FM12: LOSC Lille Metropole Thread - Hazard Perception

[Robert the Spud]

Did anyone play with a new transfer update, so that Hazard left the club? Which players did you buy to replace him?

Martin isn't really a direct replacement, but excellent nonetheless. I actually bought in Gio dos Santos to replace Hazard, and Benayoun on loan. Neither anywhere as good, but it's hard getting real quality to Lille. Gio can be an excellent player if utilised correctly,

[MeesterCat]

After a bit of a break I resumed my Lille save and have won the league in season 2. We managed to build up a 9 point lead then throw it away in January with a spell of bad form. In the end we won it by a point from OM.

Hazard was Lille and Ligue 1 player of the year and had an especially awesome first half of the season. I can't remember his exact stats, but it was something like: 18 goals, 26 assists, 7.70 rating. Also doing well was Payet, Digne and a regen Columbian I picked up for £1.7Mil in January(I'll post a screenie when I'm not on iPod).

Decided I needed a top drawer MC and STR to take the team to the next level (I.e. Getting into CL knockout stages) but the Board have given me a stingy £11 Mil transfer budget. Bugger!

[MeesterCat]

I'm pretty satisfied with the close season so far. I've sold Beria, Rodelin, Rozenhal & Pedretti for a total of about £10 million. In has come Lenny Nangis (£2.8mil), Esteban Granero (Free), Jorge Fucile (875k) & Jonatan Cristaldo (£10 mil) so I've upgraded the squad whilst remaining almost neutral in Net Spend. All that remains is to find a backup keeper - maybe Delac on loan again.

[MeesterCat]

Triple post FTW!

My squad now looks like this:

GK: Landreau/Boucher/Crimi

DL: Tabanou/Digne

DC: Garcia (regen)/Basa

DC: Chedjou/Martial

DR: Debuchy/Fucile

DMC: Mavuba/Gueye

MC: Granero/Adryan

MC: Capoue/Selnaes/Souquet

AML: Hazard/Nangis

AMR: Payet/Andersen

STR: Cristaldo/Vossen/Roux

I also have kept Balmont and Bonnart on for an extra year as tutors and for helping out in any injury crises.

I'm happy with the first eleven, but I think too many injuries could be a problem as most of the backups for the positions are young and inexperienced. Still hopefully with enough game time and rotation they will improve and prevent me having to make too many pricey signings for the next few years. My coaches are especially raving about Nangis, Adryan (Real Madrid are sniffing) and Selnaes. I'm also having to keep telling Liverpool to sod off as they keep making bids for my very promising 16 year old regen striker Remy Lefevre.

[MeesterCat]

Time to continue my annexing of this thread into my own personal FM12 LOSC blog.

Slow progress in the game (family is keeping me busy), but the third season is looking promising.

Mid November 2013 and we sit at the top of Ligue 1, 6 points clear with a game in hand. In the Champions League, we sit second in the group after the following results: 4-1 win v Genoa (H), 2-1 loss v Schalke (A), 1-1 draw v Porto (A), 1-0 win v Porto (H).

The squad has been slightly changed since my post above - Gueye and Souquet have gone out on loan and I've brought in Tymoschuk on a years contract as a backup to Mavuba and as a mentor.

Player performances have been mostly impressive. Cristaldo is the striker the team has been missing; he's much better at grabbing the goals and his all-round movement and support play is a cut above that of Roux or Vossen. Lenny Nangis has been a revelation. I was only aiming to give him a few starts this season, but an injury to Payet forced my hand - he's now got 4 goals and 8 assists from 14 appearances in the AMR position. Capoue is now the rock in the heart of my midfield and the DC regen, Garcia has forced himself above Basa in the squad and is now a definite starter. Salnaes has put in some excellent performances when called upon and should be much more prominent next season as a cultured DLP.

The disappointments are Granero (has not adjusted to being in the MC position aside from one game where he managed a hat-trick) and Fucile (good performances when played, but keeps getting injured on International duty). Hazard could be classed as a disappointment, but relatively so - he has 8 goals and assists so far, but his performances aren't what they were last season - it seems the move to having to play AML has not been kind to him.

