[FM21] Manchester United: A club stuck in transition

[sedge11]

A small update from season 5, which is going very well.

Hendo won the world keeper of the year, and he actually fully deserved it as well.

Bruno and Greenwood were both doing well finished 2nd and 3rd in the world player of the year.

Though Greenwood is having an incredible season so if he keeps that up, he will surely win it next year.

We also had been going on a long unbeaten run, the last 15 games of season 4 then the 1st 19 games of this season, until we annoyingly lost to spurs.

 

[milan_manutd]

15 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

For those of you who brought in Depay on a free, how long did it take until he was willing to talk about a deal and were a host of other clubs interested like Barca, Liverpool etc?

I'm in March 2021 and he still isn't interested in talking as he wants to wait nearer the end of his deal, same thing happening with Thauvin. 

I wanted him earlier so I pay 15mil in January 2021 and try to play him as right wing with Greenwood. TBH I was feared of Barca and PSG who was looking for him.

Later he wasn't my first choice but keep quite and playing solid when he came out of bench. Now he is in the last year of his contract and he ask to leave which is OK with me and I hope to get around 50mil£. But when you look at list of interested clubs there are no "big guns" just some EUROPA LEAGUE teams, so maybe around 40mil is realistic. 

 

 

[BigV]

3 hours ago, sedge11 said:

A small update from season 5, which is going very well.

Hendo won the world keeper of the year, and he actually fully deserved it as well.

Bruno and Greenwood were both doing well finished 2nd and 3rd in the world player of the year.

Though Greenwood is having an incredible season so if he keeps that up, he will surely win it next year.

We also had been going on a long unbeaten run, the last 15 games of season 4 then the 1st 19 games of this season, until we annoyingly lost to spurs.

 

Hows hendo looking for you? Im still in first season and wanting to get rid of DDG at some stage, Donnarumma signed an extentsion before i could offer a free contract 

[Monsieur-Beev]

Hey guys first time posting here but really need some help with may tactics. I won the league and CL in season 1 after which martial handed in a transfer request and left for Madrid for 90m. I replaced him with Kane for 70m and brought in Ruben Neves but Kane has been terrible averaging 6.5 ratings with a lot of 6.3's and I can't help but feel it's my tactics. I've attached my two main tactics any help would be really appreciated !

[BigV]

5 hours ago, Monsieur-Beev said:

Hey guys first time posting here but really need some help with may tactics. I won the league and CL in season 1 after which martial handed in a transfer request and left for Madrid for 90m. I replaced him with Kane for 70m and brought in Ruben Neves but Kane has been terrible averaging 6.5 ratings with a lot of 6.3's and I can't help but feel it's my tactics. I've attached my two main tactics any help would be really appreciated !

One thing you should note is that the ratings have changed from the way they was, I think they now go by role aswell as how they play during game.

- Try him as a complete forward-A, can only see him get involved more and probably give a better edge.

Only downside I can see is RMD for greenwood, not enough input on that right side so its all left sided, Id also push bruno into an attacking role, maybe links with kane and pushes kane up slightly. 

Me and Gee-Simpson was talking about the LOE, maybe try pushing it up, kane is slow in terms of pace so might need that extra yard to get beyond *if and when* you win the ball back. 

 

[sedge11]

6 hours ago, BigV said:

Hows hendo looking for you? Im still in first season and wanting to get rid of DDG at some stage, Donnarumma signed an extentsion before i could offer a free contract 

Don't think his attributes have massively improved, but he's getting the job done.

[BigV]

6 minutes ago, sedge11 said:

Don't think his attributes have massively improved, but he's getting the job done.

Might have to give him a season to see how he fares 

[TelcontarTargaryen]

Hi guys,
New player here, and a big Manchester United fan. I haven't really played any FM game up untill 21, but a veteran of old CM01/02.

Any advice regarding tactics, or training? I'm not asking for some links to download some tactics, since I get it that (mostly) plug and play doesn't really work (that) much in FM... more of some guidelines, what's working what is not, etc. Simple hints and tips for managing Man Utd.

[sedge11]

Well I can't believe it but in my youth intake I got this.

A son, I thought you had to do 10 seasons or something to get one on the game, I'm only in season 5. He's actually not too bad. The funny thing was I hadn't signed him up and I only realised I got a son through the intake a day before he was going to get released . So I offered him a deal and he signed a couple days after he got released.

I will give him a nickname so his name will be the same as my son's name in real life. 

[BigV]

21 minutes ago, TelcontarTargaryen said:

Hi guys,
New player here, and a big Manchester United fan. I haven't really played any FM game up untill 21, but a veteran of old CM01/02.

Any advice regarding tactics, or training? I'm not asking for some links to download some tactics, since I get it that (mostly) plug and play doesn't really work (that) much in FM... more of some guidelines, what's working what is not, etc. Simple hints and tips for managing Man Utd.

Welcome  there's a United thread for IRL football too if you ever fancy speaking about united and games in general (DM me or let me know and ill link you to the page)

My advice is you're on the front foot for most of the game so stick around balanced-attacking as a mentality. Depending how you want to play have at least one playmaker in there.

Geggenpress seems to be very effective, ive found that training for general stuff through the week and day before a game working on match previews and match prep works pretty well. 

It may be hard to get rid of dead weight so be patient with it or lower your amounts down, apart from that its all on the player really. 

