The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread

**Onlyfutbol86** · 12-18-2014, 12:50 PM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

Originally posted by PPerfect_CJ

He's been letting in too many soft goals and it's just pissing me off. Lol! I thought a change would do me good. Or my nerves, anyway. Of course it doesn't help that Skrtel plays like a mindless goof quite often and puts him under pressure to make saves that shouldn't have to be made.

Easy fix if you believe in mignolet who is my captain... Get rid of skrtel and grab varane from Madrid. That dude is my wall back there!!

**PPerfect_CJ** · 12-18-2014, 03:52 PM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

Yeah, Skrtel is on thin ice, too. He even had the nerve to ask for a raise to $170,000. I ignored it and he hasn't mentioned it again. If he does, he's outta here. I've been looking at John Stones and Eric Dier because they're really young and from England. Varane is definitely a beast, tho. He certainly will get a look.

**HKPound** · 12-18-2014, 10:19 PM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Y8WtSJ0ajtQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Two league matches as we try to keep our undefeated streak in the league going and a tough FA Cup match against QPR with a reserve squad. We have the first leg of the semifinals of the Capital One Cup a few days after the FA Cup match. Match congestion is annoying.

**stupu43** · 12-19-2014, 06:18 AM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w

oNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w

ontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w

ontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <w

oNotOptimizeForBrowser/> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> As the clock struck midnight at the end of June, most Real Valladolid supporters were asleep in their bed, filled with an excitement like it was Christmas Eve. Their team had performed better than anyone could ever imagine, especially after their first season with new manager Stewart Reynolds, where they finished 2<sup>nd</sup> in Liga Adelante. They knew they had the base of talent there, but how would they gel in a daunting league containing 3 of the world’s biggest and best teams.

A 3<sup>rd</sup> place finish awaited the Blanquivioletas. A position that not one Valladolid fan could’ve dreamed of in their wildest of fantasies. Not only did they finish 3<sup>rd</sup>, they led the pack for most of the season, eventually running out of steam in the last 5 games, 3<sup>rd</sup> was the best place they could finish, what was an unbelievable season. Not only in terms of the football played but some outstanding young talent, but in terms in money made from gate receipts and finishing league position, Real are in a much better financial position.

The manager has been blessed with, what can be considered for a team of this modest nature, a war chest of a transfer kitty. Champions league qualification has been achieved, and now it’s up to the manager to strengthen for the league and European campaigns, proving that he and his team are not just one trick pony’s.

So where do Real Valladolid go from here? Kyle Beckerman has announced his intention to retire at the end of the upcoming season, meaning a new central midfielder will be required. The same can be said for Alan Hutton, who hasn’t outright declared his decision, but a replacement will be needed. Up top, Saido Berahino and Ryan Gauld make an excellent partnership, with the latter, and attacking midfielder, leading the teams’ goals charts with 18 goals before suffering from a broken ankle. The feeling is, that if Valladolid are going to go anywhere, Gauld needs to be retained, unless of course, the right money if offered.

With a very good scouting network, the first player purchased was a surprise to everyone in Spain. Reynolds had been scouting for some time, Samuel Matthews, a 19 year old central midfielder with AFC Bournemouth. For just £625k, Matthews made what can only be described as a dream move to La Liga. He is aware that game time will be limited, however has stated that he doesn’t want to go out on loan and will work hard to improve and prove himself with his new squad.

A new striker was next on the managers wish list, many options were considered, but they were priced out of moved for many of Europe’s top young strikers. A £10.5 million bid for Paulo Dybala made Palermo accept defeat and negotiations were opened for the young hotshot. Becoming both Valladolid’s new spearhead in attack and record signing might be a burden on the young Argentinian, but Reynolds is confident he will succeed and prove everyone wrong by showing he is a world class striker.

With Jesus Rueda, the clubs former captain, leaving on a free transfer to find a new club, a replacement was required, Kurt Zouma, the Chelsea defender was unhappy at the lack of playing time he was being given and jumped at the chance of a cut price move to Spain. High wages in England meant the contract discussions went on longer than Valladolid would have hoped for, but after a few days everything was ironed out and Real had gotten themselves an unbelievable deal.

Javier Chica and Lewis Macleod were next to be shown the exit door leaving for half a million each to Mallorca and Leeds United respectively. A good deal for all involved.

Bids had begun to come in for new captain Leon Kaak. The former Valencia man had no intention of leaving, however, and unless his clubs value of him was met, he was going nowhere. A move to West Ham almost opened up, but again the tag wasn’t met and he will be continuing in Valladolid’s engine room, for the time being anyway.

