Football Manager 2017 - General Chat

[Stan]

Sergio Diaz at Real Madrid is usually shipped out on loan to Championship clubs as well. 

Maybe Barnsley is a bit of a stretch but I played an online game with friends and he came to QPR. 

[Dave]

Yeah Sergio Diaz and Marcus Edwards of Spurs got QPR out this league in my second season. Just google Edwards for his Afro.

[Stan]

3 minutes ago, Aaroncpfc said:

Yeah Sergio Diaz and Marcus Edwards of Spurs got QPR out this league in my second season. Just google Edwards for his Afro.

impressive

[Dan+]

Got to be honest Danny, I saw that formation and thought what the fucking hell are you trying to do to my lads.

Then I saw your result against Ipswich, a team I still haven't beaten, and wanted to punch myself in the face repeatedly.

[Dave]

There's no shame in not being able to beat Ipswich.

[Danny]

Ha it looks deformed but it does work

[Dave]

Ipswich Town 2021/22 - Season Review Part II

Right, i'll keep it short and sweet from where I left off...

I showed you a screenshot of our form in January. What I didn't tell you about was one piece of transfer activity. Patrick Roberts left us for West Brom for £3,000,000. Statistically he was one of our most talented players, but the reality is he never really got going in the twelve months he was here. He came up to me mid-January and said he hasn't settled so I let him go for the sake of his career. Given his performances there was a lot more interest from Premier League clubs than I expected but I sold him to the club I thought he'd get most opportunities than start a bidding war.

I last told you that we had achieved the fourty point sprint by Valentines Day. This was after a fantastic competitive performance to beat Arsenal, and by thrashing West Ham, and getting an unexpected point in a 'backs against the wall' performance against Chelsea. Once we achieved this target I didn't know what to expect. It was nice to just play games, read your diaries, and not have to think too much about anything. I literally went on holiday but that doesn't mean my players did the same thing.  Even if injuries were beginning to pile up.

The loss to Everton was entirely underserved but I couldn't complain when West Brom comfortably beat us. The players did well to draw the next three games given spirits had dropped. Jordan Rhodes last minute goal against Manchester City was a particular highlight. But with teams beginning to breathe down our necks the players reacted superbly.  Tammy Abraham came back from injury and got his first goal against Tottenham in the match that won United the title. After that win confidence was flowing again and we performed well in a favourable run of fixtures. The Academy lads got bragging rights when we beat Norwich 4-2, an incompetent ref cost us three points against Fulham, and then a comfortable win against Bournemouth rounded off what's been a very pleasing and succesful season.

This left the table to finish like this. We were ninth from late January to the finish. We traded places with Leicester a couple of times but that was it.  The relegation places and the title were effectively decided by mid to late February in what for a neutral was a boring season. This Manchester United team are completely unstoppable.

I did find it interesting that us, Everton and Sunderland stormed The Championship two years ago and now all finished comfortably in the top half. Shows how important confidence and self belief is.

I got two of the bottom three predictions correct. I thought we'd be the third and i'm obviously satisfied that we're not. Wolves have been promoted and either Preston or Leeds will join them. I fancy them to go down with Norwich City as Norwich City appointed Fernando Hierro who has failed in The Premiership and The Championship as a Manager.

So what changed with the squad? The big difference was up top. Belfodil found confidence in front of goal and made an all round greater contribution. We have goals all in this team and I think if we're to have a succesful season again I need to keep with this bunch of players and let them develop to there full potential.

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

So what's in store....

- Enjoy Canada 2022 - That's right. Just after Brexit was announced last summer they stripped the World Cup off Qatar 

- Sprint to 40 Points - It's just the way the league has gone really. If you don't manage a top six side you have to get fourty points and plan from there. Fingers crossed my injuries pile up after that point.

