Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge

[FM_TNSSO]

Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge

For whatever reason, I just couldn't get into that Roma save I was doing, so instead I am going to try my hand at the Sir Alex Ferguson challenge.

For anyone unfamiliar with the challenge, the idea is to emulate arguably the world's greatest ever manager. Love or hate him or Manchester United, you can't deny that the guy was phenomenal! So here's the rules...

1. Sim the game to November 6th and take over the team currently sitting in 19th position in the Premier League. Sir Alex took over United on this date with them languishing second from bottom in the top tier.

2. Stay at this one single club for the entire save (getting sacked means game over, no reloads adding yourself in the game again).

3. Alex Ferguson had a strong reputation for bringing youngsters through the club's youth system and nurturing them into star players for the club (David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville to name a few). As a rule in the save, I must promote one youth player to the first team squad every season to establish the same reputation.

4. Sir Alex didn't make a habit of selling or buying players from his biggest rivals throughout his career. Therefore, whichever club I take over, I will not be allowed to do any transfer business with that club's main rival throughout my career. I can, however, sign players that have previously played for that club.

5. Sir Alex liked to bring his best players through into his coaching team when they hung up their playing boots with the likes of Paul Scholes, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Roy Keane, Paul Ince, Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes all becoming part of his backroom setup. I should be looking to do the same at whichever club I take over, as I look to build my own legacy.

So after simming my game to November 6th, the team I have got is....

Could be a lot worse to be fair!!

The table below demonstrates what Sir Alex achieved with Manchester United and within what timeframes and I will be updating this as and when my save progresses and hopefully I tick some of these off the list...
​

GOAL​	ACHIEVED?​	SIR ALEX FERGUSON​	CHRIS BALL​
November 6th​	Yes​	Took over Manchester United, in 19th place on November 6th, 1986​	Took over Everton, in 19th place on November 6th, 2021​
Win a domestic cup within 4 seasons​	N/A​	1990, FA Cup against Crystal Palace​	TBC​
Win Premier League within 7 seasons​	N/A​	1992/93​	TBC​
Win a domestic double within 8 seasons​	N/A​	1993/94, Premier League & FA Cup​	TBC​
Win treble within 13 seasons (must include Champions League)​	N/A​	1998/99, Premier League, Champions League & FA Cup​	TBC​
English Premier League Titles​	N/A​	Total 13: 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/2000, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2010/11, 2012/12​	TBC​
FA Cup​	N/A​	Total 5: 1989/90, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1998/99, 2003/04​	TBC​
League Cup​	N/A​	Total 4: 1991/92, 2005/06, 2008/09, 2009/10​	TBC​
Community Shield​	N/A​	Total 10: 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011​	TBC​
UEFA Champions League​	N/A​	Total 2: 1998/99, 2007/08​	TBC​
Europa League​	N/A​	Total 1: 1990/91​	TBC​
UEFA Super Cup​	N/A​	Total 1: 1991​	TBC​
FIFA World Club Cup​	N/A​	Total 2: 1999, 2008​	TBC​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

The Current Situation

There's no doubt about it, The Toffees are seriously underachieving this season and have only taken a single win from their opening 10 games. Incredibly, I was actually very close to landing Manchester United themselves for this challenge as they sit just two places and two points above us in the table!

The only league win this year came against Brighton, with the most disappointing results saw points dropped against Watford and Crystal Palace. On the plus side, we are still in the League Cup and with our quarter final draw pitting us against Hull City, I have half an opportunity to maybe bag a domestic trophy in my first season!

Now with the squad available, the club should simply be doing better. Don't get me wrong, Everton are not up there and amongst the elite in the division by a long way, but they should definitely be a safe bet for mid table with this team!

And that's usually where the club finish there or thereabouts if recent history is anything to go by. Success has been elusive though and the club haven't lifted a trophy since 1995 when they last won the FA Cup. If I'm going to match Sir Alex's first achievement, I need to change that within the next 4 seasons!

One player that is likely to play a big part in that early success we'll be looking for is Dele Alli. The recent signing from Spurs is desperately looking to re-establish himself on the big stage and if the effort comes from his side, he is someone I can build my squad around for the next few seasons.

Whilst I'll also be looking to capitalise on the emergence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin over the past couple of seasons. He'll be our main man up top and if he is firing on all cylinders, our chances of success will be enhanced significantly. However, he is currently out injured for up to another 7 weeks!

As far as the youth development side of things goes, the facilities are superb and everything is in place for us to bring through some talented youngsters in the coming years as I look to build a dynasty!

As it's my first season and we are already 10 games in, there is no pressure to promote a youngster to the first team until the Summer. The most likely candidate for that at this stage is Anthony Gordon, who looks like he is a future star for club and country to me!

So let's get to work. As far as my first month in the job goes, I kick things off with a couple of very winnable games to get us back on track, before rounding off November with a match against no other than Manchester United themselves!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

November 2021

My first game in charge will be against Burnley and with them just one place above us in the table, it's fair to say that the first one is a must win really. After fiddling around with the tactic several times and player roles and individual instructions, this is the lineup for my first ever game in charge.

