[FM20] Whatever it Tykes! - A Yorkshire football journey

[higgins]

Welcome here, it's time to start this Barnsley F.C. save, if you're a fan I beg your pardon for the logo, I don't like the original one so I made my own logo for this career.

First of all I need to say thanks to @Jamesbfc1887, his first season struggle with the Tykes was really inspiring, being a Championship lover I managed Barnsley before and I know something about the  club, but before reading his thread I didn't know how much I needed to play with them once again.

I'm playing with the original database (75000 people) with no edit.

I perfectly agree with Chien Lee (Barnsley new owner) words regarding how he usually runs his business:

Quote

You need to know what to buy, how to buy and buy smart

I'm not sure if he really knows what to buy, unfortunately for the Barnsley fans he surely knows what to sell, for example he sold many of the club top assets recently: Moore, Pinnock and Lindsay above all, without replacing them properly.

We're media predicted to finish 24th, so they give us no hope to stay up, but we have a different plan.

 

What the board want

I have no problem with focusing on young players, the club needs to grow up and bringing in hot prospects with potential looks like a viable option, in this first transfer window I signed mainly under 22 players, I agree with self-sustainability as well, playing entertaining football it's a different story though...

The main goal of this first season is to survive but afterwards we're going to start what our owner defined "the internationalization of the club", to promote Barnsley all over the world.

 

The players I signed

I set some rules regarding loans fir this first season, no more than 5 of them and all the loan should have a "reasonable" agreed price clause, I'm not going to nurture players without having the chance to sign them on a permanent basis.

1. Nicholas Opoku, Cd, 21 yrs, 2M agreed price
2. Torben Musel, St, 20 yrs, 375k
3. Zaydou Youssouf, Mc, 20 yrs, 3.5M
4. Birama Tourè, Dmc, 27 yrs, 500k
5. Mitch Clark, Dr/l, 20 yrs, 2M

I sold Cavarè (injury prone and with expiring contract) and Thiam (useless for my system) for a sum of 1.8M that was added (95%) to my transfer budget of 2.9M used to sign the following men:

• Harry Toffolo, left back, 24 yrs, 575k
• Hampus Finndell, Mc, 19 yrs, 500k
• Aurelien Nguiamba, 800k

The system I'm planning to use, could it work?

Thanks for reading, feel free to share your thoughts and...Up the Tykes!

 

 

Edited December 14, 2019 by higgins

[Jamesbfc1887]

@higgins

Wow you look like you've really put some big work in there, good luck (you might need it ), I should be concluding the first season of my save shortly, so I'll update soon.

I fell out of live with my save due to the clubs on and off field difficulties as of recent, it's seriously a worrying time to be a Barnsley fan. It's not your usual case financial mismanagement but almost feels like self sabotage and self inflicted implosion imo, got to be careful what I say though as the club seem to have taken quite a hard-line to potential untruths being shared about them. Daniel Stendel to Hearts if you haven't seen.

You've certainly got the club ethos correct, great attention to detail regarding the loans, it's a little detail which sets the club apart from most.

Good luck, I'm glad I inspired you to lead the Super Reds! 

 

[deltablue]

The title works well with an Aussie accent

[higgins]

9 hours ago, Jamesbfc1887 said:

@higgins

Wow you look like you've really put some big work in there, good luck (you might need it ), I should be concluding the first season of my save shortly, so I'll update soon.

I fell out of live with my save due to the clubs on and off field difficulties as of recent, it's seriously a worrying time to be a Barnsley fan. It's not your usual case financial mismanagement but almost feels like self sabotage and self inflicted implosion imo, got to be careful what I say though as the club seem to have taken quite a hard-line to potential untruths being shared about them. Daniel Stendel to Hearts if you haven't seen.

You've certainly got the club ethos correct, great attention to detail regarding the loans, it's a little detail which sets the club apart from most.

Good luck, I'm glad I inspired you to lead the Super Reds! 

 

I see your point, I’m curious to see what kind of financial support Mr. Lee could offer to the club in the game, I wish you luck for your season finale. 👍

[higgins]

At the end of the summer market I have a first team squad of 25 players with an average age of 22:

Keepers: Radlinger (26 yrs) and Collins (22), the second should start cause Radlinger eccentricity looks dangerous

Central defenders: Opoku (21), Andersen (21, Halme (21), Diaby (21)

Full-backs:  Jordan Williams (19), Sibbick (20), Ben Williams (20), Harry Toffolo (24), Mitch Clark (20)

Defensive midfielders: Nguiamba (20) , Tourè (27)  and  Dougall (26)

Mc's: McGeehan (24) ,  Mowatt (24) my captain, Youssouf (20), Findell (19), Styles (19), Bahre (24)

Strikers: Woodrow (24), Chaplin (22), Wilks (20), Musel (20) and Brown (21) home-grown player at club

Green = purchased players

Orange = on loan

I still have 3.6M in the transfer budget but I'm not inclined to spend more money for now, in January I could use that money to purchase some of the players on loan if they're performing well for the team.

