Hey guys and welcome to my new FM 2011 story. You have been voting over the last five days and I found myself overwhelmed by the amount of people that wanted to have a say in who I manage. There was one outright winner of which you already know, but lets go through the clubs available and how many votes they gained in reverse order. Reading and Leicester were tied in 4th/3rd gaining 42 votes, then Stoke finished second with 52 votes…but top spot goes to Brighton of League One who notched up more than double its competitors with 112 votes. You obviously want more of a struggle for me this time around and I couldn’t agree with you more. Thanks to everyone who voted, which totalled 248, a very nice number in such a small space of time. But enough playing around, let me introduce you to the incredible, the unstoppable…Brighton & Hove Albion???? :)
Introduction and pre-season
So after dominating World Football for 8 years, turning a debt ridden club into the richest and topping the managers hall of fame I land back in League One. Don’t you just love Football Manager!! Brighton have only won one major trophy, the 1983 FA Cup and have to go back to 2002 for their last decent success when they won League One. I want to start a new history book and put ‘The Seagulls’ on the Football map. Nothing but promotion will do this year, then I want to at least establish myself in the Championship before reaching the Premier League a season later. After that we will see but transfer funds and luck may play a part. The long term goal is to win this clubs first EPL title and get them challenging for major honours.
Before I reveal the transfer budget and expectations, let me give you a glimpse of what I have to work with. The stadium is grim at just 8820 capacity, but we are due to move into the ‘American Express Community Stadium’ next year which holds 22500. While the stadium plans are good, my facilities are dyer. I will spend the next few years trying to get these upgraded but in reality, these terrible facilities could hold my players pack for many years.
Now let’s check what my board expect of us. A top half finish was on their wish list but I felt promotion should be my goal and took the extra funds. £500K will be available for transfers and an extra £9K a week in wages. I will probably adjust my budget to gain more money for wages.
When starting a fresh game, I always assess my backroom staff first. I actually offloaded every single member and brought in my own staff to leave the club in better hands. After many hours of searching I was finally ready to assess the squad and no less than 14 players left Brighton. None of these players had a future and I wanted to get rid of the crap before building my own vision.
Brighton already have some decent players, but I only saw five or six players that could make an impact this season. After searching for free transfers and any loan deals, I brought 9 new stars into the club. Just one loan signing of my own in Spence and the rest all came in for free.
New signings — defenders
I felt a little short staffed at right back and brought in Moutaouakil who will be used as backup. The 24 year old lacks technical ability but has the pace to bomb up and down that right flank. I also felt a little vulnerable in the centre back position and loaned Jordan Spence from West Ham. The youngster will play alongside Greer this season.
New signings — central midfield
As many of you know, my ‘Manchelona’ tactic requires a strong midfield. That isn’t something we already had in place at Brighton so I invested heavily in this area. Baradji and Van Der Leegte will be rotated as my deep lying playmaker, they may not hold brilliant technical skills but I believe their experience will outweigh this negative. Both Sergio and Posavec will be rotated as my advanced playmaker, they have enough between them to cause any L1 side problems. Now we move onto my best signing, Modubi has bags of experience and is still just 25 years of age. He will be used as my ball winning midfielder and will play a big part in taking pressure off my defence.
New signings — wingers and strikers
We are already well staffed on both wings with Noone and Bennett but I spotted a real talent within a filtered search. Soukouna has joined the club for free and will be rotated on the right wing. He has wonderful physical attributes and they demonstrate the best part of his game. Sure those technical skills are a little worrying but I think his metal attributes make up for it. Either way, this kid is just 20 years of age and has room to improve.
Brighton are fairly well manned upfront including Chris Wood who is on loan from WBA. However the Seagulls lack someone with lightening pace so I brought in Febian Brandy. The ex-United player should be dangerous, he is notoriously slow at settling in but I think the 21 year can make an impact.
I actually missed out on four incredible players, two that failed a work permit and were rated as being good for any EPL club!! Then the other two chose Championship teams over Brighton. If I had finalised those four I’d be ready for the Championship this year :) But we just need to get promotion from L1 so I’m fairly happy with what I’ve got. Below is my full squad with coach CA and PA ratings.
