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#314973 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Premier League - CHAMPIONS!
Well that was a little bit scary! We looked good for the title, until we drew against Swansea in our penultimate game, which allowed Chelsea to go level on points with us. We had the edge on goal difference, and both sides won their final game 1-0 meaning we secured the title... JUST!
It was a great season all round; moving to Sir Alf Ramsey Park, reaching the semi finals of the Champions League before being destroyed by Barcelona - who lost to Real Madrid in the final - and winning the FA Cup against Arsenal.
One of our players also managed to pick up the European Golden Boy award:
And here's a screenshot of him at the time of the award:
Another Manager of the Year award for me:
And an overview of our season as a whole:
I am out of contract at Ipswich this summer, and the club have just had a takeover completed. I have been offered a new deal, but I am contemplating a move away depending on the right job coming up.
I would also quite happily stay at the club for another season, so it will be interesting to see how this one pans out!
#314613 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Premier League - 4th
Thanks Dan! If last season was good, this season was great! Appreciate you following.
Things keep getting better and better for us, as we managed to sneak into the top four at the very end of the season. We entered the final game in fifth position, knowing that if we won and either Manchester United or City didn't we would finish in the Champions League places, possibly even third and avoid the play offs if both sides failed to win. City won their game, but United lost meaning we leapfrogged them and secured fourth.
Manchester United then went on to win the Champions League, meaning they qualified as well, although not at the expense of us! Continued growth at the club is very enjoyable, and we move to Alf Ramsey Park to start the new season.
#313269 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Premier League - 7th
A very pleasing first season in the Premier League, as we also managed to get to the Carling Cup Final before losing to Chelsea at Wembley. I was really pleased with how the season has gone, and the transfer budget has been increased to enable us to push on from here.
We qualify directly for the Europa League Group Stage, and getting past that is my minimum aim. Glory nights as we look to move to the new stadium soon!
After a poor start, we managed to get used to the level of competition, and we had a great run with a number of decent results. We had good runs in the cups too, and I am looking forward to next season already!
Very pleased with this award on top of a fine season, and I really hope that we will improve on this and secure another top half finish next season at the very least. Board expectation is to avoid relegation still, so I intend to do that!
#312626 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Sky Bet Championship - 1st
Wow now that's how you win a league title!! 104 goals, and a new record of 107 points on the board as we blitzed the opposition and secured promotion to the Premier League.
It's crazy to think that in one summer we've turned this club around, but with the additions of Adam Armstrong (Newcastle) and Reece Burke (West Ham) ensured us goals and clean sheets, and we brought in some brilliant loans as well.
Into the Premier League we go, and a new stadium has been commissioned - The Alf Ramsey Stadium! Unfortunately, it plummets us into masses of debt, and it could mean that next year could be very tough.
#310966 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Sky Bet Championship - 17th
I picked up Ipswich Town in the relegation zone, three points adrift but with 21 games remaining. The first order of business was to resolve the financial issues the club were having. With no fewer than eight first team players over 33 all on at least £10k per week, it was an easy decision to move them all on for whatever we could get for them. The fans were disappointed at the time, but with the club comfortably surviving relegation, it was worthwhile!
David McGoldrick was the only older player that I retained from the above list, simply because he was top goalscorer at the club with 13 goals already this season. He proved to be an excellent player for us, and scored some fantastic goals.
In addition, we managed to get all the way to the FA Cup Semi Final, losing to Burnley after extra time. It was a great boost to morale and our finances to get so far, and there was no shame in losing to a much better side so late on in the game.
The rebuild has begun, and I'm hoping some of the youngsters I've given opportunities to this season will continue next year. I need to add a couple of experienced heads to the squad, but the board have already agreed to improve the youth and training facilities. Tim Sherwood moved to Coventry, and they won the title, so we will face them next season which should be very interesting.
#310965 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Sky Bet League One - 1st
Well I didn't get to the end of the season with Coventry City after all! We were walking the league, and the squad looked okay, but I wasn't sure if they'd be ready for the step up yet. I was receiving lots of bids for my star players, and they were becoming increasingly unhappy that I was rejecting the offers.