- Keep Same Squad - Everybody has been playing brilliant, we've got depth in every position, and most of these players are yet to reach there full potential. It's an exciting time and the first summer in ages where i've not had to scout the entire planet early for new signings. It's not going to be easy to keep them all. In January Swift and Tuanzebe had there heads turned by Newcastle and Stoke. After our good form I had Manchester City and Liverpool watching over them. If a top six club was serious in anybody I think i'd struggle to keep that player.

- Introduce More Academy Players - In The Championship I have a right winger named Stuart Bishop whose boasted good goals and assist returns for mid table Sheffield Wednesday, in League One I have 2/3 top scorers out on loan in Danny Dalton and Ben Morris, I have three central midfielders who have played regularly in sides that have made the playoffs (Aiden Jarrard and Flynn Downes at Pompey, Tristan Nydam at Birmingham) and a center back who got fans player of the year at mid table Luton in Jamie Eales. All of them have expressed the right attitude and development to argue they deserve some form of opportunity and i'll be hopeing to do that next season.

Enjoy Growth Behind The Scenes - What's most exciting at Ipswich, and you'd never get this at a tinpot side like Barnsley, is everything that's happening behind the scenes. Marcus Evans held a meeting where he told me he was going to expand the stadium (Bobby Robson Arena) to 42,000 seats, increase the transfer budget by fourty million, and upgrade our Academy Status to Level One. The man is an absolute legend. I dread the day he sells up.

[Storts]

Marcus Edwards is going to be top drawer. He's an incredible talent

[Stan]

have people signed Moises Kean from Juve on any of their saves? 

I got him early on my save (at a price!) but he never really amounted to anything special. Not what he was hyped up to be but just wondering if it was the way I used him or played him too regularly for a kid?

[Dave]

Well scrap 'enjoy Canada 2022' from the list. In a post-Brexit disaster none of the home nations qualified 

[Stan]

16 minutes ago, Aaroncpfc said:

Well scrap 'enjoy Canada 2022' from the list. In a post-Brexit disaster none of the home nations qualified 

 England usually become strong on the game in any save I've known. 

 

Scotland got to a World Cup final in mine. Think it was 2030. 

[Dave]

8 minutes ago, Stan said:

 England usually become strong on the game in any save I've known. 

 

Scotland got to a World Cup final in mine. Think it was 2030. 

This is the first team I've ever seen them not qualify. That inspirational English speaker Walter Mazzarri is Manager and he's still kept his job!

 

[Guest]

Going with an Aab save instead. Although Juan Aurich is still there if I ever want to go on it.

I'm starting with Aab because Denmark is a good challenge and Edison Flores is there.

[Stan]

1 hour ago, Stan said:

 England usually become strong on the game in any save I've known. 

 

Scotland got to a World Cup final in mine. Think it was 2030. 

 

59 minutes ago, Aaroncpfc said:

This is the first team I've ever seen them not qualify. That inspirational English speaker Walter Mazzarri is Manager and he's still kept his job!

 

Tell a lie. They got to the semi-finals.

It was Holland vs Senegal in the final  

[Storts]

4 hours ago, Stan said:

have people signed Moises Kean from Juve on any of their saves? 

I got him early on my save (at a price!) but he never really amounted to anything special. Not what he was hyped up to be but just wondering if it was the way I used him or played him too regularly for a kid?

Yes I did on my Derby save. He became world class and I flogged him to City for big money. I let him develop slowly and a loan or two when he reached homegrown status

[Guest]

One of my first signings at Aab

 

[R-D]

Just sign any Portuguese player, they're fucking incredible on this game.

[Dan+]

1 hour ago, R-D said:

Just sign any Portuguese player, they're fucking incredible on this game.

I've noticed this as well. I intend to sign a few if I do get Barnsley up.

[Dan+]

2018/19

Season preview

Two years in a row I feel we have over-achieved, and to a degree, part of you thinks there's no way that is even possible. When it happens two years on the spin, maybe you are just a good team. Maybe you're not punching above your weight at all.

