After 100 wonderful posts, 3 excitement filled pages, many FM being FM moments and a handful of posts from an incognito TBL hiding like James Bond, it's been decided we'll set up a new FM save.
"But why, Swifty [last true and legit LGC member]?" you may ask. "You were doing so well at Casa Pia, why start a new save?"
I'll tell you why, TBL. It's because Danwell and Reed cba to play Casa Pia anymore. Just like Reed cba to beat BEO.
So, who are the contenders, you ask?
First up it's Danwell Stirling. Danwell was recently involved in a plot to oust and kick his best buddy Swifty from LGC and has since spent many nights bawling his cold, heartless northern eyes out. Give them a wave, Danwell. You duplicitious shithouse.
Next up it's Joshing Reedle. Reedle likes to spend his spare time competing with downs sufferers for the affections of 50 year old cleaning ladies. His arch nemesis is TBL, but unlike many fictional comic book protagnists, Reedle will never win. This has given rise to the age old adage "Reed will deliver". He never does, folks.
Following on from the standard setting Reedle is Legend. Believe it or not, Legend completed 1 season of our Casa Pia game before calling it quits. We have high hopes for him this time around. I've promised him one of Binhs cities if he completes 2 seasons. He also is in a mood with me right now. Gosh, what a baby. *
Then we have Benton Martin. He's a legit dickhead. * **
And finally, we have your host. SWIFTY BIGCOCK. If there was a brand to plaster all over this enterprise, it would be my dark, beaming, suave and mysterious face. I, Mr LGC, embody all the qualities of a good FMer. Good financial control, patience and defence in my cities when I get OOP.
* Might not actually play. ** If plays, will probably post 1 update after reloading/simming to victory, not bother again and claim over and over he's won the CL with subsequent seasons.
Not involved in this game currently (mainly because they're too poor to afford it):
"Hodor" himself, it's Brannigans "Dumb dumb" Law.
The blood sucking, gormless goth, it's Osiris.
He'll bite your leg off, it's Fordius.
THE LEAGUE? Ligue UHHH. THE TEAM? Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne THE TIME? Now.
[3:57:32 PM] Daniel Stirling: so, Belgium Eng Ger Holl Ita Por and Spa, all top league [3:57:36 PM] Daniel Stirling: France top 2 [3:57:39 PM] Daniel Stirling: large database [3:57:54 PM] Daniel Stirling: we hiding stats
So here i am, last games champion and current title holder of the multiplayer cup.
We decided after much debating and listening to swifty moan that we would play in France as a top league relegation fodder, something different its nice to have a bit of money, the choice eventually came down to either Troyes or Valencieneseseseseeeeesss, we picked Troyes, its easier to spell.
the team was pretty poor but had several players who showed promise a nifty winger/stiker a creative DM and two very speedy full backs i decided to raid the market and found these lovely gentlemen who after a small chat and laughs about swiftys real age (almost 30) decided to join my plans of french domination.
Signed the young poacher on a free with a view to training him up and selling on for a decent fee, its all about the future baby
Another one for the future
Now this fine specimen was kindly loaned to me from a Argentinian club for 300k he became my top scorer with a goal tally of 15 unfortunately with a high price tag im not willing to carry on this partnership
Another loanee who provided cover for the central midfielders, gave some very strong performances when called upon
The signing of the season, this guy out performed all my players in the first half of the season and quickly gained interest, during the January transfer an offer of 3.2million came in and i couldn't refuse.
Another freebie. he quickly became a first team regular playing all around midfield, an invaluable asset
The only player to command a fee in the first transfer window, a hefty 1.2million was spent on this mudman(binhs words not mine) he was worth every penny, an absolute rock in my leaky defence
So even with my new signings i was still sucking, a swiftyesque first half of the season, changes had to be made, we couldn't struggle like all of swifties previous attempts, i had to visit the bank.
With such a dire situation i went on a spending spree to boost my team we needed to claw our way out of relegation
With such quality signings our fortunes swiftly turned around and we couldnt stop winning, smashing the Troyes record of winning games, things seems brighter we dreamed again
then it happen the swifty form reared its ugly(and old) face again the defeats kept coming we slipped further and further down the table FML.
so we safely survived relegation but nothing much, a season of some highs but alot of lows with abit of money and a strong foundation this team will go places.
time to do a Brenton and spend some of daddy's money!
I fully contemplated copying Danwells post, inserting my own images, then posting it. Because really, our seasons basically mirrored each others. Shit starts, tinkering of the team in the Jan transfer window and a strong push from there with a stumble towards the end.
When I was appointed manager, I analysed the squad and noticed we had a lot of average defenders, a lot of good attacking midfielders and very little else for squad depth. So I set about restructuring the team around these two pillars. I took a rather risky approach in adopting a continental style of play, which I never, ever do. We went with 3 at the back, a lot of midfield strength and a focus on passing. To say we played beautifully is an understatement. The interchanging and passing was magnificent, we would dominate teams with possession and had the majority of shots most games, but the team would struggle to put them away. It took a while for the team to adapt to these formation change. "Pleez monsiour Moore, mey ve pley fuoor fuoor tvu?". No, fuck off you french faggots.
In the summer window I went with the tried and tested, and often backfiring Moorely approach of getting old players on the cheap. We made 8 signings, 7 of which were well over 30 years old and the final one was 16. All of them came in on frees or loans, while we offloaded several players for £2.6m. Ballsy, Moorely, ballsy.
Our start to the season was woeful. We didn't win a single league game until match day 9 where we beat Marseille. Following the Marseille game, we went 10 games without winning and were firmly rooted to the bottom of the league. We now found ourselves in January.
For many FM editions, January has been a thorn in my side, as I am to LGC's Fantasian ambitions. Usually I would enter January with excellent form and a good league position and leave it tearing my hair out. That is why I clicked "continue" with such trepidation. It was now make or break time. We were 8 points behind a shockingly bad and oil rich PSG who were just above the relegation spots. I pulled out my wallet, Reed's ASDA business card fell out, I picked it up, put it back in and handed over a cheque for £475k. We signed 3 more players. All over 30. But potential game changers.
