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

[Punch]

6 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

The best thing about goal-scoring GK's is that it can be used in any type of save. You don't have to sacrifice anything or play a particular type of save.

Yes, but looking to put a few ideas together that saves like yourself and @Jtomsett11 's Back the Bulls thread have inspired.

[Jimbokav1971]

33 minutes ago, Punch said:

Yes, but looking to put a few ideas together that saves like yourself and @Jtomsett11 's Back the Bulls thread have inspired.

I haven't been into the @Jtomsett11thread I don't think. Will have to have a look. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2026. 

1st things 1st, here is the best player currently in the squad so you know what they are being judged against, and the top end of the squad, (rated by CA). 

This is everyone at or above 3.0 CA. 

The reason I'm showing you this is because I have a few questions, the answers to which remain unclear. 

(1) SI have told us that new intake players are rated against the best players already at the club. There seems to be some confusion as to whether than means rated against the best single player at the club, the best player in each specific position, (Ie. Left back, central midfielder, centre-half & striker), or a selection of the best players across the squad in more general terms, (ie. defender, midfielder or attacker). I plan on looking at this with the editor when I'm able, but I also want to think about it now.

(2) I know that the poaching of Youth players is still in the game in FM22, but as you are no longer shown which club the player originates from, how do you know when they player comes through the intake that he has been poached? 

(3) The same goes for players who come through your intake as a result of Affiliate relationships with other clubs. 

It's not a "Golden Generation" and I think that means it's a poor intake considering we have sold our 3 best players, (by CA), in recent windows. 

I'm liking the Nationalities in the "Elite Talents". I've been dying for a Brazilian and then we get a Cameroonian and Swiss. 

(26a) Ndiaye (CMR) looks ok, but there are so many attributes at 9, (5 in total), that if we changed them all to 10 I think he would look significantly better. (Try it and see if you agree). There isn't 1 single position/role that stands out, but he's well capable of playing a few different roles I think. 

(26b) Fernandes (POR) needs work on his physicals, but I can see him developing into a decent midfield destroyer. 

(26c) Adãozinho (BRA) (POR) looks poor to me. Poor Aerial Reach, Concentration & Positioning. I don't expect him to amount to much. 

(26d) Kabamba (SUI) (POR) looks ok, but nothing better than ok. 

This appears to be a REALLY poor intake. The worst of the save so far. I wonder if it's time to to bin off the HoYD and see what sort of replacement we can find? 

He's our 2nd HoYD and I think we're overdue for an upgrade. He has a poor personality but the biggest negative for him is that his favoured tactic is a 433 DM wide, (which means we will often see players promoted that fit into that tactic). I want to replace him with someone with a better personality who likes to play 442. 

Don't get me wrong, he's done ok so far in this save, (up until now), but this poor intake just gives me a reason to change and I'm sure it's a decision that will please @Ceching You Outwho must feel it is LONG overdue. The truth is that although I know it's important, I still just can't be bothered to spend so much time micro-managing staff contracts. 

This is the 1st one I've found with 442 as a preferred formation and a reasonable personality. I wonder if I might be better off looking for someone with knowledge of Brazil. 

This bloke used to play for us so I think he jumps to the head of the queue based on purely sentimental reasons. 

Edited November 2, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[Rikulec]

5 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

(2) I know that the poaching of Youth players is still in the game in FM22, but as you are no longer shown which club the player originates from, how do you know when they player comes through the intake that he has been poached?

Does the club the player has been poached from show in his history?

[Jimbokav1971]

43 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

Does the club the player has been poached from show in his history?

I don't know because I can't remember which thread I saw it in so have been unable to check.

Added to whicvh, although we have seen the player poached, it's unlikely we will have seen the player come through the Academy at his new club (unless the person is flying through the seasons using an IR button)

Edited November 2, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[Rikulec]

@Makoto Nakamura has had a few players poached that came through their new clubs' academies already, maybe he could help.

[Jimbokav1971]

10 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

@Makoto Nakamura has had a few players poached that came through their new clubs' academies already, maybe he could help.

I'm on it! 

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2026. 

I'm only starting to get interested in this feature now and I have no intention of boring you all with all these different Newgens that will mean nothing to you or me. I am however interested in Portugese players on this list or players at Portugese clubs on this list. 

