duff33

No, Newcastle is not the greatest challenge in Football Manager anymore. Do I care? Also no. NUFC fan IRL, still rocking FM23, wanted a save to while away the evenings with, but one that didn't quite tax the brain in the way trying to turn Peterborough into a global powerhouse does. I just don't have the time or patience for that. So here I am, neck deep in virtual oil money, managing my beloved Newcastle for a second time in FM23 - I'd won the PL in that save, but sort of lost track of where I was with it, so started over with more of an emphasis on developing homegrown and domestic talent; albeit I am no fool, I'll use the money as well. Can I establish Premier League and European dominance? The history of moneyed sides in FM suggests that yes, I can; how soon? Too early to tell… Shall document my adventures here - starting with the 2022/23 season... Summer 2022 Staff thoroughly revamped, with Brian Kidd coming in as my Assistant Manager, and Dennis Bergkamp among the new coaching hires for the senior team, whilst club icon Shay Given joins the U21 coaching team. Coaching Team now among the best in the Premier League, as is my Sports Science department; Recruitment and Physio teams both towards the top end, but not quite strong enough to displace the two Manchester clubs just yet. On the field, Declan Rice becomes my first signing as Newcastle United manager (£80m, rising to £85m), while Ridle Baku comes in as backup/long term replacement for Kieran Trippier at RB. I also pickup Alex Scott from Bristol City (per OP, would like to develop more homegrown talent this time). After a couple of honking performances my defence early in the campaign, Josip Sutalo arrives on transfer deadline day. Out go Javi Manquillo, Matt Ritchie, and Paul Dummett on permanent deals, while Ryan Fraser heads up a number of loan departures which I hope will become permanent deals. We're Underway Things start well, with a thumping 4-1 at home to Fulham, but we prove inconsistent thereafter - and have struggled away from home in particular. A succession of minor, but important, injuries mean various players miss 10-14 days at a time, disrupting my attempts to bring some cohesion to the group. Despite this, we do pick up some very tidy wins against Man City, and Chelsea at St. James' Park! Currently 7th in the Premier League, and through to EFL Cup Fourth Round, where we will travel to Ipswich. [Insert World Cup Break Here] After a solid start to the season leading up to the 2022 World Cup break, my Newcastle United side looked to kick on once the domestic schedule resumed in late December. A straightforward win at Ipswich in the EFL Cup eased us back into things, before earning a hard earned point at Anfield on Boxing Day, followed by a thumping 6-0 win over West Ham at SJP to round out 2022. January was a little boggy - despite a league win over Aston Villa, and FA Cup victories at Bolton and Brentford (a 5-3 thriller no less!), we were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Chelsea, and dropped league points at Brentford and at home to Brighton. Things began to pickup from here however; winning three out of four PL games in February, four of our five games in March (seeing us through to the FA Cup Semi-Finals as a result) and we're in the mix for both some silverware and a Champions League place. Unfortunately we lose Alexander Isak to a torn calf muscle - oh dear. Our top scorer hobbled for the rest of the season… A draw at Chelsea on April 1st kept our noses ahead of the blues and Arsenal in the battle for 3rd and 4th (Man City and Liverpool are way out in front at this point); before we complete a stunning turn around against Arsenal at St. James' Park - coming back from 3-1 down to win 5-3! A loss at Man City is soon forgotten as we record wins over Everton, Bournemouth, and Southampton, whilst thrashing Fulham in the FA Cup Semi-Final to set ourselves up a good ol' fashioned Final clash with Man City (gulp). On the downside, another serious injury as Miguel Almiron - who's been flippin' brilliant all season - is side-lined for five to eight months with ligament damage. A 3-3 draw with Spurs, followed by a 0-0 at Leeds, sees us gather the points we need to secure a Champions League spot for the 2023/24 season! Unfortunately we're now without Declan Rice too - out for a month with a groin injury. The final day of the season is still fun however - Liverpool's slip up at Fulham means they are only one point ahead of City going into the final round of games; whilst the relegation battle also goes to the wire, with Wolves on 28 points and Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, and Southampton all on 31! We thrash Wolves to see them down, while Bournemouth escape the drop thanks to an 88th minute winner from Hamed Traore against Man Utd, sending Southampton and Forest down. Elsewhere, Barcelona pip Real Madrid to the La Liga title by one goal! Yep, Goal Difference decided the Spanish title, with Barcelona's +43 besting Madrid's +42! In response, Real sack Carlo Ancelotti… After such final day drama my heart can only take so much more, so when we walk out at Wembley to face Man City on the FA Cup final, I've already dialled 99 and my finger is hovering over the other 9 in case I keel over… No Isak, no Almiron, no Rice, and City score first; Kyle Walker is somehow allowed to saunter through our box before squaring a pass to Jack Grealish. Arse. Joelinton is then forced off injured. It's not going well, until Joe Willock gallops free to equalise. We're defending like our lives depends on it. We're in this…WE'RE AHEAD! Sven Botman heads home from Kieran Trippier's free kick!!! 2-1 up at half time, we fight, we claw, we hold the line, fatigue is setting in, we're so close, two minutes of injury time…oh no; Jamal Lewis - the only non-City or Liverpool player to make the Premier League Team of the Year - scuffs a 92nd minute clearance, it falls straight to Lutsharel Geertruida, the kitchen sink carrying right back, who throws everything his has behind his shot…and he scores. The virtual last kick of regular time and it's an equaliser. My heart sinks. We regroup, we struggle on, but our depleted bench has little to offer. We keep grinding our way through the time, only for Julian Alvares to nip in front of an exhausted Botman in the 115th minutes. The dream is over.

