A Schalke 04 story - An end to the tough times?

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DIE KÖNIGSBLAUEN - THE ROYAL BLUES
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Introduction
Hello and welcome to my new Football Manager 2019 save where we'll be taking over at struggling Bundesliga side Schalke 04. I'm managing Schalke as I enjoy playing in Germany the most, as well as the fact that the club is struggling massively, down in 15th, when a Champions League spot was an initial target. The club recently fired their manager in real life, Bruno Tedesco, and they find themselves heavily involved in a relegation battle. In all, they are pretty much Wolfsburg from last season, a big side which finished in the relegation play-off spot, ultimately prevailed and are now doing well. Schalke will be hoping for something similar.
The Manager
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Here I am once again, a young English manager with no previous experience, but looks capable of doing a job like this. I hope to do well with this side, at least get them into Europe again this season and progress from there. The club, however, has minimal budget transfer wise, with just 2.2m to spend. Hopefully I can find some bargains in the window.
Honours
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The club has a stellar history, and have never been relegated into the Bundesliga 2 before in their history. They've won 7 Bundesliga titles, although haven't collected one since the 1990/91 season. It's been a long domestic drought for Schalke and now they find themselves at the wrong end of the table. My sole aim is to change that.
 
A LOOK INTO THE TEAM OF SCHALKE 04
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The Squad

So the team I've taken over at actually look pretty strong, with some very decent Bundesliga players and some really good talent as well. I'm not too sure what's gone wrong for them in real life, the team has a good atmosphere about it and the players morale is all pretty good. Ultimately the team is definitely capable of a Champions League finish in my opinion.

Key Players: Ralf Fahrmann (GK), Matija Nastasic (CB), Daniel Caligiuri (RWB), Sebastian Rudy (CDM), Nabil Bentaleb (CM), Mark Uth (ST)

So in terms of key personnel, the team looks extremely solid. The midfield area is strong and none of our key players are 30 or over, which means that they'll be good for another few years. Ultimately, if a good offer comes in for one of our older players, I'll probably accept it, I always look to build for the future.

Hot Prospects:Alexander Nubel (GK), Hamza Mendyl (LB), Weston McKennie (CM), Amine Harit (CAM), Rabbi Matondo (RW), Breel Embolo (ST)

This team has a ton of hot prospects who will be hard to keep at the club. There are several more as well, but these are the main ones who can really develop into leading Bundesliga players. The midfield of this team already look amazing, if I'm too be honest, two key players and too hot prospects for that area. The squad is really strong in all positions, so not too much business is required.

Transfer Listed: Sascha Riether (RB), Benjamin Stambouli (CB), Barton Oczipka (LB), Franco Di Santo (ST)

So there isn't too many rubbish players at the team, the listed ones aren't too bad but are getting on and should be sold as they won't play too big a part in my plans for the season. If I can sell these, I'd have a budget of around 12m, which would be nice to make some decent improvements to the squad.
 
PRE-SEASON AND TRANSFER UPDATE
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So the transfer window and pre-season have been relatively successful, with the areas of weakness covered well by new arrivals.

PLAYERS IN
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Divock Origi is first in, arriving on a loan from Liverpool. This is a pretty common deal, but Origi is amazing on Football Manager and is a terrific goalscorer. He and Uth up top should form a solid partnership.

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Ismaila Sarr is next up, arriving for a decent fee from Stade Rennais. We were a little weaker on the left wing spot and Sarr looks the perfect cover who can then take over Eugene Konoplyanka's spot. Young, skillful and rapid - the perfect winger in my opinion.

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This was an extremely cheap deal for a talented player who will slot straight into the starting eleven. Wendell was unhappy at Bayer 04, so he was listed by request, and I pounced immediately. He looks a very decent full back and in my opinion, will be a great addition to the team.

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Our final signing was young Hannover CB Waldemar Anton. He also slots straight in, after he wanted a move to a bigger club. He looks better than I thought he would if I'm honest, and at just 22 could be a real coup for a small fee.

PLAYERS OUT

The only outgoing was Benjamin Stambouli, who left for 12m to Lyon. This was a deal I was over the moon with, Stambouli wasn't someone I wanted, and I also only wanted around 7.5m for him. Overall, I think the side had a great transfer window, with the side improving in several areas which required improvement. It also looked like Harit and Schopf were going to leave, but after a bit of convincing, both decided to stay.

PRE-SEASON
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So, pre-season started slowly and then really picked up. Was really happy with the consistency the team showed, in particular Alessandro Schopf was very good. Hopefully we can carry this good form into the season and gain a respectable finish. We're predicted to finish 4th.
 
Decent start and some really nice signings mate, best of luck in your first season!
 
