I'd never been able to bring myself to get past the 3rd season of an FM12 game and stay with the same club. I'd either won as much as I could or realised I wasn't going to win anything. I resolved to change this and thought what better team to do it with than the one I support.
So began my Leeds United adventure. Of course I'd played with Leeds before, and got them promoted. But once I'd done that, I'd realised that was all I could do and had buggered off elsewhere. This time it would be different. A mediocre first season and a second much the same bar a wonder run at the end saw me dither my way, Frank Spencer-esque, into the premier league.
I'd pretty much kept the team as it was, largely due to old tight Ken not wanting to give me much bunce to do anything with. A rise to the promised land of the Premier League and a change of board and I found myself finally having a bit of cash to play with. Now when I say cash, I mean 4m, which to be fair is not much in the Prem. Luckily I always play with a large database and have an uncanny knack of unearthing Brazilian and Argentinian regens who just happen to be wonderkids. Best part being they don't cost much and they want chump change for wages.
So off I go, on a scouting mission of South America, the likes of which Phil Vickery would be proud of. Still, 4m won't get you much anywhere in the world and I manage to pick up two players who are incredibly versatile. One was a left back who could play as centre back and the other a midfielder who could play as attacking midfielder too. I suppose this is as good a time as any to point out I use a 4-2-3-1 formation with two full backs, two centre backs, two central midfield(ball winning midfielder and deep lying playmaker) two wingers set to attack and an attacking midfielder between the lone striker and midfielders. I happened upon this formation by chance, but its worked wonders for me. Having got the season off the a roaring start with a 1-0 home win over Chelski, I was just counting down from 40. However, after some more suprising results I found myself 4th after 15 games. Then came the inevitable slump but nonetheless a 14th place finish in my first season was not to be sniffed at.
So as I went into my 4th season I was pleased to be moulding my squad and suprised that I wasn't the least bit bored. I guess maybe I felt I had to dispel the myth of 2nd season syndrome so off I went. A good finish in the league and two tidy cup runs had given me a bit of cash, so I used my 10m wisely and purchased a number of young South American regens along with a few transfer listed players and once again wisely utilised the loan market, astonishingly picking up Angel Di Maria and Sergio Canales on season long loans from Real Madrid. With Ruben Rochina bought from Blackburn for a bargain price of 2m, my biggest expenditure was my goalie Mark Andre ter Stegen, who I probably wouldn't have normally got for 3.5m had it not being for him being transfer listed by reqest.
Along with a young regen from America I had picked up a season before, a central defender who was now very much ready for the first team, my Argentinian boys were settling in nicely and they helped the other ones coming in. Robert Snodgrass and Aiden White were now the only players I had left playing in the first team from when I took over. With Canales and Di Maria playing in attacking midfield and left sided winger respectively, Rochina up front, my new german keeper, my two regen centre backs, my regen midfielder and another Portuguese regen I picked up for free I had a semi decent team in the making.
Then the magic started. I won my first 6 games and all the regens were building up their stats at an alarming rate. So much so the my Portuguese midfielder who I picked up on a free was the subject of a 15m bid from none other than Real Madrid! Fair play to the lad he didn't bat an eyelid when I turned it down (good job Ken wasn't in charge he wouldve accepted in a heartbeat the tight old git!). So by Christmas I have a team with an average age of just over 21, almost all wanted by the big teams and I'd barely spent 15m on the lot. Ruben Rochina was banging them in and I found myself 4th only 4 points behind the leaders manyoo.
Now at this point I was more than happy, envisaged a top ten finish and waited for the inevitable slump. I mean,these were kids, yes Alan Hansen, kids, surely they would tire as the season went on. Not a bit of it. Win after win, peppered with draws and the rare loss here and there and as the season drew to a close I found myself dreaming of the champions league. 6 games left, 6 points behind the leaders, in 3rd only needing 7 points to guarantee a CL slot.