Another trip to England resulted in Valladolid gaining 2 new players, Declan John, a young exciting left back from Cardiff City for £4m and Andre Leao in exchange. Robert Hall, an attacking left winger from Bolton Wanderers for 3.5m also joined up with his new team before their pre-season began.

Competition for Alan Hutton’s right back position was filled with the acquisition of Oliver Sorg from SC Freiburg, with Harry Kane going in the opposite direction plus £3m. This transfer seems to have ruffled the feathers of the Valladolid faithful, who don’t think he has what it takes to cut it. The player now, has a job to prove them wrong.

As mentioned previously, with Kyle Beckerman announcing his intention to retire at the end of the forthcoming season meant Valla’ needed to find a replacement. A £4m deal was struck for Ruben Neves, a 19 year old central midfielder from FC Porto. The news that Valladolid had gotten such a talented young player for such a low cost filled the fans with excitement and Porto’s fans with a sense of wonderment at how the board could allow such a talented player to leave for such a minimal fee.

The big news around town now is that Ryan Gauld has packed his bags and left for what he thinks are bigger and better things in a £13.5million move to Real Sociedad. “It was an offer we just couldn’t say no to. We have players who I am confident can fill his talented boots”, Manager Stewart Reynolds was quoted as saying. Ulises Dávila, the former Chelsea attacking midfielder has been on the list for loan, whether he stays on there now, or is given a chance to impress his manager remains to be seen.

Real Valladolid have lined up friendlies against Napoli, Borussia Dortmund and Everton before their biggest campaign begins. With a few transfers in rumoured to still be in the works, it will be interesting to see how Valladolid get on in these fixtures. Hopefully the team can gel quickly and get the much needed results that will keep up the momentum from the previous season.

**Keano16** · 12-19-2014, 06:34 AM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

Hey guys, I know I'm on PS3 and post on the Last-Gen forum, but I was hoping you guys here would help me choose a team to use in FIFA 15 when I get it for Christmas. Just to get a different perspective on things.

Here's the poll:

http://strawpoll.me/3216086

It'll be open for at least the weekend. Thanks!

**wassboss** · 12-19-2014, 11:26 AM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

38. (A) 2-3 win vs Leicester (Albrighton 4', Ulloa 55') (Sung-yueng 35', Bartley 45', Shelvey 60')

A surprisingly difficult game against a Leicester team lying bottom of the table. Due to a game two days later against Newcastle I was forced to play our second team and the hosts took full advantage of this. The first goal came from an error on Williams part (the only first team player starting this match) who passed the ball straight out to Albrighton who hit the ball first time to catch Fabianski off guard and give Leicester and unlikely lead. We tried to respond straight from kick off as Emnes ran through but his shot was turned behind for a corner and a few minutes later Routledge skipped into the box and shot, only for it to once again be turned away by our former keeper Tremmel. We did equalise in the 35th minute though as Sung-yeung was given the ball by Gomis and the south korean midfielder put his shot in off the post. Leicester tried to get back ahead almost straight from kick-off and Ulloa was put through one on one and as Fabianski rushed out, the Argentine chipped the ball over him and if it wasn't for a brilliant goal line clearance from Hanley. We kept on pressing Leicester and from a Routledge corner, Bartley's header looped into the air and into the back of the net, putting us ahead just before half time. Leicester were determined not to give up and we were undone by some brilliant individual skill from Mahrez (a transfer target of ours in the january transfer window) who rouletted past Williams and squared the ball to Cambiasso who took the lightest of touches to set up Ulloa who blasted the ball in to give his side the equaliser. Their celebrations were short lived however as a mere 5 minutes later Shelvey bagged us our third goal and his powerful shot to the near post squeezed in despite the keeper managing to get a hand to it. The game slowed down a bit after that with nether team really able to get anything going but there was drama late on as Williams (who had been having a dreadful afternoon) brought down Vardy in the box to give away a penalty. It was Ulloa who stepped up to take it and put his side back on level pegging for the second time in the game. It was Ulloa against Fabianski and the Argentine smashed his shot into the crossbar and saved our blushes late on as we were able to hold onto the win.

39. (A) 0-0 draw vs Newcastle

A decent result at St Jame's Park with both team wasting good chances. We had a few good attempts early on but it was Newcastle who had the first real chance just before half-time but Cisse blazed his shot way over the post. Both teams struggled to create anything as most passes were intercepted and most balls over-the-top were way over-hit and easy for the keepers to intercept. Ben Arfa weaved his way into the box but the Frenchman couldn't score against the club he would be joining at the end of the season and his shot went wide. Our only real chance came five minutes from the end when Montero ran through but the shot was a simple save for Krul. Newcastle started to look threatening late on and a pass into the box was hit first time by Sissoko but the shot skimmed agonisingly over the bar. Cisse had a chance to score for the hosts late on but under pressure his shot was easily dealt with by Schmeichel. It was a little to late though and the game ended 0-0, really poor from both sides to be honest and nether team really deserved to get anything more than a point out of it.

