[FM 21] Arsenal - Still Waiting For Arteta's Tiki Taka!

[RossoneriGunner]

12 hours ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Just out of interest...does anyone use any downloaded training schedules or approaches?

I did think about it but, I handed the training over to my Asst Manager and won the 'Quintuple' so you can win things with your Asst Manager doing the training.

[Mr. VerticalTikiTaka]

17 hours ago, Mr. VerticalTikiTaka said:

 

 

PLAYERS AND AWARDS

Manager of the season

Auba scored 22 prem goals for the 3rd consecutive season and won the golden boot. Got in the prem team of the season

Our ENTIRE back line got in the team of the season, so Leno, Tierney, Gabriel, Holding and Bellerin all made it

My team was the aforementioned back 4, then ahead was partey/xhaka, szboszlai/partey and ozil/sboszlai/ceballos and the front 3 of Auba/Nelson Martinelli/Lacazette/Auba and Pepe/Saka. Willian had a few good games

 

and leno won the golden glove for the prem

[PopSmokePercs]

Not to slate anyone on here, but when I do an Arsenal save I always try to make the transfers as realistic as possible. AKA, no signing Mbappe, Haaland, or Sancho lol. No stockpiling Argentine regens, etc. I also usually like to go for players Arsenal have been linked with in real life as well! 

I disabled the the first transfer window and finished 1 point off of 4th in a very competitive top 6 playing a 4-2-3-1. So after a year of no signings, I committed to overhauling the squad in Summer of 2021. 

Summer 2021 Transfers: 

Transfers Out: 

David Luiz -> End of Contract

Mesut Ozil -> End of Contract

Sokratis -> End of Contract

Skhodran Mustafi -> End of Contract

Granit Xhaka -> Atalanta - 18.75m

Sead Kolasinac -> Inter - 14.25m

Pablo Mari -> Lazio - 14m

Konstantinos Mavropanos - 11m rising up to 15m with installments

 

Transfers In: 

Jonathan Tah - CB - Leverkeusen - 27m (release clause)

Emi Buendia - AM - Norwich - 27m rising up to 31m with performance/appearance clauses

Yves Bissouma - CM - Brighton - 31m

Odsonne Edouard - ST - Celtic - 16.75m

David Raya - GK - Brentford 4.7m

 

I've obviously made a ton of loans for young players but that is just too much to type out right now. 

This is what my starting XI looks like at the moment. Currently sitting in 3rd place just 3 points behind City and Chelsea for first. 

 

Curious to hear what you guys think of my transfer business

[evilpimp972]

Il y a 23 heures, PopSmokePercs a dit :

Not to slate anyone on here, but when I do an Arsenal save I always try to make the transfers as realistic as possible. AKA, no signing Mbappe, Haaland, or Sancho lol. No stockpiling Argentine regens, etc. I also usually like to go for players Arsenal have been linked with in real life as well! 

I disabled the the first transfer window and finished 1 point off of 4th in a very competitive top 6 playing a 4-2-3-1. So after a year of no signings, I committed to overhauling the squad in Summer of 2021. 

Summer 2021 Transfers: 

Transfers Out: 

David Luiz -> End of Contract

Mesut Ozil -> End of Contract

Sokratis -> End of Contract

Skhodran Mustafi -> End of Contract

Granit Xhaka -> Atalanta - 18.75m

Sead Kolasinac -> Inter - 14.25m

Pablo Mari -> Lazio - 14m

Konstantinos Mavropanos - 11m rising up to 15m with installments

 

Transfers In: 

Jonathan Tah - CB - Leverkeusen - 27m (release clause)

Emi Buendia - AM - Norwich - 27m rising up to 31m with performance/appearance clauses

Yves Bissouma - CM - Brighton - 31m

Odsonne Edouard - ST - Celtic - 16.75m

David Raya - GK - Brentford 4.7m

 

I've obviously made a ton of loans for young players but that is just too much to type out right now. 

This is what my starting XI looks like at the moment. Currently sitting in 3rd place just 3 points behind City and Chelsea for first. 

 

Curious to hear what you guys think of my transfer business

Bissouma is the real deal! Love your transfers and if you want to follow Arsenal model its time to shop in the french league (lorient? Monaco? They got few good prospect)

Also think about bringing Lamptey on the right side maybe?

[PopSmokePercs]

3 hours ago, evilpimp972 said:

Bissouma is the real deal! Love your transfers and if you want to follow Arsenal model its time to shop in the french league (lorient? Monaco? They got few good prospect)

Also think about bringing Lamptey on the right side maybe?

Thanks mate! Bissouma is great when he plays but he's picked up 3 or 4 knocks that have kept him out longer than a week this season. His profile doesn't say he's injury prone so I'm hoping it's just bad luck. 

I actually am in the market for a new right back but not because Bellerin has been bad. Bellerin has actually been great. (Despite being an Arsenal supporter I can admit that FM overrates Bellerin every year). But Bellerin has 1 year left on his deal and every week I get 3 notifications that Atletico, Barca, and Juve want him. So he will likely be sold this coming summer. 

Speaking of the french league I'm looking at Mukiele from Monaco (bought from RB Leipzig) to replace him. He would cost 35-40m but his physicals are insane. I've considered Lamptey before, but I just really am hesitant to pay 50m+ for a 5'5 right-back. 

Besides right-back this summer will likely be about getting young depth rather than locked-in starting XI quality players. 

Lacazette, El-Neny, Torreira, Chambers, and Cedric will all be likely leaving this summer so I need to replenish the bench/cup lineup. 

Like I said, I try to play FM realistically. So although while I could feasibly go out and spend 100m+ on Odegaard, Haaland, or Mbappe I am not going to. 

 

[KingLara]

FM21 – Arsenal Season 1 OCT/NOV

A solid two months. Top of the league after 10 games and only team yet to lose. Other than facing United and Chelsea in the first two fixtures they’ve been kind. December should also be productive before heading into a nightmare January.

I’m now playing a 4-2-3-1 attacking. I will be adapting more when we come up against the tougher teams.

PREMIER LEAGUE

A good month. Should’ve won every game.

Currently top by one point. Man city have 25, Liverpool 23 and Man United make up the top 4 with 21. Chelsea are in 12^th with 12 and Tottenham in 14^th with just 10 points.

CRYSTAL PALACE 0-2 ARSENAL  - Aubameyang 24(pen) 74

ARSENAL 4-0 WEST HAM – Lacazette 20 Pepe 45 84 Aubameyang 66(pen)

ARSENAL 1-0 SHEFFIELD UNITED – Aubameyang 81(pen)

SOUTHAMPTON 2-2 ARSENAL  Ings 28 Armstrong 67 - Partey 60 Depay 68 Aubameyang (miss/pen 73)

ARSENAL 6-1 EVERTON  - Pepe 24 65 Aubameyang 34 43 Saka 79 Willian 82 – Semedo o.g 64

WEST BROM 1-4 ARSENAL – Krovinovic 76 - Aubameyang 2(pen) Pepe 3, 90 Draxler 87

ARSENAL 2-0 WOLVES – Depay 36 Patricio o.g 38

 

EUROPA LEAGUE

We were pitted in what looked more like a Champion’s League group. Nice, PSV and Antwerp. It meant I had to play stronger teams. After a poor first game we have bounced back well and have qualified with two games to spare.

