Brady Marino
Footballguy
Oh, and Siggy is now mad because I turned down "a reasonable" $14 mil offer from Stoke and they wouldn't haggle. At all.
He's worth $35 mil.
He's worth $35 mil.
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Football Manager (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter SmoovySmoov
- Start date
The Gator
Footballguy
L;mao: hate thatOh, and Siggy is now mad because I turned down "a reasonable" $14 mil offer from Stoke and they wouldn't haggle. At all.
He's worth $35 mil.
raise his value 100N, see if that pisses him off
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Fred to Watford for $34 mil.
Fan approval rating: 10%.
To be fair, I lost money (got him for $42 mil) and he was popular, but he had a really bloated salary and he got passed up by the young hotness that is Embolo, Malcolm, and Odegaard.
Speaking of Odestuud, PSG keep making offers for him. They're up to $75 mil. Curious to see how high they'll go.
Fan approval rating: 10%.
To be fair, I lost money (got him for $42 mil) and he was popular, but he had a really bloated salary and he got passed up by the young hotness that is Embolo, Malcolm, and Odegaard.
Speaking of Odestuud, PSG keep making offers for him. They're up to $75 mil. Curious to see how high they'll go.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Kind of a melancholy day as the Giyfi Sigurdsson Era at Swansea has come and gone.
After taking his concerns to the press, I promised the press that the situation would be resolved. He took it as a guarantee that he's getting a place in the first team.
He had forced my hand and angered a few players, including captain Kevin Prince-Boateng. So, I settled on $23 million. Fans didn't like it much, but I've made a lot of moves this offseason that they have (namely selling Mitrovic to Hamburg for $11 mil and something called Sergio Ribeiro to Sheffield United for $10 mil)
How he gets his first team play...
...BUT CAN HE DO IT ON COLD RAINY NIGHTS IN STOKE?
After taking his concerns to the press, I promised the press that the situation would be resolved. He took it as a guarantee that he's getting a place in the first team.
He had forced my hand and angered a few players, including captain Kevin Prince-Boateng. So, I settled on $23 million. Fans didn't like it much, but I've made a lot of moves this offseason that they have (namely selling Mitrovic to Hamburg for $11 mil and something called Sergio Ribeiro to Sheffield United for $10 mil)
How he gets his first team play...
...BUT CAN HE DO IT ON COLD RAINY NIGHTS IN STOKE?
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Brady Marino
Footballguy
Also, I'm changing my loanee policy up. In the past, I've been very liberal about sending youngsters off to get first team experience with some big clubs, but I've been finding that I'm not doing a really good job at developing new studs. Like, at all.
So, for anyone under 22 that it at least 3.5 star potential, they stay at the club. 2.5 to 3.5 stars get loaned out IF they are guaranteed key or first team status. Below that get loaned to whatever sucker wants them.
(I did make some exceptions. For instance, I have a 20 year old Romanian defender that is a fringe bench guy (2.5 stars for current ability), but has 4.5 star potential. Manchester United, with their State Of The Art training facilities, came in with a loan offer and guaranteed he'd be a key player. So off he went. I also have a 20 year old Argentine right-back that is at 4 star potential that I allowed to be loaned to Sporting in Portugal because they also have State Of The Art training facilities and generally have taken care of my players when I've loaned to them before.)
22 and above either go on the big club or get loaned regardless if they aren't big-club worthy.
So, for anyone under 22 that it at least 3.5 star potential, they stay at the club. 2.5 to 3.5 stars get loaned out IF they are guaranteed key or first team status. Below that get loaned to whatever sucker wants them.
(I did make some exceptions. For instance, I have a 20 year old Romanian defender that is a fringe bench guy (2.5 stars for current ability), but has 4.5 star potential. Manchester United, with their State Of The Art training facilities, came in with a loan offer and guaranteed he'd be a key player. So off he went. I also have a 20 year old Argentine right-back that is at 4 star potential that I allowed to be loaned to Sporting in Portugal because they also have State Of The Art training facilities and generally have taken care of my players when I've loaned to them before.)
22 and above either go on the big club or get loaned regardless if they aren't big-club worthy.
