FM15: Tottenham Hotspur - Always Take Lamela With You

[mr_spurs]

Season one (2014/2015)

-- Premiership: champions

-- Europa League: semi-final lost to Galatasaray that won the competition (L 6-4, W 1-0)

-- Capital One Cup: semi-final lost to Everton (W 1-0, L 1-4)

-- FA Cup: 3rd round lost to Hull

Chelsea have won Capital One Cup + FA Cup (and lost Champions League final to CSKA Moscow).

Munir - Football writters footballer of the year + Premiership best scorer

Eriksen - PFA young player of the year

(Mata of M.U. won the PFA player of the year)

GK - Lloris/Vorm

DR - Walker / Darmian / Dier

DL - Davis / Rose

DC - Nkoulou / (Kaboul) / *Vallejo*

DC - Balanta / (Fazio) / *Radoi*

MC - Bradley / Lucas Romero / *Ruben Neves*

MC - Dembele/ Tielemans / Valeri

AMR - Lamela / Townsend / Adama Traoré

AML - Depay / Andre Ayew

AMC - Eriksen / *Odegaard*

ST - Munir/ (Soldado) /Kane

() - out in january

** - in in january

Also have lots of good young players in the club and on loan. Have lots of old players to serve as tuttors. but i'm not that good at tuttoring.

What tactics do you use please?

[kubo]

Season 3 and Thomas Glover is up to 1* CA and 4.5* PA. I've been using him in all League Cup and Europa League games and he's been playing well. High hopes he'll be established number two within a year, and could well take over from Lloris in 3 or 4 seasons' time.

Azzaoui and Onomah have also both broken in to the cup team and have had sub appearances in the league. Azzaoui's scored 3 or 4 in Europe and Onomah has 3 man of the match performances in the Europa League and is a legitimate option for the bench in the league (especially with Holtby injured for a few months).

That sounds encouraging.

I'm doing a Spurs save at the moment with a heavy emphasis on youth, and there sure are some gems in the u-squads - if you only put some faith in them. As Tim Sherwood once said about Hurricane:

“He would never have got a chance [under another manager]. There are other managers around the country who have never looked at their academy to put young players in, even when they are good enough. I’ve seen a lot of under-21 football and there are a lot of players who deserve an opportunity but they just get shipped out elsewhere or go by the wayside if they don’t feel loved.”

[libido_luxuria]

enders357 - I made some small changes to my tatic. Sould Nkoulou (Jedjav goes to CB) and bougth De Sciglio to RB (20M + 9M euros). My mistake was to sell Zivkovic for 35M euros, we would be a homegrown and was scoring lots of goals as second choice manager. I have Jovik now. I have the lowest team of the league in heigth (Zivkovic was taller). As for Glover, I'm loaning him out (now to Parma). Need him to play, so this is his third loan. He will be my 2nd choice keeper next year. I would like to have Courtois, but it will be impossible I think. Eitherway, I must do a break in my FM ativity for now. At the end of this season I'll upload his profile.

mr_spurs - I struggled to do a decent 1st season. Did several saves. My tatics were having some results but with a huge dip in form in november and december. So I went to foruns and did a tatic that combined some advices of different tatics. I can upload it. As I said it is not a constrution made by me from zero. It was some of the stuff I wanted with several advises I picked up.

[kubo]

Halfway through my third season and the kids are starting to come good. Will do some sort of write-up later, just wanted to mention how freakingly talented Joshua Onomah is. I recommend you all to give him playing time when you can. The boy is really challenging me to alter our tactical setup, just to get the most out of his particular skill set.

[enders357]

Halfway through my third season and the kids are starting to come good. Will do some sort of write-up later, just wanted to mention how freakingly talented Joshua Onomah is. I recommend you all to give him playing time when you can. The boy is really challenging me to alter our tactical setup, just to get the most out of his particular skill set.

Exactly the same stage as me, and Onomah is doing great for me too. I've only given him a couple of sub apperances in the league but he's been great for me in the cups. Man of the match in three different Europa League group games. It's now the end of of January and I've put him out on loan to Bournemouth - who are my feeder team now - as I think he needs a few months of regular football to get him ready to be a proper option for me in the league. Bournemouth are 2nd in the Championship so it should be a good place for him to play (and, if they get promoted, I could propose an extension to get him PL games away from WHL if he's not quite ready to take over from Holtby as second choice AM).

[kubo]

Exactly the same stage as me, and Onomah is doing great for me too. I've only given him a couple of sub apperances in the league but he's been great for me in the cups. Man of the match in three different Europa League group games. It's now the end of of January and I've put him out on loan to Bournemouth - who are my feeder team now - as I think he needs a few months of regular football to get him ready to be a proper option for me in the league. Bournemouth are 2nd in the Championship so it should be a good place for him to play (and, if they get promoted, I could propose an extension to get him PL games away from WHL if he's not quite ready to take over from Holtby as second choice AM).

Ah, you're developing him slow and steady. Fair enough. I decided to go the opposite way and just throw him in at the deep end. Fortunately, the boy can swim. I'm actually considering promoting him to first choice AMC, should we receive an adequate offer for Eriksen.

Just reached the CL final, by the way, where we're facing a familiar foe. Let's see how that goes, and if any kid can make a mark on the match.

[DosSantosFC]

Wow! I am really keen to see some screenshots of Onomah if possible. He looks the bizz IRL as well so hopefully he will be great. I have 2 saves atm. Ive started one with Martin Odegaard in to see what the fuss is all about and changed my philosophy to looking at youth. First game for Odegaard was FA Cup 3rd round against Yeovil (doesn't join till Jan) and he won MOTM and assisted in 1 goal for a 2-0 win and the next game he played was away to Burnley in the league as a 2nd half sub and he scored!!!! Onomah has played 2/3 times but to be honest I have Coric,Ademoglu,Onomah and Odegaard vying for AMC in the u21's and u18's. John Sae Saeter ( I think that's his name) is worth buying. Simular to Ajer and looks very promising!!

[kubo]

Wow! I am really keen to see some screenshots of Onomah if possible.

I will include one in my season write up, hopefully done by tonight.

A little teaser: he only went and scored in the CL final.

[kubo]

THE COCKERELS: THREE YEAR SUMMARY

During the past few months I've realized two things. 1. FM2015 seems to stray quite a bit into the easy side (at least if you have quality players) compared to previous editions. 2. The transfer market is in my view the most stressful, least interesting part of the game.

Because of that, I've started a new Spurs save with a couple of self-imposed restrictions. The goal is to turn Tottenham into a major force, while relying heavily on our own youth and only buying players in exceptional cases. To crank up the difficulty, if a non-rival club bids the market value for any of our foreign players I have to accept it. I'm only allowed to sign british players, only as direct replacements for players sold, and only if there are no potential replacements in our squad. In a couple of years with these restrictions, our squad should consist exclusively of british and/or home-grown players. Will they be good enough to challenge for honours? That's the big Q.

