Just bought the game, playing as Kidderminster, currently in Pre-season. Will get back to you all when I play my first few official games.
Gaming Football Manager 2020 (PC, Mac, Switch, Android, iOS, Stadia)
- Thread starter FC Ronaldo
- Start date
Yes, keep us updated. Love coming into this thread and reading about how everyone is getting on!
@Chipper inspired me!
Big update:
Quit as England manager after a 2-year stint, losing 2-1 in the quarter finals of Euro 2028 against Italy. My heart was never really in it and it was an annoyance to have to pick a squad every so often, interrupting the flow of everyday life at Southport. Won the Nations League in 2027 as a little something.
Summer 2028 arrivals/departures at Southport were centered around defence and central midfield. When we got relegated from the Premier League we scored 54 goals which was the 7th most potent attack, it was keeping them out at the other end that was the real problem. We let in 88 which was the worst in the league so the focus was on trying to improve that defensive record for this second crack at trying to stay up.
Very pleased with the way league campaign went after going down last time we were in the Premier League, I'll take that all day long. If anything I'm slightly disappointed we didn't make Europe with that points total. Everton will make it too I assume, just waiting for the United v Chelsea cup final to be played and then the European spot officially being given to them. Cups weren't very good but the club were focused on not going down again and we were nowhere near that so that's a good season.
One of our strikers, Raffaelle Conversano has won the golden boot with 21 goals, his partner Hamza Alioui got 17 and had the highest joint highest average rating of all players in the league with a 7.48. Steven Sessegnon's 12 assists made him the 3rd best in that category in the league.
We've only had Alioui 18 motnhs and I think we're going to lose him this summer as there's interest from teams like Barcelona, PSG, Inter, Roma Liverpool and a few others. He won't sign a new contract, is valued at £27m and has a minimum fee release clause of £66m. Similarly we may lose Bastien Tavernier after two seasons, he was a left wing wonderkid we managed to pick up on a Bosman style transfer from Monaco. He scored 10 and had 10 assists for us, actually asked to leave during the January window and I told him he could go if someone met his minimum fee release clause which stands at £67m. There's less interest for him with only Herta Berlin after him currently but I think he might go too.
We scored 80 in the league which was great, only champions Manchester City scored more. Defence was still leaky, letting in 60 which made us 13th best. Still, that was much better than the 88 we let in during our only other season in the PL.
Summer plans will be to try and hold on to those 2 players I've mentioned and find their replacements if we can't. Also to spend further on the defence. We did overhaul it for this campaign but there are certainly better players out there than we what brought in last summer. They did well enough but we were limited to who we could attract due to our club size, reputation and how much we could pay in wages. Surviving this season will have grown everything. There's £130m in the bank right now and we are doing very nicely on the financial side of things.
Quit as England manager after a 2-year stint, losing 2-1 in the quarter finals of Euro 2028 against Italy. My heart was never really in it and it was an annoyance to have to pick a squad every so often, interrupting the flow of everyday life at Southport. Won the Nations League in 2027 as a little something.
Summer 2028 arrivals/departures at Southport were centered around defence and central midfield. When we got relegated from the Premier League we scored 54 goals which was the 7th most potent attack, it was keeping them out at the other end that was the real problem. We let in 88 which was the worst in the league so the focus was on trying to improve that defensive record for this second crack at trying to stay up.
Svetozar Markovic - £22m, Burnley. Serbian international central defender Markovic became our record signing. He'd previously played one season in the PL with Burnley, and had some La Liga experience with Valencia, prior to which he'd been with Olympiakos in the Greek Superleague for a number of seasons. Had a solid season with us.
Dario Maresic - £16.5m, Club Brugge. Austrian international defender brought in to partner Markovic in the heart of defence. He actually turned us down to join Brugge a couple of seasons back. He was still very much on our radar and we ended up making a move for him after other potential deals fell through. Glad we got him, he had a good season.
Steven Sessegnon - £10.5m, Huddersfield. Versatile full back/wing back who can play either side was signed after spending 8 seasons with Huddersfield. We deployed him mostly as a right wing-back attack and have been pleased with what he has brought to the table for the most part. He's had a few stinkers but more good games, and he also has the weapon of a long flat throw which we've utilised to good effect. He ended the season with 12 assists, a good proportion of them coming from that throw.
Alberto Fabbri - £6.75m, Perugia. MC/ST that we jumped on when we noticed he had a low minimum fee release clause following a relegation from Serie A with his former club. Didn't start a great number of games for the first 2/3rds of the season or so and was mostly seen as a second-choice DLP. However, he got more games towards the back end of the campaign through injury circumstances. Did well.
Danny Kettemann - £4.2m, 1. FSV Mainz 05.Former Germany U-20 international, came in to be first choice left wing back. He struggled a little bit in all honesty, just about passable, but wing back/full back is a place we haven't always done the best in. Tried numerous roles/mentalities for players there, from full back to wing back to inverted wing back and have never really struck gold here.
Ignacio Fernandez - £3.9m, Boca Juniors. Talented young left wing back brought in to sit behind Ketemann in the pecking order then as he hopefully improves to take that role as first choice. Arguably outperforming Kettemann already.
Romulo - £2.8m, Montreal Impact. Bargain signing from the MLS, he was our first choice DLP until he went down with damaged cruciate ligaments in early March. Did well for us and we wish him a speedy recovery. Picks up a lot of bookings and the press were always asking me about it.
Ephrem Ghebru - Loan, Chelsea. Former French U21 international Ghebru was taken on loan for the season and was used as a BBM. Didn't perform great for us in all honesty but just about passable for what we wanted to achieve this campaign.
Tony Fisher - Loan, Norwich. Fisher, who we took on loan for the second-half of the previous season returned on loan for the entirety of this season, providing cover for Ghebru. He played poorly to be honest which makes me wonder if the role of BBM might be wrong in our setup seeing as Ghebru struggled too.
January signing:
Ben McNamee - £17m, Wolves. Transfer listed as deemed surplus to requirements with Wolves we were more than happy to take him off their hands. He had a small injury or two but was great when we got him on the pitch.
Dario Maresic - £16.5m, Club Brugge. Austrian international defender brought in to partner Markovic in the heart of defence. He actually turned us down to join Brugge a couple of seasons back. He was still very much on our radar and we ended up making a move for him after other potential deals fell through. Glad we got him, he had a good season.
Steven Sessegnon - £10.5m, Huddersfield. Versatile full back/wing back who can play either side was signed after spending 8 seasons with Huddersfield. We deployed him mostly as a right wing-back attack and have been pleased with what he has brought to the table for the most part. He's had a few stinkers but more good games, and he also has the weapon of a long flat throw which we've utilised to good effect. He ended the season with 12 assists, a good proportion of them coming from that throw.
Alberto Fabbri - £6.75m, Perugia. MC/ST that we jumped on when we noticed he had a low minimum fee release clause following a relegation from Serie A with his former club. Didn't start a great number of games for the first 2/3rds of the season or so and was mostly seen as a second-choice DLP. However, he got more games towards the back end of the campaign through injury circumstances. Did well.
Danny Kettemann - £4.2m, 1. FSV Mainz 05.Former Germany U-20 international, came in to be first choice left wing back. He struggled a little bit in all honesty, just about passable, but wing back/full back is a place we haven't always done the best in. Tried numerous roles/mentalities for players there, from full back to wing back to inverted wing back and have never really struck gold here.
Ignacio Fernandez - £3.9m, Boca Juniors. Talented young left wing back brought in to sit behind Ketemann in the pecking order then as he hopefully improves to take that role as first choice. Arguably outperforming Kettemann already.
Romulo - £2.8m, Montreal Impact. Bargain signing from the MLS, he was our first choice DLP until he went down with damaged cruciate ligaments in early March. Did well for us and we wish him a speedy recovery. Picks up a lot of bookings and the press were always asking me about it.
Ephrem Ghebru - Loan, Chelsea. Former French U21 international Ghebru was taken on loan for the season and was used as a BBM. Didn't perform great for us in all honesty but just about passable for what we wanted to achieve this campaign.
Tony Fisher - Loan, Norwich. Fisher, who we took on loan for the second-half of the previous season returned on loan for the entirety of this season, providing cover for Ghebru. He played poorly to be honest which makes me wonder if the role of BBM might be wrong in our setup seeing as Ghebru struggled too.
January signing:
Ben McNamee - £17m, Wolves. Transfer listed as deemed surplus to requirements with Wolves we were more than happy to take him off their hands. He had a small injury or two but was great when we got him on the pitch.
Jimmy McCann - £12.25m, Bristol City. We bought him for £1k from Stockport just after we got promoted to League Two and what a bargain he turned out to be. 6 seasons with us, 204 (18) appearances and 14 goals in central midfield, he was an important part of our rise up the leagues and did very well for us overall. We used him as a DLP despite him having the trait of getting into the box which supposedly doesn't suit the role.
Noah Adlhoch - £4.2m Millwall. Signed him up as a random teenage free agent a number of seasons back, he can play in midfield or right back. Had a few loans here and there, and was our back up right back during our second successful promotion campaign to the Premier League. He's now a full Austrian intenrational who made 19 (13) appearances for the club altogether. Think Millwall got a bit of a bargain as he's now worth £7.25m for them.
Christoph Alsfeld - £1.9m, Hannover 96. After 2 seasons Alsfeld moves back to his native Germany and we sold him for a loss. He did his best for us and was regular as we got promoted back up to the Premier League but he was another case of me not really getting the full backs right. 63 (2) appearances for the club in all competitions.
