pheelf Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 On 3/11/2017 at 23:40, noikeee said: Jesus, 0-9 to Everton? What the hell happened that day? Seems utterly out of character with everything else. It was a bizarre game, every time they came forward they looked like scoring and we just couldn't deal with it. Seeing the way it was going I could have gone a little bit more conservative with my tactic but I don't sense it would have made much difference in the end. I struggle to explain it but feel that the mentality of the squad played a role. The majority of my better players have 'doesn't feel comfortable playing in big matches' and 'doesn't enjoy big matches' in their coach reports which to me would indicate that if it starts going badly in the big games in Europe they are likely to throw in the towel even though the squad is very determined overall. That's what I think happened, individually there were no terrible match ratings (none less than 5.6) but collectively we were atrocious. I may need to consider changing the nature of the squad to avoid that sort of embarrassment in future Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2049 / 2050 Season Expectations We need to start getting through to the knockout stages of the Champions League again League Table - The points total and games won record were broken again and overall the victory was very comfortable UEFA Champions League - It's very disheartening that we appear to be going backwards in Europe. The simple truth is that we aren't as good as I think we are, the players hide in the big games which is a serious problem UEFA Europa League - The second leg was a total shambles Domestic Cups - I'll always accept a clean sweep but in the greater scheme of things it's meaningless Reserves - Great stuff from the team Under 18s - They get a perfect record in the Champions League group stage only to get knocked out by Ludogorets...bizarre Squad – I think I've been lulled into a false sense of security because of the ultra high player values. I mean, how far off is the team from winning the Champions League now? From my perspective, there isn't much point in paying huge wages for players in order for them to take us to the next level if they fail to turn it on in the games that matter. Next season is going to bring about a massive clear out of the squad as we just aren't competitive in Europe at the moment and that's all that matters Transfers – Gimenez was class in between the sticks but the rest of the signings were overpriced and weren't any better than what I already had Player Of The Season Miguel Robles – ML - Average Rating : 8.26 A class act in an otherwise average team. He didn't want to sign a new contract so will be leaving for FC Porto on a free Young Player Of The Season Yuka Okamoto – AMC - Average Rating : 7.45 A technical wizard on the ball who performed brilliantly in the team, perhaps I should have selected him to play in Europe Finances – Thankfully we passed the FFP as the board pumped in £15M but the comfortable balance I was hoping for failed to materialize. I need to perhaps take the budgets allocated by the board with a pinch of salt as without success in Europe there is no way we can generate enough money to cover that wage bill. We certainly can't afford to be paying players the kind of sums we are, the wage budget is nearly £500Kp/w which is astronomical considering that we aren't even making the knockout rounds of the Champions League. For that sort of money I expect much better Facilities – No changes Youth Intake – Yay!!...at last a player who might be able to grace the first team. Nicky Coulter LB looks very good indeed, he has a Driven personality, is a consistent performer and is good enough to play in the DBP straight away League Reputation – To be expected given that we haven't earned very much coefficient points over the last 3 seasons. Linfield didn't get any either losing every game they played in the EL group stage, as a result we once again have to qualify for the Champions League and lose the spot for the EL group stage from the season after next Club Domestic Reputation – Disappointing to see both Glentoran and Portadown get relegated. In other news Championship side Carrick Rangers got taken over by a tycoon although they failed to get promotion Club European Reputation – Meh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 "Doesn't enjoy big matches" is a massive red flag for European competitions. I've learned this in previous careers. I think it was with CSKA Sofia, or with Kayserispor can't remember, but I had players who I specifically rested in the league and reserved for the Champions League because they "enjoyed big matches". Performed better than better players. In the league it was the other way around, they were worse. FM considers any Champions League match as a big match. That and any competition finals, I think. Another hidden trait that makes a massive difference is "Consistency". I stay away from "inconsistent" players as much as I can. Consistent strikers are worth their weight in gold. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 15, 2017 Author Share Posted March 15, 2017 On 3/13/2017 at 12:32, noikeee said: "Doesn't enjoy big matches" is a massive red flag for European competitions. I've learned this in previous careers. I think it was with CSKA Sofia, or with Kayserispor can't remember, but I had players who I specifically rested in the league and reserved for the Champions League because they "enjoyed big matches". Performed better than better players. In the league it was the other way around, they were worse. FM considers any Champions League match as a big match. That and any competition finals, I think. Another hidden trait that makes a massive difference is "Consistency". I stay away from "inconsistent" players as much as I can. Consistent strikers are worth their weight in gold. I realize now that I haven't been playing with the attention to detail that is necessary which isn't helping to get the best out of my players. We would struggle at the best of times in Europe anyway considering that my players have inferior attributes but when you add in a lack of mental toughness into the mixture I can see why I have been seeing a steady decline in performances over recent seasons. As a result, I have resolved to only sign players that I have scouted to 100% from now on so that I can get a better assessment of their negative traits. Therefore players with the following cons won't be considered to sign unless there is a way I can directly influence them to eliminate the flaw (for e.g. tutoring a player): 1) Doesn't enjoy big matches - Could sign if they are to be utilized in the league only but wouldn't be considered if they are potentially the best player in that position at the club 2) Inconsistent - Will not sign unless the player is young enough that the trait can be eliminated 3) Injury prone - Depends on the position they play in but will be looking over injury history, they can however be nursed through (gentler training, subbing early) so I wouldn't discard signing a player based solely on this trait 4) Bad personality - If they are young enough I will tutor them, if not then I won't sign them 5) Competitive streak - Not a bad thing in of itself but I wouldn't want this sort of player playing in a position where they have to put in a lot of tackles anyway as it's just a recipe for a load of red cards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 15, 2017 Author Share Posted March 15, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2050 / 2051 Season Expectations As we are going through a slight rebuilding phase perhaps a run at the Europa League wouldn't be such a bad thing League Table - An unbeaten season but very unsatisfying considering the amount of games drawn UEFA Champions League - The losses were narrow (except at Old Trafford) but we seem to be in decline as a force in Europe. That 1st Champions League trophy is looking a million miles away Domestic Cups - More 'trophies' to stick in the overflowing cabinet Reserves - Won the lot Under 18s - Quite the fall from grace when compared to last season Squad – Ability wise we are way off the heights we had previously but I'm far more optimistic about this set of players. These players are far more likely to give me their best on a consistent basis and in the games that matter in Europe. I'm probably going to need to look for another LB to compete with Coulter, a couple of workhorses in CM and a quality central defender to replace the aging Kettle Transfers – Noting our decline I wanted to sell the players at the higher market values and that's what I did. We managed to generate a huge profit and I'm very happy with some of the replacements Player Of The Season Paul Davies – MR - Average Rating : 7.72 The evergreen winger has been superb yet again. Looking at his pros, he's consistent, relishes big matches, has a Driven personality and the fans love him. In my eyes...perfection Young Player Of The Season Luis Ribeiro – ML - Average Rating : 7.76 The DBP P.O.T.Y. & Y.P.O.T.Y. has all the makings of the next David Beckham. He's only been here a year and the fans already like him. I may need to fend off prying glances from bigger teams but he has a bright future Finances – That's what you call a proper bank balance. Now to scout the world and unearth some gems to take us to a higher level Facilities – I might drop this screenshot as I can't see it changing for a while Youth Intake – Nothing special this time, I must find a way to broaden our scope as it looks like a youth recruitment upgrade isn't possible League Reputation – Given that level of decline the nations 2nd Champions League spot will be removed from the season after next. We really need to sort ourselves out, Linfield did however manage a win in their EL Group Club Domestic Reputation – Glentoran and Portadown couldn't get promoted so will spend another season in the Championship while tycoon owned Carrick will be returning to the top flight. I'd love for them to give us a run for our money as we desperately need the level of competition in the PL to improve so that the nation is less dependent on my teams success in Europe Club European Reputation – Unsurprising to fall out of the top 20 considering how paltry the coefficient points earned has been over the last few seasons Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 20 hours