Tjeerd!
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Posts posted by Tjeerd!
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@Gunner 101Very good start to the season, and two very familiar names joining you. Of course, any player you bring on a free from either Liverpool or City is going to be familiar to me. In my save, Ojrzynski went on to earn 12 PL appearances for Sheffield United with a 6.38 average rating (maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that last part
), while Koumetio is still around the club. Anyway, keep it up!
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Season 6 - Summer Transfer Window
Transfers:
And that's it for our summer recruitment/sales. I've highlighted the players that are a part of our main squad, the other signings are for our youth teams or to loan out. You might have noticed a cheeky loan at the bottom. Chelsea were reluctant to extend Renato's loan, but once he got back they realised that he wasn't going to be getting many games in a team with Lautaro Martinez, Romelu Lukaku and Memphis Depay. Anyway, here they are:
Cucchi was signed in January but didn't join until this summer. He's more than good enough for the Premier League, and would actually make quite a good midfielder if we needed him there. Looking forward to front two of Renato and Cucchi, probably the strongest part of our team. He's on peanuts too, which is a big plus.
I had set aside a large part of my budget to bring in a good right back. I spent a really long time looking for a good, cheap (both fee and wages) and young right back. Problem was, quality right backs seem fairly rare, at least for a club of our stature. Another problem was that every player I had shortlisted was asking to become the highest paid player at the club. In the end, I chose Pinheiro. He's got some good, well rounded stats for a right back, quite a bit of potential and was moderately cheap for a player of his age. He's the highest paid player on the team, but I really couldn't find anyone asking for anything less than that who could offer what Pinheiro offers.
A technically gifted player who can play anywhere across the midfield and attack. Wages seem high at first, but it turns out that that's what every single player is asking for now that we're in the Prem. He was cheap and has got quite a bit of resale value too, which is a bonus.
One for the future. Fairly cheap with good attributes, he will probably be shipped out on loan for a season and we will see whether he's sold on for a profit or if he has improved enough to make a push for the first team.
Cost us very little and provides competition for Burke. He's second choice as it stands, but that can change with some good performances.
Centre back is another position where I had a bit of trouble recruiting. Most of our targets were asking for a lot of money or had other clubs chasing them. In the end, I chose Lewis because he's homegrown, a model citizen and has good attributes. He'll mainly be rotating with Mai next to Harwood-Bellis.
Similar type of signing to Damsgaard. Technically gifted, can play in a lot of positions and was cheap.
This was probably the toughest window yet. Good players were really hard to attract, wage demands were all over the place and there was a lot of competition for a lot of our targets. I'm happy with the team though, we've brought in good players in positions where we really needed them, and we're going into the season with 21-23 (depends on a couple of players I'm trying to loan out) good players in our squad. Our strongest starting 11 would be something like this:
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Tempting... Problem is I don't know what I'd do with so much money, I've more or less finished my transfer business. I think keeping Menard is more important right now, but I might reconsider if I get a bigger offer...
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@Gunner 101 It was a good shout but no, that's not it sadly. It just seems like everyone thinks they'd be a better choice for captain, regardless of who I pick. It's quite amusing to see someone like Menard complaining because he's not captain, and then complaining because he feels he's being put under too much pressure when I do pick him as captain. I can't win here
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@Gunner 101 No clue. I've never heard of it happening. Not much I can do about it though, just going to have to deal with it.
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I've run into a bit of a problem here. I reached a point where I'm prompted to pick my captain and vice-captain. I picked Harwood-Bellis and Mai, and half my squad lost it, everyone thought they were a better choice. So I thought right, I'd rather not deal with this so I'll reload a recent save I have and pick differently. I've done that, same result. No matter who I pick, this happens. Apparently I can't avoid this. I really don't understand it, the only new player there is Cucchi (23.5m value, wow), so that's not the problem. I don't know, it's never happened before. I think I'm just going to go with my original choice and deal with whatever happens...
I really hope this doesn't affect my start in the Premier League...
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hace 9 minutos, Gunner 101 dijo:
@Tjeerd! Lofthouse looks a good prospect! Nice that he's doing well and winning things along the way too. Congratulations on the promotion the Premier League. Such a good achievement to make it there with only one season where you didn't quite make it. It's a shame you're going to lose Renato but it's so exciting to see you up there and I'm watching with interest as to who you can bring in.
Thanks for the run through of your squad, it's great to see who you have and what your thoughts are about them. It seems the foreign contingent now outweigh the domestic players. Did that change mostly when you got to the Championship?
Thanks! I was smiling all afternoon yesterday after achieving it. Now that you mention it, I do have quite a few foreign players around, yeah. And yes, almost all of them joined when we got promoted to the Championship. It's not something I'm doing consciously though. I suppose foreign talent is just cheaper than domestic talent? I think we had a hard brexit too, maybe that's got something to do?
