FM13: Hamburger SV - Midfield Maestros as Birthday Presents

[Albanian_Kid]

as for my game just signed Bochetti, Douglas on some decent sized wages around 20-25k, signed Sanongo on around 9k, Destro I prolly overspent on but im in love with his stats I signed him to a nearly 40k per week wage...all signed on a free December 29th is when they should become available

happy with what I pulled off, my defense will be set for a while now, and attack has upgraded

as for my league position am in first I wont get too much into it since I am using another persons tactic, and I know some people prefer to use their own tactic, and I dont want to come off as a show off, in fairness too Bayern and Dortmund have struggled very very much both are sitting outside the CL spots while the tactic has something to do with it im not sure if I would be in the same spot if they are playing at their best....was eliminated by Berlin in the third round of the German Cup that was fairly disappointing and served as a reality check to my side

concerning finances, the club has made extra funds available twice for me, pumping in a few hundred thousand into the transfer budget, that was nice to see but a little worried about the finances the club told me the finances were "ok" but expect to the situation to "deteriorate" soon not to sure what to make of that

Also I LOVE SEBASTIAN RODE

[michaelthestrange]

Too many foreign players never gave me the sense that the current HSV incarnation is too "German" and thats usually one of the things I look for when choosing a team.

How easy is it to sign the German players for the side or do you guys not mind the nationality/make-up of side?

Adler, Westermann, Jansen, Diekmeier, Aogo and Beister are six current/potential German first team players. That's not too bad I think. The problem is that German players just aren't that cheap to get. Neither in real life nor in game. The former Sporting Director Dietmar Beiersdorfer was known for signing first team players for rather cheap and sell them at a profit a few years later. He didn't care too much about German nationality but rather focused on Holland/Belgium because you could find some bargains there. Now Frank Arnesen intends to sign more local youth players, but you probably won't see the results of that in the first team until a few more years have passed. And signing German players for the fist team sometimes just isn't possible because of the tight budgets.

as for my game just signed Bochetti, Douglas on some decent sized wages around 20-25k, signed Sanongo on around 9k, Destro I prolly overspent on but im in love with his stats I signed him to a nearly 40k per week wage...all signed on a free December 29th is when they should become available

I definitely have to keep an eye on those expiring contracts. Some very interesting players you signed there.

concerning finances, the club has made extra funds available twice for me, pumping in a few hundred thousand into the transfer budget, that was nice to see but a little worried about the finances the club told me the finances were "ok" but expect to the situation to "deteriorate" soon not to sure what to make of that

That's good to know. I am currently losing about 5M per month as well.

[Albanian_Kid]

I managed to win the league first season, brought in some good players and have hit a stumbling block in my second season standing around 4th/6th in late November not that far behind off the league leaders Schalke though who are toe to toe with Bayern atm, Dortmund is struggling mightily like last season, got a moderate CL group with City, Porto, and Red Bull Salzburg currently standing in third with a point behind city for third place I have to face them and Red Bull doesnt matter to me what happens I believe I can win the Europa League, I imagine ill get bounced out the first round in the CL assuming I get a top team, If I manage to get a easy draw in the CL I can get some more prize money even if I were to win the EL so theirs a dilemma, but winning a European trophy with Hamburg would be nice after so many years

thinking of going to a 4-4-2 formation come winter time, but means ill have to sell off a few of the players I brought in notably my additional CB's, my AM's, and the additional CM's

for those wondering, you get around a 4million pound budget in the second season (keep in mind I also won the league also, so the prize money I got was more so could be alot less for others depending on your league finish) but depending on who you sell you can generate some serious revenue, you also have alot of the players on the HSV II squad expiring so alot of cash comes off the books, all the signings made by Armesen in his first season I believe I sold all off, when it was all said and done I was paying below 650k pound in weekly wages....pretty good if you ask me

[Albanian_Kid]

have turned it up big time in the league and managed to qualify in the next round of the CL but have drawn Real Madrid...im slowly going away from the 5 defenders formation, ill be using a completely new formation next season already signed Christian Benitez on a free transfe, was going to get Claise from Feyernood but I failed and he extended his contract with them, currently in a bidding war with Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern for Schurrle think I have a realistic shot at him, I lost the transfer war of Lars Bender to Bayern would hate to lose another leverkusen player to them again

as for the season, disappointed with the play of VdV and Badelj both have been shown up by their younger players in their position in Adryan and Hijlemark, Jiracek too who was a beast last season has cooled off alot too....Badelj I have sold in the winter for good money (12million) VdV whose stats have begun to decrease is a goner in the summer as Adryan looks to make the position his own, and I get Calhanoglu from loan returning

[michaelthestrange]

I am currently in the middle of November in the first season and 3rd in the league behind Bayern and Dortmund. For winter, I am planning to sign Björn Kopplin from Union Berlin as cover for both wing back positions. I signed him in previous versions and think he is a solid young player and his determination is a major plus as well.

Matches:

Schalke 1 - 1 Hamburg

Adler - Jansen (Aogo), Westermann, Scharner, Rajkovic, Diekmeier - Jiracek (Rincón), Badelj, van der Vaart (Hiljemark) - Cornelius, Son

Huntelaar is a great player. Somehow he constantly manages to pop up completely unmarked in the box. However, he needed a penalty to score the goal. Son equalized after Jansen sent him on a one on one with the keeper after a beautiful through ball.