How long you been playing fm21? if its not been a while then your big jump from oldie to new one will take some time getting used to, it alot more complex now 

[TelcontarTargaryen]

5 minutes ago, BigV said:

How long you been playing fm21? if its not been a while then your big jump from oldie to new one will take some time getting used to, it alot more complex now 

Bought the game like five days ago, started a save that is still on day one, looking around and thinking about tactics, training and scouting. Just learning where is what and how to use it. 

[BigV]

47 minutes ago, TelcontarTargaryen said:

Bought the game like five days ago, started a save that is still on day one, looking around and thinking about tactics, training and scouting. Just learning where is what and how to use it. 

In that case i suggest just playing around with the stuff, dont make it your permanent one until you've got a hang of it. 

Training isnt too hard but it does take a little time to see the effects, tactics seem to show around 5-7 games in so dont chop and change straight away

Scouting can seem complex but once you make little changes and get into the rythm of doing it yourself, its wayyyy better than the AI doing it for you. 

[Monsieur-Beev]

14 hours ago, BigV said:

Welcome  there's a United thread for IRL football too if you ever fancy speaking about united and games in general (DM me or let me know and ill link you to the page)

My advice is you're on the front foot for most of the game so stick around balanced-attacking as a mentality. Depending how you want to play have at least one playmaker in there.

Geggenpress seems to be very effective, ive found that training for general stuff through the week and day before a game working on match previews and match prep works pretty well. 

It may be hard to get rid of dead weight so be patient with it or lower your amounts down, apart from that its all on the player really. 

How long you been playing fm21? if its not been a while then your big jump from oldie to new one will take some time getting used to, it alot more complex now 

Hi thanks for your reply !! Yeah I'd love to get involved in the United thread I'm on most of the others online anyway.

I've had 21 for about 2 months now but I agree it does feel very different and I'm by no means experienced, fm20 was my first experience which persuaded me I didn't need a ps5. 

 

I've found transfers this year pretty hard, clubs hold out for a lot of money now. I've managed to get rid of alot of the deadwood: Fred, Jones, Rojo, lingard. I'm choosing to let Cavani go after an extension and then moving greenwood to striker permanently.

I've been very lucky with the youth with pellistri diallo and garner performing really well and Hansen Aaroen scored a brace in the CL it just seems to be my stars like pogba and Kane that are underperforming.

[Smaldini]

On 12/02/2021 at 19:57, Gee_Simpson said:

For those of you who brought in Depay on a free, how long did it take until he was willing to talk about a deal and were a host of other clubs interested like Barca, Liverpool etc?

I'm in March 2021 and he still isn't interested in talking as he wants to wait nearer the end of his deal, same thing happening with Thauvin. 

I opened contract talks as soon as the January window opened. Spurs were interested but even if they made an offer he wouldn't have joined them anyway because of how poor they were doing in the league. 

[Gee_Simpson]

Well I ended up agreeing a deal with Depay but it was 100k p/w. I was looking at Thauvin on a free also but pulled out of the deal and then went to offer him something again, and he instantly wanted to talk again. I then decided to pull out of the deal with Depay so I could offer him 90k instead as nobody had offered him anything, but he didn't want to talk at all, so I will admit I had to reload so I could keep him on the 100k p/w deal.

I feel bad about doing it now but I honestly was planning on signing him anyway, I just thought because Thauvin was willing to talk straight away then Depay would also, but it was obviously a bug first time around. I feel like I've maybe ruined the save by doing this, not sure if I should just continue. So yeah I ended up reloading around a week back in game and didn't cancel either deal this time, so I signed both of them on free transfers. I'm probably making a bigger deal out of this, as it wasn't anything major. I would never reload for anything else like results or something like that 😅

Edited February 14, 2021 by Gee_Simpson

[BigV]

Has anyone had success to an extent of getting rid of maguire? closely around after a season in?

I accidentally rattled Kounde in summer of first season putting a trsfr request and they wanted 60m, i said no and left it. Im in jan now and i can get him for 45, probably get him dirt cheap come summer around 30-35m but i'd want maguire gone, hes been good but he's my weakest link playing with a high line. 

If i could push him to rotation and get rid of lindelof then id be happy with that but its very hard considering he's captain and hes a peripheral figure in the hierachy. I could accept getting rid of lindelof and blending in kounde for a season but he could rise to the top within a season. Skriniar is massively outperforming everyone in my defence, not a rating lower than 7.3 but still conceeding alot more than I like, 3rd in league and most have come from getting past maguire. 

[krisdonna]

Anyone signed Ben White?  He looks well allround and homegrown but  i have the feeling there are better options.

[Gee_Simpson]

20 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

Well I ended up agreeing a deal with Depay but it was 100k p/w. I was looking at Thauvin on a free also but pulled out of the deal and then went to offer him something again, and he instantly wanted to talk again. I then decided to pull out of the deal with Depay so I could offer him 90k instead as nobody had offered him anything, but he didn't want to talk at all, so I will admit I had to reload so I could keep him on the 100k p/w deal.

