Crystal Palace - Football Manager 2018

[Dave]

4 minutes ago, Stan said:

is that just wishful thinking for tomorrow evening  ?

If only. Unfortunately for Brighton Glenn Murray didn't play which is where they went wrong.

@Cannabis Everton have just appointed Mike Phelan as Manager   

[Dave]

The 4-2-3-1 formation continues to work as an unchanged Crystal Palace soaked up all of Manchester United's pressure and were able to gain a suprise 2-0 victory. Crystal Palace took the lead after Christian Benteke seemed to fall over rather easily in the box and the win was confirmed with a rare goal from Scott Dann as his strike from over 20 yards out flew in the top corner. Scott Dann was heavily praised along with Yohan Cabaye for their leadership skills.

Crystal Palace battled hard but were unable to get anything against Chelsea whose quality came through. Both of Chelsea's goals were strikes of the highest quality and there wasn't really anything Wayne Hennessey could do. Yohan Cabaye had another great game and was rewarded with a goal as his strike from twelve creeped under Courtios.

A game with nothing really to talk about as Ronald Koeman took charge of West Ham for the first time. The biggest talking point was the injuries collected. Joel Ward is likely to miss at least a month, Luka Miliojevic will be lucky to play over the Christmas period whilst Wilfried Zaha will miss around two months with a repeat of his injury at the start of the season. Yohan Cabaye and Scott Dann were both highly praised again for their leadership qualities.

 

Player of the (half) month:

Yohan Cabaye

He pretty much had this won anyway after he single handedly decimated Brighton but Yohan Cabaye has impressed everybody by managing to continue this form for the next three games.

 

[Stan]

how is your 4-2-3-1 formation set up?

I had to recently amend mine to have 2 strikers as the 4-2-3-1 became ineffective. So I sacrificed my AMC for another striker. 

[Dave]

Half Way Review:

 

Well as you can see we're thankfully not bottom thanks to surprising wins against Liverpool and Manchester United. Our inability to beat anybody else other than the league's two first-timers really needs to improve in the second half of the season because if the teams underneath us improve by 20% (as they historically do) we will find ourselves relegated.

Player Reviews:

 

Playing Very Well:

Yohan Cabaye, Andros Townsend

Playing Well:

Wayne Hennessey, Pape Souare, Scott Dann, Martin Kelly, Joel Ward, Luka Miliojevic, Reuben Loftus-Cheek, Wilfried Zaha, Bakary Sako

Playing As Expected:

Patrick Van Aanholt, James Tomkins, Tarique Fosu-Mensah, James MacArthur, Jordan Mutch, Chung Yong-Lee, Christian Benteke

Underperforming:

Jairo Riedewald, Mohammadou Sakho, Jason Puncheon

 

[Dave]

13 minutes ago, Stan said:

how is your 4-2-3-1 formation set up?

I had to recently amend mine to have 2 strikers as the 4-2-3-1 became ineffective. So I sacrificed my AMC for another striker. 

That was meant to say 4-3-2-1. I'm trialing 4-2-3-1 in the next match with Loftus-Cheek as an AM because Everton are shite.

[Dave]

Transfer Activity:

Wout Weghorst (TM) AZ Alkmaar 8mil - I very nearly didn't sign another Striker as both Christian Benteke and Connor Wickham were both performing at a good level, but injuries to both of them reminded me of the necessity for three Strikers. Unfortunately I couldn't find a reasonably cheap Striker anywhere. Then I came this towering Dutchman who was the top scorer in The Eredevise with 13 goals. He possesses the attributes to fit in to the system well. Only time will tell if he's going to be as effective as the other two but he will be given a whole month of game time to settle due to current injuries.

Danny Ward (GK) Liverpool 3.2mil - Whilst Wayne Hennessey has played well this season it has constantly been on my mind that we only have one suitable backup Goalkeeper and he's at an age where he should be considering retirement. I however did not want to spend big and couldn't enter the loan market as we already had two long term loan deals at the club. My scouts identified Darren Ward as unhappy at Liverpool and he was somebody that ticked all the boxes. He was at an age where he should develop, he was being allowed to leave for a fraction of his potential worth, and his performances at Aberdeen and Huddersfield more than merit a stake at a club looking to avoid relegation in The Premier League. It's also a signing that should help get the best out of Hennessey due to the competition instead of just trumping him out.

Kaziah Sterling (TM) Spurs 350k - Kaziah had played three times this season for Tottenham, scoring once in the process, and looking established in all three games. So when it was bought to my attention how cheap Tottenham were willing to depart with him for I had to act. He's 19, and isn't ready to start regularly, but I imagine he will be gradually making more and more of an impact every season.

