[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.

[BML]

43 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

but if I was the SEN manager then I would just play Faty (FRA)(SEN) 6'4" in 1 competitive game just to get him secured as a SEN player.

That's not true! With your dual Cueta/Senegal hat on, you'd never call him up again so you'd have a keeper for AFCON months!

[Jimbokav1971]

GK Selection during AFCON. Jan 2049.

The top 4 GK's on this list are all going to AFCON so I think the plan is to recall (38l) Paradas 6'1" AFCON once the window opens in a few days. 

It's not ideal, (because he's not great), but he's better than one of the kids and this is the whole reason we paid £1.1M to re-sign him from Malaga after agreeing to sell him to them for just £10k. 

(48b) Pedro (L.Heart) * 5'10" will step up into the B Team, but he's way off 1st Team level at the moment. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, BML said:

That's not true! With your dual Cueta/Senegal hat on, you'd never call him up again so you'd have a keeper for AFCON months!

Very true. 

Let me re-word that.

but if I was the FRA manager then I would just play Faty (FRA)(SEN) 6'4" in 1 competitive game just to get him secured as a FRA player. 

[Jimbokav1971]

El Presidente stays. Jan 2049. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2049. 

AFCON Period. Last season we won 8/8 games in January, but the difference between then and no, (other than the fact that we won 9/9 rather than 8/8), is of course that AFCON was played this year and not last year. 

In 46/47 we lost to Barca in the Supercopa Semi and also drew with Real Madrid in the league. 
In 45/46 we lost to Hispalis/Betis in the Supercopa Semi and lost to Albacete and drew with Andorra in the league. 
In 44/45 we lost to Sevilla in the Supercopa FInal and and lost to Almeria and drew with Espanyol in the league. 
In 43/44 we lost to St Etienne in the Champions League and lost to Valladolid in the league. 
in 42/43 we lost to Real Madrid in the Supercopa Semi, lost to both Leverkusen & Spurs in the Champions League and drew with Real Madrid in the league. 
IN 41/42 we lost to Monaco in the Champions League and drew with Bayern in the Champions League, (but there were only 7 games that month because we didn't play in the Supercopa).

I think that shows how far we've come. 

La Liga. That really is impressive form, (especially given the circumstances), but because Barca are also in good form, all it does is retain our 7 point advantage. 

UEFA Champions League. We've had to wait for a while, but some of the youngsters are really starting to step up here. 

Supercopa de España.

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey. Against lower league opposition, this was effectively our B Team in this game.

Of the 15 players used in this game, 14 of them were products of our Academy and only 2 players, Adeyemi (GER)(NGA) * & (29a) Gil were 1st Team squad players, (and only 1 of them is 1st choice). You might be thinking, "yeah well this is only against Lower League opposition so what difference does it make?" but the reason that it's significant is because only 1 single 1st choice player had to play at all, meaning that they were fresh for the next game, (a 2-0 win in the Champions League away to Vitoria), and this doesn't happen without the ability to rest players, (while we have 37 players at AFCON). It's the lack of ability to rest/rotate that usually kills us. Our players are good enough to win these games. They just can't play 9 games in a month without either being rotated or their performance levels dropping off. 

B Team. While the 1st Team squad were doing brilliantly, they were only doing brilliantly because they were strengthened by players from both the B Team and the U19's. As a consequence, the results of the B Team suffered. Despite that, they only lost once and I'm actually really pleased with how they did with so many players unavailable for different reasons. 

Records. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

A star is born? Feb 2049.

I've been really enjoying the performances of (46a) De Backer (BEL) Res * in the B Team, and while he has been playing really well, I've been very aware that although he's only 18, he's also "only" playing in LaLiga2 for the B Team and there is a World of difference between that and playing for the 1st Team in La Liga. The "problem", (if you want to call it that), is that when he occasionally plays for the 1st Team, he absolutely smashes it and has taken to it like a duck to water.

1st he scored a hat-trick in La Liga against Celta Vigo after coming on in the 80th min, (goals in the 88th, 90th & 94th min) and then 3 days later I started him in the Copa del Rey against Cornella and he scored another hat-trick, (goals in the 41st, 62nd and 68th min). 

At the time of writing this he's made a total of 10(3) appearances for the 1st Team in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and creating 4 assists. 

