Football Manager - I turned Millwall into the most aggressive team in the world - Part VII

I turned Millwall into the most aggressive team in the world - Part VII
When you are 1-0 in the halftime of a match
4 way 'draw' for Serie A
This is a tribute to Jordan Sinnott, a loyal player who elevated my team to new levels and brought us into the football league. Rest in peace Jordan, rest in peace...
What a career to be proud of.
A quick tip on how to stop the board selling your wonderkids over your head
Me and Man City both went on a bad run. Next thing I know I’m taking part in ”El Sackico”
Thierry Henry returned to Arsenal as manager on no less than four separate occasions on my save - here's the story of what happened.
I am numb to this pain.
You've heard of Dennis Pennis. Well here's...
Me when I put my u18s team out for the carabao cup 3rd round and when I score the information pops up *Liverpool move up to 2nd position.*
My Save Knew What The People Wants
Sold James Maddison for £145 million to Man Utd...
Interesting deal...
Ah, that FM Mobile... When you're about to play champions league final, but half of your team is on the way to Copa America
Spurs winning the CL final against a Ronaldo-led Juventus side, despite having to play a half-injured Dier in goal for 70+ minutes after both their goalkeepers got injured early on.
What a career this man had
Houston, we have a major problem
Read: First season at Sheffield Wednesday
just what you want to see from your captain
Die a hero or see yourself become the villain. (I have become Chealse)
why are my scouts so slow?
Loan or stay at U23?
I’m going to call 999, this is a disgusting crime......
*visible confusion*

I turned Millwall into the most aggressive team in the world - Part VII

Posted: 01 Feb 2020 01:32 AM PST

Links to Part I / II / III / IV / V / VI

Previously, on "I turned Millwall into the most aggressive team in the world"

Despite the arrival of icons like Ashley Barnes, the club's third season has been a disaster so far. Our form has been consistently inconsistent, and as we approach the festive period I've already survived not one, but two board meetings. Things need to improve, and fast. On the brighter side, we've already amassed eight red cards!

Empire

I am keen to widen our horizons. We cannot be insular. I want Millwall to be a household name around the world, a global byword for vile antifootball. To this end I convince the board that we need a new foreign affiliate.

They let me choose the team myself. After some deliberation, and a failed attempt at picking Stoke (apparently beyond the M25 doesn't count as abroad), the choice is obvious. Canelas 2010. A team so brutal the rest of their league once boycotted their games, leading to them challenging for promotion through default victories.

My plan is to help them out by loaning them a load of aggressive youngsters. As it turns out, our efforts probably hinder them more than anything, but it gives some of our lads some vital European experience at least.

https://preview.redd.it/0kkzb3tu4ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ad0fdc8e324f0502a2a8c5a122b54fd56442425

January Reinforcements

Aside from the loss of Ben Pearson, our summer transfer dealings were actually quite solid. Barnes, though old, is more than capable, and Travis and Rafferty brought some much-needed youthful (well, mid-20's) shithousery to the club. Cattermole is Cattermole.

Our January business is, for the most part, similarly sensible. Grabara joins permanently from Liverpool for a reasonable £1.7m, and I extend Molumby's loan deal for what will be a fourth consecutive year. Darragh Lenihan, sadly, continues to reject all our approaches

We also sign much-hyped right back Darnell Fisher – yet another ex-Preston player. Jason McCarthy is sold to make way. In truth there's very little between them, but Fisher excels where it matters most: Argues with referees. Winds up opponents. Dives into tackles.

The sensible signings (if Fisher even counts as sensible) stop there. Channelling my inner Arsène Wenger, I ignore the glaring issues in the squad – namely a lack of creativity and pace – and sign 29-year-old Swedish centre back Alexander Milosevic for £450k – his aggression was too much to resist…

https://preview.redd.it/yjku4um05ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=92ee9fa28871252605d22c3f11d191ca22c711fc

If such a thing was even possible, the average pace of the team drops even more with our final January deal. My scouts inform me that a certain Brazilian madman is available on a free after being released by Palmeiras – none other than Felipe Melo! He's retiring in a year, but I convince him that playing alongside Lee Cattermole would be a fitting end to his career. Cattermole and Melo in one team… Is this even legal?

https://preview.redd.it/6dn1a9py4ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=62061ed4e439f07b0a2f0d1f51c35913a2e56eb7

