[FM22-Derby County] Why manage the Rams? How are you getting on?

[Stuniverse]

Great stuff, @Recyclic3021.

Thanks for the updates.

Congratulations, you’re 🐏s are on 🔥 !

[Recyclic3021]

We were the better team prior to the sending off but Scarlett was having one of those days in front of goal. Should have scored a hat-trick in the first half alone. Went all out attack following the red card and was delighted to see him finally come through with a cooly taken penalty and an unstoppable near post header.

[Stuniverse]

Amazing, @Recyclic3021. What a season! 3rd in the Premier League, UEFA Europa League winners, Carabao Cup winners. Have I missed anything?

You must be so proud. Congratulations!

Bigger and better next season?

Good luck 🍀

[OJ403]

It's been a while, work and life commitments have meant I've been away from the game for quite some time - but now I'm back playing as the deadlines have passed. Things have changed around Pride Park...

I can't recall what the situation was when I last updated, but I picked back up with 6 games to go of the season in 2nd. We were all but secure in the top six, but could feasibly finish anywhere within it. A relatively easy run in ended with tougher games against fellow top six sides Brighton and Ipswich. Despite beating Brighton 2-0 on the final day we had had a horrific run of form which saw us finish in 6th place. We'd play Brighton in the playoffs.

In the first leg we won 5-2 with an Adam Idah hat trick (37 goals in the season - @Stuniverse you were right about signing him!). Surely we couldn't let that slip... wrong. We lost the second leg 5-2 to tie 7-7 on aggregate. When Idah limped off and sent us down to 10 in extra time I thought that was it for our season but we held firm and won the penalty shootout to face Ipswich at Wembley.

Only weeks before in the penultimate game of the season they embarrassed us so I wasn't confident, especially without Idah who would be replaced by Jack Stretton. Despite my expectations we outclassed them and won the game thanks to a Lawrence screamer and man of the match (and season) performance from Nathan Byrne. Byrne claimed 17 assists winning club and league player of the season.

The Premier League beckoned, but the board confirmed our £11 million budget whilst we were still a Championship club and won't increase it so times are tough.

I'm yet to hit July 30th so no contracts have yet expired, but transfers are prooving tricky. Teden Mengi returns on loan for a second season, whilst Luke Mbete returns to City. They want too much money for a loan or permanent deal although I'm tempted to see how long I can delay payments in a Wilson to Fulham style deal. Greg Taylor has signed from Celtic on a free to play as our left wingback, he's not the player he once was on FM but is more than capable. Chris Richards signs from Bayern from £850k - either footed, capable going forward and competent across all back 5 positions, it just makes sense. Unfortunately I couldn't get in my main target to pair with Idah - Lorenzo Lucca of Pisa had a work permit denied, cheers Brexit...

I'm targeting Jack O'Connell of relegated Sheffield United to play in our back line, with a temptation to investigate immoral structuring of an Mbete deal too. Lerma (Bournemouth) and Mandragora (Torino) are being targeted to hold our midfield along side Max Bird, I'm leaning towards Mandragora as he would be available on a loan to buy saving us money in the short term.

I also need a goalkeeper and physical striker but have no ideas at all. I'm going to look into free agents when contracts expire (I find players are often uninterested when they're contracts are expiring but are interested when they've expired). Does anyone have any tips on good, relatively cheap season three signings?

[Stuniverse]

On 17/11/2021 at 22:10, kopfan1977 said:

So after having issues with the update I had to do a clean install. And stupidly forgot to keep a copy of my derby save.. So now I'm going back through the turmoil all over again. 

 

Sucker for punishment? I must be as they now have a -21 point dedcution courtesy of @ben_champ

Sorry to hear that, @kopfan1977 but hope you are all sorted.

At least you’re up to date with a -21 points penalty now.

[Stuniverse]

On 19/11/2021 at 22:30, kopfan1977 said:

Everything started well. 7 points from first 4 games - one of which was a sickening  minute equaliser in game 3 after absolutely hammering them but only to get sucker punched at the death with only their 2nd shot on target all game. Then a narrow 2-1 defeat in game 4. Then things went rather poorly.. Win, Lose, Win, draw.. etc. I just Couldn't get a run going..  At one point we were hovering in 21st for what seemed like ages. Everyone around me was picking points up while I kept dropping points. Then a sudden surge up the table gave us a healthy and respectable finish in 10th place and 63 points (Add the -21 and we would have finished 6th and been in the playoffs)

That’s amazing to stay up off -21, @kopfan1977. Congratulations.

On 19/11/2021 at 22:30, kopfan1977 said:

Sibley, Knight, Ravel - all fell well below expectations. Lawrence did well with 11 goals and 14 assists, but the One shining light was Jack Stretton who was my main striker after getting annoyed at Baldock's form which was diabolical. Overall : P 36 (7) 29 goals return (1 in cup in 2 games played reserves to keep team fresh for league)

Some below par performances there but we’ll done Tom Lawrence and Jack Stretton.

On 19/11/2021 at 22:30, kopfan1977 said:

The takeover was rather protracted. Took till mid december before the debt was restructured by that point we were losing money badly with payments of over 300k being taken out of the club. Now they are down to a manageable amount.

No signings were made, Not that I could afford to anyway. Outgoing: Jagielka (free - january) Roos - signing for Vitesse, Buchanan signing for Bayer Leverkusen and Louie Watson off to Holstein Kiel all are leaving at end of their contracts. Cashin and Olamide (reserves - both off to Dundalk)

At least the takeover went through before the January transfer window but, yes, you have to wheel and deal if there’s no initial cash injection, and most are reporting no initial cash injection, which can make it quite a challenge getting decent players in at affordable costs.

On 19/11/2021 at 22:30, kopfan1977 said:

While I also managed to free up wages by shifting out all the U23 and U18 on free transfers at the end of the season seeing as we have a fresh batch of yth players in that look way way better than anything we had before. This gave me an almost empty U23/U18 squad other than 3 or 4 regens that were given to me at start of the first season.

England and Denny were the 2 at the club when I started.. Denny got 6 games last season and England got about the same..

Vasil and Mpofu came in the yth intake. Vasil excites me - Probably going to retrain him fully into a Mezzala attack. He is more naturally AM but I think his overall skillset will be better utilised attacking from deep

I must admit, personally, I like a lot of the existing U23 and U18 players but it sounds like you’ve had an awesome youth intake and have made some good decisions there.

On 20/11/2021 at 15:49, kopfan1977 said:

So in the summer I had a mass clearout. Almost everyone that was in the U23/U18 teams were either sold or released.. a couple still remain that teams are interested in.

Budget was £7.66m (ZERO % of transfer revenue was made available)

Prior to the end of the first season when I knew I had a transfer budget I set about scouring for bargains.. In came Daniel Ballard for a fee rising up to £195k. Out went Shinnie to Aberdeen for 400k after he was unsettled by my refusal of an offer from them initially. Forsyth went to St. Johnstone for 84k and Festy Ebosele went to dundalk for a fee rising up to 98k

Once the window was open I set about my bargain hunt with even more determination knowing there were quite a few players that would strengthen the team either listed or leaving on free transfers.

Out went Buchanan to Leverkusen, Watson to Holstein Kiel, Ibrahim to dundalk, Roos to Vitesse, Cashin followed Ibrahim and Ebosele to Dundalk - all on free transfers. Kornell McDonald went to Norwich for 165k.. Next up came Louie Sibley - Spurs came in with a paltry bid of £3m which was swiftly rejected. Sibley asked for a meeting and promptly told to shut up and concentrate on his job or I'd sell him. At that point I'd had enough anyway, his poor performances last season coupled with wanting to leave I listed him at 10m thinking no chance anyone would take the bait. I was wrong, When I offered him out Spurs bid 10m so did Southampton, while West Ham tried a lowball offer of £3m.. Sibley promptly signed for Spurs. Yes I am annoyed, 10m into the coffers and I can't even spend a penny of it.. Meh. oh well. Lets see what I can do with my budget I have.

First in the door is Dennis Cirkin from sunderland - £1m upfront, £2m in clauses.. Morgan Whittaker comes in on loan from swansea. Next up came a few freebies - Tom Holmes from Reading, Michael Hector from Fulham - These 2 and Ballard are a big upgrade on last years centre backs. Jake Bidwell comes in on a free providing backup for Cirkin, Ben Woodburn agrees a 20k p.w free transfer from Liverpool and we also grab another freebie in the form of Mitja Lotric from Wurzburger Kickers. Next in after the loss of Sibley comes Allan Campbell from Luton town for a fee that will rise to £2.8m overall. And last of my current signings is a keeper Christian Walton comes in on a free after his release from Brighton.

We could definitely do with a couple more signings. I need cover for RB, LW and a Striker too. The search is still on before the season kicks off in just under a week.

Nice work in the Summer (2022?) transfer window there and good luck 🍀 on completing your squad and for the season ahead. Promotion push this season, @kopfan1977?

[Stuniverse]

On 20/11/2021 at 16:00, petauk said:

Season One Review

Finally got my takeover the 2nd week of January, Gave me just enough to get a few players in.  Here are my January purchases:

Blimey, that’s quite a late takeover, @petauk based on what others are reporting.

On 20/11/2021 at 16:00, petauk said:

Simeu & Bitton were brought in to help cover the losses in defence,. Snodgrass, Jones and Dembele for attacking midfield. And tevez as i needed help in attack,

There’s some good signings there. I’ve managed Karamoko Dembele on previous FMs and he’s always been a superb signing for me. Not managed him on FM22 yet.

On 20/11/2021 at 16:00, petauk said:

Here are the outgoings in January: 

Nice, nothing I’d argue with there, although we’re you tempted to hold onto Dylan Williams at all, or did the Administrators take that transfer out of your hands as it was before your takeover?

On 20/11/2021 at 16:00, petauk said:

Bitton & Dembele have been outstanding signings. We finished the season 19th, 9 points ahead of the relegation spot. 

I tried a couple of different tactics before finding one that has worked, Now using this moving forward:

That’s an interesting formation, glad it’s working well for you.

On 20/11/2021 at 16:00, petauk said:

Building Towards Season 2:

Here are my signing so far, Looking at a younger looking team with some Vets stil here like Davis and Marshall etc. 

Hoping for a mid table season to build on and maybe push for playoffs next season. 

Thank you for sharing.

Good luck 🍀

[Stuniverse]

On 23/11/2021 at 16:10, causticgrip said:

Great thread you have got here, did help inspire me to start a Derby save.

Thank you, @causticgrip, very kind of you to say.

Thanks for sharing your update.

On 23/11/2021 at 16:10, causticgrip said:

Transfers- Disabled first window like had been suggested. Didn't bring anyone in January, just some players leaving. Including Ravel, who even though had scored like 11 goals and had 8 assists, was not gonna sign a new contract and had already shown some red flags personality wise. Got some decent money for him .

Yes, I always recommend disabling the first transfer window for the start of an FM22 Derby County save. It’s a huge challenge already, without the added complication of having a potential fire-sale. The FM22 full release starts with the squad Wayne Rooney has available in real-life up to 31st December and, with no ability to make transfer decisions yourself due to embargo and Admin at the start of the save, I think that’s the most realistic way to start.

On 23/11/2021 at 16:10, causticgrip said:

On 23/11/2021 at 16:10, causticgrip said:

There we go, promotion through the playoffs by just attacking like mad- 97 goals. Had a mid season wobble but once some key players had returned from injuries, I was able to put out pretty much my strongest team for the final stretch.

That’s brilliant. Congratulations.

Sounds like you approach it the same way I do. Draws aren’t good enough with the points deduction to catch-up so let’s attack and try and win as many games as possible. I’d rather go on a run of form like L-W-L-W-L-W than D-D-D-D-D-D.

