Guide to Football Clubs

[LSD]

Hello! Welcome to the Guide to Football Clubs. Let this be your first stop when deciding what Football Club you should manage in FMH2009. Here you will find information on each player at a particular Club, as well as some information about the Club itself. These guides have been created with the utmost care and attention; designed not only to aid your choice but educate you about the Club you have chosen.

[SnakeXe]

Okay I'll give it a go:

Club: Man City

Budget: £211m

Board Expectations: Success in all areas

Player analysis:

GK - Joe Hart, Kasper Schmeichel, Richard Martin

Hart and Schmeichel are both more than decent 'keepers, and I certainly had no trouble winning the league with them as my first and second choice. Martin is nothing special though, you could probably get rid of him.

DR - Micah Richards, Pablo Zabaleta

City are very light in both fullback positions, since I prefer Richards at centre-back and Zabaleta in defensive midfield. Having said that, if you'd prefer to leave Richards at right back he'll do you a more than competent job there.

DL - Michael Ball, Javier Garrido

Ball is solid but unspectacular, and for a team with City's ambitions you could do worse than transfer listing him. Garrido is decent, probably good to hang on to as a backup for the first choice you sign.

DC - Richard Dunne, Tal Ben Haim, Vincent Kompany

If you use Richards here as well this is a pretty strong threesome. Dunne and Kompany are solid defenders, and Ben Haim will certainly do as a backup. I'd still recommend making a signing in this position though.

MR - Stephen Ireland, Shaun Wright-Phillips

In my opinion Stephen Ireland is vastly overestimated in this game, he's got great stats and performs very well. Wright-Phillips is a good performer as well, you could definitely get away without making a signing in this position.

ML - Martin Petrov, Nery Castillo (loan from Shakhtar Donetsk)

Petrov performed very well for me, and his stats are very good as well. Castillo plays better as a striker I think, but certainly isn't a bad deputy.

DM - Gelson Fernandes, Michael Johnson

Fernandes seems to have a knack for appearing late in the box and scoring, so definitely keep hold of him. Johnson is a very tidy player as well, although being an MC rather than a DM or AM he is rather inbetweeny. I'd probably sign someone else here, even if you don't play Zabaleta at right back, someone like Veloso is highly recommended.

AM - Elano

Elano is excellent, but with the money you have you're looking at Kaka or Sergio Aguero in this position, so I'd be very tempted to splash out.

ST - Benjani, Jo, Robinho, Felipe Caicedo

Obviously Robinho is a fantastic player. Jo will perform well also, he got 20+ for me as the centre of a 3-man strikeforce. Felipe Caicedo will develop into a good understudy for Jo with the right training. The odd one out here is Benjani, who is pretty horrific.

Recommended Tactics: I went with a 4-3-3 similar to thebugels, it does mean you're wasting Petrov and Wright-Phillips, but it also does mean you can shoehorn Robinho, Jo, Elano, Kaka, Sergio Aguero and David Silva into the same team.

Anything Else: The board are utter bastards and will still say they're slightly disappointed if you're in all the cups and are 10 points clear at the top of the table. I'm pretty sure if you don't win trophies in your first season you will get sacked. On the plus side, if you don't win trophies with £211m to spend on an already more than adequate squad, you might want to think about playing Halo instead.

[KalEl]

Club: Aston Villa

Transfer Budget: 33.5M

Board Expectations: Achieve Cup success and obtain a respectable league position

Player Analysis:

GK: Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan, Stuart Taylor

Friedel is still one of the top keepers in the Premier League. However, at age 37 he is getting older and can be replace by his younger American compatriot, Brad Guzan. Guzan is 23 years old and is a quality keeper once he learns the nuances of the English game. Stuart Taylor is a good keeper but appears to be the odd man out. I would transfer list him and get what you can early. David De Gea from Ridleys good young players thread would be a nice buy since he would have time to develop behind Friedel and Guzan.

DL: Wilfred Bouma, Nick Shorey

Bouma is an average left back with a little pace and above average strength. Shorey has good technique and makes good decsions but is below average pacewise. Neither is a long term answer and it would be wise to look to buy someone better in the first transfer window.

DR: Luke Young

Villa are lacking depth at this position. Young is a good right back, but you need to buy some him some cover or you will find times where you have to play someone you don't want to see a right back.

DC:Carlos Cuellar, Martin Laursen, Curtis Davies, Zat Knight

Cuellar is strong, has good tackling form, and is good in the air. His partner Laursen is excellent in the air and makes good decisions. Davies and Knight are good cover if either Cuellar or Laursen go down or underperform. Davies has good pace and good positioning and with his leadership could become captain material later on. Knight is aggressive and a hard tackler with average strength but can cover the starters nicely. Save your transfer money for other pressing needs.

