Football Manager 2021

[Hobo]

11 minutes ago, JasonM said:

How has the league status been affected by the upswing in Irish football? What's the ranking for the LOI?

The Airtricty Premier League was ranked 64th European competition reputation in 2016. Now it's 2021 and it's #35.

 

[JasonM]

5 minutes ago, Hobo said:

The Airtricty Premier League was ranked 64th European competition reputation in 2016. Now it's 2021 and it's #35.

 

To the moon, baby!

[FLiam]

I started another save . This time with Everton - but I'm planning on sticking with this one! Got spreadsheet loaded for squad evaluations and everything, trying to nail recruitment strategy for once rather than just buying whoever. 

[JasonM]

8 minutes ago, FLiam said:

I started another save . This time with Everton - but I'm planning on sticking with this one! Got spreadsheet loaded for squad evaluations and everything, trying to nail recruitment strategy for once rather than just buying whoever. 

Dip yourself back into the 00s and only hire lads with 15 aggression, bravery, and work rate.

[FLiam]

Going to go try the Moneyball model, buy cheap(ish), sell high. Also looking to create a real British spine, but we shall see how it works out. 

Mind you, only one of my January signings were British

Calvert-Lewin is an absolute machine in this edition. 

Edited July 2, 2021 by FLiam

[Baddar]

You guys use spreadsheets for your FM saves? What do you even put on there?

[Naitch]

I don't use it to track attributes, its there for me to keep my squad balanced and know what my rotation options are. Conditional formatting on current/potential ability, ages, and contract length to keep me aware of who might need replacing.

[FLiam]

Basically what @Naitch said. I find I can keep track of things easier (obviously FM itself is a glorified spreadsheet but hey). I like to have a record of attributes I need for certain tactical styles so know recruitment wise who will fit in with the existing squad too.

[FLiam]

First season with Everton update. Why Everton? Because they are a team with potential and move into a nice new stadium in a few years time and have a decent squad already that is just waiting for me to take to the next level. 

Competition wise, I'll start with the domestic cups. Terrible, absolutely terrible. In the FA Cup we were drawn with fellow Premier League rivals Wolves in the third round and we lost 2-1 at Molineux thanks to conceding a last minute penalty which Ruben Neves tucked away neatly. Carabao Cup must have gone better you say - well it did - we reached the fourth round after beating the might Crewe Alexandra in the third round 1-0 with the machine known as Dominic Calvert-Lewin seeing us through. Fourth round saw us travel to play Watford at Vicarage Road and we lost there 2-1. We did put out a much weaker side due to fixture pileup around that time in the first season. Fullback Kyle John scored a belter from 25 yards on his debut but it was a mere consolation. So far, so good. 

Onto the league, we started like a house on fire not losing for the first eight games. We did have a relatively easy start to the season but you can only beat (or not lose) to what's in front of you. Highlight of this early season run was grabbing a point away at Arsenal who were leading for the majority of the game before Allan and Calvert-Lewin scored two goals in the final 15 minutes for us to run away with a point. What followed was a miserable run of eight games without a win. Losing to Man City and Chelsea but managing to get a draw at home against Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby so it wasn't all bad.

That took us up to January in which I realised we needed a couple of reinforcements. Full-back was an area in which we needed strengthening, especially at right-back due to the ageing Seamus Coleman. Now, I scanned through our scouted targets for the season and noticed Elseid Hysaj was listed and his contract was coming to an end, perfect. He can cover both right and left back and could definitely be our starting right-back for the 21-22 season. As his contract was winding down, I managed to get him for a measly £2.5m and he managed to play a decent part in our run-in, grabbing a goal and two assists from his 11 appearances. Elsewhere we needed backup for the attacking areas, preferably a player with a bit of room to grow and already has top-flight experience. So a player I had my eye on all season joined from Leeds United, welcome Tyler Roberts who joined for a fee that could reach £13.5m. He made two starts and making a further six cameos from the bench. Got himself an assist but has yet to score but there is time. 

