[FM20] Bringing Her Home

[Earnie is God!]

If previous seasons are anything to go by, the final estimate of further tickets to be sold doesn't come to fruition but if we can push towards 11,000 that would more than double our average attendance from last season

Been a while since I've been offered a job and, if this one is anything to go by, I'm not missing much

The LB I was really looking for has arrived

Transfer records have been broken...

Medina was our 1st choice but he's not getting any younger, been moaning about training, a new contract, being homesick and just about everything else recently.
I decided to allow him to leave but only for the right price. Turns out that price was £12m

We were also lacking in the RB department. Purita has done well there but he's 32yo so we needed someone younger and better and that's what we ended up with

£23m spent in a season might not sound like much for an EPL club but it's by far the most we've splashed out. It might not end there either.

[Earnie is God!]

Wooo... oh

[Earnie is God!]

We're in the money 

As expected, season ticket sales didn't reach the 11,000 but a vast improvement on last season

I suspect many more records will be broken this season and it was great to see us win our opening game 2-1 v Brighton

[Earnie is God!]

32yo Purita's physicals are on the slide. Perhaps it wasn't the best of ideas to give him the vice captaincy this season but he is great captain material

Edited June 15, 2020 by Earnie is God!

[Earnie is God!]

I'm not going to go through this season game by game but I just couldn't ignore our 2nd game, away to Watford.
They were all over us in the first half and we were hanging on, thankfully was 0-0 at HT.
There were two goals in the second half though and the first of these was an early goal of the season contender! I'll just post the video here for you to all enjoy

 

[Nobby_McDonald]

Fantastic winning the Championship there Earnie.

[Earnie is God!]

Cheers @Nobby_McDonald
I've not played any games since my last post but will be doing so this evening and hoping we can continue our good start.
I just need to eat something first and then stick FM back in whilst watching BMG v Wolfsburg on BT Sport

[Earnie is God!]

Unbelievably, Munro's cheeky lob from 30yds didn't even make the top 3 for goal of the month whilst Carrillo's free kick in the same game came 3rd

[Earnie is God!]

Unfortunately, we lost 2-1 to Chelsea after being 1-0 up but they have an excellent squad with the likes of Ansu Fati, last season's top scorer, up front and Joao Felix in behind.
Still, more records broken and a further improvement in finances

I feel like this season, especially the games against the big boys, is a bit of a free hit. We aren't expected to finish anywhere but bottom so if we do go down, and I have every faith that we won't, it's not as if it'll be all doom and gloom

[Earnie is God!]

Transfer Deadline Day

No real need for the headline tbh as we didn't sign anyone and only sold one player but I started so I thought I'd finish.
The player we sold...

We signed him on a free so that's good profit for us.
He hadn't even played for us yet and he does lack consistency but he was decent overall; would probably have been a backup/squad player in a year or two.
The sale of this U23 future prospect player around 5hrs before the deadline seemed to send my DoF into a frenzy as he then tried to sign a replacement for him [on loan].
And tbf the first guy he went for was very good but I'd already had a scout report on him which said he couldn't handle pressure and hated big matches so I cancelled it.
That didn't stop my DoF going for another guy but he wasn't as good so I knocked that on the head too

I think this shows how tiny we are and the gulf in quality and stature

        
        

Still confident for a mid-table finish though

[Earnie is God!]

Great, must be time to convince the board to upgrade them again then, will just twist their arm...

Results have been mixed so far, a 4-0 drubbing at Liverpool but some good wins too, including this comeback from 2-0 down to beat Wolves 4-2

And then this next home game when we were 2-0 down in the 92nd minute but scored twice to draw 2-2
 and this is where we are right now 

I think the 442 is a little too open though, and it's especially poor away from home, so I'm tinkering with options and might try a 4-3-3/4-5-1 with a DM.
Will play around with it and see. Can't complain with our start to the season though

[Earnie is God!]

