Everton FC 6 Year Challenge

[alvin14]

Everton FC 6 Year Challenge
 

So Dom and I have decided to embark on a FM21 Touch challenge.

Everton is our club of choice, up to the 2026 World Cup.

The loser will be treating the winner to a meal at Bodeans.

We will be using a points scoring system to determine the winner which is shown below:

Champions League win: 100 points
Top division win: 75 points
Europa League win: 50 points
Domestic Cup win: 25 points
Top four finish: 25 points
Super Cup win (European): 15 points
Club World Cup win: 15 points
League Cup win: 15 points
Finish above Liverpool: 10 points
Do the double over Liverpool: 10 points
Win a Merseyside derby (League only): 5 points

Manager of the season: 50 points
Manager of the Month: 20 points

Player of the season: 10 points
Top scorer (League only): 10 points
World player of the year: 25 points
European Top scorer: 25 points

Get sacked: -100 points (If we get sacked, we will continue with a new club)

Should be great fun and will be interesting to see how we both approach things. We’ll post our end of season reviews each season to compare how we’re both doing in addition to an update each season on our points system scores.

[Dominiho]

Enjoying this challenge so far. Just entered December and currently sitting 4th on a five-game winning run and DCL is top goalscorer. Managed to sell off some off the players I didn't want (Besic, Siguardsson and King) and brought in Buendia, Ramsey (loan) and Dack (loan). Missed out on Silas Wamangituka due to fund issues, but going to go back in for him in January, as in desperate need of a back up. Shame I can't recall Moise Kean, but we roll on.

 

4-2-3-1 worked well for me so far, using the gegenpress. Early crosses into the box have proved fruitful, DCL loving life at the moment. Andre Gomes unhappy Ramsey starts ahead of him, but he's yet to perform whereas Ramsey's been very good for me. Allan also proving his worth. Buendia currently my highest rated performances, so the £33m over three years I've shelled out looking like a steal at the moment. Still some concerns at the back, but Keane just returned from injury so hopefully he'll be a good addition back in. 

 

Aaron on the other hand, is not doing so well...

[alvin14]

I’m beginning to question my ability as a football manager?

14 games I lasted I think it was before the Everton board decided bottom of the league was not good enough, I can’t imagine why.

I lost count the amount of games I was leading and conceded late goals to throw away a win or a draw, conceded a crazy amount of goals. Switched between 4231 and 442, apparently neither worked. Tried to play out from the back and play on the counter but just didn’t work at all. Did nothing in the transfer market as the budget was rubbish. My standout player was probably Sigurdsson, he was brilliant for me, Richarlison and DCL were scoring which was great but we couldn’t keep them out at the other end. Holding out for a prem job now to try and repair the damage done with my -100 points for getting sacked.

Going to take a long hard look at myself and look at what’s going wrong with my tactics, otherwise another -100 will be coming my way very soon into my new job.

Won’t be much of an Everton challenge for me anymore, but let’s see where I land and what I can or most likely can’t do haha.

So happy to hear you’re doing well Dom. 🤦🏽‍♂️

[alvin14]

Season 1 Review

Nothing to show for my season review after my poor showing with the Toffees. Held out for a premier league job offer which didn’t come until the summer, was offered a few jobs, Leeds and Palace wanted me as did Chelsea and their £140 million budget haha, however I asked for too much money for some reason (as if I was ever gonna see that money on a football simulation game haha). Anyway I found myself at the King Power Stadium one day before the start of the new season.

We’re a handful of games in and it’s been an indifferent start, got three big name signings in, Moussa Dembele, Donyell Malen and Edson Alvarez. Playing 4231 as I did at Everton but made some tweaks to the style of play, still shipping some goals but scoring plenty so will try and tweak and tighten things up if I can and hopefully we’ll do well.

Current points total:

Sacking: -100 points

Total: -100 points

Got some work to do, come on you foxes!

