The Blackburn Rovers Resurgence

[Hbg]

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Season 1
Chapter 1- Introduction

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Blackburn Rovers is a historic English football team fallen from grace. It’s one of the longest serving sides of top football in England. In fact they are one of the founding members of The Football League and Premier League. They have however few times even lifted both the title in The Football League and Premier League. However recent success have been but a distant memory. This comes after spending 5 seasons away from the Premier League in the second level, Blackburn Rovers finally got relegated from the Championship during the 2016/17 season. This means a team riddled in chaos ever since the Indian company V H group bought them. Have found themselves playing in League 1. Something that simply doesn’t do justice for a club of such historic history. The last time Blackburn Rovers were this low in English football was 1979/80. Back then it was a short spell, and the players, board, staff and fans hopes its the same now. Also despite being in League 1 the team still feature prominent players like the decorated former Celtic Scotsman Charlie Mulgrew and hardworking northern Irishman Corry Evans. Talented youngsters like goalie David Raya, defender Scott Wharton and midfielder Joe Rankin-Costello. The squad is more than fit to handle League 1 football, and even capable of making the push for Championship football by lifting the League 1 throphy. However while on paper Blackburn Rovers are a team that should find their promotion back to Championship fairly easy. It’s something else entirely to actually do it. Besides a team of Blackburn Rovers history should have higher ambitions than just promotion to Championship level.

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The famous Blackburn side that won the Premier League 1995/96

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In this career my first goal naturally is to guide Rovers into Championship within the first season, and hopefully make my stay in the Championship short and prosperous. The real work starts in the Premier League were my first big target is stabilizing. But of course the big goal is to stabilize Rovers as a European slot taker, and maybe even picking up a Premier League gold or two along the way. While during the first years I will have a mercenary like approach. Putting sporting success as the most important thing. Meaning picking up who ever I find capable of improving the starting 11. In the end I want to make Rovers a financially secure team that can self sustain top level football. This doesn’t mean just clearing a substantial amount of debt. But building up the infrastructure around the team. I want to build a power academy who can supply strong homegrown players. I want Rovers to be a team that supply stars in the world cups. I want to build a new stadium worthy of the teams future.

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The new gaffer with an ambitious vision

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I added my manager with badges based on Rovers reputation and made him a Youth development/motivator. I find it funny that FM18 thinks I'm bilingual, and therefore fluent in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and English. Oh and as you can see I even styled my manager in the Rovers kit colors! I'm looking forward to this project. But truth is I have not managed much in english football lately. Primarily playing in the Serie A or even Norwegian divisions. So expect my pickups and tactics to be affected by this. While I hope to find english talent to pick up I have little knowledge of whom is suitable. I do however expect the first couple of seasons to be heavily reliant on picking up players on free with a dash of loanees. While I don’t want to talk to much about my evaluation of the squad right here. I do think we need to sign a couple of players. But the squad balance is interesting here as I feel the team doesn’t have good supply of advanced wingers. Something I find unusual especially for a english side.

I want to give a heads up for readers. I have played and finished my first 3 seasons. So the story format will be affected by this. I will do a more of a full season report style about the first 3 seasons, and then go into a more of a detailed bit by bit updating when we catch up.


Catch me from time to time stream the season at https://www.twitch.tv/hbg93

 

[BallyC7]

As a Gillingham fan in real life, I am keen to see how Bradley Dack got on during your first 3 seasons!

 

[Hbg]

Season 1
Chapter 2 - Putting together my team

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My immediate thought upon seeing the squad was that we lacked talent in the advanced winger roles. I also found my wide defensive options limited as I do not rate Ryan Nyambe as a right-back and will be training him as a centre-back from now on. I was happy with my picking possibilities in the central defense feeling we had good depth I started trying out a lineup featuring a 3 man defensive line. My central midfield options was not to inspiring, but Corry Evans is a solid worker to give my 3 man line protection. Allowing me to put two more creative central midfielders together. I have not used a 3 man line in FM18 yet, and I was excited about the prospects of using one. Another line I have not used much is 2 strikers.

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Joe Pleguezleo

Ainsley Maitland-Niles​

I hoped to pick up good players on the free transfers to aid us. I felt while I had reasonable players and depth I was lacking clear starts in some positions. Mainly on the wide left position, central midfield and striker. I wasn’t convinced of a partnership between Graham and Samuel. One of my first changes as the Rovers manager was announcing a partnership with Arsenal. This allowed me to loan Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Julio Pleguezuelo for free. Giving me my wanted central mid and even more depth in the 3 at the back line while Lenihan was out.

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Kieran Richardson

Mushaga Bakenga​

I offered trails to many players in hopes of finding a possible first team starters as my scouting network wasn’t good on top of lacking funds. I ended up picking up Kieran Richardson for the left role but no other on free. But my spirits was still high after picking up former FM favorite Mushaga Bakenga a african norwegian striker. He cost me £205K but would he turn out to be worth it? The summer window resulted with 4 players in. I thought that I would be way more active but the team was solid enough for its challenge.

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The players leaving were never going to have play time for us. I don't really have high hopes in Joe Nuttall growing in to a future player that can contribute for us. But I might as well give him a chance to play football at another team. Tyler Magloire could maybe be a possible reasonable backup defender in the future. Surprised Lyon wanted to pick up Australian Lewis Khoury happy that I managed to almost fund the Bakenga transfer with these sales.

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This is the formation I ended up using for the season. I did in some matches versus the better teams push the WM’s (Wide midfielder) back to WB (wingback) slots. I also changed the roles quite a bit during the season. While I praised my team for their defenders we had big issues with conceding goals during the 17/18 season. I tried many variants but ended up sticking with 1 BPD and 2 CD’s not that It helped to much. I attribute most of our conceding issues to the fact we played many matches with WM’s instead of WB’s. I also didn’t refine the tactic to much in the team instructions my reasoning being I didn’t want to burden them with to much tactical requirements. Perhaps I misjudged their abilities and even needs to play in a more structured and fletch tactics. Thinking the simplicity would simplify and allow them to rely more on individual skill. Which we would out do most of the teams in.

 

[Hbg]

Season 1​

Chapter 3 - First season​

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We started with a poor 1-1 draw versus Southend only thanks to a penalty scored by Kieran Richardson. But I remained optimistic telling myself it’s was a pressure filled match as it was a away season opener for us. We followed up with a quick exit from the Carabo Cup losing to League comrades Bury on extratime. While I think the season itself is long enough and straining I wanted to attempt my best in the cups. As a way to generate extra income. The loss was a poor start on my cup dreams. Back in the league we picked up two back to back wins with a total goal difference of 5-1. Before having a sour 3-4 loss at home to MK Dons luckily my lads spurred on and picked up 2 more wins yet again with a total of 5-1 difference.
Thinking the season was off to a good start, and the tactic as well the team showed to real weaknesses I was horribly wrong. We lost in a 5-4 thriller away to Scunthorpe and wen into a draw sickness during the next 3 matches. With our goal tally during these 4 matches being 8-9 versus teams we should be taking points a issue had arrived. We were climbing the goal conceding ranks no team wants to have. But with a good yelling the team ended the month of September with a 3-0 win at home versus Gillingham. However this placed us only 5th after 10 matches with the top teams with 1 match in hand. Oxford had had a blitzing start to the season not dropping a single game with a 17-3 goal difference.

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As we had reached half played season things had taken more form. We were up there with Oxford who had finally been handed their first loses much thanks to ourselves. After beating them 2-1 away during October. Would this be the catalyzer for our run to win League 1? Perhaps a tad to early for that. Fact is we could have been the leaders of the league at this point but we lost yet again to Scunthorpe this time 2-4 at home.

