FIFA 15

[88GTA]

OpSports Dynasty entry:

- Exeter City, England

Exeter City began the 2017-2018 season with their first ever appointment to the FL Championship. Coming off an amazing finish in League 1 where the team only lost once after February 1st, Exeter was confident they would be competitive right out of the gate. After an unusually quiet first month in the summer transfer window, the opening game would be in the Capital One Cup. A close match resulted in penalties where The Grecians would narrowly scrape by 5-4. The euphoria would end there however, as Exeter City's inaugural 4 Championship League games in August all resulted in losses.

The final game of the month was another Capital One Cup match where Exeter City managed a 2-0 win but it was not enough to overshadow the team's poor first month in the new league. By September 1st, the team was in the relegation zone already with 0 points. Exeter City's board expects the team to be competitive and stay up in the Championship this season so the team will need to quickly turn things around.

Several transfers were made in August but none were very significant. Disgruntled goalie Christy Pym would leave for Morecambe FC for $150,000. CB Richard Duffy left for Millwall after three years as a Grecian which sent $575,000 to Exeter City in return. The only transfer into the team was Damian Robak, a CB from Brighton who cost $15,000.

With Pym sold, the team was left without a single goalie. Management decided to loan in replacements for the starting position after the search for a first team quality goalie proved to be too costly. Archimede Almici (63 OVR) from Atalanta, Soon Hyung Lee (49 OVR) of Sangiu Sangmu and Jhon Nunez (54 OVR) from Envigado were the players brought in. These three may be trying out for a future spot on the first team now that they are the only goalies on the roster.

The team is starting to add depth mostly through the youth academy because the transfer budget has not been high enough to make significant changes. 4 players were called up from the academy this summer to join the senior team and fight for playing time:

Jordan Aina (ENG) - 68 OVR CAM
Mat Garner (ENG) - 58 OVR CF
Jack Vyner (ENG) - 58 OVR LB
Lorenzo Curiale (ITA) - 63 OVR RW

With the team now through the first month of the season and having taken no points, relegation back to League 1 is a real possibility. The next few months should really test the players on the roster as any changes will need to come from within now that the transfer window is closed.

Manager's Notes:
Well we couldn't have had a worse start to this first season in the Championship. I spent 2-3 hours searching for a first team quality goalie only to find that I just did not have enough money for one. The board was nice enough to ask us just to avoid relegation but they gave us a measly $650,000 budget and $2,350 in weekly wages. The weekly wages alone for a 70-72 OVR goalie are at least $15,000 and I couldn't even squeeze that out.

I put several players on the transfer list including most of the original youth academy crop like Jung and Ognevoski who were in their last year under contract. I ultimately had to loan in another starting goalie in Almici and then a couple back ups because we sold our original random starter in Pym. He was the last GK on the roster so we are left with three loaned in players for the year. I took Lee from a Korean team because he's 6'8" and 200+ lb. so I wanted to see what he looked like on the pitch (regen). Selling Duffy helped increase the budget but it was still not enough to buy a first team goalie.

We are down to 12 of the original 27 random players left on the team. The majority of the team is youth academy players at this point with a total of 14. Two of the most recent call-ups look very promising. Aina, a 68 OVR CAM, went through the May bump at the end of the last season but has good passing and shooting skills. The Italian RW, Curiale (63 OVR), has the potential to be special and immediately came out of the academy to help with the attack. If he doesn't develop he should at least sell for a good profit.

The only game I played was the 2nd Capital One Cup game where we won 2-0. The team was out of form from losing 4 straight but they seemed very cohesive and played great defense. I'll need to experiment to see where our flaws lie but I think another formation tweak and some benchings will be coming down. I'm confident that I can at least get us to finish out of the relegation zone but it is very disappointing to get such low transfer budgets all the time. Trying to supplant that budget with youth players has worked a few times but I was hoping to focus on the original players more. With my small budget it is just so much cheaper to bring in a youth player on $500/week than to pay a transfer fee and inflated wages.

This is the current squad as of the end of the summer transfer window:

Next update will be July 1st 2018 once this season has ended.

 

[88GTA]

July 1st, 2018

- Exeter City, England

After finishing their inaugural month in the FL Championship with 0 points, Exeter City had their backs to the wall and a long season ahead. Summer transfers had amassed only a trio of loaned goalies and a back-up CB. A solution would yet again need to come from within the team if they were going to avoid relegation back down to League 1.

Exeter City was into the third round of the Capital One Cup by October but points in league play had quickly become the priority. Throughout the fall, the Grecians would earn a draw here or there and pick up about a win each month. The team seemed stagnant and formerly productive players like Jacopo Dezi and Daniel Sikorski had fallen off severely in form. As winter approached, they sat in 19th place just above relegation.

As for finances, the board had allocated $650,000 in the transfer budget and another $2,350 in weekly wages to start the season and the summer sales of goalie Christy Pym and center back Richard Duffy had added over $600,000 to that pot. It seemed like the winter window could welcome a new face or two to Exeter City and potentially reenergize the team. Just like every other year with the Grecians, however, it would not turn out in the logical manner one would expect.

Former number one keeper Christy Pym was sold to Morecambe this past summer.

Richard Duffy, the original captain for the "Team of Randoms," was purchased by Millwall in the offseason.

The transfer window started with the sale of Zach Pfeffer. The young center midfielder from the Philadelphia Union had been unimpressive during his year at Exeter City and he had not grown as anticipated. John Beavon, another center midfielder brought in during the same window, had quickly surpassed Pfeffer and taken his starting spot. Ryan Ledson, the other starting center midfielder had cemented a starting spot in the 2014 opening season and showed no signs on letting it go.

Pfeffer's poor form and increasing complaints over a lack of playing time seemed to make the decision easy for the manager. Teams quickly came calling for the 22 year old American and eventually West Brom won the race handing Exeter City $2 Million in return.

Zach Pfeffer's stay at Exeter City is over. The young midfielder is off to West Brom and the Premier League.

