The Manchester United Homegrown Challenge

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toddzy

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Manchester United


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To begin this story I would like to highlight that the inspiration has arisen from two things;

1. coolmcool's Barcelona style story/game which is where I first seen this attempted. It's hands down my favourite piece on the forum right now and I check daily for updates - albeit I am a silent follower.

I'd be surprised if you're not aware of the story but for those who aren't, you can find a link HERE.

2. I'm a United fan and I'm really excited about this years squad. Furthermore, they are renowned for their youth development which boasts the famous class of '92.


To highlight the basic outlay of how coolmccool's idea works please see below;

  • I cannot sign any players. I am required to bring through the youth players from Under 21 & Under 18.
  • Try and get these players into their respective national sides.
  • Most importantly - somehow remain extremely competitive in what could be the most difficult league to attempt this challenge. With Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City all likely to spend big I will require to get the tactics and players playing extremely well.
​
I will be using LFCMarshall's most up to date editor file which has allowed me to have the new additions which include Darmian, Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin and Depay. However, it leaves me with only Rooney, Wilson and Hernandez for strikers.

I hope that you will enjoy the save as I'm sure I will. I will post an update of August-October once completed.

Furthermore, if you''re interested, my twitter page is @toddzy1 if you want to give me a follow.

GGMU...
 
I would like to wish you luck but, as I am not the biggest United fan, I hope you fail miserably :p

Never the less, I will be following!
 
Even though I hate Man.Utd (Liverpoolian here), I really enjoy home grown saves and stories. Good luck! I'll be following! :)
 
Lippo255 said:
I would like to wish you luck but, as I am not the biggest United fan, I hope you fail miserably :p

Never the less, I will be following!
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Ha! Appreciate that nonetheless.

BillHoudini said:
Even though I hate Man.Utd (Liverpoolian here), I really enjoy home grown saves and stories. Good luck! I'll be following! :)
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Thank you - hopefully I won't disappoint you.
 
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Manchester United Squad Analysis 2014-2015​




With the first couple of games of the season fast approaching I thought I may take some time to highlight what I think will be the most important players of my first season in charge. I will need to remain hopeful that these players will remain happy at Manchester United throughout my game as they will form the main part of my team for at least 3 seasons.


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David De Gea;​

Unlike the Manchester United of real life I straight away signed De Gea to a new contract which will expire in 2019. He’s earned a wage increase of 30K but that is something I feel he will more than merit over the forthcoming seasons.

Viewed by many as one of the best GKs in Europe, if not the world, I’m relieved that we have him in between the sticks.



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Bastian Schweinsteiger;​

A great addition by Manchester United and his experience will be vital over the next 3 – 4 years. I will fully intend on using him to tutor the young players such as Ben Pearson, Nick Powell and Andres Perriera.

Probably the best CM we have the club now by some distance.
Every save I have played so far with Manchester United Juan Mata has been one of my best players. I tend to utilise him as an inside forward on the left or right wing but with the addition of Depay I may find it hard to keep a fluid rotation going. Furthermore, I feel he could also be used in the false nine role should Rooney become unavailable.

Regardless of where I choose to play him along the front line, I know he will be important.



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Angel Di Maria;​

Despite breaking his leg in pre-season (gutted to say the least) Angel Di Maria is a global superstar who like the other I know will be vital. I will utilise him on the wings and in CM when needed.

I will also use him to train Adnan Januzaj.



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Wayne Rooney;​

I cannot wait to break the all time scoring record with him in this game. I’ve yet to achieve it as I tend to sell him to sign Falcao. But, for this save I know my captain will be called upon on a regular basis.

He will lead the line.

- - -​
 
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Manchester United August - October 2014 Update


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Really excited to finally get this underway. With LFCMarshall's update I forgot that Manchester United would also be in the Champions League which seen us draw Juventus, Ajax and B Monchengladbach.

We'll start with the fixtures below;

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A couple of real terrible and horrid results. The romping from Arsenal was a particular sore point (one the fans were also not to happy with. The Capital One Cup exit was frustrating too due to the good opening period we had during the first 15 minutes. Possibly the worst of all was the defeat from Juventus. Don't be mislead from the 3-2 scoreline - two Depay goals in the last moments of the game made this look more credible.

The away win at Stamford Bridge was a great end to this three month period.

Moving on, you'll find below the Barclays Premier League table and the UCL Group F table;

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I cannot complain too much with how it is looking so far. My worry is that we are conceding far too many goals at the moment - eighteen already in the League. But, six wins from nine allows us to build.

With the board expecting the team to reach the semi final of the UCL we really need to hold onto this top two space. I would settle for second to Juventus at the moment.


