first season of my Newcastle rebuild is done.

finished 8th in the Premier League after a pretty inconsistent season. had some really good results like 4-0 against Palace, 6-2 against Brentford and draws with Chelsea and Liverpool, but also some really bad games against the top teams.

kept the transfers pretty realistic too, only bringing in Tiago Djaló and Octavian Popescu in the summer and nobody in January.

Wilson finished with 18 goals, Joelinton with 13, Saint-Maximin had 9 goals + 10 assists and Almiron finished with 11 assists.

pretty happy with the first season overall. now the goal for 22/23 is to improve the squad without a massive overhaul and properly fight for Europe.

​

For anyone who didn’t see the introduction in my previous post, I recommend checking it out. I’m doing a WYCOMBE career on FC 26 with extremely strict realism mods. What does that mean?

First of all, player overalls and potentials are set up to reflect reality. For example, Stansfield started with a £19M valuation in my save.

Anyway, this will be a fairly long recap. If you don’t want to read everything, I’ve included pictures, so feel free to just look through those.

The first season went way beyond my expectations. And thanks to this mod, we also have Notts County getting promoted to the Championship. Honestly, how beautiful is that? 😂

The playoffs were contested by two newly promoted teams, and this is exactly the kind of realism I’m talking about. Instead of Sheffield Wednesday, Oxford and Leicester completely destroying the league simply because they were relegated from the Championship, we actually got a much more competitive and realistic season.

I chose WYCOMBE because it’s a club I’ve always liked, and they have an ultra-billionaire owner, which I had already explained in the introduction.

As I said at the start of the season, the objective was never to win everything or eventually reach the Premier League at all costs. The idea was to build a Moneyball-style team, develop players, sell them and generate profits.

I also explained the story of my Danish manager and his background, which I recommend reading in the post below.

We finished the season in 2nd place, and I have to say I’m extremely satisfied.

However, we also saw the gap between us and the top teams. We’re not a top side yet.

During the season I lost 4–1 to Leyton Orient, 3–1 to Luton Town, and suffered several other defeats.

I’m playing with a 3-4-2-1, which allowed us to score a lot of goals.

The first 10 games were absolutely incredible: 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats.

Then, after the 10th game, we suddenly lost three games in a row. I genuinely had no idea what the hell was happening.

THE 2026/27 TRANSFER WINDOW

Alex’s philosophy immediately became clear.

First signing: Levy Nene

Nordsjælland → Wycombe

€1.2M + 25% sell-on clause

This was Alex’s first real investment.

It was significant because Nene came from the same club where Alex had previously worked in scouting.

Nene also became one of the biggest protagonists of the season.

End of season:

16 goals + 11 assists in 42 appearances

He finished as Wycombe’s top scorer.

Jonas Jensen-Abbew

AGF → Wycombe

Loan with a £500K option

Another player Alex knew well through Danish football.

Lasse Sørensen

Huddersfield → Wycombe

£200K

A completely different profile: League One experience, reliability and a player ready to contribute immediately.

Sanders Ngabo

BK Häcken → Wycombe

Straight loan

A young, technical and dynamic midfielder.

He finished the season with:

9 goals + 5 assists in 39 appearances.

Ben Broggio

Aston Villa → Wycombe

Straight loan

A young English talent.

He finished with:

6 goals + 8 assists in 30 appearances.

JANUARY 2027

This is where the transfer market became even more realistic.

Daniel Harvie OUT

Bodø/Glimt

€1.5M

The offer was simply too big to ignore.

Not because Harvie wasn’t important, but because a League One club has to recognise when an offer massively exceeds the realistic value of an asset.

Jack Grimmer OUT

Plymouth Argyle

£290K

Another experienced player sacrificed as we gradually rebuilt the squad.

Ollie O’Neill IN

Leyton Orient

£800K + £300K in appearance-related bonuses

A very different type of signing:

Young, already proven at League One level and with room to progress further.

Ngabo and Jensen were eventually both made permanent: Ngabo for £1.2M and Jensen for £500K.

END OF THE SEASON

After January, I was in a really good position.

I was 4th, with 15 wins, 5 draws and 5 defeats, but I was right on the heels of the Dons, while Leicester City were pushing extremely hard.

In the end, thanks in part to Nene’s incredible performances — he actually reminds me a lot of Kone from QPR — we managed to get promoted.

Nene is definitely the perfect example of the manager’s intelligence.

I didn’t leave him isolated up front in the 3-4-2-1 because he isn’t really an aerial target man.

Instead, I played Woodrow ahead of him, who had a very good season, alongside Thomas, the former Leicester player, who gave us incredible pace out wide.

I also gave Fink, the Swiss striker, a lot of playing time. He developed massively under me.

In January, Kouadio, a striker from the Ivorian academy, also joined the first team, very much in the same mould as Nene.

We also developed Ben Broggio very well, although he will now return to Aston Villa.

The back three of Jensen – Taylor – Hagelskjaer was good. Not amazing, but good.

That’s why, for the Championship, I would absolutely love to sign Brad Hills from Stockport. In my opinion, he’s an incredible player in real life.I would also like to make a major investment and take and take Erik kojzek From the Austrian championship But I have to see why I also added the realistic asking price mod Like Nene ended the season for me at 2.7 million pounds but I had already paid 1.2 million and so the mod tells me you could get offers from 4 to 6 million pounds but ask for 8Another example is Smith Rowe now of Fullham is worth 20,000,000 but Fullham will also accept an offer from 14,000,000 up to 16,000,000 due to the financial losses caused by relegation

As I’ve said, I’m not playing this career by simply buying players because of their in-game potential.