By the way, has Facegen improved this year or did I miss it improving last year? 

 is at Guimaraes, but he's on loan from Porto where he came through the Academy. 

 is also at Porto but they signed him from O'Higgins, (I love that name), in Chile, for the pittance of £800k.

 is in Germany with Fortuna Dusseldorf, but came through the Academy at Benfica. 

 is at Sporting but came through the Academy at Plovdiv in Bulgaria & was stolen for just £47.5k Scoring at a goal a game for the B Team it's surely only a matter of time before he breaks into the senior squad. 

 came through the Academy at Porto, but has agreed to join Spurs on a free in the Summer. 

It's interesting that none of the above players are listed as "Wonderkid" despite obviously being on the wonderkid list. 

[Jimbokav1971]

5.0 PA players contract expiry. Apr 2026. 

(22j) Saná Cassamá (GNB) (POR) is joining Santa Clara on a free in the Summer, (what's done is done), but the player on my mind is (23f) Magalhães (POR) 6'1" who's contract expires in 2027. He has a +1 option so technically he's contracted until 2028, but I would still prefer to extend it. The only problem is that when I try to extend his contract, he wants a small min fee release clause for clubs in a higher division, and even if we get promoted this season, (it's looking unlikely at the moment), then there will be a period at the end of this season, where the transfer window is open but we haven't yet been promoted and the clause is active. 

I don't mind him having a min fee clubs in a higher division clause, but it needs to be bigger than the £275,000 that he was asking for. I would rather lose him on a free in 2 years than have him leave earlier for £275,000.

[Thebaker]

I'm surprised your HOY was so poor, i thought at your level and facilities you could have got a better one than Correia.

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar & Apr 2026. 

Segunda Liga. I think we're blown it. We've only lost 1 game in 12, but there have been far too many draws, (6 in 12), meaning that we have only won 5 of 12. The saved penalty late on against Santa Clara is just 1 mistake too many I think. 

With just Benfica B and Lusitânia Lourosa still to play we still have a chance, but we haven't won back to back games since November and it seems unlikely that we will be able to buck the trend and defeat 2 of the top 5 at the end of the season when it matters most. 

Goal-scoring GK's. It's not all cigars and champagne for (23e) Valente (POR) 6'4" as he misses a 3rd penalty of his career. It would have been the winner against top of the table Santa Clara and it would have seen us just 1 point behind the Playoff spot. Instead we're 3 points behind with just 2 games to play. That they are against Benfica B and Lusitânia Lourosa suggest that the odds are against us, but by playing Lusitânia Lourosa it means that we can not only control how many points we get, but also stop them gaining points. If we win both games then I think we have a chance. Anything but 6 points and it's another season in the Segunda Liga. 

Club vision. I was confused as to why we were achieving objectives that I expected us to already have completed, until I remembered that we have a board takeover earlier this season so a completely new club vision. 

Segunda Liga Player of the Year candidates. In Portugal, the PotY shortlist is only 3 players long. 2 of them are products of our Academy. I don't know if it's based on average rating or something more subjective, but looking at the average ratings of my squad, I think the shortlist is decided on average ratings and then the voting decides on the winner. 

Segunda Liga Young Player of the Year candidates. We have 2 players in the YPotY list, but surely (23e) Valente (POR) 6'4" is going to win it. 

Segunda Liga GK of the Year. Surely he's nailed on to win this? 

Finances.  Wow. That escalated quickly.  The current transfer budget is just over £3M and they are talking about reducing it to £320k next season, (not that we're likely to spend any of it anyway).  The wage budget has increased by about £10k per month this season as I secured long-term contract extensions to most of our higher PA players. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Thebaker said:

I'm surprised your HOY was so poor, i thought at your level and facilities you could have got a better one than Correia.

We absolutely could. I delegate just about everything at the start of the game and then deal with things as and when required. We've had some good intakes and the 1st bad one made me deal with this now. Considering I'm using the IR button, and a lot of the decison making during matches is made by my Ass Man, I can't even tell you what my Ass Man looks like. I don't know his name, personality or anything about him. I think we would have got promoted both the last 2 seasons with me at the helm managing matches rather than him, (but who knows). 

I was about to post a picture of the Ass Man but......

We have 2 Assistant Managers for the Senior Team. 

Chaves looks decent. 

It appears as if Ramos is the U19's Ass Man but it's labelled wrongly. 

The only problem is that we also appear to have 2 U19's Assistant Managers. 

In fact, while I'm looking at this page..... it's scary the wages involves. 