Goals: Son

Assists: Jansen

Hamburg 2 - 0 Hoffenheim

Adler - Jansen (Aogo), Westermann, Rajkovic, Mancienne, Diekmeier - Jiracek, Skjelbred (Rincón), Badelj - Cornelius (Beister), Son

A good match. No real chances for Hoffenheim and Diekmeier scored a beautiful goal after dribbling through the defence.

Goals: Diekmeier, Son

Assists: Skjelbred, Badelj

DFB-Pokal Second Round

Hamburg 2 - 1 Mainz

Adler - Jansen, Westermann, Rajkovic, Mancienne, Diekmeier - Rincón, Skjelbred (Cornelius), Badelj - van der Vaart (Hiljemark), Son (Beister)

We did well at coming back after being 1-0 down. Badelj scored his first goals for the club but Jansen has to be the man of the match with two assists.

Goals: Badelj, Son

Assists: Jansen (2)

Mainz 1 - 1 Hamburg

Adler - Jansen, Westermann (Rajkovic), Scharner, Mancienne, Diekmeier - Rincón (Jiracek), Badelj (Hiljemark), van der Vaart - Cornelius, Son

I knew playing Mainz twice would be strange. We played rather poor this time I didn’t create enough chances. Van der Vaart had no proble scoring from the spot, though.

Goals: van der Vaart (pen)

Hamburg 3 - 0 Hannover

Adler - Jansen, Rajkovic, Scharner, Mancienne (Westermann), Diekmeier - Jiracek, Badelj, van der Vaart (Hiljemark) - Cornelius, Son (Beister)

This was a very good game against our friends from Hannover, even though Mancienne and van der Vaart both have picked up knocks just shortly after kick-off. Cornelius scored after a deep through ball by Jiracek (who thought he could pull that off?), Scharner scored after a corner (I think this was our first one this season) and Hiljemark scored his first goals for the club.

Goals: Cornelius, Scharner, Hiljemark

Assists: Jiracek, Westermann, Badelj

Frankfurt 2 - 2 Hamburg

Adler - Jansen, Rajkovic (Mancienne), Scharner (Son), Westermann, Diekmeier - Jiracek (Skjelbred), Hiljemark, Badelj - Cornelius, Rudnevs

With van der Vaart out injured it was the second starting appearance for Hiljemark. I also decided to give Rudnevs a chance and he didn’t play too badly either. I like that he is more present aerially than Son. Sadly, we went 2-0 down in the first half so I am delighted that we were able to make it 2-2 after I brought on a third striker.

Goals: Diekmeier, Cornelius

Assists: Rudnevs

Top Scorers:

6 - Cornelius, Son

3 - Diekmeier

2 - van der Vaart, Scharner

Top Providers:

6 - van der Vaart

3 - Jansen, Badelj

2 - Diekmeier

I managed to win the league first season, brought in some good players and have hit a stumbling block in my second season standing around 4th/6th in late November not that far behind off the league leaders Schalke though who are toe to toe with Bayern atm, Dortmund is struggling mightily like last season, got a moderate CL group with City, Porto, and Red Bull Salzburg currently standing in third with a point behind city for third place I have to face them and Red Bull doesnt matter to me what happens I believe I can win the Europa League, I imagine ill get bounced out the first round in the CL assuming I get a top team, If I manage to get a easy draw in the CL I can get some more prize money even if I were to win the EL so theirs a dilemma, but winning a European trophy with Hamburg would be nice after so many years

thinking of going to a 4-4-2 formation come winter time, but means ill have to sell off a few of the players I brought in notably my additional CB's, my AM's, and the additional CM's

for those wondering, you get around a 4million pound budget in the second season (keep in mind I also won the league also, so the prize money I got was more so could be alot less for others depending on your league finish) but depending on who you sell you can generate some serious revenue, you also have alot of the players on the HSV II squad expiring so alot of cash comes off the books, all the signings made by Armesen in his first season I believe I sold all off, when it was all said and done I was paying below 650k pound in weekly wages....pretty good if you ask me

Great job at winning the league first season The prize money for the league finish and CL qualification definitely comes in handy. What are your reasons behind the change of your formation?

as for the season, disappointed with the play of VdV and Badelj both have been shown up by their younger players in their position in Adryan and Hijlemark, Jiracek too who was a beast last season has cooled off alot too....Badelj I have sold in the winter for good money (12million) VdV whose stats have begun to decrease is a goner in the summer as Adryan looks to make the position his own, and I get Calhanoglu from loan returning

van der Vaart is playing reasonably well for me (top provider), just not as world class as you would expect. I guess it is his lack of physical presence that is hindering him some times.

