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As I mentioned in another thread the other day I am currently in the midst of a journey of taking Dale from League One to become the kings of Europe.
For anyone even slightly interested, my first season ended with me blowing automatic promotion on the last day having been 5 points clear of 3rd with 4 games left. It was a three way battle all season with Wigan Athletic and Charlton Athletic and I ended up in the playoffs.path of Oliver Rathbone to lash home the leveller. A nervy extra time period could produce no more goals and so it went to penalties.
Josh Lillis saved two of the four kicks he faced with Noble-Lazarus and Vincenti scoring, whilst Camps and Henderson having their efforts saved. Then Lillis made a cracking stop from Ward and we had the chance to win promotion to the Championship. Up stepped Rathbone, the hero already, to secure his status as a legend of Spotland with an absolute belter down the middle.
The board decided we needed to invest in youth and avoid relegation but I wasn't having that. I was after a top half finish. I allowed Henderson to leave and brought in a young striker from Charlton for £500,000. Karlen Ahearn-Grant. My other signing was Mark Marshall from Bradford and I brought 4 or 5 players in from the youth team.
They say it's the best way to go up right! Well after 46 matches and around 15 hours of playing FIFA I ended up with Blackburn Rovers over two legs. I lost 1-0 at Ewood Park and was all set to go out when Callum Camps tapped in a cross on 85 minutes to take the tie into extra time and I ended up winning 3-0 to get to Wembley.
There I faced Rotherham United, who I'd beaten twice in the regular season and so fancied my chances. On 73 minutes they broke the deadlock and it looked like I was consigned to another week of late nights trying to get out of the third tier.
However, in INJURY TIME, a lucky deflection found Ian Henderson who laid it into the
I lost 4 of my first 6 without winning and was humped 5-1 at home by Brighton. I feared the worst but eventually tinkered with the system and things got better. Then better still. Then even better.
After 44 games I had just climbed to 5th, into the playoffs for the first time all season. All I needed to do was to take 3 points from the final 6. I drew both. On the last day of the season I was 1-0 up against Wigan and seemingly in the playoffs when late on Tim Chow struck from 25 yards and completely shafted us. Worst still as I pressed for the winner Chow bundled over my young striker Ed Mason and the ref waived play on.
Chow was the new villain of Spotland, Birmingham took the final play off place and I, still playing at 4am, was tired and most vexed. The star of the season was Ahearne-Grant who ended with 16 goals.
So to the 3rd season. Lillis departed and in came a new keeper from Germany, whose name I cannot recall but something like Hause Altotag. I signed Josh Ginnelly and Fred Onyadinma and promoted yet more youths.
This season has been incredible so far. Rochdale are top scorers and have the best defence. It started with a three way battle between us, Hull City and Bristol City. The Tigers slightly faded and Norwich City of all teams came on strong.
After 29 games Rochdale are top of the Championship, 3 ahead of Bristol City and 7 ahead of Norwich City. I won 3-1 at Norwich in a top of the table clash, but in late January I have just drawn 1-1 at home in the league with a last minute leveller and then lost 3-2 at Carrow Road in the FA Cup 4th Round.
Other highlights include Ahearn-Grant on 19 goals already, with 17 games left to play and a 1-0 loss at Chelsea in the League Cup where I played the youths, battered them (11 shots to 3 and 56% possession) but lost to the luckiest, most deflected Diego Costa shot.
I'll complete the season tonight. All being well Rochdale will then be in the Premier League and my 3 year plan of top half, Europe, Champions League will come into play. I'm going to keep going until Rochdale are Champions of Europe. My aim is to win the CL within 15 years.
That's if the board don't sack me! They are genuinely delighted with the league progress but keep getting annoyed that I am failing to meet targets (anyone else had this?). They've asked me to make a profit of £17m this season (in the Championship) and the squad is only worth £9m!
So I would need to sell the entire squad, replace them with youth players and somehow get 30,000 into Spotland every week!
I'll post my progress on this thread if one person shows any kind of interest! Lol.
Any FIFA fanatics amongst us? on 18:35 - Jun 13 by CanavanOfLove
PS4.
I don't give out my tag publically as I rarely play online and it gives away my secret identity lol.
EPISODE 9 - CHAMPIONS AGAIN
I will admit to almost being a little bored this season as I have run away with the Premier League. I'm on Legendary settings and every match I am still referred to as the underdog. My best player is only 81 skill.
I have just got the perfect system, the perfect players for it and have been incredibly lucky with injury. I made an incredible start and have been 10-15 points clear from the turn of the year and with Man Utd, Arsenal, Spurs and Leicester all roundabout the same points they've been taking them off each other whilst I continued to win.
