[FM22] Overhauling SAD Franchise, (completed) and now Portugal. (Portugese edition). (Youth Only)............... Maybe!

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2069. 

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. It's the 2nd Trophy of the season already, but it wasn't classed as a double because the Club World Cup seemingly doesn't count, (and to be completely fair here they are probably right).

UEFA Super Cup. A 2rd trophy of the season but there is no mention of it in the media. 

Liga Bwin. You know I like to get rid of the unbeaten record early so that there is no pressure as the season progresses.  In truth Benfica absolutely battered us in the 1st half and it could have been 6 by HT but was somehow only 2. We fought back to 2-2 but then conceded a penalty. 

Champions League Group draw. This isn't the easy group I was hoping for. 

Records. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Summer Transfer Window. Sep 2069. 

I can't remember the last time I put so much effort into a transfer window. 

Players Out. The ages of the big players we sold are 28, 31 & 31 and to recoup £150M for them is just perfect. We invested £85M back into the club, but we still show a tidy profit of £65M in this transfer window and I'm not sure we're much weaker. In contrast, the players we brought in were aged 20, 22, 18 & 18. 

(56a) Juromito (POR) is now getting paid £764k per month which equates to £9.2M per year. That's the real reason he's gone. We've paid those wages before. We're not paying them again. 

(54a) Fati (GNB)(POR) 6'1" *** only had 12 months on his contract so it was a no-brainer to sell him. He was a phenomenal player for us. 

(54b) Soares (CPV) *** MR is now earning £5.9M per year and on the wrong side of 30 it made sense to cash in on him rather than give him an expensive contract. There is no doubting that we're weaker without him though. 

(63i) Keita (SEN)(FRA) ML did well for us, but I don't think he;s worth £15M and we have other options on the left so I was happy to move him on. 

Players In. (No, you aren't in the wrong thread). In order to experiment with scouting ahead of FM23, (in which it seems scouting has had a complete overhaul so this might actually be a waste of time), I have decided to relax my Youth Only policy in this save and am allowing us to sign players who have an African Nationality or Second Nationality.

The 1st player to be signed was Foka (FRA)(CTA) who I have already shown you before. The deal was done before the window opened and it was more about me just getting that 1st signing done, (and him being available on a free transfer), rather than any great quality or potential. I got lucky and he has a CA of 103 and PA of 162. His PA is significantly better than I expected and as a result his valuation is much higher too. He's decent now though and my plan is that he will start for the B Team this season.

The 2nd player I signed was Phalaris (FRA)(REU) 6'5" and not planned at all and very reactionary. Not like me at all. He's 6'5", has a CA of 158 and PA of 171 and he looks fantastic! Usually I am quite methodical and everything runs calmly and smoothly, but I saw this bloke, saw his valuation, had just had the conversation with myself while writing the Centre-Half Squad Depth post with regards to (54a) Fati (GNB)(POR) 6'1" *** being sold for £60+ and (48b) Teixeira (POR) 6'3" coming to the end of his playing days and I just thought what the hell. I had a quick look at the scout reports but I was checking for problems rather than any great detail and couldn't find any so I splashed the cash. Some of his defensive attributes are not actually that great, marking 13 & positioning 14, but I love his physical ability and his concentration and hopefully he will improve in those 2 attributes + heading. I think £60M will prove a bargain. 

The 3rd player in was Diakhaté (ESP)(SEN) and it was a bit of a strange one. I had just splashed out quite a big amount on the centre-half and I was really just looking for wide players. He plays in an advanced position on both flanks, but he's actually a natural striker. I saw him and thought he could offer something in the short term out wide with maybe his longer term future being through the middle. His CA is 108 & his PA is 142. That's pretty decent for me and when you consider that if I play him on the right flank, (which is the intention at 1st), then the player he replaced is (63i) Keita (SEN)(FRA) ML  who went for £15M but who only had maxed out PA of 129. So in the longer term this is definitely a bit of an upgrade, even if it doesn't feel so quite yet. 

The last player to join in this window was Yaméogo (FRA)(MLI) 3. There were 2 left back options I was looking at and although this player was younger and weaker, he was also more attacking. I couldn't afford to have a defensive full back playing in most domestic games and in the early European stages. He's still pretty raw now, but I like the look of him for the future. His CA is only 118 but his PA is 160 and he should develop well despite not having an ideal personality. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Scouting. Sep 2069. 

There are some phenomenal African players available, but I'm really only looking for young players, mainly so that I can make a profit on them but also so that their wage demands will be reasonable. 

