[FM 16] Olympique de Marseille: Allez l'OM !!!

History and glory days...

Olympique de Marseille was founded by René Dufaure de Montmirail, a French sports official, in 1892 as an omnisport club. Known as Sporting Club, US Phocéenne and Football Club de Marseille in the first five years after their foundation, the club adopted the name Olympique de Marseille in 1899 in honour of the anniversary of Marseille's founding by Greeks from Phocaea some 25 centuries earlier, with the name Olympique, coming from ancient Olympic Games.

The first period of Olympique de Marseille's domination of the French League started in the early 1970s under Marcel Leclerc's presidency (1965–1972). His ambition allowed Marseille to return to the First division in 1965–66. They went on to win the Coupe de France in 1969 as well as the First division in 1971 with a record of 44 goals by Josip Skoblar, helped by Roger Magnusson. The arrival of Georges Carnus and Bernard Bosquier from Saint-Étienne helped them to win the Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France in 1972. Marseille played in the European Cup in 1971–72 and 1972–73, but were knocked-out by Ajax of Johan Cruyff and Juventus, respectively. However, success was not to last. Marcel Leclerc was forced to leave the club on 19 July 1972. The President was a stubborn man, and he threatened the whole league by threatening to withdraw his professional team from Ligue 1 because the federation refused to accept three foreign players in one team (Leclerc wanted to acquire the Hungarian star Zoltán Varga but he had already the maximum number of two foreigners in his team). But Marseille decided, instead of following Leclerc against the league, to fire him.[4] Then followed an era of crisis, with Marseille only winning a Coupe de France in 1976 and being relegated to the second division, where they played with a bunch of young local players: the Minots who allowed the team to return to First division in 1984. Éric Di Meco was one of them.

On 12 April 1986, Bernard Tapie became president, thanks to Marseille mayor Gaston Defferre, and promptly built the greatest team ever seen in France. His first signings were Karl-Heinz Forster and Alain Giresse, who were bought after the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Tapie signed a large number of highly regarded players over the next few years in his pursuit of the European Cup, such as Jean-Pierre Papin, Chris Waddle, Klaus Allofs, Enzo Francescoli, Abedi Pelé, Didier Deschamps, Basile Boli, Marcel Desailly, Rudi Völler and Eric Cantona as well as appointing high-profile coaches like Franz Beckenbauer, Gérard Gili and Raymond Goethals. Between 1989 and 1992, Olympique de Marseille won four league titles in a row and the French Cup. The highlight of the club's history is winning the new format Champions League in 1993. Basile Boli scored the only goal against Italy's Milan in the final held in Munich's Olympic Stadium. That triumph was the first time ever for a French club and it made Didier Deschamps and Fabien Barthez the youngest captain and goalkeeper, respectively, to capture the title.

This triumph, however, was followed by a decade of decline. In 1994, due to financial irregularities and a match fixing scandal involving then president Bernard Tapie, they suffered enforced relegation to the second division, where Marseille stayed two years before returning to the First division. Moreover, they lost their 1992–93 Division 1 title and the right to play in the UEFA Champions League 1993-94, the 1993 European Super Cup and the 1993 Intercontinental Cup.

Marseille returned to the top flight in 1996 with backing from Adidas's owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus. He chose Rolland Courbis as coach, signed Fabrizio Ravanelli, Laurent Blanc, and Andreas Köpke, and Marseille finished 11th for his return. For the 1998–99 season, the team celebrated their centenary and built a team of stars: Robert Pirès, Florian Maurice, and Christophe Dugarry, culminating in a second-place finish in the French championship, behind Bordeaux and an appearance in the UEFA Cup Final in 1999, losing to Parma. Courbis left the team in November 1999 after a poor start to the season.

The closest Marseille got to another trophy was when they reached the UEFA Cup Final in 2004, impressively beating Dnipro, Internazionale, Liverpool, and Newcastle United along the way. But they were beaten in the final by newly crowned Spanish champions Valencia and once again fans were forced to continue waiting for the next trophy to come along. In 2005, Marseille succeeded in winning the Intertoto Cup, beating the likes of Lazio and Deportivo de La Coruña in doing so, and earning another shot at the UEFA Cup.

The club struggled in the 2011–12 season, going to the bottom of the Ligue 1 table after six matches. Nevertheless, Marseille rebounded, winning 3–0 against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, as well as a 3–0 success over rivals PSG in November of that year. Marseille ended 2011 with a good sequence, also qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the second season running.

In February 2012, Marseille embarked on 13 games without victory, but rallied to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since winning the competition in 1993. Despite an indifferent club form, OM lost to eventual finalists Bayern Munich, and slumped to an overall tenth-place finish in Ligue 1. However, the club retained the Coupe de la Ligue for the third year running, beating Lyon 1–0 in the Final.