40. (H) 2-0 win vs Stoke City (Bony pen 18', Shelvey 55')

A routine victory for us at home. Stoke had the first real chance of the game early on as Arnautovic crossed the ball in for Diouf who put his header over the bar. In the 18th minute, after some nice build up play, Sigurosson was taken out by a late challenge from Muniesa and the referee was given no choice but to award us a penalty. Bony stepped up to take it, the Ivorian having scored a few penalties for us this season and it was no different this side as he blasted the ball into the far corner to give us the lead. Sigurosson had a golden opportunity to put us two ahead after a lovely pass from Dyer left him unmarked and all alone, but he blazed the ball way up into row Z. I decided to put Shelvey on at half time to give us a bit of energy and it almost worked out instantly but his shot from 35 yards out blazed over the bar. Not long after this Shelvey was again making good movement forward as he slipped when attempting to cross the ball in and the ball was blocked by Edu. For some reason he didn't try and clear the ball up and this gave Shelvey time to get up and dispossess the american, slotting the ball past the rightfully surprised keeper. This really seemed to knock the fight out of Stoke City and Bony was almost able to capitalise in the 58th minute but he dragged his shot wide. Not much happened until the 90th minute when Stoke tried to catch us out with a quick free kick but Schmeichel stood tall and knocked away a powerful close range shot from Sidwell to cap off the clean sheet and leave us victorious at the end of the game.

41. (A) 2-1 loss vs Arsenal (Arteta 36', Dzeko 74') (Bony pen 33)

We pushed the hosts all the way in this game and were unlucky not to come away with at least a point. We almost scored straight from kick-off with Dyer laying the ball off to Britton whose shot was saved and Bony almost turned in the rebound but a good block by Mertesacker prevented him. Wilshere ran through in the 13th minute but he could do little more than hit his shot straight into the onrushing Schmeichel. Not long after the hour mark some good passing released Britton who was challenged clumsily from behind from Koscielny to give us a penalty. Bony stepped up to take it, the ivorian having scored a few goals from the spot. He didn't disappoint this time ether, sending Szczesny the wrong away and giving us a shock lead at the emirates. The gunners weren't behind for long though and as Sigurosson gave away a free kick, the ball was passed to Arteta just outside the area and the captain blasted it in to put the hosts back on level peggings. Ramsey came close to putting Arsenal ahead on the stroke of half time but his shot was spectacularly saved by Schmeichel. We continued to press after half time and Britton attempted an audacious shot from range which just skimmed over the crossbar. Gomis almost made an instant impact from his substitution on in the 70th minute but his shot rattled the bar. It was the hosts who would take the lead with Dzeko scoring after the ball was drilled in low and hard by Podolski for him to slide in at the far post, beating Williams to put it past the keeper. Schmeichel was playing his socks off to keep us in the game, saving a powerful curling shot from Sanchez and then saving a Giroud header from the resulting corner. His efforts went unrewarded though as we couldn't manage to take out chances and suffered out third defeat to Arsenal who proved they were the superior team in all our meetings.

42. (H) 2-3 loss vs Manchester City (Bartley s/o 82', Routledge 90' 90+2') (Toure 5' 89', Cazorla 68')

The penultimate game of the season for us was an entertaining affair that Man City deserving won, despite what the score shows. I set up the team in a 5-2-2-1 formation to try and soak up pressure and play for a point. That plan went out of the window in the 5th minute when Toure levered a shot from 50 yards out which flew into the top corner, which Schmeichel had no chance of saving. They were all over us from then on, Jovetic almost putting them two ahead as he stormed through the still shocked defence but he put his shot wide. Toure had another chance from a free kick just on the edge of the area but it was saved by Schmeichel. He attempted another shot from 50 yards out and this time was only denied by a a brilliant save from Schmeichel. Our Danish goalkeeper was in great form as he tipped a powerful Jovetic header over the bar. A second goal was inevitable for the visitors and they got it in the 68th minute as Cazorla blasted the ball in from just outside the area. We had very few chances for most of the match and out first shot on target came from Bony in the 80th minute but his powerful header was turned behind by Caballero. The comeback was made even harder in the 82nd minute as Bartley was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence. Toure capped off a wonderful performance with a free kick goal in the 89th minute to surely seal the game for Man City. However straight from kick-off Routledge stormed up the pitch, taking on the entire team and blasting the ball past Caballero. Amazingly we scored again minutes later again through Routledge, as he dispossessed the city player and curled the shot past the keeper to give us late hope of taking home a point but the Champions managed to hold on and condemn us to a second straight defeat.

