[FM24] Network Save | Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona | Trophy Count: 48 - 41| Seasons Complete: 20

[oliscott]

A dark cloud on Real Madrids and my family name tonight.

[oliscott]

This years NXGN was dominated by myself and Barca this year,

[santy001]

While awaiting the start of this evenings section I've decided to go through my youth squad and really begin focusing on what tends to be my greatest strength - the youth production pipeline. Having accumulated a few players and signed most of the youth intakes over the years so far as the main focus has been the senior squad I've gutted the under 19's to bring it down from a cumbersome 53 players to a lean squad of 21 (+7 who are on loan and will age out at the end of this season). A few youth signings should bring that up to around 25 in the summer. 

I'm looking at replacing the U19's manager with someone who fits the mould more for what I want and bring the training under my direct control. 

[santy001]

End of Season 7 - Real Madrid dethroned.

After 6 consecutive titles with a 135 game unbeaten run along the way I've finally managed to edge a title against Real Madrid. It required a monumental effort with a 36 match winning run essential to actually delivering the title. The longest we'd had previously in our save was @oliscott having 27 consecutive wins a couple of seasons prior. An absolutely insane 111 - 109 points final standing means there isn't much room to look to improve with next season. There was an absolutely humiliating 8-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final. Just getting my initial approach wrong and being 2 down quickly spiralled out and Real Madrid went through comfortably before meeting Man City in the final and comfortably dispatching them 3-1.

Barcelona Best XI:

Real Madrid Best XI:

[santy001]

Season 8 - Early Summer Business

A couple of free signings for my Barcelona side but on the whole a very understated start to the summer. A lot of players moving on as their youth development hasn't hit the desired point or just parting ways with players who have fallen to the periphery of my side. Both teams naturally picking up a handful of young prospects as well. In my case to pad out the extremely lean U19 side, whereas for @oliscott I think it's more just a case of he likes collecting people.

Barcelona:

Real Madrid:

[oliscott]

Had a whole bunch of players out on loan last year, struggling to get a lot of them into the team for game time so most have gone back out again this year, I dont have a screenshot for this year but it must be close to 30. This is how Chelsea must feel.

The only player to come back and go into the squad this year is Duquesne due to him being too good to farm out for another year. His last two loans have been at Man City and PSG so hes more than ready to go now. He operates as an AML or AMR with the ability to play upfront however in AML I have Vini Jnr and a young Gary Thompson Im trying to rotate in and out. In AMR I have Bellingham Gueler and Endrick. Then upfront its either Haaland and Matip. Its a real struggle to give him game time but Im going to try get him to the twenty games mark this year.

[oliscott]

One of the very rare occasions beating @santy001 where everything went right and every player was flawless. Ill enjoy these whilst I can!

[santy001]

Season 8 - End of Summer Window

Overall a quiet transfer window for both teams. No further additions to my Barcelona team and only another youngster purchased by Real Madrid. Plenty of sales on my side as I work to avoid the same kind of situation as @oliscott where there's so many out on loan. Not to mention that the players I'm bringing through are more to my preference and so letting current players go even if a little cheaper than ideal (like Gavi) makes sense to avoid problems further down the line. 

Barcelona Transfers:

Real Madrid Transfers:

[santy001]

Sometimes you just need to set a benchmark record for goals in a game from a single player...

[oliscott]

With the January window over with now, I had a quick count up of the players out on loan currently and it stands at 45!

[santy001]

Season 8 - Winter Window

Continuing the focus on the youth development side January was a time to plug gaps in the U19's squad and ensure a balanced team was in place as well as look at bringing in cover to promote players to the B Team. Considering the B Team exists in the third tier (and can get to the second tier) of Spanish football there is a pipeline to go from U19's > B Team > Senior Team that I really want to capitalise on. The B Team had mostly just been a bit of a dumping ground up until now but last season I cut it back to the barebones as part of the preparations. So there haven't been any big purchases for either side, but @oliscott did let a lot of players leave on transfers too. Batches of youngsters who haven't made the cut from the hoarded ranks it seems.

