The Future is Bright in Red and White - An SAFC story

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The Future is Bright in Red and White - An SAFC story

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So, after getting a little bit bored of my Clyde save I have decided to start a new story with my own team, Sunderland. I wasn't originally planning on making this a story so I did add 4 players into the squad in the editor (The 4 players who we have been most strongly linked with in the January transfer window; Liam Bridcutt, Ignacio Scocco, Mariano Andujar and Santiago Vergini) and I am using LFC Marshall's latest update. I never normally enjoy playing as Sunderland, but I'm really enjoying this save so far so I've decided to write it up as a story and set myself many short term and long term goals to try and achieve, which should give the save some longevity. Anyway, onto the more important stuff...

Club Information:

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So, with a stadium which holds 49,000 and impressive facilities to boast we haven't really got anything to complain about here. The media predict us to finish 14th but the target from the board is to simply avoid relegation. However, if we can get off to a good start my own personal target will be to finish in the top 10 of the Premier League. The philosophies agreed with the board are to sign young players for the first team and to give youth a chance, which shouldn't be a problem as I generally enjoy bringing through younger players rather than signing established stars.

Targets for the Save:

1) Qualify for European football. (Achieved in 2014/2015 - Qualfied for Europa League)
2) Win the League Cup. (Achieved in 2018/2019)
3) Win the FA Cup. (Achieved in 2018/2019)
4) Win the Premier League. (Achieved in 2019)
5) Win the Europa League (Achieved in 2016/2017)
6) Win the Champions League. (Achieved 2020/2021)
7) Win the Club World Championship. (Achieved in 2021/2022)
8) Win a domestic treble. (Achieved in 2018/2019)
9) Win the Quadruple. (Achieved 2020/2021)
10) Have a Sunderland player win the World Golden Ball.
11) Expand the Stadium of Light to maximum capacity. (Achieved in 2022, 64,550 all seater)
12) Build a New Stadium.
13) Become the most reputable club in the world.
14) Become the worlds richest club. (Achieved July 2021)


Although that's a long list and some of the targets are VERY long term I'm hoping they will help keep me interested in the save long term. I'm happy to take any suggestions for targets to add as well if I like them...



Next update will be an introduction to the squad and a look at our summer transfer dealings...



 
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Save History:

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2013-2014 - 12th in Premier League , COC - 3rd Round, FA Cup - Semi Final
2014-2015 - 6th in Premier League, COC - 3rd Round, FA Cup - 3rd Round
2015-2016 - 7th in Premier League, COC - Quarter Final, FA Cup - 5th Round, Europa League - Quarter Final
2016-2017 - 11th in Premier League, COC - Runners Up, FA Cup - 5th Round, Europa League - Winners
2017-2018 - 3rd in Premier League, COC - 3rd Round, FA Cup - 4th Round, Europa League - Winners, European Super Cup - Runners Up
2018-2019 - European Super Cup - Winners, Premier League - Winners, COC - Winners, FA Cup - Winners, Champions League - Quarter Final.
2019-2020 - Premier League - Winners, FA Cup - Semi Final, Capital One Cup - 4th Round, Champions League - 1st Knockout Round, Community Shield - Winners
2020-2021 - Premier League - Winners, FA Cup - Winners, Capital One Cup - Winners, Community Shield - Winners, Champions League - Winners.
2021-2022 - Community Shield - Winners, European Super Cup - Winners, CWC - Winners, COC - Winners, FA Cup - Winners, Premier League - Winners, Champions League - Winners.

Trophy Count:

4x Premier League (2019, 2020,2021, 2022)
3x FA Cup (2019,2021,2022)
3x Capital One Cup (2019,2021, 2022)
2x Europa League (2017, 2018)
3x European Super Cup (2018, 2021, 2022)
2x Champions League (2021, 2022)
4x Community Shield (2019, 2020, 2021,2022)
1x Club World Championship (2022)

 
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Looking forward to this mate, like all your stories :) good luck
 
Cheers mate, need to catch up on your Saints save you have going! Had exams for the past couple of weeks so haven't been on FM all that much. Any recommendations for good cheap young players?
 


Transfers:

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2 players in, one of which is the loan of a backup winger in Eric Bautheac and the other was the ?6,000,000 signing of promising French right back Sebastien Corchia. The right back area was a very weak one for the squad so when I was able to bring through the sales of Ji Dong-Won to Leverkusen and Larsson to Marseille, I knew I had to invest the money in a right back. Another outgoing is young striker Connor Wickham on loan to Nottingham Forest, I'm hoping a season in the Championship will help his development as he does have the potential to make a very useful Premier League striker.