You might notice that there are 5 players who are numbered 1-5 after their names, (I signed the old #3 in the recent window), and these are the players I am most keen to sign. 

I wanted Soares (POR)(GNB) 1 to come on on the right hand side to replace the other Soares that I have just sold. I had a deal done with Porto, (not easy because of the rivalry), and after the deal was done the player refused to move. I'm spoken about him in the media and watched 1 of his games so far. I haven't given up on him yet. He looks great. 

Zitte (FRA)(REU) 2 looks great and in hindsight I should have tried harder to sign him. 

Keïta (ESP)(SEN) 3 was all set to sign but then he signed a new contract at Sevilla at the last minute. 

Saidi (FRA)(MAR) 4 is the more defensive lefty back I mentioned earlier. I think I might have made a mistake not signing him. God I'm an idiot. 

Capango (NED)(ANG) 5 is the best of a poor bunch as far as young wide players go. He's probably a little short of where I want a 19 year old to be if I'm honest. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2069. 

Liga Bwin. The Reserves dropped 2 points at our old rivals SAD  Franchise. We should have annihilated them. Somehow though, we're top! 

UEFA Champions League.The Reserves did really well here. Wasn't expecting this. 

Records. The attendance of 74,010 wasn't a record. We have a 74,010 all-seater stadium that we sold against Porto already this season and on no less than 9 occasions last season. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took 7 shots this month, 4 of them on target, scoring just 1 goal. 

 

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2069. 

Liga Bwin. 2 more wins keep up at the top of the table. 

UEFA Champions League. Well at least we haven't lost. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. A thumping win, but no clean sheet. 

Allianz Cup. A narrow victory and a point against Leixoes will be enough to top the group and progress. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took 5 shots this month, 3 of them on target, scoring 1 goal. 

 

 

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2069. 

Liga Bwin. 2 big wins to nil keep us at the top of the table, but you will notice that Porto, Benfica and Braga are all in good runs of recent form. You might also notice that after we smashed Sporting 6-0 in the league, they have dropped points in their next 2 games, (both draws). 

UEFA Champions League. The Reserves have done ok in the Champions League, but although we haven't lost any games, our last Group game is away to Man City and I would probably say that they are favourites for that game, (because we're playing our Reserves remember). A draw or a win will see us through, but a loss will see us drop into the Europa League, (which I don't want to do). I could play the 1st Team, but I'm going to stick with the Reserves and hope that they can eke out the draw. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. A narrow win, but a good win too away to Porto. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took 10 shots, 6 of them on target, scoring 1 goal. 

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Scouting. Dec 2069. 

This African shortlist is sorted by PA rating and you will notice that my top 5 targets have had numbers 1-5 added to the end of their nickname. You can't see #3 at the moment because that was Yaméogo (FRA)(MLI) and we signed him. I have removed the number 3 from the end of his name and I target number 4 Saidi (FRA)(MAR) 4 will become target number 3 Saidi (FRA)(MAR) 3 and target number 5 Capango (NED)(ANG) 5 will become target number 4 Capango (NED)(ANG) 4.

So now I need to find a new target number 5. 

Target #1 is an 18 year old MR Soares (POR)(GNB) 1.
Target #2 is a 20 year old SC Zitte (FRA)(REU) 2.
Target #3 is a 22 year old DL Saidi (FRA)(MAR) 3.
Target 4 is a 18 year old AML Capango (NED)(ANG) 4.

So I've got a left back, a winger from each side and a striker on the list. I've recently signed a centre-half, a left back, a utility wide player and a central midfielder, so the position that's missing is right back, (if I ignore GK), so let's try to find a DR to add to the list. 

We've only just sold (54b) Soares (CPV) *** MR, (and he's a MR rather than a DR anyway), so I will re-scout the others but I really need to find a right back. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2069. 

Liga Bwin. We dropped 2 points this month, but Braga are decent and we were away so I can't really complain. I think I'm more bothered about conceding goals than I am dropping points. I'm loving a clean sheet at the moment. We're top, 3 points ahead of Porto but there is already a gap starting to open behind them as Braga & Benfica are 6 points further back having played 1 game more. 

UEFA Champions League. A draw would have seen us qualify from the Group, but an injury time GK goal saw us grab all 3 points and Inter drawing with the Turks even somehow saw us top the group. (Well done the Reserves!) 

Taça de Portugal Placard. Very comfortable win for the Reserves. 

Allianz League Cup. Another comfortable win for the Reserves, (but we conceded a goal). 

Youth Intake preview. Who cares? FM23 is on the way! 

