RandomGuy. Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) Inspired by the I've taken up FM20 again. Also the fact I've not started a thread on me managing a club since 2017 (?!). The RandomTwist? The Saints I'll be managing is not St Johnstone (I've managed them a few times already on this years game, cant be arsed again) but is in fact.... Spoiler Spoiler Nah, not really. Edited April 6, 2020 by RandomGuy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludo*1 Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 Get involved with the P&B challenge as that team in question! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 2 minutes ago, Ludo*1 said: Get involved with the P&B challenge as that team in question! Too late for that, I probably couldn't commit to guarantee playing at same time as you lads either. Horrendous for forgetting things once I'm home from work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 Meet the Board I try to do most of these anyway, tbf. Can't wait to panic sign free agent Darren Bent and have the board chasing me through the stadium though. All I have to do to survive a season is avoid being relegated. Thats it. To succeed in this thread, I have to avoid being completely shite. The "5 year plan" is this, and the 4 years of "remain an established EPL side", the sort of average/underwhelming expectations I can thrive under. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) Meet the Boys Terrifyingly shite. Pretty much reliant on Danny Ings not being awful. I usually play with a flat midfield four. This is not a squad built for that. Need a right winger badly. Scary. Bertrand the only one you'd be happy with. Hopefully the star ratings are deceiving. Just discovered McQueen is actually injured for 15 months too. Clear why avoiding relegation is the objective... How much money do I have to try and strengthen this rag tag bunch of average? Edited April 6, 2020 by RandomGuy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 My first job was punting my useless assistant. Replaced him with an experienced head. As a player he was described as a "classy ball playing defender", he captained his side in an FA Cup Final, and played for an EPL side for over 200 games. He has experience of managing in the EPL himself too. Welcome, my right hand man... Spoiler Glenn Roeder. Most recently "adviser" at Stevenage. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) My only signing of the Summer window. £3.2m which seems ridiculous. Apparently very injury prone but have a youth RB to cover who's 5* potential but crying because I signed this guy. Nobody else was worth what was being asked really, so here we are. Nobody went out either so just stick a first choice RB in the depth chart above. Hes probably my best, natural, right midfielder aswell. Could be an option. Edited April 6, 2020 by RandomGuy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 8, 2020 Author Share Posted April 8, 2020 (edited) Opening league fixtures. Sacked by the end of August, IMO. Carabao Cup Second Round draw made too... Honestly, I'd be happy with 3 points from that and progression in the cup. Zero chance of points from Liverpool or Man U, away to any EPL side is solid. Home to Wolves my big hope, and even that's a push. Just praying there's three worse sides until January. Edited April 8, 2020 by RandomGuy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 9, 2020 Author Share Posted April 9, 2020 August 2019 EPL v Bournemouth (A) : 1-0 loss Spoiler Absolutely battered. Meunier as a right winger doesn't work, at all. The set up was a complete disaster too. Lucky it wasn't more than one goal conceded. Terrifying start to things. EPL v Liverpool (H) : 3-1 loss (Ings) Spoiler Bigger loss, but a better performance. Had a brief spell on top and genuinely challenged them for a spell. Looked much better with a DM in there. Struggling to find the best mix in the middle of the park though. EPL v Wolves (H) : 1-0 win (Ings) Spoiler Much better. Much, much better. Still relying on penalties but we absolutely battered them. I shat the bed after we scored and went uber defensive, which is when most of their chances came. Think I've found the initial set up to go with. Carabao Cup v Ipswich (H) : 4-1 win (Bednarek, Stephens, Redmond, Adams) Spoiler Absolutely despite cup ties against lower league sides, its usually the game I lose that brings the board onto my back, and eventual sacking. This, however, was a cruise. Two free kicks, two deliveries from Ward-Prowse to a CBs big head. Two goals, game over. Delightful. Next round? EPL v Man U (A) : 1-0 loss Spoiler Stats make it look one sided, when it wasn't really. Pogbas goal was an absolute screamer and then literally nothing else happened. Boufal was clean through once and tried to square it, but that was all. Happy we aren't being scudded in games like this tbh. League Table We aren't in the relegation zone. Which is good. Considering those opening fixtures thats good. Already looking at Crystal Palace and Burnley as probably looking the weakest so far. Next round of fixtures? First two games are massive. Win those, we look pretty good. We will lose both. Then hopefully progress in the cup against QPR. We won't. Then hopefully cause a shock against Tottenham. We won't. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 10, 2020 Author Share Posted April 10, 2020 September 2019 EPL v Newcastle (H) : 1-0 win (Redmond) Spoiler Scudded them. Complete domination and won pretty comfortably. Huge statement over a fellow lower half side. EPL v Crystal Palace (A) : 1-1 (Djenepo) Spoiler Started really well, missed a lot of chances, got punished, but kept on going. Team just doesn't give up, and its fucking great. Carabao Cup v QPR (A) : 5-2 win (Redmond, Ings x3, Ward-Prowse) Spoiler QPR were top, and unbeaten, in the Championship going into this. Things did not start well. Ended up hugely comfortable in the end tbh, Ings getting some much needed goals. Next up? EPL v Tottenham (H) : 3-0 win (Ings x2, Djenepo) Spoiler f**k knows. League table Far too early to get excited, but 9 clear of 18th, and already in double figures, after just 7 games is great. 40pts the obvious initial target and a quarter of the way there already. The bottom three being so fucking bad is just great too. Next round of fixtures? Newcastle game is in the Cup. No hope of points away to City, so looking at the first two to try and scab something. I'd take 3 points all in from those 3 games, wouldn't be gutted with just 1 and two narrow defeats. Dream would be 4 points. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 10, 2020 Author Share Posted April 10, 2020 (edited) First weak link is starting to show themselves, despite the good team form... Sadly, its Stuart Armstrong. Playing him in the CM position as the midfielder who gets into the box, and this is how hes repaying me. He has until January. Edited April 10, 2020 by RandomGuy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 10, 2020 Author Share Posted April 10, 2020 First two players to make Team of the Week 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 10, 2020 Author Share Posted April 10, 2020 (edited) October 2019 EPL v Leicester (A) : 2-1 win (Ings x2) Spoiler Absolutely outstanding result. Feared the worse early on but Stuart Armstrong, after me slating him, completely turned the game. Ings being on fire is huge for us. So clinical. EPL v Sheffield United (H) : 0-0 Spoiler Complete damp squib. Feels like a missed opportunity. Ings got injured with 15 minutes left, after all my subs had been made. Still made the decision to take him off and play with 10, hes too important to risk long term injury too. EPL v Man City (A) : 3-0 loss Spoiler As expected, really. Go one down, get a man sent off, and the games done. Ward-Prowse injured, Ings rested for the Cup game after his knock aswell. Hojbjerg is a fanny, two footed lunge and clear red. Glad this game is done and out the way. Carabao Cup v Newcastle (H) : 3-2 win (Redmond, Boufal x2) Spoiler A wins a win, and we move on to the next round. Chuffed. Next up? Probably me out now, but its been a good run for once. League Table Could've been worse, considering the fixtures. Still have a gap over 18th, and it feels like Burnley and Newcastle are already a bit fucked. 26pts to reach 40, so only 9 wins in the remaining 28 games to see us safe. Looking to win them all, to be frank. Especially the home games. 7 points the minimum target, 12 the dream. How well/poorly we do here could set us up for the rest of the season. Edited April 11, 2020 by RandomGuy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 November 2019 EPL v West Ham (H) : 4-1 win (Armstrong, Reed, Redmond x2) Spoiler A cruise, and the first of hopefully four wins. Harrison Reed was recalled from a loan from Fulham, and has really done well this season. Ward-Prowses injury, and Hjojbergs suspension, has given him his chance and he's taking it. Redmond is great, but Arsenal are sniffing about now. EPL v Norwich (A) : 2-1 loss (Meunier) Spoiler Red card fucked it, didn't get a grip of the game after that. No depth in midfield anyway so Boufal getting suspended doesn't help things at all. EPL v Watford (H) : 2-2 (Ings x2) Spoiler We have zero depth. Ward-Prowse, Boufal and Redmond all out, and the midfield just falls apart, especially out wide. Need more depth there. A huge point to gain considering how the game went though. Valery, whos been moaning all season about not being played, replaces Meunier, and we ship two goals down his side almost instantly. EPL v Brighton (A) : 2-0 win (Ward-Prowse, Ings) Spoiler Big guns (Ward-Prowse/Redmond) come back in, and we