Hello folks and welcome to the start of my very last season with the Motormen! It has been a great journey but with FM 2012 just around the corner I decided to play just one more season in FM 2011 with Vauxhall Motors. Before moving on to the pre-season action I have to warn you that I am dealing with a very annoying headache while writing this post so please excuse any errors that might slip in…
So, the board decided to be quite generous even if they might not have been aware of my decision to quit the post at the end of the season. They gave me the biggest transfer budget ever but, as you will find out soon enough, I didn’t really depend on that money.
The bookmakers continued to show a bizarre attitude towards us, we have won six Premier League titles in a row but they were still thinking of us as outsiders!
As you might remember I decided to change tactics for my last season in charge, I will be using a flat 4-3-3 and that means that I don’t need my wingers any more. Selling the likes of Leandro Velasco and Gilson brought huge sums of money into the club’s coffers and, added the sales of quite a few youngsters from the reserves and a few more first team names, we managed to bring in a staggering 227 million pounds!
I just couldn’t leave that money rot in the bank so I spent all of it and a bit more: 245 million! I brought in a few backups that will play in the reserves and prepare for the eventual moment when I might need them and four big names for the first team. As you can see I spent crazy amounts on a couple of those players, we’ll get into details right away.
The first new face that I’m going to introduce is our new goalie, I spent 25 million for him and I did that because of two reasons: he’s as good as my previous keeper and, most important, he’s home-grown. I tried to sign him every summer for the past three seasons but I always gave up because of the price tag, now money was not important any more so I finally snapped him up.
With Danny Wilson leaving due to his age I decided to bring in the very best centre back in the world, at least in my view: Manchester United‘s Dodô. The price tag was nothing short of insane, 100 million pounds, but I really wanted him! :)
I needed strength in numbers in midfield so I brought in Ivan Gatto, he’s not a special player by any means but he’s a good hard working lad that will surely prove a valuable asset when the fixtures will start piling up.
And, last but not least, there’s Ricardo! I paid Porto 77 million quid for him, a price that I would never have paid for a 29-year old. But since it’s my last season I figured I was allowed an erratic buy :) However, this player is just great, a tremendous talent that I always wanted to get into a Vauxhall shirt especially after he scored an awesome goal against us in the Champions League two seasons ago.
I am counting on 23 players as the core of my first team this season, there’s a lot of talent in the squad and I hope they will give me a memorable year to end my FM 2011 career.
The new tactic that I told you about was mentioned by Birdy in his forum story, here’s how my projected best eleven for the season looks like (with each respective player role):
Unfortunately I was unable to use that eleven in any of the friendly games because of some injuries and because most of my stars spent their summer away at the Copa America with their national teams. So I guess I can’t really say that the new tactic will work, we’ll have to wait and see…
That’s all for now folks, thanks a lot for stopping by to read this. I’m looking forward to your comments and suggestions, as always ;)
junior
5 октября, 2011 at 15:15
hehe!!very interesting pre season…money all over the place!!
all the best this season (sucks to knw its the last vauxhall well be seeing considering where u started..lol!! )..
All the best
Johnny Karp
5 октября, 2011 at 15:50
Thanks mate, it was a pretty wild summer and I hope that the season will be just as exciting.
Martin
5 октября, 2011 at 15:35
Hey Johnny its always nice to kick off a season finale with a bang…AND WHAT A BANG! 100m centreback…congrats Johnny lol. Some wicked Ins and Outs…I feel this final season will be MEGA! All the best and I cant wait for an update :)
Johnny Karp
5 октября, 2011 at 15:51
Thanks Martin, I guess the club handled a small fortune this summer :) But that doesn’t guarantee success, we’ll see…
Chris @ Chester
5 октября, 2011 at 16:17
Hey johnny, have to say this is the first time I’ve been on here in a while and I’m looking forward to catching up with the vauxhall story. Any idea of your team for fm2012? Keep up the good work mate
Johnny Karp
5 октября, 2011 at 17:27
Hey Chris, glad to see you back here! I have already decided on the team to manage in FM 2012 but I will announce that after ending the Vauxhall story.
Laxeyman
5 октября, 2011 at 16:22
Wow, just incredible money spent there Johnny! £227m and £245m are just astronomical sums, and £100m for one player! Never seen anything like it and once they gel you should have an unstoppable team :)
Johnny Karp
5 октября, 2011 at 17:27
Thanks Laxeyman! I have spent some truly abnormal sums but hey, it’s the last season :)
nielsneutron
5 октября, 2011 at 16:27
Aren’t you concerned that Man Utd bought three of your players even if you didn’t need them?
Johnny Karp
5 октября, 2011 at 17:28
Actually I’m not concerned at all, I’m looking forward to facing a stronger Man United :) You also have to bear in mind that I bought their best defender ;)
George Dobson
5 октября, 2011 at 16:32
amazing money there I hope they give you a amazing last season
Johnny Karp
5 октября, 2011 at 17:28
Thanks George, I hope it will be amazing.
