[FM17] The Pep Guardiola Story Starts Again

[Northernpilgrim]

Hello, and welcome to my FM17 save. I've decided to do something a bit different this year, and it's probably the most difficult challenge I've ever undertaken.

The Challenge

This challenge, as the title suggests, is based on the career of Pep Guardiola. I'm going to try to win every trophy he has managed to (including the minor ones), in the same timescale. I will also take a 'sabbatical' at the same stage he did, and will watch games during that time, posting updates from the football world. I will create the vacancy at the next club at the appropriate time, but it'll still be up to my manager to get the job, I won't re-invent myself.

My Manager

I have, with the help of the FM Community, managed to almost exactly replicate Pep Guardiola's attributes from the 2007/8 season, and so here he is

and here are his managerial stats to date

The starting point

[Keano16]

Interesting concept, following.

[Northernpilgrim]

34 minutes ago, Keano16 said:

Interesting concept, following.

Great to have you on board . Forgot to add to my previous post that I'm also looking to replicate Pep's playing style, so I'm currently building a 4-3-3 and 3-4-3, both of which he has used with Barcelona and Bayern. I'll post it as soon as they are done, and if anyone has any feedback to make them more 'authentically Pep', I'd appreciate the comments.

[Northernpilgrim]

Here is the squad I've inherited, and I think it looks pretty good

[Northernpilgrim]

Here are the initial tactical setups, starting with the 4-3-3

and the 3-4-3

and the team instructions, which I've initially kept the same for both setups

The Goalkeeper in both tactics is a Sweeper Keeper (Support)

[Northernpilgrim]

Preseason didn't get off to the best start, but we were looking good by the end

[Northernpilgrim]

The board determine who joins and leaves Barcelona B, so I'm not doing a transfer update this summer, but will do one at the end of the season to show the comings and goings

[Holdii]

Great concept and idea, I will be following. 

[Northernpilgrim]

2 hours ago, Holdii said:

Great concept and idea, I will be following. 

Thanks Holdii  I've got a feeling that the first season is going to be very tough, as he won the title with Baca B and we're only tipped for mid table.

[BoxToBox]

I'd imagine the real challenge here is jumping from B to A?

I managed Barca B once on a save, and managed to do well enough to get an offer from Espanyol, but that's a whole(and much smaller) different kettle of fish than Barcelona.

[Northernpilgrim]

11 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

I'd imagine the real challenge here is jumping from B to A?

I managed Barca B once on a save, and managed to do well enough to get an offer from Espanyol, but that's a whole(and much smaller) different kettle of fish than Barcelona.

Yes, of course that will be a big challenge, I was more meaning that even though I'm 'only' managing the B Team, I still need to win the league to match Pep's achievement. I'm also going to need to get my Pro Licence this season as well

[BoxToBox]

11 minutes ago, Northernpilgrim said:

Yes, of course that will be a big challenge, I was more meaning that even though I'm 'only' managing the B Team, I still need to win the league to match Pep's achievement. I'm also going to need to get my Pro Licence this season as well

Sorry! I should have been clearer, that was more a general question about the entire save/story, rather than a direct reply to your last post.

Winning a league with a B-Team is always a massive challenge, especially since you're never 100% sure what players you have from week to week.

[Northernpilgrim]

There was just one league game in August, and whilst we're by no means fully playing like a Pep side, there were definitely encouraging signs

and here's the early table

[Northernpilgrim]

Good news

[Northernpilgrim]

Not a great start to September, but I'm delighted with how we responded

and we're right on the heels of the leader, trailing only on goal difference

[Northernpilgrim]

October went very well until the last game, which was woeful

and cost us the chance to end the month top of a tight league table

[Northernpilgrim]

November.... oh dear

but somehow we're still right in the mix

[Northernpilgrim]

December was better, with the Friendly defeat being against a La Liga team

and we're back on top of the table

[Northernpilgrim]

Given that we're at the halfway stage, and the nature of the challenge, I decided to take a look at how the first team are doing. It looks like there might be a vacancy at the end of the season, if Luis Enrique lasts that long

[Northernpilgrim]

January was not bad either

and saw us go back to the top of the table

[Cvija]

Good story i must copy that...i play with Barcelona B too ,please continue

[Northernpilgrim]

9 minutes ago, Cvija said:

Good story i must copy that...i play with Barcelona B too ,please continue

Thanks

[Keano16]

It's going well so far! Hope you can keep it up! Will you be manually putting yourself into the first team role when the time comes?

[Northernpilgrim]

February was ok but not spectacular

and we're just off the top as a result

[Northernpilgrim]

1 hour ago, Keano16 said:

It's going well so far! Hope you can keep it up! Will you be manually putting yourself into the first team role when the time comes?

Thanks Keano16  Yes, as stated in my opening post, if the vacancy isn't there at the appropriate time, I will create it, but I will not 'reinvent' my Pep Guardiola, I'll apply for the job and hopefully get it. I've just been linked in the press with the Fulham job, but I obviously said I wasn't interested.