I feel bad about doing it now but I honestly was planning on signing him anyway, I just thought because Thauvin was willing to talk straight away then Depay would also, but it was obviously a bug first time around. I feel like I've maybe ruined the save by doing this, not sure if I should just continue. So yeah I ended up reloading around a week back in game and didn't cancel either deal this time, so I signed both of them on free transfers. I'm probably making a bigger deal out of this, as it wasn't anything major. I would never reload for anything else like results or something like that 😅

Anyone reckon this is worth quitting my game over? 😅

[naspa]

7 minutes ago, Gee_Simpson said:

Anyone reckon this is worth quitting my game over? 😅

Nope

[TelcontarTargaryen]

41 minutes ago, Gee_Simpson said:

Anyone reckon this is worth quitting my game over? 😅

Absolutely not. Unless you are bored of your safe. I never understand why people make fuss out of those things anyway. It's just a game, if it floats your boat to use editor, use it damn it. As long as people don't claim they haven't reloaded or used editor when they post screenshots of unbeaten season with 36 wins and **** like that... what I want to say, it's a game and flawed with bugs at that, and besides in real life you would have a lot more flexibility when negotiationg so... no, no need to quit in my opinion.

[BigV]

You gotta realise guys @Gee_Simpson is a fussy one  

He makes the game as realistic as posssible and anything not realistic, well, we see what happens 

Imo Gee, just leave it and carry on, not a big issue, we're all ready behind as it is 

[andyatebe]

Anyone else had this?

 

[Smaldini]

It's been in the game for 3 or 4 years now.

[BigV]

2 hours ago, andyatebe said:

Anyone else had this?

Nope but im glad they have something like this added to the game. 

[Gee_Simpson]

Lol cheers guys, I won't be quitting as I've already invested a lot into this save and we've got off to a great start to the 2nd season  I've made some really nice signings too, although City have went and signed Lautaro Martinez and Paulo Dybala 😅 I'll probably update with screenshots later, but 1st season we won nothing, I only signed 1 player in January 2021 which was Gabriel Barbosa for £28m.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Gee_Simpson

[BigV]

2 minutes ago, Gee_Simpson said:

we've got off to a great start to the 2nd season 

Surpassed me already 

[milan_manutd]

So, who is laughing now?! I may heard from Anfield. TBH I didn't deserve nor second place, had to many defeats 6 and in 5 of them I didn't even score. Martial and Rashford was very poor in PL only 9 and 5 goals. Bruno scored 12 which 7 came from penalties. To many goals from free kicks, corners, long throw ins. In less than 3 weeks I draw with Cheaslea 1:1 and Tottenham 0:0 and that was turning point, I just knew that Liverpool will be champions. In last two months I switched to 4-4-2 diamond with more offensive role to Camawinga and with Rash and Marisal up front. I was frustrated with numbers of missed counter attacks when one player goo all the way instead to asist, but with 2 forwards it was easier to play/score/watch.

But with League cup, FA cup and UEFA CL it was all in all great season. To beat PSG was big thing with f*king Pogba scored from the spot. They have mad team and Barsa with Mbape who is the beast with 42 goals in all competitions . Just take a look what they bring in this four seasons. 

 

 

 

[Smaldini]

Season two done and we managed to win everything but the FA Cup. We lost out in the semi-finals again, this time to Everton who beat us 3-1 (we were down to 10 men through injury, but Pogba scored a late penalty to send it to extra time, wish he'd missed it tbh). They went on to beat Liverpool in the final on penalties. Funnily enough Everton had another final a few days later, beating Copenhagen on penalties to become the inaugural Europa Conference champions. Liverpool had an abysmal UCL group stage and finished third behind Benfica & CSKA Moscow, but they went on to beat Chelsea in the Europa League final...and a few days later we made sure the North-West had dominated Europe by beating Juventus 2-0 in the Champions League final, real comfortable game too. 

Martial was the golden boot winner in the CL (11 goals in 9 games) and Forward of the season, more on him later. The odd thing about Axel winning Defender of the season is he didn't make the CL Team of the Year, it was Maguire and Alaba at the back (and rightly so as they played more). But I do think Team of the Year may be broken, because in the Premier League Martial didn't make the team despite finishing on 20 goals, one behind the golden boot winner Lautaro Martinez (Liverpool signed him) yet Firmino did with a measly 10 goals....Football Writer's Player of the Year Mason Mount didn't make the team but Pogba did despite him not contributing as much to our league success as Fernandes did, who also missed out. Then they had Milner at left-back in the team even though Robertson had the second highest average rating (behind Mount) and both Shaw & Telles had a better year than Milner; so it's pretty dodgy. The club had to pay Pogba £950k for his place in the TOTY too and he really didn't deserve it, I'm beginning to regret extending his contract tbh. 

Broke one or two records this year. We were behind Liverpool & Chelsea for the first few months but by the time December came round Chelsea started to drop off, and by February Liverpool were behind us. In the Carabao Cup final we beat Chelsea 3-0 using a 3-4-1-2 formation which Lampard seemingly can't handle, because in our final home league game they were beating us 1-0 but I switched from 4231 to the aforementioned formation and both Rashford & Martial bagged a hat-trick each in the second half. I did say a back three might be my main formation this season, but with Cavani's massive decline & months-long injuries to Martial & Greenwood in the summer it made sense to continue with one striker up front. I did stick to my guns by abandoning the 433 formation though, it's been 4231 for the majority of the campaign with the occasional switch to a back three in cup games. The transfers I made played a part in my decision to stick with wingers too...

At the start of the summer Dembele was transfer-listed for £77m, by the end of it his price had dropped so low I just had to take the risk. Fred was seeking a move elsewhere but the offers weren't good enough, I saw Villa were interested though so I thought I'd bring Grealish in & get Fred off the books at the same time. Wan-Bissaka came to me in the summer demanding higher wages (he wanted £195k ffs) so we had a falling out, luckily I had Gabriel Menino coming in anyway (I signed him for £16m) and he's done well as first choice RB this year, and Williams is good cover too. Camavinga was coming in for about £10m cheaper but Rennes went under a transfer embargo cancelling the deal, they were stingy when it came to renegotiating and wanted £80m but I've never signed him before so I was fine with compromising at £74m. The other two lads were mainly brought in as extra bodies for the U23s, but they both have fairly good potential too. Also had Talles Magno for £17m iirc (it was a release clause, I know that much) but let him finish off the Brazilian season so he arrived in January. Not sure why he or Menino aren't showing up in this list. 