One thing that had really improved during this time was our goal difference. This was in no way thanks to our defense efforts, but our goal scoring ability. Our upfront duo of Bakenga - Samuel was blitzing teams left and right. With both holding the highest average rating spots after 24 matches played. Samuel was the leading scorer of League 1, and Bakenga the assist taker while not to far behind the scorers either. On loan youngster Niles had done a excellent job dictating games for us as the advanced playmaker.

While not in the driver seat at this point. I could not be unhappy with our efforts. We were in firing form at the attack, and with perhaps a signing during winter + Lenihan starting rehabilitation and joining us for the final half we could improve our defensive stats as well.

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After matchday 35 we finally was top of the league. This despite picking up 3 losses during that time. But with a bit of luck and signs of the blitzing start of Oxford falling apart they too picked up 3 loses. The agony is we could have had a pocket at this point but we had a massive mishap with a 0-4 loss to Northampton at home! On top of that we shared points with Bury and Wigan both again at home! We were having sloppy matches during the new year. I was hoping yet again our form in the latter part of this half would be better again. These two draws to Bury and Wigan could prove very costly for us. The good news was that a pocket between secured promotion to playoffs was there. But of course I wanted to win the league. During the winter windows I had picked up two new players Aleksander Solli a Norwegian defensive centre back who I had have give me excellent performance on last years FM for free. And I loaned Will Keane from Hull City after my striker started to pick up some injuries due to fatigue.

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In the end my ambitions to win League 1 only left a bitter aftertaste. Honestly we should have taken the title. We were the stronger team by far in the end. Samuel had proven himself a excellent goalscorer. Bakenga had been a enlightenment of a signing proving to me that indeed the defensive forward role is very good. Maitland-Niles had kept dictating matches for us in the midfield. We also did pick up for towards the end of the season but a costly loss to mid-tablers Doncaster cost us our 1-point led heading into the last matches of the season. On top of that we still had cup football!

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Yes we had a surreal run in the FA cup. We drew a Swansea who was in abysmal form. After that we managed to draw 3 Championship teams, before running into the mighty Chelsea in the FA Cup semi. What annoys me a bit is the semi finalist were Everton, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and us. To be fair we had been given more than our fair share of luck. But I can’t help but to think that if we had been given Crystal Palace we might have gotten to play yet another match at Wembley.

Now it’s a bit of a weak excuse to blame our excellent FA cup run us losing League 1. But I will anyway. Because that costly loss to Doncaster came right after the exhaustingly long match versus Sunderland, and before that the shambolic loss we had to Northampton at home was after the Aston Villa match. We also lost 3-1 away versus Walsall after Middlesbrough. And to top it off to end the season on a sour note. After Chelsea crushed our dreams we lost 3-2 to Charlton away and get this 0-3 at home versus Oxford! We had a title final at home, and we blew it 0-3! So while I want to be ecstatic about our cup run it comes at the cost of the League 1 title. Now this still means Championship next season, but at the same time I hope this would have been my only chance at taking the League 1 trophy. And on top of that probably our only real chance of taking a trophy until we stabilize in the Premier League.

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I fully support the fans in their decision to appoint Mushaga Bakenga as the player of the season. What surprised me during this season selection wise was how much I ended up using Ben Gladwin and how little I used Bradley Dack. Darragh Lenihan never really had a chance to solidify his position in the defense because of his injuries, but I suspect he will be very important for us next season. I'm excited and filled with joy that Ryan Nyambe took the re assigning to centre back so well. My defense is a healthy mix of experience and youth. Julio Pleguezuelo also has a expiring contract. I hope to pick him up for free as he provided excellent coverage and has high versatility in were in the 3-man he plays. I would also look to loan in Niles again as he was pivotal with his playmaking abilities.

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As the stats pages show our strikers were more than capable of producing goals for us. Wharton had a impressive season. He looks promising but I can’t decide who of him and Nyambe I think has the higher potential. Corry Evans did exactly what I expected providing a high work rate in his DM slot. Elliott Bennett was a joy as he provided excellent support out wide be it forward or with help backwards. Kieran on the right was very good to and found himself as the designated penalty taker. While my depth if they got injured wasn’t high Niles helped out on the right and Ben Gladwin on the left. If I was to point out a player that surprised me it's Ben Gladwin hands down. I expected it to be Whittingham or Dack to play play alongside Niles in the centre midfield.To top it of Gladwin kept playing well even if I pushed him out to the left. As for the strikers Samuels and Bakengas numbers speaks for themselves. Winter loane Will Keane did a good job aiding us during some smaller injuries. The big let down of the season is Danny Graham who despite having the stats to be a leading League 1 striker found himself wasting his opportunities to break first team. To the point loane Marcus Antonsson was 3rd string striker until Will Keane was loaned.

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Some of the players even tho fairly impressed enough to be taken out for Team of the year. Personally I was surprised Niles didn’t make it. But most of the choices makes sense. But I would also make a case for Bennett to be taken over Henry.

Up ahead lies a long transfer window to make this squad Championship capable. While Ben Gladwin was a huge positive during this season we need new men in the central midfield. Also despite our excellent strikers we need to find other talent there too. I hope to be able to improve my defense too. But with Lenihan ready to take on a full season, and the youths developing well I weirdly despite a high goal conceding number find my defense to be the least needed to improve. Well at least the 3-man area and goalkeeper. I will however look to bring in more and proper wing-backs. As I think this was a big reason for our ability of conceding goals. This however means Evans position also is in jeopardy as I would then prefer something else than a ball winner in the DM slot. If I am to use a DM at all that is.

 

[Hbg]

Season 2
Chapter 1 - Making a competitive Championship squad​

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There was little doubt that if we were going to give proper competition in the Championship we needed new faces in the club. Initially before the transfer window enden we were given a 1000-1 odds to win the league. So at least the media agreed that I did good transfers. But of the guys we have right now I feel Bakenga will be capable, but I will look to get him a better partner. Dominic Samuel while more than capable to light up League 1. I don’t think he will be able to do the same this year. While I had big trouble with the defense last year I am looking to remedy it by getting proper wing backs. So my midfield will see the most changes as I will take any I can in the centre as well. I need better technical and more dynamic players. I think Bradley Dack could see a new opportunity to blossom in the side as he's quite good technically. Ben Gladwin while a favorite last season will struggle to see play this year. I think my defenders are quite capable and I have no complaint on David Raya. We will also see both Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Julio Pleguezuelo return to the club. Niles on a new loan deal and Julio on free transfer.

Bradley Dack

Craig Conway​

First off lets focus on the outs this time as there are more things to talk about this time. I had one big goal with this transfer window. And that was to shape the overall team type based on our tactic. Supply our tactical needs as it were. I sold Richie Smallwood after he was quite unhappy with play time last year. Derrick Williams and Paul Caddis followed for the same reasons. I gave Craig Conway a free transfer bit sad about it. Because I have played Rovers on former FMs when Jordan Rhodes was a beast with Craig Conway being my number 1 supplier. Anyway. I also made some space by selling Aleksander Solli who sadly just felt out of depth. I also allowed Ben Gladwin a loan and Bradley Dack to leave later on in January after buffing up my midfield with better players.

I started the window off wanting to take my time to offer trails, and do my best to get reasonable knowledge before deciding who to pick up. The first signee outside the returning ones was Jordan Williams a player who would act as the second string to Corry Evans. The fillers and 2nd stringers I wasn’t so meticulous in finding. As I also picked up Alan Hutton, Daniel Pudil, Chris Long and former Rovers favorite Jason Lowe to help supply depth.

