FM24 - Athletic Club (Bilbao) - Loyalty and Long Term Saves!

[KristianT]

Another update from my save. 29/30 season. This is the table as it stands:

The last game is of course Athletic-Barcelona at San Mamés.

 

Edited June 3 by KristianT

[KristianT]

16 minutes ago, KristianT said:

Another update from my save. 29/30 season. This is the table as it stands:

The last game is of course Athletic-Barcelona at San Mamés.

 

And here is how it went...

Spoiler

 

[bowieinspace]

On 03/06/2024 at 20:53, Jalex said:

Hey @bowieinspace, incredible stuff! Trying my hand at Athletic myself, but can't really get the tactics to work. Do you mind sharing yours? I know it's not plug-and-play but for inspiration i think i can be really helpful

Hey, yeah you can find my tactics in the thread as I always document them - I've had a couple I've used during this save  Just scroll back a bit and it will pop up.

[kevaggel]

Dropping an idea: how to make a relay Athletic save and pass it to the next participant every 6 months ?

[SK]

How does everyone deal with the B team with regards to player selection.

Do you just let the B team coach pick the players and stay out of the way?

I was finding that if I did that, some of my best prospects weren’t getting games so I had to loan them out to get them games.

I also started going in manually and picking the team but sometimes it gets changed by the manager for games.

I’m also getting my team sometimes filled with a greyed out player when I have an actual player on that position on the bench. It’s a bit annoying really and not sure why it’s happening

[Batkan]

Hello people. Happy to found this thread!

After my FM21 save, 30+ seasons with Athletic Bilbao got deleted in oblivion with crash i decided to buy FM24 and start over! In 30+ seasons won 5 leagues, 1 champions league and 4 cups and few supercups. Maybe its not that much impressive but i was happy and so was board. I had problems with central backs over thr years but got many worldclass goalkeepers, wingbacks and wingers. Really i had like 5 or 6 world class goalkeepers. Sold them to Valencia, Inter, Chelsea etc. B team won second division many times and C team won third division many times (yes i was lucky to get C team to promote in playable league after first 2 or 3 seasons). 

Downloading game now from steam and facepacks, logos, realname fixes etc.

Looking forward to reading this entire tread and sharing new experience. Best of luck to all.

Aupa Athletic!

[KristianT]

16 hours ago, Batkan said:

Hello people. Happy to found this thread!

After my FM21 save, 30+ seasons with Athletic Bilbao got deleted in oblivion with crash i decided to buy FM24 and start over! In 30+ seasons won 5 leagues, 1 champions league and 4 cups and few supercups. Maybe its not that much impressive but i was happy and so was board. I had problems with central backs over thr years but got many worldclass goalkeepers, wingbacks and wingers. Really i had like 5 or 6 world class goalkeepers. Sold them to Valencia, Inter, Chelsea etc. B team won second division many times and C team won third division many times (yes i was lucky to get C team to promote in playable league after first 2 or 3 seasons). 

Downloading game now from steam and facepacks, logos, realname fixes etc.

Looking forward to reading this entire tread and sharing new experience. Best of luck to all.

Aupa Athletic!

Looking forward to following you!

I am in the 9th season myself. 30+ seasons is admirable, I hope I can stick with it for that long.

Interesting to see how certain positions are a problem in different saves. But that is part of the fun of it for me. If you play with any other team without restrictions there always 25 players in each position you can choose from. In my save I haven't yet had any real superstars, no players has figured in the Best 50 for example. But the team overall is decent. The only originals left are Unai Simon, Nico Williams, Unai Vencedor, Alvaro Nunez (really recommend him!) and Oihan Sancet, but I think I will be able to replace them quite easily.

 

  

On 10/06/2024 at 10:28, SK said:

How does everyone deal with the B team with regards to player selection.

Do you just let the B team coach pick the players and stay out of the way?

I was finding that if I did that, some of my best prospects weren’t getting games so I had to loan them out to get them games.

I also started going in manually and picking the team but sometimes it gets changed by the manager for games.

I’m also getting my team sometimes filled with a greyed out player when I have an actual player on that position on the bench. It’s a bit annoying really and not sure why it’s happening

This is a question for me as well. A bit frustrating. I also find that the more I go in and pick the team they usually do worse, so the team does well when I stay out of it.

Edited June 11 by KristianT

[Batkan]

Yes thank you! I was in 31. season but its FM 21 so maybe bit offtopic. Played it on and off for over 3 years. I am very fond to it and sad its lost but probablly it time to move on.

My longest RL players all started in B team at gamemstart and were amazing  and become club legends, Nico Williams, Nico Serrano, Unai Gomez and Ohian Sancet. They were fantastic in FM21. Dunno if their Potential is a bit randomized but they were great. My best newgen was AML/striker and played for me most as AML/IF had just 11/12 finishing but in prime 20 technique, 19 dribbling, 19 agility, and 16+ everything else that he needs, only crossing bad ( vision, passing, flair, acc, pace etc all 16+). He was about to retire in my save now though. Real , Valencia and especially Barca were too strong in my saves all time but i managed to hold my ground just fine and won 5 titles and almost every year quallify for CL. Valencia got some rich takeover in first season and was very strong after few years, at pair with Barca and Real and won league several times and champions league but barca won CL like 5 or 6 times in row. Real Sociedad was really good too. 

