crouchaldinho Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Yeah, I kind of like that too. Get to 30 years as well SnakeXe! What's your longest ever save, out of interest? The stadium named after your manager has to be the biggest goal. It'll take a lot of playing but when you get there, that'll be a great feeling! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Or the alliteration of Serpente Stadium has a certain allure... 32 years with Merthyr on FM10 was my longest ever save (here). Got the stadium named after me, youth academy churning out prospects and everything Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wavelberry Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Cor blimey Guv'nor. Everyone's dropping the journeyman. Still Messina's a nice place to be so I can get down with this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Or the alliteration of Serpente Stadium has a certain allure... It sounds kind of threatening as well. You know, I wouldn't expect many teams to go to Serpente Stadium and come away with anything. 32 years with Merthyr on FM10 was my longest ever save (here). Got the stadium named after me, youth academy churning out prospects and everything Ah, yes, I remember that well. The target has to be to beat that then! 40 years at Messina! Off on a tangent for a minute, do you never feel like managing Bath (looking at your location) or Gateshead (thinking this time of the team you support!)? Going back to Merthyr, I see it was very similar to my Saints save in some ways. We both took 12 years to get to the top division, although I took longer in Non-League and you took longer at League One and Championship level. I see you had an impressive start in the Premier League, just as I did, by getting a comfortable mid-table position. I also got lucky in the FA Cup which really helped me along. Did you have good backing in the transfer market like I did? Looking at your save, I see you had way more success than I did in Europe though! :o I'm just interested in making comparisons. I will have to go back and re-read your career thread for that save. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Cor blimey Guv'nor. Everyone's dropping the journeyman. Still Messina's a nice place to be so I can get down with this. Journeyman was so last week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wavelberry Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Journeyman was so last week. Not for me, I'm gonna stick it out if only to see how many fake languages I can learn. I'm already fluent in Ukrainian. This feels like a real achievement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Cor blimey Guv'nor. Everyone's dropping the journeyman. Still Messina's a nice place to be so I can get down with this. Get with the times, brah Off on a tangent for a minute, do you never feel like managing Bath (looking at your location) or Gateshead (thinking this time of the team you support!)? I had a couple of seasons with Team Bath on FM09, and was planning to hit Bath City on the way up with my journeyman save. I've never really considered Gateshead to be honest... haven't even had a proper save with the Toon since 09! Going back to Merthyr, I see it was very similar to my Saints save in some ways. We both took 12 years to get to the top division, although I took longer in Non-League and you took longer at League One and Championship level. I see you had an impressive start in the Premier League, just as I did, by getting a comfortable mid-table position. I also got lucky in the FA Cup which really helped me along. Did you have good backing in the transfer market like I did? Looking at your save, I see you had way more success than I did in Europe though! :o I'm just interested in making comparisons. I will have to go back and re-read your career thread for that save. Yeah when we first hit the Premier League we had a good chairman who would pump some money in if the finances got too sketchy, so I could really spend all the money the board offered me without worrying. I put quite a lot of effort into tactics and trying to exploit opposition weaknesses in the first two seasons we were in the top flight - I doubt we'd have stayed up if I hadn't. That save definitely influenced how I approached this in terms of finances. I've been incredibly vigilant over wages and bonuses this time, because even by the end of that Merthyr save we weren't doing brilliantly financially despite basically constant success for a decade. Despite getting half the gates that I was getting at Merthyr, Messina are a hell of a lot more profitable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Not for me, I'm gonna stick it out if only to see how many fake languages I can learn. I'm already fluent in Ukrainian. This feels like a real achievement. I was only joking, of course. Good luck learning new languages. I'm rubbish at it in real life, so it does always feel a great achievement when I learn one on FM in some strange way, even though I don't have to actually do anything (apart from press continue, that is)! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I had a couple of seasons with Team Bath on FM09, and was planning to hit Bath City on the way up with my journeyman save. I've never really considered Gateshead to be honest... haven't even had a proper save with the Toon since 09! Weren't you LLM at one point or am I imagining it? Surely managing the Toon was banned! Not Team Bath, please not! You should have gone with the proper Bath! Do you ever go to Twerton Park (pretty sure it's called that but it might not be Park!) to see any games? Yeah when we first hit the Premier League we had a good chairman who would pump some money in if the finances got too sketchy, so I could really spend all the money the board offered me without worrying. I put quite a lot of effort into tactics and trying to exploit opposition weaknesses in the first two seasons we were in the top flight - I doubt we'd have stayed up if I hadn't. The bonus of having such a generous chairman really made life quite easy for me. I expected a real struggle but got so much money to spend that I could easily build a decent squad. That, and getting an easy set of draws in the FA Cup, meant that my climb up the Premier League was much, much quicker than I expected. That save definitely influenced how I approached this in terms of finances. I've been incredibly vigilant over wages and bonuses this time, because even by the end of that Merthyr save we weren't doing brilliantly financially despite basically constant success for a decade. Despite getting half the gates that I was getting at Merthyr, Messina are a hell of a lot more profitable. I will probably try to approach my Saints save in a similar way when I go back to it. Try investing in youth, spending money carefully, perhaps imposing a wage cap etc. in order to make the club profitable. I've already started the process really. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Weren't you LLM at one point or am I imagining it? Surely managing the Toon was banned! Nope, never posted in there - lurked a hell of a lot though Not Team Bath, please not! You should have gone with the proper Bath! Do you ever go to Twerton Park (pretty sure it's called that but it might not be Park!) to see any games? Yeah I tried to persuade some mates to get season tickets a couple of years back but they weren't up for it that's the one thing I hate about Bath - it's most definitely rugby city! I just thought it was amusing to pick and train players on FM who I'd see training in the gym next to me at University, haha. The bonus of having such a generous chairman really made life quite easy for me. I expected a real struggle but got so much money to spend that I could easily build a decent squad. That, and getting an easy set of draws in the FA Cup, meant that my climb up the Premier League was much, much quicker than I expected.I will probably try to approach my Saints save in a similar way when I go back to it. Try investing in youth, spending money carefully, perhaps imposing a wage cap etc. in order to make the club profitable. I've already started the process really. It'll be interesting to see if you can do that having spent relatively heavily in the first place. With Merthyr, the guys coming through the academy who are in the team, whilst still on less than my big signings that are still around, are still in and around £70k per week because the guys at the top of the chain are on £130k. At Messina, the top dogs are on £45k, so if you keep them in check with big signing on fees it pays off on the squad players as they ask for a lot less. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrbfcrule Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Good to see this back Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Nope, never posted in there - lurked a hell of a lot though Ah, I see. Yeah I tried to persuade some mates to get season tickets a couple of years back but they weren't up for it that's the one thing I hate about Bath - it's most definitely rugby city! That sucks. I quite like Bath City FC though. They always played pretty decent football when they came to play St. Albans City and I actually predicted their promotion last season and wasn't at all surprised when they went up. I just thought it was amusing to pick and train players on FM who I'd see training in the gym next to me at University, haha. Fair enough! I quite like picking and training my Saints players at the start of the game for similar reasons (mainly saying hello at matches)! It'll be interesting to see if you can do that having spent relatively heavily in the first place. With Merthyr, the guys coming through the academy who are in the team, whilst still on less than my big signings that are still around, are still in and around £70k per week because the guys at the top of the chain are on £130k. At Messina, the top dogs are on £45k, so if you keep them in check with big signing on fees it pays off on the squad players as they ask for a lot less. Yeah, it's going to be interesting all right. I think that's where I am headed right now - back to the Saints. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cragswfc Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Journeyman was so last week. you are so funny Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 That sucks. I quite like Bath City FC though. They always played pretty decent football when they came to play St. Albans City and I actually predicted their promotion last season and wasn't at all surprised when they went up. They've been canvassing for support up on the University campus recently, offering cheap tickets for matches, etc. Unfortunately not only is the city a rugby city, the University is full of public-schooled rahs who are also rugby fans! I can honestly count on my fingers the number of genuine football fans I know at uni - and I'm fairly socially active (chair of the music society). If I end up getting a job in the area (which is my intention), I'll be buying a season ticket for 11/12 and will just have to make friends with whoever's there Yeah, it's going to be interesting all right. I think that's where I am headed right now - back to the Saints. Hooray Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 The Squad: 2031 Goalkeepers Daniel Martin - GK - Argentina - Still my number 1, and hopefully will be for many years to come. He seems the type to get itchy feet though. Juan Carlos - GK - Spain - Highly capable backup. Defenders Jose Alberto Loureiro - DR - Italy - The real captain of the team (although technically vice behind Pagola), he'll job-share with the younger Aramaio for the next few seasons. Rocco Signore - D/WBR - Italy - Will find gametime hard to come by with two world-class players in front of him, might send him on loan. Javier Aramaio - DR - Spain - With his release clause bizarrely low at £10.75m, a bargain for a man of his class, he'll be Loureiro's long-term replacement. Jose - D/WB/M/AML - Spain - Probably 1 or 2 points off in 3 or 4 stats that would make him top-class. Still, a great player for us. Jose Maria - DL - Spain - Lots of big clubs sniffing around him now, if he was a little better going forwards he'd probably be ahead of Jose. Carlos Quinonez - DL - Spain - Inexplicably transfer-listed at Valencia, I brought the leading-Serie A potential fullback in for just £575k. A season in the youth team followed by a loan should give me an idea of how likely it