[FM21] Manchester United: A club stuck in transition

[Monsieur-Beev]

Sorry for the spam guys, but appraising my squad coming into the new season and there's quite a few players getting on a bit (pogba, de tea, Maguire) and others nearing the end of their contract that won't accept a reduced role (vdb, Williams, tuanzebe) so I'm thinking now is the time for a bit of a rebuild. I've got a few players hovering between the ages of 18-21 who have the potential to be good replacements but would be immediate downgrades on the likes of poggers but I guess they have to start playing regularly sooner rather than later?

How do people generally decide how to go about this without upsetting the squad and choosing who is worth keeping for experience etc?

Im mainly worried about changing too much and results going awry.

[sedge11]

So I'm back for a new Man Utd save. It's been a couple months and I had quite a fun 12 season save before wanting to get my 2nd attempt for my Man Utd save on the go.

So I decided for this save to disable the 1st transfer window, main reason being I want to do the 1st season with this squad and just stop others buying as well.

1st bit of business, overhauling the staff.

Staff brought in are staff I have used over various saves the last couple years, and are trusted members of my team. On my recent 12 season save Baticle started with me at Lyon and I took him everywhere I went for the whole save, he's a great assistant manager.

Now tactics. This is my main tactic, that I have saved and used on my previous saves.

My 2nd tactic looks like this.

Something abit different, trying to get the best out of Pogba and Bruno in advanced positions.

We have had a tricky start, and have suffered a few injuries too. We have had Lindelof, Bruno, Cavani, and now Rashford all suffering injuries.

A great early win over City was great, but to follow that up with 2 losses was annoying.

Champs league group we have been dealt with an interesting and quite tricky group, with Madrid, Lazio and Marseille. Lazio are top after 2 games with 6 points, the 2 games with them will be vital.

Edited May 8, 2021 by sedge11

[Monsieur-Beev]

Probably the best teenager I've picked up so far, had to promise to play him as an af instead of DLF, how do I get around this?

[sedge11]

On 11/05/2021 at 13:22, Monsieur-Beev said:

Probably the best teenager I've picked up so far, had to promise to play him as an af instead of DLF, how do I get around this?

He looks incredible. But I don’t think there is a way around it, unless you don’t mind him kicking off and try and recover it from there.

[Monsieur-Beev]

On 14/05/2021 at 09:29, sedge11 said:

He looks incredible. But I don’t think there is a way around it, unless you don’t mind him kicking off and try and recover it from there.

So far I've started games with him as af and then changed to DLF after kickoff, he seemed happy until he tore wrist ligaments and is now off for 4-5 weeks. Seems a bit much for a wrist injury but okay!

[sedge11]

The thread is very quiet but I will still share my seasons.

Season 1 is done, and it has been a strange one.

I had disabled the 1st window and didn't buy anyone in the 1st season, so I wasn't expecting miracles.

We got knocked out of both domestic cups early. We also had a shocker in the champs league, with an away draw to Marseille costing us 2nd in the group, which meant we finished 3rd in the group and just like Man Utd in real life we drop down to the europa league. Amazingly Lazio won the group.

So to the league, with the disappointments in the cups we had a pretty  good season but ultimately fell short to Man city. 

We were always in the mix and top 4 was secure early on as we broke away from the rest of the league, City were really just too strong though, and we lost twice in our last 5 games to fall away. However I was fairly happy with 2nd, considering I hadn't brought anyone in the 1st season and the quality in depth just isn't there.

So after that all we had left was the Europa league. we had a tough run having to face Inter, Leicester and Arsenal but we got past them all on our way to the final. Could we end the season with a trophy.

Yes we did, another tough game against Milan, was an even game and I thought it wasn't going to happen but a Bruno ball into Rashford, who slotted home from inside the box sealed the win, and sealed the trophy. To face Inter, Leicester, Arsenal and Milan to win the europa league was a tough run, to get through them all and win it made it a sweet 1st trophy win.

Here our the season stats for the 1st season.

Both left backs having very good seasons, Bruno doing Bruno things and was excellent. De Gea with probably the best rating I've ever got out of a keeper and he kept alot of clean sheets. Pogba though had a poor avg rating, got a good output and the best I've had out of him on this fm and from fm20.

There were some poor performances though, Martial was terrible all season, as reflected in his rating. Rashford had a poor season but that was interrupted by injuries. 

Now onwards to season 2, I was fairly happy with 2nd and a trophy, but now i's time to push on, bring some signings in and bring the title back home.

A few outs are already arranged, with Romero and Mata being released, and Jones going off to Turkey. Lingard, Periera and Dalot will probably all be sold after their loans as well.

Though we had a good defence, a cb and dm are the priority, with a winger or another striker the next options.

[PaulC2K]

@sedge11 Kinda surprised that you're not getting idiotic numbers from Martial, he's been proper OP in my 3 saves so far. He's on 20 goals and its not even Xmas yet. 

Left side is from my first season which i abandoned straight after it finished (won everything except FAC), and the right side is my current season which is upto Dec 13th (20 fixtures total).
The 2 CB's are probably the thing that stands out the most  For corners they're on near post & lurk near post, ball played to near post. IIRC, the numbers really ramp up in the 2nd half once the routine has been perfected. One of the main reasons i opted for Pau Torres was to pick up a few extra goals at corners (wasnt expecting these numbers) and being left footed. He's reasonably priced, too.



Thats the tactic im using, largely based on Knaps 4231 Time ('FM21.7TIMEKnap4231CP103' i believe) with a few changes. Mainly much lower intensity, dropped 'Get Stuck In', and the wingers both adjusted (was IF-S & IW-S i think, but i felt like they started having more impact with IF-A, could be coincidental). No PI's, just standard roles, so should be possible to replicate from that image pretty quickly.
The other 2 tactics in the rotation are identical, just higher intensity, but i havent used them in a game yet.

I have used 433 DM wide for important matches because i wanted that defensive CM but felt it was underwhelming, and couldn't tell if its purely because they're big games/tough oppo and its to be expected, so i ran a couple of AI 20/21 seasons with that tactic, and compared it to 4231 results, and overall it wasnt getting the same numbers either. Bruno just doesnt shine like he does as a 10. He has 9 EPL PotM for us in 13 games.

I dunno how much use all that is, but 3 saves using variations of that 4231 tactic have all allowed Martial to bag goals. If we had this version of Tony IRL, there'd be less concern about where Haaland ends up, and even the media wouldnt bother trying to link us to a Kane transfer.


