Pretty much exactly how it happens for me!

Haha it's so annoying, I should plan ahead and vary the lengths maybe??

Every time it pops up I just go 'erghhhhhhh, this again'

And you cant trust your staff to do it as people end up on mad wages

Glad it's not just me!
 
Haha it's so annoying, I should plan ahead and vary the lengths maybe??

Every time it pops up I just go 'erghhhhhhh, this again'

And you cant trust your staff to do it as people end up on mad wages

Glad it's not just me!
Haha yes its so tiresome. First time i get the message in the inbox i give everybody 4 years contracts at much better terms than i would normally give them just so that i wont have to go through this process again any time soon!!

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Young wonderkid who is spellbindingly awesome and is rarely mentioned:

ODSONNE EDUARD - CF 17 yo

Also Ryan Hardie from Rangers is a dirt cheap young CF who already has the stats to play in starting XI
 
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LOL!

Chelsea : We signed Kante

Man City : We signed Nolito & Gundogan

Man Utd : We signed Mkhitaryan & Ibrahimovic

Arsenal : We almost signed all of them
 
Emulating Leicester 2015-2016 (and eradicating the FM16 problem with crosses

This is a collating (and amplification) of two previous posts.

Introduction


Congrats to Leicester for what was a truly excitingand awesome season even for a lifelong Utd fan!

I actually do have a minorconnection with
Leicester, having got my first degree from Leicester Uni and thisled me to show interest in their rise this year from very early on, watchingtheir matches if on TV etc and, I must admit I havent seen one boring match where theyfeatured. The experience has restored my faith in footy; unique, inspiring and moving.


Tactical musings

So I recently started a new Leicester , with the specific purpose of settingup the same tactics they use irl, based on what I have seen myself when I watched them as well as this very interesting article http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/35955616


WhatDeeney says and what I see with my own eyes led me to an FMfirst (for me): using two bwms in the dm position in a 442 with two deep dms and twowingers with one instructed to holdposition.

This is actually one of the tactics I use in the save. I also set up a tactic which looks more like the one in the Deeney article but it hasnt been very effective mainly due to the (stupid) decision by SI not to include "central winger" instructions for cms (ie roam to the wings) as were included in FM 15.


First season results

Amazingly I won the EPL at the first attempt emulating real life (6 pointsahead of Man Utd in 2nd but with 5 losses and not 3 as they had irl). For the first season I kept all players other than the vv slow (and thus impossible to succeed in FM) Marcin Wasilewski (sp) who I sold on a free in summer and I also sold Inler in January for 1.2 million.

Players I brought in:

Mammana cb
Balanta cb
Nedelceanu cb/dm
Divock Origi (loan).

I got knocked out in both the cups in the qfs.


The back four settings - DEALING WITH CROSSES (SUCCESSFULLY)

In trying to set up the team in FM16 to play like Leicester did irl, I chanced upon a way to greatly minimise effective crosses (and therefore goals), which for most people are the bane of their FM16 experience .

One caveat is that its not very exciting to watch, mainly because there are no overlapping wing attacks by fbs/wbs.

What I did was the following:

LB

Having what FUCHS does irl in mind (ie occasionally moving upfield and crossing) but also staying near the cbs when defending Ive instructed the LB to sit narrow, cross from deep and shoot less (and gave him support duty). The idea is that together with my general tactical set up (mostly counter though I sometimes use standard depending on theopponent) he'll only occasionally get forward and even then not very far forward to support. I also have him not close down at all, the idea being to force the opposition to cross early/not when they would prefer/against a defence that maintains its shape with two tall cbs always staying back and ready to head the ball away.

CBL

Stopper duty, hold position instruction and no risky passes. The idea is that he will stay in a deep cb position at all times. I use Huth and Morgan as a template for cbs (Ive now sold both of them but I now also have big guys who are good at heading at cb) so as irl I dont care if the other team crosses the ball as they will be forced to cross when I want them to and the way I want them to as explained above and the CBs will always be in position to head the ball away. This, together with the fact that my FBs are rarely up field means that the opposition can't cross from the byline and thereforef loating crosses are their only option.

