Ri916's FM 12 European Youth Academy Challenge

[b101]

Ill try my best. I need a save to keep me going to FM13. Had enough of my other save after 30+ seasons. Just on holiday now, shouldnt be long until im playing

Good luck Hypanimz, looking forward to seeing some silky Spanish regens

Right, I'm going to italy. I want this to be my fnal save before fm13 so please give me a kick up the ass if my interest waver's ect.

No fear on that - good to see this thread picking up again. Good luck in Italy pal

[Hypanimz]

Im now at reset day trying to pick my team. Does anybody have a badge pack for the spanish lower leagues? Im mainly looking for a cool badge and kit to pick my team?

[ri916]

Try the 2nd post of the big euro nation challenge. It has some links to downloads of kits and logos but I'm not exactly sure what you want. Can always just download all of them

[Hypanimz]

Right then, time to get started. Introducing the name manager of Castellon. Wish me luck.

[b101]

Good luck with Castellon mate, what skin is that out of interest?

Mini-update: Seems nobody told the team they had a tough draw... gobsmacked

[Hypanimz]

Good luck with Castellon mate, what skin is that out of interest?

Mini-update: Seems nobody told the team they had a tough draw... gobsmacked

Thats a great result! The skin is Steklo X2 by the way

[stephen_atk]

Took a while to get there but........

Season 1: 2012-13

Main Squad

I wasn't really sure what to expect from the season. Jura Sud had been promoted the previous season but only having finished 7th in the league behind reserve sides, so I wasn't expecting a particularly strong squad. What I found was decent but not great, but 2 decent wingers and 3 ok forwards meant I'd play 4-2-4 and really go for it. Turned out to be a pretty decent season.

Highlights were an unexpected 2-0 win against Paris FC (Ligue 2) in the cup, a result that was sandwiched between 7-1 and 6-3 victories over non-league opposition, we eventually went out against Ajaccio from Ligue 1 but with a creditable 2-0 defeat. In the league we enjoyed impressive victories against Vannes (5-1), Red Star 93 (1-3) and most pleasing a hard fought 1-0 victory over Angers who eventually went up. Our biggest defeat was 3-0 against champions Monaco who the league at a canter going on a 32 game unbeaten run.

Having been as high as 5th in the early stages we tailed off a bit towards the end of the season but still ended up finishing 11th, comfortably exceeding pre-season expectations and convincing the board that I was worth sticking with after initial rumours that they wanted to bring in a new manager.

Final Table

Squad

Youth Squad

I managed to get the outgoing board to upgrade our facilities at the start of the season, moving up to basic facilities. The youth set up was quite small with only 3 players having much about them. Alexandre Matais, an attacking midfielder, Bruno Jacquin, a centre back and striker Clément Girard. The Under 19s managed to finish 12th of 15th in our group.

I signed all but 4 of the youth intake, mainly to increase numbers, but there were 5 who look decent, at least to my youth coach.

Balahouel Khoualed (YP01)

Fodé Touré (YP02)

Teddy Roux (YP03)

David Rennard (YP04)

Maxime Lecomte (YP05)

Hopefully the new board will let me throw more money at the youth setup and bring more coaches in for the coming season

Unfortunately I managed to make a mess of my transfer screen, as I didn't realise how youth players were signed, but hopefully the 2 shots show I didn't make any real transfers.

Transfer Centre

Youth Intake

[ri916]

Hypanimz- Good luck with Castellon mate .

stephen_atk- Thats a solid first season with Jurasud Foot. I'm glad that you got a decent first intake as well .

[Hypanimz]

Mid season mini update

Castellon Season 1

After 19 games we are currently sat in 5th position, just 1 point off the play offs but 10 points behind runaway leaders Albacete. Our main trouble has been finding the back of the net. We have only scored 22 goals in 19 games, our top scorer coming from centre midfield with 6 goals.

Just 2 months until I get my first youngsters so hopefully will get somebody able to replace my 39 year old striker and a creative midfielder as we are not creating enough chances.

Really enjoying this so far, will update soon with the first youth intake.

[Shakes]

A.D. Pontassolense - Segunda Divisão Sul - 2012/13 Season - 6th

Manager Profile | Squad

So I've gone to Portugal. Avoided posting until I'd completed a season this time to avoid another relegation incident. Pretty so so squad on paper. Average training facilities, minimal youth facilities, basic junior coaching, limited youth recruitment so nothing special there. Stadium holds 2500 with 700 seated, which seems about par for this level - interestingly it has artificial turf, which I came to quite like as the ball really pings across the surface.

Youth Intake

Google translate informs me that "merda" is the correct Portuguese term for this intake.

So far in this challenge I've gotten two absolute garbage intakes, one crappy one, and the only passable one I got I managed to get relegated at the end of the season and lose. Really think I must be choosing my teams wrong or something when I see what other people get!

Table | Position History | Taça de Portugal Millennium

Very happy with how well the season went. Really challenged for the title for the first 2/3 of the season before falling away a bit late as the goals dried up. Given avoiding relegation was all I hoped for, finishing 6th isn't something I can complain about, even though perhaps an even better finish was possible. Really going to be a tough league to get out of though, winning the league doesn't even guarantee it, you have to play the other two winners for one of the two spots, so going to need a perfect season.

Cup wise I can't quite explain it, lost in the 2nd round to an inferior team at home, just put in a shocker.

Squad | Transfers | Best XI | Fan's Player of the Year | Manager's Player of the Year

Not a huge amount of rotation in the squad, loved having every game on Sundays so I could just play a well rested team each week. The fans and I agreed on the player of the year: Dércio was the top scorer with 15 goals, which doesn't sound that impressive but he was only rated half a star at the start of the year. Given the next player only had 8 his playing above what the assistant thought him capable of was huge.

Finances

Going downhill as usual, so not much hope on any facility improvements in the near future. Not sure I understand how you can spend only 40% of your wage budget and still take a big loss for the year but that's football manager finances for you. Wage budget has been cut right back to what I was spending anyway for the new year, but I expect I'll still be losing money unless the crowds pick up.

Next Season's Goals

Board set the minimum expectation as a top half finish, which should be achievable but still the jump makes me nervous. Ideally I'd like to think we can challenge for the title, but injuries and form would all have to be in our favour for that to happen, I just don't think we have the quality to pull it off with anything less than a perfect year.

