Football Manager 2021

[thommo]

Just a quick post to sum up probably my most successful season so far in the save. It's been my 9th season at the club, and the 2nd season we've had in League 1 and we stormed to the title with 5 games to spare, as well as winning the EFL Trophy on the way. Our squad dynamics and cohesion are as high as they can possibly be, and it's definitely been a factor - the actual ability of most of my squad should not have propelled us to such a dominant season. We did tail off a little towards the end, but we still managed to scrape 3 wins from our last 3 games to take us up to 97 points.



And as for the squad, what an effort from them all. Dimitris Papadopoulos, our Greek wizard in the middle, was fantastic, and we've already had to reject an offer of £2m+ from Burnley this summer. Lukas Puntigam and Ian Harding will be joining us on permanent deals as their contracts are expiring at their parent clubs. Our biggest issue next season will probably be at striker - I think I will have to dip into the loan market and get the best prospect possible from a Premier League club. We will also need a new GK - Allsop was brilliant this season but he's getting on a bit and his contract demands are frankly ridiculous.



It's shaping up to be the busiest summer so far. A number of club stalwarts are going to be leaving - as much as I'd love to keep them throughout our climb they're lacking in quality and want quite large wage increases to stick around. We've only got £60k p/w to spend on the squad so I can't have too much dead wood.

However, I do now want to fund our new affiliate Oxford City to see if they can climb up the divisions using our loanees.

I'm willing to put aside a few thousand in wages to sign up some youth prospects and send them out on loan to help out this season! I'll post an update once all transfers are finalised and we're underway in the Championship.

[Yevrah]

Such a shame it gets cancelled when you meet each other in the same division.

[Adramelch]

Suffice to say, it's been a significantly better season than last time around. But what's even more satisfying is that we haven't looked out of our depth at all. We only lost one game by more than 2 goals, a 4-0 at Stamford Bridge and even that one was a travesty, with our keeper having a shocker and he's getting replaced next week so there's that.

Edit: And as I say that we inexplicably lose our next game 0-5 at home against Watford of all teams. Sure they scored with basically every chance they got but now our morale is shot for no apparent reason.

[niko_cee]

Pretty much safe short of doing a Hull though.

Seagulls.

[Smjffy]

Take over Paris FC. @ Smiffy.

I'm currently on a sabbatical as discussions with the Welsh FA drag on before 'Project Cymru Am Byth' can be launched.

[Adramelch]

Pretty much safe short of doing a Hull though.

Seagulls.

They've had a weird journey. They made the playoffs 6 seasons in a row until managing to win them last season and now they suck big time.

[Dark Soldier]

I know I'm United as my last hurrah to FM21, but still, LOL. Even missed a penalty.

[Dark Soldier]

Tactic is my own, as ever:

[Yevrah]

That is insane DS.

[Dark Soldier]

Yeah its kinda broken the game a little, was running a 4231 but struggling then switched to this after the Ajax draw:

[Manc]

Extremely urgent pressing is OP teh fuck.

[Dark Soldier]

Aye, they've claimed they've fixed pressing for the new version. I'd bet my remaining good bollock they haven't.

[Baz]

Can you concede less than 10 in a season?

[Dark Soldier]

7 conceded in 19, we'll see. 81 scored.

[Yevrah]

Oxford City 2036/37 End of Season Update - Premier League

AND IT'S LIVE!

Second season in the Premier League after our relegation two years ago and Championship winning promotion last season.

A tale of two halves this one.



Having started the season so well with 4 wins in 6, including one over reigning champions Spurs, we were struck with a 3 month run of injuries that is about as bad as I've ever seen playing FM. Top of the injury charts for the Premier League for that whole time, there wasn't a day where we didn't have at least 6 players from the first 11 and bench out. Valpoort got injured three times in that period, the second and third times before he'd even set foot back on the pitch again, and even Shaun Hines (who is never injured) got in on the act.

Towards the end of December the players were all coming back and the plague stopped, but when we lost to Spurs on New Year's Day we were 18th in the Premier League again.



I was planning to bin the FA Cup off as I did the League Cup earlier in the season, but with our strongest first 11 available for selection and relatively fit for the first time in months I played them all and it was something of a turning point. A much needed win, the first for two and a half months, and we were up and running. We then went on a cracking run (including the best performance in my time at the club with a 6-0 demolition of Everton) to secure Premier League survival fairly comfortably in the end.



The top 6 looks something of a closed shop, but as we shouldn't be flirting with relegation again, the next aim is to get into Europe. Burnley, we are coming for you.

In the middle of all that another work permit was granted.

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So more dirt cheap Eastern European talent entered the first team squad.