Drunk with power, I feel for the first time that all our targets are more attainable than initially thought. But this elation doesn't last long. Audacious bids for Vidal, Fellaini, Suarez, and Diego Costa go nowhere. Mark Noble, another potential target, has inexplicably agreed a lucrative move to China(!)

https://preview.redd.it/st40w4t25ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90f884b1bd646a7ed440b18e6fd57b1123e17d1c

Gegenfouling: The Return

Despite my signings suggesting otherwise, it's obvious, even to me, that one factor contributing to our defensive issues has been the complete lack of pace at the back. Maybe I should have realised earlier that building a back line of veteran British lumps wouldn't end well.

To get our season back on track I do two things. I abandon the attempt to play with a back four, and move to a variation of the 5-3-2 that we'd had success with in my first season – instead now pushing a centre midfielder forward into an advanced playmaking role. I also play our fastest defender, completely-out-of-his-depth-U19-youngster John Ford, in a covering role.

It works. We beat Wigan, QPR, and Hull with clean sheets in all three games. If only I'd done this earlier. Despite this run we're still 19th in the league, showing just how desperate the situation had become. Unfortunately we don't make it four in a row – Milosevic proving his Millwall credentials with a sending off in a defeat to Reading, our tenth of the year. We bounce back in style, though, with perhaps the most faithful demonstration of Gegenfouling ever seen:

https://preview.redd.it/bsoaclga5ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=87a83469efee8b984363cf9820cb1a7f94ae4034

Thirty-five fouls. Zero cards. Felipe Melo committed ten fouls himself, averaging one every six minutes (presumably the referee being too afraid to actually caution him) before being replaced by Cattermole at the hour mark. One-nil to the Millwall.

The Unholy Trinity

Right from the start, I had pinpointed the traits that would define our club, and attempted to spread these like a virus amongst our players through training and mentoring.

Winds Up Opponents / Argues With Officials / Dives Into Tackles / Gets Crowd Going

At this moment our squad contains three Shithouse Legends, an unholy trinity of anti-football heroes who possess all four traits – veteran striker Joe Garner is joined by new arrivals Lewis Travis and Joe Rafferty.

https://preview.redd.it/w36ts1xt6ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f461c0888055cb0680b17351ee314bf1fa22caf4

As is now becoming tradition, every single new recruit is forced to learn to dive into tackles in a kind of boot camp, and, rather brilliantly, our entire outfield squad now do this. As for the other traits, pickup has been glacial. With the various new additions to the squad, I take the opportunity to completely overhaul the mentoring units. It works – within weeks the likes of Karamoko and Toney finally learn some of the key abilities demanded of a Millwall player.

https://preview.redd.it/ipnynw7n5ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fbaabe913c2c0073eab7eb9fe2f370accc0ecf93

For the shining example of what Millwall training can do, however, look no further than Tyler Burey. From a promising youth winger to a bastard wing back. I reward him with a four-year contract extension.

https://preview.redd.it/t2p16ljm6ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=11447ef186ed0f7a90eb1522df6f87a4550dc3e5

Déjà Vu. All Over Again.

The Forest game starts a run of eight games unbeaten. Our fouls count drops to 24 a game, but we pick up two more disciplinary fines in impressive draws against Derby and title-chasing Fulham. Even my gamble in replacing John Ford with Karamoko in the heart of defence pays off – despite him naturally preferring a midfield role. We're up in 12th position, our highest so far this year, and if we can continue this form the playoffs are a definite possibility.

Typically, just at the time things start to look positive, it all comes crashing down. We're hammered by Norwich, somehow only losing 2-1, and follow this up with two dire goalless draws. Grabara winning player of the match in one of them tells its own story.

A decent win at home to struggling Sheffield United, with Fisher getting booked and scoring the only goal of the game, is followed by yet another 1-0 defeat to rivals Brentford, and a 1-1 draw to Bristol City – my players unable to repeat their feat of injuring most of their players this time around, costing us any chance of victory.