With Pfeffer transfered and some more money in the bank, Exeter City sent scouts out far and wide looking for a permanent goalie. By January, the team had the worst goal differential in the league and although it was not completely the fault of Italian loanee Archimede Almici, Exeter City needed a first team keeper under contract. Initial reports had ECFC scouts spotted in Turkey and Russia but as the end of January drew closer, rumours had migrated to Belgium and France. Ultimately, a decision was made by the team to sign 28 year old goalie Gael Perdomo of Tours FC in France. Perdomo, a 6'6" wall in the net, was signed on a free contract to join Exeter for the following season for $15,000 in weekly wages. The team seemed to think they could manage with Almici for the remainder of the year and this was obviously the cheaper way to go.

Pfeffer would not be the only casualty of the winter window as original random team member Ramiro Arias (LB) was purchased by Bolton for $475,000. With the window coming to a close, Exeter City seemed to be content with their changes when the bombshell was dropped; Ryan Ledson, the team's star center midfielder wanted an immediate transfer before the window closed. Ledson and the team had struggled over contract details for almost the past year and it seemed that the player was out for some revenge. With only about a week left in January, ECFC was forced to try and salvage as much as possible for their main playmaker.

Ryan Ledson demands a transfer from Exeter City with only days left in the window.

To make matters worse, the team had just sold his counterpart, Zach Pfeffer, and Exeter City would be short on starting central midfielders without an immediate replacement. Offers came in rapidly for the young star and eventually, it was Sunderland who scooped up Ledson for $8 Million. Sitting on almost $11 million in cash and with only days left in the winter window, Exeter City scouts were scrambling to finish reports on perspective players to bring in. Management knew that if the money wasn't spent in January, it would wind up in the board's pockets and not seen again.

Several areas (the center midfield especially) needed upgrades and half the season was left to play. In what looked like a big gamble, the team decided not to bring in any transfer players for the season. It was another seemingly odd response to the situation. The team had decided to put all of their money into free transfer players to get the most bang for the buck. The only problem was that none of the bang would be seen or heard from until the following season.

Several offers went out, including rumoured negotiations with Portuguese midfielder Bruma and St. Etienne CB Florentin Pogba.

Bruma to ECFC?!? Nope.

More than a dozen offers were eventually handed out by Exeter City but only a few were accepted. Joining the team the following season would be:

Florian Martin - LM (70 OVR)
Okan Alkan - RB (66 OVR)
Koray Gunter - CB (77 OVR)
Jose Izquierdo - LW (77 OVR)

Jose Izquierdo will join Exeter City after his contract with Club Brugge has ended.

On the final day of the January window, Sheffield United threw out a bid of $600,000 for unhappy LM Aiden O'Brien. Another original, random Grecian would be leaving the club immediately.

A giant gamble had been made by Exeter City's management. They would be getting a lot of help next season from free transfers but they still needed to somehow finish out of the relegation zone with no additional players. The payoff would be big but would the management team be around to see it?

Following the huge loss of Ryan Ledson in center midfield, the formation was altered again. In an attempt to strengthen the defense, the team switched to a 5-3-2 formation to make use of the deepest position at the club. Center backs Jang Sun Won, Danny Grainger, Fabian Danic, Do Heon Kim and Damien Robak would alternate on the back line throughout the remainder of the year in an attempt to distance themselves from the relegation zone and bring the goal differential back up. This was the typical starting XI for the remainder of the year:



Exeter City would have to see out another stressful winter and spring as the season came to a close. The winter window has proven to be chaotic over the past two seasons with league shaking transfers on both sides of the team. Manager Koszak27 had this to say:

"The first two seasons with ECFC were remarkable. We exceeded the board's expectations each year, built the foundation for our future success and really came together as a team. As the seasons have gone by, we are seeing new faces come in and original members leave and as sad as this becomes, it is also the way of sports. We all knew we couldn't stick together forever so we enjoyed the time we got to spend with each other and move on when the time comes.

Will I be here for the entirety of my career? I don't know, but I want to be. I think that is more than half of the struggle in professional sports. We are getting paid but you have to see past that and you have to be somewhere you are comfortable and somewhere you know you can succeed. We have hit some tough times these past two seasons early and had to really battle at the end to reach our goals. This year will be no different than last year in that we will fight until the last game for our fans, for our shield and for each other."

With inspiring locker room discussions like this, the team seemed to pick itself up in the 2nd half. The new formation and emphasis on keeping the center backs fresh helped keep the goals against down. Exeter City was starting to bring that goal differential closer to 0 and they were staying even with the mid-table teams. Reinforcements were on the horizon for next season and the Grecians just needed to hold their ground until the time came.

In the end, Exeter City would end the year with a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest and conclude their inaugural FL Championship season in 19th place; 12 points clear of relegation. The top of the table would see Burnley and Wigan Athletic automatically heading up to the Premier League.

The board saw the 2017-2018 season as a successful one with the team staying in the Championship and eventually reaching the Capital One Cup semi-finals. With 5 free transfers set to join the team, Exeter City might just have to make the Premier League sooner than later.

Manager's Notes:
Crazy, crazy season. Simulating this season took probably 10 total hours over the course of a few days. I have terrible scouts who take 24+ days on one player if they aren't in the same location and it was almost impossible to get all the moves done in time before the winter window closed.

I gambled that I could keep us out of relegation with what we had, even after Ledson left and they managed to pull it off. In the games I played during this season, I think I only won maybe two or three games out of the 10 or so that I played. The AI was dominant at times and even when the game was close, they would score in extra time to tie it right at the end.

I think the new players will make a big difference to the team but I have never used any of them before so there is a chance that they are all not very good. We are down to only 10 original players from the random draw left and I think a couple need new contracts. A lot of my first group of youth academy players are due as well so the team may have even more new members by the time the summer window closes.

This is the team stats sorted by form:

Romero missed the Golden Boot by two goals again. I'll have the next update shortly because I'm already into October of the following season, 2018-2019.