[Albanian_Kid]

of course after I posted about "turning it around" I hit a stumbling block and a pretty big one lost to real madrid @ Imtech 0-3, lost to werder Bremen 4-3 im tied with Schalke once again in points on top of the league they have hit a stride, while my team morale is not looking great at all

as for the reasons of redoing my tactics pretty much changed them for being exposed in this second season, ive done some tweaks moved some players around it looked like it was working but seems Ive hit another stumbling block......I cant wait till they decide to fix the fvkn ME

as for VdV he was my best player alongside Westermann last season top assists, and was tied goalscorer alongside Son, he has just hit a major stumbling block this season prolly cause he has begun to decrease in the physical attribute side of his game

[michaelthestrange]

We have now finished the first half of the season at a comfortable 3rd place, seven points ahead of Wolfsburg. Also, we are currently on an eleven games unbeaten run.

Oskar Hiljemark has already proved to be a very good signing and it seems he will get a lot better in the future. Thank you Albanian_Kid for this recommendation

Adryan is getting a lot of match practice at St.Pauli which will be good for his development. I think about recalling Calhanoglu though as he doesn't seem to be used a lot at Karlsruhe.

Also, it might be worth noting that Rajkovic has been pretty solid in defence after some shaky initial matches.

Table:

Matches (Nov-Dec):

Hamburg 1 - 0 Wolfsburg

Adler - Jansen, Westermann, Scharner, Mancienne, Diekmeier - Jiracek, Hiljemark, Badelj (Bruma) - Cornelius, Son (Beister)

This has been a rather boring match. Cornelius scored after a Jansen cross and Son missed a penalty. I am happy that we were able to contain Olic. He is a player that always scares me.

Goals: Cornelius

Assists: Jansen

Leverkusen 0 - 1 Hamburg

Adler - Jansen (Aogo), Westermann, Scharner, Mancienne, Diekmeier - Jiracek (Skjelbred), Hiljemark, Badelj (Bruma) - Cornelius, Son

Leverkusen has das two goals ruled out because of off-sides. At least one of them should have stood. But I am not complaining here obviously, as winning away games is something I find rather difficult in this version.

Goals: Hiljemark

Assists: Jansen

Freiburg 2 - 2 Hamburg

Adler - Jansen (Beister), Westermann, Scharner (Rajkovic), Mancienne, Diekmeier - Jiracek (van der Vaart), Hiljemark, Badelj - Cornelius, Son

What a game. We were 1-0 and managed to turn it around to a 2-1. However, as I brought on a third striker we unfortunately weren’t able to defend the lead.

Goals: van der Vaart (pen), Mancienne

Assists: van der Vaart

Hamburg 1 - 0 Fürth

Adler - Jansen, Westermann, Rajkovic, Mancienne, Diekmeier - Hiljemark, Badelj (Skjelbred), van der Vaart (Jiracek) - Cornelius, Son (Beister)

That’s been a rather poor match. The second half was better but we missed way too many chances (including a penalty). Jiracek scored from distance after he came on as a substitute.

Goals: Jiracek

Assists: Jansen

Dortmund 1 - 2 Hamburg

Adler - Jansen, Westermann, Rajkovic, Mancienne, Diekmeier - Jiracek, Badelj (Hiljemark), van der Vaart (Rincón) - Cornelius (Son), Rudnevs

Jesus, I never would have thought that we could win this match. But after I gave the players some confidence during half-time we played really well and deserved the win.

Goals: Diekmeier, Hiljemark

Assists: Rudnevs, van der Vaart

DFP-Pokal 3rd Round

Hamburg 2 - 0 Köln

Adler - Jansen, Westermann, Rajkovic, Mancienne, Diekmeier - Jiracek (Rincón), Badelj, van der Vaart (Hiljemark) - Cornelius (Son), Rudnevs

We were expected to win and did well.

Goals: van der Vaart, Rudnevs

Assists: Rudnevs, Badelj

Top Scorers:

7 - Cornelius

6 - Son

4 - van der Vaart, Diekmeier

3 - Hiljemark

Most Assists:

8 - van der Vaart

6 - Jansen

4 - Badelj

3 - Rudnevs, Diekmeier

[Albanian_Kid]

Good run mike

Sucks that bayern are looking unbeatable the way they do otherwise you would be contending for the title and rightfully so, 70 points (which u are on track for) has been plenty for me to win the title in past games with HSV I managed to win it one year with 62 I believe, hopefully bayern hit a stumbling block

You picked up any freebies yet

[michaelthestrange]

Yes, unfortunately Bayern is in excellent form.

Concerning the free transfers, Salvatore Bocchetti (26K per week) will join me in summer as well as young keeper Abdoulaye Keita from Bordeaux (8K), who will act as a second or third choice keeper. I will probably sign another cheap keeper next summer as the contracts of Drobny and Neuhaus are expiring and I don't intend to extend them. Strikers Yaya Sanogo (Auxerre, 7K) and Denis Stracqualursi (San Lorenzo, 15K) will also come to Hamburg next season. I plan to loan out Sanogo though, as he is rather similar to Cornelius. But Stracqualursi and Bocchetti will be great additions to the first team. I love free players