I could have signed more players but I want to give a chance to the players of the original squad.

 

[higgins]

August 2019 - 6W 2D

An outstanding start for us in August,  ruined by a major injury to one of our best players at the the end of the month, but let's see what happened in order.

Being unbeaten after 8 games played looks a bit odd, the tactic started to work quickly, after the first crazy draw vs. Fulham we conceded only 2 goals. Beating Burnley thanks to local hero Jacob Brown was the highlight of the month.

My first goal when I built it was to develop a defensively solid tactic still capable to create dangers while we attack, often on the counter , surely our low block looked pretty tight so far allowing quick and deadly transitions.

MVP: Cameron McGeehan, playing as a mezzala, has been our  player of the month with 4 goals & 2 assists.

But, you know, ****  happens and Caley Woodrow  long term injury was definitely bad news for us, our best striker out for 8 months, the market was already closed and the only viable chance to add another striker to the squad was to sign unattached 32 years old Simeon Jackson, a well know face at Oakwell stadium, having  (poorly) played  here in the 2015-15 season, I hope he could help.

 

 

[higgins]

September/October 2019 -  2W 3D 4L

I was right to be worried about Cauley Woodrow injury, unfortunately now even McGeehan is broken and as a result Barnsley collapsed, mixed results in September and not a single win in October.

I'm aware our starting winning streak was not going to last too much, I would have hoped for a softer landing but this looks like the great slump.

The truth is that when difficulties emerge my young team does not have the experience to react, the absence of two key men was enough to alter the course of events.
We need to find the right balance, less injuries would be a bonus.

Our table is still impressive but what I saw recently from my squad didn't impress me, next  few months will be key to understand what kind of role we could play this season in the Championship.

[higgins]

November/December 2019 - 4W  3D  4L

We're  9th, at the end of December we're 9th, not bad if you consider our media prediction (24th) but I'm a bit disappointed cause our amazing start made me think we could do even better, but lately we had some bad losses, defensively we played without confidence and made too many mistakes.

Up top Jacob Brown (8 goals) and Torben Musel (7 goals and 4 assists) are doing well, Conor Chaplin played only nine games due to an injury but scored 4 goals, all the other attackers have been pretty crap: Wilks had no goals in 8 (5) games, the same for my  useless panic signing  Jackson in 5 apps.

In the middle of the pitch we missed injured McGeehan  goals and skills  a lot , he should be fit for the start of the new year. Meanwhile  captain Mowatt did well with 5 assists and  7.00 avg. rating, a true team leader, Bahre was good as well ( 3 goals and 3 assists).

As I said before my defenders started well  but their recent performances have been declining, even Opoku, my best centre back wasn't so consistent in his last games, maybe he's only a bit tired cause he had to play a lot in this first half of the season.

Now the goals would be  to have a safe second part of the season, being ready to grab a playoff spot if our form had to dramatically improve, but we need to stay humble.

I already sold Kenny Dougall for 300k to Colorado Rapids, he'll leave in February, no apps for the Aussie this season, I could make some other moves on the market, we have room for a competent striker...

[higgins]

January to May 2019 - 13W 6D 6L

The regular season is over, my first with Barnsley,  at the end of March, in spite of some moves in the Winter market, sold Callum Styles for 6.5M + 3.5M bonus to Leicester and signed  Nicolò Fagioli (3.8M + 1.9 bonus) and Dany Mota, both from Juventus under 23 squad, I had no more hopes to qualify for the playoff.

The boys were missing the required consistency to reach the 6th place, I tried some tactical adjustments but nothing worked properly, then finally I'v e been able to pull the rabbit out of the hat, many of the goals we conceded came from mistakes during the transition from defense to  attack, the deep lying play-maker was rarely able to cover and protect our line, I had in front of me an easy answer that I couldn't see.

Since then I've been playing with a halfback in that position and things radically changed,  5 wins and 2 draws, 5th place in the table and playoff gained. 

It looked easy, but it wasn't.

2019-20 Final Table

Now we'll play Fulham in the semi-final, then  Preston or Reading, place your bets guys, we'll be back soon...

Edited December 16, 2019 by higgins

[Nobby_McDonald]

Very good first season... can you finish it off?

[higgins]

7 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

Very good first season... can you finish it off?

Well, regarding playoff I’m usually a bottler and Fulham are difficult, but here we have nothing to lose. 
This afternoon we’ll know more. 

Edited December 17, 2019 by higgins

[higgins]

Championship Play-offs - 2019.20

So here we are, 2 games vs. Fulham, in the first one a true poacher effort from new striker Dany Mota gave us a good home win at Oakwell, after a fairly even match.

In the second I started again with Mota and Torben Musel as my striking partnership, with Jacob Brown ready to unleash his pace in the second part of the match, the score was still 0-0 when Fagioli and Mowatt did this...

A crazy shot from outside the box gave us the lead, then Jacob Brown scored the second on a quick counter, 1-2 the final result, we're going to Wembley!

The Play-offs final: Barnsley vs. Reading

7 min. Puscas scored for Reading after our keeper mistake.