[Dominiho]

My season 1 review

Unlike my rival Aaron, I did survive the season, and took Everton into the Euro Cup. We mounted a title challenge briefly, following a nine-game winning streak, including a 6-2 thumping of City, but inconsistency crept in from February. Transfer business done in January included signing Edouard from Celtic, and Guido Pizzaro who is due to join on a free in the summer. Disappointed with my cup performances, so something to build on for next season. 

DCL smashed the scoring charts getting 31 in the Premier League meaning he finished as top scorer gaining me +10 points. Buendia amassed over 15 assists so was easily my best summer signing.

Squad still needs some fine tuning moving into next season and have a bigger budget to work with. No doubt teams will come in for Calvert-Lewin so persuading him to stay could be difficult, a big contract and fee release clause might be the way to go.

 

As things stand

Dominiho is on 10 points

Alvin14 is on -100 points 

 

I can smell that Bodeans already haha

[alvin14]

Sacked again midway through season two, showed signs of life but it wasn’t enough. I’ve now got the West Ham job  and I’ve set myself a four year plan which is as follows:

Season 1: Europa League Qualification, Prioritise League/FA Cup Success.

Season 2: Europa League Qualification, Prioritise League/FA Cup Success.

Season 3: Champions League Qualification, Top 4.

Season 4: Win the league (Got to dream big after the two sackings haha)

Haven’t included this season as they only want me to stay so hopefully I can manage that and then the four year plan begins. I’ll do a full update at the end of the season on Leicester and West Ham.

I am determined to stop this FM rot and will try and make this challenge a challenge.

[Dominiho]

So on that bombshell

Points as they stand

 

Dominiho    10 points

Alvin14       -200 points

[gcoard]

On 06/04/2021 at 06:12, alvin14 said:

I’m beginning to question my ability as a football manager?

I feel this very, very deep in my soul

[alvin14]

On 09/04/2021 at 11:28, gcoard said:

I feel this very, very deep in my soul

Haha nice to know someone else is feeling my pain too. I don’t feel so lonely now.

[alvin14]

Season Two Review

So as we know I was sacked once again, this time by Leicester.

I tried playing the same 4231 I did at Everton with a few tweaks, we had some good results but every time we took a step forward we then took two back. I bought Moussa Dembele, Donyel Malen and Edson Alvarez but to be honest I never knew my best team and I think this played a part in the poor form and lack of consistency.

So off I went and West Ham came calling, I have a soft spot for West Ham and love me some Declan Rice so didn’t hesitate in taking the job. I arrived with West Ham in 17th with the task of keeping them up.

I brought in Nathan Ake for 9 million in January which I thought was a bargain to solidify things at the back. Decided to go with a 433 playing on the counter and of course Declan Rice anchoring the midfield alongside Hourihane and Soucek. Won only one of my first 8 games and the board were losing faith already. So decided to change things up a little and play on the front foot a bit more, also set myself a target of 10+ points in the final 6 games which I was sure would see us survive and be able to attack the mighty four year plan.

We achieved exactly 10+ points and stayed up with a game to spare. Very happy with that and can hopefully build on this and have a good go and aim for European qualification next season. Nmecha was a huge part of us staying up and we did try to keep hold of him after his successful loan spell, but more on that in the season three update haha.

Miles behind in the points scoring against Dom but let’s see how we can do with my newly beloved Hammers.

 

Come on you IRONS!!

[Dominiho]

Dominiho's season two review 

So going into Season two on 10 points, the need to progress was evident.

Firstly a few summer signings to help sure up my defence and a new CM to replace Aaron Ramsey who I had on loan. I brought in Milenkovic from Fiorentina, Guido Pizarro from Tigres and, as a back-up to Buendia, Marcus Edwards from Vit Guimaraes. My loan signings included a Ross Barkley return. I also made sure to 'buy for the future' so deals were made for both Ajax's Antony and AZ Alkmaar's Myron Boadu and as part of the deal I loaned them back to their respective clubs for the season. Out of the door went Michael Keane, Gbamin and Bernard as they all left the club.  Harry Winks joined me in January, whilst Cenk Tosun and Seamus Coleman departed.