look like a top half side again. Totally cruised it. League Table Delicious. Didn't get 12pts this month, but 7 is fine considering the mess of the Norwich game. When we're full strength, we look like a top half side. When injuries/suspension hit, especially in midfield, we drop right off in quality. Suspect that will maybe decide my season, if I can't resolve that in January. We're now over halfway to 40pts after just 14 games though. December is always busy, heres our run of games... Greyed out Arsenal game is the Cup game. Expecting nothing from the first, or last, game. Hoping to beat Aston Villa and Burnley, and see what we can get at home to Everton. Didn't expect much from Arsenal, but Burnley beat them 5-0 in November so who knows. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 This happened too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 December 2019 EPL v Chelsea (A) : 4-2 loss (Ings x2) Spoiler Don't be fooled, I got absolutely demolished here until Ings started banging in half chances. A reminder we're miles away from the best teams in this divison. EPL v Everton (H) : 1-1 (Redmond) Spoiler Gutting. A draw probably fair, but hard to accept it coming like this. EPL v Aston Villa (A) : 2-1 win (Ings, Reed) Spoiler Reed comes up big for me again. Was considering signing a CM in January but he doesn't deserve dropped any further in the pecking order. Carabao Cup v Arsenal (A) : 1-1 (Armstrong) - Won 4-3 on penalties Spoiler Look at those possession stats Absolutely scabbed them, scummiest win of my life, but its fantastic when you manage this. They truly are toothless. Obviously Semi-Final round now, heres the complete draw... EPL v Arsenal (H) : 3-0 win (Ings x2, Ward-Prowse) Spoiler No lessons learned by them. Thats them lost 5-0 away to Burnley, and 3-0 away to me, because they're so easy to counter attack on. Can we play them every week? EPL v Burnley (A) : 0-0 Spoiler Combination of tiring legs due to the schedule, and Burnley being defensive b*****ds, means its total snoozefest. In a situation now though where results like this aren't horrendous, as we're not conceding ground to those below us. Meunier and Bednarek rested so the clean sheet isn't a bad result. EPL v Man City (H) : 2-1 loss (Ings) Spoiler Gutted. League Table Huge gap to 18th now, allowed to save we're safe? Expecting a bottom half finish now but hopefully an 11th/12th place one at worst. Think Europe is beyond us. Next up? No time to rest. Getting through the FA Cup tie is the priority. No idea what side City will put into the Semi-Final games. Ederson and Aguero the only two who missed their last cup game but then played against me in the league. Will take 6 points and the next round of the FA Cup. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 January Review/Transfer plans Top Goalscorers Ings is my boy. Redmond, Ward-Prowse and Boufal all also stepping up. After that is a huge issue though. Reed doing alright considering most of his appearances are as a sub, same with Djenepo and Adams, but none of them actually perform when they start. Armstrong a big disappointment. Transfer plans Out: Vestergaard is already away, same with Shane Long. Both agreed moves to China when the January window opens. Neither getting played so no loss. Second choice keeper Alex McCarthy also wanting away but no move agreed yet. The two loanees who were here when I started (Walker-Peters/Danso) will leave if I can cancel their loans. In: Will look to see what the deal is with my loaned out players, this is my plan if I can recall them. Forster will return to provide back up so McCarthy can leave. Elyounossi, also at Celtic, will return to compete with Boufal on the right wing. Wesley Hoedt is a CB who I want to return to cover the loss of Vestergaard and Danso. Also got a young player Callum Slattery... ... who I intend to give a run in Armstrongs position, to see how he does. This is my budget... ... so any incoming player is unlikely to be high quality. Initial thoughts are I'll try and sign younger players who can play a part in a year or two, and then just watch the transfer list. Mohamed Daramy the player I'm looking at with interest... ... think he could develop into a quality winger/inside forward. Sort of a young Sadio Mane type. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 Scrap that above post, I can't recall Forster, Hoedt, Elyounossi or Slattery Will look for a back up keeper and CB in this window now, even short term loans. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 January has not gone well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 9 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said: January has not gone well. At least it can't get worse... Spoiler f**k. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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