Manchester United - Restoring a Great

[Jedd95]

Manchester United - 2014/15

My first game on Football Manager 2015 and I have decided to be my favourite club. I am aiming to bring the squad back up to scratch and restore the former glory days of the Ferguson era.

Pre-season

Decent way to warm up for the Season. Lots of victories meaning confidence is high. I feel this was a suitable and successful pre-season with no major injuries or scares.

Transfers Out

So far we haven't managed to complete any of our deals for new players. We have however moved on a couple of fringe players, eg. Young for £12m to Tottenham (which I am thrilled about). I have been working on a few big names to join the club but negotiations have hit stumbling blocks. Expecting to announce a good signing in the coming month.

Overview

So I am pleased with my first month at the club. I would of liked to have completed some major signings but negotiations were a struggle as I stated. Hoping the start of the Season will be a positive one to help us moving forward.​

 

[SamPeters]

A nice Pre-Season mate and how the **** did you get that sort of money for Young! lol

 

[Jedd95]

Manchester United 2014/15

August & September 2014

Transfers

I managed to conclude a £23m deal for Jan Vertonghen in order to strengthen my shoddy defence. He is a player I have admired for years and I am very pleased to have the opportunity to sign him.

Martin Caceres joins from Juventus in a £5m deal in order to provide competition for the Right back spot with Rafael.

Lucas Romero signed for £6m on deadline day, he is a good acquisition for the future as he can play in both centre midfield and defensive midfield, adding to my options and only being young too.

More players left on loan for first team experience. Immediately after signing Romero I received an offer for him from Southampton which I decided would be best for him this season, due to my squad already being strong. He will link up with us next Season, or earlier if I recall him.
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Great start to the Premier League season for us, dominating all teams and getting some fantastic results. The Arsenal game for example, Robin van Persie coming on in the 85th minute to score the winner in added time! Falcao is currently my number 1 striker with van Persie on the bench, however both keep scoring when played so time will tell who is number 1 come end of the Season.

The game against Huddersfield in the Capital One Cup was a nightmare. We had 27 shots, 21 on target and no goals. They scored in the 85th minute from their 4th shot on goal. I wasn't happy with my rotated squad and made that known, it will not happen again.

This is my standard tactic so far this Season, and my strongest team (bar Vertonghen who was suspended for a straight red card in this game).

Caceres has been phenomenal since joining creating assists and motm awards, keeping Rafael out of the side which has caused him to complain so I need to find a way for him to get into the team!

Overview

So far so good. I will overlook the Capital One Cup defeat due to not really minding about that trophy, although it would have been very nice. The League is going very well, and without the Champions League I see no reasons we cannot hold onto this position despite tougher games and tests to come in the coming months. Time will tell.


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[Jedd95]

A nice Pre-Season mate and how the **** did you get that sort of money for Young! lol

I have no idea. On previous games I used to offer him out for loads and end up going down to like £2m and still not sell him! I offered him out at £12m and Tottenham bid the next day? Absolutely chuffed. Pochettino must be off his rocker!

 

[Jedd95]

Forgot to add, I have managed to sign this guy for £310k potentially rising to £1.1m with appearances.

 

[MrStu01]

Absolutely loving the look of this save. I am a keen United fan myself and like you a big admirer of Vertonghen so thats good to see. I will be monitoring this closely. Great to see you getting Falcao on the ball as he is having a tough time in reality. Curious what big targets you missed out on? Always felt a Sneijder, Busquets or Pique would be good for us.

 

[Jedd95]

Absolutely loving the look of this save. I am a keen United fan myself and like you a big admirer of Vertonghen so thats good to see. I will be monitoring this closely. Great to see you getting Falcao on the ball as he is having a tough time in reality. Curious what big targets you missed out on? Always felt a Sneijder, Busquets or Pique would be good for us.

I was in talks with Reus and Hummels but the lack of champions league hindered my chances big time. Reus ended up signing a new deal with Dortmund and Hummels decided against my contract. I am looking into a Busquets type player at the moment but none were available in the Summer and I have always wanted Sneijder so he may be a target in the future, who knows.

 

[SamPeters]

Man United always seem to buy Vertonghen in this years FM lol, they tried to on my Spurs game as well but turned down all bids by them! but the start was great, a bit mixed at the end and the Cup is the trouble with rotating the squad and it failing lol

 

[Jedd95]

Manchester United 2014/15

October & November 2014

Not many games during these two months due to the fact we aren't in any competitions bar the Premier League at the moment, which means we are fresh for each game and I am hoping to take full advantage of that!