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That has been close to my policy for a few years now - no studs get loaned, only players I don't really want. I have invested heavily in top coaches at all levels, so I think they get better coaching with me, and playing U21 games, and occasional Cup games, than being loaned out anywhere.
The Gator
Footballguy
First team time is HUGE imo, you just need to be picky about where they go.
u21 games are useless for development and the 8-10 games they get in cups isn't enough.
Every situation is different based on your teams need for depth and the potential of the player. If we're trying to develop suture starters, then I do this.
15yo stud from your academy, the rare "once in a generation" one for example, this is what i do.
15-16 u18, tutored by veteran
16-18 u21, tutored by veteran
19 is the key point for me. If they are progressing well then they should be loaned as a key player in their best position to a team with excellent training facilities and coaching (affiliate clubs are huge here). Those 30+ games they can get are huge for them. Then you can bring them back and still tutor more because they haven't gotten into your first team enough.
Then it's year by year and squad dependent.
I've had good luck with this and it's not 100%, but I'm never short on developing talent. I think I've sent three of my key backups now on loan for more than on year and it's not always for a full year either. I'm probably busiest in loaning out in January once we get through the cluttered part of the schedule and you know where you'er at in the cups. Then I'll loan more kids out for 4-5 months.
u21 games are useless for development and the 8-10 games they get in cups isn't enough.
Every situation is different based on your teams need for depth and the potential of the player. If we're trying to develop suture starters, then I do this.
15yo stud from your academy, the rare "once in a generation" one for example, this is what i do.
15-16 u18, tutored by veteran
16-18 u21, tutored by veteran
19 is the key point for me. If they are progressing well then they should be loaned as a key player in their best position to a team with excellent training facilities and coaching (affiliate clubs are huge here). Those 30+ games they can get are huge for them. Then you can bring them back and still tutor more because they haven't gotten into your first team enough.
Then it's year by year and squad dependent.
I've had good luck with this and it's not 100%, but I'm never short on developing talent. I think I've sent three of my key backups now on loan for more than on year and it's not always for a full year either. I'm probably busiest in loaning out in January once we get through the cluttered part of the schedule and you know where you'er at in the cups. Then I'll loan more kids out for 4-5 months.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Lulz, I just started a Roma save last night.Firing up a Leverkusen save
bring it on krauts
In Totti I Trust.
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Spartans Rule
Footballguy
Finally finished my first season with Aston Villa the other night. Came in 8th, which is good considering we were supposed to get relegated, but bad considering we'd be in Europe if not for an embarrassing home loss to Crystal Palace in the 2nd to last game of the season.
I had Tiago Ilori on loan from Liverpool with a £7M future fee, and he played pretty well so I made the offer and he's not interested in joining because he wants continental soccer, which I'm sure he'll enjoy watching from the bench at Anfield.
So now I'm looking at Calum Chambers... remember a lot of talk about him in this thread. He work out well for you guys? Did you use him at CB or RB? He looks more like a CB to me and that's my bigger need but I could use him at RB too.
I had Tiago Ilori on loan from Liverpool with a £7M future fee, and he played pretty well so I made the offer and he's not interested in joining because he wants continental soccer, which I'm sure he'll enjoy watching from the bench at Anfield.
So now I'm looking at Calum Chambers... remember a lot of talk about him in this thread. He work out well for you guys? Did you use him at CB or RB? He looks more like a CB to me and that's my bigger need but I could use him at RB too.
Spartans Rule
Footballguy
Sweet... Liverpool won Europa to qualify for Champions League, which apparently creates another Europa spot which goes to me.
Spartans Rule
Footballguy
Going quality over quantity this transfer window... signed Chambers, Breel Embolo and Timo Horn. That pretty much used up my budget.
Embolo, Jack Grealish and Adama Traore give me 3/4 of a really good front four for the future. Now I just need a stud AMC. Tried to get Kovacic on loan from Real but he refused to come here.
Embolo, Jack Grealish and Adama Traore give me 3/4 of a really good front four for the future. Now I just need a stud AMC. Tried to get Kovacic on loan from Real but he refused to come here.
The Gator
Footballguy
Brady Marino
Footballguy
I played a little bit this morning before work (because Football Manager) and I did do the following:
I'd like to find someone permanent that isn't named Szcezney before the season so I can tell him happy trails, too.
