DavySp Activity

As I had expected Goretzka’s time at the club has come to an end with Arsenal making a non-negotiable offer I couldn’t really turn down on the 1st Jan. It’s less than he’s worth and less than I really wanted to sell him for, but...

Heading into the January transfer window I’m pleased with the first half of this season and I feel as though I’ve got the best out of this group of players. There may be some improvements that can be made to the away form, but I think tactical...

The tactical changes I’ve made (so far) are solely to the roles within the team, I’ve not changed any team instructions or the formation. Previously, I had been playing two BBM in the MC postions with a DLP(D) behind them and both my wing b...

It’s been a while since my last post and many things have happened in my personal life that has prevented me from posting. I’ve played half a season since my last update and much has happened. At the half way point in my second seas...

Transfer Deadline The transfer deadline has passed and thankfully I’ve not been pressured into selling any additional players. In the end there weren’t any additional offers and I haven’t had any other players come to me regarding int...

Season 2017-18 Start of Preseason I’m at the start of preseason, with my players returning from holidays. I feel as though I could have had them return a week earlier but perhaps the additional rest will be beneficial (I still haven’t really...

Season 2016-17 Review Pt3 I'm not really sure exactly what to post about at the end of a season, this being the first time I've written up any of my careers. I've found it very useful personally though as it makes me more reflective of the...

Season 2016-17 Review Pt2 Reviewing the Squads Performance: • Goalkeepers: Fährmann has done ok this season much as I thought he would. He’s still not really the goalkeeper I want but I’m reluctant to spend a lot of money replaci...

Season 2016-17 Review My first season at Schalke comes to an end and overall I’m fairly pleased with all that we’ve achieved this season. Second in the league is a good achievement, especially when winners Bayern went the whole season unbe...

DavySp just completed the season in the year 2017 managing Gelsenkirchen in the German First Division in their FM Career [FM2017] Schalke – Centre Forwardless

Not been great since the last update, but at the same time it hasn't been a disaster. We've been knocked out of the Europa League and in disappointing circumstances. We dominated the first leg but just couldn't find a goal, the second leg...

Into early March and generally performance has remained very good. We had a run of games against Mainz, Gladbach, the cup against Braunschweig and Hertha where my forwards seemed to go missing but thanks to some strong defending as goals from less likel...

In the end only Sociedad made any offers for Nastasic; both of which were laughably low and rejected immediately. Towards the end of December Kolasinac mentioned that he’ like to join Arsenal (as they were interested, much like real life) in order...

Half way through the season and about to go on the winter break. Overall I couldn’t be much happier, sitting second in the table and 8 points clear of 5th place. We have the best goal difference in the league with only one less goal scored than Do...

8 League games in and things are going fairly well. We're top of the table, albeit partly due to other teams poorer form. Bayern are unbeated but have drawn 4 games, Dortmund too have had a couple of defeats. I'm happier that the tactics are w...

Control Tactic Analysis: I’ve tinkered with this tactic a little after looking at how it performed in preseason and the opening games of the season. Ultimately the very high press isn’t working that well without a centre forward (I had fear...

Transfer Window: The transfer window is now closed and I’ve managed to achieve most of what I wanted. Choupo-Moting went to Leicester for a straight up £6m. As I expected, I wasn’t’ able to sell Huntelaar but did arrange a sea...

Expectations: The minimum expectation was to achieve Europa League football for next season but I’ve decided that a top 4 finish should be possible and set that as the goal for a little more money to spend. We’re in the Europa League this sea...

Counter Tactic: Centre Forwardless – Standard It's not really a counter tactics as such, although I think it can perform as one at times. This tactic is to be used against stronger teams who will player higher up the pitch and will aim to expl...

Tactics: I almost always feel that a two tactic approach is best, a more attacking/controlling tactic and a more defensive/counter tactic, for use in different situations. Where possible, I like to try to keep the same or similar formations in each tacti...

Assessing the Squad: • Goalkeepers: Honestly, I’m not 100% convinced by Fährmann. He’s ok, but not world class and not really a sweeper keeper, which I would prefer. • Left Back: Kolasinac is very good but not the most attackin...

As mentioned in the blurb, I felt compelled to play a save using a strikerless formation. Although it is usually best to decide upon a tactics based on the players available at the club and not attempt to force an approach upon a group of players who may...

A new save with Schalke looking to use a strikerless tactical system, or more accurately a Centre Forwardless tactic.

Transfers I’m going to ‘keep my powder dry’ in the first transfer window as the squad should be strong enough, for now, to finish in the European places at the end of the season. I’m going to start bringing in all the cheap young...

Assessing the Club • Goalkeeper – Diego Alves is pretty good, no urgent need for changes in goal. • Defence (Wide) – Really great full/wing backs at the club all with strong attacking attributes. This really needs to be something th...

I started a game with Valencia as they appeared to be an attractive team to play as; a big club but in some trouble and in need of some direction. I’m not going to be able to convert Valencia into title contenders quickly as there are a bunch of issues he...