[FM15] Avenir Beggen - a Luxembourg Youth Challenge (take two)

[Ceching You Out]

Looks like I missed the screenshot for the draw. On to the result then.

 

Not really an awful draw to be had here.

Excellent, the weakest we could get. Group Stages here we come!

 

This result will be keeping me up at night. We play a semi-high line, but I never expected a club with half gray players to be the ones who capitalize via an eviscerating pass from deep. Twice. Massive failure here.

[Bedese]

Oh  

[BoxToBox]

What a disaster.

[Guest]

This probably is a stupid question but why does all of your players have 28E or 43D etc, at the end of their names?

[Ceching You Out]

2 hours ago, Jupjamie said:

Oh  

2 hours ago, BoxToBox said:

What a disaster.

 

1 hour ago, ajj2410 said:

This probably is a stupid question but why does all of your players have 28E or 43D etc, at the end of their names?

It's a nickname I add to my youth players to track them. The number indicates the year of the intake while the letter represents how my Assistant rates their PA immediately after signing. At a glance I can tell roughly the player's age and expectations.

[Ceching You Out]

Familiar names in Pescara and APOEL here. Too pessimistic to worry at this point.

 

Impressive number of traveling fans! But hopefully their expectations are as low as mine.

 

A good showing all things considered. Bullied away, but surprisingly in control at home. I'm beginning to sense a pattern of the AI being overly defensive in the second leg when they should just put us to the sword with their talent. Regardless, no group stages this year. Sigh.

[Ceching You Out]

Silva has a lot of potential but he'll probably have to move up to a CM/DM since he's got a credit card vertical despite being 6'0". Other two are probably depth at best.

 

[Adonalsium]

Silva has a remarkable babyface. That is all.

[Ceching You Out]

19 hours ago, Adonalsium said:

Silva has a remarkable babyface. That is all.

I hadn't stopped to look at his picture, but wow that is one cherubic 16 year old. Give him a pacifier and put him in the pram!

[Ceching You Out]

Avenir Beggen - 2042/2043

Squad / League / Transfers

Keep it quick.

League - second
Cup - won
Europe - Europa playoff

 

Anything else noteworthy?

This will go down as a wasted season. An awful elimination to an Icelandic side in the 2nd Champions League qualifying round despite being the better team. Losing to Jeunesse Esch twice leaving us too much to recover from. Even our training facilities are downgraded. The sole bright spot is a potential star in Hugo Silva (43A); not enough to redeem this year though.

Thankfully the league and club reputations don't suffer too much from the poor performance. And because of FM's struggle to understand basic accounting, our finances dropped to "Insecure" prompting this midway through:

The new regime immediately paid off the $1.7M in debt, which was nice. The club value continued to be valued at zero though until the end. Bizarre. Auditors would have a field day with the club. And apparently when the last takeover happened (how many years has THAT been?!), my philosophy of developing youth disappeared so I've reinstated it with the new ownership. A notification of that change (when it occurred years ago) would've been nice.

 

Recordkeeping:

 

[noikeee]

Losing the league is a bit of an unexpected setback. Have you thought of maybe changing tactics just for the Jeuness D'Esch matches? How are they managing to beat your side?

[Ceching You Out]

On 10/30/2016 at 06:19, noikeee said:

Losing the league is a bit of an unexpected setback. Have you thought of maybe changing tactics just for the Jeuness D'Esch matches? How are they managing to beat your side?

Very unexpected, although not entirely unpredictable in hindsight given a couple factors. They bought heavily in the off-season, leapfrogging us in terms of available talent. That alone generally isn't enough to topple us, but I also played them very early this season. They're the one opponent I can't play a fully rotated side against when the European fixtures are coming hard and fast.

I hadn't shared this development, but a few seasons ago (when I desperately needed to make up GD in just a few games) I switched to an aggressive 4-2-3-1. That tactic gets used for all but Jeunesse Esch and Europe where I stick to the more conservative 4-1-4-1 I've shared before. JE usually lines up with a defensive 4-3-3 narrow that is, quite honestly, a poor choice for them (hence my comment above regarding talent). We usually cancel each other out with few chances either way so in tighter years it comes down to fine margins. This year we gave up a penalty in the first match (lost by one) and a goal off a set piece in the second (lost by one). They were the slightly better side in both, but a draw in either one of those would've been enough to retain our title.