Injury Crisis

Both my RBs and both my RWs are injured, along with one of my strikers, and then, just before we play Fulham, my star midfielder picks up a knock.
I delve into my U23s as I know I have a promising winger there, only to find...

Looks like I'll be playing my playmaker out wide although it's not ideal
 Either that or something like this 

Bugger

[Earnie is God!]

In the end I went with the latter formation and it worked pretty well

You might also notice Man City thumping Arsenal 5-0 there; I wonder if that's a prediction for the EPL match about to kick off tonight on its first night back after the lockdown

[Earnie is God!]

3-0, 5-0 same difference

I've been sick all day, not been able to hold much down. Will be back playing tomorrow though hopefully.

[Earnie is God!]

Yet more injuries

We've ended up putting out probably the most youthful team in Premier League history

Not that it's done us any harm in recent weeks

Man U up next for us though after the international break. I just hope we have a few players back from injury by then.

[Earnie is God!]

Drawing with Man U is hardly a 'birthday to forget'

[Earnie is God!]

[Earnie is God!]

Whoop!  Not that I think we need to spend it, going to try and keep this bunch together as long as possible

A couple of tweaks to the formation

 All going well, 5 successive draws must be the most I've had in a row in years, certainly in this save 

We followed that up with this rather amazing result

[Earnie is God!]

Youth Intake Preview

One decent GK and that's it by the look of things. Just gotta hope he's better than merely decent.
Meanwhile, our away form remains relatively poor as we go down 3-2 at 19th placed Norwich to end our unbeaten run

A bit of a comedown after thumping Soton. Vastly different form away than at home, need to try and rectify that.

Might try and tinker a little bit with my tactic for away games.
And we get a sort of free hit as our next away game is Arsenal in the FA Cup and we aren't expected to progress so a good time to experiment.

Edited June 19, 2020 by Earnie is God!

[Earnie is God!]

Pressure is Mounting

 and mounting... 

 and mounting... 

We still have a healthy lead over the teams in relegation but if we keep playing like this we might end up in trouble

The fans are right, though. The 4-1-4-1 hasn't been working too well so have changed it up a bit and will be using 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 and hope we can break this streak.

[Earnie is God!]

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse...

Has my DoF searching for a replacement and he's come up with a decent one tbf to him

 That takes our spending to a new high... 

and, on transfer deadline day, these are our signings 

Mackay, the LB from Rangers, has been very disappointing so far but we'll give him time and I'm sure he'll come good.
Our next game at Brighton was a bit of a heartbreaker as they scored after breaking away from one of our own corners to beat us 1-0 despite us dominating

We really need a bit of luck or anything to get a win and ease the pressure

[Earnie is God!]

Poor form hasn't stopped Spuds seeking my services but of course I said no

It seems a far cry from us thrashing Southampton 7-2 but that was only last month and it did provide our players some accolades too

It also had some clubs sniffing around my promising youth but they can go shove it

Meanwhile, I discover that Mason Greenwood is available for just £5.75m!

But he laughs us out of the park when we go to negotiate a contract 😢 Perhaps just as well as he'd have been on about 30% of our entire budget 😀 and I have no intention of bankrupting the club!

Edited June 19, 2020 by Earnie is God!

[Earnie is God!]

Hallelujah!

An excellent win over high-flying Villa. We hardly gave them a sniff and dominated with 65% possession once more.
I think that win virtually sees us safe as it seems to be a low scoring season all around and I don't envisage any of the bottom 5 getting near us.
Meanwhile at the top, Liverpool are second even with 6 defeats already.
We are only 6pts off a European spot but I'm not going to go mad and try everything to get there; I'm happy with mid-table in our first season and build from there.

 

[Earnie is God!]

I was after an AM to play behind my striker and my DoF came up with this guy. He didn't look the best tbh but time was almost out so I thought I'd see what kind of deal he wanted

 Erm, no thanks! 

I tried to sign Dybala in the summer but he wasn't interested. Turns out, 6 months later without a club has softened his stance somewhat.
Now he wants about half what Barlow above was after
 But could we get the deal over the line in time? 

