FM19: The English Football League thread

[silentwars]

Just gone through my first pre season.

New signings: Ryan Tunnicliffe, Lawrence Shankland and Freddie Woodman in on loan.

Sold: Hegeler. Loaned out Eisa and Semenyo. Trying to sell Matty Taylor as well.

Have kept the same staff, although I have added 3 coaches - Billy Dodds, Sylwestrzak, Halabi and added a new European Scout - Gillhaus.

First league match will be against Forest. Will be disappointed if I don't get promoted with this team.

[robterrace]

Shankland is a good signing for the Championship.

[silentwars]

48 minutes ago, robterrace said:

Shankland is a good signing for the Championship.

Thanks, yeah I'm going to use him as a back up for Diedhiou. Only cost 180k, I think he'll be class if he can get his Acceleration and pace up a notch or two.

[silentwars]

Just added Xades as well. Had little choice as Paterson and Kasey Palmer both got injured. 

[silentwars]

@robterrace how is Lloyd Kelly getting on for you at Forest?

[Jogo Bonito]

Just catching up on these updates now. I'm still managing in Portugal, but during my pre-season break I've also been tempted to start what will probably be my last EFL save in FM19.

 

 

Formed in 1871, Reading are one of the oldest football league clubs in the world

Until the start of the 2018/19 season, the club had successfully (but narrowly) avoided relegation to League 1 in three out of the last four campaigns 

The exception to the above was 2016/17 when the club only missed out on promotion to the top flight by a PO Final loss to Huddersfield on penalties

Whilst it is now known that the 2018/19 season was another struggle against demotion, a raft of good quality loan signings in the winter kept them up

I've decided to take advantage of these signings to see what I can do at the club myself in the 2018/19 season

I have added a set of 'realism rules' to my challenge though, reflecting the real life FFP issues and soft transfer embargo the club now has

It's well known that the Chinese owners would put money in, but they won't risk penalties as the squad and wage bill is way too large

Every out of contract player was released in the summer and a whole host of other senior pros were excluded from the training camp in Spain

Whilst only a small number of players have left so far, I have decided to demote every one of them to the U23 squad as I try to sell or loan them out

This drastically reduced the pool of players available to me, but to balance this off, I have kept the loan players that helped so much last year

I am unable to recall a couple of loan players who are set to be involved during 2019/20, so new signings can be made

That will be possible only on strict conditions though - they must have played for the club before or must be a 2019/20 signing IRL

I've enhanced the squad numbers by virtue of including the Academy products that have been promoted during this pre-season 

The big transfer was turning Nelson Oliveira's loan move in to a permanent £1.8m signing

This was partly because I needed to reduce the loan numbers from six to five, and partly because I expected him to sign IRL

Oliveira had been training with Reading during this off-season and wanted to re-join permanently in real life

Unfortunately the club could not afford him even on a free transfer (because of FFP) and he is joining AEK Athens instead

The other signing I made was former Academy product Jack Stacey from Luton for £350k to provide another option at right-back

Stacey isn't benefitting yet from stats reflecting his performances last year, so was a cheap and sensible move

The other incoming players shown in the list were those the club made last season themselves

Going out of the club were a small handful of the unwanted men, the rest will languish out on loan or in the U23 group until I can rid myself of them 

I feel a bit sorry for Bodvarsson who sees himself sold when I would have kept him, but I'm just echoing what the club wanted to do

Baldock is already free to go after a disappointing year, but was added late to the training camp squad due to lack of numbers so I kept him too

Obita has been injured for two seasons and only now training again so for this 2018/19 season he isn't available for selection

Results so far have been encouraging, and better than I expected with a small and youthful squad

I'm trying to make the side defensively sound as they haven't been like this for years until Miazga and Moore paired up last January

A solid base can then hopefully allow me to counter-attack effectively, with the pace and power of Barrow & Meite supporting Oliveira

So far so good, and I hope that I can cope with the long and hard winter schedule that no doubt lies ahead

Edited July 20, 2019 by Jogo Bonito

[robterrace]

20 hours ago, silentwars said:

@robterrace how is Lloyd Kelly getting on for you at Forest?

Spent a lot of time after signing with a couple of niggling injuries, really a bit prone to them at the moment, then, when he got fit again, I was playing a setup that didn't really need fullbacks or wingbacks (been playing 3-4-3 for a bit)

In other news..

Been keeping a spreadsheet of my youth prospects that are coming through the academy, and, I've managed to get one to change from a negative personality, to a more neutral one. Still got a bit of work to do with those at the front of the queue development wise though.

[robterrace]

Nottingham Forest - 2020/21 Season Review

Premier League - 12th. Media Prediction - 19th

FA Cup - 6th Round - Knocked out by Southampton

Carabao Cup - 2nd Round - Knocked out by Burnley (Penalties)

Awards -

Review -

Stats -

Commercial -

[Chewy2006]

 

Decided for my final long term (hopefully) save of fm19 I wanted a real challenge and what a bigger challenge than Bolton. Starting on the most recent transfer summer update so we find ourselves just recently relegated from the championship and as everyone or most people know the financial problems at the club is dire to say the least so we start the season in administration with a -12 points to start the new league 1 season with.

Luckily although not a tycoon we have been taking over by a local businessman who has cleared the debts so have a healthy 9.5m in the balance but I was given no transfer budget to start with and the few players I managed to sign were on free transfers with the biggest signing being 39 year old Diego Forlan who should be amazing at this level even given his age. I managed to get him signed without any agent fees or signing on fee but by paying him the max I could of 4.5k a week I had only £375 a week to offer other free transfers and that was impossible so I have got to stick with my bare bones squad and hope that we can make it to the jan window with in touching distance of the team just above the relegation zone or be out of the relegation zone by then.

It will be tough as I have to hope we don't get any serious injuries as with no reserves and no youth players and I have asked for a senior club to get some loans in with paying a fee although this has still to happen and with the transfer window now shut these again will only be able to get in jan if we are lucky.

 

Here is my squad as it stands

 

Edited July 26, 2019 by Chewy2006

[beechy85]

Good luck with Bolton @Chewy2006 you are only an injury or 2 from crisis! Hopefully you can get a bit of money to spend in Jan! I have taken a step back from my Norwich save the crosses not beating first man 99% of the time just got to me! Started up as Gainsborough in the Northen Premier Premier Division and am currently doing really well with them so continuing that save for now with Norwich on the back burner although I’m sure I’ll be back to the save at some point

[Chewy2006]

We have just reached over the half way point of the season and what a season it has been so far. I thought it would of been more difficult in truth than it turned out to be, after a dodgy start at Portsmouth where I was 1-0 up to then get hammered 4-1 it looked a daunting time was in store for me but after a string of really good results we got rid of that -12pts in no time and have been climbing the table ever since.