There's a few interesting story lines around JE that I may elaborate on at some point. The teaser version:
-- As I'm improving the league's reputation, they have the opportunity to capitalize more quickly by buying better players than we can by developing youth. Very much a double edged sword.
--The potential improvement in 2nd and 3rd place teams (Dudelange and Differdange) poses a bigger threat to JE than us. We can win with tactics, JE can't.
--What happens if JE makes a group stage at some point?

[Bedese]

Any chance of a screenshot of JE's best player(s)?

[Adonalsium]

Given Jeunesse's stature, I consider it a miracle that they haven't already made it to the same competitions as you - at the same time as you. That is how it works, yes?

[Ceching You Out]

1 hour ago, Jupjamie said:

Any chance of a screenshot of JE's best player(s)?

Of course! First, here's a picture of our squad for reference:

 

Here is JE's squad:

 

These are their 3 best players by PA:

 

 

[Ceching You Out]

1 hour ago, Adonalsium said:

Given Jeunesse's stature, I consider it a miracle that they haven't already made it to the same competitions as you - at the same time as you. That is how it works, yes?

Well, funny you should joke about us being in the same place at the same time. We were nearly drawn against them this year; more to come on that.

[Bedese]

Wow, JE are actually a lot, lot better than I thought they'd be. I can see where the challenge is coming from now  

[Adonalsium]

Man, they're really trying hard, 150K a year! Must be feeling jealous over at the JE camp, Wiggums doesn't even have to pay a tenth of that to his young stars! Oh the gullible youth.

[Ceching You Out]

20 hours ago, Jupjamie said:

Wow, JE are actually a lot, lot better than I thought they'd be. I can see where the challenge is coming from now  

Yeah, they're pretty impressive! In better hands they'd probably take the title every year. On one hand I'm happy that they under-perform a little, but on the other it would help if they succeeding more in Europe.

 

12 hours ago, Adonalsium said:

Man, they're really trying hard, 150K a year! Must be feeling jealous over at the JE camp, Wiggums doesn't even have to pay a tenth of that to his young stars! Oh the gullible youth.

Thankfully Wiggum's youngsters seem un-blinded by piles of money available at JE. The highest paid earner is only on $60K!

[Ceching You Out]

We start the Europa adventures a stage earlier than we would in Champions League. Joy!

 

 

Straightforward and on to the next.

 

[Ceching You Out]

These are all pretty good options to be honest.

 

Off to Belarus it is. Some how I missed taking a screenshot of the result here -- 2-0 and then 1-0 to the good guys. Not sweating yet.

 

[Adonalsium]

Don't really understand what's going on but I see those twos and those nils, so you must be doing well!

Good luck in Belarus, pack some winter clothes. What's Wiggums' winter getup look like?

[Ceching You Out]

5 hours ago, Adonalsium said:

Don't really understand what's going on but I see those twos and those nils, so you must be doing well!

Good luck in Belarus, pack some winter clothes. What's Wiggums' winter getup look like?

More good news on the way...

Belarus must be quite arctic to require winter clothes in July. Nonetheless, Wiggum wears what Wiggum always wears -- an earth tone windbreaker jacket matched with slacks a size too large. Stylish that.

[Ceching You Out]

Match-ups starting to look tougher here.

 

Best we could hope for.

 

Wild, wild two games. I thought we were done after the away leg. Brilliant 20 minutes after the break (including a beautiful free kick) turned the tie on its head.

[noikeee]

Fun fact: Jeunesse's goalkeeper's nickname, translated, means "Toy". They definitely have the players to toy with the Luxemburguese league if they were well managed.

[Ceching You Out]

3 hours ago, noikeee said:

Fun fact: Jeunesse's goalkeeper's nickname, translated, means "Toy". They definitely have the players to toy with the Luxemburguese league if they were well managed.

That is fantastic. Certainly makes him less intimidating!

[Ceching You Out]

Well look what the cat dragged in. A bit surprising to see Jeunesse Esch this deep in the qualifiers but good for the coefficient. I'd have hated to draw them; instead we got Lommel United out of Belgium.