Thanks - I'll have a look; although an early look into recent games and the goals we conceded doesn't show an obvious pattern right now. I've tweaked a couple of player roles too, to see if this helps.

I'm still rocking FM23 currently, just in case that is relevant here. I'm playing as Newcastle, doing ok, but don't feel like my defence is all it could be - I would say it might be underperforming (fortunately we're pretty decent going forward, which is keeping us in the hunt). Are there 'rules of thumb' when it comes to diagnosing tactical frailties in FM? e.g. is there something in the datahub that might point to a problem with how my team handles crosses? Or where the line is set to? (e.g. 'because you have a Standard line, you are vulnerable to...) I'm no tactical wizard - I understand some basic principals (e.g. a WB works better with an IW than a W), so struggling to figure out if there's something wrong here, or if it's just that Jan/Feb dip in form that often experience. Didn't want to just post my tactic and have someone 'fix it for me', would like to learn how to spot these problems for myself if possible (albeit can post tactic if it will help )

I'm still rocking FM23, but need some inspiration for a new save - happy to have come across this excellent OP/thread on Bilbao. I'm far more tempted to give this save a go now (normally I go for relatively easy/mid difficulty saves, due to playing time constraints, so like those 'quick' wins).

Football is a Cruel Misstress After February's funk, I feared the worst heading into our game against Bayern; I made some tactical adjustments in the hope of revitalising things, or at least lining up in a more solid formation to limit any damage. When Dani Olmo scored after just six minutes for the visitors, I swallowed hard. But a light appeared at the end of the tunnel, Alexis Saelemaekers raced in at the back post to latch on to Moussa Diaby's teasing cross. 1-1 at half time. What followed I could scarcely believe. Patrick Schick found space in the Bayern penalty area, 2-1; in the 73rd minute the Czech striker grabbed his second from an improbable angle. As Bayern pushed forward, holes appeared at the back, with Schick completing his hat trick, and a 4-1 rout, in the 81st minute. Were we back? Schick scored a hat trick in the next game too, a 5-1 drubbing of Schalke - it opened up a small amount of daylight between us and Bayern again. Could we? COULD WE? We beat Wolfsburg in the DFN-Pokal Quarter-Finals, before defeating Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. Then the wheels began to wobble again. We struggled to make anything tick in the final third at Wolfsburg, succumbing to an 89th minute goal. A scrappy 3-2 win in Leipzig, in which both teams had a player sent off, was followed by a **** poor performance at Union Berlin. We saw another player sent off, and lost 2-1, with our hosts scoring either side of half time. The door was open, and Bayern stepped right on through. Bayern then knocked us out of the DFB-Pokal, before a brief uptick at Koln, beating our local rivals 2-0. These would be the last goals we scored this season. We fire blanks at Stuttgart, and again versus Gladbach, before a horror show at Bochum to finish the year - we have 64% possession, but do naff all with it; they have five shots on target, and score three of them. We also see another red card. We finish a comfortable 2nd, securing Champions League football, but in truth I feel a bit sick knowing we were at one stage 7-points clear at the top, only to finish a whopping 8-points behind Bayern. A 15-point swing through the final dozen-ish games of the season. I'm unsure what I did wrong; tactics? Too much faith in our younger players? Those three red cards during the final run of games didn't help... Our defence was the best in the league, just 22 conceded, whilst we scored 70 goals in the BuLi (only Bayern scored more); those two cold streaks killed us ultimately. Schick won the Golden Boot at least, his 27 goals are the highest in the league, and his 36 in total the best in Europe - beating Haaland, Mbappe et al. That's something I suppose. I shift focus to next season, lining up deals for Luca Netz, Romeo Lavia, and Yusuf Demir to bolster our squad. I'd like to add some experience somewhere maybe, but will see what comes up. It's a marathon, not a spring, and we have some good young talent here. We go again.