DMC:Nigel Reo-Coker, Stilliyan Petrov, Craig Gardner

Reo-Coker has above-average stats in most areas, so if he does not fit into your plans he could bring good money on the transfer market. Petrov has average stats in most areas, but performs well most of the time. Gardner is young but has excellent potential with some good stats in most areas. Reo-Coker, Petrov, and Gardner can also play in the midfield.

MC: Isaiah Osbourne, Steve Sidwell

Osbourne is young and with training could potentially start in the midfield. Sidwell is average and rather interchangable with the other midfielders, so he could be put on the market if needed. Barry, Reo-Coker, and Petrov can also play here depending on what formation you decide to use. Barry is a quality player who is the most consistent player on the team, but you will get tempting offers from other teams, so it will be your preference whether to sell or not.

AML: Ashley Young

Young has good pace, great crossing ability and dribbling, excellent creativity, is a good passer, and is only 23. I think Villa is set with Young and Agbonlahor who can also cover here.

AMR:James Milner, Wayne Routledge

Milner is a quality player and should start over Routledge. Milner has good crossing and passing, and pairs nicely with Ashley Young. Routledge has excellent pace and could fetch good money on the transfer market if needed.

SC: John Carew, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Marlon Harewood

Carew is big, strong and has nice pace and movement. However he seems to be injury-prone and is hurt way to often in my game. Agbonlahor is young, has tons of potential and has excellent pace. With training he potentially could be a star in the Premier League. Harewood provides cover but can be sold for the right price in favor of better and younger stikers.

Tactics: Villa have a lot of midfielders stockpiled so you could use St. Dazzle's 4-5-1, but would lose out on either Young, Milner, or Agbonlahor depending on who you use. Thebugels 4-3-3 would also make sense with the quality you have up front. I use an attacking 4-4-2 with Agbonlahor and Carew up front, Young and Milner on the wings, and Barry and Reo-Coker in the midfield. I have had pretty good success with it.

Looking to the Future: Villa have always built with youngsters and it is not a bad idea in FMH either. Check out Ridleys good young players thread for some great youngsters which will replace players later on or be sold for huge money.

[ridley99]

Man.Utd

Good strong squad to start of with and a nice balance of 27 million.

Areas that need to be improved are def LB Evra is 1st choice but after that you only have O'Shea who is good but not great or the youngster Fabio and RB again you have the choice of Brown or Neville neither of which i would say are must have RB but you do have Rafael as back up. I also like to get in another DC to back up Ferdinand and Vidic.

I would def consider selling Kuzsczack and finding another GK to be back up to VDS as i tend to loan out Foster. I also loan out all youngsters and bring in a good few back up players for my squad as most of the youngsters are good but not quite good enough for the EPL.

The Board is very demanding as you would expect of a club of this size they demand success straight away so its not an easy team to manage if this is your 1st FMH game.

Any questions please ask and ill try to answer!

[Octopus]

A quick one for Spurs

Team Tottenham

Budget 35m

Expectations Cup Success and Reasonable League Position

GK Heurelho Gomes GK

César Sánchez GK

Ben Alnwick GK

DL Gareth Bale D/ML

Benoît Assou-Ekotto DL

DR Alan Hutton DR

Chris Gunter DRL

DC Ledley King DC

Jonathan Woodgate SW/DC

Michael Dawson DC

Vedran Ćorluka D/MRC

Ricardo Rocha DC

ML Gilberto D/ML

MR David Bentley AMR

Aaron Lennon AMR

MC Didier Zokora D/DMRC

Tom Huddlestone DMC

Jermaine Jenas AMC

Luka Modrić AMRLC

Jamie O'Hara MLC

Hossam Ghaly MRC

SC Roman Pavlyuchenko ST

Darren Bent ST

Fraizer Campbell ST

Giovani Dos Santos AM/FRLC

If you are playing a basic 442 then you will need to invest in the left wing. Bale and Gilberto will do a job and Modric or Dos Santos can also play there but it would be good to have a specialist.

I would be tempted to play 4-5-1 with modric as the creative force in midfield. This also means you don't need to go out and buy another striker.

[tyron1]

Athletic Bilbao

Thinking the unthinkable

Hello, I'd like to welcome you to my first single guide for the FMH series.

This guide will not make your choicing succeed, for that the key components are:

Strength and Structure

Good Tactics

Luck

Leagues Loaded:

England - BSP and higher

Germany - First Division

Scotland - SPL

Spain - Liga BBVA

Quick need to know info:

Full name: Athletic Club Bilbao

Second string: Bilbao Athletic

Manager: You

Nation: Spain

Status: Professional Club

Financial State: Rich

Transfer Budget: £10m

Wage Budget: £1.2m

Max. Wage: £55k

The Squad:

Goalkeepers:

Gorka Iraizoz: Accordingly Bilbao's number one, and with tons of experience, can be kept for at least 3 more years as experience to the first team.