Barcelona:

Real Madrid:

[santy001]

End of Season 8: Barcelona Back to Back

For quite a while it looked as though an invincible season was on the cards for my side having won both games against @oliscott in the league. However, fatigue began to set in and players got a bit hit and miss towards the end losing a couple of games. Normally it would have been curtains for a title race but it seems Real Madrid were also feeling the effects of 3 seasons without a break due to the Euros, Club World Championship and then World Cup. A Champions League win for Real Madrid was their trophy this season, the Spanish Cup, Super Cup and League title came back to Barcelona.

Barcelona Best XI:

Real Madrid Best XI:

[santy001]

Season 9 - Early Summer Transfer Activity

The early summer period is more of the normal buying up youngsters activity for both myself and @oliscott. Both of us have well established sides who are in their peaks and there aren't really any other players that we would like to sign to improve our fortunes further. I had a couple of substantial sales and while it bumped up the transfer budget all of the money plus some additional funds got siphoned out of the balance by the board. It seems getting above £1 billion is the mark at Barcelona for the board to just keep extracting funds. 

Barcelona Transfers:

Real Madrid Transfers:

[santy001]

Season 9 Complete - A Meaningless Invincible Season

Transfer activity isn't of much use with what the clubs are doing now so haven't included it this season. It has become more of a youth acquisitions arm race. It has been another year in which both teams scored over the 100 points mark and at Barcelona I did an invincible season myself, which helped secure second position. Despite winning both home and away against Real Madrid getting 5 draws was too much. A distinct weakness with my side has been facing low blocks, when these sides are able to shut up shop and deny any space to work in I need to better find ways to draw them back. I've been adjusting my tactics when coming up against these sides but it's not perfect. Trying to give the opposition the chance to make mistakes also means giving them the chance to attack you in a meaningful manner. With a single domestic cup trophy that's my only consolation as @oliscott picked up the league, Champions League and Super Cup. 

Barcelona Best XI:

Real Madrid Best XI:

[santy001]

Season 10 - Early Season Thoughts

Moving away from just sharing our transfers after a couple of games both teams are sitting on 2 wins from 2 with +15 GD. A little excessive compared to the norms but gearing up for another all-out attack season. @oliscott has let long time players Vinicius Jr, Endrick and Tchouameni leave (getting decent fees for all of them). While it was probably time for Tchouameni given his age Vinicius Jr could've played a good part for another couple of years but was in the final year of contract and along with Endrick had been unhappy for a couple of years. A common struggle with his side is keeping players happy, having to let Camavinga go previously or risk losing him on a free. 

Real Madrid sank £64m to trigger the release clause on a player called Fran Herrero, who is 19 and will turn 20 in December. 

Last season I largely began to phase out Khephren Thuram as he was 31, coming up to the final 12 months of his contract and the winner of the last NxGn award was my young prospect coming through in defence as a new Libero to compete with Cubarsi. Called Alberto Abascal I've been carefully managing his development since he came through the academy as a 5 star potential player. His first season rooted firmly in the U18's side before pushing him into the B Team when he was 17 to let him experience third tier football. Last year he came into the senior squad being used sparingly until later in the season and is now in a position where he can firmly contend. His passing stands out as something I need to find a way to capitalise on through his career. He turns 20 in March and could easily have 15 years ahead of him as a core part of my team.

[santy001]

Season 10 - Strong Starts

So at 9 games into the season checking the table shows that this year is one of the most competitive in a long time so far. With all the big teams mostly avoiding each other early on Barcelona, Real Madrid and Sevilla are all on 9 wins from 9. Atletico Madrid are 4th with 8 wins, their defeat coming against Sevilla. A little worry for myself at Barcelona as Sevilla have a good record against me. It has been incredibly strong starts from myself and @oliscott though, with complete freescoring sides.

Benjamin Sesko is pretty much proving the hero of the moment with the amount of goals he has scored. 