Saturday 6th November 2021 - 15:00
Premier League - Burnley (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, M.Keane, Y.Mina, V.Mykolenko (F.Delph 62), Allan, D.Alli, A.Doucoure (D.Van De Beek 62), A.Townsend, A.El Ghazi (A.Iwobi 40), Richarlison

It wasn't ideal taking charge of a game on my first day at the club, but the team pulled through and got the result we so desperately needed! It didn't look like things were going to go our way for a while with 2 penalty misses, but Richarlison eventually popped up with the crucial goal to get my tenure off to a winning start!

Saturday 20th November 2021 - 15:00
Premier League - Norwich City (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, M.Holgate, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko*, Allan (T.Davies 77), D.Alli, A.Doucoure, A.Townsend, D.Gray (S.Rondon 60), Richarlison

A tight game at Carrow Road, but back to back victories (just about) for us! Dele Alli was instrumental in the centre of the park and it was his cross that provided the assist form Doucoure's headed goal to seal the 3 points.

Newcastle's new owners are not taking any prisoners as they sack Eddie Howe just a few months into the job. The Magpies are struggling down in 18th position, but I thought he'd be given a little longer than 12 games to turn the club around.

Tuesday 23rd November 2021 - 20:00
Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, J.Kenny, M.Holgate, M.Keane, F.Delph (V.Mykolenko 69), Allan, D.Alli*, A.Doucoure, A.Townsend (D.Gray 39), Richarlison (A.Iwobi 78), S.Rondon

A decent performance away at Wolves as we make it three wins in a row. Dele Alli was again the catalyst in the centre of the park, pulling the strings as most of our best stuff flowed through him!

Saturday 27th November 2021 - 17:30
Premier League - Manchester United (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, M.Holgate, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, Allan (T.Davies 64), D.Alli (F.Delph 75), A.Doucoure, A.Townsend, Richarlison*, S.Rondon (Sent Off 84)

Richarlison was on fire for us here and twice he put us in front, only for us to be pegged back by a Manchester United side with an abundance of quality in attack. The late sending off from Salomon Rondon (which was a bit harsh) left us hanging on a bit, but we saw the game out to earn a good point.

It's fair to say that my first month in the job has been a successful one as we took 10 points from a possible 12 which moves us from the relegation places into the top half of the table!

Player of the Month
Dele Alli (CM)

Despite going missing a little against Manchester United, Dele was instrumental in all of our other games this month.

December is always a busy month for the Premier League and we'll play no less than 6 league games next month, with a Carabao Cup tie thrown in there as well. Chelsea away and Arsenal at home will undoubtedly be our toughest fixtures and we need to be targeting the Leeds, Brentford and Villa games as possible wins.

 

[FM_TNSSO]

December 2021

Wednesday 1st December 2021 - 20:00
Premier League - Chelsea (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, J.Kenny, M.Holgate, M.Keane (Y.Mina 45), V.Mykolenko, Allan, D.Alli (T.Davies 58), A.Doucoure, A.Townsend, Richarlison, C.Tosun (D.Gray 45)

My first defeat comes at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea prove too strong for us. We weren't terrible here though and the scoreline definitely flattered our opponents...Mason Mount is a beast though and we simply couldn't handle him.

Saturday 4th December 2021 - 15:00
Premier League - Leeds United (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, J.Kenny, M.Holgate, M.Keane, F.Delph (N.Patterson 45), T.Davies, D.Alli, D.Van De Beek, Richarlison, A.Iwobi (A.El Ghazi 45), S.Rondon (A.Townsend 68)

A real game of two halves this one! We weren't in the game in the first half as Leeds absolutely battered us, recording 16 shots on our gola in the first 45 minutes, scoring twice. Needless to say, the lads got a right kick-in from me at half time and it seemed to buck their ideas up as we were much better in the second period, fighting back to earn a point.

Saturday 11th December 2021 - 15:00
Premier League - Brentford (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, M.Holgate, Y.Mina, V.Mykolenko, Allan, D.Alli, D.Van De Beek (A.Doucoure* 45), A.Townsend, D.Gray (A.El Ghazi 45), Richarlison (S.Rondon 62)

We definitely weren't good enough here and Brentford could have been out of site in the opening 25 minutes if they could take their chances. We grew into the game and in the end deserved a point, but this has to be seen as a poor result in a game I targeted 3 points from.

On a positive note, we have every reason to be excited about the youth intake coming through later in the season. Let's hope it's every bit as good as anticipated.

Tuesday 14th December 2021 - 19:45
Carabao Cup Quarter Final - Hull City (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, J.Kenny, B.Godfrey, Y.Mina, N.Patterson, T.Davies, D.Van De Beek, A.Doucoure (F.Delph 57), A.Iwobi (A.El Ghazi* 17), D.Gray, S.Rondon (Richarlison 67)

An extremely dominant display from us and it's hard to believe we only scored twice, and our passage to the semi finals is comfortably secured.

Our main man up front is finally back from injury and I look forward to utilising him in my matchday squad for the first time, although it remains to be seen if he will feature against Arsenal in our next game, having been out for a few months.

