[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]

Squad Depth. Jun 2046. 

DC. This is quite a "busy" position with loads of players who can play centre-half, but quite a few of them are not actually DC's so it takes some sifting through. 

You will notice that I'm including the wages of the B Team players here, because there is a balance to be had in terms of getting good players in the squad that will get results, but also ensuring that we can register enough players to get us through the whole season. 

1st Team.
DLC. McCarthy (ENG)(GHA) 5'11" *
DC. Odita (NGA)(POR) 6'3" DC *
DRC. (37k) Jesús 6'6"
2nd Team.
DLC. Ly (BEL)(SEN) *
DC. Idris (GER)(NGA) 6'5"
DRC. Kaunda (RSA)(ZIM) 6'2" *
B Team.
DLC. (40f) Lisco (ITA) (Bal) 6'1" £40k & Uzochukwu (NGA) 6'1" £20k.
DC. (45b) Pérez (Driven) 5'10" * £25k & Sousa (POR)(STP). £44k?
DRC. (39b) Agné 6'4" £13k,
U19's. (46j) Dickens (ENG) (Res), (46g) César. (Unamb+L.Det),  (45d) Gomis (ESP)(SEN) Unamb *, (44b) Sert (GER)(TUR) (F.Det), Fonseca (CPV)(POR), (46o) Murray.(GUY)(ENG) (Real)
Loan. Boyer (FRA)(REU) 6'0" *, (42f) Aguza (BIH)(ESP) 6'3" DC, Dabo (SEN)(FRA) 6'0" *, (44e) Conde. (F.Det) 6'0"
Sell.
Release. (42p) Nzimande.(RSA)(IRL) SELL

[Jimbokav1971]

21 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Crespo. Jun 2046. 

Not sure about anyone else, but I'm personally surprised that his pace and acceleration are holding up better than his stamina and strength, but thinking about it their probably declining at a similar rate and they just had a higher starting point. I'm still quite happy to have him for another season. he scored a lot of big goals for us this season. 

We're paying him £1M per month, (which isn't a problem for next season), but he has a clause where it triggers a +1 year if he makes 20 league appearances next season and I'm not sure how I feel about that. This season he made 18(6) La Liga appearances for example, but I think I would quite like to keep him around anyway irrespective of the cost. It's not as if we're struggling for cash. 

It really annoys me that this info isn't correct. I mean it REALLY bloomin annoys me.

He's scored 477 league goals, so how has he only scored 481 total goals? 

In actual fact he has scored 594 career club goals in 755(45) club appearances plus 24 U21 & INT goals in 29(22) so 618 goals in 784(67) appearances. 

You know sooner or later I'm eventually going to have to give this Pele 1,000 career goals challenge a go. 

The end on an era. Jun 2046. 

I've asked him to reconsider, but it might be the end. 

He is still contracted for next season and has a +1 if he makes 20 La Liga appearances after that. 

The situation with injuries wasn't too bad last season. 

Especially if you compare it to that of Salifu (ENG)(GHA) *. Must admit this felt like much more than this during the season. 

I did try to get him to change his mind because I thought he still had something to offer, but he just wasn't having any of it. 

Edited July 8, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Thebaker]

do players improve more on pro contracts than youth contracts or does it depend more on playing time?

[Jimbokav1971]

Big sale. Jun 2046. 

I didn't want to sell Tavares (POR)(GNB) *, but he only had 12 months left on his contract and he wasn't interested in renewing it. We might have loads of money, but it's not worth giving away £100M+ just for 1 more year with him. 

It's a real blow though because all our good midfielders, (other than him), are African. This is going to be tough to fix. 

He's gone to Chelsea for £50M + £10M in installments, + £10M after 50 league games, + £10M after 20 International appearances, + £10M after 20 goals, +£200,000 per league appearance, (up to 50 appearances), +25% of the next sale and also including a friendly. 

[Jimbokav1971]

50 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

do players improve more on pro contracts than youth contracts or does it depend more on playing time?

I think a little of everything is involved, but a FT pro trains more than a youth player so I would think that the benefits of any training are increased. 

[Sonic Youth]

Congrats on winning the League and Cup 

It’s great that you were able to do it with Crespo before he retired.

Was Crespo’s retirement immediate or end of next season?

That was good timing to notice your B-team was in trouble and help turn that around with a game to spare 

The GK was such a big problem when that occurred, and it looks sorted in a way you can use with other positions. MC and DL seems to me your double trouble positions presently. This was what I was meaning by targeting before, especially for Afcon times.

What, no Spanish player call-ups for the World Cup? I guess Crespo is too far gone 

Tavares is another big player loss, and a tougher prospect to replace considering you haven’t many good-great youth prospects come through in that position.

I think the next big step for Cueta is winning the ECL while competing/winning La Liga.

With all that’s happened in the offseason already, I’m looking forward to seeing how the next season shakes out 

Edited July 8, 2023 by Sonic Youth
Tavares

[Jimbokav1971]

6 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Congrats on winning the League and Cup 

It’s great that you were able to do it with Crespo before he retired.

Was Crespo’s retirement immediate or end of next season?

Yeah it was good. Obviously not financially worth it, (but then again it was never going to be). A very nice sentimental end for him. I wanted him to stay on but winning a double at your boyhood club. What a way to boe out!

His retirement wasn't immediate, but it's certainly before the end of next season. 

16th July 2046 he retires, (so about 3 weeks away). 

Edited July 8, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

6 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

That was good timing to notice your B-team was in trouble and help turn that around with a game to spare 

I can't tell you how chuffed I was with that. 

They were already using the 1st Team tactic, (and it wasn't working), and there was only 1 single game I played rather than using the IR button, (and I think that was earlier in the season), so the only way in which I was able to improve the results was squad management and obviously team selection and it seemed to work a treat. 

This was our form after I increased my interest. 

Really really happy with this. 

[Jimbokav1971]

6 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

The GK was such a big problem when that occurred, and it looks sorted in a way you can use with other positions. MC and DL seems to me your double trouble positions presently. This was what I was meaning by targeting before, especially for Afcon times.

What, no Spanish player call-ups for the World Cup? I guess Crespo is too far gone .

GK was a problem, but now it's just completely sorted, (I think), unless of course Faty (FRA)(SEN) 6'4" opts to play for SEN ahead of FRA. 

I think sending him out on loan until Jan is a good move because it gives him football and then he stays here in Jan and depending on when the other GK's return from AFCON I might even be able to squeeze another loan in from Jan onwards. That's the plan anyway. I need to do something about Camara (SEN) 6'2" missing 9 penalties in a season though. 