Patrick Jager - £1.5m LSK LInz. Like Adlhoch, Jager was a random Austrian teenage free agent that we signed up a number of seasons back. He came through the ranks of the U18s and U23 sides before winning a place in the first team squad for our promotion campaign back to the PL. He too is now a full international for his country, and we wish him well for the future. Patrick made 23 (15) appearances for us, scoring 1 goal.
January sales:
Alessio Vanni - £9.75m, AEK Athens. Picked him up on a free the same summer we signed McCann and was actually often McCann's stand-in in the DLP role in our side. He was another good servant for the club and a fantastic bargain. Alessio made 110 (65) apperances across 6 seasons, scoring 11 goals. We did try to sell Vanni in the summer but he rejected a couple of contract offers so we loaned him to Crystal Palace instead. He wasn't getting much playing time there so we recalled him in January and offered him for sale again which was when AEK came in for him.
Lorenzo Lucca - £13.25m, RSC Anderlecht. Unthinkable at one point as I clashed with the board 2 winter windows prior when they accepted a £37m offer on the club's behalf and I had to beg to let me keep him. We gradually moved away from a system involving a target man and he was no longer a good fit tactically. We were also carrying 5 strikers which is just too many. Somewhat frustrated at his lack of opportunities in December he asked if he could be loaned, I proposed a permanent deal instead and the rest is history. He did really for us, scoring 53 goals in 85 (11) apperances and it's nice to see him making a good start to his Anderlecht career too.
Noah Adlhoch - £4.2m Millwall. Signed him up as a random teenage free agent a number of seasons back, he can play in midfield or right back. Had a few loans here and there, and was our back up right back during our second successful promotion campaign to the Premier League. He's now a full Austrian intenrational who made 19 (13) appearances for the club altogether. Think Millwall got a bit of a bargain as he's now worth £7.25m for them.
Christoph Alsfeld - £1.9m, Hannover 96. After 2 seasons Alsfeld moves back to his native Germany and we sold him for a loss. He did his best for us and was regular as we got promoted back up to the Premier League but he was another case of me not really getting the full backs right. 63 (2) appearances for the club in all competitions.
Patrick Jager - £1.5m LSK LInz. Like Adlhoch, Jager was a random Austrian teenage free agent that we signed up a number of seasons back. He came through the ranks of the U18s and U23 sides before winning a place in the first team squad for our promotion campaign back to the PL. He too is now a full international for his country, and we wish him well for the future. Patrick made 23 (15) appearances for us, scoring 1 goal.
January sales:
Alessio Vanni - £9.75m, AEK Athens. Picked him up on a free the same summer we signed McCann and was actually often McCann's stand-in in the DLP role in our side. He was another good servant for the club and a fantastic bargain. Alessio made 110 (65) apperances across 6 seasons, scoring 11 goals. We did try to sell Vanni in the summer but he rejected a couple of contract offers so we loaned him to Crystal Palace instead. He wasn't getting much playing time there so we recalled him in January and offered him for sale again which was when AEK came in for him.
Lorenzo Lucca - £13.25m, RSC Anderlecht. Unthinkable at one point as I clashed with the board 2 winter windows prior when they accepted a £37m offer on the club's behalf and I had to beg to let me keep him. We gradually moved away from a system involving a target man and he was no longer a good fit tactically. We were also carrying 5 strikers which is just too many. Somewhat frustrated at his lack of opportunities in December he asked if he could be loaned, I proposed a permanent deal instead and the rest is history. He did really for us, scoring 53 goals in 85 (11) apperances and it's nice to see him making a good start to his Anderlecht career too.
Very pleased with the way league campaign went after going down last time we were in the Premier League, I'll take that all day long. If anything I'm slightly disappointed we didn't make Europe with that points total. Everton will make it too I assume, just waiting for the United v Chelsea cup final to be played and then the European spot officially being given to them. Cups weren't very good but the club were focused on not going down again and we were nowhere near that so that's a good season.
One of our strikers, Raffaelle Conversano has won the golden boot with 21 goals, his partner Hamza Alioui got 17 and had the highest joint highest average rating of all players in the league with a 7.48. Steven Sessegnon's 12 assists made him the 3rd best in that category in the league.
We've only had Alioui 18 motnhs and I think we're going to lose him this summer as there's interest from teams like Barcelona, PSG, Inter, Roma Liverpool and a few others. He won't sign a new contract, is valued at £27m and has a minimum fee release clause of £66m. Similarly we may lose Bastien Tavernier after two seasons, he was a left wing wonderkid we managed to pick up on a Bosman style transfer from Monaco. He scored 10 and had 10 assists for us, actually asked to leave during the January window and I told him he could go if someone met his minimum fee release clause which stands at £67m. There's less interest for him with only Herta Berlin after him currently but I think he might go too.
We scored 80 in the league which was great, only champions Manchester City scored more. Defence was still leaky, letting in 60 which made us 13th best. Still, that was much better than the 88 we let in during our only other season in the PL.
Summer plans will be to try and hold on to those 2 players I've mentioned and find their replacements if we can't. Also to spend further on the defence. We did overhaul it for this campaign but there are certainly better players out there than we what brought in last summer. They did well enough but we were limited to who we could attract due to our club size, reputation and how much we could pay in wages. Surviving this season will have grown everything. There's £130m in the bank right now and we are doing very nicely on the financial side of things.
So, first 11 games with Kidderminster unbeaten. I have to play a possession based game because the board wants me to, no tactical freedom for whatever reason, don't understand how we can do that to a good standard in conference-north but oh well. We started off with a boring 1-0 win but eventually gained steam and were even in first place for a bit. Since then, it has been draw after draw. The goals even dried up for a bit as you can tell. We also had a tough home game against the league leaders, but came back from behind for another draw. I think we're going to avoid relegation which is my primary objective.
Unfortunately the forum won't let me upload my pictures, if anyone can help with me with that, that would be really helpful!
Unfortunately the forum won't let me upload my pictures, if anyone can help with me with that, that would be really helpful!
@The Mitcher
Sounds like a good start then, all things considered! Will you be looking to remove the possession-based style at the nearest convenience, or are you going to make it a feature of your play as you progress? I’d be tempted to implement it long term and mark it a feature of your philosophy going forward! A hallmark of all your sides, if you will!
I’m currently playing as Sampdoria for a medium length save and part of the board’s desired criteria is that I sign players from the lower leagues - Definitely looking to remove that one when I can!
Also, as an aside., Fabio Quagliarella is 36 years old IIRC, 20 determination and ‘Born Leader’ personality. I might never let the man retire - Stats/Traits like those are so rare and incredible for tutoring. Helps that he can still score for fun, of course.
Sounds like a good start then, all things considered! Will you be looking to remove the possession-based style at the nearest convenience, or are you going to make it a feature of your play as you progress? I’d be tempted to implement it long term and mark it a feature of your philosophy going forward! A hallmark of all your sides, if you will!
I’m currently playing as Sampdoria for a medium length save and part of the board’s desired criteria is that I sign players from the lower leagues - Definitely looking to remove that one when I can!
Also, as an aside., Fabio Quagliarella is
36 years old IIRC, 20 determination and ‘Born Leader’ personality. I might never let the man retire - Stats/Traits like those are so rare and incredible for tutoring. Helps that he can still score for fun, of course.I'm not a possession based player (although I'd rather make sure I get at least over 51% in most games at home and against weak oppostion), so most likely I'd get it rid of it as soon as I can. Unfortunately the game seems to want to ignore my instructions and the players just long ball it incessantly.@The Mitcher
Sounds like a good start then, all things considered! Will you be looking to remove the possession-based style at the nearest convenience, or are you going to make it a feature of your play as you progress? I’d be tempted to implement it long term and mark it a feature of your philosophy going forward! A hallmark of all your sides, if you will!
I’m currently playing as Sampdoria for a medium length save and part of the board’s desired criteria is that I sign players from the lower leagues - Definitely looking to remove that one when I can!
Also, as an aside., Fabio Quagliarella is
What stage are you at with the pictures?
I use imgur which is good, but all sites work pretty much the same way.
Step 1. Save a screenshot to your hard drive.
Step 2. Go to imgur.com or similar.
3. Click "new post" top left.
4. Drag and drop the image to where it tells you to or click choose/photo video then go to where the picture is located in your computer and click open. This will upload the pic.
5. Click the 3 dots at the top right of the uploaded image then "get share links".
6. Copy and paste the BBCode option into your post on here.
7-10. (an alternative method to steps 5 and 6) when you're on the screen with your upload, right click and "view image".
8. Copy the link from your browser bar at the top.
9. Come to where you're posting on the caf and click the insert image button
10. Paste the link into the box that pops up and click "insert"
I actually use neither of these exact methods, I have a little program downloaded that takes care of most of this called Sharex. I recommend it as it makes the whole process easier. It's a screenshot management program that automatically uploads things to imgur by default and you can also configure to upload to different sites if you prefer. All you do once it's downloaded and running in the background is press CTRL + Print Screen and a frame will pop up around the edges of your screen. Left-click will take a snapshot of your full screen, or you can drag your mouse over a portion of the screen while holding down left click to just take picture of part of your screen. The image is captured when you release left-click then uploaded automatically.