Saturday 18th December 2021 - 15:00
Premier League - Arsenal (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman (J.Kenny 68), B.Godfrey, Y.Mina (M.Keane 68), V.Mykolenko, T.Davies, D.Alli, A.Doucoure, A.Townsend (D.Calvert-Lewin 81), A.El Ghazi, Richarlison*

A good showing against Arsenal and we probably deserved to win the game, although a point is still decent against the Gunners. Gutting that Richarlison couldn't tuck that penalty away late on to nick all 3 points. Calvert-Lewin got on for a short time at the end and hit the crossbar with a long range effort with only seconds remaining in the match as well.

Sunday 26th December 2021 - 15:00
Premier League - Leicester City (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, Allan, D.Alli, A.Doucoure, A.Townsend*, A.El Ghazi (D.Calvert-Lewin 65), Richarlison

Our biggest win so far under my management comes at the hands of Leicester City and we were great value for it as well. Everything from our defensive solidness, to our build up play and our finishing was spot on!

Tuesday 28th December 2021 - 15:00
Premier League - Aston Villa (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, J.Kenny*, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, N.Patterson, T.Davies, D.Alli, F.Delph, A.Townsend (Richarlison 85), D.Gray, S.Rondon (D.Calvert-Lewin 85)

We followed up the win against Leicester with another victory over an overachieving Villa side here. Steven Gerrard has the Villains playing some great football and they reside in the top 4 at the half way point of the season, so this was a very, very good result for us!

We remain 10th in the Premier League and we can celebrate the fact that we are now closer to the top 7 than the bottom 3 as we put some good distance between ourselves and the teams battling relegation at the bottom of the division. The league is starting to take shape now and apart from Brighton being 9th and Wolves propping up the table, everyone else is pretty much there or thereabouts where I'd expect them to be. Aston Villa are fully expected to drop away out of the top 4 with Arsenal and Spurs hot on their tails.

Player of the Month
Richarlison (ST/AMR)

The flamboyant Brazilian has been in great form this month bagging 6 goals and he is instrumental to our attacking lineup as he covers both a striker's and wide midfielder's role.

January will again be a busy month of football for us, kicking off with a very tough game away at the champions. Then we have three cup games and the draw in the Carabao Cup against Championship opposition leaves us with no excuses not to make the final. We have to fancy our chances of progression in the FA Cup too as we take on Bournemouth although I do recognise that they are a potential banana skin for us!

Next month will also see the opening of the Winter transfer window, but with the club's finances in a precarious position, we won't be bringing any players in unless there are some departures first.

 

[Liam I42I]

Been a great read so far! Great club for this sort of challenge

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Been a great read so far! Great club for this sort of challenge

I genuinely couldn't think of a team I wanted to start any save with, so I went for this challenge as it effectively leaves it down to the game to decide. Have to say I was pleased to get The Toffees.

 

[FM_TNSSO]

January 2022

Saturday 1st January 2022 - 19:45
Premier League - Manchester City (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, J.Kenny (S.Coleman 70), B.Godfrey, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, Allan, D.Van De Beek (D.Alli 84), A.Doucoure, A.Townsend, A.El Ghazi*, D.Calvert-Lewin (Richarlison 64)

GET IN THERE JORDAN PICKFORD!! The referee awarded Man City a penalty with 10 seconds of injury time remaining (and a soft one at that), but up steps Jordan Pickford to pull off a fantastic save to deny Kevin De Bruyne from the spot and earn us a very well deserved point at The Etihad!

Wednesday 5th January 2022 - 19:45
Carabao Cup Semi Final 1st Leg - Fulham (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, N.Patterson, B.Godfrey, M.Keane (Y.Mina 62), V.Mykolenko, Allan, D.Alli, A.Doucoure, A.Townsend (D.Gray 62), A.El Ghazi, Richarlison (D.Calvert-Lewin 62)

Nowhere near good enough and we have to be a lot better in the home leg if we're going to turn this tie around.

Outgoing Transfer - Jonjoe Kenny
Sold to Watford for £1.7 million

There are a whole host of players I don't think are good enough for my squad and Jonjoe was one of them. He was transfer listed and Watford were able to meet my valuation so I was happy to let him leave.

Outgoing Transfer - Cenk Tosun
Sold to Udinese for £1.5 million

Another player that is nowhere near good enough for the Premier League is Cenk Tosun and with him out of contract in the Summer anyway, I was happy to get rid for any amount right now.

Saturday 8th January 2022 - 15:00
FA Cup 3rd Round - Bournemouth (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, M.Holgate, Y.Mina, N.Patterson, T.Davies, D.Alli, D.Van De Beek, A.Townsend (D.Gray 75), Richarlison, D.Calvert-Lewin (S.Rondon 75)

Absolute dog sh1te!! We were awful and didn't deserve anything from this whatsoever! Poor, really poor!

Wednesday 12th January 2022 - 19:45
Carabao Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg - Fulham (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman (Y.Mina 73), B.Godfrey, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko (N.Patterson 18, Sent Off 73), Allan, D.Van De Beek, A. Doucoure, A.Townsend*, Richarlison (D.Gray 73), D.Calvert-Lewin

We're on our way to Wembley for a cup final!! A brilliant performance against Fulham to turn around the deficit from the 1st leg. We desperately needed it we've been pretty woeful in our last couple of matches! We will now play Manchester City in the final!

