[FM14] Yeclano Deportivo

This is a game that I started over in the challenges forum and I wanted to give it a bit more space. It's already 5 years in, so the first 5 posts will fill in the annual reports and from there on it'll be back to real time

Yeclano Deportivo, a team only founded in 2004, are based in Yecla, in the Murcia region of Spain. The region is probably more famous for it's wine, with the Mourvedre grape the most popular, used in Cabernet Sauvignon or Tempranillo. For the cyclists out there, it's also the home of Catlike helmets. They play in a rather fetching Barca-esque red and blue striped kit (it was one of the things that attracted them to me when picking a team to play with, along with the awesome team name)

Promoted from the Tercera Division at the end of the 2013/14 season, I have taken on the task of bringing them up through the divisions ... without signing a single player. Yep, I'm going down the all youths route in a country where Barcelona and Real Madrid regularly spend the equivalent of a small nations GDP on transfers and wages. This could take a while...

So, taking the rules from the original challenge, I've been tagging notable youths from each intake and keeping track of them. Their progress will appear in each annual update so we can all see how well they're developing (or not). This is my first attempt at a career thread, so hopefully it isn't a complete disaster!

Well I survived my first season, finishing a respectable 13th. The 4 transfers in were all set in place when I joined, and my past experience **** up is now there for all to see (what a muppet!). My star players were my strikers, Camochu and Pascui, who knocked in 34 goals and assisted 13 between them. The tactics were gung ho to say the least, but I figured that sitting back and trying to be defensive was never going to work, so I might as well try and keep up. Why lose 3-0 when you can lose 5-3? At least 5-3 is an entertaining watch for the neutrals!

The youth intake wasn't great, I only took on 6 players:

Daniel Grandio (15a) - a right winger, but he can't dribble. Still, the ass man thinks he's going to be awesome so fingers crossed

Juan Miguel (15b) - left winger who looks promising

Diego (15c) - another GK for the team (number 4), he probably won't play for a good few years, if ever

Ruben Gonzalez (15d) - the best CA of the intake, he went straight into the first team and performed admirably

Francisco Garcia (15e) - another central defender who'll probably be around the first team sooner rather than later

Eugenio Garcia (15f) - a striker who might come in useful in my 343 formation if injuries hit

Next season: survival again, the squad turnover will be minimal so I'll be looking for more of the same

A reasonably good first half of the season, followed by a major struggle through January (with a terrible 5 losses in a row after the Christmas break) and ending on a 9 game unbeaten streak which gives me great hope for next year. Finances are an absolute mess, we're £3m in the red and only going one way. I managed to persuade most of the team to take a pay cut to get the wages in line but I've no idea what I'm going to do going forwards, I'm losing ~£100k a month.

Youth Intake

Pretty crap to be honest, but I signed them all up anyway because I didn't think I was going to be able to afford to re-sign anyone in the first team squad. Only 2 of them got tagged however:

Ivan Gonzalez (16a) - looks to be a reasonably solid CB which is always needed as I play 3 at the back

Luis Angel Gil (16b) - pretty average but has good potential

2015 intake:

Daniel Grandio (15a) - didn't really feature much at all this year, got a run out in the cup vs Barcelona B (I think)

Juan Miguel (15b) - played in the cup and that was it. Might play a bit more next year as my ML cover has retired

Diego (15c) - played in the cup and performed admirably.

Ruben Gonzalez (15d) - the standout performer, appeared in almost every league game and was very solid. I have high hopes for him going forwards.

Francisco Garcia (15e) - played in a few league games and did ok. Probably fallen behind Ivan Gonzalez now though.

Eugenio Garcia (15f) - did more than ok in his limited appearances

Year  | League | Pos  | Promotion | Achievement
-----------------------------------------------------
[b][url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363642-ri916-s-FM14-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=9152657&viewfull=1#post9152657"]14/15[/url][/b] |  2B4   | 13th |    No     |  Survival
15/16 |  2B4   | 10th |    No     |  

Aims for next season: I want the playoffs. I have the same team as I'm only losing 2 backup players so fingers crossed I can get there.

So close and yet so far. Spent the majority of the season in the promotion playoff places, but fell away a bit in the second half, which coincided with the loss of Camochu. We went on a 3 game losing streak near the end of the season, at the same time Betis went on an 8 game winning streak, which knocked us out of any promotion chance. Ended up 5th, so another improvement season on season. Players are starting to want to move on to bigger and better things though, and my finances are still a complete mess. Managed to get away with terminating the contracts of 3 players (all 30 or over) at the end of the season so I could sign the rest of the team up for another year. The 3 players all had youth players in their position so won't be missed too much (hopefully...).