[Albanian_Kid]

solid signings

update from my game I went up against Madrid 2-0 (in Madrid!!), I get a PK but Destro has it blocked had I hit the PK wouldve been tied om agg., of course momentum changes in their favor and CR7 dribbles the whole field and scores a goal, nonetheless a win in Madrid is still a good sight, currently up three points on Freiburg of all teams in the bundesliga, they are really hard to break down they have only allowed like 15 goals for the season (currently in April), I managed to get to the final of the GC lucked out against Bayern in the quarter finals in Allianz Arena, after that I managed to beat Frankfurt who are a Division 2 side in the semis and I am up against Koln in the finals who beat Dortmund but they are looking likely to be relegated from the bundesliga so without sounding cocky I should at least have one trophy barring any major collapse I should do the domestic double

keeping an eye on Gladbach who finished second place last season and are only around 4 points above the relegation zone, they have a bunch of young talented players I need to keep an eye on Ter Stegen mainly, Adler has been a rock for me but I am going to have to still keep an eye on Stegen if another side bids on him think ill have no choice but to place a bid dont want to lose the brightest german GK in FM, Adler also misses out on some key points in the season my back-ups have picked it up recently but they had some very faulty play that was the cause for my mid season slump....they also have Hermann who I didnt realize can train into the RWB role has a high work rate and can put in a tackle

[Albanian_Kid]

Managed to do the double in my second season....entering my third season in charge the board ended up giving me 12 million to spend, I ended up selling a few players and managed to generate around 48 million to spend you would think thats enough but I cant get any teams at all to accept bids, starting to **** me off because the main players I want to buy are all transfer listed I have met their requests then they keep raising the price I lack depth in my defensive positions at CB, and LWB, I signed Christian Benitez on a free I got Nordefelvt (sp?) for around 6 million before the transfer window even opened, now im working on trying to add more German players to the side (ironically Rausch ends up declaring for the Russian NT lol )Jerome Boateng and Joel Matip who are both transfer listed is proving to be a headache as Bayern and Schalke are both being assholes they both had asking prices around 6 million when I put the bids in they have raised them up again going to try and be patient in hopes I can get them cheaper as the window comes closer to an end....I also now have Westermann who is in his 30's asking for a contract thatll give him 80k per week, hes also in his last season I will end up selling him if I can get Matip and Boateng to come...the thing with Boateng too is that he didnt even play last season and they are asking for 10million not to mention I can offer him a contract in 6 months as his contract expires in 2015.....Forgot to add that I signed Hermann for 15m pounds a little steep but I rate him and he has seem to improve quite well, its risky because I plan on playing Diekmeir and him as WB's and will have to put on at LWB and the both of them are "right footed only" hopefully it doesnt blow up in my face

also my reserve team is now in the Bundesliga III, I only have two "playable" players in that side in Steinmann and Stanberg, but many times last season I had players who needed games and match fitness and I coudlnt provide them so this is a great addition plus I cna play players who need match fitness

also Cameroon managed to beat Brazil in the WC on penalties lol

[Albanian_Kid]

so ive sold Adler now for 16million and got Ter Stegen for that exact price, I told myself I was going to get one CB, a LWB, and a holding midfielder

ive gone full out Wolfsburg lol

[michaelthestrange]

Congratulations on your very successful second season. The transfer budget for the third season sounds really nice.

Considering right-footed wing backs on the left flank: my wing backs are cutting in a lot anyway, so being "wrong-footed" wouldn't be too bad I think. Just don't expect them to put in quality crosses then.

Personally, I never would have sold Adler. But Ter Stegen of course is great replacement and will be your number one for decade at least. By the way, I must admit that I slightly lost track on your transfers. Would you tell me what your current first eleven looks like or probably post a screenshot of your squad overview?

Having your reserves in a playable league is definitely a great thing. I find it very interesting that your reserves got promoted as this never happened to me in previous versions. However, a german FM user forum usually creates an editor file that activates the German lower leagues. I usually don't recommend to use it before SI's winter database update though, as the file could lead to crashes. But those bugs should be sorted out til then, which means you could start a new save with your reserves in a playable league right from the first season.

Another short update on my first season's winter transfers: I signed Tsepo Masilela (725K) as a back-up for Jansen. I just couldn’t use Aogo there as I felt he was just too bad defensively. He once made a goal leading mistake and I just didn’t trust him anymore after that. He is on loan at Ajax now. This way I am saving on his wages and they might sign him after the loan. Romário (from Vitória) joined us on a free transfer and got loaned out to Aue straight away. Drobny now signed a pre-contract with Bayern and I in turn signed Alexander Stolz on a free as another cheap back-up.

[DirtyJoe]

Having your reserves in a playable league is definitely a great thing. I find it very interesting that your reserves got promoted as this never happened to me in previous versions. However, a german FM user forum usually creates an editor file that activates the German lower leagues. I usually don't recommend to use it before SI's winter database update though, as the file could lead to crashes. But those bugs should be sorted out til then, which means you could start a new save with your reserves in a playable league right from the first season.

Do you know where I can grab a the file from?

[michaelthestrange]

Sure. Have a look at this thread and keep checking the forums there for future versions or updates.

http://www.meistertrainerforum.de/index.php/topic,15420.0.html

[DirtyJoe]

Sure. Have a look at this thread and keep checking the forums there for future versions or updates.

http://www.meistertrainerforum.de/index.php/topic,15420.0.html

Cheers Michael.