[santy001]

Season 10 - End of Session - Early November

So the first slip-up in the league this season befell @oliscott against midtable Almeria. They snatched got a fortunate lead through a penalty having sat deep in a 4-3-3 where Real Madrid needed a fairly late goal to restore parity. Almeria have an 85m wide pitch, not as wide as they could have but I find it makes for a very tricky game against sides that do this. I've had to come up with a couple of variations for these extra long/extra wide pitches because I've also been victim to these frustrating draws. 

Back at Barcelona I've recently had to come through games against Atletico Madrid & Sevilla. Having won both sees me with a 2 point cushion at the top, and a rather absurd +81 goal difference after 14 games. 

This season the fixtures between Barcelona & Real Madrid fall just before the mid-season break and second to last match of the season. This adds some potential tension to that second round we've not yet had in this save. The Libero is a big element of how my side does manage to score so many, having that extra body forward results in numerous goals like this:

Football Manager 2024 (gyazo.com)

This is the high risk approach that is taken by my side in a bit more of a full picture however:

As you can see there is only one CB on the half-way line. My Ball-Playing Defender Sunday Johnson. On the edge of the box you've got my RB on the ball in Rojas (just received a pass from Yamal) with Zaire-Emery my DM-Support with Abascal the Libero followed by Diaz the LB. 

Yamal is an IF on the right wing with Andrade the AMC, Tatsuoka as the Segundo Volante, Sesko as the AF and then Mbappe also as an IF. While a break down in the attack is potentially a devastating 4 on 1 counter, this situation is incredibly difficult for Vigo to defend. Rojas could go back out right with Yamal unmarked, Zaire-Emery is free with space in front of him, as are Abascal and Diaz. Any pass towards Abascal and Diaz also has the immediate option of a free Mbappe. The movement in the middle from Sesko/Andrade/Tatsuoka keeps 4 of their back 5 pinned with the 5th being nothing more than a deterrent to stop Rojas from trying to beat his man/pressure Yamal if the ball goes back that way. 

In 18 games in all competitions the Libero players (Cubarsi & Abascal) have racked up 9 goals between them so far.

[oliscott]

This season is shaping as one for the ages, A pretty flawless start to the season at the half way point having just entered January. A draw for myself mid table Almeria has ruined my chance at a 38 win season. The last game played prior to the winter break was a 1-0 win for myself against @santy001 Barcelona side, a pretty even affair until the 94th minute when Matip Managed to sneak a winner. @santy001 was without Mbappe who normally does do a number on me from the wings so that certainly helped.

The other noticeable thing for this season is the goal differences, both sides are remaining water tight at the back, Should I average the same conceded in the second half of the season then Ill hold the record for least conceded in a season.

On the flip side goals scored, @santy001 is almost certainly going to shatter the goals scored record this year if he keeps on track averaging just short of 6 a game! This is really helped by Sesko having the season of his life as shown below averaging a goal every 41 minutes and having double the amount of shots as second place Matip, granted with more games played.

The other interesting stat I've picked up on this year was @santy001 effectiveness from corners, having scored 26 in 19 matches! a front post ball to Sesko or Yoro has been his calling card and is paying dividends. I do have a few players over the 6"4 mark on my side and Im very much trying to replicate his success.

A few more shots below just how well the season is going with @santy001 over preforming his XG by a massive 33 goals so just short of 2 extra goals.a game, granted when winning by such huge margins anyway these don't really matter but it does show how effective his team are this year.

 

[oliscott]

Now for an update on some of the youngsters brought in and expected to make an impact in the coming years.

Sule showed up on my youth intake sweep and had extremely good reports, add to that he's 6"5 I had to take him. @santy001 has a thing for tall men so I have no doubt he would have taken him also. In terms of options ahead of him there is currently Haaland and Matip, Haaland has just been given a new two year deal to tie him down until he's 33 at which point Ill look to sell him to the Saudis, matip will then be the first choice and this guy will be backup after a loan spell out.

 

Ohlow is another I picked up in the youth intake at the same time as Sule, good reports and being a tallboy made it an easy decision to pick him up. Due to his age he's currently sat in the youth system. Hell go out on loan for two years to develop and then Ill look to integrate him as I have few CBS ahead of him.

 

Martz has been with us a few years now and had a few loan spells out, Im hoping that a year at Milan will be the final step before intergrating him into the first team next year.

