Stop the Drop

October 2017

So it's still a bit up and down for us.

We can't stop conceding goals. I've tried switching goalkeepers as well as a few tweaks to the instructions, but its not helped. I'm considering doing a Chelsea and going 3 at the back to see if that has any effect.
Blackburn were bottom without a win in 10 games when I played them. I had 26 shots to their 8 and 9 of those were on target, 2 of them being clear cut. So maybe my problems are all over the pitch...

Maybe I'll just start putting my kids out and seeing if they have more passion. Who knows
4 of our next 5 games are at Goodison, so hopefully we can ride this out.

November 2017

I have some free time today, so I'm getting through a few months.

November saw the first managerial casualty of the Premier League season. Antonio Conte is sacked with Chelsea sitting 14th in the table. No appointment yet, but the favourite is apparently Marcelino.
As far as our month went, we only had 3 games

I changed to a 343/523 formation and tried to base it as much on Chelsea's real life formation as possible. It gave us 2 solid wins, before we went down to an injury time goal against Stoke. Lukaku seemed to have hit a scoring streak, but he picked up an abdominal strain in training and will now be out for 3 weeks, meaning he could miss the next 4 matches.
Speaking of injuries, we've also lost Coleman for around the same amount of time with a twisted knee.

We're currently sitting 7th in the league, which is ok. 10 points behind Liverpool who are holding onto top spot. We're only 2 points short of 4th though, so we're still in the race for a Champions League spot.

7th in November. Pretty good, hopefully you can keep going!

Looks like you've turned Everton around well over the last year! Well done

Things are certainly better now than when I took over. However, the club is £50m in debt, and because of that, I can't do any coaching badges. So I'm still getting by on my continental C license. I feel I may need to move some players on in January just to get the money in. I certainly can't spend before I sell, and I'm only keeping 30% of transfer income anyway.

December
Before I get on with how Everton got on, I'll just mention that Roberto Mancini got the Chelsea job, while Alan Pardew was sacked by West Brom (2nd season in a row they sacked the manager half way through). They've replaced him with Lee Johnson from Bristol City, so they now sit 19th and managerless, although Pardew seems to be in the running there.

Only one defeat for us in December, although a run of draws ended the month.

2 of those came against United and Chelsea though, so I can't really complain. We still sit 6th in the league, 2 points behind 4th placed West Ham.

My injury problems when Leighton Baines pulled a hamstring against West Brom, meaning I played almost the whole month without my 2 first choice full backs. Galloway deputised well though and is looking like a decent long term replacement. He even managed to pick up Young Player of the Month.
Coleman has now resumed full training, but Michael Keane has just picked up a sprained ankle which will keep him out for a month.

I've been given the opportunity by the board to change my season expectations of a top half finish, however, the transfer budget increase was negligible, so I opted not to change them.

As I write this, it's the 1st January 2018. Last week, Lukaku came to see me and said he wanted to leave to play Champions League football. I agreed with him that he could leave at the end of the season if we didn't qualify. However, Arsenal have put an offer in on the first day of the window. It's not big enough for me to sell, but I think they might be back and Tottenham are also interested.
Their offer was £23.5m up front and £6.25m in installments over 12 months. There were also payments of £5.75m after 50 games, £2.9m after 20 internationals and £2.9m if they win the FA cup. They were also offering 20% of any profit. If I'm going to sell him, I want more guaranteed money. He is valued at £35.5m after all. And their offer was non-negotiable, I hate those kind of offers.

One player that will hopefully be moving on is Idrissa Gueye. He handed in a transfer request due to lack of game time and Ajax have made an acceptable offer. I don't feel the need to replace him if he goes, unless I can pick up a young kid with potential to eventually replace Carrick when he retires at the end of the season.

January Window Closes

Arsenal never came back in for Lukaku, they signed Lacazette for £34.5m instead. I ended up doing more business than I expected to, this is how we ended up.

