[FM21] Heart of Midlothian FC - This is my story, this is my song!

[danielclouston1]

Background

So I am going to document my save with my team, Hearts. We are currently in the Scottish Championship (2nd tier) after a few years of poor recruitment and bad management. In 2013 we went into administration and were subsequently relegated after a -15 point deduction and transfer embargo to start the season. We were close to going to the wall until a group called Foundation of Hearts were set up and in conjunction with Ann Budge, they put together a deal to buy the club where Ann stumped up the money and FoH would repay her and eventually have ownership of the club. FoH are a fan funded group and all of the income comes from the fans in the form of monthly pledges so effectively we will be a fan owned club. Current funding levels mean FoH put 1.5 million (I´ll make you aware now that I don´t have the pound sign on my keyboard) into the club every year. We have a new main stand in the stadium, very good training and youth facilities and a solid income therefore we have a platform to build on and hopefully I can take the club to the next level within FM21.

The Save

So I am going to load Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Croatia, Czech Republic and Portugal. I will dedicate the manager to our former cup winning captain and club legend Marius Zaliukas who sadly passed away earlier this year at a young age of 36. He will start with recommended badges and as previous experience of professional football national level. I aim to take us straight back to the Scottish Premiership (where we belong) and eventually topple the stronghold of Celtic and Rangers. I´m realistic in my European chances so initially I will be looking to make the group stages of the UEL or UCL (draw depending) on a regular basis and hopefully build from there. I am going to disable attribute masking because I have never played without the attributes being masked and feel like it could be fun and there is no in game editor. It will be a long preseason, starting in July when the league doesn´t begin until October (due to COVID) so I can have lots of friendlies against top teams. I also won´t rule out international management should a fitting team become available.

 

I will do some general housekeeping screenshots of facilities and squad etc following on from this. I do just have to preface that I am unsure at how quickly I will get through this save because I do have a different save that I will probably play more for the time being but will post a monthly,  maybe bimonthly (in-game) update with progress etc. I´ve never really documented like this before so hope it turns out alright.

 

Peace.

 

Edited December 10, 2020 by danielclouston1

[danielclouston1]

[danielclouston1]

Facilities

 

Expectations

 

Squad

 

Tactics

So there´s going to be two tactics I will use this season and probably for the foreseeable. First one is a control possession for playing weaker teams who will sit in more and the second is a gegenpress for teams that will play a more open and teams who are stronger than us.

 

[danielclouston1]

Pre-Season 2020/2021

Friendlies

As you can see pre-season friendlies were a bit of a slog. I couldn´t get many top level teams in due to when there seasons started but all of the teams with ´very small´ reputation also brought us some nice profit. Overall we have increased our current balance by 1.2million so down the line the mass amount of friendlies will do us well, also for team cohesion and moral.

Transfers

Not too much to talk about in the way of transfers, we have 0 transfer budget this season and only 1.5k p/w wage budget available but we brought in a decent back up keeper and a young CD who could do a fairly decent job for us in a season or two as well is filling in when required at the level we are at now. I let a couple of our younger players go out on loan to gain some first team football as their chances would be limited with us this season.

Staffing

I brought in a bunch of staff because we were understaffed. These included a coach, a DoF, 3 scouts, performance analyst, recruitment analyst, physio and sports scientist. Nobody to really shout home about but good enough for this level and for a season or two in the level above.

 

[danielclouston1]

October 2020

Results & Performances

To kick start our campaign we opened with two Betfred Cup games which we won comfortably, the first against Forfar could easily have been 4 or 5. Moving into our league campaign we had a tough test against Dundee who are arguably our closes rivals in the league and after going 4-0 up we conceded a penalty at either side of HT and an own goal in the 65th minute to set up a nervy final 20 where our backs were firmly against the wall. We were superb against Arbroath, yes it was only 1-0 however we massed a massive 19 shots on target and they and 0.  We were pretty solid against Alloa for most of the game however we gave away yet another penalty in the 85th minute and ended up drawing the game, bitterly disappointing. Overall our performances have been ok however I am little concerned at our lack of finishing in the last 2 games of the month and around the fact we have given away 4 penalties in 5 games.

League Table

Currently sitting 2nd on goal difference, we have a huge game coming up in November vs Inverness. So early on and already a 6 pointer in a season that only has 26 games.

Betfred Cup Group

We play our final 2 games of the group in November, anything less than 12 points is a failure.

Manager of the Month

November Fixtures

Relatively few fixtures this month, and we have players on international duty for the two Betfred Cup games.

 

See you all at the end of November.

[danielclouston1]

November 2020

Results

League

We only had two games in the league this month, we played well in both games where we dominated both Inverness and Dunfermline. Inverness were never really in the game and our midfield controlled the match from start to finish. Our finishing nearly let us down against Dunfermline, we had an xG of over 2 and 14 shots but couldn´t put away the chances. We have opened a gap of 6 points and hopefully it will remain this way.

