Hello dear friends, I’m very happy to bring you a very important update to my Vauxhall Motors Football Manager 2011 Story! As you well know we earned a historic promotion to the Premier League after a spectacular Championship playoff but the celebrations had to come to an end quickly as we had to prepare for the biggest challenge in the club’s history.
The club received 40 million pounds in TV rights for our first ever Premier League season but the board was not very generous when it came to the transfer budget, they offered me just 10.75 million to save the team from relegation. That was not enough for my plans so I decided to gamble and promise them a mid-table finish for some extra transfer and wage money. I guess it’s a risk but I hope they won’t sack me if we finish just above the relegation zone.
The bookmakers were not very optimistic either, everybody seems to be thinking that we are by far the weakest team in the league. Well, I guess we’ll see about that…
And now let’s get to your favorite part: the transfers! We have brought in 16 new players, 15 of them will be joining the first team right away and one of them has already been sent on loan. Eighteen of our old players left the club, most of them on loan because they might still have a future at the club once they gain a bit more experience. The best sale was that of central defender Carlos Santos for 2.6 million pounds to Spanish club Salamanca. I still believe that he has good potential but he had some adaptation problems and I chose to cash in instead of waiting for him to blossom.
Now let me show you how our 24-man squad looks like, role by role.
Goalkeepers
Dean Bouzanis has done a good job last season so I decided to keep him and give him the chance to shine at a higher level. I needed a new backup though since James Dunn didn’t really look like he could perform in the Premier League. I didn’t want to spend too much on a goalie though and I eventually chose a free transfer: experienced American international Tim Howard. He was released on a free after several seasons with Everton and I decided to snap him up. He sill has good skills and his vast experience could help us a lot this season.
Right Backs
I’m quite pleased with my new first choice right defender: 18-year old Argentine youth international Julian Marino. I got him for a reasonable 1.8 million pounds from San Lorenzo and I think that he will become a top Premier League player in the future. Kaka will be his backup for now but they could well compete for the first team spot after a few months.
Left Backs
Youngster Grant Baddeley has some talent but the Premier League might be too much to handle on a regular basis at this point so I decided to bring him a mentor: experienced 31-year old Belgian left back Jelle Van Damme. This guy still has the skills and he also has good experience in several top European leagues. He was available for free and I guess it’s a great signing since he can also provide cover as a centre back or as a left midfielder.
Centre Backs
As you well know we had big problems in defense last season, we let in quite a few goals and it was quite obvious that we needed to bring in a couple of new central defenders. I chased several targets in a very frustrating process since a couple of deals for very talented South American defenders were denied by the work permit rule. I did manage to bring two good centre backs after all, they will have our former players Mervin Simon and Bryan Purdrue as backups. The first new centre back is New Zealand international Cameron Lindsay, bought for 3.2 million pounds from Romanian giants Steaua Bucharest. He also holds an English passport since he started his professional career at Blackburn and I believe that he will become the pillar of our defense because he is tall, strong but also reasonably quick.
Lindsay‘s partner will most likely be Osman Chavez, a Honduran international that I grabbed on a free transfer. He was released by French club Auxerre but I believe that he can still do a good job at the age of 31 since he has pretty good physical attributes and good experience. He was a bit of a panic buy I guess but I think that there’s good value for money in this deal.
Right Midfielders
We had no right wingers left in our squad at the beginning of the summer so I had to get in at least two of these. First there is former English youth international Wayne Routledge, a great promise back in his early days. The talent is still there at the age of 30 and I believe that his speed might help us throughout the season. He came on a free transfer after being released by Ipswich.
The second right winger was brought in on a season-long loan from Arsenal, a 20-year old German regen named Thorsten Schon. The loan fee was quite low, only 90K, and we can also buy him at any time during the loan for 1.5 million pounds. I think that he will do a good job and if I’ll be satisfied I might try to get that 1.5 million from somewhere and sign him on a permanent basis.
Left Midfielders
I think that this is the role that gave me the most headaches and I think that the problem was not solved in the best possible way. I decided to keep Keith Higgs as a backup for both midfield flanks but I can say that both the new left wingers were panic buys. First there is 27-year old Nathan Dyer, he came in for 275K from Reading. He has great pace and acceleration but I can’t say that the rest of his attributes are too impressive. However, his speed might do some damage on counter attacks now and again.
