[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]

Wages. May 2043. 

I knew I was being quite tight with the finances, but I didn't realise I was being this tight. 

Sevilla are spending 86% of their turnover on wages at the top of the list and we at the other end of the scale are spending just 19% of our turnover. The figures might be slightly skewed by us selling players to the tune of £103M this season, but that in itself tells it's own story. 

R.Madrid are ranked 16 on the list with a whopping turnover of £833M compared to our £308M. 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2043.

La Liga. What an absolute shambles our run-in was. We won only 1 of our last 8 games after getting dumped out of the Champions League by Hertha, and the wheels really did come off in spectacular fashion. We were absolutely rubbish!  I don't think this is fatigue related at all, (because I have been rotating all the way through the season). I think this is 100% specifically a morale hit after losing in Europe that I wasn't able to overcome. Partly this was caused by me continuing to rotate during the run-in, so our Reserves lost games that our 1st Team might have won, but by the same token, the strategy I've used all the way through this save, (and for many issues of FM now), is that a fit average player will perform better than a knackered good player. I still stand by that, but morale in FM is indeed a fickle beast. 

We've still qualified for the Champions league, but I think this season should be considered an abject failure, not because we didn't win the league or the Champions League, but because we got beat by someone other than R.Madrid or Sevilla in the Copa del Rey and we let Atletico beat us to Runners Up spot in La Liga. 

Away form. In particular it was our away form that let us down as we remained unbeaten at home in domestic competition, but our away form was appalling, as we failed to win any of our last 7 away games of the season, (starting with the loss to Hertha in the Champions league). That's just not good enough. Yeah we had a few injuries during the run-in, but nothing that should equate to this level of under-performance. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Under 19's. May 2043.

The kids did really well in the league, and were a little unlucky not to finish with a 100% record, (just 1 loss and 2 draws over the course of the season). 

The only interaction I had with this squad was to move players from it and select them for the 1st Team/B Team at times. 

They added the U19's Cup to the U19's League title for a double. 

The UEFA Youth League was a step too far though and they succumbed to Anderlecht in the Semi's on pens. 

(40b) Casas (Temp) led the scoring charts with 34 goals in 31(6) appearances, but he doesn't look great, (finishing of 4 and composure of 8), and I wonder if he might have been better played on the right of a 3 up front rather than through the middle. He's really struggled in the B Team and I also don't like his personality. He has 12 months left on his contract, (with no option), so I think I will offer him a new contract and then loan him out and see how he does. 

(41c) Carlos (Bal) "only" scored 20 goals in 26(5) appearances this season, but he also contributed 18 assists. I think he looks a much better player and is obviously a year earlier in his development. He has 12 months left on his contract and a +1 option, but I will be offering him a new long-term deal now. 

[Edit]

His greedy agent wanted a wage of £20k, (which I don't actually mind paying), but if I pay him £20k then I effectively price him out of the B Team squad budget at the moment so I've triggered the +1 instead so he now has 2 more years on his contract. 

For some reason I didn't have any of the U19 GK's set to set-pieces, (which is a shame considering 2 outfield players took 13 pens between them in the league alone), and we also scored a few direct free-kicks. It's not a huge deal because these goals can't be counted as career goals anyway. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Awards. May 2043.

(27a) Crespo * is an absolute machine. He's scored 299 La Liga goals in 319(11) La Liga appearances. That's ridiculous.
His all time scoring record is 495 goals in 621(34) appearances. 

[Edit]

Now is a good time to point out that (37a) Niño * has been signed to a 4+3 deal and with a min fee release clause of £100M, so that should mean that he's going nowhere for a while. 

Edited June 9, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Facilities. May 2043.

I'm really starting to dislike this El Presidente. 

[karanhsingh]

Don't know how I've just come across this but. What. A. Thread. 

Will take some time to go through all of it. Btw, how did you get so many African newgens coming through any particular database settings?

[Jimbokav1971]

38 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Don't know how I've just come across this but. What. A. Thread. 

Will take some time to go through all of it. Btw, how did you get so many African newgens coming through any particular database settings?

Thanks very much.  

No, no particular database settings, but I did select active Nations based on what I hoped might generate a decent number of Africans.

It's worked pretty well. South Africa seemed to be over-powered early on, but they actually weren't and a lot of the players I thought might be good were actually a little short of the top end quality we required. Interesting to note that there seemed to be LOADS of South Africans just below that level though. 

[Jimbokav1971]

B Team. Jun 2043.

It was an underwhelming season for the B Team, but there were some decent performances. 

(37g) Miguel contributed 15 goals and 10 assists. He's contracted for 2 more seasons and he should really be loaned out to a La Liga side next season. He played on the right of a 3 up front. 

(38d) Cisse (ESP)(SEN) contributed 12 goals and 7 assists from the left spot up front and if we had a central striker who played like the 2 wide strikers then we would have performed much better this season. He's got 3+1 years left on his contract and his coach report says that he can play in La Liga next season, but I think we might keep him in the B Team for at least 1 more season, (although his wage might be problematic for the budget). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Possible Squad during AFCON. 

If we're serious about winning La Liga, or the Copa del Rey or anything else for that matter, then we need to deal with the AFCON problem and by that I mean how much our squad is decimated during AFCON when all our Africans are called up. 

GK. Both Camara (SEN) 6'2" and (36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4" are regulars in the Senegal squad and Moussa (EGY) is 1st choice for Egypt. 

That really just leaves us with (38h) Morales 5'11" & (38l) Paradas 6'1", who might not be good enough right now, but maybe a season starting for the 1st Team is just what they need. (38h) Morales 5'11" seems to have the edge in terms of CA, but (38l) Paradas 6'1" possibly has a better PA. I think I actually prefer (38l) Paradas 6'1" right now. 

DL. Surprisingly McCarthy (ENG)(GHA) 5'11" is actually a centre-half rather than a DL and Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * is actually a DL despite being a righty. He's still eligible for both ENG and GHA, but for the time being at least he will be available during AFCON and he can be backed up by (38c) Giménez and (40i) Asier (Pro). That's plenty of depth even is Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * is corrupted by GHA. Actually, we're weaker on the right and Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * is needed there during AFCON, (although he will play on the left during the rest of the season).

DR. We can't use Ilunga (COD)(BEL) 5'10" but Kitoko (BEL)(COD) * looks like he is committing to BEL, (although he only has 2 Caps and can still swap to COD). Soudant (MAR) *, Brossou (CIV), Naser (EGY), Conneh (LIB)(ESP) & Yao (CIV) are likely to be unavailable, so maybe Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * could swap from left to right during AFCON. 

DC. Thankfully McCarthy (ENG)(GHA) 5'11" has committed to ENG, Idris (GER)(NGA) 6'5" is still leaning towards GER rather than NGA and (39b) Agné 6'4",  (37k) Jesús 6'6" & (33c) Francisco 6'3" are all Spanish so no shortage of depth here. When you add in Ly (BEL)(SEN) * who will surely be capped by BEL soon and (40f) Lisco (ITA) (Bal) 6'1" who is only eligible for ITA then we're really strong at centre-half. 