And game changers, they were. The first game of the new year was vs Lyon. We won. We would lose the following game, but the winning mentality was beginning to set. We won the 3 games after this, including an away win against eventual Champions Lille. It was on. Cmon you.. [Checks wikipedia: Nickname(s) Troyes] uh, you.. Troyes. Of the 19 league games from January onwards, we won an impressive 10, drew 3 and lost 6. It was enough to climb out of the relegation zone and secure safety with games to spare.
And my summers signings [names redacted so Reed/Benton [if he plays] can't copy. Cuz they always copy]:
Tidy player, didn't really perform pre-Jan. Worked his way back into the side towards the end of the season. 12 games. 6.93 rating.
This guy pissed and moaned more than Reedle did after I battered him on Fant. "Pls leave monsiour Moore, pls leave". 7 games, 1 man of the match. 7.37 rating.
You think having to put up with Bentons bitchiness 24/7 is depressing? Try being this guy. Poor morale non stop. 8 games, 0 goals, 0 assists. 6.87 rating.
Was set back severely by injury and only managed to play 9 games. A shame, he had all the stats. 7.01 rating.
Had a good season. 21 games, 2 goals, 1 man of the match. 7.24 rating.
One for the future. No games.
Was pretty wank to be fair. Played 4 games then I stopped bothering with him. Only £1.6k a week though, so idgaf. 0 goals. 0 assists. 6.93 rating.
Was the bus infront of my defence. 35 games, 1 goal, 1 man of the match. 7.31 rating.
And my January signings:
Each save seems to have a Messiah. If there was one for this game, it's this guy. 15 games, 3 goals, 4 assists, 4 man of the matches. 7.49 rating.
Didn't really play. Was just signed as a back up for N'Sakala [who is immense btw] 6 games. 6.93 rating.
A bit like Danwell on Fantasia. He had all the potential, but didn't really fulfill it or perform on the big stage. Would probably do better at a lower level. 11 games, 1 goal, 1 assist. 6.81 rating.
Thanks for posting Reed/Benton/Legend. It's an honour to follow after you guys.
SEASON 2:
One man defined our season more than any other. He was responsible for our spectacular highs and our low..well, ther weren't any lows. It was a fucking great season, mates. No time for lows, this is the success train. Now all aboard [except Benton. Sry, no simmers allowed]. But who is this man, you ask? The man of the moment is called Corentin Jean. And he plays shit under Danwell Stirlin.
Corentin Jean is a bit of an enigma. Think of a young Michael Owen/Paul Gascoigne/Eric Cantona rolled into one. He's of a slight build, has exhilerating pace and a cool finish in him. He's technically brilliant and can wow on the pitch. And he also has a temper to match Reed's after a regular beating from TBL. Jean for much of our season was the leading goalscorer not only in our team, but the entire league. He was getting regular call ups to the full national side at the age of -18-. Although he wasn't able to break into the side and displace the likes of Benzema, he was rated highly by all. But there was a darker side to Jean's game. He's a bit of a nutcase. He can't keep himself out of trouble. The lad was banned for 8 league games this season due to violent conduct, with his regular elbow swinging tantrums. I half expect him to kung-fu lunge into the crowd any moment now, that's how much of a loose canon he is. In the end he was overtaken as top goalscorer, but he only has himself to blame for that. You can't spend 1/4 of the season on the sidelines because you're a dickhead. Only Brann spends more time in the stands during a regular season and that's because he's serving burgers.
Jeans stats. He finished the season with 21 goals and 6 assists from 31 games. 7.44 rating. As of this post, Danwells Jean has 2 goals from 10 games. "Okay".
Our league form was not only underpinned by Jean's performances [when he wasn't suspended], but by our rock solid [and frequently mocked by Danwell] defence. They may be pensioners, they may get outpaced by Fordius, but they get the job done with little fuss. The signing of the season, Juhasz, was a rock in the centre of defence and in the eyes of the media perhaps eclipsed Jean in the end with his no nonsense defending.
Juhazs' stats. 42 games for grandpa, with 7 goals and an amazing 17..yes. 17 man of the match awards. 8.03 rating.
The start to the season was slow. We drew and won the opening games before Jean acted a twat and got himself banned for 3 matches. We lost the following 3 games but went on a 10 match unbeaten streak when he returned. Much of the season was spent contesting the 5-7th spots and at times we held 4th, but in the end we fell away and had to settle for 8th. Considering we finished only 3 points off a European place, I can be satisfied with our performance. The cups aren't worth mentioning. We sent our reserve players and they got beaten.
So there's the league table.
And here's a small selection of awards. There were too many to post!
After easily surviving last season and soundly beating swifty once again things were looking good for a push for europe, a flurry of transfer deals began, what big name signings would come to the new Estac revolution? who would leave the team in a swiftyesque tantrum?
Just youths, thats all i could attract, theres not been a bigger let down since misfits emerged. on the bright side with game time they should improve well.
So for the first time in FM VU history swifty has finished higher than me, not due to having more points, nor scoring more goals, not even due to him simming... but because my league was tighter oh and the fact that for the first half of the season i never had a constant first 11 suffering from upto to 6 first team injuries at the same time, but we fought on and shown you can go places with kids, the baby face players reached the french cup quarter finals and only failed to a PSG extra time fluke goal.
FOR SWIFTY
[29/03/2013 17:21:33] SWIFTY bigcock: whose ur top goalscorer
[29/03/2013 17:21:36] SWIFTY bigcock: and how many
[29/03/2013 17:22:02] Daniel Stirling: welsey said 12/6
[29/03/2013 17:22:07] SWIFTY bigcock: pretty bad
[29/03/2013 17:22:12] SWIFTY bigcock: hes no jean thats for sure
[29/03/2013 17:23:46] Daniel Stirling: my season isnt over WS can reach 20!
SWIFTOR VICTORIOUS, HAPPY AND GLORIOUS, LONG TO REIGN OVER US. GOD SAVE THE LAST TRUE LOYAL LEGACY MEMBER
So there we have it. Swifty beats Danwell in S2. And boy was it easy.