Martial has been incredible. Had a few injuries throughout the campaign but was quality whenever he did play. Scored the winner in the Community Shield despite not being fully fit for the game, also scored in the League Cup & Champions League finals, twenty goals in twenty league games too. Memphis was reliable for most of the season, but before the CL he told me he didn't think he'd ever be good enough to start and wants to leave so I promised I'd let him go in the summer. That means Greenwood will exclusively be Martial's understudy from now on, hopefully he won't be as plagued by injuries as he was this year. I'm definitely selling James too as he didn't do much on loan to Wolves, Magno and Pellistri will be loaned out (hopefully the latter actually gets given the agreed game time, Palace wasted him). Chong has scored I think 26 goals on-loan at Porto, so he'll be a rotation option next season. Amad did well on loan to Wolfsburg too so I'm going to see if he's ready to perform in the PL now.

Cavani is leaving when his contract expires, unfortunately he just declined way too much. Matic still has a year left but he's declined massively too so I'll try and get him out. Koopmeiners is unhappy because he wants more money, we had a row over it but on reflection I think I will offer him a new deal because he is only on £45k at the moment. I'm open to selling Donny and even Pogba though. Bowen was more impressive this year but I still want him out too. Not sure if I'll make any big signings this summer, but in my social feed I see Liverpool sniffing around Sancho, Chelsea trying to get Frenkie, PSG chasing Haaland...it's tempting to interfere. 

[Gee_Simpson]

What do you guys do regarding selling players, always offer them out or do you wait until bids hopefully come in for them? For example, I sold Lindelof for only 25m, but then I always offer my players out and transfer list them at the same time, so I never get that much for them really. Pogba has been decent for me but as his report says, he's inconsistent and he's not really a team player, so I want to offer him out but I'm worried that I won't receive a good offer for him and he'll cause a fuss at being offered out. I'm quite ruthless with players when I want them out, there's no way back for them. For example I've had Fred in the under 23's this season because he refused to leave in the summer 😅. Looks like I'll get him offloaded in the January 2022 window for 20m to Lazio. He's a decent player but nothing more, Camavinga is my 1st choice DLP (D) and Garner is 2nd choice. I made the mistake of giving Fred one league game this season and it's the only league game so far we've lost, his body language of 'uninterested' tells the story there! I would be happy at getting Pogba's market value tbh, can't remember how much he's valued, I think it's something like 58m. Dunno if I would receive that if I offered him out. 

[BigV]

8 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

What do you guys do regarding selling players, always offer them out or do you wait until bids hopefully come in for them? For example, I sold Lindelof for only 25m, but then I always offer my players out and transfer list them at the same time, so I never get that much for them really. Pogba has been decent for me but as his report says, he's inconsistent and he's not really a team player, so I want to offer him out but I'm worried that I won't receive a good offer for him

I'll answer this in 2 parts:

1) If they are wanted, I usually wait till an offer is in before selling, i dont play them much but if it is a team starter and im upgrading then i just play them, usually if the form is good you get a decent offer. As for getting rid of those whom are not wanted by anyone, I usually offer them out without transfer list first (slightly higher than their value then go down slightly if it doesn't work), if I dont get anything then I transfer list them and keep lowering the price until an offer comes in or a loan if they're on a heavy contract. Have a look at this if you want to make the most of it: 

2) Consistency only matters to the human manager not the AI so it wont be a problem getting rid of him on that note but given his ability and rep in the game I doubt it. You should get at least 50m for him, max price is probably around 90m maybe more if someone like psg or real madrid come in. FYI consistency is a very important stat that can go up or down based on form and other things- ive had pogba play 15 games so far and hes scored 9 goals and assisted 12 and is very consistent, contract is running down and is wanted by RM and PSG and the news are reporting we'll sell him at 140m  only a year left on his contract. 

[Greeny]

On 15/02/2021 at 19:15, BigV said:

Has anyone had success to an extent of getting rid of maguire? closely around after a season in?

I accidentally rattled Kounde in summer of first season putting a trsfr request and they wanted 60m, i said no and left it. Im in jan now and i can get him for 45, probably get him dirt cheap come summer around 30-35m but i'd want maguire gone, hes been good but he's my weakest link playing with a high line. 

If i could push him to rotation and get rid of lindelof then id be happy with that but its very hard considering he's captain and hes a peripheral figure in the hierachy. I could accept getting rid of lindelof and blending in kounde for a season but he could rise to the top within a season. Skriniar is massively outperforming everyone in my defence, not a rating lower than 7.3 but still conceeding alot more than I like, 3rd in league and most have come from getting past maguire. 

First thing I did was promote Bruno to Captain and that has worked well so far - no complaints and w5-L0 in the late, but played the kids in the league cup and lost 4-1! I'm hoping that will make it easier to shift Maguire later. 

[McClane29]

9 minutes ago, Greeny said:

First thing I did was promote Bruno to Captain and that has worked well so far - no complaints and w5-L0 in the late, but played the kids in the league cup and lost 4-1! I'm hoping that will make it easier to shift Maguire later. 