F U February. Well, in the space of a month, we've gone from high flyers to flippin' useless. Truthfully the early signs came in late January, as we more or less lucked out with wins at home to Dortmund, and away at Leipzig in the DFB-Pokal, before struggling to beat Augsburg. We seemed to be creating chances, but our finishing had largely abandoned us. We slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Hoffenheim, spanked Mainz 7-1, but then played poorly at Milan in the Champions League. A humbling loss at Freiburg put Bayern right on our tail, and when we failed to beat Werder Bremen a fortnight later we relinquished top spot. With a home loss to Milan in the second leg of our Last-16 tie we were out of the Champions League, and had surrendered a 7-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga. I feel a bit sick. Our next game is at home to Bayern, and there are nine more league games after that - we are still in the DFB-Pokal too, with a home QF tie versus Wolfsburg to come - but I am undoubtedly in one of those FM funks where I just cannot seem to get my team to tick again.

Welcome to the World Cup... Well, the first half of the season could not have gone better. With Ghoulam out injured, I opt to bring in another left back, signing Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg. As it's year one, I decide to focus on the DFP-Pokal, and drop the bonuses back to 'low' for the Bundesliga and Champions League, using the extra money to sign Andreas Schjelderup and Matheus França on transfer deadline day (França is primarily for the future, and will play for the U19 side for most of this season). German U21 keeper Lino Kasten is also added, on a free transfer, freeing me up to sell Andrey Lunev, given that his contract is up next summer anyway. On the field, a Patrick Schick hattrick helps us see off Magdeburg in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, before the Czech striker scores not once, not twice, but thrice to help us win away at Dortmund in our first Bundesliga game of the season! We proceed to win six BuLi games on the bounce to move into first, eventually running into the BayernWall in Munich. Before our big clash with Bayern, both Patrick Schick (fractured toe, 3-4 weeks) and Adam Hložek (sprained ankle ligaments, 3-4 weeks) are injured on international duty (in the same game!!!); to say I am unimpressed would be an understatement. To add salt to the wound (no pun intended), Kerem Demirbay pulls his groin (no sniggering at the back) during training. Biggest game of the season so far, two starters and a key option from the bench ruled out. At least the expectation of the Board, and the fans, is that we’ll lose I suppose...We give it a fair old go, but a red card for Alexis Saelemaekers doesn't make our task any easier and we eventually succumb to the defending champs, losing 2-0. We're soon back on top however - and when I say soon, I mean a week later! - as we beat a spirited Schalke side, while Bayern lose at Dortmund thanks to a late Jude Bellingham goal. Apart from a 1-1 draw at Leipzig, we win all of our other domestic games leading up to the World Cup break, leaving us top of the BuLi on 40 points from 15 games, while Bayern are second on 35 points from 14 games., and into the DFP-Pokal 3rd round; we play away at Leipzig in the next round at the end of January. In Europe, we open our Champions League Group H account with a 0-0 draw at home to Juventus, before trouncing Marseille in their own backyard. A 2-0 win at home to Porto puts us top of the group, and we're unlucky not to knick a later winner during the return game in Portugal, final score 0-0. An 89th minute penalty sees Marseille beat us at the BayArena, but a point in our final game against Juventus will be enough to see us through the Last-16. After a cagey first 70 minutes, in which Schick scores for us and Vlahović scores for Juve, all hell then breaks loose. Thomas Lemar puts Juve ahead in the 75th minute and I fear the worst; the kitchen sink is thrown onto the pitch and much to my delight Schick finds the net almost immediately (well, 79th minute), only for Lemar's 81st minute shot to squirm away from Lukás Hrádecky and into the net. An extra sink is found in the kit bag and tossed onto the field; Schick understands and duly equalises again in the 84th minute. When the Czech bags his fourth of the night in the 89th minute I nearly fall off my chair. A stunning result to see us through to the knockout stages.

