SolnaRoyal Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 Goodbye sweet prince.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 End of Season Review - 2023-24 Squad | Finances | Table We’re promoted as champions! Our squad developed immensely since the start of the season and we always looked comfortable. It’s been a weird season though. Last year, this points tally wouldn’t see us promoted and we’ve definitely benefitted from teams around us slipping up. Still, we earned this promotion and we’re off to the 2. Bundesliga! Results We were extremely consistent and just kept pulling out results. We had a blip going into the winter transfer window, but the break allowed us to strengthen and secure our hold at the top of the league. Transfers In We had 4 new additions in January Spoiler Signing #1 – Luca Monticelli (Loan) Mohammed was really disappointing this season, so I needed to bring in a goalscorer. Monticelli fit the bill and performed exceptionally. 11 goals in 12 games says it all, he was key to our success this season Signing #2 - Michalis Bouzanis (Loan) I wanted a bit more depth so brought in Bouzanis from Man United. He has exceptional quality for this level, but never really settled in my team. I’d like to get him back for a second chance, but that seems unlikely. Signing #3 - Fabio Chiarodia (Loan) Again, more depth at the back was needed and Chiarodia supplied that. He played excellently and helped secure our extremely strong defence. I’m a big fan of him, so maybe we’ll see him back here soon. Signing #4 – Joao Lopes (Free) I was going through youth intakes and found this guy playing for an u19 team in Portugal. For his age, he looks a great prospect and with a little bit of growth, could be an amazing player for our level. It’ll be interesting to see his development Key Players #1 Luca Podlech The young keeper has been outstanding this season and has developed immensely. He's conceded only a goal a game on average and has sured up and already strong defence. Sadly, it seems Schalke want to give him a first-team role next season, so it's unlikely we'll be able to get him back. We'll see, though. #2 Luca Monticelli It seems strange to say a player who only played 12 times was key, but that’s exactly what Luca was. With Mohammed misfiring, we needed a clinical goalscorer and Monticelli did exactly that. His 11 goals secured us the title and I’ll be forever grateful to him. #3 Paul Glatzel Glatzel made the RW position his own and carried the team’s attack with Sussek early in the season. With 13 goals from the wide position, he was key to winning us games. He’s attracted some interest back in England, so time will tell whether he’s part of our 2. Bundesliga campaign Next Season's Thoughts I'm simply looking to survive next season. The 2. Bundesliga has some strong teams, but some I think we have a chance against. I think we'll be in this league for a while, which is totally fine. Our finances are disastrous and our squad needs a lot of upgrades. We’re very reliant on loans at the moment and most of our top players have release clauses, so expect a lot of chopping and changing over the next few years. I’m not dreaming of the Bundesliga yet. Year Division Predicted Position Actual Position DFB Pokal DFL Supercup Europe Top Player Top Scorer Top Assists Avg. Attendance Finances Extra Notes 2022/23 3. Liga 19th/20th 14th/20th N/A N/A N/A Stefan Schmidt (6.94) Jack Vale (10) Patrick Sussek (7) 1,880 £226,000 Barely survived, need way better players 2023/24 3. Liga 17th/20th 1st/20th N/A N/A N/A Luca Podlech (7.10) Paul Glatzel (13) Patrick Sussek (10) 2,014 - £803,100 Promoted, but financially struggling Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggert Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 Karpaty Lviv - Ukranian Favbet Liga 35/36 Squad - Competitions - Finances - Transfers Favbet Liga: WIN!! - Kubok Ukrayini: QF - UEFA Champions League: Grp Stage - Euro League: Runner-up Key players: GK Postulka - AMC Auremar - ST Pérez - ST Matthews Season Review: Back from a hiatus from FM and returning with a pretty good season. We quickly established a reasonable lead in the leage and could focus on europe. We never got going in a tough ChL group but what a run we had in the Euro League. Dinamo, Werder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen were beaten and a second leg turnaround against Sevilla put us in the final. We lost 2-1 after conceding two goals in the final 10 minutes. It hurt. Our depth simply wasn't good enough. Next season: We should be a top seed in the champions league and will focus on that. We have a strong young core group. But we desperately need depth to our squad. We have lots of money and wage room, but no players are willing to join. We'll have to rely on our youth! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted August 15, 2022 Share Posted August 15, 2022 Season Preview 2024-25 We're in a higher division now, and with that comes some strengthening. This window was a really tricky one. Our reputation is incredibly low for our division and promotion wage rises really ate into my wage budget, so we had to go bargain hunting once again. Still, 11 players join us for the new campaign. No major players left, just a couple of youths on loan. Season Preview Unsurprisingly, we're expected to finish bottom. There's a chasm between us and the top teams in this division in terms of stature, quality, facilities and just about every other metric. Our advantages are that our squad does have song strong players in it, and team cohesion, morale and tactical knowledge are extremely high, so we're playing to our absolute maximum capacity. I think there's enough about us to stay up and maybe even earn a midtable finish. No way we're getting more than that barring some crazy stuff happening. Transfers In Signing #1 - Daniel Udoh (Free) 3rd time is the charm, and Udoh comes in to be our latest striker. Incredibly consistent across the board, Udoh is the type of striker I love in FM. He can do a bit of everything and hopefully that includes goalscoring. Signing #2 - Nehemia Fernandez-Veliz (Free) A youngster from PSG with a bit of potential, Fernandez-Veliz will likely turn out for Rehden II next season and can hopefully develop. He's painfully slow and has incredibly strange stats, but could turn into a solid player if he improves. Signing #3 - Iker Jimenez (£13,000) Now this is an exciting signing. Spanish u19 teams always have potential to produce some gems, and Jimenez looks like one of them. At 16, he already looks capable to play regularly for us and will only develop from here. I feel he's got a very exciting career ahead of him. Signing #4 - Alessandro Minelli (Free) Minelli was signed to give us more depth at the back and add a bit of height and aerial abiliy too. He's not the most exciting signing, but he's definitely good to have Signing #5 - Marcelo Pitaluga (Free) I needed a backup goalkeeper and Pitaluga fits the bill. Solid all-round with a bit of potential, I have faith he'll be good when needed. Signing #6 - Marvin Achtmann (Loan) Now for the main keeper. I've had my eye on Achtmann for a bit, with a view to potentially buy him in the future, but we've loaned him for now. He's a solid keeper for his age with seemingly a lot of potential and will be our #1 this season. Signing #7 - Shane Mason (Loan) Mason was loaned to give us a bit more strength in our midfield. He's excellent mentally and physically, with some impressive technical stats too. He also gives us a bit more height. I'm excited to see how he does. Signing #8 - Huang Hai (£23,000) I was scouting through Portugal and found this guy with a very cheap release clause. He gives us immense depth in the midfield, as he can play just about everywhere and has potential to develop into a solid player. Signing #9 - Pierre Anders (Loan) I felt we were a little light at RWB, so Anders comes in to give us a bit more depth. He'll mainly be a backup option, but looks solid for this level so can be relied upon if needed Signing #10 - Florian Nicaise (Loan) Florian gives us a bit more depth in the LWB position. He's very good going forward and is what I look for in a wing-back. It wouldn't surprise me to see him perform well this season. Signing #11 - Mehdi Loune (Loan) He's back again! I'm not a fan of loaning players constantly, but Eintracht Frankfurt were willing to let him stay for a pittance and he's been one of our best performers so I couldn't say no. He's easily developed into one of our top players, and it's no secret I'd love to have him permanently one day. Results So Far ...or maybe I spoke too soon? We've made an excellent start to the season, winning 4 of our first 5 games including against ex-Bundesliga teams Werder Bremen and Armenia Bielefeld. A first round victory in the DfB Pokal against Karlsruhe sets up a fixture against Bayer Leverkusen which will give us some much-needed money. I don't think we can keep this form up, but we're already well clear of the relegation zones and hopefully we can stay away from there. Expected Lineup Achtmann Scott - Gimenez - Clarke - Finnsson - Nandzik Mason - Loune Glatzel ------------------------Sussek Udoh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggert Posted August 15, 2022 Share Posted August 15, 2022 And on Dynamos ground... It might become a special season! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebaker Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 2033/34 Table | Squad | Transfers Started the season on fire and was in the european spots after 10 games but then suffered a huge loss of form among the palyers and won only 1 game in 16 before and after xmas. Finished the season in great form to be only a place down on last season with a point more. In the spanish cup the team went out in the 2nd rd, drawing 0-0 and then losing on penalties away to div 1B Murcia which was really disappointing. Finances continue to look steady with the facilities continuing to improve. Moved into the new stadium which was maxed out prompting the board to extend it. Keller (185 apps, 12 goals) had been a good servant for the club but was going to be let go at the end of the season, getting some money for him in Apr was a bonus. Youth product Victor (196 apps, 3 goals) was also sold as he was no longer good enough Cobo struggled for much of the season but finished in great form to be my top scorer for the season. My scouts spotted Chandler playing for an Aussie club and i wasn't sure about signing him. Labelled 'the next Harry Kane' he could be world class as my coaches say he can improve a lot. Season League Position Spanish Cup Europe Top Scorer Top Assists Attendance Training Youth Junior Youth Rec Notes 2029/30 Second Div 8th 2nd Rd N/A Tucao (17) Olaza (11) 5858 Adequate Adequate Adequate Excellent 2030/31 Second Div 10th Semi-final N/A Tucao (19) Torrecilla (25f) (12) 6257 Good Average Good Exceptional 2031/32 Second Div 2nd Qtr-final N/A Cobo (31) David, Aleman (11) 6406 Great Average Excellent Exceptional Promoted 2032/33 La Liga 7th 3rd Rd N/A Cobo (14) Msomi (5) 6541 Excellent Good Excellent Exceptional 2033/34 La Liga 8th 2nd Rd N/A Cobo (16) Chandler (9) 14844 Superb Great Excellent Exceptional Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 (edited) End of Season Review - 2024-25 Squad | Finances | Table This season was really one of two halves. We started excellently and were sniffing around the promotion positions, but we were soon brought back down to earth and this league's quality showed itself. Still, we comfortably survived which exceeded my expectations, and with our finances cleared due to the 2. Bundesliga money, we can hopefully push on from here. Results: Sept-Nov | Dec-May As you can see, we fell apart in the middle of the season. Injuries and dropping morale stopped us from being a threat in the league. We still held our own against some far better clubs, though. Transfers In Two players joined us after the summer transfer window. Signing #1 - Moshe Alterovich (Free) We had agreed to sign Alterovich for about 2 years, since I saw him without a club in Israel's u21 squad. He hasn't developed too much while on trial, but apparently still holds a tonne of potential and will turn out for our II team. Signing #2 - Bastian Holscher (Loan) Sussek wasn't performing at LW and I couldn't find a solid enough permanent option, so Bastian came in to add some quality to the wide position. Transfers Out I never really highlight the transfers out as there haven't been many, but I'll start doing so now. Outgoing #1 - David Hummel (Free) Hummel's impressive technicals and physicals were always let down by his horrific mental stats. He never performed near expectations and I'm glad to have him off the wage bill. Outgoing #2 - Jack Scott (£90,000) Scott has an excellent 3. Liga campaign, but was fairly outclassed in the 2. Bundesliga and got displaced by loanee Anders. Linfield offered him a pre-contract before agreeing to sign him for £90k. A solid player, just not for my level. Key Players #1 Mehdi Loune Once again, Mehdi has been a shining force in this team. He's an engine in our midfield, keeping everything ticking over and helping transition from defence to attack. Sadly, this may be the last season we have him. I can't afford him permanently, and would like to bed some of my own players into the starting role rather than developing Frankfurt's future. Maybe sometime in the future, we'll see him again. #2 Daniel Udoh Finally, I have found the solution to my striking woes. Udoh had a phenomenal debut season, hitting 20 goals from 34 games to finish joint 2nd top scorer. To get that many in a pretty mediocre team is something special, so I'm excited to see how he does as we improve around him. #3 Marvin Achtmann The young Austrian stopper gets 3rd place on this list, putting in some excellent, clutch performances to keep us afloat. He's a solid keeper with a decent amount of potential and with a £500k release clause, could he be back at Rehden next season? Other Notes Look. At. This! We've had 3 players poached from us. Three! Our academy has produced nothing but duds (which is why I haven't showed any intakes) so if any of these guys end up being something, I'll be mad. Next Season's Thoughts We've been given a cool £1m transfer budget to spend, but a meagre £5k wage budget, meaning I'll have to do some balancing to get deals over the line. That said, we have actual money! Our squad needs levelling up across the board, and I'd like to get some youngsters in with some potential to challenge for first team spots, either to sell on or become stars for us in future. Year Division Predicted Position Actual Position DFB Pokal DFL Supercup Europe Top Player Top Scorer Top Assists Avg. Attendance Finances Extra Notes 2022/23 3. Liga 19th/20th 14th/20th N/A N/A N/A Stefan Schmidt (6.94) Jack Vale (10) Patrick Sussek (7) 1,880 £226,000 Barely survived, need way better players 2023/24 3. Liga 17th/20th 1st/20th N/A N/A N/A Luca Podlech (7.10) Paul Glatzel (13) Patrick Sussek (10) 2,014 - £803,100 Promoted, but financially struggling 2024/25 2. Bundeslga 18th/18th 11th/18th 2nd Round N/A N/A Mehdi Loune (7.04) Daniel Udoh (20) Paul Glatzel (6) 4,331 £5,818,000 Financially stable, but can't keep up on the pitch Edited August 17, 2022 by Rainbowz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Also, my board are refusing to grant me anything, not even coaching courses because we're "in debt". I'm going into my 4th season and still have no coaching badges 😂😂 Thing is, we have £5.8m in the bank and our debt is £4m. JUST PAY THE BLOODY THING OFF!