As fate would have it I had the chance to seal the league title with 4 games to spare when Arsenal, the only team left that could catch me, came to Spotland. You can't write a better script that winning it 1-0 with the last kick of the match. Sub Ethan Baker, a proper cult hero now (which I'll come onto) scored to seal a second successive Premier League title for Dale.
I have those four games left plus an FA Cup Final against Arsenal. This is the first FA Cup final I have reached, having won the League Cup before, this is a chance to now complete all the domestic trophies.
I can't help feeling the cup has our name on it. In the Quarter Finals against Spurs we came back from 2-0 down at home to draw 2-2 only for Bentaleb to put Spurs ahead on 87 minutes. Gutted.
However, Callum Camps headed home on 90 minutes to make it 3-3 and unbelievably Ethan Baker still had time to win a penalty which he converted with a panenka to send us to Wembley!
There we were ahead 1-0 against relegation threatened Sunderland and cruising but they took it to extra time with a second half leveller and then took the lead in the second half of extra time. With 115 minutes on the clock that kid Baker (yet again!) scored a crucial goal (He's a fringe midfielder that barely plays that has won us the League Cup, the League Title, saved us in this Semi Final and scored that dramatic winner against Spurs to get us to Wembley!).
Then Ahearne-Grant, who has an astonishing 25 Premier League goals, grabbed the winner in the dying seconds to defeat Sunderland 3-2 and set up that final with the Arsenal, for a chance at the double.
There was heartbreak however in the last 16 of the Champions League. We lost 1-0 away to Napoli and then went 1-0 down at home but scored twice to level on aggregate. Despite Martyn Tyler and Alan Smith reminding me constantly we were going out on away goals I just could not score again.
Tonight I'll wrap up the season, play the FA Cup final and hope the board give me some proper money. As I have cruised this season I will also reduce the squad size and tweak the difficulty settings to make it a little more difficult.
I still think it's about right but I have just been very lucky with injuries and the way fixtures have fallen (going out of the League Cup early probably helped).
I am hoping the board give me some serious money to actually start buying World Class players. It would be interesting to see how far I can take this team. If I win the league at a canter again next year I may end this career and start all over again in League One, but ultimately I want to keep going until I win the Champions League with Dale.
Another option if I do continue to dominate easily (and I don't exact hammer teams, I just happen to win a lot of games by a goal) then I may even have to have a Malaga style meltdown where I release my top players for buttons and have to start again in the Premier League with a threadbare squad.
[Post edited 15 Jun 2017 9:55]
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Any FIFA fanatics amongst us? on 10:05 - Jun 15 with 1583 views
Any FIFA fanatics amongst us? on 18:35 - Jun 13 by CanavanOfLove
PS4.
I don't give out my tag publically as I rarely play online and it gives away my secret identity lol.
EPISODE 10 - The Double
With the title sewn up I then lost back to back games for the first time in the Premier League at home on both occasions. A 2-0 defeat against Southampton was followed by a 2-0 loss to Liverpool. In fairness I was now playing largely kids to see who impressed. Nobody was the answer.
On the final day I was also 1-0 down to Swansea and worried that my form would have gone heading into the cup final but I turned it around to win 2-1 and headed to Wembley to take on Arsenal.
We completely outclassed the Gunners but couldn't find a way past Oblak in goal. It was looking like extra time but then big Senegalese full back Keite Sane popped up against all the odds in the area to slot home from a tight angle after another Oblak save and on 78 minutes Dale had their winner.
So the double was achieved which means I now have in my first 5 season - 2 Premier League titles. 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Championship Runners Up, 1 League One Play Off winners.
We finished the season with £162m in the bank after Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup money.
What did the board give me? Bloody £13m. Better than £9m last season but almost all that vanished upping wages from £20k a week to £30-40k a week for my top players. Similar players at other clubs are getting £50k + so I am still underpaying. So I bought two £4m players, a new right sided forward and a right midfielder. To just about improve the squad but not by much.
So that's £310m I have raised in prize money in two years and £22m that I have been allowed to spend. The board are living the high life I tell you that!
My second charity shield ended in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United. I lost 4-2 on penalties for a second successive defeat in the Wembley curtain raiser.
That's 6 trips to Wembley now in 5 seasons and 4 wins (1 on penalties) and 2 losses (1 on penalties).
I started 2021/22 with a 2-0 win at Spurs, followed by a 3-0 win against Liverpool at Spotland where they outplayed me and I scored two goals in injury time as they were pushing for an equaliser first and then a consolation.
