[FM21] Ryan Mason Career

[ChrisWilson]

Save

I finished my last journeyman save and wanted a new fun save . 
I decided to do another journeyman as Ryan Mason with the ultimate goal of managing Tottenham.
Starting point would be the worst performing team in the top 5 leagues ( sorry Portugal not you ) in the top division on January 1st 2021.

I have updated transfers and relegations/promotions as of 28.08.2021

This save will not have transfers done late and it wont have Mathias Normann ( loaned on 29th august )at the club I went to. 

The Manager

I created a simple quick profile of Ryan Mason as my manager.

The Team

Norwich were the only team with 0 wins this far into the season and the highest points away from safety.
If I fail to keep them up I will resign even if they let me keep the job.

Schedule

All loses in December. Bad form.

Contract extension 

Very first thing on the first day I did was extend Aarons contract. He is a key player and i want to try to keep him as long as im here.

Loans Terminated 

Both were playing but for me Gilmour does not have the physical attributes to start.
Williams was actually really good I thought but I just could not justify paying him 52 k a week. Makes him 2nd top earner at the club.

Idah comes back and will play for me . However he does have an injury so I might look into bringing another striker to the club in January.
Mumba will be cover for right back since Williams loan was terminated.

Transfers in

 

A few transfers done by the AI. Aging Gaiten and Pelle will be back ups . Carboni is a good Italian center back with potential . Hernani seems like a good winger but probably overpaid .

I will not go into a detailed squad overview yet because I still do not know if I can keep them up. Over January I will try to learn my best 11 and take a look at them then.

Money

 

 

There are some money to bring in players. Looking at the squad i think the key is a striker back up. As most available players don't make us THAT much better. 

January Schedule

Newcastle and Palace games we have to win and get some good form. 

I am hoping I can keep Norwich up and maybe do another season or two with them but I tend to either over achieve with teams on my saves or sometimes get sacked due to bad dynamics at the squad and OK tactics. 
We will see!

Edited September 1, 2021 by ChrisWilson

[ChrisWilson]

January 2021

 

Manager

 

 

After the team meeting and introducing myself I realized my managers reputation is really low compared to the club.
This might be a problem during team talks and trying to motivate the team.

 

Tactics

 

I started with the 442 tactic I have used on previous saves.
It does also have a good corner routine for tall defenders to score some goals. Looking at you Gibson.
I think it fits the squad pretty well except I'm not sure if Cantwell really fits. 
He is too slow to be a winger and not good enough defensively to play central midfield.

 

Transfers out

Sold players for 1 275 000.
Sold a lot of youngsters I never see playing for the club in case I manage to keep Norwich up and the summer window will require less work.

Transfers in

 

 

I felt like another striker was needed and found this guy on transfer list.

 

Tino is quick and can finish. Also his strength is nice. Cheap fee for a back up.

 

Massive loss for Lyon on his transfer.

Injury crisis

 

In the middle of the month we got an injury crisis among our central defenders.

 

 

January matches

 

 

Started off with a good win against Newcastle where we controlled the game.
Wolves game was not important.
Lucky draw against Everton with a late goal.
As well as a pretty lucky win vs Tottenham with two late goals.
Missed opportunity vs palace as they are in relegation battle as well.
Dominated by city but a nice first goal for Tino.

 

League Table

 

 

We are closer to 17th but the palace game was a must win . Hopefully they keep slipping up.

 

Starting 11

 

 

This is mostly what I aim for and try to use as of right now. 

 

Transfer overview 

 

 

Big transfers by Manchester clubs.

 

Wages

 

 

 

We are at the bottom of wages list . Williams termination brought us just under Brantford and clearing out some of the youngsters .

Edited September 1, 2021 by ChrisWilson

[ChrisWilson]

February 2021

February schedule

 

Amazing month. 
We were dominated vs Chelsea and  Leicester but found a way to win.

Pukki got injured in the Leeds game and is back at the start of next month.
Tino stepped up right away with some important goals.

League Table

 

We are out! Palace is having really bad form and we are finally out of the relegation zone.
Next game is vs West Ham who just sacked Moyes. good timing to extend our safety lead even more.

 

Tino 

 

His value has already went up. I really like his attributes .

 

    
Tino Stats

 

Four goals in seven starts is great.

 

Gunn

 

Gunn has to be mentioned as he was outstanding in February. We concede in every game however if not for him we would have conceded much more. 

Gunn Form

 

Great rating over the past 5 games for him.    

 

 

We are slowly coming together as a team even though I am still searching for the best place to play Cantwell in. I have tried him as a winger, box to box and as an inside winger on the left. So far nothing but average performances.

Rashica just got injured for 5 weeks so Cantwell will play on the right as a winger. Hopefully he can perform there.
 

[ChrisWilson]

March 2021

Schedule

In his first game back coming on as a sub Pukki scores a winning goal in an important game between relegation candidates.
We stood no chance vs Liverpool they had 35 shots vs us.

