Football Manager 2020

[Beliall]

Jamie Vardy is my assistant manager and i just singed nigel pearson as under 18's manager, getting the band back together!

[foxfanazer]

1 hour ago, Beliall said:

Jamie Vardy is my assistant manager and i just singed nigel pearson as under 18's manager, getting the band back together!

Just need Prekki to take over the under 23's and you've got the full set

[HowardsBulletHeader]

1 hour ago, Beliall said:

Jamie Vardy is my assistant manager and i just singed nigel pearson as under 18's manager, getting the band back together!

Get Richie Wellens in!

[Beliall]

1 hour ago, HowardsBulletHeader said:

Get Richie Wellens in!

funnily enough, i was looking at him when i saw big nige

[foxfanazer]

Just now, Beliall said:

funnily enough, i was looking at him when i saw big nige

I always take Huth on as a coach and make him take his badges

[Beliall]

Just now, foxfanazer said:

I always take Huth on as a coach and make him take his badges

great shout

 

I'll put him on free kick training

[Dan LCFC]

We've somehow gone and got a point at the Bernabeu  

[Cal]

Finished 3rd in my first season since promotion to the South African prem with Royal Eagles. Most of my team is out of contract, gonna offer maybe 5/6 players new ones and try and push on with freebies. Hopefully I get more than the 24k squad wage than this season! 

[snoopy87]

Have really enjoyed reading this thread, some top work from everyone involved. I'm also quite glad its not just me who suffers what seems like endless winless runs for no apparent reaon!

 

I decided to take on the Notts County job. Aim was to get them to the prem then see what else I could do with them, 5 seasons in and we're there ready to go for the start of the 6th. Romped the Conference and League 2 with over 100 points in each season. League 1 looked as though we'd do exactly the same, had a 10 point gap over Sheffield Wednesday with 11 games to go and it went to absolute pot! Early goals in every game, regular pumpings from teams fighting relegation, limped over the line in second on 94 points, 2 behind Wrdnesday.

 

The first Championship season was a farce to begin with. We have no money, I've been working on free transfers, and due to the ridculous world cup timing the season kicks off 17th July! Couldn't make a single signing until the 1st July. Finished a respectable 9th, 2 points off the play offs in the end but had some serious problems with the squad, especially in attack. The following season the board gave me a few million and i went and raided the spanish B teams, what an absolute goldmine they are, I was signing Premier League class players for peanuts. Long story short, romped the division finishing 19 points clear of Bristol City with a points total of 104.

 

The Premier Leagues next, first game moved for Sky, at the Lane, against Leicester. I also think my chairman's stealing money because our finances are still crap considering we've just pocketed £95m!!!

[HowardsBulletHeader]

Grab your nearest snack, here goes:

 

Another 4-2 win followed my previous 4-2 victory and we were on another run. 5 out the last 6 games saw us pick up all 3 points and all of a sudden, the thought was, maybe, just maybe we could sneak into the playoffs? 10 games to go, 10 points behind. Dare we dream? I was. So was Molly Adams tweeting "Ee-eye Ee-eye Ee-eye oh up the National League we go!". The Sandgrounders faithful were starting to believe.......

 

But yet again FM did it's classic of biting me in the ass, we lost to runaway leaders Barnet, a result which the board was "very disappointed" with. I mean seriously?! We somehow plucked a point from the jaws of 3 away at Leyton Orient as after Newell slotted us in front in the 93rd, a defensive lapse from kick off saw us immediately concede. We lost twice again in the final 7 games and the pipe dream was over. Bump. 

 

A 13th place finish for the Sandgrounders, which considering we had 7 points after 15 games and finished only 9 outside the playoffs, I was delighted with. 

 

The season ends with a familiar tale. So let's start with another favourite phrase from my missus which is, "You never learn". Turns out as manager I don't learn either, as another unhappy player with a broken promise strolls into my office. I've not strengthened the first team sufficiently. Well Josh, if you'd actually found the net in your first 13 games, maybe we'd be in the playoffs and perhaps I wouldn't have needed to strengthen the squad (until next season anyway). Transfer list. Auf Wiedersehen. 

 

I did make some good signings this season, particularly defensively, the problem is keeping them. Star of the show is the only man I've ever paid a fee for, hold onto your hats it's mega money...... the £425 wonder from Cardiff Met Uni, Ryan Egan. Class, he won't be here long. Oliver Denham is also attracting interest from the mighty Gillingham, Coventry, Doncaster amongst others. My concern is the board might get involved and sell them as I'm not very good at keeping within the prescribed wage budget. I tell them, I bring the results, you sort the budget side! That went down just as you'd imagine, just like my reputation. 