 

We just couldn't get the second goal despite controlling the game. No group stages for the second year in a row.

[Ceching You Out]

It's the most wonderful time of the yeeeeeear... youth intake day! Before we open our presents, let's look at this year's Santa Claus.

 

It wasn't this gent; he's more of a Tiny Tim (but in search for a job). He'd been our Spirited HoYD for a few years when I noticed his Determination had dropped from 4 to 1. Not good enough I'm afraid.

 

So I hired this jolly Fairly Professional Italian. Much better Determination and his JPA and JPP should grow as we're his first gig.

 

"Why am I showing you a picture of this guy?" you're asking. No? Well humor me anyway. When hiring a new HoYD responsibility for the intake defaults to the Assistant Manager for some reason; I made the same mistake for the third time by my count. He ended up being a Grinch...if the Grinch still gave presents but they were mostly socks and a sweater vest. Responsibilities for the intake will be handed to Francini going forward.

 

Meh. Think I'll stick to my toys from last year.

 

 

[TheGreat10ne1]

It's soooo dissatisfying when you don't get a player in your youth intake with 4* potential or more.

[Ceching You Out]

On 11/5/2016 at 08:56, TheGreat10ne1 said:

It's soooo dissatisfying when you don't get a player in your youth intake with 4* potential or more.

Very dissatisfying! Although it doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a diamond in the rough somewhere in there that's capable of that potential.

[Ceching You Out]

Avenir Beggen - 2043/2044

Squad / League / Transfers

Keep it quick.

League - won
Cup - lost in final
Europe - Europa playoff

 

Anything else noteworthy?

Cruised the league with surprising ease. By all accounts Jeunesse Esch should be able to keep pace, but they failed miserably this season. Perhaps their transfers were limited by financial issues? Probably doesn't hurt that Dudelange and Differdange have improved enough to challenge them on good day. I'll have to investigate further.

New stadium finishes. Already filling it up. Upgrades to both training and youth facilities. League rep is creeping up. Quite a turnaround from last season. Most optimistic I've been!

The only sour note -- Frank Leweck (28E) spent the season complaining that he wasn't playing after dropping to 1.5 ability. I'd hoped to hold on to him through retirement, but I'm not going to play him if it stunts the growth of youth. He joins Dudelange for next season on a free transfer.

Manou Polidori (32A) hasn't ever grown into a star, but he's been a consistent starter. Mostly by virtue of not bringing through a better striker. Not to knock his achievement, although I don't expect that he'll hold this record for decades.

Finally, I've decided on one more tack to improve the quality of the clubs in the league and hence it's reputation. Readers with longer memories will remember that I've previously mentioned these; now I'm pulling the trigger. Going forward, I'll be making solidarity payments if I qualify for European group stages. What does this actually mean? Based on our path, I'm going to redistribute roughly 10% of initial fees to other clubs in the league. If we make the CL Group Stage, payment(s) are $1M. If we make EL Group Stage via losing in the CL Playoff, payment(s) are $400K. If we make the EL Group Stage any other way, payment(s) are $200K.

How will I make the transfer? Likely through a loan fee that I immediately cancel. Who will be the beneficiaries? Some subset of the clubs that aren't JE; maybe just one each year, maybe multiple. I'm actually open to suggestions here on what is most likely to return the best league reputation yield. I've thought of an even split, a lump sum to nudge Differdange towards turning professional, paying Dudelange enough to ensure they stay Professional, or some combination.

 

Luxembourg Clubs in Europe:

Jeunesse Esch - beat Cliftonville 3-1 aggregate, lost to Debrecen 2-3 aggregate, then out 3-4 aggregate in the EL Playoff to FK Austria Wien. A 90th minute penalty put them ahead on away goals before a stoppage time goal saw them out.

Avenir Beggen - out in EL Playoff. See previous posts for more info.

Dudelange - beat Kukësi 7-2 aggregate, then out 0-6 in the EL 2nd Qualifying Round to Proleter.

Differdange - out 1-5 in the EL 1st Qualifying Round to AEL.

 

Recordkeeping:

 

[Adonalsium]

On 3.11.2016 at 06:11, Ceching You Out said:

More good news on the way...

Belarus must be quite arctic to require winter clothes in July. Nonetheless, Wiggum wears what Wiggum always wears -- an earth tone windbreaker jacket matched with slacks a size too large. Stylish that.

Ohh, if only you knew. It's colder in there than in the part of Hell that froze over.

In fact, Belarus might BE the part of Hell that froze over.

Jeunesse doing surprisingly well. FK Wien is a pretty strong team.

[Ceching You Out]

5 hours ago, Adonalsium said:

Ohh, if only you knew. It's colder in there than in the part of Hell that froze over.

In fact, Belarus might BE the part of Hell that froze over.

Jeunesse doing surprisingly well. FK Wien is a pretty strong team.

Well that's another place crossed off my list of vacation destinations. Next you'll be telling me Sudan isn't the wonderland I'm imagining!

Indeed, a very impressive scalp for JE. If they can kick on it'd be great for our coefficient.

[Ceching You Out]

Missed the draw, but not the easiest opponents here in the Hungarian champions.

 

[wipes brow]
[slowly releases pent up sigh]

[tyler16]

Posting that screen of your squad full of academy graduates reaaaaaally makes me want to load up FM right now.

I'd be interested in seeing a few of your top players, really adds to the immersion! How am I supposed to go on without know what Gilles Klapp's favorite ice cream is? 

Also, JE are much, much better than I anticipated!

[Adonalsium]

Find out his favourite ice cream... next time on Avenir Beggen Z!

Or I guess this is still just Avenir Beggen, the regular show. Z will happen when the club flies to space and joins the intergalactic football league...

I think you should give the welfare funds to Dudelange. I'd be glad to see them start punching above their weight like Jeunesse. If only they actually succeeded as well, just like Jeunesse.

I'm just awaiting for the moment when AB goes up against their first Finnish team though

[Ceching You Out]

20 hours ago, tyler16 said:

Posting that screen of your squad full of academy graduates reaaaaaally makes me want to load up FM right now.

I'd be interested in seeing a few of your top players, really adds to the immersion! How am I supposed to go on without know what Gilles Klapp's favorite ice cream is? 

Also, JE are much, much better than I anticipated!

I may have mentioned this earlier, but that's exactly how I got dragged back into FM. After an extended break, I started perusing the board here. A couple of very entertaining youth challenges later I couldn't help myself.

I'd been contemplating doing a full squad break down after this season to commemorate completing 30 years. Guess I'll have to do it now! Look for that here in the next few days. (A sweet finishing right foot with a bit of spirit? It's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough smothered in caramel.)

 

11 hours ago, Adonalsium said:

Find out his favourite ice cream... next time on Avenir Beggen Z!

Or I guess this is still just Avenir Beggen, the regular show. Z will happen when the club flies to space and joins the intergalactic football league...

I think you should give the welfare funds to Dudelange. I'd be glad to see them start punching above their weight like Jeunesse. If only they actually succeeded as well, just like Jeunesse.

I'm just awaiting for the moment when AB goes up against their first Finnish team though

We're nearly three decades into the future, surely that can't be too far away, right? I'm looking forward to Europa on Europa.

Thinking of the coefficients, I do think there are more points for 1 team advancing two rounds compared to 2 teams advancing 1 round. I'd been leaning towards trying to get Differdange to turn professional but that might make me reconsider.

I can't remember even seeing a Finnish side in Europe so far. That must a failure of attention on my part, surely they've been involved and I just don't recognize the club names.
[checks]
HJK made it to the Europa playoff last year. Ilves went out in the first EL round and have the most terrifying logo I've ever seen. IFK Mariehamn and MP likewise.

 

[Ceching You Out]

Rapid Wien or Zadar would be rough at this point.

 

Back to Belarus it seems. Wiggum is packing his heaviest windbreaker this time -- all black with a grinning Mickey Mouse on the back.

 

Belarus is growing on me. Not nearly as rough a time as in Hungary.

[Adonalsium]

Holy hell, MP made it to the Europa League? They're like a 2nd / 3rd Division side in Finland. Used to play in that club as a young kid actually. Ilves is a bit of a surprise as well. That team never really amounted to much. I guess 30 years can change a lot!

