Football Manager

[Prelude]

12 hours ago, frosty said:

A couple of FMs ago, think it was FM 18, JRC turned out a good player - well, his stats weren’t amazing (not really anything above 14 or 15 apart from maybe the odd physical or mental attribute) but he performed well at Championship level, got a few goals and eventually I sold him to West Ham for about £15m a few seasons in. He didn’t play much there though.

Haven’t played as Rovers on FM since then but probably will do on FM 21. Hopefully players like him and Buckley will have decent potential now they’ve properly broken in to the first team. Buckley should already have some decent attributes (passing, composure etc) to work with.

I have dropped him to the reserves as he is 3rd best in any position according to staff and his development has peaked.

Next season will give him some chances and see how he goes if not sell him in Jan and hopefully get at least 10 million for him! 

[Prelude]

1 hour ago, bluebruce said:

Sam Hart is going nowhere on mine! Probably be selling him for a few hundred k when the season ends. Left him on loan, and he has Championship potential at best it seems.

Buckley surprised me on several cameos as his performances outstripped his stats, so I kept giving him chances and now he has displaced Holtby in the first 11. Theoretically he shouldn't, I dunno what it is, much like with Gally. But when players are in form you have to run with it. Holtby has been disappointing, he should be top notch in this league. Maybe he is just worse in that particular role, but he wasn't much use in CAM either. But Buckley and Travis is my number one CM pairing now.

JRC was starting to be used as a sub for the flank attacking positions, and getting the occasional start with injuries and fatigue as he set off ok. Form started being quite average so I loaned him out when I signed a new guy from Barcelona youth, Jardi. I got New York Red Bulls to loan him, for 120k a month...til the end of their next season. 2.8 million total! Just for a loan. So yeh done alright off him. Hopefully he comes back better and I can sell him for a ton, his potential isn't too high though.

Good Job with Jardi!

Buckley doing well on loan but his stats look poor.

I think if I can get 20 million for both players I can invest it better.

[bluebruce]

14 minutes ago, Prelude said:

Good Job with Jardi!

Buckley doing well on loan but his stats look poor.

I think if I can get 20 million for both players I can invest it better.

The stats work differently on the main game (there are more of them) but your Buckley looks similar to, or maybe better than, mine. Mine only has passing 12, decisions 10 and dribbling 11 for instance. And mine has become an important regular in my side (probably ditch him when I go up though). You might want to give him a couple of games and see if he surprises you.

Jaume Jardi, just one of a bunch of kids I've pillaged from Barca. I dont have the pull to get the likes of Ansu Fati, their top prospects, but their also-rans have plenty of 4-5 star potential at my level. Jardi was the only one who could fit into my first team squad immediatelt though. I've also raided Vigo, probably even more heavily, and snatched from various other clubs in Spain and Germany (two of my active leagues). Just starting to look into the Italian market. If I ran the maths, just selling Brereton is probably paying for all this business, wages included for a while, and I must have brought in at least 20 kids. I run the Chelsea model, and have since long before Chelsea were doing it. Probably for cheaper too.

Easier on a game where potential is shown as a stat though (but they do a good job of keeping it partly randomised and your scouts not really knowing). And whilst it's a great tactic on a game, I think it's abhorrent that it's being done for real.

Just checked, I seem to have brought in 38 players in total (some for the first team of course) and sold or loaned a bunch of others. Spent 15.5m and brought in 18.75m, though those figures include business Rovers had already done IRL (Gally, Raya)

Edited October 11, 2020 by bluebruce

[Prelude]

Had a great first season in The prem!

Finishing 10th!

Adam Armstrong top scorer in The Prem yet my coaching staff only rate him as the 4th best striker at the club! 

Bradley Dack has bettered his stats from the previous season in the Championship!

I Won manager of the year! Which I found surprising as I didnt come in the top 3 even once for manager of the month ?.

Arma, Dack and Trav all have me as there favourite people!