Made offers on some of the usual young studs like Gabigol (
), Mammanna, Rajikovic, and Donnarumma, mostly because they're so bloody cheap at the start of the game. From what I remember from my AC Milan save last year, no LOL WORK PERMIT issues in Italy!
However, Donnarumma is being a little standoffish about signing with Roma. I may have to get Luca Brasi involved to handle negotiations instead of my Head of Youth Development.
I'd like to find someone permanent that isn't named Szcezney before the season so I can tell him happy trails, too.
Made offers on some of the usual young studs like Gabigol (
), Mammanna, Rajikovic, and Donnarumma, mostly because they're so bloody cheap at the start of the game. From what I remember from my AC Milan save last year, no LOL WORK PERMIT issues in Italy!However, Donnarumma is being a little standoffish about signing with Roma. I may have to get Luca Brasi involved to handle negotiations instead of my Head of Youth Development.
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Brady Marino
Footballguy
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Spartans Rule
Footballguy
Speaking of this, I had some Spanish team make an offer for my DM Idrissa Gueye. Turned it down because he's awesome, he wanted a new contract, demands were reasonable so I gave him his raise...
Then he gets denied a work permit for the new contract because he's not getting enough caps for Senegal. He's allowed to stay for now, but after his current contract expires in 2019, see ya.
He's 27 now so I'll probably be ready to move on by then anyway, but that's messed up.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Oh, I can't ####### STAND that ####. Kept running into that in my Swansea save when I'd try to re-up Rajikovic. Gotta be some sort of glitch.Speaking of this, I had some Spanish team make an offer for my DM Idrissa Gueye. Turned it down because he's awesome, he wanted a new contract, demands were reasonable so I gave him his raise...
Then he gets denied a work permit for the new contract because he's not getting enough caps for Senegal. He's allowed to stay for now, but after his current contract expires in 2019, see ya.
He's 27 now so I'll probably be ready to move on by then anyway, but that's messed up.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Jorge now costs $67 mil in this update.
Yeah, this update can DIAF.
Yeah, this update can DIAF.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Convinced Donnarumma that his signature looked better on a contract than his brains, so the goalie of the future is secured.
Goalie of today? I'm going to make a conscious effort to not sign Geronimo Rulli, even though I love him so. So, I picked up a pretty nice bargain out of Brazil named Alisson. 22 years old, 3 star current, 4 star potential, worth $20 mil, paid half that.
Edit: Oh, and the moment Alisson signed, overpaid loaned meh Szcezny hopped the next flight back to London.
Goalie of today? I'm going to make a conscious effort to not sign Geronimo Rulli, even though I love him so. So, I picked up a pretty nice bargain out of Brazil named Alisson. 22 years old, 3 star current, 4 star potential, worth $20 mil, paid half that.
Edit: Oh, and the moment Alisson signed, overpaid loaned meh Szcezny hopped the next flight back to London.
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Brady Marino
Footballguy
So, I was 100% convinced that I was not going to sell RB Alessandro Florenzi. He's 24 and a young stud to bookend with fellow young stud LB Jetro Willems (picked up for ~$20 mil). Well, Manchester United comes sniffing around and makes an inquiry. I tell them BYE FELICIA and think it's over.
A few days later, one day after a Serie A opening 1-0 win over Genoa (who play the most defensive formation ever), we hash out this boner-producing deal.
Meantime, I rope in Mario Fernandes in as a replacement for $15 mil and I don't feel I've really lost much at RB.
WINNING
A few days later, one day after a Serie A opening 1-0 win over Genoa (who play the most defensive formation ever), we hash out this boner-producing deal.
Meantime, I rope in Mario Fernandes in as a replacement for $15 mil and I don't feel I've really lost much at RB.
WINNING
I think I have a new, latest, favorite formation/tactic.
I am rocking a 5-3-2 formation to great effect. I had been toying around with finding a tactic that let me use Dier in a similar role as Spurs - where he more or less drops between the 2 CBs and the FBs play high and wide (a sort-of, but not really, 3 CB back line). After countless mis-steps where the set-up was too defensive, or leaked like a sieve, or had too big a gap in the midfield, I finally settled on a 5-3-2 (or 3-5-2 depending on your perspective).