[Albanian_Kid]

second season transfers winter and summer

third season transfers summer

sorry for it being so hard the first pic so hard to being to read

these are my transfer dealings the past two seasons, Ive gone much younger and in this past window Ive tried to go a bit more home-grown/german ended up getting Toprak on deadline day for 14 million 3 million less than douglas and I think hes going to fit better than Douglas in my style of play simply because hes better with the ball on his feet, looking back at it that Afellay transfer was completely pointless if anything should loaned him while Hakan Calhanoglu got a year with the II squad and developed, that was money down the drain for sure, all those freebies I simply bought to put in the Reserve squad in hopes they would keep the side away from relegation it hasnt been going well at all as the reserve squad as lost every single match so far lol

[Albanian_Kid]

And to answer your question of how my team looks like

the first team is the team I plan on playing when im fully healthy, the second will be my main back-ups their is a few players in the Reserve side that I plan on using in a few games

[michaelthestrange]

That is a pretty strong team you got there. It is a bit sad, however, that there are only very few players left from the initial squad. Your success definitley justifies your transfer policy, though.

[Albanian_Kid]

yea its only about 4 players I have kept since the start of the game, wish it was more but unfortunately its not, I probably could've initially kept the defense in tact with Mancienne and Rakjovic, but Rakjovic pretty much had a falling out has he was under performing, Mancienne who I liked as depth was getting paid too much for my taste (40k per week to play off the bench at HSV is too much) Bruma is another player I wanted to keep but Chelsea were asking for around 13 million for him hopefully HSV can finally seal Bruma this winter so I can have him permantely during the winter transfer update has he has stated he has no desire to go back to Chelsea

[Albanian_Kid]

since the new patch fvked around with the ME I have decided to do the unthinkable....

try and create my own tactics

not to bad so far, played 4 games since ive been messing around with my own three of my games in the bundesliga (all wins) including a win over Dortmund @ Imtech, lost one and that was to Sporting Lisbon away in the CL

[Dumbster]

Just started my HSV game today.. Been looking forward to it, and to make it back to the top. Have picked an 4-3-3 or a 4-1-2-2-1 as some might call it.

My first team lineup is following:

Adler

Diekmeier-Westermann-Rajkovic-Aogo

Scharner

RVDV-Kacar

Beister Drenthe

Son

The team is doing great and I think I have brought in players to cover the worst injuries in the likes of Drenthe, Hiljemark, Adryan and juan manuel torres on loan..

I got rid og Berg and Tesche to get some cash and tried offloading Aogo, but i could`nt get what i wanted. Hopefully I´ll get higher bids for him in january to cover debt and new players.

Right now im at 1. place but only 5 league matches has been played so its still early. In the cup I´ve been unlucky to draw Münich away so I think im out there, maybe for the best so I can focus on the league and getting a euro spot.

The only player in my team im having trouble with is RVDV.. I am playing him as a AP support, but he isn´t scoring high ratings there. I think Im gonna try making him an IF to the right and see if he´s better upfield.

[michaelthestrange]

That sounds like a very good start for you. Please keep us updated

Considering van der Vaart, I used him as CM-attack in my 5-3-2 so that might be something you want to try out. I think he'd lack the pace to play as an IF but it still might be worth a try.

[Dumbster]

With 3 games remaining in the season im in 3 pos. three points behind Dortmund who has been a monster this season with big wins against most teams. despite having done very well so far it has been my defence and GK whos won most matches for me. Adler-Mancienne-Westermann are candidates for players of the year i think.

Had trouble getting the best out of RVDV and it meant I tried different things.. So after being class through the fall I have been very lucky in the spring. My top scorer is Son with 14 goals in 19 matches. Quite good, and had it not been for the injuries it might been even better.

In the winter window I sold Rincon-Aogo which gave the finances a breather!! and gave me som wage budget to get a couple of frees in after the season.

The most noticeble most be Mattia Destro and Marc Muniesa who im expecting to produce the goods in the season to come..

Hopefully I´ll get a transfer chest large enough to get some quality wingers in, and cover for my backline..

[Dumbster]

Michaelthestrange: thx for the advice.. I did try it out and he produced, but it didn´t work for the team sadly. Think he is gonna have to either be a striker or a playmaker at my central mid to get his games.

[michaelthestrange]

Quite good, and had it not been for the injuries it might been even better.

I actually just decided to stop playing until the match engine gets patched again as the injury rate of the current version is just unbearable for me. I have to substitute at least one player per game because of injury and this is just taking the fun out of the game for me, sadly.

[Albanian_Kid]

hows it going on your saves???

stopped playing for a bit, but started playing a bit yesterday, im in the winter window in my third season, really content with my team overall I sold Christain Benitez in the winter, and virtually replaced him with Sidney Sam, gonna loan Sangago so he can further develop hes not getting much time here....trying to get Boetang on a free transfer but he isnt interested in coming here, but he plans on leaving Bayern on a free transfer regardless so ill keep trying within the months he has only been used in two games this season for them so I dont see why he would sign an extension with them....looking for a LB/LWB to back-up or contend with Rausch for the starting job, I have my eyes on Schmelzer but im not sure if he wants to come here, hes solid going forward not as good as Rausch but he has some rock solid defensive stats which would prove vital for some of these European away matches, im looking at a few options @ Werder Bremen (whose names I cant remember) but to no surprise they really dont wont to do business, they wanted 10 million pounds for someone who will virtually back-up, think Im gonna wait for the summer and spend my transfer budget on the likes of Schmelzer

made some changes to my backroom staff, gotta look at a new Assistant coach, and a new head youth coach as mine are set to retire at the end of the season, finally decided to upgrade my scouting team as now is when I will need them before I was just going my my own knowledge and suggestions on this forum and others, with the new intake of regens coming in they will come in handy have a scout practically for every country I have loaded and plan on each one to scout their respective nations youth leagues

the major thing is that I have gone back to the 3 CB formation this time its a 3-5-2 (sorry for the bad spelling on these names)