Baffling how Bruno hasn't taken the armband off Maguire in real-life.

[Greeny]

1 hour ago, McClane29 said:

Baffling how Bruno hasn't taken the armband off Maguire in real-life.

Indeed - should have happened after he 'defended his sister' in Greece by getting drunk, getting into a fight and attempting to bribe police officers ;-)

 

- onwards - some advice please:

Ive been trying to coach my team (season 1) to play 5-3-1-2, the idea being to push up Telles and AWB, and allow a fast ruling counter, but its not working well/ I am finding that 4-2-3-1 just works better always as Rashford is a god on the left and surprisingly Dan James is an awesome impact sub for Greenwood......

 

I just cant seem to get possession against teams with the former tactic playing Pogba as a Box to Box  and Matic or McTominay as Ball winner. any ideas?

[BigV]

50 minutes ago, Greeny said:

Ive been trying to coach my team (season 1) to play 5-3-1-2, the idea being to push up Telles and AWB, and allow a fast ruling counter, but its not working well/ I am finding that 4-2-3-1 just works better always as Rashford is a god on the left and surprisingly Dan James is an awesome impact sub for Greenwood......

 

I just cant seem to get possession against teams with the former tactic playing Pogba as a Box to Box  and Matic or McTominay as Ball winner. any ideas?

Mind posting your tactic when you get a chance with TI's?

From what I gather you might be using your wingbacks too attacking so you might need one of your cm/dm to play on defend, also 12 men on the pitch and still struggling 

Matic isnt a ball winner, not mobile enough anymore, mctominay is a good use but with pogba being b2b it seems no one is focal to keeping the ball or trying to start counters. My advice would be to use the role of CM-S/DLP-S/Roaming playmaker to give that umph to link the midfield and attack. 

[sedge11]

So it's been a week or 2 since last posted, I finished season 5 and then had a weeks break from fm.

So here's the summary for season 5.

We went on a 34 game unbeaten run in the league, which stretched across the end of season 4 and halfway into season 5. But because of that unbeaten run the league was won in dominant fashion, and we could put the disappointment of season 4 behind us.

I was gutted I missed out on 100 points, we lost to Leeds with 3 games to go to miss out on it. But after losing the league title in season 4 to liverpool, we made sure that it didn't happen again. Henderson with his 2nd Golden glove in a row. Greenwood with an incredible season, his stats I shall share abit lower down.

That season also got Klopp the sack haha. The league title in season 4 was their only trophy win so I'm surprised he lasted that long to be honest.

We also won the carabao cup.

Easy game, Bristol city are in the championship. Maddison who in fairness I don't play a massive amount, always scores in the big moments, that's 2 out of 4 finals he has scored in.

Chelsea won the fa cup and Man city won the champs league. 

We also had the club world championship, we lost in the final, losing out to Man city.

The stats for the season were as follows.

The 2 left backs again having great seasons. Bruno being Bruno and being amazing. 1 player I want to touch on is Garrett, a regen from my very 1st youth intake, and though his average rating wasn't great, he has started to really cement his place in the team alongside Bruno in the midfield, and his stats don't do him justice.

Now Greenwood.

Absolutely incredible. He won top goal scorer in the league and champs league, won player of the year in the league and best player in europe. If he carries on will surely win the golden ball and world player of the year.

So after my small break from fm its onwards to season 6. Transfers have been done, I haven't brought anyone bar a couple of regens for the youth teams.But on the outs Telles, Williams, Bennacer and Amad Diallo all leave. 

Telles has been great but at 32 felt best to move on, Bennacer was a mistake really and I didn't play in season 5. Williams and Diallo move on as they never really cemented their positions. Main reason I didn't buy is because there's a few younger players I want to get in the 1st team. Fernandez the left back and Shoreitre, I have developed without really giving them many chances so I want to play them before it's too late really. 

[Gee_Simpson]

I'm having some thoughts of potentially starting a new save  because of the official January update being released but tbf I have most transfers (excluding China and Russia) up to date as I started my save just after February using the sortitoutsi data update. Only things that aren't updated are player attributes obviously and some league rules but transfers are. Tbh United players are almost identical anyway, there's been a few small upgrades to Shaw and Bruno's attributes and their PA, and a couple of small PA downgrades for Rashford and Greenwood. Dalot and Williams have fixed PA now instead of random, so I don't think there's enough for me to restart tbh. I also have Moukoko in my game too as I downloaded an editor data file that includes him in the game. I then bought the in game editor so I could edit his attributes to his official attributes but leaving the ones that have improved past his official ones as he's now 17 in my game.

I'm nearly halfway through season 2 and we're top after 15 games which is good. I couldn't get a tune of out Martial in season 1, he played 33 league games and scored 9 goals but 2nd season so far he's played 14 league games and scored 13 goals, hopefully he can continue his form and go on to be the top goalscorer in the league. Calvert-Lewin is on fire for Everton in my save though with 14 goals and we have them next at home, hopefully Martial can overtake him. Fernandes is in insane form this season since making him captain, he already has 9 goals and 7 assists in 14 league games from the AMC position.

@sedge11 I take it you are using Greenwood exclusively as a striker now? That's what I plan on doing once I bring in Sancho, he will rotate with Martial as Cavani's physical attributes have dropped off massively now, I will be letting him leave at the end of the season as he's 34. He had a great 1st season for me though and scored important goals, but rarely plays now.