CBR

Cover duty, otherwise the same PIs as the CBL

FBR

Irl Simpson hardly ever moves up field. So I give the FBR defend duty, tell him to sit narrow and hold position. To make sure he doesnt stray I also tell him to shoot rarely.

With this set up in defence, the midfield set up becomes crucial (as do theam/cf positions) because they need to offer both creativity and goal scoring. Most of my matches are low scoring affairs (I win most by 1-0) though my counter tactics (having the same defence set up as above) do sometimes result in 4-2 and 2-0 scorlines against the better teams.

All three tactical set ups I use share the same defensive set up as above explained and otherwise are set up to reflect Deeney's comments and my own eyes from what Ive seen
Leicester play irl.

Having won the league in my first season, in the second Im 2nd 3 I finished 2nd, 4 points from ****** but I won the FA CUP. I was thrown out of the CL in the 2nd round after two draws vs
Barcelona.

In my third season I again was thrown out the CL in the 2nd round but I won the league, the Charity Shield and the two cups.
 
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I saw that game, being Norwegian but hating Rosenborg made it hard to hope they got to CL and close to £30m, 3 times the budget of our 2nd richest club.

BUT, after reading your previous post it seems you too find it hard to defend against those run onto ball-crosses in behind the defence when playing with inside forwards on AML/AMR and overlapping wingbacks?

Scoring that way has become a major reason I just qualified for CL with Lillestrom on my first try! counter attacking possesion oriented teams that are better than us.
 
I saw that game, being Norwegian but hating Rosenborg made it hard to hope they got to CL and close to £30m, 3 times the budget of our 2nd richest club.

BUT, after reading your previous post it seems you too find it hard to defend against those run onto ball-crosses in behind the defence when playing with inside forwards on AML/AMR and overlapping wingbacks?

Scoring that way has become a major reason I just qualified for CL with Lillestrom on my first try! counter attacking possesion oriented teams that are better than us.

1. I only support UTD really and I frequently fly to UK to watch them play live.
2. I only attend European matches locally (and since the first team I supported when I was a kid due to my dad was APOEL I do have a soft spot for them.
3. As I said in the post I only pasted the videos to show the atmosphere.
4. Well I actually found a number ways to deal with crosses (see eg earlier post on how to have your wingers track back) and had no major complaints about this. But with my Leicester tactics I suddenly saw a drastic limitation of successful crosses.
 
Was wondering if you would mind making a couple of recommendations? Always enjoy your thread and I figure it can't hurt to ask. I enjoying digging around in the data myself but I'm stuck at work so thought I would ask for suggestions for players to check out. Trying to get one more FM16 game in, using Lokomotiv Moscow. Using a data update with some tweaks of my own, including a bit more starting money since Russia basically got ignored on the winter data update.

A bit of context.... Loko have a solid starting squad (by Russian Premier League standards) with only one real notable weakness - the striker position, since Niasse was sold and replaced with a very mediocre winger, Henty (even with a bit of a stat bump, he's still very mediocre). Loko have a promising 17 year striker old but he's not exactly a wonderkid so he probably won't contribute much in the first season and is probably 3 years away from being a legit starting caliber player. Another area I'd like to address is DC - the starting pair are solid and can both play the ball, but they are kind slow. Plus the third CB is actually a DM. So a DC with a bit of pace would be a nice addition as well.