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Season Preview 2025-26 This season is a one of building for me. Our squad was behind the curve last season, however we're still struggling to bring in the elite talents for this level. The plan? Develop youth. I've been keeping tabs on a number of talented youngsters across the globe, and hopefully I can bring some in. It's not going to see us gain immediate success, but in a few years we'll hopefully reap the rewards. I've certainly been busy in the market this year. With money to spend, I've made a whopping 16 additions to the squad. My strategy has been to sign permanent players for my starting roles, while bringing in loanees for depth. Hopefully that means my starters will develop as they're playing regularly, while I have a crop of talented loanees ready to cover for injuries, suspensions or if they don't perform. Transfers In So many I can't fit them in one image! I'll rank these signings from key players down to future prospects. CM/CAM | Nico O'Reilly (Free) Brought in from Man City's u23s, Nico looks like a fantastic player. Amazingly well-rounded, he can play a multitude of roles. He's quick, good on the ball, can pick out a pass and score as well, hopefully he can massively contribute to us this season and grow while he's here. ST | Felipe (£32,500) Another Spanish youth player, but this one isn't going to our II team. Felipe looks an incredible support striker. With incredible ability on the ball and the ability to pick a pass, I'm certain he'll link up well with Udoh this season. His shooting and pace could be better, but I'm confident he'll grow with time and could end up being a star. CM | Fernandes (£25,000) Turned up by one of my scouts, Fernandes' stats immediately popped to me. When I saw he was playing in the Brazilian non-leagues with a £25k release clause, I pounced immediately. With incredible passing ability, solid ball skills and room to grow, Fernandes is a very exciting player who'll sit in the heart of our midfield. I'm expecting big things from this kid. LW/ST | Lyle Foster (£145,000) My most expensive signing so far, we needed more quality in the wide positions and Foster will provide that as a LW. The former wonderkid may not have reached the heights expected of him, but he's certainly a star in this side. With plenty of versatility, pace and an eye for goal, I'm certain he'll shine for us this season. CB | Aitor Paredes (£135,000) Again, we needed improvements to our defence and Paredes provides that. He's excellent all-round, with ability to play out from the back which suits how we play. I'm hoping him and Jimenez prove to be a Spanish wall at the back for me, they'll certainly be busy this season. LW | Liu Xingquan (Loan) Another loan for depth, this one a bit more exciting though. Xingquan joins us from Bayern after a strong loan at this level with Dynamo Dresden. He's got a lot to be excited about, and will keep Foster on his toes for the LW position. Excellent depth to have. GK | Lennart Grill (Free) Released by 4th tier Erzgebirge Aue, Grill jumps up to the 2. Bundesliga and doesn't look out of place at all. He's an excellently well-rounded keeper who doesn't really have a flaw to his game. It's nice to have finally found a keeper I can permanently rely on. RW/ST | Jonathan Jules (Free) A QPR youth graduate, Jules was available on a pre-contract, and I fended off multiple Championship teams to get him. With his pace and ability on the ball, he'll turn out more as a winger for me, rotating with Glatzel. More depth is always nice, especially when they've got potential to grow. CM | Rico Speksnijder (Loan) The first of the Ajax CM loanees, Rico is a solid all-round midfielder who'll provide support for our two starters. I've got confidence he can perform if and when he's needed. CM | Gabriël Misehouy (Loan) Pretty much identical to Speksnijder, Misehouy will provide cover in the middle for us. He's got the ability to play at this level, and really improves our squad, giving us great options to bring off the bench. RB | Fran Rodriguez Gaitan (£80,000) Paredes wanted a player to help him settle, and Fran was the player most readily available. I needed a RB and he provides a solid option for this level. Not my greatest transfer ever, but I've done worse. LB | Duccio Del Pecchia (Loan) With Lopes and Nandzik leaving, we needed more depth at the LB spot which Del Pecchia provides. He's a good, young full-back with a lot of potential. He'll be used as a squad player for me, but could grow into a starter while he's here. LB | Lorenzo Bernasconi (Loan) More depth at LB. Bernasconi joins us as a backup LB. We've had a lot of problems with injury in the wide positions, so I'm attempting to make sure that never happens again. He's solid if unremarkable for this level, and will likely see his appearances come from the bench. GK | Illia Romanov (Free) Released by Shakhtar, Illia looks like a very promising young goalkeeper. He's already very well-rounded and seemingly has a lot of potential. He'll be deputizing for Grill this season, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him take the starting role in a few years. If he can develop, taht is. DM/CM | Aslan Maiorov (Free) Another youth player signed from a Spanish academy, Aslan looks like he has some real ability and potential about him. He'll turn out for our II team this season, but I'll be watching his progression closely. GK | Mirko Keffel (Free) Not an exciting signing, but my scouts seem to think Mirko has a decent amount of potential, so snapping him up for nothing is worth it. He'll be with our II team for now, hopefully my scouts are right and he can become a solid keeper in future Transfers Out CM | Jacob Montes (Free) I'm a bit sad to see Montes go, he was a consistent performer for me since we signed him. However, the midfielders I was bringing in were better than him, and he wasn't willing to drop his playing time and we couldn't agree on terms. He joins Havelse in the 4th tier, where I expect he'll tear the league up. LW | Patrick Sussek (Free) Now this is a sad one. Sussek had been one of our best players since signing for us in the 3. Liga, however it was getting clear he couldn't cut it at this higher level. Similarly to Montes, his contract was expiring and he wasn't willing to drop down to being a squad player and chose to leave us to join 4th tier Chemnitzer. I wish him the best. LB | Alexander Nandzik (Free) Now this might be a shock. Nandzik was club captain and record appearance holder, and certainly has the stats to be a decent player for this level. However, he never quite put up the performances to match the stats, and was on the decline. His contract was expiring, and I felt his demands were outrageous for his contributions. He joins Montes at Havelse, probably being the best player in the Regionalliga. ST | Bashiru Mohammed (£130,000) Bashiru never really performed as I expected, scoring only 6 times in 28 games. After a successful loan spell in the Spanish 4th tier, and him firmly being my 4th choice striker, I saw my chance to sell him on. After complaining about being unfairly treated, he joined 3rd tier Spanish side Alcoyano. He's not a bad player, he just never seemed to live up to his stats for me. LB | Joao Lopes (£2,400,000) Now, the big one. After an unremarkable loan spell at former 3. Liga side Verl, I wasn't sure what to do with Lopes. After a couple of decent games in my first team, Wolfsburg came in with a bid and Lopes wanted to go. I wasn't keen to lose a promising youngster, but after some negotiations, I couldn't say no to £2.2m for a player I signed for free. We also get 50% of any profit if he's sold. I'll definitely check in on him from time to time, I just hope we haven't sold a future star. Season Preview Similarly to our promotion season from the 3. Liga, I think 3rd bottom is harsh on us. We've got a solid squad with plenty of depth and room to grow. We're definitely not pushing for promotion this season, but I reckon we can achieve a top half finish. Results So Far The start of the season has kind of gone how I'd expect. We beat the weaker teams, but struggle against the stronger ones. I expect we'll improve as the season progresses. We've got a completely new squad playing a completely new tactic, the results will take time. Expected Lineup Grill Rodriguez Gaitan - Jimenez - Paredes - Bernasconi Fernandes - O'Reilly Glatzel ------------------ Foster Felipe - Udoh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britrock Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Hyeres 83 FC - 2039/40 season review Another good season and one that makes me think that we've finally cracked everyone in Ligue 1, bar PSG. We started on an absolute tear in Ligue 1, not losing until our 16th game in mid December when, of all teams, we lost to Ajaccio. We'd even won our last 9 Ligue 1 games before going into that one and I was starting to think we had a title challenge brewing. Annoyingly, including that defeat, over the next 5 games we had 3 draws and 2 defeats which killed any hope of that title challenge. We recovered and from the start of March we went on another 9 game winning streak. Unfortunately we couldn't quite recover enough to get back up to second and ended up in third, behind Marseille on goal difference. In the Champions League we drew Inter and the two Red Bull teams, Leipzig and Salzburg, for the group stage, We lost twice to Inter but beat the two RB teams, so qualified in second place. The draw wasn't kind to us for the knockout rounds and gave us Bayern who were just a bit too strong. We held them to a 0-0 draw in the first leg at home, but lost 4-0 away in the second leg. We should be in the top 25 teams in the European coefficient next year after 5 consistent years. Spoiler Star players for the year included Mubarak, who has now played for us for 8 years and in his worst season had a 7,29 avg rating. This year was actually his most proficient, with 17 goals and a 7.43 average. Last season's big investment, Lucas Machuca, validated his transfer fee with a 7.32 avg and 7 assists. Peter Kiss kept up his great performances at RB with 6 assists, while Yago was a rock at the heart of defence with a 7.26. Top scorer was obviously Nijs, who had a quieter year and only bagged 18 goals. Most assists was Filipe Costa from midfield with 9. On the transfer front, Dortmund gave me £7.5m for Mihart so I needed to find a new GK. Eduard Strukov kicked off about not playing enough so he was sold to Krasnodar and Waima Diakite never lived up to his potential so I offloaded him to Juve. Yannick David was another who didn't live up to his potential and was offloaded to Paderborn. Luis Aguirre was no longer needed, so he was moved on to Almeria. The biggest exit however was Guillermo Rincon. The Mexican with all the potential in the world just never performed, and with Machuca, Shakano, Costa, Leal and Tomic in midfield he was no longer needed and was taking up a non-EU spot in the squad so we sent him to Palmeiras for £17m. To replace Mihart I signed Francisco Garcia from San Lorenzo for £5.5m. To give some more cover and quality on the left wing I bought in Lucio Dalla Costa from Atalanta for £15m and long term target Miodrag Simic was bought in for midfield cover when we had a bit of an injury crisis early in the season. By the time the January transfer window rolled around, our backup ST role was taken by a youngster who I wanted to bed in (Sebastian Munoz) but he just wasn't cutting it so we needed a fresh face. I found Rafeal Fernandes in Portugal and £15m later he was ours. I also wanted some more quality in the centre of midfield and found Lincon in Brazil who cost £12m. Pavlicic was bought in for some central defence cover with an eye to the future. Spoiler Financially the Champions League is great, we finished a season comfortably in the black for the first time that I can remember. Next year we have ~£30m to spend and I'm going to offload a few players (Leal and Simic are first on the list to go) to try and increase that. Our training facilities are 4.5* and our youth facilities are 4* with upgrades completed this year and the average attendance is growing nicely, clearing 18,000 this season. Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 I've just realized that my club went £6m into debt building a new stadium while in the 3. Liga that doesn't meet the criteria for the 2. Bundesliga so we need to ground share with Armenia Bielefeld. My board literally spent £6m they didn't have to play in a stadium for one year, then neglected it. Morons, the lot of them. 