League table

Looking really nice now. Game in hand as well but we do have a tough schedule coming up with United and Arsenal as the next two games.

Cantwell issue

 

Looking at his attributes I keep trying to fit him into my first 11. I do not like how inverted winger affects my tactic after trying it a few times
As a right winger he did not really create anything as well so over the past month I trained him to play central midfielder.

Form

He just does not perform so far but I will keep giving him chances. I want him to do well for me .

Youth Intake

Not sure if I will ever seen any of these play for the club 

Robinson

Bould

Two best prospects

Transfers In

Kenny was on transfer list since January but they wanted 20 million for him.
As soon as I saw the price drop to 5.25m I had to go for him.

Kenny

I think he will be really good as a wing back . I like Byram but he is older and well rounded but average. 
Kenny has great crossing and tackling as well as pace and work rate. Perfect for a full back.

Now I just have to make sure we stay up so I get to use him next year.
 

[ChrisWilson]

April 2021

Schedule 

Really good month. United game was weird but good draws and wins in there.

League Table

6 points ahead of palace going into the last month.

United Game

Last month Liverpool had over 30 shots vs us and now united had 30. We need to learn how to cope with the big teams like that.
Even though we did manage to beat arsenal we did get dominated during the game.

Transfers out

Dowell didn't play a game for me so i let him go.

Placheta was in reserves.

Dowell

He is not bad but too slow for me and nothing special with 10 work rate in the central midfield is too low for me.

Placheta

Fast but never good enough technical for the premier league.

Next Month Schedule

Wolves and Newcastle are around us so its important to do well in those games.
Brighton is a must win as they are bottom of the league. 
Everton and Tottenham I do not expect much from those two.

Relegation battle

Palace and Watford have really tough schedules 

We have a good chance of staying up .

[ChrisWilson]

May 2021

Tottenham

This happened and I had to apply but obviously there was zero chance of getting it now.

Schedule

We finished the season with a bang. Tino and Pukki went off and were playing amazing.

League Table

The win vs Spurs actually put us right above them . 13 points from relegation.

Tino

6 goals and 2 assists in may . He was an amazing transfer.

Pukki 

Pukki carried the team ever since I took over. 5 goals 3 assists in may for him.

Awards

One man team .

Team 

Pukki , Gunn and Tino are my top 3 players. I have to mention Melou as well as he performed well towards the end of the season.
Also Cantwell finally seemed to click in May as box to box next to Melou as DLP.
Expected more from Rashica and Aarons . Maybe look into changing their roles in the tactic a little for next season.

 

Overall I think we did an amazing job staying up and with the transfer of Toni. 

 

Time to plan for next season.
 

[ChrisWilson]

Change of heart

Budgets

 

That is massive amount. I looked at the teams relegated and there are 4 or 5 players that I can take that will make our team much better.

However this is a kind of save I have done before many times and being in the premier league always can get boring with such massive transfer budgets.
I think we could fight for top 10 next year and for sure getting 10th-14th with good transfers judging from the end of the season we had.

I did not take a screen shot and it saved after I resigned  but the board did not let me sell Sargent for 10m . They would not accept anything less then 15m.

In the middle of my planning and signing players  I realized Mason just does not belong here just yet.
Board does not fully trust the transfers out but also gives so much money for transfers in.

FM just does not take into the account how I saved Norwich from relegation to reflect that into the reputation change.

 

Profile

 

Still only 1 star and a bit even after saving a team with 0 wins almost half way into the season.

FM only values achievements and when you get a course badge done.

Which brings me to my point that I think its actually much more fun and tougher to do a journeyman with all badges already done. As there is no easy way to get half a star boost with each course being done.

I just don't think my manager profile belongs in premier league rebuilding a team with that much money.. yet.

 

Resigned

 

 

With such small reputation I expect jobs in league 1 or league 2.

 

Fresh start . 

[ChrisWilson]

Fleetwood Town

Ryan Mason has a job!

Sky bet league one job.
    

League table Last year

Only four points above relegation places for Fleetwood.

From premier league survival team to league one survival team. Same job different league.

Expectations

Expectations to avoid relegation.

Transfer Budget

No budget as of right now.

Players

I do have 63 players to analyze and choose from including u23s and u18s.

Hopefully I can find 22 - 24 players that are good enough to play for us.

[ChrisWilson]

July 2021

Tottenham

Good appointment for them.

Transfers out

Sold some youngsters I don't see fitting the team as well as aging Pilkington . He was highest paid player at the club at 6 k a week.

Transfer budget

Much better looking budgets now. Adjusting it I might get up to 300 k to spend but I think any transfers in will be done in January.

Full squad overview next.

 

[ChrisWilson]

Squad

Full overview of the squad.

I picked 24 players to be in the main team that I will be using this year. A lot of youngsters and I'm worried about our strikers but we will give it a go and bring in players in january if needed.