So my expectation this season is another top six finished. We scraped into it last year, but that isn't a criticism, it was a phenomenal effort in my eyes to get to that position. We would be hit by the loss of loanees such as Armstrong, Cook, Borthwick-Jackson & Sims, but we had a little bit of money to spend again and a few loanees to have an eye on.

It's a tricky league though. I sense plenty of teams will be thinking they can make the top six.

 

Transfer business
Ins:
- Dan Burn (Wigan, £350k) - Bit of an off-field one here as he was a part of the Wigan side that was relegated and had actually only played 9 games for them in their League One campaign, but he's actually got quite good attributes and I got the impression he was in need of a fresh start. An aerially dominant, left sided centre half. That'll do me.
- Bradley Dack (Gillingham, free) - It's a bit of a gamble with him so far spending a career in the lower leagues, but he's improved year upon year at Gillingham and is still fairly young. It is a gamble to replace Cook with him, but he's got a bit of potential I feel and suits the way I want to play. On a free, I had to do it.
- Adam Armstrong (Newcastle, loan) - Championship golden boot winner last year, yet again listed for loan by Newcastle. It's a safe signing.
- Ismael Bennacer (Arsenal, £625k) - Bit naughty this one, he caught my eye in that play-off final and having looked into him, he's actually an ideal signing for us, he's not quite PL level yet hence QPR not taking up the option to sign him, but he's only 20 and is a very solid midfielder at this level. I was really happy with this one. Tenacious with a touch of class.
- Tom Lawrence (Leicester, free) - I was eyeing up Lawrence and Matty James for a long time on frees but left James once I signed Bennacer, however Lawrence comes in. Again it felt like common sense, a very versatile midfield player and an upgrade on what I already have. A strong signing.
- Gaetan Bong (Brighton, loan) - Needed left back cover and went for the cheap option. He's quite good going forward which makes him a potential alternative to Pellenard if I'm chasing a game.

 

Outs:
- Released youngsters
- Adam Hammill (released)
- Shaun Tuton (released)
- Elliot Lee (released)
- Cole Kpekawa (Carlisle, loan) - Back-up centre half who hasn't really developed. I expect this to lead to a permanent move.
- Richard Horton (Mansfield, loan) - One of my brighter youngsters. Winger I signed from TNS.

 

Results - AUG 2018
CH 1 - Brighton (h) - We kicked the season off with the same team as last year, although at home this time. An even, open game was drawn 1-1. Mediocre.
LC 1 - Oldham (h) - We were really poor here. We won the game 1-0 but I was massively concerned by our performance. Absolutely shocking.
CH 2 - Swansea (a) - Unsurprisingly we were beaten. A bit of revenge for them after pipping them to the play-offs. It took them hitting the woodwork three times and missing a penalty all within the first half before they broke through, and eventually won 2-1 with our goal being a consolation.
CH 3 - Ipswich (h) - Bogey fixture, and we lost it again. What an utterly depressing start from us. 0-1.
CH 4 - Watford (a) - On paper the hardest game of the season, I expected to be battered, but we picked up the most textbook scabby 0-1 victory ever. They dominated us but we got a late goal and held on. Fantastic way to get our first win.
LC 2 - Wigan (h) - Oldham all over again, but this time it took penalties. Very concerning performance yet again.

SEP 2018
CH 5 - Aston Villa (h) - Expected us to lose this one, but yet again it was a draw. We always draw with Villa. 1-1.
CH 6 - Brentford (a) - I had a team meeting to raise spirits during the international break and it paid off, we looked ourselves in this game, becoming the first away side ever to win at Brentford's new Lionel Road stadium. 1-3 it ended, and it could've easily been more.
CH 7 - Blackburn (h) - Surely not 5-1 again? Tell you what, not too far off, 3-0 up by half time again, Blackburn got a consolation. 3-1 it ended.
CH 8 - Fulham (a) - Always a tough fixture. We turned around a deficit before having the same done to ourselves, I went for a really attacking formation and it paid off as we pinched a late draw.
LC 3 - QPR (h) - It just had to happen didn't it? The play-off final rematch. QPR once again had the last laugh, stealing it in the 119th minute. I'm beginning to hate these.
CH 9 - Birmingham (h) - Always seem to struggle in this fixture for reasons I can't explain. Bradshaw got a penalty to win it 1-0. Not impressive but it'll do.

