mpm2342

The preliminary Champions League games are not that exciting now and are starting to give an opportunity to mix in some squad depth. To save reading / typing time, I will summarize going forward and do the more detailed view of the league round and beyond. We rolled through the qualifying rounds without any drama or suspense, which is kinda nice. The draw is out for the league phase and there are a lot of familiar faces for us. It's a decent set of opponents that we should be able to progress through and have a shot at top 8.

Thank you. It really helps me figure out who is a good candidate to retrain in another position and it helps manage the homegrown rules.

Gibraltar's ranking in the Nation Club coefficient stayed the same at 19, but the coefficient improved. The next target for the rankings is to get to 15 where 5 Gibraltar clubs will make Europe. That will need one or two of the other clubs to win a few games and start to do better. The club improved to 17 in the European club rankings. Gibraltar dropped back a bit in the world rankings. The league moved up 5 more spots to 37 in league reputation now ahead of England League One. Stayed 2.5 stars for reputation. No additional upgrade for the youth facilities has come available to request and our training facilities dropped one. We have a very healthy cash balance and the board gave me a generous transfer and wage budget. I am managing to spend more of the transfer budget this season ... It's been fun! Scouting budget is re-upped at world, so don't need to adjust.

Additionally we signed 4 youngsters for the future. Stranek and Matondo are good enough to get some playtime with the first team. The other two will go to the U23 team.

Our other key signings are: Jack Fanning is ouir new CD with a rating of 70.1. I like his physicals to help solidify the defensive line. He is consistent and likes big matches as well. Selcuk Kaya is a new winger who we will train on the right side. He has a rating of 69.1 and a good personality. He also has 4.5 stars of potential, so I am hoping for really strong growth from him. Daryl French is our new left winger with a rating of 67.7. His rating isn't the best, but he can improve a lot and he is very fast. If he doesn't develop, he won't last long with us.

Top signings: Mickael Jacquin as our new GK. He is rated 68.1 with the possibility to improve slightly. He is consistent, likes big matches and handles pressure well, so is perfect for the Champions league grind. Ronaldo Alfredo is our new AP with a rating of 74.7. He likes big matches and handles pressure well, but isn't very consistent, so that balances it off a bit. He is close to full potential, but if we can get a point or two, we get very close to the target. I love his mental attributes, but wouild like a bit more on the pace/acceleration. It will be interesting to see how his stats compare to Castro and Meireles. James Bent is our new Striker (71.4) with great physicals and decent ball control. He has a decent personality, but I am a bit worried about the injury risk and big match - usually don't sign them when they don't like big matches as that is what we are all about. He has a star of potential growth, hopefully it happens.

Fast forward to early July and there have been a lot of changes to the squad. I will run through the new additions after this post. I preemptively signed Deniau to a huge raise - now paying him £55K p/w (was 13K) as a star player... got that in before the window and before anyone expressed interest. That has prevented anyone from offering to him, so very happy about that. Sold El Mourabet and Martinez as they were already dreaming of far away lands and I could upgrade them anyways. I also signed 4 18 year olds to eventually build the homegrown bench strength. Revised recruiting needs based on the Premier target: We now have 3 positions that have a realistic chance of making the Premier League target. Pretty much done with changes now except for a fullback who I have an offer out to. He won't improve the ratings immediately, but is close to the incumbents and has potential to grow. Otherwise, will keep watching for a winger or CD upgrade. The squad needs time to settle in and get cohesively happy. GK Gap: 2.3% - We are good CD Gap: 6.5%, 5.8% - Could still use an upgrade - Urgent FB Gap: 5.3%, 6.7% - Upgrades required - Important - going to leave for this season. BWM Gap: 5.7% - Could not find an upgrade on Blasco that justified moving on from our Professional Captain. DLP Gap: 2% - We are good if we can hold on to Deniau - so far, so good. Winger Gap: 7.8%, 7.1% - Can still use upgrades - Urgent AP Gap: 2.4% - We are ok for now ST Gap: 5.5% - Upgrade in place with growth potential

It is. I am surprised by how closely correlated the improvement of the squad is to the reputation of the team/league etc. I don't play the games, so it really comes down to when the squad is good enough to beat those top teams. We are very close.

