Hey guys, welcome to my first story on Football Manager 2011. Over 100 people voted on my old site for who I will manage and Newcastle United won the poll with ease. I have been a massive Toon fan since I could say the words ‘black and white’, so this is just the perfect start to FM 2011. Especially seen as the club has been through many turbulent times in the past decade. I have had so many opinions on the way NUFC should be run and very often screamed them from the stands as I get to as many games as possible. Well now I can scream from the dugout. :) Chris Houghton has been our rock through tough times, but the tide is changing and Newcastle finally have the foundations in place to push on…enter Darren Smith. I want to bring in a wealth of young talent to secure the clubs future and create a real team spirit. This will be my launching pad for success and the title. Don’t get me wrong, it will take a good few years, but I want to make Newcastle the dominant force in English and European football. Anyway, on with the game.
For those of you who do not know Newcastle United too well…shame on you! Only kidding, here is a brief history.
More recent history includes Kevin Keegan’s rein of sexy football that almost won us the Premier League title. After this the club fell into a rut, before my favourite manager took over, Sir Bobby Robson…the word passion should have Bobby’s face next to it. After guiding the club back into the top four, Sir Bobby was ruthlessly brushed aside and the decline of this great club began.
Hopefully I can put these dark days behind Newcastle and guide them to fame and glory, but the first season will be a tall order. I have been handed down a decent squad, but it lacks flair and stability. The board expectations seem to demonstrate this, avoiding relegation is the key goal for 2010/11. My transfer budget of £1.5 million leaves a lot to be desired, but I have faith in raising some more cash and attracting a few good players.
After arranging my players training schedules and sorting out some new coaches, it was time to offload a few players. Shola Ameobi was the only player that I felt had run out of time at St James Park. The striker was offloaded to Wigan for £2.7 million. I also wanted Ferguson and Yven Moyo to leave the club on loan. Both players are fairly talented, but need first team football to reach their potential. As for the rest, well I have a role for everyone. The older players are still good enough to make an impact in the top flight, while the youngsters are very talented and can play in the cup competitions.
Even with Ameobi’s transfer, I was still restricted to just over £2 million to buy players. Even with the rubbish funds I think that I have managed to bring in two quality players. With Newcastle’s main Goalkeeper, Harper, aging with every year I needed to look for a cheap replacement. Enyeama was available for only £230K from Tel-Aviv, a right bargain. Then I turned my attention to the striking situation…Newcastle are resting their hopes on one lad, Andy Carroll. Although Carroll’s talent is undoubtable, I wanted to bring in a real wonderkid to back him up. After failing to sign Kadlec because of his inflated price tag of £4 million, I found Araujo. This wonderkid cost £1.7 million and is another major coup in my opinion.
Vincent Enyeama
After his amazing display in the World Cup, Enyeama has become one of my favourite Goalkeepers. To buy him for such a minuscule price was just amazing, and you can see below just how good this Nigerian really is. His distribution is amazing and FM have really captured his shot stopping abilities well.
Sergio Araujo
OK, this striker deserves a big introduction in my opinion. After realising I could not afford my main target, Kadlec, I must admit I started to panic. However, after the mist disappeared, I started a long search through FM 2011’s wonderkids. It ended in Argentina with an 18 year old striker. My attention was first drawn by Araujo’s attributes, then, after assessing his transfer page I was hooked. Not only had Barcelona tabled a bid, but Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus were also interested. Surely this many great managers couldn’t be wrong about the talent of one player!
I also decided to get a scouts report to be safe, the feedback just fueled my ambition to secure Araujo’s signature. His current ability may leave a lot to be desired, but his potential his brilliant. Xisco is not a bad player, but this Argentine is tipped to far exceed his ability and become a leading star in the Premier League. Plus my scout classes him as a definite purchase, and I have not seen this after many hours of searching through endless lists of youngsters.
Here are Araujo’s attributes. His composure may be a little too low, but the rest of his ability suggests the potential for a superstar in the making. I am hoping to give him lots of game time and with some luck Araujo will improve dramatically within the first year. No matter what, £1.7 million is bargain for such a talented player.
You have seen my expectations, transfers and detailed analysis on signings, now its time to look at my overall squad. I have been blessed with a lot of depth, something that this club has struggled with for the last few years. Each position is covered by two players and I also have some decent youth players to enter the frame. Ben Arfa, Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan and Enyeama will probably play a central role in my first season. While Enrique, Jonas, Barton, Coloccini and Araujo should hold their own to guide the club to safety.
The 2010/11 season will be very difficult and used to work out who deserves a place in the squad…hopefully this will show me which areas need improving. A good start will be vital to my survival hopes and 9 points from the first 6 games will be my primary goal.