ago, pheelf said: I realize now that I haven't been playing with the attention to detail that is necessary which isn't helping to get the best out of my players. We would struggle at the best of times in Europe anyway considering that my players have inferior attributes but when you add in a lack of mental toughness into the mixture I can see why I have been seeing a steady decline in performances over recent seasons. As a result, I have resolved to only sign players that I have scouted to 100% from now on so that I can get a better assessment of their negative traits. Therefore players with the following cons won't be considered to sign unless there is a way I can directly influence them to eliminate the flaw (for e.g. tutoring a player): 1) Doesn't enjoy big matches - Could sign if they are to be utilized in the league only but wouldn't be considered if they are potentially the best player in that position at the club 2) Inconsistent - Will not sign unless the player is young enough that the trait can be eliminated 3) Injury prone - Depends on the position they play in but will be looking over injury history, they can however be nursed through (gentler training, subbing early) so I wouldn't discard signing a player based solely on this trait 4) Bad personality - If they are young enough I will tutor them, if not then I won't sign them 5) Competitive streak - Not a bad thing in of itself but I wouldn't want this sort of player playing in a position where they have to put in a lot of tackles anyway as it's just a recipe for a load of red cards I would advise minding all those factors, but being slightly flexible. Like I said I really don't like inconsistent players, and find that "doesn't enjoy big matches" players play worse in Europe. However it's hard to find players without any weaknesses, and sometimes they can pay off even with their limitations. I recall a winger I had with Kayserispor who was "fairly inconsistent". This meant he rarely played at his best level, however he was so talented that even playing a little below his best he could tear apart the Turkish league and shine in Europe, and still ended up with some of the best ratings in my side... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 4 hours ago, noikeee said: I would advise minding all those factors, but being slightly flexible. Like I said I really don't like inconsistent players, and find that "doesn't enjoy big matches" players play worse in Europe. However it's hard to find players without any weaknesses, and sometimes they can pay off even with their limitations. I recall a winger I had with Kayserispor who was "fairly inconsistent". This meant he rarely played at his best level, however he was so talented that even playing a little below his best he could tear apart the Turkish league and shine in Europe, and still ended up with some of the best ratings in my side... I wholeheartedly agree that there needs to be some degree of flexibility and you do get the occasional game where the player isn't hindered by his bad traits. However, I've noticed that those performances tend to be infrequent which is problematic in Europe especially when playing in knockout games. Now that I have adopted this mentality of picking players based around their pros rather than on ability I have noticed such a dramatic improvement in performances (see next seasons review) that I'm going to stick with it, even if it means we miss out on signing some players with eye wateringly high attributes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2051 / 2052 Season Expectations Given the way things have been going in recent seasons, I'd be happy to avoid the wooden spoon in the Champions League group League Table - We lost 4 times!!...what makes it worse is that among those losses were defeats to Ballymena United & Moyola Park...shocking enough to force a rethink of my 4-4-1-1 UEFA Champions League - It was after the 1-0 loss at home to FC Porto that I decided to tweak my tactic. It helped us and we recovered well and even held hopes of getting through by finishing 2nd on the head to head record if we could go to Portugal and win on the final day by scoring at least twice, unfortunately we just couldn't make the breakthrough and once again FC Porto like in season 40/41 dumped us out of the Champions League. Well at least we got the consolation prize of the Europa League UEFA Europa League - Papas been waiting a loooooooong time to put this small club from Antrim on the map, finally it has happened and we have something big to celebrate. We had our luck along the way, had to squeeze through on away goals twice and had the fortune of playing against 10 men for the away game against Juventus and the final against Chelsea but do I care...not one bit!!...My players played well beyond themselves and deserved it...heroes every single one of them...AT F*****G LAST!!!...Now for ol' Big ears Domestic Cups - Put out a reserve side for the early season cups which led to our losses, was nice to put one over on Cliftonville in the Irish Cup final as they had beaten a heavily rotated side on the final match day of the league. There seems to be a bug in the game though, I haven't got Scotland as a playable league