Nice list of awards there Danwell. Matches my manager of the year, team of the year, 2x players of the year, 2x players in team of the year, etc. Keep trying son, and don't feel too disheartened.
a tale of two halves this season once again, the first half of the season saw us lose 7, draw 6 and win just 6, a poor first half seems to be a reoccurring problem with ESTAC but never fear, i was again turned things round and our form picked up, scoring a massive 68 goals and impressing the national coach so much he called up AND PLAYED 3 of my french youngsters. the second half of the season ended with an incredible 12 wins 4 draws and just 2 loses. Even with two cup runs my players went into every game with a winning mentality achieving some mind blowing results, Estac 4 Lille 2, PSG 1 Estac 3 to name a few
hmmm dat praise
so where did i finish?
look at that, hard to take in isnt it? well it gets even better
The first Estac Comp Silver ware goes to Stirlin!
it was always to be expected i would perform better than my fellow managers, it happens in every game we play.
Player Stats/Goal scorers
Wesley Said - ST - 36 Games 16 Goals 4 Assists
Corentin Jean - ST - 38 Games 22 Goals 4 Assists 1st top scorer in both cups
Hervin Ongenda - AMC - 40 Games 15 Goals 12 Assists 3rd Top assist maker, Star of the season
Yacine Brahimi - AML - 33 Games 7 Goals 6 Assists
Lenny Nangis - AML - 34 Games 4 Goals 6 Assists
Juan Quintero - AMC - 39 Games 10 Goals 3 Assists
Neeskens Kebano - AMR - 39 Games 4 Goals 9 Assists
Have you ever excelled at a task? Shone brightly and outdone your peers? Sat back with a wide, smug grin on your face? Only to ultimately have that grin wiped off your face by a better, more brilliant person?
Giv' us a wave, Danwell. You shithouse.
Danwell routinely mocks my team as being a one (or two, when I remind him of Juhazs) team. A team that relies on one (or two) performers to pull the team through the league and to reach heady heighs. Today, that myth has been dispelled.
Our early season form was exceptional. Despite being knocked out in the 3rd round of the French League Cup after fielding a reserve side, we were an unstoppable force in the league and held the top spot until the 12th or so game. Then Jean and all my other strikers [bar a reserve player] got injured. The blip was small - 4 games without a win, and when Jean returned we got back to winning ways. But 1st was slipping further and further away from our grasp.
I had a bout of "FM being FM" around January. I wasn't losing games, but I wasn't winning either. My strikers were terribly short on confidence and all of them were on barren goal scoring runs. Even Legend was giving me striker advice, it was that bad! From January to early March we played 8 league games, drawing 6. Our defence was rock solid so I could rely on the team to keep clean sheets, but with our strikers playing so poorly we had to rely on goals from elsewhere. Step up my defenders [15 goals this season] and midfielders [25 goals]. Compare that to 20 goals from my strikers, and not even Danwell can accuse me of being a 1 [or 2] man team this time. We finished the season with a 18 game unbeaten run, just as Jean returned to form. Pretty impressive stuff, I'll agree.
"But what of the French FA Cup, SWIFTY, LAST TRUE LOYAL LEGACY MEMBER", you ask? "What about the cup that actually matters, and not the shitty one that Danwell won?". Well my friends, we made it to the final. And we uh. Well, we lost 2-0 to Montpellier. Fuck sake.
Oh well. Onto the awards.
and finally some of the key signings I made this season. Wheel forward pensioners.
Bodmer. An actual play maker [unlike Danwells Ngoyi]. 34 games, 5 goals, 4 assists. 3 motm. 7.41 rating.
Pierazzi. An actual DM [like Danwells Ngoyi, who's played out of position]. 27 games. 7.07 rating.
And finally, the triumvirate. The rocks of my 3 man defence. Step forward me...no. Leaders of men.
So close yet so far... an amazing season with constant goal fests, hot cheer leaders and frogs legs, lets start with the big one, European football
as i finished 4th i was entered into the group stages without plating the petty low clubs, ala swifty, Estac is a big club and deserves big club treatment
a relatively easy draw my main rivals being Portugals Braga closely followed by Belarus' finest, (mastur)BATE
it was a massacre, brought me back to the recent VU cup playing against swifties inept defence, march onto the knockouts!
So the fm gods were smiling at me, perhaps mistaking me for wilberforce or even sick of Joshua absence, ignore the final, we were distracted.
oh whats that? another season of silverware? no wonder the fans flock to me instead of my rivals, no one wants to be oxford
now onto the bread and butter, ligue 1, now every season i out perform swifty yet also rank lower than him lets hope this one is different
surely with such hot form ESTAC must be up there, well let me tell you a little secret,
Last game of the season, ESTAC is at home to lowly Tours FC needed a win and for lille to lose for their first ever ligue 1 title
would i receive some swifty luck?
The stadium was almost packed, the atmosphere electric, ESTAC can do it!
Domination!!! but whats that? Lille have scored in the last few minutes to win 0-1? fuck you lille you white flag wielding faggots
so it all ended like this
a season of what ifs...
Gloating time
Once again i win both manager of the year awards, something swifty has failed to do
The second best FRENCH player of the season and only 21 big things to come from Ongenda
More Ongenda, the kids unstoppable
More?
Oh my, a midfielder scoring the 3rd most goals, unbelievable Jeff
after all that ongenda didn't
even win the fans player of the year!
The 19 year old be breaking dem records
just shy of the top 50, next step, topping European low side, Manchester united
Bitches be wiping their asses with 50 pounds notes
[Parental Advisory. Post contains content that may cause Danwell to cry.]
Where to start, friends?
I suppose the best place to begin is with the domestic cups, because nobody really cares about them. Last season we made it to the final of the French FA Cup, while we crashed out of the Mickey Mouse cup which Danwell later won. This season we won neither. MOVING ONTO MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS!
The league. The league is for most of us in the FM community the barometer. The target. The standard. And for the past 2 seasons, we've been setting that standard, reaching that target and marking the barometer when it comes to the league. We've beaten Danwell, Reed and Legfriend consecutively now. And we intended to add to that this season. Our performance was remarkable this season when you factor in our terrible injury record. It is no exaggeration when I say we would sometimes struggle to go 3 matches without losing a player in-game [and that's ignoring the injuries from training]. But my team were unified, we had a deep bond and my players strove to overcome each obstacle. When Feret would be shot down, Bodmer would clamber over his lifeless body and pick up the flag. When Bodmer would fall by the wayside, Pluim would be there to raise the standard and trudge on, through the wind and the rain. When Pluim would be hacked down, I would cry on Skype. Walk on, brothers. Walk on.