@BigV I've actually managed to get Maguire's pace up to 13 and acceleration up to 11 through training which is nice. He's now 3rd choice for me though behind Demiral and Milenkovic so doesn't play as much as he did during the 1st season. I play a high line and he still does okay for me.

Edited February 26, 2021 by Gee_Simpson

[BigV]

1 hour ago, Gee_Simpson said:

@BigV I've actually managed to get Maguire's pace up to 13 and acceleration up to 11 through training which is nice. He's now 3rd choice for me though behind Demiral and Milenkovic so doesn't play as much as he did during the 1st season. I play a high line and he still does okay for me.

I usually have a balanced pairing of CB's, if you've managed to make him 3rd choice then im all for it. Although ill need to strip him of captaincy after jan and i dunno how he'll take that...

Having Skriniar next to Kounde is like a god send, if only If we could see that IRL , im still baffled how i got skriniar for 45m, stupidly good although I could do with improving his mentals a bit more, hopefully kounde covers for him. 

I shoulda loaned out tuanzebe, might do it before trn window ends hopefully push him for 6 months and see how he's done. 

[TelcontarTargaryen]

To be honest, I migth be, and probably am biased, but I think that whoever did data research for players either dislikes United or is really biased by the instant media of today, given how low (compared to some other potential wonderkids or stars in the EPL), potential PA or PA for some of United players is. While it is certain that not everyone from United's current crop of youngsters will make it to become regular firt team players, it's ridiculous that they are so un-appreciated but some teams, some of whom barely have any player from the academy at all in the first team, get a bunch of players with high potential. 

I am still learning the game, so I haven't really commited to a save yet, but I am thinking of doing some academy only United game. But on the other hand I am a big fan of Håland, Camavinga and few others in real life, so I feel a bit sad to leave them out. 

[BigV]

53 minutes ago, TelcontarTargaryen said:

To be honest, I migth be, and probably am biased, but I think that whoever did data research for players either dislikes United or is really biased by the instant media of today, given how low (compared to some other potential wonderkids or stars in the EPL), potential PA or PA for some of United players is. While it is certain that not everyone from United's current crop of youngsters will make it to become regular firt team players, it's ridiculous that they are so un-appreciated but some teams, some of whom barely have any player from the academy at all in the first team, get a bunch of players with high potential. 

I am still learning the game, so I haven't really commited to a save yet, but I am thinking of doing some academy only United game. But on the other hand I am a big fan of Håland, Camavinga and few others in real life, so I feel a bit sad to leave them out. 

I think they're pretty straight forward tbf, you gotta think that if they've made debuts then thats fine, some players you can tell who will become good and wont for united level that is. I think the potential for most PA3*+ players will be championship/low end prem level.

If you play them enough with training you'll see the CA go up, i think some will be fixed and some will be flexible depending on how you/loan clubs develop them. There'll be only a handfull that will make it, our u18's look pretty strong but again only some will make it. Thats the thing with youngsters, they may have the ability but the physicality of them prem is the big issue, if they can get over that then it works a treat IRL and in game as ive seen.

I think some guys did an academy only last year and did pretty well, wouldn't be surprised if someone did it this year and did slightly better with the u18 lot coming in. 

[sedge11]

12 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

@sedge11 I take it you are using Greenwood exclusively as a striker now? That's what I plan on doing once I bring in Sancho, he will rotate with Martial as Cavani's physical attributes have dropped off massively now, I will be letting him leave at the end of the season as he's 34. He had a great 1st season for me though and scored important goals, but rarely plays now.

Yes mostly, though I do still play him out on the right occasionally as I still have Belotti who is doing well.

[Gee_Simpson]

9 hours ago, sedge11 said:

Yes mostly, though I do still play him out on the right occasionally as I still have Belotti who is doing well.

What role, AF? 

[sedge11]

10 minutes ago, Gee_Simpson said:

What role, AF? 

Yea play him as a AF and when I play him on the right, he plays as an inverted winger.

[Gee_Simpson]

20 hours ago, BigV said:

I usually have a balanced pairing of CB's, if you've managed to make him 3rd choice then im all for it. Although ill need to strip him of captaincy after jan and i dunno how he'll take that...

Having Skriniar next to Kounde is like a god send, if only If we could see that IRL , im still baffled how i got skriniar for 45m, stupidly good although I could do with improving his mentals a bit more, hopefully kounde covers for him. 

I shoulda loaned out tuanzebe, might do it before trn window ends hopefully push him for 6 months and see how he's done. 

I had a terrible experience with Skriniar on FM20 so I'm put off him now  My first choice pairing are the two giants Nikola Milenkovic and Merih Demiral, 6 ft 5 and 6 ft 4, we don't lose any challenges in the air that's for sure!  Both have good pace but lower acceleration so I'm trying to train that attribute up. I do play Demiral on the left and he's right footed only which worries me a bit but he doesn't seem to have too much trouble. I suppose they are still effectively central so it's not too big of an issue.

I have 1 more long term CB target in either Jean Clair Todibo or Josko Gvardiol, hoping for Todibo as I think his PA is fixed and I've seen how he turns out, he basically becomes a better version of Upamecano in terms of mentals, yet still has that insane pace. I really liked the look of Fikayo Tomori with 19 acceleration but as I'm using a data update, it meant Milan had him on loan and unfortunately they took up the option to make it permanent. I may have a look at Skriniar again despite my bad experience with him but I reckon I would prefer the youth of Todibo or Gvardiol. I'll take a look at Kounde too, not looked at him at all yet.

