FM 2009 : Official Olympique Lyon Thread : Les Gones

Club Information

Full name: Olympique Lyonnais

Nickname: Les Gones or OL

Founded: 1899

Ground: Stade Gerland (41,044 seats)

Chairman: Jean-Michel Aulas

Manager: -

History

Olympique Lyonnais (popularly known as OL, or simply Lyon) is a French football club based in Lyon. They play in Ligue 1 and are the current reigning champions of France. They have won the Ligue 1 title seven years in a row, a record that no other club in France has matched. Lyon has won seven Trophées des Champions, four Coupe de France, three Ligue 2 Championships as well as participating in the UEFA Champions League seven times. Olympique Lyonnais play their home matches at the 41,044 seater known as the Stade de Gerland, Lyon was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians but was nationally established as a club on 3August 1950.

Jean-Michel Aulas took control of the club in 1987. Aulas invested in the club with the objective of turning Lyon into an established Ligue 1 side and also developing the club on a European level, within a time-frame of fifteen years. Under the coaching of Denis Papas and Marcel Le Borgne, the club gained promotion to the top flight on two occasions, but unfortunately was relegated the following season on both occasions.

Raymond Domenech who was born in Lyon, was appointed as their successor and achieved promotion to Ligue 1, after a scoreless draw against Alès. Lyon were crowned champions of Ligue 2 for the third time.

Olympique Lyonnais first top-flight season under Raymond Domenech saw them finish eighth in the league, safe from relegation. Domenech managed a fifth place finish in his second season, which secured Lyon an UEFA Cup spot. European qualification was achieved after a mere two years at the top level, and only four years after Aulas' had taken control.

Domenech decided to leave after the end of the 1992/93 Ligue 1 season, after being selected as the new French U21 coach. Aulas' first choice replacement was former French international, Jean Tigana. He was part of the celebrated 'Magic Diamond', along with Michel Platini, Luis Fernandez and Alain Giresse. Tigana developed the Lyon side into genuine French Ligue 1 title contenders, with the emergence of new players such as Abédi Pelé. However, Tigana left the club in 1995 after intense French media pressure.

Guy Stéphan took charge in 1995 following the exit of Tigana and helped Lyon assure a place in UEFA European competition, once more through the 'back-door' system of the Intertoto Cup. Stéphan resigned at the start of the new season, with Bernard Lacombe being name as the new manager immediately. 'OL' were awarded a place in the UEFA Cup, but failed to make it through to the third round after losing to Inter Milan, the eventual winners of the tournament. The club's league positions continued to rise at the end of the 20th century - sixth in 1998 and third in 1999 and 2000.

Olympique Lyonnais dominated the top French level, Ligue 1, in the early years of the 21st century. After their second-place finish in 2001, OL have won seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles (2002-2008), becoming the first club in French history to do so. Lyon's European ambitions have meanwhile never been realised beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Previous Managers

The club has attracted many top level coaches, each successful in different competitions and areas of the field.

Jacques Santini was appointed in 2000 after leaving his position at FC Sochaux. Santini quickly developed the team and in 2001, Lyon had won the Coupe de la Ligue (League Cup), which surprisingly was the club's first major silverware since the 1973 Coupe de France win. He also steered the side to a top-two finish and Lyon, therefore qualified for the UEFA Champions League in second place. Santini was still not popular with the fans for his defensive approach to the game.

In 2002, Santini went one better and guided Lyon to their first ever Ligue 1 title, after a final day win against RC Lens. It still didn't convince the majority of the OL supporters that he was the right man, after suffering an early knockout in the Champions League, and a fortnight after the win which claimed OL its first title, Santini announced his resignation from Lyon. He opted to take the France national football team.

The man who was responsible for delivering three consecutive league titles with Lyon was former Rennes manager Paul Le Guen. He was feared as another failure, according to much of the press.

He undoubtedly proved them wrong, and Lyon improved further in Ligue 1 and in the Champions League.

The club had won the league for a fourth time by a majority margin, but were knocked out of the Quarter-finals in the Champions League, yet again. It had looked like OL were going to cruise through the Semi-finals, after trashing German opponents Werder Bremen, 10-2 on aggregate. However, they were cruelly knocked out on penalties by PSV Eindhoven and left Lyon fans waiting another year for a Champions League final.