In the summer of 2012, Deschamps resigned, and later taking on the France job. Elie Baup took over, leading the club to a surprising second-place finish in the 2012–13 season despite selling multiple key players, including Loïc Rémy, César Azpilicueta and Stéphane Mbia. Marseille returned to the Champions League, spending close to €40 million on the likes of Dimitri Payet, Florian Thauvin and Giannelli Imbula. The club were top of the table at the end of August 2013, but OM proceeded to lose all six games in Europe, suffering the ignominy of becoming the first French team, and the biggest European team to date, to have picked up zero points in a Champions League group stage.

Baup was sacked on 7 December 2013, following the 1–0 defeat to Nantes at Stade Velodrome. He was replaced on an interim basis by Jose Anigo. In Anigo's brief tenure, OM went out of the two cups, and struggled, leading to continued protests and jeers by fans. The club finished sixth in the 2014 season, missing out on an important European competition place for the first time in ten years. Anigo left the club soon after, taking on an ambassadorial/scouting role in North Africa, his first post outside of the city for more than four decades.

Modern days...

Marseille appointed "El Loco" Marcelo Bielsa last year as head coach, his fantastic offensive football had been adored by the fans, the first place in the league by the end of December was a great hope for eveybody who loved the club, even if he left just after only one match in charge this season for the opening day against Caen, he's still very appreciated by Marseille fans

Stadium

If you take in charge Marseille you will discover the wonderful Stade Velodrome, fully renovated in 2014, you now have a breath taking place of 67.000 fans which are going to help you to win !

More over you'll have the highest attendancy in the Ligue 1, this will be a great boost for your finances !!

It's obviously the biggest stadium available for a French Ligue 1 team so far

Your facilities are also excellent, and will need few improvements

Rivals

As you are a playing a successful club, you'll obviously have plenty of rivals, in the south of France you'll have derbies against AS Monaco and OGCN, Olympique Lyonnais, but the main thing is Paris Saint Germain !! That's the game you MUST not lose !

And this how we do it, when they come home, even if we are not winning that much against them in this moment

[video=youtube;vNlnf50HbeE]

Kit

Why Marseille ?

Because our moto "Droit au But" is an anthem to winning football, because we want to shine again in Europe, and most of all you have to break PSG dominance on the territory !!

Because we won far too much in the past and we need to keep going this way!

Because it's a sleeping giant team which has the hugest fan base in France !

To achieve that, you'll get your fans behind you in your brand new stadium and an entire city which only lives for this club !

Even if we lost several key players in the summer (Ayew,Thauvin, Gignac, Payet,Imbula...), you'll be able to succeed !!

Squad analysis

As i stated before, this year in Marseille is one more transition year, you lost from last year team, your best goal scorer (Gignac), the best assist man in Ligue 1 (Payet), André Ayew, Imbula and Thauvin which were 5 very important players for the team and more lads have left...

So now you need to achieve good performances with what you got at your disposal, worth saying that Bielsa's resignation in early August and new coach Michel has created a chaos for the transfer market, you'll see there are some areas to improve !

Goalkeepers

Steve MANDANDA

Club captain,#2 Gk of the french national team, he's going to be 31 by the end of season and he's running out of contract

Three options here, selling him now, renew his contract and sell it after Euro, or renew his contract and keep him till the end of his career

Reliable player, very professional, your first choice in this area

Yohann PELE

Joined Marseille this summer, nothing more than a back up, get rid of him as soon as you can

Have a look to the hot prospect Florian ESCALES which is your third choice, try him in cup or send him on loan

You have two other goalies out of loan, but none will make it to the first team, to sell

Defenders

Centre Backs

Nicolas NKOULOU

A well known player from FMers, especially last year as he was an absolut bargain

Key player of your defence, main issue, he's running out of contract in 2016, try to convince him to stay, otherwise sell him when it's possible

Best player for that position in the team

Karim REKIK

Just joined Marseille from Man City after his sucessfull loan spell to PSV,this is your other important player at the back, pairing with NKOULOU should be efficient

ROLANDO

New experienced centre back arrived this summer from Porto, according me is just a rotation option,too slow, too old to build on it, to offload when you can

Stéphane SPARAGNA

Product of your academy, has been called up with France U21 team, hope he will develop in a decent rotation option or may be more

Play him in Cup, give him some game time to see how he develops

You have 3 young players on loan for this position, keep an eye on ALOE, DORIA is on loan to Granada (buy out clause), and you just signed a young danish Eirik HAUGAN, to send out on loan

Fullbacks

Left side

Benjamin MENDY

Your left fullback for the upcoming years,reliable, paceful, young, good crossing

