Football Manager 2013

[Benny]

righto, first season over and I managed to take Farnborough to the play offs in the Blue Square South. Play off final, 0-0 at full time. Extra time and I go 2-0 down, shades of temper cross my brow and I go all out 'overload'. I get 2 back and on the stroke of 120 mins I get a penalty which my aged club journeyman slots home.

Promotion for the 'borough. A tough post Christmas lull and we pulled it round. If I could figure out how to post my tactics up I would, but in the interim, if you want my two adaptations PM me your email addresses.

I really like this game, the match engine is leaps ahead of last year and I've really got into the tactical nuances this time round which I've struggled with before. I need to get my head round the training but it really is a time sync. Back to work tomorrow and I've not even tried Max Payne 3 yet.

[TheDvEight]

Played various game saves but one i'm currently doing is manager of Stoke FC in 2014, I took over from Tony Pullis & Reshaped the first team squad bit by bit.


In my first season I finished 17th surviving on goal difference alone with a win ratio of 23% (POOP).

In the next season I improved the squad vastly adding quality players on perm contracts and signing Andy Carrol on loan (under-rated scored 11 goals in 40 Games with 17 Assists) I ended up going out of cup competitions on purpose to focus on the PL....I ended up in 5th place one point above Arsenal.

At the end of these two seasons Sir Alex won the PL Twice COC Twice, FA Cup once & Euro Cup Twice (Thank God he retired).


Got voted manager of the the by my peers:crying:....beating Sir Alex to this award in his last season before he retired:woot2:


Thoughts for next season: Bring in some more personnel...I've got rid of fringe players and really strengethend my squad with the £25 Million Transfer budget...but need to sign some more players on loan to add depth to the squad.

Go further in cup comps..It's pretty easy to win the leauge cup if you don't get drawn a "Big" side & the Big sides go out early. I find the FA Cup impossble to progress as it's taken more seriously.

Achieve a respectable place in Europa leauge maybe 2nd round or Qtr finals?

Try and finish as close as possbile to 6th if not improving on it.

[Sparko]

Well i not doing so well with Grimsby.  im about 30 games into my first season and have been up and down the league table like a yo yo.

I went on a losing streak of 5 games in a row, i was then threatened with being sacked if i didn't win my next game...who was it against? only Woking who were 2nd in the league and hadn't lost in 6 games....ace!.  anyway i managed to sneak a 1 nil win, i then went on a run of 6 wins in a row :blink:

I hadn't mixed my tactics up too much as not to decrease the familiarity of the formation with my current squad.  my problem at the moment is fitness, but the board wont allow me to sign another 'fitness coach' even though i don't currently have one :g:

im currently laying 9th in the table but should be really pushing for the pay offs, i just need a decent tactic and cant really find anything anywhere. Fingers crossed i can make the play offs otherwise its the job centre for me :sad:

[TheDvEight]

What's you're squad like sparko?


I'm using this tactic with stoke and it's worked really well http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/downloads.php?do=file&id=6651





works for both underdogs to top teams, once players are fimilar with it you're laughing all the way up the table.

Here are my results with it....
[IMG=http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/7956/stokeprogres.png][/IMG]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


9 1-0 results

[smilodon]

£15.00 on Steam Sale!

[TheDvEight]

End of season update:

I ended up finishing 6th place in PL &  Being Knocked out in the Qtr Final of the Europa leauge.


The latter part of my season was a bit poop as 4/5 key players had injuries that put them out for the season I ended up going from challanging for 3rd in the PL to just scraping 6th place and being knocked out in Europa leauge 9-4 on Agg. Lesson learnt need more squad depth.



I have strengthed heavilly during pre season and have spent £29 Million on new players well selling worse players for £20 million (Theo Wallcot IN Jozy Altidore Out both brought in & sold for £15 Million).

Starting to get linked with bigger reputation clubs most recently Arsenal, I plan to stay with stoke and build on what I have done so far.


Still using the 442 defensive tactic which works very well.

