Transfers In;
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake – Ln Fee £1.6m
Wayne Hennessey – Ln Fee £1.6m
Kevin Doyle – Ln Fee £1.9m
Nicolas Burdisso – Free
Mario Santana – Ln Fee £1m
Pape Diakhate – £2.8m
Ignazio Abate – £2.3m
Leigh Griffiths – £2.4m
Emir Babic – £2.3m
Jose Paolo Guerrero – Free
Eliaquim Mangala – £1.3m
Wayne Hennessey – £800k*
Henok Goitom – £1.3m*
Julien Faubert – £2.8m*
Johan Djourou – £2.7m*
Jo – £5.25m*
Paul Dixon – Free**
Total = £30m

Transfers Out;
Madjid Bougherra – £7.75m
Marek Sapara – £3.4m
Maurice Edu – £2.6m
Yassine Chikhaoui – £5m
Glauber – £2.7m
Andy Webster – £1.7m
Neil Alexander – £1m
Javier Chevanton – £2.5m
Steven Naismith – £3.1m
Sasa Papac – £3.1m*
Pedro Mendes – £4.2m*
Ignazio Abate – £3.2m*
Nicolas Burdisso – £7.25m*
Jose Paolo Guerrero – £9.5m*
36 players released – Free
Total = £57m

*Deal was concluded during January window.
**Deal was concluded at end of season.

After being given some money to spend, in the regen of £13m I finally could start to assemble a team I was happy with. As you can see it was a majorly busy summer and January was the same. Some players left for major profits which obviously didn’t do my team any favours but boosted my balance a lot. Burdisso and Guerrero both came for free and left just over 4months later for over £16m profit. Wolves were relegated from the Premier Division so I raided them for loans, Doyle and Hennesey were revelations and I later activated Hennesey’s clause by bidding just £800k for him, not bad for a player worth £3.4m \o/ Doyle was stubborn and wouldn’t join unfortunately as he was pretty good for me despite picking up a bad injury he managed 14 in 15.

Subs: Hennessey, Jo, Fleck, Mangala, Diakhate, Djourou, Guerrero.

Hennessey was that good he made it onto the subs bench as well as the first team! Suprised Jo didn’t make it in although he was signed late January he still bettered Doyle’s games played and goals scored. Six new faces from last season in the first XI, says a lot.

Top Scorer: Kris Boyd (43)
Most Assists: Mario Santana (40)
Fans Player Of Year: Kris Boyd
Personal Favourite: Mario Santana
Rising Star: Scott Durie

League;

Scottish Cup; Winners vs Dundee (2-0)
League Cup; Winners vs Celtic (2-1)
Champions League Lost in Qualifying Rounds vs Dinamo Buc
Euro Cup;

1st KO Round – Everton 6 – 7 Rangers on agg
2nd KO Round – FC Sochaux 1 – 3 Rangers on agg
1/4 Final – Rangers 6 – 4 HSV on agg
Semi Final – Rangers 3 – 2 CSKA Moscow on agg
Final – Rangers 1 – 2 Tottenham

Well what a difference a year makes. So close to completing a famous quadruple until a Crouch goal 8mins from time in the Uefa Cup final sent us home as runners up. The league looked unbelievably dim and was almost over in Jan as we were 11 points behind but some amazing form seen us storm all cups and eventually take over from Celtic after an epic end to the season. I have a squad capable of doing almost anything now and I definately want to make my mark in the Champs League proper as I’ve been disappointing in that so far. We have a bank balance of £50m and making profit consistently so we’re in a good position financially as well. Very pleased with how this season panned out but next season should be better.

View this current game thread on our forums

Transfers In;
Tore Reginiussen – Free*
Yassine Chikhaoiu – £3.4m*
Anthony Annan – £4.5m*
Javier Chevanton – £1m
Ezequiel Carboni – Ln Fee £180k
Rudi Skacel – Free
Glauber – Free
Marek Sapara – £1.8m

Transfers Out;
Andrew Shinnie – £575k*
Alan Lowing – Free*
Kyle Lafferty – £4.4m
Lee McCulloch – £900k
Kevin Thomson – £4.2m
Steven Smith – £600k
Gregg Wylde – Loaned to Partick

*Deal was concluded during January window.

