Football Manager Series

[Ranbir]

It's very easy to not have to dip into the transfer market at all and just grow your finances.

I'm in a position where I don't want or have to sell any player. I've always gone for youngsters, which is where I clash with the chairman who always demand 'star' players. It doesn't matter much though. Whomever he buys, I don't play.

Strangely, the season I just mentioned hasn't been the highest total in money spent.

Speaking of sales, I have a problem with selling players. I just don't want players to leave. They can bid whatever they want, I don't need it and I don't like the idea of putting players on the transfer list, especially when I or the club is favoured by the player. It's heartbreaking really. It's getting near that "If I can't have you, no-one can so I'll murder you instead" phase.

I bought a £30 million replacement for Terry, he's a Brazilian world class centre back called Edivaldo, 25. (regen)

Btw, have your scouts search regions. They will increase their own knowledge of countries they didn't know of before.

[SYL]

Yeah, I guess it's just nice to have all that money so that, when the time comes that I have to use it, I can. It's a lot better than having a paltry £7 million per season that Arsenal are more used to. As it is, I'm going in for a new full-back as backup for my first-team options. He doesn't have to be stellar quality, just good enough to slot in for the odd game, so I'm not going to pay too much.

As for selling people, I try not to, unless I don't think there's a future for them, or they're seriously not happy at the club. Van Persie put in a transfer request early in my second season, I rejected it and held onto him until Januarym saw that he just wasnt performing, and offloaded him to Roma for £14 million. He's underperformed ever since.

I let good but unspectacular kids go for a few million here or there. Old players just run out their contracts, like Lehmann (39), Lauren (31) and Ljungberg (31) will at the end of the year. I have all those positions covered, although a new backup goalkeeper will probably come in ahead of Mannone.

[SYL]

Okay, so then I went and bought Messi for £44.5 million. What do I have to lose?

Fourth season now. I won the league again last year (by a margin of 13 points, no less), this year I want to win another cup.

[Ranbir]

I've been trying to mirror the defence record from my 11/12 season where I didn't lose a game and only conceded 8!!!

Have just won 18/19 with 91 points, 13 point lead. Arsenal second. Facing them in the FA Cup and then have Porto in the CL final.

Boy, I enjoy having Carlos Vela...I'm glad I had been able to unsettle him away from the Emirates. With him and Sergio Aguero there is no frightening attack. I don't even play them together.

[SYL]

Vela's getting good on my game, too. He single-handedly destroyed Tottenham earlier this season, getting two goals and setting up another. He's a bit inconsistent, however, which I'm putting down to youth. He'll be a part of my team for a while, I think.

How are you doing with older players? TH14 is 32 and his Acceleration and Pace have dropped from a zippy 18 at the start of the game to a respectable, but noticeably slower 15. He's still my best striker, and should be for a couple more years. Gilberto is pretty damned slow now, at 33, but his technical skills are excellent and mis mental stats keep him in the side. I just let Fabregas do all his running, although I'm going to move for Mascherano in the summer.

Curiously, Gallas has kept his pace, but lost his acceleration. He might not stay after his contract's up, so that may not be a problem for the long-term.

[Ranbir]

He will become valued at £40 million, eventually. Truly a worldclass forward. He's legendary in mine now. Helped Mexico win the world cup in 2014!

Providing physical stats aren't below 10 yet, you can take full advantage of TH's experience.

Hargreaves is a man who literally just ends up with all high orange mentality stats. Fantastic.

Beckham is another one who can provide fantastic influence.

After a treble win for 18/19 I decided for the next season to have a wage budget of £7.75 million p/w

I can offer a key players £275k p/w. Not so high because I think there is already two players on 200k.

[Ranbir]

One of my goals in FM has always been to win the League with 100 points or more. The highest I've gotten in 2k6 is 98 and 96 in 2k7.

In season 19/20 I've enjoyed a start I've never been able to achieve. A perfect start. 12 games played so far, 12 wins. Scored 28, conceded 4.
Hopefully this run goes on long enough so that I may be close to achieving the 100 points. I have Carlos Vela for home games, Sergio Aguero for away games. And this lovely 22 year old regen called Alberto Araque (thanks to a feeder in columbia) He's like Vela and Aguero combined and already a lethal scorer. 5 games and 12 goals.

[Ranbir]

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f327/ ... Oldest.jpg

Oldest player ever.

[Ranbir]

In CM/FM when I manage my club, I set targets. Win this, win that. I am able to achieve them, although not always.

Once I set a target to win all competitions I played in. This is something I have been capable of doing on a few occasions.

In my FM07 game this is one of those times; but with a key significance.

That lies in the Premiership. I have won it without losing a game before. I have won it without conceding more than 10. Something I can never repeat consecutively(something else I strive for) but am still proud of having done it. One of the many targets I had yet to reach was reaching 100 points....

In this season, 19/20. Aside from winning everything: a side issue
I finally was able to win the Premiership perfectly. Winning all 38 games. Getting 114 points.

I wish I could say the entire season(including the other tournaments) were perfect, afterall I did eventually win them all. But some cup games ended with a draw, had to be settled in a replay, extra time or penalties. Sometimes I would lose the first leg and have to go all at it in the following.

Here is the League table, by the way, Reading qualified as FA Cup runner ups, just incase it looked odd.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/p.calay/perfect.jpg

Here is my squad ending 19/20
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/p.calay/supersquad.jpg

Since I only play one striker Aguero and Vela rotated. Aguero played away games, Vela played home. Alberto Araque is a youngster I got from a columbian feeder. I used him in cup games and he is frighteningly good. An injury put him out for most of the season.

And yes I do have C. Ronaldo but I actually bought him on the January window of that season. He was 35 and transfer listed at £110k, I thought 'why not?'. It paid off, he scored the winning goal, off the bench, against Man U in the League Cup Final.

John Terry was there but I just signed him as coach so he's no longer with the playing staff. Hargreaves is retiring also, they couldn't have picked a better moment to.

Anyway, I felt like sharing this accomplishment (primarily the Premiership win). I will try to follow it up but I'm aware all it will take is one game. One game to end this run. Be it a loss or draw. But hey, that's my new challenge I guess.

Edit:

I saved every match from that season too...cause I'm weird.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/p.calay/bestseason.rar

The matches were hard...sometimes I had to set 'all out attack' from start of second half. Lots of late goal winners. Many controversial. Some requiring a man advantage. Anyway, all the matches...on the off chance someone is interested in watching a few. :\

[Ranbir]

Football Manager Live

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=75552


It is coming...