For the B Team he's made a total of 56(9) appearances, scoring 27 goals and creating 11 assists. 

He doesn't look amazing, (although he looks good), but he bloomin well plays amazing! 

He's 1 of 4 Academy products that I'm really enjoying at the moment. 

[Jimbokav1971]

AFCON period strategy. Feb 2049. 

I wanted to give you a little insight in what I did over the last month and whether or not it worked or not. (In the main most things worked, but there were a few little problems that I hadn't considered). 

1. GK. I recalled (38l) Paradas 6'1" AFCON from his loan at Standard in Belgium and he slotted straight into the starting line-up for our next 3 games, (The Supercopa Final against Hispalis/Betis, the La Liga game against Celta Vigo and the Copa del Rey game against Cornella). Although we conceded goals in each game, we still won and he more than played his part by also scoring 1 goals and creating an assist. 

The problem came when I went to pick him for the Champions League game against Vitoria. I had registered him for the La Liga squad when he arrived, (because the window was open in Jan), but you can't register players for the Champions League in Jan, so I had nobody to play and had to play 16 year old (48b) Pedro (L.Heart) * 5'10" who we have all seen wasn't good enough. Despite that, we won both the Champions League games, (only conceding 1 goal), and once again he also contributed with a goal and an assist of his own.

If you had asked me before-hand if these 2 players were capable of playing 9 games in 1 month between them during AFCON, without us losing a single goal I would have said absolutely no chance. 

2. Central midfield. This was surprisingly the weakest area of the squad during AFCON. 1st of all we only play 2 players in the middle, (often against 3-4 opponents), so they are up against it anyway, but we had the top 4 ranked midfielders in the 1st Team squad all at AFCON, and the 5th ranked player who wasn't at AFCON got injured. The best midfielder in the B Team was also away at AFCON so he was out too. It meant that we had a 6 player hole in the middle of the pitch to fill. 

I recalled 2 players who were out on loan. 

Originally (42c) Rial 5'7" was going to start, but I've noticed that when he played for the B Team and started in central midfield, the Ass Man would often switch him to centre-half, (he's 5'7"!), but he would be the central "spare" DC and actually it worked ok most of the time. Despite that, I bottled it a little and that's why he started on the bench. He game on and did well and you can see that he even did play as the middle centre-half in the Mallorca game. 

(38i) Iván started both the La Liga games, (playing 170 mins), and also came off the bench in the Copa del Rey game. He contributed 2 goals and played pretty well if I'm honest. (Better than I expected). The "problem" was that he wasn't available for the Champions League games. 

(45c) Fritsche (AUR)(GER)Bal* has just broken into the B Team starting XI this season, and because we just play 2 in there I was worried about his lack of physical ability. In actual fact he played well and his strengths more than made up for his physical inadequacies. 

(47b) Vera (Fickle) * has only started 6 B Team games this season, (he was still in the U19's and he's always tired when I need him), but thankfully I considered him, (and that), and promoted him to the 1st Team squad for the month. He's far from the finished article and he's not suited at all to playing in a 2 the way we needed him to play, but I loved the tackles against Vitoria & Mallorca as much as the dribbles against Mallorca and the key passes against Red Star.

3. Up front. I've mentioned before that we have been struggling with our central strikers miss-firing for a while now, and I have been tweaking the roles(duties) now and then to try and ease us through games, (especially tough games). 

A few years ago I think we had PF(s) either side of an AF(a) and then as we developed, it evolved into twin PF(a) either side of an AF(a). I think as we have got bigger and better though the way opposition teams set-up against us has changed and we no longer have the space in behind for the AF(a) to exploit, and his chances, (and ours), have become much more limited and the influence of the AF(a) has declined significantly at the same time as that of the PF(a)'s has exploded. 

After a little bit of success with a change to a DLF(a), I went further and dropped him to a DLF(s). This suited our 2nd choice SC (29a) Gil, (who is retiring at the end of the season by the way), better than our 1st choice striker Kabamba (BEL)(COD) *, but it still worked with him and seemed to REALLY benefit the team. I think this had a REALLY significant impact on the AFCON period because it effectively added a 3rd body to our stretched, (and under-strength), midfield at times. I don't know if this was clever by me or just lucky. (Probably a bit of both actually). 