Incredibly, Manyoo slipped up, at Wolves of all places, and their next game was me at Elland road. Boys became men that day I tell you, and a 2-0 victory didn't do justice to the quality of football on display. So I'm level on points with them, with 2 games to go yet their goal difference is far superior. My saving grace being their next game is Citeh away,who are 3rd and still in with an outside chance of winning the league if they beat united. Result! And result it was. A nil-nil draw for them and a win for me at Bolton means Leeds, little Leeds with a bunch of kids bought for less than the cost of Wayne Rooneys left testicle are but a game away from being champions. One problem though, a trip to Chelsea awaits. With United having Bolton at home, a team i had just thumped, I knew I had to win.
Now Chelsea hadn't exactly been on fire that season, nonetheless its some ask to go there and win the league. I managed to go one up at half time. But I knew I'd been lucky and on another day they couldve scored 5. Luckily for me Torres was having a howler and his replacement Lukaku not much better. True to form, Lampard and Terry, two Chelsea stalwarts, stood up and counted when needed and put them two one up with a typical penalty and towering header. Were now on 80 minutes and I'm flitting between thinking "well,2nd aint half bad"and "fuuuuck, I'm never going to get this chance again and I've bottled it" . I decide to go all out. If I'm gonna lose this I'm gonna do it in style. From nowhere a mazy Angel Di Maria run and a squared ball to my Argentinian midfielder and I'm level. Still not enough though, still I push on. Chelsea squander chance after chance as they slice me open on the counter attack.
And then It happens. 88th minute and I get a corner. And another corner. And another. They are all being dealt with relatively easily. On the 4th one from nowhere my young American central defender Victor De Alba, bought on a free from DC United and on wages of 750 per week, steps up and powers a header into the net. At that point I let out a yell so loud my missus thought I'd trapped my bollocks in my flies again. Not so my love, this is a cry of joy, of utter disbelief that leads me to frantically press contain, very rigid formation and drop my two wingers deeper in line with my two other midfielders. It does the trick, I see out the remaining minutes and spend 5 minutes after staring at the table in disbelief. The board are delighted as you would expect. They better give me some cash to spend now.......
So began my Leeds United adventure. Of course I'd played with Leeds before, and got them promoted. But once I'd done that, I'd realised that was all I could do and had buggered off elsewhere. This time it would be different. A mediocre first season and a second much the same bar a wonder run at the end saw me dither my way, Frank Spencer-esque, into the premier league.
I'd pretty much kept the team as it was, largely due to old tight Ken not wanting to give me much bunce to do anything with. A rise to the promised land of the Premier League and a change of board and I found myself finally having a bit of cash to play with. Now when I say cash, I mean 4m, which to be fair is not much in the Prem. Luckily I always play with a large database and have an uncanny knack of unearthing Brazilian and Argentinian regens who just happen to be wonderkids. Best part being they don't cost much and they want chump change for wages.
So off I go, on a scouting mission of South America, the likes of which Phil Vickery would be proud of. Still, 4m won't get you much anywhere in the world and I manage to pick up two players who are incredibly versatile. One was a left back who could play as centre back and the other a midfielder who could play as attacking midfielder too. I suppose this is as good a time as any to point out I use a 4-2-3-1 formation with two full backs, two centre backs, two central midfield(ball winning midfielder and deep lying playmaker) two wingers set to attack and an attacking midfielder between the lone striker and midfielders. I happened upon this formation by chance, but its worked wonders for me. Having got the season off the a roaring start with a 1-0 home win over Chelski, I was just counting down from 40. However, after some more suprising results I found myself 4th after 15 games. Then came the inevitable slump but nonetheless a 14th place finish in my first season was not to be sniffed at.
So as I went into my 4th season I was pleased to be moulding my squad and suprised that I wasn't the least bit bored. I guess maybe I felt I had to dispel the myth of 2nd season syndrome so off I went. A good finish in the league and two tidy cup runs had given me a bit of cash, so I used my 10m wisely and purchased a number of young South American regens along with a few transfer listed players and once again wisely utilised the loan market, astonishingly picking up Angel Di Maria and Sergio Canales on season long loans from Real Madrid. With Ruben Rochina bought from Blackburn for a bargain price of 2m, my biggest expenditure was my goalie Mark Andre ter Stegen, who I probably wouldn't have normally got for 3.5m had it not being for him being transfer listed by reqest.
Along with a young regen from America I had picked up a season before, a central defender who was now very much ready for the first team, my Argentinian boys were settling in nicely and they helped the other ones coming in. Robert Snodgrass and Aiden White were now the only players I had left playing in the first team from when I took over. With Canales and Di Maria playing in attacking midfield and left sided winger respectively, Rochina up front, my new german keeper, my two regen centre backs, my regen midfielder and another Portuguese regen I picked up for free I had a semi decent team in the making.
Then the magic started. I won my first 6 games and all the regens were building up their stats at an alarming rate. So much so the my Portuguese midfielder who I picked up on a free was the subject of a 15m bid from none other than Real Madrid! Fair play to the lad he didn't bat an eyelid when I turned it down (good job Ken wasn't in charge he wouldve accepted in a heartbeat the tight old git!). So by Christmas I have a team with an average age of just over 21, almost all wanted by the big teams and I'd barely spent 15m on the lot. Ruben Rochina was banging them in and I found myself 4th only 4 points behind the leaders manyoo.
Now at this point I was more than happy, envisaged a top ten finish and waited for the inevitable slump. I mean,these were kids, yes Alan Hansen, kids, surely they would tire as the season went on. Not a bit of it. Win after win, peppered with draws and the rare loss here and there and as the season drew to a close I found myself dreaming of the champions league. 6 games left, 6 points behind the leaders, in 3rd only needing 7 points to guarantee a CL slot.
Incredibly, Manyoo slipped up, at Wolves of all places, and their next game was me at Elland road. Boys became men that day I tell you, and a 2-0 victory didn't do justice to the quality of football on display. So I'm level on points with them, with 2 games to go yet their goal difference is far superior. My saving grace being their next game is Citeh away,who are 3rd and still in with an outside chance of winning the league if they beat united. Result! And result it was. A nil-nil draw for them and a win for me at Bolton means Leeds, little Leeds with a bunch of kids bought for less than the cost of Wayne Rooneys left testicle are but a game away from being champions. One problem though, a trip to Chelsea awaits. With United having Bolton at home, a team i had just thumped, I knew I had to win.
Now Chelsea hadn't exactly been on fire that season, nonetheless its some ask to go there and win the league. I managed to go one up at half time. But I knew I'd been lucky and on another day they couldve scored 5. Luckily for me Torres was having a howler and his replacement Lukaku not much better. True to form, Lampard and Terry, two Chelsea stalwarts, stood up and counted when needed and put them two one up with a typical penalty and towering header. Were now on 80 minutes and I'm flitting between thinking "well,2nd aint half bad"and "fuuuuck, I'm never going to get this chance again and I've bottled it" . I decide to go all out. If I'm gonna lose this I'm gonna do it in style. From nowhere a mazy Angel Di Maria run and a squared ball to my Argentinian midfielder and I'm level. Still not enough though, still I push on. Chelsea squander chance after chance as they slice me open on the counter attack.
And then It happens. 88th minute and I get a corner. And another corner. And another. They are all being dealt with relatively easily. On the 4th one from nowhere my young American central defender Victor De Alba, bought on a free from DC United and on wages of 750 per week, steps up and powers a header into the net. At that point I let out a yell so loud my missus thought I'd trapped my bollocks in my flies again. Not so my love, this is a cry of joy, of utter disbelief that leads me to frantically press contain, very rigid formation and drop my two wingers deeper in line with my two other midfielders. It does the trick, I see out the remaining minutes and spend 5 minutes after staring at the table in disbelief. The board are delighted as you would expect. They better give me some cash to spend now.......
