Pre-Season Update

Well, the start of my maiden Premier League Run is about to begin, and here is the start of my decisive season.

I decided to aim for a mid-table placing, due to the number of transfers I was making, It seemed sensible.



We were given a heap of cash from TV rights, and also players being sold helped me purchase some quality players, so of which were outlined last post.



A very fitting way for me to start the season, against Man Utd and Arsenal. It will be a test, but I am ready to take them on.



Squad



New Players

Marek Cech (West Brom)


Lucas Neil (West Ham)


Glauber (Man City)


James McFadden (Birmingham)


Miroslav Stoch (Free)
(Apparently has the potential to be world class)


Dan Spence (Free)


Dean Ashton (West Ham)


Willy Sagnol (FC Bayern)


The emphasis is on defence this season, as I think my team can cope offensively.

A very short update, but from now on, due to school, I will have very small updates during the week, with large ones on the weekend.

End of Season Wrap

In the advent of hearing that the editor in FM 2010 will have an editor capable of creating leagues, I have decided to create a challenge for all those Australian FM players out there. It will contain two/three new divisions below the A-League, which will contain state leagues. This will reflect on what the A-League expansion will look like. This challenge will be for Australian players, as there is next to no challenges for us out there, and anyone else who wishes to try out an Australian league.

P.S. I have decided to try a new layout to my posts. I am doing this so I can focus on tactics during matches instead of writing. Please post some feedback.

With three games to play, Wolves qualified for promotion. With Reading already having won the league almost 5 matches ago, this was great, with the pressure off, and other teams were now battling it out for the third and final place in the Premier League. There will be a major reshuffle of the squad for next season, with certain players already guaranteed a spot in my plans, however the others will have to work for it.

So, in order to wrap up this season, the final match for us was at Ashton Gate, Bristol. Finishing second was a great achievement for a side destined to be borderline playoff contenders. Below are the fixtures/results list for the season, as well as the table. I have begun searching for players to bolster my Premier League squad. With the exciting prospect of a large transfer budget, I hope to entice a large number of highly skilled players to help us stay in the Premier League. A number of deals for high-profile players were made, but fell through at the last minute. Two confirmed signings are Marek Cech from West Brom, Lucas Neil from the recently relegated West Ham, Glauber, the Brazilian defender from Manchester City, Miroslav Stoch, after being dropped from Chelsea, Dan Spence, after being sacked from Reading, Dean Ashton from West Ham, and James McFadden from Birmingham. On a staff level, Terry Connor, Wolves former Assistant Manager was sacked by me, on the grounds of poor advice during the season. A number of his calls and judgement were quite poor, including press conferences. His replacement was former Manchester United First Team Coach (who we signed him from) Rene Meulensteen, who has experience managing Brondby, Al-Sadd in Qatar, and Al-Gharrafa also in Qatar. He is a World Class staff member and is a welcomed addition to my backroom personnel.

Here is a quick SLIDE containing our new staff and players.

Obviously, my player of the year has to be striker Ebanks-Blake. He is just so speedy, which works perfectly to the way I manage. His trademark blasting of the ball is just brilliant to watch, and he gets us out of so much danger. He will no doubt be a definite starter for next season. Within the first 20 league matches, he had already blitzed the goal scoring record, and at the end of the season, finished at a whopping 47 goals.

In terms of awards, I finally received the Manager of the Month award. 4 out of 5 league victories. Hurrah for me :)



The seasonal awards were given out, first up, the Goal of the Season. The award was won by Guillaume Beuzelin of Coventry against Blackpool (April 18th). The goal was a first time shot from way outside the area to equalize for Coventry on the 78th minute. Coming in second place, was Pablo Counago of Ipswich, against QPR (October 4th). With the score at 2-0 down for Ipswich, A cross outside the area found Counago, who took a first time shot to the top corner of the net. In third place, was our very own Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, against Sheff Wed (December 6th). Scores at 1-1, Ebanks-Blake takes the ball from the Wolves half, dribbles past 2 defenders, before rounding the keeper and scoring.



The Manager of the Year award was handed out to none other than Steve Tilson of Reading. Taking control of Reading half-way through the season, he kept the team's momentum flowing, in winning the league. Coming in second is yours truly, after taking the Wolves through to promotion, and not losing to Reading in the whole campaign. In third was Dave Jones of Ipswich, who took the team 12 places above what was predicted, to win the playoffs and secure promotion to the premier division, the first time the club's been in the division since 2001/2002.