Star players:

Pascui - top scorer, most assists, best avg rating. He's pretty awesome.

Chevi - scored all of his goals from midfield or free kicks, a constant threat (although he probably took the most shots in the entire team!)

Saul - injured for a few games and played out of position at AMC for a while, but scored plenty and a few assists to boot

Youth Intake

I fired my HOYD after last seasons pathetic intake, and this year's seems a bit more useful. But considering my facilities are non-existent, I should be grateful I get players with all their limbs intact really... I tagged 3 players this year:

Kike Rodriguez (17a) - yet another GK, to go with Diego, maybe one of them will be able to replace my starter in a few years

Juan Ramon (17b) - a central midfielder is a godsend, and he seems pretty good to step in reasonably soon

Jose Javier (17c) - a winger/striker who seems pretty nippy.

2016 intake:

Ivan Gonzalez (16a) - first replacement at DC for the majority of the season, until I fired Troyano for salary reasons, when he became a starter. Performed solidly enough.

Luis Angel Gil (16b) - spent the year in the reserves, made his debut as a sub in the final league gae

2015 intake:

Daniel Grandio (15a) - didn't really play much, but seemed to do ok when he did

Juan Miguel (15b) - probably the most improved of the bunch, now starting on the left wing

Diego (15c) - didn't play, miles behind Efren (my starter) in terms of ability. Coming along ok though I think

Ruben Gonzalez (15d) - still the best academy product, up to 65 games for the club already by 17!

Francisco Garcia (15e) - fallen behind Ivan Gonzalez in the lineup, but now first replacement

Eugenio Garcia (15f) - getting there, but my two starting strikers are still too good for him to really get much action

Year  | League | Pos  | Promotion | Achievement
-----------------------------------------------------
[b][url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363642-ri916-s-FM14-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=9152657&viewfull=1#post9152657"]14/15[/url][/b] |  2B4   | 13th |    No     |  Survival
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363642-ri916-s-FM14-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=9209057&viewfull=1#post9209057"][b]15/16[/b][/url] |  2B4   | 10th |    No     |  
16/17 |  2B4   |  5th |    No     |

Aims for next season: I'm desperate for promotion, I'm not sure how long the club can survive in this division losing ~£100k a month.

Table | Graph | Results 1 & 2

Wow, what a season. A bit of a dodgy start, followed by a surge up the table and then the new patch showed up. I went on a 13 game unbeaten tear after that, with an 8 game winning streak thrown in to boot. I qualified for the playoffs easily, but the title was the big prize. I was one or two points behind Xerez for ages, before they finally slipped up and I pounced. We played each other in the last game of the season and I held out to secure the title. I then went into the labyrinthine playoff system (see above) and promptly lost to Numancia. I was worried that was that, but luckily we went into the "losers" playoff at the second round and beat Barcelona B, and then got Alaves. We stuffed them 3-1 at their place and then back at home we made it to halftime at 0-0. They then scored one and then a second late on but we managed to hold on and secured promotion to Liga Adelante!

Copa Del Rey and Copa RFEF

The Copa Del Rey was one and done (again) but the Copa RFEF (the Segunda B cup from what I can see) was something else. I constantly put out a completely rotated squad from the previous league game but kept on winning. My U19s did me more than proud. We scrambled through to the final whereupon we managed to win the damn thing! Shame we won't be able to defend it (actually, no it isn't!).

Star players:

Hector - a far cry from the guy who couldn't average over 5 playing at FB in my first season, he was unstoppable on the right wing

Pascui - top scorer, most assists, only the 2nd best average rating though. Dropped off a bit towards the end of the season but still set new club records for most goals and assists (which he already held...)

Youth Intake

S'alright, ya know. Tagged two guys this year, but signed most of them for backup:

Andoni Barandiaran (18a) - a right winger with some promise. Third in line for the position though, so might not play for a while.

Ivan Lopez (18b) - a striker with some promise and pretty well developed. Instantly became the Segunda B's youngest player and scorer in his debut (i.e. the first game after the youth intake showed up, lol)

Previous intakes:

Kike Rodriguez (17a) - fallen to third choice behind an untagged youth. Plenty of potential, we'll see how he goes

Juan Ramon (17b) - benefited from Chevi being injured a lot, played well in both MC positions for me

Jose Javier (17c) - didn't do too much, played in the cup and did well though

Ivan Gonzalez (16a) - solid first year in the starting lineup

Luis Angel Gil (16b) - backup to all the striker positions, performed well in the cup when picked

Daniel Grandio (15a) - backup to Pascui and Hector, has the hardest job getting into the team but performs well when needed

Juan Miguel (15b) - started on the left wing and didn't disappoint, a bit injury prone and card happy though

Diego (15c) - wow, most improved player by miles. Went mental at some point and ended the year as the starter and allowed me to let Efren go and save £600 a week. Club vice-captain to boot

Ruben Gonzalez (15d) - cleared 100 appearances for the club already, a total stud

Francisco Garcia (15e) - will start next year as Juaristi is off to Cadiz on a Bosman (they're still in Segunda B for those keeping track!)