ARSENAL 2-2 NICE – Aubameyang 6(pen) Lacazette 64 – Dolberg 12 Bambu 25

ARSENAL 3-2 PSV - Depay 2 Willian 21 Pepe 54 – Madueke 53 Malen 78

ANTWERP 0-2 ARSENAL – Elneny 45 Saka 87

ARSENAL 3-0 ANTWERP – Aubameyang 25(pen) Saka 45 Holding 80

 

SEASON STATS

Goals – Aubameyang 12 Lacazette 8 Pepe 7 Depay 3 Saka 3

Assists – Saka 5 Pepe 4 Tierney 4 Partey 3

Av rating – Aubameyang 7.43 Tierney 7.35 Kolasinac 7.33 Pepe 7.31 Depay 7.30

Motm – Pepe 3 Tierney 2 Depay 2

INJURIES

Bellerin is recovering well and could play again this season. Chambers also did his cruciate and won’t return for three-five months. Injuries have eased a bit otherwise though. Xhaka slowly getting back to starting in the team.

DECEMBER/JANUARY FIXTURES

Premier League – Fulham (A) Burnley (H) Leicester (A) Leeds (H) Brighton (A) Liverpool (H) Tottenham (A) Aston Villa (H) Man City (H) Man United (H) Chelsea (A)

Europa League – Nice (A) PSV (A)

FA Cup – Cardiff (A)

[raeburn]

Hale End FC - Summer 2021 Transfer Update

In my last update I mentioned that I might have some difficulty making room in the squad for the former Arsenal players I would be targeting - that turned out not to be the case! While some of my sales ended up requiring me to accept below-market bids, Summer 2021 saw a pretty complete turnover in our squad, with most of the members of the squad who did not come through our academy leaving.

Outgoing Transfers (£368.7 million):

• Cedric - £15m to Norwich City
• Granit Xhaka - £36.5m to Chelsea
• Kieran Tierney - £50m to Liverpool
• Willian - £32m to Real Madrid
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - £35.5m to AC Milan
• Thomas Partey - £49m to Paris Saint-Germain
• Gabriel - £40m to Paris Saint-Germain
• Alexandre Lacazette - £24m to Leicester City
• Runar Alex Runarsson - £5m to Fulham
• Pablo Mari - £11.25m to Lille OSC
• Nicolas Pepe - £31.5m to Atletico Madrid
• Matteo Guendouzi - £20.5m to Napoli
• Lucas Torreira - £18.5m to AS Roma
• Dejan Iliev - £180k to Melbourne Victory

This massive clearing-out made space for a ton of new arrivals.

Incoming Transfers (£281 million):

• Alfie Gilchrist - £725k from Chelsea
  There is still a ways to go in his technical and mental development, but Gilchrist has a good all-around balance of attributes and exceptional pace for a CB, as well as the potential to be a good Premier League player.
  
• Aaron Maguire - £500k from Tottenham
  It took some work to convince him to cross North London to join us, and there is a lot of growth needed in his physical attributes, but GK is a position where we do not have any really outstanding prospects so I was excited to be able to bring Maguire in for a relatively cheap cost.
  
• Emiliano Martinez - £25m from Aston Villa
  Emi probably could be our starting keeper, but he was willing to rejoin Arsenal after only a year at Villa on a Backup contract. I am keeping Leno around as first choice for the time being, in hopes that I can convince Szczesny to leave Juventus, but given that Leno has started making noise about a new contract I may have to let him go before then.
  
• Ismael Bennacer - £45.5m from AC Milan
  Bennacer has the quality to play in any of the three midfield positions but he will get the majority of his starts as the Deep Lying Playmaker behind two Mezzala. In more difficult games I may play him as a Roaming Playmaker at CM next to a Mezzala on attack and in front of Coquelin who can be more of a destroyer DM.
• Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - £21m from Liverpool
  As a part of his contract, Ox requested to be played in CM as a Mezzala which fits well with my system, but given his versatility he will likely also get some game time on either wing. He was willing to accept a Squad Player contract, which allows me to continue to give Joe Willock a large amount of playing time in a similar role.
  
• Serge Gnabry - £58m from Bayern Munich
  Along with Bennacer, Gnabry is probably the best player we added to the squad this transfer window, which makes the difficult decision of selecting him ahead of Reiss Nelson slightly easier. Gnabry's finishing is the real quality that sets him apart, although I expect him to contribute his fair share of assists as well.
  
• James Shea - free from Luton Town
  Shea has been signed an Emergency Backup so that I can get our GK prospects some game time out on loan rather than keep them around the club as a backup to the backup. A lack of aerial dominance is his main flaw, but he is pretty well rounded in all other areas so if we ever need him I will feel comfortable handing him the gloves.
  
• Aaron Ramsey - £23m from Juventus
  Signing Ramsey was a more difficult choice than it probably should have been given his obvious quality, however his age and injury history did cause me to have a few second thoughts prior to pulling the trigger. In the end I am glad to have brought him in, especially given that players like Miguel Azeez and Matthew Smith who should grow into members of the senior squad are nowhere near his level yet.
• Francis Coquelin - £26.5m from Villarreal
  Coquelin was more of a panic-buy than I had imagined making, however a major knee ligaments injury to Bennacer early in pre-season (he has since recovered) caused me to reevaluate relying only on Glen Kamara at the base of our midfield. Coquelin is a very different type of player from Bennacer but he gives us a good option for some of our tougher games.
• Semi Ajayi - £5.75m from West Bromwich Albion
  Central defense is definitely a weak spot in Arsenal's player development pipeline - Ajayi is the best of the bunch though and will be a good squad player.
  
• Donyell Malen - £43m from PSV
  Despite Nketiah's good performances last year, Malen is still a step above him in quality and provides more of a physical presence up top as well. Depending on Martinelli's development, one of the three may have to be sold in the coming years, but for now it's nice to have all three of them available.
  
• Kyle Bartley - free from West Bromwich Albion
  With Holding and Chambers still on the books, Bartley is currently just an emergency backup, but if a big bid ever comes in for either of those two he should (for at least another few years) be able to step into a role as a solid fourth CB.
  
• Alex Iwobi - £32m from Everton
  My final purchase of the window only because Everton initially insisted on more than 100m for him, Iwobi takes a bit of the pressure off of Emile Smith Rowe who was initially slotted in as the starting left winger. Other options at this position were Jeff Reine Adelaide, Eberiche Eze, and Josh Martin, but Iwobi is much more well rounded than any of of those players and is a significantly harder worker, which made him my primary target. 
  