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took 17 shots this month 11 of them on target and scored 4 goals. 12 goals in the 1st half of the season is pretty decent. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finances. 

Edited October 3, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2070 Transfer window. 

I'm so used to not signing players, that even when I find someone now I'm trying to find reasons not to sign them. Zitte (FRA)(REU) 2 was the #2 target on our African shortlist and while I wasn't able to sign him in the Summer, (he wasn't interested in signing even though I met his release clause), he is interested now and it seems an absolute no-brainer to get him in. 

That brings out total spend this season to £154M.

We have however brought in £173M in player sales. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2070. 

Liga Bwin. I know it's weird, but I'm honestly more bothered about conceding 4 goals than I am about losing the game.  Porto are a good team and they are making a right battle out of it so I don't have any complaints really. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. A very good win against a decent side. 

Allianz League Cup. A tight affair and we just squeezed through. 

Records. I'm making up for lost time. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took 7 shots this month, 5 on target scoring 3 goals. 

 

 

 

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Academy Products now in management. Feb 2070. 

I saw a news item that (41c) Abrantes (POR) * had been appointed Benfica manager. 

(43f) Ramos (POR) 6'1" is doing a really good job at Varzim. but that's not the goal-scorer Ramos that I thought it was. 

(47e) Dias (POR) is manager of Boavista. 

(32g) Ramos (POR) is the goal-scorer I was thinking of. He is now manager of Vitória de Setúbal.

We've got a few ex players back working at the club now. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2070. 

It's saying a treble, but it's really a quadruple because we also won the Club World Cup at the beginning of the Season. 

Liga Bwin. 3 wins see us edge 2 points ahead of Porto after they drew, but there's a 13 point gap now to Braga in 4th. Benfica are barely hanging on to a European spot and Nacional are flying higher than they have any right to. 

UEFA Champions League. We should have won, but didn't even come away with a draw. We have work to do in the 2nd leg. 

Allianz League Cup. I love winning a Cup Final 1-0 with a GK goal. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took 6 shots this month, with 4 shots on target resulting in 2 goals. 

 

 

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake Day. Mar 2070. 

It's too late in the save for this to matter. 

• Loving the Nationalities. 
• Loving the Professionalism. 
• 2x good PA players. 
• 2x reasonable PA players. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2070. 

Liga Bwin. 2 more wins is great, but we're conceding far too many goals now. We're still 2 points clear of Porto in 2nd and everyone is way back.

UEFA Champions League. We were trailing after the 1st leg and conceded the 1st goal here too. Thankfully we finished the stronger with a little bit to spare. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. We take a 1 goal margin into the 2nd leg. 

Champions League draw. I'm really happy with this draw actually. Yeah we have to face Bayern or PSG if we get past Arsenal, but all 3 Spanish teams, (remember that Spain is loaded), are in the other side of the draw. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took just 4 shots this month, getting 2 of them on target and scoring 1 goal. 

 

 

 

Finances. 

[Rikulec]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Liga Bwin. 2 more wins is great, but we're conceding far too many goals now.

Looking very good to beat the goals scored record iirc though.

[Jimbokav1971]

8 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Looking very good to beat the goals scored record iirc though.

You're correct. (Well done for paying attention). 

I think we need 6 goals in our last [however many] games, but I can't remember when that was and we've scored 5, 5, 5, 3 & 6 in recent league games so we might have done it already, (but I haven't seen a news message). I will check at the end of the month. 

[Jimbokav1971]

8 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Looking very good to beat the goals scored record iirc though.

 

8 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

You're correct. (Well done for paying attention). 

I think we need 6 goals in our last [however many] games, but I can't remember when that was and we've scored 5, 5, 5, 3 & 6 in recent league games so we might have done it already, (but I haven't seen a news message). I will check at the end of the month. 

And as soon as I press continue I see this message. 

So yeah, we needed 6 more goals before the last league game and we scored 5 in that so just 1 needed now to tie thr record. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2070. 

Liga Bwin. I can't remember the last time we didn't score in the league and I'm absolutely 100% positive that my previous conversation with @Rikulecdiscussing the imminent breaking of the long-standing record of 123 goals scored in a season by Sporting in 1946/47 had absolutely no impact on us failing to score against Varzim. No impact. Zilch. Nada. It's a complete coincidence. It is. You don't believe me do you!    The truth is that I actually got a little complacent, rotated the squad to give some youngsters an opportunity and probably weakened the squad too much. 

On the plus side, Porto also lost so we're still 2 points ahead.

In other news, far from Nacional falling away, they are now into the Champions League places. 