Betfred Cup

First cup game came against Arbroath, we were 2-0 down with 10 minutes remaining and we were down to 10 men due to injuries but somehow we managed to bring it back to 2-2 and for the game to penalties for the bonus point. We were shocking, we scored 0 of our penalties and Arbroath scored all of theirs taken meaning we lost -3-0 in the shootout rendering the following match an absolute must win to qualify out of the group. Luckily Elgin City are horrendous and we destroyed them, setting up a second round clash with Premiership opponents in Motherwell. We were superb during this game and thoroughly deserved our win showing that we can hold our own with the teams in the league above. We have a pretty decent tie in the Quarter Finals with Dunfermline at home.

Injuries

Bit of a disaster this month with injuries. Our captain and, arguably, our best player Steven Naismith got injured for 3 months and his physical attributes are declining rapidly. Worrying considering he is our highest earning and on a contract for another 3 years. Craig Gordon our No1 got a broken hand in the game against Arbroath and is now out for two months but the backup we signed in the summer seems to be doing a pretty decent job.

Awards

 

December Fixtures

 

Catch you in a month!

[danielclouston1]

December 2021

Results

League

We went 4 for 4 in the league this month include wins against 2 teams in the top 4 and stretching our leading to 9 points. Despite only winning 1-0 against Queen of the South, we controlled the game from start to finish with a very well rounded performance. The game against Raith was a different story however and we were lucky to come away with anything, let alone the win. The last two league games on the month gave us our best 2 performances of the season. We were very very good in both the games, I am hoping we are are starting to find our feet and our groove.

Betfred Cup

Our game against Dunfermline was a pretty evenly matched game in all honesty. We took the lead through a penalty close to half time and while Dunfermline played well, they never looked like scoring. Andy Irving (the Porty Pirlo) popped up midway through the second half with an absolutely stunning strike to seal the win and send us into the semi final. Unfortunately for us we drew Celtic in the next round and I will be very surprised if it is anything other than a 3 or 4 goal win for Celtic.

Scottish Cup

The draw for the second round of the Scottish Cup (we enter the competition at this stage) was made and gifted us what should be an easy tie against Airdrieonians in January.

MOTM

Youth Intake Preview

Looks to be a decent intake for the middle of the park however we are pretty stacked in that department already with Andy Irving, Harry Cochrane and Scott McGill all with huge potential.

January Fixtures

Busy month ahead that will require some rotation I think.

I will be back with a small (but exciting) transfer update after the Dundee game and they have been confirmed.

[danielclouston1]

January Transfers

I asked the board to increase the transfer budget and they gave me 1.2million so I put 300k into the wage budget and gave myself 900k to spend. WE ONLY WENT AND SIGNED CURTIS JONES! Yep, we got Curtis Jones on an 18 month loan after he was loan listed by Liverpool, we also only have a wage contribution of 2k p/w. The second signing of the window comes in the form of 18 year old Findlay Robertson from Dundee. He is a CM and is already very good for this level with a 4.5* potential, he cost us 500k up front and 500k in 3 instalments. He could be a great signing. Finally, we signed our current loanee Josh Ginnelly on a pre-contract so he will be joining us permanently in the summer.

 

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by danielclouston1

[danielclouston1]

Error.

Edited December 11, 2020 by danielclouston1

[danielclouston1]

January 2021

Results

League

We started the month poorly in the league with a draw against Dundee and our first loss of the season against Dunfermline. Both results were probably correct, Dundee matched us all over the park and Dunfermline were the better side across the 90 minutes. Things picked up towards the end of the month though and I was delighted with the result and performance against Raith where we had a second string team out.

Betfred Cup

What can I say? I gave us absolutely no chance in the semi-final considering we were playing Celtic who have dominated Scottish football for neigh on a decade however we were absolutely fantastic and thoroughly deserved to go through. Celtic scored after only 5 minutes and I thought we were then going to be on to a hiding but we picked up the performance and dominated the match. We should have won in the 90 minutes but we were lacking that cutting edge to put the game to bed. We play Rangers in the final during the tail end of February.

Scottish Cup

We ended up with two rounds of the Scottish Cup in January. First up was Airdrieonians and the star of the show was debutant Curtis Jones who scored both our goals in what was a comfortable but underwhelming team performance. We were rewarded with a third round tie against East Fife, another team in the league below. We were very very good in this game and Ginnelly scored 4 of our 7 goals. We really should not have conceded but once again our defenders gave our away silly penalties and East Fife duly put both of them away. Next up we have a fourth round tie against Premiership side Dundee United.

