Z
Zesta
Guest
I've read a few posts which feature users complaining about the difficulty of the game. At this stage I wish to share how my career at Newcastle is going, but I don't agree with the majority.
I feel this is the best FM title yet, and it's all down to the added realism. It should be harder to win trophies. Look at QPR and Tony Mowbray's Celtic, too many signings can set you back a season or two. Also it's evident that signing foreigners requires more time to gel than ever before.
I'm currently in season 4 at Newcastle, where I've chosen to sell my big name players (Cabaye, Anita, Cisse, Ba, Ben Arfa, Tiote) for around £20m each, and rebuild using regens as early as possible. Even though the regens aren't 'ready' yet, because they've played in a settled starting 11, I've got one of the best defences in the league.
Tactics - Home
As I chose to become a selling club it was important to get as much as possible from my home games. Attacking philosophies are critical at home, as away games are incredibly difficult in FM 13.
Even though my regens are still cooking, their passing is still good enough for the short game. After 2 seasons my defence started to gel and calcify, so my 4-3's and 3-2's became 1-0's, 2-0's.
View attachment 281104View attachment 281105
Tactics - Away
Playing away is realistic. It's that simple. You may have 50-60% possession against weaker teams, but the Norwich's & Reading's play direct and can still make chances. Ultimately they get chances in the box and take a few.
This tactic is direct, but I've managed to win at Chelsea, Man Utd & Spurs a few times, whilst turning defeats into draws. Once my regens are out of the oven I anticipate we'll string a few wins together, but what's more important than the tactic are how long the players have been with each other.
View attachment 281106View attachment 281107
Season 1
Decent season as I played the NUFC big guns (Cabaye, Cisse etc), but I trailed off from the top 4 once I agreed deals for a few top stars to leave. Even though Wigan & Stoke overachieved, you'll note the big teams that struggled were those who bought high volumes of players, and hadn't gotten them to gel.
View attachment 281108
Season 2
Horrible season and I only just avoided the sack. On a few occasions I was given the media ultimatum of winning my next fixture.
The reason for this was selling the majority of my big guns. They were too old to learn decent PPM's and were on big wages. £80k for Coloccini? I don't think so. I relied on my home tactic to keep me up.
View attachment 281109
Season 3
Started really badly, so much so I sat outside the relegation zone. What's important here is that once my South American regens were in the country for around 18 months, they were on fire.
If the league was from Christmas until May I'd have been top 4.
View attachment 281110
Season 4
After carefully restricting my purchases to 2-3 players max, I managed to bolster the squad without jeapordising the team cohesion. A few injuries has cost me some easy games, but I'm right in the mix.
View attachment 281111
Notable Regens
Issa Itani - MC/AMC
He's played as a MC to begin with, but retrained as my AMC and is starting to hit his stride. Even only half developed he's already replaced Wellington Nem (sold to Liverpool for £16m) and will be a contender for World Player of the Year in 2-3 years.
He's got PPM's of attempts killer balls, places shots, runs with ball often & runs with ball often.
View attachment 281112
Gaston Fernandez - MC
Only had this guy about 18 months, but he's settling down. The move from Argentina to England has meant he's got more to do, but he'll end up as good as anyone technically. His physical attributes are kicking along nicely.
He's got PPM's of attempts killer balls, places shots, runs with ball often & runs with ball often.
View attachment 281113
Dominic Wilkes - ST
Picked this guy up on a free on Regen Day (the day your youth candidates are announced, head immediately to player search and filter by 'technique' stat).
Started him as a 16 year old and sold Cisse & Ba for a combined £47m. 14 goals in his 1st season, 19 in his next. He leads the line in all tactics and will be a world class poacher.
He's got PPM's of attempts killer balls, places shots, runs with ball often & runs with ball often.
View attachment 281114
Niall Worsfold - ST
Had to prise him away from Southampton for £7.5m, even though they produce a high volume of world class regens. Nice to see it's like their real life academy (Bale, Walcott, Ranger, Clyne etc)
Whilst he's the Deep Lying Forward (Attack) in home games, he's on the bench when we're away. Once I gave him some penetrating PPM's he burst into life. Not only does he score, but he goes on mazy dribbles and passes the ball into the net.