[Hood Legend]

Good to see you are still on your save and the team is performing well MeesterCat. I'm on my save now but struggling to get back into it, might have to wait until FM13 now.

[MeesterCat]

Hehe cheers. Yeah I can see that it would be hard to get back into especially with FM13 on its way (I play so slowly I only get every other FM release and don't really worry too much that the new one is impending). Are you going to do the LOSC thread for the new game? It's going to be quite a different challenge.

Back in my save, I've noticed that Cristaldo is already in the favoured personnel after only 18 starts! He has 14 goals to be fair though. And I'm not at all bitter about it, despite having won the league and a few cups. Grumble.

[GavinLP1987]

Room for another one MeesterCat?

Having a great first season so far. Gone from November to March unbeaten (while bringing through a few youth players) and topped my CL group. A group that included AC Milan and Real Madrid!

[MeesterCat]

Always room for more.

Are you playing with an update patch Gavin? If so, that's some especially cracking results! What formation are you using?

I finally managed to make it to the CL knockout stages last night - I attribute my success to Ola John having a tantrum and asking for his contract to be terminated, which I duly obliged. Folks, don't buy Ola John!

I'm already looking towards next season, despite it only being December in the game - priorities being (another) MC and a RB.

[GavinLP1987]

Nah only 12.2.2 version. I assume you mean a version without Eden? I'm not against selling him though, if a big enough offer comes in. It would be the realistic thing to do.

I'm using a 451 with Hazard/Payet starting wide and cutting in. Probably quite standard for this thread as a starting point.

Squad looks like this as I reach May of the first season.

GK - Landreau/Enyeama/Crimi

RB - Debuchy/Bonnart

LB - Beria/Digne/Souare

CB - Chedjou/Basa/Cetto

DM/CM - Mavuba/Balmont/Pedretti/Gueye/Sandro(£5.5M in January)/Rabiot(£850k)

RW - Payet/Cole

LW - Hazard/Cole

ST - Roux/Bruno

Really trying to focus on bringing the youth through, even if they aren't super brilliant first teamers I still hope to make money off selling them. Will only buy to fill gaps. For example, I know Joe Cole will be going back at the end of the season and I'll only have Ruiz in the youth team as a backup wide man. So I've got Zakaria Labyad coming in from PSV on a free transfer, and I'll be retraining him to LW, while I've added Abdallah Yaisen to the youth team.

As for results. We lost to Marseille on penalties in the first competitive game of the season in Morocco. Despite playing well in a high scoring game (2-2), much like in real life.

We've been a revelation in the Champions League. Winning our group (despite a 6-1 loss to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu). Then coming back from 2-0 down at half time to draw 2-2 with Inter Milan at the San Siro and battling to a 0-0 at home.

We beat Shakhtar in the quarter final 0-1 away, and kept picking them off on the counter at home to win 5-3. So that left Bayern Munich to play Barcelona and my Lille side to play Manchester City in the semi finals.

A Sandro goal at the Etihad kept us well in the tie, despite losing 2-1. The home game has to go down as my best result so far, being 3-0 up with 16 minutes played, City could only manage to get 1 back through Yaya Toure, so I go on to the final at the Allianz Arena to play Barcelona. Think the locals might be on our side, considering who Barca beat.

League form has struggled as a result. We stormed away early on, but a bad blip all the way through October meant the chasing pack had caught up.

Lyon currently lead us by a point, although the top spot has changed hands between ourselves, Lyon and Marseille about 7 times in the last few games.

Lost to Rennes in the CDLL 4th round. I wasn't arsed much. The game was right in the middle of a big league game against Lyon and two AC Milan CL games. Priorities.

Just lost the French cup on penalties after a 0-0 draw against, you guessed it, Lyon. We were all over them too. So despite how well we've played, we could still end the season 2nd in the league, losing the champions final, and cup-less. It's always the way.

[GavinLP1987]

Came second in the league. Missed out by 3 points, which is disappointing as we got 5 draws from the last 6 games.

After falling 2 goals behind against Barcelona, we battled hard and got a goal back. That "battling" showed it's downside though, and Debuchy got his second yellow in the second half. Allowing Barca to play the game out, casually getting a third at the end.