Despite my initial plans to integrate some new young players into the squad, this relatively complete overhaul prompted me to send players like Daniel Ballard, Miguel Azeez, Tyreece John-Jules and Folarin Balogun out on loan again this season, in hopes that they will reach at least 2.5 stars in current ability and be ready for integration into the senior squad next year. The breakthrough prospects I will focus on developing this season will be Yunus Musah, Karamoko Dembele, and Gabriel Martinelli.

The Senior Squad

[Mr. VerticalTikiTaka]

I was wondering if there was a cheap young centre-half I could sign, as I only have 5 players there in the senior team. Should I sign someone like fofana and then have mari and salliba (who was SUPERB on loan) get less game time or start easing luiz out, get an relatively unknown player, or just promote daniel ballard, who has just been offered a loan from palace (I think this indicates he is suitable for upper-table championship)?

 

[PopSmokePercs]

1 hour ago, Mr. VerticalTikiTaka said:

I was wondering if there was a cheap young centre-half I could sign, as I only have 5 players there in the senior team. Should I sign someone like fofana and then have mari and salliba (who was SUPERB on loan) get less game time or start easing luiz out, get an relatively unknown player, or just promote daniel ballard, who has just been offered a loan from palace (I think this indicates he is suitable for upper-table championship)?

 

In the winter transfer window of my second season I signed a 18 year old French CB from Bayern named Bright Arrey-Mbi. 2 star CA and 5 star PA. Got him for just 1m because his contract was expiring in 6 months. I could have tried to sign him on a free but there were other clubs circling like sharks. 

I immediately loaned him out to one of the best teams in the championship as a starter. 

I think he starts the game as 17 years old so you could keep him for a year and play him in cup games or you could loan him out for 1-2 seasons. If I recall correctly, the mechanics behind young player development make training the most important factor until they turn 18. And then once they turn 18 it's game time. 

Edited February 12, 2021 by PopSmokePercs

[Mr. VerticalTikiTaka]

1 hour ago, PopSmokePercs said:

In the winter transfer window of my second season I signed a 18 year old French CB from Bayern named Bright Arrey-Mbi. 2 star CA and 5 star PA. Got him for just 1m because his contract was expiring in 6 months. I could have tried to sign him on a free but there were other clubs circling like sharks. 

I immediately loaned him out to one of the best teams in the championship as a starter. 

I think he starts the game as 17 years old so you could keep him for a year and play him in cup games or you could loan him out for 1-2 seasons. If I recall correctly, the mechanics behind young player development make training the most important factor until they turn 18. And then once they turn 18 it's game time. 

thanks I will look at this

 

[PopSmokePercs]

So Bellerin doesn't want to sign a new contract, gets pissy when I transfer list him, and then also gets mad and throws a hissy fit when I turn down a LOAN OFFER from Atletico. 

I've tried everything to get him out and he doesn't look like budging. I even bought his replacement (Mukiele) already. 

[RossoneriGunner]

On 13/02/2021 at 15:27, PopSmokePercs said:

So Bellerin doesn't want to sign a new contract, gets pissy when I transfer list him, and then also gets mad and throws a hissy fit when I turn down a LOAN OFFER from Atletico. 

I've tried everything to get him out and he doesn't look like budging. I even bought his replacement (Mukiele) already. 

I had the same problem, but with Maitland Niles, so I just kept him transferred listed and made him unavailable for loan and then offered him to clubs. He eventually asked to be allowed to stay.

[RossoneriGunner]

Has anyone used, or using the 'Hold Shape' instruction? Did you find it helpful or a pain in the butt?

Edited February 14, 2021 by RossoneriGunner

[PopSmokePercs]

On 14/02/2021 at 11:08, RossoneriGunner said:

I had the same problem, but with Maitland Niles, so I just kept him transferred listed and made him unavailable for loan and then offered him to clubs. He eventually asked to be allowed to stay.

The problem is Bellerin has only 1 year left on his contract and letting him go for free would just be atrocious business when he should be bringing in a 25m+ fee. To be honest, that is my fault I didn't realize he only had 1 year left on his deal until I started getting all these news stories about Juve, Barca, and Atletico being interested. 

[PopSmokePercs]

On 14/02/2021 at 11:12, RossoneriGunner said:

Has anyone used, or using the 'Hold Shape' instruction? Did you find it helpful or a pain in the butt?

Used it sometimes in my first season against City and Liverpool away, but in my second season my squad felt good enough to do without it. 

[Swills417]

Just a brief update on my save. We are approaching the end of the second season, we lead the league by 3 points with 4 games to play. We play our closest challengers Manchester United in the next game after suffering a run of sub-par form in all competitions. We **** the bed in the Champions League quarter final and was knocked out by an impressive Benefica side who somehow has spent £139m in trasnfers this season including Esposito and others, but have still turned a net-transfer profit. 

We were magnificent in the league up until the end of March. We stormed through what could have been an awkward time for us with the AFCON leaving us without Pepe, Auba, Kessie and Partey. However, the players who filled those roles were superb. 

In January we made the decision to move Lacazette on in the final 6 months of his contract. AS Roma were willing to pay a premium for his goals, as he was our top scorer in the squad at that point in the season. 

 

 

Furthermore, the legacy of the sale Of Maylen to PSV has provided us with a big injection of cash. That percentage of sign of agreement netting us a tidy sum! 

We also made deals to sign a pair of backup fullbacks for less than £5m combined. Aihen Munoz from Sevilla, and Dorukhan Tokoz have both arrived and looked solid deputies to Tierney and Bellerin. We also agreed a marquee deal for a player to join in the summer. 

Timo Werner, welcome to Arsenal! It is without doubt a big salary to commit to, but for less than £30m we had to take the risk. The challenge next season will be fitting Werner, Auba, Depay and Pepe into the team without killing the careers of a few Hale End players.Although,  we have a devastatingly good Saka-esque prospect coming through our academy. Maybe Pepe - who has been our main man and key player this season may be shown the door if a big offer comes in?

Edited February 17, 2021 by Swills417

[Mr. VerticalTikiTaka]

On 12/02/2021 at 14:43, PopSmokePercs said:

In the winter transfer window of my second season I signed a 18 year old French CB from Bayern named Bright Arrey-Mbi. 2 star CA and 5 star PA. Got him for just 1m because his contract was expiring in 6 months. I could have tried to sign him on a free but there were other clubs circling like sharks. 

I immediately loaned him out to one of the best teams in the championship as a starter. 

I think he starts the game as 17 years old so you could keep him for a year and play him in cup games or you could loan him out for 1-2 seasons. If I recall correctly, the mechanics behind young player development make training the most important factor until they turn 18. And then once they turn 18 it's game time. 

Couldn't find this guy, but I suddenly remembered Mavropanos exists, so I promoted him to the first team and sent ballard out on loan to derby. I don't expect mavropanos to get many games though, as I already have gabriel, salliba (who was ridiculous on loan), mari, holding and luiz, so I made him available for u-23 games. Meanwhile, I got a group of death containing Roma, Marseille (I think) and leverkusen. Its our first season in the champions league for 4 years, give us a break!

