danyates8 Posted August 19 Author Share Posted August 19 1 hour ago, El Payaso said: Cool looking graphics and nice detail on the matches, squad building and even coaching staff. What tool are you using to create the graphical stuff? It's a website called Canva. Pro version does have a subscription but imo it's worth it. Great fun to use Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Beckham Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 1 hour ago, danyates8 said: It's a website called Canva. Pro version does have a subscription but imo it's worth it. Great fun to use Yeah Canva is really good value at £9.99 per month. I use it for my Youtube video thumbnails etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Payaso Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 1 hour ago, danyates8 said: It's a website called Canva. Pro version does have a subscription but imo it's worth it. Great fun to use I have the pro version also. Both for work and free-time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 19 Author Share Posted August 19 (edited) 2 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said: Yeah Canva is really good value at £9.99 per month. I use it for my Youtube video thumbnails etc. Think mines a bit more expensive than that but I do pay monthly. 2 hours ago, El Payaso said: I have the pro version also. Both for work and free-time. I've still got a way to go before i'm at your skill level though. Edited August 19 by danyates8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 (edited) So after a very tough February, where our victories came in domestic cup competitions, its imperative we turn our form around so we still make top 4 to ensure Champions League qualification. I don't want to use excuses but injuries have derailed our season, they have increased drastically in the 2nd half of the season and February has been a particularly bad month. As you can see from the graph below, since the turn of the new year our injury situation has been absolutley dreadful. Is it luck? Is it the demands we are placing on the players? Is it a poor backroom setup where our medical team isn't providing adequate care? That's something I wont be able to answer until next season however the worry in my mind is next season we are likely to engage in significantly more matches which increases demands which could leave us really short. In terms of fixtures March does give us a bit of respite, we've only got 4 games which hopefully gives us chance to get some players fit and give ourselves the chance to secure Champions League football, we need a strong month to get back on track after a faltering February. April looks like a good month for us in the League, we play 3 relegation candidates and Newcastle, who will be disappointed with their mid table exploits this season. EVERTON | Premier League | Goodison Park | 27,574 Our final trip to Goodison Park before Everton move into a new stadium was a successful one, we came into this one without a win in 5 in the league however the early goal really settled our nerves. We limited Everton to only a couple of half chances in a much more solid defensive performance and we were able to kill the game 15 mins from time. Just what we needed after a tough run, a confidence boosting win before our massive fixture against bitter rivals Arsenal. I need to give a mention to our back up left back Josh Doig, he has performed to a really high standard when he has been in the team and has actually outperformed Udogie in certain metrics the most obvious being the number of assists. ARSENAL | Premier League | The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | 62,850 Agonising stuff, 1-0 defeat with the last kick of the game, swings the momentum in Arsenals favour for 4th spot and goes one step further to dent our confidence, in the league we've got a mental block when playing against the bigger teams. We are competing against them though which is a positive and we have to remember we're a young team that's still at the very beginning of its journey with plenty of scope to grow and improve. These games - as tough as they are to deal with emotionally now - will give us experiences to learn from in the future, however we have to learn our lesson! MAN UTD | FA Cup Quarter Final | The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | 62,850 This was exactly what we needed at this stage of the season, a confidence boosting result which puts us into the FA cup semi final. It looked to be more of the same as we found ourselves 2-0 down after only 23 minutes and frustratingly both goals were from corners, we created decent chances in the first half but our finishing was letting us down. Instead of giving the boys a roasting at half time I went down the 'pressure is off' route and that seemed to pay off as the 2nd half performance was much better, we grabbed a goal 5 mins after the restart after Kang-In Lee slipped in Šeško with a fantastic through ball and he finished with aplomb, that gave us the momentum we needed and we found the equaliser 20 mins later, Brennan Johnson putting in a good cross, Šeško with a world class dummy to leave Maddison in acres of space to put the ball in the back of the net. The match winning moment came in the 77th minute as Vicario saved a Fernandes penalty to send the fixture into extra time, both teams looked leggy during extra time and the game ended up in a penalty shootout where we had the edge with Vicario in the net, we stuck all of our 6 efforts away impressively to grab the victory from the jaws of defeat to advance the the FA cup semi final where Man City await. FULHAM | Premier League | The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | 62,850 Fresh of the back of our nerve wracking penalty shootout we came into this one with a new found confidence and put in a great performance, limiting Fulham to very little throughout the game - they are in 6th in the league so this makes the performance even more impressive. I do have complaint with our finishing though, we did enough this time around but it could of been far more comfortable for us. Šeško did fire in the winner for us so I don't want to be to critical but he missed far to many chances for my liking, he had 6 great chances in the box but could only finish one of the chances, inexplicably missing the target from inside the 6 yard box. He has found the net in 3 out of 4 games this month too so again I feel slightly harsh in my criticism especially with this being his debut Premier League season. NEWCASTLE | Premier League | St James Park | 54,093 This time around the poor finishing came to bite us on the backside, granted the chances weren't as of high quality as the Fulham game but still we have to find that ruthless edge if we are to take the next step. Newcastle are tough opposition so I don't want to discredit them but we have to be winning our home fixtures if we're serious about qualifying for the Champions League, annoyingly Newcastle's goal originated from a throw in which makes our last 3 goals conceded all come from set pieces. Šeško with another goal to make it 4 in 5 games. BURNLEY | Premier League | Turf Moor | 20,159 I did think this one was slipping away from us until Tommy Doyle bagged his first goal for the club in the 84th minute, he showed great composure to chest the ball down on the penalty spot and slam the ball home. We did create plenty of good chances throughout the game so it was a relief to eventually grab the goal as it was much deserved, we finished the job in the 94th minute when Destiny Udogie rounded off a good performance with a goal. WOLVES | Premier League | The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | 62,850 I went with a slight tactical tweak in this one in the hopes of giving us a bit more of a clinical edge, the change would seem counter intuitive as I went with an inverted full back instead of an inverted wing back, I felt our build up was being slightly rushed and we didn't have enough space for our most dangerous players in the final third, we were congesting things with having a Segundo Volante making runs from deeper, so we changed that role to a more standard defensive midfielder. This meant we had a 3-2 build up shape rather than the 2-3 we were employing. I wont be reading to much into this specific result as it was against bottom of the League Wolves but we were able to score more goals from less chances created. Small sample size but the outcome we wanted. James Maddison's performance was also impressive, was that because he had more space to operate? Id like to think so. MAN CITY | FA Cup semi final | Wembley | 90,000 The biggest game of our season so far against serial winners Man City, they have dominated the landscape of English football for half a decade so fixtures like these are just another day in the office for them. That makes the result and performance even more sweet, we were absolutley fantastic on the day, we won the xG battle easily even though City had a penalty and limited them to only one shot on target during open play. We displayed the clinical edge that we haven't previously so hopefully this result can go along way in helping us to overcome the mental block whilst facing the bigger teams. MAN CITY | Premier League | Etihad Stadium | 53,400 3 days after our FA cup semi final clash City were able to get their revenge. We went 1-0 up after only 19 seconds however our chance creation was fairly limited after that, perhaps we celebrated a little to hard after our semi-final victory. Man City showed their strength in depth too as they were able to rotate significantly from our previous fixture they fielded 8 different players and that extra fitness edge proved the difference. I cant complain with our performances against City this season, we've knocked them out of both domestic cups at the semi final stage and took a point at home, for context we are 10 months into a project and they are 8 years, massive difference. BOURNEMOUTH | Premier League | Vitality Stadium | 11,379 Dismal finishing again costing us with Maddison and Šeško being the biggest culprits resulting in a 2-0 loss. It performances and results like this we can point too if we don't make the Champions League, I can accept it against teams like Man City and Liverpool but we have to dispatch of teams in the bottom half if we are to meet our ambitions. No one came away with any credit in this fixture, it was a poor performance all round. Unfortunately we've dropped out of the top 4 with our end of the month results, we do have an FA cup final to look forward to though and it comes against bitter rivals Arsenal. Our league fixtures to finish the season are a mixed bag as we face West Ham, Norwich and Brentford. Norwich are having a sensational season, they sit one place below us in the league which for a newly promoted