Thanks, Mark - duly noted; it'll be the first and last for the thread. Think of it as the book cover Anyway, I'm underway at the BayArena - here's your first chapter: Guten Morgen - Day One to Game One “We don’t really talk about 2002.”. And with that, I feel like an ass. My first day at the BayArena and I’ve already put my foot in my mouth; 20-years on and that season remains raw around here. General Manager Fernando Carro takes it in his stride, and is gracious enough to move the conversation quickly on as he shows me around my new home. Sandwiched between Cologne, and North Rhine-Westphalia state capital Düsseldorf, Leverkusen is best known for two things: pharmaceutical company Bayer, and its sports club Bayer 04 Leverkusen. It is the latter that brings me here. The club has never won the Bundesliga; its last trophy came in 1993 (the DFB-Pokal); and, aside from a couple of Oberliga Nordrhein titles in the 1970s, the only other silverware in the tiny cabinet in the stadium's reception is the 1988 UEFA Cup, which is accompanied by a couple of certificates for when Michael Ballack was voted ‘Most Erotic German’. It’s been a lean few years that’s for sure. Despite a good track record of producing talent (Kai Havertz being the most famous recent example), regular finishes in the Bundesliga’s top-four, periodic Cup runs, and frequent jaunts into Europe, things have just never fallen into place for Leverkusen. I’m here to change that. My aim is to build a team around young star Florian Wirtz, one capable of toppling Bayern at the summit of the Bundesliga, and challenging for European honours again. I’ve inherited a squad which should at least be capable of securing Champions League football for another year, whilst perhaps making a run at another DFB-Pokal win. Wirtz is the one I want to focus on, at least once he is back from a cruciate ligament injury in 4-5 months time; but Patrik Schick, and Moussa Diaby are quality attacking options, while Edmond Tapsoba (if I can hold on to him), Jeremie Frimpong, and Exequiel Palacios provide quality options elsewhere on the pitch. I decide a couple of extra fullbacks wouldn’t hurt though, and sign Ridle Baku from Wolfsburg, and pickup Faouzi Ghoulam on a free transfer. Annoyingly, we lose Callum Hudson-Odoi to shin splints just a week into the project (estimated recovery time: two months), so I move to sign Alexis Saelemaekers from AC Milan too. It’s something of a gamble, it has to be said; the signings push me way over the wage budget, and I find myself seriously considering selling Tapsoba, worth approximately £50 million, when Chelsea start sniffing around. Long term I want to focus on the development of local talent, but first want a solid foundation to build from - I think these transfers, combined with the current playing staff, support that aim. In the end I manage to shift Timothy Fonsu-Mensah, Daley Sinkgraven, and Paulinho (the latter two being on expiring contracts anyway) to help re-balance the books, whilst also putting a little bit of cash back into the transfer kitty. An overhaul of the club’s backroom staff also gets underway. Brian Kidd joins me as Assistant Manager, Dennis Bergkamp brings his experience to the project, while former Liverpool Director of Football also comes in. By the end of the preseason, my coaching staff is considered the best in the league, as is my scouting department; we’re also pretty strong on the Sports Science front too. The Under-19 staff also get a bump, which I hope will help in respect to the whole ‘developing talent’ thing. — We suffer a classic FM defeat in our first preseason game; Duisburg have one shot on goal, and score - we have five, with an xG of 1.99, and 62% possession, and a goal disallowed, and lose 1-0. It’s frustrating to say the least; both Schick and Hložek underperform as strikers, Demirbay is rubbish in the AMC role. Is 4-2-3-1 right for us? A much improved performance against Romanian side FC Rapid, combined with a shift to old faithful, 4-3-3 DM, gives me heart; but we suffer another long term injury as Ghoulam is ruled out for 3-4 months with a hip problem. He joins Wirtz (still 3-4 months), and Hudson-Odoi (now 4-7 weeks) on the long term injured list. At least Amine Adil, and Karim Bellarabi are back in light training, even if they are still a month away from being passed fit to play. When Denizlispor catches us on the break in our next game, I decide it’s time to drop that high defensive line. Whilst we came back to beat our Turkish hosts 3-1, this is the third game in a row we’ve given up the first goal in this fashion. The preseason is as much about getting me up to speed as it is the players… We trounce Sivasspor in our final preseason game; next up it’s Magdeburg in the DFB-Pokal First Round - it should be an easy start to the new season proper, but football is a funny old game.

