edallen2 - Comments

Have come to a crossroad in my game but a good one, ran two scenarios on it without affecting the game overall, it is do to with the clubs stadium, I do go with the club buying the stadium or build a new one? the chairman in both cases has agreed to both suggestions. Buying the stadium would be cheaper but the condition at the is very good with good corporate facilities however a new stadium would have better facilities and be built for football without an athletics track on the outside thus creating a better atmosphere.

I have signed a few players for the coming season and there is at least 1 more transfer pending then my transfer business for the season is complete.


He was available after Stuttgart were relegated to the 2.Bundesliga. He can play as a striker or behind the strikers which means I can change tactics and formations without having to change personnel. The transfer contains £1.8m over 12months and £1.3m after 20 games that is on top of the £6.75m transfer fee. The transfer fee for a 19yr old is a lot but I believe that his potential to be a great players makes this a potential bargain.


He can become a good player for the club and maybe for the national side. I think he is going to fit in well a the club has it is mainly young players who can grow together to form a squad that hard to beat and capable of beating the best.


He has got the potential to be a top winger for the club for many years and the £2m outlay could be a bargain if he can fulfil his potential. I have received offers for Bruno and Sabitzer which were too good to turn down hence signing Baller and Parker but Parker was a planned buy before the offers came in where was Baller was originally going to be in the 2nd team if either Bruno or Sabitzer stayed at the club.


I needed a left back after agreeing to sell Jung. Dimarco has potential to be a top player for us and Italy. His transfer includes £275k over 12months, potential £200k after 50 league games, and £2k per game for 10games. Him and Lukaku are going to be patient has they are both equally has good as each other.


The right back position was one of the areas that I identified during the season that needs urgent attention during the summer transfer window. He is now the clubs record signing but it is worth the money has he can play as a right back and a central midfielder. I cannot see why he shouldn’t be a regular for the England squad if he plays well over the season. His transfer comes with £375k over 12months, £1m after 50 games and £10k per game for 10games which is good value considering I would be pay a lot more for players that are his age and as equally as good as he is.

I have had a bit off a clear out and moved a few others in the 2nd team while trying to find them new clubs while being desperate measures in desperate times.

My concern is that the amount of changes will upset the harmony of the club but I am that preseason friendlies will smooth out any issues within the squad in time for the start of the season.

@r96Skinner at one point it looked like FC Bayern going to get another title, the financial backing from the sponsors do help but it is getting the right players.

It has been while since my last post on here due to real life stuff like a new job with long days which meant playing and doing posts on here are taking longer to do. I am hoping to do a fair bit FM15 playing next week or so has I have got time off from work.

New Colours (16/17)


He was a free transfer for the 2nd team has I was short of defenders. He is the desperate measure in desperate times if I had an injury crisis in the centre of defence.


He was an £8m transfer from Tottenham has I sold Wisdom to Leverkusen for £7.5m so I needed a decent central defender so I was targeting both Dier and Orban. Dier fits into how I am building this squad with young players and building a squad that will grow together with the expectations of competing for trophies.


He was brought in on a free transfer to provide cover and competition as well as a bit more experience.


A £5.5m bargain from Hoffenheim who were relegated. This young winger will fill a lot of squad registration requirements as well as being a top class winger for the club and country for many years.


I needed a striker for the 2nd team and cover for when or if I have an injury crisis with my strikers like I have had for the last couple of seasons. He was signed for £750k from Sparta.


He is a future club and Germany captain after signing from Kaiserslautern for £6m. I hope he and Dier can form a partnership quickly after he was signed just after our preseason warm up games.


Lukas Jovic was signed in the January transfer window for £3.8m from Red Star Belgrade. The £35k a week wage is too high my liking but there is no annual increase which is great but I hope that he justifies the high wage for his age in the coming season or 2.


We went 25 games without a defeat until Wolfsburg beat us at home which is becoming a fortress for us. The players responded well with a 4-0 win against Freiburg which shows the players may have what it takes to make this club a big club in Germany and Europe. The last few games I was playing players that are most likely to feature in my starting XI next season so they can start to build an understanding before the pressure is on them to challenge for trophies and be competitive in Europe. I took 8 points from 12 against Dortmund and FC Bayern which last season we didn't do that which shows that the club is going in the right direction and with a couple of new players in the right positions could see the club become perennial challengers for the Bundesliga.


I am targeting players Hamburg and Stuttgart after they were relegated and that many of their top players could be available for transfer Next season will see 2.Bundesliga being a lot more tougher for other teams to compete for promotion but at the same time Hamburg and Stuttgart face a challenge of trying to keep their top players or replacing them with players that can get them promoted first team. My players will find out next season what they are truly made of with the pressure of being Champions will be immense has the eyes of the national media, fans etc will be on them has they try make a defence of the Bundesliga title.




A week after winning the Bundesliga title we won the DFB-Pokal for the first time. I hope this is the start of a long period of success for RB Leipzig.




A lot of top teams missing from this seasons Champions League group stage but I am surprised to see us making it to the last 16. The Premier League dominated the Champions League this season with an all Premier League final and a Manchester Derby in the Semis plus Chelsea retaining the Champions League the title could be the sign that the Premier League clubs in the Champions League are now back in the title picture after a few seasons of under-performing when you consider the financial power they have.

Wow what a season for RB Leipzig and next season is going to be much tougher now we are the team to beat.

My next post will be 2017/18 summer transfers.

Hi

Just various formations and what players will suit the formations, which players are in the final year of their contracts, potential transfer targets. I go through a lot of note books. I am thinking of expanding the player stats table to include things like nationality, age, wage, value, squad number and average rating for the season.

Eric Dier was signed has a potential partner for Wisdom but I sold Wisdom to Levekusen and Orban was signed has his replacement so I am hoping that Orban and Dier can become a decent pairing quickly so we do not fall behind the rest of the teams. He is the club's record signing at £8m with no extras.


I was aiming for a preseason that got players use to playing against top sides and teams from a lower standard to prepare the players for the Champions League and the first round of the DFB-Pokal. I am hoping that the players are not going to tired after arranging a lot of games in a 2month period.


I have been rotating the line up for League, Cup and Champions League games yet a few players moaned about not getting games. I was dealt a big blow with Frahn being out for 5/6months with knee tendonitis which meant Damari and Thomalla were the main strikers and they didn’t disappoint with 19 goals between them for the League. We have not lost a league game so far and got 2 great results against FC Bayern and Dortmund with Damari getting a hat trick against Dortmund. I believe there is no distinct difference between my first choice XI and my second choice XI has I could play both XI’s at full strength has I did not have the injury crisis I had last season.



The defence has been much better this season considering that Dier and Orban only had one or two preseason friendly games to form a partnership. We are keeping pace with FC Bayern in goals and points while having the advantage of not losing a game which in the long run could see us winning the Bundesliga title. At this stage of the season the bottom half of the table can be considered to be in a relegation battle. Leverkusen can go 3rd in the table if they win their 3 games in had and could be 6 or 5 points from challenging for the title but that is a big IF has they need results to go their way and could have face a fixture congestion in the 2nd half of the season.



