Fola - Comments

I'm thinking about re-training this guy as a left back, what do you all think? I think he would be good as a wing back and would provide good back up to Levi Ives. If Ives does unfortunately leave the club, I'm hoping this guy could be become my starting left back. He is a good player in CM but we have so much quality in that area, I doubt he will even get a look in you know.

I play with left back set as 'complete wing backs' and I feel he has good attacking qualities and defensively, he looks like he could be alright.



Let me know what you all think

Yeah mate, it will be interesting to see how he fares in the Premier League. It's a shame about the new stadium but saying that, we have been doing really well at Plainmoor so hopefully we can continue that into the new season.

We are clear favourites to get relegated and the bookmakers have put us as 2000-1 to win the Premier League. As you can see, we have the lowest budget in this League by a very long way. Even the second lowest side have more than double our budget so it's going to be very tough but I'm so excited to see how it goes.

It's interesting to see that Blackburn came up winning the play offs. That means that our former winger Demarai Gray also makes the step up to the Premier League after begrudgingly leaving at the start of last season due to financial worries. I'll be keeping tabs on his progress to see how he gets on. He did well at Blackburn last season and grabbed 13 goals from the left wing, he's a player that I would of loved to of kept at the club. In the future, one day, I will hopefully get him back here.

I will update you all after ten league matches and it anybody wants any specific screenshots of anything, wants to know any information or has any questions then please fire away. For now, goodnight, I'm absolutely knackered.

So, here are my transfers into the club this Summer and there are some players here I am very happy with. I don't want to disrupt the squad too much so a lot of these will be either ones for the future or rotation players. My strikers for the past few seasons have been nowhere near good enough so bringing in some proven strikers was definitely my top priority and I think I have done that.



Below are the players I have brought in and a little lowdown on them.



Joins from Everton for a fee of £625k. He was on loan at MK Dons season and was the top goalscorer in the Championship so I'm delighted to have been able to bring him into the club, especially for such a small price. Click HERE to see his recent seasons and as you can see, he's done really well in the lower leagues and is still young so I think I may have found a gem here.



Experienced defender signed on loan for the season. He probably won't be a starter for us as I don't want to drop Pearce or Bennett but I felt we needed a player with experience of playing at a high level. He has been a regular starter in the Belgium league for a good few seasons now so I'm very happy with this one.



Moller Daehli becomes Torquay's record transfer and the highest paid player at the club by a long way. He has been at Cardiff for about eight seasons now and to be honest, I'm surprised they'd managed to keep hold of him for so long. He even played in League One for them for a few seasons which is a massive shock for somebody with stats as good as this guys. I'm delighted to have got him and I'm hoping he can be a key player for us.



One for the future. I'll look at loaning him out, he was on a free too so if he doesn't progress as well as I would like, it's no big loss. He's English too so I will hopefully get a good re-sale value for him in the future.



Signed on a permanent from Sevilla after being on loan here for the past two seasons. He's still young and has done a brilliant job for us in the holding role so I jumped at the chance to bring him into the club on a permanent deal.



Another one for the future. Manchester United weren't interested in offering him a new deal so I moved in and made him a deal. I don't expect him to be near my first team squad this season so I'm looking to send him out on loan. No clubs are interested at the moment which is strange so he'll just have to make do with under 21's football until a club comes in for him.



Delighted to of got this striker. Young Englishman with brilliant stats and knows where the back of the net is. Surprisingly, I got him on loan from Fulham who have just been relegated to the Championship but I can also purchase him for £8 million at any time. I will look at taking up this option as even if he doesn't perform for me, he's definitely a player who I can re-sell for a lot in the future. He scored 7 goals for Huddersfield on loan in the Championship last season, I'm hoping he can make the step up. With stats like his, it shouldn't be problem.



Annoyed with this one. I thought he would be better so I'll be looking to get rid ASAP.



Good young midfielder but he's unfortunately another one who won't get anywhere near the first team set up for the time being. He spent last season on loan at Rochdale in League One and I'll be looking to loan him out or like Bruniho, it'll be a season in the under 21's for him.



One for the future. I'm looking at sending him out on loan as well.