 

Also we have managed to have a really good run in the FA Cup which sees us in the 3rd round and has given the bank balance a much needed boost but after my initial squad post I have managed to get Chelsea as a parent club and managed to get some promising youngsters on board more than anything I needed them in to just add some depth to my squad. Maddox however has proven to be amazing so far chipping in with a fair amount of goals and assists to help the team. Mainly though I think the most pleasing thing about my squad other than the results is that ive managed to get to January with no injuries or long term injuries what so ever which was the thing I was dreading the most given the small squad I have to work with.

 

I have also been rewarding with a new contract from the board as I have done so well and they have vowed to improve the training facilities as a result of my fine run aswell. Hopefully I can add abit more quality in the team and who knows what I thought was going to be a season just to survive might actually be a season where we could make our way into the play off picture or even an automatic place given we are not far off at the moment.

 

Fixtures

 

 

Squad

 

 

 

League 1 Table

 

Edited July 27, 2019 by Chewy2006

[robterrace]

So, instead of writing several updates a season, I thought I'd change tack, and write an update halfway through the season, and one at the end.

Here is the Half Term report for season 4.

Transfers -

Again, business done in and out, with the outgoing transfers seeing a lot of profit for the club.

 

The biggest outgoing deal of the lot was Matej Chalus, who saw us make nearly £7m in profit once we paid out the sell on. Tavsun was very similar, making us a large profit on a small outlay, however, a 30% profit sell on saw us bring in about £5m in profit there.

Coming in, Guido Olguin and Simone Perez were upgrades on the wing, both really highly rated Argentinian youngsters, who will probably have a season with us then be sold. Iriarte was the same, just coming in to support Buitink at the top.

Deadline day, saw us bring in another couple of defenders, in Columbian Duván Perdomo and Max Bauer, as well as some transfer listed English players, in Eddie Nketiah and Dru Yearwood.

Bauer and Perdomo are ones who will spend a couple of seasons with us hopefully, before moving on.

Our league performance was surprising for everyone, seeing us 4th at the turn of the year. Iriarte, Buitink and Olguin chipping in with goals, and Perdomo picking up 5 from centre back.

 

 

With the January transfer window arriving, two signings are coming in, for an outlay of £11m.

Firstly, on a free transfer from Manchester City, Jack Harrison, who will cover both wings, and secondly, for £11m from relegated Bournemouth, David Brooks.

Both are at the top end of the age range I will buy (Harrison 25, Brooks 24), however, they both present a massive resale value due to Brexit and being homegrown British players.

Our aim for the second half of the season, is to consolidate our position, and hopefully qualify for Europe.

[silentwars]

First Season with Blackburn completed. Championship record of 109 points. 

[robterrace]

So, going into January, the aim was to consolidate our position, and try to finish as high up the table as possible.

First, we had to negotiate the January transfer window, something, which, we did pretty well, with only David Brooks and Jack Harrison coming in, for a total of £11m. The door didn't stop there, with, nearly £85m of outgoing transfer fees coming in, the big one being £40m for Blas Sever, who departs for Tottenham.

Other key departures were Xadas, who hadn't played a great deal this season, Bernardo Mosso, who fell out with me at the end of the August window, as no offers came in for him, and first choice keeper, David Raya.

 

Letting Raya go to Monaco was a tough decision, however, in Charlie Le Fondre and Stig Skjaeveland, there were 2 youngsters who had the potential to be long term standouts for us. 19 year old Le Fondre, an England U21 international, had been on loan at Ipswich in the Championship in the first half of the season, and returned.

 

The other issue was a replacement for Sever. We would lose a lot of dynamism with him leaving, however, the scouting network came up trumps, locating another South American potential superstar, plying his trade in Columbia at Atletico Nacional, and, for £600k, Victor Hugo De Alba comes to the club in June, meaning that Perdomo and Bauer would see out the season as first choices.

 

Comparisons with Sever are easy to make, and the young Columbian will fit his role well.

 

A second Columbian was also arriving in July, this one had been plying his trade in North America, at NYCFC, and was again, really highly rated on the scout reports.

Other than that, theres a couple of youngsters coming in just to top up the squads

Back to League news, we confirmed Europa League qualification with a couple of games left, our form, naturally dropped off after the sale of Sever, who had been a massive part of the defence, but, we were overachieving on my plan by at least a season, so, the experience for a lot of the younger players would be quite good.

The U23s won their respective league, with Marcel Diabate top scoring , and the U18s winning their division, then losing the U18 Premier League final on penalties, as well as a defeat in the Youth Cup Final.
Young Spanish striker, Alvaro, a product of our 2021 youth intake, scoring over 30 goals in the season.

 

A 7th place finish was good, but, I felt we collapsed a fair bit in the 2nd half of the season

 

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly...

[silentwars]

@robterrace is the new stadium affecting your transfer budget much at all?

[robterrace]

3 hours ago, silentwars said:

@robterrace is the new stadium affecting your transfer budget much at all?

Not had any change yet.

And, I like this.

[Chewy2006]

Well where to start at the end of December we had an outside chance of a play off place at best with us needing to rely on other teams to slip up but after xmas what an amazing run we had till the end of the season we managed to get to the Quarter final of the FA Cup just losing out in injury time to a youthful Arsenal side at the Emirates which was an incredible achievement. After that we only had the league to focus on and I was lucky to not get many injuries at all that would cost us for the season.

 

In the January window I decided to sell mageninis to give the transfer kitty and more importantly the wages abit of a boost to give us a chance of signing a few more quality players and that was the case aswell as getting a couple of frees in I also managed to bag another few free loans in which gave our defence more strength in depth as most of the early season I felt every game we were leaking a few goals so I hoped these little changes would tighten it up at the back but that proved to just be one of those things and we had to rely on outscoring the opposition to get a much needed win.

 

Transfers

 

We had a little wobble in mid march and I thought our chances of a top 6 finish had gone but in April and to the end of the season we went on an amazing run so it all came down to the final two games of the season. It was tight between 4 teams to get the last two play off spots but luckily we managed to beat Accrington which meant we were 5th going into the last game and with it being in our hands it was a relief knowing a win in our last game and we were in the play offs.