Was there not a single Spaniard called up to the ESP squad for the World Cup? I actually hadn't noticed that. 

No, you're quite right. Good spot. (27a) Crespo * is waaaaaaay too far gone though. Even I wouldn't have picked him. 

We do have 3 Academy products in there though. There were 4 before and I'm not sure who has dropped out of the squad. It certainly wasn't (27a) Crespo * because he's never been their main man. 

Oh, I remember. It will have been either (33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" or (29a) Gil, (but I know it wasn't (29a) Gil because every time I check it astounds me that he hasn't been capped). 

(33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" has damaged cruciate ligaments and that's why he missed out on the squad. he is usually their main man. I wonder how the injury will affect him going forward?

I guess (29a) Gil hasn't scored enough goals at club level, (he always scores against us), but then again he's far more of a #10 than a #0 anyway so maybe his numbers aren't that bad. I'm going to see if I can get him in to replace (27a) Crespo *.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

6 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Tavares is another big player loss, and a tougher prospect to replace considering you haven’t many good-great youth prospects come through in that position.

He really is a big loss and it's the only position where, (in his absence), we are really really really REALLY short during AFCON now. I have tried to look at non-Africans to buy to help out, but I'm just not finding any at the moment, (or at least not anyone suitable). 

We have some really good players in this area, but none that are non-African. It's all about PA and PA doesn't win you trophies. 

Looking at the above list.... and ignoring Africans....

(46a) De Backer (BEL) Res * is a forward. 

(45b) Pérez (Driven) 5'10" * is developing REALLY nicely and is one to watch, but although he was flitting between DC and MC in the B Team last season, I think his long-term future is DC.

Haruna (GER)(NGA) * is a forward. 

(45c) Fritsche (AUR)(GER)Bal* did ok for the B Team last season and he could be a long-term option, but he's only 17 and it's too early. 

Salifu (ENG)(GHA) * is a central striker. 

(45a) Falqué (Unamb+L.Det) * is a forward.

Mensah (ENG)(GHA) * is a forward.

(46c) González (Jov) looks ok, but it's waaaay too early for him. He's not even close to ready for the 1st Team, (or even the B Team for that matter).

(46e) Baleato (F.Pro) looks a decent little player, but he's weak physically and that's holding him back. Again, miles away from the 1st Team. 

(43c) Bordas (Res) MC is leaving on a free because I decided he wasn't good enough and I'm regretting that decision about now. 

Boyer (FRA)(REU) 6'0" * is a DC.

(46f) Vega (Bal) is so young and raw it's hard to tell if he will be any good. 

(45n) Oliver (F.Pro) looks ok, but again miles off the required standard. 

(45g) Sergi (Pro) looks a decent little player, but nowhere near ready. 

That's the whole 1st page of the squad done and there is nobody.  I think that playing players out of position might be a better bet, (or buying old players.......). 

[Jimbokav1971]

7 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

I think the next big step for Cueta is winning the ECL while competing/winning La Liga.

With all that’s happened in the offseason already, I’m looking forward to seeing how the next season shakes out 

I think there are 2 steps, (although we could possibly do them both together). 

Step 1 is winning the Champions League. 

Step 2 is winning the Champions League while also winning La Liga. 

Step 3 is winning everything in the same season, so La Liga, Supercoppa, UEFA Super-Cup, (or whatever it's called), Champions League, and Copa del Rey. Not sure how realistic 5 trophies in a season is at this level with the restrictions I've given myself though. 

It's been a ridiculously tough season already and I think I've only progressed 3 weeks since the last B Team game. There is just so much to do and if I just keep pressing continue without doing it then I know we will pay for it in Jan. 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I think that playing players out of position might be a better bet, (or buying old players.......). 

So going backwards in history and looking for non-African midfield players who have left the club, this is what we've got. 

(38b) Pavas (COL)(ESP) SELL was always seen as more of a DC than a DM, but at the moment he is better than anything else that we've got during AFCON. There are clubs in for him right now, but while I know I should take a punt on him, I really don't like him in the middle of the pitch. He still looks like a not very good centre-half to me. 

(37b) Manuel SELL is exactly the player I was thinking of, but I couldn't find him because he doesn't appear on the transfer history, (possibly because he was sold from the B Team, but I thought that bug had been fixed). Either way I would love to get him back in, (even on loan). 

I'm going to go back and look at Youth Transfers in, (basically the Youth Intake), and see if that's a better way of looking. 

(35a) Serna is a player whom I originally had high hopes of. He came through top of his class from the Academy but never really made the grade. I say that, but his last 2 transfers have both been to La Liga clubs and before that he was playing in the top tier in Portugal. Let's be completely honest here. He's not good, but he would walk straight into our starting lineup during AFCON. 

That's about it though. It's really not looking good. 

[Jimbokav1971]

On 08/07/2023 at 09:17, Jimbokav1971 said:

He really is a big loss and it's the only position where, (in his absence), we are really really really REALLY short during AFCON now. I have tried to look at non-Africans to buy to help out, but I'm just not finding any at the moment, (or at least not anyone suitable). 

We have some really good players in this area, but none that are non-African. It's all about PA and PA doesn't win you trophies. 

Looking at the above list.... and ignoring Africans....

(46a) De Backer (BEL) Res * is a forward. 

(45b) Pérez (Driven) 5'10" * is developing REALLY nicely and is one to watch, but although he was flitting between DC and MC in the B Team last season, I think his long-term future is DC.

Haruna (GER)(NGA) * is a forward. 

(45c) Fritsche (AUR)(GER)Bal* did ok for the B Team last season and he could be a long-term option, but he's only 17 and it's too early. 

Salifu (ENG)(GHA) * is a central striker. 

(45a) Falqué (Unamb+L.Det) * is a forward.

Mensah (ENG)(GHA) * is a forward.

(46c) González (Jov) looks ok, but it's waaaay too early for him. He's not even close to ready for the 1st Team, (or even the B Team for that matter).

(46e) Baleato (F.Pro) looks a decent little player, but he's weak physically and that's holding him back. Again, miles away from the 1st Team. 

(43c) Bordas (Res) MC is leaving on a free because I decided he wasn't good enough and I'm regretting that decision about now. 

Boyer (FRA)(REU) 6'0" * is a DC.

(46f) Vega (Bal) is so young and raw it's hard to tell if he will be any good. 

(45n) Oliver (F.Pro) looks ok, but again miles off the required standard. 

(45g) Sergi (Pro) looks a decent little player, but nowhere near ready. 

That's the whole 1st page of the squad done and there is nobody.  I think that playing players out of position might be a better bet, (or buying old players.......). 