That little lot above doesn't include B Team staff and comes to a whopping £120,600 per month.  

£120k? We're only playing players just under £60k per month. The staff are getting paid twice as month as the players and teh Technical Director is getting paid almost twice as much as me. 

What's going on? 

[Thebaker]

There seems a lot of repetition there - 2 recruitment analysts and 6! performance analysts for the 1st team. Doesn't the technical director just hire staff, is he really worth that much.   According to that you also have 2 u19 ass mans and 2 1st team ass mans, that technical director is really justifying his job. Ass man are counted as coaches now and i suppose you can hire as many as want within the coach limit.

B team staff will also come out of the club budget and if they also have a lot of staff its no wonder the club is skint.

[Jimbokav1971]

4 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

There seems a lot of repetition there - 2 recruitment analysts and 6! performance analysts for the 1st team. Doesn't the technical director just hire staff, is he really worth that much.   According to that you also have 2 u19 ass mans and 2 1st team ass mans, that technical director is really justifying his job. Ass man are counted as coaches now and i suppose you can hire as many as want within the coach limit.

B team staff will also come out of the club budget and if they also have a lot of staff its no wonder the club is skint.

I don't mind hugely about the money because I'm not really getting rid of players at the moment and we need lots of staff to train them. We have 89 players at the club, there will be another 16 along next Intake Day and only 7 players leaving this Summer. 

I don't have an issue with having the maximum number of coaches at all, but I do have an issue paying £13,250 per month for a Technical Director when I don't know what a technical Director even does? What does he do that separates him from the DoF? 

[Ceching You Out]

8 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Youth Intake day. Mar 2026. 

This appears to be a REALLY poor intake. The worst of the save so far. I wonder if it's time to to bin off the HoYD and see what sort of replacement we can find? 

He's our 2nd HoYD and I think we're overdue for an upgrade. He has a poor personality but the biggest negative for him is that his favoured tactic is a 433 DM wide, (which means we will often see players promoted that fit into that tactic). I want to replace him with someone with a better personality who likes to play 442. 

Don't get me wrong, he's done ok so far in this save, (up until now), but this poor intake just gives me a reason to change and I'm sure it's a decision that will please @Ceching You Outwho must feel it is LONG overdue. The truth is that although I know it's important, I still just can't be bothered to spend so much time micro-managing staff contracts. 

 

This bloke used to play for us so I think he jumps to the head of the queue based on purely sentimental reasons. 

I had just assumed you'd already changed the guy. Between this and your screenshot of your staff salaries you're making my skin itch! I was lazy with my own staff for a couple years before I felt I had to at least half-ass min-max. Granted my own HoYD has had less of an impact than I had hoped, but still. Side note - I've been really disappointed with the impact of mentoring on changing bad personalities to good, although maybe that's a hangover from the headier times when tutoring was still a thing.

Big fan of the personality on Rui Pereira - you can see the great Determination but Resolute also means high Professionalism. If his Media Handling is Evasive or Unflappable he's a great choice considering he fits your formation.

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2029. 

Segunda Liga. We properly choked this season. We missed out on the Playoffs by 5 points, and and even after all the points we had dropped before this month, the 5 points that we dropped this month were what cost us. What made it worse is that Lusitânia Lourosa scored a 93rd min penalty to draw against us. 

Goal-scoring GK's. (23e) Valente (POR) 6'4" has missed 3 penalties now. 

Finances.    

[Jimbokav1971]

(22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" is going to the World Cup. May 2026. 

It isn't a surprise that Ivory Coast have qualified for the World Cup. It a surprise that Cape Verde have. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Job offer. Jun 2026. 

Boavista (BVT) finished last season 5th in the Portugese Premeira Liga. 

Moreirense and the "Big 3" finished above them, (with Braga just below) I'm only interested in taking an interview at these Portugese clubs now. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New contract. Jul 2026. 

Shortlist. I've had some luck finding some more players who are products of our Academy. 

I'm interested in signing  Duk (CPV) (POR) HG, mainly because he's a striker and we need a striker.

Top of the list Tomás Ribeiro (POR) HG has bids in for him from both Porto and Levante. 

Signing. I've spent £31.5k on Duk (CPV) (POR) HG, (or at least the DoF did after I asked him to), and he looks like a fantastic addition. 

Edited November 2, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Mafra got FM'd. Jul 2026. 