but every year it seems I'm winning the Scottish Challenge Cup even though I'm not playing any fixtures in it Reserves - Not their best Under 18s - Won the league but pretty poor overall Squad – These players have grit and that's what led to the success in Europe. They seem to have this never give up attitude which I'll be looking to encourage more as I add to the ranks. I'll need to replace Brennan RB as he is leaving at the end of his contract but outside of that I don't see the need for any major surgery to the squad unless players want to leave. A lot of the younger players have scope to improve so I'll be affording them plenty of opportunities in the first team in order to help them reach their potential Transfers – I spent a bit to get the quality I felt that was needed and it proved to be a wise decision. A player not shown who came in was Benmoussa ST who was sensational in the Europa League. I was forced to select him as Semenov ST was ineligible but he repaid my faith in him by scoring a late goal against Ajax in Holland and netting all three goals against Juventus. For only £500K that is the bargain of the century Player Of The Season Paul Davies – MR - Average Rating : 7.55 Even though he hasn't got the highest average rating in the team I couldn't look past him for the accolade. He captained the side brilliantly in the Europa League run and his level of consistency is remarkable Young Player Of The Season Luis Ribeiro – ML - Average Rating : 7.50 The guy is developing really well, the concern now is whether we can retain him as he wants to leave Finances – This was taken after the upgrades costing £5.2M came out but before the board injected £14.5M into the coffers. We look to be secure and with the guaranteed £10M to come from the Champions League it affords me a bit of room to get in a few top players if needed Facilities – Had to upgrade both the training and youth facilities but still no sign of a youth recruitment upgrade Youth Intake – These intakes have become so sporadic, no stars here either League Reputation – Win the Europa League and have the league tumble down the rankings...yeah...that makes sense.... Club Domestic Reputation – A full star ahead of everybody which could be made worse should the team win the Super Cup (unlikely given that we'll face Man City). Carrick did well on their return to the top flight but it looks like Glentoran & Portadown have settled into mid table mediocrity in the Championship which can only harm the top flight in the long run. Cliftonville & Linfield still sell more season tickets than we do which is an epic fail from the board, had they been a little bit ambitious and built a stadium with bigger expansion potential we'd have been a position to start helping other clubs out with greater gate receipts in the cups but with only 11,000 we aren't of much help at all Club European Reputation – I guess the rise will be reflected in next seasons calculation Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keano16 Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 17 minutes ago, Keano16 said: Cheers Keano Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 19, 2017 Author Share Posted March 19, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2052 / 2053 Season Expectations After last seasons Europa League win I wanted to continue that trend and reach the knockout rounds of the Champions League League Table - Unbeaten and comfortable UEFA Champions League - A vast improvement on recent seasons, eventual winners Arsenal proved to be our nemesis but if we can continue to build from here the first coronation can't be too far off Domestic Cups - We didn't win anything but I'm not disappointed. It gives other teams in the league the chance to play catch up with regards to reputation Reserves - Nothing won by them Under 18s - A very average season Squad – We look to be a strong side but it appears the vast majority of the players have reached their potential. I'll need to address this as we still need to improve if we are to stand a chance at winning the Champions League. The concern now is that in order to get to that next stage it's going to cost a lot of money Transfers – I splashed out a bit but I will need to be a lot more active next season Player Of The Season Michael Fitzpatrick – MR - Average Rating : 7.81 A very talented player whose contribution in terms of assists belies his poor technical attributes Young Player Of The Season Josip Vejic – DR - Average Rating : 7.60 Blisteringly quick and agile, the fullback could have developed into a world class player with a higher potential, unfortunately he has peaked which means no further improvement to his defensive attributes is possible Finances – I suspect that these will likely be wrecked given the investment needed into the first team required Facilities – Another 9 seasons and we can try for a new stadium, my hope is we can win at least one Champions League trophy in that time so that we can get a huge ground Youth Intake – Neal Wallace looks reasonable but the rest aren't likely to make it here League Reputation – A slight improvement, hopefully the start of another upward trend Club Domestic Reputation – We reach Continental