I've decided to continue this on after the 1st page because it's ranked by PA and I'm hoping that there are some with decent CA lower down, (who don't have good PA). 

(44l) Osorio (Pro) is a forward. 

(44a) Juan (Unamb) isn't ready yet. 

(42d) Bernal is a forward. 

(42c) Rial 5'7" is the B Team teenager who broke his leg last season. He will do a job, (at a push), and 2 seasons ago he played in La Liga for Sabadell, (who were relegated so let's just ignore that). 

(42e) Ramos looks pretty decent too, (based on my very low expectations), and I would happily play him during AFCON. He's on loan in Girona and it was only a few years ago that I learned that Girona wasn't in Italy, and even if it wasn't in Italy, it wasn't even in France. I was 95% sure that Girona was in Italy and 4% sure that it was in France. It's not in Italy or France. 

To this day I have absolutely no idea where I got the idea from that it was in Italy, but EVERY single time I see the word Girona I think "ah, Girona in Italy". 

(42f) Aguza (BIH)(ESP) 6'3" DC is a DC.

(41b) Gutiérrez (Spirit) is reasonable and suggests that the solution to this problem might be under our noses at the club already rather than somewhere out there in the chaos of the trsnafer market. Yeah he's on loan in the 3rd tier and we're asking him to come in and play in a team at the top of the 1st tier, but all he has to do is keep it simple and keep the ball moving, 

(40h) Rubio (Unamb) is a forward.

(39b) Agné 6'4" is a DC.

(37k) Jesús 6'6" is a DC.

(37c) Castro * is a SC.

Idris (GER)(NGA) 6'5" is a DC.

(43d) Jiménez (Bal) is a forward.

(43h) Rodríguez.(ESP)(MEX)LDet has a . so not going to be considered. (The decision has been made on him already. Don't even need to look at him). 

(43i) García. (L.Det+Unamb) has a , and has "progressed from (L.Det) + (Unamb) to (L.Det) + (Casual). No thanks. 

(43j) Manel. (Bal) 6'0" SELL is a DC.

(42g) Garzón. is a forward, (and has a .).

(41a) Antón 5'8" (Driven) SC isn't exactly what I'm looking for, but he's certainly an option. I prefer him to play as a SC, but he's pretty versatile. He has played for is in La Liga before, (I bet it was during AFCON). 

(41c) Carlos (Bal) is a forward. 

(40b) Casas (Temp) is a forward.

Let's look at the 3rd page now, because there is at least 1 player on there who I think might be an option. 

(39c) Franco (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" might only have 1.5 CA, but I think he's possibly the best option we've seen so far. I really like him and would have no issues throwing him in. The star system is rubbish! 

(38i) Iván is the player I was looking for. Plenty good enough to come and fill-in for a month. He's played in La Liga for us and Levante, He's played in Ligue 1 for Lille, he's played in Serie A for Sampdoria and he's played in Liga Bwin for Vitoria de Guimaraes. This bloke is a baller!  (Well sort of. He's not rubbish). 

(37h) Xavi SELL is about to leave on a free, but even he could do a job during AFCON. 

(45l) Javi. (Unamb) is a forward. 

(45m) Hidalgo. (Bal) is a forward. 

(44h) Ayala.(ARG)(ESP)(LHeart) has a .

(44k) Neva (Casual is a forward.

(42l) Jofre. SELL has a .

Ebiye (NGA) is a player who I thought was going to be the next big thing. (He isn't, and he's African anyway). 

(46k) Campos (F.Sport) is a forward. 

(44p) McKenzie. (ENG)(Sport) has a .

Edited July 11, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jun 2046. 

MC. This is a real problem area now so I'm adding an extra section in here, "AFCON" to indicate who will step up during AFCON when I assume everyone else will be away. Anyone who doesn't get called up will just be a Brucey bonus. 

1st Team.
MLC. Lakhsassi (MAR)(FRA) *
MRC. Sakanoko 2 (CIV) MC *
2nd Team.
MLC. Saïdi (MAR) *
MRC. Hamdi (EGY) *
AFCON.
MLC. (38i) Iván, (42c) Rial 5'7" (broken leg 5 months)
MRC. (42e) Ramos & (41b) Gutiérrez (Spirit).
B Team.
MLC. (42c) Rial 5'7" £13k (broken leg 5 months) & (45c) Fritsche (AUR)(GER)Bal* & £20k & (41b) Gutiérrez (Spirit) £15k.
MRC. Saadi (ALG) * £20k, & (42e) Ramos £14k.
U19's.
Loan. (38i) Iván (until Jan), (39c) Franco (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" (until Jan), Soma (BFA)
Sell.
Release. (37h) Xavi SELL

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2046.

SC. Wowee we've got so many strikers, Most of them absolutely pants, but they're still here and in terms of really clinical central strikers, we're still a bit short, (at least as far as the youth players go). 

1st Team.
SLC. Mensah (ENG)(GHA) *
SC. Salifu (ENG)(GHA) *
SRC. Amade (MOZ)(RSA) *
2nd Team.
SLC. Moses (ENG)(NGA) *
SC. (29a) Gil
SRC. Guèhi (CIV) *
Spare. Kabamba (BEL)(COD) *
B Team.
SLC. (44l) Osorio (Pro) & (43d) Jiménez (Bal)
SC. Talal (MAR) * & Zonon (BFA) *
SRC. (42b) Carbonell, Uzoma (NGA) *
U19's. (45a) Falqué (Unamb+L.Det) *, (46a) De Backer (BEL) Res *, (45j) Fumagalli (ITA)(ESP), (45i) Otero (F.Pro), (46h) Espinosa. (Unamb+L.Det), (45f) Poveda (FRA)(ESP) Bal, (45l) Javi. (Unamb), (46f) Vega. (Bal), (44i) Puig.(ARG)(ESP)(Unamb), (45h) Contreras. (Real), (45m) Hidalgo. (Bal), (44k) Neva (Casual), (46m) Benítez (F.Pro), (46i) Uría (Bal), (46k) Campos (F.Sport), (46l) Prendes (F.Amb), (46n) Gilligan. (ENG)UnambLDet.
Loan. Sylla (GUI) SC *, Charles (NGA)(ESP) *, Awalom (NOR)(ERI), Chrisantus (GER)(NGA) *, (37c) Castro *, Haruna (GER)(NGA) *, Fofana (CIV), Talal (MAR) *, Thalmas (CIV), Messaoudene (ALG), Olatunji (NGA), Olatunji (NGA), Seye (ESP)(SEN), (44g) Kennedy (SCO)(ESP)(Bal),(42d) Bernal, (41c) Carlos (Bal), (43b) Martí (Low Det+Unamb), (44c) Ferreras. (F.Pro), (42a) Jorge, 
Sell. (38m) Roldán (ESP)(BAS) SELL, (38p) Collado SELL, (38d) Cisse (ESP)(SEN) SELL, (40h) Rubio (Unamb) SELL, (43g) Bouzá. (F.Sport), (45f) Gimeno. (Pro) SELL, (40h) Rubio (Unamb) SELL, (43g) Bouzá. (F.Sport) SELL, (45f) Gimeno. (Pro) SELL, (43h) Rodríguez.(ESP)(MEX)SELL
Release. (27a) Crespo *, 

[Jimbokav1971]

Transfers. Jul 2046.