TRANSFERS

It's a funny old game. With the restrictions I've given myself, I'm ready to sell our superstars, but in three years we haven't received a single bid for Eriksen, Lamela or Lloris. Clubs like Real, Barcelona, Juve and PSG have shown interest, but never followed it up with any concrete offers. A couple of average players have left, that's all.

In three seasons there's been one exceptional case transfer-wise. When QPR accepted an offer from Arsenal for Steven Caulker, I just had to step in and save his soul. The boy is one of our own and deserves a better fate than playing for the gooners. To motivate/fund the deal we sold Fazio to Monaco.

14/15

In: DeAndre Yedlin (£2.5m, Seattle)

Out: Vlad Chiriches (£10m, Wolfsburg), Aaron Lennon (£9.75m, Newcastle), Etienne Capoue (£9.25m, Stoke), Emanuel Adebayor (£2.5m, Everton), BAE (£1m, West Brom)

15/16

In: Steven Caulker (£16.5m, QPR)

Out: Federico Fazio (£20m, Monaco), Michel Vorm (£4.75m, Sunderland), Younes Kaboul (£2.5m, Nancy).

16/17

In: -

Out: Nacer Chadli (£12.5m, Marseille)

PREMIER LEAGUE

There's not too much to say about our league campaigns so far. We're good, always securing CL qualification comfortably, but lack that last bit of quality to really push Chelsea and Man Utd all the way. Our defensive record is improving each year, but we really lack someone like Falcao or Diego Costa up front. Hurricane works like a dog for the team, but he's just not consistent enough. Oh well, with Mourinho gone (always taking over Germany for some reason) and van Gaal retiring, the title is up for grabs.

14/15: 3rd 38 25 5 8 76 44 +32 80p

15/16: 2nd 38 25 8 5 88 33 +55 83p

16/17: 2nd 38 23 10 5 71 26 +45 79p

FA & CAPITAL ONE CUP

The domestic cups have been a recurring source of frustration and heartbreak. We've been knocked out of the FA Cup against Man C (x2) and Arsenal in spectacular fashion, the goals flowing at both ends, despite me trying to use a balanced tactic. The league cup has been used mainly for youth developement. Still, we reached the final last season, only to lose a sickening final against Stoke - despite dominating them completely.

FA Cup

14/15: Sixth round loss against Man City away (2-2 ft, 4-4 aet, 8-9 pen)

15/16: Semi final loss against Man City at Wembley (4-4 ft, 4-5 aet)

16/17: Sixth round loss against Arsenal away (3-5)

League Cup

14/15: Fourth round loss against Chelsea away

15/16: Quarter final loss against Middlesbrough away

16/17: Runners up (1-3 against Stoke)

U21 Cup

16/17: Winners! (4-0 against Man Utd U21s)

EUROPE

The continental competitions have so far provided the biggest thrills - and some success. Quite fitting actually for a club with Tottenham's history. We won the Europa League the first season, didn't really find our feet the first time back with the CL big boys in the second season but reached the final in season three. Inevitable heartbreak followed.

Champions League

14/15: -

15/16: 3rd in the group stage (behind Real Madrid and Celtic!)

16/17: Runners up (3-4 against Real Madrid)

Europa League

14/15: Winners! (2-1 against Dynamo Kiev)

15/16: Semi final loss against Arsenal

16/17: -

Super Cup

15/16: Winners! (4-2 aet against Leverkusen)

SQUAD

Guess you should recognize most of the names here since we have no sexy signings to brag about. Well known players like Lloris, Verts, Dembele and Lamela are pulling their weight but I've also handed ample opportunities to the young 'uns. They haven't let me down, yet. The last season we played 62 competitive matches, using a total of 33 players. 22 (including Chadli who left in january) found the net at least once.

Of our youth, three players deserves special mention. It seems we're starting to realize in this thread that Joshua Onomah is a special talent. I normally prefer a 4-3-3, but this kid is forcing me to tamper with a 4-2-3-1 just to get the most out of his skillset. At the end of the season he got called up to Frank Rijkaard's England squad, where Caulker, Dier, Townsend and Walker are already regulars.

Young belgian Ismael Azzaoui (the lads just call him 'Azza' for sure) is a handful for any defence with his pace, flair and dribbling skills. At the other end of the pitch, CCV has all the potential for a long-term Vertonghen replacement. Intelligent and extremely quick, he'll hopefully be a mainstay in our defence for the next decade.

We have to mention promising regen Peter Beckles too, the first player born in the 00's to represent Spurs in the Premier League.

FINANCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Off the pitch, the club is probably in a healthier state than ever before. White Hart Lane has been expanded to a 45k capacity, good sir Daniel Levy agrees requests to keep the training facilities state-of-the-art and we have a bank balance of some £200m. To be honest, I don't even know what to do with all our monies. When a couple of senior pros leaves the club this summer, we will be £500k under our avaible wage budget. Maybe I should make a cheeky bid for Messi? No, wait, that wasn't what this save's all about.

A LOOK AROUND THE LEAGUE

Louis van Gaal (and a big sack of money) has restored Man Utd to the top of english football with consecutive league titles. However, with an aging attacking quartet of Falcao, van Persie, Rooney and Mata and van Gaal retiring, they need to revamp their squad soon. Falcao is a beast by the way, 70 goals in 94 league games.

Chelsea looks weaker with Klopp instead of Mourinho, lets see if Roman gives him the time needed. Arsenal have truely turned into a mid-table side. Despite blowing over £180m on new players, they will miss the CL for the third season in a row.

The surprise package of these seasons is without a doubt Norwich. They did the double (The Championship + The FA Cup) year one, had fun in Europe year two and finished 7th in the PL year three. I suspect their very narrow 4-2-3-1 is messing with the ME, cause their squad ain't all that.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Well, we have still to win the league. And it won't get easier if one of the european heavy hitters finds the courage to finally make a bid for Lamela or Eriksen. I guess Harry Kane needs to reach another level while our rivals have an off season, or something. Speaking about Kane, I have this naive idea that he could beat Jimmy Greaves goal record for Spurs (only 175 goals to go!), but for that he needs to become a 20+ goals a season scorer. So far, in the tactical setup I prefer, he's perfectly happy to stay on 15 goals a season.

Finally, I would love to never buy another player again, but with Levy demanding a title challenge every season I'm afraid we need to add a couple of bodies just to keep the squad competitive.

[enders357]

Wow! I am really keen to see some screenshots of Onomah if possible.

Here you go...

[DosSantosFC]

THE COCKERELS: THREE YEAR SUMMARY

During the past few months I've realized two things. 1. FM2015 seems to stray quite a bit into the easy side (at least if you have quality players) compared to previous editions. 2. The transfer market is in my view the most stressful, least interesting part of the game.

Because of that, I've started a new Spurs save with a couple of self-imposed restrictions. The goal is to turn Tottenham into a major force, while relying heavily on our own youth and only buying players in exceptional cases. To crank up the difficulty, if a non-rival club bids the market value for any of our foreign players I have to accept it. I'm only allowed to sign british players, only as direct replacements for players sold, and only if there are no potential replacements in our squad. In a couple of years with these restrictions, our squad should consist exclusively of british and/or home-grown players. Will they be good enough to challenge for honours? That's the big Q.

