[FM21] Manchester United: A club stuck in transition

[sedge11]

I took another break from fm as I have struggled to get into saves last couple months, but I really wanted to get a proper Man utd save done, as I haven't managed that this year yet, only a couple stop start saves.

So end of the 1st season and sorting transfers for season 2 and I get an offer for Dean Henderson, I negotiated the offer to this.

 

Donnarumma is available for free, surely it seems like a no brainer. What would you guys do?

[BigV]

11 minutes ago, sedge11 said:

Donnarumma is available for free, surely it seems like a no brainer. What would you guys do?

Sell and get Donnarumma in, higher ceiling and ability if you want to get rid of DDG 

[sedge11]

9 hours ago, BigV said:

Sell and get Donnarumma in, higher ceiling and ability if you want to get rid of DDG 

Well it didn't work out, as Donnarumma rejected me, and the team he rejected me for.............. Spurs , who finished 9th in the 1st season. I had offered him alot more money as well.

So with that Henderson stays. I will probably go back in for Donnarumma in a season or 2, but will obviously cost alot of money.

[MatthewS17]

On 11/07/2021 at 11:19, sedge11 said:

Donnarumma is available for free, surely it seems like a no brainer. What would you guys do?

He is? He signed a 5 year deal with Milan in my save. Sad moment. He signed a new deal and Alaba rejected me for the scousers.

[whispers]

3 hours ago, MatthewS17 said:

He is? He signed a 5 year deal with Milan in my save. Sad moment. He signed a new deal and Alaba rejected me for the scousers.

He always try to run down the contract with Milan in the first season so its possible to sign him. Same with depay and messi

[MatthewS17]

Anyone have Spurs get relegated in their first season? 

I'm 25 games in and it looks like it's headed that way for them. 

I know they're bad, but...... what? 

[whispers]

19 hours ago, MatthewS17 said:

Anyone have Spurs get relegated in their first season? 

I'm 25 games in and it looks like it's headed that way for them. 

I know they're bad, but...... what? 

Its not super uncommon for that to happen... they have a decent team so there has to be some coding in the background making them worse than they should be tbf

[sedge11]

On 12/07/2021 at 15:15, MatthewS17 said:

He is? He signed a 5 year deal with Milan in my save. Sad moment. He signed a new deal and Alaba rejected me for the scousers.

Yea must of rejected it on mine, still can’t believe he turned me down for bloody spurs. 
Alaba went Madrid on mine.

Another interesting one is Martinez from Inter usually always gets a move at the end of 1st season, but he signed a new inter deal instead this time. I usually miss out on him because I keep Cavani for another year, and have never actually used him. So now this gives me a chance to be able to sign him, I’m doing everything I can to make him want to move to us.

[Monsieur-Beev]

Even though I know I shouldn't expect to go undefeated for the league it still hurts every time that first loss eventually rolls around.

[Chapman7]

On 12/07/2021 at 15:15, MatthewS17 said:

He is? He signed a 5 year deal with Milan in my save. Sad moment. He signed a new deal and Alaba rejected me for the scousers.

When I found out people signed him for free in second summer window I checked my first save and he'd signed a new contract but saying that if I had signed him I'd have had to get rid of De Gea as I'm sure Donnarumma would be on a similar wage and expect De Gea would be hard to find someone to sign him on his enormous wages to

On 13/07/2021 at 18:27, whispers said:

Its not super uncommon for that to happen... they have a decent team so there has to be some coding in the background making them worse than they should be tbf

I would think it's more of a inconsistency  than anything like they are in real life and just so happens it relegates them at some point in a save

[sedge11]

Not a bad way to start season 3, and for Martinez to introduce himself to the fans.

[zlatanera]

I haven't got FM21...considering it though, for a United save as FM20 suddenly looks less appealing given Luke Shaw's renaissance won't be reflected at all. Can somebody show me what he looks like on the most recent db update in FM21? 

[Chapman7]

2 hours ago, zlatanera said:

I haven't got FM21...considering it though, for a United save as FM20 suddenly looks less appealing given Luke Shaw's renaissance won't be reflected at all. Can somebody show me what he looks like on the most recent db update in FM21? 

I personally would just wait until the new game comes out only got a few more months. Not sure what he looked like on 20 but don't think he's been upped much in latest patch

[zlatanera]

@Chapman7 cheers yeah he’s almost identical to FM19’s first database in that screenshot, definitely waiting until FM22 if I want full “Shawberto Carlos”!

I’d expect a big bump in Natural Fitness. On FM19 Francesco Acerbi - who survived serious cancer, which you would think has an effect on your longevity - has 20 whereas Shaw got a serious contact injury and then was called fat by his manager yet has been as low as 8. A rare occasion of a PL player not perhaps being overrated.

[BigV]

4 hours ago, zlatanera said:

I haven't got FM21...considering it though, for a United save as FM20 suddenly looks less appealing given Luke Shaw's renaissance won't be reflected at all. Can somebody show me what he looks like on the most recent db update in FM21? 

Only notable difference is his crossing was 10 or 11 I think and maybe teamwork was 14 instead of 16, apart from that looks similar. 

[Monsieur-Beev]

Finally got that treble !! 

Took until 2025 but chuffed to bits, haaland was just short of Denis Law's record. Next step is to try to go undefeated in the league, has anyone managed this? 

 

Season Review (continued in next post): 

 

[Monsieur-Beev]

Season review continued:

 

[Monsieur-Beev]

 

[Monsieur-Beev]

Heading into the new season I'm not sure if it's time to change formation to accommodate my developing players. This is my squad report, anyone have any ideas to try to accommodate the best players in one lineup?

[zlatanera]

@Monsieur-Beev You're on Mac, right?

Shift-Cmd-3 gets you a full-screen screenshot, or Shift-Cmd-5 gets you the option to crop the image before taking it.

Also congrats, I've historically underachieved when managing United due to them being my first save each year, that's some insane success!

EDIT: It would be particularly helpful if you could screenshot your last post where you ask for advice. The majority of people on here will have managed a bunch of the same players so if they see the names they know traits, attributes etc. as well as star rating, which all comes into effect when you're building a tactic.

Edited July 27, 2021 by zlatanera

[sedge11]

End of season 3 and we lost our league title. Now if you look below your see why we lost it.

Haaland with 43 league goals for Liverpool, there simply wasn't much I could do. I even beat them both times in the league.

To make matters worse we lost to them in the fa cup final with Haaland scoring.

However the season wasn't all bad, we went and clinched the big one, the champs league.

We had a great run, and a very difficult run as well, which has made the victory even sweeter.

Martinez with a goal in the final won the champs league golden boot, Pogba who has had a really poor season had his best performance of the season with the winning goal.

On the subject of Shaw, though his attributes aren't amazing (definitely get a boost in fm22) he's easily been one of my best players. He even won player of the year in the league on the 1st season.

 

[SirToby]

Don't think I've ever had a player scoring 70 goals in a season in my 20 years time as a Manager player. Unbelievable from Greenwood, and he didn't even score in the last six games.

This form was incredible: 

[Chapman7]

On 24/07/2021 at 23:49, zlatanera said:

@Chapman7 cheers yeah he’s almost identical to FM19’s first database in that screenshot, definitely waiting until FM22 if I want full “Shawberto Carlos”!

I’d expect a big bump in Natural Fitness. On FM19 Francesco Acerbi - who survived serious cancer, which you would think has an effect on your longevity - has 20 whereas Shaw got a serious contact injury and then was called fat by his manager yet has been as low as 8. A rare occasion of a PL player not perhaps being overrated.

Yeah hopefully gets a increase where derserving but may not be until Jan update knowing how games go in development 

[MatthewS17]

On 27/07/2021 at 14:14, Monsieur-Beev said:

Heading into the new season I'm not sure if it's time to change formation to accommodate my developing players. This is my squad report, anyone have any ideas to try to accommodate the best players in one lineup?