A night after Lyon's league success, Le Guen resigned from his position as manager. The news surprised OL fans, who thought that Le Guen would sign a contract extension, and commit himself to the club. He was offered a three-year extension, but decided to leave and be proud of his achievements.

Gérard Houllier, the former Liverpool manager who had guided Liverpool to a Cup Treble success in 2001, was appointed as the new Lyon boss in 2005, after the resignation of Le Guen.

In his first full season, he guided the side to a fifth consecutive league title but failed to make an impact in the Champions League, after crashing out to AC Milan at the San Siro. It was their third consecutive Quarter-final appearance in the Champions League.

The Fans

Olympique Lyonnais have a highly-active and loyal fan-base, in Lyon. Lyon's fans, known as the "Bad Gones", they have gained a strong reputation in Europe, due to their control of Ligue 1 as well as their appearances in the Champions League. The Stade de Gerland is frequently sold out in the majority of their home European and League matches.

Rivalries

Lyon has a fierce rivalry with fellow side Saint-Étienne, the derby between these two neighbouring Arpitan cities, is known as “the rich and the workers'" and is one of the highlights in the Ligue 1 calendar. AS Monaco, Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain our also OL's rivals, and in recent years Lille and RC Lens have posed threats.

Major Honours

• Ligue 1 Championship: 7

2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

• Trophée des Champions: 7

1973, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

• Coupe de France: 4

1964, 1967, 1973, 2008

• Ligue 2 Championship: 3

1951, 1954, 1989

• Coupe de la Ligue: 1

2001

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1

1997

• Peace Cup: 1

2007

Olympique Lyonnais Team

Goalkeepers

25 Joan Hartock Goalkeeper 17.02.87 Fra

30 Rémy Vercoutre Goalkeeper 26.06.80 Fra

1 Hugo Lloris Goalkeeper 26.12.86 Fra

Defenders

36 Sébastien Faure Central defender 03.01.91 Fra

20 Anthony Réveillère Right defender 10.11.79 Fra

4 Jean-Alain Boumsong Central defender 14.12.79 Fra

32 Lamine Gassama Right defender 20.10.89 Fra

11 Fabio Grosso Left defender 28.11.77 Ita

15 John Mensah Central defender 29.11.82 Gha

2 François Clerc Right defender 18.04.83 Fra

3 Cristiano Marques Cris Central defender 03.06.77 Bra

12 Timothée Kolodziejczak Left defender 01.10.91 Fra

Midfielders

7 Honorato Campos Ederson Offensive midfielder 13.01.86 Bra

31 Saïd Mehamha Defensive midfielder 04.09.90 Fra

22 Clément Grenier Right winger 07.01.91 Fra

28 Jérémy Toulalan Defensive midfielder 10.09.83 Fra

8 Pernambucano Juninho Offensive midfielder 30.01.75 Bra

19 Cesar Delgado Offensive midfielder 18.08.81 Arg

6 Kim Källström Offensive midfielder 24.08.82 Swe

5 Mathieu Bodmer Defensive midfielder 22.11.82 Fra

26 Fabio Santos Defensive midfielder 09.10.80 Bra

13 Pierrick Valdivia Defensive midfielder 18.04.88 Fra

18 Miralem Pjanic Offensive midfielder 02.04.90 Lux

17 Jean II Makoun Defensive midfielder 29.05.83 Cam

Strikers and Wingers

10 Karim Benzema Striker 19.12.87 Fra

27 Anthony Mounier Left winger 27.09.87 Fra

9 Frederico Chaves Guedes Fred Striker 03.10.83 Bra

23 Abdulkader Keita Right winger 06.08.81 Ivo

34 Jeremy Pied Right winger 23.02.89 Fra

39 Frédéric Piquionne Striker 08.12.78 Fra

14 Sidney Govou Right winger 27.07.79 Fra

29 Yannis Tafer Striker 11.02.91 Fra

Transfers In:

- Hugo Lloris

- John Mensah

- Jean II Makoun

- Miralem Pjanic

- Honorato Campos Ederson

- Frédéric Piquionne

Transfers Out:

- Grégory Coupet

- Sébastien Squillaci

- Hatem Ben Arfa

Star Man

- Karim Benzema

Born December 19, 1987 in Lyon, Rhône-Alpes, he also has Algerian-Kabyle descent.