TRANSFERS

It's a funny old game. With the restrictions I've given myself, I'm ready to sell our superstars, but in three years we haven't received a single bid for Eriksen, Lamela or Lloris. Clubs like Real, Barcelona, Juve and PSG have shown interest, but never followed it up with any concrete offers. A couple of average players have left, that's all.

In three seasons there's been one exceptional case transfer-wise. When QPR accepted an offer from Arsenal for Steven Caulker, I just had to step in and save his soul. The boy is one of our own and deserves a better fate than playing for the gooners. To motivate/fund the deal we sold Fazio to Monaco.

14/15

In: DeAndre Yedlin (£2.5m, Seattle)

Out: Vlad Chiriches (£10m, Wolfsburg), Aaron Lennon (£9.75m, Newcastle), Etienne Capoue (£9.25m, Stoke), Emanuel Adebayor (£2.5m, Everton), BAE (£1m, West Brom)

15/16

In: Steven Caulker (£16.5m, QPR)

Out: Federico Fazio (£20m, Monaco), Michel Vorm (£4.75m, Sunderland), Younes Kaboul (£2.5m, Nancy).

16/17

In: -

Out: Nacer Chadli (£12.5m, Marseille)

PREMIER LEAGUE

There's not too much to say about our league campaigns so far. We're good, always securing CL qualification comfortably, but lack that last bit of quality to really push Chelsea and Man Utd all the way. Our defensive record is improving each year, but we really lack someone like Falcao or Diego Costa up front. Hurricane works like a dog for the team, but he's just not consistent enough. Oh well, with Mourinho gone (always taking over Germany for some reason) and van Gaal retiring, the title is up for grabs.

14/15: 3rd 38 25 5 8 76 44 +32 80p

15/16: 2nd 38 25 8 5 88 33 +55 83p

16/17: 2nd 38 23 10 5 71 26 +45 79p

FA & CAPITAL ONE CUP

The domestic cups have been a recurring source of frustration and heartbreak. We've been knocked out of the FA Cup against Man C (x2) and Arsenal in spectacular fashion, the goals flowing at both ends, despite me trying to use a balanced tactic. The league cup has been used mainly for youth developement. Still, we reached the final last season, only to lose a sickening final against Stoke - despite dominating them completely.

FA Cup

14/15: Sixth round loss against Man City away (2-2 ft, 4-4 aet, 8-9 pen)

15/16: Semi final loss against Man City at Wembley (4-4 ft, 4-5 aet)

16/17: Sixth round loss against Arsenal away (3-5)

League Cup

14/15: Fourth round loss against Chelsea away

15/16: Quarter final loss against Middlesbrough away

16/17: Runners up (1-3 against Stoke)

U21 Cup

16/17: Winners! (4-0 against Man Utd U21s)

EUROPE

The continental competitions have so far provided the biggest thrills - and some success. Quite fitting actually for a club with Tottenham's history. We won the Europa League the first season, didn't really find our feet the first time back with the CL big boys in the second season but reached the final in season three. Inevitable heartbreak followed.

Champions League

14/15: -

15/16: 3rd in the group stage (behind Real Madrid and Celtic!)

16/17: Runners up (3-4 against Real Madrid)

Europa League

14/15: Winners! (2-1 against Dynamo Kiev)

15/16: Semi final loss against Arsenal

16/17: -

Super Cup

15/16: Winners! (4-2 aet against Leverkusen)

SQUAD

Guess you should recognize most of the names here since we have no sexy signings to brag about. Well known players like Lloris, Verts, Dembele and Lamela are pulling their weight but I've also handed ample opportunities to the young 'uns. They haven't let me down, yet. The last season we played 62 competitive matches, using a total of 33 players. 22 (including Chadli who left in january) found the net at least once.

Of our youth, three players deserves special mention. It seems we're starting to realize in this thread that Joshua Onomah is a special talent. I normally prefer a 4-3-3, but this kid is forcing me to tamper with a 4-2-3-1 just to get the most out of his skillset. At the end of the season he got called up to Frank Rijkaard's England squad, where Caulker, Dier, Townsend and Walker are already regulars.

Young belgian Ismael Azzaoui (the lads just call him 'Azza' for sure) is a handful for any defence with his pace, flair and dribbling skills. At the other end of the pitch, CCV has all the potential for a long-term Vertonghen replacement. Intelligent and extremely quick, he'll hopefully be a mainstay in our defence for the next decade.

We have to mention promising regen Peter Beckles too, the first player born in the 00's to represent Spurs in the Premier League.

FINANCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Off the pitch, the club is probably in a healthier state than ever before. White Hart Lane has been expanded to a 45k capacity, good sir Daniel Levy agrees requests to keep the training facilities state-of-the-art and we have a bank balance of some £200m. To be honest, I don't even know what to do with all our monies. When a couple of senior pros leaves the club this summer, we will be £500k under our avaible wage budget. Maybe I should make a cheeky bid for Messi? No, wait, that wasn't what this save's all about.

A LOOK AROUND THE LEAGUE

Louis van Gaal (and a big sack of money) has restored Man Utd to the top of english football with consecutive league titles. However, with an aging attacking quartet of Falcao, van Persie, Rooney and Mata and van Gaal retiring, they need to revamp their squad soon. Falcao is a beast by the way, 70 goals in 94 league games.

Chelsea looks weaker with Klopp instead of Mourinho, lets see if Roman gives him the time needed. Arsenal have truely turned into a mid-table side. Despite blowing over £180m on new players, they will miss the CL for the third season in a row.

The surprise package of these seasons is without a doubt Norwich. They did the double (The Championship + The FA Cup) year one, had fun in Europe year two and finished 7th in the PL year three. I suspect their very narrow 4-2-3-1 is messing with the ME, cause their squad ain't all that.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Well, we have still to win the league. And it won't get easier if one of the european heavy hitters finds the courage to finally make a bid for Lamela or Eriksen. I guess Harry Kane needs to reach another level while our rivals have an off season, or something. Speaking about Kane, I have this naive idea that he could beat Jimmy Greaves goal record for Spurs (only 175 goals to go!), but for that he needs to become a 20+ goals a season scorer. So far, in the tactical setup I prefer, he's perfectly happy to stay on 15 goals a season.

Finally, I would love to never buy another player again, but with Levy demanding a title challenge every season I'm afraid we need to add a couple of bodies just to keep the squad competitive.

Great update, glad to see someone doing something different. I have 3 spurs saves all with different objectives but time to play is limited at the moment plus you always get the lull before the January window update!!! Any screenshots of Azzaoi, Bentaleb and Onomah on that save??

[DosSantosFC]

Here you go...

Looks good but mental stats let him down! Looks like he will be a good team member but not stand out but saying that it sounds like he is playing really well, similar to Kane on mine!

[kubo]

Great update, glad to see someone doing something different.

Thank you.