A board update said they were happy with our performances, as was I, but I was offered three interviews without me applying for any of the jobs. QPR, Watford (both Premiership) and Ipswich Town (Championship) all invited me for interviews, and I was offered the Ipswich Town role.
I wasn't sure whether to accept or not, but in the end I thought I would take the job for a different challenge! Off to Portman Road we go...
#310078 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
I've brought in some good youngsters to the club so it will be interesting to see them improve, and I'd love to take Coventry City back to the Premier League!
#309895 My Ultimate Football Manager Challenge II
willz121
#309894 The Return of the Dons
willz121
#309846 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Sky Bet League Two - 1st
Well that was a lot more straight forward than it should have been. Didn't ever really look like we'd miss out on promotion, and managed to go the whole season without losing at home.
A few youngsters that I had brought in on free transfers really excelled, and unfortunately that has led to them moving on. Tarique Fosu was outstanding, and has secured a £1m move to Walsall who are now in the Championship, whilst our player of the year Darren McKenzie moves to Blackburn for £2m.
Both sales were disappointing, but their fees justified me selling them, and I will look to reinvest.
My signing of the season was Jack Colback on loan for the second half of the season, and he was outstanding throughout. Unfortunately, we missed out on making the deal permanent as he moved to QPR. I missed out on Manager of the Year to the Grimsby Town manager, who won the play offs, and was also interviewed for the manager's role at Crystal Palace who had just been relegated from the Premier Division. They decided to hire someone else, and I am happy to continue looking after Coventry.
#309458 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
#309452 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Sky Bet League One - 1st
Another incredible season, and I really cannot fathom how easy this was. Just two defeats all season, 130 goals scored and 108 points! Really overwhelmed by the performance of my players.
Billy Waters signed from Crewe Alexandra was fantastic and was captain all season despite still being very young. We also managed to snap up Jack Barmby (son of Nicky) and Joe Dodoo from Leicester on free transfers. Both players excelled and we made light work of this division.
Promotion to the Championship saw us needing to expand the stadium, to which a huge loan was taken out to fund the expansion, meaning our budget for the new season was very low.
With my contract expiring, and my beloved Coventry City sacking Martin Allen after failing to secure promotion through the play offs in League Two, I decided to apply for the role at the Ricoh, and got it!
#309450 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Sky Bet League Two - 1st
We got some investment, and boy did it help! A fantastic season where we battled it out with Bury, Portsmouth and Swindon for top spot at times before pulling away in the last two months of the season.
Interestingly, our game against Swindon was rearranged for the midweek before we played them again, so we got our main rivals out of the way in four days and that really helped as we scooped four points.
Only four losses all season in a challenging league was very pleasing, and I signed another one year extension at the club as we went into League One.
#309444 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Vanarama National League - 1st
A move to Boreham Wood was next up, as the club had recently secured some investment and they looked a decent challenge. Despite finishing just above Torquay United last season, they were a side I knew very little about.
I also attended interviews at Mansfield Town and Forest Green, but neither offered me a job. Boreham Wood did, and the rest was history!
We finished the season with 101 points, 98 goals scored and the FA Trophy to add to a very successful season. I signed a 1 year extension to my contract as we went into the Football League.
One of the key players for me was Jordan Slew who was top goalscorer for the season!
#309442 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Vanarama National League - 14th
So my first role in football came at Torquay United, where I had a short stint for half a season. Picking them up in the relegation zone, we had a successful end of season as we finished 14th. I considered whether to stay at the club or not, but with severe financial restraints in place, I decided to move on.
Nothing major to report really, but onto the next challenge!
#309402 There and back to see how far it is (2): Pentagon edition?
willz121
Career Landmarks:
League Finishes:
Pentagon Status (2/5):
#300292 Metropolitan Man Challenge - Aussie Style
willz121
Akpom should be brilliant in the Greek league, good luck for your second season!!
#300291 The Big English Shakeup
willz121
#299002 What do you think of the pedestrianization of Norwich city centre?
willz121
Transfers
Mesut Ozil
We added Ozil in January for £20m, which was an expensive transfer but a boost to the squad. He's not managed to cement a place in the side this season, and to be honest we probably didn't need to sign him when we did. Hopefully we can get him more involved and utilise his ability.