First choice here without any problems

Paolo DE CEGLIE

A rotation option here, will help you out if Mendy is unavailable, on loan from Juventus, but not a starter for Marseille standards especially when you have Mendy fit

Right side

Javier MANQUILLO

On loan from Atletico Madrid, attacking fullback, quite pacey, it's a viable option here as the lad has room to develop

Brice DJADJEDJE

Not a bad player but can lack of reliability, good pace here and overall good physical attributes, with him and manquillo you are covered, Brice is my first choice for instance but Javier will provide really good competition

Mauricio ISLA

On loan from Juventus, the former winner of Copa America with Chile will provide you even more depth in this area, can play almost everywhere on the right flank, and can be useful in midfield, good rotation option with good versatility

Midfielders

Defensive

Alayxis ROMAO

Joined the club in 2013, will provide you depth in this area, and this is the most agressive player you have for the spot,not a starter anymore even if he still has good stats for the position, will recommend to sell him as he's already 31

Lassana DIARRA

New summer signing, huge bet due to the fact that he didn't play for the past 15 months ! Don't worry he's the man, first name on the team sheet, reliable, good passing, mental and physical stats, can also play as central midfielder

Lucas SILVA

One of few signing made by newest coach Michel, on loan from Real Madrid where he doesn't have space,he's here in Marseille to get game time, more a regista than a defensive midfielder, his good technical attributes will be useful

Central

Abou DIABY

New summer signing from Arsenal, and a well known player from all football fans, his injury proness is a concern, but what a great player he woud have been if fit more often, will be useful during the season, and still has plenty to offer with his good offensive skills, use him well with care

Abdelaziz BARRADA

Arrived last year where he had difficulties to settle, this year could be different, one of your creative midfielder who suits the playmaker role and can play #10 as well

Attacking midfielders

Left side

Romain ALESSANDRINI

Struggled last year because of Thauvin, this year should be different, can also play AMR, good physical and technical attributes,he will have game time this year

Lucas OCAMPOS

Desired by Bielsa, Lucas signed this summer just after his loan from Monaco for the past 6 months, natural AML but can cover almost all the roles upfront, depends on how you want to play, you can have either two good IF with him on the left and Alessandrini on the right, or two good wingers, up to you, Lucas is very consistent in both roles

Georges-Kévin NKOUDOU

Arrived this summer from Nantes, one more pacey natural AML, will help you out to blast tired defences after half time, help him to develop as he's still very young

Center

Rémy CABELLA

On loan from the almost french team Newcastle, he's the man if you want to play with a #10, can cover all the positions on the midfield, you need to find a slot for him as he's one of your best creative player

Right side

Bouna SARR

Arrived this summer from relegated FC Metz, Bouna is another young option you have, quick with good crossing ability, will be useful to cover positions, not a starter so far

Keep an eye on your young lads as you have BOUTOBBA and LOPEZ in U19, you also got ZAMBO ANGUISSA who has just joined you, to loan

Strikers

Michy BATSHUAYI

The young belgian regular was your super sub last year, always performed well when he had to replace Gignac, this year is different as Michy is your ONLY established striker, you can definitely rely on him to lead your attack, he's really quick, with good finishing and technical abilities and it seems that he has a little, deserved, stat boost from last year, key player for you upfront but absolutely needs a backup !

Jeremie PORSAN-CLEMENTE

One of your 3 promising youngsters with Boutobba and Lopez, due to the wonderful striking force that you have...you should be able to use Jeremie if you don't want/find a backup for Michy, definitely a hot prospect, do your best to develop him

As you can notice, the team has a lot of changes this summer, you can rely on established international players like Diarra to guide your young lads to success

Board expectations

Even if we sold tons of players for big money this summer and almost get rid of all our big earners, one more time this is a disappointing transfer budget according me, as IRL we bid the 31st of August for Ben Yedder more than 10M€ and 15M€ for Damiao, anyway you have to work with that

So you can start with:

Go for it if you want to be safe, otherwise push for Champions League Qualification (which in France means not below 3rd spot), tough to compete for victory this year, and regarding Europa League go for the 2nd leg, with theses changes which are absolutely reachable for Marseille, you'll be given 6M€+ an extra 300k wages to play with

Nothing spectacular but a bit more breathe at least...

Will obviously modify this, if it's different for the release, and i hope to change it !

Tactics

So far with the existing squad, it's likely impossible to play with two strikers, so we are going to build around Michy for the moment, then it's up to you if you want to change it

4-3-3

According me one of the most efficient tactic for the squad, your #6 will provide a good cover and harass opponents for your two offensive FB bombing forwards

More over you need to use the quality you have on the wings and the midfield.

