Career 'Director of Football' (DoF) Mode - Swansea Career (FIRED!!)

[DanEnglish]

Director of Football

Are you a little bored of FMM22? 

❤️ Love transfers  ❤️ Love player development  ❤️ Love 'plug and play' careers? 

Welcome to 'Director of Football' (DoF) mode - a style of play which is MUCH QUICKER to progress.

If this career goes well, then I'll add this as a challenge. Note - requires the FMM Editor + holidaying. 

Congratulations!
Welcome to the job! After new owners buy the club, we join Swansea City AFC as Director of Football: 

• initially we will have a hands-on DoF role - i.e. I'll be the manager - ✅ see coach reports ✅ see squad dynamics - ❌ delegate tactics  ❌ delegate player talks,  ❌ delegate matches. 
   
• later (when we're fired / resign) we will take a more strategic DoF role - i.e. we'll hire (edit) in a manager, using the editor to direct the club.
   
• we have only loaded the English league, with the latest January update.  

 

 Day 1:
There's a lot to do. We start by releasing the entire Swansea squad, then improving whatever we can.

Spoiler

New game setup - with the editor

Releasing players - there are no first team players left, nor reserve team players!

Renaming the team + setting budgets (zero transfer budget, as I intend to spend it all myself)

 

Recruiting:
Now we have zero players. We need a new squad. After taking over a lower-table Championship side, we have: 

• a £50m transfer budget and
• only a £100k / week wage budget.
• its not a lot + we need an entire new squad. 

Notes: about transfer values + wages:

Spoiler

Transfers In:
In any transfer window…

• we bring in the players at their current transfer value - e.g. Marcus Rashford would take our whole budget, as he's valued at £50m on day 1),
• or their minimum release fee (e.g. Spanish full-back Rosas has a min. release clause of £1.6m, even though he's valued at £5m) - whichever is lower.
• or half price if the player is transfer listed - e.g. a transfer listed Rashford would cost £25m, but a transfer listed Rosas would still cost £1.6m, as his release fee is lower.
• ❌ No loans in.
• ❌ No free transfers (inc. no ‘end of contract’ free transfers)

Transfers Out:
In any transfer window…

• we can sell any player for half  their value

• we can loan out / send to affiliate as normal

Wages:

• we bring in players at their current wages - so we can't afford to match Rashford's £200k/week, but we can afford Rosas' £10k/week

 
Who shall we draft? Lets discuss in a later post!
 

Edited September 26, 2022 by DanEnglish

[DanEnglish]

Top 5 Decisions for the new DoF

After taking over as Swansea's 'Director of Football' (DoF), here are our correspondents' thoughts on the top 5 decisions needed around building / drafting their new squad. 

#1. How Many Wonderkids?

Hlozek. Moukoko. Adeyemi. Sesko ... With just £50m to spend - will they invest in as many expensive attacking wonderkids for the first team as possible, or will they try to build a more balanced squad?

Spoiler

Initial reports suggest 18 year Czech wonderkid attacker Hlozek is a bargain at £5.5m ...

... but the other attacking wonderkids (who can make an impact in the Championship in season 1) are more expensive ... Moukoko, Adeyemi and Sesko are all double the price (£10-14m each), which is +20% of the squad's entire transfer budget on 1 player!

Should Swansea go for just ONE wonderkid in the first team ... or should they go for MORE ?!
 

#2. Invest in a Top Midfield Enforcer?

There are plenty of defensive-minded central midfielders available for <£2m each ... but should Swansea invest a massive ~£5m in a future Roy Keane midfield enforcer ... ?

Spoiler

This guy is Lewis Travis.

He would likely be their best central midfielder - with strong leadership skills, high professionalism / work rate / determination, who could be a captain in both the Championship + (whisper it quietly) the Premier League ...?

But is Travis too expensive, given other options cost a quarter of the price ... 

Say hello to Dan Glazer. A similar player, similar age, but just a quarter of the price.

Do Swansea go for the expensive enforcer, or the cheaper alternative? 
 

#3. Youth or Experience in Defense?