Hervin Ongenda
Hervin Ongenda arrived, and he's got a lot of potential to be a star striker in the future. Being able to play AM is also important, and I am hoping for him to become a shadow striker over the next few months.
We also added Christian Benteke just for another option up front for £5m.
Stats
Juanmi has really been a revelation this season as a squad player, providing 15 goals from 13 games. He would be starting more frequently if it wasn't for the form of Milik. Unfortunately, he is looking for first team football, so it's going to be tough to decide how to manage it.
Benteke hasn't really featured since his arrival, lacking match fitness and injuries have prevented him getting more than one game for us in the first team. Hoping for more from him next year.
Milik has again been outstanding, whilst Rhodes has averaged a goal every game. Reece Oxford has also been in fantastic form for us, and was keeping Ginter out of the team towards the end of the season.
Digne picks up the most appearances award for us this season, featuring in pretty much every game, whilst Jenkinson's injury saw him miss large chunks of the season. We brought in Carmona on loan from Real Madrid to cover for him.
Results
Premier League
We were in great form again in the second half of the season, although we lost to Crystal Palace, Manchester City, Everton and Aston Villa. We had won the league after the Tottenham game, so I rested a lot of key players for the FA Cup games.
CHAMPIONS!! Delighted with the title win, we've been up there for most of the season, and the squad has grown together really well. Chelsea and United did their best to hand us the title with some poor results in the run in.
Champions League
We were outclassed by PSG in the away leg, and we had too much to do at Carrow Road to see us through. Disappointed that we didn't progress further, but we matched the board's target.
FA Cup
We also managed to retain the FA Cup this season, with a penalty win over Southampton. Pleased with the double, and it's ensured that my job is fairly secure!
Overview
Awards
Really pleased to pick this up, particularly after my future at Norwich City looked as though it was hanging in the balance when a new consortium took over the club and wanted to install Slaven Bilic as manager.
Misc.
New owners and a new stadium on it's way. They've really invested in the club since they took over, increasing training and youth facilities. The new stadium is two years away, and whilst it only increases the capacity of the ground by around 9k.
#298788 What do you think of the pedestrianization of Norwich city centre?
willz121
Transfers
First the two big outgoings of Lucas Romero to Chelsea for £40m and Tonny to Manchester City for £66m. I didn't really want to lose either, but that money was just far too good to turn down! In hope that I didn't do what Liverpool and Spurs did after selling Suarez and Bale, my incomings were vast and quite a variety.
Lucas Romero
Romero has been playing a lot for Chelsea, and his stats are still impressive. Was really disappointed to lose him over the summer, but £40m was a lot of money to turn down!
Tonny
Sitting around the Etihad as a rotation player, only 6 appearances in the league where he was first choice and almost ever present for us... good move Tonny!
One screenshot I forgot to grab was Mattia Perin who joined us on a Bosman to be my first choice keeper for this coming season.
Naby Sarr
With Blackburn relegated, I managed to pick up Naby on a cheap deal. He's not featured so much for me so far this season, but he has a lot of potential!
Juanmi
Juanmi returned to the club, this time on a permanent deal as Southampton listed the young striker. He's a fantastic squad player, and has hit 8 goals in four league appearances when called upon! He's struggling to displace Milik as my starting forward, but having him around is good for the club.
Teddy Bishop
A big money signing from local rivals Ipswich Town, Bishop has so much potential that I would love for him to realise at Norwich. The first part of the season though has been plighted by injury and I hope that we can get him back in the squad and playing.
Reece Oxford
Similarly to Sarr, I managed to pick up Reece Oxford after West Ham got relegated. He's one for the future, and will captain the club if we can keep him!
James Cooper
After signing so many foreigners in the past few seasons, I tried to bring in a few local talents, and Cooper is certainly one of them. His stats and improvements this season already are fantastic and I hope we can keep him here as long as possible! He's only played a handful of games in his career, but he's getting into our first team at the moment.
Fabian Delph
With hindsight, I didn't really need to sign Delph, but he's still in his prime and wasn't too expensive. He's a decent squad player, but yet to feature for us in the league.