4-4-1-1?

4-3-1-2?

[zlatanera]

21 hours ago, SirToby said:

Don't think I've ever had a player scoring 70 goals in a season in my 20 years time as a Manager player. Unbelievable from Greenwood, and he didn't even score in the last six games.

This form was incredible: 

That's insane. Makes me want to get FM21, I've never had a player crack 50 in a season (3 different instances of 49 in FM16, 18, 19 though). Although that may be due to the fact that I tend to build incredibly deep squads and haul in the trophies through superior fitness, so I only go for the records when they're hitting 25 in 20...at which point its March. 

Is that in some form of 4-4-2, or is he a lone striker?

[SirToby]

On 01/08/2021 at 14:40, zlatanera said:

That's insane. Makes me want to get FM21, I've never had a player crack 50 in a season (3 different instances of 49 in FM16, 18, 19 though). Although that may be due to the fact that I tend to build incredibly deep squads and haul in the trophies through superior fitness, so I only go for the records when they're hitting 25 in 20...at which point its March. 

Is that in some form of 4-4-2, or is he a lone striker?

Really is, never been close to 70 either. He's just started the new season with four goals against Norwich in a 8-2 win

I'm playing him as an advanced forward in a 4-4-2:

[zlatanera]

6 minutes ago, SirToby said:

4-4-2

*4-4-effing-2

[warlock]

On 17/06/2021 at 00:17, jc577 said:

if you use the tactic let me know how it works out for you!

Late in the day, I thought it was time for my annual United save and having always thought the squad was well-suited to a narrow formation, I thought I'd give your's a go. Have to say it's working extremely well but... what have you done to Marcus Rashford?!?

Please note: this is not yet halfway through the first season - I'm just coming up to New Year's Day and we've only played 15 league games. He's on course for an 80 or 90 goal season  He's playing as the AF in the front 2, and I've never had a striker perform like this.

Marcus aside, the tactic is going very well:

Our only league defeat came away at relegation battlers Wolves. In true FM fashion we'd just beaten Liverpool at Anfield 4-0 before an abysmal performance at Molyneux. Perhaps as impressive as our attacking record is our solid defence, especially as Maguire has been injured since mid-November and will be out until mid-January, so we've been rotating between Bailly, Lindelof and Tuanzebe.

I blew my entire transfer budget to bring in Ndidi to play the HB role and he's done very well, averaging a 7.2 rating in all competitions. Matic will be moving on in January, joining Valencia for £8m, so I need to find a decent backup for the role. 

Generally, I've played the tactic as you showed it. I often drop the tempo down to standard, but only to bump up possession because I can't stand having less than 45%. And I've switched Pogba's role from RP on the right to Mez-S on the left, only because he kept moaning about playing as an RP. Donny rotates for that position, while on the right I've usually played either Scott McT or Fred as BBM. In other news, I'm not getting much out of Martial or Cavani, or from any of the WBs except Telles.

Overall, this is a great tactic - not just for the performances of Rashford; it plays attractive, realistic football that's fun to watch. Thanks very much 

[MatthewS17]

 

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.........   

Edited August 12, 2021 by MatthewS17

[Mackem742]

Late to the party on this one but after managing Sunderland, Lyon and Litex Lovech (Bulgarian 2nd division) on this years game I wanted my final save to be at someone with actual cash and the chance to win trophies.

Started the save over the weekend and it was a bit of a culture shock having so many staff members and so much resources 

Currently sat 4th in the league after an alright start to the season. Cant remember results off the top of my head but im into the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup already and Ive been drawn in a Champions League group including Bayern and Inter 

Only 2 signings but they are big, Livakovic has come in to be my starting keeper. I want De Gea out if possible (might be classed as blasphemy on here) as I dont think he is the same keeper as he was, I always look at real life form etc. Ive updated my database to move Donnarruma to PSG so the option of signing him on a free has gone. I also signed Haaland for the first time ever, I had to ask the board and for the first time on this years game they agreed! £105 million though so that will probably impact my finances going forward.

