Once again I was tipped to go straight back down at the beginning of the season and wondered if I should alter my tactic to fit the new league. Ultimately I stayed with what I had used the previous season (the 4-1-4-1). I targeted a mid table finish, making the 4th-5th round of the FA Cup, making the knockout rounds of the European League, and possibly sneaking out with the League Cup.
Unfortunately I was knocked out of the League Cup in the 4th round by Stoke. In something of a pattern Sunderland played to the level of their opponent, and I played down to Stoke’s level and despite outshooting them 30-4 we lost on penalties.
For the League we started poorly, taking only 7 of our first 18 points. Then starting in October we played out of our skin and topped the league on New Years. However, we came crashing back to earth and was down in 6th place (with a game in hand) for two months before sneaking up to 3rd on the final day, guaranteeing Champions League football for next season. Our playing to the level of the competition doomed us as I would beat Liverpool (1-0), Man City (4-1), or Man U (2-1) but drop points to Sheffield Utd (1-0), Huddersfield (1-1), and Burnley (1-1). I am not sure why but I have never had such a streaky team on FM.
In the FA Cup I once again was tough and made it to the Final in an attempt to retain the trophy. It did not go that way at all as I was thumped 3-0 by Liverpool, who won a League-Cup double.
The Euro Cup went surprisingly well as I topped my group (Napoli, Frankfurt, Rosenborg). My first match in the knockout round was in the 2nd round where I was paired with Napoli, who finished 2nd in my group. I beat them 5-1, Ajax 4-2, and Arsenal 2-2 (away goals) on my way to the final against Real Sociedad. I won that match 2-1 in extra time with James Munro getting the brace.
I should discuss my outgoing transfers as there were some doozies. I sold off Isaac Lihadji to Milan ($45M) and Tommy Smith to DC United ($7.5M—I needed the non-EU spot) in the summer and wonderkid Noa Chauveau to Brighton ($23M) in the Winter window (not sure why they paid so much for Chauveau as I had never started him and his stats were only OK). The winter window also saw me get rid of Jordan Rhodes, whose contract I was not going to renew, for $1M to St. Mirren. Stephen Kingsley went to Saudi Arabia for $13M, $10M above what I would have paid for him. Note to managers of 2nd tier teams: do NOT sign Jordan Rhodes. He is frequently injured and had 10 goals and 4 assists in 45 matches for me. While that might be OK for a midfielder it is not for a striker.
You’ll note I sold him to St. Mirren in Scotland, who should not have $1M in the bank, let alone in transfer funds. It is because I had purchased James Munro, he of the Euro Cup heroics, from them two weeks earlier for $2M. He was quite worth it as I rotated him and Stephy Mavididi at Striker and they combined for 37 goals and 8 assists in 59 matches. After 3 seasons my strike force was finally good and with a combined age of 42 had a bright future ahead of them at Sunderland.
My last major transfer (I am not counting Kyle Bartley) was Angus Gunn from Southampton for $9M. I figured McLaughlin was not a Prem/Euro quality keeper so spent large to get Gunn on $40k/week wages, double my next highest earner (Aiden McGeady, who elected to not retire until after this season). He was worth it as he finished with 23 shutouts in 60 matches, although he was shaky in high pressure matches (see the 3-0 drubbing by Liverpool in the FA Cup final).
Notes on this challenge for those that might like to try it:
1. if you are concerned with the Club’s finances in League One and again in the Championship that will go away in the Premiership. I was concerned my skyrocketing wage bill would doom me (it increased 50% from the Championship --> Premiership), which prompted my sale of Lihadji to make sure I had enough cash in the bank. Nope, I never experienced a negative earning month as I always seemed to make money at the ticket booth or TV. I am sitting on $312M in the bank and haven’t received TV money for next season.
2. Do NOT sign Jordan Rhodes or Zach Clough as your strikers—not good enough and Mavididi scored more league goals in one season (32) than they scored combined across all competitions in their 4 seasons at the club (29). It was not an issue of formation or personnel—they just weren’t good enough.
3. I strongly recommend signing Stephy Mavididi, Isaac Lihadji, and Liam Bridcutt. The first two are phenomenal goal scorers you can get (and pay) cheaply: Mavididi ($750k, $7.5k/week) from Juventus and Lihadji (free, $8k) from Marseille after the 1st season. Bridcutt adds some steel in the heart of your midfield and while he will pick up a lot of fouls (and cards) his toughness and leadership was reflected on the other players’ performances.
4. I said this in another thread, but scout Scotland for young talent. I got Regan Hendry for $300k from Raith and he had 19 goals and 11 assists in two seasons from midfield. James Munro is the phenomenal newgen striker that Scotland seems to produce every game the 2nd/3rd season and while he cost $2M the return on value was outstanding: 14 goals in 12 matches.
Having finished the challenge now (2 lower league titles, 3 cups including the FA Cup and Euro Cup, a 71% win percentage and finances and position secure) I will post screenshots of the season. I have the files saved if someone needs to confirm the veracity of my claims.
Henrik, this was very enjoyable. Thanks for this challenge!