The second left winger is an experienced one, 31-year old Finnish international Roni Porokara. He was available on a free transfer after ending a contract with German club Karlsruhe and I believe that he could make for a reliable left winger while he could also provide some pleasant surprises given his flair and creativity.
Now let’s take a deep breath and go to the next page, you’ll see my new central midfielders and strikers in there! ;)
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Vaibhav C.
25 марта, 2011 at 10:32
Hey Johnny,
Brilliant signings there, I feel with these players you can get that mid-table finish. I bought Wickham for Burnley and his finishing is 15 and heading is 15. Jelle Van Damme is a good left-back, I think you will now be better at the back. You also signed many wonderkids, and they are all really good. Is Howard going to start? I feel you should start him. Parana is also really good. P.S. I can’t wait for the announcement.
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 11:26
Hey Vaibhav, I guess the mid-table prediction could prove right. I don’t know about Howard, I guess I will start with him and then keep him if he does well.
mark
25 марта, 2011 at 18:19
hi, great story as usual but i was wondering whenever you show your plater profile (i.e connor wickham or others), would you mind showing the stats map in which it shows the player stats circle within the ring of stats?
i find it much easier to determine if the player is good or not and i found it quite easier to know the quality of the players. i am not saying the players you sign are bad but it took me quite a long time to know the quality of the players base only on the numbers and not the graphical representation
would you mind showing that?
cheers, great story and you know i will be following……………. silently……………
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 19:57
Thanks for the comment Mark. The skin that I’m using doesn’t show the graphical view of the attributes in the profile and I have to admit that I rarely look at that display, mostly in the comparison screen. So I guess it would be difficult to post those unless I change the skin but I can say that I will look into that at least, maybe I can find a skin that would include my favorite features and the graphical attributes in the profile.
Darren Smith
25 марта, 2011 at 10:50
Parana and Wickham upfront, what an absolute dream!!!!! Can’t wait for January and he may well come at the perfect time. Honestly Johnny the bargains you find for young regens is great and you seem to build squads from small budgets that could last years. Well done mate.
ps I wonder what that announcement is? ;)
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 11:27
It might be Parana and Andrés, Wickham might struggle to get in the starting eleven. :) Just around half an hour until the announcement, be patient :P
Excessive
25 марта, 2011 at 12:04
Haha I’m itching to know what this announcement is!
Anyway back to that story of yours, and you have made some great captures there mate!
Parana looks to be awesome, make sure the ‘minimum fee release clause’ is very high on that one, you don’t want other clubs sniffing around your talent.
As for the others, central midfield is again very strong and with them being very young youve got a decent building block for them to improve.
Left midfield isn’t looking too grand though, it’s hard I know to get decent wingers, had that trouble myself.
You’ve got alot of young players in though and I’m sure you won’t need to spend loads on new players for a while which means improvement on the facilities! Woo :)
Anyway good luck mate, especially for those games against Spuds and Man u, hopefully you can get revenge on them this time ;).
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 13:56
Thanks for the comment Jake. I think that Parana doesn’t even have a minimum fee release clause, I always try to avoid such clauses. We have a tough schedule in August but I have confidence in my lads.
MRDNRA
25 марта, 2011 at 13:32
£10.75M transfer budget isn’t all that much, but it’s still about £2M more than I got with Leicester in my fairly new game.
Looks like you’ve found some excellent youth talent there, hopefully they’ll live up to their potential and help you avoid relegation at the very least.
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 13:58
Thanks mate, we have to avoid the drop, otherwise all the good work would do down the drain (players will leave etc).
Sears
25 марта, 2011 at 15:06
Hey pal,
great signings like usual. I’m sure you have enough quality to steer clear of the relegation spots. Goodluck!
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 15:42
Thanks Sears, I hope we will stay away from the last three spots.
hils
25 марта, 2011 at 16:21
Hi Johnny,great signings there!!!!!!!! I’m sure you should avoid relegation!!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!!!