Ah well. A gutting end to a great season. Put up a good fight, but the truth of the matter is we were playing against probably the best team of all time. Florent Balmont will go down in Lille history. It couldn't have happened to a more deserving player.

Onwards and upwards with our brand spanking new stadium.

[Hood Legend]

Hehe cheers. Yeah I can see that it would be hard to get back into especially with FM13 on its way (I play so slowly I only get every other FM release and don't really worry too much that the new one is impending). Are you going to do the LOSC thread for the new game? It's going to be quite a different challenge.

Back in my save, I've noticed that Cristaldo is already in the favoured personnel after only 18 starts! He has 14 goals to be fair though. And I'm not at all bitter about it, despite having won the league and a few cups. Grumble.

If people think I did a good job with this years thread and want me to do next years again then I will be very happy to do it.

[MeesterCat]

If people think I did a good job with this years thread and want me to do next years again then I will be very happy to do it.

Yeah mate, that was a cracking OP. No chance for Eden Hazard puns this time though.

@ Gavin: That is a very successful season, especially considering you have basically an unchanged squad. Hard luck in the CL final, but well played for reaching it!

Balmont is a bit of a legend and much over-looked I think. I'm in the third season and while he's not a starter, he never complains and always does well when he gets game time. I've got him as a player/coach now and I'll do everything to keep him at the club.

I'm impressed you stuck with Cetto! Cracking price for Sandro too!

I know what you mean about Hazard. I'm actually finding that he doesn't fit into my new system quite as well as I'd hoped, so I would be at least tempted if someone put in a high enough offer. No Arsenal, £18m is not high enough.

My first two seasons I played with a 4231 with Hazard as a Treq in the AMC position and he was hellish good, however I was finding that the team as a whole wasn't playing so well. Now I've moved to a 451/41221 and tweaked player movement, the team is playing much better as a whole. It's based around triangles and quick passing and moving - Hazard with his inclination to run with the ball isn't as effective. He missed a game due to injury, so I played a front three of Nangis (AML), Cristaldo (CF) & Payet (AMR) and it was awesome and un-playable.

[MeesterCat]

Bleugh. Just lost 5-1 to OM (Gaitan and Remy tore me to shreds) and then the next day drew Real Madrid in the CL.

[GavinLP1987]

Following on from when I finished the first season. I've had a busy pre season so far:

Had a good few fringe players leave. I'm a fan of a small squad and wanted rid of all the reserve players. Regnier, Rodelin, Jelen, El-Mourabet, De Araujo, Oukidja, Bonnart, Wade and Soumaoro all went their separate ways. Bringing in about £4.5 plus all the sell on clauses, etc.

Next, I got a new "money" feeder club from Japan. Higishiosaka Rosa. (I have no idea either). They'll fit in nicely next to Zulte Waregem and Chateauroux as my loan feeders.

Some new staff were added to the backroom. Namely Gregory Coupet, Lilian Thuram, Elio Carravetta, Gian Bisciotti and a few scouts (Aldo Cantarutti, Rui Aguas).

I restructured the scouting team from top to bottom. Having someone covering the main and u19 leagues around Europe, as well as South America and North Africa.

I put the effort in and designed custom training schedules for every 1st team player as well. I know it looks like a lot of work but the rewards are worth it. I'm hoping it will prolong a few of the older players careers too.

The players returned from the Euros in surprisingly good shape, and new additions joined up with their new team. I brought in Zakaria Labyad, Abdallah Yaisen and Benfica's transfer listed Franco Jara to strengthen the wide positions. Henrik Mkitaryan from Shakhtar will take over from Pedretti. The last notable signing was Vincent Aboubakar from relegated Valenciennes. I've been a fan for years and feel he could be the new Moussa Sow.

My pre-season schedule was:

Cannes - rest - Three match USA tour - rest - Wolfsburg - Cercle Brugge - Lyon (Champions Trophy)

I mixed youth with experience and a few performances impressed me. Adrian Rabiot in particular looked calm and composed, as well as youth team goalkeeper Guillaume Hubert.