Not amazing but should see us through the season so I can rebuild for the next level in a years time. I will finish this post with a little taster of what Brighton are capable of. Below are our pre-season friendlies, all of which were played using my ‘Manchelona’ tactic. You can click on the name to see all about it and download the tactic itself.
Well that is my pre-season over, I am starting to adjust and hope to make this save as popular as my last. Thanks for reading and until my season opener please feel free to ask any questions and I look forward to hearing from you as always.
Birdy
22 августа, 2011 at 13:09
Good to see you struggling. Kidding! That would of been the longest and most time taking pre season I have ever seen, Good Luck Darren by the seaside :D
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 18:20
lol, thanks Birdy. I always take hours during pre-season to pour over lists of staff and players. There’s nothing worse than rushing through and then realising you are short in a certain position or messed up with the back room staff. Hopefully it’ll pay off.
cobham
22 августа, 2011 at 13:11
Think you will do wonders at Brighton! Good luck mate :)
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 18:20
Thanks mate, I hope you’re right.
Daniel
22 августа, 2011 at 13:12
Great signings darren and I had a sneaking suspicious feeling you would sign jordan spence to brighton and if you can ever get him permanantly he will be amazing for you. This will definitley be an interesting story and just in case you want a better center back then your others you should sign elliot omozusi on my old leyton orient save a few months ago i had omozusi and spence in center back together and between them they scored 21 goals and kept 28 clean sheets also frank nouble from west ham is usually a good signing. Lets hope you can make brighton the worlds richest club just like you did to newcastle
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 18:42
Thanks Daniel, Spence is a great player for this level and getting him permanently would be great but not sure if that’s possible. I will take a look at that other CB but Greer is a great defender also so I may not need another. I can’t see there been time to take Brighton to the richest club but we may find the time for a title challenge. :)
Johnny Karp
22 августа, 2011 at 13:13
The squad is strong, especially upfront with Wood and Brandy! You did very well to bring in Spence, he should make a difference at the back. I think that promotion is achievable by looking at your squad, best of luck mate!
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 18:43
Thanks Johnny, I too think Spence and Brandy are excellent. They should be the backbone of our promotion push.
Excessive
22 августа, 2011 at 13:15
Its always hard starting a new save, I mean I spend at least 2-3 hours sorting everything out so its all to my liking.. All worth it in the end though, you’ll be up in the Championship in no time mate, especially with the loan signing of Jordan Spence!
Good luck :D
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 18:46
Thanks Jake, nice to know it isn’t just me who spends an age doing pre-season and the start of a new game.
George Dobson
22 августа, 2011 at 13:22
well done Darren in pre season your team looks very good and promotion looks very much achivable
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 18:55
Thanks George, lets hope you are right.
vaibhavc
22 августа, 2011 at 13:28
Hey Darren
Well done in pre-season, your team looks like you can win the league or at least get promotion. The Manchelona is still in use, that is pretty good to see. Good luck!
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 18:56
Thanks Vaibhav, I will try the Manchelona but fear my defence is too weak and midfield may lack technique…I am not afraid to change if things don’t work but we’ll see.
Vineeth
22 августа, 2011 at 13:29
Hey Darren,
Your team looks quite good for L1…wud be interesting to see «Manchelona» in action in L1…(maybe you can give those Premiere League big boys a run for their money in FA Cup ;) )
If u can hold up against Bolton for 2-1, I am sure L1is going to be too easy for your team…
All the best Darren!!! :D
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 18:59
Thanks mate, I am worried the Manchelona may be stretched a little thin with this squad but we’ll see how it goes. Hope the season will start well so I can start concentrating on signings for the next level.
Ian T Evans
22 августа, 2011 at 13:29
Will be good tho see how the Mancelona works Darren……good luck!
Soukuna & Brandy will fire you up — I have got previous with those two!
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:00
Thanks mate, Soukuna and Brandy are both important players. I just hope they perform and get me out of this division.
FM Blogger
22 августа, 2011 at 13:33
Hi Darren,
Brandy is a beast and the best thing about him is that although he has low finishing, in fact he is a goal machine. I got him to a Chesterfield save and he played 28 games (missed a lot due to an injury) and scored 27, being the second league scorer, without even scoring once from the penalty spot. Sergio looks very skilled too, he will help a lot. This should be an interesting story and I’m looking forward to your next post. Good Luck!
