Football Manager 2018

[Nelson]

Dang! Still deserves to be in here too based on your save though 😋

[FLiam]

So, I have hit the end of the transfer window in January 2024, so believe I am due an update to my Spurs season.

Since my last post, we qualified from our Europa League group winning all six games whilst only conceding two goals. My reward is a Knockout tie with SK Rapid Wien in February. I really want to at least get to the final this season, however with the likes of Roma, Chelsea, Sevilla, FC Bayern, Liverpool, Inter and Lazio remaining in the competition, I would settle for a semi-final spot at the very least. 

The league season has gone very well so far, currently sitting in 3rd place but only 5 points ahead of 5th place Chelsea so there is still a lot of work to be done to secure Champion's League football, which is my minimum aim this season. 3 points behind the leaders, but they have two games in hand so I don't fancy my chances at a title push but who knows? I am particularly happy with my defensive record as it's always something I struggle with on FM. 2nd best in the entire league, conceding just 19 goals in 24 games isn't too shabby. Highlight of the league season so far is the 5-1 win at Anfield, plus remaining unbeaten against Arsenal in all games I have played against them (winning 3 and drawing 1). In terms of remaining fixtures, I still have some very tricky games to come; Man Utd (a), Man City (h), Chelsea (a) and Liverpool (h).

FA Cup campaign started solidly, I was drawn with National League side Notts County and easily dispatched them 5-0 at home. 

Now, January transfer business. I had been on the lookout all season for homegrown players as I have a shortage in the squad, I saw that Lewis Cook was available from Manchester City at the bargain price of £13.5m (he had signed two seasons before from Bournemouth for a whopping £41m and played precisely zero league games). With Elneny, Eriksen and Kramer all the wrong-side of 30, I figured it would be a shrewd bit of business so in he came.

In terms of outgoings, that's where the fun starts. Juventus made noises about signing Christian Eriksen and his head was well and truly turned. As he has been such a good servant to the club and I have a ready-made Brazilian 20 year-old current 4 star rated playmaker in the squad, I decided that if Juventus offered me £37.5m, then I would sell. They did, and off he went. £37.5m for a player about to turn 32 next month I thought was a cracking price. He left with a respectable record of 71 goals in 371 league appearances with a less-respectable solitary FA Cup winners medal to his name, coming in 2018.

Next up, was 22 year-old Swiss right-wing extraordinaire regen Sergio Caggia who was signed by Spurs before my arrival on a free transfer from Servette back in 2021. He is currently rated at 4 stars with a 4.5 potential and has been performing fairly well this season, scoring 8 and assisting 5 from 21 starts and 7 appearances off the bench. However, I have another right winger in the form of Jordi Mboula, a 24 year-old Spanish international signed from Gladbach the season before I took over. He is rated at 4 stars (which is also his potential) and has pitched in with a very impressive 7 goals and 11 assists from 23 games. That being said, both Manchester clubs had been sniffing around Caggia for a while, and City were the first side to make their move. They offered something around £50m which I duly negotiated and told them simply to give me £85m up front, plus another £10m over a few instalments, they made that exact offer and I sold. I am more than happy with Mboula playing on the right wing and have trusted veteran Oxlade-Chamberlain to fill in if necessary.

All-in-all this season, I have raised a whopping £280m from player sales whilst spending only £60m, yet our performances have greatly improved. I am happy to keep the squad as it is until the summer where I will be making new wing-backs my priority as we have so many good youngsters coming through elsewhere. 

I am particularly happy with Mathis Leblanc's contributions this season, producing far more than I expected. His stats are below along with Eriksen's replacement Leonardo Wellington.

On a side-note, in true FM fashion there have been a couple of brilliant manager movements. Cesc Fabregas recently resigned from his post at Fulham to takeover at bottom of the Premier League Newcastle. Whilst in League Two, Man Utd/Blackburn/Stoke City legend Mame Biram Diouf is currently in charge of Blackpool and are sitting firmly in mid-table. Oh, and Ched Evans finally got FC United promoted to the National League.

Spoiler

Current tactic and first choice side:

Spoiler

 

[The Lusophone]

Small RBL update: 5 points clear as Christmas rolls around, also qualified top of my UCL group. Drew a Chelsea side still managed by Conte that has finished 5th and 3rd in the last two season.

They also sold Dave and brought Phil Jones on pretty much the same day in what's clearly the best universe's timeline.