43. (A) 1-4 win vs Crystal Palace (Ledley 85') (Montero 51', Canas 60', Sigurosson 82', Bony 90')

The final game of the season and there wasn't really much for us to play we sat in mid table. Palace however were lying only 2 points clear of the drop zone and so needed a win to secure their premier league status for another year and thus it was them who had the first chance early on as Gayle put his shot just wide of the goal. Crystal Palace had most of the early possession but they didn't do much with it and coming into half time nether side really looked like they were going to score. We started to get more into the game in the second half and a wonderful over-the-top ball from Dyer sent Montero through one on one and he finished coolly past the onrushing keeper. Crystal Palace tried to get back into the game quickly and they almost did by Kelly tried to be too cleaver with his shot and it went over the crossbar. Dyer would once again be the orchestrator as he slid in a ball to Canas who slotted it under Speroni. Again palace tried to respond this time with Gayle but he put his shot wide under pressure. We solidified our position in the 82nd minute as the cross from Dyer was met by a diving header from Sigurosson to put us three goals ahead. The hosts would get a goal back late on as the initial shot by Bannan was tipped onto the post only for Joe Ledley to blast the ball into an empty net to give Palace the faint hope of a comeback. It proved to be only a consolation goal as Bony ended the game and the season with a powerful shot across goal to beat Speroni and bring his tally for the season up to 18 in the BPL. A victory on the last day sealed our 9th place position and capped off a decent season.

In conclusion we've had a decent season at Swansea City finishing a respectable 9th but this was still 14 points behind the boards target of a Europa League start but hopefully they will understand that it was a unrealistic aim and give us more time at the club. We finished on 55 points with 15 wins, 10 Draws and 13 Losses, scoring 59 and conceding 56 to give us a Goal Difference of +3. Chelsea won the league with a game to spare and the other 3 champions league spots went to Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester City. Manchester United leapfrogged Liverpool with a win over Hull City to finish in 5th although Liverpool and Aston Villa will also both get into the Europa League due to the F.A cup and Capital One Cup being won being won by Manchester United and Spurs respectively. Sevilla won the Europa League 2-1 over PSG and Bayern Munich won the Champions League 1-0 over Roma. Crystal Palace managed to avoid relegation despite losing to us on the final day, as Leicester failed to beat QPR and join Sunderland and Burnley in being relegated to the Championship. Norwich and Cardiff will be joining us the the BPL next year and one of Wigan Athletic, Leeds United, Watford or Bolton Wanderers depending on who wins the play-off.

**HKPound** · 12-19-2014, 01:48 PM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/nNaxEY3DWA4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Our huge Capital One Cup semifinal matchup against Liverpool is featured in this episode along with league fixtures against teams close to us in the table in 2nd place Stoke City and 6th place Manchester City. We beat Manchester City and lost heavily to Stoke City in our previous matchups against them. This is a huge opportunity to cement ourselves in that Europa league spot and push for more as well.

**Keano16** · 12-19-2014, 03:27 PM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

Originally posted by HKPound

Nice win against City and good games against Liverpool. Pratto seems like a beat up top for Stoke! Congrats on getting to the Final against Spurs. Good Luck!

**GingaGeordie** · 12-19-2014, 03:28 PM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

Newcastle United 2015/16 Season begins!!

After the triumph in the FA Cup last season and a credible 6th place finish, Newcastle return with European football this season and look to push on from last year and aim for more silverware and hopefully a long overdue return to Champions League football.

(FA Comm Shield) 2-1 loss v Man City (Cisse (p) 82') (Toure 23', 88')

The traditional curtain raiser for the English season took place, Newcastle last appeared in this when it was known as the Charity Shield. We lost a tough game today, Man City had us under pressure from the start, our new signings seemingly needing time to gel with the team as we looked lost at times, especially when Toure stormed through into the box, hammering in from close range. We got an undeserved equaliser when Cisse was bundled down in the box and the Senegalese striker stepped up to slot in the penalty. All signs pointed to extra time until the Toure had the last word, belting in a free kick from 30 yards out, knocking the stuffing out of us ahead of the PL start next week.

Barclays Premier League

1. (H) 2-1 loss v Liverpool (Montero 4') (Sturridge 47', Lallana 71')

The start of the season pitted us against Liverpool who were keen to atone for not getting European football last season. Their atonement looked to be a distant dream for them when we took an early lead, new signing Jefferson Montero darting past Johnson and cutting in before unleashing a ferocious drive into the top corner. Liverpool looked useless for the whole first half but came out after the break a changed side. Daniel Sturridge equalised, finishing off a slick series of passes that carved us up, leading to the easiest of finishes for Sturridge. Liverpool then claimed the win after a Coutinho corner was headed in at the far post by Lallana. We tried to get something from the game but we just weren't able to get through a strong defensive line.