 

Now, to scout my ass off to find an attacking version of Ryan Egan before the new season. To be continued...... 

[Dan LCFC]

 

 

What we saying lads? I think I'm ****ed if we don't beat Malaga.

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

Once again the Canadian Soccer Association have shown their true colours by punishing success and giving me an unmanageable fixture pile-up - 14 games in 30 days. Included in that absolute shambles was the domestic cup final, a two-legged affair against MLS' Vancouver Whitecaps, who're obviously overwhelming favourites. Draw the first leg 2-2 at my gaff, take them back to Vancouver where I draw 1-1 and lose on away goals, absolute heartbreak but when the CSA are pandering to the MLS moneymen you're handicapped from the off. How is the domestic game meant to improve when the people that run it are up the arse of the folk south of the border? I've said it before and I'll say it again, the whole organisation is toxic from the root up, and you can tell Steve Reed and the other bigwigs sitting in their ivory tower in Ottawa that I will win that ****ing cup one day and when it happens me and my merry bunch of talented Ivorians and Scandinavians will be the first there smashing bottles of Bristol Cream back like it's going out of fashion, baby!

Edited 25 April 2020 by Miquel The Work Geordie

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

1 hour ago, Dan LCFC said:

 

 

What we saying lads? I think I'm ****ed if we don't beat Malaga.

 

I think the gap is big enough, ANDORRA, I ADORE YA

[HowardsBulletHeader]

Well pre season has been an absolute disaster for the Sandgrounders, my lack of financial acumen has cost the club professional status and as such we can only offer part time contracts and only train twice a week.

 

Oh and Oliver Denham has gone, I miss him. What a guy. 

 

I can't write any more, far too upset. There's 12 beers in the fridge, there won't be by the end of tonight. 

[jammie82uk]

So things didn’t go great at Bradford City this season, spent my first two months at the club with a keeper who had a rating of 1 in Handling, reflexes, agility and anticipation due to the chairman blocking any free transfers I attempted to make, thankfully January arrived and thought I would be able to correct the situation and balance the squad a bit because having 5 right backs and 6 left wingers wasn’t exactly useful for a matchday in the 25 man squad I had inherited 

 

so transfer window wasn’t that straight forward as I had hoped, of course it wouldn’t be that would be to easy,  managed to wheel and deal some of the excess baggage in swaps with other teams, most deals wasn’t to my advantage but I had my hands tied at least I haven’t got round pegs in square holes now

 

finally signed a keeper who actually knew what a football was and also managed to sign a wonderkid on loan from Man City at no cost to the club which the chairman and fans was obviously happy at well they was till he broke his leg 10 mins into his debut and missed the rest of the season 

 

Apart from a brief spell where we picked up 9 points from 15 to close the gap to 2 points from safety there is no other way to put it but we were absolute garbage, most match days I couldn’t name a full subs bench because of crippling injuries although my medical team did tell me injuries was down 25% for what they were at various points the previous season 

felt like we was deliberately shooting ourselves in the foot so many defensive mistakes being made, 7 own goals was scored in the remaining 5 months of the season shame we couldn’t find the net at the other end according to the stats at one point we had 86 shots inside the opponents penalty area and had scored just the 1 goal 

we ended the season in 22nd position god knows how there was 2 teams worse then us but didn’t matter anyway we were relegated to league 2, think I’m going to be looking for a new job as the chairman announced I need to knock £10k off the wage bill which is not not feasible which what players are actually at the club 

 

In other news leicester despite losing the last 10 games of the season finished 17 and stayed up on the last day by 1 point 

Tony pullis was promptly sacked and Chris houghton was hired as his replacement 

[Dan LCFC]

Totally flunked it at Atletico (understandably) and then Villarreal (unacceptably), but luckily the others are just as useless, and a win over Malaga, with Getafe failing to beat Real Madrid, would basically save us.

 

So before we reveal what happened, a short story. Goncalo Loureiro, the defender we had on loan last season, friend of my captain Sam Hughes, was offered a permanent deal by Andorra but turned it down for Malaga, despite Sam Hughes having a word in his ear about it, he couldn't convince him to come. Likewise Ivan Villar, a goalkeeper we had all but signed before those twats come in at the 11th hour and snare him from underneath our noses.