Karim Benzema is a product of the Olympique Lyonnais youth academy, he is capable of playing on either of the wings; however his best and most influential position is that of playing as a striker.

Last season (07/08) he had his best return of goals for OL’ netting 24 goals in 37 games. He also finished that season as top Ligue One goal scorer with twenty goals, the first Lyon player for seven years to top the goal charts in Ligue One, the last Lyon player to do this was the prolific Sonny Anderson. He was recently voted the "Best Player in France" and his stock continues to rise within France and around the world.

He has been capped for France eighteen times, with five goals to his name thus far.

Benzema has emerged to the forefront as one of the most promising talents in the world. Inevitably Benzema has been compared with the French great Zinedine Zidane, for his technique, vision and Algerian descent.

Karim Benzema holds the key for Olympique Lyonnais and there long term ambition to conquer Europe. With Europe’s biggest clubs attempting to prize Lyon’s key assets away it remains to be seen how many more seasons Karim Benzema will be at the Lyon. However, any future success Olympique Lyonnais will have Karim Benzema will play a pivotal role in.

Areas For Improvement

A top priority should be an extra central defender to replace the awful/error prone Jean-Alain Boumsong. Another striker could be advisable, as we are unsure how good Piquionne will be in this year's FM09, which leaves only Benzema and Fred as the only viable striking options. You may also have to strengthen in the wide areas both of midfield and at fullback as possible injuries at the start may cause some problems.

Team Analysis Based On The FM09 Demo:

- Goalkeeping:

Lloris is one of the most promising and talented goalkeepers having recently arrived from Nice. You should look to install him as the number one, once fully developed he should turn into an excellent GK. Lyon also have two additional goalkeepers in the shape of Rémy Vercoutre and Joan Hartock, Vercoutre is decent at best and could be a possible target to sell. Hartock is a young goalkeeper and is still developing so I would advise you to keep hold of him and install him as a back-up to Lloris to see how he develops.

- Defence:

The first immediate problem or weakness with Lyon is at CB with realistically Cris your only natural CB of any note or class. Mensah has arrived; however he has been toned down on FM09 and as such is below par for a club of Lyon’s stature in my view. You could of course move Bodmer to CB however I’d suggest investing in a top class CB to pair with Cris and have Bodmer as cover should any injuries occur. Boumsong is the other CB at Lyon from the start; I would strongly advise you to sell him for as much as you can. He is awful defensively and extremely error prone.

RB is another potential problem area, with Clerc out for seven months it leaves you with only Réveillère as a recognised RB, so you should think about brining in either a young promising RB as cover and stick with Réveillère or look at bring in another RB who is better than Réveillère. It is worth noting that you have an extremely talented and promising young RB in Loïc Abenzoar however he is a couple of seasons away from being first team ready.

LB is less of a problem because Grosso is an established first team player, however due to his age you should think about bringing in someone as his long term replacement and to act as cover should he suffer any injury. Mathieu is an excellent option, as is brining in a loan signing such as Miguel Torres from R.Madrid.

- Midfield:

Once again Lyon’s strength in depth is in the middle of the park, Lyon have a wealth of options in the CM area for you to choose from. Toulalan is a potential world class player although being toned down slightly in FM09 he still has excellent stats and he should play a key role in your side. Bodmer is another player who has been toned down however he is still a good player and an important team/squad player to have, being extremely versatile he can cover any of these positions - CB/RB/DMC/CM/MR/AMC.

Makoun II is a recent addition to Lyon and a decent player; ideally he plays as a DMC/CM with a good eye for a pass he can be a good little player to have in your team. Kim Källström is another excellent player who can play at AM/CM and AML he’s an extremely useful player to have in your team. Another recent arrival to OL’ is Ederson a player who can play in the centre and left/right side of midfield. Not as technically gifted as some but he still has youth on his side being only 22, he is an extremely useful player to have and a possible long term replacement for Juninho. Fábio dos Santos is a defensive midfielder who will start of in the game as injured he is a player who should be looked to be offload, he’s nothing special and will just take up a non EU spot, I’d recommend you look at selling him off.

