The Unofficial Spanish La Liga Thread

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Valencia 2023/2024

Final Month of La Liga Season 1 Update 5

Setting the scene...

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Where we left off in Update 4

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Situation 1

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This came up the day after CDR Final. I'm not sure if this play that big of a factor on what happen for the rest of the season, but I would like to think the distraction did something.

Situation 2

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This is definitely a BIG factor for sure. This came up just before end of April's Las Palmas match.

I will refer more on this situation later on once I setup the bigger picture.

Situation 3

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Contracts, bloody contracts.

Correia, Guillamon (twice this year, 4th time this season), Diego Lopez, Almeida, Mamardashvilli all asked for a new one.

Apart from Correia, I want to keep the others. Guillamon, Diego Lopez, Almeida accepted to drop it when I talked to them. Whilst I couldn't risk Mamardashvilli leaving, so had to offer him one.

The problem was the timing. Correia asked for one (his 2nd time this season) at the start of May, and 8 players became unhappy in his support. Luckily, Mosquera, Yarek, Vasquez (the 3 Young players who played a lot) dropped their unhappiness after talking to them. The other 5 are young Mestalla players I kept in the senior squad for mentoring and better quality training.

Thought it was sorted, then few days later, 4 of the team leaders/senior players (Gaya, Guillamon, Duro, Domenech) also became unhappy in support of Correia. After holding team meeting, only Domenech was still unhappy.

All of these messed up our morale at the most important part of the season, and in Mamardashvilli's case - he asked for a contract on the day same day as the Sociedad match! That's right the final match of the season!

Results up to the final day...

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Real Madrid Results

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Valencia Results

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La Liga Table after 37 Jornadas

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Final Day of Season 1...

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Heartbreaking 

Just not meant to be. Despite this, I still feel proud for an unbelievable first season. No disappointment honestly.

It is the first time in all my FM experience that most of my team were motivated even before my pre-match team-talk. Had fun in the way we play and how we create our chances. Fran Perez zooming in for the through ball in between the CB and LB were my favourite highlights as to how aesthetically pleasing they were.

3 losses whole season, 2 in La Liga, 1 in CDR.

17 goals conceded in La Liga - by far the best defence 

All of these made me excited for coming season 

I also have to put my hand up and admit I made the wrong choices in this match.

Didn't start Fran Perez because of his poor recent form.

I also did all my substitutions after I saw Greenwood's goal against Real, I thought we got the advantage now with Real losing.

The substitutions were too early and none of the 5 were able to affect the match, that I should have kept the starting players. Was unable to put 2 strikers up-top like I did in the CDR Final.

Lesson learnt.

The overall effects of all the aforementioned situations?

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Situation 4

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Thoughts

I strongly believed, the 4 different situations affected our end of season performances.

Board changes, our best player Fran Perez slacking in training because of mentoring group went bad and his professionalism decreasing, all the contract requests and the timing of it, and injuries forcing most of our creative players to miss out on the final run-in.

Mosquera, Diakhaby, Yarek (Ozkacar lost his form), Guillamon all became jaded and in need of rest towards the end. Just not enough cover because of lack of option and injuries.

I'm not going to use the injuries as an excuse (wasn't even a crisis), but considering we only scored 2 goals in the final 6 matches after winning the CDR Final, I had pin-pointed Fran Perez as the key to our failings.

I should have taken extra steps since Mari also had similar result from his Mentoring Group. 

Fran Perez before Winter Break: 9 goals, 5 assists.

After New Year: 3 goals, 5 assists, and lots of poor performances.

His last goal was vs Mallorca on April 7th, whilst his last assist was against Real Madrid on March 9th.

So in the final 8 matches, he didn't contributed any goal nor assist despite being our best player.

Its showing with Valencia only scoring 2 goals in the final 6 matches.

I hope I can reverse his mentoring predicament and bring his professionalism back up. He will be key for how we will do in our 2nd season.

Next Update 6: End of Season 1 Review

Edited August 2 by quee

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Valencia 2023/2024

End of Season 1 Review Update 6

Season Results

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Final League Table

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La Liga Player Stats

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Valencia Player Stats

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Players with 7+ average rating

8 first choice first team players finished with above 7 AVR, so pretty pleased with that. Fran Perez and Duro did finished on a downward trend at the end of the season, so something I need to sort out next season.

Gonzalbez the only squad player to perform exceedingly well to what is expected of them, so that means he most likely will stay beyond this season.

Players with 6.90 - 6.99 average rating

Guerra, Yarek, Vasquez, Almeida are expected to have that extra room to perform even better next season. Iranzo will play more next season as the backup for a new RB.

Players with 6.89 average rating and below

Guillamon (34(8) apps) and Diego Lopez (23(18) apps) are the main first team players that are in this underperforming group, so I'm expecting better from them next season.

Next Update 7: Valencia Squad Review & Season 2 Transfer Planning

[TheMartello]

3 hours ago, quee said:

Valencia 2023/2024

End of Season 1 Review Update 6

Season Results

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Final League Table

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La Liga Player Stats

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Valencia Player Stats

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Players with 7+ average rating

8 first choice first team players finished with above 7 AVR, so pretty pleased with that. Fran Perez and Duro did finished on a downward trend at the end of the season, so something I need to sort out next season.

