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

[oliscott]

AMR is in a bit of a better shape than AML in that I have my start and rotation option with years ahead of them bedded in. I just need to find that wonderkid to develop.

Santos is in the same vein as Roni on the other side, I had to pay Arsenal about 220 million this summer to bring him in but his goals and assists are at a decent level for his first season so I'm certain I'll see the value of the outlay over his stay.

Vickers was someone I brought in a few years ago due to glowing reports, both myself and Sant had eyes on him at the time. He is likely more of an ST but he appears on my AML filter too so that's where he will play to allow him game time.

Bellingham has managed to get a new contract out of me for a few years now when it looked like he would be sold on to make room for the youth. He has however announced he will retire this year and when he does he will go down as a club legend. His physicals have deteriorated and as Sant mentioned it's noticeable especially when I'm playing the best of the best.

[oliscott]

For AMC things have become a bit more clear-cut after Guler's departure last year and unfortunately Koci's defection to the enemy. (Preparing the pig's head as we speak).

Russo just due to his age and number of games played is ahead of Framberger in terms of ability but Framberger I have no doubt will reach Russo levels in the next few seasons so as it stands both are rotating and currently playing a similar amount of games but it has always been the plan since Framberger joined that he would be the number 1 as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

As for backups to Framberger when Russo leaves we have a few options in Sabbe and Bouslimi, Sabbe is probably the likely one to step up and I think with first-team games crack on. Bouslimi would also be given a chance but likely one to sell for profit I think.

 

[oliscott]

One other option at AMC is Sarpong who was brought in this summer after matching a few filters, will see how he cracks on but will likely be a load for him next year to further devolpment.

[oliscott]

Lastly, we move on the forwards, Haaland has set the benchmark and in truth will likely never be topped on this save for me, Matip came in and did his best but due to age and not being happy being a rotation option was moved on last year.

Last year Matip was scoring freely and had he remained the number 1 striker he would have cracked possibly 50 goals for the season, my issue was I needed that world-class backup alongside him to bring on in games to change things or to play to keep Matip fit. Step up Toninho, he was someone we both had our eyes on as he had impressive stats and was hitting the back of the net with regularity for Valencia. In the January window last year I bid his release clause of 170 million to bring him in where he overtook Matip as the number 1 and scored 20 plus goals from January until the end of the season. He's got 18 in 19 this year but he has hit a few barren spells and then banged a few in over a series of games to make his numbers look better than I think they actually should be.  I still expect him to get to 40 goals this year but to be more consistent.

Next up is Mohaug, someone who appeared on my youth filter and has been in the B team for a few years before going out on loan to Southampton last year where he hit double digits for goals. With Matip moving on he's come back at just the right time to be integrated into the first team and he's taking his chance. Hopefully, he and Toni can alternate in and provide me with my frontline for the next few years.

Sule has been at the club for just short of ten years now and was again another player picked up in my youth filter sweep due to overall better stats for a 16-year-old than normal and his height. Overall he has all the stats there to make a top forward bar maybe his pace and acceleration but whenever given the opportunity he hasn't cracked on as much as I hoped. I keep flirting with letting him go but each time I stop, thinking to myself hell come good eventually. My other worry is due to his height he will find his way to Barcelona where @santy001 will find a way to make him work.

Yet another youth pickup in Murati who if he increases his pace and acceleration and other key attributes in the next two years could soften the blow if I decided to sell Sule. Hes going out on loan at the mo so well see how he fares at the end of the season.

 

[oliscott]

One more that I couldn't get in above is Ulicevic, a speculative punt based on good scout reports. Two years in the U19'S and then B team and will likely go out on loan to further development, one to revisit in a few years.

[santy001]

Season 17 - The Run-In

We're closing in on the end of another season and once again in that same situation where the situation is firmly in control of @oliscott. We ended our last session just after our fixture, which was a 1-1 draw thanks to a 90th minute equaliser. Frustrating especially as this had probably been the first year in our save where every other match had comfortably gone my way this season. Our first league meeting finished 3-2 in my favour, then in the Super Cup final I won 4-0 and the Spanish Cup final I won 4-2. Real Madrid suffered the misfortune of being taken to extra time and penalties in the midweek fixture against Arsenal in the Champions League but still were the better team when it really mattered. 

My side seem to have that almost Man Utd-esc failure to perform when it is of importance in the league. A defeat against Bilbao and draws with Vallecano & Atletico Madrid look to be what will sink my title ambitions. My only hopes of avoiding another 6 back to back titles for Real Madrid is that his team blunders their game in hand, or loses one of the three. Their final three fixtures are Albacete, Altetico Madrid and Sevilla. So it's not the gentlest of run ins but realistically I don't expect any of them to pose any problems to his side. 