On 23/11/2021 at 16:10, causticgrip said:

Three of my players picking up end of season individual awards, great to see. And Manager of the Year for myself, although kind of feel cheated with only one monthly award.

Tom Lawrence, Sam Baldock and Lee Buchanan. Fantastic.

A lot of managers are reporting that Baldock doesn’t perform for them. How did you get the best out of him?

On 23/11/2021 at 16:10, causticgrip said:

Going forward, PL gonna be a huge challenge, with this squad, contract situations and probably not much money. Didn't get a particularly good takeover. Oh well, see what we can do- thinking 5 at the back, direct balls to a target man... 

Yes, I’m not sure the Derby County squad is ready for the Premier League and you didn’t bring any new players in during 2021-22. On the flip side, you should have a lot of players who were out of contract so possibly we’ll placed for an overhaul.

Let us know how you get on.

Good luck🍀

[Stuniverse]

22 hours ago, OJ403 said:

It's been a while, work and life commitments have meant I've been away from the game for quite some time - but now I'm back playing as the deadlines have passed. Things have changed around Pride Park...

Best wishes, @OJ403. Hope you’ve been busy with fun life commitments… Welcome back!

22 hours ago, OJ403 said:

I can't recall what the situation was when I last updated, but I picked back up with 6 games to go of the season in 2nd. We were all but secure in the top six, but could feasibly finish anywhere within it. A relatively easy run in ended with tougher games against fellow top six sides Brighton and Ipswich. Despite beating Brighton 2-0 on the final day we had had a horrific run of form which saw us finish in 6th place. We'd play Brighton in the playoffs.

Oh, no. Disappointing to get a bad run of form at the business end of the season, but congratulations on making the playoffs. I have my 🤞 as I’m reading your update…

22 hours ago, OJ403 said:

In the first leg we won 5-2 with an Adam Idah hat trick (37 goals in the season - @Stuniverse you were right about signing him!). Surely we couldn't let that slip... wrong. We lost the second leg 5-2 to tie 7-7 on aggregate. When Idah limped off and sent us down to 10 in extra time I thought that was it for our season but we held firm and won the penalty shootout to face Ipswich at Wembley.

Wow! Amazing, and what an emotional roller-coaster that second leg must’ve been. 

Deleighted Adam Idah (Adam Idah, dah, dah - to the tune of Ian Wright, Wright, Wright) is working out for you but bad news he got injured in the playoff semi-final second leg. I’m still waiting for my finders fee 😂⚽️🤣

22 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Only weeks before in the penultimate game of the season they embarrassed us so I wasn't confident, especially without Idah who would be replaced by Jack Stretton. Despite my expectations we outclassed them and won the game thanks to a Lawrence screamer and man of the match (and season) performance from Nathan Byrne. Byrne claimed 17 assists winning club and league player of the season.

Excellent. Congratulations on getting the 🐏s promoted Back to the Big Time!

22 hours ago, OJ403 said:

The Premier League beckoned, but the board confirmed our £11 million budget whilst we were still a Championship club and won't increase it so times are tough.

Oh no. That’s not much for a first season in the Premier League.

22 hours ago, OJ403 said:

I'm yet to hit July 30th so no contracts have yet expired, but transfers are prooving tricky. Teden Mengi returns on loan for a second season, whilst Luke Mbete returns to City. They want too much money for a loan or permanent deal although I'm tempted to see how long I can delay payments in a Wilson to Fulham style deal. Greg Taylor has signed from Celtic on a free to play as our left wingback, he's not the player he once was on FM but is more than capable. Chris Richards signs from Bayern from £850k - either footed, capable going forward and competent across all back 5 positions, it just makes sense. Unfortunately I couldn't get in my main target to pair with Idah - Lorenzo Lucca of Pisa had a work permit denied, cheers Brexit...

I'm targeting Jack O'Connell of relegated Sheffield United to play in our back line, with a temptation to investigate immoral structuring of an Mbete deal too. Lerma (Bournemouth) and Mandragora (Torino) are being targeted to hold our midfield along side Max Bird, I'm leaning towards Mandragora as he would be available on a loan to buy saving us money in the short term.

I also need a goalkeeper and physical striker but have no ideas at all. I'm going to look into free agents when contracts expire (I find players are often uninterested when they're contracts are expiring but are interested when they've expired).

Ouch! It sounds like it’s going to be a tough transfer window but, like you say, things will settle down a bit in the transfer window once you get into July, players have been released into free agency, and clubs start to acquire their targets.

I also find players and their agent demands will reduce towards the end of the transfer window if they haven’t signed for a club. The question is though are you prepared to be patient and risk losing them?

22 hours ago, OJ403 said:

Does anyone have any tips on good, relatively cheap season three signings?

This is one I’ll have to leave to others as I haven’t reached season three in a save yet.

Although the Players signed for Derby County on FM22 post on Page 1 of this thread (updated this morning) only covers the 2021-22 season and Summer 2022 transfer window, it may be worth casting your eyes over it to see if any inspiration strikes you.

Good luck 🍀

The 🐏s in the Premier League. I look forward to hearing how you’re getting on!

[Stuniverse]

Updated up to this point...

On 29/10/2021 at 01:05, Stuniverse said:

Players signed for Derby County on FM22

These are players I’m aware of that have been signed by managers of Derby County on FM22.

2021-22 Season

Goalkeepers

  Reveal hidden contents

GK - Dejan Stojanovic

GK - Lee Grant

GK - Nathan Trott

GK - Zan Luk-Leban

Defenders

  Reveal hidden contents

D/WBR - Anthony Ralston

DR - Bali Mumba

DR - Bogdan Butko

D/WBR - Salva Ferrer

--

DC / DR - Andre Wisdom

DC - Billy Koumetio

DC - Bright Arrey-Mbi

DC - Charlie Goode

DC - Dynel Simeu

DC - Isaac Rice

DC - Jamie Hamilton

DC - Julian Jeanvier

DC / DL - Kortney Hause

DC - Luke Mbete

DC - Malachi Fagan-Walcott

DC / DM - Nir Bitton

DC - Sebastien De Maio

DC - Steve Cook

DC - Tim Klose

DC / D/WBR - Tom Holmes

DC - Tyrell Ashcroft

DC - Williams Velasquez

DC - Yerson Mosquera

--

D/WBL - Brandon Mason

DL - Sam McQueen

Midfielders

  Reveal hidden contents

DM / MC / D - Jack Rodwell

DM / MC - Kevin McDonald

DM/MC/DC - Niklas Tauer

DM/MC - Xavi Simons

--

M/AMRL / AMC - Connor Mahoney

MC / AMRC - Dan Crowley

MC - Jack Roles

MC - Jan Zamburek

M/AMRL - Joe Pritchard

MC / DM - Korey Smith

MC - Liam Shaw

MC / DM/AMC - Matt O’Riley

Attacking Midfielders / Wingers

  Reveal hidden contents

AM/MRL - Aaron Rowe

AMC / MC - Callum Gribbin

AMC - Carlos Tevez

AMRLC - Cole Palmer

MC - Gonzalo Maroni

AMRL / SC - Hal Robson-Kanu

AM/MRL - Isaiah Jones

AMRL - J’Neil Bennett

AMR - Karamoko Dembele

AM/MRL - Michael Jacobs

M/AMRLC - Robert Snodgrass

AMRL / SC - Wayne Routledge (Beta only, he’s hung up his boots by full release)

Strikers

  Reveal hidden contents

SC - Adam Idah

SC - Dane Scarlett

SC - Danilo Pereira

SC - Dwight Gayle

SC - Ellis Simms

SC - Facundo Colidio

SC - Facundo Ferreyra

SC - Joe Hugill

SC / AMC - Josh Coburn

SC - Liam Cullen

SC - Liam Delap

SC - Lukas Jutkiewicz

SC - Matt Godden

SC - Oliver Sarkic

SC - Rodrigo Muniz

SC - Roko Simic

SC - Sam Gallagher

SC - Sean Maguire

SC - Sergey Stepanov

SC - Steven Fletcher

SC / AMLC - Tom Bradshaw

—

2022-23 Season

I don’t normally cover season two but, as Derby County are transfer embargoed during season one, here’s a bonus season two first transfer window:

Goalkeepers

  Reveal hidden contents

GK - Ashley Maynard-Brewer

GK - Christian Walton

GK - Connor Ripley

GK - Freddie Woodman

GK - Max O'Leary

GK - Mikki Van Sas

Defenders

  Reveal hidden contents

WBR - Ashley Richards

D/WBR - Jonjoe Kenny

DR / DM - Kevin Sessa

DR / MR - Louie Chorlton

DRLC - Luke Offord

D/WBR MR - Ryan Fredericks

--

DC / DR - Andre Wisdom

DC - Bright Arrey-Mbi

DC - Charlie Goode

DC - Erik Palmer-Brown

DC - Jaroslaw Jach 

DC - Malachi Fagan-Walcott

DC - Marc Roberts

DC - Matt Clarke

DC - Myles Sohna 

DC / DR - Teden Mengi

--

WB/D/ML - Declan Frith

D/WBL - Jake Bidwell

DL - James Morris

D/WBL - Joe White

DL / DC - Leif Davis

D/WBL - Reece Devine

DL - Reece Hutchinson

DL - Sam Sharrock-Peplow

Midfielders

  Reveal hidden contents

DM - Ibrahima Sissoko

--

M/AML / SC - Ademola Lookman

MC / AMRC - Callum Wright

MC / AMRC - Connor Ronan

MC - Conor Hourihane

MC - Harry Gordon

MC / DM - Jayson Molumby

M/AMRL - Joe Pritchard

MC / DM - Kyle Dempsey

MC - Luca Connell

MC - Matthew Smith

MC / DM - Patryk Dziczek

MC / DM - Sean Longstaff

MC - Tom Bayliss

Attacking Midfielders / Wingers

  Reveal hidden contents

AMRC / MC - David Brooks

AMLC / MRL - Demarai Gray

AMR / SC - Devante Cole

AMRL / SC - Jonathan Leko

AMRL - Kaide Gordon

AMR - Karamoko Dembele

AMRL / SC - Mallik Wilks

AMRLC / SC - Nathaniel Nkunku

AMR / SC - Terry Ablade

AMRLC - Tom Ince

Strikers

  Reveal hidden contents

SC - Aaron Pressley

SC - Adam Idah

SC - Ashley Fletcher

SC - Folarin Balogun

SC - Jonathan Bolingi

SC - Jude Soonsup-Bell

SC - Lukas Jutkiewicz

SC / AML - Tyler Walker

SC - Uche Ikpeazu

—

If you’re happy to share the names of players you’ve signed for Derby County on FM22, I’d love to hear from you on this thread or by Direct Message. This will allow me to update this post regularly.

Note: If you’ve already mentioned signings on this thread there’s no need to repeat yourself as I’ll review all the posts in this thread and pick up the signings as I go.

Many thanks.

--

 

[JaytheGreat]

I definitely can't complain with a 12th place finish especially with our finishing a defending not really being consistent. We lost our leading scorer Sam Baldock in January because I wasn't going to pay him more money to stick around. After he left I decided to run a 5-3-2 with Colin Kazim-Richards and Jack Stretton up top, we moved to 2 striker up top instead of a CAM because Lawrence and Jozwiak weren't doing much there. Louie Sibley though came alive in the 2nd half of the year leading the team in goals and assists from the Mezzela position. The midfield with Knight/Bird/Shinnie/Sibley did real well, the biggest problem were the CB's the group really showed their age, if a ball got played behind it always became a 1v1 with the GK as no one had the speed to track back. 

