Hello guys. I recently rediscovered EA's FIFA Manager 13 and found a database update with the season 2015-16 teams. It's bringing me great joy during boring lectures and since I like sharing my experiences with you, I figured why not make a little story about it.
I plan to do it relatively low-key with only a few not too elaborate updates each season and their frequency simply depending on the amount I play. The ingame language will be German of course, I think most of the display will be self-explanatory, I'll provide translation for the rest.
One thing I would like to do, as the title suggests, is to involve you guys a little. At the end of every update, I plan to have some sort of decision to be made by you, for instance regarding transfers, investments, or later on team changes of the manager etc. All this will be work in progress, but here we go:
The Manager
This story will follow United legend Ryan Giggs on his path as a manager. After two years as an assistant coach to David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, he decided it was time to stand on his own feet.
For the 2015/16 Premier League sesaon, he has three offers on the table:
Team Choice
AFC Bournemouth
Everything about this team screams underdog. The club from a small town on the Southern English coast is heading towards their first season in any first division in British football. The team is diverse in age and capability, with routiniers like Boruc and Distin and a few talents, but overall, everything but staying in the league would be an overconfident goal.
Spoiler
Alter = age , Stä. = strength , Eins. = appearances , Tore = goals
Leicester City
Leicester is an underdog as well, but already one step further than Bournemouth. Having finished their first Premier League season in 10 years on a solid 14th place, the club wants to take the next consolidating step. The squad, however, is relatively old, and making it fit for the future will be quite a challenge.
Spoiler
Everton FC
Certainly the strongest team in the selection, and probably the most well-financed as well. After a disappointing 11th place, the return to the international competition is the main goal for the upcoming season. The team studded with incredible talent like Deulofeu or Lukaku and promises greatness for the future. However, the greatest possibilities go hand in hand with the greatest pressure.
Spoiler
At this point, you have the first decision to make - the team choice is in your hands. Borrowing from Mresuperstar's system, here's how you do it:
Thank you: AFC Bournemouth
Zabel'd: Leicester City
Good Idea: Everton FC
Deadline is tomorrow, Saturday July 2nd, 3 PM CET.
Any feedback or suggestions is appreciated, as always
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [PT] Xero Racing
Oh wow, I wasn't aware of that Well, it won't be more than a name very rarely appearing on screen, so I hope you can condone that (me picking him, not him impregnating his sister-in-law)
I'm happy about the participation so far, Bournemouth is leading at the moment and the poll is still open for a bit more than four hours, so I encourage anyone who hasn't voted yet to do so!
So you guys decided on the AFC Bournemouth. We've signed a two-year-contract, and before we get into the management details, I thought I'd give you a quick overview on the club itself.
The club was originally formed in 1890 and underwent a few structural and name changes until it settled on the current name in 1972. The Cherries, as they're nicknamed, have won a few third and fourth tier titles until winning the Football League Championship in 2015 and advancing to the Premier League for the first time ever.
Situated in Bournemouth, a resort town on the south coast of England, the club's home ground is the Dean Court, with a capacity of 11.700 by far the smallest Premier League stadium.
Goals and Budget
Team Analysis
Here's the squad as we've encountered it on the first day of the pre-season:
Nr.
Position
Name
Age
Talent
Strength
Goalkeepers
Artur Boruc is a very experienced player and one of the strongest we have on the roster, obviously our starter. However, he's relatively old, even for a goalkeeper. Adam Federuci is a great backup, perhaps with ambitions for a starting position, but already 30 himself, without much potential left.
Defense
A solid line-up, but nothing extraordinary. Charlie Daniels and Simon Francis are possibly the starting full backs, although the talented Tyrone Mings will get his chances in the pre-season.
Sylvain Distin and our Captain Tommy Elphick function as an experienced CB duo, with Steve Cook as a strong competitor and Elliot Ward as another backup.
Midfield and Wingers
This is a bit more problematic. Andrew Surman and Harry Arter are a mediocre CM core at best. Without a strong defensiv midfielder, a flat 4-4-2 is a likely formation, which would rob Gradel and the talented Atsu, who's on loan from Chelsea, of their offensive prowess. Matt Richie looks like a safe starter for now, though he could suffer if a more offensive 4-3-3 may be played. All in all, there's need for action here.