When you open Sharex you can see all the screenshots you've taken with it like this:
If you right-click on any of the images in there, then hover the cursor over copy a new sub-menu pops up and you want to choose Forum (BBCode) image then paste it straight into your post on here.
You can select multiple images at once from within Sharex too. Holding down Ctrl and left clicking on them puts a little white box around them (see the first 4 image thumbnails on the following picture).
Following the same process from there of right-clicking one of them, hovering over copy then clicking on Forum (BBCode) Image will copy the relevant thing for all 4 of the selected images to your clipboard. Then just paste into your post on here and you'd have all 4 images sorted in one batch.
Suppose Sharex takes a bit of learning, but I think it's well worth it. That's the basics, you only really have to look at the "hotkey settings" from the main menu so you know know what to press and away you go. It can actually do much more besides that like capturing gifs/recording your screen but I've never full explored all it's functions.
Step 2. Go to imgur.com or similar.
3. Click "new post" top left.
4. Drag and drop the image to where it tells you to or click choose/photo video then go to where the picture is located in your computer and click open. This will upload the pic.
5. Click the 3 dots at the top right of the uploaded image then "get share links".
6. Copy and paste the BBCode option into your post on here.
7-10. (an alternative method to steps 5 and 6) when you're on the screen with your upload, right click and "view image".
8. Copy the link from your browser bar at the top.
9. Come to where you're posting on the caf and click the insert image button
10. Paste the link into the box that pops up and click "insert"
I actually use neither of these exact methods, I have a little program downloaded that takes care of most of this called Sharex. I recommend it as it makes the whole process easier. It's a screenshot management program that automatically uploads things to imgur by default and you can also configure to upload to different sites if you prefer. All you do once it's downloaded and running in the background is press CTRL + Print Screen and a frame will pop up around the edges of your screen. Left-click will take a snapshot of your full screen, or you can drag your mouse over a portion of the screen while holding down left click to just take picture of part of your screen. The image is captured when you release left-click then uploaded automatically.
When you open Sharex you can see all the screenshots you've taken with it like this:
If you right-click on any of the images in there, then hover the cursor over copy a new sub-menu pops up and you want to choose Forum (BBCode) image then paste it straight into your post on here.
You can select multiple images at once from within Sharex too. Holding down Ctrl and left clicking on them puts a little white box around them (see the first 4 image thumbnails on the following picture).
Following the same process from there of right-clicking one of them, hovering over copy then clicking on Forum (BBCode) Image will copy the relevant thing for all 4 of the selected images to your clipboard. Then just paste into your post on here and you'd have all 4 images sorted in one batch.
Suppose Sharex takes a bit of learning, but I think it's well worth it. That's the basics, you only really have to look at the "hotkey settings" from the main menu so you know know what to press and away you go. It can actually do much more besides that like capturing gifs/recording your screen but I've never full explored all it's functions.
Of course, you can put stuff inside a spoiler tag or not, depending on whether you want to clog up everyone's screen with your images when they open the post or let them choose whether or not they want to see them.
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Ah the bbcode, I was posting the wrong one!What stage are you at with the pictures?
I use imgur which is good, but all sites work pretty much the same way.
Step 1. Save a screenshot to your hard drive.
Step 2. Go to imgur.com or similar.
3. Click "new post" top left.
4. Drag and drop the image to where it tells you to or click choose/photo video then go to where the picture is located in your computer and click open. This will upload the pic.
5. Click the 3 dots at the top right of the uploaded image then "get share links".
6. Copy and paste the BBCode option into your post on here.
7-10. (an alternative method to steps 5 and 6) when you're on the screen with your upload, right click and "view image".
8. Copy the link from your browser bar at the top.
9. Come to where you're posting on the caf and click the insert image button
10. Paste the link into the box that pops up and click "insert"
I actually use neither of these exact methods, I have a little program downloaded that takes care of most of this called Sharex. I recommend it as it makes the whole process easier. It's a screenshot management program that automatically uploads things to imgur by default and you can also configure to upload to different sites if you prefer. All you do once it's downloaded and running in the background is press CTRL + Print Screen and a frame will pop up around the edges of your screen. Left-click will take a snapshot of your full screen, or you can drag your mouse over a portion of the screen while holding down left click to just take picture of part of your screen. The image is captured when you release left-click then uploaded automatically.
When you open Sharex you can see all the screenshots you've taken with it like this:
If you right-click on any of the images in there, then hover the cursor over copy a new sub-menu pops up and you want to choose Forum (BBCode) image then paste it straight into your post on here.
You can select multiple images at once from within Sharex too. Holding down Ctrl and left clicking on them puts a little white box around them (see the first 4 image thumbnails on the following picture).
Following the same process from there of right-clicking one of them, hovering over copy then clicking on Forum (BBCode) Image will copy the relevant thing for all 4 of the selected images to your clipboard. Then just paste into your post on here and you'd have all 4 images sorted in one batch.
Suppose Sharex takes a bit of learning, but I think it's well worth it. That's the basics, you only really have to look at the "hotkey settings" from the main menu so you know know what to press and away you go. It can actually do much more besides that like capturing gifs/recording your screen but I've never full explored all it's functions.
Of course, you can put stuff inside a spoiler tag or not, depending on whether you want to clog up everyone's screen with your images when they open the post or let them choose whether or not they want to see them.
Currently playing Championship Manager 97/98, but with '87/'88 leagues and teams. It's so sweet.
Don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Kicked off an AZ save and was really enjoying it, Boadu and Stengs are such fun players, and I was having great success with the gegenpress, scoring in the first couple of minutes in a few games.
Got through the first two Europa qualification knockout phases, then I get wolves in the last qualifier. I beat them 3 -1 at home with a great performance. Come to the away leg, I'm playing fine, then my LB, already on a yellow, decided to kick Podence down in the box and gives away a penalty while getting sent off. They score it, I go all out defensive, they score again to win on away goals.
Game quit, any motivation to continue the save over.
Kicked off an AZ save and was really enjoying it, Boadu and Stengs are such fun players, and I was having great success with the gegenpress, scoring in the first couple of minutes in a few games.
Got through the first two Europa qualification knockout phases, then I get wolves in the last qualifier. I beat them 3 -1 at home with a great performance. Come to the away leg, I'm playing fine, then my LB, already on a yellow, decided to kick Podence down in the box and gives away a penalty while getting sent off. They score it, I go all out defensive, they score again to win on away goals.
Game quit, any motivation to continue the save over.
Loads and loads of changes to the squad ahead of the 2029/30 season. Will put them all in the spoiler as there's so many but here's the main stuff for now:
Lost 2 really good players due to minimum fee release clauses. Bastien Tavernier for £67m (left wing), Hamza Alioui £66m, striker (can play elsewhere).
Brought in replacements for those plus an extra promising young striker. Signed a CB for £42m from Leverkusen, bought Tim Hackett a right back we've had on loan in the past from United for big money and took a 32 year old Tanguy Ndombele on a free for midfield after Spurs released him. We said goodbye to some old favourites.
Not really sure what to expect this season. You hope to get better with each passing season so 9th last campaign, top 6 or 7 this and a European place? Might normally be a target but those 2 big players we lost are going to be missed.
Lost 2 really good players due to minimum fee release clauses. Bastien Tavernier for £67m (left wing), Hamza Alioui £66m, striker (can play elsewhere).
Brought in replacements for those plus an extra promising young striker. Signed a CB for £42m from Leverkusen, bought Tim Hackett a right back we've had on loan in the past from United for big money and took a 32 year old Tanguy Ndombele on a free for midfield after Spurs released him. We said goodbye to some old favourites.
Not really sure what to expect this season. You hope to get better with each passing season so 9th last campaign, top 6 or 7 this and a European place? Might normally be a target but those 2 big players we lost are going to be missed.
Goalkeeper:
Out:
Billy Crellin, £145k, Dundee, after one season as our second choice goalie Crellin moves north of the border to join Dundee in the same capacity. Crellin didn't make any league appearances for us, but did start 4 cup games, conceding 7 times. We assume he's quite well known up in Scotland due to a previous loan spell he had with St Johnstone.
In:
George Wickens, £220k, Burnley. A familiar name for longer-term Southport fans, Wickens spent the 2022/23 season on loan with us from Fulham and was our main man between the sticks as we successfully lifted the League Two title. He now returns 7 seasons later in the capacity of backup goalie. He will play cup games and and is considered a small upgrade on the departing Crellin.
Right Back:
Out:
Jacques Keita, £7.75m, 1. FC Koln. After 2 seasons and 51 appearances Keita, an Ivorian international born in Germany moves back to the nation of his birth. He did well enough for us, but was slipping down the pecking order. He was first choice in his preferred position during his first season with the club in the Championship, second choice behind Steven Sessegnon last season in the Premier League, and because of our summer dealings would have been third choice should he have stayed. He wouldn't have got any sort of significant playing time and it suited all concerned for him to move on. We made a decent profit on him.
In:
Tim Hackett, £37.5m, Manchester United. Like George Wickens, Hackett is a former loanee who we have now captured on a permanent basis and will be our starting right back this season. He actually had 3 years on loan with us, the 24/25, 25/26 and 26/27 seasons. He returned to United for the 27/28 campaign and didn't get much football before going back on the loan carousel, spending last season at Monaco. Happy to have signed him.