Im in a similar situation with regards to figuring out how to utilise Pogba to get better performances from him. I've always just gone with DLP-S but his game stats dont particularly look impressive (7.05avg, 1 goal & 2 assists from 12 starts) but then its not like he's putting up Bruno numbers IRL, either. However that may also reflect what we've been seeing IRL of him lately, he's having far more meaningful involvement on the left pushing Rashford out of position, than playing him in a midfield pairing. He isnt Carrick, yet we persist in trying to use him that way, and get underwhelming results considering how good we know he can be.

Like i dunno if my understanding is completely off in terms of what works and how to identify the right player for that job, but i plan to buy a midfielder next summer and i dont know how to approach it. I've tried him at MEZ and saw nothing impressive and had snarky fake-twitter comments about playing him there, which i assume is the game giving me a nudge. Im really tempted to flog him and bring in de Jong and Saul. Saul was fantastic in the other saves, too. I just felt too close to OP starting with him and Pau. 

[BigV]

7 hours ago, PaulC2K said:

Kinda surprised that you're not getting idiotic numbers from Martial, he's been proper OP in my 3 saves so far. He's on 20 goals and its not even Xmas yet. 

 

7 hours ago, PaulC2K said:

I dunno how much use all that is, but 3 saves using variations of that 4231 tactic have all allowed Martial to bag goals. If we had this version of Tony IRL, there'd be less concern about where Haaland ends up, and even the media wouldnt bother trying to link us to a Kane transfer.

Ive come to some conclusions about martial, it depends on your manager stats and the tempo/directness in the game. He suits a direct game/lower tempo which is somewhat countering what playing direct does but individually he works well for it. Based on form if he gets a good start his CA goes up and then stays to similar levels whereas if he's around 6.6-6.9 ratings hes on and off but does score like 15-20 a season. Player traits are vital for martial, if I remember correctly someone in here added beats the offisde trap and he kept pacing behind the lines (leading me to teach him but still hasn't learnt it yet), did you add any? what are his goals like, like build up play/shooting from range/ dribbling in box or poachers goals etc.?

 

7 hours ago, PaulC2K said:

Im in a similar situation with regards to figuring out how to utilise Pogba to get better performances from him. I've always just gone with DLP-S but his game stats dont particularly look impressive

Again, he works best under a certain way. I started out playing short passes and high tempo on positive, and somehow he's absolutely shredded it first 6 months or so in first season, he was beating bruno in terms of sheer numbers and even went to 5* and is in contention of winning the ballon do'r . Seems impossible but somehow I did it. I'll add a scrn shot. But since I gave him a new contract end of jan/start of feb he's massively lowered numbers but that could be down to me going to shorter passing and lower tempo and getting rid of run at defence. He was my game changer at the start, kept him on the bench when he was unfit/tired and somehow came on and scored important winning goals. If you search back you can see a previous scrn shot of him. 

[PaulC2K]

6 hours ago, BigV said:

Ive come to some conclusions about martial, it depends on your manager stats and the tempo/directness in the game. He suits a direct game/lower tempo which is somewhat countering what playing direct does but individually he works well for it. Based on form if he gets a good start his CA goes up and then stays to similar levels whereas if he's around 6.6-6.9 ratings hes on and off but does score like 15-20 a season. Player traits are vital for martial, if I remember correctly someone in here added beats the offisde trap and he kept pacing behind the lines (leading me to teach him but still hasn't learnt it yet), did you add any? what are his goals like, like build up play/shooting from range/ dribbling in box or poachers goals etc.?

I've never actually thought of the manager stats as having any meaningful impact on stuff like that. I've basically only spotted the ability to ensure you give yourself 5-star coaching and beyond that anything that might help, without really knowing exactly how they'd influence the different aspects. 

I've not given him any form of training requests, i'll make sure a handful of players are given positional training to what i want them rather than trusting automatic/staff, but traits intimidate me a little, thinking i'll have them doing things that are counterproductive to their role or stats, so i just stand well back. 

As for his goals, theres a decent mix, but i'd say the majority of our big chances are coming from winning the ball back from the press and a pass or 2 later someones through on goal. I suppose that kinda makes sense why Pogba might not be getting particularly great performances, if DLP is instructing him to favour short passes he's probably not going to frequently play a pass through the lines or send a ball over the top, he's running with the ball or knocking it to someone else. 
At the same time, for obvious reasons we struggle against teams packing the defence, and thats typically when i see Pogba pop up, he'll try shots (and occasionally score great goals), but thats the case for most of the squad. We're playing low crosses currently, so while some do get through, most are being stopped.

I guess its all kinda obvious when you stop and think about it.
 

6 hours ago, BigV said:

Again, he works best under a certain way. I started out playing short passes and high tempo on positive, and somehow he's absolutely shredded it first 6 months or so in first season, he was beating bruno in terms of sheer numbers and even went to 5* and is in contention of winning the ballon do'r . Seems impossible but somehow I did it. I'll add a scrn shot. But since I gave him a new contract end of jan/start of feb he's massively lowered numbers but that could be down to me going to shorter passing and lower tempo and getting rid of run at defence. He was my game changer at the start, kept him on the bench when he was unfit/tired and somehow came on and scored important winning goals. If you search back you can see a previous scrn shot of him. 

I could probably give it a couple of months with a higher tempo, and drop his 'short passing' instruction and let him pick. My abandoned season was done on 'Higher Tempo' & 'Extremely urgent' pressing, and i didnt like them looking knackered around the 75min mark and needing half the team subbed by the 85th minute. So i dropped to 'Lower' and 'Slightly less urgent' and stamina seemed better and the results continued. However Pogba still only finished on 7.13avg with 7g & 11a from 44 starts, the majority being DLP-S.

I'll go back and find your previous posts, see if i can make sense of what might have helped him. I may just put him on AP-S and McT on BWM-S and see if that plays to his strengths a bit more, or whether he gets in the way of the AM.

[BigV]

22 minutes ago, PaulC2K said:

I've never actually thought of the manager stats as having any meaningful impact on stuff like that. I've basically only spotted the ability to ensure you give yourself 5-star coaching and beyond that anything that might help, without really knowing exactly how they'd influence the different aspects. 

I've not given him any form of training requests, i'll make sure a handful of players are given positional training to what i want them rather than trusting automatic/staff, but traits intimidate me a little, thinking i'll have them doing things that are counterproductive to their role or stats, so i just stand well back. 

