Football Manager 2014

[Millsybeast]

The Targetman & Poacher setup works really well I find. I got Jackson Martinez for 16m to play the TM role alongside Suarez/Sturridge and they're playing really well so far.

[Jimmy]

Ipswich.

[The Lusophone]

Leicester.

[Ant]

QPR

[Lineker]

Sheffield Wednesday is also a good shout - nice big stadium is handy!

[Cheeky Hughes]

Think I'll have a stab at Ipswich. They never got out of the Championship on my City save (2023/24) so it should be a good challenge!

[Ant]

It is so fucking annoying when you have a 5* youngster come through your academy or even in your first XI and no matter how you train them etc, they always end up as a 4* player

[Whisper]

Is that not because the rest of your squad gets better as well?

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Yeah, stars are always relative to your squad strength at the time. If your youngster has 5* potential as a striker when you've got, say Fernando Torres up front as your only option, his rating will drop if, when the next transfer window rolls round, you sell Torres and buy Diego Costa, whose much better.

[Sam]

How are you meant to beat boogey teams in this game? I've lost 3 out of 4 games to Stoke and 5 out of 6 to Hull.

Hull in particular swarm all over my Chelsea team and play us off the park. I just hope I'm not drawn with them in the cup again

[Baddar]

It's frustrating how your team can smash Arsenal 5-1, then play a lesser team that lines up a similar way and struggle to come away with anything. There are games where I've been patient with the game plan, and where I've pretty much just gone all out for it, yet still don't do enough to warrant a highlight in the last 40mins of a game. :/

Anyway, an update...

I'm top with about 15 to go, but City are 4 back with 3 games in hand, so I expect them to re-take the lead. Fully expecting to finish behind both City and Chelsea by the end though, as my run in is awful. A lot will depend on how I do against them. Not holding too much hope.

Got my last 16 2nd leg CL game to come against Leverkusen - drew the away leg 0-0. And with Chelsea and Spurs falling in the last 16 of the FA Cup, an opening appeared - until it drew me against City in the quarters. I am at home though, so that's one positive. The winner should go on to win the whole thing. I'd like to, as I can never seem to win the FA Cup.

[Gazz]

It is so fucking annoying when you have a 5* youngster come through your academy or even in your first XI and no matter how you train them etc, they always end up as a 4* player

Sell all the other players that can play in his position, guaranteed five stars.

[Gorka]

Ugh, hate the fixtures in this game sometimes. My next six games as Swansea:

Arsenal Away

Fiorentina Away

Chelsea Home

Everton Away

Anzi Away

Man United Home

It seems that hard block of fixtures exists in every save I have had.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Gorka

[Ant]

Ok. I'm bored. If anybody fancies a Superleague net game on FM14 PM me.

Along with a decent Superleague

[Rich]

Not a bad first game of the season....

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Danny Welbeck hat trick? This game gets less realistic by the day

[Rich]

Danny Welbeck has been so average for years, essentially kept him around to ensure I had the right level of home players until my regens began coming in to the first team, then last season, from the left wing, he went and scored 15 goals in all competitions backing up my 2 strikers who scored a boat load (31 and 25 I think) between them.

[Cheeky Hughes]

Never thought I'd see the day when I'd agree to link with Man United as their feeder club.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Hughes

[Sam]

Well second season down as Chelsea boss, won the title by a point and thumped Juventus 4-0 in the Champions League final. Diego Costa hit 4 hat tricks in the last 4 games, so imagine my annoyance when my DoF (I've let the DoF handle everything this close season as I wanted to see what it was like!) renews his contract only to include a £46 million buy out clause which PSG then go and fucking activate.

Then I spend the summer having to reject bids from every big club for Oscar, Hazard, Fabregas and Strootman. DoF does a swap deal for Javi Martinez (Strootman goes other way) which seemed a bit of a pointless deal but that's fine he fits my team. He then goes and signs Emre Can and a Mexican DM before snapping up Lewandowski for £28 million as Bayern have just splashed their cash on Gareth Bale and Falcao.

So I have one too many defensive minded midfielders but have at least replaced Costa this summer. I ended up doing deals myself though as the DoF just seemed to want to sign every midfielder in the game despite the fact I now have 7 central midfielders.

Oh I lost the first game of the season... away at Hull. 1 win in 7 against them now and I've just been drawn away to them in the Capital One cup (I've also failed to beat other bogey team Stoke this season).

Edited August 19, 2014 by Sam

[Jimmy]

Got to say, after the ridiculous transfers my DOF tries at Auxerre, id like to do a file where you have to accept whatever your DOF does.