Now i started FM24. Gotta say players dont look as good as before. But there is potential. Vivian is unhappy because i didnt allow him to go to Saudi Arabia. They offer just 15 million. I asked what wage he wants to stay and he say 25 million per year(!!!). So he is currently unhappy, hopefully he will turn around. I did manage to get new contract with Nico Williams with 150 mill release clause. Hired some good model citzen Head of Youth, and filled all coaches, did good hard preseason and now rdy to start season.

 

 

 

[KristianT]

Let us know how you get on!

Nico Serrano is not what the earlier FMs promised that he would be. In my save I have managed to win the league four times in eight season, currently three in a row, but it is a fierce fight with Real and Barca every year. Still incredible I managed to win the league season 1 with just 80 points. That would have gotten 4th place every other season I have played.

For me, the game starts for real when the regens start to take their places in or around the first 11 (for all saves really, not just Athletic). I have gotten to this point now. Sancet, Williams and Unai Simon are not irreplaceable any longer, they are actually starting to be part of rotation while up until now they have been fixed starters that I have desperately played week in and week out.

[Batkan]

Ok, Saudi Arabians activated Vivian release clause and he is gone for 55 mil. There was really nothing i could do. They are interested in him from day one and he refuse contract negotiations because "interest shown in him". Guess thats it from him. 

Tried to get Aimar Oroz but he refuse because "just signed new contract". Will try to bring him on mid or end of season. Looking for potential signings now because i got cash. 

I only got Dani Rodriguez from Barca for B team for now for and thats it from transfers.

Played first to games, 0-0 away with Betis and 2-2 home with Real Madrid. Both games 2 goals disallowed because offside. Hopefully thats exception not a rule, starting to hate VAR, i cant even feel happy for goals until its clear it wont be disallowed.

Browsing first page now to see some recommendation for signigns. Loosing Vivian is big loss. I considered Vivian, Sancet and Nico Williams as irreplaceable core and i just lost one.  At least i signed new contracts with other 2 with 150 mill release clauses. Aldosaro looks decent, i like that type of player in team but he also just signed new contract and dont want join atm. Maybe better sign him next year when Herrera and Dani Garcia leave.

[Batkan]

Anyone got look at Mikel Villanueva. Venezuelan Baque central defender. He is 30 years old but got 17 jumping and 16 strength. Could be decent CD for depth. He is also surprisingly technically gifted for CD but somewhat slow and overall not that good. 

Edited June 12 by Batkan

[DavutOzkan]

For me, Vivian had his release clause triggered, but he allowed me to negotiate a new contract despite that, which he fortunately accepted. I don't know what I would have done without that. 

I wasn't so lucky with Unai Simon. He just got a new contract IRL too, and like Munian did previously, didn't even put a release clause in there, so I wish the game was a bit more realistic in terms of measuring Athletic player's loyalties. It's not even certain that Nico leaves this season irl, but in FM he is always gone after the first season unless you are really lucky. 

Fortunately, Julen has been great for the most part for me in goal, so Simon hasn't been truly missed all that much, but still. 

[Batkan]

Well he refused contract negotiations but i did try to persuade him to stay when they started offers, and he say he wants 24 million euros per year!   

He got 50 million euros a year in Saudi Arabia!! Thats just discusting. I insulted and trashed him in media after.

At least Inaki Williams is loyal. Just got news article that Chelsea and Tottenham looking to buy him but that he is unwilling to move and happy to stay. 

[KristianT]

2 hours ago, DavutOzkan said:

For me, Vivian had his release clause triggered, but he allowed me to negotiate a new contract despite that, which he fortunately accepted. I don't know what I would have done without that. 

I wasn't so lucky with Unai Simon. He just got a new contract IRL too, and like Munian did previously, didn't even put a release clause in there, so I wish the game was a bit more realistic in terms of measuring Athletic player's loyalties. It's not even certain that Nico leaves this season irl, but in FM he is always gone after the first season unless you are really lucky. 

Fortunately, Julen has been great for the most part for me in goal, so Simon hasn't been truly missed all that much, but still. 

For a couple of seasons I was trying to keep both Julen and Unai happy, until Real Madrid decided to spend €30m on Julen as they needed a new backup gk... But with Julen that good, losing Unai isn't that much of a downgrade.

  

6 hours ago, Batkan said:

Ok, Saudi Arabians activated Vivian release clause and he is gone for 55 mil. There was really nothing i could do. They are interested in him from day one and he refuse contract negotiations because "interest shown in him". Guess thats it from him. 

Tried to get Aimar Oroz but he refuse because "just signed new contract". Will try to bring him on mid or end of season. Looking for potential signings now because i got cash. 

I only got Dani Rodriguez from Barca for B team for now for and thats it from transfers.

Played first to games, 0-0 away with Betis and 2-2 home with Real Madrid. Both games 2 goals disallowed because offside. Hopefully thats exception not a rule, starting to hate VAR, i cant even feel happy for goals until its clear it wont be disallowed.