2. (A) 2-1 win v West Brom (Ben Arfa 39', Tiote 90+4') (Brunt 74')

We picked up our first points of the season in dramatic fashion, with a memorable ending. A cagey first half saw us sneak in front 6 minutes before the break, Hatem Ben Arfa sliding in to tap a Montero cross in. The second half continued in the same fashion, both sides reluctant to push too much for fear of the counter attack. Tiote bundled over Sessegnon to give WBA a free kick 22 yards out, which Brunt curled in with ease giving us a tense finish. I was not letting this game slip away, West Brom pushed forward, sensing they could steal it, but a great interception from Sissoko allowed him some space to run to the halfway line, lobbing the ball over to Tiote who, from 25 yards out, smashed in an amazing volley, our fans going ballistic at the sheer ridiculousness of the goal.

3. (H) 3-0 win v Crystal Palace (Cisse 76', Hernandez 87', Delaney (og) 90+2')

The scoreline may be emphatic, but it really doesn't reflect on what was a rather poor game. Both sides had plenty chances, but could rarely get shots on target. The deadlock was finally broken on 76 minutes when Cisse turned with a bit of pace and fired in from the edge of the box. That was ironically the end of Cisse's game as I'd already organised swapping him with Hernandez just moments before he scored. Then Hernandez, used his blistering pace to wreak havoc, beating Speroni in the Palace goal when one on one with him. Palace were deflated and then were suckerpunched again when a Montero cross fooled everyone in the area and bounced off of Damien Delaney, an unfortunate own goal which gave the scoreline an unfair look.

Club News

The draw for the Europa League group stage was made, giving us a spot in Group H.

Group H

Newcastle (ENG)
SC Braga (POR)
Standard Liege (BEL)
FC Zurich (SUI)

The third round draw for the Capital One Cup was also made, giving us an away tie against Wycombe Wanderers.

In transfer news, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa threw in a request to leave the day before deadline day. I wanted to keep him, but the club sold him behind my back to Chelsea in a £8,500,000 deal. With deadline day in full swing, I decided to pounce quick and secured the services of Neven Subotic from Borussia Dortmund for £10,000,000.

**Keano16** · 12-19-2014, 03:44 PM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

Originally posted by GingaGeordie

Newcastle United 2015/16 Season begins!!

After the triumph in the FA Cup last season and a credible 6th place finish, Newcastle return with European football this season and look to push on from last year and aim for more silverware and hopefully a long overdue return to Champions League football.

(FA Comm Shield) 2-1 loss v Man City (Cisse (p) 82') (Toure 23', 88')

The traditional curtain raiser for the English season took place, Newcastle last appeared in this when it was known as the Charity Shield. We lost a tough game today, Man City had us under pressure from the start, our new signings seemingly needing time to gel with the team as we looked lost at times, especially when Toure stormed through into the box, hammering in from close range. We got an undeserved equaliser when Cisse was bundled down in the box and the Senegalese striker stepped up to slot in the penalty. All signs pointed to extra time until the Toure had the last word, belting in a free kick from 30 yards out, knocking the stuffing out of us ahead of the PL start next week.

Barclays Premier League

1. (H) 2-1 loss v Liverpool (Montero 4') (Sturridge 47', Lallana 71')

The start of the season pitted us against Liverpool who were keen to atone for not getting European football last season. Their atonement looked to be a distant dream for them when we took an early lead, new signing Jefferson Montero darting past Johnson and cutting in before unleashing a ferocious drive into the top corner. Liverpool looked useless for the whole first half but came out after the break a changed side. Daniel Sturridge equalised, finishing off a slick series of passes that carved us up, leading to the easiest of finishes for Sturridge. Liverpool then claimed the win after a Coutinho corner was headed in at the far post by Lallana. We tried to get something from the game but we just weren't able to get through a strong defensive line.

2. (A) 2-1 win v West Brom (Ben Arfa 39', Tiote 90+4') (Brunt 74')

We picked up our first points of the season in dramatic fashion, with a memorable ending. A cagey first half saw us sneak in front 6 minutes before the break, Hatem Ben Arfa sliding in to tap a Montero cross in. The second half continued in the same fashion, both sides reluctant to push too much for fear of the counter attack. Tiote bundled over Sessegnon to give WBA a free kick 22 yards out, which Brunt curled in with ease giving us a tense finish. I was not letting this game slip away, West Brom pushed forward, sensing they could steal it, but a great interception from Sissoko allowed him some space to run to the halfway line, lobbing the ball over to Tiote who, from 25 yards out, smashed in an amazing volley, our fans going ballistic at the sheer ridiculousness of the goal.