GK

Spoiler

Wright will start for me.

RD

Spoiler

Love is more well rounded so he will be starting. But Johnson will be given chances too.

CD

Spoiler

I will start the season with a pair of Howkins and Lynch. I think towards January Lynch might lose some physicals so Holgate or Clarke might step in.

LD

Spoiler

 

Andrew is a very good left back.

RW

Spoiler

Dickson is a central midfielder I will try to use as a winger.

CM

Spoiler

 

Rossiter and Allen will start the season for me.
Batty and Boateng are very good players as well and might fight for starting spots.

LW

Spoiler

 

Clark is a very attacking full back i play using higher up as a winger.

ST

Spoiler

 

 

This is where we are the weakest. But I am willing to give the youngsters a chance. It does not help that I did not find a really good striker option yet as well. Either to expensive or cant get work permit.

 

 

I am not a fan of loans which I know can really help at this level so I'm missing out on that a little bit.
 

Edited September 9, 2021 by ChrisWilson

[ChrisWilson]

July and August 2021

Pre Season Friendlies

Didn't have as many games as I would have liked to gain fitness / morale

Transfer Round up

Wages

20th in wages for the season. 

July and August Schedule

Not a bad start. First few months still gonna find the best 11 that works .

League Table

10th for now. Board wants to avoid relegation but I want use to be at least 8th and up.

July and August Cups Schedule

Out of carabao cup already so less games to worry about

Papa John's Trophy League Table

Harry Wright

Harry is not that tall for a keeper which reflects on his Aerial Reach but so far he has done great.

Wright Form

7.44 average rating is really good for him.

 

Next update I will cover September and October together. As at this level there are just a lot of games to play.

I think we have a good squad to deal with fixture congestion and injuries though.

[ChrisWilson]

September and October 2021

September and October Schedule

End of September was a bit rough with two losses where we conceded a lot.

I criticized a few players for the lack of form and we bounced back right away in October with a few amazing wins.

Jodi Wilshaw already paid back for my faith in him as his name pops out almost every game.

League Table

7th. Right around where I want use to be. Pushing for play off spots.

September and October cups schedule

Papa John's Trophy League Table

I have been using this competition to play my back ups.

Squad 

Wright keeps doing well and is even getting assists.

Johnson has been out performing Love on the right a little bit so he has been starting lately.

Lynch is getting good ratings but his speed is dropping extremely fast and it might be the case of looking for a center back in january. I am not convinced with Holgate or Edobor.

Andrew is a bit of a disappointment on the left with no end product.

Right wing role has also been a struggle as Dickson get 3 assists in one game has not contributes since. Clarke is still young but improving fast.

Rossiter has been disappointing .

Allen is assisting regularly and getting key passes every game.

Clark is really good on the left.

Two strikers doing amazing so far . Jodi being the highlight.

Jodi Wilshaw

Lovely green arrows. He is really fast and has great off the ball.

Jodi Wilshaw Stats

Outperforming his XG . Our best player kind of like Pukki at Norwich.

Max McMillan 

His partner deserves credit too. He doesn't necessarily fit the Complete Forward rule but he has been doing well in it.

Max McMillan Stats

Especially lately he has started scoring a lot as well.

Jamie Allen

Allen is my favorite player so far . He just controls the game from the middle.

Jamie Allen Stats

Great passing and tackles won percentage.

[ChrisWilson]

November and December 2021

November and December schedule

November was a great month except the Lincoln game. We had an early sending off and did not cope well.

December was Jodi's month. He just scores for fun right now. He missed the Blackpool game due to a small injury and came back scoring the very next game.

Blackpool lost hurt our chances for the title as they are 1st.

League Table

Pushing for play offs spots was my goal and as of right now we are in automatic promotion place at second.

Its important our form does not drop and the morale stays high .

I have already had a few issues with game time and have had to start letting a few players go in order to keep dynamics good.

One thing I have learned about FM the morale and good dynamics are the key to good results sometimes.

November and December cups schedule

We made it through the group of Papa John's Trophy but lost in the penalties in the following round.

Two wins in FA cup to get us to the third round where we play reading next.

Squad

The same 3 players completely carrying the team as of right now. 
Jodi has an amazing return in games to goals ration and i am kind of surprised with McMillan as well. He is doing really well in Complete Forward role.
Allens assists have dropped lately but he is still performing well every game.

League Player Stats

Once again clearly our 3 best players carrying the team.

Next update will have the Winter transfers as i try to keep players happy and dynamics in a good spot as well as January and February results.

I have been scouting since the summer for players but I am unwilling to spend over 100 k on players that might not be good enough for the championship in case we make it there this year.

Only player i made an offer for and we missed out on is Ogbene.

Ogbene

At 21k he was an amazing option on the wing with his speed . He chose MK dons over us. Unfortunate.