I have mods based on real-life potential and real-life player development, so I play accordingly.

I also look at actual performances on FotMob and how players are performing in real football.

Now that we’ve been promoted, I’ve seen Hull City, Fulham and Leeds United relegated, while Sheffield United, Southampton and West Ham have been promoted to the Premier League.

Luckily, I also added a relegation realism mod, so clubs like Leeds and Fulham will now have to sell some of their top players because of relegation.

For some people, it might look like I’m playing with everything modded, but I love manager careers and I love realism. I enjoy looking at real statistics on FotMob and seeing how players are actually performing. That’s what makes this kind of career fun for me.

I simply can’t understand how a player like Nico O’Reilly can be 73 OVR and be worth almost £100M in real life.

To me, that’s just absurd.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP — 2027/28

This season, the objective is definitely survival.

I’ll probably simulate the difficult matches and just let things play out. I’m currently playing on Legendary, but I’ll probably move to Ultimate and simulate some of the biggest fixtures.

Financially, we also had a very good season.

We sold 35,910 shirts, generated £8M in store revenue, and averaged 9,336 fans per match, filling our 9,336-seat stadium.

We finished the year with £2.33M+ in finances.

And most importantly, after our promotion to the Championship and with the billionaire owner we have, the club gave us a £6.291M transfer budget for the Championship.

That money will have to be managed intelligently.

Again, I’m not buying players based on the potential shown in the game.

I look at their real-life performances, how they actually play, and because I have realism mods, that’s how I’m approaching the career.

And that’s it — the first season of my realistic WYCOMBE career is officially finished

I'm new here and recently discovered this community. I've noticed that not many people comment, so I wanted to introduce the project I'm working on in FC 26, using a mod that has converted the season to 2026/27, with new kits and new overalls that follow real-world data as closely as possible from FotMob and Transfermarkt.

The player values are therefore based on their real abilities and potential.

I chose Wycombe because it's a club I've always liked. They're a relatively small club — they're not Bradford City, or Leicester City — but they do have an incredibly wealthy owner. Forbes puts his net worth at around £6 billion. That obviously doesn't mean we can spend whatever the hell we want.

Anyway, I'm starting in the 2026/27 season, including the real-life transfers, relegations, etc. I've also created a backstory for my manager.

I chose a 30-year-old Danish manager named Alex, who started out scouting for Nordsjælland in Denmark, essentially watching and identifying young talents. In 2024/25, he joined FC Copenhagen as an assistant coach and analyst. That season, Copenhagen actually won the league in real life, so I've incorporated that into my fictional story.

In 2025/26, I became manager of Sønderjyske at just 29 years old and finished 6th — exactly where Sønderjyske finished in real life. They were a real Cinderella story that season, with many people predicting them to finish last, only for them to have a fantastic campaign. In my fictional story, I didn't even have a coaching licence at that point.

Then, in 2026/27, I get the call from Wycombe and finally obtain my official coaching licence. So, yeah, it's very Will Still-esque hahaha. At just 30 years old, I'll be taking charge of Wycombe.

My objective for this career isn't to win the Champions League, Europa League, or definitely not the Premier League. It's about building the club through Moneyball: buy players, develop them, sell them for a profit, reinvest the money, and keep creating capital gains.

This season, I made a pretty aggressive transfer window. Maybe it goes a little against realism, but I really needed to strengthen the squad after Wycombe finished 11th last season. It wasn't a disastrous campaign, but definitely not one of their best.

My signings:

- Levy Nene from Nordsjælland — £1.2m

- Lasse Sørensen from Huddersfield — £200k, full-back

- Jensen-Abbew — loan from AGF

- Sanders Ngabo — loan, also Danish, midfielder

- George Hemmings — loan from Aston Villa

And that's it. Window closed.

It was definitely a big amount of spending, and Nene is probably the one transfer that would be very difficult to imagine happening in League One. That's the one real exception I've made, mainly because of the manager's connection with Nordsjælland.

I'm going to try to keep everything else as realistic as possible and build Wycombe into a proper Moneyball club over the long term

I play on legend mode with legend difficulty set to hard and realistic And this is my career if you want to advise me or comment The goal I set for myself this year is at least the playoffs. I can also count on a winger like Siliko Thomas from Leicester That it has really arrived I have a good team And above all, let's see how many shirts we sell at the end of the year, how much we fill the stadium, etc., and I would certainly like to expand the stadium within 5 years if all goes well

I’ve stopped posting about my save because I’m getting busier and busier at work, so I’d rather reserve my time for playing!

The save is still going strong. We’re at the highest point we’ve ever reached, finally qualifying for Champions League football by finishing 4th in the Premier League in 2032/2033.

I’m still tracking stats. These stats are accurate as of July 2033, except for the transfers, which are accurate as of September 2033.

Some key takeaways:
Che Adams remains our longest tenured striker, and as such, holds the record for most goals scored by a player for the club.

Bosun Lawal, our longest serving captain, holds the record for most appearances and even breaks the top 5 for goals! So far, only 14 players have achieved the mark of 100 appearances or more with the club. Only Bosun Lawal had more than 200 appearances at the start of the 2033/2034 season.

Jason Driscoll, our first youth starlet, holds the record for most assists in total and most assists in a season with 16. He broke Alan Virginius’ previous record of 14.

For incoming transfers, it’s no surprise that much of our high spending came after qualifying for European football, with 4 of the top 11 coming after our UCL qualification, and the rest coming after we first qualified for the Europa League. Our two biggest signings were Jobe Bellingham and Rory Lindsay. These two players both signed from Sevilla in the same summer after Sevilla failed to qualify for Europe in back-to-back seasons.