is he'll make it. Rene Kooiman - DC - Holland - Still the main man at the back, and has been since 2019. Phenomenal. Philipp Egger - DC - Austria - He's around equal with Da Silva as a partner for Kooiman, but Da Silva will start as the incumbent this season. Da Silva - DC - Brazil - Largely consistent and dependable, and pops up with the odd goal. Nauzet Martinez Gonzalez - DC - Spain - I keep him on the bench now instead of Egger/Da Silva as he benefits from the cameos more. Hopefully he'll be Kooiman's long-term replacement. Midfielders Filippo Vitone - AMRC - Italy - Understandably fell short of the amazing season he had 2 years ago last time out, but a true Messina legend. Javier - AMR - Spain - Good squad player, never really fulfilled his potential. Jon Pagola - AMLC - Spain - Club captain, and a great leader even if he doesn't make the pitch too often these days. Walter Gonzalez - AMLC - Argentina - Just as he was making the first team spot his own, Juarez came and nicked it out from under him. Julian Juarez - AML - Spain - Fabulous player, and only going to get better. Antonio Gola - DM/MC - Italy - Good squad player, nice to have an Italian in there somewhere! Bartul Misic - DM/MC - Croatia - Had a great debut season last time alongside fellow signing Conceicao. Tiago Conceicao - DM/MC - France - Had to fend off interest in him this summer - a £27m bid triggered his release clause, but luckily he accepted a new deal with us (with a higher release fee) rather than moving on. Good lad. Nenad Arnautovic - DM/MC - Serbia - His energy links the defensive 6 with the attacking 4 quite nicely when he plays. Has a tendency to waste possession with outrageous shots though. Jose Luis Vega - M/AMC - Spain - The broken ankle he suffered in our first Champions League win seemed to affect him for the first few months of last season, but he got his head down and eventually proved himself again. Igor Mikhailov - M/AMRC - Russia - Is now probably first-choice right winger, but hasn't really put in a great performance from the position yet. Hopefully he'll get there. Gustavo Sanchez - M/AMC - Argentina - A bargain at £5.25m to provide more like-for-like backup for Vega than Mikhailov does. Forwards Walter Aguero - AMC/ST - Italy - He and Arguelles are just awesome at times. Joaquin Arguelles - AMC/ST - Spain - Seems to always start the season brilliantly then fade off. Perhaps I should try resting him a little more often. Marco Antonio - AMC/ST - Brazil - I'm using him more often as a striker so makes more sense to put him under this category now. Wasn't particularly good last season, but hit a hattrick in preseason and generally played well, so hopefully he can push on now he's settled in the country. Leavers Mario Quiroga - DM/MC - Argentina - Didn't want to stay on as a backup, a shame as he was excellent for us for many years. Abel Petrillo - AML/ST - Italy - I offered him a very reasonable deal to stay, but somewhat understandably he wanted a few more seasons of first team football before he retired. Club hero and one of my favourite ever FM players, he's now at Cadiz and has 3 goals in 3 games - I may have to make Petrillo-watch a regular feature! Piero Incontri - ST - Italy - Absolutely shocking whenever he played. Missed about 7 or 8 genuinely gilt-edged chances in his two starts for us last season so he's gone. Overall If Mikhailov can come good on the right then this is an incredibly strong squad. Other than that, the only worry on the horizon is replacing Aguero, the rest of the team is relatively young for their positions, so this squad can stay together for a long time. Maybe we'll finally win that Coppa Italia...? Somehow, I doubt it It feels good to say again: Forza Messina! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 They've been canvassing for support up on the University campus recently, offering cheap tickets for matches, etc. Unfortunately not only is the city a rugby city, the University is full of public-schooled rahs who are also rugby fans! I can honestly count on my fingers the number of genuine football fans I know at uni - and I'm fairly socially active (chair of the music society). Music as in classical? If I end up getting a job in the area (which is my intention), I'll be buying a season ticket for 11/12 and will just have to make friends with whoever's there You should do. It's a nice little club. They've got a friendly atmosphere and some quite passionate support. If I lived down Bath way, I would definitely go and watch them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Some real quality talents in the squad SnakeXe. You look really strong at the back with some quality defenders. Up front, your forwards all suit the lone striker role. Who are your absolute favourites? Do you have any specific goals for any of these players? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 Music as in classical? No, mostly amplified band type stuff - I play guitar, bass and sing You should do. It's a nice little club. They've got a friendly atmosphere and some quite passionate support. If I lived down Bath way, I would definitely go and watch them. That's good, hopefully I'll be able to persuade the missus to come along with me Some real quality talents in the squad SnakeXe. You look really strong at the back with some quality defenders. Up front, your forwards all suit the lone striker role. Who are your absolute favourites? Do you have any specific goals for any of these players? My favourites are Loureiro, Vitone, Vega and Kooiman I think. Kooiman and Vitone for the way they've grown with the club - Vitone joined us the season we dropped back into Serie B, Kooiman the year after - Loureiro for the way that despite my coaches telling me he wasn't up to that much when we first signed him, he's become genuinely world-class; and Vega because the way he plays in the playmaker role is just beautiful to watch at times. It'd be nice to get Kooiman and Vitone to 500 appearances for us - Kooiman will definitely make it, Vitone might not. Loureiro's already really fulfilled more than any goals I could expect from him. For Vega it'd be awesome to see him get 30+ assists in a season regularly. His record so far is 28... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 No, mostly amplified band type stuff - I play guitar, bass and sing Oh, okay. I was going to force a conversation about Gustav Mahler on you otherwise. That's good, hopefully I'll be able to persuade the missus to come along with me Good luck with that! I've forced my wife to come to a few Saints games in the past. I think she averages one a year! The thing is, we normally win when she comes to the game, so I wish she would come with me more often! My favourites are Loureiro, Vitone, Vega and Kooiman I think. Kooiman and Vitone for the way they've grown with the club - Vitone joined us the season we dropped back into Serie B, Kooiman the year after - Loureiro for the way that despite my coaches telling me he wasn't up to that much when we first signed him, he's become genuinely world-class; and Vega because the way he plays in the playmaker role is just beautiful to watch at times. Awesome. I'm just reading through this and your Merthyr save from last year again starting at the beginning. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 Oh, okay. I was going to force a conversation about Gustav Mahler on you otherwise. I do like classical - I'm just incredibly unknowledgable about it! Good luck with that! I've forced my wife to come to a few Saints games in the past. I think she averages one a year! The thing is, we normally win when she comes to the game, so I wish she would come with me more often! Every game I went to, regardless of whether I was in the home or away end, between the ages of 16 and 19 ended in a home win. Must have been a good 15 games - just plain bizarre! I'm just reading through this and your Merthyr save from last year again starting at the beginning. See you in a month Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I do like classical - I'm just incredibly unknowledgable about it! Need any advice, then let me know. Every game I went to, regardless of whether I was in the home or away end, between the ages of 16 and 19 ended in a home win. Must have been a good 15 games - just plain bizarre! You're a good luck charm, obviously! See you in a month Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Any chance of seeing your overall best XI screen SnakeXe? Also, quite interested to hear how you set-up your 4-2-3-1 formation. Do you use the TC? If so, what philosophy etc.? EDIT - Just thought of something else I'm interested to know, how have Hellas Verona done over the years in your save? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 Absolutely - here it is. It's set up as: Wing Back Centreback Centreback Wing Back Automatic Defend Defend Automatic Defensive Mid Defensive Mid Defend Support Winger Advanced Playmaker Winger Attack Support Attack Advanced Forward Attack Since I've come back to the save it's not been as effective as before, to be honest. I don't know whether that's cause we're missing loads of chances or whether we're missing loads of chances because the system isn't as effective, if you follow me. Previously I used Balanced philosophy, starting on Standard and adapting depending on the game. Now I'm experimenting with starting on Fluid and Control. I'm also trying to sort out the striker's role because none of mine has played well this season to be honest. Verona have spent one season in Serie A, but the rest flitting between B and C1. As for trophies, other than the league wins they've claimed two C1 Super Cups, as well as finishing as runners up in the Serie C Cup once. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 Season 21: Winter Break Update We kicked off the season with the Supercoppa, which we contested against Coppa Italia winners Grosseto. The oil-money-backed minnows were tough opponents, and we struggled to break them down. Eventually we broke the deadlock in extra time, Javier ensuring we had at least one trophy for the season! The other mickey-mouse early season trophy, the European Super Cup, went less well, going down 4-1 to Liverpool in absolutely bizarre circumstances. We were impotent, whilst Liverpool finished every little morsel placed in their path. One of the worst results we've had in recent times. We'd kept up the pace in the league, though, winning our first 3 games to nil. We weren't exactly free-scoring though, and this caught up with us as we hit a hopeless run of 5 games without a win, including defeats away to Grosseto and Inter and at home to Palermo in the league. Along with a draw at home with Roma this left us in a very poor position with a record of 3-1-3. The players began to get on my back, saying the club was underachieving (after just 7 games), but I gave them a tongue lashing and the rebellions soon stopped. A 1-0 win over Fiorentina was the first in the run that followed, but the real catalyst was a 6-0 thumping of AA Gent in the Champions League, where we finally started scoring - and more importantly, Arguelles scored his first goals of the season. Including those 2 we won the next 12 games in all competitions, before finally dropping points at home to AC Milan. We completely dominated them, but ended up having to score a late equaliser as AC scored with their only attack. Two more wins over Parma and Atalanta finished off our league campaign for 2031, leaving us in second place, 3 points behind leaders Juve. The Champions League had been easy enough, as you probably guessed from that 6-0 result over Gent. We dropped our only points in that run of 5 games without a win, away at Sporting, the pick of the results a 4-0 thrashing of Villarreal at El Madrigal. We were slightly unfortunate in the draw for the knockout rounds, with Atletico Madrid our opponents, one of the better sides in Europe. That just leaves the Club World Championships! The mid-season jolly was hosted in China this time, and away from the pressures of making sure we won, we had some fun with it. We drew Japanese side Higashiosaka Rosa in the semi-final, and a second-choice 11 disposed of them, early goals from Da Silva and new signing Gustavo Sanchez doing the damage. The big boys came back for a repeat of last year's final, and my attacking strategy was rewarded with a 5-0 demolition of Chiva Guadalajara! Vega, Arguelles x2, Vitone, and an own goal meant we wrapped up our defense of the trophy in style. The Good