Yes, yes we could

I've been after a big name signing for years and we've finally got one. OK so he's 36yo and set to retire in the summer unless I can convince him to stay the full 18 months he's signed for.
But his physicals are still pretty good for an old man and his technicals still superb.
Just gotta hope he can still do the business but I'm delighted he's here.

[Earnie is God!]

 A win over Southampton, to complete a 9-2 double over them pushed us safer.

Narrow defeats to Spuds and Man U followed but then a 2-1 win over Bournemouth gave us the magic 40pts 

And I can begin to plan for next season

[Earnie is God!]

Probably our best result of the season

Especially when it confirmed this

My profile now, seeing as I've not shown this for a while [probably because it hasn't really changed for a few years]

[Earnie is God!]

Youth intake might be slightly better than predicted as we have at least two with promise it seems

[Earnie is God!]

We're in the money

I tried to convince Dybala not to retire this summer but to no avail 

Still, he did manage a goal for us in our superb 2-0 win at newly elected champions Chelsea 

We then drew 1-1 at home to 2nd placed Liverpool in our final home game of the season

I've decided that Dixon-Bonner and Ryan Reynolds simply haven't played enough this season to keep them on so, last up was Wolves away and I decided to play them both for one final game.
It doesn't really bother me that both had poor games and were subbed at HT, or that we lost 4-2 after some dreadful defending. The season was over and 13th place was where we ended up
 

Not the best of seasons and certainly quite frustrating at times but, considering we were favourites to finish bottom, I think we've done pretty well.
Top half has to be the aim for next season.

Edited June 20, 2020 by Earnie is God!

[Earnie is God!]

Some records first and not all of them good 👀🤩


Oops, they don't like it up 'em!

[Earnie is God!]

Season 2029/30 Review

Always interesting to see how the final tables compared to the pre-season predictions.
Villa had an amazing campaign whilst Arsenal, even with the lowly summer prediction of 7th, will be very disappointed with 12th.
But the major shock was title favourites Man City ending up 9th!
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Murray's 12 goals made him our top scorer this season and the fans' PoTS
Both our new FBs didn't have the best of times but I'm hoping they will have settled in more by next season.
Dixon-Bonner still our record appearance maker but only just. Danny Jones will eclipse that next season unless a bigger club swoops in for him.
DJ's performances earned him 3rd place in the PoTS vote, one behind on-loan CB Owen.
Signing of the Season winner Alessio Riccardi might not have the silkiest of skills but he's been solid and the kind of player I like.

Club expectations still aren't very high, we aren't expected to avoid the drop next season either but that's fine by me, gives me less heat under the collar

 

[Earnie is God!]

Dilly Ding Dilly Dong

You would have thought that after 11 seasons, I would be settled on a specific tactic and formation but that's not true at all.
I could hide behind the fact that, as a club who have gained 9 promotions, we have had to continue to adapt to our opponents.
Or that a lot of players who were good enough in the lower divisions have had to be replaced as we've moved up the divisions.
And that we don't exactly have the luxury of having the funds for precisely the right players to fit a specific system; instead we have to make do with what we can get.
I could also argue that, as a tiny club, there has been the almost continual necessity to replace some of our best players who have left for bigger and better things.

All that has merit of course and there are elements of truth in every part of it but what it really boils down to is, just like Ranieri, I'm a little tinkerer
I like to try different things, I'm impatient and quick to move onto something else if it's not working.
I also like a bargain and I end up with far too many players at whatever club I manage; it's been no different in this save.
My dilemma for the new season is how to fit these FIVE central midfielders into my side.