The Players' Select this year is made up of 8 clubs. No real surprises in this team, apart from Matt Jarvis of Wolves, who had a shocking season, considering his chances.



Finishing up the awards section is Top Goalscorer, which went to none other than Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who scored a whopping 47 goals. Second to that was Kevin Doyle of Reading, who scored 34, and in third was Jason Scotland, who scored 25 to help Swansea achieve a very impressive 11th. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's large amount of goals has beaten the previous record of 31 goals by 16, which was set in 1998/1999 by Lee Hughes of (then) West Brom.




Fixtures/Results



Table




Notable Matches

The friendly against Melbourne Victory was a match that was quite one-sided, but a valiant effort from the home side reduced the scoreline to lower than what the stats reflected. The experience of the Wolves squad showed in the end, 3-0 winners.



The match against Ipswich was supposed to be a draw, however the Wolves showed exactly how to play football. They managed to win despite having less shots, and the scoreline was absolutely brilliant. The man-of the match award should've been awarded to the Ipswich keeper, who, whenever he cleared the ball, had to be on guard as another attack was on the way.



So, to end this post, this season has been one of big scorelines, so I leave you now with a montage of our biggest scorelines.

Closing stages of the Season + FM 2010 Announcement

Coming into this next post in winning fashion was great. 5-1 to Crystal Palace. Ebanks-Blake is on fire at the moment, scoring a hell amount of goals. 7 in the last 5 matches. He has improved rapidly during this campaign, and I'd love to see more of him in the remainder of the season. This might be a long shot call, but I am surprised that he hasn't been shunned into any of the England teams.

An unchanged team for the Derby Match, hopefully a similar result as last match can be achieved. Ebanks-Blake found the net on 4 minutes, smashing it into the top corner. 2 minutes later, he blasted just wide of the post. Hulse hit the crossbar for Derby on the 20th minute, before a counter attack bagged Vokes a simple one-on-one tap in. James had a free-kick on 30 minutes, which went wide. Ebanks-Blake's header went just over the bar on 30 minutes, before Villa forced Federici to make a brilliant save. Green then struck the ball just over a minute later. Ebanks-Blake scored a goal after a header deflected off the bar, 3-0, then James made it 4 with his first ever goal.

Carroll made a save on the 59th minute to save a great header from Elokobi. A very quite second half came to an end, with the scoreline looking very one-sided. What a tactic this has turned out to be.



The next match against Blackpool should be easy, so I played Iwelumo in his first match in ages. This should shut up his first team pleas.

Keogh had a shot from 30 out, missing just on the 12th minute. Collins header hit the crossbar on 22, before James free-kick on 25th missed by just. James forced a fantastic save from the opposition keeper, before Jarvis' inswinging corner went wrong. Keogh took a shot but missed wide again. He has been wasteful today. Stearman almost found the net on 40 minutes. Iwelumo finally scored on the 44th minute following winning the ball in the 6 yard box. Half time, 1-0.

Ebanks-Blake replaced Keogh who was having a torrid game, at half-time. Wolves kicked off the half. Ebanks-Blake shot was parried by the keeper, before it being cleared. Our defensive line was holding strong, stopping Blackpool from getting into the box. Ebanks-Blake took a solo run from half way to give Wolves a deserved 2-0 lead. Full-time, 2-0.



The next game against Barnsley was another we would have to work for. Their defensive line is very strong, and Ebanks-Blake speed is still not enough to completely assure us victory. With the match between the two clubs chosen as a fan day by Barnsley, it will be quite funny to inflict a defeat. Following the goal he scored in the previous match, Iwelumo won his place in the first team yet again.

Hume scored the first goal from distance on the 11th minute. 1-0 down. Knightly's free kick went just wide on 13 minutes. Iwelumo then scored on 16, to equalize. An error by Stearman conceded a corner, but Van der Shaaf cleared the danger. Half-time, 1-1.

Hill's header early on found the keeper, before at the other end, Federici made a great save. Macken then scored for Barnsley, after Rocha made a vital error. Stearman hit wide on 80 minutes, before a corner on 88 minutes. Full-time. 2-1 loss.



The next game was against front-runners Reading. A full strength (bar Rebrov who is injured) will be played, a I hope that a few tactic changes can mastermind a victory.

