Football Manager 2011

[Berober]

Good Luck Summ. So I am now in 2nd, after Diaz de Cerio scored 4 and Magaye Gueye scored 3 in an 8-1 win over Ipswich who were in 6th. Let the collapsing of Portsmouth begin

[Summers]

First two games, nil points. Looong season ahead..

[Berober]

First two games, nil points. Looong season ahead..

When Redditch beat you, give me a shout (Y)

[The Future]

Started to get a bit bored of all the world class players being regens so I have started spending big time to get the few remaining "real" world class players into the United team, Ozil-Hazard-Hernandez-Rooney

A 35 year old Wayne Rooney is retiring at the end of the season though, his acceleration has dropped to 9 but he's still scored 23 goals this season looking to replace him with Lukaku whose got brilliant stats but is wasting away at Man City.

Really struggling in the league now, it's April and Arsenal are 10 points ahead and I am struggling to hold onto second spot with Villa and Chelsea on my tail, Hernandez who was insanely good has started to decline alongside Rooney putting too much pressure on Hazard and Ozil to get the goals and while they have delivered we have dropped some silly points.

Going to play through just one more season I think since I want to end things on a winning note.

[Evolution's Animal]

Did I said I was awesome? Is it wrong that I succeeded because of my own skills? Saying that founding a right tactic that fits the team, I didn't mean downloading or getting someone else's tactics. Its about finding the right tactic for the team, and believe you me, FM11 is the easiest game of the series to get trophies. I've been playing from FM 06.

I've never had a perfect season with Manchester United, always couple losses or draws. I created right tactic and founded right players for every spot, and that's why I succeeded. I deleted the deadwood from the team, and with United's resources I was able to get the right man for the job. For example David Goodwillie was a striker, who came off the bench and replaced Rooney when needed. He played six seasons for me, and always scored over +15 goals, even though I had about six strikers in my team and most of the time he came on from a bench. He's best record is 40 goals in all comp. Plus, there is still many first team players who played Utd already when I started this game, like Fletcher, Gibson, Rafael, Jonny Evans, Valencia, Rooney.. It's so wrong that everyone thinks you are cheating, just because you get trophies and you are playing with "big" team. If you call that cheating, bite me.

P.S. I have never liked LLM.

P.S.S. But I respect everyone who can get their team from the bottom to the top. Mucho.

P.S.S. Gonna start bringing Magpies back to the top.. haha.

Edited June 17, 2011 by Evolution's Animal

[Benji]

Sensitive much?

Why can I never seem to get into 'big' team games? I hate starting a game as anyone but Leicester or bottom rung teams (in before "they're the same thing").

[Pesci]

I can only get into big team games myself (though not the very best - I don't see the point in a Man Utd game personally and couldn't get into a Chelsea game because it just seemed too... easy... Arsenal is about the lowest I'll go) because signing top European players (though not the obvious ones everybody and their mother signs like Hazard) and prospects I've heard of and watching them develop is a huge part of the game for me, but I'd never come in here bragging about how awesome I am, or using the overdone "winning" meme. Talk about your game, sure, but don't try to pass it off as some amazing achievement that you've won a few trophies as one of the best teams in the game.

[Clawson]

I'm with Benji. I can easily get into a lower-league team but even playing a Championship team is a struggle for me. Maybe cause I'm a king with free transfers but always spend my money poorly elsewhere.

[ADG]

After four years at Everton, amassing three League Cups, three Premier League championships and two Community Shields in that time I packed my bags and headed for the bright lights of Barcelona in 2014. After the World Cup Pep Guardiola left to become Spain manager and I sent my application. Next day the Everton board is in uproar at my temerity to apply for another job and demands I walk. No hard feelings I walk away and another day later I'm unveiled as the new Barcelona manager with a £120m+ transfer budget, £3.2m a week wage budget and a team that needs to perform having underachieved in recent years.

