[FM23] Kosovo

[Jimbokav1971]

Kosovan Transfers. Jul 2029. 

These aren't all the biggest transfers from Josovan clubs, but they're the biggest that went abroad that I could see. It's clear to see that Ballkani adopted a tactic to see to the middle East early in the save and then what you can't see is that they reinvested this money in their U19's buy buying young talent from domestic rivals and then reaping the benefits as they developed. They have had significantly more success in Europe, (itself bringing in more cash), and the only surprise is that Drika managed to win the SuperLeague title from them this season. 

Aug 2022. £17,500 Llapi to Retrô (Brazil)
Aug 2022. £3,700(£5,250) Malisheva to Aldershot (England)
Sep 2022. £2,000(£2,500) Dukagjini Kline to KF Skënderbeu (Albania).
Dec 2022. £14,500 Dukagjini Kline to Al-Bataeh (UAE).
Jan 2023. £24,000 Dukagjini Kline to  Ferroviária (Brazil)
Apr 2023. £245,000(£300,000) Llapi to Umm-Salal (Qatar)
Jun 2023. £41,500 Ballkani to Al-Ittihad (UAE)
Jun 2023 £36,500 Malisheva to IMT (Serbia)
Jul 2023 £125,000 Ballkani to Al-Ittihad (UAE)
Jul 2023 £83,000 Prishtina to Phoenix (USA)
Aug 2023 £125,000 Ballkani to Al-Shamal (Qatar)
Dec 2023. £74,000 Ballkani to Khor Fakkan (UAE)
Apr 2025. £43,000(£89,000) Dukagjini Kline to Al-Bataeh (UAE)
Jun 2025 £39,000 Ballkani to Dibba Al-Fujairah (UAE)
Oct 2025 £375,000 Ballkani to Al-Shamal (Qatar)
Oct 2025 £170,000£210,000 Ballkani to Ajman (UAE)
Dec 2026 £4,300 Drita to Skënderbeu (Albania)
Jan 2028. £43,500(£61,000) Ballkani to Boca Unidos (Argentina)
May 2028. £35,500 FC Feronikeli 74 to San Pedro (Ivory Coast)
Jul 2028. £93,000(£130,000) Ballkani to Baniyas (UAE)
Oct 2028. £105,000£145,000 Ballkani to Al-Dhafra (UAE)
Apr 2029. £66,000(£135,000) Ballkani to Al-Shamal (Qatar)

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2029. 

MC. There will be an enormous drop-off when we rotate our 2 best midfielders, but we will still do it to ensure survival. No interest yet from abroad in our 2 midfield maestro's. 

MLC. (27b) Kapo * & (29h) Ibraimi
MRC. (28a) Mema * & (26n) Gjuzi *

(29j) Gojani
(28d) Krasniqi *
(28h) Fetahu
(29c) Murati
(29p) Xhemaili (KOS)(ALB) will all play in the U19's.

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2039. 

SC. It looks like we have millions of strikers, but that's just because all midfielders and wingers are included in this list. When you consider that (28m) Big Laak (KOS)(FIN) scored 27 goals in all competitions last season and he's just 2.0 CA and (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) is immediately 5.0 CA, I think it suggests that scoring goals might not be a problem this season. Of course we ill continue to develop and play both of them in the central position, because I'm still very concerned about the Balkan El Presidente accepting bids over my head, if and when the Oil money starts getting thrown about. 

We lost (25i) Ramadan * to FC Feronikeli 74 on a free in the Summer and we will miss him, so there is a gap on the left. I must admit I'm considering playing (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) on the left and (28m) Big Laak (KOS)(FIN) through the middle. Both of them together could be rather impressive. No, I'm going to stick with it as is, because then the Ass Man can bring (28m) Big Laak (KOS)(FIN) off the bench. 

SLC. (29n) Willibald (KOS)(GER) & (29b) Myrta (KOS)(ALB)
SC. (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) & (28m) Big Laak (KOS)(FIN)
SRC. (28b) Vasiu (L.Det) & (28k) Imhof (KOS)(SUI)

[Jimbokav1971]

Player valuations. Jul 2029. 

I've got no intention of selling players right now, (although with the way we're popping players out of the Academy I do wonder what the future might hold in that respect. 

Obviously, CA, PA, form and contract size and length all have an impact here so you can't just look at the player at the top of the list and say that he will have the best PA. Having said that though, I look at a player such as (27e) Metani 5'10" *, with very low relative CA and I do wonder what might be the driver in his valuation? He's not playing in the 1st Team, He's not on any more than some of the others on the list, yet his ranked #3 by valuation....

[Jimbokav1971]

International Recognition. Jul 2029.

I'm not going to bother telling you every time a player plays for the U18's or U19's and stuff like that, but I do think that U21 level and Senior INT level appearances deserve some sort of recognition. 