February Fixtures

Edited December 11, 2020 by danielclouston1

[danielclouston1]

Update

So I stupidly hit not when asked to save the game while I was exiting after my last update so I got put back my last save point just after the Raith game. I had to replay the Scottish Cup tie against East Fife which ended 3-1 this time. We were decent and on another day it could have been 5 or 6. It means we had to redraw the next the round though and this time I got Dunfermline away.

Updated February Fixtures

[cinglis8]

Nice thread about the Jambos.
 

Would be good to see how individuals have been playing, tactics, development of youth etc.

Just started my Hearts save and enjoying it so far. Andy Irving, Boyce and Jamie Walker have been great so far. Looking to develop Euan Henderson into an effective inverted winger, Logan looks handy and so does McGill. Focusing on developing youth and signing good Scottish players and enjoying winning most weeks for a change 😀

Mon the Herts

[danielclouston1]

On 11/12/2020 at 20:27, cinglis8 said:

Nice thread about the Jambos.
 

Would be good to see how individuals have been playing, tactics, development of youth etc.

Just started my Hearts save and enjoying it so far. Andy Irving, Boyce and Jamie Walker have been great so far. Looking to develop Euan Henderson into an effective inverted winger, Logan looks handy and so does McGill. Focusing on developing youth and signing good Scottish players and enjoying winning most weeks for a change 😀

Mon the Herts

Thanks man.

 

I plan to do a larger update on players and youth etc at the end of each season rather than clogging every post full of information mate. I have been using the tactics I posted above so I don´t see the need to post another one until they change or something mate. I don´t think Henderson is going to cut it tbh but I´ve got Logan in my squad and plan on loaning McGill out next season as with Irving, Cochrane and now Robertson I am pretty stacked in the centre of the park. I´m hoping for a decent LB or wingers in my youth intake.

[danielclouston1]

February 2021

Results

League

Another good month where we managed to extend our lead by a further 2 points to 11. It should have been 13 though, we conceded in the 92nd minute against Inverness after being the better team throughout the match. We did get a bit of luck against Ayr, they had a goal disallowed for offside on 79 minutes that would have taken the game to 4-4. Other than that, we were pretty solid all round, some rotation in the Morton and Inverness game means we got to give some of our younger talents so vital minutes on the park.

Scottish Cup

A Dunfermline goal within 3 minutes gave us this worst possible start in our 4th round tie, we had it all to do. Not ideal. We fought to bring it back to 1-1 just before half time with an absolute banger from Peter Haring from midway in the Dunfermline half. Liam Boyce picked up his 22nd goal of the season on 50 minutes to put us ahead and in the driving seat for a spot in the quarter finals. With around half an hour left to play Dunfermline conceded a penalty and were reduced to 10 men, up stepped Jamie Walker who blasted it wide. The game fizzled out after this and I am tad disappointed not to add another goal or two against 10 men. We went into the draw for the quarters and that sees us given an away fixture to Premiership Dundee United.

Betfred Cup

Wow. Wow. Wow. Nobody gave us a chance, bookies had us 10/1 and our press conference before the game basically asked us how many we would concede. We were outstanding though. The first half was pretty boring, 1 highlight the whole half which was a corner headed over by Rangers. Second half was a different story. We worked our socks off. Haring chipped in with another beauty from the edge of the box around the 65th minute which was followed up by an easy header from Liam Boyce that came from some wonderful play down the left involving Curtis Jones. Rangers got one back with 15 minutes to play and set up a very nervy finish to match but we were able to hold on. WE WON THE BETFRED CUP!

MOTM

March Fixtures

[danielclouston1]

Youth Intake

So we had our youth intake for this season and I have to say, I am pretty disappointed overall. We have 2 decent prospects, one in AML and one in AMC. The rest, I feel, as rather bang average and won´t really have the quality to ever make the step up into our first team although I will give them all a couple years in our U18s and reserves and see if they can develop any.

Gary Elliot (AMC)

Kyle Stewart (AML)

These are our two best prospects, as you can see they are both miles away from being anywhere near our first team. They both have some decent potential but there is still questions marks there about whether or not they will make it.  Unfortunately Elliot is unambitious and Stewart may have injury problems so this could seriously hamper the progress for both of them.

Upgrades

On the back of the youth intake I have asked the board to increase the junior coaching budget and to improve youth recruitment. We are now excellent in both these categories. We already have excellent youth facilities and excellent training facilities so I am going to wait a season or two until we have more money in the bank before I request to upgrade these. Next step will be to replace Richard Arnott as our HoYD but I have looked around and he seems to the best we can get at the moment.

[danielclouston1]

March 2021

Results

League

So - our league form was not great this month with 2 draws from 4 games however the game against Ayr had full rotation to make sure my first team was ready for the game against Dundee United and the game against QoS I had 5 players on international duty. I could have postponed that game but there is no point in doing that. Besides from the results though, our performances have been pretty decent. Liam Boyce keeps scoring and Andy Irving keeps assisting.