It was always going to be an extremely tough first season transfer wise. I started with a budget of £0 and an almost non existant wage budget. The only money I parted with was in securing Sapara who performed very well throughout the season although my other dealings weren’t so successful as I brought in a fairly average Chaventon and Carboni and Skacel whom although were both needed as injuries took their toll they were simply awful. Just before January I was given an £8m boost in my budget due to improved finances and I managed to bring in Annan and Chikhaoui, both of whom did well throughout the season. I was sad to see Thomson go as it certainly wasn’t planned but felt I couldn’t reject such a substantial bid.

As you can see with the official Best XI, most of the original team were relied upon. Davis didn’t play DM once despite being strangely rearranged with Mendes in this version, it was normally the other way about. Boyd was the pick of the bunch scoring 36 in 43 overall and 32 in 34 in the league. Beasley and Miller provided over 30 assists between them also. I remained with this formation for most of the season, relying on Boyd to lead the line although Miller and Beasley were never far behind. Mendes dictated play from his defensive mid position whilst the others in front were allowed to roam somewhat.

Top Scorer: Kris Boyd (36)
Most Assists: DeMarcus Beasley (19)
Fans Player Of Year: Kris Boyd
Personal Favourite: Kris Boyd
Rising Star: Danny Wilson

League;

Scottish Cup: Final vs Celtic (0-2)
League Cup: Semi vs Dundee Utd (3-4)
Champs League: 4th in Group C

I knew the season would always be tough but I finished with no silverware and not even a win against Old Firm rivals Celtic all season to boast about. We were ahead in the league for a while but then fell miles behind after a shocking run of results. In the end it looked closer than it was in all honesty. The Champions League was absymal. In a group that consisted of Lyon, Sevilla and Kobenhavn we finished with a sole point which came courtesy of a draw in Spain.

Overall I was disappointed obviously but had always known the first season was more of a transition period and I had a healthy bank balance going into season two. Season two was where the pressure kicked in however, I had to do the opposite of what I had this season.

View this current game thread on our forums

Breathtakingly beautiful and stunningly sexy – Brasileira futebol at its best. Notorious worldwide for its generally attractive football, Brazilian football has brought many legends past and present to our television screens whom have blessed us with outrageous talent and flair. The bint above? Aye shes pretty tasty too.

I’ve recently migrated to South American to endeavor the Brazilian leagues with Palmeiras. You’d be forgiven for turning your back on the country almost straight away as on first inspection it appears a very intricate and obscure league system, something most of us find far too disarranged to even consider venturing into. Once you get to grips however with the seemingly complex system it is a very enjoyable nation to manage in, rather competitive with heaps of talented players and something different from the norm we are used to in our home continent.

State Championships

Your season will start almost immediately with your participation in the State Championship. In Brazil with the top tier of Brazilian football (First Division loaded) you have four State Championships, these are largely self explanitory as the country is split into several states in which there are these state-wide competitions. Our good friend Wikipedia shares some knowledge with us in that the country was split into seperate states due to the long travelling between major cities meaning many areas developed a very strong competitive culture. On first outlook these State Championships seem almost useless but due to this competitive nature you are still expected to perform. Each Championship has its own format although typically runs from January through to April, I’ll give a quick run through of the format for each one which runs alongside the First Division below;

Sao Paolo State Championship – A fairly straight forward format whereby twenty teams are placed in a straight forward league system. Each team plays each other once thus the campaign lasts 19 games with fixtures being drawn randomly so whether you play the big teams at home or away is dependant on the luck of the draw. Following these nineteen games the bottom four teams will subsequently be relegated and the top four teams will enter a play off for the title. Despite as you may expect finishing first after all the league games have been played will not being home the trophy, the only advantage being it gives you a better position going into the playoffs are you play 4th placed leaving 2nd and 3rd to battle it out in the other semi final. Both the semi final and final are played over two legs and as you may be used to, away goals is not taken into consideration, instead if a draw is the end result after two legs extra time and penalties commence. Sao Paolo, Palmeiras, Corinthians and Santos are usually found battling it out in this league.

