Update on my football manager 2010 game progress

John Bastock has officially signed for Man Utd for an initial 4.9m. The money will help me secure more signings before the transfer window at the end of August. Giovani Dos Santos has gone out on loan at Sunderland. Ebi Smolarek has signed on a free. Finally, Rafael Van der Vaart has put pen to paper and signed for Tottenham, much to the fan's delight and young winger Danny Rose has gone out on loan at Wallsall. Sunderland are the only team interested in Robbie Keane currently and have offered 11.75m.

I've placed an advert for an assistant manager, I wish to find one asap! Kevin Bond is my current assistant, but I'm looking for a better motivating and higher coaching attributes.

Friendly
Lisburn Distillery 0 v 3 Tottenham
Smolarek
Van der Vaart
Bassong

Training Schedules on FM2010

Time to sort out the training schedules. It's best to get your training sorted whilst you're still in pre-season. When you start a game, all players use the same 'general' training schedule, so I would advise you to come up with your own set of schedules.

I've imported my 7 training schedules from fm2009.

defenders - (focussing mainly on strength and defensive attributes)
midfielders - (focussing on tactics, attacking and ball control)
strikers (pace) - (focussing on aerobic and shooting attributes)
strikers (power) - (focussing on strength & shooting)
wingbacks - (focussing on aerobic, as well as ball control)
wingers - (focussing on aerobic & attacking attributes)
set-pieces - (some training in each area, but also focussed on set-pieces)

All of my players will be assigned to one of the catergories and they will receive more training on the areas that they require for their playing position. Then I will 'auto-assign' the coaches, to help to maximise the impact of the training. I will also be downscaling the coaching team over the coming weeks.

Pre-Season News - Injuries to key defenders & friendly match

Three of my key defenders are out for up to 2 months. Gareth Bale, Jonathon Woodgate & Michael Dawson will all miss pre-season and potentially the start of the season. I may need to loan players in to cover these injuries. However, the players on the transfer & loan lists are not good enough to get in my first team. By the way, Man Utd withdrew their interest for Luca Modric!

It's time for the inter-squad friendly. Tottenham vs Tottenham reserves. The reserve team are mainly made up of players on the transfer list and other young players. Here are the details...

Tottenham 4 vs 1 Tottenham reserves
Defoe (2)
King
Pavlyuchenko

I've offered Robbie Keane for sale for 20m. I'm hoping to raise funds to buy some players as my whole transfer budget could be spent on Van der Vaart - if the deal goes ahead. Ebi Smolarek could be a replacement for Keane, he is available on a free and I'm thinking of making an offer.

Follow my game through fm2010 here - Chapter 1

I've chosen to be the manager of Tottenham in my blog of FM2010. You can follow my progress through the game by reading this blog. Be sure to add us to your favourites, so that you can visit again to see how I'm doing. Here we go then...

SEASON 1: Tottenham
Man Utd have enquired about Luca Modric. I have responded with 25m & a 30% sell-on clause. I don't intend on selling him, obviously, but we'll see what happens! I think I would take the money if the offer came in, especially as I'm looking to sign Rafael Van der Vaart.

I'm also scouting Ryan Shawcross from Stoke, Andy Carroll from Newcastle (to be my reserve target man) and Lazio's Goran Pandev. My bid for Van der Vaart has been accepted, but I need to offer him £68,000 per week to lure him to Spurs. I would also love to sign Darijo Srna, but I think he is out of my reach, currently.

I need to raise money asap, so I've offered a number of my reserve or younger players for sale. Man Utd & Man City have both come in with 4.5m+ bids for John Bostock. Giovani Dos Santos could be another of my players to go.

Football Manager 2010 - First Impressions

I went out and bought the new game on the day of release and now, a month later, I'm still as addicted! I've been the manager of Stoke City and I'm already in my third season! I've decided to start a new game now and this blog will follow my progress throughout the game.

Firstly, here are my thoughts about the new game. The 3D match looks a lot better, with the addition of a crowd and better looking stadiums. It's not the only thing given a major overhaul - the whole interface has been changed, looking better, as well as being more responsive. I like the idea of 'shouting' instructions during a match, but the new look tactics system, for me, was a letdown - you're still restricted to default positions.