Now for the run-in, January and February were good months in the league, losing only two and drawing one - winning the other seven games which included a bonkers 5-4 win against Newcastle United. Shit hit the fan in the first few minutes of the game as we found ourselves 2-0 up inside 6 minutes after quick-fire goals from Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin. Newcastle got straight back into the game a minute later when Javi Manquillo pulled one back. Then after a dull 13 minutes, Newcastle decided to go 3-2 up when Jamal Lewis and Ryan Fraser scored two thumping 20 yarders. The second half started at frantic pace, with us peppering Newcastle's goal and it took only ten minutes for Calvert-Lewin to breach the net twice in two minutes to put us 4-3 ahead. But wait, one minute later and Yerry Mina manages to divert a wayward Ryan Fraser cross into his own net. 4-4 - I cannot believe it. Now we get thirty minutes of stalemate, it's like a game of chess until Allan spots Calvert-Lewin making a darting run in behind the defence in the 92nd minute and yes, he converts it - giving him a 10.0 match rating in the process (I think that is the first I've seen).

After all that excitement we close the season with a whimper, managing only four wins from our final twelve games which sees us miss out on European football by two points and finishing 8th. Brighton snatch the Europa Conference League National Championship Qualifiers spot. I am disappointed. 

There are some positives to the season though, Dominic Calvert-Lewin ended up claiming the Golden Boot after scoring 27 goals in 35 games. Unfortunately he missed the final three games of the season after suffering a hamstring injury but was impressed that he managed to play in every game of the season up until that point. James Rodriguez had a late start after damaging his spine playing for Colombia before he had made his debut, costing him to miss the first four months. He ended up with 2 goals and 5 assists from 17 appearances - could be worse, could be better.  Richarlison had a solid season as well playing 36 times, scoring 13 and assisting 11. 

Now, the real excitement of the summer transfer window begins. My shopping list is light - there are players I need to shift more importantly than new arrivals. Too many average players on big-fat wages. I know I'll need a goalkeeper (or two) due to Olsen's loan ending. A right-sided attacker is needed to compete for James Rodriguez on the right hand side (as well as step in when he's injured), another couple of younger central attacking midfield options are required as well. First we will get the boring stuff out of the way, backup goalkeepers. We managed to bring in David Martin and Lars Unnerstall from West Ham and PSV respectively for a combined 76p and a copy of Jordan Pickford's film debut 'This is England' on DVD. Hopefully he never gets injured.

Then we managed to beat Arsenal to the signing of highly-rated Reading youngster Michael Olise in an £11.5m deal which sees him return to the Madejski Stadium for the upcoming season. I see him as a potential future starter on the right-wing for us. We brought in Ryan Gauld from Sp. Farense on a free transfer after agreeing a contract with him before the end of the season, he will be decent cover for our two central midfield positions ahead of the DM.  Another attacking signing came in the form of Youcef Atal from Nice for £13.5m. He is listed as a right-back but can play right-wing and going by his attributes, that is his best position. He will be a very good rotation option with James Rodriguez. 

Last thing on my shopping list was a new attacking midfielder to take Gylfi Sigurdsson's place as I wanted to upgrade here. I went over the road to Anfield to discuss a deal for Liverpool's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Oh yes, I went there. A deal that would cost us up to £39m was agreed. 

Little did they know that I was already negotiating with a team further south that also play in blue for a transfer that would ultimately cost us £55m. It was a long shot, I didn't think we would have a chance until to my amazement he agreed a contract with us (which does include a £66m release clause to CL clubs but fuck it), meaning the Oxlade-Chamberlain deal was off. Welcome to Everton - James Maddison. He is a player in which I think can take us to the next level. A front line of Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison, Rodriguez and Maddison is quite exciting and he takes us one step further to have a complete English spine in the team along with Pickford, Godfrey and Calvert-Lewin. 

Going into the season, squad depth is looking pretty decent. We lineup in a 4-3-3 every.single.game. 