Then McGeehan, Musel and Opoku decided it was time to close the dossier. 

We brilliantly won it 3-1...We're going up guys! Barnsley are going up!!

I'm so glad about this achievement, few things are more exciting than getting promoted from the Championship with a tiny club, really. The following is one of the examples that spring to mind...

 

[Jamesbfc1887]

Well done, fantastic achievement.

Very funny, I was a little confused to see Scarlett Johansson in an FM context  

[higgins]

Thanks @Jamesbfc1887, by the way, I think she is suitable for every context .

Back to Barnsley I was impressed by how much Jacob Brown has grown up this season, 17 goals overall for him, my best striker.

Edited December 17, 2019 by higgins

[SRL88]

The Scarlett Johansson picture is so random, but no complaints

[higgins]

2019-20
So we did it, just few months and we'll face premier league football; it's obvious to say that the difficult part starts now, we have more money  but more expenses as well, I just renewed Mowatt and McGeehan contracts, both will earn around 1.7M per season, they were earning 500k per year so far...

Anyway, here there are some quick facts about last season, regarding my players and the football world we are in:

Relegated from EPL

• Brighton
• Burnley 
• Sheffield United

EPL winner

• Manchester City

UCL winner

• Liverpool 

---------------------------------------------------------------

Barnsley goalscorers

1. Jacob Brown - 17
2. Torben Musel - 15
3. Cameron McGeehan - 10

Assists

1. Alex Mowatt - 9
2. Harry Toffolo - 8
3. Jordan Williams and Toby Sibbick - 7

Interceptions/90 min

1. Nicholas Opoku 3.30
2. Toby Sibbick 3.11
3. Aapo Halme  3.06

Headers won/90 min

1. Mads Andersen 5.66
2. Aapo Halme 5.26
3. N. Opoku  4.97

These are the stats I always look at regarding my players, I believe they're the most important.

After such a glorious season I'd be tempted to keep all my players with me, for sentimental reasons, even if I know it won't be possible, this is just the beginning of our growth process.

Surely I'm not going to overspend.

All the loans did well, Musel and Opoku above all, unfortunately  Opoku won't obtain a work permit for next season as he failed to reach the required caps with his national side, he will be missed.

Regarding the other I could consider to renew their loans  or sign some of them on a permanent basis, but I'll have to carefully consider what the market will offer during the summer, meanwhile I'll have to answer to some key questions:

Quote

How many of my current players are suitable to play in the Premier League?

 

Quote

Not being able to change all the players, which department of the team should I reinforce?

 

Edited December 18, 2019 by higgins

[johnstonpickle]

Excellent! I had a test save with Barnsley when the game first came out and really struggled - this is a great achievement! Intriguing that Leicester paid £6.5m for Styles - was he featuring much for you?

Pondering the cryptic Scarlett Johanssen image, the only thing I can imagine it refers to is the 'war chest' that you'll have after promotion!

[higgins]

11 minutes ago, johnstonpickle said:

Excellent! I had a test save with Barnsley when the game first came out and really struggled - this is a great achievement! Intriguing that Leicester paid £6.5m for Styles - was he featuring much for you?

Pondering the cryptic Scarlett Johanssen image, the only thing I can imagine it refers to is the 'war chest' that you'll have after promotion!

Thanks mate, before I sold him Styles played 20 games for Barnsley, nothing spectacular to be fair: 6.79 avg. rat. 1 goal & 1 assist, below there's  the offer I accepted from Leicester

You could be right about Scarlet, surely an exciting war-chest!  

[Super Bladesman]

Well done!
 

Though I'm slightly puzzled by Nguiamba being signing of the season and not making the team of the season 

[higgins]

12 minutes ago, Super Bladesman said:

Well done!
 

Though I'm slightly puzzled by Nguiamba being signing of the season and not making the team of the season 

Thanks! I noticed that as well 

Edited December 18, 2019 by higgins

[higgins]

At the start of season two the board offered me a new deal, they want entertaining football and defensive solidity, a little bit of this and a little bit of that...

Do they know we are Barnsley? 

[higgins]

2020-21

Welcome back to Barnsley, after  the promotion from the Championship I tried to improve the team with some key signings without overspending, I simply wanted to confirm the spine of last season team.

 A risky choice. but I thought many of them deserved a chance at EPL level,  team cohesion should help my young squad (22 avg. age) to avoid relegation, my main goal for the season.

Anyway I still have 32 M left in the transfer budget, a huge amount of money that could be useful in January, these are the transfers I made in the summer:

The plan would be to keep playing our 4-1-3-2 tactic, it could offer the required defensive solidity for our EPL debut season, let's see what will happen...

Max Lowe, left back from Derby, has been my most expensive signing  so far, I needed an upgrade over my current left backs (Toffolo and Ben Williams) and he could be the right man, even if a bit pricey for our standard.

Talking about young talents I have high hopes for Henrique Jocu, 18 yrs old from Benfica, promising midfieder who should play in the half-back role for Barnsley.

Up the Tykes!!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done on promotion Higgins.