Wolves - 5 Year European Goal

[Twitch1404]

Good Evening all,

I'm new to the whole fm-base posts so excuse me if I'm babbling on or rushing through things, I'm sure I'll pick it up as I go along.

I've been playing FM now for as long as I can remember but I've never began a season with Wolves - as a United fan I've always began with them but this year I decided I'd do things a little differently. I began looking through the teams in the Championship and stumbled across Wolves. They are predicted to finish 13th, which is around mid table, but finishing anywhere below 7th (which they reached last year) would be a disappointment.

I began with speaking to the chairman and the assistant manager before moving on to the scouting assignments. As I only have 3 scouts available and 2 are already being used up, I have asked the final scout to search in Central Europe as I'm unable to search South America due to scouting knowledge, which would have been my first choice.

Other than having one of the star strikers out for 13-15 months the team is looking strong, luckily enough I have Adam Le Fondre on loan who I believe should be a decent enough cover and with the right additions I'm sure I can challenge for a top 6 spot.

So far I've played 3 preseason games, I drew 2-2 with my under 21's, lost 4-0 to FC Nurnberg and beat United reserves 3-0.

I'm coming close to the end of July and I'm noticing I've had to play a lot of youth/reserve players as I seem to have quite a few players picking up injuries and although they may say 1 week to 10 days it's usually longer as their match fitnesses drops.

One thing I've noticed is it's hard to attract players (even though I'm sure we could match the wages they'd request) they're just not interested in joining Wolves because they don't see it as a club that is ambitious.

Does anyone have any recommendations as to who I might be able to get at Wolves(in any position)?

 

[Twitch1404]

So my first three signings took a bit longer than I expected due to players not really seeing wolves as being ambitious enough for them to join.

The first being Guarente, I managed to get him on a free after he was released by Empoli, before that he had a few spells at 2/3 differently clubs but never stayed longer than a season or 2. With the formation I have in mind I can see him fitting in nicely in the centre of the field being the anchor.

View attachment 216286
I then spent around £250k on a player that had been at Lokomotiv Moscow for 2 seasons and although he's 31 I believe he can add experience to my defence and be called upon when needed to play in the central midfield role. I'm sure he will last only a season or 2 at max which should give me enough time to progress to a more respectable league/position where I can attract bigger names
View attachment 216270
My third signing so far has come as a youngster who I will be looking to push into first team when needed, I plan to have him mentored by one of the elders in the group and then throw him in when needed or in cup games to gain experience. I splashed out around £800k to get him which (if he is to perform) isn't too expensive.
View attachment 216269

 

[Twitch1404]

I finally made my managerial debut with an away game at Blackburn. I chose to go with the formation 4-3-1-2 playing narrow football hoping to over run the midfield and the game started well with me scoring within the first 20 minutes of the game. I was controlling the game well playing some decent football and fast approaching the end of the first half before my first summer signing (Guarente) gets injured (which I have now found out that it's a lot more serious than I first expected). This being said I brought on Coady and we went into half time winning 1-0. Second half began and I could see something wasn't right, there seemed to be a void that was previously filled by Guarente and 15 minutes into the second half Blackburn pulled one back. I could see a few players losing concentration and began looking tired so I made my second and final change of the game hoping to strengthen things up for the last half an hour. The game slowed down after Blackburn equalised and it seemed lilke they took their foot off the pedal hopeing not to concede a second.
View attachment 216230
View attachment 216229


I forgot to screenshot my team before the game so I took one from after the game.

 

[Twitch1404]

It's been 3 days since the Blackburn game and I'm now facing Bristol Rovers at home, who after one game are currently sitting at the top of the League 2, in the Carling Cup.

Their favoured formation is 5-3-2 with 2 wingbacks, so I'm not making any changes to my set up so far except that I have swapped out the injured Guarente with the young lad Coady. I'm going to see how this formation pans out in the first half and then switch it up as I go throughout the second half depending on how the game is going.

View attachment 216138
As you can see below, not much happened in the first half, we bossed the middle of the park and the ball hardly spent any time in our own half. I just need to encourage them to try get the shots on target, to keep pushing for that goal and it will come.

View attachment 216137
Second half begins, we're playing well and keeping up the pressure. 18 minutes in and Chris Lines makes a clumsy tackle on Coady and a penalty is given. Up steps Le Fondre and it's 1-0 Wolves. As the game goes on, I can feel the momentum building up, the players know that they can score another and they do. A screamer from outside the box by the substitute Sheyi Ojo on loan from Liverpool to give Wolves a 2-0 lead on the 80th minute.

Bristol began to play with no fear and spent the remainder of the game in the Wolves half but failed to score as the game ends 2-0.
View attachment 216136

 

[Twitch1404]

The transfer window is now shut and I was forced into making a few loan deals I didn't really need/want but due to lack of squad numbers I had no choice. I was hit with a 6 month injury to Afobe and a 9 week injury for Iorfa both in the game after the Bristol Rovers cup game.

View attachment 216126
We've just reached the end of July and I'm still yet to record a win, which is making me think there's something wrong with my tactics. After reviewing them I can see that I'd set out to play attacking football but my team instructions are showing otherwise. It was set to take a breather, slow tempo and work the ball into the box. This would explain why I would be in the opposition box yet my players fail to shoot causing a lack of shots per game which decreases the chance me actually scoring.

Now that I've made further changes, I'm going to let things ride out and see where I stand in a months time hoping to have gained a few wins a long the way.

 

[Twitch1404]

My first win of the season was a 2-0 win against Bolton with both goals around 15 minutes each side of half time. Goals from Le Fondre and Vecchio sealed the win. It was a pretty even match with them controlling most of the possession.

