The Saviour - Kick starting a Career?

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I sit uncomfortably on a flimsy plastic seat, wringing my hands nervously as I look out at the sea of journalists in front of me. I had done previous bits and pieces for TV and Newspapers in my previous role as a Southampton academy coach, but nothing like this. As each of the journalists came up to set their microphone or dictation machines on the desk in front of me, I found myself wondering if they were already dreaming up the headlines before I had said a word. I tried to relax as best I could as the room quietened for the press conference to begin.

"Hi Tom, Martin Samuel here, Daily Mail. You have today of course been announce as the new manager of Sunderland, how are you feeling? and are you at all worried about taking over what seems to be a poisoned chalice?"

I gave myself a second to think, knowing that every word I say has the potential to be scrutinised and twisted. "I am really happy to be here. This is a massive club with a massive history. The last few seasons have not been brilliant, but we are all going to do everything in power to turn that around."

"Bryan Swanson, Sky Sports. What Made you want to take this job and do you think your lack of experience could be a problem?"

"As I said its a massive club. The opportunity for me to come here and start my managerial career in the Premier League was incredible. I had a series of really positive meetings with the chairman and he bought in to my plans for the club. I dont think experience is going to be the be all and end all to our success. I am here because I have confidence in my own abilities and I believe I can take this club forward."

"Henry Winter, Daily Telegraph, Do you believe you have the players at your disposal to make a go of it?"

"There is a good group of lads here, I wont say that a couple of new additions wouldnt help and we will be actively looking for the right players to bring in, but the core is certainly in place to build around."

"And will you be backed in the transfer market by a chairman who is reportedly looking to sell?"

"We have some funds available for the right players. The politics surrounding the football club is not something that I want to be involved in at all. I am here for the football and to get this team back to winning ways. I want to deal with the players, and the fans and see if we can build a connection there again."

(Hi everybody and welcome to my first FM17 story! (Loving the game by the way!) This save is just going to be for a bit of fun, starting off by trying to re-establish Sunderland before seeing just how far I can go in management, I hope you all enjoy! If anybody has any suggestions or anything they would like to see then feel free to drop it in a reply or a comment or message me!)
 
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Sunderland A.F.C.

Founded - 1879

Stadium - Stadium of Light (49,000 capacity)

Major Honours - 6 x First Division Champions, 2 x FA Cup winners.

Rivals - Newcastle, Middlesbrough.

So just what have i signed up for? Sunderland are the 6th most successful club in English top flight history (Granted their last first division win was before WW2). Famous for an extremely vocal and passionate support, Sunderland's most recent promotion to the Premier League was in 2007 and since then they have established themselves, but it has not been easy going in the last couple of years. It has been solely down to a series of great escapes pulled off by the likes of Gus Poyet, **** Advocaat and Sam Allardyce that Sunderland have stayed in the Premier League and have looked a completely broken side in recent years.
​

An owner that isn't particularly interested, no fresh investment, a stale squad that is short on depth and a poisonous atmosphere around the club are just a few of the problems that I am going to have to deal with running the club.

So first things first, How does my squad look on paper?

First Team Squad

Goalkeepers

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The whole squad is absolutely riddled with injuries and the goalkeeping department is no different. Vito Mannone is a good stopper but will miss the first 4-5 months of the season with a damaged elbow. Jordan Pickford is therefore the first choice moving forwards. A local lad straight from the academy, he has a big future! Mika will provide backup and cover.

Defence

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Lamine Kone was the bright spark of last season while new signings Djilobodji and McNair are capable centre backs. Van Aanholt and Manquillo are likely to be first choice full backs while youngsters Love and Denayer provide depth.

Midfield


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By far the weakest area of the squad is central midfield. Khazri could be a massive player for us this year, as could Januzaj (on loan from United) while Duncan Watmore is progressing nicely.