UEFA Champions League. We've been really good form in the Champions League over the last few years. We've made 7 of the last 11 Finals, winning 5 of them. We're really been consistent so I can't complain when we are slightly below par and someone takes advantage and beats us. Arsenal deserved to go through. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. We've already won a treble, (quadruple if you count the Club World Cup), and now we're into another Final with the league also in play. We play Varzim in the Final so we should be favourites, but Varzim are also the team that just beat us in the league. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took 8 shots this month, 4 of them on target, scoring 2 goals. I quite like the symmetry of that. 50% of his shots are on target and 50% of the shots that are on target result in a goal. It brings him to to the 20 goal mark for the 6th time in his career and he still has 4 games to play. 

 

 

 

 

 

Finances. 

Edited October 5, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2070. 

A quintuple is brilliant, but it's actually a sextuple as it hasn't included the Club World Cup. 

Liga Bwin. We made it 3 league titles in a row and set a new league goal-scoring record in the process. We scored at a rate of 3.9 goals per game and conceded goals at a rate of 0.7 goals a game. That's always going to result in a decent season. I'm a little peeved to have lost 3 times, especially when 1 of the games was against Varzim. The big games against Benfica and Porto can often go either way and I don't think it's too much of a stretch to imagine an unbeaten season. (I've had it in the back of my mind for a while now). 

Taça de Portugal Placard. We weren't great in the Final, but we were too good for Varzim and that's all that matters. 

Records. It's great to break such a big record that has stood since the 1946/47 season. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took 8 shots this month, with 3 of them being on target and he scored 3 goals. 20+ GK goal in a season is a great return and that's the 6th time he's managed it in his career. He's scoring at a rate of a goal every 3 games over the course of his career and his 23 goals in 60 games mean that he scored at a rate of a goal every 2.6 games this season. He's 35 now, has 2 years left on his contract and I wonder if that might be it for me, this save and FM22. Usually I would retire after a season such as this. Broke a long-standing record, won 5 trophies including a domestic clean sweep, scored 20+ GK goals, won the Ballon d'Or (with an Academy product). An unbeaten league campaign is really the only way this domestic season can be improved. If Ako scores 20 more goals in each of the next 2 seasons he will be on 384 goals. He's still the France #1 (176 Caps), and I wonder if I could extend his contract to just 1 more year and keep him playing for 3 more seasons? That way he might have a chance at 400 career goals and 200 French Caps. 

I think I'm going to try it. The other option of course is to start sending him up for corners and not care in the slightest about the result, but maybe that's something I should keep for his Final season. 

Finances.  Our balance has dropped slightly because of our relatively early exit from the Champions League and the absence of the big prize money at the end. 

[iamnobody]

Has Ako scored any goals for France?  

 

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, iamnobody said:

Has Ako scored any goals for France?  

 

Nope. They don't have the same faith in him I do. Ridiculous!  

[iamnobody]

4 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Nope. They don't have the same faith in him I do. Ridiculous!  

I'm picturing Ako and the French manager arguing about whether Ako should take penalty kicks or not.  I'm sure the manager will say, "You are supposed to stop them, not score them".  

[Jimbokav1971]

Scouting budget. Jun 2070. 

I can't seem to work out how to change my scouting budget. 

I know there is a slider and I should just be able to click on it and slide it to the right, but it doesn't seem clickable. 

I can do the transfer budget, but it's brighter than the scouting budget adjustment button. 

[ToMexico!!]

Have you had your financial summary and new scouting budget announced? 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, ToMexico!! said:

Have you had your financial summary and new scouting budget announced? 

If you mean the one for the whole year then no. 

I've had wage and transfer budget announced, but that happened as soon as we won the league. 

I will keep an eye on it as we progress. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2070. 

GK. 

1st Team. Ako forever! 
B Team. (64k) Sequeira (CPV) 6'0" *
U23's.
U19's. (70p) Kopphy (CIV)
Sell. (61j) Monteiro (POR) 6'0"
Loan.

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2070. 

DL. We don't have a goof young DL so I would love to sign an African to fill the gap. 

1st Team. Yaméogo (FRA)(MLI) & (57d) Kravchuk (POR) (UKR) *.
B Team. (66e) Gabriele (ARG)(ITA) DL
U23's. (66b) Sabino (POR), 
U19's. (70d) Isted. (ENG)
Sell. (62j) Sérgio (POR)(BRA), 
Loan. (60m) Lehner (POR) (SUI) *, 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2070. 

DR. We're short in depth at right back. It looks like both full-back position are high on my wanted list. 