The three CBs have a CD-stopper, CD-defend on either side, and a BPD-cover in the middle.
Complete Wingbacks are set to support
I use 3 CMs in a flat set-up - DLP-support, BWM-defend, AP-attack
Both strikers are set as Complete Forwards - attack.
I just finished the first season of a create-a-team save with a double - Europa and the League, losing the FA Cup final. Only real blemish was a loss in the first League Cup match to West Brom. For the season the team went 42-8-10, with 140 goals, 51 against. Strikers scored in bunches - Kane 30, Tevez 26, Bacca 25, and Dybala 20 - Gabigol chipped in 7, but he only started 10 games, and played the entire first half of the season in the U21 league racking up 29 goals by the end of December. Assists came from the WBs - Lichtsteiner had 16, Gaya 18, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had 19 as an understudy for Lichsteiner, Rose added 11, and had the highest average rating on the season.
Midfield were work-horses - started Pogba, Vidal and Verratti, with Neves, Maia, and Alli providing solid minutes and each developing nicely.
CBs were Alderweireld, Dier and Hummels, with Rugani, Romagnoli and Otamendi (he was slated to be a starter, but missed a total of 6 months due to injuries)
From a tactic standpoint - the set-up played very balanced. The team instructions were: Attacking mentality (always!), Fluid, Normal Tempo, Width = Wide, Higher Defensive Line, Closing down much more, Get Stuck in, mixed passing, and look for overlap. The two areas where I had trouble finding the right mix were at CB and CM - but this set-up kept everyone in decent shape. MF was never overrun, and with the mix of stopper-defend-cover the backline was never exposed. One of the things I did when looking for players to fit the formation was to look for players with high work-rate attributes - this seemed to make a difference in how well they were able to press all over the field - it is probably the best pressing team I have put together. For the CBs - I went for guys with high attributes for Marking/Tackling - but more importantly Anticipation and Positioning - I think those are more important because you don't have a DM sitting in front, and they have to anticipate covering out wide.
Only trouble spot for the tactics came from the high-press - get stuck in. It tends to draw cards. Vidal and Verratti each served accumulation suspensions in both the league and Europa. Reluctant to change though because it seems to be very effective at turning the ball over.
One of the unintended Pro's (and con) of the tactic is that it uses relatively few positions. CB, WB, CM and Striker - no Defensive mids, attacking mids, or wide MFs. CBs are relatively cheap - so carrying 6 allowed for easy mix and matches. Same with the CMs they are all relatively interchangeable. Good wing backs are a little harder to find, but I discovered Hojbjerg, who was an old midfield favorite of mine had decent attributes for the wing back position - just needed to be trained. (Unfortunately Hojbjerg starts out on loan in a normal save so I don't think you can pick him up from the start unless you go the create-a-team route.) So the upside is easy rotation at each of the positions, the downside to this consolidation of positions is that I can't easily switch tactics - I don't have any natural AMs or wingers/Inside forwards that I would typically use. I did train two other tactics - my 4-3-3, and slight variation on this 532, where I moved one CB into a DM role - to be slightly more attacking. But, I never used either tactic.
Goal now is to eliminate the 10 losses - see if I can go an entire season without a loss. I'll give it 5 years...
I am rocking a 5-3-2 formation to great effect. I had been toying around with finding a tactic that let me use Dier in a similar role as Spurs - where he more or less drops between the 2 CBs and the FBs play high and wide (a sort-of, but not really, 3 CB back line). After countless mis-steps where the set-up was too defensive, or leaked like a sieve, or had too big a gap in the midfield, I finally settled on a 5-3-2 (or 3-5-2 depending on your perspective).
The three CBs have a CD-stopper, CD-defend on either side, and a BPD-cover in the middle.
Complete Wingbacks are set to support
I use 3 CMs in a flat set-up - DLP-support, BWM-defend, AP-attack
Both strikers are set as Complete Forwards - attack.
