[FM17] Football, fire and ice: The inside story of Iceland's remarkable rise.

[Jimbokav1971]

19 hours ago, BoxToBox said:

Knutur is going to be a star, quite clearly.

I certainly hope so. He has a lovely attribute balance about him and my wide attackers are key players in my team. 

A stumbling block might be our depth in that area though.

It's going to be very hard to give (40a) Knútur (F.Pro) (2040)4.5 1st team opportunities while I am atill developing (37b) Vilhjálmur (Pro) *, (who is only 19 years old).

Even before (37b) Vilhjálmur (Pro) * and (40a) Knútur (F.Pro) (2040)4.5 came along I was quite happy with my AMR options. 

(30a) Bjarki (Pro) (2030) * and (26c) Eiður Úlfar (F.Pro) were plenty good enough for me at that stage even if they were a little short of what is required in that position for the (ISL) National Team. With (31b) Halldór (M.Pro) as a decent 3rd option, things were ok. Now we have 5 who are proven at this level and numerous other who are capable of filling in as and when required. 

[Jimbokav1971]

20 hours ago, Sir_Liam said:

I'll be interested in seeing how this turns out, as I'm tracking the same data on my youth only save.

It has to be said that the "a" player (I'm using the same labeling style as you) has nearly always turned out to be good, but there's been 2 bad ones.  One is now 2.5 PA 8 years on, and the other 4 years on is now only 1.5+1 and has hardly developed.  Both came through as 4+1 PA.

Going the other way I had 2 strikers come through 4 years ago with 1.5+1 and 1+1 PA who I labeled g & m, so the 7th and 13th best players in the intake.  They now have 3.5+1 and 3+1 as their PA, with one being a very effective first team player.

Some of these fluctuations will be because of changes in the quality of the squad, meaning some players suddenly look better compared to their teammates, but it isn't just that, as my 3rd case demonstrates.

Players c (4+1 PA) & o (1+1 PA) from my 2018 intake are both RM.  Today c has a PA of 2, and o has a PA of 2+1.  I think o's isn't exact as he's now left the club, of his own accord.

I really like the way the youth development works.  Some players you know will be stars, i.e. a high potential player with a good attributes balance and good personality.  But there's also disappointments in some players, and surprises as unheralded players from an intake develop into far better players than expected.  It certainly justifies why you sign every player (I don't owing to financial constraints, and as part of the process of developing the squad personality).

I'm really glad that other people are taking notice of this too. 

Yes of course that initial ratings can go down as well us up, but isn't that how it's supposed to work?

I like it too. While the ratings might be more accurate with a JPP 20 Ass Man, (or Scout), at this level we still have very middling staff with JPP of only 13.

[Jimbokav1971]

Anyone interested in Youth Development might be interested in this. 

https://strikerless.com/2017/05/20/what-drives-player-development-dispelling-the-determination-work-rate-myth/

Guido Merry aka Strikerless is well worth a follow on Twitter @MerryGuido

[Fola]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I certainly hope so. He has a lovely attribute balance about him and my wide attackers are key players in my team. 

A stumbling block might be our depth in that area though.

It's going to be very hard to give (40a) Knútur (F.Pro) (2040)4.5 1st team opportunities while I am atill developing (37b) Vilhjálmur (Pro) *, (who is only 19 years old).

Even before (37b) Vilhjálmur (Pro) * and (40a) Knútur (F.Pro) (2040)4.5 came along I was quite happy with my AMR options. 

(30a) Bjarki (Pro) (2030) * and (26c) Eiður Úlfar (F.Pro) were plenty good enough for me at that stage even if they were a little short of what is required in that position for the (ISL) National Team. With (31b) Halldór (M.Pro) as a decent 3rd option, things were ok. Now we have 5 who are proven at this level and numerous other who are capable of filling in as and when required. 

Please can you explain why you have (37b) etc after each players name? This is a great read.

[Jimbokav1971]

19 minutes ago, Fola said:

Please can you explain why you have (37b) etc after each players name? This is a great read.

(37b) relates to the year in which the player came through the intake and the player ranking, (by PA within that seasons intake).

In the case of (37b) Vilhjálmur (Pro) *, he came through the intake in 2037 and was the 2nd highest rated player of the 2037 rated by PA, (hence the b). 

The * indicates that the player either is or was a 5.0 star PA player at some point. 

Edited May 20, 2017 by Jimbokav1971

[Benjoe]

You're spoiled when it comes to right wingers. Knútur looks to be set for big things.

[Jimbokav1971]

New club appearances record. Sep 2040.

28 appearances is good in Iceland, (especially when there are at least 11 more games to play this season). Yes I know that he hasn't started a single game this season, but with the depth in the AMR position it seemed a sensible choice.

[Jimbokav1971]

Thoughts, (changed to, "there's only 1 Danny Laxdal".