Perfect couple of months. The team has gelled and working really well together - showing in the victories over City & Liverpool! Hopefully we can keep this form up into the coming months. October started with a real surprise when Fellaini bagged a hat-trick against Hull. He hasn't put a foot wrong for me playing in my ball winning centre midfield role and is quickly becoming a vital player for us.

Di Maria is starting to settle into the team well and Januzaj is progressing fantastically. Falcao and RvP are still going head to head for that striker position, with James Wilson doing well when he gets the chance.

Sitting pretty at the summit of the League and wondering what van Gaal is struggling with! Hoping I can keep the team focused and ruthless. January may see a couple of additions as I am working on some deals - clubs are just very hard to convince they no longer need their men!

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[Jedd95]

Also, we enter a very tough month with this....

 

[SamPeters]

Wow a great couple of months and ouch with the injuries and suspension

 

[Jedd95]

Manchester United

December 2014

This was the hardest month of my career to date. We didn't just have a lot more games to play but we also had a minimum of 7 injuries and suspensions to deal with each game. When one player returned, another would be unavailable, if not two.

Despite all this we have done very well. The match started brilliantly against in-form Chelsea (had won last 8 games in a row) with a much weakened side we pulled off a great result. Jones being my main man replacing the injured Fellaini as he bossed the show and completed his performance with a great goal.

The Villa game just came too soon and we missed too much fire-power going forward. This is something that is shown throughout the month with the low scoring games (no Di Maria, Falcao, Januzaj, Felliani etc).

The game vs Spurs was fantastic from a neutral point of view and showed great character as we came back from 2-0 down to draw level, thanks to a superb performance from Robin van Persie out on the right wing.

Still doing well and pleased we have managed to stay top, even opening the gap on our opponents this month - something I was not expecting (albeit by 1 point).

Hopefully January will be better for us as we should be able to sign a player or two to help the injury crisis. It would also mean I can stop playing players out of position, eg. Rafael right wing!

Pleased to have signed a new contract at the club. A 3 year contract extension and £100k. They must believe in me!


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[Jedd95]

Manchester United

January 2015

Lots of games this month and we still have a depleted side with injuries and suspensions to players such as Di Maria, Felliani and Januzaj. Very busy in the transfer market but struggling to make the deals happen.

Great month. Team are playing brilliantly. We seem to be able to beat anyone.

Sitting at the top of table still with confidence I can remain there for the remainder of the Season without the added pressure of Europe.

Robin van Persie doing well in the scoring charts. Squad going strong hope we can continue the form.

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[Jedd95]

Manchester United

Transfer Update

I forgot to mention that I signed Victor Valdes on a free transfer on 8th November to provide cover for De Gea. A good signing. Martin Odegaard joined the club for £625 potentially rising to £1.1m on January 1st. Scouts predict a great future for this player.

Jonny Evans joined Arsenal for £10.75m on January 8th due to a falling out with myself for not enough playing time.

Apart from these deals I struggled to conclude many transfers, failing with bids for Sneijder, Hummels & Strootman (didn't have funds to complete this deal!!!) to name a few.

DEADLINE DAY SIGNINGS

Mario Gotze signs in a £27m deal potentially rising to £49m with add-ons. Gotze was unhappy at Bayern due to lack of first-team appearances and I wasted no time in launching a deal to sign him. Players like Gotze do not come around often so I had to seize this opportunity.

Also joining the club is Eder Balanta from River Plate for £8.25m. The club had to accept my offer due to his transfer clause. He is a young defender that will add depth to my squad and will grow into a great player for the team.

To fund the transfers a couple of fringe players left the club. Darren Fletcher joins Newcastle for £1.4m, Chris Smalling joins Sevilla for £6m and Antonio Valencia joins Ajax for £8m. Anders Lindegaard leaves the club on loan in search for first team football to Lokamotiv Moscow.

Lucas Romeo has also been recalled after a successful 6 month loan at Southampton where he made 16 appearances, scoring 2 goals, making 4 assists and winning 1 man of the match. I want him here to fight for my vacant Ball Winning Midfielder spot (in which he has already made 2 appearances in January and made 2 assists!). This lad has a big future at the club.

Conclusion

I am very pleased with my dealings, especially the Gotze deal as he is a great player that can take this club to the next level.​

 

[Jedd95]

Manchester United

As we approach the business end of the Season I look forward to wrapping up the League as soon as possible and building the squad over the summer for the return of the much loved Champions League.

February 2015

Crystal Palace 1-4 Manchester United (BPL)
Robin van Persie (9', 28')
Mario Gotze (56')
Jan Vertonghen (89')

De Gea ruled out for 6 weeks with broken finger.
Di Maria ruled out for 2 weeks with thigh strain.