I just finished the first season of a create-a-team save with a double - Europa and the League, losing the FA Cup final. Only real blemish was a loss in the first League Cup match to West Brom. For the season the team went 42-8-10, with 140 goals, 51 against. Strikers scored in bunches - Kane 30, Tevez 26, Bacca 25, and Dybala 20 - Gabigol chipped in 7, but he only started 10 games, and played the entire first half of the season in the U21 league racking up 29 goals by the end of December. Assists came from the WBs - Lichtsteiner had 16, Gaya 18, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had 19 as an understudy for Lichsteiner, Rose added 11, and had the highest average rating on the season.
Midfield were work-horses - started Pogba, Vidal and Verratti, with Neves, Maia, and Alli providing solid minutes and each developing nicely.
CBs were Alderweireld, Dier and Hummels, with Rugani, Romagnoli and Otamendi (he was slated to be a starter, but missed a total of 6 months due to injuries)
From a tactic standpoint - the set-up played very balanced. The team instructions were: Attacking mentality (always!), Fluid, Normal Tempo, Width = Wide, Higher Defensive Line, Closing down much more, Get Stuck in, mixed passing, and look for overlap. The two areas where I had trouble finding the right mix were at CB and CM - but this set-up kept everyone in decent shape. MF was never overrun, and with the mix of stopper-defend-cover the backline was never exposed. One of the things I did when looking for players to fit the formation was to look for players with high work-rate attributes - this seemed to make a difference in how well they were able to press all over the field - it is probably the best pressing team I have put together. For the CBs - I went for guys with high attributes for Marking/Tackling - but more importantly Anticipation and Positioning - I think those are more important because you don't have a DM sitting in front, and they have to anticipate covering out wide.
Only trouble spot for the tactics came from the high-press - get stuck in. It tends to draw cards. Vidal and Verratti each served accumulation suspensions in both the league and Europa. Reluctant to change though because it seems to be very effective at turning the ball over.
One of the unintended Pro's (and con) of the tactic is that it uses relatively few positions. CB, WB, CM and Striker - no Defensive mids, attacking mids, or wide MFs. CBs are relatively cheap - so carrying 6 allowed for easy mix and matches. Same with the CMs they are all relatively interchangeable. Good wing backs are a little harder to find, but I discovered Hojbjerg, who was an old midfield favorite of mine had decent attributes for the wing back position - just needed to be trained. (Unfortunately Hojbjerg starts out on loan in a normal save so I don't think you can pick him up from the start unless you go the create-a-team route.) So the upside is easy rotation at each of the positions, the downside to this consolidation of positions is that I can't easily switch tactics - I don't have any natural AMs or wingers/Inside forwards that I would typically use. I did train two other tactics - my 4-3-3, and slight variation on this 532, where I moved one CB into a DM role - to be slightly more attacking. But, I never used either tactic.
Goal now is to eliminate the 10 losses - see if I can go an entire season without a loss. I'll give it 5 years...
Well, season 2 came and went. Undefeated season lasted until the 1st game of the season, when I lost 0-1 to Man United in the Community Shield. I probably would have counted it if I went undefeated the rest of the way, but then I lost 0-1 at Norwich... 
Between the inauspicious start and the end of the season though, it was a fantastic season - winning 5 trophies - Europa Super Cup, League Cup, FA Cup, League (clinched on April 1 at Arsenal!), and Champion's League - got fortunate to face Leverkusen in the final, but had to go through RM in the group stage, then Bayern, Juventus, and RM again in the knockout stage. Total record ended up being 52-7-6, with all 6 losses coming away from home, so I did manage to stay undefeated at the UberDome 28-3-0.
Got pretty lucky with injuries, Gaya missed the season with an ACL in August, but no other major injuries all season. I did sell Bacca, and moved Gabigol up into the striker rotation, but he had an off year, with only 15 goals, Dybala had 34, Tevez 31, and Kane 29. Overall 157 for, 41 against, in 65 games. But, the first half of the season felt like much more of a slog. Team hit its rhythm about early December and at one point had a 29 game unbeaten streak.