 

League Form - Christmas & January:

Initially I was half expecting us to get dragged in to a relegation fight again when we failed to beat Everton after dominating the game but the players responded magnificently with unexpected back to back wins against Leicester City and Stoke City even though the squad was being heavily rotated. Both Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke were both injured for a minimum of six weeks so I wasn't expecting much but dramatic 92nd minute winners in both matches occurred courtesy of Connor Wickham and Andros Townsend gave us much needed six points in a difficult fixture period.

We then convincingly continued this form against both Cardiff City and Watford. They were both pretty even matches in the first half but the likes of Wickham, Cabaye, Townsend and Sakho showed their quality to be decisive factors in both matches.

The form then took a turn for it's worth as Liverpool seemed content on causing revenge for the defeat earlier in the season. This hangover then continued as Chelsea took advantage in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

I expected us to recover against Huddersfield and we dominated the match in an expected fashion, but two silly defensive errors remained costly and became two points dropped. 

Player of The Month: Andros Townsend. He's had a lot more pressure put on himself with injuries to the likes of Zaha and Benteke but he's responded magnificently all season.

[Dave]

Providing we don't get involved in a relegation battle i'll stick to one short review for the remainder of this season.

[Dave]

Well... Here's how the season ended...

 

Not going to to lie. By the time we reached the Brighton fixture I was thinking 'shit'  We were very close to being sucked in to a real relegation battle at that point. I sacrificed a lot of points by trying to make us more sure at the back. We didn't let in more than two goals a game so it worked, but it also meant that we struggled a lot more to score. Had we of lost to Brighton, the last three games would have been very interesting. That said if you look at our goals scored and goals conceded compared to the other teams in the league I reckon 14th was a fair finish and one i'm happy with.

I'm not sure what to do this summer. I've been given no money by the board which is pathetic really considering we're not far off becoming a top half team. I'd quite like to bring back Fosu-Mensah and Loftus-Cheek as they were really beginning to grow in to big characters at the club.

 

Player Performance:

Played Very Well: Pape Souare,  Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Yohan Cabaye

Played Well: Wayne Hennessey, Joel Ward, Martin Kelly, James Tomkins, Scott Dann, Luka Milijoveic, Reuben Loftus-Cheek, James MacArthur, Andros Townsend, Bakary Sako, Jason Puncheon, Connor Wickhan, Christian Benteke

Played Average: Jairo Riedewald, Patrick Van Aanholt, Wilfried Zaha

Disappointing: Mohamadou Sakho, Danny Ward, Wout Woghurst.

[Dave]

5 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

That form between City and Bournemouth is awful, it's one thing to lose but to not even score is pretty shite. That West Bromwich win was massive though and from there you've only lost against teams you'd expect to struggle against.

I was relying on Woghurst as my only striker and he's clearly really struggled to settle. We made it hard for ourselves but having dependable central midfielders really helped our cause. 

In a catch 22 with Cabaye. I can get 25 million for him at 32 but without him, Reuben Loftus-Cheek and Timothy Fosu-Mensah I'd really be throwing in the towel next season.

[Honey Honey]

1 hour ago, The Palace Fan said:

I was relying on Woghurst as my only striker and he's clearly really struggled to settle. We made it hard for ourselves but having dependable central midfielders really helped our cause. 

In a catch 22 with Cabaye. I can get 25 million for him at 32 but without him, Reuben Loftus-Cheek and Timothy Fosu-Mensah I'd really be throwing in the towel next season.

Is it not Weghurst? Woghurst sounds like a racist name a Palace fan would come up with to label a striker the new Paul Warhurst 

[Dave]

9 hours ago, Kitchen Sales said:

Is it not Weghurst? Woghurst sounds like a racist name a Palace fan would come up with to label a striker the new Paul Warhurst 

He's yet to score so I haven't learned his name.

[Dave]

@Lucas @Cannabis what do you two make of Ronaldo Vieira? I'm contemplating signing him in the summer transfer window.

[Stan]

14 minutes ago, The Palace Fan said:

@Lucas @Cannabis what do you two make of Ronaldo Vieira? I'm contemplating signing him in the summer transfer window.

i know you didn't tag me but I signed him for Ipswich and he was immediately my best midfielder and helped me get to the Premier League. The earlier you sign him the better as his value and talent does increase towards his peak years. 

[Dave]

22 minutes ago, Stan said:

i know you didn't tag me but I signed him for Ipswich and he was immediately my best midfielder and helped me get to the Premier League. The earlier you sign him the better as his value and talent does increase towards his peak years. 

Awesome!