Attack

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As I am sure you are all aware, Jermaine Defoe is the main man here. He will need to score goals to keep us in the Premier League as to be honest, I'm not sure Anichebe is up to it.

The Physios Room

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That is a lot of long term injuries to a lot of first team players. Larsson and Borini are particularly painful. Just look at the moneys worth of player tied up not being able to play or be sold. This only makes the job even harder.
The Transfer Kitty

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Not much room to manuevre in terms of transfers either. We are going to have to spend very wisely indeed to make the most of it.
 
Good luck mate, whatever you do I'm sure you'll do better than how Moyes has been doing with them in real life... :D i'll definitely be interested in reading this :)
 
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So the first logical thing to do seems to be to come up with a plan! To create an identity and a tactical system that can get the best out of the team and one that they can be comfortable playing in. Having looked at the squad I want to try and implement a 4-3-3 system, some people like to call it a 4-1-2-3 wide. Here is an insight in to my reasoning behind it.

Attacking full backs.​

In Van Aaanholt and Manquillo we have two very aggressive full backs, full of pace, energy and crossing ability. The idea is to give them plenty of license to get forward and create overloads on either side of the pitch. It would be a waste not to utilise them, and asking two attack minded full backs to sit and defend is just not going to end well.

A solid defence.​

With the full backs pushing forward, it is going to be essential to have a defensive midfielder to drop back into the defence when they are missing. Jan Kirchoff, the towering German is going to be that man, sitting in front of a central defensive partnership of Kone and Djilobodji. These three offer strength, pace and power and can hopefully provide the stability to allow the full backs to push on.

A mobile front three​

With the full backs bombing on down the flanks, the two wide men in the attacking third are going to act as inside forwards, cutting inside to create space for Manquillo and Van Aanholt. Khazri and Januzaj should be capable of doing this, linking up with the striker and giving the opposition a dilemma as to who to mark, the wingers or the full backs.

So at first glance that sounds excellent, we have identified some strengths and can play to them. But its not that rosy on closer inspection.


Central Midfield​
A massive problem area for the squad. With Kirchoff playing in the defensive midfield role and Cattermole and Larsson both injured and out for long periods of time, that leaves us with Rodwell, Ndong and Gooch to fill the two central midfield positions. Rodwell i get the feeling is going to be more suited to the holding role that Kirchoff will be playing and Gooch is only comfortable playing central attacking mid, which leaves us with Ndong. He seemed like a really odd signing when he first arrived from FC Lorient for a record £13.6 million fee. He reminds of Oumar Niasse and Brown Ideye, players who were bought on reputation alone without even watching them play. Having thought about this a bit more however, this seems unfair to draw such a conclusion so early on. Ndong will get a chance to play, but he is going to have massive pressure on his shoulders with that club record transfer fee.


Striking options​
Well Jermaine Defoe is basically it. As good as he is, I cant see him playing every single minute of every single game this season. Anichebe is poor and Fabio Borini is injured so I am going to have to look at bringing a striker in to the club, one who is capable of passing the ball and linking up play as well as running in behind.


So what do I need? With just £12 million transfer budget and £36.5k a week spare on the wage budget, I am somehow going to need to find room for three more players minimum.

The first of these needs to be a midfield creator. Somebody confident on the ball with an eye for a pass. I was watching De Bruyne for City the other day and picked up instantly on the problem Barcelona were having with him. If the defence closed him down, he would ping balls over the top with his wonderful passing range. If they stood off him, he had the dribbling ability and vision to run at them and create panic. This is exactly the sort of player we need in midfield, although I have consoled myself that I wont be able to get anybody quite like De Bruyne.

The second player I want is a gutsy midfielder. An unsung hero who gets the dirty work done and keeps play ticking over. Steven Davis at Southampton is a great example of this role. He keeps the passing short and controls the tempo, all the while not being afraid to get back and put a defensive shift in. He never does anything special or eye catching but is so important to the cause. Ndong and Rodwell are both options for this role but I would like somebody else for depth and cover if they cant make it.

