Season 1, Episode 1



It’s time to embark on a new football manager journey. Football Manager 2020 brought with it a whole host of new features for us to play with this year, and I aim to make the most of them all.

As you may have guessed by the header of this blog post, our chosen team this year is Wolverhampton Wanderers.

With a strong finish in the league last year (7th), a European campaign looming (Europa League) and a core spine of Portuguese players, Wolves are looking like a team on the brink of greatness – it’s now up to us to fulfil this destiny.

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The star ratings I have added to some of the players below in the post are my personal ratings, not those of my scouts.

Let’s take a look at the general overiew of Wolves.

With a media prediction of 10th, it could be that the addition of a European Cup has made us seen less favourable in the league this year in some people’s eyes. And with that presumption, I am quietly inclined to agree. But it’s a challenge we must take head on.

Club Culture

I’m quite pleased with the club culture here at Wolves. I am generally a manager who likes to play entertaining, free-flowing football. Ticking this off the list shouldn’t be a problem. Signing high-reputation players is not something I always try to do, but with the Premier League money, and the desired importance of also signing Portugese players, we could in theory, kill two birds with one stone (and no, Ronaldo is not a target, before you ask – don’t be silly).

Goalkeepers

There is only one obvious choice here. Rui Patricio will be my No. 1 goalkeeper. He has fantasitc attributes, with Reflexes (18), One On Ones (17) and Positioning (16) the key highlights. John Ruddy is a perfectly fine under-study to Patricio. The one timed capped England International who is soon to turn 33 will be a perfect back-up for a couple years.

Rui Patricio

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5.

Defenders

At centre-back, I’m pretty pleased with my options. With an initial thought of playing 3 at the back, we have enough depth to facilitate this. Willy Boly and Conor Coady the main highlights.

On the wing-back side of things, we only have 1 left footed left-back in Ruben Vinagre. Jonny can play there, but he is right footed and I’d rather our wing-back be tearing down the wing instead of cutting inside. The left back role may be our first port of call when we dive into the transfer market.

Wily Boly

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5.

Midfielders

I’m aiming to play 3 centre midfielders. Possibly a AMC, depending on how the season is shaping up. We have a whole host of great players and youthful prospects. Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho are the clear stars in this team. Can I get the most out of them?

This area of the pitch is less likely to see any action in the transfer market – but I’ll never say never. You never know what the market will spring upon you.

Ruben Neves

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5.

Forwards

With two places up for grabs in our starting XI, we have 4 players hoping to snatch those spots. Diogo Jota is a favourite at the moment due to his pace and his ability to play with either foot. Cutrone who recently transfered from A.C Milan for £16.25m is a young prospect that could force his way into the team come the end of the season. Raul Jimenez will partner Jota up top, for sure.

I’m fairly happy with my options up top and I hope they will repay the faith I intend to put into them.

Diogo Jota

⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 5.





Moving Forward Into Pre-Season

We have a pre-season to get through, which does involve the Europa League Best Placed 2nd Qualification Round. We don’t have a great deal of time to settle new players in and learn the new tactics.

I am hoping to keep the tactics fairly simple, and try and utilise our best players as much as we can.

As you can see from these fixtures, Ajax are the only team that should prove some threat, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m much more interested in getting the players fitness back up, rather than the performances themselves. But we of course have to do well in the Europa League Qualifiers or the season will already be a failure.

Until next time. Remember to follow me on Twitter: @ExtraTimeFM