FM13: Borussia Dortmund - Echte Liebe.

[john1]

Youth Candidates intakes.

Pretty happy with the intakes, will sign few of other players for cover for U's19 and reserves.

[john1]

You still let Hummels take the penalties or was he on a hat-trick?

Nice results batty1 and john1!

Yeah, he have been our number 1 penalty spot taker since I took over.

[tomtuck01]

Time for a preseason round up, including transfers, matches, etc. Enjoy.

--------------------------

Transfers

I was given a budget of just £16million for a title challenge, but with some big sales, we brought in some terrific signings.

There were more players releaed, I just cropped the image to make it smaller.

So the spine was taken out of last seasons side. Goetze's deal was already in the DB, but I then chose to sell Lewandowski as he started moaning. I had been prepared to keep him and let him go for free in 2014, but I didn't want an unhappy player. I then got an offer for Subotic, (who was excellent last term), that was far too good to refuse.

Henrik Mkhitaryan's deal was arranged long ago, but I also sorted deals for Mattia Perin, (to eventually be no.1), Bruno Martins Indi and Santiago Vergini, who came in to give me back-up at CB, and I decided to sign Mitchell Dijks permanently as a second choice LB. With the rest of the funds available, Christian Benteke was signed to be my first choice striker, and on deadline day we splashed out £24million on Erik Lamela! There were also a couple of regens brought in, and I'll happily provide screenshots of them if you want.

All in all some good deals, and we still have £37million in the kitty to spend.

Preseason Matches

Some great work in preseason and some solid wins here and there. In the middle of all that you can see we played Bayern in the Supercup and came away with victory. Henrik Mkhitaryan put in a great debut performance scoring twice as we ran out 3-2 winners against Guardiola's side.

--------------------------

Well time to get on with the first half of the season then. Next update will be at Christmas time.

[john1]

Decent pre season there Tom! Good transfers dealing, What formation are you playing? 4-2-3-1? Hope Erik Lamela do well for you.

[tomtuck01]

Decent pre season there Tom! Good transfers dealing, What formation are you playing? 4-2-3-1? Hope Erik Lamela do well for you.

Primarily yes, but have come up with a 3-4-1-2 using two defensive wingers. Has been ok so far, not sure whether to persist with it or not though.

[john1]

Made my first signing for next season

Hopefully I can get him to tutor few youngsters.

[Ryknow]

Nice, I was going to approach him but he didn't want to talk to me. Then I realised he'd suck in my tactic as he can't run. Will be a great tutor, if my memory serves me he has good PPMs.

Think I might put Gündogan on the chopping block at the end of the season my newgen Karl-Heinz Kaufmann has basically turned into him, and Leitner deserves to be starting from now on.

So many injuries so far, they are coming in 5's, key players too. The 4-5 injured players come back then bang, another 4-5 get injured. Luckily when Srna got injured for 2-3 months Corchia was injury free, now Srna has just got back Corchia decided to be out for 2-3 months. Thank god I still have Großkreutz. Mr Versatile is a handy player to have.

Had a bid from Valencia for Schmelzer and PSG want S. Bender but I'm worried about letting players go as I want to keep the BVB vibe for as long as I can, plus they're German. However, they're contracts are big and I'd like to reduce the wage bill.

[john1]

Nice, I was going to approach him but he didn't want to talk to me. Then I realised he'd suck in my tactic as he can't run. Will be a great tutor, if my memory serves me he has good PPMs.

Think I might put Gündogan on the chopping block at the end of the season my newgen Karl-Heinz Kaufmann has basically turned into him, and Leitner deserves to be starting from now on.

So many injuries so far, they are coming in 5's, key players too. The 4-5 injured players come back then bang, another 4-5 get injured. Luckily when Srna got injured for 2-3 months Corchia was injury free, now Srna has just got back Corchia decided to be out for 2-3 months. Thank god I still have Großkreutz. Mr Versatile is a handy player to have.

Had a bid from Valencia for Schmelzer and PSG want S. Bender but I'm worried about letting players go as I want to keep the BVB vibe for as long as I can, plus they're German. However, they're contracts are big and I'd like to reduce the wage bill.

How much Valencia offer for Schmelzer? I'd sell S Bender

[retrodude09]

John1: This is a slightly random question, but do you know what facepack and logos you downloaded?

To keep it on topic, Alonso looks like a great signing, even at 34. Could be a great tutor as well.

Really tempted to start a Dortmund save on an updated database.

[john1]

John1: This is a slightly random question, but do you know what facepack and logos you downloaded?

To keep it on topic, Alonso looks like a great signing, even at 34. Could be a great tutor as well.

Really tempted to start a Dortmund save on an updated database.

Facepacks - http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/319261-FM13-Cut-Out-Faces-Megapack-Thread

Logos - http://sortitoutsi.net/graphics/style/3/metallic-logos

You should give it a go on new updated database They got good players at BVB.