1st Team. (59e) Marques (POR) ** & (63n) Lourenço (POR) *.
B Team. (69d) Thill (LUX)(POR)
U23's. (67j) Gonçalves (POR)
U19's. (70b) Owusu (GHA), (68n) Meireles (POR), 
Sell.
Loan.

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2070. 

DC. It wasn't so long ago that we seemed to be struggling to produce a centre-half. Now we have loads of options. 

1st Team. (57a) Lima (CPV)(POR) 6'2" *** & (59d) Coxi (ANG) 6'1" *. Phalaris (FRA)(REU) 6'5" & (67a) Joab (BRA) 6'4".
B Team. (64d) Mahler (SUI) 6'2" *** & (70a) Simonet (SUI)(POR) ***. 
U23's. (65l) Kassoma (ANG) 6'1" * & (64f) Guerra (POR) 6'4". (66f) Sampaio (POR) 6'0"
U19's. (68g) Roche (FRA) 6'0" * & (68a) Ferreira (POR) 6'3" *. (69i) Sánchez (POR)(ESP) 6'2"
Sell.
Loan. (66n) Frias (POR) 5'10", (62d) Delgado (CPV) 6'4" DC, (69i) Sánchez (POR)(ESP) 6'2", (65c) Téo (BRA) (POR) 6'2" DC, 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2070.

MC. We have got central midfielders coming out of our bottoms. It's always the hardest section to do in these Depth Charts. 

1st Team. (66a) Alves (POR) *** & (62a) Pereira (GNB)(POR) ***. (63a) Bettencourt (POR) * & Foka (FRA)(CTA).
B Team. (65b) Delgado (CPV) (POR) * & (68b) Jesus (POR) ***.
U23's. (65j) Davies (WAL) & (66p) Silva (POR).
U19's. (69e) Morgado (POR)(SUI) * & (68l) Santos (POR) *.   & (69l) Ferreira (POR).
Sell. (61g) Dumange (POR) (SUI), 
Loan. (66j) Rosário (CPV)(POR) *

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2070.

ML & MR.

ML. (58a) Flores (NED)(SLV) *** was a late developer and a fair bit of his PA at 24 years of age, but he knocked it out of the park in recent season, winning 2 Ballon d'Ors on the bounce. 

1st Team. (58a) Flores (NED)(SLV) *** & (65f) Costa (POR) ML *. 
B Team. (65a) Tomás (POR) * ML, (63e) Canário (BRA)(POR) SELL
U23's.
U19's. (70f) Vicente (POR) ML *
Sell.
Loan.

MR.

1st Team. (55b) Cunha (BRA) *** MR & Diakhaté (ESP)(SEN).
B Team. (68c) Costa (POR) * & (67e) Barbosa (POR) * MR
U23's.
U19's. (69g) Casimiro (POR)
Sell.
Loan. (63b) Rodrigues (POR) MR **, (69g) Casimiro (POR), (65e) Rebelo (POR), (63e) Canário (BRA)(POR), 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2070.

SC. We're really short of numbers up front in the aged-group teams. I'm keen to bring in a few Africans even if we just take a punt on them. 

1st Team. (64a) Conceição (POR) *** & Zitte (FRA)(REU) ***. (61h) Fradinho (POR) * & (59i) Fernandes (POR) (CPV) *.
B Team. (68i) Bruno (POR) * & (65g) Dias (POR). 
U23's.
U19's. (70h) Serrano (POR) & (68f) Ferreira (POR). (68k) Barbosa. (POR) 6'6"
Sell. (63j) Sousa (POR), 
Loan.

[Edit]

This is all the strikers on the African shortlist under the age of 24. It's pretty slip pickings bit I have put in enquiries on 4 players. 

The top 2 are owned by Benfica & Sporting, so I don't fancy my chances. 

Edited October 7, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Friendlies. Jul 2070. 

Insisting that an agreement to play a friendly within 12 months is in the deal to sell most players sounds great. It's not so easy to actually plan and then play these friendlies though. 

The income is great, (I think it comes to just over £6M), and while that sounds decent in itself, but when you consider that the average price for our tickets is still only £14 it's even more impressive.

The only problem, (there's always a problem), is that it takes us 3 months to squeeze all the games in and I think this is going to play havoc with our early season form. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Job Offers/Interviews. Aug 2070.

#

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2070. 

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. It was a relatively easy tie against Varzim, (because that's who we beat in the Cup last season), but although they pulled a goal back in the 2nd half, we were always pretty much in control and far more likely to add to our tally than they were to score a leveller. 

