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Career Foxy and Fulham Try To “Do a Leicester” - Season 2 Part 3


FuddledFox
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4 hours ago, DutchTony said:

Great idea!!

 

2 hours ago, Rob said:

I will second that. Would love a transfer window update.

Your wish is my command.

29 minutes ago, Guppy McFicklestein said:

I'm pretty sure Schürrle's loan last two years!

It might be in real life but unfortunately FMM doesn’t have 2 year loans so he is heading back to Dortmund and I doubt I will be able to afford him unless he pops back up on the loan list 😕

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11 hours ago, Ashez said:

man you've got a lot to do in season 2

I have to admit I was expecting more money from the board but even if I told them we would win the league they still only offered me £17m so I will just have to do the best I can with what I have got and what I can raise from sales.

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Had me self a little catch up. Missed loads over xmas.

Congrats on surviving relegation....with just a measley £17m to spend the "title winning" season is going to be fun!

Good luck mate.

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Just caught up, great first season (well end of!).

Look forward to seeing what kind of squad you put together for a title challenge.

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1 hour ago, Woody said:

Had me self a little catch up. 

 

12 minutes ago, smoggy90 said:

Just caught up, 

You just both be back at work then if you are catching up with Vibe 😉

The transfer window is done so hopefully I will get time to write about my dealings tonight.

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As promised I have put together a post devoted to my transfers in the summer window and hopefully it will give you some insight into my thought process going into the season.

I plan to use the Gegenpressing tactic that Ashez and myself came up with for FMM18 as it worked well enough for me last season to think that it can do a job with this Fulham team if I can get the right sort of players in. That said our form was decent after I took over last season but it was hardly title winning stuff and we struggled against the bigger teams when we played them. 

Remember the board had generously given me £16m to spent on transfers, this was based on finishing mid table. If I had selected winning the league they would have given me £17.5m which wasn’t enough to tempt me to select that option as if this goes wrong and we finish mid table I would like to at least keep my job. 

Transfers Out

That “generosity” from the board means that I am going to have to raise some funds for myself if I want to, which I do, strengthen the squad. We had a couple of players out of contract that could have raised a little bit of money if I had been able to sell them but I was a little slow offering them deals so Odoi and Ayite left on free transfers along with a few youngsters who freed up a little extra wages.

We only had one real asset that I was willing to let go and that was Mitrovic who doesn’t fit in to the Gegenpressing tactic naturally. I could have sold a few other players for a decent amount such as Sessegnon, Cairney, Zambo or Johansen who would have all raised about £70m if I had sold them all but I rate all 4 players and I think they will be important this season. All the other sales were small fry but they added up to an extra £9m for me to spend and for some reason Crystal Palace seemed to want most of my out casts.

This would give me about £40m to spend which actually turned into £43m as I transferred over some wages as well.

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Transfers In

I need to strengthen right the way across the pitch but I really need to focus on getting the defence improved as well as upfront because we lost two top players in Schurrle and Vietto as they went back to there parent clubs and I don’t have the funds to bring them back (trust me I tried).

Let’s deal with the signings one section of pitch at a time.

Defence

We have a decent couple of ‘keepers in Bettanelli and Rodak so that was one area of the pitch I felt I could ignore. The same goes for the LWB position as I think Sessegnon and Joe Bryan can play that role well enough hopefully. That leaves the CB and RWB positions to focus on.

RWB: Some say £3m doesn’t get you much these days but I say it can get you a world class RWB. Ok world class might be stretching it a lot but Erik Durm is a decent player who has the pace and stamina to get up and down the pitch and then has a good range of attributes that although blue are high enough to make me feel he can do a job.

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CB: I used the loan market to bring in Retsos from Bayer and Fosu Mensah back from Man Utd. Retsos will certainly be a first choice whereas Fosu Mensah will probably feature more often in midfield but is a handy back up at the back.

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I then spent £11m to bring in two players, one an old FMM favourite of mine in the Ukrainian Kryvtsov. He has a good range of attributes needed for a CB and although he isn’t outstanding he is a very reliable option for us. The other player was Scott McKenna who I have already used a few times on FMM19 and is a bargain at £5.5m as in season 1 Man Utd usually come in for him and push the price up to £13m. He isn’t exactly the ideal BPD but he is a solid CB, his passing is ok, he is left footed which adds balance at the back and the price was right.

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Midfield 

I have a few good options in midfield already so I just tried to add a few more quality options in this department.

DLP: I brought in two players that could play this role but you have already met Timothy “Mr Versatility” Fosu Mensah. My first choice player for the role will be Atletico loanee Rodri who joins for the season. He is predominantly a defensive midfielder but he is a decent passer with ok creativity so DLP shouldn’t be a big problem for him and I like his defensive attributes as he guards the CB’s as well.