 

Going into the offseason the team is getting mostly gutted and rebuilt from almost the ground up. Baldock, Jagielka, and David Marshall all left at the beginning of January and Kelle Roos, Colin Kazim-Richards, Ravel Morrison have all accepted offers from different teams on frees and Graeme Shinnie won't be too far behind them. We did manage to resign Tom Lawrence on a massively smaller deal along with star wingback Nathan Byrne and Ryan Allsop, we'll have to see what happens with Curtis Davies and Richard Stearman. The shopping list this offseason is quite clear striker, multiple CBs and possible a GK. I'm really excited to put my stamp on this team and try to challenge for promotion.  

Edited November 29, 2021 by JaytheGreat

[kopfan1977]

On 28/11/2021 at 08:42, Stuniverse said:

That’s amazing to stay up off -21, @kopfan1977. Congratulations.

Some below par performances there but we’ll done Tom Lawrence and Jack Stretton.

At least the takeover went through before the January transfer window but, yes, you have to wheel and deal if there’s no initial cash injection, and most are reporting no initial cash injection, which can make it quite a challenge getting decent players in at affordable costs.

I must admit, personally, I like a lot of the existing U23 and U18 players but it sounds like you’ve had an awesome youth intake and have made some good decisions there.

Nice work in the Summer (2022?) transfer window there and good luck 🍀 on completing your squad and for the season ahead. Promotion push this season, @kopfan1977?

@Stuniverse

 

Thanks.. Yes some very underwhelming performances in the first season, but we recovered for that very unexpected finish in 10th.  

The takeover was well needed as we were leaking money with the 300k per month repayments prior to that.

 

Although some of the Youth squad looked capable of improving I didn't think with the direction the club needed to go that they would be of sufficient quality when we got there and to get 2 regens right at the start of the game that looked capable of doing much more I decided that whatever bids came through for the academy and U23 sides I would be happy enough to let them leave. Then the added bonus of the end of season graduates made my mind up further.  But for me the biggest coup was my D.O.F managing to tie Lawrence down for a further 2 years! (More on Lawrence to follow)

 

Daniel Ballard, Tom Holmes, Dennis Cirkin, Michael Hector all proved to be astute and valuable additions. While Ben Woodburn at times showed his class, but at same time his consistency proved to be an issue. Bidwell was a more than capable deputy when called upon, but ultimately failed to oust Cirkin from the LB spot and was let go at the end of his 12 month contract. Allan Campbell and Lewis O'brien were more than adequate backup for Knight and Bird. Although both have moaned about lack of first team football. Campbell agreed to become a backup player and proved invaluable when Knight got injured popping up with 3 goals and 2 assists over a 7 game period of being in the team. O'Brien has failed to score but registered 2 assists.

I also Managed to sign 3 younger players on loan to supplement the squad in case we had an injury crisis at some point. Florent Da Silva (Lyon 24 games 2 goals/5 assists)  Alexandre Jankewitz (Young boys II 20 games 1 goal/1 assist) and Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton 9 games 1 goal/1 assist) - I'd have liked to keep Da Silva as think he would have blossomed further this upcoming season but he wasn't interested in a permanent transfer.

 

Season started well.. 7 points in 3 games had us sat in 5th with Wolves, Brentford and Leeds in top 3 positions on 9 points each.  Then a run of just 1 point from 12 after facing both Wolves and Leeds left us floundering in mid table. My tactic that served me so well first time around (My first attempt) wasn't functioning as well as it did back then. Think I've tinkered too much with instructions and stuff that didn't want to work.. Back to basics I went.. Tactic back to it's original form which seemed to help a little but leaked goals so badly (Worse than with Curtis Davies and Jagielka in defence)  We managed to get to Christmas period still in the playoff places with Wolves, Brentford, Leeds, Sheff Utd as well as Stoke above us.

 

January came around.. I was in need of some inspiration and also some serious firepower in attack.. A Switch over to a structured 4-4-2 helped. Along with a new striker to aid Stretton. In came Ransford- Yeboah Konigsdorffer (22 games 19 goals) from SG Dynamo Dresden in a deal structured to pay a total of £4.1m with 1.2m upfront and the rest over 3 years. Also in came Alex Smithies from Cardiff for £0 upfront and £2m after 50 games  He soon took over the No.1 position from Walton and Provided a solid wall with Holmes and one from Ballard/Hector

 

This provided a much needed boost to the team and we soon started picking up 3 point after 3 point.. Soon enough we were in the hunt for auto Promotion.. Up came games against Brentford at home and Wolves away which we won both easily enough. And we were just a point behind the leaders with a game in hand which we somehow managed to lose 1-0 in the final five minutes. Luckily for us Wolves and Brentford started dropping points and we eventually managed to grab top spot. And would eventually finish top with an 8 point lead over Wolves  with Brentford, Sheff Utd, Stoke and Leeds all finishing in that order with Stoke eventually going on to triumph at wembley to take the playoffs with none other than Wayne Rooney in charge!!

 

[kopfan1977]

Season 3

OUT

Michael Hector had done nothing but moan from towards the end of the season about wanting a new contract and despite offering him a better deal he wanted close to 60k to sign it.. Thanks but no thanks. I need what wages I have spare to improve and keep 2 others that are more valuable.. In came a bid of £7.5m from AEK Athens and despite it falling short by about 2m from my value of him it was too good to turn down so off he went. An injury prone Bielik went to Sunderland for £1.7m. Jack Stretton was the subject of a £5m bid from Norwich, Whilst I was reluctant to sell and rejected their bid he got annoyed so when I offered him out they again bid for him so off he went for £5m.

Tom Lawrence - Came to me and said he was thinking of leaving at the end of his contract.. Norwich were sniffing around, and I was also sniffing around Norwich looking at Todd Cantwell for more creativity. In went a bid of £2m and Lawrence which they accepted and so I got my man and got rid of someone I'd have lost at the end of this season.

The only other outgoings so far have been youngsters all on loan to gain some valuable experience.

 

IN

Keane Lewis-Potter comes in from Hull for £3m upfront and £3m over 3 years. Hwang Hee-Chan comes in from RB Leipzig for £1.7m which in my eyes is a massive Bargain. His arrival will no doubt be a boost in shirt sales as he is without doubt one of South Koreas star players. Next comes Louie Barry on loan from Villa. And Nahuel Molina comes in for £8.5m from Crystal Palace as my new RB as Byrne is starting to show his age - had a few injuries last season and only had Ballard/Holmes who I trusted in that position. He has since become annoyed that his squad status went from First team to backup so is on the transfer list as I have also managed to snag a youngster on loan who is better than he is.

Mamadou Coulibaly comes in from Udinese for £3m upfront and £3m over 3 years and will provide Bird with a kick up his backside hopefully. Yanis Hamache is the backup at LB who has come in from Spurs for £1m and a further £1m over 3 years.

 

I am still in need of further additions RW/LW and Striker. 

 O'brien (In talks with QPR to go on loan with a 1.9m mandatory purchase option) and Lotric and Byrne are all available for transfer but so far no one is biting on the latter pair. Still got a little time to hopefully shift them out but they could still possibly be with me after the window closes. This season I think is going to be a bit of a struggle as overall quality and depth isn't quite the same as some of the squads in this league unless I can get some additions in to help before window closes which is proving a struggle to find the right quality at the right price/wages.

[Martial']

Interesting to see the different journeys that everyone has taken Derby on! Key to any progress seems to be a takeover however. I am currently in mid january of the first season, i was hoping to finally sort the squad out since i disabled the summer transfer window. The problem is that i still haven't heard anything about a possible takeover, the club is still in administration. I can't spend any money on loans, staff or even free agents. The board have however increased the percentage of revenue from transfers to be reinvested to 20%. Also, i have recieved a lot of offers from clubs that the curator seems to have accepted, only for the bidding club to withdraw immediatly. Perhaps because these players have a one-year extension clause. I've only sold Roos, Jagielka en Baldock have left since i was not able to even get around the table with them. 

As it stands, i have half a million in transfer budget and 30k a week to spend, but no way to actually spend this. Is there any way to speed up the removal of the PFA embargo or a takeover? I'm not keen to wait around until my best players have been poached wihtout there being a way to strenghten the squad.. 

[3rik]

Managed to get to safety in the last round after a terrible start to the season. Changed to a 5-2-3 about 2/3 in to the season and it saved the contract in the end. Had ver ybig problems with scoring all season and my strikers got injured all the time. Managed to loan in Bolingi from Antwerp in january and he scored 9 in 14 matches. Otherwise it was quite a rough season all along with no takeover(?). My chairman fixed new finances somehow and now i'm in decent economic situation before the second season. About £9M and 10k per week avaible  with about 8-10 decent players needed to strenghten the squad.  

Edited November 29, 2021 by 3rik

[zm]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently midway through the 3rd season of my Derby save, first season in the Premier League. @Martial' I believe the takeover is random or decided when the save is created, because I'm still stuck with the original chairman from the start. Have just started to hear news of a potential takeover, but the chairman has gone to the press to squash any chances of it, so I'm not expecting much from it.

Would like to find out if anyone has any experience where the board is denying you (the manager) from taking a coaching course? I started out the save with a National B license without thinking too much of it, and the chairman has refused my attempts to take any coaching courses. Reason given was that it may increase the chances of me being approached and poached by other clubs, with no room for negotiation .  

[Stuniverse]

23 hours ago, JaytheGreat said:

I definitely can't complain with a 12th place finish especially with our finishing a defending not really being consistent. We lost our leading scorer Sam Baldock in January because I wasn't going to pay him more money to stick around. After he left I decided to run a 5-3-2 with Colin Kazim-Richards and Jack Stretton up top, we moved to 2 striker up top instead of a CAM because Lawrence and Jozwiak weren't doing much there. Louie Sibley though came alive in the 2nd half of the year leading the team in goals and assists from the Mezzela position. The midfield with Knight/Bird/Shinnie/Sibley did real well, the biggest problem were the CB's the group really showed their age, if a ball got played behind it always became a 1v1 with the GK as no one had the speed to track back.

Congratulations, @JaytheGreat, 12th is a great finish given the points penalty at the start of the season. Well done.

I’m finding it fascinating how different managers are getting different levels of performance out of the strikers and, also, how a player can be quiet in the first half of the season, like Sibley was for you, and then be on fire 🔥 in the second half of the season.

I’m having a similar issue with my DCs and those one-on-ones against Roos / Allsop / Marshall can be excruciating.

23 hours ago, JaytheGreat said:

Going into the offseason the team is getting mostly gutted and rebuilt from almost the ground up. Baldock, Jagielka, and David Marshall all left at the beginning of January and Kelle Roos, Colin Kazim-Richards, Ravel Morrison have all accepted offers from different teams on frees and Graeme Shinnie won't be too far behind them. We did manage to resign Tom Lawrence on a massively smaller deal along with star wingback Nathan Byrne and Ryan Allsop, we'll have to see what happens with Curtis Davies and Richard Stearman. The shopping list this offseason is quite clear striker, multiple CBs and possible a GK. I'm really excited to put my stamp on this team and try to challenge for promotion.

Yes, a major rebuild on the cards for your 🐏s. Sounds like you know exactly who you want to offload and congratulations on re-signing Tom Lawrence on a much lower salary.

Good luck 🍀 getting in the players you need to push on next season.

What are the Board’s expectations and what are your budgets looking like? 

Edited November 30, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

16 hours ago, kopfan1977 said:

Thanks.. Yes some very underwhelming performances in the first season, but we recovered for that very unexpected finish in 10th.  

The takeover was well needed as we were leaking money with the 300k per month repayments prior to that.

