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Post by Marshdweller on Jan 26, 2021 21:51:04 GMT
Great stuff Robson! Still sticking with the 4-4-f*cking-2?
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Post by Robson on Jan 26, 2021 21:59:02 GMT
Great stuff Robson! Still sticking with the 4-4-f*cking-2?
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Post by Dirk Nowitzki on Jan 26, 2021 22:32:26 GMT
Fantastic job Robson! The goal difference suggests you were actually the best team in the league. It's fun to see what such a simple tactic can achieve. Are you planning to strengthen much? What I have found to be a struggle so far is to keep the English identity, because any Premier League quality English player will cost you the world, especially the ones that may become world class. Instead, I chose to throw that overboard completely. My squad looks more likely to play Universidad de Chile in the Copa Libertadores than to play Burnley in the Premier League.
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Post by Marshdweller on Jan 27, 2021 7:53:52 GMT
Fantastic job Robson! The goal difference suggests you were actually the best team in the league. It's fun to see what such a simple tactic can achieve. Are you planning to strengthen much? What I have found to be a struggle so far is to keep the English identity, because any Premier League quality English player will cost you the world, especially the ones that may become world class. Instead, I chose to throw that overboard completely. My squad looks more likely to play Universidad de Chile in the Copa Libertadores than to play Burnley in the Premier League. I'm curious as to how you manage that and comply with the home-grown regulations. Are they all so young they are exempt, or did you identify them really early and they now count as HG?
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Post by Dirk Nowitzki on Jan 27, 2021 9:43:09 GMT
Fantastic job Robson! The goal difference suggests you were actually the best team in the league. It's fun to see what such a simple tactic can achieve. Are you planning to strengthen much? What I have found to be a struggle so far is to keep the English identity, because any Premier League quality English player will cost you the world, especially the ones that may become world class. Instead, I chose to throw that overboard completely. My squad looks more likely to play Universidad de Chile in the Copa Libertadores than to play Burnley in the Premier League. I'm curious as to how you manage that and comply with the home-grown regulations. Are they all so young they are exempt, or did you identify them really early and they now count as HG? Yeah they are just really young. I have a 23-man squad and only 7 of them need to be registered (just 2 of them are older than 22), so I can get away with just having 3 British players. It used to be 4 but PSG activated a €87M release clause on my goal keeper's contract in the winter.
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Post by Robson on Jan 27, 2021 16:00:44 GMT
Half a PlanBefore I review the summers transfers, let me just say I raised £20m towards this lot, mainly the sale of Jack Lankester for £13m, and the rest gets paid for as the Premier League TV money comes in. Still using the 4-4-2. • Turnbull (MC) - the midfield had been operating with loan players who have returned to their clubs. Turnbull is not particularly mobile or athletic but he does have a lot of technical qualities. A potential playmaker. • Mensah (MC) - the box-to-box partner in crime. Had a spell once with Athletic Madrid so he has some pedigree. Too good to miss on a free. • Clarke (DC) - had a cheap option in his loan clause so made his deal permanent. Looks steady but his injury record concerns me. • Gallacher (RM) - cheap loan player to play wide right. A regen. Should do a job backing up El Mizouni. • Shoretire (LM) - expecting Shoretire to feature a fair amount on the left. • Cebeci (DC) - I love this deal. Just 18 years old, he had a release clause ITFC exercised. No one really came in for him perhaps cause he's 5'9, quite short for a centre back. I just saw his attributes and reckon I've nabbed a player. • Forss (FC) - with teenage sensation Louie Barry back at his parent club we were short up top. I don't know much about Forss but he'll link up again with Turnbull. I may need this deal to turn out rather well. • Vandevoordt (GK) - with the money from player sales fresh in the pocket ITFC made a transfer splash. Current keepers will not keep us in this league. An expensive record purchase - taking the instalments into account - for Ipswich showing that the club doesn't intend to go down without a fight.
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Post by Robson on Jan 27, 2021 19:22:27 GMT
Part 2Er, user error. These 3 deals, classified as last season, also applynto this window. Without further ado let me complete the previous post.
