Hi Everyone!
We have just completed 4 seasons, so I am going to show you where my original squad is at the current moment in time. And the development of the squad from the first season. Well I’ll go in alphabetical order;
Artur Boruc
Well Boruc retired after 2 seasons of being on the bench, first it was Butland then Ter Stegen ahead of him in the pecking order. He has turned into a potentially very good goalkeeping coach.
Richard Chaplow
Well Chaplow was one of the first to go and has continued a lower league career with Huddersfield and spellson loan to Coventry and now Doncaster. He has declined a lot maybe due to a lack of matches and the quality of football.
Nathaniel Clyne
Clyne has improved a lot,both in value and in attributes, getting all key stats for an attacking full back. Currently he is used in rotation and he has earned two caps for England.
Jack Cork
Cork has improved considerably since season 1, his already impressive mental stats have improved and he has turned into a very good deep lying playmaker which is crucial to my tactics, he has earned 33 caps and still in his peak. He is currently my vice captain.
Kelvin Davis
Davis is now manager of Bradford PA who are in the Blue Square North and started at Hayes and Yeading before being sacked after a season and a half. He looks to be climbing the managerial ladder.
Steven Davis
Steven Davis has a settled place in the Blackburn team after leaving us. We had made £2 million of him and he has gone on to be an integral part of mid table Blackburn. He got them promoted and helped them settle in the Premier League.
Steve De Ridder
Steve De Ridder left in the first season, and he is currently in his peak, playing for Huddersfield of which he has been an integral part.
Guly
Guly recently retired and I would’ve liked to keep him on till the end of his career but he couldn’t get a work permit and went to Montenegrin club Buducnost before becoming an average scout.
Danny Fox
Back up to Shaw for most of his Southampton career, he left as a free agent and went to QPR, under achieving given their squad, exactly like real life.
Jose Fonte
Former captain Fonte left last season and became Player/Coach of Hull. He has 1 full season left then he will become a full coach, a very good one at that..
Jos Hooiveld
Major part of the squad in the first season but then other signings pushed him out and he was sent on loan out before finally being sold to Watford.
Adam Lallana
I had to sell the Southampton talisman after he suffered a major injury in the 14-15 season as he just didn’t perform the season after due to a massive decline in stats and at that point he was 26, past the age where he could recover from this. At Swansea now, he is just there as back up I think though we haven’t started the season yet.
Rickie Lambert
Rickie Lambert unfortunately couldn’t perform like like he did in real life, but I expect he will get a massive upgrade after finishing joint top English scorer in the Premier League. However, he left the club totally last season and went to Sunderland before going to Wigan who incidentally are in the Championship. He’s declined a lot with age but he can still perform in the Championship.
Emmanuel Mayuka
Mayuka spent a couple of years at Espanyol then left in a £3.8 million deal to HSV. He was never good enough to be in this squad but he is a good little player in real life but underplayed by Adkins however early indications from MP show that he will be used a lot so in FM14, EXPECT an upgrade, probably for all the Southampton players after the resurgence last season starting with 3-1 win against Man City!
Jason Puncheon
Jason Puncheon is another one who couldn’t replicate real life form so he left and had 3 seasons at Watford before being sold to Wigan, same as Rickie Lambert.
Gaston Ramirez
Gaston has improved a lot and now has over 50 caps for Uruguay, a firm part of Uruguay’s side, looks like he will get over a century of caps at this rate, maybe 150 considering major tournaments. Also he is a firm part of my Southampton team mainly due to his skills and also his versatility over a number of positions. Due to my failure of not realising that individual role works all key attributes instead of just one with attribute training.
Jay Rodriguez
Rodriguez has improved so much since season 1! At his peak now, he is a great striker though he was off the boil in the last season but his record fro England is very impressive with 10 in 28.
Morgan Schniderlin
Another player who has improved a lot is Morgan Schniderlin who has become club captain and oneof the best players on our team. His central midfield partnership with Cork and Taider,then Ward Prowse was amazing and the base for our success in this save.
Luke Shaw
The development of Luke Shaw has been a sight to see considering his current stats and the fact that he has maybe 3-4 years of rapid development! He is already England’s number 1 choice left back and is wanted by a lot of big clubs including big rivals Manchester Utd despite their fullback-less formation!
James Ward-Prowse
Exactly like Luke Shaw, a massive prospect who has delivered! He has improved a lot and still has a lot to go at the young age of 22! He is a very good advanced playmaker and part of the ‘original Southampton’ midfield trio along with Schniderlin and Cork.
Well I hope you enjoyed this hefty post on the first squad from day 1 in our journey! It took a lot of time to write but it will be worth it if you guys enjoy it. I will be starting on my pre season so maybe something before I go on holiday in a week!
Thanks for Reading
saintsboy
Saints 