Although some of the Youth squad looked capable of improving I didn't think with the direction the club needed to go that they would be of sufficient quality when we got there and to get 2 regens right at the start of the game that looked capable of doing much more I decided that whatever bids came through for the academy and U23 sides I would be happy enough to let them leave. Then the added bonus of the end of season graduates made my mind up further.  But for me the biggest coup was my D.O.F managing to tie Lawrence down for a further 2 years! (More on Lawrence to follow)

Daniel Ballard, Tom Holmes, Dennis Cirkin, Michael Hector all proved to be astute and valuable additions. While Ben Woodburn at times showed his class, but at same time his consistency proved to be an issue. Bidwell was a more than capable deputy when called upon, but ultimately failed to oust Cirkin from the LB spot and was let go at the end of his 12 month contract. Allan Campbell and Lewis O'brien were more than adequate backup for Knight and Bird. Although both have moaned about lack of first team football. Campbell agreed to become a backup player and proved invaluable when Knight got injured popping up with 3 goals and 2 assists over a 7 game period of being in the team. O'Brien has failed to score but registered 2 assists.

I also Managed to sign 3 younger players on loan to supplement the squad in case we had an injury crisis at some point. Florent Da Silva (Lyon 24 games 2 goals/5 assists)  Alexandre Jankewitz (Young boys II 20 games 1 goal/1 assist) and Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton 9 games 1 goal/1 assist) - I'd have liked to keep Da Silva as think he would have blossomed further this upcoming season but he wasn't interested in a permanent transfer.

Thanks, @kopfan1977. An interesting take on the U23 / U18 players but I do get it, if you’re getting better players in your youth intake then why keep the players you inherited around. I assume, if you are waiting for bids to come in, rather than actively offering them out, some of the existing youth players are still around but don’t figure in your plans.

A few questions: are any of the U23s who would’ve been fringe first team players at the start of your save still around? I’m thinking Ebosele, Stretton, Williams, Watson, McDonald, Brown, Cashin and L Thompson here mainly.

Do you have enough U23 / U18 players or have you got grey players currently?

As a Liverpool supporter (I assume) have you tried / been tempted to bring Kaide Gordon back on loan?

16 hours ago, kopfan1977 said:

Season started well.. 7 points in 3 games had us sat in 5th with Wolves, Brentford and Leeds in top 3 positions on 9 points each.  Then a run of just 1 point from 12 after facing both Wolves and Leeds left us floundering in mid table. My tactic that served me so well first time around (My first attempt) wasn't functioning as well as it did back then. Think I've tinkered too much with instructions and stuff that didn't want to work.. Back to basics I went.. Tactic back to it's original form which seemed to help a little but leaked goals so badly (Worse than with Curtis Davies and Jagielka in defence)  We managed to get to Christmas period still in the playoff places with Wolves, Brentford, Leeds, Sheff Utd as well as Stoke above us.

January came around.. I was in need of some inspiration and also some serious firepower in attack.. A Switch over to a structured 4-4-2 helped. Along with a new striker to aid Stretton. In came Ransford- Yeboah Konigsdorffer (22 games 19 goals) from SG Dynamo Dresden in a deal structured to pay a total of £4.1m with 1.2m upfront and the rest over 3 years. Also in came Alex Smithies from Cardiff for £0 upfront and £2m after 50 games  He soon took over the No.1 position from Walton and Provided a solid wall with Holmes and one from Ballard/Hector

This provided a much needed boost to the team and we soon started picking up 3 point after 3 point.. Soon enough we were in the hunt for auto Promotion.. Up came games against Brentford at home and Wolves away which we won both easily enough. And we were just a point behind the leaders with a game in hand which we somehow managed to lose 1-0 in the final five minutes. Luckily for us Wolves and Brentford started dropping points and we eventually managed to grab top spot. And would eventually finish top with an 8 point lead over Wolves  with Brentford, Sheff Utd, Stoke and Leeds all finishing in that order with Stoke eventually going on to triumph at wembley to take the playoffs with none other than Wayne Rooney in charge!!

Congratulations on winning promotion to the Premier League and going up as Champions as well. It sounds like an exciting run-in you had there with Wolves, Brentford and Leeds (assume they all got relegated season one), Sheffield Utd and Stoke City. Well done for holding your nerve and beating them all to the title.

16 hours ago, kopfan1977 said:

Season 3

OUT

Michael Hector had done nothing but moan from towards the end of the season about wanting a new contract and despite offering him a better deal he wanted close to 60k to sign it.. Thanks but no thanks. I need what wages I have spare to improve and keep 2 others that are more valuable.. In came a bid of £7.5m from AEK Athens and despite it falling short by about 2m from my value of him it was too good to turn down so off he went. An injury prone Bielik went to Sunderland for £1.7m. Jack Stretton was the subject of a £5m bid from Norwich, Whilst I was reluctant to sell and rejected their bid he got annoyed so when I offered him out they again bid for him so off he went for £5m.

Tom Lawrence - Came to me and said he was thinking of leaving at the end of his contract.. Norwich were sniffing around, and I was also sniffing around Norwich looking at Todd Cantwell for more creativity. In went a bid of £2m and Lawrence which they accepted and so I got my man and got rid of someone I'd have lost at the end of this season.

The only other outgoings so far have been youngsters all on loan to gain some valuable experience.

IN

Keane Lewis-Potter comes in from Hull for £3m upfront and £3m over 3 years. Hwang Hee-Chan comes in from RB Leipzig for £1.7m which in my eyes is a massive Bargain. His arrival will no doubt be a boost in shirt sales as he is without doubt one of South Koreas star players. Next comes Louie Barry on loan from Villa. And Nahuel Molina comes in for £8.5m from Crystal Palace as my new RB as Byrne is starting to show his age - had a few injuries last season and only had Ballard/Holmes who I trusted in that position. He has since become annoyed that his squad status went from First team to backup so is on the transfer list as I have also managed to snag a youngster on loan who is better than he is.

Mamadou Coulibaly comes in from Udinese for £3m upfront and £3m over 3 years and will provide Bird with a kick up his backside hopefully. Yanis Hamache is the backup at LB who has come in from Spurs for £1m and a further £1m over 3 years.

Wow! Good riddance to Hector and his £60K per week wage demand. Some good transfer business there, both ins and outs.

And you’re not done yet…

16 hours ago, kopfan1977 said:

I am still in need of further additions RW/LW and Striker. 

 O'brien (In talks with QPR to go on loan with a 1.9m mandatory purchase option) and Lotric and Byrne are all available for transfer but so far no one is biting on the latter pair. Still got a little time to hopefully shift them out but they could still possibly be with me after the window closes. This season I think is going to be a bit of a struggle as overall quality and depth isn't quite the same as some of the squads in this league unless I can get some additions in to help before window closes which is proving a struggle to find the right quality at the right price/wages.

How are your finances and budgets looking?

I’m assuming first season back in the Premier League the Board don’t have high expectations of you.

Good luck 🍀 in the Big Time !

Edited November 30, 2021 by Stuniverse

[Stuniverse]

12 hours ago, Martial' said:

Is there any way to speed up the removal of the PFA embargo or a takeover? I'm not keen to wait around until my best players have been poached wihtout there being a way to strenghten the squad.

The board have however increased the percentage of revenue from transfers to be reinvested to 20%

Thanks for sharing, @Martial'. 

I’d be interested if anybody has any thoughts / suggestions on this.

As far as I’m aware there’s nothing you can do to speed up when the takeover will happen (it’s kind of random within each save, I think) so nothing I can offer really other than most people are reporting they’ve had their takeover by this point so yours is definitely late and, hopefully, you won’t have to wait much longer.

When did the transfer revenue retained get increased to 20%? From my experience, that’s usually a sign that finances are improving and is a precursor to the takeover announcement.

Good luck 🍀 I hope you get your takeover soon. The next time you press ‘Continue’ would be nice.

How are you doing overall? Where are Derby County in the Championship league table?

[Stuniverse]

12 hours ago, 3rik said:

Managed to get to safety in the last round after a terrible start to the season. Changed to a 5-2-3 about 2/3 in to the season and it saved the contract in the end. Had ver ybig problems with scoring all season and my strikers got injured all the time. Managed to loan in Bolingi from Antwerp in january and he scored 9 in 14 matches. Otherwise it was quite a rough season all along with no takeover(?). My chairman fixed new finances somehow and now i'm in decent economic situation before the second season. About £9M and 10k per week avaible  with about 8-10 decent players needed to strenghten the squad.  

Thanks for sharing, @3rik and congratulations on avoiding relegation.

Yes, scoring goals with the small number of strikers - two aging ones, plus inexperienced youngsters - is a challenge in FM22 as it has been in real-life. Keeping them fit too. I think, in real-life, Sam Baldock has missed more games through injury than he’s actually played.

Sounds like your change of formation and the addition of Bolingi we’re great decisions.

Although most people report takeovers, I have seen a minority of people reporting no takeover and the finances got resolved internally to come out of Administration and end the transfer embargo. This may be what’s happened on your save. Are you out of Administration? I assume the transfer embargo has been lifted if you were able to sign Bolingi in January.

Good luck 🍀 next season!

[Stuniverse]

5 hours ago, zm said:

Hi everyone,

I'm currently midway through the 3rd season of my Derby save, first season in the Premier League.

Hi @zm, welcome to the Derby County party! 🥳🐏

That’s good steady progress. First season = survival. Second season = Promotion. Congratulations! Third season back in the Big Time! How are you getting on in the Premier League?

Also, as a Manchester United supporter did you, or were you tempted, to bring Teden Mengi back to Derby?

5 hours ago, zm said:

@Martial' I believe the takeover is random or decided when the save is created, because I'm still stuck with the original chairman from the start. Have just started to hear news of a potential takeover, but the chairman has gone to the press to squash any chances of it, so I'm not expecting much from it

Yes, sometimes coming out of Administration and the lifting of the embargo does happen internally without an external takeover. It sounds like this is what happened for you.

5 hours ago, zm said:

Would like to find out if anyone has any experience where the board is denying you (the manager) from taking a coaching course? I started out the save with a National B license without thinking too much of it, and the chairman has refused my attempts to take any coaching courses. Reason given was that it may increase the chances of me being approached and poached by other clubs, with no room for negotiation .  

Has anybody experienced this?

I’m sorry I have no experience of this with Derby County. I’ve seen it when I’ve been managing other clubs but, as a Rams supporter, whenever I do a Derby County save it’s a one-club save so I’m not too worried about coaching badges as I start the save with a manager profile appropriate for Derby County. Sorry I can’t be any more help on that one.

[Stuniverse]

On 29/10/2021 at 01:05, Stuniverse said:

Players signed for Derby County on FM22

These are players I’m aware of that have been signed by managers of Derby County on FM22.