(24b) Pekka Pietilä (KOS)(FIN) was the 1st to play at U21 level. He opted to represent Finland rather than Kosovo and has made 8 U21 appearances for them. He's now actually playing in FInland. 
(28m) Big Laak (KOS)(FIN) joined him, (playing for Finland U21's), and he has made 6 appearances at that level, (scoring 2 goals). 
(27a) Redzepi DC 5'10" was the 1st to represent (KOS) at this level and his versatility has benefited him as he has played at both centre-half & DM for Kosovo at U21 level, (collecting 2 Caps).
(29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) might only be 15 years old, but he's already been called up to the (KOS) U21 squad, (making 1 appearance). Could he be good enough to become our 1st full International? 

[Jimbokav1971]

Season Preview. Aug 2029. 

Pre-season. (who cares).

Predictions. Much as I would like to say that there is no way we're getting relegated again, the truth is that we only finished 2nd in our First League Group and the team that finished as Champions ahead of us FC Feronikeli 74, are a bit of a yo-yo club and have never finished higher than 7th in SuperLeague, (although have won the 1st League title on 3 occasions).

The reason that I think we have such a good chance of staying up is quite simply (A) because of the strength in CA of the (29) intake, and (B) because all the other players are a year further on in their development now. 

When we got promoted before and in answer to a question from @_Ben_as to when will the save get hard? (It got so hard we got relegated!)  I created this graphic showing the differences of the clubs at this level. Well we're back in the SuperLeague so let's dust it off again and update it and see where we are now. 

This is how it was back then. 

 

This is how it is now. (I can't update the Squad salary PA because the season hasn't started, but will do when it does). 

The results are both quite predictable, but also surprising at the same time. 

• We know that 3 seasons ago the TV money in the Superleague was approx £564k per team. Now it's risen by a whopping 23%, (£128,000) to £692k per team. Add that together and it means that the 10 sides in the SuperLeague have an extra £1.28M between then compared to this time 3 seasons ago. 
• With more money to spend, it makes complete sense that 3 clubs Financial situation have improved and 9 of the 10 clubs are spending more on players, (at least their highest player), and the only one that isn't was in the First League last season so would have cut it's cloth accordingly. 
• You can also see that both season tickets and average attendances are up across the board, (with 2 exceptions), both of whom played in the First league last season which would have skewed results. 
• The surprise, (for me at least), is that not only have the clubs not invested this money into infrastructure, (particularly Ballkani who have £11.2M sitting in the bank), but 3 of them have actually seen the quality of their facilities deteriorate over the period in question, (3 clubs have seen their Youth Facilities downgraded).  Now it could be that the cost at that level is significant, (and certainly Trepça '89 have an excuse because they don't have any money), but I do look at the players we're producing and then wonder why nobody else is investing?  The money is there. They're just choosing to spend it on wages rather than elsewhere. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2029.

SuperLeague. This is a really good start for us. Remember, we don't have to win the league or qualify for Europe. We just have to finish 3rd bottom and then win the Playoff. I played the 1st team in our 1st, 2nd and 4th games and it worked really well with 6 points in the bag from the opening month and we were a little unlucky not to grab another one against Trepça '89. The 2nd Team took a bit of a battering in the 2nd half against SC Gjilani, but we actually led 1-0 and 2-1 and it was 2-2 at HT. they would have probably given our 1st Team a beating. The rotation in that game was just what we needed for a really strong performance in the 4th game. 

(29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) was the undoubted star of the show with 5 goals from 3(1) appearances. For a 15 year old that's simply ridiculous. 

It's not all good news though unfortunately. He will be out for 3-5 weeks, 

He will be a loss while he's out, especially as we're in a busy period of games, but we will just have to cope without him and (28m) Big Laak (KOS)(FIN) will get to strut his stuff. Really don't mind that at all. 

Finances. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

International call-ups. Sep 2029. 

I think I'm correct in saying that if you can withdraw a player from International duty, then he doesn't count towards the number that decides if a game gets called off. I'm really not 100% sure on this though so I will have to keep an eye on it. I know for a fact, (I think), that it's only players in your Senior squad that count, (so players in the U19's squad for example wouldn't count towards the number required to get a 2st team game postponed. 

I'm glad I looked at this actually because they have called up (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) and he's nowhere near playing. I don't usually withdraw players from International duty, (can't remember the the last time I did it), but he's getting recalled right now. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2029. 

SuperLeague. This was a pretty sobering month, and it just served to emphasise exactly how far we still have to go. 