We were expected to either being finishing last or at best 3rd but to finish on the same points has Juventus is totally unexpected even the Board was expecting not to make it past the group stage. If we get the Quarter Finals that would be our best achievement for a few seasons has we try to build a squad that can compete at this level on a regular basis.


We did extremely well even the 1-0 defeat to Juventus was a good result for us but to go 4 games without losing in the Champions League is a good sign that we have the potential to play at this level.


I need the starting XI to be working together with defence being solid and giving the attackers to try things knowing that the defence can get the ball back without conceding every time the opposition gets the ball. I need the team not to concede at home against Chelsea if we are going to make into the Quarter Finals. FC Bayern v Barcelona is the game of the round and is worthy of being the Final of the Champions League. There are 5 teams for the Premier League because Chelsea won the Champions League and finished in 6th place last season with Newcastle gate-crashing the top 4.


Karlsruhe, Nurnberg, Sandhausen and Chemnitz all caused major upsets. It shows that having the bigger clubs away from home in the first round or when they first enter the Cup competition allows for upsets and gives the smaller clubs a chance of making some money with a full home stadium.




Hoffenheim, Halle and Union Berlin especially Hoffenheim caused upsets and it seems that being relegated has helped Hoffenheim. Hoffenheim are on a roll along with Furth who knocked out Dortmund and Igolstadt make up the 3 non 1.Bundesliga clubs in the Quarter Final draw. Augsberg, Hertha and Wolfsburg should be worried about being drawn against the 3 2.Bundesliga. Could this be the year where it is an all 2.Bundesliga DFB-Pokal final? The other question is this our only chance of winning the competition?


He has the potential to be a superstar player. The £3.8m is his minimum release clause in his contract but the £35k is too high for my liking but there is annual percentage increase. He can easily become my first choice striker if he scores more goals than Damari over the same number of games.


I have not won any major competitions yet and being linked to the Liverpool managers job but that went to Ancelotti.

He is for the 2nd team has I don't have defenders in the 2nd Team but he is also emergency cover for the first team.


He is going push Leali for a place in the starting line up and provide cover as well. I hope his presence can push Dahne and Leali to be better.


I brought him just in case Forsberh and Cinar get long term injuries or if I sell Forsberg in the summer or January. I am hopeful that he can become a top class player and force his into the German team after a few seasons of playing consistently for us. He arrived from Hoffenheim for £5.5m with no add-ons.


He got him from Sparta for £750k to be used in the 2nd Team but he can go into the first team if Poulsen or Frahn are sold in the summerbut he needs to improve his physical stats before he can become a regular for the first team.


He arrives from Kaiserslauten for £6m with £45.77 per month for 12months, £6k per game for 10games and £550k after 50 league games. He was originally going to be competition for Ie but he is now going to be Ie's defensive partner after selling Wisdom to Leverkusen for £7m.

I always try to sign young German players before getting players from other nationalities for the position I am looking at.

Arsenal and Lille provided us the opportunity to analyse the capability of the squad and the weakness of the tactics I will be using this season. This information will be helpful when playing FC Bayern and Dortmund. The other games are fitness and confidence boosting before the season starts with the First Round of the DFB-Pokal.


Leverkusen (A), Dortmund (A) and FC Bayern (A) were the only games we lost all season in the league but we were undefeated at home with some surprise results. I hope see improvement in our defence has we could have easily lost games which would have seen us fighting a relegation battle and not having the same momentum we had. The 2nd half of the season showed that Damari, Frahn and Thomalla can have an impact at this level which is one of several reasons why Icardi didn't play at all plus injuries in midfield and defence meant I was playing with a front 3 at times. I really hated it when players, who are clearly not good enough at this level, started to moan about not playing enough games which is why Klostermann didn't develop the way he should have done. The reason why I did it was that I want to keep the harmony in the squad high has this would have impacted the squad it dropped. I found out that away from home or against bigger clubs that playing central 3 in midfield is better than the 2 and 1 behind the striker has the central 3 can close the gaps and give more protection to the defence.


Only 4 points separated us and FC Bayern in 1st Place which is a big gap but it is a massive 11 points from us to Dortmund and I was expecting them to be only a point or two behind us. Union Berling and Hoffenheim were really poor this season however it is not surprising that Union Berlin struggled this season after they were promoted from the 2.Bundesliga but they don't have the resources that I have at RB Leipzig.


I have already metioned Tachtsidis, Leali, Ajer, Ie, Lukaku, Wisdom, Zimmermann and Mogilevets in a previous update. I added Cinar has cover for Forsberg and now he is my first choice for the left wing position. I got Vallejo has a long term replacement for Compper and Icardi was added has I felt that Damari, Frahn and Thomalla were not going to have the impact that I wanted and needed for this level but they have proven me wrong and that is will not be triggering the £6m future transfer which was part of the loan deal. The other players that were signed are for the youth team except for Hou Saeter who is back Rosenberg the season and should have him back for the 2nd half of our season.


We had a much better run in the DFB-Pokal than last season by making it to the Quarter Final which generated a fair bit of revenue for us.


Don't get me wrong I think the board are stupid has they rejected my request to have the first team facilities to be improved before they accepted this request and the reason I wanted the first team facilities to be improved was they were downgraded after the season had finished. The reason why the board wont do it is they would rather spend £m's on players that were first team ready rather than get the facilities upto scratch with the likes of FC Bayern and Dortmund.

The summer transfer window will be used to get players for the 2nd team who can eventually play in the 1st team and get a central defender who can replace Rodnei. Champions League football will us generating a decent amount of revenue but will also impact our domestic season as along I do not get players being out injuried at the same time then we should be ok for another season in the Bundesliga.

Organised 2 friendlies in the 2weeks before the 2.Bundesliga starts again this would allow Lloyd Jones to get use to playing with his new teammates. I was hoping to see more goals from my strikers in the remaining 16 games which Damari did making him the clubs and league top goal scorer. It is Kaiser and Forsberg who are making the difference in us winning games. I know which areas of the squad need to be improved over the remaining part of the season has the current in some areas are not good enough to keep the club in the Bundesliga. Going into the game against Kaiserslautern we already got promotion but the result of this match crowned us the Champions of 2.Bundesliga giving us a second promotion in two seasons after gaining promotion in 2013/14.


Union Berlin won promotion by beating Hamburg SV in the 2.Bundesliga/1.Bundesliga playoff while Nurnberg were relegated after losing to Chemnitz of 3.Liga. With Hamburg in 2.Bundesliga will see the quality go up and if Hamburg add the right type of player while keeping most of their top players then they should stand a good chance of going straight back up but there are some good teams in this league. Both ends of the table were tight which suggests that anyone can beat anyone on any match day.