2021-22 Season

Goalkeepers

  Reveal hidden contents

GK - Dejan Stojanovic

GK - Lee Grant

GK - Nathan Trott

GK - Zan Luk-Leban

Defenders

  Reveal hidden contents

DRC - Andre Wisdom

D/WBR - Anthony Ralston

DR - Bali Mumba

DR - Bogdan Butko

D/WBR - Salva Ferrer

--

DC / DR - Andre Wisdom

DC - Billy Koumetio

DC - Bright Arrey-Mbi

DC - Charlie Goode

DC - Dynel Simeu

DC - Isaac Rice

DC - Jamie Hamilton

DC - Julian Jeanvier

DC / DL - Kortney Hause

DC - Luke Mbete

DC - Malachi Fagan-Walcott

DC / DM - Nir Bitton

DC - Sebastien De Maio

DC - Steve Cook

DC - Tim Klose

DC / D/WBR - Tom Holmes

DC - Tyrell Ashcroft

DC - Williams Velasquez

DC - Yerson Mosquera

--

D/WBL - Brandon Mason

DL - Reece Hutchinson

DL - Sam McQueen

Midfielders

  Reveal hidden contents

DM / MC / D - Jack Rodwell

DM / MC - Kevin McDonald

DM/MC/DC - Niklas Tauer

DM/MC - Xavi Simons

--

M/AMRL / AMC - Connor Mahoney

MC / AMRC - Dan Crowley

MC - Jack Roles

MC - Jan Zamburek

M/AMRL - Joe Pritchard

MC / DM - Korey Smith

MC - Liam Shaw

MC / DM/AMC - Matt O’Riley

Attacking Midfielders / Wingers

  Reveal hidden contents

AM/MRL - Aaron Rowe

AMC / MC - Callum Gribbin

AMC - Carlos Tevez

AMRLC - Cole Palmer

MC - Gonzalo Maroni

AMRL / SC - Hal Robson-Kanu

AM/MRL - Isaiah Jones

AMRL - J’Neil Bennett

AMR - Karamoko Dembele

AM/MRL - Michael Jacobs

M/AMRLC - Robert Snodgrass

AMRL / SC - Wayne Routledge (Beta only, he’s hung up his boots by full release)

Strikers

  Reveal hidden contents

SC - Adam Idah

SC - Dane Scarlett

SC - Danilo Pereira

SC - Dwight Gayle

SC - Ellis Simms

SC - Facundo Colidio

SC - Facundo Ferreyra

SC - Jahmal Hector-Ingram

SC - Joe Hugill

SC - Jonathan Bolingi

SC / AMC - Josh Coburn

SC - Liam Cullen

SC - Liam Delap

SC - Lukas Jutkiewicz

SC - Matt Godden

SC - Oliver Sarkic

SC - Rodrigo Muniz

SC - Roko Simic

SC - Sam Gallagher

SC - Sean Maguire

SC - Sergey Stepanov

SC - Steven Fletcher

SC / AMLC - Tom Bradshaw

—

2022-23 Season

I don’t normally cover season two but, as Derby County are transfer embargoed during season one, here’s a bonus season two first transfer window:

Goalkeepers

  Reveal hidden contents

GK - Ashley Maynard-Brewer

GK - Christian Walton

GK - Connor Ripley

GK - Freddie Woodman

GK - Max O'Leary

GK - Mikki Van Sas

Defenders

  Reveal hidden contents

WBR - Ashley Richards

D/WBR - Jonjoe Kenny

DR / DM - Kevin Sessa

DR / MR - Louie Chorlton

DRLC - Luke Offord

D/WBR MR - Ryan Fredericks

--

DC / DR - Andre Wisdom

DC - Bright Arrey-Mbi

DC - Charlie Goode

DC - Erik Palmer-Brown

DC - Jaroslaw Jach 

DC - Malachi Fagan-Walcott

DC - Marc Roberts

DC - Matt Clarke

DC - Myles Sohna 

DC / DR - Teden Mengi

--

WB/D/ML - Declan Frith

D/WBL - Jake Bidwell

DL - James Morris

D/WBL - Joe White

DL / DC - Leif Davis

D/WBL - Reece Devine

DL - Reece Hutchinson

DL - Sam Sharrock-Peplow

Midfielders

  Reveal hidden contents

DM - Ibrahima Sissoko

--

M/AML / SC - Ademola Lookman

MC / AMRC - Callum Wright

MC / AMRC - Connor Ronan

MC - Conor Hourihane

MC - Harry Gordon

MC / DM - Jayson Molumby

M/AMRL - Joe Pritchard

MC / DM - Kyle Dempsey

MC - Luca Connell

MC - Matthew Smith

MC / DM - Patryk Dziczek

MC / DM - Sean Longstaff

MC - Tom Bayliss

Attacking Midfielders / Wingers

  Reveal hidden contents

AMRC / MC - David Brooks

AMLC / MRL - Demarai Gray

AMR / SC - Devante Cole

AMRL / SC - Jonathan Leko

AMRL - Kaide Gordon

AMR - Karamoko Dembele

AMRL / SC - Mallik Wilks

AMRLC / SC - Nathaniel Nkunku

AMR / SC - Terry Ablade

AMRLC - Tom Ince

Strikers

  Reveal hidden contents

SC - Aaron Pressley

SC - Adam Idah

SC - Ashley Fletcher

SC - Folarin Balogun

SC - Jonathan Bolingi

SC - Jude Soonsup-Bell

SC - Lukas Jutkiewicz

SC / AML - Tyler Walker

SC - Uche Ikpeazu

—

If you’re happy to share the names of players you’ve signed for Derby County on FM22, I’d love to hear from you on this thread or by Direct Message. This will allow me to update this post regularly.

Note: If you’ve already mentioned signings on this thread there’s no need to repeat yourself as I’ll review all the posts in this thread and pick up the signings as I go.

Many thanks.

--

Tagged: @AverageBears @brez22 @OJ403 @Paggioram @SamuraiHex @Stackalee

Updated up to this point. You’ll find the original (regularly updated) post on Page 1 of this thread.

[3rik]

37 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Thanks for sharing, @3rik and congratulations on avoiding relegation.

Yes, scoring goals with the small number of strikers - two aging ones, plus inexperienced youngsters - is a challenge in FM22 as it has been in real-life. Keeping them fit too. I think, in real-life, Sam Baldock has missed more games through injury than he’s actually played.

Sounds like your change of formation and the addition of Bolingi we’re great decisions.

Although most people report takeovers, I have seen a minority of people reporting no takeover and the finances got resolved internally to come out of Administration and end the transfer embargo. This may be what’s happened on your save. Are you out of Administration? I assume the transfer embargo has been lifted if you were able to sign Bolingi in January.

Good luck 🍀 next season!

Yes i'm out of administration, I got a message in around november that the embargo had been lifted. Now my chairman loves the club so he probably staying.

[JaytheGreat]

1 hour ago, Stuniverse said:

Congratulations, @JaytheGreat, 12th is a great finish given the points penalty at the start of the season. Well done.

I’m finding it fascinating how different managers are getting different levels of performance out of the strikers and, also, how a player can be quiet in the first half of the season, like Sibley was for you, and then be on fire 🔥 in the second half of the season.

I’m having a similar issue with my DCs and those one-on-ones against Roos / Allsop / Marshall can be excruciating.

Yes, a major rebuild on the cards for your 🐏s. Sounds like you know exactly who you want to offload and congratulations on re-signing Tom Lawrence on a much lower salary.

Good luck 🍀 getting in the players you need to push on next season?

What are the Board’s expectations and what are your budgets looking like? 

The one-on-ones are terrifying but Roos and Allsop were up to the challenge for often the not.

 So I'm too lazy to convert dollars into pounds or euros but anyways I have 14 mil dollars to spend in transfer budget and after the free transfers leave about 6 mil in wage budget. I also signed my first player, CM Adam Phillips from Burnley on a free, he's no world beater but should give us some nice depth. For expectations the key ones are Fight Bravely Against Relegation (easy), work within the wage budget (easy), Don't sign players above 30 (easy), Develop players using the club's youth system (well I'd love to but it all depends on what the youth intakes bless me with), and sign players to sell for profit (really not a fan of this one). 

[zm]

1 hour ago, Stuniverse said:

Hi @zm, welcome to the Derby County party! 🥳🐏

That’s good steady progress. First season = survival. Second season = Promotion. Congratulations! Third season back in the Big Time! How are you getting on in the Premier League?

Also, as a Manchester United supporter did you, or were you tempted, to bring Teden Mengi back to Derby?

Hi @Stuniverse, thanks for the welcome!

I'll update later when I can get back on the game and get some screenshots in, but the gulf in quality between the Big Six and the rest of the teams is quite obvious. Been thrashed by at least two of them near the start of the season when the team was still adapting, but it's gotten a bit better.

I did think of bringing Mengi back on loan, but I think Manchester United were asking for his full wages to be paid by us, along with a loan fee. The unstable financial situation and that I was looking for a left BPD meant it was a pass on him for me. 

1 hour ago, Stuniverse said:

Yes, sometimes coming out of Administration and the lifting of the embargo does happen internally without an external takeover. It sounds like this is what happened for you.

Has anybody experienced this?

I’m sorry I have no experience of this with Derby County. I’ve seen it when I’ve been managing other clubs but, as a Rams supporter, whenever I do a Derby County save it’s a one-club save so I’m not too worried about coaching badges as I start the save with a manager profile appropriate for Derby County. Sorry I can’t be any more help on that one.

Yes, that seems to be the case for me. I recall receiving some news on the restructuring on our financial debt after the first transfer window closed (I had it disabled), and its been silence ever since on the takeover front till the recent rumors. So that's about 2.5 seasons and running for me.

No worries, was just wondering on this as well, as I've usually played one-club saves as well and this was the first time as well. Or it could just be the chairman being a weird one. I tried approaching to get a senior affiliate mainly for the money to help reduce the club debt, but he has refused all attempts and wanting the club to maintain 'financial independence'.    I gave up on that idea eventually.

[kopfan1977]

6 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Thanks, @kopfan1977. An interesting take on the U23 / U18 players but I do get it, if you’re getting better players in your youth intake then why keep the players you inherited around. I assume, if you are waiting for bids to come in, rather than actively offering them out, some of the existing youth players are still around but don’t figure in your plans.

A few questions: are any of the U23s who would’ve been fringe first team players at the start of your save still around? I’m thinking Ebosele, Stretton, Williams, Watson, McDonald, Brown, Cashin and L Thompson here mainly.

Do you have enough U23 / U18 players or have you got grey players currently?

As a Liverpool supporter (I assume) have you tried / been tempted to bring Kaide Gordon back on loan?

Congratulations on winning promotion to the Premier League and going up as Champions as well. It sounds like an exciting run-in you had there with Wolves, Brentford and Leeds (assume they all got relegated season one), Sheffield Utd and Stoke City. Well done for holding your nerve and beating them all to the title.

Wow! Good riddance to Hector and his £60K per week wage demand. Some good transfer business there, both ins and outs.

And you’re not done yet…

How are your finances and budgets looking?

I’m assuming first season back in the Premier League the Board don’t have high expectations of you.

Good luck 🍀 in the Big Time !

No, None of the U23/U18 players left around.. Stretton was the last to leave in a £5m deal to Norwich.

With 2 lots of regens from season 1 and now season 2 I have a decent amount of youth players. All condensed into the U23 setup. 2 have made the stepup to full Squad and that's the 2 regens that I started with Mel England and Clive Denny. Denny has gotten quite a bit of game time this season and last and is starting to progress rather nicely.

Yes I did Look at Kaide but he doesn't look to have progressed as much as you'd expect. He needs game time along with some of Liverpool's other top prospects. But sadly they never seem to get much of a look in. Not when they go and splash out on the likes of Raphinha, Declan Rice, Niklas Sule, Franck Kessie and then £24m on a backup keeper Maarten Vandevoort! Biggest surprise for me though is that they picked up Ryan Allsop at the start of the season when I released him. Admittedly he's probably about 3rd or 4th choice.

 

Yes Hector was a sore one to take tbh. Him and Holmes made a pretty good partnership, Something my side is lacking at the moment despite being in a good position.

 

Financially we are in a good position. With the wheeling and dealing plus the £32m from the promotion budget we are looking quite healthy balance wise. Club has £40m in cash, Wages is where it is hitting us. The jump up in class meant I needed solid prem players If I wanted to survive in this league. This has caused the wage bill to rocket. Having to hand a new deal to Holmes as well as 5%/10% increases to current salaries for everyone that had it in their contract, as well as decent wages for new players had left us teetering about 15k over budget.