[Ryknow]

Just a few mil over his value, so €14mil, but negotiable. I said €30mil, but I could get €20mil for him easy once listed.

S Bender rates really high for me, so I'll see what happens. Don't want to sell too many in the one window. Maybe Gündogan and Schmezler as they have both been replaced. Should get around €60mil from selling them, not that the money matters.

I'll hopefully take advantage of Valencia's tycoon.

Barca and Man Utd sit midtable in their respective leagues and Lewy (at Barca) has asked to be transfer listed. For listed at €54mil, but even listed he doesn't want to negotiate with us. His wage de,ands would be too high anyway.

[john1]

I wouldn't get rid of Gundogan.

What was Lewandowski wage demands?

[retrodude09]

Facepacks - http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/319261-FM13-Cut-Out-Faces-Megapack-Thread

Logos - http://sortitoutsi.net/graphics/style/3/metallic-logos

You should give it a go on new updated database They got good players at BVB.

Thanks for that!

Yeah I really enjoyed my previous Dortmund save, but i'm enjoying my Liverpool save hugely at the moment.

[Ryknow]

I wouldn't get rid of Gundogan.

What was Lewandowski wage demands?

Won't talk to me, but he's on €140,000 atm, so I expect €120,000-€180,000.

Lukaku and Volland are rated better than him now, but ratings aside it's all about his attributes in key areas. He's a great player. I'll keep monitoring him, but atm I have Volland, Lukaku and Maupay, with a few newgens coming through.

Gündogan can easily be replaced as he doesn't offer much in assists or goals, as it all goes to the front three (Plays CM for me). He doesn't have great assist/goal scoring for BVB in real life either, but it's everything else he does that makes him so special. In FM though, that isn't reflected well. In my FM13 Rangers save I had a newgen a lot like him, and he scored heaps and assisted many. Just not getting that from Gündy, (same role)

I might keep him and sell Kagawa and Schmelzed then. Kagawa got a torn hamstring and is finding it hard to push Reus and Götze out the team. However, I'm not even at the winter break yet. So plenty of time to decide.

Tonnes of teams want Corchia but he plays amazingly due to his attributes and PPMs, eg. Getting forward. I'll eventually sell him, but there are no German options I'm keen on at RB. Koch and Beck the best available atm, and Cvek can play there if needed.

It'll either be this season or the next that I'll need to make some changes so the youth can start. If not, I'll be just waiting until they retire.

[john1]

What setting are you using Gundogan? I use him as deep lying playmaker - support.

[john1]

March 2016

Hectic month for us, 9 fixtures in a month Decent results especially away to Leverkusen. No complaint to HSV loss, had to play fringe players as we only had a day rest prior to the game.

Winner out of me or Sporting CP will play Barcelona or Sevilla in Semi Final.

Table

[tomtuck01]

What setting are you using Gundogan? I use him as deep lying playmaker - support.

I use him in that role aswell, but in the DM position next to Bender, who is set up as a DM-Defend.

[Ryknow]

I've changed my formation again as it felt that the teams had figured out my ones from last season. Only minor tweaks but enjoying my 4-3-3 now, flat 3 CMs. The centre CM is set to CM(defend) with mentality set manually at more defensive. This just results in him dropping deeper to where I want him, but still far enough the pitch to engage in all the play.

Changed the inside forward's wide play to 'Normal' and getting far better play from them. As most players have PPM cut inside, they'll do their own thing. Seeing more of what I want from them, eg. Cutting inside the space between fullback and defender.

Due to this Gündogan is playing better with more goals and assists but so does Leitner, Kaufmann and the Bender bros. Lars Bender got a hattrick not long ago, and Kaufmann gets more space for his 20 long shots. Competition will increase when all the kids come back from loan too.

Anyways, the 3 I use are LCM (Centre Midfielder - Support) - CM (Centre Midfield - Defend) - RCM (Centre Midfield - Attack), with a few minor manual tweaks. I've changed the CM attack to advanced player attack sometimes but don't see much difference, but I use Gündgan in this role. He gets in and around the box to utilise his technique, vision and gets the odd goal.

When used in my old 4-3-3 he was a deep play maker, and I got bored of not seeing much from him in terms of goals and assists. He controlled the play with his midfield partner, but I wanted a more attacking role for him.

[batty1]

What setting are you using Gundogan? I use him as deep lying playmaker - support.

I utilise him as DM/S but have tweaked his individual instructions so he acts more as a B2B.

Just hit February of my 3rd season. There was only one transfer in January which was Shinji Kagawa coming home for £13.75M. Its also a good thing I never spent that £8M on Boateng as he now arrives on a free in the summer.

[tomtuck01]

Christmas break is here, so time for a midseason review I guess!

--------------------------

Bundesliga

Well, that couldn't have gone too much better. Not loads of spectacular scorelines, (a few, but not loads!), but just an awful lot of consistency. Christian Benteke has settled well since joining in the summer, and after a slow start Erik Lamela has started to perform much better of late.

Even at the halfway stage, we should be winning the league this season.

DFB-Pokal

A good performance i9n the first round, which I generally treat as a final preseason game, hence the strong side we had out. In the next two rounds players have been rested and we've not really performed. Still, we're into the quarters, (we face Regensburg of the second division at home), and most of the other top sides have been knocked out, so we have a great chance of retaining the trophy.

Champions League

Delighted with how we did as this could have been a tricky little group to come through. Was delighted to get the draws away from home at Valencia and Lyon, as they're tough places to go. Could have done better against Sparta Prague, but we still got the wins against them.

In the next round we have been drawn against Metalist Kharkiv of Ukraine.

Other Bits And Bobs

Well we have three players who have arrived in the January window. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has arrived from Bayern for £3.7million. Of course he won't play immediately, but is one for the future. We've also had signed this young chap from Bayer Leverkusen for a pricely £5million, but he could be an absolute star. And a marquee signing has arrived for £17.5million.............Thiago Alcantara has joined from Barcelona!! Thrilled to have got him to the club.

--------------------------

Time to get on with the rest of the season then. Looking forward to getting Thiago into the team!

[numero uno gunner]

@batty1 - Boateng on a free looks an excellent piece of business, as does the return of Kagawa.

@Ryknow - How is the flat midfield 3 working for you? Are you starting to get the sort of results you want out of Gundogan?

@john1 - Title race looks close! Hope you manage to win it.

I've finally got round to finishing my season (work getting in the way this week, just so inconvenient!). And what a season!

Really happy with our league campaign. We were fantastic throughout, and I'm pleased we have kept up our ridiculous home record in the Bundesliga, where we seem unbeatable.

Munster had a fantastic run to reach the final, but we did what we needed to do to retain the cup, and complete a domestic treble, as we won the German Super Cup at the start of the season.

However, this was clearly the highlight:

Is there anything better than a stoppage time winner in a cup final? I've just gone berserk in my living room! I'm hoping the neighbours didn't see me...

After last season's defeat to Real Madrid, I made the Champions League the priority this season, and we were awesome throughout. A 5-1 aggregate victory over Schalke in the quarters was followed by a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford in the first leg of the semi final. However, a Gotze goal sealed a nervy 1-0 win at home in the second leg, and Man Utd were beaten. A classic cup run really.

My youngsters have really stepped up to the plate this season:

Its always good to know you can rely on the man between the sticks when you need to.

Loustau has developed into a solid right back, and I'm so glad I've been able to play him so much.

Bertani has provided great cover at right back throughout the season, and I think that has probably aided his development.

Gusmao emerged this season as my first choice centre back alongside Hummels, edging Gunter and Moreau out with a string of impressive performances.

Moreau, much like Bertani, stepped up when required, and I was really pleased with the amount of games he managed to play this season.

Vukasinovic had a really slow start to the season, so the fact that he ended up with so many assists was fantastic. Pushed Reus for a starting spot in the middle of the season, and I think he still has room for further improvement.

I made a conscious decision to play Lazarou more this season, at the expense of Halilovic (who isn't home-grown), and I think it worked out well. His development will more than likely see Halilovic leave the club this summer.

Eggert probably faced the most difficult task of the youngsters inn getting game time, as he was up against both Schurrle and Volland. He did well when called upon, and I'm hoping he will continue to improve next season.

This lad is insane. So young, and yet so good. He was competing with a red-hot Maupay throughout the season, and needless to say, for a first campaign, I was impressed with his contribution.

I've got a load more youngsters who have been playing for BVB II or out on loan this season, and I'll probably post them later to ask for some advice on who might be worth bringing into the first team fold next season. I'm also already scouring the globe (mainly Europe, Brazil and Argentina) to find the best youngsters coming through. Evidently, they need to join before the age of 18 in order to reach home-grown status, so that narrows my field somewhat.

And so ends a mammoth post!

[Ryknow]

Tomtuck: Great midseason Tomtuck, walking it in the league.

San (newgen) looks to have great potential.

Número: Not so much, it's kind of the same. The best he's had is 9 assists over a season mainly because all the assists seem to go to the inside forwards, which is understandable.

However, he's still great it's just I need to reduce my wage bill for next season. Not because I have to, but I want to. After extending my youth players contracts with some asking stupid money, my wage bill is now at €1.7mil pw, overpassing Bayern.

Srna will leave on a free, Großkreutz and Schürrle have asked to leave, Günter got a contract extension but hardly played. Those alone will free up €200,000 pw. Plus I've got a few non-German newgens to let go.

Congrats on a fantastic season winning all comps available.

Great to see Kawashima's progress. He looks similar to Ter Stegen's attribute distribution. Great keeper.

Loustau is coming along well. Does he lose a fair amount of aerial duels? 4 for jumping and 163cm is crazy. I thought Jung was bad with 7 jumping and 173cm(?). I like bigger fullbacks, but judging by his ratings he's doing just fine.

At 20years old, and 3 years left on his contract, and on £51k pw, do you worry what he'll ask for in contract negotiations. This is one part of the game that I've just given up on. I couldn't even negotiate €500 down on someone's wage. Some agent/players are a nightmare to deal with and there simply isn't negotiations. Had to pay my 18/19yr old AMC €40k pw. Wouldn't accept anything less. To be fair he's develop well and been out on loan starring at Gladbach being a key member, but it's just crazy the wage demands.

The older payer who don't get many games ask for around the same wages but €20k appearance bonus! The figures just go out the window after a season. #rantover.

Brendal looks amazing. Academy player or poached from German club?

I'd love a top striker through the club, I've had to spend to poach one from Freiburg. I'm swimming in talented DM/CM/CAMs from my academy. Finally got a high rated RB through my academy after spending €7mil on getting a French 15yr old RB. Great timing.

Schalke got three 4.5+ star newgens. One that my scout rates at having 1 star CA already, and 5 star PA. Looks incredibly, AMC/AML.

How are the other German clubs going at producing and playing German youth? Any made the National team yet?

[numero uno gunner]

@Ryknow - Loustau wouldn't accept anything lower with regards to wages, and I was not going to let him go after developing him into a top full-back, so I gave him what he wanted. I'm far more lenient when it comes to wages with the youngsters that I've developed personally than I am with other players.

Brendel was pinched from Stuttgart for £7.5m, Eggert from Kaiserslauten for £5.5m and Lazarou from Freiburg for £1.5m, so its safe to say I'm scouring the Bundesliga for potential talent. I haven't added the fix for the German national team (really wishing I had now) so its hard to judge breakthroughs at international level.

I've not had too many top level youngsters come through the academy actually. These guys are the best ones:

Lewandowski has been on loan to Getafe in La Liga, and didn't really do as well as I was expecting. That said, he did play pretty much every game for them this season.

Peter has been playing for BVB II, and I think he is just unfortunate that I've got a plethora of talented centre backs, otherwise he would probably be in and around the first team squad I think. Next season could be make or break for him.

Ademola was ridiculously unlucky this season. A pre-season injury followed by an injury just after he got back meant he has essentially missed a whole season. Left back is an interesting position for me, as I seem to have some solid options there now, including another regen (I'll come onto him shortly).

Toko was also plying his trade for BVB II this season, and has done ok. I'm more than likely going to send him out on loan next season, hopefully to a top flight club. I've got Rapid Wien and Celtic as my feeder clubs, so he may end up going there.

Here are the other youngsters in my squad at the moment. Thoughts on who to keep, who needs a season out on loan and who might be ready for a first team fringe squad place would be most welcome.

Oh, and on a side note, I'm being linked with every top job under the sun at the moment. The managerial merry-go-round has gone into overdrive. I've already turned down the Bayern job (as if I could ever go there!), and now Real Madrid have just offered me the job there with a £75m transfer fund, despite me not applying for any of these jobs. The Real Madrid one is an odd vacancy, as they only lost the title to Atletico on results against the two sides (and Barca finished 5th!). Its a crazy world in which we manage people...

[Ryknow]

2016/17 Season Summary - The Quadruple

Die Unbesiegbaren (The Invincibles) from last season only kept their record until a few games into the season, which wasn't a big deal. The seasons task was for European glory and we really delivered. Our biggest task was overcoming Man Utd in the quarters, a team who constantly knocked us out over the years. We met Bayern in the Semis, who I was very comfortable facing as I have a great record against them. We coasted past The Munich powerhouse and into the final to meet Real Madrid (below).

The league was good. Leverkusen bounced back from a disappointing 2015/16 season where they finished 11th, and look good for the 2017/18 season after strengthening wisely. Schalke continue to be strong, but have just lost Draxler to Barca for €26mil, although they have some great youngsters.

DFB Pokal we met Bayern in the semi final, overcoming them rather comfortably to take on Freiburg in the final. They gave a good account of themselves, but we beat them 3-2 to make it the quadruple.

Bayern were average to say the least. Didn't heavily strengthen, and don't look ready to do so. We lost our UCL spot due to mediocre performances from the German clubs, and great ones from the Italians. They've surpassed Spain, so we need to outperform the Spanish clubs. I feat made even harder by the highest rep club in the world now, Valencia (tycoon). Quite the team they have and add Real Madrid and Barca to the mix and it's not looking great. Need Bayern to get their act together.

Finally got 'Worldwide' rep for the club, and back to back Bundesliga UCL wins as Bayern won it last season. Just need the coefficient to rise now. Sounds bad but kind of hoping Schalke or Leverkusen win the league this season. Don't want to keep winning it each year. Reduced the quality of depth at the club so results may change.

