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A series of bad results led to me leaving Goodison Park. The strange thing was that I was suspended for the Chelsea game. Anyway time to move on and look for a new club.


Despite the backing of the players I was still shown the door. I am happy that Ross Barkley backed me as he is a player I would like to bring to a club in the future.

Unlucky on getting sacked. You going to carry this story on at another club?

Yeah going to look for another club.

I like the idea of leading Parma to their first Serie A title, but I don’t like the transfer system of the Italian leagues. I will apply for the job anyway.


Osasuna are another club yet to taste a win at the top flight, this would be more challenging that Parma. It would be amazing to take them up and challenge the big two.


Unlike Osasuna and Parma Wolfsburg have no debt and have a Bundesliga title to their name. They have fallen on hard times but still have a good squad and would probably be the most fun.


Cardiff City are sitting with a chance of promotion to the Premiership for the first time. Choosing them would mean I would have the chance to face Everton.

Other jobs available that I wont apply for – Swindon, Rotherham and Torquay.

Go to Wolfsburg! I played with them in FM12 and had so much fun.

They decided to go for St Pauli manager Michael Frontzeck.

Time for a new chapter in my career. I applied for all 4 jobs and Cardiff City were first to reply to me so I accepted their offer.


Why Cardiff?

• They are still yet to make an appearance in the Premiership
• They sit on the brink of promotion and a few tweaks should strengthen their bid
• They don't have vast amounts to spend and improve the squad so I'll have to work with what I have

This is the Cardiff City Stadium, home of Cardiff City. I take over the Welsh club in 2nd place of the npower Championship, my bid to take them to the Premiership begins here.


I was given a three year contract with a small budget to improve the squad and take them to the Premiership. The first thing I noticed was that the club has been taken over by a local businessman.


The clubs finances are quite poor but promotion should provide us with a cash injection that we will desperately need to compete in the top division.

I am glad you have carried this on and am looking forward to reading on how you do at Cardiff

Cheers mate, I'm enjoying this save even though I got sacked haha!

This is where I inherited Cardiff in the table. Only 5 places off top, we have a good chance to win the Championship.


My first impressions of the squad are;

• Our weakest position is right back as we don’t have any
• We could do with and extra centre midfielder to cope with injuries
• The squad is pretty thin and needs about 5/6 additions
• The squad only has a few foreign players
• I would like to add a few Scottish players to the squad

December was all about finding a tactic that would work with the squad and tweaking it. The tactic I used with Everton was good enough to beat Peterborough but failed against Derby and Southampton. I then changed it more direct and went 4 matches undefeated.


We’ve dropped a few positions in the league but still remain 5 points behind the leaders. No surprise that the top 3 clubs are the relegated clubs from last season. We still stand a chance of winning automatic promotion if we get a steady run of wins going.


The tactic I set up was similar to the Everton tactic in shape but much more direct and attacking.

With the squad being so thin and players constantly being tired I was desperate to add a few players.


Zoltan Gera is still a quality player for the ripe old age of 34, I can’t believe I got him on £3k per week and on a free transfer too!


Another experienced player joins, he could prove vital in the run in and should be a good tutor for a youngster I poached from Shamrock Rovers.


Phi Neville done an excellent job for me at Everton in the first season and is still good enough to cut it at Cardiff. He solves our right back problem and offers an option in defensive midfield.


The youngster cost me £200k from Shamrock Rovers. He could become a very good player with the right amount of game time and a good mentor.


Lorenzo Criestig joins on loan from Parma until the end of the season to add an extra option in the middle of the park.


Barry Bannan came in as a replacement for Filip Kiss who joined Sheffield United for £230k. Aston Villa placed him on the transfer list for £120k and I made him my final signing of the window.

We have struggled to find any consistency despite going 10 games undefeated. There has been a huge lack of chances created and will need to totally revamp the squad if we make it to the Premiership. I wasn’t too bothered going out of the FA Cup as I can focus more on the league.


We climbed up the table and sit in the automatic promotion place and a potential 7 points off winning the title. It is still very tight at the top and will have to play well to stay in with a chance of going up with 10 fixtures left.

Analysis of the Squad

David Marshall has been a saviour between the sticks, keeping 12 clean sheets this season. The defence is good for a Championship side but Premiership? I don’t think so. Midfield is by far our strongest position and is pretty much set for a dog fight if we go up. Up front needs a proven goal scorer to give us momentum to build on.

Not sure about that striker, 5 finishing? Keep it up though!

Thanks and I'll probably use him a centre midfielder.

