FM2011 as Rovers

[donnybez]

RedJ wrote:

donnybez wrote:

tactics, play a 4-4-2 with wingers in attacking midfielders
a 4-4-2 diamond
Or 4-5-1

  How sad am I?

Well I spend every free moment on the game, simply as I've nothing better to do when I've no work to do or any plans    

I'm not alone!!      

[DonnyNoel]

Well I started my second game with Rovers just after Xmas and I'm doing a lot better than my first attempt!

First season I finished 7th (although I was never really in the hunt). Sold Stock in January as couldn't get him to sign a deal. Managed to sign Mateja Kezman (only £5k p/w) and was pleasantly surprised with how well Dennis Souza performed for me.

Second season I won the championship with Billy ane Kezman banging them in. Current players who featured heavily were JOC, Chambers, Hird, Souza, Gillet, Shiels, Woods, Copps & Sharp. Hayter and Oster still making good squad players.

Just doing my pre-season ahead of the premiership but struggling to get real quality in. Managed to sign Joe Lewis on a free and a Brazilian striker from Moscow. A bit apprehensive of the premiership as my main tactic is quite open (a 442 with advanced wingers) so I'm toying with a 451 idea.

Only thing I don't quite like is how much I seem to have to look abroad for signings. I reckon in two years, other than loan signings, Lewis is my only English/British signing. Found some very good Eastern European players and the odd South American but Brits seem to be so expensive. Sam Vokes went for £5m and £22k p/w!

[RedJ]

I know what you mean re having to look abroad. 4-3-3 seems to be working well for me lately - 4 points above the drop zone with 5 games to go, went on an unbeaten run (beating Ipswich 6-1 in the process, somehow) for about 6 games. Only ended when top of the table Newcastle came to town.

[bessacarrover]

still unbeaten in 24 games. on 60 points   looks like im taking donny to the premiership  

[RedJ]

I've survived a season, which is phenomenal news for me! and I sent Leeds, Hull and Scunthorpe down on the last day :-)

[bessacarrover]

good good im in january is richard wright a good goalie?

  leeds are rubbish on this ive got em next

[RedJ]

I gave him a few games, definitely worth a shout.

They really are!

[bessacarrover]

looks like i need to sign him up then   he wants a good wage too 7k per week

[RedJ]

He's definitely worth the cash :-) might be worth asking the board to increase the wage budget

[bessacarrover]

ive put on transfer budget the winner of the division and hes signing.

is calum davenport good cos i just put an offer in  

[RedJ]

Yeah, he's solid at the back :-)

[Chris]

1st season 14th, 2nd season 4th and promoted, 3rd season 14th in the Premier League. Now I'm sat 10th approaching the half-way point. Sharp is the only player I still have in the first team!

[5minstogo]

I've been playing this after a couple of years off. Don't get a hugh amount of time to play it but managed 4 seasons since it came out.

Got sacked by JR languishing near the bottom of Championship.  Managed to get employed by Bristol Rovers in League 1 but didn't last the rest of the season!

Made my comeback with Yeovil in League Two, got promoted via the playoffs and the next season got knocked out of League One playoffs by Huddersfield.  Was getting difficult as there was no transfer budget and really low wages, top earner was on less than £2k a week and chairman started selling players.  I turned down an offer from an equally skint MK Dons, where the star player was Lewis Guy and the next week got offered the Huddersfield job, £180k wage budget and £4.8 million transfer kitty.

Not doing too badly, 4th in League One, unbeaten in last 6 so looking good going into last quarter of the season.  A decent player for me has been Brice Ntambwe, Will Hoskins bangs in the goals too!

[RedJ]

Lewis Guy? Star player? !!! how did you manage that one?

I have Ntambwe at Donny - done bugger all!

Chris, I had a similar 1st season just now when I restarted. (relegation battles get boring after a while!)

[DonnyNoel]

RedJ wrote:

Lewis Guy? Star player? !!! how did you manage that one?

I have Ntambwe at Donny - done bugger all!

Chris, I had a similar 1st season just now when I restarted. (relegation battles get boring after a while!)

On FM08 I got Rovers from L1 to the championship then I had 5 successive seasons of finishing between 12th and 16th - thats boring!

Still waiting to get to my first season in the premiership as I didnt get on it over the weekend.

[Akinfenwa]

Just finished my third season and managed to finish 3rd which I didn't expect. My defence was solid, only conceding 31 league goals so I ended up grinding out a lot of narrow wins.

I also retained the Carling Cup beating Birmingham in the final. Nobody seems to play their strongest team until the semi-finals so I've had a pretty straight forward route to the later stages both times. Did crap in Europe though, got knocked out in the group stage of the Europa League.

Code: [Select]

Season     League          Pos    Other

2012/2013  Premier League  3rd    Carling Cup Winners, Champions League Qualification
2011/2012  Premier League  12th   Carling Cup Winners, Europa League Qualification
2010/2011  Championship    1st    -


[bessacarrover]

Just signed richard wright,calum davenport and joe mills still on 68 points  

is everyone top scorer billy sharp cos he scored 30 for me so far  

we are going up rovers fans  

[donnybez]

bessacarrover wrote:

we are going up rovers fans  

Ahh video games   ....If only You were saying that on final day of this season  

[bessacarrover]

donnybez wrote:

bessacarrover wrote:

we are going up rovers fans  

Ahh video games   ....If only You were saying that on final day of this season  

  who knows what will happen  

[RedJ]

I always have decent runs when I'm in the wrong parts of the table, and do crap when I'm up there.. Well done anyone who's NOT failing :-)

[LiamDRFC]

Ended up paying £650,000 for Alex Smithies. Money well spent.