Recovering from that bad run in style Vega is getting into his stride Marco Antonio finally looks like a player The Bad Tiago Conceicao is unfortunately going (for £32.5m admittedly) Antonio is the only striker who has met expectations Mikhailov has been unbelievably profligate - Vitone is still better than him at 33 Results 1 - Results 2 - League Table - Squad Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Thanks for all of the information I asked about SnakeXe. Looks like you had a very slow start to the season but at least things started improving going into the winter break. I take it that you normally play Vega as playmaker? Ever find that his low bravery causes an issue? Only reason I ask is that I had a problem with a playmaker who was constantly getting targeted for hard tackling by other teams and he sometimes really struggled. When he struggled, the team did, and I put some of our poor performances in terms of creativity and goals down to his low bravery. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 I hadn't considered that actually. He does occasionally get marked out of games, but in doing so that usually creates enough space for my wide players to do the damage. His good agility and anticipation probably help in escaping the worst of the tackles that are thrown at him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 I hadn't considered that actually. He does occasionally get marked out of games, but in doing so that usually creates enough space for my wide players to do the damage. His good agility and anticipation probably help in escaping the worst of the tackles that are thrown at him. Well, his average rating seems good enough. Just the dangers of relying on one man for assists. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 Walter Gonzalez is fairly hot on his heels! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Walter Gonzalez is fairly hot on his heels! True, he's doing pretty well too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 My wingbacks have been disappointing since 11.3 shame as I love seeing a good overlap. Good average ratings, but only 5 assists between the 5 of them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 3-1 down from the away leg - flippin' 'ave that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Arguelles played a blinder by the looks of it. What a comeback! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgex Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Im glad you are playing this save again Good luck with the Coppa Italia! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 Arguelles played a blinder by the looks of it. What a comeback! Vega was pretty instrumental as well, 3 assists I was really nervous coming in as well, Atletico are an excellent side, was definitely not expecting to go through that easily! Im glad you are playing this save again Good luck with the Coppa Italia! Me too Thanks, I'll need it (if history is anything to go by, haha) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 SnakeXe's Messina - Season 21 - 2031/32 Story of the Season: Serie A - 3rd After the winter break we faced a stern test - Juventus at Conte Park. It was an opportunity as well, if we won, we'd go top for the first time all season. We took the lead just before half time through Vega, but Bartul Misic was sent off for a second yellow card in the middle of the second half, and we couldn't hold on, drawing 1-1. That was pretty much as close as we ever got. It was silly points dropped that cost us most - for the 2-0 away win against Roma, there was a 1-0 loss against Gubbio, for the 2-0 against Juve there was the 2-1 loss to Atalanta just days before. That's not to say our second half of the season wasn't good - it was, very good in fact. It just wasn't enough. A 3-3 against Parma at home in the 36th game of the season confirmed we'd be passing on the title, and in the end we finished a huge 7 points behind champions Inter. Despite losing the title, I'm actually quite glad - the league was getting easy, and now we have a bit of a challenge! Coppa Italia - Winners!!! We seemed to get a tricky draw in every round - first it was Fiorentina, a solid mid-table side in the first round. Kooiman and Javier gave us a 2-0 win, only to draw Juventus in the Quarter Final. Le opened the scoring, before Arguelles equalised on the stroke of half time. Neither side could find a winner, even throughout extra time, so penalties loomed... Aguero dispatched his with aplomb before Yilmaz skied Juve's first effort - advantage Peloritani. Sanchez, Le, Vitone and Lucci all scored, before Walter Gonzalez really put the pressure on Juve by scoring our fourth - if Gordienko missed we were through! He went left, Martin guessed correctly, and beat the ball away to give us the win! Next up, Palermo. Yay. Fabao scored early in the away leg, but Gola struck from a corner just 10 minutes later to settle our nerves. The game seemed to be heading towards a draw, but Mikhailov popped up to finish cooly from the inside right position and give us a great result to take back to San Filippo! Palermo again started with a goal, but we were still in front on away goals. Arguelles scored to give us a small cushion after 79 minutes, but disaster struck as Portillo fired home to take it to extra time. Extra time was only heading one way, though, as Fabao put through his own net, before Arguelles hit a second to give us a 3-2 win on the night, 5-3 on aggregate! Napoli were the opposition in the final, just the right sort of opposition to battle to an undeserved win against us The first half was fairly even, and I was worried they'd nick a goal on the counter or from a set piece and we'd be unable to break them down. Luckily, Misic popped up with a fantastic 25-yard drive into the top corner, and the floodgates opened, as Arguelles and Egger struck to make sure of the victory!!!! Supercoppa - Winners Grosseto provided stern resistance, but we won in the end. European Super Cup - Runners Up Liverpool made us look a bit silly - but we had the last laugh (see below). Champions League - Winners When I left you last time, we'd just drawn Atletico on the first knockout round - a very tough draw indeed, as Atleti were a top side. My opinion