It's just ticked over to the new season so I thought I would update you on all the in's, (because you know all about the outs). 

I'm astonished that we've spent almost all the money we brought in, (surplus of just £13M this season), but when you consider that 15 players coming in and just 5 leaving, (for fees), then there is certainly room for significant sales further down the line. 

I know I showed you Kabamba (BEL)(COD) * when he arrived in Jan, so let's start after that. 

Thalmas (CIV) is really just a bit of a punt at £0.5M and I do love a (CIV) player in this save. 

Awalom (NOR)(ERI) looks really decent and is already a senior International at 18 years old. He retained his 5.0 PA scout rating after the transfer, but I guess we won't truly know until his loan-back period ends and he arrives at the club proper.

Fofana (CIV) is another Ivorian and another teenager called at International level, and even better than the previous Ivorian we saw. 

Messaoudene (ALG) might only be a 4.0 PA player, but that's still decent PA and at just £100k it's a bargain I couldn't turn down.

(29a) Gil is the big signing of the Summer, (although not the only one), and he comes in to replace the retiring legend (27a) Crespo *. Physically he's still in great nick and I think he will do really well for us. 

Olawale (NGA) 6'2" was available for just £500k and was signed on a bit of a punt. 

Kouadio (ENG)(CIV) is another big signing, largely because he's a non-African midfielder and we're desperately short of them. He's not as good with the ball as I would but he has a decent PA and beggars can't be choosers at the moment. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Crespo retires. Jul 2046. 

Phenomenal! 

[Jimbokav1971]

World Cup 2046. Jul 2046. 

CIV got to the Quarters, (where they lost to ITA) and ENG demolished ARG in the Final. 

MAR, EGY, NGA, GHA & ALG all joined CIV in the Knockout Rounds. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2046. 

La Liga. 0 goals conceded is a decent start to the season, but we should have have seen off Real Madrid. 

B Team. 3 games unbeaten is a much better start to the season for the B Team.

Squad registration. We only registered 24 players, (with vacant slot for the 2nd GK), and it came in well under then £13.6M budget at just £5.9M. 

The B Team however was much tougher, but we managed to squeeze in 22 players for £725k within a budget of £727k. We're much stronger this season though and I expect us to be well clear of relegation.

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2046. 

La Liga. A great month with 4 wins from 4 in La Liga, without even conceding a goal and we're just 1 point off Barca at the top of the table with a game in hand. 

UEFA Champions League. The 2nd Team grabs a hard-fought win against the Belgians. 

B Team. We're doing much better than we have done the last season. 

Records.

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2046. 

La Liga. We're playing ok, but we're not on fire and that can be evidenced by the low number of goals we're scoring and also, (obviously), the loss to Celta Vigo. We weren't unlucky to lose that game. We were well beaten and the scoreline could and probably should have been more emphatic and it's hard to put a finger on why. Yes it was the 2nd Team and yes we were away, but the team we put out should have been well capable of winning that. 

Wes till trail this seasons surprise package Barca, (who haven't finished in the top 4 for the last 4 seasons), by 1 point, (albeit with a game in hand), but I still see the main threat coming from Sevilla, (who top the goal-scoring charts with us on 24). As soon as they stop conceding they will rocket up the table. 

UEFA Champions League. 2 decent results, (especially the Spurs result), and especially after the loss to Celta Vigo. We're not in the automatic qualification places after 3 games, but to be honest I'm not bothered in the slightest. All that matters here is qualification. 

B Team. Apologies, I played the Arsenal U21's game before doing this update. The B Team are doing pretty well and the Barca game was very much against the general trend this season. 

Records. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

 

Finances. 

[john1]

Gutted Crespo, didn't stay on for another season

Also Basel is from Switzerland not Belgium

[Jimbokav1971]

40 minutes ago, john1 said:

Gutted Crespo, didn't stay on for another season

Also Basel is from Switzerland not Belgium

See! Girona!  (In my defence, this one was more of a brain-fade rather than actually another example of my lack of geographical awareness). 

[Branst23]

Hi @Jimbokav1971, did you find a way of getting african newgens with the team or do you think its hard coded?

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Branst23 said:

Hi @Jimbokav1971, did you find a way of getting african newgens with the team or do you think its hard coded?

I've had the occasional African, but it's random as it would be at any Spanish club. There doesn't seem to be an allowance made for the geographical position of the club. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2046. 

La Liga. A really good month in La Liga with 3 2ins from 3 without conceding. We've played our game in hand now so have eased 2 points ahead of Barca with Sevilla in 3rd and surprise package Celta Vigo up in 4th. 

UEFA Champions League. We're doing well in Europe too and despite it not being a priority at all we're up to 3rd after 5 games and appear to be well set for automatic qualification. 

B Team. 2 losses this month isn't great, but the B Team did play 7 games, (so had to rotate), but still came away with 4 wins, (although only 2 in the league). 

Records. (46a) De Backer (BEL) Res * has benefitted from the enforced rotation in the B Team and has taken his chance well. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

AFCON call-ups. Dec 2046.

24 call-ups for AFCON 2047. 

24 is a lot, even for us. 

Oh no. Now way. Noooooooo! 

GK.

1st Team.. Camara (SEN) 6'2"
AFCON GK. Faty (FRA)(SEN) 6'4" has been called up by SEN and has now been capped by both FRA and SEN but is still eligible for both. 
B Team. Bakayoko (CIV) 6'2" *
Backup. (36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4"

DL.

B Team. Johnson (NGA), B Team.
Backup. Tavares (CPV)(POR) 

DR.

1st Team. Soudant (MAR) *
2nd Team. Brossou (CIV) *
Out on loan. Charles (NGA)(ESP) *

DC.

1st Team. Odita (NGA)(POR) 6'3" DC *
2nd Team. Kaunda (RSA)(ZIM) 6'2" *
B Team. Dabo (SEN)(FRA) 6'0" *
Out on loan. Abubakar (NGA)(ENG) DC 5'11"

MC.