I slightly increased this in January after selling Ransford- Yeboah Konigsdorffer to RB Leipzig. They came in with a £7.5m + 30% bid, this was negotiated up to £15m + 30% of profit from next sale which they happily accepted. And so did I considering I had snagged Rhian Brewster from Sheff Utd (£12.75m) before the summer window had slammed shut and also got Joel Campbell (Former Arsenal player) on a free transfer. Brewster has done better than I thought he would 18 games overall and 15 goals. Although I think I slightly overpayed for him considering everything. But if his goals keep us up then it's good business I guess.

 

Saying that though. Considering the gulf in class between my squad and that of others in this league we are more than holding our own.

Pre season we steamrollered our way through our friendly games.. 42 goals scored and just 3 in 6 games. Admittedly against rather poor opposition.

 

Then came the season opener. Our first game back in the top flight.. Leicester city away. We took the lead after just 4 minutes with Tom Holmes hammering home a header from a corner. Patson Daka equalised before Half time. 5 mins after the break he gave away a penalty which Tielemans dispatched to make it 2-1. Hwang Hee-Chan equalised in the 67th minute, Daka scored again in the 79th min. Tom Holmes made up for his mistake in giving away a pen by hammering home an equaliser on 87 mins. Only for Daka to break our hearts with a 89th min winner. Ecstasy followed by Agony! But what a way to kick off life back in the top flight.

Next up we have Man Utd at home.. And boy did we shock the Premier League when we walked away with a 1-0 league and Ronaldo got sent off for kicking out at one of my players!

Form has been up and down.. but as of now 21st January 2024 Derby county proudly sit in 5th place ahead of Spurs, Man Utd (Who have only recently sacked Ole) and then the likes of Everton, Newcastle, West ham all 14/15/16th place.

 

Whilst selling Ransford- Yeboah Konigsdorffer has left me feeling a little light upfront I won't be touching the money in this window. I'll probably just deal with what I have already and take a look to see if any of my youth players are up to the task of being 4th choice behind Brewster, Chan and Louie Barry. With Joel Campbell able to play there too.

[kopfan1977]

5 hours ago, JaytheGreat said:

The one-on-ones are terrifying but Roos and Allsop were up to the challenge for often the not.

 So I'm too lazy to convert dollars into pounds or euros but anyways I have 14 mil dollars to spend in transfer budget and after the free transfers leave about 6 mil in wage budget. I also signed my first player, CM Adam Phillips from Burnley on a free, he's no world beater but should give us some nice depth. For expectations the key ones are Fight Bravely Against Relegation (easy), work within the wage budget (easy), Don't sign players above 30 (easy), Develop players using the club's youth system (well I'd love to but it all depends on what the youth intakes bless me with), and sign players to sell for profit (really not a fan of this one). 

Not really a fan of the don't sign players above 30 myself. Nothing wrong with an experienced head to guide the youngsters. I don't know why but it seems that a lot of the clubs philosophies are virtually the same and you cannot negotiate with them either. I have failed to remove some of them on various attempts over a few different saves that I have. Frustrating but it is what it is.

[Martial']

On 30/11/2021 at 08:43, Stuniverse said:

Thanks for sharing, @Martial'. 

I’d be interested if anybody has any thoughts / suggestions on this.

As far as I’m aware there’s nothing you can do to speed up when the takeover will happen (it’s kind of random within each save, I think) so nothing I can offer really other than most people are reporting they’ve had their takeover by this point so yours is definitely late and, hopefully, you won’t have to wait much longer.

When did the transfer revenue retained get increased to 20%? From my experience, that’s usually a sign that finances are improving and is a precursor to the takeover announcement.

Good luck 🍀 I hope you get your takeover soon. The next time you press ‘Continue’ would be nice.

How are you doing overall? Where are Derby County in the Championship league table?

Thanks Stuniverse! The board decided to complete the takeover a couple of days after the january window closed, leaving me with an even smaller squad, especially since i decided to sell Kazim-Richards and Bobby Duncan. Thankfully Stretton seems to have found his shooting boots, with Curtis Davies (yes, corners), Lawrence and Ravel chipping in with a number of goals. If i recall correctly, the transfer revenue retained increased a couple of days after Morgan Whittaker was sold to Newcastle by Swansea, netting us around a million euros. I also sold some other clauses, trying to 'trigger' a better financial situation to at least be able to lift the embargo. 

I forgot to mention that i got a message that the owner was looking to restructure debt and sell the club at the start of the season, but it went quiet ever since. The new chairman, a newgen, seems to be easily convinced to grant nearly any request that i put forward, so things are looking up! The debt seems to be completely removed and things seem healthy. In the league i started amazingly, losing just a couple of games before the start of december. December and January  where awful, barely winning a single game. I am currently comfortably mid-table, if the form of the start of the season returns, i might be looking at a late play-off push. If we continue to struggle, it will be a long season but i do not think we will have to fear a relegation battle. It's going to be exciting to see if i am going to regret my decision to sell the backup strikers, or if we can make a late push against all odds. 

Looking forward to finally spend some of that money, so the list with players signed will come in handy! 

[kopfan1977]

On 30/11/2021 at 14:29, kopfan1977 said:

 

Form has been up and down.. but as of now 21st January 2024 Derby county proudly sit in 5th place ahead of Spurs, Man Utd (Who have only recently sacked Ole) and then the likes of Everton, Newcastle, West ham all 14/15/16th place.

 

 

 

January came and went and with the squad in what I felt was good shape I was true to my word and didn't sign a single player. Think I made an oopsy. Form after the window was all over the shop. One minute we would pull out  a 3-1 home win against Chelsea, then follow that up with a 2-2 draw against Watford, only then to capitulate away to Man Utd 8-3.. And this was the story of the rest of the season. Brewster failed to score again the rest of the season despite having scored 15 in 18 prior to the window! We somehow managed to finish a respectable 7th but out of the Europa league places

 

Summer window. 

Out

Lewis O'Brien and Mitja Lotric both left with both clubs they went on loan to having to purchase both players.

Allan Campbell went to Rangers for £2m and Christian Walton left for southampton for a bargain 250k. Sad to let him go but I need a better keeper in this window.

Joel Campbell was the subject of £2.3m bid from Trabzonspor and with a year on his contract left it was an easy choice to sell.

I let a few of my youth go out on loan too to gain some more valuable experience - one of these was my yth right back and no option to recall either which was an oversight on my part especially as Spurs then came in with a £13.25m bid that matched my RB Nahuel Molina release fee for clubs in europe. Again an oversight, and despite offering him 75k p.w he took the bait from spurs and signed for them!

Wolves came in with a bid for Max Bird which unsettled him. So had to negotiate a deal with them for him. £12m upfront plus £11m in 2 clauses. He was soon followed by his fellow DM/CM Mamadou Coulibaly who again was snapped up due to another release fee for clubs in europe. This one I knew about and he wasn't interested in even negotiating a new contract.. So off he went too.

Followed out the door by Daniel Ballard who signed for Brentford for £2m and Yanis Hamache who's release fee of £5.5m was met by Mainz not that he got much of a look in as Cirkin played so well all season.

 

In

I wanted and needed to bring more creativity from either the wing, centre mid or attacking mid.. So when I saw Ebere Eze was transfer listed at just over £10m It was a no brainer. 

Following him through the door was Nicolas Seiwald to add a bit more from DM from RB Salzburg for £8m whilst also snapping up 32 year Matias Vecino on a free transfer. Even though his signing contradicts the boards philosophy they were actually pleased.

With the loss of Molina I had no RB at all. Looking through the squads of all premier league clubs I noticed Ethan Laird was listed at £2.9m and snapped him up. 

Next in is a regen brazilian midfielder who I snagged on a free as his contract at Atletico Madrid expired. I have high hopes for Thiago Augusto I think he has some massive potential.

We were a little light in defence, only 3 CB's. Of which 2 are Yth players so I went looking for someone that could pop up with goals while also helping prevent. Denys Popov came in from Dynamo Kiev for a club record £10m upfront, 11m over 3 years.

Marco Carnesecchi comes in from Atalanta for £2.5m and £2.5m in clauses, He'll be putting the pressure on an aging Alex Smithies for that No.1 position

Ibrahim Sangare comes in from PSV for £13.5m. We are now the ones stealing someone on a cheap min fee release clause.

 

There is still £48m budget left after the sales. One of the boards philosophy is "SPEND THE TRANSFER BUDGET!".. 

However we are light by about 3-4 players.. Need a backup LB and RB. Could also do with a prolific striker or maybe even 2as Hwang and Brewster have flattered to deceive.. I had been interested in Lorenzo Lucca but he got snapped up by Atalanta after AC Milan had snapped him up in the previous January window. So back to the drawing board for another target.

[JaytheGreat]

So the summer transfer deadline has past and we added 6 new players, I think it went pretty well even though we missed out on some big time released players (Patrick Roberts, and Ben Woodburn) and got rejected by some loan players (Liam Delap and Teden Mengi)

1. Adam Phillips CM - Burnley - Free

Our 1st signing this summer Phillips brings a good attacking option from the midfield, he's got good passing, technique, vision and 1st touch. He's also quite decent from out side of the box the down side is his physicals are just meh and has a less then impressive work rate and tackling, which means him a Sibley probably won't be starting next to each other. 

2. Kun Temenuzhkov ST - Free Agent 

All in all the Bulgarian is a decent False 9 while not great, he definitely is good for the level we are at. His quickness allows him to get in behind the defense along with his dribbling allows for some one on ones. He is liability in the air and is pretty weak, all in all he play a nice little role for us. 

3. Jack Walton GK - Barnsley 650k 

Not the best GK I could have gotten, what really made me sign him is he's consistent and he enjoys big matches which are always 2 great things to have no matter the level. He's not really a passer but has decent shot blocking attributes and at 24 has room to develop.

4. Matt Clarke CB - Brighton 1.5 mil

Oh Matt Clarke you were a rock for me in FM 21 and I'm hoping you prove to be a rock for me again. Perhaps the best player I brought in this summer like Walton he's consistent and enjoys big games. Good in the air and playing defense he's a steal for just 1.5 mil after he was transfer listed. He could be a little faster but all in all Clarke is by far my favorite signing we managed to bring in.

Deadline Day signings

5. Max Melbourne LB - Lincoln 200k 

Just a depth player that I really didn't need but signed because he was dirty cheap and I found saw a few interesting things in his game. He actually has a strong defensive game with 12s in marking and passing and 13 in positioning. But not only does he defend but he's a good passer as well with 13s in crossing and passing. His physicals do really let him down though. What sold was his 14 work rate, give me a player that will bust his ass for the team and I will get points. Not sure he'll be good enough to pass Dylan Williams or Lee Buchanen but Melbourne will get opportunities.

6. Folarin Balogun ST - Arsenal Loan 

I was eyeing him the entire summer but Arsenal wanted a giant Loan fee for him so I said forget it, I checked back on deadline day know I'm paying a small loan fee and Arsenal is paying his entire wages. The American is a pacey striker is going to benefit greatly from having a False 9/DLF playing up top next to him and I'm incredibly excited to see the amount of goals he puts up for us.  

Edited December 4, 2021 by JaytheGreat

[causticgrip]

On 28/11/2021 at 09:26, Stuniverse said:

...A lot of managers are reporting that Baldock doesn’t perform for them. How did you get the best out of him?

 

Advanced Forward, take more risks and shoot less often I think. Tbh though, I think a lot of his success was down to having Tom Lawrence as the Shadow Striker behind him

[zm]

Currently have just completed my third season with the Rams, first season in the Premier League.

First Season (2021/2022)

Points achieved: 58

Position: 13th

Position without 12 points deduction: 7th

Transfers in & out:

 

The first transfer window was disabled, so i did not have to deal with any forced transfers made by the administration. Did not get a takeover, only a message of restructuring of debt (still no takeover as of yet for me though, i'm beginnning to think it's not going to be happening for this save).