I commented last season on how our goals were evenly spread across the team and how we didn't tend to excel in one particular area. This season, we excelled in all areas. Eduardo was brought in on loan from Shakhtar, 11 goals and 9 assists. Maupay came from Nice on a free, 19 goals and 5 assists. And then there's Jean. Last season he was on a £5,000 a week contract. Now he pockets £44,000 and has PSG after his signature. 21 goals, 11 assists. From these 3 strikers alone that's 51 goals. Last season my strikeforce only managed 20. If you need tips on how to get the most out of your team Danwell, give me a bell, you bell. You've got my number.
Our season went swimmingly well. Over 38 matches, 21 of them were spent in 2nd position. Cemented, mates. Despite the relative comfort of our position, we never managed to claim 1st at any point this season. Marseille's hand were firmly placed on the trophy and they never lost the top spot from match 11 onwards. Last season we struggled to convert draws into wins, finishing with a record of 16 wins, 16 draws and 6 losses. This season we rectified that. 22/10/6. hashtag improvement.
"But LAST TRUE LOYAL LEGACY MEMBER?", you exclaim. "You were the only one to qualify for the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE this season, how did you do in Europe?". Alright, I guess. We drew Greek giants Olympiakos in the qualifiers and smashed them 4-0 on aggregate. Following on from them we had 1 more game to play before we reached the Group stages. In between us and glory stood Benfica. We held them to a 0-0 draw in our home leg and narrowly lost the away fixture 1-0. Out of Europe, but only temporarily.
Because we bowed out in the CL qualifiers, we qualified for the Europa League group stages. It was Europes 2nd best competition, but it was still Europe. We were handed a tough group and pitted against Tottenham [last years Europa League winners, PAOK [ye, I don't know who they are either] and German heavyweights Borussia Mönchengladbach [note for Danwell: 2nd most successful German team ever. no excuses pls]. Despite being anhilated 5-0 by Tottenham in our first game, we breezed through the rest of the group games to earn qualification to the knockout rounds.
The knockout rounds can go one of two ways. You can be given piss easy ties like Danwell has been given and stroll through the competition, or be given tough ties and have to graft. Mates, I grafted. In the first knockout rounds we faced Sion. Okay, I admit, they aren't really tough and I may have built up the tension a bit too soon there. But the teams that I faced after were really tough! Trust me! Sion got off to an early lead through a penalty on 6 mins in the first game and played defensively thereafter. We snatched a equaliser through Maupay in extra time to level the tie, and then won the following away game 1-0 to set up a meeting with West Ham in the next round. West Ham are a good side and the matches were full blooded, with many cards being distributed among both sides. But we overcame them and won 3-1 on agg with a Jean brace. Next up Spanish giants, Athletic Bilbao in the quarters. On their books were illustrious names such as: Xabi Alonso, Iker Munian, Ander Herrera, Aritz Aduriz and Nacho Monreal.
I fucking smashed them 5-3 on agg, mates. NEXT! Arsenal [Koscielny, Sagna, Vermaelen, Szczesny, Wilshere, Witsel, Ramsey, Walcott, Cazorla all still there + Douglas Costa, Jose Enrique, Glen Johnson, etc]. Just looking at their team sheet left me bricking it. In addition to this Juhazs our talisman was injured and Lasne suspended. We nicked the first leg 2-0 with both goals coming from Jean. The second leg was an absolute onslaught. They had 62% possession, 19 shots to our 7 and were all over us. But we were clinical. Maupay took 2 first half chances to get us on the scoreboard. Arsenal kept battling on and they eventually won the tie 3-2, but we crept over the finishing line and progressed to the final with an agg score of 4-3. [Mental image of me wiping the sweat from my brow].
Who would we meet in the final, you ask? Why, our arch nemesis! Tottenham [Bale, Baines, Evans, Allen, Kaboul, Destro, Dembele, Lloris, Strootman, Adebayor, Sandro, Shaqiri] Leading up to the final was a time of trepidation. I played two teams in the top 3 spots and one in the top 5 in the league. To compound matters Krychowiak and Lugano were suspended for the final and it would be touch and go whether or not Juhazs would be fit for the final in time. If he didn't make it in time we would be forced to play Ngoyi as a makeshift CB. It was a race against time. And my boy won that fucking race. 2 days before the final he reported back to duty. Tired and unfit, he started the final and led the troops out. I love his commitment to the cause.
We had already played Spurs twice this season in the group stages, so I had a good idea of what to expect and knew what I needed to do to nullify them. In our first game where we lost 5-0, Bale destroyed me and Destro bagged a hat trick. In the 2nd game we held them to a 1-1 draw. For the third, I planned to win. My plan was twofold: Part 1 involved in isolating Destro up top and marking him out of the game, showing their widemen [and in particular Baines. 19 crosssing gosh] inside and having Jean/Maupay run at and commit their defenders. Part 2 of my plan involved kicking the shit out of Bale.
We got off to a fantastic start. In the third minute Jean picked up the ball in midfield, ran at Evans and pulled him out of position before playing in Maupay who curled the ball from outside the box past Lloris and into the net. I was delighted, mates. In the sixth minute we did it again. Maupay runs at Evans from midfield, Papadopoulos comes across to cover, Maupay slides Jean through and passed it into the back of the net. 2-0. Cloud 9. By the 31st minute I was positively ecstatic. Feret on corner duty. Lofts the ball into the box. Dembele fucks up and prods it him for a O.G. 3-0. In the 41st minute it was all over. Feret passes to Lasne, who plays a cute ball into Jean in the box and Jean smashes the ball in off the frame of the goal to complete the rout. The game finished 4-0 and we, my friends, were crowned champions. Hi5 Reed. Hi5 Legfriend. Eat shit Danwell.
[Be warned guise, I finished the season a couple weeks ago so I can't remember much about what I did, so it'll be lacking in storyline]
I fully contemplated copying Danwell and Swifty's posts, inserting my own images,
then posting it. Because really, our seasons basically mirrored one another. We had shit starts, but unlike them two I decided to use what I had available and play the hand I had been dealt. Thus I had only one signing all season, whom was towards the end of my season.
