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#454599 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
And the new LB is in, and clearly the best one available in the world right now.
The first team is nigh-on complete and looks one of the most feared in world football (in my humble opinion)
In terms of outs, I don't need 3 LB's. Luke Shaw has the trump card in being English, so unfortunately, Josh Vagnoman's experiment in England has finished a bit prematurely. Initially on loan, but if he plays 5 games, than £28.5m in the bank, doubling my outlay for him.
I've also raided the pre-contract market. I really have to question Real Madrid and their inability to get players signed up to contracts.
In all honesty, this will probably spell the end for Fred. Casemiro is older, but a definite upgrade on his fellow Brazilian.
#454589 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
I feel like I can copy and paste exactly what happened last December for the league pursuit, except replace who I'm chasing with Arsenal. I spent the first couple of months struggling in 7th/8th until I finally found some form in late-Autumn. This still leaves Arsenal 13 points ahead of me come Winter. They are truly smashing it and look highly likely to take the title this year.
In terms of chasing trophies to become "The Greatest" I've added other two for the collection to join the Community Shield. Don't be fooled by the World Club Competition, Boca took me to penalties in a 0-0 final.
In terms of the squad Kylian Mbappe has, rightly so, barely been rotated and stayed injury-free and has politely chipped in with 22 goals in 29 games. Those kinds of numbers will quickly see him take over Rooney as all time scorer. James Rodriguez has been largely disappointing when having to deputise for Asensio and I can't see him sticking around longer than next Summer. Tahith Chong has performed well now he has stepped up. His versatility when playing anywhere in midfield is super handy. A shout out to James Garner who has also come along leaps and bounds in just 6 months. I've actually been using him more than Fred when rotating. Nacho has also proved to be a brilliant bargain on a free, and slotted straight into the first team, mostly at RB. Again, his versatility is immense, playing anywhere across the back.
You can probably see a lot of interest in my team, with the strongest coming in from PSG for Matthijs de Ligt. Well they can jog on, he's going nowhere. They're also looking at Lindelof, who I would consider letting go for the right price. The only notable interest is from Real Madrid (again) for Anthony Martial. Martial is currently being used out of position on the left, and with Mbappe completely unmovable up top, it may be a good chance to let go.
As for potential Winter incomings, I have £200m+ unspent from the Summer and I wouldn't mind seeing a stronger LB come in to replace either one of Shaw or Vagnoman. Though both are decent, I know I could do better. I'm also having a sniff around the ore-contract market, so watch this space.
And a long-deserved Goalkeeper of the year aware for Dave, finally prising it away from Courtois.
#453622 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
As previous season, let's have a chat about ins/outs and contract renewals. Transfers;
Let's talk the ins, as there are no real surprises, bar one. As I previously spoke about, I had a good size transfer kitty and was determined to buy one of the best players in the world. Neymar and Kane were not coming no matter what. I could get Griezman, but he wanted £600k per week. So it was a tossup between Dybala or Mbappe and the young Frenchman won out. I believe he's an all round better player, is slightly younger and plays better in my system.
The next two were on a free from Real Madrid. Both in their late twenties, Nacho and James were both worth a 3 year contract for the price of sod-all and I'm happy with Nacho with his masses of flexibility across the back. James will likely play second fiddle to Asensio, so expect a transfer request by next season.
The last signing was Frenkie de Jong from Ajax for a paltry £20m. He's been brought in to play more in the CM, but can pay at the back, ideally playing in tandem with Pogba and rotating with Fred.
So as you can see, all thing considered quite quiet on the ins. As for the outs;
Darmian was the first to go. Despite heavy interest from Villa and Huddersfield, he plumped for (obviously) Savilla. I never thought he'd stay beyond my first season, so he did well to make it this far. Good money too. Joel Pereira left for £5m as I don't need another young back up as I have Dean Henderson. I managed to rip £45m away from Spurs for Ander Herrera, which I was super happy with especially now I have de Jong. Sadly, I got a much rude rate for Juan Mata, who went to Villa for £25m. His powers had wained dramatically after 6 months out with a broken leg. But lets all applaud Villa for coming in for him! Next out, Marcus Rashford, who I think is massively overrated. As I said before, he wanted £200k+ per week for a new contract. Enjoy the North West you little twerp. Next out was Matic, who I actually rated higher than Herrera, but went for half the amount. Odd. Also, to West Ham??