1st Team. Lakhsassi (MAR)(FRA) *
1st Team. Sakanoko 2 (CIV) MC *
2nd Team. Hamdi (EGY) * 6'2"
B Team. Saadi (ALG) *
 

SC.

1st Team. Guèhi (CIV) *
1st Team. Amade (MOZ)(RSA) *
2nd Team. Talal (MAR) *
B Team. Zonon (BFA) *
Out on loan. Sylla (GUI) SC *
Out on loan. Chrisantus (GER)(NGA) *
Out on loan. Fofana (CIV)

I can't believe that I have gone out and bought a GK specifically so that he could play for us during AFCON, only to find that he's agreed to change from FRA to SEN and is now going to AFCON.  

This is what our squad will be like during AFCON. 

GK. (43e) Hackney. (Unamb) SELL & (46p) Villoldo (URU) (Loyal) are our only options, but they are both pants. 

These are the Academy products that have come through and left. 

(28c) Bermúdez 5'10" & (31a) Fernando 6'5" are both very good players, but the rest are pretty poor. Despite that, I might have to try and re-sign (38l) Paradas 6'1" SELL. He has a min fee release clause of £1.1M which isn't a problem, but I don't think he has any interest in joining us. Maybe a loan is an option? They're not interested in letting him leave on loan, so let's see what happens when we trigger his release clause? He's actually incredibly interested as an emergency backup, (which is exactly what we want). We have just got really lucky.

DL.

Adeyemi (GER)(NGA) *.
Saïdi (MAR)(FRA) *. 

DR.

Kitoko (BEL)(COD) *.
Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) *.

DC.
DLC. McCarthy (ENG)(GHA) 5'11" * & Ly (BEL)(SEN) *.
DC. Idris (GER)(NGA) 6'5" & Kaunda (RSA)(ZIM) 6'2" *.
DRC. (37k) Jesús 6'6"

MC.
MLC. Saïdi (MAR) * & (38i) Iván.
MRC. Soma (BFA) & Kouadio (ENG)(CIV).

SC.
SLC. Kabamba (BEL)(COD) *
SC. Salifu (ENG)(GHA) * & (29a) Gil.
SRC. Moses (ENG)(NGA) *

[Jtomsett11]

Good luck with January,  looks like it'll be very tough!

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2046. 

La Liga. We were absolutely torn a new one by a rampaging Sevilla side, and we were lucky it wasn't 4 or 5. We were rubbish and they were really good. We bounced back well with 3 wins though and now find ourselves 7 points clear at the top, having scored 10 more goals than the next highest goal-scorers, (Atletico), and conceded 3 less than the next best defensive record, (Celta Vigo).  

UEFA Champions League. We keep winning in Europe and with 2 games remaining in the League Phase we look well set for automatic qualification. 

B Team. We're nowhere as near as dominant as the 1st Team, but we're doing ok. We're 2nd in the league, just 2 points behind Almeria, and despite some tough fixtures we've also qualified for the Knockout stages of the U21 International Cup. 

Youth Intake preview.

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Jtomsett11 said:

Good luck with January,  looks like it'll be very tough!

Yes tough, but the least tough so far I think. 

[BML]

Camara2 always seems to be unhappy about something. I don't recall him having a bad personality, and he's obviously playing (and scoring) regularly, so are you pissing in his cornflakes every morning or what?

Edited July 13, 2023 by BML

[Jimbokav1971]

El Presidente stays. Jan 2047. 

He's won a 2nd term. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, BML said:

Camara2 always seems to be unhappy about something. I don't recall him having a bad personality, and he's obviously playing (and scoring) regularly, so are you pissing in his cornflakes every morning or what?

Good spot and good question. 

In effect, I actually am pissing in his cornflakes. 

I have mentioned this recently, but let me expand. 

He is 1 of 3 leaders at the club. 

He's also the captain of the club. 

I've mentioned previously that I have quite liked the compulsory minimum fee release clauses in Spain in that it meant that there was no argument with the players with regards to me turning down bids, (because my default response when they complained was just to point them to the min fee clause in the contract that they signed), but while that works with the players, (generally/eventually), a hidden cost of that is that when there is an unhappy player, (even on a temp basis), then the leaders in the squad always come to you in the game to try and resolve it, and while the original player interaction can just be ignored as you fob them off with the min fee clause, the interaction with the leadership group is not so easily ignored and struggled to keep their responses positive in the aftermath of these meetings. When these happened again and again because of different player issues, then the cumulative effect of even quite small can become quite significant. 

You can see by the pic below that there are 2 ongoing issues currently that are affecting him. 

1. Guèhi (CIV) * wants more playing time, but I can't lie to him and tell him I will give it to him, because the truth is that I still plan on rotating players in the same way I have always done. 

2. Moses (ENG)(NGA) * wants a new contract but he has 2+3 years left on his contract so I don't want to give him one. 

Both these things are impacting him negatively right now. 

In addition to that, he also wants a new contract himself, but he has 2 years left on his contract and I don't want to extend it now because it will be a big cost. 

Lastly he is struggling to connect with Mensah (ENG)(GHA) *, (who is a F.Pro personality with decent Det) while Camara (SEN) 6'2" is Highly Professional and Driven. 

All these things are just adding up at the moment and this has been the case for much of the season.

I hope that makes sense. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2047. 

La Liga. I'm pretty sure this is our best La Liga Jan during AFCON we've had. We only dropped 2 points and they were points that we might have dropped anyway. If anything, I'm possibly more impressed that we won twice away than I am that we beat Real Madrid at home. Either way, it's a really decent month considering our unavailabilities and as a result we go into Feb 5 points clear of Atletico and 9 points clear of a faltering Sevilla. 

UEFA Champions League. You can see by the names of some of the scorers here that we were forced to bring in B Team players, but however we got here, we qualified with a game to spare and are in the Knockout stages, (even avoiding the Playoffs). 

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey. A cobbled together side were far too good for lower league opposition. Castellón are Valencia's B Team I think. 

Supercopa de España. This was tough to take. With a B Team back 3 we were always going to be up against it, but the xG suggests that we should have edged it and injury to (29a) Gil in the 1st half is probably what cost us. 

B Team. WIth so many players taken from both the 1st Team and B Team squad, I'm actually pretty happy that we even got 1 point out of 12 here. I was playing some really young kids in these games. 

Records. A couple of months ago he was the youngest ever scorer for the B Team and now he has also played in the Supercoppa and Champions League. He's looking pretty good, (although it's early days yet). 