Connor Goldson
Plucked from the lower leagues, Goldson looks like he could become a very good squad player. Whether he will cement a place in our first team remains to be seen with Balanta and Ginter still playing well in the centre, and Jenkinson still dominating the right back position.
Serge Gnabry
Another bargain signing, and if we can coach him properly, he could be a really good acquisition for the club. Still only 22, but improving well with game time and in training. The only problem is he's competing in a very tough position of shadow striker!
Danny Rose
More English talent coming into the club, although Rose should be in his prime, he cannot displace Digne, so will play second fiddle to the Frenchman.
Paddy McNair
McNair has struggled to command a place in my matchday squad, let alone the first eleven, but he's important with us still competing on four fronts.
Branislav Ivanovic
I think it was a mistake signing Ivanovic, as his physical stats are declining faster than I thought they would. He hasn't featured much, and I think he'll depart the club fairly shortly.
Julian Draxler
Selling our two biggest assets in the summer needed a marquee signing to appease the fans, and I think Draxler does that brilliantly. He's expensive, but with 8 goals in 15 games in the league, he's really come in and been a fans favourite. Hoping he will keep improving as the quality of our staff and facilities grow alongside him!
Results
Premier League
A fantastic first half of the season, although our two defeats were very frustrating! After beating Liverpool and Arsenal back to back, we lost to Leicester, and then we lost to Swansea before beating Manchester City!
Top of the league at the end of the year, and it's quite amazing really! We've played really well, and I hope it can continue. The sooner we wrap up the Champions League qualification the better as that was our aim this season, and then we can focus on keeping United, Chelsea and co at arms length!
Carling Cup
Board weren't interested in the Carling Cup, but we made it to the Quarter Finals before being knocked out on penalties by Crystal Palace. Annoyed we couldn't get further as we'd have been favourites of the remaining sides (Cardiff, West Ham and Leicester).
Champions League
We topped a tough group with Anderlecht, Galatasaray and Dortmund, and we face PSG in the 1st Knockout Phase. Winning the group wasn't any kinder to us this season than finishing second last time out. PSG will be very difficult to beat, but it will provide a lot of cash in gates!
FA Cup
Not started yet.
Misc
Never seen this before in FM, but it's a cool addition!!
#297764 What do you think of the pedestrianization of Norwich city centre?
willz121
Transfers
Lucas Digne
Probably our biggest signing in January was Lucas Digne from PSG. He cost £13m, and cleared the bank account out, but he's a fantastic player, and at just 23 should have a long career at Norwich. He featured in fifteen of our league games, and played fantastically well, with an average rating of 7.15.
Wallace
A cheap signing from Chelsea here, as Wallace was brought in to provide backup to Jenkinson. He got a few games towards the end of the season, and to keep Jenko fit for the more important games, and could provide excellent competition for the English full back next season.
Eliaquim Mangala
Another outcast from a 'big' side was made very welcome at Carrow Road, and despite only featuring seven times for us in the league, he is a great backup for Balanta and Ginter if required. He's moaned a little about game time, but he's been managed well and happy to stay at the club as rotation. Will probably ensure he plays all cup games next season, and any European games I think we can rest Balanta or Ginter in.
Player Stats
Tonny (as he shall be known going forward) was outstanding, and tops the charts with goals, assists and average rating. He's a real star, and has been the main driving force of our success this season. Whether we can keep him or not is the next big challenge!
With Jordan Rhodes injured for much of the campaign, Arkadiusz Millik stepped into his place with 19 goals, and it was fantastic to see him embrace that opportunity. With Rhodes coming back to full fitness, I hope that we have good competition, and with some youngsters looking to break through as well it could be a very tough position for one player to secure.
Balanta and Ginter were a fantastic partnership, and I have renegotiated both of their contracts this summer to ensure they will remain at the club for as long as possible!
Results
Premier League
Only two defeats in 2017 in the league, coming at Tottenham and Chelsea. Both were disappointing results, but we registered some great wins over Liverpool (4-1), Arsenal (3-0) and Newcastle (5-2) to secure a third placed finish in the league.
A third placed finish is nothing to be sniffed at, but we were so close to getting above Manchester City into second. Chelsea and Manchester City were the top two for much of the season until Chelsea beat them and moved ahead and finished six points ahead of us. Spurs put up a good fight, but were edged out of fourth place by Manchester United in the final game!