Upcoming Season recruiting needs based on the Premier target: The only position that has a realistic chance of making the Premier League target is STILL DLP. Everything else will have to be upgraded. This season will be a balance between the ability to find meaningful upgrades at a position and the amount of turnover we want to incur in the squad. GK Gap: 10.3% - Need an upgrade - Super Duper Urgent CD Gap: 6.5%, 7.7% - Need two upgrades - Very Urgent FB Gap: 5.3%, 6.7% - Upgrades required - Important BWM Gap: 5.7% - Upgrade if possible DLP Gap: 2% - We are good if we can hold on to Deniau Winger Gap: 7.8%, 8.2% - Need to upgrade both wingers - Very Urgent AP Gap: 4.4% - We are ok for now, opportunistically upgrade ST Gap: 7.0% - can use an upgrade - Urgent. Going to be another busy transfer window trying to find great players who are willing to talk to us.

BWM - Premier Target = 76.9 Same as last season: Blasco started, Pizarro was played in league matches to see if he would develop. They both played ok statistically, but not great. Blasco looks like he has plateaued, but he is not too far off target. Pizarro declined this season - boo . Not likely that any of the 3-6 ranked players below do much of anything other than be filler to make the homegrown count. Plan - Try to upgrade Blasco, and start him in the mean time. Spread out the fill in matches a bit more to see if anyone will improve with a focus on Pizarro still. DLP - Premier Target = 78.4 Deniau was the starter with Castro as the main backup. Rasmussen got some starts and everyone played very well. Deniau had very solid growth last season and isn't too far away from the target. Castro is growing slowly, but won't get too much higher. Rasmussen didn't grow - don't think I got him enough playing time. Plan - We are good as long as we can hold onto Deniau and he doesn't force his way out to a larger club. Castro is a great backup with a developmental player in the mix Winger - Premier Target = 76.2 I am analyzing LW and RW together as most of the top players can play both. Ortiz started at LW with Mane at RW. Martinez and Vincent filled in. Ortiz was an assist machine and Martinez got 13 goals in limited playing time. Mane is a loan player and is not coming back. I was disappointed to see Ortiz's rating drop - was hoping he could get into the 70s. Vincent was steady and a solid backup, but isn't going to grow, Plan - Look to upgrade both positions. The players we have now are solid backups with Martinez better suited to ST. Look for an 18 and under backup in the mid 50's rating who can become homegrown. Advanced Playmaker - Premier Target = 77.1 El Mourabet and Castro played most of the matches with Meireles filling in. They both had good stats with El Mourabet scoring lots of goals. Meireles had an 8.67 match rating for his 7 games at AP with 12 goals!!! Nobody really improved last season. Plan - Look for an upgrade. Until then, start El Mourabet with Meireles and Castro as backups. Will sell El Mourabet if he gets unsettled as Castro and Meireles are putting up similar numbers. Advanced Forward - Premier Target = 76.9 Meireles was the top scorer again even though he isn't the primary starter. Nolan got hurt for a bit, so Meireles did get 24 starts. They both had good stats. Was hoping for some progression from Nolan and Martinez - maybe next season. They are 7 rating points away from the premier target, so they will have to be upgraded if they aren't going to grow. Plan - Try to find an upgrade and keep Meireles and Martinez as backups.

Left FB - Premier Target = 72.8 FB seems to be a position that generates good match ratings in our tactic. This season was pretty much the same as last season at LFB. Konate was the starter with Leyland as the backup and they both had decent stats. Konate is hanging around the 67 rating and won't make it to the Premier League target, so will likely need upgrading. Leyland declined? will have to try and figure that out. Leyland declined across the board ... hopefully those are all the effects of dropping below the rounding line, but something to keep an eye on. Plan - start Konate. Search for an upgrade / backup - ideally an 18 or under who can become homegrown for the backup. Right FB - Premier Target = 72.8 FB seems to be a position that generates good match ratings in our tactic. Biten Valere was the starter with Whitbread, Weigandt, Carlos and Leyland backing him up. Biten Valere had a good statistical season, so no reason to change unless a solid upgrade can be found. Biten Valere declined a bit and looks like he has plateaued. Leyland should be the primary backup. Plan - start Biten Valere and look for an upgrade. If found, sell Biten Valere. Leyland will be the primary backup.

CD - Premier Target = 75.9 White and Siebert were the starters for the big matches and did fairly well and seem to complement each other with White tackling, heading and clearing and Siebert intercepting and blocking. Siebert is on loan, so will not be back. Albiach and Carlos were ok, but not great on the year, but because Albiach is homegrown and Carlos will be at the end of this year(so I highlighted him in green), they both will be part of the go forward plans. White grew a little bit but is likely close to his max. Albiach has plateaued as an ok second/third string. Carlos takes over as a primary backup due to his growth and potential. Nobody else in the development ranks will amount to anything useful. Carlos had another decent progression year and is capable in the three positions below which makes him very valuable. His coaches report says he can improve slightly, but his potential went to 4.5 stars from 4, so fingers crossed. Plan - Find at least one starter. Start them along with White and give Carlos lots of playing time. Albiach as injury backup.

POSITIONAL REVIEW (I have highlighted homegrown players in blue in the charts). GK - Premier Target = 70.4 We had a decent starter (Levy) on loan, but I got too cute with the role he was playing in and he got recalled in January. His rating was 65.7 and he played fairly well. Sidibe took over and had a really good year. He is homegrown, so has a spot on the club as long as I can keep him. Santos wasn't as good as Sidibe statistically - concerned about the save percentage against weaker competition. Both Sidibe and Santos improved last season and there is nothing worth talking about in the youth ranks. Sidibe is still growing decently and as a homegrown player, will definitely be our backup for a long time as it frees up another spot on the European rosters for an import. I remain concerned about his aerial reach for top level competition. Santos had an ok development year likely didn't get enough playing time with the first team. Time to loan him out next season to see if his growth will continue. His scouting report says he can improve a lot in the future and he has 4 stars of potential which would give him a higher rating than Sidibe if he can achieve it. His low technique is concerning. Plan - Look for an upgrade. Give Sidibe playing time in league matches and easier cup matches and see if he can grow a bit. Loan Santos out.. try to get him on a team in a high reputation league.

End of Season 11 (33/34) Analysis: The team average rating only improved by 0.3, improving from 68.9 to 69.2. This would have been .4 higher if Levy (GK) didn't get recalled from the loan he was on because I was playing him in a different role than they wanted and pushed it just a tiny bit too far. We have work to do this off season. Reminder that the rating for each of the leagues below is the average of the top 10 rating for each position across the entire league. The appropriate top 10 average for the positions in my tactic are then slotted into the chart and averaged across the 11 ratings. Only a few teams in each league would have a player in each position that ranks in the top 10, so by using this as a target, it provides a measure of when the raw attribute ratings of the team would position it near the top of the league being compared against. We all know that cohesion, morale, happiness etc. gives the human manager the edge, so when my team hits the rating for one of the leagues, I would expect it to be able to win, or at a minimum compete to win, the league. I have seen that team can successfully compete with most of the teams in a league above their rating. This means that once I can get the Lions to the ENG Champ level, we should be able to compete in the Champions League. The entire squad needs improvement based on the Premier League target, so no position is off limits for improvement with the exception of DLP where Deniau improved quite a bit and could make the target..... if I can keep him from the vultures. Last season, he was as good as gone, but accepted a loan which I was able to recall him from in the January window. That made him sad (his words ) but he happily played with us for the rest of the season. If the vultures are forcing him into that extreme unhappy state, I am going to try the loan / recall approach again. We fell off the slope of the ratings growth - I think we need 2-3 more points minimum to have a shot at winning the champions league. The majority of the key players are signed up for next season, so we have really strong depth across the board. Primary needs will be upgrades and potentially 18 and under players to fill the homegrown funnel for the future.

UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals: We drew Liverpool who play in the Premier Division. England is 1st in the nation club rankings and Liverpool are 10th in the club rankings. A second large England side in a row.... will need some more luck to get through this one. First leg away and we managed to keep the score within one while being soundly outplayed based on the match stats. Back home and it wasn't going to happen this season. Another decent showing on the scoreboard. The squad is getting closer - with hopefully a reputation bump and some upgrades for next season, we might be in the right range to have a serious chance.

UEFA Champions League Round of 16: We drew Chelsea who play in the Premier Division. England is 1st in the nation club rankings and Chelsea are 6th in the club rankings. we have played them a fair bit recently and managed a draw last season, but I am expecting a defeat here. First leg at home and we managed a draw in a fairly close game statistically. I am happy with that, but not looking forward to the away leg as Siebert, Mane, Konate and Deniau all picked up their second yellow to get suspended for the second leg. Well, that was totally unexpected. We should not have won that based on the squad on the field and the match statistics... maybe some reverse FM juju happening for the team this season.