MC. Midfield is a tough one with Sakanoko 2 (CIV) MC, Madidilani (RSA) & Hamdi (EGY) all African registered. Tavares (POR)(GNB) * 5'9", (38a) Hernando, (40d) Álex (Pro) &  (37b) Manuel should just about be good enough to step up. The problem though is that while they aren't rubbish, they aren't top end quality either and midfield is such a key area for us. On top of that, the Jan/Feb period is so busy with 2 games to play every week requiring rotation. 

SC. We might be without Guèhi (CIV) *, Amade (MOZ)(RSA), Qwabe (RSA), El Sayed (EGY), Okafor (ESP)(NGA), Zungu (RSA), Sylla (GUI) & Talal (MAR), but we still have options. (37a) Niño * can play on the left, (33b) Marcos * can play on the right and (32a) David through the middle. We would still have (38g) Muñoz, (37g) Miguel & (37c) Castro * to rotate in. 

What I really need to do is loan out the African players and keep these players in either then Senior squad or the B Team, (or at the very least recall them as soon as the window opens in Jan). 

GK. (38l) Paradas 6'1" & (38h) Morales 5'11".
DL. (38c) Giménez & (40i) Asier (Pro).
DR. Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * & Kitoko (BEL)(COD) *.
DC. McCarthy (ENG)(GHA) 5'11", Idris (GER)(NGA) 6'5" & (39b) Agné 6'4". Ly (BEL)(SEN) *, (37k) Jesús 6'6" & (33c) Francisco 6'3".
MC. (37b) Manuel & Tavares (POR)(GNB) *. (38a) Hernando & (40d) Álex (Pro).
SC. (37a) Niño *, (32a) David & (33b) Marcos *. (38g) Muñoz, (37c) Castro * & (37g) Miguel. 

GK. 

DL.

DR.

DC.

MC.

SC.

Edited June 10, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

AFCON History. 

For ages I have thought that AFCON was played every season, such is the regularity with which I lose player in January, but here is complete proof that it's actually run on a bi-annual basis. 

After a brief glance at the above graphic, you might be forgiven for thinking that Ivory Coast, (who won the 1st 3 competitions of this save), or South Africa, (who made each of the last 3 Finals, winning 2 of them), or even Cameroon, (with 2 wins in 2029 & 2031 and then 2 3rd places in 2033 & 2037), are the most successful National sides in the competition during the save, but I actually think it's a Nation who has never actually won the competition, (during the save). 

Egypt got to 4 successive Finals between 2033 and 2039, (losing all 4), and then finished 3rd in 2041. I've really enjoyed managing Egyptians during this save, (despite the qualification issues), and it adds some "exoticness" to them as a Nationality.

But none of that explains what this competition is. A competition that runs on the alternate years when AFCON isn't held. It's held at the same time of year, (Jan & Feb), but this is actually B Teams rather then full International Teams. The problem is that the same players seem to get called up to the B Team and yet Caps are obviously not awarded. Maybe I just need to recall players from what is effectively an AFCON B competition. I don't like refusing anyone to go and play International football though, especially not in this save. 

[Sonic Youth]

Now you look ready for almost any challenge this season!

Will you be going big in the transfer market this window?

I wonder if the players for Egypt are tired when they get to the final?! Four in a row as runners up? That’s crazy 

[Jimbokav1971]

11 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

Now you look ready for almost any challenge this season!

Will you be going big in the transfer market this window?

I wonder if the players for Egypt are tired when they get to the final?! Four in a row as runners up? That’s crazy 

I think our wide strikers are great, but I think our central strikers are slightly below-par, (for what I want in that particular role), and I think we could score LOADS more goals if we get that right, (and yes I will be looking to fix that in the transfer market so that the 1st choice central striker drops down to play for the rotated team). There are so many loan player who will have to be looked at though. We have so many that it's easy to miss a gem that has really blossomed in the last 12 months. 

I wouldn't say we went "big" exactly, but we certainly went bigger than we usually go. On the day the window opened, (still at the end of the season), we brought in players for the following amounts. 

An initial outlay of £90.5M is a LOT of money for us, but spread over 4 different players, (or even 3 players if you ignore the free signing), doesn't feel quite that big when last season I negotiated deals for some of our best players to add £100M+ min fee clauses. 

Last season we spent £71M, but £50M of that was on 1 player
The season before that we spent £73M, with 1 player at £30.5M, (rising to £98m) and another for £25M.
The season before that we spent £59M, with 1 player at £40M, (rising to £80m).
The season before that we spent £68M, with 1 player at £50M, (rising to £100m).
The season before that we spent £2.7M.
The season before that we spent £35.5M
The season before that we spent £18.25M
The season before that we spent £17.75M
The season before that we spent £23.5M
The season before that we spent £8M.
The season before that we spent £4M.
The season before that we spent £6M.
The season before that we spent £1.2M.
The season before that we spent £10,000
The season before that we didn't spend anything at all on transfers. 
The season before that we spent £40,000
The season before that we spent £5,500
The season before that we didn't spend anything at all on transfers.
The season before that we didn't spend anything at all on transfers.
The season before that we didn't spend anything at all on transfers.

So it's only the last 4 seasons that we have spent significant money. It's not just having the money to spend, but it's also being able to attract the player to want to join too. 

Scouting is such hard work in this save. 

What's really interesting about Egypt is that it's even more impressive when you add in the B Team tournament results. 

2043 Qtr Finals.
2042 1st
2041 3rd
2040 Didn't qualify.
2039 2nd
2038 1st
2037 2nd
2036 1st
2035 2nd
2034 4th
2033 2nd

That's pretty impressive in anyone's book. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Transfers. Jul 2043. 

Brossou (CIV) arrived in Jan and you have already seen him. 

The others came in on the day that the window opened, which annoyingly is included in last seasons transfers for some reason. 

Odita (NGA)(POR) * 6'3" DC is a wonderkid left back, but I see him more as a centre-half, (even with those PPM's). He's certainly versatile and young enough to cover multiple positions while he's developing. He has a 5.0 PA and I really like the look of him.  

Ebiye (NGA) was signed on a feee purely on the basis of his 5.0 PA scouting report. He's played a lot of games for someone so young, but unfortunately his coach report after arriving is nowhere as good as his scout report was, (so he might be a bit of a duffer). 

Salifu (ENG)(GHA) was signed for his CA rather than his PA, (but there is still a little room for development), and he's very much what I'm looking for in the central striker role.  

This is the comparison between Salifu (ENG)(GHA) and our previous 1st choice central striker, and you can see that they are slightly different types of players. (33b) Marcos * is more rounded, (and obviously more of a threat in the air), whereas Salifu (ENG)(GHA) is a speedy, clinical finisher. As an added bonus he is currently English rather than Ghanaian, but I need to get him capped to cement that in stone. 

The overview actually suggests that (33b) Marcos * is actually slightly the better player, but that's not how I see it in this central role in a 3. Salifu (ENG)(GHA) is 100% the man and I'm expecting him to make a big impact. 

Chrisantus (GER)(NGA) * is a hell of a risk at £35.5M, but we have £200M in the bank after these transfers have been made so I think we can afford to throw caution to the wind a little. He was signed completely on the basis of his 5.0 PA scout report and thankfully he has remained at 5.0 after his arrival. The other thing I considered is that although I often have wingers playing in the wide attacking positions, the role is actually PF(a) and that is his best current role. There is no doubt that he's lacking in some/all technical areas, but it should also be noted that his mentals and physicals are ok for a player who only turned 18 3 months ago. I had to pay more than I wanted for him in terms of wage, but I think I should be able to squeeze him into the B Team budget which we spent £376,00 of £807,000 last season. Because I don't completely understand how this figure is calculated, I'm a little reluctant to put too much faith in it remaining at that level or even rising this season. It could get slashed for all I know.  

Edited June 10, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2043. 

GK.

1st Team. Camara (SEN) 6'2" & (36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4"
B Team. (38h) Morales 5'11"
U19's. (41n) Pinedo. (Pro) & (43e) Hackney. (Low Det+Unamb).
Loan. Moussa (EGY) & (38l) Paradas 6'1".
Sell.
Release.

[Sonic Youth]

14 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Salifu (ENG)(GHA) was signed for his CA rather than his PA, (but there is still a little room for development), and he's very much what I'm looking for in the central striker role.  

He’s shorter than I expected you’d go for with the central forward position. Does remind me of your striker in your Portuguese save.

Odita looks great, and Chrisantus (Chrysanthemum is how I hear his name  ) could become an interesting player if he lives up to that star potential.

Nice additions, and you’ve balanced the books 

[Jimbokav1971]

14 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

He’s shorter than I expected you’d go for with the central forward position. Does remind me of your striker in your Portuguese save.

Odita looks great, and Chrisantus (Chrysanthemum is how I hear his name  ) could become an interesting player if he lives up to that star potential.

Nice additions, and you’ve balanced the books 

I can't remember the Portugese player name either, but I'm glad he reminds you of [whoever it was] because that's exactly what I'm looking for. Someone who will convert all these chances we're making. 

[Edit]

I've just gone back to the old thread and Ramos rings a bell, but Simoes & Rosa were also pretty handy. We scored a LOT of goals in that save. 

Edited June 11, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2043. 

DL. We seem a little short of numbers here, which is especially concerning when you consider that Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * is actually a right. Things aren't actually that bad though as the 2 players at the top of the list are classed as DL's, but I plan on playing them primarily as DC's, (so they can certainly help out in a pinch). It's not ideal though and I will be on the lookout for another DL. 

1st Team. Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * & (38c) Giménez.
B Team. (40i) Asier (Pro)
U19's. (43k) Izquierdo. (L.Det) SELL & (41k) Duque. (F.Pro) SELL
Loan.
Sell.
Release.

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2043. 

DR. In terms of bodies at least you will see that there are loads more DL's than DR's.

1st Team. Kitoko (BEL)(COD) * & Ilunga (COD)(BEL) 5'10".
B Team. Soudant (MAR) * & Brossou (CIV) *.
U19's. (43o) Soldevila (Pro), (41h) Noguera 5'10" (F.Pro)
Loan. Conneh (LIB)(ESP), Yao (CIV), Naser (EGY), Dosso (CIV)
Sell.
Release.

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2043. 

DC.

1st Team.
DLC. McCarthy (ENG)(GHA) 5'11" * & Boyer (FRA)(REU) 6'0" *
DC. Odita (NGA)(POR) 6'3" DC * & Idris (GER)(NGA) 6'5"
DRC. (37k) Jesús 6'6" & (39b) Agné 6'4".
B Team.
DLC. Ly (BEL)(SEN) * & Rodrigo (MLI)(ESP) 5'10".
DC. Diakité (CIV)
DRC. Dabo (SEN)(FRA) 6'0" * & (40f) Lisco (ITA) (Bal) 6'1".
U19's. (41e) Cuesta. 5'11" DC (Temp), (43j) Manel (Bal) 5'10", (42p) Nzimande (RSA)(IRL) 6'3", 
Loan. (38b) Pavas (COL)(ESP) DC 6'0"
Sell. Mohamed (EGY) 6'4" SELL, (33c) Francisco 6'3" SELL
Release. 

[BML]

On 10/06/2023 at 09:18, Jimbokav1971 said:

But none of that explains what this competition is. A competition that runs on the alternate years when AFCON isn't held. It's held at the same time of year, (Jan & Feb), but this is actually B Teams rather then full International Teams. The problem is that the same players seem to get called up to the B Team and yet Caps are obviously not awarded. Maybe I just need to recall players from what is effectively an AFCON B competition. I don't like refusing anyone to go and play International football though, especially not in this save. 

My understanding is that this 'secondary' B Team AFCON is made up of local based players only (maybe African based only) so Egypt can only call up players playing in Egypt, Mali only players playing in Mali, Kenya players in Kenya etc. so it would surprise me if this is affecting you in the way you describe.

[Jimbokav1971]

7 hours ago, BML said:

My understanding is that this 'secondary' B Team AFCON is made up of local based players only (maybe African based only) so Egypt can only call up players playing in Egypt, Mali only players playing in Mali, Kenya players in Kenya etc. so it would surprise me if this is affecting you in the way you describe.

That's excellent knowledge and it's possible that it's not affecting me at all and I've completely imagined it in these "off" years. I will check and report back. 

[Jimbokav1971]

7 hours ago, BML said:

My understanding is that this 'secondary' B Team AFCON is made up of local based players only (maybe African based only) so Egypt can only call up players playing in Egypt, Mali only players playing in Mali, Kenya players in Kenya etc. so it would surprise me if this is affecting you in the way you describe.

 

32 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

That's excellent knowledge and it's possible that it's not affecting me at all and I've completely imagined it in these "off" years. I will check and report back. 

Let's just pick an African Nation at random. Nigeria. 

Nigeria B played in the AFCON B, (We will call it because I don't know what it's actually called or how to differentiate it from the AFCON tournament. 

Just looking at the names of the goal-scorers I can see that there are some players there who have been on our radar at some point and indeed Okafor (ESP)(NGA) SELL was our player at some point, (although it's quite possible I loaned him back to Nigeria, or simply that he returned there after leaving us. Anyway, let's look at them 1 by 1. 

Ola Onyedika scored the 1st goals against Tunisia came through the Academy of Valladolid in Spain and has been playing in Portugal for the last 9 seasons. He's never played domestic football anywhere in Africa, never mind about Nigeria. 

Mejri (TUN) 5'11" is a Tunisian GK and he scored the 2nd goal against Tunisia, (an OG). He came through the Academy of a Tunisian club before moving onto Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and finally England, where he was playing on loan at Newcastle in 2043. He did play domestic football in Africa, (Tunisia), but not since 2031/32, (11 years ago). 

Chinedu (NGA)(ESP) scored the 1st goal against Zambia. He's currently a free agent after coming through an Academy in Spain and then moving to Portugal, (where he was playing for Famalicão in 2043 during the AFCON B). He has never played domestic football in Africa. 

Ekene (NGA)(ENG) 5'7" scored the 2nd and 3rd goals against Zambia. He came through the Chelsea Academy and has never played domestic football outside England, (never mind about in Africa). IN 2043 he was playing for Norwich in the Premier League. 