He's got PPM's of attempts killer balls, places shots, runs with ball often & runs with ball often.
View attachment 281115
I feel this is the best FM title yet, and it's all down to the added realism. It should be harder to win trophies. Look at QPR and Tony Mowbray's Celtic, too many signings can set you back a season or two. Also it's evident that signing foreigners requires more time to gel than ever before.
I'm currently in season 4 at Newcastle, where I've chosen to sell my big name players (Cabaye, Anita, Cisse, Ba, Ben Arfa, Tiote) for around £20m each, and rebuild using regens as early as possible. Even though the regens aren't 'ready' yet, because they've played in a settled starting 11, I've got one of the best defences in the league.
Tactics - Home
As I chose to become a selling club it was important to get as much as possible from my home games. Attacking philosophies are critical at home, as away games are incredibly difficult in FM 13.
Even though my regens are still cooking, their passing is still good enough for the short game. After 2 seasons my defence started to gel and calcify, so my 4-3's and 3-2's became 1-0's, 2-0's.
View attachment 281104View attachment 281105
Tactics - Away
Playing away is realistic. It's that simple. You may have 50-60% possession against weaker teams, but the Norwich's & Reading's play direct and can still make chances. Ultimately they get chances in the box and take a few.
This tactic is direct, but I've managed to win at Chelsea, Man Utd & Spurs a few times, whilst turning defeats into draws. Once my regens are out of the oven I anticipate we'll string a few wins together, but what's more important than the tactic are how long the players have been with each other.
View attachment 281106View attachment 281107
Season 1
Decent season as I played the NUFC big guns (Cabaye, Cisse etc), but I trailed off from the top 4 once I agreed deals for a few top stars to leave. Even though Wigan & Stoke overachieved, you'll note the big teams that struggled were those who bought high volumes of players, and hadn't gotten them to gel.
View attachment 281108
Season 2
Horrible season and I only just avoided the sack. On a few occasions I was given the media ultimatum of winning my next fixture.
The reason for this was selling the majority of my big guns. They were too old to learn decent PPM's and were on big wages. £80k for Coloccini? I don't think so. I relied on my home tactic to keep me up.
View attachment 281109
Season 3
Started really badly, so much so I sat outside the relegation zone. What's important here is that once my South American regens were in the country for around 18 months, they were on fire.
If the league was from Christmas until May I'd have been top 4.
View attachment 281110
Season 4
After carefully restricting my purchases to 2-3 players max, I managed to bolster the squad without jeapordising the team cohesion. A few injuries has cost me some easy games, but I'm right in the mix.
View attachment 281111
Notable Regens
Issa Itani - MC/AMC
He's played as a MC to begin with, but retrained as my AMC and is starting to hit his stride. Even only half developed he's already replaced Wellington Nem (sold to Liverpool for £16m) and will be a contender for World Player of the Year in 2-3 years.
He's got PPM's of attempts killer balls, places shots, runs with ball often & runs with ball often.
View attachment 281112
Gaston Fernandez - MC
Only had this guy about 18 months, but he's settling down. The move from Argentina to England has meant he's got more to do, but he'll end up as good as anyone technically. His physical attributes are kicking along nicely.
He's got PPM's of attempts killer balls, places shots, runs with ball often & runs with ball often.
View attachment 281113
Dominic Wilkes - ST
Picked this guy up on a free on Regen Day (the day your youth candidates are announced, head immediately to player search and filter by 'technique' stat).
Started him as a 16 year old and sold Cisse & Ba for a combined £47m. 14 goals in his 1st season, 19 in his next. He leads the line in all tactics and will be a world class poacher.
He's got PPM's of attempts killer balls, places shots, runs with ball often & runs with ball often.
View attachment 281114
Niall Worsfold - ST
Had to prise him away from Southampton for £7.5m, even though they produce a high volume of world class regens. Nice to see it's like their real life academy (Bale, Walcott, Ranger, Clyne etc)
Whilst he's the Deep Lying Forward (Attack) in home games, he's on the bench when we're away. Once I gave him some penetrating PPM's he burst into life. Not only does he score, but he goes on mazy dribbles and passes the ball into the net.
He's got PPM's of attempts killer balls, places shots, runs with ball often & runs with ball often.
View attachment 281115
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