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End of Season 5
We've done it! For the first time ever, Stockport County will be playing in the top tier of English football. This has also earned me entry to the list of club legends, just under Liam McAlinden's name (it only took him one season to break in).
Transfers:
The Italian striker shown previously, Cucchi, was confirmed. Aside from that, the only incoming transfer was another loan from our affiliates Liverpool:
Rochel Kalana joined to cover for a few of our injured players and did really well when he played. As for sales, Joao Escoval left for Lokomotiva after only playing two games for us this season, both from the bench.
Results:
A tough January saw us drop out of both cups and win only a single game in the league. We recovered our form though with a vital win against 1st place (at the time) Norwich where Renato scored a magnificent hat trick. We then had a shock loss against a struggling Sunderland side who won with a single shot. By the beginning of March we had relinquished our automatic promotion places once more, finding ourselves third after 3 draws in a row, and facing a tough game against the team that was now in 1st place, West Ham. A surprisingly good performance, though, meant that we got a deserved win which catapulted us back to first place. Three games later we found ourselves in a more comfortable position:
Four games left against somewhat favourable opposition. We did our job against QPR and Birmingham, dispatching them quite comfortably. Next up was a game against Steven Gerrard's Millwall, where a win would confirm our promotion. A boring match ensued, with a big lack of chances. In the 91st minute Kalana played a through ball to Honorat (our right winger with 9 finishing playing as a striker) who slotted it in past their keeper, bringing joy and chaos to the town of Stockport. Premier League football was now guaranteed and the title was lifted in the next game.
Table:
West Ham lost to Burnley in the Playoff final, which means that Norwich and Burnley are the teams that will be joining us next year. Renato, who obviously leaves in the summer, ended up as the league's top scorer and best player. A busy window awaits now, as I try to get the team's quality up to PL standard. I've been given 400k as wage budget and 27m as transfer budget, so bargains are going to have to be found if we want to have any hope of surviving next year. Either way, next year is going to be the most tough and exciting season yet.
Players:
I think it's probably time that I talk you through the squad that achieved this, with a few pictures for our standout players who haven't been shown much.
Goalkeepers:
Will Mannion: our first choice goalkeeper since we were in League 2. He's attracted interest from Championship and Premier League sides and is currently complaining about his contract, asking for one that would make him the highest paid player in the team.
Andrea Tozzo: our backup goalkeeper. He's 31 years old with decent stats and Professional personality. He's played the odd game here and there in the cup, but is nowhere near Mannion in terms of quality. He's happy to stick around and I've got no problem with that unless we sign another goalkeeper, which is low on the list of priorities for the summer.
Defenders:
Ryan Burke: our only permanent left back and undoubtedly first choice there. He was signed in League 1 for 25k from Birmingham and he's developed with the club at a similar rate. He's attracted interest from many Premier League clubs, with Watford currently monitoring him. He's also on the cusp of his national team, he should be making his first start for Ireland next year provided he still plays for us on a consistent basis.
Leandro Dias: brought in on loan from Porto, he's going to be leaving with only 5 starts under his name. He was signed with the intention of providing cover for Burke and that's what he's done, but he was never going to take Burke's place this season.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis: his brilliant performances for us this season have meant that his loan has been extended for another year. He's played whenever available and has been vital for us this season. There's also a big chance that he's handed the captain's armband next season, leading his boyhood club in their first ever season in the Premier League.
Lukas Mai: the big German has been THB's partner for the entire season with similar performances. He's had a few moments where his lack of agility and speed have been noticed, but overall he's been a very good player for us. He's also been attracting interest from Germany, so he might be leaving provided we get a good offer for him.
Antony Angileri: Angileri is a very interesting player. Basically, you take the recommended attributes for a Libero and put 12s and 13s in all of them and there, you've got yourself Antony Angileri. He's nothing spectacular, a solid defender with good feet who can play at centre back, right back, defensive midfield or even central midfield, making him a really good backup option.
George Romain: an Australian born in Fiji who also has English nationality. He's played two games for us in three years, both from the bench. He's a central defender with really good physicals who came through our academy, but who will never be anything better than a L2 player at most. We need a club-trained player to sit on the bench though, and Romain is the one who's been picked for that. His contract is up in the summer, so this is probably the end of his story at Stockport.
Nadir Zortea: an Italian signed last summer for 475k. He's been our starting right back when fit, which has been less than half of our games. His value has shot up, so I'll be looking to sell him this summer.
Alpha Dionkou: the former City player was signed on loan from Arsenal. He was supposed to be a backup, similar to Dias, but Zortea's injuries have meant that he's played a larger amount of games than expected. He's leaving for Sporting Kansas City next year, I might have considered making his stay permanent otherwise.