Kick-off could not have started better, with Taylor-Fletcher scoring in 30 seconds. Knightly took the ball down the wing, before crossing for Taylor-Fletcher. Doyle came close, only denied by Federici from point-blank. Ebanks-Blake then scored on the 34th minute, following a great through-ball, however a minute later a sensational save by Federici kept Reading at bay. Hill came close on 47 minutes, before half-time. 2-0.

Ebanks-Blake went close on 48 minutes, heading just wide. Doyle was denied by Federici, he was having an excellent game. Metejovsky went wide on 58, as Reading continued to hammer the Wolves goal. A counter attack helped Ebanks-Blake score on 60, before Vokes shot was brilliantly parried by Hahnnemann. James forced a top draw save from Hahnemann, before Doyle countered and finally scored. A lifeline. At full time, Wolves showed who is the best in the league, following a dominating 3-1 win. It seems careless losses are the cause of our problems, however we inflicted Reading's first defeat in a whopping 12 league games.



A scare for us, as Ebanks-Blake was ruled out for a month following an injury. The rest of the team needs to suit up in order to cover for him. We were facing Burnley, so the problem was not as big as first seen.

We conceded the first goal, from a header. Not the best start. Thompson came close later on, before James hit the side netting on the 22nd. Rebrov's goal went wide short after. 1-0 down.

Stearman's header went just over the bar, before James' stuffed up cross was countered on for a Burnley corner. The header went just wide. Vokes' shot went just wide on 81, however Taylor-Fletcher wasted a one-on-one opportunity on 85th. Full-time, lost 1-0. The team once again, has faultered to a lesser opponent.



The next game against QPR was another must win, in order to keep the gap between 2nd and 3rd as it is.

Cook came close for QPR early on, however the shot went wide. QPR scored first through Ledesma, 25 yards out. James stuffed up a one-on-one opportunity, but 3 minutes later, Keogh scored to equalize. Vokes then scored off a header on 28. 2-1 ahead. Vine then scored for QPR after beating the defence. 2-2. Half-time.

Taylor-Fletcher came close early one, before QPR found the net through Balanta. 3-2 down. Knightly hit the post on 60, before Taylor Fletcher squandered a chance on 69. Vokes then scored on 72nd, 3-3. Knightly had a chance against an open net, before shooting wide. Vokes had a goal disallowed on 91, for offside. Full-time, 3-3.



Next match against Sheff Utd was a match that we couldn't take for granted. Sheff Utd are another team that are not as high on the table, however, teams like that have shown how to play Football properaly.

Vokes' hit the bar early on from a Knightly cross. Keogh's horrid shot stopped before the line wide, before Vokes scored from a header on the 27th. Sharp scored for Sheff United on 28, almost immediately. Half time, 1-1.

Keogh's cross was pushed away, before Henry recieved a yellow card. Keogh's attempt to round the keeper failed, with the shot parried. Federici's error in goals, dallying on the ball conceded the goal for Sheff Utd, 2-1 down. Vokes powerful shot was saved on the 75th. Rocha's shot went just over the bar, before full-time. 2-1 loss.



Against Watford, I employed a new tactic, and hopefully, something could come out of that game.

Vokes almost scored on 2nd, lobbing the keeper, before it being gobbled up. Vokes then scored on the 5th minute, after a great through ball. Vokes header on 16 went just wide. Keogh rounded the keeper to score a brilliant individual goal on 24 minutes, before he did it again directly after his first. Wolves then scored through James, following a good cross. 4-0 in 30 minutes, with more to come. Federici made a brilliant save on 48 minutes, to keep it 4-0 at half time.

Keogh finished off a run on 50 minutes to make the score 5-0. Federici made a save directly after to gift Watford a corner, it was cleared by Rocha. What a great played he has been for us this season. James scored a goal from an impossible angle to give the game a massive scoreline. Keogh almost scored a goal from 50 metres out, it hitting the post. Smith almost scored for Watford, however he put it wide. Full-time, 6-0.




Our current first team looks as it does below:



Our current best performing new signing is by far Chris James. A large number of assists, and three goals for him. He is also very well disciplined. His stats increased dramatically due to training (by about 4 or 5), and also directly after his international friendly.



At the moment, Reading have already booked their spot in the playoffs, but not that they will play it. They are on fire. We are sitting under them, but ahead of third by 3 points. A number of missed oppotunities have prevented us from increasing that number.