 

[88GTA]

September 1st, 2018

- Exeter, UK

Exeter City finished their first season in the FL championship in 19th place, only 12 points from relegation back down to League 1. At times, the team looked lost, ineffective and lacking composure. They started the season with losses in their first four league games and spent August and September in the relegation zone. By January 1st, the Grecians had improved slightly into 19th position and the sales of midfielders Zach Pfeffer and Ryan Ledson had left the transfer budget overflowing with cash. The team was poised to make a big splash in the transfer market and it seemed that help would arrive for a 2nd half push up the table. Five signings would indeed take place in that window but none of the players would put on an Exeter shirt until July:

Florian Martin, Cham. Niortais - LM, 28 yrs. old (70 OVR)
Okan Alkan, Balikesirspor - RB, 25 yrs. old (66 OVR)
Koray Gunter, Galatasaray - CB, 24 yrs. old (77 OVR)
Jose Izquierdo, Club Brugge - LW, 26 yrs. old (77 OVR)
Gael Perdomo, Tours FC - GK, 28 yrs. old (68 OVR)

German national Koray Gunter is one of five players joining Exeter City on a free transfer this summer.

All five free transfers would be immediately slotted into the first team squad with Martin and Alkan coming off the bench.

Florian Martin will add needed veteran depth to a young ECFC team.


Leaving the team would be several players with expired contracts:

Jang Suk Won - CB, 28 yrs. old (59 OVR)
Samuel Hadler - CDM, 18 yrs. old (65 OVR)
Seul Chan Jung - RM, 18 yrs. old (62 OVR)
Ritchie Robles - LM, 18 yrs. old (63 OVR)

Outside of the contracts, two other players left during the summer window. Danny Grainger was sold to Wigan Athletic for $420,000 and will join the team in the Premier League. Young attacking midfielder Duane Holmes was also sold off. He went to Millwall for $500,000 only a year after Exeter City purchased him for $400,000.

Exeter City's Captain, Danny Grainger, was surprisingly sold and will join newly promoted Wigan Athletic in the Premier League.

Coming into the club on loan was goalie Ryan Saville (54 OVR) from Southend United to serve as the team's backup. Exeter City also signed Romanian LB free agent Alexandru Bus (61 OVR). There were a few youth academy players moving into the senior team as well:

Domenico Sereni (ITA) - 54 OVR CAM
Leandro Serrao (BRA) - 45 OVR CDM
Ekene Kwei (NIG) - 64 OVR CM
Carlos Aldair (BRA) - 43 OVR GK

Jacopo Dezi has taken over the captain's arm band with his stamina and balance helping the team since 2014. The iron man plays in almost every game and has become a great play maker in midfield.

Jacopo Dezi has become the new Exeter City captain.

This was the starting XI for the Grecians to start the season. The team was back to a 4-4-2 to start the year:



Exeter City would again start the season with a Capital One Cup game and again it would go to penalties. This time, however, the team would be on the losing side. After reaching the semi-finals last season, they were eliminated in the first round. Following the early exit, Exeter City would also reverse its league fate from last year and would win every league game in August. They currently sit at the top of the table with 12 points and look to be a real contender for promotion and a trip to the Premier League.

Manager's Notes:
The five free transfer players are paying dividends now but I think I can really make out by selling one or two in the winter. The same thing happened with Ojamaa a few seasons ago and even if I only get a few million from the transfer, the amount of money it will free up in wages should really help. I'm going to really try and stretch each season's transfer budget and even if I only get a few bench players on free transfers I can make money the next year selling them off.

To start this season, the board finally came in with some decent transfer money with $1.1 million and $6,000 in weekly wages. It makes me think that the formula must depend on your team's player wages when it decides how much your budget is. There's no other reason as to why I got almost double the transfer budget for this 2nd year in the Championship. The only change was the large wages for the free transfer players.

The new players seem very good in the game. Izquierdo has 4 star skills and is very pacey. I'm using him on the right midfield now but I want to get a true RM at some point and put Izquierdo up front with Romero. Perdomo is a beast in goal and it looks like he has about 6 inches on everyone else when they shake hands before the game. Gunter is a really good CB and is an upgrade over Grainger.

With Captain Grainger gone, we are down to only 7 original players left on the team with 15 youth players. I'm hoping to try and keep all 7 of the original players at least through one year in the Premier League. Davies and Schimpelsberger have been good at the defensive back positions but they will need to make a big jump up in ratings to be starting in the Premier League.

This is the current squad:

We went back to the 4-4-2 to start the year after the midfield free transfers came in. Sikorski has still been serviceable but is starting to decline. Even at only 63 overall, Sikorski still gets his goals in the simulations though. If his scoring dries up, I will probably start Martin at RM and move Izquierdo up front to replace Sikorski.

The board has only asked us to avoid relegation again so this should be a stress free season. I'm confident the team will fight for promotion this season. They seemed very strong in the game I played and they seemed to be playing well in the simulations.

The next update will be July 1st, 2019 once this season has ended.

 

[88GTA]

July 1, 2019

- Exeter, UK

On the heels of a blistering start, Exeter City were sitting top of the table on September 1st 2018 having won all four league games in August. The team was is great form and the arrivals of free transfers Jose Izquierdo, Florian Martin, Koray Gunter, Gael Perdomo and Okan Alkan were paying early dividends. The only set back had been a loss in the opening game of the Capital One Cup of which the Grecians had reached the semi final round in the previous season.

Jose Izquierdo is quickly becoming a force for Exeter City after signing on a free transfer this summer.

After getting off to such a great start, promotion to the Premier League was looking like a given. The next few months, however, would see the team gradually fall down the table and settle around 6th place. Sebastien Romero suffered an injury in September which kept him out for over 6 weeks. While he was out, the team did not fare well and struggled to score. Luckily, the team was very good defensively with free transfer Gael Perdomo stopping almost everything thrown his way.

By December, Exeter City was still hovering between 5th and 7th place and seemed to be coming back into form. Once Romero returned, the team had switched to a 4-3-3 formation to try and create more scoring chances. An injury for 4 weeks to starting center midfielder John Beavon also made the switch easier with him not in the line up.

The January transfer window, which had turned into the Wacky Winter Window at Exeter the past few seasons, was unusually quiet. The team scouts were busy but ultimately only one move was made. On January 31st, deadline day, Liam Ognenovski (71 OVR) was sold to Barcelona with only 1 hour remaining in the window. The Australian CDM would transfer for $2.3 million to Spain and end his tenure with the team.