4-2-4

An alternative for teams you're going to outplay

Be aware of counter attack, but you'll be able to make your opponent run behind the ball as you have good passing skills almost everywhere

Potential Targets

As you can see, even if our owner is one of top world fortune, we're not in a sugar daddy mood in Marseille, so you'll have to be smart during first season to give more quality to the team !

Will update this part asap

reserved 4

Very nice start to the thread so far! I think i'm gonna start a Marseille game when FM 16 is fully released.

Very nice opening posts.

Benjamin Mendy was my left back in my FM13 save, when I took SC Freiburg to Champions League glory. He was great already back then, after some development of course.

It looks like a young, promising squad indeed.

Did it actually become clear WHY Bielsa left OM? Or was it just because he is Bielsa?

Very nice start to the thread so far! I think i'm gonna start a Marseille game when FM 16 is fully released.

Thanks mate !!

Will finish the thread by the end of the week, to provide most of all the correct board expectations that could have changed from the Beta, will add the recommended signings as well !

Very nice opening posts.

Benjamin Mendy was my left back in my FM13 save, when I took SC Freiburg to Champions League glory. He was great already back then, after some development of course.

It looks like a young, promising squad indeed.

Did it actually become clear WHY Bielsa left OM? Or was it just because he is Bielsa?

Thanks Jean Luc, your Darmstadt thread has motivated me

Regarding Bielsa departure i would say that it's a mix of "El Loco" habits and Marseille's board, he had to sign a new contract where everything was agreed, but Marseille's board made a few tweaks before signing without informing Marcelo, that's what Bielsa said during his press conference

On the other hand he lost so many key players, like Payet for example, and this was not something he wanted at all, and the replacements and investments made were not big enough to replace all the key players gone this summer.

More or less that's the story !

Nice start to the thread. Big challenge being Marseille with the power and money PSG have. How much money do you get at the start of the season?

Man Shity Utd have offered me £25.5 Million for NKOULOU - I have offere dhim a new contract, but he seems unhappy. 1st Transfer Window.

14.75 Upfront

2.8m over 12 Months

4.6m After 50 Games

3.1m After 0 Internationals

30% of Profit from next sale

It would go a long way to rebuilding the Squad, plus could easily replace with Balanta. What do you think?

Man Shity Utd have offered me £25.5 Million for NKOULOU - I have offere dhim a new contract, but he seems unhappy. 1st Transfer Window.

14.75 Upfront

2.8m over 12 Months

4.6m After 50 Games

3.1m After 0 Internationals

30% of Profit from next sale

It would go a long way to rebuilding the Squad, plus could easily replace with Balanta. What do you think?

That is ridiculous if they have Kompany, Mangala, Otamendi and Demi already.

Nice start to the thread. Big challenge being Marseille with the power and money PSG have. How much money do you get at the start of the season?

Thanks Luis, i know it's a big challenge, but last year i won the league in my first season, not to play european competition was an advantage, but this year it's going to be more difficult as the squad is less powerful according me, and you have to play Europa League

I started with budget transfert disabled to get used to my new faces, i mostly used the beta for tweaking tactics and didn't want to be involved too much on the transfer market as either board expectations and players available won't be the same on release day, will update the post tonight once i start my real save !

Man Shity Utd have offered me £25.5 Million for NKOULOU - I have offere dhim a new contract, but he seems unhappy. 1st Transfer Window.

14.75 Upfront

2.8m over 12 Months

4.6m After 50 Games

3.1m After 0 Internationals

30% of Profit from next sale

It would go a long way to rebuilding the Squad, plus could easily replace with Balanta. What do you think?

Hello Christy, that seems not too bad for 1 year remaining, but it's a pity you have to sell it, regarding Balanta, from what i've seen so far, he's not last year beast anymore and he's left footed which he's not good according me if you pair him with Rekik which is left footed as well, even if his price dropped i would go for another option, Mammana or Roco for instance as they are both right footed, ans my scouts gave me better feedback

I don't know if it's going be so long to build a strong squad, but the main thing is that you have your main rival PSG which has definitely strenghtened his squad, and most of all can invest far more money than you can

That is ridiculous if they have Kompany, Mangala, Otamendi and Demi already.

Hello ReggaeBwoy, unfortunately that's not the first time AI team would make weird moves on the transfer market, for instance i think that he will replace Demichelis, but NKOULOU will definitely struggle to have first team football and a nice weather in the North of England

Well I bid for Balanta & got an offer accepted, but my wage bill was too high, i had to wait until the NKOULOU deal went through, he then decided because I cancelled contract talks he didn't want to speak with me, I bid for Mammana, who then decided to follow NKOULOU to Man Utd . Will have a look at Roco, he is the boy at Espanyol?