And finally, the biggie. Despite Real Madrid chasing him for 18 months, Lukaku left for PSG for £75m which I was really happy with. I'm hoping Mbappe is a considerable step up.
Overall, a £37m net profit this window which is really a surprise for me to be honest.
The loans to keep an eye on; another year out for Axel Tuanazebe, who will either step up next year and maybe replace Phil Jones, or move onto pastures new. A second year for Mason Greenwood at Hull City. If he ends up any good, I may bump him up to back up next season.Scott McTominay is at Swansea for the year in the prem. He'll be sold next season. Keep an eye on Lukasz Beiger, Angel Gomes and my best prospect Kelvin Harvey.
As for the squad, I just wanted to highlight some notable call ups from the U23s. First up Diogo Dalot at RB, who will play second fiddle to Nacho after playing a great season at Wolves on loan.
James Garner is pretty much unknown but has been doing good things in the U23s and the backroom team seem to really rate him. A run in the first team, even as back up, should really see him come on. One to watch this season. Lastly, it's time for Tahith Chong to step up. I could have flipped a coin between him or Angel Gomes, but he had a really productive year at Norwich last year.
And a defence of the Community Shield against Chelsea.
Leading to an entry into the English Hall of Fame. First step to the greatest!
#453447 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
Let’s hope so. The alternative is that he will upset the balance of the squad. As I only play one up top, he is quite the departure from the bustling powerhouse that is Lukaku. As things stand, Lukaku is still here. I don’t know whether to sell now on the back of a good season, or see if he doesn’t mind playing second fiddle to Mbappe. He still has two years left on his contract.
#453379 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
#453377 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
So an overall great season, with the only blemish being the early FA Cup exit.
The Premier League, on the face of it, looks like I walked it. But as you can see in the form table, this really wasn't the case. We didn't take top spot from Chelsea until the 28th game of the season, so it was a hard chase all year.
A few awards, including one for yours truly, and a special note for Julian Brandt who was irreplaceable on the right.
So let's talk about the team. Who was good, who was poor, who is potentially leaving.
David De Gea was as ever, peerless in goal. There's a reason I've signed him up for another 5 years, I just do not see him getting any worse.
In defence, there was a slight oddity in that I signed the young Vagnoman to act as back up for Luke Shaw on the left. Instead, he managed to squeeze both Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian out of the RB slot which was a real surprise. Naturally, he now wants a new contract...I've mentioned previously that Valencia would not be offered a new deal, and with Diego Dalot tearing up the championship with Wolves on loan, I feel the right is duly covered. I also think it's time for Darmian to leave, who has now been listed. I have Nacho coming in from Real on a free, who can play anywhere across the back. De Ligt and Lindelof formed the bedrock of the team in central defence, with Phil Jones dipping in as needed. It's a shame I couldn't get TFM involved as much as I'd liked, but the first two were imperious all season long.
The middle of the park belonged to Matic and Pogba, with Fred and Ander Herrara duly filling as needed. I've had Pogba attend leadership courses as a natural heir for the captains armband for the next 5-7 years. Matic and Herrera however have one year left on their contracts, as seeing as they are both 31-32, there may be better out there in the market. I suspect one will go, I'll have to flip a coin.
At the top of the midfield, Asensio proved good business, nailing the spot and rarely troubled by Mata and Pereira, though to be fair Mata was out for most of the season with a broken leg and did not return the same player. Again, his contract has 12 months on it and with James coming in on a free, there's no more room for him.
On the wings, Sancho and Brandt have pretty much been my go to, with Sanchez, Rashford and Martial rotating on the wings as well as up top. They're firmly established as first choice with the others providing back up. Rashford is also up on his contract, but wants £250kpw to stay. For a rational/backup winger-one-striker, this is too much for me, English or not.
Finally Lukaku. Who seems to play on FM as he does in real life. Can go missing in matches at times, but will suddenly pop up with a goal or two in the final ten minutes. Frustrating and great in equal measures. On that note I have to wonder if I can afford to keep him after agreeing a fee for this chap...
#453355 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
And we've done it again! And by the seat of our pants, taken to the last game of the season after a second to last game loss to Everton.