Damari when fit is a top striker and scores consistently sometimes can score quickly in a short spell. I hope he can do that in the Bundelsiga next if we are going to have any chance of staying up.


Dahne and Kaiser where the only ones to play in every game but Dahne was the only one to start every game. Them along with Forsberg and Kaiser were fantastic has they maintain a consistent level of form but they can that repeat that next season along with others upping their form for us to stay in the Bundesliga.


Nurnberg despite the largest wage bill in 2.Bundesliga were relegated to 3.Liga. St Pauli should be higher up the table given their wage while Heidenheim made much use of their finances. The January transfer window is not has big has it is in England this is because there is not the finances enjoyed by the English clubs that the German clubs don’t get yet the German clubs are not afraid of giving young players a chance in the first team.


The wage bill will be increasing next season when promotion bonuses are added along with new players and staff. Agent fees will also increase due to me signing better players to replace that are leaving which in turn will see the transfer fees paid going up. I hope to see the gate receipts, TV revenue, season ticket sales, match revenue, merchandising increase to help the club to be self-sufficient and relying on the £30m to £40m sponsorship deal with Red Bull.

Dirk Kuyt, U19 Assistant Manager


Frank Arnesen, Chief Scout


Jaap Stam, Assistant Manager


Paul Scholes, First Team Attacking Coach


Ronald de Boer, First Team Ball Control Coach


The aim for next season to stay up and have a good run in the DFB-Pokal, maybe get into the Europa League via the DFB-Pokal.

Transfer News

Andre Wisdom signs for RB Leipzig for £2,2m from Liverpool

He signed a 3year deal worth £2m over that period. He brings both youth and first team experience having played for West Brom and Derby County on a regular basis. He can play has a centre back and right back. He is going to bolster a depleted defence and could make a place in the starting line up his own in preseason.

RB Leipzig sign Barcelona youngster for £1.3m

Edgar Ie has been a regular for Barcelona B. He is looking to make 2015/16 season his breakout season has he tries to take his career to the next level. RB Leipzig could be the club to Edgar Ie to that level.

Jordan Lukaku joins Die Bullen

The younger brother of Everton stiker Romelu Lukaku joins RB Leipez from Oostende in a £250k transfer which see the left back get a 3yr contract worth £610k over the 3yrs. His versatility makes him a big asset for this small club.

Danish youngster signs

Start's young Danish star Kristoffer Ajer signs for Die Bullen in a £725k transfer. This Danish youngster has a big future ahead of him and the Bundesliga could be the ideal place for him to become a top class player for club and country. He faces a couple of seasons in the 2nd team before he is considered for the first team on regular basis.

Zimmermann signs for Leipzig

Die Bullen signed him from Gladbach for £20k with a £200k a year 5year contract. He is primarily a back up player for Klostermann and might force his way into the line up due to poor form or long term injury to Klostermann.

Leali leaves The Old Lady

Nicola Leali, who is dubbed the next Buffon, joins Die Ballen from Juventus on a free transfer. He is to be clubs first choice keeper and it is expected that if he performs well he could break into Italy's national side in time for the Euro Championships next summer. His contract is worth £1.6m over 5years.

Tachtsidis joins Die Ballen

Pangiotis Tachtsidis is hoping that RB Leipzig is the club where he can settle down and fulfill his potential after many years of being sent out on loan to various clubs. His contract could cost RB Leipzig £2m over 5years.

Mogilevets signs for Die Ballen

This young player from Zenit signed for Die Ballen for £400k. He is going to have tough challenge to get past Khedira, Demme and now Tachtsidis for place in the starting line up.

The January Transfer is open and those are in the final 6months of their contracts are free to sign precontracts with other clubs so I wanted to keep hold of 2 of my best young players in their final months of their current contract at the club than risk them signing for someone else by the time May comes.


Thomas Dahne has signed a 4year contract extension worth £500k after an impressive first half of the season which saw him keep 9 cleansheets and conceding only 18 goals.


Emil Forsberg has signed a 4year contract extension worth £700k after a good start to the season and his presence is in the squad means that I have genuine left winger and not having to play someone out of position.

We didn’t have the best preseason but has it the games went by the players were getting familiar with the style of football I wanted and they were finding some form before the start of the season.





At one point I had injuries in all four areas of the squad with some out for days to months which meant having a 17yr old leading the attack and a 20yr old keeper on the bench. I have been impressed by how well Joshua Enders did and should be first choice in a few years as well as being in the national side should he continue to develop has a player. Dominik Kaiser has been fantastic with 7 goals and 12 assists in 21 games which should him being named player of the year at the club and as well as in the league. Heidenheim were the only team to beat us in the league and Aue were the only club to stop us from scoring in the league.

DFB Pokal
Round 1


Round 2

I have managed this tiny but very wealthy club on this game and on FM14. This is finally going to be the one I am going the longevity like I did with my Burton Albion save on FM14 which saw me challenging for the Premier League title in my 9th season. I would like to do the same with RB Leipzig despite not having to gain multiple promotions but it will take a few seasons before the club can challenge for the Bundesliga title and compete in Europe.

No one batters an eyelid at RB Sulzberg and NY RB but RB Leipzig gets the heat.

Good luck, I am currently doing another RB Leipzig save. I have no money for the season but the squad is already good enough.

Like the style. Might try something similar with mine regarding non Leipzig news.

It has been a while since my last post due to various reasons one being not playing FM15 for a few weeks but now back.

Supporters and managers are hoping that their new signings have a positive affect on their season. We have the opportunity to do an unprecedented quadruple which will require a lot of luck has we face Bayern Munich in the 1st Knockout Round stage of the Champions League.

Premier League

I was relying on Immobile and Kone (occasionally) to lead the attack in the absence of Lukaku who was injured for 3 to 4 months. Bernardo Silva and Green showing that they can make an impact on games in the starting line up. The results suggest that the squad is capable of performing consistently week in week out and get points against the top teams has we start to becoming a top team again like back in the 1980’s.


Game repeating life with Aston Villa getting relegated however unlike the real Aston Villa this version fought until the final game. West Ham and Leicester secured their place in next seasons Premier League however West Ham must do better since they are moving to the Olympic Stadium next season. Southampton, Liverpool and Manchester City also underperformed while Stoke were 2nd for a while then they fell away before Christmas. Next season could see a different clubs in the top 6 with the new TV deal coming into affect and Euro16 taking place.

League Cup


FA Cup
3rd Round


4th Round


5th Round to Final


Champions Leauge

Not sure what was worse the frying pan or the fire after facing Barcelona in the group then having to face Bayern Munich in the 1st Knockout Round. I think we did well to be in a chance of getting to the Quarter Finals after drawing the first leg 1-1. Barcelona mashed their way to the final where they came across Chelsea who can plan to stop Barcelona from scoring. I would like to make it to the Semi Finals of the Champions League next season and have an easier group next time around.