Hines got the Golden Boot and with it his 30 goal a season bonus of £185k. Rapidly becoming my favourite player ever in FM and I'd love to see him get an England cap. He's still inexplicably nowhere near Slaven Bilic's (lol) team.



First time I can remember I was so settled on what my best 11 is. Shame two of them are loan players. Oh and special mention to Koumis, he's been with us since League One and I've no idea how he's made the step up to the Premier League, but he has. His stats aren't even that good, but he's my Ji Sung Park or Dirk Kuyt in that we're so much more solid when he's in the team.



This summer's warchest:



And more pissing about with the stadium.



We hadn't even begun the pitiful expansion of 2,700 ish seats announced last year when this news popped up and now we've got to go and slum it in Milton Keynes for a year while our current piece of shit is expanded to a level that's not even upper Championship tier. I assume we're restrained by planning permission and we'll need to build a third John Woodley stadium to finally get a decent capacity, but for the love of God and all that's holy, just fecking do that now.

And talking of John:



I don't know what it'll take to get above him in that list, but I'm bloody doing it.

[Adramelch]

I had this problem with injuries in our previous time in the premier league Yev, so now I have a squad of 25 people which can do a passable job at the very least, so I am not stuck playing strikers in midfield. Makes a big difference. And apart from the full-backs, the rest of backup players are at least "good for championship" level so it kinda works out.

I can't even begin to imagine how demoralised you must have been around the end of the year though. Reminds me my end of the season run of games from two seasons ago.

[Raoul Duke]

How come you got so messed up with injuries? Shitty physios? Or just a small squad/bad luck?

Solid season back in the BPLSBB though. Not sure why you wouldn't just play at Reading's stadium instead of MK mind

[Yevrah]

I can't even begin to imagine how demoralised you must have been around the end of the year though. Reminds me my end of the season run of games from two seasons ago.

I definitely need more squad depth. It's why I'd opted on binning the cups off (even though it goes against my very soul) in an effort to stay in the Premier League at all costs.

And yes, the 13 game run without a win was horrendous. I was thinking to myself the whole time, we have a far better squad than we did two years ago but we're doing worse now than we were then. But in the back of my mind I knew if I could get the players back out on the pitch we'd been fine. What I'd seen in the first six games was enough to know that - it was light years ahead of last time.

[Yevrah]

How come you got so messed up with injuries? Shitty physios? Or just a small squad/bad luck?

No idea really. I've never seen it before to that level in this save or any other and having experienced three months of it, it just stopped.

[Adramelch]

What's really been annoying me A LOT this season, is that every player believes he deserves a first-team status. I have Dunn who's been with us for 5 seasons now, my coaches say he's at League One level and yet he won't sign a contract with anything less than Regular Starter status. I guess I'll just let him go, but I wanted to keep him for that sort of emergency situations with injuries etc (and he's british so there's that).

[Yevrah]

What's really been annoying me A LOT this season, is that every player believes he deserves a first-team status. I have Dunn who's been with us for 5 seasons now, my coaches say he's at League One level and yet he won't sign a contract with anything less than Regular Starter status. I guess I'll just let him go, but I wanted to keep him for that sort of emergency situations with injuries etc (and he's british so there's that).

That was exactly the point I was going to make with the squad depth bit above before my mind fucked off to the pub, in that it's a bloody nightmare keeping a stocked squad happy in this game. Once we get to Europe it'll be easier, but for now I'm basically playing 40 games a season and if my best 11 are available, they're starting.

[Jimmy Floyd]

One of the things I found the last time I played a proper save was it was as vital to find willing bench stooges at a certain level as it was to find the big stars. Stats only tell half the story, in some cases.

I am gagging to play again with all the great saves in this thread, but holding out for '22.

[Yevrah]

Really looking forward to 22 as well. Think I'll continue this save for a bit, maybe even overlapping into the launch of FM22, get a new laptop then go nuts on that game with all the logos and facepack graphics.

[Smjffy]

Project Cymru Am Byth.

After a two year sabbatical, former Wrexham manager, me, announced his next project. Wales had directly benefited from the work done at the club with many of the clubs players past and present taking the nation to new heights.







Now it was time to take Wales from 11th to 1st but in order to do that, the game in Wales itself needs improvement. At time of writing, the JD Cymru Premier is ranked as the 59th best league in the world rising 9 places last season but has just one Champions League spot available and three Europa Conference League spots. No Europa. Top ten would be nice.

The FAW have agreed to invest in facilities across the country in a bid to follow Wrexham's model and every club who gains promotion from 2040 onwards will be included but by way of recognition for services to the Welsh game, it was agreed that the first club to benefit above all would be my own home town who will no doubt join the top tier again next season and right a wrong from the 2031/32 campaign.