Gonzalbez the only squad player to perform exceedingly well to what is expected of them, so that means he most likely will stay beyond this season.

Players with 6.90 - 6.99 average rating

Guerra, Yarek, Vasquez, Almeida are expected to have that extra room to perform even better next season. Iranzo will play more next season as the backup for a new RB.

Players with 6.89 average rating and below

Guillamon (34(8) apps) and Diego Lopez (23(18) apps) are the main first team players that are in this underperforming group, so I'm expecting better from them next season.

Next Update 7: Valencia Squad Review & Season 2 Transfer Planning

Do you have a screenshot of your tactic(s)?

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Valencia 2023/2024

Squad Review Update 7

Appearances Review

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There were 46 total matches for Valencia in Season 1.

Mosquera leading the way with 43 matches at 18/19 years of ahe, only missing out on the first 2 CDR Rounds and a match vs Mallorca in November (I forgot why)

Guillamon and Diego Lopez underperformed of my regulars, so next season I'm looking for improvement from them in their positions.

Almeida is my favourite first substitution because of how creative he is. Towards the end he started more in place of out of form Pepelu.

Goal Contributions Chart

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Valencia Tactic

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Squad Depth

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First glance, priority position would be a new first choice RB. Then another DM and another MC if possible.

I'm happy with most of depth for now as I'm not planning a huge turnovers of players. Might revisit this plan every 3 seasons to give the players all the chance they need to develop and perform.

Correia wanted too high of a new contract (£40k+ p/w) despite his subpar contribution to our general play. Whilst physically he is amazing, technically he is not what I'm looking for. 1 assist showcasing his limitation here. A few of the goals we conceded came from his pass being intercepted and we got countered. His 2 goals were from CK/FK he went forward despite his instruction was to stay back 

Diakhaby wanted to move to a bigger club, his head had been turn since early season because of Saudi interest. I would not be opposed to him staying since he can cover DM as well as a Mentor (Resolute personality) But since a promise was made, he will be leaving for sure.

Canos is in a position where I have the most options. Whilst he did okay most of his matches, his £34k p/w wages is just too high for his playing time. Would be willing to keep him if he could contribute to a good Mentoring Group, but so far he is not that.

Yarek finished the season strong ahead of Ozkacar, who strangely always anxious in all the games towards the end. He doesn't have 'Doesn't Enjoy Big Matches' in his report either. So I'm planning next season with Yarek as first choice for the LCB position.

Valencia Finances

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Transfer Plans for Season 2

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This is the preliminary budget set by the board when Valencia confirmed their place in Uefa Europa League, lets see if we would get more since we will be in UCL instead.

A new Board might also increase a bit of our budget but if its internal promotion I doubt it since we still have lots of debts to clear.

Main priority is to keep our budget within our La Liga registration limit.

Correia £10,250 p/w, Diakhaby £13,250 p/w, Canos £34k p/w would hopefully help in outgoing reduction in wages.

I'm hoping to get £50+m incoming from selling the players above.

Domenech is on £25k p/w and in the last month of his contract. I would like to keep him if he would agree a wage lower than De Gea (£14k p/w) since Domenech is 3rd choice. His Perfectionist personality is helpful in Mentoring group, whilst this is his 11th season for Valencia. I would like to be loyal to the players when I can  At the moment he is unhappy because of Correia's contract situation and has 'Wants new Challenge', I hope I can persuade him to stay.

Transfer Targets

Position of Need - 1) First Choice Attacking RB 2) A DM 3) A MC

1) RB targets - would like an attacking RB to complement Gaya on the opposite side. Preferably someone with a physical profile above 180+ cm for defensive solidity.

• Ferdi Kadioglu (Turkish, Fenerbache, 24, 174cm) - main problem would be the wages I think since current Scouting Reports are suggesting £92k-115k p/w. Estimated fee: £15.25m - £22.5m
• Juanlu (Spanish, Sevilla, 20, 186cm) - Younger and still need to develop further, but fits the profile of what I'm looking for. Wages around £36k+ p/w and has release clause £29.5m, though the Scout Report says a £19m deal might be possible. Atletico is showing interest as well so would face competition which might drive his wages up.

2) DM targets - I'm happy with Guillamon as first choice for now, so ideally I would sign someone to back him up and push for a starting spot in the next few years. Would like a similar profile to Guillamon since Valencia's defensive record been magnificent and the Half Back position is key to achieve that I think.