 

It was a nervous win against Wycombe who scored with 5 mins left and were keep throwing everyone forward so we had to hang on but we managed it and other results going our way aswell meant we finished a great 4th place. With some big teams like Ipswich not making the play offs our chances looked good with Blackpool in our way in the semi finals.  A thrilling game at Bloomfield Road felt more like a ride on a rollercoaster than a football game we went 2-0 down quite early on so it looked as if a long hard seasons work had all been wasted but a harsh team talk boosted morale and give the team just the kick up the backside they needed and by the time the 67th minute had come around of the clock we were in front it was another nervy game in the end and we were just hoping to hang on and keep the advantage and we managed to do so job done.

 

The Home leg a few days later was a much more relaxed game we took an early lead and the job was pretty much done with Blackpool needing another 3 goals to turn the tie it looked unlikely. this time a more relaxed team talk knowing we were almost through was needed and early in the 2nd half Oztumer player of the season for me grabbed the 2nd and on our way to Wembley we went.

 

So it all came down to this although I never expected to get to the play offs yet alone the final we had to take our chance and get to the championship. Again like the first leg against Blackpool we started slowly and found ourselves 1-0 down quite quickly. This time though we kept it at 1-0 and just before half time we snatched a deserved equaliser 1-1 going into the break and time to calm the nerves. We started the 2nd half like we ended the first and were in control and then out of the blue a 25 yard screamer from Menseguez on of our jan signings and we were up 2-1 but as what had cost us all season our defence didn't stay firm and a stupid pen was given away a few minutes later 2-2.

 

It was then an even game and could of gone either way a few bookings and I knew I had to make some changes. I sent on a half fit lowe who him and murphy in the middle of midfield had been brilliant all season so I knew he was someone I could trust and wouldn't you know it 10 mins after coming on he grabbed the all important 3rd and from then on we started to dominate the game. Although we never looked in danger 3-2 was always a dangerous score and up until stoppage time you never could rule out Bristiol Rovers having one attack and it could of been 3-3 but as it turned out a swift counter attack and 4-2 it was and it was over! Back to the championship at the first attempt and an unbelievable season for us.

 

The Board although gave me nothing to spend this season and have given me a healthy 9.5m to spend which is much needed and most of this season we had to rely on loan players. I know I will look at the loan market and even the free transfers again but hopefully I can buy some much needed quality to help us stay up next season

Fixtures

 

Squad

 

 

Final League Table

 

Edited July 29, 2019 by Chewy2006

[silentwars]

trying to sign Max Broughton from Bolton atm, retrain him as a box to box midfielder 

[robterrace]

Going through some stuff on my save. So far, my total outlay on transfers is - £137m (for a total of 120 players), and I've fetched in £202m on 32 transfers, the biggest profit being £31m (so far).

Think my policy is working a bit.

[silentwars]

End of my second season with Blackburn. Easily avoided relegation finishing 8th. Start of the 3rd season now, I've spent 70 m + on new players, and looking to break into the top six.

[robterrace]

So, 2022/23 has the World Cup in the middle. That, I forgot about.

In came Victor Hugo De Alba for £650k, with Ross McCrorie coming in from Rangers (for a slightly bigger fee than I wanted to pay), for £7m. The news that Paulo Roberto was going to miss the first couple of months of the campaign was tempered somewhat, when 18 year old French youngster, Justin Picard came up on a scout list.

Mobile, strong in the tackle, and fit, although, diminutive in size (at 5'5", he is the smallest player in the squad), he fits how we want to play, and for £4m, presents a great resale value for the future.

A large number of players departed on loan again, aiming to push their experience further, and several players departed for new clubs, bringing nearly £77m in fees in.

Thomas Buitink was the first to depart, Wolves sparking an auction, which saw the fee go up to £33.5m, with a 30% sell on clause, bringing the club nearly £22m in profit for 18 months worth of work.

Alessandro Murgia departed next, unable to find a space in our starting lineup, he kicked up a bit of a fuss, and went for £3.5m to Aston Villa, which, for less than 12 months, and a £300k profit, wasn't too bad for us.

Bruno Paz departed to Spain, where Villareal paid £9.5m for the Portuguese midfielder, a profit of nearly £9m in the near 2 years he spent with us.

Max Bauer returned to Germany, with Borussia Mönchengladbach parting with £3.5m for the centre back, again, a profit of £1.3m for just under 10 months.

Andre Girao was the next to depart, the Portuguese winger, signed for £600k in 2020, was the subject of several bids from PSG, and in the end, £2.5m and a very healthy 50% of any future fee saw him depart.

Young Argentinian, Guido Olguin departed next, the £7m fee we paid to River, was trebled by Bayer Leverkusen, and the promise of Champions League football saw him go.

That was the last of the 'big' fees, but, 3 other fringe players departed.

---

In competitive fixtures, we came up against AZ in the Europa League qualifiers, and despatched them 6-0 over 2 legs.

A trip to Croatia came next, with Rijeka our opposition, they were despatched 4-2 on aggregate.

Our run came to a disappointing end in the 4th Qualifying Round, seeing us bow out to Mainz, who were better drilled, and saw us off 4-2 over the 2 legs.

In other competitions, we were beaten 3-0 in the Carabao Cup 3rd Round, and our run in the league was going better, seeing us lie 4th after 17 games, and being one of the only teams to score past Liverpool this season.

Player wise, David Brooks, Luis Iriarte and Keiran Douglas find themselves towards the top end of the goalscorers charts, with Brooks in 3rd place in the league, with 8 goals.

There is some interest coming in for some of the players with the transfer window looming, but, it will take a massive bid or two to part with some of the players.

[robterrace]

Hmmmm...

[robterrace]

As with last season, the aim was to consolidate our position as we pushed into the new year.

The transfer window came around once more, with youngsters Ciaran Stewart, Lucas and Rogerio Caroco joining. The standouts were Jamal Lewis, from Huddersfield, for £10.75m, a bit excessive I thought, but, with his club having gone down, and I needed someone to put pressure on Foster on the left side. The 24 year old will supply that.

Other notable signings were defender Cristopher Huertas, for £3.8m from Malaga. Another powerful centreback, who had just turned 21, Huertas was playing in Spain, and wanted to leave the Segunda. Hitting his release clause saw him come on a 4 and a half year deal.

Murray Proctor joined from Kilmarnock. The 20 year old attacking midfielder had fallen out with his manager, and the Scottish U21 is the perfect fit for what we need. Competition for his place comes from Roberto Lopez, who signs from Girona in Spain, for £1.9m.

 

As always, there were departures in the transfer window as well.

Ryan Ledson departed to Reading, having failed to improve since joining. Dru Yearwood as well, departed, heading to Newcastle for a small profit.

Eddie Nketiah returned south to London, having found himself unable to break into the first team squad on a regular basis. Brentford paid £5m for him, which saw us make another profit.