I played the 1st Team against Prishtina, Dukagjini Kline & Liria and it so nearly paid off. We won a point at home to Prishtina, had 2 goals ruled, out a player sent off and hit the woodwork twice and still only trailed 3-2 with 7 mins left against Dukagjini Kline, and then I still don't know how we didn't beat Liria. 2 goals ruled out and they score not 1 but 2 goals in injury time.  Really tough month, but the positive is that (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) made a scoring return to the side against Liria. 

The 2nd Team were given some humility lessons by Ballkani after 2 good performances against Llapi & Drita. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2029. 

SuperLeague. A brilliant month after the frustrations of September. FC Feronikeli 74 look dead and buried after only 14 games, so we just need to finish above 1 other club. I should point out that that's a completely false position for Drita down near the bottom and they certainly won't be there come the end of the season. 

Job Offer. No thank you! 

Finances. 

[Mr Jabay]

I really like Vonmoos, but his Natural Fitness is really abysmal. Can it actually increase?

 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Mr Jabay said:

I really like Vonmoos, but his Natural Fitness is really abysmal. Can it actually increase?

Yeah he's great, but his natural fitness really does suck. 

Your question asking if natural fitness can actually increase is one of the best I've had in my threads in ages because..... I don't know. I have never bothered finding out. 

I have just looked and it appears that you can improve natural fitness by training things such as "Fitness" and "Endurance" sessions, but I delegate all my Team Training, (although I control individual training), and I don't anticipate that changing any time soon. 

The other way to improve natural fitness appears for the player to just improve it over time with regular training and matches. I think the idea is that the player becomes more accustomed to the demands of the game and so his Natural Fitness levels increase over time in line with that. (Certainly makes sense to me). The other thing is that it will also decline over time as a player comes towards the end of his career. 

I've also read that the Natural Fitness attribute heavily influences how quickly a players physical stats drop off as they age and approach retirement, and with a score of 3 his would fall off a cliff.

This, on top of the stuff we probably already know like influencing how quickly a player recovers to full fitness after playing training. A player with low natural fitness recovers slowly. A player with high natural fitness recovers quickly. It also influences the way in which players become "jaded" over the course of a hard physical season. 

Obviously we're a Part Time club in a league full of fully Pro clubs , so this sort of thing is going to become quite important. In the recent month, (September), where we had 6 league games, it was really noticeable to me how fatigued our players were after 1 game and there was a significant difference to a similar schedule in for example my Ceuta save. I think that makes sense though because that was a squad full of Elite/World Class footballers and this is a team of largely teenagers, (many just 15/15), playing and training PT. It's operated very well by the game I think. 

In terms of (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) and how it's going to affect him, I think he's probably going to become fatigued quicker over the course of the season, but as I use this rotation policy it might help things a little. Over time, going FT will definitely help him, but it's something that I will have to carefully manage I think. With any luck I will soon get someone through the intake who is even better, because obviously he's more suited to appearing from the bench than he is starting every week. I would expect him to have a stronger 1st half of the season and a poorer 2nd half as he becomes more and more fatigued. 

[Edit]

We're only in November and we're already getting messages saying multiple players are jaded and need a rest. This didn't happen the last time we were in the SuperLeague, but then again we had a slightly older squad then. 15/16 year olds really shouldn't be playing every week & sometimes twice a week. 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2029. 

SuperLeague. We actually did quite well against both Prishtina & Ballkani, (while still deserving to lose), but who cares when you have (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) who can step up and slot you home a vital 93rd min winner against struggling Drita who should be nowhere near down the bottom of the table. 

Kosovan Cup. I was really undecided about whether or not I should put (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) on the bench or not. We'd just had the conversation in here about his Natural Fitness and me trying to manage his load to get the best out of him, but in the end I just decided that 20 mins would probably not be an issue at this time of the season, (with us about to go on our Winter break). As it happens he came on in the 75th min and immediately scored from a (28m) Big Laak (KOS)(FIN) assist, and then in ET they reversed the roles and (28m) Big Laak (KOS)(FIN) scored from a (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) assist. 

Finances.  I'm not really sure when we should turn Pro. I remember back in the day in the @dafuge challenge it used to be about £5M, but that can't be right now surely? Maybe closer to £500,000? 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake preview. 

At 1st glance this looks amazing. 

At 2nd glance, (looking at the intake distribution), it looks better than amazing. (3x strikers, 3x MC's, 3x DC's) and the only real issue is that we probably need to strengthen both full back positions so could have done with better numbers there rather than in AMC, (but I am NOT complaining). 

At 3rd glance, OMG!  1 of the full backs is decent. 

1 centre-back looks promising. 

Top prospect in the centre of midfield. 

WOW!  We have 3 (THREE) forwards who are to be considered fine prospects.

If Carlsberg did intake previews! (Now if we can just have 3x DC's and a full back on each side next season that would be great please and thank you). 