OCT 2018
CH 10 - Rotherham (a) - The scene of good memories for us after the last day drama last year. It wasn't going that way though as Rotherham took the lead in the 65th minute, only for Tom Bradshaw to turn in a hat-trick fairly late on. An absolutely brilliant win.
CH 11 - Cardiff (h) - Newly promoted Cardiff so we ought to be winning really. We did. Same as the Birmingham game, 1-0 through a late penalty. 16 points from 6 games.
CH 12 - Hull (a) - Good run brought to an end at Hull, but we probably edged the game and that's something in a game this tricky.
CH 13 - Nottm Forest (h) - Forest are the shock league leaders under Sven but we raced to a 2-0 lead in the second half. But we somehow lost it. I was absolutely livid.
CH 14 - Huddersfield (a) - Huddersfield, along with Watford, are having a shocker upon relegation. They went into this game bottom of the table. I never know how to approach these games, I feel like a mug if I don't win it because I know they're a decent side, but they keep losing. We went ahead early on, only for Huddersfield's Michael Hefele, a clogger centre half to pull out a 30 yarder. Imagine my horror when he stepped up for a free-kick just before half time and he put that in as well. Absolutely unbelievable. We come out for the second half and Huddersfield run straight up and make it 3-1. I am seething with our defending. Fuck it, it's time for the ultra-attacking 4-2-1-3 I played at Fulham and got a point with. It leads to a frantic game, but we get a goal back in the second half. We're allowing them chances too, but we're in the ascendancy and we equalise with 10 minutes to go. Huddersfield concede possession from kick off, we get it up the other end and Armstrong curls one in from the corner of the box. The most extraordinary game and turnaround I've seen on FM17 yet. We hold on, meaning it's two games on the spin where the home team has been two goals ahead and lost.

NOV 2018
CH 15 - Sheff Weds (h) - I have a lovely record against these and go into it expecting victory. Sheff Weds have their shooting boots on though and pull out a couple of screamers. The game ends 2-2 though, we equalise twice and really, we ought to have won.
CH 16 - Reading (a) - Always a tricky game. Not this time, we walked it. 1-3 it ended. Bradshaw's absolutely on fire.
CH 17 - Bristol City (a) - Another tricky game, Bristol City took the lead but Bennacer equalised just before half time and that's how it ended. A fair result I'd say.

 

So, 5th going into the November international break. I think we're doing very well. We started very badly but we've recovered it and I think we're going to finish inside the play-offs again. Forest are having an unbelievably good season but you've always got the hope they'll blow it as their side really isn't that great. Fulham and Swansea unsurprisingly doing well.

Watford & Huddersfield have been a disaster, but the similarities between Watford this year and Swansea last year are eerie, I expect Watford to fly up the table eventually. Huddersfield sit rock bottom. It's amazing how much momentum seems to play a part on this game, with Middlesbrough suffering consecutive relegations as well (and they're only 5th in League One).

The good thing for us is that we have played nearly all of the teams around the top already. We have a nice run of games coming up and we might even get into the automatics if we deliver what I know we're capable of.