The last central midfielder at Lyon is the current captain Juninho Pernambucano, I’d recommend you utilising his technical brilliance for the first season. He offers excellent set pieces execution both in terms of goals and assists; his creativity is second to none. However he is getting on and at 32/33 the first season will be his best and last of any high standard before his stat’s start dropping.

While Lyon’s central midfield is packed with talented possible options its wings are sadly not. Both ML and MR positions have no player of any recognised quality, players such as Govou, Delgado and Keïta are your only natural options. All three of them aren’t going to sight the world alight anytime soon so you should perhaps look to strengthen in both the right and left side of midfield. Govou’s high wages (75k a week) do not help either with your wage budget. I’d recommend looking to sell Delgado and Govou if not Keïta too.

- Attack:

In attack your starting options are limited, you have Benzema as the only potentially world class striker in the current team. Fred is decent but nothing special while Piquionne is average at best. I’d certainly recommend looking to offload Piquionne and perhaps Fred so you can bring in some attacking options of real class.

Area’s To Strengthen:

- CB

- ML

- MR

- ST (not necessary immediate however)

Possible Players To Offload/Sell:

- Boumsong

- Govou

- Delgado

- Piquionne

- Keïta

- Fábio dos Santos

Promising Youngsters At Lyon

There are a few promising and potentially gifted youngsters at Lyon, the following are the stand out talents/promising youngsters from the original bunch:

- Miralem Pjanić

Potential rating out of 10? 10

- Anthony Mounier

Potential rating out of 10? 7.5

- Timothée Kolodziejczak

Potential rating out of 10? 7.5

- Loïc Abenzoar

Potential rating out of 10? 7.5

- Yannis Tafer

Potential rating out of 10? 7

- Clément Grenier

Potential rating out of 10? 7

- Said Mehamma

Potential rating out of 10? 6

- Lamine Gassama

Potential rating out of 10? 5

Formations

Formations will of course depends on what type of player you look to bring in, and what type of style of play you wish to implement. There have been some tactical changes in FM09 so some aspects have more of an impact. However for overall tactical shape I’d suggest three possible formations as the best option for Lyon.

- 4-4-2

- 4-5-1 or a variant (4-3-2-1, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-1-2 etc)

- 4-3-3

Staff

While Lyon have a habit of producing and developing excellent young talent there staff quality in FM09 is sadly lacklustre. I’d recommend sacking quite a few; however I have made a list of staff to keep, see below:

- Robert Valette

- Robert Duverne

- Joel Bats

- Sonny Anderson

- Pierre Chavrondier

- Remi Garde

Final Thoughts...

- I hope everybody has enjoyed the Opening post; all are welcome and good luck to everyone who starts as Lyon.

- The Lyon FM09 club thread has been joint venture between Purefun/HoPeY.

- All sources of information regarding Lyon were from either wiki or the official Olympique Lyonnais website.

Special thx to Hopey for helping me out big time.

thankyou didn't get much time on the 08 version did i:D starting a 09 version now:)

Okay people listen up.

Clercq is injured for seven months and he needs replacement asap.

Imo Bodmer and Toulalon have been toned down so not liking that.

There is need for a left winger seeing Ben Arfa left.

I've set myself as int. manager and after asking for more money, i only got 25 mil euro. You also need to up your wage budget because it isn't sufficient at all.

Pjanic, Ederson, Abenzoar look all good. Mounier needs tutoring from Juninho.

Purefun great thread mate, certainly alot of effort been put into this ! I certainly will be playing as lyon but am currently debating to myself whether i should play in 2d or 3d. Well from playing as mancity i already have a couple of targets, Carlos Vela can be purchased for 10 million and Lassana Diarra can be brought for 5 million so i think ill go for them. Do you think the defence should be strengthened? Perhaps a top CD needs to be brang in to replace the quality of squillaci

I've just made my first signing of 09 matias fernandez from Villareal for 10.25 million euros:D

I'm going to try and test every formation until the real game starting with the top 3-5-2:D

oh man im gonna love this thread again great thread

Imo Bodmer and Toulalon have been toned down so not liking that

how much have they been toned down?!?

Purefun great thread mate, certainly alot of effort been put into this ! I certainly will be playing as lyon but am currently debating to myself whether i should play in 2d or 3d. Well from playing as mancity i already have a couple of targets, Carlos Vela can be purchased for 10 million and Lassana Diarra can be brought for 5 million so i think ill go for them. Do you think the defence should be strengthened? Perhaps a top CD needs to be brang in to replace the quality of squillaci

A quality DC is needed but there are also other areas that need strenghtening. Difficult to buy quality and have money left for others. It seems Radoi is great and cheap.

