Football Manager 2011

[brenchill]

Anyone else signed Javier Pastore?

Yep. £54,000,000 - my highest ever FM transfer. Started awfully but I've moved him to an advanced playmaker role behind the front two, then told him to play through balls. He's amazing now, albeit a bit inconsistent

I managed to pick him up for £14m due to a release clause. I play him CM(Attacking), he scores and makes so many goals it's unreal. He also just got voted World Player of the Year. What team are you? Maybe it's down to the players around him.

[Plubby]

Anyone else signed Javier Pastore?

Yep. £54,000,000 - my highest ever FM transfer. Started awfully but I've moved him to an advanced playmaker role behind the front two, then told him to play through balls. He's amazing now, albeit a bit inconsistent

I paid £60 million for a 23 or 24 year old Khouma Babacar

[METALMAN]

Anyone else signed Javier Pastore?

Yep. £54,000,000 - my highest ever FM transfer. Started awfully but I've moved him to an advanced playmaker role behind the front two, then told him to play through balls. He's amazing now, albeit a bit inconsistent

I managed to pick him up for £14m due to a release clause. I play him CM(Attacking), he scores and makes so many goals it's unreal. He also just got voted World Player of the Year. What team are you? Maybe it's down to the players around him.

I'm Chelsea, and I've got a decent set of players around him. Pastore basically competes with Toni Kroos for the AM role. Usually Pastore obviously, but Kroos is really good too. Eden Hazard or Eljero Elia down the left wing, Ramires or Santi Cazorla down the right. Essien or Moussa Sissoko behind him, with any two of Fernando Torres, Neymar, Seydou Doumbia and Christian Benitez in front. So it's a decent enough supporting cast, I'd have thought. That being said, it is only midway through his first season, so a bit of inconsistency is to be expected.

Anyone else signed Javier Pastore?

Yep. £54,000,000 - my highest ever FM transfer. Started awfully but I've moved him to an advanced playmaker role behind the front two, then told him to play through balls. He's amazing now, albeit a bit inconsistent

I paid £60 million for a 23 or 24 year old Khouma Babacar

Getting 20 year old version in next transfer window for £14,000,000. He looks goooood.

[Plubby]

I think the pictorial distribution of his talents says it all. Heart.

[EddieG]

I think the pictorial distribution of his talents says it all. Heart.

That's pretty much identical to his stats in my Atletico game.

[Matt]

What exactly does challenging for the title entail? Because I finished 2nd place, 4 points behind the winners and the board were disappointed that I only qualified for the European Champions Cup. I'm pretty sure that should count as challenging for the title, since, you know I was >_<

[Plubby]

Were you actually challenging for it, or were you always at least a game behind?

[Mj3]

Cash in on Fernando Torres...? £40m and he's been gash... got Pato, Fabian Cardozo (Regen) and about 6 players coming through.

Ps. Also signed Javier Pastore as been asked earlier... the lad is lethal.

Edited September 6, 2011 by Mj3

[Matt]

Were you actually challenging for it, or were you always at least a game behind?

I was never in first (well not since the league actually started to matter, I think I was top after 6 games or something), but I was never out of the race, I was always within 6 points and was within 2 points for 3-4 games not far from the end of the season. :/

Also in my new season, I've never known so many injuries to key players. At one point I had Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio, Daniel Agger, Steven Gerrard, Paulo Henrique, Maxi Rodriguez and Luis Suarez injured. All of whom would have a pretty good chance of starting. On top of that Carragher and Lukaku were injured as well. Some of them are serious injuries too, so they're still out.

I'm loving how youthful my squad is though, average age 22 and I have 3 lads out on loan that are 17-19 that I'd happily play if there'd been space in my squad. Only Aurelio, Carragher, Gerrard, Maxi and Kuyt are over 30 and Carragher is at least 4th choice now and all the others are easily replaceable by other members of the squad.

[stokeriño]

Fuck 4-4-2/diamond/etc. 4-3-3 has always been my true love.

[Plubby]

Lining up how? Again, I always get mixed up as to whether or not people consider AML/AMR's as part of a middle 5 or front 3 - which did you mean? Or do you mean you have 3 out-and-out strikers?

[EddieG]

I consider AMR/AML as seperate, I always call my formation a 4-2-2-2

[Plubby]

That's how I started doing it too, and explaining where they're standing (IE: 4-1-2-2-1, DMC, 2x MC, AM L/R, ST)

[stokeriño]

Lining up how? Again, I always get mixed up as to whether or not people consider AML/AMR's as part of a middle 5 or front 3 - which did you mean? Or do you mean you have 3 out-and-out strikers?

3 x MC, 3 x ST

All the MCs have different roles though, and the two flanking STs are different to the central one.

[Plubby]

I got *A LOT* of traction out of that against lower level opposition. Exploit the middle, and go to town

[stokeriño]

I'm currently finding that it's the only way to get any of my strikers to score (yay James Vaughan), and it's by the far the formation I understand the best due to having the familiarity with it as a Chelsea fan.

My squad is nowhere near optimised for it though, which is why I was trying variants of 4-4-2 beforehand. It's probably going to take me 2 or 3 transfer windows to get it running smoothly.

[Thrilla]

I'm completely bemused by Jamil Adam's goalscoring ability in my Bradford team;

Main Stats

Finishing: 12

Long Shots: 10

Heading: 6

I think its mainly down to these stats

Technique: 18

Pace: 15

Stamina: 19

But I'm not sure. I just play him as a poacher, usually with an attacking target man and this has been his return 156 games, 118 goals. This season, 13 games, 18 goals. Given some of my other players stats I wouldn't even consider starting him usually but he has been my most consistent striker since I signed him, maybe I judge players on the wrong stats.

[Plubby]

The Finishing/Long Shots/Heading is only to do with the accuracy of those things.

Decisions/Composure/Anticipation/Determination are more critical stats.

Decisions is basically the most important stat in the game from my reckoning.

[Berober]

Out of curiosity, I've decided to go into editor and alter Brad Guzan's stats to as close to perfection as I can, and for the fun of it I'm going to try a 1-1-8 formation and see if he can hold his own. (aka, killing time until FM12)

[Hobo]

I've been without the internet for three days and basically enjoying my first time off in three month, by playing nothing but Football Manager. It's now 2020.

My Arsenal side are currently top of the Premier League with about five games left. Those five games are against Newcastle, Chelsea, Man Utd and Middlesborgh.

Add to this that we're in the Europa League semis against Stuttgart and the FA Cup semi finals against Chelsea.

Up until this point, I've beaten Chelsea once and lost by 2-4 goals in the last four meetings with them. I've got a 1W 1D record against Utd, who are 2nd and hot on our tails.

Our previous two games saw us give up a 1-0 lead at Liverpool and lose. Struggle to a 1-0 win over Spurs.

Then we play Chelsea, I set us up for a 4-5-1 and...

BOOM! EDEN HAZARD!

BOOM! MACHEDA! 40th Goal of the Season!

Arsenal advance to the FA Cup final for the first time in 9 years! And will play either Blackburn (who we have a mixed record against) or Stoke (who we have quite good record against!).

Unfortunately, Man Utd beat West Brom 3-1 on the same day to over take us. Currently the league looks like this:

It's tight, but we have a game in hand. Also, check out Peterborough they're making a late push to stay in the league! While Bermingham have bottomed out! They sacked Steve Bruce, replaced him with Joseph Yobo, sacked him and replaced him with Unai Emery. This has not worked out for them.