[TheDvEight]

Update


I'm in 2017/18 season at the moment, Whilst on holiday at the end of season 2016/2017 Stoke (the chairman) accepted a bid of 24Million for our best player & he was sold.....I resigned from Stoke after that & I'm currently National manager of Cameroon.


During my time at Stoke this is what I achieved...



2012/2013

Knocked out of second round COC
Knocked out of FAC 4th Round
Finished 17 in PL


2013/14

Knocked out of COC 4th Round
Knocked out FAC 5th Round
Finished 5th in PL

2014/15

Knocked out of COP 3rd Round
Knocked out of FAC 4th Round
Knocked out of Euro Cup Quarter Final
Finished 6th In PL

2016/17

Knocked out of Euro cup 1st Rnd
Knocked out of FAC 6th Rnd
Finished 9th in PL

2017/18

Knocked out of FAC 3rd Rnd
COC Runners up
Finished 6th in PL
Resigned
Manager of Cameroon

[Benny]

A tough couple of years for Farnborough Town, with some success along the way. After a good first season employing the grid based tactics we achieved promotion. Well exceeding expectations we began our first season in the big leagues….Blue Square Premier. After a few sobering friendlies we started the season well, I brought in 5 decent loan players and bolstered the squad, funds for transfers were low so grabbing a few good heads was hard work, Pascal Chimbonda on loan until the end of the season was the biggest coup.  around 4^th after 6 games, early days but holding our own. Then came the slump. We lost pretty much 10 games on the spin, no matter who I brought in and out of the squad or the tweaks I’d made. In sheer desperation I capitulated and went 442. Focusiing on the flanks and taking the width out of the opposition we began to turn it around.
 
Relegation was a huge threat and we scraped by winning the last 4 games on the bounce we jumped clear, flattering results really but they all count. The only consolation being a win in the FA Trophy. Why cup games focused the squad I don’t know, but there we have it.
 
So what I’ve learnt. Get stuck into an early preseason, book friendlies at home to get some cash into the club, picking local rivals and bigger clubs will get you a fair bank balance which takes that pressure off. I’ve now managed to sign a director of football â€" Danny Cadamaterie (sp) no less. Hopefully that will ease some of the contract talks and give me options on who to take. I’m still set to make final call on signings, but it helps manage the scouting and first pass. I’ve also hit the loan shops again, signing a few guys until the end of the season to bolster the squad depth so I can afford the extra friendlies in terms of match fitness when the inevitable congestion comes up.
 
Turning down offers from 2 teams in the next league up I’m hoping this season will see us run in just below the playoffs. I’ve replaced my assistant and now have a pretty solid backroom team, I’ve some doubts on my scouts, but let’s see if my DoF earns his keep and sorts that out.
 
For a game that is basically a big spreadsheet, I’m still hooked. Previous versions have kept me on it for a month, but this is a slow burner, I can multi task while playing so it’s working for me at the moment. Watching a poor piece of marking lead to a conceded goal is heart breaking, watching your star striker break a barren patch with 4 goals (step up Dave Tarpey) is a joy to behold….

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Are you guys playing as is or are you downloading tactics and wonderkids files? I'm drawn and have avoided the downloads at this point and I think that's what's keeping me interested. Finding a gem of a player yourself is superbly rewarding.

[TheDvEight]

Never been able to make tactics so using DL'ed ones & wonderkid short list only works for a while i'm in season 2019/2020 and the wonderkids are now getting on a bit so I search for own young talent via scouts managed to win the Europa leauge & Super cup (Beating Barcelona) with Stoke but still regarded as "National" for my reputation not sure how that works....


Although I've got Stoke into 9th in the team rankings (in the world).

[Benny]

New season....won my friendlies, filled my coffers, hired my new blood.

Lost my first 2 matches. It's gonna be a tough season. Sky have me at 40-1 to be promoted and favourite for the drop.

[Sparko]

Well i not doing so well with Grimsby.  im about 30 games into my first season and have been up and down the league table like a yo yo.