4. Youngsters.

I've already mentioned (46a) De Backer (BEL) Res *, and while he probably had the most significant impact, he was far from alone in stepping up from the B Team or even the U19's.

I seem to remember a few posts made about (47a) Acosta (F.Amb) * after he came through the intake, and as you can see he's developing rather nicely and scoring goals in the Champions League. 

I think it's harder to make the breakthrough in the middle of the pitch than in forward positions, but (47b) Vera (Fickle) * has made me give him the chance and take note of his performances. 

(45b) Pérez (Driven) 5'10" * is one of my favourite players in the save at the moment. He's an absolute star for the B Team while still a teenager, and played in 3 different positions for the 1st Team this month. 

(45c) Fritsche (AUR)(GER)Bal* is a bit of a strange one in that it's not immediately obvious how we use him in our system, but he did a hell of a job in the middle of the park. 

(45d) Gomis (ESP)(SEN) 6'0" * was one of the lesser lights in the group, but despite his personality, he's developing well and I will have to keep an eye on him. 

1 goal, 1 assist and 1 clean sheet from your opening 2 games in the Champions League as a 16 year old is a ridiculous standard to try and continue, but that's exactly what we need from (48b) Pedro (L.Heart) * 5'10".

Can you tell I'm rather pleased with our performances and results during AFCON? 

[Jimbokav1971]

AFCON 2049.

[Jtomsett11]

Very impressive results for an AFCON year. I remember you previously saying that winning the treble during an AFCON year would be the ultimate achievement, could this be the year?! 

No pressure 

Will De Backer come into the first team/ second 11 for next year do you think,  or too early to say? 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Jtomsett11 said:

Very impressive results for an AFCON year. I remember you previously saying that winning the treble during an AFCON year would be the ultimate achievement, could this be the year?! 

No pressure 

No. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Jtomsett11 said:

Will De Backer come into the first team/ second 11 for next year do you think,  or too early to say? 

I think he has to, but the problem is that there are just multiple players who look better than him on paper. 

At the moment the 1st Team  SLC is Moses (ENG)(NGA) *, but after scoring 29 goals and 17 assists in 30(8) appearances in all competitions last season, he's only managed 5 goals and 3 assists in 13(7) appearances this season and has had loads of little niggly injuries. He was missing for the whole of the AFCON period with 2 different bouts of flu.

The 2nd Team SLC is Mensah (ENG)(GHA) * and because the 2nd Team SC (29a) Gil is retiring at the end of this season, I think he might be moving inwards so there could be a slot opening up at SLC. 

I know that the numbers won't compare to last season because of the change in roles(duties up front but I still think we've under-performed in this position and especially so when you see the impact that (46a) De Backer (BEL) Res * has made in what are weaker teams, (9 goals and 2 assists in 7(1) appearances). 

The other thing to consider of course is that we have left-sided strikers out on loan who will be in contention. 

Talal (MAR) * might have had a good AFCON, (he finished 2nd top goal-scorer), but he's not scoring as often in Italy, (although in his defence he is playing as an IF rather than an AF).

Haruna (GER)(NGA) * had a great start to the season in Portugal with 6 goals in 9(6) appearances, but unfortunately he did his ACL and will be lucky to be back for the start of next season. 

Sylla (GUI) SC * is in his 4th season out on loan and it's surely getting to the stage where he needs to play for us or be sold. 

[Edit]

Moses (ENG)(NGA) *, who has scored just 5 goals in his previous 13(7) appearances this season, responds to this post with 2 goals and a MOM performance. 

[Edit2]

(46a) De Backer (BEL) Res * responds with 1 goal and 2 assists in his next game. 

Edited August 9, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Deisler26]

De Backer is a beast. He has all the attributes in the right places.

Reminds me of an old RKC save where I had a guy called Sam Van Weert, who never got above 2*, yet scored over 200 goals for me!

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2049. 

La Liga. I'm not sure why we've played more games than Barca.  In any case, the gap at the top is now a whopping 17 points after they dropped 4 points with 2 draws, (although this will reduce to 11 points if they win their 2 games in hand. It still looks like an enormous margin though. I really don't understand why we have played extra games. 

