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Arsenal all the way to Glory: An Experiment with a New Way of Using Assistant Managers in FM


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oh incidentally - one question to ask, i think i know the answer - im getting a new computer at some point in the next 3-4 months - will I be able to just move the game file over to use the same game on a different computer once FM08 is installed on the system? The one that gets stored in MyDocs?

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Just had a look at Pogs stats, and Id be worried about his positioning. 11 isnt great for a FB, its one of the most important attributes. Also, Fabianskis Anticipation is only 10, not so great either. Try raining Nordtveits aerobic training, see if you can get his pace up to 13/14, then hell be a great defender!

Theyd changed the name of the thread, and it took me AGES to find it, lol. GLad I found it again.

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TA set up a whole bunch of friendlies, most significantly against Sheffield Wednesday and Genoa. Rhys Murphy, incidentally, was representing English in the U21 European Championship in Austria this summer, and they reached the final before losing to Greece. Former Gunner Lansbury is one of their stars too, and Lee Carlton and mark Randall both came off the bench in the final.

After a lot of interest in Nordtveit , I’ve just received a stunning bid from Bolton of £11.5m plus 30% of the sell-on. I’ve stalled because I’m not sure about this, I’m really tempted, especially as I have plenty of DCs...Assistant Manager thoughts here please!

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Originally posted by Luke Hearn:

After a lot of interest in Nordtveit , I’ve just received a stunning bid from Bolton of £11.5m plus 30% of the sell-on. I’ve stalled because I’m not sure about this, I’m really tempted, especially as I have plenty of DCs...Assistant Manager thoughts here please!

Depends really as to whether you need the money or not

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I would love to advise you but I'm afraid with you managing Arsenal all I could ever offer would be along the lines of "play your forward in goal" and "sell every player valued over £10million" such is my hatred for Arsenal. Sorry. But its a great read and a lot of effort has gone in, so KUTGW!

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The new rich list showed Arsenal as the richest club in the world once again, worth £6m more than Barcelona in 2nd. Impressive! Training report from TA told me that Mertesacker, Murphy and Carlton were doing particularly well, but Pouplin and Sakho weren’t. Still, at the start of July, theres plenty of time to go. For some reason it wont let me see what the recent effects of training are. I thought it might be the skin so I changed to the default FM skin, but it doesn’t seem to be. However, I’ve decided to stick with this skin for now – nice to have some variety! But then I realized that the “Selection†screen doesn’t have the useful stars from TA, so I switched back. I also realized that it was due to the start of the season, and actually they’ve since appeared.

Meanwhile, the signings of Veloso, Pocognoli and Vaughan were completed. Understandably, Denilson, Dutra and Sankhare seem concerned about the number of central midfielders at the club. Might have to offload one or two. Kiessling left for Fiorentina on free, and after only 32 apps, he cost me a massive £350k per match! Oh well, note to everyone else, Kiessling is CRAP! Jack Wilshere, Mark Randall and Andy Carroll, amongst others, left the club, too.

Finally got a bid for Adriano. Only £7.7m but it’ll have to do. Huge loss, but then its not like im in debt...and soon he’d gone. Initially £6.5m but it will rise. For now, though, that’s a loss of £15.5m on him! He only made 31 starts, and AvR was always under 7.

Nordtveit? I need a decision!

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So, I rejected the bid for Nordtveit and got him and the other defenders working more on their aerobic development (didn’t see any reason not to get all of them doing the same). Im really not very good with training – does what I have here look like I’m doing ok?! Are there any other screenies of general training that might be helpful so I can get some advice on that? He actually signed a new contract for 3 more years, too, and already the training seems to be working, with his decisions moving upwards, and his strength now up to 18!

Oddly, according to TA’s recommendations, Gerson is the 2nd best player in the squad....whats going on there? Should I take heed of that and play him or stick with Richards/Mertesacker? To me, Nordtveit looks better than him...

On a related note, Milan want Garay, but they ain’t having him! I wanna keep him – good backup for now and will eventually take over properly from PM.

Bit of realism seems to be coming into FM, by the way – Stuart Pearce has just been made the new England manager following the strange and unexplained departure of Capello, despite being on the verge of qualifying for Euro 2012 unbeaten. I got to the bottom of it though – he’d retired. Fair play to him, by July 2011, he’ll be really old! Pearce looks like a good choice....

Wow – a bid came in for Cesc of over £50m from Real Madrid. I turned it down because he’s been our best player for years, nearing 250 appearances for Arsenal now. I reckon he might be able to break O’Leary’s appearance record, because HE’S GOING NOWHERE!! Bid rejected.