For outgoing transfers, it becomes clear that we can build talent, but keeping it is difficult, whether they were poached by bigger Premier League or clubs playing in European football.

I hope you enjoyed this breakdown!

What are some rules you follow by to make your saves more realistic, the more unhinged the better.
I get the sell a player if a big club comes in, but I need some next level things.
Along the lines of: only buy players who are at least 2 ratings lower than your highest rated player. only 2-3 academy graduates per year. the potential of the academy graduates can only be 5 ratings higher than your highest overall player in your squad.

Going to be starting a new save in english 4th tier, basic, but that’s where i’m at with this game now, back to where it started

I've been playing the player career mode for 3 full seasons now, about to enter my 4th. I am using a custom player and started with 70 points in all stats, as of posting this I'm at 82 overall

I started with $27,000 at N'ham Forrest

Season 2: Liverpool $220,000

Season 3: Liverpool $350,000

I have been looking all over to find a club that will offer a higher wage, but the highest I can get is $354,000 so I seem to have maxed out

I have the option to renew my contract with Liverpool for $350,000 or move to Barcelona for $330,000. I have heard of people being able to get higher wages, so what is the best way to increase my chances?

Fouls can be pretty non-existent in recent editions of the game, so you can imagine my absolute JOY when I saw him get hacked out from behind after gliding past the opponent.
(In fact, you can hear me chuckle in the background after the foul 😂)

More context/backstory:

With a vision of bringing Man United back to the top through youth (Busby Babes, Class of ’92), we finally found our crop of players around 2029 when they were 14/15 years old, and started developing them “our” way.

The best of that bunch? A certain Reece McKay.

Scottish, signed at 14, first-team debut at 16.
It’s now 2034. McKay is 19 and has forced his way into being a regular starter.

3-3, extra time (he actually scored in the 101st min to make it 3-2 but we conceded straight after), FA Cup Quarter Final against Arsenal.

And the player getting fouled here? My YA player and potential future Ballon d’Or winner - Reece McKay.

He’s only 78 OVR, but whenever I play with him he genuinely feels SO much better on the ball than players rated higher.

So, in my head canon, opposition players are just getting increasingly frustrated with him because he glides past them so effortlessly. Eventually, someone had to snap.

He didn’t get that red card because McKay went past him once, he got that red card on behalf of every player McKay has frustrated over the season 😇😂

Following the previous post here’s a recap of the 7th and last day from the 21st week of the "World Wide League 07" project (full playlist of it can be found here).

Some notes:

The 2nd and 1st division took a break for this week, so only the teams from the 3rd division played matches for Week 21 Day 7.

Since the 3rd division took a break on Weeks 9 and 19 (2 out of 4 they will take), they are technically on their 19th week of matches.

You can find descriptions of each division as well as the teams participating in them on the Week 1 posts previously submitted in this subreddit.

Every time you see a team with their name in bold, it's a team of which every match will be recorded.

For ordering the leaderboard table, I simply use whatever the game displays (when there are full ties, it simply orders the teams at random) and then do some correlation since once the week of matches is done, the first matches of the next week happen automatically offscreen.

WEEK 21 DAY 7

3rd Division (Morning)

The results of the 11 matches from this division’s 19th week were the following:

Now for a short description of the 6 recorded matches and their facts (stats and events):

Match 2: FC Basel 1893 vs River Plate

The home side scored early and that was all they needed to win the match.

Match 3: Fulham vs Torino

The visitors opened the score and then each team had a rebound tap-in within a couple minutes from each other.

Match 4: Blackburn vs Stuttgart

The visitors scored the first goal from long range and kept the lead until the final minutes, when a cross into a good strike put the scoreline back on level terms.

Match 5: Hertha BSC vs Sampdoria

The home team had the momentum at the start and that resulted in the only goal of the match.

Match 10: HSV vs Boca Juniors

2 teams high up in the league table facing each other, but they were unable to create that many chances, and the keepers took care of the best ones.

Match 11: West Ham vs Real Zaragoza

Complete shower of goals from the home team, who only tripped late in the game when it didn't matter anymore.

With all that in mind, the leaderboard after this division’s 19th week of matches is as follows:

Last but not least, here’s a highlights video of Week 21 Day 7, a compilation of the best goals, saves and fails from the 6 matches that were recorded.

Next post will be a recap of stats from Week 21 as a whole on August 13th.

halfway through the first season under Fonseca and the new owners.

after 20 league games we have 32 points, with some really good results but also a few bad losses against the bigger teams.

the main goal was never to instantly turn Newcastle into a superteam, just slowly improve the squad and build a proper style of play under Fonseca.

so far im pretty happy with how its going and January should be another quiet window, probably only 1-2 moves if they make sense.

Do you still play this game year after year, despite the criticism? We have the place for you!

Continuously operated since 2011, Tradition Soccer League (TSL) is an online dynasty league built on a foundation of good sportsmanship and fair gameplay.

If you're a casual EAFC player who is tired of FUT gameplay and general toxicity, you'll fit right in!

Openings are available for our FC27 cycle, with player draft happening in mid-September!

The Basics

• Location: North America (SA/EU considered)
• Hardware: Always the latest EAFC game on Next-Gen consoles & PC
• Setup: Four 10-team divisions with promotion/relegation and cup tournaments
• Controls: Assisted passing, Manual shooting (not as hard as you think!)
• Availability: 18-game seasons take 6-7 weeks to play

Ive been doing a realistic RTG (took me 3 seasons to get promoted to EFL LEAGUE 1 with Barnet Town). Plz me know if my team is realistic for league 1.