Just managed to sign Tonali on a free transfer which is a brilliant piece of business. That's the 3rd world class player I've manged to sign on a free transfer in my first two seasons now. Depay and Thauvin in the summer who are now both worth over 60m each and described as elite wingers and Tonali who is an elite midfielder. Camavinga is first choice DLP and he's an absolute beast, definitely on track to becoming the best midfielder in the game with James Garner as 2nd choice. I hadn't planned to sign Tonali as I was happy with Garner being 2nd choice but I couldn't pass up signing a player that good for free, I wouldn't even have realised he was available on a free if I didn't have him shortlisted. 

In other news which is crazy, but Dylan Levitt has won the UEFA Golden Boy and Kopa Trophy whilst on loan to Swansea  He's been brilliant for them and developed really well, his value was 10m but since winning those two awards it has shot up to 39m! Bizarre how he won it ahead of players like Sancho etc and I don't think he'll even make it here 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Gee_Simpson

[Gee_Simpson]

14 minutes ago, sedge11 said:

Yea play him as a AF and when I play him on the right, he plays as an inverted winger.

Thought so. I'm scratching my head as to how most people get an AF to work with United? They do nothing for me because most teams just sit back and there's no space in behind. PF (A) has worked out better as they start off deeper than the AF but like the AF they are still mostly focused on purely scoring goals, compare to say a CF who is more of an all rounder. 

[MatthewS17]

22 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

Bruno's attributes and their PA, and a couple of small PA downgrades for Rashford and Greenwood

Seems awfully reactionary of SI this year, and the prime reason why I will not be starting a new save. 

[McClane29]

Anyone managed to acquire Haaland in a long-term United save this season?

How has he done if so?

[BigV]

33 minutes ago, Gee_Simpson said:

I had a terrible experience with Skriniar on FM20 so I'm put off him now  My first choice pairing are the two giants Nikola Milenkovic and Merih Demiral, 6 ft 5 and 6 ft 4, we don't lose any challenges in the air that's for sure!  Both have good pace but lower acceleration so I'm trying to train that attribute up. I do play Demiral on the left and he's right footed only which worries me a bit but he doesn't seem to have too much trouble. I suppose they are still effectively central so it's not too big of an issue.

I have 1 more long term CB target in either Jean Clair Todibo or Josko Gvardiol, hoping for Todibo as I think his PA is fixed and I've seen how he turns out, he basically becomes a better version of Upamecano in terms of mentals, yet still has that insane pace. I really liked the look of Fikayo Tomori with 19 acceleration but as I'm using a data update, it meant Milan had him on loan and unfortunately they took up the option to make it permanent. I may have a look at Skriniar again despite my bad experience with him but I reckon I would prefer the youth of Todibo or Gvardiol. I'll take a look at Kounde too, not looked at him at all yet.

Just managed to sign Tonali on a free transfer which is a brilliant piece of business. That's the 3rd world class player I've manged to sign on a free transfer in my first two seasons now. Depay and Thauvin in the summer who are now both worth over 60m each and described as elite wingers and Tonali who is an elite midfielder. Camavinga is first choice DLP and he's an absolute beast, definitely on track to becoming the best midfielder in the game with James Garner as 2nd choice. I hadn't planned to sign Tonali as I was happy with Garner being 2nd choice but I couldn't pass up signing a player that good for free, I wouldn't even have realised he was available on a free if I didn't have him shortlisted. 

In other news which is crazy, but Dylan Levitt has won the UEFA Golden Boy and Kopa Trophy whilst on loan to Swansea  He's been brilliant for them and developed really well, his value was 10m but since winning those two awards it has shot up to 39m! Bizarre how he won it ahead of players like Sancho etc and I don't think he'll even make it here 

He's so gooooooddd!! But i get it, did the same thing with de ligt on 20, although i blame the game more than him  some solid tanks there, you see i go for someone whos semi tall that can head the ball and someone who has positioning of 15-16+ with 14 pace as minimum that way they can recover in most areas.

3 players world class and all for free, wow, I rate thauvin over depay but tonali wow just wow. Camavinga is on my shortlist but he seems more defensive, I need to see if he can become a playmaker who has good flair and strong mentals cause atm he seems like a DLP and type like carrick or someone similar who dictates tempo.

His passing attribute is unreal at the start so it wouldnt surprise me, get that CA up and he tends to do well, probably stop around grealish levels or the "Barkley" level type of player 

[Gee_Simpson]

6 hours ago, BigV said:

He's so gooooooddd!! But i get it, did the same thing with de ligt on 20, although i blame the game more than him  some solid tanks there, you see i go for someone whos semi tall that can head the ball and someone who has positioning of 15-16+ with 14 pace as minimum that way they can recover in most areas.

3 players world class and all for free, wow, I rate thauvin over depay but tonali wow just wow. Camavinga is on my shortlist but he seems more defensive, I need to see if he can become a playmaker who has good flair and strong mentals cause atm he seems like a DLP and type like carrick or someone similar who dictates tempo.