1st Team.

B Team.

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

Finances. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, BML said:

Camara2 always seems to be unhappy about something. I don't recall him having a bad personality, and he's obviously playing (and scoring) regularly, so are you pissing in his cornflakes every morning or what?

 

57 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Good spot and good question. 

In effect, I actually am pissing in his cornflakes. 

I have mentioned this recently, but let me expand. 

He is 1 of 3 leaders at the club. 

He's also the captain of the club. 

I've mentioned previously that I have quite liked the compulsory minimum fee release clauses in Spain in that it meant that there was no argument with the players with regards to me turning down bids, (because my default response when they complained was just to point them to the min fee clause in the contract that they signed), but while that works with the players, (generally/eventually), a hidden cost of that is that when there is an unhappy player, (even on a temp basis), then the leaders in the squad always come to you in the game to try and resolve it, and while the original player interaction can just be ignored as you fob them off with the min fee clause, the interaction with the leadership group is not so easily ignored and struggled to keep their responses positive in the aftermath of these meetings. When these happened again and again because of different player issues, then the cumulative effect of even quite small can become quite significant. 

You can see by the pic below that there are 2 ongoing issues currently that are affecting him. 

1. Guèhi (CIV) * wants more playing time, but I can't lie to him and tell him I will give it to him, because the truth is that I still plan on rotating players in the same way I have always done. 

2. Moses (ENG)(NGA) * wants a new contract but he has 2+3 years left on his contract so I don't want to give him one. 

Both these things are impacting him negatively right now. 

In addition to that, he also wants a new contract himself, but he has 2 years left on his contract and I don't want to extend it now because it will be a big cost. 

Lastly he is struggling to connect with Mensah (ENG)(GHA) *, (who is a F.Pro personality with decent Det) while Camara (SEN) 6'2" is Highly Professional and Driven. 

All these things are just adding up at the moment and this has been the case for much of the season.

I hope that makes sense. 

Hey @BMLI forgot to mention that when I was thinking about this before, I had decided that the best thing to do was to have a non-playing captain, or certainly a captain who wasn't a 1st choice player in any case. Someone who is experienced and on his way down ideally, but who plays in weakened squads. What we absolutely 100% should NOT be doing is giving the captaincy to a GK who takes pens, and this completely explains why he missed 9 (NINE) penalties last season. 

Actually Camara (SEN) 6'2" has hit 3/3 this season.
Bakayoko (CIV) 6'2" * has hi1 1/1 for the B Team. 
Both (38l) Paradas 6'1" AFCON and (43e) Hackney. (Unamb) SELL have also hit 1/1 each last month after they stepped up during AFCON. 

I can't explain why we have been awarded so few penalties in comparison to last season. 

Either way, I'm going to remove the captaincy from Camara (SEN) 6'2" at the end of the season, but expect the unhappiness to continue simply because he is 1 of the 3 leaders in the group. 

[Rikulec]

What the **** are Altach doing in the Champions League?

[Jimbokav1971]

AFCON 2047. 

My tip for the top, (Ivory Coast), were beaten by the eventual champions South Africa in the Second Round.

Sakanoko 2 (CIV) MC * won the Player of the Tournament award, despite the fact that his team were knocked out in the 2nd Round. 

 Sakanoko 2 (CIV) MC * also won the Golden Boot. 

Sylla (GUI) SC * came 3rd and while he's a player who has been with us for a while, you haven't heard much of him because he's been largely playing in the B Team. 

I'm not sure how Sakanoko 2 (CIV) MC * wins Player of the Tournament and Golden Boot yet still doesn't get into the Dream Team?  

GK. I'm not sure if we had 4 or possibly even 5 GK's at the tournament in the end, but we didn't have Moses (ESP)(NGA) 6'1". He's not even on my radar, (although he must have been at some point to be nicknamed). 

DR. Hamza El Attabi is so not on our radar that he hasn't even got a nickname. 

DLC. I think that when I looked at Khoza (RSA) before I decided that either he wasn't good enough, or wasn't going to improve enough to feature significantly for us. 

DRC. I seem to remember looking at Ogunsanya (NGA)(IRL)(ENG), but I can't remember why we didn't sign him.

ML. It might have been a mistake to sell Qwabe (RSA) SELL looking at his physical attributes, and in hindsight now it seems a strange decision to let him go. Maybe he was just behind better players. Either way I'm loving the look of his physicals now, (although it's a shame his workrate is so low). 

MR. I didn't think that Zungu (RSA) SELL was going to make the grade for us, and it appears as if I might have been correct, (despite his performance at AFCON). 

MLC. I really like the look of Saadi (ALG) *, who started the season in the B Team and was then promoted to the 1st Team with the injury to Lakhsassi (MAR)(FRA) *, (who has recovered more quickly than expected). 

MRC. His physicals might be on the wane, but Madidilani (RSA) * was really good for us for more than a decade and then we made really good money on him too. All in all a brilliant signing. 

SLC. Sylla (GUI) SC * is our player and is shown above as he came 3rd in the Golden Boot award. 

SRC. Things must have mellowed North of the border over time, because I can't think of any other way Laouar (ALG)(FRA)(SCO) could have come through the Academy at Rangers and then be sold to Celtic. 

[Jimbokav1971]

49 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

What the **** are Altach doing in the Champions League?

Winning the league by the looks of it. 

They have had a tough time of it in the Champions League though. 

They've had a some great Europa Conference League campaigns in the last few years though and it's probably this that has funded their rebuild to become Champions. 

2041/42.

2042/43.

2043/44.

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2047. 

La Liga. The Real Hispalis result came as a result of a 13th min red card. We held out at 0-0 for most of the game, but conceded a late goal to leave with nothing. Despite that, we're now 6 points clear of Atletico.

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey. This is a complete shambles. I went with a weakened side against 2nd tier Coruña and we paid a harsh price. 

B Team. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Team Leader meeting. Mar 2047. 

Continuing on from the question @BMLasked recently, this is a perfect example.

Saïdi (MAR)(FRA) * is the WB who can play on both sides and he wants a new contract because he's only considered a breakthrough prospect and is "only" getting paid £50k per month. He has 4 years left on his contract, (I think I recently triggered a +3 on him), and while I don't really want to pay him more money, his Min fee clause is only £50M rather than £100M so I will probably have to offer him a new contract in order to resolve that. I don't really want to do it right now though. He's 23 years old... tomorrow actually, so assuming the new contract is a 5+3 deal then that will take him to 31 years old at the end of his contract. (30 years old with 12 months on his contract), and actually that seems fine, so where as I usually just fob players off by telling them that they have plenty of time remaining on their contract and there will be no new deal right now, in his this case actually I'm going to tell him I will offer him one at the end of the season. 