Clearing out the dead weight is the first priority, with a 25 man squad needing to be registered and the team strengthened in places there's no place for some. A whole bunch of players head out on loans to affiliates and I sell Guillame Horeau for £2.5m to Tottenham. Then it becomes a case of strengthening. Before leaving Pep brought in Antonio Cassano, Juan Moretti, Matej Delax, Sebastien Bassong and Carlos Somoza but my defence is still poor. I'm lacking an out and out left back and need some strength on the right and centre of defence too. I raid Everton for Leighton Baines and André Bikey (who was immense last season) and then bring in Naldo from Werder Bremen and finally I drop £29m on Sergio Ramos from Man City bringing the former Real man to the Camp Nou. That's the defence sorted but after a couple of pre-seasons friendlies it becomes painfully obvious that Iniesta won't last a full season, he's easily exhausted after two games in a row and he's in need of some help in the middle of the park, enter Cesc Fabregas for a club record £63m. Finally I buy Leigh Griffiths for £7m for shits and giggles and line him up alongside Messi and Neymar in a front three. Messi's already streaming ahead with 14 goals in 11 games but Griffiths is contributing with 7 goals and 4 assists in 12 games so far.

8 games into La Liga we're top with 8 wins but it won't last, I know that right now. In the Champion's League I drew Everton, Rangers and AaB, a group I'd easily thought would finish with Barca and Everton going through by Rangers threw a spanner in the works beating my former employers 4-0 at Ibrox. Meanwhile at Goodison my replacement Steve Bruce has taken a team that was a constant in the top four over the last 4 seasons and has them languishing in 10th place and already his job is insecure. HA!

[Berober]

And I managed to get Pomey back into the Prem!

And it might turn out that the mass exit of my reserves is a good thing. My highest wage player was an ageing Dave Kitson on £30,000p/w , yeah that can go to Fabian Delph's 50% Promotion Wage Increase

[Whisper]

Into December in my Solihull Moors game, amazingly we're second, 7 points off Telford. Given that my board expectations were to avoid relegation I'm happy with this. In fairness though, i did gut the entire team and replace them with random Irishmen on free transfers. Though now my finances are looking precarious and I need to decide whether to release a load of players and take the hit on their compensation payments, in exchange for bringing my wage bill down.

On the pitch, my team is random as hell. Started the season winning games 6-2, 4-3, 3-2 etc.. went on an FA Cup run to the second round where we lost away at Exeter and followed that up by not winning in 6 in all competitions. Now we've won the last 3 1-0, 2-0, 1-0... so it seems we've learned to defend in exchange for not finding then net. I think I preferred out 6-3 victories

Enjoying this though, not sure if I'll stay should we not get promoted. Got loads of leagues enabled so I might head to a European lower league.

For anyone playing a Blue Square North/South team... get Niall Thompson and David Lee up front, Target Man and Poacher. Scored 33 goals between them already this season.

[Gazz]

First two games, nil points. Looong season ahead..

When the real season starts, we can go down Damson Parkway and scout.

[Jimmy]

Starting to really feel the effect of losing Neymar for four weeks to injury. He's back in a week or so, but since he's been out, we've really been struggling to score goals. Defoe scores about one goal per five chances, which is the most frustrating thing. We've realied on goals from VDV and other sources, like central defenders in order to win games. Thankfully Neymar will be back for the Man United game. I think I might just need to sign a back up striker in January and maybe sell Defoe on - he just can't get the job done.

[Benji]

We should all do the same challenge simultaneously in one of the play alongs (I'm determined to do one that people will be interested in). What would people be interested in doing?

[TCO]

I reckon a top division game would keep people's attention longer but I'd play along with anything.

[Berober]

I'd be up for it, just as soon as I see if I survive my first season in the Prem. Signed a brazillian 18-year old for £2.7mil, 3* rating going to a 5* rating. I approve.

[The Quasi Juice]

Malaga?

[TCO]

Malaga could be fun, I think their budget is fairly small despite the huge investment. I'll also throw Hoffenheim forward, they've got a great backstory and I think they've got a sugar daddy in the game too which could make it interesting long term.

[Ben E.]

I'd be up for some sort of challenge, as the Europa League has once again killed my interest in my Forest game.

How about a journeyman game where we all start at the same team and see where we end up? We could add rules like having to accept any job offer you get, not being able to move to a team in the same league as your current one etc.

[Summers]

First two games, nil points. Looong season ahead..

When the real season starts, we can go down Damson Parkway and scout.

I've sat in the "director box" at the Moors.