FM21: The English Football League thread

[Gunner 101]

Nice work @Jogo Bonito & @StePratt

Close fight at the top but like you said, a playoff spot should be the minimum now. 

That goal difference of 112.  What an achievement to go the entire season undefeated. Guess it makes up for the previous seasons disappointments. 

 

[StePratt]

17 minutes ago, Gunner 101 said:

That goal difference of 112.  What an achievement to go the entire season undefeated. Guess it makes up for the previous seasons disappointments. 

 

I was disappointed we conceded 39 goals! 

Definitely makes up for last season.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Wigan Season 2 Mid Season Update

Unbeaten in the league so far and only lost 1 game all season which was a Carabo cup loss to Stoke.

My team are really clicking this season.

Zach Clough has been really good with 14 goals and 3 assists.

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Ronaldo Beckham

[Jogo Bonito]

25 minutes ago, Gunner 101 said:

Nice work @Jogo Bonito 

Close fight at the top but like you said, a playoff spot should be the minimum now. 

Thanks yes all was good at the end of the year. Let us see what 2022 brings.

@StePrattIncredible to go a whole season unbeaten in League 1. I'm sure I have never done that in England. Ironically, the only time I recall managing Forss was when I took him to Ipswich (my current club) in FM20. I could do with him again now probably.

@Ronaldo BeckhamGreat start to life in League 2 with Wigan. It looks like their revival is underway already.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 minute ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Thanks yes all was good at the end of the year. Let us see what 2022 brings.

@StePrattIncredible to go a whole season unbeaten in League 1. I'm sure I have never done that in England. Ironically, the only time I recall managing Forss was when I took him to Ipswich (my current club) in FM20. I could do with him again now probably.

@Ronaldo BeckhamGreat start to life in League 2 with Wigan. It looks like their revival is underway already.

Yeah I just hope it carries on when I go back into League 1. Thanks for the kind words. You are doing great at Ipswich.

[warlock]

@StePratt Brilliant season! And congratulations on the invincible run.

@Ronaldo Beckham Looks like you've put last season's disappointment well behind you. And good to see someone getting a performance out of Clough - bags of potential but he has never done well for me in a variety of saves.

[Jogo Bonito]

6 minutes ago, warlock said:

And good to see someone getting a performance out of Clough - bags of potential but he has never done well for me in a variety of saves.

I'm amazed somebody like Ipswich or Sunderland never signed him, because that potential was about five years ago and was just a fleeting purple patch of good form.

[StePratt]

Forss and McGuane have both extended their loans! Over the moon with both deals. £3k a week for McGuane and diddly squat for Forss. 

[warlock]

1 minute ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I'm amazed somebody like Ipswich or Sunderland never signed him

Forest obviously saw something in him, based on his debut season for Bolton, and the potential was still there in his first season for them (4 goals in 14 appearances, according to Wikipaedia). But after that... Even dropping down a division hasn't helped him at all.

In lower-league saves in FM he's someone who always comes up in scouting reports but I've never been able to bring myself to sign him . If @Ronaldo Beckham can get similar performances from him the second half of the season I might have to revisit that position!

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

@StePratt Brilliant season! And congratulations on the invincible run.

@Ronaldo Beckham Looks like you've put last season's disappointment well behind you. And good to see someone getting a performance out of Clough - bags of potential but he has never done well for me in a variety of saves.

Yeah I was shocked by Cloughy as well. He is only 26 as well so he is getting to his peak years. I hope he is with me for a few seasons and leads me to the Prem.

He usually plays on the wing as an Inside Forward or upfront as a Pressing Forward.

[Jogo Bonito]

11 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Wow! Can you put up a screen shot? 

Sorry for the delay. Wigan had him valued at £200k but then this happened on 13th January 2022.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

My Unbeaten League Run Is Over

After 26 games undefeated in the league I finally lost 1-0 to Barrow. I felt like it was going to happen soon as I have drawn a lot of games lately and form has dipped.