As for his goals, theres a decent mix, but i'd say the majority of our big chances are coming from winning the ball back from the press and a pass or 2 later someones through on goal. I suppose that kinda makes sense why Pogba might not be getting particularly great performances, if DLP is instructing him to favour short passes he's probably not going to frequently play a pass through the lines or send a ball over the top, he's running with the ball or knocking it to someone else. 
At the same time, for obvious reasons we struggle against teams packing the defence, and thats typically when i see Pogba pop up, he'll try shots (and occasionally score great goals), but thats the case for most of the squad. We're playing low crosses currently, so while some do get through, most are being stopped.

I guess its all kinda obvious when you stop and think about it.

I feel like some players are easier to back you than others (exc game time in long run), so stuff like motivating/discipline would be effective in these areas, I'd also say their 1 to 1 chats, so about form, goals, how they're playing etc. 

I too do that but I think it's helpful in areas and can suit players to their attributes. Example someone with high vision, passing and flair bit of technique too with the "try killer balls" trait would do wonders outside the role given, works well for most, currently teaching mejbri to do it and I can't wait to see what he's like even if VDB is on form and dong well. 

I'd suggest move him to AP-S, see if that works, that way he's on the ball and making stuff happen. I do think that shorter passes hinder the best passers but its well worth it given he can control the games and act as a game controller rather than trying to be like bruno from deep. Progressive passing is what he'll do as a DLP which doesn't really effect the ratings imo. I had a game where he did 104 passes in a game and he only got a 7.2 rating, he bossed the midfield and kept it tight. I also think dwelling on the ball trait on slower tempo just gives him license to lose the ball more, with a higher tempo I never saw it myself and made few mistakes according to the stats when i've checked. He will make those killer balls, it's just the space for it, I assume cause all your front line are pressing so high, if and when he does have the ball, the defence are all there packed in the box and so he has to do the safer option. Low crosses seem to be a bit ishy, Ive always had it on mixed cause telles, rashy, diallo, james all have some ability to cross with likes of cavani getting onto it. 

34 minutes ago, PaulC2K said:

I could probably give it a couple of months with a higher tempo, and drop his 'short passing' instruction and let him pick. My abandoned season was done on 'Higher Tempo' & 'Extremely urgent' pressing, and i didnt like them looking knackered around the 75min mark and needing half the team subbed by the 85th minute. So i dropped to 'Lower' and 'Slightly less urgent' and stamina seemed better and the results continued. However Pogba still only finished on 7.13avg with 7g & 11a from 44 starts, the majority being DLP-S.

I'll go back and find your previous posts, see if i can make sense of what might have helped him. I may just put him on AP-S and McT on BWM-S and see if that plays to his strengths a bit more, or whether he gets in the way of the AM.

My advice is do it in pre season and first half of the season, i did my first season as a test- 1st half short passing/higher tempo/run at defence, 2nd half short passing/slower tempo. That way you have time to adapt to the new tactic, cause you notice the play is ALOT worse when you switch it up straight away. 

I put mctominay as a BWM but I find as a b2b he does his defensive work over the attacking work which is what you want to see really given his attributes. I need to finish my season off so then I can work in Kounde, Sancho and haaland and camavinga if I can get rid of martial. Then i can get rid of fred 

[sedge11]

15 hours ago, PaulC2K said:

 Kinda surprised that you're not getting idiotic numbers from Martial, he's been proper OP in my 3 saves so far. He's on 20 goals and its not even Xmas yet. 

Yea don't know just haven't got on with him on this fm, I find with him if he's out of form its very difficult to get him back in form, but when he is playing well he can go on a run of goals. I will probably sell him after the 2nd season if no improvement.

16 hours ago, PaulC2K said:

m in a similar situation with regards to figuring out how to utilise Pogba to get better performances from him. I've always just gone with DLP-S but his game stats dont particularly look impressive (7.05avg, 1 goal & 2 assists from 12 starts) but then its not like he's putting up Bruno numbers IRL, either. However that may also reflect what we've been seeing IRL of him lately, he's having far more meaningful involvement on the left pushing Rashford out of position, than playing him in a midfield pairing. He isnt Carrick, yet we persist in trying to use him that way, and get underwhelming results considering how good we know he can be.

Well that was probably the best season I've had out of Pogba since fm19. Quite a lot of the season I was playing a 4-4-1-1, with Pogba on the left as a wide playmaker, and that was when I was getting the best performances out of him, though that does kind of then hamper Rashford a little.

Once I moved back to the 4-3-3 his performances dropped off a little but were still decent.

[PaulC2K]

31 minutes ago, BigV said:

I'd suggest move him to AP-S, see if that works, that way he's on the ball and making stuff happen. I do think that shorter passes hinder the best passers but its well worth it given he can control the games and act as a game controller rather than trying to be like bruno from deep. Progressive passing is what he'll do as a DLP which doesn't really effect the ratings imo. I had a game where he did 104 passes in a game and he only got a 7.2 rating, he bossed the midfield and kept it tight. I also think dwelling on the ball trait on slower tempo just gives him license to lose the ball more, with a higher tempo I never saw it myself and made few mistakes according to the stats when i've checked. He will make those killer balls, it's just the space for it, I assume cause all your front line are pressing so high, if and when he does have the ball, the defence are all there packed in the box and so he has to do the safer option. Low crosses seem to be a bit ishy, Ive always had it on mixed cause telles, rashy, diallo, james all have some ability to cross with likes of cavani getting onto it. 

I'd do mixed crosses, but Cavani isnt getting much game time, and when he does its with other rotation players, like Donny, Amad, James etc. If he's fit to play, Martial starts EPL & tougher cup games. Once Haaland comes in, then i'll mix it up. 

On that subject, my plan from the beginning has been to bring in Pau Torres, get rid of backup players (Matic, Mata, Bailly & Romero) straight away, that gives me about 80% of the money to get Sancho in January, get Martial fluffed up in the shop window then bring Haaland in come summer. I tied things up with Sancho last night (morning), and i dunno why but i asked the board for Sancho, and they were up for it. I expected to get laughed at, cos i'd spent my budget, but figured it'd fail with an insufficient bid. I played Fulham (1-1 ffs), and then get notified that they're waiting on a permit. £110m, done.
Daft thing is, if i'd know this was even remotely plausible, i'd have waited till after Feb and set it up for the summer. Now Haaland is likely to sit on the bench, cos i wanna milk PSG/Barca/Madrid for a 50g/season Martial. They're already queueing up, but it'll take 9-digits to sell this window.