 

Young Argentine winger, Simone Perez departed to Spain, joining Betis. Although I really liked him as a player, his personality saw him kick up a fuss any time a player was sold, and, he was coming to the end of his contract. For £3.8m, a decent profit was made on him.

 

Also departing was Luis Iriarte for £13.5m to Marseille. The Argentine had top scored for us last season, and was doing well this season, however, his agent was pushing for a massive new contract for him, and a £10.5m profit on him was more than worth making.

Back to business, a decent cup run saw us get knocked out in the 6th Round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford, where, despite taking the lead, the sending off of Leigh Foster changed the game.

In the league, we kept a short distance behind the top 3, eventually securing 4th place with 3 games to go, defeating Arsenal.

Kieran Douglas was the massive standout for us, finishing the season with 29 goals, 14 assists, and numerous awards, including the PFA Young Player of the Season. He has probably every one of Europes big clubs sniffing after him, which is why I managed to get him to sign a contract which puts him right at the top of the pay structure I want to use. The big thing with the contract, however, is there are no release clauses in there

 

Then this,...

 

Finally, this

So. 2 seasons left at NG2, then we move into our new home. Hopefully, we can keep the Champions League football coming for then.

 

 

 

 

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Walking on The Trent - Season 5. The Second Half is now live.

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[robterrace]

Going into the the 2023/24 season, we were looking to compete on another front, with Champions League football thrown in.

For perhaps the first time in the entire time I've been at Forest, there were minimal arrivals, with 3 players coming in.

Northern Irish teenagers, Scott Porter (AMR) and Ben Bingham (ST) arrived from Glenavon, and went on loan, to Hull City and Hearts. Australian international defender, Lachlan Tobin came in from Adelaide City in his homeland, and went on loan to Ligue 1 side, Amiens.

The usual loans went out, with several fringe players departing to new clubs.

Interest was beginning to show in Kieran Douglas. The young Irish striker had been on fantastic form over the past 2 seasons on loan at Scunthorpe and Newcastle, and he had shown great improvement in terms of attributes and value. The belief being that he wouldn't be at the club at the end of this transfer window, moves were made to secure a striker of similar ilk.

Noah Lepretre was found at Servette in Switzerland, and at 17 years old, still had a few years worth of development to do. He'd shown up on several scout reports over the past season and a half, and had scored regularly in the U21s of the Swiss club, before chipping in with 16 from 33 in the Swiss League last season.

Comparatively, he was exactly the sort of striker we wanted, someone comfortable to play on his own, but also drop deep and help link up the play. For £6m, he joins on his 18th birthday, January 6th.

Also attracting some interest, was Jack Harrison. At 26, he is the oldest player in the squad, and had asked for a new contract. On checking what he wanted, the winger requested over £60k per week, with no negotiation room. This was £20k over the limit I have set myself for sustainability purposes.

He was immediately offered out, and attracted the attention of Everton, who offered £19m for him. Given I had signed him on a free, thats a very healthy profit, and he will leave in January.

The plus side of this, is that I had several months to pursue the options on the left side of midfield. There is a young Ivorian arriving who can play on that flank, but, that will still leave us short out there, as Martin McMeekin has been struggling with injury.

The solution to this was found in Ireland. 19 year old Winger, Glen Whelan, had been plying his trade at Cork City. Quick, strong, and a very good playmaker out wide, he struck me a bit of an Irish Gareth Bale, just without the attitude. For £1m, and a 5 year contract, he comes in on the 1st January 2024, and will replace Harrison.

--

Away from the transfer business, the season started with a visit from West Ham, who, inspired by Romelu Lukaku, went away 3-0 victors.

Champions League football saw us draw Dynamo Kiev, FC Porto and Monaco, with the chances of progressing being pretty good.

This proved to be the case, as we finished 2nd in the group behind Monaco, who won 5 out of their 6 games, the only defeat being a 2-1 reverse to ourselves at the City Ground. Our prize being a draw against Bayer Leverkusen

We departed the EFL Cup in the 3rd round, a rotated team losing on penalties to Arsenal after a 2-2 draw.

At the turn of the year, we found ourselves sat in 4th in the Premier League, level with Manchester United in 3rd, with 39 points after 20 games, although, the north west side have 2 games in hand. All to play for, and a few choice areas to strengthen in, and things could happen.

[Jogo Bonito]

Sorry to say that my brief spell with Reading (whilst enjoyable) hasn't continued. They signed a whole host of new players after I started this, and some of them seem quite promising. I decided to stop as they will be amongst the EFL contenders for me in FM20 .

[BadAss88]

I'm starting my first EFL challenge ever as Rickie Lambert in charge of Sunderland, after watching the 'Sunderland til I Die'-documentary. I hope I can keep this save going untill FM20.

[Martin93]

Sorry if asked several times... But how does promotion from championship to PL money works? I have a journeyman save, then in 2025 Blackburn got a new owner, tycoon, so I thought that is the perfect time to go to England and build a former big team. And won the playoff to bring the team back to the PL, and then did ofc start to get the PL TV money. But are you not supposed to get more then TV money when  you get pormotion from Championship? Not seen any things to that or a message about that yet, so wonder if it's just me who have misunderstood...

[DefinitelyTaylor]

Can we expect an FM20 thread @warlock? 

[warlock]

2 minutes ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

Can we expect an FM20 thread

Absolutely . I'm hoping to post the new thread the day of full release. Last year, I wrote the club profiles based on the beta and then had to change a lot after full release as predicted finish positions and transfer budgets changed at the last minute. Since the only way to discover transfer budgets is to take on the manager role for every one of the 72 clubs, I'd rather not have to do that twice .

[karanhsingh]

Keenly waiting, already started off with Hull City! 

[Jogo Bonito]

On ‎06‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 14:00, warlock said:

Absolutely . I'm hoping to post the new thread the day of full release. Last year, I wrote the club profiles based on the beta and then had to change a lot after full release as predicted finish positions and transfer budgets changed at the last minute. Since the only way to discover transfer budgets is to take on the manager role for every one of the 72 clubs, I'd rather not have to do that twice .

I'm looking forward to it.

I've had a successful one-season dabble with Bristol Rovers in the BETA, somewhat  unrealistically cruising to the League 1 title. I might have continued beyond, but there was a data error/bug (sorted for release) which meant that the home attendance was limited to 2746. IRL this is just the seating capacity limit (the average home attendance is around 8000) and so in FM20 BETA the club was losing money hand over fist because of it, 

As usual, I have a long list of potential EFL clubs to take on so hoping the thread will be as popular as usual. All the best @warlock

[warlock]

8 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I'm looking forward to it.