Well that is it for today’s update folks, I hope you enjoyed the read and will be back for my next post. To avoid missing out, enter your email address into the top of the blogs sidebar, this will send my posts to your email address. In the mean time please feel free to ask any questions below and I look forward to your comments as always :)
Sam
7 ноября, 2010 at 01:06
Hey Darren!
That’s two great buys there especially Araujo. I didn’t know that he has a huge potenttial. Vincent Enyeama will do a good job at the club after that great World Cup display in June. This is gonna be a great story mate! Looking forward for your next post!
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 09:32
Hi Sam, its always tough with such a tight budget but I think I signed the best players for the club. Enyeama has to be the biggest bargain on FM 2011. Ill be back soon with my first results, so we’ll see how they fit in.
Lye
7 ноября, 2010 at 01:44
Hi Darren,
You got a very limited transfer funds but you strengthen the position that you need. Good vision there. I believe first season is to establish Newcastle and next season sure there will be more transfer funds. You should get a mid-table at least. Good luck.
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 09:34
Thanks Lye, I didn’t want to overload the team with free transfers etc, so Im very happy with those two players. I think your right about the goals…I need to keep the Toon up then really push on next season.
Calin
7 ноября, 2010 at 07:54
It’s always nice to start with a solid squad when you’re low on funds and it’s even better when you manage to sign a couple of great players. I’m looking forward to seeing you drive Newcastle to the glory they deserve!
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 09:36
Thanks Calin, hopefully the board will back me better in the seasons to come…Id rather not scrap around for bargains every season :) If I get some funds then hopefully, we will be basking in Europe very soon.
Arjuna
7 ноября, 2010 at 09:03
Hey Darren, your squad is anyway rather strong and with these additions it has just got even stronger! Avoiding relegation should be no problem.
I’m really looking forward to following this story!
Arjuna
managerstoriesfootball.blogspot.com
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 09:39
Hi Arjuna, I agree with you about avoiding relegation…theres too many good players for this club to go down. However actual success in the future will depend on funds.
kevin
7 ноября, 2010 at 09:26
Hi Darren
Two very good signings on a very limited budget. Good luck as you begin your journey with Newcastle,
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 09:40
Thanks Kevin, hopefully my two new boys will be an instant hit. Araujo needs some game time, so Im hoping to give him it this season. Thanks for the comment
warren
7 ноября, 2010 at 12:26
Hi Darren
Good to see that you have your story up and running and I am very excited to see how you do by the end of the season.
You have also made two brilliant signings and I am hoping that they both work out well for you.
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 12:44
Thanks Warren, a minimum expectation of avoiding relegation is a must. However we may be able to get nearer mid-table.
Sears
7 ноября, 2010 at 13:04
Hey Darren,
I think you have more than enough quality to avoid relegation, maybe you can even sneak a top half finish. Sergio Araujo has loads of potential, hopefully him and Carroll can score a few goals this season for you. Goodluck.
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 15:57
Hey Sears, Ill definately have some tough decisions to make upfront as my main formation is a 4-5-1. Thanks for your optimism, hopefully we can push on and perform as well as the real life team!
Ricardo Ribeiro
7 ноября, 2010 at 13:48
Good luck on your NUFC story, take a look at my download seggestions in the logos comentary section, espacialy the faces megapack, ITS GREAT!
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 15:59
Thanks Ricardo, I have seen your suggestions and downloaded both the logos and kits. However, the file uploaders for the facepack seem to delay too long unless your a premium customer…therefore I am leaving those for now. Thanks for the suggestion mate.
Johnny Karp
7 ноября, 2010 at 17:59
Well done Darren, you brought in two very good players for a very small amount of cash. Eneyama is a great goalkeeper while Araujo surely seems to have the «wonderkid» tag written all over him. Best of luck!
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 18:22
Thanks Johnny, I agree with you, Araujo should turn into a great player. Guess we’ll just have to see how quickly he developes. Thanks for the comment
ravenie
7 ноября, 2010 at 20:03
Wow good signings. Araujo is a very good signing and I expect a lot of improvement.
The best of luck Darren :)
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 20:28
Hi Ravenie, its good to see you commenting here. Im also hopeful Araujo will develop quickly. Hope to hear from you again mate.
Stuart Watson
7 ноября, 2010 at 20:07
Very good squad. I am working on my Newcastle blog, and brought in 6 players with the 2m I had, plus some sales. Nabil Dirar is well worth a look, as a replacement to Routledge, who is piss poor, and Raul(Paranaense) for DR as cover for Simpson.