Only Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * was happy with that though so I told them I would offer him a new deal if it would make them happy. 

That made the 3 Team Leaders happy, (including Camara (SEN) 6'2"), and all I have to do is get Saïdi (MAR)(FRA) * to sign a new contract.

I did get him to sign a new contract, but unfortunately it was only a 4+3 deal, (but that's still fine). 

[BML]

16 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

 

Hey @BMLI forgot to mention that when I was thinking about this before, I had decided that the best thing to do was to have a non-playing captain, or certainly a captain who wasn't a 1st choice player in any case. Someone who is experienced and on his way down ideally, but who plays in weakened squads. What we absolutely 100% should NOT be doing is giving the captaincy to a GK who takes pens, and this completely explains why he missed 9 (NINE) penalties last season. 

Actually Camara (SEN) 6'2" has hit 3/3 this season.
Bakayoko (CIV) 6'2" * has hi1 1/1 for the B Team. 
Both (38l) Paradas 6'1" AFCON and (43e) Hackney. (Unamb) SELL have also hit 1/1 each last month after they stepped up during AFCON. 

I can't explain why we have been awarded so few penalties in comparison to last season. 

Either way, I'm going to remove the captaincy from Camara (SEN) 6'2" at the end of the season, but expect the unhappiness to continue simply because he is 1 of the 3 leaders in the group. 

Thank you, once again, for such an in-depth answer.

I'll be interested to see how you fare with a non-playing/barely playing captain. Whenever I have attempted something similar in the past their rise through the hierarchy was too slow to be worthwhile, not to mention to initial squad happiness hit of moving the captaincy from a Team Leader to a new signing making things harder (squad morale wise, and everything connected to that) in the immediate short term.

The main positive I can see for you though is that you'll finally be able to utilise @Sonic Youth's advice and bring in a keeper for those AFCON months. You would have thought that being older, this new player would be an established international or old enough that the possibility of switching is non existent. Although I suspect that the players at the centre of that particular Venn Diagram will be few and far between!

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2047. 

While this intake looks decent, (especially considering our facilities aren't maxed out, I'm a little concerned that this HoYD, (I don't even know who he is), is producing forwards every season but little else in other positions. 

In recent seasons, these are the high letters, (a-d), of each intake so we can look at their positions. 

2047. 

2046.

2045.

2044.

2043. (43a) López. (L.Det) was sold to a non-League Spanish club for £26,000. He doesn't look great now at 19. I don't know if his PA just wasn't very good, or his starting CA was too low to get there or his personality impacted him negatively, but whatever it was they made an offer and I said thanks very much. 

2042.

2041.

2040.

2039.

2038. 

2037.

2036.

After that we have nobody at the club until we get back to the 2029 intake, and nobody before that. 

2029. 

What I was looking for initially was an expected over-population of strikers and wingers, but actually I'm not sure it shows that any more than would normally be expected. 

GK. 12 5%
DL/DR. 12345 13%
DC. 123456 15%
MC. 1234567891011 28%
AML/R/SC. 123456789101112131415 38%
Total. 39.

Of course it makes sense that most players coming through the intake are either wide players or strikers. I'm not using wingers in this save and the HoYD prefers a 4231 formation meaning that he fits 4 of his starting XI into my forward positions. The biggest hole to fill here is at centre-half where he has only 2 and we have 3. 

I really should get rid of the HoYD for someone who favours a 343 formation but he;s good, has a good personality, (Model Pro), and we finally seem to be producing some decent players after some barren years, (although I will be more readily able to say that when some of the more recent intakes start breaking into the 1st team). 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, BML said:

Thank you, once again, for such an in-depth answer.

I'll be interested to see how you fare with a non-playing/barely playing captain. Whenever I have attempted something similar in the past their rise through the hierarchy was too slow to be worthwhile, not to mention to initial squad happiness hit of moving the captaincy from a Team Leader to a new signing making things harder (squad morale wise, and everything connected to that) in the immediate short term.

The main positive I can see for you though is that you'll finally be able to utilise @Sonic Youth's advice and bring in a keeper for those AFCON months. You would have thought that being older, this new player would be an established international or old enough that the possibility of switching is non existent. Although I suspect that the players at the centre of that particular Venn Diagram will be few and far between!

Hey @BML With regards to a non-playing captain question, first of all I don't mean that they will never play. I really mean that they will play in our easier games, (I'm thinking easy European games at home and some of the Cope del Rey early Rounds. I also don't plan on them having to ride through the hierarchy ranks because the player I have in mind at the moment is 28 year old Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * who is the existing vice captain and one of the 3 Team Leaders. He's a right back who has been playing at left back for ages now, (possibly since I signed him I think), and we have good options coming through in both full-back positions. He's the perfect player to have regularly sitting on the bench because he can cover both positions, (not that it's a problem with 12 subs), but he also has a Professional personality, although his determination is on the low side at 12. He has 2 years left on his contract and while I could probably sell him in the Summer for £10M-£15M, I think it's worth keeping him just to try and take some of the burden away from Camara (SEN) 6'2", (who it should be said has scored 5 of his 6 penalties this season compared to 10 or 11  of 19 or 20 last season I think). 

The only huge negative here is that I actually like having a Driven player as a captain, (although a Model pro might even trump that). 

So although we will take a small hit in terms of dropping Camara (SEN) 6'2" as a captain, the new captain should be a good enough choice as to override much of that negativity, (other than for Camara (SEN) 6'2" himself), and the vice-captain of Guèhi (CIV) * will remain the same. 

With regards to the @Sonic Youthidea to recruit a GK specifically for the AFCON period, you might have missed it but I did actually make an attempt to do that with the signing of Faty (FRA)(SEN) 6'4".

When I signed him he was French 1st and Senagalese 2nd and had 19 U21 Caps for France U21's. Now he is capped by both, is currently in the SEN squad, but is still eligible for both. 

When I sent him out on loan to Sheff Utd last season he was capped by France in a friendly off the bench, (not sure what game), and then more recently, (Oct 2046) he was capped by Senegal against Uruguay in a friendly when he came off the bench for the last 18 mins of the game and was then subsequently called up to the AFCON. The 1st I knew about his involvement in Senegal was when he was called up to the AFCON squad. I knew he was going on International duty but assumed, (incorrectly), it was France. 

This wasn't a waste in terms of a transfer because he's still a good player and will still generate profit if we sell him, but in terms of the actual time and effort I spent looking for a non-African African GK good enough to play for us and happy enough to sit on the bench it's an absolute nightmare. I can't begin to tell you how many GK's I sifted through over how long.