The transfer window ended with Exeter City not adding any new players. This left some open positions for a few youth academy prospects to move up to the senior team:

Martinho Feijo (BRA) - 54 OVR, RB
Danilo Busillato (ITA) - 62 OVR, LM
Jami Pomini (ITA) - 58 OVR, LW
Javier Rios (BRA) - 55 OVR, CM

Safely out of the relegation zone, Exeter City was surpassing the board's expectations for the year. The team had also reached the round of 16 in the FA Cup in early 2019 but was eliminated later in the year by Norwich. The Grecians played solid football into the spring to finish the season in 6th position, with a shot at promotion, by 8 points. The team would face Norwich for the 4th meeting of the season in the Championship playoffs. After losing at home 1-0, Exeter City played a great 2nd leg but could only manage a 1-1 draw at Norwich. Exeter City's hopes of joining the Premier League had been crushed but the team, the fans and the board were all very happy with their performance. Norwich would ultimately beat Bolton to gain promotion to the top tier of English football.

This was the starting XI by the end of the season:



Below are the player stats for the 2018-2019 season, sorted by number of games played:

Spending another season in the Championship was not the end of the world. Manager koszak27 had this to say on the team's season. "We had a great year and I'm very proud of what these men have achieved. The FL Championship is one of the toughest divisions in the world with very little separating the teams from top to bottom. We will continue to fight for promotion and grow as a team together."

With the summer window approaching, Exeter City will need to decide whether they will stick with the same starting players or look for outside help. Several millions of dollars were saved in the transfer budget and not spent in the winter leaving many people wondering if a big move is in the cards. One thing is for sure; the days of hoping Exeter City will avoid relegation from the Championship have ended and the Grecians are be expected to build upon an impressive 2018-2019 season.

Manager's Notes:
We had a very good season, especially early, but some injuries to key players like Romero and Beavon really hurt us through the fall. The team played exceptionally well defensively but for the first time Romero lost his scoring touch and he put up an average year. He typically dominates the league in scoring but between his injury and his striking partner Sikorski taking a few more steps back in performance, it was a disappointing year for Romero.

Izquierdo has been very good and ate into some of Romero's scoring as well. By the middle of the year, I had moved him up to LW in the 4-3-3 from LM in the original 4-4-2. He did very well and his pace and ball skills are great.

I was hoping to sign some more free transfers in January but it just never came together. Barcelona came in so late on buying Ognenovski that we couldn't counter their offer and then I couldn't spend the money from the sale. I debated buying scouts with the money but I ultimately used it to resign some players and keep the rest in wages. Hopefully that will mean a bigger budget for next year.

I will be looking to seriously upgrade the team for next year. We have a lot of youth players coming up to 1 year left on their contracts and they are unhappy with not playing. Most of them are showing good potential and are mid-to-high 60's overall but they aren't growing physically. They seem to do well in the simulated games but they are just too slow for me to play with.

Fagundez had a great half season when he first came over but he has been poor lately and will be entering the last year of his contract. I will be looking to unload him and as much as I want to keep Sikorski, because he was an original random player, he will likely go too. I wanted to make it to the Premier League with all the remaining original players but at this point I will sell anyone who I get a decent offer for.

I'm assuming we will need to gain automatic promotion or fight for promotion next year so I hope we get a decent starting budget.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

September 1st, 2019

- Exeter, UK

Exeter City finished the 2018-2019 season in 6th place in the FL Championship and suffered a tough 2-1 loss on aggregate to Norwich in the playoffs. With the team preparing for its third season in the Championship, many wondered if the team in its current form had what it took to reach the Premier League.

Manager koszak27 was entering his 6th season leading the Grecians. He had already achieved promotion from League 2 through to the FL Championship and seemed determined to get his team into the top flight of English football. "Our goal this year is promotion to the Premier League. We feel we are of equal or better quality to all the teams in our league and if we perform like I know we can, then we will not be in the Championship next year."

It did not take long for changes at Exeter City to start as tenured striker Daniel Sikorski became the first casualty of the summer window. The 31 year old Austrian was sold to Oldham Athletic for $400,000.

After five seasons at Exeter City, striker Daniel Sikorski is transfered to Oldham Athletic.

Youth academy players, both current and former, would play a part in the 2019 summer window. Coming into the club from the academy was 16 year old English left back Hugo Medeiros (67 OVR) who was showing great potential at such a young age. Leaving the club was former academy star Scott Batt (65 OVR). The English left midfielder had risen through the Grecian ranks and started contributing in the first team just last season. Arsenal was the first team to come calling for him and after some negotiations, the 19 year old was sold to the Gunners for $5 million.

Another academy player would be sold to a prestigious Premier League team. Ekene Kwei (67 OVR), a 17 year old Nigerian central midfielder was sold to Liverpool for $5.5 million and generated more cash for Exeter City.

The next player sold was a surprise to many Exeter fans. GK Gael Perdomo (69 OVR) had only joined ECFC on a free transfer last season and finished with a Championship leading 19 clean sheets. This generated a lot of interest in the 6'6" Venezuelan and after negotiations with several teams, Stade Rennais made the winning bid of $3 million.

The first three weeks of July had proven lucrative for Exeter City. They had sold four players, two starters and two bench players, for a total of $13.9 million. Exeter City would use some of that money to bring in GK Baris Antalyali (67) from the free agent pool. The 19 year old Turkish national was signed to become the team's new starting goalie and replace Perdomo. The team would also loan in a back-up GK from QPR in Nicolas Rojo (64 OVR).

The next few weeks in the window went by with much less action and by mid August, the team was sitting on a lot of cash with friendly games about to start. The next transfer became the sale of former free agent Alexandru Bus (67 OVR) to another Premier League titan, Manchester United. The 20 year old Romanian left back had played 21 games for the Grecians last year and had been very impressive. Man United had been paying attention to his play as well and purchased the young defender for $3.9 million.

With $17.8 million added to the transfer budget, Exeter City finally turned into buyers with just two weeks left in the summer window. Several offers went out to players in England and Italy but there were ultimately only two signings made and both would be leaving Premier League teams.