Copa del Rey. I commented to @Jtomsett11in a recent post that there was no chance of us winning a domestic treble in an AFCON year, (because I thought we had already been knocked out of the Copa del Rey, but I had forgotten the Semi is played over 2 legs and we're still alive and kicking! 

Records. When I took this picture I knew we would lose the next game. (We did). Thankfully it wasn't in La Liga and our unbeaten league season dream is still alive. 

B Team. Considering that we start every game with an Academy product in 9 of the 10 outfield positions I'm really happy with how this season is going, (despite the fact that we have frustratingly dropped points at times and should be top of the league). 

Impact. For some reason, (46a) De Backer (BEL) Res * continues to have an enormous impact on the 1st Team. He's scored 11 goals and 4 assists in his 9 games since I promoted him in January. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Lots of goals now, but also a few misses. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Deisler26 said:

De Backer is a beast. He has all the attributes in the right places.

Reminds me of an old RKC save where I had a guy called Sam Van Weert, who never got above 2*, yet scored over 200 goals for me!

There is a little thing I like to do for young players and it involves imaging what they would look like if all their attributes were increased by 1. Increasing an attribute by 1 doesn't seem too ridiculous does it, (even if increasing all attributes by 1 might be just a little bit ridiculous), but it does at least give you a snapshot of what the player might be like with a little development. 

Here he is now. 

And via the magic of the Editor, here he is after all his attributes have been boosted by 1, (and yes I reverted to an old save and didn't keep him like that). 

I think he looks like a completely different player. An ENORMOUSLY better player. It shows that many of his attributes are on the cusp of "popping" from yellow to green and some that are still yellow are looking pretty decent too. 

This is him again after I have re-loaded

His attribute tracker shows how far he has come, but also shows how important it is to start with reasonable base attributes. It doesn't matter what the player potential is if he has to start from a really low CA level. Often there is just too much ground to make up. 

It also serves to show just how realistic any expectation of boosting all attributes by 1 in reality might be. 

The coaches want us to work on his strength, but I'm going to hold off on that just a tiny bit longer. 

He's currently learning "tries tricks", (I'm not completely sure why), and the only thing I want to add to him after that is "plays one-two's", but I can't remember whether you need that for the player who makes the run or the player who acts as a pivot. That has always confused me. Does anyone know? 

[Jimbokav1971]

March 2049 schedule. 

We've got 6 games in 20 days and then nothing for the last week and a half of the month. (I'm guessing there is an International break). 

This month will largely define our season. The 1st Team will play in teh Cup games and the 2nd Team will play in the La Liga games. It's a risky tactic, (especially the Atletico game), but they have lost twice and drawn twice more at home in La Liga this season so it's certainly doable. 

January Transfer Window. I almost forgot to mention that we lost a HUGE player for us in January.

Ly (BEL)(SEN) * 6'3" HGC went to Chelsea after they met his min fee release clause of £92M and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I'm trying to remember how I spotted him, (because it's unlikely to have been from scouting that early). 

We signed Kitoko (BEL)(COD) * in 2041/42 and he was playing in the BEL U21 side, (and just breaking into the BEL senior side back then). I think I saw Ly (BEL)(SEN) * 6'3" HGC in the BEL U21 squad as a kid straight out of the Academy and scouted him that way. I'm gutted to lose him but can't complain when we get that sort of money for him. Had I known he would be this good I would have stuck a higher min fee clause in there.  We also had to give his old club 15% of the deal, but when you consider we signed him for £1.2M, again, I can't complain. 

I've just noticed that he has already been awarded MOM in 2 of Chelsea's 6 Premier League matches since he joined them. 

[Deisler26]

That’s an interesting idea!

Personally I like to run with the octogon as to what I think they can do. If their octogon shows promise for the position, I will give them games and see if they improve 

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Deisler26 said:

That’s an interesting idea!

Personally I like to run with the octogon as to what I think they can do. If their octogon shows promise for the position, I will give them games and see if they improve 

I rarely use the octagon, (although I have on occasion for GK's). Don't know why. Just never got into the habit. I wouldn't even know what to look for. 

[Deisler26]

See, that is a nailed-on AMRL/ST for me, possibly an SS or AM (S) at worst.

Edited August 9, 2023 by Deisler26

[_Ben_]

Going really well Jimbo! Can't be far from the end goal now can you?