Tom Bradshaw has been the outstanding player so far, hitting 13 in 14 so far. Armstrong 8 in 14 which is respectable but he seems to have developed "if he doesn't score he's useless" syndrome and I'm not convinced he's the messiah he once looked. Tom Lawrence has looked good in patches but has spent more time sidelined than not. Dack's been a really decent signing so far, him and Bennacer are forming a very decent partnership in midfield. It's the defence that worries me, I think to be fair though we're very much in a system that will yield goals at both ends so it's not an individual error, we have some very good defenders for this level. Macdonald has generally kept his place but Burn is knocking on the door. O'Connell is being re-trained as a left back but truth be told I see him gone within a year, it hasn't really worked.

Tyias Browning wants out as well which is a shame, and even more irritating because I very nearly signed another right back on a free, who has since gone to play in Saudi Arabia. Props to the attacking 4-2-1-3 though, I make the full backs play effectively as wingers, Dack behind a trio of Santos and then two of Armstrong, Watkins and Bradshaw, with Bennacer and Scowen playing as BWM's behind Dack. I'd never start a game with it, but I tell you what it's worked a treat when I'm losing away from home.

It's been another good season though, and I think when Lawrence gets more involved we'll be even better because he's a level above Williams.

[Pig on the Wing]

So I've been a bellend the last couple of weeks - I got £51m to spend and I've not been very sensible.

Basically bought/loaned an entire new squad of players for fuck all because I'm tight - massive improvements on the comparative gash I had last year but I've got too many as I forgot about squad regulations. For example, I got hold of Wayne Rooney on a 7.5k per week contract as player/Head of Youth Development and simply cannot fit him anywhere in my squad. So he's in the reserves, playing alongside the kids he's supposed to be developing (they're all shit as the board refuse to invest in the academy).

I also bought Charlie Taylor (who?) from Leicester for £4.9m when I came in pissed last week because I needed a WBL, and must have thought it was justifiable as I'd got David Silva on a free. Still not sure wtf I was thinking, although my scouts and coaches seem to like him.

Oh, I also bought Zach Clough for a club record £9.25m as a present to myself for winning the FA Cup last season. He'll probably be utter wank on here but I'll forgive him again and again for being class in real life and because I miss him so much.

Anyway, you can all chuckle at my incoming transfers list below. No idea how I'm going to make it all work as a unit yet, even with the Europa League to think about too. Although, I did beat Man United 3-1 away from home just now, so maybe something is working.

 

*EDIT - apparently Charlie Taylor is half decent in real life with Leeds United. Ooh. Maybe I'm onto a winner.

[Dan+]

I went for Charlie Taylor as my first signing when I started at Leicester. I somehow managed to miss out as Watford came in too.

How good's Choudhury?

You've signed an absolutely silly number there I have the odd summer where I sign a few but hardly ever that many, although I did do it once at Honved. Signed about 23 players in a season and it was just stupid.

[Stan]

Andre Horta becomes a world-beater on the game too. More so than Diaz and Sule etc. 

He's at Benfica and get him early enough you can get him cheaper. 

[Pig on the Wing]

7 hours ago, Dan said:

I went for Charlie Taylor as my first signing when I started at Leicester. I somehow managed to miss out as Watford came in too.

How good's Choudhury?

You've signed an absolutely silly number there I have the odd summer where I sign a few but hardly ever that many, although I did do it once at Honved. Signed about 23 players in a season and it was just stupid.

I got signing-happy and just couldn't stop. To be fair, I had a LOT of dead wood that needed replacing, but yeah... Rookie error. 

Haven't seen enough of Choudhury to form an opinion yet. 

[Storts]

When I'm home I'll post my screenshot of Charlie Taylor. Signed him for 900k as back-up for my Derby side in year two I think. He ended up being absolutely incredible. Consistently 7+ rating ever year, sold him to Sporting 5 years later for £20 million because he was pushing 30. He's gone on another 4 years at Sporting with the same form. He even won Premier League player of the season with me. One of my best ever buys.

Sousa is superb, mainstay in my Derby team. Signed him for huge money from Porto when he'd developed into a world class player.

[Pig on the Wing]

Wow!! 

Nailed on to be a flop for me then.