I just hope the players can sort it out and push on.

[karanhsingh]

7 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Sorry for the delay. Wigan had him valued at £200k but then this happened on 13th January 2022.

Thanks, he looks decent but don't think will be a premier league level player. 

[karanhsingh]

6 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

My Unbeaten League Run Is Over

After 26 games undefeated in the league I finally lost 1-0 to Barrow. I felt like it was going to happen soon as I have drawn a lot of games lately and form has dipped.

I just hope the players can sort it out and push on.

Are you still top? Maybe make a couple of changes in Jan. 

[karanhsingh]

14 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I'm amazed somebody like Ipswich or Sunderland never signed him, because that potential was about five years ago and was just a fleeting purple patch of good form.

True, he's always seemed like someone unable to fulfill his potential. In game now his technicals are decent but physicals are just not up to the mark. I am wondering whether to renew his contract.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

5 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Are you still top? Maybe make a couple of changes in Jan. 

Yeah I am still top after winning a few games before I went to bed last night.

[hasdgfas]

Hit January of 2035, here's the deal:

We are scoring goals, as you can see from the player stats section. Also, because it's the Championship, it's incredibly tight and anything can happen depending on if we hit a great run or a poor run. Excited for the second half of the season! This may be the one.

[warlock]

12 minutes ago, hasdgfas said:

here's the deal

Promotion in the bag! Barring that run of poor form you mentioned . I have every confidence.

[Dave92]

 

Been very slow progress recently through the game, but a quarter of the way through my first season in the Championship. Delighted to sit 12th place in the Championship, 8 points off the relegation zone with a little over a quarter of the season gone. If we can maintain this form and finish mid-table I will be delighted.

The highlight has to be the 6-0 thrashing of Stoke, whilst last match we bagged a crucial 2-1 win over Birmingham to end a jittery run of form. Reached the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, but we were then hammered 5-0 by Wolves. We actually played very well for 45 minutes, they scored a stunner in first half injury time and blew us away after the break. 

All in all though not bad at all considering our miniscule wages in comparison to the rest of the league. We have not been helped by a hideous injury record. We've had 26 injuries already this season, only in October and several of them have been relatively serious.

Thomas and Smith have continued to be excellent at the back, whilst Hall, Stevens and Thompson-Brissett have all chipped in with several goals. 

[warlock]

59 minutes ago, Dave92 said:

Delighted to sit 12th place in the Championship

Nothing wrong there. Very tough division, so mid-table is excellent. I'm guessing Hull and Portsmouth were the other promoted outfits? You're doing way better than them.

[Gunner 101]

STOCKPORT COUNTY - SEASON ONE - UPDATE THREE

[END OF SEASON]

The first season in charge of Stockport County is complete and we've bagged ourselves a double winning both the Vanarama National League and FA Trophy. 

The league title was wrapped up with 4 games to go following a 1-0 win over Weymouth. The title was extremely comfortable in the end with a 19 point gap back to Notts County. We managed to end the season on a 19 game unbeaten run including winning the last 7 in a row. Slightly disappointed with the average attendance although I'm sure that will pick up now we're back in the football league. 

Our FA Cup journey ended with a money spinning tie against Chelsea. However we managed to knock out two higher league opposition in Oxford United and Crawley Town. The Chelsea tie saw us take the lead before 2 second half goals from the Premier League side. The tie netting us just under a million in revenue. 

The confetti fell for a second time with victory over fellow National League side Chesterfield in the FA Trophy although we faced a dreaded penalty shootout at Wembley. Goalkeeper Ben Hinchliffe was the hero though as he saved two and scored once in the shootout to see us lift our second trophy of the campaign in front of 49,000 fans. 