In other saves I have always said that this intake preview means absolutely nothing and I know it's still the case, but I'm just soooooooo excited for every intake now I can't help it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2029.

SuperLeague. (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) basically won us this game on his own. We limited them to 0.28 xG so we played well even without him, but he just changes the nature of games when he's on the pitch.

Kosovan Cup. Not interested in this in the slightest until we know we're going to be safe in the league. 

Job Offer. In other times I might consider this job. They're the 1st club playing in Europe to approach me and that's the reason they're struggling. They have made the Group Stage of the Europa Conference, they played in the Kosovan Super Cup, they're still in The Kosovan Cup and their fixture schedule must be carnage! They've already played 17 games ON TOP of their SuperLeague fixtures. No wonder they're struggling. They're shattered and it's basically the opposite to what we're doing, (resting players for targeted games). The mistake they made is that they have tried to win the European Group games. (It's a mistake the AI always makes). At their stage they should just be playing U19's in the Euro Conference Group games if they have to. They've had the money. Just get on with your bread and butter league games as soon as you get there! #noobs 

Takeover. Don't go! Please don't go!

(28a) Mema * has finished his Youth Contract and is now on a NC contract. He's unable to discuss a new deal unless our squad is "significantly improved". We will see how he feels after the next intake.  (Being serious though, he's probably going to leave as soon as one of the big boys come in for him and I'm fine with that). We will get another one through before too long), (I hope). 

(29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) is a beast. That is all. You can see that I rested him for 2 Ballkani games and a Trepça '89 game. He will never play against Ballkani until we get the next intake through. There's just no point. We're not going to win and it's a perfect opportunity for him to put his feet up and rest and then come back fresh as a daisy to score against whoever is next. Honestly, if we played Ballkani 3 games in a row he still wouldn't play in any of them. 

Finances. 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Mr Jabay]

Thanks for your reply. That is probably true that 15/16 year old youngsters should be eased into the game to maximize their potential. But as you will have even much better prospects in a couple of years (fingers crossed), we don't care if Vonmoos et al. will hit their potential or not, right? And being a semi-pro team doesn't so wonders to their attribute development.

[Jimbokav1971]

26 minutes ago, Mr Jabay said:

Thanks for your reply. That is probably true that 15/16 year old youngsters should be eased into the game to maximize their potential. But as you will have even much better prospects in a couple of years (fingers crossed), we don't care if Vonmoos et al. will hit their potential or not, right? And being a semi-pro team doesn't so wonders to their attribute development.

Yep, all of that's true, but then again, the striker I inherited at the start of the save, (Krastrati), stayed in the side much longer than I was anticipating, simply because we didn't get any strikers through. This is my 7th season in charge now, and in terms of actual strikers, we've only actually produced (28m) Big Laak (KOS)(FIN) and (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) who were any good. Yeah part of that was my fault with the DoF doing the intakes rather than the HoYD I think, (and we did produce a couple of decent wingers who I pushed up front wide), but that's still just 2 strikers in 6 intakes. So while I might say there is another fantastic intake on the way, (and the preview says 1 of them is a good striker), the truth is we actually haven't got a clue. 

I'm just happy that he's made us more competitive than we were, because looking at the standard of the SuperLeague now, it's significantly better than it was when we were here before. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New highest bid received. Jan 2030. 

(26n) Gjuzi * is our 3rd choice central midfielder, but we still can't let him leave yet. The 2nd Team needs to be as competitive as possible. 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

New highest bid received. Jan 2030. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New highest bid received. Jan 2030. 

£25,500(£68,000) + 40% profit. 

£31,000(£83,000) + 40% of profit. 

£37,500(£100,000) + 40% profit. 

£49,500(£125,000) + 40% of profit. Now this is actually a lot of money for Kosovo, but I know that Ballkani have £10M+ in the bank so no wway!

 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan Transfer window. Feb 2030. 

The Jan Transfer window has closed and nobody left. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2030. 

SuperLeague. The 2nd Team played a lot this month, (perhaps too much), but if we get a result in our next game against FC Feronikeli 74, then all will be worth it. I have to prioritise winnable games. It's the only way for us to survive at the moment what with us being such a young squad and also Semi-Pro. 

Records. When you pick the 2nd Team, (who played 3 days earlier too), and you then have a centre-half sent off after just 98 seconds, this is what happens. 

Finances.  Has anyone got any advice as to when I should ask to turn Pro? I'm out of practice at this level. It used to be £5M I think, but it can't be £5M in Kosovo can it? £500k maybe? What do you think? 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2030. 

I'm not going to show you all 16 players, but I will post any that stand out to me. 

 

In the end I thought I would just post them all. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Review of Youth Intake Day. Mar 2030. 