Scottish Cup

I was kinda using our tie against Dundee United as a benchmark for next season, our squad is good enough for the league above and it shows in the performance and result against Dundee Utd (and against other premiership teams). We were very good and absolutely deserved the victory. It sets us up for another showdown with Rangers at Hampden. I am hopeful of getting the result after our last meeting.

April (and May) Fixtures

I´ve included May in here as there is only one game in May, potentially two if we get past Rangers.

 

[danielclouston1]

April/May 2021

Results

League

We had a chance to clinch the title and automatic promotion in the first game of the month against Dunfermline but we were absolutely awful. We had about 4 shots the whole game and only 1 on target. We deserved the hammering we got. We did, however, wrap up the title in the next against Alloa. To be honest, it was nothing more than was expected. Our squad is top half Premiership level quality, it really was just a formality. We played youth and reserve players in the final 3 league games of the season so I am absolutely delighted to have came away with 3 wins from 3. There was some very good performances in there and one or two may be ready to come into the first team fold for next season.

Scottish Cup

We rode our luck big time against Rangers in the semi-final. They were the better team, no doubt about it. They scored within 5 minutes which set us back big time but we managed to level with 20 minutes played. We took the lead just before half-time through a Liam Boyce header after a wonderful delivery from Andy Irving but it did not last long as Rangers went up the park from KO to score with the last kick of the ball in the first half. For the most part the second half was uneventful with the exception of 2 incidents that shaped the game. On 65 minutes Rangers had a goal chopped off for offside and in stoppage time we were awarded a penalty, which the wee ticker at the bottom said was actually a dive, Boyce steps up to duly slot it home and send us to the final. I don´t really have a lot to say about the final. We were poor and Celtic were far and away the better the team. I would say the result was the correct one.

 

So the season is over. I will be back with an End of Season review before we start to prepare for our first season back in the Scottish Premiership.

[DavidBeckham]

Great work getting into the final! No shame losing to Celtic mate! KUTGW 

[danielclouston1]

End of Season Review - Club Awards

We had a pretty successful season, winning both the Scottish Championship and the Betfred Cup. I have been rewarded with a new 2 year contract, the club did offer me a wage of 3,200 p/w however I put that down to 800 p/w. I am not interested in my career earnings and the lower wage will help with costs.

Top Performer

Our top performer, and fans player of the season, was centre back John Souttar, he is easily the best permanent player we have in the team. He put it some solid defensive displays and a reward for his efforts this season will be promotion from vice captain to first team captain. I hope to keep a hold of him for another season or two and provided he keeps up his performances we should be able to net about 5 million (if not more) in a transfer fee for him.

Top Goalscorer

Liam Boyce finished top scorer with 31 goals in all competitions this season. He is a class player who hopefully I can keep for another few seasons yet.

Most Assists

Andy Irving finished the season with most assists on 12 however I felt I should give mention to Jamie Walker who got 11 and Josh Ginnelly who finished on 10.

Best Signing

So the fans voted Ramzi Ferjani as their signing of the season. I brought him on a free in the hope of developing him into a regular starter for us and he made an impact with 24 starting appearances partnering John Souttar in defence with an average rating of 7.28. I am dubious about his ability to make the step up but I will give him the opportunity to nail home his position as the second starting CB.

New Arrivals

I am fairly please with how all our new arrivals have performed although I will admit to being slightly disappointed in the impact Curtis Jones has had. I expected much more from him, hopefully he can pick up his game for next season. There is also the possibility of snapping him up on a free should Liverpool not renew his contract but that is unlikely. Findlay Roberston done perfectly ok I am confident he can develop into a class player over the next season or two, he will absolutely be worth the eventual 1 million we will have paid for him.

As far as club awards go, that is pretty much all there is to talk about. I will do another small update with league end of season rewards when they come along.

 

[danielclouston1]

Transfers Out

All of these guy were released at the end of their contract

The first 3 here left on pre-contracts. I did not particularly want to sell Kingsley or Walker however the money offered for them was too good to turn down.

Transfers In

Jed Steer (GK) - Signed for 205k from Aston Villa to become no1 as Craig Gordon is declining, and fast.

Jerome Opoku (LB) - Signed on a free to replace Kingsley, good value for money.

Filippo Rannochia (MC) - This guy was signed on a pre-contract, initially for development however he has gotten better in the last 3 months so will go right into the team.

Jack Byrne (AMC) - Signed for 215k from Shamrock Rovers as a direct replacement for Jamie Walker.

s

Sam Nicholson (AMCRL) - Signed for 200k from Bristol Rovers to provide squad depth.

Kevin Nisbet (ST) - Signed for 1.6 million from (and whisper it) HIbs, meant to be a replacement for Liam Boyce who was supposed to leave for Derby for 7million until he rejected the contract from them.