UEFA Champions League Knock Out Playoff: We drew Feyenoord who play in the Eredivisie. Netherlands is 10th in the nation club rankings and Feyenoord is 33rd in the club rankings. Going to be a tough one, but we should have a decent chance. First leg away and we managed a victory in spite of being outplayed statistically. Happy to come home up a goal. So much for locking down a lead. Poor game from Sidibe in goal didn't help things. Levy got recalled on me, so am now using Sidibe. On the bright side, maybe it will boost his progress. Their late push wasn't enough to keep us from advancing though.

Nice, I will be following along to see how you make out in Canada! Good start.

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 8: Next up is Bodo/Glimt who play in the Norwegian Premier League. Norway is 14th in the nation club rankings and Bodo/Glimt are 65th in the club rankings. We should win this game and have a shot at skipping the playoff round. Dominate victory and just a point shy of making the top 8. I recalled Deniau from loan and he seems happy to play for us now ... hopefully that continues.

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 7: Next up is BRG who play in the Portuguese Premier League. Portugal is 6th in the nation club rankings and Inter are 39th in the club rankings. We played them a long time ago and are a much better team now. This is a game we should have a very good chance to win, No win, but at least we got a point and clinched a playoff spot.

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 6: Next up is Inter Milan who play in the Italian Serie A. Italy is 4th in the nation club rankings and Inter are 23rd in the club rankings. This is likely to be a close one. Hopefully we can get a result. Nice to get another win. Game was close with them having the edge on the field, but us coming away with the win. After 6 games, we are sitting in a good position in the standings:

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 3: Next up is Real Madrid who play in the Spanish First Division. Spain is 3rd in the nation club rankings and Real Madrid are 1st in the club rankings. Top ranked club ... not sure we are quite ready yet. Hope to keep the score close. Nice another draw against one of the top ranked teams. We drew the top matches in the first 4. UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 4: Next up is Benfica who play in the Portuguese Premier League. Portugal is 6th in the nation club rankings and Benfica are 12th in the club rankings. Another top ranked club, though they are not as high budget as the first three and look a bit more in our class. Wow... didn't expect that. Nice to take a victory and more points. UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 5: Next up is Legia who play in the PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa. Poland is 15th in the nation club rankings and Legia are 62nd in the club rankings. We played them a few years ago and won and have improved a lot, so even assuming they improved, we should be able to win this one.. Score was closer than the game stats, but a victory is a victory, so am happy. Lots of yellow cards building up to give us some selection fun soon.

The first three were tough ones. Arsenal was Pot 2, Chelsea Pot 1 and game 3 is Real Madrid in Pot 1. It is nice to get them out of the way early and to snag points as well.

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 1: First up is Arsenal who play in the Premier League. England is 1st in the nation club rankings and Arsenal are 19th in the club rankings. I think the top Premier League teams are still just a bit out of our reach. We have played Arsenal the last two years and are yet to beat them. The scores have been close, so maybe we can sneak a result here. Another close score, though they outplayed us more than the score indicates. UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 2: Next up is Chelsea who play in the Premier League. England is 1st in the nation club rankings and Chelsea are 6th in the club rankings. I think the top Premier League teams are still just a bit out of our reach. We have played Chelsea a couple of times in the competition and are yet to beat them. Hope to keep the score close. Nice, a draw is good. Again we were outplayed, but pulled out the draw on the scoreboard. I will take the points against a top team.

UEFA Champions League Champions Path Third Qualifying Round: Next up is Basel who play in the Swiss Super League. Switzerland is 21st in the nation club rankings and Basel are 86th in the club rankings. Tougher matchup, but we should be able to win it Well, going down a man at the 10 minute mark is not the way to do it, but the results are still good. Looks like Levy had a great game in goal. Second leg back home and we finished the round off nicely. The team is starting to come together. UEFA Champions League Champions Path Playoff: Next up is Galatasaray who play in the Turkish Super League. Turkiye is 12th in the nation club rankings and Galatasaray are 52nd in the club rankings. Another tough matchup in the preliminary rounds for us. We have played Galatasaray a couple of time before and managed a draw... hoping for better this time around. A draw at their place is good and the stats say we had more of the play and could have won... optimistic for the return leg. Nice win at home to move onto the League phase.