A good season all in all, as I mounted a title challenge and was top until the end of January, before being brought back down to earth and lost seven games on the bounce included five Premier League games, and a shocking 7-0 whopping by Liverpool. February was not a month of love. During this hideous run, my Carabao Cup dreams were dashed in the final, again by my Merseyside neighbours. Recovery ensued and I managed to steady the ship and stay firmly in the top four. So a fourth place finish and Champions League qualification, and despite a treacherous February, the board are delighted with me. DCL finished top scorer for the league again and I claimed the Manager of the Year award. 

Some massive points gained on the leaderboard, as I now sit on 110 thanks to this season's performance.

Merseyside derby win - 5 points

Manager of the Month March - 10 points

Manager of the Year - 50 points

League top scorer - DCL - 10 points

Top four finish - 25 points

 

So moving in season three, I've got Antony and Boadu joining the club, alongside new signings Max Aaron and Manuel Locatelli. 

 

Points update

Dominiho  110 points

Alvin14  -200 points

[Dominiho]

So another season down and just to start I realised you get 20 points for Manager of the Month not 10 - so my score going into this season should have been 120.

Dominiho's Season three review

Trust in the process... still no silverware, but progress made.

Another good season for the Toffees, with plenty of progress made, February again proving to be the sticking point, but a third place finish, mere points away from a title, and strong UCL run.

Started with a bang and DCL absolutely smashing the the goals in. He had seven goals from the first two league games! I don't think we were out the top three all season, and following 11 games won on the bounce I entered January joint points with Liverpool at the top of the league. I won my UCL group that included PSG, Roma and Besiktas before knocking Atleti out in the last 16. A thumping by City followed as I bowed out in the quarter-finals. Carabao Cup and FA Cups were both disappointments and ones I need to try and win in my next season.

Aarons, Antony and Boadu all proved vital to my success this past season. Aarons bagged 18 assists, however Jarrad Branthwaite won the young player of the year award. Oddly Alex Meret, my back-up keeper won signing of the season.

DCL finished prem top scorer with 40 goals! yes 40 goals and in doing so won the European Golden Boot.

I secured two Manager of the Month awards and for the second year running was named Manager of the Year.

So to add to my already impressive 120 points

 

Manager of the Month x 2- 40 points

Manager of the Year - 50 points

League top scorer - DCL - 10 points

European Top scorer - DCL - 25 points

Top four finish - 25 points

So my current total is 270 points.

 

On to season four... Real have signed Boadu for £100million, but I managed to get him back on loan for a year, Godfrey has gone to Arsenal. My signings include Declan Rice, Mikael Cuissance and Tanguy Nianzou.

[gcoard]

I've actually been inspired by this thread.  As an Everton supporter, I always try to play as them... and have had no success with them.  This time, however, I tried on FMT and have been really enjoying it.  So I started my own save.
Transfers In:

Buendia, Edouard, Nuno Mendes.  Buendia was a stud!  Mendes will be solid if we lose Digne.
Transfers Out:

Bernard, King, Gomes, Besic.  Wasn't going to play any of them.

Season Results:

After City collapsed down the stretch, we somehow finished... Second??!?!?

May went really well for us - we even beat Liverpool!

James won Player of the Season and I won Manager of the Season!

Like I said, it's been a lot of fun!  (I think that would be worth 90 points!)  Anyway, fun thread and a nice competition between you two!

PS - Dom, take screenshots lol

Edit: A few days later and I won Manager of the Month for May!

Edited April 18, 2021 by gcoard
new award

[alvin14]

On 18/04/2021 at 12:07, gcoard said:

I've actually been inspired by this thread.  As an Everton supporter, I always try to play as them... and have had no success with them.  This time, however, I tried on FMT and have been really enjoying it.  So I started my own save.
Transfers In:

Buendia, Edouard, Nuno Mendes.  Buendia was a stud!  Mendes will be solid if we lose Digne.
Transfers Out:

Bernard, King, Gomes, Besic.  Wasn't going to play any of them.