Squad:

Goalkeepers:

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3 keepers is more than I'd usually keep in my first team squad so Mannone finds himself transfer listed and I'll be going with Argentinian Andujar as my first choice keeper to start the season. Not much between all 3 to be honest but he just edges it.

Right Backs:

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Corchia is the clear first choice here and Celtuska is just a backup man on loan who we'll not be pursuing at the end of the season. Plenty of game time this season for Corchia so we should see some nice development from him!

Left Backs:

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The left back position has been somewhat of a problem for Sunderland over the last few seasons. We seemed to have it sorted with Danny Rose last year but the problem was it was only a loan. Anyway, Alonso is clear first choice over Dossena but is only on loan and the position definitely needs looking at long term. These two should do for this season though.

Center Backs:

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Probably the position in the squad with the most depth in quality, the center back position is a strong one for us. The experience of O'Shea and Brown is invaluable, whilst I'm excited to see how Argentinian Vergini adapts to the Premier League after impressing in South America.

Defensive Midfielders:

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Both Bridcutt and Cattermole are solid defensive midfielders, if unspectacular. Obviously we all know about Cattermole's disciplinary issues and this is something we'll have to monitor.

Center Midfielders:

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We may look a little short in CM, but we also have Giaccherini who can play in there and the two defensive midfielders so we can hopefully survive any injury crisis. Ki is absolute quality in real life (Our player of the season so far) and is also pretty decent in game, so I may try to sign him permanently at the end of his loan spell.

Wingers:

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With an England international in Adam Johnson and an Italian international in Giaccherini we are pretty well served for wingers however the quality in depth isn't really there. Youngster Mavrias has very good potential but isn't ready for the PL yet and probably will need to go on loan for first team football. However, we also have Scocco who can play on the wings but I'm going to include him as a striker.

Strikers:

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In the real world our strikers are struggling at the moment, however on FM they are pretty good and with only 1 place up front there is strong competition for places. Scocco looks quality but I haven't quite decided whether I prefer him as an inside forward on the right or an advanced forward up front (He performs well in both!)



Next update will just quickly cover our tactics before I start the proper updates with a review of August...
 
2013/2014

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Main Tactic - 4-1-2-2-1:

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I'm not much of a tactician but I'm trying to implement a similar system to the one used by Gus Poyet. Defensively disciplined but attempting to control possession with a traditional winger on one side and an inside forward on the other side who is looking to add goals. The one thing I haven't really set on is the best role for the striker. We were successful when Scocco started up there as an advance forward but when Steven Fletcher plays I normally like to use him a target man (More like how the striker plays in Poyet's system)

2nd Tactic:

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Pretty much the exact same tactic as the first one with all of the same disciplines in terms of how I want the team to play, however this tactic sacrifices the defensive midfielder for an attacking one. This tactic will generally only be used when chasing a game or when playing at home against a team of worse ability. This will hopefully be used more as the seasons progress and we get a better quality of player.



Next update will be an August review, with our opening league game away at St James' Park for a Tyne-Wear derby!


 
Looks good mate - as a Sunderland fan I'll follow with interest! Will be nice to see how you can do in comparison to Poyet:)
 

Sunderland AFC
August 2013

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Newcastle United 2 - 0 Sunderland AFC

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It's always disapponting to lose a Tyne and Wear derby but it's only fair to say Newcastle were the better team and deserved the 3 points. We did give debuts to 7 players in this game, so it would be harsh to judge them to much making their debut in a game such as this. We've got revenge on our mind for the reverse tie at the Stadium of Light though!

Sunderland AFC 2 -
0 Cardiff City

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A great way to follow up our opening day loss with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Cardiff at the Stadium of Light. Captain John O'Shea lead from the front and gave us the lead before a 25 yarder from Ki sealed all 3 points.

Middlesbrough 1 - 2 Sunderland AFC (Capital One Cup 2nd Round)

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A second derby in 3 games saw us travel to Middlesbrough in the 2nd round of the Capital One Cup. It seemed like a shock may have been on the cards when Kei Kamara gave the Boro a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute, but the lead did not last long for Karanka's boys as 2 goals in the space of 8 minutes from Scocco and Johnson sent us through to the 3rd Round.

Norwich 0
- 2 Sunderland AFC

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After 3 goalless games from Steven Fletcher, I decided to give Scocco a go up front and he rewared me with a MOM performance and 2 goals to see off the Canaries away from home.



