Football Manager 2015 - The Official Thread

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Brian Fantana

Well-known member
Oct 8, 2006
7,552
In the field
I've reached the climax of my first season in charge of the Albion. After a ding-dong battle all season between ourselves, Norwich and Middlesborough there is one game left to go. Norwich have already clinched top spot, with Middlesborough a point ahead of us in second. The final fixture of the season? Us away at Middlesborough. With a better goal difference than them by 10, a point should do it.

Edge of the seat stuff.
 


BBassic

I changed this.
Jul 28, 2011
13,058
I've reached the climax of my first season in charge of the Albion. After a ding-dong battle all season between ourselves, Norwich and Middlesborough there is one game left to go. Norwich have already clinched top spot, with Middlesborough a point ahead of us in second. The final fixture of the season? Us away at Middlesborough. With a better goal difference than them by 10, a point should do it.

Edge of the seat stuff.

I had the exact same situation! I lost 4-1 away at Middlesborough and had Derby (surprise, surprise) in the play-off. Lost that as well.

Now sitting atop the table, equal points with Sheffield Wednesday but with a healthy goal difference on them.
 


Withdean11

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2007
2,908
Brighton/Hyde
Ah, I love it when this thread pops up. I'm still Bromley manager and just finished the 3rd season. I won the League in the second which was my first full season as Bromley manager and guided them to a comfortable mid table finish in the Vanarama Conference the following year after I was flirting with the play offs for most of the season.

As the season was approaching the business end, I was approached by Crawley, who were struggling just above the relegation zone in League Two. To the delight of the board, I rejected the chance in order to finish what I started at Bromley.

Going into the fourth season, I'm going to make a real go at it to win promotion to the football league. If that's not looking likely come Christmas, I'll be off as my ultimate goal is to manage in the Premier League by any means (except Palace!)
 


Withdean11

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2007
2,908
Brighton/Hyde
I've reached the climax of my first season in charge of the Albion. After a ding-dong battle all season between ourselves, Norwich and Middlesborough there is one game left to go. Norwich have already clinched top spot, with Middlesborough a point ahead of us in second. The final fixture of the season? Us away at Middlesborough. With a better goal difference than them by 10, a point should do it.

Edge of the seat stuff.

Err, probably best you don't play for a point..
 




shaolinpunk

[Insert witty title here]
Nov 28, 2005
7,187
Brighton
Just at the start of my second season in the prem and I'm terrified of losing my best players - the transfer window closing can't come soon enough.

A few of my players are getting tempted by rumours of CL clubs, and two of my superb central midfield trio have release clauses for CL teams in their contract that are equal to or slightly less then their actual value. I don't have the budget to give them big new contracts so I can ditch the clauses... although now I think about I could move half of my transfer budget into wages and afford it that way, although it will mess up the wage structure.
 




¡Cereal Killer!

Whale Oil Beef Hooked
Sep 13, 2003
10,217
Somewhere over there...
I got the game a couple of weeks ago and started a career with Whitehawk, not quite half way through first season but in Playoff zone and into the second round of the cup. I'm aiming to stay at Whitehawk as long as possible but I always give myself a set of rules I must follow. In this career, I'm only allowed to sign players on a free transfer or on loan. Pretty easy when starting in such a low league, will get more difficult once I start climbing the leagues.
 




Whitechapel

Famous Last Words
Jul 19, 2014
4,413
Not in Whitechapel
Still on FM12, as it's my favourite one still, depsite playing all the other demos, they just haven't appealed to me.

Started a new Pentagon challenge (started unemployed with no experience and try to win all 5 continental Champions Leagues). When I've tried these before I've tried to aid myself to make it a bit easier, either with Genie Scouts for 1-2 players a season, or with an online tactic that I then edit to suit my team, however this has meant that I get bored of them after a couple of seasons. This time I'm going for a 'pure' challenge with no help at all. Doing really well, mainly down to taking a little bit extra time to scout or look at tactics. Started unemployed and got offered the Welling job halfway through the first season, they were in the bottom half of BSS and looking at potential relegation. They also had tiny crowds and an aging squad with no real talent. Completly renovated the squad, getting rid of 18 players and signing 19. Managed to add some stabibility to results and pulled them up to 13th, 9 points clear of safety. We also managed to get to the second round of the F.A Cup. Main signings were Pablo Counago who finished with 12 goals in 27 league games and Conrad Balotini who was a solid CB.