Fernandez is probably the best of the first 3 who are all quite similar, Jones is a fans' favourite and Riccardi performed very well after joining in January.
Anocic and Couli give us variety and still have potential, the latter not expecting to play too much just yet so he could be used more sparingly.
Anocic is one of the top earners here and with a star player agreement. It was the only way we could get him to stay but he's been my 'baby' from the start and I don't want to lose him.
Riccardi's comfortable as a DM so I could play him behind two or even three in the middle but the issue I would then have is that 3 or 4 in the centre of the park probably means no place for my wingers.
We have a number of those here too 🤨

Purita's too old and had numerous injuries so he'll be moved on soon but that still leaves two for RW and two for LW.

Up front, Murray is proving himself to be the top dog but we also have Munro, who has been a little disappointing, and youngster Kopriva who has come on leaps and bounds

This is the formation I went with for most of last season.

It suits the squad and I can play the majority of players I mentioned above. The problem is, using this system, we had the worst run of the season

17pts from those 15 games wasn't too bad, considering, but it wasn't pretty either.
Subsequently, choosing the right formation for next season is keeping me up at night, I kid you not.
Depending on players coming in/going out this summer, I might bring the wingers down to a more flat four in midfield. Perhaps that will work, something like this:

We'll see how we go, got to get through the summer first.

[Earnie is God!]

End of season meeting and I told the players we again could avoid relegation next time (slightly less/lower than what we achieved this season) and this was the response
 I replied with the middle option but that didn't work 

Ridiculous when the initial reaction from the 'green' posse was "We're definitely capable of avoiding a tough relegation battle" which they then changed to "Do you really think we are capable of surviving?" 🙄
I told them to work hard to avoid the drop and, to a man, they all went back to normal. What a waste of a meeting.

[Earnie is God!]

Stat Attack

Youngest squad                                                                                                                                          Reputation on the rise, not looking bad now

Apparently, we are the richest club in England 

 

[Earnie is God!]

When I think back to the very beginning, we had a total of £168 in the bank. That's not £168 million or even £168,000 but just £168.
Our turnover this season was £139,000,000 💰💰💰

Right down the bottom

[Earnie is God!]

Transfer budget has gone down a little bit but check that increase in the wage budget 🤩 
I know we have a number of players signing new deals but we'll have loads of wage budget left over so it just means I can switch some of it back to the transfer kitty to give it a nice balance.

I spotted this in the expectations I signed earlier but it's nice to get confirmation
 That'll be the 2nd new stadium our success has forced the board to build

Meanwhile, our other facilities continue to be upgraded

[Earnie is God!]

[Earnie is God!]

2030 Summer Transfer Window

 Palace spending £97m on this CB! 

A bit ridiculous really when we have picked up this guy much cheaper

And there's not much between them

We signed a 16yo striker

Plus a good, young midfielder

Greenwood still not interested

Still, we've spent a lot this past year 

 Sponsorship improving too, as you'd expect.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Earnie is God!

[Earnie is God!]

Fixtures are out and it's a mixed bag to start the season for us. The likes of City and Liverpool in our opening 5 games but winnable fixtures v Forest, Villa and Soton also

Another CM signed but he's one for the future. Part of the agreement he wanted was that we'd find him a loan move for this season and that works out well as there's no room for him in my midfield right now anyway

Looking at Munroe, he's been quite disappointing for what I thought was going to our star striker when he signed two years ago. Fulham have shown interest so I may be tempted to sell if the price is right

30th June and some top names are out of contract. We try and tempt James Maddison and he doesn't say no although he wants too much tbh

He's still got it and those set pieces would be sweet with him taking them but he's 33 and on the decline and that's far too much for us to give him in wages.
Two years younger and also a free agent is Kluivert who looks really good. Unfortunately, so must his bank balance as he wants £215,000 a week! Erm, no thanks

I have since moved on and agreed a deal with a 32yo AM (free agent again of course) who is better than Maddison and costing us marginally less.
I get the feeling he'll move elsewhere though so will wait before revealing who he is.
Tbh, I'm a bit unsure about spending that much of a wage on one player so even if he decides to sign, I may pull the plug at the last minute. Will see what else is out there in the meantime.

[Earnie is God!]