Pogba ive got doing killer balls now, makes perfect sense! Im guessing i could have someone train 'dwells' out of him, too? once he's done adding a trait. If AP & BBM seems to be working with Pogba & McT in January, then i'll stick with it till the end of the season. It's always felt odd seeing Scotty pushing up in an attack, and Pogba being behind him. It'd also mean my summer spending could just be 1 ace midfielder, not need to stretch it to two high quality ones. I'd assume my summer budget will reflect the impact of Haaland being signed out of budget, probably not 1:1 but noticably hit.

On an odd note, to me at least, i had Shaw come speak to me, i expected him to be demanding starts as i've been sloppy letting Telles start most games. He wasnt happy because he doesnt feel he's good enough to play for us! Never seen that before, its normally trash players demanding starts or sold (who then reject buyers and ***** at me about failed promises!). What was odd was that he was willing to stay on the promise that we'll win the league! Gotta love it. Not good enough to play for a team that was happy with 'challenge for CL spot', but he'll stick around because he's good enough for a league winning side! Doesnt seem to care if he plays, just wants a medal

[Smaldini]

Season 4 done and once again we won the league. Still haven't had an invincible season yet, but we ran away with the title and had it won by matchday 31. 

We beat Man City 1-0 n the FA Cup final to overtake Arsenal as the record holders, and we also made it three Champions League wins in a row, this time beating PSG 2-1. The only trophy we didn't win was the Carabao Cup, losing 3-2 to Chelsea in the final. As you can probably tell, Greenwood had an exceptional season...

Haaland has been doing well at PSG, but I'll be stunned if Mason doesn't beat him to the Ballon d'Or. Martial isn't the clinical finisher he once was but surprisingly he chipped in with a lot of assists when I've played him on the left instead of Rashy. And yes, I did break the transfer record on Jude even though he isn't worth it (yet) simply because we could afford to after all the sales we made...

So yeah, a lot of cash brought in, but the biggest sale is the one I made mid-season. I tried to get De Gea to lower his wages and stay, but his agent kept demanding £400k+ with a 4/5 year extension, so in the end I decided to sell rather than let him run his contract down. Pretty sure he isn't even on £200k at Valencia, which is just typical FM really. The plan was to let Henderson prove his worth but he kept getting little injuries throughout the rest of the season, so Stefano Turati (who I signed for free at the end of the first season just to bolster my U23s) ended up being my number 1. His average rating was 7.22 and he ended up winning CL goalkeeper of the year despite only playing in the knockout stages 

Despite Stefano's success, I do have a 6"6 wonderkid newgen from the first youth intake who is ready for PL football; so the #1 jersey is up for grabs. Henderson is off to Newcastle though, his contract expires in 2025 so I offered him out and the Magpies offered £38m (half in instalments) which I accepted without hesitation. Pogba is another one entering his final year (again) so he might be going too, as well as the likes of Elanga, McCann and Mengi who don't look like they'll reach their potential. Haven't decided who's coming in yet.

 

[sedge11]

17 hours ago, Smaldini said:

So yeah, a lot of cash brought in, but the biggest sale is the one I made mid-season. I tried to get De Gea to lower his wages and stay, but his agent kept demanding £400k+ with a 4/5 year extension, so in the end I decided to sell rather than let him run his contract down. Pretty sure he isn't even on £200k at Valencia, which is just typical FM really.

I see you sold Dembele. How did he do for you? 
He’s a player I’m looking at instead of buying Sancho, I know mental attributes are pretty poor but wondered how he performed.

[Smaldini]

4 hours ago, sedge11 said:

I see you sold Dembele. How did he do for you? 
He’s a player I’m looking at instead of buying Sancho, I know mental attributes are pretty poor but wondered how he performed.

He played well on either wing but he’s very injury prone, so I would only recommend signing him as a squad player. I would have kept him but once PSG made the offer he wanted to go.

[Chapman7]

On 20/05/2021 at 19:37, Smaldini said:

So yeah, a lot of cash brought in, but the biggest sale is the one I made mid-season. I tried to get De Gea to lower his wages and stay, but his agent kept demanding £400k+ with a 4/5 year extension, so in the end I decided to sell rather than let him run his contract down. Pretty sure he isn't even on £200k at Valencia, which is just typical FM really. The plan was to let Henderson prove his worth but he kept getting little injuries throughout the rest of the season, so Stefano Turati (who I signed for free at the end of the first season just to bolster my U23s) ended up being my number 1. His average rating was 7.22 and he ended up winning CL goalkeeper of the year despite only playing in the knockout stages 

 

Just looked art him as at January of first season but work permit got rejected. Did you have to loan him out for a work permit or was yours granted

[Smaldini]

34 minutes ago, Chapman7 said:

Just looked art him as at January of first season but work permit got rejected. Did you have to loan him out for a work permit or was yours granted

The work permit was granted straight away for me.

[Chapman7]

14 hours ago, Smaldini said:

The work permit was granted straight away for me.

I must have missed an opportunity to get him before the brexit terms took place as I'm in the late December myabe early January 

[Chapman7]

What are peoples routine for the Preseason to get squad ready for season? Few players have been getting jaded in one of my saves but was sure they had a good enough preseason

[BigV]

17 minutes ago, Chapman7 said:

What are peoples routine for the Preseason to get squad ready for season? Few players have been getting jaded in one of my saves but was sure they had a good enough preseason

First 2 weeks heavy physical training, so at least 5 times a week on physicals, resistence and the other greyed out ones (forgot the name) along with outfield/overall to get some kind of work in. If you have new players then 2 or 3 team bonding excercises to blend them in. Also add the general tactical work in there to make sure they start off quite decently.

After 2 weeks, start adding small bits of attacking/technical/defending/goalkeeping into the "extra slots", then last few weeks get the teams cohesion up be that via training or team bonding. By this time i'd have 2-3 physicals done within the week 

[Chapman7]

3 hours ago, BigV said:

First 2 weeks heavy physical training, so at least 5 times a week on physicals, resistence and the other greyed out ones (forgot the name) along with outfield/overall to get some kind of work in. If you have new players then 2 or 3 team bonding excercises to blend them in. Also add the general tactical work in there to make sure they start off quite decently.