Finally I need a striker for some much needed support for Defoe. Tactically I want my striker to come short, collect the ball, lay it off and then instantly spin in behind, dragging defenders around and creating space for the inside forwards, full backs and midfield creator to take advantage of. I know that Defoe is going to be fantastic at this role, but everybody needs a helping hand once in a while right?
 
Linecoigne1998 said:
Good luck mate, whatever you do I'm sure you'll do better than how Moyes has been doing with them in real life... :D i'll definitely be interested in reading this :)
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Thanks man! Looking at this squad doesnt fill me with much hope to be honest!
 
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"God **** it!" I yell as I slam the phone down. I felt a bit sorry for Martyn, our Director of Football on the other end of the phone, who had had to deliver the bad news. The deal we had put in place for my number one transfer target, Alex Mowatt, had fallen through. The kid had decided that he would rather stay with Leeds on a lesser wage than join us and play regular first team football in the Premier League. Screw him, he has no idea the opportunity he has just turned down. I was going to make him the focal point of the whole team and build the side around him. I will just have to find somebody better.

In unrelated but better news, John O'Shea has agreed to leave the club and has signed for Real Betis on a free transfer. We have enough depth in the squad to cope at centre back without him, and his £47k a week wages needed to be freed up. Once again though, this deal did not go smoothly. There was initially interest from New York City but he ended up rejecting his contract offer. Betis were the only other team interested but would only take him if we continued to pay £11k a week on his contract which is something I was slightly reluctant to do. In the end I decided to let him go, even continuing to pay some of his wage we are saving ourselves £36k a week which gives us a little more room in the transfer market!
 
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Two in for Sunderland​

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Craig Bryson arrives at Sunderland's training ground, the Academy of Light.

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Sunderland have today announced the signing of Craig Bryson and Diego Poyet who both join the club on three year contracts. Midfielder Bryson, 29, arrives from Championship side Derby County for a fee believed to be in the region of £6 million.

"we are delighted to welcome Craig to the club" Said new Sunderland manager Tom Lloyd. "He is a player I have followed for a while, he is capable of bringing real craft to the midfield and can score a goal or two as well"

Bryson has been capped three times by his native Scotland and said the chance to ply his trade in the Premier League was just too good to turn down.

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Poyet joined West Ham from Charlton in 2014 for a fee of £2 million.
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Meanwhile, Diego Poyet, son of former Sunderland manager Gus, has joined on a free contract after the expiry of his previous deal with West Ham. Poyet, 21, made just three appearances for the Hammers but says he is looking forward to a fresh start.

"Sunderland is a great club, any footballer worth his salt wants to play in the Premier League. Its time for me to knuckle down and I think Sunderland is a great opportunity for me to develop as a footballer. Hopefully I can give back to the club as well and help them in this new era under the new manager."
 
Nice layout so far, but as a Newcastle fan I hope your mission with Sunderland fails, but you get a nice new job with another team
 
An unsung hero who gets the dirty work done and keeps play ticking over.
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Lee Cattermole :wub: When he is back from injury.

That's all I have to say... Oh and good luck sir ;)
 
I'll be following this story. I hope you go into depth for the tactics and managing them. Its the side of the game i am useless at.
 
Tobey Mason said:
Great start mate. Not going to be easy for you.
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Thanks!

neavie pops23 said:
Nice layout so far, but as a Newcastle fan I hope your mission with Sunderland fails, but you get a nice new job with another team
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Thanks buddy! All I need to do is keep them up.. 17th would be a massive season to be honest. Hopefully further opportunities will come soon enough :)

olabj said:
Lee Cattermole :wub: When he is back from injury.

That's all I have to say... Oh and good luck sir ;)
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Mr Yellow Card himself. He is going to have to play a part when he is fit!

