[FM16] Kafra FC - All Youth in England

[abulezz]

This is the richest contract I have given out by far - more than £80k a week!

[glennuk]

Wow hope he is worth it in the long run, sure he will be

[Maw74]

That's a nice pay rise from £100 pw to £85,000 pw.

Well done on staying up.

[abulezz]

Wow hope he is worth it in the long run, sure he will be

That's a nice pay rise from £100 pw to £85,000 pw.

Well done on staying up.

I am actually not sure he deserves the contract right now - but it was the only way I could keep him and I am so sick of losing my best players.

[MichaelBrown]

Great update as per and nice to see you're able to hold onto your best players, if only you had some of those you lost!!

Here's hoping you find a #9 for the future.

[ExeChris]

I am actually not sure he deserves the contract right now - but it was the only way I could keep him and I am so sick of losing my best players.

Would you be prepared to buy back any of your home-grown players now you have pots of cash? If they'd come back that is.

[rGade]

Would you be prepared to buy back any of your home-grown players now you have pots of cash? If they'd come back that is.

I believe it's been discussed before in this thread, and obviously it's all up to abulezz, but I will say I hope he doesn't do it. If one of his former players become available on a free, I'd be OK with it, but as far as spending money on players (even those from the Kafra academy) I hope he sticks to not allowing himself to pay any transfer fees for players at all.

[abulezz]

Great update as per and nice to see you're able to hold onto your best players, if only you had some of those you lost!!

Here's hoping you find a #9 for the future.

Thanks! We need a No.9, a No.10, a No.7, a No.11, a No.3 - lol, we need improvements in pretty much everything! Its the reason Matty York got such a big contract - I had to tie him up after losing Dakoutros (he's leaving to Wolfsburg on Free at the end of the season)

Would you be prepared to buy back any of your home-grown players now you have pots of cash? If they'd come back that is.

I believe it's been discussed before in this thread, and obviously it's all up to abulezz, but I will say I hope he doesn't do it. If one of his former players become available on a free, I'd be OK with it, but as far as spending money on players (even those from the Kafra academy) I hope he sticks to not allowing himself to pay any transfer fees for players at all.

I had a debate about it earlier in the thread, but my personal conviction is once a player leaves, that's that. No Free signings, and obviously no Paid signings. I will be sticking by that for the rest of the save.

[Torminator]

Nice update as usual. Really enjoying this thread. To bad Dakoutros is leaving, hopefully you'll get an amazing new intake this year and manage to stay up!

[abulezz]

Second year in a row I get to improve this!

[Torminator]

The most important one! It increases the possible Potential ability of the youth intake.

[SOD7]

Amazing save you've done! Awesome read! Hope you find the path to european glory!

[Khrayze]

Been a good read so far my man. Really enjoyed it, good luck moving forward.

[abulezz]

The most important one! It increases the possible Potential ability of the youth intake.

I really hope so - this year's intake was "Meh" again, so my hopes are next year's Intake will reflect this investment.

Amazing save you've done! Awesome read! Hope you find the path to european glory!

Thanks! I think European participation - let along glory! - is still a good ways away!

Been a good read so far my man. Really enjoyed it, good luck moving forward.

Thank you for the comment, very much appreciated!

Sorry the updates have not been as constant - I am pretty much towards the end of the season so there will be one before the end of the weekend, hopefully - I travel a lot and I am with the family (wife, 3 year old daughter, and 4 month old son!) so not so much time for anything else!

[abulezz]

[Pompeyboyz]

:applause::applause::applause:

[rGade]

Find myself constantly checking this thread for updates. Really, really great job, abulezz!

[-Ironhide-]

This is great! I just read this in one whole sitting. Well done!

[abulezz]

:applause::applause::applause:

Find myself constantly checking this thread for updates. Really, really great job, abulezz!

This is great! I just read this in one whole sitting. Well done!

Thank you all so much! Update coming before tomorrow night, hopefully - working on it.

[Northwood_dk]

Impressive that you managed to survive the EPL with such a young team.

Keep it up

[abulezz]

SEASON REVIEW 2040/41

We had a similar season to last year – a lot of losses with some wins (surprising ones, even) sprinkled here and there. It was enough to keep us up, and we actually improved one spot to 15th Place. We are easily still one of the weakest teams in the Premier League, and unfortunately, we don’t have any real rising stars that will change that, but two straight years in the Premier League is not a bad feat. It starts with our defense (ranked 11th in the League), which has held up reasonably well thanks to Kelledy, Hendon, and to some extent, Burton. Those three players, led by Hendon, have managed to maintain a defensive line that has given us decent form, and it is really the base that our survival in the Premier League has been built on. Our midfield was good in some spots but not so impressive in others – most importantly, however, it was not disappointing in any position. Our CMs could probably do a much better job next season than this one, but our wingers and our superstar Dakoutros really shone again this season. Of course, this was Dakoutros last season with us, so we are going to have a really difficult time without him in 2041/42. Up front, we got the service we needed, with Webb and Robertson combining for 27 Goals, which spearheaded our offense into becoming the 11th best in the Premier League. Overall, I am just happy we got a third year in the Premier League, and I don’t have any doubt now that we can continue to fight for survival, but I do have my doubts about improving further. Our intakes over the past few years has not given us any star players, and while we might have a decent amount of role players, none of them are difference makers except for Dakoutros. In the cups, we saw a 2nd Round exit in the Capital Cup and a 5th Round exit in the FA Cup, - so just about where things were supposed to be given our historical performances in the two cups.

We are in fantastic shape financially – our new stadium is being financed completely from our account, and I can afford to keep players like Dakoutros with us up till the end of their contract without worrying about the money I am losing. I have no problem reinvesting in the facilities needed, and our Youth and Training facilities are pretty much top notch. Our wage budget is over £1.3m and we’re just spending £275k – obviously, that is going to go up over the next few summers as we reward players with larger contracts, but I don’t think – in the short term, at least – we are going to have any spending problems. The club’s estimated value is now £240m, and we have two affiliates (Linfield in N. Ireland, and Freiburg in Germany). I think we are in good shape.

In the Premier League, Manchester United recaptured the title from Manchester City (5th), who faltered and fell out of a Champions League spot. Man United probably had the 3 best players in the league in two time World Golden Ball winner Karl Giggs (Career), 23 year old Portuguese sensation Oliveira, and Bas Koman, who set a new Premier League record with 28 Assists. Chelsea (2nd) made a vast improvement from last year thanks to their record breaking Italian forward Davide Grillo, who broke the Premier League record with 35 Goals scored in a season, while Stoke (3rd) shocked the nation by moving up 10 spots in a single season thanks to their 23 year old Uruguayan winger Ricardo Fernandez, whose emergence as good player to one of the world’s best was as sudden as his club’s rise. Arsenal (4th) also climbed back into the Top Four after finishing in 8th Place last season behind the form of their frontline of Ivan Reyes (Career) and emerging young Dutch striker Pieter De Lange.

In the Champions League, Dortmund’s 25 years wait was finally over after defeating Man City 4-2 at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, France. It was the German team’s 3rd ever title, led by Germany’s new golden boy Simon Schwadorf and Dortmund legend Patrick Rauhut – the defeated Finalists were featuring in their 11th Finals, of which they have won 4 of them. Former defending champions Barcelona fell to the eventual champions in the Quarter-Finals – this was also the second straight season that a Manchester team had lost in the Finals. Man City were led by Champions League Footballer of the Year Uhm Jung Ho. You can see the recent Champions League winners in the link here: Champions League Winners.

GOALKEEPERS

George Kelledy (2030), 27 Years Old: This was his 11th full season with the club and his 10th as our starter, and the captain once again delivered a solid, consistent campaign between the sticks for us. He did have to deal with a broken finger that ruled him out for 5 weeks, but he still ended up playing in 32 Games, registering 1.66 Con/90, 4 Clean Sheets, and 6.84 AR (down from 6.92 AR last season) as the club finished the season as the 11th best defensive team in the Premier League. My coaching staff believes he is, at best, a Championship level GK, and they are probably right, but he also has not been a disappointment for us in our two seasons in the Premiership, so there is nothing to complain about. Honestly, as long as he maintains this form, I am happy for the foreseeable future.

LEFT DEFENDERS

Elliot Watson (2036), 21 Years Old: This kid is a train wreck. 12 Yellow Cards and 2 Reds?! He only played in 26 Games despite having one injury that ruled him out for a couple of weeks – instead, he was suspended for most of the games he missed. Unreliable, and even worse, completely inconsistent and mediocre – he continues the trend of fullbacks that underachieve despite their talents suggesting they can do better. His 6.16 TpG is good, but his 6.64 AR, which was actual improvement from last year’s disastrous 6.52 AR, is nothing to smile about. I think it is quite obvious he is not our answer at the position, despite this being his 5th year as a starter.

CENTRAL DEFENDERS

Courtney Hendon (2036), 21 Years Old: He made a lot of noise this year about wanting to leave for a bigger club, although his talents suggest he is at the right level with us. I kept trying to offer him a new contract, but he kept refusing – I am not too worried, though, as he is signed with us till the end of the 2043/44 season. He had another good season for us – all 38 Games, 3.76 TpG, 34 Key Tackles (4th Best in League), 231 Key Headers (Best in League by far), 681 Interceptions (Best in League), and 7.12 AR – but he is one of those players that whose value with us would far outweigh his value with another team. I doubt he would be a league leader in any category – or as important to a team – if he was with anyone else as he is our absolute leader in the back, and as such he was called up to England’s U20 squad for the U20 World Cup.

Alex Nkumu (2039), 18 Years Old: He earned his lineup this year based on his performances from the last, but he did take a step back and was not as impressive as one would have hoped. I understand he is young and he will go through a lot of learning pains, and it was not like he was terrible, but I felt he could have given us better form. In 29 Games, he registered 2.91 TpG and 6.74 AR, which I hope he can improve upon next season. He has made some great improvements in his attributes the past couple of years, and with his pace, it is rare to find a striker that can beat him. He earned a U19 European Championship title last summer, and has since made the move up to the U21 team. He was also called up to the U20 World Cup.

Jack Roberts (2036), 21 Years Old: He has continued to get playing time because of his versatility, but I have given up hope of getting consistent and decent form from him. Out of the hyped ’36 Youth Class’ defensive prospects, none of them panned out except for Hendon. As for Roberts, he played in 25 Games, registering 5.15 TpG and 6.66 AR, which is pretty much in line with what he registered last season. I think this is his peak, but hopefully we can get some prospects develop their game enough so that I don’t have to resort to playing Roberts so much.

RIGHT DEFENDERS

Mikele Burton (2037), 19 Years Old: This is more like it – he showed fantastic improvements in his form during his 2nd season in the Premier League, and I hope Alex Nkumu can follow in his footsteps. In 34 Games, he registered 3.94 TpG, 74% Pass Ratio, 1.28 DpG, and 6.91 AR (up from 6.74 AR last season) – decent numbers for any mid-table full back, especially one that has not turned 20 years old yet. He is a regular for the England U21 squad, and was called up to the U20 World Cup – it is kind of crazy that this was Burton’s 4th full season as a starter for the club. Hopefully, he will continue his development in his attributes, which will reflect back to an improvement in his form.

CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS

Matty York (2037), 20 Years Old: The new owner of an £85k per week contract – the most expensive contract given by the club in its history by far – he will also be the team’s highest valued player with the departure of Dakoutros this summer. While his play last year justified the contract he was given, this year’s performances did not – 32 Games, no Goals, a single Assist, and 7.02 AR (down from 7.17 AR last season). Those are not the kind of statistics you want from your team’s best player, and I absolutely will be expecting more from him next season. He was called up to England’s team for the U20 World Cup, but it looks like he has hit his peak in terms of his attributes. He should be a serviceable Premier League midfielder throughout his career, but hopefully he won’t stay our most talented player for long!

Ronayne Herdman (2039), 19 Years Old: One of our most surprising players this season, I was very impressed with Herdman’s form. In 33 Games, he registered 4 Goals, 3 Assists, 3.91 TpG, 77% Pass Ratio, 1.35 DpG, and 7.20 AR, which are fantastic all-around numbers for such a young player. He is never going to be a superstar midfielder, but with his hard work and consistency, it will take a lot to push him out of the rotation if we ever get some more talented midfielders than him coming up through the Academy. For now, I am very satisfied with him, which is why I rewarded him with a £40.5k per week contract towards the end of the season. He was also one of 6 Kafra players to be called up to the U20 squad for the U20 World Cup.

Luis Medaglia (2040), 17 Years Old: It is still unclear what our first ever Costa Rican prospect will be down the road, but the ’40 Youth Class top prospect did show signs of at least being a decent rotation player in his first full season at the club. He appeared in 19 Games, registering 2.96 TpG to go with his 6.88 AR, and he showed reasonable (but not great) improvement in his abilities. He will get chances to show us what he is made of next season as his progress will be closely monitored.

LEFT WINGERS

Louis Miller (2034), 22 Years Old: I think it is every manager’s dream to have a team full of players of Miller’s attitude. He is a complete overachiever, probably the hardest worker on the team, and his attitude has turned him from a “Potential League 2 winger” to one of the best left wingers in the Premier League. In 37 Games, he registered 8 Goals, 9 Assists, 3 PoMs, 2.91 TpG, 2.28 DpG, and a career-high 7.43 AR – our fans might have voted for Dakoutros as our Player of the Year, but to me, it was Miller by a mile. He has yet to find a way to disappoint me, and for that, he was rewarded with the contract he wanted at the end of the season, no negotiation – he is now earning £25k per week.

RIGHT WINGERS

Danny Judge (2037), 19 Years Old: Given his sudden stagnation in terms of his improvement in his attributes, I must say I am pretty content with the season he gave us. In 36 Games, he registered 4 Goals, 10 Assists, 2.29 TpG, 2.58 DpG, and 6.96 AR – while he was the team’s starting right winger, he also covered at both the AM and LW positions this season as well. The perhaps points to his greatest asset – his versatility – which will probably be the reason he sticks around in the rotation. The downside is, it does not seem he is going to get any better, as he basically has not improved anything in 3 years.

Stephen Hunter (2040), 18 Years Old: His natural position was forward, but I have changed all that as I envision him being better as a winger than up front. His pace is fantastic, and we can make very good use of it down the right wing, which is where he is currently being retrained. In 17 Games, he registered 2 Goals, 4 Assists, 2.09 TpG, 2.09 DpG, and 6.86 AR while learning his new position, so there is a lot to be excited about. Obviously, his attacking attributes need to get better, but once they do, I believe Hunter can be a respectable Premier League right winger.

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS

Dimitris Dakoutros (2035), 20 Years Old: It is a sad, sad farewell for our 4 time Player of the Year (he has won it 3 years in a row now), and he can be rightfully called a club legend at this point. I chose to lose him on Free instead of selling him as I am not desperate for money, and he chose to sign with Wolfsburg, who have won the last two Bundesliga titles and four of the last five. As for Dakoutros, while Marvin John is considered the greatest product to ever come out of the Kafra Youth Academy, I do think Dakoutros is very close second and has the potential to one day be at least as influential as John is right now. In 33 Games, he registered 9 Goals, 9 Assists, 2.30 TpG, 1.31 DpG, and 7.24 AR – another fine season in the Premier League for the England international. Nothing will live up to our final season in the Championship, though, when Dakoutros put the team on his back and lifted us up to the Premier League, and for that, we will be eternally grateful. He will get his wish and move on to a bigger team – currently – and it is sad knowing he will never again don a Kafra shirt, but I am very interested in seeing what he does with his career from here on in. His media description has now changed from Wonderkid to World-Class Midfielder. Good luck, Dimitris!

FORWARDS

Jordan Webb (2037), 19 Years Old: Although he is the lesser talent of our two strikers in the rotation, Webb again had the better season. In 29 Games, he registered 16 Goals, 8 Assists, 2 PoMs, and 7.13 AR, greatly improving his form on his first season in the Premier League. Impressively, he is still described as potentially the next Michael Owen, but discouragingly he did not show any improvement in his attributes this season, so I fear he might have hit his peak. If so, he could be great as a backup player in the Premier League, but he is nowhere near talented enough to be a Premier League striker.

John Robertson (2038), 19 Years Old: While he is the more talented of the two striker, and while he did not have a bad season, one gets the feeling that our young Scottish striker is underachieving a little bit. In 21 Games, he registered 11 Goals, 2 Assists, 2.78 DpG, and a 7.01 AR – all numbers that were a big improvement over last season. We just have not gotten that consistency from him yet, and for whatever reason, his growth in attributes stagnated this season. Still, he is young and playing in a difficult position, so I am hoping we can get some better form and attribute improvement this coming season.

YOUTH INTAKE

Tim Abel - Akil Joseph

This was easily the weakest Intake we have had in years – we have not had great intake in recent times, with our last really great player being Dakoutros from the ’35 Youth Intake, but this one is easily the worst of the bunch. It’s like the more money I put in and the better my Youth Facilities/Recruitment/Junior Coaching get, the worst my intakes get! Anyway, our two brightest prospects are a DC and a GK – they both don’t look like much, and Abel is the only that could earn regular playing time on this team. Disappointing crop this year, especially as we’re losing Dakoutros for good.

2041/42 PRESEASON REPORT

This is going to be a tough year as it is going to be our first without our only real star, Dimitris Dakoutros. Matty York is our most talented player now, which doesn’t bode well as we are a Premier League team. The discouraging part is, we don’t have any real star talent on the roster – it has been years since we have had an Intake deliver us that kind of player and the last one was especially weak. I am probably going to have to change my tactics this season – instead of playing a 4-5-1, I will probably look at playing both Webb and Robertson together up front in a 4-4-2 formation. I do not know how it will go, but it looks like I will at least start the season like that.

As for the new prospects, I am probably most excited to see what Hunter can do – he showed very good improvement in his attributes and I might have him starting down the right wing sooner rather than later. I will be hoping for big seasons from both of our strikers, and definitely a better, more influential season from York. Defensively, if Nkumu keeps up his improvement, we should be respectable again this year, but our left back position continues to be a huge problem. This will be the last year for us in the Kafra Stadium before moving to Forde Park (why does FM insist on naming stadiums after players!?), and the goal once again is just survival.

FORMER PLAYERS

Hadan Lavine – Attributes Upon Leaving – Left in 2030 for Free: 31 years old…Has become a legend for Barbados, but his domestic season was mediocre. 99 Caps/24 Goals for Barbados. Career

Kemar Herrera – Attributes Upon Leaving – Left in 2032 for Free to Aberdeen: 28 years old…Completely uneventful season, but his importance to the Jamaican national team cannot be overstated. He won the Caribbean Championship with Jamaica last summer (2040). 77 Caps, 1 Goal for Jamaica.

Marvin John – Attributes Upon Leaving – Left in January 2035 for £5m to Manchester City: 25 years old…Ever year, his form seems to slip a little bit. In 2038/39, he registered 7.64 AR – this season, it was down to 7.14 AR. He is still considered one of the most talented defenders in the world, and certainly the best England currently has, and as such he was named to the Premier League Select for the 3rd consecutive time. Still, you get the feeling that for all that talent, she should be doing better. 51 Caps/4 Goals for England.

Tom Ferguson – Attributes Upon Leaving – Left in January 2038 for £11m to Aston Villa: 24 years old…The unfortunate collapse of Aston Villa led to relegation, and while Ferguson had a decent season in the Championship, he was not spectacular. His last half season with Kafra was spent in the Championship, where he lit the league on fire and was easily its best player over the course of the first few months before moving on, but there was no repeat of that. Aston Villa subsequently won the league this season, so they – and Ferguson – will be back in the Premier League next season. 14 Caps/4 Goals for England.

Phil Gwinnett – Attributes Upon Leaving – Left in January 2039 for £20m to Liverpool: 23 years old…He will be replaced by Dakoutros as the last star to leave Kafra FC this summer. He has now made 85 Appearances for Liverpool, registering a 7.14 AR over the course of the last two seasons, with the FA Cup win in 2039 still the only title in the midfielder’s career. 20 Caps for England.

[abulezz]

Impressive that you managed to survive the EPL with such a young team.

Keep it up

Two years in a row now, but we lost our best player by far.

[abulezz]

I just wanted to point out that on the First Page (2nd Post), I have kept track of all notable players that have come out of the Kafra Youth Academy by year of Intake. If the player's screenshots are not working and he doesn't have a small write-up yet, then he has not retired.

[abulezz]

The number of Kafra Youth Academy graduates who have played for England has increased from 4 to 6!

[BoxToBox]

Great stuff!

[abulezz]

SEASON REVIEW 2041/42

KAFRA: Another 15th Place finish can’t be a disappointment, especially given that the team is now officially going through its lowest point in terms of talent in the last few years. With the departure of Dakoutros, this was the first time in at least 10 years that the team has been without a star talent, and as you will read below, I particularly dislike our overrated “best player”. The defensive line was a mess this season, with a combination of unhappiness and general inconsistency making my life hell. We took a step back and were the 15th in the league in terms of defense, and something which has been a core of our success became a liability. I don’t know if it had anything to do with the change of tactics – now that Dakoutros is gone, I did not have any good AM talent, so I switched from a 4-5-1 to a 4-2-2-2 formation with two strikers and no AM – or just general lack of sufficient talent, but everyone across that defensive line underachieved. In front of the defensive line sat our two prima-donnas, York and Herdman, who were rewarded for having mediocre seasons with their first ever England Caps. Mercifully, England manager Harry Chapman spared me and did not select them for his final World Cup team – they both did not deserve it and both are the biggest whiners I have ever had on this team. Our wingers were the exact opposite – hardworking, overachieving types that did their job well and got on with it. The same can be said for our strikers, as well. We also had a good run in the FA Cup, falling to Chelsea away in the 5th Round, while our Capital One Cup adventures lasted until the 4th Round before we were bested by Liverpool. Overall, I am satisfied with the results of the team given how bad our talent is, and there are not real saviors of prospects that are on the team yet.

PREMIER LEAGUE: The title went back to London from Manchester for the first time since 2035, the last season of Chelsea’s four time consecutive run, and it was Chelsea again who won it this year. They Runners-Up last season beat out Manchester City (2nd), as players such as Davide Grillo (Career) and Juan Carlos Barrachina (Career) led the Blues to their 11th title. Man City, led by the legendary Shane Gardner (Career) and arguably the best leftback in the world Nico Peeters, finished ahead of defending champions and rival Manchester United (3rd), who were led by Karl Giggs (Career), who won the Premier League Footballer of the Year for the 3rd consecutive year, and Premier League Top Goalscorer Luca Paniagua (Career). Hull (4th) rose up the tables to earn a Champions League spot thanks to the play of Juan Parra, who 8.15 AR was the highest in the league.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: The team that took the title away from Barcelona last year, Dortmund, fell to them in the Second Round this year, as the Spanish side captured its 2nd title in 3 years and its 3rd title in 5 years. It is safe to say that Barcelona, whose last great team was in the 2000s and the first half of the 2010s, is now in the midst of another Golden Age, led by players such as former World Golden Ball winner Tim Uhlke (Career), 2042 Champions League Best Player recipient Edwin Beentjes, Spanish striker Xabier Merino (Career), and legendary Brazilian midfielder Caio Patrick (Career). The defeated Finalists – Bayern Munich – were led by Carlos Mendez, while Semi-Finalists Wolfsburg and Real Madrid were led by the legendary Josimar David (Career), who was the Top Goalscorer in the Champions League, and winger Rowendy Angloma (Career), respectively. This was Barcelona’s 8th title win from 12 Finals appearances in their history, with this season’s title being lifted at Cocu Park in Eindhoven, Holland.

GOALKEEPERS

George Kelledy (2030), 28 Years Old: A dislocated shoulder ruled him out of action for two months towards the end of the season, so while he did register a career-high 6.94 AR, he also played in a career-low 29 Games. Overall, he has been consistent for us all these years, and his form has been acceptable. He is not a top-tier GK for a Premier League team, but he has definitely proven he can do the job. Easily the best GK the Kafra Youth Academy has ever produced, he remains the club captain and has done a solid job at that, too.

LEFT DEFENDERS

Elliot Watson (2036), 22 Years Old: For the third straight year, he set a new club record for worst discipline over the course of a season. Seriously, what is wrong with this guy? He doesn’t miss games because of injuries, he misses them because he keeps getting suspended. Extremely frustrating to deal with, this guy should not be starting. He should not be part of the team, period. 29 Games, 6.93 TpG (Best in League), 6.58 AR – obviously, he is great at Tackling, but there is nothing else that is good about his game. The left back position – almost 30 years and we have not gotten a single respectable left back from our Youth Academy!

CENTRAL DEFENDERS

Courtney Hendon (2036), 22 Years Old: There seemed to be a lack of concentration from our behemoth in his 6th full season with the club. His statistics were good overall – 37 Games, 3.24 TpG, 244 Key Headers (Best in League), 661 Interceptions (Best in League), and 7.05 AR. However, after a deeper look, his statistics also feature a league-leading 9 Mistakes that Led to Goals, and his 94 Mistakes were the 2nd highest in the league – these were not issues with him before. His unhappiness has started affecting his game, and he demands to move to a bigger club keep getting louder. I have no plans to move him, and he is signed with us for another two seasons, so I will deal with his constant whining as long as he keeps performing. His mistakes, however, need to drop back down.

Alex Nkumu (2039), 19 Years Old: He seems to have all the tools – great in the air, good pace, and excellent defensive abilities and instinct. That is why I still don’t understand his regression for the second straight season – he really should be playing a lot better than this. In 33 Games, he registered a measly 2.29 TpG and a career-low 6.68 AR – down from 6.74 last season and 6.90 two seasons ago. Hopefully, he will figure it out and really get his act together because he has been underachieving in a big way. He is young, and his improvement in his abilities remains good, so I am hoping for a much better showing next season.

RIGHT DEFENDERS

Mikele Burton (2037), 20 Years Old: As was the trend with the entire defensive line this season, Burton took a step back after what looked like the season-before-the-breakout-season last year. He played in all 38 Games, registering 4.16 TpG, 1.00 DpG, and 6.78 AR, which went down from 6.91 last season. I don’t have any misplaced hopes of him becoming a world-class fullback, but he should have done better than the season he gave us. I think registering around 7.00 AR is a realistic goal for him, but he obviously has some ways to go next year to accomplish that.

CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS

Matty York (2037), 21 Years Old: I generally am not comfortable with the fact that York is my most talented player, and despite earning his first cap for England this season, he did not play like he deserved it. In 35 Games, he registered 0 Goals, 2 Assists, 3.26 TpG, 1.52 DpG, and 6.93 AR – those are not numbers to be proud of. More than that, he seems to have this entitled aura about him – he demanded a pay rise that made him Kafra’s highest paid player by far, and then months later decided the club was not big enough for him, and has been talking about wanting to move clubs since the beginning of the season. If I had enough talent at the CM position, I would call him bluff and sell him, and then watch him rot as a reserve for the rest of his career – unfortunately, I do not have anyone who can replace him yet. He used to be motivated, now he’s just a *****.

Ronayne Herdman (2039), 20 Years Old: Herdman and York became the 5th and 6th Kafra Youth Academy graduates to play for England, as they earned their first caps together in the same Friendly game. Overall, Herdman was disappointing this season – in 33 Games, he registered 3 Goals, 5.13 TpG, 1.22 DpG, and 6.92 AR that went down from 7.20 AR last season. Like York, he signed a big contract and then proceeded to make noise about wanting to play for a bigger club. Also like York, he is strictly a mid-tier midfielder who probably didn’t deserve his cap and most likely will not be a regular for England – they are not world-class and will never be despite their Wonderkid title. Disappointing season from him.

Luis Medaglia (2040), 18 Years Old: I hope his attitude does not take a turn for the worse like York and Herdman, because so far Medaglia has impressed me. He has a great work ethic, which has led to fast improvements in his attributes, and his season was not so bad either considering that 20 of his 28 appearances were as a substitute. He registered 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 4.55 TpG, 77% Pass Ratio, and 6.86 AR – given his young age, those are pretty decent numbers. He was rewarded with a new contract at the end of the season, which will now see him earn £15.25k per week until 2047. Overall, he is probably our top prospect right now, and I keep hoping so hard he gets good enough that I can bench York and sell him off.

LEFT WINGERS

Louis Miller (2034), 24 Years Old – [/url]: He might have been overlooked as the Kafra Player of the Year last season, but there was no injustice this season as he won the award for the first time in his career. Truthfully, he did not as good a season this year, even though he was still one of our best players. What I love most about him is his attitude, which is why he was named vice-captain after the departure of Dakoutros. He also gets the team results – in 38 Games (he has missed just one game in the past three seasons in the Premier League), he registered 4 Goals, 7 Assists, 2.44 TpG, 2.93 DpG, and 7.17 AR. His numbers were down from last year, which was his career season, but are still amongst the best on the team. What a professional.

RIGHT WINGERS

Danny Judge (2037), 21 Years Old: I didn’t want him to be the default starter this year, but I also did not think Hunter was ready to take on the responsibility full-time just yet. He played in 28 Games, registering 6 Assists, 1.56 TpG, 2.20 DpG, and 6.76 AR – disappointingly, his stagnation in improvement when it comes to his attributes continued. You can see his training levels here:

Stephen Hunter (2040), 19 Years Old: He did a good job for us down the right wing this season, and my coaching staff has suggested that he has now perfected the position – initially a striker, I began retraining him to play down the wing two years ago. In 27 Games, he registered 6 Goals, 5 Assists, 1.75 TpG, 4.00 DpG (Led the Team), and 6.98 AR – all numbers that point to him being a respectable full-time starter for us next season. His offensive threat is decent, so he just needs to find a little more consistency in his form. I have been trying to give him a new contract, but he has made a very low Miminum Fee Release clause laughably low and non-negotiable, so it has not happened yet. Along with Medaglia, he is one our two top young prospects on the squad.

FORWARDS

, 20 Years Old: I think Webb probably hit his peak in terms of attributes this season, as he did not show any further improvements. Overall, he is probably mid-level Championship striker who possesses a good amount of pace. He also took a step back in terms of form this season, which was probably caused by the rise of Robertson – in 30 Games, he registered 10 Goals, 7 Assists, 2 PoMs, and 7.04 AR. For the second straight season, he registered high assist numbers, so I am happy about that, but given the amount of prospects that the Youth Academy has produced at the position over the past few years, it is likely that one of them will develop enough to replace him in the starting lineup. Till then, however, he continues to give us a decent threat up front.

, 20 Years Old: Even though his form was inconsistent, he finally had a the breakout season I was expecting – in 34 Games, he registered 21 Goals, 5 Assists, and 6.99 AR. His 62% Shot Target was the 6th best in the Premier League, and he was our go-to guy in the second half of the season. His improvements in his attributes were also noticeable, and he has clearly become our most talented striker in a team that now features two starters at the position. Overall, I am happy with the Scottish youngster, who earned his first and only cap for Scotland last summer, and I hope he continues to improve through his early 20s.

YOUTH INTAKE

-

I think this is our very first Intake in which the top prospects have both been strikers – up till a few years ago, we did not have a single striker prospect come through the Youth Academy. Now, however, it seems to be an influx of forward talent coming through our Academy. Overall, I don’t think any of our prospects are a threat to become World-Class (which means it will be seven Intakes since our last World-Class product), but there are a few prospects that look like they could become part of the rotation. I am not ecstatic about this Intake, but it definitely is better than last year’s crop, so I guess there is some solace in that. Still, my Academy should be producing much better players.

2042/43 PRESEASON REPORT

The most important thing that happened in the pre-season was our move into the 25,000 capacity Forde Park, our new stadium – all internally financed, I might add. Other than that, it was a fairly uneventful few months. Some of our former players went to the World Cup with England (and Jamaica), and crashed out in the Group Stages. In regards to team news, there was not much going on – the usual “I want to go to a bigger club” demands from the players, and analyzing who is showing attribute improvement from me.

Overall, the team is lacking that superstar talent in a big way. In all positions, we have reasonable players, but no one who is going to lead us to a better fortune in the Premier League. We will definitely a better season from our defensive line, and our CMs need to buck up their ideas and just get on with their work. It is a bit disappointing not having any real prospects to be excited about – none of my current crop of players will ever be World-Class, and without a few of those in the team, we are not going to be making much noise in the Premier League. This is definitely a long term project.

FORMER PLAYERS

– – Left in 2032 for Free to Aberdeen: 28 years old…Nothing really new to report from the Jamaican international other than him joining Spanish La Liga side Granada and playing 17 Games for them…Was part of the Jamaican team that went to World Cup 2042, losing all of their games…Has now earned 87 Caps for Jamaica.

– – Left in January 2035 for £5m to Manchester City: 26 years old…Much better from the world-class defender, as he improved on nearly every aspect of his game this year…Won his first Europa League title this year…Was also named to his 5th consecutive Premier League Select team as his Man City finished Runners-Up in the Premier League…Played in 2 of England’s games at the World Cup 2042, registering 7.05 AR…60 Caps/4 Goals for England.

– – Left in January 2038 for £11m to Aston Villa: 25 years old…Back in the Premier League where his talents belong after a season in the Championship…Had a very decent season – good enough to be called back to the England squad and be named in the World Cup squad…Played in all 3 of England’s World Cup 2042 games, although he did not play well…20 Caps/4 Goals for England.

– – Left in January 2039 for £20m to Liverpool: 24 years old…Not a good season for the midfielder, as a broken foot ruled him out for 4 months and limited him to only 23 Games and 6.93 AR…Started all 3 of England’s games in the World Cup 2042 in Germany, registering a 6.90 AR…31 Caps/1 Goal for England.

– – Left in 2041 on Free Transfer to Wolfsburg: 23 years old…In a competition with Marvin John for most talented player to ever come out of the Kafra Youth Academy…His first year with German powerhouse Wolfsburg was decent, although I would expect better from him in the upcoming seasons…Still, he did win the German Bundesliga title with his new club…Dakoutros was England’s best player in its worst World Cup campaign in decades, scoring a goal and registering an 8.00 AR…32 Caps/7 Goals for England.

[MikeH84]

Doing really well with what you have at the moment! So frustrating when average players get above their station, I take great satisfaction in often giving them the boot. You don't have that luxury unfortunately. Have you developed any significant rivalries over the years?

[glennuk]

Keep up the good work mate, was waiting for this update, and can't wait for the next. I actually think that Pond looks like a really good signing, and would love to see him bag a few goals as a sub this season, and hopefully make some significant improvements in his stats too.

Tipping him to be a future England player.

[Torminator]

I think the youth intake produced two great strikers. I see them both develop in good to excellent BPL players.

Dakoutros is really amazing. On par with Marvin.

[abulezz]

Doing really well with what you have at the moment! So frustrating when average players get above their station, I take great satisfaction in often giving them the boot. You don't have that luxury unfortunately. Have you developed any significant rivalries over the years?

Thanks for the comment - I cant wait for the day that I can give York the boot! I gave another player the boot as the season got closer - I will post a screenshot soon. There has been no significant rivalry developed over the years.

Keep up the good work mate, was waiting for this update, and can't wait for the next. I actually think that Pond looks like a really good signing, and would love to see him bag a few goals as a sub this season, and hopefully make some significant improvements in his stats too.

Tipping him to be a future England player.

Based on what you and Torminator are saying, I have high hopes for Ponds now! I have spent the past month travelling, but I will be settled at the end of the month, so updates will go back to regular timing. Thanks for the comment!

I think the youth intake produced two great strikers. I see them both develop in good to excellent BPL players.

Dakoutros is really amazing. On par with Marvin.

I have to say that Dakoutros is my favorite player so play for me so far this save. I really hope you are right about the strikers! Thank you for commenting.

[abulezz]

So I just got to the point where I am so sick of all the complaining - Man United came through with a very generous offer even though I was not shopping him. His contract is up in 2 years, so I figure he would've have been sold next year anyway, and its not like my defense has been performing wonders. I just hope I don't regret it!

[BoxToBox]

Damn, that's a shame.

[abulezz]

Damn, that's a shame.

It is, but he hasn't been happy for a few years now, and I was bound to lose him either by selling him next summer to get something out of him, or on Free in a couple of years. My thinking is if my defensive line was not doing good anyway, and Hendon himself was party to a large part of the blame, then why rejected a very generous offer?

[abulezz]

World Cup 2042 - Germany

During Russia 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo scored 10 Goals in 7 Games to help lead Portugal to its first World Cup Finals, which they inevitably lost to Italy after defeating Argentina, Spain, and defending champions Germany in the earlier rounds. Italy – led by their outstanding defense – defeated surprising home side Russia in the Semi-Finals, before finally winning their 5th title and equaling Brazil for most wins of all-time. Ronaldo was the tournament’s Best Player, followed by Neymar of Brazil[/b] and teammate Bernardo Silva.

By the time Canada 2022 rolled around, Bernardo Silva had become undisputedly the world’s finest footballer, and it was him who led Portugal to the Finals for the second consecutive time, along with teammate Renato Sanches. This time, it was Spain who broke Portugal’s heart, defeating them in the Finals and gaining revenge on their 2nd Round defeat in Russia 2018. Spain were led by their awesome midfield, who defeated an English team led by Raheem Sterling in the Semi-Finals. The Portuguese defeated France in the Semi-Finals – the team that many had pinned to win the whole thing. France’s Anthony Martial led the tournament with 5 Goals, while Bernardo Silva took the tournament’s Best Player. Ukraine pulled off one of the greatest upsets in recent memory when they defeated the defending champions Italy in the 2nd Round.

Canada 2026 saw the Portuguese team advance to their 3rd straight Finals, and for the second time, they would lose to the Italians, who recaptured the title from Spain. This time, it was Domenico Berardi who would lead them to glory – the Paris Saint-Germain striker would score 7 Goals in his 6 Games to lead Italy to a record 6th World Cup title. Mexico were the surprise Semi-Finalists, eventually falling to Portugal, thanks to Top Goalscorer Marcos Arciga’s 8 Goals. Russia would advance to their second Semi-Finals in the last 3 tournaments, falling to the Italians. Spain’s David De Gea would capture his second consecutive Best Goalkeeper award. This tournament would officially end Bernardo Silva’s quest for a World Cup title, leaving one of the greatest players in the game’s history without a title, joining the likes of Messi and Ronaldo as title-less legends.

Spain would host the World Cup 2030, and the home fans would lead the home team to their 3rd ever World Cup title. For the first time in 16 years, the Finals did not feature Portugal – instead, it was Cinderella story Switzerland who eventually fell to Spain in the Finals 5-0. Spain 2030 was the point where Man City’s midfielder Arturo Gonzalez left no doubt about who the world’s best footballer was, and would go on to dominate the 2030s like no one before. The Spanish team was completely stacked, with Julian Rivas and Arturo Gonzalez leading a historically great offense, but it was the defense that really won it – they conceded 0 Goals throughout the whole tournament. Breel Embolo was Switzerland’s leader, and was the core reason Switzerland defeated Chile in the Semi-Finals and Argentina in the Quarter-Finals. Brazil fell to Spain in the Semi-Finals, who defeated England in the Quarter-Finals.

For the second time in its history, South Korea would host the World Cup, and for the first time in since 1962, a team would win 2 consecutive titles. Led by possibly the greatest player thus far this century (yes, including Messi, Ronaldo, and Silva), Spain would defeat two time champion Uruguay in the Finals. The Uruguayans would make the Finals for the first time since 1950, led by Tottenham striker Andres Otero, whose 6 Goals were the second highest in the tournament. Spain had arguably even more talent than the 2030 edition, with Gonzalez being joined by German Sanchez Parra and Roberto Alcolea, who would lead the tournament, along with German striker Matthias Reib, with 7 Goals. Gonzalez would become the first ever player to win 2 consecutive Best Player awards, and Ivory Coast would become the first ever African team to make it to the World Cup Semi-Finals – they would eventually fall to Uruguay, while Spain would defeat Holland in the Semi-Finals. Arturo Gonzalez cemented his legacy after this World Cup, as many would consider him the greatest player the game has ever seen – at the very least, the best player since the Pele and Maradona days.

Mexico would play host to the World Cup 2038, where Spain would try to be the first country to win three consecutive titles. Unfortunately for them, their dream would end in heartbreak as they would reach the Finals only to be undone by a German team led by Dortmund legend Patrick Rauhut and Barcelona star (and eventual World Golden Ball winner) Tim Uhlke. Spain were led by Best Player winner Juan Carlos Barrachina of Chelsea and German Sanchez Parra of Paris Saint-Germain, who valiantly attempted to achieve what no other team in history could. Ultimately, Germany would win their 5th ever World Cup title, having defeated surprising Serbia in the Semi-Finals and Brazil in the Quarter-Finals. Spain had defeated rivals Portugal in the Semi-Finals and Argentina in the Quarter-Finals.

Which brings us to this year’s edition – Germany 2042! The Group Stages were relatively void of any major surprises – England crashed out in the Group Stages for the first time since 2014, while Belgium and Holland were the other two big teams to fail to advance to the Second Round. The hosts would get the biggest result of the Second Round with an emphatic 5-1 win over Mexico, and Spain would register a tough 1-0 win over Brazil, ending the hopes of the likes of Josimar David and Caio Patrick to ever win a World Cup. Through the first two rounds, German striker Simon Shwadorf and Portuguese striker Oliveira led the tournament with 6 Goals and 5 Goals, respectively, and both players would play in the Quarter-Finals. France’s Rowendy Angloma and Argentina’s Celtic right back Nicolas Guerra were the tournament’s best players through the first two rounds, and both were also to be featured in the Quarter-Finals. It would not end well for the latter, however, as the former’s team would defeat them 3-2 and set up a Semi-Finals matchup with the host nation and defending champions, Germany. Serbia would upset Spain and end their dream making 4 consecutive Finals as they would make their 2nd straight Semi-Finals appearance – this time against the Italians – thanks to the fantastic form of 25 year old striker Srdjan Djurovic. In the Semi-Finals, the host nation would finally lose as the French would make their first Finals appearance since 2006, and their opponents would be Italy – a repeat of the 2006 Finals as the Italians defeated the Serbians. Building up to the Finals, Italy were led by striker Eugenio Fontanelli and France by Angloma, who was the front-runner candidate for the Best Player award up to this point, and striker Patrick Bangala. The rivals would face off in a great match-up in which France would ultimately defeat Italy 3-1, winnings its second ever title – in Germany, no less. As expected, Angloma was crowned the tournament’s Best Player, and the Top Goalscorer was Shwardorf with 7 Goals, and Germany’s GK Marko Matas was crowned the Best GK of the tournament. France won its first title since 1998, spurred on by the wonderful form of Real Madrid’s ace Angloma, making it forty years since a champion was a non-European champion.

[Adelaidean]

Good season of consolidation - hope you get some more stars through soon! Although I do agree with the above that you might be underrating the new strikers somewhat, particularly Pond.

Was looking back at previous pages, and perhaps it could help to look at some of your former stars as they were when they joined:

John

Ferguson

Gwinnett

Dakoutros

And the new boys:

Pond

Nicholls

They compare very favourably in my opinion! Provided they have the potential as well as the ability, they could fire you up the table in years to come!

[MichaelBrown]

Great update as always - hopefully the ''stagnation'' in youth players doesn't last long and we can see Kafra move further up the table.

[BoxToBox]

It is, but he hasn't been happy for a few years now, and I was bound to lose him either by selling him next summer to get something out of him, or on Free in a couple of years. My thinking is if my defensive line was not doing good anyway, and Hendon himself was party to a large part of the blame, then why rejected a very generous offer?

Good logic, really.

[noikeee]

I have no idea how have I missed this thread up until now. Great fun to read. Shame you couldn't hold on to Dakoutros, what a cracking player.

I find it surprising just how young your team is, presumably it's because only in recent years the academy has gone to the standards capable of producing Premier League/Championship level players? I thought you'd be desperately hanging on to players well into their thirties. I hope the academy can produce some superstars now, so that Dakoutros, Marvin John, Courtney Hendon & co. can all be properly replaced.

[dan_simmonds]

Nicholls in particular looks like he's going to be a right handful. What role do you use for your lone striker?

[abulezz]

Good season of consolidation - hope you get some more stars through soon! Although I do agree with the above that you might be underrating the new strikers somewhat, particularly Pond.

Was looking back at previous pages, and perhaps it could help to look at some of your former stars as they were when they joined:

John

Ferguson

Gwinnett

Dakoutros

And the new boys:

Pond

Nicholls

They compare very favourably in my opinion! Provided they have the potential as well as the ability, they could fire you up the table in years to come!

When you put the comparisons next to each other, they do compare favorably - I have always held strikers in a different light, because they don't seem to develop as much as midfielders for me! Thank you for the great comment!

Great update as always - hopefully the ''stagnation'' in youth players doesn't last long and we can see Kafra move further up the table.

Thanks! This year's intake is interesting - I got a good one but in the complete wrong position, so I'm retraining him.

Good logic, really.

Lol, thanks!

I have no idea how have I missed this thread up until now. Great fun to read. Shame you couldn't hold on to Dakoutros, what a cracking player.

I find it surprising just how young your team is, presumably it's because only in recent years the academy has gone to the standards capable of producing Premier League/Championship level players? I thought you'd be desperately hanging on to players well into their thirties. I hope the academy can produce some superstars now, so that Dakoutros, Marvin John, Courtney Hendon & co. can all be properly replaced.

Exactly - any money I made I kept re-investing in my facilities, so as I moved up the table, I kept getting better players coming out of the Youth Academy. The Golden Age had to be the late 2020s-mid 2030s - thank you for the comment and I hope you enjoy reading the thread from now on!

Nicholls in particular looks like he's going to be a right handful. What role do you use for your lone striker?

I hope so! I actually switched my tactic to feature 2 strikers upfront - and I like having 2 Advanced Forwards or an Adv. Forward and a Poacher.

[abulezz]

SEASON REVIEW 2042/43

KAFRA: Improvement! We finished in 12th Place thanks to a fantastic first couple of months – the team came back down to earth after that and March/April were rough months, but our defense never let up. This is the beauty about this game – we were a disappointing and poor defensive team last year, and during the offseason I sold our most talented defender by a long shot. How do you expect the team to respond? Naturally, by becoming the 4th best defensive team in the entire Premier League! The offense was still stagnant as the 15th best in the league, but our defensive effort was out of this world. I don’t quite know what brought such an impressive performance on – we did not have any standout defenders, and we actually had a much weaker core in the middle of our defensive line with 18 year old Abel replacing the experience and poise presented by the departed Hendon. Our fullbacks did a bit better, but were not good by any standard, and our GK’s season was actually a little bit worse than last year. In any case, I will take it, and I hope we can keep up this impressive defensive effort next season. In the midfield, I am glad to report that I did not hear much whining this season, although York still had an incredibly misplaced sense of worth. He did give us a much better season, though, and so did Herdman. The wings gave us typical seasons, but I was a bit disappointed with our strikers. Overall, I am very happy with the season we had, however, and to do it with such a young team that has no clear star player is even more impressive. In the FA Cup, we were 5th Round casualties to Tottenham and we were 3rd Round casualties to Man City in the Capital One Cup.

PREMIER LEAGUE: It was two in a row for Chelsea, led by their aging but timeless stars Davide Grillo and Juan Carlos Barrachina, despite a historic offensive show from Manchester United (2nd), who scored 123 goals on the back of their front line that featured the likes of Top Goalscorer and Players’ Player of the Year Oliveira, Karl Giggs, and new Brazilian signing Marcelo – combine that with the likes of Argentinean legend Luca Paniagua and Spanish sensation Eduardo Morales, and you have got perhaps the greatest offensive lineup in the history of the Premier League. Bournemouth (3rd) was the surprise of the season, as they rose from 11th Place to 3rd Place on the back of Carlos Flores, whose 22 Assists led the league. Bournemouth beat out Man City (4th), despite their Greek legend Stelios Zikos winning the Footballer of the Year, and star striker Shane Gardner and Alex Hughes both having incredible seasons. Arsenal (5th) missed out on Champions League qualification, finishing ahead of Liverpool (6th) and Stoke (7th) on goal difference.

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Stelio Zikos (Career) - Oliveira (Career) - Davide Grillo (Career) - Juan Carlos Barrachina - Karl Giggs (Career) - Shane Gardner (Career) - Alex Hughes (Career) - Carlos Flores - Marcelo

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: The past two champions, who had knocked each other out the past two years enroute to their titles, faced off in the Finals this year at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland to finalize who was the better team. It was Barcelona who came out on top, defeating the Germans 2-1 and winning their second straight Champions League title. An extra-time goal by legendary Barcelona and Germany striker Tim Uhlke was what finalized the deal for the Spanish giants, but the tournament’s Best Player Xabier Merino – who has officially cemented himself as one of Barcelona’s all-time greats – starting things off by scoring the first goal. The 32 year old striker was also the tournament’s Top Goalscorer with 13 Goals – as for the beaten Finalists, their best player was Jovica Nikolic. Beaten Semi-Finalists Stuttgart, led by Markus Ahlfeld and Christopher Aubele, and Sporting Lisbon, led by Ricardo Reibel and Rui Ramos, where both surprises in the tournament before falling to Barcelona and Dortmund, respectively.

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Xabier Merino (Career) - Tim Uhlke (Career) - Jovica Nikolic - Markus Ahlfeld - Christopher Aubele - Ricardo Reibel - Rui Ramos

GOALKEEPERS

George Kelledy (2030), 29 Years Old: The captain delivered another decent season, getting over his dislocated shoulder from last year and playing in 36 Games this year. He registered 11 Clean Sheets, his highest number since the team got promoted to the Premier League four seasons ago, but his 6.80 AR did go down from last season’s 6.94 AR. Overall, as he inches closer to the 30 years old and enters his prime, we have to start thinking a little bit further down the line and start planning his replacement, even if it might be a few years from now. We don’t have horrible replacements, but I don’t think there is any of a Premier League level.

LEFT DEFENDERS

Elliot Watson (2036), 23 Years Old: Finally, a year of improvement! After practically giving me a stroke the past few years, Watson cleaned up his act and actually did not receive a single red card this year. Overall, it was not like he had a fantastic season, but it definitely was an improvement over the last couple – in 33 Games, he registered a career-high 4 Assists, 5.24 TpG and 6.71 AR. This was not a good season by normal standards, but given how badly he had performed previously, any improvement is noteworthy. Perhaps as he gets older and more mature, he can stop collecting so many cards – it appears he is already on his way to achieving that.

CENTRAL DEFENDERS

Alex Nkumu (2039), 20 Years Old: With the sudden sale of Hendon, Nkumu was thrown into the leadership role of the defensive line, and he actually responded quite well. His form improved for the first time since joining the first team, and his training levels (shown at the end) continued to shoot up in all facets. In 37 Games, he registered 3.53 TpG, 36 Key Tackles (6th in League), 154 Key Headers (Best in League), 514 Interceptions (5th in League), and 6.93 AR – overall, similar numbers to Hendon, if just slightly poorer. I am happy with his progress, however, especially with his form. As he gets out of his teenage years, he needs to start getting us 7.00+ AR every game. Nkumu Training Levels

Tim Abel (2041), 18 Years Old: The result of our Freiburg affiliation, Abel was the youngest member of our starting eleven this year. I was forced to start him after selling Hendon because I had no better alternative, and needless to say, he did not disappoint. The 6’6 German CD played in 33 Games, registering 2 Goals, 2.58 TpG, 145 Key Headers (2nd in League), 443 Interceptions (14th in League), and 6.91 AR, and playing at such a high level definitely helped him in terms of improvement in his attributes. Obviously, he is a monster in the air, but the German defender has also proven to be capable in other aspects of defensive football, as well. The prized asset from a weak 2041 Youth Class has proven his worth already.

RIGHT DEFENDERS

Mikele Burton (2037), 21 Years Old: The right back showed a slight improvement over last season – in 36 Games, he registered 3.45 TpG and 6.82 AR. Nothing spectacular, but then again, nothing dismal either, and I guess that is the most we are going to be able to ask from Burton as he enters his early 20s. He is durable, relatively consistent, but we are not getting Premier League level football out of him, and he is never going to be a focus of the team. The fact that we have some sort of solidity at one of our fullback positions is a fact I appreciate very much, but the reality is Burton is probably a little out of his depth. He is prone to having very bad games every once in a while, especially when he is exposed to world-class strikers. Still, he does the job most of the time, and with my Youth Only policy, I cannot say he is a disappointment.

CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS

Matty York (2037), 22 Years Old: Surprisingly, he quieted down this season and actually concentrated on his football instead of going to the media every other day to announce how he needs to be at a bigger club. He was also open to signing a new contract, except his demands of £135k a week is completely insane. He obviously has a lot of self-worth. Thankfully, he improved substantially from last season – in 33 Games, he registered 3 Goals, 4 Assists, 3.85 TpG, 1.62 DpG, and 7.13 AR. He was actually one of our most important players this season, going someway to living up to the richest contract in Kafra history. I’m still not over the crap he pulled the last couple of seasons, but another season like this, and we will be well on the way of forgiveness.

Ronayne Herdman (2039), 21 Years Old: My coaching staff now has him rated as my most talented midfielder, and possibly player – his CA is 4.5/5, the highest on the team. In 35 Games, he registered 1 Goal, 3 Assists, 6.41 TpG (6th in League), 1.92 DpG, and 7.02 AR – the most notable statistic is his efficiency tackling, something which he has improved immensely on over the past few years. He still has an attitude problem, and he is still asking to be sold to a bigger club, but I have no intention of letting him go. He was classified as a Wonderkid, although I don’t see him developing to be World-Class. Still, I don’t think my coaching staff is wrong – he probably is our most talented player at this point. Herdman Training Levels

Luis Medaglia (2040), 19 Years Old: Kafra’s three most talented players all play the same position, funnily enough. I think the Kafra Youth Academy has a specialization for producing central midfielder, and Medaglia is doing his best to rank amongst the best of them. The Costa Rican has now earned 12 U21 Caps for England thanks to his intense dedication to improving his attributes. As for his form, he continues to get better – in 28 Games, he registered 2 Assists, 5.37 TpG, 1.73 DpG, and a career-high 6.94 AR. Considering he is not 20 years old, those numbers are very positive. I would probably consider him my top prospect at this point. Medaglia Training Levels

LEFT WINGERS

Louis Miller (2034), 25 Years Old – Career: Our vice-captain continues to be one of our best and most consistent players – I can’t believe he is still only 25 years old! It was a bit of a bothersome season in terms of injuries, as he had to deal with two of them back-to-back in November and December that ruled him out of action for about two months. Overall, he played in 29 Games, registering 7 Goals, 2 Assists, 2 PoMs, 2.39 TpG, 2.75 DpG, and 7.07 AR, which was actually his lowest since the club got promoted to the Premier League. He looks set to be our starting left winger for a few years at least, and I am completely satisfied with that.

RIGHT WINGERS

Stephen Hunter (2040), 20 Years Old: The U21 England member had his first season as a full-time starter for Kafra this season, and he did not do so bad. In 33 Games, he registered 5 Goals, 6 Assists, 1.95 TpG, 4.27 DpG (11th in League), and 6.94 AR as he has now become our right wing starter. His pace is fantastic and his greatest weapon, which is the primary reason I re-trained him to play down the right wing as opposed to his natural position of striker, but he has proven to be extremely adaptable. I am looking forward to seeing how he can improve next season.