There are some pretty clear 'inexpensive' options for central defense. However the key question is whether to bring in an older, more experienced head ... even if the re-sale value is limited.

Spoiler

Swansea are reportedly looking into 30 year old center-back Pablo ... the Brazilian would be their best DC, but would prevent a younger, high-potential player from entering the first team.

Rumours suggest that Swansea are looking to get 4-5 of these center backs - with Pablo easily being both the best, but also the oldest.

 

#4. High Potential or Experienced Keeper?

Similar to defense - there is the same question in goal. Do you buy out Spanish 20 year old Agirrezabala's £2.9m release clause, or do you go for the cheaper + more experienced Siegrist for £1.3m from Switzerland?

Spoiler

Agirrezabala is worth £5m - but available as a bargain for his £2.9m release fee ...

However 29 year old Siegrist is both more experienced and has better attributes ...

Should Swansea's new DoF go for a bargain young player ... or go for the more experienced keeper ?!
 

#5. Invest in a Youth Team?

Should the DoF invest only in the first team - or should they also invest in the future? There are some great young players available - if Swansea are willing to invest 20%-40% of their £50m budget ...

Spoiler

There are many great youngsters valued at £1m-£2m each - including many of Man United's reserves ... defenders Fernandez, Jurado + Fredericson are some of the most affordable ... with speedy attacker Garnacho also a bargain.

... but this involves investing £10m-20m away from the first team. Which approach should Swansea take?!
 

Next:
What do YOU think Swansea's new Director of Football should do? 🙂 
 

Edited September 11, 2022 by DanEnglish

[sscout]

I'd say Hlozek is a must, not much of an opinion on the rest. 

It's an interesting career you've got here and I'll definitely be following this closely. Good luck! 

[StuartM]

I always prefer to invest in youth when I'm managing but for a DoF, perhaps you'll need to make sure the squad is always good for right now and do some Harry Redknapp style wheeler dealer action... Good luck!

[Ariza8]

I'd like to invest in a new young GK, but not Agirrezabala... Try Joan Garcia from Espanyol. Similar player, similar potential (or even better) and lower release clause (£2M) but you need to load Spain to get him. But if not, then Agirrezabala will do. Or choose older but better if we go for short term career. 

Get both Guille Rosas and Sergio Carreira for your right Back and mid. 

Other possible transfer is Ludwig Agustinsson (Sevilla for LB - Release clause of 2.4M, dunno if he could get permit). Raid Aberdeen for Lewis Ferguson (3m) and Ross McCrorie (875k), Ferguson can be a captain as he has 17 Leadership. Possibly get McKenna (4.4m) from rival Nottingham Forest and Cameron Brannagan (3m) from League One side Oxford. Haissem Hassan from VillaReal also looked solid young left winger for £4m release clause.

Got some more nice player recommendation, but what formation will we use? 

[DanEnglish]

3 hours ago, sscout said:

I'd say Hlozek is a must, not much of an opinion on the rest. 

✅ Hlozek. He does look good, hopefully the AI (assistant) manager plays him as a wide IF, and not as a sole striker.

2 hours ago, StuartM said:

I always prefer to invest in youth when I'm managing …

I would like to do the same … let’s see …

2 hours ago, Ariza8 said:

Got some more nice player recommendation, but what formation will we use? 

Let’s keep it simple + build a squad for a 4241 / 41221. 

Your suggestions are great 👍 thank you … ✅ DR Rosas -   ⏸️  DR Carriera if we can afford him / afford another specialist DR … ✅ MC Ferguson … ✅ MC McCrorie who can also cover DRC … ❌ DC McKenna I’d love, but can’t afford given the variety of cheap DCs elsewhere … ⏸️ Brannagan looks good, will check out how he compare with similar prices Johnny … and couldn’t find Hassan 😞 

This guy does look great. But his £21.5k/week wages are above my wage limit. We only have £100k/wk to play with!

 🙂 

[DanEnglish]

One decision I still am not sure about ... suggestions welcomed!