One of the signings I'm most excited for. He started off at Inter Milan before moving to Manchester United five seasons ago for £5 million. He has spent the past five seasons out on loan to a number of clubs in the English Championship and back in Italy before being released by United in the Summer. With this guy, Green, Dillon and Slthole I definitely have my striking options sorted. Unfortunately the likes of Jaadi, Hogan, Sorensen, Sims and Mulder who have done okay for me in previous seasons, won't have a look in this season and will all either be loaned out or sold which is unfortunate but I guess it has to be done.



One for the future, will be loaned out.



Work permit rejected but I'm hoping it will be accepted once he plays a few more games for Nigeria. I managed to bring him in on a free transfer but he insisted on a minimum fee release clause of £3.8 million so if his work permit does ever get accepted and he performs well he'll be gone in now time, especially with those sort of stats.

Sorry for the long post. What do you all think of my signings? I won't look at bringing in any new players now in this transfer window and I will give a full rundown on my outgoings tomorrow morning when I have the game open. Green, Moller Daehli, Bonazzoli, Dillon and Nuytinck are the only players who will be anywhere near my first team, the rest are all players for the future and will either be loaned out or play in my under 21's. Like I said previously, I want to show faith in the players who got me here ahead of the newbies, it's only fair and it's done me no harm previously.

Both of these were players from my days in the Conference. It's a brilliant feat that they've managed to compete at this level, I just can't wait to see how they fare in the Premier League. There is a screenshot of Levi Ives on the very first page of this career and it's wonderful to see how much he has improved in six seasons. He is only going to get better and I would be delighted if he can continue his development here.

Everton have been sniffing around him and he came to me stating that he would like to talk to them if an offer is made. Of course I would love for him to stay here but reluctantly I agreed to his demands so if Everton make an offer, he will be leaving the club. His contract is up at the end of next season and for the time being, he isn't interested in a new deal so I'm hoping Everton will not pursue their interest and then he will listen to me regarding a new deal.



Click HERE to see Levi Ives stats from his first season at the club, six seasons ago.

What a season for Luke Young, AGAIN!



Luke Young was announced as the FPOTY for the SIXTH consecutive season. He has been with us since our days in the Conference but this season was his best my a very long way. He played every match for us in all competitions and managed to bag an unbelievable 24 goals from centre midfield which is an amazing feat. He was also named the Championship Player of the Year which is a fantastic achievement with the amount of quality players in this league.

I can't wait to see how he fares in the Premier League and I can assure you, he will still be one of the first names on the teamsheet alongside Levi Ives and K. Pearce who have all been with us since our days in the Conference. Young is a top, top player and I'm so surprised no clubs have come in for him. I'm hoping he can stay at Torquay for his whole career and then once he retires, he will become my assistant manager.



What a season for the lad and I hope he can keep it up for next season. Every season so far he has impressed me. I was worried he wouldn't be able to make the step up after every promotion but every season he has been brilliant for me.





Click HERE to see Luke Young's stats when I first took over at the club, six seasons ago.

It's a shame because I would of loved to of started the Premier League in my new stadium. Plainmoor only holds around 6,000 or so meaning it is the smallest stadium in the league by an absolute mile. Can't wait to move into the new stadium and expand ourselves as a club.

Once again, Luke Young was top of the shirt sales which really is no surprise. He has been top of this every season and for anyone who has read this the whole way though, then you'll understand why. Jackson has left the club but the other three are in my plans for next season, especially Barmby who had a great season for me last season. His value has actually rocketed up to £4.8 million which is pretty good for a player who was playing League One football the season before last.



I also got this message which is a bit strange as they'd already agreed to upgrade these before but it's good to see the club are moving up now we've made the Premier League.

Thanks for all the comments lads.

I have got into this a bit tonight and I am just about to start the new season. I will give you a quick rundown on a few stats from last season now then go on to show you what players I have brought in for my Torquay's and my first season in the Premier League.




Above are the players stats from last season. As you can see, Luke Young was my star performer excelling once again brilliantly from centre midfield and I can't wait to see how he fares in the Premier League. In goal, Hubert was brilliant for me and he will be my starting keeper for the new season. In fact, I will actually keep much of the same side from last season, just add a few new faces to add a bit of competition to the squad.