team is an incredible achievement. Edited August 21 by danyates8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 We enter the final month of the season in a fairly disapointing position in the league, we've fallen outside the top 4 despite being in it for the majority of the season. We've taken a huge step forward from last season which is pleasing and as mentioned before we are a very young team that's very early into the project. My early expectations were top 6 however that changed to top 4 after our mid season form, I feel the vast amount of injuries have been the biggest contributing factor to the slump. We did finish the league season in good from though winning our final 3 games. BRENTFORD | Premier League | The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | 62,850 Šeško had scored 8 in his previous 10 games and managed to score another 2 in this game, his end of season form has been excellent, he has 21 goals in all competitions and for a debut season that's fairly impressive. We dominated Brentford from start to finish limiting them to only 0.03xG. Despite numerous impressive performances throughout the team it was Destiny Udogie coming away with man of the match, his end of season form has been really good although his goal contribution numbers aren't quite on Josh Doig's level. NORWICH | Premier League | Carrow Road | 27,359 We rode our luck against Norwich however a late header from Romero was enough to pinch the 3 points. Norwich struggled to find the net despite creating the better chances however at this stage of the season ill take the good fortune without complaint. Unfortunately for us Arsenal are matching our results so the top 4 race goes to the final day. WEST HAM | Premier League | The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | 62,850 If there we any final day nerves the boys didn't show it, we put in an assured performance to do our part but again Arsenal matched us so we have to settle for 5th place. I cant help but feel really disappointed with our final position, we couldn't capitalise on on top quality mid season form and fell away from February onwards. Its still a huge improvement from Ange Postecoglou's effort last season and we cant forget about the huge overhaul we underwent at the beginning of the season, to make top 6 and make both domestic cup finals is a decent achievement so early into the project. Man Utd take the title after a scintillating run of form, they haven't lost in the league since November and Zidane has done the unthinkable during his first season at the club. Our total of 74 points is a whopping 25 more points than last seasons effort and our defence was the second meanest in the league so there are bigger positives than I thought previously. Ill go into more details around the seasons stats in the next post. Now for the biggest game of our season which happens to be against our bitter rivals Arsenal, we have had a good battle with them in the league but they have gotten the better of us in both previous fixtures and unfortunately got the better of us again in this fixture but in the most painful way possible, a penalty shootout. We had the better of the game, played really well as a team with many good performances throughout the team but it still wasn't enough. Its heart breaking stuff and again a trophy eludes us. We have the break this duck and this failure only makes me more determined. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 May not be what you hoped for, but that's not a bad season. Losing the cup on penalties is always a gut-punch. You'll need to sort Arsenal out next year Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 22 Author Share Posted August 22 46 minutes ago, warlock said: May not be what you hoped for, but that's not a bad season. Losing the cup on penalties is always a gut-punch. You'll need to sort Arsenal out next year They have had the better of us for sure this season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 (edited) A strong season, 5th and an unlucky FA Cup Final defeat. Great graphics always, and I really feel you can make more progress next season too. Edited August 24 by Jogo Bonito Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 I had a bit of an issue with Bayer earlier in FM24 and we absolutely had that Neverkusen tag for a couple of years. I think you're building really, really well (as much as it pains me to not see Villa in the table graphics) but, do you feel, initially at least, you're feeling a bit Spursy?! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houdini777 Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 Just come across this, seems like the kind of thing I'd enjoy. Spurs are a perfect team for this time of year as they can become a very good side in the game with a few additions and a good focus on academy products. Very good choice as FM24 starts to wind down! Now to actually read the thread... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 24 Author Share Posted August 24 2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: A strong season, 5th and an unlucky FA Cup Final defeat. Great graphics always, and I really feel you can make more progress next season too. Thanks for the compliments, yeah the FA cup final defeat hurt even more so with it being our 2nd cup final loss of the season! We are in a great place for development I feel and can progress nicely next season with us being so young still. 56 minutes ago, _Ben_ said: I had a bit of an issue with Bayer earlier in FM24 and we absolutely had that Neverkusen tag for a couple of years. I think you're building really, really well (as much as it pains me to not see Villa in the table graphics) but, do you feel, initially at least, you're feeling a bit Spursy?! Without doubt I'm feeling Spursy, throwing 2 cup finals and 4th place again all in one season! I feel our squad is coming along nicely, the amount of quality youngsters has me excited for the future! 51 minutes ago, Houdini777 said: Just come across this, seems like the kind of thing I'd enjoy. Spurs are a perfect team for this time of year as they can become a very good side in the game with a few additions and a good focus on academy products. Very good choice as FM24 starts to wind down! Now to actually read the thread... Appreciate your comment and time spent reading the blog, thanks a lot! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 24 Author Share Posted August 24 (edited) Now that I've had some time to reflect on last seasons efforts I'm finding myself in a far more positive mindset. It's easy to feel disheartened after losing two cup finals and missing out on a top 4 finish, but perspective is everything. Our season started in impressive fashion and come January we were in touch with the big boys of the league, dreaming of what could be. Injuries curtailed those dreams in fairly dramatic fashion, the first 3 months of 2025 brought us 21 separate injuries and it just became to much for our young squad to deal with, if we can reduce those numbers by 25% next season I feel we will get far closer to achieving our targets, the early target is top 4 league finish and winning a domestic cup. I want us to break the Spursy tag ASAP. We are going to have a far more settled squad going into next season too, last summer was all about securing long term targets in key positions and that's something we did successfully with Adam Wharton and Benjamin Šeško, however this time around there is far less work that needs to be done to the squad, one thing I've found with a save at the elite level is the transfer values are insane, I wont be getting dragged into paying ridiculous fees however ill be making a concerted effort to keep squad balance at the forefront of my mind so if we lose a key player who is in their prime, I wont be afraid to spend a good chunk on their replacement. I'm going to do a brief review of the squad giving them a rating for their overall performance in my opinion this is going to be based on multiple factors not just game performances. Squad suitability, wages expectations, squad balance will all be major factors in the decision. I'm also going to do into a little detail around the tactical style and our effectiveness in producing that style, a quick peak at the league team overview tab shows you its working, we aren't anywhere near the top of any possession or pass completion charts. Team stats | Data hub | League team overview | League player overview | Dynamics Ill be covering the more exotic, exciting positions in the next update alongside the tactical analysis from last season. I'll also be detailing my thoughts around the shape of the squad in terms of player pathways and any potential incomings/outgoings in the summer. My initial thoughts are we're in a good place and we still have lots of potential to extract from the squad we currently have and we aren't going to have to make to many moves in the transfer market, that of course depends on retaining the players we've got, well the ones we want to retain! Edited August 25 by danyates8 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 Wow! Possibly the best-displayed squad review ever, I love the way you presented this! Looking forward to seeing the second part Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 25 Author Share Posted August 25 1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said: Wow! Possibly the best-displayed squad review ever, I love the way you presented this! Looking forward to seeing the second part Thanks ever so much for the kind words Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 25 Author Share Posted August 25 (edited) So after reviewing the squad there are a few decisions that have been made, 4 players will find themselves on the transfer list - Brennan Johnson, Rodrigo Bentacur, Emerson Royal and Rafa. I honestly think we have solutions for 3 of those potentially departing players already at the club. One aim for me in this save is to focus on youth development and keep transfers at a realistic level, some would argue last seasons transfer exploits go completely against this and I agree to an extent however there have been recent real life examples such as Arsenal, who underwent drastic changes in a short period of time however then established a settled team over the coming years. I'm looking to build a core group of players who have long term replacements lined up whether that's from within or via delving in the transfer market. The only player that we will need to replace is Emerson Royal, I want to bring in someone who is in a similar mould to Pedro Porro so we have better rotation options for the way we want to play whilst still having options at the club to change roles if necessary. Radu Drăgușin can provide the more defensive option if required and I've identified Ferdi Kadıoğlu as an early transfer target. Alfie Devine and Lucas Bergvall give us different types of options for the deeper playmaking roles and we've still got the arrival of Luka Vušković to look forward too who I believe looks suited to the defensive midfield role. Mikey Moore is a fantastic prospect and despite his young age I'm willing to give him some game time next season. The success of Jamie Donley this season gives me great hope for our youth development project. We will need to bring in a couple of goalkeepers too due to the retirement of Fraser Forster and contract expiration of Alfie Whiteman. Edited August 25 by danyates8 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carambau Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 Catching up! Man this is a nice presentation of your career gonna follow of course! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 Part 2 of the squad review is superb again. The release clause for Ferdi makes that a no-brainer and he seems like an ideal 'Tottenham-type' to me. Apart from the fact he will soon be announced at Brighton of course. Really pleased that Donley has impressed already. And I love the transfer-listed price tags, excellent presentation again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 27 Author Share Posted August 27 20 hours ago, Carambau said: Catching up! Man this is a nice presentation of your career gonna follow of course! Thank you for the kind words 13 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: Part 2 of the squad review is superb again. The release clause for Ferdi makes that a no-brainer and he seems like an ideal 'Tottenham-type' to me. Apart from the fact he will soon be announced at Brighton of course. Really pleased that Donley has impressed already. And I love the transfer-listed price tags, excellent presentation again. Yeah I heard Brighton are making moves for him, they have spent some of that well earnt cash this summer it seems. Jamie Donley is on his way to being a star for us and hopefully our development of other youth players can go as successfully. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrold Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Loved reading through this - looking forward to seeing how you get on in Season 2. You've defo inspired me to start a similar THFC save, with more focus on the development squads 👍 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 27 Author Share Posted August 27 1 hour ago, Harrold said: Loved reading through this - looking forward to seeing how you get on in Season 2. You've defo inspired me to start a similar THFC save, with more focus on the development squads 👍 Thank you for the kind words, really enjoying the save myself at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waffle18 Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Enjoying this save so much! Extreme inspiration for my own. Also excited for the Bergvall debut at some point! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 27 Author Share Posted August 27 19 minutes ago, Waffle18 said: Enjoying this save so much! Extreme inspiration for my own. Also excited for the Bergvall debut at some point! Glad you are enjoying it, happy to provide some inspiration for your own save as well, Ill be following your thread with a keen eye! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 27 Author Share Posted August 27 (edited) In the last post I spoke briefly about the transfer strategy that I'm trying to implement over the long term at the club and I'm going to go into slightly more detail here explaining my thoughts around this. Every signing we make will be carefully considered and planned well in advance. I'm going to curate a long term shortlist of players that catch my eye and keep a close eye on their progression to make a decision on when is best to attempt to sign them, a quick in game example is Archie Gray, I've had interest in signing the player since I arrived at the club however missed the 'perfect' window to sign him. Leeds had won promotion however in-game upon our arrival at Spurs he was still technically a Championship player so was valued at £35M, I attempted to make an offer however wasn't willing to pay the £50M Leeds were asking for at that time, as I was progressing through the window I was realising the crazy values of players and £50M seemed like a reasonable deal all things considered so I went back in for him only to notice his value had sky rocketed to £97M. Premiership values had kicked in and that killed any hope of a deal in my mind but I carried on scouting him in hopes of unsettling him, that tactic didn't work so the back up plan was to hope Leeds got relegated back to the Championship, his value reduced back to a reasonable fee and we go back in for him with the increased likelihood of player unhappiness due to the relegation. All sounds like a great plan until Leeds didn't get relegated so we then move onto our #2 target, which has materialised in a transfer deal happening this summer which includes a loan back to the selling club. So now I've figured out the way I want to approach things over the longer term and figured out my early transfer target in Ferdi Kadıoğlu and the players I want to move on its time to get to work with some deals. Firstly I'm going to go through the outgoings. Rodrigo Bentacur had serious interest in his services this summer and we accepted numerous bids all around the £50M mark, he chose Saudi Arabia for the financial gain and now finds himself on 625k per week, astronomical figures. I'm fairly disappointed we couldn't get the desired performances out of Bentacur, he has all the attributes to contribute effectively however we weren't able to extract that. In his 4 seasons at the club he only managed 74 appearances which is disapointing within itself. Brennan Johnson has been fairly difficult to deal with since we have arrived at the club, he started in very good form but that then dipped in quite frankly horrific form. His responses and reactions to any chats we had we're over the top and I came to the conclusion that it would be best for him if he were to move on, he didn't want to though and it took the drastic measure of me telling him we wouldn't have space within our squad to register him for the Premier League season. its honestly a fairly ruthless approach I wouldn't usually employ but why not its the end of the FM24 cycle. That was enough to convince him to accept a loan offer from Crystal Palace. Emerson Royal is technically defensively very sound however lacks in the attacking department and he doesn't have the concentrations levels or decision making we need at the elite level and for a defensive options those are non-negotiables for me. We need our defenders to show a high level of concentration for the full 90 minutes if we are to improve our results against better opposition, we've already got a fantastic defensive option already at the club in the shape of Radu Drăgușin and that is a shape we don't employ as often so it makes sense to get back up who fits our typical style better and that's why Ferdi Kadıoğlu is our number one choice. We weren't able to secure a transfer as there wasn't any interest so again we had to settle for a loan deal, this time Lazio the benefactors. This is a deal that will make Daniel Levy smile, Rafa has been sold for an easy £5M profit in 12 months, which for a 32 year old seems like exceptional business. Lyon did want us to contribute 66k per week until the end of his contract and that was something I was more than happy to agree too. He didn't really contribute to much for us last season so we haven't got any goal contributions to replace within the team. Manor Solomon has left the club on a permanent deal after his loan at Frosinone last season, we sold him for £9M which does represent profit from the initial deal back in 2018/19 when Spurs paid £5.25M for him. He was never going to be in my plans so this is another good deal for the club and we have removed some more deadwood. Djed Spence is another who has left on a permanent deal after a successful loan spell. Leicester have paid us £5M which doesn't represent any profit, there is an argument to suggest we could of eventually turned a profit on this deal but with Spence' low mental stats that wasn't something I was willing to risk. Bryan Gil has been sold for £5M too which is significantly less than the £21.5M we paid back in 21/22 however that was a fee we weren't ever realistically going to reach. Only managing 16 league appearances in nearly 3 years it was clear things weren't ever going to work for Gil so the best solution was to accept the bid. This coming season is a big one for Alejo Veliz, he had a decent impact during his loan spell at Mallorca last season scoring 6 goals but would of been disappointed with how many games he started. Making only 6 starts and coming off the bench 25 times has me slightly concerned around him making the next step up to the next level. He is 22 now making him the same age as Šeško however they are worlds apart in ability at the moment. Hopefully this loan spell can be the making of Veliz and he can put himself into my thoughts however my gut feeling is he wont reach the required level. So compared to last year some would say this window was quite boring, we made 4 signings overall with only 1 of them realistically looking at plenty of game time this season barring any disasters! Chris Rigg is the long term target we signed and sent out on loan back to his parent club - Sunderland and we brought in 2 goalkeepers who are going to be our back up options. I like having 3 capable keepers who are comfortable playing senior games, I don't like putting to much pressure on youngsters especially goalkeepers. Ferdi Kadıoğlu is a very talented full back who is capable of playing various roles across both sides of the pitch, his versatility a key factor in my decision to pursue him. Primarily he will be Pedro Porro's back up option however I envision plenty of game time this coming season especially with a European campaign. He represents excellent value in my opinion at £16.75M and upon arrival at the club is already valued at £35M. Chris Rigg has found himself the centre of our attention after our failed pursuit of Archie Gray, there is an argument to say I should of been in for Rigg earlier than I was as this deal I feel could be the best value of the save! 18 years of age, an excellent range of attributes which a really consistent across the board with no obvious weaknesses and lots of scope for improvement. Sunderland wanted to loan him back for the season with an agreement to make in a regular starter for them, that seems reasonable as he is yet to make his senior debut however I do expect them to honour the deal. Now for what I desperatley hope will be our boring signings of the