Jogo Bonito Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share Posted June 13, 2020 5 minutes ago, karanhsingh said: Nice ones! I feel like Ashu looks the best of the lot, and has a solid personality too. I feel the same, Ashu looks the best. I don't really get involved in newgens and £20,000 is a massive fee for me on a generated player (the highest so far). The two defenders from year one should improve as I had better options than them last year and they rarely got action. This year they will play much more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) FC Lorient - Season 2021/22 This is a very brief update from the start of our third season, but nevertheless it's quite a satisfying one to share As you can see, our league campaign got off to a cracking start as we thumped Strasbourg 5-2 (we were 4-0 up and perhaps eased up a bit) Our bogey team Nantes were finally beaten at their place, and this was probably a more significant result than the opener Nimes and Grenoble have also been seen off in some style, and we are naturally delighted to have a 100% league record after the first four rounds of fixtures Our European adventure has also gone better than expected, as you may have spotted above We really felt we had little chance against Spanish side Villarreal, especially after only drawing the home leg 1-1 at the Tango Area The away leg we were supposed to keep it tight and try to hit them on the break, and although that was an absolute fail we pulled out a great result in Spain We were 3-2 up and comfortable by the time they scored late to make it 3-3, and we fully deserved to progress to the group stages by virtue of away goals Interestingly, all four goals against them came from defenders - three from the full backs in open play and one from Tchamba courtesy of a set-piece header We aren't getting ahead of ourselves by any means, but this doesn't look to be the toughest group we could have been given So, after a superb opening month we are currently sat top of Ligue 1 - but of course fully expect a blip and for PSG to blow the rest of us away again Anything else? Our pre-season and early games have seen us deploying a new 4312 formation, with Wissa now playing alongside Hamel in attack This means we are able to get more of our central midfielders on the pitch, and the two strikers are able to link up and create more threat in and around the penalty area As we no longer need to use Wissa on the left wing, we are only dropping one winger (Camara) but he can always come off the bench if we need attacking width The full backs are naturally set to attack anyway, and seem to have no problem bombing forward and creating chances whilst remaining solid defensively We do still switch from balanced away to positive at home, and sometimes the role of the central midfield player might change depending on who plays and what we need We made no more player or staff signings, and were unable to sell a number of players we felt were suitable to try and move on However we did manage to arrange loan deals for three more 2nd Team players, and we expect each of them to benefit from increased amounts of competitive football Is the future bright and orange? It looks to be the case, as Lorient 2 is unbeaten after three games and the Under 19 squad has a 5-1-0 record and goal difference of +32 after six games Djibril Toure has been promoted to the 2nd Team after two prolific seasons with the youth squad, but has not yet opened his account at the higher level However his promotion has finally given regular Under 19 starts to original youth forwards Girard & Sadjo, and the pair have been electric in front of goal Edited June 16, 2020 by Jogo Bonito Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Interesting tactics good to see something different. Are the mezzallas getting wide as well? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) 15 minutes ago, karanhsingh said: Interesting tactics good to see something different. Are the mezzallas getting wide as well? Thanks, I don't know how different it is really? In our 433 the full backs didn't have any protection from wingers attacking them, so it's not leaving us any more open. We can pack the midfield, can still get crosses in (all be it from the full backs now not wide attackers), and we have more of a threat in attack with two up there. I don't really see the mezallas get too wide, but they might do. They do have energy and are an important part of the side. They would have been on box-to-box duties probably, but neither has good finishing stats. Sometimes Le Fee plays as AP but he can play in any of the four midfield positions we use. Talking of Le Fee, I've been turning down bids of over £25 million for him, but he isn't unhappy about it. I'm slightly concerned his £4,000 per week deal ends in 2023 and would happily pay him three times that but the agent won't talk to me after his first negotiations saw him demanding £50,000 per week for the player. The player himself is on great terms with me, but I have to wait for the 'sack agent' option to come up as I cannot instigate this myself Edited June 14, 2020 by Jogo Bonito 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Got it. Seems to be working well! You'll definitely need to get Le Fee to extend this season somehow! Don't want to be going into the final 12 months with uncertainty. Hopefully you can have that agent sacked soon 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) @karanhsingh Well, nothing lasts forever so it's not a new 'wonder tactic' and will no doubt get sussed in due course. You're right about the last 12 months being a nervous period on your star players. It's unrealistic with the player/agent stuff. This is a player who has sometimes made me go to ask him what's up and always says 'I was thinking about asking for a new contract but the fact you have come to talk to me is good enough for me to drop it'. So he is clearly one I remain on good terms with. IRL this situation would allow me to say 'I'm desperately trying to give you a new contract on a par with the maximum earners at the club' but your idiot agent wants you to go from £4,000 (which you are happy with) to £50,000 which is three times our highest earner. All the time he does this, you're earning about £10,000 per week less than we would happily pay you... Edited June 14, 2020 by Jogo Bonito Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 13 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said: @karanhsingh Well, nothing lasts forever so it's not a new 'wonder tactic' and will no doubt get sussed in due course. You're right about the last 12 months being a nervous period on your star players. It's unrealistic with the player/agent stuff. This is a player who has sometimes made me go to ask him what's up and always says 'I was thinking about asking for a new contract but the fact you have come to talk to me is good enough for me to drop it'. So he is clearly one I remain on good terms with. IRL this situation would allow me to say 'I'm desperately trying to give you a new contract on a par with the maximum earners at the club' but your idiot agent wants you to go from £4,000 (which you are happy with) to £50,000 which is three times our highest earner. All the time he does this, you're earning about £10,000 per week less than we would happily pay you... I understand where you're coming from but the exact same thing happened with Lihadji as well. Agents are probably comparing it to what the player with his current ability and reputation would be able to earn in say England for example. On my save when Lihadji did move Norwich were paying him 60k a week! He was asking me for 50k but would probably have signed somewhere between 30-35k. If you do want to retain him I have a feeling you'll have to break your wage structure soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 9 minutes ago, karanhsingh said: I understand where you're coming from but the exact same thing happened with Lihadji as well. Agents are probably comparing it to what the player with his current ability and reputation would be able to earn in say England for example. On my save when Lihadji did move Norwich were paying him 60k a week! He was asking me for 50k but would probably have signed somewhere between 30-35k. If you do want to retain him I have a feeling you'll have to break your wage structure soon. The current top earner is on £13,000 per week. I'll go to £15,000 for Le Fee, that's smashing the structure If he doesn't want to sign, I'll agree a sale for top whack once next season is underway, with a compulsory loan-back option for more than one season. No player is bigger than the club, whatever 'le fee' may be... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Agents are PITA's. They often ruin perfectly good deals over something stupid. Good Luck this season. The narrow 4-3-1-2 is very interesting... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: Agents are PITA's. They often ruin perfectly good deals over something stupid. Good Luck this season. The narrow 4-3-1-2 is very interesting... Thanks, yes the inability to bypass agents is a real pain and I think not particularly reflective of reality. I've used this with several teams (Bristol Rovers I remember did well with it in the BETA) and it seems to fit my players for the time being. I feared the old 'a new day brings a different FM experience' but I've just played my first fixture and it's gone well. I've also secured my 4th choice central defender (French, age 21) for a mere £200,000 transfer fee and £7,000 per week wage, and my 2nd Team has just beaten their PSG equivalents too. The future is bright... Now that I definitely won't be signing him, I can reveal the centre-back I had been trying to sign for over a year but couldn't was Anthony Caci from Strasbourg. He moved to Rennes for £4.2 million, so with this fee and wages of £15,000 per week my new signing is much more appropriate for a back-up. I wonder if they have to play him as a 'libero' like he insisted with me... Edited June 14, 2020 by Jogo Bonito 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 3 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: The current top earner is on £13,000 per week. I'll go to £15,000 for Le Fee, that's smashing the structure If he doesn't want to sign, I'll agree a sale for top whack once next season is underway, with a compulsory loan-back option for more than one season. No player is bigger than the club, whatever 'le fee' may be... I like the pun I can't see him accepting 15k but how I'm wrong Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlivierL Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 I love the 4-4-2 diamond (i know it is not a diamond) ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 4 minutes ago, karanhsingh said: I like the pun I can't see him accepting 15k but how I'm wrong I can't see it either. It's not a nice problem looming on the horizon. 