At the beginning of the season, I tried to sell off many players, some successfully went, others stuck their claws in and dragged their feet. They were forced off the roster one way or another. Such is Joey Barton's will.
Yeah I signed David Beckham...
I figured I needed an experienced playmaker in the centre, so why not one of England's greats?
At the start of the season, my only hopes and expectations were to utterly thrash Legend, Swifty and Stirling, both avoiding relegation and bettering their positions.
My season got off to a rocky start. Scraping 3 draws from 4 games I had hoped I might fall into fine form. However it didn't work like that. I repeatedly failed to find a win after losing/drawing soft matches. To put it into perspective, I had only 4 points in 11 matches. Relegation seemed assured. Even Swifty had more points than me.
As I previously stated, I bought nobody and used only what tools I had
at my disposal so I was unable to make any desperately needed changes. I, however, kept a stiff upperlip, waiting for Jean to come into the form I knew he was capable of. Eventually, beating AS Nancy Lorraine in the 13th league game of the season. It took till the 15th game of the season for me to draw level with Stirling's 9 points total and Swifty's 8 (at the same point in the season, unsure about Legend).
With 19 games played, I had amassed 19 points, reigning over Stirling's 13 points and Swifty's 10 points. Come April, I was doing well, surving and earning ample money (mostly through TV revenue) and greatly improving the reputation of the club. As such, I received a greatly unexpected email from my board. What dis? A windfall? No? What? 500m? Seriously? Wow.
[01/04/2013 22:24:01] Mudman (Swifty, not racist, it's a Dumbdumb chan/LGC chan inside joke): loel f**k off [01/04/2013 22:24:03] Mudman (Swifty): wat is [01/04/2013 22:24:04] Mudman (Swifty): i dont even
God dammit. I was playing this on 1st April, and the ingame day came onto the 1st of April. April fools day... Anyway.
Look upon my poor form and weep. IIRC, I always seem to have poor starts but decent Januarys.
All in all, I'm extremely happy at my form at the end of the season. Which caused me to finish:
Boom. Take that guys. I am superior. Season 1 champion. Finished in a better position than the other 3 players. Thanks to spectacular Jean. Super Jean.
Thanks to constant play-time and fantastic form. He improved dramatically, becoming the £8.5m he is now.
Along with a little help late season from Mr Goldenballs.
Thanks to the successful season, I pocketed ample cash. Especially when you take into account that I never bought anyone and sold several.
At the beggining of the season, I made a decision. A decision to decrease the size of our team by not renewing contracts.
Mo money, mo money, thanks to a decent profit last season.
Did I use all this money? No, not really. I signed two people. A free signing and one for little over 1mill.
Up until then (signed in January), Jean was playing alone upfront with a big return in goals. Once I signed this fella, I put Jean on the right wing and let him take over Jean's role. He also had a good return in terms of goals, but whether it was the right choice or not, I'm not too sure. I could hardly do a Brenton and play 2 poachers.
Signed this fella on a free. He's abit old (experienced, I'm sure the man with alot of life experience, Moorely, would say) but still decent physical stats. Did moderately well all season. Fairly consistant.
Not really got much to say this season, apart from that I started decently, fell into terrible form but massively picked up at the end, resulting in a better position than last season.......
.....But not better than Swifty, or even Danwell. I just needed 1 more point or scored 5 more goals in the season, and I'd of finished 8th and drew with Swifty. Ah well, I'm in Europe again first, I'm sure all of my avid fans (TBL) have noticed.
How did I do this, you ask?
Won the semi final and final in extra time. Luckily I didn't go to penalties, as I have no real penalty taker (all of my players have awful pen stats).
Thanks, no more. Honestly. I'm legit modest. Okay, maybe a tad more.
I made the final hard for myself though. We missed a penalty, and fortunately one of my new signings, Tamas. Came up trumps in the 114th minute.
But thanks again to the dream youth, Jean. Despite playing half the season on the wing, yet again the teams top scorer (and until he swapped positions, the leagues top scorer again).
Continuing to improve. Also, I'm sure you can see "1 app" there for Jeanie. Made his first international appearence.
So. How did I do finance wise? Did I make as much as a profit this year, as last? Am I still the richest Troyes team around? Alas, no.
I only made a profit thanks to the funds given to me thanks to my end of season position.
So there we have it. S1 champion, first to Europe.
As usual, the main S5 transfers first. Then the season summary.
Ciani. One of 3 new centrebacks. Played 48 games this season, 4 goals, 2 assists. 7.39 rating.
Douglas. 2nd centreback. On loan from PSG, will probably try sign in summer. Played 45 games this season, 7 goals, 7 man of the matches. 7.66 rating. Unluckily for him, King Juhazs outperformed him with 7.83 rating. But it was still a highly impressive season.
Sander. 3rd centreback signing. Bought him in January, played 12 games, 2 goals, 3 assists. 7.89 rating. One for the future. Have high hopes for him.
Mierzejewski. Phenomenal player. Bodmer was released and Feret retired last season leaving me light in the playmaker department and they were tidy players themselves. Signed this Polak on a free and he played 42 games, scoring 4 goals and was credited with 25 assists. 3 man of the matches. 7.49 rating.
Rodriguez. I kept getting offered Costa Ricans. Checked this guy out, liked him, bought him. Played 31 games for the national side already at 19! Bearing in mind what a big team Costa Rica are, that's some achievement.
[Parental Advisory. Post contains content that may cause Danwell to cry.]
Season 5
As I grow older [still not 29, though] I become more mature and recognise the responsibilities laid before me. No longer can I gallavant around, treating FM like a joke. I have to be responsible. I am now after all a role model. The undisputed best player at FM. 2x season winners, 1x European champion. Danwell and to a lesser extent, Reed and Legfriend look up to me. "How are you so good, friend?" [Reed], "Can I copy your players and tactics?" [Legfriend[, "BUT I WON FM 2008!!!" [Danwell]. When I post, people expect great things. And I hope not to disappoint with my summary of season 5. Danwell mate, take a seat. Youse about to get dizzy.
So where to start? I guess with the French Champions trophy [the English Charity shield equivalent]. The Champions trophy takes place in July and while it isn't a major trophy like my European win, it is a good benchmark for teams to assess their progress in pre season. We were pitted against Marseille. And we absolutely destroyed them in a crushing 0-0 ET penalties win. By winning the Champions trophy in July, we had probably surpassed Danwells entire season 5 achievements already. But I wasn't going to rest on my laurels.