Nicholas Phipps
5 октября, 2011 at 17:58
Some incredible signings, even for the price you sent on them and your team are easily capable of avenging the Champions League defeat last season. Never seen so much money splashed out on one player but Dodo looks sensational! Good luck :)
Johnny Karp
6 октября, 2011 at 06:39
Thanks Nicholas, Dodo is an awesome player indeed, I always wanted to sign him :)
Martin - F.M.J.S
5 октября, 2011 at 18:37
Hey Johnny
Great post mate, that is one crazy pre season :) but some really good signings, I’m looking forward to the rest of the season, also can’t wait to see how the new tactic works. Good Luck
Johnny Karp
6 октября, 2011 at 06:39
Thanks Martin, I hope everything will work well.
Darren Smith
5 октября, 2011 at 19:54
Wow, I think that pre-season breaks all kind of records. Most amount spent, received and spent on one single player. This season brings in all kinds of changes and I’m intrigued to see if Vauxhall adjust. Whatever happens your squad seems stronger than ever.
Johnny Karp
6 октября, 2011 at 06:40
We did break those records indeed, all of them! I hope that will convert into other records, like most Premier League points :)
MDTM
5 октября, 2011 at 20:09
Hey Johnny,
That has to be the most money I have ever seen in FM! Looks like the squad is strong in talent and depth and should do a good job this season. Good luck for the final season at Vauxhall and hopefully we will see some awesome results:)
Johnny Karp
6 октября, 2011 at 06:40
Thanks mate, it definitely was the most money I have ever spent in a transfer window.
Kevin
6 октября, 2011 at 00:24
Wow, what a pre-season. I don’t recall you doing transactions like that in any of your stories. Totally wild!!!
Looks like you have compiled a magnificent squad to end FM 2011 and i’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.
Johnny Karp
6 октября, 2011 at 06:41
You are right, I never embarked on such a spending spree before. Hopefully it will bring the results, I wouldn’t want to turn into Man City :)
Lye
6 октября, 2011 at 02:48
Hi Johnny,
Indeed it was crazy spending but this will be your last season. At least you made it as memorable as you can. The players you brought in are simply awesome. It will be interesting to see how the new players and tactics turn out. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
6 октября, 2011 at 06:42
Thanks Lye, I hope that the big money signings will add quality to the team.
Calin
6 октября, 2011 at 07:31
I think that last seasons are always a bit more interesting than others because it’s kind of a «do or die» and you can really do anything. Your squad was already extremely strong, but now with the new signings you’ve certainly turned Vauxhall into the new Barca. It will certainly be a really interesting season to watch :)
Johnny Karp
6 октября, 2011 at 14:21
Thanks mate, I’d be quite happy to have «the new Barca» :)
paine
6 октября, 2011 at 10:34
Like other guys said, these are huge sums, I never spent like that; 100 M for a central defender is out of this world for me, but he probably deserved the money you spent.
I see you set an aggressive tactic, are you using a very high defensive line?
Johnny Karp
6 октября, 2011 at 14:21
I don’t think that any player deserves 100 mil but I decided to go for it being my last season. The tactic does have a very high defensive line, that is correct.
Sears
6 октября, 2011 at 19:20
Wow, wow, and wow!! The amount of cash that went in and out of your club was amazing. Really looking forward to your last season mate, it really has been a long journey :)
Johnny Karp
6 октября, 2011 at 19:45
Yeah, it was almost the size of the yearly GDP of a small country :) I was looking forward to the last season too, as a matter of fact I have already started to play it :)
vaibhavc
6 октября, 2011 at 20:13
Hey Johnny
That’s crazy! I guess since it is your last season, you can do anything you want. 100 million for Dodo, lol! Ricardo seems very good, as well. The tactic will be interesting because it may backfire.
Johnny Karp
6 октября, 2011 at 20:30
Hey mate, it was a wild transfer window indeed. I hope that all the changes won’t backfire…
CsAtlantis
7 октября, 2011 at 04:41
Um, if Dodo was bought for 100m, how much would Heinrich be worth, he seems to be just as good if not better, three strikers upfront should be interesting, don’t think I’ve seen anyone play that kind of tactic yet, good luck Johnny
Johnny Karp
7 октября, 2011 at 07:21
Thanks mate. I do receive some offers for Heinrich, around 40-50 mil :)
ciaran harper
9 октября, 2011 at 12:47
hi johnny. you are such a great manager. i am just wondering if you used a training schedule or did you just leave it. thanks
Johnny Karp
9 октября, 2011 at 12:58
Thanks mate. I use this training schedule: https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2010/11/download-good-training-schedule-for-football-manager-2011/
ciaran harper
9 октября, 2011 at 13:51
hi, sorry it doesnt seem to work for me. when i click the download button it says its invalid and redirects me back to fm base and i cant seem to find it on there
Johnny Karp
9 октября, 2011 at 14:48
Try this link to download: http://www.mediafire.com/?q8t6y668y9s00bd
ciaran harper
9 октября, 2011 at 17:54
Thanks a lot! Is there any chance that you could upload your save so we can see how great it is to manage the team. Many thanks
Johnny Karp
9 октября, 2011 at 19:06
No problem, I have posted the save game before and I will do it again in the next update for you and the others who might want do download it.