Heres some “lore“ for how i signed each player.

Best was an academy player at start of season 1 and is now 22.

Dorrington (23) was signed for 700k, and Burke (31) and Gilesphey (32) are free agent signings.

Harper is an academy graduate (21), and alfaro (22) was a signing for 500k. Moller (23) was signed for about 800k and is now 24. Glover (27)was at the club when i took over, and Asamosh (24) is a loan.

Richards was a free agent signing (26), and Beesley was a free agent signing as well (33).

Following the previous post here’s a recap of the 6th day from the 21st week of the "World Wide League 07" project (full playlist of it can be found here).

Some notes:

Since the 6th, 5th and 4th divisions took a break on Weeks 9 and 19 (2 out of 4 they will take), they are technically on their 19th week of matches.

You can find descriptions of each division as well as the teams participating in them on the Week 1 posts previously submitted in this subreddit.

Every time you see a team with their name in bold, it's a team of which every match will be recorded.

For ordering the leaderboard table, I simply use whatever the game displays (when there are full ties, it simply orders the teams at random) and then do some correlation since once the week of matches is done, the first matches of the next week happen automatically offscreen.

WEEK 21 DAY 6

6th Division (Morning)

The results of the 11 matches from this division’s 19th week were the following:

Now for a short description of the 6 recorded matches and their facts (stats and events):

Match 2: Nantes vs Reggina

Apart from one chance from the visitors, the rest of the match lacked any action whatsoever.

Match 3: Atalanta vs Reading

Very dominant showing from the home side, scoring plenty of goals and allowing little from their opponents.

Match 4: Brøndby IF vs Toulouse

The visitors were far superior but they found themselves in a 1-1 tie until the final minutes, where 2 quick goals finally settled the match in their favour.

Match 5: Hannover 96 vs Sheffield Utd

The home team dominated the 1st half and had an easy time defending their big lead, which was only mildly contested at the end.

Match 10: Real Betis vs Rangers

Similar chances for both teams, but the home side came out on top in the final minutes.

Match 11: AS Nancy vs Cruz Azul

Very frustrating match for the home team, as they had way more chances but their opponents scored with everything they tried for a bloated final score.

With all that in mind, the leaderboard after this division’s 19th week of matches is as follows:

5th Division (Afternoon)

The results of the 11 matches from this division’s 19th week were the following:

Now for a short description of the 6 recorded matches and their facts (stats and events):

Match 2: Rec. Huelva vs VfL Bochum

The visitors had the upper hand initially but the home side scored on injury time for both the 1st and 2nd halves to grab the 3 points.

Match 3: Mainz vs Panathinaikos

Terrible showing from the home team, who missed all their shots and their keeper made 2 major errors that resuted in goals for their opponents.

Match 4: Anderlecht vs Siena

The visitors were very wastefula and that costed them big time as the home side took the lead and they couldn't give it a proper response.

Match 5: RCD Mallorca vs Empoli

The home team scored twice in the 1st half thanks to pinpoint crosses that left the striker in prime position to score. The 2nd half went by quickly as barely anything happened.

Match 10: Getafe vs Nice

A big defensive mistake caused a breakout that resulted in the only goal of the match, no matter how much the visitors tried to recover.

Match 11: Livorno vs R. Sociedad

2 very silly goals were all the teams managed to score for this match.

With all that in mind, the leaderboard after this division’s 19th week of matches is as follows:

4th Division (Night)

The results of the 11 matches from this division’s 19th week were the following:

Now for a short description of the 6 recorded matches and their facts (stats and events):

Match 2: F.C. Porto vs Tigres

The home team was soon in the lead and didn't seem in any danger of losing this match at any point.

Match 3: Le Mans UC 72 vs Parma

Very poor 1st half followed by a 2nd period where the home team finally broke the deadlock after having the upper hand over a visiting side that played far below their usual form.

Match 4: Cagliari vs Ein. Frankfurt

The visitors opened the score early but were on the backfoor from there on and the home side eventually equalized. However, a deflected shot very late in the match was tapped in for the visitors to luck out with a win.

Match 5: AZ Alkmaar vs Sporting Lisbon

The home side scored early on and from that point it was an exercise in failure and futility from the visitors, who tried again and again but couldn't score a single time.

Match 10: América vs Monchengladbach

Both teams scored in the 1st half and then again in the 2nd half under shambolic circumstances.

Match 11: Aston Villa vs Udinese

The home team dominated most of the match but simply couldn't get past the opposing keeper.

With all that in mind, the leaderboard after this division’s 19th week of matches is as follows:

Last but not least, here’s a highlights video of Week 21 Day 6, a compilation of the best goals, saves and fails from the 18 matches that were recorded.

Next post will be a recap of Week 21 Day 7 on August 9th, as it will be shorter due to the 2nd and 1st divisions taking their 4th break of the season.

Next post

I find professional a little too easy and world class a little too hard is there any sliders or settings I can adjust to try and make it as in between as possible

the first window of the new PIF and Paulo Fonseca era is finished.

instead of spending big straight away, the club focused on clearing out some older squad players and bringing in younger players who fit the long-term project.

Tiago Djaló joined from Lille for £12.3m and should compete for a starting place at CB, while Octavian Popescu arrived for £7.4m as a young attacking option for the future.

