Welcome to The Set Pieces’ most ambitious Football Manager Project yet. You Call The Shots is the first time we attempt to unite the FM20 community to show just how good they are at the game. The premise is simple: we click the buttons, but it’s your votes that will decide how well we do. So, can we show we’re FM til we die by leading Sunderland back to the Championship?
Episode 1; Episode 2; Episode 3; Episode 4; Episode 5; Episode 6; Episode 7; Episode 8
When the only jeopardy left in the final six matches of the season is whether we’re going to be record-breakers (at the right end of the table), then it’s clearly been a pretty good campaign.
But as we try to amass the number of points in the remaining games to surpass Wolves’ League One record of 103 points in a season, we were gearing up for a change up front thanks to your votes in episode eight.
For the third time this series, you voted for Nicklas Bendtner to be added to our side as our forwards’ form deserted them. Unlike before, this time Bendtner managed to stay fit when we put him in the team – although one goal in those six starts shows he wasn’t firing on all cylinders.
But persevere we did. Bendtner’s profligacy coincided with a continued struggle in front of goal. We either blew the opposition away or struggled to make inroads, and relied on set pieces to provide our goal threat.
You also voted for us to stay relaxed with the players as the season came to an end and it did seem to have the desired effect, as we ground out the results that left us with the chance to get to 103 with a win on the final day. But would we do it?
Sadly, the answer was no as Bendtner and the side drew a blank against Rotherham, a side still battling to make sure they were in the play-offs.
It meant we added with only 100 points and a mighty 22 points ahead of Blackpool in third. We’d achieved our initial aim, but fell short of what we needed to take the record – although in a 23-team league (and two fewer games), we have the best points-per-game ratio ever seen in the division.
That leaves only one question left to ask…
Want more Football Manager? Relive our FM20 Coaches Project from earlier this year to see what happened we pitched a group of real-life coaches head-to-head.