Me too! I've done a bit of dabbling myself - haven't completed a season yet but I've played through a couple of months with Plymouth, Ipswich and Middlesbrough. The first two were rather enjoyable; the latter was not. They're a complete mess, and the squad is as bad as any I've ever seen in FM. They'll be a real challenge this year.

[Lataralus]

Dude i'm a Boro fan and tried starting with us. Our team is *****, we have no money and Gibson wants us in Play Offs first season. I started a new save with Malaga and have just been promoted. Boro can go to hell this year like haha. Very realistic though

[warlock]

Just now, Lataralus said:

Dude i'm a Boro fan

My sympathies. I really expect them to go down this season. A top manager would struggle with the squad they have... and I'm afraid Woodgate doesn't look like a top manager.

[Lataralus]

Completely agree with you man. Its looking very ominous. Woodgate is completely out of his depth.
Good luck to you too man. Always like to see Darlo do well. 

[Lucas_26_7]

FINALLY I have won the Premier League in Football League save, Blackpool have won the 2028/29 season! This was massive for me, have always done a save with a League 1 team and never have I come this far. I know nobody probably cares enough to read the whole story - but I don't care here so it is from start to finish!

I put the regens in italics to make it easier to follow for anyone that can be bothered?

2018/19 Season

The save begins with us in League 1, not expected for anything more than a lower mid table finish. We are banned from making signings during the window due to financial constraints, but manage to bring in two new free transfers in with Remie Streete (who turned out to be amazing) and Niko Kranjcar (who was a flop). After a dodgy start and Christmas period, we storm the second part of the year thanks to our sublime front three of Liam Feeney, Chris Taylor and Nathan Delfouneso to sneak into 6th and earn a play off spot. A come from behind win over Shrewsbury gets us a date with Portsmouth in the play off final, however a late red card to our Player of the Season Nya Kirby means we go in as underdogs. We upset the odds though, a Chris Taylor brace and Delfouneso goal giving us a dominant 3-0 win and sending us up to the Championship.

 

2019/20 Season

We were amongst the lowest wage budget in League 1, so in the Championship we are financially getting into fights outside of our weight class. We had to be shrewd in the transfer market - Joel Pereira, Josh Onomah and Eddie Nketiah all come in on loans as well as last season's starlet Nya Kirby returning on loan. Free transfers are needed with Callum McManaman, Peter Crouch, Adam Bodzek and Micah Richards being aided by the biggest signing of all, the return of club legend Charlie Adam on a free transfer. Despite being predicted to go straight back down, we fly out the gates and never look back. We look like we could push for an automatic promotion spot but thanks to two consecutive losses to round out the season we have finished 6th again, one point behind arch rivals Preston. Nketiah continues his scintillating form by scoring in both legs against Derby as we win 6-3 on aggregrate, meaning we play Preston North End for a chance to get back to the promised land. And in front of 87,000 at Wembley, Charlie Adam's 32nd minute free kick is enough to give us the win against our biggest rivals and send us back to the Premier League.

 

2020/21 Season

If we were up against it in the Championship, now it is mission impossible. I had never been relegated in a FM save before but knew it was a very real possibility with our squad that was barely up to Championship standard on paper. We bring in Onomah and Pereira on permanent deals this time, with Nketiah returning on loan. Jon Stankovic and Aaron Mooy are stolen from relegated Huddersfield, with Ryan Babel coming in on a free after a great season in the Championship at Fulham. Iban Salvador (free), Sergi Palencia (1.2m), Ben Osborn (6m) and inevitable flop Samir Nasri make up the rest of the summer dealings. Our squad is very weak, Curtis Tilt and Remie Streete are starting in central defence, the same pairing that started in the Championship. Despite dreams that moneyball would pay off, we just aren't good enough and are sent packing to the Championship with just 5 league wins all season and finishing dead last. A few notable things happen towards the end of the season though, as we miraculously sign Brazilian wonderkid regen Gustavo Elias for just 63k after meeting his minimum release clause in January and he looks decent in a poor side. Marc-Oliver Kempf also joins in January, and we see the emergence of academy prospect and 18 year old Ryan Bolger, who made his debut in the Championship last season but is now looking to compete for a starting spot already.

 

2021/22 Season

With a humbling experience up in the Prem, we now head into this Championship season with a need to change philosophies. With Gustavo Elias and Ryan Bolger emerging it is time to look for the future and stop signing the likes of Nasri and Kranjcar. Another Brazilian wonderkid joins, Jose Eduardo for a massive 9m. Craig Higgins is a Scottish regen brought in to fit the new philosophy with central midfielders Sean Longstaff and Youseff Ait Bennasser providing more class in a weak area. We storm the Championship, for the first time our possession style is taking over and we are playing teams off the park. The front three with Jose Eduardo on the left, Gustavo Elias down the middle and Ryan Bolger on the right is a sight to behold as we finish top of the league by 6 points. In January we sign our 3rd Brazilian wonderkid, Manolo Turra to offer Gustavo Elias some back up instead of the aging Nathan Delfouneso.

 

2022/23 Season

This time I feel properly ready for the Premier League. Survival is essential, I only kept my job by the skin of my teeth are being relegated last time so it is vital we get off to a good start. Again youth is the philosophy, Joe Willock and Timothy Weah will be world beaters for this club. And young American left full back Marshall Hancock signed from Fulham looks like he could be a world beater. All this youth can't do it on their own though and if a world class player becomes available you have to seize the opportunity, so Ivan Rakitic joins on a free transfer with days before the deadline. Despite going in feeling good, we get off to a poor start with just one league win until December. The sack looms but the calendar year 2023 brings in a fresh change as we finally string together wins in January and go on a run of brilliant performances. Our only 3 losses from January to April are at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and St James' Park. We even go on a brilliant FA Cup run - beating Chelsea on the way - only to lose in the Semi Final against Newcastle on Penalties. We have achieved our goal though, Safety. 39 points enough to earn us 15th position.