[Meacon Keaton]

We're 2nd in L1 after nine matches, but more impressively, we're through to the 3rd round of the Capital One Cup after:

 Pretty sure they fielded an actual team this time, unlike our friendly prior to the start of the season. Immediately, their manager Roberto Mancini, blamed our pitch for the loss, saying it's terrible, we should be ashamed to have such a terrible pitch, and blah blah. Motha' fucka' both clubs played on it!

 

 

Mancini's being a little bitch. Prior to the match, he said he was looking forward to grabbing a steak and drink with me after the match, no matter the outcome. I say in my presser after that I was looking forward to getting to know him better and he claims I'm being unprofessional with my conduct. What a little butthurt baby. 

[FLiam]

Ok, so I am mid-March now and 19 year-old regen Mathis Leblanc currently has 21 goals from 19 starts and 11 sub appearances this season along with 8 assists. He has well and truly ousted Gerard Moreno from my starting lineup, who himself has a very respectable 15 from 29 games. 

Leblanc has scored 14 of those goals in his last 13 games. Surely a France call-up beckons. 

[Naitch]

Trying to intentionally finish third in the Champions League group stage is actually quite difficult. I've already won the CL twice with Norwich in my Ferguson challenge but I'm yet to win the Europa League (runner up once), so I need to drop down into it for another shot. Trouble is, I'd quite like to get a few more PL league titles out of the way because I'm only on 3 and need to reach 13 for RL Fergie and 15 for the FM version. If I can't top the league I'd genuinely rather finish 5th/6th/lower + a cup win, preferably the FA Cup because I've smashed the LC and won it six years in a row.

[FLiam]

I have hit one of those cunting Football Manager bad patches. 

1 win in 11 games. Sigh. 

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Lost the Super Cup 

But Meunier signed so that's exciting 

Squad needs a bit of rebalancing but fullbacks and goalkeeper were probably my weakest areas, so Hector, Meunier and Predrag Rajkovic (who for a 23-year old looks excellent and he cost less than 10m) are all excellent pick ups. Got some useful youth players coming up too so other than trimming the fat I'm pretty happy with the squad for now.

[FLiam]

Form since March:

Completely out of ideas and the defence has turned to pot. Went from being not far off the top of the league to in a real scrap for top 4. Sitting in 4th, level on points with Arsenal and Leicester in 5th/6th, and Arsenal have a game on hand. 

 

[Malenko]

2 minutes ago, Liam Mk2 said:

Form since March:

Completely out of ideas and the defence has turned to pot. Went from being not far off the top of the league to in a real scrap for top 4. Sitting in 4th, level on points with Arsenal and Leicester in 5th/6th, and Arsenal have a game on hand. 

 

Change stuff around even if that means not using your best players and talk to them.. team meetings and such.. moral is a bitch in fm. It's way too important.

Edited July 28, 2018 by Malenko

[FLiam]

I often try to avoid team meetings and they backfire on me a lot, although I did attempt one and it seems to have gone down well. I've been tweaking the tactics and team selection quite a bit over the past few games, Liverpool at home next. If I don't win, then top 4 is gone. 

Every game now is absolute must win.

League table before the final game of the season. Squeaky bum time.

Fortunately, I'm out to play golf so will have to finish later on.

[Meacon Keaton]

5 hours ago, Liam Mk2 said:

I often try to avoid team meetings and they backfire on me a lot, although I did attempt one and it seems to have gone down well. I've been tweaking the tactics and team selection quite a bit over the past few games, Liverpool at home next. If I don't win, then top 4 is gone. 

Every game now is absolute must win.

League table before the final game of the season. Squeaky bum time.

Fortunately, I'm out to play golf so will have to finish later on.

No work AND golf? Are you sure you’re not just retired at this point?

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

My Champions League group this year is Man Utd (again), Olympiakos, and AC Milan, who were somehow in the fourth pot, along with Inter. Italian football has gone to the dogs apparently.

[Kyle]

 

I appreciate this game is ten years out of date, but..

 

 

[The Lusophone]

Gonna need you to burn that game to the ground.

[Gazz]

Goals for FM19.

1. Build a world class youth setup from nothing

2. Reunite all the Ameobi's at one club.

[The Lusophone]

How many Ameobi's are there?

[FLiam]

Three, I think.

Shola, Sammy and Tomi. 

[MDK]

Just now, Liam Mk2 said:

Three, I think.

Shola, Sammy and Tomi. 

Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub.

[Adam]

Not sure Tomi Ameobi could ever be seriously viewed as a "footballer" though.