Having achieved Premier League success with Newcastle United, I decided it's time for a new challenge in FM23; so I'm off to Germany looking to earn Bayer 04 Leverkusen their first ever Bundesliga title in... *drumroll* Never Say Neverkusen Again! Coming soon to an FM Story near you!

Starting XI is mostly competent, but the lack of depth is a killer. World Cup break hurt us too - we carried some good momentum into November, but then the break seems to have hurt us. Albeit of the three games we've lost since return to action, two were against Barcelona (one in Supercopa, one in La Liga), and the other game we lost (away at Celta) we had a man sent off after 3 minutes, and they got a penalty via VAR... Frustrating is the word I'd use right now, although we are 4th in the table after 19 games.

Does anyone know if there is a payout based on where a team finished in the league for La Liga in FM23? e.g. £30m for finishing 5th or whatever. There were no such payouts in FM22 sadly, but it only seems to be the case for La Liga, and not any other leagues as far as I can tell.

Long before Marvel, or Michelle Yeo, Football Manager was doing the multiverse thing. In recent years I’ve been transported to Rome, Naples, and Leipzig, as well as the more familiar locals of Newcastle, and Peterborough. On more than one occasion I’ve found myself in sunny Spain, overseeing the fortunes of Valencia Club de Fútbol, that early 00s Prince turned pauper. With real-life turmoil engulfing the club again recently, I have been transported back across the Footy-verse - like a pudgy, hairy Dr Samuel Beckett - and unceremoniously dumped on the floor of the Mestalla. Can I follow in the footsteps of Rafa and Ranieri and bring glory back to Los Che (again)? Only time will tell. ——— DAY ONE TO TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY “Good morning”, a voice greets me. I open one eye to see club owner Peter Lim standing over me. It is a measure of the madness of Valencia under Lim’s ownership that he does not find it strange to discover an Englishman laying on his office floor, nor does he ask me how I got there. It must be a Monday. “So you’re the new guy,” Lim continues. I clamber to my feet, and take a seat beside his desk, somewhat groggy. I notice one arm is missing from the chair as Lim hands me a slightly battered looking ring binder, which contains information on the past and present of Valencia Club de Fútbol. Six La Liga titles, eight Copa del Rey victories, three UEFA Cups, and two Champions League Final appearances. Valencia is a club rich in history, but noticeably limping these days. A 2019 Cup win (and 2022 Cup Final appearance) cannot hide the fact that the club has been in slow decline for over a decade, with financial worries at the heart of things. A ceiling tile falls as I am reading. “When I came here before, we had Ferran Torres.” I say. “Sold.” Lim replies . “Parejo? Kondogbia? Maxi Gomez? Rodrigo even?!” I exclaim. “All sold.” “José Gayà, Carlos Soler, and Gonçalo Guedes are still here though, right?” “Oh, José is, yes; the other two? Sold.” If that isn’t Valencia’s short term history in a nutshell, I don’t know what is. This isn’t the first time Football Manager has brought me to the Mestalla, but each time I’ve arrived, the squad has been weaker, and the lack of Champions League football in the past two seasons has compounded financial woes. “We’ve got a new stadium being built though,” Lime chimes in. “Set to open in July 2025; and you do have a transfer budget…” I perk up a bit. “...but you’re also way over the wage budget already.” I slump back into my chair. “This deal is getting worse all the time.” I mutter. “Pray I do not alter it further.” “What?” “What?” ——— I head to my office. After rifling through the largely empty draws in my imitation IKEA desk, I open the ring binder and assess the state of my new squad. Gayà’s presence is a huge plus at left back, while Edinson Cavani’s arrival on a free transfer gives me a decent centre forward. In fact, the starting XI is mostly competent, and should be good enough to achieve our goal of a top half finish this year with a couple of tweaks; but depth is a serious problem. Over the long term, the club’s legendary "Acadèmia" youth system should help me fill out the squad, but a limited transfer budget hinders my short term options, and a negative starting balance in the wage budget complicates matters further - an early attempt to sign Roberto Gagliardini from Inter hits the buffers when we fall someway short of meeting his salary expectations. I sell Toni Lato, who is in the last year of his contract, and Marcos André for a combined £6.5 million, but only get to see about £3 million of that due to the financial constraints the Board has placed on me. At least it frees up some salary, and allows me to bring Eliaquim Mangala back to the club on a free transfer, while youngster Sinaly Dimonandé joins from Lyon - the pair should provide solid support to my first choice centre back pairing of Gabriel Paulista and Mouctar Diakhaby. Despite the additions - which also free up Eray Cömert to be retrained as my backup ball winning midfielder - this is going to be a tough one, I can feel it in my bones. Initially I start with a good old fashioned 4-2-3-1 primary tactic, but quickly opt to shift to a nice solid 4-3-3 DM; truthfully, I’m not sure what to do with my third tactic at this stage, given the makeup of the squad, and difficulty rebuilding it. ——— While the transfer budget might have caused me some headaches, rebooting the club staff is not so problematic - Valencia’s reputation is still high enough that a lot of people are willing to come and join me at the Mestalla. I bring in Brian Kidd as my Assistant, and Michael Edwards as Director of Football. With former Manchester United scout David Williams on board as Chief Scout, and ex-Southampton Head of Youth Development Edd Vahid hired, there’s a distinctly British feel to the hierarchy now; and by the time I’m done, our coaching, and scouting teams are considered to be the best in the league, whilst the medical team is among the best too. Opting for a low bonus scheme this season also frees up an additional £2 million in the transfer budget - it’s not much, but if it lets me add a little more depth to the side then I’m all for it! The Pre-season is solid, if unspectacular; we draw with Atlanta, Inter Miami, and Orlando City, and beat Tampa Bay, FC København, and, hearteningly, AC Milan! We seem to be heading in the right direction and comfortably beat Almería, and Elche to start the new La Liga campaign; unfortunately we slip up away at Cadiz, but bounce back against Getafe. Having won three of our opening four games, I roll the dice and structure a deal to bring Andreas Schjelderup to the club on deadline day for an initial £5.5 million, possibly rising to £8 million depending on various clauses - thank god for instalments is all I can say. Next up, it’s Real Madrid at the Mestalla!