[b]Season    Tier   Expectation        Predicted   Finished   Cup       Other Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
2012/13   3rd    Avoid Relegation   14th        6th        2nd Rnd   

[ri916]

Shakes- Well done on avoiding another relegation 'incident' . 6th Place is fantastic with a media prediction of 14th and hopefully next season you can challenge for the title. Portugal's 3rd tier must be one of the hardest divisions in the game to get out of though. You have to win your league and then still come in the top two of the promotion mini league! As for the intakes all I can say is improve your facilities junior budget and youth recruitment whenever you can and you will start to notice a difference. Judging by that intake it's going to take a few years to start getting lots of new first teamers through but you can always get lucky with a one off player.

[Hypanimz]

Finally been able to persuade my board into increasing my junior coaching budget. Hopefully this will have some impact on youth intake day which is in 5 games time

[ri916]

Finally been able to persuade my board into increasing my junior coaching budget. Hopefully this will have some impact on youth intake day which is in 5 games time

Hopefully it will!

[Shakes]

ri916 - Hard to convince the board to improve facilities when you're taking a loss unfortunately. Although this intake isn't quite as bad as it first appeared, most of the ones I signed have jumped half a star in potential and are developing quickly in the youth team, so they may at least be good as cheap backup players in the next couple of years.

Also I think I should have been more careful in club choice, my team is in a city of only 8k people, which I believe affects youth intake pretty harshly. Something I probably should have checked on before starting.

[Hypanimz]

Castellon Youth Intake Season 1

Half time in the community shield so the perfect time to upload my first youth intake. It isnt brilliant however ive got a AMR who will see some game time and a striker who will lead my line next season as I will not be renewing the contract of my 39 year old striker. Also got a English DMC come through the youth system who might see some first team football so given him a YP tag as well.

Anyway here is the all important screenshots:

Youth intake

Emiliano Villazon YP01

Pablo Martinez Mendez YP02

Olly Goodhead YP03

YP01 and YP02 both made there debut 3 days after signing in a 1-1 drawer against Teruel with Villazon setting up our goal. Then a week later in there home debut this happened.

[Hypanimz]

Castellon End of Season Report - Season 12/13

Squad

We had a strong enough squad to survive, just lacked a goalscorer. Stand out player for me was Jonatan Valle who was fans and my own player of the season. Despite being able to play upfront I played him in midfield almost all season as we were very weak in that area and it worked well as he scored 12 goals, set up 13 and gained 6 man of the matches.

Special mention to 36 year old winger Rufete who contributed 7 goals and 11 assists, however his time will be limited as Villazon who was given the YP01 tag will probably take his place this season.

Pablo Martinez Mendez YP02 had a productive time in the last 8 games of the season he scored 5 and set up 2 with a avg rating of 7.56. Hopefully will be the striker I need.

League

Was a tough opening season, we started well with 4 wins and a draw in our first 5 games but then went on a winless streak of 5 games, we followed this pattern for the majority of the season. The easiest way to sum up our season was inconsistant. We stayed on the edge of the play offs all season long but kept losing games were we should of got results. We mainly struggled with scoring goals. We had a 39 year old striker who couldnt consistantly find the net. Overall i was happy with our final position as it gives me a good platform to build.

League Table

Past Positions

Cups

Nothing to report - we were not entered into any cup?

Transfers

Proof of not cheating - There are 3 transfers there but you can see by the dates that they are all before the league reset date so they were made under the previous management. (League reset day is the 9th of July)

Further proof of not cheating.

Finances

£291,957 loss over the season

£100,426 current bank balance

Aims For Next Season

Make The Playoffs

Expand Youth Recruitment

Pablo Martinez Mendez YP02 scoring 15+ League Goals

[ri916]

Hypanimz- Thats a very impressive first season from you there, coming 5th just outside of the playoffs. The winger you got in your intake looks promising and that striker will be good for you in the short term at least. They definitely both had a good home debut! Hopefully you can push into the playoffs next season. Am I right in thinking even first doesn't mean automatic promotion? They just start further into the playoffs dont they?

[Hypanimz]

Hypanimz- Thats a very impressive first season from you there, coming 5th just outside of the playoffs. The winger you got in your intake looks promising and that striker will be good for you in the short term at least. They definitely both had a good home debut! Hopefully you can push into the playoffs next season. Am I right in thinking even first doesn't mean automatic promotion? They just start further into the playoffs dont they?

Yes by the looks of it thats right, I wasnt aware of that until you mentioned it. Im glad I know that just so i dont get a massive surprise in the future! Im not entirely sure how it works looking at it. Hopefully will find out throughout this save.

[Hypanimz]

Mid Season Mini Update

Castellon Season 2

So far so good, started very badly with a 6-0 defeat by Hospitalet but since then we have drastically improved. Currently sat in 2nd place 9 points behind runaway leaders Alaves. Had a little bit of a cup run also, making the 4th round but losing 8-3 on aggregate to Atletico Madrid. Made over 1m from those 2 legs so pleased overall.

YP Watch

Emiliano Villazon YP01 - Spent a fair bit injured and only made 9 appearances so far, scoring 3 and setting up 2 from the wing

Pablo Martinez Mendez YP02 - Made 25 appearances scoring 26 goals with 21 in the league. Currently valued at 275k. Fantastic return from the youngster

Olly Goodhead YP03 - Started once and made 2 appearances from the bench. Not quite ready to step up yet.

[ri916]

Thats a great improvement on last year! Mendez seems to have really blossomed and with a value like that could be a brilliant player for you. Now it's all about closing the season out and securing a playoff spot.

[Shakes]

A.D. Pontassolense - Segunda Divisão Sul - 2013/14 Season - 2nd

Youth Intake

Wow, where did that come from? After the last intake I was certainly not expecting to get 3 good prospects! Super happy with this.

• Francisco Pinto Lopes (YP14a) - Became the youngest player for the club when he made a sub appearance, and hit the winning assist too. He's behind two other good young players at MC, but since the MCs tend to get tired in my 4-2-2-2 he should get plenty of game time straight away as a sub.
  
• João Pimenta (YP14b) - Became the youngest goal scorer for the club when he hit the winning goal on debut (off the assist from YP14a). We desperately need more goal scoring so hopefully he can develop into the leader of the attack for us over the next couple of years.
  
• Rui Henriques (YP14c) - Pretty raw but the player I was most excited to get. Full back is a desperate need and while he might need another year in the youth team first, he has the potential to fill that void.
  