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:02
I agree mate, Brandy’s finishing is deceptively low…but he probably scores a lot because if the league he’s in as opposed to anything else. I can’t see him blowing the Championship by storm which is a shame. Sergio is the same, like most of my squad I can see them walking L1 but the team requires a refurbish come promotion.
Nicholas Phipps
22 августа, 2011 at 13:37
Good luck and this story is going to be interesting :). I’m just wondering whether you can beat Brighton’s points total in League 1 this season!
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:04
I would expect the lads to at least get close to RL Brighton’s record.
Laxeyman
22 августа, 2011 at 14:02
Brighton looks like a very interesting challenge, Darren, very different from your Newcastle story for sure. You’ve brought in some good players, who can all make a difference at League 1 level. Brandy has ability, as does Spence, so hopefully they’ll settle quickly along with the others. Good luck for the season!
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:18
I agree Laxeyman, this story is going to be a million miles away from my Newcastle save and hopefully just as good for different reasons. I hardly ever do lower league (if you can call Brighton that) so expect a realistic story as they say…unless I pick things up quickly of course.
Dan
22 августа, 2011 at 14:06
I’ve been looking forward to the start of this story. You’ve brought in some good players who will add some quality to your squad. I had Brandy on a Crewe game when I was on FMCrowd, he scored 52 goals from 43 starts in League 2 and pretty much single handedly won the league for us! Soukouna and Modubi look good too. Good luck!
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:20
Thanks mate, I must admit I was a little worried about this challenge as I’m used to winning with ease and it’ll be far tougher especially after getting promoted. But I am now looking forward to it and want to make the story a success so lets hope Brandy can be a big part of that.
Jay
22 августа, 2011 at 14:11
hey darren,
nice to see you back at football managing :)
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:24
Thanks mate, I can’t wait to kick off the season.
Omer
22 августа, 2011 at 14:21
Great signings Darren. I remember my best ever save when I was Dartford and took them to world domination and for most of that Jordan Spence was part of it. If you are able to get him on a permenant you should. ;)
Great stuff looking forward to reading on
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:24
Thanks Omer, hopefully Spence will do well this year and maybe even sign for us in the future.
Lye
22 августа, 2011 at 14:38
Hi Darren,
A couple of great signing company by the existing squad. Chris Wood and Jordan Spence should be performing up front and the back. Fingers cross for promotion mate. Good luck.
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:25
Thanks Lye, I am hoping those signings will do well and we’ll be able to climb the leagues fairly fast.
tom
22 августа, 2011 at 15:09
Welcome back!
Argh the stadium and facilties, what a nightmare!!!! Thank god for the move at the end of season!
I think establishing Brighton in the Prem with good finances will be your masterpiece should you achieve it. (I’m fairly new so I’ve only read your newc save and euro challenge so apologies if you have already done something better ;) )
Looking forward to seeing if your manchelona tactic works with less technically gifted players.
Jordan Spence a fantastic loan and Chris Wood good up front.
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:29
Yeah those facilities will be a pain and door stopper for me Tom. As you say though, the stadium will be a welcome improvement and hopefully provide some nice revenue. To be honest this ave would be my best if I can get them winning things at the highest level. Purely because I haven’t done a proper lower league story before.
rolando
22 августа, 2011 at 15:42
Wow, Brighton is gonna be some tough place to play, for sure. Very nice transfers but doesn’t really suprise me considering what a great transfer guru you are :) Installing Manchelona can be a bit tricky at L1 level, I guess, will be truly interesting to see your journey, just look out for the set pieces! And don’t be so angry about facilities, your new stadium will generate lots of cash and I’m sure Premiership is just a whisker away :) Good luck :)
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:30
Thanks Rolando, I am hoping those transfers will prove successful but time will tell. I think the big challenge comes when promoted and trying to scrap for top players at a club with little to no reputation. I’ll certainly be scouring the globe. :)
Mikey
22 августа, 2011 at 16:29
Just today I wanted to start new save with them. So will see how we will be doing :) Good luck.
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:32
Nice one mate, we can compare notes then Mikey.