I'm not sure what affect finishing third will have in the Champions League draw next season, but with Chelsea, City and United having better co-efficients than us, it could be another difficult group draw!
Carling Cup
An early exit was the only blemish on the end of year confidence review with the board.
Champions League
Our punishment for finishing second in the group was a two legged knockout tie with Real Madrid. We were fantastic at home, winning 2-1, but we were outclassed in Spain as they beat us 3-0 with a Ronaldo hat-trick. I'm not too disappointed about this, but we have a long way to go before we can compete with the top teams on the continent.
FA Cup
The FA Cup was a resounding success for us this season, culminating in a great 3-1 win over Manchester City in the final. Disappointment of missing out on second place to them is put to one side with this trophy, meaning I have won both domestic cups with Norwich City now.
Awards
Quite justifiably, Tonny picks up the Footballer of the Year award. He's at the top of his game, and in outstanding form. He's getting quite a bit of interest from 'bigger' clubs, and has a £66m release clause in his contract which I will definitely be holding out for if he does go. I've offered him a new deal to remove the clause, but it could be too late!
#295233 What do you think of the pedestrianization of Norwich city centre?
willz121
Transfers
A big spend this summer, with £34m going out, and only £7.25m coming in. Delighted with the work we've done in the market, with a few highlights below:
Matthias Ginter
Brought in from Bayern for just under £6m, he's got class and age on his side to become a top Premier League defender. Pleased he chose to move to us, and has featured in every league game so far. With a 7.34 average rating, he's performed well in every game!
Tonny Trindade de Vilhena
Brought in from Feyenoord, Tonny looks like a fantastic addition and has settled really well. Eight goals in 11 league games from the shadow striker position behind our forward has really eleviated the pressure on our strikers. He has also contributed five assists... all this for just £2.1m!!!
He has made his international debut this season, scoring in the process!
Cristian Pavon
What's this... another South American? Well he fits the mould very well, with some fantastic attributes. He's not scored so many goals for us at the moment, but he's been featuring out wide in some games rotating with Murphy. 3 goals in eleven games is a good start to his career with us, for a player who could really blossom into something special.
Arkadiusz Milik
Milik signed from Ajax, although I hadn't really heard of him until I started reading around the forums. It seems that my scouts have stumbled onto a very good player here, although he's not played so much. 8 goals in 12 games is pretty decent going though, and I really hope he features for us a lot in the near future.
Marcelo Brozovic
Signed from Barcelona, Brozovic hasn't really played as much as I'd liked so far this season, although we've included him in the European games more often than not. He's got a lot of potential, with high work rate, and is the right age to build the club around.
Jack Wilshere (Loan)
Jack Wilshere really hasn't broken into the team as I thought he might, but he's a great squad player who I am sure we will use more in the second half of the season. We're not paying him an extortionate amount of money, so he will stay until he or Arsenal get upset.
Andre Martins
After spending last season on loan with us, I decided to sign Andre permanently. When he's played, he's done well for us, although with the quality we are bringing into the club he could well struggle to maintain a place as we go forward.
Kasper Kusk
As with Martins, we made Kusk's deal with us permanent. Looking back, it's a deal that hasn't really worked out for either party as Kusk cannot break into the first team. He's complained about not getting game time, and hopefully we can resolve it one way or another during the winter transfer window.
Results
Premier League
We had a stuttering, but unbeaten start to the season with some good results, until we travelled to Anfield and were taken apart 3-0. It gave us a kick though, as we then went on an eight game winning run, including a win at home to Chelsea. We drew our next two games with Manchester City and Everton before losing to Arsenal.
We wrapped up the year with two strong wins, beating Burnley 5-0 at home, before a 3-1 win at Newcastle.
Third in the league at the turn of the year, and it's a pleasing sight. United and Spurs aren't far behind us, which Chelsea aren't too far ahead. Manchester City look formidable, so it will take a lot for the rest of us to catch up!
Carling Cup
Third round knockout at Bournemouth as we completely rotated the squad. It wasn't a competition I was so keen on this year with more games in Europe ahead, but unfortunately it cost us with an exit at the first stage we entered.