window. Guglielmo Vicario has been excellent for us and only missed 5 games last season, we will be using a back up keeper in the Carabao Cup this year as we also have European competition to entertain. We lost both of our back up keepers for different reasons at the beginning of summer so we made moves for 2 slightly different goalkeepers who are at different stages of their career. Lukas Hradecky is coming in as the senior pro who will be our emergency back up and Arijanet Muric will be our #2. A few subtle tactical changes this season, we are going to try get more from our right back and I've decided to use an attack duty to see how it works out for us, its a role/duty combination I've never used before so I'm keen to see if can extract some better performances from that particular position. I'm going to try out a complete forward on attack paired with a shadow striker which again is another pairing I've not got a great deal of experience with, I feel the goal scoring ability that Akhomach/Donley have shown can be leaned upon more from the shadow striker role and in theory it should give space for our attacking inverted right wing back and left inverted winger to exploit. Another successful pre season where we went on a tour of the USA try to increase our commercial revenue then finished with a game against a team in our division to get a gauge on our 'readiness'. This is a big season for us and I've got high hopes we can have a good season. My early targets are a top 4 finish whilst navigating a decent European run whilst competing for both domestic cups. One thing I thought with our 5th place finish last season was that we would have a Europa League campaign to look forward to however England gained a spot via the coefficient spots available so we are in the Champions League Edited August 27 by danyates8 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfieLucas Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 Not a bad season overall. Disappointing to lose to Brighton in the Carabao Cup. Hard to lose to them lot in the F.A Cup Final, but you gave it a valiant effort. And was hoping 5th might be enough to secure CL football. Hopefully you can keep improving each season. It will take a good few seasons i think to get into the mix of things against Citeh and Arsenal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 28 Author Share Posted August 28 11 minutes ago, AlfieLucas said: Not a bad season overall. Disappointing to lose to Brighton in the Carabao Cup. Hard to lose to them lot in the F.A Cup Final, but you gave it a valiant effort. And was hoping 5th might be enough to secure CL football. Hopefully you can keep improving each season. It will take a good few seasons i think to get into the mix of things against Citeh and Arsenal. Very disappointed with the Brighton result in the Final, our form leading into that particular game was awful though so I wasn't that confident heading into the game especially as they had already beat us in the league at their place too. I feel we're in a much better place heading into our 2nd season, our big investments last summer have all had 12 months to settle and our young players are developing at a nice rate whilst not forgetting our rotten injury luck we've had to endure - I feel the foundations are in place for us to have a real successful season. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfieLucas Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 30 minutes ago, danyates8 said: Very disappointed with the Brighton result in the Final, our form leading into that particular game was awful though so I wasn't that confident heading into the game especially as they had already beat us in the league at their place too. I feel we're in a much better place heading into our 2nd season, our big investments last summer have all had 12 months to settle and our young players are developing at a nice rate whilst not forgetting our rotten injury luck we've had to endure - I feel the foundations are in place for us to have a real successful season. Here's to hoping. And some of the youngsters will come good, eventually. I'm a season behind on you, almost at the end of my first season with Spurs. So might post it as well. League form is pretty similar to yours, although you've done better in the cups 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam_otbfm Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 I really like your list of long-term targets, realistic future signings rather than just a list of the game's best wonderkids! I signed both Seimen and Bard at Lille towards the end of FM23 and had great success with both of them so I'd be intrigued to see how they adapt to England were you to bring them in at some point! I like your signings, Ferdi is a great asset at full-back, and although they may not play much the two keepers are a huge upgrade on Forster and Whiteman. Chris Rigg also feels like great value for the potential he has! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 28 Author Share Posted August 28 (edited) 19 minutes ago, AlfieLucas said: Here's to hoping. And some of the youngsters will come good, eventually. I'm a season behind on you, almost at the end of my first season with Spurs. So might post it as well. League form is pretty similar to yours, although you've done better in the cups You should most definitely post it, id be really interested in following along and comparing our progress. Don't forget I simmed the first season, so though we are entering the 3rd in game season its only our 2nd at the club. 12 minutes ago, adam_otbfm said: I really like your list of long-term targets, realistic future signings rather than just a list of the game's best wonderkids! I signed both Seimen and Bard at Lille towards the end of FM23 and had great success with both of them so I'd be intrigued to see how they adapt to England were you to bring them in at some point! I like your signings, Ferdi is a great asset at full-back, and although they may not play much the two keepers are a huge upgrade on Forster and Whiteman. Chris Rigg also feels like great value for the potential he has! Appreciate the comment, its you guys over at ViewfromtheTouchline that gave me the inspiration to start making content initially and the quality on that blog is a level I aspire to reach. I'm really enjoying this methodical approach and focus on development rather than the traditional wonderkid splurge I tend to lean towards. I was shocked at Chris Rigg's value compared to Archie Gray, I put it down to reputation of their respective clubs. Edited August 28 by danyates8 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam_otbfm Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 Ah that's very kind mate! The content is great, and the graphics you create add to the engagement of it all. There must be some sort of difference between the clubs, whether that be reputation or financial situation, as I was able to sign Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland for a similar fee that you paid for Rigg. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 (edited) I feel we are in a great place heading into this new season, we have a settled squad now that has had time to work together to become a cohesive unit. I honestly wasn't expecting the squad to essentially be fully built within 1 season but we honestly don't need much work at all in terms of player additions, of course these things are a continual 'work in progress' that is never really complete however with the balance of the squad at the moment being in a real good place and the potential within the squad being really high we can hope to have a very bright future. Our bright future does depend on our players reaching their expected potential which of course is never a given however at the minute I've got no reason to believe that cant happen. In terms of first season arrivals most settled in well and performed to an acceptable standard, acceptable being the key word. Moving to the Premier League maybe the toughest transition in world football so it wouldn't feel fair to write players off after only 1 season, with that being said season 2 is where I expect things to pick up. This is the first team squad we are going to be heading into the new season with, some could argue our defence and midfield could starting looking quite light should we endure an injury crisis like last season however I'm putting that down to luck. I cant see things being as bad this time around just by way of probability, last season some months we were dealing with having 7/8/9 players out at any one time One thing I will be doing to improve our record in that area is a heavier focus on rotation, I'm confident I keep keep all the members of our squad happy due to the distribution of our agreed playing time with the players. There is also some youth players that I would feel in giving a chance to should we be unfortunate enough to go through what we did last year, ill list them below so you can see them in greater detail. Tyrone Dixon | Luka Vušković | Finlay James | Herbie James | Ashley Phillips | Alfie Devine All of the young players above are in my plans for integration over the next couple of seasons, I'm planning on giving out opportunities where I can this season in cup games and league games where we hold a comfortable lead and other potential situations where I feel the result wont be in danger. I felt my progression through last season was to slow so this season I'm going to summarise months instead of games and I've included goal scorers so you can track players in goal scoring form easier, ill still provide the match info via a screenshot which can be accessed by clicking the team underlined. AUGUST Our first game of the season was exactly the same as last year - Man Utd away. A tough fixture to get the season underway but perfect for us to track our progression over near enough exactly a year, we improved our result which is a good sign of our progression. A draw is probably a fair result. The rest of the month was really positive, we dispatched Norwich fairly easier which is a better result that it looks due to their fantastic Premier League season last year. We finished the month with a dominant 2-0 win over Brentford. Ferdi Kadıoğlu has enjoyed a fine start to his Spurs career contributing with both goals and assists in his opening month for the club. SEPTEMBER Another fine month which included two fantastic Champions League wins, the first coming against Italian giants - Inter Milan. We were unlucky to not come away with a more comfortable looking score line our performance deserved. That wasn't the case against Feyenoord, the score line was comfortable however there was an element of fortune we had to thank, we won not one, but two very questionable penalties which inflated our xG and our 3rd goal