GK: Pickford, Unnerstall, Martin

DR: Hysaj, Coleman
DL: Digne, Nkounkou
DCR: Godfrey, Keane
DCL: Mina, Holgate, Braithwaite

DM: Gbamin, Delph
MCR: Doucoure, Davies
MCL: Maddison, Sigurdsson, Gauld

AMR: Rodriguez, Atal
AML: Richarlison, Iwobi
FC: Calvert-Lewin, Roberts, Kean

There is still a month or so of the transfer window left and we could see Iwobi leave as feel as though we have coverage with Maddison being able to play on the left if needed and bringing Sigurdsson back central. Kean is another that may be sold - whilst a loan for Jarrad Braithwaite makes sense - unless we receive a decent bid for Mason Holgate.

Fin.

Edited July 2, 2021 by FLiam

[Szumi]

@FLiamhow much did you get for Allan? Think he was the only main sale for that side?

[FLiam]

2 hours ago, Szumi - A Polack said:

@FLiamhow much did you get for Allan? Think he was the only main sale for that side?

Oh yeah, I didn’t cover the outs. 

Allan went to Real Madrid for £30m. Cenk Tosun and Mo Besic both joined West Ham for a combined £16m. Jonjoe Kenny went to Leeds for about £10m if I recall. Then there’s Andre Gomes that joined Sheffield United for £14m and finally Bernard to Aston Villa for £23m. 

I’d say I did well with sales - and even though more went to PL sides than I’d have liked, none of them are really any good.

[Szumi]

After 2 seasons in MLS, I won everything there was to win. Supporters Shield and MLS Cup twice, the CONCACAF Champions League in year one (lost in the finals year two), the Campeones Cup (MLS Champ vs La Liga Champ), and the US Open Cup. So I figured, I'm out. Ironically enough the game decided to let my American connections land me at Fulham, with Tony Khan as my new boss. Just wait until he hears my ideas... and my Fulham ideas too!

 

Fulham were like 6 points off the playoff place in the Championship, and a good 15 points off 2nd place, when I took over, and I only got two matches done so far because of the 2022 World Cup break. Of course, USA flamed out big time in the World Cup losing all 3 matches I think by a combined score of 2-8, so GGG got fired, and I landed the USA gig. Guess I'm going to balance both jobs now because since I started the game as an American with no professional experience (aka me), pretty much HAVE to apply for the USA job. But only managing international is boring.

 

This Fulham team has been pretty much shredded in 1.5 seasons. They finished 10th I think in 20/21, but then obviously relegated in 21/22. I think the only players in the first team squad that were on the starting Fulham side are Mitrovic, Tom Cairney, Le Marchand, and Ryan Sessegnon. Cairney and Le Marchand are both already on their way out in January since I have no need for then. Otherwise, it's a whole new squad because of all the transfer activity. 

 

My goal is to keep using the narrow 442 Diamond that I used at the Union for consistency sake, and Fulham have a glutton of players in the CM and ST positions, especially CMs who can play at Mezzalas like I need for the formation to work. It's definitely a squad that can get me promoted this season, but a squad that will need significant upgrades in the Premier League.

 

The CB pairing of Issa Diop and Kenneth Omeruo is about to get a challenge from Miles Robinson from Atlanta United, while my starting RWB is going to sleep be challenged by Julian Arajuro from the LA Galaxy (on a free) as I embrace the of Fulhamerica roots. The diamond midfield is going to mainly be anchored by Isaac Hayden with Sean Longstaff and Matt Grimes ahead of them. I don't really have a true #10 so I'm still trying to work that spot out, while Keane Lewis-Potter (Fulham signed him this summer from Hull for over £12 million) will mainly play as a 9 next to Mitrovic, and sometimes in the 10. Fulham have a 20 year old Brazilian striker prospect Caue Santos and then a teenage striker who I think is a Regen with potential. 

