[FM20] - Stockport County F.C. Thread - Animo et Fide

[Tjeerd!]

Season 6 - Summer Transfer Window

Transfers:

And that's it for our summer recruitment/sales. I've highlighted the players that are a part of our main squad, the other signings are for our youth teams or to loan out. You might have noticed a cheeky loan at the bottom. Chelsea were reluctant to extend Renato's loan, but once he got back they realised that he wasn't going to be getting many games in a team with Lautaro Martinez, Romelu Lukaku and Memphis Depay. Anyway, here they are:

Cucchi was signed in January but didn't join until this summer. He's more than good enough for the Premier League, and would actually make quite a good midfielder if we needed him there. Looking forward to front two of Renato and Cucchi, probably the strongest part of our team. He's on peanuts too, which is a big plus.

 

I had set aside a large part of my budget to bring in a good right back. I spent a really long time looking for a good, cheap (both fee and wages) and young right back. Problem was, quality right backs seem fairly rare, at least for a club of our stature. Another problem was that every player I had shortlisted was asking to become the highest paid player at the club. In the end, I chose Pinheiro. He's got some good, well rounded stats for a right back, quite a bit of potential and was moderately cheap for a player of his age. He's the highest paid player on the team, but I really couldn't find anyone asking for anything less than that who could offer what Pinheiro offers.

 

A technically gifted player who can play anywhere across the midfield and attack. Wages seem high at first, but it turns out that that's what every single player is asking for now that we're in the Prem. He was cheap and has got quite a bit of resale value too, which is a bonus. 

 

One for the future. Fairly cheap with good attributes, he will probably be shipped out on loan for a season and we will see whether he's sold on for a profit or if he has improved enough to make a push for the first team.

 

Cost us very little and provides competition for Burke. He's second choice as it stands, but that can change with some good performances.

 

Centre back is another position where I had a bit of trouble recruiting. Most of our targets were asking for a lot of money or had other clubs chasing them. In the end, I chose Lewis because he's homegrown, a model citizen and has good attributes. He'll mainly be rotating with Mai next to Harwood-Bellis.

 

Similar type of signing to Damsgaard. Technically gifted, can play in a lot of positions and was cheap. 

 

This was probably the toughest window yet. Good players were really hard to attract, wage demands were all over the place and there was a lot of competition for a lot of our targets. I'm happy with the team though, we've brought in good players in positions where we really needed them, and we're going into the season with 21-23 (depends on a couple of players I'm trying to loan out) good players in our squad. Our strongest starting 11 would be something like this:

 

 

 

 

Edited October 15, 2020 by Tjeerd!

[Gunner 101]

Nice work @Tjeerd! Squad looks good. Best of luck for the start of your Premier League adventure! 

[Gunner 101]

SEASON 2021/2022 (SEASON 3) - END OF AUGUST

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Having won back to back league titles we started our third season in charge of Stockport in League One. We was in different company now with no less than 8 former Premier League sides in the competition. Expectations were once against to try and avoid relegation so we have no pressure on us to succeed. The season preview saw us placed 24 out of 24, exactly the same position as last year but we know how that worked out.

TRANSFERS IN

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Arjen Raikhy - 18 years old - Free transfer from Aston Villa

Not the most exciting signing and not one that I feel will come to anything now we are progressing up the leagues but he's on minimal wages and if it doesn't work out then we don't lose anything. Currently looks set to join Vanarama North side Kettering Town on loan for the season but it's not yet been confirmed. 

Jakub Ojrzynski - 18 years old - Free transfer from Liverpool

I was looking for a new goalkeeper and after attempts to sign Will Mannion failed (again!) I opted to bring in a player Liverpool had signed for 250k just a year before. With plenty of potential and a good professional personality I'm hoping the regular game time will see him develop nicely. He's also nice and tall with a great jumping reach, something which Louis Gray doesn't have. 

Cameron Norman - 25 years old - Free transfer from Walsall

Cameron Norman was brought in to replace the outgoing Sam Minihan and provide cover for Luca Hoole in the right back position. Norman was actually someone I was going to sign a year before but he wouldn't join and so I signed Hoole instead. Like other fringe players I've signed Norman joins on a one year deal with the club having the option to extend for a further year. 