I think that club records are great. I've always been a big statto and I would still be playing FM now even without 2d graphics never mind about 3d graphics. I've always thought that SI have been missing a trick though because although we have player records and club records and even National records, we don't have competition records. Or rather we do, but we only have some competition records. We have seasonal records of course, and then we have the best of seasonal records, such as quickest goal or youngest player or even most goals scored in a season, but what we are missing is cumulative records. Most appearances/goals/assists/clean sheets/penalties/whatever in a particular competition. All the info is there. The game already has access to it. More than that, the game is already storing it, because we can see these records all the way through a players career. All that is missing is a way to link this to the user interface, so maybe a skin is the answer, (says the bloke who doesn't know anything at all about skins at all and even struggles to download and install one each year). 

SI needs to develop and improve the game each season and if I'm honest it's already developed to such a degree that it's no longer easy to think of ways to improve, never mind actually implement these changes. WIth that in mind, just have a think about some of the stats that you have heard banded about in recent days weeks and ask why SI couldn't implement them into a future game. 

List of players with over 100 Premier League goals. At the moment this stands at 26, (although the total goes to 87 if you include top flight English games before the inception of the Premier League), (with 4 players on the list still playing), but I would like to see media content and an updated list if and when someone breaks the barrier in game. 

List of players with over 500 Premier League appearances. At the moment this list stands at 12, with Gareth Barry still playing, (sort of). Again, how good would it be for this list to be populated by Newgens, with a media comment and discussion every time someone is added to the list and a special announcement when the top mark is surpassed. 

This doesn't have to be restricted to the Premier League or even high profile competitions by the way. How simple would it be to create a furmulae at which the milestone would be created for various competitions in every competition across the World. The career goal record list for the English Premier League might atart at 100 and the appearance list might start at 100, but when the list is populated by x number of players then the value at which the trigger is created might be increased by 10 or 20 or whatever. 

If we were talking about the Icelandic Premier League for example, then I "think" the current record in my game is 99, so the list trigger for example might be 80 or something like that. 

Ashley Cole of Arsenal and Chelsea has won the FA Cup more times than any other player. (7 wins).

Curtis Weston, (of my club Barnet, but then of Millwall), is the youngest player ever to play in an FA Cup Final at the age of 17 years 119 days, but what about the youngest player to ever play in the competition? Why are records limited to finals? 

Jimmy Greaves is commonly known as the man who has scored the most goals in English Top Flight history, (357), and I would love this record to be in the game for example, but not many people know that 2nd on the list behind Jimmy is a certain Mr Steve Bloomer, (of Derby County who scored 314 top flight goals), but who gets a mention because he has scored 41 career FA Cup goals which I believe is a record. 

I would love to see stuff like this added and I really don't think that it would be too hard to introduce.

See. The info is there already. It's just not being displayed in a way which allows us to access it. 

By the way, this has got me thinking, I really want to know what the record is for all time (ISL) Premier League appearances, but because it's not listed I have to find it myself. Because of the way I rotate players, it's unlikely to be (25b) Kristján (M.Pro) * even though he holds our record.  

The KR record is 265 appearances and 65 goals. 

The Stjarnan record is 315 appearances and 87 goals, (by the way that reminds me I have a video to post in here about Stjarnan goal celebrations). 

Can we just take a minute to appreciate what an impressive record this is. There are only 22 games in a season, so if you played every game for 10 seasons then you would only have made 220 league appearances. You would have to have played in every league game for fully 14 seasons, (308 appearances), and then made 7 more appearances in your 15th season to accomplish this magnificent feat. I'm so glad that I went off on this rant/tangent, even if only to wallow in the gloriousness that is Daniel Laxdal. In fact, even though he is no longer clickable, I am going to see if I can work out what position he played. He can't be a GK because he wouldn't have got in the team early enough and would still be playing now. He is in fact  a centre-back, and a damn fine one at a that by the looks of this video. 

Here he is in all his glory in 1986 it seems.

While I am at it, I might as well post this excellent Stjarnan goal celebration video that I found the other day. 

There are a few really good one's, but promise me they save the best to last. 

The Fram record is 216 appearances and 49 goals. 

The FH record is 238 appearances and 112 goals, (so (23a) Vífill (M.Pro) (2023) * is not the record holder at all). 

The IR record is 277 appearances and 46 goals.

The IA record is 279 appearances and 77 goals. 

The Leiknir.R record is 279 appearances and 57 goals.

The Fjolnir record is 182 appearances and 43 goals (the goals were scored by a certain (21g) Kári (F.Pro) who is obviously a product of our Academy) and is now our scout. 

The Valur record is 78 appearances and 17 goals. 

The Vikingur.R record is 229 appearances and 45 goals. 

The Grindavik record is 264 appearances and 107 goals. 

I guess I just want more stats and for more of the game to be based around more of the stats. It would seem to be such an easy thing to do. Wouldn't it? 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Benjoe said:

You're spoiled when it comes to right wingers. Knútur looks to be set for big things.

I am indeed.

Isn't it strange that he wasn't given a 5.0 PA rating though? I'm still expecting it to pop.