I have 3 spurs saves all with different objectives but time to play is limited at the moment plus you always get the lull before the January window update!!!

I think you need to focus on just one save, at least for some time.

Any screenshots of Azzaoi, Bentaleb and Onomah on that save??

Yes, they are there in the post, under the big squad list image. No Bentaleb though, last season he was always injuried or away with Algeria. He actually played as many internationals as league games last year, which is just bonkers.

By the way, I just signed a new ass man (Mauro Tassotti) and he rates Onomah even higher: 3½ star current rating and 4½ star potential!

[DosSantosFC]

I've just loved ur update more. Great to see Cameron Carter-Vickers being unearthed! Looks like a good player! So good to see. Any luck with Alex Pritchard? probably not good enough on here...

[tbtower]

Well Kubo, you've persuaded me that after the January update i'll be doing a similar new save with Spurs.

On my current save i'm in season 7...or 8? I can't remember. One of the world's greatest clubs now, things are just starting to get a little dry, so i'll be looking forward to starting again. The only reason for me to wait is for the inevitable upgrades to Kane, Mason, etc...

[enders357]

Looks good but mental stats let him down! Looks like he will be a good team member but not stand out but saying that it sounds like he is playing really well, similar to Kane on mine!

Yeah, I think I need to get him tutored by someone with good mental stats. I've got Xabi Alonso so I'm going to try and set that up.

[kubo]

Well Kubo, you've persuaded me that after the January update i'll be doing a similar new save with Spurs.

On my current save i'm in season 7...or 8? I can't remember. One of the world's greatest clubs now, things are just starting to get a little dry, so i'll be looking forward to starting again. The only reason for me to wait is for the inevitable upgrades to Kane, Mason, etc...

That's great to hear! You won't regret it.

Personally, I could really do with a slight boost to Hurricane's abilities, but I'm way to invested in this save now to start anything anew.

I've just loved ur update more. Great to see Cameron Carter-Vickers being unearthed! Looks like a good player! So good to see. Any luck with Alex Pritchard? probably not good enough on here...

Good indeed. He's very calm and collected in the game, despite still being in his teens. IRL, he recently got called up to the US U23's (despite him being only 16 years old). Boy's got talent, that's for sure.

No luck with Pritchard. He was never even close to the first team and is now playing for Brighton at the age of 24. Looks to be a decent championship player (like Mason, now at Derby) but nothing more.

[kubo]

Just played a league cup game away to Villa, using what must have been my youngest XI ever in any version of FM.

You'll never win anything with kids? I so badly wish that isn't true.

[Hoarau]

I'm not even a Spurs fan but I enjoyed this immensely.

[kubo]

Just reached new year in season four, and it's going pretty rocky.

For some reason Romelu Lukaku is transfer listed at Everton and I so much wanna buy him - but I must keep the faith in our own players!

I'm not even a Spurs fan but I enjoyed this immensely.

Well done, son.

[kubo]

[enders357]

Great stuff! I recalled him from his Bournemouth loan when he only made one sub appearance in 4 league games during January (they don't play an AM so, in hindsight, I've no idea why it told me he'd be a key player for them). I've since thrown him in to the league team and after 4 games he's got an 8.67 average rating, 2 goals, 2 assists and 2 MOM awards!!

[enders357]

And now this

[AustSaint]

I am in a bit of a bind, I like Ben Davies, he has performed well for me and I know he has great potential. The problem is, I have always thought of him as upgradeable, and I thought about 30 million pounds would be about the right price. Am in the winter transfer window of the second season and Barcelona have bid 30 million for him, I have accepted and now I need to replace him. I have Benjamin Mendy as his back up, but I need another guy. I would prefer not to spend all the money I got from him on his replacement. Any ideas?

[enders357]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Why on earth would Arsenal think the Spurs manager of three years - whose listed favourite club is Tottenham too - would be interested in an interview for their poxy job??

I very much enjoyed clicking the 'decline interview' button. If only you could also send a message...

[enders357]

I am in a bit of a bind, I like Ben Davies, he has performed well for me and I know he has great potential. The problem is, I have always thought of him as upgradeable, and I thought about 30 million pounds would be about the right price. Am in the winter transfer window of the second season and Barcelona have bid 30 million for him, I have accepted and now I need to replace him. I have Benjamin Mendy as his back up, but I need another guy. I would prefer not to spend all the money I got from him on his replacement. Any ideas?

£30m for Ben Davies?? Wow, good work. You've obviously developed him well. I was lucky enough to pick up Juan Bernat when he got frustrated at playing second fiddle to Alaba at Bayern and I'd highly recommend him but I understand he's not always easy to get hold of.

Alex Sandro is a classic FM left back. I also like the look of Digne and Kurzawa on my save. If Jetro Willems has developed well on your save he might be worth looking at too.

[kubo]

Great stuff! I recalled him from his Bournemouth loan when he only made one sub appearance in 4 league games during January (they don't play an AM so, in hindsight, I've no idea why it told me he'd be a key player for them). I've since thrown him in to the league team and after 4 games he's got an 8.67 average rating, 2 goals, 2 assists and 2 MOM awards!!

Sweet! How do you play him - which position/role?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Why on earth would Arsenal think the Spurs manager of three years - whose listed favourite club is Tottenham too - would be interested in an interview for their poxy job??

I very much enjoyed clicking the 'decline interview' button. If only you could also send a message...

I'll see your job offer and raise you this financial meltdown. After finally getting their act together, it turns out that their whole team was built on faulty foundations. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Their CL place went to Stoke instead. Priceless.

[enders357]

Sweet! How do you play him - which position/role?

Advanced Playmaker - Attack, in either a narrow diamond or a 3-4-1-2 (which means he has 2 CMs behind him and 2 strikers ahead of him). He gets a lot of assists threading through balls in for the strikers and a good amount of goals when the strikers split wide and he arrives in the box for a tap in.

[AustSaint]

£30m for Ben Davies?? Wow, good work. You've obviously developed him well. I was lucky enough to pick up Juan Bernat when he got frustrated at playing second fiddle to Alaba at Bayern and I'd highly recommend him but I understand he's not always easy to get hold of.

Alex Sandro is a classic FM left back. I also like the look of Digne and Kurzawa on my save. If Jetro Willems has developed well on your save he might be worth looking at too.

Alex Sandro is at Chelsea, so he is a no go. The guys I am looking at are

Alex Telles from Galatasaray

Digne from PSG

Mbaye from Inter

Amavi from Nice

Silva from Sporting Lisbon

All of them are rated quite highly by my scouts, and I can get all of them for under 20 million. With Telles and Amavi the cheapest.

[kubo]

Advanced Playmaker - Attack, in either a narrow diamond or a 3-4-1-2 (which means he has 2 CMs behind him and 2 strikers ahead of him). He gets a lot of assists threading through balls in for the strikers and a good amount of goals when the strikers split wide and he arrives in the box for a tap in.

Dang, guess I need to get more tactically creative! But I like wingers and would never abandon the back four, so there's not that much flexibility to work with.