Centre Back:
Out:
Ronald Araujo, £10m, Reading. After 3 seasons with Southport, 30-year old Uruguayan international Araujo joins newly promoted Reading. He was an effective performer for us, but was another who we felt was slipping down the pecking order and decided it was best for him to move on. From a definite starter during his first 2 seasons, to 3rd choice central defender last season he would have been 4th pick this campaign. The club felt that 4th pick should probably be a young up-and-comer rather than an established player who would probably end up being frustrated about his lack of opportunities. He's good enough to get significant playing time with plenty of clubs and leaves us after 93 appearances and 7 goals in all competitions.
Marco Carraro, £1.5m, Aston Villa. He was essentially one behind Araujo in his time at Southport and was also here 3 seasons. First two seasons was Araujo's partner but regarded as not being quite as good as him by me. Last season with Araujo at #3, Carraro was #4. All 12 league appearances last season were off the bench and I promised him in January he could move this summer. He made a good contribution to the club at the back, 86 appearances and 2 goals.
Matt Clarke, Free, Rotherham. 32 year-old Clarke joins Rotherham on a free after 4 seasons with us. He was as low as 5th choice central defender last season, a role we normally wouldn't bother with in the first team squad. After there was no significant initial interest when offering him out to clubs last summer we decided to keep him around as he was an influential figure in the dressing room. Clarke was a regular starter for us in his first season and played very well as he helped us win promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history. More of a squad player since he leaves after making exactly 100 appearances, scoring 7 goals.
Dylan Thompson, Free, Unattached. Thompson certainly deserves a mention here although he wasn't actually a first-team squad member with us last season having spent the year on loan at Bristol Rovers in League One. He was on our books for 8 seasons after being released by Everton as a youngster and played at all levels from the Premier League to the National League for us. At 26 he still has plenty to offer and we hope a club comes in for him soon. He made 177 appearances, scoring 25 times and picked up League One and League Two winner's medals during his time here.
In:
Joao Manga, £42m, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. New club record signing joins after 2 years at Leverkusen. He's going to be first choice in defence this coming campaign and is just about better than what we currently have. We also feel that at 25 and being younger than our other main options there's some improvement in there and that he can become better still. We now have 3 pretty solid choices in the position and are happy to roll with that plus a younger player as a 4th pick.
Diego Bertocchi, promoted from Under-23 squad. Argentinian youth international who has been at the club since he was 16 gets a go in the first team squad. We don't envisage him getting too much football this season but believe that any he does get at this level will be fantastic for his development. Diego has spent the last 2 seasons on loan in League Two with MK Dons where he was a regular and prior to that had a season on loan with Boston United in the National League. I'm somewhat concerned about his passing ability as we tend to play out from the back and am considering giving him some simplified instructions when he does play to help him out.
Left Back
Out:
Danny Kettemann, £2.5m, Hellas Verona. Last summer we brought both Kettemann and Ignacio Fernzndez to the club as left back options. The plan was to use Kettemann as first choice for 2-3 seasons by which time we'd have expected Fernandez to have overtaken him in ability. I feel it's already happened after just one season and I was not particularly impressed with Kettemann's displays. He wasn't on massive money, but £47k a week was a bit more than I'd like to paying for a backup left back currently so the decision was taken to offload him on the cheap.
In:
Daniele Candoli, £4.5m, Reims. Brough it Candoli as that new back up left back instead of Kettemann. His wage is lower and while we don't think he's great shakes at the moment either our scouts believe he can improve to a higher level than Kettemann would have been capable of. Worth a punt.
Right Wing
Out:
Jordan Stevens, £7m, Bristol City. Another one of our longer serving players leaves the club. It's always a bit sad when this happens but once again we feel it was the right thing to do. We signed Ben McNamee in the January window last season who became our strongest player in this position and also have Luis Carbonell who plays here which made Jordan 3rd choice. At 29 he needs first team football, something he wouldn't have got with us going forward. A very good servant to the club he made 201 appearances, scoring 26 goals and had 29 assists in all comps. Jordan earned a League One winners' medal with us.
Central Midfield
Out:
Ephrem Ghebru, end of loan, Chelsea. Ghebru started most games for us on loan from Chelsea last season as a Box to Box midfielder. He did ok, and we did look at possibly taking him again this season but Chelsea were saying they wanted to finally make him a first team squad member after 6 different loan deals. He played 31 times for us.
Tony Fisher, end of loan, Norwich. Fisher returns to his parent club after 2 separate loan deals with us. The first loan was for half a season, then the whole of last season. He disappointed when given opportunities to play last season, and was Ghebru's stand in. Over the course of both loans he played 33 times in 18 months.
In:
Peter Alves, £7.5m, SC Freiburg. USA international midfielder who already has 23 caps to his name at the age of 21 joins from German 2nd division club Freiburg which is where he started his career. Looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the team.
Tanguy Ndombele, Free. I don't often sign players over the age of 30, and our board specifically ask me not to but I went against that here, picking him up as a free agent after his Tottenham contract expired and he was released. I believe he's our best midfielder as both a DLP and BBM, the two roles we usually use in the the middle of our 4-4-2. Looking to use him mostly as a BBM.
Left Wing:
Out:
Bastien Tavernier, £67m, Hertha BSC. Would have loved to have kept him but he wanted to join a bigger club, had a minimum fee release clause and Hertha, who are a Champions League club were willing to stump up the money for him. He was a wonderkid when we managed to get him on a free from Monaco and had a very promising campaign in the Premier League last season, hitting double figures in goals and assists and is still only 21 so has plenty of improvement in him. At least we made a massive profit on him. 20 goals and 14 assists in 62 appearances for Southport.
In:
Ian Derksen, £9m, Lazio. Admittedly not as good as Tavernier but I think We've picked up a very useful replacement here. Bargain too, as he's worth £23m after only paying £9m. Lazio seem to like selling me players on the cheap, more of that soon. I don't think they're in financial trouble, just bad judges of players.
Out:
Billy Crellin, £145k, Dundee, after one season as our second choice goalie Crellin moves north of the border to join Dundee in the same capacity. Crellin didn't make any league appearances for us, but did start 4 cup games, conceding 7 times. We assume he's quite well known up in Scotland due to a previous loan spell he had with St Johnstone.
In:
George Wickens, £220k, Burnley. A familiar name for longer-term Southport fans, Wickens spent the 2022/23 season on loan with us from Fulham and was our main man between the sticks as we successfully lifted the League Two title. He now returns 7 seasons later in the capacity of backup goalie. He will play cup games and and is considered a small upgrade on the departing Crellin.
Right Back:
Out:
Jacques Keita, £7.75m, 1. FC Koln. After 2 seasons and 51 appearances Keita, an Ivorian international born in Germany moves back to the nation of his birth. He did well enough for us, but was slipping down the pecking order. He was first choice in his preferred position during his first season with the club in the Championship, second choice behind Steven Sessegnon last season in the Premier League, and because of our summer dealings would have been third choice should he have stayed. He wouldn't have got any sort of significant playing time and it suited all concerned for him to move on. We made a decent profit on him.
In:
Tim Hackett, £37.5m, Manchester United. Like George Wickens, Hackett is a former loanee who we have now captured on a permanent basis and will be our starting right back this season. He actually had 3 years on loan with us, the 24/25, 25/26 and 26/27 seasons. He returned to United for the 27/28 campaign and didn't get much football before going back on the loan carousel, spending last season at Monaco. Happy to have signed him.
Centre Back:
Out:
Ronald Araujo, £10m, Reading. After 3 seasons with Southport, 30-year old Uruguayan international Araujo joins newly promoted Reading. He was an effective performer for us, but was another who we felt was slipping down the pecking order and decided it was best for him to move on. From a definite starter during his first 2 seasons, to 3rd choice central defender last season he would have been 4th pick this campaign. The club felt that 4th pick should probably be a young up-and-comer rather than an established player who would probably end up being frustrated about his lack of opportunities. He's good enough to get significant playing time with plenty of clubs and leaves us after 93 appearances and 7 goals in all competitions.
Marco Carraro, £1.5m, Aston Villa. He was essentially one behind Araujo in his time at Southport and was also here 3 seasons. First two seasons was Araujo's partner but regarded as not being quite as good as him by me. Last season with Araujo at #3, Carraro was #4. All 12 league appearances last season were off the bench and I promised him in January he could move this summer. He made a good contribution to the club at the back, 86 appearances and 2 goals.
Matt Clarke, Free, Rotherham. 32 year-old Clarke joins Rotherham on a free after 4 seasons with us. He was as low as 5th choice central defender last season, a role we normally wouldn't bother with in the first team squad. After there was no significant initial interest when offering him out to clubs last summer we decided to keep him around as he was an influential figure in the dressing room. Clarke was a regular starter for us in his first season and played very well as he helped us win promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history. More of a squad player since he leaves after making exactly 100 appearances, scoring 7 goals.
Dylan Thompson, Free, Unattached. Thompson certainly deserves a mention here although he wasn't actually a first-team squad member with us last season having spent the year on loan at Bristol Rovers in League One. He was on our books for 8 seasons after being released by Everton as a youngster and played at all levels from the Premier League to the National League for us. At 26 he still has plenty to offer and we hope a club comes in for him soon. He made 177 appearances, scoring 25 times and picked up League One and League Two winner's medals during his time here.
In:
Joao Manga, £42m, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. New club record signing joins after 2 years at Leverkusen. He's going to be first choice in defence this coming campaign and is just about better than what we currently have. We also feel that at 25 and being younger than our other main options there's some improvement in there and that he can become better still. We now have 3 pretty solid choices in the position and are happy to roll with that plus a younger player as a 4th pick.