View attachment 974065
Second game of September saw me travel to Fulham away. Fulham are doing well finding themselves 2nd in the league 13 out of 18 points. This is going to be a tough fixture but I think I'm prepared for how it's going to end. We seemed to be in control of the game until the 30th minute where Baath decides it's the right time to get sent off. I continued to dominate the game but 9 minutes since the red card and Montano gives Fulham the lead. The game was put to bed when McCormak made it 2-0 after 70 minutes, my aim now was to play as cautious as possible because it could be a night to forget had I gone for any kind of salvation from the game.
View attachment 215929
I'm gonna have to call it night here as I need an early start but will give an update as soon as possible tomorrow with the results for the last 2 games in September as well as October and possible November/December.

Please let me know if you think I'm missing on anything as I go through with the saved file and if you want to see more screenshots of players/games/press conferences.

Thanks

 

[Twitch1404]

As promised, here's the final 2 games of September which I gained 4 out of 6 points.

The first game was a 3-2 win at home to Brighton and what a game it was. Brighton took the lead with a goal by Rosenior on the 38th minute, we brought the game level after 41 minutes with a goal by Sakho. Half time came around and the goal made it a little easier to persuade them to keep going and get the second. 71 minutes passed and Sakho made it 2-1 but the party was cut short after 2 minutes when Edson Puch scores to make it 2-2. The game was evenly matched until and there didn't look like any chance of either of the teams winning the game and we were coming up to the 90th minute, the referee had given 3 minutes injury time and I was just hoping to hold on for the draw. This was it, the 93rd minute, Vecchio knocks the ball out to the left wing where he find the left back Rowe, he hits an early cross into the box and it's met with a sweet left footed half volley by Sakho who finds the net scoring his first hat-trick of the season giving us the lead. Moments later the referee blew his whistle and the game ended 3-2.
View attachment 974620
The remaining game of September was a trip to Preston away, they have managed to win 1 and draw 2 out of 4 games at home this season and that gave me motivation that we could get max points from this trip. Unfortunately the game was a bit of a boring one with us having majority of the chances created but Preston controlling the possession and the game ended 0-0. A lot of positives gained from the result but we just need to start working the keeper more as once this happens I'm sure the goals will come flowing through.View attachment 215687
As it stands we're currently 17th in the league with 10 points from 9 games but as you can see only 9 points of 1st so there's not much in it so far. October sees us play 5 tough games and with 3 of them being at home we should be aiming at 9 out of the 15 points gained.
View attachment 215683View attachment 215685

 

[Twitch1404]

October didn't go as well as I had planned but we still managed to get 6 out 15 points and although this isn't enough to take me further up the league it's a starting point as 3 of the 5 teams were above me in the league.

The first game was against Huddersfield and although we were all over them throughout the game we just can't hit the target and it seems to be causing us issues when it comes to winning games. This one ended 2-0 but I wasn't too disheartened cos they were around 5th at the time of the game.
View attachment 974903
Second game had me away to Derby and like the first game I was all over Derby but just couldn't find the net. Derby went 1-0 up just before half time and that dented the spirits of my team and we just couldn't get back in the game. So we ended up losing this one as well.
View attachment 974910
I now started to feel like something wasn't going right in my preparations for each game and I thought, Brentford at home is going to be my final test as a manager if I've chosen the right formation/team to challenge the top teams. The game and after 30 minutes I went 1-0 with a goal from Sakho, 10 minutes later and we bagged a second and Sakho again on the scoresheet. I knew my team had it in them and was certain that once the team hit the shots on target the goals will flow. Seconds before the end of the first half they pulled one back with a goal from Djuricin. 15 minutes into the second half and Batth scored to make it 3-1, I was hoping that we could score a few more to reduce the goal difference but they held well and the game ended 3-1.
View attachment 974912My next home game saw me come up against Middlebrough, we started well and Le Fondre who hadn't scored in almost 10 hours scored to make it 1-0. We went in to the break with a 1-0 lead and come second half we were raring to go and continue with this fine form. 63 minutes gone and Rowe brings down Adomah in the box, Leadbitter steps up and Martinez makes the save, 3 minutes later down the other end Le Fondre bags a second and makes it 2-0. We're now playing good football looking confident and finished the game with a comfortable win.
View attachment 974927
The final game of the month was to be the most important as it was derby day against Birmingham. Derby's are always tough even if the team you're playing is in a lower league position than you are and that's exactly what happened during this game. We were dominant throughout the game but we were caught on the counter after 25 minutes by Birmingham's Donaldson. Sakho managed to bring it level just after half time and again we continued to play well and caused the defence some trouble but it wasn't enough and we were punished on the 79th minute by Biava as they held on to the end to win the game 2-1. It was a disappointment and the fans voiced their concern but we're just beginning to find the net so I don't have many concerns with the way we're playing.
View attachment 215557


I need to tighten the defence up and make sure we avoid conceded goals and the rest will fall into place.


The next 4 fixtures see us play 2 teams in the top 10 and the other 2 below 16th. On paper this would see us gain 6 points out of 12 but on the day anything can happen and I can see us climbing the table a lot quicker before Christmas.
View attachment 215555

 

[coutas98]

Don't tutor Ajer, that's only worth it when youngsters have low determination (lower than 13 imo) and there is no one on Wolves with higher determination than him. He has 17 determination so you risk losing it. Determination is the most important attribute when it comes to determine the potential of a young player.

 

[razielioux]

Agree with coutas98 and personally I wouldn't play Ajer as AM, just behind the two strikers considering his low flair and decisions stats. I'd play that guy either as a BWM or a DM.

I managed Wolves in FM14, so looking forward to this one!