[mr_spurs]

enders357 - I made some small changes to my tatic. Sould Nkoulou (Jedjav goes to CB) and bougth De Sciglio to RB (20M + 9M euros). My mistake was to sell Zivkovic for 35M euros, we would be a homegrown and was scoring lots of goals as second choice manager. I have Jovik now. I have the lowest team of the league in heigth (Zivkovic was taller). As for Glover, I'm loaning him out (now to Parma). Need him to play, so this is his third loan. He will be my 2nd choice keeper next year. I would like to have Courtois, but it will be impossible I think. Eitherway, I must do a break in my FM ativity for now. At the end of this season I'll upload his profile.

mr_spurs - I struggled to do a decent 1st season. Did several saves. My tatics were having some results but with a huge dip in form in november and december. So I went to foruns and did a tatic that combined some advices of different tatics. I can upload it. As I said it is not a constrution made by me from zero. It was some of the stuff I wanted with several advises I picked up.

That be great thanks.

[libido_luxuria]

mr_spurs, here you have it:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8211063/vitoria-1_EACAA42F-6B3D-4DDC-A694-A41B1201B2EB.fmf

This was the one I used in the first few seasons. Meanwhile I'm changed it to a symmetric tactic (because at the beginning my RB - Walker - was better than my LB. Now I have Alaba in the Left and Depay as inside forward, also because Lamela got a 8 months injury).

Meanwhile I'm in a dilemma. should I bring Cristiano Ronaldo in January 2016? He is close to 33 years old and I really don't need him. I haveDepay, Sterling, Lamela (who I'll try to sell either war), Adama Traore. Plus, the world class Andrija Zivkovic is coming now for 35 M). At the striker position I have Munir and Luka Jovic who are a lot less rated by my scouts than Ronaldo but they are scoring good, He's contract is finishing at the end of the season. I could also bring Messi (30 years, 112 M to 152 M euros) or Neymar (25 years, 201 M euros release clause).

[mr_spurs]

mr_spurs, here you have it:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8211063/vitoria-1_EACAA42F-6B3D-4DDC-A694-A41B1201B2EB.fmf

This was the one I used in the first few seasons. Meanwhile I'm changed it to a symmetric tactic (because at the beginning my RB - Walker - was better than my LB. Now I have Alaba in the Left and Depay as inside forward, also because Lamela got a 8 months injury).

Meanwhile I'm in a dilemma. should I bring Cristiano Ronaldo in January 2016? He is close to 33 years old and I really don't need him. I haveDepay, Sterling, Lamela (who I'll try to sell either war), Adama Traore. Plus, the world class Andrija Zivkovic is coming now for 35 M). He's contract is finishing at the end of the season. I could also bring Messi (30 years, 112 M to 152 M euros) or Neymar (25 years, 201 M euros release clause).

Thank you.

[enders357]

Dang, guess I need to get more tactically creative! But I like wingers and would never abandon the back four, so there's not that much flexibility to work with.

Ah, I really don't like wingers y'see. I find wing backs more effective.

[kubo]

Ah, I really don't like wingers y'see. I find wing backs more effective.

Fair enough. By wingers I meant the position btw, not necessarily the 'winger' role. Either way, I don't know how I would set up this team without Lamela and Townsend cutting in from the flanks.

Meanwhile I'm in a dilemma. should I bring Cristiano Ronaldo in January 2016? He is close to 33 years old and I really don't need him. I haveDepay, Sterling, Lamela (who I'll try to sell either war), Adama Traore. Plus, the world class Andrija Zivkovic is coming now for 35 M). At the striker position I have Munir and Luka Jovic who are a lot less rated by my scouts than Ronaldo but they are scoring good, He's contract is finishing at the end of the season. I could also bring Messi (30 years, 112 M to 152 M euros) or Neymar (25 years, 201 M euros release clause).

Well, since your goal seems to be to turn the team into pure fantasy football, I say go for it.

[enders357]

Fair enough. By wingers I meant the position btw, not necessarily the 'winger' role. Either way, I don't know how I would set up this team without Lamela and Townsend cutting in from the flanks.

I lost mt IFs to big clubs last summer when I didn't qualify for the CL but I do miss seeing Lamela cut inside and scream one in to the top corner.

[enders357]

It's getting to business time in my third season: 32 games in to the league campaign and I'm third, 4 points behind Chelsea and 2 points behind Man Utd. I'm comfortable in 3rd, being 7 ahead of Liverpool and 12 ahead of Man City in 5th. Having finished 6th and 5th in my previous seasons I'd made the goal for this year to finish in the top 4 before pushing on to a title challenge next season, but I'm starting to dream of the title after a 9 match winning streak, which was put on hold last night when I decided I should finally go to bed after a 3-1 win away to Man Utd. It was that win that really made a title push a reality, closing what had alwys been a reasonable gap to just a handful of points. To be fair though, Chelsea have only lost 3 times all season (though two of those were to me - the 5-0 battering I gave them after Christmas is one of my all time FM highlights) so expecting to make up 4 points on them in 6 games might be extremely hopeful... but you've got to hope, haven't you??

So far I've mainly used narrow formations, rotating between a 4-4-2 Diamond, 3-4-1-2 and 3-5-2 depending on whose fit and on form and who we're playing. My defence is much more solid as a 3 than a 4, when I have Vertonghen, Fazio and Musacchio in there, but that tends to mean sacrificing either my midfield destroyer (Christoph Kramer) or my advanced playmaked (Kevin De Bruyne or Joshua Onomah). My star performers have been the strikers, with Kane on 23 league goals as a DLF alongside Gabriel Barbosa who has 16 goals and 14 assists. De Bruyne has more than made up for the loss of Eriksen, and special mention should go to my wing backs Walker and Bernat who have made the loss of Lamela and Depay nothing more than a footnote, given their rampaging performances flying up and down the flanks.

My major disappointment of the season has been Nabil Bentaleb. I'd hoped this would be the year he'd go from playing as cover to others to making the midfield his own - and I felt giving him that chance would be key to his development - but he's spent much of the season injured and only really got fit a week or two before the AFCON took him away. When he got back he got injured again and hasn't featured since.

[kubo]

To be fair though, Chelsea have only lost 3 times all season (though two of those were to me - the 5-0 battering I gave them after Christmas is one of my all time FM highlights) so expecting to make up 4 points on them in 6 games might be extremely hopeful... but you've got to hope, haven't you??

It's the hope that kills you. Nah, just kidding, good luck man!

I have to agree re: Bentaleb. In my last season Algeria played a double header WQ playoff against Togo, on the 13/10 and 17/11, and he didn't even bother coming home between those two games.

[enders357]

It's the hope that kills you. Nah, just kidding, good luck man!

I have to agree re: Bentaleb. In my last season Algeria played a double header WQ playoff against Togo, on the 13/10 and 17/11, and he didn't even bother coming home between those two games.

I've got a lot of midfielders, and he's had some big clubs sniffing around him so I'm tempted to let him go but it seems a shame to let a real-life Tottenham guy go when he has so much potential.