Billy Koumetio - 18 years old - Free transfer from Liverpool

Also joining on a free transfer from Liverpool is 18 year old French central defender Billy Koumetio. I wasn't sure whether Rod McDonald would make the step up so I set about finding a replacement and noticed Koumetio was coming to the end of his contract. I've seen a bit of talk about him IRL and how he's similar to VVD and so I snapped him up. He's tall, good in the air and has an impressive jumping reach.

Oladapo Afolayan - 23 years old - Free transfer from West Ham

Another freebie from the Premier League was striker Oladapo Afolayan from West Ham. The 23 year old was happy to play back up as I didn't want to block Jordan Greenidge's path and he's proved useful so far due to his versatility of being able to play on either wing too. Stats wise he's actually a much better finisher than Greenidge. Like the other fringe guys above he agreed a 1 + 1 deal. 

Mason Jones-Thomas - 20 years old - Season loan from Swansea City

Jones-Thomas was last seasons League Two top goal scorer whilst playing out on loan at Newport County and whilst I plan on using him on the left hand side I'm still hopeful he will chip in with the goals. I originally planned to make this a permanent transfer however we couldn't get the fee down and so had to settle for the loan option. Stats wise he doesn't look anything special but he has decent acceleration and pace and he fully understands the role I want him to play. 

Martin Smith - 25 years old - Free transfer from Salford

Martin Smith was a deadline day signing to provide cover for Connor Dimaio in the advanced playmaker role. It was a real struggle to find the right player for this role has anyone I wanted wouldn't accept to being a back up and I wasn't willing to upset Dimaio who has performed so well in that role so far. Smith was the perfect fit and was willing to be a fringe player. Again like others before he was willing to accept a 1 + 1 contract. 

Overall I'm really happy with the signings I've made over the summer. I could have gone and done more as we still have a fair chunk of wages free and we never touched the transfer budget but I'm keen to build slowly whilst giving those players that I feel are capable a chance to develop and grow in their roles. The two newbies from Liverpool are probably my two key signings and I'm really hoping they develop the way I want them to. The only signing I didn't make was the a back up for Jason Lokilo on the right wing however we currently have a player on trial and can be signed outside the window as a free agent.

 

TRANSFERS OUT

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Anthony Gerrard - 35 years old - Retired

Anthony Gerrard chose to retire although he was set for release at the end of the season. Gerrard joined on a free in the first season and played 33 games as we won the Vanarama National league title. He made 13 appearances the following season but there was no way he was going to deal with League One football. He's now unemployed as a Director of Football. 

Frank Mulhern - 24 years old - Sold to Chester for £31k (rising to £37k with add ons)

Frank Mulhern was unhappy with his lack of playing time and so I decided to cash in before he entered the final year of his contract. He's returned to a level that he excelled at previously whilst out on loan and has started the season with 2 goals in 8 league games for his new club. 

Josh Staines - 19 years old - Released

Youngster Josh Staines came through the youth intake but never made a first team appearance. He's since been signed by non-league Basingstoke Town.

Paul Turnbull - 32 years old - Released

Paul Turnbull left the club at the end of his contract as he fell down the pecking order behind Alex Denny and Lucas Defise. The former team captain was similar to Gerrard in that he played a big part in the Vanarama National league title win but featured much less in the League Two title winning campaign. He's currently without a club. 

Nyal Bell - 24 years old - Released

Nyal Bell was released having barely featured in the passed two seasons. He's currently without a club.

Sam Minihan - 27 years old - Released

Sam Minihan follows a similar path to Gerrard and Turnbull before him although he did feature more prominently in League Two due to Luca Hoole being away on international duty. Still I didn't believe he was going to be good enough back up for the step up and he was released to make way for Cameron Norman. Like Bell and Turnbull he's currently without a club. 

Alex Curran - 22 years old - Released

Alex Curran was released after a poor second season and I struggled to fit him in the side. It was disappointing because he had a decent first season and there was potential but the lack of game time meant he never fulfilled it. Like others he's currently without a club.

Millen Baars - 21 years old - Sold to Cheltenham for £61k (rising to £73k with add ons)

I decided to cash in on Millen Baars as he entered the final year of his deal and I wasn't entirely sure he was going to fulfil his potential. He lacked a consistency and despite a decent return of 14 goals and 16 assists from 85 appearances I decided to sell and make a profit on a player we brought in for nothing at the beginning of our spell in charge. I already planned to bring in a new starter (Mason Jones-Thomas) and we had a ready made back up in Abobaker Eisa so it was an easy decision to sell. He's started his career in League Two with Cheltenham Town with 2 goals and an assist in 6 appearances.  