Looking at the outs first, Moreira was loaned out after I managed to get a WP for Rajkovic, however, he was quickly recalled after Rajkovic picked up a sports hernia that will keep him out for 2 months. Griffiths had become my 4th choice striker, so I was happy to let him go to free up some funds.Leitner has been poor since I signed him in the summer and will be classed as a failed experiment. I wanted to sell him but had no luck, so he's out on loan with an option to buy.
With the in's, they are all young promising players, with the exception of Sturaro. We had him on loan last year, and I couldn't not pick him up for half his value when he got transfer listed. I wanted to sign Zivkovic permanently, but couldn't get the cash together. He has an option to buy, but it's unlikely we'll be able to afford him.
Jacobs is a newgen left winger.

His work rate isn't great, but he should develop nicely.

January ended as it started, with a defeat against Tottenham.

In between though, we had some good results, ignoring the drubbing from Man City. I'm not sure what happened against Arsenal, everything just clicked!
We put up a good fight against Spurs in the FA cup match, but lost Lukaku and Bolasie to injuries inside the first 15 minutes, giving us little room for maneuver later on in the match.

We've slipped to 9th in the league now, now 5 points behind fourth placed West Ham. We play them next though, so a crucial game.

In other news: Leicester sacked Ranieri, with the club in the relegation zone. They have replaced him with Laurent Blanc. Meanwhile Bristol City hired David Wagner to try and save them.
After Lacazette, the biggest transfer in January was Angel Di Maria returning to Manchester, but this time with City.

What a result against Arsenal, @Jon Harrod! Best of luck for the rest of the season and the West Ham match in particular.

A Crash... and A Change Of Fortune

Shortly after writing my last post, my laptop crashed. Unfortunately, the game was last saved just before my Tottenham FA Cup match. This meant that I needed to replay that match as well as see out the last few days of the transfer window.

I picked the same team and same formation, however this time, Lukaku didn't get injured (Bolasie still did!) and he scored twice as we won 3-2.
I don't like going through in the cup in this way, but this was out of my control. I have autosave set at 2 weeks, it just didn't reach it. We now face Cardiff in the next round. I kind of hope we don't go on to win the cup now
As a side note, Bolasie was only previously injured for 10 days. He's now damaged cruciate ligaments and will be out for 7-8 months.

Because the last thing I want to do is cheat. I did not take the opportunity to sign a replacement for Bolasie in the few days that the window was open, and will see the season through with what I have.

There were 2 transfers that took place between the crash date and deadline day. I still signed Zivkovic on loan nmd Leitner still went to Malaga on loan with an option to buy

February 2018

The month started with a bit of a bang, as the board announced a new sponsorship deal.

This pretty much cleared the debt we were in, which is great and meant that I could finally start my next coaching badge! It also meant that the board agreed to increase the size of my coaching team. This saw me hiring Gary Neville to work alongside his brother which I hope will help with defensive coaching, and to help at the other end, I took on the legend that is Teddy Sheringham.
I get a bit nostalgic when hiring staff and if there's a well known former player that has decent staff attributes, I feel obliged to give them a job. To this extent, Iker Casillas will be joining us in the summer when he retires from playing to help out with the goalkeepers.

As far as matches went, the month didn't start quite as well...

After conceding 5 against West Ham, I switched to 3 at the back again. This gave me 3 good results including a win in the Merseyside Derby. Ross Barkley scoring a hat-trick after scoring an own goal early in the match. One of his goals got him second place in goal of the month.
As you can see, we got through in the FA Cup. I'm still not really sure I should be trying in the cup after my previous crash issue, but we have Fulham at home in the Quarter-Final next.

With the MLS being in pre-season, I received an offer from Portland Timbers for Ashley Williams. I would have given this serious consideration had the window been open and I could have signed a replacement, as it was, there was no chance of me selling. I'm guessing he would have been a DP for them, because after I rejected, they made an offer (which has been accepted) for Wayne Rooney.

The end of the month saw youth intake day. The most promising player to arrive at Finch Farm was Russell Skinner.

He's a 6ft 5" target man, and he has me down as one of his favourite personnel.

Swansea sacked Paul Clement this month. They weren't in the relegation zone, but clearly close enough for the owners to panic. They've given the job to David Adams (Formerly their HOYD) on an interim basis.