But... with people coming back from loans next year I will be trying to integrate all these in to a 3 or 4 man midfield:

Bentaleb

Strootman

Xabi Alonso

Veljkovic

Onomah

Holtby

De Bruyne

Kramer

Ajer

Tielemans

Horvath

I'm tempted to try out Brendan Rodgers' box midfield with two holders and two AMs but it'd mean sacrificing one of my stikers which I'm loathe to do.

[edgar555]

I've got a lot of midfielders,

So Spursy

[kubo]

SPURS COCKERELS 2017/2018 SEASON REVIEW

Boy, oh boy, what a rollercoaster ride of a season this was. With the managers of the big clubs being newly appointed (Blanc at Man Utd) or in their second seasons (Klopp at Chelsea, de Boer at the arse) there was an uncertainty about where the title would end up, but I don’t think anyone could have predicted how insanely tight it would be.

TRANSFERS

After buying just one player in three years (Yedlin excluded) we went somewhat bonkers and signed a whopping total of t-w-o players in the summer! With Dembele and Paulinho leaving on bosmans I felt it absolute necessary to add a well-rounded central midfielder; James Ward-Prowse seemed to fit the bill nicely. Up front we needed someone to complement Kane and Azzaoui. I didn’t want some big name match winner or gifted wonderkid, so instead plumped for Charlie Austin. Cheap, hard-working and hopefully not one to complain over limited game time at a bigger club.

In: James Ward-Prowse (£16.5m, Southampton), Charlie Austin (£2.5m, QPR)

Out: DeAndre Yedlin (£6.5m, Rubin), Moussa Dembele (free, Roma), Paulinho (free, Olympiacos), Roberto Soldado (free, Hull)

EUROPE

Let’s talk about the Champions League first, because there ain’t much to say about it. After reaching the final last year we were ranked 7th in Europe, which meant a really soft group. Basel and Schalke as opponents, are we Chelsea in disguise?

1 Spurs 14p

2 Basel 8p

--------------

3 Schalke 5p

4 Steaua 4p

Atlético in the next round felt like a decent enough challenge, and an Onomah-goal in Madrid saw us still in the tie. However, at halftime in the second leg, I completely misjudged the situation, gave my worst ever team talk and could only watch in horror as our players threw away the game completely. My bad, I guess.

1st Knockout round: 1-2 vs Atlético Madrid (A), 0-2 (H) [1-4 aggregate]

THE CUPS

We continued to play really young teams in the league cup. After two successful trips to Birmingham, our kids got knocked out in the cruellest of fashion, losing on penalties to a very strong Utd side at Old Trafford. The second penalty loss against Utd if you include the less important Community Shield. We reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup but suffered a smash-and-grab loss against Liverpool, Sturridge scoring the injury time winner despite us dominating the game. It reminded very much of last year’s League Cup final loss against Stoke. A worrying pattern, no doubt.

Capital One Cup

3rd round: 5-3 vs Aston Villa (A)

4th round: 3-0 vs West Brom (A)

Qtr final: 2-2 vs Man Utd (A), 4-5 after pen

FA Cup

3rd round: 4-0 vs Reading (A)

4th round: 3-2 vs Crystal Palace (H)

5th round: 2-2 vs Sheff Utd (H)

5th round rep: 1-0 vs Sheff Utd (A)

Qtr final: 1-2 vs Liverpool (H)

Community Shield

1-1 vs Man Utd (N), 5-6 after pen

PREMIER LEAGUE

A really strange campaign. For some reason I can’t understand we always start the seasons slowly. If anything, we should have an advantage against our rivals since our team chemistry is always top notch, but no. From our opening five games we’ve taken 6, 7, 8 and now 6 points. In other words: we’re always playing catch up. We started to find out feet in october but hit another poor spell in december, symbolized by an awful 0-1 loss against relegation-threatened West Ham the day before christmas, which left us 8th in the table. We were way off league leaders Arsenal, and at that point I feared we would miss the Champions League places, maybe even Europe all together.

But something happened that day.

It’s like the players told each other ”alright lads, we’ve had our fun, now let’s stop f**king around!” – or something along those lines. Three days layer an empathic win against QPR at Loftus Road marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history books titled Tottenham – the ruthless juggernaut. Suddenly, we were an unstoppable force, crushing opponents left right and centre, using every cup disappointment to fuel our league form, Lamela, Towsend, even Austin too hot to handle for opposition defences, Eriksen and Ward-Prowse pulling the strings at midfield and eventual Golden Glove-winner Lloris doing his very best Gandalf-impersonation.

At the end of march we faced Arsenal in a six point game for first place; a brace from Townsend sent the gooners home with their tails between their legs.

With four games to go we had a four point cushion, so could afford to lose one game and still have the destiny in our own hands. Next up, West Ham, the last team to beat us in the league.

Ouch. Nerves, nerves, nerves. I tried everything to relieve the pressure, but to no avail, Danny Rose giving away a penalty summing up our performance. To add insult to injury, leading West Ham to the double against us was no one else then former Spurs favourite Chris Hughton. So that was our get-out-of-jail-for-free card used up. No worries, next match was only away to Chelsea. Despite them being tired after a midweek cup game, they battered us, our players losing their heads and hearts after a somewhat fortunate opening Chelsea goal.

We needed to beat QPR at home in the penultimate game of the season to have even the smallest of chance for the title, and after a shaky start somehow found the strength to turn the game around. Special props to young Onomah, showing some great composure to coolly slot home from the penalty spot for the equaliser.

Heading into the final day of the season, we needed to beat already relegated Leicester away from home while hoping that Man Utd would somehow slip up against mid-table Southampton.

We held up our end of the deal, our players seemingly very relaxed now that everything was out of our hands.

But Utd winning against a Southampton side with nothing to play for must have been a mere formality, surely? During our game against Leicester all we could hear from the south coast was an eerie silence. What was up, had someone shut down the radio waves? Did the ocean flood the south to postpone the game? Was Fergie time still going on, hours after everyone else was done with their season?

No, nothing like that. Just Man Utd failing miserably at defending their title. Ronald Koeman, give me a kiss! Despite Smalling doing his utmost to help his former teammates, Utd just couldn’t unlock a determined Southampton defence. The next day, Blanc got the sack, despite winning the League Cup and having the FA Cup final to come (where they will face the equally managerless Liverpool).

Admittedly, winning the league on 82 points means it’s been a pretty weak season, but so what? If you take more points than every other club (or in this case, taking the same amount of points but scoring more) you’re the champions. No two ways about it.

SQUAD

Unlike the heavy rotation of previous seasons, I tried to keep a more dedicated first XI this year. I’m full of praise for nearly each and all of our players, but some deserves special mention. Lloris finally beat de Gea and Courtois to the Golden Glove award, after twice being runner up. I promoted CCV to first choice CD next to club captain Caulker, and he didn’t flinch. Onomah, Townsend, Austin and Kane all chipped in with important goals throughout the season, but our MVP, without any doubt, was FWA Player of the Season Erik Lamela: 32 points from 26 league starts is just too good. Or should I say God?

