Top 34 - 2012 Edition - Game Thread

[Cuddlefish]

What this sign-up is about:

34 youngsters (one for every playable European league in FM) will join a team with as close to 2000 rep as possible. The nation that their team is from will also become their nationality. Their CA will be between 80-120 and their PA from 150-200. No two players will start off in the same nation. When you sign-up I will respond with your random team and nation, CA and PA will be kept secret.

The youngsters will be tracked throughout their career and will receive individual updates as well as 3 yearly (random) statistics such as "Top 34 Most Earning Players" and "Top 34 Highest Ratings". Every year the list of players will be randomized to determine who will receive their updates first (to keep things fair).

Players will receive points depending on how well they do in said statistics. The player with the highest amount of points at the end of the year will win "Top 34 Player of the Year". After the last player has retired the person with the highest number of "Top 34 Player of the Year" awards will be crowned the champion of the sign-up.

So here is this years randomized list:
EDIT: For the first update updates will come in the order that people signed up and randomized thereafter.

1. Abrazo el Pescado - Cuddlefish - M/AML: Spain - La Roda C.F.
2. Trevor Jones - Charlesbeams - AMR/ST: Wales - TNS
3. Ed Lawrence - ejldude - ML/AMR: Northern Ireland - Larne
4. Carl Arroganteson - Taunton - AML/ST: Iceland - Grótta
5. Vadim Yershov - Biscotti - AML/ST: Ukraine - MFC Mykolaiv
6. Josh McLachlan - Goldfish1000 - AMC/ST: Poland - Kolejarz Stroze
7. Shy Baldbuddhist - ShyBaldBuddhist - M/AMC: Denmark - Varde Idrætsforening
8. Bogdan Barbarich - jimbobBRFC - M/AMC: Slovenia - NK Simer Sampion Celje
9. James Sawyer - WhiteRiot - AMRC: France - Football Club Municipal Aubervilliers
10. Luke Byrne - bambi holt - DC/ST: Ireland - Monaghan United
11. Santi Gaucchio - 5ergio - AMC/ST: Germany - Chemnitzer FC
12. Aristophanes Papageotopolous - 18Rabbit - SW/DC: Greece - AGS Vyzas Megaron
13. Arie Kanarie - rpvw - ST: Bulgaria - Dobrudzha 1919 (Dobrich)
14. Jimos Bowmaszak - jimbowmanuk - AMC: Hungary - Dunaújváros Pálhalma ASE
15. Andrei Ivanov - Goldrulz - D/WBR: Russia - Fakel Voronezh
16. Longo Ronaldo - toonbalmy87 - D/AML : Portugal - Vizela
17. Arawn Moridin - dieu - AMR/ST: Sweden - Utsiktens BK
18. David Ginsberg - David Corperial - D/WBL: Finland - FC Espoo
19. Daniel Vrana - TIR669 - DC/DM: Slovakia - ZP SPORT Podbrezova
20. Rodrigo Delgado - jamie. - ST: Belgium - FC Verbroedering Geel-Meerhout
21. Stuart Shaw stuart_aberdeen - DRL - : Croatia - NK Mosor
22. Thierry Le Tissier - letissierandhenryaregreat - AMC/ST: England - Dover Athletic
23. Geraint Alacarde - larxus - AMC/ST: Romania - Luceafărul Oradea
24. Udi Levi - vurogj - DM/MC: Israel - Maccabi Irony Bat-Yam
25. Bilbo Baggins - BuffaloBill - AMR/ST: Norway - Nardo FK
26. Hakan Cetiner - glennuk - AMR/ST: Turkey - Kocaelispor
27. Rocky Brittus III - Britrock - MRL: Italy - Rimini
28. Zivojin Komljenovic - bergtaur - GK: Serbia - FK Donji Srem Pecinci
29. Jumbo Bumbo - az260191 - SW/DC: Czech Republic - Znojmo
30. Blackthorn Price - The Welsh Lad - DC/DM: Austria - Fussballclub Blau-Weiß Linz
31. Kuschel Fisch - Cuddlefish - GK: Switzerland - SC Brühl
32. Blackthito Da Costa - The Welsh Lad - GK: Scotland - Montrose
33. Herman Vanderbosch - jimbobBRFC - GK: Belarus - Vedrich-97 Rechitsa
34. Matthieu Moens - vurogj - D/MR: Holland - FC Oss

[Charlesbeams]

So if i'm right, i'll be getting my update 2nd?