 

2023/24 Season

With survival secured, it is time to look up and start climbing the table. Youth are what will do it for us, so we bring in three huge acquisitions. The first is literally huge as we bring in 6 foot 4 midfield monster Mario Lozano in from Colombian side Deportivo Cali for just 725k, the guy looks the full package and his release clause gets us a bargain. Next up is another Brazilian, but this time 20 year old Rodolpho from RB Leipzig for a pretty pricey 20m. Daniel Patrick (most boring Brazilian name ever) rounds out our summer spree, the right back joins from Flamengo for a fairly sizable 19.25m. With Gustavo Elias, Hancock, Bolger, Lozano, Jose Eduardo, Rodolpho and Daniel Patrick our Starting XI is filled with young prospects and our average age is ridiculously young. Timothy Weah is one who shines though, 13 goals in just 24 league games from left wing. This allows us to move Jose Eduardo to his more favoured number 10 role where he truly shines. Unbelievably thanks to a spree of giant killings (Man United, Liverpool, Man City all beaten at Bloomfield Road) we qualify for the Europa League for the first time by finishing in 7th. I feel this young team is capable of even more, and the future looks bright at Blackpool. The only down spot is club captain Marshall Hancock forcing through a move to Real Madrid in January, but that does allow us to go on another purge of young talent - Djordje Stevanovic (young Serbian CM) comes in for 2.1m, Edvan (strong Brazilian DM) comes in for 8m and Kjell Rohme (talented norweigan CM) comes in for 2.4m. It wouldn't be Blackpool though if it didn't feature an old out of date signing, Sergio Aguero signs on a 6 month contract purely to mentor young talent, not sure he can teach them much about scoring goals though considering he scored 0 in 7 games.

 

2024/25 Season

Now it is getting real, European football in the offing and a team capable of beating anyone on their day. We have a decent transfer kitty to spend, especially after selling off a few of our long term players such as Onomah, Guruzeta and Longstaff. In comes more youth, being an Australian I regularly check the A-League for talent and I stumble across to youngsters who look promising Perth Glory goalkeeper Peter Thomas and Melbourne City AM David Webster are signed for a combined 3m. Asia also holds promising youth further North, with CB Moon Ki Seok coming in from Ulsan Hyundai for just 2m. It's not just prospects though, Portuguese CB Guilherme Cunha and Leicester's English AM Jake West may be young but they are ready made starters. Jay Dasilva also finally replaces Marshall Hancock. Despite doing my business early in preperation for what will be a long season with Europa League commitments, I notice in the expiring contracts there is amazingly somebody interested in signing, he is due to retire at the end of next season but can have one last year... it's Lionel Messi. We now have a sensational squad and are a force to be reckoned with, even with Manolo Turra forcing a move to Man United on deadline day and forcing us to panic buy for Mexican youngster Carlos Ochoa as back up. Despite our amazing team though, our season is shattered early on, with Atalanta knocking us out in the last round of qualifying for the Europa League, meaning our large squad was all for nothing. We get off to a good start in the league though, and getting knocked out of the League cup early as well is allowing us to focus everything into the Prem, and we can't stop winning. Our attack has options everywhere, with the usual front line of Jose Eduardo, Gustavo Elias and Ryan Bolger with Leo Messi playing as the number 10 pulling the strings. Cunha and Rodolpho have formed a strong partnership in central defence, with Lozano and Willock a brilliant base in the middle - Pereira has continued to establish himself in goal and Dasilva and Daniel Patrick are becoming quality full backs. It is all coming together and an early FA Cup knockout only strengthens an unlikely title challenge. Chelsea and Blackpool are fighting punch for punch going into the last days of the season, but Chelsea have an advantage due to goal difference. Simultaneous kick offs on Matchday 37, Blackpool host Watford and Chelsea travel to Newcastle. Chelsea go 2 goals down, with half an hour remaining but fight back to be 3-2 up in a 15 minute spell. Newcastle pull a shock goal back though meaning it is 3-3 going into the closing stages. Meanwhile at Bloomfield Road it is still 0-0 in injury time and then... JOSE EDUARDO SCORES FOR BLACKPOOL! In the 91st minute it looks like Blackpool have clawed in front on the second to last day of reckoning when the referee blows his whistle, but then in heartbreaking fashion Ethan Ampadu converts a 93rd minute winner for Chelsea to earn a 4-3 win there and ensure the Blues have the advantage going into the final day. Chelsea coast past West Ham to a 5-1 win to win the league, and even a last minute goal from Ryan Bolger to win 1-0 couldn't raise my spirits. Blackpool lose the league on Goal Difference, only a differential of 5 separating the two teams.

 

2025/26 Season

Well... that was a long one. After the heartbreak of last season it is difficult to know where to rebuild. Particularly when Rodolpho's 54m release clause is met by Manchester City. We have to spend big to replace him, parting with 74m to sign Uruguayan Jorge Rodriguez. A back up right back is needed to compete on all fronts and we sign French international Jamal Bertrand to fill the void. Middlesbrough's Mark Thirlwell is signed with the small responsibility of replacing Leo Messi as a right winger, with Lewis Gibson offering depth at left back. I was happy with my transfer business but the vultures are still circling for our young talent, when the transfer window closes I think we are safe. However Barcelona come in before the European window shuts with 76m bid for Mario Lozano - last season's player of the year - to really mess things up. We never really recover from this loss and slump back down to a 7th place finish. Our first attempt in the Champions League doesn't go well, failing to progress from a relatively easy group with Marseille and Porto finishing above us. We finally sign a Lozano replacement in January with Spaniard David Mariscal coming in for a steal at 21m after being transfer listed at Barcelona. We also look to sign a long term replacement for Joel Pereira with Colombian youngster Jaime Garcia coming in for 750k. The Europa League becomes our biggest chance to get a CL spot. Timothy Weah lights up the knockout rounds and helps us to beat CSKA Moskow, Shakhtar and Napoli. Our semi final opponents are a tougher test, Manchester City with former Blackpool sensation money-hungry Rodolpho warming their bench. We lose 3-1 at the Etihad with Jose Eduardo scoring the solitary goal, but amazingly goals from Jake West and Gustavo Elias are enough to give us a memorable 2-0 win at Bloomfield Road and send us to a Europa League Final in Hrazdan, Armenia. The unlikely scoring pair of Mark Thirlwell and Moon Ki-Seok provide the goals to give us an early advantage and despite an attempted fight back we hold on for a massive 2-1 win to earn our first piece of major silverware.