Seven of our players made the PFA Team of the Year.

FUTURE PLANS

It’s been a long, exhausting, nerve-wrecking season and I must admit that my primary feeling now is more of relief than anything else. The game won’t get easier from here on, so no matter how the future pans out no one can take this league title away from us. That’s very pleasing. The obvious short-term goal is to defend our title (will be tough) and go all the way in Europe (possibly even tougher). There are some interesting long-term goals too. How far can Onomah, Azzaoui and CCV go? Can Hurricane break Jimmy Greaves 220 goals record? (Probably not.) Will Glover be good enough to fill out Lloris’ jersey? And when will I become the longest serving manager in the Premiership? (Answer: when Hughes leaves Stoke. Unless Giggs gets promoted to manager at Utd, then I’m really in trouble.) How will my carefully constructed restrictions survive if Levy sells up?

Anyhow, to crank up the difficulty, I’ve decided to put an imaginary – but permanent – transfer embargo over the club. From this day on, the only players joining Tottenham are from our own academy. No exceptions. Not sure about this next part, but I’m also considering going exclusively English/home-grown from the 19/20 season onwards, giving me a year to phase out Lloris, Eriksen, Lamela and the others. We have some exciting youth, but overcoming such a loss of quality while remaining competitive will be a major hurdle. Ah, sounds like the perfect challenge.

[enders357]

So Spursy

Ha! So true.

[DosSantosFC]

SPURS COCKERELS 2017/2018 SEASON REVIEW

Boy, oh boy, what a rollercoaster ride of a season this was. With the managers of the big clubs being newly appointed (Blanc at Man Utd) or in their second seasons (Klopp at Chelsea, de Boer at the arse) there was an uncertainty about where the title would end up, but I don’t think anyone could have predicted how insanely tight it would be.

TRANSFERS

After buying just one player in three years (Yedlin excluded) we went somewhat bonkers and signed a whopping total of t-w-o players in the summer! With Dembele and Paulinho leaving on bosmans I felt it absolute necessary to add a well-rounded central midfielder; James Ward-Prowse seemed to fit the bill nicely. Up front we needed someone to complement Kane and Azzaoui. I didn’t want some big name match winner or gifted wonderkid, so instead plumped for Charlie Austin. Cheap, hard-working and hopefully not one to complain over limited game time at a bigger club.

In: James Ward-Prowse (£16.5m, Southampton), Charlie Austin (£2.5m, QPR)

Out: DeAndre Yedlin (£6.5m, Rubin), Moussa Dembele (free, Roma), Paulinho (free, Olympiacos), Roberto Soldado (free, Hull)

EUROPE

Let’s talk about the Champions League first, because there ain’t much to say about it. After reaching the final last year we were ranked 7th in Europe, which meant a really soft group. Basel and Schalke as opponents, are we Chelsea in disguise?

1 Spurs 14p

2 Basel 8p

--------------

3 Schalke 5p

4 Steaua 4p

Atlético in the next round felt like a decent enough challenge, and an Onomah-goal in Madrid saw us still in the tie. However, at halftime in the second leg, I completely misjudged the situation, gave my worst ever team talk and could only watch in horror as our players threw away the game completely. My bad, I guess.

1st Knockout round: 1-2 vs Atlético Madrid (A), 0-2 (H) [1-4 aggregate]

THE CUPS

We continued to play really young teams in the league cup. After two successful trips to Birmingham, our kids got knocked out in the cruellest of fashion, losing on penalties to a very strong Utd side at Old Trafford. The second penalty loss against Utd if you include the less important Community Shield. We reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup but suffered a smash-and-grab loss against Liverpool, Sturridge scoring the injury time winner despite us dominating the game. It reminded very much of last year’s League Cup final loss against Stoke. A worrying pattern, no doubt.

Capital One Cup

3rd round: 5-3 vs Aston Villa (A)

4th round: 3-0 vs West Brom (A)

Qtr final: 2-2 vs Man Utd (A), 4-5 after pen

FA Cup

3rd round: 4-0 vs Reading (A)

4th round: 3-2 vs Crystal Palace (H)

5th round: 2-2 vs Sheff Utd (H)

5th round rep: 1-0 vs Sheff Utd (A)

Qtr final: 1-2 vs Liverpool (H)

Community Shield

1-1 vs Man Utd (N), 5-6 after pen

PREMIER LEAGUE

A really strange campaign. For some reason I can’t understand we always start the seasons slowly. If anything, we should have an advantage against our rivals since our team chemistry is always top notch, but no. From our opening five games we’ve taken 6, 7, 8 and now 6 points. In other words: we’re always playing catch up. We started to find out feet in october but hit another poor spell in december, symbolized by an awful 0-1 loss against relegation-threatened West Ham the day before christmas, which left us 8th in the table. We were way off league leaders Arsenal, and at that point I feared we would miss the Champions League places, maybe even Europe all together.

But something happened that day.

It’s like the players told each other ”alright lads, we’ve had our fun, now let’s stop f**king around!” – or something along those lines. Three days layer an empathic win against QPR at Loftus Road marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history books titled Tottenham – the ruthless juggernaut. Suddenly, we were an unstoppable force, crushing opponents left right and centre, using every cup disappointment to fuel our league form, Lamela, Towsend, even Austin too hot to handle for opposition defences, Eriksen and Ward-Prowse pulling the strings at midfield and eventual Golden Glove-winner Lloris doing his very best Gandalf-impersonation.

At the end of march we faced Arsenal in a six point game for first place; a brace from Townsend sent the gooners home with their tails between their legs.

With four games to go we had a four point cushion, so could afford to lose one game and still have the destiny in our own hands. Next up, West Ham, the last team to beat us in the league.

Ouch. Nerves, nerves, nerves. I tried everything to relieve the pressure, but to no avail, Danny Rose giving away a penalty summing up our performance. To add insult to injury, leading West Ham to the double against us was no one else then former Spurs favourite Chris Hughton. So that was our get-out-of-jail-for-free card used up. No worries, next match was only away to Chelsea. Despite them being tired after a midweek cup game, they battered us, our players losing their heads and hearts after a somewhat fortunate opening Chelsea goal.

We needed to beat QPR at home in the penultimate game of the season to have even the smallest of chance for the title, and after a shaky start somehow found the strength to turn the game around. Special props to young Onomah, showing some great composure to coolly slot home from the penalty spot for the equaliser.

Heading into the final day of the season, we needed to beat already relegated Leicester away from home while hoping that Man Utd would somehow slip up against mid-table Southampton.

We held up our end of the deal, our players seemingly very relaxed now that everything was out of our hands.

But Utd winning against a Southampton side with nothing to play for must have been a mere formality, surely? During our game against Leicester all we could hear from the south coast was an eerie silence. What was up, had someone shut down the radio waves? Did the ocean flood the south to postpone the game? Was Fergie time still going on, hours after everyone else was done with their season?