With four games remaining, we now need to win them all to stand any chance at sneaking into a playoff position. It isn't to be – we fall to Birmingham at the first hurdle, but I can't fault my team. Seven yellows and two reds – Travis' third of the year, and Milosevic's second in half a season. At least we failed playing the Millwall Way – persistent fouling and a dismissal for "ungentlemanly conduct".

https://preview.redd.it/yixic1es5ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=13733198f234fa8a6149093a4a053c6d03a87df6

The Melo-Cattermole Axis

Various factors, including an injury to Cattermole, meant that fans had to wait to see our two shithouse extraordinaires start a match together. But the latest suspension for Travis, and the fact that our promotion hopes had now mathematically gone, presented an opportunity. A three-game free-for-all. Cattermole and Melo start all three.

Somewhat unexpectedly, we actually win the first two games, albeit against relegation-threatened opposition, picking up four bookings in each game. In truth, I'd hoped for more. Way more. With one game to go, we're seven yellows off our record. We need to sign off in true Millwall style to equal it.

In the week leading up to the game, I decide that my Assistant Manager is to blame for our inconsistent form, and sack him with immediate effect. Though a few of my veterans now hold coaching qualifications, the choice for my new apprentice is an easy one. Cattermole becomes player/Assistant Manager.

https://preview.redd.it/dea3hd996ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61a1c177e0ea6ffb0c352b8ad5836423a8e23c07

The final game, against Charlton, starts with a grim, goalless, joyless first half in which we pick up a couple of bookings, but on the whole it isn't good enough. At the break, I implore our players to do it for the fans, who pay good money to see us hacking teams to pieces. They don't let me down.

Cattermole, perhaps wanting a head start on his non-playing career, gets a straight red for a vicious "tackle" immediately after the restart. Sensing blood, Felipe Melo finally gets his first sending off in England for two yellow cards in quick succession. And we don't stop there – Rafferty is the third player dismissed, notching up our 15th of the campaign.

Into injury time, we still need one more yellow card to equal our record. The away fans hold their breath. Can the eight men do it?? And then… Kenji-Van Botooooooooooooo!

https://preview.redd.it/j2wobh616ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d50259358e5af8cba8f710740c991a254cdf117

Our 172nd booking, against all the odds, equalling last year's record with seconds to spare. We lose 3-0, but I'm in awe, and announce as much to the baffled press.

https://preview.redd.it/r6uda9bf6ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02d8f13c6b45013184e4fbffc36e0dc4f7f6a8cb

End of Season Review

Our third campaign draws to a close, and we finish in a respectable 12th position (the media, evidently having not actually seen any of our games, declare us the "feel good" story of the season!). But it should probably have been much better – over the second half of the year we actually picked up 40 points – had we even come close to this form pre-Christmas a playoff spot would have been ours. And that's despite picking up seven reds since January.

All things considered, it's still been a productive season. We reached 1023 fouls, down on last year but miles ahead of anyone else in the league. More importantly, we equalled our 172 bookings, and smashed our red cards record – reaching 15 with the final day carnage. League fines totalled £51,750, down on last year's £69,500 but a solid effort nonetheless.

https://preview.redd.it/mxu7ehf17ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f1cdd7f9c38248dd8ebe29c7fdf8935a086678fb

https://preview.redd.it/k4mwngz27ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3fb4f25f8ff6ad05403d611d6d7cf476b7ba0d2d

https://preview.redd.it/5bx8kzu47ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ebfcbecc8ebf658b3c8e5ad0f7404a321e9412f

Looking to next year, it's increasingly looking like now or never for promotion. The likes of Fellaini won't be around forever, and with many of my own squad approaching retirement, we have to strike soon if we're to have any chance at assembling the world's best-known shithouses in one team…

Game of the Season

There are plenty of games to choose from. The 4-4 draw with Crystal Palace; the four injuries we caused against Bristol City; the trio sent off against Charlton… But one game stands out most – our 2-1 defeat to Wigan back in October. Reaching ten bookings is no mean feat, and puts this just ahead of the Charlton performance in my book.

Player of the Season

The Millwall fans are on the same wavelength as me for our player of the year – Kenji-Van Boto. He was a yellow card machine earlier on in the campaign – picking up 15 cards in 22 appearances – and whilst this rate did tail off, his injury time booking in our final game will go down in Millwall folklore for years to come.