Brazilian national Joaozinho (80 OVR) was the first player to sign with ECFC. The 30 year old left midfielder from West Ham was sold to Exeter City for $6 million plus Diego Fagundez (72 OVR).

Left Midfielder Joaozinho will leave West Ham and the Premier League to join Exeter City in the FL Championship.

Fagundez had fallen out of form through the last half of the previous season and had received a red card for a bad challenge in the first leg of the team's Championship playoff match against Norwich. Some felt it cost the team a shot at promotion.

Out of favor Diego Fagundez, formerly of Exeter City, will join West Ham in the Premier League as part of a deal for fellow left midfielder Joaozinho.

The other Premier League player to leave for Exeter City was Fabian Delph (79 OVR) of Aston Villa. The 29 year old center midfielder was purchased by ECFC for $8 million plus CAM Jordan Aina (70 OVR). Aina, a 17 year old brought through the team's youth academy, would be joining Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Fabian Delph will join Exeter City with the goal of bringing the team into the Premier League.

There were several offers made for Jose Izquierdo, especially on deadline day but no one was able to match Exeter City's asking price of $30 million for the Colombian left winger. Atletico Madrid came closest at $22 million but the Grecians leading scorer from last season would stay to continue contributing with his excellent form.

By the end of the summer window, Exeter City would find itself with four different players in the starting XI. This was the Grecians lineup going into September 2019:



Exeter City would start the season with the usual opening round of the Capital One Cup where the team beat Gillingham 5-0 to advance in the competition. There were only two league games in August 2019 which the Grecians split with a win and a loss. Both games were played prior to the Delph and Joaozinho signings so fans are anxious to see the new players on the pitch for ECFC.

The board has publicy stated that they want a mid-table finish for Exeter City this season which some feel would be a disappointment after making the playoffs last season. After a busy summer window, the team looks on paper to at least be making those playoffs again.

Manager's Notes:
I was very happy after our summer transfers. I got rid of a few guys who weren't going to feature this year and brought in some quality midfielders to try and get us over the top. Next changes will be in the defense at LB and RB. I couldn't find a starting GK that I liked in my price range so I opted for a free agent. If he plays well I can sell him for a profit in the winter or next season.

My youth players have finally become the buckets of cash that I desperately needed. Ognenovski last winter was one of the youth players from the second season. Scott Batt left this summer and he joined the academy around the same time. It looks like about a 3-4 year window from when I first sign them to when they will be maturing as a financial chip in the market. I can hopefully keep that going with the good potential players. Kwei went after only 1 full season with the senior team, probably because he hit the May bump and had a high overall at 67.

The board has tasked us with finishing mid-table and reaching the round of 32 in a domestic cup. Neither of those should be difficult this season. They finally gave me a good transfer budget with $5.5 million and another $25,000 in weekly wages. I had a few million dollars left over at the end of the last season and did the old 1:99 split with the transfer money into all weekly wages. I do it every season but it looks to have really paid off this year.

I'm hoping to find a 75-80 OVR defensive back this winter to make a free transfer and have for next season. Maybe even a goalie if we can sell our current free agent GK for a profit. Hopefully we will be in the Premier League by the next update July 1st 2020.

 

[88GTA]

September 1, 2020

- Exeter, UK

It has been a busy year for Exeter City staff, players and supporters. After signing Fabian Delph (79 OVR) and Joaozinho (80 OVR), hopes were high that the Grecians could make this their final year in the FL Championship and gain promotion into the Premier League. The two midfielders had left Premier League teams and made it clear in statements to the public that they had every intention of coming back to the pinnacle of British football the following year.

Many fans felt that Exeter City's management had sacrificed too much of the team's youth to bring in only two players. They also questioned the sale of GK Gael Perdomo who had led the FL Championship in clean sheets last season after joining the team on a free transfer. This hadn't been the first time a player spent only one year in Exeter and it wouldn't be the last.

Coming out of the summer transfer window, Exeter City looked like a team destined to achieve their goal of promotion. The team was instantly transformed in the midfield with the additions of Delph and Joaozinho. In addition, Colombian left winger Jose Izquierdo (78 OVR) quickly became a scoring machine and was named player of the month in September and October after leading the FL Championship in goals through the first three months of the season. Exeter City had a strong hold on 2nd place in the division through the fall and entered January with only three losses in league play.

By January 1st, Exeter City had a five point cushion on 2nd place and looked almost unbeatable. They had been eliminated from the Capital One Cup early in October but had made the round of 32 in the FA Cup. With the team's success in the league, a quiet winter window was expected.

The excellent play of new arrivals Fabian Delph and Joaozinho had kept Jacopo Dezi (70 OVR) out of the starting XI for the season. The 27 year old center midfielder had been playing for the Grecians since 2014 and even had a stint as captain of the team only a couple years earlier. His lack of playing time had been voiced to management throughout the fall and by January, Dezi had demanded a transfer.

Exeter City midfielder Jacopo Dezi demands a transfer after losing his starting spot.

With the window now open, Exeter City would grant the Italian midfielder's request and looked to sell Dezi for a profit. Ultimately, a suitor was found and Dezi was swapped for Peterborough right midfielder Jon Taylor (67 OVR).

Peterborough midfielder Jon Taylor is sent to Exeter City in exchange for the disgruntled Jacopo Dezi.

With the Dezi saga behind them, Exeter City switched focus back to holding their promotion spot in the league. Two quiet weeks of January went by when suddenly, another ECFC midfielder demanded a transfer. This time, it was starting midfielder John Beavon (77 OVR) who had been playing exceptionally well for Exeter City since his arrival from PAOK in 2016. It is still unclear why Beavon requested to be sold but management had little time to get a deal done. Beavon had amassed two goals and four assists by that time but his value had always come in his defensive and possession skills. The offers came in quickly for the 21 year old and eventually, Crystal Palace won the English center midfielder's signature for $15 million.