was an own goal. We won our 3 league games against Fulham, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace without conceding a goal remaining unbeaten after the first 2 months of the season. James Maddison has been in superb form so far and Kang-In Lee deserves a mention, very promising start for the South Korean. Our only goal conceded of the month was in the Carabao Cup against Aston Villa but we were still able to come away with a 2-1 win. OCTOBER We faltered in the league slightly during October, we lost our opening match of the month against Liverpool in a deserved loss and Brighton proved more than our match again, they have fully become our bogey team, they haven't been performing to well in the league but Julian Nagelsmann, their manager, really has my number. We were able to beat Aston Villa for the second time this season to at least come away with one win in the league this month. Our only Champions League fixture of the month against FCSB gave us our best playing performance of the season from an individual, Ilias Akhomach was unplayable scoring a hat trick and young Mikey Moore came away with 2 assists himself. Three out of three wins in the Champions League so far with 0 goals conceded and 9 scored, very impressive return to the competition. We progressed in the Carabao Cup with a 6-1 smashing of Oxford United, Jamie Donley grabbing a hat trick for himself and Akhomach carrying on his fine form. All in all we cant be to disappointed with our opening 3 months, our Champions League performances have been excellent and we are chugging along nicely in the league, our squad still isn't on the level as the teams above us. Our squad is performing at a really good level this season with noticeable improved performances from the guys who are in their 2nd season, especially Marcus Leonardo and Kang-In Lee. Our starting 11 is playing to a really high standard with Kulusevski, Maddison and Udogie being the stand out players up to yet. We also won a small personal accolade, picking up Portuguese manager of the year. Edited August 31 by danyates8 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfieLucas Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 Barring those two defeats, it's not been too bad of a start. Brighton is becoming a bogey team for you. But I'm sure in time, you'll rectify that. Great form in the Champions League, especially against that brilliant Italian side 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 1 hour ago, AlfieLucas said: Barring those two defeats, it's not been too bad of a start. Brighton is becoming a bogey team for you. But I'm sure in time, you'll rectify that. Great form in the Champions League, especially against that brilliant Italian side Yeah Brighton are becoming a nightmare! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 After a good opening few months to the season, were looking to kick on during the winter months. November is a very tough month in the league as we face top teams such as Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City with 2 away fixtures to contend with in the Champions League, the league fixtures I believe will go along way into dictating our final league position - I know that may seem as an extreme thing to say but the level teams operate at in this League means we cant afford any sort of bad run of form, the teams that win the league tend to go on 18/20 game unbeaten runs and that something we just haven't done yet. During these month we've also completed the upgrade to our training facilities. They received a downgrade due to technological advancements - initially Daniel Levy didn't agree to my request to improve them however my annoyance must of had the desired effect as two weeks later Daniel came back to me offering to do what they had previously refused. The training facilities are a massive factor in the way I want to run this club, in my opinion there are 2 main ways to improve your squad and the route we have decided to go down is via player improvement. We will still make signings however they will be, as previously mentioned, well thought out. We are also now beginning to experience some interest in our players, which is to be expected. The club vision we agreed to when we joined the club included sign players to sell for a profit so this is something I plan on achieving. Obviously my preference would be that our fringe players are the one's who make us our profit and the core players are the guys who fire us to glory. It all sounds great however if thinks pan out that way is another matter, the interest in our players so far is for the guys id rather keep. Realism however is a key component to how I play FM, so because of that if we receive interest from teams that have a bigger reputation than us, I will always consider their offers. So I'll explain in more detail using the below graphic. In the case of Ilias Akhomach, he is currently 22 years of age about to undergo his 2nd season at the club after a very successful first year. In terms of teams interested in his services at the moment, there is only Juventus, because of this I'm more than happy to reject the bid. Historically I'm not denying that Juventus have a richer, more decorated history and are probably viewed as the bigger club across the world however in game their reputation is 4 stars, they haven't won the league in 5 years and most recently finished 9th in the league, more than enough reasons in my mind to reject the bid, things would begin to change when teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Man City get involved. Reputationally they are well ahead of us, have a far greater chance at trophies (our barren spell at the forefront of my mind) and can offer a more attractive, financial offer. Using that philosophy means the interest in Benjamin Šeško has me slightly worried. Liverpool are sniffing around, they have achieved far more than us recently and historically and are one of the biggest clubs in the world, undeniably. I fear that any bids could turn his head and make him push for a move due to his ambitious personality and the fact that he has admitted to being flattered by the interest being shown in him - the likelihood is, any rejected bids would disillusion Šeško and that has the potential to cause unrest. Jamie Donley provides a far more comforting situation, developed at the club since a young age and we are one of his favoured clubs, I would feel far more comfortable in rejecting these offers should they ever transpire. He is far more likely to show us loyalty and in my opinion, wouldn't have his head turn should we reject those bids. Obviously that is my gut feeling on the situation and I may of completely mis-read it. We do have a situation developing with Josh Doig. Liverpool came in with a bid at the 11th hour of the summer transfer window, they bid £25 million which I would of usually accepted however with it being so late in the window I wasn't comfortable with letting him leave in that moment, we had no time to find a replacement and his performances last season were exceptional, so we couldn't really afford to lose him. He was unhappy we rejected the bid as he felt Liverpool provided a better opportunity for trophies - which can't be argued against right now, I told him I was happy to let him leave once we had signed a replacement which he agreed to, giving us the time to scout any potential successors however he did request a transfer so his intentions are clear. NOVEMBER At a quick glance, November doesn't look that successful with 3 games without a win but on closer inspection can be considered an excellent month. A superb opening win against Chelsea where we dominated from start to finish culminating in a 3-0 win, I accidently gave Hradecky his Premier League debut after forgetting to swap him after our cup win against Oxford last month. Next up was a fairly underwhelming 0-0 against Real Sociedad, we weren't at our attacking best on the day and struggled to create any clear cut opportunities however defensively we were sound. Similar story in the next game in terms of how the game went but we were away against Arsenal so the result is much more pleasing, even more so when you consider we were down to 10 men after 50 mins. Marcus Leonardo with a quite ridiculous 2 footed challenge which, rightly so, earned him a straight red card. Now for the most frustrating result of the month, we should of beat Man City, we created by far the best chances of the game however it took a penalty to find the score sheet. Its games like these that we have to win if we have any hope of reaching their level. Man City for me are the standout team of the save so far, they did get pipped to last seasons Premier League by a resurgent Man Utd, however they won the Champions League for the 2nd time in their history and this season are setting a serious pace in the Premier League so far, losing only once up to yet, with that considered our results against them are actually very good. In the Champions League, St Gallen didn't provide much resistance, we comfortably dispatched them 3-0, Jamie Donley with a very impressive performance leading the line. I'm very happy with our return to the Champions League, unbelievably, we are yet to concede and we look to be on the way to comfortable progression to the next phase. Ipswich proved stern opposition back in the Premier League, but a fine performance from Pedro Porro was enough to secure us the win on the day. DECEMBER We have a staggering 9 games during December, a really tough period where we did find ourselves slightly stretched, we suffered a couple of injuries in the first few games and that effected our attacking output over the rest of the month. Adam Wharton is a crucial element to our play, he is the heartbeat of our midfield and our most comfortable player in possession and our game plan suffers when he isn't involved which is evident from the results immediately after his injury, we may of got through that particular period in question if we had the services of Benjamin Šeško to call upon however he suffered the exact same injury as Wharton in the same game! So not only were we without our primary playmaking hub, we were without our main goal scoring threat. Not a good combination. In terms of fixtures the month couldn't of started any better, we smashed Leeds 3-0 and honestly it could of been 6/7. Similar level of performance against Sheff Utd leading to a comfortable win too, Tommy Doyle with a man of the match performance, he is proving to be excellent value and performs really well when given the chance. Red Bull Salzburg proved a very difficult fixture for us, coming away with a draw with a 93rd minute equaliser. We were playing well in the first half and held a 1-0 leading going into the break however we conceded from a long throw to give Salzburg the