Decided to focus on selling off those on high wages/expiring contracts/underpeforming, and focusing on youth from our youth team. Ravel Morrison was on-and-off, didn't seem to perform consistently, so i decided to take whatever money i could get from him. Kazim-Richards was consistently injured and never played a minute before i got him out on loan for the rest of the season and released after that. Interestingly, Shinnie was bought by Toronto, and subsequently released soon after, and i signed him back as cover and for mentoring. Byrne wanted a new contract which i was unwilling to give, so off he went as well for a decent sum.

To cover for them, heavy minutes were given to youngsters such as Dylan Williams, Festy Ebosele, Eiran Cashin, Jack Stretton, Louie Watson and Bobby Duncan. Duncan was my top scorer of the season with 13 goals, as he was preferred to Sam Baldock with 9 goals. Charlie Goode was a rock in my defence and had an average rating of 7.74 over the half of the season.

On the overall, this season felt like a chore, and i was just looking forward to the end of the season to free up the wage budget and do a rebuild.

Second Season (2022/2023)

Points achieved: 100

Position: 1st (promoted as Champions)

So there is a mix of transfers from the first and second seasons in the first screenshot, and again the same issue in this screenshot for the second and third seasons.

Anyway, for the second season, Jozwiak was finally sold after underpeforming every single game (6.55 average rating), and Tom Lawrence was released as well as i was unwilling to pay over the top wages for him to stay.Ryan Allsop became my number one eventually until his head got turned by Norwich near the end of the window. Ended up signing Max O'Leary soon after he signed for Rangers on loan as cover and eventually as my number one after Allsop left.

A good run of form near the end of season helped to propel us to the top of the table, and got us over the line around mid-April. Biggest signing was for Ivan Saranic from Dinamo Zagreb for 3.5m. Was an expensive transfer considering we weren't exactly financially secure, but he would have been one that could be resold for 5-10 times that amount if it worked out. Thankfully, he did (9 goals, 7 assists). Dane Scarlett was my top scorer with 18 goals, and Shola Shoretire did well with 11 goals and 6 assists. The rest of the signings were mostly for cover and depth, along with mentoring.

A transfer budget of around 30m was given, and with most decent players asking for much more than what i was willing to pay for, I decided to go along with the board's wishes to sign young players, along with a few familiar names..

Transfers in & out:

 

Third Season (2023/2024)

Points achieved: 57

Position: 8th

Former Rams Jayden Bogle and Liam Delap were brought back on decent fees and were my main signings, along with John Souttar to replace Charlie Goode, who was in the last year of his contract and unwilling to resign (eventually left for Watford for 8m on a tidy profit for us and with our blessings). Another former Ram in Will Hughes was brought back in to further bolster the midfield and mentor our young players. The squad was one the youngest in the Premier League and were mostly the same that completed the previous Championship season before. We faced Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal consecutively and were unable to build any form (losing 1-4, 0-5 and 0-5 respectively). Thankfully, the scheduling for the rest of the months were a lot better and we managed to be competitive in all competitions, losing in the semis against Arsenal in the EFL Cup and Man City in the FA Cup Fourth Round.

 

 

Getting ready to start the fourth season at the moment, continuing with a heavy reliance on our homegrown youngsters. Most of the squad from the start of the save are still there.Youngsters such as Buchanan, Ebosele are still a big part of the rotation, Dylan Williams as cover when Buchanan is out. Stretton is still in the squad, though i'm looking to sell him at the end of the season as the EPL is too big of a step up for him.

 

Currently in the pre-season for the fourth season, looking to further consolidate our position at the moment, and maybe try qualifying for Europe. The board has given about 50m for transfers, but i have not decided whether to splurge it, as the amounts being quoted are crazy and our relatvely low reputation (we're still expected to fight bravely against relagation) is making it hard to get both good players and staff in. Biggest news of the transfer window is Haaland joining Liverpool...on a free transfer.

[flase9]

Great thread very interesting read 

Quick question what is the latest anyone has had the club takeover? I am just hit January 1st in game  and still no sign of it going through!

So we are still in administration, can't sign any players, unable to renew Baldock or Jagielka contracts, offers starting to be accepted for all my key players, 23rd in the league 6 points off safety & club atmosphere showing as Abysmal (I criticised Ravel & Kazims training levels) and haven't won in 11 games. What a challenge.  

[Recyclic3021]

Think i remember someone saying their embargo lifted a day or 2 before the end of the Jan window. 

 

[zm]

8 hours ago, flase9 said:

Great thread very interesting read 

Quick question what is the latest anyone has had the club takeover? I am just hit January 1st in game  and still no sign of it going through!

So we are still in administration, can't sign any players, unable to renew Baldock or Jagielka contracts, offers starting to be accepted for all my key players, 23rd in the league 6 points off safety & club atmosphere showing as Abysmal (I criticised Ravel & Kazims training levels) and haven't won in 11 games. What a challenge.  

I've yet to receive an official takeover 3+ seasons in at the moment, just a restructuring of debt after thie first transfer window. i'm now starting to get news of one, and with the current chairman reportedly willing to sell. I've managed to get al my facilities up to the max already though, so its not a big thing for me now.

How about the youth academy? Cashin did well for me when Jagielka refused to lower his wage demands and left on a free in Jan, and Bobby Duncan took over when Baldock got injured for me, was the top scorer for my first season. Never got Ravel and Kazim (injured all the way) going, so i sold both of them to generate cash. Depends on the direction you want to take this save towards, if you want to focus on youth development through the academy or not. Either way, the first season will be a long grind. Hang in there!

[flase9]

Transfer window came and went with no takeover. A few highly rated youngsters, along with a few old heads were sold but managed to keep hold of the majority of the squad. The big news was that Kazim left and when he did the club atmosphere improved immediately lol.

Its now April in and still no takeover so any hopes of boosting the squad with free transfers for the season run in is gone too.

League wise we sit 22nd with 6 games to go but only a few points separate 3 or 4 teams so still all to play for. 

My main problem is that I am not able to offer any contracts to anyone. Every player says the club lack the financial muscle to meet demands. Roos, Lawrence & Byrne have all signed pre contracts with other sides. Is there anyway to get around this 'lack of financial muscle' issue to try and tie down some of the rest of the players or is it a case of waiting on that takeover?

[flase9]

12 hours ago, zm said:

I've yet to receive an official takeover 3+ seasons in at the moment, just a restructuring of debt after thie first transfer window. i'm now starting to get news of one, and with the current chairman reportedly willing to sell. I've managed to get al my facilities up to the max already though, so its not a big thing for me now.

How about the youth academy? Cashin did well for me when Jagielka refused to lower his wage demands and left on a free in Jan, and Bobby Duncan took over when Baldock got injured for me, was the top scorer for my first season. Never got Ravel and Kazim (injured all the way) going, so i sold both of them to generate cash. Depends on the direction you want to take this save towards, if you want to focus on youth development through the academy or not. Either way, the first season will be a long grind. Hang in there!

How were you able to even enter into contract talks with Jagielka? No player will even talk about renewing contracts with me as the club 'lacks the financial muscle' 

Edited December 7, 2021 by flase9

[causticgrip]

Derby Season Two

Up and down season but ultimately, a success

Transfers

Nothing interesting out.

I was a bit all over the place with the signings- hard to get players to join and initially i played 5 at the back. But I couldn't make it work

Johnstone= brilliant, lots of great performances. Fredericks= decent as 2nd choice winger and full back, speedy. Ferguson=scouted to have huge potential but terrible, so many poor performances, dropped to the bench. Edwards=scouted to have high potential and was decent, promising future. Lascelles= Didn't live up to expectations, lack of pace an issue. McAtee=didnt set the world on fire but i do have an optional buy clause and he does have potential. Pellegri=slow start to the season but from Jan onwards, banged them in. Kilman= solid. Rose= backup really, did alright. Henrichs= felt like a bit of a coup to get him and he was good.

14th place not bad. Started terribly, went on some good runs in the middle, ended poorly.  13 wins respectable I feel. Took a while to find a formation and tactic that worked but a positive 433 did the job. Although it was heavily reliant on Pellegri as you can see.

Going forward, I think top half is a realistic goal. Have plenty of money, upgraded the staff and facilities a lot, can be an established PL club for sure. I would like to keep Sibley, Buchanan, Bird and  Knight around for a long time.

Also, Bielik should just retire at this point:

[zm]

9 hours ago, flase9 said:

How were you able to even enter into contract talks with Jagielka? No player will even talk about renewing contracts with me as the club 'lacks the financial muscle' 

I'm guessing the restructuring helped? It still took till near the last two weeks of his contract before he even budged and allowed negotiations though. 

 

5 hours ago, causticgrip said:

 

Also, Bielik should just retire at this point:

Having the same issue as well. In the last year of his contract, and out for 7-8 months. Never been able to find any other teams willing to buy him, will be releasing him in the summer.

[Nessaja Wolf]

Do Derby start with -21pts in the new patch? 

Haven't had chance to get on it yet, just planning my next save/challenge.

 

[Stuniverse]

13 hours ago, Nessaja Wolf said:

Do Derby start with -21pts in the new patch? 

Haven't had chance to get on it yet, just planning my next save/challenge.

Yes, they do.

[kopfan1977]

On 02/12/2021 at 21:48, kopfan1977 said:

 

January came and went and with the squad in what I felt was good shape I was true to my word and didn't sign a single player. Think I made an oopsy. Form after the window was all over the shop. One minute we would pull out  a 3-1 home win against Chelsea, then follow that up with a 2-2 draw against Watford, only then to capitulate away to Man Utd 8-3.. And this was the story of the rest of the season. Brewster failed to score again the rest of the season despite having scored 15 in 18 prior to the window! We somehow managed to finish a respectable 7th but out of the Europa league places

 

Summer window. 

Out

Lewis O'Brien and Mitja Lotric both left with both clubs they went on loan to having to purchase both players.

Allan Campbell went to Rangers for £2m and Christian Walton left for southampton for a bargain 250k. Sad to let him go but I need a better keeper in this window.

Joel Campbell was the subject of £2.3m bid from Trabzonspor and with a year on his contract left it was an easy choice to sell.

I let a few of my youth go out on loan too to gain some more valuable experience - one of these was my yth right back and no option to recall either which was an oversight on my part especially as Spurs then came in with a £13.25m bid that matched my RB Nahuel Molina release fee for clubs in europe. Again an oversight, and despite offering him 75k p.w he took the bait from spurs and signed for them!

Wolves came in with a bid for Max Bird which unsettled him. So had to negotiate a deal with them for him. £12m upfront plus £11m in 2 clauses. He was soon followed by his fellow DM/CM Mamadou Coulibaly who again was snapped up due to another release fee for clubs in europe. This one I knew about and he wasn't interested in even negotiating a new contract.. So off he went too.

Followed out the door by Daniel Ballard who signed for Brentford for £2m and Yanis Hamache who's release fee of £5.5m was met by Mainz not that he got much of a look in as Cirkin played so well all season.

 

In

I wanted and needed to bring more creativity from either the wing, centre mid or attacking mid.. So when I saw Ebere Eze was transfer listed at just over £10m It was a no brainer. 

Following him through the door was Nicolas Seiwald to add a bit more from DM from RB Salzburg for £8m whilst also snapping up 32 year Matias Vecino on a free transfer. Even though his signing contradicts the boards philosophy they were actually pleased.

With the loss of Molina I had no RB at all. Looking through the squads of all premier league clubs I noticed Ethan Laird was listed at £2.9m and snapped him up. 