The injury to Ebanks-Blake has been horrible for the campaign, with a large reduction in goals (except for the Watford game), and we will all be welcoming him back when he is back to full fitness.

Also, on FM News, FM 2010 has been announced, for 30th October 2009. Can't wait. Also something that is worth noting is the (re)opening of FM Scene on the 19 September, a great site which is undergoing revamps and a new management.

Taken from the FM website:

"The introduction of a Tactics Creator makes it easier to instruct the team to play the way the manager wants, alongside the introduction of touchline ‘shouts’ and quick tactic changes for instantly altering your team’s playing style during the match. Working with coaches from various levels of football, alongside some of the Football Manager communities most respected independent tacticians, the game now has an extensive array of pre-set tactical options allowing the user to select a player’s role in the team (such as ‘Ball winning midfielder’ or ‘Deep lying playmaker’), however the option to use the old ‘slider’ controls remains.

Feedback from matches has been improved to give the user better insight into where their team is going wrong, or right. A new Match Analysis tool lets players see where shots, passes, crosses, headers, tackles, fouls and interceptions have been made on the field for all players on the pitch. Managers can view this analysis both live in-game and post match, allowing them to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of both their team and their opponent’s and adjust their tactics accordingly.

Football Manager 2010 features a brand new User Interface, with a light and a dark skin to choose from as part of a vibrant new look and has undergone a complete navigational overhaul. The side bar navigation of previous years has been replaced by an intuitive tab system at the top of the screen, making Football Manager’s famed depth easier to navigate and will make the game more accessible to new players.

A brand new Data Editor will allow the addition of new divisions to existing leagues and of entirely new leagues as well as making it easier than ever to keep the game up to date, and do so for free. The delivery of information to the manager has been refined with users now able to sign up to the News Centre, an in-game subscription based newspaper that lets you get the news that you want about the football world and filter out the stories that you do not need, making the football world as immersive as you want it to be.

Following the debut of a 3D match view in Football Manager 2009, this year’s release sees a revamp with improved AI, over 100 new animations for the 3D pitch view, new stadiums, crowds, realistic pitch degradation and better lighting, creating an even more realistic match experience. "



Release: October 30th, 2009.

Great League Update

The first match this time round was against Watford in the FA Cup. We made our signings, Taylor Fletcher, James, and Van der Chaaf. I hoped they would make a splash.

With the player's debut in the FA Cup, a win was needed. On 12, Keogh went one-on-one, missing by inches. On 16, James powered a header just wide of the post. Keogh scored on the 44th minute after a great Ebanks-Blake run and cross. 1-0 at half time.

Taylor Fletcher came on at half time, and I hope the money I spent would not go to waste. We virtually forced Watford to take long shots, as we had a great defensive performance. Taylor-Fletcher's long shot went just wide of the post on 70. A free-kick was awarded on the stroke of full-time on the edge of the area, but no time to take it.



After drawing the FA Cup Fourth Round thingy, we were drawn against the mighty Manchester United. I don't expect to win, but I hope a good performance is in order. Our next match however, was against Plymouth. Hopefully, our current form will take us into this match successfully.

Kick off against Plymouth. We conceded a free-kick on 8, but they missed. We started on the back foot, with shot count 4 to 1. Keogh headed the ball into the side netting on 24 before we conceded on the 27th. Half-time, down 1-0.

Taylor-Fletcher chipped the keeper with his first shot in the second, landing on top of the net. Van der Shaaf was sent off on 70 minutes, and it seems the team was destined for another horridly embarrassing loss. Mpenza then scored on the 82nd minute, another horrid loss, back to the beginning. Ebanks-Blake then scored on the 96th minute, giving a little credibility to a horrid match.



Our next match was a must win to give us some leeway, with only 3 points between us and the nearest rivals. Southampton are on a two match winning streak, and we had to win. Not an easy task.

We started off well, with Euell sent off in the first 2 minutes. We almost scored through Ebanks-Blake on the 16th minute. Ebanks-Blake then scored on the 22nd minute, lobbing the keeper. A corner on the 39th minute rendered Jarvis injured, after a horrid collision. He was replaced by David Jones. 1-0 at half time. Vokes replaced Keogh at half as well.

A few great saves by Hennessey saved our bacon, however Dyer was really dominating his right wing. Stearman had an easy chance on the 87th minute, before blasting it over the bar from 6 yards, and Ebanks-Blake squandered a one-on-one opportunity on 88. Full time, 1-0.



