lukegraham1991

2024/25 SEASON - FEBRUARY RESULTS & LEAGUE TABLE SO FAR... We had a mixed bag of results in February - some wins we didn't expect to get, some losses we expected, and a draw against Leicester we wanted to get the three points from. We look to have a week and a half off now - after the Spurs loss, from the 26/2/25 until 8/3/25 when we next take on Wolves (H) who are currently 17th. After that, we go away from home against Nottingham Forest who are currently 19th. Spurs (A) who are in 5th after that with a short turnaround as we play on a Wednesday evening in that one and then we welcome Brentford to Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium in our final game of March who are currently placed one below us in 10th. As things stand we are looking good to better last seasons 10th placed finish with only 10 games left. We only have Spurs & Newcastle who are currently above us in the league table right now. To make that a reality though, we have to win these next two games so hopefully this week or so break will refresh the boys to go on another good run of results now.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 33 - FA CUP - AWAY VS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR Our last game of February came in the form of the FA Cup Fourth Round Replay against Tottenham Hotspur at their place. We managed to keep things close with our string of second team players for the first half, but the lack of game time recently and a few bad results later, we allowed a brace from Harry Kane to scupper our chances. Not a huge issue to lose this game as I would have played our strongest side if I thought we could have gone far in this cup. Notable poor performances: Fred: 6.3, Anel Ahmedhodzic: 6.4 & Angelo: 6.4. Standout performances: Ben Godfrey: 7.0.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 32 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS LEICESTER CITY We only managed a draw in this one, Jordan Pickford has been really poor since returning from injury, costing us several goals already. I'll have to keep an eye on how Butland does in the FA Cup game next to consider dropping him from the Premier League team next time around. We have Spurs in the return leg of the FA Cup next, I will be making a lot of changes as we have a quick turnaround and then face Spurs again in the league. Notable poor performances: Jordan Pickford: 6.3 & Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.4. Standout performances: Dwight McNeil: 7.7 & Nathan Patterson: 7.4.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 31 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS MANCHESTER CITY While we had some tight legs after pushing the Arsenal game to the limit, this was one I knew would always be difficult after only a few days of rest between the Arsenal loss and us playing against Man City. As you can see from the below team ratings, we were very tired, and very poor in this one. Next up we take on Leicester City at Home and while we are 9th and they are 13th, this result may mean that a bit more damage has been done to the squad than we would have hoped for from this result. Notable poor performances: Dwight McNeil: 6.0, Jarrad Branthwaite: 6.1, Vitaliy Mykolenko: 6.1, James Ward-Prowse: 6.1, Jordan Pickford: 6.2, Nathan Patterson: 6.2, Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.2, Romeo Lavia: 6.3, Fred: 6.4, Kaio Joirge: 6.4, Lucien Agoume: 6.4 & Vitor Roque: 6.4. Standout performances: N/A

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 30 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS ARSENAL A tight game ended with a loss which was the first one so far on this difficult fixture list journey. Apparently Fabio Vieira is the new Frank Lampard of the Premier League, bagging his 11th and 12th goals of the season from central midfield. With Arsenal currently at the top of the league though we can't be too disheartened with narrowly losing out in this one to be honest. Notable poor performances: Fred: 6.3, Kaio Jorge: 6.3, Jordan Pickford: 6.4 & Dwight McNeil: 6.4. Standout performances: Romeo Lavia: 7.8.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 29 - FA CUP - HOME VS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FA Cup action next as we welcomed Spurs this week, not the worst result, but we could have done with getting this tie out of the way in one leg to be honest, but given our recent schedule, I don't think anyone was expecting a draw here, with the two previous wins before that, so a lot of positives to take from our form recently! Two more really difficult ties coming up now as we face both Arsenal and then Man City away from home back to back. Notable poor performances: Jordan Pickford: 6.4 & Lucien Agoume: 6.5. Standout performances: Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 7.1, Nathan Patterson: 7.0 & Kaio Jorge: 7.0.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 28 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS MANCHESTER UNITED Next up we welcomed Manchester United to Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium. A hostile welcome it was, with Kaio Jorge in red hot first half form, putting us 2-0 up before the break!! Another unexpected result as we held onto the 2 goal lead and the clean sheet, freshening up the team as time ran down and ultimately clinging onto the three points!! Another huge win for us! Notable poor performances: Kaio Jorge: 9.2 & Dwight McNeil: 8.5. Standout performances: Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.3.