Mikey
25 августа, 2011 at 11:16
OMG..the team is really crap :) Started yesterday and it was all about offloading..
Darren Smith
25 августа, 2011 at 11:58
lol, tell me about it mate. I’m just about to publish he first half of my first season. :)
Edward Wylie
22 августа, 2011 at 16:48
Hi Darren, I remember doing a save with Brighton. Ankergren made more mistakes than Roy Carroll facing long range shots from Pedro Mendes. I think you are strong favourites for the title, it’s very hard finding creative players for lower league teams. A good player I shall reccomend is Izzy Iriekpen. Good luck mate, look forward to reading the rest. :D
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:35
Yeah Ankergren does look dodgy but he should be OK this year. I am hoping to see Sergio do enough in midfield and if not I’ll be playing the January transfer window :)
Jayzinho
22 августа, 2011 at 16:51
Hi Darren,
Let’s hope this game is as good as your last. I don’t think L1 will be much of an issue for you, maybe a couple of years in the champ then the prem! I’ve found it fairly easy getting to the prem but making an impact there is the real challenge!
Good luck mate
Jayzinho
22 августа, 2011 at 16:53
Oh yeah and Adam Le Fondre is dynamite in the lower leagues and still did a job for my Colchester side in the championship so i would thoroughly recommend him even if you do have to shell out 300k.
Darren Smith
22 августа, 2011 at 19:38
I hope this story is as good as the last one mate. You could be right about spending a few years in the Championship, I’d rather not but that can be a tough league to get out of. Le Fondre’s a great player but I’d want someone better next season to be honest.
Sears
22 августа, 2011 at 21:31
Brighton are enduring a good start in the Championship in RL so hopefully you’ll take L1 by storm. You made some astute signings and I don’t see any reason to why you shouldn’t get promoted. Good luck ;)
Darren Smith
23 августа, 2011 at 11:55
Yeah I hope so mate, would be embarrassing to miss promotion will the RL team managed it. :)
matt
23 августа, 2011 at 02:48
good stuff!
just started a newcastle save and looking to end second season in first.
any chance cud get hands on your tactic?
cheers bud
Darren Smith
23 августа, 2011 at 11:54
Yeah there are two tactics that I’ll be testing for this save, the first one is mentioned and the link provided within the post, so you don’t have to look through here it is https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2011/07/football-manager-2011-understanding-tactics-and-%E2%80%98the-manchelona%E2%80%99/
The other tactic is more defensive and can be found here https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2010/12/fm-2011-newcastle-tactics-4-4-2-and-4-5-1/
Kevin
23 августа, 2011 at 13:10
Hi Darren
Welcome back to the lower leagues! Jordan Spence is a very good acquisition for you and I think you have a strong enough team to mount a serious challenge. Looking forward to this new era on FM Stories.
Darren Smith
23 августа, 2011 at 18:34
lol, yeah I’m serving my time back in the chambers:) Should be fun though and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
Sayam Khan
23 августа, 2011 at 16:49
Hi Darren,
Good Luck with Darren, like you said welcome back to reality! Good pre-season and you should get promoted
Darren Smith
23 августа, 2011 at 18:30
Thanks mate, I’m hoping to make this story as successful as the last.
Sibo
24 августа, 2011 at 16:23
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zuKklBRlzY
Good luck Darren, the transfers look solid and I have seen a couple in the SPL in my games so they should be good in L1. I hope yo get promoted! :D
Darren Smith
24 августа, 2011 at 18:47
lol, I like the YouTube video mate, made me laugh. :) Hopefully I can take Brighton to the EPL and start challenging before FM12 but we’ll see.
joelance
25 августа, 2011 at 00:15
By the number of comments there are already, i’m almost sure this story will be as popular as your newcastle story. All the best. Will definitely be following this.
Darren Smith
25 августа, 2011 at 11:58
Thanks Joe, must admit I love the response these stories get…makes it all worth while.
CsAtlantis
26 августа, 2011 at 03:52
Looks like a strong squad, but you might have far too many strikers for a lone forward tactic, goalkeeper position looks a bit weak too, but other than that you’re ready to go, playoff spot at least definitely :D
Darren Smith
26 августа, 2011 at 11:55
Thanks mate, hopefully the new signings will take us up.