The draw for the Champions League is imminent. I don't have much chance given the lack of investment from the board which is very frustrating but we'll give it a go.
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Any FIFA fanatics amongst us? on 09:16 - Jun 16 with 1514 views
Any FIFA fanatics amongst us? on 10:05 - Jun 15 by CanavanOfLove
EPISODE 10 - The Double
With the title sewn up I then lost back to back games for the first time in the Premier League at home on both occasions. A 2-0 defeat against Southampton was followed by a 2-0 loss to Liverpool. In fairness I was now playing largely kids to see who impressed. Nobody was the answer.
On the final day I was also 1-0 down to Swansea and worried that my form would have gone heading into the cup final but I turned it around to win 2-1 and headed to Wembley to take on Arsenal.
We completely outclassed the Gunners but couldn't find a way past Oblak in goal. It was looking like extra time but then big Senegalese full back Keite Sane popped up against all the odds in the area to slot home from a tight angle after another Oblak save and on 78 minutes Dale had their winner.
So the double was achieved which means I now have in my first 5 season - 2 Premier League titles. 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Championship Runners Up, 1 League One Play Off winners.
We finished the season with £162m in the bank after Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup money.
What did the board give me? Bloody £13m. Better than £9m last season but almost all that vanished upping wages from £20k a week to £30-40k a week for my top players. Similar players at other clubs are getting £50k + so I am still underpaying. So I bought two £4m players, a new right sided forward and a right midfielder. To just about improve the squad but not by much.
So that's £310m I have raised in prize money in two years and £22m that I have been allowed to spend. The board are living the high life I tell you that!
My second charity shield ended in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United. I lost 4-2 on penalties for a second successive defeat in the Wembley curtain raiser.
That's 6 trips to Wembley now in 5 seasons and 4 wins (1 on penalties) and 2 losses (1 on penalties).
I started 2021/22 with a 2-0 win at Spurs, followed by a 3-0 win against Liverpool at Spotland where they outplayed me and I scored two goals in injury time as they were pushing for an equaliser first and then a consolation.
The draw for the Champions League is imminent. I don't have much chance given the lack of investment from the board which is very frustrating but we'll give it a go.
EPISODE 11 - The Greatest Night In Rochdale's History
The Premier League campaign has started well but has been much more difficult than in previous seasons, partly due to me making slight tweaks to the settings to raise the difficulty level.
We started with 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats which puts us 3rd on 14 points, ahead of 5 other teams on goal difference. Chelsea are top with 19 and Liverpool second with 18. A third straight title is going to be tricky looking at the state of things.
I used the transfer window to release some squad players. Reuben Noble-Lazarus asked to leave and sadly his wish was granted. What a player he's been for the last 5 seasons. He went off to Blackburn in the Championship for £2m and I couldn't turn down £3.5m for Josh Ginnelly, with it being twice his value even though I wanted to keep him. Bristol City were the lucky recipients of me not needing four very good players who can all play wide on the left.
The Champions League draw was greeted by pandemonium at Spotland. BARCELONA were drawn with us as were Monaco and, for the second season running, Wolfsburg.
We started with a 0-0 draw with Monaco before Barcelona came to town. Never have I played FIFA like it. I completely dominated them from start to finish, won 2-0 and should have battered them.
This was followed by a 3-1 win in Wolfsburg to put us within touching distance of qualification. Unfortunately I have to wait until Matchday 6 to take Dale into the Camp Nou. I just hope I'm through by then!!!
This career is showing some unusual quirks though and a bogey team has emerged. In m first Premier League season I lost 6 games, last year 8 and this season 2 so far. 16 defeats in all. In that time I have only lost 7 away and THREE of them have come at the Britannia Stadium.
Stoke have beaten me on all three occasions I have gone there. The first season I could have clinched the title there but the loss postponed it for a week. Last season I was soundly beaten there. Last night I went down 2-1 and I just cannot seem to get a result there - which I am blaming on the ridiculous pattern they've cut in the grass. Clearly far too distracting!
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Any FIFA fanatics amongst us? on 09:26 - Jun 16 with 1506 views
Any FIFA fanatics amongst us? on 09:16 - Jun 16 by CanavanOfLove
EPISODE 11 - The Greatest Night In Rochdale's History
The Premier League campaign has started well but has been much more difficult than in previous seasons, partly due to me making slight tweaks to the settings to raise the difficulty level.
We started with 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats which puts us 3rd on 14 points, ahead of 5 other teams on goal difference. Chelsea are top with 19 and Liverpool second with 18. A third straight title is going to be tricky looking at the state of things.