Despite this season Arma is valued at 18 million and Brereton rated at 25 million! He struggled for goals only getting 6 despite starting most games but did assist with 12. He looks good at everything he does apart from finishing! 

 

[frosty]

Crikey, well played! What tactics are you using?

It was a real slog when I eventually (had about six or seven years in the Championship after getting promoted first season from League One) got promoted to the Premier League with Rovers on FM 18, finished 17th with about 35 points.

[Prelude]

26 minutes ago, frosty said:

Crikey, well played! What tactics are you using?

It was a real slog when I eventually (had about six or seven years in the Championship after getting promoted first season from League One) got promoted to the Premier League with Rovers on FM 18, finished 17th with about 35 points.

Cheers! 

If I go behind I will change from counter to Overload.

Normally Arma through the middle and Brereton on the left (Arma out for 10 days currently)

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

28 minutes ago, frosty said:

Crikey, well played! What tactics are you using?

It was a real slog when I eventually (had about six or seven years in the Championship after getting promoted first season from League One) got promoted to the Premier League with Rovers on FM 18, finished 17th with about 35 points.

Is that you Tony ? Give my regards to Mrs Mowbray.

[frosty]

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Is that you Tony ? Give my regards to Mrs Mowbray.

? I know, I should be able to see what he's 'trying to do' with his slow build.

That said I never went on a run of 9 defeats in 11, plus I did get in the play-offs a couple of times before eventually going up, so Mogga's got some way to go to match me yet ?

[Rainmaker]

I'm in 2023 of my Rovers save on FM20 on PC. I went straight up, with 5th in the first Prem season and 3rd in the second. Currently sitting at 3rd, 1 point behind 1st.

Of the "original" squad only Nyambe at right back and Arma up front are regular starters. (Tosin I bought on the cheap after the first season in the Prem) Dack just got pushed to the bench by Martin Ødegaard (I'm in that transfer window currently).

Lenihan and Travis are regular subs. I sold of the 

Currently alternating between a 4- 3-1-2 with 3 central midfielder and 2 Advanced forwards, and a 4-2-3-1 with inverted wingers. Using the latter very seldom as I really dont have any good wingers outside of Arma, and he has consistently been a 25 goal Advanced Forward.

I want to play the formation with wingers more, but, I have so many good and great MCs, and as said no so many good wingers. 

Some great buys, I've had;

Koni De Winter for left back

Sergio Gomes, Eduardo Camavinga and Jude Bellingham for MC

Wilfried Gnonto for Strikers

Tosin, Marco Kana and Valentin Antov for stoppers.

I'm at work now, so can't post any screenshots.

I normally favour a 3 DC back line, but in FM20 this has made me leak goals. Have any of you sucessfully implemented a 3 defender tactic?

[bluebruce]

4 hours ago, Rainmaker said:

 

I normally favour a 3 DC back line, but in FM20 this has made me leak goals. Have any of you sucessfully implemented a 3 defender tactic?

No, but then again I haven't even tried, because 3 man defences are blasphemy, an abomination against football.

[Prelude]

So the 2nd season with Blackburn in the Prem I achieved qualifcation for European football!

Lewis Travis and Ben Brereton called up to the England squad! Travis has been capped but Ben not played yet! What Blackburn players have you had called up to the England squad? 

I now live in a world when Ben is worth nearly double than Arma who was top scorer in the prem last season and who only missed out by 2 goals this season mostly due to him missing the last half dozen games through injury.

I turned down the Inter Milan job! 

Daragh and Tosin best centerbacks in the prem! Had him on loan 3 seasons in a row and have just had an offer accepted for 12.75 million for a perm transfer! 

[Prelude]

I hate VAR! Fuming! Every single time it goes to VAR the goals gets disallowed! Anyone have a goal scored that goes to VAR to stand?

[bluebruce]

2 hours ago, Prelude said:

I hate VAR! Fuming! Every single time it goes to VAR the goals gets disallowed! Anyone have a goal scored that goes to VAR to stand?