Now my intent is to have 3 different version of a 4-1-4-1 DM tactic - pressing, possession, and counter. I have some decent CM/DM options - Manuel Fernandes (very attacking Portuguese player on high wages), Miranchuk (one of the most promising Russian prospects), N'Dinga (DM but can play CM, well rounded), Mykhalyk (defensive DM, my backup DC), Tarasov (starting DM), and Kolomeytsev (mediocre Russian depth player). Plus I have two fringe prospects I'd like to develop, and should be able to sign a third (Val Gvila, promising Ukrainian CM) but this trio should probably not be counted on to start matches. I'm debating Fernandes and whether to sell him. He's very one-dimensionally attacking, without strong mental attributes. Best attacking player on the squad but I've never got him to perform to a high level in previous saves, likely due to the mental aspect. He would probably perform okay in the possession tactic but he would be a problem in the other two versions. He's a Key Player on high wages, meaning he will want to play every match, and he's 29 years old. He has good starting value but in test saves, I've been able to sell him for about 3m.... not a lot but a bit of additional money. Plus it would give me a chance to feature Miranchuk a bit more, who isn't as good for attacking skills but is much better overall. One concern if I do sell Fernandes - beyond the annoyed fans - is it leaves me a bit light in the CM department.

Without selling Fernandes, the club starts with just shy of 5m Euros. Russia doesn't have foreign player limits except in the match-day squad, and Russian prospects are valued so expensive. I typically look to Eastern Europe and South America for players, though Scandinavia and Africa are also options. Its tougher to get players from most other parts of Europe to come. I typically defer to younger players with good potential, but the ones that are already good enough to start tend to be expensive so I'm open to veterans with quality, good personality, and who could hopefully contribute for a couple of seasons. So all of that for two questions....

1. Suggestions for a starting caliber forward and a backup caliber central defender? For the ST, hard-working and well rounded is preferable, capable of playing as a Complete Forward, DLF, or even DF.

2. Would you sell Fernandes for whatever you can get? And if so, suggestions for a reasonably well rounded CM, who can contribute in both attacking and defensive phases? If I do sell, I would end up with just over 7m Euros total so relatively inexpensive.
 
Was wondering if you would mind making a couple of recommendations? Always enjoy your thread and I figure it can't hurt to ask. I enjoying digging around in the data myself but I'm stuck at work so thought I would ask for suggestions for players to check out. Trying to get one more FM16 game in, using Lokomotiv Moscow. Using a data update with some tweaks of my own, including a bit more starting money since Russia basically got ignored on the winter data update.

A bit of context.... Loko have a solid starting squad (by Russian Premier League standards) with only one real notable weakness - the striker position, since Niasse was sold and replaced with a very mediocre winger, Henty (even with a bit of a stat bump, he's still very mediocre). Loko have a promising 17 year striker old but he's not exactly a wonderkid so he probably won't contribute much in the first season and is probably 3 years away from being a legit starting caliber player. Another area I'd like to address is DC - the starting pair are solid and can both play the ball, but they are kind slow. Plus the third CB is actually a DM. So a DC with a bit of pace would be a nice addition as well.

Now my intent is to have 3 different version of a 4-1-4-1 DM tactic - pressing, possession, and counter. I have some decent CM/DM options - Manuel Fernandes (very attacking Portuguese player on high wages), Miranchuk (one of the most promising Russian prospects), N'Dinga (DM but can play CM, well rounded), Mykhalyk (defensive DM, my backup DC), Tarasov (starting DM), and Kolomeytsev (mediocre Russian depth player). Plus I have two fringe prospects I'd like to develop, and should be able to sign a third (Val Gvila, promising Ukrainian CM) but this trio should probably not be counted on to start matches. I'm debating Fernandes and whether to sell him. He's very one-dimensionally attacking, without strong mental attributes. Best attacking player on the squad but I've never got him to perform to a high level in previous saves, likely due to the mental aspect. He would probably perform okay in the possession tactic but he would be a problem in the other two versions. He's a Key Player on high wages, meaning he will want to play every match, and he's 29 years old. He has good starting value but in test saves, I've been able to sell him for about 3m.... not a lot but a bit of additional money. Plus it would give me a chance to feature Miranchuk a bit more, who isn't as good for attacking skills but is much better overall. One concern if I do sell Fernandes - beyond the annoyed fans - is it leaves me a bit light in the CM department.