Must have missed him on your Ipswich story. I know Cannabis managed Leeds so I imagine he would know.

My scouts are mad about him so I trust your assessment.

[Lucas]

41 minutes ago, The Palace Fan said:

@Lucas @Cannabis what do you two make of Ronaldo Vieira? I'm contemplating signing him in the summer transfer window.

Very promising. Hit and miss in some games but you get that when the kids are as young as they are. Once he finds consistency, he'll be laughing because he's got all the attributes to go to the top. Not sure how we replicates to the game but if you can get him for a good fee and want someone who you can develop, he'd be ideal.

[Dave]

Cheers for the feedback lads, I went for him in the end at a costly twelve million. His form in the previous season was fantastic given his age and based on what you've all said i'm satisfied he can develop. I've bought back Fosu-Mensah and Loftus-Cheek on loan so there's plenty of competition again in the center of midfield as we play 4-3-2-1. I bought Freddy Woodman for 3.5mil for similar reasons as Vieira.

The only players we've lost are Pape Souare for £13,000,000 to Manchester City () and Martin Kelly to Leicester City for £2.4mil. I've replaced them with some promising Dutch players called Mitchell Dijks and Derrick Luckasson who my scouts quite like. Sakho sulked all summer but nobody wanted to pay what we had previously paid for him.

[Dave]

@VanPaddy what do you make of Mitchell Dijks and Derrick Luckassen? One has taken to the league with ease whilst the other has really struggled. 

[Panna King]

22 hours ago, The Palace Fan said:

@VanPaddy what do you make of Mitchell Dijks and Derrick Luckassen? One has taken to the league with ease whilst the other has really struggled. 

I dont really rate Dijks, he is average and is only really playing at Ajax due to them not having European football, plus they have lost their left back,  Dijks was on loan at Norwich last season.  I think Luckassen can be a great player for PSV with huge potential, just needs to play more game to establish himself in the team. 

[Dave]

Half Way Review 2018/19

After the first couple of games I was thinking "Ahh Fuck" but after that we began to continue the marker we set near the end of last season where we beat the teams around us and lose when we're expected to lose. The big difference so far has been the finishing with Benteke, Weghorst, Zaha and Townsend all regularly contributing. This is where we sit in the table:

The table position is a bit flattering as we've often been around 10th/11th this season and we've escaped media attention because of how Stoke City are doing. Brentford aren't doing too badly either @Danny after the astute signing of Dwight Gayle.  I imagine we will dip in the second half but the gap between us and 12th is very pleasing and allows me to build towards a future image for a bit in the second half of the season without feeling pressured to get points.

Player Performances:

Playing Very Well; Mitchell Dijks, Mama Sakho, Ronaldo Vieira, Yohan Cabaye, Luke Miliojevic, James MacArthur, Jeffrey Schlupp, Wilfried Zaha, Wout Weghorst, Christian Benteke

Playing as expected: Wayne Hennessey, Patrick Van Aanholt, James Tomkins, Scott Dann, Jairo Riedewald, Joel Ward, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Jason Puncheon, Bakary Sako, Andros Townsend

Needs to improve: Derrick Luckassen, Connor Wickham

@Lucas @Cannabis @Stan I've paid over the odds for Vieira but the early signs are promising. He's done enough for me to pick him in to the starting eleven ahead of Loftus-Cheek and Fosu-Mensah as it makes sense to promote him over loanees when they're all playing as well as each other. He's very calm and composed for his age and has very good distribution.

@VanPaddy It's surprisingly Dijks who has taken to England better. He's not as good as Van Aanholt going forwards (which has affected Townsend's return) but he's better positioned defensively which has stopped us leaking goals and improved Sakho too. Luckassen will probably need another season as whilst his stats are more promising he's a bit of a liability with mistakes and bookings. Wout Weghorst has been the best Dutch find though. I'd probably start hi over Benteke if it wasn't for the disparity in transfer fees.

[Panna King]

1 hour ago, The Palace Fan said:

Half Way Review 2018/19

After the first couple of games I was thinking "Ahh Fuck" but after that we began to continue the marker we set near the end of last season where we beat the teams around us and lose when we're expected to lose. The big difference so far has been the finishing with Benteke, Weghorst, Zaha and Townsend all regularly contributing. This is where we sit in the table:

The table position is a bit flattering as we've often been around 10th/11th this season and we've escaped media attention because of how Stoke City are doing. Brentford aren't doing too badly either @Danny after the astute signing of Dwight Gayle.  I imagine we will dip in the second half but the gap between us and 12th is very pleasing and allows me to build towards a future image for a bit in the second half of the season without feeling pressured to get points.