Finances

Wages went up thanks to the evil of annual % increase clauses in some player’s contracts, renewals and new players. The player’s wages make up 50% of the wage with bonuses and non-football costs making up 45% while the staff wages are the other 5% of the wage bill. The only expenses that went down were loan repayment, match day costs and scouting costs. Match day costs went down due to being knocked out of the Champions League in the last 16 where has we won the Europa League which incurred more costs. There wasn’t the £100kpm loan repayment this season and I had less scouts as well as scouting fewer players this season.There decreases in gate receipts, TV revenue and match day income this was for the same reason for the drop in match day costs.There were increases in season tickets due to Champions League football as well as merchandising, prize money , corporate facilities income for the same reason.

The projection for this season that I could have a transfer budget of £70m for next summer thanks to us for making a £26m profit however we are projected to make severe losses for 17/18 and 18/19 season this why the club needs a new and bigger stadium.

Net Spend and Wages

Only 2 clubs made any profit from their transfer dealings this season. I don’t think that the Premier League can sustain a huge negative net spend every season even with the new TV deal in place giving clubs £90m each.

New Players

Patrick Bamford, Aston Villa £2.9m

I needed a striker after Kone left the club after his contract expired and I wanted a young striker. He has now got to prove himself by taking the opportunities he is given in cup games or when both Lukaku and Immobile are either injured or suspended.

Paulo, Botafogo £1.5m

Paulo has got what it takes to be a decent player but he needs to show it on and off the pitch. He is currently in the U21’s has he adjusts to the climate of the country and the style of English football, I might even consider loaning him out in January if there are no injuries to the wingers at the club.

Ricardo Kishner, Ajax £5m

I bought him just in case next summer Felipe Anderson leaves next summer or Anderson moves to the right wing. I am hoping he comes back an even better player and person from Ajax where he can get regular game time.

Ruben Garcia, Real Madrid £4m

He has the potential to be a decent winger and may be challenge Kishna for the left wing spot if Felipe Anderson is sold next summer. He needs to improve his strength if he is have an impact in the Premier League.

Virgil van Dijk, Celtic £6.75m

He is what I was looking for to replace Jagielka and Ginter. I hope him and Stones can form a partnership quickly has we look to defend our Premier League title and make progress in the Champions League.

I am hoping that these new players settle in very quickly and are able to help calm thins down after this summer. I want to be in position where I am not having to rebuild the squad every season for one reason or another.

I am looking to retain the Premier League title, challenge for the FA Cup or League Cup and to get the semi final of the Champions League or win the Europa League.

Last season has set the bar really high for expectations set by everyone from the board to the supporters. This has been made a little more difficult has I have received a small transfer budget for the summer despite getting £60m from the Premier League TV rights deal. I am hoping that the extra revenue from the Champions League matches will help the club to be in a better place financially.

New Players (Summer 2015)

I sold Pienaar to Aston Villa for £1.7m because the most part of last season in the doctors and physios room. Bryan Oviedo was sold has I think Garbutt is more suited for the left back position when Baines leaves.

Jesus Vallejo, £5m from Zaragoza

I have now got 4 good young central defenders to build a defence for the next decade or so. For an 18 year old player with limited first team experience the £5m transfer fee is pretty steep but hopefully prove he was worth every penny.

Kristoffer Ajer, £825k from Start

He went to back to Start on loan has part of the transfer deal. I think I can build a decent midfield with him, Galloway and Ledson. If given a few seasons then we could see the next Everton captain.

Patric, Free Transfer from Barcelona

I needed a right back to cover and replace Coleman has I think Jonjoe Kenny is not going to be good enough to meet the standard required to take Everton to the level where we are competing for the Champions League.


This is season so far I have managed to get point of the top teams and remain unbeaten in the league. The players have improved this season and the results are the result of the improvement. Our defence has improved but I do need a keeper to replace Howard and Robles is a good understudy also I need the players to score more goals.


We are the only side not to lose to a game so far this season. The title race is going to be close this season and if we do win the Premier League title the hopefully the transfer budget is bigger next season. This season will see Aston Villa finally get relegated and they will find it hard to get out of the Championship has they have been in decline since Martin O’Neil left the club. If West Ham, Norwich and Burnley are not careful they could find themselves being dragged into the relegation battle.

Capital One Cup



FA Cup

We have been given a fairly easy draw against Plymouth and I am considering fielding a mixed XI. Liverpool v Chelsea, Chesterfield v Tottenham, Oldham v Manchester City , Newport v Arsenal and Doncaster v Manchester United are some of the eye catching ties. There are plenty of Premier League v Lower League teams in this draw which means there could be a few upsets and dream runs for the Lower League teams.

Champions League


Groups C, E, F, G and H were competing to be the Group of Death this season. Barcelona were the only side to beat us and making it to the Last 16 is a real achievement considering the teams in our group.


We have gone from bad to worse having been drawn against Bayern Munich in the Last 16. This could be the end of our Champions League adventure for this season.

New Player (January 2016)
Felipe Anderson, £4.5m from Lazio

I have been looking a decent left wing for the past season and a half. Felipe Anderson is still young enough to improve and will be my first choice on the AML position.

I am looking for a goalkeeper during the January transfer window to arrive in the summer but might consider getting him into the squad now. I might be close to landing a player I have tried to sign during the summer but his club wanted more than I what I was prepared to pay for him.

I needed a strong 2nd half of the season in order to secure some of best player’s short term futures with Champions League football next season. It would also help if we do not concede so many goals has we do not score the goals we should be scoring. The likes of McGeady, Mirallas and Barkley are important has they provide chances for the strikers as well as scoring goals themselves plus Besic and McCarthy offer defensive cover which allows the front 4 to do their thing while protecting the defence.


I was about QPR’s transfer activity being not enough for the Premier League and desperate has they slipped from 17th to 20th where as West Brom’s transfer activity was the catalyst for their turnaround by finishing 16th. The relegation battle went to the final game with four clubs fighting for the 17th spot with each clubs needing the others to lose and lose badly. It is good to see the Mersyside in the Champions League. I would need to have a good summer in getting players into the club in order to challenge for the title and and be able to compete in Europe.

Capital One Cup

Derby caused two of the biggest Cup shocks by beating both Manchester clubs to win the Capital One Cup. They are in Europe for the first time since Cloughie led them to the title in the 70’s.

FA Cup
3rd Round

Huddersfield and Blackburn providing the upsets while Rotherham took Liverpool to a replay which I failed to avoid against Southampton.

4th Round


5th Round to Final

What an FA Cup cracker. 36minutes to destroy Liverpool then we just added more to keep our lead. Every player had a good game but I was excepting more Coleman and Jagielka.


The final was a repeat of the 1995 Final and first FA Cup final appearance in 7years. This capped a great season for the club.