2 minutes ago, OlivierL said: I love the 4-4-2 diamond (i know it is not a diamond) ! Fake diamonds are OK, that's what I tell the wife Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlivierL Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 2 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said: I can't see it either. It's not a nice problem looming on the horizon. Fake diamonds are OK, that's what I tell the wife haha Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) FC Lorient - Season 2021/22 Ending August top of the table was an unexpected bonus, but our league form in September kept us there as scintillating form in Ligue 1 earned four wins from four games We also won our opening Euro Cup II group game, although we did taste defeat away to Schalke in the final fixture of the month October was much tougher, and after a couple of scrappy draws we then lost our first league game of the season That came as OL left the Tango Arena with a comfortable 2-0 victory on 24th October, and then we lost next time out at Lille too The only win of a disappointing month was actually in Denmark, as we fought off AGF by a 1-0 margin November started with us hosting AGF as we looked to push on in our European group, but our wobbly form only delivered a 1-1 draw this time around We did bounce back with a much better display against Reims, and the 4-0 win was just like old times for our loyal fans Progress was checked as we were beaten at Angers, but we did end the month on a positive with a slender win over Molde in Norway So after an up-and-down three months we sit 4th in the table, and with a game in hand (which comes right at the start of December) Our erratic form can be put down partly to an injury to top striker Pierre-Yves Hamel in training just after the loss to Lyon He made his return against Molde, and whilst Yoane Wissa did his best alongside his interim strike partner(s) there is no doubt we are stronger when the pair are together Anything else? On 7th September 2021 we made a low-risk signing of a player we had been tracking for some time We previously pulled the plug on an agreed £325,000 transfer for Pierre Kalulu, but after failing to land Anthony Caci we decided to check if a deal was still possible In the end a reduced fee of £200,000 was agreed, and it seemed a sensible move for a young French player adept at playing on the right or centre of defence He has so far been unable to play in Europe as he was not registered, but has made a handful of appearances from the bench in domestic league games We also decided to loan our youth striker prospect Djibril Toure out to Clermont in Ligue 2 He has scored one goal in five league games so far plus a goal in his only cup game, but attributes are not increasing under their coaches We also added another coach for Lorient 2, with ex-PSG & Nice development team manager Laurent Bonadei arriving on 7th November 2021 Is the future bright and orange? Yes and no (if that is possible) as our results have been good, but not exceptional like in previous years This was to be expected as the natural flow is for our best young players to progress through the ranks from youth to development to senior level Individually there have been some good performances, but the most talented prospects sent out on loan have only shown glimpses of what we think they can achieve Edited June 16, 2020 by Jogo Bonito Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Great run of form there! Hope you can keep it going Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) 8 minutes ago, karanhsingh said: Great run of form there! Hope you can keep it going Thanks, it was great and now it is sometimes good. It's a very competitive league, except for PSG. For example, Nantes who we edged out of Europe on GD last season are struggling and just sacked their manager. Angers always beat us and they're just outside the drop zone. Each week is a new test, but I am enjoying it. By the way, if anybody who likes French football is able to catch it, BT Sport did a great review of the actual Ligue 2 season at the weekend, with the focus on the two promoted teams Lorient and RC Lens. It was a great watch for me, and anybody at an original Ligue 2 club on FM would probably enjoy. Edited June 16, 2020 by Jogo Bonito 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlivierL Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Good job. 4th place is great. how many players in your squad are Britany born ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 14 minutes ago, OlivierL said: Good job. 4th place is great. how many players in your squad are Britany born ? Thanks. I knew we couldn't maintain the form at the start, but anywhere in the top half is good I think. I actually have no idea, I might add a column to my squad view if I have room. I'd have loved a squad full of players from Bretagne but didn't set off on that challenge. What I do know is that most of them will eventually be HGC if I stay here for enough seasons (that was part of the reason for investing so heavily in the 2nd & 3rd squads). Eventually I hope my policy not to sign anyone older than 23 will pay-off . 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, OlivierL said: how many players in your squad are Britany born ? I added a column, it looks like 4/23 in the main squad. Two from Lorient, one from Brest and one from Quimper. But then some of these places I don't know which region they are without looking them up. I probably could have got a squad from the region if I had tried as I see Rennes, Brest and Guingamp all appear on the Brittany map. Edited June 16, 2020 by Jogo Bonito 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlivierL Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 47 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said: I added a column, it looks like 4/23 in the main squad. Two from Lorient, one from Brest and one from Quimper. But then some of these places I don't know which region they are without looking them up. I probably could have got a squad from the region if I had tried as I see Rennes, Brest and Guingamp all appear on the Brittany map. Yes , i visited almost all of their stadiums (i told u already about Lorient). Even the stadium of Quimper Send me a screenshot if u have time and i can tell u if u have more players from Brittany. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) 10 minutes ago, OlivierL said: Yes , i visited almost all of their stadiums (i told u already about Lorient). Even the stadium of Quimper Send me a screenshot if u have time and i can tell u if u have more players from Brittany. Thanks for the offer. I deleted the column already, but checked the other first team players manually and I don't think there were any more. A few were from in and around Paris, one from Marseille, one from Lyon, one from Normandy, one from Nantes but not much else. The younger age groups might have a few more. Edited June 16, 2020 by Jogo Bonito Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 Toure to Clermont. I'd keep him wrapped up like a mummy with his fitness! LOL! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 17, 2020 Author Share Posted June 17, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, Hootieleece said: Toure to Clermont. I'd keep him wrapped up like a mummy with his fitness! LOL! It looks bad, but honestly I don't recall him being injured yet. 78 goals in 62 (6) appearances for my youth side in two seasons. Season 1 (Under 19 team) he played less as he was 16 and turned 17 during the year Season 2 (Under 19 team) he hardly missed a game, and any he missed would have been rotation or international absence Of course, I'm happy for him to be wrapped up like a mummy (maybe should have sent him on loan to Egypt instead). Edited June 17, 2020 by Jogo Bonito 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 He seems a good prospect, even if he looks really angry in his picture! @Jogo Bonito - you seem to have so many good prospects floating all over the place, a bit like Chelsea. I suppose you'll have to start picking who you will be promoting to the first team and when. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 18, 2020 Author Share Posted June 18, 2020 (edited) 6 hours ago, karanhsingh said: He seems a good prospect, even if he looks really angry in his picture! @Jogo Bonito - you seem to have so many good prospects floating all over the place, a bit like Chelsea. I suppose you'll have to start picking who you will be promoting to the first team and when. He might be angry that I forgot to sign his brother on a free transfer in the summer (another promising young striker). I don't have many out on loan, probably 5-10 in total (will have to check that tonight after work). As the experienced players contracts expire, it's a natural progression to not sign (many) players and just keep promoting ours through the levels. That includes recalling players on loan and seeing if they can step up, quite exciting times ahead I hope. Edited June 18, 2020 by Jogo Bonito Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 Makes sense - sound strategy! If you can get it working well I much prefer it to buying several new players every season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 18, 2020 Author Share Posted June 18, 2020 40 minutes ago, karanhsingh said: Makes sense - sound strategy! If you can get it working well I much prefer it to buying several new players every season Yeah, I agree. Obviously i signed a few lower league players and some from Africa right at the start because of releasing lots of first team players in CAC mode. Since then, only three players came in for the first team (all low rep choices too). Hoping to play a few games tonight as not had any time the last few days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: He might be angry that I forgot to sign his brother on a free transfer in the summer (another promising young striker). I don't have many out on loan, probably 5-10 in total (will have to check that tonight after work). As the experienced players contracts expire, it's a natural progression to not sign (many) players and just keep promoting ours through the levels. That includes recalling players on loan and seeing if they can step up, quite exciting times ahead I hope. I have the same strategy, but my youth team stinks... so I keep buying players or better get them on Free Transfers. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said: Yeah, I agree. Obviously i signed a few lower league players and some from Africa right at the start because of releasing lots of first team players in CAC mode. Since then, only three players came in for the first team (all low rep choices too). Hoping to play a few games tonight as not had any time the last few days. Hate when real life gets in the way of FM 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 (edited) FC Lorient - Season 2021/22 December began with our side well-positioned (4th in Ligue 1 and qualified for the next stage of Euro Cup II) Having failed to beat fellow Brittany side Brest despite a hat-trick from Yoane Wissa, we gained a valuable 3-2 win over high-flying AS Monaco back on home soil We followed that up with a surprisingly comfortable 3-0 win over group leaders Schalke which saw us claim top spot as we waited for the knockout draw to be made We'll quickly forget the loss to PSG as we expected the 3-0 defeat dished out by the runaway giants, and we then had two home games to look forward to A professional job was done against relegation-bound AJ Auxerre, but we were disappointed to drop two points as OGC Nice stole a point late on as the month ended January started in disastrous fashion, and there is no excuse to be dumped out of the French Cup by Ligue 2 outfit Chateauroux even if we made some team changes We