Table | Position History | Taça de Portugal Millennium

We gave it a good honest shot, managed to come equal first on points but fell just short on goals scored. Really disappointing, we hit the top after defeating eventual winners Marítimo B with two games to go. Just because nothing is ever easy before the next game both starting center backs go down with injury. Second last game we're 1-0 up but eventually manage to lose 2-1 in the end to a very late goal, putting us back equal on points, and although we won the last game they did too. Of course they managed to lose the promotion playoff so I'm not even rid of them from my league.

The really gutting thing? As I understand it in real life as a reserve team they're not allowed promotion to the professional leagues and we would have gotten the playoff spot if the game recognised that. Still just have to keep going, we should be able to keep banging away like this and hopefully we get lucky soon. Really need someone to start banging in goals though, 1.5 goals a game isn't cutting it.

In the cup we got bundled out first round, difficult away draw against the team that came second in our league last year (and subsequently won promotion this year after being switched to a different region).

Squad | Transfers | Best XI (Year | All-Time) | Fan's Player of the Year | Manager's Player of the Year

Once again the fans and I agreed on the player of the year: full back Rodrigues was great for us, coming third in the league for assists. If only we could clone him so he could play both left and right! Other than that not much to report, it's a solid defensive squad but really lacks offensive punch.

Finances

Took another decent sized loss this year, the crowds just don't seem to change. Not scoring a ton of goals even though we're winning probably doesn't help. Thankfully the board haven't cut the wage budget because of this (yet?)

Next Season's Goals

Play just slightly better and get into that promotion playoff has to be the goal. Now I've seen that I can in fact get decent youth players I really want to make this work. But who ever created the Portuguese league system is a sadist ... 2 promotion spots between 48 teams is pretty ridiculously cut throat.

[b]Season    Tier   Expectation        Predicted   Finished   Cup       Other Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8015318&viewfull=1#post8015318"]2012/13[/url]   3rd    Avoid Relegation   14th        6th        2nd Rnd   
2013/14   3rd    Top Half            8th        2nd        1st Rnd   

[ri916]

Shakes- Thats so cruel to miss out on a shot at the playoffs like that, cant be easy to take losing out on GD. On the positive side those look like some brilliant youth prospects there, much better than last year. I fully expect you can win the league this season though

[Sazchu]

I have decided to give this challenge a go, went with Germany and the team I got is Sportfreunde Lotte.

They have minimal youth facilities and basic junior coaching.

[ri916]

Sazchu- Good luck in Germany mate

[Hypanimz]

Castellon Youth Intake Season 2

Youth Intake

Great intake, 3 of the youngsters are given the YP Tag. The standout being another striker to play alongside Martinez Mendez. Also been gifted with a CB who looks to have a promising future at this level and finally a creative midfield that I need badly.

Ramiro Sanchez YP04

Raul Vargas YP05

Kongolo Ndikumana YP06

[Hypanimz]

Castellon End Of Season 2 Update

This season we pushed on from last season, finally with somebody who could put the ball in the back of the net, Pablo Martinez Mendez YP02 scoring 41 in 39 games . We spent most of the season in the playoffs never challenging Alaves who walked away with the league. We made the play offs on the last game of the season after a bad run late on in the season but got knocked out 3-2 on aggregate to Guadalajara.

Squad

League Table

Past Positions

Last Seasons Goals

Make The Playoffs -- Complete

Expand Youth Recruitment -- Failed

Pablo Martinez Mendez YP02 scoring 15+ League Goals -- Complete

Cup

Massive success for me. We made the 4th round and got drawn against Atletico Madrid. Despite getting destroyed 8-3 over 2 legs we made over 1m.

Transfers

Proof of no cheating.

Star Players

Pablo Martinez Mendez YP02 - Simply amazing. scoring 41 in 39 was the star of the show. Really looking forward to seeing him progress and hopefully strike up a partnership with Raul Vargas YP05.

Paco Sanchez - Played either up front or in the centre of midfield. Scoring 17 and setting up 14 very productive season for the 28 year old

YP Tags

Emiliano Villazon YP01 - Season was blighted by injuries for the youngster, only making 13 appearances and scoring 4 goals.

Olly Goodhead YP03 - Made 18 of his 19 appearances in the second half of the season. Originally just covering injuries he played well averaging 7.06 from DMC so kept his place. May retain a starting role next season.

Ramiro Sanchez YP04 - Debut to forget from the youngster getting sent off after 4 minutes. Featured in a further 5 games creating 1 goal

Raul Vargas YP05 - Hoping for big things from this youngster, will join Mendez upfront next season after making 9 starts scoring 3 goals.

Ndikumana YP06 - Just 2 appearances for the youngster. Likely to feature more in the coming seasons.

Goals For Next Season

Good Cup Run

Reach the Play Offs

Increase Youth Facilities

[Padders]

Has anyone completed this yet Ri?

[ri916]

Has anyone completed this yet Ri?

b101 has almost managed it with Leipzig in Germany. But no completions yet . I'm almost certain Toon will do it, though whether it's with Queens Park I'm unsure

[toonbalmy87]

SEASON 12

Predicted:5th

League table

Player Stats

To be honest i am pretty narked off because i was leading the league till January then i got a bunch of injury which allowed Rangers and Celtic back in it so obviously need more depth but i already knew i just had my fingers and toes all crossed haha oh well on to the next season and in Europe booooyaaaa

Biggest Home Win/Loss 4-1 Falkirk 4-0 Rangers

Biggest Away Win/Loss 5-0 Hearts 5-0 Rangers

Attendance

Avg 8,126

Highest Home 24,922 Lowest Home 4,006

Finances

Transfer

Squad

Youth Intake

YP2 Europe Golden Boot

YP2A

YP3

YP3A

YP4

YP4A

YP5

YP6

YP8

YP9

YP10

YP11

YP12

YP12Report

Scottish Cup Final

1

2

3

[video=youtube_share;_eZv6N6FC-U]

Goal of the season for the SPL

[video=youtube_share;psGcrHW6ARk]

Next Season Objective: Europe

A small update of next season

Ima so prouda

Euro Cup Qualifying game apparently a challenge

[Shakes]

Well done on making continental competition. 12 shots on target is very impressive ... takes my players about a month to do that.

[Shakes]

A.D. Pontassolense - Segunda Divisão Sul - 2014/15 Season - 6th

Youth Intake

Again three very good prospects came through the youth system:

• Hélder Silva (YP15a) - ST - Report - A striker with determination and finishing was just what the doctor ordered. Thrown straight into the first team, scored with his first kick to become the youngest goal scorer and ended the season with 4 from 5. If I can get his composure up he may just be the answer to my goal scoring woes.
  