was, unfortunately, vindicated, as they thumped us 3-1 at the Estadio de Madrid. I was very nervous going into the home leg - surely the holders couldn't crash out this early? Luckily, Arguelles had other ideas, as he thumped 4 goals, ably assisted by Egger and Gola with another each, and Vega with 3 of the assists, for a stunning 6-1 victory! We faced another tricky draw in the quarter final, although at least we didn't have far to travel I suppose - Juve were the opposition. We again had the away leg first, and I was dreading a repeat of the last round. What I wasn't expecting, though, was what we got. A ridiculous 5-2 victory, with 2 own goals putting the shine on it at the end after Arguelles, Vega and Arnautovic had done the hard work! I decided once again to mock Juve by putting out my backups in the home leg, and they acquitted themselves very nicely, controlling the ball and creating a couple of chances on the way to a comfortable 0-0. The semi final draw was unkind again, as our conquerors in the European Super Cup, Liverpool, came to town. This time we had the home leg first, and we started well as Arguelles was tripped for a penalty. The Spaniard got up to slot it home himself, and the game was an entertaining encounter for the fans, as each team took turns at attacking. Unfortunately for us, we couldn't get a second. Fortunately for them, they could get an equaliser, Yefremov getting a potentially crucial away goal 10 minutes from time. I chose the same approach that got us the result away to Juve, and it paid off - Arnautovic opened the scoring to cancel out the away goal, before Arguelles scored a wonderful goal on the stroke of half time to really put us in charge! Liverpool had no comeback, and we turned our attention to the Lyon - Barca game to see who would join us in the final... Lyon won through, to avoid a repeat of the last two finals, which I was a bit annoyed about as we'd done Barcelona up like a kipper the last two times! The French side played an interesting 4-3-1-2, with very aggressive fullbacks making it often look like 2-5-1-2. We stuck to our usual 4-2-3-1, with injuries and squad registration basically dictating our lineup. Kooiman, Da Silva, Mikhailov, Aguero, Javier, Pagola, Juarez, and Aramaio were all unavailable for one reason or another, so we lined up as follows: Martin; Loureiro, Martinez Gonzalez, Egger, Jose Maria; Arnautovic, Misic; Gonzalez, Vega, Vitone; Arguelles. The game started with Lyon right on the front foot, testing our makeshift defensive partnership thoroughly. Egger and Martinez Gonzalez stood firm, however, and Martin came to the rescue whenever they were overrun. Arguelles pulled another rabbit out of the hat to thrash the ball home after a devastating break, with just our 3rd shot on goal after 26 minutes, and we elected to sit back and hold our shape. This broke up the pattern of Lyon attacks a little, and we saw out the first half quite comfortably. This continued in the second half, and we began to threaten a second as Lyon's defence became ragged as they piled forward. Gonzalez collected a great through ball from Arguelles, skipped past a defender, and tucked his shot into the bottom corner - 2-0, and just 20 minutes to go! Lyon came back at us again, and finally grabbed the goal their play really deserved, as Dao forced a doubly-deflected effort just past the reach of a grasping Martin. I brought on fresh legs in midfield to stop Lyon playing the ball around us, and they had no answer to this renewed energy. We held on comfortably in the end - triple European Champions!! Club World Championship - Winners Higashiosaka Rosa and Chivas Guadalajara were no match for us really. Results 1 - Results 2 - Results 3 - Results 4 - Squad Transfers - £10.7m Profit This screen seems to have been broken somehow, as it's still showing my transfers from the summer before last, which is annoying. Still, getting the calculator out shows we've made a nice bit of cash, entirely thanks to Lyon's generous offer for Tiago Conceicao. We replaced him on the cheap, £5m going Sevilla's way for Agustin Lertxundi, a very tidy player. I'd still rather have kept Tiago, mind. 5 Most Important Players: 5. Jose Maria - DL - Fantastic season for the young fullback, seized his chance when Jose suffered a serious injury and completely made the position his own. 4. Bartul Misic - DM/MC - Was out injured for quite a while in the first half of the season, but makes this list for the way he fulfilled Conceicao's role so perfectly after January for us. 3. Walter Gonzalez - AMLC - Having lost his place to Juarez almost immediately after winning it from Pagola, Gonzalez grabbed it back with both hands this year with a fine season, full of devastating runs and crosses. 2. Jose Luis Vega - AMC - That's over 20 assists 3 seasons running for the newly-capped Spanish international, and this season he made it into double-figures for goals. Says it all that he makes Sanchez, a cracking little playmaker, look distinctly average. 1. Joaquin Arguelles - AM/ST - A slow start, but - suddenly - BOOM!! Form was found, goals flowed, we looked 100 times better. He did more than anybody to take us to our third successive Champions League title with 14 goals from 10 starts, but his league form was slightly poor, only just breaking into double figures. History: Season League Position Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2011/12 Serie C2/C 2nd Serie C Cup Runners Up, Playoff Finalists 2012/13 Serie C2/C 1st Serie C2/C Champions, Promoted 2013/14 Serie C1/B 5th Playoff Semi-Finalists 2014/15 Serie C1/B 2nd Playoff Winners, Promoted 2015/15 Serie B 12th 2016/17 Serie B 2nd Promoted 2017/18 Serie A 20th Relegated 2018/19 Serie B 2nd Promoted 2019/20 Serie A 7th Qualified for Europa League 2020/21 Serie A 6th Qualified for Europa League 2021/22 Serie A 9th 2022/23 Serie A 5th Qualified for Europa League 2023/24 Serie A 3rd Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2024/25 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2025/26 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League 2026/27 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League 2027/28 Serie A 3rd Qualified for Champions League 2028/29 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2029/30 