My Fulham FC Story

Very disappointing end to the season in which we managed only 1 win out of the 5 games.

Sunderland 3 - 3 Fulham (Milevskyi x2, Gago)
Fulham 0 - 2 Man United
Fulham 1 - 0 Bolton (Dempsey)
Wolves 3 - 2 Fulham (Milevskyi x2)
Fulham 2 - 2 West Ham (Milevskyi, Gago)

Was 3-0 up against Sunderland going into the last 10 minutes then Football Manager does its usual and screws me over, nothing I changed mattered and they scored 3 unbelivable screamers. Nice one FM ! West Ham equalised in the last minute to stop me at least ending the season with a win, but couldn't save them from relegation.

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So we finished in 6th, which was very pleasing as we could and perhaps should have finished higher, so we definitely have the talent to break that top 4 next season if we can hold onto our best players and bring in some new faces also. Think I will be looking for a bit more experience in the free transfer market for the European Campaign next year.

In the summer I was also offered the Boznia and Herzegovina, and having never managed an International team on this FM, I thought I would take up the challenge. Currently half way through a qualifying campaign for the EURO 2012 competition and sitting in a reasobly good spot.
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The remaining fixtures are :

Portugal at home
Albania away
Denmark at home
Azerbaijan at home.

If I can win the 2 big games at home, and the other 2 should be definite wins, I should be able to qualify from the group !

Given a budget of £35m with nothing in the balance, I was going to have to be pretty careful this summer and not get the club in trouble for the future. Here's a full list of the signings and sales of 2011/2012 :

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Looks like he could be a decent backup to the strikers with some good power and finishing. He's a german generated player and scored 33 goals in 64 games for Hannover in the last 2 seasons.

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Will be a top level left back for many years to come so didn't hesitate in spending £8m on him. Him on the left and Azpilicueta on the right could be a deadly combination, and I will be looking for them both to chip in with a few assists over the season.

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Experienced centre back will cover the hole left by Reginiussen. Still has decent pace so could prove to be a great capture for the club.

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The big money signing of the summer looks like he could become a world class player with a bit of experience. Still only 23, he has superb physical stats, good finishing and good mental stats so I have no doubts he will be a great signing.

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Perhaps a gamble due to his age, but I think he could be a great role model for the younger players at the club and although he wanted a 2 year contract, I managed to persuade him to join on an initial one year contract, so if his stats drop I can let him go. He dropped from £170k a week to £34k a week so he could continue to play, this shows his dedication and desire to be playing football.

Seamus Coleman and Fornasier are youngsters who look like having some decent potential, especially Fornasier who is only 18 years old. Will try loan him out this year and looking forward to seeing how he progresses in the future.

BREAKING NEWS

Fulham have secure the signature of ex-Barcelona and Monaco central defender on a one year contract. After only having 3 players who can occupy the CB roles comfortably, Hopper has drafted in another veteran who will toughen up the Fulham defense. Also able to cover the defensive midfield role, Marquez looks like a great find.

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Hopper has not stated that he will not be making any more signings, unless the deal is absolutely too good to refuse.

Europa League qualification draw

Fulham drawn alongside Zimbru or Lahti in EURO Cup 3rd Round Qualifying. Hopper wasn't too phased in his interview "Well on paper we have a far better squad than both of these teams, and bar a miraculous performance in both legs from these teams, I expect to sail through to the next round".

Fulham sell underachieving youngsters

Fulham have today announced the departure of 4 english youngsters who were not reaching their potential. This raised £3.8m for the club and the manager had this to say "We will not be keeping players on at youth level if they are not showing signs of breaking into the first team. We have a good squad at the moment and I think it is unfair on them to be rotting in the reserves, I wish them all the best for the future".

Hopper reaches ton for Fulham

The first leg of the Europa League 3rd round qualifying saw Jake Hopper in charge of his 100th game for Fulham FC against Lahti of Finland. The match ended with a disappointing 2-1 for Fulham who dominated the match but just couldn't take their chances today. Aquafresca managed to get a goal on his debut which was good for him, and Hangeland got a goal from a corner to make it 2-0. Lahti pulled back a perhaps vital away goal late into stoppage time, but Jake Hopper wasn't in the mood for sentiments in his post-match interview "Very disappointing performance today, the lads created loads of chances but were way off with their finishing. Given its the first competitive game of the season I will give them the benefit of the doubt, but things had better improve before the real business of the Premier League starts ".

Fulham improve to beat Lahti

The return of Defour proved to much for Lahti as he dictated play the whole match. He provided the assist for Milevskyi early on in the game for the goal which proved to be the winner. Still not finishing chances well 12 SOT and 4 CCC, we still only managed a 1-0 win.