 

Shangase was a pickup with an aim to maybe challenge Restes when the time came to replace Courtois, Restes has stepped up to be the undisputed first choice. The stats on Shangase though are fine for me to consider him the long term backup as long as hes happy to stay.

[oliscott]

Jackoff has been signed for his height and good reports, Id like his passing to increase before he's given a run in the first team but this is his first year he's been able to go out on loan and to Elche who are in the same division Im hoping it readies him for his chance.

 

Ubeda is one who has come through the youth intake, every now and again Ill get a gem compared to the six a year @santy001 gets. Another defender over the 6 foot mark, Ill look to sort a loan move in January ideally to another La Liga team. He faces strong competition though for a first team slot based on the above players.

 

At right back currently Ferrarai has the starting spot locked down having developed nicely over the years to take Kayodes spot. Kayode is unhappy and wants to move on which Im happy to facilitate. A back up right back though is proving difficult to come by. Sari was rated highly by the scouts and with decent crossing for a youngster he was signed. As soon as Kayode leaves Sari will move to the first team to be rotated in and developed.

 

At left back the first choice is Barco, he really is a menace down the wing and loves to bomb onto the byline before putting a cross in which is ideal for what Im looking to do. However he also needs a young backup to develop and eventually take his place when the time comes. This year I have promoted a young french LB who is really looking the part and is edging ahead of Pirone. Pirone still has time on his side however so will likely be loaned out for two years to develop and well reassess then.

[oliscott]

Dik is another youth intake sweep pickup, He's not likely to get in at my DMC position but could be a shout for the AMC position. His vision and passing along with a few of his traits are something that could be an asset wherever he ends up.

[WillHoward42]

Seeing both teams overall best eleven would be nice

[oliscott]

27 minutes ago, WillHoward42 said:

Seeing both teams overall best eleven would be nice

Ive just deleted one I had not ten minutes ago but it was a few years old, sure @santy001 can supply these tonight.

[oliscott]

Next up I thought it would be interesting to have a look at a now and then comparison to some of the youngsters I posted earlier in the thread to see how whats happened. There are a few from the earlier post that I wont document just yet below and this is due to them leaving the club but I will get some screenshots of them later to show how there faring away from the club.

Starting with Adri 5 years apart, I knew when signing him at the time I had something special on my hands. He's now in the first team and playing in the DMC role, Id play him at CB a bit as well but his height just lets him down for that. Caicedo at DMC is a monster and is having his best season yet with 11 assists at last count but similar to Haaland I've given him another two years to stop him leaving on a free and hopefully to sell to the Saudis for a decent fee. When that time comes Adri may already have taken his place.

 

Next up is Agra signed to play DMC, at the time Camavinga, Valverde and Tchouameni were all ahead of him in the pecking board. With all three leaving he hold the DMC spot alongside Caicedo this year, stats wise he's only had minor increases in a few but its still good enough for what I need.

[oliscott]

Ballesta is one from my own youth intake who is always going to struggle trying to nail down a spot in the first team due to only playing on ST and one AMC. He's kicked on a little bit but not enough to warrant a look in, due to his value he's one Im hoping that a bid comes in for and he will be sold.

 

Some impressive improvements in his Mentals and Physicals has meant that Bescancon has become a bit of a utility player in the team able to slot in at DMC and DC as a rotation option. A steady hand if you will.

 

[oliscott]

Chacha jumped out when I signed him as a youngster due to his stats at the time and his height, due to having well established CB's infront of him for a few years he's had a few loan spells out to gain experience and develop, the last one being at Liverpool. This year he's been playing regularly with Santos and he still has room to grow as well, being both footed in the CB role is a big plus as well.

 

Diallo is someone who came through the youth intake a few years back and unless there was some rapid development he was always going to be one to loan out and look to entice a bid from someone. He's certainly kicked on a bit but due to other options ahead of him he will be one that ill entertain offers for.