Rio State Championship – A not so straight forward format on first viewing. This State Championship is split into three main stages. Firstly you the opening stage, followed by the closing stage and then the finals. The opening stage sees two groups of eight teams formed. These groups are somewhat random however the top four teams in this state, Flamengo, Vasco, Fluminese and Botafogo are seeded with two going into one group and two in the latter. Each team plays each other team in their group once with the top two teams entering a semi final and thus a final. The closing stage mirrors the first whereby two groups of eight are formed in the same way and then a semi final and final commences. The winner of the two finals battle it out in a two legged final with the winner being crowned champion, however, if the same team wins both finals through the season they will automatically be crowned champions without the need for a final

Minas State Championship – This State Championship is home to Cruzeiro and Atletico Miniero whom appear to be the two most competitive teams in the league. The format is identical to that of the Sao Paolo State Championship although there is a lesser number of teams involved in the Minas State Championship. The format consists of twelve teams with each team playing each other once. The top four then qualify for the play off where the eventual winner of the playoffs will be crowned Champions.

Gaúcho State Championship – The final State Championship for the top tier and again a unique format from the others. The teams are split into two groups of 8 with each team in the groups playing each other twice. The top four teams from each group qualify for the play offs as the team stranded in bottom of each group are relegated. The play offs this time start at the quarter final stages with eight teams qualifying from the group stage. This is eventually narrowed down to the winner through two legged affairs from the quarters through to the final. One difference which will be noted however is the use of away goals, unlike in the others. If scores are level after two legs then the away goal rule will come into affect.

First Division

The First Division in Brazil isn’t as complex as some of the State Championships which appear before it. This competition is nationwide so is a lot more competitive than some of the State Championship’s as you have teams like Palmeiras, Sao Paolo, Internacional, Gremio, Flamengo, Corinthians to name a few battling it out. The league consists of twenty teams whom play each other twice and in this case the team places first will be crowned champions without the need for a playoff. This league runs from May through to December where a total of thirty eight games will be played. The top four teams in the league qualify for the Copa Libertadores group stages with 5th place also qualifying for the Copa Libertadores but will enter in the preliminary round. Teams placed 6th-13th qualify for the Copa Sudamericana, essentially the South American Uefa Cup. The bottom four teams will be relegated.

Copa do Brasil

The Brazilian Cup is also fairly straight forward although adopts an interesting concept. Teams playing in the Copa Libertadores (top five teams from the First Division) cannot enter the Brazilian Cup due to participation in the continental competition. This allows smaller teams a better chance of a run in the cup. The Brazilian Cup is like any other cup format whereby teams are drawn against each other in rounds until the final is reached a winner is crowned.

Copa Libertadores

The Copa Libertadores – The Champions League of South America. The competition every manager aims for. After the preliminary round is out the way we enter the group stages which is split into eight groups of four. Teams will play each other twice totalling six games and the top two will qualify for the second round. The second round is sorted by drawing the best placed first placed team with the worst qualifying second team, this is sorted by drawing up a league table of the first placed teams and a seperate league table for the second place teams. The team placed top of the first placed teams will play the team placed bottom of the second placed teams with second playing second bottom and so forth. After the draw for the second round has been made using this format the road to the final takes shape with a simple cup format. The winner of the Copa Libertadores qualifies for the Club World Championship which allowed you ply your trade against champions over the world including the Champions League winners!

Azzuri;

Napoli are widely regarded as one of the most promising teams in Serie A. Despite being an established club, spending almost all of their existance in Italy’s top flight the club now find itself in a promising position with a young, talented and exciting squad who with some work could be the team in the future that brings home Napoli’s 3rd title in its history.

Your aim is to deliver as much glory to Naples as possible and with a chairman who loves the club, a team full of young potential and Europe to look forward to straight away first season you have your hands full from the off.