(37b) Vilhjálmur (Pro) * and (37b) Vilhjálmur (Pro) * are probably going to be my 1st and 2nd choice from next season, but they are both going to be missing a LOT on International duty so I will need cover. (26c) Eiður Úlfar (F.Pro) is already 30, so any value I had in selling him is long gone so he might as well stay as back-up and (30a) Bjarki (Pro) (2030) * is 27 now and should probably stay for the same reason. 

After that I have (36d) Gunnar Björn (F.Pro) who will probably have his PA downgraded, and will only be kept if I get him to Model Pro by the time he is 23. 

(31b) Halldór (M.Pro) is a 25 yo Model Pro who always performs in a weakened team when called upon and I haven't even had reason to call upon the better than reasonable (32e) Viðar Kárason (M.Pro) this season which is a shame. He deserves more but I need to keep him around for tutoring duties. Maybe I could use him to tutor, send him out on loan for a few months, get him back in to tutor someone else, and then send him back out on loan again afterwards. I just need to time it so that he is playing abroad during our close-season. I will have to give that some thought. On top of them, we have 5 more teenagers who look to be good enough for something, (although not quite sure at this stage). I will keep them until they are too old for the (ISL) U21 side and then will have to have a look at options depending on their personalities. 

 

Edited May 20, 2017 by Jimbokav1971

[Fola]

4 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

(37b) relates to the year in which the player came through the intake and the player ranking, (by PA within that seasons intake).

In the case of (37b) Vilhjálmur (Pro) *, he came through the intake in 2037 and was the 2nd highest rated player of the 2037 rated by PA, (hence the b). 

The * indicates that the player either is or was a 5.0 star PA player at some point. 

Thank you! 

[Jimbokav1971]

More info about Danny Laxdal. 

His brother is the current right back for Stjarnan in real life, (Jóhann Laxdal).

The name Laxdal is a little unusual in Iceland as the normal way that Icelandic surnames work is that id Daniel Laxdal had a son then called Bert, then his name should be Bert Danielsson. If Jóhann Laxdal had a son named Ernie, then his name would be Ernie Jóhannsson. I'm not sure what the score is with regards to the Laxdal surname, but I've just looked and there are no Laxdal's at Stjarnan but......

I have had a Daniel Laxdal come through my academy. 

He was good enough to be capped by the (ISL) National Team at some point, but not good enough to stay here. 

He's had a better than decent career.

 

 

[Benjoe]

38 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Isn't it strange that he wasn't given a 5.0 PA rating though? I'm still expecting it to pop.

I would expect so too. Even if your current players are quite capable themselves I would really expect him to be a 5.0 PA player.

Also agree very much about the stat-rant you had/have going. Some more complete stats and some more history would be nice. I would also love if they added something for when teams get promoted from different lower leagues. Could be either club, league or nation wise covering stuff like which player/coach had been with the club during the most promotions or relegations. Who had won the most cups with the same (and/or different) club(s). Who had scored in most finals and so on. Maybe some stats about player and manager salaries too? Like most money earned through salaries throughout a career, and if the player carried on to become staff that wage could then add to a separate column with staff salary. I have no idea how much it would demand to make possible or how much it would affect the CPU etc. Still, it could be interesting if some more stats in different ways were available easily. 

[Jimbokav1971]

On 2017-5-13 at 21:29, Jimbokav1971 said:

A little info with regards to striking depth. Feb 2040.

Golden Boot.

You might wonder why we don't win it more, but the reality is that our best players often don't play in League games because they are either playing mid-week in Europe or in Cups, or are on International duty. There is just far too much rotation going on for 1 player to score enough league goals unless he is a bit special, (as (23a) Vífill (M.Pro) (2023) * obviously was. 

(27e) Rób Örn Pál (Pro) * was only able to score 19 in a season because he was a freak, and even then he missed 6 of the 22 games.

(Yes. Yes I did go all the way back to 2000 just to get Andri Sigporsson on the list).

22 is the new 19 as (36a) Úlfar (Pro) (2036) * completely obliterates the old Icelandic Premier League record by scoring 22 goals in only 12(2) appearances. If he played in all the games, he might be in with a chance of scoring 40-50 next season, (but that's a big if). He's won the MOM award in 50% of the league games he has started this season, (6). 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

In high demand. Oct 2040.

(38b) Gunnar Gís (Pro) is in high demand and a total of 60 (SIXTY) clubs are currently interested in him. These include big guns such as AC.Milan, Monaco, Inter, Napoli, Roma, Udinese and Juve. 

He has hardly featured this season, but has still developed to the stage where he is now ranked 2nd choice (by CA if not by me). I like him, but I just preferred to use him in aged group football this season while I was trying to beat the Premier League season goal-scoring record.

I honestly don't know what I am going to do with him next season, but he will either play or be loaned out. He won't have another season not being used. 

[Jimbokav1971]

International call-ups. Nov 2040.

I have just had 14 players called up to the (ISL) Senior International squad, (which is impressive in itself), but what is more impressive is that 21 of the 23 players in the Senior (ISL) squad are products of our academy. 

I would love to get to the stage where all the players in a squad were products of our academy. 

[Edit]

17 of the 23 man U21 squad are also products of the academy. 

[Edit2]

I know have 49 players in total on International duty. 