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BBM: This is a crucial role in the tactic and although I have Johansen and Zambo who both performed well last season I wanted to add at least one more player that could boss the midfield. I used the Mitrovic money to bring in Mario Lemina from Southampton as my biggest purchase of the window. He is a well rounded player with all the physical attributes that a BBM needs as well as good technicals and mentals, I have high hopes for him. Oh yeah Mr Versatility can play there as well.

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Attack

I brought in four new attacking players and there could potentially be a couple of real bargains in amongst them.

LW: I dipped into the loan market for a 4th and final time to bring in Maxwel Cornet from Lyon. He can also play just as comfortably in the FR position as well but as a left footer I hope he can provide some balance on that side and although his crossing isn’t great he can pass and shoot and the LW will get goals in this tactic.

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SS: Cairney will most likely be my number 1 in this role as he performed well there last season but he can’t play every game so I need another option. I didn’t have much to spend on him so I turned my attention to the Championship and a former Man Utd player who never quite made the grade at this level earlier in his career. Nick Powell came in for £5m from Wigan and ok he lacks pace, stamina and creativity but he can pass and he has a couple of 14’s in shooting, dribbling and movement which will do for me.

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IF: I find that this position usually gets the most goals for me so I needed some real quality here and it is no position to skimp on price which is why I spent £2.3m on Jordan Ayew. He is quick, has good movement and can shoot so if he doesn’t get goals for me I will be surprised and gutted.

I needed an understudy for Ayew as well and I wanted someone who could cover multiple roles up front. I popped back into the Championship and brought in one of Oxfords best players for the last few years Kemar Roofe. Despite being an understudy for Ayew he wasn’t transfer listed so I had to spend a bit to get him but he can play in all 3 forward roles and do I job I hope.

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What do you think then, will these motley crew of upcoming players, rejects and lower league talents help me make Fulham title challengers? 

 

 

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Interesting choices and a demonstration that you need players to suit your formation rather than just amazing ones. Retsos on loan though 👍

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Nick Powell is a good choice, other lower league options around that money who have worked for me are Marcus Maddison and Bradley Dack.

Good luck!

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Scott McKenna is a good choice for a cheap cb. I’ve often went for him when I’m on a budget. 

He won’t let you down.

I’ll be impressed if you can get that title in this season I have to say!

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11 hours ago, Rob said:

Interesting choices and a demonstration that you need players to suit your formation rather than just amazing ones. Retsos on loan though 👍

I would have liked amazing signings but these were some of the best I could do with what I have, we will soon find out if they suit my formation or not.

11 hours ago, DutchTony said:

Really looking forward to this huge challenge. Half of the players you brought in i have never even looked at before.

Good luck!!

Hopefully a few will perform for me and give you some new names to look for.

6 hours ago, samhardy said:

Poor window. 15th place prediction from me.

That’s very optimistic of you.

6 hours ago, smoggy90 said:

Nick Powell is a good choice, other lower league options around that money who have worked for me are Marcus Maddison and Bradley Dack.

Good luck!

I’ve used both those lads at times in the past. There’s always a few tasty signings to be had in the Championship imo.

3 hours ago, 1759 said:

Scott McKenna is a good choice for a cheap cb. I’ve often went for him when I’m on a budget. 

He won’t let you down.

I’ll be impressed if you can get that title in this season I have to say!

£5.5m is the cheapest I have got McKenna this year as when I bid for him Man Utd usually put in a bid as well and bump the price to about 13m.

Hopefully I can impress you 😀

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Excellent read, this is the stuff I love watching unfold. 

Knowing the tactic as well as I do I'm impressed, however I am concerned about the SS in truth. 

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13 hours ago, Ashez said:

however I am concerned about the SS in truth. 

I think we have discussed before the problem of finding a real top level SS and I had real trouble finding someone affordable to play that role. Cairney did well there last season but he isn’t a top class player and hopefully either him, Roofe or Powell can do a job this season. 

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22 minutes ago, Foxy said:

I think we have discussed before the problem of finding a real top level SS and I had real trouble finding someone affordable to play that role. Cairney did well there last season but he isn’t a top class player and hopefully either him, Roofe or Powell can do a job this season. 

You forgot the golden rule.....Luan is the man!! 😛

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You’ve seen my transfers so it’s time to get out on the pitch and win Fulham a Premier League. This first update will deal with the months up to Christmas and although I will show Cup results the focus both of the updates and my management of the team will be fully on the league as that is the aim of this save.

August 

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It was important to make a good start to the season and we did just that with a 2-1 win over Cardiff but then as the month went on we started to show our defensive frailties as we conceded 4 to Burnley and 2 at Reading in draws which are definitely 4 points dropped in games we should have won.

In between those games though we had a great home win against Arsenal which was a turn round from our 3-2 loss to them towards the end of last season and shows that we might have made some progress.