Next in is a regen brazilian midfielder who I snagged on a free as his contract at Atletico Madrid expired. I have high hopes for Thiago Augusto I think he has some massive potential.

We were a little light in defence, only 3 CB's. Of which 2 are Yth players so I went looking for someone that could pop up with goals while also helping prevent. Denys Popov came in from Dynamo Kiev for a club record £10m upfront, 11m over 3 years.

Marco Carnesecchi comes in from Atalanta for £2.5m and £2.5m in clauses, He'll be putting the pressure on an aging Alex Smithies for that No.1 position

Ibrahim Sangare comes in from PSV for £13.5m. We are now the ones stealing someone on a cheap min fee release clause.

 

There is still £48m budget left after the sales. One of the boards philosophy is "SPEND THE TRANSFER BUDGET!".. 

However we are light by about 3-4 players.. Need a backup LB and RB. Could also do with a prolific striker or maybe even 2as Hwang and Brewster have flattered to deceive.. I had been interested in Lorenzo Lucca but he got snapped up by Atalanta after AC Milan had snapped him up in the previous January window. So back to the drawing board for another target.

Prior to window closing I also brought in Mohammed Salisu from Southampton for £8m as well as a loan of a striker with 17 jumping, 16 heading who went on to score 24 goals in 25 games (Brewster still blowing hot n cold Just 10 goals in 30 this year)

 

January Window signings

Josha Vagnoman for £12.5m from Bayer Leverkusen as well as the regens you'll see  below which would help fill the squad out a bit more.

 

Rosenorn and Botev were both immediately squad players.. High high hopes for this pair. Especially Rosenorn. Chalkidis, Heremans and Millet all went to the reserves to pick up some more game time. Whilst Ullandhaug was quite frustratingly denied a WP so went out on loan to Germany and Bayer Leverkusen while not being that experienced he still went in as their No.1 keeper playing 17 games and conceding 25 goals.

Whilst Matias Vecino moaned and moaned despite being backup eventually I gave in and sold him to Santos for £2.1m for easy profit.

 

Did well at start of season, hovered between 3rd and 6th place until a run of bad form coupled with injuries to Eze, Laird, Seiwald and my star player Keane Lewis-Potter saw us slide down to 11th around the end of Decemebr. Although we were very much in touch with the top 6 with just 7 points separating us.  Despite the January reinforcements we never did really threaten the top 4 but that was never the aim. The aim has always been to consolidate our placing in the Premier League and we did that with a respectable and encouraging 5th place and Europa league qualification.

Edited December 9, 2021 by kopfan1977

[kopfan1977]

Season 5

 

During the summer Bournemouth came in with an offer of £20m plus 30% of profit on next sale for Ebere Eze who didn't regain his position after returning from Injury - Rosenorn was in such good form as well as Keane Lewis-Potter on the opposite side that he was only considered squad player at best. Bid was accepted and he'll join when window opens.

Brewster was subject of  a bid from Everton and West Ham, we negotiated £15m + 20% of future profits and will sign for Everton.

Todd Cantwell will also leave and return to Norwich for £7.5m

And Ben Woodburn will leave for Rangers for £3.5m. Dissapointed with this one tbh. Had hoped that he would provide good quality from a few positions either through CM or Wide Left, but was largely dissapointing despite plenty of opportunities.

Dennis Cirkin is off to Wolves for £23m - Solid and dependable LB, but I have Vagnoman who can play there as well as Laird and with both my youth LB and RB returning from loan It looks likely that I'll keep them as my backups and not stunt their development too much by not being able to get a game.

Hwang Hee-Chan is off to Valencia for £2m. Another I'm sorry to lose, but couldn't get a game with Rosenorn able to play as a striker and with my loanee last season in red hot form. As well as Hwang's best form coming when paired with another striker upfront, which isn't possible now I've gone back to a lone striker formation.

 

 

No one incoming as of yet. I'm not quite sure what direction I wish to go in. I have a decent youth squad with some good talents. Quite how good they'll become I have no idea, but if I keep buying established stars then I'll never know, but at same time I'll probably stagnate into a mid table team If I don't keep the quality there and not quite sure some of these are ready just yet. 

[Kostropaty]

In our online save they are ball-deep in league one. If anyone is up for a challenge, go for it -contact me via discord Altze#7456 .

The host is managing Forest.

[zm]

The chairman from the start of the game (no takeover as of yet) has just dropped this on me.

 

[kopfan1977]

2 hours ago, zm said:

The chairman from the start of the game (no takeover as of yet) has just dropped this on me.

 

 

Ouch.. How far in are you? How are your finances looking?

 

[JaytheGreat]

 

 

The mighty Rams are moving on up to the Premier League after not bottling the playoff finals game against Newcastle who had much more talent then us. We were in the running to win guaranteed promotion but we were inconsistent in the April and May while Wolves and Blackburn (who I really struggle against for some reason) did not. All in all it was a great season, we came back from 0-2 down in the 1st leg against Stoke to win 3-0 in extra time (3-2 on aggregate) at Pride Park to send us on our date with destiny against Newcastle in the Finals. Players of the season Folarin Balogun, Louie Sibley, Nathan Byrne, Matt Clarke, and Krystian Bielik. Sibley and Byrne were by 2 most important players last season and this one was no different, Sibley lead the team in assists with 11, Balogun had 26 Championship goals which was good for 2nd in the league and Byrne lead the Championship in dribble per game with 5. Another big develop this season was the midfield 3 Knight, Bird, and Sibley along with Dylan WIlliams all developed into Good Championship players. Tom Lawrence had an outstanding season in the AMC spot scoring 10 goals and 10 assists, while both Clarke and Bielik played like rocks at CB and both Jack Walton and Ryan Allsop played solid in net.

 Its rare when all of my signings hit and this group certainly didn't disappoint. I brought in Longstaff and Lawrence in January for more depth and both played valuable minutes. Lawrence I believe had the winning assist against Stoke. Philips goals mostly came in the form of penalties but gave us a good rotation option in the midfield with Bird and Sibley. Temenuzhov took a while to find form but played well when needing to spell Falogun and Lawrence. Melbourne vastly outplayed his attributes and held down the wide CB role during the 2nd half of the season. 

Offseason plan 

The main problem is talent or lack their of, we currently only have 7 Championship caliber players (Bielik, Bird, Clarke, Knight, Lawrence, Sibley, and WIlliams) while 4 out of the 7 will probably continue to improve while playing the Premier League Lawrence, Clarke and Bielik probably won't be getting much better, which means we have a dire need for talent everywhere. We need to figure out if we want to renew Melbourne's contract or not, and Allsop wants out the door. I want to bring back Falogun on loan but we will see. I also plan on asking the board to upgrade everything so we'll see how all of that goes. 

Edited December 14, 2021 by JaytheGreat

[zm]

15 hours ago, kopfan1977 said:

 

Ouch.. How far in are you? How are your finances looking?

 

I got this message at the end of my fourth season.

 

Debt-wise, it is reflected as $0, but there are still repayments till 2031. I'm assuming transfer debt is due to me making payments for players in installments. Other than that, financial status is reflected as 'Rich', so I should still be fine. But I'm also beginning to believe that I will have to sell my better players sooner rather than later, just to keep enough buffer for my finances.

 

[JaytheGreat]

Derby 23/24 Summer Transfers

I'm starting off with a rant, this chairman sucks something fierce he cut my transfer and wage budget after he set it after I got promoted. One of my goals is to promote players from the academy, ask him to upgrade youth intake, junior coaching, youth training and what I got back was it's fine were it is or I'd rather you bring in players via the transfer market. That's fine but you can't expect me to bring in players to build the team via the market if you randomly cut it. So bite me Darren Stacey, and screw your budget (I'm currently over the wage budget by 1.6 mil per year).

 

1. Adrian Fein CM - Bayern Free

A signing I actually made in January, Fein is a really good passer with 15s in passing and vision and also very calm with the ball with a 14 in first touch and 17 on composure. While he doesn't really stand out anywhere else Fein's job is to control possession and unlock defenses with his passing, I think he fits in well with our midfield and lets Bird go back to being able to play a more physical role in the midfield.

2. Joshua Zirkzee ST - Bayern Free

My most expensive transfer but boy has he been worth it with 6 goals in 4 Premier League games including a hat trick against Brentford. We actually beat out Lille for his services but I honestly don't know how long he'll be a Ram as he's got a 32.5 mil release clause which will get activated quick if he keeps playing like this. For a 6-4 striker he's fairly quick and can definitely put balls in the back of the net. He's got good finishing to go along with great strength and heading, really the only thing that lets him down is his passing (12 which honestly good enough for me) and his work rate (8). If Zirkzee stays with me he will end up a Derby legend, if he leaves I'll have quite a lot of money (for the level I'm at) either way I could not be happier with this signing.   

3. Ante Palaversa CM - Manchester City Free

So I really like shiny things and Palaversa is very shiny. Did I need to spend more money in the midfield, no. Did I need a new box to box CM also no. But scouts absolutely loved him and so did I. Good physicals, good mentals, and is really only let down by his finishing. B2B mids are one of my favorite roles and Ante gives me a solid option there, the signing also allowed me to move Jason Knight up to his more preferred CAM position. When I'm left unsupervised with money this is what I bring back to the team, and even my rational self can't hate it/

4. Reece Devine LB - Manchester United 900k 

Basically to brought in to replace Buchanan who threw a tantrum because I kept playing him as a wing back - wing back or wide center back instead of a wing back - Left Back, and considering Buchanan isn't good enough to tell me what to do he now plays for Preston. Devine is a pretty standard cheap attacking wingback, really quick and boy can he cross, his defense is much to write home about but that's not why we bought him. I bought him to create havoc for opposing defenses and he has the skills to do just that.

5. Mateu Morey RB - Dortmund 1.3 mil 

The signing that put me over the wage budget ( not totally my fault as the chairman signed him for me after I asked him too). So going into the Premier with 31 year old Nathan Byrne (got hurt right before the 1st game), Fiesty Ebosele (18 speed and 15 acceleration and that's LITERALLY all that he has), Konell McDonald, and Jordan Brown at Right Wing is ........... not great to put it nicely. So we signed Morey for less then market value. He's not a great Wing Back but he doesn't really have any weaknesses in his game, he can be a threat with the ball down the wing and he's no slouch on defense either. Morey should be a lock on the right for quite a while or until something shiny catches my eye.

 

Outs

Ryan Allsop GK - Burton 3.7 mil 

Mr Allsop I will never say a bad word about you, you played great for me during your time here and I really hope you continue to excel for Burton. Your a 31 year old GK and was on the last year of our deal, and Burton paid over market value for you. Enjoy the rest of your career, you deserve it.

Lee Buchanan LB - Preston 750k 

Don't let the door hit you on the way out. 

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by JaytheGreat

[kopfan1977]

On 14/12/2021 at 10:36, zm said:

I got this message at the end of my fourth season.

 

Debt-wise, it is reflected as $0, but there are still repayments till 2031. I'm assuming transfer debt is due to me making payments for players in installments. Other than that, financial status is reflected as 'Rich', so I should still be fine. But I'm also beginning to believe that I will have to sell my better players sooner rather than later, just to keep enough buffer for my finances.

 

 

Ah so much like my takeover then.. It wasn't so much of someone came in, bought the club, cleared debts etc. It's more along the lines of an internal buyout. And yes same as with me. Payments through to 2031. At one point I was paying out something like 300k per month on debts and was increasing till I finally got the message.

 

I am used to buying cheap to sell higher. Always have done on every save. Usually look for a fallen former prem club. Last years main one was Charlton, but Derby save is altogether a different kind of animal. Starting with -21 points was demoralising when you aren't moving up the league. But soon as you get out of the minus's and moving it's so satisfying.