Strikers
Quality over quantity in this department. Callum Wilson is probably a safe starter because of his potential. Murray, Tomlin and Kermorgant will all have to prove themselves in pre-season. Should we switch to a one-striker-formation, at least one of them has to go.
Potential First 11
Outlook
I'll end the first part here, otherwise it would be too much at once. But there's already a first decision for you to make regarding the transfer season:
You've seen the squad, and you've seen our transfer budget of around 9M. What I want to know is what formation would you prefer? 4-4-2 or 4-3-3?
There's also the option to invest in a squad that can do both, which of course gives us more variability but also limits our option to go for strong individual players as we need more players in general.
Let me know until tomorrow, 11 PM CET!
Thank you: I want a strong offense! Go 4-3-3!
Zabel'd: Let's keep it standard! 4-4-2!
Nice idea: We need variability! We need both!Edited by cunego59 on 02-07-2016 16:13
Disclaimer- Most of my posts are me thinking aloud. And most of what I think is rubbish.
Winner of a FIFA Prediction Fair Play Award (a phrase becoming increasingly ironic) "... Because he (me) has a sound tactical mind in general..." jandal7, at 9:30 am GMT on 12th May 2016
We had a relatively rough pre-season starting off with the most boring match that has ever been played - a 0-0 against Sheffield with literally not a single chance at all. We played a few test matches against opponents mostly on our level that didn't go too well, except for the 3-0 against Montpellier.
As for transfers, it was tough as well to get any player that would really strengthen our squad because of our low prestige, so we opted to go for talent instead to hopefully start to build a future in the Premier League beyond this season.
Third goalie Allsop and Zubar weren't good enough to be in our first team, but didn't bring enough money to be worth selling, so they'll play in our second team for now.
Junior Stanislas, 25, Winger - 1,2M to Rotherham United
Tyrone Mings, 22, Left Back - 500k on loan to Leeds United
Yann Kermorgant, 33, Striker - 1M to Los Angeles Galaxy
Steve Cook, 24, Central Back - 4,3M to Blackburn Rovers
Lee Tomlin, 26, Striker - 1M on loan to Blackburn Rovers [6M purchase option]
Five players left us for a variety of reason: Stanislas and Kermorgant didn't have a place on our team, while Tyrone Mings is supposed to get match practice in Leeds. Steve Cook would've potentially been a starter, but his contract was about to expire, he didn't want to extend it and we couldn't let him go for free. Lee Tomlin just had to go, and unfortunately, since he just signed for us, he couldn't be sold, so he's on loan now with a purchase option for Blackburn.
Richie Christy, 20, Striker - on a free transfer from Manchester City
Jeff Hendricks, 23, Central Midfielder - 1,5M from Derby County
Harry Maguire, 22, Central Back - 2,4M from Hull City
Lewis Dunk, 23, Central Back - 1,2M from Brighton & Hove Albion, back on loan for one year
As I announced, we mostly patched up our holes in the squad with talents - both because I enjoy working with young players and because there weren't any strong experienced players for us to get. Harry Maguire is a replacement for Steve Cook, Lewis Dunk will be on loan for a year and hopefully come back strong enough to fill the gap that Sylvain Distin will leave at the end of the season (ending his career). Jeff Hendricks strengthens our depth in the CM while also giving us another CDM option. And finally, Richie Christy was just too talented to pass on that free transfer.
After those changes, here's how our first team looks:
While most players are relatively fix as starters, there's one position that I'm still debating: The second CB besides Distin. Here's my thought process:
On the one hand, Tommy Elphick is stronger than Maguire at this point, and a solid defense will probably be the key to us staying in the league. Also, he's our captain and an important leader. On the other hand, Maguire is a promising talent and with Distin ending his career at the end of this season, it's crucial that he develops well.
Since I tend to prefer well-practiced squads, I'm not a fan of switching them too often. So it's for you to decide who should be a starter.
Thank you: Tommy Elphick
Nice Idea: Harry Maguire
I'm not setting a deadline for now since I probably won't have too much time to play in the next days, so if I do I'll just be checking in regularly to see who you want to play.
Have you tried switching matches to 2D, scaling graphics down, cutting leagues and the size of the database, etc?
Disclaimer- Most of my posts are me thinking aloud. And most of what I think is rubbish.
Winner of a FIFA Prediction Fair Play Award (a phrase becoming increasingly ironic) "... Because he (me) has a sound tactical mind in general..." jandal7, at 9:30 am GMT on 12th May 2016
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