Edit:

I also tried to sell Mandanda, only because he is looking over 80k a week, no one has bit yet & now he is unhappy, I was going to sell him then buy Timo Horn if he would join, Also tried to buy Amr Gamal & he didn't even want to open contract talks, i fond this weird as I was able to sign him for the mighty Grasshoppers earlier.

Well I bid for Balanta & got an offer accepted, but my wage bill was too high, i had to wait until the NKOULOU deal went through, he then decided because I cancelled contract talks he didn't want to speak with me, I bid for Mammana, who then decided to follow NKOULOU to Man Utd . Will have a look at Roco, he is the boy at Espanyol?

Edit:

I also tried to sell Mandanda, only because he is looking over 80k a week, no one has bit yet & now he is unhappy, I was going to sell him then buy Timo Horn if he would join, Also tried to buy Amr Gamal & he didn't even want to open contract talks, i fond this weird as I was able to sign him for the mighty Grasshoppers earlier.

Hello Christy, bad luck Mammana rejected your move and chose MU instead,

Yes Roco is the one from Espanyol, i experienced it last year and was a beast, still the case this year

Started Again - Wanted to try new Tactics. Got Nkoulou to sign a 5 Year deal - Hoping this is a good thing!

I was all set to start with Lyon this year... This thread has me now wanting to revive the glory days of Laurent, Fabien & Basile!

In 15 i was playing with Marseille was great team then, won league in first season already. Might give them a try this year also, but it will be a bigger challenge.

Started Again - Wanted to try new Tactics. Got Nkoulou to sign a 5 Year deal - Hoping this is a good thing!

Of course it's a good thing ! Which badge reputation do you get when you start ?

I was all set to start with Lyon this year... This thread has me now wanting to revive the glory days of Laurent, Fabien & Basile!

I wish 1993 will be back soon !!

And according me "Stade Velodrome" sounds far better than "Stade des Lumières"

In 15 i was playing with Marseille was great team then' date=' won league in first season already. Might give them a try this year also, but it will be a bigger challenge.[/quote']

Definitely Sapacko, this year, it should be really difficult to win the title, PSG is far too strong, and we don't have enough money, unless you sacrify in the summer one of the big name running out of contract

Which Bage Reputation?

Which Bage Reputation?

I meant Badge, the coach qualification you choose when you took the team

Continental Pro.

Will post up my Transfer Dealings - Some surprises perhaps but good/respectable replacements

Hello guys, just to make a little update of what's going on in Marseille during the first transfer window, as i just started over a new save, and stopped the one i had (8 Sept 2015), where i was not satisfied at all of my transfer market

Transfers

As i told you a few posts above, president won't give us money to blow, so as a result, after trying to renew NKOULOU contract i decide to do something different when Man U shows huge interest on him...

Too good to refuse in Marseille position, all straight +3.5€ upfront, Man U will always bid 17M€+bonus for Nkoulou, ask for 35, deal done

A few tips here, don't forget Mandanda's contract as well, and the one of BOUTOBBA which he's chased by most of the elite teams

Some good moves here, young and promising lads, this time i got Ajer and Luan and decided not to bring Balanta in, sent out for loan Sarr and Nkoudou, they won't have played with these arrivals

Quite happy of what i got, still have 13,5M€ to spend

Don't forget that you can't loan any new players in as you are already full (5 slots)

Release Isla if you're not going tu use him that much as he's filling a foreigner slot in the team (4 allowed in France)

Europa League

This is what we got, we should go to the next stage without a lot of troubles i think

Ligue 1 first fixtures

You don't have big teams to deal with for the start of the season, so try to do your best to win the 4 of them, PSG surprisingly had a disastrous start 1 lost 2 draws so far

Tweaked again my tactic during preseason, i'm now far more efficient

As a result the league table so far

Will make a winter update when i could play !

Winter update Season 2015/2016

Domestic competitions

Ligue 1

After our great start we had some good results so far, first defeat in PSG where we had been outplayed to be honest... and then an incredible draw month in December, where we lost far too many points,

DIARRA had been injured for the last 4 months, really look forward to play him back, as a result AJER got more starts than intended, but he did quite well

So here are the fixtures we had

Due to this poor December, we are not top of the league, but we can still believe, PSG is not so far away

Domestics cups

Out from the Coupe de la Ligue on the first round

Still on the track for the Coupe de France

Europa League

Work as intended, trashed the group, able to rotate the lads and get the good results

Quite unlucky to draw Shaktar, and for the second round (which was my season expecation) i could face either Napoli or Southampton

Group stage

Like in Ligue 1, quite happy as i'm not conceeding too much

Future transfers

Obviously during this transfer window month, i try to find some good deals, especially freebies, as a result here are the new faces incoming

Great GK especially on a free, i will shift Mandanda during the summer, Rulli is my starter for the upcoming years

An old FM favourite, an all round midfielder which is always useful in the squad, intend to shift Diaby this summer indeed

Also brought wonderkid Lincoln from Gremio with my remaining budget,

Here are the new faces expected for the 1st July 2016

Hope we'll have a great end of season as we can still perform well in Europe and in Ligue1

Edit: Just got this fixture against PSG

Worth saying it was his first goal of the season...