Diego Bertocchi, promoted from Under-23 squad. Argentinian youth international who has been at the club since he was 16 gets a go in the first team squad. We don't envisage him getting too much football this season but believe that any he does get at this level will be fantastic for his development. Diego has spent the last 2 seasons on loan in League Two with MK Dons where he was a regular and prior to that had a season on loan with Boston United in the National League. I'm somewhat concerned about his passing ability as we tend to play out from the back and am considering giving him some simplified instructions when he does play to help him out.
Left Back
Out:
Danny Kettemann, £2.5m, Hellas Verona. Last summer we brought both Kettemann and Ignacio Fernzndez to the club as left back options. The plan was to use Kettemann as first choice for 2-3 seasons by which time we'd have expected Fernandez to have overtaken him in ability. I feel it's already happened after just one season and I was not particularly impressed with Kettemann's displays. He wasn't on massive money, but £47k a week was a bit more than I'd like to paying for a backup left back currently so the decision was taken to offload him on the cheap.
In:
Daniele Candoli, £4.5m, Reims. Brough it Candoli as that new back up left back instead of Kettemann. His wage is lower and while we don't think he's great shakes at the moment either our scouts believe he can improve to a higher level than Kettemann would have been capable of. Worth a punt.
Right Wing
Out:
Jordan Stevens, £7m, Bristol City. Another one of our longer serving players leaves the club. It's always a bit sad when this happens but once again we feel it was the right thing to do. We signed Ben McNamee in the January window last season who became our strongest player in this position and also have Luis Carbonell who plays here which made Jordan 3rd choice. At 29 he needs first team football, something he wouldn't have got with us going forward. A very good servant to the club he made 201 appearances, scoring 26 goals and had 29 assists in all comps. Jordan earned a League One winners' medal with us.
Central Midfield
Out:
Ephrem Ghebru, end of loan, Chelsea. Ghebru started most games for us on loan from Chelsea last season as a Box to Box midfielder. He did ok, and we did look at possibly taking him again this season but Chelsea were saying they wanted to finally make him a first team squad member after 6 different loan deals. He played 31 times for us.
Tony Fisher, end of loan, Norwich. Fisher returns to his parent club after 2 separate loan deals with us. The first loan was for half a season, then the whole of last season. He disappointed when given opportunities to play last season, and was Ghebru's stand in. Over the course of both loans he played 33 times in 18 months.
In:
Peter Alves, £7.5m, SC Freiburg. USA international midfielder who already has 23 caps to his name at the age of 21 joins from German 2nd division club Freiburg which is where he started his career. Looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the team.
Tanguy Ndombele, Free. I don't often sign players over the age of 30, and our board specifically ask me not to but I went against that here, picking him up as a free agent after his Tottenham contract expired and he was released. I believe he's our best midfielder as both a DLP and BBM, the two roles we usually use in the the middle of our 4-4-2. Looking to use him mostly as a BBM.
Left Wing:
Out:
Bastien Tavernier, £67m, Hertha BSC. Would have loved to have kept him but he wanted to join a bigger club, had a minimum fee release clause and Hertha, who are a Champions League club were willing to stump up the money for him. He was a wonderkid when we managed to get him on a free from Monaco and had a very promising campaign in the Premier League last season, hitting double figures in goals and assists and is still only 21 so has plenty of improvement in him. At least we made a massive profit on him. 20 goals and 14 assists in 62 appearances for Southport.
In:
Ian Derksen, £9m, Lazio. Admittedly not as good as Tavernier but I think We've picked up a very useful replacement here. Bargain too, as he's worth £23m after only paying £9m. Lazio seem to like selling me players on the cheap, more of that soon. I don't think they're in financial trouble, just bad judges of players.
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So much upheaval I went over the image limit:
Finances are now looking awesome, might be able to make a £75m-£100m type of transfer, or pay my top earner in excess of £200k a week by next season.
Cant' see anything else happening in the first team squad this off season although the window is still open. Having a look at young players for the U18s now/sorting out outgoing loans etc.
Striker:
Out:
Hamza Alioui, £66m, Real Madrid. Another we would have loved to have kept if not for a pesky minimum fee release clause. On the bright side Liverpool also bid the required amount and he turned them down in favour of Madrid. Hamza was only with us 18 months after being one of those players that Lazio undervalued and scored 23 goals in 39 goals for us. in his first PL campaign he scored 17 times, and won Player's player of the year, Player's young player of the year and English footballer of the year with an average rating of 7.48. He can still improve a lot more too.
Mario Commiso, £10.25m, Arsenal Tula. After 3 seasons Commisso is Russia-bound. We decided to move him on after looking for a replacement for Alioui and finding 2 players that we really liked the look of, both of whom we signed in the end. Commiso was purchased ahead of our first Premier League campaign where we got relegated and I initially had very high hopes for him that in retrospect were overly optimistic. At one point during that PL season I became disappointed with him but now think he did a decent job overall. Mario leaves the club having scored 21 goals in 74 appearances.
Diego Boza, £5.25m, PAOK. Another one of the longer-serving players leaves, he was a fan-favourite too. Took a cheap £210k punt on him at and he more than repaid that in his 5 seasons with us. Most notably he was Championship top scorer in his second season with the club, netting 28 times as we won promotion to the Premier League. More of squad player since then and his career trajectory wasn't helped when he suffered a cruciate ligament injury, restricting his 2027/28 season to just 4 appearances. I was happy he was able to recover from that but last season he was only 4th choice striker, mostly comming off the bench and it's best he move on. We have Rafaelle Coversano, last season's PL top scorer, 2 new signings and a young player coming through the ranks as the 4th pick. Diego made 125 appearances all in, scoring 56 goals.
In:
Ricky, £14.5m, Lazio. The fantastically named Ricky joins the club and will be vying to be Hamza Alioui's replacement. He's the third and final player in this post that gets a mention who I feel Lazio have seriously undervalued. Alioui himself when we bought him, and Ian Derksen who we've just bought from them too.
Nazier Comitis, £14.25m, Motherwell. Nazier came through the ranks at Motherwell and we were able to sign him on a minimum fee release clause (foreign clubs) basis. We're excitied what the future has in store for him and us. Very pleased with the signing and he and Ricky will be fighting it out for a regular starting place at first. I believe we have 3 high quality options up front.
Abaseen Huassaini, promoted from U23s. 19 year-old born in Afghanistan who is currently declared for Germany after presumably growing up in Germany and coming through the Wolfsburg youth academy. We paid £900k for him a couple of years back and he spent a season with our U18s before being loaned out to Accrington Stanley in League Two last season where he scored 9 times in 36 appearances. He is some way off PL standard now but we want our 4th choice to be a young, hungry player with talent and potential. Hoping he learns a lot from any playing time he does get. It's the same as what we're doing in central defence with Bertochhi.
Out:
Hamza Alioui, £66m, Real Madrid. Another we would have loved to have kept if not for a pesky minimum fee release clause. On the bright side Liverpool also bid the required amount and he turned them down in favour of Madrid. Hamza was only with us 18 months after being one of those players that Lazio undervalued and scored 23 goals in 39 goals for us. in his first PL campaign he scored 17 times, and won Player's player of the year, Player's young player of the year and English footballer of the year with an average rating of 7.48. He can still improve a lot more too.
Mario Commiso, £10.25m, Arsenal Tula. After 3 seasons Commisso is Russia-bound. We decided to move him on after looking for a replacement for Alioui and finding 2 players that we really liked the look of, both of whom we signed in the end. Commiso was purchased ahead of our first Premier League campaign where we got relegated and I initially had very high hopes for him that in retrospect were overly optimistic. At one point during that PL season I became disappointed with him but now think he did a decent job overall. Mario leaves the club having scored 21 goals in 74 appearances.
Diego Boza, £5.25m, PAOK. Another one of the longer-serving players leaves, he was a fan-favourite too. Took a cheap £210k punt on him at and he more than repaid that in his 5 seasons with us. Most notably he was Championship top scorer in his second season with the club, netting 28 times as we won promotion to the Premier League. More of squad player since then and his career trajectory wasn't helped when he suffered a cruciate ligament injury, restricting his 2027/28 season to just 4 appearances. I was happy he was able to recover from that but last season he was only 4th choice striker, mostly comming off the bench and it's best he move on. We have Rafaelle Coversano, last season's PL top scorer, 2 new signings and a young player coming through the ranks as the 4th pick. Diego made 125 appearances all in, scoring 56 goals.
In:
Ricky, £14.5m, Lazio. The fantastically named Ricky joins the club and will be vying to be Hamza Alioui's replacement. He's the third and final player in this post that gets a mention who I feel Lazio have seriously undervalued. Alioui himself when we bought him, and Ian Derksen who we've just bought from them too.
Nazier Comitis, £14.25m, Motherwell. Nazier came through the ranks at Motherwell and we were able to sign him on a minimum fee release clause (foreign clubs) basis. We're excitied what the future has in store for him and us. Very pleased with the signing and he and Ricky will be fighting it out for a regular starting place at first. I believe we have 3 high quality options up front.
Abaseen Huassaini, promoted from U23s. 19 year-old born in Afghanistan who is currently declared for Germany after presumably growing up in Germany and coming through the Wolfsburg youth academy. We paid £900k for him a couple of years back and he spent a season with our U18s before being loaned out to Accrington Stanley in League Two last season where he scored 9 times in 36 appearances. He is some way off PL standard now but we want our 4th choice to be a young, hungry player with talent and potential. Hoping he learns a lot from any playing time he does get. It's the same as what we're doing in central defence with Bertochhi.