So the season starts with the Champions Trophy curtain raiser and a comfortable 2-0 win against Lyon. Aboubakar setting up Payet and adding the second himself.

A great start.

[GavinLP1987]

BEEEWSH! http://tinyurl.com/98dehnh

Gerrard v Olympiakos anyone? What a hit son.

[MeesterCat]

Nice one. I'm jealous of your getting a Money Feeder Club - I've been banging on at the Board for three years now, but they never let me get one.

Aboubakar does look like a quality player and I'm often tempted by him, but the formation I like to play relies on a tricky, creative CF and he doesn't quite fit in.

In my save I'm getting increasingly annoyed with having all my transfer targets poached by the big boys, usually Italian. The latest miss is Belhanda who is off to Inter. Its looking like Gylfi Sigurdsson will have to be my big summer transfer target as I suspect Marvin Martin will be out of my price range. Annoyingly I've got some really quality young players but who are probably two seasons being ready for being introduced to the first team, including a Brazilian MC/AMC who is rated as highly as Hazard.

[GavinLP1987]

Really? No idea how I got one after first ask then. Maybe they're scared of me ha.

I imagine I'd be beaten to most marquee signings by bigger clubs. Haven't come across that problem yet as I've only gone for younger players or transfer listed players. Franco Jara being a good example. Wouldn't have got him if anyone bigger had come in for him.

Been busy signing a load (6 or 7) of 15/16 year olds that will join in a couple of years time. All at least 4* potential.

Top of the league by 4 points and 3/3 wins in the Champions League, against Porto, Everton and Sturm Graz. Life is good.

[MeesterCat]

The transfer-listed / younger players is my usual transfer policy too, but I was in a hurry to try and take them to the next level in Europe to generate funds while I develop the youth. With this in mind I've tried to take a "one 'big' signing per year" approach: 2012 = Etienne Capoue; 2013 = Jonathan Cristaldo.

[GavinLP1987]

I could probably call that my approach too.

2012 - Sandro

2013 - Aboubakar + Mkhitaryan

Cant see myself bringing in any more developed players now though.

[GavinLP1987]

I was given the option to pick my own feeder club buy the board, so I did a staff search for managers that could recognise potential, while being experts at dealing with youngsters and motivating them.

Chose Zdenek Zeman's Pescara and he accepted. This could get VERY good.

[MeesterCat]

Nice work fella!

I think it's time for me to drop Zulte in my save. I'm wondering if I can get someone like Crewe to ship my youngsters off to.

[GavinLP1987]

I think you could get a bigger club than Crewe. It's the manager that's important. You want someone that will take good care of your youngsters. In real life, Ferguson recalls his young players if the manager is sacked/leaves. It's that important.

I've sent Pescara Adrian Rabiot, Bernard Malanda and Abdallah Yaisien. All have over 15 determination so they should come back a lot better.

Next up for LOSC. Benfica in the CL 1st round knockout.

[MeesterCat]

Hmmm, thats a good point. I failed to get Crewe anyway though.

In my latest news, I managed to somehow lose to OL in the League Cup semi despite dominating possession and shots - Lisandro Lopez and Berbatov mugged me basically.

I'm currently 20 points clear of OL in the league, though they have 2 games in hand.

And best of all, I just beat Real Madrid at home in the first leg of our CL tie! Strangely enough I'm actually disappointed with the result - we were 4-1 up at one point before Mourinho moved CR7 to the centre and he tore us a new one. Still, with some hopefully cunning counter-attacking football at the Bernabeu, we might be able to sneak this one!

[GavinLP1987]

I recommend a deep, narrow system, while kicking the living **** out of them.

[MeesterCat]

I recommend a deep, narrow system, while kicking the living **** out of them.

So basically.. Out Mourinho, Mourinho.

[GavinLP1987]

He's done alright out of it mind!

[MeesterCat]

A crazy finish to the craziest set of games I've played in 15 years of this game!

[GavinLP1987]

Get in! Well played mate! That's one nasty 1st round to come through. Pressures on now!

[MeesterCat]

Cheers! I was missing a few players due to injury and was just hoping to scrape a draw or something. We were definitely helped by Chedjou clogging Ronaldo early on though

The draw for the Quarters hasn't been made yet, but (unsurprisingly) there are no easy teams left. Both OL and OM are through, so maybe one of them might be nice.