And finally, a shoutout to Richie Smallwood. He ended his loan spell at Bristol Rovers with four red cards, and is currently suspended for six games as a result. He's gone a long way to convincing me to give him first team football again next year!

https://preview.redd.it/fhyen5p77ae41.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad4d26e8f004ede18954da352cc9dcb6b9f0a3a6

submitted by /u/Hurball
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When you are 1-0 in the halftime of a match

Posted: 01 Feb 2020 02:00 PM PST

submitted by /u/On_The_Warpath
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4 way 'draw' for Serie A

Posted: 01 Feb 2020 11:29 AM PST

submitted by /u/_diverge_
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This is a tribute to Jordan Sinnott, a loyal player who elevated my team to new levels and brought us into the football league. Rest in peace Jordan, rest in peace...

Posted: 01 Feb 2020 03:02 AM PST

submitted by /u/Eames761
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What a career to be proud of.

Posted: 01 Feb 2020 01:24 PM PST

submitted by /u/YearZero_
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A quick tip on how to stop the board selling your wonderkids over your head

Posted: 01 Feb 2020 12:13 AM PST

It's not a hundred percent, and it can leave your player grumpy, but it is often worth it - especially late in the transfer window when you don't have time to find a replacement, when the board is accepting a ridiculously low offer, or when you retain so little of the transfer revenue that you won't be able to buy a new player.

Step one: yell at your computer for five minutes.

Step two: offer out your player for next to nothing. Accept all offers, every single one. Hope for a few higher-profile ones.

Step three: offer a silent prayer that your player will choose one of the clubs you accepted bids from. A sacrifice to the FM gods, perhaps a chicken or a small goat, could help out here. If you're low on those, swear on your life that you will never manage PSG. They like that.

Step four: if your player accepts one of your offers, that means that he turned down the one your board accepted. You can then cancel the transfer (unlike with the forced transfer which would be auto-confirmed).

Step five: deal with the fallout from the player not being allowed to leave. Laughing maniacally while you do so or loudly cursing your team for supporting your wonderkid's complaint are equally acceptable at this point.

Step six: upvote the hell out of this post. This step can be completed at any time during the process.

submitted by /u/AF79
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Me and Man City both went on a bad run. Next thing I know I’m taking part in ”El Sackico”

Posted: 01 Feb 2020 05:10 AM PST

submitted by /u/ugglebo
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Thierry Henry returned to Arsenal as manager on no less than four separate occasions on my save - here's the story of what happened.

Posted: 01 Feb 2020 10:28 AM PST

I didn't expect this to be so long when I started making it but I love getting lost looking around my saves when I go far into the future and wanted to share this one. TL/DR Henry managed Arsenal four times, manager bio and team info at the bottom.

Henry's first spell as manager of the club was taking over from fellow legend Patrick Vieira who was sacked despite previously leading the club to back to back third place finishes as they were looking like missing out on European football for the first time since the early 90s. Thierry came in towards the end of February 2028 and won his first six league games but just one win from the final five meant they finished 8th and missed out. They'd had a chance if they'd won the CL but after getting past Celtic they were knocked out by Inter Milan. The following year, despite the lack of continental football and a poor showing in the cups, things didn't improve and he was gone by the end of February following a 3-0 home defeat to Spurs. It might not have all been Thierry's fault though as the team still managed to finish 7th that season but the following year they were nearly relegated, only really saved by how poor those below them were.

Arsenal nearly relegated 2029/30

After that Arsenal bounced back as Simone Inzaghi came in and got them back into the CL whilst Thierry rebuilt his reputation somewhat with a decent three year spell in charge of Juventus with the high point being a second place finish behind a dominant Inter. Soon Arsenal had inexplicably sacked Inzaghi following a third place finish and brought Klopp in to replace him but this didn't work out so well. Klopp somehow survived an 8th placed finish and Henry, after being harshly sacked by Juve, was back in the PL with Watford. He was gone by Christmas though, his reign only lasting 174 days. Less than a month later, Klopp was gone and Henry was brought back in by the Arsenal board. He steadied the ship, got them 8th place again and made some good signings in the summer. The following season he was dismissed after an awful January and February climaxed in a 4-1 home defeat to Doncaster (the team I'm managing so the dominant English team).

His replacement, Gus Poyet, was sacked the following year for finishing seventh and again keeping Arsenal out of Europe. Abdoulaye Doucoure was the next man in and managed to move them back up to fifth but after a slow start to the 2037/38 season Arsenal gave him the boot and were on the lookout for another manager. Somehow Henry, who since leaving Arsenal nearly three years ago had only had one job (an amazingly bad spell where he somehow lasted one day less than he did at Watford even though most of his time there was the off season!), was the man they chose to call.

