A Fulham story - Bringing life to the Cottagers

Welcome to my end of season update. Going into the last 6 weeks. It was imperative that I win at least 2 of my remaining fixtures to ensure I didn't get relegated. Lets get straight to it

April/May

Exceeded my own expectation. Not only did beat Newcastle and Villa. I got credible draws against Chelsea and Man Utd. Very pleased. Goals came from David Ngog and Mr Kostas Mitroglou (who has been immense since coming back from injury) and Moreno has again been great.

Player of the month:
Kostas Mitroglou

Here is what the league looks like at the end of the season
Finished 13th. Well safe from relegation and snug in the middle of the table. After a more than rocky few months before christmas, the boys turned it around after that and got some great victories - the best being a 1 nil victory over Man City.

Player of the season:

Giovanni Moreno

Was originally brought in as cover for Lews Holtby but became a key player for us chipping in with key goals and providing a number of assists. Also stayed pretty much injury free which is great for a team like mine that lacks depth. Will be my number 1 AM next season.

Here are what the overall player ratings look like. Encouraged by the form of Dan Burn and David Ngog.


I am looking forward to the offseason as I can get rid of some players and rebuild a team to my liking. Finishing up mid table is not in my plans. I want a top half finish, with a view of getting into the Europa Cup. I will also focus on blooding some youngsters and bringing in players not older than 26 or 27

Next update coming soon...will cover transfers in and preseason

Thanks for reading

Nice work avoiding relegation :), also any transfer hints yet?

Captainbrickarms - won't tell you much just yet....but I will say I need about FIVE new CM's after I let Sidwell, Karagounis, Kvist and Boateng go. Hotlby returns to Spurs as well.
Between Mitroglou and Ngog I think I will have enough goals. And on the whole I am satisfied with my defence...so all in all expect TONS of midfield signings and a few wingers ;')

Well done on managing to steer away from the relegation zone! The side is going to need a look of developing; maybe a full revamp would be a good idea!

Hello and welcome to another update of my Fulham story. Apologies for the silence. I've been busy with work and thats been cutting into my precious FM time.

First things first...the transfers. After my struggles last season my team needed a revamp. Mostly in midfield and the wide areas. I also tried to reduce the average of the squad with a view of blooding youth from within next season.

Transfers IN:

Armed with a budget of 5 million - here is how I spent it


I need to mention just how happy I am with these signing. A couple on the cheap and couple of worthwhile free transfers

Transfers OUT

Pretty much my whole midfield from last season Sidwell, Karagounis, Kvist and Boateng as well as Rodallega, Ruiz and club legend Brede Hangeland. Sad to see Brede go but at his age and with the wages he was on there was no reason to keep him.

A closer look at the signings:

Albin Ekdal looks like the type of player I need in my two man midfield. strong in the tackle, brave, and a team player. I will play him as DLP or BBM requiring him to spray passes from deep

At 22, he is one for the future and a definite English international. Great stats for a winger. He will be a starter for sure. Hopefully he develops quickly

Young Italian midfielder who can also play down the flank. Awesome mental attributes.Please to have gotten him on a free. Will look to sell him on for a nice profit

This kid excites me. He's young and has the potential to be a star. A bit weak physically but I quite like him. He will go straight into the first team

My most expensive transfer. Young British defender with good tackling and heading. Still 24 and one player I would like to stay for a long time. He see him as a future club captain

Young Danish midfielder who will add something creatively. Will be back up this season

Needed a 3rd striker who was young enough, cheap enough but good enough and he fit the bill. He will play in the cup matches. Decent finisher with gas to burn.

Overall, really happy with my signings. Most of them will walk straight into the first team. My key player will still be Giovanni Moreno

This is my team for the season. Tons of potential here and still have some old heads like Scott Parker and Richardson (who I can't seem to sell!).

I like the balance of the team. Aiming to finish in the top ten and keep the same bunch of players for my push into a Europe place next season

Preseason

Stress free pre-season. Luckily I got most of my signings in early so they could take part.

Tactic for the season

Nothing too crazy here. Will be looking to play an attacking, fast paced brand of football. I feel my players are energetic, determined and technically gifted enough to pull this off.