Matticus88 said:
I'll be following this story. I hope you go into depth for the tactics and managing them. Its the side of the game i am useless at.
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Thanks for the support man! I will go as in depth as is practically possible.. It has taken me since FM 2010 to even vaguely understand the tactics on this game, and even now I am caught out by the opposition more often than not! The best way to improve is to be clear how you want your team to play, watch the games and make small tweaks from then :) keep it simple!
 
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So I find myself back here again. The injury situation has now been upgraded to a full blown crisis.

"How long?" I asked David, our head physio.

"A month maybe.. he has broken his shoulder, these things dont heal overnight"

I rubbed my face with my hands "That is not what I wanted to hear.. I understand though. Just get him better, make sure he has everything he needs."

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When I first looked at the squad on paper, I was concerned. There didnt seem to be any depth at all and the injury list was just terrifying to behold. However when I started looking at potential starting elevens to play in pre-season, I realised that the actual first team squad isnt bad. Injuries are a problem that is completely out of my control, all we can do is wait for the players to rejoin the first team, which means the only issue is depth. With an extremely limited transfer budget by Premier League standards, I formulated a plan to go out and buy players that can play in an emergency and hold their own, but are not necessarily expected to push for a regular first team place. This is completely at odds with most other clubs transfer policies, who generally buy for the first team with the already established first teamers becoming back up, thus improving your squad slowly, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Craig Bryson and Diego Poyet were the first in through the door, and now I am delighted to welcome two new additions to the squad.

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Graeme Shinnie joins the club from Aberdeen for a fee of £775k. The 25 year old Scottish left back will serve as backup to Van Aanholt, as amazingly we didnt actually have another left back at the club!

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Looking at his stats he is surprisingly solid! His physicals are decent, he can defend, he has a decent cross on him, teamwork and work rate are good and his determination is off the scale. An added bonus is the leadership he can potentially bring to the team. I am confident he can do well for us if we need to call on him. Also his value is already double what we paid for him and his low wages mean we can sell him on for a profit if it doesnt work out!

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My second signing is American attacker Julian Green from Bayern Munich for a fee of £1.7 million. The 21 year old is still extremely raw and has probably suffered from a real lack of first team football having not made a single appearance for Bayern, but my scouts reliably inform me he has the potential to be a world beater and I will put some trust in him.

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He looked to me like he has the makings of a wonderful player. His finishing is good and will only improve while he has the first touch and dribbling stats to make him a nuisance to mark. He can flexibly play as an inside forward or as back up to Defoe up front and I am sure he will be a great long term investment for the club, made evident by the fact his value has already soared to £4.6 million.

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Finally I have promoted this lad from the academy up and in to the first team. While I dont think he is quite ready, his potential is just too good to ignore and he has been taken under the wing of Jermain Defoe himself who is going to be mentoring him.
 
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Kirchhoff pens new Sunderland deal​

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Sunderland defensive midfielder Jan Kirchhoff has today committed his immediate future to the club by signing a new three year contract, keeping him at Sunderland until 2019. The 25 year old German's contract was due to expire at the end of the season but Sunderland have acted quickly to tie him up to a new contract following firm interest from Swansea, Southampton and Schalke.

"We have received and rejected several approaches for Jan" Said new Sunderland manager Tom Lloyd. "I spoke to the lad personally and explained our situation and he has been fantastic, he has bought in to the vision and has committed himself to the cause."

It has however been reported that Kirchhoff's new contract contains a minimum fee release clause of £15.5 million which could yet be problematic for Sunderland.

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In further news, Sunderland midfielder Lynden Gooch has left the club to join Bolton Wanderers on loan in League One. The American was reportedly not part of Lloyd's plans at the Stadium of Light and has gone out to gain some vital experience in the lower leagues.
 
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Pre Season​

This was always going to be a massive pre-season for the club. It is going to be absolutely vital that we are picking up points as and when we can at the beginning of the season so the lads needed to buy into the mentality and playing style that I am trying to bring to the club. To try and help achieve this the Chairman paid for us all to go on a pre season tour of South Africa for some warm weather training, warm up matches, team bonding and maybe even a bit of a safari!