• Samuel Marques (YP15b) - DL - Report - A natural winger but already capable at left back is ideal for me as I play full backs in wing back attack roles. Rodrigues will move across to right back to give him a run.
  
• Bruno Sousa (YP15c) - GK - Report - Chances will be limited given the first choice keeper is both good and hasn't missed a game through injury in the 3 years I've managed him. Still he got thrown in for the last couple of meaningless games, becoming the youngest player by a day, and looked decent. One for the future.
  

Table | Position History | Taça de Portugal Millennium

Believe it or not I tried to mix up the tactics to make them more attacking - it didn't work. Ended up scoring only 38 goals in the league, 7 fewer than the previous year. Both first choice strikers only managed 5 league goals apiece for the year. Teams are starting to view us a top side and we just didn't have anyone who could break them down. We managed to scratch out results and stay in touch with the top of the table in the first half, but a run of only 8 points from 12 games plunged us down the table and well out of contention.

The cup was a bit like the league. We good a good draw for the third round, at home to a lower league side, and had a dominant performance we couldn't turn into a victory, drawing 1-1 and missing the final shot of the shootout to go down 4-3.

Squad | Transfers | Best XI (Year | All-Time) | Fan's Player of the Year | Manager's Player of the Year

The fans are a sentimental lot, picking 36 year old captain and centre back Fernandes as their player of the year. Personally I thought full back Rodrigues was out best again, I ask a lot of the wing backs and he consistently puts in a performance both with and without the ball. Also managed a couple of caps for Guinea-Bissau, so we can say we have an international in our side.

Of the players who came through the youth system:

• Francisco Pinto Lopes (YP14a) - AMC/MC - His development has been outstanding, going from 1 star to 3.5 stars in a year. Seemed to hit the wall a bit mid year when the team started to struggle to get results but got over the hump and finished strong. May well become the best player at the club at this rate.
  
• João Pimenta (YP14b) - ST - 3 medium term injuries through the year held him back. Hopefully he can get healthy and form a strike partnership with Silva (YP15a) next year.
  
• Rui Henriques (YP14c) - DR - Had only intended to bring him up for some cup games, but good performances meant he got extended chances in the first team. Faded badly as the year went on, and the new assistant manager (with better JPP) only rates him a 3.5 star prospect. With Marques (YP15b) coming in and taking a starting spot, he'll be the cover full back next year.
  

Finances

Board injected some cash which kept the loss a little smaller this year. Not really worried at the moment as the board haven't cut out budget, so will just keep on ignoring finances. Doesn't seem to be much I can do: season ticket sales only went up by 3 each of the last two years so no real way to get more money in.

Next Season's Goals

Bang in some goals! Really hoping my two young strikers can turn our attack around. We've conceded less than a goal a game each of our three years so defense is fine, we just have to stop the slide from 49 to 45 to 38 goals

[b]Season    Tier   Expectation        Predicted   Finished   Cup       Other Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8015318&viewfull=1#post8015318"]2012/13[/url]   3rd    Avoid Relegation   14th        6th        2nd Rnd   
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8017815&viewfull=1#post8017815"]2013/14[/url]   3rd    Top Half            8th        2nd        1st Rnd   
2014/15   3rd    Top Half            4th        6th        3rd Rnd   

[Padders]

b101 has almost managed it with Leipzig in Germany. But no completions yet . I'm almost certain Toon will do it, though whether it's with Queens Park I'm unsure

Ok cheers. I am tempted to give this a go, but I am DESPERATE to do it England first. I'm still battling to get Redditch out of the BSN after 7 seasons!!!!!!

[Shakes]

I'm still battling to get Redditch out of the BSN after 7 seasons!!!!!!

At least you've managed to stay at one club for 7 years then ... I'm up to 7 seasons without a promotion now but I've been fired in 2 of them!

[Padders]

At least you've managed to stay at one club for 7 years then ... I'm up to 7 seasons without a promotion now but I've been fired in 2 of them!

That seems harsh. I have tried the English verison 4/5 times now and never been sacked. I have been relegated out of the BSS/N. My board just want me to avoid relegation each season so no real expectations.

[stephen_atk]

Season 2: 2013-14

Main Squad

This felt like a tough season, a couple of the fringe players had left after their contracts expired and I also accepted a good offer for our first choice left back who had been one of our more solid players the previous season. With most of my youth players too young to be relied upon the squad was looking a bit threadbare. Suprisingly we won our first 2 fixtures but then went on a run of 1 win in 10 games which had us nervously looking over our shoulders at the relegation zone. A cup run which took us to the 11th round coincided with an upturn in league form which meant we maintained a comfortable cushion between ourselves and the drop zone. In the end we only finished 2 points down on last seasons haul. Next season promises to be equally as tough, I have major concerns about our defence and with not much coming through the u19's, all out attack may be our best option!

Final Table

Squad

Transfers

Youth Squad

Due to injuries and suspensions in the main squad I did give a few of the youth side an opportunity to make the step up. Most notable was Clément Girard who at only 16 made 26 appearances scoring twice, Alexandre Metais also made a handful of starts. After our safety was assured for next season I also brought in Balahouel Khoualed YP01 for some experience and he chipped in 2 goals in his 3 matches, David Rennard YP04 also made his debut in the last game of the season.

Got another decent intake of youth players, 3 of which I marked up.

Serge Mangan YP06

Matteo Lambert YP07

Kevin Fahrasmane YP08

[Shakes]

A.D. Pontassolense - Segunda Divisão Sul - 2015/16 Season - 3rd

Youth Intake

Amazing youth intake this year with 6 players worthy of YP tags. The squad is stronger now so maybe not all will be thrown into the first team as quickly as in years past, but it bodes well for the future:

• Miguel Veríssimo (YP16a) - DC - (Report) - Centre back was the position of greatest need, with us only having one quality player as our captain hit 37 this year and fell off a cliff. This guy goes straight into the first team.
  
• Nelson Ribeiro (YP16b) - AMC/MC - (Report) - Will need some work on his physicals before he's ready, but looks like the play maker I've been wanting. With midfield already strong he doesn't have to make an immediate impact. Unfortunately did a hammy 4 minutes into his debut.
  
• Pedro Rosas (YP16c) - ST - (Report) - Needs tutoring to fix his lack of ambition, but already pretty quick and tons of flair, so hopefully if his personality and finishing can be moulded will become a good lead striker down the line.
  