Saturday 15th January 2022 - 19:45
Premier League - Crystal Palace (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, Y.Mina, F.Delph, Allan, D.Alli (D.Van De Beek 67), T.Davies, D.Gray, A.El Ghazi, S.Rondon (D.Calvert-Lewin 67)

Another win in the league makes it 7 unbeaten for us in the Premier Division. Good to see Calvert-Lewin scoring his first goal of the season and it was hit late header that secured the 3 points for us.

Outgoing Loan - Alex Iwobi
Season Long Loan to Mallorca

This is a deal that hugely favours us. Although I'd have liked to sell Iwobi, Mallorca were willing to pay 90% of his wages (£90k per week) plus £150k per month for him!

Saturday 22nd January 2022 - 15:00
Premier League - West Ham (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, F.Delph (N.Patterson 33), Allan, D.Van De Beek, A.Doucoure (D.Alli* 33), D.Gray, A.El Ghazi, S.Rondon (D.Calvert-Lewin 62)

For the second game in a row, Calver-Lewin comes off the bench to bag a winner for us! It was nice to get a win at The London Stadium against a West Ham side that are becoming a force under an Everton legend in David Moyes.

Wednesday 26th January 2022 - 19:45
Premier League - Arsenal (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, N.Patterson (S.Coleman 79), B.Godfrey, M.Keane, F.Delph, Allan, D.Van De Beek, A.Doucoure, A.Townsend (D.Alli 64), A.El Ghazi, D.Calvert-Lewin

Arsenal are the best team I have come up against this season, without a doubt. If Alexandre Lacazette could finish, we might have lost this game by 5 or 6! We were just outclassed by a better side today and we move on.

Saturday 29th January 2022 - 19:45
Premier League - Leicester City (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, M.Holgate, M.Keane, N.Patterson, T.Davies (Sent Off 60), D.Alli (Allan 60), A.Doucoure, A.Townsend, A.El Ghazi, D.Calvert-Lewin

A really disappointing way to end the month as we suffer defeat to a Leicester side that we beat 4-0 only a few weeks ago! Tom Davies sending off with half an hour to go put us under a lot of strain and the Foxes capitalised.

We're up to 9th in the Premier League now and just 5 points off making the top 7. Right now, I'm extremely pleased with how far we have come in just 3 months.

Player of the Month
Seamus Coleman (RB)

Our captain has been in fine form this month, recording a rating of more than 7.10 in every game this month. His consistency sets a great example to some of our younger players at the club.

Only three games in February, capped off by our Carabao Cup final against Manchester City. We know it's going to be a tough ask to beat them, but it's just one game and who knows...

Incoming Transfer - Marko Livaja (AMRLC/ST)
Signed from Hajduk Split for £7.75 million

I've been watching Livaja for a couple of months now and he has been impressive out in Croatia. The fact that I was able to pick him up so cheaply is a bonus and I'm delighted to bring him in on transfer deadline day.​

 

[Tongey]

Excellent club for this one! Couldn't have wished for better in the circumstances!

Seem to have started well as well reaching a final!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Excellent club for this one! Couldn't have wished for better in the circumstances!

Seem to have started well as well reaching a final!

I'm definitely pleased with getting Everton for sure! Someone like Watford or Burnley would have been a real struggle to emulate the great one with!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

February 2022

Monday 14th February 2022 - 20:00
Premier League - Southampton (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, N.Patterson (V.Mykolenko 69), Allan, D.Alli (D.Van De Beek 79), A.Doucoure, A.El Ghazi (Richarlison 69), M.Livaja, D.Calvert-Lewin*

A Dominic Calvert-Lewin hat trick led us on our way to a good win over a Southampton side that are pushing for a top 7 place alongside us. There was also an assist for Livaja on his debut! We started the game slowly but soon found our rhythym and proved a lot stronger on the day.

20 games in and it seems I'm making a bit of a name for myself and people are taking note!

Sunday 20th February 2022 - 14:00
Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, M.Holgate, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, Allan, D.Alli, A.Doucoure (D.Van De Beek 70), Richarlison, M.Livaja (A.El Ghazi 64), D.Calvert-Lewin

My first 0-0 draw and away at Spurs, it's a good point!

We've slipped one place to 10th and with 11 games to go we'll likely be finishing in a mid table spot, which is similar to where Sir Alex finished with Man Utd in his first season (11th). For now though, we have a cup final to play!

In the upcoming final of the Carabao Cup, we know we will be big outsiders...and it's no wonder as Man City have lifted the trophy in 6 of the last 8 seasons!!

Sunday 27th February 2022 - 16:30
Carabao Cup Final - Manchester City (Wembley)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, Allan, D.Van De Beek (D.Alli 66), A.Doucoure, Richarlison (M.Livaja 60), A.El Ghazi (D.Gray 111), D.Calvert-Lewin*

We got off to the worst possible start as Laporte scored a headed effort from a corner inside 3 minutes.

That was the only goal of the first half, but the half time stats showed that we were very much in this game.

We came out and performed well in the 2nd half, missing several good chances. That was before Calvert-Lewin stepped up to hammer home an equaliser from close range on 77 minutes.

The game went into extra time and unbelievably, all the chances were going our way. In fact, we'd had double that of City as we reached half time in extra time.

No more goals and the game came down to a penalty shootout...and after 4 pens, we were in the driving seat and just 2 penalties away from lifting the trophy!