I think I might be spreading us a little thin in some areas. 

Edited May 21, 2017 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

100 Senior (ISL) Caps milestone.

Frustratingly, the record for most Icelandic caps now belongs to the GK who was at Leicester, (Eyþór (ISL) *) and who kept 16d) Jake (ENG) (F.Sport) * out of the team for years. He somehow amassed 161 Senior caps and I have no idea how I am going to beat that because I keep producing better and better players as our reputation continues to rise. 

While I may not have my eyes set on beating 161 Caps, we do now have a player who has passed the 100 Cap milestone. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Leaderboard.

The Football Manager Leaderboard is a complete and utter joke. There, I have said it. 

Look, I know we all ignore it most of the time, but I got to the end of the season and just thought to myself, "well I wonder where I actually am?"

Well I have had a look and after doing what I believe is a pretty good job managing here in Iceland, it would seem that I am only the 66th highest score with regards to Saves that take place only in Iceland. 66th? Come on! 

So I have just under £1.8M points, (or whatever they are), based on my performances in this save, after winning everything for years and years and playing to 2040, yet 10 people have managed to get £2M+ points? Nah, I'm not having that 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

The end of an era. Dec 2040.

He might look like a shambles now, but back in the day he was...... reasonably decent. 

He has probably been our most important player to date, not just in that he is the club record goal-scorer, but significantly that he has really had a huge impact on the tutoring side of things. I'm not sure if he was our 1st Homegrown Model Pro, but he was certainly one of the first.

While he might have "only" scored 99 league goals, his full club record was as follows. 

Played. 210(73).
Goals. 200.
Assists. 43.
POM's. 50.

He also scored 4 times in 9 (ISL) U21 appearances and in his 1 and only appearance for the (ISL) National Team, he scored after coming on from the bench. I'm gutted that he hasn't stayed on in some capacity but that's the way it goes. 

He is classed as an Icon at the club and we only have 1 other player on the list during my time here. 

Gunnleifur Gunleifsson, (as well as having parents with a penchant for boring names), is who our stadium was names after and he was a GK who came through the ranks but was already playing for someone else at the start of the game. 

(18c) Óskar (F.Amb) * was the best striker before (23a) Vífill (M.Pro) (2023) * came along and I'm afraid I held him to a contract too long and to such an extent that he now hates me and refuses to work with me. The last 2 seasons where I kept him but didn't play him were very costly in terms of our relationship and although I regret it now, I'm glad stuff like this is in the game. 

 

Edited May 22, 2017 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Champions League 1st Knockout Round. Feb 2041.

Apologies for a lack up updates. A mixture of good weather, busy at work and a laptop battery that requires replacement has caused a lack of progress. 

Juve were beaten by Barca in the Qtr Finals last season, were Runners Up in the Europa League in 2038 and Semi-FInalists in 2036. They are certainly one of the games "big boys". We gifted them 2 goals through errors and also hit the woodwork. I expected absolutely nothing from these 2 games so whatever happens in the 2nd leg we have over-achieved. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Champions League 1st Knockout Leg. Round 2. Mar 2041.

We did well, but the scoreline flatters us a little if I'm honest. Having said that, with 16 minutes to play we were winning 1-0 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate. Their class told in the end though and 2 goals in 2 minutes were enough to see us of. 

[Keano16]

Great showing nonetheless. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Champions League goal of the Season. June 2041.

My players don't usually win awards such as this, so it's certainly deserving of a mention.

(36a) Úlfar (Pro) (2036) * takes it from inside his own half, (which you don't see on the highlight), before powering his way to the edge of the area before smashing an unstoppable shot past the hapless keeper and into the top corner. Well deserved in my book. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Rankings. Jun 2041.

40th is pretty decent in any save. In a Youth Only save in Iceland, it's pretty good. I'm quite chuffed with that.

We've got 1 more years worth of coefficient "boost" as I call it, (because of a poor showing in 2036/37, so I would hope to rise a few more places next season before it really starts to get tough to move up further. 

You can already see that looking at the right hand column, (COEF. 42.43), our ranking surpasses that of Anderlecht, Gelsinkirchen, Zenit, Marseille, (all things being equal this season of course), and there looks to be no teams below us capable of threatening our position.

The knock-on effect of this of course is that our Nation Club Coefficient will rise, and this of course means that we get more European competition places for our Icelandic club sides and of course that in some cases we also enter at a more prestigious stage. 

We've been at this stage already, but last season we dropped back again, only to regain our spot again this season. While I initially thought that entering in the Second Qualifying Stage of the Champions League was a negative, (I was thinking about lost playing time and also lost coefficient points from the First Qualifying Phase that we would now miss, (assuming we won the league of course), this was of course offset by the fact that we should be a seeded team in the Second Qualifying stage. That should (almost), guarantee us progression to the Group stages, but of course we know that Football doesn't work like that.

The Nation Club Coefficient Table shows just how tight tings are at the moment, and with the above rise not coming into effect until next season, we could struggle to make the Group stages this season. At the very least I will be hoping to make the Group Stages of the Europa League, (and at least get close to progressing from that).