momentum in the 2nd half and within 10 mins they found themselves in front. To our credit we pushed and pushed and we weren't eventually rewarded for our efforts to remain undefeated in the Champions League. Newcastle was a very frustrating experience, and one where I feel we missed our players out with injury. Wharton provides a level of composure and calmness we really lacked and we paid the price for that when seemingly holding a comfortable 2-0 lead, Pape Matar Sarr has the attribute profile which suggests he can have the same effect on the game as Wharton, however it doesn't really transpire that way, he makes nearly double the interceptions and tackles p/90 but his progressive passes, open play key passes and dribbles/90 and significantly down on Wharton's numbers, these numbers make me think they would actually make a fantastic partnership. After reaching the final of last seasons Carabao Cup, I hold my hands up to underestimating Coventry, I expected a comfortable win however in hindsight I made some obvious tactical errors, the first being using Luka Vušković in a defensive midfield role and secondly left our centre backs to exposed due to Coventry's width and not noticing that early enough, with that being said we created enough chances to win the game. Clinical finishing proved the difference against Southampton, in what largely, was an even contest, Marcus Leonardo taking advantage of a rare chance to start up front for us. Another close game against Fulham but again its another away performance which we haven't created enough chances and individual mistakes have cost us points, this is our 3rd away loss of the season already and we still have some very tough away fixtures to come. Our home form however is exceptional, we've only lost one league game at home since we arrived at Spurs, annoyingly against Arsenal and that strong home form was again on show against West Ham, an all around solid performance where we created quality chances and limited West Ham to very little. Our final fixture of the year came against Leicester, we dominated from start to finish and didn't allow Leicester a single shot on target, another positive was the first goal for the club for youngster, Peter Duff. I'm fairly surprised at our staffs opinion on young Peter, to my eye he looks to have a really well rounded attribute base for his age and looks to have some potential to work with, admittedly there are areas to work on such as his undesirable personality and low concentration but I'm willing to put some effort into turning him into a useful player for us. So a fairly solid couple of months for us, Man City are setting a serious pace in the league and if recent history is anything to go by they are going to be really difficult to catch, in terms of the Champions League the table looks rosy but it could easily go very wrong for us, we are only 3 points ahead of teams down to 12th so its imperative we see out our final two fixtures with positive results. We head into the January transfer window is a great position in terms of squad depth and wont be looking to sign anyone. Josh Doig is still unhappy about the rejected bid in the summer and he still has interest so we may look to move him on should we receive an acceptable bid, I don't think we need to bring in a replacement either, Finlay James is progressing nicely and id be more than willing to have him as deputy for Udogie should that situation arise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfieLucas Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 A LOT of games in such a short time, considering you're doing very well. Sitting 3rd in both the league and CL. You have built yourself a bit of space between you and 6th, even if they have a game in hand. But like you said, catching City is the hard part. Here's hoping they and Liverpool have a few slip-ups and you sneak in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 2 hours ago, AlfieLucas said: A LOT of games in such a short time, considering you're doing very well. Sitting 3rd in both the league and CL. You have built yourself a bit of space between you and 6th, even if they have a game in hand. But like you said, catching City is the hard part. Here's hoping they and Liverpool have a few slip-ups and you sneak in. Yeah I feel we are dealing with the scheduling quite well this time around, we are getting a few injuries however they aren't to our essential players and so far no one is complaining about the rotation policy. It does mean we don't really have any standout players and the goal contributions are spread out between the players. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted September 4 Author Share Posted September 4 (edited) As we step into 2026, I’ve taken some time to reflect on my journey at the club so far. It’s hard to believe that it’s only been 18 months since I took charge, but the progress we've made in that time is something I’m incredibly proud of. We’ve transformed the club, getting Spurs back to fighting for top-four places in the Premier League and reaching two cup finals. Although we came up short in both finals, they’re a testament to the rapid progress we’ve made since I arrived. When I first arrived at the club, a clear vision was laid out for us, and I’m pleased to say that we are well on our way to achieving those goals. One of the primary objectives was to bolster the club’s commercial standing, and we’ve made significant strides in that regard. Our return to the Champions League has been a major boost, not just in terms of prestige but also in driving revenue. Progressing to cup finals has further raised our profile, attracting more attention and support from fans and sponsors alike. Another key aspect of our commercial strategy has been the signing of high-reputation players. Bringing in talents like Kang-In Lee and Benjamin Šeško has not only strengthened the squad but also enhanced our global appeal. These signings have helped us tap into new markets and expand our brand, contributing to the overall financial health of the club. Similarly, the club’s reputation has grown in tandem with these commercial gains. Our ability to attract and develop top talent has only added to our stature, making Spurs an increasingly attractive destination for players. In terms of player acquisitions, we’ve also made strides in another crucial area: signing players with the potential to sell for a profit. We’ve made smart moves in the transfer market, bringing in players whose value has already risen since their arrival. Should interest in their services develop, I fully expect us to make a healthy profit, which will further reinforce the club's financial stability and allow us to reinvest in the squad. Another area where we’re excelling is in the development of young players, which has always been a key part of the club’s vision. Jamie Donley is a prime example of this success, having broken through to secure a place in the first-team squad. He’s just the beginning—other youngsters like Lucas Bergvall, Mikey Moore, and others have already featured for the first team, showcasing the depth of talent coming through our academy. Looking ahead, the next 12 months should see even more integration of youth into the senior squad. Players such as Luka Vušković, Ashley Phillips, Chris Rigg and Tyrone Dixon are on the verge of making their breakthroughs, and I’m confident they will continue our tradition of nurturing top-class talent. The emphasis on youth development isn’t just a box-ticking exercise—it’s a core part of our strategy and one that I’m committed to upholding. In addition to academy graduates, our policy of signing U23 players for the first team has been equally successful. The club is very conscious of developing young talent and sees it as a key part of our long-term vision. I’m delighted that we’re adhering so closely to this expectation and that it’s paying off on the pitch. In terms of January business, we pinpointed the potential signing of Johan Bakayoko last summer. We noticed that his contract was expiring in 12 months, and since then, we’ve been heavily scouting him. He’s exactly the type of attacking winger we’ve been lacking—devastating pace, exceptional dribbling ability, and the agility and flair to match his technical skills. As soon as January came, and he was open to speak to other clubs, we wasted no time in making contact. Bakayoko was delighted with our interest and accepted our offer of a £200k-per-week, five-year contract. It’s more than I initially wanted to pay in wages, but considering we’re signing a £50 million player on a free transfer, it’s frankly incredible business. JANUARY Back to the fixtures and we had 3 league games during January. We were able to comfortably dispatch of both Norwich and Brentford with relative ease, the Brentford performance a particular standout as we dominated from start to finish. We could only muster a draw against last seasons Champions Man Utd, I'm happy with that result, our record against the 'top' opposition this season has been much improved so far this season. Its a shame we have had a couple of poor performances against so called 'lesser' opposition this season with the Fulham and Brighton defeats springing to mind, if we can iron out those performances we're sure to be a bit closer to Man City. They are an absolute juggernaut on this particular save and I anticipate a real challenge in catching them. We had our first FA cup fixtures of the season and we came away with good results in both, well the Bristol City result was better than good it was a devastating display of attacking football which resulted in a 7-0 demolition. Preston was more comfortable than the score line suggests however our defensive lapses in concentration were pretty concerning. Most pleasingly was the use of of younger players and the performances that they put in. Lucas Bergvall was truly magnificent in both fixtures featuring from the deep playmaker role and Mikey Moore put in a very impressive performance against Bristol although the same can be said for everyone. We managed to secure our place in the knockout rounds of the Champions League too during January, which also ticks off a short term board achievement as that was a minimum requirement they expected this season. We came away with an unfortunate defeat in Paris against PSG, it was a closely fought contest with little chances for either team but a mistake from Tommy Doyle gifted an easy chance for Ousmane Dembélé to tap in. Against Benfica we scored at either end of the game to secure a comfortable 2-0 win to seal our progression with a 4th place finish during the league stage. We did have one outgoing from the squad too during the January transfer window, Josh Doig left to join Porto for £25M which represents an excellent deal for the club, £15.25M profit within 18 