• Manuel Nunes (YP16d) - ST - (Report) - The 4th young striker to come through in 3 years now ... should be a good support striker type. The front line is set for years to come if these guys all develop.
  
• Rui Martins (YP16e) - DL - (Report) - Don't really need yet another left back, and am a bit dicey on anyone labelled an inconsistent performer in the scouiting report. Unless there's an injury crisis isn't likely to see much action just yet.
  
• Rui Mateus (YP16f) - AMR - (Report) - Not sure what to do with this guy as I don't play wingers. Doesn't have the finishing to train into a striker, and we're not short on full backs, but retraining there through lack of better options. May end up changing formation down the line with the right intakes so worth keeping and seeing what happens.
  

Table | Position History | Taça de Portugal Millennium

Frustrating time in the league, we scored more this year but threw away a lot of games late, as we lacked solidity in the back. It's terrible how quickly our poor captain went down hill at 37, fans' player of the year last year to a liability I really couldn't carry this year. Wouldn't have really mattered, the winners ran away with it, scoring 70 points in a 30 game season. A strong rally towards the end got us up to 3rd and gives us a bit of hope for next year.

Even though we only scored 44 goals we created more and better chances, so with our front line being so young if they can just mature a bit and start taking them then we should be able to start putting together 60+ point seasons and challenge for the title.

At least we finally won some sort of award, my midfielder Gouveia banged in goal of the year.

The cup was a repeat of last year, lesser team comes to our home in the 3rd round, we dominate but draw 1-1 and lose on penalties.

Squad | Transfers | Best XI (Year | All-Time) | Fans' Player of the Year | Manager's Player of the Year

Full back Rodrigues was our best player again, and the fans picked him for their player as well. In general the squad is starting to look pretty strong, and with a bit more experience I think they'll hold their own in the next league up if we can only get there.

Of the players who came through the youth system:

• Francisco Pinto Lopes (YP14a) - AMC/MC - Up to 4.5 stars now, started every single game and was the best player in the midfield. Absolutely thrilled with how he's developed, will be captain next year now our old captain has retired.
  
• João Pimenta (YP14b) - ST - Only one injury this year, and 2 cup goals was promising but only 4 in the league was disappointing. Developing decently but seems to suffer from not really standing out in any particular area.
  
• Rui Henriques (YP14c) - DR - Has thought he'd be the 3rd full back, but performances dictated he start. Assistant has his potential back up at 4.5 stars which is encouraging.
  
• Hélder Silva (YP15a) - ST - Leading scorer with 10 goals. For a 16 year old playing a support striker role that's fantastic, I'm looking forward to see what he can do as he grows.
  
• Samuel Marques (YP15b) - ML/DL - Was a bit up and down but had an OK first full season. Not sure if his long term future lies at full back or if he'll be a winger in a changed formation.
  
• Bruno Sousa (YP15c) - GK - Only got a few late sub appearances and the dead rubbers at the end of the season, but did alright. I'm confident enough in him to let our experienced backup go. Will be a while before he can challenge for first choice though.
  

Finances

Losses are getting bigger as the wage bill creeps up, nearly 100k last year. Board isn't complaining and they keep letting the wage bill grow so we'll ignore it for another year. Money would be nice though, our training facilities took a downgrade due to falling behind in technology this year.

Next Season's Goals

A lot will rest on how ready Miguel Veríssimo (YP16a) is to hold up a center back spot, and whether our young strike force can bang them in. I feel like the team has gotten better without the results to show for it over the last couple of years, so this year hopefully we can make a genuine push for the title like we did 3 years ago.

[b]Season    Tier   Expectation        Predicted   Finished   Cup       Other Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8015318&viewfull=1#post8015318"]2012/13[/url]   3rd    Avoid Relegation   14th        6th        2nd Rnd   
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8017815&viewfull=1#post8017815"]2013/14[/url]   3rd    Top Half            8th        2nd        1st Rnd   
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8021689&viewfull=1#post8021689"]2014/15[/url]   3rd    Top Half            4th        6th        3rd Rnd   
2015/16   3rd    Top Half            8th        3rd        3rd Rnd   Goal of the Year

[b101]

Great to see lots of progress here - been moving house so had no internet since last Saturday. There's a couple of updates to come from me later as well .

Toon - Great to see you're still motoring through the seasons and well done on qualifying for Europe. Best of luck next season, and I'm sure you'll break the Celtic-Rangers stranglehold soon!

Shakes - So happy to see you're finally getting some good youth, and you're nearly there for promotion, I'm sure next season will be your year! Keep up the good work pal.

Hypanimz - Martinez Mendez looks class for that level (to be honest, he'd have started for me in the Bundesliga a few seasons ago!), unlucky in the playoffs, but it'll be better to win it next season if possible

stephen_atk - Good luck with the next season, although the National looks far tougher than the lower German leagues I've had if teams like Nantes are winning it. Just keep giving the youngsters game time and I'm sure it'll all come good

[Hypanimz]

Bad news guys - just ended season 3. Had my best youth intake yet with 6 YP tags given out. The board wanted a title challenge which I gave them, we came second only 1 point off champions made the play offs again but fell at the first hurdle after having a shocking first leg. I was really looking forward to the following season really pushing for the title but I was sacked the next morning! Still had 4 years on my contract and did everything the board wanted. Absolutely gutted! was a really fun save but dont want to start again just yet..... possibly picked a team with too much expectations. Best of luck to everybody doing the challenge.

[Millar]

The Reset Dates

France- 19th June

Germany- 19th June

Italy- 29th June

Portugal- 29th June

Spain- 9th July

Scotland- N/A

Netherlands- TBC

Belgium- 29th June

Netherlands reset date is July 6th (holiday to 5th).

[b101]

RB Leipzig - Season 2021/22 - Bundesliga

First Team Squad - U19 Squad -Club Information - Facilities - Transfers

The season started in an interesting fashion, Barahouei deciding to get himself sent off 14 mins into our opening game with the 6th two-footed tackle of his career (we drew 2-2). I was fed up with him by now and so his spot in the team was split between two youngsters. As a result, our defence wasn’t as solid as it should have been as we adjusted, with a ridiculous 4-3 loss to Werder, a 1-0 setback at the Allianz and the aforementioned draw leaving us 3 points off the pace-setters Mainz and Bayern after the opening ten games. Somewhat frustratingly, we also exited the DFB-Pokal after a laughable performance against Fürth, who took us to a 5-5 draw having scored with their only 5 shots on target (1 clear cut chance, three long rangers of which two were direct freekicks from a player with 8 in that stat…) then promptly won on penalties. It would have been much worse if it were in a competition I cared about, but still damn annoying. Still, some excellent results (including a 5-1 win away to Schalke) meant that we were just 1 point behind Bayern, who suffered a surprise loss to Stuttgart, at the Christmas break.