Season Results:

After City collapsed down the stretch, we somehow finished... Second??!?!?

May went really well for us - we even beat Liverpool!

James won Player of the Season and I won Manager of the Season!

Like I said, it's been a lot of fun!  (I think that would be worth 90 points!)  Anyway, fun thread and a nice competition between you two!

PS - Dom, take screenshots lol

Edit: A few days later and I won Manager of the Month for May!

Ah I love this man. Love that we’ve inspired you and I’m super jealous you’re still actually in charge of Everton unlike some of us haha. Keep us updated, that’s a great effort finishing second as well by the way in the first season.

[alvin14]

Season Three Review

So season three started off pretty well and we fell apart at the end of the season which was disappointing.

So we brought in quite a few players, most notably the keeper Ugurcan, who was not my first choice but turned out to be a great signing. The only other signings to crack the starting 11 were Donyel Malen on loan who did okay and Josh Tymon at left back who also did alright. Other than that most signings were for squad depth including a couple of free transfers.

Barcelona matched Declan Rice’s release clause of £88 million in January which was a killer, we didn’t see much of that money because I’d brought so much squad depth in (that’s what I like to call it haha) and was in a bit of financial trouble. However we did manage to get David Brooks in on a structured deal so hopefully he can push on next season.

We were comfortably pushing for Europe before Christmas and then after Christmas we just could not put a run of form together and struggled big time. Considering the way the second half of the season went, a top half finish isn’t really that bad. We had a great run in the FA Cup, albeit we got lucky with the draw for a few rounds.

We didn’t manage to score any points whatsoever this season so looking to really push on next year.

Going into year 4 and my second full season with the hammers I’ve managed to bring in Trippier, Ben Davies, Bielek is now my starting DM after returning from a loan spell, Vitor Ferreira has replaced Hourihane and I have an awesome Dutch newgen striker called Daan Van Den Berg who is going to lead us to glory next year. Again got some other squad players who will hopefully play a big part in a huge season coming up.

Edited April 20, 2021 by alvin14

[Dominiho]

On 18/04/2021 at 12:07, gcoard said:

I've actually been inspired by this thread.  As an Everton supporter, I always try to play as them... and have had no success with them.  This time, however, I tried on FMT and have been really enjoying it.  So I started my own save.
Transfers In:

Buendia, Edouard, Nuno Mendes.  Buendia was a stud!  Mendes will be solid if we lose Digne.
Transfers Out:

Bernard, King, Gomes, Besic.  Wasn't going to play any of them.

Season Results:

After City collapsed down the stretch, we somehow finished... Second??!?!?

May went really well for us - we even beat Liverpool!

James won Player of the Season and I won Manager of the Season!

Like I said, it's been a lot of fun!  (I think that would be worth 90 points!)  Anyway, fun thread and a nice competition between you two!

PS - Dom, take screenshots lol

Edit: A few days later and I won Manager of the Month for May!

Ha that's class. Glad we could inspire someone to give it a go... and you're already doing better than old Alvin14 and after only one season haha.

My season accolades screenshots below  

I haven't played for a few days so will be back navigating season four tonight!

Edited April 21, 2021 by Dominiho

[gcoard]

Thanks guys!

Summer Transfers:

In: 

Weston McKennie, Tonali, Meslier

Out:

Kenny, Tosun, Sigurdsson, Edouard (Tottenham bid 60M for a guy who never really got it going and I have Kean coming back), Gibson

My UCL group include:

Juve, Porto, and Dynamo Kyiv.  Not easy but better than Group F which would have been Barca, PSG, and Milan.  Might have a shot at advancing.  Worst case, I think we can manage a 3rd place finish.