3. (H) 3-0 win v Crystal Palace (Cisse 76', Hernandez 87', Delaney (og) 90+2')

The scoreline may be emphatic, but it really doesn't reflect on what was a rather poor game. Both sides had plenty chances, but could rarely get shots on target. The deadlock was finally broken on 76 minutes when Cisse turned with a bit of pace and fired in from the edge of the box. That was ironically the end of Cisse's game as I'd already organised swapping him with Hernandez just moments before he scored. Then Hernandez, used his blistering pace to wreak havoc, beating Speroni in the Palace goal when one on one with him. Palace were deflated and then were suckerpunched again when a Montero cross fooled everyone in the area and bounced off of Damien Delaney, an unfortunate own goal which gave the scoreline an unfair look.

Club News

The draw for the Europa League group stage was made, giving us a spot in Group H.

Group H

Newcastle (ENG)
SC Braga (POR)
Standard Liege (BEL)
FC Zurich (SUI)

The third round draw for the Capital One Cup was also made, giving us an away tie against Wycombe Wanderers.

In transfer news, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa threw in a request to leave the day before deadline day. I wanted to keep him, but the club sold him behind my back to Chelsea in a £8,500,000 deal. With deadline day in full swing, I decided to pounce quick and secured the services of Neven Subotic from Borussia Dortmund for £10,000,000.

Tough start to the month, but results picked up in the last 2 games. You should qualify from your Europa League group too.

**GingaGeordie** · 12-19-2014, 04:05 PM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

Originally posted by Keano16

Tough start to the month, but results picked up in the last 2 games. You should qualify from your Europa League group too.

Aye I hope to get through the group with relative ease. The issue I see coming is the overcrowding of games, but I have a decent depth to the squad, hoping to get qualification asap in the group so I can blood some youngsters into it.

This year my targets from the board are to finish in the top 4 of the PL, get to the QF of the domestic cups and the SF of the Europa League. Tough goals and gonna be hard to meet all of them but I'll give it my best.

**Keano16** · 12-19-2014, 04:26 PM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

Originally posted by GingaGeordie

Aye I hope to get through the group with relative ease. The issue I see coming is the overcrowding of games, but I have a decent depth to the squad, hoping to get qualification asap in the group so I can blood some youngsters into it.

This year my targets from the board are to finish in the top 4 of the PL, get to the QF of the domestic cups and the SF of the Europa League. Tough goals and gonna be hard to meet all of them but I'll give it my best.

Yeah there could be an overcrowding of games alright. Achieving all those goals will be tough but all ya can do is try and ya never know!

**gopher_guy** · 12-19-2014, 09:37 PM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

Bristol City
Year 2, FL Championship

I just got to the end of the January Transfer window with Bristol City. I think I was over-achieving earlier in the season when I was in the upper-mid table. December and January were rough for me, and I took a bit of a tumble down the table, at one point, I was sitting in 17th, only 4 points up from the drop zone. However, I went on a bit of a hot streak at the end of January winning 3 in a row.

TABLE:
1. Fulham: 16-9-2, 57 points
2. Middlesborough: 15-6-6, 51 points
....
12. Wigan: 10-6-11, 36 points
13. Bristol City: 9-7-11, 34 points
14. Millwall: 7-13-8, 34 points

I am worried that I have become a tad one dimentional, Kieran Agard once again is carrying the team. He hasn't been injured once since I've taken over the team, so if he goes down there might be some issues. But for now, I'm just enjoying the good luck!

GOALS:
Kieran Agard - 14
Korey Smith - 4
Jamie Winfield* - 3
5 tied with 2
* - Academy Player

Oddly enough, my scoring has actually increased over the last couple months. It hasn't translated into as many points as I'd like, but at the beginning of the season I was in a lot of 1-0, 1-1, 2-1 type games, even a couple 0-0 draws. But on 4 separate occasions over the last couple months I have had 3+ goals in a game. Which is pretty much an offensive explosion for my team, haha.

Academy Player Growth
Danny Raglan - CDM, England, age 17: 71 OVR, +2
Riccardo Basso - LM, Italy, age 16: 69 OVR, +2
Jamie Winfield - RM, England, age 17: 70 OVR, +3

Just plugging away towards the end of the season. I found that I have to play a lot more of the games now. Almost every single time I sim, I lose

**Matty Aqua** · 12-20-2014, 04:03 AM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

So after a bit of a Fifa break!. IM BACK!