Chris Long

Jason Lowe​

The more interesting transfers came late during summer. I had quite a few midfielders in mind, but I was really struggling to find proper backs. I was after former Chelsea loanee prospect Cristian Cuevas but couldn’t sign him because of work permit. I found my first intended starting man in Vegar Eggen Hedenstad. A man with stats in all the right places! Well his defensive skills are a bit of a let down but his dazzling crosses will make up for it. Comming in at £240K he was the only player we bought. On his opposite flank I ended up with Gaetan Bong a former Brighton player who had fallen out of first team football bit lackluster technicals but a pacy yet ageing left back. I also picked up Dominik Kaiser, Andrea Barberis and Maximilian Eggestein! Sadly the last only on a loan deal. As you can see in the full transfer view they were all transfer deadline deals! I cut it uncomfortable close but man was I happy with my new squad. Later on in January I also had nostalgic pickup in Jordan Rhodes on loan after injuries in my striker department. I also didn’t bother signing all the youth prospects hence Andrew Marsh is listed there a decent looking striker who could become a future filler. Martin Mravec came due to his agent offering him. After a trail I decided why not he might grow to a future loyal backup goalie. I also sold 2 other youth prospects to Crystal Palace from season 1. Dean Wright I suspect will never amount to anything so was happy with his sale. Joe Tompkins looked good for his age, but his potential according to my staff was possibly limited. Happy enough to make some extra money with these sales as surprise my finances are a mess.

Dominik Kaiser

Maximilian Eggestein

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However the man who would turn out to be the big star for me was Marc Cardona a man let go by Barcelona B. A highly determined striker who would form a new partnership with last year striker star Mushaga Bakenga.

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Full transfer overview​

Indeed I cut this transfer window close. I was trying to sign Lacina Traore as well but his work permit crashed. I even tried to sign Theo Walcott because why not. Anyways this is easily the most hectic transfer window I have ever had, and the irony was that I wanted to take my time and be calm. Overall I am very happy with this window I think the guys I finally got finalized on the last day are all going to prove pivotal members. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to get Gaetan Bong in but luckily he was given a work permit without to much hassle. Not happy that I lost Tom Tattan as he he looked quite talented, and I fear home grown for future Champions League could be a issue if I don't get reasonable Youths. When we catch up I will show you guys my youth team.

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As promised I have configured a system using actual Wingbacks to help my defense. However I ended up changing my 3 man central. I said that I wanted more dynamic and technical players Kaiser - Niles/Eggestein- Barberis is a promising midfield trio. Kaiser and Barberis will work up and down with Niles pulling the strings. Will Niles be able to take the step up? I hope so because I sold Bradley Dack, and while I still think Joe Rankin-Costello can be a solid player he is still lacking. Eggestein is also quite good, and might even push Niles out from starting 3. David Raya is a solid goalkeeper who is still developing and I’m going to trust Lenihan - Mulgrew - Wharton/Nyambe to be a solid 3 man defense with Julio ready to supply depth. This squad should be quite capable to comfortably take mid-table. If we hit good form we could maybe even play around with the idea of a playoff spot. But full honesty I am expecting my stay in Championship to be longer than 1 season.

 

[Hbg]

As a Gillingham fan in real life, I am keen to see how Bradley Dack got on during your first 3 seasons!

Well whoops. Hope you still stick around

 

[BallyC7]

Well whoops. Hope you still stick around

Haha no worries, I will do!

 

[Hbg]

Season 2
Chapter 2 - Sun is hot

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Well I have made bit of a blunder. I don’t have have much pictures of the league table so bare with me. However we started the season off with a 0-1 loss at home to Ipswich Town who trough this save so far became a bit of a personal rival as they not only beat me once but both times during the first Championship season. However things picked up from here after taking a confident booster 1 point draw away versus Wolves. We went on to win the next 4 matches. Not in convincing fashion but after 6 league matches we had only conceded 3 times meaning we had 4 cleah sheets. My defense was fixed! However our new found issue in scoring goals became apparent at we hit a big rut in September.

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As you can see we didn't produce goals in 3 of the matches, and the ones we did score in we still drew. They say a draw is better than a loss, but at the same time I would rather win 2 of these draws and lose 3 as I still would have netted 3 more points overall. A extra blow was the draw versus Nottingham Forest came after a late equalizer from Ben Brereton in the 93rd minute. Luckily for us our good start still kept us on the right end of the table. While we started winning again after 1-0 versus West Brom we couldn’t get a consecutive win, and I was starting to fear for my teams morale as we had just manage to come out of the September rut. At Vicarage Road we got blitzed 3-0. Not a big deal as Watford were season favorites, but I still didn’t like the timing. However things turned up and we won 3 matches in a row with a new striking duo of Chris Long and Marc Cardona performing excellent.

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I couldn’t be more proud of our half table standing! We had showed everyone wrong in thinking we would be relegation riddled. Sure 26 goals in 23 matches isn’t pretty but 20 conceded in 23 puts us with the second best defense record! A total change of style has happened with Blackburn Rovers who used to dazzle with goals in League 1, but now puts on hard working defensive showings. Oh I couldn’t help but dream that if we were lucky maybe we could push for that 2nd place. But I was getting ahead of myself. Just the fact we were in a playoff spot was impressive. We drew league compatriots Watford in the 3rd FA cup round. Sadly we made things only worse for ourselves as we had to do a replay of the match, and ended up getting a congested fixture list and with a heavy 3-1 loss to Reading our morale was shaky. We hit another dip in form but luckily we were able to stop it quicker this time. Chris Long and Marc Cardona kept scoring for us in the second half of the season, but perhaps teams were starting to figure us out more as we started to concede regularly.

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This table is after the second form dip. It cost us a promotion spot, but we were in no way out of the race. There's strong competition for the promotion slots, as Reading have taken a solid pocket to the top. You can still see David Raya sharing the clean sheets record. This is mainly due to our first half of the season.

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The end is near and we have popped back up into the playoff promotion area. With two matches left we are fully capable of claiming playoff with our own work. We face Bolton and Derby two teams we should be able to take points off. Marc Cardona definitely wants to play playoff as he scored 3 goals in 2 matches. I’m starting to get a soft spot for this Marc Cardona. With the win versus Derby we had secured playoff, but we still robbed Bolton with two late goals winning 2-1.

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We draw against my self proclaimed rivals Ipswich Town. Not going to lie I was not happy with that draw at all. After all we did lose both league fixtures versus them. It was going to be tough and demanding for sure. The first half was a snore fest a typical sleeper match. My new found love Marc Cardona gives us the lead but Ipswich Town defender Tommy Smith equalizes after sloppy marking on a corner. Things takes a turn for the worse when Julio directs a Ipswich cross into our own net. However Chris Long fixes his mistake by making it 2-2 the end result. In the second leg home at Ewood Park I’m feeling nervous. Having a record of 0-1-2 versus Ipswich Town. However Chris Long has taking a liking on scoring versus Ipswich Town. Julio sigh.. Scores. Wait? He scored at the right goal this time! It’s 2-0 Rovers after 60 minutes of play, and a playoff final at Wembley is secured. We face Norwich in the final. We got off to a horrible start as Norwich took the lead after just 5 minutes of play. But you know what is worse? Look at this.

[video=youtube;WoZQkMRUr7M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoZQkMRUr7M&feature=youtu.be[/video]
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In the end we flew too close to the sun. It wasn’t meant to be but still why does have to happen like this? Would we have been promoted if it wasn’t for Rayas massive mistake? We will never know I suppose. Chris Long played phenomenally with a 9.0 rating scoring 2 goals. But the real takeaway here is that we had a great season, and with another solid transfer window we would be fit to challenge for promotion next season without needing to do the playoffs.