Youth Promotions

So I have promoted two guys from my reserves to get some first team game time over the season.

Cammy Logan (RB) - Will be an ideal replacement for Michael Smith in two or three seasons.

Aiden Denholm (AMCRL) - Promoted because he killed it in the reserve league last season and hopefully he can kick on.

 

Unless any crazy money bids come in or some absolute beast becomes available I am pretty much done for transfer business.

[danielclouston1]

Pre-season 2021/2022

Board Expectations

These seem pretty fair to me, to be honest squad is good enough and media prediction has us 3rd in the league.

Tactics

I will keep my 4231 formation for this season but I will also try out a 424 to see if we can fit both Boyce and Nisbet into the starting XI

These will also be our starting XI for the most part. It is maybe a little harsh on Andy Irving but Robertson and Ranocchia are both better than him. Michael Smith is out for the first 2 weeks of the season so Cammy Logan will slot in there too.

Friendlies

Not as many this year due to the season starting way earlier. We had a blip against Middlesbrough but besides from that our performances were decent and I feel we are shaping up nicely for next season.

July Fixtures

 

Here´s to a great season, folks.

Edited December 14, 2020 by danielclouston1

[danielclouston1]

July 2021

Results

League

So our first game back in the Premiership was a closely fought affair against Dundee United. We took the lead very early on through a Liam Boyce rocket from 25 yards, after some end to end football Dundee Utd equalised with 5 minutes left of the half to go in at the break all square. Second half started off with some decent chances for either side and the game could have went either away but we managed to break the deadlock with super sub Sam Nicholson to gives us a win the the first game of the season.

Betfred Cup

We kicked off the competitive season with 4 Betfred Cup games. We absolutely blew Stranraer away and we had 3, yes 3, hat-tricks. Liam Boyce, Kevin Nisbet and Curtis Jones all chipped in with hat-tricks. Unreal. Next two games followed similar routes albeit with not as a many goals. We absolutely dominated although I was frustrated with the goals conceded. We came up against Premiership side Kilmarnock and it was good test of where the squad was before the start of the league season. I was very very please with the result and with performance. We deserved to go through as group winners. That set us up with a second round tie against Dundee.

August Fixtures

A tough month lies ahead with games against Aberdeen and Rangers coming up. If we can get 5/6 points from 3 games I will be happy.

 

 

Edited December 15, 2020 by danielclouston1

[danielclouston1]

August 2021

Results

I scheduled a friendly because we did not have a game for 11 days and gave me a chance to give the players not getting much game time a run out.

League

We started the month off strongly with a good win away from home against St Mirren. We were good, if unspectacular and unfortunately for us Liam Boyce got injured for 2 months due to a bad challenge that result in a red card for one of the St Mirren defenders. I am not too disappointed with the loss against Aberdeen, Findlay Robertson got sent off in the first 5 minutes and we fell behind 3 times. We put in a hard working performance and were unlucky to come away with anything. Next up was Rangers at home and what a game it was. Nisbet got a first half hat-trick to send us in to the break 3-1 up. Ranger got a goal back pretty early in the second half but thankfully John Souttar chipped in with a bullet of a header in closing stage of the game to seal victory.

Betfred Cup

We were a little lucky here. Overall we played well and were easily the better team however Dundee had a goal disallowed for offside and missed a penalty so on another day the result could have went against us. We drew Celtic in the QF, they have made some quality additions to their side so I fear this could be the end of the road in our cup defence.

POTM

Kevin Nisbet won POTM for August after scoring 5 goals in 3 matches. I have been super impressed with the way he has stepped up in the lone striker role after Boyce was injured. I had been playing both of them together but the team are performing well with our set up so I am tempted not to change things around when he is back.

Fixtures

Not many games this month due to international break and European fixtures. We were due to have the Betfred Cup QF one Wednesday in September but it has been postponed until October due to Celtics participation in the UCL.

[danielclouston1]

September 2021

Results

League

A disappointing start to the month. We were the better team against Ross County but failure to put away our chances cost us dearly as County hit us on the break in the dying embers of the game. It was made even more disappointing by the fact Rangers, Aberdeen and Celtic drew . Next up was St Johnstone and we were utterly awful. Only managed a single shot on target and I can´t complain about the result. To finish off the month we had a good performance against Motherwell and the 3-0 goal win sees us maintain our 2nd place on goal difference.

Betfred Cup

Despite the fact we have no yet played our QF the draw for the semis has been made. A win against Celtic will see us rewarded with a game against Livingston.

Fixtures

Looking for a minimum of 7 points out of 12 here.

[danielclouston1]

October 2021

Results

Betfred cup game got moved due to internationals so I scheduled a money spinning friendly against Chelsea.

