be our main Left CB next season.

-Aaron Hickey- can play as backup for both Lowe and Bogle and takes only one bench spot

-IW on the left, we have only Lawrence as natural chioce on this position.

-ST. Back up for Jack Marriott (currently Martyn Waghorn and Morgan Whittaker are his backups).

 

Looking forward for second half of the season. Maybe will post some updates in the future.

 

Edited May 5, 2020 by serg__23

[OJ403]

Keep feeling like Im the only guy in this thread whos not using Whittaker! He gets shoved off to Real Union on loan nowadays.

13 hours ago, Luke6 said:

@OJ403 @Stuniverse guys.. lost to Birmingham last game and missed out on promotion by 2 points! 😭 

On the plus side, I've got Nottingham Forest in the play offs semi final

And my turn for a bottle job. Unbeaten in the league going into the last game of November away at Forest. I'm sure it doesn't take much working out who won... Honestly I've got an appalling record against Forest in this save, especially considering we're always the better team but somehow get sh*thoused. I think removing the trauma of these games is the major attraction of promotion!

And any news on the playoffs, @Luke6?

3 hours ago, serg__23 said:

Looking forward for second half of the season. Maybe will post some updates in the future.

And it looks like your doing well mate, keep us posted, especially with the progress of the youngsters.

 

One thing I'm yet to mention is amongst my signings have been an influx of probably nearing 10 youngsters from Europe on cheap deals with the potential to be stars one day, and at very least sold on for a profit. As of now they're all newgens. I also look for real players too but there's not too many young real players around now. Ideally I look for players with a few key attributes: determination, work rate and teamwork. I also look for "good" technicals and mentals in key stats and the opportunity for retraining is also something I consider.

[Stuniverse]

3 hours ago, serg__23 said:

Currently on 21st of December 2019, so we have already played half of Championship games (23). My choice was Derby, because they have a lot of excellent young players, so I can play without overhauling whole squad in 2 seasons

I started a similar save a couple of days ago, although I'm only up to 2nd October 2019. The only piece of transfer business I did was to recall Scott Carson from his Man City loan and cancel the loan of Ben Hamer sending him back to Huddersfield.

3 hours ago, serg__23 said:

Despite starting with two consecutive losses to Huddersfield and Swansea (due to my poor tactical choice to play some kind of gegenpress) we have turned the corner with 3 wins with my vision of tiki-taka. But I did not like our chance creation. So after 0-2 defeat to Brentfod I have changed tactic to more simple and balanced (tactic will be posted below). Currently we are 1st in Championship with best defence (14 conceded, that's our biggest achievement in my opinion) and best attack (40 goals, but I think that's luck, because we are not best in chance creation and have 5/5 from penalties). 

That's amazing going, @serg__23, given the squad you inherit at the start of the save and the fact that you're using Wayne Rooney as an impact sub off the bench. At £50K per week, Rooney's an expensive sub, but at least the sponsors are paying his wages for you.

In my save, we're 10th having W5, D1 and L4 on 16 points, just one point off the playoff places:

A couple of questions for you:

Q1: Who did you use at RB during the opening period when both Jayden Bogle and Andre Wisdom are out injured? I went with Max Bird mainly, although Festy Ebosole did get two Carabao Cup starts and one start in the Championship.

Q2: Has Matt Clarke been picking up a lot of yellow cards for you? I'm playing him as a BPD - De like yourself and he's already been suspended once after picking up five bookings in eight Championship starts.

Q3: Has Tom Huddlestone played much for you?

3 hours ago, serg__23 said:

Tactic with most used players on each position:

I like the look of your tactic which is completely different to the low tempo, control possession, tactic I'm using as I'm trying to replicate the way Phillip Cocu had the Rams playing in real-life.

Krystian Bielik and Jayden Bogle being injured is a blow, I hope they're not going to be out for too long.

Up until very recently, I was playing with the 'Work Ball Into Box' trait but was finding that we weren't creating / scoring enough despite dominating possession in pretty much every game we played.

My observations:

* Up front - I tried Chris Martin, Martyn Waghorn, even Morgan Whttaker and Jack Mariott without any of them making the shirt their own, although Marriott has started to impress after his return from injury with 5 goals, 2 assists from 7 (4) appearances and the removal of  'Work Ball Into Box' is playing to his strengths.

* In midfield, the three behind Marriott are fairly set, although I do want to give Whittaker and Duane Holmes more playing time. Holmes, in particular, has surprised me on the right-wing with 4 goals, 0 assists from 5 (3) appearances. Wayne Rooney is also pretty set. I dropped Tom Huddlestone early in the season after he dwelled on the ball longer than normal against Bristol City, got dispossessed in the middle of our own half, and the Robins ran through to score their first goal in a 2-0 loss at Pride Park. Both Graeme Shinnie and Louie Sibley have had chances to stake a claim, but Hudds has worked his way back in as the Rooney-Huddlestone combination seems to really suit the low tempo / control possession system we're using.