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So, here we are. Yet another season has ended, and it was a surprisingly fruitful one. We enjoyed having a solid goalkeeper. Have held up our strong defensive start a little longer David Raya would have been in the running for a team of the year spot. I enjoyed having a fully available Darragh Lenihan he was undoubtedly our best defender, and even represented us in the Championship team of the year. Ryan Nyambe also enjoyed a solid season with veteran Charlie Mulgrew having a under par season. Our new wing-backs Vegar Eggen Hedenstad and Gaetan Bong both turned out to indeed be a solid signings. Same should be said about Dominik Kaiser and Maximilian Eggestein with the first arguably having the best season of all. Andrea Barberis struggled a bit, but we showed enough depth to make it work. Mushaga Bakenga who was the superstar in League 1 struggled in the Championship and eventually lost his starting position to Chris Long. But the star of the year was Marc Cardona who netted 20 goals! Im looking forward to see if the spaniard can lead us to promotion next season. Joe Rankin-Costello improved more and will start claiming more starting time. Julio Pleguezuelo and Scott Wharton provided good defensive cover. Jason Lowe had a underwhelming season struggling to claim play time.

 

[Hbg]

Season 3
Chapter 1 - Fresh from the docks​

Now I got really excited to play, and push for promotion to premier league in the 2019/20 season. So again visuals will be affected by this but I will do my best. Now last season I left the transfer window really late, and i'd rather avoid the stress this time around. So I did more work to attempt my best to locate my targets earlier. Who is out contract and capable to give us an upgrade will willing to sign? Honestly yet again I will not be looking much for central defenders but there were a couple good names out there like Dominic Iorfa, Tyias Browning and Cameron Carter-Vickers. I will also look to pick up 2 more wing-backs to give competition to Bong and Hedenstad. While I had a potential agreement to sign Eggestein permanent I did not take it. So I will need to find a new midfielder, and while Chris Long did well I wouldn’t mind a upgrade. I also need to find a new backup goalie.

David Raya

Mushaga Bakenga​

Let’s start with the outs. It started with just cleaning out players we didn’t need anymore or wasn’t up to Championship level like Dominic Samuel and Mushaga Bakenga. We cashed in on two other youngsters. Glenn Law had some potential but I think we will be alright. What is not alright is that Sunderland abused a terrible clause in David Raya’s contract before I could hammer down a new deal for the Spaniard. What made it worse is it happened very late in the transfer window! So the whole do deals earlier, so I don’t get stressed didn’t pan out.

Josip Posavec

Jose Mauri

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Now this window you can really see the fact I have played a lot in the Serie A. My replacement for David Raya is Josip Posavec a Croatian goalie playing for Palermo coming in at personal record, and first 1 million+ signing at £1.3M. We also picked up Daniele Padelli as the back up, and we picked another fromer Torino player in Joel Obi. Federico Mattiello was signed on free while Ricardo Campos was loaned from Juventus, and to round up our Serie-A raid we signed Jose Mauri. Dominic Iorfa and Tyias Browning were both in talks with us, but both choose different teams. But Cameron Carter-Vickers was happy to sign with us. I also picked up John McGinn a Scottish midfielder I had been keeping a long tail on. While he's a bit of a FM cliche I also picked up Donis Avdijaj.

Same formation but with these new players who have a higher technical threshold. I have added more variants looking to have higher and more positive ball possession. Posavec is the designated goalkeeper. My 3 man line has a new member in Vickers other than that Lenihan and Mulgrew will keep at it. Joel Obi will take the left wing-back and Mattiello the other side. McGinn takes a slightly under performing Barberis position, and Jose Mauri is the new playmaker in the side. Up top Marc Cardona will do pairings with Ricardo Campos and Donis Avdijaj with Chris Long being demoted to 4th string.

My goal is promotion and I think we are capable to do it without needing the playoffs. The starting eleven is really strong, and have a healthy mix of experience and youth. We also have depth on a level we missed quite a bit last season. The previous season a injury on a wide player was a nightmare but now we are more than ready to handle injuries. Future looks bright for this team now as whispers about Premier League are becoming more than a distant dream and memory.

 

[Hbg]

Season 3
Chapter 2 - MICHAEL NICOLAS SANTOS ROSADILLA!​

We started the season off with a 2-1 victory over Brentford with last season star Marc Cardona already getting his goal account for the year open. We then had a bitter 0-1 loss at home versus Cardiff before getting crushed by Premier League relegated, and promotion competition Sunderland. Fearing a tough start and early morale crash I was happy to see a expected 2-0 win over Bristol City before blitzing Aston Villa 5-1. Picking up a 3rd win away at Elland Road after a brace from Marc Cardona. We then got in a weird period. Were we could crush teams back to back then draw back to back. We also dropped out of Carabao Cup. As you guys can see below we hit a rough patch taking only 1 point in 3 matches. Not ideal for a team trying to claim the number 1 spot. We quickly dusted off and hit a great streak of form to close out the year. Players like Marc Cardona had showed excellent form scoring seemingly at will. With new men in the midfield Jose Mauri and John McGinn giving several impressive performances in the midfield.

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At half played season we found ourselves in 3rd. With West brom and Huddersfield getting a pocket setting themselves up for direct promotion. We would need to stay in peak form if we were to steal one of the guaranteed promotion spots. Very happy with our goal record at this point we are back at top 5 scoring team, and still a top 5 defensive team. Having the 4th best overall goal difference because of it. We also had a gap down to Fulham and Hull at this point making a playoff spot feel really safe. With my squad having bigger depth than ever I didn’t even see a reason to pick up anyone during the winter window.

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Going into the races in the second half of the season we took disgraceful losses against relegation headed Portsmouth and Sheffield United. But a uplifting moment was a 4-3 victory away over Ipswich Town with both Ricardo Campos and Marc Cardona getting braces. And even better in the following match home at Ewood Park we captured a strong 3-0 victory over Huddersfield to launch ourselves into 1st! Much thanks to loanee Ricardo Campos who hit impeccable form during April as the picture above shows. Now don’t ask me how but. Yes It happened again.

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This time we even headed into the final. I have no idea how we pulled of a 4-1 versus Tottenham. All I can say is Marc Cardona is a powerhouse of a striker. But It wouldn’t be right if my hopes and dreams of overachieving while getting european football wasn’t embarrassingly crushed. Marcus Rashford took 1 minute.. 1 minute to give United the lead. I guess I could feel good about the fact we scored versus United but man. Stop playing with me FM. Talking about crushing my dreams. Michael Nicolas Santos Rosadilla has another update on that.

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Now last time when I crashed and burned winning the title I blamed our miracle FA run. This time I couldn’t even do that. The issue here was Sheffield Wednesday a team that had nothing to play as they had secured themselves another season in the Championship. I mean at first I was furious then sad but looking back it I can’t help but laugh. A proper get FM’ed moment when you lose direct promotion in 90+6th minute of a match. We are off to playoffs for the second year in a row. Ah Michael Nicolas Santos Rosadilla you will forever haunt my dreams. Remember last time when we got our hopes and dreams taken by Norwich? Before we could get to the final we had to dispatch Aston Villa after a 1-1 draw at Villa Park. Marc Cardona scores his second in this semi final leg, and therefore propels us into the final versus Sunderland. Who had earlier this season handed us a 3-1 loss. Luckily Marc Cardona is a determined man who has a dream of playing Premier League. Marc Cardona puts a impressive performance on scoring not once but twice in the final to lead us into a 2-1 win. We are finally back in the glorious Premier League!

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Posavec is of course our best goalie this season. Padelli barley needed to cover playing 4 matches in total. Very happy with Posavec he was solid all year long. Personally I think he was snubbed out of team of the year. But Sam Johnstone from Huddersfield was the only one who could have been taken over him. Cameron Carter-Vickers enjoyed a successful first season in the 3 man line having the best average rating among all defenders and even playing more than his main allies Scott Wharton and Darragh Lenihan. Charlie Mulgrew is starting to feel his age, and I was surprised Wharton needed to cover for him so much he became the starter. A big shock was Ryan Nyambe having a horror of a season. I guess he might not be cut for the level of football we are aiming for. In wing-backs the two new arrivals took their playtime with full right. Mattiello was excellent supplying support out wide on the right, and Joel Obi even saw himself net 2 goals on his left. The number 1 midfield trio was as expected Kaiser - Mauri - McGinn. Andrea Barberis played better this season but I rate Mcginn and Kaiser higher than him. John McGinn was great, but Jose Mauri was the real start of the midfield and was justly so selected for team of the year. Talking about team of the year both our strikers was selected. While Donis Avdijaj played more than Ricardo Campos there was a big difference in what they delivered. The main reason Avdijaj really still got the playtime he did on the cost of Ricardo Campos is well I won Avdijaj. Ricardo Campos was massive netting 16 in the league assisting 13 letting him put 9 man of the match accolades on the shelf. However he didn’t outperform our high flying spaniard Marc Cardona who hit a new benchmark with 25 goals in the league and 10 assist weirdly only taking 3 player of the matches.