I used the transfer window to release some squad players. Reuben Noble-Lazarus asked to leave and sadly his wish was granted. What a player he's been for the last 5 seasons. He went off to Blackburn in the Championship for £2m and I couldn't turn down £3.5m for Josh Ginnelly, with it being twice his value even though I wanted to keep him. Bristol City were the lucky recipients of me not needing four very good players who can all play wide on the left.
The Champions League draw was greeted by pandemonium at Spotland. BARCELONA were drawn with us as were Monaco and, for the second season running, Wolfsburg.
We started with a 0-0 draw with Monaco before Barcelona came to town. Never have I played FIFA like it. I completely dominated them from start to finish, won 2-0 and should have battered them.
This was followed by a 3-1 win in Wolfsburg to put us within touching distance of qualification. Unfortunately I have to wait until Matchday 6 to take Dale into the Camp Nou. I just hope I'm through by then!!!
This career is showing some unusual quirks though and a bogey team has emerged. In m first Premier League season I lost 6 games, last year 8 and this season 2 so far. 16 defeats in all. In that time I have only lost 7 away and THREE of them have come at the Britannia Stadium.
Stoke have beaten me on all three occasions I have gone there. The first season I could have clinched the title there but the loss postponed it for a week. Last season I was soundly beaten there. Last night I went down 2-1 and I just cannot seem to get a result there - which I am blaming on the ridiculous pattern they've cut in the grass. Clearly far too distracting!
NT
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Any FIFA fanatics amongst us? on 09:27 - Jun 16 with 1504 views
Any FIFA fanatics amongst us? on 09:26 - Jun 16 by CanavanOfLove
NT
EPISODE 11 - This Feels Awfully Familiar
Despite a less than ideal start to the season, the Rochdale train is now rolling.
Just past the half way point of the season and we've just taken over at the top of the league from Liverpool after beating the 3-1 at Anfield. We sit on 41 points ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, whilst Man City, Spurs and Chelsea all have 39 points.
For the first season in my three years in the Premier League we are not miles ahead. It's much more enjoyable I have to say.
We qualified from the Champions League with ease. A 2-0 win at home to Barcelona was eclipsed by a new biggest night in Rochdale's history with a 3-0 (!) win at the Nou Camp. We finished top of the group and that away win dumped Barca into the Europa League.
For the second year running we have Napoli in the last 16. I am hoping we don't become Arsenal to their Bayern Munich. We lost on away goals last time. I'm determined to go through.
We are also into the League Cup Semi Finals and have League One surprise package Scunthorpe over two legs. I'm as confident as I can be we'll be in the final.
So we are currently on to win everything. Once that happens I'll be leaving Rochdale to join another club lower down the leagues and try to rise again. But I don't expect to win everything. My team is worse than last season.
I've missed the players I sold and the replacements are okay. I am on course to bank another £100 + million but expect the board will be their usual generous selves and I am now getting close to not being able to buy a player to improve the squad.
Still. Rochdale have just hammered Barcelona home and away, are top of the Premier League, almost at Wembley in the League Cup final and are FA Cup holders. I won't grumble too much!
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Any FIFA fanatics amongst us? on 08:42 - Jun 20 with 1325 views
Any FIFA fanatics amongst us? on 09:26 - Jun 16 by CanavanOfLove
NT
Episode 12- Life After Castegren
I'd never really wondered about the decision making process of sleep deprived chairmen on transfer deadline day until I made a very silly move last night.
My star player Kamal Castegren was now 81 ability and valued at £18m when a host of clubs came calling. Watford made the biggest bid of £34.5m and instead of just rejecting it I made a counter offer.
See that kind of money is pointless because any player of the same ability would break my wage structure. So the offer would have to be ridiculous. So I set Watford a ridiculous £60m. They did the ridiculous and agreed it. That was that.
The best player I've ever managed on FIFA was gone. £50m in the back towards a replacement. I eventually settled on Guedes from Benfica who would play on the other side and so I'll use a remaining squad player to fill in for now in Castegren's spot and see what the summer brings.
We are now top on our own and 7 ahead of 3rd. Liverpool are the main challengers 3 points behind us. It's looking like another stroll to the title.
We got past Scunthorpe 3-0 on aggregate using squad players to reach another Wembley final against Arsenal. I was delighted that their beast of a keeper Oblak moved to Barca. He was a proper nemesis.
So at the start of February we are top of the Premier League, in the League Cup Final and have a Champions League last 16 tie with Napoli and an FA Cup 4th Round Replay with Brentford to look forward to.
Even if I were to win the lot I still don't think I'll get over the decision to sell Castegren. I may even make him my main transfer target but he's probably on £100k a week now, well above my £40k ceiling!
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