Jon Harrod Activity
First Day In The Job
So David Moyes has gone. The Sunderland fans have been calling for his head for a while, and Ellis Short has finally had enough. Replacing him, is a relative unknown, Jon Harrod. Harrod has spent time working with youth teams previou...
An introduction
I've had a real problem getting motivated for saves on FM17, so I'm giving myself one last chance, now that the final update is out.
I have used the real fixtures and results database from this site dated 7th April 2017 and will...
Taking over Sunderland with table as in real life on 7th April 2017. Only signing under 18s
The Chairman Decides...
That I keep my job (for now).
The new chairman has also pumped £20m into the club. He hasn't increased my transfer budget, but hopefully it's a good sign that he's willing to spend the cash when it's nee...
Takeover Complete
So we have a new chairman, Colin Cowie
He's currently considering my future, as there were rumours he'd want to hire Eddie Howe to replace me. Hopefully he lets me stay!
On a side note, I've just finished my Continental...
September 2018
I was starting to wonder what had happened to my strikers, as we made it 5 games in a row without scoring. Thankfully, we managed to end that run!
The win against Stoke means we end the month in 13th (but we have the Monday night game thi...
August 2018 and Deadline Day
The league campaign hasn't started well for us.
We had 2 men sent off against Burnley and another sent off against United. I put out a rotated side for the EFL Cup and we just scraped through.
Being short of funds at t...
Pre-Season Round Up
Our friendlies are over and results weren't too bad.
We finished up being invited to play West Brom in a testimonial for James Morrison. The players are now fully fit and hopefully ready for the challenge ahead.
We are predicted...
Pre-Season Report 2018/19
So, its 25th June, the fixtures are out and we start our campaign away to Burnley. Time to start seriously thinking about the season ahead. But before we do, a quick round up of what has happened since the end of the season.
En...
End Of Season 2017/18
I was going to do an end of April update, but thought I'd hang on until we played our final league game. These are our latest results.
We started the month well, but struggled with the pressure after that.
We went into the las...
The Dream Is Over
So our FA Cup dream came to an end as we went down 1-0 to Manchester City at Wembley.
We put up a good fight, but their quality just showed through in the end.
This means we can concentrate on the league. With just 2 games to go, this...
March 2018
So apart from the FA Cup shock, a pretty average month for us with 3 straight league draws.
It hasn't helped our promotion hopes as we have now dropped to 4th. However, we are only 3 points off top spot (Sunderland) and 2 points off autom...
The Dream Continues
We did it...
An early goal was enough to get us to Wembley!
The semi-final draw hasn't been kind though as we face Manchester City. The other tie is Southampton vs last years winners Crystal Palace
A Bit About Me
Now that I am more than a year into my career, I thought I should put a brief write up about how I approach and play the game. Hopefully this will give anyone that reads this an insight into why I might sign a certain player, or play a cer...
February 2018
We remained unbeaten for the whole month.
3 draws mean we sit second in the table. 4 points behind Sunderland, and level on points with Aston Villa and Rotherham (but ahead on goal difference).
Boschilia came 3rd in young player of the mo...
An FA Cup Shock
So... this happened!
These were the first goals Ince has scored for the club. And it took him 20 games to do it. Maybe I should play him as a makeshift striker more often.
Here's the draw for the quarter finals
January 2018
First up for January is some bad news... My HOYD, Dave Parnaby was poached by Bournemouth. He had great attributes for his role, JPA 19, JPP 19, Working with Youngsters 20. Easily one of the best HOYDs available.
The best I was able to repla...
We Finally Go Top!
It's taken til the middle of January, but after beating previously top placed Brentford, we have finally gone 1st in the Championship.
I'm not sure what's happened to Rhodes. He's now scored 8 in his last 5 games,...
December 2017
Well it appears that we've finally turned a corner.
We conceded 2 goals in the last 2 minutes against Wolves, to lose a game that we never looked like losing until then. But the team have kicked on since then. I'd almost given up...
November 2017
Well, our form is still erratic to say the least...
We were 2-1 up against Hull before conceding 2 within 3 minutes of scoring our second. It's good to see Eraso joining the party though, as he's been pretty mediocre this season....
October 2017
Our form is still a bit up and down, and we went out of the EFL Cup...
For some reason, we struggle more against teams below us in the league, and we have a bad habit of conceding late goals. Something we need to address.
The game against N...
September 2017
September was a bit of an up and down month. 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats.
As you can see though, we did scrape a penalty victory in the EFL cup. We face a derby away to Newcastle in the next round.
We're sitting mid-table at the m...
August 2017 - Season Starts and Window Closes
The season didn't get off to a great start, as we conceded late goals in both our first two games.
We improved after that though and currently sit 10th. As you can see, we had decent draws in the EFL Cu...
July Roundup
So July has seen us do well in our friendlies, of which we have just played our last.
A 100% record, including wins over Udinese, Ajax and Rapid Wien. Hopefully we can carry this form into our league campaign which begins at home to Wolves...