Currently injury list is a real painful one as you will see below;


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Three key players missing for a long period of time. Currently, Rooney only has one goal in all competitions. Before his injury he wasn't playing fantastically well. Mata has netted a few but Januzaj has stepped right up in his place. My favourite little Spaniard may be on the bench once that hip is healed.


My player of the month can be found below. Was a top of between this man and Adnan (Januzaj also won Young Player of the Month);


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Memphis Depay has been brilliant. He bagged a hat-trick which went on to see him win the Player of the Month for September. With Rooney's absence I am hoping he can continue.



Small update for transfers as this is partially an update for August;


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We say goodbye to Rafael. With Darmian coming in and also Valencia (who can play in all the positions on the right side) I felt it would be OK to shift the Brazilian on. A couple of my prospects also move out on loan. These included Perriera, Powell, Keane, McNair, Blackett and Wilson.

I looked to shift Jonny Evans too but I received no offers.

I've set my game up so that should a bid come in for a player I have set for transfer or loan then Ed Woodward will deal with (hence the small fee for Rafael I think).
 
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Shall be interesting to see how you get on with making no transfers, good start but shame about those injuries!
 
Will be following as a Man Utd fan and also looking forward to seeing how you do under these rules in the toughest league to try it in. Best of luck and I look forward to reading.
 
coolmcool said:
Shall be interesting to see how you get on with making no transfers, good start but shame about those injuries!
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Injuries were bad but I'm excited to see how the team play when I have a fully fit squad.

bnpwp1979 said:
Will be following as a Man Utd fan and also looking forward to seeing how you do under these rules in the toughest league to try it in. Best of luck and I look forward to reading.
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Thank you very much.
 
Nice, this should be good.

I used Mata as a shadow striker in the AMC slot, world player of the year and scores and assists for fun!

Will be following :)
 
Average Joe said:
Nice, this should be good.

I used Mata as a shadow striker in the AMC slot, world player of the year and scores and assists for fun!

Will be following :)
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Thank you for the advice mate.

I think once Mata and Di Maria recover I will look to change the formation to move the DM I play for an AMC as a SS.

Hope you enjoy the thread once it kicks off properly...
 
I'm 10 seasons in with United myself and Mata was a megastar in that role for many of the earlier years. 20+ in goals and assists easily each year.

I never bothered with a DM, just used a ball winning CM
 
Transfer Update

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Transfer Out Update - November 2014
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Quick update in regards to a transfer out from the club. Javier Hernandez leaves for Napoli on the 2/1/15 in a move that will see £14million come into the club.

Javier hasn't been performing well so far this season - in fact he has scored no goals in 15 games this season which didn't particularly convince me I wanted to keep him at the club.

With Will Keane coming back from loan on the 31/1/15 I fully intend to utilise him as my back up to Wayne Rooney until the end of the season whereby he will then need to compete with James Wilson (currently at Watford).


 
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Manchester United November - December 2014 Update

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November has proven to be a terrible month and with it looks to have caused me a chance to be higher up the table it would appear. With zero wins, the squad were understandably frustrated whilst Gary Neville came out and slated us.

Not good.

But, with a change in formation (thanks to Average Joe for recommendation) and the return of Juan Mata to the side we turned around our fortunes in December.

Please find fixtures below;

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Our best performance probably coming against Tottenham. 4-0 by HT, sadly conceded two in the second half but Depay and Januzaj played extremely well (AS Roma now interested in the latter).

Results leave tables below;


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At the half way point it's great to see Everton still battling Chelsea so well. Whether they can keep this up is another question. Remaining above Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool remains positive. The board only expect us to finish in Champions League position.

With the 3-2 win at the Amsterdam Arena we progress to the knockout stages of the competition and get drawn against Spanish minnows below;


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Finally on matches, we draw Middlesborough in FA Cup 3rd round;


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Also moving on we have some positives news from the 3-0 win against Norwich City at Old Trafford. 17 year old Canadian Josh Doughty started due to injury to Memphis Depay and Wayne Rooney. With little to no trust in Javier Hernandez I handed the debut to the youngster.

He produced a goal as seen below;


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I doubt he'll ever materialise into a first teamer, I remain hopeful though. Here's how he looks right now;


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As mentioned above, Depay also picked up and injury which will keep him out for 3-4 months.

Nightmare.

Without a doubt my best player right now and right up until his injury had netted in every game in December. The current injury can be found below;


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And with all that, we conclude again with POM. This update has proven a bit easier as there was a clear winner for the accolade.

It is Memphis Depay. He's now netted 18 goals 25 games which has really helped the team. His stats can be found below;

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Manchester United Special January 2015 Update

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I am delighted to announce that my star player of the season Memphis Depay has seen his efforts rewarded by earning the accolade of European Golden Boy.

Thrilled for him to have won it and follows in the footsteps of former United midfielders Anderson & Pogba to collect the prize.

 
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