FM17 - Newcastle United - We are a big club!

Episode 58: Getting Hammered 5-1



Our League form takes a big hit today as we play games against Liverpool and Arsenal. After a great recent run that position at the top of the table is starting to look a little bit shaky.

Our home form is holding up quite well but the Champions League latter stages will kick off next episode and will add an additional dimension to our title campaign.

Episode 59: Losing Everything!



Everything has gone wrong! Our excellent league form had put us in with a great chance of winning the title, but some poor form at a really inopportune time has completely blown it for us!

We’re now out of the FA Cup and Champions League, and a really poor defeat to Hull has left us adrift of the league title. We need serious improvement to turn this around.

Episode 60: Title Decider With Manchester United!



The title is decided in todays episode and full credit goes to Manchester United for the way they secured it. Beating us at Old Trafford and never once giving us a sniff at the title; they’ve been the better team ever since taking our position at the top.

Attention then switches to Spurs and trying to secure the top three position so that we can enter at the group stage of the Champions League next season.

Episode 61: End of Season Review



Only two matches today as we look to wrap up a severely disappointing season at the club. While third in the league is still a decent finish it looks a long way away from that title that we’re so desperate for.

Next season is all about improving and going after the title again, but the last thing that I want is to finish another season empty handed.

Episode 62: Summer Transfers!



After a disappointing season we're ready to go again at the League title following a reasonably pre-season. We're still struggling to bring in the best players due to a mixture of club stature and our wage budget.

The first match of the new League Season is at home to Manchester United. Their team is incredibly strong and I get the feeling they're going to be tough to stop again this time around.

Episode 63: Rocky Start!



It's a bit of a shaky start this time out as we lose two of our first three games in the league. Luckily they were against bigger teams so it's not the end of the world, but we really need to start picking up the points soon.

We do get a very good win against Juventus in the Champions League however and that allows us to build towards progressing in one of the toughest Champions League groups I've ever seen!

Episode 64: Real Madrid Away!



The very tough matches continue today after playing Liverpool, Man Utd and Juventus yesterday, we now take on Spurs, Chelsea and Real Madrid today.

Predictably, a tough run of matches like this leads to some slightly patchy form - but we do manage to put together a six game winning streak. This episode also includes probably the best individual win of our series so far: Away from home against Real Madrid.

Episode 65: Comeback Kings!



There's even more big matches in today's episode - a situation not helped by being in the group of death in the Champions League. This time out we have to take on Real Madrid, Manchester City and Juventus across six games, with a big rival match against Sunderland too.

Surprisingly we do actually manage to put together a run of four straight victories, but better yet, we manage to do so despite falling behind a number of times. This show of character gives me some hope for the season but we need to be picking up more points then we are right now.

Episode 66: Change of Tactic!



This was definitely one of those episodes where I rethink the entire tactical structure and set of players within my team. Some very disappointing results at a crucial time have left me with a lot to think on ahead of next episode.

After starting with a couple of positive results against Everton and Leicester, we completely throw away our league form against West Ham and Aston Villa. Worse yet, those defeats have come at home.

Episode 67: The Greatest January Signing Ever?!



The January Transfer arrived at the end of last episode and boy did we need it! The new signings have signed in brilliantly already and Simonsen is looking like the best player we've ever signed!

We manage to string together five wins in six to really help our league form and we've also set ourselves up well for EFL Cup semi-final with Manchester United.

Episode 68: Cup Semi's and Transfer Windows!



The January Transfer signings are starting to bed into the team a bit more, but some tough matches against Manchester United and Liverpool leave us looking a bit worse for wear.

Despite those matches we do manage to pick up two wins in the league and progress in the FA Cup. The FA Cup is easily our new priority for silverware with the title looking beyond us and the Champions League a little wishful.

Episode 69: Shearer's Second Coming!



Simonsen is the second coming of Alan Shearer! I can't remember one player ever having as big an impact on a team as he has had for us! All of the problems of the past two seasons are drifting away as he bangs in goal after goal!

This episode takes us to seven straight victories in all competitions! There's still a very good chance we can make the Champions League if we continue playing in the way we are right now.

Episode 70: Ten Wins in a Row!



Our stunning upturn in form continues today as we take our winning streak into another episode! Simonsen has been an absolute revelation and taken on the mantle of the new Alan Shearer!

We also progress through the Champions League and set up a Quarter Final clash with three time European Champions PSG. The FA Cup is still a go with a semi-final to play with Arsenal.

Episode 71: Champions League Quarter Finals with PSG!



Today we take on PSG in our attempt to win the Champions League! We start with the away leg and give ourselves one heck of a challenge for the return leg at home. We also play a few league games and continue our excellent return to form since January.

With the Champions League proving a little disappointing, we turn our attention to the FA Cup Semi Final against Arsenal and try to win our first trophy for a couple of years.

Episode 72: The FA Cup Season Finale!



We qualified for the Champions League! For the longest time this season it looked like we might just miss out on the top four after an awful start to the season, but Chelsea capitulated and we were able to make it in with a few games to spare!

We also made it to our third FA Cup final with me as manager where we played Liverpool. The game wasn't a million miles per hour, but boy what a finish! A stunning last minute winner at Wembley is the only way to win the world's best cup competition!