League

A few decent results in the league this month. I am concerned with the amount of goals we are conceding so I am going to try out a new tactic next month. We were the better team in all league games this month. We were 4-0 up against Kilmarnock and we chucked away 3 sloppy goals to bring it to 4-3 until super sub Liam Boyce netted twice in 5 minutes. Livingston game followed the same kinda pattern, we were 2-0 and conceded twice in 10 minutes. We should have beaten Celtic. Two goals offside. The draw does make up for the cup defeat though. We absolutely hammered Hibs and it shows that they are bottom of the league. They didn´t even register a single shot, either on or off target. We go into November top of the league but Celtic & Rangers have a game in hand that is against each other. A draw in that would be ideal.

Betfred Cup

We kinda rode our luck here to be honest. We should have been beaten within the 90 and then within ET. In the end we held on and ended up going out 5-4 on penalties.

MOTM

Fixtures

[danielclouston1]

November 2021

Results

We again had a pretty long international break and with 7 of our first team away on international duty, we arranged a couple of friendlies to give the fringe players a run out.

League

Another good month results wise. We played well in all games and deserved the 9 points. We are scoring plenty but I am still concerned with the goals being conceded. I tried changing formation, I have tried changing mentality and I have tweaked a few instructions but nothing seems to work. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have not played FM since 15 and I vaguely remember having the same issue then too. Anyway, Nisbet continued his fine form and he is now at 20 goals for the season. What a buy, and for under 2million too! We go into December in pole position however when Celtic and Rangers win their games in hand I will go down to 3rd, although I do not expect to finish any higher than that anyway and we have a nice gave of 10 points against 4th and 5th.

Scottish Cup

The fourth round draw took place this month, we have an away tie against St Mirren on the 15th January 2022 to kick off our Scottish Cup campaign. We need to get to quarter final minimum however I am personally aiming for the final minimum and there is no reason why we should not be in with a shout of winning it based on our current form.

December 2021

We seem to have got off pretty lightly with fixture congestion over the festive period, normally I would be preparing for 7 games in the month of December. We should be coming out the other side of this with 12 point minimum, if not 15. A very favourable run of games to see out the calendar year of 2021.

 

 

New Contract

With only 18 months remaining on my contract the board finally came offered me a new one until the end of 2023/2024 season. I obviously accepted with the lowest wage possible and without bonuses to keep the costs down.

Edited December 20, 2020 by danielclouston1

[danielclouston1]

December 2021

Results

League

A perfect month. I am still concerned about the amount of goals being conceded, the clean sheet against Livingston is only our 3rd of the season. I am looking to bring in a new first choice goalkeeper so we will see how that goes. We managed to forge a small gap between us and Celtic and Rangers due to the face they played each other this month and it ended as a draw. There is still a lot of football to be played but we are in a very good position. We should finish third for sure, but I am hoping we can maybe have an unexpected push for the big one.

MOTM

POTM

We had such a good month that we have a clean sweep for POTM this month. 1st, 2nd and 3rd all go to player in our team.

Youth Intake Preview

Not sure what to make of this, I am glad for the striker and I really the hope the full backs have the potential.

January 2022 Fixtures

Should be a good month, I am expecting a cup win and 6 points. I hopefully have some transfer news to share with you at the end on the month too!

[danielclouston1]

January Transfer Window

Out

We had 2 big money movements out of the club this month. Peter Haring goes to Rapid Vienna for 7.5million, he was valued at 5.5million and Rapid came in with a bid of 3.5. I was not accepting that and did not want to sell him so negotiated to 7.5 expecting them to withdraw however they came back and said ok so Peter was on the next plane back to Austria. We had a similar situation with Liam Boyce, Crystal Palace came in with 5million bid with valuation of 7million and I went back with 10million. So we have a whopping 17.5million income this month. Absolutely unreal.

In

Tim Rönning (GK) - Free

To be completely honest, I forgot about this guy. I signed him on a pre-contract in the summer to join 1st January 2022. Look how good he is, and we got him for nothing. Stealing.

Juan Larios (LB) - 500k (Man City)

This one is very much one for the future. 18 years old with bags of potential. We have no decent young LB prospects so I proactively went looking for one. I am pretty excited to see what this guy can bring in a season or two down the line.

Figa (CM) - 165k (Vitoria Guimares)

Another one for the future and slots into our reserves for now.

Onni Valakari (CM) - 2mil (Paphos)

I could have done without signing this guy but part of the contract for Rönning was to strengthen midfield, so here we are. Pretty decent player for the money though and despite the name, he is is Scottish.

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by danielclouston1

[danielclouston1]

January 2022

Results

League

A solid 2 games, we dominated in both and I am much happier with our defensive side too. Yes, we have conceded 2 goals this month but both came from penalties so we have not conceded in open play. A vast improvement. We have ourselves in a great position after Celtic slipped up further. Slowly but surely I am beginning to believe we can go all the way...