🤦 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 End of Season Review - 2025-26 Squad | Tactic | Table | Finances What an incredible season. We may not have been promoted, but we smashed expectations and were definitely in the fight for a while, finishing just 6 points off a promotion spot. Annoyingly, we were plagued with injuries at key points in the season which cost us some key games. If we'd had a full-strength squad and won a few of them, maybe we could've pulled off the dream. Still, a high place finish is incredible for us. With the money and reputation gained, hopefully we can push on for consistent title pushes and look to get out of the division in a few years. I think we're just a few good signings away from being a force in this league, the next few seasons will definitely be exciting. Results: Sept-Nov | Dec-May You can see how injuries affected our form. We hit a rough patch early on, before being dominant in the league. We then hit a disastrous patch which cost us any chance of being competitive in the promotion hunt. Transfers In We made two acquisitions during the January window CM | Andrea Di Pasquale (Free) Coming from the San Marino Academy, I'd been following Di Pasquale's development for a bit, seeing how he progressed. However, he started attracting attention from some Serie A clubs, so I swooped in and quickly got him. He's definitely one for the future and a no-brainer to sign for nothing. RM | Pierre Anders (Loan) A returning face! I needed some cover at RM as my new tactic requires on, and Anders was available once again. He's a solid player and someone I wouldn't mind having as cover next season. Whether Hertha will allow him to mainly sit on the bench remains to be seen, though. Transfers Out LB | Kolbeinn Birgir Finnsson (£195,000) Finnsson never really performed for me, barely scraping 6.6 ratings even in the 3. Liga. Having dropped down to being a squad player, I couldn't resist an offer to get him off the wage bill. He seems to be enjoying his time in the UAE and looks to have found his level. LW | Samuel Kinduelu Mbangula (£63,000) Mbangula was always a punt for the future. My coaches and scouts raved about his potential, but he never really improved or played well enough to justify a first-team role. In the last year of his contract, he left us to join DR Congo side Maniema Union, where he's having a much better time and actually looks on the up. We have a 30% sell-on clause, so we'll see some money should he improve more. Key Players #1 - Felipe Felipe performed exactly how I'd expect, adding some quality to our attack, scoring and assisting his share. However, he's extremely injury prone and his season was marred by exactly that. I feel he's going to be a very frustrating player - absolutely key when he's fit, but how often that'll be is a mystery. The next few seasons will be key for Felipe. Will he progress into a star, or will he join the many potentially great players who's career is destroyed by injuries? #2 - Fran Rodríguez Gaitán There's always a player you never expect to perform, and Fran was that player this season. Brought in to keep Aitor Paredes happy, he made the RB spot his own and quickly became undroppable. He plays the attacking wing-back role perfectly, and has far exceeded expectations. Long may it continue! #3 - Lyle Foster Despite adjusting to a LW role, Foster has been brilliant this season. Chipping in with 12 goals, he's been a pivitol part of our attack. Sadly, similar to Felipe, his form was constantly interrupted by injury so he could never remain consistent. I'm sure if he gets a full season under his belt, he'd be among the top scorers in the league. Next Season's Thoughts We've been given £2.5m and £20k wage budget to spent next season which I'm definitely going to put to good use. We need to look to the future, as experienced players are costing a premium, and many don't want to join. I want to slowly increase the value of my squad and get some real money in, to where we can start looking at some of those premium options. Our training and youth facilities have been steadily improving, and I'm hoping that continues. I'm not looking for promotion next season, but if we could be in the fight again, that'd be amazing. Year Division Predicted Position Actual Position DFB Pokal DFL Supercup Europe Top Player Top Scorer Top Assists Avg. Attendance Finances Extra Notes 2022/23 3. Liga 19th/20th 14th/20th N/A N/A N/A Stefan Schmidt (6.94) Jack Vale (10) Patrick Sussek (7) 1,880 £226,000 Barely survived, need way better players 2023/24 3. Liga 17th/20th 1st/20th N/A N/A N/A Luca Podlech (7.10) Paul Glatzel (13) Patrick Sussek (10) 2,014 - £803,100 Promoted, but financially struggling 2024/25 2. Bundeslga 18th/18th 11th/18th 2nd Round N/A N/A Mehdi Loune (7.04) Daniel Udoh (20) Paul Glatzel (6) 4,331 £5,818,000 Financially stable, but can't keep up on the pitch 2025/26 2. Bundesliga 16th/18th 7th/18th 3rd Round N/A N/A Felipe (7.30) Lyle Foster (12) Nico O'Reilly (12) 4,153 £10,510,703 Defying expectations and financially healthy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 3 hours ago, Rainbowz said: CM | Andrea Di Pasquale (Free) Coming from the San Marino Academy, I'd been following Di Pasquale's development for a bit, seeing how he progressed. However, he started attracting attention from some Serie A clubs, so I swooped in and quickly got him. He's definitely one for the future and a no-brainer to sign for nothing. RIP Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebaker Posted August 26, 2022 Share Posted August 26, 2022 On 24/08/2022 at 18:43, Rainbowz said: RIP Hate it when that happens, have a young player now who was just been easing into the team and making a lot of starts, broken leg and 8 months out! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebaker Posted August 26, 2022 Share Posted August 26, 2022 2034/35 Table | Squad | Transfers Made a decent start to the season drawing a lot of games with another loss of form coming around jan. After this i was able to push on and with 10 games to go was in a european spot only to nearly throw it away. won the last 2 games to sneak into 6th with a 88th minute goal to tip the goal difference in my favour. In the swedish cup the team reached the 4th rd but got hammered 0-4 away to 2nd div Granada which was a terrible result. Finances have leveled out with the facilities nearly maxed out and the new stadium extended. Playing in a 40000 seat stadium for half a season also increased the attendance. Signed Guerra after taking him on loan to add depth for next season and as he had become Model Citizen i felt there was more to come. Chandler became my first wonderkid and was my top scorer. Some of the bigger clubs are getting interested now. Season League Position Spanish Cup Europe Top Scorer Top Assists Attendance Training Youth Junior Youth Rec Notes 2030/31 Second Div 10th Semi-final N/A Tucao (19) Torrecilla (25f) (12) 6257 Good Average Good Exceptional 2031/32 Second Div 2nd Qtr-final N/A Cobo (31) David, Aleman (11) 6406 Great Average Excellent Exceptional Promoted 2032/33 La Liga 7th 3rd Rd N/A Cobo (14) Msomi (5) 6541 Excellent Good Excellent Exceptional 2033/34 La Liga 8th 2nd Rd N/A Cobo (16) Chandler (9) 14844 Superb Great Excellent Exceptional 2034/35 La Liga 6th 4th Rd N/A Chandler (14) Msomi (6) 20287 State of the art Excellent Exceptional Exceptional Qualified for Europe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted August 26, 2022 Share Posted August 26, 2022 Season Preview 2026-27 Oh boy, this pre-season is something. I went into this window wanting to consolidate the already solid squad we have. Make additions where we need improvements, sign up youngsters, that kind of thing. Well, it didn't quite go that way. This transfer window has been incredibly frustrating. We have the money, but we keep getting snubbed by players choosing other teams over us. I've lost out on 7 players who'd make us infinitely stronger because they chose to go to other teams who are similar reputation to us. And just when things were going well, the big teams started sniffing around my players. I pleaded with my board, but they saw the dollar signs in their eyes and offed two of my star players. Let's see how I dealt with it. Transfers Out Some big outs this window and some deadwood gotten rid of. Minelli and Abel go on loan, the former to secure a permanent move away, the latter to hopefully continue his development. Signings and sales are sorted by position. GK | Marcelo Pitaluga (Free) Pitaluga was always going to be a backup option if we ever needed him. Turns out, we never did. The signing of Romanov last season really killed any of his chances to ever play. He joins Serie D side Botafogo-SP where hopefully he can get his career kick-started. GK | Tijjani Schutten (£2,300,00) For some reason he doesn't show in the list, but Schutten was the first of 3 players to be sold by my board. On the one hand, £2.3m for a keeper I signed for £1k and had two poor spells in the 4th tier is amazing. On the other, he was starting to develop like crazy and finally seemed to be realizing his potential. He'll go down as a what-if for us, it'll be interesting to see how he fairs at a big club. CB | Harry Clarke (Free) A stalwart in the side for the first two years, Clarke saw his playing time decrease as the squad improved around him. He performed well when called upon this year and was considered a team leader, but he still considered himself an important player and he wasn't justifying his wages. He goes back to England after a solid stint in Germany and I wish him the best CAM | Mosche Alterovich (Free) This one is annoying. After no complaints about being in our II squad, Moshe and his agent suddenly decided to demand he be made an important player, despite being nowhere near the level of my squad. Obviously I refused, so he decided to mutiny. Eventually, Schalke came in and offered him a contract, which he duly accepted. I'm annoyed to lose him as he has a lot of potential and was starting to improve, but he had delusions of grandeur so I'm glad to see the back of him. I hope he comes to regret leaving, Note: I've since found out that this is apparently a known bug, where II/B team players demand ridiculous game time despite not being good enough. If anyone knows a workaround, that'd be appreciated. CAM | Nico O'Reilly (£2,000,000) When it rains, it pours. I initially got my board to overturn a £2m bid earlier in the window for Nico, however with 6 hours to go in the transfer window, they shockingly accepted the exact same bid they previously allowed me to reject, with no option to protest. It's a pain because Nico really made us tick last season and was a key player. He joins a Brentford team where he isn't even in the first team. I hope you're happy, board. ST | Felipe (£4,700,000) This one stings. I was in the process of renewing Felipe's contract, as it expired this year when Hertha Berlin came in with a bid, completely unsettling him and meant he refused to discuss terms. I agreed I'd sell him for £7m, but my board accepted a £4m bid which I managed to talk up to £4.7m. I'm happy to get that much for an injury-prone player in the last year of his contract, but he's been in fantastic form so far. We got offered him on a loan back for a season, which I accepted, but he'll be tough to replace long-term. Transfers In Plenty of action in the summer window, with 16 players joining. Demirci, Ndao and Antoine were signed to the II squad to give it a little depth. CB | Lawrence Tau (Loan) I felt we were a little light at the back, so Tau comes in to offer some depth. He's not an exceptional CB by any means, but certainly good for this level so I have no qualms calling upon him when needed. LB | Pité (Loan) We desperaely need some depth at LB, and Pité was available for cheap. Despite geting on now, he's excellent at LB and the fact he's here as an impact sub means wonders for his depth. He'll provide cover for our new signing and I reckon he can perform when needed. LB | Angelo Bruckner (£350,000) My new starting LB, Brucker has everything I need for the position. He's great going forward and solid defensively too. He's got a lot of experience at this level which I feel is important for him doing well. Our system allows the wing-backs a lot of freedom and gives them a big role, so he'll be relied upon heavily this season. RM | Adrian Ulrich (£600,000) I found Ulrich while combing through international u21 teams and he certainly caught my eye. For his position, he can certainly do it all and has a lot of potential to grow. Despite what my scouts think, I believe Ulrich can start for us in the RM position. I'm really excited about this kid, I think he could really become something special. CM | Frederic Mouchel (Free) Signed on a pre-contract, the French youth international looks an exceptional talent. He's got some excellent stats for his age and plenty of room to develop. He'll be a backup player and likely start for our II team for now, but I expect it won't be long until he's breaking into the first team. CM | Issouf Sissoko (Free) Another pre-contract player, Sissoko brings something we've been lacking, a midfield battler. Fernandes disappointed last season, so Sissoko comes in to sure up the centre of the pitch. He can run for days and is excellent all-round, especially in the more defensive roles. I think he'll play a big role this season and I'm expecting good things. CM | Guan Fei (Loan) I was after Guan Fei last season, but Darmstadt beat me to the loan. This season however, he's mine, and what a player he is! Incredible all-round with some amazing standout stats, Guan Fei will battle Sissoko for the starting role in the midfield and gives us some real star quality. CAM | Omer Beyaz (Loan) The shock sale of O'Reilly with 6 hours left in the window meant I had to act fast. After struggling to find a permanent replacement in the transfer market, I found Beyaz available for loan. He's a fantastic player and probably the best O'Reilly replacement I could hope to get. He'll fill the exact same role and hopefully plays just as well. ST | Marco García (£1,400,000) Our biggest signing to date, Garcia is the fruits of my endless scouting for a good striker, and boy did I find one! Despite only being 20, Garcia looks an incredible striker for this league and will only get better. I've spent big on him and I'm pinning my goalscoring hopes on him, but if he plays to his stats he should be insane. He does have a £2.6m release clause for Bundesliga clubs, but we'll deal with that later. ST | Lars Skutelis (£625,000) Was this a panic after Felipe was sold? Maybe. But we've still got an excellent striker here. His physicals and mentals are excellent and although his technicals are a bit lacking, I've been ensured by my scouts he has room to grow. He gives us something a bit different in attack, and that's never a bad thing. ST | Max Sailor (£400,000) With some excess transfer budget available, I bought a player my scouts were raving over. Sailor looks like a potential gem, with a lot of good stats in the right places at such a young age. He'll mainly feature for the II squad for now, but I can see him creeping into the first-team before too long. LW | Amourricho Van Axel Dongen (Loan) Maybe the best name in football, Amo (as I'll call him) joins us as some much-needed depth in the attacking midfield areas. He's excellent all-round and just the type of cover we need in case of injuries or suspensions. Season Preview Despite our upheaval, we're expected to finish 13th, being 20-1 shots to win the league. Teams in the 2. Bundesliga definitely feel closer together in stature than they did previously, hopefully we can do some good things this year. Results So Far After a decent pre-season, we sit on 2 wins, 2 losses and a draw see us in 11th so far. It's early days though, so we can't read too much into it. Expected Lineup Oh yeah, it's asymmetric time. Grill Rodriguez Gaitan - Paredes - Jimenez - Bruckner Ulrich (RM) - Guan Fei (CM) ------------------------ Beyaz (CAM) - Foster (LW) Felipe - García Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted August 26, 2022 Share Posted August 26, 2022 1 hour ago, Thebaker said: Hate it when that happens, have a