The Don Carlo

With pre-season now in the rearview mirror, the start of the season is upon us! still, with players to come in and out of the squad thanks to the real-life database, I started the season with a 4-2-3-1 and I will endeavour to write more about my tactics once the squad has settled. I should also mention the layout was ripped off another thread - simply because it looked great and I didn't have any better ideas on how to present things! LALIGA HYPERMOTION | Espanyol | Goalscorers: none

Thanks @_Ben_ Ronaldo is very much the first recollection of an elite footballer from my childhood, I will be writing a bit more on development as the season unfolds. @GrayMatter how did your save go with Real Valladolid? oh wow - nice job! hopefully, he will have a good career under my management also! Here is a spoiler for the next post @Jogo Bonito you heard correctly, I also read that he was interested in selling the club but I have also read that he now is happy to stay put as owner as they are they're back in La Liga! Friendly Matches Overall it was good to take a look at the squad in action and get some minutes in the legs of the players after coming off a relegation season, with 8 games played during the pre-season against mostly competitive opposition I was content that we only dropped 2 matches considering transfers are still incoming and outgoing. I ran a pretty tough schedule during pre-season focusing on Endurance and fitness sessions while keeping some tactical sessions in there for balance, below is how I generally schedule my pre-season training schedules, feel free to leave some thoughts and ideas. Thanks to all who have read so far! The next post will cover the start of the season.

Pre-season is underway and the board have clarified their expectations for the upcoming season which is to reach the playoffs, I feel as tho this squad is more than capable of accomplishing that as there is some talent within the squad that competed valiantly in the LaLiga in the 22/23 season. I am using the "real-life" transfers database so players are coming in and out and it's been a challenge to settle on a formation and gain any sort of tactical familiarity with lots of new faces in the squad and existing players potentially moving on. Recruitment Sign 2 Brazilians per season for the youth team Despite being in the second tier of Spanish football I've spared no expenses when it comes to scouting, partly because I think for a realism factor having an owner as ambitious and iconic as Ronaldo would certainly have some draw to foreign players as Real Valladolid has been able to gain promotion to LaLiga in recent years and partly because I don't want to limit myself to regional scouting for this save. One of the objectives I have set is to sign 2 young players from Brazil per season who will either be first-team ready or added to our academy to develop for the future. I've tasked the scouting team with a few ongoing missions to scout Spanish youth, Spanish players at the end of contracts, Brazilians, Portuguese, African and Scandinavian youths between the ages mostly 15 - 19 years old with the 0 ⭐ for current ability and 3⭐⭐⭐ minimum for potential ability, it may take some time for my scouts to gain the required knowledge to speed up progress on reports but patience is key. Development Develop the Fenomeno Academy Real Valladolid has a decent academy set-up and has had some recent players go on to bigger things TO BE COMPLETED...

Looking forward to the tactical write-up! What do you think you have changed the most from Ten Haag's approach?

I just caught up with the Canadian adventure on this monster save!

Solid recruitment and progress here!

Goodluck locking that CL spot!

Oh, nice I am not o familiar with playground AI or NewGan but wow it improves things and looks great! I see your method and train players fairly similarly U18's - general role with more focus on physical U20's - specific role with more focus on tactical and a more monitored look at match ratings 1st team - a direct position I want the player to play and a focus on either specialist attributes or attributes they are still weak in - Crossing, Speed, strength etc But I'm no expert on what the best training method is.

Pochetino to Burnley! haha, some crazy FM stuff there

Also, the faces on your newgens are excellent!

I don't know how you write so fast! It will be interesting to see how Onana goes at Villa I think he has some things to work his game but he has been a decent player for us! Nice to see you take on a club save and build something! Have you always rotated training focus every month? I've often thought to rotate PRD and Focus maybe every 3 months or so.

Is there any reason I cannot edit my old posts?