2024/25 SEASON - JANUARY RESULTS & LEAGUE TABLE SO FAR... We began January with a tough away fixture vs local rivals Liverpool - we narrowly lost out in that contest due to a Mo Salah effort from the edge of the box nestling top bins against Pickford. After that was when we started to kick into gear, with comfortable wins in each of the following three games against Bournemouth (H) in the Prem, Middlesbrough (A) in the FA Cup and then Sunderland (A) in the league. Our last game came in the form of Chelsea at home and we took a 2-0 lead, which was cut in half shortly after creating the 2 goal cushion - however, we managed to pull together to hold onto all 3 points - bringing a 5th defender on late on by sacrificing DCL for Godfrey who added some pace and physicality late on when they were pressing us for an equaliser. Next month, as you can see below, will be somewhat of a season defining month I believe. While we currently find ourselves in 10th position in the league table, we could string a few more good results together and move into european places, or we could take some defeats on the bounce and fall into the bottom half of the table. But for now, we have a 5 point cushion to keep us in 10th place and hopefully we can keep building on our recent run of good form.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 27 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS CHELSEA Our last game in January we welcomed Chelsea to the Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium. A penalty just before the break was just what we needed, and James Ward-Prowse was the fella required to slot the chance away to put us in pole position to lead at the break. Shortly after the half time team talks, Dominic Calvert-Lewin latched onto a cross at the back post to get his first goal in 7 games which will hopefully flick a switch for him and get him back to the goalscorer he has been previously for us. Next up we take on 5th placed Manchester United at home - while they are a better side on paper, I am hoping to use our momentum and recent up turn in form to get something positive from this game - we shall see! Notable poor performances: Dwight McNeil: 6.4 & Fred: 6.5. Standout performances: Josip Sutalo: 7.5 & Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 7.4.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 26 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS SUNDERLAND We took on 20th placed Sunderland in here with all hopes of making it 3 wins and 3 clean sheets from 3 games. While it wasn't the best performance we've provided, we were very comfortable here, our goal scorer Kaio Jorge unfortunately is lacking match fitness so I didn't want to risk injury and brought him off shortly after scoring, but Sunderland didn't really get near us all game which is always a good sign against any Premier League team. Having said that, Jarrad Branthwaite did give away a penalty on the 17th minute mark and I thought we were about to get FM'd but Jack Butland pulled off a save when Stewart stepped up with an effort from the spot. Next up we face Chelsea, and from there we have 4 more games after that in which we are probably huge under dogs. Notable poor performances: Jarrad Branthwaite: 6.3, Jeremy Doku: 6.4 & Rafael Santos Borre: 6.5. Standout performances: Jack Butland: 8.1 & Vitaliy Mykolenko: 7.9.