Liga Bwin. I went into the Anadia game thinking we would destroy them, but although we completely dominated on the pitch, the score ended 1-1 and we dropped 2 points. 

Ominously, Benfica have won 4 out of 4 and are yet to concede a goal.

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took just 3 shots this month, 2 of them on target resulting in 2 goals. 

 

 

 

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2070. Transfer window closed. 

I'll be completely honest with you and admit here that I completely forgot that I was meant to be signing players, and then went a bit mad on the day before deadline day. Let's be honest, I had all the reports so I think it makes sense to not only do business like that, but also play the game like that, (so I don't get too bogged down with transfers). Some of the deals we got for a better price because it was so late in the window, (I think), but also know for a fact that I missed out on players who had already moved and so I missed the opportunity to sign them.

Players In. 2 more players came in from PSG, (to make it 3 in total since I started signing Africans), but so many have also come through the intake at French clubs, (7 out of the 11 signings so far), with the other 4 all coming from Spain. That surprises me simply because I don't have the French structure loaded, (just Portugal, Spain and Brazil). It will be something I will have to keep in mind for FM23. 

£13.5M seems like a bargain for Gnahoré (FRA)(CIV) and with a CA of 123 and a PA of 165 he's even more of a bargain. The scout report didn't suggest he was this good and the coach report doesn't either. 

Adegboyega (ESP)(NGA) is a player I'm looking to fill the right hand striker role, (and I've been playing about with the roles), but he can also fill in on the right flank if I cash in on some more experienced players over the next 12 months. A CA of 123 and a PA of 148 suggests that this is some nice business. 

Tavares (CPV)(POR) was signed on a bit of a punt and I basically signed him because he was from Cape Verde and has 10 Caps at 20 years old.  We only paid £6M for him, but while his CA is 107, his PA is only 129. I shouldn't really be signing players at that level. 

Bennouna (FRA)(MAR) is probably too young to make an impact on this save, but I'm trying to play it as if I was carrying it on. He's still pretty raw, (CA of only 84), but his PA is 143 and that's plenty good enough to develop into a rather good DLP. 

Somesi (FRA)(TOG) was the player I was most keen on signing from this group. To get him for just £1.5M seemed to be a no-brainer even if he's not quite as good as the scout report suggested, (and he's not). His CA is 111 and his PA is 145 and that's plenty good enough to make a big impact for us given time, (which he doesn't have in this save). 

Vardapin (FRA)(REU) was signed for compensation of less than £1M (rising to about £2.5M I think). I've been in the market for a young GK so he seemed to good to turn down. His CA is 97, but his PA is a whopping 156. 

Players Out. We brought in more than we paid out which seems ridiculous. 

(64g) Gonçalves (POR) * is decent, but he's already maxed out at 134 PA and I have brought in 3 younger players in that position, 2 of whom have better PA and are not far off his CA. 

55c) Sousa (POR) * has been good for us, but he's at best 2nd choice, (in both central midfield positions), and at 31 it made sense to get rid and replace him with 2 teenagers who have better PA. 

(61j) Monteiro (POR) 6'0"  is a GK who was never going to play so I just wanted him gone. We also have a 25% clause on him. 

(61g) Dumange (POR) (SUI)  is a 25 year old who was never going to make it, so I took £1M for him & a 25% clause too. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Pre-season Friendlies. Sep 2070. 

Glad to get the pre-season games finished, (eventually).

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2070. 

Liga Bwin. Just the 1 goal conceded this month to spoil our perfect record. Only ourselves and Guimaraes remain unbeaten, (which is a surprise), but Guimaraes are showing that their defensive record from last season wasn't down to luck. 

UEFA Champions League. Of course I rotated all 10 outfield players for the Milan game, but we shouldn't be conceding 6 to anyone. The xG was actually 1.73 - 2.21 in our favour, so I'm just putting it down to 1 of those days. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 4 shots taken by Ako this month, 1 of them on target but 0 goals. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2070. 

Liga Bwin. I'm absolutely flabbergasted by the CdP result. Astonished! Bewildered. Shook to my core.  We had our 1st choice ML missing, but other than that it was a full strength team. The same team that smashed Porto 4-0 at the beginning of the month. In terms of xG we absolutely battered them 1.81 to 0.59, but we can't be conceding 2 goals against teams like these and we have to be scoring ourselves. I'll be brutally honest here. I was thinking to myself, "yeah, I've done really well in this save and accomplished loads. If I can just bang out a cheeky little unbeaten season before FM23 comes out then that will be pretty cool. See! The FM Gods hear you when you just think stuff like this. You don't even have to say it out loud!  Ah well, the dream of becoming an invincible is over for another season. 