 

[oliscott]

Duquesne is one signed for a cheap fee but with no real place for him in the team at the time, you could see the potential was there though when the chance came. He had a few loan spells out at high profile clubs such as PSG and Man City which did his development the world of good. Vini Jnr was ahead of him and with the decision to sell him this year and not give him a bumper contract to his 30's Duquesne has taken his chance. An ankle break last year put him out for 3 months and without that Im confident he would have improved on his 17 assists and hit 30. This year his goals and assists are lower than I would like but I know he has it in him to change this.

 

Ferreira has become the dependable cog in my side at right back displacing Kayode, if his leadership was a bit higher Id love to have him as captain. Solid going back and forward and chipping in with 20 assists a season he really is one of my favourite players from this save.

[oliscott]

Geovani was signed with a good scout report him at a young age, hes been out on loan due to other options ahead of him at DMC. Due to his age its make or break at the moment slotting into DMC as a rotation option and also as a further option at RB. Hes not kicked on as much as I would have liked but hopefully he can make something of this year.

 

Hossoz was another picked up with a decent scout report and speculative punt in the hope some time in the youth system and a loan would make him first team ready. It hasn't really happened for him and there a few options ahead of him so another that will be sold when a decent bid comes in.

 

 

[oliscott]

Russo had a great report when signed and signs he could be something at AMC with the right development, a few loan spells away and he's come back into the fold the last two years swapping with Musiala, a great return on goals and assists should make him a mainstay for a number of years.

 

Salas was another youth intake prospect but really due to the sheer numbers at AML infront of him was always going to struggle to get in the team, a chunk of players that were ahead of him have moved on in the last few years and this year he's managed to be a good rotation option for Duquesne and his goals are paying me back in spades. With great acceleration and pace along with knocking ball past opponents he's a weapon to be used on the left.

[santy001]

Overall Best XI's for both clubs as of the 2033/34 season:

I hadn't taken too much of a look at the overalls despite going to grab screenshots each season. One thing that stands out at first glance is just how many goals @oliscott has gotten from that trio behind the striker. Bellingham, Vinicius Jr & Musiala all providing strong scoring figures. Haaland is proving to be a better forward than Sesko, but I don't think there's anything controversial about that. I feel I possibly could have gotten more from Haaland in my side as it is set up explicitly for a physical striker, but sometimes you lose out on the transfer battle. 

One player who will appear in my Best XI quite soon I expect is Florian Wirtz. Wirtz has really brought that role behind the striker to life in my side. 77 goals and 70 assists in 114 games so far. I wish he were 5 years younger as replacing him in 3-4 years time is likely to be one of the biggest challenges my side faces. 

Barcelona:

Real Madrid:

[santy001]

@oliscott decided to play around bidding the release clause of £180m for one of my prominent youngsters, Libero Alberto Abascal. So I got down to business negotiating a new deal with Abascal and to make a point decided to trigger the £247m release clause of his youngster Adri. 

Anyway, Abascal put pen to paper on a new deal with Barcelona. Then I signed Adri anyway. Doesn't really fit into my side as it stands and it was purely done to prove a point. 

[santy001]

Season 10 - End of the Day's Session

A 3-3 draw in late January against Alaves for Real Madrid has seen the top spot pass back to my Barcelona side for now with a 1 point cushion.

The xG overperformance is rather ridiculous this year:

Looking over Barcelona:

As we sit in the middle of March my side has gone through a bit of a crisis up front after I sold Rob Brain to Tottenham for £81m (rising to £91m). The sale was because he was very similar to Sesko, admittedly leaving him in a tutor group with Sesko caused that but I want my alternative striker option to offer... well an alternative. I had planned on Sesko and Mbappe to be the strikers for the remainder of the season and re-assess in summer. Sesko then got injured for 3 months and Mbappe for 6 weeks. 

I had brought in a young prospect a few years ago for £10m from Villareal by the name of Antonio Jose Cuellar:

In easier games I've been making use of this player upfront, and for stronger opponents utilising Lamine Yamal. I usually play Yamal wide right of my attacking front 3 but he has the right stuff to also lead the line. Meanwhile over on the left side that was last year the spot of Mbappe. While Mbappe is in the last year of his contract I'd been planning succession as I wanted to assess his deterioration at 34/35 before committing to another big contract. So 5 years ago my backroom staff were all over one of the youth intake, a player called Robert Rosanas. Much like Abascal I've carefully curated his development, mostly keeping my eye on him in the senior team until he hit 18. 