Manchester United 3-0 Hull City (BPL)
Robin van Persie (16' 40')
Lucas Romero (48')

Manchester United 1-1 Wolves (FA CUP)
James Wilson (12')

Southampton 1-2 Manchester United (BPL)
Robin van Persie (19', 34')

Luke Shaw sent off in the 59th minute for second yellow.

Wolves 1-0 Manchester United (FA CUP R)
None

Manchester United 3-0 Burnley (BPL)
Robin van Persie (13', 70' (pen), 73')

Quite a long month but we did well in the league with a perfect points month. I am bitterly disappointed by our showing against Wolves, having been knocked out of a second cup competition by a lower league side. It's time I stop trusting in my fringe players so much.

March 2015

Manchester City 2-4 Manchester United (BPL)
Robin van Persie (35' (pen), 78')
Juan Mata (38')
Mario Gotze (61')

Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool (BPL)
Robin van Persie (9')
Wayne Rooney (78' (pen))

Sunderland 3-3 Manchester United (BPL)
Luke Shaw (3')
Lucas Romero (10')
Robin van Persie (65')

Despite the draw against a spirited Sunderland side this is a great month for us. It was lucky that we only had 3 games this month as it gave us the chance to keep players fresh for the two biggest derby games of our season, and boy did that pay off! City could not handle us all game and the Liverpool score line is very flattering on their behalf.

We have also qualified for the Champions League next season already.

The board have announced projected next Season's transfer budget will be set at £41.99m with a wage budget of £3.9m p/w.

 

[Dean Wilkes]

Good start mate, I'm 4 seasons in with Utd and made wholesale changes...I have never considered doing a story as I'm not good with all the screenshots but reading these utd 1's is making me want to do 1, just a shame i'm so far in.

 

[Jedd95]

I enjoy writing up about them, makes them feel more fun. Being so far in isn't a problem, just take some screenshots and give us a crash course on your career thus far! I would read it definitely.

 

[SamPeters]

Some great signings there and hopefully you can hold on and win the title!

 

[Matt419]

Good start mate, I'm 4 seasons in with Utd and made wholesale changes...I have never considered doing a story as I'm not good with all the screenshots but reading these utd 1's is making me want to do 1, just a shame i'm so far in.

Im in pretty much the same situation. About to start the 18/19 season with United. Just won the treble the season before (League, Champions League and FA Cup) and I really wish I had done a story about it

 

[Jedd95]

Manchester United

We could wrap the title within the next 5 weeks if other results go our way.

April 2015

Manchester United 3-3 Tottenham
Mario Gotze (23')
Robin van Persie (49' pen, 68)

Mario Gotze ruled out for 2 weeks with thigh strain.

Chelsea 0-3 Manchester United
Angel Di Maria (19', 56')
Juan Mata (34')

Manchester United 4-0 Aston Villa
Robin van Persie (17', 45')
Angel Di Maria (31')
Ashley Westwood (69' OG)

Great month. Team is sensing the finishing line and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. We will win the League if we beat Swansea in our first game of May. Robin van Persie still continuing his fantastic goal scoring record this Season with 30 goals in 22 games.

Di Maria awarded goal of the month for his fantastic goal against Villa, a left footed volley from outside of the box that went straight into the top corner.

May 2015

Swansea 0-3 Manchester United
Lucas Romero (40')
Jan Vertonghen (47', 85')

MANCHESTER UNITED WIN THE ENGLISH PREMIER DIVISON!

Manchester United 2-0 Swansea
Adnan Januzaj (10')
Falcao (45' pen)

Adnan Januzaj has asked to leave the club due to recent interest from Chelsea FC.

Stoke 2-0 Manchester United
None

Manchester United 5-1 West Ham
Eder Balanta (13')
Lucas Romero (43')
Mario Gotze (48')
Robin van Persie (49')
Juan Mata (59')

Ignoring the Stoke result because I used it as an opportunity to give some younger players a Premier League start it has been a great month that saw us secure the Premier League trophy with style. I am hoping to add a couple of faces over the Summer and clear some of the squad and wage budget out. Great first Season and I am excited about the future with this side.

World News

Bayern Munich clinch the German title after 28 games with 1-0 against Hamburg at home in front of their own fans. David Alaba with the goal - a player I would love to have at the squad one day.

Real Madrid clinch the Spanish title after 35 games with a 3-2 win against Sevilla away from home. Gareth Bale and a Karim Benzema brace secured the result and the trophy.

PSG win French title.




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