FC Bayern München: The Future of Football

2014-04-02 20:02#167095 pompeyblue : Disappointing to see you miss out on a European spot but hopefully you can strengthen the squad in the summer with some new signings and next season get to where you should be, Europe!

I was a bit gutted to miss out on a European spot but I agree that if we make some good signings then there is no reason why we can't go one step better next season.

2014-04-03 08:20#167137 polynike : Taken a few days but Ive really enjoyed reading this. Lets see what the future brings.

Thank you for taking the time out to catch up on it. It is quite a lengthy story now with more updates around the corner!

Transfer Summary

What a fantastic pre-season! Despite new additions being brought into the club (more on them later) and a large number of youngsters being given game time, it was great result after great result. If we can perform to those levels in the coming Premier League season, we could easily better the 8th place we achieved last season. I am not going to spend the rest of this update sharing about the matches but instead share with you a bit about the players we have brought into the first team.

Gareth Chambers (right back) has the judged potential to become a top player at the League Two level. However, his performances during pre-season suggested that he has a lot more in his locker. I feel that the only way to improve his chances of improving that suggested potential level is to put him with the first squad, while keeping him available for the under 21 side. He will be given chances in this coming season in the domestic cup competitions, which I do intend on taking seriously. Alongside him on the team sheet in those competitions will be Liam Troke, if I don’t choose to send him on loan. He has a better judged potential level of at least being a promising winger at the Championship level. Maybe a season on loan will do him more good than a season just playing in cup competitions.

As a result of Yesil and Rossi being shown the door it was important to bring in some strikers. Before signing Max Clayton and Nils Quaschner, I looked to Cameron Belt who like Troke has the potential to be a leading striker at the Championship level. However, he showed in pre-season he knows where the goal is and could become a player that could come on and make an impact in the latter stages of a game.
Jordan Ibe was a great loan signing for us last season. With him on one side and Grealish on the other, we were able to create numerous chances by having them exploit the flanks and run at the defence. If you could see facial expressions on this game you would see the opposition’s defenders looking worried when they ran at him. Hopefully Ibe can continue his good form from last season and continue to create chances for our two new strikers.
Clayton had a poor last season with Watford having scored only 9 goals, but I think he is capable of much better than that. We have brought him on for a fee of £3.6 million so there will be no pressure there but he will need to prove to me that he deserves to start ahead of the likes of Ugwu and Coulthirst who struck up a good partnership last season.

Quaschner is another player who had a poor season last time out but he does seem determined to prove his worth, which was evident in a number of good performances during pre-season. He also managed to form a good partnership with Clayton so the club will be blessed with two determined and quality backup strikers. However, for the fees we paid, I will need to be playing them regularly to justify them.

Very good pre-season mate! Loving the signings too, all very good players.

2014-04-04 21:54#167347 Josh_MU : Very good pre-season mate! Loving the signings too, all very good players.

I have a good feeling about this coming season. The signings need to settle in really quickly to make sure we get off to a good start!

The start to any league season is important. You want to head into the first match, whether it is home or away and come away with three points to give you that confidence boost that will hopefully stand you in good stead as the season progresses. It will hopefully be a match that you can look back on and have fond memories and see it as the starting point of a successful season. I was glad that we managed to start out second season in the Premier League in a positive way which will hopefully be a good building block for the remainder of the very long season ahead.

Yes it may have been a scrappy win but sometimes that’s the way the game turns out. The club I support, Liverpool FC, have walked away this season with many a scrappy win but look where they are in the league. At the point of writing this update we are currently sat 1st in the league and one point ahead of the competition. I don’t mind a scrappy win here and there but I hope that it doesn’t become a regular occurrence. I want us to head into games this season with confidence and belief that we can come away with a more comfortable win that a one nil against Fulham. The match against United was a strange one. Despite United having a player sent off early on in the game, we just found the United defence too difficult to break down. We did play well but failed to put away the few chances that we created. I do hope that in the remaining games against the “bigger” sides that we prove the doubters wrong and show we can go to their stadiums and put on a performance.

If I would describe the United game as stressful then I fail to find a word to describe the Shrewsbury game that emphasises just how poor and stressful that one was. Shrewsbury are a team that we should be dispatching with not a single problem, or in terms of statistics, not allowing them to hav a single shot on goal. I really do believe that is a gulf in ability between my club and theirs but we just didn’t show it on the pitch; and when they got a late goal the nerves definitely kicked in. Reverting back to a more defensive approach in the latter stages did help us see out what was nearly an early cup exit. I am not sure how I am going to approach future cup games but I do hope they aren’t as close as that one was!