Summer of 2017 and I realize the window for my undefeated season is smaller than I thought - I have two players, Tevez and Lichtsteiner, who are 33 this year, and no real replacements yet. Hojbjerg is adequate as the RWB, but not in the same class as Lichtsteiner. So, I am selling Ruben Neves to Bayern for £70M, and buying Dani Carvajal for £45M. I hate selling Neves, but he is backing up Pogba, with no clear path into the line-up absent injury. Plus Hojbjerg has as much upside as a DLP in CM as Neves. SO, I will slide him over, and put Carvajal in the starting RWB role, with Lichtsteiner playing the back-up. Vidal is 30, and Maia is close to being ready to take over, but I have no depth behind Maia - a couple of prospects are a couple of years away, at least.
Not sure what I am going to do to replace Tevez yet. Complete forwards are hard to find, old and expensive. I had two pretty good regen prospects in the pipeline, but it turns out neither are compatible with the complete forward role. Now, I am just going to loan them out for a couple of seasons then sell them. I have £80M transfer budget, plus about £500K in weekly wages I can play with, but I will probably wait for next summer to make a move. Tevez already said he won't renew his contract, so I have to replace him one way or the other next season. We are playing this season at Wembley, and get a new stadium next season - so hopefully an even bigger transfer budget to play with - but still not sure who I would buy that wont be 30+ by next season...
Between the inauspicious start and the end of the season though, it was a fantastic season - winning 5 trophies - Europa Super Cup, League Cup, FA Cup, League (clinched on April 1 at Arsenal!), and Champion's League - got fortunate to face Leverkusen in the final, but had to go through RM in the group stage, then Bayern, Juventus, and RM again in the knockout stage. Total record ended up being 52-7-6, with all 6 losses coming away from home, so I did manage to stay undefeated at the UberDome 28-3-0.
Got pretty lucky with injuries, Gaya missed the season with an ACL in August, but no other major injuries all season. I did sell Bacca, and moved Gabigol up into the striker rotation, but he had an off year, with only 15 goals, Dybala had 34, Tevez 31, and Kane 29. Overall 157 for, 41 against, in 65 games. But, the first half of the season felt like much more of a slog. Team hit its rhythm about early December and at one point had a 29 game unbeaten streak.
Summer of 2017 and I realize the window for my undefeated season is smaller than I thought - I have two players, Tevez and Lichtsteiner, who are 33 this year, and no real replacements yet. Hojbjerg is adequate as the RWB, but not in the same class as Lichtsteiner. So, I am selling Ruben Neves to Bayern for £70M, and buying Dani Carvajal for £45M. I hate selling Neves, but he is backing up Pogba, with no clear path into the line-up absent injury. Plus Hojbjerg has as much upside as a DLP in CM as Neves. SO, I will slide him over, and put Carvajal in the starting RWB role, with Lichtsteiner playing the back-up. Vidal is 30, and Maia is close to being ready to take over, but I have no depth behind Maia - a couple of prospects are a couple of years away, at least.
Not sure what I am going to do to replace Tevez yet. Complete forwards are hard to find, old and expensive. I had two pretty good regen prospects in the pipeline, but it turns out neither are compatible with the complete forward role. Now, I am just going to loan them out for a couple of seasons then sell them. I have £80M transfer budget, plus about £500K in weekly wages I can play with, but I will probably wait for next summer to make a move. Tevez already said he won't renew his contract, so I have to replace him one way or the other next season. We are playing this season at Wembley, and get a new stadium next season - so hopefully an even bigger transfer budget to play with - but still not sure who I would buy that wont be 30+ by next season...
Brady Marino
Footballguy
I'm still playing FM, but not as fervently as I did when I ran Swansea to new heights.
Started a Roma save and we're currently in the semis in the Champions League, thanks to some rather lucky draws against Wolfsburg and Juventus (who we pwn in this thing for some reason) in the knockout rounds. We also dodged a small bullet by getting Man City in semis while Bayern/Real Madrid kill each other.
Also holding on to 1st in Serie A, about six points up on Inter and about 10 up on Juventus. Team's looking real strong since the winter window. Our current usual lineup:
Gabigol or Dzeko
El Shaarawwy Pjanic Bernardo Silva
Borja Valero Naingollan
Jorge or Jetro Williams Manolas De Rossi Mario Fernandes
Rulli
Notables off the bench: Salah, Lovren (on loan, we signed Barzagli on a free for next year), Seydou Keita, Totti, Ivanovic, Ljajic, Emerson, Bryan Dabo
Alisson turned out to be a raging dumpster fire, so I panicked and got Geronimo Rulli for fairly cheap . Bernardo Silva came over after I hit his release clause for $32 mil and Monaco decided to jog on. He's been awesome so far, along with Mario Fernandes and El Sharrawwy. Gabigol is progressing, but hasn't been the Football Jesus he's been for me in other sims.