[Cuddlefish]

So if i'm right, i'll be getting my update 2nd?

Well I was going to do each update randomized to be fair, but that isn't really fair for the first year since people signed up later then others.

So for the first update updates will come in order that people signed up and thereafter will be randomized.

So yes, you will be 2nd ^^

[jimbobBRFC]

When you kicking this off Cuddlefish overnight tonight? Bogdan is waiting to be unleashed on Slovenia

[Charlesbeams]

Ah right, i'm not too bothered really, i wasn't sure if it was by number or how it was done in the list. I now see it should be by the list :P so you can carry on the way you were going to do it if you want.

[Cuddlefish]

Initial Profiles

Just thought I'd quickly post some images of everyone's initial profiles before I started holidaying.

Here's the album (click one of the pictures and you can scroll through): http://imgur.com/a/tYiBa#0
As you can see some of the Nordic teams have already started playing. This could be a help or a hindrance, you'll just have to wait and see.

Some quick facts before we get started...

Three people managed to bag the highest starting CA of 120 however two people have the lowest starting CA of 80. The average starting CA is: 99.6

Surprisingly no-one randomed a PA of the maximum 200 but two people did manage to draw the highest PA of 197. Unfortunately one unlucky person took the minimum PA of 150. The average PA is: 173.9

There is one player who has a massive difference of 114 between his CA and PA, let's hope he can live up to expectations. Two players however don't have that much room for improvement with only 50 points between their CA and PA.

Looking at the initial profile pictures you can see that both Andrei Ivanov and Blackthorn Price are currently the most expensive players at £375k. Rodrigo Delgado and Shy Baldbuddhist are, however, currently worth nothing. The average price of the players is: £83.34k


That's all for now, will get holidaying and give the first yearly update sometime tonight!

[Taunton]

Great work!! Looking froward to see how this will turn out!

Good luck, everyone.

[jimbobBRFC]

Looking pretty good, will be interesting to see the first update. My Keeper has already played a few games though 6.8 rating not too bad.

[dieu]

Nice! 8 goals in 12 games and an average rating of 7.38! Me be pleased!

[dieu]

Or as they would have said in Sweden: Det gjillar jag!

[ejldude]

wow. £1 a week. I'm rich!

[BuffaloPhil]

5 in 8 for Bilbo with an average of 7.34, not quite as good as Arawn Moridin but a promising start. And I get £25 a week to spend on sweets and comics! (I'm a proper old-style 16 year old, I'm not going for cider and cigarettes!)

[Cuddlefish]

5 in 8 for Bilbo with an average of 7.34, not quite as good as Arawn Moridin but a promising start. And I get £25 a week to spend on sweets and comics! (I'm a proper old-style 16 year old, I'm not going for cider and cigarettes!)

As a legitimate 16 year old who actually gets £37 a week I can tell you that most of it is spent on Pepsi and chocolate.

[jimbobBRFC]

I got £25, at that age would almost definately be on Pepsi and Chocolate. Maybe the odd copy of FM

[larxus]

Hmm, are any of us dubbed or touted the next blah-blah-blah?

[Cuddlefish]

Hmm, are any of us dubbed or touted the next blah-blah-blah?

I'll be posting individual updates for everyone once the holidaying has ended so I'll see then.

On a side note, if anyone wants to know something specific in the save just mention it. Example: Who won the "enter competition name"? What's going on with "club/player name"? blah-blah-blah

Will post a mid-season transfer update once January has finished holidaying.

[Cuddlefish]

Mid-year transfers!