[-Ironhide-]

Have any of your stats increased from the beginning? If not KUTGW!

[Northernpilgrim]

Just now, -Ironhide- said:

Have any of your stats increased from the beginning? If not KUTGW!

I've not looked, but your question has given me an idea. Given that the save is all about emulating Pep Guardiola, I'll post season by season comparisons of our records, and also an updated screenshot showing my manager's attributes at the end of each season.

[Northernpilgrim]

Unbeaten, but far from perfect in March

although we lead by 2 and have the title in our own hands

[Northernpilgrim]

The patchy form continued in April

but we end the month top, and the title in our own hands

[Northernpilgrim]

We didn't win the final game

but took the title

and given that 2 minutes of added time was signalled, and their goal came in the 4TH added minute, I'm very disappointed. It's happened far too many times this season. I'm also disappointed with their goal.

 

[Northernpilgrim]

We drew Ponferrada in the playoffs, the first leg at home, and what a game it proved to be, even if the overall result is still in the balance

 

[Northernpilgrim]

The second leg finished all square, meaning we are promoted to the Segunda Division, and will play in the final

 

[Northernpilgrim]

[Northernpilgrim]

We really should have a first leg lead based on these stats

but somehow managed to lose it, and therefore have it all to do in the second leg

 

[Northernpilgrim]

The stats in the second leg were fairly even

and the match ended in a draw, meaning we lost over two legs

 

[Northernpilgrim]

In line with what I stated earlier, as the Barcelona job is not vacant, I have created a vacancy by adding a manager and immediately resigning, and I've applied for the now vacant job myself

[Northernpilgrim]

My contract at Barcelona B expires in a week, and as yet I've not been offered the Barcelona job, nor have I been told I've been unsuccessful. I've so far refused to sign a new Barcelona B contract, but with time running out, I'm not sure what to do. Given the point of the challenge, I guess the right thing to do is to sign with Barcelona B again, try to win the Segunda Division, and then apply for or generate the Barcelona job again next summer?

[Northernpilgrim]

I didn't get it, so I guess I'll be staying at Barcelona B, if they offer me a contract again

[Northernpilgrim]

New contract signed, so now to try and win the Segunda Division and hope that the reputation boost, the fact I'll have completed my Pro Licence, and the fact I'm already at the club, will be enough to get the job next time

[Northernpilgrim]

And here is the first update comparing 'the two Pep Guardiolas'

      FM17 Pep Guardiola

         Barcelona B      2016-17   38     22     8     8     81    49     57.89   1st

 

[Northernpilgrim]

Not a perfect preseason with a couple of heavy defeats

and it looks as though we could be in for a long season

I don't get to bring in my own players, but here is the squad as it looks now

[Northernpilgrim]

Ideally I'd like another striker in the squad, but as I've previously said, I don't get to choose who comes in or gets sold. The squad looks full of potential, but it's light on current quality, which is a problem as I'm looking to move on sooner rather than later.

[Northernpilgrim]

We've had a bad start to the season results-wise, and I get the feeling the prediction of struggle might be accurate

although we're currently out of the relegation zone, a win is badly needed

[Northernpilgrim]

Due to a save game issue I had to reload and when I did, I had to play the last game of August again, and unfortunately this time we lost it 2-0. Here is the amended table

[-Ironhide-]

Unlucky that your save file went bad, hopefully the next round of fixtures will be easier...

[Northernpilgrim]

On ‎31‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 07:08, -Ironhide- said:

Unlucky that your save file went bad, hopefully the next round of fixtures will be easier...

It wasn't a corrupted save luckily. I reached the end of transfer deadline day without realising the board had sanctioned the sale of both my goalkeepers, and had sent me a Barcelona keeper instead. He wasn't registered, and I had forgotten to save at the start of deadline day as I normally do. I thought I had saved it so expected to be taken back to deadline day morning, only to find myself at kickoff time ahead of the Reus game. I could have replayed to try to get the same result, but this feels more honest. I know some people might think I should have accepted my error, but my reasoning is I got no message warning me I didn't have a keeper in the squad, and in real life an Ass Man or my PA would have said something to prevent the mistake happening.

[Northernpilgrim]

September was better, much better. And if it hadn't been for a pesky 90th minute equaliser for Huesca, it would have been absolutely perfect

and the table now looks like this

[ScottGooner]

Interesting idea and a great start.

[Northernpilgrim]

I can't find the news item to confirm it, but just had a look at my profile, and I've now got my Pro Licence , so hopefully when I create the Barcelona vacancy again at the end of the season, the board will at least think about it

[Northernpilgrim]

We had a wobble at the start of October, then responded really well

and we're (for now at least) looking up, rather than down

and the month included a sweet 2-0 victory over Real Madrid's B team that was even more comprehensive than the scoreline suggests, and included a goal that, if it had been the first team, would have been shown around the world