 

2026/27 Season

There is a lot of work to do with and with a massive transfer kitty it is time to spend big. Issuf Soares is signed from Benfica for 38m as a left sided CB, Richard Hughton's 6 ft 8 frame makes him an ideal partner for the creative David Mariscal but he doesn't come cheap at 85m. Marshall Hancock is a familiar face returning for a cut price after a failed stint at Real Madrid. Sizable fees from Lewis Gibson and Joe Willock provide us with just enough cash to complete the spree. We also have a decision to make, Jose Eduardo is refusing to sign a new contract at the moment and his contract expires at the end of the 2027 season, I decide to risk it though and hope he will agree to a new deal before January. Our Premier League form is patchy but we advance to the Champions League Round of 16 for the first time, finishing on top of the group above Marseille, Ajax and Genk. Disappointing results against Watford and Brighton leave us miles off the top 4 going into January, and Jose Eduardo still hasn't put pen to paper so it is time to cut our losses in order to not lose him on a free, he departs for a cut price 30m for Manchester United. The FA Cup provides a welcome distraction knocking off Watford and Barnsley to progress to the 5th Round. Jose Eduardo requires a replacement and we muster up the funds to bring in Dutch wonderkid left winger Mustapha El Khatib in from Feyenoord for 38.5m. We also finally welcome Belgian full back Evan Barbier from Standard after he turns 18, we signed him when he was 16 and to my surprise he is already looking good enough for a starting role. We drew a difficult tie against Bayern in the Round of 16 but a 0-0 draw away gave us confidence, and a last minute goal from makeshift starter David Webster in the 93rd minute sends us to the Quarter Finals to face Mario Lozano's Barcelona. Meanwhile in the FA Cup, narrow victories over Leeds and Bournemouth set up a Semi Final with Manchester City which we win in dramatic fashion beating City 4-3, Webster again coming up with a massive goal. Once again we secure a draw away in the Champions League, this time away at the Nou Camp. And back at Bloomfield Road an 86th minute penalty from the returning Jake West sends us to the last four of Europe's biggest competition. Our league form has fallen by the wayside, we go on to finish a pathetic 8th meaning we have to win silverware again to secure European football. We travel to the Bernabau first and come out with a narrow 1-0 loss, our hopes to turn it around at home go by the wayside thanks to an early red card to Richard Hughton, losing 4-0 on aggregate. We then have an FA Cup final. More heartbreak. Arsenal defeat us 1-0 and there is a severe risk of the sack.

 

2027/28 Season

Oh, I didn't get sacked? Amazing. But now with no European football just like the 'nearly' year in 2024/25 this might be time we can take out the crown. I say to myself, I am going to win either the Premier League and that will COMPLETE the save. We rid ourselves of deadwood with no need for as much squad depth this year. 100m for squad players meaning we can spend big again. Raphael Fliessener is the biggest signing, a classy number 10 who has been on my radar for years that cost 58m to pry from Wolfsburg. Then there is Francisco Paulo, who prefers to play as a striker but will be my right winger. He cost 45m from Porto and stats look incredible, it is time to upgrade from Mark Thirlwell and Ryan Bolger no matter how much I love them. And finally to give a bit of experience, Neymar is in as a 36 year old rotation option on a free. Gustavo Elias, now club captain, is causing issues by handing in transfer requests. I hold firm though, this time I am not letting another one slip away. We are knocked out early doors in the League Cup, perfect. We are on fire in the league, Fliessener, Paulo and El Khatib as a 3 behind Elias is working phenomenally and all 3 need no time at all to settle in. We are top at Christmas, this could be it. Chelsea look like our main competitor with Tottenham in close pursuit, Elias won't stop with the transfer requests as Manchester City swirl he 'wants to leave to play Champions League football' despite the fact that City probably won't be in the CL next season seeing they're in 7th. As January draws to a close, we play Tottenham - a huge game in the context of the title race. We are 1-0 up with 10 left away from home... Tottenham score in the 81st. And again in the 85th, Harry Kane does it. I decide to give in, I grant Gustavo Elias his move considering he hasn't scored in 5, he is off to City for 85m. Who do I bring in to replace him? Harry Kane. He may be 33 and only cost 10m but his attributes are still good and I am hoping to finish the save in this season by winning the league. Just as deadline day draws to a close though, I notice something. An Italian wonderkid by the name of Patrizio Tarana who has been banging them in for Fiorentina has been transfer listed by request. I had noticed him previously but thought there was no point with Gustavo Elias around, should I go with youth or experience? Tarana or Kane? F*ck it I decide, I am getting both. Tarana signs for a whopping 73m, but he will be worth it I hope despite him being injured til March. His first game off the bench is March 4th, City away - Gustavo Elias against his former club to try and stop us winning the league. And of course he scores, Raphael Fliessener makes it level though and just as I am thinking I will take a draw Laporte scores in the 93rd minute to sink Tangerine hearts. After Chelsea slip up though, we are still in the driving seat despite a 0-0 draw with Everton. We collect wins over Southampton and Norwich but Arsenal are next away from home and just as it looks like we have won it through an 86th minute goal from Mustapha El Khatib, Castro scores for Arsenal to snatch a point in the 93rd minute. But we will win the league, as long as we get maximum points from our games against Stoke, Blackburn, Reading and West Brom. But... we draw with Blackburn, 1-1 with Tarana needing a late equaliser which isn't enough, Tarana is banging in goals (finished with 7 in 6 starts for the season) but it won't be enough. We win on the final day against West Brom, but Chelsea and Tottenham both do what is needed of them. We finish 3rd on 82 points equal with 2nd placed Chelsea as Tottenham come from nowhere to lift the League title for the second year running. 

 