On the way out is Mata, and Martial so far. Again, I wanted to get rid of Martial as I dont think he has lived up to his billing in real life. It may be a mistake but nevermind, it looks like he is on his way to Dortmund for about £60 million so that will be some of the Haaland money brought back in.

Hoping to end this years game on a high as the only top league I have won on this years game was Ligue 1 with Lyon.

 

[MatthewS17]

On 25/07/2021 at 00:49, zlatanera said:

@Chapman7 cheers yeah he’s almost identical to FM19’s first database in that screenshot, definitely waiting until FM22 if I want full “Shawberto Carlos”!

I’d expect a big bump in Natural Fitness. On FM19 Francesco Acerbi - who survived serious cancer, which you would think has an effect on your longevity - has 20 whereas Shaw got a serious contact injury and then was called fat by his manager yet has been as low as 8. A rare occasion of a PL player not perhaps being overrated.

On the topic of this, I really just buffed him in the editor before starting my save. 

I tried to keep it realistic, but still had to consider he's arguably the best LB in the league.

Initially, I just boosted his PA, so he'd gain a little more, although it didn't make much progress(he became a pretty well-rounded LB though. But, after my save broke due to wage demands becoming unrealistic, I've restarted and boosted his attributes in general. 

Edited August 16, 2021 by MatthewS17

[Matty89]

Anyone signed Mbappe for United im considering making him my long term target but not sure where is best to play him

[D'TripleA]

Anyone know how to make mason greenwood become more deadly as no 9? I struggle with him and he likes to miss rather than score

[BigV]

5 hours ago, D'TripleA said:

Anyone know how to make mason greenwood become more deadly as no 9? I struggle with him and he likes to miss rather than score

Depends how you use him, lone striker? (AF, Complete forward, poacher? etc.) 

Individual training, team training, morale? I used him RW in a 4231 formation and he was clutch when I needed goals and some people have him as an absolute monster in this thread 

[Zeonflux]

So FM22 is looking like a fantastic starting point for United.

Shaw and possibly McTominay should get a boost. Greenwood and Amad should have a high potential rating and with the club getting Sancho, Varane and Ronaldo surely that leaves us with just getting a DM and buying Haaland at the start of the save 😂

[Swordsman]

with Ronaldo coming back, what's the best formation ?

how to slot in all the attacking players ?

[BigV]

49 minutes ago, Swordsman said:

with Ronaldo coming back, what's the best formation ?

how to slot in all the attacking players ?

433, 4231, 442, 352

[CR#7]

1 hour ago, Swordsman said:

with Ronaldo coming back, what's the best formation ?

how to slot in all the attacking players ?

 

Sancho AMR

Bruno AMC

Rashford AML

CR#7 ST ❤️

[Gee_Simpson]

Literally just need Haaland and Camavinga and we're ready to go 😂

[warlock]

Managed to finish season 1 of this United save and it turned out rather well. The narrow diamond (courtesy of @jc577 up-thread) continued to work very well and we managed to clinch both the PL title and the Champion's League, albeit by very narrow margins.

Arsenal pushed us all the way to the last day of the season. We spent most of the last 3 months trading first and second spots but they had the tougher run-in that saw us leading by a single point on the final day. Fortunately, they slipped up against Liverpool losing 4-1 at Anfield early in May to give us the narrowest advantage, and while they picked up a last-day victory away at West Ham, we did enough by beating Spurs 2-0 to hold on to first place.

