karanhsingh Posted May 7, 2023 Share Posted May 7, 2023 2 hours ago, KlaaZ said: That's probably because players under 18 are far more dependant on training to develop. From 18 onwards, game time becomes more important as they get older. If you want, I can drop my youth training schedule in attachment here later so you can test it? Sure let's have a look ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 7, 2023 Author Share Posted May 7, 2023 1 hour ago, karanhsingh said: Sure let's have a look ! There you go! High emphasis on technicals and mentals, with one training block for every physical aspect and one general physical block as well. Still needs more testing, but what I've seen in my FM22 save looked promising. If possible get coaches with great WWY and personalities too. Klaas2.fmf Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 7, 2023 Author Share Posted May 7, 2023 Transfer news I think we're almost set when it comes to the squad for this season. A quick overview of our remaining additions! Mahmady Bangré was brought in on loan from Toulouse and will be a starter on the right wing. At center back, Chrislain Matsima joins us on loan from Monaco. Our biggest reinforcement is done on the right where another loanie, Filipe Cruz, joins us from Benfica. And to have some more depth in central midfield, we loan Mohamed Achi from Nantes. Apart from this, there's also a permanent signing. Young Wilitty Younoussa joins us from Rodez, who were relegated to the National, in a deal that can run up to 170k. He'll be our starting box to box midfielder this season. On the outgoing side, Lucas Pellegrini leaves for 78k to Denmark and young Baseya goes on loan as he's currently blocked by two better players and needs match experience to progress. We're also still talking to a new goalkeeper, but no confirmation yet. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 7, 2023 Author Share Posted May 7, 2023 A solid preseason ends with an absolute morale booster with an 11-0 destruction of Trémery. The loss against Wiesbaden was unfortunate but we fielded a B-team and weren't as bad as the scoreline suggested. We start the league in a few days, away at recently relegated Ajaccio. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 7, 2023 Author Share Posted May 7, 2023 Final score 3-1, not the start we had in mind. That said, I feel we were unlucky. They scored from a penalty, a rebound after a free kick deflection, and they made their third from an indirect free kick at a moment where we had clear momentum and were really banging on the door. The bad news is that both Alioui and his replacement Fall had an absolute shocking game and that is something which I'm very sensitive to. We play a system that heavily depends on the striker, which is shown by last season's 20 goals provided by Sakho. If the striker doesn't deliver, games turn out like this one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 7, 2023 Author Share Posted May 7, 2023 It's the end of August and with seven games played, three of which against promotion contenders, I have a pretty good feel about the league. I'm confident we have enough about ourselves to stay up, and maybe even hold onto a lower midtable finish. A top half position is probably too much to ask, especially as we're defensively shakey, to say the least. It's not that we're giving away a lot of chances (8th in the xG against table which is not perfect but not terrible), but we're conceding a lot more than the xG against. We started off with an unlucky game against Ajaccio. The home game against Guingamp was a rollercoaster, going behind twice, then going ahead only to concede an equalizer in the 85th minute. Apart from that, we're doing quite well. The away game in Grenoble was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests, but our two other home wins were well deserved. We have a problem when playing away though. The Bordeaux game especially was terrible, with us on the backfoot from start to finish. This leaves us in 9th place with ten points, not too shabby but only four points above a relegation spot so we can't get complacent. Finally, we bring in two more players before the end of the transfer window. I'm happy with both, as we needed a better option in goal and Cissé is a clear improvement in midfield. There were no bids for El Aynaoui and he's been doing well, so we'll hope that he changes his mind and if not, he's leave on a free in June. Spoiler Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 7, 2023 Author Share Posted May 7, 2023 xG against: 13. Goals conceded: 18. Lost four points already in games where we were by far the better team, but we ship goals like there's no tomorrow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 8, 2023 Author Share Posted May 8, 2023 It's the end of October and after another seven games played, I'm fairly confident that we will stay up if we don't get a spectacular fallback. Only two losses in seven games, both against teams that are competing for promotion. Even better, both games were surprisingly even. In Lorient we looked like we would get away with a point after a very good defensive performance but a 84th minute free kick goal sealed our fate. The only game I'm annoyed with is at home against Metz where we blew a 2-0 lead. The next few five games will be very important, three of them being against teams that are currently battling relegation. This leaves us in a satisfactory 9th position. Stop the clock! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 8, 2023 Author Share Posted May 8, 2023 No B-team in the French cup for PSG, unlucky for us but we have nothing to lose! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 8, 2023 Author Share Posted May 8, 2023 That didn't take long. We're going to be on the end of a very rough beating.