Alright, the opening transfer window closed and it's time to provide my Year 3 update.
Completed Season:
Season 2 ended with me winning League 1 by 10 points. Bradford City, Portsmouth, and Notts County will be moving into the Championship. I got knocked out really early in the Capitol One Cup to Liverpool, where I lost on penalties. I made it all the way to the FA Cup Final where I lost to Manchester United 3-2 (Rooney scored in the 116' and 120' to seal it). I beat Hull 2-1 (on replay), Everton 6-0 (they put out a 2nd team and got a red card early), and Chelsea 2-1 on the way to the final. It was a pretty season that finally got me to change the difficulty from Professional to World Class. I'm generally just not very good at the game, so it's gotten very tough. I don't believe I can dribble the ball anymore in the midfield. I get muscled off the ball very easily or tackled from behind regardless of the pace of the player. So, it's a ton of one touch passes.
Stats:
Maxwel Cornet finished with 31 goals in League One and 8 assists. Emerson Hyndman finished with 16 goals and 14 assists. Alexandr Zuev finished with 4 goals and 10 assists.
Current Season:
Now in the Championship, I no longer have any advantages in roster, or talent, so it's not been an easy going. I've won 3 and drew 5 matches. I don't think I'll get promoted this year, but I hope to do well enough to get around $4-5 million transfer budget.
Due to my performance in FA Cup, I qualified for Europa and my group is Roma, Bursaspor, and BSC Young Boys. I've only played Roma at Roma, and drew 1-1. I consider that a major win considering the vast gap in wages. I just hope to get past group stage and increase my transfer budget. Does anyone know how much the Europa League gives in wages?
Transfer Window:
As I mentioned in my previous update, I signed Jon Taylor from Petersborough on free transfer. I only had 2.6 million to play with, so I was very limited in possible moves. I brought in Matt Miazga from New York RB for $2.8 million (defense has been my biggest problem), and bought Wylan Cyprien from RC Lens for $500k(!). He's playing the role of a holding midfielder for me behind Hyndman and next to Russell Teibert. Last full transfer I made was for Dillon Serna for $1.3 million. He's listed a winger in the game (despite being a DM/RB in real life) and I'm playing him at any of the 3 midfield positions on the wing. Still trying to figure how he best fits in the squad. I brought in Bradford Jamieson IV from LA Galaxy on a 1 year loan. He's only making 6k/week in wages with a $1.4 million buyout. I also agreed to Kingley Coman for a 1 yr loan+1.4 mil buyout, but his wages were much higher and so I was able to afford Jamieson.
I loaned several youth players away and my most promising is a 17 year old LW already at 72. He's currently at Brighton. I loaned him and Adam Campbell out so I could afford the wages required.
In the next transfer window, I also have to decide who to keep/come up with the money to pay for Ben Swanson, Patrick Mullins, and Romain Gall as their loans will be up. I would like to keep all 3, but I don't think it'll be possible unless the board is nice to me.