How Are You Doing On CM?

[sledger]

Seeing as being to ill to go to lectures does not equate to being too ill to play FM, I have decided to start a new game with Brentford.

3 games played and 3 games won so far. Leon Legge top scorer with 3 goals and has recently signed a contract extension. Things going well so far.

 

[Eds]

Really want to start a new game, preferably with West Ham or someone similar, but can't bring myself to do it without the new patch.

 

[sledger]

Well, seeing as I'm now in the run up to exams/revision, it's of course the perfect time for me to become heavily involved in football manager again.

Have started a new game with Atletico Madrid, which has actually been harder than I anticipated. First season resulted in a 4th place finish, which was pretty good going seeing as Arda Tura, Reyes and Juanfran all missed most of the season through injury. Fortunately Diego, Falcao and Simone Pepe (on loan) managed to secure some important results single-handedly and dragged me through the mire. Defence was pretty poor all throughout the year. Despite Rafael Toloi (£2m) impressing and Carlos Kameni (£5m) also impressing, the defence was largely cack and leaked far too many stupid goals and seemed to be unable to defend set pieces at all.

Second season promises to be a tough ask, was given only £2m transfer funds (which has been spent poaching a few 16 year olds from France). Diego and Pepe both have left the club and I wasn't able to renegotiate a loan deal for either of them to return, meaning that Merida, Koke and Raul Garcia have had to take on the responsibility of providing the team's attacking/creative threat (bit dire).

Champions League campaign is as good as over after losing my first 3 matches (including a 3-0 away defeat to FC Copenhagen, awful) and other results meaning that my only hope of qualification is if Inter lose at home to both Ajax and Copenhagen. Nevertheless, the league form has been good, and am in 3rd place with a 3 point gap over Sevilla and a game in hand.

Have suddenly been provided with £20m transfer funds, £10m of which has been spent on bringing in Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Genoa to bolster a defence which is still far too leaky (Silvio and David Godin in danger of being sold if they do not drastically improve), also had a bid of £8m for Georgino Wijnaldum accepted, but after I refused to meet his ridiculous wage demands he opted to join Schalke before I could renegotiate a deal. Very annoying.

So yes, any suggestions for an attacking midfielder who would be available for around the £8-10m mark? Basically has to be an EU national and ideally can play on the right a bit as well as in the hole.

 

[Furball]

Xerdan Shaqiri.

 

[sledger]

Sotiris Ninis was cheaper.

Already feeling this may not have been the best move.

 

[sledger]

Hmm, think my game is glitching pretty badly. Just saw this written on Jose Reyes' profile:

"Touted as the next Marcos Senna".

Hmmm.

 

[sledger]

Also I've ****ing had enough of Antonio Lopez, he's played in 22 games of the season so far, and been booked in 18 of them, and sent off on 4 occasions.

Have never had a player with such a poor disciplinary record in all my time of playing manager games. So annoying, because he's become a total liability. This is made worse by the fact that the team plays a great deal better (offensively anyway) when he's in the side. Don't know what I can do about this, granted I play with hard tackling, but none of the rest of the team have this issue. Repeatedly fining him doesn't seem to have done the trick either.

 

[Pothas]

Playing a stupidly high line and a recently changing to a 2-3-4-1 formation with Napoli is proving fun, lost 5-4 to Arsenal and ten destroyed MilN 4-1. One point behind Inter at mid point n the season, shame the game has not realised they are crap.

 

[sledger]

Fantastically strong end to the season. Finished in 3rd comfortably, and won the UEFA Cup after being 2-0 down at half-time to Olympiakos.

Dangerously reliant on Falcao though, he's scored about 65% of my goals...And now the two Manchester Clubs are circling ominously... Hopefully a £40m price tag will shoo them away.

End of the season has seen a number of players leave, Diego Costa and Tiago have both been released. Juanfran, Gabi and Miranda have all been sold.

Javi Garcia and Shinji Kagawa are the first two signings of the summer. Went after Douglas Costa and Azipilicueta, but they joined Milan and Real Madrid respectively. Will now turn my attention to finding one more quality midfielder before the start of the season. That and the emergence of various young players stolen from PSV ought to make the squad strong enough to achieve 3rd place again and a decent run in the Champions League.