Pre-season was another clearout, as I wanted to push for Top 6. Most of my signings were young players who had been released from league clubs.Finding ourselfs in and around the top 5 in Christmas I strenghtened with the signings of Lewis Horner and Harry Bunn, who were both excellent despite being a bit injury prone. Ended up battling with Truo for the league title, and winning it by a single point, largely down to our goalscoring exploits with Counago, Bunn, Balotini & Romain Rose (our top scorer with 19) all scoring at least 10 goals. Also got through to the 3rd round of the F.A Cup before losing to Derby.

Our first season in the Confrence has gone brilliantly so far, tried to sign a little bit of experience, with Bessone (ex Swansea & Leeds LB) and Lenny Pidgeley (Ex Chelsea 'keeper) being the main two old heads we brought it. However, its been the youngsters leading the charge again. Bunn has scored 18 and picked up 5 assists in the league, whilst Lewis Horner has racked up 6 goals and 15 assits and John Lynch who was signed from Wigan has scored 5 and assisted 8. Those 3 have been one of the key reasons why we find ourselves 3rd with just 7 games to go. We've also got a day out at Wembley to look forward to as we've reached the final of the F.A Vase! Strengthed in January again, Bigiramana in on loan and Lyod Isgrove/Amin Affane have been signed permanlty on free transfers. Frustrating that even when I find myself potentially getting to L2 but still get no money or a decent wage budget.Been looking at moving on, and even applied for the Dagenham job when I could, however nobody has wanted me as of yet, so hopefully I can get Welling in to the league and watch offers flood in.

Fully fit team would be:

GK: Max Oberschmidt - On loan from Fulham. 19 years old, hopefully get him again next season.
RB: Chris Jones - Signed 12/13 after he was released by Derby. Solid. 21 years old
CB: Dominic Kennedy - Signed 12/13 season after being released by St.Mirren. 21 years old.
CB: Michael Hector - Signed in the 13/14 pre-season after he was released by Reading. Also 21.
LB: Federico Bessone - Signed in 13/14 season as a free agents. 30 years old but sitll has good stamina and pace.
RM: Rob Sinclair - Season long loan from Stevenage. 24 years old. Out of contract in the summer so hoping to get him permantly.
LM: Josh Dawkin - Signed in the 12/13 preseason after he was released by Norwich. Only 22 but puts in some cracking performances.
CM: Jack Parkinson - Only first team player who has been here longer than me. 24 years old, defensive minded midfielder.
CM: Lewis Horner - 22 years old but a creative genius at this level. Signed midway through 12/13. Allowed to bomb forward and has the 2nd most assists in the whole league.
AM: Amin Affane - 20 years old, wonderkid who was released by Chelsea. Signed in the 13/14 January window Only played twice; scored a hattrick in one before getting injured.
ST: Harry Bunn - 21 year old who signed for us in the 12/13 season. 24 goals in 31 games in all comps. Annoyingly injury prone though.


For anybody wondering, the only (ex)-Albion players I've managed to get at the club so far were Albert Jarrett (2 goals in 29 games) & Joe O'Cearuill (1 goals in 25 games). Really, some of the greatest players to grace our fair club.
 


¡Cereal Killer!

Whale Oil Beef Hooked
Sep 13, 2003
10,217
Somewhere over there...
Has anyone had a problem with the FA Trophy in the first season? I played and won the first round but the Monday draw for the second round is yet to happen a week or 2 after draw was meant to be made?
 


Withdean11

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2007
2,908
Brighton/Hyde
Won the Conference with Bromley - That's two trophies/promotions in four seasons in my management career. Was a funny season, as I had struggled to find a striker who would regularly put the ball in the net. Ryan Bird, who striker who scored 30+ in the previous two seasons, seemed to completely lose it, luckily my AML Mesca, was in fine form and scored 27.