GK: Ter-Stegen, Casteels

CB: Bochetti, Toprak, Strandberg, Westermann, Jung

WBL: Rausch

WBR: Hermann, Diekemier

CM: Sebastian Rode, Hijlemark, Filipe Soutta, Nordveilt

CAM: Adryan, Afellay

ST: Son, Schurrle, Destro, Biester, Sam, Sanago

Currently in first and it hasnt been a contest really Bayern were below mid table and have rapidly climbed up the tables though since they hired a new manager but I still have a double digit on them in the winter break so no concerns yet, I did get eliminated out of the group stage in CL, but luckily I managed to finish third and I plan on doing everything to win the EL despite the number of good teams in their was hoping I finished third, with Hamburg IRL making it to the semis these past seasons it be nice to finally add a European trophy to the cabinet even despite it being the EL

Bayern offered me a job after they fired Rafael Benitez, like most games I saved the game accepted it and saved it under a different name but I dont plan on playing it despite the money Im pretty content with this HSV squad now, not to mention that Bayern squad is a mess they have like 10 players about to leave on free transfers, as you can all see im always up for stripping a team down and starting back up but not after three seasons into a game

also for those of you that have gone past half a season how are your regen intakes looking like, have been far from impressed for mine, before my first intake I made sure I talked to the board in order to make sure we get the "best in our region" (improve our youth recruitment network) they obliged, in comes the regens not one of them looks even remotely good to even play for HSV II, I upgraded again in season 2 same issue....in FM '12 while I certainly didnt get a handful of potential world beaters, their was usually one or two that stood out from the rest of the bunch....I figure with Hamburg being such a big city and with all due respect to St. Pauli the only good side in the city Id be getting more....Mike you can prolly speak more on the matter, which region on Germany is known for producing the best talent

[erdi41]

I am thinking about starting a new game with HSV and using two inside forwards behind a deep lying forward. Also, in the cm, using a Ball winning mf, advanced playmaker and an anchorman.

What do you think about it?

[michaelthestrange]

hows it going on your saves???

Well I actually took a break from the game but just fired it up again yesterday and am close to finishing my first season. I will post a proper update after the season.

Im pretty content with this HSV squad now

You really have put together a quality squad there

also for those of you that have gone past half a season how are your regen intakes looking like, have been far from impressed for mine

Well, I got two or three players that could be useful in the future but no one spectacular came through the ranks. That's a bit sad, especially because if I take a look at the other Bundesliga club's youth intakes I see some real gems there.

I am thinking about starting a new game with HSV and using two inside forwards behind a deep lying forward. Also, in the cm, using a Ball winning mf, advanced playmaker and an anchorman.

What do you think about it?

Sounds good, I just think there is no one in the initial squad who is able to play as a lone DLF effectively. I tried van der Vaart there, but I felt he was lacking the physical presence. Who did you intend to play there?

[erdi41]

Sounds good, I just think there is no one in the initial squad who is able to play as a lone DLF effectively. I tried van der Vaart there, but I felt he was lacking the physical presence. Who did you intend to play there?

I have no idea.. Also I changed my idea about centre midfields. I think I should use a DLP with S instead of a BWM.

[michaelthestrange]

I have no idea.. Also I changed my idea about centre midfields. I think I should use a DLP with S instead of a BWM.

Yeah go for it. This allows you to use a midfield trio of Jiracek/Rincón, Badelj and van der Vaart. That's a quality midfield. If you don't to buy another striker, I would try Rudnevs as a lone striker. His work-rate will come in handy, and his strength and jumping isn't too bad either.

[erdi41]

I started my career but I'm shocked cuz none of the strikers in Hsv match my expectations. So can I use van der vaart as a striker? His stats are enough for being a treq or Deep lying forward.

[Albanian_Kid]

I had good results with Son in the first season, if you are using the TC you should be fine with Rudenevs as a lone striker....tbh I wouldnt be playing with a DLF id be playing with a lone forward and have him set as a Poacher

[michaelthestrange]

I have finally finished my first season and I am very pleased with the results. We ended up being second in the league and made it to the cup final. Unfortunately, we lost 2-0 to Wolfsburg.

We conceded the least amount of goals while scoring the third most. Also, we are currently on a 28 games unbeaten run in the league.

And those are the guys that made it happen:

Cornelius is our top scorer with 15 goals and van der Vaart provided the most assists (13). Jansen and Diekmeier have proven to be very effective as attacking wingbacks, sharing a total of 17 assists and 9 goals.