I really wouldn't be happy if I was them. 

We had a player sent off after 19th minutes and then lost a player to injury after using all 5 subs in the 85th minute. For most of the match we didn't have a single shot on or off target, but manages to get 2 shots off on the counter late on. 

We couldn't pull off the same trick in the 2nd Round, but (23e) Valente (POR) 6'4" found the net with our 1st penalty again. (He's 3/3 now in shoot-outs).

We were 4-2 up in injury time and somehow conceded twice.  Have I mentioned that I don't care about the Cups at this stage of the save? 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul & Aug 2026. 

Segunda Liga. This was funny while it lasted. We were absolutely destroyed by Mafra, (but somehow beat them on penalties), and then we absolutely destroyed Rio Ave, (but somehow lost on penalties). 

Taça de Liga. What a disastrous start to the league campaign it's been. I got pre-season badly wrong I think. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Transfers. 

Finances.    

[Sonic Youth]

23 hours ago, Punch said:

Yes, but looking to put a few ideas together that saves like yourself and @Jtomsett11 's Back the Bulls thread have inspired.

 

23 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I haven't been into the @Jtomsett11thread I don't think. Will have to have a look. 

Definitely a good thread 

[abulezz]

How do you feel about the sale of Shynkarenko? £1M should go along way to help the coffers. 

[Jimbokav1971]

8 minutes ago, abulezz said:

How do you feel about the sale of Shynkarenko? £1M should go along way to help the coffers. 

They offered about £750 initially and I negotiated them up. The end deal, although accepted by the DoF, was suggested by me, (lots of round amounts and multiple clauses). 

Although we are still £1M overdrawn, only £500k was paid in cash and the other £500k will be paid in instalments, plus we get £10k per appearance for 50 appearances. and a few other add-ons. I like this sort of deal because it keeps the money rolling in, (but also doesn't stop El Presidente from investing to keep the debt down). 

He had gone out on loan the last 2 seasons so I can't have been that much of a fan. The fact that Porto have signed him suggests that I might have been wrong. When you have so many 5.0 players though it's hard to play them all. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Promises promises. Sep 2026. 

(22d) Couceiro (POR) DLP has a min fee release clause of £950k, (for clubs in a higher league). 
(22e) Capucha (POR) AF has a min fee release clause of £750k, (for clubs in a higher league). 

[Sonic Youth]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Promises promises. Sep 2026. 

(22d) Couceiro (POR) DLP has a min fee release clause of £950k, (for clubs in a higher league). 
(22e) Capucha (POR) AF has a min fee release clause of £750k, (for clubs in a higher league). 

A team, any team, save me! 

Shouldn’t that say something about higher rep clubs not just about a club?

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2026. 

Segunda Liga. We might trail the top of the table by 10 points, but I'm actually a little happier. We were better than Benfica B but they took their chances and our performances are much improved. 

Taça de Portugal.

Goal-scoring GK's. 

 

 

 

Records.

Finances.   

Bugs. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

6 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

A team, any team, save me! 

Shouldn’t that say something about higher rep clubs not just about a club?

I think the wording is poor. I think it should say something like "to allow him to leave the club and play at a higher level". 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2026. 

Segunda Liga. Just a few decent results and we're up to 7th, just 4 points off the Playoffs, (albeit having played a game extra). 

Taça de Portugal.

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Senior International. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2026. 

Segunda Liga. We're up to 7th and 4 points off the Playoff spot. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2026. 

Segunda Liga. We've only lost once in 12 games, but we've drawn 4 our last 5 and it's killing us. An unbeaten run is all well and good, but I would rather win 2 and lose the 3rd than this death by a thousand cuts. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.    We're losing about £300,000 each month and the board have removed all of the transfer budget of £2.9M that we had last month. This is our 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2027. 

Segunda Liga. We're 5 points off the Playoffs which isn't impossible at all. A few wins on the bounce and we will be right in the mix. 

Goal-scoring GK. 