I've also found a 17 year old Mexican AMC/ST regen who was let go by his old club. He's rated as a 4 1/2 star potential and joins in May.

[GavinLP1987]

See! I told you to kick the **** out of them

There was a nice "teams from the same country" tie in my CL too. Man Utd v Man City semi final...

[GavinLP1987]

Really short second season update

Beat Lyon 2-0 in the Champions Trophy. My first Lille silverware.

Won the league for the first time. Beating Lyon and Marseille who came 2nd and 3rd respectively. Was a really exciting 3 horse race for 90% of the season, with Marseille leading for the most part.

Lost quite early on in both cups, while playing youngsters and fringe players. Something I need to work on there.

Reached the Semi Final of the Champions League. Another really successful campaign after losing the final last season. Among the teams we beat were Porto, Benfica, Everton and Liverpool. We crashed out spectacularly mind. Losing 8-2 on aggregate to Bayern Munich, who went on to win the thing.

In other news, just been allowed to pick my own "Money" feeder club. I chose a French speaking club with a big reputation in Africa. TP Mazembe.

I've also just loaned in Esteban Granero and have Rafael Sobis coming in on a free to compete for that lone striker role.

I've also sold Jerry Vandam to Club Brugge for £4m + 50% of whatever they sell him for. Quite a decent deal.

[MeesterCat]

Nice one Gav! Harsh luck in the CL but Bayern a tough cookie to crack. I'll be interested to see how Granero plays for you - I picked him up on a free and am playing him in a slightly unfamiliar MC-A role. He seems to be growing into the role more, but hasn't set the world alight. I was personally hoping for more assists from him.

My European adventure continues as I just beat Man City 4-0 in the 1st leg of the Quarter Finals Montpellier also offered me Yanga-Mbiwa for £7.5mil - with his relatively low wages I couldn't really resist.

[GavinLP1987]

I was looking at the option of playing him deeper and rotating him with Mkhitaryan but I dont think he has the stamina to bomb forward constantly. He's definitely more comfortable sitting behind the striker and picking through balls out from what I've seen in my friendlies.

Chedjou and Mapou at the back is quite tasty. You could play quite a high defensive line with those two as they're both pretty quick...

[MeesterCat]

Yeah I'm pleased with the signing. I can move Basa on, even though he's been a rock in Europe and save money by not having to bring in an expensive RB in the summer (I can renew Fucile's contract for about £15k p/w). My main CB pairing at the moment is Chedjou and Ivan Garcia, a 21 year old regen who my coaches now rate as my best CB (The best £1.7 mil I ever spent).

Now I can rotate Chedjou, Garcia and Mbiwa and promote a young defender from the U-19s for experience. I notice that Mbiwa can also play as an emergency fullback on both sides - I do love a versatile player!

[MeesterCat]

Brief update: have won Ligue 1 for the second season in a row, this time at a canter - there are still 4 games to go and we've already got a record pints tally of 85.

In the CL the return leg at Man City was a 2-1 loss but was enough to see us through 5-2 on aggregate. On to the Semi where we faced Arsenal. We lost the 1st leg at the Emirates 1-0 and that was probably a fair result. All to play for in the 2nd leg. An early Fellaini header looked to have done us in, but after some inspiring words at half time *cough* the team fought back. Two thunderous goals from Jelle Vossen got us level and then a rare goal from unsung hero Rio Mavuba sealed the win!

We face, inexplicably, OM in the final who somehow managed to beat Barca. Thoughts of revenge for the 5-0 thrashing they gave us earlier in the season will feature in my team talk. I also will have a selection headache for the final - do I stick with the in form Vossen or return to the classy Cristaldo now he's back from injury.

Next update will include a report from the Final and team stats for the season. Sadly I suppose this thread will soon disappear once FM13 appears. Hopefully I can wrap it with a CL victory

[GavinLP1987]

Good luck mate. Well done on an awesome season too. I'd stick with Vossen for the final. I always tend to go with form.