I should also mention that we are still sitting 9th in the league, now 5 points of 4th, but only 2 points of 5th, so finishing high enough to get European football is still a possibility.

The End Is Near... And We're Falling Short

So March has been and gone. Wewon 2 out of 3 league games.

Unfortunately, the defeat to Palace has put us in an awkward position as far as European qualification goes.
We now sit 7th, 2 points of of 5th and 4 points off of 4th. If we'd won that game, it would have been just 1 point!

After last months youth intake, I scoured other Premier League clubs to see if I could steal any of their new youth players. The board agreed to increase my wage budget after the new sponsorship deal (which I converted to transfer budget) and managed to sign the following for minimal compensation.

They all have a minimum 3* potential according to my 19/20 JP scouts. So I'm hoping it becomes money well spent.
The bottom 3 are all retiring this summer and will join my backroom staff.

The FA Cup is still proving awkward as I know I shouldn't be in it. We've now reached the Semi-Final where we will face West Ham

The End (of the season) Is Near

April is over and there are just 2 league games remaining. Here's what happened this month.

The first game against Stoke was a nightmare! We hit the woodwork 5 times, while Jack Butland put in a man of the match performance.
As you can see, we won our FA Cup semi-final. How should I feel about this? We'll be facing Chelsea in the final who aren't having a good season in the league.
In our last game against Swansea, Seamus Coleman picked up his 15th yellow card of the season. This means he will miss the last 2 league games and the cup final.
As far as the league goes, we sit 7th, 3 points behind West Ham in 5th and 4 points behind Man Utd in 4th. We play United in our last game of the season, so if they slip up in their next match, it could prove decisive.

There are going to be staff changes at the end of the season, with Joe Royle, my Head of Youth Development (and Everton legend) retiring, along with a couple of my scouts. I'm currently putting together a shortlist of potential candidates.
In other staffing news, the board offered me a new contract!

Which I accepted as long as the board agreed to improve our youth facilities. As one of my philosophies is to develop players using the clubs youth system, they couldn't really say no.
I wish they'd stop going on about that Tottenham match though... It's starting to haunt me

An Interesting End To The Season

So I end the league campaign with defeat to Bristol City and a draw with United.

However, as was always bound to happen after my crash issue, I went on to win the FA Cup...

The poor league ending meant that we finished 9th in the league. But seeing as I agreed a top half finish with the board, everybody's happy.

Liverpool won the league on goal difference, despite losing their last game, as Man City failed to win by enough.
Man Utd won the EFL Cup, which gave an extra Europa spot to the league, but then Tottenham went and won the Champions League, meaning that 7th place West Ham still get European football.

The board decided to spend a bit of money at the end of the season and will be increasing the capacity at Goodison!

Current capacity is 39k, and they were going to increase this to 43k. However, they decided this wouldn't be enough and finally they have plans for a 50,000 seater stadium!


The clubs end of season awards gave player of the year to Lukaku

This was no real surprise as he got 26 goals and 11 assists in the 39 games he played.

Speaking of Lukaku, he came to me after the final league game to remind me that he'd be leaving as we failed to qualify for the Champions League. However, after the FA Cup win, he withdrew his request stating that he was now happy to stay. He is wanted by Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City and Bayern, so we'll see what happens if any of those make a bid.

Due to new sponsorship deals and decent prize money this season, the board seem happy to spend money. They have given me an initial transfer budget of £82.5m I really don't know what I'm going to do with all that money!

Lukaku Leaves... and So Does Neville

So I gave in and let Lukaku leave and head to Man City. I got an initial £50m with another possible £12m in add ons. This means that I now have £125m available to spend. But I'm taking my time over choosing a replacement.
Phil Neville has also left as my assistant manager. Ryan Giggs got given the Swansea job and took Phil as his assistant. I've replaced him with another Man Utd legend, Jaap Stam. He's been out of work for more than a year since leaving Reading.

The only signing made of note so far this window is Oliver Burke. His career seems to have gone downhill, since joining RB Leipzig, Hull picked him up for just £3.5m and now I've taken him for £1.5m. He's still only 21 though and I think I can get quite a bit out of him.
A few other players have arrived but they are just newgens with half decent potential.