Fans player of the Season John Rooney was the standout performer for the side in the attacking midfielder role however he suffered two major injuries which is why he only started 32 games. Young Player of the Season Harvey Gilmour also impressed on the left wing having started the save out of contract. Richie Bennett also suffered a major injury and scored the majority of his goals in the first half of the season as I tinkered with tactics and struggled to find the balance to suit all players. Signing of the Season Ethan Wassall could probably feel a little hard done by as he's slowly replaced Ashley Palmer over the course of the season. 

With regards to next season my main areas of improvement at the moment will be focused around finding replacements for Ben Hinchliffe (SK), Lois Maynard (BWM) and Jordan Williams (IF). I am toying with the idea of dropping John Rooney deeper and pairing him with Will Collar and letting Connor Jennings start in the AM role.. But it depends on the comings and goings over the summer. 

[warlock]

12 minutes ago, Gunner 101 said:

The first season in charge of Stockport County is complete and we've bagged ourselves a double

That's a good season by any measure. Finances look good, too, and hopefully a few more fans through the turnstiles next season 

[Gunner 101]

3 minutes ago, warlock said:

That's a good season by any measure. Finances look good, too, and hopefully a few more fans through the turnstiles next season 

Cheers mate. Yes finances got a boost with the Chelsea tie and the FA Trophy win. Budgets are currently showing at £240k for transfers and a spare £17k a week in wages so a nice bit of money to play with if needed. Time to spend hours planning for next season. 

[hasdgfas]

A couple notes from me as we hit the final run-in this season:

We've kept up our good run! This is a pretty early playoff confirmation, very happy with it. Can we go up automatically?

We're in a really good spot. Should just need two wins in the final 3 with this goal difference.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Wigan Season 2 Review

As expected I got promoted. I had a bit of a blip in the Winter months but I bounced back and got a 2nd place finish. 

Lewis Ward, George Maris, Brad Walker and Kazaiah Sterling were signed in the summer and become first team regulars. 

Zach Clough was the main man with 20 goals and 5 assists. He had a xG of 19 as well.

Games To Remember

My Overall Best 11

Accolades

I am hoping for a back to back promotion next season.

 

[hasdgfas]

Now? The big jump. Not really sure how this can go better than Derby-level performance without a miracle tbh.

 

Turns out a 40 goal striker helps with a promotion push though!

[hasdgfas]

Additional important happenings:

yeah that's fair. 8k at Croft Park is, uh, not enough for the Premier League.

But!

Hopefully, for the first time in my decade-ish of FM, a brand new stadium. Let's hope the plans go through.

[Dave92]

22 hours ago, warlock said:

Nothing wrong there. Very tough division, so mid-table is excellent. I'm guessing Hull and Portsmouth were the other promoted outfits? You're doing way better than them.

Portsmouth and Rotherham went up with me, the latter are doing okay so far. Lost to Blackburn in the game after this update, next game is a big one at home v Portsmouth.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Off topic but after what has happened I have decided not to support Man Utd until the Glazers disappear so in the mean time I am going to go see Walsall FC play when that is allowed to. I might even get a season ticket for next season so @Jogo Bonito I will get to see your boy Adebayo live. You should come with me to go see them sometime 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Dave92 said:

Next game is a big one at home v Portsmouth

Hope that goes/went well!

2 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

Turns out a 40 goal striker helps with a promotion push though!

Yeah, they come in handy . But Turf Moor??? That's a helluva commute!

[hasdgfas]

2 hours ago, warlock said:

But Turf Moor??? That's a helluva commute!

Until you said something, I didn't actually think about that! As an American I don't know English geography very well. ~3 hours does seem like a lot for home matches!

[warlock]

40 minutes ago, hasdgfas said:

I don't know English geography very well

There's no shame in it . Local rivalry might rule out ground-sharing with the likes of Newcastle or Sunderland, but I'd have thought somewhere like Middlesborough would be possible. But in FM these arrangements often make little sense.