young player now who was just been easing into the team and making a lot of starts, broken leg and 8 months out! Yep, he seemed to have a lot of promise too. He's insanely young so could bounce back, but it's a huge blow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 Season Review 2026-27 Squad | Tactic | Table | Finances WE'RE PROMOTED AS CHAMPIONS!! What a season this has been! We were always hovering around 3rd-5th in the league, and capitalized on some poor performances from teams above us and never looked back. I'm so proud of this squad, the players have developed massively to the point where, by the end of the season, we were considered one of the favourites to go up by the media based on squad strength. Absolutely incredible. However, the season ahead is tough. The board have given me a paltry £500k transfer budget which I'll hopefully get increased, but if not we've got a window of wheeling and dealing ahead of us. Survival by any means is the plan for the Bundesliga, I'm fully expecting to come back down. But hopefully with the money we make in the higher division, we'll be in a far better place. Results: Sept-Nov | Dec-May After a pretty rocky start, we made some changes and never looked back. It honestly felt like we could beat anyone set in front of us. Transfers In 3 players joined us in the winter. ST | Andrea De Angelis (Free) A Sanmarinese wonderkid! I found this guy while looking back over the San Marino Academy and my scouts seem to think he's got some potential. On a free, it was an obvious move to make. He'll play for our II side and hopefully develop into a good player. I'd love to have a first-team player from San Marino. CB | Mariano Martínez (£775,000) We had money to spend and I felt we were a bit light at the back (especially after Sporting recalled Tau) so Martínez comes in. He looks a very promising CB with a lot to be excited about. He needs a bit of work, particularly with his heading and a few mental stats, but hopefully he's got a bright future and can provide immediate support to the first team. CB | Juan Camilo Aponte (Loan) With Tau being recalled, I still wanted a bit more depth. Aponte gives us a solid backup option to play at LCB, and unlike Tau, he's a squad player with no defined role, so Napoli won't get annoyed if he doesn't play much. Transfers Out Just a couple of loans for players who could do with gametime, with 1 player leaving permanently. CM | Fernandes (£650,000) Fernandes never really lived up to the hype I expected of him. His stats made him seem like a potential incredible DLP, but he never really did anything. He had a release clause of £650k which a few teams triggered. He could still have a good career, but we have better options both for now and the future, so I won't lose too much sleep over this one. Key Players #1 - Lyle Foster (7.58) What a player this guy is! I was expecting a solid performer who'd get some goals when I signed him, I didn't expect him to carry the attack! Foster is one of those guys who just plays far and above his stats, and I'd back him to do a job in the Bundesliga. He's made the LW spot his own and I can't wait to see how he handles the bigger challenge. #2 - Lars Skutelis (7.27) After an injury to Felipe, I switched around my tactics to fit Skutelis into his preferred pressing forward role, and wow he impressed. His pace and relentless stamina made him and handful for defences as he chipped in with a few goals and assists, but his overall game carried him to being one of our top players. He's still got a lot of room to grow, I can't wait to see how good he can be. #3 - Fran Rodríguez Gaitán (7.21) How is he so good!? Yet another season of defying his stats and putting in incredible performances, Gaitan chipped in with 12 assists from the RB spot and had countless great games. Sadly, I don't think he can keep up in the Bundesliga, so he might have to drop back to a supporting role, but this guy is a legend in my eyes and the type of player that makes me love FM. God bless you, Fran.Other Notes My board are building another new stadium!? This is an incredibly annoying glitch. Basically, my board built a stadium when the club was promoted to the 3. Liga (Rehden Stadium), which was unsuitable for the 2. Bundesliga, so we ground-shared with Armenia Bielefeld. However, the game seems to have forgotten that Rehden Stadium exists, so now the board are building ANOTHER new stadium, while we're still paying off debts from the old one. Is there any fix for this without using an editor? It's incredibly frustrating that we'll be paying a tonne of money for a new stadium, just because the game glitched. Next Season's Thoughts It's going to be a tough one for sure. Our squad is definitely one of the better ones in the 2. Bundesliga, but nowhere near Bundesliga quality. I'm going to beg my board for more transfer budget, as without it I think we're in real trouble. Expect a lot of transfers and a lot of losses next season as I try to survive in the top flight. Year Division Predicted Position Actual Position DFB Pokal DFL Supercup Europe Top Player Top Scorer Top Assists Avg. Attendance Finances Training/Youth Facilties Junior Coaching/Recruitment Extra Notes 2022/23 3. Liga 19th/20th 14th/20th N/A N/A N/A Stefan Schmidt (6.94) Jack Vale (10) Patrick Sussek (7) 1,880 £226,000 Poor/Poor Below Average/Poor Barely survived, need way better players 2023/24 3. Liga 17th/20th 1st/20th N/A N/A N/A Luca Podlech (7.10) Paul Glatzel (13) Patrick Sussek (10) 2,014 - £803,100 Poor/Poor Below Average/Poor Promoted, but financially struggling 2024/25 2. Bundesliga 18th/18th 11th/18th 2nd Round N/A N/A Mehdi Loune (7.04) Daniel Udoh (20) Paul Glatzel (6) 4,331 £5,818,000 Adequate/Poor Adequate/Below Average Financially stable, but can't keep up on the pitch 2025/26 2. Bundesliga 16th/18th 7th/18th 3rd Round N/A N/A Felipe (7.30) Lyle Foster (12) Nico O'Reilly (12) 4,153 £10,510,703 Adequate/Adequate Good/Average Defying expectations and financially healthy 2026/27 2. Bundesliga 14th/18th 1st/18th 2nd Round N/A N/A Lyle Foster (7.58) Lyle Foster (19) Fran Rodriguez Gaitan (12) 4,745 £17,928,505 Average/Adequate Excellent/Average Unexpectedly promoted! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebaker Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 2035/36 Table | Squad | Transfers Had a very indifferent season where due to the short turnaround between games (caused by the euro cup II games) i rotated the squad a lot and seemed unable to string a set of decent results together in the league. Goalscoring was also an issue with the team dominating a lot of games only to lose as they couldn't score, a really good 3rd striker is needed. In the spanish cup the team lost 0-1 in the 4th rd to 1st div Oviedo in a match where they only had 2 shots. In Europe the team started with a tough tie against PTM and came through to get into an easy group. Easily won the group and played my reserve players in the last 2 games. In the 2nd KO rd the team lost a tight game 0-1 against Partizan in the 1st leg away. In the home leg the team were 3-0 up and well on top before suddenly conceeding 3 goals in the last 15 mins to go out. Finances continue to do well even with a new ground extension being built as the team is already selling out the 22500 capacity in the new ground. I sold my best player in Kuanyshev (197 apps) as he wanted to go, i should have got more but i am hopeful my youth GK can step up. I sold my record goal scorer David (329 apps, 115 goals) as he wasn't quite up to the standard required. Record app holder Aleman (482 apps, 45 goals) also left as i have a lot of good youth players that i need to get playing to develop further. This season i got through this youth player who is very close to being a first team player. Cobo was far and away my best player really stepping up, seeming at times to be the only player scoring. Season League Position Spanish Cup Europe Top Scorer Top Assists Attendance Training Youth Junior Youth Rec Notes 2031/32 Second Div 2nd Qtr-final N/A Cobo (31) David, Aleman (11) 6406 Great Average Excellent Exceptional Promoted 2032/33 La Liga 7th 3rd Rd N/A Cobo (14) Msomi (5) 6541 Excellent Good Excellent Exceptional 2033/34 La Liga 8th 2nd Rd N/A Cobo (16) Chandler (9) 14844 Superb Great Excellent Exceptional 2034/35 La Liga 6th 4th Rd N/A Chandler (14) Msomi (6) 20287 State of the art Excellent Exceptional Exceptional Qualified for Europe 2035/36 La Liga 10th 4th Rd 2nd KO rd Euro Cup II Cobo (28) Cobo (10) 21550 State of the art Superb Exceptional Exceptional Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 2027-28 Season Preview Well, we're a Bundesliga team now. We were considered one of the stronger teams in the 2. Bundesliga, so promotion isn't that much of a shock, but our chairman seemed taken aback. So taken aback, he forgot to give us any meaningful money to spend. 600k transfer budget and 40k wage budget to transform this club from 2. Bundesliga surprise winners to Bundesliga survivors. Ugh, what an awful transfer window. My decent wage budget got absolutely destroyed by top division wage rise clauses, meaning I had less money than I had last season to strengthen for this higher division. The board outright refused to give me any more money, despite us having loads in the bank. All the free transfers I tried to sign went to other clubs, and we didn't have the wage budget to attract loans outside of deadline day. And to top it all off, our only left-back broke his leg and I couldn't bring in a replacement. I tried loaning in players, however every team wanted wage contributions which we couldn't afford. Transfers In In all, I only managed to bring 3 players in. An absolutely dreadful window, but with one standout gem. CB | Istvan Szeles (£775,000) I agreed to sign Istvan last season, and he arrives for the Bundesliga campaign. He looks a great backup CB option who has a lot of scope to develop. He's already got some very impressive stats for his age and hopefully will only get better. CM | Andres Muriel (£1,700,000) I had to fight my board to get this one done, with them finally relenting and approving the transfer. Hopefully you can see why. This kid looks incredible. He's only turned 18 and is already a Bundesliga quality player. His stats are insane and he's getting better by the day. There were some huge clubs interested in him, so I knew it was now or never. He may have swallowed our entire budget, but for some players you just can't say no. LB | Henrique Gomes (Loan) This shows my desperation. Gomes is nowhere near a Bundesliga player, but he was literally the only LB I could get on a free loan. He'll get to play simply down to the injury for Bruckner, but this really sums up how this transfer window has been for me. Transfers Out 2 players leave us permanently. De Angelis and Di Pasquale go on loan to develop while Jules goes on loan to find a transfer away. CB | Simon Lorenz (Free) Though he was a key defender back in the day, Lorenz is sadly well behind the standard of our other CBs. He wanted to leave and I wouldn't stand in his way. ST | Daniel Udoh (£245,000) Udoh was a savior for us a few seasons back, finally being the goalscoring striker we needed. However, he's been surpassed by many better, younger players and like Lorenz, wanted to leave. I'm glad we got some money for him, and he goes to Nigeria where he'll likely be a goalscoring machine. Season Preview We're in big trouble this season. Our summer transfer window was a mess. The board didn't back me and no teams were willing to loan me players for free. This has resulted in one of my smallest squads yet with absolutely zero depth in certain positions. Our starting 11 is definitely Bundesliga quality and we can definitely stay up, but any form of injury is going to hurt us, and an injury crisis is practically game over. My only hope is that the board stop Mike Ashley-ing around and let me spend in the winter. Until then, it's a case of plugging the leaks as best we can when they appear. Results So Far We've had an excellent, unbeaten start, proving my theory that our starting team is definitely good enough to hang with the teams in this division. Don't expect this to continue though. We're in big trouble once the fixture congestion starts. Expected Lineup Grill Rodriguez Gaitan - Paredes - Jimenez - Bruckner Ulrich (RM) - Guan Fei (RCM) - Muriel (LCM) ------------------------------------------- --------------------- Foster (LW) Skutelis - García Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebaker Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 @Rainbowz season preview means nothing, the season i've just finished (not the one above) i was predicted 12th having finished well above that for the past 4 seasons. Having a small squad is only a problem if you have loads of injuries, It does mean the team has high cohesion which counts for a lot. I just use youth players to fill in, sometimes they can do a job even though they have no decent rating at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebaker Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 2036/37 Table | Squad | Transfers Started the season fantastically well losing only 1 game in the first 17 to be in and around the top of the league. A poor feb put the team out of contention and although the squad won most games after this, the form of the teams above meant they missed out on CL qualification. Thanks to a tycoon takeover several seasons ago Sevilla won the title for only the 2nd time in their history. In the spanish cup the team reached the Qtr-finals before losing at home to Ponferrada on pens after drawing 1-1. Finances remain strong mostly due to not really spending a lot in the transfer market and being unable to improve the facilities. I did get through another fantastic youth intake full of potential although no players who will make any immediate impact. Club legend Pelayo (447 apps, 35 goals) left at the start of the season after having averaged over 7 in all 12 seasons at the club along with Garrido (293 apps, 10 goals). Youth product Torrecilla (355 apps, 47 goals) left at the end of the season when i could not agree a new deal, Former wonderkid Chandler (157 apps , 47 goals) also left for the same reason having left me with the feeling he had underperformed in his time at the club. My best player this season was Seeman, a player i found in the estonian u21's years ago and have been slowly introducing into the side. Season League Position Spanish Cup Europe Top Scorer Top Assists Attendance Training Youth Junior Youth Rec Notes 2032/33 La Liga 7th 3rd Rd N/A Cobo (14) Msomi (5) 6541 Excellent Good Excellent Exceptional 2033/34 La Liga 8th 2nd Rd N/A Cobo (16) Chandler (9) 14844 Superb Great Excellent Exceptional 2034/35 La Liga 6th 4th Rd N/A Chandler (14) Msomi (6) 20287 State of the art