* At right-back, Andre Wisdom has returned after his injury and played well but I'm not sure what I'll do with Wisdom once Jayden Bogle is fully fit. My medical team currently recommend Bogle plays no more than 45 minutes so he's not that far off.

* At centre-back, I have a dilemma. I want to play two BPDs in Krystian Bielik and Matt Clarke but, as mentioned earlier, Clarke is getting booked far too often for my liking. George Evans is another BPD option, but I don' really rate his defensive abilities, as is Huddlestone but I think he'd be found out with his lack of pace and mobility. Curtis Davies has quietly been doing a good job for me there, as CD - De, and we do look defensively more solid with Davies in the back-four. Once Bogle is back, Wisdom also gives me another option in the heart of defence.

3 hours ago, serg__23 said:

And biggest disappointment: Louie Sibley- despite playing a lot, only three goals (two in one game) and a lot of missed chances. Also bad development and I dont know why but he is getting worse.

Louie Sibley needs more patience than Jason Knight and Max Bird and I find he's more suited to an AM, AP role although I've got good perfomances out of him as a MEZ.

3 hours ago, serg__23 said:

Out:

Craig Forsyth- curretnly under 240K EUR transfer bid from Colorado Rapids. Does not have any chance to play with Lowe, Malone, Buchanan in team.

Ikechi Anya- not good enough and rapidly regressing.

Chris Martin- too slow for our style of play. May keep him till the end of season.

Florian Jozefzoon- 5th wide player in the pecking order. May keep him till the end of season.

I can't ague with you there, although Florian Jozefzoon has surprised me in my current save with a 1 goal, 1 assist, 7.5 average from 2 (1) appearances in the Carabao Cup, admittedly against Lg 1 and Lg 2 opposition.

3 hours ago, serg__23 said:

Does not plan to buy or loan any players during winter window. But may try to buy some young talanted youngsters for the future (for example, Aaron Hickey from Hearts, two-footed fullback capable playing on both flanks, shall be excelent backup for my main fullbacks). Was considering CB, but decided to give Buchanan every chance till the end of season.

Aaron Hickey is a good shout. My main save at the moment sees me managing in the SPL and Hickey looks a very good prospect, although in that save an EPL side, Burnley (I think), beat me to his signature and his asking price then sky rocketed. If you're going to sign him, I'd suggest getting in quick before Hearts decide to cash in on him.

3 hours ago, serg__23 said:

Looking forward for second half of the season. Maybe will post some updates in the future.

Good luck... and yes please, we'd love to hear how your season works out.

Thank you for taking the time to update us about your save. 

Edited May 5, 2020 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

37 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

Unbeaten in the league going into the last game of November away at Forest. I'm sure it doesn't take much working out who won... Honestly I've got an appalling record against Forest in this save, especially considering we're always the better team but somehow get sh*thoused. I think removing the trauma of these games is the major attraction of promotion!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who ends up bottling the Brian Clough Trophy games. As a life-long Derby County fan, it really annoys me every time we get beaten by Nottingham Forest.

38 minutes ago, OJ403 said:

One thing I'm yet to mention is amongst my signings have been an influx of probably nearing 10 youngsters from Europe on cheap deals with the potential to be stars one day, and at very least sold on for a profit. As of now they're all newgens. I also look for real players too but there's not too many young real players around now. Ideally I look for players with a few key attributes: determination, work rate and teamwork. I also look for "good" technicals and mentals in key stats and the opportunity for retraining is also something I consider.

That's good thinking, @OJ403. I assume they go into your U23 or U18 squads. Then what do you do to develop them?

[OJ403]

1 hour ago, Stuniverse said:

I'm glad I'm not the only one who ends up bottling the Brian Clough Trophy games. As a life-long Derby County fan, it really annoys me every time we get beaten by Nottingham Forest.

Honestly its the same for me. My first ever Derby Forest game was in the 13/14 Wembley season when we won 5-0. Safe to say I haven't reached those heights yet...

1 hour ago, Stuniverse said:

I assume they go into your U23 or U18 squads. Then what do you do to develop them?