2028/29 Season

Okay, this is it. I swear. No matter if I win the league or not the save will finish after this season. Let's go out with a bang. Looking at my squad as long as I retained everyone I don't think much else is needed, with Neymar retiring maybe some extra depth on the wings, so I bring in 33 year old Raheem Sterling from Man City for 25m. We are set to face familiar foes in our UCL group, with Marseille, Bayern and Spartak our opponents. But before then we face a tricky opening few fixtures, with United, Liverpool, Wolves and Chelsea our first four games. We collect draws against the big sides and beat Wolves as you'd expect. Tarana looks like he will be the main man with 4 in 4. With the exception of a draw in the UCL with Bayern, we win our other 12 games from September to the end of November. Tarana is scoring for fun, and we have a proper first XI that is keeping fit - squad rotation isn't required. Garcia in goal, Bertrand, Rodriguez, Soares and Barbier making up the defence, Hughton and captain Mariscal in the middle with Paulo, Fliessener and El Khatib in support of Tarana. What a team. Our first loss in any competition all season comes to Man City in the league cup on penalties in the middle of December. But we bounce back with a huge victory over Tottenham. As we tick over into the new year Manchester United are emerging as our title rival, and are doing well to keep up with us considering our blistering start to the season. January sees our first proper loss, but it isn't in the league, City beat us 4-2 in a FA Cup 4th Round Replay but it is all irrelevant if we keep our league form up. A tricky run of fixtures commences through February, starting with a trip to the San Siro to face Milan in the Champions League. We collect a 1-1 draw there, before facing our main title rivals Manchester United away at Old Trafford. And we wipe the floor with them, a 2-0 scoreline courtesy of Fliessener and Kane only reflecting portion of our dominance. Suddenly it is no longer dreaming of the title, but of an invincible season. But we are brought back down to earth straight away, Stoke destroying us 3-0 at their ground for our first league loss of the season, it took until February. A win is essential to ensure heads don't drop against Reading, but we sacrifice a lead to lose 3-2 at home, before faltering with a draw against Arsenal. Is it all slipping away? We play Milan next and advance with a 4-3 win, we were 3-0 up at one stage and almost let it slip on away goals but it doesn't matter because we are Champions League Quarter Finalists once more. We eek a win out of Leeds to get us back on track, before getting back to business with a resounding 5-1 win at home to Man City, hopefully Gustavo Elias and Rodolpho enjoyed watching Tarana bang in another brace from the bench. Next it is Liverpool at Anfield in the first leg of the Champions League and unbelievably we win 7-0. Francisco Paulo turned in a performance to savour with 2 goals and an astounding 5 assists. Even Tarana's hat-trick couldn't compare. In the league meanwhile, United and ourselves are still slugging it out game for game. Somehow United still in the race and they take the drivers seat after we draw 0-0 with Southampton. Our opponents in the Champions League Semi Finals? Manchester United. A warfare of tactical mindgames commences as we both embark on rigorous scheduling issues. The first leg at Old Trafford is disappointing to say the least, 4-2 away from home leaving it all to do at Bloomfield Road. It is all beginning to slip away with United now top of the league, but while we are sweeping Brighton aside 4 goals to Nil they falter at Blackburn with a 0-0 draw to spring the title race back to life with two games to play. Our fixtures are complex to poor scheduling from the FA, the semi final is on Wednesday, United play Tottenham on the Friday and then close out their season at home to Chelsea. We meanwhile play Blackburn at home on the 'final day' before having to have our 38th game of the season at home to Tottenham a week later. Our schedule gets less confusing as we are finally knocked out of the Champions League in the Semi Finals for the second time in three years, leaving United to advance to a Champions League final in Madrid. However their scheduling is too much, they lose 3-2 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium meaning that as long as we win against Blackburn we win the league. We get off to a perfect start with early goals from Francisco Paulo and Raphael Fliessener as United are still level against Chelsea. But a goal for Blackburn throws a spanner in the works, Angelo scores for United (a player who I previously tried desperately to sign) and Blackburn are piling on attack after attack. But we hold firm, we hold firm at 2-1 to become CHAMPIONS OF ENGLAND! Our last game next week against Tottenham is essentially a celebration. I give some game time to some old favourites of mine such as boyhood Blackpool fan Ryan Bolger and Timothy Weah and we run out 4-1 winners, the final goal of the save coming as Ryan Bolger squares the ball for Timothy Weah as if it was 2022 again.

 

The End. A final chapter closing on the most memorable story in my Football Manager experience.

Edited November 19, 2019 by Lucas_26_7

[Lucas_26_7]

And for nothing other than my own enjoyment, here is a list of my overall favourite XI of the save and their stats for the mighty tangerines (not going off the game's version).

 

Goalkeeper: Joel PEREIRA (319 Apps, 111 Clean Sheets)

Right Back: Jamal BERTRAND (117 Apps, 1 goal)

Centre Back: Remie STREETE (122 Apps, 5 goals)

Centre Back: Jorge RODRIGUEZ (168 Apps, 3 goals)

Left Back: Marshall HANCOCK (109 Apps, 0 goals)

Centre Mid: Mario LOZANO (69 Apps, 7 goals)

Centre Mid: Nya KIRBY (105 Apps, 11 goals)

Right Wing: Ryan BOLGER (258 Apps, 48 goals)

Attacking Mid: Raphael FLIESSENER (84 Apps, 20 goals)

Left Wing: Jose EDUARDO (242 Apps, 70 goals)

Striker: Patrizio TARANA (61 Apps, 50 goals)

 

BENCH

GK: Jaime GARCIA (139 Apps, 59 Clean Sheets)

CB: Issuf SOARES (118 Apps, 5 goals)

CM: David MARISCAL (147 Apps, 10 goals)

CM: Charlie ADAM (173 Apps, 46 goals)

RW: Francisco PAULO (74 Apps, 30 goals)

LW: Timothy WEAH (180 Apps, 57 goals)

ST: Gustavo ELIAS (279 Apps, 114 goals)

Edited November 19, 2019 by Lucas_26_7

[warlock]

8 hours ago, Lucas_26_7 said:

FINALLY I have won the Premier League in Football League save, Blackpool have won the 2028/29 season!

And the crowd goes wild 

Well played, sir! Well played, indeed.

[warlock]

With regard to the FM20 version of this thread, I'm running a little behind schedule. A bout of lethal man flu* has meant I've done little more than follow the forums and run a test save. But the Championship write-up is complete, L1 mostly done but L2 not progressed very far. Should be able to upload tomorrow, but definitely before the end of the week. Thank you for your patience 

* Well, it has killed my ability to concentrate 

[Dong21]

@warlock Looking forward to it. Hope you‘re feeling better soon! 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

3 hours ago, warlock said:

With regard to the FM20 version of this thread, I'm running a little behind schedule. A bout of lethal man flu* has meant I've done little more than follow the forums and run a test save. But the Championship write-up is complete, L1 mostly done but L2 not progressed very far. Should be able to upload tomorrow, but definitely before the end of the week. Thank you for your patience 

* Well, it has killed my ability to concentrate 

Take all the time you need mate. Hope you recover soon! 

[Jogo Bonito]

5 hours ago, warlock said:

With regard to the FM20 version of this thread, I'm running a little behind schedule. A bout of lethal man flu* has meant I've done little more than follow the forums and run a test save. But the Championship write-up is complete, L1 mostly done but L2 not progressed very far. Should be able to upload tomorrow, but definitely before the end of the week. Thank you for your patience 

* Well, it has killed my ability to concentrate 

Lightweight  Get well soon sir  

There is 11 months of FM20 left so don't be stressing about a day or two, I know how time-consuming these EFL threads are to make.

And good luck to Darlo tonight  

@Lucas_26_7 Very well done. Hopefully you will be able to do something as epic on FM20. Blackpool are on my list to consider now that the Oyston family is out.

Edited November 20, 2019 by Jogo Bonito

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

And good luck to Darlo tonight  

Cheers mate. Here's hoping...

[warlock]

On 20/11/2019 at 12:20, warlock said:

With regard to the FM20 version of this thread

Aaaaand it's LIVE!!!