In their first fixture back, Bayern dropped three points away to Kaiserslautern, handing us the advantage. A cagey 2-1 win for us away to Kaiserslautern the next week cemented our two point advantage, with Corluka again grabbing the vital goals. Even at this early stage, it was a two-horse race, with Bayern 11 points and 46 goals clear of third. This loss seemed to trigger a drop in morale for Bayern, who dropped more points against Wolfsburg and Dortmund, whilst we ploughed ahead with more important wins, giving us a 7 point gap with 9 to play. The key game however, came one match later, with us gaining an emphatic 3-0 victory over Bayern and a ten point gap which would prove to be insurmountable. Although we had a few jitters, we wrapped up the title with three games to spare thanks to a 3-0 win away at St Pauli.

Final Position: 1st - League Table

Europe

Champions League

As you can see, although we were handed the toughest possible draw, we came through it without major problem, winning all six, including some stunning results at the San Siro and the Nou Camp. Reducing Messi and co. to looking like amateurs was an outstanding achievement, and it was awe-inspiring to see the goals in the 2-0 win over Barca come from two players who have been with us since the very beginning, whilst 16 year old Kevin Schmidt showed the future is equally bright with the winner in the San Siro.

Lyon didn’t prove up to much, even when Glavas got himself sent off after 4 minutes with the score locked at 1-1 in the second leg. Thankfully, Corluka stepped up to the plate with three excellent goals, and we were through to face Bayern. Our 3-0 win in the Allianz meant that we can rest players for the second leg, but the victory came at a price - the *****s had injured Corluka, putting him out for the season. After that, we were running on borrowed time really. The frustrating thing is that we actually put up a good fight against Chelsea, and could have won it if not for a dubious penalty in the first leg. To top it all, Chelsea then beat Man City in the final. Ugh.

Champions League Run

Current Youth Prospects

Goalkeepers

André Halfar - Continued to perform well, although has probably hit his peak. Nobody looks close to challenging him.

Philip Albert - Still young, still average…

Centre Backs

Martin Schulz - BEAST

Olaf Keller - Like Gebhardt, he makes too many mistakes for my liking. He’s not bad, but mental stats are a bit lacking compared to Schulz. Will probably be overtaken in the long run.

Karsten Engel - Still promising, still a backup

YP15 - Hensgen - Hasn't really developed as I would have liked so far and his potential isn't what we initially thought. Back up at best.

Full-backs

Sasa Glavas - The decision to retrain Glavas to LB seems to be a great one so far, he can use his technicals much better and is far more reliable than Celik.

Michael Gebhardt - Still makes quite a few mistakes and has probably reached his peak - this is a position I really want to strengthen.

Refik Celik - Just hasn’t been quite as consistent as Glavas this season and is far less attack-minded. His potential is still ok, but will remain a backup for the near future.

Ali Barahouei - His sending-off in the first game of the season sealed his fate and meant that I didn’t renew his contract. Is heading to Nürnberg on a free.

Serdar Kantarci - Nothing more than a backup still and probably won’t ever fit into the first team.

Lucio Carini - Has some great base stats and I’m going to try to give him as much game time as possible.

Centre Mids

Adis Husic - Still love him as much as I did when he first came through all those years ago - a really solid player who has turned into a great holding mid.

Florian Kunter - Our player of the season, with a huge amount of goals and assists from CM. Awesome.

Hendrik Scholze - Properly broke into the first team this year, and played well until a broken leg ended his season prematurely. Would be great if he could chip in with more goals, but looks a good prospect - still has one of the highest potentials at the club.

Dirk Hille - Got more game time but didn’t really seize it as I’d hoped - could probably use more U19 games until he’s ready to displace one of our centre-mids.

José Ángel García - Not bad by any means, but I can’t really see him getting ahead of our other centre mids any time in the future.

Bastian Schulz - The final season for our tutor-in-chief, and record appearance holder. Just a backup nowadays, but he’s been a huge player for the club.

Wingers

Nikolas Hampf - 17 goals for the season is a good return for him and whilst he won’t stay in the first team forever, he’s decent enough for now.

Kevin Schmidt - Really excited about this lad’s progress. Too soon for ‘the German Messi’?

Jean-Hugues Atangana - Either scores or is utterly anonymous. Not a bad backup, but his lack of creativity really shows in tough matches.

Dominik Beckmann - Got the odd sub appearance after joining in last year’s intake and didn’t disgrace himself at all. Our future right winger.

Strikers

Luka Corluka - Another incredible season until the damned Müncheners ended his season. A value of £21m in no way overestimates his worth to the club.

Rüstem Ok - Unfortunately he’s behind Corluka in the pecking order, as I’d love to give him more games, but he’s just a very good backup for now.

U19 Squad

The U19s won their league, but lost a game. Not good enough really. As for the Youth Intake, this was excellent as hoped for - whilst I don’t have the post, Schlieder was, surprisingly, touted as our best hope by the Assistant Manager. Needless to say, he’s wrong, and Bright looks much, much better. Arndt (and to an extent Bürger) also look useful, and I suspect it’ll be these two who make it into the first team. There are a couple of others with decent potential, but none worth screenshots.