Europa League
1st Knockout Round

Dynamo Kyiv, Ajax and Sporting causing upsets also making the Europa League wide open where anyone can win it.

2nd Knockout Round to Final

We absolutely went for it and ended up giving Sporting a spanking. I can understand Kone’s under par performance since he was playing out of position but everyone else who started had good to excellent games. Brendan Galloway has great potential after showing that he can play in big games without phased by it at a young age.


Not a great season in Europa League for Spanish and German clubs. Us and Spurs have shown that Premier League clubs can compete in Europe. It nice to win trophies after a long tough season especially when we had many injury problems.

Player Stats

Over the next couple of season I will be looking for a decent keeper to replace Howard and Robles has we cannot keep on conceding 70 odd goals in all competitions and except to win silverware. Our main threat came from the wings where Lukaku and Immobile to should getting 20+ goals. I just need Barkley to have both goals and assists in double figures for us to be challenging for silverware every season.

Transfer Net Spend and Wages

Arsenal and Chelsea spent money to push for Champions League and the title respectively but have now players that should be adjusted to live in the league and country plus any new players could see them back in the title race. Some clubs were desperate and failed while some clubs got lucky with their new players. In the summer there could see bigger deals being done due to the TV money.

In our case the players wages is a third of our expenditure which is a large chunk. I am hoping to reign it in over the next couple season has I get rid the stupid clause allowing players to receive an annual % increase but I don’t mind having young players with a clause where their wages go up after a number games.

Finance

The wages were made up of £44.5m basic player pay, bonuses (competitions) of £11.6m, staff pay £4.97m, Loyalty payments (what a joke) £272k and non-football costs of £17m (signing on bonuses, image rights, unused sub appearance, appearance bonus etc). Transfer spend was the 3rd highest expense after wages and tax but we needed to add players to the squad in January plus paying contract clauses for those that are no longer at the club. TV was our highest source of revenue which breaks down to £57.9m for 15/16 season, £16.63 for live TV games (£895k per game) and £4m from the Europa League. The TV money from the Europa League was twice a much than the prize money for winning the FA Cup.

New Player

Bernardo Silva arrived from Monaco for £2.4m after his agent sent out messages to the availability of his client and the asking price for him. I am surprised that Monaco let him go cheaply after they spent £11.75m on him last summer. I am hope he can be excellent cover for Barkley and maybe work as a pair behind the striker. I have now 3 different types of No.10 players which is great and they are all young so can develop a good understanding of each other.

I am looking to add 1 or 2 more players, central defender, striker or goalkeeper. I have promoted Garbutt and Green to join Galloway in the first team squad also Ledson going from U18 to U21 with him going on loan at a lower league club to get first team experience. I am looking to offload Pienaar due to the high number injuries he picked up this season and Oviedo has Garbutt is equally as good also got potential to replace Baines.

We do concede a lot of goals but we also out score the opposition which cannot last. I need other players to chip in with goals has Lukaku cannot lead Everton to success on his own. Got some big points from the top 5 teams which will help us to get Champions League football next season. I have a small squad that is lackiing in depth and quality in certain areas this can hinder my team selections therefore we don’t get the result we should be getting. Aston Villa were the only side in the league to beat us but it is draws that teams like Southampton, West Brom etc will dent our chances of getting Champions League football next season. Thanks to 10 live TV games plus prize money from competitions has allowed the board to make £8m available for the January Transfer Window. I have already spent around £1m on getting a young decent central defender for next season. The board has reduced the % of transfer fees received that is put back into the transfer budget due to the debt levels.


I think the title will go to Manchester United but Chelsea will be a close 2nd while we secure a top 4 place. The race for 3rd and 4th will be close has 3rd to 5th are separated by only 3points which is nothing. The relegation battle at the moment consists of 7 teams. Tottenham are once again underachieving in the league despite having a squad that is capable of finishing in the top 4.


The Capital One Cup was a competition we should be aiming to win most seasons. The Burnley game was a cracker for the neutral fan has we did not turn up until the 2nd half and extra time.





Even though we lost to Dynamo Kiev in the last game we still managed to qualify for the next round. There are some big and tricky teams in the next round plus the 3rd place Champions League teams, there is a big surprise in the draw for the knockout rounds.


Sevilla will be our biggest challenge in this competition so far. Ajax v Real Madrid and Monaco v Sporting are the games for the neutral.


We potentially got an easier draw in this round. A potential Athletic v Inter is the one for the neutral.

Ajax, Monaco and Real Madrid are the surprise entrants to the Europa League. This could be a very difficult competition to win now.

Lucas, Bahia £1m plus £2m over 48months.

He is under 18 therefore will be joining us on 18/6/15 after his 189th birthday. He looks like he could become a top quality central defender in a few years. He could be John Stones long term partner in the back four.

I will look at getting a young players for the following positions; keeper, central defender, right back, left/right winger. I might get in an experience central defender for next season. I will only sell a player if I have to but most of the selling will happen in the summer.

I was going to do an update but having started preseason which I have now found out that I would have to rebuild my squad after selling several of my key players after building a squad that was capable of winning the Champions League. I have decided to start another save this time with Everton again but I wont be making the same mistakes with players for example I bought Morata and he starting to complain about getting regular football within a few weeks of the season or letting Mirallas join another club on a precontract.

Hervin Ongenda was signed from PSG for £1m. I am short of young strikers in my U21 squad after Taggart was released has he wont be granted a work permit. He has the potential to be a good striker and I’m surprised that PSG allowed him to leave at a low price.


John Hou Sæter was signed fromk Viking for £1m. He has been loaned back to the club has part of the deal. He has the potential to be a good all round central midfielder in a few seasons. He could prove to a bargain of my Fulham save if he does fulfil his potential.


Laurentiu Branescu was signed from Juventus for £185k. I needed young keepers for the U21’s and has the potential to be a good keeper but game time will be very limited so loan spells will have to do and hopefully help his development.


Ludvig Begby was signed from Fredikstad for £400k. His versatility is his main strength has he can play in both full back positions and well as on the left wing. He has the potential to be a good player for us and I hope he can get some game with the seniors which will greatly aid his development.

Premier League


The game against Manchester United turned out to be Dembele’s last game for us has he was sold to Marsielle but what a way to leave the club with a man of the match performance. Morata has been in fine form since returning from injury which has kept him out for 3/4months. Bernardeschi has been fantastic since he has arrived and we are not missing Roberts or Woodrow. We could do with Scott Parker’s experience in the squad but they showing that no matter their age that they can do the job. Dan Burn is on the verge of being call up to the England squad after yet another fine game. He has really stepped up this season after being made captain which has been a positive influence on him. He is also becoming the foundation stone of the defence has he has been partnered with the other 3 central defenders throughout the first half of the season but it his partnership with Bartley that has been successful for the club. Only Liverpool have stopped us in getting points so far this season. to pick up 5 points from playing Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in a row is pretty good going however Arsenal have been poor so this season. Bernardeschi and Milik have taken to the Premier League like ducks to water while Morata is now starting to his class and skills after 3/4months out with injury which was picked up during the Aston Villa game, I have a difficult decision, but a good one, to make regarding who starts on the left wing out of Williams and Fischer has they are both just as good as each other.