Next up, a champions league final against Juventus, and also, an update on a rather special signing...
And there we have it, my first champions league to add to my Premier League defence. It was a fairly routine game to be honest, with Juve barely troubling the defence.
#453218 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
Thanks mate. A good result in UCL to come, I'll update at the end of the season.
In the meantime;
And after grumbling and threatening to cause disturbance, these little turds wanted a new contract after being here for barely a year;
#453186 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
And there we have it, first cup competition of my career.
A close game, which in truth, Liverpool should have one.
#453170 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
So the end of the Winter transfer window, and not a whole lot to update on. In terms of ins, there were none. I did however manage to snafu a couple of Real Madrid players on pre-contract deals;
I tried to get the pair in early, but Real wanted £50m+ so I'll just wait. Now I did pretty much snapped up this pair just for the hell of it. A top class AMC and and functional defender that can play anywhere across the back. James will come in to replace Mata, who has been out all season with a broken leg and has 18 months left on his contract. I don't think he will come back the same player.
For outs, nothing to dramatic:
CBJ went for £500k, just to make a bit of cash before he left on a free. And Bailly was pre-agreed in the Autumn.
Competition wise, we are now just a point off of the top with Chelsea still sitting pretty, but worth keeping an eye on Spurs who are snapping on my heels on the same points. But look at that next round of the UCL against Real Madrid? Balls. Wish me luck.
I fourth round exit to Arsenal was also massively crap and one of the worst moments of the season so far. To make up for it, we have a League Cup final against Liverpool in the next month, and this will be your next update!
Oh, and an update for those interested in what the Brexit rules will soon be:
#452942 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
Some quick updates on the transfer and contract fronts;
Eric Bailly would not relent in his pursuit to leave the club and Barca would not stop sniffing around him. As he was about to become a free agent, or at least talk to other clubs in a months time, I had to try and make some money.
Timmy Fosu Mensah who's been on loan at Bournemouth will be recalled in January to step into the breach.
In terms of contracts, I'm always keen to keep my best players tied down to long term deals, if not to deter PSG/Real/Barca if nothing else.
It's been an incredibly slow start to the league, with the team floundering in mid-table after about 8 matches. And then, something just clicked. Out of nowhere, Lukaku started banging them in for fun. Brandt was playing out of his skin and Sancho is finally starting to show his value. We're now up to third, though 6 points separate us from Chelsea.
Speaking of Lukaku, Real have not left him alone all season, so there's a very real chance they will come in for him in January. The big result that I was happy to brag about was a 7-1 mauling at Roma, with Lukaku grabbing 4.
#452597 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
Let's talk first about transfers and contract renewals. Out...
A good money offer for Lingard. Having looked across other people's stories, Lingard to Arsenal or Chelsea for decent money seems to be a common theme. Yes he was one of my first choice AMC's, but luckily I have another on the way in. Fellaini went out to Newcastle after I listed him. He barely played last season and was surplus to requirements. Last out was Sergio Romero who put in a request.
And In...
A far better replacement for Lingard, Asensio is probably one of the best AMC's in the game for me. Well maybe not now, but easily within the next couple of years. At 23, he will fit in perfectly with my other young recruits.
Other ins and outs...
The notable loans that went out were Joel Pereira, Timmy Fosu-Mensah, Axel Tuanazebe, Diego Dalot, Scott McTominay, Tahiti Chong and Angel Gomes. All of these lads will either play a part in the squad for the future or move on for a bit of money. Dalot is earmarked for next season once Valencia has seen out his contract. The two young lads that came in were the young Swiss, Daprela, from Grasshoppers, 17 and plays at AMC. The Italian, Ghidini from Atalanta, 16 and plays at WBL. Both suggested by the scouting team and both well and truly for the future.
So to talk more about the squad, you can probably see that I've slimed it right down. This is to stop players complaining for lack of opportunities and just to keep a good rhythm with the playing staff. I'm beginning to have doubts over Jadon Sancho, which is very annoying considering what I paid for him. He's that much worse than Rashford and Martial that I can't seem to find a place for him. Brandt on the other hand is locked in on the right wing. Dean Henderson has had the call up from the u23s to replace Romero as no2 to De Gea (who PSG have been sniffing around).