In hindsight, (and looking at the Chelsea result where I picked a strong team), I think we were probably slightly fatigued after an International schedule and then playing in Europe and I should probably have played the Reserves against CdP if I was going to go string against Chelsea. I'm normally pretty good at stuff like this but I think I got it wrong and far from the players letting me down, I think I let them down. CdP would have had far fewer players on International duty and then wouldn't have played in Europe mid-week so would have had a whole week to prepare. 

UEFA Champions League. After getting hammered by Milan last month I went strong against Chelsea and it worked a charm. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. A comfortable win for the Reserves. 

Allianz League Cup. Another comfortable win for the Reserves. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 4 shots from Ako this month and although 2 of them were on target, he again scored 0 goals. I can't remember the last time we didn't score any goals in 1 month never mind about 2 months in a row. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2070. 

Liga Bwin. 3 wins from 3 is fine, but each of them was by a single goal and we're not really firing on all cylinders. I shouldn't really complain though as all 3 were away and 1 game was against Benfica and another was against Guimaraes, (who were top at the time), and who had only conceded 3 goals in their previous 12 league outings. 

UEFA Champions League. The Reserves were better in Europe than the 1st Team were in the league. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. A comfortable win from the Reserves. 

Facilities. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 4 shots taken by Ako this month with 2 shots on target and 0 goals from a 3rd successive month. 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2070.

Liga Bwin. 5 wins with only 1 goal conceded and 23 scored is great, but we're actually not firing on all cylinders and with 7 players about to leave on AFCON duty things are going to get tougher. 

UEFA Champions League. A really poor performance by the Reserves cost us top spot in the Group. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. A win's a win as they say. We left it late but got there in the end. 

Allianz League Cup. Another single goal victory, but better than a loss. 

Call-ups to AFCON. 3x centre-backs is the problem here. It's 3 of the best 5 centre-backs at the club, leaving us with short when we have to rotate the squad. 

Youth Intake preview. This looks great, but I expect it to be a let-down again. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took 12 shots this month, (in 8 games), getting 8 on target, but scoring no actual goals. I haven't experienced anything like this in ages. He scored goals in the 1st and 4th games of the season and he's now played 29 games so he hasn't scored in his last 25 games.  He's scored 2 goals this season and I would usually expect him to be on about 12 by now. 

 

 

Finances. 

 

Edited October 13, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2071. 

I've never ever done this before in FM. 

Liga Bwin. We absolutely smashed Sporting but couldn't score, and then Maritimo was even more one-sided, but now as well as us not being able to score, we also conceded one.  We're still top by a couple of points from Porto, but we should be comfortably ahead, (and we're not). 

Taça de Portugal Placard. Any win against Porto is a good win, even at this stage of the save, and even more so away from home. 

Allianz League Cup. Obviously now I'm very well aware that if we win the mid-week Semi-Final, then the league game at weekend gets postponed and we play the Final just a few days later. As a result, for years I have played the Reserves in the Semi-FInal, knowing full well that if we win the Semi we will have an enormous advantage in the Final with a full rested squad. We lost 5 consecutive Finals between 2052/53-56/57 and this strategy was borne out of my frustration with that. Since then we have won 8 of 12 titles and only lost 2 Finals, (both to Porto). We absolutely battered Sporting, but it still only resulted in a narrow 1-0 win as a result of an OG. We're not quite clicking and I don't know why. 

Goal-scoring GK's. We're not quite firing as a team and this is having a knock-on effect to Ako. He took 13 shots this month, but only 4 of those were on target and only 1 of them resulted in a goal. 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

AFCON 2071. 

I'm delighted that Cape Verde have win their 1st AFCON, and their success was largely built on a defence that kepot 6 clean sheets in 7 games, marshalled expertly by Elite centre-back (57a) Lima (CPV)(POR) 6'2" ***, (who retired immediately after the tournament).

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2071. 

Liga Bwin. The Reserves just aren't up to it at the moment, and as a result we drop 2 more points against Chaves. We're still top by 2 points because Porto drew away to Estoril. 

UEFA Champions League. This was a tough draw on the face of it, (because Real Sociedad are the dominant force in Spanish football now), but we blasted them away in the 1st leg and I should be able to play the Reserves in the 2nd leg. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Ako took 5 shots this month, with 3 on target resulting in 0 goals. This is an absolute nightmare when you consider that this is the only reason I'm still playing this save. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2071. 

The preview said it was going to be an excellent 5.0 intake. 