Decided to give it a go with Marseille. First season i'm looking to get back into the Champions League and have a decent run in the Europa league. Scouting for a striker at the moment very short in that area.

Edit; Luan turned me down and has gone to Chelski.

I have agreed a deal with Real Madrid for Bilal Boutobba for 2 Million, I've delayed the transfer to give myself some time to think about it.

Decided to give it a go with Marseille. First season i'm looking to get back into the Champions League and have a decent run in the Europa league. Scouting for a striker at the moment very short in that area.

Edit; Luan turned me down and has gone to Chelski.

I have agreed a deal with Real Madrid for Bilal Boutobba for 2 Million, I've delayed the transfer to give myself some time to think about it.

Hi Luis,

Regarding Luan i offered him key player status and almost double his request

You should keep him according me, could develop as a top player

You can get Barbosa if you have the monet, worth 15M€, i signed him in my previous "try" save

Hope you enjoy the save so far !

Well Done Nico!

What role you playing Bats? I'm starting again due to the full release but in the beta i was doing well, but Bats could not finish his dinner - Ocampos is my leading scorer.

Well Done Nico!

What role you playing Bats? I'm starting again due to the full release but in the beta i was doing well, but Bats could not finish his dinner - Ocampos is my leading scorer.

Thanks Christy, a bit disappointed by our domestic cups and Europa League run indeed...

I play Michy as a poacher,

I'm just done with my transfers of the summer, i will update asap

Michy injured for 8 months

EDIT: just posted the screen of OCAMPOS at the end of season 1 on my previous post, for me as well, absolute quality

Very nice thread nico! I was really tempted to do a save with OM before as they had a really strong squad and I always admired Nkoulou. Unfortunately there wasn't a thread last year and this squad doesn't appeal to me as much. I'll be reading though as I always enjoy Ligue 1 (was PSG, ASSE and OGC Nice in the last three versions).

Regarding Michy, I'm a fan of his. Took him to ASSE in FM14 where he was either unplayable or total bobbins (long goal droughts). He's having a great season with OM and I will be really happy if you all get him scoring for fun here

Very nice thread nico! I was really tempted to do a save with OM before as they had a really strong squad and I always admired Nkoulou. Unfortunately there wasn't a thread last year and this squad doesn't appeal to me as much. I'll be reading though as I always enjoy Ligue 1 (was PSG, ASSE and OGC Nice in the last three versions).

Regarding Michy, I'm a fan of his. Took him to ASSE in FM14 where he was either unplayable or total bobbins (long goal droughts). He's having a great season with OM and I will be really happy if you all get him scoring for fun here

Thanks Jogo,

I'm very pleased that Michy is performing well in the game even if he's, according me, quite underrated

Damn you Hoarau, not only did you fail to make an OL thread in FM15 or 16, you're now going to tempt me in here if your normal updates are anything to go by!

I was already decided on ASSE as I'm a bit of an admirer, but seeing this thread and the opportunity of managing Michy and Nkoulou in the same team is an attractive proposition even if the rest of the squad is weaker than before. As a matter of interest, how much have you guys had to pay Nkoulou to keep him signed up? With an expiring contract in 2016, I'd love to drag him to ASSE when I get going there but not sure if they could ever afford it.

I really look forward to read your experience here guys !

Hoarau i saw Gourcuff was available on a free but injured, to be honest i didn't want to sign him as he wasn't suiting my tactic, but good freebie for sure, keep it up !

Regarding NKOULOU, up to you, but for Marseille this is big money, you know how the budget transfer is for the first season...

I didn't even renew him on my save, when MAN U showed up, just negociate 35M€ straight+ the existing bonus and surprisngly they accepted

Come on Jogo, Lyon please...

If you want to renew Nkoulou on day 1, it's possible, will cost you more than 300.000€/month as far as i remember, don't forget that you have little money so it's really up to you !

Started again as i rushed into the last save last night. Going to spend some time looking at some bargain players to sign cheap and sell for a decent profit to raise some must needed funds. Yohan Gourcuff looks decent on a free but would depend on his wages.

Just now Gourcuff is asking for about £21k a week wages, once his injury clears I reckon I can get him down to near £15kish.

Congrats on winning the league on last day of the season, Nico_France!!

I am really tempted to manage OM and bring in youngsters through the academy.