After 2 weeks, start adding small bits of attacking/technical/defending/goalkeeping into the "extra slots", then last few weeks get the teams cohesion up be that via training or team bonding. By this time i'd have 2-3 physicals done within the week 

Cheers I'll give that a go for next season

[sedge11]

Finally got round to doing the summer for season 2.

I'm quite happy how it went as well, with the transfers as follows:

My 3 signings I was very happy with. Milenkovic is a player I have signed many times, he's just a player that works for me and fits the need for a cb perfectly. Kessie comes in as my dm, I was going to go for Bissouma, but I could get Kessie for just over 10 mil for and he fits the bill incredibly well, and can fill other roles if and when needed.

Now the right wing position, I initially wasn't going to sign Sancho, alot of people sign him and that usually puts me off players, I've also seen people struggle to get him to perform. However other alternatives I was looking at just didn't fit for me, they were Dembele, Lozano and Raphinha. So in the end I went with Sancho, and so far he's been excellent so I made the right choice.

Now the outs, I think they were all fairly obvious ones, so not sure I really need to say anymore on that, Mata is not on that list but he was released as well. 

We have had a very good start to the season.

Nice community shield win to start the season, we are scoring plenty of goals which I am enjoying, Sancho already has 5 assists in this start. My only annoyance is the lack of clean sheets.

Leicester were top before I destroyed them, and with the next run of games the good start could carry on.

 

[milan_manutd]

Start of season 6, going trough my squad (U23 and U18 included) and making some math over Bruno and his 76 goals and 56 asist in all competitions in 188 games and realising that it is to hard for me to sell him. Also knowing that he is not at his pick and probably will play in cup games only (God forbid in case of injuries). 
He want to leave and Milan is interested. 30 years of age, still too many attributes over 15 but also his contract is running out next year and he is on 200k weekly .

Why it is so hart for me to sell him? (or someone like him who became very close to my heart)

[Prince Vinsmoke]

19 hours ago, sedge11 said:

Finally got round to doing the summer for season 2.

I'm quite happy how it went as well, with the transfers as follows:

My 3 signings I was very happy with. Milenkovic is a player I have signed many times, he's just a player that works for me and fits the need for a cb perfectly. Kessie comes in as my dm, I was going to go for Bissouma, but I could get Kessie for just over 10 mil for and he fits the bill incredibly well, and can fill other roles if and when needed.

Now the right wing position, I initially wasn't going to sign Sancho, alot of people sign him and that usually puts me off players, I've also seen people struggle to get him to perform. However other alternatives I was looking at just didn't fit for me, they were Dembele, Lozano and Raphinha. So in the end I went with Sancho, and so far he's been excellent so I made the right choice.

Now the outs, I think they were all fairly obvious ones, so not sure I really need to say anymore on that, Mata is not on that list but he was released as well. 

We have had a very good start to the season.

Nice community shield win to start the season, we are scoring plenty of goals which I am enjoying, Sancho already has 5 assists in this start. My only annoyance is the lack of clean sheets.

Leicester were top before I destroyed them, and with the next run of games the good start could carry on.

 

Hi ! Quick question about Sancho and Kessie, they're 2 players I really like and would be interested in signing in my MUFC saves. What formation do you use and which roles do you use for them? 

[sedge11]

1 hour ago, Prince Vinsmoke said:

Hi ! Quick question about Sancho and Kessie, they're 2 players I really like and would be interested in signing in my MUFC saves. What formation do you use and which roles do you use for them? 

This is my set up, Kessie either plays as a dm, or I play him as a box to box in the 2. Sancho as an inverted winger.

[Prince Vinsmoke]

4 hours ago, sedge11 said:

This is my set up, Kessie either plays as a dm, or I play him as a box to box in the 2. Sancho as an inverted winger.

Thanks !

I might give the 4-3-3 a go again, but I can't seem to get the best out of Pogba in any formation, maybe he's just meant to be above average... How is Greenwood faring for you? I don't know which PPM to give him as places shots/shoots with power seem to under exploit his strengths.

[PaulC2K]

6 hours ago, Prince Vinsmoke said:

Quick question about Sancho and Kessie

Ive only had Sancho for the 2nd half of the first season, and happy with him so far. He's on 5g+9a from 15(8). He's currently getting messed about by me, ideally Rashford & Greenwood start, and he rotates for both of them to keep their fatigue in check. So they're all basically playing 2 games out of 3, and he's a handy sub for either wing too. He'll be my main RW next season, but for the time being his ability to play both sides is ideal. Amad has done pretty well there too in fairness.
 

48 minutes ago, Prince Vinsmoke said:

I might give the 4-3-3 a go again, but I can't seem to get the best out of Pogba in any formation, maybe he's just meant to be above average... 

I've been having this issue too, and ive now given up and sorted a £120m deal for de Jong, who hopefully has a better impact there!

I watch the match with extended highlights, so theres a fair amount of the game im not seeing, but considering the majority of times its action of me having some sort of attack, his part in it all is usually underwhelming, its short side passes to someone like Bruno, McTominay, or either winger, and often THEY are the player who play a clever ball. Whether thats creating a shooting opportunity or a spreading the play to someone who can make something happen, the reality is that Pogba rarely does those things, he'll play it a few meters to the side and someone else will do the pass he COULD have done, for him. He's more than capable of playing long balls forward to start attacks, plenty of others are doing it, but he isnt. I just dont see what he excels at in this match engine, and his ratings seem to agree. DLP, B2B, AP, MEZ... ive tried to accommodate him, find a way for him to fit into a system and get the most out of him... its nothing but lacklustre performances. 

Laughably, Pogba is named in the EPL team of the year, while Bruno isnt, despite being the players & writers award winner. Pogba's CM partner is KdB, who's season pales in comparison in every relevant metric.

Anyway, Pogba is getting listed once the season is over, he's gone. He just doesnt seem to contribute much, no matter what role. What concerns me is that i havent had much luck with Donny at DLP-S either, so im hoping that im able to get a buyer for Pogba & Martial (41g from 39) and add someone like Ndidi or Rice, and if Frenkie doesnt work out there either, then i'll let him try AP and thats where the DM will come in handy. Tony had a following just before Xmas but its gone quiet now, and Pogba... nobody seems interested.

Next season should be pretty tasty, City seem like they pushing hard for Mbappe, Liverpool finished the season £28m in profit, so hopefully they spend big too.

[sedge11]

On 23/05/2021 at 23:20, Prince Vinsmoke said:

How is Greenwood faring for you? I don't know which PPM to give him as places shots/shoots with power seem to under exploit his strengths.