Following the Champions trophy was the European Super Cup, which pits the CL winner [Chelsea] vs the Europa League winner [me]. Chelsea were as usual a very tough side, having finished 2nd in the PL the year before. We lost the Super cup 2-0. A win would have been nice, but I can't be greedy. I'm already snapping up everything else.
So there were the domestic cups. The Coupe de la Ligue [English League Cup equivalent], which nobody gives a shit about and the French Cup [English FA Cup] which is decent. We were knocked out of the LC in the quarters with a 2-0 defeat to league runners up PSG. Shit competition anyway as I said.
In the semis of French FA Cup we played Marseille. It was a hectic end to end game. Each side finished with 17 shots each. Both teams had a player sent off, but Marseille made a blunder when they made 3 changes immediately after then saw 2 more of their players come off injured. This resulted them in playing with 8 men for 40 minutes in a 3-2-2 formation. We won 5-3 and made it to the final where we faced Montpellier. The final proved to be the opposite of the semis. Neither team had many chances (7 shots, 6 on target for me, 9 and 3 for Montpellier). Montpellier got off to a great start with a 9th minute goal but we overcame them and won 2-1 with goals from Maupay and Sander. And before I hear Danwell try make excuses for my victory and blubber "Bu..but SWIFTY! What was your possession percentage?", I'll pre-empt him. Sixty one percent. Suck on it.
If you're Danwell, you're probably getting tired of hearing about all my success by now. Only joking. Danwell doesn't read posts. He only bothers checking out the pictures. Well I've got plenty of pictures to make him cry too, the shit. Next up, Europe! In the Champions League we were drawn in a very tough group. Italian giants Juventus [eventual Serie A winner], Athletico Madrid [3rd in La Liga] and Copenhagen [Very big team!]. To get out the group stage would be a remarkable feat for any Troyes manager and I rarely disappoint. Wins against Copenhagen and draws against Juve and Athletico ensured our survival and we made it through to the knockout rounds where we faced Spurs [who I'm sure you'll remember we beat last year in the Europa League final]. Uhm. Well, Spurs beat us 2-1 home and away to knock us out of Europe in March. So we then focused on the league.
The league. It's highly competitive stuff here, no Danwell walks in the park. Lille who won the league in my first season were relegated this time around. Not us, though. No, I'm not going to beat about Kelsey's bush here mates. We fucking dominated the league. From early December to March we went on a phenomenal run of 21 league games, scoring 48 and conceding only 5 goals. That's it, take off your glasses and read it again. 21 games, 48 goals, 5 conceded. We finished the season with a 25 game unbeaten streak. We were defeated only 3 times in the league all season. Once in August, once in September and once in November. Curiously, those defeats were all against shit teams [15th, 17th and 19th]. Which makes you think: if Swifty only loses to shit teams in the league and loses to Danwell in the mini league, what does that make Danwell? We also won the league in a record setting fashion, accrueing over 90 points. Suck it.
So ye mates. Ligue 1 champions. French FA cup winners. Charity shield winners. Champions of Europe. How can 1 man hold so much power?
As usual, at the start of the season, I was unwilling to sign new contracts to the following: Lil' bitches; Players who wanted a high wage; Players I didn't use/want; People I couldn't be bothered to keep.
Thus I released a tonne of peons again.
Luckily, I had a decent wage and transfer budget to use, and trust me. I used it.
Here are my signings:
Coria on a free, my AMC. Scorer of important goals. 22 games played, 7.11 rating.....4 goals.
Sami, on a free. DC lil bitch. One season contrac, didn't get renewed. 3 games played, 6.6 rating.
Victor Palsson, for £3.3million. Biggest thing out of Iceland since the great smoke of '10. 36 games played, 7.44 rating.
Carlos Acues for £1.7million. Had to battle many good players for a DC or DM spot. 14 games played, 7.52 rating.
Nacer Chadil for £4.5million. Picker up of several injuries. 28 games played, 7.03 rating.
Finally, not a player, my new Assistant Manager. Step up to the plate, Rudy-whatever your name is (cba to check).
My signings, amounted to this...
Leaving a massive hole in my budget. Glad I earned many wongas. Yes yes.
Resulting in (note, I accidently went onto S4 without taking a pic of finances, so only pay attention to what is outlined in white, as that is S3)...
As you can see, I only made a profit thanks to my prize money in the last month.
So, in terms of achievements. How did I do this season?
Just needed 1 more point to draw with Danwell in position (green). But I beat Swifty on points (red).
So. Did Napoli slaughter me? Did they win deservedly?
Let's move on quickly (or... swiftly).
Thanks guys.
PSG dominated.
PSG dominated.
Now unrelated.
Does the age seem wrong to anyone else? The french cheating are they?
Ok, so after Desperate Dan tried argue £50m for 9k seats was a good deal, he tried argue he has faced a tougher CL group stage. Historically, Danwell has always had easy groups and this year was no different.
I played:
Porto: Reigning CL champions. Juve: Reigning Serie A champions. Alkmaar: Dutch runners up.
He played:
Nobodies.
The proof is in the pudding guys. I faced tougher players. Don't mad, mate.
Castano. Has been getting regular call ups to the Argentine NT since he joined us. Now going to the WC. 7.40 rating.
Enyeama. Thuram can't get a look in with Enyeama in goal now. 36 games, 22 conceded, 19 clean sheets. Arguably the best goalie in the league this season. 7.01 rating.
Bell. An absolute steal. PSG spunked 9.25m on him, didn't play him and sold him to me the following season for 5m. 7.46 rating.
Gomis. Bought for 1.1m. 13 goals, 9 assists. 7.04 rating.
Cana. Initially bought to mentor my youths, he found his way into the first team when Krychowiak got a long term injury and Ngoyi needed resting. He's an absolute nutter. Played him as little as I could because of his tendancy to kick lumps out of opponents. 6 starts, 9 subs. Committed 27 fouls. 7.05 rating.
Civelli. Free signing. Back up to my other CBs. 7.16 rating.
