Darren: Newcastle Aug-Nov, have I lost my mind? 2017/18

Hey guys and welcome back to another update from my FM 2011 Newcastle story. During the last post you probably fell asleep as the clubs transfer activity was none existent compared to latter years. I did sign a few promising youngsters and offloaded Musacchio for a healthy sum, but bar that I introduced some of my younger signings from the season before…well I want to make up for that today. You may be wondering why this post is entitled ‘have I lost my mind?’ Well some of my transfer activity could be seen as brilliant or insane, but I’ll let you decide. First off let me start the post with Newcastle’s league and cup form.

Euro Super Cup — Newcastle vs Porto

To kick the post off, lets see how the toon performed during their third consecutive Super Cup final. Playing a reasonably strong team, I gave Marcelo Santos a chance to shine. The Spanish striker had impressed last term until he was struck down by injury. With my main striker, Sanogo, just two or three years away from departing Saint James Park I needed Santos to shoulder more responsibility. Watch the highlights below to see if the 21 year could cope against a strong Porto side.

Santos seemed to struggle today, but rose to the challenge when it really mattered. Despite playing most of the match with a 6.3 rating, I kept the faith and was repaid after 55 minutes when the Brazilian showed composure and technique to finish well. Another trophy in the bag, but we need improved performances later in the season.

Premier League results — August to September

2017/18 began with one of my biggest title rivals, Manchester Utd. Marcelo Santos jumped at his first team opportunity to score a hat trick and help us win 4-1. My next opponents, Arsenal, proved too difficult away from home and held us to a 1-1 draw. Santos became the hero again as we beat Blackburn 3-0, but Mainetti pulled of some wonderful saves between the sticks against Chelsea as Newcastle triumphed 5-1. We finished September at the Hawthorns and thrashed West Brom 4-0 as Sanogo staked his claim as Newcastle’s number one forward.

Premier League results — October to November

The great form continued through October, as Newcastle beat Portsmouth 5-0, Bristol City 4-1 and Spurs 3-1. We needed this confidence as November turned up a few tough games. My boys prevailed as always though, beating Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and finishing the month with a 5-0 thrashing of Bolton. Marcelo Santos managed an incredible four goals during that fixture after 3 weeks out with a twisted ankle.

Premier League table

Another year of domination to date, none of the so called big teams can challenge us. Not that I’m complaining like, the 7 point gap leaves me to concentrate on raising youth and winning other competitions. The lack of a title contender is probably helping my Y2G system too, as I’m more comfortable playing some youth with such a big cushion at the top.

League Cup results

I have enjoyed the League Cup with Newcastle winning six times out of my seven seasons in charge. We usually prevail against tough opponents, but I didn’t even have to do that this year. My third round was an easy passage against Chesterfield. I played my youth and reserves squad against the League Two outfit to win 3-1. Then Birmingham were drawn for the fourth round as I mixed the squad up a little. This seemed to work as youth and experience provided a 3-0 victory. My next match is against Bolton for our third home draw in a row, common sense says I expect to progress.

Champions League results and group

Not the easiest draw I’ve had in years gone by, but certainly not a tough group. We drew Atletico Madrid of which we beat 4-1 at home and drew 0-0 away. We also had Austria Wien, I fielded a mixed squad during the away fixture and won 2-0. Last of all we faced Kiev of Ukraine, while we struggled to win 1-0 away my boys prevailed at home 4-0. With one game to go we’ve racked up 4 wins and a draw.

Due to our results against Atletico Madrid, top spot is secure. Therefore my last game will feature some youngsters as I try to develop the Y2G system further.

Before we move onto the squad stats, finances and some important news. I thought it would be nice to keep you infomed on my unbeaten record that has now stretched to 91 games…I wonder how far we can stretch this.

Squad stats and finances

Another excellent start has left Sanogo and Santos fighting it out for top striker. Sanogo pips this title with 20 goals from 10 starts while Santos has hit 13 goals goals from 6 starts. Argentine winger Anconetani has been my best midfielder with 16 assists and 3 goals from 11 starts. While my left back, Costantino, has performed well with an average rating of 7.64 albeit against easier opponents.

The start of pre-season saw my bank balance looking healthy at around £165 million, well it’s certainly dropped and now balances out around £145 million. This is mainly down to big contract offers that were required to maintain the squads quality. Well, keep reading and see how I plan on rebuilding this loss.

Transfers scheduled for January

OK, sit down before reading this and please read the whole thing as I try to explain some bizarre moves in the transfer market. I’ll structure my transfer activity in terms of who is leaving and their replacements. Also note these transfers are scheduled to go through in the winter transfer window.

Waving farewell to my best defender and captain

You guessed it, Danny Wilson is leaving Saint James Park. Top teams around Europe have been chasing Wilson since I signed him three years ago for £26 million. When Barcelona offered me £42 million I couldn’t refuse, why? Because a younger and potentially better player was available. Ascoli’s Alessandro Varriale will be a direct replacement and joins the club for £20 million, just look at his attributes below.

Selling my top young prospects upfront?

Well not quite, don’t worry Marcelo Santos and Sanogo keep their place but Diego Sanchez will leave for Benfica in a £9.5 million deal. The 19 year old was signed for £2 million and didn’t improve in the areas I anticipated. If that was a revelation, the next departure was even bigger. My hot prospect, Fernando, is highly regarded and enjoys bags of potential. However, he isn’t the exact type of striker I use. When Valencia offered me £22 million I couldn’t refuse. The 19 year old joined Newcastle a few years ago for £2.3 million.

So with two of my most talented strikers departing, what did I do to counter this? I signed one of England’s best prospects in Jordan Tierney. The 19 year old will sign from West Ham for £13.5 million and looks perfect for my poacher role.

No more sales, just signings

That is all for players departing in January, but we still have two more additions to my squad. James Andrews is another great English prospect and plays central midfield. The 19 year old will enter Saint James Park from West Ham for £5.5 million and is apart of my grand plan to introduce more home grown players even if their not from my own academy.

The last signing will enter from Fluminense of Brazil, Fernando is 17 years old and will join for £1.3 million. He may lack pace, but I’m hoping this wonderkid can improve on that to suit my poacher role. This kid will join during the summer of 2018, maybe his pace will develop between now and then.

OK, so to summarise I will be spending £40.5 million come January, but the players leaving will rack up £73.5 million. This means my winter transfers will help the club make a £33 million profit. Losing my best defender is a huge risk, but I feel it is the right time to sell as I’ll never find such a talented replacement at the right age and price. Below is a summary of my future transfers.

With transfers out of the way, I’ll leave you to examine my fixtures from December to February. The start of January looks tough but if the new signings settle, we should pass through unscathed.

Well that is all for today, thanks for reading and please let me know what you think to the transfers. My next update will take us right through winter and I just hope the winter transfers don’t effect our great form. Please feel free to comment below and I look forward to your responses.