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 20:30
Hey Stuart, Im just about to look at your post! Routledge really is useless isnt he!! I remember seeing Raul, he looks good mate. Sounds like you may have strengthened more than myself. Ill have to take a look and see who youve signed.
Birdy
7 ноября, 2010 at 20:09
Some very nice signing good luck in your first season with the Toon
Darren Smith
7 ноября, 2010 at 20:30
Thanks Birdy, should be the first season of many!!
GS Fan
8 ноября, 2010 at 15:29
Limited funds, couple of very nice transfers and a little bit of footbaling luck, you should probably finish mid table.
I’ve always been a fan of bringing in youngsters and playing them, so this Araujo kid should develop nicely. Have you thought about having one of your more experienced players tutor him?
I haven’t had time to touch FM at all this weekend :( But after reading yor post here I can’t wait to get my Newcastle game going!! :)
Darren Smith
8 ноября, 2010 at 18:50
Hi GS Fan, I reckon mid-table would make for a good first season. I haven’t offered anyone to tutor him because I have no older strikers that play the same way as him. Sorry you havent had time for the game yet…get knuckled down on it mate, you know you’ll forget to eat and sleep once you get started :)
GS Fan
8 ноября, 2010 at 19:29
Maybe bring in Julio Cruz for free? I’m sure he can be of assistance. :)
Darren Smith
8 ноября, 2010 at 21:45
Ill take a look at him, but my wage budget is completely shot. Thanks for the tip GS Fan
sean
9 ноября, 2010 at 12:07
Satrted with newcastle and a budget of 1.7 million to finish midtable, bought Rivaldo, enyeama, kadlec, and pires, plenty of experience and some youth. Played seven games and am in sevent position 3 wins 2 draws , one in old trafford, and two de4feats, stoke and ttottenham,. also sold routledge and ameobi. pretty good start to season despite being knocked out of carling cup by carddiff :-0 look forward to your next post
Darren Smith
9 ноября, 2010 at 12:16
Hey Sean, thanks for the comment. You seem to have signed some very strong players and I am very jealous of your Kadlec transfer. I couldnt afford him!! :( Will have my first update on games ready in next couple of days, however I havent enjoyed as good a start as you.
Laxeyman
9 ноября, 2010 at 16:19
Hi Darren, two very good signings there, Enyeama for just 230k is fantastic and Araujo looks like a future star. I predict a mid table finish for you this season, good luck!
Darren Smith
9 ноября, 2010 at 18:28
Thanks Laxeyman, those two boys should do well for us. I doubt Araujos ability to make an instant impact however Enyeama will be very important. Hopefully midtable will prove a good prediction.
Sean
10 ноября, 2010 at 00:59
Hey Darren just so you know mahamadou diarra and Jo available on frees after window closes big wage demands but Jo in particular is perfect for the toon
Darren Smith
10 ноября, 2010 at 11:41
Hey Sean, thanks for the tip…Ill be posting tomorrow. Ill have to keep my eye open for those two come the end of the season!
GS Fan
10 ноября, 2010 at 16:15
Hey Darren,
Finally! I got my Newcastle season underway! It’s been a very active start.
I decided to get rid of quite a few players via transfers and loans while bringing in a new look Newcastle as it were. Here’s a quick list of all the comings and goings so far.
— Sold Ameobi to Wigan (I don’t feel he is a Premier League caliber player)
— Loaned out Sodeberg to Charlton (It’ll be a good experience for him)
— Loaned out Xisco to Valencia (Had to make room for Kadlec)
— Loaned out Jonas to At. Madrid (Honestly, I expected better stats for Argentinian international)
— Loaned out Lovenkrands to Getafe (Same story as Ameobi)
— Loaned out Ranger to Sheff. Utd (Same story as Sodeberg)
Signings in the next post……….
GS Fan
10 ноября, 2010 at 16:28
Here are the new signings:
— Kadlec (if you are wondering how I was able to sign him, it’s simple really, offered 1M plus 3.5M over the next 24 months in increments)
— Michael Ball (great experience on this guy)
— Andy Butler (good cover for the first team)
— Maresca (a wealth of experience for the midfield)
— Basturk ( again, another player with a wealth of experience)
— Assulin (a youngster with good potential)
All of my loaned out players have the buy out option at the end of their loans. I hope they perfrom well enough to stay at their respective loan teams. If they do I’ll have a nice chunk of money coming in at the end of the season :)
I did not opt for Enyema. Instead I’ve decided to stick with Harper and Krul while Sodeberg should gain good experience at Charlton. I also brought up Donaldson from the reserves team, so he can gain experience and develop.