Midfielders:
Joe Breen: my entire starting midfield was signed in the summer and so they all have recent pictures you can check. Joe Breen though is someone I don't think I've shown yet. He's the best outfield player to have come out of Stockport's academy, but apparently he was only signed the year he came through our youth intake, which means he wasn't and still isn't club-trained. That's the only reason he hasn't been sent out on loan and instead given games here. Next year though he will be leaving on loan. He's got a perfect personality and stats for a btb midfielder, or a segundo volante which is what I use. It'll be interesting to see how far he gets with us.
Evan Menard: our midfield maestro. Attributes wise he's barely improved since we signed him, but his performances for us have been nothing short of sensational. He's a player who I've really enjoyed watching, and barring a massive offer in the summer (which is possible, both Arsenal and United are interested in him) he'll continue to be first choice in our midfield.
Claudio Gomes: he has improved quite a bit. He's a similar type of player to Menard, but brings more physicality to the side. He's been giving us a lot of solid performances, and is set to continue starting in that segundo volante role for us.
Andrea Colpani: signed in our first year in the Championship to replace Clarkson. He's also been really good for us but not quite to the level the previous two have been at. Still, being a natural in both midfield positions means that he's been first choice backup for both positions, and he's done well when given a chance.
Adria Bernabe: naturally a central midfielder who we've been retraining to play left winger. He's rotated with Dardai and is the one with the most goals out of the two. Not sure if he'll be staying next season, it will depend on who we bring in.
Palko Dardai: our other left winger, the one with the most assists. Like Bernabe, he's been fairly average. His value is massive, the highest at the club for some reason, so I'm really interested in selling him.
Curtis Jones: good, but a tad inconsistent. Started the season with a lot of goals, but they dried up after a while and kept turning in 6.4 ratings. Returned to form towards the end of the year but got injured. One I'm open to selling for a good price, but open to keeping him around too.
Franck Honorat: backup right winger, found himself playing and scoring quite a bit as a striker. He's been good for us, but definitely not Premier League quality.
Strikers:
Rob Brown: a very good return there, but hampered by injuries and actually regressed attributes wise. It's also starting to look like the player Liverpool sold me was the finished product as he's barely improved in these two years. Still, he's been really good for us and if we do sell him we'll turn a big profit, so definitely a successful buy for us.
Nabil Touaizi: a good striker we signed in League 1, but not a prolific goalscorer. Was signed on a free and is currently valued at 4.6m, so a sale is looking very tempting there considering he's not up to PL standard. He might just be kept around as a backup though, and he would probably do a good job there.
Renato: one of the best players to have worn the kit. 29 goals in 40 games is an incredible return, and he's only just turned 19. He'll end up being a really good player for some top flight side, and it's been a pleasure to have had him in my team for a year.
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@Gunner 101That's nice to know. As for myself, I just play FM in bursts: play a couple of seasons, take a break for a few weeks and repeat. I'm really enjoying this save though, I'm not going to be abandoning it anytime soon.
As for loans... I know, I lied, I just can't help myself. It's been getting even worse now, Renato's become the league's top scorer and he's also my only fit striker at the moment. I've even looked to extend his loan for another year, but Chelsea aren't having it. I have extended Taylor Harwood-Bellis' loan though (Stockport fan, local lad, team leader and all that...
).
Your reputation question is very relevant right now, it's been a big part of my January transfer business. Long story short, I had about 6-8 potential targets to snap up on a free, and while all of them were open to joining, we lost them all the moment another club came in with an offer. I've lost players to Charleroi, KV Mechelen, Saint Ettiene, Portimonense and Derby. In fact, the only player who I've been able to secure is the Italian striker I showed in the previous update. We've got the worst reputation of the league, with four L1 sides ahead of us on the list. It's actually a bit better than I thought it would be too, considering how quickly we've been rising through the leagues.
I actually paid 50k for Mannion. I really liked how his attributes were spread, he's a pure shot stopper and I thought that was the best thing for a L2 goalkeeper. He's still doing very well in the Championship, and he's my first choice as long as we're in this division. I've got a young keeper that came through our academy who I see as a potential replacement for him:
The scouts and coaches say that he could be a potential PL level player, and 21 is still young for a goalkeeper. He's been climbing up the ranks slowly, playing in the National League North, the National League and League 2, with League 1 or, with a bit more improvement, even lower level Championship a realistic goal for next year. He's also been called up to England's U21s side a few times. We'll have to see what happens with him, but right now he's the best player to have come out of Stockport's academy.
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Season 5: December Update
Transfers:
I've brought in a few more players since the last update. These are the biggest ones:
Renato comes on loan from Chelsea to rotate with Rob Brown and Nabil Touaizi. Touaizi got injured for 6 weeks in late September, and Renato and Brown proved to be a very capable partnership up front in his absence. Technically speaking, he's probably the best striker we've got at the club. There's almost zero chance of him staying on a permanent basis though, which is the main reason he's not a nailed on starter for us, as I'd rather play those who do belong to us, considering Brown and Touaizi are both young and got room for improvement.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis is the other big summer signing. He's a Premier League level player who's born in Stockport and a County fan, which is probably the reason we've been able to get him. He's been immense at the back with Mai, and considering that he's probably not going to be playing much football with City in the future, I hope that he'll end up playing for us instead, on a permanent basis. He's still got two years left on his contract though, so we might have to pay a fee for him.