But things didn't go our way as Demarai Gray missed and John Stones scored!

And after coming so, so close, in the end it wasn't to be as City went on to win the shootout! Gutting.

Player of the Month
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (ST)

A hat trick against Southampton and a goal in the cup final is enough for DCL to pick up the POTM award for Feb.​

 

[leckuno]

Gutting way to lose the cup final after reaching it

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Gutting way to lose the cup final after reaching it

Tell me about it mate!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

March 2022

Saturday 5th March 2022 - 17:30
Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, Allan (T.Davies 80), D.Van De Beek, A.Doucoure, Richarlison (D.Gray 62), M.Livaja, D.Calvert-Lewin* (S.Rondon 62)

This was the perfect way to bounce back from cup final defeat! We ran rampant against a Wolves side that look bang in trouble and in serious threat of being relegated. Calvert-Lewin hammered home his second hat trick in 3 league games, whilst Marko Livaja also scored his first goal for the club.

Sunday 13th March 2022 - 16:30
Premier League - Brentford (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, Y.Mina, V.Mykolenko, Allan, D.Alli, A.Doucoure, Richarlison (D.Gray 78), M.Livaja, D.Calvert-Lewin (S.Rondon 78)

No doubt Brentford will be kicking themselves afyer this one. They missed a number of good chances and I'll fully admit that this was one of those games we won, but we definitely didn't deserve to.

The youth intake is good...not quite sure it is the golden generation as touted, but it is good and there are a couple of prospects for us to nurture and could be class in the future.

Scott Carroll is a pacey winger who, if he can improve his technical skills significantly over the next few years, could turn into a quality player.

Saturday 19th March 2022 - 15:00
Premier League - Leeds United (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, N.Patterson, Allan (F.Delph 62), D.Alli, A.Doucoure, D.Gray, M.Livaja (A.El Ghazi 62), D.Calvert-Lewin*

We may not have deserved the 3 points against Brentford, but we definitely deserved them here. We were quality throughout and scored some really good goals too. Dele Alli has been a little out of form prior to the last couple of games, so it's good to see him amongst the goals again.

Three wins from three games this month has actually brought us to within just 5 points of the top 6. It will still be a big ask to get into the European spots, but there is a small chance, which was unthinkable when I took over back in November.

Player of the Month
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (ST)

Five goals in three games this month...it had to be the main man again!

He picked up the Premier League award as well.

We kick off April with a couple of really tough games. Chelsea inflicted our biggest defeat of the season on us back in December and we will have to be at our best to get something from that game. If we can take 7 points from next month I'll be happy.

 

[FM_TNSSO]

April 2022

Saturday 2nd April 2022 - 19:45
Premier League - Manchester United (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, Allan, D.Alli (T.Davies 84), A.Doucoure, Richarlison (A.Townsend 60), M.Livaja, D.Calvert-Lewin (S.Rondon 60)

We mactched United for possession and attempts (pretty much) but their quality in attack was just too much for our defence to handle. We move on.

Sunday 10th April 2022 - 15:00
Premier League - Chelsea (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, M.Holgate (N.Patterson 65), B.Godfrey, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, Allan (F.Delph 65), D.Alli, D.Van De Beek, D.Gray, M.Livaja, D.Calvert-Lewin*

A fantastic result and one I didn't expect if I'm honest. It was a very close game and could have gone either way in all honesty....just happy it went ours!

Saturday 16th April 2022 - 15:00
Premier League - Burnley (Away)
Lineup: A.Begovic, N.Patterson, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, Allan (T.Davies 70), D.Alli, A.Doucoure, D.Gray (A.Townsend 70), M.Livaja, D.Calvert-Lewin* (S.Rondon 70)

To be fair to Burnley, they started this game brightly and took a surprise lead. However, we proved way too strong for them in the end and a perfect hat trick from DCL earns him another match ball!

Sunday 24th April 2022 - 14:00
Premier League - Norwich City (Home)
Lineup: Lineup: A.Begovic, N.Patterson, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, Allan (T.Davies 62), D.Alli, A.Doucoure, D.Gray, M.Livaja*, D.Calvert-Lewin (S.Rondon 62)

A disappointing draw and the only positive I can take from this game is the man of the match performance from new man, Marko Livaja.

Saturday 30th April 2022 - 15:00
Premier League - Newcastle United (Home)
Lineup: Lineup: A.Begovic, N.Patterson, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, T.Davies, D.Alli, A.Doucoure, A.Townsend*, M.Livaja (Richarlison 70), D.Calvert-Lewin

Asmir Begovic has had to play the last few games with Jordan Pickford missing through injury and he hasn't been the best. He had a nightmare here and we really shouldn't have dropped points here based on the balance of play and the chances created.

With just 3 games remaining, we have now moved into the top 7 and a couple of wins will see us maintain that position, which will be an incredible achievement considering the 19th place we found ourselves in back in November! Wolves and Burnley now look destined for the drop and they may have some half decent players I could target in the Summer transfer window, depending on budgets.

Player of the Month
Vitaliy Mykolenko (LB)

Despite no goals or assists, Mykolenko played every minute of every game this month and maintained consistent good performances throughout.

Liverpool at home will be a really tough game to take anything from, but there is no reason to think we can't win both the other two next month.