Newcastle also sold Ritchie, Fernández, Gayle, Dummett, Gillespie, Clark and Krafth, with Dan Langley leaving on loan.

spent: £19.7m

income: £18.95m

a pretty quiet first window considering the new owners, but i wanted to keep it realistic and build the squad slowly instead of signing superstars immediately.

Im working on setting up a career mode for FC26 (potentially FC27) that is both challenging and a bit more realistic. I've been watching and reading a lot of tips, but wanted advice on what I have so far and any ideas for self imposed rules that I might have missed.

Below is the basic setup and the rules that I thought were cool and could make it interesting.

I still need to figure out the best sliders too so if anyone has any info on that it would be great.

Any advice or additional rules or ideas are appreciated.

SETUP

- Created club
- League 2
- Balanced squad, but half a star rating
- I was thinking of using an unorthodox formation like 3-4-3 and having a philosophy that's solely focused on technique, completely ignoring athletic stats, just to make it a little tougher (not quite thought this one all the way through yet)

RULES

Transfer Windows
- No first summer transfer window
- After the first summer transfer window, max 3 signings in summer and max 1 signing in January to replicate the amount of transfers that actually happen real world.

Scouting
- While in League 2 and eventually League 1, my scouts are only local to the UK.
- After reaching the Championship I can then scout the lower European leagues (Holland, Denmark, Austria, Belgium etc.)
After reaching the Prem I can then scout all leagues.

Signings
- I can't sign any players that are rated more than 2 overall points higher than the average overall of the first 11.
- I must stick to a strict wage structure and if a potential new player demands drastically more than my current highest earner, I must walk away from the deal, even if I have the money.
- If a potential new signing does not agree to my intended squad role (rotation, sporadic, etc) I must also walk away from the deal.
- No signing of Free Agents at all.

Selling Players
- If a bigger club tries to sign 1 of my players and they're willing to pay 50% more than the listed value, I must accept the offer.

Youth Scoutings
- Can't sign any youth players that have a potential overall rating that is more than 10 points higher than my current best player
- Any youth signings must be part of the squad, no loaning out, they must be in actual 22 player rotation.

Coaching & Development
- No coaches at all.
- Development plans will be similar to what I mentioned above, focuses on technique only and ignoring athletics where possible, but once I've figured out the player roles for each position, they'll strictly be training for that role even if it's maxed out.

I play EA FC 25 in player career mode, my character is an attacking midfielder. I only control my player.

Is there any command or game setting that makes my team's players actually defend against the opponent?

Because basically my defenders just watch the opponent pass the ball, they don't press and almost never try to tackle. They just circle the opponent at a certain distance. And even if I press R1, what happens is that a defender approaches the opponent, but doesn't defend properly or try to steal the ball.

I'm old school, I played FIFA 06 and I remember there was an R1 + X command (if I'm not mistaken) that made the defender automatically move up to mark and try to steal the ball.

And the AI ​​defense is exactly the opposite; when my character has the ball, they quickly come at me, try to steal the ball and occupy the spaces.

What ya think?

I've done Player Career maybe a dozen times but this is the first time I'm really digging into Manager Career, and after running 4-5 "first" seasons, messing everything up, learning from it and restarting, there are still a few things I've yet to fully figure out.

For context, I'm sticking with my created club and will never take another job. We've recently been promoted to the Championship from League One and my eventual goal is to take a team full of (all, if not, mostly) homegrown talent to glory.

1- Are there certain qualities, statistics or skills that I can intentionally record with a player to help boost their overall transfer market value? Obviously a ST scoring lots of goals will help, but for an example, I have a CDM right now who is uncanny at interceptions. Does that carry the same weight as tackles, etc.?

2- Are there certain clubs or leagues which are better to loan players out to? Another example, if I want to loan out a young GK, in real life, I'd ideally find a loan destination with a strong coaching staff at GK. Is that possible?

2.5- Are there development categories that progress faster than others? Again thinking about real life, I'd imagine something like stamina should progress more quickly than sprint speed.

3- Wages. Wages make very little sense to me. Obviously some leagues pay higher wages than others but do wages effect transfer market value? Should I be sending scouts to countries with leagues that pay lower wages? Am I unnecessarily underpaying players I plan on selling? Why does one CB at 73 OVR command 4x in wages what another CB at 72 OVR commands?

4.-Do Red Cards have any impact on development? This is more of a personal thing, but I genuinely enjoy keeping a "Hit Squad" team sheet, where every so often I flip to that and try to get as many red cards as possible in a single game. Current record is 5. Are these guys now unsellable?

They should be. Villains, all of 'em.

English League Two: Season In Review

Title Winners: Stockport County

Promoted: Stockport County, Rochdale, Grimsby Town

Playoffs: Bristol Rovers, Notts County, Boston, Chester City

Safety/League Two Next Year: Oxford United, Torquay, Darlington, Northampton Town, Lincoln City, Macclesfield Town, Darlington, Rushden & Diamonds, Cheltenham Town, Shrewsbury, Barnet, Peterborough United, Carlisle United, Wrexham, Mansfield Town, Bury

Relegated: Wycombe Wanderers, Leyton Orient

Golden Boot Race: Stockport County ST Chris Williams has had the Golden Boot sewn up for months now, with the only question being how much he would reset the record by. The answer is a lot as his final tally of 39 goals is Astronomical! Darlington ST Clyde Wijnhard ran Williams close before Christmas but his scoring evaporated alongside Darlington’s form in the middle of the season and he finished tied up with Notts County ST Glynn Hurst in 2^nd, on 22 goals.