Started a Roma save and we're currently in the semis in the Champions League, thanks to some rather lucky draws against Wolfsburg and Juventus (who we pwn in this thing for some reason) in the knockout rounds. We also dodged a small bullet by getting Man City in semis while Bayern/Real Madrid kill each other.
Also holding on to 1st in Serie A, about six points up on Inter and about 10 up on Juventus. Team's looking real strong since the winter window. Our current usual lineup:
Gabigol or Dzeko
El Shaarawwy Pjanic Bernardo Silva
Borja Valero Naingollan
Jorge or Jetro Williams Manolas De Rossi Mario Fernandes
Rulli
Notables off the bench: Salah, Lovren (on loan, we signed Barzagli on a free for next year), Seydou Keita, Totti, Ivanovic, Ljajic, Emerson, Bryan Dabo
Alisson turned out to be a raging dumpster fire, so I panicked and got Geronimo Rulli for fairly cheap
. Bernardo Silva came over after I hit his release clause for $32 mil and Monaco decided to jog on. He's been awesome so far, along with Mario Fernandes and El Sharrawwy. Gabigol is progressing, but hasn't been the Football Jesus he's been for me in other sims. 3rd year could be the charm 
1st game v. ManUtd in Community Shield: 2-1 for the good guys, already off to a better start than last year
1st League Game Home to Stoke: 5-0 whitewashing
European Super Cup, also against Man Utd: Kane ties the score at 1 in the 92nd minute, Verrattii nets the winner at 114 minutes
@ Man City, down 2-0 after 60 minutes, switch tactics to full overload to keep the dream alive, Dybala scores hat trick at 61, 69, 73, hold on for the 2-3 win, and undefeated is still on the table! Its Destiny!
1st game v. ManUtd in Community Shield: 2-1 for the good guys, already off to a better start than last year
1st League Game Home to Stoke: 5-0 whitewashing
European Super Cup, also against Man Utd: Kane ties the score at 1 in the 92nd minute, Verrattii nets the winner at 114 minutes
@ Man City, down 2-0 after 60 minutes, switch tactics to full overload to keep the dream alive, Dybala scores hat trick at 61, 69, 73, hold on for the 2-3 win, and undefeated is still on the table! Its Destiny!
First blemish came at game 13 - a 1-1 draw at home against Swansea, followed two games late by the biggest early-season test, a 0-0 draw at Camp Nou.
So, now 15 games in 13-2-0. Knock on wood, no major injuries yet. I may have unlocked the secret to reducing injuries ...
It could be coincidence, but I think not, but when I get that early season question about whether I think injuries will have an impact on the season - when I answer yes, that injuries could impact the season - then injuries do impact the season. But when I answer that injuries are not a factor...then injuries are not a factor. I am just saying...
So, now 15 games in 13-2-0. Knock on wood, no major injuries yet. I may have unlocked the secret to reducing injuries ...
It could be coincidence, but I think not, but when I get that early season question about whether I think injuries will have an impact on the season - when I answer yes, that injuries could impact the season - then injuries do impact the season. But when I answer that injuries are not a factor...then injuries are not a factor. I am just saying...
Loss made me give up - going undefeated will remain a pipe dream.
Fired up a new normal Spurs save last night to see if I can shoe-horn that team into the 5-3-2 tactic - seems challenging, at best, with only 1 true striker on the team. Spurs do start with £48M in the transfer kitty, and a bit of wages to play with, so with some creative financing I have overhauled the team, with a couple of sales still to come. Gabigol in for £11M, Rugani and Mammana in for £25M and £6M to shore up the defense. Maia in for £25M - shocked to see them want £45M, but I know he develops into the BWM I need/want. I was also able to buy Hojbjerg - but since he is on loan, he can't join until next summer.
If the preseason is any indication, I'll be sacked long before Hojbjerg joins up....I have played a slew of nobodies, and have 2 wins, 3 draws, and a loss to show for it.