 

[King Ellis]

Just on the somewhat recent mention of Excels, I did use it once to tally up my squad, see which positions needed looking at in terms of recruitment or who needed getting rid of and tracking the foreigner limit. The game doesn't do a good job with that last part, like you could use the squad depth for keeping track of the positions and see the potential players in those positions but the registration screen never seems to work as I want. Like, in the Europa league it never let me pick a 'practice' squad in the buildup to it starting. I think it only let me actually pick the day of the registration closing, it would have been helpful to know if I needed to keep people around in order to meet 'trained at' quotas. 

Anyway, Alfreton 2031/32:

Pre-season recruitment was nothing too major, finally got the Greek lad I'd been waiting for since he popped up at age 15 (made his Greece debut at 16 yrs, 108 days), like 3 substantial left back signings and a couple of good CB's between the summer and January window. Other than that it was just the usual mish mash of youngsters so the main core of my team went unchanged. I think I closed my last update worried about doing the dirty on my LB and I kinda did, didn't have the heart to sell him so he went to Palace in the Championship for the season on loan. Accidentality took his 'youngest appearance' record from him as well. He'll be getting sold this summer because the left backs brought in are leaps and bounds ahead of him so it's gonna suck.

Most noteable situations with transfers was one of my superstar CB's being snapped up by Chelsea for his 84m release clause. We paid £15m for him about 3 years earlier so a big profit and it wasn't the worst thing in the world as we always seem to have plenty of CB's ready to step up. For some reason it's always been a very easy position for me to deal with over the course of the save, I've always had people step in, do a good job, get sold on for big money and the process repeats. Case in point this time, my Brazilian CB called Flavio who had been a bit of a squad player in the past two seasons finally emerged and played the majority of the games and is just a beast. 6'7 with 18 jumping reach and 15 heading so is pretty much a monster at corners. Other big one was Arsenal taking my right winger in January for 85m, he didn't have a clause but he had like 18 months on his contract and wasn't going to renew because of the interest in him. Didn't think I would be able to win him round in time so took the money. He was having an awesome season as well, 9 goals and 13 assists in 17 league games. Didn't quite reach those heights at the Emirates, namely he finished top of the assists charts with 15 but only 2 came for his new team, but he did help them win the title so it all worked out for him in the end I guess.  Uncharacteristically I didn't go with what we had for his replacement and tried to bring in this Danish guy who I'd been after for a while but would never talk to me, he did this time but it cost like 88m and 230k a week which just obliterates our wage structure. He started amazingly, dropped off a bit but picked up again by the run in to the season with a few assists so hopefully he hits the ground running in his first full season.

On the field, it started off quite poorly with losses to Man U, Liverpool, Newcastle and even a 5-0 loss to Man City thrown in. Shook things up a bit by changing to an attacking tika taka from our usual positive gegenpress, both a means to break the slump and to try and take on a more dominant position to match our changing status in the league as one of the big boys. Actually worked out really well as we ended up finishing 3rd and we're not a million miles away from the very top of the league, 7/8 points off 2nd/1st. There were a few slips up at the end to the likes of City/Liverpool which in combination with the poor start means we probably could have been challenging if they'd gone our way. Some big wins in there too; 7-1 against Spurs, 7-0 against Everton and 6-1 against Brighton. A big turnaround in our goal output given the first few years in the Prem we'd be around 50 goals and GD in the single figures.Last couple of years we've had 80 goals and GD in the 40s.

Amazing year in the cups as well; beat City 4-1 in the League Cup. It was fairly even for most of the game and we even went down to 10 men near the end but somehow got 2 counter goals whilst they were chasing the equaliser. Lost to Arsenal in the FA Cup final 4-1, kinda the reverse situation of the LC as we shipped two near the end whilst chasing. Capped everything off by then beating PSG in the Europa League final, bit of a redemption of our loss the last time we were there when we missed a penalty early on and never really recovered. This time we scored a penalty after 2 minutes and rode out the game from there.