reputation, was also nice to see Carrick win the Irish Cup and close the gap Club European Reputation – An improvement but not quite into the top 20 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 A Europa League title and a CL semi-final presence isn't too terrible. This is much better. I can sense the words "challenge completed" in the next few years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 On 3/20/2017 at 10:13, noikeee said: A Europa League title and a CL semi-final presence isn't too terrible. This is much better. I can sense the words "challenge completed" in the next few years. It appears the tide has turned very much in our favour now, the difference the new tweaked 4-4-1-1 and signing strategy has made is night and day really. You'll like next seasons review 'hint hint'... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbokav1971 Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Great thread @pheelfMust admit that I have skipped through it reading bits and pieces but looking at every Youth Intake as you would expect. A lot of what you have said is bang on the money and glad you were spot on with the "rich" Youth Recruitment pop. For what it's worth, I think the next one will require reputation boosts before becoming available, but like you are already doing, feeder clubs could be a way forward. To that end though, you need to select the correct option for it to be effective, ie. "from a successful Youth Academy" or something like that. With regards to you looking for Model Pro youngsters as a result of having a Model Pro HoYD, then I'm afraid that's not how it works. His attributes will, (or should), influence the attributes of some of the intake, but it might just mean that they are more Professional than they would have otherwise been without his input, and of course this can be negative personalities such as (L.Det). Low Determination Det 2-5, Amb 1-9, Spo 1-17, Pro 5-20 (The Pro levels could theoretically be 20 in some (L.Det) players and that is phenomenal as far as I'm concerned. You have to also remember that if your overall squad Determination is very low then your young players will experience degradation in their Det levels as the squad average takes it's toll on them. It also works the other way however in that if the squad has a very High Det level then this can help to cause a natural increase in Det as the squad exerts influence over new arrivals. What you are missing however is that while we don't like (L.Det) as a personality, it can easily hide a player with a high Pro attribute and is pretty easy to fix. Just remember to not try and fix the (Det) at the expense of the (Pro) attribute. For example you might think that tutoring a (L.Det) player with a high hidden (Pro) attribute, with a (Driven) player, (Det 20), is the answer, but what you are actually doing is also using the hidden (Pro) level of the tutor, (whether it be good or bad), also as a tutoring tool. You use all the tutor's hidden attributes + determination. Not just the one's that you can see and not just the one's that you want. Do you mind if I ask for an update on some of your better youth products such as Coulter (2050), Stewart (2044), Dunlop (2042), Moore (2037), McFerran (2036), McClean (2035), Anderson (2033) & Campbell (2031). Also, did any players go on to have better than expected careers who were initially not very highly thought of at the time of the intake? Lastly, the tactical insight in this thread is largely wasted on me because it's not what interests me at all, however, the detail and the attention you give it is really impressive and even if I don't enjoy the content I can appreciate the effort. Well done. I'm sure it's these tactical insights that keep your readers coming back for more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2053 / 2054 Season Expectations We're getting closer and closer to that 1st Champions League title, could this be our year? League Table - This was unbelievably close as Cliftonville gave us a real fight this season. We lost so many games which were no doubt assisted by our European commitments but we just squeezed through in the end UEFA Champions League - CHAMPIONES!, CHAMPIONES!, Olé, Olé, Olé!!....After nearly 4 decades of hurt we can finally shout it from the rooftops...WE ARE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS!!...Best of all...we didn't fluke our way through, we actually deserved it which bodes well for future seasons. The group stage started rather poorly with back to back defeats which brought about a huge amount of eye rolling and frustration and had me wondering whether last season was just a flash in the pan. I knew that we had to step it up and we did by beating Dortmund twice 3-1 putting us in 3rd behind Stade de Reims. We then lost again to Man City which meant that going into the last match we were positioned in 3rd with only a win being good enough to grab 2nd. Thankfully we turned up and put in a quality performance to put us through into the knockout stages. I was concerned after finishing 2nd as I knew that we could have easily got a nightmare draw but I think we got relatively fortunate to draw FC Porto. Given that the first leg was at home, the first