Hello friends! So here is season 2 of my adventure in Germany. I am sorry it took so long but I was caught up in getting ready to go back to college. So I’m back in the swing of university life so here is the overdue update of my second season with Die Fohlen.
Pre-Season
So the post-season awards came out and Reus’ goal against Hannover in February won Goal of the Season. The very dangerous Podolski, who gave us quite a bit of grief, was Europe’s second best marksman. And the board has agreed to upgrade training and youth facilities (both are now 5 starsJ) and expand the stadium by 2000 seats and convert some of the standing room to seating room! So we will have a nearly 58,000-person stadium, and about 40,000 of that capacity will be seats.
I’m sure many of you are wondering about my transfers. The board gave me a budget of 11.75mil for Europa League qualification; more than thrice as much as last year!
Here is what I did with the money:
I gotta say, this was a pretty stressful transfer season. By the end of last season, 3 of my players had handed in transfer requests, Christoffersen and Diallo wanted more playing time, and it was a shame because they had a lot of potential. Gaye was the other player and he was a troublemaker because he would ask to go back to Spain every few weeks. Apart from that, I sold players because I got offers that were either too good to turn down, like in the case of Dante and Ciciretti or the players started demanding ridiculous wages like Martinovic did. I am very happy with the players we brought in, though. Overall, I think the squad has the potential to be better off.
Squad for the season:
GK: ter Stegen and Darren Keet
ter Stegen will stay my first choice while I got Keet from South Africa as an able back-up.
DC: Bamba, Varazdat Ghazaryan, Obih, and Werner Horn
So I lost my super center-back Dante but I was happy that I got to keep Bamba, last season’s top performer. I think he and Obih will be my starters. Ghazaryan is an incredibly player I was able to pinch from Saudi Arabia. He is Armenian and is poised to become a star so expect to see a lot of him this season. Horn is a high potential youth I promoted from our U19’s.
DR: Echevarne and Jerry Vandam
Zimmermann was my starter last season but he was annoying me about his contract. Echevarne’s progress was great over the course of last season and Vandam was a great free transfer I was able to sign. I think the two of them will alternate this season.
DL: Wendt and Olaf Boris
Carpentieri progressed better than Echevarne did and he was going to give Wendt a run for his money, not to mention be my star left-back in the future. But when Feyenoord came knocking, he decided he had to take it. I couldn’t find any good replacements so I decided to promote Boris from my U19’s. He is the highest potential player in my youth players but he is not ready for this level — not yet. I guess this will be a test of his mental fortitude and I hope he is up to the challenge since he is the jewel of my youth set-up. In any case, Wendt was my starter for last season and if he can stay fit, I shouldn’t have too much of a problem at left-back. There are simply too few great left-backs!
MC: Leonardo Franzino, Mirko Stevanovic, Di Stefano, Soylemez, Owen Garvan, and Amer Abdulrahman
So lots of change in this position. Too many unhappy players or offers that were too good to turn down. Soylemez will be a solid back-up — he developed quite well last season. Di Stefano on the other hand is a player who is in the last chance saloon because he did not improve very much. Stevanovic is the third player I promoted. I ran out of time to sign another midfielder so I just went ahead and promoted him. Leonardo Franzino is the player I am most excited for. I tried to sign him last season but he turned me down. Now he’s come around for a club transfer record and I think we have a great prospect on our hands. Garvan comes to us from Leicester and he was performing quite solidly in the Championship. I think he will be able to adjust pretty easily to life in Germany and he will be a starter. My other starter will be Abdulrahman. I am shocked that I got him for so cheaply. He was absolutely destroying the UAE league. He had a rating of and 8 and had 14 assists. I think he will be a great midfield maestro for us.
ST: Kruno Ivanovic, Reus, Herrmann, Allagui, Hanke, and Juhasz
Very little change here. Ivanovic is a great prospect for the future and I hope that he and Juhasz build up a great partnership. I was always under the impression that I needed a 20 goal a season striker but last season showed me that it might not be the case. Reus and Hermann both got 14 goals last time and Hanke chipped in with 7 while Allagui gave me 6 in half a season. I think with a better midfield this season, we should see more goals scored with these same strikers. And I think with Allagui settled, he will break into double digits. Reus has also just mastered the striker role with as much skill as his natural right winger role, so we should see him get pretty close to 20 in my opinion.
So that’s the team for the season. 
It’s believed that these boys will finish similar to last season, which I think is actually quite reasonable. It could very well happen if we don’t get the right results. On a side note, Dortumund approached me! Of course, I wasn’t going to sign for a rival and quickly decline ;)
Check out the next page to see the next season!
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 11:44
Ah, it’s a shame that you missed out on the title especially after defeating Bayern so convincingly… Maybe your players had a bit too much to eat during the winter break :) Anyway, congrats on a very good season and good luck in the Champions League!