There's a few players who I will look to send out on loan again as I don't feel they are ready for the Premier League. I don't currently have the game open but off the top of my head the players who have left the club are: Hourihane, Carayol, Harvey and Jackson. Mulder and Sorensen have both been loaned out to Sheffield United who are in the Championship and Brentford who are in the Premier League with us. I will confirm my outgoings tomorrow.

Clifford Slthole has also had his work permit accepted so he will be part of my plans for the new season. A screenshot of him is on the previous page if anybody is interested.

Won our first Premier League game Three points out of a possible three... happy days. Will send on to Itchy now.



Good to see Scott performing in the Premier League.Cortes out for 6 weeks.

The season is about to start now. Above is our transfers and we still have £10 million in the budget. CB David Wallis has also extended his loan until the end of this season from Manchester City which is very pleasing.



Goalkeeper to compete with Pereira. I've tried to offload Segreist.



Signed on a permanent after his loan here last season from Burnley.



A player I'm very, very excited about. Still young and a Danish international I'm hoping he can be a top player for us.



Signed before I took over on a pre contract.



Another good young striker on loan until the end of the season.

It's going to be tough!

Brilliant work. Glad to see that Cortes has found his feet for us.

Good luck Cymro.

Thanks Dan. I have quite a lot of Uni work to do over the next few days but there will be updates over the weekend most likely.

Thanks for the comment once again mate. Motivates me to keep updating when I know people are reading.

Cheers man. The financial side of things is a weight off my mind as obviously the past few seasons I've really had to be wary about how much I spend. Hope you keep reading.

Thanks Poe. Glad to see I have got another reader, hope you continue for my Premier League season.

Love the analysis you've gone into on your tactics.

Pozzi looks class

This club is on the up. We also move into our new 16,000 seater stadium for the start of next season too.

Season 19-20 - PROMOTION TO THE PROMISED LAND!



WE'VE DONE IT! Little old Torquay United have been promoted to the Premier League after finishing second place in the Championship. I genuinely can't actually believe it. My squad is made up of players who were with me since either League One. League Two or even the Conference in Young, Pearce and Ives' sake and we will now be playing in the Premier League next season.

Six years ago Torquay United were in the Conference and now we are on our way to the Premier League it's just surreal. Especially after the shock of last season, this season was never expected. Last season, for us to gain play offs was brilliant but this season I really thought we'd struggle to even stay in the league. However, much of this has been down to Captain Fantastic Luke Young. Luke Young managed to score 24 goals from the centre of midfield and finished my top goalscorer, he's hot favourite for the Championship POY too which is remarkable for a player who was with us in the Conference six seasons ago.



In our last six league matches we did infact face some tough opposition. I'm not completely sure what happened against Leicester but we were absolutely battered, not a clue why we didn't turn up that day. Our promotion was confirmed after the Huddersfield game after Blackburn could only manage a draw against relegated Cardiff City. Scott Hogan ended his goal drought and scored his first two goals of the season in probably our most important games of the season.

I will be giving lots of detailed updates over the next few days on my player development since my days in the Conference and my young and up and coming stars and so on. Now we are in the Premier League I want to put more down onto paper regarding this career, other than just results. I will once again, try to show faith in the players who got me into this league first. I will look at tying many of them down to long term deals and I'm sure many of them will now receive bumper wages as a result of it.



Woah! Look at all that cash. I would of never even dreamed about having this much money. Like I said priority will be rewarding my current players for what they've done but then I will need to bring in a few more players without a doubt if we are to have any chance of surviving next season. It's going to be tough but I can't wait for the opportunity for little Torquay Untied to be playing against the best players in the world, week in, week out.



Thank you all who have read and commented on this career. I know for a fact that without the comment or this site this wouldn't still be going and as a result, its my favourite career on any FM series so thank you all. Notable shout outs to Dan and Johno.

How crazy is this?

Despite us doing well and getting loads of goals and stuff. The last time a player scored for me who was playing as a striker was 18 MATCHES AGO! I play a 4-3-2-1 formation and that "1" hasn't scored a goal for me in eighteen games. Whether it be Jaadi or Hogan, nobody knows how to hit the back of the net when playing up top. Good job we are getting goals from the midfield positions instead or we'd be fucked.

Season 19/20 - Six matches to go, Premier League on the cards?