 

 

Don't forget us Goncalo! The tribe live to fight another day.

[RonnieTodger]

Well my first season on this game was a bit of a damp squib. Won the league convincingly, but lost in the DFB Pokal and Champions League semis. Both finals would've been easy (Hamburg and Lyon).

 

Haaland is just ridiculous. 45 goals (34 in league and 10 in CL). Closest anyone got to him in the league was Lewandowski with 14.

 

The semi final against Leipzig was just a shambles. Our arse fell out towards the end of the year. Knocked Juventus and Real Madrid out, but blew it against Liverpool.

 

 

Edited 27 April 2020 by RonnieTodger

[Dan LCFC]

We're down this year for sure. Massive hint of Huddersfield about us in that we stayed up unexpectedly but this year haven't been able to strengthen really at all and look absolutely useless at literally everything. Complete shit.

[adam]

Three seasons on the trot I've missed out on champions league at Leicester. First 2 seasons by 1 point. This last one on goal difference. We absolutely bottle the last month every season. Fuming. 

 

Just lost haaland to chelsea to for 102 million as well. Bad season all round. 

[jammie82uk]

So the decision was made I was leaving Bradford City in the off season, the club was in to much of a mess to actually try and get anything decent from it, chairman making unreasonable demands and nearly Every player wanting to leave as they didn’t want to play in league 2

 

i had a look at the available jobs market and was inspired by some of the stories on here to take a job at a very low level 

the job at Quevilly Rouen (QRM) was available in the french national league, there was only 9 players in the 1st team squad, no transfer fund but there was a generous £24k for a wage budget  which can go a long way when players are asking £100’s for wages 

 

was set a target of finishing mid table in this 18 club league after 19 games I’m on target sitting currently in 8th, 10 points behind the leaders, finding my feet nicely despite a few quirks in the league, there is 4 transfer windows which all have different requirements 

strangest rule by far is your players get a 1 game ban for every 3 yellows with a 3 month period 

 
In other news 

 

Leicester under their new manager Chris Hughton are finally showing their potential 24 games gone and sitting in 8th place 

team is unrecognisable with only Kaspar, Benkovic and Maddison left in the starting 11 

Wilfred Zaha and Serge Gnabry on the wings

Jamie Vardy has a prearranged transfer to join Montreal Impact 

 

Bradford City seem to be having a decent season in league 2 despite being on their 3rd manager since the season started 29 games ago sitting in 5th, having 5 loans from the premier league seem to be helping them a lot 

[Finnegan]

On 27/04/2020 at 18:02, RonnieTodger said:

Well my first season on this game was a bit of a damp squib. Won the league convincingly, but lost in the DFB Pokal and Champions League semis. Both finals would've been easy (Hamburg and Lyon).

 

Haaland is just ridiculous. 45 goals (34 in league and 10 in CL). Closest anyone got to him in the league was Lewandowski with 14.

 

The semi final against Leipzig was just a shambles. Our arse fell out towards the end of the year. Knocked Juventus and Real Madrid out, but blew it against Liverpool.

 

 

 

I really like the Bundesliga in real life and always enjoy the beginnings of a save there on FM, particularly if I come up from the second tier. 

 

But I do find it too easy once you either pick a big team or you make a bit of money. 

 

It's just such a weak, weak league. Like it shouldn't be, the researchers have just always seriously under rated it for some reason. Like, look at Lyon. Every year, Lyon have a squad that could ****ing smash the Prem with some of the best young players in the game. Guys like Tousart who are bang average IRL can instantly sign for a champions league semi final team and be a club captain, he's nuts with great mentals.

 

In contrast, you look at Freiburg's squad or Gladbach or Schalke and there aren't many players you'd want to sign if you were playing in the Championship. It's stupid. 

 

Then you go and look at Mason Greenwood and what the United researchers have given him. It's absurd. 

 

It makes absolutely walking the Bundesliga way too easy cos the money you get for champions league if you get there and the reputation of the league, plus no signing limits or work permits, makes it so easy to fill your squad with South American wonder kids and piss it. 

Edited 28 April 2020 by Finnegan

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

Got through the Canadian fixture pile up, winning the CONCACAF League (Europa League) beating Saprissa of Costa Rica in a spicy two-legged affair. Also in November, I managed to just about squeeze through the league final play-off despite finishing thirty points clear of the side I was up against. Silverware across the board bar the shambles that is the Canadian Cup. The lads were corpses by the end of the season.