Eugenio Garcia (15f) - finally made it to the starting line up and played well in the false nine position scoring and assisting plenty

Year  | League | Pos  | Promotion | Achievement
-----------------------------------------------------
[b][url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363642-ri916-s-FM14-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=9152657&viewfull=1#post9152657"]14/15[/url][/b] |  2B4   | 13th |    No     |  Survival
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363642-ri916-s-FM14-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=9209057&viewfull=1#post9209057"][b]15/16[/b][/url] |  2B4   | 10th |    No     |  
[b][url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363642-ri916-s-FM14-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=9226216&viewfull=1#post9226216"]16/17[/url][/b] |  2B4   |  5th |    No     |
17/18 |  2B4   |  1st |    Yes!   | Champions, won Copa RFEF, promoted

Aims for next season: survive, make some money! I've already had to move out of my stadium to have it upgraded (seats for terracing) but hopefully I can attract more than the ~2000 I got this year

Table | Graph | Results 1 & 2

Well, that was one hell of a long season. 42 games, I reached a high of 11th but was never more than 7-8 points above the relegation places. An 8 game run without a win near the end of the season had me worried, but I managed to win 3 in a row against teams in the relegation places right at the death to ensure my survival and a nice safe league position. Nothing in the Copa del Rey again.

Star players:

Juan Miguel, Eugenio Garcia and Chevi- Miguel had the most assists, Garcia was top scorer with the best rating. Chevi had a bit of a down year but still rated well.

Youth Intake

Getting better, I was allowed to upgrade my junior coaching to adequate so their CA on arrival was a bit better, but still not amazing. I tagged 3 guys this year:

Juan Antonio (19a) - a very slow striker who could be good if trained to be a bit quicker

Israel (19b) - another slow striker with potential

Felipe Baena (19c) - an attacking mid who looks like he could be good. Maybe a Chevi replacement in a year or two

Previous intakes:

Andoni Barandiaran (18a) - didn't really do much, will be first backup at MR next year with Hector leaving on a Bosman

Ivan Lopez (18b) - spent most of the year injured, didn't do much when he recovered

Kike Rodriguez (17a) - will be starting next year as Diego is off to Malaga. Played the last 4 games and only conceded two goals to Mallorca. I have a lot of confidence he'll actually turn out better than Diego.

Juan Ramon (17b) - didn't really do much of anything

Jose Javier (17c) - still not made it out of the U19 team

Ivan Gonzalez (16a) - not a great year, but did ok

Luis Angel Gil (16b) - not really going anywhere, but my ass man says he has potential so we'll see

Daniel Grandio (15a) - jumped to starter and performed well

Juan Miguel (15b) - awesome, one of the stars of the season

Diego (15c) - off to Malaga. Sad times.

Ruben Gonzalez (15d) - bit of a down year this year, but almost at 150 appearances

Francisco Garcia (15e) - bit of a shaky season, but with no real competition will start again next year

Eugenio Garcia (15f) - top scorer, played well all year as a false nine

Year  | League   | Pos  | Promotion | Achievement
-----------------------------------------------------
[b][url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363642-ri916-s-FM14-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=9152657&viewfull=1#post9152657"]14/15[/url][/b] |  2B4     | 13th |    No     |  Survival
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363642-ri916-s-FM14-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=9209057&viewfull=1#post9209057"][b]15/16[/b][/url] |  2B4     | 10th |    No     |  
[b][url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363642-ri916-s-FM14-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=9226216&viewfull=1#post9226216"]16/17[/url][/b] |  2B4     |  5th |    No     |
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363642-ri916-s-FM14-Anglo-Euro-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=9251618&viewfull=1#post9251618"][b]17/18[/b][/url] |  2B4     |  1st |   Yes!    |  Champions, won Copa RFEF, promoted
18/19 | Adelante | 13th |    No     |  Survival, beat champions Osasuna 3-0

Aims for next season: make more money, improve the facilities if at all possible. I'm not even thinking about promotion.