I've just made my first signing of 09 matias fernandez from Villareal for 10.25 million euros:D

I'm going to try and test every formation until the real game starting with the top 3-5-2:D

Let us know what the best formation is before the official game!!

oh man im gonna love this thread again great thread

how much have they been toned down?!?

Well maybe not that much but still you can clearly see it. Don't understand it because last season those two (together with Benzema) were the highlights of Lyon.

Great start, I will definitely be giving them a go on the demo soon

After carefully thinking it over (again) i have to say if you play with one striker that you don't need to buy a striker and tbh your midfield doesn't need anything either IF you promote Pjanic and Ederson (which i did).

Your money should go to a starting DR and a backup DL (Mathieu is still great at Toulouse) and also a young CM to replace Juninho in the next season. Also an extra DM would be nice, L. Diarra is available at 7 mil euro.

just signed mirel radoi for 18.25 million euros

How much money did you get mate?

And i thought he was cheap!

-----

Also just noticed we got a financial feeder already, Yokohoma in Japan. Thats one of the topfeeders over there iirc.

Can you show a screenshot please? (For those people who's download is taking ages )

How much money did you get mate?

And i thought he was cheap!

-----

Also just noticed we got a financial feeder already, Yokohoma in Japan. Thats one of the topfeeders over there iirc.

i thought he was a bit expensive for a romanian. 29.6 million and i've spent most of it already:D

wow 16 of my 21 league games have been picked for television:D have they now got a lyon official channel over there now:D?

Only bought L. Diarra for 5,75 mil euro.

Also loaned in Marcelo and Torres from R. Madrid.

Also have a bid accepted for Mathieu from Toulouse.

Nice opening post purefun and HoPeY, I'll certainly taking on another long Lyon save when I get the game - doubt that will be for a while though.

Imo Bodmer and Toulalon have been toned down so not liking that.

I think thats a good thing to be honest. They are very good players in real life, but were hugely overrated on FM08 in my opinion. It may also make it a bit easier to buy them if you are playing as some other team.

lost the french champions trophy 2-0 to bordeaux. We did have a good run of friendly wins though. Plenty of players out with injurys. So far the 3-5-2 has been a struggle

What happened to the format purefun? Was better laid out in terms of spacing etc in the draft :confused:

Anyhow, already knew the opening post would be fab but still good job mate

Lyon top of the list for me on FM09, just deciding weather to wait for the actual game or give the demo a go, hmm

Umm stupid question, but how did you guys choose Lyon?

I can only choose teams from the english league or scottish one.

I have only the quick load option which has one these two nations to choose from.

Umm stupid question, but how did you guys choose Lyon?

I can only choose teams from the english league or scottish one.

I have only the quick load option which has one these two nations to choose from.

You have to download the strawberry version (bigger, 1 gig) demo, if I understand it correctly

Oh no I didn't know they have bigger version, just got the link in an email.

Mine was only around 300mb.

Thanks.

Decided to download and install the strawberry demo, didn't take long. Just started Lyon, did my press conference went very well. So well a few of my players liked what I said

L.Diarra looks ace, and a steal at around £5Million, not that I really need another midfielder. Still looking around really though, but it's hard imo to get into looking at talent when your limited on the demo.

I'll post a more in-depth analysis of Lyon's team later.

Very good opening post Purefun and Hopey! I am loving the demo and already think it's miles better than 08 and I'll play it a lot more. Playing as United on the demo first but will then give Lyon their 6 months. Can't wait for these two weeks to go by!

Nice opening post purefun, I'll certainly taking on another long Lyon save when I get the game - doubt that will be for a while though.

WHEN??? And don't tell me at Xmas like last time!

What happened to the format purefun? Was better laid out in terms of spacing etc in the draft :confused:

Anyhow, already knew the opening post would be fab but still good job mate

Lyon top of the list for me on FM09, just deciding weather to wait for the actual game or give the demo a go, hmm

Made it better now.

And download the patch just for the feel of it mate.

Made it better now.

And download the patch just for the feel of it mate.