[gcoard]

End of the 2021-2022 Season Review

(Note Leicester got relegated but won the Euro II league.  So they'll be playing in the Championship and Euro.  They'll be playing a lot of games next season).  Finished 3rd this season.  Actually started the season off really well (9 wins in a row).  Didn't help that Digne missed the second half of the season and Mendes was in and out due to injury for that time as well.  Interestingly enough, Branthwaite stepped in (it was either him of Small as Nkounkou was on loan) and played really well, making the Team of the Season at Left Back

You might notice Dwight McNeil - I brought him in for 50M in January and loaned out Iwobi (with an optional buy clause) to Porto.  Gbamin left for 7.25M.  I can't really imagine we make big transfers this year, barring losing someone.  The UCL went fairly well, finished second to Juve in the group.  Then losing to Real.

 

The only other thing of note was that I won one Manager of The Month.  Hopefully this season we can take down Liverpool!

[Dominiho]

Dominiho's Season four review

Progress made? Maybe a transition season? A muddle of a season.

A season with mixed results, but a excellent finish brought us to the cusp of Champions league football for a third successive season, alas it was not enough.

A drop off from the previous two seasons saw Everton stumble through the league season, languishing around 8th for the majority. We made the Carabao Cup semi-finals only to be beaten on pens by Fulham. A Merseyside derby for the FA Cup final results in yet another Liverpool win, whilst a last-16 loss to Napoli, saw us achieve the expectation the board had of us.  

At one point Everton looked destined for no European football, but a stunning nine wins in 10 games saw us just miss out on UCL football. Had we beat MUFC in the penultimate game we'd have got it, but in the end we finished 6th, by goal difference, to both United and Soton. We all finished on 68 points. Disappointment, but a chance to win the Euro Cup next season. 

Brahim Diaz joined for £6m in January, but didn't really break into the team. Cusiance and Rice were pretty much ever present. Brice Bertrand also joined in January and played back up to Aarons. I expect to see him play more this year now Kenny has left.

In review I've decided to make a big clear out of the squad for the next season and a slight change of shape will hopefully have me challenging again.

 

Not many points to add on this year, however DCL did again, win both Prem top scorer and European Top scorer. 

League top scorer - DCL - 10 points

European Top scorer - DCL - 25 points

So just an additional 35 this season, but now on 305 points, moving into season five.

[alvin14]

Season Four Review

Very similar to season three, first half of the season was really good and then second half we just fell of a cliff.

Stuck with the 433 and added in a 4231 from time to time, the only signings who made a real impact in the first team were Kieran Trippier who was a great addition and fitted perfectly into my system. My newgen striker was my top scorer, he’s rapid and he can finish so he’s a big hit haha, he was only one goal off Salah at the top of the scoring charts as well. Said Nasrollah came in in midfield and did okay, but an average rating of 6.63 isn’t incredible and he didn’t pull up any trees. Bielek also didn’t do anything amazing but he was okay.

The aim next season is to really push and try and aim for Europe, season fives fixture list was not kind to me and I’ve started with losses to Man Utd, Everton, Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal as well as going out the carabao cup on pens to saints. However a change of shape for the North London games led us into Newcastle at home and a 5-0 win so let’s hope for bigger and better things in season five and six. Plenty of ins and outs in the summer, our big money in was the return of Malen for 37 million to back up van den Berg and play out wide too.

Oh and lasting somehow I was offered the England job haha, I can barely manage West Ham so I declined haha! 

[Dominiho]

Name on the trophy! 

Dominiho's Season five review

A trophy at Goodison Park!

A great season for the Toffees ended with a victory in the Europa League!

Having missed out on the Champions League, Everton flew back this season and secured top four with five games remaining (meaning the four lost in a row, didn't cost us UCL!), but also securing their first piece of silverware since Paul Rideout scored at Wembley against my beloved United in 1995!

Some shrewd transfers and a change of system all helped propel the team to glory.

The season can be looked at with sheer consistency. I was in the top three pretty much all season, it was only the last month, that we fell to fourth. 

To start the season I bought in Alexandr Golovin. Caglar Soyuncu and Giovanni Reyna. Golovin and Soyuncu were vital to my success, with Reyna no more than a bit part player. He is now on loan in the MLS. 