TRANSFER OUT - JAMES TARKOWSKI Despite some efforts to keep hold of him as a squad player, Tarkowski wanted too much game time for his ability unfortunately. Due to the player now being 32 and unhappy, with his contract being up at the end of the season, I thought it would be best to get some of his 90k per week wages off our books. We are paying the player 35k until the end of the season but ultimate free up 55k worth of wages for someone who wasn't playing very much and we still have plenty of options in CB who can step in if required.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 25 - FA CUP - AWAY VS MIDDLESBROUGH We travelled to Riverside Stadium next as we took on Middlesbrough in the FA Cup. This win makes it two wins on the bounce with two clean sheets as well! Vitor Roque & Kaio Jorge both took knocks in this one unfortunately but Santos Borre got on the score sheet and Callum Wilson is still waiting in the wings to get involved, we also have Angelo back in the mix and DCL too. Next up we face 20th placed Sunderland in the Premier League at The Stadium of Light as we hope to make it 3 wins from 3 in all competitions before we delve into a really difficult period - we have Chelsea, Man Utd, an FA Cup draw, Arsenal & Man City on the bounce from the end of January til the end of February. Notable poor performances: Josip Sutalo: 6.5. Standout performances: Vitaliy Mykolenko: 7.9 & Fred: 7.7.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 24 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS BOURNEMOUTH Our second outing of the new year came at home against Bournemouth. An end to end contest in the first half ended 0-0 but after a good reaction from my half time team talk, the lads came out raring to get this win. Romeo Lavia netted from the edge of the box and Vitor Roque did something very similar late on to secure a 2-0 win. We have a weeks break now until we take on Middlesbrough away from home in the FA Cup, and then a week off after that until we face bottom of the league Sunderland - I will be going full strength to try and gain some momentum for the lads and hopefully come out of this period with 3 wins on the bounce before we welcome Chelsea to Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium. Notable poor performances: Filippo Terracciano: 6.4 & Dwight McNeil: 6.5. Standout performances: Jordan Pickford: 7.7 & Vitor Roque: 7.7.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 23 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS LIVERPOOL Disappointing to start 2025 with a loss to our local rival but given the fact that they have absolutely world class players all over the park, a narrow loss here isn't the end of the world. We need to pick ourselves up and improve for the next game against Bournemouth (H) though as they are a lesser team but usually cause us problems. Notable poor performances: Fred: 6.3 & Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.4. Standout performances: Jordan Pickford: 7.4 & Vitaliy Mykolenko: 7.0.

TRANSFER IN - ANEL AHMEDHODZIC Despite a number of our centre backs being good options, they haven't been performing this season. I wanted to bring someone in that would fit the role of a ball playing defender and someone that I've had success with on previous saves on FM23. We've got a loan deal in place to keep Ahmedhodzic here until the end of the season, then he will sign full time on a bigger wage. Sheffield initially wanted £20-odd million up front as a mandatory fee, but I got them down to £16.5 million due to the monthly fee I am paying on the loan.

2024/25 SEASON - DECEMBER RESULTS & LEAGUE TABLE SO FAR... This on paper was a really tough month, after drawing to Leicester in the first game I thought it was going to a loooooong month of poor results. However, we took on Man City next and got a surprise result in a 2-1 victory with a late goal from Vitor Roque. Next up, an away fixture against Chelsea was always going to be a tough one - and while I hoped we would get a second HUGE results on the bounce, I knew it would be too much to ask - having said that, Angelo getting sent off in that one didn't really help matters. We then welcomed Brighton to Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium and managed to get another 3 points on the board! Upcoming fixtures have some big tests again for us, with Liverpool (A) being first up in 2025. We then welcome Bournemouth who have gotten the better of us frequently over the past few seasons, hopefully we can improve to compete there. Middlesbrough (A) in the FA Cup is probably a game I will give some younger lads or those in need of minutes some game time in - not fussed about going on a cup run at the moment to be honest, I'd rather focus solely on the Premier League for now until we can find more consistency. Sunderland (A) I hope to take 3 points from as they are still 20th in the league and have only taken 3 points from 3 separate draws in the league so far this season, not winning a single game and only scoring 4 goals while conceding 48 times. Last up in our January schedule comes Chelsea (H) where we face another difficult test from a team that has only recently beaten us to nil in the league in December & they are pushing for the league looking at the current league standings below.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 22 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS BRIGHTON An early goal from Mitoma after 3 minutes was nullified with a screamer from Vitor Roque after 26 minutes. We were pushing and pushing before the half and got our reward with a cross finding Jarrad Branthwaite to direct goalwards & we went into the break 2-1 up and looking good for the win. We kicked on from there and Dwight McNeil scored shortly after the half time break to make it 3-1 and from there we looked very comfortable for once against Brighton! Big win for me - we drew 2-2 last time back in September of this season. They beat us twice out of 3 encounters last season with a mixed bag of results in season one too. Notable poor performances: N/A Standout performances: Dwight McNeil: 8.0, Vitor Roque: 7.9, Nathan Patterson: 7.7 & Jarrad Branthwaite: 7.7.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 21 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS CHELSEA Disappointing result but one we probably expected, the only thing annoying about this one in the end was that Angelo came off the bench only to get himself sent off shortly after. I'll never understand the diving in on this game. Keeper saved the penalty immediately after, goalkick - Chelsea win the header and Pulisic then goes 1on1 with Pickford and scored anyway! Notable poor performances: Fred: 6.2, Josip Sutalo: 6.4, Romeo Lavia: 6.4, Dwight McNeil: 6.4 & Angelo: 6.4. Standout performances: Jordan Pickford: 7.1, Nathan Patterson: 7.0, Vitor Roque: 7.0 & Filippo Terracciano: 7.0.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 20 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS MANCHESTER CITY What a mad game this can be sometimes! What a win for us after some really poor results since the start of the season!!! I went into this one giving us no hope, so did the fans and the media but to pull it off, after going ahead and them equalising through that alien of a man Haaland with over 10 mins (including injury time) to go I thought we were dead in the water, I switched our approach to be as direct as possible and boy did it pay off, with Roque getting on the end of a cross from Lucien Agoume and sealing the win and bagging us the three points nobody expected us to win! Notable poor performances: Jarrad Branthwaite: 6.3, Josip Sutalo: 6.4. Standout performances: Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 7.8, Vitor Roque: 7.5.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 19 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS LEICESTER CITY First game of December saw us travel to the King Power Stadium to take on 14th placed Leicester City. A bit of a boring first half to be honest with very little actual highlights coming out for us to watch. Beto then took the lead for the home team on the 60 minute mark with Ward-Prowse nestling a penalty 8 minutes later to ensure we shared the spoils. Not much else to add in this one, probably a fair result on the day. Notable poor performances: Vitor Roque: 6.4, Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.4, Fred: 6.5 & Angelo: 6.5. Standout performances: James Ward-Prowse: 7.4.