His passing attribute is unreal at the start so it wouldnt surprise me, get that CA up and he tends to do well, probably stop around grealish levels or the "Barkley" level type of player 

They are both really solid, means I can force teams out wide as that forces teams to play wide and try to get crosses in and obviously against two giants it's very hard to get the better of them in the air. They can both develop really well mentally on top of having decent pace, so I'm really glad I managed to get them both. They are both really brave so they don't shirk out of any challenge which is what I really disliked about Lindelof. I have a thing about defenders with low bravery, it annoys me lol, needs to be at least 12 for me. That's why unfortunately I can't see Mengi making it here despite him developing well, he only has 9 for bravery. Demiral cost me 43m and Milenkovic only cost 28m, PSG made an offer for him but thankfully he chose us over them despite us only finishing 4th in the 1st season. Both are described as Elite Centrebacks now and both play like it. I still think Maguire and Tuanzebe as my 2nd pairing is decent enough. They aren't complaining either and Maguire was happy enough to let Bruno take the captaincy at the start of this season (2).

Bruno by the way has absolutely taken his game to the next level as captain, banging in the goals like he does irl. I think he has 14 league goals in 19 games if I'm correct and that's from the AMC position which sometimes people struggle to get a tune out of. He also has 9 or 10 assists in the league from what I remember, really been our best player by a mile this season and easily my favourite.

Yeah Thauvin is one I'm so glad I actually went for in the end, as I still don't have Sancho yet. Kulusevski was on my list potentially even ahead of Sancho but he must have got unlucky with his PA as he was already at almost near potential at the start of the game which was unfortunate and put me off him. I had agreed a 100m deal at the start of this current season for Sancho but he was wanting over 300k in wages as he had just signed a new deal with Dortmund so I decided to cancel the deal at the last minute. I will be going back in for him in the summer but I'm being quoted crazy money for him. Luckily Thauvin has been excellent and is my 1st choice RWF so Sancho can wait for now. I just bought Yusuf Demir in the January window who looks like he could be insane, he cost his release clause which was 35.5m but I reckon he'll be worth it. Lawlor told me to sign him whatever the price so that must mean he's got a high PA on this save. If he turns out near the top of his PA range then he will surpass Sancho levels which is scary. Check this thread out, he looks absolutely insane in the OP:

Yeah shame for Levitt as he's a really solid player, but I don't think he fits into my formation well enough. I may give him a chance in season 3 as he looks really decent but I will probably cash in on him whilst his stock is high. I'm hoping to move on Pogba in the summer also but won't risk upsetting him and the squad right now as we're top of the league in January, and he's now in the top 3 influential players in the team. I'm looking at Ismael Bennacer in January right now for 45.5m, not sure if that's too pricey for him or not? He will compete with Gaetano Castrovilli who has been immense for me, and only cost me 20m. They are actually very similar attributes wise, with Bennacer being slightly better overall but Castrovilli performs amazingly well. Pogba doesn't get in ahead of him and is definitely 2nd choice now at RPM. I've looked at Marcos Antonio who has some crazy attributes but has some weaknesses to be a mainstay in the '2' in a 4231. I can get him for 40m whereas before I could have got him cheaper. He has some really nice attributes like 18 OTB, 18 pace, 17 anticipation, 17 decisions but also with 14 positioning. Low tackling, bravery and strength will probably mean I choose Bennacer instead who doesn't really have a weakness. I just scouted him again and unfortunately he has been described as being near his potential which means he will probably stay as he is and I won't be able to improve his weak areas.

 

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Gee_Simpson

[Chapman7]

Restarted with the official update file. 

 

Think Shaw may find it difficult to get in the team when he gets back to full fitness after the injury he starts with has recovered from.

Second game he's had a 8.0 or higher in from 2 games so long that continues 

[BigV]

On 27/02/2021 at 00:26, Gee_Simpson said:

I just bought Yusuf Demir in the January window who looks like he could be insane, he cost his release clause which was 35.5m but I reckon he'll be worth it. Lawlor told me to sign him whatever the price so that must mean he's got a high PA on this save. If he turns out near the top of his PA range then he will surpass Sancho levels which is scary. Check this thread out, he looks absolutely insane in the OP:

Knew about him for a while so kept him on shortlist, his PA is up there with the best but its fluid depending on save, he can become OP so you've made a great signing there, ony downside for me is that a RW  that plays winger is a must for me, finding that having 2 players on either side cut in really hinders the overall balance and when i play james on winger duties he shows up with goals and assists. 

On 27/02/2021 at 00:26, Gee_Simpson said:

Yeah shame for Levitt as he's a really solid player, but I don't think he fits into my formation well enough. I may give him a chance in season 3 as he looks really decent but I will probably cash in on him whilst his stock is high. I'm hoping to move on Pogba in the summer also but won't risk upsetting him and the squad right now as we're top of the league in January, and he's now in the top 3 influential players in the team. I'm looking at Ismael Bennacer in January right now for 45.5m, not sure if that's too pricey for him or not? He will compete with Gaetano Castrovilli who has been immense for me, and only cost me 20m. They are actually very similar attributes wise, with Bennacer being slightly better overall but Castrovilli performs amazingly well. Pogba doesn't get in ahead of him and is definitely 2nd choice now at RPM. I've looked at Marcos Antonio who has some crazy attributes but has some weaknesses to be a mainstay in the '2' in a 4231. I can get him for 40m whereas before I could have got him cheaper. He has some really nice attributes like 18 OTB, 18 pace, 17 anticipation, 17 decisions but also with 14 positioning. Low tackling, bravery and strength will probably mean I choose Bennacer instead who doesn't really have a weakness. I just scouted him again and unfortunately he has been described as being near his potential which means he will probably stay as he is and I won't be able to improve his weak areas.

45m for him is a bargain imo, not as good as pogba attribute wise but certainly has the motion to be creative player from deep. Alot more defensively solid so all around good player, get that flair and off the ball up and you'll be sorted long term.