Belarus is becoming like a second home stadium to the Beggen Boys.

[Ceching You Out]

Looks like MP made the top division 2025, relegated in 2037, promoted in 2039, and in the European spots since their return (2040-2044). Not too shabby!

[Ceching You Out]

Genuinely does not matter. We're a coin flip against any of these sides.

 

Sure, why not!

 

An early goal and then a lot of...nothing. Corral (30A) subbed in for tired legs in the 74th, then 8 minutes later required to be replaced in turn. No subs for extra time? Manageable! Until Silva (31D) went down early. Penalties beckoned, Champions League batting her beautiful lashes like some kind of flirt. Then Dangubic blasted a 35 yard thunderbolt into the upper 90. Suppose Europa will at least keep the bed warm.

[Ceching You Out]

I was encouraged by this group. Unfortunately...

 

Besides Beşiktaş (who dominated the group) we were very, very competitive here with nothing to show for it. The first result against De Graafschap was the most galling -- up a goal with less than 5 minutes left and we left with nothing.

The last result came with an experimental tactic that immediately got canned. All in all, a little disappointed to walk away with nothing here.

 

[Ceching You Out]

Since I'm drinking to cope with the election results this evening, let's keep the updates rolling:

A couple promising prospects here. Exciting to see after a couple years of no stand out candidates, although there were still some diamonds in the rough then just as there likely are now.

 

[tyler16]

Yeah, I'm reading this thread to avoid myself from thinking about the election. What a shame. I'm embarrassed.

On a more important note... this thread.

Suini looks nice, although the classic regen 1 bravery drives me mad. He can't pass but oh well.

Marques is interesting because you can mold him into numerous different roles. Physically he should be incredible, although I can't decide on what his best role would be. I'm leaning toward a poacher due to his lack of agility, vision and defensive ability. Can't say I really care about the finishing attribute.

[Adonalsium]

Same. I don't even live in the States and I feel a mixture of dread, disappointment and a growing feeling that Europe really is where the only "real" democracies are.

Suini is getting me positively excited. Only problem is his height, though the guy seems to be able to jump like a cat. He seems like a classic CD.

Maybe try developing Marques' dribbling? Natural fitness + dribbling on the wings could be a game-changer.

[Ceching You Out]

On 11/9/2016 at 01:54, tyler16 said:

Yeah, I'm reading this thread to avoid myself from thinking about the election. What a shame. I'm embarrassed.

On a more important note... this thread.

Suini looks nice, although the classic regen 1 bravery drives me mad. He can't pass but oh well.

Marques is interesting because you can mold him into numerous different roles. Physically he should be incredible, although I can't decide on what his best role would be. I'm leaning toward a poacher due to his lack of agility, vision and defensive ability. Can't say I really care about the finishing attribute.

On 11/9/2016 at 03:46, Adonalsium said:

Same. I don't even live in the States and I feel a mixture of dread, disappointment and a growing feeling that Europe really is where the only "real" democracies are.

Suini is getting me positively excited. Only problem is his height, though the guy seems to be able to jump like a cat. He seems like a classic CD.

Maybe try developing Marques' dribbling? Natural fitness + dribbling on the wings could be a game-changer.

 

No doubt America has certainly seen better days than that one. Anyway, back to the matter at hand:

Suini's bravery is a little worrying, but hopefully he grows out of that. I've had some weird results in the height of DCs that have come through the academy -- 5'10" with jumping 6, 6'0" with 8, and 5'10" with 10.

Marques is one of those wildcards that could go a number of directions. He's final position may depend on my upcoming tactical evaluation. Since I'm going to be breaking down the team player by player, why not try something new while I'm at it?

[Ceching You Out]

Avenir Beggen - 2044/2045

Squad / League / Transfers

Keep it quick.

League - won
Cup - won
Europe - Europa group stages (0 points)

 

Anything else noteworthy?

Romped the league putting in 112 goals and finishing with a GD of 100. Dudelange and Differdange have really come along, taking points off Jeunesse Esch that made the title easy despite losing two games ourselves. Second stadium expansion as well as upgrades to both youth and training facilities are underway; still no option for youth recruitment.