Markey Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi lead the long list of names who will be wanted by major clubs around the world and it leaves you with a dilemma, do you keep ahold of your top players, possibly against their wishes, or let them leave and blood your own title winning team.

Either way this won’t be an easy ride with the likes of Inter, AC and Juventus to contend with although on the other hand it won’t be the most difficult challenge you’ve ever encountered with pretty low expectations for the quality of team.

Managerscore Points will be awarded for the following;

Manager Of The Month Award: 4 point
Manager Of The Year Award: 12 points
Player Of The Month Award: 4 points
Player Of The Year Award: 12 points
1st Place In Serie A: 50 points
2nd Place In Serie A: 30 points
3rd Place In Serie A: 15 points
4th Place In Serie A: 10 points
Win Italian Cup: 20 points
Win UEFA Cup: 35 points
Win Champions League: 75 points

Bonus Points

Go unbeaten for the course of the season against both Milan clubs (league): 15 points
Have a player score over 25 league goals: 20 points
Win a competitive fixture with an all Italian team (including used subs): 15 points
Goal Difference of +60 or higher in any one league season: 15 points

-You must have version 9.3
-This challenge will remain open for the foreseeable future, there is no deadline.
-Screenshots may be requested at any time although are appreciated for any points gained.
-If you have any questions, do not be afraid to leave a post in the Challenge Section.
-Manager reputation of ‘automatic’.

Up For Grabs;

Also up for grabs we have a special pack of FM top trump cards. More details on how this can be won, including pictures will be added in the next few hours.

Good luck.

FMV Official Challenge #3

FMV Official Challenge #2

FMV Official Challenge #1

Template for posting teams.

Template for rating teams.

Example of how it works.

Rate My Team forum.

Become a registered member and join in the fun!

It gives registered members a chance to gamble credits on matches that we put up in our own bookie section. Its all a bit of fun which passes the time and adds some banterous discussion. All you need to do is become a registered member of our forums, takes literally a minute of your time, the registration page can be found here and you are already on your way to gambling your sorrows away.

The following links may prove useful as well;

FMV Bookie

FMV Bookie Subforum

God knows how but currently its our resident junkie Jordo that leads the pack as the richest member. Someone please change that before it grows his already over expanding ego!

Good luck!

Club Managing: Tottenham
Division: Premiership
Nationality: Scottish
Date In Game: 3rd September 2014
Patch: 9.02
Database Size: Small

Synopsis:
Well as part of the FMV 1st Official Challenge my journey started out as Birmingham manager. After 5 years with Birmingham bringing the likes of Falcao and Ochoa to the midlands and assembling a strong mid table squad I had acheived all I could.

Tottenham came sniffing last season and I joined and was given a budget of £20m. After selling ageing players such as Srna, Modric etc I brought in a very nice sum of money and spent it all assembling a squad for the Champions League. I did this and managed to finish 4th and so you start in the Champs League with a group consisting of Braga, Villareal and Steaua.

The squad itself is very strong and young and could mount a title challenge if luck goes your way. Up front you have the fire power of Marquinhos, Di Pietro (Del Piero playalike), Saivet, Erding with the likes of Villaluz, Fernandez, Sahin, Ben Arfa in midfield. There are some really exciting young regens such as Zoltan Kallai, David Maes, Mitrovic and Di Pietro, all of which could become world class players and already play a vital part in the team.

You can expect a budget of around £30m without player sales after this season but with a large squad there are many players you could ship out for extra money. After this season though when the balance is on the rise and the Champs League income takes its toll you could realistically look to make your way up the richest clubs list.

Targeted At :
Almost any type of manager. You’re not quite the best in the league yet so you still have a little bit of work to do. There are a very high quality of regens around and many at your squad. I’d say anyone who wants a good game 6 or so seasons in, this would appeal very well. With most of the original players still around its interesting to see who takes up staff roles etc and with new players making their mark on world football.