Champions League
Being drawn with Schalke in the first stages of the Champions League looked a tough test, but we came past that with a 1-0 win on aggregate. We were then placed with Barcelona, Viktoria Plzen and Olympiakos in the group stages. A draw at home to Barca was followed by wins at Plzen and at home to the Greek club, before we drew away in Greece. We were then soundly beaten at the Nou Camp, but secured second place with a game to go.
A comfortable win at home to Plzen was just a formality, with our reward a two legged tie with Real Madrid in the next round... thanks FM.
Awards
He's had an outstanding year, and he is a real joy to have at the football club. 13 goals in 29 games, and a 7.80 average rating at just 21 years of age is fantastic. Whether we can keep hold of him remains to be seen, but hopefully we can keep him here a little longer!
Moses Simon picks up the African Midfielder of the Year award. In 45 games, he scored 17 goals and contributed 18 assists. Delighted with his performances since he signed.
#294212 What do you think of the pedestrianization of Norwich city centre?
willz121
Transfers
We continued plundering South America for talent, as our scouts kept returning some really decent players for us to pick up. We brought John Fleck in as I wanted to do Coventry a favour before he left on a free transfer, and he will be a good back up. Samir Nasri arrived on loan on deadline day to add a little extra flair to the attacking side of things.
A £5m signing from River, but really pleased to bring him into the club to compete with Leandro and Rhodes for a starting place. At just 18 years old, I wanted to get him out on loan and he moved to Oldham for a short time to get some first team football.
Lucas Romero arrived as a late deal in January, and he's been a player I've heard a lot about in different careers over the seasons. His mental and physical stats are incredible, and I am really happy to add a player of such talent to the squad. He featured heavily during the second half of the season for us.
One for the future, which is really shown in the lack of match time this season. De Sart looks a decent prospect, and hopefully will become part of the first team looking forward. Fans are disappointed with the signing, but I am sure that's probably more to do with his lack of appearances.
Scouts suggested Jefferson is a far better keeper than John Ruddy, although conceding 47 goals in 31 games questions the scout report. He's commanded the number one slot though, meaning that Ruddy is getting disgruntled. In the summer it will be time to match them up and decide who takes the number one jersey for the new season.
Nasri arrived on loan, and got a hand ful of games for us, mainly in Europe. He is far too expensive for me to sign permanently, and with other arrivals in the summer already lined up, he won't be returning for another loan spell. Pleased with his efforts though, with six assists in 17 games.
Premier League
A very pleasing second half to the season, although we continued to struggle against the bigger sides, losing to Arsenal 3-2, Manchester City 3-1 and Chelsea 3-1. The defeat to Chelsea gifted them the title. We got a great 2-1 win at Old Trafford.
Fourth place secured by just a solitary point over Manchester City and Everton. At times we were in third, whilst at one point we had slipped to sixth due to the close proximity of the teams. However, into the Champions League we go!
Europa League
What an incredible journey, as we reached the final of the Europa League, only to be completely outclassed by Real Madrid. No shame in that really, and we had a tough run to get there beating Lyon and Tottenham in the knockout phases.
FA Cup
A trip to Wembley, but a defeat to Arsenal in the semi finals. It was a very tough game, and Arsenal were simply too good for us on the day. Hopefully we can build a similar run next season, and the home ties were all nice earners.
Player Stats
Jordan Rhodes was superb this season, with 33 goals in all competitions. Even though I rotated my strikers, he was still head and shoulders above the rest, with Moses Simon scoring 23, and Leandro 20. Davy Klaassen was in good form again despite picking up an injury, with Balanta featuring in a whopping 52 games - topped only by Carl Jenkinson playing in 64! Loans all did okay, although Nasri and Carroll won't be returning. Kusk is lined up for a permanent arrival in the summer.
An incredible season again, and we go into the Champions League next year... hoping we can get to the group stages, and interested to see if we can continue our progression in the domestic competitions too!