In the Champion's League we put in some storming performances in the knockout rounds, including a 5-2 aggregate win over Liverpool, and a 3-0 aggregate win against Ajax to set up the final against Inter. That was a game we should have won in regular time but despite having the lead twice we couldn't hang on. A goalless extra-time led to penalties where DeGea proved to be the hero, saving twice in the shootout to secure the trophy:

Rashford's penalty miss was a cameo of the second half of his season. Having bagged 42 goals before New Year's Day, he added just 12 more in the last 25 games. A brilliant season by any standards, and he smashed Denis Law's goalscoring record in January, but I couldn't help but be disappointed at the end:

Other notable performances included Bruno's 21 goals and 13 assists; Martial's 21 & 12 as second striker; and Luke Shaw and AWB, who contributed 14 and 12 assists, respectively. A tip o' the hat to Andrea Belotti - I moved Cavani on in January, which freed up enough funds to bring in the Italian striker who bagged 11 goals and 6 assists in just 15(6) appearances. We ended the season with the best attack, best defence, and best disciplinary record.

[Swordsman]

On 28/08/2021 at 23:54, CR#7 said:

 

Sancho AMR

Bruno AMC

Rashford AML

CR#7 ST ❤️

greenwood ????

[Chapman7]

4 hours ago, Swordsman said:

greenwood ????

In reality Greenwood will be more often rotated between Wing and Striker over the course of the next couple years. Sancho, Rashford and Greeenwood will be used on and off to get the most out of them. Cavani, Ronaldo aND Greenwood will all rotate between the Striker position also 

[CR#7]

5 hours ago, Swordsman said:

greenwood ????

Rotation with Sancho / Rashford / Ronaldo . 

[milan_manutd]

Sorry for posting here, but I have problems with Steam cloud, any thoughts on this??

 

After deleting of last season I start over  season 6, and club were taken by new owners. Surpassingly they decide to nring Jude Bellingham for 130mil£ plus add ons up till 188mil£ which I think is insane. Go trough ChL group stage and 5 points behind Liverpool in PL.

Still can’t find perfect formation and still have way too many players around first 11. 

[benn312]

Hi!

 

does anyone now for great tactic for man utd now when ronaldo comes. How to play, 4-3-3 or 4231? 
i think ronaldo should play as CF support or attack, 

and how to play sancho, bruno pogba? 
 

If anyone know please tell me. 
 

thank you.

[BigV]

22 hours ago, milan_manutd said:

Sorry for posting here, but I have problems with Steam cloud, any thoughts on this??

probably best to ask in bugs section

 

2 hours ago, benn312 said:

Hi!

 

does anyone now for great tactic for man utd now when ronaldo comes. How to play, 4-3-3 or 4231? 
i think ronaldo should play as CF support or attack, 

and how to play sancho, bruno pogba? 
 

If anyone know please tell me. 
 

thank you.

Obviously it'll be different for everyone but either of those formation should work. 

Ronaldo should be an advanced forward/poacher simply because hes the best goalscorer, you want him scoring goals and less setting up play because hes better further up however for AF his dribbling and first touch will be good, just his workrate might make it harder to work against tough teams.

433- Sancho RW, Bruno CM, pogba CM, 

4231- Sancho RW, bruno CAM, Pogba, CM/CDM

As for instructions its all on you to pick. 

[benn312]

What about play sancho as apatt pn right side?

[MatthewS17]

Speaking of sending offs, I had this match the day after our Young Boys debacle.

CL Group Stage match to determine who tops the group. 

 

Their first goal was a bit flukey as we battered them. But we took the lead and seemed set till the sending off. 

Made a few changes that didn't work and we conceded(I insisted on keeping a striker on). I relented after and took Martial off for Matic, leaving Bruno as the furthest forward. Seems to have worked out in the end. Good 'ole Slabhead hit a screamer.

Edited September 16, 2021 by MatthewS17

[BigV]

8 hours ago, MatthewS17 said:

Seems to have worked out in the end. Good 'ole Slabhead hit a screamer.

Imagine thinking Slabhead and Dan james could clutch a UCL tie 

Updated database will be a beauty for us. All we'd need to do is buy one DM and get rid of fred, jesse and Jones 

[milan_manutd]

Two and a half season was quite enough for Sancho in UTD. Sold him for almost double that I bought him and 50% of next transfer will split with Barca.

Maybe I wasn't to patient with him but for 150mil£ I will sell anyone.