Any thoughts, by the way, on the new form this thread is taking? Do we like? I take it there’s no limit to the number of photos I can upload on photobucket is there? Its so much quicker that I’m doing loads now!

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What do people think of Murphy? Bought him back a while ago, basically because the sell-on clause meant that I could buy him back for £5m more than I paid for him and still make a profit. He seems to be doing OK, but nothing spectactular...comments? 4 goals in 6 starts and 8 from the bench last season.

First friendly – good to see Eduardo, ATex and Pocognoli in particular hitting form....

I decided to keep the pitch at the current dimensions, the maximum allowed for the Champions’ League. It seemed to work well last year...

Bids came in for ATex and Eduardo, both pushed away. However, on 2nd thought, I offered Eduardo for £27m. He’s 28 and probably starting to lose some of his bite, and with Vaughan coming in, if I can get enough money for Eduardo, its probably worth cashing in on him. Agreed? 132 goals in 4 seasons not to mention 30 assists and an AvR of 7.49 last season....very good, but...what do you think? A bid came in from Juve for Eduardo, but it was only £16.9m maximum, so I knocked that back.

Second friendly – we’re getting goals from sources other than strikers, Veloso is doing well, and it seems we have several players capable of holding their own even with shorter appearances from the bench – I usually find that if a player comes on much after 65’, they struggle to make enough impact to get a ‘7’ unless they score...

Despite pre-season odds of only 12-1, behind United, Chelsea and Liverpool, the media seemed to think we could win the title this time round. If we can hold our nerve this time, I don’t see why not. The team should be maturing nicely as the backbone has been around for some time now – Pouplin, Richards, Mertesacker, Alves, Cesc, Diaby, ATex, Vela, Eduardo....all important players – I think those nine will probably be in the team for the majority of matches this season, form-permitting.

Anyway, I’m off now, got things to do, people to see! Should be back by about 8ish hopefully!

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Originally posted by Luke Hearn:

cheers, I reckon thats almost good feedback coming from (I assume) a Sp**s fan. Remind me, where did you guys finish this year?!

Other people - thoughts on Nordtveit?

Ooh...How predictable icon_razz.gif

Well if we're going to play this game...remind me, how many trophies did you win this year?

(Cue - 'we don't want the worthless cup anyway' icon_biggrin.gif)

This is far too off topic anyway! Fwiw I'd keep Murphy. He looks very promising icon14.gif

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Originally posted by iacovone:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Luke Hearn:

cheers, I reckon thats almost good feedback coming from (I assume) a Sp**s fan. Remind me, where did you guys finish this year?!

Other people - thoughts on Nordtveit?

Ooh...How predictable icon_razz.gif

Well if we're going to play this game...remind me, how many trophies did you win this year?

(Cue - 'we don't want the worthless cup anyway' icon_biggrin.gif)

This is far too off topic anyway! Fwiw I'd keep Murphy. He looks very promising icon14.gif </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Arsenal won twice as many as Spurs icon_wink.gificon_razz.gif

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Take the farrows off of your fullbacks, that should keep you from conceding as much. The opposition is probably counterattacking, which with your fullbacks running forward, leaves only two defenders in the back and the wings wide open for someone to run down.

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Garay has never struck me as the most defensive minded CB ever - I think he was better on 07. Although I dont think Eduardo is that good, I would still keep him for another season before letting him go, and get him tutoring! Murphy looks like he could use some physical training, but Id say regular football would make him better quicker - maybe if your not going to play him, send him out on loan for the season?

Gerson looks like he could be quality in a couple of seasons! Maybe get Micah Richards to tutor him? Seems like a good match - both good nat. fitness, strength, both 5'11".

KUTGW though icon14.gif

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Hi, guys. I know this isn't my topic but I'd just like to say that Nasri from the French team is amazing. He has helped me WIN THE FIRST 12 GAMES AT THE START OF THE SEASON. Haven't drawn or lost yet. I use the normal Arsenal players: Lehmaan, Fabregas, Clichy, Toure, Adebayor, Van Persie (top goalscorer with 10 goals), Rosiky, Hleb...you get the point. It's amazing.

I really hope I can carry this demo save game over to my ordered full game copy.

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Yes, you can carry the save over. And I agree with Nasri being good. Oh, and Luke, Ive changed my mind about Nani, hes been really good for me so far this season.

May I suggest looking into trimming your squad aswell? 35 is a bit excessive for a 1st team squad, lol. Maybe ship out Simpson, Aissati, Fabianski, and send out others who arent going to play much on loan? Maybe send one of Zeefuik and Murphy out, Sankhare or Rakitic, Sidnei or Gerson, and if your not going to play him regularly, Carlton.