Browsing first page now to see some recommendation for signigns. Loosing Vivian is big loss. I considered Vivian, Sancet and Nico Williams as irreplaceable core and i just lost one.  At least i signed new contracts with other 2 with 150 mill release clauses. Aldosaro looks decent, i like that type of player in team but he also just signed new contract and dont want join atm. Maybe better sign him next year when Herrera and Dani Garcia leave.

Wow, that tough losing Vivian so early on! I realize I was lucky to keep him for as long as I needed him. He went to Saudi, but only in 2031 for about €63m. Really adds to the challenge for you.

I had Aimar one season and he never got any consistency in his performances which meant he was in and out of the squad. Mostly substitute actually. Was sold to Saudi for €55m after one year.

Dani Rodriguez actually turned out quite well for me. He was never a regular, but in periods where the other players had injuries or bad form he often stepped up, but then when he had his chances as a regular over time he often failed. Saudi bought him as well, for €35m  

Anyway, it goes to show that you really need to tie them to contracts with outrageous release clauses.

Also, I had Aldosoro for five years. Really decent squad player and consistent performer although he never did anything extraordinary.

Edited June 12 by KristianT

[Batkan]

OK. Season started surprisingly well but now real test begins. 4 matches in a row Valencia, Sevilla, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid. Gotta say i am not used to so many fails with Barca and Real. On my old FM21 30 season save, Barca won last season with 1 defeat and 2 draws. Real similar. Now seems they throwing lot of matches, for now at least. 

I am using this tactics. Its very demanding but players handling it well for now,  especially since there is no europe matches. I am having like 40% posession averege but lot more chances

Board agreed to upgrade training facilities and increase junior coaching and youth recruitment.  Fingers crossed for youth golden generation.

[KristianT]

Just won the league like this! Real were two points ahead before the last game where they faced 17th placed Getafe who didn't have to worry about relegation. I had no hopes. But Real couldn't get a goal and it ended 0-0 while we won and we are then ahead on head-to-head. Honestly didn't expect that. I had accepted that it wouldn't be our fourth in a row, but here we are! Winning with 92 points is also a rather special thing. Apart from that first season where I won with 80 points, 92 points would not win you the league any other season. Barca won it with 93 one year, but mostly it has been 95+. Really loving these battles with Real and Barca.

This is the 31/32 season and it is the first season where I have managed to win all three domestic titles (league, Copa, Supercopa) and I will shortly face Stuttgart (!) in my first CL final as well. This team is fantastic!

Edited June 13 by KristianT

[Batkan]

Congrats! Stuttgart is very managable! 
Post screenshot of some of your best newgens!

i am also doing very well. Just destroyed Atletico Madrid. Loving this tactics. Works amazing. Always low possesion but they cant play!

[KristianT]

I have many good regens, but I'd say these six are the strongest.

Josema, striker. Came through the first intake rated as the best. Only issue with him is that he is very inconsistent. He can sore 15 goals in 8 matches, but then go 10 matches without goals. But he is still my best striker. No wonder Oihan Sancet has been my top scorer for the past four seasons. As you can see from the media description, he can play as AMC, but there simply isn't room for him there due to Sancet and Badiola (will come back to him). 301 games and 140 goals so far.

Lasaga, central defender. 22 years old, but has already played 271 games for me. Really dependable and simply very good at what he is doing.

 

Eneko Alvarez, defensive midfielder. Nothing spectacular, but does his job very well. 198 games so far.

Aritz Badiola, attacking midfielder. Started to really perform well this season. He has been hampered a bit by the fact that his competitor for the AMC position is Sancet, who has been absolute outrageous for the past seasons. Will gradually take over Sancet's position and have me covered for many, many years.

Mikel Dominguez, winger turned into fullback. I decided early on that I would re-train him to become a fullback even though he came through as a winger. As I was stacked in that position and lacking at left-back. Still very young and has been forced into an important role at a very young age. Has just over 100 games already.

 

Inaki Simon, right winger. This season he has pushed out Nico Williams based on performances and will shortly be my preferred choice. He is so good that I will consider offers for Williams this summer if they come as I also have other options that can be rotated with Simon.

 

These are the six I chose. There are several others that could be mentioned that are doing well as rotation options.

Just one word of praise for Oihan Sancet. He is absolutely monstrous in the AMC role in my 4-2-3-1. In the five last seasons he has played 253 games and scored 148 goals. So he has basically played 50 games per season with nearly 0,6 goals per match. One season he scored 31 in the league.

I also want to recommed Alvaro Nunez to everyone. The right back at Amorebieta. Bought him for the equivalent of about €700k before the third season and he is performing very well and reliably. Have had success with him before. His modest stats may lead you to think he is at best a backup, but he has played 302 games for me in the last seven season. 78 assists.

Edited June 13 by KristianT

[SK]

On 11/06/2024 at 20:45, KristianT said:

Looking forward to following you!

I am in the 9th season myself. 30+ seasons is admirable, I hope I can stick with it for that long.

Interesting to see how certain positions are a problem in different saves. But that is part of the fun of it for me. If you play with any other team without restrictions there always 25 players in each position you can choose from. In my save I haven't yet had any real superstars, no players has figured in the Best 50 for example. But the team overall is decent. The only originals left are Unai Simon, Nico Williams, Unai Vencedor, Alvaro Nunez (really recommend him!) and Oihan Sancet, but I think I will be able to replace them quite easily.