I went on a losing streak of 5 games in a row, i was then threatened with being sacked if i didn't win my next game...who was it against? only Woking who were 2nd in the league and hadn't lost in 6 games....ace!.  anyway i managed to sneak a 1 nil win, i then went on a run of 6 wins in a row :blink:

I hadn't mixed my tactics up too much as not to decrease the familiarity of the formation with my current squad.  my problem at the moment is fitness, but the board wont allow me to sign another 'fitness coach' even though i don't currently have one :g:

im currently laying 9th in the table but should be really pushing for the pay offs, i just need a decent tactic and cant really find anything anywhere. Fingers crossed i can make the play offs otherwise its the job centre for me :sad:

..an update....i finished the season 9th, obviously the board were not too chuffed so i asked for more time and told them we would go up next season, they agreed to allow me to build the squad to challenge for promotion next season.

Bought a few decent players and signed Ross Hannah (Striker) on a free, found a decent tactic that seemed to work judging by my 4 wins in friendlies (using the SkeetSkeet2 tactic from fmbase), so i was pretty much rubbing my hands together for a good start and hopefully an easy season.

Well......i didnt have a good start, lost my first 2 games then won 2 and drew 2 then lost 1.  sitting 9th with 8 points i started to mess around with my tactic.  Very very bad idea! lost the next 3 games and the board sacked me gutted......

So to the Job Centre, there were quite a few teams in need of a manager but i was very unlikely to be offered the spurs job or the Norwich job.....looking down the list i saw Torquay, hmmmmm league 2 side.  I applied and got the job wooo hoo stuff you Grimsby im in league 2!!

So my next adventure with a league 2 side struggling to stay above the relegation zone.  Won my first 3 games (still using the same tactic i downloaded), managed to get 3 points clear of danger.  That didnt last for long lost i think it was 5 games in a row (this game can be sooo random at times).  I was halfway through the season and i decided to resign as Torquay manager before being sacked for the 2nd time in one season.

I wasnt out of the game long before i was offered the Fleetwood Town job, i took it and was again in a league 2 relegation battle....with Torquay and 2 other teams.  Same thing happend as when i joined Torquay, first couple of games i grabbed 6 points but then cam the draws and losses and in the end securing my place on the relegation train to the BSP.

So at the end of my second season i have managed 3 teams in 2 leagues been sacked and resigned.
Even though i got them relegated the Fleetwood board offered me a 2 year contract but i must get them back into league 2 in my first season.  Im currently 4th in the BSP after 11 games, im quite happy with my squad just need a few decent centre backs as although i seem to be scoring for fun i conceed far too easy, i have had alot of high score draws 3-3 2x2-2 3-2 win etc.  just to get it in, i also beat Grimsby 3-0 at their place haha they are currently 14th in the BSP...should never have got rid of me....well as it stands at the minute anyway....

Edit...second after 21 games so looking promising, just 2 points behind forest green, have money to spend in the transfer window too.  I need a prolific goal scorer, it seems most of my goals come from my midfield and centre backs so if anyone has a good gem they Know of for a bps team let me know, although I am in the 2014/15 season

[TheDvEight]

Just think of the compensation deals they've got you for sacking you

[Sparko]

Just think of the compensation deals they've got you for sacking you

True, I'm enjoying my time at Fleetwood though, and the wife seems happy here. There's a park round the corner which I take the dog too, I feel settled in Fleetwood

[TheDvEight]

Lol I'm still with stoke finished 5th in PL & Out at Final of FA CUP Lost to WATFORD who were in the championship! after beating Barcalona in the Super Cup & Losing the Champions Leauge SF To AC Milan who I beat twice in the group stage :/

[Benny]

It's alright for you glory hunters in the bank rolled premiership. You wanna get down here in the dirty scrapping leagues and learn your trade the hard way!

4 grand was my transfer budget in my first year...that wouldn't even buy you bigwigs dinner for one! ;-)