 

[Pothas]

I hate this game sometimes, swear it deliberately winds you up at times, 5 points clear with 5 games to go and then lose to 3 lowly sides in a row, a couple of red cards, about 70% possession and about 1245394484384 missed chances in the process. Beyond angry.

 

[sledger]

Yeah, sometimes you do get the feeling that it is conspiring to screw you over. You just know on some attacks that the computer is going to score, and once you get on a crap run sometimes it seems impossible to get off, whatever you do.

 

[Ausage]

Which in fairness must be how it feels for a manager sometimes.

 

[sledger]

Yeah I suppose that's true. It does really feel sometimes that rather than it just being bad luck or whatever that the game is out to get you though.

 

[Eds]

Have finally established my Hamburg side as one of the better in Germany. They were sitting about 15th when I took over in February 2012 and having now been there for a year, we've managed to go into the winter break (after a period of poor form) at 6th, after sitting 4th for a month or so.

Defense is now Aogo - Westermann - Friedrich - Beck which looks very decent for a Bundesliga side, and cost me a grand total of 0 getting Friedrich and Beck both in on free transfers. But it's been appalling as a unit and I've got hardly any depth. Looking at the Fans' Confidence levels, both Aogo and Beck are in there for terrible form (closer to 6 average rating than anything else) and Westermann makes far too many horrific mistakes generally leading to a goal for the opposition. Have briefly searched through the transfer market, compiling scout reports, and it appears the best option is Martin Montoya of Barcelona (who is capable of playing right-back or centre-back). He's available for approximately £3million - but has anyone had him before? The scouts are suggesting he'll turn out better than any of my defenders, at 4*, but the scouts at HSV been appalling thus far. Can anyone suggest any better options for a similar price range, preferably a right or centre-back. I have also signed a centre-back named Johan Martial for approximately £800k who looks like he'll turn out very well, but he's only 21.

Attacking-wise, we're looking very good, having racked up the second highest goals tally in the league, behind Bayern. New signing Gabriel Torje is on the right-hand side along with Marcell Jansen (who I'm considering moving back to left-back with Aogo's drop in form) on the left wing. Per Ciljan Skjelbred is my attacking midfielder whose more than solid but I've also brought in Julian Draxler for £6million who looks as if he'll be incredible. Have more than enough depth everywhere except the defence particularly as I've also brought in Khouma Babacar on a loan-to-buy.

The winter break is also the work of the gods - entered into it in a horrific run of form but have now played well in our two mid-season friendlies and I think we'll hit the league running again.

 

[sledger]

Romario (RB) and Rafael Toloi (CB/RB) are both decent options, and both would be available for about £2m each at the start of the game. Rather suspect that if you're in 2012 though they may have already signed for other teams and their value increased though.

 

[Eds]

Yeah, Romario is now at Lyon and Toloi isn't in my game. Had a quick scout of Romario regardless, and they do reckon he'll be 4*, but would have no intention of joining.

Montoya it is, I think.

 

[cpr]

Hmm, finding lower league management a bit too easy TBH.

Started with Altrincham, should never be in Blue Square North anyway, media tip to take the title, but strengthened my squad through the medium of free's (and the biggest database my laptop could run)

Biggest two have been Szilard Nemeth, skulking in German amateur leagues, so brought him back to the UK, and Ahmet Brkovic, a 37 year old former Luton winger in semi retirement at some Croatian nobodies.

Picked up a guy called Arjan Wisse, who i've decided is the RVP of the non leagues. Has been without a club since 2007, but that didnt stopping hitting 6 in a 10-1 win against Evesham in the FA cup qualifiers!

Turns out i did fork out £50 for Nemeth!

Am 10/10 in the league, which is a bit silly really, but Nemeth/Brkovic/Twiss all firing up front, and Lawton using his experience to boss the midfield. Away to Fleetwood in the FA Cup 4th Qualifiers, which'll be this teams first decent test.

 

[Pothas]

3 seasons in with Napoli and title secured, should reach 100 goals and need to win my last 4 for 100 points. Cavani is just ridiculously.

Lost to Arsneal in champions league quarters though, lost bloody 5-1 away and could only manage a 3-0 win at home.

 

[GIMH]

FM or CM for iPhone, either of them worth getting? Wouldnt normally consider CM but its only three quid

 

[Furball]

Want to start a new Arsenal game and get some ***y Bielsaesque 3-4-3 on the go but Steam is useless.