• Renato Veiga (Portuguese, Basel, 20, 190cm) - perfect defensively solid profile with overall balanced attributes to add a bit extra than Guillamon. Can play multiple positions and is left footed, extra bonus. Estimated Fee: £9.25m-11.25m and wages around £33k+ p/w
• Stefan Bajcetic (Spanish, Liverpool, 19, 186cm) - Multi-positions but not as flexible as his one-footedness is a highlighted weakness in his game. Very expensive at estimated £30m-42m and £32k+ p/w wages. I'm considering him incase I only have enough budget for a RB, as Liverpool seems to be open to loaning him out.
• Samu (Portuguese, Mallorca, 23, 183cm) - I feel this is a signing if I want to replace Guillamon as first choice, not sure I want to do it just yet. Left footed and Perfectionist for estimated £18.7m - 27.5m and £43k+ p/w wages.
• Angelo Stiller (Germany, Stuttgart, 23, 183cm) is of similar profile like Samu but way higher wage demand £57k+ p/w
• Cheaper and Younger targets to develop - Marc Bernal (Spanish, Barca, 17, 188cm), Javier Fernandez (Spanish, Bayern, 17, 186cm). Both of these will be a project, so not sure if its the direction I want to go with. What budget available might dictate this as the only option though.

3) MC targets - Since Almeida is more than able to rotate with Guerra, I need someone to challenge Pepelu for the B2B midfield role. The DM targets above can fill in MC as well, so we might only be able to sign one for both positions.

• Gerard Yepes (Spanish, Fulham, 21, 170cm) - Only become aware of him towards end of the season after Fulham snapped him up for a cool £4.9m from Sampdoria in January. Now he is valued 5 times that, but Fulham just got relegated, so finance permitting, would like to test his market in the summer. Hardworking Midfielder named Gerard? Memory lane on Valencia's Gerard Lopez of old 
• Pablo Barios (Spanish, Atletico, 20, 181cm) - This is more of a luxury wishful thinking, since he is a Wonderkid and valued more than £40m - 60m. I'm keeping an eye on this one for long term possibility as I feel he can replace Pepelu as first choice 
• Diego Gomez (Paraguayan, Inter Miami, 21, 183cm) - The most realistic target since he is valued around £500k - £6.6m and only around £18k+ p/w wages. Potential wise this might be a midterm signing just for squad depth instead of challenging for first XI, unless my Scout not doing their job fully 

Special mention one target for the future - Once Valencia can spend more than £50m+ on one player, I would like to get Aimar (Spanish, Osasuna, 22, 177cm). Would like to partner him with Guerra if possible.

Perfect summer transfer for season 2? Kadioglu, Veiga, Gerard Yepes with Juanlu, Bernal/Javier Fernandez, Diego Gomez as 2nd option.

Next Update 8: Season Awards

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5 hours ago, TheMartello said:

Do you have a screenshot of your tactic(s)?

I added it to Update 7 now.

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Valencia 2023/2024

Season Awards & Records Update 8

Competition Review

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Competition Awards

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Fran Perez was in the running for this award for most of the season...

Before his season and form collapsed completely because of this one incident 

Valencia Awards

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Season Records

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International News

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No player selected for Copa America except Mestalla player Declan Firth for Jamaica.

Mosquera was called up for the March Friendlies vs Argentina and New Zealand but they never bring him off the bench  Would been have been perfect to debut against Argentina.

Hugo Duro was called up for Spain preliminary Euros 2024 squad, but he missed out to Toni Martinez it seems for the final striker spot.

No wonder Ozkacar was out of form in the final month, he completely missed out on the preliminary squad for Turkey.

Latest on Board Takeover & Finance Review..

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In update 5, first talk of a new owner was announced. 3 months later it seems we have a candidate.

Next Update 9: Boardroom Takeover News?

Edited August 14 by quee

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Valencia 2023/2024

Boardroom Takeover News Update 9

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No tycoon investment, but I'm actually fine with it since it would make this more challenging and hopefully allowed me to get invested more.

Was disappointed to see Voro left the Board, since he's the only real clickable profile and a Valencia Icon.

Last act from the previous board..

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New Board getting to work..

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Finally 85% of transfer revenue before the Summer Window, will help a lot for getting some of our targets.

How is it looking financially with the new Board?

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Whilst there's no visible investment into the club from the announcement, I did noticed they restructured the loan repayments and added £12m into the Overall Balance.. Which hopefully should help financially in the future. My main priority target would like to be to see the La Liga registration wage limit to be increased for the likely increase in contracts requests and hopefully better quality players.

Financial before the Board Takeover

Financial after the Board Takeover

New debt restructuring plan.

Old loan plan.

Other News

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Saw Celta came in for Rufete but he refused to even enter negotiation with Valencia. So another wait to bring Fran Perez's dad back to Valencia.

Next Update 10: Summer Transfer Window 2024

Sneak Peek Drama..

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This was the reason why I stopped playing since my last update.

Hugo Duro had already provisionally agreed a new contract in November. Little did I know pushing it to the end of the season is causing me problem, since I didn't realised the end of season in Spain is 9th of July, instead of the typical date in June before re-opening of the Summer Transfer Window.

It was also unbeknownst to me that despite despite provisionally agreeing to a new contract, they would still discuss transfer with other teams. I thought it would be similar to when a player just signed a new contract and refused to enter negotiation. So the extra 9 days for La Liga to count as end of season made this very weird experience for me, on top of the fact Duro said he is keen on the move (whilst Jose Gaya mentioned he would be reluctant to leave after a rumour to Saudi was mentioned)