+£10m Sesko     vs     <£3m Etete 

Option A: should I splash +£10m on Sesko upfront? ✅ He should become a star - including in the premier league, ✅ He is a great all-rounder, 🔻 His aerial + strength are not that good, compared to the average Championship DC (who averages 15-16 in both), 🔻 He'd cost +20% of my transfer budget (so we'd invest less in the other +20 players)

Option B: draft the more cost-effective Etete upfront for <£3m? ✅ Also is young + will improve, ✅ Good in the air + finishing, 🔻 less of an 'all-rounder', and 🔻 surely has lower potential than Sesko.

Thoughts?!

Image made in powerpoint using FMM screenshots

[sscout]

What's the role he'll be playing in the system? I suppose when it comes down to it, if what we need is a pure goal scorer then Etete is what I would recommend. 

[StuartM]

Its a surprisingly close call on their stats right now... though I wonder if its a good time to get Sesko as him or his equivalent in 12 months time will be expensive... have you already decided on Hlozek? Hlozek and Sesko could be a powerful pair to build the team around for years to come!

[Ariza8]

8 hours ago, DanEnglish said:

✅Your suggestions are great 👍 thank you … ✅ DR Rosas -   ⏸️  DR Carriera if we can afford him / afford another specialist DR … ✅ MC Ferguson … ✅ MC McCrorie who can also cover DRC … ❌ DC McKenna I’d love, but can’t afford given the variety of cheap DCs elsewhere … ⏸️ Brannagan looks good, will check out how he compare with similar prices Johnny … and couldn’t find Hassan 😞 

This guy does look great. But his £21.5k/week wages are above my wage limit. We only have £100k/wk to play with!

 🙂 

Oh I'm forget you'll use Holiday function most of the time... Then hiring Rosas and Carreira won't work in playing 2 position, they will only fill DR/WBR. But still both are great/will be great for less than £4m. 

Edit-Hassan is in Villareal B and on loan at Mirandes 😅 but at that price maybe there's some option out there. 

5 hours ago, DanEnglish said:

£10m Sesko     vs     <£3m Etete 

Option A: should I splash +£10m on Sesko upfront? ✅ He should become a star - including in the premier league, ✅ He is a great all-rounder, 🔻 His aerial + strength are not that good, compared to the average Championship DC (who averages 15-16 in both), 🔻 He'd cost +20% of my transfer budget (so we'd invest less in the other +20 players)

Option B: draft the more cost-effective Etete upfront for <£3m? ✅ Also is young + will improve, ✅ Good in the air + finishing, 🔻 less of an 'all-rounder', and 🔻

If there's not much transfer funds I'd say Etete can be a good option, sure he won't be as good in the long run but he is decent. On the other hand, all teams need a star signing - and Sesko could very well be that. 

Or we can go for a more well-rounded option in Penarol's Agustin Alvarez - around £3-4m, hes more for the future but already looked great and young with higher ceiling than Etete, I believe. He is not as good in the air, but with some training he can be. 

Other option for Left Back is Hibernian's Josh Doig... When check him, make sure to check Porteous and Magennis, they're decent for <£2m.

For GK, if you really want solid but not too pricey GK, go for Livakovic, he is valued less than £4m. Only £900k more than Agirrezabala, >twice than the Swiss one, but I think he's worth it? Your call. Also check this young Croatian star Kacavenda(£1.5m) from Lokomotiva at that. Some Swedish future stars in Barghji (£3.5m) and Nygren (£2.2m) is also can be considered. All is raw, cheap but decent potential for future. 

RW-Pavon at £4m or more uncommon one in Jefferson Savarino (Atl Mineiro) - at £1.7m. DC-Flamengo has Pablo and Rodrigo Caio pair - decent in air, cheap, depends if you want traditional DC or BPD. And so on. 

Edited September 12, 2022 by Ariza8

[Ariza8]

Off topic, how to unlock FMM editor? Mine still not unlocked yet... 

[Kun Aguero]

1 hour ago, Ariza8 said:

Off topic, how to unlock FMM editor? Mine still not unlocked yet... 