Episode 73: Spending £123 in the Transfer Window!



The Summer Transfer Window is back as we look to build on our excellent second half of last season. We managed to find a way to stretch the cheque book and add some excellent new players in key positions.

On the downside, we've actually missed out on the Champions League because West Ham won the Europa League and Spurs managed to win the Champions League, relegating us to the Europa League Group stage.

Episode 74: Old Trafford and Anfield!



We're getting used to difficult starts to the season and this time it's no different with back to back games at Anfield and Old Trafford. We start off well enough with two good victories, including over Sunderland, but then struggle with three winless games in a row.

Apologies for the shoddy audio at the start of this video - my crappy mic decided to sabotage the video and I've done my best to fix it but there might still be some issues.

Episode 75: Gunning for Arsenal!



A shorter video today as I'm on holiday in Berlin at the moment so the past few videos have been pre-recorded. I'll be back to normal tomorrow but I wanted to make sure I kept giving you daily content!

Today's episode features three very good wins in a row, including against Arsenal at St James' Park. These wins close the gap on the top of the table and keep us within touching distance ahead of next episode.

Episode 76: The Perfect Run!



Back to normal after my holiday today and we're picking up exactly where we left off last time. That stunning victory over Arsenal has been followed by an incredible run of form that has allowed us to pick up ten straight victories!

The perfect episodes are pretty rare, so it's always nice when they come towards the start of a season to get you in the right place right from the off!

Episode 77: Falling Apart - AGAIN!



I don't know what it is in the water, but Newcastle do not want to win this title. Every time we put together a great run of form we totally throw it away with some terrible patches.

Two points from nine have left us with serious catching up to do after being so close to the title. Luckily our European form continues in style as we seek to win the group and we also progress in the EFL Cup.

Episode 78: Things Are Looking Up Again!



A near perfect episode again today and we are looking better than we have done in a very long time! Divock Origi has found his shooting boots and put us within touching distance of the top spot.

A stunning victory of Manchester City has put us in contention, even if we did nearly throw away a four goal lead! A disappointing loss to Spurs aside, this was a brilliant comeback episode.

Episode 79: We Signed Cristiano Ronaldo!



This was easily one of the most exciting episodes I can remember recording in a while! After letting Scott Orr go for £50m and turning down another £135m in offers, we manage to secure the signing of a 38 year old Cristiano Ronaldo for £5m!

We also manage to continue our resurgent form and push further towards the title! I'm desperately trying to keep the team strong and together until we can secure that title!

Episode 80: January Transfer Deadline Day!



Well things just keep on getting better and better for us! A near perfect episode today despite us taking on Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United - Twice!

We've now won nine league games in a row to move top of the table and we could still yet do a quadruple with the Europa League about to start up again. Absolutely incredible stuff!

Episode 81: The EFL Cup Final!



It's a Cup Competition episode as we play five cup games in six games! We also manage to win our league game to keep us in the driving seat of the title race.

The EFL Cup final against Spurs is another chance for us to pick up our fourth piece of silverware since taking over the club.

Episode 82: Is The Title Slipping Away?!



It's another Cup heavy episode today as we look to progress through the Europa League KO stages. Some very easy wins over Standard Liege allow us to take on Sporting Lisbon in the quarter finals.

Annoyingly we suffer an improbably home defeat to West Ham, and one away to Chelsea, to leave us with an awful lot of work to do to win this title. We do manage to make some ground up, but it's a four horse race for the title from here.

Episode 83: Title Decider with Man City!



An absolute cruncher of an episode today as we take on the last eight of the Europa League and face a crucial run in on of league games towards the end of the season.

Despite a crushing set back against Lisbon and some poor league performance, we end this episode with a winner-takes-all match against Man City in the title race.

Episode 84: The End of the Title Race!



The end of a cruncher of a season has arrived and we're still in with a small chance of winning the title with four days to go. It's been a long hard slog but that defeat to Manchester City last episode has really damaged our chances.

We start off well enough but then a shock 3-1 defeat to Stoke puts the final nail in the coffin. We manage to hang on and secure second place in the league overall, but the title ultimately came down to the game at the Etihad.

Episode 85: A £189m Transfer Overhaul!



After another disappointing end to the season, we've gone through some very big, and expensive, changes to the make up of the team. Gone are the likes of Rahman, Chambers and Origi, to make room for a new breed of Newcastle superstars.

I'm very happy with the business done and there is more money in the kitty if we need it. I'm hoping this team is more than good enough to win the league and the 4-0 opening game result helps back that up!

Episode 86: Our Champions League Return!



Somewhat of an inconsistent start for us to a new season with a new team. The signings are starting to bed in and it will take time for us to find true form so it's important our home form stays strong.

A very disappointing draw with Sunderland doesn't help things but the defeat to Everton is much more concerning...

Episode 87: Fergie Time!



Another episode where it's all about the home form today as we manage to pick up four straight wins at St James' Park. The trouble still lies away from home where an epic encounter with Manchester United ends in heartbreak.

Just to let you guys know, I'm in Paris at the moment so my recording schedule might be a little spotty. Apologies in advance, but I'm going to try and keep up the daily videos!