Player Performances:

Playing Very Well; Mitchell Dijks, Mama Sakho, Ronaldo Vieira, Yohan Cabaye, Luke Miliojevic, James MacArthur, Jeffrey Schlupp, Wilfried Zaha, Wout Weghorst, Christian Benteke

Playing as expected: Wayne Hennessey, Patrick Van Aanholt, James Tomkins, Scott Dann, Jairo Riedewald, Joel Ward, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Jason Puncheon, Bakary Sako, Andros Townsend

Needs to improve: Derrick Luckassen, Connor Wickham

@Lucas @Cannabis @Stan I've paid over the odds for Vieira but the early signs are promising. He's done enough for me to pick him in to the starting eleven ahead of Loftus-Cheek and Fosu-Mensah as it makes sense to promote him over loanees when they're all playing as well as each other. He's very calm and composed for his age and has very good distribution.

@VanPaddy It's surprisingly Dijks who has taken to England better. He's not as good as Van Aanholt going forwards (which has affected Townsend's return) but he's better positioned defensively which has stopped us leaking goals and improved Sakho too. Luckassen will probably need another season as whilst his stats are more promising he's a bit of a liability with mistakes and bookings. Wout Weghorst has been the best Dutch find though. I'd probably start hi over Benteke if it wasn't for the disparity in transfer fees.

Go for Sierhaus from Ajax great young striker on FM as is van Bergen from Vitesse Arnhem a young winger

[Dave]

[Stan]

sadly that's happened a few too many times for me in my FM history   

 

[Dave]

End of 2018/19 Season:

Well the less said about the second half of the season the better. We got comfortable and absolutely nose dived.

A big problem was I was very lacklusture in January. Andros Townesend was sold back to Tottenham as they offered more than he was ever going to be worth again (£27,500,000). I had faith with the way Jeffrey Schlupp, Bakary Sako and Jason Puncheon played that one of then would step up and provide adequate cover until the summer. Unfortunately none of them were close to being able to contribute the way that Andros did in the last third. Goals dried up big time. Benteke lost all confidence, Weghust had a nasty injury, and Wickham never got going.

One saving grace was after loaning Woodman to Posh both Danny Ward and Wayne Hennessey got injured. In came a Goalkeeper I had signed for the U23 team named Alfie Whiteman (previously of Tottenham @Storts ) what a man he was. Clean sheet against Bournemouth, clean sheet against Chelsea. He was a real positive in a real negative second half of season.

We went from 4-1-2-3 to 4-3-2-1 for the last four games with Reuben Loftus-Cheek playing behind a now fit Weghurst which saw a change in the form. That's something I hope to implement more next season.

The last result missing from the screen is a 2-0 defeat to Stoke City.

This is how the table ended. We were actually in eigth after 37 games but the loss to Stoke put us in the bottom half. The media want me lynched but Steve Parish is firmly on my side. He's allowing improvements to stadium, training, academy and recruitment all after my suggestions. Never had a bad word to say about that man.

 

Squad Performances: 

Over performed: Alfie Whiteman,  Mitchell Djiks, Jairo Riedewald, Ronaldo Vieira, Wout Weghurst.

Performed as expected: Wayne Hennessey, Patrick Van Aanholt, Mama Sakho, James Tomkins, Scott Dann, Joel Ward, Yohan Cabaye, Luka Miliojevic, Timothy Fosu Mensah, Reuben Loftus Cheek, James MacArthur, Jeffrey Schlupp, Bakary Sako, Jason Puncheon, Christian Benteke 

Under performed: Danny Ward, Derrick Luckassen, Connor Wickham

 

Future Transfer Activity.

The squad is mentally fragile at the minute. Sakho and Benteke in early March made noise about wanting to join big clubs. As long as somebody in China offers me what we paid for them plus there 'loyalty' bonus they can go.

I was keen to bring in the players @VanPaddy mentioned but those slick fuckers in Portugal beat me to them, meaning I can't get them at a fair price.

Once again i'm keen to add Reuben Loftus-Cheek and Timothy Fosu-Mensah to my squad. Hopefully permanently. Other than that i'm keen to continue the Dutch revolution with Veltman and Van De Beek. Tammy Abraham never lets me down so he is the natural first choice to replace Benteke if he goes. Other than that i'll need to do a bit of scouting on the wide areas to find somebody similar to Townsend that can have the same impact that he did.

[Stan]

That Leicester finish is exactly like me. Score for fun. Concede for fun!

Brentford didn't do too badly either! Stoke and Bournemouth above Spurs and the former in Europe  

[Storts]

Whiteman is really good! Probably our best keeping prospect for some time