We're trying to get this guy to join us in the summer. I've spent the whole season scouting him and talking to the press about signing him. Like Menard, he's fallen out with Lazio and won't renew his contract (it runs out in the summer). No one else is interested in him, and it seems like he's very interested in joining us, so with a bit of luck he'll be playing in Stockport next season.
Results:
It was a bit of a rough start for us this season. Bernabe got sent off on his debut against Leeds, coming in on the 76th minute, getting booked on the 81st and sent off on the 82nd. By the 7th game things looked a bit poor and there were already talks of us underperforming in the press, but to be fair we had already played all three relegated sides, with a lucky point against Palace where James Simpson scored in both ends, a thumping win against a Norwich side built around David Brooks and a narrow and one could even say undeserved loss against a West Ham side who had the likes of Haller, Felipe Anderson, Rice and Kolasinac. After all that though, performances improved and helped us climb up to second place. This was thanks to a lot of late goals as you can see, but when it happens on such a consistent basis you can make the argument that it's not actually luck. The two key games that in my opinion kickstarted the good form we are still carrying in december were the games against PL side Bristol City in the Carabao Cup and Sheffield Wednesday in the league. We found ourselves 2-0 down on both occasions, but managed to build back and get the win. Speaking of Carabao Cup, it looks like we've compensated for years of dropping out in the first round. Our toughest game was that one against Bristol City, aside from that it's been mostly Championship opposition. We've got the semi finals against Leeds coming up, which is a very winnable game for us, and if we do win that we'd be looking at a final against either United or Liverpool. We haven't been so lucky in the FA Cup draw, we've got United away for our first game in the tournament.
Table:
This is what the table looks like right now. We've had two games postponed in December, one against Hull City and the other against Charlton. We've had a brilliant first half of the season, and we've got a much better team than last year, so I think it's very possible we keep this form up get promoted. The whole team's performing, with the likes of Renato, Gomes, Menard, Harwood-Bellis, Brown, Mai and Burke standing out.
Players:
Brown leads the goalscoring charts once more with 13 goals in 28 appearances. He got off to a slow start where he found himself on the bench behind Touaizi and Renato after some lackluster performances, but after the former's injury he rose to the occasion and hasn't been dropped since, even earning himself a Wales cap, which naturally came with a goal. Renato sits in 2nd with 9 goals in 17 appearances, with Jones (8g in 26 games) and Touaizi (8g in 18 games) sharing third place. Brown won November's Player of the Month and Young Player of the Month, with Menard and Renato coming in second in the Young Player of the Month award for September and November respectively. Lukas Mai (6g and average rating of 7.2 with one POM), Will Mannion (10 clean sheets, average rating of 6.95 and 3 penalties saved) and Evan Menard (1g, which was a free kick from far out, 5a and an average rating of 7.28 with two POM awards) are the only players to have featured in all 24 league games. Our only red card came in our first game, which is a stark contrast to our record breaking tally last year. No tactical changes were made to remedy that, it was probably just down to the quality of players we had then. Our facilities are set to be improved once more, this time we're forking out almost 7m which is half our budget, as our heftier wages mean we are now losing money every month. Still, nothing a few summer sales or a promotion won't fix.
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Well done and congratulations @Gunner 101! Must admit, I thought you had abandoned the save but I'm glad to see that's not the case. I've actually played a few more months too, I'll post an update in a few minutes.
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That's a brilliant month @Gunner 101! As you said, the first couple of games are always the hardest but it seems like you've adapted now. Some of the tougher games are out of the way already, so with a bit of luck this run of form might continue. Good luck!
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3 minutes ago, Gunner 101 said:
Nice one @Tjeerd! I had feared you had given up on your save so glad to see you’re back! 9th place is a great finish, especially after the run of promotions.
Even Menard looks quite the player already. Looking forward to seeing how he develops going forwards for you. Was your transfer budget negatively impacted by the upgrades? Or do you have quite the kitty just incase you want to use it?
Best of luck for the new season!
Cheers! I've only just sold my 2nd choice keeper for 4m, which leaves me with a transfer budget of just over 10m. It could be higher than that, but I've been shoving quite a bit of it into the wage budget instead. It's there to spend if I want to, but at the same time we haven't got many sources of income right now and I'm finding some really good players on a free, so I'd rather just leave it there just in case. It's looking like I'm going to have to spend a bit to bring in some fullbacks though.