It's hard for anything to live up to a 5.0 CA player in a youth intake, so perhaps I/we should have tempered my/our expectations. 

As I'm writing this I've literally just looked briefly at the intake, named them, written and posted the above update, and then taken the dog for a walk. I haven't actually had time to even offer the players contracts never mind about delve into what I actually think of them. I want to have a proper look and where they fit in within our squad so let's do that now. 

(30a) Haka (KOS)(ALB) looks decent. Some good physicals, (that suit a winger), some good mentals, (but not "Off the ball"), some decent technicals too, (crossing, finishing, passing & tech), He's not ready for 1st Team now, (who is at 16), but he's better than decent actually. I like the look of him, (even (F.Det) personality). It's just such a shame his OTB attribute isn't higher. 

(30b) Thaqi (Unamb)+(L.Det) has got some decent physicals and I like his crossing/dribbling combo with them, but I find it really hard to get past the (Unamb)+(L.Det) combo. It's just all I see what I look at him. It doesn't really matter how good his PA is or isn't if he's never going to get there anyway, and he's not getting anywhere fast. 

(30c) von Däniken (KOS)(SUI) has some reasonable/decent ohysicals for a 15 yo centre-half and I also like his mentals, but he's lacking just a bit in tech. We're short of quality at centre-half though and I think he's in the mix to add to the squad. He's certainly better than 2 of the 3 2nd Team centre-backs. 

(30d) Cani is a 2nd centre-half and I like him. His physicals are a little short, but his Techs have caught my eye. He's decent. 

(30e) Amshoff (KOS)(GER) looks decent off the bat. That appears to be a lot of CA for only 1.5 rating. Maybe it's all the white and not enough yellow that's snoozed me though. His attributes also appear a little muddled, and I'm not sure where he should play. He's lacking the tech's for centre-mid and he's lacking the physicals for out wide at WB or wide attacker. Maybe through the middle as a SC suits him best? What do you think? I do quite like him though. (I especially like his (Pro)) 

(30f) Demiri is the 1st of the 2 Demiri brothers. (They're not brothers but players in the same intake with the same surname are brothers from another mother in my book!) His physicals are decent, (if you ignore strength), and what's not to like about finishing of 14, but he doesn't have the composure to match it. He's (F.Pro) though and tbf some more depth at striker below our 2 stars is actually just what we need. 

(30g) Hajdari is a strange one. Actually he's not. I was getting confused by his jumping, first touch and dribbling, but he's an MC all day long and a good one at that. 

(30h) Demiri (aka the 2nd Demiri brother).......... actually, (28i) Demiri. 5'9" (Temp) (older brother from previous intake), has just been on the phone and said that he's the oldest brother so (30h) Demiri is actually brother #3. I have news for him though, Taulant Demiri (from the (23) intake, (but now returned from football), has been on the blower and he says he's been researching his family tree and he's the #1 Demiri bro and (28i) Demiri. 5'9" (Temp) is bro #2 and (30f) Demiri is bro #3 and (30h) Demiri is bro #4. Everyone got that? He can pass but he can't run. He looks like a young Yan Molby! 

(30i) Barrigana (POR) is very good, and interestingly he's the 1st non-Kosovan to come through our system. Loving the Natural Fitness after our earlier discussion in here with @Mr JabayHis physicals are good, (and he can work on stamina & workrate together which is handy), but the mental's are really good, (apart from workrate & decisions). He's very good isn't he, and being Portugese I expect that his Youth Rating is higher and his PA could be decent. I really like him. I like that we have different types of strikers. 

(30j) Pashaj (Unamb)+(L.Det) actually looks really good. I mean REALLY good, but his name says it all for me. His personality has ruined a really good player and now he's just a good player who will forever make me wonder quite how good he could have been if he wasn't so much of an arse! 

(30k) Fejzulla (Temp) sounds like he's next up to fight Godzilla or something, but I wouldn't fancy his chances because wow he's got some rubbish physicals. He's still not pants though. but wow I've just seen his finishing is not at all backed up by his composure. What PPM do you give a good finisher with no composure? Powerful shots?  Oh, and I am sick to death of (Temp) players. 

(30l) Lekaj is reasonable for a left-sided centre-half I suppose. 

(30m) Colditz (KOS)(GER) is a really stupid name, but I bet his Grandad owned a castle or something. He's actually really good. I really like him if we can get a few attributes popped. 

(30n) Good (KOS)(CAN) is more ok'(ish) than good. I also note that his PA is a little short of 5.0 Are we finally starting to make a dent in this 5.0 PA mountain? 

(30o) Jashanica is a hell of a name. Love it, but he's really not very good at football. The only thing I like about him, (other than his name), is his personality. 

(30p) Doka (Temp) isn't very good. 

[Jimbokav1971]

International call-ups. Mar 2030. 