Okafor (ESP)(NGA) SELL scored the goal against Mali. He came through an Academy in Spain, before moving onto Portugal and Italy, (where he was playing for Empoli on loan from us in 2043). He only spent 1 season playing domestic football in Africa when I loaned him out from Ceuta to Enugu Rangers.

Abdullahi (NGA)(ENG) scored the goal against Algeria. He came through the Academy at Fulham and has never played domestic football outside England. In 2043 he was playing for Coventry. 

Just in case there is any suggestion that these players are in some way below-par players....

Ola Onyedika has 47 Caps and 7 goals. 
Mejri (TUN) 5'11" has 67 Caps.
Chinedu (NGA)(ESP) has 43 Caps and 2 goals.
Ekene (NGA)(ENG) 5'7" has 75 Caps and 4 goals.
Okafor (ESP)(NGA) SELL has 36 Caps and 9 goals.
Abdullahi (NGA)(ENG) has 16 Caps and 1 goal. 

All these players had been capped before this tournament in 2043.

It could well be that what you describe is how things work in real life. In fact it could be that it's how they work in a game that was started after the full release. Unfortunately this save continued on from the Beta and in this save the situation is as above. 

Edited June 12, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2043. 

MC. This was a slight problem area last season during AFCON. It's actually a REALLY tough area because there are only 2 starting players, (compared to 3x DC's and 3x SC's), but the role is so pivotal. An additional problem is that all 4 of the 1st Team are eligible for African nations, (although Tavares (POR)(GNB) * has been capped by Portugal and that deal should be sealed shortly). You might notice that I have 6 midfielders in the B Team at this stage and my thinking is that as well as probably losing at least 1 of the 1st team midfielders, Ebiye (NGA) is very young and very raw and although I hope to start him in many games, I also don't expect him to see much past HT in many of them too.

1st Team. Madidilani (RSA) * & Sakanoko 2 (CIV) MC. Tavares (POR)(GNB) * & Hamdi (EGY). 
B Team. Sène (ESP)(MLI) & Ebiye (NGA). Koné (CIV) & Kacem (TUN). (37b) Manuel & (37b) Manuel.
U19's. (42c) Rial & (37h) Xavi. (43c) Bordas (Res) & (42e) Ramos. (41b) Gutiérrez (Spirit) & (43i) García (L.Det+Unamb). (43h) Rodríguez (ESP)(MEX)LDet & (42l) Jofre., (41p) Santos. (F.Amb), 
Loan. (38i) Iván, (41b) Gutiérrez (Spirit), 
Sell. El-Akchaoui (MAR)(FRA) SELL, (36b) Jaime (EQG)(ESP) SELL, Msimango (RSA) SELL, (40c) Llorente (F.Det) SELL, Kouakou (CIV)(FRA) SELL, (40d) Álex. (Pro) SELL, 
Release. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2043. 

SC. I've been concerned that our central strikers are not clinical enough, (being outscored by the wider strikers at times), so with that in mind I brought Salifu (ENG)(GHA) * in to be our 1st choice SC. I could really do with him scoring a shed-load of goals, getting called up for ENG and ruling out any possible chance of him representing GHA in the future. 

(37a) Niño * is being tracked by PSG at the moment, but he has a 4+3 contracts and a £100M release clause. The only way he's leaving anytime soon is if they meet the clause. 

Guèhi (CIV) * was injured quite a lot last season and I really need him to be more consistent this season. Both in terms of goal-scoring and availability. 

1st Team.
SLC. (37a) Niño * & Qwabe (RSA).
SC. Salifu (ENG)(GHA) * & (33b) Marcos *.
SRC. Guèhi (CIV) * & Amade (MOZ)(RSA) *.
Extra. (32a) David
B Team.
SLC. Talal (MAR) * & (38d) Cisse (ESP)(SEN).
SC. Sylla (GUI) SC * & Touré (CIV).
SRC. Chrisantus (GER)(NGA) * & (38g) Muñoz.
U19's. (41a) Antón 5'8" (Driven) SC, (43d) Jiménez (Bal), (42b) Carbonell, (42a) Jorge, 
Loan. Diepkilé (ESP)(MLI), Ali Labiadh (TUN), (41a) Antón 5'8" (Driven) SC, (38g) Muñoz
Sell. El Sayed (EGY) SELL, Zungu (RSA) SELL, Dladla (RSA) SELL *, (36e) Reyes SELL, 
Release.

[BML]

13 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

 

Let's just pick an African Nation at random. Nigeria. 

Nigeria B played in the AFCON B, (We will call it because I don't know what it's actually called or how to differentiate it from the AFCON tournament. 

Just looking at the names of the goal-scorers I can see that there are some players there who have been on our radar at some point and indeed Okafor (ESP)(NGA) SELL was our player at some point, (although it's quite possible I loaned him back to Nigeria, or simply that he returned there after leaving us. Anyway, let's look at them 1 by 1. 

Ola Onyedika scored the 1st goals against Tunisia came through the Academy of Valladolid in Spain and has been playing in Portugal for the last 9 seasons. He's never played domestic football anywhere in Africa, never mind about Nigeria. 

Mejri (TUN) 5'11" is a Tunisian GK and he scored the 2nd goal against Tunisia, (an OG). He came through the Academy of a Tunisian club before moving onto Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and finally England, where he was playing on loan at Newcastle in 2043. He did play domestic football in Africa, (Tunisia), but not since 2031/32, (11 years ago). 

Chinedu (NGA)(ESP) scored the 1st goal against Zambia. He's currently a free agent after coming through an Academy in Spain and then moving to Portugal, (where he was playing for Famalicão in 2043 during the AFCON B). He has never played domestic football in Africa. 

Ekene (NGA)(ENG) 5'7" scored the 2nd and 3rd goals against Zambia. He came through the Chelsea Academy and has never played domestic football outside England, (never mind about in Africa). IN 2043 he was playing for Norwich in the Premier League. 

Okafor (ESP)(NGA) SELL scored the goal against Mali. He came through an Academy in Spain, before moving onto Portugal and Italy, (where he was playing for Empoli on loan from us in 2043). He only spent 1 season playing domestic football in Africa when I loaned him out from Ceuta to Enugu Rangers.

Abdullahi (NGA)(ENG) scored the goal against Algeria. He came through the Academy at Fulham and has never played domestic football outside England. In 2043 he was playing for Coventry. 

Just in case there is any suggestion that these players are in some way below-par players....

Ola Onyedika has 47 Caps and 7 goals. 
Mejri (TUN) 5'11" has 67 Caps.
Chinedu (NGA)(ESP) has 43 Caps and 2 goals.
Ekene (NGA)(ENG) 5'7" has 75 Caps and 4 goals.
Okafor (ESP)(NGA) SELL has 36 Caps and 9 goals.
Abdullahi (NGA)(ENG) has 16 Caps and 1 goal. 

All these players had been capped before this tournament in 2043.

It could well be that what you describe is how things work in real life. In fact it could be that it's how they work in a game that was started after the full release. Unfortunately this save continued on from the Beta and in this save the situation is as above. 

Thanks for looking into that so thoroughly.