Started again as i rushed into the last save last night. Going to spend some time looking at some bargain players to sign cheap and sell for a decent profit to raise some must needed funds. Yohan Gourcuff looks decent on a free but would depend on his wages.

Yes don't have the choice at start, you can't blow money in established players, need to invest on young blood with room to develop, i can't recommend you enough Romero which is still a beast, and has an EU passport this season

Just now Gourcuff is asking for about £21k a week wages, once his injury clears I reckon I can get him down to near £15kish.

Gourcuff ended up in Guingamp in my save, so i really think you can get it for little money, don't know if he had been injured a lot with them

Congrats on winning the league on last day of the season, Nico_France!!

I am really tempted to manage OM and bring in youngsters through the academy.

Thanks John, but i could have secured my tittle even before ! I've been lucky because PSG underperformed, which is not the case for my second season....

You have 3 good youngsters to develop so bring it on !

Winter update season 2016/2017

After our terrible start, we are beginning our recovery,still difficult to see where we will be in May but at least it's better, so here are the results so far in January 2017

Domestic competition

Ligue 1

Still too many draws home even if it was better than last year, especially our December "draw" month, disappointed by our last fiwture against Montpellier and their 93'minute goal...

PAVON is an ABSOLUTE goal machine, that's gonna be tough for MICHY who is still injured unfortunately....



We are still very close, but we really have to make a perfect second part to be champions, Goal Difference could be a concern this year and that's an unexpected problem i would say



Cups

Knocked out on the first round in Coupe de France by Saint Etienne on penalties...

But in Coupe de la Ligue it's a little bit better



We MUST beat Reims no matter what, at least one cup final this year !!

And one more trophy on our shelves i hope !

Champions League

Fixtures and group stage

Was a little bit concerned by this group to be honest, as these teams are really good IG...

But it seems that i'm better



I've been really solid at home, and i'm quite surprises that Zenith ended up 2nd, as Tottenham seemed much more powerful,

Anyway we will see what's going on against Leverkusen now, which is a good fixture for me i think



The transfer window is closing, no arrivals and departures, just tried to sign Sansone on a free but he choosed Juventus, so no freebie this year i think...

Allez l'OM!!!

Edit: LINCOLN from Gremio, arrived on November, i can't register him as he's non EU player, tried to loan him out without success for the moment, the lad seems really really strong

I bought Lucas Romero 1.9M Cristian Pavon 2M and Emanuel Mammana 2.9M some good young players in the door the fee's may rise depending o how they do.

Sold Romao for 750k. I still haven't offered Mandanda or Nkoulou contracts yet, United made a 18M bid but i wanted around 25-28M but they only went as high as 18M.

Anyone have a decent tactic, struggling at the moment to score goals in pre season.

I have started a few times, been trying to play the way Fiorentina are IRL - 1st try done well, just Michy not scoring & since then it's been much the same. I strongly suggest buying a good striker, my experience with Michy has been poor on 3 game starts with OM already.

Romero is awesome - Cheap as chips for what you get.mandanda has played very well for me, worth keeping but his wages are a bit on the high side, if you can get a buyer for him and have a replacement in mind I would go for it.

I too would like to see other peoples tactics, especially Nico's 1st season triumph tactics.

Ooft hearing that(the £18m bid for Nkoulou) makes me feel not as bad about getting rid of him to Chelsea for £32m.

I haven't even made a signing yet, due to wanting to make this money stretch as far as possible, plus thanks to Luis Suarez_7 I've just hit panic mode with Mandanda.. Should I sell now or resign?

The hunt is on, and it's all about the centre of that defence. I looked at Ron Vlaar but like Gourcuff his injury really hinders my approach. I was wanting an experienced CB but have a handful of younger options currently being negotiated.

It's a tough challenge but glad I went with this than Lyon.

1st game i tried to sell Mandonda and didn't go to well.

2nd - Signed a contract and played well (Only play the 1st 5 games) all clean sheets with a few 1v1 stops

3rd - Mixed Bag - Although i think this was due to selling Nkoulou - He is a very good keeper but wages are high - If you can get Timo Horn then I would - Loads of potential & cheap release clause.

If your looking for Experience & Cheap, look at Eboue & Alvarez - Both Free @ the start, Eboue still looks OK, Manquillo has been very good for me in all 3 games so I think it's worth buying him, Eboue can be adequate backup.

Who are these Younger options you speak off?

I'm trying to buy young & sell for profit later, i want to use players from the Academy but only 3 or 4 are actually worth it at the start.

Edit - I found Sabin from Bilbao - He is a 23 year old Striker, he has some potential, with a bit of tutoring i think he could be a young player that can be sold for profit, only cost me 1.4m & can play in a number of positions.

