Zane Pritchard FM
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Schalke – Season 3.1
Zane Pritchard FM
It was hard to anticipate how this season would go. With an incredible run of form in the second half of last season to alleviate our relegation fears and fire us into the Europa Conference League, expectations will be higher this season. We were named as over achievers of the season and Yussuf Poulsen was […]
Schalke – Season 2
Zane Pritchard FM
Recruitment With promotion secured last season we had a big summer of recruitment ahead of us. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy and we certainly didn’t have any great players to sell. Even if we did we weren’t getting the percentage of transfer revenue from the board in order to see that income […]
Schalke 04 – Season 1
Zane Pritchard FM
Introduction A few years ago, FM19 possibly, I decided I was going to really dive into a save by choosing a team from a country other than England, and I’d make sure to follow that team. That team was Schalke as my dad worked in Gelsenkirchen when I was a child and brought me back […]
Gulls to Glory – Seasons 11 – 18
Zane Pritchard FM
We weren’t under much threat for the league last season, but this season was a little different. In the summer Barcelona activated the £120 million release clause of favourite Papa Roach. Usually this money would be impossible to say no to, but we were okay financially, and it was my little darling Papa Roach! I […]
Gulls to Glory – Season 10
Zane Pritchard FM
Recruitment After the triumph of last season, which you can read about here Season 9, we were preparing to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, a flash in the pan or whatever you want to call it, we must defend our title. As usual we got to work in the transfer market. A few were […]
Gulls to Glory – Season 9
Zane Pritchard FM
After losing out on the title on the last day of the season, we were putting plans in place to go one better this season. So as usual we dived into the transfer market to fish out even more wonderkids of whom we could hoard. Talented right back Caroco had all the attributes to conquer […]
Gulls to Glory – Season 8
Zane Pritchard FM
Off the back of a treble win, which you can read about here https://zanifblog.wordpress.com/2023/10/09/gulls-to-glory-season-7/ we were setting our sights on the Premier League trophy. It was a big ask of course, with Man City, Liverpool and Newcastle all in good stead, but it was time to be more ambitious than ever before. We were about […]
Gulls to Glory – Season 7
Zane Pritchard FM
So season 7 is now upon us. We are about to be seven seasons into building a legacy at little old Torquay United. As usual we start with the transfers and again we have been busy. There are two main signings I want to talk about here. Jordan Pickford came in for on a free […]
Gulls to Glory: Season 6
Zane Pritchard FM
So after our first season in the Premier League we are now ready to build for the second season and we need to try and tick off a board objective of being an established Premier League club. We were very busy in the transfer market. We’ve made a very, very good in Kristofer Ajer. Ajer […]
Gulls to Glory Season 5 (Premier League)
Zane Pritchard FM
It was still hard to believe that we would be playing in the Premier League this season. Just 4 short years ago we were kicking off our campaign in the Vanarama National League. At the end of my last post I told you about our new stadium. With this, the board needed to find a […]
Gulls to Glory Season 4
Zane Pritchard FM
Recruitment It has been an incredible 3 years here at Torquay. 3 back to back promotions means we’re now plying our trade in the Championship. Going into our league campaigns in League 2 and League 1 I was confident of our chances of promotion, very confident in fact, but that I no longer have that […]
Gulls to Glory Season 3
Zane Pritchard FM
Pre Season With back to back promotions under our belt, we were ready for another one. I feel the jump from League Two to League One isn’t much of a jump at all and if you’ve enjoyed a very good season in League 2 you were well set for another in a higher division. For […]
Gulls to Glory
Zane Pritchard FM
I’ve had fun over the pond in the America’s, but now it’s time to create a dynasty. 2 and a half years ago I left Torquay after living there for 28 years, so it feels only right to take them to glory. Torquay is a slow town with nothing to brag about. It tells you […]
Gulls to Glory
Zane Pritchard FM
I’ve had fun over the pond in the America’s, but now it’s time to create a dynasty. 2 and a half years ago I left Torquay after living there for 28 years, so it feels only right to take them to glory. Torquay is a slow town with nothing to brag about. It tells you […]
Gulls to Glory Season 2
Zane Pritchard FM
Pre Season After surprising everyone and defying the odds to gain promotion from the National League, we were ready to do the same again in League 2. Looking at the teams in this division I fancy our chances at another strong season. But we must recruit and improve this team, so we have a big […]
Season 2 Preview
Zane Pritchard FM
Pre Season With promotion achieved and a cup win under our belt, which you can read about here zanifblog.wordpress.com/2022/11/17/season-1/ that has left me with just 2 more boxes to tick before I leave Gremio. I now need to win Serie A and the Copa Libertadores but ultimately, I’ll be leaving this club in a better […]
Season 1
Zane Pritchard FM
Gaucho State The Gaucho State Championship divides my own opinion. On one hand, it’s a great pre season where partnerships on the pitch can form early, morale can be boosted with winning every week and it can all end with a trophy in the cabinet. On the other hand, it’s long winded (11 games spanning […]
The American Dream
Zane Pritchard FM
INTRO After success in Europe on FM 22 at multiple clubs, I felt it was time to hop over the ocean and start a South / North American journey. On FM20 I had great success with Gremio, making them the best club in the world, winning title after title and it all culminating in a […]