[PopSmokePercs]

5 hours ago, Mr. VerticalTikiTaka said:

Couldn't find this guy, but I suddenly remembered Mavropanos exists, so I promoted him to the first team and sent ballard out on loan to derby. I don't expect mavropanos to get many games though, as I already have gabriel, salliba (who was ridiculous on loan), mari, holding and luiz, so I made him available for u-23 games. Meanwhile, I got a group of death containing Roma, Marseille (I think) and leverkusen. Its our first season in the champions league for 4 years, give us a break!

He should be in the Bayern youth setup. Mavropanos definitely has nice physicals from what I recall though. I sold him in my save because I got a 15m offer from Dortmund and I kinda needed the money for Bissouma and Buendia, for a young depth CB Mavropanos definitely has decent stats. 

 

[KingLara]

FM21 – Arsenal Season 1 DEC/JAN

Not perfect but overall a decent two months.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Two solid performances against Fulham and Leicester were followed by a bore draw at Burnley. We picked ourselves up for the game against Leeds but then suffered a first defeat of the season at Brighton. They scored with their only shot on target. We were unlucky against Liverpool as they scored two goals in first half stoppage time after the allotted one minute had been played. I’m sure it had nothing to do with Mike Dean being the ref! Spurs were 18^th when we went to their new stadium but put in a good display although the result flattered them. We were awful against Villa and lucky to win. We had 22 shots against United to their 7 but De Gea made some good saves and they scraped a draw. Finally at Chelsea we were excellent after going an early goal behind. Shouldve won by more. We were meant to play man city as well but it was rearranged.

Fulham 0-2 Arsenal – Aubameyang 14 47

Arsenal 3-1 Leicester – Aubameyang 19 27 37 – Iheanacho 6

Burney 0-0 Arsenal

Arsenal 3-0 Leeds – Pepe 56 58 Aubameyang 90

Brighton 1-0 Arsenal – Propper 38

Arsenal 4-4 Liverpool – Aubameyang 17 62 Pepe 41 49 – Vincicius Junior 11 Wijnaldum 26 Mane 45 Milner 45(pen)

Tottenham 3-4 Arsenal – Bale 47 Bergwijn 90 Reguilon 90 – Depay 29 Pepe 38 44 Aubameyang 64

Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa – Aubameyang 29 Konsa o.g 63 – Grealish 8

Arsenal 1-1 Man United – Saka 38 – Greenwood 42 Pogba s/o 85

Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal – Kovacic 6 - Xhaka 16 Luiz 45

Overall played 10 won 6 drew 3 lost 1 isn’t bad considering the other teams were also dropping points. Man City won every game in December and looked like running away with it but then lost three in a row. Home to Leeds and Liverpool and joined us in losing away at Brighton. It’s tight at the top. Villa in fifth some way behind on 36. Chelsea are 11^th (29) and Spurs 15^th (22)

1.      Liverpool P21 P48

2.      Arsenal P20 P47

3.      Man United P21 P46

4.      Man City P20 P46

 

EUROPA LEAGUE

God I hate typing Europa league! Very sad.

We had already qualified but I still wanted to top the group to avoid the bigger teams in the second round (hmmm…) A mostly rotated squad but kept pepe in who hit a very nice hattrick. By the time we played PSV we were guaranteed top spot so the kids came out. Pepe one of a handful of first team players came on and scored but I wasn’t too bothered by the result.

Nice 2-4 Arsenal – Schneiderlin 27 Dolberg 76 – Lacazette 56 Pepe 58(pen) 69 90(pen)

PSV 3-2 Arsenal – Malen 2 Gakpo 22 Gotze 37 – Azeez 63 Pepe 68

 

CARABO CUP

I didn’t realise the semi final was one leg until after I selected my team. Not sure if it would’ve made a difference but still a silly mistake. Liverpool at full strength minus Salah who was injured against my mostly rotated team. Liverpool play Leicester in the final.

QF - Arsenal 5-0 Walsall – Lacazette 12 Willian 21(pen) 45 Saliba 25 Draxler 35

SF – Liverpool 2-0 Arsenal – Thiago 6 Keita 67

 

FA CUP

Two generous draws so far. I had no fit striker against Wigan so decided to throw Moller in and he did well.

3R – Cardiff 2-3 Arsenal – K Moore 48 53 – Lacazette 31 34 90

4R – Wigan 0-2 Arsenal – Moller 29 Saka 69

SEASON STATS

Goals – Aubameyang 22 Pepe 17 Lacazette 13 Saka 5 Depay/Willian 4

Assists – Pepe 10 Saka 7 Tierney/Depay 5 Partey/Willian 4

Av rating – Aubameyang 7.34 Pepe 7.31 Lacazette 7.30 Depay 7.24 Kolasinac 7.19

Motm – Pepe 7 Depay 5 Tierney 3 Kolasinac Aubameyang Lacazette Willian 2

INJURIES

A few knocks but nothing major. Bellerin around a month away from playing, Chambers slightly longer.

 

TRANSFERS

No major ins or outs but I made two future transfers after both work permits were accepted. One is established player Giorgian de Arrasticaeta the other is a youngster also with a tricky name Giuliany Ben David dos Santos. Also a winger but rated well by the scouts.  Arrasticaeta cost 10million and Dos Santos 1 million.

Elsewhere only thing of note was Man United buying Szoboszlai for 34 million.

 

FEBRUARY/MARCH FIXTURES

Premier League – Newcastle (H) West Ham (A) Crystal Palace (H) Sheffield United (A) Southampton (H) Everton (A) Man City (H) West Brom (H) Wolves (A)

Europa League – Napoli (A) Napoli (H)

Hardly ideal. I’m not to0 bothered generally about Europa League but of course would like to win. Should be a good test.

FA Cup 5^th Round – Crystal Palace (A)

 

STAFF

I’ve decided once the season finishes to have a staff clearout from all three of the squads. Too many duds especially in the under 23s and under 18s. Steve Round is ok but I feel there is better.

Can anybody recommend a decent assistant manager?  

[BrickCommo23]

7 hours ago, KingLara said:

...Can anybody recommend a decent assistant manager?  

I've got an Italian guy called....Martusciello (spelling - something like that). Great stats.

If you google to FM Scout there is a (semi-cheating) table of AMs

[raeburn]

Hale End FC - 2021/22 Season in Review

All things considered the second season went even better than our first. Despite our only trophy being the UEFA Super Cup (which we won 3-0 over Real Madrid despite starting basically a fully rotated side that included Daniel Ballard, Semi Ajayi and Dominic Thompson), we made it to the Champions League semi-final and improved our performance in the league to a second-place finish, scoring 9 more goals and conceding 8 fewer than the previous year.