For now though, the summer is approaching and we're in direct talks with Wrexham to link up but we'll also need to enter the transfer market to a) get promoted and b) bring in players of a decent enough reputation to help boost the club/divisions rep.

This can play out now until the next version.

[Yevrah]

I had an aborted game in the depths of Wales before I started the Oxford City one Smiff, it was absolute hell.

I'd love to take a shit league to European glory in this game, but the game is now realistic enough I'm just not sure if one can. Good luck though, I'll be following with interest.

[Adramelch]

Yeah, I just end up getting bored whenever I get to the state where I dominate the league with my B team and then hoping we make a deep run in Europe.

[Yevrah]

His brother is OGB's Assistant Manager.

[Yevrah]

Hmmm...

[Smjffy]

More Welsh.

Alec Blake (Wrexham) currently holds the record of most goals by a player in a season with 9.



Danny Ward holds the record for most clean sheets with six but he retired in 2033 after finding himself in Belgium with Royal Antwerp. The goalkeeper had also played for Al-Duhail, Augsburg, Gladbach and Freiburg after leaving Leicester.



Reasons to be optimistic.

Alec Smith, Paul Rogers, Glyn Jones, Osian Gray and Danny Evans all came from Wrexham.

Jack Jones initially started out at Haverfordwest, Simon James started out at Connah's Quay, Tim Holden came through Brickfields academy back in 2026, it was actually League Two AFC Wimbledon who spotted him initially three years later.

Andrew Chesterfield is a difficult one though as he just emerge with Reims last season but initially born in Port Talbot.

It's going to be every bit as important that the other clubs in the top league perform too.

[Yevrah]

If ever there was something that illustrated perfectly how desperately we need a reputation boost, it's this.



He's playing in Belgium. Belgium.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I could be wrong and it's easier said than done, but I think winning a trophy (any trophy) is the way to boost rep. Sack off the league and try and win the Coca-Cola.

[Adramelch]

It's not necessarily to do with where he plays anyway. It's as if say Southampton tried to buy Haaland from Salzburg back before he went to Dortmund. It'd never happen even though pretty much every other player of theirs would make that move in a heartbeat.

[Yevrah]

Hopefully I'll start well enough in the league to be able to give it a go.

The base of the squad is pretty much sorted for the next season and it's only early July, but with Oliviera gone I have over £150m burning a hole in the club's coffers. Such a struggle to find players that will both improve on what I have while being willing to join.

[Yevrah]

It's not necessarily to do with where he plays anyway. It's as if say Southampton tried to buy Haaland from Salzburg back before he went to Dortmund. It'd never happen even though pretty much every other player of theirs would make that move in a heartbeat.

Yeah, that is a fair point. Wolves were sure enough he'd join them to make a bid mind, which thankfully Anderlecht rejected. They're only 3.5 stars, so that elusive half a star could be absolutely key.

[Adramelch]

I've had a fair share of players from say Partizan or some Brazilian team reject me in a similar way, only for them to join the Arsenals and Dortmunds of the world within a month or so.

I think I might take the short-term hit and overpay for a few young british players in the summer.

[Adramelch]

If you told me we'd finish 10th this season, I'd be chuffed, but the way things panned out, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed, as we could have very easily claimed a spot in Europe, seeing as we were 7th (or higher) for a big part of the season:



We only earned 5 points from our last 8 games, and while our schedule was fairly brutal, we actually played really really well. If our wingers knew how to finish a ball, we'd have a good 7-8 points more just from those last games alone. But as you can see, our wingers were an utter disappointment:



My tactic plays around the wingers quite a bit and they do usually tend to bag 10-15 goals a season but this didn't happen at all this time around, and it's not like they created heaps. I guess some investment on that front is paramount this summer.

[Raoul Duke]

Getting to Europe this soon might have been a poisoned chalice though - loads of teams get shafted by the extra load of games and their squad is too thin

[Yevrah]

Oxford City 2037/38 - Premier League

A few more of the youth queued up joined, which left our only major signing as this chap.



£6.75m clause-tastic from relegated West Ham. He wanted £120k per week so we ultimatum'd the shit out of it and West Ham agreed to pay some to let the move happen. As a man stuck in the early 2000's I don't think I'm ready to pay £100k p/w yet.



A disappointing start to the season, with the forced sale of Oliveira seemingly hitting us hard up front as we stodge the shit out of things on a game to game basis. Hines is still scoring, but not as much and the fluidity we ended last season with has (hopefully only) temporarily left us.



Very much a not bad, not great situation there. Worry is that there's surely no way Chelsea will stay in the relegation zone. We play them away next.