Fired up a new normal Spurs save last night to see if I can shoe-horn that team into the 5-3-2 tactic - seems challenging, at best, with only 1 true striker on the team. Spurs do start with £48M in the transfer kitty, and a bit of wages to play with, so with some creative financing I have overhauled the team, with a couple of sales still to come. Gabigol in for £11M, Rugani and Mammana in for £25M and £6M to shore up the defense. Maia in for £25M - shocked to see them want £45M, but I know he develops into the BWM I need/want. I was also able to buy Hojbjerg - but since he is on loan, he can't join until next summer.
If the preseason is any indication, I'll be sacked long before Hojbjerg joins up....I have played a slew of nobodies, and have 2 wins, 3 draws, and a loss to show for it.
On a slightly different note - has anyone played Juventus? Too easy in Serie A? I don't think I have played any team outside of England Spurs - maybe toyed around with Barca or RM.
Thinking about Juve, because they should have a roster compatible with the 532, but not sure if it too easy to win Serie A.
Thinking about Juve, because they should have a roster compatible with the 532, but not sure if it too easy to win Serie A.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Haven't played Juvy. I played AC Milan in FM15 and didn't find the going in Serie A to be too tough. Playing as Roma this year and finding Inter is my biggest challenge.
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
I had the same reaction with Juve. Not as much money as you'd expect, and difficult to improve the team because wing backs are so scarce.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
In the second season in my Roma sim and, quite frankly, we're Hulk Smashing everyone this year. And there is a big reason for that.
In the off season, I unloaded Dzeko and his bloated contract to Tottenham. To replace him, I used about half of the fee I got for him on...
ZLATAN!!!!!
Gets about a goal a game and generally is an absolute boss, even at 35.
In the off season, I unloaded Dzeko and his bloated contract to Tottenham. To replace him, I used about half of the fee I got for him on...
ZLATAN!!!!!
Gets about a goal a game and generally is an absolute boss, even at 35.
Spartans Rule
Footballguy
Second season with Aston Villa, just got a new ownership group led by a tycoon. He dumped a bunch of money into training facilities, gave me 21M for the winter window, and last but not least, doubled the payroll budget (to about 2.2M).
This is about to get real easy, but since I haven't had the same level of FM obsession lately I'm just going to enjoy it. One of these days I'll start with some crazy long-term project again.
This is about to get real easy, but since I haven't had the same level of FM obsession lately I'm just going to enjoy it. One of these days I'll start with some crazy long-term project again.
The Gator
Footballguy
Been there, and yeah...IT WAS MINE <_<I knew if I played this game long enough I would see an own goal from a pass back to the keeper...fortunately it was not my OG
Way more common was the back pass-assist to the forward running in behind...that's an old fav
This was close to that - slow roller, and Gabigol was closing in, but then he tripped, and the ball just went between the keeper's legs, and the defender who made the pass was given the OG. I tried to upload the highlight, but it looked like crap...
The Gator
Footballguy
The Gator
Footballguy
Holy ####, that's better than i imagined
and you can see it coming a mile away....those defenders were just looking to give it back.
If I'm watching that the commentary is;
Nice, now get it out wi...no, no..clear it!...NO MOTHER ...OH ### #### YOU ####### ####S! #### this, I'm playing FIFA
and you can see it coming a mile away....those defenders were just looking to give it back.
If I'm watching that the commentary is;
Nice, now get it out wi...no, no..clear it!...NO MOTHER ...OH ### #### YOU ####### ####S! #### this, I'm playing FIFA
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
The possible Brexit scenarios in FM17 sound infuriating. Imagine having to get work permits for guys from the European leagues if you're a mid table BPL team.
In-game, players of Football Manager 2017 will be alerted at some point between two and 10 years in that trade negotiations have begun, and a year later a news bulletin will detail the extent of Brexit. There are three main scenarios:
Soft Brexit - free movement of workers remains.
Footballers are granted the same special exemptions that are currently given to ‘entertainers’. This means it is easier for them to obtain work permits than other people, and it will not have a huge impact on player movement from the EU.
Hard Brexit: similar rules to those which currently apply to non-EU players are adopted for all non-UK players.
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