Counter attacking, pressing game at its finest. Silenced Ronaldo, a player who had scored 15 goals in the UCL up until the final. The two goals we conceded were ridiculous. Higuain just ran in a straight line for his second. Defence had a brain fart. So rigged, never seen the defence not close a player down so blatantly and just let him walking into the box. Few adjustments and he was taken care of for the rest of the game.

Preseason is still underway, had a tour in China. Won the DFL Supercup again and will face Chelsea in the UEFA Supercup.

Current outgoings sits around €71mil, with me spending nothing so I decided to add depth and spread my wealth and got Stindl and Hoffmann for combined fee of €24mil. I'm not too bother about over spending now as my balance is over €200mil, and I have a €100mil transfer budget. Hopefully the German clubs spend wisely and strengthen. Trying to only sell/loan players to Bundesliga clubs now. Sold Schürrle to Bayern for €28mil as he simply wasn't get game time.

Lukaku and Corchia are the only two key members who aren't German (real players), but otherwise the lineup is normally all German. Ratio sitting around 75%.

The strongest part of the team is the midfield area so having three CM positions helps to make sure players get game time. DMs/CAMs are converted to CMs. 4-3-3 working well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Número: the real German NT fix is save game comparable. I linked it a few pages ago in a file that changes competition/award names to real names. Definitely worth using.

Hard to tell who should get promoted as not sure of your formation or depth.

However, I'd probably say Acuña or Karanka, Manuel Adam and Wilfred Johnson could be promoted to add depth. I'd try and get Manuel Adam tutored asap before he turns 22, as it'll be too late.

I'd use Ademola as 2nd choice LB with Mbengue staying at the club and getting tutored by Schmelzer if you still have him. I found him helpful in tutoring.

[john1]

Congrats on winning the league and Champions League

numero uno gunner: Kranaka looks very promising

Going to fire up my save and hoping to finish the season tonight.

[john1]

April 2016

Good results in the league. Disappointed with our performances over 2 legs against Barcelona, We just didn't take our chances in both matches, media said Barca strike lucky in both games. We was somehow favorite to overturn the 3-0. We held them to 0-0 til 69th minute til Shaun Noble scored own goal Probably going to look at different formation for Champions League.

Barcelona will play West Ham in Europa League Final.

Chelsea knocked out Man City and will play Porto in the final after they beat Bayern on penalties.

I believe we are edging toward to another title We got Bayern at home next game, hopefully we can win and win the league.

Table

[john1]

Just finished the season, will do season review tomorrow.

[oneflyride]

Any way to recall Moritz Leitner from Stuttgart? OR do I just have to wait until 2014? I'm in 2013 (June) transfer window tbh

[Ryknow]

That's not default 13.3 patch so I can't help you. But usually you can recall them after a year if its a two year season long loan. All depends if the person who made the patch included a 'can be recalled' clause.

[oneflyride]

Oh well, looks like I'm going to have to invest in another backup CM . Such a shame though , but at least he's getting first team football at Stuttgart . Let's hope he's coming back in a year at last as I'll be needing him. The ''recall from loan'' option should be visible on the player's profile, right?

Can anyone recommend some good, young , preferably german , hard-working midfielders ? They will be backup for Sahin and Gundogan (along with Mkhitaryan) . I don't use the TC, but I need passing, creativity , good mental stats (and decent def. attributes) and work rate.

Sebastian Rode from Frankfurt looks like a good option and he's also transfer listed , + ''Has a preference to play for dortmund'' . Is he worth 10-13M € ? . Cagigago rates him a 3 * PA and 2.5* CA so I don't know if he'll develop much more.

Also in need of another backup CB (I've got Stefan Bell) for Hummels and Subotic , after selling Papastathopoulos for 20m at PSG . Any recs? My transfer budget is around 40M € , will also bring Bojan for 11M €.

[batty1]

oneflyride Wollscheid of Leverkusen for you centre half. Rode has been performing well for me.

[Ryknow]

If you right click on Leitner's name or go to his profile, under Transfer there should be a "Recall from loan". I think that's all there is, no way of finding it out unless you contact the person who did the patch. I'd try near the end of August again if its not there. Also, don't recall him outside of a window if you're ale to, because you won't be able to register him until the window opens.

Rode is a good option and €10m is a fair price. I'd get in fast as you want to try and develop him well and he normally signs a contract with a release clause meaning you'll have to meet it, or no they won't sell. On mine he signed a €35mil release clause and Frankfurt wouldn't accept anything lower. Doesn't matter about his star rating, he has all the right attributes in key areas for a supporting/defensive midfielder. I wouldn't worry about him being not that creative as you have Gündogan, Sahin and Mkhitaryan for the CM creative role. S Bender and Rode will support them really well.

I never see the need for more than 3 top CBs as the 4th will never get game time. You could use Günter/Sarr as your 4th.

EDIT @oneflyride: Welcome to the forums by the way

[oneflyride]

Ok so there is no option so I'll apparently have to wait for the loan to end.