Next update will be a September review. I won't be doing each individual game like this when I catch myself up but I will do updates like the ones in my Paris FC save last year, with an overview of the games, player stats and league table etc.
 
Looks good mate - as a Sunderland fan I'll follow with interest! Will be nice to see how you can do in comparison to Poyet:)

Cheers mate, should have a few more updates tonight to catch myself up. Nearly finished November now.
 

Sunderland AFC
September 2013

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Sunderland AFC 3 -
0 Swansea City

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Another solid performance from the lads and in particular Ignacio Scocco, who bagged a 2nd brace in consecutive game. It was also nice to see Fletcher get off the mark for the season in this game!

Sunderland AFC 2 -
1 Tottenham

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We fell behind early on thanks to a goal from Paulinho, but an equalizer came early in the 2nd half through an unlikely source in Spanish left back Marcos Alonso and then in form striker Scocco grabbed a winner just 10 minutes later to make it 5 wins on the bounce.

Sunderland AFC 1 -
2 Chelsea (Capital One Cup 3rd Round)

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Carrying our momentum from the last few fixtures, we did manage to take an early lead in this game but Chelsea's extra quality showed throughout the 90 minutes and they fought back to win 2-1 and knock us out of the Capital One Cup.

Hull City 2 - 2 Sunderland AFC

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Our winning streak in the league comes to an end but we manage to stay unbeaten in the league since the Newcastle game, with former captain Lee Cattermole's first ever goal for the club snatching a 2-2 draw away at Hull.



So, despite exiting the cup it's still been a very good month for the club, picking up 7 points from a possible 9.

 

Sunderland AFC
October 2013

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Fulham FC 2 - 1 Sunderland AFC

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I've got to admit, I was pretty disappointed with this result. After taking the lead inside 3 minutes, I was hoping we could take control of the game but it never really materialized, and we were made to pay as Fulham won the game 2-1.

Sunderland AFC 2 -1 Liverpool FC

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And that's how you bounce back. Goals from Scocco and Fletcher were enough to secure a victory over the red side of Merseyside, despite Steven Gerrards late goal giving us a scare.

Manchester City 5 - 1 Sunderland AFC


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Well, Manchester City away from home is always going to be hard so I can't be too disappointed. Hopefully, this is not the start of our downfall...



Next update update will be a November update, where I'll be moving to my normal update style as I feel it takes too long to write all the games out individually.

 
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Good start. Some impressive results in there. Can we see how the league table looks?
 
Sunderland AFC
November 2013

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Fixtures:

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Our form has taken a dip for the worse this month as 4 points from 4 games is a disappointing return when you consider we had home games against Palace, Villa and Stoke. We have been without Scocco all month due to injury and I feel this has had a negative effect on our performances. We did however secure a nice 3-0 win over Crystal Palace with goals from Borini, Fletcher and Giaccherini.

Player Stats:

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You can see why I said we were missing Scocco as he had 8 goals in 11 games. Other standout performers of the season so far are the two center backs and Giaccherini.

Player of the Month - Santiago Vergini

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The Argentinian center back put in a couple of top performances to help us keep clean sheets against Palace and Stoke.

League Table:

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So, we're sitting pretty comfortably in 8th place on 20 points and are 9 points clear of the relegation zone. The middle of the table is extremely tight though and a couple of bad results could see you slide down the table.



Next update will be a December update, where we'll play 6 league games and come up against the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton...

 

Sunderland AFC
December 2013

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Fixtures:

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A total mixed bag this month. It started very well with a hard fought 1-0 victory away to West Ham and we followed it up with a tremendous victory over Arsenal at the Stadium of Light. However, it then went downhill and we suffered two heavy away defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea, aswell as a home defeat to Everton. Luckily, we ended the month well after these 3 defeats with a 2-1 victory over West Brom.

Player Stats:

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Scocco has failed to pick up where he left off but hopefully it's just a case of getting him match fit. Vergini continues to impress though, but Fletcher needs to improve his performances in the 2nd half of the season.

Player of the Month - Emmanuele Giaccherini

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2 goals and an assist against Arsenal wins him the award, because no player was really consistent throughout the month.

League Table:

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Sitting in 9th, just 1 point above Newcastle with a Tyne and Wear derby to play next. The league is so tight we're only 5 points off 3rd!