Here is his progression chart/data:

Staff still believe there is significant room for growth, I'm unsure if this is just based on him being such a high ability at 20 or if there is still genuine room for growth. However, there is no wavering in coach opinions which makes me feel more positive. Some of my other 5 star potential laureates have already fallen by the wayside and been sold on. 

Looking over Real Madrid:

While @oliscott can no doubt explain his decisions we have seen a number of departures this season of players who were first team regulars. Vinicius Jr, Tchouameni, Antonio Silva, Endrick and Kerkez in the summer, followed by Hato and Kayode in January. Adri was also lost to myself, but that wasn't really a conscious sale on his behalf. It doesn't look to have really weakened the team too much though, promotions from B/C/U19 teams have filled the gaps without the need to really spend. Save for the big £64m purchase of Fran Herrero back in the summer. 

[santy001]

Season 10 - A Week from the Decider

So just a couple of games left and second to last it's Real Madrid vs Barcelona at the Bernabeu. Sesko is back from injury at long last and has 8 goals in the 3 games since his return. Real Madrid are in the driving seat as my side let another result slip losing to Elche while they have a game in hand. A draw suits them much better. After losing 1-0 in the earlier league fixture I do fear a repeat of events where I'll struggle to get anything out of this. It will be rather devastating if I have a season in which I finish on 105 points with over 200 goals scored and still finish second.

[santy001]

So the match finished 3-3. Real Madrid go into the final game just needing to match my result and the title is theirs.

[santy001]

Season 10 - Real Madrid win the league, but lose out in Europe

So after the draw between us in the second to last game it all went rather predictably and Real Madrid saw it out with a comfortable win over Albacete meaning the title went to @oliscott once more. A 106 point runner up season isn't the highest so far, but it still is an incredibly frustrating out. Meanwhile in the Champions League final @oliscott saw his side down to 10 men after just 4 minutes as heralded Duquense made a wild lunge on one of my players who got past him with the ball. They still took the lead with a long range effort but as the game wore on my side grew into things and took it 2-1. 

Barcelona Best XI:

Real Madrid Best XI: 

[PT-KK]

You went a bit into the youth development, I think it would be really cool if both of you go into a bit more detail of the tactical approaches, taking into account the numbers both your teams are getting.

Awesome save from both of you, as always.

[oliscott]

A post to the bug forum is needed i think to show @santy001 ridiculous output from corners this year. He does have previous as well, below is this years result from corners. Averaging just over 1.5 a game is a stupid return compared to the next best of myself with 1 in 2.

A certain Daniel Jepsen from a previous save was close to becoming an all time top scorer from the CB position. 

[oliscott]

The below image for the seasons XG table in the league really does show just how insane we are both really doing in regards to goals returns but @santy001 took this to a whole other level this year with his plus XG exceeding some teams entire output for the year!

[oliscott]

Two player I left out of my youth purchases from five years ago to now were Santos and Matip so below are there updates.

 

Matip had a few loan spells out with Haaland and Endrick ahead of him but his raw talent was really too hard to ignore, I almost regret having Haaland in the team because i think without him stopping Matip playing a lot more he could have been even better! Endrick was sold last year and I have just sold Haaland this year due to a year remaining on his contract and wanting to fully blood Matip. He can easily average a goal a game I think as the main man he should be able to break the 50 barrier in a season. This season will tell.

 

Santos had a similar issue to a lot of my young signings five years ago in that i had truly world class players in every position and they were still young. Santos however was the most costly signing and was always going to force his way in as my main CB for the coming years. Over the last 3 years Ive sold off Silva, Scalvini and Hato this year to integrate another youngster each year. He is now without a doubt my main CB and will be for years to come.