months I feel is sensational business and also meets expectations for the club policy regarding signing players to sell for a profit. Josh was a fantastic back up option for us, his performances absolutley sensational since his arrival, that brought the attention of many clubs and the opportunity for him to go to be a first choice somewhere was something I didn't feel would be fair to deny. He was always going to struggle to nail down a first choice spot because of Destiny Udogie. They are very comparable in terms of performances but the versatility of Udogie gives him the edge in my opinion. FEBRUARY February is a month dominated by league fixtures and we can be fairly satisfied with our performances although there is one standout, terrible result. Crystal Palace have found themselves in a relegation battle for the majority of the season however we're able to deny us and come away with a 2-0 win. We can be delighted with our performances against Aston Villa and Bournemouth, we beat both with ease 3-0. Brighton have been a bit of a bogey team for us up to yet on this save, they have beat us in a cup final and already in the league this season however the main factor behind those defeats is now resolved. Julian Nagelsmann seemingly had my number as a coach however he has now left for pastures new, taking over RB Leipzig in Germany. Olof Mellberg is the replacement and whilst I respect his position as a coach he doesn't bring the same fear factor in my opinion, that mindset however nearly came back to bite me. We held a comfortable 2-0 lead and I thought our luck against Brighton was about to turn however they were able to grab a goal just before the half time whistle blew, this gave them the momentum they needed and they found themselves level within 3 minutes of the game restarting. We had luck on our side though and we won a penalty in the 89th minute, which Šeško converted to give us all 3 points. The Liverpool performance was something of a rollercoaster of emotions, we were 1-0 down and looking to be on the road to defeat, we weren't creating any decent chances until the introduction of our subs who completely flipped the game on its head. Bergvall, Moore, Kang-In Lee and Marcus Leonardo were all introduced and they all provided a goal contribution with 20 mins to put us 2-1 up with only 8 mins left and we looked to be holding on until Arijanet Muric made a catastrophic error in the 98th minute, gifting the ball to Salah who whipped the ball in the net. Devastating to happen so late in the day but again, we cant complain with the result against a top side. We only had one cup game this month and that came against Fleetwood, again we went heavy with our youth players and again they rewarded us with a fine performance, coming away 4-1 victors sealing our progression to the quarter finals where we face our conquerors in last years final, Arsenal. One very concerning area to note is the current injuries to our goalkeepers. Guglielmo Vicario and Arijanet Muric are both out for a month with injuries, its a good job we have Hradecky to call upon for the coming fixtures however we have massive games next month such as Champions League knockout rounds and the quarter final of the FA cup, these injuries cant of come at a worse time for the club and could potentially derail our season. This is also around the 6th/7th time in my FM saves so far this year where I've had both goalkeepers injured at the same time hence me usually signing a capable 3rd choice keeper virtually every save. Edited September 4 by danyates8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfieLucas Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 Going well in the league. Those 7 points dropped have probably left you too much to do in catching City. But 2nd place is achievable. And Norwich, wow. They're doing fantastic. Brilliant piece of business to get Bakayoko, especially on a free transfer. Been keeping tabs on him myself, but opted for someone different. But he's still on my list. Fingers crossed you can gain revenge on the ones from South London in the F.A Cup. Break our drought. COYS!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted September 5 Author Share Posted September 5 14 hours ago, AlfieLucas said: left you too much to do in catching City Honestly I never thought that was a possibility, Guardiola still dominating. 14 hours ago, AlfieLucas said: Brilliant piece of business to get Bakayoko Cant wait to integrate him to the team, offers us a new dimension 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo-0 Posted September 5 Share Posted September 5 So invested in this, so much so I am thinking about starting one myself!! The graphics are soo good Side question what skin are you using? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted September 5 Author Share Posted September 5 1 minute ago, Gordo-0 said: So invested in this, so much so I am thinking about starting one myself!! The graphics are soo good Side question what skin are you using? Appreciate the kind words. The skin is called Rensie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 Great updates again here, nicely told and always superbly presented with the graphics. Nice to see some more youngsters pushing their claims for action, and seems like good sensible work in the transfer market (in and out). 3rd is a strong season, although I guess you could hear some moaning Spurs fans saying you're rubbish for only being two points clear of Norwich after 28 games Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted September 8 Author Share Posted September 8 12 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: Great updates again here, nicely told and always superbly presented with the graphics. Nice to see some more youngsters pushing their claims for action, and seems like good sensible work in the transfer market (in and out). 3rd is a strong season, although I guess you could hear some moaning Spurs fans saying you're rubbish for only being two points clear of Norwich after 28 games Thank you for the kind words. I'm trying my very best to keep the transfers at a realistic level and fully develop the squad we have whilst trying to balance the clubs policies, we are doing well so far in both regards. We've certainly improved this season too although I still feel we can get more goals out of our forwards. I feel we are still haven't fully clicked as an attacking unit and I've not brought the best out of Pedro Porro yet either. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted September 8 Author Share Posted September 8 (edited) We are now entering the most critical part of the season, where a single bad week could turn everything upside down. Up to this point, our performances have been impressive, but that could quickly change if we falter in the upcoming fixtures. March presents massive challenges, with every match posing a serious test. We’re up against top-tier opponents, starting with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League Round of 16, both home and away. There’s also a massive FA Cup quarter-final against Arsenal, the very team that defeated us in last year's final. Our Premier League fixtures include tough clashes with Chelsea and Arsenal. To make matters even more challenging, we’ll be without both our first-choice and backup goalkeepers for the first few matches. I won’t deny that this leaves me seriously concerned. The pressure is on, and the margin for error is slim. MARCH Firstly ill discuss our two league fixtures of the month against Chelsea and Arsenal. We came up short away against Chelsea which was disapointing as up to this point we have always had the better of them, we beat them fairly convincingly numerous times in the league during my time in charge however since the appointment of Thomas Frank they have shown much improved form losing only once since he has arrived. We managed a massive win against Arsenal, this game came as the 2nd of a double header against Arsenal and it seemed we capitalised on their disappointment of getting knocked out of the FA cup by us to. Our FA cup quarter final against bitter rivals Arsenal was a very tense affair, with both teams creating multiple high class chances but neither able to capitalise on them and the game went into extra time, it didn't take long until one moment of quality from Tommy Doyle won us the game. He picked up the ball on the edge of the box, dribbled by two Arsenal defenders and slotted the ball in the far corner. A goal of real high quality from the Englishman which saw us gain an element of revenge for last seasons final heartbreak. Now to the Champions League round of 16 fixture against Dortmund. Firstly ill get the nonsense out of the way first, we have already established our unfortunate position heading into the month, our first choice and backup goalkeepers picked up injuries at the end of last month to leave us with only one fit option, Lukas Hradecky has been reliable up until this point so I was more than comfortable in using him for these huge games against Dortmund - during squad registration one of the rules stated 'if two goalkeepers are injured, an unregistered goalkeeper can play' and for that reason I didn't register Hradecky for the Champions League and guess what... I couldn't select him and our u21 keeper had already played a fixture on the same day. A catastrophic situation which could have huge implications on our season. Samuel Archer, an u18 keeper was selected on the basis of the regular positive training reports I had received from our staff over the last few months and he didn't disappoint us delivering an excellent performance securing an in game rating of 7.5. Despite the goalkeeping issues we delivered a measure performance culminating in a 2-0 win with our defensive unit having an excellent game. The second leg of the tie resulted in one of the best individual performances of the season, Ilias Akhomach dominating the game scoring twice and assist twice too. 7-1 on aggregate sees us comfortable to the quarter finals. APRIL We came unstuck against Man City again in the first league fixture of the month, a soft penalty being the difference overall. We blitzed Ipswich 5-1 with Šeško bagging himself a hat-trick and Marcus Leonardo snatching a brace for himself. We had plenty of chances to put Leeds away but couldn't take advantage of any of them, they took the lead with 20 mins left and it looked like it wasn't going to be our day but Porro popped up with a 90th min equalise to spare our blushes. It looked like the Sheff Utd game was following a similar path to the Leeds fixture, we went behind but this time it was our subs that changed the game, Kang-In Lee changing the game scoring 2 mins after his introduction and Marcus Leonardo sealed the deal 6 mins later. There are now only 4 games left of the season