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners 2030/31 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners, CWC Winners 2031/32 Serie A 3rd Champions League Winners, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners Messina 100 Club: A list of those Messina players who make 100 or more appearances for the club under my management. Name Pos Era Apps Goals AvR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rene Kooiman DC 2019-Present 540 69 7.16 Filippo Vitone AMRC 2018-Present 495 113 7.13 Walter Aguero AM/ST 2021-Present 414 146 7.06 Jon Pagola AMLC 2019-Present 411 76 7.20 Jose A. Loureiro DR 2020-Present 405 3 7.19 Victor Amoruso MC 2018-2029 380 33 6.98 Mauro Quiroga DM/MC 2019-Present 372 17 6.96 Abel Petrillo AML/ST 2016-Present 366 153 7.13 Stefano Tulino D/DM/MRC 2019-2030 274 17 7.12 Daniel Martin GK 2027-Present 242 0 6.99 Joaquin Arguelles AM/ST 2025-Present 232 146 7.30 Nenad Arnautovic DM/MC 2025-Present 222 25 6.95 Mauro Vigorito GK 2011-2023 217 0 6.82 Jose D/WB/M/AML 2026-Present 216 2 7.05 Juan Jose Godoy GK 2023-2027 207 0 6.96 Patxi Rodriguez DM/MC 2017-2026 203 14 6.87 Philipp Egger DC 2023-Present 195 28 7.17 Nenad Lukic MLC 2021-2026 188 23 6.98 Mauricio Martin D/DM/MC 2020-2027 187 9 6.96 Nicolas Amodio DM/MC 2012-2018 183 12 6.93 Remi Thouvenin DL 2021-2026 181 0 7.06 Antonio Marino DLC 2013-2021 180 5 6.88 Javier AMR 2025-Present 195 25 6.98 Sergio Real ST 2024-2030 174 31 6.87 Walter Gonzalez AMLC 2026-Present 174 20 7.04 Adem Ljajic AMRLC 2019-2027 170 26 6.91 Mario Ortiz DM/MC 2013-2021 169 5 6.83 Celso DM/MC 2025-2030 169 9 6.95 Nicola Ravaglia GK 2018-2025 164 0 6.90 Jose Luis Vega AMC 2028-Present 160 16 7.20 Enzo Scorza ST 2012-2018 159 82 7.24 Nicolas D/DM/MC 2015-2022 159 5 6.85 Da Silva DC 2027-Present 158 11 7.08 Rosario Licata D/WB/ML 2011-2016 146 3 6.92 Francesc Alcalde AMLC/ST 2014-2020 145 45 6.98 Rocco Signore D/WBR 2022-Present 142 0 7.04 Luca Tedeschi DC 2012-2018 139 8 7.09 Mogi DRC 2017-2022 134 0 6.76 Diego Farias AMRLC 2015-2019 126 19 6.90 Gonzalo Valdez ST 2022-2026 126 34 6.87 Davide Testa AM/ST 2011-2015 121 40 7.04 Julian Juarez AML 2029-Present 118 17 7.11 Yohann Sallaberry AMLC 2021-2028 117 10 7.01 Antonio Gola DM/MC 2028-Present 111 5 7.06 Ruben AML 2015-2019 103 7 6.86 Fausto Rossi AML 2016-2021 102 18 6.97 Next Season: Filippo Vitone still hasn't really been replaced, although Mikhailov showed enough in the new year to suggest he might have it in him afterall - let's hope the torn calf that caused him to miss the last 3 months of the season hasn't set him back too far. Aguero looks like he may be on his last legs, but I've been impressed enough with Marco Antonio this season to give him a shot at replacing him, and we have another young Brazilian striker on his way as backup - Marquinhos Parana (remember the name, he looks special). On the trophy front, obviously the priority has to be to win back the league title we surrendered really quite meekly in the end, considering how dominant we were elsewhere. A fourth Champions League in a row would be excellent, but sooner or later one of the big teams will get it together across two legs against us. Forza Messina! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrbfcrule Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Unlucky in the league but I am sure the other trophies you got this season make up for it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 They certainly do for me, but the board were pretty ****ed off I didn't win the league - yet they didn't have an opinion on my Champions League win. Something wrong with the confidence I think... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romanista1994 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Good season overall, I'm sure the Scudetto will be stitched back onto the Messina shirts the year after next. at Roma's finish. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 Roma need to - somewhat ironically - do what Lazio have done in my save, just rebuild the squad almost from scratch. Lazio were relegated a few years back and now they're challenging at the top again, whereas Roma have been a bit rubbish for a while now really. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Coppa Italia! Woohoo! That's the one you really wanted, isn't it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 Well, it was the one thing missing from my trophy cabinet! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren1983 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Just wanted to say a quick thanks to both you SnakeXe and you Crouchaldinho, have read through your threads over the last couple of days and it has helped me rediscover my love for FM. I had a monster 32 season save on the go going the Dafuge challenge but had a crash on my hard drive which wiped it all (started the game the day it came out and had no other save, and no external back up) and have struggled in the last couple of weeks (since getting my laptop back) to get back into FM, but am now i'm about to start season 3 in my latest attempt at daf's challenge. So cheers guys Back on topic - congrats on at last getting the coppa italia!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 The Squad: 2032 Goalkeepers Daniel Martin - GK - Argentina - First season in a while he's been quiet and not asked to leave at all - good news. Juan Carlos - GK - Spain - Great backup, I try to give him as many games as I can. Ricardo Rocha - GK - Portugal - Signed in January for a tiny fee, he should become a great keeper. He's at Benevento on loan for this season, hopefully Serie B will help him improve. Defenders Jose Alberto Loureiro - DR - Italy - Wonderful player, and Aramaio's support really helped him perform for the whole season. Rocco Signore - D/WBR - Italy - Didn't play often with Loureiro and Aramaio both in form and fit. Javier Aramaio - DR - Spain - Great debut season, played very well whenever called upon. Perfect replacement for Loureiro. Jose - D/WB/M/AML - Spain - Lost his place to Jose Maria after injury, but he's much better going forward, so still very useful. Jose Maria - DL - Spain - Got some outrageous offers for him in January - I think the highest was £22.5m - but he's first choice now, and I'm