[santy001]

Not sure how cleanly this will post as it resizes a little unusually on my side, but overall stats for the squad in terms of goals/assists with it being an extra long campaign. The club world championship continues right up until after the semi-final before the figures reset for Spanish clubs. Mbappe's figures are missing as he moved to Arsenal at the end of his contract but he was also around 30 goals/25 assists.

[oliscott]

7 hours ago, PT-KK said:

You went a bit into the youth development, I think it would be really cool if both of you go into a bit more detail of the tactical approaches, taking into account the numbers both your teams are getting.

Awesome save from both of you, as always.

A phrase we both use a bit is blunt force trauma. Below is a good example of when the game goes to plan. My average position was in there half.

[santy001]

Season 11 - Early Season End of Session

So we finished up tonight after 12 league games were complete. The Club World Championship was contested between my Barcelona side and @oliscott Real Madrid team. An 88th minute equaliser saw the game 2-2 heading into extra time. My subs brought more to the table it felt like and the game finished 7-3 with Sesko getting 3 in extra time alone to take him to 4 in total for the match. For my team the season has been something of a slow burner compared to last year in terms of goals scored. Wirtz and Sesko picked up injuries early on, and with the added baggage of a summer with no rest for the team I expect this will be a recurring theme for both sides this season. 

The injuries came at a terrible time as the Real Madrid league fixture was on the horizon and going into that match without Sesko and Wirtz meant I knew I needed to change things tactically as I lacked that technical excellence from Wirtz and the physicality of Sesko. I pivoted to a 2 up top formation as I was going with two smaller, pacey forwards. After around 10 minutes it seemed to backfire spectacularly as I already behind and down a man thanks to a red card. While keeping the same shape I adjusted to sit a little deeper, go more direct and try to play for the counters. A Leny Yoro goal from a corner restored parity and young striker Cuellar put Barcelona ahead in the 60th minute. It largely looked to be a lucky 2-1 win, but a clumsy challenge in the 88th minute saw a penalty given away and going into stoppage time the match was level thanks to Arda Guler. In the 95th minute a corner was awarded to my Barcelona side and up stepped a new signing, young Brazilian left back Claudinho, who got a free header and clinched the win.

Real Madrid have stumbled a couple more times with draws against Santander and Elche, but this early in the season a 7 point gap doesn't mean too much. The run up to the winter break and then the late Feb/early March period will be very touch this year given it has been a Euros summer in 2032 followed by the CWC in 2033. Having had the unbeaten season a couple years back but finishing second means I need to try and ensure I don't get sucked into a cycle of draws during that period of weariness. 

[Marcussy]

Really enjoyable battle between the two of you! Will get even more exciting as newgens completely take over.

[santy001]

We're back to resuming play tonight. Sometimes there are news articles which just hit differently...

I'm looking forward to having him fresher for longer without a national team that relies heavily on him. He's 30 but this will hopefully keep him in prime form for a few more years.

[santy001]

Season 11 - End of the Days Session

Despite my earlier post of what I felt had been positive news with Sesko calling it a day on international football he has been continuing to pick up continuous small, disruptive injuries. Fortunately the midseason break coincided with the longest of the injuries. A fairly even Spanish cup final saw it 1-1 after 90 minutes and Real Madrid emerge winners on penalties, however there was no such closeness in the league game a few fixtures later. @oliscott saw his side 5-0 up from a 0.8 xG shortly after half time and despite attempts to turn it around ongoing through the game I couldn't find anything that really work.

After 26 league games and no future meetings between us the league sits as follows:

I've got a 6 point advantage, but my side is much weaker this year just off the back of a poor pre-season I think. After the club world championship in the summer I don't think I managed my players condition well and it has made securing results a lot harder. The same is likely true for @oliscott at Real Madrid. Despite clawing things back with that 5-0 win 2 games later a 94 minute equaliser was needed against Girona. There was another close call against Elche for Real Madrid and an unlikely loss in the first leg against Arsenal in the Champions League. Though they made up for that in the second leg. 

With an eye on the 2034 summer then next year is likely to be even worse in terms of keeping players fit. The player I mentioned from last season, Antonio Jose Cuellar could be a contender to replace Sesko soon though. A decent amount of shots is showing a strong conversation rate, better than Sesko.

