Rdog Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 Sol Long Farewell Good morning guys and girls, I've had trouble getting into Football Manager saves in the last few years but want to give FM20 a right good go. Hopefully by sharing my story with you it will keep me motivated to carry on and make this a long term save. Any questions and suggestions are more than welcome, hope you enjoy! June - Offered Emile Acquah, Matt Rush, Rob Howard, Richard Taylor out on loan for development (No offers) - Transfer listed Kiernan (No offers) - Promoted Charlie Kelman to the first team - Went to the job centre to look for Physio, Sports Scientist, Director of Football, two Scouts, Data Analyst, Goalkeeping Coach (U18's), Assistant Manager (U18's), Physio (U18's), Assistant Manager (U23's), Coach (U23's) - Assistant Manager, Goalkeeping Coach and Head of Youth Development studying for higher coaching qualifications Decided on a 4-4-2 wing play as I have strong full backs and strikers to utilise this. The main weakness in the squad is a lack of a recognised right midfielder so I have asked the board for a senior affiliate to get a player on loan without the cost of his wages. Only one game in June against our Under 23's and a positive result and performance, glad to see both strikers on the scoresheet and assist from our goalkeeper! In July we have 6 friendly matches to get match fitness and sharpness for the season opener away at Coventry! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 23, 2019 Author Share Posted November 23, 2019 July - Chelsea chosen as senior affiliate Been busy bolstering the back room team The media don't think much of the team though, we're in for a long old season! ....or are we? Ok maybe we actually are, fantastic... Milligan and Ralph are key players but I have enough cover in central midfield. Not so much at left back though. Elvis is back up to Demetriou who is injury prone so not ideal. However, I've had a cracking friendly campaign Particularly pleased with the number of clean sheets, the results against Schalke and Hibernian and the 7 goals scored by Humphrys! Next up, the start of the League One campaign, wish me luck... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter G Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 As a Southend fan, you'll find injuries are common. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 23, 2019 Author Share Posted November 23, 2019 15 minutes ago, Peter G said: As a Southend fan, you'll find injuries are common. As long they're all just for 2 or 3 weeks I'll take it. Luckily I've had none since and we're having a good start to the season - three games played and already more points than in real life! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 23, 2019 Author Share Posted November 23, 2019 (edited) August - Tom Clifford promoted to first team to cover bench for Ralph injury Here's the draw for the group stage of the Leasing.com Trophy Decent mix of teams so would like to think I would get out of that group in 2nd place and please the board. It's been a mixed start to the league campaign, we started it with 2 great wins but brought back down to earth with some thumping defeats. Lincoln were just too strong and probably title contenders but Peterborough playing 3-5-2 counter attack absolutely killed us. Humphrys has been on fire but we are conceding way too many goals. Lennon has made 2 mistakes directly leading to goals. We had a solid win away at Crawley to progress to the second round of the Carabao Cup (pleasing the board) but wasn't good enough losing on penalties in the next round. Well deserved ...and this guy is back! Cox has been underperfoming so I'm hoping Hopper is better suited to the DLF role On to September and we need a good start in the Leasing.com trophy and some more wins/clean sheets! Edited November 27, 2019 by Rdog Added league table Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 23, 2019 Author Share Posted November 23, 2019 September Noticed there was an issue where my central defenders were playing long balls and never coming off so I have changed so they take less risks with their passing. Also, Ndukwu is shooting far too often at right midfield with little success so have asked him to shoot less often Richard Taylor has gone on loan to Maidstone to develop and I've got rid of £2.5k off the wage bill by selling Rob Kiernan Results have dipped massively, we won our first game in the Leasing.com trophy without conceding and then got thumped again twice in the league. Held a team meeting and managed to get two clean sheets but struggling to score. Finished off with an awful loss after a Ridgewell red card Which leaves the league table looking like this... ...not pretty and no win in 6! Need to pick up at least two wins next month. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Looks like the board are happy with top half of League One. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 26, 2019 Share Posted November 26, 2019 Southend board putting in a 5 year plan to build a new stadium? That's so 2007... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted November 26, 2019 Share Posted November 26, 2019 Bit of a mixed bag so far Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 On 25/11/2019 at 21:45, Nobby_McDonald said: Looks like the board are happy with top half of League One. With the way October is going at the moment the board are definitely not going to be happy! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 16 hours ago, PaulHartman71 said: Southend board putting in a 5 year plan to build a new stadium? That's so 2007... Made me chuckle, must admit. I'll keep the finances in check as much as possible and request a new stadium if I'm still here at the end of the season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 14 hours ago, SRL88 said: Bit of a mixed bag so far You could say that, Humphrys came out the blocks firing but looks to have completely lost his touch in front of goal and the defenders are nearly as bad as real life! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 October FA cup draw sees us face league opposition at home, a good chance to progress! I asked for two wins and I got two wins, one was against top of the league Doncaster (I'll never understand this game!) and the other against our FA Cup opponents! Was happy to keep the games much tighter this month, didn't get spanked once and heartache conceding a 90th min winner to Ipswich. The league table looks slightly better but we really need to get an unbeaten run going... Next month is quiet, 5 games in total and only 3 in the league. We really need to win 2 of those! I'll be going through expiring contracts next month too so hopefully we can decide who is going to free up some wages for new faces in January! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 Those two wins were beneficial. Just need to find consistency now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 8 minutes ago, SRL88 said: Those two wins were beneficial. Just need to find consistency now Indeed. Off the mark already this month, 7/1 outsiders away at Sunderland and we snatched it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 Quick question - does anyone know the chances or how to work out if a player will get a work permit or not? Mark Milligan said he wants to be transfer listed as he's unsure he'll get a work permit when his contract expires at the end of this season... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 I think it usually relates to amount of recent international matches played. He's Australian isn't he? Should still have a fair chance of getting one if he's gonna have played a few game in the 2019/20 season for them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 1 hour ago, PaulHartman71 said: I think it usually relates to amount of recent international matches played. He's Australian isn't he? Should still have a fair chance of getting one if he's gonna have played a few game in the 2019/20 season for them. He is. He's played 2 of the 5 qualifiers this year. Would that be enough? I don't want to offer him a new contract if he won't get a work permit but then I don't want to leave it any longer as he might get snapped up by another club for free! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 Should stand a good chance to get a work permit if he's involved in the international set-up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 Just now, PaulHartman71 said: Should stand a good chance to get a work permit if he's involved in the international set-up. Just found this on the league rules screen... Australia are ranked 36 and he's played 2 out of 5 games so is less than 75% - would I be right in saying he would fail unless he improves from 40% to 75% before his contract expires? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 6 minutes ago, Rdog said: Just found this on the league rules screen... Australia are ranked 36 and he's played 2 out of 5 games so is less than 75% - would I be right in saying he would fail unless he improves from 40% to 75% before his contract expires? Possibly, but you may well win it on an appeal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 (edited) November Triggered a 1 year extension on these four 8 of the first team squad and 17 of the U23 squad will not be offered new contracts A fantastic start to the month, winning in the league, securing a replay in the FA Cup and topping the Leasing.com trophy table but then we lost the replay and the next two league games. Just cannot get any consistency whatsoever. Glad to see the strikers scoring though! Been handed a tasty draw in the next round of the Leasing.com trophy... Sitting in the bottom half of the table, we really need a run of results to push into mid-table. I hope not... 5 games next month, 4 of them in the league. Hoping for at least two wins! Edited November 27, 2019 by Rdog Typo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 This is a strange one, board requested a meeting after losing 2-0 away at Bristol Rovers who were in 21st place. I told them I was still on course for the mid-table position they require and this happened... I'll see if any jobs come up and then decide whether to carry on this save or start something new... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 Shame on the sacking Is there anywhere you're particularly fancying right now? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 4 minutes ago, SRL88 said: Shame on the sacking Is there anywhere you're particularly fancying right now? I declared interest in some League One and Two clubs and got interviews with Walsall and Cambridge but my application was unsuccessful on both occasions. I haven't loaded any lower than League Two so I think I'll have to start a new save unfortunately! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 It might just be worth loading up down to the Vanarama North/South, seeing things through to the end of the season. Up to you obviously.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 13 hours ago, SRL88 said: It might just be worth loading up down to the Vanarama North/South, seeing things through to the end of the season. Up to you obviously.... Didn't realise you could add leagues mid-save, thanks! Do they only add on at the end of a season then? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 They do, yeah Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 We have a club! After adding leagues down to Vanarama North/South we've managed to bag another coastal team in League One... They've given me a contract to see out this season and for next! Here's the club vision; Current look of the league table with 10 games left Hopefully we can push into the top half of the league, we even have an outside chance of playoffs! Oh would you look at Southend... Blackpool have won their last three games so not sure why they sacked their manager, 2 games left of this month and I'll share with you the first update. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Congratulations on the new job. Good luck in Blackpool Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 5 hours ago, SRL88 said: Congratulations on the new job. Good luck in Blackpool Cheers! Definitely a stronger squad than Southend for sure. Although I have so much deadwood to remove... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) March - To start I looked at the backroom staff and I've gone to the job centre to apply for over 10 new roles that we were lacking - New contract for Jordan Thompson as his was expiring at the end of the season - Option for a further year taken on Oliver Turton and Armand Gnanduillet Squad looks like this Sticking with a 4-4-2 as it best fits the players but going for direct counter attack to make ourselves hard to beat. Two games this month and we're unbeaten! The tactic of trying not to concede as many as we did with Southend seems to be off to a good start. Those 4 points mean this... ...and we've moved up a place in the league table. Not far off the playoffs with only 6 games left! The penultimate month of the season consists of 5 league games, 3 at home, 2 away. Aiming for minimum 9 points! Edited November 28, 2019 by Rdog Typo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 April Sold Gnanduillet after Nashville came in for him, was complaining he wasn't getting enough first team football so better to remove a bad egg I've also noticed that our first choice left back James Husband is joining the same club on a free at the end of the season. Can't believe the manager before never offered him a new contract, great player for this level but lots of wages to play with... A mixed bag in the league games, solid against Burton and Rochdale. Conceded two penalties at Portsmouth, showed character to bounce back in the best performance since I joined the club in the next game and then title chasers MK Dons battered me after a 60th minute red card. Leaves the league table looking like this... Doncaster are champions, we play them in the final game hopefully they put out a weaker side and we can secure a top 10 finish. Previous employers Southend were not far off being relegated! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 May Final game of the season at home to Doncaster but they were too strong Which leaves the league table looking this, 11 points from a possible 24. I'll take that Top half! This is how the end of season awards finished up Centre back Curtis Tilt looks to be a great player for us, Nashville again came in for him offering around £500k but he wouldn't accept their contract offer. No transfer budget for next season but after the out of contract players leave I'll have around £20k per week to spend. Looks like I'll have to rely on loans. 4 of the 6 loan players have left to go back to their parent club and I will assess if any of them will be coming back next season. I want to play a more positive style of football this season so I've changed to a 4-4-2 diamond Gegenpress due to good fitness levels in the squad and no stand out wingers. Next month will be the time to look for new players, won't be making wholesale changes but definitely need to strengthen in the attacking midfield and striker slots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 From one seaside town to another, and one that is higher up the league. A good move, even if it was forced. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Things seem to be going much better with Blackpool Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 17 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said: From one seaside town to another, and one that is higher up the league. A good move, even if it was forced. Thanks. Was quite surprised I got it actually! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 17 hours ago, SRL88 said: Things seem to be going much better with Blackpool They definitely are! Especially with this guy that has come through the youth team... He was going to be my first choice AMC this season but then this happened and the board intervened... Will transform the finances for this club meaning I'll be able to assemble a strong squad for this season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Williams looks a real good prospect Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitner Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Looks like Southend was a bad team, and it wasn't your fault... Good Luck at Blackpool, can we dream with another season at the Premiership? Following coz i like human histories from people who win and lose like everyone else Cheers, Bitner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 6 hours ago, SRL88 said: Williams looks a real good prospect He does! Everton came in for him and the board accepted which is a shame but I'm happy with the money. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 6 hours ago, Bitner said: Looks like Southend was a bad team, and it wasn't your fault... Good Luck at Blackpool, can we dream with another season at the Premiership? Following coz i like human histories from people who win and lose like everyone else Cheers, Bitner Thanks, yeah felt hard done by at Southend but silver linings as Blackpool seem like they have much better players! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 June/July So we start out with mixed emotions, this gem came through our youth ranks but was quickly noticed by lots of Premier League clubs and after rejecting lots of offers the board accepted this from Everton On the transfer front we didn't need to make wholesale changes because we had a huge squad and some decent players sitting in the U23's Jack Walton is my first proper signing, goalkeeper to replace the on loan Jak Alnwick from last season. Not sure who Armstrong is, must have been a pre-arranged signing. Should be good enough for this league. The squad looks something like this for the upcoming league campaign; Delfouneso and Ryan Hardie are the main strikers but both are currently injured. However, as you can see the replacement strikers Joe Nuttall and Sully Kaikai have been scoring freely in pre-season; Busy month in August with 8 games, 7 in the league and AFC Fylde at home in the Carabao Cup 1st round! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted December 5, 2019 Author Share Posted December 5, 2019 August First up the Leasing.com Trophy group draw, we should be able to get out of that group in at least 2nd Great start with 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses. 1 of those being in the 2nd round of the Carabao Cup but we managed board expectations It leaves the league table looking like this... Need to try and reduce the amount of goals conceded if we want to challenge for the title. Scoring at will though! Poor old Southend... On to September where we have 6 games, 5 in the league and the first of our Leasing.com trophy group. Has anyone noticed they are conceding loads of screamers since the latest ME update? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 Sitting nicely in the league after a solid start. And yes, I've noticed a lot of long range goals in general, both for and against Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted December 5, 2019 Author Share Posted December 5, 2019 1 hour ago, SRL88 said: Sitting nicely in the league after a solid start. And yes, I've noticed a lot of long range goals in general, both for and against Surprised how well I've started, praying I can keep it up! I've had more long range goals for than against at the moment so I'm not complaining. Next up in the league against my former employers... Wish me luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitner Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 Good Luck. I noticed a lot of straight reds since the last update, but not long range screamers (I'm playing with United, so Pogba would be relishing this for sure haha) Cheers, Bitner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 4 hours ago, Bitner said: Good Luck. I noticed a lot of straight reds since the last update, but not long range screamers (I'm playing with United, so Pogba would be relishing this for sure haha) Cheers, Bitner Thanks. Only one red card since the last update and it was for the opposition! September Strange month, we started out with two wins looking really strong and then Southend derailed us. Finished the month with a great win! Off to a good start in the Leasing.com trophy too Calum Macdonald is a beast of a left back but he loses condition so quickly working his way up and down the wing. Definitely looking to strengthen both fullback areas in January. It leaves the league table looking like this; 7 games next month, 6 in the league and another one in the cup. Hoping for 12 points! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 October Ignoring the Peterborough game where we got thumped (first choice fullbacks and CB suspended/injured) I'm happy with the results this month against some tough opposition 12 point target hit! Ryan Hardie really stepped it up. League table looks like this... Need to be more consistent and get a run of wins together but I would have snapped your arm off for a playoff place this season. Think top two will run away with those promotion places though. On to November where we will decide on which contracts to renew. Only 4 games, 1st round of the FA Cup, Leasing.com trophy and two league games! These long range goals I seem to be conceding are from a set piece that gets headed down by the opposition player to a player on the edge of the box hitting it first time! Any idea how to prevent it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdog Posted December 7, 2019 Author Share Posted December 7, 2019 November First up, every single member of the first team squad was in the last year of their contract. I took the option of an extra year on this lot The others I gave a new contract are below; Jay Spearing, Matthew Virtue, Oliver Turton, Callum Guy and Curtis Tilt. Without signings that will leave us with a squad of only 10 next season, going to be a new look Blackpool! Poor results in the cup games but we're through to the next round of the Leasing.com trophy, the board are not happy with the FA Cup 1st round exit though. Portsmouth (league leaders) were just too good for us but we rounded off the month well. Joe Nuttall has been on fire! Sitting comfortably in the playoff places. Still conceding far too many and we need to get an unbeaten run going to hold our position. Next month 6 games, 5 in the league and Lincoln away in the cup! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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