We did have a bit of a rough start to the season and struggled to score goals early on - which meant that it took us until exactly halfway through the season (match 19) to break in to the top four. A simple tactical change increasing our tempo one notch was all it really took to make the difference. We still didn't score quite as much as I would like though, and none of my attacking midfield players really shone, so I will be looking at ways to tweak our tactics further going in to next season. In addition, while Saka and Thompson did perform well at LB, I am considering changing the LB role to a Complete Wing Back to really create that overload down the left flank.

Most of our new signings really stepped in to the squad nicely, including Ismael Bennacer and Donyell Malen who really cemented their places in our starting XI. Serge Gnabry showed up in spurts, including in some of our big matches, but again struggled to develop full tactical familiarity until the very end of the season. Part of that was due to a series of injuries, which made me glad to have kept Karamoko Dembele in the squad rather than sending him out on loan.

Behind Malen, Martinelli and Nketiah both had really strong seasons. I will probably have to send one of those two out on loan next year in order to give them enough game time to keep them happy - at this point I'm leaning towards sending Nketiah out on loan and drafting Tyreece John-Jules into the squad after a decent season on loan in the Championship where he scored 12 goals for mid-table Millwall.

Player Awards

• World Golden Glove - Bernd Leno
• EPL Golden Glove - Bernd Leno
• EPL Team of the Year - Bukayo Saka
• EPL Team of the Year Substitutes - Bernd Leno, Rob Holding, William Saliba

[Swills417]

2021-22 - Season Round Up. 

We enjoyed another exemplary season domestically winning the league comfortably . We were top 35 of the 38 game weeks, and never really looked threatened by the chasing pack. Consistency and a good defensive works wonders in this game.  Our rivals suffered massively from inconsistency and indifferent form. Manchester City hovered around mid-table before going on a run of form to qualify for the Europa League.  Tottenham led by the now-departed Klinsmann has descended into mid-table obscurity. Manchester United and Chelsea, still under the stewardship of Ole and Lampard have challenged most closely. The game hasn't quite thrown the shackles off the pandemic first season and the transfer history of these clubs in the first 2 seasons haven't exactly been the defination of loosening the pursue strings. 

I observed a number of statistical factor that contributed to our success. I think most significant was outperforming XG.

 

	xG	Gls
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	13.19	17
Nicolas Pépé	9.49	15
Memphis Depay	12.27	12
Teun Koopmeiners	9.87	10
Gabriel	5.31	9
Emile Smith Rowe	3.26	7
Bukayo Saka	6.08	6
Gabriel Martinelli	3.64	5
Franck Kessié	4.55	5
Pablo Marí	2.5	4
Reiss Nelson	2.67	4
Willian	3.35	4
Thomas Partey	4.48	3
Joe Willock	6.75	3
Sergio Gómez	1.64	2
Lucas Torreira	1.54	1
Leonard Salifu	0.04	0
Bernd Leno	0	0
Florian Wirtz	0.55	0
Lukas Görtler	0.67	0
Dorukhan Toköz	0.53	0
Aihen Muñoz	0.08	0
Kieran Tierney	2.05	0
William Saliba	0	0
Anthony Caci	0.52	0
Marcel Lewis	0.1	0
Ainsley Maitland-Niles	1.09	0
Héctor Bellerín	1	0
Łukasz Fabiański	0	0
Oliver Batista Meier	-	-
James Hillson	-	-
	97.22	107

 

We outscored our expected goals by +9.78. This can be a number of factors. Better finishers at the club, a tendency to score low percentage long range goals, or perhaps a tactical identity that encourages quantity over quality and we simply out shoot the opposition. We took a total of 1038 shots (excluding players who departed in January), 10.3% of which found the net, which only 9.36% was expected to. 

The goals our central defensive partnership of Gabirel and Koopmeiners chipped in is also incredible, 9 & 10 respectively. There was even a game where Gabriel scored a hat trick! 

We were disappointing in the cups, but gave a respectable account of ourselves back in the Champions League. Financially, the club is in a much better place than at the start of the save. Everything on the up and up! 

 

Keeping track of this in a google sheet, we've grown our balance by over 55% since the save's start and averages about 25% every 3 months. Its also funny seeing the fans buying up the Tierney shirts! 

 

Might do a closer look at the players and any potential areas of improvement in the next post. Will need to trim the squad by a fair amount again, with a number of players with very little game time and stagnating. Looking forward to cashing in on those 50% of future sale clauses!

[ajw10]

So it's new update time and Saka has received such a minimal upgrade, it's bizarre.

[evilpimp972]

Best player of our team but Willian still got better stats...anyway. 

Great update on Emile though

You got Eddie still being overrated, he won't make it out in the premier league...

[hasdgfas]

With the new update, I guess I'm going to have to start a new Arsenal save. I was not feeling my "Youth Only" save, which is why I haven't given an update lately. Very excited to see the player updates.

[DatGuyKiy]

16 hours ago, ajw10 said:

So it's new update time and Saka has received such a minimal upgrade, it's bizarre.

He was loaned to Wolves on my holiday test of the update.

[Welshace]

19 hours ago, ajw10 said:

So it's new update time and Saka has received such a minimal upgrade, it's bizarre.

I mean, his CA is in the same bracket as the likes of Bale and lacazette .. not sure what you expected.

[ajw10]

2 minutes ago, Welshace said:

I mean, his CA is in the same bracket as the likes of Bale and lacazette .. not sure what you expected.

Well he's currently a better player than both and my main issues are that his comparatively low PA and that his attributes aren't representative of the player. He currently has a lower PA than Martinelli and the same as Smith Rowe and I just don't think that's accurate. His decisions are far too low and he has the PPM "avoids using weaker foot" which isn't true. 

Away from that, he should have Arsenal as his favoured club.

[Mr. VerticalTikiTaka]

I am still really annoyed with fm's rating of saka.

his potential is ridiculous, considering he finished inside the top 10 (i think) of the golden boy award. despite finishing equal on points with szboszlai, and beating loads of players like vinicius, rodrygo and gravenberch, pretty much all of them I see ending up better than him on my svaes. I expect a massive upgrade to both him and tierney next year.

Edited February 24, 2021 by Mr. VerticalTikiTaka
Ca and PA ratings out.

[Welshace]

Luckily it takes 10 seconds to solve the PA problem forever more in your games..

[hasdgfas]

1 hour ago, Mr. VerticalTikiTaka said:

I am still really annoyed with fm's rating of saka.

Please hide specific CAs/PAs of players in this forum, either with spoiler tags, or leave them out entirely. They are not allowed in here as per GPTG rules as lots of people don't want to see them.

[Neil Brock]

Have edited the above now to remove the spoilers. Cheers. 

[ajw10]

39 minutes ago, Welshace said:

Luckily it takes 10 seconds to solve the PA problem forever more in your games..

Whilst true, that's not the point is it? 

[ajw10]

Heads up to anyone starting on the new update, there's a bug with how long we are paying Ozil's wages for.