Lois Maynard - 32 years old - Season loan to Altrincham 

Lois Maynard was transfer listed but we could only find a loan deal and he joined our feeder club Altrincham Town for the season. We did manage to get a 60% wage contribution agreed though so at least we gain something before he's released for free come the end of the season. 

Matty Moss - 19 years old - Season loan to Guiseley

Young striker Matty Moss was sent out on loan to gain experience and Vanarama North side Guiseley was the most attractive option. He's started well with 5 goals and an assist in 8 appearances. 

RESULTS

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Pre-season was good with a couple of really big wins against Stockport Town and Salford (League Two). Abobaker Eisa has flourished since Baars departed and hopefully he can continue his good form into the new season as so far it's been a struggle to find another player to play in that position. The results against Wigan (Championship) and Arsenal Under 23's (with the likes of Guendouzi, Saliba, Nelson etc) were well deserved. Interestingly we had a trialist in Roli Pereira de Sa who scored an hattrick against Salford but I decided against the move. He now plays for Salford... The victory against Solihull Moors was our first in 3 attempts having lost both games against them in our Vanarama National league winning season. I guess the only negative from the pre-season was that we lost Lucas Defise for 6 weeks however he shouldn't miss too many matches. 

This season has started well with a good number of victories. The defeat against Peterborough was a welcome to the higher level as we made two mistakes and were punished both times. Jason Lokilo was also injured in that game and was ruled out for 5 weeks meaning he missed the rest of the matches. Oladapo Afolayan's versatility proved useful as we didn't have a back up signed to that role. We was 4-0 up at half time in the Carabao Cup First Round tie versus fellow League One side Mansfield Town and the goals kept coming as we managed to smash recently relegated Sunderland 6-1! Charlton were the far better side and were 2-0 up after 15 minutes but a red card saw us turn the game around and another impressive goal scoring performance against fellow promoted side AFC Wimbledon ensured we ended our month on a high with 5 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat in our 7 league games so far. We was disappointingly knocked out of the Carabao Cup by fellow League One side Burton Albion after we fought back from 2-0 down to throw it away at the end and we started our Leasing.com Trophy campaign with debutant Martin Smith scoring after just 5 minutes. 

Jordan Greenidge continued to score and with 5 league goals he was named the League One Young Player of the Month. Central defender Festus Arthur came runner up. After good performances early on in the season both Eddie Clarke and Connor Dimaio signed new two year deals. 

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by Gunner 101

[Tjeerd!]

@Gunner 101Very good start to the season, and two very familiar names joining you. Of course, any player you bring on a free from either Liverpool or City is going to be familiar to me. In my save, Ojrzynski went on to earn 12 PL appearances for Sheffield United with a 6.38 average rating (maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that last part ), while Koumetio is still around the club. Anyway, keep it up!

[Gunner 101]

6 minutes ago, Tjeerd! said:

@Gunner 101Very good start to the season, and two very familiar names joining you. Of course, any player you bring on a free from either Liverpool or City is going to be familiar to me. In my save, Ojrzynski went on to earn 12 PL appearances for Sheffield United with a 6.38 average rating (maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that last part ), while Koumetio is still around the club. Anyway, keep it up!

I hadn't realised you had signed them, had to go back and double check just now. 

It's starting to become a little harder now and certain players that I wanted to give the chance to step up haven't produced unfortunately. I don't see us winning the league this season but our goal is just to avoid relegation so I'd still be happy if we only managed that. 

[Tjeerd!]

Season 6: August-September

Results:

Our first ever Premier League game was against Villa. It was a tough game which could have gone either way, but in the end Villa edged it, scoring both goals from over 25 yards out. Next up was nearby rivals Manchester United. We got off to a rough start with Burke giving away a penalty which Rashford converted, but a goal just before the break from Cucchi turned the momentum in our favour. Soon after, Harwood-Bellis rose above their defence to score a header against the club he's grown up hating, and our third goal was a beautiful passage of play where Renato passed the ball across the goal (first time I've ever seen that in this game) for Cucchi to tap it in. The next game against Brighton must have been a brilliant watch for the neutrals, as both teams ended the game with over 25 shots. They missed a penalty early on though, and overall we were the more clinical side. 