I think back now to how very little exposure I had to the world game of football when I was a kid, if I were lucky I would get some highlights on the late-night news about Manchester United or Juventus, but I can tell you that everyone knew the name of Brazil's striker Ronaldo. As a fully-fledged football fan now, I have more curiosity as to what made him such a great player - such a phenomenon?... What were the pieces Ronaldo had around him tactically? what were his player traits? how did he become this myth-like figure in the football world? that led me to the current-day version of Brazilian Ronaldo who is the owner of Real Valladolid. When Ronaldo arrived he was asked about his involvement in the club, he replied “Do you think I’m going to buy a football club and go on holiday the next day” - Just like his playing career he wants to make the best of it!. After purchasing 51% of the club in 2018 Ronaldo also purchased a further amount in the club in 2020 meaning he now owns 82% of the club's shares. Having a high-profile owner has its perks, Internationally the club’s brand has grown substantially over the last few years. Organizations such as Sky Sports, the New York Times and L'Équipe have covered the club more often and the presence of the La Liga legend has helped secure players and sponsors. LA PUCELA Real Valladolid is located about 190 kilometres northwest of Madrid with a population of just over 300,000 people. Being in relatively short distance from two giant clubs like Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid the closeness is seen as an opportunity to try and secure some loan deals for emerging young talent. Derived from the word 'pucelanos' one of the great mysteries of Real Valladolid is why they are called "La Pucela", theories suggest the origin began in the 1940s and gained more popularity in the 1970s. Over the years, some of these assumptions have become more believable than others, here are the most compelling stories surrounding the nickname "La Pucela". In the fifteenth century, some Knights from Valladolid took the way to France in order to defend the Maid of Orleans at the famous Hundred Years War against Britain (1337-1453). As in the old Castilian language of the time the word "maid" used to be called "pucela" These knights were nicknamed "pucelas" upon their return to the city. Another surmise of the nickname comes from the very location of Valladolid. Located between the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers and the Canal de Castilla, it was considered by many as a pond in a dry place. Therefore, from the diminutive "Pozuela" (Pond) derive the word "Pucela". Finally, as one of the most compelling stories, the term "Pucela" is named after the cement trade that the Castilian city developed with the Roman town of Pozzuoli. At the time, Valladolid was the only city distributing materials from Pozzuoli and thanks to that industry promoted by their inhabitants, the Castilian town inherited that pseudonym which still is used to refer to the players Real Valladolid CF. Whatever the origin of the word Pucela, it is common to find that Valladolid and Pucela are used as synonyms, Valladolid being considered the formal term and Pucela being the informal or colloquial one. So, if one day someone from Madrid, for example, asks someone from Valladolid, “Hey, where are you from?" It is not unusual for the answer to be: "Me? from Pucela ”. The LaLiga is no easy league to conquer and operating with one of the smallest budgets Real Valladolid has been continually punching above their weight, and in the coming years is planning to make a push for European football, which would be a massive achievement for Valladolid and Ronaldo, considering staying in the league for three consecutive seasons has only happened once for Real Valladolid in the last 20 years. Between the years 1948 and 1964 can be referred to as La época dorada which translates to "The Golden Years" for the club where they predominately played in La Liga. OBJECTIVES Sign 2 Brazilians per season and integrate them into the Under 19's (or first team) Develop the Fenômeno youth academy (Youth facilities) Upgrade the Estadio Nuevo José Zorrilla Win the Copa Del Rey Qualify Real Valladolid for European football for the first time in their history Establish Real Valladolid as a top 4 club in La Liga Sign or develop a top young striker to score 35 goals in a season and win the Pichichi Thank you for reading, the likes, discussion and interaction on this thread are appreciated! 👍

Sorry guys not sure I'm quite feeling this save! @DefinitelyTaylor @danyates8 @Rick87 I may give it the weekend and try something else!

Reserved

Reserved

Charlton Athletic "The Addicks" It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since Charlton was in the Premier League, back then Charlton was competing against the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, and Tottenham, Charlton even drew with Arsene Wegner's 'Invincible' Arsenal team as Alan Curbishley’s perennial overachievers would finish 7th in Premier League that season just 3 points off a European Competition qualification. Looking back, it was a sliding doors moment for the club as Charlton went from unlikely underdog challengers to League One strugglers two decades later. It's always ideal to look back and think what could have been, but in an alternate reality could Charlton have cracked the top 6 and become a top club desirable to big superstars of the modern game today? fans must wonder what could have been... The last 20 years at Charlton Athletic have certainly had some moments to forget, which include a string of owners who have underachieved and under-delivered on promises, fans throwing plastic pigs on the field during a game, fans marching to a match with a coffin in club colours, an owner playing his electric guitar on the field before a match (yes, you read that right) as well as firing of 6 managers since 2021, right now the club desperately needs to restore some stability. I noticed a name that rang a bell, for those who have seen the Sunderland 'Till I Die" documentary Charlie Methven was a previous owner of Sunderland and is now part of an ownership group called SE7 Partners which owns Charlton Atheltic, this season alone they have already sacked two managers (Dean Holden and Michael Appleton). If you don't remember who Charlie Methven is... well he was the guy who wanted to play EDM before Sunderland games to "hype the crowd" before a game, the link below is a good laugh, it makes you wonder what goes on in "Boardroom meetings". SAVE STRUCTURE I'm a fairly slow FM player and I play every save differently I've drawn a lot of inspiration from the 2000s era which will be a theme for this save I will explain further down this blog! I have a large database loaded with lots of different leagues to give a good range of players available. I don't have any restrictions as far as recruitment goes but my DOF will be handling all transfer and contract negotiations, I will set the scouting assignments and then my DOF will be notified to get the deal done, it will add a little realism and a slight challenge as some deals will break down just like they do in real life. I pick the save up at the beginning of February 2024 as Charlton is hovering over the relegation spots and has just sacked manager Michael Appleton. STAFF When I arrived at Charlton the first part of the restructuring phase was sorting out the backroom staff. As I mentioned I have drawn some inspiration from the 2000s era when Charlton was last in the Premier League for this save. Hence, I plan on signing some staff members from that era to add an element of realism and nostalgia and hopefully, some winning mentality can rub off on the players. After the departure of Michael Appleton, I was surprised to notice there were quite a few positions to fill and the entire scouting department was bare so I made some signings to the scouting department and hired Les Ferdinand as Director of Football. Les Ferdinand has worked at many clubs around London so it seemed like a realistic fit, Ferdinand will handle all transfers and contracts going forward. I also added David Unsworth and Roy Keane as a coach, tho Roy Keane has mentioned he hasn't ruled out getting back into management he's now part of the new Charlton Athletic project. KEY PLAYERS Alfie May has certainly proven he can score goals at League One level, a quick gland at Alfie May's attributes and his Work Rate, Determination and Stamina make him a very dangerous Pressing Forward, tho his contract expires in 2025 I may be forced to sell the 30-year-old and cash in on his goal-scoring form, Alfie May has scored 10 goals so far in the 2023/24 season despite being on hefty wages for League One I am open to the idea of keeping him as replacing him may be a challenge but also to mentor some younger players in the squad for the future. Currently, Lewis Dobson is in contract negotiations with Les Ferdinand about a potential extension and Lewis Fiorini is on loan from Manchester City - he may be above our transfer budget. Still, at the end of the season, I will see what the squad needs regarding positions and depth. TACTIC

Nicely written! Branthwaite is a good young defender I can assure you, but I understand that financially there may be a better option for money. I've enjoyed this! I was contemplating a few different saves including an Everton save in a similar writing style, or another English teams Burnley or Hull City - perhaps the inspiration I needed to get started! Are you using a skin or badge pack as they look cool, in an animated style? I am looking forward to reading more, be good to read a bit more about tactical approaches, especially against Man City or other big clubs.