priority was to make sure that we didn't concede any away goals in order to give us a chance in Portugal. All was going to plan and we were holding them to a 0-0 but then the pivotal moment in the tie happened. Their centre back Rodrigues launched an unnecessary two footed lunge on my striker on the edge of their box and got a red card in the 63rd minute. This gave us a free kick in a very dangerous area which was struck onto the post but followed in by Hempshall ML to give us the lead. Shortly after we win the ball and score a 2nd a minute later and then in the 76th minute grab a third. We win 3-0 and I know that without a catastrophic performance in Portugal we are in the quarter finals. We end up losing the return leg but once Cernea MR slotted a goal in the 11th minute we had the luxury of relaxing knowing that they would need 5 to knock us out which would require a comeback of Barcelona - PSG proportions which was never on the cards really. No easy teams left now and we drew a beauty in Man City who have beaten us practically every time we have played them which shattered any hopes that we were going to have an easy ride. However we were going to need to beat a giant at some point, so why not now? When they took the lead in the 38th minute the whole mood of optimism dropped as not only did they have the away goal but also looked to be bossing the game and could easily have scored more. Much like an ailing boxer though we held on in there keeping them to only one goal at half time. Then I saw something from my team in the second half which was magnificent. We were competitive!!...All of a sudden it flipped with Man City on the back foot then in the 55th minute Eriksson AMC latches onto a ball played behind the aging Man City back line and belts the ball into the net. Right back into the game and the momentum is all in our favour. I would have been happy enough with that result but then the 83rd minute comes around and Fitzpatrick MR taps a cross from the right wing from Mert DR into the near post and we are in dreamland. We've given ourselves a great chance of getting through now...we just needed to be defensively strong in Manchester. The 2nd leg was one of the most stressful games I've ever played in football manager. Even though they had a player sent off in the 31st minute they tormented us the whole game, seemingly getting in behind us with regularity but thankfully for us their strikers were not on their game and took speculative shots from distance which we dealt with relatively easily. The last 10 minutes were so nervy but we held on and knocked them out. In the semi-final draw there was a choice of Rangers, Man Utd & Arsenal. It's pretty obvious which one I wanted and we got our wish although I was somewhat trepidatious going into the game as they had just knocked out Juventus. Well, I needn't have been so concerned as they didn't prove to be much of a problem at all. They scored in the 7th minute in Glasgow which had me concerned but we had already flipped the result by the 61st minute, the fact that they got a red card in the 87th minute to the only left back in their squad just made things even more comfortable and meant they'd have to play Kettle who is now 35 at left back against the blistering speed of Fitzpatrick. In the 2nd leg that played a huge role as we dismantled them easily, we scored an early goal in the 4th minute which made them have to chase the game even more which my forward players ate for breakfast on the counter attack. A thoroughly professional job which booked our place in France for the final. Man United stood in our way and what an obstacle that is. Their squad unlike their noisy neighbours wasn't old and had a number of players in their prime. To add a bit of extra spice to the encounter they had Dunlop a former youth graduate of ours who has developed into a world class midfielder and when I say that I don't exaggerate, the guy is WORLD CLASS (although for some reason they played him as a central defender against us). My hope going into the game wasn't that we would win but that we would give it a good try. The plan was to stay in the game for as long as possible then maybe snatch a goal on the break or from a set piece. I've never had a plan work out so well. As expected they dominated the game and started well and had a bunch of shots but none were too concerning and even the 4 shots that were on target were easy for my goalkeeper to save. They huffed and they puffed but they could not blow our house down. We were resolute defensively and then as they began to tire after attacking us the entire game we deliver the savage knockout blow in the 86th minute. We have a great counter attacking opportunity, their players are way out of position as Eriksson skips past two Man Utd players in the midfield. He spots Benmoussa ST on the edge of the D and passes into him, he then faints left and plays a magnificent pass in behind their left back which Fitzpatrick RM uses his pace to latch on to. He has 3 targets to aim for in the box, he then rolls the ball across into Lazar CM who has made a run from midfield and he taps it into the net. A clinical move which cuts the Man Utd defense to shreds and puts one hand on the trophy. I