Yea he's doing well. I have played him either on the right as a inverted winger, or up front as an advanced forward.

Season 1 he got 18 goals and 6 assists, in 41 games.

So far in season 2 he's played 21 games and got 8 goals and 8 assists.

[Chapman7]

On 18/05/2021 at 20:31, sedge11 said:

 

That contribution from Pogba! Any special instructions?

[sedge11]

1 hour ago, Chapman7 said:

That contribution from Pogba! Any special instructions?

Not really no, for the 1st season I played him a lot as a LM as a wide playmaker and he played really well in that position.

His numbers aren’t anywhere near in this 2nd season playing a more familiar 4-3-3, with Pogba in the middle.

[Chapman7]

3 hours ago, sedge11 said:

Not really no, for the 1st season I played him a lot as a LM as a wide playmaker and he played really well in that position.

His numbers aren’t anywhere near in this 2nd season playing a more familiar 4-3-3, with Pogba in the middle.

Ah thought it might be from CM lol 

[Matty89]

Anyone ever got Ronaldo back to Utd on FM ?

 

Juventus wage is a nightmare to solve

[Chapman7]

15 hours ago, Matty89 said:

Anyone ever got Ronaldo back to Utd on FM ?

 

Juventus wage is a nightmare to solve

Haven't personally but should think it would be capable if you think he would be worth the high wages he would likely request

[Gee_Simpson]

19 hours ago, Matty89 said:

Anyone ever got Ronaldo back to Utd on FM ?

 

Juventus wage is a nightmare to solve

Yeah, I have him at Utd. I'm in season 4 and signed him in season 3.

He's been hit by a few injuries, so his physicals took a knock when he was out, also his bravery. He was amazing for me in his 1st season, scoring in most games he started as you can see, he had a lot of sub appearances but mostly scored in the games he started. I played him on the wing but now with his low physicals he plays as a poacher up top in my 4231, he's not 1st choice any more though. He signed on a player coach deal, and he's a pretty handy coach also.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Gee_Simpson

[sedge11]

3 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

Yeah, I have him at Utd. I'm in season 4 and signed him in season 3.

How’s your save going?

[sedge11]

I have been a little on and off fm recently (covid jab had made me quite tired for a couple days).

But I have finished season 2, and it had been great season. The 1st half of the season was blighted by defensive issues where we conceded quite a few, even conceding 4 on 2 occasions, however from December onwards we were becoming a real force scoring loads and starting to keep alot of clean sheets. 

1st up the cups. Fa cup we lost in the 5th round to Blackburn on penalties, I used my back ups and it cost us in the end, it was also the nail in the coffin for Martial's time at the club.

Champs league we had Juventus, Anderlecht and Leverkusen in the group stage, we topped the group and were rewarded with Bayern in the next round, we beat them but then unfortunately lost to Man city in the quarters. Atletico Madrid won it.

Carabao Cup brought our 2nd trophy of this save.

A nice 2-0 against Spurs, with Mctominay the star man. It was a pretty comfortable win, defensive we were solid.

Now to the league, it was a great season, a season which we dominated almost start to finish despite our early season defensive issues. The premier league trophy was coming home, and we got our 1st league title.

What I initially missed was by beating Fulham 4-1 we had scored 100 goals in the league. A league and cup double for season 2, so was very happy. Mason won young player of the year and we had 7 players in team of the year, including our whole back 4.

Here is the players stats for season 2.

So Telles for the 2nd season in a row had the highest avg rating, both him and Shaw having great seasons yet again. Wan Bissaka going under the radar slightly with an impressive season too.

Mason and Bruno both having excellent seasons. Sancho who I had some reservations about had a great debut season for us, and was the top assister in the league. Milenkovic and Maguire formed a great cb partnership, they had a shaky start but by the end were a real force. Cavani at 35 still performing with 21 goals, meant I actually extended his contract and he stays with us for a 3rd season.

The keeper ratings are the best I have ever had, good to finally see keepers are getting decent ratings.

However there were some disappointments, Martial again having a very poor season and he has already been sold ahead of the 3rd season. Donny couldn't really nail down a spot, and Lindelof was complaining about the lack of games.

So we move on to season 3,  Martial is out the door, Fred, James and Dalot will also be sold. Trippier is coming in. That is all I have done so far, I will update with rest of transfers soon.

[BigV]

1 hour ago, sedge11 said:

I have been a little on and off fm recently (covid jab had made me quite tired for a couple days).

But I have finished season 2, and it had been great season. The 1st half of the season was blighted by defensive issues where we conceded quite a few, even conceding 4 on 2 occasions, however from December onwards we were becoming a real force scoring loads and starting to keep alot of clean sheets. 

1st up the cups. Fa cup we lost in the 5th round to Blackburn on penalties, I used my back ups and it cost us in the end, it was also the nail in the coffin for Martial's time at the club.

Champs league we had Juventus, Anderlecht and Leverkusen in the group stage, we topped the group and were rewarded with Bayern in the next round, we beat them but then unfortunately lost to Man city in the quarters. Atletico Madrid won it.

Carabao Cup brought our 2nd trophy of this save.

A nice 2-0 against Spurs, with Mctominay the star man. It was a pretty comfortable win, defensive we were solid.

Now to the league, it was a great season, a season which we dominated almost start to finish despite our early season defensive issues. The premier league trophy was coming home, and we got our 1st league title.

What I initially missed was by beating Fulham 4-1 we had scored 100 goals in the league. A league and cup double for season 2, so was very happy. Mason won young player of the year and we had 7 players in team of the year, including our whole back 4.

Here is the players stats for season 2.

So Telles for the 2nd season in a row had the highest avg rating, both him and Shaw having great seasons yet again. Wan Bissaka going under the radar slightly with an impressive season too.

Mason and Bruno both having excellent seasons. Sancho who I had some reservations about had a great debut season for us, and was the top assister in the league. Milenkovic and Maguire formed a great cb partnership, they had a shaky start but by the end were a real force. Cavani at 35 still performing with 21 goals, meant I actually extended his contract and he stays with us for a 3rd season.

The keeper ratings are the best I have ever had, good to finally see keepers are getting decent ratings.

However there were some disappointments, Martial again having a very poor season and he has already been sold ahead of the 3rd season. Donny couldn't really nail down a spot, and Lindelof was complaining about the lack of games.