Next season we should have jumped above Romania, (all things being equal), and it's really on a kinfe-edge between ourselves and Switzerland, (so I hope I draw a Swiss Team at some point in this campaign). Croatia are the other team in contention, just behind us. If we have a good European campaign this season, (and by that I mean getting out of the Europa League or Champions League Group Stage), then we should put a fair bit of daylight between ourselves and the other Nations just mentioned. 

The reason why all of this stuff is vitally important becomes all too obvious when you look at the next graphic.

Both ourselves and Croatia get just 1 invitation to the Champions League, however the 2 Nations just just just just just above us, well they get 2, (and they still get the 3 Europa League invitations they were getting before so it's an enormous advantage). We basically have to do better with 4 club in Europe, than they do with 5, and they have the added advantage of a favourable draw in the Champions League. It's really key that we make the jump this season.

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Finances. July 2041.

I think this is the 1st time we have made it onto the rich list, (but not positive about that). 

Our bank balance has been pretty static between £40M - £55M for about 10-12 years now I think, but I haven't bothered to look at how much the club is worth until now. I'm sort of surprised that we weren't already on the list. 

These are the Big Boys. 

This is us. (Still a little way to go). 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Double-figures. July 2041.

Considering I played the kids in both legs, this was quite pleasing, (if a little surprising). 

 

 

[deltablue]

Nice climbing for Iceland.

[Jimbokav1971]

On 2017-5-27 at 21:53, Keano16 said:

Great showing nonetheless. 

Yeah, thanks. 

It's sometimes easy to think you aren't making progress in a save like this, but the key is to just completely and utterly ignore all results, (whether good or bad), and always look and the long-term trend. 

You get out of the Group Stages of the Champions League a couple of times and you think you have made it, and contrastingly you lose to a much better Juve team and you think you aren't getting anywhere. The truth is probably somewhere in between. Nowadays I prefer just to focus on developing player by player and, as long as I do it right, I should make small steps forward. 

When I look at some of the players I have produced and developed compared to what I started with, well the difference is simply mind-blowing. Whether I get to this round or that round or whatever, the real progress is the players.  

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, deltablue said:

Nice climbing for Iceland.

Yeah it is, and the fact that it surprised me a little was the reason for the post. 

We've really kicked on in Europe in the past couple of seasons, after initially having to prioritise the Domestic League after losing the title and only finishing Runners Up in 2035.

What I haven't done is see how the other Icelandic clubs have assisted our rise in Europe, (if indeed they have assisted). 

FK have probably been our main competitors, (despite the fact that it wasn't them who beat us to the title in 2035). I would have expected them to do the best in Europe out of our domestic rivals. 

A draw against Hajduk is good, and only losing by 1 goal over 2 legs is also decent at this stage of the save. 

Again, these are decent score-lines for this stage of the save.

This is brilliant and soooo unlucky. 

You might notice that the name of one of the goal-scorers in the 1st leg was a certain Ragnar (M.Pro) Tutor. This was a player that I signed as a non-playing tutor in the early period of the save. He never played a single game for us. 

On the other hand, this is not nearly so impressive.

More bad luck. 

This is a pretty convincing win against a fellow Scandi club.

Why don't Icelandic Nations ever win games on away goals or via penalties?

Despite two 1-0 losses against Southampton, this is probably the best set of results seen by FK. Look at where they have come from to 2 narrow losses against an English team.

2033. No Fixtures.

And after a season away from Europe, they proved that 3032 wasn't a fluke as they lost narrowly in the 3rd Qualifying Round. 

Oh look! Another loss on away goals. (This time to a French club).

Now this next picture looks different for a number of reasons. First of all it's the first time that we see a product of our academy on the score-sheet for another club in Europe. Take a bow  (33n) Einar Hallfreð (F.Pro) who was on loan at the time but has joined them on a permanent basis now. Secondly, because it's the 1st appearance on the Playoffs. Yes they lost, but they were far from disgraced. 

You can see now that they are expected to get to the 3rd qualifying Round based on seedings.

2039. No Fixtures.

It's a tough draw to come into at the 3rd Round stage. 

All in all, a little unlucky and not too shabby at all. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Day 2041.

This doesn't look great to be honest, but after a little thought I've decided that it's actually pretty good. The reality is that we can't be expecting to bang out 5.0 PA players in every Youth Intake because the best players at the club have now reached a level where that's just unrealistic. 

We have 1 player who has 4.5 CA, (and 4.5 PA too), and he's pretty special if I'm honest. 

By way of a comparison, the best player that we have ever produced, (at this stage of the save), (27e) Rób Örn Pál (Pro) * is now classed as a 4.0 CA player. If (41a) Eirík (F.Pro) (2041) can reach that level then I will be very happy, and as his starting point seems to be significantly better than that of  (27e) Rób Örn Pál (Pro) *, I'm hopeful that he will develop to be as least as good, (and that will do me). 

"Kriss" (41a) Eirík (F.Pro) (2041).