The first thing I had to do to the squad for the run in was add another striker and change our style of play. The short passing game wasn’t working because or players weren’t good enough technically. I changed the 4-5-1 about and made it more direct and faster, along with adding in a 4-4-2.


I brought in David Goodwille at the start of March to give our attack more of a bite. He joined for 3 months on loan at 50% of his wage.


We had a good run to end the season. A win over 2nd place Wolves and beating both Leeds and Milwall who were chasing a play-off spot. If we can carry over the form to the beginning of the season I can see a mid-table finish. The draws with Peterborough and Nottingham Forrest provided a nervy end to the season.


The title went down to the wire and draws in both our match and Norwich meant we were crowned champions. It was a tough fight for the title but we came out on top and are gearing up for Cardiff’s Premiership debut.

Going into the Premiership will be a big step up. Only a few players will be with the club next season. Phil Neville, Mark Hudson, Craig Conway, Rory Delap, Zoltan Gera and Craig Bellamy are all leaving when their contracts expire and there will probably be a few sales.

David Marshall was the stand out player and named in the Championship team of the year.


The finances aren’t looking too good, the board had to pump £4m in to pay off some debts, hopefully the TV money from the Premiership should turn things around.

A host of players left when the season finished freeing up a large part of the wage budget.


A modest budget for a newly promoted team. We need to massively improve the squad to have any hope of staying up.

Transfer Targets

• Right back
• Centre back
• Winger
• Striker

My first signing is Gary Hooper, exactly the type of striker I need, a proven goal scorer. I signed him on a pre-contract as his contract at Celtic was expiring.


I brought in a whole new background set-up for the Premiership.

great work on the title and Hooper is a great signing !

Cheers buddy!

Transfer Targets

• Right back
• Centre back
• Winger
• Striker

Phil Neville is back for a 3rd spell under my management, this time as a player/coach. We were left weak at right back when he left and he qualified as a very good coach so I brought him back in.


Shane Long should parter up well with Gary Hooper to form a pretty deadly attack. The striker only started 3 matches for West Brom last season meaning I could snap him up for just £3m.


Gavin Gunning followed fellow Irishman Shane Long to the club from Dundee United. He was at the heart of Dundee United's defence the past 2 season and I managed to get him for a bargain £1.5m.


Nathan Redmond was is my most expensive signing yet at £7m, but for the potential they youngster has is a bargain. He has seen regular first team football the past 3 years and has progressed well.


A decent pre-season to get the new squad a run out and test some new tactical tweaks.

Loving this and you're doing well. Wish I could go on a decent career on FM13.

Cheers mate!

My last signing of the window to offer extra options on the wings and behind the striker. We are only paying 60% of his wages and should do a decent job for us.


I’ve decided to bring back the 4-4-2 now that I have strikers who should work well together, I’ve never really focused much on the formation so it is all new to me.


We have a decent squad to compete for a mid-table spot. We are weakest in defence and it could do with some additions in January, midfield and up front we have very good options and many at that.

We have had a good start to the season. We have thrown away too many leads and that is something I will have to work on. There has only been two bad results against Liverpool, where a tactical gamble failed spectacularly and again against Reading.


We sit in a very comfortable position at this stage of the season and a few wins would see us climb the table. The club is in a good position financially making a profit each month.


I spotted that Leon Osman was still available for a free transfer and snapped him up on a deal until the end of the season.

We’re had some very impressive results the past 2 months, drawing against Manchester City, Everton and Arsenal. Wins over Villa, Millwall and Hull gives us a real chance of a mid-table finish.


Our position in the table shows how far we’ve come since I took over a year ago. A run of good form could take us into the top half. The Premiership is doing wonders for our bank balance as we are making a profit every month.

I got a nice little present going into the January transfer window with the chairman increasing our transfer budget to allow us to add another defender to the side.


Finally another right back, Alan Hutton solves our problem until the end of the season. We only play half of his wages and should provide an extra option at the back going into the end of the season.


The clubs scouting knowledge was minimal, backed up by the fact we only have 2 foreign players in the first team squad. I decided to hire a few scouts and broaden the clubs horizon going into the new season.

doing well so far KIU !

Cheers mate, surprised to be so far up the table.

Our exploits in the Premiership lead to me being offered jobs by both Fulham and Aston Villa. Both of which I rejected and signed a new contract with Cardiff City.


Our winless run extended to 10 games but it wasn’t such a bad run considering some of the teams we played. Things changed in February when when we won 4 of 6 fixtures including a win over Everton and an epic match against Manchester United.


We are so close to a top half finish. If we can carry on our form until the end of the season it will be a real possibility.


We have a tough run in, especially the final 3 fixtures, however I do see a possible 12 points we can pick up before the end of the season.