Excellent Exceptional Exceptional Qualified for Europe 2035/36 La Liga 10th 4th Rd 2nd KO rd Euro Cup II Cobo (28) Cobo (10) 21550 State of the art Superb Exceptional Exceptional 2036/37 La Liga 4th Qtr-final N/A Cobo (14) Seeman (9) 27330 Superb Superb Exceptional Exceptional Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britrock Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 This is the peak of my save so far, beating Real Madrid 2-0 at home to win our Champions League group and put Real into the Europa League. PSG are impossible to catch in Ligue 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 Season Review 2027-28 Squad | Tactic | Table | Finances WHAT. A. SEASON!! I knew we had it in us to have a decent campaign if we stayed injury-free, but Europa League qualification!? And to be in and around the top 4 for most of the year!? What an incredible team. We got fortunate avoiding any major injuries, and our squad just kept getting better. Morale and cohesion are through the roof, and it showed with some incredible performances. So many of these players are playing their best football and taking us to heights I never thought we'd reach for years. The only thing I can ask for next season is to maintain this level. We're still a long way off troubling the big boys in Germany, so we need to solidify ourselves as "best of the rest". We've got at least £15m to spend and 100k in the wage budget, so hopefully we can attract some gamechanging players. Also, I hope we can grow our young players so in a few years, we can bridge the gap to the Leipzigs, Dortmunds and Bayerns of the league. Results: Sept-Nov | Dec-May We made a tremendous start and never really stopped. We had a few blips against some of the strongest clubs, but we held our own and beat many teams across the season. Transfers Out With such an incredible start, it came as no surprise our players attracted a lot of interest. Here's who left. GK | Lennart Grill (£8,500,000) Grill was a surprising departure, but an unfortunate one. He was in excellent form this season, which was recognized when Dortmund came knocking. My board accepted a £8.5m bid from them which I got them to reject, however they accepted the same offer from Salzburg which I couldn't protest. To get £8.5m for a goalkeeper who we plucked from 4th tier obscurity is great, but he'll be hard to replace. CB | Iker Jimenez (£11,000,000) Another transfer decided by my board, but I'm torn on this one. Jimenez undoubtedly has potential and was improving a bit, but he's easily my worst performing CB and probably hasn't developed as much as others. Annoyingly, this transfer was in installments so we don't even get all of the money at once, my board are that incompetent. Losing a promising player is always annoying, but Jimenez probably isn't the worst one we could lose and is replaceable. We also keep him on loan until the end of the season. ST | Paul Glatzel (£73,000) With 6 months left on his contract, I took whatever money I could get for Glatzel. He was an excellent player in lower divisions, but was far out of his depth in the Bundesliga. Hopefully he does well in England, I'll remember his contributions fondly. Transfers In LB | Zeki Arıcı (Loan) This one is a bit embarrassing. I originally tried to loan Zeki in the summer, only to find he was 17 and couldn't join until January. Still, it was nice to have another left-back around in case of another injury crisis. RB | Juan Ignacio Paone (£5,500,000) Our new record signing, I love an attacking wing-back and Paone fits that perfectly. He's quick, can dribble and play the ball well and loves to get forward. Finding full-backs who can dribble well is a pain, so I'm fine with splashing out for Paone. He's got room to grow too, so it'll be interesting to see how he ends up. GK | Ruslan Neshcheret (£500,000) With Grill leaving, we needed to bring in a replacement sharpish. Ruslan wasn't my first choice, but was the most readily available. He's a solid all-round goalkeeper who can definitely play at this level. I don't see him as a long-term replacement, but he's a very capable stopgap for us, though he definitely impressed this season. CM/CAM | Alejandro Casanova (Loan w/ £1,700,000 purchase) With Guan Fei's 2 year loan ending this year, I wanted to bring in a replacement who fills a similar role. Enter Casanova, who looks like a very exciting midfielder. I'm hoping to train him as a Mezzala to slot straight into Fei's role. He's got all the right attributes for it and should be a great player for us. Key Players #1 - Lyle Foster (7.21) Once again, Foster takes the acclaim of our best player. He's taken to the higher division like a duck to water, scoring 14 and assisting 12 from his LW position. He's one of those players who just plays so far above his stats, even though I could get a technically better player in his position, I can't bring myself to replace him. Hopefully he keeps up this form further into the future. What a bargain he's turned out to be! #2 - Marco Garcia (7.14) After a muted 2. Bundesliga campaign where he only found the net 9 times, Garcia has relished the tougher task of the Bundesliga and really found his form, scoring 22 times in 33 games. He's been clinical for us this season, and a huge reason why we ended up nicking games. He's grown a lot and could still get better. Holding onto him is going to be important to our future success. #3 - Lars Skutelis (7.11) The less flashy but equally important part of the attack, Skutelis does the rough stuff so Garcia can thrive. The two have developed an incredible partnership, with Skutelis scoring 12 despite his more supportive role. He's an absolute menace for even great Bundesliga defences and such a unique threat in what he can do. Like Garcia, I think he'll have a big part to play in any future success, so hopefully he can keep hold of him. Next Season's Thoughts To say this season caught me off guard is an understatement. However, my board aren't getting ahead of themselves, simply setting survival as my only real objective. With the pressure off, I'm going to look to bring in some better quality players in the areas needed, as well as bringing in some much-needed depth. I'm not expecting to repeat these heroics next season, but hopefully we can use this to build a platform to do this more consistently in the future. Year Division Predicted Position Actual Position DFB Pokal DFL Supercup Europe Top Player Top Scorer Top Assists Avg. Attendance Finances Training/Youth Facilties Junior Coaching/Recruitment Extra Notes 2022/23 3. Liga 19th/20th 14th/20th N/A N/A N/A Stefan Schmidt (6.94) Jack Vale (10) Patrick Sussek (7) 1,880 £226,000 Poor/Poor Below Average/Poor Barely survived, need way better players 2023/24 3. Liga 17th/20th 1st/20th N/A N/A N/A Luca Podlech (7.10) Paul Glatzel (13) Patrick Sussek (10) 2,014 - £803,100 Poor/Poor Below Average/Poor Promoted, but financially struggling 2024/25 2. Bundeslga 18th/18th 11th/18th 2nd Round N/A N/A Mehdi Loune (7.04) Daniel Udoh (20) Paul Glatzel (6) 4,331 £5,818,000 Adequate/Poor Adequate/Below Average Financially stable, but can't keep up on the pitch 2025/26 2. Bundesliga 16th/18th 7th/18th 3rd Round N/A N/A Felipe (7.30) Lyle Foster (12) Nico O'Reilly (12) 4,153 £10,510,703 Adequate/Adequate Good/Average Defying expectations and financially healthy 2026/27 2. Bundesliga 14th/18th 1st/18th 2nd Round N/A N/A Lyle Foster (7.58) Lyle Foster (19) Fran Rodriguez Gaitan (12) 4,745 £17,928,505 Average/Adequate Excellent/Average Unexpectedly promoted! 2027/28 Bundesliga 18th/18th 5th/18th 2nd Round N/A N/A Lyle Foster (7.21) Marco Garcia (22) Lyle Foster (12) 15,852 £37,537,534 Good/Average Exceptional/Average WE'RE IN EUROPE!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 On 06/09/2022 at 16:40, Thebaker said: @Rainbowz season preview means nothing, the season i've just finished (not the one above) i was predicted 12th having finished well above that for the past 4 seasons. Having a small squad is only a problem if you have loads of injuries, It does mean the team has high cohesion which counts for a lot. I just use youth players to fill in, sometimes they can do a job even though they have no decent rating at all. Yeah, I'm aware, I just like it for role-playing reasons. I just finished 5th after being predicted bottom, so I know it means nothing. I like playing fairly realistically, which means having a decent-sized squad. Though it's true an injury crisis would've destroyed my team. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebaker Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 2 hours ago, Rainbowz said: Yeah, I'm aware, I just like it for role-playing reasons. I just finished 5th after being predicted bottom, so I know it means nothing. I like playing fairly realistically, which means having a decent-sized squad. Though it's true an injury crisis would've destroyed my team. Ive had that in my season i'm just on. Started with 3 key players out for 3-4 months each and with euro and cup games, had games every 3 days for 5 months. My small squad has used every youth player with more than 2 star CA, i also sold my best foward in jan and failed to get in a replacement to leave me with 2 strikers and only 1 youth player of 1 star CA for 5 months. (i realised i could not register 2 other youth players as they were too old and not earning enough, i also forgot to recall from loan a few other youth strikers which was my fault). Good season in the bundesliga with a first season in europe looming, will your board not let you increase youth recruitment? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 As I type this, I am in March in the first season, so wanted to make sure I play the save before reporting. Club Introduction VV IJsselmeervogels The Manager This is me. Personal Coaching Data Season Reputation Qualifications Att Def Fit GkD GkH GkS Tac Tec Men WWY Ada Det PlK YoK LoD MaM Mot ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At start Minimal (0.25*) None 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 Club Facilities Season Training Facilities Youth Facilities Corporate Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Club Reputation --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At Start Basic Basic Fairly Basic Fairly Basic Basic National (2.00*) Season Record Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Win Percentage ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall Career Record After Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Win Percentage Time At Club ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transfer Purchase Record Date Player Position Club Purchased From Country Transfer Fee --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transfer Sale Record Date Player Position Club Sold To Country Transfer Fee --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trophy Haul Season Competition Won -------------------------- Trophy Cabinet League Titles ------------- Cup Competition Victories ------------------------- Career Overview Season Champions League Europa League Europa Conference League League Position TOTO KNVB Beker Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 (edited) End of Season Review Season 2024/25 VV IJsselmeervogels Season Summary It was a glorious season as we won the league title and promotion to the top flight. A tough draw in the cup eliminated any chance of a cup run though. Season Details League Table - We were always near the top and eventually secured promotion with three games remaining and the league title was wrapped up in the penultimate match. League Fixtures 1 & 2 - Whilst we did drop silly points at times, we were always the best side in the division and our results were, overall, very consitent. TOTO KNVB Beker - A loss at home to top flight FC Utrecht ended our interest in the domestic cup this year at the second round stage.l Friendlies - Four wins and four losses represent a mixed bag of results in our pre season campaign. Squad - Whilst heavily reliant on loans, our squad is good enough to compete in the top flight. Squad Dynamics - This could do with some, especially the Team Cohesion. Transfers In 1, 2, 3 & 4 - I brought in a huge amount of loans, together with a few permanent acquisitions, including a club record transfer purchase. Transfers Out - Two departures, including one for a small fee. Youth Candidates - Striker Grant Dombrowski YP25A1 is the only player being retained from a pretty poor group of players. Finances - We made a profit this year so our bank balance is rather healthy. Key Players Erik Lamela - The former Argentine international winger joined on a free transfer in January and has been sensational. Umberto Morleo - My first signing for the club, the left winger was always reliable when called upon. Harry Noble - A club record transfer, the attacking midfielder signed from Bromley in England for £110,000. He is still settling in so his performances have been mixed. Alessandro Gallucci - Teenage Italian central defender signed on loan from Lazio for the season, he was immense. Haritz Hernández - Another teenage loanee, the French striker arrived from Marseille in January and was a real menace up front2. Delighted he has agreed to stay on loan next season too. Next Season I feel a mid table spot is not out of the question. Personal Coaching Data Season Reputation Qualifications Att Def Fit GkD GkH GkS Tac Tec Men WWY Ada Det PlK YoK LoD MaM Mot ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At start Minimal (0.25*) None 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 2024/25 Minimal = (1.50*) ↑ National B ↑↑ 6 ↑ 6 ↑ 2 ↑ 2 ↑ 1 = 1 = 6 ↑ 6 ↑ 6 ↑ 4 = 1 = 5 ↑ 5 ↑ 6 ↑ 7 ↑ 6 ↑ 6 ↑ Club Facilities Season Training Facilities Youth Facilities Corporate Facilities Junior Coaching Youth Recruitment Club Reputation --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At Start Basic Basic Fairly Basic Fairly Basic Basic National (2.00*) 2024/25 Basic = Basic = Fairly Basic = Adequate ↑↑ Adequate ↑↑ National = (2.00*) = Season Record Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Win Percentage ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024/25 40 27 8 5 96 37 +59 67.50% Overall Career Record After Season Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Win Percentage Time At Club ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024/25 40 27 8 5 96 37 +59 67.50% 307 days Transfer Purchase Record Date Player Position Club Purchased From Country Transfer Fee ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Jabuary 2025 Harry Noble Attacking Midfielder Bromley England £110,000 Transfer Sale Record Date Player Position Club Sold To Country Transfer Fee ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 August 2024 Tristan Gooijer Right Back/Centre Back ADO Den Haag The Netherlands £75,000 Trophy Haul Season Competition Won -------------------------- 2024/25 Keuken Kampionen Divisie Trophy Cabinet League Titles ------------- 1 x Keuken Kampioen Divisie (2024/25) Cup Competition Victories ------------------------- Career Overview Season Champions League Europa League Europa Conference League League Position TOTO KNVB Beker Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2024/25 N/a N/a N/a Keuken Kampioen Divisie 1st Second Round Promoted as champions. Edited September 12, 2022 by DazRTaylor Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebaker Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 @DazRTaylor you must have a strong squad, surprised you got Lamela. I would have thought his rep and wages would be far too high for that level Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 Season Preview 2028-29 With £15m to spend and a squad which needed some improvement, I got to work. I don't like spamming South American regens, but unfortunately real players who are good enough to make an impact on our squad want insanely high wages and it just makes no sense to bring them in when I can get equally good regens for far cheaper. That said, we did break our transfer record once again on a new star player. Overall, I'm extremely happy with pre-season. We've got some extremely exciting players through the door and the future looks very bright. Transfers In GK | Dominik Gajdos (£675,000) I said I'd like a long-term goalkeeping solution, and Gajdos is definitely that. I spotted him for the Slovakia u21 team and immediately knew I had to get him. At £675k, he's an absolute bargain. He may rotate the starting spot with Neshcheret at first, but there's no doubt he'll be an undesputed starter before too long. GK | Artem Ivanov (Free) Every now and again, I'll look through 15/16 year olds who are unattached to see if any gems have generated without a club. Ivanov definitely looks like one of them. He's very well-rounded for a young goalkeeper and my coaches seem to rate him highly. He'll play for the u19s/II squad for now, it'll be interesting to see what becomes of him. CB | Matías Vera (£8,000,000) Our defence was probably one of our weakest aspects last season, so Vera comes in to be the solution. Although he's only 19, Vera looks incredible and a capable Bundesliga CB already. Some big clubs were interested, so he's undoubtedly got some potential too. He's a little on the small side which could be an issue, but with a taller, stronger defensive partner, I'm sure he'll be fine. LB | Noah Katterbach (£2,300,000) I'm really pleased with this signing. Bringing in a good LB was a priority and Katterbach is exactly that. He's suited to this level and has a lot of experience. He's also insanely versatile, being able to play pretty much anywhere aside from goalkeeper or striker. He's the type of player who's great to have around. He may not be the flashiest signing, but he's one of the smarter ones. RM/CM | Nicolás Duarte (£3,600,000) Uruguay continues to be my happy hunting ground, with Duarte being the next one in. I'm really excited about him, he's got potential to be an incredible all-round CM similar to Muriel. He already has some crazy stats and will only get better. I expect him to be mainly a rotation option for now, but it wouldn't surprise me to see him force his way into my plans. CM | Matteo Kraemer (£2,000,000) I've had this guy on my radar for a while, but his price had been putting me off. However, Toulouse were relegated into the 3rd tier meaning I could get this guy for a fraction of his value. I had to fight off teams like Lyon and PSG for his signature, but I'm glad we did. Kraemer looks an excellent CM or CAM already and could potentially be a star. We have a lot of talent at CM now, so it'll be interesting to see who takes their chances and who doesn't. CM | Mehdi Loune (Free) Okay, I had to do this. Loune is a Rehden icon in my eyes with his performances on loan when we were in the 3rd and 2nd tier being key reasons why we did so well. He was released by Eintracht Frankfurt after never really featuring in their plans. He's probably 6th choice CM for us and purely a sentimental transfer, but I can't not give him a place in our squad. Plus he's not that bad a player to have in the reserves. CAM | İlker Yıldırım (£90,000) I was sick of having my youth players poached so thought hey, why don't I go on the offensive? İlker comes in as a hotly-rated youth prospect who is a bargain at such a low price. Even if he doesn't become anything, we can likely profit off him. A no-brainer transfer that I'm glad to get done. Transfers Out 3 II team players leave. De Angelis goes on loan to Basel to continue his development. The Sammarinese youngster is looking pretty promising! GK | Mirko Keffel (Free) Keffel always had a bit of potential, but was always going to be a II club player for me, barring some insane development. Thanks to the glitch involving playing time requests for B team players, he wanted to leave and did so. Not going to lose sleep over this one. CB | Tolga Demirci (Free) Basically see above. My plan was initially to pad out Rehden II with a bunch of decent free youngsters, a few of who would maybe have some potential. Sadly due to the B team glitch, that's not really feasible. Demirci never really had the potential my scouts initially thought anyway, so losing him isn't too big a deal. CM | Pape Ndao (Free) Pape definitely had some ability and did improve while at us, but CM is easily the most stacked spot in our squad and again, due to the B team glitch, he wanted to be an important player when he'd never touch a starting spot in our team. It's a shame to lose such a useful II team player to a glitch, but it's not like he was ever going to be a key player for us. (I know those guys probably weren't good enough to show, but I just need to rant about how dumb the B/II team playing time glitch is.) Season Preview We're predicted a 16th place finish, which isn't too bad from the game's estimations for our 2nd season on a limited budget. Obviously we're nowhere near the top teams in terms of any metric, so it'll be a while until the media thinks we're worthy of the higher spots. Results So Far We're off to a bit of a rockier start than last season. We've had a lot of new faces arrive from abroad who'll undoubtedly take time to settle, so I'm not worried. There's no way we'll repeat last season's heroics, so I'm just targetting a nice midtable finish while our young players develop and we settle into Bundesliga life. Expected Lineup Gajdos Paone - Paredes - Vera - Katterbach Duarte (RM) - Kraemer (CM) - Muriel (CM) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Foster (LW) Skutelis - García Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 On 09/09/2022 at 15:54, Thebaker said: Ive had that in my season i'm just on. Started with 3 key players out for 3-4 months each and with euro and cup games, had games every 3 days for 5 months. My small squad has used every youth player with more than 2 star CA, i also sold my best foward in jan and failed to get in a replacement to leave me with 2 strikers and only 1 youth player of 1 star CA for 5 months. (i realised i could not register 2 other youth players as they were too old and not earning enough, i also forgot to recall from loan a few other youth strikers which was my fault). Good season in the bundesliga with a first season in europe looming, will your board not let you increase youth recruitment? I've padded my squad out a bit to hopefully prevent that. I'm a bit thin up front, but hopefully I can fix that soon. The option only just became available and they allowed it. My board are one of the more annoying ones I've had to deal with in any save. They've outright rejected increases despite having £15-20m in the bank and continue to try and sell my players under my nose. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 19 hours ago, Thebaker said: @DazRTaylor you must have a strong squad, surprised you got Lamela. I would have thought his rep and wages would be far too high for that level He retired at the end of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 9 days after the transfer window closed. My LB spot is cursed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebaker Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 2037/38 Table | Squad | Transfers Started the season with a few wins followed by 4 losses mostly down to the fact i had 4 senior players out for 3 months each and after that point was always in midtable. Had to rotate the squad a lot due to the european and then cup games so really struggled get a run of wins together. The team was short of goals all season which i realised when looking at the league stats was down to not getting any on target, amongst the lowest in the league, the away form was also dire. In the spanish cup the team cruised through the early rounds playing lower league teams with my reserves before meeting Barcelona in the quarter final . I won 1-0 at home after extra time before then progressing to meet R Madrid in the semi-final. Away in the first leg the team was completely outplayed but came from 0-2 down to lose 2-3. The 2nd leg was more even with the team taking an early lead and going on to win 2-0. In the final the team played 2nd div Tenerife and needed penalties to win the cup. In europe the team were in the Euro cup group stages and although were well beaten by Hertha Berlin, were still comfortably better than the other 2 teams. In the 1st KO rd the team beat Benfica over the 2 legs before facing Hertha again. After sneaking a lucky win in the 1st leg the team were well beaten in the 2nd leg. In 4 matches against Hertha they scored 9 goals from 87 shots against the 2 goals from 25 shots my team managed. They are one of the stronger teams in Europe now, only the 1st season in 12 they had not been in the CL. Finances remained the same as i got more money from europe but spent more on transfers and wages. I sold Varga (133 apps, 3 goals) as i got fed up with his whinging and spent a record fee on his replacement. I thought i overpayed for Bray but turned down £44 million at the end of the season. Goals were a problem this season and Mabunda underperformed in a big way after throwing a fit about not joining Sparta Prague at the start of the season. I sold him to R Madrid after 14 goals in 58 goals with most of the goals against lower opposition teams. I was left with only 2 main strikers for half a season as a deal for a new striker fell through as i could not afford the fee (i didn't realise the sale of Mabunda was in installments with little upfront). I also sold Brkljaca (121 apps, 14 goals) as i was going to let him go at the end of the season anyway due to injuries and loss of ability. My best players were Cobo who played half fit a lot and Seeman who ended up being drafted in to play up front as he was accomplished anyway. My star GK who is a youth product is now the spanish no1, another youth product made a big breakthrough this season. Arnedo is poised to became a big star and has scored more goals and had more assists mostly from AMC than Mabunda managed and in less games and minutes which also shows the underperformance from Mabunda. Season League Position Spanish Cup Europe Top Scorer Top Assists Attendance Training Youth Junior Youth Rec Notes 2033/34 La Liga 8th 2nd Rd N/A Cobo (16) Chandler (9) 14844 Superb Great Excellent Exceptional 2034/35 La Liga 6th 4th Rd N/A Chandler (14) Msomi (6) 20287 State of the art Excellent Exceptional Exceptional Qualified for Europe 2035/36 La Liga 10th 4th Rd 2nd KO rd Euro Cup II Cobo (28) Cobo (10) 21550 State of the art Superb Exceptional Exceptional 2036/37 La Liga 4th Qtr-final N/A Cobo (14) Seeman (9) 27330 Superb Superb Exceptional Exceptional 2037/38 La Liga 9th Winners 2nd KO rd Euro Cup Cobo (24) Arnedo (36a)(8) 29737 State of the art Superb Exceptional Exceptional Cup winners Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowz Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 Season Review 2028-29 Squad | Tactic | Table | Finances I can't really be too disappointed with this season. An 8th place finish and a deep run in the Europa League is nothing to sniff at. Unfortunately it means we miss out on Europe next season, but considering I didn't expect it last season, that's fine. Our form was decent this year, but a combination of bad morale due to a squad mutiny (thanks Huang Hai) and fixture congestion, we lost some games we probably otherwise would've won. Still, it's a good season to build on. I've got a budget of £15m to spend and a whopping £250k spare wage budget. I can definitely bring in a couple of star players for that money and I'll definitely look to do so. A few of our top players are starting to attract a bit of attention too. I'd rather not sell but if we get some eye-watering amounts for them, maybe we'll see. Results: Sept-Dec | Jan-May We never really got into a good winning rhythm like we did last season, our form was pretty up and down. Not too bad, but not spectacular. In Europe, we beat some excellent teams and fell to a very strong Arsenal side in the Semi-Final. Europe: Group Stage | Knockouts Our group was fairly average, though Real Sociedad beat us to finish top. Austria Klagenfurt gave us a bit of a scare with a draw, but we beat them to finish 2nd. Our knockout stage campaign was excellent, beating a tough Roma side on penalties before beating fellow surprise team Lens and a strong Valencia team 4-3 on aggregate. However, the giants of Arsenal were too tough for us, though we put up a good fight. Transfers In CB | Vladimir Zharkov (Free) Another player who generated without a club, Zharkov immediately jumped out with his stats being far above any other newgen player. My scouts liked the look of him too, so I signed him up. He's the definition of a no-risk transfer. He's developing well in our u19s and could end up as a solid backup option for us. LB | Michaelis Bouzanis (£325,000) We'd previously loaned in Bouzanis 5 years ago and now he joins us permanently. As a backup LB, he looks fantastic. No real weaknesses in his game and a lot of solid stats. Attacking wing-backs are almost impossible to find at the moment, so getting Bouzanis in is excellent business as far as I'm concerned. Transfers Out Szeles and Sailor wanted game time, so were loaned out to appease them. CM | Issouf Sissokho (£135,000) Central midfield is easily our most stacked position, so Sissokho was always going to struggle to find game time. After an exceptional loan in Mali, he attracted interest and wanted to leave. He was on a decent wage, so I was happy to get him off the books. He was a solid player for us, but just couldn't keep up with our improving squad. CM | Andrea Di Pasquale (£2,300,000) Di Pasquale attracted a lot of attention from some decent clubs and immediately wanted out. He's a solid youngster, but he hadn't developed as much as I'd hoped and we have younger, better players in his position so I decided to let him leave. We've got a 25% sell-on clause so if he comes good, we'll see some cash from it. CAM | Huang Hai (Loan w/ £2,800,000 future fee) I had (no pun intended) high hopes for Huang and he developed well, but just didn't have the potential we originally expected. He did, however, become a dressing room leader and a very vocal one. He hadn't been a starter for us for a while, but felt he should still be one and caused a lot of morale issues while he was complaining. I'm glad to move him on for that reason. He's a solid player, but just had delusions about how important he really was. Key Players #1 - Lars Skutelis (7.18) I love this, the guy I bought on a whim as a bit of a panic transfer ends up being a star in the Bundesliga. Skutelis is a dream pressing forward, using his immense pace and stamina to harrass defences and create opportunities. He's key to the way we play and there aren't many players around who fill his role. He gets to shine in this team, and hopefully it stays that way. #2 - Aitor Paredes (7.12) With the CB spot being hotly contensted, I wanted to see someone step up and Aitor was the man. He's been incredibly consistent for us, his average rating never dipping below 7.00 across his 4 years here. He completely outshone the (on paper) better Matias Vera and was easily our best defender this year. Though he'll likely drop to being a backup after this summer, it's nice to know we've got a dependable, consistent CB to rely on. #3 - Dominik Gajdos (7.11) What can I really say about this kid, he's an absolute stud. At 18, he's one of the best goalkeepers in the world already and has taken to top-flight football perfectly. Gajdos has been a big part of our success and has had some clutch games for us, especially in Europe. It's a frightening thought he can get even better, and I expect we'll be fighting off bids Europe's top teams for him very soon. Next Season's Thoughts This season was very positive, as it helps us build towards the next. Our finances are healthy, we've got money to spend and a squad that's getting better each year. I'm going to look to strengthen some of our weaker positions. Our defence could do with a bit more ability and I feel our wide positions are starting to become a big weakness of ours. We've got our foundation built for the future, it's time to shore us up in the present. Year Division Predicted Position Actual Position DFB Pokal DFL Supercup Europe Top Player Top Scorer Top Assists Avg. Attendance Finances Training/Youth Facilties Junior Coaching/Recruitment Extra Notes 2022/23 3. Liga 19th/20th 14th/20th N/A N/A N/A Stefan Schmidt (6.94) Jack Vale (10) Patrick Sussek (7) 1,880 £226,000 Poor/Poor Below Average/Poor Barely survived, need way better players 2023/24 3. Liga 17th/20th 1st/20th N/A N/A N/A Luca Podlech (7.10) Paul Glatzel (13) Patrick Sussek (10) 2,014 - £803,100 Poor/Poor Below Average/Poor Promoted, but financially struggling 2024/25 2. Bundeslga 18th/18th 11th/18th 2nd Round N/A N/A Mehdi Loune (7.04) Daniel Udoh (20) Paul Glatzel (6) 4,331 £5,818,000 Adequate/Poor Adequate/Below Average Financially stable, but can't keep up on the pitch 2025/26 2. Bundesliga 16th/18th 7th/18th 3rd Round N/A N/A Felipe (7.30) Lyle Foster (12) Nico O'Reilly (12) 4,153 £10,510,703 Adequate/Adequate Good/Average Defying expectations and financially healthy 2026/27 2. Bundesliga 14th/18th 1st/18th 2nd Round N/A N/A Lyle Foster (7.58) Lyle Foster (19) Fran Rodriguez Gaitan (12) 4,745 £17,928,505 Average/Adequate Excellent/Average Unexpectedly promoted! 2027/28 Bundesliga 18th/18th 5th/18th 2nd Round N/A N/A Lyle Foster (7.21) Marco Garcia (22) Lyle Foster (12) 15,852 £37,537,534 Good/Average Exceptional/Average WE'RE IN EUROPE!! 2028/29 Bundesliga 16th/18th 8th/18th 3rd Round N/A UEL Semi-Final Lars Skutelis (7.18) Marco Garcia (28) Nicolás Duarte (11) 14,469 £60,608,973 Great/Average Exceptional/Good Solid season, excellent Europe campaign Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebaker Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 2038/39 Table | Squad | Transfers Started rather indifferently having to juggle european matches but having enlarged the squad was able to rotate and soon picked up form to get into the top 4. In the 2nd half of the season the team lost only 1 game in the last 19 to chase R Madrid but were always well behind and finished 2nd. This felt like a missed opportunity as the team had the best defence in the league but lacked goals with 7 0-0 draws really costing the team. In the spanish cup the team entered at the 3rd rd due to the super cup. Facing Barcelona away in the Qtr-final the team conceded a 92 minute equaliser before being outplayed in ET and losing 1-2. In the Euro cup the team comfortably got through the group stage but missed out on top after getting hammered by Inter away. In the 1st KO rd the team faced Porto and drew 0-0 away before thrashing them 4-0 at home. The 2nd KO rd was an easier tie against Club Brugge but somehow lost 0-1 at home despite having 26 shots to 3. The away leg was the same with 17 shots to 7 to draw 0-0 and go out. Finances remained reasonably steady, Sant Andrue is 1 of just 2 clubs in Spain listed as rich. I sold Quintanilla ( 204 apps) after deciding i could do better and he was a dirty player who seemed to be getting dirtier with 6 red cards in the last 3 seasons. After offering £22 million and £32k p/w for Villamizar last season only for it to fall through due to lack of funds i decided he didn't have enough ability to justify paying that and looked for other targets. I bought Rivero instead who played well as an AF although he is more suited to DLF. At the end of the transfer window i was offered Villamizar and signed him for £4.5 million and £14k p/w. An 3 month injury to Cobo meant he came into the team and took over as 1st choice, he also improved from a 3 star player close to his potential to a 4 star player by the end of the season. My best young player Arnedo appeared on the nexgen list but is still not a wonderkid. Season League Position Spanish Cup Europe Top Scorer Top Assists Attendance Training Youth Junior Youth Rec Notes 2034/35 La Liga 6th 4th Rd N/A Chandler (14) Msomi (6) 20287 State of the art Excellent Exceptional Exceptional Qualified for Europe 2035/36 La Liga 10th 4th Rd 2nd KO rd Euro Cup II Cobo (28) Cobo (10) 21550 State of the art Superb Exceptional Exceptional 2036/37 La Liga 4th Qtr-final N/A Cobo (14) Seeman (9) 27330 Superb Superb Exceptional Exceptional 2037/38 La Liga 9th Winners 2nd KO rd Euro Cup Cobo (24) Arnedo (36a)(8) 29737 State of the art Superb Exceptional Exceptional Cup winners 2038/39 La Liga 2nd Qtr-final 2nd KO rd Euro Cup Rivero(21) Arnedo (36a)(10) 29742 State of the art Superb Exceptional Exceptional Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggert Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 Karpaty Lviv - Ukranian Favbet Liga 36/37 Squad - Competitions - Finances - Transfers Favbet Liga: WIN!! - Kubok Ukrayini: SF - UEFA Champions League: Grp Stage - Euro League: QF Key players: DR Khomenko - MC Hassan - ST Pérez - ST Runich Season Review: I can't remember I've had a striker banging the ball in the net quite like Perez. 46 goals in 31 starts! We had a tough break as we ended 3rd in the Champions League. We beat Lille and drew Real Madrid..... And we beat them! Only to get knocked out by Lazio in the QF. Next season: We are capable of beating the best teams on europe on our day. We need to build on our squad and keep the key players on our team. We'll need to strengthen our full backs. If we do that, we have a pretty good team! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggert Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 (edited) This is a bit crazy. I have a striker factory working in Karpaty. Here's our current self produced U21 strikers : Eugene Komar - 21 || Andriy Mischenko - 20 || Taras Duts - 19 || Denys Girnyi - 18 || Maxym Kotov - 18 || Mykhaylo Vantukh - 17 || Oleg Yanchak - 17 Here's the guys currently on our senior team plans for next season: Maxym Runich - 26 || Rodrigo Perez - 23 || Given Matthews - 25 || Jonas Van Wyk - 18 Looking to sell: Oleksandr Gumenyak - 24 These are leaving: Andriy Levchenko - 19 - Joining Vorskla in the summer || Andriy Kogut - 19 - Joining Obolon in the summer Edited September 26, 2022 by Muggert 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggert Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 (edited) Karpaty Lviv - Ukranian Favbet Liga 37/38 Squad - Competitions - Finances - Transfers Favbet Liga: WIN!! - Kubok Ukrayini: Win!! - UEFA Champions League: 1st KO Rnd - Super Cup: Win!! Key players: DC Gabrijelic - MC Hassan - ST Pérez - ST Runich Season Review: Domesticly we won it all. Interestingly enough this was our first cup win. After landing in a tough group we advanced as group winners in the champions league. Only to fall to Valencia after a poor home showing. Tottenham who we beat two times in the group stage won it. Next season: We need players willing to go to Ukraine to lift this team. I think we have 2-3 seasons to do this now. Hassan and Perez will be our key building blocks to win this. Edited October 8, 2022 by Muggert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnoldinho Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Hi everyone, hope it’s ok to post this here but I’m keen to join this challenge for FM23 and looking for some advice on where to base my save. As I have some time off work this month I am looking to dive in as soon as the beta opens so keen to do my planning in advance! I’m a long time FM-er (CM93 was my first) but in recent years (young family) playing time has been limited and I tend to buy only every second or third edition of the game and have one very slow save that I drift in and out of. I’ve had a couple of attempts at the dafuge challenge which I found lots of fun but eventually lost interest in because there are just so many tiers to climb and seasons take so long! My last attempt got stuck in League 1 after eight seasons. I’m under no illusions that this challenge can also take a long time! But I’m hoping that the variety of playing somewhere different and the possibility of potentially getting to the top tier a little faster will help motivate me. But to get that right I need to figure out which country to play in. So can you help me find the right one? My essential criteria are: A league that is in the retail version of the game - as I’m looking to start straight away I don’t want to have to wait for custom databases to be created. In Europe but outside of the U.K. and Ireland - I want something that feels very different but to stick with Europe given all the UEFA licences in FM23. Not one of the other top European leagues (Esp, De, Fr, It - open to persuasion on Portugal) nor a really low ranked league (sadly I don’t have time for a build San Marino kind of save) - looking for somewhere in the middle. Starting in a lowest division that is semi-pro (I do want that sense of going from the park to the champions league) but with no more than four tiers in total - three preferable! Then my preferable criteria are: Not overly restrictive player nationality rules - I enjoy scouting the world once I have the money to do so. Relatively short seasons - 46 league games plus three cup competitions in England is a killer! Some sort of unusual league format (not just playing the other teams twice/4x) to keep interest up. Any advice on which countries might be good options appreciated! I had wondered about Denmark (any thoughts on how that shapes up against my wish list ?) but other ideas also very welcome! Wherever I go, not sure I’ll be able to match up to some of the fantastic success stories we’ve seen in the thread this year but I’ll do my best! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmarchand Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Il y a 3 heures, arnoldinho a dit : My essential criteria are: A league that is in the retail version of the game - as I’m looking to start straight away I don’t want to have to wait for custom databases to be created. In Europe but outside of the U.K. and Ireland - I want something that feels very different but to stick with Europe given all the UEFA licences in FM23. Not one of the other top European leagues (Esp, De, Fr, It - open to persuasion on Portugal) nor a really low ranked league (sadly I don’t have time for a build San Marino kind of save) - looking for somewhere in the middle. Starting in a lowest division that is semi-pro (I do want that sense of going from the park to the champions league) but with no more than four tiers in total - three preferable! Then my preferable criteria are: Not overly restrictive player nationality rules - I enjoy scouting the world once I have the money to do so. Relatively short seasons - 46 league games plus three cup competitions in England is a killer! Some sort of unusual league format (not just playing the other teams twice/4x) to keep interest up. Welcome to the fun, we'll certainly get the thread for FM23 going rather soon, as soon as the Beta is out. Looking at your criteria (and judging from my past experience), I would recommend I'm doing a save in Portugal currently and the top league is quite competitive, you have quite a bit of work to topple Porto and Benefica, the registration rules are pretty lax and the seasons are 34 games long (playing twice against 17 teams). Getting out of the lower levels isn't too too hard, but there are something like 1346313 clubs that get promoted and relegated each year, so you have the choice of an interesting one. I've had quite a bit of fun in Turkey this year. I really liked the fact that, in the top league, the prize money is given after each win/draw, so that keeps a pretty high incentive in the league throughout. There are some restrictions on Foreign players (non-Turkish), but I got a couple of quality youngsters year in and year out which was also a good bonus. Looking at your criteria, you will likely have fun in Austria. You can get an idea by looking at Zealand's Floridsdorfer save on Youtube, but it ticks all your preferable criteria, the league splits in a championship and relegation group midway through the year and the seasons are pretty short. There are only 2 tiers in the game though, but the only way to get promoted from the second tier is to win the league so this can be a challenge in itself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlipscombe Posted October 12, 2022 Author Share Posted October 12, 2022 (edited) Hello strangers.... i'm still alive!! ( ). Sincere apologies for going AWOL on this years' version. A combination of a very busy home life, being without a computer for a few months after my old laptop finally gave up the ghost (it had been surviving with a lot of sellotape holding the power cable in place and the screen at a certain angle otherwise it would turn itself off...), and being focussed on dragging Sheffield Wednesday back up the leagues (with some success) I didn't have enough time to fully commit to a save in FMs' best challenge... I am HOPING that this may change for FM23 (which is on order) and that I can commit to the challenge again this year. Not sure why i didn't pop my head in on the challenge despite not being in it (i blame my broken brain and the effects of the tumour for that). Having read through the whole thread over the last few evenings, it has whetted my appetite for another crack. A couple of comments (apologies to those not mentioned...) Fantastic save with Jena @aldojags. Love the fact you signed Mbappe, even if he was getting on a bit... @Britrock - enjoyed reading your sve. Love how excited you were when the takeover went through! @_JHTB_ - FANTASTIC work with Donegal Celtic. To complete the challenge with a team from Northern ireland is no mean feat... @jmarchand - Really enjoyed your save in Turkey, somewhere i have always been a little tempted by. Did it the hard way with your run to the final and the title... Now to weigh up whether to do what Darren Moore has failed to do in getting the mighty Owls back to the Premier League or venture into Europe...... Might have to look at options for eligible teams that fit my criteria........ Edited October 12, 2022 by rlipscombe 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnoldinho Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 23 hours ago, jmarchand said: Welcome to the fun, we'll certainly get the thread for FM23 going rather soon, as soon as the Beta is out. Looking at your criteria (and judging from my past experience), I would recommend I'm doing a save in Portugal currently and the top league is quite competitive, you have quite a bit of work to topple Porto and Benefica, the registration rules are pretty lax and the seasons are 34 games long (playing twice against 17 teams). Getting out of the lower levels isn't too too hard, but there are something like 1346313 clubs that get promoted and relegated each year, so you have the choice of an interesting one. I've had quite a bit of fun in Turkey this year. I really liked the fact that, in the top league, the prize money is given after each win/draw, so that keeps a pretty high incentive in the league throughout. There are some restrictions on Foreign players (non-Turkish), but I got a couple of quality youngsters year in and year out which was also a good bonus. Looking at your criteria, you will likely have fun in Austria. You can get an idea by looking at Zealand's Floridsdorfer save on Youtube, but it ticks all your preferable criteria, the league splits in a championship and relegation group midway through the year and the seasons are pretty short. There are only 2 tiers in the game though, but the only way to get promoted from the second tier is to win the league so this can be a challenge in itself. Thanks so much @jmarchand - really helpful insights. Interested in what you say about Turkey. I read your updates on your save with interest and the non-Turkish rules kind of put me off. But based on what you say maybe I should give it a second look - I can certainly see why the prize money per win would be an intriguing system. Portugal is one I definitely could consider. I have clocked those slightly mental lower divisions which I think could be a lot of fun. Portugal saves do seem to be a slog to overhaul the top teams though. I have seen some of Zealand’s Austria save and it does look fun. But it appears the second tier is basically fully professional (?) and I do like the element of starting from semi-pro. Thanks for all the food for thought! Any further ideas welcome! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmarchand Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 Il y a 21 heures, rlipscombe a dit : Hello strangers.... i'm still alive!! ( ). Sincere apologies for going AWOL on this years' version. A combination of a very busy home life, being without a computer for a few months after my old laptop finally gave up the ghost (it had been surviving with a lot of sellotape holding the power cable in place and the screen at a certain angle otherwise it would turn itself off...), and being focussed on dragging Sheffield Wednesday back up the leagues (with some success) I didn't have enough time to fully commit to a save in FMs' best challenge... I am HOPING that this may change for FM23 (which is on order) and that I can commit to the challenge again this year. Not sure why i didn't pop my head in on the challenge despite not being in it (i blame my broken brain and the effects of the tumour for that). Having read through the whole thread over the last few evenings, it has whetted my appetite for another crack. A couple of comments (apologies to those not mentioned...) Welcome back. I really hope that your health holds up. I can take the creation of the thread for FM23 if that can ease your burden and get you up and playing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlipscombe Posted October 13, 2022 Author Share Posted October 13, 2022 55 minutes ago, jmarchand said: Welcome back. I really hope that your health holds up. I can take the creation of the thread for FM23 if that can ease your burden and get you up and playing! Thanks. The brain tumour was seven years ago (doesn't feel that long ago..) and touch wood seems to be holding out (apart from a little 'concern' on most recent one...) My memory as a result isn't the best and with a daughter and wife with her own health issues, time isn't always as freely vailable as it used to be. I'm happy to set up the thread again this year, and hopefully i'll participate this year too... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebaker Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 7 hours ago, arnoldinho said: Thanks so much @jmarchand - really helpful insights. Interested in what you say about Turkey. I read your updates on your save with interest and the non-Turkish rules kind of put me off. But based on what you say maybe I should give it a second look - I can certainly see why the prize money per win would be an intriguing system. Portugal is one I definitely could consider. I have clocked those slightly mental lower divisions which I think could be a lot of fun. Portugal saves do seem to be a slog to overhaul the top teams though. I have seen some of Zealand’s Austria save and it does look fun. But it appears the second tier is basically fully professional (?) and I do like the element of starting from semi-pro. Thanks for all the food for thought! Any further ideas welcome! Portugal seems like it fits your criteria although it can be tough to get out of the bottom league i found and most teams are pro. Only the big 5 leagues have long seasons, most are 30-36 league games + cup games. Not many leagues have semi-pro teams available, most countries with 2 playable leagues tend to be pro (most eastern european countries that i have seen). The nordic countries are semi-pro but they are a normal league system (playing home and away). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britrock Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 On 12/10/2022 at 21:38, rlipscombe said: Hello strangers.... i'm still alive!! ( ). Sincere apologies for going AWOL on this years' version. A combination of a very busy home life, being without a computer for a few months after my old laptop finally gave up the ghost (it had been surviving with a lot of sellotape holding the power cable in place and the screen at a certain angle otherwise it would turn itself off...), and being focussed on dragging Sheffield Wednesday back up the leagues (with some success) I didn't have enough time to fully commit to a save in FMs' best challenge... I am HOPING that this may change for FM23 (which is on order) and that I can commit to the challenge again this year. Not sure why i didn't pop my head in on the challenge despite not being in it (i blame my broken brain and the effects of the tumour for that). Having read through the whole thread over the last few evenings, it has whetted my appetite for another crack. A couple of comments (apologies to those not mentioned...) Fantastic save with Jena @aldojags. Love the fact you signed Mbappe, even if he was getting on a bit... @Britrock - enjoyed reading your sve. Love how excited you were when the takeover went through! @_JHTB_ - FANTASTIC work with Donegal Celtic. To complete the challenge with a team from Northern ireland is no mean feat... @jmarchand - Really enjoyed your save in Turkey, somewhere i have always been a little tempted by. Did it the hard way with your run to the final and the title... Now to weigh up whether to do what Darren Moore has failed to do in getting the mighty Owls back to the Premier League or venture into Europe...... Might have to look at options for eligible teams that fit my criteria........ Cheers the save eventually ran it's course as trying to catch PSG was as impossible as I thought it might be when I started but it's definitely been one of my most fun saves. We got to be comfortably the second best team in France and the knockout stages of the champions league. Good times. The last two years of this challenge have been great actually, both with Hyeres in France and Veroia in Greece. I didn't complete either but it's all about the journey as they say. I'm not sure what FM23 will bring, I'm very tempted to try a hometown Chelmsford city save as I've not done a save in England for years. If I'm back here though I might be tempted by Denmark as I always get loads of great youngsters from there, or maybe a south American nation like Argentina or Colombia... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britrock Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 On 12/10/2022 at 09:55, arnoldinho said: Hi everyone, hope it’s ok to post this here but I’m keen to join this challenge for FM23 and looking for some advice on where to base my save. As I have some time off work this month I am looking to dive in as soon as the beta opens so keen to do my planning in advance! I’m a long time FM-er (CM93 was my first) but in recent years (young family) playing time has been limited and I tend to buy only every second or third edition of the game and have one very slow save that I drift in and out of. I’ve had a couple of attempts at the dafuge challenge which I found lots of fun but eventually lost interest in because there are just so many tiers to climb and seasons take so long! My last attempt got stuck in League 1 after eight seasons. I’m under no illusions that this challenge can also take a long time! But I’m hoping that the variety of playing somewhere different and the possibility of potentially getting to the top tier a little faster will help motivate me. But to get that right I need to figure out which country to play in. So can you help me find the right one? My essential criteria are: A league that is in the retail version of the game - as I’m looking to start straight away I don’t want to have to wait for custom databases to be created. In Europe but outside of the U.K. and Ireland - I want something that feels very different but to stick with Europe given all the UEFA licences in FM23. Not one of the other top European leagues (Esp, De, Fr, It - open to persuasion on Portugal) nor a really low ranked league (sadly I don’t have time for a build San Marino kind of save) - looking for somewhere in the middle. Starting in a lowest division that is semi-pro (I do want that sense of going from the park to the champions league) but with no more than four tiers in total - three preferable! Then my preferable criteria are: Not overly restrictive player nationality rules - I enjoy scouting the world once I have the money to do so. Relatively short seasons - 46 league games plus three cup competitions in England is a killer! Some sort of unusual league format (not just playing the other teams twice/4x) to keep interest up. Any advice on which countries might be good options appreciated! I had wondered about Denmark (any thoughts on how that shapes up against my wish list ?) but other ideas also very welcome! Wherever I go, not sure I’ll be able to match up to some of the fantastic success stories we’ve seen in the thread this year but I’ll do my best! Greece is good fun. Only two tiers so teaching the top division can be easy, Olympiacos are dominant but Panathinaikos, AEK and PAOK are all good and have way more money than everyone else. The league is middle of the pack in Europe so you're not right at the bottom and seasons are reasonable with a 14 team league - play everyone twice for 26 games then split the league in half and play your half twice for 12 more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggert Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 (edited) Karpaty Lviv - Ukranian Favbet Liga 37/38 Squad - Competitions - Finances - Transfers Favbet Liga: WIN!! - Kubok Ukrayini: Win!! - UEFA Champions League: QF - Super Cup: Win!! Key players: DL Mikhailov - MC Hassan - ST Pérez - ST Van Wyk Season Review: What a season. Even though we had some hiccups. Domesticly we won our 5th straight championship. But the fixture congestion got the better of us and we exited the cup in the QF. In europe we failed to qualify from the group stage in the champions legue. We progressed to the Europa League. Gent, Wolves, Sevilla, Napoli and Tottenham were defeated as we secured our first major trophy! Next season: We've shown we can beat anyone. Last season we made had a goalkeeper crisis that pretty much knocked us out of the Champions League. We need to be smarter than that this year. . Edited October 16, 2022 by Muggert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnoldinho Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 Thanks @Britrock and @Thebaker - all helpful suggestions. I have never looked in to Greece so might need to some digging. Overall, I’m wondering if my desire to start as semi-pro is the thing that I need to compromise on actually - it certainly opens up far more leagues otherwise. That said, I wonder if Belgium meets my criteria. Three tiers in game I believe (?) the lowest of which is largely semi-pro, some kooky league split formats (from our old friend Wikipedia it appears several have changed yet again this year), and some good youth coming through if I can snag them. Anyone got experience of managing there? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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