[Yevrah]

Oh and we've hit 3 and a half stars for rep, but it doesn't appear to have changed much so I've now realised 4 stars is what we actually need.

[niko_cee]

Well, you did say you were gunning for Burnley, so at least things are looking up on that front.

[thommo]

I've brought in a ludicrous number of youth prospects on free transfers (of which only about 30% will ever progress to near the first team), and only 1 of them has so far agreed to go on loan to Oxford City.

[Yevrah]

I need a feeder club.

Oxford United would be pretty swish.

[SvN]

I wonder how many fans switched allegences once you flew past them.

[thommo]

At the stage you're at, surely the board will allow you to choose one? My first feeder, Woking, was offered to me but I could choose the second.

[Baz]

I’ve never chosen one and had it agreed.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Yeah they'd never manage to get who I requested so I stopped bothering and just let the board choose.

[Adramelch]

Getting to Europe this soon might have been a poisoned chalice though - loads of teams get shafted by the extra load of games and their squad is too thin

Yeah I am not that disappointed that we didn't make it to Europe, just that we had such a poor finish to the season. But again, 10th in just our second season in the BPLSBB is more than good enough.

[Adramelch]

So the summer is over and we've been busy. I'll split our signings to the ones that go straight into our first team and "the others":

First team



A significant upgrade over our previous left-back, with an added advantage of holding an English passport courtesy of his coming through Liverpool's ranks. Picked him up for 16m.



An even bigger upgrade on the right-back position with this Croatian that somehow found his way in Mexico. Cost 15m, with half of it spread over the next 3 years.



This one feels a bit bitter-sweet, as we had a much cheaper and somewhat better Swede lined up for this position that agreed terms with us about 5-6 times since January but failed to get his work permit, and then picked Arsenal over us in the summer when he had 2 more caps and was thus eligible for a work permit. Instead we brought this guy for a club record 19m and we finally have a set-piece specialist so hopefully it pays off.



I wasn't looking to replace Blanco after his performances with us last season, but I saw this well-rounded beaut and decided to go for him. Again, there was a similar level of player that we could have gotten for much cheaper but he chose to go elsewhere, so we ended up spending 16m on this guy.



This guy I am really excited about. Signed him in January for just 5m, but arranged the transfer to take place this summer as we'd already field our "u21 from abroad" quota. He's miles better than what we had before so I have high hopes there.



This is a weird one. I wasn't looking for a replacement for Bartos, but our search for a good left winger failed miserably (the only good option decided to go to Chelsea for half the money and less playing time, as per usual), so I decided to play Bartos there and bring in another striker. Given that we found this guy for just 5m, I am quite happy, so let's hope Bartos delivers on his new position.

Squad players



Similarly to Reyes, this is a guy we signed quite a while ago (last summer if memory serves me well), but we delayed the transfer to abide to rules. He cost a measly 1m and he looks like he could even lead the line for us, but I don't like having African forwards in the first team, since the African Cup is a thing and it comes in the busiest time of the year.



Comes to offer some depth in the centre. At 12.5m, it would seem like we overpaid for him (compared to our other transfers), but he is British so I'll take a deal like that any time of the year.



Not a Premier League level of player, but he's happy with rarely playing, is home-grown and doesn't ask for much money. Only cost 3.3m as well.



Doesn't look like much at the moment, but has good mental attributes for his age, is home-grown and only cost 750k. We instantly shipped him off to Derby on a loan and he's been in the first team so far so hopefully he develops nicely.



And with all that sorted, we started the season fairly spectacularly:



Of course there's the disappointment that is the Burnley result (who had 0 points from the first 3 games and we beat 4-0 at their place last season), but we all know how FM likes to do that kind of stuff. Still, a great start with the Man City win being the highlight. If you'd told me we'd get 6-7 points from the first 4 games, I'd have taken that in a heartbeat, so having 9 points is magnificent. Diaz, Reyes and Antunovic have already proven their value with some great performances, while Bartos is somewhat struggling on the left wing. The surprise so far is Markovic, of course, so there I could see a case where he might be starting over Bartos, although that kind of feels like a dirty thought, given how I am not playing the latter in his strongest position.

Much like Yev, the board decided to expand the stadium more, even before the previous expansion had started, so for the time being we are ground-sharing with Middlesbrough, which feels a bit weird with Newcastle and Sunderland right under our noses, but what can you do.

[Adramelch]

I don't know about our status in terms of football, but we most definitely have the best construction workers in the country.

[Yevrah]

Just been utterly screwed.

Had four more u-21 forriners coming in January, not realising there was a limit of six per season. The game just cancelled two of them, including the seriously promising centre back, without giving me any sort of choice.

What a bollocks.