It's been over 2 weeks since my latest season update, friends. How quickly time flies! I'll give you a brief overview of what's been happening in Dumbdumb chan since then:
Desperate Dan has got more desperate. 4 seasons of straight defeats really knocked the wind out of his sails. The lemon biting bad bell can't stop talking about his 1 win. Just wait till Benton gets to Season 5, then you're fucked.
Reedle [friend, ex friend? Where do we stand?] has joined me in the exclusive club of European winners. Well done, friend. NOTICE: Danwell & Legend not welcome. Benton soon to be invited.
Benton has joined the FM club about 3 months late. Each season takes most of us 1-2 weeks to complete. He finished S1 in 2 days, in which he "won" the title and League cup. NOTE: We all finished 16th, 15th, 13th and 12th in S1 and never won a cup until S2. We trust Benton has won the league legitimately. Definitely. Wink wink, nudge nudge.
Legend is no longer the main target of "reloader" jibes. I don't have any idea how this has come about. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
And me? I'm still on my fucking perch, mates. Let's fucking go some.
Corruption. We all know it exists in football. Sepp Blatter, Jack Warner, Benton Martin. I had to hope this season that any achievements wouldn't be surpassed or undone by the cheaters of the game. With each tie, each seeding or each final I would look over my shoulder for a snivelling, petulent brat by the name of Benton. As TBL is a thorn to LGC, Benton is a thorn in the side of progress. Our first fixture of the season would be the Champions trophy.
The Champions trophy is in unique in that it pits the League champions vs the LC winners. As such, Benton would be ineligible to compete in the competition in his first season. I was therefore relaxed. We thrashed PSG in a 4-1 thrashing to win the very first trophy of the season. We were jubiliant. As me and my team climbed the steps of the Stade de l'Aube and lifted the prestigious trophy, our celebrations were dashed when a John Terry-esque, full kit-clad wanker by the name of Benton ran onto the pitch carrying a microphone bellowing "I've already won that!". Thanks a lot, dickhead.
Next up: the domestic cups. I continued the Troyes tradition of bombing out of the League cup in the early rounds when I fielded a reserve team. Such defeats usually have little effect on me, but when I saw the beaming Benton on Sky Sports proclaiming his victory and how nobody else managed to win a cup in S1 I nearly fisted the TV [makes a difference from Danwell's sister tbf]. Fortunately, where we failed in the LC we succeeded in the FA cup. A 1-0 win against PSG in the final with a goal from Maupay sealed the victory. I was tempted to rub it in Benton's face, but I'm more classy than that. So I took a dump in his letter box instead.
Europe. If you ask around the Stirling household on their biggest regrets in life, you would probably get varying answers. Mr and Mrs. Stirling would probably say Danwell. Kelsey would probably agree. But Desperate Dan would say Europe. Because it's the one trophy missing from his cabinet that I and Reedle possess. And Benton. Probably.
In Europe we drew the incredibly tough group of AZ Alkmaar [Dutch runners up], Porto [CL reigning champs] and Juve [Serie A champs]. We made it out of the group stages rather comfortably, finishing 2 points behind Porto. In the next phase of the knockout rounds we drew Chelsea. We lost the first leg 2-3 and knew that only a victory in the next round would suffice. And boy did my boys put up a fight. In the second leg we went behind twice, but came back each time to finish the game 3-2 in our favour. We went to extra time. Krychowiak was sent off and our game plan unravelled. Shawcross with his wank 14 heading got another set piece goal to draw the game 3-3 and we were knocked out of Europe with a 6-5 agg. loss. Chelsea went on to win the CL. There's always next year.. assuming Benton doesn't win it over the next couple of days and demands we create a new save.
The league. We had a pretty sketchy start to the season with 3 draws and 1 loss in the first 5 games, conceding 7 goals. I dropped Thuram and brought in the new GK Enyeama who went on to have a spectacular season. From September to late January we went undefeated in the league and while we would have odd blips on the fixture list along the way after that, it turned out to be another comfortable season for us. With 25 wins, 7 draws and 5 losses to our name we won the league at a canter. Our strikeforce was particularly ruthless. Jean bagged 38 goals and 10 assists in all comps, Gomis 13 and 9 and Maupay 16 and 3.
Swifty, I prefer my pics being used only in conjunction with Sun Tzu, bashing that "Person That's A Complete Waste Of DNA, O2 And H20" (you know who), and when you win the Champions League (I'm at THAT level), but I'll close an eye for now :P
And be understanding with Pure. Pecker's only 13. He's still at the age where he thinks he will get away with nonsense.
Despite starting late I have already started to catch up (Jan S2). And once again the VU fm crew are flabbergasted that a fm "Noob" is able to achieve what they couldn't in his first season (Stirling will eb going through my save file when he gets time off and he will see that there is a lack of saves for a reloader)
Anyway lets get to it.
After spending a few hours transfer listing and getting to know the squad I cam to a relatively unorthodox tactic. I was expecting it to fail miserable but there was a glimmer of hope. (Hope this next bit works)
1 Poacher - Attack 1 Deep Lying Forward - Attack 2 Box to Box mids - Support 1 Advanced Playmaker - Attack 2 Wing backs - Attack 1 Anchor -Defend 1 Left Central Defender - Defend 1 Right Central Defender - Cover
What worked about this formation was the ever going "defensive triangle" I like to call it. Formed by the 2 CD and the Anchor it proved that it could keep out majority of the counter attacks. It would also give enough time for my WB and BBM to get back from the other side of the field to help defend.
On to Transfers
I started with getting rid of the excess baggage to free up some wage and bring in a transfer budget.
The big signings right off the block were for a 25 year old Belgium DC, Maxime Biset, who proved to be worth much more than the mere 525k I paid for him, he never performed badly and was a huge asset. He went on to get 5 goals 1 assist and 7 PoM awards Next was Maluary Martin a 23/24 year old french Midfield, he could play both the AP and BBM position, also scoring 5 goals along with 16assits he was a key signing in L'estac
After noticing I would need more depth in the Midfield department I went looking for a young future prospect that still could play in the the first team on a rotational basis, I also had a bit of cash to splash after a couple of late departures. This is where I stumbled upon Young Algerian born A. Omrani, at only 21 years of age and great stats without having millions to spend he was exactly what I was after, wrapped up the deal at 825k from Ligue 2 side Lemans FC. After a few good games he claimed regular first team football as a BBM.