His lack of pace, (and acceleration), is going to be a little issue for me and I am going to have to get it to a level so it's not a weight around his neck. Longer term though I think I'm going to have to look to use him in a slightly different way. I know it suggests that he is ideally suited to an Advanced Forward role, but I'm not so sure that a slow Advanced Forward is something that would work well, (and even assuming I can get him to 10+ pace and acceleration, I would still class that as slow). The Plays One-Two's is an interesting PPM, but as he is only 5'5" and slow to boot, I'm worried that his physical deficiencies will be just too much to cope with. Still, as this save is all about player development it would be remiss of me to try not to eke the absolute most out of him.

I'm not very au fait with some of the more withdrawn forward roles, but the lack of physique and the interesting PPM suggests that there might be some value in having (41a) Eirík (F.Pro) (2041) attack from deeper. The problem there however is that his first touch, technique and passing are not up to a playmaker role and I'm not really sure where he might fit in. 

• A Deep Lying Forward doesn't seem to play to his strengths. 
• He hasn't got the legs to be a poacher. 
• I don't like him at all as a Defensive Forward so I'm not even considering that. 
• Playing him as a Treq is interesting. It's very interesting and is something that could teach me something new about the game because I very little about that role. 
• I don't see him as a False 9. I think there is too much of a playmaker role in that and it's just not him. 
• Shadow Striker is something that I'm curious about, (even though it's even more withdrawn). The suggestion is that this role works best in conjunction with a Deep Lying Forward, and again that's something new to me so it might indeed be something that I look at in a new tactic.
• Oh! I didn't realise that you could be a Treq in the SC slot and also a Treq in the AMC slot. That's given me some food for thought.... I think I'm leaning more towards a Treq role in the SC slot rather than the AMC slot. 
• I don't think any of the other roles are even worth of consideration. 

Feel free to comment on the above by the way. While I might be decent at some aspects of this game, tactical innovation outside my established set-up is not one of my strengths. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Ex-Player Watch. Aug 2041.

This is obviously just the top page of our academy products. 

Frustratingly, we are yet to produce a player who is labelled "Worldclass". I can't remember who, but I'm pretty sure we have had 2 "Wonderkids".

The top 6 players are what I would call "TOP" quality, and it remains to be seen whether I made a mistake in selling (39e) Brynjar Gauti (Pro) for a pittance, or whether subsequent scout reports will agree with my assessment that he is not going to be up to scratch. 

[Jimbokav1971]

GK Depth. Aug 2041.

Obviously (35b) Rafn Andri (Pro) 17 is current 1st choice GK, but it seems obvious, (at least to my Ass Man anyway), that it won't be too long before (39b) Vaz (POR) (F.Pro) * 2 completely out-strips him. (The last number in their nick-names is total career goals by the way). Even without these 2 though, there are still 4 other players with similar PA to current 1st choice (35b) Rafn Andri (Pro) 17. 

(35b) Rafn Andri (Pro) 17 is current 1st choice GK. 

 

Edited May 30, 2017 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

DL Depth. Aug 2041.

Left back has been a weakness within the squad all the way through the save really, You will note that there was a full 10 year gap between (25a) Páll (F.Pro) (2025) * and (35a) Valdi (Pro) (2035) *, and as both have been in the International squad until recently, it was a real issue during International call-ups. (39c) Arnór Halldór (F.Loyal) has added some much-needed depth in recent months, but of course as he is in the U21 squad, he doesn't solve our issues during International periods. That solution has however been resolved by National Team Manager Atli Jens Auðunsson, who simply chooses to select just 1 left back in the International squad.

By the way, some of the more eagle-eyed among you may notice that (39c) Arnór Halldór (F.Loyal) is now a F.Pro personality and I haven't updated his nickname yet, but the reason for that is that the tutoring is still on-going and the nickname doesn't get updated until it ends.

(35a) Valdi (Pro) (2035) * is the 1st choice left back at the club,

The reality is that all players rotate at times, (even our GK's and our star striker, and often the rotation is less about giving a player of equal ability an opportunity, and far more about developing a player for the future who probably isn't quite up to the required standard yet. 

(35a) Valdi (Pro) (2035) * is our best left back, but he is still pretty poor technically. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

DR Depth. Aug 2041.

This is a real area of strength with the top 4 all receiving Senior International Caps already while all still being aged under 25. Even the 5th player on the list has been called up to the Senior squad, but has not made it off the bench as yet.

(35e) Guðni Snær (Pro) is probably my 1st choice right back in my head, because although (37d) Þór Rúnar (Pro) is righted more highly in terms of CA, (and hugely in terms of PA), he only has 2 years left on his contract and looks unlikely to re-sign. At the moment my plan is to play him in slightly easier games, boost up his match rating, (and therefore his valuation as a result)m before flogging him with a 50% sell-on clause to a big boy. I don't want him to go, but unless I do something stupendous in Europe before he leaves, I think there is no chance of him signing a new contract and with such an abundance of talent in this area, I am reluctant to see him leave on a free. If he were a left back on the other hand, he would be very much leaving on a free. 