and we sit on 70 points alongside Norwich and Liverpool with Man City a massive 13 points ahead. Chelsea provided the FA cup final test and its one we passed very well. We created more chances of higher quality and the performance of Lucas Bergvall was very impressive, he provided the assists for both of our goals and that was enough to see us to our second FA final in two seasons. I thought Liverpool could be one step to far for us over two legs but I couldn't of been more wrong. We came away with a 3-0 win in the away fixture, the score line was unfair to Liverpool but we cant help if they don't take their chances whilst we were very clinical, we demolished them 4-1 at home to come away with another 7-1 aggregate score line to progress to the semi-finals where we were to face Atletico Madrid. Our semi-final clash against Atletico Madrid saw us play the first leg at home which I feel is a slight disadvantage in the first leg. We gave ourselves the best opportunity for progression to the final though with our performance winning the game 4-0. We have been absolutley devastating in the Champions League so far this season, our knockout form is absolutley outstanding scoring 18 goals in 5 games up to yet only conceding twice. May is set to be one of the biggest months in the club’s history. We’ve got a massive FA Cup final against Manchester United, and after our stunning 4-0 victory against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, we’re just one step away from reaching the final. But can we handle the immense pressure that comes with these monumental moments? Will the pain of last season’s final losses spur us on, or will it weigh us down? There are so many questions, and all will be answered in the next month. Edited September 8 by danyates8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted September 9 Author Share Posted September 9 As we arrive in May, the team is in excellent form, unbeaten in seven matches and scoring freely. Marcus Leonardo and Benjamin Šeško have both been outstanding, leading our attacking line with impressive performances. I haven’t delved much into individual player performances this season, so now seems like a good time to highlight some standouts. Marcus Leonardo is having a stellar second season at the club, improving both his goal and assist tallies from last year. He’s quickly becoming a reliable match-winner for us. Kang-In Lee is another player who has made significant strides, increasing his goal contributions and proving his value to the team. Among our highest-rated players this season are Destiny Udogie, Benjamin Šeško, Ilias Akhomach, Yves Bissouma, and Radu Drăgușin, all consistently performing above a 7.10 rating. It’s particularly pleasing to see such a strong core of players delivering on a regular basis. On the other hand, Pedro Porro currently holds the lowest rating in the squad, but even then, he’s sitting at a respectable 6.95. We need to explore how to maximise Porro’s potential, as he’s one of our most technically gifted players. In contrast, Destiny Udogie continues to shine. Over the past two seasons, he has routinely been our most dependable and highest-rated player, solidifying his status as a truly elite left-back. MAY So we didn't kick off the month in a very good fashion, kicking off with two defeats against Newcastle and Atletico Madrid. I believe that it was my approach to the fixtures that led to the failure as I went with our more balanced approach and it most definitely backfired, two poor attacking performances where we created next to nothing. We had still done enough to progress to the Champions League final though, our destruction of Atleti at home enough to seal the deal. I had decided that our balanced approach wasn't the way forward and decided to stick to our aggressive, attacking style for the rest of the season and it certainly paid off for the rest of our League fixtures against West Ham, Southampton and Leicester with 11 goals scored in the next 3 games with only 2 conceded, granted the level of opposition wasn't the toughest but we can still be pleased with our efforts and it sets us up well for our massive cup finals in which the Leicester fixture sandwiched. We’ve done it! In a breath-taking display of football, we have lifted the FA Cup with a resounding victory over Manchester United, etching a new chapter in the club’s storied history. The atmosphere at Wembley was electric, and the team rose to the occasion, delivering a performance that will be remembered for years to come. On the day, we were simply unstoppable. From the first whistle, it was clear that we were the dominant force, creating chance after chance and eventually finding the back of the net twice. The star of the show was none other than Benjamin Šeško, who put in a match-winning performance with two clinical goals, forever inscribing his name into Spurs folklore. His first goal was a masterclass in positioning and poise, while his second was the nail in Manchester United’s coffin, sending the Spurs faithful into raptures. While Šeško rightly grabs the headlines, this victory was a true team effort. Every player in the squad played their part, but the attacking trio of Šeško, Marcus Leonardo, and Dejan Kulusevski were simply unplayable. Their fluid movement, incisive passing, and relentless pressure on the United defence left the opposition reeling. The Manchester United backline had no answer to their dynamic interplay, and they were terrorised from start to finish. It was a day where everything came together perfectly—tactics, execution, and desire. Spurs were the better side in every aspect, and as the final whistle blew, it was a moment of pure jubilation. The triumph at Wembley is not just a testament to the quality within this squad but also a sign of what’s to come as we continue our journey towards even greater success. We have done the unthinkable! At the start of the season, no one could have imagined that our first campaign in the Champions League would culminate in us lifting the most prestigious trophy in European football. Yet here we are, having sent Spurs fans into the stratosphere with our achievements. This time, it was our defence that earned the plaudits. Each player played an immense role in our hard-fought 1-0 victory. Marcus Leonardo, who scored the decisive goal, has now propelled his reputation to new heights. No matter what the future holds, he will forever be adored by the Spurs faithful. Dejan Kulusevski was once again our most dangerous player, relentlessly exploiting the space left by Bayern Munich’s wide centre-back and complete wing-back. His ability to find and create opportunities was unmatched, leaving Bayern’s defence in tatters. Marco Rose, Bayern Munich’s manager, must surely be disappointed with his side's approach. They seemed content to let us control the game, a bold and ultimately misguided strategy considering the quality we possess. Their reluctance to seize the initiative played right into our hands. I am honestly still in shock at what we have achieved this season. We’ve improved our league form, collecting more points and securing a higher position. We exacted sweet revenge in the FA Cup, beating Arsenal, who had left us heartbroken in last season’s final, and then overcoming Manchester United to end our trophy drought. But the crowning glory has to be our era-defining Champions League victory. In just two seasons, we have propelled Spurs to the pinnacle of European football. This is more than just a triumph; it’s the beginning of a new chapter in our history, one that will be remembered for generations. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfieLucas Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 Congratulations on the F.A Cup and Champions League wins, impressive. Even more so in the F.A Cup, beating Arsenal, then Chelsea on route to lifting the trophy. As a Spurs fan that is so satisfying. And then to beat Kane to win the Champions League, even better Here's hoping you win the League next season, Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted September 9 Author Share Posted September 9 20 minutes ago, AlfieLucas said: Congratulations on the F.A Cup and Champions League wins, impressive. Even more so in the F.A Cup, beating Arsenal, then Chelsea on route to lifting the trophy. As a Spurs fan that is so satisfying. And then to beat Kane to win the Champions League, even better Here's hoping you win the League next season, Good luck. Thanks ever so much for the praise, I'm delighted with the results. I'm tempted to start a new save/blog as the idea of this one was to use better players in bigger and better competitions and I was able to essentially achieve my goal, the itch is scratched and I've had a few ideas swirling around my head the last few days. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam_otbfm Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 Absolutely sensational work mate! If this is the end and you do move on to a different save, what a way to go out! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcussy Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 1 hour ago, danyates8 said: Thanks ever so much for the praise, I'm delighted with the results. I'm tempted to start a new save/blog as the idea of this one was to use better players in bigger and better competitions and I was able to essentially achieve my goal, the itch is scratched and I've had a few ideas swirling around my head the last few days. One more season - still the prem to win first! Not won one since 61...history is calling you lol. Congrats on the CL and FA cup double - poor Harry Kane though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyates8 Posted September 9 Author Share Posted September 9 1 hour ago, adam_otbfm said: Absolutely sensational work mate! If this is the end and you do move on to a different save, what a way to go out! Thanks a lot for the kind words. I'm happy with our run this season and it does feel like the right time to start another save. 23 minutes ago, Marcussy said: One more season - still the prem to win first! Not won one since 61...history is calling you lol. Congrats on the CL and FA cup double - poor Harry Kane though. I'm not 100% decided on what to do next just yet. I'm tempted to start a longer term save, maybe a journeyman of some sorts. I don't usually buy the new edition of the game when its released, I usually wait until the winter update before buying, I was going to change that when they first announced FM25 and the massive coming changes but I'm leaning towards the my usual way of doing things and committing to a long term save on FM24 alongside a blog but I feel I need to do a bit of prep first to commit to the long term. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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