Not sure if this helps, but Harry Kane (Pen 20) missed three straight penalties for me...

Now I've achieved my primary aim of winning the Premier League with Newcastle, I was going to try my hand at another save, but a little stuck for inspiration. I could go back to Valencia again - which has been a favourite stop of mine in recent editions of FM, and presents an even greater challenge this year with Guedes, Soler, and Gomez sold. I normally look for small to mid length saves - five seasons-ish - and like those sort of upper mid-range teams with an obvious sort of goal in mind; for example I've played as Napoli in the past (win first Scudetto since 1990), Roma (first title in 20 years), and had a go as Frankfurt in FM22. Tempted by Hertha Berlin too, but open to suggestions for inspiration Not sure I have the patience for resurrecting Deportivo, or turning Peterborough into Premier League champions

Thanks, Zachary - I have uploaded the file NUFC.fm

Despite that drubbing of Liverpool, our trip to the Etihad proved fruitless, with City far more clinical in front of goal as they ran out 3-1 winners to put us out of the FA Cup. A 2-0 win at home to Everton could not hide my disappointment when we lost at City again a few days later, this time losing 1-0 at St. James' Park in the first leg of our Champions League Last-16 tie. Just as it seemed like Simone Inzaghi's side (Pep was fired at the end of the 2023/24 season) would torpedo our entire season, we discovered our form! Alexander Isak's 82nd minute winner earned the first trophy of this save, beating City 3-2 in the EFL Cup Final, before Isak put in a sensational performance three-days later to help us recover from that Champions League first leg defeat to win the tie on penalties, following a 3-2 win at the Etihad. Our finishing went cold at Bournemouth, and at home to Leeds, but other results went out way to ensure we stayed 1st in the Premier League, with a 2-1 win at the San Siro getting us back on track as we took the first leg of our Quarter Final tie with Inter, while away wins at Wolves and Arsenal put us on the brink of a first league title in 98-years!!! A2-2 draw at St. James' Park saw us knock Inter out of the Champions League, setting up a Semi Final clash with Milan - where we conceded an 84th minute goal in the first leg. Annoying. Happiness soon returned to Tyneside however, as we thumped Sheffield United 5-0 and, combined with Chelsea's loss at Arsenal, were crowned Premier League champions! Unfortunately the wave of emotions could not carry us into the Champions League Final; despite an early goal from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Sandro Tonali scored Milan's single shot on target (a 25-yard screamer no less...) and we failed to convert any of our numerous chances to win the tie. Our final three PL games were a bit of a dud, easy wins over struggling Brighton and Norwich, before a meh draw at Spurs. Still, it's Mission Accomplished really, given I set out to bring a first PL title to SJP. Next stop, Champions League I guess.