So we move on to season 3,  Martial is out the door, Fred, James and Dalot will also be sold. Trippier is coming in. That is all I have done so far, I will update with rest of transfers soon.

Greenwood and sancho are on fire!! I want whatever you're feeding them 

[SirToby]

Just finished two seasons with United and I am very satisfied with my results with a 4-4-2.

This has been my tactic most of the time. I have never played a four man midfield without a player on defend, but I wanted both CM's to be able to arrive in the box. I was afraid that it would leave me vulnerable for counters. But with only 45 goals conceded in the PL over two seasons, I am satisfied.

I have only done a three major signings:

- James Ward-Prowse came in midway through my first season

- Dusan Vlahovic arrived for the start of the second season, while I could not say no to Cristiano Ronaldo for 4 million in January

I was also excited to see how Bruno will do as a wide playmaker. 31 goals 59 assists over two seasons has left me very pleased.

Martial and Greenwood has also been fantastic upfront. Martial topping last season's 42 goals with 43 this season. Greenwood going from 17 to 39 goals.

Two PL titles followed by a wonderful CL campaign this season, beating City 9-1 in the semis:

 

 

Edited June 7, 2021 by SirToby

[Gee_Simpson]

On 01/06/2021 at 22:28, sedge11 said:

How’s your save going?

I've stopped playing now. Didn't win anything in the 1st season, 2nd season we won the CL but nothing else. 3rd season we won the league and FA Cup, should have won the CL also really. 4th season started well but ultimately starting to get bored already so I have taken a break.

[Monsieur-Beev]

Anyone have any tips on pushing youth players into the first team? 

I've had a few good ones come through the ranks but they never develop well enough to move past being a squad player and always end up at 2 1/2 star ability. Is this just a fact of life at a top club or am I completely missing out on how to develop them?

[BigV]

50 minutes ago, Monsieur-Beev said:

Anyone have any tips on pushing youth players into the first team? 

I've had a few good ones come through the ranks but they never develop well enough to move past being a squad player and always end up at 2 1/2 star ability. Is this just a fact of life at a top club or am I completely missing out on how to develop them?

Probably a bit of both (bottom sentence), what you have to remember is that the stars are based on your team alone in the grand scheme of the worlds rankings for clubs. United is pretty much high as its gonna get so its hard to move players past the 3-3nd half stars because its dependant on the best players being beyond that (which you should strive for imo).

Whislt they're 17-19 use them sparringly so in cup games/rotation games where you think you can rest one of your main players but also keep an eye on them while they're in the u23. For example, hannibal for me is 2*, but he's playing out of his skin in the u23's, used him in a few lesser games and cup games and moved to 2 & half*, i'll either loan him out or push him into rotation CAM in the 2nd season. Once they hit 20/21 thats when I usually say its time to stay or go because in 3-4 years they slow down developing and you get a sense they can go 3+ on most attributes (give or take a few depending on training). 

Always make sure their attributes are worth it too before they start games, training matters till they're around 19-21, so having a few games under their belt will most likely push them to be better (develop slightly quicker in certain attributes) 

[jc577]

Hi everyone,

Just finished my first two seasons at United and overall, it's been pretty successful. I like to start with the first summer transfer window disabled just to keep a bit of realism and see how well (or not) I can do with a good, but nowhere near world class squad. 

Season 1

Season 1 finished with an impressive 92 points (didn't make any transfers in January either), but Liverpool were just unstoppable. In Europe, we managed to reach the CL final, with some impressive wins over Barcelona and PSG leading to a mouth-watering Manchester Derby. Unfortunately, we just didn't turn up on the day and lost 4-0 . Liverpool also knocked us out in the fifth round of the FA Cup, with a narrow 1-0 loss seeing us exit the competition. 

So overall, a decent season all things considered but we need to strengthen in some key areas in order to really make a push for the title next season.

Season 2

Transfers 

Just like Fergie used to, I like to get my transfers done early  

A double swoop from Inter saw us sign two very important players in Hakimi and Bastoni. Much like real life, AWB needed competition, and an unhappy Hakimi was just too good to turn down, at a fairly reasonable price. Bastoni at just 22 years old made the perfect partner for Maguire. Strong, fast, agile and intelligent with superb ball-playing abilities. Oh, and he's left-footed too. I'd recommend anyone to try and sign him. 

United's midfield has been poor for as long as I can remember, so this was rectified by signing Ajer from Celtic to play the HB role, and wonder-kid Florentino Luis who I'd argue is the new Kante. He won the most tackles in the league by some distance, as well as having the best tackle success rate. 

Outgoings were fairly straightforward.. Mata, Bailly, Fred, James, Lingard and Rojo all left, and somehow managed to con Norwich into paying almost £10M for Phil Jones  Whilst some younger players were sent out on loan to further improve their game and highlight their ability. I aim to introduce Hannibal, Diallo and Mengi into first team regulars over the next season or two, which could see a change in formation. 

The League

This was arguably the best domestic season i've ever had on FM, winning the league by a landslide and equalling/breaking many records in the process, including the record for most wins in a season, and the most points. We also equalled City's record of winning 18 matches in a row... hopefully we can hit 19 next season  We also scored an astonishing 110 goals, whilst only conceding just 19. 

As you can see, our front trio completely ripped the league apart!

The Tactic 

For anyone interested, here is the tactic:

 

Now the big task is preparing for season 3.. honestly I can't figure out what position needs to be strengthened! 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by jc577

[Prince Vinsmoke]

Anyone got any chance with Declan Rice? I got him in my 2nd season of my new save and he's been average and below. I tried him in DM as DLP-D ou DM-D/S, in CM as DLP-D or S, he just can't get a grade above 7.00 in any game even when i'm absolutely battering the opposition. It's kind of disappointing considering the price you have to pay to get him. I don't understand. He's even supposed to be a "consistent" player. Consistently average maybe but I expected him to compete with McTominay, he's just not been cutting it in any save I've tried him.

[Monsieur-Beev]

1 hour ago, Prince Vinsmoke said:

Anyone got any chance with Declan Rice? I got him in my 2nd season of my new save and he's been average and below. I tried him in DM as DLP-D ou DM-D/S, in CM as DLP-D or S, he just can't get a grade above 7.00 in any game even when i'm absolutely battering the opposition. It's kind of disappointing considering the price you have to pay to get him. I don't understand. He's even supposed to be a "consistent" player. Consistently average maybe but I expected him to compete with McTominay, he's just not been cutting it in any save I've tried him.

I've got him in mine and he performs well, mostly 7s sometimes better but he's had a couple of shockers. What position do you play him in?

In my experience players (non defenders) don't tend to get above 8 unless they score or get a couple of assists. 

[Monsieur-Beev]

1 hour ago, Prince Vinsmoke said:

Anyone got any chance with Declan Rice? I got him in my 2nd season of my new save and he's been average and below. I tried him in DM as DLP-D ou DM-D/S, in CM as DLP-D or S, he just can't get a grade above 7.00 in any game even when i'm absolutely battering the opposition. It's kind of disappointing considering the price you have to pay to get him. I don't understand. He's even supposed to be a "consistent" player. Consistently average maybe but I expected him to compete with McTominay, he's just not been cutting it in any save I've tried him.

I've got him in mine and he performs well, mostly 7s sometimes better but he's had a couple of shockers. 

In my experience players (non defenders) don't tend to get above 8 unless they score or get a couple of assists. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Monsieur-Beev

[Prince Vinsmoke]

28 minutes ago, Monsieur-Beev said:

I've got him in mine and he performs well, mostly 7s sometimes better but he's had a couple of shockers. 

In my experience players (non defenders) don't tend to get above 8 unless they score or get a couple of assists. 

I think you're right but McTominay has been solid for me as DM(S) averaging 7.2-7.3. I'll give him another season, maybe I just need to adapt my formation. Have you tried roaming playmaker for Pogba? I think he could be good there

[JoOSTAR]

9 hours ago, jc577 said:

Hi everyone,

Just finished my first two seasons at United and overall, it's been pretty successful. I like to start with the first summer transfer window disabled just to keep a bit of realism and see how well (or not) I can do with a good, but nowhere near world class squad. 

Season 1

Season 1 finished with an impressive 92 points (didn't make any transfers in January either), but Liverpool were just unstoppable. In Europe, we managed to reach the CL final, with some impressive wins over Barcelona and PSG leading to a mouth-watering Manchester Derby. Unfortunately, we just didn't turn up on the day and lost 4-0 . Liverpool also knocked us out in the fifth round of the FA Cup, with a narrow 1-0 loss seeing us exit the competition. 

So overall, a decent season all things considered but we need to strengthen in some key areas in order to really make a push for the title next season.

Season 2

Transfers 

Just like Fergie used to, I like to get my transfers done early  

A double swoop from Inter saw us sign two very important players in Hakimi and Bastoni. Much like real life, AWB needed competition, and an unhappy Hakimi was just too good to turn down, at a fairly reasonable price. Bastoni at just 22 years old made the perfect partner for Maguire. Strong, fast, agile and intelligent with superb ball-playing abilities. Oh, and he's left-footed too. I'd recommend anyone to try and sign him. 

United's midfield has been poor for as long as I can remember, so this was rectified by signing Ajer from Celtic to play the HB role, and wonder-kid Florentino Luis who I'd argue is the new Kante. He won the most tackles in the league by some distance, as well as having the best tackle success rate. 

Outgoings were fairly straightforward.. Mata, Bailly, Fred, James, Lingard and Rojo all left, and somehow managed to con Norwich into paying almost £10M for Phil Jones  Whilst some younger players were sent out on loan to further improve their game and highlight their ability. I aim to introduce Hannibal, Diallo and Mengi into first team regulars over the next season or two, which could see a change in formation. 

The League

This was arguably the best domestic season i've ever had on FM, winning the league by a landslide and equalling/breaking many records in the process, including the record for most wins in a season, and the most points. We also equalled City's record of winning 18 matches in a row... hopefully we can hit 19 next season  We also scored an astonishing 110 goals, whilst only conceding just 19. 

As you can see, our front trio completely ripped the league apart!

The Tactic 

For anyone interested, here is the tactic:

 

Now the big task is preparing for season 3.. honestly I can't figure out what position needs to be strengthened! 

 

 

Amazing season! Did you use any specific Player Instructions in your tactic?

[jc577]

On 15/06/2021 at 22:47, JoOSTAR said:

Amazing season! Did you use any specific Player Instructions in your tactic?

Thanks man! Didn't use any specific PI's at all... if you use the tactic let me know how it works out for you!

[Monsieur-Beev]

On 15/06/2021 at 22:26, Prince Vinsmoke said:

I think you're right but McTominay has been solid for me as DM(S) averaging 7.2-7.3. I'll give him another season, maybe I just need to adapt my formation. Have you tried roaming playmaker for Pogba? I think he could be good there

Yeah I play a midfield three with a dlp, mezzala and then change between BBM, rpm and advanced playmaker for the third depending on opposition etc. 

Pogba is getting on a bit for me now, season 5, so hes slowly being phased out but he performs well as either of the playmaker roles. 

[Smaldini]

Finished season 5, which has been the worst one we've had so far. We won the league for a fifth consecutive year, but we dropped a lot of points in the second half of the season which resulted in the gap between us & our rivals being closer than it should have been. At one point Liverpool were second and we were 18 points clear of them for example.

We beat Everton 3-0 in the League Cup final and also won the Super Cup & Community Shield at the start of the season. We made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League where we faced Ajax. Having drawn 1-1 away from home in the first leg, I expected a fourth consecutive final appearance...but they played us off the park and beat us 3-2. Unfortunately they lost 2-1 to PSG in the final. As for the FA Cup we made the final, but history repeated itself 20 years on as we lost on penalties to Arsenal. Underserved loss really, we drew 1-1 but we were the much better team throughout the 90 minutes and Extra-time. They had only gone 1-0 up because of a mistake from Turati too, and then they just sat back.

Once again we managed to bring in a lot of cash, our biggest sale wasn't actually planned though, but Sancho pushed for the move unfortunately. I brought in Mier (highly rated Mexican newgen) to replace Menino who had become too injury & error prone for my liking (couldn't actually sell him in the summer because he was injured)...but my young RB has turned out to be pretty similar so far  I might loan him out for a year. Musah was initially brought in as a B2B central midfield option but is now my first-choice RW since Jadon left, he had a bit of a stop-start season though with injuries too. Adeyemi on a free was a no-brainer, everyone else I signed were newgens.

Greenwood couldn't keep up the ridiculous standard he'd set in the previous year, but still managed a decent goals return. He didn't hit double figures until late December, so ironically he was more prolific in the second half of the campaign despite our massive dip in form. Can't say I'm not tempted to move him back to the right flank though, and bring in Haaland to lead the line.