About time

What patch? :confused: Or do you mean the demo? Explain yourself

Hmmm! Trying to sort out a formation and style of play with Lyon is painful at the moment! A variant of a 4-5-1 I think would be the best option, but it's abit hit and miss for me at the moment. Not quite got my midfield working to support Benzema enough.

Brought in Michaël Chrétien at RB for cover, Marcelo on loan also. Trying to sell Boumsong and Govou but no takers at all

Great Starter of the thread well done

Great OP purefun... will have a long time at LYon this time as well... although first I will be managing Juve as always hehe...

Btw what patch are you talking about??

Slowly getting use to it, I really like the motivation feature were you can see how each play is playing etc, really cool that. Benzema just got injured in a pre-season game, he's out for 2months

That leaves me with Fred and Frédéric Piquionne as my only strikers, both aren't that good.

Hmm, I'm not so sure yet about having Benzema as a lone man upfront. Think I might have to go with two upfront unless I can tweak and find the solution. Not much service to Benzema or who ever plays upfront! Instead there setting up midfielders etc, I want Benzema to be running onto balls and finnishing.

Also, I'm getting Benzema to learn place shots PPM, as a test might be worth it in the long run. We shall see

don't like the 3-5-2 attacking formation. I'm currently on a 4 match with a win run:eek: In the news article it says is lyon going into a crisis:D

Just thought I'd post a screenie of my first competitive game in charge of Les Gones on the FM09 demo.

Good opening win

Alot of people on the forums have been moaning about the demo, but on the whole Ive been liking it so far, and not just because my tactics seem to be transcending from FM08 to 09!

Nice win tomtuck. May I ask what is the formation that you are using?

Nice OP Purefun and HoPeY.

Will definitely be giving Lyon a more serious go this year once the game is out.

Just thought I'd post a screenie of my first competitive game in charge of Les Gones on the FM09 demo.

Good opening win

Alot of people on the forums have been moaning about the demo, but on the whole Ive been liking it so far, and not just because my tactics seem to be transcending from FM08 to 09!

Nice win on your first competitive game, I too am enjoying the demo haven't had any problems not even with injuries really. I'm liking the new features.

Nice OP Purefun and HoPeY.

Will definitely be giving Lyon a more serious go this year once the game is out.

Thanks, your welcome anytime fella

---

On another note, has anyone noticed how sensitive FM09 demo seems to be, for example sometimes when I read the news I use spacebar and it skips two or three, or when I'm typing a name in the search bar it sometimes puts a letter in a few times, for example "AC Miiilan"

Or is it just me?

EDIT:

Never mind, looked at the problem and found out:

1. The game's keyboard is too responsive and overly sensitive making typing difficult.

* - This appears to be a problem on some machines, but not all.

Status:

- This issue will be fixed for the patch.

Great OP Purefun and HoPeY.

Will try out a lyon save once the game comes out..

Hey guys any luck with the new tactics?

I am testing a little bit of everything and so far the best tactic I found was 4-1-2-2-1

Whenever I play 4-4-2 I lose lol

Nice win tomtuck. May I ask what is the formation that you are using?

My own 4-4-2 that I imported from FM08 - with a few tweaks to suit FM09 of course.

I too am enjoying the demo haven't had any problems not even with injuries really. I'm liking the new features.

---

On another note, has anyone noticed how sensitive FM09 demo seems to be, for example sometimes when I read the news I use spacebar and it skips two or three, or when I'm typing a name in the search bar it sometimes puts a letter in a few times, for example "AC Miiilan"

Or is it just me?

The keyboard is only an issue that effects certain machine's, I have not had a problem with it. As for the injuries, I am starting to have a problem with them, (getting loads of defenders injured). In my last game it was that bad that I had to field Jeremy Toulalan at RB.

It is annoying, but I'm not going to start slamming FM09 as the "worst installment yet" just because of a few injuries.

Hey guys any luck with the new tactics?

I am testing a little bit of everything and so far the best tactic I found was 4-1-2-2-1

Whenever I play 4-4-2 I lose lol

I'm using a 4-5-1 which I had great success with in FM08. Seems to be working well my midfield dominates games, I still need to tweak it though as I feel it's someway from where I would like it to be especially away from home.