I wonder how long it will be before we get a call-up for a Senior National side? 

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2030. 

No, of course we haven't got a player on the list, but there is someone I want you to see. 

He came through in Croatia, and even represented Croatia at Senior International level, but then swapped to Kosovo. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2030. 

SuperLeague. Just look at the timing of our 2 goals against Drita!  

Finances. 

[Mr Jabay]

Great intake! I am curious to see how far Barrigana can go. 

Also I wonder when you'll become a professional club. Maybe after this season? 

[DaneBramage]

Nicely done. Not to tempt fate, but looks like you should be safe now.

 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Mr Jabay said:

Great intake! I am curious to see how far Barrigana can go. 

The worst part of this save right now, (other than (Temp) personalities), is not having a clue about PA. Usually we get quite a lot of info, even if it's not very accurate. At the moment we're not really getting anything. 

"All gonna be better than the current rubbish you have", (in a perfect scenario), is not really what I'm looking for in terms of insight. 

(30i) Barrigana (POR) has a few things working in his favour though.

• Starting CA is decent.
• (F.Pro) personality.
• His own Nation is one with a significantly better Youth Rating than that of Kosovo, (although I still haven't checked what Kosovo's is).
• He seems to have quite a well-rounded attribute balance for how I would like to play him. 
• Level-Headed is also a decent MH style. 
• We play 3 up top so there is more opportunity for him to get game-time. 

On the flip sides, there are a few things working against him.

• He's going to struggle to get a game in the middle of the 3 up top because our 1st & 2nd choices are decent. 
• Because we're Semi-Pro, his training is not going to be what it should be in terms of optimum levels for youth development. 
• We're playing in Kosovo which is obviously not the greatest standard of football. 
• There's a good chance that there will be another striker through the intake next season who is immediately better than him. 

So while there are certainly reasons to be optimistic, we have to accept that whatever level of PA these players come through with at the moment, they're unlikely to reach it playing for us. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Mr Jabay said:

Also I wonder when you'll become a professional club. Maybe after this season? 

I haven't got a clue. 

I remember back in the dim and distant past it was a mix of rep and financial points I think, but that was like 10+ and more years ago. I really don't know what it is now. 

I'm going to ask just once this season, (if we stay up). If we don't stay up then I'm not sure I want to go pro anyway. 

[Jimbokav1971]

11 minutes ago, DaneBramage said:

Nicely done. Not to tempt fate, but looks like you should be safe now.

We're looking good I admit it, but it's too early to suggest that we will stay up. 

Drita in 8th got to the Group stage in Europe this season and that's the only reason they're down there and I expect them to pull clear.
Dukagjini Kline are only 1 point behind us and that's with us beating them twice this season. If we drop into the Playoff and even if we get relegated that way, I'm fine with that because that's in line with board expectations. 

I was absolutely terrified of losing (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) to injury though. When he was injured in September we took 1 point from a possible 18. I think we're better set up now to cope without him but stil. 

[BML]

16 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Has anyone got any advice as to when I should ask to turn Pro? I'm out of practice at this level. It used to be £5M I think, but it can't be £5M in Kosovo can it? £500k maybe? What do you think? 

In saves and leagues like this I tend to wait until I'm happy that relegation isn't a reasonable outcome for any given season, as getting rele'd as Pro can be financially crippling and bouncing between Pro/S-Pro can be an administrative nightmare.

This is usually based on the number of other Pro clubs in the league and my performances over the past couple of seasons, coupled with money in the bank (I usually aim for a million or so, depending on the league).

If I was in your shoes (providing you don't capitulate over the last few games) you look safe from relegation this season, are performing well in your targeted games (and in some you aren't targeting), have plenty of money in the bank and a decent number of youngsters who are a season or two away from making a real impact, plus a chunk of money in the bank, I would be pushing for Pro now and as often as I could until the board accept my request.

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad selection. Apr 2030. 

From watching videos and streams of others playing FM, it appears that I select my match squad in a slightly different way to many, (when I'm not just using a pre-saved match selection). 

From what I have seen, others appear to pick their squad from 1 screen with all the positions viewable at the same time. I do it position by position so when I'm picking my GK's, all other positions are filtered out and when I'm picking my left back all other positions are filtered out. I do this every time and it's just how I'm used to doing it now. It doesn't feel laborious. It's just how I've always done it and how I will always likely do it. 

It's very similar to the way I do the Squad Depth posts at the beginning of each season, but this is the page that I use. In a normal save it would be sorted by CA. In a Youth Only save it's always sorted by PA. 

The reason for posting this now is that I also like to do it for each position after a Youth Intake, so I can see if there is any player who is higher than you might expect in the depth chart and as such might deserve additional attention. Obviously this save is a little different in that respect in that every intake brings with it a number of players who go straight into the 1st team squad rather than take their space somewhere within the ranking lower down, they are now going straight into the 1st Team.