At the time, we were sitting second, with Reading still steaming ahead. Reading were undoubtedly going to win the league, but we hadn't lost all hope of a last game upset.



Our next match was against the mighty Manchester United, it was obviously going to be a colourful match. The thrill of playing at Old Trafford is also a largely anticipated thing for the players.

We conceded first, through Manucho on the 12th minute. Stearman missed an easy interception for go down. Hennessey made a save a minute later to stop Manucho from scoring another. Anderson scored from close range on the 23rd after taking the ball off Stearman on the 6 yard box. Ebanks-Blake went close on 30, but blaster it over. He did score on 33, showing off the prowess that makes him a quality striker. Half time, we were doing well, only 2-1 down.

Stearman was taken off following a bad first half, and then the match restarted. Carrick missed a header straight after the interval, as Wolves survived a mass wave of attack, before conceding through Berbatov on the 62nd. Taylor-Fletcher went wide on the 80, before Ebanks-Blake was only denied by van Der Sar. Giggs then missed horribly on the 83rd minute. Manucho then rounder the keeper to score a 4-1 scoreline. Van der Shaaf headed over the bar on 88, before James shot went inches wide. Full-time, 4-1.



The next match against Coventry, was once again, a match which can be won. The team needed to suit up, in order to get a direct promotion.

With another new tactic, going into the match was not easy, but finding a balance between attack and defence was what I am after. A Vokes cross found Jones in acres of space, before hitting the post from point-blank. A waste. A bad back-pass gave us a corner, a chance to go ahead. Cleared away. A Jones corner was wasted going out. Keogh hit a shot at the keeper, who parried wide. Taylor-Fletcher was injured, replaced by Rebrov. Henry came close to scoring on the 41st, before Vokes headed just over the bar. A match which we were dominating was still at 0-0. Ebanks-Blake replaced Vokes at half-time.

Rebrov found Keogh, who rounded a defender, and missed by inches. Ebanks-Blake came close on 57, before he hit the crossbar minutes later. Coventry came close with Eastwood squandering a one-on-one effort. A penalty was awarded from a trip by Rocha, which was scored by Ward. Elokobi's cross found Stearman, who headed over the bar. A match in which Wolves dominated was lost out due to a controversial penalty.



The match against Crystal Palace was a revenge match, after a dogged 3-0 loss away last time. A few tactic changes hopefully would help us use Ebanks-Blake speed more, and Chris James midfield ability. A great training schedule was helping us a lot.

Adam Federici made his return to football in this match, after impressing during training. No other changes were made apart from tactics.

Ebanks-Blake scored an incredible goal on the 2nd minute, before making it 2 on 4 minutes. What a start. Keogh almost scored on the 23rd, but missed an easy chance. Ebanks-Blake lobbed the keeper to make it 3-0 on 37. What a game for him. Keogh made it 4-0 from close range on 40 minutes. Rebrov came close soon after, so did Ebanks-Blake. An impossible 4-0 at half-time. A new radical tactic seems to work a treat. An attacking approach is quite risky, unless you have great defenders.

Knightly found Ebanks-Blake who scored his 4th straight after half-time. Federici made a superb save on 62. Kuqi finally scored for Crystal Palace on 78 minutes, following a good through ball. Full-time, 5-1.

A stunning match.



The league table is still virtually the same as last time, with us 13 points behind, but 3 points ahead of the next rival. I hope to bring the Crystal Palace form with me to the Premier League. Birmingham and Charlton are doing horrible, promotion favourites now look like being relegated.



The current squad for the Wolves is at the moment quite different. As I said before, Federici impressed at training and for Australia. Other than that, no other changes are present. Knightly is upset that he had a transfer from Everton rejected. He won't be as angry if we get promoted.



The upcoming fixtures are not problem, apart from the match against league 'owners' Reading. At the moment, I am in the process of organising friendlies during the season against some teams around the world, most notably Australian Champions Melbourne Victory.




A number of transfers were made over this transfer season, including the following, most notably the one from Everton.



A range of random statistic about the team, which may or may not be interesting to you.



After that long message, I am still positive that becoming champions is still possible. Hard, but possible, and my goal at the moment is to remain virtually undefeated for the remainder of the season. So that's all from me this post, have fun reading, spread the word about my blog, don't forget to keep tuning in :P.

Keep on Fm-ing.

turner