[bigman]

I’m waiting for the full update to start a new game in march

 

imo saka should at least be the same level as mason mount etc 

have Utd had any reduction? Martial is a goal

machine in my games but inconsistent in real life. Also, are the Liverpool injuries to vvd and Gomez etc added?

 

I continued my original save and am joined top with Chelsea in season 2. They bought dembele from Barca and he is like the second coming of Ronaldo 

[Mr. VerticalTikiTaka]

7 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

Please hide specific CAs/PAs of players in this forum, either with spoiler tags, or leave them out entirely. They are not allowed in here as per GPTG rules as lots of people don't want to see them.

removed the specific ca/pa entirely. thanks for letting me know

[Mr. VerticalTikiTaka]

1 hour ago, bigman said:

 

have Utd had any reduction? Martial is a goal

machine in my games but inconsistent in real life.

 

same problem here, man u's entire squad is ridiculously good.! need to be really on form or have spent LOADS of money to beat them . often title condtenders. its a bit strange, because it has been this way in fm for the past 3 or 4 years I think.

 

[ajw10]

Season 1

So, with the new update and the signing of Odegaard I started a new Arsenal save. The only changes I've made was to Saka, whose PA I upped to a-95 and I made his finishing, decision making and passing slightly better whilst dropping his corners and long throws.

I also turned off transfers for the first window. It's also worth noting that with the new update Partey seems a little improved and Pepe and Willian have been destroyed. Pepe is terrible now. Oh and the board want a top four finish whereas before you could get away with a top six.

My plan going into the season was to field what I think is our best eleven in Leno; Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Ceballos; Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Aubameyang. Unfortunately ESR and Partey missed the first 2 months due to injury.  I did manage to play this team against Liverpool in the Community Shield, a game we lost 5-3, conceding two goals in the final seven minutes.

So here's a round up at roughly the half way stage.

September

The Villa game was the pick of the bunch. It was a comfortable 2-0 lead before Barkley and Watkins scored within 5 minutes. Willian scored to give us the lead and we were again comfortable until Granit Xhaka did a Xhaka and gave away a pen in the 68th min. It looked like it was heading for a 3-3 until Luiz scored a last minute header.

October

October was a weird month. Fulham were in good form and were tough to break down (they didn't have a single shot all game). The Everton game was a disaster and the worst we've played all season so far. Willem II was again a nice comfortable 3-1 until they scored in the 86th and 96th minute. Mat Ryan is not a good goalkeeper.

November

A disastrous month. We found ourselves third in the Europa after our failure to defeat Rangers over two legs. We battered them at home and just couldn't get the second. Away we were well beaten. West Ham and Spurs were both flirting with relegation at the time and we put in two awful performances. We created nothing in either game. It took a Cedric wonder goal to get a point at Spurs. From memory we were fifth after this month.

December

What a month. United were top and in great form when we played them and we absolutely destroyed them, it could have been six. The Willem II game was absolutely mental, I'll show a screenshot below, but basically we dominated, went two goals down and were heading out before winning 6-3 and topping the group. Chelsea were struggling in 14th and we more than deserved our 1-0 win there. Liverpool were the leaders and I changed things tactically when we played them. I got us to sit back deeper and not press as much. We dominated the ball but Liverpool had the better chances. Partey won us the game from the bench which in what was only his 3rd game for the club. We rounded off the month with two dominant wins which sees us end the year...

...top! We've started to open up a small gap, but there's still a long way to go.

 

Pepe has scored 6 goals this season, all in the Europa.

Surprise of the Season

Tierney got injured in the United game, so has missed basically all of this month. Arsenal are limited at full back due to Edu deciding that we didn't need a left back. Cedric has amazed me though. 2 huge goals to get earn two points at WBA and Spurs plus some fantastic defensive work.

Stats

Premier League

Goals  

Aubameyang - 13

Saka - 7

Willian/Cedric -2

[Harper]

I've never had a league match, or any competitive match, end like this. Ever. Newcastle is 19th in the league.

Two players with a 10 rating. Castrovelli misses out on the 10 rating despite four assists and a goal? I was hoping for a penalty for Savio to get his hat-trick!

Saka started as the AML and I moved him to LB when Tierney got tired.

 

[madept]

I’ve also started a new game since the update. 

Going well so far, currently in 2nd, with Man City a point ahead in 1st and Liverpool also with 24pts from 10 matches but behind us on GD. 

Odegaard has been really good, wondering if there’s any way I can get him permanently other than his 133m release clause.

Still struggling (as in my first game) to get Lacazette going, I was hoping to play Auba as IF on the left with Laca as AF-A, but neither player seems to score with that lineup. Think my priority going into the January window or the summer depending on the money I get is going to be left winger and maybe selling Lacazette if he doesn’t start scoring.

 

[Swills417]

18 hours ago, madept said:

I’ve also started a new game since the update. 

Going well so far, currently in 2nd, with Man City a point ahead in 1st and Liverpool also with 24pts from 10 matches but behind us on GD. 

Odegaard has been really good, wondering if there’s any way I can get him permanently other than his 133m release clause.

Still struggling (as in my first game) to get Lacazette going, I was hoping to play Auba as IF on the left with Laca as AF-A, but neither player seems to score with that lineup. Think my priority going into the January window or the summer depending on the money I get is going to be left winger and maybe selling Lacazette if he doesn’t start scoring.

 

Inverted Winger is so much better than Inside Forward in this match engine. It really makes the most of Auba's physical attributes. 

[ajw10]

On 25/02/2021 at 01:42, ajw10 said:

Season 1

 

So, to update on how the season has gone since then.

Transfer Window

I usually deal with transfer windows get well, tend to get any business done early and just wait to see what happens later on. However, not for the first time, Brexit has ruined EVERYTHING. I had already agreed an £8m deal for Reading's Michael Olise who went straight on loan to Nimes. Nketiah and Balogun also left on loan. I also sold a few of the youth team players whose contracts were running down.

All I wanted was a LB. Had a deal wrapped up for Tsimikas for £11m. Failed a work permit. Got Alberto Moreno in a short term loan. Failed a work permit. In the end I went for a strange one in Charlie Taylor from Burnley for £6m. A real Brexit signing but he's been really good when he's needed to fill in for Tierney and crucially is HG.

In midfield I wanted someone fresh in. Xhaka and Elneny lack the dynamism that Partey and Ceballos offer. I tried selling Elneny but he turned down a £15m move to Zenit and me trying to shift him pissed off the Hale's End lot. In the end he went for £10m to Milan but it went through after the window shut meaning I'm stuck with him in the U23s until the summer. Anyway, I targeted Zobnin who had the mentals I wanted at the club. £2m deal, he picked me over Barcelona aaaaand he failed a work permit. So desperate, I went back to what I know and brought in Aaron Ramsey on loan. Ramsey is important because he can play in all 3 midfield positions that I use.