A quick Google shows that I was right (I knew I'd definitely seen/read/heard about this format previously) and the African Nations Championship (African Championship of Nations in your game) is designed to be players from domestic leagues only:

Spoiler

The African Nations Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship and commonly abbreviated as CHAN, is a biennial African association football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 2009 and first announced on 11 September 2007. The participating nations must consist of players playing in their national league competitions.

Source

I'm interested whether this ruling not being followed through in your game is a beta thing or not, so I'll be checking this as soon as I'm in-game again as my save was started on release day.

[Jimbokav1971]

8 hours ago, BML said:

Thanks for looking into that so thoroughly.

A quick Google shows that I was right (I knew I'd definitely seen/read/heard about this format previously) and the African Nations Championship (African Championship of Nations in your game) is designed to be players from domestic leagues only:

  Reveal hidden contents

The African Nations Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship and commonly abbreviated as CHAN, is a biennial African association football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 2009 and first announced on 11 September 2007. The participating nations must consist of players playing in their national league competitions.

Source

I'm interested whether this ruling not being followed through in your game is a beta thing or not, so I'll be checking this as soon as I'm in-game again as my save was started on release day.

Cheers BML.  It sounded like you were confident of what happens irl so I don't think there was any doubt about that. 

I would also say that SI are usually pretty good at including this sort of thing so I hope it's just a BETA thing and when you run your test everything will be fine. 

I should also say that I did notice some International stats irregularities recently when going through some scout reports. 

It was an EGY striker..... I'm trying to remember which one..... I think he is actually one of our old players.... Solimen or something like that. 

This bloke. (By the way, if he's available for £8.6M then I might just buy him back). 

If we look at his stats for last season, (2042/43), then they show this. 

25 International Appearances. 
43 International Goals. 

That perhaps explains his International scoring record of 108 International goals in 89 International Appearances. 

Let's see what we can see from EGY fixtures. 

Oh... actually, maybe it's accurate after all...... 

The International season runs from Jan to December, (unlike the club season), so let's just assume that all the games that EGY played so far in 2043 were included in the 2nd part of the 2042/43 season, (rather than the 1st part of the 2043/44 season). 

That would mean that Soliman (EGY) has scored 18 International Goals in 9 International Appearances, (I'm assuming that he played against Morocco). 

If we take 18 goals and 9 appearances from 43 goals and 25 appearances, we're left with 25 goals from 16 appearances that he will have needed to score in the 2nd half of the 2042 International season. (Initially I thought there was no chance of this, but looking at how he has scored this season it's quite possible). 

We're looking for 16 appearances here and there are only 11 in the whole year, (and remember the fixtures in the 1st half of the 2042 International Season will be included in the 2041/42 club season. 

At best there are 6 International games in the 2nd half of the 2042 International season, (Uganda, Tunisia, Mexico, Comoros, Uganda, (again), and Lesotho). In those 6 games Soliman (EGY) scored 16 goals, (& assuming he played in all 6 games), that brings him to 34 goals and 15 appearances in 2043/43, but what we're actually looking for is 43 goals and 25 appearances, (so we're 9 goals and 10 appearances short), (assuming my mental arithmetic is correct). 

I've checked to make sure all the fuxtures for the EGY were shown, so let's have a look at the EGY B Team Fixtures now.....

There were 6 games and loads of goals for the B Team in 2042, but they were all in the 1st half of the International season, (so would have been included in the 2041/42 season rather than the 2042/43 season), but in any case Soliman (EGY) didn't score any of the goals. 

None of this makes any sense. 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Summer Transfer window. Sep 2043. 

I've already showed you the players who came in when the window opened. 

And here are the players who left at the end of last season, (but still in the Summer window). 

Nothing huge, but it's still £6M+ in income. 

We've signed just 1 more player in the Summer window, (although we just missed out an a left back). 

Soliman (EGY) spent 3 seasons with us previously, (scoring 67 goals in all competitions), before going to Hertha and giving us a tidy £25M profit. I'll be honest with you. The plan is to do exactly the same thing again. He will get chances to score and I expect him to hit 20+ goals a season and then we will see if we can sell him again. His attributes just fit that central striker role that's so key and at £8.5M it was a deal that was too good to turn down. (The only reason I looked at him was because of the recent discussion about International duty and in particular his International scoring record. 

No huge transfers out in this window, but again we're keeping things ticking over and making sure that we sell players for more than we buy players. 

It could be argued that we under-sold some of these players. 

(36a) Iglesias. SELL sold for £2.5M but is valued at £4.9M-£6.8M.
Okafor (ESP)(NGA) SELL was sold for £2M but is valued at £7.4M-£9.2M.
El-Akchaoui (MAR)(FRA) SELL was sold for £500,000 but is valued at £1.2M-£4.1M.
Koffi (CIV) SELL was sold for £4.3M but is valued at £9.4M-£11M.
Zungu (RSA) SELL was sold for £4M but is valued at £9.4M-£11M. 

That all hints at an under-sale of at least (£2.4M + £5.4M + £0.7M + £5.1M + £5.4M) = £19M, but I don't see it that way at all.

1. I want to sell these players in this window. I've decided that they need to go and there is no hanging around. I'm completely happy to sell them for a slightly lower amount than we might get to get the deal done quickly and get them out the door. 
2. I try, (not always possible), to include a 25% re-sale clause and a friendly on each player we sell. It stands to reason that a 25% clause is expensive and is going to take a chunk off of the up front price being paid. I'm completely happy with that. It's by design rather than accident. 
3. A player valuation isn't the same as what you might expect to actually get for him. It no longer works like that in FM and there are a HUGE number of variables that contribute to the figure. A really big one is wage and length of contract though and these players in question are being paid decent money, (often on 4 year deals), so the price of the contract and how it contributes to player valuation, (after the sale), is significant.

Basically I try to not pay too much attention to player valuations immediately after a transfer. 

Clauses. I usually mention this in my saves, but not sure I have even touched on it in this thread. I've just mentioned that I always try and include a 25% sale + a friendly in any player I sell, (and if the player isn't very good or isn't worth much then I will even sell them for £1k or £10k plus the clauses). You forget about these clauses and every so often you get a nice surprise. 

Let's have a look and see what we have available right now. 

These are just clauses in rather than clauses that we have to pay other clubs. 

That's quite a few clauses and just for the record it's sorted alphabetically, (where I would like it to be sorted by date of transfer with an option to also have it sorted by expiry of players current contract). 

Let's have a look at the players who the board have arranged buy-outs for some of these clauses. (I don't know what these will show because I haven't looked at them but hopefully there will be something interesting there). 

Coulibaly (MLI)(ESP) * is at Roma, he's 28 years old, has 4 years left on his contract and is valued at £8.2M-£10M. He's a regular starter for them and will be 30 when this contract expires, so well capable of getting another deal, either with them or somewhere else. I don't see any reason to cash in this clause right now.  

Fayez. (EGY) 6'3" DR is at Mainz in Germany, he's 26, has 2 years left on his contract and is valued at £275,000-£2.7M. He was more of a rotation player for them last season, but seems to be a starter this season. The clause is only for 20% of profit rather than 25% of sale, and they paid us £2.4M for him, (meaning that for us to earn £365,000 from a deal, he would have to be sold for £4,225,000. That seems unlikely in the circumstances so I'm going to cash this in even though it's only £356,000. (It's £365k more than we had before). 