I had a mass clear out, with James Rodriguez, Eduoard, Allen, Kenny, Kean, Blanco and Holgate all out the door.

Playing with a holding midfielder made a difference as we conceded less goals. Rice was there for the majority of the season, before I signed Lucas Torreria in the January transfer window. I also managed to get Lewandowski for £1.7m as a back up striker. He is yet to score for me, but did bag a penalty in the final shootout. I sold Buendia for £88m in the Jan transfer window to PSG, but added a loan back for the rest of the season, which paid dividends for me. 

DCL managed to bag 40 in total, with 14 in the Europa League run. He still won golden boot for the league and also golden boot for the Europa.

So looking at my points from this season and now entering my last of the challenge.

 

So I stated the season on 305 points

Manager of the Month x2 - 40 points

Europa League win - 50 points

Top four finish - 25 points

Win a Merseyside derby - 5 points

Top scorer (league only) - 10 points

My current total is - 435 points

 

Moving into my last season a Brazilian superstar has just arrived at Goodison Park and also a highly-sought after young German star.

 

On a sadder note, we will be leaving Goodison Park, as it was announced by the board our new stadium is to be built.

[alvin14]

Season Five Review

SACKED AGAIN! Whenever I feel like I’m making forward progress, it sends me right back where I started haha!

Never recovered from the 5 straight losses at the start of the season to be honest.

Changed shape several times during the season to try and get things going which always worked for the immediate game and then we’d go and lose to bottom of the league the following game.

I genuinely used to be competent at playing this game and competent at managing in real life, now I’m not even competent. This has been a literal shambles. Dominho I can apologise for the lack of a challenge I have offered up here!

As you can see from the league table below, the sacking was fully deserved and I’m now on the lookout for a job to finish up this awful career of mine. I’ve been offered loads of championship jobs which is generous because I don’t even deserve those haha.

I’ve just been offered the Real San  Sebastian job (Real Sociedad) job in October 2025. I delayed on two occasions hoping something better might come up but I’ve taken the job and have my first shot at European football in Euro Cup II, not only in this save but on the game in general because I’m rubbish at it haha. They’ve actually been left in a decent position 6th in the league and top of their European group.

Here we go lets see if I can last the year and only ruin it a little bit, wish me luck haha!

Forgot to update my points, another -100 but I did get one manager of the month strangely haha. So I’m on -280, even if I won everything possible this season I’d still come up 100’s short. I’m playing for pride and my FM sanity! Is this the season I reignite my love for this game that hates me! 🤣

Edited May 2, 2021 by alvin14

[alvin14]

Season six review

You guessed it, sacked again haha! Wow that has been quite possibly the worst football manager showing ever, not just by me but by anyone in the history of the game. Throughout the save/career I never really settled on a formation or style of play because I just could not get anything to work.

However I did manage to find some success and we did string together some decent form at Sociedad, decided to go with what has worked best for me in real life. So went with a 4231, playing out from the back, dropping back behind the ball when out of possession. Seemed to work most of the time, struggled against the big boys which was no different to my time in England. I did actually go with a Gegenpress at various points throughout the save but could never seem to get it to work consistently.

Special mention has to go to Carlos Vinicius (28 goals in 42 games), an absolute goal machine for me at Sociedad, who’d have thought it. My left back Mohamed Fares was probably my best player, alongside my right back Sergi Palencia who was also pretty good despite me bringing in a replacement in January he held him off and kept his place.

I did manage to leave with a bit of silverware, I thought I was flying through the Europa League all season until I realised it was Euro Cup II. Anyway we made it to the final and comfortably best Lech Poznań 3-0 and was then sacked shortly after that haha. But the fact I won a trophy in this shambles of a save/career is gonna have me loading up a new save before you know it haha!