#293034 What do you think of the pedestrianization of Norwich city centre?
willz121
Transfers
A big summer of transfers at Carrow Road, as I began investing the income received for qualifying for the Europa League. We signed a number of youngsters, such as Aaron James, Joel Davies and Eric Sanial, but more importantly we bolstered the first team squad with some brilliant acquisitions. The scouts worked overtime during the summer, hunting down some players I'd never heard of before, and here are a few of the key ones.
Davy Klaassen
Signed from Ajax, Klaassen was brought in to play the shadow striker role. At the middle of the season, he's been exactly what I'd hoped with 7 goals and 8 assists, and currently the highest rated player in the squad. Hopefully we can keep hold of him for some time, as I hope for big things from him.
Joe Allen
In a young side, you need leaders and I believe Joe Allen will do that for us. He's featured in most of our league games so far, and has been a strong player. He's been a hard working central midfielder, and long may that continue. Despite his experience, he is still only 25 years old, so another player who I hope will stay here for a while!
Jordan Rhodes
An expensive transfer, but one that I really feel a side like Norwich could do with in real life. He's scored 10 goals so far this season in all competitions, with 8 in the league. He's been rotated with our other forwards, but he's really done a job for me and I am delighted to have got some great performances from him already.
I've never signed Rhodes before on an FM game, and after losing out on Charlie Austin last season, I was pleased to get Jordan signed!
Carl Jenkinson
Brought in from Arsenal, Carl has been our first choice right back this season and his performances have been outstanding. He's featured in every league game so far, and has an average rating of 7.05 overall. He's a great player to have in the squad, at the right age in his career too, so I hope he's here for the long haul!
Moses Simon
I had never heard of this guy, but my scouts were raving about his ability. He was playing in Belgium, and whilst he cost us a decent fee, his wages are very low and he's only 20 years old. He's been superb this season so far, and has made the AMR role his very own.
Leandro
Another productive scouting trip found Leandro who was playing for Palmeiras. The young forward cost us £5m, but he can play either as the main striker, or as the number 10, so offers a lot of options for us. He's versatile, but I need to ensure that this doesn't become a negative and that we can settle him into a particular role.
Eder Alvarez Balanta
I always feel a little guilty when I sign a player that other FM managers have tipped me off about. However, my only reason for signing this guy here was that my scouts came to me with him, and I felt that blurred the line a little. He's a top class player, and has replaced Bassong with ease. Another youngster, and we're really building something here that could be very useful in a few years time!
Premier Division
Overall, we've done well in the league so far this season. Our form at the start of the season wasn't great, but I would suggest that was down to our new players gelling together. The defeat at Everton was depressing, and was sandwiched by defeats at home to Manchester United and Arsenal.
We've really struggled against the 'big' sides this season so far, but have punished the sides in the bottom half of the table. With three big wins in December overshadowed by the home defeats to Chelsea and Manchester City.
So with exactly half of our league games played, we're currently in fifth. We're three points behind Manchester City and United with a game in hand, but Newcastle, and Everton are just a point behind us. If we can secure European football for another season through a league finish I would be delighted, but there is a lot of football still to be played.
Carling Cup
Our Capital One Cup journey wasn't as fruitful as last season, as we lost in Round 4 to Liverpool. We had only scraped past Newcastle on penalties, but we shan't be defending our trophy this season.
Europa League
To get us through to the group stages, we had two qualifying rounds to negotiate. Firstly, we dispatched Red Star 7-3 on aggregate, before eliminating HJK 8-2 over two legs. The games gave me an opportunity to play a number of our reserve players, and they took the chances brilliantly.
This led to a group stage draw with Celtic, Napoli and AEK. I was confident that we could overcome Celtic and AEK, meaning games against Napoli would be tough tests. We started with a home game against Napoli, and cruised to a 3-0 win which I was very shocked by. We then narrowly beat AEK 1-0, before winning at home to Celtic 2-1.
The return games were all draws, and we ended up topping the group and being drawn against Viktoria Plzen. The game isn't until February, so the next stage will be in the end of year report.
Player Stats
A quick look at the player stats, and there have been some really pleasing performances. Summer signings Davy Klaassen, Moses Simon and Jordan Rhodes are all doing what they were brought in to do, and Leandro is settling well after a slow start. Josh Murphy has established himself in the team, whilst his brother Jacob has been involved in a few games.