Mofokeng (RSA) 6'1" is at Espanyol, he's 26, has 3 years left on his contract and is valued at £2.8M-£5.4M. He was a rotation player last season but hasn't started their opening games this season, (presumably because he's carrying a knock). For us to make £566,000 on his next deal, he would have to be sold for £2.264M, and actually I think that's quite possible. He's only on £57k per month so I think he could certainly attract interest from other clubs so I'm going to leave this clause. 

Ouattara (CIV)(BFA) 6'0" is at FC Andorra (who are in La Liga now and doing ok), he's 24, has 2 years left on his contract and is valued at £200,000-£2M. He was a rotation player last season and is likely to be so again this season. £226,000 is neither here nor there and we would generate that with a sale of just £904,000 so I think it's worth leaving that clause alone and seeing what it brings us in the future.

There is nothing huge there at the moment, but the board will soon find us a deal on another clause. I have just checked and here are some of the more high profile clauses. 

(33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" has a 25% clause and is valued at  Interestingly Chelsea have just made an £84M+ bid for him and we are entitled to 25% of that. 

Cherif (FRA)(ALG) 6'5" DC has a 35% clause and is valued at  

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2043. 

La Liga. A decent start to the season with 3 wins from 3, (including 2 away wins), but it shouldn't be ignored that our early fixtures have been on the easy side. 

R.Madrid have matched our 100% record.
Sevilla have already drawn and lost. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

13 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Summer Transfer window. Sep 2043. 

I've already showed you the players who came in when the window opened. 

And here are the players who left at the end of last season, (but still in the Summer window). 

Nothing huge, but it's still £6M+ in income. 

We've signed just 1 more player in the Summer window, (although we just missed out an a left back). 

Soliman (EGY) spent 3 seasons with us previously, (scoring 67 goals in all competitions), before going to Hertha and giving us a tidy £25M profit. I'll be honest with you. The plan is to do exactly the same thing again. He will get chances to score and I expect him to hit 20+ goals a season and then we will see if we can sell him again. His attributes just fit that central striker role that's so key and at £8.5M it was a deal that was too good to turn down. (The only reason I looked at him was because of the recent discussion about International duty and in particular his International scoring record. 

No huge transfers out in this window, but again we're keeping things ticking over and making sure that we sell players for more than we buy players. 

It could be argued that we under-sold some of these players. 

(36a) Iglesias. SELL sold for £2.5M but is valued at £4.9M-£6.8M.
Okafor (ESP)(NGA) SELL was sold for £2M but is valued at £7.4M-£9.2M.
El-Akchaoui (MAR)(FRA) SELL was sold for £500,000 but is valued at £1.2M-£4.1M.
Koffi (CIV) SELL was sold for £4.3M but is valued at £9.4M-£11M.
Zungu (RSA) SELL was sold for £4M but is valued at £9.4M-£11M. 

That all hints at an under-sale of at least (£2.4M + £5.4M + £0.7M + £5.1M + £5.4M) = £19M, but I don't see it that way at all.

1. I want to sell these players in this window. I've decided that they need to go and there is no hanging around. I'm completely happy to sell them for a slightly lower amount than we might get to get the deal done quickly and get them out the door. 
2. I try, (not always possible), to include a 25% re-sale clause and a friendly on each player we sell. It stands to reason that a 25% clause is expensive and is going to take a chunk off of the up front price being paid. I'm completely happy with that. It's by design rather than accident. 
3. A player valuation isn't the same as what you might expect to actually get for him. It no longer works like that in FM and there are a HUGE number of variables that contribute to the figure. A really big one is wage and length of contract though and these players in question are being paid decent money, (often on 4 year deals), so the price of the contract and how it contributes to player valuation, (after the sale), is significant.

Basically I try to not pay too much attention to player valuations immediately after a transfer. 

Clauses. I usually mention this in my saves, but not sure I have even touched on it in this thread. I've just mentioned that I always try and include a 25% sale + a friendly in any player I sell, (and if the player isn't very good or isn't worth much then I will even sell them for £1k or £10k plus the clauses). You forget about these clauses and every so often you get a nice surprise. 

Let's have a look and see what we have available right now. 

These are just clauses in rather than clauses that we have to pay other clubs. 

That's quite a few clauses and just for the record it's sorted alphabetically, (where I would like it to be sorted by date of transfer with an option to also have it sorted by expiry of players current contract). 

Let's have a look at the players who the board have arranged buy-outs for some of these clauses. (I don't know what these will show because I haven't looked at them but hopefully there will be something interesting there). 

Coulibaly (MLI)(ESP) * is at Roma, he's 28 years old, has 4 years left on his contract and is valued at £8.2M-£10M. He's a regular starter for them and will be 30 when this contract expires, so well capable of getting another deal, either with them or somewhere else. I don't see any reason to cash in this clause right now.  

Fayez. (EGY) 6'3" DR is at Mainz in Germany, he's 26, has 2 years left on his contract and is valued at £275,000-£2.7M. He was more of a rotation player for them last season, but seems to be a starter this season. The clause is only for 20% of profit rather than 25% of sale, and they paid us £2.4M for him, (meaning that for us to earn £365,000 from a deal, he would have to be sold for £4,225,000. That seems unlikely in the circumstances so I'm going to cash this in even though it's only £356,000. (It's £365k more than we had before). 

Mofokeng (RSA) 6'1" is at Espanyol, he's 26, has 3 years left on his contract and is valued at £2.8M-£5.4M. He was a rotation player last season but hasn't started their opening games this season, (presumably because he's carrying a knock). For us to make £566,000 on his next deal, he would have to be sold for £2.264M, and actually I think that's quite possible. He's only on £57k per month so I think he could certainly attract interest from other clubs so I'm going to leave this clause. 

Ouattara (CIV)(BFA) 6'0" is at FC Andorra (who are in La Liga now and doing ok), he's 24, has 2 years left on his contract and is valued at £200,000-£2M. He was a rotation player last season and is likely to be so again this season. £226,000 is neither here nor there and we would generate that with a sale of just £904,000 so I think it's worth leaving that clause alone and seeing what it brings us in the future.

There is nothing huge there at the moment, but the board will soon find us a deal on another clause. I have just checked and here are some of the more high profile clauses. 

(33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" has a 25% clause and is valued at  Interestingly Chelsea have just made an £84M+ bid for him and we are entitled to 25% of that. 

Cherif (FRA)(ALG) 6'5" DC has a 35% clause and is valued at  

Payday. Sep 2043. 

(33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" has moved to Chelsea from Leicester, and just because we developed him we get 4.5% of the deal which is £3.79M.

But we also get £17.25M which is 25% of the deal....... (except that it isn't!!!). 25% of an up front fee of £84M should be £21M. Even if we take the 4.5% solidarity payment off 1st, 25% of £84M is still almost £21M. 

Anyway, we also get another £3.9M in installments. This part of the game is so screwed. The solidarity payments don't even work half the time. 