The original thread can be found here

Name; Leonardo de Vitor Santiago
Better Known As; Leonardo
Age; 25
Club; Ajax
Nationality; Brazilian
Value; £1.8m
Position; AML
Screenshot; Current Ability

Signing Him;
Leonardo starts the game on the transfer list thus making him one of the best bargains you can pick up at the start. He is not overly fussy on which teams he will move to and seems happy to move to most clubs in the top tiers of their country from Rangers to Watford you’ll be able to attract him almost anywhere within reason. Ajax are normally insistant they receive at least £1.1m for the Brazilian but are happy to part when this figure is reached with Leonardo himself requiring wages of under £10k, possibly lower with some haggling. Leonardo will also not need a work permit as has Dutch listed as his second nationality.

Stengths
Think of a typical Brazilian attacker and you think of flair, creativity and the ability to dribble past anything that moves. Think of these and you’ve summed up Leonardo, the lad is a typical skillful Brazilian and offers everything a winger should and more. His most impressive ability is without doubt his dribbling [20], paired with his amazing pace [15], flair [18], agility [19] and technique [20] as well as decent strength for a winger [13] shows that with the ball at his feet he can rip teams to shreds. All these attributes show what he is capable of with a ball at his feet, he also had decent crossing ability [14], passing ability [17] as well as very high creativity [19] meaning he really is an assist machine out on the left hand side adding an end product to his ability to manouvre around the pitch with ease.

Weaknesses
Again thinking of a typical Brazilian attacker you’d be forgiven for thinking of a lazy git. Unfortunately Leonardo is just that. His work rate is a measly [2] along with his very poor teamwork this could cause severe problems. This begs the question of what type of midfielder you need, if you need a battler who will track back and help your team defend then forget Leonardo straight away. If you want to take the risk of having someone with very low work rate on your team but with outstanding technical ability then go for it. As expected with a winger Leonardo will never be a makeshift defender with very poor defending abilities and also will never have the ability to challenge in the air with poor jumping and heading attributes. It is of my opinion that his technical ability far outweight his poor work rate though and is well worth the risk.

Tactics;
Primarily listed as an attacking left winger Leonardo is also competent in an attacking position in the centre or on the right, also listed as being able to be deployed as a striker or centre mid but this is not recommended if you wish to extract the raw talent this Brazilian offers. Not much players in the world can match Leonardo’s technical ability on his day and it may be a good idea to focus your team around him to cater for his poor work rate and teamwork. Make sure the ball is played to his feet as he has an excellent first touch and as described above once the ball is at his feet its easy from there.

Like with all wingers instruct him to run with the ball often as well as crossing the ball often. A mixture of deep crosses and crosses from the byline are recommended as Leonardo can easily mix it up with both, this of course depends on the type of strikers you have to aim for. His high creativity can also be taken advantage off with high creative freedom, letting him do his own thing and letting his technical ability do the talking. Its also recommended he is told to focus his passing rather directly to the strikers, utilising his world class passing ability. With a player with such poor work rate it is a good idea to instruct him not to close down regularly as this certainly isn’t an area he excels in.

Training;
Firstly areas such as attacking and ball control are areas which Leonardo is already almost perfect in but should be focused on a little to maintain this level of ability, there is no point in high schedules involving these routines as there is little room for improvement. I would focus a schedule for Leonardo on tactics and aerobic work. A high tactical routine will help improve Leonardo’s somewhat average balance etc as well as his pace which although is good, can be improved on and would only make him a better player as a result.

Defending and goalkeeping routines aren’t essential at all and although maybe a very small amount of defending neither would be missed from a schedule. A high shooting routine may also help Leonardo with his goalscoring exploits improving his finishing and composure as well as long shots which may well see him crop up in the scoresheet as well as helping others do so. It is down to preference for how rigorous a set piece routine he is given but in my opinion set pieces are not essential for any player and this would only unneccessarily increase his workload.

Final Verdict; 8.5/10
It may seem a risk at first with his disappointing work rate and teamwork but this lads technical ability is outstanding. For £1.1m you are getting a typical Brazilian attacker who is just approaching his prime, the word profit instantly springs to mind as this will certainly be heading your way if he hits form and attracts interest. A typical winger with added flair and creativity, a must buy if you are in the market for a left winger!