With one of their starting midfielders suddenly gone and an infusion of cash into the transfer budget, Exeter City had only one week left to work the transfer window. The team would not be able to sign anyone to replace Beavon in such a short amount of time but they were able to turn his sale into four free transfers to bring in for the following season. They were:

Gaetano Letizia (LB, 71 OVR) - 30 yrs old from Carpi
Jose Mauri (CM, 74 OVR) - 24 yrs old from Parma
Danny Rose (LB, 77 OVR) - 30 yrs old from Spurs
Simone Scuffet (GK, 77 OVR) - 24 yrs old from Udinese

Simone Scuffet is bound for English FL Championship side Exeter City next season on a free transfer. The team is currently in 2nd place and target promotion to the Premier League for next year.

The hole in the midfield left by John Beavon would have to be filled internally but the free transfers signed after his sale look like improvements across the board for next year. Exeter City would just need to hold on with temporary replacements for the remainder of the year.

Tottenham Hotspur and English national team defender Danny Rose will join Exeter City next season on a free transfer.

Following John Beavon's exit, ECFC veteran Patrick Brough (71 OVR) looked to be inline for a starting role. Brough would get more playing time but it would be more substitution work as Exeter City switched to a 4-3-3 and sometimes 5-3-2 to counteract the loss of Beavon in the middle. Fabian Delph continued to excel for the Grecians even after the transfers and formation changes.

Patrick Brough, an Exeter City midfielder since 2014, looks to have his workload increased after John Beavon's exit.

After the transfer window excitement finally ended, Exeter City set off determined to finish the season in a promotion spot. Heading into February, the team still only had three losses in the league but would soon miss John Beavon in the middle. ECFC suffered five losses combined through February and March and dropped as low as 5th place in the table following the transfer market closure. The team's formation changes and midfield replacements were not working out and the team was losing form.

The defense also started to succumb to injuries with starting center backs Koray Gunter and Do Heon Kim both missing significant time. Reliable striker Sebastien Romero went on a ten game goal drought, the longest of his career at Exeter City. Even leading scorer Jose Izquierdo saw his lead for the Golden Boot vanish during this late winter slump.

By April 1st, Exeter City sat in the playoff position of 4th place and saw their mighty hold on promotion vanish. The Grecians had little time left to make up ground on the first two teams but after losing in February to Middlesborough in the FA Cup, league games were the only matches left.

"Staying focused on our goal of promotion is our only thought right now," stated Exeter City's manager koszak27 in early April. "We have the players to secure a top two finish and that is what we will do." The confidence of the ECFC boss seemed to trickle down to the players as the team's form started to get better. The 5-3-2 formation had worked well on a few occasions but the team did not have enough healthy center backs to properly execute the formation every game.

Eventually, Exeter City regained their form with the help of a third striker, Tom Nichols (69 OVR), stepping into a starting role and notching 5 goals and 3 assists in 16 games. His scoring touch seemed to helped the other strikers as Romero ended his drought in April and Izquierdo got back on track in the Golden Boot for the end of the year.

The Grecians fought and clawed their way back up the table and by May 1st, they sat in 2nd place to Bolton with only two games left. Bolton had a three point lead on ECFC and would finish the season six points clear after Exeter was only able to win one of the final two games. Regardless, koszak27 and Exeter City had achieved their goal of earning promotion into the Premier League.

Argentinian midfielder Jose Mauri will be excited to learn that Exeter City, the team he will join next season on a free transfer from Parma, has earned a place in the Premier League.

This was the Starting XI for Exeter City at the end of the 2019-2020 season:



Here are the player stats for the 2019-2020 season sorted by games played:

It was a dramatic finish for the Grecians after their 3rd season in the FL Championship. Each year they finished higher and higher in the table and now found themselves preparing for their inaugural birth into the Premier League once the summer window opened. Free transfers Jose Mauri, Gaetano Letizia, Simone Scuffet and Danny Rose would be joining ECFC for their first season in the BPL. Millions of eyes would be seeing the Grecians, their crest and their players for the first time in August 2020 after the club's hard fought rise though the lower leagues of English soccer.

After taking over the League 2 team in 2014, manager koszak27 had reached the pinnacle of the league and joined 19 of the best teams in the world. With him, he would be bringing only five players who had been with the team since the beginning of his tenure:

Michael Schimpelsberger (RB, 71 OVR) - 29 yrs old, Austrian (Captain)
Ben Davies (LB, 68 OVR) - 25 yrs old, English
Patrick Brough (LM, 71 OVR) - 24 yrs old, English
Tom Nichols (ST, 69 OVR) - 27 yrs old, English
Matthew Jay (ST, 59 OVR) 24 yrs old, English

These players would survive the summer window and make it into the Premier League, but many of the former youth academy prospects were again sold off. Fans were not happy but management again blamed the boards stingy transfer budget as the reason.

The first move in the summer window for Exeter City was the sale of LW Tim Doyle (73 OVR) to Reading. Although Reading had also just come up to the Premier League, they didn't seem to suffer from the same financial restrictions as ECFC. Reading paid $12 Mil for the 20 year old winger and immediately gave Exeter City some cash to work with in the window.

With money in hand, Exeter City looked to France for a first team quality midfielder. Their first signing in the window came in the form of pacey left midfielder Georges-Kevin Nkoudou from FC Nantes. The purchase would cost the Grecians $8 Mil plus former youth academy center forward prospect Danny MacGillivray (65 OVR).

Former FC Nantes left Midfielder Georges-Kevin Nkoudou will join Exeter City for their first ever season in the Premier League.

The next transfer was again the sale of a goalie after only one season with the team. With Scuffet arriving from Udinese, Baris Antalyali (69 OVR) was left out of the first team plans even after his 15 clean sheet campaign of the previous season. Many offers came in but the 20 year old Turkish phenom would finally sign with Norwich in the Premier League for $5.8 Mil.

August was drawing to a close when the biggest sale of the window would come at Exeter City. Defensive star Koray Gunter (79 OVR) had just finished his second stellar season for Exeter City and many big clubs had taken notice. The free transfer had been a big reason why ECFC had finally made it to the BPL but after several attempts, AC Milan finally won a bidding war for the 26 year old German national for $15.5 Mil. Exeter City later expressed their sadness at the loss of such a great player but the deal was done and a big hole was left in the middle of the Grecian defense.