I Just Want To Call Her, And Talk About Barcelona
Zane Pritchard FM
After success at international level and being without a club job for a whole season now, I jumped at the opportunity to become Barcelona’s new manager. I didn’t expect to jump to a huge club at all in this career but when Barcelona come knocking, you don’t pretend you’re not home. Having a look at […]
World Cup 2030
Zane Pritchard FM
Without a club job to my name at the moment, my focus can be 100% on England and the World Cup 2030. We are defending champions and we are also playing the World Cup on home turf, so the nation expects. GROUP STAGES We kick off a 3 team group against Ghana, a game we […]
Closing Ceromonies
Zane Pritchard FM
absolutely flying Well well well, what a start we have had to the closing stage of the league here in Mexico! 5 wins on the spin sees us sit at the summit of the league. The most pleasing aspect for me is to see every player firing on all cylinders. Di Yorio is really starting […]
Sometimes Maybe Good, Sometimes Maybe Shit
Zane Pritchard FM
Well it’s been a mixed bag of results to baptise my career in Mexico. And after 10 games we quite are quite literally the definition of inconsistent. Here is our form from day one: DWLWLDWLWD. No back to back losses, draws or wins. I can honestly say I think this is a first for me […]
I’ve Got Such A Long Way To Go, To Make It To the Border Of Mexico
Zane Pritchard FM
Yearning for a new challenge and to learn about a new league, I’ve said goodbye to Europe and taken my talents to Mexico. I will be stamping my authority on the Mexican club Pachuca and hopefully leading them to glory in the Liga MX. First thing to do is learn the rules of the league. […]
Rome was Almost Built in a Day
Zane Pritchard FM
Every once in a while you look through your new squad, set them up in regards to their best abilities and everything just instantly clicks. It’s safe to say that is definitely the case for me at Lazio. We’re 10 games away from the end of the season. When I took over in November we […]
Take the Ball, Pass the Ball
Zane Pritchard FM
It’s been a pretty solid start to my tenure here at Lazio. We won our first league game away at Empoli 1 – 4 and passed them off the park. A 91% pass completion rate with 64% possession allows us to think we may be quickly onto something with our ball retention style of play. […]
When in Rome
Zane Pritchard FM
After a very successful time at Bayer Leverkusen, I felt it was the right time to leave. I was having doubts about staying as we’d now won everything we could win and it felt as if there was no where else to go. With me wanting to take the England job and the board taking […]
Season Review
Zane Pritchard FM
Star players Gvardiol With the dust now well and truly settled on our treble winning season, I felt it only right to highlight the key performers who made this possible. I’ll start with Gvardiol. We spent mega bucks on Gvardiol at a time we shouldn’t really be doing so. An offer of 175k a week […]
Well, Well, Well. We’ve Only Gone and Done It!
Zane Pritchard FM
treble winners I left the last post by saying “we couldn’t, could we?” And I honestly thought we couldn’t. A thin squad going into every big game as underdogs suggested we would just scrape a title win, let alone win the league, DFB Pokal and the Champions League. The dust has settled on the treble […]
Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t
Zane Pritchard FM
This title race is heading to the wire and whisper it quietly, we’re the front runners! In November we turned around a 2 goal deficit away to Borussia Dortmund to win 3 – 5 which saw us move to the top of the league for the first time this season. Bayern and Dortmund have both […]
The Next Big Thing
Zane Pritchard FM
Now the dust has settled on last season and we’ve licked our wounds from the Europa League final defeat, it’s time to look to the future. I really feel as if we’re ready for a serious title challenge this season and this may just be our year. Usually at this stage I’d look at where […]
Leverkusen
Zane Pritchard FM
My German adventure lives on with Leverkusen and things are looking good. Something felt stale at Gladbach and I knew it was time to leave. Leverkusen has always appealed to me, and when the chairman told me in the interview I’d have over 100 million euros in the transfer budget, it was hard to say […]
In our Groove
Zane Pritchard FM
Our 3 at the back set up has brought mixed results. Something just isn’t really clicking. Very concerned about the ease that through balls are played in against us resulting in clear cut chances or a goal. Having a BPD in the center of a 3 in cover would suggest you’d have cover in […]
Anderlecht!
Zane Pritchard FM
Welcome to belgium We’re now 3 months into FM22 and I think it’s safe to say this may be the best version of the game ever. The introduction of the data hub was extremely exciting and I found my save in Germany to be more enhanced and more engaging when I was using the data […]
A German Adventure
Zane Pritchard FM
After an extremely successful and enjoyable journey in Brazil with Gremio on FM 21, it’s time to go back to Europe. This however, won’t exactly be a European tour, more of a tour around Germany. The only thing that is set in stone here is that I will be managing in Germany and only […]
8 Years at Gremio
Zane Pritchard FM
Well, what an amazing ride it has been here for me as manager of Gremio Football Club. The club is going from strength to strength on and off the field and the future looks extremely bright, whether I’m here or not. To think back to 2020 with short term and long term objectives scrawled in […]
Joys and Sorrows too
Zane Pritchard FM
Since Friday the 10th of March, 3 EFL Championship managers have been sacked due to a poor run of results. The list includes Steve McLaren of Derby County, Alex Neil of Norwich City and Warren Joyce of Wigan Athletic. At the time of writing, Gianfranco Zola is still employed by Birmingham City Football Club, which […]