As a result we now find ourselves with another GK who goes to the AFCON, (that's 4 now), and I have been forced to re-sign (38l) Paradas 6'1" AFCON as an emergency measure, and the truth is that although he's a product of our Academy, he's not nearly good enough for the level we want to play at. 

Edited July 14, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2050. Mar 2047. 

We have 3 players on the list. 

I have a sneaking suspicion that all 3 of these players were signed last season after me seeing them on this list and it's interesting to note that all 3 have made their senior International debuts. 

#19 is Awalom (NOR)(ERI) and I like him as one of our wide strikers in our tactic. I will be happy when he plays a competitive game for NOR and is no longer eligible for ERI. 

#43 is Thalmas (CIV) looks decent and his strength is certainly his physicality. He has 1 more year on this list. 

#48 is Fofana (CIV) and I really like the look of him. 

There are some other Africans on the list though. 

#13 is Hamidi (ALG) 5'10" and I love him. He's a perfectionist and although he's only 5'10" I'm gonna try to sign him, He's also eligible for this list next season. 

#15 is Haddouche (FRA)(ALG) and at only 17 he looks amazing. I will spend big money on him if I can get him. 

#24 is Prempeh (ENG)(GHA) and at 18 he has another year on this list too. He looks well suited to the wide attacking positions and obviously being a non-African African is a bonus. 

#30 is Okechukwu (NGA). I tried to sign him last season but couldn't get a deal done. 

#40 is Khumalo (RSA) is a big lad at 6'4" and the 1st thing that jumps out is his jumping of 20 attribute. 

Edited July 19, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2047. 

La Liga. Dropping 2 points against Villarreal is a blow, but we're still 5 points clear with a game in hand on Atletico. Real Hispalis are 3 further points back and have played 2 more games than us. 

Atletico have drawn 3 of their last 5 games, (dropping 6 points). 
Real Hispalis have lost 2 of their last 5 games, (dropping 6 points).
Real Madrid have drawn 3 of their last 5 games, (dropping 6 points). 
Barca have drawn 2 of their last 5 games, (dropping 4 points). 
Sevilla have drawn 2 and lost 1 of their last 5 games, (dropping 7 points). 

We didn't drop 2 points. We gained points on absolutely everyone. 

UEFA Champions League. We snuck through here but PSG are a decent team if not quite the juggernaut they are in real life right now. 

B Team. We're playing really well at the moment and are up to 3rd in the league. We're probably too far off Malaga and Almeria in 1st and 2nd to mount a proper title challenge, but you never know. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Big Bid. Apr 2047.

Kitoko (BEL)(COD) * has a min fee release clause of £120M and I'm not selling him for less than that. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2047.

La Liga. A good month with just 1 goal conceded and just 2 points dropped sees us now top the table by 8 points from Atletico and 12 points from Real Madrid with a game in hand on each. 

UEFA Champions League. We were blitzed in the 1st half against Bayern and could never overcome such a deficit.

B Team. We're doing really well and are up to 3rd in the league and into the Final of the International Cup. 

Records. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Big Bid, (by us).  May 2047. 

I'm not 100% positive, but I think this is possibly the biggest bid I have ever made in FM ever. I'm trying to think of a save in which I might have made a bigger offer, but I can't think of one. 

They accepted this bid the 1st time round, (but without the 10% profit), but we couldn't agree terms with the player. We're in again but they want more now. 

Haddouche (FRA)(ALG) came to my attention on this seasons NxGn list, (ranked #15), when he was only 17, (so has 2 more years left on the list). As an added bonus he's another non-African African. I really want this bloke. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Awards. May 2047. 

2nd and 3rd in La Liga Player of the Year. 

La Liga GK of the Year. 

Manager of the Year. 

La Liga Team of the Season. 

Camara (SEN) 6'2" was absolutely nailed on. 

Ly (BEL)(SEN) * is a strange choice in my opinion because he was only our 2nd Team DLC last season. He's certainly in with a chance to move up to the 1st Team next season, butu I haven't looked at that yet. 

Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * is someone I'm considering for captain for next season, but also in line with me stepping him back from more regular playing time. The fact that he's made the La Liga Team of the Season is making me doubt myself though.  

Saïdi (MAR) * is another strange choice. He was a 2nd Team midfielder in what was his 1st season at this level for us. 

Sakanoko 2 (CIV) MC * is a hell of a player for us, but I think there is more to come from him, even at this age. 

Salifu (ENG)(GHA) * is a little bit of a surprise addition to the Team of the Year simply because he only scored 18 La Liga goals and 3 different players scored more than him. I think this was largely down to my rotation policy though.

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2047. 

We're far more about scoring 1 more than the opposition, so this was pretty pleasing and although I wasn't aware that we hadn't done this already in the save, it actually makes sense that we hadn't based on how we play. 

La Liga. We had a decent month, but it was spoiled a little by the Alaves game which was my fault because I got the pre-match build-up wrong with regards to securing the title. When will I ever learn never ever ever ever ever ever to add pressure. Just ease the pressure every single time with no exceptions. Ever! 

We won La Liga by 10 points in the end, (even with the Alaves loss), and it was a really impressive season. Just short of 100 goals though. Gotta fix that next season. 

We've won 3 of the last 4 league titles and finished in the top 3 in each of the last 8 seasons. The only reason we don't have more titles to our name is because Real Madrid and Sevilla absolutely smashed it in 41/42 & 42/43 and we completely screwed it in 44/45 when we left ourselves with too much ground to make up on Real Hispalis/Betis. at the end of the season. 

B Team. I'm not completely sure what tournament this is in real life, (all English clubs with some foreign clubs given special invites), but we got to the Final, (and lost), last season, and went one better this season. These are classed as competitive games and it's a real proper trophy so.... 

We still have 2 games left to play but Malaga have already won the title. It's a little bit hutting actually because although they finished 8 points ahead of us, we dropped 11 points in January during AFCON, so without that I'm pretty sure we would have won the double because I have promoted B Team players to the 1st team in the last couple of weeks because there was nothing riding on the games for either the 1st Team or 2nd Team. 

U19's.

They lost in the Final of the U19 Cup though and when I looked to see why, it appears that we selected a much weakened team for some reason and also had a player sent off in the 1st half. Some very strange decisions by whoever is in charge of the U19's. 

We've won the league already, but in Spain at this level there are 7 different groups and after the Group Stage we go into a Playoff stage and we still have the Final to play of that, (against Espanyol). 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

 

Finances.