The truth is that I have too many goof right backs at the club and some of them should be out on loan, but for a number of different reasons, I have chosen to keep 5 players at the club who are all vying for just 1 shirt. 

(32f) Guð Ársæl (Res) is out for 5 months with a damaged achilles, but the reason he was kept because he was my "banker" to play in the games when everyone was away on International duty. Unfortunately his injury scuppered that plan.

I've already mentioned that (37d) Þór Rúnar (Pro) has 2 years left on his contract and I need to sell, and also mentioned that (35e) Guðni Snær (Pro) is 1st choice. 

(35f) Eiríkur (F.Pro) really benefitted from loan periods in Spain and France, but he's 22 now and I really need to get him tutored past F.Pro if I'm going to get the most out of him.  

(33a) Björn Berg M.Pro (2033)* was kept not only for his playing ability, and the fact that he was the best of the 2033 intake, but also because he is a Model Pro personality, and now that he has reached his 24th birthday he can be added to the ranks of tutors at the club. 

(35e) Guðni Snær (Pro).

I've only just realised while taking these pictures that he doesn't have any PPM's. I'm particularly fond of "Gets forward wherever possible" for my full-backs, so this exercise has been worth it even if only for that. Sometimes, my infatuation, obsession, whatever with regards to personalities and tutoring means that other stuff is missed. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

DC Depth. Aug 2041.

We are doing ok at centre-half, but to be honest this tells me why we struggle during the International call-ups. (30c) Kristóf Skúl (M.Pro) is decent and I've not got an issue with him, but even he has been capped at Senior level and for years was a permanent fixture on the subs bench for all International fixtures. (35i) Kristófer Skúli (Pro) on the other hand is simply not good enough and I fear that his career has been hugely lengthened by playing in the same position as a better player who has the same name, (even if the nickname is slightly different). If he doesn't "pop" to Model Pro when he is 23 I am going to be peeved in the extreme. 

(38a) Alfreð (Pro) (2038) * is the star of the show, but I must point out that there are actually 3 centre-backs towards the top of this list who all came through the 2039 intake. I have a soft spot for (38g) Elvar (Pro) and it's interesting to note that he was only the 7th best player, (rated by PA), to come through the 2039 intake

(38a) Alfreð (Pro) (2038) *.

[BoxToBox]

About that new striker, playing him as a Trequartista is probably not the best idea, as it's even more of a playmaker role than the False Nine. A Trequartista is pretty much just an Advanced Playmaker given more freedom to roam, and(if I recall correctly) less defensive duties.

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, BoxToBox said:

About that new striker, playing him as a Trequartista is probably not the best idea, as it's even more of a playmaker role than the False Nine. A Trequartista is pretty much just an Advanced Playmaker given more freedom to roam, and(if I recall correctly) less defensive duties.

Good spot. 

I've just look at the filters for T(at) in the SC slot and you are spot on. Technique, Passing, Agility and Flair are all areas where (41a) Eirík (F.Pro) (2041) struggles. The only thing that looks even remotely possible is a Poacher, and he hasn't got the legs for that. Still might be worth a go anyway. 

[wynter]

I would say you may have to bite the bullet and continue him as an Advanced Forward, unless DLF could be a potential option (I don't play with this role so unaware of it's attribute criteria). Speed is unfortunate but he's still a solid prospect. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Maybe I'm approaching this wrong. Maybe, rather than trying to shoe-horn him into one of a number of roles/duties, I need to stick with AF and adapt it via individual tactical instructions and PPM's to fit the type of player he is. 

I quite like the PPM and I think that could work well to mask his deficiency in the pace areas. I might also look to add in "tries first time shots", and maybe something movement related but nit sure yet. Am considering.comes deep to get the ball, to then open up one-two opportunities from deep, but at yhe same time I'm reluctant to have him drop deep, leaving a huge hole up top.

What i might do is have a look at top players in their prime using the future him as a template, and maybe have a look to see how the best of them operate. My thinking is that he would work better in a 2 than in a lone front role, but I dont want to have to change things so much just to get him on the pitch. 

Im quite enjoying my confusion. 

[BoxToBox]

What's that fox in the box PPM, "Penalty Box Player" or whatever it is? Maybe that's the solution? So when the team have the ball he moves forward early so he doesn't have to leg it up there.

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, BoxToBox said:

What's that fox in the box PPM, "Penalty Box Player" or whatever it is? Maybe that's the solution? So when the team have the ball he moves forward early so he doesn't have to leg it up there.

I'm not sure which one you mean but let's gave a look..... 

I think you mean this one don't you? 

Even if you don't, I have never used a player with that PPM and I have certainly never developed it. so this would be an ideal time to try it out. I think it fits quite nicely and the only issue might be that he might used as the pivot in one-two's rather than...... the non-pivot. 

My Ass Man doesn't agree with us about the PPM, but I'm the boss here! 

Having said that, takes early shots and places shots are 2 PPM's I quite like for him, (as well as tries lobs). Maybe need to improve technique before getting him to lob though. 

[BoxToBox]

That's the one I was thinking of!

