Back to the Premier League: A Leeds United Story

[md5423]

This is my first Football Manager story and I hope everyone will enjoy my story! I am starting this story as the 2013/2014 season, my 3rd season as the manager of Leeds United, begins.

A simple recap of my first two seasons with Leeds United:
2011/2012
We had a solid season in our first year back to the Championship, we were in a close playoff race all season long. It all came down to the last game of the season and in the end, we could not pull through to capture the final playoff spot. I finished the season in 9th place, missing the playoffs by just 2 points.

2012/2013
Following a disappointing start to the season, rumors were spreading that I could possibly get sacked. In November, the team stepped it up and played great football for much of the season and we just made the playoffs by securing the final spot, 6th place. The team went into the playoffs in great form and retained it through the playoffs. Following a 3-0 defeat over Bristol City in the finals, Leeds United finally made their long awaited return to the English Premier League!

 

[md5423]

The story begins in the 2013/2014 season. Following a Consortium takeover led by Italian Paolo D'arco in the middle of last season, we are given a large amount of money to spend in the pre-season. We are given roughly $30,000,000 (US Dollars) to spend and our wage budget rises from about $12,500,000 per year to about $25,000,000 per year.

With the generous cash injections from our new board, we were quick to make many improvements to our team.

A few of our top players and our formation and lineup heading into the season:

We will start the season with the same 4-2-3-1 formation that we played with towards the end of last season. Our 3 Centerbacks -- Tom Lees, Michael Bostwick, and Kyle Bartley will be rotated around on defense. Scottish forward Johnny Russell will get a lot of playing time rotating in attacking midfield.

Zwane was purchased from Standard, for $9.25M this pre-season, even though he is only 19, he has great stats and will start the season out as our primary left winger. He has a ton of potential and will be a key player for us this season and in the future.

Muamba is another recently purchased player. He has great defensive skills and he will be an important part of our team as a ball-winning midfielder. We purchased him from Bolton for $5.25M.

Meszaros has been fabulous since joining our club for only $120K before the beginning of the 2012 season. He was a crucial part of our promotion last year, with 21 goals in 44 appearances in the npower Championship. He is only 17 years old so we he will be coming off of the bench for most of the season, we will need him to come in late and score for us.

We signed Foster on a free transfer to be our starting keeper for the next few years. He has great stats and will need to play well in order for us to be successful this season. He was with npower Championship side Birmingham City last year and was looking to move back into the premier league where he belongs.

We purchased Kadrii from Danish squad OB this pre-season for $4.8M. We will primarily use him as a center attacking midfielder this season. He is only 22 years old and was a great purchase for our club.

And last, but definitely not least, we were able to get Emmanuel Adebayor on a loan for the whole season with a small fee. We will be required to pay him $2,500,000 this year (20% of his wages). It is a great deal for a great player. He was rarely used with Manchester City and a move to a smaller club will be a great opportunity for him to show that he's still got it. Fans of Leeds United are very happy with such a big name joining the club for the season.

With the generous amount of cash given to us to spend this pre-season, we have a chance to instantly become a top-mid table team.

 

[md5423]

The first few games of the 2013/2014 Premier League season have been completed and the performance of Leeds United has been a big surprise to many.

We will be facing Chelsea in our next game and it will certainly be a tough match. We have been very impressive in our first 3 games this season, with very impressive defeats over 2 year reigning Premier League champions Manchester City and Liverpool. Heads are high in the locker room and the club hopes to keep up the good form. Our top performers so far include new signings Adebayor, Kadrii, and Zwane. Adebayor scored 3 goals in our victory over Liverpool. Ben Foster has also been outstanding with many amazing saves already. The South African footballer Nkosinathi Zwane won the award of Barclays Young Player of the Month for August. Kadrii has 3 assists and a goal in 3 games this season.

League Table at the end of August: