[FM23] Out of Africa. (Spanish out of Morocco to be precise). We will start with Ceuta, but if things go badly I might end up at Melila.

[Jimbokav1971]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2023. 

Spanish Federation First Division A. I know we've only won 2 from 5 games, but I'm really happy with the unbeaten month. A.Madrid B are in 2nd and have only lost 1 game this season, and Linares sit 7th.

Goal-scoring GK's. 2 shots from Leandro this month, but 0 on target so obviously 0 goals. 

Finances. We've reached the milestone of £1M overdrawn at the bank. 

[_Ben_]

This is going to be a good one, Jim! As always - really love how you set things out and explain your point of view as well as making sure you get those bugs reported! You seem to be continually over achieving here but I've been surprised with the quality of African players you've been able to sign - Ramazani, in particular, looks great!

[Jimbokav1971]

4 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

This is going to be a good one, Jim! As always - really love how you set things out and explain your point of view as well as making sure you get those bugs reported! You seem to be continually over achieving here but I've been surprised with the quality of African players you've been able to sign - Ramazani, in particular, looks great!

I've got to admit that I was particularly pleased when we signed Ramazani (BDI)(BEL), but there were a couple that I missed out on that even put him in the shade. 

I'm not bad at explaining things. I'm just not always right. 

I was starting to get properly worried about relegation towards the end of last season, and had I stuck with the 442 I think we would have gone down. I knew from the feedback during games that spacing between defence and midfield was a problem, but I couldn't push up any more, so dropping a striker back in front of the back 4 seemed the obvious choice. We stayed up with ease after than and after flirting with "play for set-pieces" at the beginning of this season, I've binned that off and we're now flying. Not sure if it will carry on, and it's interesting that we've already managed to sell a player too. Selling a fringe player, (even a good fringe player), when you've just had not a very good season is not really something I would have expected. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2023.

Yes, the 1st patch arrived so I installed the real name Fixes. 

Primera Federación Grupo I. I know we lost our unbeaten run, (9 games), but that's still a decent month. The R.Madrid B performance was simply spectacular and I can't complain about losing to Leonesa at all. We're up to 8th and we're not looking at the Playoffs yet. Fuenlabrada have been on a poor run of form, (we should have beaten them), so our aim is to catch them and then look at whoever is in front of them. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 3 shots from Leandro this month, all on target and resulting in 2 goals, (he was so unlucky with a free-kick that was saved in the top corner). 

 

 

Finances. 

Lafarge (FRA)(MTQ) 6'1". This is a bt of a weird one. He's my 3rd choice centre-half and also offers cover at right back, (in a pinch), but he's actually been playing DM for me because Keïta (SEN) has stepped forward to be playmaker and while Lafarge (FRA)(MTQ) 6'1" might be slightly limited on the ball, he's simply a much better and more rounded player than the other options I have there. I almost stopped him playing as an RGA, but decided that at this level he might get away with it and he has. It's interesting that in the Leonesa game he was more productive with the ball, but had far less of it. 

[Sonic Youth]

Looking good this season, pushing up the table.

It is looking like your recruiting was solid over the preseason 

Have you filled out your backroom staff?

Edited October 26, 2022 by Sonic Youth
Staff

[Thebaker]

Good 1st season, surprised you did not sign Almany from the youths, looked like he could could come on to do a job as a sub.

I tend to always sign higher potential players as the initial assessment could be wrong and 6 months later they are a 5 star player, the personality could also improve. A 2 star player is less likely to turn into good player. Finances are always a huge problem below the top 2 leagues when tv money comes into play.

[Jimbokav1971]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2023. 

Primera Federación Grupo I. I'm a little peeved that we lost to Vigo B. The 1st 2 fixtures were relatively easy games and I expected to win, but if we're serious about competing the we need to start taking points off decent teams away from home. Vigo B are a decent Team and we didn't take anything off them. I have nobody but myself to blame though. I keep giving De Baunbag (CMR)(ESP) 6'3" another chance and the truth is he's just woeful. It's a failed experiment and I just have to accept it, demote him to the B Team and move on. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 2 shots, both on target, both leading 2 goals. #efficient 

 

 

Youth Intake preview. It's hard to believe that it's possible, but this is of even less use than the Day 1 Youth Intake reports. 

Finances. 

He might not have started yet, but Gonzalez (SUI) has appeared 10 times from the bench in the league for VFL Bochum, so we get our little bonus. 

De Baunbag (CMR)(ESP) 6'3". Experiment over..... although the truth is that I should probably have played him in a different role. Asking him to play as an AF was always going to fail.... so maybe experiment not quite over.  (I can't even demote him to the B Team until I de-register from the 1st Team). 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

6 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Looking good this season, pushing up the table.

It is looking like your recruiting was solid over the preseason 

Have you filled out your backroom staff?

Yeah we're much improved. The signings have made a big difference. I made 5 signings in the Summer and 2 have been a huge success, Ramazani (BDI)(BEL) at DR and Soga (CMR) up front, with Diallo (ESP)(GUI) performing reasonably, (largely from the bench), in the middle of the pitch. 

I have delegated the appointment of all staff. I will take an interest in this at some point, but not in the short-term. 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Thebaker said:

Good 1st season, surprised you did not sign Almany from the youths, looked like he could could come on to do a job as a sub.

I tend to always sign higher potential players as the initial assessment could be wrong and 6 months later they are a 5 star player, the personality could also improve. A 2 star player is less likely to turn into good player. Finances are always a huge problem below the top 2 leagues when tv money comes into play.

We got a bit lucky in the end. I'm pretty convinced that if we had persisted with the 442 tactic we would have been relegated. I made the change though and we've gone from strength to strength since then. 

I wasn't sure who you meant by "Almany" for a few seconds, but the penny did finally drop. 

Don't get me wrong, his physicals aren't awful and I really like passing (15), technique (10), first touch (9), vision (10) & decisions (11), but the problem is that because he has both Low Det, (5) and an (Unamb), it's largely irrelevant how good his PA is because he's simply never going to reach it. Of course it's dangerous to release a decent looking plater like this, (and he really does look decent), and in fact the biggest reason for me offering him a youth contract wasn't his PA at all but the fact that he would be a decent player in the here and now for the U19's, but the problem is that the U19's aren't in a league so who cares whether they lose every week. I don't regret not offering him a contract at all and my plan is to continue with this sort of strategy as the save progresses. That might be fine right now, but as our Facilities improve and we get a 5.0 player through with the Low Det/Unamb mix it's certainly going to be a tougher decision to make. 

I completely appreciate that a personality can change, but Low Det(5) + Unamb personality is just a recipe for disaster in my experience.

With regards to finances, I think they will continue to be an issue until/if we start playing in Europe.  

[Thebaker]

Playing in spain in FM22, La liga teams got tv money of £30 million last year so just being in the league will solve most problems. The league below got much less tv money about 3 or 4 million but it still improves the finances hugely, i found finances not to be a huge issue from that point.

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Thebaker said:

Playing in spain in FM22, La liga teams got tv money of £30 million last year so just being in the league will solve most problems. The league below got much less tv money about 3 or 4 million but it still improves the finances hugely, i found finances not to be a huge issue from that point.

That's good to know. I've dabbled with A.Bilbao before, but I think that's the total sum of my Spanish experience in any FM. I don;t ever remember playing a proper save, so I obviously have very little to go on. 

I'm not enjoying the restrictive registration rules at the moment. It's so completely different to how I usually play. 

[_Ben_]

8 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Finances. 

How much are you thinking about this? I know you ran into lots of debt at the end of FM22 but you had the ability to pull it back with big sales etc. I'm quickly amassing some debts in my save and don't see a way out - no talk of administration or anything?

[Jimbokav1971]

Copa del Ray invitation. Feb 2024. 

I was almost finished reporting a bug about us not being invited to play in the Copa del Rey, (Spanish Cup), this season, but after some investigation, who is invited to play in the Copa del Rey each year is quite interesting. Many of us in England are so used to the idea of the FA Cup that we think that every other National Cup competition is the same and nothing could be further from the truce. 

All 20 La Liga Teams are invited to play. 
All LaLiga SmartBank non-Reserve/B Teams, (was 21 of 22 last season and 20 of 22 this season because Barca B were promoted). 
The top 5 non-Reserve/B Teams in each of the 2 leagues of the Primera Federación.
The top 5 non-Reserve/B Teams in each of the 5 leagues of the Segunda Federación. 
The top non-Reserve/B Team in each of the 18 leagues of the 5th Tier
The best 7 Runner Up non-Reserve/B Team in each of the 18 leagues of the 5th Tier. 
The 4 Semi-Finalists of the 2022 Copa Federación de España which is a lower league Regional competition, (which unfortunately isn't in the game). (Would love an update for that by the way).
The best non-promoted teams of each of the 26 leagues in the 6th tier! 

And people wonder why we love the FA Cup? 

Invite everyone ffs! 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Emozil]

Loved this read so far. I did plan on doing this at some point on FM23. But I'll just live through you instead as you're doing very well. 

[Jimbokav1971]

51 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

How much are you thinking about this? I know you ran into lots of debt at the end of FM22 but you had the ability to pull it back with big sales etc. I'm quickly amassing some debts in my save and don't see a way out - no talk of administration or anything?

I'm thinking loads about it, but we both know that at this stage of a save like this I have absolutely no chance of pulling it back. Our facilities can't produce good players yet and with the added restrictions of only signing Africans I have no hope. 

As far as I'm concerned I'm just going to stay within my budgets and try my best to sell players for a profit when the opportunity is there to make a good profit. I expect the board to keep investing to keep the debt down and then I expect the debt to be consolidated into a loan during a future takeover. As long as it doesn't take me ages to get promoted we should be ok. (At least that's what I'm telling myself). 

Will have to have a catch-up in your thread and see what you debt is like. 

I see your thread getting some interest on Twitter. I expect your viewing numbers to be big as a result. 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 minutes ago, Emozil said:

Loved this read so far. I did plan on doing this at some point on FM23. But I'll just live through you instead as you're doing very well. 

Well I've avoided relegation so far. Is it that impressive? 

Thanks for the positivity though. 

[Emozil]

8 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Well I've avoided relegation so far. Is it that impressive? 

Thanks for the positivity though. 

I'd say so! no worries. Looking forward to future updates.  

[Jimbokav1971]

35 minutes ago, Emozil said:

I'd say so! no worries. Looking forward to future updates.  

You're easily pleased. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2024. 

Primera Federación Grupo I. Although we're sitting decent in 10th, we've only won 3 of our last 9 games, (drawing 2 and losing 4), and that's just not good enough if we want to get out of this league. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 2 shots for Leandro this month, both of them on target but 0 goals. 

Finances.  Last season we made a loss of  and at the start of February we have already made a loss of  this season. Of course that doesn't include the investments by the board of  last season but only  this season. I think the reason they have invested less this season is because (1) I have sold a player for £50k, (2) we got paid out for a clause of £10k, and (3) we're £50k per month under our wage budget. £50k per month over the season is significant because it's actually £600,000. I was keen to be tight with my wage budget this season, but we actually missed out on quite a few players that would have taken up a chunk of this saved budget. It's actually 33% of our total budget so that really is quite a lot, and if I want to get out of this league I will probably have to spend it next season. The longer we remain at this level, the bigger the debt grows. I definitely think that I need to throw caution to the wind a little and splash the cash next season.  

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2024. 

Primera Federación Grupo I. We've gone 8 games without a win now. I thought we has started to turn the corner with the 3 draws in a row, but we had injury and fatigue against Coruña so I actually completely rotated the squad to give us the best chance of winning the next game. We're still in 10th, but we're miles off the Playoffs now and any slim hope we had is gone for this season. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 2 shots from Leandro this month, but both of them off target so 0 goals. 

Finances. 

Records. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2024. 

Primera Federación Grupo I. That's a much better month. I rested players in the last game of last month and it paid dividends as we managed to squeeze past Linense and then go on a run of form. The draw against lowly Amorebieta was frustrating, but I will take 1 loss in 9 as an improvement and it's just frustrating that it's come too late to see us push for a playoff place. 

We're 11 points off the playoffs with 8 games remaining. I don't think making the playoffs is even worth talking about anymore. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 8 shots this month from Leandro, 5 of them on target and 3 of them resulting in goals. 

 

 

 

 

Finances.  I wonder how much debt is going to build up to over the next couple of seasons? 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Apr 2024. 

I've lost count of the number of messages I've had over the years on this forum asking me how I often get such good Youth Intakes. The truth is that it's not luck at all, but neither is it down to some sort of magical ability that I have in this area.

The truth is that I often pick clubs with very good Youth Facilities at the start of the game, (or move to clubs with very good Facilities for that very reason), and then I actually play Youth players in the 1st Team and this accelerates their development. 

This save is different however. Not only is it not going to be a Youth Only save, but I cherry-picked the club not because of the facilities, but because of the location. As a result I don't have great expectations for any Youth Intake anytime soon. 

Just to show you that I'm the same as the rest of you, allow me to introduce to you the Class of 2024.  

We do at least have our 1st home produced African. 

@Thebakermade a good point after the last intake that I let what appeared to be quite a decent looking player leave rather than sign him. Well I am sticking with that ethos and the following players won't be offered a contract. 

(24e) Gracia has the dreaded Low Det + (Unamb) mix.

(24j) Recio had the dreaded Low Det + (Unamb) mix. 

(24m) Gabriel (ESP)(GER) has Low Det but a Bal personality. 

(24o) Bermúdez doesn't exactly have Low Det. (It's more Med Det). He also doesn't have much ability though, so not offering him a contract seems pretty low risk. Yeah I know he could be much better than his PA stars suggest, but the chances of that, with our facilities are really not very high. 

Edited October 28, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

I don't always get it right. Apr 2024. 

I decided that I wasn't going to offer a Youth contract, (or any contract), to the following 3 players from the 2024 intake. 

(24e) Gracia.
(24j) Recio.
(24m) Gabriel. (ESP)(GER)
(24o) Bermúdez.

I always look at the score and who plays well in the Youth Candidates v U19's game and this is how this years game went. 

He scored a hat-trick and had a 4th goal ruled out. 

I should really sign him now, but I think I'm going to stick with my original decision. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Little project. Apr 2024. 

I signed De Baunbag (CMR)(ESP) 6'3" as a little bit of a project. He was recovering from a cruciate injury and need to be nursed back to fitness. Although I did that, he really didn't play well when given the opportunity so I shipped him off to the B Team. 

He didn't play well in the simulated B Team matches either, (just 1 goal and 3 assists in 8(1) appearances). 

Worse than that though, he's injured again. This time it's a broken leg, but thankfully not seriously, (if a broken leg can not be seriously). 

Yet another thing I've got wrong already in this save I think. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2024. 

Primera Federación Grupo I. We're still a bit hit and miss when we play, and when we're missing any more than 1 key player we're definitely more hit than miss. Despite that, we're up to 9th and only 8 points off 5th with 5 games remaining. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 0 Shots so 0 on target and 0 goals. Not a good month for Leandro. 

Finances.  

[Thebaker]

On the subject of signing youth players, i found when you get into the league above you can end up loaning the players out (and teams will want them!). I always sign all the players up and still barely had many players left to play in the youth team as the rest were all out on loan. That is a poor intake but the standard for an intake is much higher in spain and most clubs have average facilities rather than really awful facilities so produce players that can play in the first team every year.

[Jimbokav1971]

Promises. May 2024. 

I'm of the opinion that player happiness comes and goes, but the only thing that you can't recover from, (in terms of player unhappiness), is a broken promise. As a result I do everything I can to avoid promising things that I know I can't keep to. 

Unfortunately though, what you want to do, and what you're able to do are not the same thing at all. 

I don't remember making these promises, but it sounds like something I would say. I think I've done quite well in playing young players, but I will admit that we haven't been able to do so up front mainly because we play 1 lone striker now and the 1st choice striker is Soga (CMR) (24 years old), and the 2nd choice striker is Pablo García, (26 years old). The former has already scored 20 goals this season and the latter scored 23 goals last season so they're not exactly miss-firing. 

I think this might relate to the sale of Gonzalez (SUI), (remember the bloke I sold for £50k + all the add-ons), but while I would have said that we have youngsters to replace him, I considered him a right winger rather than a striker anyway so...... oopsie. 

Thankfully it doesn't really matter at the moment because Liberto only has 1 year on his contract, but this sort of thing is the stuff that I really need to pay more attention to. I didn't say what I said on accident, (because I meant it), but the practicalities of reverting to playing just 1 up front and not getting a decent striker through either intake yet, mean that it's just not possible to play an Academy product up front. 

[Jimbokav1971]

25 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

On the subject of signing youth players, i found when you get into the league above you can end up loaning the players out (and teams will want them!). I always sign all the players up and still barely had many players left to play in the youth team as the rest were all out on loan. That is a poor intake but the standard for an intake is much higher in spain and most clubs have average facilities rather than really awful facilities so produce players that can play in the first team every year.

That's a really good point, (or a number of points), actually. 

I've already managed to loan out 5 of our 1st intake out, (without even trying), and when you consider that I chose not to sign 3 of them, and 5 of them have been involved in the 1st Team this season, that only 3 players, so yeah I would agree that loaning players out seems ok. 

Our facilities are better here than I initially thought remember, so I don't think it will take much to improve them to a level where we start producing players with potential at least, (if not current ability). 

In the past I have suggested signing all players based on the poor quality of the Day 1 scouting, but their Personality/Det levels are known so I'm happy making the decisions on that basis even if the player turns out to have a much higher PA than initially suggested. Of course if I get it wrong I will make sure to post about it so you can all laugh at me, (and will check PA of players when they leave once the editor becomes available). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Scouting May 2024.

It's coming to the end of the season so I thought I would have a look at who's contract is due to expire in the Summer and try to poach a few of them before they're released rather than wait for them to be free agents. 

The only problem is that I obviously need to scout some of them some more and we only have £2,800 left on our scout budget. I tried to get 13 players scouted, but the most it would allow me to scout to full knowledge is 5 of the 13. 

In fact, of the 5 I have scouted, 2 of them are 30 and 32 years old so I'm going to cancel the reports on them and pick 2 younger players to scout. 

That still leaves me with quite a few A rated players, (although 3 players have already arranged deals with new clubs). 

There are a few players that have caught my eye for different reasons. 

Bébé (CPV)(POR) might be 33, but he looks great and if we can get just 1 season out of him then that would be brilliant. Way too good for this level. 

Sylla (ESP)(SEN) is an option, (and better than we already have), but we already have Soga (CMR) & Pablo García contracted for next season so it seems silly to waste money bringing a 30 year old in to replace players who we already know can score 20+ goals a season at this level. 

Keller (CMR) looks a little raw, amd while I don't [articularly mind his passing, I look at his balance attribute, (despite thinking that it's more important for attacking players), and worry about how it might affect him competing in the air. 

Tidjane Traoré (CIV) 6'0" is a year younger than the above player and probably a safer bet.

Ngoya (CGO) is an improvement on the back-up DM we have and alos younger than the 30 year old we currently have starting. 

Ramos (ESP)(SEN) is the only GK on my radar at the moment, and although I think he's a little lacking, I'm also very aware that Leandro is 35 now and although he has 1 more year on his contract, we don't also don't have any proper back-up. 

Ouédraogo (BFA) is an interesting one because although he only has a C+ rating, I quite like the look of him. 

Touray (GAM)(ESP) is there simply because of his age and his PA. 

[DaneBramage]

3 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Bébé (CPV)(POR) might be 33, but he looks great and if we can get just 1 season out of him then that would be brilliant. Way too good for this level. 

Manchester United legend, sign him up.

[Jimbokav1971]

33 minutes ago, DaneBramage said:

Manchester United legend, sign him up.

Legend or Leg end? 

[Jimbokav1971]

May & Jun 2024.

Primera Federación Grupo I. It's a really good end to the season with 5 wins from our last 6 games, but the fact that we're still 8 points off the Playoffs even after than run-in speaks volumes.

Goal-scoring GK's. 4 shots this month from Leandro, all 4 of them on target, leading to 3 more goals and he finishes the season on a very respectable 11 goals for the season and a 100% record from the spot. 

 

 

 

Finances.  Another milestone reached. We're now £2M+ in the red. 

I'm really happy with how things are looking defensively. Only 3 teams conceded fewer goals than us and Leandro kept 16 clean sheets in the league, only 3 short of the Leonesa GK, but also created 4 assists and won 9 MOM awards. 

Soga (CMR) scored 21 goals in the league this season, (with Leandro 2nd top scorer with 11). 

Luismi led the way with 12 assists. 

Bichi (NGA) scored 20 goals in 26 simulated matches for the B Team. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jun 2024.

GK. I would like to sign a new GK because neither of our Academy products are to the required standard. 

1st Team. Leandro 6'1"
B Team. (23o) Roca 5'11"
U19's. (24h) Avilés 6'0"
Sell.
Loan.

DL. (23b) Escalona (VEN) has a broken leg so I will need to sign a DL to be backup to Josema. 

1st Team. Josema & (23b) Escalona (VEN).
B Team. 
U19's. (23j) Ruiz 5'11" DL
Sell.
Loan.

 

DR.

1st Team. Ramazani (BDI)(BEL) & Alain García.
B Team. (23d) de la Hoz
U19's. (24g) Rivero (ESP)(ARG)
Sell.
Loan.

DC. We've got 4 DC's in the 1st Team and another 4 in the U19's. 

1st Team. Télis (URU) 6'4" & Erimuya (NGA) 6'3". Ali Abdul Rahman (GHA) 6'0" & Lillo (ESP)(ETH) 6'1".
B Team.
U19's. (24k) González 6'5" & (23c) Víctor 6'0". (24f) Sánchez (PAR)(ESP) 6'0" & (24l) Núñez (ESP)(BAS) 5'10".
Sell.
Loan.

DM. Lillo (ESP)(ETH) 6'1" is already our 4th DC, so he's actually covering 2 different positions by being on here and that doesn't really work. Lafarge (FRA)(MTQ) 6'1" is 32 so it makes sense to plan for his absence anyway so I would love to sign a 1st choice DM this Summer. 

1st Team. Lafarge (FRA)(MTQ) 6'1" & Lillo (ESP)(ETH) 6'1".
B Team.
U19's.
Sell.
Loan.

MC. Keïta (SEN) is leaving in the Summer and he will be a loss. Absolutely no chance of him re-signing. 

1st Team. Diallo (ESP)(GUI) & Julio Iglesias. Amar (FRA)(ALG) & Jota. .
B Team. (23e) Manuel & (23c) Víctor 6'0"
U19's. (24c) Monge & (23l) Soler (23n) Muiños & (24b) Soler.
Sell.
Loan.

ML. We're good for numbers in wide positions, and I also think we're ok for quality. In a perfect world though I would improve both flanks and the 2nd choice players would drop into the B Team.

1st Team. Liberto & David Alfonso.
B Team.
U19's. (24a) Orta ML, (23k) Álvarez, (24n) Igbokwe (ESP)(NGA) ML & (24p) Benítez ML.
Sell.
Loan.

MR.

1st Team. Luismi & (23a) Kodermac (SVN) MR
B Team.
U19's. (23i) Raúl MR, (23i) Raúl MR & (24i) Nicolás.
Sell.
Loan.

SC. I don't think I need another striker, but because of the nature of the save I think I have to be ready to sign players when they become available. 

1st Team. Soga (CMR) & Pablo García. 
B Team. Bichi (NGA) & De Baunbag (CMR)(ESP) 6'3".
U19's. (23f) Francisco SC & 
Sell.
Loan.

[Jimbokav1971]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dynamic Timeline. Jun 2024. 

I love the idea of this, but maybe what we might want shown might differ from person to person and even save to save. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Finances. Jun 2024. 

@_Ben_You might be interested in this because I'm afraid it doesn't look good news. 

In season 1 our wage budget was £136,634 per month or £1.6M for the whole season.
In season 2 our wage budget was £155,306 per month or £1.8M for the whole season. 
In season 3 our wage budget has now been reduced to £111,128 per month or £1.3M,( which is exactly what we're currently spending right now before a player who I have already signed arrives). They are forcing me to go over the wage budget when the player was signed when the budget was much higher. 

How the game should work is that as long ad I haven't been the cause of the financial problems at the club I shouldn't get blamed for them. Now I will be the cause of going over the wage budget, (or at least the game thinks I'm the cause), and the knock-on effects of this are significant. 

I think this save might be dead and to be honest I think all saves like this might be dead until this gets fixed. 

I've just received this message on 3rd Jun 2024. 

When I signed a new contract on 25th May they had already announced our wage budget for the next season and this wasn't it. 

We've just lost £0.5M per month off our budget, which incidentally is very similar to the amount I underspent on the budget last season. I can understand that they would cut the budget but it just seems wrong that I'm going to be blamed for going over-budget when the new player arrives. Maybe the out-going player wages will make up for the incoming wage spend. 

I think I'm going to have to report this as a bug tomorrow. It doesn't seem right to me. 

The only ways I can see out of this are (1) we get sacked for going over the wage budget, (2) we get a new board and the new board consolidates the debt via a loan and we start with a fresh slate, (3) they just keep reducing the budget year on year until such time as the squad gets relegated and I'm sacked for poor performance. 

[Jimbokav1971]

No Scouting. Jun 2024. 

I'm afraid it looks like this save might be over. 

As well as screwing me on the wage budget, (and making me go over budget), they have reduced the number of Scouts and Chief Scouts allowed at the club to 0, so when their contracts expire at the end of the month we won't have any way to even scout a free agent. I suppose I could ask for players to come in on trial, but how do we find them to ask them to come in on trial? 

Has anyone got any suggestions? (Other than manage Melila?)

On that note, I've just added a new manager to the game, taken over at Melila and this is their finances, (in the league below). 

This isn't right. 

[Jimbokav1971]

 

[Warg92]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

No Scouting. Jun 2024. 

I'm afraid it looks like this save might be over. 

As well as screwing me on the wage budget, (and making me go over budget), they have reduced the number of Scouts and Chief Scouts allowed at the club to 0, so when their contracts expire at the end of the month we won't have any way to even scout a free agent. I suppose I could ask for players to come in on trial, but how do we find them to ask them to come in on trial? 

Has anyone got any suggestions? (Other than manage Melila?)

On that note, I've just added a new manager to the game, taken over at Melila and this is their finances, (in the league below). 

This isn't right. 

 

I had the same problem with the save I have started in the lower leagues of Norway. It turns out that I had used the entire scouting budget for the season. The scouting range was downgraded/moved down to "No Scouting", and then we had no need for any scouts. I just adjusted the wage/transfer budget and added more money to the scouting budget and it solved itself. But, if you have no wage/transfer budget available, I have no idea how you will fix it.

[Jimbokav1971]

Not sure where I go from here. 

I have updated the bug thread with new info, but the issue seems to be widespread and if it significantly impacts a 2 season save, there is little/no hope of running a medium/long-term save at these levels. 

The B Teams at this level skew things, as does the fact that some B Teams operate under the umbrella of their parent club finances, (they share 1 finance page), and others have their own finances page. (Very confusing). 

The boards of these non-B Teams have already invested £4.5M into these clubs to assist with running costs, in just the 1st 2 seasons of the save, and yet still 2 of the clubs have been forced to take out consolidation loans to clear their debts, Significantly, these clubs who cleared their debts into a loan, are already overdrawn again and building up another debt, (which in term will require consolidation again into another loan), because they couldn't afford to run the club in profit before and now they have the additional cost of loan repayments to pay off their debt! 

What surprises me most though is quite how many teams have just ignored their wage budget and have spent more than authorised by theor board. Only 2 non-B Teams are currently within their wage budget, (other than ourselves obviously). 

CLubs don't usually sell players for significant fees at this level and only the top 5 non-B Teams in this league even get to compete in the Copa del Rey, so there isn't even the chance of a Cup run to boost finances. 

I really don't know where I go from here. I suppose I just take it as a challenge and try to plough on, but I don't see a solution here at all. I think a £2M overdraft debt is getting to the point where the club would consider consolidating it into a loan, but what happens then? Then we just have the same problems plus we have loan repayments to deal with on top. 

I think I need to go away and have a little think. Maybe someone will respond before I've made a decision. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Finances continued. Jun 2024. 

This probably explains why Coruna have been crowned Champions. 

But this even more so. 

I don't mind the game being hard. I actually make it harder for myself with the self-imposed restrictions, but on some level there has to be a route to success. At the moment I just don't see that a route exists without cheating, (and I won't be doing that). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Promises. Jun 2024. 

As well as looking at Finances, I've been trying hard to work out why 1 particular player, (Liberto), thought I had broken a promise to him. 

It turns out that where as all the other promises I made were that we would play youth players in general, I had mistakenly promised him that i would play Youth Players up front, (and I mentioned before that this was relating to the departure of Gonzalez (SUI), (who I classed as a MR rather than a SC). 

So because I didn't play Youth players up front he got the hump and now he wants to leave, (not that it will make a difference). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Positivity. Jun 2024. 

Finances are definitely screwed, but maybe just maybe things aren't as bad as they seemed initially last night and this morning. 

We have the basis of a squad already and if players have to play out of position then so be it. We finished 10th in the 1st season and 7th last season and if we can improve to 5th this season and sneak into the playoffs then who knows what might happen. 

There doesn't appear to be any prize money in the 2nd Tier, but at the very least it should boost our sponsorship and support-base a little. (yeah, you're right, I'm clutching). 

I think I'm going to keep going as is until they take my keys off me and escort me from the premises. If this was easy, everyone would be playing this way. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Finances (on-going). Jun 2024. 

Initially I was hoping for the board to consolidate the debt into a loan, but I don't actually think that's going to make any difference so for the time-being at least I'm just ploughing ahead and keeping my eyes closed as far as anything financial is concerned. 

This really makes no difference at all. 

Don't get too excited though because all it's done is reduce our debt by approx 25%. 

It's obviously made no difference to our budgets. 

[ToMexico!!]

10 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Finances (on-going). Jun 2024. 

Initially I was hoping for the board to consolidate the debt into a loan, but I don't actually think that's going to make any difference so for the time-being at least I'm just ploughing ahead and keeping my eyes closed as far as anything financial is concerned. 

This really makes no difference at all. 

Don't get too excited though because all it's done is reduce our debt by approx 25%. 

It's obviously made no difference to our budgets. 

My board took out a loan when we reached over £6m in debt, we're now repaying £26k per month for the next 25 years. 

Are you making loan repayments on a loan that doesn't exist?

[Thebaker]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Positivity. Jun 2024. 

Finances are definitely screwed, but maybe just maybe things aren't as bad as they seemed initially last night and this morning. 

We have the basis of a squad already and if players have to play out of position then so be it. We finished 10th in the 1st season and 7th last season and if we can improve to 5th this season and sneak into the playoffs then who knows what might happen. 

There doesn't appear to be any prize money in the 2nd Tier, but at the very least it should boost our sponsorship and support-base a little. (yeah, you're right, I'm clutching). 

I think I'm going to keep going as is until they take my keys off me and escort me from the premises. If this was easy, everyone would be playing this way. 

TV money doesn't show up when looking at the league rules, don't think there is any prize money in La Liga either. All clubs in spain are in huge debt due to the league rules on paying certain wage levels, it doesn't seem to worry most boards.

Below is the finances from my save in spain last year from starting in the bottom spanish league. 2025 club took out a loan, 2028 got promoted to the 2nd div, each year previously the board had put money in.

The finances seem much worse in this years fm mind at any club from what i can see.

 

Edited October 28, 2022 by Thebaker

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, ToMexico!! said:

My board took out a loan when we reached over £6m in debt, we're now repaying £26k per month for the next 25 years. 

Are you making loan repayments on a loan that doesn't exist?

No. We're not making loan repayments. We're just a tiny club that was only promoted to this level at the start of the game so our sponsorship and attendances are low. I don't mind financial constraints, but this DM's finance model doesn't seem right. Clubs are able to go significantly over their wage budget, and when a board reduces the wage budget because of the financial position, they fail to take into account transfer deals/signings that have already been made but where the player hasn't yet moved because of the window. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Thebaker said:

TV money doesn't show up when looking at the league rules, don't think there is any prize money in La Liga either. All clubs in spain are in huge debt due to the league rules on paying certain wage levels, it doesn't seem to worry most boards.

Below is the finances from my save in spain last year from starting in the bottom spanish league. 2025 club took out a loan, 2028 got promoted to the 2nd div, each year previously the board had put money in.

The finances seem much worse in this years fm mind at any club from what i can see.

 

I think that looks much more realistic. The club was in debt regularly/consistently, but it was manageable and not growing to ridiculous levels. Something has changed and either the board are not investing as much as they were, or the losses are bigger than they were, (and the board can't afford to support it). Either way, the situation seems much more extreme in FM23 than it was in FM22. 

I didn't have this problem in FM22 because we had both a decent stadium and a significant fan base.