[b][u]Season[/u]    [u]League[/u]   [u]Position[/u]  [u]Europe[/u]       [u]Cup[/u]            [u]Other[/u][/b]

[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=7955451&viewfull=1#post7955451]2012/13[/url]   3. Liga  4th       n/a          1st Rnd        n/a
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=7959167&viewfull=1#post7959167]2013/14[/url]   3. Liga  1st       n/a          1st Rnd        MotY, PotY (Lewerenz), TS (Frahn)
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=7963758&viewfull=1#post7963758]2014/15[/url]   2. Liga  1st       n/a          3rd Rnd        MotY, TS (Frahn)
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=7969892&viewfull=1#post7969892]2015/16[/url]   1. Liga  11th      n/a          QF             n/a
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=7979549&viewfull=1#post7979549]2016/17[/url]   1. Liga  11th      n/a          3rd Rnd        U17 PotY (Gebhardt), U18 PotY (Corluka)
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=7986699&viewfull=1#post7986699]2017/18[/url]   1. Liga  3rd       n/a          3rd Rnd        Schulz (YP05) 3rd in Def.otY, U17/18/19 PotY (Scholze, Gebhardt, Corluka) 
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=7994667&viewfull=1#post7994667]2018/19[/url]   1. Liga  4th       EL semi      2nd Rnd        U17/18/19 PotY (Kantarci, Scholze, Keller)
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8002061&viewfull=1#post8002061]2019/20[/url]   1. Liga  1st       EL L16       Winners        MoTY, TS (Corluka), U17/18/19 PotY (Ok, García, Hampf), Golden Boot (Corluka)
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8011500&viewfull=1#post8011500]2020/21[/url]   1. Liga  1st       CL  semi     3rd Rnd        TS (Corluka), U17/19 PotY (Ok, Kantarci), Golden Boot (Corluka)
[url=http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8027943&viewfull=1#post8027943]2021/22[/url]   1. Liga  1st       CL  semi     2nd Rnd        PotY (Kunter), TS (Corluka), U17/18 PotY (Schmidt, Ok)

[u]Key:[/u]
MotY = Manager of the Year
PotY = Player of the Year
TS = Top Scorer

[Shakes]

Hypanimz - Bad luck there, I'm wary of raised expectations because of that.

b101 - Your players are so good now it's warping the star ratings ... can't believe how good the youth you get are when they're not even a gold star yet. Just need a good run and you'll be finished.

[b101]

Hypanimz - That's absolutely gutting, especially as you clearly did challenge for the title. Best of luck with whatever game you go onto

Shakes - Cheers, I'm hoping that with the league already wrapped up before the CL quarters, I can start resting a few players for the European games. Problem is that the Manchester clubs are just unbelievably good now...

[Shakes]

A.D. Pontassolense - Segunda Divisão Sul - 2016/17 Season - 4th

Table | Position History

Has a great pre-season, winning all the friendlies, everything looked set to go ... and went and lost the first two games horribly. Very disheartening in this cut throat Portuguese system! Was always going to be an uphill climb from there, and although we did decently well the rest of the way we remained in that 3rd-6th group we seem firmly stuck in - this season 4th, although if I'd played full strength teams towards the end we probably could have taken 3rd.

Other than our 2nd place finish each year there just seems to be a team that dominates, and this year it was Farense, at one point they'd scored 38 goals and conceded 4 or something ridiculous before we banged 3 past them for our best win of the season.

At least we managed to score 49 goals this year, so the trend is in the right direction.

Taça de Portugal Millennium

Only the second round this time. Play the kids in an away match against equal league opposition and you risk bombing out like that. Would like to get beyond the 3rd round at some point, but it's hard to justify taking the cup seriously when the league is so hard!

Youth Intake

Soft youth intake this year compared to what we've seen recently, although to be fair with our first team improving there's been some star rating deflation going on.

• Cyril Raposo (YP17a) - ST - (Report) - Another striker? It's getting tough to figure out how to use them all. Love the high determination, although not much else stands out about him.
  
• Joel Mendes (YP17b) - DC - (Report) - Not the greatest prospect we've had but we desperately need a third DC so he's got a role to play. Is getting personality tutoring to fix his lack of ambition.
  

Squad | Transfers

The squad is slowly becoming dominated by YP guys ... a few more experienced guys will be leaving this year and the youth for the first time are likely to make up more than half of my first eleven next year.

Figured with most of the side being YP now I may as well just list everybody ... along with their current/potential ability.

Goal Keepers

• Carin - 4.5/4.5 - Had a pretty shocking start to the year where he couldn't stop anything but then hit form again. He's pretty good and no doubt could hold the job for several years yet if he was allowed to, but the young gun may have something to say about that.
  
• Bruno Sousa (YP15c) - 3.5/5 - I've been shocked how quickly this guy has developed with only sub appearances and a few cup games and dead rubbers. If he keeps it up he's going to force me into handing him the first team spot in a year or two.
  

Center Backs

• Christiano Seixas - 4/4 - Can rely on this guy for two things: solid defending, and one or two infuriating red cards a year. Got to take the good with the bad I guess.
  
• Miguel Veríssimo (YP16a) - 3/5 - Played every game in his first full year and didn't disgrace himself. Leaked a few goals early on but got better as the year went on.
  
• Nuno Inácio - 0.5/0.5 - Has been an unspectacular career backup the whole time, and still holds the vice captaincy only because I'm scared of changing it and annoying people. Will be leaving now though.
  
• Joel Mendes (YP17b) - 4s/4 - The new guy, had a pretty shocking debut but improved from there. Will get games while Seixas is inevitably suspended next year.
  

Full Backs

• Ivanir Rodrigues - 4/4 - Continues to be our best performer. His international duties are starting to get annoying though: was unavailable or two tired for our opening two league games this year, which I feel contributed to the losses.
  
• Samuel Marques (YP15b) - 3.5/5 - Towards the end of the year probably edged Henriques for the second full back spot.
  
• Rui Henriques (YP14c) - 2/4 - Started as my preferred choice, and started more games, but Marques has a higher ceiling and is developing faster. Still good to have as a capable backup.
  
• Rui Martins (YP16e) - 2/4.5 - Spend most of the year in the under 19s, but performed well when given a chance. Injury towards the end of the year prevented him from getting more burn.
  

Midfielders

• Francisco Pinto Lopes (YP14a) - 4.5/5 - Said the captaincy was too much pressure at a young age when he got it, but didn't show it. Leading league goal scorer and equal leading scorer overall with 9 goals. Also got a game for the Portuguese under 19s. Shows no sign of slowing down in his development. Just hope we can keep him long term!
  
• Carlos Canha - 4/5 - 24 years old now, so probably not going to reach his full potential. A good player but hasn't really given us as much as his star rating suggests over the years.
  
• Geoffery Gouveia - 2.5/2.5 - Solid player who rarely puts in a bad performance, but doesn't often star either.
  
• Nelson Ribeiro (YP16b) - 5s/5 - His physicals still stink, which will hold him back for at least another year.
  
• Pedro Pita - 2/2 - Reliable holding midfielder in the diamond this year, but thinking we'll cut back to 3 in the middle next year and he'll be relegated to a backup.
  