Won the champions trophy 1-0, scrappy game but I was pleased with the win. But my first Ligue One game away to LOSC was disappointing to say the least, I dominated the game but there keeper is having a super-goalie day it seems. He saved everything; I even hit the bar 5 times. So I lost 1-0 because they scored with there only chance, bounced back nicely with a 2-0 win against Nancy though.

Mensah is disappointing stat-wise, he's a bit shabby

Hey guys any luck with the new tactics?

I am testing a little bit of everything and so far the best tactic I found was 4-1-2-2-1

Whenever I play 4-4-2 I lose lol

I've used a 4-4-2 for most games, and have done very well so far, (well, 4 wins and 2 draws from 6 games), but in my last game against Bordeuax I decided to change to my old 4-1-2-2-1 from FM08;

                         Lloris

Toulalan   Mbia   Bodmer   Reveillere

                     F. Santos
             Ederson   Juninho
Keita                                       Mounier

                      Benzema

The performance was exceptional.

I've used a 4-4-2 for most games, and have done very well so far, (well, 4 wins and 2 draws from 6 games), but in my last game against Bordeuax I decided to change to my old 4-1-2-2-1 from FM08;

                         Lloris

Toulalan   Mbia   Bodmer   Reveillere

                     F. Santos
             Ederson   Juninho
Keita                                       Mounier

                      Benzema

The performance was exceptional.

Do you use arrows anywhere for that formation?

Do you use arrows anywhere for that formation?

Well you cant put arrows on the players anymore can you, they are all down to player mentality.

Well you cant put arrows on the players anymore can you, they are all down to player mentality.

Yes exactly... arrows determine mentality, forward runs, crossing balls, etc

I asked cause the 4-1-2-2-1 I use is different...

First of all I am playing with Juve so my first team is like this

                         Buffon
Grygera    Legrottaglie    Chiellini    Molinaro
                        L.Diarra
Camoranesi                                Giovinco
               Fernandez    Del Piero
                        Trezeguet

So far it's working

However I think I'll arrange it further more

                         Buffon
Grygera    Legrottaglie    Chiellini    Molinaro
                        Poulsen
               L.Diarra    Giovinco
Camoranesi                              Fernandez
                        Trezeguet

I switched to the last formation in the second half and I managed to win against Fiorentina 1-0. I scored immediately.. So i'll stick with it and see how it goes... Only downside Del Piero has to be left out who is a beast on FM 09 imo

Well you can, but it will just adjust FR for example for that position/player, there inter-linked now. Which is a good idea

Love this thread, was Lyon in FM08 and it was a fun challenge and after winning a few years was able to bring in top-shelf players like Messi. For all of you who got Marcelo on load, can you buy him or is the loan option the only one available. Also, can you get Rossi to come to Lyon, because a strike partnership of Rossi and Benzema would arguably be the best in Europe for years to come.

What patch? :confused: Or do you mean the demo? Explain yourself

I meant the demo offcourse.

Nice OP Purefun and HoPeY.

Will definitely be giving Lyon a more serious go this year once the game is out.

Yeah you will.

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Is anyone using Bodmer as DC? What are your thoughts about that?

Is anyone using Bodmer as DC? What are your thoughts about that?

Yes I was, however I have brought in another CB now just before the window closed. Mensah doesn't cut it for me yet, Cris is solid but can be prone to some bad mistakes.

I have just produced a fine comeback, I'm still working things out tactically but I just beat Bordeaux 2-1, Toulalan was sent off in the 4th minute for a stupid lunge tackle. I then went 1-0 and Bordeaux were dominating me, half time came I changed things around tactically and player-wise and we end up playing brilliant and winning 2-1. Fine comeback if I must say so myself

What did everybody do transferwise? Who did you buy and who did you sell?

I only bought L. Diarra and tried to get Sankhare (they wanted 17 mil). Thats it untill now.

In:

- Diego Lugano

- Diarra

- M Torres (Loan)

- Marcelo (Loan)

- Angel Di Maria

- Chretien

Out:

- Boumsong (Loan - £1Million fee for the loan service)

- Govou (Mutual Termination, cost £1Million)

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But Transfer targets, fee's for outwood players etc not fussed about. For me the demo is about looking at strengths and weakness of Lyon and getting to understand how tactics work for FM09. Certainly some clear differences than FM08.