They go straight into the U23s irrespective of age for me as this tests them at a higher level than U18s and makes it easier to look after them. Team trainings assigned to Darren Wassall, I look after individual training adding PPMs to suit our game. Irrespective of age they spend a full season at the club so I can assess them fully. This includes giving some of them game time in the cups and easier and less important league games in squad rotation roles. When they hit 18/19 (or if they join slightly older after a full season) they go out on loan, but only to clubs who'll agree to make them a starter with a recall clause just in case. They get up to two seasons of loan options then either come back and play or get sold on. Its usually for a profit as I tend not to buy for over a million, unless they look a real star.

[serg__23]

2 часа назад, Stuniverse сказал:

Q1: Who did you use at RB during the opening period when both Jayden Bogle and Andre Wisdom are out injured? I went with Max Bird mainly, although Festy Ebosole did get two Carabao Cup starts and one start in the Championship.

Max Bird (6 apps at RB). His role was WB(d) or FB(S) because he is too slow for this position and sometimes he was really tortured by fast wingers of my opponents. 6.83 was his avarage rating. 

Duane Holmes (4 apps at RB). Defensivle he is not good, but he is faster than Max Bird and offered me a little bit more in attack for RB position due to his pace and dribbiling. Though 6.80 rating.

Festy Ebosele - Was thinking about him, but his 3 in Composure, 4 in Positioning, 2 in Balance was too much to play him in 4 man defence. He was like a bad version of Duane Holmes

2 часа назад, Stuniverse сказал:

Q2: Has Matt Clarke been picking up a lot of yellow cards for you? I'm playing him as a BPD - De like yourself and he's already been suspended once after picking up five bookings in eight Championship starts.

Not really. 2 yellow cards in 22 Championship starts. Our leaders in bookings are Max Bird with 6 in 21(2) and Jayden Bogle with 5 in 11(3). But that's due to our tactics. Jayden Bogle is on attack duty and most attacking RB role, so after interception or good clearance by opposition he has a lot work to do. Max Bird sometimes has to cover areas of our attacking FBs and stop counter attacks of opponents.

2 часа назад, Stuniverse сказал:

Q3: Has Tom Huddlestone played much for you?

Only 3 apps in Carabao Cup. But he has no problems with me and his morale is extremly good rn. He is proud of our league position and is good leader in our dressing room. What a guy!

2 часа назад, Stuniverse сказал:

I like the look of your tactic which is completely different to the low tempo, control possession, tactic I'm using as I'm trying to replicate the way Phillip Cocu had the Rams playing in real-life.

I was thinking about playing possesion footbal. But plan was to play Morgan Whittaker, Louie Sibley and Jack Marriott in our starting line up and they are not good in passing and not suited to this style. We are 9th in possesion with 51% (so we are really balanced as was planned).

But we still have some elements of possession football: 

1) FB on attack and IW support creates natural overlaps and overloads on flanks

2) Low crosses encourages our flank players to play more cutbacks rathher than cross into crowded penalty area. Maybe cutbacks has nothing to do with low crosses instruction and I am wrong, but thats my observations.

Edited May 5, 2020 by serg__23

[Luke6]

@OJ403 @Stuniverse we drew 1-1 in both legs. They slightly edged the first leg, lucky to escape a with a draw in the end. But second leg we took the lead. I then had 2 goals disallowed and they equalised not long after. Thought it was going to be yet another bottle job. 118th minute, they were on the attack before we pinched it off them and got a free kick.. Rooney top corner! My laptop almost flew further than the ball. 

Preston in the final, haven't played it yet as I am too nervous! To finish 3rd after being in the top 2 all season and then to lose the play off final would probably mean I retire early due to my laptop having seven shades of **** kicked out of it. So when I am composed enough to play it, I will let you know. 

[Stuniverse]

1 hour ago, Luke6 said:

@OJ403 @Stuniverse we drew 1-1 in both legs. They slightly edged the first leg, lucky to escape a with a draw in the end. But second leg we took the lead. I then had 2 goals disallowed and they equalised not long after. Thought it was going to be yet another bottle job. 118th minute, they were on the attack before we pinched it off them and got a free kick.. Rooney top corner! My laptop almost flew further than the ball. 

Preston in the final, haven't played it yet as I am too nervous! To finish 3rd after being in the top 2 all season and then to lose the play off final would probably mean I retire early due to my laptop having seven shades of **** kicked out of it. So when I am composed enough to play it, I will let you know. 

Congratulations on beating Forest in the playoffs, @Luke6.

Good luck in the final against Preston 🍀

[Luke6]

Thanks @Stuniverse my record against them in the league was a 2-0 win and a 3-2 defeat. Let's hope I can make it 3rd time lucky and avenge the villa and QPR defeats! 

[Luke6]

@Stuniverse @OJ403 come all this way.. heartache on the final day but was all worth it! 1-0 win over Preston. Were promoted!!!! So so so chuffed! Literally just skipped around the living room! 