Anyway good call on using Gunter as backup, I actually had him loaned out at Galatasaray but I figured he won't get first team action there so might as well just use him as backup. Him and Stefan Bell should provide decent cover incase Hummels/Subotic get injured and for cup/unimportant matches.

Will also be getting Rode , as he's transfer listed and Frankfurt are asking 11M € for him . He does seem to be a good all-round midfielder with great pace. I also like his PPM ''Marks opponents tightly'', which should prove useful for stronger teams with AMC's/MC's.

oneflyride Wollscheid of Leverkusen for you centre half

Leverkusen won't sell him unfortunately, quality CB otherwise.

EDIT @oneflyride: Welcome to the forums by the way

Thanks

[Hoarau]

Truly exceptional thread gents, been a great read.

So much Infact it's inspired me to start my last save for FM13, I feel like trying a different approach but I'm unsure which path to follow. I have some time before I get home from work so I'm currently just laying out some base level plans like tactical set up, coaches and scouting targets.

Looking forward to joining a top class thread, any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated.

[john1]

Nice to see you joining us into BVB save

[john1]

End of the season review

Great way to finish the season We was heading to a win til pogba equalised for Bayern in 90th minutes But we confirmed champions after the game. Switched to 4-3-2-1 against Bayern and stuttgart. and reverted back to 4-5-1 against Hoffenheim, unfortunately they was relegated after we beat them.

Final table

Players stats

Next season

Aiming to get to Semi Final of Champions League

Win DFB Pokal

Win the league

Probably won't spend alot in the summer on new transfers.

[john1]

Hmmm, Kagawa is leaving Man Utd on free transfer and I'm tempted to sign him back at Dortmund.

He's on 60K p/w at Man Utd but wants 105K p/w from me.

Just requested a feeder club to send youngsters on loan, hope he comes up with decent clubs.

I'm also in talks with Sakho over move to Dortmund Looking to bring him in for cover.

[Ryknow]

Hoarau: Welcome to the thread, and feel free to ask any questions.

John1: Congrats on the title win. I signed Kagawa on a free when he was on €120k pw, he wanted the same but I got him because I wanted him to return home. Since I play a 4-3-3 now, the AML/AMR are Reus and Götze's to lose, so Kagawa was sold to Newcastle for €16mil this season. He played great but far too costly to be a rotation player.

Sakho would be a solid move. Very expensive? PSG seem to offload tonnes of talents due to hoarding them all. But they're on big wages generally.

I'm looking at choosing my feeder club next time. I have 2 German ones and had a Brazilian one, but cancelled it as I kept getting Brazilian newgens through my academy. I want to try and get Rangers as a feeder, as I get Scottish newgens through anyway due to my managers nationality. Next time I do a BVB save I'll make my manager German.

[john1]

Thanks Well I got my 5.75M bid for him accepted but I decided not to in the end, found this decent German regen defender who just got released by Bayern.

[numero uno gunner]

@john1 - Why the hell have Bayern released him?! He looks like he has the potential to develop well by the looks of it. Is it just on my game where there are a ridiculously high number of quality regen centre backs? Congrats on winning the league, and really hope you can crack Europe next season.

@Ryknow - A fantastic season, well done! Any standout players from such a successful season?

@oneflyride - Welcome to the thread. Leitner is definitely worth the wait. I'm in 2018, and he is one of the first names on the team sheet, having forced Thiago out of the side. Rode has also been playing really well, so I'd echo the comments of others on his signing.

@Hoarau - It was reading this thread that got me interested as playing as BVB, so its nice to know that others are enjoying our games. I hope you keep posting on here, I'm loving reading everyone's games at the moment, and its awesome being part of a helpful, active thread. Like Ryknow, any questions, feel free to fire away! What sort of thing are you thinking of in terms of a long-term game plan?

I'm just in pre-season (Summer 2018) and have brought in another 4 youngsters. De Jong and Bittencourt have both departed, bringing in £10m each. There certainly won't be any more additions to the squad, although some players may go out on loan. Real Madrid are sniffing around Schurrle, who hasn't signed a new contract and can leave on a free next summer. If I can get in excess of £25m for him, I might be tempted to let him go, start with Volland and use Eggert and Adam more thoroughly. Lots of ifs and buts there though.

Oh, and my new youngsters:

Right, time for some friendlies...

[Hoarau]

Cheers for the warm welcome guys.

Started the game last night, it's actually Pro's updated database so gone is Gotze but welcome to PEA & Henirik.

I didn't actually continue last night, I just wanted to get familiar with some of the players I may not have known. The squad is actually quite capable despite the departure of Gotze, although his talent is massive I feel we can make up for it as a unit.

I think the ethos is going to be based on the Germany(actually West Germany) I grew up loving through the late 80's into the 90's. It'll be less if the modern day "flair" I see so many adopt and more about German efficiency.