[Jimbokav1971]

Furious. Mar 2049. 

I mean really flippin furious!  

[Jimbokav1971]

59 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

Going really well Jimbo! Can't be far from the end goal now can you?

I made a comment early in the save that to do the domestic treble in an AFCON year would probably be the ultimate achievement, (and going unbeaten in La Liga in an AFCON season would also be up there), but we lost in the Semi of the Copa del Rey to Barca, (we lost both legs), and Atletico have just taken our unbeaten record. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Deisler26 said:

See, that is a nailed-on AMRL/ST for me, possibly an SS or AM (S) at worst.

I'm going to stop talking about him because he's gone off the boil a little and I think I've jinxed him. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2049. 

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2049. Mar 2049. 

4 Wonderkids on the NxGn list is great, and the fact that 2 of them are products of our Academy is even better. 

#7 (46a) De Backer (BEL) Res * is obviously the star at the moment and while it's great that he's on the list as a product of our Academy, it's even better that he has another go at it next season. 

#11 Haddouche (FRA)(ALG) 6'3" came in for a lot of money after appearing on this list 2 seasons ago. 

#14 (47a) Acosta (F.Amb) * is a 2nd Academy product on the list, and he's only 17 years old so has 2 more years on this list. 

#38 Quaye (GHA) is a player I have hardly looked at if I'm honest. I know very little about him at all.

Let's have a look at any other Africans on the list now. 

#13 Zouaoui (FRA)(ALG) has potential as a transfer target because he's on a low wage and still at his starting club, (albeit that it's not an African club). Because he's 17 years old he also gets 2 more years on this list. 

#22 Guessous (MAR)(BEL) may have moved from an African club to a big European club in PSG, but I still think that there's potential here in terms of a transfer. 

#36 Mendes (POR)(GNB) is another who came through at a European club, but he's playing for their 3rd Team at the moment and is on a low wage so there could be a deal to be done there. 

 

#39 Mothae (LES) is playing for Celta Vigo's C Team, but he's on a higher wage than some of those mentioned so it might be harder to do a deal here. 

#41 Khadir (MAR) has recently moved from Africa to France but for a very low fee and is still on a low wage so there might be a deal to be done here. 

#45 Houari (MAR)(FRA)

[Sonic Youth]

A nuts! Was hoping you’d have an unbeaten season 

And the Copa too.

[Sonic Youth]

3 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Youth Intake day. Mar 2049. 

Looks a very promising intake!

Three caught my eye: Oriol, Simion and Cruz 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

A nuts! Was hoping you’d have an unbeaten season 

And the Copa too.

I was convinced we were gonna do the treble and become domestic Invincibles. 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Looks a very promising intake!

Three caught my eye: Oriol, Simion and Cruz 

Yeah I know it's too early to get excited, but the 2 that caught my eye were (49f) Cruz (Spirit) & (49b) Simón (F.Pro) *.

Wasn't hugely impressed by (49a) Oriol (Driven) 5'10" * initially, but the more I look at him the better he looks, but then again maybe that's just my brain being skewed by the (49a) prefix. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2049. 

La Liga. I'm absolutely gutted to lose the Atletico, (game after 42 La Liga games without defeat), but the truth is we didn't deserve to win, (although a draw was probably deserved). Yeah the 2nd Team played in this game because I opted to play the 1st Team in the 3 Cup games this month, but just as the 1st Team weren't good enough in the Copa del Rey against Barca, the 2nd Team weren't good enough against Atletico. The difference between winning and losing these games is probably the loss of Ly (BEL)(SEN) * 6'3" HGC in Jan. Chelsea met his min fee clause and there is just nothing we can do about it and this is the price. There's no point moping about it. We just need to suck it up and move on. 

UEFA Champions League. This went really well, but we were assisted by an early red card to Leipzig in the 1st leg. 

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey. This was an absolutely rubbish performance and our tactic of getting stuck in just didn't work at all. The ref penalised us time after time and 20 fouls is just ridiculous, (but that's my fault). 