You need to purchase it

[DanEnglish]

Player Draft (part 1)

With just a £50m budget (and £100k/wk wages) - who are we signing?!
 

Goalkeepers
Three GKs total: ~£2m transfer value and ~£3k/wk wages.

"Sorry" to young Agirrezabala. Instead we will be going for cheap experience. The post-Moneyball research all suggests goalkeepers are undervalued in the market, so we should be able to sign upgrades fairly cheap in later years.

Spoiler

Our main man will be 29 year old Swiss keeper Siegrist - who has good aerial, handling and reflexes. Plus he is cheap. A leader? Yes. A sweeper-keeper? Absolutely not.

The other two backup keepers are also experienced and cheap. Probably I'll loan out Johansen for a half-season just to get some first team football, before he continues to warm the bench. 

 

Center Backs
Six DCs total: ~£10m (20%) transfer value and ~£17k/wk (17%) wages.

Aligned with the keeper decision - we decide to go for experience at the back, with a 30 year old and a 25 year old as our expected first team DC partnership, with plenty of depth behind them.

Spoiler

30 year old Brazilian Pablo is our star center back - he is solid in most defensive attributes, but (a) none of these DCs are that quick, and (b) don't expect him to play out from the back 😞 

Perhaps we will sell star DC Pablo after a season, to make way for the three younger defenders behind him. The two Croatian youngsters could develop into quality players (Sutalo + Smolcic).  

6th choice Berra is there as a mentor to the two Croatians - and perhaps a surprise potential club captain due to his influence and personality?!

Plus probably I'll loan out young Sykes for the 1st season to see if he can develop into a decent backup / 4th choice DC.

Full Backs
Four FBs total: ~£3m (6%) transfer value and ~£18k/wk (18%) wages.

Perhaps the first big mistake of the draft? If we are going to invest heavily up-front, then somewhere else needs to be weaker. Welcome to our weaker FBs ... 

Spoiler

Say "hi" to one of the cheapest mentors you'll see in the Championship.

He was originally picked to mentor some young high-potential FBs, but eventually we couldn't afford the youngsters ... but we can afford their mentor!

Of course we are selecting the Spanish full-back Rosas at his bargain £1.6m minimum release fee, though his £10k/wk wages (ouch!) make him the 2nd highest earner at the club!

Then at left-back we hopefully will be using one of our Croatian DCs - but if needed we will have 2 x cheap DL options (Saborit + Brown), who can also cover the AML position. Probably I'll loan out Brown for a half-season, just to give him some guaranteed game-time.

*Sigh* our FB positions will need reinforcing. Ideally a backup DR (Carriera for his £1.6m release fee?!) and a great starting DL ... perhaps at the end of season 1 ... ?

 
Next
So we've spent only £15m in transfers (and £40k/wk in wages). That gives us a huge £35m to invest in midfield + attack ... which we'll discuss in part 2.

You think you can pick a better squad? Try this yourself! 🙂 
 

Edited September 13, 2022 by DanEnglish

[White Europe]

1 hour ago, DanEnglish said:

Player Draft (part 1)

With just a £50m budget (and £100k/wk wages) - who are we signing?!
 

Goalkeepers
Three GKs total: ~£2m transfer value and ~£3k/wk wages.

"Sorry" to young Agirrezabala. Instead we will be going for cheap experience. The post-Moneyball research all suggests goalkeepers are undervalued in the market, so we should be able to sign upgrades fairly cheap in later years.

  Hide contents

Our main man will be 29 year old Swiss keeper Siegrist - who has good aerial, handling and reflexes. Plus he is cheap. A leader? Yes. A sweeper-keeper? Absolutely not.

The other two backup keepers are also experienced and cheap. Probably I'll loan out Johansen for a half-season just to get some first team football, before he continues to warm the bench. 

 

Center Backs
Six DCs total: ~£10m (20%) transfer value and ~£17k/wk (17%) wages.

Aligned with the keeper decision - we decide to go for experience at the back, with a 30 year old and a 25 year old as our expected first team DC partnership, with plenty of depth behind them.