Nyambe (RB) - one of the best players in the Championship. 8.5m is a snip. He'll either upgrade Valery at RB or play alongside him occasionally as CB. McCrorie (Mid) - more a DM but I could play him either as a CB or CM. A real FM'er signing. Brilliant mentals, I've made him the new captain. Zagre (LB) - thanks to FM I have good scouting knowledge of French football and happen to know that what Nyambe bring to the right, Zagre brings to the left. Should be absolutely set at fullback. Now you can see the full extent of spend and the beginning of what the Premier League offers financially. It's quite literally a different market.
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Post by Dirk Nowitzki on Jan 28, 2021 13:06:24 GMT
Some solid deals there!
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Post by Marshdweller on Jan 28, 2021 20:19:07 GMT
Wow, £30m on a keeper straight after promotion. You're not messing about! Good luck with the coming season.
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Post by Robson on Jan 30, 2021 17:19:10 GMT
End of Season 4 (Part I - Looking Back)Back in the old big time, Premier League 23/24 season. The main objective was to protect this new status and it was never in any real danger. Officially safe from relegation with about half a dozen games to go. That said it wasn't always fun as some problems opened up, namely - - Too entertaining? Scored for fun at times but conceded more. As likely to win 4-0 as we were to lose 0-4.
- Ability of players of whom some appear unable to perform consistently at this level.
- Went on two or three shocking runs of forms or result sequences.
And questions for the manager too - - Did ITFC spend too much on that keeper?
- Was the 442 exposed or just the players we had?
- Is the quality we do have adequately balanced in all areas across the team and squad?
Youth and training facilities will soon max out, plus the coaching set up is pretty good. Staying in this league is improving our reputation and commercial aspirations. The chairman has announced that he's looking at options away from Portman Road with the demand for tickets requiring a new ground . Part 2 later on how we move forward and build on what we have achieved.
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Post by Robson on Jan 31, 2021 22:34:49 GMT
End of Season 4 (Part II - Looking Ahead)This is the point where the save either becomes fun or tricky. Personally I find playing in almost every non top tier division a piece of piss. Over the years various Championships, Bundesliga 2's, Ligue Two's, Serie B's (you get the picture) have caused me little to no trouble at all, making me some sort of FM Neil Warnock. It is now, in a top division that FM tests you and especially the Premier League. The money can be distracting and take you off course, plus you find out just how powerful the Manchester, Mersey and London clubs really are. Contract greed rips through your little club with big ideas and expectations get raised quickly, particularly your own. In this save there have been the first signs of both our youth players looking really promising alongside exciting youths at other clubs frequently starting to come to the attention of our scouting network due no doubt to EPL pulling power. And like a magpie I find it difficult to ignore all the shiny things in the garden. Dirk's quote is now coming firmly into focus. What I have found to be a struggle so far is to keep the English identity, because any Premier League quality English player will cost you the world, especially the ones that may become world class. Instead, I chose to throw that overboard completely. My squad looks more likely to play Universidad de Chile in the Copa Libertadores than to play Burnley in the Premier League. DirectionSo just what direction are we headed in? What does success look like in the next 2-3 years? For now progression is simply upward. I want to finish higher in the Prem this season than last and then continue that trend. Something like 12th then maybe 8th seems reasonable to me. All the while playing better, being more consistent and setting the club up so that that progression becomes automatic. This season we have become very young, arguably too young. As noted, finding prospects became easier and I've gorged at that dinner table. I have tried to redress the nationality issue a little by buying some UK & I but nevertheless Brexit's quota of no more than 6 foreign U21's was quickly hit. I think I may need to evaluate in January whether or not some more experience might be required. Forss who was on loan from Celtic last season scored 21 EPL goals has returned to his parent club, just as Louie Barry did the year before. We made both better players for other clubs to benefit from. So this year I have gone pretty big on buying young forwards of our own so that we break that cycle. The tail off in form at the end of last season, along with the youthfulness of squad and FM being the fickle beast it is leave me uncertain how the next 3 or 4 months may unfold.
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Post by Marshdweller on Feb 1, 2021 12:46:48 GMT
Good luck with the coming season; I'm a little wary of managing in England for that very reason - the loss of English identity/core, with or without Brexit changing things. That's probably why I'm vicariously enjoying all the East Anglian saves at the moment rather than diving in myself.
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Post by Robson on Feb 11, 2021 19:07:47 GMT
Paused.
1. I have had some time pressures. 2. The next season was terrible and it discouraged me.
Hopefully this will continue after a short break.
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