Post Season Round Up, Pre-Season Report
It's now July 3rd, the day the squad report back for pre-season training. Since my last post, one more player has told me that they want to leave due to relegation, Leonardo Ulloa. Once again though, I've...
End Of Season Round Up 2016/17
So we went down. But we finished in style, beating Tottenham. Ulloa found a bit of form when it was too late.
The league table ended up like this.
Eraso picked up fans player of the season.
But somehow he didn't g...
April 2017
The month started on a nice note with Marc Roca winning Young Player of the Month.
But then we move onto the results...
What can I say, luck is not on our side. We were holding our own at Anfield until De Roon got sent off after 53 minutes,...
March 2017
Our good home run came to an end with defeat against Stoke, while we came close away to City, missing a late penalty which would have got us a draw.
Only 3 games this month due to other teams still being in the FA Cup and an International bre...
February 2017
Only 3 games in February.
Our home form seems to be much improved but our away form is poor. It's good to see that the new strikers are scoring.
We still sit bottom, 12 points from safety. But we aren't down yet!
The Window Closes
So... I was much busier than I thought I would be in this window.
I only signed Lucas as I have a first option deal with Ituano, and he has decent potential. I need to loan him out though as he has now work permit. I ended up buying 3...
We Won A Game!
Since I signed Eraso, he's played 3, scored 3 and has 2 assists. He's also valued at 5 times more than I bought him for.
On a side note, Koeman is likely to get sacked soon as Everton are now just 1 point clear of the relegation...
Mid January Update
So it's the middle of January and I've brought in defensive reinforcements.In have come Jonas Olsson (£135k, West Brom), Jamaal Lascelles (£9m, Newcastle) and Mason Holgate (£3m, Everton). Lascelles and Holg...
The First Signing and First Point
I jumped in and took a chance on Javier Eraso. There was plenty of interest in him and I didn't want to risk missing out. The deal got wrapped up quickly and he was straight in the team for our first January match,...
Transfer Targets
The only philosophy that my board have insisted on is to develop players using the clubs youth system. As I don't have to buy young players for the first team, I am planning on adding a bit of experience in January. Essentially, I f...
Much tougher than the Everton save. This team has no spine, there I had Williams, Barkley, Lukaku. Here, I have Bernardo, Guedioura and Negredo. And none of them seem to be up to scratch. I think I need to rebuild everything from the bottom up, but I'...
December 2016
So... It wasn't a great start!
Against Sunderland and Tottenham, we managed to concede a goal in the first minute. I switched to a 343 formation against Man Utd, and that really didn't go too well.
Both Guzan and Valdes are terrib...
Kind of, but I'm hoping to stay here for a few seasons, as long as the board let me!
Squad Analysis
Goalkeepers
Valdes is currently injured for a week and Guzan is leaving at the end of the season. Konstantopoulos is 38 years old, and there is no youth prospect of note.
Defenders
The defence doesn't really look that bad. With Chambe...
My manager will be the same as my first attempt at this career and you can see the details here.
Basically, I'm starting with a Continental C License and as a Professional Footballer (Local Level).
Steve Gibson expects me to develop players using...
The first managerial casualty is here! It's the 13th December
This is why Karanka got sacked...
So I will be taking over at Middlesbrough rooted to the bottom of the league without a win so far this season. Currently 11 points from safety. This sh...
This is the table on 1st December 2016
Currently, there are no insecure jobs in the Premier League. So it will be a waiting game
This is my second attempt at this career, after I started the last time with an editor file that shouldn't have been there!
The plan here is to start a career by trying to save a team in the English Premier League from relegation and then seeing whe...
After failing to remove an important editor file last time, we're going at it again!
A Problem...
I've found an issue that means I'm going to need to restart this career. I've just realised that my Monster database is running. I must have forgotten to turn it off when I started my career. I only realised when my scout came...
Pre-Season Objectives & Odds
I didn't want to push things too much. But I've told my players we're aiming to qualify for Europe, so I've said the same to the board.
We're 7th favourites for the league coming in at 30-1. I&#...
The Plan For The Summer
So I have some money to spend, but apart from a striker (or 2) what do I need? Lets work from the back.
GK - No problems here
DL/WBL - Baines is now my back up to Galloway as he's getting old and is past his best. He has a te...
Lukaku Leaves... and So Does Neville
So I gave in and let Lukaku leave and head to Man City. I got an initial £50m with another possible £12m in add ons. This means that I now have £125m available to spend. But I'm taking my time o...
An Interesting End To The Season
So I end the league campaign with defeat to Bristol City and a draw with United.
However, as was always bound to happen after my crash issue, I went on to win the FA Cup...
The poor league ending meant that we finished...
The End (of the season) Is Near
April is over and there are just 2 league games remaining. Here's what happened this month.
The first game against Stoke was a nightmare! We hit the woodwork 5 times, while Jack Butland put in a man of the match perf...
The End Is Near... And We're Falling Short
So March has been and gone. Wewon 2 out of 3 league games.
Unfortunately, the defeat to Palace has put us in an awkward position as far as European qualification goes.
We now sit 7th, 2 points of of 5th an...