 

  

This is a question for me as well. A bit frustrating. I also find that the more I go in and pick the team they usually do worse, so the team does well when I stay out of it.

This happens to me too. Pick the team, we go on losing runs. Leave it alone and they start winning. 

Some times I pick the team and then the B team coach just does random stuff like strikers in midfield 

So annoying. 

[Batkan]

Ok sry for spamming i will update annually from now. I am in february and finished mid season transfers.

I bringed Alvaro Djalo(Athletic buy him in RL recently) for 20 mil euros and i must say he is fantastic.  4 games, 3 goals, 2 assists.  He fits our playstyle very well with his 18 acceleration, 16 pace, 16 dribbling and 18 flair. Its a bit problem because Berenguer and Guruzeta are doing fantastic on wings but with Nico's Williams often injuries, they will all have plenty of playtime. Alvaro Djalo is Guinean Bissau born in Madrid but as infant moved to Bilbao and played for Athletic's junior teams and afflitated clubs in Basque country before moving to Portugal so he is eligible to play. He is also cousin of Adu Ares who is already in club which i noticed after he come and they are favorite personel to each other which is nice. Sadly Adu Ares didnt play alot because lot competition. I also sold Dani Garcia because he was unhappy with playing time and bought Aritz Aldosaro . We also bringed Mikel Villanueva and Jon Pacheco for CD depth. 

Also Villalibre gave me headache becuase while Inaki was in African Nations Cup, he scored 5 goals in 4 games. Dunno how to replace him now again with good concience. 

I wanted to bring Oroz but they not selling him and his release clause 75 million is a too much atm. Will see on end of season.

Also potential major problem could happen. Simon suddenly, out of the blue, said "he will consider his options at end of contract". His contract expires at end of next season and me idiot didnt renew him beacuse tough  i will at end of current season because he have 1 billion euro release clause. Hopefully we will quallify for champions league and maybe that will persaude him to stay otherwise i will have major decision to make. Sell him for lot of cash or let him play another season and pray he sign new contract.

Also about B team, it happens to me also, they dont play often only player i want them to play, Dani Rodriguez. They also fighting to avoid relegation. I will sack manager at end of season and do major reorganization of teams. Also C team Baskonia should not have gray players because i think that increases chance they promote to playable league which would be fantastic. 

Edited June 14 by Batkan

[Batkan]

One more thing to mention how i managed B and C team in my 30seasons save in fm21. Took control of all their training including individual and everything and staff hiring. Make it best possible.

B team was always in second league and won it several times, C team was in third division and won it several times(i was lucky C team promoted to 4. division which is playable after first few seasons)

So basically my u19 team was only 15 and 16 years old, C team 17-18, and B team 19-21 years old unless someone really stood up and skip C team with 17-18 years old.  All teams had one "older" player with good personality for mentoring purposes only. When player reach 22 and 23 if not good enough for first team sell him with % of next sale and buy back option. 

In that system players developed fantastically, much better then any loan could do.  Spanish second division has decent reputation and young players playing there develop great, especially with Athletic's facilities and best coaches i took control of. All teams had 4,5+  stars coaching on each category.  Also i should mention i never signed  u16 non basques but bough(leeched) youngsters from other Basque clubs

Edited June 14 by Batkan

[Batkan]

Finished first season

3 matches ago, Real was first, we were second and we shockingly lost three times, including second lose at home all season vs Almeria(!)

Dunno what happened. I eased expectations so maybe that was problem. Real also throw title with 2 draws and Barca last match throw title with 0-0 against Rayo Vallacano.

All in all satisfied season but we secured champions league 4 matches ago so this is really bad finish season. If we managed to win 3 last easy matches we would be champions with Real throwing but we lost all 3.

Osasuna relegated so Oroz relegation release clause of 30 mil activated which i will hunt now and try grab someone else from them. 

Edited June 15 by Batkan

[KristianT]

Thanks for the post about how you dealt with the B and C team. Gave me an idea to maybe try and be more hands on. Maybe take control over the teams.

Bitter ending to your first season. Strange to see that 82 points was enough to win it. As I've mentioned, 80 was enough in my first season. After that it is all 92++. How was your youth intake?

[Batkan]

Yeah, it is very tedious to set up everything first time but once its done its good for life. 

I also set up training calendar for all teams every first in month for entire month but can leave that to default. At least for other teams. 

Its very very worth it for player development. Could be financially draining but its worth. 

Transfers out: Yuri accepted contract to Saudi Arabia and went for free, Herrera and Raul Garcia retired, sold unhappy Aitor Peredes and Benat Prados.

Transfers in: Aimar Oroz and and Aihen Munoz. 

Unai Nunez, Unai Gomez and Vancedor returned from loan and are good enough for squad depth. Serrano, Artola and few others from loans went to B team to help them try promotion.

Youth intake was solid, not bad, not great.

First one is highest potential according to staff but his work rate is very low so who knows how good he can develop

Another one with 5 start potential, could be good. Sadly both with highest potential are wingers which we have more then enough and cant really be retrained to wingbacks. There are several others who looks decent. We will see how it goes.