Rodrigo Delgado: Geel-Meerhout -> Odense Boldkub for FREE
Arie Kanarie: Dobrudzha 1919 -> Manchester United for £190k
Jumbo Bumbo: Znojmo -> SK Slovan Bratislava for £550k
Shy Baldbuddhist: Varde -> FC Midtjylland for FREE
Santi Gaucchio: Chemnitz -> Beyer Leverkusan for £100k
Ed Lawrence: Larne -> Hearts for £65k
Josh McLachlan: Kolejarz -> Manchester City for £325k
Daniel Vrana: Podbrezova -> Tottenham for FREE (Joining on 1.7.2012)
Abrazo el Pescado: La Roda -> Athletic Bilbao for £475k

Nearly finished holidaying the first year, hold onto your seats, updates will be coming soon!

[TIR669]

Tottenham? Nice.

GL everyone, let's make this thread the best one on challenges forum. :-)

[BuffaloPhil]

I wanna join Tottenham!

[5ergio]

Gaucchio is looking good and already transfered to Bayer 04 Leverkusen. He may as well grow as a good attacking player with this setup of attributes.

[rpvw]

Woop, transferred to Man Utd. Keeping my fingers crossed that I've got a high PA (and that I make a chance for playing time, although I'm probably stuck in the reserves for the next couple years ).

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

Liking my player and I think the transfer is a very good move. Should get some 1st team action at Midtjylland and a chance of European football too.

[Cuddlefish]

Holidaying is done and all is looking good. Just got back home however and I'm feeling absolutely shattered so I'll begin the updates in the wee hours of tomorrow morn.

[as260191]

Officially the most expensive player so far, I'll take that. =D

[Cuddlefish]

Year 1 - Players 1-5 - Top 34
Doing updates in increments of 5 players

Abrazo el Pescado - Cuddlefish

Our first youngster is Abrazo el Pescado, a promising winger who started off his career at La Roda. For the first half of the Spanish season Abrazo found himself in the first-team of La Roda, playing 19 games, scoring 2 goals, gaining 8 assists, 3 MoM awards and an average rating of 7.23. However during the winter transfer market Abrazo was picked up by Athletic Bilbao for £475k (£550/week contract) and is yet to see a first team appearance there. Instead Abrazo has been playing in the Athletic U-19s where he's made 8 goals in 15 appearances with a hugely impressive rating of 8.21 (Athletic U-19s even went and won their group). On the international front Abrazo has been a regular in U21/U19 Spain team. He's played in 2/3 Euro U19 Quals, winning both and qualifying Spain for the U19 Euro Championship. Over in the Spain U21s he's played 4/6 of their games. Winning 2 and losing 2 and managing to make it to the French Youth Invitational Finals where they unfortunately lost to Holland by a single goal. Despite all of the international call-ups he's yet to score his first international goal. All of the stats so far look promising and he's even been touted as the next Fran González.

Attributes - History


Trevor Jones - Charlesbeams

Trevor Jones is so far a one club man and looks like he may stay this way for a while having signed a provisional contract to TNS for when he turns 17. Last season he played in 22 of their 32 league matches scoring 4 goals, gaining 4 assists, a single man of the match award and an average rating of 6.78 (TNS placed 7th in the league). However his Welsh Cup statistics look a bit more promising having scored 5 in 4 with an average rating of 7.65 but again his team-mates let him down and TNS were knocked out in the 4th round. He even went ahead and managed to pick up the Welsh Prem Young Player of the Year award. Over on the international side he's so far played in the Wales U21 game vs Holland, which they lost 2-4 but Jones still managed to pick himself up a goal. He also played in the three U19s Euro Quals for Wales and managed to pick up a goal. Unfortunately Wales failed to qualify having lost 2 of their games and drawn the other. Not a spectacular season but a fair one none the less, I'm guessing Mr. Jones will be hoping for a move next year.

Attributes - History


Ed Lawrence - ejldude

Ed Lawrence is another early mover having left his starting club of Larne already. However he not only moved club, but also country (kinda..) joining Hearts in Scotland for £65k. This was probably due to the good performance he gave at Larne scoring 5 in 11, with 4 assists, 1 MoM and an average rating of 7.20. He also played well in their cup games, only 1 goal in 7 games but an average rating of 7.21. They had even won every single cup game up until Ed had left the club, so that's says something! Despite the huge jump in club skill level Ed managed to fit right into the first-team set-up and was given 14 starts during his first half-season at Hearts. Hearts however had a difficult season and finished just one spot above relegation but really it was any ones game with only 9 points separating 11th and 3rd place. Ed has also played all 6 U21 Euro Qual games for N.Ireland however they are unable to qualify having only won 2 games and lost 4. He's yet to play for the U19s but they didn't qualify for the U19 Euro Champs either.

Attributes - History


Carl Arroganteson - Taunton

Another one club man however things look a bit bleak for Carl. During his first season Carl played in 19 games, scoring 4 with an average rating of 6.74. However Grotta were relegated from the First Division into the un-viewable leagues of the Lower Divisions. However the statistics are showing us that Carl has been having a better season scoring 13 in 21 overall with an average rating of 6.98. The only worry I have is that he's signed a provisional contract with Grotta and, if Grotta don't get promoted, he may see himself stuck there for his whole playing career. He has however been getting some international games which is good. Even though the U-19s didn't qualify he's still played in all of their games, even their friendlies, and has put in a solid performance each time. He's only played 1 game for the U21s (vs Liechtenstein) which they did lose 0-1 but he put in a good performance at a 7.0. The Iceland U21s however are looking good and are sitting at the top of their group for the U21 Euro Quals. In my eyes the best Carl can hope for is a transfer next season.

Attributes - History


Vadim Yershov - Biscotti

Our final one club man for this update segment and our final player Vadim, played in 16 of Mykolaiv's 34 league games last season, scored two goals and gave a decent showing with a 6.87 rating. He also played in two cup games but had an even lower rating of 6.50 and didn't score any. So far no clubs have showed an interest in him, however he has broken his leg which will set him out for a total of 5 months. He played in three of the U19s Euro Quals for the Ukraine which they won and progressed them into the 2nd Qual phase. However he was injured and didn't get to play during the 2nd Qual phase where Ukraine were unfortunately knocked out. He's played 4 games for the U21s and has even scored a goal however the Ukrainians are sitting in 2nd place behind Iceland and need to beat Iceland in order to qualify. I can see a rivalry on the horizon !


Attributes - History

[Taunton]

Not looking to good for the Carl man. Lets hope some scout get lost on Iceland and discover him by pure chance.

[Cuddlefish]

Year 1 - Player 6 - Top 34
or should I do them singular like this?

Josh McLachlan - Goldfish1000

I am going to say it right now, I am extremely impressed by this guy. Josh started off at ehe small Polish club of Kolejarz where he scored 6 in 14 overall games and had a 7.02 average rating. During this time he played a major part in the Polish teams U21 Euro Qual matches. Scoring 3 in 5 and putting them at the top of their group. He must have caught some attention with all of this as none other then Man City made a £325k bid for him which was accepted and he moved mid-season. Not only did he move to one of the biggest clubs in the world but he also debuted for the senior team Poland at the age of 16 during a friendly vs Russia (which they actually lost). The Polish manager must have been impressed though as he left out Polish international Jakub Blaszczykowski in order for McLachland to get a space in his 30 man squad for the Euro Championship. Josh then went on to play in the 1-1 group stage game against Israel and their 1-0 win over co-hosts Ukraine in the Qtr finals. However it was not to be when Poland got knocked out in the Semis by Spain who would go on to win the Finals. But it doesn't stop there! Josh has even made two appearances in the Premier League itself! Not much more I can say really, this guy is really one to watch!

EDIT: No, I can say something else. He's been named the next Ireneusz Jelen with a similar playstyle to David Silva.

Attributes - History

[vurogj]

I think I prefer 5 at a time, more to read, but it's not a major preference. I've got 24 and 34 anyway, so I know I'm in for a long wait on this update.

[Goldfish1000]

Sweet - seems like I had a good season! Unsure about Man City but if I'm playing I can't complain! KUTGW

[TIR669]

Wait 'till you see young Vrana in his Tottenham adventure.

I also prefer 5 at a time.

[Cuddlefish]

5 at a time it is!

Will update some more tonight, bout to go out

[ejldude]

I am da shiz. ace.

[larxus]

Great update so far. I like the commentary style (story style?) update. Makes things interesting to read.

[Charlesbeams]

Not doing bad so far, specially for a 16 year old.

[Cuddlefish]

Great update so far. I like the commentary style (story style?) update. Makes things interesting to read.

Thanks.

On this note, does everyone agree or would they prefer straight up facts?

It would be a lot faster but I think doing these kind of more "personal" updates keeps you guys interested more?

Am I right or..?

[bergtaur]

I think you're right on track CFish

[Biscotti]

I like the story-style write-up, but I could fully understand if you'd prefer to do short, sharp stats bursts. Not impressed with breaking my leg, but otherwise my progress looks pretty good so far.

I would also add my vote for 5 at a time, but am perfectly happy with 1 at a time if needed too.

[vurogj]

I agree with Biscotti, the story style is very nice, but if you feel you want or need to bang out a few stat based updates, that is fine too.

[Cuddlefish]

I don't really feel like I need to, the current length seems fine to me, just wanted to know everyones opinion.

Time scale wise I'm looking to be getting out one yearly update every week, spread over the course of the week.

Updates coming soon today

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

I think the commentary style is much better. Shows a bit of thought has gone into it and is good to read as it keeps it interesting. I like five at a time too if you can find the time but I think you should do what is best for yourself.

[jimbobBRFC]

More updates please

[Cuddlefish]

Year 1 - Players 7-11 - Top 34

Shy Baldbuddhist - ShyBaldBuddhist

After a half-season at Varde, playing 14 games, scoring 3 with an average rating of 6.89 Shy was spotted by the FC Midtjylland scouts and shortly moved during the winter break on a free transfer. This not only offered him a chance to play in the Danish Superliga but also increase training facilities that will hopefully help him progress more. So far at Midtjylland he's had 4 starts in the Superliga with a disappointing average rating of 6.50. He's been called up to the Danish U-21 side plenty of times but is yet to play, always sitting on the bench for the full 90 minutes. Due to the call-ups though he has also been unable top play for the U-19s so he is yet to have some international experience. Despite all this he's been labelled the next Jan Mølby and will surely be getting many more starts next season at his new club.

Profile - History


Bogdan Barbarich - jimbobBRFC

A similar story here for Bogdan except this time he stayed at his starting club of Sampion for the entire season playing in 12 games, scoring one, gaining one assist with an average rating of 6.68. However at the end of the season Bogdan was picked up on a free transfer by Slovenian First League team Krsko. On the international front he is yet to be called up for any of the Slovenian National teams which is kinda disappointing. Not much else to say really, a really lacklustre season unftunately.

Profile - History


James Sawyer - WhiteRiot

James started off at the French team FCM Aubervilliers and quickly settled in. During his first season his managed to playing in 29 games, scoring two with two assists and an above average rating of 7.19. However despite his individual success FCM Aubervilliers were relegated into the un-viewable leagues. Things may look brighter for James in the near future as he is wanted by both Hibernian and Benevento. He's played a few games for the France U-19s and has even helped them qualify for the U19 Euro Championship.

Profile - History


Luke Byrne - bambi holt

Luke has so far played a total of 32 games for Monaghan Utd scoring 6 with an average rating of 6.80. Last season he managed to help them stay afloat and secure 5th in the Irish First Division. This season Monaghan are currently in 4th place and may even see a promotion. Even though Luke has a gifted ability of playing up front and at back he has mainly been played as a central defender. Due to this he has encountered many injuries being out for a total of 6 months in the past year and is currently out for 2 more with a sprained ankle (must be one hell of a sprain). He may not stay at Monaghan for long though as both Patrick Thistle and Inverness CT are interested in him. Despite him playing as a DC at Monaghan he has been played a striker in all of his U21 Ireland games. He is yet to score though and it looks like Ireland will not qualify for the U21 Euro Championships.]