So a brief insight into my tactics throughout the save and what has and hasn’t worked, the Everton days seem like a distant memory now haha. There probably isn’t a formation I didn’t try in the six seasons haha, but my most used was probably the 433 at West Ham. Tried going with the high press with West Ham but noticed that second half of the season was a write off so clearly didn’t have the players or the players I did have didn’t have the fitness levels. More often then not I try to play out from the back, although I did try playing on the counter at West Ham originally but that didn’t work obviously haha. I always like to use attacking full backs/wing backs, my two best players for Sociedad were my full backs so that shows how much I rely on them. I then like to have a defensive minded midfielder or two in the middle to cover those full backs and cover my more attacking midfielders when they go forward and in transition. Lastly on transition, I’ve now settled with dropping back and regrouping which is more my style of play, I like a good high intensity press but I’m a firm believer in dropping in organising and then win the ball back.

I probably had my most success with Sociedad, I won a trophy which is more than I did anywhere else so it was definitely where I was most successful. I went quite basic with the 4231 tactic I used there and I feel the little information I gave my players in terms of the team instructions was clearly beneficial. So I’ve come to the conclusion I was maybe overloading my players, despite already cutting down on team instructions, I must’ve been absolutely flooding them beforehand haha. So lessons have hopefully been learnt from this dreadful save and I look forward to building on the Euro Cup II win and bringing success to whichever club is lucky enough to have me next haha.

In terms of a points update another sacking takes me to -380 I believe with no other points won, unfortunately nothing on offer for the mighty Euro Cup II.

[Dominiho]

Dominiho's Season six review

A galatico (A Toffeeo?) arrived at the club, but we the team fell flat on their promise of a title and instead Europa League qualification was the only 'achievement'. 

Not many points to add, but I was far and away winning this anyways, so not to disappointed and looking forward to a Bodeans this summer now .

So following a successful season of a Europa League win, my final tilt at the title was next and we started strongly. My two major signings were Neymar on a free and Jamal Muisala and also signed a regen from Barca B on a free, who proved to be very good for me. You'll see I signed Zak Doherty, but he was on loan at Leeds in the Championship and he smashed it.

Neymar started excellently and ended up finishing second top scorer for me and also in the Prem... you can guess who won it? DCL again. What I find funny is that he is never included by the bookies in the 'favourite' to win it haha. Muisala, didn't score all season, until the very last game of the season, however he provided plenty of assists.

At one point I was in contention for the top, won another manager of the month, and then it all went downhill. A terrible November saw me drop points all over the shop and at one stage I was 8th. 12 wins in 14 though pulled me back in to European contention, missing out on UCL by three points. It was never on the cards anyways.

Another penalty defeat to Fulham curtailed my Carabao Cup charge at the quarters, whilst my FA Cup journey didn't even start with a loss to Huddersfield! Champs League I just about qualified from the group, but went out in the last 16. All in all a disappointing season in my eyes, but successful in the boards eyes.

As Alvin has done above a little insight into my tactics across the six seasons. So I use a 4-2-3-1 formation gegenpress, however, one season I went with a 4-1-2-2-1 or in other words a 4-3-3DM. In terms of team instructions, I like to try and play on the front foot, with a positive mentality. In possession, I play out from the back and focus the play down the flanks (I switched from playing through the middle as noticed my CMs were not performing). Using DCL's proweness in the hair, we hit early crosses, though I keep these mixed - but I feel the reason we score so many is that I encourage the team to shoot on sight. Whilst I ask the team to be more expressive, I don't expect them to work it into the box, I know we concede a few, so scoring as many as possible is important - call me Kevin Keegan. Counter-press is the name of the game when we are in transition and we aim to counter once we win possession back. i expect my keeper to distribute quickly and to me CBs. When out of possession we prevent the opposition keeper distrubuting short and stay on feet when tackling. These tactics have worked well for Everton, but will be interesting how it works at other clubs, if I choose to do it.

So on to the final points

Manager of the month - 20 points

Top scorer - 10 points

So my overall total is 465.

 

Final score

Alvin14 = -380points

Dominiho = 465points.

I'll post a picture of my Bodeans in here at a later date.

 

We now move on to our next challenge - the create a club challenge. I've begun a new thread which you can find here - 

 

Edited May 9, 2021 by Dominiho