The Summary said excellent 4.5.

Now this is a rubbish intake. 

[Sonic Youth]

So much has happened since I last posted.

I love that Cape Verde won AFCON and that Lima retired straight after.

Your recruiting has been pretty decent 

Ako is surprising this year 

Awesome Ako has got 50 freekicks. Was hoping to have seen him pass 300 successful penalties this season too. Has he got any concerns?

Your intakes have been not as good as expected, Wyong or two exceptions. Do you think anything is affecting that?

League and UCL form is still consistent considering all the changes, and good enough to either be challenging or of a winning type of consistency.

Interesting to see where the African players are coming through. Would have expected more from Scandinavia and Belgium countries. Possibly English players too, who are deemed not good enough for some reason.

Heres to a strong end of season for Belenenses and Ako.

[Sonic Youth]

On 14/10/2022 at 08:47, Jimbokav1971 said:

Jan 2071. 

I've never ever done this before in FM. 

 

Nice! How old are you in-game now? 

[Jimbokav1971]

7 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

I love that Cape Verde won AFCON and that Lima retired straight after.

Yeah, I was surprised that they hadn't won it before when I checked, but they have always been lacking in some areas I think. 

I loved him retiring straight away too.

[OlivierL]

On 14/10/2022 at 00:35, Jimbokav1971 said:

AFCON 2071. 

I'm delighted that Cape Verde have win their 1st AFCON, and their success was largely built on a defence that kepot 6 clean sheets in 7 games, marshalled expertly by Elite centre-back (57a) Lima (CPV)(POR) 6'2" ***, (who retired immediately after the tournament).

Love it ! Any Cape Verde's from youth intakes from my beloved Africanos ?  

[Jimbokav1971]

7 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Your recruiting has been pretty decent 

I think I've been a little lucky. I basically just taken a punt on some of them and so far they all seem to have been plenty good enough, (with 1 exception I think). 

With that in mind I don't think I have posted an January window update, (because I'm fed up with the save because Ako isn't scoring). 

January Transfer window update. Mar 2071. 

In. 

Summer signings. 

Tavares (CPV)(POR). We paid a premium for him because we signed him from a competitor, (Sporting), and that's as it should be. His PA is decent, (just <130), but he hasn't scored for the B Team in 8(4) appearances so he has been slightly under-whelming as a signing. 

Somesi (FRA)(TOG). He has a good PA (145), and although he has featured for the 1st Team in League, Cup & Europe, he's largely been playing for the B Team, (where he hasn't been great). 

Bennouna (FRA)(MAR). Only 17, and again with a good PA, (of 143), so far too early to be judging him. Will surely be a bargain at £2M though. 

Adegboyega (ESP)(NGA). 22 years old and again with good PA, (of 148), but only scored 3 in 5(8) for the B Team and 0 in 3(1) for the 1st Team.

Gnahoré (FRA)(CIV). He is the player I like most from the January signings, (in terms of the here and now rather than the future), but even then he hasn't been great. He has a whopping PA, (of 165), but 0 goals and just 1 assist from 11(3) appearances in the 1st Team, and just 1 goal and 1 assist from 2(2) appearances for the B Team. I need him to do more and I wonder how much his performances are impacting the team & Ako opportunities. 

Vardapin (FRA)(REU). The teenager has gone out on loan, (to the 3rd tier), and with a PA of 156 he is still 1 for the future. 

January signing. 

Bojang (GAM)(ESP) is a teenager who has gone straight into the B Team line-up and done quite well (Avg rating of 7.36 over 7 games), but he has only scored 1 goal and no assists. He has a CA of 117 and a PA of 139 so that should be plenty good enough to feature and a bargain at £3M.

Makhetha (RSA) was sent straight back on loan to the club we bought him from. Happy for him to just get 1st Team football. He has a CA of 108 and a whopping PA of 159. (That's higher than I was expecting!) We only paid £625,000 for him, because he had a release clause and because it was so low I I didn't even wait for a full scout report so we definitely got lucky here. I was just hoping for 120-130 PA. 

Khanyeza (RSA) is another South African and another bargain basement signing, (just £500,000). I saw he was at a South African 2nd Tier club so just threw some money at them to see if it would work. His CA is 97 and his PA is only 120 so we didn't get as lucky here, but for £500k he was still a bargain. 

Fortes (POR)(CPV) was the last of my "punts" and for just £1M I would have been happy with anything approaching 130 PA. His PA is actually 136 so that's a right result. The attraction here was really just that he was a decent looking attacking full back with Cape Verde as a 2nd Nationality.