I'm not going to bore you with more squad depth pictures for every position, but I will show you the overall view showing all positions, so that you can see quite how many of the recent intake are high up on the list. 

(30i) Barrigana (POR)
(30j) Pashaj (Unamb)+(L.Det)
(30a) Haka (KOS)(ALB)
(30d) Cani
(30g) Hajdari MC
(30h) Demiri
(30c) von Däniken (KOS)(SUI)
(30e) Amshoff (KOS)(GER)
(30p) Doka (Temp) 6'1"

Of the top 22 players, (ranked by CA), 9 of them are from this recent intake, so even if I might have been a tiny bit underwhelmed in that there wasn't another 5.0 CA player, it's actually still phenomenal.

Oh what the hell. 

GK. 

(30p) Doka (Temp) 6'1" ranked #1 by CA. (By the way this is a perfect example of why this is nothing more than an indication, because there is absolutely no way on Earth that he has the best CA of this group. 

DL.

 (30m) Colditz (KOS)(GER) ranked #4 by CA. 

DR. 

(30n) Good (KOS)(CAN) ranked #5 by CA.

DC. Now you have to remember that we play 3 at the back when thinking of depth here. What it tells me here is that I can consider offloading the 4 players at the bottom of the list. 

(30d) Cani is ranked #4
(30c) von Däniken (KOS)(SUI) is ranked #5
(30l) Lekaj 6'1" DC is ranked #8

MC. You will notice that (28a) Mema * is on a NC and he's not interested in re-signing. I can't blame him if I'm honest. He's destined for bigger and better things and I'm surprised he's still here now. I'm honestly fine with it. We've had 2 years out of him and anything else now is a bonus. There is nobody interested in him right now, but that won't last. 

(30g) Hajdari MC is ranked #3
(30h) Demiri is ranked #4
(30e) Amshoff (KOS)(GER) is ranked #6
(30k) Fejzulla (Temp) is ranked #7
(30o) Jashanica is ranked #12 (although I haven't managed to get him to sign a contract yet). 

SC. Up front it's a tiny bit different as we're looking for very different things from the wide players than we are from the central striker, and at the moment I don't want inverted wide players, (ie. playing on the side opposite to their preferred foot), but that's a discussion for another day. So with that in mind I'm going to initially "label" figuratively speaking, each player as a SLC, a SC or a SRC and rank them that way. Some of the players on this list won't even be forward players, (28a) Mema * and (27b) Kapo * for example, but I have to include them in order not to miss anyone out. If I miss out the MC like then I miss out MR's and ML's and if I don't include central players then I miss out on SC's, (so I just include everyone) from MC forward. 

(30i) Barrigana (POR) is either #2 ranked SC, #1 ranked SLC or #1 ranked SRC. I think I'm going to use him as a SLC just for the purposes of this.
(30j) Pashaj (Unamb)+(L.Det) is #2 ranked SC.
(30a) Haka (KOS)(ALB) is #1 ranked SLC. 
(30b) Thaqi (Unamb)+(L.Det) is #3 ranked SLC.
(30f) Demiri is #4 ranked SC.

By the way, there is absolutely nothing from stopping me from picking players who aren't top by CA of their group. Indeed PA, personality, condition and attribute balance all have an enormous impact on that. It's just to give you a brief idea. 

At the very least this intake has significantly improved our depth and with it probably the strength/performances of our 2nd Team. It also makes us much less reliant on our #1 ranked players. 

[Jimbokav1971]

20 minutes ago, BML said:

I would be pushing for Pro now and as often as I could until the board accept my request.

My initial reaction to this was "ooh he's brave", because as we get nearer and nearer the end of the season, (and remembering that I've decided to ask once at the end of the season), I am becoming less and less sure that this is a good idea. We've been promoted twice to the SuperLeague, but the 1st time was by complete fluke and this time we still didn't go up as Champions. I'm still having to work very hard for our wins and I don't really like sacrificing so many other games to do so. Decisions decisions decisions. 

Thanks for the response though. 

[BML]

21 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

My initial reaction to this was "ooh he's brave",

Fortune favours... etc. etc.

Edited August 24, 2023 by BML

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2030. 

SuperLeague. We should be safe already, but we have proper choked this month.  We were great against Liria, but to be honest mist of our goals were set-piece based, (1x pen, 1x corner, 2x free-kicks + an OG), so we only actually scored 1 goal from open play. Against Gjilani we scored early but got a 1st half red card and then conceded twice after 60 mins.  Against Llapi it was 0-0 at HT but we got a straight red on 47 mins but still took the lead on 73 mins only to concede in the 81st & 95th mins.  The Feronikeli 74 game was just too much. We scored after 30 seconds and (29a) Vonmoos (KOS)(SUI) should have hat a hat-trick within 3 mins, but we made it 2-0 and everything was looking fine until we got another red card just before HT. They of course scored in the 87th and 93rd mins and we just went to pieces late on!  Fatigue? 