keeping him. Carlos Quinonez - DL - Spain - Couldn't find him a decent club to go on loan to, so he'll spend another season in the youths, maybe I'll give him his debut if the fixtures allow. Rene Kooiman - DC - Holland - Slightly poor season last time by his high standards, but still a rock. Philipp Egger - DC - Austria - Did well filling in when he had to. Da Silva - DC - Brazil - Lost his place to Martinez Gonzales, then got injured. Nauzet Martinez Gonzalez - DC - Spain - Broke into the first team with some great performances, but then lost form towards the end of the season, a straight red card in a crucial league game the final straw as he was dropped. Luckily, when he came back, he did much better - it was the Champions League final! Midfielders Filippo Vitone - AMRC - Italy - Doesn't have too much more to give, but hopefully he'll be okay until Mikhailov hits the heights. Javier - AMR - Spain - Good squad player. Jon Pagola - AMLC - Spain - Might be his last season now. Walter Gonzalez - AMLC - Argentina - Had a great season last year, probably our third most influential player behind Arguelles and Vega. Julian Juarez - AML - Spain - Lost his place to Gonzalez last year, wouldn't bet against him winning it back though. Antonio Gola - DM/MC - Italy - Jockeys with Arnautovic for Conceicao's old spot. Bartul Misic - DM/MC - Croatia - Really stepped his game up to fill in for Conceicao's absence. Nenad Arnautovic - DM/MC - Serbia - His energy links the defensive 6 with the attacking 4 quite nicely when he plays. Has a tendency to waste possession with outrageous shots though. Agustin Lertxundi - DM/MC - Spain - A slightly inferior replacement for Conceicao, but at £5m he was much more in our price range. Fernando - DM/MC - Spain - Great prospect, picked up for buttons from Atletico. Jose Luis Vega - M/AMC - Spain - One of my favourite FM players ever. Igor Mikhailov - M/AMRC - Russia - Had a poor start to last season, but then improved only to suffer a serious injury. Hope he performs this year, Vitone doesn't have much left in the tank. Gustavo Sanchez - M/AMC - Argentina - £5.25m proved to be a bargain as I fought off £17.5m offers in the summer. Probably not worth quite that much, but I like to keep a squad together. Forwards Joaquin Arguelles - AMC/ST - Spain - The razor sharp cutting edge at the point of our shape. Marco Antonio - AMC/ST - Brazil - Was good enough last season to make me confident enough to pack Aguero off. Marquinhos Parana - ST - Brazil - Arranged this transfer when he was just 16, but had to wait until he turned 18 to get him out of Brazil. Looks like a hell of a player. Enrique Lala - ST - France - A relatively big fee for a 17-year-old, but then again he should be a big talent! Leavers Tiago Conceicao - DM/MC - France - £32.5m triggered his new release clause, and he was off to Lyon. Shame, he was awesome. Walter Aguero - AMC/ST - Italy - Sold him off for £5m after Parana and Lala came in. Overall The squad looks better than ever, just a shame we couldn't hang onto Conceicao. Parana, Antonio and Lala should be our strikeforce for years and years to come, whilst the only key players the wrong side of 30 are Kooiman, Martin and Loureiro. Hopefully we'll have enough to take back our league title, and add a couple of cups as well! Forza Messina! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 Just wanted to say a quick thanks to both you SnakeXe and you Crouchaldinho, have read through your threads over the last couple of days and it has helped me rediscover my love for FM. I had a monster 32 season save on the go going the Dafuge challenge but had a crash on my hard drive which wiped it all (started the game the day it came out and had no other save, and no external back up) and have struggled in the last couple of weeks (since getting my laptop back) to get back into FM, but am now i'm about to start season 3 in my latest attempt at daf's challenge. So cheers guys Back on topic - congrats on at last getting the coppa italia!!!! Glad to hear that Darren Good luck with dafuge's challenge, do you have a career update thread I can follow? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren1983 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Not yet no - my laptop seems to not want to save screenshots - can followit on twitter though @dazza1889 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 Not yet no - my laptop seems to not want to save screenshots - can followit on twitter though @dazza1889 Just added you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Quality season Shame about the league but the Coppa Italia and Champions League will make up for it no doubt! I'm sure you'll be back in title contention next season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue_magic Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Just read the whole and thread and have to say it is epic, love how you post your updates. I was going to do a journeyman save but I have now decided to do a career save just based on your thread. Thanks for making a great read. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Quality season Shame about the league but the Coppa Italia and Champions League will make up for it no doubt! I'm sure you'll be back in title contention next season Cheers it's not going great at the moment I have to say... hopefully just a temporary blip! Just read the whole and thread and have to say it is epic, love how you post your updates. I was going to do a journeyman save but I have now decided to do a career save just based on your thread.Thanks for making a great read. Glad you enjoyed it, if you decide to make a thread on here post a link and I'll follow Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue_magic Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Cheers it's not going great at the moment I have to say... hopefully just a temporary blip! Glad you enjoyed it, if you decide to make a thread on here post a link and I'll follow I was going to make a thread but just have much time to be typing up season updates and so forth. Like you I have a save in Italy (just started it) currently in charge of Pro vercelli. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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