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Now that we are starting to fully catch up with were I am with the save. Let me take a chance right here to show you guys my coaching staff. I have managed to hire the very popular Kristjaan Speakman and I hope to enjoy his talents. I have found myself picking up the Neville brothers and UFC fighter Michael Johnson. Errh I mean former Birmingham pro Michael Johnson. Speaking of former Birmingham pro so is Demain Johnson. Now at first you might think I must value brothers in my staff I hate to break it they are not related.

Ah. Yes It only took me 3 season to reach Premier League, but the work has barely begun. Now I have no problem seeing us being capable of surviving the drop back. But at the same time I wonder how long it will take until we can challenge for European spots. I wonder If maybe I could luck out and actually finish a FA cup run with the trophy and find myself a early European spot. I hope we get to play some Europa League with Blackburn as its a competition I have rarely managed in. And when I have done it has never been claimed. The next transfer window is going to be the most important yet as we will need new talent. I imagine we will start going over to funded transfer as the norm too. If I could I want to re loan Ricardo Campos or maybe Moise Kean. I hope we can find some steals through the transfer list. I am also planning on selling Andrea Barberis and Chris Long so hopefully they gift me some extra spending power. As their values should inflate a little bit with the Premier League status.

 

[Hbg]

Season 4​

Chapter 1 - Regen review

​

Now most of the regens coming trough have not been high quality. I tried my best to filter them out as well to not sign the straight up dead weight. I also lost some when I was in the lower leagues. However I still have 4 quite reasonable regens who could make it. They are all still quite young, and have spent their time being tutored while playing for the U23 team. When they become a bit older, and more developed I will look to loan them out. I will also look for chances to hand them game time for Rovers next season.

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First off we have Kieran France. I mean just the name alone makes him deserve a future in the team. He has a strong mental package and I have had him tutored into a driven personality. I hope as he ages he becomes more physical. He shows early signs of becoming a potentially high level playmaker.

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Allen Gayler is a fairly professional who comes with reasonable physical package. I don’t know if he will make it based on his skills. But there are some good things going on, and I dream that re tutoring him with Lenihan will make Allen Gayler carry over the Model Professional trait.

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Ah yes. Fairly professional Andrew Marsh now this guy is quite impressive. A great Physical package with a nice striker focused technical package. With age and experience I could see him having future contributions to the first team. I should look to get a more experienced striker into the squad however to help tutor along the ones to young like Marsh and Hodge.

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Glenn Hodge is not as developed as Andrew but then again he is younger. Currently has a balanced personality, and therefore I hope to remedy this into at least fairly professional. It’s a shame that he has a wasted 13 free kick taking. Imagine if those were in dribbling instead. He also have some weird mentals. But if he stocks up and grows a little taller he could maybe be a good future DLF. Other than that I don’t have anyone else worth showing.

 

[TheBattman]

Haven't read yet, but had to comment as soon as I saw Tromso. My FM love-hate relationship! Will definitely be following

 

[Hbg]

What are your finances like now? Any sign of getting a take over? I'm considering starting this save myself.

Will do a more detailed look at the finances come season 5/end of current (4). But there are no signs of a takeover so far. I also kind of doubt one will happen as the club owes well over £100M in debt to the chairman. + They are rare to begin with.

Haven't read yet, but had to comment as soon as I saw Tromso. My FM love-hate relationship! Will definitely be following

Well Tromsø will not have much featuring here, but lets hope you find something else to make you stick around.

Thanks for the comments! Please comment and like along the way so I know my work is worth it.

 

[Hbg]

Season 4
Chapter 2 - Finding that Premier League worthy talent​

I might have stretch the truth about our possibilities to get a heftier budget. But it was worth it, and I do think I could fetch enough talent to actually truly be a mid table team. Even then I still sport the lowest wage budget coming in at £28.69M spent per year with the closest team being fellow promotion team Huddersfield at £41.79M the first non promotion team is Burnley at £53.82M. While this is a increase in our budget the media is relentless, and still have us at 1000-1 at 18th place. I have to admit I like being a underdog it suits us. This time around I had to look for upgrades in the defense. Joel Obi and Bong aren’t what you want starting as wing-backs so I was delighted when I spotted Ben Chilwell on the transfer list. I also as usual needed to fatten my midfield. I will try and loan Ricardo Campos again or Moise Kean. Key is just finding several improving depth instead of honing in on just a couple higher quality individuals. Lets talk about the ones who left before I take you trough who joined.

Andrea Barberis

Dominik Kaiser
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Sam Hart went on a free he never got started with us really same with Jordan Williams he went too Bolton for £160K. I already said in last season's finishing thoughts that I intended to sell Chris Long and Andrea Barberis and I did but Dominik Kaiser also joined that list. Happy with the fees in general.

Ben Chilwell

Terence Kongolo
​

I was able to pick up Ben Chillwell who becomes the highest transfer fee I have paid at £8.5M. I was also able to loan back Ricardo Campos as Moise Kean refused in order to stay in the Serie A loaned out to Udinese. I found more good players on the transfer list both Terence Kongolo and Mario Pasalic was listed by Herta and Chelsea respectively.

Vincent Marchetti

Danilo Cataldi
​

I also found Tanguy Ndombele who is a very dynamic player. While a midfielder I have started to train him as a ball playing defender as his skill set fits the role. I picked up Cameron Brannagan, Danilo Cataldi and Vincent Marchetti to further secure a solid midfield.

Alexander Nubel

Connor Mahoney
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With Daniele Padelli expressing unhappiness with being second fiddle I collected german Alexander Nubel on a free.I also picked up Yosgart Orozco but I will mark it down as a mistake. I also brought back Connor Mahoney I don’t really have a good reason for it.

Andrea Pinamonti

Erling Håland
​

The big deal I did this summer was signing Andrea Pinamonti on a loan with a future mandatory fee of £20M. Andrea Pinamonti is young and a talent of a caliber I have yet to manage in my Blackburn Rovers save. While he won't join us come season start Erling Håland was also signed from Molde. The young target-man from Norway is someone I always wanted to pickup since his popularity increase in real media (Linked with Juventus, and praised by former Norway great Ole Gunnar Solskjær as capable of reaching Premier League heights) have propelled him into a solid looking talent.

Full transfer overview
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The formation

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Nothing big happens here position wise. I have tinkered with my tactics in attempt to find the small improvements. I have also spent a bit more time on making the three differences in style and uses more defined. Since I didn't pickup any solid set-piece takers (We have been lacking this for a long time) I have yet to try and do a solid set-piece regime. I hope to change this in the future but for now its on default. Anyways in goal this year will be Posavec starting. I think Nubel might be more talented, but hes behind in development. Offering protection to Posavec in the 3 man line is Kongolo - Ndombele - Lenihan. Well It might take some time until Ndombele can deliver as he is still being retrained so Carter-Vickers might see play more play then intended. Mattiello and Chilwell will lead the flanks with Hedenstad as a solid man providing depth I also still have Joel Obi around. In the midfield we will primarily future McGinn - Mauri - Pasalic. With Marchetti, Rankin-Costello, Danilo Cataldi and Cameron Brannagan all ready to fight for play time. Up top is harder cause while i want to start Marc Cardona because I have grown fond of him. The truth is Andrea Pinamonti, Ricardo Campos and Donis Avdijaj are all higher quality players. The guarantee here is that Andrea Pinamonti will start, and when Håland comes in January they will probably be our future striker pairing. The good news is I think this squad is very solid, and has a good chance of landing us mid table finish.