Really good to see the level of detail people put into there manager mode posts! keep it up guys, lots of great reads here!

**wassboss** · 12-21-2014, 01:11 PM

Re: *The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread*

A new season beckons for Swansea City. After a 9th place finish the Board of Directors decided that maybe their initial predictions of a Europa League spot were very unreasonable and this season have set a target of a Mid table finish in the hopes they can build on last season and set good foundations for the future. Dalè was seen as a gamble at the start of the previous season and while his arrival did not meet the lofty expectations of the board they decided he was the best man for the managerial job and kept him on hoping he could repeat and build on last season's finish.

We enter our second season at Swansea City and as mentioned in the introductory paragraph the board have kept faith with us for another season, this time with a more realistic aim of a mid table finish. We were given a £12,500,000 transfer budget which I feel is fair for a club of our size and I immediately set about making my enquires and bids.

Transfers Out

- We loaned out many of our young prospects for the future mostly notably Sam Byram who, despite being our first choice RB and getting plenty of play time, did not grow a single rating and hopefully a season long loan to norwich will help with his development.

- Donnelly was sold to Middlesbrough for £800,000 as he would not get much game time with Bony, Gomis and now Michu ahead of him in the St position.

-The surprise sale was of Fernandez to Southampton for a whopping £6,000,000. The Argentine CB had fallen out of favour with us despite starting the season as our first choice CB due to poor performances and we conceded every game he was in bar one. Southampton clearly saw some potential though and shelled out almost double his base value to get hold of him.

Transfers In

- As mentioned in a previous post Hatam Ben Arfa and Gary Cahill joined on a pre-contract at the start of this season. Cahill will make his way into the first team but Ben Arfa will have to settle for a place on the bench.

-As we loaned out Sam Byram we needed another first choice RB and we were originally going to loan one in for the season. However the loan players available did not interest me and we ended up buying Leandro Bacuna for £1,000,000 plus some random LB we didn't want. He'll fill in for Byram while he's on loan and once he's back will fill in as our back-up.

-Another area we needed to reinforce was LB as we currently only had one real first team quality LB in Taylor and his inconsistency was a cause for concern. We negotiated the loan deal for Real Madrid's Abner for the season and if he does well we may consider a bid for him in the next summer transfer window.

-I had been scouting a few players from last season for various positions and attempted to sign many of them including Ocampos, Bolaise, Zouma and Townsend but they were ether too expensive or were too demanding in there contracts. We did however manage to sign one of our targets before the first game of the season and that was Leon Goretzka for £9,000,000 who will jump straight into the first team.

First Team

We a still pursuing some targets and some players have heavy interest in them (Canas and Gomis in particular) so I'll keep you guys updated throughout the window. This is the team we'll be running with this season;

GK: Kasper Schmeichel
RB: Leandro Bacuna
CB: Jordi Amat
CB: Gary Cahill
LB: Neil Taylor
RCM: Leon Goretzka
LCM: Leon Britton/Jose Canas
CAM: Gylifi Sigurosson
RW: Nathan Dyer
ST: Wilfried Bony
LW: Jefferson Montero

1. (H) 4-2 win vs Chelsea (Bony 20' 55' 62' 84') (Diego Costa 14' 34')

A fantastic start to the season and a good win against last years champions. It didn't look to be that way though as Diego Costa scored the first goal of the season with a powerful shot from range. We weren't behind for long though and Bacuna crossed in the ball for Bony to head in past Handanovic. We seemed to gain some confidence after this and we attacked more brightly ,with Dyer's shot being blocked away by Zouma. It didn't stay level for long though and Costa scored again in the 34th minute. They almost got a third from just before half time as the free kick was floated in and Schurrle got a powerful header to it and it was turned out for a corner at the last second by Schmeichel. We started the second half brightly and a powerful shot from Bony was fantastically saved by Handanovic. The resulting corner was whipped in by Sigurosson and Bony powered his header into the back of the net to bring us back equal. We were through again in the 62nd minute and Sigurosson cheekily chipped the ball across the face of goal for Bony to complete his Hatrick with a header that almost took the goal off it's hinges to put us ahead for the first time. Goretzka (who came off the bench at half time) capped off his debut with an assist as Bony scored yet another header from a corner late in the game to put the result beyond reasonable doubt. A fantastic game from the lads, especially Bony who was unstoppable. Hopefully the rest of the season will go this well.