There are few good ones in Osasuna and Real Sociedad who dont wanna joint atm, i keep my eyes on them. 

Edited June 16 by Batkan

[KristianT]

Aihen Munoz did very well for me. Was my LB for six season or thereabouts. Artola is a player I always want to give a chance, but he is just behind so many better players. Had some success with him on a previous FM where he got some continuity as a CM in 4-5-1 and did well.

I also get way to many wingers in my intakes, but at least you have some decent prospects there. I wonder if it was bowieinspace, or somebody else here, who made Nico Williams right back at one point and had success with it. That may be a solution to free up one spot for wingers from your intake. Never had to do it myself in my save, but it is an exciting idea!

I find that the easiest way to get players that came through at Socidead is to wait for them to be sold, and then buy after a year. I did so with one of my current LBs.

[Batkan]

Oh yes, he started really well for me also, but also Imanol is developing and playing great. 

Major problem i have on RB now, after De Marcos was amazing last season he totally declined and cant reach 6,6 average rating. Lekue is younger at 31 but he was injured and totally declined also and not in form. Hugo Rincon looks ok but have like 7 Technique and 5 dribbling and bad physical, his defensive and mental stats are good so he could be emergency backup but i will try sign Andoni Gorosabel in midsesason.

Long term, Osasuna have 2 potentially very good DR's newgens i will try to sign both of them

[KristianT]

Go get Alvaro Nunez from Amorebieta! I think you have a buy-back clause of about 700-800k. Absolutely worth it! I had both him and Gorosabel for a while, but in the end I had to let Gorosabel go because he didn't get playing time.

Edited June 17 by KristianT

[KristianT]

Another season and another fierce duel with Real Madrid. This time we are even on head-to-head, the home team has won 2-0 in both fixtures.

[SK]

On 14/06/2024 at 20:39, Batkan said:

One more thing to mention how i managed B and C team in my 30seasons save in fm21. Took control of all their training including individual and everything and staff hiring. Make it best possible.

B team was always in second league and won it several times, C team was in third division and won it several times(i was lucky C team promoted to 4. division which is playable after first few seasons)

So basically my u19 team was only 15 and 16 years old, C team 17-18, and B team 19-21 years old unless someone really stood up and skip C team with 17-18 years old.  All teams had one "older" player with good personality for mentoring purposes only. When player reach 22 and 23 if not good enough for first team sell him with % of next sale and buy back option. 

In that system players developed fantastically, much better then any loan could do.  Spanish second division has decent reputation and young players playing there develop great, especially with Athletic's facilities and best coaches i took control of. All teams had 4,5+  stars coaching on each category.  Also i should mention i never signed  u16 non basques but bough(leeched) youngsters from other Basque clubs

Thanks for sharing mate. That’s great insight. Did you also do the team selection for games and if so what was the easiest way to do it?

 

[Batkan]

I mostly didnt touch their team selection. Sometimes i selected one or two players only and let their manager pick rest. Hire good manager for them and they should be fine. Also they didnt have ton of playees. Around 20-23.

Only good potentials.

 

Also if i couldnt change bad personalities in u19 team i would release them by time of 17-18 years old. Never let bad personalities sneak in C and B team

Edited June 19 by Batkan

[basqueliverpool]

Fm25 could be a cracker for athletic again, gorosabel, djalo already signed. Seems like wizard of Oroz will be next.

 

First season has europa league final in Bilbao too, cracking story 

[KristianT]

Season 32/33 - 10th season

La Liga: 2nd, after four consecutive league titles, we end up two points behind Real. We made 100 points and scored 122 goals (new record), but it wasn't enough.

Copa del Rey: lost final 0-4 to Real

Supercopa: winners

UEFA Supercup: winners

Club World Cup: lost to Bayern in QF

 

Team news:

Nico Williams was sold to Saudi for €122m. He was 30 and I had already thought about selling him one year ago, but then he tore his cruciate ligaments. He had some good performances towards the end of the season, but it is clear that the right wing now belongs to Iñaki Simon who had a fantastic season. Williams was one of the three leaders in the team alongside Sancet (32 yo) and Unai Simon (36 yo). There was a small possibility that I would lose all three leaders in one or two years, so part of my motivation for Williams is also to change them one at a time. He has been an absolute star for me and leaves after 462 games and 181 goals.

Josema YP1A was the star of my first intake. He is 25 yo now and has played 350 games and scored 154 goals for Athletic. His abilities are very good and he seems a player that could be a leader for many years, but his consistency has been a big issue all the way. He has gone 10 hours without scoring several times, then scoring 8 in 3, but then failed to score for five games. This season has seen the development and breakthrough of two other strikers in my team who are younger than him and perform better. He is versatile and can play in three positions in my 4-2-3-1 and I was wondering where I could put him. Then Man Utd started bidding like crazy. I had not thought about selling him until Man Utd insisted and ended up with offering me about 210m in total for his services. I accepted. Also he was one of the players who might take Williams' place as a team leader and his balanced personality gave me no incentives to keep him.