Scottish Cup

A good win against St Mirren has been rewarded with a fifth round tie against championship side Queen of the South.

Transfer In

Liam Morrison (CD) - 100k (Bayern Munich)

This dude is young but he will go straight in to partner John Souttar in the middle. A real coup for the price, I tried to get him to sign a pre-contract but he wanted to keep his options open so I put in a bid and it done the trick.

Facilities

After a very profitable January, I have asked the board to upgrade our training and youth facilities.

 February Fixtures

[Carambau]

Going strong! I love a good Hearts story  

[danielclouston1]

19 hours ago, Carambau said:

Going strong! I love a good Hearts story  

Having a great season, mate! Totally surpassing even my most optimistic expectations!

[danielclouston1]

February 2022

Results

League

We had a perfect month in the league. The game against Rangers could be a pivotal moment in the season. I could not have asked for a better start after Alfredo Morelos was sent after 3 minutes for an elbow (nobody ever tell me FM is not realistic), from there it was never in doubt and we open up a 7 point gap against Rangers and 9 against Celtic. We do still need to play Rangers twice and Celtic 3 times in the last 12 games of the season so it is by no means over but we have given ourselves the best possible opportunity. We have already achieved the board objective of Europa Conference League qualification so they are currently delighted.

Scottish Cup

A good performance against QotS set us up with a QF tie away to St Johnstone. We rested pretty much our whole team for this game because, for me, the league is more important and we have played a lot of games in Feb and have a lot coming up in March too. I am not to disappointed with the draw, all things considering and I make us favourites to go through in the replay. A win in the replay will give us a semi final spot against the winners of Aberdeen vs Motherwell, which is yet to be played.

Awards

March 2022 Fixtures

A massive month ahead as we face up to Celtic twice in a row and follow that double header up against Rangers. Good results in these games will see us all but winning the league.

[danielclouston1]

Youth Intake 2021-2022

Overview

Disappointing. As usual, all will be offered contracts and given an opportunity in the U18s for a while.

 

Top Prospects

Lucian Calin (ST)

This guy looks like he could be good but disappointed with his very low determination.

Charlie Low (DM/CM)

He could be good for us, he has some good mentals, hopefully he can progress well.

 

[danielclouston1]

March 2022

Results

League

Well, to say I am disappointed is an understatement. We had lost 2 league games the whole season until this month. To be honest the lost games were entirely deserved, we were second best in all 3 and I feel we have now blown our chance at winning the league with a game against both Rangers and Celtic coming up in the final stages of the season.

Scottish Cup

One positive this month is that we got past St Johnstone in our replay and set up a semi final against Aberdeen.

April 2022 Fixtures

Now, these will not be the only fixtures I have in April. The way the Scottish Premiership works means the league splits into to two after 33 games and each team play another 5 games (1 against each team) in their section. I will post updated fixtures once they are out after the Hibs game.

[TheRobert]

Are you affiliated with a Romanian team?

[danielclouston1]

April 2022 Updated Fixtures

[danielclouston1]

4 minutes ago, TheRobert said:

Are you affiliated with a Romanian team?

No mate but it is not completely out there for us to have a Romanian youth player given the type of city Edinburgh is. We have had some eastern European players come into our academy for real.

[danielclouston1]

April 2022

Results

League

A fairly ok month overall but seriously damages any hopes for the title with the result against Celtic. Now level on points and it is in our hands. Drop anymore points and it is game over.

Scottish Cup

We got through our semi on penalties but we should have been way out of sight. Nisbet was injured so we had to use our back up striker and I firmly believe had he been playing we would have won that game by 4 or 5. Anyway, we are through to set up a final against Celtic and that is what matter.

May 2022 Fixtures

Final run here, 2nd or 3rd would not be the end of the world for the board since our target was EC2 qualification but I will be gutted if we mess up the league title.

 

[TheRobert]

Good luck!

[danielclouston1]

May 2022

Results

League

We done it! Only by +2 goal difference so it was super super close but a perfect month and a very hard fought victory against Rangers on the last day of the season sees us crowned Scottish Premiership champions!

Scottish Cup

We do the double! I will be completely honest and tell you we did not deserve to win this but we did and that is all that matters. Absolutely delighted.

[danielclouston1]

End of Season Review + Club Awards

What a season we had. I tried to play it down all season and say we were not going to win the league and then when I finally say I think we will win it, we nearly throw it away but we hold on and do a domestic double! With some facility upgrades happening and a decent transfer budget to invest in the first team we have a great base to build on. I am also hoping the improvements will help our youth intakes along nicely. 