Never managed in France but this seems interesting, just started a season

Terminate Isla's loan to save wages. You have Manquillo and Dja Djedje plus it also free's up a Non EU space in the squad. 3 games into the season with only four points, may change the high defensive line i'm using at the moment. Tied up Nkoulou and Mandanda to new 5 years deals.

@nico_france

Great updates! How do you even find the time to advance so quickly?

Red Star FC in Ligue 1? Really?

Impressive run from Nice as well in the 2016/17 season so far.

And for a moment there, I though you signed Rajkovic from Darmstadt . But then I saw it was Rajkovic from Tel Aviv.

I bought Lucas Romero 1.9M Cristian Pavon 2M and Emanuel Mammana 2.9M some good young players in the door the fee's may rise depending o how they do.

Sold Romao for 750k. I still haven't offered Mandanda or Nkoulou contracts yet, United made a 18M bid but i wanted around 25-28M but they only went as high as 18M.

Anyone have a decent tactic, struggling at the moment to score goals in pre season.

Currently at work, will post a more detailed tactic asap Luis !

I have started a few times, been trying to play the way Fiorentina are IRL - 1st try done well, just Michy not scoring & since then it's been much the same. I strongly suggest buying a good striker, my experience with Michy has been poor on 3 game starts with OM already.

Romero is awesome - Cheap as chips for what you get.mandanda has played very well for me, worth keeping but his wages are a bit on the high side, if you can get a buyer for him and have a replacement in mind I would go for it.

I too would like to see other peoples tactics, especially Nico's 1st season triumph tactics.

In the beta i couldn't sell Mandanda on the first transfer window, as i result i renewed him and sold him, quite cheaply i must admit, in the summer 9.5M€

Michy was quite a beast with my lone striker tactic, you'll get an updated version by tonight or tommorow as i tweaked it quite much, but keep it up !

Of course Romero is immense ! That bargain this year !

Ooft hearing that(the £18m bid for Nkoulou) makes me feel not as bad about getting rid of him to Chelsea for £32m.

I haven't even made a signing yet, due to wanting to make this money stretch as far as possible, plus thanks to Luis Suarez_7 I've just hit panic mode with Mandanda.. Should I sell now or resign?

The hunt is on, and it's all about the centre of that defence. I looked at Ron Vlaar but like Gourcuff his injury really hinders my approach. I was wanting an experienced CB but have a handful of younger options currently being negotiated.

It's a tough challenge but glad I went with this than Lyon.

Glad you're enjoying the save !

As mentionned above, worth renewing mandanda the first season to sell him in the summer, don't forget that you have RULLI running out of contract in january, don't miss him

Never managed in France but this seems interesting, just started a season

Welcome on board Masi !

Terminate Isla's loan to save wages. You have Manquillo and Dja Djedje plus it also free's up a Non EU space in the squad. 3 games into the season with only four points, may change the high defensive line i'm using at the moment. Tied up Nkoulou and Mandanda to new 5 years deals.

Keep it up Luis, things will be better in the long run,

Btw what a nice deal for Pavon, i had to pay 13.5M€ during the 2nd transfer window, but he definitely worth it, will update a screen at the end of this season, just insane player so far

@nico_france

Great updates! How do you even find the time to advance so quickly?

Red Star FC in Ligue 1? Really?

Impressive run from Nice as well in the 2016/17 season so far.

And for a moment there, I though you signed Rajkovic from Darmstadt . But then I saw it was Rajkovic from Tel Aviv.

Hey Jean Luc !

My pc is quite effective i would say, and most of all with that week end in France, you can imagine that's it had been quite difficult to move away from home sadly

Incredible Red Star i must admit ! But they won't last long in Ligue 1 to be honest

Nice has a pretty decent squad with some nice players, but definitely not expected them to be so competitive this season

Don't worry i will manage "your" Rajkovic sooner

Will finish this season by tonight i think, so updates will be there during the week

Enjoy your saves guys !

@christy06 - I'm not at home but I'll put up a wee pre season update of targets and sales, some Iver looked at are : Looked at Timo Horn and liked what I saw, great potential, decent release fee lack of language which could be an issue with the many different nationalities in the back line. Itumeleng Khune Is another I always glance over due to his experience and low fee.

For the back line I've made initial enquirys for Eder Balanta, despite being scaled back from last years dominance he's still an extremely competent defender with room to improve. Another player from River Plate is the impressive looking Emmanuel Mammana, tons of potential just unsure of the fee and like Balanta would take up a FGN player spot. That ties into my other two Argentinian targets, I was eyeing up the obvious Lucas Romero but I've actually started to lean towards his Boca Juniors compatriot Marcelo Melo, he looks like a real work horse and battler which is something I'd like to add to the midfield.

As I said there are a few others but I'm not at home, I'll share my other options tonight.