I also sold another player who was in the rotation scheme for the attacking positions, so we have to rely more on those who are left and it leaves more room for young players if there are injuries and so on. In effect we have actually "re-signed" one player who missed the entire last season due to injury. Looking forward to knowing him better.

Edited June 20 by KristianT

[Batkan]

I was messing around with AI chat at work a bit, asking questions about FM and Athletic Club and youth development in particular and he among other things suggested community outreach training! I almost never used it, team bonding yes but community outreach very rare. I asked him benefits of this training and this is his response...

"Community Outreach Training is a fantastic feature in Football Manager that can bring numerous benefits to your team. Here are some of the advantages of implementing Community Outreach Training:

1. Increased fan morale: By engaging with the local community, you can boost fan morale and satisfaction. This can lead to increased attendance, revenue, and a more positive atmosphere around the club.

2. Improved player morale: Players feel more valued and appreciated when they see the club investing in the community. This can lead to improved morale, reduced injuries, and better performances on the pitch.

3. Better youth development: Community Outreach Training can help you develop stronger relationships with local youth teams and academies. This can lead to more talented young players joining your club and improving your youth setup.

4. Increased revenue: By building relationships with local businesses and organizations, you can secure sponsorships, partnerships, and other revenue streams.

5.Enhanced reputation: A strong community outreach program can improve your club's reputation, both nationally and internationally. This can lead to better transfer targets, more attractive player signings, and increased fan appeal.

6. Talent identification: Community Outreach Training can help you identify talented young players from local areas, giving you a head start in developing them into top-class professionals.

7. Reduced player wages: By investing in the community, you can reduce player wages as a percentage of your overall budget. This can free up resources for other areas of the club.

8. Increased scouting network: A strong community outreach program can expand your scouting network, allowing you to discover new talent and stay ahead of the competition.

9. Player retention: When players see the club investing in the community, they're more likely to stay with the club longer, reducing transfer departures and increasing squad stability.

10. Improved staff relations: Community Outreach Training can improve relationships between staff members, including coaches, scouts, and other personnel. This can lead to a more cohesive and productive team environment."

 

Anyone using it? I will try to schedule it every week from now!

Edited June 19 by Batkan

[KristianT]

I have never heard of it. What is it? Is it something you put into the traiking schedule of the team?

[Batkan]

1 hour ago, KristianT said:

I have never heard of it. What is it? Is it something you put into the traiking schedule of the team?

yes!

 

[DavutOzkan]

On 19/06/2024 at 05:52, basqueliverpool said:

Fm25 could be a cracker for athletic again, gorosabel, djalo already signed. Seems like wizard of Oroz will be next.

 

First season has europa league final in Bilbao too, cracking story 

Hopefully Nico stays around for one more season at least. 

[Batkan]

Finished season 24/25

La Liga: Finished third, Real destroyed it

Supercopa: Lost in finale to Real Madrid

Cup: Lost in quaterfinal in extra time to Atletico Madrid which is shame because beat them both  time in league and in supercup semifinals.

Champions League: Lost in Round of 16 to Man City, we were doing fantastic in group phase, draw with Liverpool and Bayern Munchen  for example. but throw it all in last match home lost vs Benfica 2-1 to not qualify instantly, but beat Feynoord in knockout. Was wining 2-0 Man City at home but ended 2-2 with goals in 88 (with surprisingly Simon's mistake, and 97(!) min. Srsly ref put 5 min extra time and let game go until 97 when they scored. Never saw that. Regardless in Manchester they destroyed us 3-0 and we were lucky it was not higher. 

 

All in all good season. Got valuable CL expirience, and CL cash and qualified again. Too bad no trophies but its difficult. 

 Simon refuses to sign new contract, wants move to bigger club so i guess thats it. Should have sold him last summer. De Marcos is retiring and i am not renewing contracts with Lekue and Galarreta.

I dont know what to do with Inaki Williams. He scored 11 goals in 30 matches. Nico Williams, Oroz and Djalo have more, while Munian and Guruzeta have 10, Sancet 9. Guy is always in offside, sryly like 10 goals disallowed at minimum + dozens of actions stopped because he is in offside.  Maybe i am doing something wrong with him but he is definetly not worth wages he's having and with his 31 year old now, and i am thinking to try sell him now while i still (maybe) can. Problem is he is heavy influental in dressing room and lot players think him as vital part of squad so not sure if should i keep him. 

Got good youth intake. Here is biggest potential. He could be world class. Got few more really good potentials also

 

Edited June 20 by Batkan

[Batkan]

Simon decided he is happy to stay because club doing well just 2 weeks before contract expired! Thats fantastic news! My gamble payed out. Julen Agirrzebala is good but Simon is Simon!

Board only put 8 million transfer budget and refused to increase which is very dissapointing. We sitting on 67 million balance with very good projections. So i could not sign anyone. Was hoping to sign Hugo Gillamon who would join us for 20 mill but cant. Wage budget is 70 million and i am spending 65. 

Got Alvaro Nunez for DR depth and Roberto Lopez from Real Sociedad B for free(out of contract). He looks decent and he is versatile. Can play AML, AMR, MC, AMC, Also got very good Free kick taking. 