could at least focus on our more important commitments (cliche alert) and that delivered a fine win over Nantes as we returned to Ligue 1 action But we slipped again as Nimes (9th) won a ridiculous affair 5-4 next time out, helped by us going 3-0 down after just 9 minutes We had the perfect opportunity to put that right though as rock-bottom Grenoble pitched up and were routinely beaten 2-0 as we closed out a month of highs and lows We're still sat in 4th after all that, and we can't complain even when we have put in some disappointing performances of late Wissa is still in excellent form, but his agent is not letting us re-start talks on a new contract which is a major concern as it expires at the end of June 2023 We have a similar stand-off with the agent of star man Enzo Le Fee, whose contract also expires in 2023 Le Fee is only on £4,000 per week, is a team-leader having been at the club since he was 8 years old He loves the club and his manager (very close relationship and held in the highest regard), but the agent won't agree an offer of £30,000 per week (way over our original plan) Anything else? During the French joker transfer window, our two modest deals were actually the biggest in Ligue 1 (we already covered the arrival of Kalulu previously) During that period we decided to allow ex-PSG striker Arnaud Kalimuendo to leave after making no impact for Lorient 2 in a short spell at the club Transfer windows at Lorient are usually quiet affairs, and this one was no different One of the major decisions was whether to sign a new left-back to replace club and team captain Vincent Le Goff (32) when his contract expires this summer We had an option to sign Arthur Zagre (£4.2 million) and had a free transfer deal done 'subject to confirmation' for Monaco man Julien Serrano (23) However, we decided to cancel Serrano's transfer and reward the years of patience shown by Quentin Lecoeuche who will take the shirt next year He needs some more defensive training (which is being ramped up), and his understudy will be loyal Lorient 2 prospect Samuel Loric (21) who has HGC status Is the future bright and orange? Apart from the sale of Kalimuendo, the only deal done this time was for teenage defender Felix Nzouango-Bikien who will join in the summer on a free transfer The youngster will go in to Lorient 2 for development, but as you can see below we did well to hold off competition from Chelsea, Juventus, Inter Milan, Napoli (and AS Monaco) Plans are being made for next season, and with some senior contracts expiring and some more trimming of the 2nd Team squad on the agenda There was just one change on the staff during this period, with Philippe Eullaffroy joining as an extra Under 19 coach with suitable qualities Having established ourselves as a top-flight side, we can really kick on with the progression of young talents from within the club next season Some of the youngsters out on loan will return and even though most have been only average away from the club, we will give them a pathway here to showcase their ability Edited June 20, 2020 by Jogo Bonito 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Good work so far... Bikien looks like a great Prospect and should be held on to for Future Captaincy. (Reminds me of Vincent Kompany) In Clermont, I'm having to build a Youth Network almost from scratch...and our intakes have been terrible. All the hot prospects I by up to help the "Farm Teams" whine about Playing time and end up on loan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 18 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: Good work so far... Bikien looks like a great Prospect and should be held on to for Future Captaincy. (Reminds me of Vincent Kompany) In Clermont, I'm having to build a Youth Network almost from scratch...and our intakes have been terrible. All the hot prospects I by up to help the "Farm Teams" whine about Playing time and end up on loan. Thanks for reading. Yes quite satisfactory progress so far. The new prospect does like promising and I loved the leadership attribute too. With our captain due to be released in the summer it will be good to know that a few years down the line we might have a proper leader in the ranks. Yes, my focus was more on youth than first team, I guess it will pay off eventually. Your club it's much harder to get the flow working as you want, but hopefully in time you'll get there. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Good update Jogo. Nice to be involved in Europe in the new year as well. You should start scouting and signing up some newgens 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 1 hour ago, karanhsingh said: Good update Jogo. Nice to be involved in Europe in the new year as well. You should start scouting and signing up some newgens Thanks, I've got a few in the Under 19 squad coming along well. Before they get a chance, it's time to give younger real players a go. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 21, 2020 Author Share Posted June 21, 2020 (edited) FC Lorient - Season 2021/22 After starting February with a narrow defeat in Marseille, we decided to make a tactical adjustment ahead of the home game with Amiens on 5th February 2022 This was the first change of the current season, but we felt we had not been tight enough defensively in recent times Initially we were considering a 532 formation (we needed to keep our two strikers) but eventually chose to test a 442 diamond as it seemed to meet our needs at that time As you can see from the results below, keeping the two strikers paired ensured the goals continued to come at the same rate as before However, the impact was successful from a defensive viewpoint (right up until the last game at 2nd-placed Lille) as we coped much better with opposition attacks After beating Amiens 4-1, both Bordeaux and Hungarian side Ferencveros (first leg) were beaten handsomely as we went a run of six games without conceding That little sequence also saw four straight wins on the road, including at AS Saint-Etienne and a really impressive 2-0 victory at OL who were 2nd at the time It came unstuck in our last outing, where Lille (2nd) battered us comprehensively as two late goals in our 4-3 loss flattered us considerably Hopefully that was a one-off against an in-form side near the top, and for now we can be pleased with our recent progress So we end March in 4th spot and competing with Lille and OL for the right to end closest to PSG By the same token we have the likes of AS Monaco, Marseille, Nice and Rennes not far behind, so we must keep our focus and take care of business We're also still alive in the Euro Cup II competition, where we will face Romanian side CR Cluj over two legs in the Quarter Final next month Anything else? On 4th February 2022 we decided to cash in on a player we had recruited from Ivorian club side ASEC in June 2019 During his first year here Ousmane Diakite made 27 league appearances, but that dropped to 19 last season and he had not stepped on the pitch at all this season Believing that we could not expect much more development from him, we thanked him for his services and accepted a fee of £180,000 from AFAD back in his home country We had been using the same nationality policy on staff as we had for players, but on 12th March 2022 we were offered a gift that could not be rejected Legendary ex-German international striker Miroslav Klose was available for a coaching role and we could not ignore his excellent attributes We felt a bit wrong for doing so, but made an exception to our club culture ideas in order to add him to the backroom team We had been trying to give a new contract to star midfielder Enzo Le Fee for two years now, and finally succeeded on 23rd March 2022 Until that point the highest earners at the club were on £13,000 per week, but this young man was still on his original £4,000 per week contract until June 2023 We had originally been willing to give £20,000 per week to keep this exceptional home-grown talent at the club His agent was not playing ball though, and wouldn't even talk on a suggested £30,000 starting point for years But just as we began to accept the inevitable departure would be occurring in the near future, we finally got talking again Unfortunately their new demands started at £64,000, but eventually we agreed to smash our structure with a £49,000 per week deal until 2026 An 18 month wait to extend the £13,000 per week contract of forward Yoane Wissa also ended two days later, with his existing deal also due to end in 2023 Again the agent started off rejecting £30,000 but in this fresh round of talks we got a contract signed on £25,000 per week until 2026 Both of these deals really tested our patience and were against our policy of financial control, but we reluctantly sanctioned them to keep these two original players Is the future bright and orange? Lorient 2 and the Under 19 squad are doing alright, but neither are winning their leagues this year We recalled strikers Tapsoba and Toure from loans at Guingamp and Clermont respectively as neither was setting the world on fire They've gone back in to the 2nd Team but as much as we would love them (or Zehi) to join the first team group, if they aren't doing it at that level we can't really promote them In the Under 19 side, original youth team striker Sadjo has bagged 36 goals in 31 (3) appearances and newgen midfielder Ashu has 22 goals and 11 assists from 33 games Edited June 21, 2020 by Jogo Bonito 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlivierL Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 Good results , to bad what happened against Lille. Can u show me a screenshots of your two strikers ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 21, 2020 Author Share Posted June 21, 2020 (edited) 32 minutes ago, OlivierL said: Good results , to bad what happened against Lille. Can u show me a screenshots of your two strikers ? Wissa and Hamel? I really hope the Lille game was just one of those days, we were awful. In fact we were lucky to come out of that game with 0 points, we were that bad apart from a late flourish. A win would have put us 2nd and a draw would have put us 3rd. Edited June 21, 2020 by Jogo Bonito 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 Lille's El-Tamari is a real PITA! Drove me nuts in my latest games against them. Otherwise great results! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 21, 2020 Author Share Posted June 21, 2020 6 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: Lille's El-Tamari is a real PITA! Drove me nuts in my latest games against them. Otherwise great results! Cheers. Right about the Jordanian Messi. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Good going! I think you made the right decision with Le Fee. What does he look like now? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 22, 2020 Author Share Posted June 22, 2020 8 hours ago, karanhsingh said: Good going! I think you made the right decision with Le Fee. What does he look like now? I'll be fuming if all the other players now start asking for that kind of contract. Him and Wissa are now on a different planet to everyone else, with Le Fee on double the size of Wissa's contract and Wissa himself on virtually double our other star players. I can afford it, but that's not the point. There is no way a club like Lorient would be paying £49,000 per week plus massive appearance money to any player, and certainly not somebody who was on £4,000 per week previously. I guess that is FM though. I was going to make a joke remark and say he looks the same just with a bigger smile and chunkier wallet, but I guess you mean his attributes so will add an image later after work when FM is open again Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 34 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said: I'll be fuming if all the other players now start asking for that kind of contract. Him and Wissa are now on a different planet to everyone else, with Le Fee on double the size of Wissa's contract and Wissa himself on virtually double our other star players. I can afford it, but that's not the point. There is no way a club like Lorient would be paying £49,000 per week plus massive appearance money to any player, and certainly not somebody who was on £4,000 per week previously. I guess that is FM though. I was going to make a joke remark and say he looks the same just with a bigger smile and chunkier wallet, but I guess you mean his attributes so will add an image later after work when FM is open again Hahaha. Yes that is what I meant but I'm sure the wallet is a lot chunkier! IRL you are right but that's also because a club like Lorient would not have lofty ambitions and hence would want to stay within their means. And sell off their marketable assets to secure the financial stability of the club. In game its a different matter because you have your own ambitions as well, and you don't mind taking a risk or two to get there, if you can even call this a risk. As a matter of fact it's not because even with the big contract you could easily sell him for a huge fee at any point if you wanted to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Also IRL forget Le Fee, Jogo would probably have left Lorient by now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 22, 2020 Author Share Posted June 22, 2020 2 minutes ago, karanhsingh said: Hahaha. Yes that is what I meant but I'm sure the wallet is a lot chunkier! IRL you are right but that's also because a club like Lorient would not have lofty ambitions and hence would want to stay within their means. And sell off their marketable assets to secure the financial stability of the club. In game its a different matter because you have your own ambitions as well, and you don't mind taking a risk or two to get there, if you can even call this a risk. As a matter of fact it's not because even with the big contract you could easily sell him for a huge fee at any point if you wanted to. In a way, yes, because we achieved a top-five finish so we have shown better progress than they probably will next year back in Ligue 1. It's a built-in club philosophy to sell players on for profit., which doesn't really fit my own plans and I hope won't come back to haunt me when I don't (or rarely will do). My issue is that IRL he would accept something like £20,000 if he loved the club and manager as much as he says he does. It's just his agent causing all the issues, I have never had a single complaint from the player. 2 minutes ago, karanhsingh said: Also IRL forget Le Fee, Jogo would probably have left Lorient by now If they did finish top-five IRL then yes maybe he would have been lured away by the same point. But I'm sure he knows the future is bright, the future is orange. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 12 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said: In a way, yes, because we achieved a top-five finish so we have shown better progress than they probably will next year back in Ligue 1. It's a built-in club philosophy to sell players on for profit., which doesn't really fit my own plans and I hope won't come back to haunt me when I don't (or rarely will do). My issue is that IRL he would accept something like £20,000 if he loved the club and manager as much as he says he does. It's just his agent causing all the issues, I have never had a single complaint from the player. If they did finish top-five IRL then yes maybe he would have been lured away by the same point. But I'm sure he knows the future is bright, the future is orange. True story. I guess the love comes at a price though It'll all be worth it when he's captaining your team to the Champions League final in a couple of seasons time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 22, 2020 Author Share Posted June 22, 2020 1 minute ago, karanhsingh said: True story. I guess the love comes at a price though It'll all be worth it when he's captaining your team to the Champions League final in a couple of seasons time Love always come at a price my friend! The scariest thing about that second comment is the pressure that you and others assume I will still be there in a few seasons time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 18 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said: Love always come at a price my friend! The scariest thing about that second comment is the pressure that you and others assume I will still be there in a few seasons time I know! You have to make it As do I. Not quitting before I win the CL at 1860. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 22, 2020 Author Share Posted June 22, 2020 14 hours ago, karanhsingh said: Good going! I think you made the right decision with Le Fee. What does he look like now? That's 1st April 2022 (left) compared to his original profile (right). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 He looks excellent! Got the personality changed as well I see. Not adding any PPMs to his game? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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