  Hide contents

30 year old Brazilian Pablo is our star center back - he is solid in most defensive attributes, but (a) none of these DCs are that quick, and (b) don't expect him to play out from the back 😞 

Perhaps we will sell star DC Pablo after a season, to make way for the three younger defenders behind him. The two Croatian youngsters could develop into quality players (Sutalo + Smolcic).  

6th choice Berra is there as a mentor to the two Croatians - and perhaps a surprise potential club captain due to his influence and personality?!

Plus probably I'll loan out young Sykes for the 1st season to see if he can develop into a decent backup / 4th choice DC.

Full Backs
Four FBs total: ~£3m (6%) transfer value and ~£18k/wk (18%) wages.

Perhaps the first big mistake of the draft? If we are going to invest heavily up-front, then somewhere else needs to be weaker. Welcome to our weaker FBs ... 

  Hide contents

Say "hi" to one of the cheapest mentors you'll see in the Championship.

He was originally picked to mentor some young high-potential FBs, but eventually we couldn't afford the youngsters ... but we can afford their mentor!

Of course we are selecting the Spanish full-back Rosas at his bargain £1.6m minimum release fee, though his £10k/wk wages (ouch!) make him the 2nd highest earner at the club!

Then at left-back we hopefully will be using one of our Croatian DCs - but if needed we will have 2 x cheap DL options (Saborit + Brown), who can also cover the AML position. Probably I'll loan out Brown for a half-season, just to give him some guaranteed game-time.

*Sigh* our FB positions will need reinforcing. Ideally a backup DR (Carriera for his £1.6m release fee?!) and a great starting DL ... perhaps at the end of season 1 ... ?

 
Next
So we've spent only £15m in transfers (and £40k/wk in wages). That gives us a huge £35m to invest in midfield + attack ... which we'll discuss in part 2.

You think you can pick a better squad? Try this yourself! 🙂 
 

Always build Your team from the back, fullbacks are so important in modern football, i think more money should be spent there;)

[FMclown]

Marc Navarro? Free transfer at Right back.

Corral for 675k and develops into a world beater.

Iturbe in goal. Very low release clause.

Centelles from Almeria at left back. Low release and decent potential.

No Lucca for his 8mil?

[DanEnglish]

44 minutes ago, FMclown said:

Marc Navarro? Free transfer at Right back.

Corral for 675k and develops into a world beater.

Iturbe in goal. Very low release clause.

Centelles from Almeria at left back. Low release and decent potential.

No Lucca for his 8mil?

These are some great players:

• Navarro = I’m playing with a “no free transfers allowed” rule 😞 
• Corral / Iturbe / Centelles = not in an “England league only” database 😞 
• Lucca = I considered him. BUT is +£12m in my save (some players’ starting values are different in different saves) 😞 - so Sesko is cheaper for example …

[DanEnglish]

@White Europe

   
As a result, the club’s Director of Football has made a last minute extra investment in defense - though Swansea fans remain “not impressed” 😡

Spoiler

One for the future?

After a half-season out on loan, Man United’s 18 year old Fernandez could be good in the Championship …

… but do we REALLY need another left wing-back? He is our 3rd! 

We could have had Spanish DR Carriera for his £1.6m release fee?! Unless this DoF has a plan 🤔 

🙂 

Edited September 14, 2022 by DanEnglish

[DanEnglish]

Player Draft (part 2)

With just a remaining £35m budget - how many wonderkids have we signed?!
 

Midfielders
Eight MCs total: +£11m (+20%) transfer value and ~£32k/wk (+30%) wages.

Unfortunately there's no 'Roy Keane' for us - we decided to not get the midfield enforcer Travis, and instead settle for two cheaper defensive midfielders, plus another four more attacking midfielders.

Spoiler

@Ariza8 suggested three of these picks...

Our two defensive midfielders can fit into a 4231 or a 41221 - which is helpful. Plus both can play in central defense - though McCrorie will more likely provide cover for right-back as well.

Our four 'more attacking' midfielders provide great quality in central midfield

I’m hoping that high-potential Johnny gets more games, though am worried that cheap (but higher ability) Mohamed may keep him out of the team. 

While £1.7m bargain Savarino is meant to be a right winger, I'll retrain him to the AMC position. He has the highest pace, dribbling and crossing of any of our M/AMCs, so lets see where our (assistant) manager uses him.

The two other players are just to provide some cheap depth. We'll probably sent 22 year old Mandroiu out on loan for a half-season, just to get some first team football before he rots on our sidelines.

Wide Attackers
Six AMR/Ls total: ~£12m (~25%) transfer value and ~£16k/wk (16%) wages.

Welcome to wonderkids #1 + #2 😃 We have some great quality in these positions - but (after the "fans fury" above, we decided to deprioritise stars Sowah / Pavon 😭, in order to fund an extra defender + extra depth across the front line.  

Spoiler

One IF position should be dominated by Hlozek - who is expensive at £5.5m, but he should be a stand-out performer in the Championship this season. 

Cornick + elderly Eder should also be competing for the other first team IF position - though at 34 years old Eder will only be used for this first season. 

Thankfully we also have the two left WBs who can also play in the AML position, providing extra flexibility / cover.

15 year old wonderkid Bardghji looks incredibly exciting - he will be sent out on loan until he becomes ready for the first team in later seasons.

We may also send out the super-cheap Duffy on loan for a half-season, just to get some first team football.

Versatile Webster helps fill the subs bench.

Strikers
Three STs total: ~£11m (+20%) transfer value and just ~£8k/wk (8%) wages.

Our 3rd wonderkid. Is it Moukoko? Is it Adeyemi? Or did we go for Lucca? One thing is for sure - lets hope this guy doesn't get injured, as there's not much depth behind him~!

Spoiler

Welcome Sesko! After scoring +3,000 goals for @Scratch, we have high hopes for him here. At +£10m (more than 20% of our transfer funds!), he certainly needs to perform.

Behind Sesko - we have Matt Smith as a mentor. Smith is the cheaper version of Jutkiewicz - for just 0.5m you get someone good in the air, good personality, and a good mentor. Lets just hope he doesn't play many games.

Thankfully all three wide attackers Hlozek, Cornick + elderly Eder can all play up-front as backup instead of Smith.

As 3rd choice ST Sanderson is the cheapest young striker who has decent potential - so he'll be sent out on loan, to pump up his value and hopefully sell for decent profit.

Next
So we've spent £49.93m in transfers (and £96k/wk in wages). We have a huge squad of 31 players - though 10 of them are valued at <0.5m each. So we'll summarise the squad + get your thoughts.

You think you can pick a better squad? Try this yourself! 🙂 
 

Edited September 14, 2022 by DanEnglish

[DanEnglish]

Our Squad

So at the start of season 1 - this is our squad to compete in the English Championship:

• Attack = our three wonderkids ✅ cost over one-third of our transfer funds, so they must perform.
• Midfield = fairly strong in quality + depth ✅ though need to monitor who gets left out / doesn't develop.   
• Full Backs = ⚠️ weaker quality at DL + ⚠️ weaker depth in DR,  areas to strengthen in future.
• GK/DCs = experienced + inexpensive first teamers ✅ with young stars as backup DCs.  ⚠️ will need a younger / better keeper at some point.

What do you think? Later on, where do you think we need to strengthen most?! 🙂 
 

Edited September 14, 2022 by DanEnglish

[StuartM]

That is a excellent draft Mr English! Hopefully Jaden Brown will be just good enough for the Championship so that's where I would be looking to strengthen.

[DanEnglish]

44 minutes ago, StuartM said:

That is a excellent draft Mr English! Hopefully Jaden Brown will be just good enough for the Championship so that's where I would be looking to strengthen.

Agree. Left back is a weak spot, despite having FOUR players who can play there.