[Stuniverse]

2 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

@Stuniverse @OJ403 come all this way.. heartache on the final day but was all worth it! 1-0 win over Preston. Were promoted!!!! So so so chuffed! Literally just skipped around the living room! 

Congratulations, @Luke6. I’m so pleased for you. Who scored the promotion goal?

Good luck with your preparations for the Premier League 🍀

[Luke6]

@Stuniverse thanks mate. It was Matt Clarke who got it. I was going to try and get him permanently anyways but now I definitely will! 

Just had a meeting with the team and said I think we have enough to stay up next season. All but 2 disagreed with that. Going to be very tough I think but have a transfer budget of 38m. Can do alot with that! 

[OJ403]

44 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

@Stuniverse @OJ403 come all this way.. heartache on the final day but was all worth it! 1-0 win over Preston. Were promoted!!!! So so so chuffed! Literally just skipped around the living room! 

Fantastic work! There's also a tiny bit of jealousy that you've managed it first time and I've bottled it twice but we're all Derby arent we... 😂😂

22 minutes ago, Luke6 said:

Just had a meeting with the team and said I think we have enough to stay up next season. All but 2 disagreed with that. Going to be very tough I think but have a transfer budget of 38m. Can do alot with that! 

Would 100% recommend signing Matt Clarke. I let him go for S2 but he's come back on loan with a £5 million option in S3 and I will definitely be activating it. He plays at left back sometimes for me too either as Lowe's cover as a FB-S (with Buchanan and Shinnie, although both will probably leave at the end of the season) or in our more defensive system as an IWB-D - both of which he does really well in to the point he kept Lowe out the side for a spell!

Out of interest who disagreed? And with £38 million I'd back you to stay up every time if you spend well. One piece of advice I'd give you is to make use of the free agent market and loans-to-buy (as I've done with Clarke and also Filipe Cruz from Benfica) as it's really cost effective, which means you can sign more players, and I find some absolute steals in there

[Luke6]

1 hour ago, OJ403 said:

Fantastic work! There's also a tiny bit of jealousy that you've managed it first time and I've bottled it twice but we're all Derby arent we... 😂😂

Would 100% recommend signing Matt Clarke. I let him go for S2 but he's come back on loan with a £5 million option in S3 and I will definitely be activating it. He plays at left back sometimes for me too either as Lowe's cover as a FB-S (with Buchanan and Shinnie, although both will probably leave at the end of the season) or in our more defensive system as an IWB-D - both of which he does really well in to the point he kept Lowe out the side for a spell!

Out of interest who disagreed? And with £38 million I'd back you to stay up every time if you spend well. One piece of advice I'd give you is to make use of the free agent market and loans-to-buy (as I've done with Clarke and also Filipe Cruz from Benfica) as it's really cost effective, which means you can sign more players, and I find some absolute steals in there

Haha thanks bro. By the sounds of it, you will be 3rd time lucky this season though! 

I've played Clarke at LB a few times but I felt he was a little error prone when he played wide but might just be me. He struck a great partnership with Bielik at that back for me, and he bagged a hat trick against QPR in the league believe it or not! 

Besides Rooney, virtually the whole team were eith sceptical or against what I said. Oh 100% I didnt really do it in my 1st season apart from getting Viviano on a free but I will be looking at trying for a few bargains and maybe a marquee signing! 

[Luke6]

Just signed Silvino Louro as a gk coach and asked him to recommend a signing. He came back with a goalkeeper Wuilker Farinez from Millonarios in Colombia and said sign at whatever costs. This guy is a steal. Hes 22 years old, 4.5 star rated and I managed to get him for just 3mil. Still got 35 mil to spend. 

Now I need opinions.. it's still June so not all my loan deals are up. I was looking at either signing Matt Clarke permanently, but, Brighton want in excess of 20m for him. I can wait to sign him back on loan or shall I go for Joel Veltman. I've just equalled a bid made by Brentford for 7.5mil. 28 years old but I think solid at the back.

As back up to Jayden Bogle, do I sign Cyrus Christie permanently for around 4-5 mil or should I go for Nathaniel Clyne on a free from Liverpool. There really is nothing between them in terms of attributes.

Also just had a 1.8mil bid accepted for Zakkaria Bakkali from Anderlecht. Really not too bad but at the moment, hes only rated 2.5 stars with potential 4. Isaac Success is going to be a lot more than 1.8mil but Watford have been relegated in my save so it could be a cheaper deal than the 18mil they said in January? What do we reckon guys? 

@Stuniverse @OJ403

Edited May 5, 2020 by Luke6