After that came our first Carabao Cup game against West Brom. They scored two goals from 3 shots on target while we missed too many easy chances. Burnic missed a penalty late on and so the game was decided by a penalty shootout. They missed two penalties and it was Burnic who made up for his miss to win the tie for us. Against Arsenal, Hakimi scored a spectacular solo goal where from his own half he picked the ball up and dribbled past my entire team. Burke was then sent off for a ridiculous challenge, and once that happened the game was over for us. In the next game Burnley scored with their only shot on target, while we failed to convert any of our 20 shots. Our dry spell continued against Wolves where Burnic had another chance to score from the spot late on, but smashed it against the post. 

Then our first away game against Leicester came up. It was a game we deserved to win, though admittedly it was closer than the score line suggests. Cucchi netted a perfect hattrick for us, while both Damsgaard and Brown scored their first goals of the season. The same team was named in our next game against Leicester and we absolutely dominated the first half yet somehow failed to score. After the break Edouard scored a header and Burke gave away another penalty which was converted, and after that we basically capitulated. Normally I'd leave it there, but the next game was against our biggest rivals:

A massive result for us there. Cucchi had a chance to make it 2-1 in the 93rd minute after he was played through on goal by Renato. Only Ederson left to beat, but he couldn't put it past him. Still, a draw against City is a brilliant result. It does mean that we have now gone 5 games without a win though, we're going to have to end this run soon. 

 

Table:

We're doing alright for ourselves here. Obviously it's a lot harder than any other season we've had, but some big results against teams like City or United mean that we are sitting around midtable now. It's still really early though, and the focus is still to avoid relegation. As long as we stay in the league I think we can consider this a season a massive success, although a relegation wouldn't mean the end of the world neither, as we'd be in a far better place financially compared to previous seasons in the Championship. The money in the Prem is insane. I've spent 15 million on transfers which meant that we were 8m in the red at the start of the season, but we've made it all back now. 

 

Players:

Cucchi has settled in really well. His goals have really helped us out this season and they're a big part of the reason why we're not struggling as much as we could be. Our other main standout player is Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who's proven that he's more than ready for this level. Other players who have been doing well are Menard, Lewis, Jones and Burnic. We're going to be needing more performances like these to remain in the Premier League, but it's challenges like these that really make you enjoy the game.

 

Edited October 17, 2020 by Tjeerd!

[Gunner 101]

Brilliant start @Tjeerd! Got to be happy with that. I think just staying up would be a great achievement so definitely aim for that first and then build again during the summer. Like you say it’s going to much more difficult now and but any success you achieve will be even more sweeter! 

[Gunner 101]

SEASON 2021/2022 (SEASON 3) - END OF DECEMBER

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I've finally reached the end of December having struggled for game time due to moving house. Also the excitement of FM21 dampened my enthusiasm for the game and was wondering whether to carry on but I really am enjoying the save still so here I am. It's been much more difficult this season and I can definitely see some cracks starting to show in positions that up until now have felt secure for the long term however the quick rise up the leagues is probably starting to show and I'm starting to look to replace some of those players that have served me so well so far. We've still produced the goods but I'm having to do a lot more thinking than in previous seasons and there's probably 3 or 4 positions I'd like to strengthen but the money or the pull of the club isn't really there just yet. We do have planned improvements to our youth facilities although they're still 10 months from completion so won't see any benefit from that for a while yet!  

TRANSFERS IN

Nile John - 18 years old - Free transfer from Tottenham

Joined the club at the start of October having been released by Premier League side Tottenham in the summer. I had one eye on the future with regards to this deal and ideally he will go out on loan to gain some first team experience before possibly playing a role at the club. Decent pace and acceleration stats for the box to box role but needs an improvement to most of his game. Time will tell if he comes good or not. 

TRANSFERS OUT

Nile John - 18 years old - Season loan to Yeovil 

Shortly after joining John made the move to Yeovil Town in the Vanarama National for the season. He's currently played 15 games and provided 1 assist so not a great return, especially with Yeovil flying high in second place of the Vanarama National League.

