Lenzar Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 (edited) With the release of FM20, I have decided to start with the club that is closest to my own home. They had a very poor season last year, and were relegated, but fortunately, are still in the game.... Yep, I live less that a mile from Portman Road! That isn't to say that I will be staying at Ipswich for the entire run of the save. If the right job comes along, I will take it, but I will look to achieve the following goals as Ipswich: Get back to the Championship as soon as possible - Achieved in 19/20 season Aim to surpass Norwich as the 'Pride of East Anglia' Emulate Sir Alf and Sir Bobby and win a top tier trophy I will be playing as myself, but with my footballing experience more in line with where it would need to be to manage a League One team IRL. I have made the most of my fairly decent PC and loaded a lot of leagues, so the options to move will hopefully be a little more varied than the usual English sides I've tended to end up with in previous versions of FM. Progress |Year |Team |Division | Position | Cups |----------------------------------------------------------- |2019-20 |Ipswich |League One | 1st | FA Cup 4th, League Cup Quarters |2020-21 |Ipswich |Championship| 6th | FA Cup 4th Honours 2019-20 League One (Ipswich Town) Edited January 19, 2020 by Lenzar 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 Squad As a recently relegated side, Ipswich will be expected to have a very good attempt at going straight back up. The first team squad at first glance looks decent on paper, with new signing James Norwood the talk of the town all summer. The playing staff are perhaps a little older than I'd like, but several players from the Under 23 and Under 18 side are, according to my staff at least, decent prospects. Andre Dozzell, son of Ipswich and Spurs player Jason, is probably the best prospect at this stage. Tactics The squad I have allows me to play a fairly fast paced game along the wings. I'd really prefer a target man, and I may well look for one over the summer. However my first team will look something like this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITFC_Blue Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Will follow with interest as Ipswich is my club! Live in the Town, have a season ticket and been to a few away games this season (including Southend last weekend)/ Best of luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 2 hours ago, ITFC_Blue said: Will follow with interest as Ipswich is my club! Live in the Town, have a season ticket and been to a few away games this season (including Southend last weekend)/ Best of luck! May I ask what part of the town? I live about half a mile from Portman Road. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITFC_Blue Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 1 hour ago, Lenzar said: May I ask what part of the town? I live about half a mile from Portman Road. I live near Sproughton Road, not far from there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas_Spurgeon Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 The goal to surpass Norwich as pride of East Anglia is pretty cool, and just gave me ideas for a future save. What are you thinking to measure it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 2 hours ago, Thomas_Spurgeon said: The goal to surpass Norwich as pride of East Anglia is pretty cool, and just gave me ideas for a future save. What are you thinking to measure it? Getting ITFC to the point that I'm finishing above Norwich every season is basically the idea here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 August 2019 A very solid start indeed, particularly against Championship Reading in the Carabao Cup. And we are the early pace setters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 3, 2019 Author Share Posted November 3, 2019 September 2019 Although looking near perfect on paper, the team made hard work of the 1-0 wins. But we are building a decent lead early on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Great start Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 3, 2019 Author Share Posted November 3, 2019 October 2019 This is starting to look stupidly easy. Paul Hurst must have been a bad manager to get this squad relegated because they appear way too good for League One! Even against Championship Stoke we were the better team. The reward for beating Stoke is a tie against Manchester City at Portman Road. A comfortable lead as we enter November! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam-T1 Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 Well done so far! Not quite as easy going in my save, although I am top of the league entering March, but I have lost 4 games so far. How do you find Huws on the game? He really frustrates me. Every time he touches the ball he shoots from 30 yards! Keep up good work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 4, 2019 Author Share Posted November 4, 2019 6 hours ago, Sam-T1 said: Well done so far! Not quite as easy going in my save, although I am top of the league entering March, but I have lost 4 games so far. How do you find Huws on the game? He really frustrates me. Every time he touches the ball he shoots from 30 yards! Keep up good work! Huws has actually scored a few long range efforts for me. Judge is the star, though! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 4, 2019 Author Share Posted November 4, 2019 November 2019 Things went absolutely insane against Yeovil as we just didn't stop scoring. To then score just one more goal in the next 3 games was massively disappointing, but we remain unbeaten. Starting to look quite comfortable. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 Storming start Lenzar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 December 2019 Good league form before we faced a virtually full strength City side who finally ended our run in the Carabao Cup. The two games at the end of the month were probably our poorest performances so far. And our gap at the top increases by another point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Another Lenzar promotion incoming Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 8, 2019 Author Share Posted November 8, 2019 January 2020 Poor form, at least by our standards, combined with an injury to our goalkeeper. was enough to end our FA Cup run, whilst the second string couldn't find a way past Newport's defence. The 5-0 win against Rotherham couldn't have come at a better time. But our lead continues to increase. Transfer Window The DoF signed a few youngsters but I doubt they'll ever be good enough. Thanks to an affiliation with Arsenal, I managed to grab a loan signing who will hopefully improve our left flank. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 10, 2019 Author Share Posted November 10, 2019 February 2020 Basically a perfect month. 26 points clear now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 11, 2019 Author Share Posted November 11, 2019 Youth Intake Mostly dross, but Tom Taylor certainly has a chance at making it. With luck, Ollie Morrison might prove useful too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 11, 2019 Author Share Posted November 11, 2019 March 2020 Only 3 matches (our 4th would have been against Bury), but the win against Coventry was enough to secure the league title! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted November 11, 2019 Share Posted November 11, 2019 Piece of ****. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 12, 2019 Author Share Posted November 12, 2019 10 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said: Piece of ****. I guessed that it wouldn't be too much of a challenge given Ipswich are doing pretty well IRL, but the squad appears insanely good compared to the rest of League One. They must have been playing well beneath themselves to have got relegated so badly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 19, 2019 Author Share Posted November 19, 2019 April & May 2020 With the league already ours these matches were technically dead rubbers, but I pushed on to ensure the unbeaten season. And we ended up 29 points clear - our points total and goals scored were both new records - even though we had 2 fewer matches! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 20, 2019 Author Share Posted November 20, 2019 2019/20 Season - Ipswich Town - League One League - Absolutely blew everybody else away. FA Cup - Two easy wins against lower league opposition, before Championship Brentford made the most of the fact our first choice keeper was injured EFL Cup - Man City well virtually full strength and still only just beat us. EFL Trophy - Youngsters and reserves eventually failed against Newport. Key Players Kayden Jackson - One half of a lethal strike partnership James Norwood - Jackson's partner. Lived up to pre-season hype perfectly. Kane Vincent-Young - Secured the right flank and provided lots of assists Alan Judge - Seemed to be involved in absolutely every attack. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 Signings Plenty of additions have been made over the summer. Even with a squad that went unbeaten in the league, a higher division calls for as much strengthening as possible. This wasn't easy as I had a budget of just £270k, but I'm quite pleased with the players I've managed to add to the squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Does it count as The Invincibles when it's League One? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 29, 2019 Author Share Posted November 29, 2019 On 25/11/2019 at 21:41, Nobby_McDonald said: Does it count as The Invincibles when it's League One? I indeed gained the achievement for doing so! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted November 29, 2019 Author Share Posted November 29, 2019 August 2020 An excellent start, but we were brought firmly down to Earth by Cardiff after going down to 10 men early. But we're definitely in the right part of the table. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 Unbelievable season, congrats on the promotion too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Fantastic work in League One. Good start to the new campaign too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 2, 2019 Author Share Posted December 2, 2019 September 2020 Just 4 matches - but we've got to be happy with 10 points. Looking very good already. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Very good indeed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Great month Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 10 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said: Very good indeed. 10 hours ago, SRL88 said: Great month I'm not even doing anything particularly special. Whether I just happen to have the right tactic for this ME or Ipswich were seriously under-performing under McCarthy, Hurst and Lambert, I'm not quite sure! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 November 2020 A very mixed month. We conceded almost immediately after scoring in several of the games, and I certainly didn't expect to beat Oxford after going down to 10 men. The top 2 are starting to break away a little bit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Sitting really nicely in the league. Just got to stick with those top two. You have a really nice gap back to teams behind you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 (edited) My first job interview - Villa are bottom of the Premier League with just 3 points after 11 games. It is not the kind of challenge I'm looking for, but I attended the interview nonetheless. I rejected this one. Swansea are 14th in the Championship and don't represent an interesting challenge at all. Edited December 6, 2019 by Lenzar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 December 2020 An absolutely crazy 5-5 draw started the festive season, but things quickly calmed down. Things have become very tight at the top of the table. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 5-5 crazy? I call it entertaining. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 19, 2019 Author Share Posted December 19, 2019 Another job interview from a team struggling in the Premier League's relegation zone. I attended but do not expect to be offered the job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 22, 2019 Author Share Posted December 22, 2019 January 2021 Probably the poorest month I've had since taking charge of Ipswich. The 9-2 loss to LIverpool shows just how bad the defence is when tested properly. It looks like we're beginning to slide down the table. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Lenzar said: January 2021 Probably the poorest month I've had since taking charge of Ipswich. The 9-2 loss to LIverpool shows just how bad the defence is when tested properly. It looks like we're beginning to slide down the table. You've only lost 4 of 30 league games. You're fine Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 27, 2019 Author Share Posted December 27, 2019 February 2021 February was looking truly dismal, but two games against sides in relegation and a spirited draw against a strong Bristol City team saved us from a complete slump. Still very much in the fight, but I think automatic promotion won't be happening. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 29, 2019 Author Share Posted December 29, 2019 Youth Intake A poor crop who won't give the first team any trouble. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 29, 2019 Author Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) February 2021 What looked like another poor month was ended by an insane performance against Newcastle. And we're very much in the running for the playoffs. Edited December 29, 2019 by Lenzar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenzar Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 The clubs that want me are starting to grow in stature. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 8 hours ago, Lenzar said: The clubs that want me are starting to grow in stature. Going for the interview? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 A huge win against Newcastle in every sense. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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