Upcoming Fixtures

Blackburn (Home)
Wolves (Away)
Arsenal (Away)
Aston Villa (Home)
Man United (Away)
Newcastle (Home)
Liverpool (Away)

A pretty tricky start to the season will test the squad and show us how we can expect to do over the coming season.

Thanks for reading, will update after around 10 games or 2 months.


 
First, is anybody reading / enjoying reading this because if not it is a waste of my time ? :p

Had a really good start to the season beating 2 of the top teams already. Here's a quick update on the first month of the season.

AUGUST

Fulham 1 - 1 Blackburn (Sessegnon)
Tobyl 0 - 6 Fulham (Gago x2, Dempsey x2, Krivets, Pablo)
Arsenal 1 - 2 Fulham (Milevskyi, Gunarsson)
Fulham 3 - 0 Tobyl (Aquafresca x3)
Fulham 5 - 0 Aston Villa (Sessegnon x2, Milevskyi x2, Gago)

Great victories against Arsenal away and Villa at home. Unlucky not to take maximum points this month as Blackburn equalised late on the first game of the season which disappointed me.

Europa League Groups Drawn

Fulham drawn alongside Porto, Luzern and Saint-Etienne. Jake Hopper said "We are very pleased with the group draw and I think the team definitely has the ability to top this group".

Fulham drawn alongside London rivals Milwall in League Cup 3rd Round. Fulham will travel to The Den on the 21st September.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH :- Fernando Gago

The midfielder is flourishing this season in the box to box midfielder role and his getting some goals as reward for his effort. He has matched last seasons tally within the first 6 games of the season, and also bagged 2 assists already.

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PERFORMANCE OF THE MONTH :- Cant decide this month as the performances against Arsenal and Aston Villa were equally pleasing for different reasons. Worked very hard for the win at Arsenal whereas we finished superbly against Aston Villa. Showing signs of things to come and I think we will have the other big teams quaking in their boots !

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Another exciting moment this month was the first International match for Jake Hopper as the new manager of Boznia and Herzegovina. Boznia were taking on minnows Aruba, who are a Carribean team placed 203rd in the world rankings. Boznia stormed into a 5-0 half time lead but settled back from there making lots of substitions in the 2nd half and not really settling. Star players Pjanic and Dzeko both got their names on the scoresheet.

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Please leave some feedback, comments or critism, as it gets very lonely updating on my own :p


 
Solid signing in Acquafresca, You have made some good signings that could take you to the next level and you have started off very strong this month only conceeding the 1 goal in 4 games, Your defence was alittle off it last season but with 3 new defenders you look to have improved in that area, 3 new strikers too gives you options upfront.Our tactics are clearly total opposites as i only have 3 strikers in my entire squad and 2 of them are 19 year old regens who just act as cover for Delfouneso whereas i have 6 attacking midfielders and 4 centre midfielders who can all play atleast one attacking midfield role.

Seems to work very well for you though as you have a wide range of scorers and goals coming from all areas whereas for me i have two main goal scorers, Something like 68 goals this season between Delfouneso upfront and Dzagoev in AMC which is good to see but when they dont perform we really struggle to get goals.

Good luck with Boznia and Herz too, That Dzeko is a royal pain in the *** on my game seems to score past me everytime i play Spurs, Would love to sign him but i dont have a spare 60 million hanging around.
 
i usually dont click on stories tht alot of people have done before ie notts county, birmingham and fulham (too an extent) but i have thoroughly enjoyed this keep up the good work and nice layout
 
Thanks for the positive words :) Will update later probably.
 
very interested in starting a fulham save, what tactics are you using because you're doing very well and im shambolic with creating my own tactics :(
 
Just a 4-4-2, use the create a tactic option to suit your players for any team you are. As the meerkat would say, "Simples".
 
Currently having a break from this game, doing a game with Dag and Red as my mate was doing one and challenged me to see if I could do better. Lower league management is where I manage best :)
 
Got hooked back onto this game earlier and progressed through quite a few months, so rather than post monthly updates I will post up my fixtures that have been played during this time and you can have a look through.

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To summarise I have been playing averagely in the PL and am facing a struggle after christmas to get back into Europe next season, but having survived a massively scary takeover process in which the chairman initially planned on sacking me and appointing somebody else, I managed to hold onto my job thankfully !! Currently on a decent run on form which I can hopefully continue into the up-coming games.

Also I have progressed into the Semi Final of the League Cup after beating Arsenal 2-0 in the 1/4 finals, if I can win this competition then it will be my first piece of silverware since taking over.