My debate come with trying to replicate either West Germany '74 or West Germany 90. The 74 era would let me experiment with a Libero and try to develop the next Kaiser.. I may very well experiment with both during my long preseason.

I notice Nevan Subotic has some interest from Chelsea & Arsenal, I actually like his partnership with Hummels in real life and think he gets undervalued for the job he does. What's the opinion of him with you fine chaps? If I was to sell him I'm a huge fan if Benedikt Howedes, would that be an acceptable replacement? Or should I be looking at Ginter or Stefan Bell?

I don't really have any other targets as of yet, are there any obvious ones I should be looking at? My only "long term" luxury signing per say is Julian Draxler, kinda to fill the mantel left by Gotze but not exclusively our only option.

[Ryknow]

John1: What an amazing find! He looks a very promising CB. A great free signing and at 17 can get some game time. Save you a lot in transfer/signing fees compared to Sakho, albeit later in the game money isn't much of an issue at BVB.

Numero uno gunner: Great crop of youngsters. Zanetti looks class, although I'd be tempted to convert him into a winger.

In reference to your question I'll include a summary below.

Hoarau: Sounds like a good plan to make your game more challenging. I'm enjoying focusing on German youth especially when you see the national team comprises of over 50% BVB players. Subotic is underrated in this game, and didn't play all the well for me, but each person is different. Firstly I'd say goodluck getting Höwedes and secondly you might be waiting a while to get Draxler. Neither will talk to me despite my success, also doesn't help that Schalke are turning into a very strong team in my game. I think if Schalke had a very poor season and you went well then Höwedes could be attainable, but it would be very unlikely to sign Draxler. Might get lucky though.

In terms of a partnership, Sokratis and Hummels dominated in my save. I started 13.3 patch, so I actually signed Sokratis and never regretted it. Only sold him because he wasn't German. However, if you're going down the German route I'd say Bell and Ginter are solid choices as Wollscheid would simply cost too much. Best to choose within a season or two as Ginter's mental attributes look poor on my game, very low concentration/decisions. Two areas I like CBs to have around 15 and over. I'm sure with tutoring and training under you then he could turn out great, but on my save the AI didn't do a great job. Bell turned out great in my save and still at Mainz.

--2017/18 Preseason Roundup--

In reference to Numero's question, the big performers last season were really scattered as nearly all the key members had an injury at some point. For instance Lukaku only made 19 league appearances, but still scored 25 goals in 30 appearances in all comps. Everyone contributed last season as a pressing unit and the goals came from many different areas. I was particularly impressed with Reus(AML) and Götze(AMR) who scored over 15 each, and the same for assists. Hummels and ter Stegen were their usual amazing selves. The three CMs spots are just too competitive that it's too hard to pick out any one player that stood out from the rest.

Ralf Möhrle is now the first choice LB, and contributed 10 assists last season.

No point doing a transfer roundup anymore as most of the players I buy and sell are newgens.

The notable ins were:

Lars Stindl - €12mil

Versatile backup/rotation player.

Andre Hoffmann - €12mil

Versatile backup/rotation player.

Lukas Podolski - Free

Backup forward, only on €20k pw. 32yrs old, still got pace and 20 in finishing.

Few other newgens. All German, besides one French RB to address my RB prospects problem, only for me to get a promising RB in my intake. I'll still develop him though as he looks amazing.

Notable outs were:

Kagawa, Schürrle and a tonne of newgen/real players, plus around 10/12 players out on loan. Maupay returned to Atletico Madrid on loan again, no room for him atm, and probably be sold following season.

Net transfer income was around €64mil last time I checked. Balance sits at €208mil with €6mil coming in each month from transfers.

--2017/18 Newgen Update--

Taken during 2017 preseason

It's hard to say who my first three are in the CM spots, but Kaufmann has really worked his way in. He's a fantastic player, from 1860 Munich, now a HG Club player. Doesn't show it here but is 4.5 star PA. All these newgens are 4.5/5 star PA, and wonderkids (if under 21).

Usually the partner for Hummels as Kirchhoff has been made 3rd choice now. One of the two wonderkids I got from Greuther Fürth when they were 15 years old. The other is Ralf Möhrle (below), my first choice LB. Both are HG Club.

[/url]

My first youth intake had this guy who I posted few pages back. He's come a long way and last season was vital player in Gladbach's side. Will compete for a spot in the 3 CMs positions this season. HG Club.

-Loaned out this season-

Lepper had to go out on loan again. Tbh, he'd be in the starting line up without question, but I want to be using the Bender bros instead. He'll replace both of them as they decline as I didn't need both in the end. Unfortunately no other clubs came in for him, so he went and joined Jung at Real Sociedad. Should prove a good test for him as he made the Bundesliga Team of the Year while out on loan last season. HG Club.

The following two are from my academy. I seem to only produce Dms/CAMs, luckily they can play CM. Hornig got more game time last season due to injuries to both Bender bros. Both HG Club

[/url]

Just a few of the players loaned out, but looking forward to their development after being tutored and developed since 14/15 years old.

