bowieinspace

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.

Hey all, If I had an interest in starting a new save from May 2024, reflecting the season that has just happened (to at least some degree, e.g. league placements, european competition, promotions/relegations etc), is there anyone who puts out an updated DB like this come the end of the major European league season?

Absolutely get him on a new deal with a very high release clause asap

I generally have my hot prospects playing B team football. I like to have them in the first team squad and made available for the B team though so I can control their training, mentoring and give them minutes off the bench here and there.

Thanks mate, yeah recovering well... Old man playing football sustains injury shocker Yeah this is longer than I'd usually sustain a save to be honest but I've really enjoyed the players/team I've had... Seeing them come through as young, inconsistent players and go through to hit their peak has been really enjoyable. I'm invested in Cordoba breaking the appearance record now.

Wtcs

I run most playable but I do have a few view only (the ones who are unlikely to compete with me at Champions league level). If I had a faster machine I'd run them playable

Bumper update! Still off work due to injury (I'll be fine), so smashing out FM for many hours a day while on paid leave and on bed rest. Lovely stuff. 2038/39 Season Review - The Last Dance Going into this season I felt like it was the final hurrah of my existing squad before some upheaval was needed... I wanted to get as much as we we could out of it. La Liga - Winners 101 points Copa Del Rey - Winners Supercopa - Winners UEFA Super Cup - Winners Champions League - Lost in RO16 to Bayern. A superb domestic season, but sadly we didn't achieve our goals in the Champions League. We had a pretty poor run through the league phase leaving us going into the playoff round - we comfortably beat Hertha there but a tough draw as an unseeded team against Bayern awaited... Bayern and Liverpool are probably the scariest teams out there, so I didn't want to see them at this stage. We won 2-1 at San Mames and lost 2-0 in the second leg in Germany. However as the summer rolled around it was time for sales: Departures: Jon Martin now 31, departed to PSG for 50million after 416 appearances for Athletic Club Julen Diez, 29, departed to Chelsea for 40million. He'd been with us for 3 seasons and had performed admirably - we cop a big loss on him but money isn't an issue - I needed to make room for others coming through. Aitor Aketxe, 26, departed to Bournemouth for 36million. An excellent servant in the defensive mid area, however he was never more than a rotation option and I had other options Jon Castro, 31, departed to Arsenal for 40million. 403 appearances for Athletic Club and one of my personal favourites... he was hugely influential in the DLP role to our success and it was a sad day to move on from him. Jose Jimenez, 29, departed to Arsenal for 31.5million. 331 appearances for Jimenez who was a superb rotation option for us throughout his time at Athletic - covering for Cordoba at LB and also at CB. Ibon Marin, 28, departed to Arsenal for 40million. 364 appearances for Marin! He was a superb option in defensive midfield - I had quite a few options coming through so decided midfield was the primary area I was going to whield the knife initially in my squad overhaul. Without Marin, Castro and Aketxe I would be bringing through multiple new midfielders. This meant new faces! In the summer of 2039 we saw the following new faces enter the side - note that these pictures were taken in November 2040, so around 15 months after summer 2039 - they've developed quite a bit since they first came into the squad! When we first reviewed the squad after the above sales with these guys in, we looked way worse than we did before, but now we're looking very strong. Ok not exactly starting with a banger here, Jon Goni made huge strides while on loan and facilitated the sale of Jimenez - he's back up to the legendary Cordoba. I think he totally peaked at the end of his loan as he's not developed much since then, but Cordoba hogs the minutes so he's just a reliable back up really. Victor Encaje is one who has had a few years on loan - primarily a DM but he's actually in the squad as the 4th choice CB first and foremost, but he's just solid and useful. Raul Aizpurua came through at Osasuna and totally slipped under my radar really. I scouted him and he didn't seem to have much potential but I really liked his attribute spread - I signed him for 10million in the January 2039 window and loaned him back to Osasuna - he just improved so well and despite never having much potential according to scouts and coaches, he's become an excellent option in our midfield as a DLP - not world class by any means but a really good fit for our system. He is back up to Xabi Aizpurua who I shifted back to DLP from AM - he's really superb. These two replaced Castro and Marin. Benat Virto was on loan at Hellas Verona in 2038/39 and I planned another loan for him, but a cruciate ligament injury in the April scuppered that plan. He remained with the team for 2039/40 to recover with the view I'd get him minutes as a 3rd choice right wing. I had planned initially to move key player Unax Urrutia from RB into the attacking line, but that wasn't working that well, so when Virto returned from injury he became back up to Jon Ibanez at right wing - he continues to improve and I can see him being an important player for us long term. Jon Prieto joined from Alaves for 16.5 million - another one that I signed in Jan 2038 but loaned back to his original club to continue his development. I'd been targetting him since his intake, but he wouldn't join until he turned 18. He then joined as back up to Julen Aguirre at left wing and has come on leaps and bounds since then and at the time of writing (early 2040/41 season) he's a genuine threat to Aguirre's spot in the team... despite his incredible years, Aguirre is 31 now and just starting his decline. This guy is a real diamond... he came through our academy and always showed middling promise, but two loans firstly at Zaragoza and then Sporting CP saw him come on really well... another who according to star ratings didn't have a high ceiling but I just liked the attribute spread. It's proven to be faith repaid as you can see now he's a top tier defensive midfielder and has exceeded my coaches expectations. He was the direct replacement for Aketxe. Moving Unax Urrutia into the forward line was partly to allow this guy to come through at RB as back up to Alex Etxeberria. However... Urrutia struggled to find form in our front line and with Virto coming back from injury I needed to find solutions. I was conscious that Blasco and Javi, two long term central defender options for us were into their early thirties and would soon need replacements lined up. I hadn't really considered this guy to be a CB (he couldn't play the position at all), but after reviewing his attributes I thought he would definitely be decent there... it took nearly the full season of playing him most games at CB to naturally learn the position, and his attribute shift to suit a CB was remarkable, alongside his general development - certainly not a decision I regret. Centre back was an area of concern as Blasco and Aitor Etxeberria had held that area down for a long time... Etxeberria had shifted into defensive midfield to replace Javi (who moved back as cover), but everyone was ageing and I feel like I'd always kinda made do there for years... Etxeberria and Javi were both DMs really, Blasco was a retrained RB. Lafuente here taking to the position so well has been a god send... combined with: Jewel of our academy Sergio Garmendia now forms a formiddable centre back duo with Lafuente - these two will be the central defenders we rely on long term. Finally with the loss of Jon Martin, we needed a new centre forward to cover for Etxabe. Ander Garmendia was the man. He's a player we signed from Villarreal at 18 years old for 13.25million... honestly he was a total punt at the time because he didn't look like he would live up to that price tag really, there was just something I liked about him. He came in and played for the B team for a season and scored A LOT of goals. He then earned promotion to the first team as a 2* player (with one additional grey star potential) to replace a guy in Jon Martin who had made 400 odd appearances for us who was still world class... he has been amazing though, scoring goals for fun! Etxabe is so good though, but this guy is a reliable back up. 2039/40 Season Review - The New Recruits Easily our biggest overhaul squad wise left us considerably weaker, but I knew the short term pain would probably be worth it long term. I didn't expect how difficult it was going to be though... In La Liga we started off with an opening day victory against Real Sociedad, but then it went down hill... an away loss to Barca was followed up with a draw away to Zaragoza, a loss to Real Madrid in the UCL and a loss away to Sporting Gijon in the league.... while imperious at home our away form was very poor with draws against Osasuna, Villarreal and Espanyol before Christmas. In January we lost in the Supercopa semi to Barca, away to Real in the league and a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Real Sociedad in a match we totally dominated. By the end of January we were 11 points off the top sitting in 4th place having already lost 4 and drawn 4, while sitting 1st in the xG table. I knew the quality was there and we were playing well, but we were conceding way more goals than we should have done. I just stuck with it and from there on we were superb - a great run in Feb-Apr saw us only drop points in a loss away to a srong Cartegena side. With 4 games to go with were 5 points behind Real Madrid and 3 points behind Barcelona and I felt like we were unlikely to win it, but we did at least have Real Madrid at San Mames on the final day which might allow us to do something. In the 3rd to last game Real Madrid had a surprising draw away to Sevilla, and Osasuna did us a huge favour beating Barcelona. Come the final day we were 3 points behind Real Madrid and all we needed was to beat them at home to secure the title... and we did!! A season which I thought was going to totally pass us by ended up in a domestic double. La Liga - Winners, 91 points Copa Del Rey - Winners Supercopa - Lost in SF to Barca Champions League - Lost in QF to Liverpool In he Champions League we narrowly lost a tight game to a Liverpool side who are very impressive... no shame in that one. Fortunately squad turnover was largely behind us, but we did see a departure for Josu Blasco in the summer of 2040, a man who made 458 appearances for Athletic Club. He left for Saudi for 32million. We also saw back up keeper Iker Zubillaga leave. Javi is also due to leave the club in January after many years of service. Urtzi Saizer came in to replace Zubillaga... not impossible he usurps Alberto Etxabe but he has a way to go yet. Now I think given this is such a long post it's a good chance to have a look at some of our legends: Still in the 300s for league appearances (he rotated with Nico Williams for quite a few years), but Unax Urrutia is a club legend... a truly world class right back who has been a key player in our success. 466 league appearances and counting - Cordoba has been our main man at left back for a long time now. Juan Etxabe is one of the most reliable forwards I've ever had on FM. 263 goals in 360 league appearances and counting, and a Ballon D'or winner. Julen Aguirre at 31 is just starting to decline, but no significant impact yet. Gorrotxategi... once an inconsistent woodwork specialist is now an incredibly reliable, clinical player. 431 league appearances and counting. Jon Ibanez... an absolute legend. 393 league appearances, no thanks to a full year out with cruciate ligament injury. Much younger, but a very impressive Xabi Aizpurua. With Blasco gone, Javi soon to depart, Aguirre at 31, Gorrotxategi at 30, Ibanez at 30 and Cordoba at 32 we are reaching the end of this golden generation. We've had some wonderful new players come through but it'll be tough to replicate this group. Cordoba is at 553 career appearances for Athletic, meaning he's only 61 shy of Iribar's record. Given our best LB prospect is only 16, I think he'll beat it.

The time savings for a smaller db are outweighed by the competitiveness gained from having the right database size and loaded leagues. Unless absolutely necessary due to a terrible PC/laptop id always recommend having all the key European leagues loaded plus the top south American ones.

2037/38 Season Review - The best season I've ever had I'll preface this by saying I've had a week off work so I've been on the FM buzz this week haha. La Liga - Played 38, won 36, drew 2. Scored 115, conceded 16 - 110 points I'm pretty sure that is the best season I've ever had on FM, or certainly in recent version of the game with Athletic. This team is completely at it's peak - a team full of consistent players, all but 1 or 2 love big matches and the average age is around 27 or so. We are going to be moving past this peak I'd imagine and our next generation doesn't look as good, so I'm enjoying this while it lasts. Champions League - Winners We went in at half time in the final 2-0 down to a Milan side who had just walked Serie A - but I hit the right notes with the team talk and we blitzed the second half, winning 4-2. Prior to that we beat Real Madrid in the semi final, Napoli in the 1/4 final on penalties and Porto in the round of 16. Copa Del Rey - Winners A 3-0 final victory against Real Madrid after favourable draws all the way to the final Supercopa - Winners We beat Barca 4-1 in the semi final and Atletico 4-0 in the final I'm not sure I'll ever be able to recreate this season honestly, utterly incredible and the comeback in the Champions League final was the icing on the cake. Our draws in La Liga both came at home to the two Madrid clubs FYI, and we did lose a few games during the season against Bayern (league phase) and Porto and Napoli both away in the Champions League. No major transfer business to speak of, just some young prospects from other Basque clubs (and a Basque player from Barcelona also). One of the reasons I'm retaining an interest in this save is because we are close to another generation coming in. Currently we have: Gk - Etxabe 22, Zubillaga 24, Etxeberria 25 RB - Urrutia 27, Etxebarria 24, Lafuente 20 LB - Cordoba 29, Jimenez 28 CB - Blasco 30, Etxebarria 27, Goti 26, Garmendia 20 DM - Castro 30, Javi 29, Aketxe 25, Marin 27 AM - Gorrotxategi 28, Aizpurua 24 RW - Ibanez 28, Diez 28 LW - Aguirre 29, Iturrino 21 CF - Etxabe 26, Martin 30 Cordoba at 29 is a key player, he's about to turn 30 next week in game (September), Castro is a key player and has already turned 30, Javi is first choice DM and hits 30 in Feb, Blasco will be 31 in April and is our key centre back, Gorrotxategi turns 29 in November but fortunately Aizpurua is a world class player in the same position, Jimenez is a key option to cover Cordoba and at 28 is not far behind him in years, Jon Martin is a super sub across the front line and will be 31 this season. Basically we have a large group of players who are going to be passing their prime in the coming years - we're probably good for 2 seasons and then we'll start losing elite players with young players coming through who don't look anywhere near their level, so I'm keen to keep playing the save to see how that transition plays out - we've got time, but it's such a big group of key players who are all going to need to be replaced around the same time that makes it fascinating.

2036/37 Season Review La Liga - Winners, 103 points Champions League - Lost in QF to Bayern Munich Copa Del Rey - Winners Supercopa - Lost in SF to Atletico UEFA Supercup - Winners Club World Cup - 3rd place, lost in SF to Liverpool Our European winning run is over We ran into a stubborn Bayern Munich side in the QF, who beat us 1-0 in the first leg at San Mames (and deservedly so) and then 2-0 at their place. The 2-0 scoreline at the Allianz Arena doesn't really do it justice though... we were comfortably the better side, missed our chances while they scored an own goal and a freak one that bounced over the keeper off a goal kick. Over the last few years there's always been one knock out leg that felt a bit ropey... this one just didn't go our way. We cruised the league and Copa Del Rey, and add i the Supercup and we won a treble of sorts, so still an excellent season. I was really hoping for success in the CWC at the end of the season but unfortunately we lost 2-1 in the semi final to Liverpool in a close game, before beating Milan in the 3rd/4th playoff. Squad wise, we've sold a few youngsters in Inaki Goti, Ander Santos and Ismael Lafuente who plateued - they may be players we go back for in a few years but they are't good enough right now. This year our squad is basically the same, with the addition of a young centreback Sergio Garmendia, who looks promising. Interesting the core of our squad are all approaching their late 20s... Jon Castro, Josu Blasco and Jon Martin will be 30 come the end of the season, with Ibanez, Gorrotxategi, Aguirre, Cordoba, Javi, Jimenez, Diez all 27-28 at the time of writing. Basically we're in our absolute peak at the moment, but within a couple of seasons we'll likely be crossing that peak. We don't have anywhere near enough quality coming through to replicate this squad at the moment, but it's a worry that's a few years away and I'm not sure if I'll keep the save going much longer anyway. It kinda makes it interesting to keep going though!

Season 2035/36 Review - The Perfect Season? La Liga - 1st, 102 points Copa Del Rey - Winners Supercopa - Winners UEFA Super Cup - Winners Champions League - Winners Yes oh yes oh yes oh yes! We lost a handful of games during the season (away to Real/Barca in the league), but otherwise we were comfortable this season. I did feel like we lacked a bit of depth off the bench in the forward line (in terms of raw quality), as our youngsters were a bit of a step down from the forward line. Jon Ibanez came back around Christmas time from a 9-10month ACL injury and my goodness was he impressive on his return, notching 15 goals and 10 assists as an inverted winger on support from 18 league games, with equally impressive contributions in Europe. In the Champions League we had a pretty friendly league draw and qualified at a canter, we then beat Leipzig comfortably in the round of 16 6-1 on aggregate, before beating Man City 3-0 on aggregate. We then took on Spurs in the semi final - the first leg at San Mames was comfortable, we took an early 1-0 lead and then they went down to 10 men about 20mins in, and we ended up comfortable 4-0 winners at home. The second leg at their place was a bit different, they really took us apart in probably the only game all season we were outplayed, they won 2-0 and honestly it could have been more, so I was happy to get into the final without a second leg bottle job! In the final we took on domestic rivals Barcelona, who have built a really good team now. A tight game but we didn't give up many chances and created the best one - Gorrotxategi getting the winner. A couple of our youngsters, noteably Inaki Goni and Ismael Lafuente didn't really come on that well this season which contributed to the lack of forward quality off the bench, especially as we lost Aizpurua for large chunks of the season too. To fix this I've spunked 135million GBP on Julen Diez from Stuttgart - he came through the Alaves academy before moving to Man City, I didn't pick him up at the time due to the quality we had coming through at the time, but he barely featured for Man City over 4 years or so before moving on to Stuttgart, where he's become a key player. Now, a resolute personality, super consistent and enjoyer of big matches he's an ideal addition to my forward line. Inaki Iturrino was our other big highlight this season as he performed well off the bench and is improving well, so he sticks around to complete my forward line. So 3 consecutive Champions League titles now is really something - this team is impressive. We still lack top, top players in central defence, goalkeeper and defensive midfield, but the players we have in those positions are pretty effective and our immense forward line just gets the job done.

Some good youngsters @MattyC78! I've not had any poached this year I don't think, maybe 1? Certainly not that many anyway, and interesting they're being poached by smaller clubs. I'm not sure what prompts that happening but maybe someone knows about it

Also Aupa Athletic! I hope everyone was able to catch the Copa final over the weekend. Very stressful but so good in the end.

I can't comment on Vivian in the new DB sadly, I've not explored it with a full save (I started my save during the beta). I certainly don't share your newgen goalkeeper experience haha, you can check previous posts I've made on this thread. I didn't get a single Basque newgen keeper in my entire DB with La Liga level potential for the first 7 or 8 years of my save, but I'm blessed with attacking talent... probably just variance/luck of the draw.