[warlock]

York City, February 2023

Can't remember where we were last time I updated, but I think we were heading into December (been heavily distracted by the Super League nonsense). Anyway, we're in a fantastic run of form:

Goals galore, and plenty of clean sheets, too. We've had a bit of luck - we were fortunate to beat Cambridge by a scruffy goal from a bit of goalmouth pinball, and even luckier to grab a point from Fleetwood who went ahead early, shut up shop, and almost kept us at bay until Olowu converted a Ben Price corner. I think I highlighted Price at the end of last season as one of our brightest prospects and at 19 he's developing into one of our key players.

With the January window just about to close I've been unable to bring in the reinforcements we need at CM and AML. I had a deal agreed with former Norwich winger Danel Sinani but he was refused a work permit; he's currently in contract talks with Mansfield and Lincoln and if he gets a permit for them I'm going to be mightily annoyed. We should be able to muddle through, barring major injuries.

We've managed to open up a bit of a gap ahead of Crawley, 7pts ahead with a game in hand and much superior goal difference. Just need to keep it going.

[Gunner 101]

Smashing it @warlock

[karanhsingh]

15 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Wigan Season 2 Review

As expected I got promoted. I had a bit of a blip in the Winter months but I bounced back and got a 2nd place finish. 

Lewis Ward, George Maris, Brad Walker and Kazaiah Sterling were signed in the summer and become first team regulars. 

Zach Clough was the main man with 20 goals and 5 assists. He had a xG of 19 as well.

Games To Remember

My Overall Best 11

Accolades

I am hoping for a back to back promotion next season.

 

Well done buddy!

14 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

Now? The big jump. Not really sure how this can go better than Derby-level performance without a miracle tbh.

 

Turns out a 40 goal striker helps with a promotion push though!

Wow this is really impressive!

13 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Off topic but after what has happened I have decided not to support Man Utd until the Glazers disappear so in the mean time I am going to go see Walsall FC play when that is allowed to. I might even get a season ticket for next season so @Jogo Bonito I will get to see your boy Adebayo live. You should come with me to go see them sometime 

Its not the fault of the players & staff though... in fact some of them spoke against it

8 hours ago, warlock said:

York City, February 2023

Can't remember where we were last time I updated, but I think we were heading into December (been heavily distracted by the Super League nonsense). Anyway, we're in a fantastic run of form:

Goals galore, and plenty of clean sheets, too. We've had a bit of luck - we were fortunate to beat Cambridge by a scruffy goal from a bit of goalmouth pinball, and even luckier to grab a point from Fleetwood who went ahead early, shut up shop, and almost kept us at bay until Olowu converted a Ben Price corner. I think I highlighted Price at the end of last season as one of our brightest prospects and at 19 he's developing into one of our key players.

With the January window just about to close I've been unable to bring in the reinforcements we need at CM and AML. I had a deal agreed with former Norwich winger Danel Sinani but he was refused a work permit; he's currently in contract talks with Mansfield and Lincoln and if he gets a permit for them I'm going to be mightily annoyed. We should be able to muddle through, barring major injuries.

We've managed to open up a bit of a gap ahead of Crawley, 7pts ahead with a game in hand and much superior goal difference. Just need to keep it going.

Super stuff!

[hasdgfas]

4 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Wow this is really impressive!

I've never done the full climb from VNN before. It feels really good, and I'm really happy with that success, even if I can't solve the Prem at all.

[hasdgfas]

Blyth's first ever Premier League win!

[McClane29]

23 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Off topic but after what has happened I have decided not to support Man Utd until the Glazers disappear so in the mean time I am going to go see Walsall FC play when that is allowed to. I might even get a season ticket for next season so @Jogo Bonito I will get to see your boy Adebayo live. You should come with me to go see them sometime 

Respect.

I haven't felt the same love for United for many years due to the ownership and those who run the club.

#GlazersOut

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 minute ago, McClane29 said:

Respect.

I haven't felt the same love for United for many years due to the ownership and those who run the club.

#GlazersOut

Cheers mate. If the Glazers do leave then I will support Man Utd again but until they leave I wont be buying shirts or watching their games etc.