 

[FM_TNSSO]

May 2022

Saturday 7th May 2022 - 15:00
Premier League - Brighton & Hove Albion (Away)
Lineup: A.Begovic, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, Y.Mina, V.Mykoleno (F.Delph 84), T.Davies, D.Alli, A.Doucoure, A.Townsend, M.Livaja*, D.Calvert-Lewin (S.Rondon 84)

What a signing Marko Livaja has turned out to be! He was sensational here!

Saturday 14th May 2022 - 12:30
Premier League - Liverpool (Home)
Lineup: A.Begovic, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, Y.Mina, F.Delph, Allan, D.Van De Beek, A.Doucoure, A.Townsend (D.Gray 44), M.Livaja, D.Calvert-Lewin (Richarlison 69)

Our first Merseyside Derby finishes with a win and even though it was a bit of a smash n grab, these bragging rights will massively get our fans on my side!!

Sunday 22nd May 2022 - 16:30
Premier League - Watford (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman (N.Patterson 79), B.Godfrey, Y.Mina, V.Mykolenko, Allan, D.Alli, A.Doucoure*, A.El Ghazi (A.Townsend 66), M.Livaja, Richarlison (S.Rondon 66)

We finish the season with a rather uninspiring draw away at Watford. Disappointing to give away a 2 goal lead and gutted we couldn't send the fans off for the Summer with a win...although I think they'll be pretty pleased overall.

As we managed to secure 7th place in the final league table and edge our way into a qualification spot for next season's Europa Conference League.

Our final league placing also nets us £27 million in prize money!

Which was desperately needed as, even with that, the bank balance still remains £22 million in the red!!

Player of the Month
Dele Alli (CM)

2 goals and an assist from 2 appearances this month is enough for Dele to pick up my last POTM award of the season.​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

End of Season Review 2021/22

Premier League = 7th (qualified for Europa Conference League)
Emirates FA Cup = Third Round (knocked out by Bournemouth)
Carabao Cup = Runners Up (lost to Manchester City in the final)

There was a huge amount of money came in at the end of the season through sponsorship and TV revenue.

Which gets the bank balance back into the positive!

The best eleven mostly came out as expected. The most notable absentee is Richarlison.

Seamus Coleman picked up the fan's player award, whilst Ben Godfrey was the young player. No surprise that Livaja picked up the signing of the season as he was extremely impressive in the second half of the campaign.

Taking a look at the whole squad, it is clear to see the impact that Dominic Calvert-Lewin had upon his return to the team after injury. He scored 15 goals in 24 games and recorded the highest average rating of the season. Richarlison fell out of favour a little in the second half of the season, which might be a little unfair considering he also had 15 goals to his name. Dele Alli hit double figures in both goals and assists although I still had a feeling he could do better. Doucoure was brilliant in the midfield and the heartbeat of the team throughout the entire season. Seamus Coleman rolled back the years to also reach double figures on his assists, whilst Ben Godfrey really impressed!!

My Awards

Player of the Season = Abdoulaye Doucoure
Young Player of the Season (U23) = Vitaliy Mykolenko
Surprise Package = Ben Godfrey
Must Do Better = Allan

Plans for the Summer

Over the course of the Summer, there are player I will be looking to move on. On that list, players include Alex Iwobi, Andre Gomes, Andros Townsend, Salomon Rondon and Mason Holgate. If I can manage to sell all of these, it is likely to generate a decent amount of income to spend on better replacements. In addtion to any money brought in, I have been allocated over £36 million by the board to spend this Summer. On the flip side, the wage budget was reduced from £2.4 million down to £2.1 million, although at the moment it isn't a problem as our current wage spend is only £2 million. Reducing that wage bill should massively assist in reducing the same kind of monthly losses we did throughout last season too, so it's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[FM_TNSSO]

June 2022

Outgoing Transfer - Lewis Gibson (CB)
Sold to West Brom for £3.9 million

Lewis had a decent season on loan at League One Sheffield Wednesday last year, but at nearly 22 years old, he hasn't progressed enough to get near my first team squad and I was happy to allow him to leave.

Outgoing Transfer - Ellis Simms (ST)
Sold to Luton Town for £1.3 million

Another player that hasn't come on enough to get a chance in the first team and I decided to cash in and let him progress his career at a lower level.

Incoming Transfer - Adam Hlozek (AML/ST)
Signed from Sparta Prague for £7 million

This 19 year old was an absolute steal...officially described as a wonderkid, I have picked him up for a fee which is miniscual compared to the valuation he has on his head on day one at our club! One of the things I was looking to focus on this window was bringing a little more youth to the team and Hlozek is a perfect first signing for us!

Incoming Transfer - Tyrick Mitchell (LB)
Signed from Crystal Palace for £27.5 million

My next signing is a lad I think will be England's number 1 left back in the next 2 seasons! Worth every penny of the hefty transfer fee I paid for him and ticks the youth box as well.

Outgoing Transfer - Andros Townsend (AMR/L)
Sold to Norwich City for £5.5 million

Next out the door was Andros Townsend. I simply feel we have better options at the club.