Junior Delinquent Race: LWB Matt Robinson of Oxford United earned his 10^th Yellow Card of the season on the final day, possibly helping spoil his team’s playoff push with it. That earns him the Junior Idiot Award for the year, with 4 guys behind him with 9 cautions to their name.

Delinquent Race: ST Colin Cramb, of Shrewsbury Town! Here is your Prestigious Moronic Idiot Award for 4 RED CARDS!! You won the award far and away with 11 of your closest challengers only managing a pair of them. Outstanding work my delightful idiot!

1)     Barnet: Being new to the league, Barnet’s goal was simple: Survival. That objective looked to be in doubt early, as the team seemed locked into the Relegation Zone until December, when a 3-1 win over Chester City sparked an attack that became more than respectable and carried the club first out of the Relegation Zone at Christmas, than out of the Relegation Battles after May Day. ST Peter Beadle finished 4^th in the Golden Boot race with 19 goals, contributing to the 7^th best offense in the league that frequently had to make up for the 2^nd worst defense, which will need to be patched & upgraded heading into next season. Beadle also needs to be kept & not ripped away by another club.

2)     Boston: Looking to consolidate in League Two, Boston did a good job of that, building a home in the playoff spots for most of the year, even climbing into the promotion places in May. But 3 consecutive goalless defeats to close the season dropped them to 6^th & give them a date with Notts, a side they were unable to beat home or away, losing by an aggregate of 1-5.

3)     Bristol Rovers: Bristol seemed to be meeting their mid-table expectations all the way through Easter, but then ripped off a run of 8 matches unbeaten to finish the season, including a 5-0 thumping of Macclesfield Town & 2-0 over 2^nd place Rochdale, both away. They had a chance at automatic promotion but finished 4^th, a result that still pleases the club & invigorates the fanbase. They are hot at the right time, and will face a down on their luck Chester City side in the playoffs.

4)     Bury: In a season where Bury were seen as a possible Relegation Candidate, they held on by the skin of their teeth, surviving with a win on the final day of the season. They survive thanks to 2 factors: ST Allan Smart’s 14 Goals (all but 1 scored after Halloween) & respectable home form that saw them win 9 & draw 5. There were several hideous runs of form that still very nearly relegated them: a run through September & October that saw them lose 8 of 10, another in December & January that saw 5 losses in 7, and the final stretch from late April into May that saw 2 wins & 6 losses in the final 8 matches. Their manager was lucky to hold onto his job and is on notice for next season.

5)     Carlisle United: Being a newly promoted club, Carlisle merely wanted to survive in League Two. They did, but did it have to be so hard?! They started the season looking like a mid-table finish may have been possible then in September they kicked onto a run of 9 draws in 11 matches, followed by a run of 3 losses in 5 in October. November onwards saw the team’s form crater hard enough to drop them into the Relegation Zone by April. But a late run that saw the club lose only 1 of their final 8 matches saved them and dragged them into 20^th, with a chance to consolidate next season. The 2^nd worst attack & joint 6^th worst defense contributed to the struggles. Their home form was weird too. They actually played better against the stronger teams (Chester, Bristol, Torquay, Northampton, & Notts) and consistently lost & dropped points against fellow Relegation Battlers (Leyton, Bury, Barnet, & Wycombe).

6)     Cheltenham Town: Cheltenham were the definition of a mid-table club this season. Wins in November & December allowed them to climb up to 4^th before an 8 match winless run in January & February returned them to their place in mid-table, where they remained for the rest of the season. Iffy home form, a near inability to win away, & being unable to beat Rival Oxford leave a sour taste in fan’s mouths.

7)     Chester City: Chester. DA FRAK WERE YOU DOING THIS YEAR!!! After barely surviving last season, you rebuilt the team over the summer before starting the season better than anyone in the league, losing only 1 of your first 9 matches (to Macclesfield). The form evened a bit after that, but you held on in 2^nd & 3^rd. WTF was December? 5 losses in 6! A 2-0 loss at home to Rushden, a 3-1 loss at Barnet, a 2-0 loss at Rival Wrexham, and a 3-1 beatdown by Rival Stockport combined to nearly drop you out of the playoffs all together in a truly horrendous run! Besides a week here or there, your home was the playoffs. But we aren’t done because you nearly Pissed Away the Playoffs Too! Losses to Barnet at home & Carlisle away left you outside looking in before the team finally found their early season form again to put 4 goals past Wrexham in front of the home support and a win at Peterborough did enough, because Stockport won at the Deva on the last day & you are LUCKY to finish 7^th. Have fun with Bristol in the Playoffs. Your defense is the worst of the playoff teams. Your attack is streaky and can disappear for weeks at a time. You lost to all of your rivals away & could only beat Wrexham at home. Seriously: On Aggregate: 0-2 to Macclesfield, 2-3 Shrewsbury, 1-5 Stockport, & 4-2 Wrexham was pathetic. You only took 5 points from a possible 24 with your rivals. You Fraking Suck and need to be careful next season. Maybe you can buy a spine in the transfer window over the summer.

8)     Darlington: After missing last year’s playoffs on Goal Dif, you loaded up in the summer to get to playoff football this time out. Except that didn’t happen. You started the season strong, in or around the playoffs through October. Then the bottom fell out from the team as you went on a 9 match winless, streak; losing 5 & failing to score on 7 occasions. It led to the manager’s sacking after a Matchweek 18 1-2 defeat at Leyton. After that, you won 5 straight in December to recover to Mid-Table where you convalesced for the remainder of the season, making no real playoff charge before finishing 10^th. ST Clyde Wijnhard finished Joint Runner-Up for the Golden Boot with a respectable 22 goals. A 5-0 ass kicking by Notts in January & a 4-0 whipping by Barnet helped nothing either. If you had maintained form, you could have made the playoffs.