A failed bid for Lukaku from Real Madrid means he continues as my top striker for the season. Given they wouldn't budge on £60m, they had no chance (I paid them £89m for Asensio!) I waited to see if there was any interest in the players who had low contracts (Martial, Jones and Bailly) before offering them new terms. Nobody came in for the first two, so Jones was offered a 2 year Rotation contract extension and Martial a new long term deal to rotate at LW and ST. Bailly was a strange one; a week before the transfer window closed, Barca were showing interest and he put in a transfer request because he didn't think he would get a work permit for a new contract. OK, sound. Makes sense. Transfer status changed. All I wanted was his value, £33m. And Barca wouldn't bid! So now the window has closed, he won't sign rescind his request and now I can't get him to sign a contract. It's very likely he'll leave on a free. For those that were wondering, Brexit hasn't happened yet.
As for competitions, my first bit of silverware is in, beating FA Cup winners Everton in the Community Shield. They have a pretty decent squad now too, with Kasper Dolberg and Olivier Giroud swelling their striking options
The Premier League is underway, with Liverpool favourites for the league despite me being the defending champions. They may not be wrong, as I've started the season with a 3-2 loss to Leicester...
Next update in Winter
#452586 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
If it makes you feel any better, they won the Champions League against Atleti
#452380 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
Absolute scenes! Liverpool have led the charge all season, with a 5 point lead throughout. Second to last game against Liverpool and a 5-1 win, leaving them with a two point lead. We needed a win against Bournmouth and had to hope that Liverpool lost...
This really makes up for the rest of the season, which saw me as runner up to Spurs in the League Cup and a spanking to Atletico in the semis of the Champions League.
Apart from the win at the end of the season, it was a bit lacklustre on the teams part. There were no real outshining performances, with Brandt slotting straight in on right wing, Sancho could barely get in past Sanchez and Martial. I had the team, and particularly the wingers, playing deeper so changed things up after the final loss to spurs pushing them all forward. This proved to work as I chased Liverpool down.
So what's next? Chelsea appear interested in Lukaku, who I would only sell if I could replace with a world class striker (Dybala). Young is on his way out, and Fellaini will follow as he's just serving no purpose. Valencia, Jones, Bailly and Martial all have a year left on their contracts. Martial and Bailly will likely be offered new terms but Jones will leave if there's interest, if not, a new contract. Valencia will either stay for one more year, or go and be replaced with Dalot who has been on loan at Boro.
As for the youths, another year out on loan beckons for Fosu-mensah, Tuanazebe, McTominay, Chong and Gomes.
Some awards.
Not quite...
ignore the black bar, it's from the beta save
#452042 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
And here end the Winter transfer window. As you all know, we spent big on Sancho and Brandt, blowing most of my load on the young Bundesliga pair. Which was all the more fun with Sancho getting an injury and 2 month lay off after 18 minutes of his debut, Ace.
So what else happened? Well I said before, I had a few other players with 6 months left other contracts and the only out due to this was for Chris Smalling to move to Leicester after a move to West Ham fell threw.
A move for Ashley Young to Atlanta United also fell threw, so he'll stay with me now until the end of the season. He will likely leave on a free at the end of the season. The other player with 6 months left on his contract was Matteo Darmian. The Chinese interstate's wained, so instead of losing him on a free, he signed up for another 2 years on the same low wage.
This left me with CB to replace. In comes Matthis de Ligt for a hefty £51m. I also needed a backup LB to cover for Luke Shaw following Young's move to back-up LM. With my last bit of cash, I went on another raid to Germany and HSV (Hi @SrWerGaming ) and picked up Josha Vagnoman for £14.75m, my last bit of cash.
The only other notes is that Fred is throwing a wobbler for not being in the first team and Andreas Perriera earned himself a new contract after 12 assists in 6 months.
On the competition front, a 1-0 aggregate semi-final win over Liverpool has put me in the final against Spurs and hopefully my first trophy on the way to "The Greatest".
#451714 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
Sniffing around the players through December worked out well. Julian Brandt came in for a good price and will slot straight into the RM slot. With one eye on Brexit, I was determined to get hold of Sancho for the left. Can't say I was thrilled to pay £93m for him though. Even so, two wingers for the next decade!