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End of Season 4
Results:
It's been a while, but I'm back with another update. I played most of those matches before I went away and I've already started the next season, so I'm not going to dive into details here. Anyway, we had a really good run of results towards the end of the year which meant that we closed the gap between us and the play-off spots, climbing up to 7th after the game against Birmingham, one point away from the play-off spots. Our main rivals at that point were Forest and Huddersfield. A loss against the former meant that we dropped below them to 8th, though the next two wins, one of which was a vital one against Huddersfield, meant that we went into the last gameweek (Huddersfield was the 45th game) like this:
We faced Reading at home, a game we were perfectly capable of winning. Huddersfield faced league leaders Bournemouth, while Forest faced Cardiff. Both Bournemouth and Cardiff scored early on, and for a while it looked like we had a really good chance to sneak our way in. Ultimately though, we failed to score while Forest came back to win their game, and so the table ended up like this:
While it's a bit frustrating to come so close and fail, I really doubt we would have beaten any of the other teams in the play-offs. It's been a great season and I'm very happy with it. It's been challenging and fun, definitely my favourite so far.
Players:
The Player of the Season award was a close one, though ultimately Touaizi won it because of his goals and consistency (12g and 9a in 36 games). Jones would have also been a worthy winner, with 7g and 6a in 33 games. Muslija came third with impressive numbers (5g and 11a in 37 games), but he lacked the consistency that the other two showed. Brown would have been among the top 3 had he been playing since the start of the season, but he did get himself Young Player of the Season (both club and league awards) with 12g and 2a in 26 games. We also broke a league record this season:
I suppose our intense pressing is to blame. On a final note, we're getting upgrades to just about everything that can be upgraded, including a new stadium that the board have decided to build.
Transfers:
And now the most important part, the reinforcements coming in to help us push for a potential promotion (or as far as we can get, at least).
To start things off, I did actually decide to sell Muslija this summer. Another big fee for a player that is definitely replaceable, and it allows us a bit more creativity in the market now. As for signings:
First off, Evan Menard comes in to replace Tommy Doyle. He fell out with Rennes and wouldn't extend his contract, which was up this summer. We approached him before the likes of Chelsea, City or PSG did and somehow managed to bring him in. I'm expecting great things (or a big fee) from him.
Next up, a familiar face. Curtis Jones returns for another spell at Edgeley, this time on a permanent deal. Liverpool decided not to renew his contract, and we were more than happy to give him a new home. He's had a very promising season with us, and hopefully those performances will continue.
My annual City raid resulted in two new promising players. First one is Claudio Gomes. I'm not sure about FM20, but in FM19 this guy usually ended up being one of the best DLPs in the world, so I'm surprised he was let go. Hopefully now that he's going to be getting gametime on a more regular basis he can develop into a key player for us.
Our second City wonderkid is Adria Bernabe. Though naturally a central midfielder, I'm thinking of playing him on the left as one of the replacements for Muslija. Another player with a lot of potential, he can also become a key player for us.
The other Muslija replacement (we were short in the winger department last year anyway) is Palko Dardai from Hertha. He's a very similar type of player to Muslija (similar attributes, same nationality, same age, same weight, same positions...) but he's left footed and better suited to our system. He's also got a massive value, I might try to sell him next summer as well.
Finally, another right winger to rotate with Jones. I felt that Bolton wasn't quite good enough for the Championship, so I've moved him out on loan. Honorat has good attributes and brings in some more depth on the wing.
All of these players came in for free. I'm still looking for a few defenders, a striker and a backup goalie (We've been offered 4m for our current one). Now that I write this I realize that I'm doing quite the rebuild this summer. I'm chucking out the deadwood we've accumulated in our rise through the divisions, and strengthening positions where we've typically lacked players. I'm trying to not depend too much on the loan market, though a few loans will certainly be coming in.
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@Gunner 101 Rob Brown is a lad I signed from Liverpool in the summer for 210k. He was initially fifth choice, but after our dry period where we couldn't win a game I decided to give him a shot as he'd been dominating with our U18s side. There's a pic of him in the July-September update, but I'll post another one soon as he's improved quite a bit since then.
I checked on Festus Arthur in my save out of curiosity, and he's currently playing for Curzon Ashton (National League North) on a semiregular basis. Hopefully yours develops better than mine did, though to be fair he didn't get much gametime with me.
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19 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:
@Tjeerd! That's really good, solid progress and to be comfortable in the second tier is impressive work. Good luck for the rest of the season.
Cheers mate!
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Season 4: December-February
2022 World Cup recap:
Messi finally lifted the World Cup for his country after beating France in the final. England finished third, beating Denmark in the third place playoff. Kasper Dolberg was named both top goalscorer and best player of the tournament, scoring 6 and assisting 1 in 7 games with an average rating of 7.51. Argentinian keeper Rulli was named best goalkeeper, while Italian striker Esposito was named best young player with 2 goals in 4 games and an average rating of 7.30.
Transfers:
No one was brought in, but a few players were sold. Our biggest deal was the sale of a regen we'd brought in on a free in the summer for 750k.