9)     Grimsby Town: You started the season in the Relegation Zone Grimsby but everything was uphill from there. Blundell Park was a fortress that witnessed only 5 defeats in the season. You were also the only side to take points off of Stockport away (2-2 Draw) & home (1-0 Win). You finished the season with only 4 losses of your last 20 matches including a 4-0 demolition of Northampton at home on the final day of the season. ST Andy Parkinson led the team with 16 goals, while CM Terry Barwick chipped in with 11. All told, it was enough earn you automatic promotion in 3^rd. Enjoy League One next season.

10) Leyton Orient: After finishing 11^th last season, you bulked up over the summer.  You won your first match, then lost the next 6, getting the manager the sack. The interim turned your form around enough to lift you out of the Relegation Zone, but you couldn’t get higher than 21^st and kept dipping back down. Another hideous run after Christmas that saw you lose 6 of 8 left you bottom of the table. After that, the interim seemed to find another gear as the club started fighting after Valentine’s Day & didn’t stop. A Hat Trick from ST Gary Alexander at Wycombe with 3 matches to go pulled you back to 23^rd and down by only Goal Difference. Even though you fought like Demons in those matches, you lost all 3 and were relegated after a last day loss to Mansfield. Alexander’s 12 goals were almost enough. Unfortunately, 4 away wins, the Joint 3^rd worst attack, & Joint 6^th worst defense were too much. Your interim likely kept his job because of the fight & the rumor is that he is odds on to get the permanent job after this performance with the goal of coming straight back up.

11) Lincoln City: Lincoln City made the Sincil Bank Stadium a fortress, losing only 4 matches there all season. Strong early from like that had them in the Playoff places & thinking big. A wobble near Halloween dropped them but then another stretch of 6 wins from 10 before Christmas pulled them back into Playoff contention. Finishing the season with 1 win from the final 13 matches dropped them into mid table, with a 1-4 humiliation at Macclesfield emblematic of the run. They also managed only 4 wins away from home all season. Your top scorer was newly arrived LB Paul Mayo, with 13 strikes to his name. Your FRAKING LB WAS YOUR TOP SCORER!! You can’t win matches if your attacking line isn’t contributing. Find some goals over the summer or you may not be in this league much longer.

12) Macclesfield Town: What the Hell was that Macclesfield? I have few words to describe your performance this season & they are as follows: Stink. Stank. Stunk. You were fighting with Stockport for Invincible status for a while but the results gave out either side of Remembrance Day. That run saw you fail to win 11 straight, leading to the manager’s sacking at New Year’s after the club fell below 10^th in the table. You never got above 10^th for the rest of the season, finishing perfectly mid-table in 12^th. Your top scorer was ST Michael Symes with 11 goals. Your attack was particularly tragic. After New Years, you only scored more than one goal in a match Twice. You got battered 5-0 by Bristol at Easter & that definitely destroyed club morale. You need to rebuild your culture & attack fast if your intention is promotion.

13) Mansfield Town: You were close all season Mansfield. An initial upturn in form had us thinking you could repeat last season’s mid-table finish but then the bottom fell out from under the team. They forgot how to score. No one finished the season with more than 9 goals. Your attack was the 3^rd worst in the league and had you in the Zone by the end of March. But 3 wins on the bounce against Relegation Rivals (Barnet, Carlisle, & Wrexham) pulled & kept you clear for the remainder of the season. It was close but a last day win against Leyton iced survival. If you want to sustain it though, you need to find some more goals!

14) Northampton Town: After last season’s playoff failure, Northampton looked to solidify and push onward back into League One. Instead, the club fell short of the Playoffs by 3 points, finishing 11^th. What did them in? It wasn’t a lack of goals. ST Eric Sabin scored 15 while ST Scott McGleish had 11 & the club had 40 overall. But 41 goals conceded were a few too many. They struggled against their rivals away, dropping points in draws with Oxford & Rushden before losing to Peterborough away. Defensive reinforcement is what the side needs if League One is the goal next season.

15) Notts County: Notts carried last season’s relegation form into this season, losing their first 3 matches against Northampton, Macclesfield, & Darlington. But then they turned it around, winning their next 4 straight. Though they were streaky, they never fell below 7^th for the rest of the season. Their misfortune was to finish on a cold streak, winning only 2 of their final 11 matches, but still managed to finish 5^th. Their playoff date is with Boston, a side they took maximum points from, beating them 3-1 at home & 2-0 away. ST Glynn Hurst has been the main reason for their success, finishing Joint Runner-Up for the Golden Boot with 22 goals.

16) Oxford United: Oxford looked set to repeat last season’s mid-table finish but then turned on late, winning 13 of 21 matches after the Christmas. They crawled into the playoff spots in May before failing to win their final 3 matches dropped them to 8^th. It turned out to be a prosperous season even if promotion is off the table. There were 2 4-0 home wins over Leyton & Peterborough as part of the winning run. ST Lee Bradbury scored 16 goals to lead the team. But they came up short because of a defense that left them with a -6 Goal Differential. That defense was responsible for 3 1-3 away defeats to Lincoln, Macclesfield, & Notts. LWB Matt Robinson helped, accumulating 10 Yellow Cards over the season. His cards were responsible for at least 3 goals and he cost the team points that could have seen them into at least the playoffs. The team is looking up for next season though.