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I'm making Lehmaann tutor Flabianski on my account and Flabianski's stats have sky rocketed! For real, they've jumped higher than I thought they could ever go!

And when you carry the demo over, do you just go to "Load Game" and it'll be there or do you have to put the save game in a certain folder or something like that?

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Originally posted by Bloodbore8:

Darnit! First lose of the season--to my rival!!!! Darnit!!!! 3-2--they won in the 95th minute. I shouldn't have made my mentality all-attack.

Never make your menatality all out attack except right at the end of games

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I made it that only in injury time. They hit me on the counter-attack, got past stupid Traore (Clichy's injured--Traore was my only replacement and he's mediocre in the game) then Toure then Lehmann acts like an idiot and BAM! Goal for West Ham!!!!!

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You work fast, LH.

I'd ditch Murphy, personally. As he's 20 years old already, I doubt his pace will develop much more. 12 isn't good enough for a striker in my book.

Give Gerson a run. Maybe it'll pay off.

Keep Nordveit! He looks like a beast, long term. I wouldn't worry too much about his lack of pace as a center back.

Eduardo is a tough call. I'd move him along if you think it's time.

There is definitely some pruning to be done. Your squad is deep, but over-stocked. Just at CB, you have 8(!) options. You'll have a mutiny on your hands if you're not careful.

Also, I wouldn't expect too much out of Pocognoli. A suitable backup, perhaps, but not a long-term solution to your left back needs, I think.

Is Cesc upset that you rejected the Real bid?

OK. I think I'd try to ship out the following players. Loaning the younger ones might be a good idea, but I'm not really sure how old everyone is.

Out:

Riquelme

Boukari

Simpson

Mihaylov

Either Murphy or Zeefuik

and at least two of the following CBs:

Garay

Eduardo da Defender

Djourou

Sidnei

This may seem like a harsh list, but, if you want to win, you'd better not have anyone whining about playing time.

Keep it up, LH.

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Originally posted by JRHaggs:

This may seem like a harsh list, but, if you want to win, you'd better not have anyone whining about playing time.

Good advice that, I always make an effort to keep a happy squad, even of that means releasing the odd player and missing out on a transfer fee.

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And sorry if you've already moved along any of the players mentioned above. It's difficult to keep track of.

I'd try to pick up an everyday LB, despite the Pocognoli signing.

A top-notch right wing would do you good, as well.

With the Veloso signing, I'd also try to get rid of one (two would be better!) of the following:

Dutru

Denilson

Sankhare

Don't sign too many new players. Left back and right wing should be your primary concerns. You have enough cash to sign the cream of the crop in both positions.

Go get 'em!

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Yay! I'm back in 1st place thanks to Wigan beating Man Utd. Man Utd has played 2 more games than me anyway icon_cool.gif

Would it be okay if I just occassionally post a few of my stories here and ask for advice? I won't update it regularly like you but if I need advice, can I?

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Bloodbore

If you just want advise, then try using the Arsenal thread in Good Player and Team Guide. Theyre usually very helpful in there icon14.gif

I agree with JR's left back suggestion too. How is Cheillini looking? Hell be mid to late 20's, but is amazing and would be ace until a good regen comes through

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The thing is a lot of these players are players I would like to move on but havent been able to. Also, 8DCs is a little misleading - Sakho has been playing at DL and many of them are versatile. That said I do agree that pruning would be good. Riquelme is now in the reserves - too old to play any more, and no-one wants him. Boukari is a good right winger, he's been doing well. Simpson I will try to get rid of. Mihaylov was signed as emergency cover last season, planning to train him up and sell him on at a profit.

As for the DCs - Djourou I do want to get rid of but its not that easy. Same goes for Denilson. Eduardo doesnt play at DC very often, he's more a DL. Garay is too good to let go, and Sidnei is still young so I'm going to hold onto him for now. Might send him out on loan though.

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I tried to get the following players shipped out, offering them out for these amounts:

Sidnei (loan)

Denilson (£15m – had that kind of offer before)

Sakhare (£10m – if I can shift him I will probably keep Denilson, though I like them both...)

Simpson (£7.5m)

Aissati (£5.5m)

Murphy (loan)

Zeefuik (loan)

Eduardo (still £27m)

Gyan (if/when I sign another right winger, though with ATex, Boukari, Nani...not sure I need one)

As for Eduardo – how can you say you don’t rate him?! 132 goals in 4 seasons speaks for itself! Only wanna move him on because in a couple of years his value will drop significantly, and even now I’ll only sell him if I can get over £25m.