Without selling Fernandes, the club starts with just shy of 5m Euros. Russia doesn't have foreign player limits except in the match-day squad, and Russian prospects are valued so expensive. I typically look to Eastern Europe and South America for players, though Scandinavia and Africa are also options. Its tougher to get players from most other parts of Europe to come. I typically defer to younger players with good potential, but the ones that are already good enough to start tend to be expensive so I'm open to veterans with quality, good personality, and who could hopefully contribute for a couple of seasons. So all of that for two questions....

1. Suggestions for a starting caliber forward and a backup caliber central defender? For the ST, hard-working and well rounded is preferable, capable of playing as a Complete Forward, DLF, or even DF.

2. Would you sell Fernandes for whatever you can get? And if so, suggestions for a reasonably well rounded CM, who can contribute in both attacking and defensive phases? If I do sell, I would end up with just over 7m Euros total so relatively inexpensive.

Sorry for the late reply mate I only now noticed your reply.

Starting ST:

1. Look at people such as Tanase/Andrei Ivan in Romania. Both within your budget I think if you can use instalments (there's more but Im currently away from the game). Another option who is a bit older but will score loads is this guy from Argentina called Pratto.

2. Fernandes is a MAJOR star in FM16 and all big teams (most notably UTD are always after him from the get go). So I would not sell him (I never sell class players in the first season) and rather choose a couple of others. If I wanted to sell him Id deffo not sell him "for whatever I can get".

3. Well rounded CM with the characteristics you seek: is Kranevitter loanable in your save? Or look at Gas Gil Romero. A more defensive cheap player is Nedelceanu.

Cheap cb: Wahlqvist
Cheap player who will become great within 2 seasons and sold for loads of money: Rafik Zekhnini.
 
No worries and no need to apologize, I appreciate the reply :)

1. Ivan is basically my ideal forward. A bit out of my price range at the start and my scouts don't think he'll want to come. Maybe after I dominate the Russian league lol. I'll check out Tanase and Pratto. Remebered last night who I had targeted in my previous save with Loko - very well rounded Colombian Harald Preciado. Very inexpensive.

2. Good point. Fernandes is a quality player. 3m is chump change. And I guess the fact that a half dozen bigger clubs bid for him and he went to Monaco in that test says something. If I use him as a DLP and ask him not to press as much, he should be workable in the role. Hopefully Miranchuk develops well and I can look to sell Fernandes for a lot more after the first season.

3. Nice suggestions. I'll check them out.

One CM I've been eye-balling, including in my previous Vitesse save but I didn't get him, is Darko Brasanc from Partizan. Not an outstanding player in any way but solid. And not very expensive. Lesser player than the likes of Gil Romero or Kranevitter, but for more of a depth player, that's not too problematic. Any experience with him?
 
No worries and no need to apologize, I appreciate the reply :)

1. Ivan is basically my ideal forward. A bit out of my price range at the start and my scouts don't think he'll want to come. Maybe after I dominate the Russian league lol. I'll check out Tanase and Pratto. Remebered last night who I had targeted in my previous save with Loko - very well rounded Colombian Harald Preciado. Very inexpensive.

2. Good point. Fernandes is a quality player. 3m is chump change. And I guess the fact that a half dozen bigger clubs bid for him and he went to Monaco in that test says something. If I use him as a DLP and ask him not to press as much, he should be workable in the role. Hopefully Miranchuk develops well and I can look to sell Fernandes for a lot more after the first season.

3. Nice suggestions. I'll check them out.

One CM I've been eye-balling, including in my previous Vitesse save but I didn't get him, is Darko Brasanc from Partizan. Not an outstanding player in any way but solid. And not very expensive. Lesser player than the likes of Gil Romero or Kranevitter, but for more of a depth player, that's not too problematic. Any experience with him?

1. Yeh Harold Preciado is a good player. But do have a look at Pratto.

2. If you handle it well and use the Raikan method of selling players mentioned in this thread (one of the first posts) after a season you will be able to sell Fernandes for at least 30m (but obviously look at how long his contract has to run before you plan).