• Costinha - 2/2 - Another holding midfielder, but at 31 his abilities are on the decline. May be back as a backup next year depending on price. Would be a shame to lose him after he just became a natural at DM after 5 constant years of training. Not that I'm bitter.
  

Strikers/Wingers

• Hélder Silva (YP15a) - 3.5/5 - Didn't really kick on this year for goal scoring, only managing 8. Seems to be growing into the trequartista role though, managing 7 assists.
  
• João Pimenta (YP14b) - 2/5 - Started to show signs he could be a good scorer, but still had problems remaining on the pitch due to injury. At 19 now he needs a good, healthy season to avoid being passed by the competition. May be better on the wing next year.
  
• Pedro Rosas (YP16c) - 1.5/5 - Didn't get a huge number of chances, but provided one highlight match where he came on at 55 minutes and scored a hat-trick, dragging us back to a 3-3 draw. All 5 of his goals came in that match and the next, which earned him a clean sweep of goal of the month. Will feature more next year.
  
• Manuel Nunes (YP16d) - 1/4.5 - Also had limited chances but impressed once he got a run at the end of the season. Will challenge for a first team spot.
  
• Cyril Raposo (YP17a) - 4.5s/4.5 - The new guy is yet to make a start but already bagged a goal. Will have to wait his turn though.
  
• Rui Mateus (YP16f) - 4.5s/4 - Injury after injury ruined his chance of development in the youth squad this year, but he got sub appearances in the last two games. The only out and out winger in the squad, so whether he gets a look in will depend on tactical choices.
  
• Rui Augusto - 1.5/1.5 - Veteran support striker who has never really been great and has seen his role diminish each year. Will see out one more year only because I gave him a longer contract than I should have.
  
• Dércio - 0.5/0.5 - Was never able to recapture the form that saw him hit 14 and 13 goals in his first two seasons. A lengthy injury last year hammered his attributes, and his major skill now appears to be being offside. Finishes one goal short of the club's all time leading scorer.
  

Next Season

Financial situation has bounced between okay and insecure as the board added cash, so I'm nervous what the board are going to do. We already have the lowest average wage in the league, so I have no idea how everyone isn't bankrupt!

At this point I think it would be foolish to set any grand goals. I'm just going to play the games, develop the players I have and win as many as possible. If I keep doing that eventually we'll win a promotion. Or the board will get sick of the losses, cut the budget, sell my players, and sack me. We'll see.

[b]Season    Tier   Expectation        Predicted   Finished   Cup       Other Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8015318&viewfull=1#post8015318"]2012/13[/url]   3rd    Avoid Relegation   14th        6th        2nd Rnd   
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8017815&viewfull=1#post8017815"]2013/14[/url]   3rd    Top Half            8th        2nd        1st Rnd   
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8021689&viewfull=1#post8021689"]2014/15[/url]   3rd    Top Half            4th        6th        3rd Rnd   
[url="http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/310236-Ri916-s-FM-12-European-Youth-Academy-Challenge?p=8026710&viewfull=1#post8026710"]2015/16[/url]   3rd    Top Half            8th        3rd        3rd Rnd   Goal of the Year
2016/17   3rd    Top Half            5th        4th        2nd Rnd   

[ri916]

Shakes- The striker you got through is both footed, so thats why he doesn't have any stand out stats (Both footedness contributes to CA)

[Shakes]

Shakes- The striker you got through is both footed, so thats why he doesn't have any stand out stats (Both footedness contributes to CA)

Yeah I know, but up front you only need one leg to bang in a goal. Seems the CA goes to waste on strikers, I do like either footed players in the midfield though.

[stephen_atk]

Season 3: 2014-15

My fears for this season unfortunately came to pass earlier than I thought. We lost a few of our experienced players at the end of the previous season through retirement and with the youth players not really of a good enough standard we simply didn't have enough quality. Having picked up 8 points in the opening 4 games I thought I might have misjudged our chances of survival, then reality set in! We lost 7 in a row, hopes were briefly lifted with 2 draws, but the following series of games brought just 1 win in 15. The board had had enough and I was sacked on the 21st February following 1-0 defeat to our nearest rivals.

I've enjoyed this challenge so intend starting again straightaway in a new country (France was too hard!)

[brettney1980]

Full name Royal Football Club de Liège

Nickname(s) Les Sang et Marine

(The Blood and Marine)

Founded 1892

Ground Stade du Pairay,

Seraing

(Capacity: 6,744)

Chairman Jean-Paul Lacomble

Season 2016/17 - Season 5 - Belgian Second League

Again we were close to going back up to the top division but that point in the normal season might as well of been 20, if we can't win the playoffs which we didn't really look likely to again. Too many draws and i played half the season with a very Attack minded approach (3 natural forwards at times) but we just couldn't score enough goals.

Final Table - Promotion Playoff

Didn't do any better than usual in the Belgian Cup, 7th round Lost 4-0 to Westerlo.

Finances: Very poor, i expect the wage budget to be lowered yet again, really struggling to make any money ion Belgium is this the norm here!?

Squad Stats - Look no Transfers

Player of the Season Award!

We lost another of our golden oldies ... Retired!!!

The Youth of Liege ...

Youth Candidates 2012.

Ridvan Ibrahim YP5a Profile|Report

Vivian Causse YP5b Profile|Report

Laurent Fleury YP4

Philippe Langevin YP3a

Chad Gauss YP3b

Joren Capouet YP2a

Maxime Renaud YP2b

Ianis Engel YP1

Adrien Trubia TP0

[Shakes]

stephen_atk - Tough luck, know the feeling. France is hard, I didn't even survive the first year. Just get back on the horse, you'll eventually find somewhere that good prospects will come through and make it much more fun.

brettney1980 - Oh so close to winning the league. Belgium looks tough like Portugal for moving on up. Losing money hand over fist seems normal for most lower leagues in FM, not sure if this is realistic, perhaps all the clubs are financial messes in real life?

[Hypanimz]

After my apparent failure (still annoyed by this) at Castellon I have decided to jump back in. This time I will be going to Italy and picking a team with a lot lower expectations. Currently on holiday now so wont be long now

[Hypanimz]

Citta di Brindisi have just appointed there new manager. The board expect a top half finish and the media are predicting an 11th place finish. My wage budget is £6k p/w under budget and we currently have £730k in the bank so hopefully can persuade them into some quick upgrades.

Here are my starting facilities.

Simple goal for this save - show the Castellon board what they missed by taking Citta di Brindisi to new heights!