I've only played a Championship season so far, no VAR yet. But it seems pointless on this game. Every time on this and previous versions that the computer shows me a replay, it shows me the decision was 100% correct. Offsides anyway, who can tell with fouls on this game. Absolutely flawless linesmen apparently. Always makes me wonder why the pressers and match reviews talk about 'contentious' decisions. They should make the officials get it wrong randomly, more realistic!

I just finished 6th first season in Champs. I was surprised to then win the playoffs! My form had been a bit poor tail end of the season, but I motivated the lads...smashed WBA who finished 3rd, 4-1 at home then drew 0-0 to make the final. A Tosin header in injury time took me past Fulham at Wembley, I was loving it!

It's almost too early, as I don't really want to make wholesale changes yet and had planned to grow the team for another season, especially with the glut of youth players I signed. But I'm sure I'll cope and stay up, just got a lot of choices to make. Goalie is my main concern, I've never had as much of an eye for a good one on this game as I do for other areas. I can glance at most positions and know the player is worth considering, but goalies have so many stats for a fairly limited function and it's hard to know which to put faith in. The big ones I've always gone for are handling and reflexes, plus jumping reach/aerial ability, but moreover I tend to just rely on the scouts assessment of their current ability! That fluctuates though at times.

I had arranged a pre contract with Vaclav Hladky before my win. Only paying him a few k a week and he is meant to be better than Walton (who had a surprisingly solid season...I conceded the least goals in the league). But I don't think that's enough to rely on and even without promotion was planning to find better.

Still bemused that the board have given me a D (it was an F at one point) for the signing of Nico Melamed. He cost 750k, spread over 3 years, played 15 times since January including 9 starts, has 4-5 star potential and is now worth 2.4 million at 19 years old. Think he will become a top player. They say he cost too much! The fans have given it a B-. Board were similarly unimpressed with Jardi until recently, now he's a C for them. Both players were at least a C when I actually bought them, then they contributed and the board suddenly decided they had cost too much! Glitch I think.

[Prelude]

Same with me in the 1st season finished 6th and got promoted. 

Get Tosin on loan again for the Prem!

I had him on loan for 3 seasons! Signed him on a perm in the 4th season.

[Prelude]

So not only is Ben Brereton worth 33.5 million, he just made England debut scoring twice!

Yet I am thinking of selling him as he misses so many chances! 

[Prelude]

Champions League football coming to Ewood! 

And done with 6 players that actually play/played for Blackburn in real life with Lenihan, Tosin, Travis, Dack, Arma and Brereton! Bell, Nyambe and Vale also on my bench! 

[Prelude]

Update, now sold Vale for a tidy amount! 

[Prelude]

Made a tidy profit on Ben Brereton! 

[frosty]

On 18/10/2020 at 21:39, Prelude said:

Update, now sold Vale for a tidy amount! 

Can you post a screenshot of Vale’s attributes? I know they’re slightly different to the attributes on the PC version, but still, I got about 7/8 seasons in on FM 20 and whenever I’m not managing Rovers I still keep a close eye on them. And I don’t think Vale’s stats were great from what I recall, although he did make it into the first team I think after a few years.

[Prelude]

48 minutes ago, frosty said:

Can you post a screenshot of Vale’s attributes? I know they’re slightly different to the attributes on the PC version, but still, I got about 7/8 seasons in on FM 20 and whenever I’m not managing Rovers I still keep a close eye on them. And I don’t think Vale’s stats were great from what I recall, although he did make it into the first team I think after a few years.

 

[Prelude]

Not a bad Season! 

Won the Prem and The Champions League and thrashed good teams in The Semi and Final! I am now cash rich and just signed the player that has been the Golden Boot winner 3 years running! 

Lenihan and Travis are still first choice starters and Arma and Dack regular subs. Nyambe still plays the odd game! Tosin is also a regular sub.

Anyone else had any major success with players that Play for Rovers?