3. First time Ive heard of Brasanc. Look at Adam Vass for 600K who is awesome. Look also at the usual Scandinavian talent (people like Ajer, Lundemo etc).
 
Never had Brasanc but had a few games where he was a target. First time I noticed him was on FM15 (I think) when I ran a long watch game and he signed with Vitesse, becoming their captain and key player as Peter Bosz won them something like 5 titles in a row in the Eredivisie. He usually ends up at a medium to bigger club in a mid-sized leagued, or even at a smaller club in the Bundesliga.

Fernandes has 3 years left on his deal, so I will target selling him in the summer of 2016.

Vass is a player I've definitely looked at. He's more defensive than what I need right now, as I have a couple of players who can play the Anchor man role at DM. Ajer and Hou Saeter usually aren't interested in coming to Russia. Its a common problem, even from South American players. I will see if Lundemo is interested as he would be a good addition as well.

I already made a mistake last night. Spent the time to get the staff up to snuff, start making the shortlist, scouting players, etc.... Then I spent some time looking at other Russian clubs. It started as looking at youngsters to shortlist and somehow ended up with me eyeballing Ural. Its a constant problem for me - start a game with one club, barely get into it, and then start considering a new game with another club. So I went to bed last night wondering if a game in Russia with a less prestigious club with a lesser squad and even less money would be more fun....

Do have another question.... any suggestions for how to improve the personality of a young player who is already considered first team so therefore can't be tutored? Miranchuk is the best prospect in Russia but he's got a balanced personality. I know he will still develop but it will be slower. I've read if you fine a player after a poor performance it will (or can, maybe) increase their professionalism but any other suggestions?
 
Never had Brasanc but had a few games where he was a target. First time I noticed him was on FM15 (I think) when I ran a long watch game and he signed with Vitesse, becoming their captain and key player as Peter Bosz won them something like 5 titles in a row in the Eredivisie. He usually ends up at a medium to bigger club in a mid-sized leagued, or even at a smaller club in the Bundesliga.

Fernandes has 3 years left on his deal, so I will target selling him in the summer of 2016.

Vass is a player I've definitely looked at. He's more defensive than what I need right now, as I have a couple of players who can play the Anchor man role at DM. Ajer and Hou Saeter usually aren't interested in coming to Russia. Its a common problem, even from South American players. I will see if Lundemo is interested as he would be a good addition as well.

I already made a mistake last night. Spent the time to get the staff up to snuff, start making the shortlist, scouting players, etc.... Then I spent some time looking at other Russian clubs. It started as looking at youngsters to shortlist and somehow ended up with me eyeballing Ural. Its a constant problem for me - start a game with one club, barely get into it, and then start considering a new game with another club. So I went to bed last night wondering if a game in Russia with a less prestigious club with a lesser squad and even less money would be more fun....

Do have another question.... any suggestions for how to improve the personality of a young player who is already considered first team so therefore can't be tutored? Miranchuk is the best prospect in Russia but he's got a balanced personality. I know he will still develop but it will be slower. I've read if you fine a player after a poor performance it will (or can, maybe) increase their professionalism but any other suggestions?
Mate im on tapatalk now so i cant look at your post properly. Will try to do it as soon as im on a pc again

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Do have another question.... any suggestions for how to improve the personality of a young player who is already considered first team so therefore can't be tutored? Miranchuk is the best prospect in Russia but he's got a balanced personality. I know he will still develop but it will be slower. I've read if you fine a player after a poor performance it will (or can, maybe) increase their professionalism but any other suggestions?

A balanced personality doesnt necessarily mean low professionalism. Guido on his Strikerless blog recently posted a number of very interesting articles starting with this: https://strikerless.com/2016/07/19/...-a-few-factors-you-probably-never-considered/
 
I've read the test by Guido and its interesting stuff. The player's Professionalism isn't overtly low.... its just not that high. He will develop still, but I prefer higher professionalism levels as it helps all the way around.

