European charge marches on.. But lacking quality showing slowly.
![]()
So then a very nice winning streak with me carefully rotating the players but heading towards December the thin squad is starting to show cracks. Qualification to the knockout stages of the champion’s league is very good for the financial state though!
Virgil Van Dijk – He has played his first international game and therefore demanded higher wages? To which I said no and he then spat out his dummy and all the toys came out of the pram, his contract is currently 35k with 15k appearance fee, now with me having absolutely zero funds of course I was going to stand my ground or else the whole squad would want a wage hike. So in a mood he can stay.
Charlie Austin – Guy is being unpredictable he can put three past Valencia away then go 5 games without a goal, I think it’s when he receives praise he goes off the boil so I shall carefully monitor that.
Ben Arfa – New playmaker on the block… To say I signed this guy on a free transfer and now is on 43k a week he is scoring, assisting and playing better than most attacking midfielders in the game. Currently playing on the right wing but as an inside for and is proving deadly when cutting on his inside.
Matt Phillips- Is continuing his scoring feat from the previous season for both club and country. Currently has 10(4) games and 8 goals so a very welcome boost to a team that is needing goals.
Ron- Robert- Ziegler… now, this is where I am struggling, bought for 7.5 million triggering his release clause I thought bargain?! But as you can see I’m leaking goals in most games and it appears to be sometimes down to this guy a little too often. Yes I expect my team shipping goals simply because of how attacking I play but even my mother could have stopped some he has let in!
![]()
![]()
![]()
So what to do when you having struggling goalkeeper problems? And your board bung you a little extra cash and wage budget? Of course you upset a rival goalkeeper who isn’t getting any game time! Step up mind games from myself and after several very low bids which Chelsea was always going to decline Courtois announces his intentions to join me in the Champions league! To say negotiations where hard was an understatement… I needed more wage budget…
![]()
That’ll do it! Couple this with Onuoha wanting to leave for first team football, I sold him for 500k to West Ham and I get a little boost of transfer spend. SO 19 million over 48 months and 20% of the next transfer for a 5 year 75k contract may seem a lot? A gamble? Worthwhile in my eyes as this guy with the right amount of game time is one of the best on FM15.
![]()
So Green and Onuoha gone. Hoilett was next and with a thin squad I needed to retain him but on a much lower wage. So he has now dropped down to 43k but with 20k appearance fee and a huge bonus for 25 goals (which he will never get). The rest I shall evaluate nearer the summer.
![]()
Now this is all good, better youth facilities, great you say? However I hope this is a glitch in my game because if we have had to fork that out for a loan I would have preferred the money for a better front line!!
Finally,
![]()
TALK ABOUT BEING BITTER! Three times this season this message has come up, he now is the manager at Swansea sitting 14th so far in the season but he will now leave this argument alone! Talk about being bitter eh?
To wrap up, the team sit 3rd in the league and still in the Champs league through to the knockouts.