The Plan For The Summer

So I have some money to spend, but apart from a striker (or 2) what do I need? Lets work from the back.
GK - No problems here
DL/WBL - Baines is now my back up to Galloway as he's getting old and is past his best. He has a testimonial coming up, but I would be willing to let him go if I can get a replacement. I also don't really have a promising player here.
DR/WBR - Similar to the left. Coleman is fine as first choice, but I'm relying on a 31 yr old Caceres as back up. I do have a couple of promising youngsters though.
DC - I've just spent £17.5m on Nico Elvedi, and along with Keane, St. Juste and Mbemba, I should have enough cover. This means that Williams could be moved on. I have a couple of youngsters coming through.
DM/MC/AMC - I rarely use a DM or AM, but feel its always good to have players that can play there available in the squad. Melo is passed his best, but is still useful as a DM and can also play DC. Imbula can drop back to DM too, as can Sturaro. I have no problems in the middle of the park, with Barkley added to the list and Yaya Toure still able to do a job, even at 35. I'm open to offers for Cleverley, but won't be actively trying to sell him. As far as AMs go, Barkley can play there and Vada has developed well.I also have Tarashaj, who I think makes a better AM than a striker.
ML/AML - Bergwijn has improved a lot over the 6 months since he joined, while Nuno Santos has been disappointing and can leave if I can find a replacement. Jacobs is my main youth prospect here.
MR/AMR - Mirallas has turned 30 now, and with Man City interested, I would sell for the right price. Bolasie is almost fit and I have Burke too.
ST - I made Zivkovic's loan permanent, but he's not really good enough yet to lead the line. Doumbia is ok, but nothing special, and I have a few kids that are a season or 2 off of breaking through.

Targets
I need at least a backup if not first choice for both full back positions. I also need a backup ML/AML and at least 1 striker, if not 2.
I have had bids accepted for Florin Andone and Divock Origi (Now at Atletico). They are both under 25 and would lead my line well if I can agree contracts with them.
My most likely DR is Calum Chambers, although I'm also keeping an eye on Felix Passlack and Jonny.
For DL, Tyrone Mings is transfer listed and would be a useful backup. Charlie Taylor (now at Hull) is also on my radar.
There are some interesting transfer listed options for a rotational left winger, including Sofiane Boufal and Samir Nasri. There's also Andreas Pereira I don't want to overspend on someone that will only be 2nd choice.

I'll try not to sign anyone else. I have a bad habit of getting carried away during transfer windows... If some 4/5 star potential kids come along though, it would be rude to ignore them.

Pre-Season Objectives & Odds


I didn't want to push things too much. But I've told my players we're aiming to qualify for Europe, so I've said the same to the board.

We're 7th favourites for the league coming in at 30-1. I'd be happy with a 7th place finish, but I'll probably need better to succeed with my European qualification aims.
Apparently none of my players are likely to win top goalscorer... We'll see. Lukaku came second last season, so if my new strikers (more below) can hit the ground running, there's a chance.

Transfer Update
I picked up Andone (£20m) and Origi (£15.25m). I am trying to offload Doumbia though as I am struggling with the Home Grown rule.
I've replaced Caceres with Callum Chambers and let Ashley Williams leave. I brought in Guilherme Siqueira as a back up left back, but I'm going to struggle to register him. So I may try and loan him out and keep Baines.
I picked up Cabaye on a free as he's better than Cleverley and also brought in Gabriel Jesus on loan. He's U21 and can play in a variety of positions

A Problem...

I've found an issue that means I'm going to need to restart this career. I've just realised that my Monster database is running. I must have forgotten to turn it off when I started my career. I only realised when my scout came back with a player from Argentinos Monsters. This probably explains why LA Galaxy are on their 5th manager and how Michael Essien ended up playing for Oldham...

I'll be starting a new thread with my new career shortly. It will follow the same premise, but I'll probably end up with a worse team this time! Let's see how it goes

That's unfortunate, @Jon Harrod. Wish you luck for the new career.