Anyway, so basically we got given £25M for a player who left 3 years ago. 

[karanhsingh]

On 13/06/2023 at 15:03, BML said:

Thanks for looking into that so thoroughly.

A quick Google shows that I was right (I knew I'd definitely seen/read/heard about this format previously) and the African Nations Championship (African Championship of Nations in your game) is designed to be players from domestic leagues only:

  Reveal hidden contents

The African Nations Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship and commonly abbreviated as CHAN, is a biennial African association football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 2009 and first announced on 11 September 2007. The participating nations must consist of players playing in their national league competitions.

Source

I'm interested whether this ruling not being followed through in your game is a beta thing or not, so I'll be checking this as soon as I'm in-game again as my save was started on release day.

The African championship was definitely modeled properly in the last version of FM because i remember managing the ivory coast and having to pick only domestic players. So i would assume it works correctly on this version as well. In fact it was through FM that I learned about this competition in the first place and it is quite a nice idea. 

Imagine if the European nations did it too. I guess England may actually win something 

[Jimbokav1971]

29 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

The African championship was definitely modeled properly in the last version of FM because i remember managing the ivory coast and having to pick only domestic players. So i would assume it works correctly on this version as well. In fact it was through FM that I learned about this competition in the first place and it is quite a nice idea. 

Imagine if the European nations did it too. I guess England may actually win something 

Yeah, it's not like SI to miss something like this. Think it highly likely that it's just a BETA issue and will be fine in other games. 

[Edit]

Must admit I quite like the idea of the competition too. 

I also like that there is a competition for Top Spanish La Liga scorer. They celebrate themselves. We should all do that. 

Edited June 14, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2043. 

La Liga. I thought the season had started really well until the wheels came off in dramatic fashion against Levante. 1st GK Camara (SEN) 6'2" got injured, but I wasn't overly concerned as I could just slot in (36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4" who, while not as good, is plenty good enough for Levante at home. Then I couldn't play (36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4" because he had seemingly already played again on the same day, (despite the fact it was the B Team and I hadn't even picked the team yet so he can't have played yet!!! So I selected (38h) Morales 5'11" for his debut and he's not completely rubbish and we're playing Levante at home so it should be fine. Other than that it's a full strength side and we get off to a flyer with an opening goal in the 1st minute. Then it all goes pear-shaped as they score to make it 1-1, (38h) Morales 5'11" fails from the spot and then they go and grab a winner. They had 2 shots on target to our 8. Our XG was 2.68 to their 0.86. It's just one of those results really. It wouldn't be quite so bad if it was away, but it was at home and that really rankles. 

UEFA Champions League. The 2nd Team got off to a great start against Slavia Prague, but were well beaten by a good Man Utd side. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

Finances. 

[Sonic Youth]

Real Madrid starting the season like they ended last season, in ominous fashion.

Do you find GK taking penalties still OP?

[Jimbokav1971]

12 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Real Madrid starting the season like they ended last season, in ominous fashion.

Do you find GK taking penalties still OP?

Yep, I suppose I should be happy that they have at least dropped 2 points. 

GK's being OP is a strange one and the 2 sides of the coin can be shown by the fortus of my 2 Camara GK's. 

Camara (SEN) 6'2" has scored 25 goals in his career, but he's only managed to convert 19 of 29 penalties at 66%.
(36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4" has scored 36 goals in his career, but he's managed to convert 31/33 at 94%. 

I think the stats tell you that not all GK's taking pens are OP, but at the same time a figure of 94% over 33 pens is pretty remarkable. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2043.

La Liga. The San Sebastian result was a nightmare. We edged the game, dominated all the stats from possession to xG to shots and shots on target, but they put the ball in the net 3 times and we didn't.  The rest of the month went pretty well, although we did need a late leveller against Real Hispalis. 

The good news is that Real Madrid drew 2 games this month, (away to Real San Sebastian & home to Real Hispalis, so the same 2 opponents against who we dropped points), so we only lost 1 point on them. 

UEFA Champions League. We were 2-0 down against the Italians, so to come out with a draw is a positive. 

Goal-scoring GK's. @Sonic Youthrecently asked a question about GK pens being OP and (38h) Morales 5'11", (who has now missed the 1st 3 pens of his career), is doing his best to very much argue against that. 0 from 0 at 0%. 

 

 

 

 

Finances. 

 

[Sonic Youth]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Goal-scoring GK's. @Sonic Youthrecently asked a question about GK pens being OP and (38h) Morales 5'11", (who has now missed the 1st 3 pens of his career), is doing his best to very much argue against that. 0 from 0 at 0%. 

 

That’s a wild swing compared to your main GK. You’d think they’d be competing and getting at least 3 out of every four or more in. Not everyone can do what James Ward Prowes or Juninho (Lyon) do/did with set-pieces/freekicks though.

[Sonic Youth]

Did you find a fix for your GK videos?

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

 

That’s a wild swing compared to your main GK. You’d think they’d be competing and getting at least 3 out of every four or more in. Not everyone can do what James Ward Prowes or Juninho (Lyon) do/did with set-pieces/freekicks though.

My main GK isn't actually great. 

#1 GK is Camara (SEN) 6'2" (akaCamara2), who has converted 22 of 33 at 67%.
#2 GK is(36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4" (aka Camara1), who has converted 31 from 33 at 94%.
#3 GK is (38h) Morales 5'11" who has converted 0 of 3 at 0%. 

Huge difference between the 3.

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Did you find a fix for your GK videos?

It seemed to fix itself, (or Gyazo fixed by account without me realising). 

My Gyazo account had previously been linked with the twitter account but it seemed to no longer be linked, but at the same time there was no option to link it to a new account. This appeared again after my contact with Gyazo so maybe they just had to reset something at their end. Either way it's working again now. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Goal 50. Nov 2043.

We don't have any players on the list, but there are some players on the list who are products of our Academy. 

It's interesting that there aren't any other, (non-Academy), ex players on the list. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

La Liga Player Development. Nov 2043. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Facilities. Nov 2043. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2043.

La Liga. We dropped points against Celta Vigo, but I'm happy with the month, especially when you consider that R.Madrid lost twice, (to us and also to Celta Vigo). Our game against R.Madrid was an absolute belter. We were 2-0 down, 4-2 up. Back to 4-4 and the a 95th min winner. 

As a result we're 2 points clear at the top of the table. 

UEFA Champions League. Our form in Europe isn't as good, but the league absolutely is 100% our priority. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2043.

La Liga. A decent month win no losses and a spectacular 8-0 demolition away to Malaga including 5 goals in the opening 37 mins for Salifu (ENG)(GHA) * but it also saw both R.Madrid & Sevilla have 100% months and close the gap. R.Madrid are level on points with us now and Sevilla just 3 points back. 

UEFA Champions League. With 2 games left in the Champions League Group Stage, (to Saint Etienne & Astana), we still have a reasonable chance of finishing in the top 8 and missing the Playoff Round. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

After working for a couple of days it would appear that Gyazo has stopped working with Twitter again. I can take the GIF and Gyazo tells me that it's posted, but it just never actually appears. Have just about given up now. 