Results:
Our friendlies went really well and we carried that form to our competitive games, with 4 wins in our first 5 games since the break. January went well. We got a big win against Burnley with a spectacular performance where we only allowed them to take a single shot in the entire game, but that was followed by a thumping loss against Leeds, where they scored all their goals from outside the box. That kickstarted a dry run where we failed to score in four games. We drew unconvincingly against a struggling Middlesborough side followed by a big point against league leaders Bournemouth where we held on despite Muslija's sending off. After that we lost against Swansea, though I'm not too concerned about that as they're having a really good season. We then had two good wins followed by a draw against Southend (a single point in two games against the team that's bottom of the table
). The Cardiff game was particularly disappointing. I thought we had a pretty good chance of going through but three set-piece goals knocked us out.
League:
We're as mid-table as it can get. We're definitely not going down, but it's also unlikely that we make a push for the play-off spots. We've got ten games left and we're going to try to win as many as we can and see where we end up. I can't seem to find any reference to the position-based prize money we can get (if there is prize money, that is), but the higher the better. It's been a good season, and we've got a good platform to build from for next year.
Players:
Rob Brown has nicked Parkhouse's spot as top scorer, and at 18 he's only going to get better. Aside from him, the standouts are Touaizi, Curtis Jones and Muslija when he isn't getting himself sent off and suspended. Mai and Colpani are starting to show what they are capable of with some very good performances recently, so hopefully they keep that up next year. We've got the youth intake to look forward to this month. It's our fourth golden generation with a standout goalkeeper (that's starting to get really annoying). If any decent players pop out I'll show them in the next update.
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@Gunner 101 That looks like a promising pre-season, and you've brought in a few good players as well. I'm actually very interested in seeing how Mulhern does for you. My initial plan was to keep him around too, but eventually I ended up loaning him out to get him off the wage budget. He's now tearing up the Irish league every year with Derry City coincidentally.
I'm sorry to say that you're going to have to get used to your summer struggles for the time being
. Personally, I try to look through the players that are set to be released as soon as possible and try to snap a few of them up before the other clubs make offers. Once the transfer window opens you're at a big disadvantage and you're basically looking for loans and/or players who have been overlooked. Best of luck mate! 
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18 hours ago, Gunner 101 said:
@Tjeerd! Unfortunate run of results there but you’re still in a good position. Maybe the break has come at a good time for you? Regroup and refocus like you said.
Any of your players off to the World Cup at all?
Cheers mate. I’ll update at the end of pre-season.
Yeah, it's definitely a good time for a break. And no, none of my players are good enough for the nations at the World Cup
. I prefer that anyway, I'll have my whole squad available for all the friendlies and I can get a proper look at everyone.
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Season 4: October-November
The 2022 World Cup is here, which means that we've got a massive break now. We'll be playing the next league game in 51 days, so I figured now would be the perfect moment to make an update.
Results:
The goals have dried up, while our defence continues to be shaky. Our first loss was against Charlton. They scored with their first shot of the game on the 53rd minute, Muslija got sent off in the 55th and Charlton managed to score another one in the final minutes. We failed to convert any of our 20 shots, hitting the woodwork in the process. That was followed by a fortunate win against a poor Derby County side where Serratosa got his first goal for the club with a spectacular volley. Southend picked up their first win of the season against us, and if I'm being honest they deserved it more than we did. Mannion, our keeper, was named man of the match there with a 7.8 rating. That was followed by another 0-1 loss, this time thanks a 93rd minute winner at Nottingham. We somehow managed to get something against 2nd place Bristol City, where Di Marco, our right back, got himself sent off for an elbow on the 72nd minute, Mannion saved a penalty and then Halilaj scored late on from a Muslija free kick that was whipped into the box. We were then comfortably beaten by Blackburn, while our 1-0 lead against Cardiff was turned around late in the game after Colpani gave away yet another penalty which got them back into it. A few changes were made for our last game of the month. A few roles and duties were changed while Rob Brown, the 17 year old striker from Liverpool, was given his second start of the season and then single-handedly won us the game.
Table:
This is closer to what I expected at the start of season. If it wasn't for our good start we'd definitely be fighting relegation by now. We're 19th in the form table, but luckily we've got a long period to regroup and hopefully regain some form. There's a lot of work to be done, and if things continue like this some changes will be made, though I'm generally pleased with the first half of the season we've had and the position we're in.
Players:
There are very little positives to mention. Rob Brown's performance against West Brom give me hope, but the other strikers are dissapointing massively. Aside from Brown, none of the permanent signings are performing. Mai and Muslija have been alright at best, while Colpani has struggled a lot. Out of the loans, Doyle and Jones are the standouts, though that just means they've been solid. It seems i jinxed Parkhouse with my last update, he's now forgotten how to score. Anyway, now I'll be setting up a lot of friendlies to keep fitness levels up and try to recover the team's morale, and with a bit of luck we'll look like a new team once we're back.