Lets get the season started:
August
Couple of tough fixtures to kick things off vs City and Spurs. Good month but gutted to be knocked out of the League Cup so early AGAIN!!!! Glad to have drew against City

League position: 10th
Player of the month
Kasper Kusk

This kid has been amazing scoring 3 goals from the wing this month. Has been a surprise key player for me and the team. Hope he carries this through

Nice signings and good luck with the coming season

Thanks CAPTAINBRICKARMS! hopefully i steer clear of any drama and get a solid league finish

Some good young signings,vydra and ince are personal favourites and ekdal is a really solid player, hopefully you will be able to push on this season.

Thanks for reading Hortensius. Also a fan of Vydra. Hopefully they can settle in quickly. I don't need any stress this season lol. In hindsight I would've gotten another striker who can maybe play on the wing.

Update coming soon

Welcome to another update of my Fulham adventure.

September

Not much to say here. Bad month all round. Didn't score all month and conceded in all 3 matches. Really concerned about my strike force. Im doing well catching teams on the counter but not capitalising on the chances. The team also suffered key long terms injuries to Casper Sloth and Scott Parker.

Things need to pick up. Ex players are already publicly criticising me and the team

League position: 20th!!!!!!!
Player of the month: NONE!!!!!

October

Win, loss and a draw. Expected to get 6 out of the 9 points. Like the previous month, we are creating chances but nothings happening. Clearly need to re-think my tactics.

Strikers go another month without a goal. Expensive as he is Kostas Mitroglou may have to go in the summer. Last season he sneaked in a few goals after Jan and I hoped he's turned the corner but clearly he's not a man who can lead me to a top half finish.

League position: 19th
Player of the month: Giovanni Moreno

Scored and assisted. Everything is going through him. The creative spark in the team. My best transfer of the game so far

November

After receiving a mauling at Stamford Bridge, I changed formations. It is just time or else I will be relegated. Until I got the draw vs Man Utd, rumours of my imminent sacking were making headlines.
Played around with a 4-3-3 formation mainly because Giovanni Moreno is out for 6 weeks. It seems to be the way I will be playing for the rest of the season. Only problem is that Moreno is strictly a AM and being my best player I will have to find room for him somehow or retrain him to a more competent midfielder

League position: 17th!!!!!!!
Player of the month: Fausto Rossi


Flourished as the AP in my new 4-3-3 formation. Made some great passes and scored a hat trick against the Red Devils. Finally finding his feet at the club

December
This is the do or die month for me. We are still in languishing near the relegation zone and the board feels I should be doing better at my job



Job saving month for me. If you add the matches from the last month I went on a 6 match unabated run before the disappointing loss to Huddersfield.

I switch my formation again to a 4-3-3 with a RGA in the DM role and 2 BBM's as my CMs. Looks to be working well.

Player of the month: Kostas Mitroglou (I can't believe it either)

Played him as a AF in the lone striker position and he flourished, scoring 4 goals in 6 matches. 4 crucial goals I might add. He seems to have this knack of coming right in December. No idea what it is...maybe he likes the blistering cold. Either way he's just saving my career for the time being and to be honest I was toying with the idea of selling him.

December 2014 league table

January

Not looking to do too much business in this window. Transfer budget remains at around 600K. I will be looking to ship off a few players that I have no need for (Parker, Richardson, Ngog and Amorebieta. I will either bring in a youth player or a loan player to replace them if they leave.

Results

New tactic seems to be working. My best month EVER! TREMENDOUS wins against Man City and Liverpool. Have managed to score in each match in the last 2 months or so which is a pleasant change from earlier in the season.

One of the major changes I made was to take over training responsibilities. This has helped the players to get used to the formation faster and for me to focus on a wider array of skills.

League Position: 11th (nearing that top half!)
Player of the month


After his success last month Mitroglou wasn't impressive at the beginning of the month so I gave Matej Vydra a go and he duly delivered. Offered a few goals and a few assist and made the team of the week twice.
Nice problem to have. Two of my strikers are finally scoring

Finally...I need to mention this INSANELY good youngster I have brought into the first team. Since I was trying to get rid of Parker, I earmarked him to be my 5th or 6th midfielder. I brought him on as a sub and he impressed. I then chose to start him and he has been nothing short of amazing keeping Moreno, Parker and Sloth on the bench. Offered him a new contract already...think I have a superstar on my hands. His attributes are great for an 18 year old and he can only get better



Next update will feature my dealings in the window...
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