No, nothing like that. Just Man Utd failing miserably at defending their title. Ronald Koeman, give me a kiss! Despite Smalling doing his utmost to help his former teammates, Utd just couldn’t unlock a determined Southampton defence. The next day, Blanc got the sack, despite winning the League Cup and having the FA Cup final to come (where they will face the equally managerless Liverpool).

Admittedly, winning the league on 82 points means it’s been a pretty weak season, but so what? If you take more points than every other club (or in this case, taking the same amount of points but scoring more) you’re the champions. No two ways about it.

SQUAD

Unlike the heavy rotation of previous seasons, I tried to keep a more dedicated first XI this year. I’m full of praise for nearly each and all of our players, but some deserves special mention. Lloris finally beat de Gea and Courtois to the Golden Glove award, after twice being runner up. I promoted CCV to first choice CD next to club captain Caulker, and he didn’t flinch. Onomah, Townsend, Austin and Kane all chipped in with important goals throughout the season, but our MVP, without any doubt, was FWA Player of the Season Erik Lamela: 32 points from 26 league starts is just too good. Or should I say God?

Seven of our players made the PFA Team of the Year.

FUTURE PLANS

It’s been a long, exhausting, nerve-wrecking season and I must admit that my primary feeling now is more of relief than anything else. The game won’t get easier from here on, so no matter how the future pans out no one can take this league title away from us. That’s very pleasing. The obvious short-term goal is to defend our title (will be tough) and go all the way in Europe (possibly even tougher). There are some interesting long-term goals too. How far can Onomah, Azzaoui and CCV go? Can Hurricane break Jimmy Greaves 220 goals record? (Probably not.) Will Glover be good enough to fill out Lloris’ jersey? And when will I become the longest serving manager in the Premiership? (Answer: when Hughes leaves Stoke. Unless Giggs gets promoted to manager at Utd, then I’m really in trouble.) How will my carefully constructed restrictions survive if Levy sells up?

Anyhow, to crank up the difficulty, I’ve decided to put an imaginary – but permanent – transfer embargo over the club. From this day on, the only players joining Tottenham are from our own academy. No exceptions. Not sure about this next part, but I’m also considering going exclusively English/home-grown from the 19/20 season onwards, giving me a year to phase out Lloris, Eriksen, Lamela and the others. We have some exciting youth, but overcoming such a loss of quality while remaining competitive will be a major hurdle. Ah, sounds like the perfect challenge.

Wow if this was IRL I would hate supporting Tottenham!!! Ha! No offense I think what your doing is brilliant and the young players coming through is very very impressive but no signings!!!! I couldn't live without making that one signing you love!!!! How is the bank balance????

[enders357]

What happens in 2017? Does the club move somewhere else while the final year's work is done on "New White Hart Lane" or do they just stay at WHL?

[libido_luxuria]

What happens in 2017? Does the club move somewhere else while the final year's work is done on "New White Hart Lane" or do they just stay at WHL?

We continue at WHL.

[enders357]

£600k! £600k! My transfer budget for summer 2017 is £600k

I might not have won the league - looking back at my post from yesterday I think I cursed myself; I had some awful results immediately after the Man Utd win - but I did finish 3rd. Gah, we're not even that hard up; the club made a £42m profit last year!

I have managed to manoeuvre a little - selling Kaboul (as Dier will now take over as 4th centre back) and Holtby, and letting Xabi Alonso leave on a free (and freeing up a big chunk of wages). I put the bulk of the cash received in to salary allowance and picked up two free transfers - Zuculini from Man City, who will be back up DM and I hope to retrain as a decent central defender, and Mario Gotze! The guy only managed 15 league games at Bayern in the last two years combined and ran his contract down.

[Hauler]

I kept a lot of young players on in the game. Nabil is brilliant and I play a diamond and converted Lamela to AMC. Sold Eriksen to PSG for 71 mil US. Sold Vert to Man U for 50 mil us. Demeble has been amazing for me as has a free signing Ginvinco. I just made another free signing before moving into the new stadium by the name of Mario Gotze. Got some youngsters out on loan and when they come back I will sell off Paulinho and Roberto is leaving on a free. It is 2017. I haven't really won anything, but have been in CL for all the years. Im loving life. Signed Ward Prowse and Ravel Morrison and got Thorgen Hazard on free and he was amazing. Truly inspired. Lucas Romero and Eder Balanata have been good cheap signings and Ferraya from Shaktar who went to some Argentine team has been crazy good for me. Got James McCarthy on the squad as a backup and so my team is pretty solid. My strikers are Ginvinco, Ferreya, Doumbia, and Kane and Soldado who gets no playing time, but Doumbia and Ginvinco are both 30 so I would like to get in a young striker. Any ideas who I could get cheap in 2018 because my budget is starting to shrink. Thanks.

[PAFC]

I think I must be doing something wrong.

I have finished 2nd in the first season and 3rd in the second season, but the board only gave me a transfer fund of £20m on both occasions, second time after selling a centre forward for £50m and Lamela for £60m.

The club becomes temporarily debt free after the first season and then immediately loans £340m if my memory serves me correctly, and the loan payments start immediately.

Anyone else, or just me?

[enders357]

I think I must be doing something wrong.

I have finished 2nd in the first season and 3rd in the second season, but the board only gave me a transfer fund of £20m on both occasions, second time after selling a centre forward for £50m and Lamela for £60m.

The club becomes temporarily debt free after the first season and then immediately loans £340m if my memory serves me correctly, and the loan payments start immediately.

Anyone else, or just me?

I don't tend to look at the finances too closely, but my budgets have been around £20-40m - before player sales etc - in first two summers (2015 and 2016) but I got just £600k in summer 2017 (between season 3 and 4).

I'd also be interested in anyone else's experiences with this. I'm guessing the new stadium means a couple of lean years.

[enders357]

I kept a lot of young players on in the game. Nabil is brilliant and I play a diamond and converted Lamela to AMC. Sold Eriksen to PSG for 71 mil US. Sold Vert to Man U for 50 mil us. Demeble has been amazing for me as has a free signing Ginvinco. I just made another free signing before moving into the new stadium by the name of Mario Gotze. Got some youngsters out on loan and when they come back I will sell off Paulinho and Roberto is leaving on a free. It is 2017. I haven't really won anything, but have been in CL for all the years. Im loving life. Signed Ward Prowse and Ravel Morrison and got Thorgen Hazard on free and he was amazing. Truly inspired. Lucas Romero and Eder Balanata have been good cheap signings and Ferraya from Shaktar who went to some Argentine team has been crazy good for me. Got James McCarthy on the squad as a backup and so my team is pretty solid. My strikers are Ginvinco, Ferreya, Doumbia, and Kane and Soldado who gets no playing time, but Doumbia and Ginvinco are both 30 so I would like to get in a young striker. Any ideas who I could get cheap in 2018 because my budget is starting to shrink. Thanks.

I picked up Gotze on a free too, in summer 2017. Looking forward to seeing such a great player slot in to my team.

As for youngish strikers: How about Zivkovic, Mitrovic, Alcacer, or Cassiano?