Signing of the Season - Filippo Ranocchia

This guy has been immense and he will make us a lot of money. A well worthy winner for signing of the season. The bad news is he wanted a new contract but would not sign one without a release clause so we are going to lose him at some point, the good news is that release clause is for 20 million.

Player of the Year + Top Goal Scorer - Kevin Nisbet

Another top signing. Nisbet has scored 37 goals in 40 appearances for us and has an average rating of 7.80.

Fans Young Player of the Year - Andy Irving

Irving has had a good season for us however next season will be a bit part on the bench as I am going to need to strengthen to have a crack in Europe and he seems to be playing at full potential.

[danielclouston1]

External Awards

Writers Manager of the Year - Marius Zaliukas

Writers Young Player of the Year & Players Young Player of the Year - Filippo Ranocchia

Scottish Premiership Team of the Year

 

[TheRobert]

Congratulations!

[Carambau]

What a finish! Congrats to a Great season

[danielclouston1]

Thanks guys! I was sweating in the last game against Rangers!

[danielclouston1]

Summer Transfer Business

Released - End of Contract

These players are just not good enough for us anymore. They all played their part in the last two seasons but we are moving forward!

Transfers out - Free, Loan and Permanent

A couple pieces of transfer business to talk about here, those who left on a free are young but are not good enough. I sent an absolute ton of young players 18-20 out on loan to see if they can develop a bit more. Andy Irving goes to newly promoted Watford for 12.5 million and 50% sell on, I initially rejected their bid of 8.75 million but Irving got upset and insisted I let him leave so he goes. I offered out Sam Nicholson and Craig Halkett as I felt it was time to move them on. Sam goes to League 1 side Brentford for 2 million, great business for us considering we signed him for only 200k. Craig, surprisingly, goes to Feyenoord for 6 million. To be completely honest I do not think he is good enough to compete at that level but that is not my business.

Transfers In

I have kept the core of my squad because most are good enough players and will bring in some decent money when they leave but I have brought a few in.

Marc Navarro (RB) - 3.4 million (West Brom)

Cammy Logan has not developed as much as I would like. He is getting there so Marc is someone to come in for the next couple seasons will giving Cammy some more game time too.

Nathan Collins (CD) - 7 million (Stoke)

I brought in Liam Morrison from Bayern in January but he has been absolutely awful so I needed a new CD to partner John Souttar. Nathan is a well rounded player and will do a good job beside John.

Tyrhys Dolan (AML) - 5 million (Blackburn)

This season will be Curtis Jones last at the club before he goes back to Liverpool so Tyrhys was brought to have some cover this season and take over as starting AML next season.

Marten Winkler (ST) - 5 million, potentially 10 million (Hertha Berlin)

Marten was brought in as a replacement for Kevin Nisbet a little down the line. 5 million up front and 5 million after 20 international appearances seem like good business to me.

[danielclouston1]

Pre-Season 2022-2023

Board Expectations

Achievable expectations and looks like we have a new stadium in the next couple of years should we keep performing.

Upgrades

We have further upgraded youth recruitment and junior coaching to go along with our upgrade of training and youth facilities.

Job Offers

I have been inundated with job offers this summer. Some pretty high profile ones too. Leeds, PSV, Lyon and Tottenham have all offered me interviews but I have no interest in moving clubs. I may, however, look for an international job after the world cup at the end of the year.

Friendlies

June & July 2022 Fixtures

Due to being involved in European competition this season, we do not enter the Betfred Cup until after the group stages so I will bundle June and July fixtures in together.

[danielclouston1]

Lithuanian Hall of Fame

I forgot to add that Marius Zaliukas is now the best Lithuanian manager in history.

[danielclouston1]

July/August 2022

Results

League

We had a pretty decent first 5 games, I was a little disappointed after the draw against Aberdeen but Celtic went and drew in matchday 3 so it was not too bad. I am especially delighted with the win against Hamilton. We went down to 10 men after 10 minutes and Hamilton scored on the stroke of half time but the boy showed some outstanding character to come back and pick up the win the second half.

Betfred Cup

A good showing against Morton with a fully rotated team. The win set us up for a quarter final against St Johnstone.

Uefa Champions League

Well, well, well. I did not expect this. We went in to the tie against Copenhagen fully expecting to be put out but we were fantastic in both legs and should have won the first leg as well as the second. A win in the playoffs though sends us into the group stage and nets us 13million in prize money off the back. We were drawn against Dortmund, Bilbao and Dinamo Zagreb. I expect us to finish 3rd here, man to man we are better than Zagreb and after looking at the squads of all 3 teams and knowing the way FM works, I am hopeful of results against all 3 at home. Will it be enough to take us through though?

September Fixtures

We are currently in the middle of a international break so start the month off with a friendly. Only 2 league games this month too.

[TheRobert]

Congratulations on qualifying in groups! You can get 3rd place or even 2nd place with some luck