B Team. Despite losing quite a few B Team players to the Senior Squad in the last couple of months, we're somehow up into 2nd, (3 points behind Coruna), but the real news here is our exit in the U21 International Cup and unlike the Senior team losses this month, this was actually really unlucky. (47b) Vera (Fickle) * was sent off after only 12 mins and yet we struggled through to 90 mins at 0-0. We even led twice in ET before they scored in the 118th and 119th mins to see us off. Playing for so long with just 10 men was too much even for us. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Thebaker]

Some great young players there, Simon stands out from this years crop. Also Rial is the same height as Lisandro Martinez thanks to his growth creep!

That loss is hard to take in the league

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Thebaker said:

Some great young players there, Simon stands out from this years crop. Also Rial is the same height as Lisandro Martinez thanks to his growth creep!

That loss is hard to take in the league

We didn't lose a domestic game for 26 games from the start of the season. 

Then we lost the 27th to Barca in the 1st leg of the Copa del Rey.

We then bounced back to win the next 7 on the bounce. 

Since then we've won 2 of the last 7.   

At this stage I just want the season to end. 

Yeah (49b) Simón (F.Pro) * looks good. It's taken me 3 weeks to get him contract sorted. Greedy so and so.

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2049. 

La Liga. We've forgotten how to put the ball in the net somehow. Our xG for these 5 games was 9.38 (and we fell short of that by -6.38 goals this month), and our xGA in the same 5 games was only 3.56, (and we conceded +0.44 additional goals). So we're basically scoring about 35% of the goals we should be scoring, and at the same time we're conceding approx 115% of the goals we should be conceding. It's not a good mix. I've decided I'm not going to mess about trying to fix it, (because I don't think it's a tactical issue). I'm just going to press continue again until I get through to the end of the season. 

There were some tough games this month, (but that's no excuse). The wheels have properly come off and thank God we were so gar ahead. 

UEFA Champions League. Meh. We didn't take our chances in the 1st leg and it cost us. It's a stupid poxy competition anyway and I never really wanted to win it...... 

B Team. The B Team have moved top of the league for what I think is the 1st time all season. We're playing well and as players returned to fitness in the 1st Team, the B Team and U19's who were filling in have become available for the B Team/U19's again. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Drought. May 2049. 

After Failing to score in his previous 15 (FIFTEEN) appearances for the club Kabamba (BEL)(COD) * finally manages to score for us, but even then he took 7 shots in this match, (just getting 2 on target), and still trailed his xG in this match despite scoring. 

His partner in crime, (crimes against football), is (29a) Gil, (who plays the same central role for the 2nd Team), has had similar problems. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Deflated. Apr 2049. 

I'm gonna be brutally honest with you here. I thought we were going to win the domestic treble, get close to winning the Champions League and remain undefeated in La Liga for the whole season. 

We've won the Supercopa and we're going to win La Liga, but that's very much the lowest type of double we can do and I'm feeling particularly deflated at the moment. 

On the plus side, we seem to have have some great players coming through the Academy, (which is more than a little strange in itself because the facilities are only 20.15.20.20 and we can't ask for the Youth facilities to be improved because of a bug. 

Another thing in the plus column is the fact that we have  in the bank so we can go out and sign just about anyone. 

We have the highest reputation in Spain, (Barca are no longer the Worldwide force they once were), and that will help with the Youth Intakes now so maybe that makes a little more sense. 

The loss of Ly (BEL)(SEN) * 6'3" HGC really hurt us, and I must admit that I've been a tiny bit slack on the recruitment front. (Ok, I've been really slack), and I haven't recruited a single player in the last 2 windows, and only 4 youngsters, (for a total of less than £2M), 3 windows ago. I've lost focus, dropped the ball and am keen to find and sign the players that will push us on to the next level. Don't get men wrong. I've still been scouting players non-stop. I just haven't been going the next step and trying to sign them. 

