[FM24] Best football you'll see in a red and blue kit

[TheJanitor]

Of course it's...

Crystal Palace

Why?

1. Eze and Olise

Taking inspiration from the Brazil national team of 2002, I wanted to have attackers that I can build around who are technical, speedy, and got loads of Flair. These two are perfect. They just need a solid defensive unit behind them and goal-scoring monster ahead of them and they are all set.

2. The Youth Academy

The Eagles got an impressive academy, producing Wilfried Zaha, Nathaniel Clyne, Victor Moses, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in recent times, all went to play for some of the biggest clubs in football. Currently the club got a few potential prospects, with Tyrick Mitchell already establishing himself as Palace's first choice left back and getting capped twice by England.

3. The Trophy Cabinet

I'm not even going to ask about the Zenith Data Systems Cup.

[Muttley84]

10 minutes ago, TheJanitor said:

I'm not even going to ask about the Zenith Data Systems Cup.

I think that s the Cup established in the late 80s when English teams were banned from European competitions...

11 minutes ago, TheJanitor said:

The Eagles got an impressive academy, producing Wilfried Zaha, Nathaniel Clyne, Victor Moses, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in recent times

The names are not that impressive for me, but good luck with the Eagles, will be following along!

[TheJanitor]

23/24 - Pre-season

No first window is a rule for me, so this one isn't going to be very heavy. We we're mostly grinding for quality staff. I signed mostly British, as I love to have some theme around my staff I guess, but also to avoid waiting for work permits. Here are the incoming:

And the departed (staff members, not one of the best movies of all time):

Results:

We're playing mostly a 3-4-2-1 formation, again inspired by Brazil. Sadly, both Olise and his replacement Matheus Franca start the season with long-term injuries and will miss a large chuck of the first round, so I'm playing with Ayew alongside Eze and one of Mateta and Edouard ahead of them, neither fill with me with confidence.

[TheJanitor]

Just now, Muttley84 said:

I think that s the Cup established in the late 80s when English teams were banned from European competitions...

The names are not that impressive for me, but good luck with the Eagles, will be following along!

Thanks! Okay so it's not Ajax But it's decent. Something to work with.

[TheJanitor]

23/24 Season Update

Premier League

Spoiler

A season to remember as we finished 6th in the league and qualified for the Europa League! We spent the first half of the season playing a 3-4-2-1, getting good results, but kicking up a gear after switching to a 4-2-3-1.

Best Eleven:

The fulcrum in both formations was Ebere Eze, with 8 goals and 9 assists. In goal, Sam Johnstone started the first couple of games before Henderson took over and we never looked back. Upfront, Edouard established himself as our first choice, leading our scoring charts with 15 goals. Mateta got fair amount of chances, but only mustered 2 goals. Doucoure actually started ahead of Lerma but other than that, the rest of the team was consistent as above.

FA Cup

Spoiler

League Cup

Spoiler

Not much to write home about. Unlucky to get City so soon in the League Cup. No idea what happened against Middlesbrough.

Transfers In

Spoiler

Joe Scally arrived for quite a fee but we lacked a first choice RB and depth at LB and he answered both issues. Ended up being our signing of the season. Talles Magno arrived as we needed a versatile forward while three of ours were in the African Cup. He proved to be quite useful and looks like a player with good potential. Ronnie Edwards was immediately loaned back to Peterborough. He is one for the future.

Transfers Out

Spoiler

The biggest departure was Joachim Andersen. We needed some cash to bring in players and Al-Ittihad took an interest in him. As we switched to a 4-2-3-1, I felt like we can manage without him.

Youth Candidates

Told you, they got a good academy.

I like Seth Desai. He looks like a potential Vieira regen. Dan Brown (of The Da Vinci Code fame) got the hair to be a massive success, and Luis Chorley will surely be one as well.

There are a few more decent talents, these are the ones who look the best so far.

[TheJanitor]

24/25 Pre-season

Results

Spoiler

My assistant Paddy McCarthy took over these matches and it looks like he had a crazy run.

Squad Update

Eze, Doucoure, Edouard, and Marc Guehi all signed new deals. Guehi also became our new captain following the release of Joel Ward. One player who gave me a headache is Michael Olise. One of the reasons I picked Palace. I knew it would be difficult to keep hold of him, but I hoped our Europa League finish will keep him satisfied for another season. Sadly, he is unhappy with the quality of players at the club. I will try to keep hold of him for the first half of the season at least, unless some big offer comes for him. Manchester United are interested.

Transfers In

Spoiler

Biggest arrival this summer is Savio. He was the first player I shortlisted as I thought he would be a perfect fit alongside Eze and Olise. Brings much more directness. I also jumped at the chance to sign Archie Gray, who looks like one of the biggest British talents out there. Anthony Patterson will become our new deputy GK and will challenge Henderson for the #1 shirt. I think about doing a Bravo/ter Stegen deal, with Patterson takings the cups and European matches. Alex McCarthy will be our third choice GK while Eric Dier add valuable experience and versatility to our defense.

Transfers Out

Spoiler

Not a lot of important outgoings. Sam Johnstone was unhappy being second chance. So he joined Arsenal. Also, while Mateta appears to be amazing in real life, in game, I couldn't believe it when newly-promoted Ipswich forked out 15m for him. A few players were released or retired - namely Joel Ward, Nathaniel Clyne, Jeffery Schlupp, and James Tomkins.