Player of the Month – Max Clayton

Awesome! A new season dawns. Good luck!

I have been reading many stories whilst bored in work and must say this story has inspired me to share my own. I am currently still playing FM12 as I can't bare to give up on my 20 year one club career. But I think I might buy the new game and start my own story again this weekend. It would be great to hear your thoughts on my story as yours is so well written thanks!

Really unlucky start, but you cant be to disappointed as the loss was against a credible team in Man Utd.

Mr Shjanzey:I am quite excited about the new season. I hope you continue to follow.

rory13:I am glad that this story has inspired someone to take up story writing. That makes me quite proud of my efforts. I would definitely invest in FM14, you won't be disappointed.

zero-to-hero:It wasn't the best start ever but it was a tricky one, especially with the United game so early on.

Due to our recent success, the board of directors have felt the need to make drastic changes to the setup at Notts County. The most significant change to the facilities has been the decision to expand the stadium as a result of the huge increase in demand for tickets. Heck, this season we fully sold out of our season ticket allocation. More fans want to come to Meadow Lane in order to see a Notts County side that are impressing at the top level. They have decided to expand the stadium by several thousand and it will take a considerable amount of time to complete. The downside to all of this is that we have been forced to ground share with Sheffield United. This means for the remainder of this season, and possibly into the next one, we will have to play our games at Bramhall Lane. This is an issue because our fans are not going to travel to the stadium and I have already noticed a considerable decrease in the attendance figures. This means that our players aren’t getting the support that they need in important matches. I am sat here hoping that the board’s ambition is not going to cause the downfall of our season.

Matches wise, the team impressed, especially with the win against Arsenal. It was a tense affair but the result was the right one. What was even more impressive was against the constant over-achievers of Southampton. Yes we were fortunate to take the game to penalties but we slotted them away comfortably. Referring back to the beginning of this update, it would appear that the change in venue for our home games this season hasn’t had an impact yet. In both our “home” games, we have come away with wins against what are good sides and in awkward circumstances. Only time will tell if it is going to have any kind of long term impact on the players.

Player of the Month – Mathias Bossaerts

Bossaerts looks like a total boss.. get it :P? Jokes aside, you've been doing great, you can't be beating yourself on losses against West Ham and Manchester United away, they are two of the toughest grounds to visit (albeit I find West Ham's harder irl during this period of time)

Just caught up James! Unlucky on missing out on the Europa but I am sure you are not too bothered? Not a bad start to the season either, especially with a good win at Arsenal!

Also, in my Rangers save I went from a 50000 capacity stadium to a 30000 one at Queens Park! If it helps, our performances were not affected, we actually had our best season so far, although I guess the two teams are in completely different positions!

Why share with Sheffield United when Forest are literally across the it doesn't make much sense lol. (Good Job FM)

Pauker:Bossaerts is going to be a fantastic player. I won't be beating myself up about it; I would just hope for a better showing against bigger clubs this season.

AaronHJFT96:Cheers for taking time out to catch up on the story. It must have taken a while. I can just see sharing a ground doing us no favours but I guess only time will tell.

darkstallion873:Football Manager logic?

Before I come onto explaining the reason behind my title choice for this update, I will comment on the matches we played. Stoke was always going to be a tough game. They are in and around us in the league table and at the time of the match they sat one place above us. It wasn’t even a close affair in the end. The only way to describe it was empty. Our “home” stadium was close to empty with there being empty seat after empty seat. The lack of support from the fans resulted in an empty performance with the defence crumbling and the attackers not getting their shots on target. The rest of the month went according to plan, most notably with the result against Everton who will surely be in and around us at the end of the season.

Now, for the main reason for this update; the title choice! I am currently debating whether a change in club is necessary for a number of reasons. The first reason is due to the story, in my opinion, starting to become stale with very little happening. This could be due to my decision to write it in first person but I feel that there has been little progress in the quality of writing. I feel that if this story is to achieve the two aims I set of it right back at the beginning, a change of club will help me achieve them. Secondly, I feel that I have taken Notts County as far as I can in terms of progression up the league. I have managed to get the club a number of players for the future so if someone did come in and replace me, they would be in a good position to continue the hard work I have put in so far.

I feel that I am quite restricted at Notts County in terms of finances. Yes, the club is still in the early stages of Premier League football and the money will slowly but surely come in; however, I feel that the club needs to be able to splash larger sums of cash on players if we are going to make any progress and be able to compete at a higher level. When you weigh up the pros and cons of leaving Notts County, it evenly balances itself out and makes my decision a very difficult one.

Player of the Month – Jack Grealish