GK. Belarbi (FRA)(ALG) * is a 16 year old French/Algerian kid who has already represented France 6 times at U21 level and has played 9 times in Ligue 1 for Lille.
GK. Even if we sell Camara (SEN) 6'2" then we have Bakayoko (CIV) 6'2" * HGC waiting in the wings & (48b) Pedro (L.Heart) * 5'10" ready to step up into the B Team so this is not a priority.  
DL. Guessous (MAR)(BEL) * is an 18 year old Moroccan/Belgian WBL who I found on the NxGn list. He's swapped allegiance to BEL now & has moved from Morocco to PSG.
DL2. Mendes (POR)(GNB) is a 17 year old Portugese DL playing in the 2nd tier in Portugal. 
DR. Pius (NGA)(ENG) * is a 17 year old WBR at Spurs who is playing for NGA U21's. 
DC1. Houari (MAR)(FRA) 6'2" * is a 17 year old Moroccan DC who already has 6 Senior Caps.  (MAR are ranked 27th in the World by the way). He's also still playing in Morocco, (although PSG are sniffing).
DC2. Coulibaly (BFA) is a 16 year old DC who is playing for the BFA U21's and he's also still playing in BFA. 
DC3. Al-Awami (LBY) * 6'2" is a 17 year old DC who has already got 6 caps for the LBY National Team. I know he might not be amazing because it's only Libya, but initial reports are promising.
DC4. Da Costa Fortes (CPV)(POR) 6'4 is a 17 year old DC who is already playing for the CPV U21's. Again I know it's only CPV but.....
DC5. Dibi (MAR)(FRA) is a 16 year old DC who is already playing for MAR U21's. 
MC1. Botsang (BEL)(BOT) is a 19 year old DM who is already capped 4 times for BOT. 
MC2. Zola (ANG)(BEL) is a 19 year old Perfectionist AMC who is capped at U23 level. 
MC3. El Amrani (MAR) is a 19 year old AMC who already has 6 Caps for MAR. 
MC4. Mohamed (EGY) is a 19 year old MC who already has 4 Caps for EGY. 
MC5. Khadir (MAR) is an 18 year old AMC who has already been capped twice by MAR.
SLC1. Zouaoui (FRA)(ALG) * was on the recent NxGn list. I have already had a £40M offer accepted by Lens, but couldn't agree personal terms. 
SLC2. Zungu (RSA) is an 18 year old AML who already has 1 Cap for RSA. 
SC1. Camara (GUI) * 6'2" is an 17 year old SC who has already represented GUI at U23 level. 
SC2. Gueï (CIV)(FRA) is an 18 year old SC who has already represented CIV at U23 level. He's playing for Nice B in Ligue 2. 
SC3. Youssef (EGY) 6'4" is a 18 year old striker who already has 16 (sixteen) Caps for EGY, (scoring 5 International goals). 
SC4. Kitoko (SWE)(COD) is an 18 years SC who is 6'4" and already has 15 U21 Caps for SWE. He's also playing in the league for Djurgårdens IF. 
SRC1. Mothae (LES) is an 18 year old AMR who has already been capped 18 times by LES. He's at Celta Vigo & there is a £47M release clause. 
SRC2. Yamoah (GHA) is a 19 year old AMR who 4 U21 Caps for GHA and is still playing in GHA. 

Edited August 11, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2049. 

There are forum rules which prevent me from explaining to you what sort of "Double" I think this is. 

La Liga. That makes it 4 La Liga titles on the bounce, and 5 in the last 6 seasons, (but don't even get me started on losing the last game of the season).  We won the league by 12 points in the end, and "only" lost 3 times, but it really isn't good enough considering where we were on 20th March. 

B Team. The season still isn't even over for the B Team and they have a fantastic chance to secure their 1st ever LaLiga 2 title as their final game is against rock-bottom Oviedo. Unfortunately the performance, (or lack thereof), of the 1st Team has given me a real kick in the feels and I'm struggling to play at the moment, (probably linked into the fact that the off-season is such hard graft in this save and not helped by really enjoyable threads appearing here highlighting other Nations that I woudl much rather be managing in right now, (and linked with the real life early rounds of European competiton). 

Records. 

U19's. The Nice striker is Gueï (CIV)(FRA) who is on my shortlist as a potential signing that I am about to tell you about. (It might be posted jut before or just after this post). Either way his hat-trick against us makes me more keen on him. 

Facilities. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

That's all folks. Jun 2049.

Apologies to any avid readers of this thread, but I think I'm going to call it a day here. I know our GK is approaching 100 career goals and we're dominating in domestic competition, but we also seem to be rubbish in the Champions League. My goals for these types of saves is always to be competitive and win things, but there is never really a specific goal to win every single competition before we stop. The nature of this save means that it's such hard work to do all the stuff behind the scenes, (the scouting is an absolute nightmare), and even sorting the squad(s) each close-season takes a good couple of days and if truth be told I see new threads on here, (like that of @OlivierL who has started a brilliant thread managing in Gibraltar), and I think, I wish that was my save. 