So far, at least, I have had no offers for any of these players. I really don’t wanna let them go for nothing because we’re talking about £40-50m worth of talent here...and frankly, if Simpson, Aissati etc are annoyed at not playing, they should step up and make themselves better players so that either someone wants them or they’re good enough for the first team. That said, there will certainly be a certain amount of rotation this year – that’s just healthy!

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If you do, in fact, sign an elite left back, you won't need Eduardo da D and Sakho to play much at that position, especially with your signing of Pocognoli.

I understand your attraction to all of these guys, but restlessness in the ranks can really screw up your season. I think you need to decide who your top four CBs are and loan or transfer out the rest of them.

Loaning out the youngsters to good teams should keep them happy and developing.

To me, its:

1- Richards

2/3- Mertesacker/Sakho

4- Gerson (at just 18, this guy looks like the future to me)

You're the boss, of course. I'm just trying to be the cold voice of reason.

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Four centre backs isnt enough for a season - what happens if Mertesacker and Sakho get injured and then Richards is sent off??! Also, remember that Sakho plays at DL often, Richards can play at DR. And I'm going to stick up for poor Garay here - he might have a bizarre name but he's never let me down, and to be honest I'm still not 100% convinced that he shouldnt be in the side instead of Mertesacker....we'll see.

Still, I agree the squad is on the large side. Thats being rectified as we speak - another post should be up soon icon_smile.gif

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Again, you're going to get more out of Sakho in the middle than on the left. Keep Garay if you need the insurance. Your doomsday scenario of three CBs out at once, although possible, is not really the basis for sound decision making.

Left back...

Right wing...

icon_wink.gif

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Loan offers suddenly flooded in for Sidnei and Zeefuik. Both 21, its good to hold onto them, but some first team experience will be good for them. I did get a bid for Eduardo but £16.9m, most of that in clauses, isn’t nearly enough.

Soon after, along with more loan bids for Sidenei and Zeefuik, Watford asked for Murphy on loan. I think that’s OK – I have Eduardo, Vela, Vaughan, Adrian etc after all, and if I do lose Eduardo I will want to sign a quality replacement. Zeefuik and Sidnei have about 20 clubs each to chose from to spend the next season at.

Latest Friendly – another goal for Jimmy V – he’ll start the season on the bench because Eduardo cant be dropped after his form in recent years, but good to know that if Eduardo does falter, he’ll be there to score goals for fun!

Murphy chose Watford and will spend the season at Vicarage Road. They’re in the Prem so he faces a tough year.

Rui Fonte moved from Sheffield United to Middlesbrough for £5.5m, meaning that Arsenal received £1.1m from the sell-on. Looking at his attributes, I’m tempted to think that perhaps I shouldve held onto him, but he didn’t actually do that well for Sheffield United last year, and that’s prompted his moved down a division (United are Prem, Boro are Championship).

Meanwhile, a £7m bid for Senderos thins the squad down a little, so it has started. Senderos made his way up to Birmingham after 8 years at Arsenal during which he’d made only 62 appearances. Incidentally, I’ll post a full list of all ins and outs this season on September 1st when all business is concluded for a few months.

The squad bonuses are going to be really high this year – I can afford it and I want a happy squad! If we win the league, they’ll share a windfall of £7m, either cup will net them £1.7m, and the Champions League or UEFA Cup trophy would see a reward of £7m.

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JR - Sakho has done well there, though I think you're probably right about a new DL. But whats wrong with Boukari/Nani/ATex on the right wing? I think I agree that one more winger might be useful, especially if I can shift one or two of the less fantastic players in the team, but those three have done really well....ATex in particular, who is the incumbent at the moment...

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Originally posted by Bloodbore8:

Yay! I'm back in 1st place thanks to Wigan beating Man Utd. Man Utd has played 2 more games than me anyway icon_cool.gif

Would it be okay if I just occassionally post a few of my stories here and ask for advice? I won't update it regularly like you but if I need advice, can I?

Since this is Luke's thread, you should probably post your Arsenal 'story' here

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I think Nani is better on the left, isn't he? I'm also not terribly confident in Boukari, long term.

The right wing is about upgrading, really. I just don't think you have a world beater on the right side at the moment. If you fancy Nani on the right, then go for a left winger. Doesn't matter much. You've got the cash. You should have elite wingers. That's all.

ATex is fantastic, no question. I think he may be better as a striker than a winger, though. He may, in fact, be the long term replacement for Eduardo da S. Similar players, right?

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