FM13 - Like Icarus to the Sun, the rise and (hopefully) rise of Jozef Prochazka

[b101]

Would have been nice to have that extra tycoon cash.

True - but to be honest, I don't really need it. There aren't many players I'd look to add at this point in time and our reputation would probably hold us back from getting them in any case. Still, maybe they'll come back...

Girardet and Owen look fantastic. Pity seeing Nakai leave though, I remember that fantastic solo goal he scored against me.

Yeah Owen is class, and Girardet was great for a late deal - I hadn't even scouted him before I saw that Lens had a £9m rated CM when I needed one. Nakai could be great on his day, sadly those were all too rare for me and £40m is a great amount for him in my opinion.

What a brilliant season! PSG certainly pushed you all the way, though; 92 points, and still finished second

I know - Javier Hernandez is just insanely good in this league. They deserved second though!

[b101]

August 2021 - Stade Rennais

Fixtures:

A good start to the season spoiled by ninety minutes in which we simply couldn't shoot. We are slowly getting PSG's number now, with a 2-0 win in the Trophée des Champions barely reflecting our dominance. Troyes were the first to fall in the league before the frustrating game against Monaco. They scored from a corner in the 25th minute, and in spite of creating 4 clear chances, we couldn't shoot. Ugh. Unsurprisingly, the team was taking a little longer than expected to find its feet after the various changes over the summer, and it was good to see both Owen and Girardet get their first goals in the match against Le Mans. Overall though, a slow start.

European fixtures:

Just the one fixture this month with the Super Cup match, and we eased past Sunderland with goals from our Brazilian starlets. They pulled one back but it was plain sailing really.

We also had the draw for the Champions League, which is very exciting for any long-term followers of this thread:

Man of the Month:

Pablo Morin has developed amazingly well in recent months - and considering I thought I got ripped off at the time (here is what he looked like when he signed), he now looks top class! He's been rotated a lot with Walber and although probably not our standout player this month, fully deserves a mention. He does have the one PPM, which is interesting for a holding mid : Gets Forward Often. I quite like the different dimension this brings to our play although obviously it's not ideal against the top clubs.

[b101]

September and October 2021 - Stade Rennais

Double update as I forgot to screenshot in September

Fixtures:

Boom!

Well if last month was a bit of a stutter, we moved through the gears rapidly. These weren't easy matches either: PSG away, Lyon away, Lille... yet they were all smashed aside ruthlessly. I was a little unsure whether my wholesale changes were totally necessary, but last year's side weren't this good. Genovese was the latest to grab his first for the club against Le Havre, but was also sidelined for 2 months. Owen has continued to look dangerous and Marília ran the show against PSG in their own back yard (incidentally, Radja Nainggolan picked up his 4th red card in 5 matches against us ). Sosnitskiy was also having a great time, grabbing a variety of goals against Nice, including the best FM penalty I've ever seen, smashed into the very top corner. We struggled through the Coupe against Bordeaux before destroying Marseille at home in another outstanding performance. We have the lead in the league and I don't plan on relinquishing it.

European fixtures:

So, Spartak were meant to give us a run for our money if you believe the press. Well, this is what we do to people challenging our throne: the Russians sent home with their tails between their legs following an 8-1 pounding. If only we hadn't stopped scoring in the 48th minute! This month also saw Prochazka's return to Lokeren. There were palm leaves in the street, babies weeping (at his return, not just generally) and a member of the Norwegian mafia arrested. (Top work if any of those make sense!)

Man of the Month:

Not sure I've mentioned him much - you might have heard of him...

[cerud]

You're definitely on track after a month like that!

[Animosama]

It looks like it's gonna be close.

[b101]

November 2021 - Stade Rennais

Fixtures:

This month looked straightforward on paper, and so it proved. Marília and Júnior ran the show completely, but it's worth mentioning our defence too, who are becoming pretty much impenetrable.

European fixtures:

We made certain that we won the group with consummate ease, working our way past Lokeren and Celtic. The last match pits my former employers against Celtic, with Lokeren needing a win to progress. We can help them by beating Spartak though.

Man of the Month:

Marília wins this again - see screenshot above

[b101]

December 2021 - Stade Rennais

Records:

Paupol has been a great servant but has decided that he wants a new challenge - given that he's now 2nd in the pecking order and I have two young guns to bring through, he may well get his wish.

Fixtures:

Our main distraction (being the operative word) was the CWC over in South Korea. Two completely different sides (apart from Júnior) made light work of the tournament, which was a lot simpler than last year's outing where Corinthians had pushed us all the way. At home, it was business as usual in the league, and we came from a goal down to move past Monaco in the Coupe de la Ligue - ready to face rivals PSG.

European fixtures:

For some reason I put the CWC in twice - the main thing though was our win over Spartak to round off a perfect group, breaking the CL consecutive wins record in the process. In a great piece of news, Lokeren put 3 past Celtic to claim the second qualification spot.

A tie with Palermo is an intriguing encounter, and one I'm looking forward to. Lokeren have a tough ask away to a United side that I indirectly helped strengthen this summer, whilst PSG also have a challenge against Porto.

Man of the Month:

Júnior wins this month's award after an amazing string of performances. He also won the Ballon d'Or, breaking Leo Messi's unbelievable streak of 12!!! consecutive wins. He also won World Player of the year, with Marília runner up in both.

[b101]

January 2022 - Stade Rennais

Fixtures:

Our run of 29 wins in a row finished with the Monaco game, but we're still destroying all comers here. The Sablé match was a bit cruel really - I fancied seeing how many our first XI could score, and we set the record pretty high! We even managed to hit the woodwork 5 times... The main high point from this month though was our win over PSG. It's always good to beat them on their patch, and the Cup semi final just made it even more special. In Ligue 1, we've again come back from the CWC strong and lead the chasing pack with a game to spare.

Man of the Month:

Same man this month, same level of performances.

[AK22]

What a brilliant run of form you are on!

How many attempts at goal did you have against Sablé? I always enjoy getting into double figures

[b101]

Thanks! As for Sablé... shall we say it was a touch one-sided?

[deltablue]

Wow, total domination!

[JackJCFC]

Incredible record in the league, can't believe PSG are so close behind!

[cerud]

Wow! I'm surprised the Sable players didn't just curl up on the pitch and cry

[b101]

Wow! I'm surprised the Sable players didn't just curl up on the pitch and cry

One poor sod got a 0.2 rating...

[Animosama]

Why have PSG become so good ?

[b101]

End of Season 2021/22 - Stade Rennais

Sorry first of all to those of you who loved the monthly updates. For reasons that will soon become clear, I became a bit slapdash at screenshotting, so this is just a full end of season update. Perhaps a bit lazy, but it'll all make sense

Ligue 1:

That's a lot of matches! As always, there was a lot of rotation as the other competitions heated up, which accounted for the poor matches against Nantes and Monaco. Against Saint-Etienne we didn't even field a bad team, but played abysmally. Otherwise though, the goals just kept on coming and the final day rout of European challengers Troyes was an astounding display of power. This team is just a machine, and as well as PSG performed over the course of the season, there's a light year between us now.

Coupe de la Ligue:

Win three games and you get a trophy. Done! The toughest match here was obviously the Semi, with PSG only grabbing a late consolation to annoy me. A thoroughly professional job though overall.

Coupe de France

Slightly trickier here after the rout of Sablé earlier on. Fair play to Laval, who put up a very brave fight before going down on penalties. Again, this was a reserve squad, but we should have won it in normal time. We edged past Lyon before turning on the style against Grenoble and PSG to win the trophy with something to spare.

Champions League:

Having won everything else, this was always going to be the toughest, and so it proved. We had the hardest run to the final we had faced in the last four years, but heroic performances at home against the two Manchester sides mitigated the average displays away from home. In the final, two very early goals set us on our way, and we could have added to it. Instead though, we saw out the match in professional fashion.

----

Team of the Year[/b[

Harsh on Ngata, Walber and Cortellini that they aren't in here too! I can understand Engel missing out, particularly as I rotated with Muric a lot to help the younger lad progress, but those three have been the best players in their positions by far. Boo!

And with that:

21 trophies in 5 years... not bad!

[Animosama]

How was the youth intake ?

[b101]

How was the youth intake ?

Not good enough to warrant a mention - there's two decent youngsters but nobody I thought would challenge for the first team in a few years.

[cerud]

The Quintuple? Nice job!

[b101]

The Quintuple? Nice job!

Seven if you count the Trophée des Champions and Super Cup... which I do

[b101]

[reserved for final Rennes player reviews]

[rlipscombe]

Wow is pretty much all i can say about that season... 7 and out. Looking forward to seeing where you go next. The fans of whichever team you join are in for a treat!

[b101]

A new adventure - 2022/23 - Crystal Palace

So this may come as an odd move, but I wanted a job that was going to be interesting. Crystal Palace is one of my local clubs and one of my best mates supports them so that ticks a few boxes. I've also always wanted to manage them on FM as I've never seen anyone make them into a decent side. Their youth facilities aren't awful, but they have a reputation for bringing through decent players - I'm sure you know them, but Victor Moses, Wilfried Zaha, Ben Watson, Gareth Southgate and erm... John Bostock. Okay, so that's not exactly the greatest production line, but it's something, right?

Squad Analysis:

Key players:

Apostelos Vellios - ST

Callum Bell - ST

Andrew Kingston - DL

As for the offer, it's pretty pants really. That's a silly wage budget that I'll have to cut and I have also inherited a truly awful squad. With any luck, I'll be able to shift some of the big earners and bring some players in for free, but it's looking more and more like a relegation dogfight. Ugh.

This might be a short stay!

[b101]

Wow is pretty much all i can say about that season... 7 and out. Looking forward to seeing where you go next. The fans of whichever team you join are in for a treat!

Cheers rlips! Easily the best squad I've ever managed and I've backed up the save for a later date - they are now ranked 2nd in the World as well

[Dexter_Morgan]

Bit of an odd choice (though your reasonings do help me to understand a little )

Good luck though, looks like a tough job to take on.

[cerud]

I can understand managing your home side. Good luck with Crystal Palace

[B.W.G]

Best of luck at Crystal Palace,hope you can do your local club proud.

[b101]

Cheers, it's going to be tough! To be honest though, I'm struggling to get into it and I think I need a bit of a break from FM. This usually happens to me around this point in the year, so I'm not surprised and I'll be back in a few weeks - should still be reading other threads though

[JackJCFC]

Nice to leave on a high. Palace should be a challenge but with decent youth facilities it could be an interesting one.

[StanleyBowles]

My surname is Rennes and I’m a Palace season ticket holder.

It’s meant to be.

[StanleyBowles]

Ps am I the only one who hates the text/colour layout of Palace?

Such a shame.

[deltablue]

Pity to see you leave Rennes behind but it was bound to happen eventually.

[AK22]

Brilliant final season in France

Good luck with Palace. Will be interesting to see if you can make them mighty again!

[b101]

My surname is Rennes and I’m a Palace season ticket holder.

It’s meant to be.

Well hopefully we can bring back the good times! As for the colours, I don't mind it too much - I like them in real life, but it's a shame FM doesn't make them better (like Chelsea's colours, which look great in game!)

Pity to see you leave Rennes behind but it was bound to happen eventually.

Indeed - the save is still there though - Carlo Ancelotti (PSG manager) of all people took over the reigns after I left!

Brilliant final season in France

Good luck with Palace. Will be interesting to see if you can make them mighty again!

Thanks - it's been a long summer (the whole bit about leaving FM alone hasn't really happened...)

[b101]

Pre-season - 2022/23 - Crystal Palace

Lots of moving and shaking as you would expect from a turgid squad. I've done my usual here and shifted out a lot of the older, deader wood, whilst replacing them with a number of younger players who look very promising for the future. Granted, the loan signings won't last forever, but we've been able to punch above our weight with some of the signings, particularly Munoz - who we beat Atletico and Zaragoza to, amongst others. I'm assuming my World Class reputation has something to do with this, with almost every signing praising me. Bless.

The sales meant that we freed up around £30k a week in wages (we were £20k p/w over!) and around £90k in transfer budget, which should give us some breathing space.

• Karl Sneddon - DL
  
• Carlos - DC
  
• Robbie Wilson - MC
  
• Julián Munoz - MC
  
• Danny York - AMC
  
• Fernando Gutierrez - AML
  
• Samir Martin - AMR

Meanwhile, across the Channel, Carlo Ancelotti is fast making me regret leaving Rennes. Selling players is fine, but he hasn't reinvested a penny... What is he playing at?!

[b101]

August 2022 - Crystal Palace

A surprisingly good start from us! It was nice to open with the Capital One Cup fixture against AFC Wimbledon, and Vellios took full advantage. In the Championship itself, we were almost perfect, eking out excellent away wins against Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester, whilst only dropping points against Blackburn in an even encounter. The final match of the month was an excellent win over a strong Forest side, leaving us in 3rd position - far above the 18th spot we are predicted!

[cerud]

Very healthy start so far. Must be nice to be back at home

[Animosama]

The Wenger is strong in Ancelotti.

Nice start by the way.

[JackJCFC]

Good start to the season so far, keep it up

[b101]

September 2022 - Crystal Palace

Ugh. A painful month all round in which we deserved much better than we got. Obviously we're still unbeaten, which is great, but the infuriating thing is that we should have won a number of these games, particularly when we gifted Hull their only point of the campaign! We also pushed Wigan all the way with a second string side. Two wins over Derby and Watford started the next month, before the interesting news struck...

[b101]

Tony ****ing Mowbray?!? How many Champions Leagues has he won eh?

[letissierandhenryaregreat]

Mate, I'm struggling to get a save going, and have been struggling since FM13 came out. Can you upload the save game file for this so we can download it please, pretty please?

[b101]

First impressions - 2022/23 - Charlton Athletic

As fun as Palace was for a time, this was one of the three jobs I really wanted in England (Man Utd and tycoon-owned Plymouth being the other two). Charlton are now a wealthy side who are expected to win the Championship, but are languishing in 15th after a poor start under Brian McDermott. Aside from that, whilst they have money, I have inherited a poorly-balanced squad, particularly for my chosen tactic: 4-5-1.

As you can see, there are a few good players, notably the guys linked below, but the centre of the park is very weak. We are also hugely overspending on a few players' wages - something I'll look to address in January and beyond.

• Kim Hoon - M/AMLC
  
• Kazuhiko Oishi- M/AMR
  
• Edgar Ié - DR/C
  
• Kalilou Touré - DC

First target, get us into the top six by January. At that point I'll be able to change the expectations and strengthen a bit more.

[b101]

Mate, I'm struggling to get a save going, and have been struggling since FM13 came out. Can you upload the save game file for this so we can download it please, pretty please?

Thanks for the interest, but I don't upload my saves I'm afraid. My advice would be either to holiday for five/ten years or so and start then or take on one of the Challenges in CSE - usually gets me sorted

[deltablue]

Shame you didn't stay at Palace, but I guess managing Charlton was one of your aims.

[b101]

October 2022 - Charlton Athletic

Fixtures:

So I took over after the Reading match, and it's safe to say we made a fairly slow start, with two average draws - particularly the game against Bournemouth. We hammered Hull to break the rot, before following it up with two more excellent wins over Derby and Millwall. We're really missing a couple of great players in the centre of midfield, which would really push the team on, but I'm confident we can push on from here. We're 6 points off the playoff target I've set myself by January and have already moved up 4 places in my time here. The title may be a push at 12 points back, but we'll just keep plugging away for the moment.

[b101]

Shame you didn't stay at Palace, but I guess managing Charlton was one of your aims.

Yeah, I had mixed feelings but other than the target, Charlton is a club in a much better financial state than Palace, with a better chance of establishing themselves as a top flight side. Still, good to see Palace staying high

[cerud]

Charlton will give you an opportunity to grow, especially if they already have the financial backing. Decent move

[JackJCFC]

Tough going at Palace but Charlton are a good club too. The challenge now is to finish above them!

[AK22]

I agree, you have to finish about Palace now. They do like a draw, don't they?