I do owe a big thank you for convincing me to stick with Manuel Fernandes. 4 league matches into the Russian season, 4 wins, 13 goals for and 4 against. The 4-1-4-1 high press is working very well, despite not having ideal personnel. And Fernandes has an 8.52 rating from those 4 matches (3 starts, which were all around 9, and one sub appearance that drags that average down), 3 goals, 3 assists. Yeah, he'll be useful and his value will definitely go up.

As for the others, I went with Preciado. Scored 3 on his debut. Pratto looks amazing but isn't interested. he's very familiar. Definitely want to try him at some point - he looks like he should absolutely excel as a complete striker. For DC, found a free agent 23 year old Portuguese DC/DM who fits very well. Not quick, but very well rounded defender. Used to play at Malaga. And no CM addition at all. The Serbian ended up going to hertha in Germany. I didn't target anyone else as I realized thru the friendlies that adding another good CM would just give me selection problems.
 
I've read the test by Guido and its interesting stuff. The player's Professionalism isn't overtly low.... its just not that high. He will develop still, but I prefer higher professionalism levels as it helps all the way around.

I do owe a big thank you for convincing me to stick with Manuel Fernandes. 4 league matches into the Russian season, 4 wins, 13 goals for and 4 against. The 4-1-4-1 high press is working very well, despite not having ideal personnel. And Fernandes has an 8.52 rating from those 4 matches (3 starts, which were all around 9, and one sub appearance that drags that average down), 3 goals, 3 assists. Yeah, he'll be useful and his value will definitely go up.

As for the others, I went with Preciado. Scored 3 on his debut. Pratto looks amazing but isn't interested. he's very familiar. Definitely want to try him at some point - he looks like he should absolutely excel as a complete striker. For DC, found a free agent 23 year old Portuguese DC/DM who fits very well. Not quick, but very well rounded defender. Used to play at Malaga. And no CM addition at all. The Serbian ended up going to hertha in Germany. I didn't target anyone else as I realized thru the friendlies that adding another good CM would just give me selection problems.
Pratto always goes to Spurs in my saves when I dont buy him so it figures.

On Fernandes yes I know him well I used to buy him first thing whenever I had a save with a big team. But because I always target success and trophies from the get go I never sell star players first season and thereafter only at least at double their value and provided I can bring somebody equally good or better for less.

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Little England

“He’s gone over to Germany and I can’t understand that, to be honest with you. I think that stinks of agents more than anything else,” said Hartson. “How much German football do we all see? We see highlights of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and that’s about it.”
“The Premier League is the place to be. I thought that was the next step for him. He’s gone to Leipzig, but what about a Burnley or a Sunderland or a West Brom? It’s only my opinion, but I think he is good enough for the Premier League. I think the Premier League would have tested him and I think that would have probably suited Gordon Strachan too. He could have had a better look at him.”

And you wonder why our European cousins consider English football’s progress hampered by our own arrogance.
 
Those kind of "why would you leave England" mentalities just add to the problem, IMO.

Kudos for the Andrei Ivan suggestion. I've wanted to sign him in other games, and finally managed to in a new save. With Lokomotiv Moscow again. Started again after the window closed. They signed a mediocre Russian forward do I didn't save Preciado at the start like last time (tho it was tempting). I rotated thru three forwards plus gave time to the young guy with promise. Ezekiel Henty somehow broke the club scoring record for a season despite almost never starting. I was going to stick with the forwards I heading into the 2nd season. Then I spotted some big clubs making offers for Ivan. Like 2m. I offered double that (with fewer clauses) and offered him a weighty contract. Landed him. Halfway thru the 2nd season and he's been pretty prolific. Scored in both Champions League matches against Real Madrid. Might be the best all around forward I've had on FM16, though Preciado wasn't too far behind in that regard. Ivan has something like 7 goals in 5 matches for Romania too. Gonna be heartbroken if he is nerfed in FM17.
 
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