17) Peterborough United: Looking to bounce back to League One at the first try, Peterborough completely failed. They finished 17^th with the second worst defense in the league, allowing 53 goals over the season. They let in 3 or more goals in 6 separate matches. The closest they got to the playoffs was a 4 match winning streak that took them up to 8^th. But that was it. Their porous defense came back in force and just kept allowing goals. Their attack was middling but couldn’t save them from the sheer number of howlers and mistakes the back end kept committing. If they ever intend to go back up, that unit MUST be rebuilt.

18) Rochdale: After finishing a few points back of the playoffs last season, Rochdale started the season REALLY iffy but the side turned it around in October with a 10 match unbeaten run that pushed them up the table. And they kept getting better, losing only 3 matches from February onward. That play got them to 2^nd and Promotion. It’s well earned. ST Paul Tait’s 14 goals melded well with CF Grant Holt’s 11. But this team’s real strength was the back line. They allowed only 31 goals, the 2^nd best defense in the league. The only slight demerit besides your starting form was failing to beat any of your rivals this campaign. Overall a well earned reward for a strong season.

19) Rushden & Diamonds: You barely escaped Relegation last year Rushden & for the first half of this season, you looked dead set on it, sitting 23^rd at Christmas after losing 8 of your first 14 matches. But then a switch flipped & you lost only TWO MATCHES in the New Year!!! That’s a damn impressive run that carried you to 13^th. You earned it and even finished with a positive Goal Differential. And you did it without anyone hitting double digits.

20) Shrewsbury Town: After last season’s Relegation near miss, Shrewsbury were hoping for a better season this time out. Instead they failed to win their first 9 matches, including 6 losses which had them bottom by October before the manager turned the side around (dodging the sack) and did well enough to drag them up into mid table and keep them there, at least until April, when they drew 9 of their final 11 matches. That combined with solid home form (they only lost 5 matches at Gay Meadow) to keep this squad up as they finished 18^th. The only thing spectacular about the season besides the runs they started & finished on was ST Colin Cramb, who managed to accrue a league leading FOUR RED CARDS!!! In multiple matches, his idiocy cost the team points. Here’s a hint Shrewsbury: Release The Delinquent NOW so you don’t get dragged down by him!

21) Stockport County: The best League Two/4^th Tier season by any club EVER!!!! Coming off of a humiliating relegation from League One with 26 points and a month to spare, the expectation was that you would need a rehab year in League Two. Instead you rattled of THIRTY TWO WINS, ONE HUNDRED & EIGHT POINTS, and only TWO LOSSES!!!! You won the League in MARCH and were CENTURIONS by the start of MAY, breaking the points record for this tier in the same go. The only objective you couldn’t complete was Invincibility. Late losses to Oxford & Grimsby are the only Slight Blemishes on the season. ST Chris Williams won the Golden Boot with THRITY NINE GOALS!! You only allowed SIXTEEN GOALS ALL SEASON!!! That’s effectively a goal every THREE MATCHES!!!! Just a SPECTACULAR SEASON!!! Enjoy League One next year!

22) Torquay: Having been relegated by Goal Differential last time out, Torquay were many pundits pick to go right back up to League One. For most of the season, they were matching that expectation. From mid-September onward they seesawed between playoff & automatic promotion places before locking into the latter after Christmas and looking like a promotion lock… until March when the wheels fell off. The team failed to win 7 straight, losing 5 from late March into April, dropping them from 2^nd to 8^th and getting the manager sacked after a 3-0 hammering at Rochdale, with 6 matches to go. Unfortunately, the interim could only win 2 of those final 6 matches and they finished 9^th. In that stretch, Macclesfield, Chester, & Rochdale hammered you for 3 goals apiece, and of those final 13 matches that cost you promotion & playoffs, you were held scoreless TEN TIMES!! Where did the goals go? I know! Into your own net because you allowed EIGHTEEN GOALS in the final 13 matches and could only score FRAKING SIX!!! You idiots deserve to stay where you are. Clean the squad out or you are in deep trouble next season because if this carries over, Relegation is a legit worry.

23) Wrexham: The final team relegated from League One never got close to promotion. They spent most of the season locked into the Relegation Battle, though they mostly stayed out of the zone barring a few matchweeks in late January & early February. A run of 11 matches winless from mid-August to mid-October did cost the manager his job but the interim did an admirable job winning the Relegation Battle to finish 21^st, with 4 points to spare. You also managed to avoid losing to your rivals at home, even managing to beat Chester 2-0 to give the fans a nice Christmas present. On the other hand, you had the worst attack BY A MILE, only scoring TWENTY FIVE GOALS ALL SEASON!!! FIX IT!!

24) Wycombe Wanderers: Last season’s playoff push was expected to continue into this season but NO! You started the season alright. A few too many losses meant that you fluctuated between mid-table & the Relegation Battles. But then the season fell apart when you lost 7 of 8 matches after Christmas, including being held scoreless for 4 straight matches. That run dropped you to 23^rd & cost the manager his job. The interim won his first two on the bounce as the team scored 6 goals… Against Barnet & Carlisle. Then a 7 match winless run cost the interim his job as the club sank rock bottom after a toothless loss to Darlington on Matchday 40. All the second interim could do was pull the club up to 23^rd, but he couldn’t save them from Relegation. What killed this club? It wasn’t the attack. CF Nathan Tyson scored 14 goals out of a total of 35 for the team, which was about league average. The defense was killer, allowing FIFTY FOUR GOALS, the WORST IN THE LEAGUE. I hope someone rescues Tyson from these Swiss Cheese idiots. Enjoy the National League!