In terms of out's, I still haven't signed Young, Darmian and Smalling up to new contracts, but a host of MLS clubs are interested in Young, Guangzhou are in for Darmian and Chelsea are sniffing around Smalling. I'd happily let them all go.
Other team news, Andreas Pereira is whinging for a new contract...he ain't getting one. Meanwhile Fellaini is expecting to go this window after not getting into the team. Other players linked with elsewhere, Rojo looks to be going to Jiangsu and Arsenal are looking at Martial.
In terms of player performance, there's been no real stars in the team. Phil Jones has been a mainstay at the back, rotating with the rest of the CB's, with Darmian making RB his own. Perhaps surprisingly, Young has filled in on the left rather well. Up top, I started out with Sanchez, who just wasn't doing much so switched to Big Rom who's been doing much better.
This averageness can be seen in the league performance, with Liverpool pulling a gap of 5 points. We're involved in all other competitions so far, so watch this space.
#451507 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
Here we go...
Because of course they did
#451491 The New Ferguson - Man Utd (FM19)
Joe Boy
#451488 Historic Hamburg Back to Where it Belongs
Joe Boy
#451487 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
Thanks man. Yeah, it's good to blood the youth. Even if it's to bring their value up and move on.
Is this him?
He looks OK on FM. Maybe stick him on loan and see how he does. He's still very young though
#451407 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
Just a quick update on the contract front, Mata and Herrera have proven my need to keep the squad in place. So both given rotation contracts.
Also time to pin down our two best youth prospects to the club on longer term deals. Hope to see them involved in the next few seasons.
Couple more months and the window will be open, and my lovely board have given me £218m to play with. Having played for a couple of months and tweaking the formation, my need for attacking midfielders has dwindled and been replaced by a need for more conventional left and right sided midfielders.
I've noticed this year just how much it costs to get good players, no too dissimilar to real life I suppose. I fully expect to pay £100m per winger. Watch this space
#451406 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
Thanks chaps
#451267 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
Thanks Buddy! Looking forward to the Hamburg save
#451266 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
The club was lacking a director of football and assistant manager, god knows how Mour is coping in real life. In comes Villareal's Pablo Ortells as director and Valencia's Migel Angulo as my assistant. The other notable changes in the team was Nicky Butt out and Luiz Fernando Moraes in as Head of Youth Development. The everlasting Aurelio Pereria in for Jim Lawlor as Chief Scout. And finally Julio Tous in as Head Physio for Richie Merron.
Continuing on the squad front, it was important to make sure my best two players David de Dea and Paul Pogba were tied down to long term contracts. There's a lot of the team are on their last 12 months, but I'd rather see how they get on in the run up to the Winter window before I commit. Most notable; Juan Mata, Chris Smalling, Matteo Darmian and Ander Herrera.
#451240 The Greatest / Club Legend
Joe Boy
So here we go. Man Utd manager, in what will hopefully be a long and illustrious career. My aim is to buy the best players and supplement with youth development. I will tend to have a world class starting 11, with a backup 11 of prospects. This may take a few seasons, but I'm confident.
In terms of set-up, I've gone for English leagues only with a large database. I've also disabled the transfer window in the first Summer. This gives the team a chance to bed in in their current guise.
So I'm going for a 4-2-3-1 formation. This really compliments the personnel I currently have, with Pogba and Matic pivoting in the middle of the park, Lukaku up top and Mata, Martial, Rashford, Sanchez and Lingard rotating in the attacking midfield role.
In terms of weakness, as Mr Mourinho is ever complaining about IRL, we are weak at the back. Bailly is decent enough, but the rest are bang-average. When the window opens in Winter, we will definitely need a new RB too.
So as we can't sign players, let's sign some staff!
#451199 WE NEED YOUR THOUGHTS - SUSIE On Tour
Joe Boy
#451024 [FM19] Brexit Can't Melt British (and Irish) Steel
Joe Boy
#437177 Susie on Tour 2018
Joe Boy
Ha ha, no drama. I appreciate you all have lives. Just a bit of cheeky banter for the chaps
#437118 Susie on Tour 2018
Joe Boy
#435522 Susie On Tour 2017/18 - Stop 8.2 – June – You and The Three Lions
Joe Boy
I don't think you're getting the point of this man