The board are expanding the stadium by an extra 1.5k for the new season and are tarting up the training facilities, pretty decent board tbh - they understand that without me they're nothing baby!

Winning the CONCACAF League has meant I've qualified for the daddy, the CONCACAF Champions League, which kicks off and as good as finishes before the domestic campaign restarts in April (which suits, tbh). 32 sides, knockouts from the off. Wasn't seeded, I've drawn Monterrey of Mexico, about as tough a tie as I can get. RIP Halifax Wanderers imqho.

I want a job in Colombia but sides keep turning me down so gonna stick it out in oh Canada for a bit and continue my almost dictator like dominance over nomarks like Forge FC and FC Valour. Only bad thing about this division is player values plummet once they're in it - my Jamaican winger has been tempted by the bright MLS lights of Inter Miami and the board gave the green light for a transfer of £9k to go ahead because they thought it was such a fantastic deal. That isn't gonna pay for the stadium expansion lads.

[RonnieTodger]

1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

I really like the Bundesliga in real life and always enjoy the beginnings of a save there on FM, particularly if I come up from the second tier. 

 

But I do find it too easy once you either pick a big team or you make a bit of money. 

 

It's just such a weak, weak league. Like it shouldn't be, the researchers have just always seriously under rated it for some reason. Like, look at Lyon. Every year, Lyon have a squad that could ****ing smash the Prem with some of the best young players in the game. Guys like Tousart who are bang average IRL can instantly sign for a champions league semi final team and be a club captain, he's nuts with great mentals.

 

In contrast, you look at Freiburg's squad or Gladbach or Schalke and there aren't many players you'd want to sign if you were playing in the Championship. It's stupid. 

 

Then you go and look at Mason Greenwood and what the United researchers have given him. It's absurd. 

 

It makes absolutely walking the Bundesliga way too easy cos the money you get for champions league if you get there and the reputation of the league, plus no signing limits or work permits, makes it so easy to fill your squad with South American wonder kids and piss it. 

Yeah I’m just getting to grips with it but can’t disagree with any of that. Lyon got to CL final and Greenwood scored the winner in the Europa League final against PSG.

 

Even Bayern were shite but they’ve got Allegri now so may make this season interesting.

[Stadt]

1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

I really like the Bundesliga in real life and always enjoy the beginnings of a save there on FM, particularly if I come up from the second tier. 

 

But I do find it too easy once you either pick a big team or you make a bit of money. 

 

It's just such a weak, weak league. Like it shouldn't be, the researchers have just always seriously under rated it for some reason. Like, look at Lyon. Every year, Lyon have a squad that could ****ing smash the Prem with some of the best young players in the game. Guys like Tousart who are bang average IRL can instantly sign for a champions league semi final team and be a club captain, he's nuts with great mentals.

 

In contrast, you look at Freiburg's squad or Gladbach or Schalke and there aren't many players you'd want to sign if you were playing in the Championship. It's stupid. 

 

Then you go and look at Mason Greenwood and what the United researchers have given him. It's absurd. 

 

It makes absolutely walking the Bundesliga way too easy cos the money you get for champions league if you get there and the reputation of the league, plus no signing limits or work permits, makes it so easy to fill your squad with South American wonder kids and piss it. 

I had a moan about how overrated British youngsters are on the PL research forum and a few people were like nah, it's fine. Look at this lad https://fmdataba.com/20/p/188608/neco-williams/ played 4 FA Cup appearances for Liverpool but he's an elite passer and crosser? If he had the exact same ability IRL but played for West Brom he wouldn't have those stats. Greenwood is about a season away from being an elite striker on the game and arguably better than Vardy  

[Finnegan]

3 minutes ago, Stadt said:

I had a moan about how overrated British youngsters are on the PL research forum and a few people were like nah, it's fine. Look at this lad https://fmdataba.com/20/p/188608/neco-williams/ played 4 FA Cup appearances for Liverpool but he's an elite passer and crosser? If he had the exact same ability IRL but played for West Brom he wouldn't have those stats. Greenwood is about a season away from being an elite striker on the game and arguably better than Vardy  

 

It's absolutely nuts. It never used to be too bad, Arsenal were weirdly over the top but by and large it wasn't anything like FIFA where the big clubs had their players way over rated. 

 

But the last two or three versions it had started getting way out of hand. It's very transparently done just to sell the game more to a growing generation of entitled, spoilt, partisan kids who believe everything twitter and sky sports tell them about the big clubs.