Transfers. When we didn't manage to get promoted last season, I knew that there was a big chance that we would lose (22d) Couceiro (POR) DLP due to his min fee release clause, (clubs in higher league). It was the only way to get him to sign a new contract and whole I managed to slip in an expiry date for some, he wasn't one of them. We get almost £1M for him and what I wasn't expecting is that we also got him back in on loan for the rest of the season, (which is great). While I personally think he looks amazing, (if you squint a little and try to ignore his physicals), the truth is that I wasn't able to convert what I saw into positive performances on the pitch. Don't get me wrong, he was ok, but I needed our DLP to be smashing it, (and he wasn't). I personally don't think he will make it at Porto, (and I will be ready to bring him back), so watch this space. I think that (22f) Shynkarenko (POR) (UKR), (who is also at Porto), has far more chance of making it than (22d) Couceiro (POR) DLP, despite that I personally preferred (22d) Couceiro (POR) DLP. 

Shortlist. 

Finances.    The problem I've got is that selling the players we have done recently isn't really touching the sides as far as dent management is concerned. I had got used to the old El Presidente investing 5.25M into the club in 3/4 years and first he stopped and then the new bloke never started. I honestly don't mind at all about the removal of the transfer budget, (I wasn't going to spend it anyway), but the debt is now at a level, (increasing by approx £300,000 per month), where it's hard to keep up with by selling players, (not to mention counter-productive in terms of the development of the save). 

Edited November 3, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2027. 

Segunda Liga. I didn't mind the lost to Benfica B because we won the other 3 games. This is what I meant in an earlier post about "death by a thousand cuts" with all the draws. There is a 9 point gap between ourselves and 2nd/3rd. Remember that Benfica B can't be promoted so we're not competing against them. 

P. Ferreira and Mafra are almost out of sight ahead of us and Felgueiras behind us have a game in hand. There appear to be 5 of us chasing this Playoff spot. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

Edited November 3, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[Punch]

Valente is a machine

[raz4la]

What's your view on PPMs? Do you let most of the youth players learn them? Would be interesting to know more about it.

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, Punch said:

Valente is a machine

There is very little set in stone for the successful taking of free-kicks and penalties OTHER THAN, the penalties and free-kicks attributes are completely irrelevant. 

Morale plays a part and in-game body language is also important too, and I also think technique plays a part. I don't want to say too much because it will mean that he will stop scoring. 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 minutes ago, raz4la said:

What's your view on PPMs? Do you let most of the youth players learn them? Would be interesting to know more about it.

I love PPM's and I have quite a clear idea in my head of what I want players to do and how PPM's accentuate that. 

Without going off on a tangent too much, (I have already planned to do so at some point in the future in this thread), I 'm an enormous fan of "gets forward wherever possible" for full-backs, I love "switches play" for central playmakers, and this year I have tried to do the following in this order. 

Switches play, Tries long range passes, Dictates Tempo, Tries killer balls

"dives into tackles" is a no brainer for those suited to it. 
I hate "plays with back to goal" unless playing a role that specifically asks for it. 
I like "knocks ball past opponent" for quick wide players, but only if they stay wide. 
I have a player called Becksquita (POR) HG.  He wasn't initially called Becks anything but I changed the front part of his name because he was slow, had great crossing ability and the 1st time I put him on as a sub he took a touch and delivered a phenomenal ball into the far post for a late winner. I've never used "crosses early" before, but it's looking decent so far. 

Places shots used to be OP. 
Takes ball passed GK used to be OP
I absolutely love "lobs GK" and I don't care if it is overpowered or underpowered. It's just aesthetically pleasing. 

I think PPM's are hugely importnat. 

[Punch]

10 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

There is very little set in stone for the successful taking of free-kicks and penalties OTHER THAN, the penalties and free-kicks attributes are completely irrelevant. 

Morale plays a part and in-game body language is also important too, and I also think technique plays a part. I don't want to say too much because it will mean that he will stop scoring. 

That's good to know.

My new save keepers have a few penalties, which I've shared, but no free kicks yet. I will be excited to see that happen.

[karanhsingh]

Random question do you have turkey loaded up on your save? 

[Jimbokav1971]

6 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Random question do you have turkey loaded up on your save? 

No, just Portugal, Spain and Brazil. 

[Jimbokav1971]

9 hours ago, Punch said:

That's good to know.

My new save keepers have a few penalties, which I've shared, but no free kicks yet. I will be excited to see that happen.

If you want to create more opportunities for free-kicks, think about your tactical instructions. I don't mean just "play for set pieces", but more general. For example I don't "play for set pieces", but I have inverted players on both flanks and they are asked to run with the ball more. 

[Punch]

52 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

If you want to create more opportunities for free-kicks, think about your tactical instructions. I don't mean just "play for set pieces", but more general. For example I don't "play for set pieces", but I have inverted players on both flanks and they are asked to run with the ball more. 