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 19:51
Thanks Hils!
Laxeyman
25 марта, 2011 at 16:23
Pretty good signings Johnny, you’ve got a lot of youngsters with great potential, although your left side looks a bit weak. Despite that, you’ve got some very good strikers and central midfielders, and I reckon you can get that mid table finish, if not higher. Good luck!
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 19:52
Thanks Laxeyman, the left flank still troubles me but I can’t seem to grab any of the left wingers that I want.
Laxeyman
25 марта, 2011 at 20:13
btw Johnny, how did you manage to get a youth academy? I can’t get one even when I ask my board, it’s greyed out for some reason, and now that I’m in the Championship I could desperately do with one, especially as the board gave me only £40 as a transfer budget!
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 20:17
Nah, the board refused all my requests to improve the youth and training facilities, they must be thinking that expanding the stadium is enough for now…
Laxeyman
25 марта, 2011 at 20:23
But have you not got a youth system? I’d have thought a premier league club would have. My board refuse my requests to improve all facilities, they’ve expanded the stadium by 1500 seats that’s all…
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 20:45
All I have is this: «basic youth facilities». That’s all as far as I know.
Lye
25 марта, 2011 at 16:46
Hi Johnny,
As usual you have focused on the youth and some really nice signing there. This season will be more on a transition period. The idea is to establish motorman in Premier League. I believe you can finish in mid-table as i have confidence in your strikers. Good luck on your debut season.
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 19:53
Thanks Lye, that’s what I hope as well, that the strikers would pull us out of trouble…
Stromson
25 марта, 2011 at 18:54
Are you continuing to use your Notts County 4-4-2 at this stage?
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 19:58
Yes, I will stick to my 4-4-2 setup.
Kevin
25 марта, 2011 at 23:41
Hi Johnny
You sir are a steely eyed missle man! I had to work in an Apollo13 reference sometime :)
The mix of youth and experience is just brilliant and that Brazilian kid Parana is going to eat up defenders :)
Tim Howard was just inspired as is Perez and Wickham. Thorsten and Radec look pretty decent too. Great pre season results and can’t wait for the real action to begin. Well done!!!
Johnny Karp
26 марта, 2011 at 09:40
Hey Kevin. I hope that we won’t get to say this after the first league games: «Houston, we have a problem!» :) The youngsters are promising but we might have to be patient with them since they lack Premier League experience.
Sayam Khan
26 марта, 2011 at 14:33
Hi Johnny,
Julian Marino is a brilliant signing! As are Vecera and Weibolt! Can’t wait to see Parana playing for you also. You didn’t get a big budget but you didn’t spend a lot of it either!
JuanDiego de la Piedra
28 марта, 2011 at 06:00
Hey Johnny,
Back in FM2008 I took Serie C Arezzo to the Serie A (the 1-0 debut in Serie at San Siro was probably the highlight of 5 years) but got tired after a mid table finish and didnt get to my goal which was to be Europe Champion.
You Motormen Story has inspired me to start again and today I got Casale Calcio from the Serie C2/A promoted after a busy FM weekend.
Congrats and good luck on Premier League!
Just one question…what are your corner kick orders? its impressive the amount of goals made by your center backs!
im aiming far post and got 9 corner kick goals this first season, not too bad!
Johnny Karp
28 марта, 2011 at 08:47
Hi mate, I’m glad that you found inspiration in my story and I wish you the best of luck with Casale! About my corners, I set one of the centre backs to challenge goalkeeper and the second one to attack far post while the corners are aimed at the far post.
Mark R
28 марта, 2011 at 16:42
Whats this special announcement?
Johnny Karp
28 марта, 2011 at 16:54
This is the announcement: https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2011/03/very-important-announcement/
Craig D
4 апреля, 2011 at 15:26
Hi Johnny
Iv been playing football manager for some time now and dont seem to get much success. I was wondering what tactics you have used to get Vauxhall Motors into the Premiership.
Johnny Karp
5 апреля, 2011 at 07:55
Craig, you can try out my tactic here: https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2010/11/download-my-football-manager-2011-tactic/
Craig D
5 апреля, 2011 at 16:03
thankss :)