[santy001]

Season 17 Complete - A twinkle of change?

As predicted Real Madrid saw out the league with 3 wins from 3 and took the title once more. Although this season I did take 4 trophies home - the first season in a long time during which the gap between us has narrowed. @oliscott still putting together a team which has tremendous consistency in the league but I still hope that maybe a few players who are still be replaced prove more difficult and finally create an opening. His team looked a little more vulnerable in our games this season. Probably in part just me trying to convince myself there is some hope of getting the league title back sometime soon.

The Champions League has come back to Barcelona for 5 years running now though, in Europe at least we have a consistent, winning approach. 

Barcelona Best XI: 

Real Madrid Best XI:

[oliscott]

I had kept pushing back the replacement of Restes each year recently as he just continued to perform, he contributed 25 clean sheets in the league last year meaning I only conceded in a 3rd of games played. I would have found it hard to say I managed to better Courtois but here we are. A club legend in 586 games has kept 297 clean sheets and contributed toward a dynasty for Real Madrid.

[oliscott]

I've replaced Restes with Dominguez who hit a few key filters and had age on his side, below are Restes current attributes, his physicals have dropped quite a bit in the last year and his Goalkeeping ones are also on the way. Dominguez although the screenshot isn't up to date has just equalled my most clean sheets in a row record at 8 inside his first 13 games so hopefully a good omen for the coming years.

[santy001]

Season 18 - The Run In

Another season in which I'm afraid I'm walking down an all too familiar path. The first league fixture this season ended with a draw after @oliscott got a 97th minute equaliser means we're in the late stages both with unbeaten runs. This year however I've again dropped points to weaker teams and now face a situation where I need other results going in my favour and beating Real Madrid in the final game of the season to stand a chance. 

Real Madrid have a knack for just getting wins and penalties at vital moments, the expected points gulf has for a few seasons been where the titles have basically come from and as the table below shows +13 points. If things had gone as that metric outlines then I'd be comfortably running away with the league. My side has quite a lot of goalscorers but none consistent like in years gone by, it means that aside from the 3-3 draw with @oliscott my other draws this season were all 1-1 results. When my side is off the boil it's painful to watch. 

At this stage it does now look like another league campaign has gone up in smoke, but there is still the Champions League to play for and hopefully I can keep my winning streak going there.

[santy001]

Season 18

Waiting on Oli to complete matches is the normal state of affairs, and in match 37 with both teams still unbeaten I'm just awaiting confirmation he sees out his game against Sevilla and wins the league.

After this we will then play each other in the final match of the season which will look to be a dead rubber game.

[santy001]

Season 18 Complete - The Invincible Runners Up

So for the second time in our save I've completed an invincible season (invincible season counts currently at Real Madrid: 3, Barcelona: 2) without winning the title. The misery of this beating Real Madrid in the last match of the league campaign was compounded by an extra time defeat in the Champions League final. Having failed to retain the Champions League it skews the trophy count back in favour of @oliscott as the gap begins to widen once more. It's not exactly like there's too much more I can realistically extract from players, I can take little comfort in the fact my team were statistically the best but that's so often been the case and over-performance from Real Madrid just seems them win the league. You can't really have a meaningful plan to drop points in just 2 matches per season to win the title. 

Barcelona Best XI:

Real Madrid Best XI:

 

[oliscott]

I want to put on record the fine season that Jakov had in scoring 27 goals from CB.

[santy001]

Season 19 - No King rules forever?

It started during the last season that teams in our save were increasingly changing formation. Having played network saves for quite a period of time into the future we have seen in years gone by the "normal" selection of tactics you come up against changes. A lot of teams have begun adopting the 4-4-2 and it has been something presenting issues for both @oliscott and myself. I had a few matches last season in which it derailed my team and I had been learning how to counter it more effectively. Real Madrid have had a few stumbles this year against teams using that approach and it has been beneficial to myself.

Our early season meeting saw my side win out comfortably 4-2. This was after @oliscott took the lead twice albeit with only his two shots on target so my side fighting back to win that game wasn't really an injustice. From that point until the midseason break we were sitting 3 points apart in the table with our head to head the determining factor. The slip-ups Oli had with his team had come in the Champions League rather than domestically and frustratingly going into the midseason break his team were another +6 above their expected points. Meanwhile I was on a +3. This has since changed and now my side has a higher +xPts than Real Madrid which is the first in a long time.

Atletico then held Real Madrid to a draw and a couple games later we had back to back fixtures against one another for the Super Cup final and then the league. The Super cup final, despite a rotated squad, was a rather even affair but my side took their chances and ran out 2-0 winners. This prompted a bit of a tactical rethink and switch for Real Madrid in our league game and to buy some time to try and figure this out I switched my high press to a midblock and slowed play down a bit. Getting a penalty early on was ultimately a defining feature of a 3-2 win, although this game the gulf between the two should have been wider. 

After 18 long seasons with a few league wins this is arguably the strongest position my side have been in. No further games to play against Real Madrid in the league and having beaten every side once the question is can I avoid my usual capitulation.

[oliscott]

This is for me now the time that @santy001 starts to cement his dominance, I had a perfect run at the start with in most positions the best players in the game for the system I was playing. I then had great backup players to mix in for rotation and this allowed me to throw youngsters in as well to produce my second wave, which sustained me in the league up until now. Sants record against me up until this season was only. A few games behind me in the head-to-head for wins but I never feared him as I had the quality just to beat him regardless, that's now swapped and he has the better overall squad that allows him to dominate me in games, he's also refined a setup similar to mine and I don't have the quality to get out of it.

For me, I think I've put my faith in a few too many youth players and sold established world-class first-teamers too soon before the youngsters were ready to step in. This has led to a gulf in quality when player Sant and the need for me to spend a few hefty sums on players to plug gaps in the squad which isn't as much an issue when your budget Is a billion a year.

I also this year and in the last Champions League final have been playing around with formations to try and upset Sant and catch him off guard but with his knowledge of players and the game itself he's never really fooled for too long before he makes the changes needed to put me back in my place.

For myself, my main area of concern is the two DMC slots to which I have been bedding in both sides with youngsters after selling club legends Besancon and Agra as they entered their 30s, hindsight being the great thing it is I should have kept both of those to retirement and rotated the youngsters for a few more years with them. The two now I recon are about another year away from being world-class and the oldest will be 22 so a lot of time for them to go on to better things with this team. I'll post some screenshots of them both later tonight when we restart.

For now, its a case of ensuring the signings made for big money are supplemented by the youngsters and time is allowed for them to develop and in a few go again aginst Sant.

[santy001]

Season 19 - The Run In

The final stretch is in sight and as Oli mentions my side have come strong. With a lot of players between 25-30 in my starting eleven it is a team that is in its peak and while they're strong now that does present a longer term concern for the strength as there aren't really too many youngsters in the pipeline who I feel will be better than the current team. I build my team into having different niches so my first choice AML is a youth prospect who is incredibly well rounded but my alternative isn't the then next strongest player for that position but rather a 6'4" aerial threat. 

The league table shows the title almost wrapped up, even I shouldn't fumble it at this point.

While Real Madrid have dropped off my side are currently in their strongest ever form. As the sequences below show we've currently got 52 consecutive wins in all competitions. That's started just after the group stage of the Club World Championship and with a Spanish cup final in 4 matches time I'm expecting it will end at 55 as @oliscott will likely pull some more tactical surprises in our next game.

[santy001]

Regen Son

Don't think I've had a regen son come through before in FM. I had it in the past with the son of a player who terrorised Oli for years by the name of Goldberg. However, a 6'4" centreback/defensive midfielder has come through and while the current attributes look poor there is a 2-3 star potential ability. So time for some classic nepotism and ensure he has a long Barcelona career.

[santy001]

RB Leipzig actually beat me the match before the Spanish cup final and so my win run ends at 54 and my unbeaten run ends at 57. Worth showing both of our sequences in this regard so they're provided below.

Barcelona:

Real Madrid:

[santy001]

Season 19 Complete - Breakthrough

While the knack for over-performing still remains strong with @oliscott and his team I have finally been able to overcome his side and claim a league title for the first time in what feels like an age. The league finished 37-1-0 for my side so I've matched the best season either of us have had so far. Unfortunately in the final game of the season Atletico Madrid got a late equaliser robbing me of a perfect season. Still my side are now 2 invincible seasons deep and hopefully able to match a 3rd in a row to try and break the unbeaten run Real Madrid have. 

The Champions League final saw my Barcelona side face Real Madrid once more and in a rather pedestrian 2-0 win I was able to negate a lot of the build up play Real Madrid had and get both an early and late goal to see it through. A sending off quite early in the second half took a lot of the sting out of @oliscott attempting to get some more from his players and he switched to a compact 4-4-1 once down to ten men. I let this go for quite a while just dropping my block to mid-block and dropping my defensive line. With the extra body in midfield I was comfortable to just frustrate and negate his attacking overtures. It took his side until after the 80th minute to get a shot on target so while the game was close in terms of score it never felt too dangerous. 

Looking to the future a number of my players have expressed feelings of having achieved all they can, Spain won the 2038 world cup and a number of my team were a part of that squad so have now won everything at the top level and given a number of them are 29/30 the Saudi Arabian teams are interested with their promises of riches players find it hard to resist. 