Transfer News:

On the incoming, we have agreed a ?275,000 deal to bring in another young Argentinian striker called Ezequiel Rescaldani. At only 21 he has plenty of time to improve and he will make a cheaper 3rd choice striker option than Altidore who I may try to move on in January. Also, Modibo Diakite will be leaving the club for ?3,500,000 to Lille when the window opens.

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Next update will be a January update, if we want to bring anyone in we'll likely have to sell first.
 
Good job so far mate, 9th is amazing to be on your first season! Good luck, but from how this is going so far, you won't need it! Anyway I'll follow with interest, loved all your stories on this site, I doubt this'll be any different.
 

Sunderland AFC

January 2014

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Transfers:

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The main outgoing in the January was the sale of Jozy Altidore for just ?2,500,00. The big American was surplus to requirements after the purchase of Rescaldani, so we decided to let him move on and remove his wages. Joining Rescaldani on the incomings is Argentinian winger Diego Perroti from Sevilla on loan untill the end of the season, who'll offer good cover across the attacking midfield positions. He's the 5th Argentinian in the squad now!

Fixtures:

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A great month for us on the pitch, winning 3 of the 6 matches played and drawing the other 3. This means we are through tp the 5th round of the FA Cup where we will play League 1 Tranmere and should secure our way into the quarter final. The major talking point of the month though, was our 2-0 victory over Newcastle in the Tyne and Wear derby on New Year's Day, where goals from Steven Fletcher and Fabio Borini were enough to secure victory despite us going down to 10 men after 46 minutes...

Player of the Month - Ezequiel Rescaldani

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A great start to his career in the Red and White of Sunderland, bagging himself 3 goals in 5 appearences. This included a man of the match debut against Southampton in the Cup, where his brace secured victory for us. His performances are putting Steven Fletcher to shame!

Player Stats:

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Scocco came back into form in January and this is probably the main reason behind our solid form. I'm pretty happy with the way the squad is playing in general, as we don't have any real standout players but nearly all the players in attacking positions are taking their turn to step up in games and help us win points.

League Table:


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Down to 10th despite our decent form, but the league is incredibly tight and there is plenty to fight for!


Next update will be a February review, can we continue our good form with games against Tottenham and Liverpool to play?..

 
Sunderland AFC
February 2014

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Fixtures:

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Not too bad of a month, only 4 points from the 4 league games played but that includes expected defeats at Anfield and White Hart Lane. Meanwhile, we marched past Tranmere with relative ease into the FA Cup 6th round where we will play Ipswich for a chance to reach Wembley for a cup semi final...

Player of the Month - Adam Johnson

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3 assists in 4 games for the English winger, rising to the threat to his place in the team from Perroti!

Player Stats:

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League Table:


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9th in the league and we still have an outside chance of reaching Europe through the league, however our best chance is probably to reach the FA Cup final though. The main target (A top half finish) will probably run close, with Arsenal in the chasing pack behind us and the league already being extremely tight.


Next update will be a March review, including our first youth intake!

 

Sunderland AFC
March 2014

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Youth Intake:

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Not the best of youth intakes, but certainly not the worst either. The star player from the intake is American attacking midfielder Shea Puskarich who has 4 star potential and my coaches believe he can become a star Premier League attacking midfielder. His base stats aren't anything special but he is only 15 and will have plenty of time to improve, here he is...

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Fixtures:

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A busy moth for the club was ultimately a disappointing one as we only managed 1 league win from 5 games and suffered an embarrasing 5-0 defeat away to Crystal Palace. We went down to 9 men in the game, which meant we couldn't keep a hold of the ball and it was pretty much just attack after attack from Palace. Also the 1-1 draw at home to basement boys West Ham was not acceptable. The good news however, is that we managed to beat Ipswich in the FA Cup Quarter Final, and in doing so set up a massive FA Cup semi final against Newcastle at Wembley! It will be the first time the clubs have met in the competition since 1956.

Player of the Month - Ignaccio Scocco

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4 goals this month from the Argentinian kept us competitive this month, which meant he was rewarded with a new contract which quadrupled his 9k a week wages!

Player Stats:

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A lot of players have racked up a lot of games this season, and I'm hoping this doesn't lead to them tiring out towards the end of the season and performances dropping.

League Table:


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Still all to play for this season, with every position we finish higher meaniing we earn more money to help our poor finances. Speaking of which, they are looking particularly bad despite the fact I have massively reduced the wages since I came in. I suppose it'll sort itself out with prize money though, so it's not too much to worry about...

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The next update will be an April review, including the massive FA Cup semi final against Newcastle!
 
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