 

[Hbg]

Season 4
Chapter 3 - Full squad evaluation​

Goalkeepers
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Josip Posavec is a solid goalkeeper but at times I wonder if Alexander Nubel could be worth the time investment. Either way we will have a rather young goalie guarding our goal. Now I can’t speak for the accuracy of this conversion but I figured it’s way to get a nicer visual, and well I find it fun. It's seems rather willing to handle out Pace if the player has barley above average stats, and at the same time limit it if not (Mulgrew). While I agree Mulgrew has become slower I don't think FM sees the 36 pace point difference the same way. It just comes off as more brutal in this FIFA card format.

Defenders
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I think the ratings are quite fair. Terence Kongolo is undisputed our best defender with Lenihan being number 2. Both are going to be crucial in our ability to take points across the season. Cameron Carter-Vickers is our 3rd highest rated defender, but if I can convert Ndombele to a defender Cameron will be 4th in line. Scott Wharton rating surprised me I don’t think he's that solid. Charlie Mulgrew is growing but he still have good qualities and is a great tutor. This conversion have only further confirmed my suspicion that Ryan Nyambe isn’t of the needed level.

Wingbacks
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That Joel Obi gets the highest rating surprises me. As I think Chilwell is undoubtedly our best wing-back. The ratings on the wing-backs are quite low in general I wonder that they might be a bit undervalued. I mean Hedenstad 66 is criminal but Mattiello being somewhat par to Chilwell is probably fair. This converter not just most likely, but is for sure not ideal. But still I think its a fun way to add a familiar visual. I do personally tho rate Chilwell and Mattiello the highest. With Hedenstad coming in 3rd and Joel Obi last.

Midfielders
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Jose Mauri is fairly given the highest card he was excellent last season. Then our two new french midfielders comes in at 75. I have high hopes for these two. I think the midfield in general are quite close to each other, and performances will help iron out who starts. Palasic, Brannagan, McGinn all land 73 with Cataldi at 72. Kinda surprised Palasic didn’t land higher same with Cataldi. Lastly we have Rankin-Costello ticking in at a solid 70. Personally I rate Ndombele as the best player with Pasalic behind him. But as I am looking to re school Ndombele to a defender. I will look to Pasalic - Mauri - Marchetti/McGinn/Cataldi to make my starting trio. Kind of surprised Cataldi wasn't higher rated not just in the conversion but on the game as well. I guess his development in my save took a hit. Cataldi have been a excellent player for me on former FMs so I have hope he will blossom again.

Attackers
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Not surprised that Pinamonti takes the highest rating, nor that Avidjaj scores high because he has excellent stats he just performs lesser. Ricardo Campos scores a solid 75. While my hero Marc Cardona doesn’t even make gold rating with 73. Remeber that Håland doesn't become usable before mid-season. Pinamonti - Campos will probably make the most common line as Avdijaj performances last year seemd to evade him. But I also imagine to work Håland into the team when he joins us.

 

[The GallantPioneer1872]

Enjoying so far good luck! Hopefully you can find another Shearer on your journey.

 

[Hbg]

Season 4​

Chapter 4 - Darkhorse​

I did not have high hopes, but looking at the fixture list didn’t help as we started off with Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal. We were lucky versus Manchester United who had simply forgotten how to finish proper ticking in with 34 shots and only scoring once. A good over the defense ball allowed Marc Cardona to secure our first Premier League points. We then got our first Premier League win after trashing Tottenham 3-1 at home despite Spurs taking the lead after 1 minute of play. Then order was restored as we took a 4-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium. Bournemouth was next and should be more in our reach but we were handed a narrow 3-2 loss. Ricardo Campos had started the season off well, and was the hero was we took 3 valuable points when visiting St- James’ Park. From here we started to stabilize a solid form curve much with the help of meeting teams struggling. When we had reached December we found ourselves in a surprisingly high league standing. Haven taken impressive results with draws versus Manchester United and Chelsea even a win away versus Liverpool.

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Now December is a month packed with football with several double match weeks. Thinking this would be our undoing as our squad depth would be tested I was delighted to see us hit a blitzing form that in the end would land me the Manager of the month reward. Much thanks to the young fighting spirit of Joe Rankin-Costello who had pushed Jose Mauri out of the starting eleven. Our striker pairing from the Serie A: Andrea Pinamonti and Ricardo Campos seemingly was scoring for fun. With Andrea Pinamonti netting 5 and Campos 4 during December. Now granted we did meet struggling teams like Huddersfield, Swansea, Watford, Burnley and even Southampton to some degree. Picking up the wins in all of these was not expected even more so winning back to back matches versus both Manchester teams! I was not the only one picking up accolades for this powerful showing of form as Ricardo Campos was handed European Golden Boy for his 22 goals and 19 assists during 42 appearances all for Blackburn Rovers during the year 2019, and Andrea Pinamonti was crowned the young player of december month. The board even asked me to change season expectations, and I was still pessimistic thinking there's no way we stay here selecting top half finish over Europa League qual. This also had little to no impact on our remaining budget.

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Tottenham had been in horounds form this season with the half season table having them down trying to claw their way out of the red zone. I was even offered a Interview to overtake them. I attended but used it to finally get the ridiculous philosophy of doing high profile signings replacing it with developing players by using our youth system. But we were handed a ugly loss by them to start the new year with Lenihan picking up a 3 match ban due to a direct red. While the winter transfer window had little action for us Manchester City picked up Mattia Caldara for what must be the most ridiculous transfer fee I have ever seen at £100M! The loss to Tottenham awakened a weaker period for Rovers despite revenging the earlier loss to Arsenal with a strong 2-0 win at Ewood Park. Luckily two of our weaker showings was in the FA cup, and now meant we only had the league left to focus on as we crashed out of Carabo Cup early on. Most of these draws were versus fair enough teams especially the two away games. But drawing at home versus a weak Leicester was not good, but the 3-3 draw versus Liverpool fleet good. A part of this weak form was due to suspension on Lenihan, and injuries to our wing-backs. Vegar Eggen Hedenstad had put Mattiello so out of range from the RWB spot that he had played more on the LWB position. But when both Hedenstad and Chilwell hit injuries (+Chilwell also served suspension for multiple yellows) + Joel Obi hitting hitting the showers early and Mattiello picking up a injury we had only the option of putting out of favor Nyambe on the right. This fused with tactical changes due to now playing with a Target-man in Håland weakend us. But at the same time we were still reaching for the stars.

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As you can see we still find ourselves at a surreal high placing. Now at the same time I would like to blame others for this. Manchester City and Arsenal who were now starting to catch up had have terrible season. Tottenham had been a disaster. Liverpool was underperforming to the degree they sacked their manager Sergio Conceicao. They also offered me a job interview which I used for improvements in our Youth Academy. Kingsley Coman had much to do with Arsenal catching up, and when City had players like Dybala, De Bruyne, Thiago, Sanchez and Griezmann there was only a question of matches before they would be up here. At the same time good defensive collective showings had marked Posavec as one of the better serving goalkeepers. You can also see Chilwells problem with yellow cards. While we were having a good season there also was a huge gap up to Manchester United and Chelsea who looked set to battle it out for the title alone.

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At this point we had guaranteed a possible Europa League spot through the league. We had also somehow stayed ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City who both had suffered losses during this 5 match period. We had fixed our form dip and looked poised to finish our wonderful Darkhorse season with mounting the challenge to keep one of the Champions League spots. This despite suffering a loss to Chelsea we did however win the other 5 with Håland now looking comfortable and Pinamonti still finding the net as usual. With 5 matches left and a 5 point lead on City the outlook to claim Champions League football looked good. Our 5 last matches even saw us face Manchester City in the last match of the season. Before that taking on Swansea, Southampton, Watford and Burnley teams we had all beaten during our first meeting this season.