My season objective is to «avoid relegation», which means a very small transfer and wage budget. I’m sure I’ll do better than avoiding relegation though.
BTW, thank you very much for the free transfers list you provided in one of your earlier blogs! As you can see I made use of it here :)
Darren Smith
10 ноября, 2010 at 17:43
Thats a good start GS Fan, you have limited your squad to the best players and brought in some good players. I especially like Kadlec as you know. However Jonas plays much better than his stats suggest…I personally wouldnt dream of loaning him out but we all look for different stuff in a player. With that side you should be looking at avoiding relegation with ease…goodluck mate.
GS Fan
10 ноября, 2010 at 19:06
I’m looking to blend the youngsters in with the experienced players, get some tutoring going along with match experience.
I’d like to keep Ben Arfa on board as well, hopefully with the transfer money coming in from the loan deals at the end of the season.
Darren,
Have you tweaked your training schedules at all?
Darren Smith
10 ноября, 2010 at 21:00
Hey GS Fan, thats the best way to manage a team, mixing youth with experience in my opinion. Too young and the team won’t reach its potential, but you have to bring the youngsters through to gain experience as well. I havent done much with the training other than assign certain stuff to coaches and concentrate on my best talent.
Tom Miller
31 мая, 2011 at 17:20
Just going back over these posts :D
What countries did u start off with the databases as? :D
Darren Smith
31 мая, 2011 at 18:34
Wow this post does take me back. :) I loaded England, Spain and Italy for my database in this save…might starting loading others in the future though.
Tom Miller
31 мая, 2011 at 19:33
Lol. I was trying to copy you and see if I could succed like you did :D
Any tips on who to buy and what to do would be much appreciated :D
Darren Smith
31 мая, 2011 at 20:40
The best thing you can do is read through my story, but other than that take your time and maybe download our FM guide which is available on our facebook page after clicking like.
Tom Miller
31 мая, 2011 at 20:48
Thanks mate. I read through it the other day. But ill read it again. The thing I struggle with is that I will get a sick player miles better than my league that im in. But they never play anywhere near there potentian :D
Darren Smith
31 мая, 2011 at 21:29
I see, I too have had those problems in lower league football but not really in the top flight. I’d just recommend buying players that would suit your tactics and the role they’ll play as opposed to amazing players that may not be best suited to your team….that’s where I used to go wrong. Eg. I once signed a great striker for League 1 and he was way above that standard. But the striker had little pace and not a brilliant dribbler, because these two attributes are important to my tactic the striker was rubbish despite amazing attributes in other places.
Bmwdestroyer
1 июня, 2011 at 10:25
Btw its the same person. I just made an account on here :D
I never know what formations to make. could you suggest 2 for a non league team such as afc wimbledon and another 2 for newcastle :D
Darren Smith
1 июня, 2011 at 11:44
I would always recommend my 4-5-1 as the most consistent. But a tonne of people seem to like the 4-4-2 for lower league football. Just keep it simple would be my main advise, but I can go one better for Newcastle. From the link below you can view and download both my tactics for Newcastle.
https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2010/12/fm-2011-newcastle-tactics-4-4-2-and-4-5-1/
You can also see how I use these tactics against Prem teams at the link below
https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2010/12/fm-2011-tactics-guide-how-i-beat-every-club-in-the-premier-league/
Bmwdestroyer
1 июня, 2011 at 11:57
Thanks so much dude :D
Im trying to buy eyeamma and arajou but eyeamma doesnt really want to go to me. And hapoel want 3.1m for arajou :D
I will try those tactics now :D
Bmwdestroyer
1 июня, 2011 at 12:12
I mean boca not hapoel :D
Bmwdestroyer
1 июня, 2011 at 12:25
I have the worst 4 games to start the prem. Arsenal, Man u, Livepool and Chelsea :D
I’ll update you on how it goes :D
Darren Smith
1 июня, 2011 at 18:59
Ouch those games are ridiculous and we all know its tough to recover from a bad start. I hope you do well though.
Tom Miller
2 июня, 2011 at 16:00
Thanks dude :D
I forgot to get kadlec :( so I decided to start a blackpool one :D
That everyone requested. And told my board I could win the league so I got loads of the good players with the 7m i got given :D
Darren Smith
2 июня, 2011 at 16:17
That’s a shame but Blackpool should be fun, as for the 4-3-3 thing I honestly don’t know…probably a bug or something.
Tom Miller
2 июня, 2011 at 16:44
Ok kl thanks. I will try a newcastle 1 later for you :D
I am doing the same tactic but with 2 in cm and 2 upfront as I have kadlec and arajou :D