In order to patch up the defense after the loss of Gunter, Exeter City used the final days of the window to bolster the back line. Sheyi Harris (66 OVR), a 20 year old English center back, was signed as a free agent to bring in some depth. Exeter City also paid to transfer Luciano Lollo (73 OVR) from Belgrano in Argentina. The 33 year old had been a rock on defense for years there and would be joining the Grecians on a 1 year contract for a $1.6 Mil transfer fee.

The biggest defensive signing at this time was a transfer for Penafiel center back Everton Santos (72), a promising 21 year old who had just played a full season starting for the club. Santos would transfer to Exeter City for $9 Mil plus right defensive back Okan Alkan (66 OVR) who was in the final year of his contract.

With new additions to the defensive line, ECFC would make one more signing in the window, bringing in striker Federico Rasic (73 OVR) from Gimnasio La Plata in Argentina for $2 Mil plus center midfielder Nicky Rhead (67 OVR). The Argentinian striker would provide some strength and size to the Grecian attack which would be needed in the physically punishing BPL.

Exeter City will be bringing all 6'4" of Federico Rasic to the Premier League from G. La Plata in Argentina.

The last transfer for ECFC in the summer 2020 window was the sale of 19 year old Domenico Sereni (66 OVR). The young Italian attacking midfielder was a star in the Exeter City academy and was purchased on deadline day by Real Madrid for $6.5 Mil. This would leave Exeter City with a nice transfer cushion to hold onto for the winter window.

Rounding out the transfer window was the loans of Martinho Feijo (58 OVR) to Luton Town and Javier Rios (62 OVR) to Gillingham. The following youth academy players were called up prior to the start of the 2020 season:

Mamadou Mensah (NIG) - 55 OVR, GK
Roque Alvarez (CHL) - 66 OVR, CB
Pedro Cardenas (BRA) - 69 OVR, CAM
Basil Xenakis (GRE) - 59 OVR CB
Felipe Marcano (ARG) - 53 OVR, GK

After playing a few friendly games in August, Exeter City would begin its inaugural Premier League Season against Chelsea. They would lose 2-1 in a close match followed by a 2-0 loss to Liverpool and then a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa. They currently sit just outside the relegation zone with 1 point from the month of August and will need to quickly pull themselves up to meet the board's expectations of avoiding relegation.

Many supporters, old and new, are hopeful that koszak27 and the Grecians can overcome this difficult start to have a successful first year in the BPL.

This is the Exeter City starting XI on September 1st 2020 during the inaugural Premier League season:



Manager's Notes:
We finally made it to the promised land. It was tough and it took 6 full seasons but it was worth it. I managed to keep five of the original players and two of them (Shimps and Davies) have been my starting left and right backs since day one. Only now with Rose coming in on a free transfer is Davies on the bench, but his five goals last season were clutch. He will be right back in for tournaments, mid-week games or injuries.

I'll start with the 2019 winter window which I thought would just be a quick sim to the end. I knew Dezi was unhappy being replaced by Delph so I got him in as many games as I could but it seemed like he wasn't going to be happy unless he started the game. Because I sim all but one game per month, there was no way I could start him and then take him out. By January, he was emailing me to transfer him but I ended up getting a good player out of him. Jon Taylor is very pacey and I would use him late in games as a super sub on the wings to out run everyone. He didn't seem to be used much in the simulations but I had fun with him.

Beavon demanding a transfer really caught me off guard but his sale is what enabled me to do everything in the window. I had very little time once he was sold but I made the most of it and got four free transfers to instantly upgrade my team for the eventual Premier League birth.

After the window ended, things got really dicey with Beavon gone. We previously had no trouble beating up on most teams (I don't think my 1st team lost any games before February) but once I started to sim the last few months of the season, the players were not doing well. I tried different subs and formations but ultimately adding Tom Nichols as the RW in the 4-3-3 did the trick. I don't know why but that guy scores a lot through the simulations. In the three friendlies of August 2020 (all simmed), he had 4 goals!

I thought it would be smooth sailing to the end of the year in 2nd place but it was a nail biter. We hung on in the end though and managed to finally crawl out of the FL Championship along with Bolton and Reading (through the playoff).

The summer 2020 window was aggravating because the board gave us $1 Mil in transfer budget and $7,000 in weekly wages. That is pathetic for the Premier League and much less than the $5.5 Mil and $25,000 weekly wages we got the previous year in a lower league. I was forced to sell anyone I got an offer for and use youth academy players to offset the costs of buying new players. I was torn on selling Koray Gunter but ultimately I couldn't say no. AC Milan was paying well above his value and the only other big offers I was getting were for Romero and Izquierdo who I want to keep up front.

I have a good amount of money saved for some free transfers in the winter and if the first three games are any indication, we will need some help to be successful in the BPL. We just need to finish out of the bottom three this season, see who we can develop and determine what formations/players will work up here with the big boys.

Next update will be in 1 year, on September 1st 2021.

 

[88GTA]

September 1, 2021

- Exeter, UK

After earning only 1 point in August 2020, it was a bumpy start for Exeter City's inaugural season in the Premier League. The team would look to turn things around by relying on their work ethic and defensive strengths heading into the rest of the year.

During the course of September, October and November, the Grecians seemed to finally gel as a team with free transfers Simone Scuffet (77 OVR) and Danny Rose (77 OVR) anchoring the defense. On offense, Sebastian Romero (78 OVR) and Jose Izquierdo (79 OVR) kept up their familiar one-two punch and were trading goals with each other at an amazing pace. By January 1st, 2021, Exeter City sat 3rd in the Premier League tied with second place Manchester City and trailing league leaders Chelsea by 11 points.

Exeter City had gotten back on track after their slow start to the season in a surprising fashion. After losing two games in August, they only lost two more games from September through all of December. The team had found its stride through the fall of 2020 and were fighting for a place in European competition the following year.

The winter window started with a few players being loaned out. Center backs Sheyi Harris (66 OVR) and Roque Alvarez (66 OVR) would finish the year with Blackburn Rovers and Juventus, respectively. In addition, summer arrival Federico Rasic (73 OVR), formerly of Argentinian side Gimnasio La Plata, was in high demand after some great performances off the bench. Several teams jumped in with bids and ultimately Rasic would join Red Bull Leipzig for $6.8 Mil., thus ending his Premier League journey after only a few months.

