Craving The Cottage - From The Drop To The Top

I7IDanny

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Jol Steps Down To Take Stuttgart Job

Board make 'Unorthodox' appointment.
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In response to Martin Jol's resignation to replace Bruno Labbadia at VfB Stuttgart, the Fulham board of directors under the watchful eye of new chairman Shahid Khan decided to appoint former Sweden Women's captain Daniela Ekstrom as the new boss at Craven Cottage.

Ekstrom recently announced her surprise at the appointment, but admitted that better times were to come for the London-based club who narrowly avoided relegation in 2008.


Squad

View attachment 372233
View attachment 372234
Using LFC Marshall's early July update, as you can see a lot of work is needed on the structure of the team. Hopefully, I will pay less attention to the wingers since I will look to play 4-1-2-1-2. Preferably, I'll be looking for at least a new CM, a striker to partner Berba due to playing Ruiz at AMC and a new right back.


Star Players


Maarten Steklenburg

View attachment 372231
I'll be looking to the Dutch keeper, signed on the update, to show why he was wanted by various top clubs before he joined Roma. At only 29 I hope he can be a fixture in the team for years to come.


Brede Hangeland
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The Norwegian centre-back has been a rock in defence for a number of years. Also club captain, I'll be hoping he can inspire some impressive performances and also chip in with a few goals from set pieces.


Bryan Ruiz
View attachment 372230

The Costa-Rican hitman has been a thorn in my side for many a FM save. Let's just hope he can find the form he showed against me all the time when he was an opponent.


Dimitar Berbatov

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Dimitar Berbatov. Possibly one of the best 'technical' players in the league. Hoping he can hit the ground running and reproduce the eye for goal he had at Manchester United.


That's it for now, I have advanced a little further and therefore some signings have come in. I'd still like to see who you may have in mind given the squad though.

 
Last edited:
August 2012 and Transfers


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Lots of incoming players but few out.
Good start to the League season.
Through to the 3rd Round of the Capital One Cup.


Transfers

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A lot of moeny was spent bringing in new players. Maupay and Morris came in on frees + compensation, and why wouldn't you? Both have 5* PA and impressive stats for 16 year olds. Plus Morris is HG and Maupay will be. Anderson on a loan deal with a £9m buyout seems like a steal since he actually firms up my midfield rather well alongside Will Hughes, again another usual signing for FM players but his potential and price is worth it massively. Petric on a free seems like a good deal for a reliable backup alongside Marx. Kadlec is an old favourite of mine and I decided to meet his £8m buyout, already the same CA rating as Berbatov. Byram has potential and sures up the weak DR spot. Here they are:


Vaclav Kadlec

View attachment 372266

The young Czech striker was a much better prospect on previous FM games, however he is still a **** good young player and can only improve the team. Already worth a lot more than I paid.


Carlton Morris

View attachment 372267

Almost comparible with Neal Maupay, the young lad from Norwich has **** good ability for a 16 year old. Possibly a season as a backup and in the U18s before I bring him to the first XI.


Mladen Petric

View attachment 372268
The veteran striker had a season with Fulham last year and was released. Got him back as an experienced backup on a free transfer.


Thorben Marx

View attachment 372269
Another older player, a good backup and rotation at 31 and can offer experience to the younger players.


Neal Maupay

View attachment 372270
This wonderkid needs no introduction to most FM players. At £2.5m he is a steal and can almost hit the first XI immediately with his ability.


Anderson

View attachment 372271
On a loan with a £9m option to buy, the Brazilian from United is an excellent addition to my squad.


Will Hughes

View attachment 372272
Another player who needs no introduction, Hughes has the CM position to himself due to the lack of quality competition even at the age of 17. Potential club captain.


Sam Byram

View attachment 372273
Brought in to sure up the DR position, Byram has enough potential to make the position his own within a couple of years.


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League

Norwich 1 - 3 Fulham

Amorebieta, Berbatov, Kadlec

A relatively simple game after Norwich had a man sent off, a comfortable win in the end.


Fulham 1 - 1 Crystal Palace


Kadlec

The young Czech saved our blushes after Anderson missed a penalty. Two dropped points, definitely.



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Capital One Cup

Fulham 2 - 1 Blackpool

Berbatov(2)

Such a frustrating game to watch. All over Blackpool but their only SOT all match came from a dubious penalty award. Nevertheless, Berba struck twice from twenty yards, once in normal time and the second in extra time. Sitll a victory, albeit harder than it should have been.



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Monthly Review

The signings have beeded in well, the link up of Kadlec and Berbatov seems impressive. Aside from the dropped points at Palace we had a good month results-wise, and no injuries to our squad. Maupay has impressed from the bench, even grabbing an assist against Norwich and Will Hughes has looked magnificent in the middle of the park.


Player of the Month

Vaclav Kadlec

View attachment 372277


The young lad's impressed after his transfer, two goals and two assists in three games netting him the Premier League Young Player of the Month award for August.


 
September 2012

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Poor form in the league with a tough run of fixtures
Out of the Capital One Cup on penalties
Kadlec and Riise hit with long-term injuries.


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League

Manchester United 4 - 1 Fulham


Berbatov

The game started off brightly but soon collapsed around us as United ran riot.


Fulham 3 - 1 Cardiff City

Ruiz, Anderson, Berbatov


A brief return to form saw Anderson grab his first goal for the club.


Fulham 1 - 4 Tottenham Hotspur

Berbatov

Again, we got battered by a team that seemed miles ahead of us in ability.


Liverpool 4 - 2 Fulham

Anderson, Hangeland

After going 3-0 down we fought back to 3-2 through goals from Hangeland and Anderson, but we were killed off by a 'harsh' Gerrard penalty.

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Capital One Cup

Fulham 0 - 0 Carlisle
(Carlisle win 5-3 on pens)

I'm beginning to hate the COC. Statistically dominated Carlisle, but they held on and scored all their penalties whilst two of my best takers missed theirs.


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Monthly Review

Our league form was horrific bar the win against Cardiff and we are out of the COC. Riise suffered a 6 month training injury and Kadlec tore his hamstring against United, so we're currently struggling against the tough teams. Hopefully next month will bode better.


Player of the Month


Dimitar Berbatov
View attachment 372471

One of the only shining lights in a very poor month.​
 
October 2012

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Form in the League picks up with three wins on the bounce.
Berba keeps up his run of scoring.

Board give me an early Christmas present.

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League

Fulham 2 - 0 Newcastle

Berbatov, Anderson

A simple victory with Berba grabbing another goal.


West Bromwich Albion 0 - 3 Fulham

Riether, Hughes, Berbatov

A great win as we dominated the Midlands club, Will Hughes netting a diving header for his first for Fulham.


Fulham 3 - 2 Swansea City

Berbatov(3)

A hattrick from the man who just can't seem to stop scoring, saving our blushes with a goal in the 91st minute.


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Monthly Review

Three wins from three games and the man up top from Bulgaria just couldn't stop scoring! Maupay's form worries me a little as he hasn't scored yet but surely it must only be a matter of time. Hughes has put in a string of fantastic performances which saw him win the Young Player of the Month but it was Berba taking the Player of the Month for both the Prem and the thread. Plus, the board went crazy and decided to inject a massive amount of money (just over £100m!) to my budget. I assume this has to do with the fact I tweaked the update slightly to accout for the new owners (I have a version of the Summer update from the start of July) but still, it was only adding an Underwriter.

View attachment 372518


Player of the Month

Dimitar Berbatov
View attachment 372520
That man again, between him and Will Hughes this month but the Bulgarian won it with 5 goals in 3 games.​
 
November 2012

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League form slips a little with difficult games.
Berba just keeps finding the net.
Narrow losses against City and Chelsea.

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League

Hull 1 - 3 Fulham

Berbatov(2), Hughes

Berba scores yet again and Hughes adds to his account.


Fulham 2 - 0 West Ham

Riether, Berbatov

A game that could've seen more goals as Berba keeps scoring.


Fulham 1 - 3 Arsenal


Anderson

A slight fightback at 2-1 but an inevitable defeat.


Manchester City 2 - 1 Fulham


Berbatov

Yet another close match. Berba added another to his account for the season but only a consolation.


Chelsea 2 - 1 Fulham


Hughes

Lampard missed a penalty but scored shortly after. Will Hughes kept up his scoring from the AMC position.


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Monthly Review


I admittedly didn't expect much from the last three games of the month but I felt, especially against City and Chelsea, we deserved at least one point for our efforts. Never the less, the month was ok as we consolidated our position just in the top half of the table.


Player of the Month


Dimitar Berbatov

View attachment 372554
Yet again, four goals this month even with the three losses.​
 
December 2012

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League form improves again with a couple of big wins.
Maupay finally shows his talent.
Transfer window nearing with all that money to spend.