(I would have pics of signing stats but I didnt think to screenshot them at the time)
Onto the season, It was a shaky start but what do you expect when you try a very experimental formation? After a couple of friendlies you notice that my superior tactical skills (Better than TBL's sun tzu Tactics for VU and well Swiffers tactics in general) started to pay off, the league season started well and it looked as if I was destined for a mid table finish, however I pull off an unlikely win against OM and things just went from there.
We approached the final game, 1 point between lifting the trophy for the first time in L'Estac short playing career (1985 or something) or bombing out to a dominate Lillie side. After some inspirational and motivational talking on my behalf the team were ready, we took the lead in the 26th minute with a Biset header from a corner, 8 minutes later N'sakala capitalised putting as 2 up. We finished the game 3-0, ESTAC HAVE WON THE LEAGUE!!!!
A great season and a well deserved Win.
Ohh I also won the League cup in a pretty easy run of games leading to the final.
Random photos of season:
Please note the Best XI they say isnt anything like I played most of the season like but this is FM opinion
And Champions qualification
Payout
And 2 players in the League Best XI
So in conclusion, - I am tactically smarter than the forum dwelling TBL - Swiffers has nothing on me - Danwell will shortly see that I have too low of a save count to be called a reloader and would finally admit I am the real champ - Josh, well this one explains its self. - I will probably only post screenshots next era then who knows if Ill even post after that :P
Ohh and This season Champions league, same group as Barca and Juve. Safe to say I am now seeking European glory in the form of the Euro cup.
Here we are my friends (Legend), my avid readers (Swifty and TBL) and my partial readers (Danwell). Season 4.
Unlike Danwell, I have known glory, I have known success. IGNORE THIS BRENTON: I am the (legitimate) winner of Season 1, IGNORE THIS LEGFRIEND: the first (legitimate) winner of a domestic cup and all-round God amongst men. However, this was to pass. I had flopped in the next two seasons, finishilyng lower than not on the glorious Swifty, but below Danwell.
The same could not happen this season, surely? Please?
This was my minimium, this was nowhere near enough to cover what I had to do. I wanted more. I needed more. I got more.
It'll do. I changed budgets to mostly on wages and I continued.
Don't mind if I do...
Now, again this season, I made very few signings. But the ones I made were crucial.
Zlatan Ibrahimovich. Released by PSG (swapped for Lewandowski I suppose), snapped up by me.
Corchia. He goes on to get regularly called up by the French senior international side.
Lekic. Serbian striker.
Now, I also promoted some youths. I only took screenies of 2, as the other 2 weren't played.
Mendy. Later gets called up by French u19s and u21s. Regularly played.
Eputa. Rarely played.
Now for my achievements....
:League cup, check.
European champions? Check.
Let's look at the route I took to becoming European Champions, after falling to heartbreak in the final last season.
Malaga, Atletico Madrid and then Liverpool? Tough run. What else did you do, oh great and honourable WilBarton?
Let me play it out for you. 1 game of the season to go. I am top of the table, 2nd are 3rd are only 1 point behind. I could still finish 4th. I play a VERY uninteresting game ending 0-0 at home against Havre with no real highlights. I bite my nails, I look upon the other results.
Ligue 1 champions, check. 2nd, 3rd and 4th all lost. PSG (was 5th) won, thus just poked into Champs League football next season, by a +1 GD.
The treble? Okay then. Don't mad Danwell. CHAMPIOOOOON OF (legitimate) S1 AND S4! CHAMPION OF FRANCE! CHAMPION OF EUROPE!
Awards:
PSG dominated, again.
European awards for Jean? Go on then. But is this a crappy award? Is it given to awful players? Who has previously won it?
Gotze, Aguero and Fabregas to name a few? It'll do Jean, son. It'll do.
Manager of the year again? Yes please. Winning by a country mile. Over double 2nd's manager points.
Another easy season, my kids have become men(still younger than swifty) and are showing their worth, penetrating the opposition defence like swifty and... err... like reed and the polish checkout girl.
Lets start with my season signings, once again i stick to my tradition of buying young, something swifty aspires to follow hence the last few season doing the exact same, the opposite of his first 2-3.
Signed this beauty for 3.7m, 13.7million less than swiftys 17m blunder with an extra half star potiential too.
Came to me from ligue rivals Nice for 5mil, 15m less than Reeds panic buy and 67k less wages
both players would play bit parts throughout the season
Onto to Europe, the real comp, not mickey mouse europa
easy enough, i went on to draw Milan in the first knockout, a tough tie, the first leg we managed to hold our own with just 10 men at the San Siro, no easy feat. The second leg, with my home fans, i was secretly expecting a win, a first half Said goal almost cemented my place in the next stage if it wasnt for a fucking baloladotelli goal in the dire minutes knocking me out on aggregate, screw you guys im going home.
onto the league
so a new record, 92 points, beating swifty once again
oh i also won both cups, again, no biggy
Hall of Fame bitches, best manager evaaaaa
Big up to my main boy Welsey Said 55 games 46 goals 7 assists
We haven't really played FM recently. We took a break to play MC. I joined. Danwell joined. Reedle joined. Binh joined. Binh left. Kelsey Stirling. Danwell/Reedle griefed my fort. I killed Reedle. Reedle RQ. Reedle rejoined. Reedle reedled. Reedle RQ. Danwell griefed me again. I RQ. And now I've started up Troyes again.
And what a way to restart, friends.
8 goals. 1 harshly ruled out. Maupay with 6 of them, an assist and a perfect 10 rating. You can't get much better than that.
Now this fine specimen was kindly loaned to me from a Argentinian club for 300k he became my top scorer with a goal tally of 15 unfortunately with a high price tag im not willing to carry on this partnership
The only player to command a fee in the first transfer window, a hefty 1.2million was spent on this mudman(binhs words not mine) he was worth every penny, an absolute rock in my leaky defence
so we safely survived relegation but nothing much, a season of some highs but alot of lows with abit of money and a strong foundation this team will go places.
time to do a Brenton and spend some of daddy's money!
it was a massacre, brought me back to the recent VU cup playing against swifties inept defence, march onto the knockouts!
More?
Oh my, a midfielder scoring the 3rd most goals, unbelievable Jeff