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 00:43
Thanks Johnny. I’m hoping to strike some fear in the hearts of all my European competition. The game against Bayern is a little misleading though, because they won the title before the game started so they fielded their backup players.
siavosh
5 января, 2012 at 12:05
hi,
Good results against Bayern and HSV,I think your is strong enough to win the title with a little luck, but this place is also wonderfull.
Good luck
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 00:44
Thank you! The German League is pretty competitive so while we might not win the title, as long as we are up there I will be happy.
Darren Smith
5 января, 2012 at 12:17
Well done mate that was a solid season, a little gutting to come close but miss the title however to challenge so quickly is brilliant. Can’t wait for some CL footie next season.
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 00:45
Thanks Darren! I was surprised at how well they are doing and so quickly too. I put it down to my backroom staff whipping my youth players into shape!
John Martin
5 января, 2012 at 15:48
Wow, a great season mate. You were unlucky to miss out on the title however all in all a decent season mate, well done!
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 00:46
Thanks John! Maybe next season will be our time.
Sears
5 января, 2012 at 15:52
Brilliant season mate, so unlucky in the title race but I’m certain you’ll topple Bayern next season. Good luck!
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 00:47
Thanks Sears! It would be great to do that! This season once they got going they just couldn’t stop. Wrapping up the season with 2 games to go is quite impressive.
Nik
5 января, 2012 at 16:29
Well done mate! Keep it up next year and good luck with the CL! How are you liking the Bundesliga?
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 00:59
Thanks Nik! The Bundesliga is quite fun. I like how simple the rules are.
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 00:59
The evenness of the league is also really fun.
TheZiggy
5 января, 2012 at 16:43
You’ve had a great season there. Without a couple of those late lapses in concentration, the title could have gone your way. Anyhow, it proves you’re a real challenger, so with a few additions for next season, you should be put up an even challenge. Good luck with the venture in the Champions League.
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 01:01
Thanks so much! I guess the young players still need to do some maturing and then I’m sure we’ll be unstoppable!
Alex
5 января, 2012 at 16:55
Great post, I like to level of detail you’re using at the moment. I was amazed by the quality of some of your young signings. Well done on a good league position, next year you could well win it. Good luck in the CL.
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 01:01
Thanks so much Alex! I am hoping for these kids to do great things!
Ana Garcia
5 января, 2012 at 19:01
Oh so close!!
Just bad luck in the end and with a few new signings you should be able to compete again next season, and hopefully finish top!
Good luck!! :)
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 01:03
Thanks so much Ana! Gladbach are definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with!
Kevin
5 января, 2012 at 20:32
Hi Bhargav
Happy New Year mate!
Great post and I really enjoyed reading it but reall hard luck in how some of those game slipped away from you after such a superb and energetic start to the season. Still you qualified for the Champions League which is $$$ in the bank for sure along with that tidy sum for coming second. Well done Sir!!
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 01:06
Thank you so much Kevin! It looks like Gladbach are going back to the glory days =D
Laxeyman
5 января, 2012 at 21:47
That’s a great season Bhargav, 2nd is a wonderful achivement, and your hammering of Bayern shows that you’re already very close to grabbing that league title :) Hopefully it’ll be next season, good luck!
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 01:07
Thanks so much Laxeyman! To be fair to Bayern, they won the league before the game even started so they fielded their reserves. But next season I plan on beating them fair and square.
CsAtlantis
6 января, 2012 at 01:13
Man Allagui was terrible in FM2008, he had very low finishing and composure but he looks much better this time around, great job in bringing 19 goals out of him over 29 appearances, despite losing some key players like Dante you made some great purchases and your team has gone far beyond their meager media predictions and finished 2nd
Champions League football next season, will be exciting, good luck
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 01:09
Thank you so much! Allagui has been surprisingly phenomenal! I brought him on as a temporary player with only a half season-long contract but he’s earned his spot!
vaibhavc
6 января, 2012 at 07:39
First year in the Champions League, well done! That was unlucky in the league, but it was close. Bayern were doing well, so it will have to wait for next season.
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 01:21
Thanks Vaibhav! I am sure we will give them a run for their money next season.
Martin Pickard
6 января, 2012 at 15:45
wow! you’ve had one hell of season and a second place finish is awesome! Hopefully it’ll be a title winning season next year :0 looking forward to the next update :)
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 01:21
Thanks Martin! I hope you’re right. The Bundesliga is so much fun!
Chris @ Chester
6 января, 2012 at 18:21
That was an awesome season mate. A decent signing or 2 and a little touch of luck and you should be able to pull it off next year. Good luck in the champions league mate
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 01:22
Thanks so much Chris!
Woody
6 января, 2012 at 18:52
Well done on a great season unlucky to miss out on the league title
Good luck in the champions league
And I’m looking forward to the next update
Bhargav
8 января, 2012 at 01:22
Thanks Woody! Things will definitely be better next season.