Profile - History


Santi Gaucchio - 5ergio

After playing 8 games, scoring two with an average rating of 6.80 at his starting club of Chemnitz Santi was quickly picked up by Bayer Leverkusen for £100k during the winter transfer window. So far at Leverkusen he has been subbed onto a German First Division game three times but has put in a rather poor performance with an average rating of just 6.10. He is yet to be called up for any of the German National teams. Has been said to have a similar playstyle to Renato Augusto.

Profile - History

[Cuddlefish]

I just noticed I didn't delete the necessary files for the German team to become available...

I really stuck as to what to do, if I should restart the save or..?

I need ideas.

[toonbalmy87]

um its up to but maybe change his nationality to somthing else ?

[rpvw]

I just noticed I didn't delete the necessary files for the German team to become available...

I really stuck as to what to do, if I should restart the save or..?

I need ideas.

Does deleting the fake/lnc/etc files actually help on 12.1.1? I started a save with 12.0.X with the files deleted (and the German team available), but after patching to 12.1.1 the German team was grey again; deleting the fake/lnc files did not help.

[Cuddlefish]

um its up to but maybe change his nationality to somthing else ?

Does deleting the fake/lnc/etc files actually help on 12.1.1? I started a save with 12.0.X with the files deleted (and the German team available), but after patching to 12.1.1 the German team was grey again; deleting the fake/lnc files did not help.

I just deleted them again and the team is still grey, I even holidayed for a bit to see if it would change..

Maybe if I mark him as a regen using FMRTE then he'll get picked for the team?

[Cuddlefish]

Nope that doesn't work, ok I guess I'll give 5ergio the option...

5ergio, would you rather stay German and not get any international games or change your nationality?

[5ergio]

Changing the nationality would be better I guess. Top 34 was based on 34 EU national players competing against each other so it'd be a bit dull in the international tournaments I think. Any other suitable European nation is fine by me, as long as they are getting in the qualifiers for EUROs & WC

Transfer to Bayer Leverkusen might work ok if some how I manage to get a good performance in U19 or whatever the reserve/amateur team they have.

[ShyBaldBuddhist]

Labelled the next Jan Molby! Even as an Evertonian I'm happy with that. Just need to put a bit of weight on to match the big man

[jimbobBRFC]

are we not missing some players?

[Biscotti]

are we not missing some players?

The updates are coming in small bursts. That last one was players 7 through 11. The other 23 will be appearing over the next couple of days.

[jimbobBRFC]

I see I see my bad

[jimbobBRFC]

Is this thread like Dead?

[dieu]

Let's hope not, but sadly it looks like it is at the moment.

And I did not even get the first update on my player

[Biscotti]

I sure hope cuddlefish hasn't "done a cuddlefish"

[jimbobBRFC]

It is really looking like he has

[Cuddlefish]

Nope, my computer "did a Cuddlefish".

Something went wrong with the power supply and fried my motherboard so I'm currently waiting on parts for my new computer (using an iPhone in the mean time).

Bad news is we have to start from the beginning but everyone that signed up will have the same player and everything...

Don't know how long it'll be, you know what the postal service is like.. Real sorry about this guys, seems like whenever I start one of these a problem arises

[vurogj]

Awful luck, and sorry to hear it.

On a personal plus side, I now feel able to beg you to spell Matthieu Mons' name right this time.

[Biscotti]

Nope, my computer "did a Cuddlefish".

Something went wrong with the power supply and fried my motherboard so I'm currently waiting on parts for my new computer (using an iPhone in the mean time).

Bad news is we have to start from the beginning but everyone that signed up will have the same player and everything...

Don't know how long it'll be, you know what the postal service is like.. Real sorry about this guys, seems like whenever I start one of these a problem arises

Surely if the Hard Drive hasn't gone poof then you should still have the save on there? Anyways, if we have to start again we have to start again - you always seem to have the worst of luck.

[larxus]

Surely if the Hard Drive hasn't gone poof then you should still have the save on there? Anyways, if we have to start again we have to start again - you always seem to have the worst of luck.

Must be due to the name.. =)

[jimbobBRFC]

well at least my player gets a second chance at doing something now, seemed very average in the first save. I like this idea