Incoming Transfer - Kyle Walker-Peters (RB)
Signed from Southampton for £32.5 million

In the right back role, I only really had 33 year old Seamus Coleman. Nathan Patterson acted as a back up but is still some way off being Premier League quality, so I wanted to bring in someone who would be number 1 for the next few years. Kyle Walker-Peters adds to the English contingent and is one of the best right backs in the division, so I was happy to pay big money to secure his signature.​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

July 2022

Outgoing Transfer - Salomon Rondon (ST)
Sold to Las Palmas for £2.2 million

Simply not good enough for the Premier League and he had to go!

Outgoing Transfer - Andre Gomes (CM)
Sold to Osasuna for £625,000

Again, another player who was creaming big wages at the club and isn't good enough for us. Happy to get rid!

Outgoing Transfer - Fabian Delph (CM/LB)
Sold to PAOK for £525,000

Another ageing player off the wage bill.

Incoming Loan - Jack Butland (GK)
Signed on season long loan from Crystal Palace

With Asmir Begovic leaving the club this Summer at the end of his contract, I needed a new backup keeper. Butland comes in on loan as a suitable backup to Pickford.

Outgoing Transfer - Yerry Mina (CB)
Sold to Valencia for £3.2 million

I thought Yerry hugely underperformed for us last season and he looked a liability whenever he was in the team, so I was keen to offload him especially as he was on a massive £120k per week wages! I did let him go on the cheap to get a deal through as I already had a replacement lined up but couldn't confirm the transfer until I got Mina out.

Incoming Transfer - Conor Coady (CB)
Signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers for £15.25 million

And Mina's replacement that I had already lined up is Conor Coady, who I was able to snap up after Wolves were relegated to the Championship last season. I wanted him as it's another English player and he's just a solid defender that I'm a big fan of.

Outgoing Transfer - Jean-Philippe Gbamin
Sold to Krasnodar for £3.5 million

Another player that I was happy to let go as I feel we have better options. Again, he was on a whopping £75k per week!

Incoming Transfer - Andy Stockbridge (CM)
Signed from Bristol City for £325,000

I brought in 16 year old Stockbridge as a potential for the future. Not sure if he'll become good enough for the first team, but he's definitely someone we can make profit on in the next 3-4 years.

YOUTH PLAYER PROMOTED
Anthony Gordon - 21 years old

As part of this Sir Alex Ferguson challenge, one of the tasks is to promote a player from one of the youth teams to the first team every year. This year's best prospect is Anthony Gordon and he is definitely good enough to feature for us this year.

Six wins from six in our friendlies this month, including a stupid amount of goals scored on our tour of Singapore!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

August 2022

Incoming Loan - Rafinha (MC/AMR)
Season Long Loan from PSG

One of my last signings of the window is a loan deal to bring Rafinha to the club who will provide competition predominanty for Dele Alli in my advanced playmaker role. He's a great addition who has played at the very top level for some of Europe's elite!

I must admit that I expected our predicted finishing position with the bookies to be higher this season based on our Summer signings. No surprise that none of our players make the media dream 11 with the abundance of talent in the Premier League. The biggest signing of the Summer being that of Erling Haaland to City for a whopping £137 million!!

Saturday 6th August 2022 - 15:00
Premier League - Newcastle United (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, K.Walker-Peters, B.Godfrey, C.Coady, T.Mitchell, Allan, D.Alli (Rafinha 77), A.Doucoure, M.Livaja (D.Gray 60), A.Hlozek, D.Calvert-Lewin* (Richarlison 70)

We absolutely batter The Magpies on the opening day of the season as Calvert-Lewin hits the ground running and Rafinha bags a debut goal off the bench!

Tuesday 9th August 2022 - 19:45
Carabao Cup 2nd Round - Nottingham Forest (Away)
Lineup: J.Butland, K.Walker-Peters, B.Godfrey (J.Braithwaite 86), M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, T.Davies, D.Alli (Rafinha 66), A.Doucoure, D.Gray, A.Gordon*, Richarlison

I rotated the squad heavily for the trip away to Forest and we scraped through the tie with a narrow victory. We were in control for large periods of the game though and fully deserved the result.

Sunday 14th August 2022 - 15:00
Premier League - Birmingham City (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, K.Walker-Peters, B.Godfrey, C.Coady, T.Mitchell*, Allan (T.Davies 64), Rafinha, A.Doucoure, M.Livaja (D.Gray 57), Richarlison, D.Calvert-Lewin (A.Gordon 78)

A bad day at the office for our attackers as we have over 30 shots at goal, but only manage to score one and lose a game we never should have lost! Gutting!

Thursday 18th August 2022 - 20:00
Europa Conference League 4th Qualifying Round 1st Leg - Slovan Bratislava (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, S.Coleman (K.Walker-Peters 63), C.Coady, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, T.Davies, D.Alli, A.Doucoure, M.Livaja*, A.Gordon (Richarlison 63), D.Calvert-Lewin

That late goal from Marko Livaja could prove to be critical in this tie, but it was no less than we deserved after dominating most of this game.

Sunday 21st August 2022 - 14:00
Premier League - Southampton (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, K.Walker-Peters, B.Godfrey (M.Keane 77), C.Coady, T.Mitchell, T.Davies, D.Alli, Allan (Rafinha 56), D.Gray, M.Livaja*, Richarlison (D.Calvert-Lewin 84)

A very even game and a draw was probably a fair result.