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League


Fulham 2 -1 Everton

Hughes, Anderson

Our midfield rescued us a little after going behind. Good win against rather tough opposition.


Fulham 0 - 1 Aston Villa
View attachment 372705

Just one of those games. We hit the post four times and they had one shot on target.


Sunderland 1 - 5 Fulham


Berbatov(2), Marx, Anderson, Ruiz

A fantastic result to bounce back from the horrible game before it. Good to see goals from all over the park as well, even Marx getting on the scoresheet.


Stoke City 2 - 3 Fulham

Duff, Maupay(2)

Duff stepped in well for the injured Ruiz but Maupay stole the show, coming off the bench to grab two crucial goals.


Fulham 2 - 3 Southampton

Hughes, Duff

So frustrating. With Sunderland bottom and struggling to even score goals, to concede three to them including a last minute winner is a real kick in the teeth.


Fulham 3 - 0 Norwich

Kadlec, Amorebieta, Maupay

Much better showing here. In control right from the off with Kadlec scoring after only 30 seconds on the clock.


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Monthly Review

Finally a good run of results, the Villa and Southampton games really were a pain however. Really gutted we didn't at the very least take two points from those two games but late goals do that to you.


Player of the Month

Neal Maupay
View attachment 372708
Not Berba this time! Maupay finally showed his talent with three good goals in two sub appearances.

So! Already to January and with all that cash to spend, who do you think I should get? I already have my eyes on a few bargains and a couple of big names, but lets see who you guys come up with...
 
That was a lot of money to burn. beef up your centre midfielder by bringing in morgan schneiderlin (southampton) and radja nainggolan (cagliari) or etienne capoue. A better striker like javier hernandez. and maybe zouma or papdoupolous (spelling).
 
How have you been given £105M? Are you on LFCMarshall's summer update? or have you tampered with the editor?
 
How have you been given £105M? Are you on LFCMarshall's summer update? or have you tampered with the editor?
Its probably the update with the new owner who is worth a fortune and has spent something ridiculous on his American Football team
 
Why is Mohamed Al Fayad still owner on this save? I thought some american rich owner took over? Something's not right.
 
Why is Mohamed Al Fayad still owner on this save? I thought some american rich owner took over? Something's not right.

I have explained, if you'd read it. I have an older version of Marshall's update (July 9th IIRC.) Khan hadn't taken over then, so I put him as an underwriter by editing it myself.
 
January 2013

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Dropped points against United and Newcastle, conceding late equalisers.
Get to the 4th Round of the FA Cup.
Cash is splashed on a number of players.

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Transfers:

Stevan DefourView attachment 373020
Brought in for less than £2m, the holding midfielder will sure up the midfield for at least a couple of years as he comes into his prime.


BernardView attachment 373022
Another familiar name, a large amount of money went into securing the wonderkid Brazilian's signature.


Craig DawsonView attachment 373024
A good potential picked up for next to nothing, Dawson will more than likely be the long term replacement for Hangeland.


Andrea PoliView attachment 373021

The Italian central midfielder cost just over £10m to secure but will bring a good amount of creativity and thrust to the side from the DLP role.


Lucas DigneView attachment 373023

In light of Etienne wanting close to £40m for Zouma, I decided to go after Digne. The wonderkid was initially quoted at about the same amount, but after pulling out of the initial deal he forced through a transfer request and became available for around £16m. A great investment who can play almost anywhere on either wing and will only improve.


Gianluca CaprariView attachment 373025
Relatively unknown to me, my scouts pointed him out at a 5* PA and he comes in to play a similar role to Kadlec, able to play on either wing or upfront with bags of potential.



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League

Crystal Palace 1 - 0 Fulham

Dominated them but they caught us on the counter attack with ten minutes to go, a poor game for us.


Fulham 3 - 3 Manchester United

Berbatov(2), Hangeland

So frustrating. We went in front via Hangeland and Berbatov added a second, RVP netted for them before Berba put us 3-1 up with 8 minutes to play. Needless to say, United and RVP scored twice with their next two shots on target.


Tottenham Hotspur 5 -1 Fulham

Hughes

Really beginning to hate playing Spurs. The game was closer than the scoreline suggests, with us having 8 shots to Spurs' 9, but put this way I'm regretting not throwing as much of that £105m at Gareth Bale as possible.


Cardiff City 0 - 2 Fulham

Kadlec, Bernard

A good win for us after the disappointment of the Spurs game. Kadlec netted in the first half, and Bernard got his first goal for the club in the second.


Newcastle 1 - 1 Fulham

Hughes

We struggled a lot here and looked to have clinched a smash-and-grab victory as Hughes scored with 9 minutes to go. Newcastle promptly replied with the next move of the game.


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FA Cup

Cardiff City 1 - 3 Fulham, 3rd Round

Amorebieta, Hughes(2)

Went behind but Amorebieta netted on the brink of half time, and Hughes grabbed his first shortly after the restart to put us in front. The young midfielder added his second late on to seal the game.


Fulham 0 - 1 Leicester City, 4th Round

I'm really dreading being drawn against lower league opposition in the cup now. We always seem to perform horrifically against them.


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Monthly Review

League form came in fits and spurts, the draws against United and Newcastle really should've been wins and the Spurs game was a real kick in the teeth. I'm really beginning to hate cup competitions too. On the other hand, the new signings are bedding in well to the club and look promising, especially Bernard, Poli and Digne.


World Team of the Year

Dimitar BerbatovView attachment 373041
Well. That was unexpected.


Player of the Month

Will HughesView attachment 373043

Netting 4 times and grabbing a couple of assists topped off a good month for the former Derby youngster. He's well on his way to becoming a star man for us.​
 
February 2013

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Tough game against Liverpool, yet a poor performance versus Swansea.
Signings continue to impress.

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League

Fulham 1 - 1 Liverpool

Berbatov

Torje missed a pen for them early on and Berbatov put us in front shotly later. Aspas eventually struck back for them in the second half.


Fulham 2 - 0 West Brom

Poli, Kadlec

A good win at home saw Andrea Poli net his first goal for the club in an impressive team performance.


Swansea City 2 - 0 Fulham


A goalkeeping howler described this game with Stockdale fumbling a long ball forward in the second half, Luke Moore capitalising on the error. Shelvey put the final nail in our coffin with five minutes to go.

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Monthly Review

A good game against Liverpool balanced by a horrific performance against Swansea seems to be the story of our season. Poli impressed this month, as did Lucas Digne at left-back.


Player of the Month

Lucas Digne
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A number of good performances from the young wonderkid saw him come second in the Young Player of the Month.​
 
March 2013

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Horrific month in the League.
Youth intake brings a promising young GK.

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League


West Ham 2 - 0 Fulham

My decision to drop Stockdale after his howler against Swansea backfired as Steklenburg leaked two simple goals in the first half.


Fulham 1 - 2 Hull City

Byram

An embarrasing loss against the team at the bottom of the league. I sometimes wonder why we seem to play better against the 'bigger' teams than the smaller ones. On the plus side, Sam Byram netted his first goal in a Fulham shirt.


Fulham 1 - 3 Manchester City

Berbatov

Dimi put us back on terms in the first half after Dzeko had put them in front. A much closer game than the scoreline suggested, however.

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Monthly Review

The performance against Hull left a lot to be desired and a spirited game versus City does little to hide the fact we got no points this month, with two very winnable games slipping through our grasp.


Youth Intake
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A 4*PA and the fact he is already our U18's keeper means the young lad shows promise.


Player of the Month

Sam ByramView attachment 373060

A goal from right-back and two MoTM performances against City and West Ham, despite the losses, gives the young lad this month's Player of the Month.​
 

April 2013
View attachment 373088


League for as expected, struggled against the big teams but got some results.
Berba hits a little bit of form again.

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League


Arsenal 2 - 0 Fulham

We looked well out of the game and Koscelny scored early on. Cazorla added a second just after the break to kill us off.


Fulham 1 - 1 Chelsea

Berbatov

A fantastic result for us against the champions elect. On another day with the way we played, we could've walked away with all three points.


Everton 1 - 0 Fulham

Yet again, a good performance against a top team is followed by a poor one against a team below us in the league. We never looked like challenging Everton here.


Fulham 2 - 1 Sunderland

Berbatov, Kadlec

After going behind in what appeared to be another one of 'those' games, we pulled back and took the lead before holding on for the win.

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Monthly Review

We picked up some points we didn't expect to but also dropped some. The Chelsea game was a grand example of what the team can do, but the Everton one showed us at our worst.


Player of the Month
Brede HangelandView attachment 373086
Two good games against Chelsea and Sunderland and one of the only decent performers against Everton. Narrowly pipping Berba to the post here.​
 
You are suffering from buying too many players every transfer window. FM13 is very particular about team cohesion.
 
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