I think what got me is that it's four games out of five, and it's not the first time I've encountered a situation where you get drawn against the same team in both Cup competitions, likely with another game (league) close by in the schedule; in season one of my save I played Manchester United three times in quick succession in PL, FA Cup, and EFL Cup. Sort of breaks the immersion for me tbh, it's happened so frequently across editions of FM. Also, are penalties just...bad this year? When was the last time Harry Kane missed three spot kicks in a row? But guess what's happened to ol' Harry in my save today...

Not sure this is a bug per se, but jeez I am gonna be sick of blue by the end of this month...

Into late February 2025, my Newcastle side sat top of the Premier League on 66 points from 28 games as 2nd placed Liverpool (65 points from 29 games) travelled to St. James' Park - here's me, trying to win Newcastle's first league title since 1927, while Liverpool are seeking to win a third Premier League title on the bounce. It is no underestimate to say this was the biggest game of my FM save so far! Live on Sky Sports' Saturday Night Football, Francisco Trincão put us ahead after 27 minutes, before Diego Coppola nodded home from a corner nine minutes later to give us a 2-0 lead at half time, with Ugurcan Çakir making two vitals saves to keep Liverpool at bay. Trincão added his second two minutes after the restart, before Matheus França made it 4-0 Arda Güler added a fifth in injury time to send us 4-points clear, with a game in hand. Next game is away at Man City in the FA Cup fifth round, before the Champions League Round of 16. We also have the EFL Cup Final against City on March 19th. At the start of the season I just wanted one trophy, now we're still fighting for four! Undoubtedly Newcastle is a full on 'money save' in FM23, but god damn I am enjoying this.

I've reached Christmas 2024 in my Newcastle United save, and we. are. top. of. the. league! 13 wins, 5 draws, and one loss - away at Liverpool to an 89th minute winner (sound familiar?) - to leave us 2-points clear at the top, with Liverpool and Chelsea just behind us. Also reached the EFL Cup semi-final (vs Arsenal), and drew Preston in FA Cup 3rd Round. We've also reached that stage of a save where you get the new Champions League format, which I find weird TBH. Anyway, four wins and two losses from six so far; PSG and Dortmund still to play...both in January, when I also have EFL Cup semi-final games, at least one FA Cup game, and four PL games, meaning at least mine games in January. NINE! On the plus side, a couple of decent sales, combined with Newcastle's financial might in FM23, and a declining Tottenham team means... *drum roll please* Harry Kane is joining my Newcastle team in January! Madness.

In previous editions of FM, I've seen the green/yellow/red (hopefully not red ) lines indicating when certain players work well (or poorly) together in their roles. Now into the third season of my save, I've only seen one such line develop; this despite trying to have a first choice XI, roles which I would expect to work ok (results and performances suggest they do) etc. Are these partnerships just slower to build up in FM23? Or am I doing something 'wrong'?

Thought I'd add my own FM23 journey to this corner of the forums; I realised recently that haven't guided my beloved Newcastle United to Premier League glory in FM since back in the CM days! Championship Manager 97/98 in fact; mainly due to my preference of managing abroad - I'd play as Newcastle for a couple of seasons during the beta, then start a new save with someone like Valencia, or Roma when the full release dropped. FM23 presents an opportunity to right that wrong, so to speak; and no, the money doesn't hurt, but with City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Man United to overcome, as well as Europe, there's enough there for this mid-length save enthusiast I've just started season three, so this initial post will be something of a summary of what's gone before: Season One was mainly about retooling the squad - Declan Rice was my big summer 2022 signing, but I stretched Newcastle's not inconsiderable budget to bolster the defence with Alessandro Bastoni, and Ridle Baku as well. Houssem Aouar and Yunus Musah came in to provide midfield depth, but the loan move for Thomas Lemar failed to work out as the Frenchmen played poorly. A strong start to the season saw us sitting 5th in the table at Christmas, so the Board pumped in additional money to further inflate what transfer kitty I still had - combined with a couple of sales, I was able to trigger Jude Bellingham's release clause add in loan moves for Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ante Rebic, it felt like we had a squad deep enough and strong enough to maintain a top-four challenge (I also agreed future deals for Marcos Leonardo and Maximo Perrone). We were, frustratingly, knocked out of both Cups by Man Utd, but had the last laugh, as their form collapsed in the final weeks of the season just as our peaked, and we pipped them to 4th on the final day of the season! Champions League football would return to St. James' Park! Season Two was something of a slog overall - another healthy transfer budget allowed me to sign Kvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli, Illia Zabarnyi from Kyiv, and Ruben Neves and James Ward-Prowse from relegated Wolves and Southampton respectively. Clearing out some dead wood, and using some clauses and installments, also let me add Jose Gaya and Ugurcan Cakir, plus another glut of young players with the future in mind (Nianzou, Lavia, Coppola). Had a couple of cracking results in our Champions League group, including thumping Juventus 4-0 at SJP, and qualified for the last-16 as group winners. The extra games started to really drain my young squad however. Managed to add some veteran experience during the January window, signing Kyle Walker, and sought to rotate more; we reached the EFL Cup Final, but 70th and 78th minute goals saw Liverpool edge us, before a frustrating 3-2 first leg loss at Inter in the CL last-16 stuck the boot in - with the Italian side earning a controversial 89th minute penalty. Further misery heaped upon us when Leeds beat us 2-1 in extra time to knock us out of the FA Cup, before Inter held on for a 0-0 draw in the second leg of our tie. Ouch. Mix in an annoyingly high percentage of draws, and a top-four place also seemed unlikely. A wobble from Man City late on gave us a chance to sneak ahead of them, into 4th, but we only drew at Leicester, which meant we needed Everton to hold (or beat) City on the last day of the season; while we thrashed QPR to do our part, Everton could not withstand the City onslaught. We finished 5th, drawing a whopping 14 games(!!!), but at least we ticked the Boards box of qualifying for the Europa League...only for UEFA to award the PL an additional place in the CL for 2024/25! We were in again! Lucky SOBs that we are. Season Three sees the expectations of the Board ramped up; requiring us to challenge for the Champions League I'm hoping relatively small squad changes (added Matheus Franca and Francisco Trincao to first team squad) combined with young core getting a year older and wiser will help us take the next step. I'd like to add another striker, to backup Isak, before the summer window closes, but decent options to fill that role are hard to find/expensive.

Thanks - I'm giving the carrilero thing a try for the last few games of this season; I'm out of both Cups, out of Europe, and only seven PL games to go - so it seems a good time to experiment Lining up with Ruben Neves as DM in DLP (de) role, then Rice at LCM playing carrilero, and Bellingham RCM playing Mezzala (at) for the moment, see how it goes. Neves helps support the defence, Bellingham helps support the attack, then Rice hopefully knits it all together. Ironically, I did sign Lavia from Southampton, but with an eye on the future, so loaned him out for this season. I didn't go with a CWB in the end, really for the reasons you outline - I've done it before with Gaya at Valencia, but I'm not sure it really works for this Newcastle team; I have talent elsewhere that I think would be better focussed on (Kvara, Isak etc.) and having Gaya perhaps out of position (as he goes on the attack as CWB) leaves me vulnerable at the back. I've tweaked things to have Kvara as IF (su) again (did have him on Attack for a while to mix up the attack patterns) and Gaya as WB (at) (but in the LB position still). Essentially I am back to my core tactic, just with Rice in a different role

Thanks - interesting thoughts r.e. Rice; do I run the risk of losing some defensive strength if I switch him from BWM to Carrilero? I've used Bruno and Bellingham as my Mezzala's more recently - Willock is a good backup option, but not normally my first choice, he just happened to be there when I took the screenshot. Kvara is an interesting one, yeah - could def consider swapping him to IF (AT), then have Gaya as either CWB or WB on support; then make Saint-Maximin a W(Su) and Trippier FB (AT) maybe.