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I think this is just coded in as we legit had no real chance to claim the title. But Chelsea had catched up to Manchester United, and looked like they could defend their title win last season. Manchester United did have a match in hand, but also had to face Chelsea themselves. We started our job at securing Champions League beautifully after a Andrea Pinamonti show at Ewood Park to see off Swansea 2-1. We then took home a impressive 3-0 away win over Southampton with our Norwegian players Hedenstad and Håland scoring all 3 goals. Watford is a side we have faced quite a bit as we have faced each other in the Championship before, and we have a history of drawing each other in the 3rd round of the FA cup both times going to replays. Our earlier Premier League win had for the first time put us in the driver set head to head. In what was the 4th showing between the teams this season. We had grind out a hard earned single point. Traveling to Turf Moor Erling Håland must have gotten really hungry as he scored his first ever hattrick for the club with Chilwell giving us the 4th in a 4-2 win. Now at this point we had secured Champions League allready as City kept failing securing victories, and even got handed another loss in a fierce 3-2 home loss to us. Despite Dybala putting on a show scoring the brace and Mattiello getting his second yellow in the 83rd we held out to win our last match of the season.

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Now this is one weird looking table. Chelsea completely dropped out of the title race leaving Manchester United standing alone victor with a 10 point lead. In Fact the same point lead United had on us. Luckily for Chelsea their better defense at least still gave them 2nd place. Manchester City took the last Champions League spot as Arsenal seemingly had lost all ability to win hitting a 1-0-4 record to finish of the season. Even weirder still is that behind them is Bournemouth and Brighton. Now it looked like Tottenham under their new management had put themselves in a solid position to avoid relegation but missed out with 1 point as both their competing teams found wins to see of the season. Blackburn Rovers takes 3rd and Tottenham relegates? What a absurd season this has been. And it's not like Tottenham had lost their stars they still had Kane, Alli, Eriksen and Lloris to mention a few. Huddersfield who won the Championship to follow us op into Premier League heads straight back down with the other fellow promotion team West Brom surviving the drop with a comfy 13th place finish. I wonder how much our standing in the league will increase after this season. While we did end up competing with the star studded teams one thing is for sure I will need big signings to replicate this. And even then how do we deal with the classic burden of having to take on European football next season?

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I am very happy with being handed the honour of Manager of the year in my first premier league season. I’m still not sure how we ended up 3rd and almost 2nd in the league. Looking at the team of the year Vegar Eggen Hedenstad makes the cut. Now I always imagined Mattiello to be my right wing-back but he struggled, and Hedenstad just took his chance and ran with it. I will say this Hedenstad while for sure the lesser abilities player does have very nice stat placement. He's a excellent crosser coming in with 9 assist in the Premier League I guess he's my Ben Gladwin this season only instead of surprising me by his performance levels in League 1. Hedenstad did it in the Premier League. He looks so out of place among the star studded team of the year filled with Manchester and Chelsea stars.

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Looking just on our team. While again Hedenstad was not intended player here he certainly deserved it here. Rankin-Costello also did a fantastic job this season pushing Jose Mauri out of the first team. Tanguy Ndombele also despite spending close to the whole season to even reach accomplished in the defender position was excellent. Not too surprising for me as his tats really are well suited for the role as a ball playing defender. Kongolo and Lenihan are his deputies by default. Kongolo had a solid debut season with the team. Chilwell takes the left spot but I felt like we should have gotten more out of him. He struggled picking up yellows frequently and I might have to take a closer look on him. Pasalic also had a good debut season, and John McGinn managed to stay on the side despite both Machetti and Cataldi showing promise. Up top Andreas Pinamonti was a guaranteed inclusion but his partner could have been either Ricardo Campos or Erling Håland. But I’m glad to see Håland getting the spot as he and Pinamonti will lead the line the next season. Outside a transfer to make sure I have depth in the striker position I don’t expect picking up anyone to challenge Pinamonti and Håland.

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Looking at the historic eleven now that we have completed our journey to the Premier League and finished the first season. The team is dominated by players mainly from our Championship years. Infact neither Pinamonti or Håland makes it yet. But I'm sure they will with time. Charlie Mulgrew is still there, but he will be leaving us come end of season due to retirement. I did manage to hand him a Premier League cap. While his career will be more celebrated for his Celtic years. I am grateful for his professionalism and performances during our early years. Wharton also holds down a starting spot still. I was surprised to see had played so much as he now merely operates as the 5th defender in the team. Fun to see that Ricardo Campos who despite only ever having been loaned to us leads the striker roles with Marc Cardona who was iconic during our Championship stay. Both Mushaga and Dominic Samuel are also here. I expect this eleven to change rather drastically come the next 4 years.

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I have never posted a screen of the squad dynamics. Come the end of our first season in the Premier League it looks as following. Darragh Lenihan leads the charge with John McGinn alongside him. I am surprised to see Ricardo Campos despite being only a loanee being looked on as a team leader. Erling Håland I expect in stock come next season end. In general during the season all 3: Match Cohesion, Dressing Rom Atmosphere and Managerial Support were excellent. I definitely think our good dynamic standing was a big factor in our success.

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Come end of the season when discussing a new contract with the board I was able to request improvement in the infrastructure. Both training facilities for the first team and youth team will be improved as well as youth recruitment. I also set up a affiliate link with Roda Kerkrade from the Netherlands to aid as loan out club. In the future I want to set up more affiliate links but mainly exposure and networking based as I really rarely use the loan out ones. But having a loan out club that can help aid youngsters work permit struggles could be very helpful in the long term health for Blackburn Rovers.

 

[Hbg]

Season 5
Chapter 1 - Taking a closer look on the finances​

When I started off this save the financial aspects were all bout bleak. The club had massive debt owed to the Venky group, and had higher monthly costs than income. While Ewood Park is a stadium capable of seating a solid 31,154 people barley ⅓ of that showed up in attendance during our first season. The match day expenses were barely covered by our match day income if you included gate income. It’s not uncommon for lower league teams in England to operate with losses, but with depth and high ambitions we needed to nurture our finances. This is why I put high value in sporting success looking for cup runs to gain additional revenue streams. Transfer budget wise I had little to none during the first years even during Championship time. Free transfers were the common route but things have changed since gaining Premier League status. The gained Broadcast revenues and increased competition prize money gained are massive and we even got improved sponsors deals.

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This shows what I am talking about perfectly. We still have a far away too go when it comes to sponsors but with reputation gain and exposure to Europe these deals will increase. If you look at the inbox it says Blackburn hit with tax bill. This is my first season I have ever been viable to pay these taxes. This picture also shows how popular Erling Håland is! Despite only joining in January he still was the most merchandised player.

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No surprise here that we turned profit for the first time ever since I took management. It’s simply down to the power of Premier League money. A healthy £165 turnover gives hopes of a strong budget come next season. While I went over to mainly singing with paid transfer last season I still didn’t have much spending power. I am excited to see to see my budget next season but £20M of that is already spent on Andrea Pinamonti who we had a agreed mandatory future fee on.

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This is the massive pool of debt we have left to pay. While we only have little left on the debt we are currently paying. The debt looming over us owed to the current board is substantial. While a takeover would be cool I have trouble seeing someone willing to not only give a generous fee for the club, but on top of that paying this debt.

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Not the transfer budget showing in this picture is from the initial package. I do hope I will be given a little more come actual budget deciding time. My wage budget for a Premier League club is super low, and I expect this to start changing heavily over the next years. As the staff but more impactful the player will start to demand higher paid contracts. I have dream of one day successfully asking for a new stadium to be built, but for now Ewood Park will do. I could maybe ask for a expansion of Ewood Park, but its expensive and I think in the long run asking for a fully new stadium in 2-3 years time ends up costing us less in the longer run.

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My hope is to be able to secure European playthrough the League again this season. While I agree we overachieved by a big margin last year, and also was helped but other teams struggles I don’t want to give up on the European exposure to easy. I have no hopes for the Champions League as we simply have 0 club coefficients points and therefore can easily find us in a group with several giants. The carabao cup I don’t care about, and I rather not lie about doing so. While I have had excellent performances in the FA Cup I will look to sacrifice it to place better in the league as the extra football from Champions League and if we are lucky enough to place third Europa League will be more than enough for our squad to handle.

 

[Hbg]

Season 5​

Chapter 2 - Seeking star power​

We don’t only have Champions League play this season but a straight up guaranteed group stage slot. With a team with little to none European continental competition play in fact I think its only Jose Mauri, Tanguy Ndombele and Terence Kongolo. We simply need to capture ourselves more star power. I think the defense wouldn’t hurt to get more focus this time around as I wouldn’t oppose to new faces in both wing-back area and 3-man line area. Chilwell was underpar last season, and despite Hedenstad having a blitzing season I don’t expect it to last. Lenihan while a great Model Professional is starting lack the level to be a starter. Ndombele handled the re-schooling really well but between him and Lenihan I for sure see fit to bring in one star. I heard after Tottenham shock relegation that quite a few high class defenders are looking for new clubs.

I don’t think a new man in the midfield would be amiss either. It’s a area I think adding new blood regularly is too great benefit as fresh competition only means a higher standard. Again maybe Tottenham could lend us some help here. I mean Dele Alli a Championship manager couldn’t possibly be to expensive? Oh wait he is. We have already committed spending £20M to complete the full signing of Andrea Pinamonti. I have also been able to reacquire Ricardo Campos on loan from Juventus. I was able to locate a very cheap wing-back option as I looked set to spend my big bucks on central defenders this year. Borja San Emeterio comes in a modest fee he is however a solid player. He has a very good defensive and a young engine who should allow him to utilize his high work rate up and down that right side.

Borja San Emeterio

Andrea Pinamonti​

Now lets not forget to talk about the players who left us. Joel Obi, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Marc Cardona has all left after having their playtime after the Premier League promotion seriously cut down. I will miss Marc Cardona I intended to let him stay as backup. He will be remembered for his excellent efforts during our Championship tenure. The last two who left us was Donis Avdijaj since he wanted increased playtime I was a bit shocked I couldn’t get more for him as is a quite well stated player. Anyway the player taking the highest claiming the highest sell fee is Danilo Cataldi at £7.5M heading out back to Italy in the shape of Genoa. Cataldi is a player I have a lot of history with but he simply wasn’t capable of claiming enough playing time to warrant rejecting the bid.

Danilo Cataldi

Cameron Carter-Vickers​

Now I already talked about Tottenham, and their potential star fleeing window. We pick up former Blackburn Rovers player Phil Jones! I am very happy to have a highly capable Englishman back into the team. While not my initial intention I also ended up signing Davinson Sanchez from Spurs as well. I had my eyes on now Milan player Sergio Mario who I had been after since before he arrived from Boca Juniors. But he was more expensive and not within my remaining budget range so that's why I ended with Davinson.

Phil Jones

Davinson Sanchez​

But the big star signing this window wasn’t one of the already established stars from Spurs, but a player from the Mexican league. Youngster Alfonso Martinez already was a starter for Club America and for the Mexican national team showing off at the Confederations cup before that impressing at the Olympic Games. Below is his screenshot and my god is this kid talented. I just hope I didn’t ball out on a early bloomer and he does indeed keep improving.

Alfonso Sanchez
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Complete transfer overview
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Formation and selection
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This is how we will line up most of the time. I don’t think it’s impossible for Tanguy Ndombele to head back into the starting eleven. And with what Hedenstad showed last year maybe he could push out San Emeterio too. I am very happy with my starting defense as they are a new level, and the depth players have delivered for me before. My starting wing-backs are still in their earlier stages of their careers, and I take comfort in this. Because in hind-sight maybe I should have used more of my spending power more in this area. My midfield however I am very happy with they showed great ability last year as they were well fit for their purpose. And now that we host possibly the greatest central midfield talent of his generation we have a feeling of a extra gear. Pinamonti and Håland showed their ability to form a highly dangerous striker partnership with their half-season together. I do also think the diversification between them is another strength. The depth is quite good if not at least filled with former loyal and performing players. I also have my two better youth stars Kieran France and Andrew Marsh hanging around with the first team ready to drop U23 football if a opportunity arise. While Alfonso Martinez is undoubtedly the biggest talent in the team maybe his drive and already early success can rub off on them. Anyway if you want to take a closer look on the tactics you can do so here: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197962521318/myworkshopfiles/

 

[Hbg]

Season 5
Chapter 3 - Full squad evaluation​

One of the reason why the ratings was low last year was because I gave everyone 10 in consistency and this affect all stats. Since consistency is a hidden stats I used this as my way to lower my players as they player with lesser reputation. I will increase this attribute based on team success as well as player own performances as I see fit. This is also to try and aid these visuals to be a bit more accurate to the players actual standing within the squad itself and compared to the players in the league. There is also just natural improvement.

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Posavec is still my best goalkeeper and I made sure to give a improved card. He was great last season, and while I originally thought maybe it could be worth the time to invest in Nubel. I am happy with my decision to future show my trust in Posavec.

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If I made Ndombele as a midfielder he would have been given him a higher rating, but I think this is fair enough for a re schooled card. Phil Jones scores really high as he has great attribute distribution while Sanchez is lacking some of the defensive prowess. They are however equally the first two to claim 80+ rated cards. Lenihan and Kongolo still are handed quite even cards. I do hold Lenihan in high regards, and he will always have a home here much because hes Model Profersonial. I do think however Kongolo also could have took a 80 rating. Wharton went out on a loan and Nyambe is still around but he is lacking the level to claim any proper stake at game time.

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New man Borja scores high. It seems this conversion values high defending on back style players. Borja is fairly the strongest defender of my backs but he also probably is the weakest going forward. But he is still quite young and has a good engine. I made sure to give Hedenstad a much improved card after all he was a BPL TOTY player. While he had a great season I still think ability wise he is the weakest of the wing-backs. Hence why I am okay with Mattiello still placing 1 rating higher. I did however convert him to a LWB as that become his more common featuring spot. While he had a underpar season I still think Chilwell is destined for a better year. Don't get me wrong Chillwell had quite good performances, but had a big discipline issue picking up 14 yellows in just the Premier League. I alo think Ben Chillwell have yet to reach his full potential.

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I think these ones more accurately presents their position within the squad. But I have to say I find Pasalic to have a higher standing within the team than his card portrays. I suspect in this conversion that passing has a high impact on their midfielder ratings. Now Martinez is a regen so the picture is just someone else from the futhead catalog which is were i collect most of my player images from. He's not the first to feature someone else than themselves (Campos and Ndombele also does this) as they are not in the game. Happy with the raised ratings but maybe I should have been more willing to boost their consistency rating? I think Palasic has a case to be alongside Sanchez and Marchetti in rating. Marchetti tho is a very good player he just never was able to find his way into the starting last year, due to a high performing Costello and McGinn. I hope this new season allows Marchetti to better showcase is abilities.

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Pinamonti and Håland will be leading the charge for us, and it's more than fair they do. I think there will be quite some time until I will change this pairing. Pinamonti has the pace and technical abilities to be the moving striker, and Håland being the more physical presence. Ricardo Campos is a solid man to have on the bench, and our self created youngster Marsh is the 4th man who fittingly is more similar to Håland as Campos is to Pinamonti.