Into a new season optimistic we go

 

Edited June 21 by Batkan

[KristianT]

Great news with Simon! He is 36yo with me now and probably in his final season. The heir is making himself ready on loan at Atletico. Some seem to claim the switch should've been done already, as the loanee is 1st choice for Spain and Simon only backup there. So I think I will be fine when Simon retires, I just want him to take Muniain's appearance record first. He will do that this season.

Will be interesting to see how Nunez does with you, as you probably know I have a weak spot for him. He was about to run out of contract recently, but I couldn't let him go. He is 33 and backup RB. Dependable as always when called upon.

Exciting newgen that, hopefully he will be in the first team within a few years.

Real is a really tough nut to crack. Barcelona dominated totally seasons 2-5 for me, then I won four years and now Real are holders and totally dominating so far this season. They have, however, dropped of in the later stages of the season in previous years, so hopefully that happens again while we eat up the points.

I am always a bit torn with getting Guillamon and the other best Basque players in the first seasons, becuase the real switch up will be when the newgens start making their way into the team. That takes a few years though. Only remaining non-newgens in my team now is Simon (36), Sancet, Nunez (both 33 and out of contract at 35) and Vicandi (28).

Edited June 21 by KristianT

[KristianT]

Season 33/34

La Liga: winners - took back the trophy and in the end by some distance. We ended up 13p ahead of Real. This is the largest winning margin in this save. The previous record was 5p in 28/29.

Copa del Rey: winners vs Real Madrid

Supercupa: lost the final to Real Madrid

Champions League: semifinal loss vs Bayern

UEFA supercup: winners vs Liverpool

---------------------------------------------------------

Three trophies (or four) for the third season running. Real looked very dangerous in the first half of the season, but they fell off in the spring. Barcelona had an inverted season, very bad autumn, but closed the gap on Real in the spring.

Unai Simon now has retired. He overtook Muniain as record holder for the most league games. This means he leaves a spot in the leader trio and I am curious to see who takes his place. Casado will take his place after 1,5 years at Atletico Madrid.

Now I am at the point where I can't fit all the talents coming through into the first team. There have been offers from big clubs for 4-5 of my best B team players. So there could be some changes in the squad or a sell out from the B team.

I have screwed up a bit with one of the absolute best ones though, he demanded insane money for a new contract at the start of the season. At that point I thought the demands were unreasonable given that he had played a couple of season in the B team, but had few first team appearances. I wanted to give him a season to test him, but he had very little patience and the diagloue broke down and he has decided to go on a free in 2035. He has played a lot and well this season, so I would have liked to keep him, but if he doesn't come round then I will sell him this summer and leave space for someone who wants to commit long-term. I will get good money for him and maybe one day he will come back.

Two players have really taken steps this season. Iñaki Simon was the player that made me prepared to sell Nico Williams. This season he scored 24 and assisted 28 in 42(10) games. In total, he has scored 49 and assisted 41 in 86(19) games the last two seasons.

Also Eneko Blasco has scored more than any other striker in this save and hopefully he will be that top scorer for many years.

[Batkan]

Wow very good players! That Goalkeeper is sick! Only 20 years! Professional personality also! He will be among best in world in few years

 

[Batkan]

Finished season 25/26

League: second, 3 points more then last season, Real Madrid 10 points less then last season. We are first for goal scores but huge amount of goal concead

Cup: Winners! First trophy! Won vs Sporting Gijon(!) in finales, won vs Real Sociedad semifinale, Barcelona on penalties in quaterfinale (Simon saved 4 out of 8 penalties, De Stegen 3)

Supercup: Lost finals to Barcelona in extra time

CL: Lost round of 16 to Liverpool

Edited June 25 by Batkan

[Batkan]

Season was very rough. January and february had 8 matches each and we had major injuries problems. Inaki Willias broke his leg and Villalibre broke his ankle. But still Villabre was amazing before and after injurie he contiunued.  Scored 23 goals in 21 matches. Second league goalscorer, and got award as first spanish goalscorer, all this with just 21 match played! He is also, with Nico, in spanish team of season. 

In midseason we also brought Guerrero's boy. He started amazing! Got  7(10) matches, and 1 goal 8 assist 2 PoM, average rating 7,28. All this out of natural position as MC. He also often have 10 training rating.

There are rumors that Man Utd will buy Nico Williams for release clause of 150 million and that he would be very interested to join them. We will see how it goes. Also i see Saudi Arabians are interested in Inaki Williams, i would love to unload him because of his wages. He will be 32 in month and still has 2 years massive contract. He is very dependant on his physical atribtues which deterioted after he broke his leg and he not getting any younger.

Our last youth intake was not that good which is disapointing conisdering this is first time we have state of the art youth facilities but some have potential and some of previous is developing good. Here are some of them. I have highest hopes on Lasarte. He could already play a bit from bench for A team but i will probably place him in B team next season and hopefully he will destroy there.

[KristianT]

Those youngsters are looking very promising!