David Luiz wanted to leave and even though he was first choice I let him go back to Brazil for £4m (he joined on March 1st) as Holding had stepped up recently. I was content with Holding, Gabriel, Mari and Chambers as my four defenders until Chambers got bullied by Raul Jimenez in a 5-5 draw. I tried to sell him, couldn't find any buyers apart from Palace who kept insisting on only paying £7.5m. In the end he went to Burnley on loan with a £10m fee if he played 10 games (he has now)

So I needed a CB. Went for Mancini from Roma. £20m plus Elneny. This was done days before the deadline day. Roma wanted to bring in a CB first, which I agreed to. At no point did Roma even try and go for a CB, which seems like a bug. I cancelled it and went for an FM favourite and someone I haven't used for years. Kristoffer Ajer joins for £14.5m and he has the mental attributes that we need.

January

A terrible month. Out of the FA Cup and deservedly so. However we actually dominated Villa but conceded three long range goals, the third of which came whilst Holding was down injured in the box.  The Wolves game was a farce. Should have won, but as I said earlier Jimenez bullied Chambers and scored 4 goals. A disaster of a month.

February

A much better month. The Everton game was awful, but saved by a Saka goal that was similar to the one he scored v Chelsea IRL this season. City dominated us but Ceballos scored a worldie to salvage a point.

The Atalanta game looks like it was a challenge but we were 6-1 up and conceded two late goals. Lacazette x 3, Gabriel and another Auba goal are missing from that list.

March

A mixed month. Comfortably through to the quarter finals of the Europa and a dominant performance against a real defensive West Ham side (Auba x 2, Gabriel, Ramsey and a Rice OG). However the performances against Leeds and United were worrying. 

April

Almost a perfect month. We smashed Spurs, Pepe getting his first two league goals of the season and they were both incredible. The Leicester result was massive as we were 1-0 down after 10 minutes and down to ten on 14 after Gabriel get sent off for a ridiculous two footed lunge on the centre circle. We had to sacrifice ESR but we actually dominated the goal and if it wasn't for a Tieleman's long ranger we'd have won the match.  The return leg against Leicester looks nervy but we were in control throughout. The Liverpool result was a disaster and I thought the title was over as it is a two horse race, but they drew at City whilst we smashed Chelsea 3-0. The Europa game was 2-2 until the last 8. We went 4-2 up (Willian scored the last two) CSKA got a goal back before Willian wrapped it and pretty much the tie up. We will almost certainly face Dortmund in the final.

So the League Table looks like this

Liverpool are still massive favourites but we have a chance. We have Newcastle (a), Burnely (h), Leicester (a), Southampton (a) and Sheffield United (h)

Liverpool have Wolves (h), Everton (a), Fulham (h), Brighton (h), Leeds (a)

[ajw10]

A HUGE moment in the title race

Newcastle actually had the better xG too, we were just clinical. Martinelli is out for the rest of the season though which is a blow as he'd score some vital goals since his return from injury, 7 goals in 10 starts is a great return.

[KingLara]

FM21 – Arsenal Season 1 FEB/MARCH

Heating up at the top of the table.

PREMIER LEAGUE

February started with 18^th place Newcastle visiting the Emirates. I expected  a routine win which it should’ve been but Andy Carroll capitalised on a poor Willian pass to score a late equaliser. We bounced back well to beat West Ham in probably the best league performance of the two months. Crystal Palace came to the Emirates for the second time in four days and scored their first set piece goal of the season. After Milivojevic was sent off we threw everything at Palace but they held firm before finally getting the narrow win. Two good victories followed before a shocker at Everton. Sandwiched between Europa League games the players didn’t bother to turn up. We had 27 shots against West Brom but needed Aubameyang off the bench to rescue the win. Man City was topsy turvy and even but Bellerin playing his first league game of the season after a cruciate injury grabbed a beautiful 95^th minute winner after it looked like Gundogan had got them a draw with a quite outrageous free kick.

Arsenal 2-2 Newcastle – Ceballos 42 Aubameyang 78(pen) – Wilson 20 Carroll 90

West Ham 0-4 Arsenal – Xhaka 18 Ceballos 21 Draxler 33 Aubameyang 71

Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace – Depay 75 Draxler 77 – Riedwald 5 Milivojevic s/o 29

Sheff United 0-1 Arsenal – Aubameyang 75

Arsenal 3-0 Southampton – Xhaka 9 Aubameyang 24(pen) Depay 44

Everton 2-0 Arsenal – Calvert Lewin 17 Bernard 78

Arsenal 2-0 West Brom – Aubameyang 87 90

Arsenal 3-2 Man City – Xhaka 1 Pepe 59 Bellerin 90 – De Bruyne 30 Gundogan 88

Six wins a draw and a defeat is ok especially with Europa League involved but it’s still very tight between the top 4. Villa are 17 points off the top 4 in 5^th. Chelsea and Spurs both under new management are 12 and 14^th.

1.      Arsenal P28 P66

2.      Man United P28 P65

3.      Liverpool P28 P63

4.      Man City P28 P61

 EUROPA LEAGUE

Not for the first time this season we surrendered a two goal lead in the first leg. We matched Napoli well, dominating possession (61%) and should’ve won. I may have gone defensive too early. I’m not sure what happened in the second leg. The players just came out firing and we went into half time 5-0 up. I expected Rennes to be more comfortable, but it wasn’t. Aubameyang scored our only shot on target in the first game as I angered the fans by shutting up shop too early. We had 29 shots in the return leg but needed extra time to scrape into the quarters.

1^st Knockout Round

Napoli 2-2 Arsenal – Zielinski 65 85 Bakayoko – Saka 2 Aubameyang 24

Arsenal 5-1 Napoli – Lacazette 6 Aubameyang 15 19(pen) 39 Draxler 45 – Osimhen 90

2^nd knockout Round

Rennes 1-1 Arsenal – Maouassa 75 – Aubameyang 22

Arsenal 2-1 Rennes (AET) – Pepe 75 96 – Niang 64

All of the English teams were given tricky draws apart from Leicester who beat Gent 10-2 after hammering them 7-0 at the king power. Man United and Chelsea advanced but Spurs lost 3-1 on agg to Roma. We play them next.

FA CUP

A much rotated squad played well against Palace but needed extra time while Wolves was a good performance.

5R – Arsenal 2–1 Crystal Palace (AET) – Draxler 65 Pepe 96 – Batshuayi 57

QF – Arsenal 4-1 Wolves – Lacazette 4 29(pen) 35 Draxler 45 – Jimenez 59

Liverpool await in the semis, Man United play Birmingham.

SEASON STATS

Goals – Aubameyang 33 Pepe 21 Lacazette 17 Draxler 7 Depay/Saka 6

Assists – Pepe 11 Tierney 9 Partey/Depay/Saka 7 Semedo 6 Draxler/Aubameyang/Willian 5

Av rating – Aubameyang 7.34 Depay 7.30 Tierney/Pepe 7.24 Lacazette 7.23 Kolasinac 7.21

Motm – Pepe 8 Depay 7 Aubameyang 5 Tierney/Lacazette 3 Kolasinac/Leno/Willian 2

INJURIES

Ceballos currently out for two weeks. We’ve had lots of niggles but I’ve tried to keep players rotated as much as I can. Chambers might play before the end of the month.