Thursday 25th August 2022 - 20:00
Europa Conference League 4th Qualifying Round 2nd Leg - Slovan Bratislava (Away)
Lineup: J.Butland, S.Coleman, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, T.Mitchell, Allan D.Ali, A.Doucoure (T.Davies 21), D.Gray*, A.Gordon, Richarlison

We got the job done out in Slovakia. A hostile place to go so I am pleased with the result.

Lille will prove tough opposition in the group stages, but I think both us and them will be bitterly disappointed if we don't both go through.

Sunday 28th August 2022 - 14:00
Premier League - Liverpool (Away)
Lineup: J.Butland, K.Walker-Peters, C.Coady, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko (T.Mitchell 83), B.Godfrey, D.Alli, T.Davies, Rafinha (D.Gray 66), M.Livaja (Richarlison 66), D.Calvert-Lewin

We were dominated and lucky to lose by just a single goal in all honesty! On the plus side, Jack Butland was incredible between the sticks and is really going to give Jordan Pickford a run for his money this season at this rate.

Our start can only be described as disappointing and we sit in the bottom half of the table after the opening 4 games.

Player of the Month
Demarai Gray (AMR/L)

Despite all the new signings at the club, it is Gray that has shone through in the opening games, giving me a bit of a selection headache as I firmly expected him to be a backup this year.

Incoming Transfer - Toma Basic (CM)
Signed from Lazio for £7 million

On transfer deadline day, I really needed to add another central midfielder to the squad as we were short in that area. However, I had a very limited budget to spend...Toma was available from Lazio as he'd been put on the transfer list and he will fit in well as a squad player.​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

September 2022

Wednesday 7th September 2022 - 19:45
Carabao Cup 3rd Round - Leicester City (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, K.Walker-Peters (Coleman 66), B.Godfrey, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, Allan (T.Davies 77), T.Basic, Rafinha, D.Alli, A.Gordon*, D.Calvert-Lewin (Richarlison 59)

Young Anthony Gordon bagged his first professional hat trick as we cruise past Leicester to progress in the Carabao Cup. The youngster was on fire here and is fully justifying my decision to promote him from the youth teams this Summer.

Sunday 11th September 2022 - 15:00
Premier League - Chelsea (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, K.Walker-Peters, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, T.Mitchell, Allan, T.Basic (T.Davies 76), A.Gordon (Rafinha 45), D.Alli (Richarlison* 45), M.Livaja, D.Calvert-Lewin

A much needed Premier League win over one of the country's best! Our Brazilian duo came on at half time and turned the game on it's head in the 2nd half!

Thursday 15th September 2022 - 17:45
Europa Conference League Group Stage - FK Sarajevo (Away)
Lineup: J.Butland, K.Walker-Peters, C.Coady (B.Godfrey 37), M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, T.Davies, T.Basic, D.Gray, D.Alli, A.Hlozek (A.Gordon 64), D.Calvert-Lewin* (M.Livaja 45)

An easy enough win out in Bosnia to kick off our group stage in perfect fashion.

Sunday 18th September 2022 - 16:30
Premier League - Aston Villa (Away)
Lineup: J.Pickford, K.Walker-Peters, B.Godfrey, M.Keane, T.Mitchell, Rafinha (A.Gordon 83), T.Davies, Allan, D.Gray (D.Alli 52), M.Livaja (Richarlison 52), D.Calvert-Lewin

We were bad...really bad! Didn't deserve anything from this game and we must do better!

Thursday 22nd September 2022 - 20:00
Europa League Group Stage - Akademija Pandev (Home)
Lineup: J.Butland, K.Walker-Peters, C.Coady, M.Keane, V.Mykolenko, T.Basic, Allan, D.Gray, D.Alli, A.Gordon, D.Calvert-Lewin*

Another win in Europe puts us in the best possible position before we take on Lille. 74% possession here which is quite ridiculous!

Sunday 25th September 2022 - 15:00
Premier League - Watford (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, K.Walker-Peters, B.Godfrey, C.Coady, T.Mitchell, T.Basic (A.Doucoure 64), T.Davies, D.Gray, D.Alli, M.Livaja (A.Gordon 70), Richarlison* (D.Calvert-Lewin 79)

Again, a poor performance back in the league and our poor start to the season continues! Not quite sure what is going on at the moment, but we need to improve and sharpish!

We have dropped all the way down to 14th place in the league now, although we're still only 3 points off 5th placed Leicester, so a couple of wins could very quickly turn our season around.

Thursday 29th September 2022 - 20:00
Europa Conference League Group Stage - Lille (Home)
Lineup: J.Pickford, K.Walker-Peters, B.Godfrey, C.Coady, T.Mitchell, D.Alli, A.Doucoure, Allan (T.Davies 49), D.Gray, Richarlison, D.Calvert-Lewin (M.Livaja* 49)

A good, solid display against the best team in our group. I just wish we could replicate our cup form in the Premier League!

After 3 games in the group, we're in prime position to go through and if we can beat Lille out in France, we'll likely finish as group winners.

Player of the Month
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (ST)

Five goals and two assists for the main front man this month!

With points desperately required in the league, we have some tough games next month against Arsenal, Man Utd and Spurs! We were also handed a tough draw in the Carabao Cup against United.