League rep continues to rise with all four clubs advancing in Europe. If we can keep that up with favorable draws (and they may actually be seeded at this point), I don't think it's unrealistic to expect a jump of 2-3 places for a few seasons before we hit the next plateau.

The offseason marks a pretty significant clear out although most will show on next year's transfers. I'll do a complete squad breakdown in my next few posts. That will also be a good point to reconsider our tactics given that I think we're underperforming our talent in Europe a little bit.

Consolidating the various metrics into a single sheet. Much of what I was tracking was fairly static or correlated with a similar figure. Those have been removed.

 

Solidarity payments

Ultimately I landed on giving Differdange the full $400k by purchasing their worst player on an expiring contract. With their club valued at $2.1M I was banking on their balance being close to the necessary threshold for turning professional. That would create essentially 3ish tiers of clubs and keep players from prematurely retiring when they could still contribute to the league's reputation. Unfortunately it still hasn't happened. The player signed a one year deal and won't play a minute for our club; I tried releasing him immediately but the board thinks he has potential.

I considered Dudelange, but they had a sizeable debt. Since typically that makes a club a takeover target, I didn't want to pay to balance their books if they'd get cleared by an investor anyway. I did send a prospect their way that is immediately one of, if not the best player. Conscience clean.

 

Luxembourg Clubs in Europe:

Avenir Beggen - out in EL Group stages with zero points. See previous posts for more info.

Jeunesse Esch - beat Pyunik 4-2 aggregate, then out 0-8 aggregate to Slovan Bratislava in EL 2nd Qualifying Round.

Dudelange - beat Valleta 6-0 aggregate, then out 0-4 aggregate to ASA Tîrgu Mureş in EL 2nd Qualifying Round.

Differdange - beat College Europa 1-4 aggregate, then out 0-6 aggregate to Sarajevo in EL 2nd Qualifying Round.

 

Recordkeeping:

 

[tyler16]

I love this thread so much. Just saying.

1. Probably answered, but how are you handling holiday/IR now that you're this far in?

2. It's crazy to see JE be so dominant for so long and hell, their players aren't bad at all, yet... they're out after losing 0-8 on aggregate to Slovan Bratislava?

3. That squad view is really nice. Have you determined where the Portugal link is coming from? Surprised to see it be the most frequent second nationality by a long shot. Personalities on the squad as a whole are reeeeally good. 

[Ceching You Out]

20 hours ago, tyler16 said:

I love this thread so much. Just saying.

1. Probably answered, but how are you handling holiday/IR now that you're this far in?

2. It's crazy to see JE be so dominant for so long and hell, their players aren't bad at all, yet... they're out after losing 0-8 on aggregate to Slovan Bratislava?

3. That squad view is really nice. Have you determined where the Portugal link is coming from? Surprised to see it be the most frequent second nationality by a long shot. Personalities on the squad as a whole are reeeeally good. 

Cheers! Always appreciate positive feedback and I appreciate it even more when people like yourself make it interactive. Thanks for following along!

Once we became the dominant side 7-8 years ago I'm IRing every match that's not JE or Europe and occasionally Differdange or Dudelange. Of course that's excluding the back end of those two seasons where I realized the title would come down to GD.

Well... if we ever needed an example of how poorly FM managers handle a roster and budgets, JE is candidate number one. They have the resources to be much better, but then they do things like tie up $375k and $263k PER YEAR on a 32 y/o DL and CM respectively. That is nearly our entire wage budget tied up in just two aging players. Hard to justify paying either even half that.

My suspicion is it's something that's hardcoded either for clubs in Luxembourg or Luxembourg City based on immigration patterns. I've seen a steady number of Portuguese, Italians, and Bosnians in that order. Not sure if it's random luck or related to the nationalities, but the Portuguese have seemed to develop better so there are more on the roster. It's taken three decade to get here but I am very, very pleased by the personalities! Over the next decade we'll try to drop the "Fairly" on some of the Fairly Professional personalities.

[Sir_Liam]

I like your idea of giving money to try to help the other clubs, and therefore help the league's development as a whole.  You can only do so much yourself in terms of European performances.

It also adds an extra twist into the save game, even if you are dependent on the AI not squandering your generosity.