Arjen Raikhy - 18 years old - Season loan to Kettering Town

Agreed to join Vanarama North side Kettering Town on a season long loan deal. Like John above, Raikhy has played 15 games out on loan with a return of 2 goals and 2 assists which isn't too bad for a side struggling towards the lower end of the table. However I don't really think he will have a future at the club and will probably go out on loan again or be sold at the end of the season. 

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SEPTEMBER RESULTS

September was the month we became the draw specialists as goals seemed to dry up and only Jordan Greenidge was scoring. Jason Lokilo returned from injury in the 0-0 with MK Dons which saw us go 5 unbeaten in the league with 3 wins and 2 draws. This run was almost ended in the next game having to come back from 2-0 down against Gillingham. It finally looked like things where going to change when we beat Barnsley. A game where Jordan Greenidge notched his 10th of the season in all competitions. We ended the month on a high as five  different scorers saw us win 5-3 away to Wycombe. Those results saw us finish the month in 3rd place with a two point gap to 2nd placed Portsmouth and a 4 point buffer for the final playoff position. 

Jordan Greenidge was named League One Young Player of the Month for the second month running whilst Festus Arthur was again in the conversation too coming in third place. 

OCTOBER RESULTS

October started well as we managed our third win in a row with a heavy defeat of Blackpool and this was followed by a comfortable win in the Leasing.com Trophy as Tottenham Under 23's went down to 10 on the half hour mark and we strolled home afterwards. Our 1-0 win over Burton Albion saw us go 12 unbeaten (7 wins, 5 draws) and we registered our first clean sheet for 7 matches. The victory against Crewe meant we had won 5 games in a row and it seems we had definitely turned a corner from the run of draws we had not long back. That run was ended with a narrow defeat to 3rd placed Portsmouth. It was a tough result to take but Pompey have only conceded in 3 of their 16 matches this season, conceding just 4 goals. We managed to bounce back with a comfortable 3-0 win over 10 man Mansfield. The month  ended with a comfortable win over bottom side Port Vale. Despite winning 5 of the 6 league games we still remained in 3rd place with Portsmouth and Hull above us with a game in hand too. However the gap to the playoff positions had widened and we now had an 11 point  margin over Forest Green in 7th. 

NOVEMBER RESULTS

Our FA Cup campaign started with a rapid Jason Lokilo goal after only 17 seconds in our routine 2-0 win over Vanarama National side Boston United in the First Round. Victory against Hull City in the Leasing.com Trophy followed which made it 3 out of 3 and saw us progress to the next stage, finishing top of our group. Connor Dimaio grabbing his 10th of the season in the win. A 3-2 win over Coventry City followed before we was back facing Hull but this time in the league where 1st (Hull City) met 2nd. A great away performance saw us come away with all 3 points and see us leapfrog the Tigers into top spot (although Hull did have a game in hand). The TV cameras rocked up at Edgeley Park to watch a narrow 1-0 win over League Two Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup Second Round. Jordan Greenidge bagging his 15th goal in all competitions for the season. We ended the month with another game against League Two opposition in the form of Oldham Athletic with a 1-0 win in the Leasing.com Trophy Second Round. Revenge for losing by the same scoreline at the semi-final stage last season. 

DECEMBER RESULTS

A waterlogged pitch at Edgeley Park meant we went two weeks without a game at the start of the month before we faced fellow promoted side Bolton Wanderers. However the fresher legs meant we controlled the game from start to finish and in truth we should have scored at least 3 or 4. A solid 2-0 win over mid table Wycombe Wanderers ensured we had won 10 matches in a row for the first time. The Forest Green game saw us go top of the league (by goal difference over Hull City) with all teams now having played 24 games. We ended the year with another couple of victories over Yorkshire sides Doncaster and Barnsley. Despite being on a run of 9 league victories in a row we still ended the year in second place (by virtue of goals scored) to Hull City. 3rd placed Portsmouth are 4 points back before a massive 20 points to 7th placed Shrewsbury. 

Edited November 7, 2020 by Gunner 101

[Gunner 101]

I think the lure of the new game is too much so I'm going to end my save there. We looked well placed to achieve another promotion/league victory and I'll be back at some point with a Stockport County FM21 thread however I think I'll look to start somewhere else first. It's been a thoroughly enjoyable save and thanks for being a part of it @Tjeerd! Hopefully see you around for another go on FM21!