We've got 4 more games to play and Drita have won 3 of their last 4. Thankfully Dukagjini Kline are thankfully in even worse form than we are. We just need to finish ahead of 1 of them to avoid the Playoffs. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

42 minutes ago, BML said:

Fortune favours... etc. etc.

I said we would do it with £500k in the bank and after relegation was avoided. The money is nearly there but safety appears harder to grasp.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Mr Jabay]

vor einer Stunde schrieb Jimbokav1971:

 

I'm not going to bore you with more squad depth pictures for every position, but I will show you the overall view showing all positions, so that you can see quite how many of the recent intake are high up on the list. 

Oh please, you will never bore us!

Not that it is of any help, but in my Hungary save my club became professional once I got promoted to the second league:)

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, Mr Jabay said:

Oh please, you will never bore us!

Not that it is of any help, but in my Hungary save my club became professional once I got promoted to the second league:)

I'm going to ask the question when we have £500k in the bank and we avoid relegation. I don't think we're guaranteed to avoid it next season. This is tough. 

Thanks for letting me know by the way. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New contract. May 2030. 

I keep moaning about 1 year contracts, but I have a feeling Semi-Pro clubs are only able to offer managers a 1 year contract, (but not positive). 

Edited August 24, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Doiggy_2007]

Long term reader of your threads Jimbo, always enjoyable! It's given me some ideas to create a youth-only save for FM24 so thanks for the inspiration.

[WhiteCat33]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

New contract. May 2030. 

I keep moaning about 1 year contracts, but I have a feeling Semi-Pro clubs are only able to offer managers a 1 year contract, (but not positive). 

I just got a 2-year contract in Barbados on a whopping $0 p/w. Apparently the board feels its fair to pay every other staff member a weekly wage other than me...

Edited August 24, 2023 by WhiteCat33

[Jimbokav1971]

18 minutes ago, WhiteCat33 said:

I just got a 2-year contract in Barbados on a whopping $0 p/w. Apparently the board feels its fair to pay every other staff member a weekly wage other than me...

Can we swap? 

You have my £160 pm and I will have your 2 year contract? 

[Jimbokav1971]

35 minutes ago, Doiggy_2007 said:

Long term reader of your threads Jimbo, always enjoyable! It's given me some ideas to create a youth-only save for FM24 so thanks for the inspiration.

Thanks very much. That's very nice of you to say. 

Care to share what and where your plans are?

[Jimbokav1971]

We're safe, (with a game to spare). May 2030. 

We had a really good win against Drita, but then I sent out the 2nd Team to do battle against both Prishtina & Ballkani as I saved everything we had for a final one-off game against Dukagjini Kline on the last day of the season. 

Luckily we didn't need it as Champions Drita, (they did brilliantly to win the title last season but have struggled with the demands of Euro Conference Group stage and domestic fixtures), couldn't get back on track after an awful start to the season. (Confidence is such a fickle master). 

Anyway, we're safe, (and I have no doubt that Drita will win the Playoff anyway, (against either Vushtrria or Ulpiana). 

[Doiggy_2007]

17 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Thanks very much. That's very nice of you to say. 

Care to share what and where your plans are?

Few options in my mind at the moment - Gibraltar is one that does look exciting; I went there last year and managed to pick up a couple of shirts whilst wandering so that is one. The other two I'm floating about are either Hungary (as I quite enjoy playing in the country) or Latvia as I've never managed there! Not decided yet though

Also, congrats on staying up - never in doubt!!

Edited August 24, 2023 by Doiggy_2007

[Jimbokav1971]

48 minutes ago, Doiggy_2007 said:

Few options in my mind at the moment - Gibraltar is one that does look exciting; I went there last year and managed to pick up a couple of shirts whilst wandering so that is one. The other two I'm floating about are either Hungary (as I quite enjoy playing in the country) or Latvia as I've never managed there! Not decided yet though

Also, congrats on staying up - never in doubt!!

Gibraltar is great and I highly recommend Iceland too.

Hungary sounds like a good one, even if only for the names. 

[Rikulec]

1 hour ago, WhiteCat33 said:

I just got a 2-year contract in Barbados on a whopping $0 p/w. Apparently the board feels its fair to pay every other staff member a weekly wage other than me...

Just make sure you don't get relegated, wouldn't want that salary drop to kick in!

[WhiteCat33]

I'll have to pay the club to keep my job!