Barcelona Best XI:

Real Madrid Best XI: 

[oliscott]

As discussed above these are my two current first-choice DMCs, both bought young and with the idea of them being first-teamers eventually but both have been thrown in a bit sooner than anticipated.

[oliscott]

It's a good thing I have Jakov smashing in the goals these days equalling my strikers output from CB as well. It's going to be a difficult one to replace, I did have a conveyor belt of 6"6 monsters for a while but that seems to have dried up for youngsters recently.

[santy001]

Season 20 - Early Season Update

So we're a handful of games into the next season and after 4 matches both Real Madrid and Barcelona have dropped points. @oliscott opened the season with a 1-1 draw to Atletico Madrid. I had felt somewhat inspired by this at the time but just a few games later my 96 game unbeaten run (in the league) came to an end with a 2-1 defeat against Real Hispalis.

An absolute disaster match where I was down to 9 men by half time and just couldn't mount a come back. I was still the stronger team overall in the game, although most of the attacking impetus ceased by the time of the second red. 

The league is obviously tight this early, but it's never great being in a situation where I know I need @oliscott to drop points again to help me out.

 

[santy001]

In a continuation from the previous post, both of us struggling a bit for form this year with multiple matches seeing dropped points before we even reach 10 matches played.

[oliscott]

A new record last night for a win in a league game also resulted in four players scoring hat tricks which must be some record.

[santy001]

Season 20 - The Great Faltering

After the first season of our save the title winners have not dropped points in 6 matches. Yet 20 years in and come February that looks like it could be the case. Real Madrid having dropped points in 6 matches so far and my own Barcelona side in 5 the chances of winning every match between now and the end of the season seems slim. We do also have to play each other in the final match so that could be important in determining where the title ends up. 

Between a few teams having absurdly wide pitches again and a very frustrating counter style it has proven a little trickier to counter this year as there have also been a variety of formations so there's only really the match itself to try and remedy any tactical shortfalls. The xG/xPts table does show the magnitude of underperformance.

[santy001]

Season 20 Complete - A Quintuple Year

An unusual season considering how many games we managed to drop points in before the mid-season break. However, with the time for players to rest up both sides came back strong and had solid surges in form through the second half of the season. It was only at this point that our first meeting of the season came, and in 6 meetings through the competitions it finished up with my Barcelona side winning 5 and drawing 1 against @oliscott and his Real Madrid team. 

My team are at a point where the players have hit their peaks, a good number between 25-30 and some at that point where mapping out the successors and getting them into position is the challenge. As the Best XI shows Juvanteny has stepped up quite nicely into the position Cuellar filled up top. Cuellar despite getting 287 goals in 379 games has never felt like a true leader of the front line. But that's maybe because he's 50 games short of Sesko but nearly 200 goals behind. Lamine Yamal at 35 still getting 1 in 3 and providing a hatful of assists will also prove difficult to adequately replace. 

Real Madrid do seem to be facing similar problems though when it comes to replacing individuals. Toninho has dropped right off, a return of 11 goals in all competitions. Santos & Jakovjelic are both pushing 30 this year. Big players to be replaced in both sides on the horizon. 

Barcelona Best XI:

Real Madrid Best XI:

[oliscott]

It’s been a total switch in fortunes these last few years, sant has managed to get a team together that matches mine in the early years. His knowledge of players and the absolute necessary attributes needed for each role is really coming home to roost and at this point no matter how I setup his players are just better in multiple formations to beat me out right. Every formation I try to counter he has the answer and is able to move players into any position without them suffering a loss. At this point for myself it’s a case of trying to win every game and then hope to capitalise on the loses by himself. For this season I’m just try in to rotate in multiple youngsters under 20 to really ensure that my next generation are bedded young and that when the time comes for the changing of the guard mine are better than his.

 

sant will be better to explain what’s going on behind the scenes of the game itself but a lot of teams are really adapting to how we’re both setting up and throwing multiple formations at us. It’s truely becoming a slog now and it almost feels like there’s more than two human managers at time. 

[santy001]

Season 21 - Early Real Madrid slips

So just before the international break the first meeting between @oliscott and myself with it finishing a fairly comfortable 3-1 to my Barcelona side. There's an area I feel is a weakness in his team that I've been exploiting for a few years now but given the close, competitive nature of the save I can't really elaborate on it at this point. In part one reason why I haven't delved more into my tactical set up is because it would also be giving more information over to Oli to use against me. 

Following the international break Real Madrid had another faltering against Almeria, losing 1-0 away. I'm hoping my side doesn't go through some silly slip ups like last year but the new 4-3-3 variant that sits incredibly deep is proving a challenge for both of us to break down at times. So I suspect this 6 point gap isn't too meaningful at this stage.