Danny Judge (2037), 22 Years Old: Finally out of the starting lineup, I think he will continue to have a future with the club due to his versatility. In 24 Games, he registered 1 Goal, 1 Assist, and 6.66 AR backing up all the winger positions. He is definitely not talented enough to be a Premier League player, and I would assume that his playing time will begin to dwindle as the years go on.

FORWARDS

Jordan Webb (2037), 21 Years Old: Well, he definitely is not the next Michael Owen as they were saying he could be a couple of years ago. In all fairness, he had an injury plagued season, which included a torn hamstring that ruled him out of action for three months. He ended up playing in only 22 Games, registering 7 Goals, 6 Assists, and 6.85 AR, which is his lowest mark since the club got promoted to the Premier League. With the influx of strikers coming through the Academy the past few years, I am predicting his playing time to slowly decrease over the next few years.

John Robertson (2038), 20 Years Old: It was not a great season from the Scottish international, but he is still our most talented player up front. In 31 Games, he registered 11 Goals, 4 Assists, 2.79 DpG, and 6.98 AR, going through a pretty deep dry spell in the middle of the season where he just could not seem to buy a goal. Nevertheless, he has the ability to lead the line at the level, even though I doubt he will ever develop to be a top-tier striker. Still, I am content with the results I am getting from him – he is probably the best the Youth Academy has ever produced in terms of talent at the position.

HOT PROSPECTS

Dean Pond (2042), 17 Years Old: He got a lot of playing time, featuring in 26 Games and registering 8 Goals, 5 Assists, and 6.87 AR. Our starting strikers had to deal with injuries, especially Webb, so I played him more than I planned to in his first full season. All signs are encouraging – his Determination jumped from 13 to 17 over the course of the season, and he made good progress in the rest of his core abilities, as well. He looks like he could be one of our starting strikers sooner rather than later.

Kenny Nicholls (2042), 17 Years Old: Definitely did not develop the way Pond did, and his form was nowhere near as impressive. Hopefully he will show some improvements in his attributes over the summer and next season, with a pickup in his form. He should get substantial playing time next season, as well.

James Babatunde (2041), 18 Years Old: Our Youth Academy has churned out a lot of strikers the past few years, and Babatunde is one of them. He has shown great progress in his attributes, forcing himself into consideration – he is already on par with Jordan Webb despite being younger, and could see a major uptick in playing time next season.

Tommy McKenzie (2041), 18Years Old: There is not a lot of playing time at CM since three of Kafra’s most talented players all play the same position, but McKenzie has continued to impress in training. He made 12 appearances, all as a substitute, registering a very impressive 4.01 TpG in limited playing time. He is definitely more defensive minded than the other midfielders, so he has a lot to add.

Akil Joseph (2041), 18Years Old: Has spent the last two seasons on loan, but has improved his attributes substantially nonetheless. I am still unclear just how good Joseph can get, but my coaching staff are very high on him, giving him a 4+Black Star/5 in terms of PA. He won’t have any playing time behind Kelledy, so I will look to loan him again next season, probably.

YOUTH INTAKE

Gary Isasi - Matthew Johnson

I guess the Kafra Youth Academy had enough of Watson at the left back position, as well! Isasi is a fullback in all but his natural position, so he is obviously being re-trained, and while Johnson is never going to be a top fullback, he could develop into a serviceable rotation player. I am excited about Isasi, though – I hope he can learn his new position quickly so that I can start giving him some playing time at it and hopefully phase Watson out. Not a bad intake, overall.

2043/44 PRESEASON REPORT

So we go into another season with a few solid players but no real leader/star to elevate us. We did fantastic last season – 4th best defensive team in the league is something to really be proud of. Do I think we can repeat last season’s overachievement? I don’t want to say I doubt it, but I would be happy with a 14-15th place finish and a top ten finish defensively. Offensively, unless we get some crazy improvement from Pond, I don’t think we will see much difference – Robertson is probably a mid-teens goalscorer, and Webb just doesn’t look the part of a Premier League striker. Our inspiration will again come from our midfield, who need to continue believing they are part of a whole and not superior to the rest of the team, as has been the attitude the past couple of years.

Our Youth Intakes so far this decade has not produced any stand-out prospects: the best so far have been Luis Medaglia (’40), Stephen Hunter (’40), Tim Abel (’41), and Dean Pond (’42). If you compare it to the 2030-35, our Academy gave us George Kelledy (’30), Ernest Frimpong (’31), Marvin John (’32), Tom Ferguson (’33), Phil Gwinnett (’34), and Dakoutros (’35) – I would definitely call that era the first Golden Age for the Youth Academy, with our famed defensive class of 2036 giving us Courtney Hendon, Elliot Watson, and Jake Roberts. In any case, the Youth Academy has a lot of work in front of us to give us the kind of players we need to move up the table.

FORMER PLAYERS

Marvin John – Attributes Upon Leaving – Left in January 2035 for £5m to Manchester City: 27 years old…Highly disappointing season from the greatest defender the Kafra Youth Academy has ever produced…He played in 36 Games, but his 6.89 AR was a career-low…Part of the underachieving England team that crashed out in the Group Stages at Germany 2042…69 Caps/4 Goals for England.

Tom Ferguson – Attributes Upon Leaving – Left in January 2038 for £11m to Aston Villa: 26 years old…Has never quite been able to replicate his form from his first two seasons with Aston Villa…Saw his team relegated for the second time from the Premier League since joining them in 2038…26 Caps/4 Goals for England.

Phil Gwinnett – Attributes Upon Leaving – Left in January 2039 for £20m to Liverpool: 25 years old…Another typical season from the greatest central midfielder our Youth Academy has ever produced…His value is not portrayed in statistics, but continues to play a vital role for Liverpool…38 Caps/1 Goal for England.

Dimitris Dakoutros – Attributes Upon Leaving – Left in 2041 on Free Transfer to Wolfsburg: 24 years old…England’s best player at Germany 2042 won his second straight Bundesliga title this year…He was also selected for the Bundesliga Team of the Year and came in 3rd in the Players’ Player of the Year voting…His second season with Wolfsburg was much more successful than his first, registering 4 Goals, 11 Assists, 4 PoMs, and 7.48 AR…41 Caps/8 Goals for England.

Courtney Hendon – Attributes Upon Leaving – Left in 2042 for £24m (rising to £31m) to Manchester United: 23 years old…Made 30 Appearances in his first season at Man United, although more than half came from off the bench…His 5.07 TpG was a career-high, but his 6.80 AR was a drop from his Kafra years…Still has not gotten that England cap he has been dreaming of.

[noikeee]

Steady improvement. As for the youth intake, I'm surprised you're retraining a DM into DL when you got two other DLs promoted with tons of potential! But he definitely looks fitting for that position.

[abulezz]

Steady improvement. As for the youth intake, I'm surprised you're retraining a DM into DL when you got two other DLs promoted with tons of potential! But he definitely looks fitting for that position.

Thanks for the comment! Well, Bill Bailey's talent are more suited as a defensive minded midfielder, and I am not too impressed with Johnson's defensive abilities. Isasi looks like the perfect fullback, however!

[BoxToBox]

I'd definitely have switched Isasi to full back too, could develop into a monster there.

[abulezz]

He is the 7th Kafra Youth Academy player to win a cap:

[abulezz]

I'd definitely have switched Isasi to full back too, could develop into a monster there.

He is currently being retrained - lets hope he lives up to my hope!

[abulezz]

Little bit tough this year, but we got the job done!

[abulezz]

Been selling out the stadium!

[glennuk]

Maybe with a bigger fan base, more youth prospects will be interested in coming to the academy? Not 100% sure how that works.

[abulezz]

Maybe with a bigger fan base, more youth prospects will be interested in coming to the academy? Not 100% sure how that works.

I don't know if there is a direct correlation, but perhaps it affects how big we are a club in terms of reputation. That way, less of my players will ask to play for bigger clubs. Update should be coming up in the next day or so.