We've also agreed to sign this guy, if we can hold off Millwall who also want him.
Young and still more to come from him

[Nobby_McDonald]

Very well done staying up Earnie.

[Earnie is God!]

Thanks mate. I'm thinking big for this upcoming season but don't want to push it too much, you know?

[Earnie is God!]

One of our young wingers is attracting interest and League One Fylde (yes, you heard me) are apparently considering our £15m asking price 

 They aren't the only club interested either 

If we could get anywhere near that fee, I'll be delighted. He has talent for sure but there are areas of his game which I really don't like

Composure, Anticipation and Concentration are very poor and the coach reports tell me he's very inconsistent too, plus he may end up no better than Championship level.
I'd take anything £10m+ tbh and I don't think he's really worth much more than half that.
Show me the money!

[Earnie is God!]

I could then replace him with this guy for a fraction of the price. He's younger and looks better already

[Earnie is God!]

There May Be Trouble Ahead...

 Pavlov wanted more chew toys for his dogs. I told him he had 3 more years still left on his current deal but he decided to kick up a fuss

He's been with us a while and is a very good player but I don't really use inverted wingers that much 

And besides, I won't be spoken to like that. So I decided to offer him out for a cool £60m. There's interest but not for that price.

Still, we had some offers.

I rejected the loans and went to negotiate the Inter Milan offer but they'd locked everything in so I rejected that too.
Which of course didn't go down too well with Pavlov. I told him I wouldn't accept any less than £32m
 and surprisingly he was fine with that 

Meanwhile, my scouts have found a bargain CB

With a release clause of just £1m and he only wants ~£30k a week too

Edited June 22, 2020 by Earnie is God!

[Earnie is God!]

More crappy offers rejected for Pavlov

And to my surprise, our marquee signing agrees to join!

£115k a week though, I hope it's worth it 😲

Edited June 22, 2020 by Earnie is God!

[Earnie is God!]

Record transfer sale but it won't be a record for long

And that's because we finally got what we wanted and more from Inter 

Not bad for a player we signed for relatively nothing and we weren't the only ones to benefit...

I'd forgotten about that, that will set them up for life! haha

[Earnie is God!]

I was after this guy  but he turned us down 

Old man Purita left

And I must be doing something right as, with the World Cup ending, these job offers arrived:

France and Holland were both knocked out in the QF, Poland didn't make it out of the group stage

I've rejected Poland but am considering France and Holland but it's not interview-based, it's a yes/no offer right now.
Hmmm, choices choices

[Earnie is God!]

France still have Mbappe, he's only 31yo. Camavinga and Todibo are looking good too and there's definitely a lot to work with there.

Frenkie de Jong is 33 now but still looks great. De Ligt and Ihattaren are others which makes the Dutch job tempting also.

I'd prefer the Dutch normally but their squad is a bit old whereas France have plenty there in the mid-20s.
I've taken international jobs before and found them fun but also time consuming, especially initially when trying to get a core group together to choose from. I think it's definitely distracted me from my club job, taken a lot of time away from them.
If I were to take one of these, would I be wasting a lot of time? After 3 months of being furloughed, I start back at work tomorrow - part time initially, and not sure I'll have the time.

I'm going to turn them both down.

[Earnie is God!]

One day, we won't be bottom of this

Or odds-on favourites to go down

A bit surprising that Man City are once again favourites for the title, especially after the shocking season they had last time, finishing 9th.
I suppose not having Euro fotty will help their chances but I'm sure the game doesn't take that into account when calculating their odds of league success.

We'll have to keep hold of our best players if we are going to do well this year. Thankfully, Murray isn't interested in Everton. Good lad

And I've rejected the chance of managing Arsenal too 

Pre-season has been mixed but it's time to take on Forest in the opening game now. Maybe one last signing if I can find the right one.

[Earnie is God!]

A slight rise of 100, possibly an indicator that around 10k is our limit but we'll see in future seasons when we hopefully have established ourselves