2. (A) 0-1 win vs Crystal Palace (Bony 78')

A hard fought for win against Crystal Palace that on another day we could have won by 3 or 4 goals. The win over Chelsea had really lifted our confidence and we were on the front foot from the offset, sigurosson blasting his shot over the bar. He had another attempt again later on as he tried to replicate his goal against Palace on the last game of the season but his diving header went way over the bar. Ben Arfa had a good opportunity to score just before half time but he couldn't put it on target. Crystal Palace rarely threatened and Schmiechel had a very quiet game the only action he was called into was to punch away a dangerous cross from Bolaise. We never let off throughout the whole game and we finally got our reward in the 78th minute as Dyer put in a cross which was met by the head of Bony to put us deservedly ahead. Palace pretty much gave up all resistance after that and almost seemed to just let Bony take the ball off them and he had several good chances to get his second but they were all saved by Hennessey. Shelvey had the last chance of the game but his speculative shot from range went just over the bar.

Transfer News

We signed Charlie Austin from QPR with Gomis going the other way in straight swap deal. Gomis had been a good back-up striker for us but he is 30 years old now and have already started decreasing. Austin is 3 years younger and could give us something different up front as Bony and Gomis were very similar.

3. (H) 2-2 draw vs West Ham (Bony pen 15', Dyer 47', Canas s/o 62') (Morrison 22', Downing 45')

A thrilling draw at the Liberty Stadium. The first chance came in the 15th minute when a Montero ran through clear and Tomkins was forced to make a reckless challenge, bringing the Ecuadorian down in the process for a penalty. Bony stepped up to take it and coolly put it past Adrian. We were really dominant after that with some good attacking play but it was West Ham who scored next as a brilliant long pass from Cresswell picked out Morrison in the box who blasted it past Schmiechel. The visitors really seemed to come into the game after the goal and Schmeichel was kept on his toes by an Andy Carroll header which the Danish keeper managed to catch. Morrison was through again just before half time but his shot went wide. Minutes later Downing put his team ahead with a low strike to the bottom corner to shock the home supporters and put West Ham in high spirits going in at half time. We weren't having any of it and Dyer went on a trademark storming run straight from kick-off, weaving through the whole team before slotting the ball past Adrian. Canas was given his marching orders for a poorly timed tackle and the following free kick forced Schmeichel into a panicked punch out. The game was pretty dull after that with each side only have one more attempt each, Morrison's cheeky chip was franticly pushed away by Schmeichel and Adrian was forced into a good save by Ben Arfa. A good game and both teams seemed to be happy with a draw.

Transfer News

A surprise on transfer deadline day. Parma came in with a bid for Ki Sung-yeung of 3,000,000. We counter offered with 7,000,000 which they accepted and the south korean midfielder left for Italy. We used the funds raised from his sale to buy Leroy Fer from QPR for 9,000,000.

4. (H) 3-2 win vs Aston Villa (Sigurosson 28', Dyer 41', Bacuna 57') (Benteke 5' 45')

Another hard fought victory for us as we continue our undefeated start to the season. Villa looked lively from the off and Sanchez had his powerful close range shot saved by Schmeichel. From the resulting corner the ball was cross in by Alan and Benteke out jumped his marker and headed the ball into the net to give the visitors the lead. This seemed to spur us into action and we went on the offensive, creating chances galore. This culminated in Goretzka weaving his way into the box and crossing the ball in for Sigurosson to head past Guzan and put us level. The Icelander was also instrumental in our second goal in which he cheekily passed the ball under the jumping wall which Dyer latched onto and turned past his marker to blast the ball into the net, almost taking the roof of the net off. We had little time to celebrate though as they were back level on the stroke of half time, Benteke once again heading the ball past Schmiechel, the big belgian dominating the air throughout the game. They continued there pressure after half time and Alan forced a good save from Schmeichel from the free kick and from the resulting corner he snatched the ball right off benteke's head as he tried to get his hatrick. From this he threw the ball out to Fer, who passed the ball out to Bacuna who made a storming run through the Villa defence. His cross was blocked by Cissokho but it came right back to him and he stormed into the box and curled the ball past Guzan to score against his former club. From then it was really all us, Goretzka's shot from range went agonisingly wide and Michu hit the bar in his first appearance for the club in well over a year. Bony had the best chance to finish off the game as he ran through one on one but his tame shot was easily dealt with by Guzan. The game ended 3-2, with Bacuna scoring the winner against his former club and we continue our good run of form which keeps us at 2nd in the league.

Notice

I'm sad to say that this is probably going to be my last Update for a while. I'm flying out to Spain tomorrow to stay with some relatives for Christmas and I won't be able to play any more games (obviously). I'm getting Smash Bros Wii U for Christmas and so when I come back I'll likely be playing that for at least a month exclusive. Therefore it doesn't look like I'll even be playing Fifa till at the very earliest January but don't worry, I'm not giving up on this series just putting it on Hiatus for a month or so.

The FIFA 15 Manager Mode Thread

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