Top Scorers:

Andreas Cornelius - 15

Son Heung-Min - 9

Rafael van der Vaart - 8

Most Assists:

Rafael van der Vaart - 13

Marcell Jansen - 9

Dennis Diekmeier - 7

[Albanian_Kid]

good job, with the development of Cornelius and Son along with the transfers you might be able to push for the league in a serious challenge

hopefully like in my save Dortmund and Bayern will have mediocre league form

holy crap just noticed that Hannover were relegated *shock*

[michaelthestrange]

holy crap just noticed that Hannover were relegated *shock*

Yeah, there might be some players to steal away from them.

What I forgot in the update post, I wanted to post screenshots of some players so that people can see their development one season into the game if they are interested. So here they are:

René Adler

Slobodan Rajkovic

Michael Mancienne

Dennis Diekmeier

Milan Badelj

Heung-Min Son

[Dumbster]

Nice season MTS.. Ended up taking a break myself, and I have startet a new save with HSV because I had a new idea for a tactic. I was wondering were u got your facepack from? sortitoutsi?

[michaelthestrange]

I was wondering were u got your facepack from? sortitoutsi?

Yep. It's their cut out player faces megapack.

[Dumbster]

Okay thanks.. Always a better feeling with the game when you have the logos and pictures

How is Cornelius doing for you? I also bought him to be my main striker in rotation with Son, and i hope by playing him offen he will develop quickly

[michaelthestrange]

Well I probably would have liked him to develop a bit more as I was really playing him a lot (4th most appearances in the squad). But he got slightly better in all the most important areas, so I am happy with that. Screenshot.

[ReggaeBwoy]

It takes forever to download the logos an kits for me... or is it just my slow internet connection?

[Dumbster]

Yeah a bit more would have been great, but he actually looks like he will be a beast with his physical stats. Reminds me of Mario Gomez stat wise..

[michaelthestrange]

It takes forever to download the logos an kits for me... or is it just my slow internet connection?

Well, the file is quite big so it will inevitably take some time. It will also take a while when you have to move the pictures into the correct folder.

but he actually looks like he will be a beast with his physical stats.

Indeed he will. And he seems to have a lot of potential left. He could be my first choice striker for a decade.

[Walk On]

Hi guys. I've not long finished my first season with Hamburg and am really enjoying it so far, although it is quite a challenge juggling the finances!

I finished 3rd in the league behind Bayern and Schalke. I managed to win the German Cup beating Stuttgart 2-0 in the final. All in all a really good first season I think.

Here's the transfers I did at the the start of the first season:

IN:

Drenthe - £0

Lichaj - £350k

Adryan - £875k

Doria - £525k

Loaned in Caglar Birinci and Semih Senturk

OUT:

Teshce - £2.5m to Stuttgart

Berg - £2.7m to Leverkusen

Aogo - £9.25m to Man Utd

Loaned out Mickel.

The board refinanced the loans which has added another £14m debt onto the club, but gave me a bit of breathing space financially as the season went on.

I also signed Poli from Sampdoria for £5.5m in the Jan window as he was transfer listed.

At the start of season 2 I decided to try to upgrade the squad slightly and fill it out a bit more.

IN:

Bochetti - £0

Weiss - £0

Ziegler - £2m

Rode - £5.5m

Abdellaoue - £6m

Paloschi - £2m

OUT:

Tolgay Arslan - £2.7m to Gladbach (I had loaned out Adryan last season so will use him as backup to VDV this season)

Rudnevs - £5m to Schalke

Rajkovic - £4m to Dortmund.

I have loaned out Lam Zhi Gin, Sala and Skjelbred.

Also, a lot of players left for free such as Neuhaus and Sternberg.

This season I'm hoping to retain a CL finish in the league and would like to at least pass the group stages of the CL, maybe retain the German Cup if possible. I don't think my squad are quite ready to win the league yet, but you never know!

[michaelthestrange]

Nice to have you on board, Walk On. A good first season and some solid transfers you did there. How do you line up tactically?

[Walk On]

I usually switch between a 4-2-3-1 formation which I mostly use at home and a 4-1-2-2-1 which is used away or against tough opposition. I also have a 4-4-2 formation fully adopted by the squad but have rarely had a need to use it so far. I encourage a high possession passing game, although I don't 'play it from the back' and don't utilise a sweeper keeper role, just standard GK.

Other notable mentions are that my CB's always set up as one with a cover role and the other as stopper. Both are set to central defender. I also use a Poacher striking role in both formations. If i'm playing a winger on the left and he's right footed (same reversed), i'll set him as an inside forward and encourage my fullbacks to overlap using the correct shout.

Some additional comments... I'd say my best player so far (since the very start) has been Westermann. He reminds of Jamie Carragher from a few seasons ago when he was classed as one of Europes most solid and reliable defenders. He's been an absolute rock at the back for me and I've had him tutoring Doria since he arrived last Jan. Also, Drenthe was fantastic last season, scoring 8 important goals in 20 games. I signed him for free and he's now worth £7.5m so I may consider selling him at the end of the 2nd season if I can find a good young future star to bring in for cheap. However I may decide to keep him providing he keeps up the good contributions.

One player I'm not sure about is Son. He keeps suffering injuries for large amounts of time and when I've used him he's been largely disappointing as a striker. I was considering retraining him as a wide player, as I already have two quality AM's in VDV and Adryan. However, if his value increases, I may consider moving him on. It's difficult because he's such as bright prospect and I wish I had room for him in my set up, but as it stands I feel like I have to make a compromise in order for him to play regularly. Surely if the squad is working well without him it may be worth moving him on in the future?

What do you think?

[Dumbster]

I would still keep him in the squad. I think he has the ability to become worldclass if trained right (and he avoids big injuries). Right now im faced with the same issue of trying to fit him in the first team. I´m training him to AMR but only so he has a greater chance of getting time on the pitch, because he isn´t first choice as a striker atm.

[michaelthestrange]

What do you think?

I would still keep him in the squad. I think he has the ability to become worldclass if trained right (and he avoids big injuries). Right now im faced with the same issue of trying to fit him in the first team. I´m training him to AMR but only so he has a greater chance of getting time on the pitch, because he isn´t first choice as a striker atm.

I think he works best as the poacher part of a striker pairing or as an inside forward on either wing. Playing as a lone striker, he lacks the physical presence as well as the ability to take part in build-up play productively. I think that's why he might not perform for you as a striker, so my advise would be to give him a chance as an inside forward.

Considering the injuries, I guess the latest match engine update might help with that since as far as I know and observed, the past version included an excessive amount of tackles which aslo implied more injuries.

[Punjaboom]

Haven't posted in this thread before but I finished my first season a few days ago. It was excellent! First season I won the Bundesliga ahead of Bayern Munich by 5 points (I had 76 points while they had 71). I only lost one match at home in the whole season, sadly it was on the first day against Nurnberg - who by the way have always proved tough opposition whenever I've played them. I didn't win the DJB Pokal and went out to Koln away at the quarter final stage, I played a largely second string side as I was focusing more on the league. Before I go onto my transfers I would like to say I play all my saves with a high risk, high reward attitude which might explain some of the second season transfers.

First Season

OUT: 14.5m

Skjelbred 2.4m

Berg 2.7m

Aogo 7.5m

Rincon 2m

Mancienne loan

Kacar loan

Tesche loan

IN: 14.75m

John Mensah free averaged 6.99 over 14 apps

Nolito loan 6.84 (surprisingly, he was terrible at AML but scored 3 times in two sub appearances as a ST even though he is awkward there)

Sarioglu loan averaged 6.93 over three league performances

Eyal Golasa 1.5m averaged 6.90 over 28 league appearances

Nainggolan 11.5m averaged 7.11 over 27 league apps (injured for 3 or 4 weeks, otherwise one of first names on the team sheet)

Ruben 1.7m 7.24 over 27 league apps

Anderson loan terrible

My first 11 (4-2-3-1 attacking with two MCs) was:

GK: Adler - this guy was a god

DR: Diekmeier - very good player in my system

DC: Westermann - averaged 7.91, won HSV player of the year, Bundesliga defender of the year, got into the Bundesliga Team of the Year. One of the best defenders I've managed, surprised due to his poor positioning and anticipation. I'm guessing he is so good because of his physical attributes.

DC: Rajkovic - very good player

DL: Ruben - what an outstanding bargain

MC(BWM): Nainggolan - an exceptional tank

MC(DLP): Badelj - did the job, nothing special

AMR: Beister - he was played as an inside forward leaving room for Diekmeier to get into. He played really well and scored some crucial goals

AMC: van der Vaart - what a player, I feel like Harry Redknapp but this player was just terrific. 15 goals & 16 assists all season, even more crucial goals than Beister. Also a set piece master whether it be free kicks or pens.

AML: Never had a first choice, would have been Jansen but he was basically always injured. Ilicevic and Golasa fought for the spot all season and both were adequate.

ST: Son Heung-Min - managed 19 goals and 3 assists in 27 apps. Fantastic player.

Just for anyone wondering, Rudnevs was okay scoring 8 and assisting 4 in 11(12) appearances.

[Punjaboom]

Second Season

OUT: TOTAL 25.5M

van der Vaart 13m

Rudnevs 4.4m

Scharner 500k

Tesche 2m

Kacar 500k

Ilicevic 3.5m

Sala 800k

IN: TOTAL 26.5m

Luke Shaw free - back up DL to eventually become first starter

Bochetti free - quality rotation/starter

Kweuke 4m - proven goalscorer for me previously and was transfer listed at Tottenham. Ease pressure and provide competition for Son Heung-Min.

Viktor Fischer 9.5m - will sort out my AML obscurity and is 4.5 star potential

Jantschke 7.25m - a more defensive alternative to Diekmier for the tough CL games

Jose Sosa 6.25m - an experienced and excellent player that will probably rotate with Biester

Jurado loan - either will be first choice or rotation with Golasa

Vaclav Pilar loan - rotation with Fischer

Muralha loan - midfield backup

Areola loan - goalie backup

Some of you maybe questioning my sale of van der Vaart provided he was such an outstanding performer. The truth is, I usually don't like over 30 players but I do make exceptions for the very good player such as VDV however, he was simply on too high wages so I had to let him go while fetching a decent price for him. I believe that Golasa will be able to fill the void as he has some excellent attributes with 15 in dribbling, passing and creativity while also having plenty of unfulfilled potential.