-Promoted-

Best of the academy promoted players. Excited that he finally turned 17 as I'm turning him into a Reus type replacement. He's good on both feet, but won't know until he's played whether it's been worth it. Still plenty of time to develop and change his role if needed.

-The Foreigners-

Always had a soft spot for Argentinian newgens, especially since FM12 where I had two great ones at BVB. Diaz came in at a young age but will probably be moved on as he's not German and failed to become HG as I had to loan him out last season. Not too bothered as I have a promising German GK who will obtain HG Nation (Out on loan at Mainz this season) and Ter Stegen will be around for quite some time.

Similar to Diaz, brought in young to replace Kuba. Failed to perform and was offloaded to Spain midseason on loan (6months). Scored a heap and assisted in many others, returned with expectations last season but tore his hamstring 2 games into the season. After 3 months out he found it hard to replace Götze, but still got a good amount of game time in the 2nd half of the season. Same as Diaz in that his loan deal meant he failed to meet HG status. Not too bothered as he'll be sold eventually.

-The Foreigners: Sold-

Captured on a free around 3 seasons ago but due to the depth he only made 4 appearances at BVB and was loaned out to Sporting and Porto for full season. Sold to Porto for €28mil. To be honest if he was German he'd be in my team, competing with Cvek. Great player.

P.S Not sure if it's a German template trait, but I've been lucky to have all my German kids with good levels of teamwork and workrate.

EDIT: P.P.S Apologies for the huge post.

[Hoarau]

Ryknow - Im prepared for a long wait with Draxler, I will take my time with him. Perhaps ill use the media to try and sway him over the course of a season or two. Sokratis looks very handy and could postpone my immediate persuit of Howdes.

I'm now getting together a shortlist of potential replacements for Lewondowski, I think ill sell him on instead of letting him leave on a Bosman.

[tomtuck01]

Draxler will not come unless the DB is edited. Dortmund are his only disliked club, and the level is as high as it can possibly be.

[Hoarau]

Draxler will not come unless the DB is edited. Dortmund are his only disliked club, and the level is as high as it can possibly be.

Dreams shattered.

Now back to the draining board.

[john1]

You got impressive youngsters there Ryknow Such a shame you have to sell your foreigners regens

[batty1]

Ryknow You have some fantastic newgens there, who are your youth coaches?

[Ryknow]

Thanks guys. I've been pretty lucky with my academy, and only grabbed the two Fürth lads on a whim. I think they spawned all in the same year, eg. Lepper, Möhrle, Cvek, Kaufmann and Holm(my academy). I signed the two Fürth lads straight away only going by star PA reports and they didn't cost me much (under €500k each I think). Lepper and Kaufmann were targets but I didn't move for them on creation date as it was first season so didn't have the cash. Truly a golden generation of players and I was lucky to get them all. I had a similar experience in my first FM13 save with Rangers. My intake and all the Scottish players I poached in the first season went on to become first team members. I've faired well in FM13 with first season intakes.

Batty1: In relation to coaches I'm not too sure off the top of my head. I always forget about youth coaches, and the youth team. But my senior coaches are all 4.5 star or more. I made my first task to improve the youth requirement and junior coaching funding asap. I think it's junior coaching increases created academy players CA on spawn, while youth recruitment network just increases the chance of getting a higher PA youth/s. I've had a newgen come through with 1 star CA. It's just a shame they need to wait until they're 17 years old to play.

I don't even have BVBII as they got relegated after first season. So ever since 3rd season I started scheduling friendlies every Thursday with 'Nearby' teams.

In general I put them on a position schedule, heavy. Then get them tutored asap, if needed. They must develop well with the U19 games like Bandermann screenshot shows. He's yet to play a competitive game and looks great already.

How do you guys treat the U17 youngsters?

[tomtuck01]

Can sign Nuri Sahin for £90,000 p/w. Has been good for me in the two seasons so far, but a little injury prone. Yay or nay, chaps?

How do you guys treat the U17 youngsters?

I look at their attributes and decide what role I want for them. I then decide what attribues they need for that role, and train an individual attribute, (focus set to heavy), for three months at a time, rotating them around. (Example been a striker will get Off The Ball, Finishing, etc).

I do this with all my players until they reach 23/24, then I such put them on role training.

[Ryknow]

So you are going into 3rd season? Quite large wages tbh, but he is great. Depends what patch you're using. If 13.3 then I'd give Leitner more of a go.

Your training approach sounds good. I've started doing similar to certain players with a deficiency but end up forgetting about changing it back.

Open question: How about team training?

I do heavy 'Fitness' during preseason and start of season plus tactical (formation one).

Then switch to average 'Ball Control' and defend set pieces and leave it until next preseason. I messed about with it in early seasons but I either forget/become lazy with it. Also, I found I get best results from those combos (ball control/defend set pieces) so just leave it as is.