[KristianT]

On 24/06/2024 at 17:47, KristianT said:

I have screwed up a bit with one of the absolute best ones though, he demanded insane money for a new contract at the start of the season. At that point I thought the demands were unreasonable given that he had played a couple of season in the B team, but had few first team appearances. I wanted to give him a season to test him, but he had very little patience and the diagloue broke down and he has decided to go on a free in 2035. He has played a lot and well this season, so I would have liked to keep him, but if he doesn't come round then I will sell him this summer and leave space for someone who wants to commit long-term. I will get good money for him and maybe one day he will come back.

 

Update on this situation.

He has a while back decided that he would go on a free when his contract expires 2035. Normally I would try and sell a player in that situation, at the very latest one year before. But I really like this guy and decided to keep him over the summer to see if he could change his mind and sign a new contract during the season. Come October 2034 and no change, so I had to deal with the situation and find a solution since I don't want to lose control over him. So I put him on the transfer list and offered him out to clubs. Villarreal had the highest bid with €21m, but in this case I was not after the money. I was hoping to recieve a bid from a sub-top club to arrange a transfer fee way below his real market value in exchange for a buy-back clause and a sell-on clause. I actually arranged a deal with Venezia for them to buy him for €8m with a 50% sell on of any future transfer fee over €8m and a buy-back clause of €26m. In that case I would be able to buy him back for a total outlay of €17m (8 + 9, half the difference between 8 and 26). I was really pleased, but then he rejected their contract offer! I was stupid, didn't think to look into his preferences before making the deal.

So I tried again. Offered him out. He said he wanted Dortmund who offered me €9m. I didn't really think they would accept a buy-back, but I actually managed to negotiate a deal for €9m + 50% of future fee over £9m and a buy-back clause of €26m. Which means he will hopefully play 1-2 seasons there, developing nicely, forget he hates me and then I will buy him back for €17,5m! Which will probably be way lower than his market value. Did he accept Dortmund, like he said he would? YES!

Really happy about this. The alternative would most certainly be to lose him on a free to one of the top European clubs where he'd likely be loaned out for a few years and fade away. Now Dortmund will play him like their own and he will hopefully get some experience and grow.

[Batkan]

Very nice! Buy back clauses are generally very good to set up with Athletic! Maybe a player seems not so good right now but in few years he could develop elsewhere and then u may need to depth for that position even if u dont need now.

I would kill for this player! I maybe again will have major problem with central backs like i had for several years in fm21. Only one looks somewhat decent from youth intakes and that includes other basque clubs!

As i mention earlier for me Vivian left to Saudi Arabia first season and Yeray not getting any younger. Unai Nunez out of the blue "wants new challenge" even though he had decent amount of gametime for backup and was happy, Saudis instantly wanted him and i sold him for 23 mill. Mikel Villenueva also left out of contract. He was good for me until now but become old and acc/pace detorieted to only 7/7 so i let him go. 

Laporte was released for free from Saudi Arabia and was rumors he would be very interesting to join us! I was very excited, he still looks amazing and he would for sure be no1 defender by far for year or two but he demanded 20 million a year and i couldnt give him. So strangley PSG signed him and loaned him out to Barcelona. Dunno whats about that.

So i buy Hugo Gillamon who is not natural DC but trained him and Igor Zubeldia from Betis. They are both decent but kinda short. 

So now i have 32 year old Yeray who is still good but not for long, Pacheho with 10 jumping, Zubeldia with 11 jumping and Guillamon with 13 jumping. Not really good situation. Hopefully some good DC's will start spawning.

I also sold Inaki Williams to Saudi Arabia for 36 mill euros. Board was disapointed because "low fee" but honestly i would give him away for free, he is not the same since he broke his leg but even before he was not good enough to justify wages, always in offside. Especially now since Nico wanted new contract with 10 million a year. I gave Nico new contract so Man Utd and Liverpool cant get him anymore and i increase minimum release fee to 180 millions. Munian also left us. I was hoping he would retire but he didnt. Didnt wanna release fan favorite but he just to old and become really bad. No one signed him and its almost december. 

Also fantastic news i forgot to mention earlier. B team promoted to second division, that newgen striker i have high hopes for Lasarte carried them trough playoffs with 7 goals in 4 games. Also C team promoted to playable 4. league! This is great for future. Both started decent this season and i dont think will have any trouble staying up. 

Edited June 26 by Batkan

[KristianT]

Better go with insanely high pressing line to avoid any form of aerial duel in your own box  jokes aside, it is frustrating, but it is also part of the fun. You have to work with what you have, work around problems, finding solutions.

Good call selling Inaki, I think. Also Muniain has been a problem and a disappointment for many of us here in FM24.

Good news with the B and C team! Hopefully they will be great development teams for your youth.

[KristianT]

In for a busy and interesting month now! The games vs Real Madrid: game 1 is the first tie of the Copa semi final (ended 0-0), games 2 and 3 are CL round of 16, game 4 is the Copa second tie and game 5 is La Liga.

Edited June 28 by KristianT

[Batkan]

Good luck! We just beat Real Madrid 2-1 in amazing dramatic game. League looking realy good. We played both matches vs Barcelona and Real Madrid and they still play with eachother once. Still long way to go but never was situation this good! We are on fire. 10 league wins in a row!

[Batkan]

Also our first newgen in main team become basically first choice striker. He developing fantastically. Could (should) become world class player.

 

Edited Friday at 14:59 by Batkan