2024/25 SEASON - NOVEMBER RESULTS & LEAGUE TABLE SO FAR... We finish November in 11th place, not as bad as maybe we've been making out but the aim is to improve year on year, and season one we finished in 11th, last season we finished in 10th, so we are currently backtracking a little, on the plus side, we do have half the season still to play with plenty of points still to fight for! In the lead up to christmas and the new year, we face Leicester (A) who are currently in 14th, and with the following 3 games in December, a big win would be ideal in that one! Next up it's Man City (H) who are 2nd, Chelsea (A) who are 3rd & Brighton (H) who are currently sitting in 8th. While i'd love to get 12 points in December, I just don't see it happening - however, stranger things have happened!

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 18 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS From a 3-0 loss to Brentford, to a 3-0 win against Wolves - lovely work from the boys in this one, absolutely dominant throughout the whole game really. Dominic Calvert-Lewin must have seen my last post about him and had his game of the season so far as well! Scoring a brace and assisting Onana for the other goal as well!! Hopefully a sign of things to come but I feel as though I've said this was too many times this season already and it backfires... Notable poor performances: Vitor Roque: 6.4. Standout performances: Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 9.9.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 17 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS BRENTFORD Ah, the story of season 3 continues! Up, down, up, down with the form and it doesn't look likely to change any time soon! Shambles once again, not one of our players playing above a 6.8 rating. Deserved nothing from this one for sure! No-one standing out as our goal scorer this season which is worrying with DCL taking a downward spiral right now - with only 4 goals in 12 games right now standing top of the goalscoring charts for us. Next up we face 17th placed Wolves (A) in our last game of November. Hopefully, a loss like this can give them a kick up the behind to put a shift in for a big performance in that next outing. Notable poor performances: Jordan Pickford: 6.1, James Tarkowski: 6.2, Vitaliy Mykolenko: 6.3, Angelo: 6.3, Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.3. Standout performances: N/A

Indeed! Really lacking any consistency in form at the moment - always a tough period to get through on FM!

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 16 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS NOTTINGHAM FOREST Next up we took on 18th placed Nottingham Forest in a tie that again, due to recent bad form as a unit and a lot of bad form for individuals, I was hesitant on how to approach this, I've gone back to basics on my gegenpress 4-3-3 setup and brought some harder working boys back into the line-up like Fred, Santos Borre, Tarkowski - and while their individual ratings weren't the best (I blame that on lack of game time recently) we managed a comfortable win in the end after a cagey first half. Notable poor performances: Angelo: 6.2 & James Tarkowski: 6.3. Standout performances: Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 7.8.