I yearn for the days of a Youth only save with no scouting and a quick leagues and did I mention the scouting. Oh my good God the scouting!

So anyway, thanks for being along for the ride and for following and commenting. It really does make a big difference and I really appreciate it. 

I can neither confirm nor deny that I will be following @OlivierLto Gibraltar and playing Youth Only there..... although Iceland is also an option...... or Faroe Islands...... or Asia somewhere.... or Wales..... or Israel, (I've never managed in Israel).

Anyway, thanks again for reading and/or interacting in the thread. 

[OlivierL]

Great topic and I will follow the next one for sure. Gibraltar and Iceland are the ones that you like the most ( no secret :)) but maybe something more out of the box like Faroer Island or Israel is something for you. Also don't forget you mentioned Afrika (Iceland 5th tier) with newgens from Poland and Africa in Iceland. Or my beloved Africanos Braganca (Cape Verdeans in Portugal) or Caley Braves (french regens in scotland, 5th tier).

Good luck and keep on poking and advise me in my Gibraltar save

[ToMexico!!]

Great read as always @Jimbokav1971 

Youth only in the Faroes as homage to Klaksvik would be tremendous 

[ChaosClive]

A great career mate. Looking forward to the new save.

[Cheez3y]

Really nice journey. 

[Rikulec]

Fantastic thread mate, looking forward to the next one.

[Jtomsett11]

As always,  have enjoyed this thread! Looking forward to your next one!

[Deisler26]

Sorry to have lost the thread. Look forward to your next one!

[Sonic Youth]

And just when a nice bunch of youngsters was starting to progress together! 

It’s been a fun read and journey 

[Jimbokav1971]

On 14/08/2023 at 10:51, OlivierL said:

Great topic and I will follow the next one for sure. Gibraltar and Iceland are the ones that you like the most ( no secret :)) but maybe something more out of the box like Faroer Island or Israel is something for you. Also don't forget you mentioned Afrika (Iceland 5th tier) with newgens from Poland and Africa in Iceland. Or my beloved Africanos Braganca (Cape Verdeans in Portugal) or Caley Braves (french regens in scotland, 5th tier).

Good luck and keep on poking and advise me in my Gibraltar save

 

On 14/08/2023 at 10:54, ToMexico!! said:

Great read as always @Jimbokav1971 

Youth only in the Faroes as homage to Klaksvik would be tremendous 

 

On 14/08/2023 at 10:58, ChaosClive said:

A great career mate. Looking forward to the new save.

 

On 14/08/2023 at 11:25, Cheez3y said:

Really nice journey. 

 

On 14/08/2023 at 13:15, Rikulec said:

Fantastic thread mate, looking forward to the next one.

 

20 hours ago, Jtomsett11 said:

As always,  have enjoyed this thread! Looking forward to your next one!

 

18 hours ago, Deisler26 said:

Sorry to have lost the thread. Look forward to your next one!

 

12 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

And just when a nice bunch of youngsters was starting to progress together! 

It’s been a fun read and journey 

Thanks everyone.  Really appreciate the kind words and glad you enjoyed it. The transfers side of things wasn't my forte at all, but it's another type of save ticked off and I can say I've done it now. A nice easy Youth Only is far more my cup of tea and I've even gone somewhere where not only I have never managed in, but where I can;t remember anyone else ever managing in here before, (although possibly wrong). 

Feel free to follow along in the new thread. I've just finished by 1st season so don't think there is any danger of me being sacked imminently. 

 

[RoguPL]

I am catching up with this save, currently on 27th page. And massive congrats  
I came across in your thread mentioning that youth facilities are bugged and cannot be upgraded. 
TBF I thought the same, for the last 6-7 seasons in my save it was stuck on 18 without an option to upgrade. In that time I became one of the best teams in europe but still option didn't exist. 

The option only appeared after Board elections happened and we had a new chairman. (The previous one was there for about 10 seasons) . With new chairman the option to upgrade re-appeared. 
Hope that also happens in your save (if not happened already as I am only on page 27 )

 

 

[RoguPL]

Just caught up and realised that this save is finished LOL