We have six more matches until the end of the season. We win all of our matches and we, Torquay United are in the Premier League. The side that only in the Conference six seasons ago and also the side who has had the lowest budget in the Championship for the past three years. I can't even believe it, it feels so close but yet so far.



We look to have hit our best form of the season in our most important stretch of the season. We only lost one match in our last ten after a disappointing defeat against Millwall. However, in the past few matches we grabbed some important wins against probable league winners Notts Forest and then the big one against Blackburn scoring three goals in ten second half minutes.

At the back, we have only conceded five goals in ten matches as well which is definitely a factor into our good form. We now go into the most important six matches ever for this football club. These are like six cup finals right after each other. As you know finances are shit for us at the moment and being one of the smallest clubs in the league, can we make promotion?! We move into our new 16,000 seater stadium next season, what a great thing it would be if we could kick off our new season in the best league in the world hey.

I'm so nervous arghhhhhhh!

Oh god. Maybe the board aren't as bad as I thought after all. That would of just been my luck, I get the club playing well and near the play offs and then we'd get deducted 10 points! The finances still don't make for good reading at all so promotion is pretty much a must, no pressure or anything lads. I really can't be doing with trying to rebuild again next season, clubs are already swooping round my players as it is.

My youth candidates have come through and this guy is apparently my best. I've highlighted the stats for a CB that I like the look of and will try and give him some game time if possible before the end of the season.



To have 16 tackling at the age of 15 is impressive.

Thanks mate. I don't know what to do about the South African guy, his stats are class but I may just try and sell him if anybody can take him off my hands with a high sell on percentage clause.

Good idea man. Could be tough but good luck, I'll be reading.

My three hundredth game at the club was the 8-0 demolition of Derby which is always nice.

Just a quick update on Captain Fantastic Luke Young. At the start of the season, I said that if this guy performs well then anything is possible but then again, survival was my main priority. However, once again, Luke Young has shocked me and is currently having his strongest season to date and pretty much holding us together. With my strikers struggling to score there's no chance we'd be in the play offs if it wasn't for him. Not bad for a centre midfielder hey?

He has eleven assists along with his eighteen goals and has won the Championship POM three times this season already. I'm just hoping he can stay fit for our remaining sixteen games and then hopefully the play offs. This guy deserves Premier League football and I hope we can give it to him soon. Forgot to mention earlier but the January transfer window is shut and we managed to keep all of our players. Premier League clubs were sniffing round Ives once again and also Zuill who has improved massively this season but we managed to keep them put which is great news for us.

Season 19/20 - Thirty matches gone, sixteen to go

Thirty games gone and despite a few blips, we are still in the play off positions. In our past ten league matches we have lost four which isn't really good enough if we want to ensure we get the play offs this season.




There have been some great results mind, especially the beating we gave Derby. We have a tough run in for the remaining sixteen matches but hopefully we can do it. Once again, Luke Young has been the man again this season and after only thirty matches he has scored 17 goals from centre midfield which is absolutely remarkable for a centre midfielder, let alone one who was playing in the Conference a few years back.

Upfront, once again, is a place we have really struggled. I decided to send Martin Sorensen out on loan again and he has joined Danish side FC Copenhagen until the end of the season. It will be a great experience for him to ply his trade abroad and hopefully he will come back a better and stronger player. Nabil Jaadi was done OK for us up top but Hogan and Jackson seem to have lost their way. We were given a bit of money to spend but I well and truly fucked that one up which will be explained later. So now, we currently sit in 4th position, I'm hoping the next time I report back to you that we will still be in the play offs. Fingers crossed hey.


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So, this is how I messed up. We forked out £120k for Orlando Pirates striker Clifford Slthole and on paper he looks like a brilliant signing. Unfortunately he had his work permit rejected but I stupidly continued to confirm the deal. Now, he has used up pretty much all of our transfer budget but we can't play him. I asked the board to see if they could find me a feeder club to help out with work permits but no luck. So unfortunately, he is unable to play for us at any level. He is currently in the under 21 squad with another work permit reject; Jonathan Diba who signed three years ago but still hasn't played a match for us.



I even looked at trying to get my money back and selling him on but nobody was interested. I just need to hope that when I keep applying a work permit will finally be granted, if not he'll be a very, very expensive mistake.