Jogo Bonito

Great image of Rui Costa, Those were great days - James Richardson and Football Italia - he always seemed to be sat in a cafe with a newspaper! Excellent start, Firenze is on fire! Everybody is so much better than me at managing on Football Manager

Fabulous intro and graphical layout. Also a great choice of club and a squad with not many obvious weaknesses. The three attacking men who scored for you at Bologna are all very capable players, so is the back-four (I've followed Kayode's rapid progress after watching him play live for Italy's youth side last year). The midfield also isn't bad, although there is a bizarrely high amount of left-footed players in there. Batistuta was an incredible player and really helped even neutrals of that era 'identify' with the club. I also fondly recall Rui Costa as the midfield maestro of those days. I love this extract below and will enjoy following this.

Great wrap up mate, nice to see the side did not lose focus and ended with two 3-0 wins. How has Sevilla done in the years you have been at Celta?

Fantastic, well done indeed! Winning La Liga with games to spare and possibly going unbeaten is an amazing achievement. Even if that doesn't happen, it's been a season of dreams - and very nearly even better than that if not for the unlucky loss to Milan.

Another excellent update, very detailed and well written. Really impressive form, the European journey has been superb and really in contention for the Serie A title. Obviously Milan is a tough nut to crack, but the points gap to 3rd shows just how strong the two teams are compared to the rest. One minor observation on Riccardo Calafiori. Although he has played and can play left-back (as per the media description in your profile), in recent times he would very much be regarded as a left-sided central defender (perhaps left of a back-three should you ever try it). In any case, he is very well rated and should be a great pick up for you and a club like Atalanta. Good luck for the closing part of the season, hope your turn is coming!

Well understood. And I get exhausted just waking up in the morning and making my coffee

Thanks for the support. It might still happen, maybe even after a break and return through the summer months - especially if fuelled by real life transfer moves etc.

Yes I don't know if they just hadn't decided by the time I took the image or if they really felt a winning margin of 16 points was not the best performance! Unlike many others, I don't actually feel the EFL have a bias against the club though. Not sure. Was always going to do Stuttgart after my success there in FM23 and their real-life performances this season. But also have so many Italian club supporting colleagues at work that a return to Italy may direct me back there. The 46 league games plus Cups and possible replays and play-offs in England is a slog, Compare that to Germany (34 plus one cup) and Italy (even Spain) and you need to be fully committed to take it on for a third year! Also, for sure I will be managing the club again in FM25 as the owners may be gone and the manager has created a good vibe (reconnecting the fans, players and club) for the first time in an eternity in this difficult season. But thanks, whatever the decision, it's been a satisfying two years.

Exactly how they are in real life. Not always the best side, but definitely find a way of winning more often than not.

Well done, recovery was swift! Never in doubt

Season 2024/25 The Royals were in a commanding position with nine League 1 matches remaining as March arrived Late goals helped secure wins on the road at Rotherham and Colchester, with a home victory over Gary O'Neil's Stockport sandwiched between them Which meant that the 3-1 win over Carlisle saw the club being presented with the League 1 trophy after the game The following five games therefore saw pressure eased, but apart from a hangover defeat at Stevenage the side kept their focus to deliver very positive results The point at Peterboroguh on the final day took the seasonal points tally to exactly 100, thus ticking off a major target set after the title had been won in March The win at relegated Colchester in March also saw Mamadi Camara grab a goal on his first appearance of the season This was a sweet moment for the young winger as he was only granted his ESC work permit on 11th March after being unavailable for selection all season The below performance graph shows a very comfortable route to the title, particularly in the second half of the season The player stats show a number of decent contributions, and we had the best defensive record, best yellow card tally and decent goal and attendance numbers The financial graph shows how the season eroded the upfront payments, but that will re-set itself as the new season comes around The final league table below shows Huddersfield and Peterborough gaining promotion, whilst Portsmouth dropped from the top two into oblivion and Plymouth fell away too Here are the full performance stats across the season, excluding the small number of players who left the club earlier in the campaign Sam Smith headed the scoring charts with a much better season than last year, but there were a good number of positive contributions throughout the squad Defensive trio Andy Yiadom (captain), Tom Holmes and Tylor Bindon will all be leaving in the summer when their contracts expire Yiadom (33) has been a great servant but wanted to explore other options and goes with our blessing after winning the Player of the Year award Local boy, Academy graduate and club-supporting defender Holmes is also moving on which reflects his real life winter exit Bindon meanwhile was the unfortunate victim of a bug that saw him unable to re-sign because of his permit, and he got tempted back home by Wellington Phoenix The other manager and player accolades are listed below from the season review This season wrap-up ended with popular defender Amadou Mbengue (actually a central defender) snubbing interest from 'small club Portsmouth' on 22nd May And the board gave this initial budget upon securing promotion, which will probably all go in to the player wage pot rather than see cash buys It's now time for 'El Jefe' to take stock and see whether he wants to continue his managerial journey in the second tier It's been strongly reported that he was affected negatively by the Bindon contract saga, so he'll make a decision on his future in the coming days Whatever the outcome, he has achieved his target of returning this club to Championship level, and his reputation has been enhanced by a successful two years

As mentioned elsewhere, you picked another of the Italian clubs that are under consideration for me if I chase some of that same culture. No doubt also that the graphical presentation will make this extra appealing! Will be following for sure, best of luck.

Welcome back, and well done on picking this great club. Will look forward to seeing how this goes for you!

That was a tough one to take last time out, but there is no doubt at all you will bounce back and this will soon be forgotten.

Congrats on the Copa del Rey success, great to bag a trophy. Going very strong in the league too, could this be the breakthrough you've been close to? Every chance, best of luck mate.