Yeclano Deportivo youth update

2015 intake

Daniel Grandio (15a) - initial profile, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19

Juan Miguel (15b) - initial profile, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19

Diego (15c) - initial profile, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19

Ruben Gonzalez (15d) - initial profile, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19

Francisco Garcia (15e) - initial profile, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19

Eugenio Garcia (15f) - initial profile, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19

2016 Intake

Ivan Gonzalez (16a) - initial profile, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19

Luis Ángel Gil (16b) - initial profile, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19

2017 intake

Kike Rodriguez (17a) - initial report, 2017/18, 2018/19

Juan Ramon (17b) - initial report, 2017/18, 2018/19

Jose Javier (17c) - initial report, 2017/18, 2018/19

2018 intake

Andoni Barandiaran (18a) - initial report, 2018/19

Ivan Lopez (18b) - initial report, 2018/19

2019 intake

Juan Antonio (19a) - initial report

Israel (19b) - initial report

Felipe Baena (19c) - initial report

Been a solid career so far, progressing well!

Right, now I've got all of that out of the way, on with the show. I'll try and update this with regular news and info as the seasons progress, with end of season updates as above. Thanks to anyone who manages to get this far!

The most frustrating thing in Spain must be the mandatory minimum fee release clauses. Because of this, I've just lost Juan Miguel (15b) to Racing Santander for the paltry sum of £155k because it activated his release clause (set at £140k because I was restricted on wages and had to lower that to get him to re-sign for less money). Two tags down.

Think of the money! Unfortunate mind!

Yeah, the money has been invested in improving my youth and training facilities, so I can't complain too much. There's a bit of a swinging door rotation going on at the position at the moment though whilst I try to find a decent, long term replacement.

Still, this may be my best win with the team since I started, stuffing a genuine La Liga team at their own place. Not doing too badly in the league this year either, as you can see. I'm not holding out hope for the playoffs as I keep winning, but only with 30-40% possession. My comeuppance with be soon, I'm sure of it...

Table| Graph | Results 1 & 2

That is the definition of a season of two halves. The first half left me dreaming of promotion or at least an attempt at the playoffs whilst the second half had me worried about relegation until I secured survival in game 41. Not sure exactly what went so drastically wrong, but having Eugenio Garcia out injured for long periods definitely didn't help. I tried so many different tactics it was spinning my head. I need to have a rethink in the offseason as to how I'm going to play going forwards because I think I got a bit carried away and I might need to return to my slow possession game that helped me in Segunda B4.

Star players:

Eugenio Garcia, Daniel Grandio and Pascui - the only guys who managed to get over 7 for the season and that was only just.

Youth Intake

Pretty good this year, players that already have a decent amount of CA are turning up! I tagged 3 players:

Jose Carlos Gomez (20a) - a creative midfielder who I'll be looking to introduce sooner rather than later

Alex Crespo (20b) - a left back who went straight into my new 4141/4411 formation

Ignacio Fernandez (20c) - another central midfielder who might be the long term replacement for Andres

Previous intakes:

Juan Antonio (19a) - played sparingly, wasn't that great

Israel (19b) - will probably see more action next season

Felipe Baena (19c) - only made it to the senior squad at the end of the season so will play a lot more next year

Andoni Barandiaran (18a) - I trained him up to play ML so he wasn't stuck behind Grandio and didn't perform too well. Hopefully he'll improve next year

Ivan Lopez (18b) - after his injury his PA dropped completely, transfer listed

Kike Rodriguez (17a) - stud, now has a £5m release fee and going to my GK for years to come

Juan Ramon (17b) - played a lot more, showing good potential

Jose Javier (17c) - meh, transfer listed and on his way out

Ivan Gonzalez (16a) - a step backward in terms of performance but still around the first team

Luis Angel Gil (16b) - crap, transfer listed

Daniel Grandio (15a) - one of the star players of the year

Ruben Gonzalez (15d) - another down year but showed signs of improvement

Francisco Garcia (15e) - crap, transfer listed

Eugenio Garcia (15f) - one of my best players if he wasn't injured to bloody often

Year  | League   | Pos  | Promotion | Achievement
-----------------------------------------------------
14/15 |  2B4     | 13th |    No     |  Survival
15/16 |  2B4     | 10th |    No     |  
16/17 |  2B4     |  5th |    No     |
17/18 |  2B4     |  1st |   Yes!    |  Champions, won Copa RFEF, promoted
18/19 | Adelante | 13th |    No     |  Survival
19/20 | Adelante | 18th |    No     |  Survival

Aims for next season: survive again, make more money and clear out the deadwood