Federico Rasic (left) is sold from Exeter City after only five months in the Premier League. He will join RB Leipzig for $6.8 Mil.

With a striker spot open on the bench, Exeter City found Yeovil Town forward Gozie Ugwu (68 OVR) to fill the void. The 28 year old English national would be sold to the Grecians for $400,000 plus youth academy product and CAM Tim Stevens (69 OVR).

Yeovil Town's 28 year old striker Gozie Ugwu will join Exeter City in the Premier League for $400,000 and attacking midfielder Tim Stevens.

Sitting in third place, it seemed the team could ride their momentum to a surprisingly high finish in their first season of Premier League football. Rather than disrupt the team's excellent play, the only other moves during the window were free transfers which would not arrive until the following season.

These are the free transfers coming to Exeter City next season:
Jores Okore (CB, 81 OVR) - 29 years old from Aston Villa
Cedric (RB, 80 OVR) - 30 years old from Stoke City
Yaya Sanogo (ST, 77 OVR) - 28 years old from Crystal Palace
Gerso - (LW, 74 OVR) - 30 years old from Moreirense FC
Michael Bradley (CM, 82 OVR) - 33 years old from Toronto FC

These players should add significant depth to a team that will likely be split between European tournament football and the Premier League season next year.

US National Michael Bradley will join Exeter City from Toronto FC on a free transfer for the 2021 Season.

Even after not changing any of the starting XI from the squad, Exeter City started February with two unusual losses. The team's form would wind up dropping even further from there as the Grecians found themselves in a downward spiral through the Premier League table.

The team fell out of European football by March and by the end of April, they sat in 8th place with only a handful of games left in the season. The hopeful ECFC supporters had witnessed their team fall from third place to 10th place by the end of the campaign and morale was extremely low. The Grecians had earned only three points after the winter window closed on February 1st with all the points earned off three draws. The team with such high hopes, due to an amazing first half of the year, were only saved by their low expectations as a first time participant in the BPL.

"We are not happy." stated Exeter City's manager, koszak27. "The team played marvelously the first half of the season and we made no significant changes to the players or tactics. I cannot answer why this happened but we will learn from it and aim to improve upon our efforts for next season."

Exeter City's board had publicly stated that they expected the team to at least avoid relegation this season and the team had achieved this goal. No one could be happy, however, with a mid-table finish after such a bright start to the year. The Grecians had gone without a single win following the winter window and a repeat performance next season could be disastrous for team management.

This was the starting XI to end the 2020-2021 season:


These are the player stats for the 2020-2021 Season sorted by Average Form:

The summer of 2021 was spent by Exeter City's management scouting for new talent and evaluating where to best use the new arrivals from last winter's window. Two players had left the team after expiring contracts; CB Luciano Lollo and long tenured striker Matthew Jay (59 OVR).

In addition, three youth academy players were called up to the senior team in the summer:
Luis Gonzalo (SPA) - 71 OVR, CB
Diego Montoya (SPA) - 68 OVR, RW
Javi Villar (CHL) - 73 OVR, RM

The summer window was kicked off to a big start as Everton Santos, the 21 year old center back who finished the season in the starting squad, was sold to Atletico Madrid for $29 Mil. This sale would fuel the purchases of two key players for Exeter City.

With Santos sold and former CB starter Luciano Lollo gone, the team looked for a starting center back to enforce the back line. The Grecians would recruit 30 year old Inigo Martinez (82 OVR) of Real Sociedad to take this place for $14 Mil. and youth prospect Roque Alvarez (68 OVR).

Inigo Martinez will join Exeter City in the Premier League for this upcoming season.

Right on the heels of this signing was also the purchase of Marco Asensio (80 OVR), the highly skilled 25 year old Spanish CAM from RCD Mallorca. Asensio would cost Exeter City $23 Mil. plus LM Florian Martin (75 OVR). This signing raised a few eyebrows because the Grecians did not typically employ a central attacking midfielder but Asensio was capable of playing a more normal midfield role when needed.

RCD Mallorca's Marco Asensio will transfer to Exeter City and the Premier League.

The final move by ECFC in the summer 2021 window was the sale of RM Jon Taylor (68 OVR). The 29 year old had been used regularly off the bench to make use of his blistering pace and creativity but he was sold to Birmingham City for $1.4 Mil.

By the end of August 2021, Exeter City had managed a respectable win, loss and tie in the three games to start the season. The team looked very different in several positions to just a season ago but necessary changes were made to avoid a repeat of last season's uncomfortable winless streak.

With the team sitting mid-table on September 1st, 2021, this was the starting XI:


This is Exeter City's roster for the 2021-2022 season:

Manager's Notes:
A very productive first half of the season was wasted with a really bad second half. We played like a team deserving relegation in the second half with no wins and three draws the final three months of the year. The only thing that saved me from being fired was how well we did in the beginning. I was surprised how badly the team played after the winter window because it was the same players, formations and tactics as before. Even in the one game per month that I would play the team seemed slow and couldn't create good chances. I'm just glad I wasn't fired and I have another shot at making Champions League games.

I was happy with our signings over the last two windows. We have some good talent coming in for the 2021-2022 season in Michael Bradley, Marco Asensio and Inigo Martinez. I may switch up the formation to drop down to only three defenders and get a fifth midfielder in because Nkoudou has been really effective in simulations and Rose is starting to quickly lose physical stats.

I was hopeful we would be playing European games this season but another year of development could help. I got some really good youth academy guys coming in and I think one even hit two May bumps in the academy. I mostly need to work on my own skills in the game because I rarely play with players this high rated against CPU players with Premier League stats. Usually I'm in lower leagues and get bored before I get this high. I just need to work on that one last move that gets me around the final defender.

Next update will be Sept. 1st, 2022 once this season has ended.

 

[88GTA]

I can't get the latest update to copy over but here is the link to it on OpSports and a spoiler below.

Spoiler

This is the league table to end the 2021-2022 season: