Ghost Into Space

First game. First win. And what a game it was as well. We went behind twice in the first half but managed to go in at half time level. The second half just seemed to be floating by and not many chances were being created by either team so we changed formation in the last 5 minutes and went for it. It could have turned out really badly as we did get a little overloaded after changing formation but it just felt like the right thing to do. The winner came from some lovey build up play in the 93rd minute when substitute, Bryan Angulo, was left with a tap in at the far post for the winner. We nearly lost the ball halfway through the build-up but managed to snatch it back quickly with the extra man I pushed into midfield and keep the attack moving. Couldn’t have asked for a better start - An away win at a rival with a last minute goal. Our next two matches are against 20th and 19th in the league so a really good opportunity for us to build on our first victory and get an early 3 wins on the board before we play our next cup game.

Here are the expectations for the remainder of the season and how the current competitions stack up: As previously said, it turns out we did pretty well in the Paulistão Série A at the beginning of this year so there is potential in this squad to do something. We don’t actually have much time to prepare the squad as my first match in charge of the club is the same day as signing my contract and, well, it couldn’t be a bigger match. We have our rivals, Palmeiras, away. They currently sit in 5th place after losing only 1 match so far this season - This is going to be interesting. Note - The first transfer window is disabled so despite the transfer window about to open for the Brazilian league, there will no changes to the squad just yet.

Thank you very much! I certainly see them as a stepping stone for this save but it would be nice to bring through some Brazilian talent to take with me around the World on this journey.

Here are a few of the aforementioned talented youth players that are already at the club: 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 An exciting, attacking left back who can also comfortably play in the wing positions (including right wing interestingly enough). Not the fastest and has some questionable defensive attributes but he seems good technically. We will need a little cover on his side of the pitch I think but he should be a threat going forward 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐲 Next up we have Sandry; a good all-round midfielder looking at his attributes. He can do a bit of everything and his versatility off the bench (to start with) should help with the current formation that is being used. Plenty of room to develop and seems to have performed pretty well in the Paulistão Série A at the start of the season 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐬𝐚 Again, like Lucas Pires, not an overly quick player but he has some decent technical qualities about him. He’s a winger who likes to cut in and again, is perfect for the tactic that is being used. He won’t be a starter at the moment but should be useful coming off the bench and making an impact late in games 𝐀̂𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐨 I imagine a lot of you will recognise this guy's name as he has been a 'go-to signing' for a quite a few people and most recently, was actually signed by Chelsea this summer (loaned out to RC Strasbourg if I remember correctly). He will be our starting right winger despite only being 17 years old. He is quicker and more technically gifted than Lucas Barbosa with a much higher ceiling; this kid is going to be exciting 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐨 Here is our starting striker. Good finishing to go alongside good mental and physical attributes too. He’s already scored 15 goals this season (9 in 14 starts in the Paulistão Série A and 3 in 6 starts in the Copa Sudamericana) but hasn’t been playing much in the league it seems. I’m going to change that though and get this guy starting on a regular basis 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢 The first player shown who is currently playing for the U20 side. Someone who, again, has great technical attributes at quite a young age. He could really develop nicely into a good playmaker down the line but probably won't see first team action this year 𝐃𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 Another young Brazilian who was signed by Chelsea from Santos this summer (Unlike Ângelo, I think he actually stayed at the club if I remember rightly). Still has some developing to do but again, at 17 years old, he has a high ceiling and could become a clinical striker in the future 𝐑𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐨 𝐂𝐞𝐳𝐚𝐫 Finally, the ‘hot prospect’ according to the club information page. 16 years old and valued upwards of around £10M. He’s certainly got some good attributes already (including his finishing) and a great personality - This guy could be really special. He is currently on a youth contract but it seems the club are already in negotiations with him to sign a professional contract

After doing a little bit of tidying up, this is the first team squad: Lots of exciting youth players as previously mentioned and it seems that the tactic I created for other saves fits this team really nicely so I am going to use that to start with and see how the results turn out.

As mentioned, they’ve had a pretty bad start to the season and find themselves in 15th place (media prediction of 9th place). Level on points with one of the teams in the relegation zone but there are lots of games left in the season to turn this around so there are some positives. It looks like it could well be tight around the middle of that table so GD is also going to be key here - We need to get scoring some goals. Despite the gloomy looking table position, the immediate run of results actually seem fairly positive. We don't seem to have gained points on the teams around us though and it seems like we have been drawing lots of matches. We’re still in some cups including the Copa Sudamericana which I would really like to win. Other cup success would be nice too but I would enjoy winning that one.

A decision has been made. I have turned down the job at Bournemouth and accepted the job at 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐬. So many brilliant youth prospects at the club already and with a club vision objective in place to develop the best youth academy in the country, it was hard to say no. As I said, it's been a while since I have managed in Brazil as well and because the season is already underway, we can get things started incredibly fast. Santos are one of the most successful clubs in the Brasileirão, becoming national champions on eight occasions. It has also won 22 Paulistãos, three Copa Libertadores, two Intercontinental Cups, one Supercopa de Campeones Intercontinentales, one Copa CONMEBOL (the precursor of current Copa Sudamericana), one Copa do Brasil, and one Recopa Sudamericana. Fun fact: On 20 January 1998, Santos became the first team in football history to pass the 10,000-goal mark.

That just leaves me with two options and both would be a good club to start this save at: This is going to be a tough choice...

Two job offers have come in after those round of interviews and surprisingly, out of the three remaining teams, Auxerre turned me down. Interesting.

However, as you maybe have guessed, that means three interview opportunities came have up from the remaining applications so let’s see how these go. I am quite surprised I got an interview for Santos to be honest as their reputation is the same as Aston Villa’s reputation. They were the third club I thought would turn me away. Bournemouth also surprise me a little bit just because they are a Premier League side but with their media prediction, maybe they're willing to give me a chance? As mentioned, each club seems to have their own little story that could be told here: 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 Predicted to finish 20th in the Premier League this season, things are clearly going to be a struggle. The club are also in the process of finding new owners which could potentially mean we might get incredibly rich (this happened to Bournemouth on another save in FM23). We might also get an owner who doesn't want to put any money into the club at all... 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐬 It seems they’ve had a pretty awful time to start the season and find themselves down in 15th place and facing relegation despite being predicted to finish around 9th. Morale isn’t doing great either. However, they have an abundance of exciting youth prospects and they have a desire to produce the best youth system in the country - That's always a fun objective to aim for. It’s also been a while since I have managed a Brazilian club. 𝐀𝐮𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞 The other team we have an interview for is Auxerre. Newly promoted to the top tier of French football, keeping them in that division will be a tough ask. Again though, another team who have a desire to produce the best youth system in the country. The real threat of relegation (just like the real 2022/23 season) whilst trying to develop youth prospects could be an intriguing challenge. First things first, I've got to actually get offered a job before I can make a decision!

As predicted, two unsuccessful job applications have come back and no surprise which clubs they were from. Both of these were incredibly ambitious applications given each clubs' reputation but it was always worth a shot. Saying that, these two probably would have both been the least enjoyable saves so maybe it is a blessing in disguise…

As mentioned, I will be starting this particular save off unemployed. With it being towards the end of the cycle for this particular FM, I’ve decided to start with a Continental Pro Licence and a National reputation instead of having to start from the very bottom. There are quite a few available jobs at the start of the save but there are 5 in particular that I have my eye on: As you can see, the 5 jobs that I have applied for are: 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐬 𝐀𝐮𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞 𝟎𝟒 All of these clubs will interesting in their own little way I think but I’m not expecting many interview opportunities back - Potentially two?

We are coming to that time of the year when the buzz for the next version of Football Manager is starting to build and we are eagerly awaiting any news from Sports Interactive about everything that will be in the new game. Therefore, I think it’s time to start one more save on FM23 before FM24 comes out in the not too distant future. Like a lot of other people, I have done a ton of different saves on this years' Football Manager - Some extremely enjoyable and some not so much. The one thing I haven’t done yet on this particular version of the game is start a save unemployed so that is what we shall be doing today. Despite wanting to do this for a long time, I have never actually posted about one of my FM saves on here before so be kind...