I think we can defnitely do well again next season and try and push into the latter stages of the Champions League. Not sure how we'll do seeding wise as we're only 64 in the European rankings but winning the Europa should give us a boost and if you can finish 3rd in the Prem then you can't really be afraid of too many teams, can you? Don't really have too much to change in the squad, maybe just a little extra quality in a couple of places and I have some top looking strikers out on loan that I'll be trying to integrate as they seem a cut above the squad options I have now. Like the guy who was our top scorer last year with 22 league goals just fell off a cliff this time and only got two. Very strange.

[Benji]

Any deals at the minute? Euros are making me crave.

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

£20 on their store at the moment for anyone after it.

[FLiam]

Calvert-Lewin tore his hamstring (again), so I needed cover for January / early February. Bagged Iheanacho on loan. 

Didn't look to see that he was away at the African Cup of Nations (which Nigeria won). 

[Lineker]

Ten challenges to keep the game entertaining - The Athletic

[Szumi]

Went down to the final day with Fulham, but up we go! I pushed up the table quick with Fulham, but was in the automatic push with Sheffield United (winners) and Forest. I was sweating it because I had to use my 3rd string keeper (U23 keeper) for 5 of my last 6 matches after first my back up keeper and then my starter went down in the same week. My back up was able to return for the final match, a 2-0 home win against Frank Lampard's Stoke, to seal automatic promotion. 

 

In the final stretch of 9 games, we hit a rough patch. 2 draws, then a loss at Sheffield United. 2 home wins followed, but a late 3-2 loss at West Ham meant we were 5 points back of Forest for 2nd. They proceeded to lose 2-1 home to Stoke and 4-2 at Reading, while we won 4-2 at Hull and 1-0 at Swansea to give us a 1 point edge. Mitrovic scored both goals to seal it. 

 

Timmy Weah was my star man in the run in though. I had him on loan for the 2022 Union season, and brought him in January 2023 for Fulham. He didn't score in the last league match, but in the 6 matches before that? A goal in every match, 12 altogether, in 2 hat tricks. He finished with 14 in 10(5) for me. My other American signings - Miles Robinson, George Bello, and Julian Arajuro - all did well, with Robinson a huge standout in the back. 

 

I don't want to spend a lot of money going up, but this is definitely a squad that needs upgrades. I also have a squad that needs trimming because the Championship is a league that needed talent ready. 

 

GK: Jacob Rinne, Luca Ashby-Hammond

RB: Julian Arajuro, Darnell Furlong, Dimitri Foulquier

RCB: Issa Diop, Cedric Kipre

LCB: Miles Robinson, Kenneth Omeruo

LB: George Bello, Steven Sessegnon

DM: Isaac Hayden

RCM: Sean Longstaff, Warren Bondo

LCM: Ashley Grimes, James Igbekeme

#10: Keane Lewis-Potter, Sheyi Ojo

AF: Tim Weah, Caue Santos

TM: Mitrovic

 

This is dependent upon Weah being purchased permanently, which is in the works. Lille crazily have accepted a £4m offer, less than his market value. Tommy Doyle was on loan and played in CM a lot, but may not return. I also brought in 19 y/o CM Nathan Dejonckheere as a prospect, while Harrison Reed and AM Chidera Ejuke are players I haven't barely used and am trying to offload. I'm also hoping to offload Foulquier, Omeruo, and Igbekeme, even though the latter did well for me. Furlong I'll happily offload if I can too. If I'm going to stick with the 442 central Diamond, I need a better #10, a back up TM, and I would like a new LCM just because I don't think Grimes is going to be a good EPL player. But, I'm not going to just buy buy buy.

 

The only pre-approved transfer is highly rated prospect Maarten Vandevoordt on a free transfer from Genk. Rinne was quality for us, but he's also injury prone. Plus, a highly rated young keeper on a free!? I'll take that. 

 

2023/24 - Fulham Fights Relegation!

[Kyle]

 

[Twist]

1 hour ago, Kyle. said:

 

About bloody time. This is FANTASTIC news.