Finances are now looking awesome, might be able to make a £75m-£100m type of transfer, or pay my top earner in excess of £200k a week by next season.
Cant' see anything else happening in the first team squad this off season although the window is still open. Having a look at young players for the U18s now/sorting out outgoing loans etc.
Lost another player on a minimum fee release clause. Didn't even realise that it was in his contract and only had him a season.
Out: Alberto Fabbri MC/ST (we used him as a DLP) £34.5m, Roma. 17 (14) apps, 3 goals, 5 assists.
In: Ilkay Altun MC/AM C/AM RL, £39m, Borussia Monchengladbach.
Out: Alberto Fabbri MC/ST (we used him as a DLP) £34.5m, Roma. 17 (14) apps, 3 goals, 5 assists.
In: Ilkay Altun MC/AM C/AM RL, £39m, Borussia Monchengladbach.
Halfway point, aiming for Europe and things are looking decent. Sitting in 6th, 2 points outside the top 4 with a 8 point gap down to 7th.
Didn't draw many last season and the same is happening so far this, mostly win or lose. Scoring lots and letting in a lot too. Had some heavy defeats, conceding 5 at home to both Spurs and Chelsea. We're still not great against the better teams in particular and the win I posted a few days ago against Arsenal was a fluke plus we won at City while not really deserving that either.
Just beat United 3-1 which was important with them in 8th to build/maintain that cushion back to them, Everton etc. in the race for 7th. That apparently put Solskjaer under pressure for his job, he's won 2 x PL, 2 x Carbao and a Community Shield in 10 seasons.
Didn't draw many last season and the same is happening so far this, mostly win or lose. Scoring lots and letting in a lot too. Had some heavy defeats, conceding 5 at home to both Spurs and Chelsea. We're still not great against the better teams in particular and the win I posted a few days ago against Arsenal was a fluke plus we won at City while not really deserving that either.
Just beat United 3-1 which was important with them in 8th to build/maintain that cushion back to them, Everton etc. in the race for 7th. That apparently put Solskjaer under pressure for his job, he's won 2 x PL, 2 x Carbao and a Community Shield in 10 seasons.
So update, I managed to somehow in the league! I drew a ridiculous amount of games (as did my competiton I assume) but won just enough to gain promotion to the Conference. Now it's about keeping the best players and signing quality for the first team. I am aiming for 4-6 targets, and then I will re-evaluate in January and the summer. So far I have got a Left-back and a striker. I need a right-back, a midfielder, a goalkeeper and a centreback (I plan on playing one of my breakthrough youngsters). I have far too many centreback prospects who need to go on loan, and also some other players who need game time I can't give them. For some reason it's hard just to get regional teams to loan a player for free. Like seriously?
Nice one, well done!
Good to see you keeping faith with much of the squad. I was changing loads of players of every season on the way up, still am really.
Was there any pattern to your draws? Conceding late on? Dominating the stats but not winning? I don't know, maybe you could do something differently in the future if it happens again and tinker with the tactics although that can of course make things worse too. Overall it sounds like you have a winning strategy in place that works in the game so maybe that's not even needed. Just finding the best players you can to fit what sounds like a working system could be the way to go.
I kept all the possession, would sometimes fail to score but defend well, other times score but concede, or even a comeback. It was a mixed bag and often the patterns didn't last long. My possession based system almost worked in a friendly against a league 1/2 team but conceded 5 against rochdale (did score 2 though), friendlys are just fitness sessions anyway for a team like mine. As for keeping faith, they may or may not last long after january but a lot of the squad still has potential that could be unlocked if played at a higher level. But I have too many kids that need game time and I can only offer the very talented a posititon in my team. I've also been using trials to get some good free transfers.
So update:
First 10 games and currently sitting in 10th place! We started very well with two wins and then we slipped with three defeats, but then we've been picking them up. Should have won a match against Boreham Wood who are relegation candidates, but I chose to give the kids a chance. One of them did very well, one terribly, one ok. The one who did very well has now scored two in two from both wings (he's an AMC though, of course). I think keeping faith in my team is working out @Chipper but I will definitely have to cull it, because I have a lot of decent kids coming in and it's kind of bloated. For some reason I don't have an Under 23's side to put the 18-23 year olds in, so I will need to consolidate and get rid of any people who are in the way of better players.
First 10 games and currently sitting in 10th place! We started very well with two wins and then we slipped with three defeats, but then we've been picking them up. Should have won a match against Boreham Wood who are relegation candidates, but I chose to give the kids a chance. One of them did very well, one terribly, one ok. The one who did very well has now scored two in two from both wings (he's an AMC though, of course). I think keeping faith in my team is working out @Chipper but I will definitely have to cull it, because I have a lot of decent kids coming in and it's kind of bloated. For some reason I don't have an Under 23's side to put the 18-23 year olds in, so I will need to consolidate and get rid of any people who are in the way of better players.
So update:
First 10 games and currently sitting in 10th place! We started very well with two wins and then we slipped with three defeats, but then we've been picking them up. Should have won a match against Boreham Wood who are relegation candidates, but I chose to give the kids a chance. One of them did very well, one terribly, one ok. The one who did very well has now scored two in two from both wings (he's an AMC though, of course). I think keeping faith in my team is working out @Chipper but I will definitely have to cull it, because I have a lot of decent kids coming in and it's kind of bloated. For some reason I don't have an Under 23's side to put the 18-23 year olds in, so I will need to consolidate and get rid of any people who are in the way of better players.
Promising with all the younger players coming through. I think when I was in that league I was just signing up whoever would do it for me now. They often were younger players but it wasn't necessarily a policy of thinking about the future and it was more of a coincidence than anything else.
Nice recovery after those 3 defeats on the bounce, especially as two of them are heavy. Notts Co are a big team with lots of money at that level aren't they? So I suppose that one was no surprise, they'll simply have better players than lots of teams in that division.
I remember I had to ask for U23 team and then an U18 side a couple of years after that , is it an option within you at all? Club vision on the left then make board request on the right. Still not got either into a league even though we're in the PL and are still just playing friendlies but that's better than nothing. Think I have to have what they're calling a level 2 youth setup to even be eligible for a league place in U18 Premier League Professional League at this point and I'm only a level 3 despite often trying to upgrade youth facilities and levels. Sometimes the board would turn me down.
There are U23/U18 leagues for lower league sides too but again I never got invited to them. Not entirely sure why when I was at that level. I read somewhere that it can be a bit luck of the draw, that if the leagues are 'full' you have to wait for an AI club to turn down their invitation one season so that new teams can get invited. I don't know if that's true, but like I said, at least I still had friendlies. Better than nothing for player development and also to keep players fit and give them some match sharpness. There's the FA Youth Cup too for the U18s even though they're not in a recognised league.
Yeah, money is tight, but I'll check once we get a bit more. I've been blowing the wage bill a bit by accident.
Also since then, form has been up and down. Had the most ridiculous FM moment where I was down 6-1 at half time and lost 7-2. I am into the 2nd round of the FA cup against Barrow, so hopefully I get a league 2 team or another conference team to beat. I had to go to penalties and a repeat to beat FC Halifax. Hoping to generate cash with good cup runs.
Just dropping a mini update, 30 games in and we're 5th. Next up is Liverpool away who are 4th and 2 points ahead so this is a big one. Arsenal are 2 points behind us in 6th. Things are looking good for European qualification of some description but at this stage I don't know what it will be. We're in good form and have won 5 league games in a row and just got through to the club's first ever FA Cup semi final. The match will be against Everton who are currently 10th.
Really enjoyed the cup run so far, haven't had many of note. Got to the Carabao Cup semis 3 seasons back I think it was and got smashed by Sheff Utd in the first leg so didn't even really try in the second. That was it as far as getting close to a final went until now unless you count EFL Trophy stuff from when we were in League One and Two.
Cup run has been touch and go and quite dramatic at times which has been part of the fun.
3rd Round - AFC Wimbledon - currently 13th in League One (A) - won 4-0, fun because they're managed by Moyes.
4th round - Southampton - 8th in PL (H) - drew 0-0 while having the better of it
4th round replay - Southampton (A) - won 3-2 in a close game
5th round - Huddersfield (A) - 10th in the Championship, won 2-1 AET with a 119th minute penalty
6th round - Fulham (A) - 16th in the PL, won 2-1 AET with a 116th minute winner
Really enjoyed the cup run so far, haven't had many of note. Got to the Carabao Cup semis 3 seasons back I think it was and got smashed by Sheff Utd in the first leg so didn't even really try in the second. That was it as far as getting close to a final went until now unless you count EFL Trophy stuff from when we were in League One and Two.
Cup run has been touch and go and quite dramatic at times which has been part of the fun.
3rd Round - AFC Wimbledon - currently 13th in League One (A) - won 4-0, fun because they're managed by Moyes.
4th round - Southampton - 8th in PL (H) - drew 0-0 while having the better of it
4th round replay - Southampton (A) - won 3-2 in a close game
5th round - Huddersfield (A) - 10th in the Championship, won 2-1 AET with a 119th minute penalty
6th round - Fulham (A) - 16th in the PL, won 2-1 AET with a 116th minute winner
Infuriating when you restrict the oppo to just a couple of half chances and they score 4. Even more when you were winning 2-1 at half time, create loads of big chances throughout and just needed a point to move into 4th spot with 1 game to go.