Linecoigne1998 said:
Decent start and some really nice signings mate, best of luck in your first season!
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Thanks a bunch for the kind response mate! I was really happy with the deals as well and hope the team performs just as well in the league!
 
BEGINNING THE BUNDESLIGA
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We have a very difficult start to life at Schalke. After our German Cup clash, we face Wolfsburg, Hertha BSC, Borussia Monchengladbach then Barcelona in the Champions League before welcoming Bayern Munich. Hopefully, we can get some positive results and the team plays really well, although the expectations remain high, I'd like to get some wins on the board here to know we are capable at this level.

THE TACTIC
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So we'll be going with a pretty attacking line-up and formation. I decided to start Sarr ahead of Konoplyanka for now at least, to see how the guy plays, because I prefer pacy wingers who will probably be a bigger threat for me. Hopefully the team can show it's attacking quality while maintaining a solid defence.


GERMAN CUP
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So we got off to a flying start despite a relatively simple fixture in our first professional game as manager. We were rampant in attack which was nice to see, we played a relatively strong line-up still so I'm glad that we able to win comfortably.

BUNDESLIGA
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Wolfsburg 0-4 Schalke (Schopf 15.37,69, Origi 45+2)
MOTM: Alessandro Schopf (S04 - 9.6)

WHAT AN AMAZING START!!!! SCHOPF WAS UNTOUCHABLE!!! I cannot believe how well the side played offensively and how the high press (Gegenpress) prevented them from getting any chances whatsoever. Despite Schopf's hat-trick, credit has to go to Wendell, who in my opinion had 3 assists. All 3 for Schopf, as twice Schopf's shot was saved the first time but he scored on the rebound. Absolutely unbelievable!

SUMMARY
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Well what an amazing start to life at the club. 2 games, 2 wins, 9 goals scored, none conceded. The team is playing brilliant football at the moment and I can only hope it continues.
POTM
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The player of the month is Alessandro Schopf. What else can I say about this man!
 
MAKING PROGRESS: HOW WELL CAN THIS TEAM DO?
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So this month will be really defining. From Freiburg and Mainz to Barcelona and Bayern Munich, it'll tell me how this team can perform against the best and lower sides in the division. Hopefully we can do well and that Schopf and Wendell can combine half as well as they did against Wolfsburg, where we triumphed 4-0.

BUNDESLIGA
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Schalke 04 1 (Sarr 45+1) -0 Hertha BSC
MOTM: Daniel Caligiuri (S04 - 8.6)

So the lads pick up another one here - albeit not as dominant as the first. Sarr got the only goal and I was happy to see him score, it looks like our wingers are forming great partnerships with the wing-backs at the moment. Hopefully this good patch of form continues and we're still yet to concede as well.

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Borussia Monchengladbach 0-2 Schalke 04 (Sarr 9, Konoplyanka 67)
MOTM: Ismaila Sarr (S04 - 8.3)

This team just keeps impressing me with these extremely solid results. We've now gone 3 games against top half opposition without conceding and also scoring 7 goals. Wonderful from the lads. Sarr continued his good form with another goal and back-up winger Eugene Konoplyanka is trying to forge his way into the team, but Sarr is doing too well at the moment.

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Schalke 04 4 (Origi 12, Sarr 27, 43, Nastasic 37) -2 Bayern Munich (Coman 13, Muller 71)
MOTM: Ismaila Sarr (S04 - 9.3)

I thought this team were very good, but it was at this point I realised they were amazing. To beat Bayern in the manner we did and attack them so well was amazing from the team. I have to point out Ismaila Sarr - this kid was an amazing pick-up! The guy simply tore Bayern apart and credit to Bentaleb as his free-kick deliveries were on point today. Wonderful!

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SC Freiburg 1 (Frantz 9) -1 Schalke 04 (Nastasic 61)
MOTM: Mike Frantz (FRE - 7.9)

I don't think that I have the right to be disappointed with this result - the team has been amazing recently. We didn't play badly, but couldn't capitalise on our chances. We remain unbeaten, so I'm too upset with this result at all. Matija Nastastic is now all of a sudden in goalscoring form with 2 in 2!

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Schalke 04 2 (Caligiuri pen 39. 67) -1 Mainz (Maxim 33)
MOTM: Daniel Caligiuri (S04 - 9.1)

So aside from falling behind to the easiest two teams of the month there aren't any negatives to take here. Caligiuri has been ultra consistent and a lot of our success so far has been down the performances of our full-backs, both him and Wendell have provided numerous dangerous crosses which have resulted in goals.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
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Barcelona 1 (Suarez 15) -1 Schalke (Origi 30)
MOTM: Luis Suarez (BAR - 9.0)

Just the one game in the Champions League and what a game it was! Holding down one of the world's best teams was very well done. Origi hasn't been great nor bad yet so him scoring was nice to see. It seems our wide players are the best ones in the team at the moment. Origi has made a number of decent contributions to the team with really good hold up play. Very decent result!

SUMMARY
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WHAT A MONTH! The team is not only competing with Europe's elite, it's getting results against them too. We really proved ourselves this month and it tells me what this team is truly capable of on its day.

POTM
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This has to be Ismaila Sarr. The guy was rapid and simply untouchable at times. Very impressed with the new signing.
 
Great start mate, story wise and in game!

Keep up the good writing and pictures.

Nice to see a story of a team I'm vaguely familiar with.

Looks like you made some good buys!
 
Average Joe said:
Great start mate, story wise and in game!

Keep up the good writing and pictures.

Nice to see a story of a team I'm vaguely familiar with.

Looks like you made some good buys!
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Thanks a bunch mate for your nice message. I hope that people are enjoying the story and format so far myself. I feel I made some good buys as well, thanks.
 
Just thought that I'd let you all know that I've got a busy few days coming up so I won't be able to update this too much over the next week or so. Thanks.
 
Hey everyone, I've played through this a while more now and it's probably too easy for my liking. We just keep winning - we're in the Champions League semi finals and top of the table by 17 points. Ultimately I don't think I really want to continue as it's just too easy at the moment. Thanks and hope you all understand. A new story will come soon. I must say, though, the Bundesliga is probably where I'll stay. This was really fun until we just kept on winning. Of course, the only team I couldn't beat is still Leipzig. I keep track and I've never beaten them with any team yet. My record is (W0 D2 L11)

Side Note: If you need a good winger, sign Ismaila Sarr. This guy is the best player I've ever used in a single FM save ever. In 29 games, he has 22 goals and 14 assists and he's cheap.
 
Last edited:
Alright everyone, really sorry to continue changing my mind like this. I know that I must be really annoying you - I can't apologise enough! Anyway, I found an older save slot of this where I've only made so much progress to just one month past where this was updated currently. I know this can kind of be seen as cheating, but I was enjoying this save so much and I really want to continue it. Thanks everyone, I hope you understand and apologies for all of the trouble I've caused!
 
A QUICK NOTE
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This month we have key Champions League action as well as playing my eternal enemies on Football Manager 2019, RB Leipzig. Hopefully, the lads can progress to ease fear of falling off. Sarr will again be key and hopefully we can get a little more out of Origi; he's not been bad but I know that he can offer quite a bit more than what he has done. We also return to the German Cup as we look to progress which shouldn't be too difficult at this stage. This is just a short update to let you know where the team is at. Tomorrow I will have a new post of hopefully multiple months - I should have the time.
 
NOT EVERYTHING WILL BE PERFECT: LEARNING OUR TRADE
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Focus turns to the Champions League for the squad as we face Spartak Moscow and FC Porto in the space of a couple of weeks. Currently still unbeaten, the team faces another set of difficult games, notably RB Leipzig who are also having a terrific season.

Note: The images were being really dodgy and not showing up, so this is a little different to usual.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
View attachment 1202324In the Champions League we faced Spartak Moscow and FC Porto. The team which we would battle out for progress would likely be FC Porto, who play Barcelona. Amine Harit hasn't done too much for us so far this term, but his best form has come in the UCL, so hopefully we can get more out of him.
We eased past Spartak 5-2 and Harit shone for us once again in the UCL. Luckily Caligiuri's early missed penalty didn't come back to haunt us as we eased to victory. The MOTM in this one was easily Harit, who finally showed his full potential. If only he could develop some consistency.
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Then we suffered our first defeat! Porto deservedly edged past us in this one, and after beating Barcelona this group is super tight. No one stood out, but I was impressed with Harit despite his average match rating. Their main CB, Felipe, got MOTM in this clash, who was solid as a rock and we couldn't get past him.

BUNDESLIGA
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Domestically we ease past Dusseldorf as we score 2 in 2 minutes to get the win. Good to see Origi scoring and Sarr kept up his solid form. Origi was our best player on the day and in the end we were just too much for them.

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Another 2-0 and Suat Serdar really impressed on a rare opportunity for him to do so. However it was Mr. Consistent and Captain Caligiuri who got the MOTM award. Caligiuri has been an unsung hero as his consistency has been unbelievable. Well done!

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No surprise as we lose to my nemesis team Leipzig. I don't even want to talk about this one.

GERMAN CUP
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Just edging past it on penalties with a strong team and needing a relatively late equaliser is really poor. I'm upset but at least it was a win.

SUMMARY
The player of the month was Daniel Caligiuri. Despite missing a penalty against Spartak, his consistency has been great and as a result he's my POTM.
The month didn't go too badly, except for a few tastes of defeat. We progressed and sit 3rd of our UCL group and 2nd in the Bundesliga.
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