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Overall I was extremely pleased with the start we made and the progress of the group in South Africa. Three clean sheets in a row show that we are capable of producing decent defensive displays, even if they are few and far between. Wahbi Khazri was heavily among the goals as was Jermaine Defoe, while Ndong picked up his first goal in club colours as well.

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After our training camp, I took the opportunity to send some of the kids and fringe players away on two away friendlies to Belgium and Portugal to try and raise their fitness levels to an acceptable level. We lost both games, only scoring the one goal, putting serious question marks over the heads of the likes of Steven Pienaar, Donald Love, Jason Denayer and Victor Anichebe. No need to panic just yet as the goal was to improve fitness, not win, but its something to keep an eye on.

Finally we hosted Monchengladbach in what was very much the glamour tie of our pre-season and was arranged as a treat for the home fans at the Stadium of Light. As this was our final game of preparation, I went for a strong side that looked something like my planned starting line-up for our first game of the season. A fantastic win is what followed that gives us real momentum and hope going in to the competitive start of the season. Gladbach are a really decent side with players like Kramer, Hazard, Sommer and Wendt and it shows the progress we have made that we can beat them, even if it was only a friendly.
 
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Sunderland Vs Hull
13th August, 2016.​

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Team News​

So it is finally here, our first game of the season and my first competitive game in management, and its a big one! Both ourselves and Hull are widely tipped to be relegated so taking three points off of eachother at this early stage could be crucial. Didier Ndong was passed a late fitness test and is fit enough to play 60 minutes so is straight back in the team. Bryson, Januzaj, Djiloboji and Manqulli all make their debuts.

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A MASSIVE win to get us up and running in the Premier League and it was thoroughly deserved. We absolutely battered them but it took a little longer than planned to get the breakthrough. Duncan Watmore turned out to be the hero off the bench as he drilled in a long range effort to give us the lead before Papy Djilobodji doubled it with a thumping header from a corner. Maloney scored a screamer for Hull to just make it tight at the end but we held out for three huge points and the perfect start. More positives included an assist on debut for Craig Bryson and a debut off the bench for Julian Green.

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We dominated the game through the sheer number of shots we managed. ​
 
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"Now that is what I'm talking about lads!!" I shout when the commotion finally settles down. "If we play like that in every game this season we are going to be doing a lot more than simply fighting off relegation! that is exactly the drive, the desire and the passion that I want! and the fans are going to respond to it! From now on.. I want an all out charm offensive, I want you thanking and applauding the fans after every match, I want you signing extra autographs, I want you thanking them on social media after matches, I want you donating shirts and boots to charity. The fans are vital to everything we have here at this club and with them on side, we can really start to build something special here!"
 
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A decent draw in the 2nd round of the newly branded EFL Cup see's us host Milwall at the Stadium of Light next week. If the fixture list allows it, I want to play a strong side for this one. The more games we can win early on, the better morale will get and hopefully we can create a winning mentality. At the moment we very much head into games hoping to get something out of it rather than expecting. We are going to need to try and turn that round.
 
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Chelsea Vs Sunderland
20th August, 2016.​

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Team News​

An unchanged starting line up from our first game takes on Antonio Conte's new look Chelsea, playing a 3-4-3 formation. In a slightly unexpected move, Pedro plays up front in what we can assume is a false 9 position, meaning our defensive line is going to have to be properly on guard to cope with their movement. Duncan Watmore picked up a knock in training and damaged his foot, meaning he has to sit this game out with Victor Anichebe taking his place on the bench.

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A really tight game and another promising performance as we narrowly lose out to Chelsea. We were in the game for the full 90 minutes and created a couple of half chances, so I am not overly disappointed with this. A little more luck and some slightly better finishing and we would have shown we were capable of going away to the big teams and challenging for results.
 
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