Finished 5th, Champions League qualification wasn't to be. Beat Wolves 3-2 on the final day at home, meanwhile Liverpool won 2-0 against Norwich.
Still, Europa League will be nice for us next season, the club's first ever participation in European competition and we're moving into our new stadium too after spending the past 4 seasons sharing with Burnley. New ground will have a capacity of 31,682.
Still, Europa League will be nice for us next season, the club's first ever participation in European competition and we're moving into our new stadium too after spending the past 4 seasons sharing with Burnley. New ground will have a capacity of 31,682.
Here's my form so far. Pretty medicore, but punching well above our weight.
Somehow I'm comfortably midtable.
Somehow I'm comfortably midtable.
I'm thinking about getting this for my tablet. Would the mobile version work or is it better to go with touch?
Do they have an editor like on the desktop version?
Do they have an editor like on the desktop version?
Had a big transfer window, spend £214m, getting back £91m.
Transfer budget has actually gone up from £130m to £148m as I do that thing of only paying part up front and the rest in installments, whereas I like to get transfer fees received all in one go where possible. I usually do 1/3rd now, 2/3rds across 3 payments. Helps with the cash flow, and can help stretch budgets in times of need but that's not really now.
Brought 6 players in for the first team squad and 1 more on loan, sold 7 players. Biggest deal was £69m for a young Brazilian midfielder from Atletico. Just easing him in gently so far and he's not actually done that great so far. Plenty of time for him though.
Had a very solid start to the season, we're at an international break in October and unbeaten in all comps. 5-3-0 in the league, which is good enough for 2nd. Won 2 out of 2 in the Europa League against Marseille (A) and Red Star (H). Sneaked past Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw at home.
The goal is top 4 after last season's 5th place finish. Would love a cup as this is the 30/31 season and the last time we won anything was League One back in 23/24.
Transfer budget has actually gone up from £130m to £148m as I do that thing of only paying part up front and the rest in installments, whereas I like to get transfer fees received all in one go where possible. I usually do 1/3rd now, 2/3rds across 3 payments. Helps with the cash flow, and can help stretch budgets in times of need but that's not really now.
Brought 6 players in for the first team squad and 1 more on loan, sold 7 players. Biggest deal was £69m for a young Brazilian midfielder from Atletico. Just easing him in gently so far and he's not actually done that great so far. Plenty of time for him though.
Had a very solid start to the season, we're at an international break in October and unbeaten in all comps. 5-3-0 in the league, which is good enough for 2nd. Won 2 out of 2 in the Europa League against Marseille (A) and Red Star (H). Sneaked past Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw at home.
The goal is top 4 after last season's 5th place finish. Would love a cup as this is the 30/31 season and the last time we won anything was League One back in 23/24.
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Hope you smash the league and europa! I've also stabilised my team, got into some good form but then lost twice on the trot to the first and 2nd placed teams in very tight matches.Had a big transfer window, spend £214m, getting back £91m.
Transfer budget has actually gone up from £130m to £148m as I do that thing of only paying part up front and the rest in installments, whereas I like to get transfer fees received all in one go where possible. I usually do 1/3rd now, 2/3rds across 3 payments. Helps with the cash flow, and can help stretch budgets in times of need but that's not really now.
Brought 6 players in for the first team squad and 1 more on loan, sold 7 players. Biggest deal was £69m for a young Brazilian midfielder from Atletico. Just easing him in gently so far and he's not actually done that great so far. Plenty of time for him though.
Had a very solid start to the season, we're at an international break in October and unbeaten in all comps. 5-3-0 in the league, which is good enough for 2nd. Won 2 out of 2 in the Europa League against Marseille (A) and Red Star (H). Sneaked past Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw at home.
The goal is top 4 after last season's 5th place finish. Would love a cup as this is the 30/31 season and the last time we won anything was League One back in 23/24.
Started a save with Darlington in the Vanarama National League North. Was going great guns and thought I was nailed on for automatic promotion but I've only won 1 in the last 14, still managed to hang on for 5th and a shot in the play-offs but need a miracle really.
Update: Beat Curzon Ashton 2-1 in the 1st round of the play offs. Thought it was the 1st leg but apparently it goes 1st round, semi then final One step closer!
Update: Beat Curzon Ashton 2-1 in the 1st round of the play offs. Thought it was the 1st leg but apparently it goes 1st round, semi then final
One step closer!
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Cheers. How's it going now? Still in a nice safe position I hope.
Halfway through the season now for me. Just beat City 3-1 at home in the previous match which was a big one, if we'd have lost it we'd be 4th but the win keeps us 2nd. It's close at the top. Pleased there's 9 point gap between us and Spurs in 5th as top 4 still remains the first target. Will obviously take and am trying for better than that, and we're in the title race.
Only defeats so far were against Liverpool at home (2-0), which is looking costly right now and Fulham away (3-2). Europa League group stage was really easy up until now and because of the Europa Conference League the group winners get a bye into the 2nd knockout round so that's a bonus. Liverpool in the Carabao semis will be tough but if you want to win stuff you have to beat the good teams.
My defence is miles better this season, and that's what's enabling the step up. Let in 17 at the halfway point so on course to concede 34. Last season we let in 56 and 60 the season before. Not changed tactics, we just have better players. Scoring slightly less too, and the top scorer so far is a winger who is on pens. Strikers not quite as prolific as they have been but we're doing alright. On course to score 78. Got 83 and 80 the past 2 seasons.
Decided to revisit my Brighton save. In season 10 and hoping to challenge for the title after Chelsea stormed it last season and we finished 2nd.
In January and actually starting to think I might achieve an unbeaten season - with 19 wins and 4 draws. Next game up is 2nd place Chelsea (5 points behind us) away from home. Tough game but in the home fixture we smashed them 5-0! So I decide to trust my primary tiki taka tactic and ditch my usual counter attacking tactic when facing top teams away from home.
They just smashed me 5-1. It's the hope that kills you. At least it wasn't a home loss to the bottom team...
In January and actually starting to think I might achieve an unbeaten season - with 19 wins and 4 draws. Next game up is 2nd place Chelsea (5 points behind us) away from home. Tough game but in the home fixture we smashed them 5-0! So I decide to trust my primary tiki taka tactic and ditch my usual counter attacking tactic when facing top teams away from home.
They just smashed me 5-1. It's the hope that kills you. At least it wasn't a home loss to the bottom team...
Well, I narrowly missed out on the play offs. My team bottled it big time in the last two matches and finished 8th. Very disappointed but also relieved I don't have to do a complete rebuild, I can build at my leisure. I plan on getting into the play off spots and staying there for next season. My board AND team reckon we can't even become established, boy are they wrong!Cheers. How's it going now? Still in a nice safe position I hope.
Halfway through the season now for me. Just beat City 3-1 at home in the previous match which was a big one, if we'd have lost it we'd be 4th but the win keeps us 2nd. It's close at the top. Pleased there's 9 point gap between us and Spurs in 5th as top 4 still remains the first target. Will obviously take and am trying for better than that, and we're in the title race.
Only defeats so far were against Liverpool at home (2-0), which is looking costly right now and Fulham away (3-2). Europa League group stage was really easy up until now and because of the Europa Conference League the group winners get a bye into the 2nd knockout round so that's a bonus. Liverpool in the Carabao semis will be tough but if you want to win stuff you have to beat the good teams.
My defence is miles better this season, and that's what's enabling the step up. Let in 17 at the halfway point so on course to concede 34. Last season we let in 56 and 60 the season before. Not changed tactics, we just have better players. Scoring slightly less too, and the top scorer so far is a winger who is on pens. Strikers not quite as prolific as they have been but we're doing alright. On course to score 78. Got 83 and 80 the past 2 seasons.
Unlucky but well done at the same time! Really nice platform to build upon and with no pressure of expectations from the board is a good position to be in.
Ten games to go for me and we're sitting top. Just lost the Carabao Cup final to Chelsea who are turning out to be our nemesis at the moment. They put us out of the FA Cup too and with a game in hand over us in the league they'll move into second if they win it.
Great game for the neutrals in the Carabao but a bit of a sickener for me. 0-1 (24 mins), 0-2 (64 mins), 1-2 (72 mins), 2-2 (75 mins) and into extra time we went. 3-2 (91 mins), red card for them and missed penalty for me on 114 then they made it 3-3 with 10 men in injury time (120 +1 mins). Lost in the shootout and the same player who had the pen to make it 4-2 and wrap it up missed again and was the only player who did. He's not my usual penalty taker, would actually be the 5th player I'd normally look out of the whole squad to take one but he had the best stats of who was on the pitch at the time.
Got Aberdeen next in the Europa League and have to my fancy my chances not just in this game in the tournament. Whoever is top of the Premier League simply has to be a very strong contender to win the Europa League if they're in it. Brighton won it last season in my save and they were mid-table.
So far I'm 3rd, and my attacking midfielder who got the most assists the previous season, but had much less goals, is now top scorer, and fast approaching top assists. My 20 goal striker didn't score for about seven games! I hope it's just bad form. I think I will have to purge the squad if I make it to League 2. I will keep the best performers, and kids/first teamers with league 2 or more potential, and build around them. I want to make sure my team is no more than 23 players. Considering I play 4-2-3-1 I should limit how many players I have at my disposal. Financially we aren't doing very well, so I am aiming to go far into the cups again this season. I've got the team to do it, just got to hope we get the wins. I hope to draw a big and popular league side in the FA cup so the gate reciepts make me some money.Unlucky but well done at the same time! Really nice platform to build upon and with no pressure of expectations from the board is a good position to be in.