I'll take a look and see what their instructions are and make some tweaks if needed.

 

Do you set all your free kick options to the keepers, or just the direct ones?

Edited November 4, 2021 by Punch

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Punch said:

Do you set all your free kick options to the keepers, or just the direct ones?

In recent issues of the game I have had to adapt it a little to each version of the game. In FM21 for example I found that asking GK's to take wide free-kicks would often leave us open to a counter despite my efforts to spread the cover and leave us in a position to pressure the ball early. 

In FM22 however I am yet to see us concede a single goal as a result of my GK being upfield, (and we're in 2027 now). 

So my GK is taking all free kicks now, but if we started to concede, (from wide and/or central, low chance of shot), then I would remove them and just leave the safer options as I have done in the past. 

[Punch]

26 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

In FM22 however I am yet to see us concede a single goal as a result of my GK being upfield, (and we're in 2027 now).

Awesome! I'm still in FM21 so I might have an experiment with it.

I also dropped the "Play for set pieces" instruction and all of a sudden my keeper is banging in goals from free kicks two games in a row.

 

Sooo...what other advice you got for me?

Edited November 4, 2021 by Punch

[Thebaker]

11 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

There is very little set in stone for the successful taking of free-kicks and penalties OTHER THAN, the penalties and free-kicks attributes are completely irrelevant. 

Morale plays a part and in-game body language is also important too, and I also think technique plays a part. I don't want to say too much because it will mean that he will stop scoring. 

I don't think that is true but there are a lot of other factors involved, crossing, long shots, technique, composure, finishing are all involved and morale most likely.

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2027. 

Let's start "Youth Day" again by showing you the best player at the club by CA so we have an idea what this crop are being rated against. 

We have 3x 4.0 CA players at the club, (albeit 1 is in on loan after leaving in the January window). I mentioned last season that I don't know if the youth intake are judged against just the best single player at the club, or the best player in each individual position, or the best player in defence, midfield, or attack. We have 1 from each area of the pitch rated at 4.0 so let's keep that in mind if we see a GK, DC, DR or MR/ML rated right at the top of the list PA list. 

It's a Golden Generation, (after our change of HoYD), but to be honest I would expect almost every intake to be a Golden Generation at the moment. 

Now this is quite interesting based on my opening comments in this post. There are 6 "Elite Talents", and none of them play in the same positions as the 3 highest rated CA players at the club. (DL, MC & SC). That doesn't mean that our intakes are compared to players by position. It it just a tiny suggestion that that's how it works. Let's keep looking at this in future intakes and perhaps you can let me know what you think too?

AMC's are possibly debatable, and remember that our previous HoYD didn't prefer a 442 so this could be a hangover from his influence. My opinion, (rather than fact), is that because a HoYD is responsible for bring young players through at the club from an early age, his influence will remain long after he leaves in subsequent intakes, so it could take a while for a new HoYD to imprint his full influence on a club. 

I don't care that the wingers are in the AM line rather than the M line and I don't care that we have 2 AMC's rather than MC's either. At this early age all that matters is the potential, (and whatever ability they have is a bonus), (and the personality of course). We can mould the rest. 

Still no DL or MC, but we do now have 2 strikers on the list. 

We finally have a DM and an MC. 

• We've got a couple of Brazilians. 
• 2 from (GNB). 
• 2 other Nationalities (UKR) & (FRA). 
• 4x 5.0 PA players. 
• 2x 4.5 PA players. 
• The Det levels look poor on the whole. 
• The Workrate levels look pretty average. 
• There seems to be a fair amount of CA with 6x 1.5 CA players. 

It doesn't matter than (27a) Mateus (POR) is a CAM. He looks like a DLP to me and as we have sold 3 playmakers already in this save, I think it's important to keep the production line well-stocked. 

(27b) Roque (POR) may be more of a natural wide player than the inverted roles that we use, but I have other players that I make an exception for and he will join them. I think he looks brilliant and the only thing I really don't like his his workrate. Let's see hoe many points we can get that up before he's 21 years old!

I'm dying for a (BRA) playmaker to come through and be phenomenal, but I don't think (27c) Filipe (BRA) (POR) is it. He looks ok, but I really don't like his (Det). He has a lot of developing to do and I'm not convinced he will do it. 