[warlock]

I said in my last update that we were running a thin squad and I feared an injury crisis. Well, the injury crisis arrived but the lads kept going - with help from a couple of the u18 squad - and we clinched promotion with 7 games to go. Helping the cause was this young man, who just scored his first goal for the club:

[karanhsingh]

10 hours ago, McClane29 said:

Respect.

I haven't felt the same love for United for many years due to the ownership and those who run the club.

#GlazersOut

I am with you guys, but I don't see them leaving anytime soon. Who is going to buy them out? Until then, the playing & coaching staff still deserve our support, even if the owners don't. They definitely won't be getting any money from me, that's for sure.

15 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

I've never done the full climb from VNN before. It feels really good, and I'm really happy with that success, even if I can't solve the Prem at all.

The Premier league is definitely the hardest step! Keep at it

[hasdgfas]

Well, it's January:

We are scrapping it out for every point. And honestly? This is better than I was anticipating. I was expecting to be Bournemouth, not 17th. Now, that's not to say it hasn't been a struggle. We have had some very poor performance, 1-7 at Spurs, 0-5 at Arsenal, 0-4 at Man United, but we're getting some points from the bottom teams, and those are the important ones if we want to stay up.

[Sunstrikuuu]

 

I guess as of July 2026 I'll be allowed to post in this thread.

[CityAndColour]

A very challenging off-season for us as we prepared for our first season in the Conference National. As expected, due to our size and low reputation, attracting any players of note proved to be very challenging and we have effectively played the first month of the season with our Conference South XI.

We did manage to make the loans of midfielders Antone Applewhaite, Pedro Pascoal and right back Luke Ige permanent for a total cost of £6.5k, however this represented our only transfer activity of note to date. I am hopeful that I can go back into the market around October/November and see if more players will be willing to speak to me as they remain clubless.

On the pitch it's been more positive than negative:

We started with a comfortable win at Solihull, even more impressive as they now top the table. Kettering equalised in the 91st minute and we were probably the better side at Sutton, however went down to a 6th minute goal.

We then found our scoring boots for the last three games, with the win at Port Vale particularly impressive given they were just relegated and are clear title favourites.

So we end the month in 7th, although only two points separate the top ten in what is a very congested table.

I needn't have worried if our attack would be able to cope with the step up:

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I got bored of my Wigan save so I have downloaded this file that has every team in the failed ESL demoted to their lowest division of their country and released all of their players. 

I decided to do a save with Crystal Palace and I have signed some great players on freebies including the returning AWB.

I nearly signed Bruno Fernandes but he went to Leicester instead.

[Gunner 101]

Keep it up @hasdgfasStaying up would be a great achievement!

Good start to the season @CityAndColourSometimes continuity is good although I’m sure you would have wanted to get a couple of new faces in. 

[warlock]

2 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I nearly signed Bruno Fernandes but he went to Leicester instead

I'm guessing that Leicester are now the top team in England? 

3 hours ago, CityAndColour said:

So we end the month in 7th

A good start and reasons to be optimistic.

7 hours ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

I'll be allowed to post in this thread

Post away... non-league saves are welcome here 

[Sunstrikuuu]

Let's hope I'm never back in non-league!

[Ronaldo Beckham]

2 hours ago, warlock said:

I'm guessing that Leicester are now the top team in England? 

A good start and reasons to be optimistic.

Post away... non-league saves are welcome here 

I would say them, Everton, Wolves and Aston Villa would become the top teams or maybe Southampton.

[causticgrip]

Bournemouth season 8

Tough season, my worst one for a while. Sticking to only British players and no regens, is obviously increasing the challenge!

 

Not too many good performances this season. Players who were key before like Solanke and Sancho underwhelmed and ones that did play well like Maddison, kept getting injured!

 

No real trophies unfortunately. Great defensive record but too many draws cost me retaining the league title.

 

This made me laugh:

 

Going forward, I would like to win the CL again before the squad starts to age out.