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September

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We finally got a clean sheet this month at our 7th attempt in the league.

This was a promising month as we travelled to Old Trafford where we lost 4-2 at the end of last season and got ourselves a creditable draw in a game we played well.

We would get an even better result in the next league game though as we dismantled Spurs 4-0 at the Cottage. This was a thoroughly deserved result with new signing Jordan Ayew getting himself a hat trick and was a real boost to my confidence that we can challenge for the title. 

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The Spurs game also showed that we can keep clean sheets against good teams. The league table shows we have made a good start but it’s the goals against column that is the most worrying and is preventing us from already being top.

All in all it’s a decent start to the season.

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October 

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That confidence evaporated this month as we only picked up 4 points from a possible 9 and got battered by Chelsea.

Ok statistically we didn’t get battered but what counts is putting the ball in the back of the net and Chelsea did that 3 times to inflict our first defeat of the season. What matters now is how we react to that defeat and get back to winning ways quickly.

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That result leaves us 2 points of the top but it’s still early days.

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November

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We did get back to winning ways this month and in a little bit of style as well with an excellent home win over Everton and a comfortable win at Swansea. Another 4-4 draw was a pisser at the end of the month and I am still not confident in our defence but we score goals so that gives us a chance in most games.

The game of the month came at Anfield though as we came from a goal down to win 2-1 against one of our title rivals. It was a backs to the wall performance for parts of the game although Liverpool didn’t create a huge amount. It was our clinical finishing that won us the game.

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That Newcastle draw means that Man Utd extended there lead over us and we are now 4 points of top so for all our good results we are dropping too many points in easier games that we should be looking to win if we are to do anything this season.

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December 

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This is always a crucial month simply because of the number of game that need to be played and it is a true test of the depth of a squad as tiredness kicks in. We started December with another dodgy draw this time against West Ham but then a run of 5 straight wins began at home to Man City. It was that man Ayew with the goals again and he is proving to be £2.3m well spent I think.

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After we beat City we didn’t have any top teams to play the rest of the month  but as we have had a few frustrating draws so far it was great to get on this run of wins. We ended the month and this update with an excellent 4-0 win over Wolves.

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Despite that run of wins we find ourselves in 3rd and 7 points behind at the turn of the year although we have a game in hand. 

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That brings us to the end of this update. It’s been frustrating as we have dropped too many points in games that we could and should have won. That said it’s not over yet and I feel we are still in contention for the title especially if we can win our game in hand and with the transfer window opening and some spare wage budget I may be able to strengthen the squad a little bit.

What do you guys think, do I have any chance of winning the title or is it looking a forlorn hope at the moment?

Cheers Lads

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5 hours ago, Rob said:

Well Ayew is now a God. I predict third.

Ayew always was a God he just needed the right manager! 

5 hours ago, fRESH said:

Well done mate ! I predict Lukaku scores an crucial own goal in last game and u get a title .

That would do for me mate.

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If you win your game in hand you'll go up to 2nd which is still a great achievement. Hopefully them sh*tc*nts at the top will drop some more points...

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that's a great start mate, just thwarted by the FMM gods who have Man Utd stomping it. hopefully for you they have a downturn... as for me, let's just say i'm glad i'm not living in the horrible parallel universe that you've created! i prefer this world where Brentford beat Oxford today :D

Edited by Mr Tree
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Win your game in hand and you’ll be 4 points from top which theoretically makes you favourite for the league if going by anything you’ve read in the media in the past couple of days!

Grrat going mate, I’m confident you’ll turn this around after the January window 😁

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18 hours ago, 1759 said:

Doing well and not being in Europe will hopefully help you later in season.

The lack of European games could be a big advantage for me or at least I hope so.

15 hours ago, DutchTony said:

If you win your game in hand you'll go up to 2nd which is still a great achievement. Hopefully them sh*tc*nts at the top will drop some more points...

Here’s hoping 😀

14 hours ago, Mr Tree said:

that's a great start mate, just thwarted by the FMM gods who have Man Utd stomping it. hopefully for you they have a downturn... as for me, let's just say i'm glad i'm not living in the horrible parallel universe that you've created! i prefer this world where Brentford beat Oxford today :D

Considering we are in a relegation battle and don’t really need the extra games I’m quite surprised we didn’t win yesterday.

14 hours ago, Nucleus said:

Win your game in hand and you’ll be 4 points from top which theoretically makes you favourite for the league if going by anything you’ve read in the media in the past couple of days!

Grrat going mate, I’m confident you’ll turn this around after the January window 😁

Hopefully a couple of new additions especially at the back will help me close the gap.

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1 hour ago, Foxy said:

Didn’t Al Fayad take that monstrosity with him when he sold the club?

Iirc I think it's in the football museum now lol. 

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