At the end of the season, I was being linked to jobs in League 1, so I took the decision to resign from Bromley and seek a position at a league 1 club. After being turned down by Shrewsbury, Crewe and Watford, I had offers on the table from MK Dons and Bristol Rovers. MK Dons had the better offer, so accepted the job.

Still in pre season, but my first signing no other that Kazenga LuaLua. They are currently not letting me bring in my own back room team, which is annoying as i had set up a good team at Bromley who all left after i resigned. Looking for the Play-Offs this season.
 






fruitnveg

Well-known member
Jul 22, 2010
2,256
Waitrose. Veg aisles
Is this worth the upgrade from 14? When they threw out the sliders for 14 I got a bit lost and still haven't quite found my footing with it. Is 15 easier to wrap a feeble mind around?

Edit: for clarity, I mean my feeble mind :blush:
 


BBassic

I changed this.
Jul 28, 2011
13,058
Is this worth the upgrade from 14? When they threw out the sliders for 14 I got a bit lost and still haven't quite found my footing with it. Is 15 easier to wrap a feeble mind around?

Edit: for clarity, I mean my feeble mind :blush:

It's definitely worth it if you have the time to dedicate to it. In many ways its harder than last year but that difficulty is offset by the satisfaction you get when it goes right.

One thing I will say: morale and player happiness play a much bigger part than last year so if you're not prepared to pander to a bunch of overpaid digital delicate flowers then it probably won't be for you.
 








albion85

New member
Jan 5, 2015
1
Anyone having massive problems with injuries and fitness? I know every game seems to have this issue for some when released but now that we are 2 months in I thought it would be fixed. I keep having half my team get injured and its getting frustrating when I sign extra midfielders who come right in and then die in the very first match. I wanted to have another game soon in lower divisions but if I am having so many injuries with Brighton, how am I ever going to get along with a conference side. Anyone got any tips?
 


brighton_girl87

New member
Jul 18, 2006
2,319
I have a tactic that is working a bit too well, I feel like I might be accidentally cheating.

I started off unemployed and got a job with Woking (in the Conference) and have since gone to have 3 consecutive promotions, so now we're in the Championship. I've had a minimal transfer budget, so have only been able to sign freebies and loan deals. It just seems to be going too well considering most of my team are "decent league 2" players.
 




SULLY COULDNT SHOOT

Loyal2Family+Albion!
Sep 28, 2004
11,344
Izmir, Southern Turkey
Don't have a lot of time to play but about a month ago I put Burgess Hill in the Van South, keeping Luer of course. Season and half later we are second in the conference and got a 3rd round FA cup replay against Wolves.
 


Whitechapel

Famous Last Words
Jul 19, 2014
4,413
Not in Whitechapel
Finally got a new laptop which allows me to play the more recent FM games, so I've started a game on 2014 with Brighton.

2013/2014:


Tactics:

My tactics for this season was a 4-4-3 formation. This included two wide players who would operate as inside forwards, allowing two wing-backs to bomb forward and play as wingers. In Midfield there would be a triangle made up of a DM who would be an Anchorman/Regista and two CM's, one of which would be a Box-to-Box destroyer and the other would be an advanced playmaker who would support the attacking players. The whole team would aim to retain possession with patient build-up and short, safe passes.

If this wasn't working them there would also be a 3-5-2 overload formation which would see a DM help out a back three whilst the two strikers, a Deep Lying Playmaker and 3 AM's would go flat out to salvage a result.

Transfers:

Looking at the squad a few areas jumped out as needing strengthening. The main ones were Left Back, Goalkeeper, a Striker and another holding midfielder. Not having a massive transfer budget meant I had to look for bargains, at least until January where I can evaluate and see if I've got the money to press on. My main signings were:

In (Summer)
Jordi Masip - 24 year old Spanish goalkeeper from Barcelona B. Cost £120,000 to offer competition for Kuszczak whilst potentially replacing him as time goes on.
Jorge Casado - Another 24 year old Spaniard, this time a Left-Back from Castilla. An upgrade player on Stephen Ward and somebody with Premiership potential.
Clayton Donaldson - 29 year striker from Brentford. A physical presence to act as back-up for Ulloa. Cost £350,000 and had very low wage demands.
Chris Basham - 24 year old midfielder who signed on loan from Blackpool, with us paying 50% of his wages and £4,500 a month.