I think the title race will be a lot closer this season than last season. Arsenal are face the possibility of of playing in the Championship next season if they don’t improve soon has they could be cut off from Crystal Palace quite quickly and get dragged back into the bottom 3. So far only 2 managers have lost their jobs, Martin Jol sacked by Arsenal in December for poor league position with Rafa Benetiz taking over and Eddie Howe sacked by Swansea for losing the confidence of the players with Gary Megson taking over. It wont surprise me that if there are more sackings.

Captial One Cup

3rd Round Results


4th Round to Semi Final

We stand a really chance of of winning the Capital One Cup again which would be great has I aim to win at least one Cup a season or at least have a good run in of the one Cup competitions.

Match Highlights of the Quarter Final game against Chelsea.

We may have had less possession of the ball but we out played Chelsea and showed more desire to win. The players did not give up and kept going until the every end with only Fischer having an average game.

FA Cup

3rd Round Draw


Champions League



Groups F and H were the closet ones where 2nd and 3rd placed teams were only separated by a point.


I can’t believe how good we were considering that Dortmund and Napoli on paper have better squads and pedigree at Champions League. We smashed out match day revenues twice when we played APOEL and Dortmund despite not selling the stadium out for both games.

First Knockout Round

Liverpool v Real Madrid, Celtic v Juventus and PSG v Chelsea are the eye catching games which could see up to 3 of the big favourites being knockout which would leave the competition wide open for anyone to win it. We have already surpassed the board’s expectations so every round we get through is a bonus.

In January I will be looking for a second AMC has I only have Tariq for that position. The board have topped up the transfer kitty to £40m which I will not be using all of it has I tend to get players at a low price and create a squad that is greater than the individual parts. I do upgrade various parts but the outcome is still the same.

this season. The only good thing this that the players get at least 3 extra days to rest or train thanks to being knocked out of the Capital One Cup. The transfer window will only be used if I need to bring in players to replace out going players if necessary or I have an injury crisis in one area of the squad. I suspect it will be quiet one for the bigger clubs has the players they go after will be cup tied for Europe.


Transfer Round Up

Not many teams were active in the transfer market this winter but some of the smaller clubs tried to strengthen their squads or move on unwanted players to free up funds.

Everton replaced their back up Joel Robles, who was sold to Leicester City for £450k, with Matej Dalec from Chelsea for £230k which shows that Everton are planning for a long term successor to Tim Howard. They have added experienced striker Islam Slimani fro Sporting CP for £1.8m after releasing Kone.

Hull City decided to go the route of getting in young players like Matt Evans from MK Dons for £450k. They also added some experience to their defence with Ciaran Clark from Aston Villa for £250k. They signed Alexander Kacaniklic from us for £3.3m after George Williams replaced him has first choice left winger.

Liverpool off loaded flop Iago Aspas to Valencia for £2.9m while adding experienced defenders Pepe from Real Madrid for £1.5m and Andrea Bazaglia from Juventus for £1.3m.

Southampton gave Cardiff City a bargain with Jay Rodriguez leaving for £275k, when in form he should be at least £5 to £10m.

Premier League
[mg]http://i.imgur.com/EJJzFAL.jpg[/img]
I think we got more televised games than any other club has we were the story of the season. We got some really good results even when we lost the game. George Williams was fantastic along with Patrick Roberts, Dembele and Woodrow who all surpassed my expectations while McCormack was a little under the level I was expecting from him after what he did last season. The results against Manchester City and Liverpool for me were the games of the season.


Chelsea ran away with the title and secured their 2nd consecutive title. It is fantastic that we averaged just a goal conceded a game but we need to improve the number of goals scored has we could have won mores than we did. The relegation battle went to last game with either QPR and Burnley needed the other plus Aston Villa to lose to secure their place in the Premier League for next season. All three promoted teams stayed up even though the Boro manager stated that we don’t have the players to stay up earlier in the season and look we where finished.

Capital One Cup


FA Cup
3rd Round


4th Round


5th Round - Final


Europa League
1st Knockout Round


2nd Knockout Round - FInal



We came close to repeating the amazing run in 2009/10 where we finished runners up after losing to Atletico Madrid in the Final.

New Stadium

I requested an increase in capacity which was granted and was going to make Craven Cottage capacity of around 29,000. but now we have secured Champions League football plus over 90% capacity for every home game with about 30 games in all competitions at full capacity. The new ground will easily accommodate the 17,000 season ticket holders the club has and hopefully there will an increase in that area as well has match day tickets. I hope the corporate facilities will much better than they are currently are which will vastly improve our revenues during the season and out of season. It will be a while before the chairman will agree to improving the training facilities for the senior squad but I will ask.

New Players

I royally cocked up this season has I failed to extend the contracts of 2 of my best young players in Roberts and Woodrow, Roberts joining West Ham after his contract expired even after securing Champions League football his pathetic agent would not let me negotiate a new contract while Woodrow left for Newcastle United with them paying us just under £1m in compensation which is at least ten times less than I could have sold him for.

Alvaro Morata, Juventus £7m

I felt that Morata despite his age is a better striker than McCormack and hopefully lead the attack better than McCormack in the Premier League and Europe. If he has 2 or 3 good seasons with us and I a big offer of at least £20m I might consider selling him.

Arkadiusz Milik, Leverkusen £2.9m

I hope he can form a deadly partnership with Dembele. I have now a strike force full of youth, potential, talent and pace.

Federico Bernardeschi, Atalanta £5.75m

I hope he can be a good replacement for Roberts has his stats look impressive for a young player.

Luca Lezzerini, Fiorentina Free (pre-contract)

I need young goalkeepers for my U21 squad and be a long term cover for Bettinelli. he has potential to be a decent keeper and challenge Bettinelli for the No.1 jersey.

Nicolas Douchez, PSG Free (pre-contract)

He will be give me at least 3 seasons to build up a stable of young goalkeepers. He could easily replace Bettinelli if Bettinelli’s form dips or gets injured.

Victor Fischer, Ajax, £5m (increases to £6.75m)

I cannot believe Ajax were ready to sell this young player who is high rated by everyone. A couple of improvements in some of his stats will make a decent winger. George Williams has now some serious competition for the left wing position.

The transfer window is still open and I am looking to add some players in certain areas of the U21 squad which are lacking in the senior squad. I have a decent transfer budget to secure the players I need.

New Players


He adds a lot of Premier League and European experience to a young squad. I would have had to pay £1m to £2m if he was under contract with another club so getting on a free transfer is a bargain.