[kidthekid]

Your assistant looks like a difficult person to deal with. You tell him to do something, he says "I don't think so boss", after your force him to do it, he still has the nerve to remind you he thinks the idea sucks.

Fire him!!!

[Jimbokav1971]

6 minutes ago, kidthekid said:

Your assistant looks like a difficult person to deal with. You tell him to do something, he says "I don't think so boss", after your force him to do it, he still has the nerve to remind you he thinks the idea sucks.

Fire him!!!

As he basically does everything on match days, (remember I use a skin with an IR button), I think he has more than earned the right to chirp up. 

[kidthekid]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

As he basically does everything on match days, (remember I use a skin with an IR button), I think he has more than earned the right to chirp up. 

Wouldn't be surprised if he is planning undermine you and take the job.

[Jimbokav1971]

MC Depth. Aug 2041.

I play with 2 "normal" MC's and the roles at the moment are BWM(De), (on the left of centre) and CM(Su), to the . I have 1 player who I allow to play either role, (although I have a preference), but all the others are restricted to just 1 role. 

(28a) Magnús (Pro) (2028) * has been our stand-out player for a while, but because of squad rotation, and my preference for often selecting PA over CA when looking at match-day squad selection, he has not played as often you would expect our best central midfielder to do and this in turn has caused him to miss out on International selection on occasion.

(34a) Ívar (M.Pro) (2034) is my 1st choice partner with him, but if I'm honest he also doesn't play enough. I often play significantly poorer players simply to develop them and with games coming quick and fast it's often hard to have the best players fit and available in peak condition for the right game. 

(28a) Magnús (Pro) (2028) *.

(34a) Ívar (M.Pro) (2034).

Edited May 31, 2017 by Jimbokav1971

[Sir_Liam]

On 5/30/2017 at 21:21, Jimbokav1971 said:

 

 

I think keeping this player as an advanced forward is the right thing to do as speed is easy to train in young players, and he already has a lot of good attributes for the role.  On my game in Moldova I had a player with 5.6 (Using the attribute development graph) for pace come through 3.5 years ago.  Today after mostly focusing individual training on quickness, it's gone up to 10.6.  This is at semi-pro club in a bad league, and the player hasn't played that many first team games.

He already has a good personality, and with your improved facilities and coaching you can get his pace up a few points.

[Jimbokav1971]

17 hours ago, Sir_Liam said:

I think keeping this player as an advanced forward is the right thing to do as speed is easy to train in young players, and he already has a lot of good attributes for the role.  On my game in Moldova I had a player with 5.6 (Using the attribute development graph) for pace come through 3.5 years ago.  Today after mostly focusing individual training on quickness, it's gone up to 10.6.  This is at semi-pro club in a bad league, and the player hasn't played that many first team games.

He already has a good personality, and with your improved facilities and coaching you can get his pace up a few points.

Well pace and acceleration both start at 7.4 so that's not a million miles off 8 and 8 isn't too far from 10. 

He's not exactly sloth-like, but neither is he a whippet. Something in between methinks. 

If you can get a 5.6 to a 10.6 then I should be able to get   7.4 to a 12.4.  If I can get him to 12 for both pace and acceleration. If I can git 13 for both I will be ecstatic.

[Jimbokav1971]

There can be only One. Sep 2041.

(No, I'm not that up myself. It's a reference from a film called Highlander, (it's old), where the main characters are immortal).

 

 

[BoxToBox]

40 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

There can be only One. Sep 2041.

(No, I'm not that up myself. It's a reference from a film called Highlander, (it's old), where the main characters are immortal).

 

 

I actually engraved that on some blokes headstone, once. No-one else got the reference.

[Jimbokav1971]

AMC Depth. Oct 2041.

I think it's quite hard to play someone in the hole behind a lone striker and not have them pivotal to the team. There's just so much that they can influence, whether good or bad, and even if they are not your strongest player, (as has been the case throughout most of this save for me), it doesn't lessen the influence that they exert over the teams performances. While (34b) Marinó (M.Pro) * is currently our best AP(a), there are certainly inadequacies in his game. (33c) Finn (SRB) (F.Pro) was a poorer substitute and then more recently (37c) Böðvar (Pro) and then (39a) Ekström (SWE)F.Pro(2039) on the scene to really give us some much needed improvement and also depth in this area.

(34b) Marinó (M.Pro) *.

I know that he is lacking in the areas of crossing, dribbling and finishing, and also long shots if I'm honest, but where I have chosen to develop him is first touch, passing and technique in terms of technical attributes, (at the expense of others listed above), but I am far more happy with the mental attributes, (especially that of a 22 year old), that shows real strength in areas of composure, decisions, flair, and vision. If I was being ultra-critical I wold look at his off the ball attribute of 14 and say that that's a little under-cooked. It's quite hard to ultra-micro-manage a whole club of 100+ players like this when I am putting as much into training, tutoring and developing a player who might never play for the senior team, as I do for a player who might become our best player ever. The process is simple. Develop every player to the greatest extent possible so that they get as close to their PA as possible. If I do this, then I will have the greatest opportunity for success on the pitch.