Henry's awful spell at Toulouse

This time people must have thought he was blackmailing the owners but Henry managed to steady the ship again and get Arsenal back up to the fifth place secured the year before and lead them to the Europa League SF where they lost on away goals to Roma. The following year they got all the way to the final where they unfortunately lost to Liverpool, but it was still a great achievement for his first full season in charge of the club he loves. That was nothing compared to the league however where Henry delivered the club's first third place finish since Inzaghi left. They were back where they belong.

A terrible start to the 2039/40 season however saw Henry sacked for a third time and you can hardly blame the board looking at the results.

Arsenal form at the start of 2039/40 season

The decision was made even more justifiable by the fact that his replacement, compatriot Bafetimbi Gomis, came in and won the FA Cup in his first season and then in 2042 won Arsenal their first league title since Henry's own 'Invincibles.' I'm sure he'd have been there himself, especially considering the circumstances involving the title win!

Arsenal clinch the 2042 title by goals scored over great rivals Tottenham

Henry himself had been keeping busy, taking the Monaco job (another role he had twice on my save, so three including real life) a little over a year after leaving Arsenal and returning them to the CL as well as picking up a Coupe de France. He was let go by Monaco towards the end of the 2043 season with the club well off the title pace and Gomis, after seeing the team drop to second behind the dominant Doncaster side despite a remarkable record of only 17 goals conceded all season, left for Real Madrid at the end of the season. Surely the time was right for them to come back together once again...

Unfortunately for Thierry, and really for Arsenal as well, the board decided that Willy Sagnol (who won the WC with France in 20230 and was a bit of a legend on my save) was the right man for the job and Thierry had to settle for the Lazio job. In the 2043/44 season Henry took Lazio back into the Europa League after two years in mid table and Sagnol's Arsenal showed how much they missed the incredible Gomis as they dropped from 2nd to a disappointing 5th, the only saving grace being a League Cup win that probably saved his job.

Come November 2044 Arsenal only had four league wins and after a 2-1 defeat to Man City Sagnol was gone. With Henry's Lazio again looking strong in Serie A, the Arsenal board had to ask the now 67 year old club legend to come back and save them once again and, of course, Thierry agreed. Henry's Arsenal only lost four more league games all season as he got them back up to a respectable sixth which would give him another crack at that elusive Europa League - a competition where they lost in the final again this year after two late goals gave Wolfsburg a 3-1 win - and he even managed to get the side a 10-0 win in the Club World Cup against Asante Kotoko.

The 2045/46 season was the best season of Henry's managerial career. Not only did he get the side back into the top four, they managed to win the FA Cup and the one he'd come so close to so many times the Europa League as well. Even better, the two matches were both decided with last gasp goals. Imagine the scenes Henry was creating there, almost as crazy as his glory days on the pitch!

FA Cup Final 2046

Europa League Final 2046

This was Arsenal's first European silverware since the UEFA Conference League Doucoure had won and the first Europa League since Emery had won it with them in 2020.

It could have been the start of a Gomis like reign but Henry's beloved France lost in the WC QF to Poland, the holders and eventual champions, and asked him to come on board for France 2048. He had to go, I'm sure Arsenal understood, especially as they were hosts. At least he'd surely managed to ensure that he could be remembered as both a legendary player and manager by the Arsenal faithful?

Since then six years have passed and Arsenal have finished between 3rd and 6th before a disappointing 10th place finish last season was offset by winning another Europa League. Henry meanwhile managed to pick up a UEFA Nations League in 2047 before getting to the 2048 European Championship Final at the Stade de France before losing to Spain 1-0. That was his final game in management as the then 70 year old called time on his epic career.

Here is the Arsenal manager history showing his multiple spells:

Arsenal manager history

Here is his manager bio (my manager backgrounds got messed up so apologies for ugly screenshots)

Manager bio pt 1

Manager bio pt 2

Here is Arsenal's domestic league history

Arsenal PL history from Henry to 2052

submitted by /u/likesiamesefish
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I am numb to this pain.

Posted: 01 Feb 2020 06:15 AM PST