@Gunner 101 Comfortable title win in the end, looking forward to your adventures in League Two
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31 minutes ago, Gunner 101 said:
@Tjeerd! Parkhouse is on fire! Definitely would feel like cheating though if I went and snapped him up now.
I don't think you can be too upset about how things are going so far. I assume Brentford are in the Premier League?
Fair enough! There are enough strikers to pick from anyway. Things are going brilliantly, better than I expected even. I'm not complaining in the slightest. And yes, Brentford are in the Prem. Brighton came in with an offer a week before the Premier League's window shut, which I managed to negotiate to 7m. I noticed other clubs were interested so I ended up triggering a bidding war and Brentford won.
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Season 4: July-September
Transfers:
There's only one way I can begin this update:
Eight million! He's been a great player for us, but I just can't reject an offer like that. That amount is massive for us, it takes our balance up to just under 10 mil. Of course, our transfer window ended in July, so I had to look amongst the free agents for a replacement. In the end I chose this guy:
He's a similar type of player to Clarkson, but he's coming to a new country and doesn't know the language, so I expect it will take him a while to really start going. Aside from that, we loaned a few more players (a striker called Dadasov from Wolves, a regen right back from United called Di Marco and Curtis Jones from Liverpool, a winger) and we signed a 17 year old striker from Liverpool for 210k.
Results:
First up, I'm convinced we're cursed in the EFL Cup. For the third year running we drop out in the first round, this time to League Two side Carlisle after Mai gets himself sent off. It's been a very good start in the league though. Obviously not to the standards we've been used to, but it's a new league and this one is particularly difficult. Injuries in the first games for Touaizi and Dadasov meant that we turned to the good old partnership of Parkhouse and McAlinden and they did not dissapoint. The draw against Leeds is a good result on paper but it was hard to take considering how we dominated from start to finish. The losses to Burnley, Bournemouth and Swansea (4th, 2nd and 1st respectively) were expected, but the performance against Wednesday was unacceptable as we went into the break 4-0 down. As for the Ipswich game, Colpani got himself booked twice and gave a penalty away, all in the 6th minute, and we failed to get anything out of there. For the most part though, our performances have been good.
League:
As I said, a really good start. We've also played a lot of the sides who are near us in the table. The top four will be really hard to crack as three of the sides were in the Prem last year and they've got some incredible players. We've been scoring a lot and conceding a lot, but I'm wary of making any changes considering that we're overachieving already, though the owner begs to differ...
Players:
Parkhouse is still going in the Championship (he should be available for you in the summer @Gunner 101
). The coaches say he's a national league level player, but these performances say otherwise. Aside from him, Dadasov and McAlinden have impressed whenever they've played (they've both scored three in four starts), while Touaizi's injury in the first game has disrupted his form a little. Curtis Jones and Luke Bolton are the next most in form players at the club. No one is playing badly (except maybe Colpani, who had a stinker against Ipswich), but no one else is really standing out. We've got a lot of key players that are missing on the international breaks now, so I've had to postpone a few games already. Speaking of international breaks:
He's finally been called up to the senior squad, and he scored in his debut. Is there anything he can't do?
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@Gunner 101 Welcome to the EFL! I loved the last minute comeback against Eastleigh, it's not often you see that. I'm also looking forward to seeing how you prepare for next season. Thomas seems to have done really well filling in for Lloyd, is he in your plans for next year?
And to answer your previous comment, Serratosa is now being trained as a box to box and a few more loanees have joined, Curtis Jones the only one from Liverpool. I'd love to have brought in a few more from them but almost none of the Championship level ones are loan listed and they're also doing quite a big clear-out this summer, with both Woodburn and Brewster leaving permanently.
I've actually played the first game of the season against a Middlesborough side that's predicted to struggle and finish below us. We won thanks to an 89th minute winner from Tommy Doyle, but if most games are going to be like that then I definitely see us staying in the league for the next few years.
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Sorry @Gunner 101. Couldn't resist it
. And cheers @Jogo Bonito, I just hope I can keep it up.
Anyway, I figured I'd introduce a few of the lads who're going to help us this year. First though, this is a player I got from City on a free. Any ideas as to what I could turn him into?
He seems too slow for a winger plus it wouldn't make much use of his defensive stats, and I'm not entirely sure if he's quick enough to be a full back. He might be a decent box to box, or a segundo volante as I'm training him into right now, but maybe you guys see something else in him?
Anyway, I've got four big signings to introduce.
First off, a player I've got a soft spot for. Tommy Doyle, who made his PL debut this year, is a player who is very highly rated in real life. In game he looks like a great playmaker and could also possibly slot in as a segundo volante. Frankly, I'm surprised he even joined us as the scout report said he had no interest in coming in on loan, but I declared interest via the media and it seems to have worked. He comes in on really big wages, but I think he can make a big difference for us and ultimately if he does as well as I think he can, he will prove to be a bargain.