I think I'll definitely be a regular in the fm13 thread. Ironically, I'm looking forward to managing Ryan Mendes. Think I've been offered him by agents more than anyone else in this save but I don't need him.

[MeesterCat]

Cheers mate. Hopefully I'll be able to play the final tomorrow evening whilst the wife is distracted by the Great British Bake Off.

I won't be getting FM13, as I play too slow for it to be worth my while getting a new FM each year - I'll consider doing the LOSC thread for FM14 though... I will lurk in the FM13 one (I'm a LOSC supporter), and live vicariously through you guys - it's, just like RL, going to be much harder to manage Lille this time round, I'll be curious to see how people get on.

[Hood Legend]

Cheers mate. Hopefully I'll be able to play the final tomorrow evening whilst the wife is distracted by the Great British Bake Off.

I won't be getting FM13, as I play too slow for it to be worth my while getting a new FM each year - I'll consider doing the LOSC thread for FM14 though... I will lurk in the FM13 one (I'm a LOSC supporter), and live vicariously through you guys - it's, just like RL, going to be much harder to manage Lille this time round, I'll be curious to see how people get on.

You should definitely post in next years thread even if you aren't playing it. It will be tough competing with PSG this time round but it could make it an even better save if its more challenging. Hopefully everyone will make a better start than the real life version.

When the thread for who does each team guide goes up I will offer to do the Lille thread again unless anyone objects to this?

[MeesterCat]

Victory!

[MeesterCat]

Well... That was a good season - Champions League winners and runaway winners of Ligue 1. The big difference this season was the converting of draws into victories. The only real blips being a 5-0 loss away to OM and a 4-2 reverse in the last game of the season at Dijon.

The formation I've been using:

As you can see, I like to play a fairly expressive, fluid game, but without sacrificing shape or being too gung-ho. The formation relies a lot on the movement and creativity of the CF, allowing the two IFs to overlap through the channels. I also rely heavily on the LWB getting forward and whipping in early crosses behind the opposing defence before they can organize. This is helped due to having Hazard in the AML position cutting inside and creating space.

The players of this season were:

Eden Hazard: 22 goals and 22 assists in all competitions shows just what a valuable player he is. But then, you already knew that... He's not as quite as effective on the left as in the centre, but when he's on fire he's unplayable, as Real Madrid found out to their cost.

Franck Tabanou: Not the greatest full back, as you might expect from a converted winger, but he gives the team an extra dimension going forward as highlighted above (and from his 15 assists). Delivers a mean cross.

Jonathan Cristaldo: The striker I'd been needing since taking the job. Excellent movement and passing creates the space that the formation requires and is also pretty clinical in front of goal. He was on fire for the first half of the season though tailed off a little partly due to a 3 month injury.

Dmitri Payet: I've seen other managers sell him in their saves, but he's been fantastic for me. He's almost operating as a second striker and is usually the main recipient of the space and through balls provided by Cristaldo and Hazard. Has learnt the PPM 'Places Shots' which has helped him immeasurably.

Notable mentions go to Ivan Garcia who has made the lDC position his own in only his first full season, Lenny Nangis who was looking awesome until injury ended his season, and Etienne Capoue who does nothing spectacular, but makes the whole team tick and is missed if injured/suspended.

I'm positive about the youngsters that are starting to come through: Nangis and Selnaes have already forced themselves into starting line ups and Andersen and Adryan should be getting some game time next season. Behind them are some very promising looking 17 year old regens, Yago, Lefevre, Wolf and Vergnaud.

Summer transfers going forward could be an interesting conundrum. I have already agreed the signings of Yanga-Mbiwa for £7.5 mil and Milan Djuric will be arriving on a free as a back up striker (he doesn't look a world beater but he has the attributes I need in my strikers: Creativity, Passing, Finishing.).

I need a another creative MC to provide competition for Granero, but it appears that my success has made other clubs act like dicks in the negotiations with me - £26 mil for Gylfi Sigurdsson anyone? Joe Allen was available for £9 million from relegated Everton(?!), but I couldn't afford his wages and it looks like he's going to the OM juggernaut.

Finally, would anyone pay £11mil for Sebastien Corchia? I can't decide if that's value or not.