Edit - alongside Spanish Saborit (D/AML), I’m hoping Croatian youngster Smolcic (left footed DRLC) will start there - as he needs the game time to develop. Am thinking of loaning out Brown + Fernandez for half-seasons to ensure the (assistant) manager doesn’t have a choice! 😂 

Unfortunately I don’t think Brown will be good enough in season 1…

Edited September 14, 2022 by DanEnglish

[Ariza8]

Glad to be of help! Excited to follow this, even want to try but I don't think I'll get editor in near future... 

 

Is there no way to get editor by unlocking in game? So no buy? 

[DanEnglish]

1 minute ago, Ariza8 said:

Is there no way to get editor by unlocking in game? So no buy? 

Agree with @Kun Aguero - you’d need to buy the editor (which is what I did).

Theoretically you could play a ‘Director of Football’ mode without the Editor, but then you’d need to sell / buy players through the normal transfer process, which is what Vibers do when they take over Celtic for a 1k challenge (sell everyone they don’t want to raise cash, then buy better players / wonderkids with that cash!). Doable, but not quite the same as using the Editor.

[DanEnglish]

Season Expectations

Would like to see your feedback before we start to fully simulate this first season.

Challenge’s Wage Budgets:
(based on what league / cups you’re competing in that season)

• League 2 = 10k/wk wage budget
• League 1 = 30k/wk 
• Championship = 100k/wk
• Premier League = 300k/wk 
• Premier League + Euro Cup = 500k/wk
• Premier League + Euro Champions League = 1m/wk

… with one season ‘parachute payments’ if relegated + one season of extra transfer funds if promoted. 
 

What If:
we get relegated / lose playoffs / promoted at the end of this season?

Spoiler

• 🔻 Relegated from Championship => no extra transfer budget + wage budget cut to 50k/wk (next season, with parachute payments!) to 30k (all seasons after, if still in League 1).
• Stay in Championship = no extra transfer budget + sake 100k/wk wage budget.
• Reach + lose playoffs = extra £10m transfer budget (from one-time extra income!) + no extra wage budget.
•  ⬆️ Promoted to Premier League = extra one-off £50m transfer budget + wage budget rises to £200/wk (for next season), with another one-off £50m + another rise to £300k/wk (for season after, if still in EPL).

 
Edited In: Our Target:
The Board want promotion. I’d be happy with (1) not being fired!, (2) finishing in the playoff places.

Honestly? I’d be happy to lose the playoffs, so we stay in the Championship for another season, for the youngsters to develop further before we get slaughtered by the EPL’s big boys.  

Your feedback is welcomed! Wanted to set out the rewards / punishments in advance 🙂  

Edited September 15, 2022 by DanEnglish

[DanEnglish]

 

Start of Season 01

September 1st.  The transfer window has ended. We’ve played the first month of league fixtures. This was not what I was expecting …

Pre-season friendlies
These were surprisingly ridiculous!

Spoiler

All four friendlies resulted in a 5:2 win! 

This suggests our attack is great - but our defense is … worrying … ?

Just look at how many goals wonderkids Hlozek scored (9) + elderly Eder as well (7) … poor Sesko only scored 2 🤨 
 

  
Starting the League
Then the Championship’s first month went … er … well … let’s just say … *sigh* …

Spoiler

We lost our first two league games …

… before clawing things back to finish the month with 7 points from 5 games. Not great 😞 

 

It’s looking “ok”, but not great, in 9th.

 
 

  
Pablo’s Importance
While we knew the 30 year old was our best DC, we didn’t expect him to be this important …

Spoiler

Recovering from an injury, he missed our first 4 competitive games … we lost 2, drew 1 + our only win was against a League 2 side in the cup.

Then Pablo came back into the team - immediately we won the next 3 matches, all with clean sheets, inc. against EPL side Villa in the cup!

Hopefully our younger DCs will develop quickly to make Pablo dispensable!

🙂 

Edited September 15, 2022 by DanEnglish

[sscout]

Aye, as José Mourinho said, "defense wins titles"

So once the winter window opens, is there any budget left to sneak in a few defenders or are we locked in till next season? 

[DanEnglish]

11 minutes ago, sscout said:

Aye, as José Mourinho said, "defense wins titles"

So once the winter window opens, is there any budget left to sneak in a few defenders or are we locked in till next season? 

Nice point 👍 

Yes we can buy / sell players in the January window:

Spoiler

• Sell either at half their value (use editor to release them on a free transfer) OR receive a transfer bid as normal (for whatever value we can negotiate)
   
• Then we can buy / draft players - either half-priced (if they’re transfer listed) OR at their release clause OR buy at their current value … whichever is lower.

 
Unfortunately young GK Agirrezabala’s release clauses is now £13m as he signed a new contract. 

DR Carriere’s release clause is still £1.6m though - let’s hope it stays that way to January! 👍

Edited September 15, 2022 by DanEnglish

[DanEnglish]

Mid-Season 01

January 1st
It’s been a tough first half-season for the club - with criticism from the media …  

So what’s the story so far?

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At the end-October, we were doing well in 4th place

… however first star DC Pablo got his second injury …

then #1 keeper Siegrist was injured the next month …

… so we started to drop down the table + supporters started to protest.

Oh dear … 😞 

 

League Table
Right now - on January 1st - we are sitting three points outside the playoff places in 8th place.

Interestingly - our defence is playing well ✅ conceding just 1.0 goals/game. However our attack must improve 🆙 as as only scored 1.6 goals/game. 
 

Basic Player Stats
Right now, our top scorers are wonderkids Hlozek + Sesko with only 9 league goals each (both started 21 games).

Spoiler

Note - Sesko also scored 2 in the cup.

You can ignore cheap MC Mandroiu - he’s on loan to our affiliate in League 2. 

Attacking midfielders Savarino + Lewis Ferguson provided the most assists with 6 and 5 respectively. Perhaps more can come from our full-backs?!

Spoiler

Thankfully ever-present DR Rosas has also chipped in with 3 assists, so maybe that side isn’t a problem.

You can ignore young wonderkid Bardghji - he’s out on loan in Europe.

 Here’s the full squad stats …

Spoiler

Next
We’ll figure out which players to sell + have a look at what replacements we can get in this January window. 

Perhaps we need a:

1. new first team DL?
2. solid rotation DC?
3. plus we’ll see if backup DR Carriere still available for his £1.6m release fee?!

Where do you think we should reinforce? 🙂   
 

Edited September 15, 2022 by DanEnglish

[sscout]

Defence definitely needs to be improved, and it'll even have a domino effect of not just getting your defence to concede less but also getting your midfield and strikers ahead of them playing better creating more chances and scoring more goals. 

It all starts from defence, but unfortunately I don't have any player recommendations to suggest. 

Edited September 15, 2022 by sscout

[DanEnglish]

Player Performance

This analytic tells us so much 😃

If the question is "who best helps us win games?", then I've calculated the "# points / league game started" for each player (whose played at least 5 games).

• First choice GK Siegrist - 18 starts (vertical axis), with +1.9 points/game (horizontal axis), and a 56% win ratio (not on image)
• Backup GK Johansen - 7 starts, with just 1.1 points/game, and a 14% win ratio. 
• This is where we dropped a lot of points in November and early December. Ouch.

High Performers

Spoiler

• First choice keeper Siegrist - see above.
• Elderly Eder - our 34 year old AM/F RC is surprisingly one of our key players, providing +2 points/game started, and a 58% win ratio, with an average rating of ~7.2 over 12 games.
• Star DC Pablo - our 30 year old center back is less of a surprise, providing 1.9 points/game started, and a 50% win ratio, with an average 7.3 rating over 18 games.

Poor Performers

Spoiler

• Backup keeper Johansen - see above.
• Backup DC Helik - the 25 year old center back supported only 1.3 points/game started, 25% win ratio and just a 6.4 average rating over 11 games. A poor replacement for when Pablo is injured. Ouch.
• Wing back Saborit - surprisingly seems to be our first choice AML, with just 1.4 points/game started, a 29% win ratio - and just 1 goal + 2 assists over 17 games ... boo !!!
• MC Johnny - we will give the 19 year a 'pass' here, as he hasn't started many games & is one for the future.