As you may remember I am also managing Bosnia, didn't manage to qualify for the Euro's but I did join in too late and I think with a full campaign I will be able to get into a major tournament.

My first game from the below fixtures was the friendly against Aruba :

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Here's a glimpse of the league table at the moment, as you can see I am not too far behind those much wanted European spots and with a good run of form can easily push my way up the table.

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Big signing announced at Fulham

Fulham have today announced the capture of Dutch star Ryan Babel. The Liverpool winger who has been in good form this season but whose contract is expiring at the end of the season has agreed to join Fulham on January the 1st for a fee of £3m. The winger will provide a lot more competition for places as he can play on the left or the right, and if need be up front.

A few players who are not performing might well have to leave the club in January to free up some money for wages and further transfers, as Hopper is taking a zero tolerance attitude with his currently under-achieving squad.

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From the above squad list the players who will perhaps be leaving when the window opens next week are :

David Trezeguet
Seen as a risk when brought in, he has failed to perform and bene injured a lot of the time. If I can get any offer for him he may have to leave due to his high wages.

Darron Gibson
The squad has progressed so much since he was the first signing back in the 09/10 season and he is now just a backup. If a team come in I will let him go out of respect for him, he deserves first team football.

Krivets
Requested a transfer due to lack of first team football, and the arrival of Babel will only reduce his playing time further.

Mike Hanke
The German international has failed to make an impression since arriving on a free transfer in the summer and any money will be profit, so Fulham could look to bring in money which they could spent elsewhere.

Vukojevic
A big money transfer at the start of the season, he has been seen as an expensive flop. Being forced out the team by in form partnership Gago and Defour, he requested a transfer and I was glad to accept. Will struggle to raise anywhere near the £12m paid I think.

To wrap up, here's some players who have performed well so far this season, and a sneak peak of the arriving Babel.

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Thanks for reading :)




 
End of December

The end of december come with mixed emotions after some good, and 1 not so good result.

Wigan 1 - 0 Fulham
Blackburn 1 - 5 Fulham (Acquafresca x4, Milevskyi)
Sheff Utd 1 - 3 Fulham (Acqufreca x2, Dempsey) FA Cup 3rd Round

JANUARY

The first of January saw the arrival of Ryan Babel to the club, and also offers for Mike Hanke and Vukojeic from Espanyol, the latter being on loan til the end of the season with a view to permanent.

Man United 2 - 0 Fulham (League Cup Semi Final 1st Leg)

Disappointing result from what was a fairly even game, would have liked to get the away goal but we will have to see what we can do at home now.
Aston Villa 0 - 3 Fulham (Milesvkyi x2, Babel)

Great improvement to go from a 2-0 defeat to United and then go on to smash Villa away from home. Babel come off the bench with 25 minutes to go and bagged himself a goal on his debut which is a promising sign of things to come.

Fulham 0 - 2 Wolves
Newcastle 0 - 1 Fulham (Milevskyi)
Fulham 2 - 2 Man United (Milevskyi, Trezeguet) League Cup Semi 2nd Leg
Middlesborough 0 - 5 Fulham (Milevskyi x5) FA Cup 4th Round
Fulham 3 -3 Man United (Castro, Milevskyi, Sessegnon)
Fulham 2 - 3 Arsenal (Milesvkyi, Gago)
Fulham 2 - 3 Liverpool (Milevskyi x2)

Those last 3 games show just how important Hangeland is, with him out we conceded 9 goals in 3 games against the top clubs, think I could have gone unbeaten through them if he was there as there were defensive errors form Pablo and Marquez in every game.

The end of January saw Fulham delve further into the transfer market by completing the loan signing of Van Der Vaart, who will offer more creative and attacking options in the centre of midfield, and also the permanent signing of Jack Hobbs form Leicester for £2.8m. The young english central defender looks like he has some potential, and will be a good backup for when Hangeland isn't available in the future.

FEBUARY

Portsmouth 0 - 2 Fulham (Aqufresca, Babel)
Hull 1 - 3 Fulham (Azpilicueta, Milevskyi, Mouyokolo O.G.)
Man United 0 - 5 Fulham (Acquafresca x4, Trezeguet) FA Cup 5th Round

Simply unbelivable game in which United had the most chances and lionshare of possesion, yet Acquafreca was clinical and slotted home all 4 of his efforts and Boruc was fantastic in goal earning a rating of 8.7. He has been a truly inspired signing, earning 16 clean sheets and an average rating of 7.17 so far. He has been in such good form, a number of top clubs came in with offers for him in the January transfer window, but I had to reject.