[RedJ]

Yep, definitely a good keeper, and he only gets better :-)

[WSBBA_Ben]

Very tough indeed been Rovers on FM11. I tend to start in the Blue Square teams; in my 1st season with Gainsborough I finished a decent 8th & Rovers finished dead last in the Championship, going down with Blackpool and Watford.

Some players to look out for as Rovers are:

Alex Smithies - Huddersfield GK

Danny Wilson - Liverpool (Loan) DC

Jordan Spence - West Ham (Loan) DC

Torric - Heart of Oak MC

Mirko Barocelli - Piacenza WR

Gai Assulin - FREE WL

Suso - Liverpool (Loan) AMC

Harry Kane - Spurs FW


....Some kid called Messi too?!

[LiamDRFC]

Jordan Spence was awesome for me but he got injured for 7 months after only 8 games.

Ravel Morrison is a good attacking midfielder. Bought him as back up for copps but he scored 3 goals in 4 games coming off the bench.

[RedJ]

I think the developers underestimated a lot of teams this season. Blackpool and Newcastle come straight back down and Donny usually get hammered (whether I'm them or not ).

[DonnyNoel]

Well after a ropey start I think I will survive my first season in the Prem. I dropped in a couple of 451's from my FM10 game and I've been fortunate enough to beat the teams around me so I now sit 15th in February with 28pts from 28 games - not great in itself but the bottom 3 are terrible and I'm already 12pts clear of safety. Billy has started to bang them in and I've got Kakuta and Boyata in on loan. Plus once I started doing well a few more players were willing to join so I have a pretty decent squad at the moment includeing Andres D'Alessandro!

Of the current crop Sharp, Woods, JOC, Hird, Shiels and Gillett still feature regularly. Copps, Oster and Hayter are decent back up but probably won't get new deals. Souza, Martis, Friend, G. Woods & Chambers are reserves running down contracts.

In terms of inspired signings I signed a kid from Man City called Donal McDermott, a Czech AMC called Thomas Horava, a Spanish free centre back called Aythami and a Brazilian centre back called Lima. All could be different on your games of course!I've also got some Italian and Dutch youngsters out on loan for whom I have high hopes.

[RedJ]

McDermott's doing well for me too. I'd advise you keep Oster, as the fans get upset if you let him go (for me they did anyway).

[Akinfenwa]

I'm half way through 2013/14 season and I'm 5th behind the 'big four'. In the summer I got rid of most of the players I brought in to 'do a job' in the Premier League and invested in some really good young players who will only get better. This is the only way I can compete with the likes of Man Yoo (just been taken over by a Jamaican tycoon :D) and Arsenal in terms of quality of players. I've got about 8 scouts searching everywhere for players.

I'm finding the league more difficult this year though as my club reputation has increased so I can't just 'park the bus' every game and nick a goal anymore. I've lost some silly games away from home where I've been either too defensive or offensive. For me one of the most challenging parts of FM is to adapt your approach to games when you start becoming predicted to win rather than being predicted to get hammered and the other way around.

I'm still in the Champions League though and I'm through to the knockout stages after a late equaliser away at Leverkusen kept me 2nd in the group. However I got knocked out of my favourite cup, the Carling Cup in the first round this year.

Also the fans seemed to be in uproar after I let Billy Sharp go to Dundee Utd on a free in the summer, linking up with Brian Stock who went there the year before on a free. :D:D

[RedJ]

very interesting stuff :-) I completely reshaped my squad and brought in shit loads of decent players, and now I'm top of the league 7 points clear :-) in November of 2011 :-)

[donnybez]

Started a new game and will update all of you on how its going regulary  
January 2011, my board has signed for me, from Dundee, Leigh Griffths

Results (Our scores on left)
Away - Crystal Palace 0-0
Home - Macclesfield LC1 3-0
Away - Ipswich Town 6-1
Home - Millwall 1-0
Away - Exeter LC2 1-0
Home - Leicester 5-2
Away - Coventry 4-2
Home - Barnsley 0-0
Away - Cardiff 3-2
Away - Bristol City 0-2
Home - Tottenham LC3 0-2
Home - Reading 3-1
Home - QPR 3-0
Away - Preston 2-1
Home - Derby 1-0
Away - Burnley 1-2
Home - Hull 2-1

Billy Sharp - 10
JET - 5
DeMerit - 3
Coppenger - 3


Transfers

In

Abdi Abrahim - Man City - Loan
JET - Arsenal - Loan
Shane Lowry - Villa - Loan
Tom Bender - Colchester - £110k
Jay Demerit - Free

Out

Muzi Dumbuya - Tristina - £250k
Steve Brooker - Scunthorpe - £250k
Mark Wilson - Reading - £95k
Byron Webster - Shrewsbury - Loan
Simon Whaley - Free