Ten games to go for me and we're sitting top. Just lost the Carabao Cup final to Chelsea who are turning out to be our nemesis at the moment. They put us out of the FA Cup too and with a game in hand over us in the league they'll move into second if they win it.
Great game for the neutrals in the Carabao but a bit of a sickener for me. 0-1 (24 mins), 0-2 (64 mins), 1-2 (72 mins), 2-2 (75 mins) and into extra time we went. 3-2 (91 mins), red card for them and missed penalty for me on 114 then they made it 3-3 with 10 men in injury time (120 +1 mins). Lost in the shootout and the same player who had the pen to make it 4-2 and wrap it up missed again and was the only player who did. He's not my usual penalty taker, would actually be the 5th player I'd normally look out of the whole squad to take one but he had the best stats of who was on the pitch at the time.
Got Aberdeen next in the Europa League and have to my fancy my chances not just in this game in the tournament. Whoever is top of the Premier League simply has to be a very strong contender to win the Europa League if they're in it. Brighton won it last season in my save and they were mid-table.
I already have a league one affiliate which will give me 16K a year. Little money, but every little helps as they say. As for that, I am due to play Yeovil, who are at the bottom or near abouts. I've been playing mostly those sides this month and hope that this run of form against them builds a platform. I am also hoping that recently relegated Plymouth Argyle win the league so I don't have to play them in the playoffs, in fact, I'd rather another fellow Conference team than former L2 team.
So I've just looked to buy Saka from Arsenal (playing as Man Utd) - he's put in a transfer request and Arsenal have set a £22.5m asking price. I've put in the bid of that amount and they've put a negotiation of £44m and 40% of profit from next sale!!!
Asking price is still at £22.5m - what gives???
Asking price is still at £22.5m - what gives???
Don’t want to sell to a rival tax. I’ve had the same issue as Roma. Juventus fell apart and I tried to sign Dybala. Barcelona and PSG bid £80m accepted. I got quoted £153m
Finished 3rd, falling away at the end of the season. Wanted CL qualification so am pleased we got it but am a ittle bit disappointed with out form towards the end. Only got 13 points from the last 10 matches. Fixture list was quite hard towards the end, but still should have done better.
Didn't go as far as I would've liked in the Europa League either, knocked out in the QF against Leverkusen. Rested players in the first leg (away) because we ridiculously played that game on the Thursday and then Liverpool away in the league away on the Saturday. Got a decent 1-1 result and was 2-0 up at home in the second leg with 20 minutes to go when they scored twice in 2 minutes out of nowhere to put me behind on away goals. They added another late on to add insult to injury.
I did sell a striker in January for £52m to Lyon which probably contributed to the poor form towards the end. He was 3rd choice on the pecking order and getting itchy feet. Rejected the initial offer but he kicked off and I let him go when they came back with an improved offer. Recalled a youth prospect on loan from Rangers to take his spot in the squad but he didn't really do it. I was and still am wary of his finishing, which is 11 and he missed a few chances the times he was used.
Think I might sell Sharpe over the summer and bring someone else in, not sure. Definitely entering the market for a midfielder. We've had Tanguy Ndombele for the last 2 seasons and we're releasing him this summer at the age of 34. He's done well enough for us, 7.01 first season, 7.03 this season average league ratings but it's time to bring in someone younger.
Next season we really want to win something.
Didn't go as far as I would've liked in the Europa League either, knocked out in the QF against Leverkusen. Rested players in the first leg (away) because we ridiculously played that game on the Thursday and then Liverpool away in the league away on the Saturday. Got a decent 1-1 result and was 2-0 up at home in the second leg with 20 minutes to go when they scored twice in 2 minutes out of nowhere to put me behind on away goals. They added another late on to add insult to injury.
I did sell a striker in January for £52m to Lyon which probably contributed to the poor form towards the end. He was 3rd choice on the pecking order and getting itchy feet. Rejected the initial offer but he kicked off and I let him go when they came back with an improved offer. Recalled a youth prospect on loan from Rangers to take his spot in the squad but he didn't really do it. I was and still am wary of his finishing, which is 11 and he missed a few chances the times he was used.
Think I might sell Sharpe over the summer and bring someone else in, not sure. Definitely entering the market for a midfielder. We've had Tanguy Ndombele for the last 2 seasons and we're releasing him this summer at the age of 34. He's done well enough for us, 7.01 first season, 7.03 this season average league ratings but it's time to bring in someone younger.
Next season we really want to win something.
So, I forgot to update everyone! Tweaked my tactics into a more tiki taka style, but more attacking, and I've been undefeated for several games now at the top of the league. Beaten league 1 and league 2 teams easily in the FA Cup, and due to face Wolves away. Hopefully that is a good pay day. Form is beginning to decline somwhat, at least our finishing is. Finances were quite rocky, but since my upturn in form we've had an upturn in profits, people might just be more willing to watch us, as we're pretty good at the moment. Either way, let's hope this continues!
I won the Champions League with my local team Tromsø Cannot believe it. Took me 15 years but got there in the end. I even got to sub in the only player I’ve kept since I started the game, a guy who was 20 at the time but is now 34. I’ve even played against him in real life so it was fun to sub him in in the 90th minute.
The group was really easy, Porto, Marseille and Anderlecht. I won the group 3 points ahead of Porto. Then I got really unlucky in the first knockout stage when I drew Chelsea, but I actually beat them 4-0 on aggregate. Quarter finals was against Man Utd who lost the two previous CL finals. I barely got through, beating them 3-2 on aggregate with a strong 2-1 win at home. Semis was against Arsenal who won the CL last season. I lost 1-2 at home but won 1-3 away so won 4-3 on aggregate. Couldn’t believe it. The final was against West Ham who finished below Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea in the league so I was favourites to win. I probably spend half an hour yesterday and today analyzing them so I was very well prepared. It was an easy game, they had just one chance on a set-piece and I won 2-0 comfortably. I was so nervous though. I’ve played CM/FM since I was around 7/8 years old, I’m now 23 and this is by far my greatest CM/FM achievement ever. I even dressed up in a suit and played the CL anthem in the background to make some hilarious snapchat videos for my friends.
My team is actually that good, I reckon it’s the best team (or at least starting XI, my squad depth is terrible) in the game which has been difficult to achieve as my wage budget is only around a million pounds a week.
Edit: Went to the store and bought myself a bottle of Champagne. Fully deserved.
Cannot believe it. Took me 15 years but got there in the end. I even got to sub in the only player I’ve kept since I started the game, a guy who was 20 at the time but is now 34. I’ve even played against him in real life so it was fun to sub him in in the 90th minute.The group was really easy, Porto, Marseille and Anderlecht. I won the group 3 points ahead of Porto. Then I got really unlucky in the first knockout stage when I drew Chelsea, but I actually beat them 4-0 on aggregate. Quarter finals was against Man Utd who lost the two previous CL finals. I barely got through, beating them 3-2 on aggregate with a strong 2-1 win at home. Semis was against Arsenal who won the CL last season. I lost 1-2 at home but won 1-3 away so won 4-3 on aggregate. Couldn’t believe it. The final was against West Ham who finished below Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea in the league so I was favourites to win. I probably spend half an hour yesterday and today analyzing them so I was very well prepared. It was an easy game, they had just one chance on a set-piece and I won 2-0 comfortably. I was so nervous though. I’ve played CM/FM since I was around 7/8 years old, I’m now 23 and this is by far my greatest CM/FM achievement ever. I even dressed up in a suit and played the CL anthem in the background to make some hilarious snapchat videos for my friends.
My team is actually that good, I reckon it’s the best team (or at least starting XI, my squad depth is terrible) in the game which has been difficult to achieve as my wage budget is only around a million pounds a week.
Edit: Went to the store and bought myself a bottle of Champagne. Fully deserved.
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Now that, is dedication!I won the Champions League with my local team Tromsø
The group was really easy, Porto, Marseille and Anderlecht. I won the group 3 points ahead of Porto. Then I got really unlucky in the first knockout stage when I drew Chelsea, but I actually beat them 4-0 on aggregate. Quarter finals was against Man Utd who lost the two previous CL finals. I barely got through, beating them 3-2 on aggregate with a strong 2-1 win at home. Semis was against Arsenal who won the CL last season. I lost 1-2 at home but won 1-3 away so won 4-3 on aggregate. Couldn’t believe it. The final was against West Ham who finished below Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea in the league so I was favourites to win. I probably spend half an hour yesterday and today analyzing them so I was very well prepared. It was an easy game, they had just one chance on a set-piece and I won 2-0 comfortably. I was so nervous though. I’ve played CM/FM since I was around 7/8 years old, I’m now 23 and this is by far my greatest CM/FM achievement ever. I even dressed up in a suit and played the CL anthem in the background to make some hilarious snapchat videos for my friends.
My team is actually that good, I reckon it’s the best team (or at least starting XI, my squad depth is terrible) in the game which has been difficult to achieve as my wage budget is only around a million pounds a week.
Edit: Went to the store and bought myself a bottle of Champagne. Fully deserved.
So is the guy you subbed in a decent footballer in real life?