Will have to make do with screenshots from now I think. 

25yo Camara2 converts from the spot for his 30th career goal. He's 24/35 at 69% from the spot +6 direct free-kicks.

Records.

Youth Intake preview. The preview is absolutely rubbish, which might just mean we have a fantastic intake on our hands. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2044. 

La Liga. We dropped points against Valladolid 3 days after the Supercopa Final, (a price worth paying in my opinion), and luckily R.Madrid dropped even more points. Sevilla on the other hand are absolutely flying. 

Sevilla have won their last 20 (TWENTY) games in all competitions, only conceding 5 goals and keeping 15 clean sheets in the process. 

UEFA Champions League.

Supercopa de España. It's only the Supercopa. but silverware has been pretty hard/impossible to come by since we made it to the top flight, so I have absolutely no shame in taking whatever success comes our way. There is zero snobbery on my part. This is a trophy and that's all that counts. 

Since the start of the save, the Supercopa has largely been won by the established sides, (as you would expect), with Real Hispalis in 2025/26 and Real San Sebastian in 2032/33 the exceptions.

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey.

The draw for the Quarters has already been made and I'm really happy that we've avoided both R.Madrid and Sevilla. Even better than that, R.Madrid will have to face Barca if they get past Coruña.

Goal-scoring GK's.

This is the missing goal from last month. Don't ask me why it has suddenly stopped working again.  I'll post the GIF's when I can, and pictures when I can't. 

 

 

 

Finances. 

 

 

[Jtomsett11]

Well done on the Supercopa. Starting to look like a really interesting run in and whether you can keep Madrid and Sevilla at bay! I've lost track a little over time, you haven't won the league yet have you? 

[Jimbokav1971]

41 minutes ago, Jtomsett11 said:

Well done on the Supercopa. Starting to look like a really interesting run in and whether you can keep Madrid and Sevilla at bay! I've lost track a little over time, you haven't won the league yet have you? 

yeah thanks, our form is good and we seem better able to cope with the Reserve Team being rotated in than we have previously, largely because I have bit the bullet and signed 2 central strikers, Salifu (ENG)(GHA) * & Soliman (EGY), rather than relying on Academy products who were certainly decent, but just not quite the clinical finishers than I wanted in that central positions. If anything they were too rounded and not the out and out finisher that we needed. Our wider strikers also seem to have done better too. We're just a tiny bit better across the board. 

As for the La Liga title, no, you haven't missed it. We've never managed to win it. 

We've finished 2nd twice and 3rd twice in the last 4 years, (so pretty consistent), but each season we seem to have been up against a really dominant side in terms of either Sevilla or R.Madrid and we fell away late on. It's still very tight at the moment and we're still in all competitions, (having already won the 1st), so things certainly going ok so far. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2044. 

La Liga. 3 more wins is great, but we needed a 97th min winner from Soliman (EGY) against Bilbao to secure all 3 points. 

Sevilla dropped 2 points against Bilbao which means that we're ahead on Results between teams based on our 3-1 home win earlier in the season. It's worth pointing out though that (27a) Crespo * is on fire right now. He's already scored 41 goals this season, consisting of 23 in La Liga, 13 in Copa del Rey, (including 7 in 1 game!!!) and 5 in the Europa League.

(27a) Crespo * just seems to score so consistently. He's scoring again and again ahead of his xG. On that note, his xG in all competitions to this point in the season is 28.20 and he's well ahead of that on 41 goals. He's absolutely smashing the life out of his xG score.

He's scored 438 league goals so far in his career, but it's actually 536 club goals in 694 appearances, (some of which will have been from the bench). I can't remember the last time I saw an AI managed player score like this. 

UEFA Champions League. The Reserves did well in the Champions League and the away leg was convincing enough to even rotate the 2nd leg more than usual. You wouldn't think that we struggled a bit with injuries and suspensions this month with 8 games won in the month in all competitions. 

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey. This is a real chance of a trophy at this level, (probably a better chance than the La Liga title), so I would be silly not to prioritise it where possible. We went strong in both the 4th Round and the Quarters, before we were able to rotate for the 1st leg of the Semi, and we will do so again in the 2nd leg. We will face either Sevilla or R.Madrid in the Final, (assuming we don't completely implode in the 2nd leg). 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Don't ask me why Gyazo works sometimes with Twitter but not at all times. I have no idea.   

25yo Camara2 converts from the spot for his 31st career goal. He's 25/36 at 69% from the spot +6 direct free-kicks. #GoalScoringKeepers #FM23 #FootballManager

Records. 8 games won in a row is a new club record, (surprisingly to me), but the record is actually up to 11 now.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2044.

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2044. Mar 2044. 

We've got 3 kids on the NxGn list this year, but as ever it's really more about the players who we don't have, (but want to have). 

 

Ly (BEL)(SEN) * is a player I like, (largely because of his physicals and mentals), but his technicals are decent in the right areas. He's just collected his 1st senior Belgium Cap, but he's still also eligible for Senegal. I obviously hope that he opts for Belgium permanently and forgets all about Senegal. I keep looking at his 5.0 PA, expecting it to have dropped, but so far he's developing nicely, (starting to break into the 1st Team based on CA rather than PA), and his PA is holding rock solid at 5.0. 

Bakayoko (CIV) 6'2" appearing on this list is a surprise to me, but perhaps it shouldn't be. He's was a recent signing, (in January), and I agreed to let him finish the season in Ivory Coast, but he was really little more than a punt because I could get him for £1M and it seemed like good business. I didn't actually sign him with a view to him actually playing regularly for us, (although I might have to rethink that). His PA is 5.0 but it will be interesting to see if it stays like that after he is actually training here at the club.

Sylla (GUI) SC * just managed to sneak onto the list after arriving 14 months ago for a modest £300k, but he's a player who I really like the look of even if his performances for the B Team haven't exactly set the World alight. Our B Team are very much built on PA rather than CA this season and that significantly impacts on their results. 

Noe for the other Africans on the list. 

Lakhsassi (MAR)(FRA) * is a player who I had a deal accepted for, (just over £50M I think), but I couldn't agree personal terms and when we went back to try again they wanted £100M+. We've currently got just £44M in our transfer kitty, so it's going to have to take some creative accounting a la Barca to get this deal done, (but I'm going to give it a go). 

Hadraf (MAR)(NED) is someone I've looked at before but wasn't a priority to sign, (possibly because of his personality + Low Det). He's got a min fee release clause of £26M (that doesn't expire for another 18 months. If we manage to sell a couple of players for decent money then I might come back for him. 

Ouattara (CIV)(POR) is a player who wasn't even on my radar. I have no scout reports on him at all. He's certainly worth looking at. 

Nyarko (ENG)(GHA) is another player who I hadn't seen before now so will have to see what the scout report says. Not appeared on my radar at all until now, (which is a bit slack of me). 

Charles (NGA)(ESP) is on my radar and I like him, but I don't think the £12M release clause wasn't available then and it would have cost too much to pinch him from Sevilla. We're scouting him again and it will be interesting to see what the next scout reports says. At the moment he's a 5.0 PA but he might only be a 3.0 PA player and that's too much of a variance to take a punt on.