Others - David Bentley (Free, 28 Years old, RM), Tobias Sana (£250k, 24, ALM), Ishmail H'Maidat (Free, 17, AML), Thomas Agyiri (Loan, 19, CM)


Out (Summer)
Andrea Orlandi - Sold to Derby for £1,000,000. Too injury prone. No need to keep him with Buckley, LuaLua, March, Sana or Bentley.
David Lopez - Sold to Middlesbrough for £500,000. As above, too injury prone and enough strength in depth.
Will Hoskins - Released. Never going to play, is he?
Jake Forster-Caskey - Loaned to Hibs. Obviously has potential but not quite up to scratch yet.

Others - Casper Ankergren (Rotherham - Free.), Christian Walton, Brennan Dickenson, Courtney Richards, Grant Smith (Loan)

In (January)
Max Gradel - The Ivorian winger on loan from Saint-Étienne for £35,000 a month. Realised I needed another winger after an injury or two.
Jesse Lingard - We all know about him. £300,000 seemed like a steal, hasn't really had a run of games yet, but is more about the potential.
Matthias Henn - £40,000 CB. 29 year old ball-playing German CB from Eintracht Braunschweig. Mainly competition for Upson and Dunk who established themselves as my main CB's

Out (January)
Tobias Sana - Yep, 6 months after signing him he was gone. Had a tantrum as he wasn't playing enough. 500k to Bolton and a 25% sell on clause. Can't complain.
Gordon Greer - £100,000 to Dundee. Didn't play and wasn't worth the wages, especially as Henn was on half what Greer was.
David Bentley - Another one who didn't last long. Didn't perform when played and mental wages for a back-up. Flogged for free to Charlton.
David Rodriguez - Free transfer to Leeds. Found himself 5th choice behind Ulloa, Donaldson, CMS & Buckley.



NPower Championship:

Couldn't have gone any better! We took top spot after just 6 games and didn't' fall out of the automatic promotion spots for the rest of the season. The highlight of the season was picking up 7 straight victories at the start of 2014, a run which saw us score 18 goals and concede just 4. We ended up opening a gap at the top of the table, and despite a hiccup that saw us struggle in April we clinched the title with two games to go, which prevented a 1st v 2nd title match away to Forest on the last day of the season. We finished the season on 96 points, 6 ahead of Forest in 2nd and a massive 14 points ahead of Bournemouth in 3rd. Our stats for the season were Played: 46. Won: 30. Drew: 6 Lost: 10. Scored 91 (highest in the league) Conceded: 45 (Joint lowest in the league)

Our Key players were:

Leonardo Ulloa: No surprise there! Finished our top goalscorer with 26 goals in 34 games. Also picked up 7 assists.
Solly March: Won Young Player Of The Season, largely down to his impressive return of 7 goals and 11 assists in 32 starts.
Kemy Agustien: 33 games, 15 assists, 6 goals, 7 MoM awards. If only he was that good in real life!
Lewis Dunk: Averaged 7.1/10 and picked up 8 goals. Had a few big clubs sniffing after him.

Carling Cup:
Not much to report here. Beat Dagenham and Middlsbrough 3-1 to reach the 3rd round before a weakened team crashed out to Stoke, with a 2-0 loss.


FA Cup:

A magical cup run here, reaching the 6th round. 3rd round saw us at home to Sunderland, Poyet attempted mind-games before the match but it backfired as we stole a 1-0 win, that really should have been more comfortable. We then dispatched Watford 2-1 before a late Dale Stephens winner against Leicester gave us a 3-2 victory and a tie away to either Everton or Palace. What could have been magic soon crumbled as Everton beat Palace 2-0 before sneaking a 1-0 win against us.

About to start the 2014/15 season. Can't wait, hoping to pick up some players from Villa, West Brom & Southampton who all went down last season.​
 


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