[santy001]

How I track my Youth Development

This is more just a post of how I track youngster development in the game. With the EU rules allowing us to sign 15/16 year olds in Spain it can be easy to lose track of players. There are many whom I do approach from a kind of fire & forget. Some are in the 'carefully curated' group however. I know many people like to use notes in game but I find the little yellow icon so incredibly annoying I only use notes to remind me to bid for players at certain points. 

I use notepad++ (could use notepad these days since it does the same but it's a habit) and just tweak things as the game progresses. So it sits on my offscreen.

The stars next to players are to indicate those who've been developing well they probably could already be playing senior football and I'm confident will amount to something. But players broadly fall into the 5 categories once they're on my radar. The loan for development is for when they turn 18 to start getting them out on loan. Ideally a couple of good loans will get the players ready for inclusion by around 20. 

Players to Promote is usually limited to 1-2 for the next season. Ruffo is by far and away looking to be the best prospect for many years. A few games in he was already above the U19 level so went into the B Team. At 18 he has 60 appearances in the Spanish second tier with my B Team. Ideally he is my heir to Wirtz and I plan on promoting him & putting him in a mentoring group with Wirtz this summer. A £25m signing from Napoli. 

To Reassess are players who are below what I expected when I signed them. They're usually <£5m signings who I've taken a punt on and while I could see some positives at the start they're not really amounting to much. These are the kind of players that I could utilise in a cup run to drum up some interest though and potentially get £10m-£15m out of. 

Players to Sell is something that grows in size quite a bit in the late season. Most I'll try to structure deals with hefty sell on clauses and buy backs just in case I'm wrong. 

Monitor Closely is basically the group where I and my staff disagree on a player. If I get a brilliant report from multiple scouts or staff I'll take a closer look and buy players if its not too prohibitive. Some of my best signings historically have been staff recommendations where I didn't really see it so it's something I keep a closer eye on now. 

[santy001]

Season 11 - Start of the Session & Final Run In

Coming back into things tonight we're picking up at the beginning of May. Youth Intakes have come in, and while neither of us had anything to write home about on that front all attention has turned to the remaining fixtures. With 2-3 games to go the title is firmly mine to lose. 3 points ahead with a game in hand over Real Madrid I just need to keep things together for these final matches. 

For the second year running the Champions League final will be between Barcelona and Real Madrid. Our fourth such final overall. This season the games have distinctly swung in favour of @oliscott and I'm having to rummage around to find a tactical approach I think can work. 

[santy001]

Season 11 Complete - Three Trophies Each

An even season overall with my Barcelona side clinching the Club World Championship, UEFA Super Cup & the League while @oliscott took the Champions League, Spanish Cup and Spanish Super Cup this year. From my point of view it's been a disappointing season in some regards as a number of players were missing at key points. I'm hoping that now Sesko is retired from international football I might be able to get a much better return again next year. In the Champions League final only 1 of my 4 recognised full backs were ready to play owing to injuries 

Barcelona Best XI: 

Real Madrid Best XI:

 

[oliscott]

One thing I noticed earlier was that one of us has featured in a champions league final each year since the save started.

[santy001]

Season 12 - Preview

As the start of the next season is on the horizon and after the previously mentioned gruelling schedules with this being the third season in a row without a meaningful break for the side I have taken a different approach to pre-season. I've tried to carefully get players to full condition through a brutal pre-season schedule and reacting where possibly to injury risks with rest. I have a hope this will yield results because last season fitness was an endemic blight upon my side and while the performances were still strong enough to get the league title it was less than comfortable and required numerous late goals to get results. 

There haven't been any transfers in this summer but there have been a number of departures. Youngsters who weren't quite making the grade. Two departed for £73m a piece without featuring much (Palomeres and Sarr) and are likely going to have great careers they just weren't good enough to force their way into my side. Real Madrid had a couple of high profile sales with 32 year old Caicedo making his way to Saudi Arabia. 

My side open with a game against Sporting Gijon and @oliscott sees his Real Madrid side open against Atletico.