He is an extra body in the striker department to help ease the pressure of the others when we play twice in 4days. He will be mainly used in the Europa League and some cup games.


I tried several attempts to get him without any money being transferred. He is going to be a good back up keeper for Bettinelli. He will get games in the Europa League and some cup games. I will probably get another experienced keeper has I look for young keepers for my U21 and U18 squads.

Premier League


We recorded our first win against Liverpool at Anfield which was a shock has I sent the team up get at least point or if we did lose it would have been by a goal or two. We went on a 6 game winning streak after losing to Tottenham and now we are unbeaten in 10 games. Ross McCormack finally got going in November and December while my midfield continue to impress me in every game we play. I decided to field my best players for Premier League games and use the rest including the bench in Europa League games. This meant I was labelled the tinkerman which is not fair has the gap between Thursday night and Sunday afternoon is not enough for players to recover properly especially long trips to Eastern Europe.


I have managed to secure our place in the Premier League for next season but the club could end finishing within the top 7 due to Europa League games. To be 3rd with a striker only netting only 7 goals so far is amazing but we need to cut out conceding easy goals. The bottom 3 are being cut adrift and face an uphill struggle to bridge the points gap to 17th.


A number of managers losing their jobs due to lose in confidence from the players and 2 due to poor league position. I think Sean Dyche has taken a sideways step and not a step up same with Nigel Pearson. It is going to be interesting who takes the jobs at Burnley, Leicester and West Ham now the January Transfer Window is open has the new managers wont have enough time to assess the squad and get new players in if needed.

Captial One Cup
3rd Round
4th Round

FA Cup


Europa League

3rd Qualifying Round

Playoffs

Group Stage



There are some really good teams left in the Europa League plus the teams finishing 3rd in the Groups Stage of the Champions League. The club managed surpass the boards expectations for the Europa League by qualifying for the next round.


The players that played in the group games really impressed me with some showing signs that they could be part of the first eleven or match day squad for the Premier League.

1st Round Knockout

2nd Round Knockout
We could potentially have two trips to Ukraine or a nice little trip to Valencia. There are some tasty ties in the 1st Round with potentially even tastier ones in the 2nd Round. This could be the end our of run or a repeat of the fantastic run the club had under Roy Hodgson where they finished runners up.

I will not be adding any new bodies to the first team in January but will scout for potential summer signings.

Before I update you all on my progress with Fulham in the Premier League and Europe, I decided to share my tactics with you.


This is my main formation. It can be changed to 4-2-3-1 depending on the opposition. I have a couple of pact wingers which I like use has they provide their share of assists and goals. The central midfield trio are combative but they also creative. The defence is protected by 2 ball winning central midfielders. The main thing about the formations I use is that they are balanced and the positions or roles that the players play in are also balance for example the full backs are the same, at least 2 of the 3 central midfielders are the same with a defensive minded player.


This is my 2nd formation which gets changed depending on who is available, opposition and competition, I have been using 5-3-2 against top Permier League sides while using this one in Europe and Cup games.


I set up my side to win the ball back quickly and get on the offensive quickly. This never changes regardless of the formation, mentality and match day training focus.

tried to download the icon update and chrome is blocking it.

New Players (Winter 2015)

Lloyd Jones

He was signed from Liverpool for £375k. My Head of Youth Development put this transfer together before passing it to me for the contract negotiations. He has the potential to be a good defender for us if he can improve his physical stats. I am sure in a couple of years time he could have a starting place in my line up or be close to breaking into.

Thomas Delaney

He was signed from Copenhagen for £500k. He is the long replacement for Scott Parker both has a player and potentially club captain. He needs to work on his vision and strength.

I sold Fernando Amorebieta to Burnley for £4.5m with £2.5m upfront and £2m to be paid over 12months. I sold him has £4.5m was too good turn down for a player approaching his 30’s also has opened up a place for Burn and Hutchinson to stake claim for.


I had to rotate the players a lot thanks to the run in the Capital One Cup which resulted in some inconsistent form both player and overall. Woodrow certainly showed that he could replace McCormack if needed. Patrick Roberts is showing that he can be a future England winger. This time it is Wolves were the only team to stop us getting points. I thought we were going to have a difficult period after narrowly losing to Manchester United in the FA Cup 3rd Round but we managed get on track quickly.



Capital One Cup


FA Cup
3rd Round




New Players (Summer 2015)

Josh Brownhill

He was signed for an intial fee of £3.25k from Preston North End. The transfer has the potential cost £2.5m with various clauses which are £375k after 10 league games, £75k per league appearance for 10 league games, £375k for 10 league goals, £6.96k per month for 12months and £625k for promotion. He needs to improve his physicals stats before he moves into the first team squad but has the potential to be a good player for us.

Kyle Bartley

Signed on free transfer from Swansea. This is the second save game I have signed Bartley. He has Premier League experience which is missing in my defence. He needs this move to work out for the good of his career.

Tyrone Mings

I have paid £5m upfront with £3.5m over the next 48months. He has the potential to be an England International he can perform in the Premier League and Europa League.

Wellington Silva

He is going to be cover for Roberts. Hopefully he prove to be a good player for us in the cup competitions and Europa League with some Premier League games.

I will not be adding more players to the first team unless a player gets a season ending injury. I have transfer listed Mitroglou and Stekelenburg has I believe I have players that are potentially better or currently better than them.

The 2015/16 season is going to be tough has the board wants us to finish mid table, I am hoping that the current squad is good enough to achieve that while competing in the Europa League. I might have to keep my best players for the Premier League games and play my 2nd XI in Europe.

It has been a month since my last post has I was looking a for new save which would last more than 2/3 seasons. I was going to to one with Fluminense but got bored with it very quickly so I decided to look at Premier League clubs with little or no trophy history with a chance of doing something special every 2/3 seasons and the 3 clubs that relegated from the Premier League from 13/14 season. I choose Fulham has they have a nice blend young talent and experience players, the ground can expanded in the future if the club has good average attendances every season, the chairman could provide funds and the only major success was being runner up in the Europa League under Roy Hodgson. The club has potential to be a good Premier League side, winning one of the domestic cups every so often and eventually compete for a top 6 finish on a regular basis with an outside chance of Champions League every few seasons. This depends on me getting the right players in and getting the tactics right for this to happen.

I decided to stick the current squad for the 14/15 season and only add players if there is an injury crisis in one part of the squad. The central midfield is the weakest part of the squad in terms of numbers not quality so any injuries could force my hand into the loan market. I might bring in players if they young and talented also if there is no other player in the U21 and U19 in that position for example I don’t have cover for Ruiz in the AMC position.


I need the squad to gel quickly has we have a tough start to the Championship. I will be using to 2 formations over the course of the season, 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 narrow diamond, which suit the players that are currently in the senior squad.


We have only failed to score in 2 games in the first 23 games of the league season. So far only Birmingham have stopped us from taking any points. In mid September I was forced to get a central midfielder in on loan for 3 months has there was an injury crisis in that position and I players in the U21 either out on loan or injured so I got Jordan Lussey from Liverpool. He did well in the 6 games he played but there are major concerns of his physical stats which are not to the same standard as his technical and mental stats. I just need Ruiz, McCormack and Woodrow to score on a more regular basis has we to try to get back into the Premier League at the first attempt. The attendances have been great for our home games and we are near the top for number sellouts also % of capacity but midtable for average attendance.


Us and Middlesbrough are pulling away from the Playoff places while the battle for the Playoffs covers 12 teams with realistic chance of getting in there. The bottom 3 are being casted adrift from the rest of the table.

Capital One Cup

Round 2
Round 3
Round 4, Quarter Final and Semi Final

FA Cup

Round 3

New Player

Humam Tarigq, £500k from Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya

I was given £25m to spend in January so I decided to buy Tariq having followed his progress on previous FM15 saves and was impressed with his progression on those saves also the scouts reports on those saves came back positive and recommended to pay whatever price. He is joining us on the 1st of January but will go out on loan to Tromso to get a work permit has he failed to get one but was allowed to sign him.

I am hoping at the end of the season to able to persuade the board to get a club affiliation to get players EU nationally if they come from outside the EU or don’t have an EU nationally. I hope in a season or 2 that Craven Cottage is expanded to above 30,000 and maybe one day a new stadium is built.

any chance of an fluminenese background?

thanks

Cristian Bonilla will be joining the club on 1/1/16 from Atletico Nacional for £450k. He will be my first choice keeper when he arrives. This is not the first time I have had him in my squad, I signed him for Seattle Sounders on my attempted Pentagon Challenge.


Edgar Ie joins from Bacelona B team for £800k. He has the potential to be a top class central defender. Barcelona could have got a lot more than £E800k for him and hopefully he can prove to be the best buy of the decade.


Marvin Plattenhardt signed £2.5m from Heartha Berlin SC. He is going provide very good competition for Jung for the left back position. He is a perfect fit for my formation and tactics.


Panaglotis Tachtsidis was a free transfer after being released by Genoa. He is going fit in well with Khedira and Demme has they are all the same type of midfielder. I first came across him on Champ Manager 2010 when he has 18yr old wonder kid with decent stats to make him a starter at his age.


Pavel Mogilevets joins us from Zenit St. Petersburg. He is a different type of midfielder to the other three. I hope can he complement the other three when selected.


This preseason was hectic with lots of friendlies to gel all the players. The games against Rangers, Milan and Roma were to give to me an indication of where the club is likely to be in the Bundesliga also highlight areas of weakness within the squad. Denis Thomalla looks to have increased his chances getting selected for the starting eleven no harm at all but he has to pass Damari and Frahn.


The 4-0 win over Hannover was our biggest win in the Bundesliga and it shows that Damari can play at this level. I replaced Coltorti with Dahne and I was proved right has Dahne did not concede a goal. I will be giving him a run of 6 games and then I will see who has the better stats. The Wolfsburg game was the first time Thomalla has started a game and what a way to start with hat-trick in just over 20 minutes.It shows that Thomalla can be a goal scorer at this level also push Damari and Frahn for their places. We were unbeaten for near;y 4 months before a losing a close against FC Bayern. Damari and Thomalla can be goo strikers at this level however Frahn has been struggling to find the back of the net which will harm his chances of getting a contract extension. It seems that Kalas and Plattenhardt have had a positive impact on the back four has we have not conceded as many goals I thought we would.


I thought we would be somewhere between 10th and 15th at this point of the season but to be 5 points behind FC Bayern is beyond believe. Werder Bremen are paying the price for not adding to their squad in the summer and they need to do so in January if they stand any chance of staying in the Bundesliga. Hannover, Frieburg, Dusseldorf and Bremen have 17 games to secure their place in the Bundesliga. Dortmund have recovered nicely after a poor start while Wolfsburg have fallen away after a good start which them near the top of the table.

DFB-Pokal

Round 1


Round 2


Round 3

Hamburg SV are having a good run despite a poor season in the league and caused an upset by knocking out FC Bayern.

I am hoping to get rid of few players in January while looking at getting players on pre-contract agreements or buy them with a loan back clause.

Thanks Johno.

I have finished the season and here is the update.


Towards of the end of the winter break I managed to fit in 2 friendlies so the players had shake of any any rust built up over the break. The important thing is that we build up the momentum we had going into the winter break. Kaiserslautern were the only team to beat us in the league. Damari started to score on a more regular basis which led to score 23 league goals and become the club’s top scorer.


The remaining automatic promotion place and the 3rd playoff place went to the final game to decide who would finish in those places. Ingolstadt needed a miracle on the final weekend to escape the regelation playoff. 2.Bundesliga is a very competitive league where every team could beat each other on any game day.


We had a good run in the DFB-Pokal and nearly made in to the semi finals which is not too bad for a 2.Bundesliga team. We have se the bar for the 2015/16 season where we should be aiming to repeat this or go one round further.

New Players


Bjorn Jopek was signed Union Berlin for £3m. He has the potential and room for growth to become a decent 1.Bundesliga winger. He faces a difficult challenge of keeping Forsberg out of the line up.


Kyle Bartley signed on a precontract agreement from Swansea in June. He should be a good solid defender and form a partnership with Kalas after Compper leaves.


Tomas Kalas signed for £2.3m from Chelsea.

I cannot believe I got Kalas on the cheap. He should develop into a top class defender.

I have signed a few more players while writing this post and have completed the preseason also started the 2015/16 1.Bundesliga season. I have the club record for signings of spending £15.5m. It is proving to be expensive for Leipzig but it is necessary to get the right sort of player into the squad so the club has a good chance of staying up.

I did a season with RB Leipzig on FM14 but stopped it has their philosophy of possession football did not agree with me however on FM15 they want attacking football which is something I can deliver. Their squad is open to be rebuilt in the summer has there are some older players that are not good enough for the 1.Bundesliga if we get promotion.


I was not able to feild a full strength side for any of the games so the players could get use to my tactics which will now take longer for them to gel. This will probably take a few games of the regular season for them to get upto speed. Daniel Frahn is my leading goal scorer despite being my 2nd choice striker behind Damari. I would like to see Damari to score on a more regular basis in the 2nd half of the season.


The relegation battle could be close has the teams could drag others into the fight for survival. The fight for the 2nd place covers 10 teams at the moment with 7points separating them which is not alot when teams could beat eachother.

DFB-Pokal

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 1 is about the smaller clubs taking on the bigger clubs. FC Bayern v Wolfsberg should have been the game of Round 2 but only got interesting when it went to penalties. Round 3 sees Dortmund v Werder Bremen which should be the game of the round.

I will not be adding new players to the squad this season however I will rebuilding both the playing sqaud and the backroom staff has there are a lot deadwood in both areas.