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 8, 2023 Author Share Posted May 8, 2023 0-5 after 35 minutes, and we're not even that bad.. But in the first half hour, every chance they had went in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 8, 2023 Author Share Posted May 8, 2023 And that's our embarassing cup end, even if it was against PSG. We weren't that bad as Bangré got one on one with Donnarumma three times, Cissé missed a good chance and Younoussa hit the bar with a piledriver but yeah. To be fair, we need a lot to score goals right now, and today was no different. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 8, 2023 Author Share Posted May 8, 2023 Halfway through January and apart from the cup elimination (which was to be expected really), we're doing very, very well. We're currently on an eight game unbeaten run and although we found it very difficult to convert chances in the last few games, we finally found our scoring boots again against Grenoble, with Kaabouni scoring four (!) times. This string of results propelled us right up the table and although there's still a lot of football to be played, it's very likely that we'll at least contend for a playoff spot. I'm not sure if promotion is really on the cards and I'm also not sure if I want it as we still have our share of defensive issues with over one goal per game conceded on average. The good news is that we're not only the best scoring team in the league, we also create the most chances. Finally, I'm very curious about our next youth intake, which is supposedly going to be a potential goldmine. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 You're putting together some good form in the league now! Lets just ignore that PSG result... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
billmatic Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 Brilliant so far! Followed this topic in a heartbeat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 4 hours ago, karanhsingh said: You're putting together some good form in the league now! Lets just ignore that PSG result... Yeah, in hindsight we we just unlucky to come across PSG with most of its best players. And we did quite well, it was just one of those nights. Very happy with the league results though! 4 hours ago, billmatic said: Brilliant so far! Followed this topic in a heartbeat. Thanks, happy to have you aboard! 😎 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 It's looking more and more likely that promotion is off the table and from the looks of it, that's a good thing because we are one defensive horrorshow even in Ligue 2. We're not even playing badly most of the time, but the amount of goals we concede is just out of this world really. We've conceded the most goals of all the teams outside the relegation zone, despite being 10th in xG against. It's just a matter of quality, I think. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 Case in point. Most of their xG came from when we went down to ten but at that point they already netted four goals. We're currently on a four games without a win streak, lost the last two. Performances are down the gutter and morale is low. It's also something tactical but I can't find the fix. We keep losing possession in our own half by dribbling into opponents and once we do, we give away a boatload of space behind our central defenders. I've tried less dribbling, higher tempo, being more direct and dropping the defensive line or playing with a cover CB, nothing seems to help. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 Not even going to comment on it anymore. Five more games played, and these are the results, with twelve goals conceded in the last three games. And we play Auxerre next, so that's going to be another thumping. Can't win games like this. We're still not out of contention for the playoffs but look at the amount of goals conceded.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 Ouch! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 15 minutes ago, karanhsingh said: Ouch! Yeah, it's bad. Seven games without a win now. Drew against Auxerre who played half an hour with ten men, and drew in Metz where we finally went ahead, but then conceded (again) from our first shot on target and missed a tap-in in the 93rd minute. It's just all going against us now. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
billmatic Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 That's gutting. At least you have a positive GD. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 35 minutes ago, billmatic said: That's gutting. At least you have a positive GD. I've let it sink in a little and I think it's really down to player quality, both up front and at the back. Alioui had got four goals with an xG of nine, and my wingers have a lot of potential but they're still young and developing. Same story at the back, where Felipe Cruz at right back is Ligue 2 material but the others are top National at most. Mayele on the left has been making great improvement but he's not quite there yet. If I can hold onto my midfield triangle, cut the deadwood (lots of contracts running out in the summer) and replace them with some quality signings, I think we may be able to push for promotion properly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 A lot of good news from this year's youth intake! A lot of high potentials, with Vardanyan and Talbi probably being the best of the lot. Marin also looks good but his personality is going to be a problem. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 FINALLY! We beat Bastia, deservedly, and even kept a clean sheet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 Five games to go and it will be tight. We're back to our unbeaten ways, although four of these seven games were draws. We equalized in the 93rd against Lorient and deserved more in the other draws but as per usual, we concede easily. I'm hoping our last game against struggling Annecy will drive us onto good things though, with one of my strikers, Fall, finally scoring. Our next three games are all against relegation zone teams and we finish the season with two home games so anything is possible. The last one is against Ajaccio, who are currently in fifth. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 Two games to go, promotion is pretty much out of the window mathematically speaking, as we're six points off fifth. In case you wonder why, here's a bunch of games we lost points in this season. Spot the pattern. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted May 10, 2023 Share Posted May 10, 2023 That's a very solid looking intake again. Hope some of these guys start knocking on the door of the first team soon. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 10, 2023 Author Share Posted May 10, 2023 1 hour ago, karanhsingh said: That's a very solid looking intake again. Hope some of these guys start knocking on the door of the first team soon. Think it'll be another year at least, although I may play them in the cup sooner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 10, 2023 Author Share Posted May 10, 2023 Another one for the the 'we were the better team but' bucket. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 10, 2023 Author Share Posted May 10, 2023 Final table! I think we can be very happy all in all, and with the right signings we may even be able to push for a promotion spot next year. I'll do a more comprehensive writeup tonight. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted May 10, 2023 Share Posted May 10, 2023 Excellent season overall! Brilliant intakes too! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 10, 2023 Author Share Posted May 10, 2023 7 hours ago, john1 said: Excellent season overall! Brilliant intakes too! Cheers John! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 10, 2023 Author Share Posted May 10, 2023 2023-2024: Season recap Ligue 2 It's a season to remember as we claim 8th place in our first season up. I'm very happy with the statistical performances, but less so with the fact that we lost a lot of points where we deserved more. But even despite that, I think we could have pushed for the promotion places if it hadn't been for that horrid seven game streak at the beginning of the second half of the season. All in all, we did well though, with fourth highest amount of goals scored and the best goal difference outside of the top five. If we can turn some draws into wins next year, we'll be looking good. French Cup We beat two smaller teams before getting thumped a bit too hard compared to our performance by the Parisian giant. Board wanted seventh round, which is where we started the cup, so an easy objective to outperform! Finances and facilities No upgrades to the facilities as we were about 1M in the red at the end of the season. This was offset by almost 3M of sponsorship income though, so we're looking quite healthy and projected to make small profits in the next seasons, especially if we can make money off some player sales (which I'll cover a bit more extensively in the squad building part). Squad building and player development As stated earlier, a lot of deadwood contracts are running out with 13 or 14 players leaving the club. Apart from El Aynaoui, they won't be missed. More importantly, they'll free up almost one third of the currently used wage budget, making much needed room for some quality improvement. We'll also scour the loan market. Our current loanies will leave as all of their clubs think they should be tested in a different environment (whatever that means). On the current player front, Jeremy Mayele has been making a lot of progress this season, and there seems to be room for quite a bit more. The same goes for new signing Younoussa in midfield. I'll be looking for two midfielders, one with defensive qualities, at least two new central defenders, at least one striker (two if both Alioui and Fall were to leave) and at least one player who can play both wings. Speaking of the wings, Cissé and young Kaninda have also been doing quite well and been showing improvement. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 10, 2023 Author Share Posted May 10, 2023 Transfer news Two new signings have been confirmed already. I'm trying to focus on French/African players but at the back, central defenders are hard to find so we found an out of contract viking in Denmark. Stefan Gartenmann was surplus to requirements at Midtjylland and will join us for 95k. He'll go straight into the first team, definite improvement over the current options. Spoiler Up front, we snap up Andrew Jung on a free from Molenbeek. Interesting profile with a lot of length and power, something which will come in handy as our attacking set pieces yielded very little result last year. Spoiler 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 11, 2023 Author Share Posted May 11, 2023 It's still quite early but something seems to be clicking in preseason. This is probably the highest xG I've ever achieved in any game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 11, 2023 Author Share Posted May 11, 2023 Transfer news Three more signings! A left back rotation option who will only play when Mayele is unavailable, a first choice winger and a much needed defensive minded midfielder. All on a free obviously, because we have no money. I'm especially happy with Thioune, who looks like a great addition to the squad. I know they're not exactly matching the signing philosophy (young and French), but the young options I had were just financially not attainable and the academy prospects are not ready for first team football. Yet. On the outgoing side, two youngsters who are not looking like that much leave the club for a combined 240k. Every penny counts. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 11, 2023 Author Share Posted May 11, 2023 Preseason and first games We had an excellent preseason with some very big wins and a LOT of chances created. However, our opening game against Valenciennes was a disappointment so we're one game in and already tinkering. With success, because the away win in Paris FC was much deserved and could have been higher. Lo and behold, Alioui even scored a brace, already reaching half his tally from last season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 11, 2023 Author Share Posted May 11, 2023 Will post a final update tomorrow evening probably. After that, me and the missus are out for a week to do some hiking in Mallorca. Had some good results but I'm worried about the performances. we did bring in another player, and have one more pending, that should definitely strengthen us. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 Enjoy the holiday mate! Look forward to your update. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 Transfer news With the limited wage budget and money in general, we have to be clever in our transfer business. We did bring in one midfield playmaker on loan, for a measely 950 p/w. And we have another Scandinavian central defender join us in January on a free. I'm very happy with both. Spoiler Spoiler In the league, everything is going to plan but as stated earlier, all these wins are way too tight. Against Clermont, we deservedly ran out 2-0, then stopped playing and had them come back to 2-2, with Jacobo scoring the winner and their second equalizer being chalked off in the 85th minute. The game in Reims was a lot closer than the scoreline showed, with them scoring a free kick and an own goal. Nimes at home was terrible (xG of 0.22), QRM was a near identical scenario of the Clermont game. I've altered a few things tactically, I hope they help. On the bright side, we're in a rather good position right now. Long may it last! I'm quite hoping that we will be able to gain promotion this year, as finance are a bit of a problem and we're projected to remain in the red for the next few years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 Oh, and we have found a very nice new HOYD. Perfect personality, high WWY and a 433 DM wide as preferred formation. Praise Jebus! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 3 hours ago, karanhsingh said: Enjoy the holiday mate! Look forward to your update. Thanks, long overdue as we've had quite a hectic few months both with work and the house we're having built. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 Hopefully no tycoon.. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 What a epic pre season Not bad start to the season. Enjoy your hiking with your missus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 15, 2023 Author Share Posted May 15, 2023 8 hours ago, john1 said: What a epic pre season Not bad start to the season. Enjoy your hiking with your missus Cheers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 20, 2023 Author Share Posted May 20, 2023 I'm back, and will revive this with a quick update from where I landed. Another eight games played, and although the performances are still not the best, we're also never being outplayed and the results are quite excellent. Only one loss, an even game in Lorient, and one (undeserved) draw at home against Paris. We stole the win in Auxerre but the other games were well deserved. We're still in fourth place but the gap with fifth is a considerable six points now, and the gap with a non-promotion spot nine. Hopefully, we can keep this up and at least reach a playoff spot. We're also only one point off second place which would mean direct promotion. I'll pick up on player performances halfway through the season, so this is it for now. Let's play! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 21, 2023 Author Share Posted May 21, 2023 The draw of the seventh round of the French Cup was kind to us with a game away at the semi pros of Cayenne. This was an excellent opportunity to give some game time to a few bench players and, more importantly, the most interesting youngsters from the academy. We kicked off the game with no less than five academy starters. Our front three, Mendy in the mezzala role and Metayer in goal. Besse shone on his debut with a neat hattrick, and the other three also managed to get onto the scoresheet in an emphatic 9-0 victory. Quite a few of them will go out on loan during the winter break to get some game time at the appropriate level, as this seems to have done wonders for the two central defenders that are already on that track. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlaaZ Posted May 21, 2023 Author Share Posted May 21, 2023 Halfway the season with nineteen games played, and we've had some very good results. Another five unbeaten games, the draw against Toulouse was unfortunate as we came back from behind but they equalized in the 85th. They're top of the league too, so that would have been a very important win but all in all, I can have absolutely no complaints. This leaves us a very comfortable seven points clear in second place, only one point away from Toulouse. Everything to play for, and everything to lose. We also had a very good cup run, beating our rivals Metz and stealing a very narrow win in Reims before going out with the smallest of differences against Ligue 1 mid table RC Lens. Jung has been excellent up front, with Alioui this season as a reliable backup. Gartenmann has been a rock in central defense and youngster Kaninda has become a reliable first team player. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 Solid season so far. Some of those youngsters indeed look very promising. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now