Next up, a big German to slot in at centre back. Mai's actually a player I managed in last year's edition, so I also have a bit of a soft spot for him. That isn't the reason he comes in though, he really was the best free centre back available for us. He's also the perfect big guy to aim corners at, so I'm also expecting him to chip in with a few goals.
Third guy is a possible answer to our left winger shortage. The lad we brought in on loan, Thomas Hill, chose to sign for Ipswich, which meant that we'd have to keep looking. Soon after I found this guy, who was set to be released by Hannover. The only possible problem I see is that he's right footed and cuts inside from the left, but I can definitely work with that. Honestly though, I'm tempted to sell him as soon as possible. For reference, Lukas Mai is the next most valuable player we have, and Muslija's value is three times the money we have in the bank. We'll see what happens...
Finally, another centre back. He's got good attributes and he's fairly cheap and versatile, so I figured I'd bring him in as at worst he'll provide some much needed squad depth at the back. At the moment though, he'll be starting next to Lukas Mai and hopefully they'll be our main partnership this year.
Anyway, that's what I've been up to this summer. I've still got a few more targets in mind, both permanent deals and loans. I'll make another update before the start of the season if needed.
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), while Koumetio is still around the club. Anyway, keep it up!
). The coaches say he's a national league level player, but these performances say otherwise. Aside from him, Dadasov and McAlinden have impressed whenever they've played (they've both scored three in four starts), while Touaizi's injury in the first game has disrupted his form a little. Curtis Jones and Luke Bolton are the next most in form players at the club. No one is playing badly (except maybe Colpani, who had a stinker against Ipswich), but no one else is really standing out. We've got a lot of key players that are missing on the international breaks now, so I've had to postpone a few games already. Speaking of international breaks:
[FM20] - Stockport County F.C. Thread - Animo et Fide
in Good Player & Team Guide
Posted · Edited by Tjeerd!
Season 6: August-September
Results:
Our first ever Premier League game was against Villa. It was a tough game which could have gone either way, but in the end Villa edged it, scoring both goals from over 25 yards out. Next up was nearby rivals Manchester United. We got off to a rough start with Burke giving away a penalty which Rashford converted, but a goal just before the break from Cucchi turned the momentum in our favour. Soon after, Harwood-Bellis rose above their defence to score a header against the club he's grown up hating, and our third goal was a beautiful passage of play where Renato passed the ball across the goal (first time I've ever seen that in this game) for Cucchi to tap it in. The next game against Brighton must have been a brilliant watch for the neutrals, as both teams ended the game with over 25 shots. They missed a penalty early on though, and overall we were the more clinical side.
After that came our first Carabao Cup game against West Brom. They scored two goals from 3 shots on target while we missed too many easy chances. Burnic missed a penalty late on and so the game was decided by a penalty shootout. They missed two penalties and it was Burnic who made up for his miss to win the tie for us. Against Arsenal, Hakimi scored a spectacular solo goal where from his own half he picked the ball up and dribbled past my entire team. Burke was then sent off for a ridiculous challenge, and once that happened the game was over for us. In the next game Burnley scored with their only shot on target, while we failed to convert any of our 20 shots. Our dry spell continued against Wolves where Burnic had another chance to score from the spot late on, but smashed it against the post.
Then our first away game against Leicester came up. It was a game we deserved to win, though admittedly it was closer than the score line suggests. Cucchi netted a perfect hattrick for us, while both Damsgaard and Brown scored their first goals of the season. The same team was named in our next game against Leicester and we absolutely dominated the first half yet somehow failed to score. After the break Edouard scored a header and Burke gave away another penalty which was converted, and after that we basically capitulated. Normally I'd leave it there, but the next game was against our biggest rivals:
A massive result for us there. Cucchi had a chance to make it 2-1 in the 93rd minute after he was played through on goal by Renato. Only Ederson left to beat, but he couldn't put it past him. Still, a draw against City is a brilliant result. It does mean that we have now gone 5 games without a win though, we're going to have to end this run soon.
Table:
We're doing alright for ourselves here. Obviously it's a lot harder than any other season we've had, but some big results against teams like City or United mean that we are sitting around midtable now. It's still really early though, and the focus is still to avoid relegation. As long as we stay in the league I think we can consider this a season a massive success, although a relegation wouldn't mean the end of the world neither, as we'd be in a far better place financially compared to previous seasons in the Championship. The money in the Prem is insane. I've spent 15 million on transfers which meant that we were 8m in the red at the start of the season, but we've made it all back now.
Players:
Cucchi has settled in really well. His goals have really helped us out this season and they're a big part of the reason why we're not struggling as much as we could be. Our other main standout player is Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who's proven that he's more than ready for this level. Other players who have been doing well are Menard, Lewis, Jones and Burnic. We're going to be needing more performances like these to remain in the Premier League, but it's challenges like these that really make you enjoy the game.