Inaki Lafuente: Your second choice, real reason to keep him is because he provides back-up incase a goalie gets injured, he stands between the posts.

Defenders:

SW/DC:Aitor Ocio

DL: Javier Casas

DC: Ustaritz

DC/DMC: Ander Murillo

D/AMR: Andoni Iraola

Summary: To be completely honest, all need to be kept, despite their inexperiance, they are your only chance, you can sell them once you bring in backup if you choose to.

Midfielders

Pablo Orbaiz, DMC: This man is your only DMC, in which should be kept over his capability and stats, which show the effect on your teams performance as it is reflected by him.

Javier Martinez, MC: Your central midfielder, who is one to keep with great stats and at the age of 20, a huge career lies ahead for him.

Markel Susaeta, AM/RLC: Again like Martinez, he is only 21 with a great career to look forward to under your management.

David Lopez, AM/RC: An older player with more experiance then most of the players in the Athletic squad, you should keep for a few more years.

Igor Gabilondo, AML: Doesn't really get a place in the starting 11, and with a starting value of £1m, can be sold to raise funds.

Joseba Garmendia, AMC: Only playing in one position, doesn't even make the position on the bench. Sell for cash.

Strikers:

Fernando Llorente, SC: A striker who is young but not for long. He can grab bucketfuls of goals with the right tactics and training. As your only striker, you should definately keep.

Signings in:

Stephane Ruffier, GK: The age and price says it all really. Can be bought for the smallest amount at £2m

Panxti Siriex, DMC: As you are in need of a DM, Siriex is your best shot at it, and can also be bought for £2-2.5m

Joseba Llorente, SC: A striker of whom you are deeply in need of, a must buy for £5m from Villarreal.

Gorka Brit: Another magnificent striker, who can be bought for £3.5m at the most.

Signings out:

Francisco Javier Yeste: One who is ageing quicky, and an AM who doesn't have the best stats of the team, so you can sell, but only on the cheap. £2m is what most clubs will offer.

Fernando Amorebieta: A central defender, who although needed, is one who can be sold to raise funds for other Basque players to be bought.

Tactics:The Bugel 4-3-3

Bilbao are only allowed to buy Basque players, under their club laws

[crickie]

Club: Nottingham Forest

Transfer Budget: 230k

Division - Championship

Board Expectations: stay clear of relegation

Player Analysis:

GK:Shane Redmond, Barry Richardson, Dale Roberts, Paul Smith

paul smith is the best goalie out of the lot so should be your first choice. Richardson is the first player that you should get rid of as he adds nothing to the team. With the other two roberts and redmond you can get better young player for your second choice but if you want to keep these i suggest loaning them out to get experience. An area that could need improving.

DL: Julian Bennett, Joe Heath

Bennett is a good player for forest and should be first choice. Once again heath is not really good enough so this is an area you should improve.

DR: Brendan Moloney, Luke Chambers, Gavin Kavanagh

Chambers is a more than able right back but if a cheap option to replace him came along i wouldnt say no to it. As for the other two moloney is a good young player who maybe needs loaning out a bit for more experence and kavanagh is not really good enough and should be sold.

DC:Kelvin Wilson, Wes Morgan, Ian Breckin, Hamza Bencherif - The best two in my opinion is wilson and morgan with breckin as back up. Once again with bencherif he needs loaning out to gain expirence. Maybe a position that needs a few new players

DMC: James Perch, Guy Moussi. - Both very able players in there own right but moussi is slightly better and should be in the starting line up. Perch is a good back up and very versatile.

MC: Lewis McGugan, Matt Thornhill, Chris Cohen - Mcgugan is definantly a first team player and should be in the first team. Thornhill is a young player who once again isnt being played much needs to be loaned out. Cohen is also a player who should be in your 16 on matchdays. Another position that could do with a few new players

ML: James Reid, Lee Martin - Lee martin is the best player in this position but is on loan to forest so will only be there for a season. A new player is definantly need here.

MR: Paul Anderson, Garath McCleary, Aaron Davies - Anderson is the best option of the three but is only on loan for the season. Both davies and McCleary are also good back ups.

SC: Rob Earnshaw, Joe Garner, Adam Newbold, Emile Sinclair, Nathan Tyson. - Quite a good strikeforce with earnshaw garner and tyson being the best strikers at the club. Newbold is quite a good youngest and is a good back up player. Sinclair is average at best and should either be sold or loaned out.

Tactics: Normally the 442 tactic is used with forest. The best way is to tinker with the tactics to find you best player roles.

Anything else - Forest have quite a young squad so maybe if you sign any players then maybe it is better if you sign a few older players to give the team a bit more balance in terms of age.