Nathan Redmond has struggled to maintain a starting place, whilst Thomas Carroll and Carl Jenkinson are firm fixtures in the side. Jenkinson has played in most of our games this season, and is a key member of the first team squad. Loanees Kasper Kusk and Juanmi continue to do well, but I have my concerns that we can sign them on a permanent deal at this stage.
#292681 What do you think of the pedestrianization of Norwich city centre?
willz121
I've completed my first season already, and we had a great time of it finishing 6th in the League and winning the League Cup. We also managed to get to the semi final of the FA Cup but lost to Newcastle United.
League Table
Chelsea dominated in the league, with Tottenham a surprise second place. Manchester United and City completed the top four, with Everton fifth and ourselves sixth. City, Southampton, Liverpool and Arsenal all sacked their managers at the end of the season, with Diego Simeone, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola taking over at City, Southampton and Liverpool respectively. I can't remember who took the helm at Arsenal.
It was a great season for us, where we dominated the weaker sides, and then got some very pleasing results against the big boys! We venture into the Europa League next season, and I hope to emulate the performance of 1993/94 Norwich side.
Transfers
I spent a long time rebuilding my scouting network and also the backroom staff, and that led to some very interesting finds in the transfer market. Ron Vlaar was a key signing for us on a free transfer, before we picked up a number of younger signings in January. Dwight Gayle came in to replace the departing Lewis Grabban, Cameron Jerome and Gary Hooper as we reduced the wage budget. Paul McKay joined from Doncaster and has a bright future, as well as experienced loan signing Mikel Arteta.
All in all, very pleased with how our first season panned out, and I'll be looking at another update at the end of Season 2!
#279298 Hit the road Jack
willz121
Yeah I'm not really being too strict early on, need to get the squad and finances built, and focus on developing the Welsh youngsters. Thank you for the suggestion with Darlow - will keep an eye on him for sure.
I wasn't aware of that challenge, but if it can be a tribute to the late great Gary Speed then that's awesome. Thank you for best wishes!
#279073 Hit the road Jack
willz121
I'm really keen to try another nationality challenge, and this time I've decided to focus on Swansea City, and developing the Welsh players in the footballing world. With Wales' national team constantly improving in real life, I would be keen to see this in FM15. My goals will be to focus on Swansea City, and stay clear of the national team for as long as I can.
Swansea have a good setup, and I believe they are a club with the potential to make this challenge difficult but obtainable. The most obvious issue is their current first team squad containing just four Welshmen. According to Wikipedia, only Neil Taylor, Ashley Williams, Josh Sheehan and Liam Shepherd are listed in the first team squad, but their U21 and player out on loan list does offer some relief.
The first season at Swansea will be used to bring some money into the club, and improve youth recruitment and the youth facilities. I think I will have to keep a base of foreign talent at the club, but scouting will be required to identify talents. Minimum goal will be a top half finish, but hopefully we can be succesful enough to bolster the finances.
Season two will be where we start to wheel and deal, and try to add key players to the squad. I hope that I can bring in a goalkeeper as soon as possible with Tremmel and Fabianski certainly not fitting the bill. A cursory glance at Wikipedia again suggests that the current three goalkeepers for Wales are Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace), Owain Fon Williams (Inverness) and Danny Ward (Aberdeen), so further scouting will be required.
This is a long term challenge, and unlike my Liverpool save where I had aimed to do it in two seasons, I believe it may take three or four seasons to bring the right players to the club. This isn't an issue for me, as a long game is always enjoyable, but it will certainly test Huw Jenkins resolve as the club undertakes a massive change.
I'll leave this introduction here for now, with the aim that my next post will be at the end of Season 1. As I go further into the game, update style may change as we work towards our goal.
So, any thoughts on the challenge? Anyone I should be targetting? Harry Wilson at Liverpool will be one player I'd love to sign up!
Diolch am ddarllen... Thanks for reading!
#261745 Arsenal ft Bale, Neymar, Ozil, Sanchez & Messi.
willz121
#261742 Dans Journey Around The World [FM15]
willz121
#259896 Dans Journey Around The World [FM15]
willz121
Brilliant stuff as always, and looking forward to the next leg of your tour, and to finally see how many years a save can go for!