Youth Candidates

Always my favourite part of the season. I like that it’s more unpredictable as well From our squad we have one striker called John Butler who has high potential. Don’t think the rest will make it although a couple could.

So far I’ve snapped up 6 others with a potential 5 others on the way (and counting) from other academies. One of those is a token though. As a massive Eastenders fan I couldn’t resist signing a player called “Grant Mitchell”

ARIL FIXTURES

Premier League – Man City (A)  Fulham (H) Wolves (A) Leicester (A) Burnley (H)

Europa League – Roma (A) Roma (H)

FA Cup Semi Final – Liverpool (N)

STAFF

I haven’t found a decent assistant manager yet. The Italian Brickcommo23 mentioned isn’t in my game. In the past I’ve had Mauro Tassotti but he doesn’t seem as good. I haven’t had a proper look yet.

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by KingLara

[bigman]

Can anyone tell me if I need to re do the thing to get juventus back by moving the files about etc? 
 

I did it on the first database but do I need to do it again? 

[dcaine100]

Hi all just started my Arsenal save after waiting for the winter update (1st time ive waited so long in 15 years but FM20 wasnt the greatest), I have signed Nuno Mendes and Moukoko so far 🙂.

Ive got two questions:

1.Has anyone signed Odegaard on a permanent basis, if so how much did you need to pay?

2. Has anyone tried training and playing Martinelli as a AMC, how did he get on?

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by dcaine100

[naspa]

4 hours ago, bigman said:

Can anyone tell me if I need to re do the thing to get juventus back by moving the files about etc? 
 

I did it on the first database but do I need to do it again? 

Yes you have to

 

[ajw10]

So the season is over.

Last time I posted we had beat Newcastle and Liverpool had lost to Wolves. The title was in our hands. Our next game was CSKA at home, which because of our commanding win away from home I could rest most of the side. We had lost Lacazette to injury and I needed to rest Auba so we had no recognised striker. Pepe went up front and opened the scoring in an easy 3-0 win, with Smith Rowe and Xhaka adding to the scoreline. Patino and newgens Sweeney and Suleiman made their debuts, with Sweeney being the youngest player to play for us and in the Europe league at 16 years and 35 days.

Burnley up next and we made 8 changes which caused too much for Burnley as we beat them 3-0 which relegated Burnley. Liverpool won too, so we remain a point clear.

Leicester away next, our hardest fixture remaining. Liverpool won on the Tuesday so we know we had to win to have a chance of winning the title.

We start well and dominate the first half and go in at half time a goal up thanks to Aubameyang's 45th minute goal. We are confident and surely one more goal will kill Leicester.

Great. A dumb two footed tackle by Tierney. The second time this season we've had a defender do that at Leicester.

Vardy scores minutes later to level the tie. Disaster. Our heads don't drop though and Willian scores a beauty after 68 minutes. The ten men lead! Surely they can't hold on for the win? Right?

 

No.

I am RAGING. Tierney has cost us the title. I briefly think about selling him, but that's ridiculous. I do consider where Taylor deserves a run of games because he's not an idiot that's cost us the league.

And this result did cost us the league as Liverpool comfortably win their last two games. We win both of ours 4-1 but it wasn't enough and that Leicester game proved decisive.

Oh well, we still have a big Europa final tie against Dortmund to ensure that we get some silverware this season. We are not at full strength though as Bellerin is injured. Martinelli is also injured and I didn't register him for the Europa this season so he couldn't have played anyway. Saka is half fit and therefore won't start. Auba's fitness is a concern and our bench is weak due to Nelson being with the U21s and Lacazette's injury. Dortmund seem at full strength.

We line up Leno; Cedric, Ajer, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Ceballos; Pepe, Odegaard, Willian; Auba. Willian gets the nod over ESR due to his recent form in front of goal

Dortmund: Burki, Meunier, Akanji, Hummels, Guerreiro; Can, Witsel, Delaney; Sancho, Reyna; Haaland

We start the game brightly but go one down to a fluke goal from Haaland. Half time and it's 1-0 but we are on top, Burki being in inspired form.

The first 15 minutes of the second half is quiet until Auba picks up an injury. With no striker I bring on Saka and move Pepe up top. We continue to dominate but Burki is proving too much. Desperate I chuck on some fresh legs, Ramsey, ESR and Xhaka come on for Partey, Ceballos and Willian.

The time is ticking away. Time is running out. Holding comes on for an exhausted and carded Gabriel. He's done a great job on Haaland all night.

89th minute and I'm already thinking about next season, until we get a highlight. Ramsey plays a lovely through ball to Pepe. GOAL. GAME ON.

Full time whistle blows and I make my final change, Taylor for Tierney. I brace myself for penalties. Dortmund start ET on top, however the next chance and goal comes to us, Pepe picks up a clearance from a corner and runs with it, past all of Dortmund's defence before rifling the ball into the net. 2-1!

I've played FM for years so I'm expecting a Dortmund comeback but there's nothing. No highlights. We win the Europa League in dramatic fashion.

Aubameyang was incredible, winning the PL golden boot by scoring 27 goals, 6 more than anyone else.

As for next season, I actually want to keep most of the squad. Mari will go and will be replaced by Saliba. Willock will get his chance next season. Xhaka wants to leave so he'll probably go and Lacazetee definitely will, but I plan on using Balogun as his replacement.

The loan midfielders will dictate what we spend.

[ajw10]

[madept]

Just finished my first season with the January update. Won the league but lost to Lazio in the Europa League final. I thought we'd blown the league by losing at West Ham in the second to last match, putting us level with Liverpool but behind on GD. Then we beat Everton 3-0 while Liverpool lost 3-1 to Tottenham on the last day to give us the league. Mourinho got fired the same day too. Was disappointed that we played very poorly against Lazio but that ending to league made up for it.

 

8 hours ago, dcaine100 said:

Hi all just started my Arsenal save after waiting for the winter update (1st time ive waited so long in 15 years but FM20 wasnt the greatest), I have signed Nuno Mendes and Moukoko so far 🙂.

Ive got two questions:

1.Has anyone signed Odegaard on a permanent basis, if so how much did you need to pay?

2. Has anyone tried training and playing Martinelli as a AMC, how did he get on?

 

Just signed him for around 74M. It works better if you wait until after July 1 when he returns to Real Madrid. When I tried before July, they would always just counter with his 133M release clause. After July 1, they were more willing to negotiate. After experimenting toward the end of my first season, I'm planning on playing Martinelli and ESR on the left and want to continue to play with an AMC, so Odegaard was my main priority. He was my best player overall the first season.