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Note on the Game Status saves: I had to update my version to 20.4.1 so saved it outside my standard 3-4 weeks pattern. I also played this over 3 days instead of one mammoth session so had to save before going to bed each night. Lastly, there was a forced Microsoft update that caused me to either save or lose my game.
Unfortunately I was knocked out of the League Cup in the 4th round by Stoke. In something of a pattern Sunderland played to the level of their opponent, and I played down to Stoke’s level and despite outshooting them 30-4 we lost on penalties.
For the League we started poorly, taking only 7 of our first 18 points. Then starting in October we played out of our skin and topped the league on New Years. However, we came crashing back to earth and was down in 6th place (with a game in hand) for two months before sneaking up to 3rd on the final day, guaranteeing Champions League football for next season. Our playing to the level of the competition doomed us as I would beat Liverpool (1-0), Man City (4-1), or Man U (2-1) but drop points to Sheffield Utd (1-0), Huddersfield (1-1), and Burnley (1-1). I am not sure why but I have never had such a streaky team on FM.
In the FA Cup I once again was tough and made it to the Final in an attempt to retain the trophy. It did not go that way at all as I was thumped 3-0 by Liverpool, who won a League-Cup double.
The Euro Cup went surprisingly well as I topped my group (Napoli, Frankfurt, Rosenborg). My first match in the knockout round was in the 2nd round where I was paired with Napoli, who finished 2nd in my group. I beat them 5-1, Ajax 4-2, and Arsenal 2-2 (away goals) on my way to the final against Real Sociedad. I won that match 2-1 in extra time with James Munro getting the brace.
I should discuss my outgoing transfers as there were some doozies. I sold off Isaac Lihadji to Milan ($45M) and Tommy Smith to DC United ($7.5M—I needed the non-EU spot) in the summer and wonderkid Noa Chauveau to Brighton ($23M) in the Winter window (not sure why they paid so much for Chauveau as I had never started him and his stats were only OK). The winter window also saw me get rid of Jordan Rhodes, whose contract I was not going to renew, for $1M to St. Mirren. Stephen Kingsley went to Saudi Arabia for $13M, $10M above what I would have paid for him. Note to managers of 2nd tier teams: do NOT sign Jordan Rhodes. He is frequently injured and had 10 goals and 4 assists in 45 matches for me. While that might be OK for a midfielder it is not for a striker.
You’ll note I sold him to St. Mirren in Scotland, who should not have $1M in the bank, let alone in transfer funds. It is because I had purchased James Munro, he of the Euro Cup heroics, from them two weeks earlier for $2M. He was quite worth it as I rotated him and Stephy Mavididi at Striker and they combined for 37 goals and 8 assists in 59 matches. After 3 seasons my strike force was finally good and with a combined age of 42 had a bright future ahead of them at Sunderland.
My last major transfer (I am not counting Kyle Bartley) was Angus Gunn from Southampton for $9M. I figured McLaughlin was not a Prem/Euro quality keeper so spent large to get Gunn on $40k/week wages, double my next highest earner (Aiden McGeady, who elected to not retire until after this season). He was worth it as he finished with 23 shutouts in 60 matches, although he was shaky in high pressure matches (see the 3-0 drubbing by Liverpool in the FA Cup final).
Notes on this challenge for those that might like to try it:
1. if you are concerned with the Club’s finances in League One and again in the Championship that will go away in the Premiership. I was concerned my skyrocketing wage bill would doom me (it increased 50% from the Championship --> Premiership), which prompted my sale of Lihadji to make sure I had enough cash in the bank. Nope, I never experienced a negative earning month as I always seemed to make money at the ticket booth or TV. I am sitting on $312M in the bank and haven’t received TV money for next season.
2. Do NOT sign Jordan Rhodes or Zach Clough as your strikers—not good enough and Mavididi scored more league goals in one season (32) than they scored combined across all competitions in their 4 seasons at the club (29). It was not an issue of formation or personnel—they just weren’t good enough.
3. I strongly recommend signing Stephy Mavididi, Isaac Lihadji, and Liam Bridcutt. The first two are phenomenal goal scorers you can get (and pay) cheaply: Mavididi ($750k, $7.5k/week) from Juventus and Lihadji (free, $8k) from Marseille after the 1st season. Bridcutt adds some steel in the heart of your midfield and while he will pick up a lot of fouls (and cards) his toughness and leadership was reflected on the other players’ performances.
4. I said this in another thread, but scout Scotland for young talent. I got Regan Hendry for $300k from Raith and he had 19 goals and 11 assists in two seasons from midfield. James Munro is the phenomenal newgen striker that Scotland seems to produce every game the 2nd/3rd season and while he cost $2M the return on value was outstanding: 14 goals in 12 matches.
Having finished the challenge now (2 lower league titles, 3 cups including the FA Cup and Euro Cup, a 71% win percentage and finances and position secure) I will post screenshots of the season. I have the files saved if someone needs to confirm the veracity of my claims.
Henrik, this was very enjoyable. Thanks for this challenge!
Note on the Game Status saves: I had to update my version to 20.4.1 so saved it outside my standard 3-4 weeks pattern. I also played this over 3 days instead of one mammoth session so had to save before going to bed each night. Lastly, there was a forced Microsoft update that caused me to either save or lose my game.