(27d) Barreto (POR) doesn't look very special, and while I love our current GK (23e) Valente (POR) 6'4", we don't have a good back-up and you might remember that although (26c) Adãozinho (BRA) (POR) came through highly rated last year, I didn't like him at all. In that respect should provide some much needed depth in the GK area on the production line. 

(27e) Só (POR) (GNB) looks a strange one. I really like the look of some of his mental attributes, but I look at his OtB and Det attributes, (both 5) with dismay. Where and how do you play an attacking player with poor a Off the ball attribute?

(27f) Jajá (POR) (BRA) 5'10" might be short, but I actually quite like the look of him. He obviously has work to do physically, but I can certainly see him playing for us. (I also love his name!)

(27g) Hugo Dias (POR) might only be a 4.0 PA player, but remember we don't trust those ratings, (and we especially don't trust them on on day 1 of a Youth Intake). I think he looks phenomenal and even if he is only 4.0 PA, if we can get him to reach that level then I expect him to be a good player for us. He's possibly my favourite player in this intake, despite being ranked 7th by PA with only 4.0 PA. 

(27h) Rodrigues (POR) 6'5" looks a little unusual. He's "rangy" which means tall but not a TM I think. We've been poor at producing strikers so far so I wanted to include him. 

(27i) Sambú (GNB) (POR) is another player who I really like despite being ranked quite lowly. Because I will be developing all players, I think we have to drop down at least this far to look at what is coming through. 

Something else I like to do is look at the PA of all players at the club after the intake has arrived. 

We have significantly fewer 5.0 PA players than we have had earlier in the save, so as a result I'm going to start adding an "*" to the end of their name now. There were so many 5.0 PA players before it just wasn't worth it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

39 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

I don't think that is true but there are a lot of other factors involved, crossing, long shots, technique, composure, finishing are all involved and morale most likely.

I completely understand your position, and mine is certainly opinion rather than fact, but I played about with the editor in FM21 and I could find absolutely no correlation between penalty taking and conversion %. None at all. 

It's admittedly less clear with free-kicks, but certainly from the penalties point of view, I have a lot of experience in players with an extremely poor penalty taking attribute being quite successful from the spot. The link just isn't there from what I can see. 

My GK (23e) Valente (POR) 6'4" has a penalty taking attribute of.......... [I will have to go and check because I'm so sure of this that I haven't even been bothered to check so far].......... Oh this is perfect. I honestly didn't know this. It's 1. His penalty taking attribute is just 1. 

His penalty taking attribute is 1 and he has converted 17 of 20 penalties, (plus 3 from 3 in shootouts). 

This still isn't absolute proof and is still my opinion rather than fact, but when his composure is 8 and his technique is 10, how do you marry that up with him being so successful from the spot? 

Possibly more important than that though, how has he scored 9 direct free-kicks in 3.5 seasons, (remember he has only played in this league so has never played in a title-winning side yet) ? The stats in this save do seem to support my argument in both areas. 

[Jimbokav1971]

54 minutes ago, Punch said:

Sooo...what other advice you got for me?

1. Always have a player stand with taker. m
2. Always keep at least 2 players back. 
3. Rather than lots of people back, think of multiple layers of defenders at different levels of the pitch. 
4. Keep faith with it. 
5. Keep your GK happy. Morale is important. 

[Punch]

57 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

1. Always have a player stand with taker. m
2. Always keep at least 2 players back. 
3. Rather than lots of people back, think of multiple layers of defenders at different levels of the pitch. 
4. Keep faith with it. 
5. Keep your GK happy. Morale is important. 

Awesome, thanks for the tips.

I will be posting some updates in my thread in the morning, and I have a few more GK goals to show off

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2027. 

 Porto have only won 1 of the last 5 Premeira Liga titles, (Sporting winning the other 4), but it would seem that they scouting system is working well if they can recruit a player like this for such a modest fee. 

 A 2nd youngster on the list who is at Porto. This time a product of their Academy, but questions remain as to whether he is getting enough game-time to aid his development. 

 Farense spent last season in the Segunda Liga which was perfect for his development. Although they are bottom and almost sure to be relegated again, the exposure to top tier football will surely have benefitted his development. It will be interesting to see if he stays at Farense next season after they are relegated, (with just 1 year left on his contract). 

 A product of the Benfica Academy, he has been a regular in the Benfica B side this season. 

 A phenomenal signing on a free by Braga.