Stoke 1 - 3 Fulham (Milevskyi x3)
Fulham 4 - 4 Burnley (Hangeland, Hobbs, Acquafresca, Sessegnon)

Crazy game in which we had 60% possesion and 25 shots compared to Burnleys 8. Gago was terrible having 10 shots with just 1 on target. Made 2 changes at half time being 3-1 down, brought on Van Der Vaart and Trezeguet for Milevskyi and Defour who were both palying terrible. Managed to walk away with a point but should have been a comfortable win given the form we're in and this once again shows the lack of consistency we have which is becoming a major cause for concern.

Finally, we have been drawn against Birmingham or Burnley at home in the FA Cup 1/4 final so have an excellent chance of making the semi final of another domestic cup, lets hope this time we can put in a performance and make it all the way.

The premier league table makes for better viewing after picking up 10 points out of a possible 12 lately, but Spurs will certainly move above us with 3 games in hand, and we will have to keep up this form til the end of the season to claim a European spot, which we can hopefully make a better fist at having gone out in the group stage this season.

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Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, please leave some feedback on where you think I might be going wrong, greatly appreciated :)
 
Finished the 3rd season in 7th place, needing just a home win over 6th place Wigan on the last game of the season to be guaranteed European football, but now I don't think I do, it depends on Cup Winners.

I lost in the FA Cup 1/4 final to Birmingham at home which was very disappointing as I think this was a good chance for me to pick up some silverware. However, the board are still very pleased with my overall performance for the season. Here's how I got on in the competitions :

English Premier League :- 7th Place Winners : Chelsea (3rd time running)
FA Cup :- Quarter Finals Winners : Liverpool beating Stoke
League Cup :- Semi Finals Winners : Tottenham beating United
Europa League :- Group Stages Winners : Palermo beating Fiorentina

Overall, I think we performed well going pretty far in all competitions, hopefully next season we can go that one step further.

Here's the final league table and the Fulham squad showing the goals, assists and average rating from my players.
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Player of the season :

3) Steven Defour - Player of pure class, he was brought in last January and has been playing sensationally ever since. I can see some big clubs coming in for him in the summer and I may face a struggle to hold onto him. The Belgian midfielder bagged himself just the 2 goals, but laid 19 on for his team mates playing as a deep lying playmaker in CM.
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2) Robert Acquafresca - The new striker arriving for a hefty £10m in the summer has not disappointed, forming a brilliant partnership with Milevskyi. He managed to score 27 goals, and also got 14 assists which is a fantastic return from the 24 year old.

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1) Artem Milevskyi - The powerful striker was again in fantastic form this season, getting his best return so far. He scored 37 goals in all competitions, 25 of which were in the league, which earnt him joint 3rd place in the Premier League golden boot. Add in the 15 assists and it shows just how good this striker is.

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I will be looking to bring in a top class defender to partner Hangeland in the summer as we conceded far too many goals last season. Apart from this I do not think we need to add much to the squad.

Leaving on free transfers are Trezeguet, Marquez and Andy Johnson, who between them didnt participate much last season although they were used during times ov heavy injury.

Will update again when pre-season has been completed, with the budget, signings, pre-season results and aims for the season.

Is anybody reading as there doesn't seem to be any comments ?
 
You're doing really well with Fulham there, mate. I must admit I have a soft spot for Fulham in real life and judging by the stories involving Fulham, a lot of others seem to as well.

Just a couple of questions, sorry if you have to back track a little.

How on earth are you getting Artem to score so many for you? What role do you play him as? I'm playing with Fulham and made him as my 'Big Signing' and he's scored abour 5 in 14 or something, which is truth is pretty **** poor.

My other questions involves the board expectations. In the second season what did they expect of you?

I'm hoping they are going to ask for 'Respectable' again but I have my doubts. I'm making pure profit at the moment so it's a brilliant foundation for a long game. I could make Fulham into one of the richest clubs around so if they let me build slowly it'll be brilliant.

Anyway, keep up the good work! I'm enjoying reading your exploits.
 
They only asked for a top half finish, but i've now moved onto Man United on the same save game file. The link for that is : http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/f81/saving-the-devils-from-despair-t27487.html

Please follow on that story now instead of this one anybody who was reading :) Thanks for your comments over the last 3 seasons.

Also signed Milevskyi for United, and depending who I play him with he is either deep lying or advanced forward. Just give him time, he wasn't great at all in my first season but second season I think he settled in much better and bagged loads of goals.
 
What happened? Aren't you playing anymore...
Best Regards from Sweden
 
No I moved on from Fulham to United as they were struggling. Check the link in my last post.
 
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