put us on contain and they can't answer such a late goal, we take home the prize and complete the challenge...absolutely brilliant Domestic Cups - Great to win the League Cup and slightly annoying to lose the Irish Cup Final but we had bigger fish to fry and these were just a sideshow Reserves - Not bad, not great to lose in both cups to penalties though Under 18s - Credit to the young blood, were unfortunate to draw Arsenal in the Quarter Finals Squad – This doesn't show all the players which played a significant amount of games in the first team but I couldn't squeeze them all into one screenshot. I wanted squad depth and I did everything in my power to obtain it and it worked for the most part. They were magnificent as a squad and only rarely did I detect any dissent among the players in requesting playing time. I see a lot of talent which has room to grow and the future looks bright Transfers – We bought a load of players but we still somehow managed to make a profit on our transfer dealings. After our Champions League triumph the player market values have shot up so I wouldn't expect to see too much more outs next season. Practically all the players signed have had their opportunity in the first team and they have performed reasonably well. Hopefully we can hold on to players for a while so that I don't end up with the gelling issues which I had this season Player Of The Season Michael Fitzpatrick – MR - Average Rating : 7.80 The guy was absolutely lethal on that right flank and came good for us in the big games in Europe. Can't ask for more than that, especially pleasing considering the players he has been keeping out of the team (Babel & Cernea) who are both quality Young Player Of The Season Gustavo Gandolfo – AMC - Average Rating : 7.28 I'm liking Penarol more and more as a club. They produce some absolutely fantastic players and I shopped there again to bring in this quality midfielder. I hope that I can get them as an affiliate someday Finances – We are loaded and even got a nice new lucrative stadium sponsorship deal which increased from a paltry £336K per season to a whopping £1.16M per season. We can't afford to rest on our laurels however and will need to keep on spending and adding depth to the squad if we are to stand a decent chance of retaining our Champions League trophy and adding the final 2 we are yet to win of the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup to the cabinet Facilities – We finally got the opportunity to upgrade the youth recruitment which I grabbed with both hands. Unfortunately we still have a few levels to go in order to max it out but at least we have some upward movement again. Now begins the wait for the new stadium, I can see us selling out every single game now Youth Intake – My hope is that the increased youth recruitment will help these along, of this intake, Murtagh ST and Boyd DM look decent League Reputation – Moving on up again which is nice although we haven't recovered to the heights we reached before. Now we need to continue winning the Champions League to keep us rising, we got our 2nd Champions League spot back again which was pleasing Club Domestic Reputation – A whole 1.5* above everybody else isn't great and could again worsen. The league needs to strength as whole to help us rise up the rankings. Glentoran flopped once again by getting knocked out of the promotion playoff to Armagh. At least Portadown stayed up but next season will see Moyola Park and Armagh City join the league which will do absolutely nothing to improve the competitiveness. On the plus side nearly half the teams in the league are professional, Us, Linfield, Cliftonville, Glenavon & Carrick are all professional although Carrick's tycoon has scaled back funding which might see them lose their status in time. Glentoran have 'Secure' finances and that is why I'm so desperate to see them promoted as they look most likely to be the 6th team to turn professional Club European Reputation – Into the top 16, now we just need to keep the level of consistency needed to break into the top 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 On 23/03/2017 at 12:51, Jimbokav1971 said: Great thread @pheelfMust admit that I have skipped through it reading bits and pieces but looking at every Youth Intake as you would expect. A lot of what you have said is bang on the money and glad you were spot on with the "rich" Youth Recruitment pop. For what it's worth, I think the next one will require reputation boosts before becoming available, but like you are already doing, feeder clubs could be a way forward. To that end though, you need to select the correct option for it to be effective, ie. "from a successful Youth Academy" or something like that. With regards to you looking for Model Pro youngsters as a result of having a Model Pro HoYD, then I'm afraid that's not how it works. His attributes will, (or should), influence the attributes of some of the intake, but it might just mean that they are more Professional than they would have otherwise been without his input, and of course this can be negative personalities such as (L.Det). Low Determination Det 2-5, Amb 1-9, Spo 1-17, Pro 5-20 (The Pro levels could theoretically be 20 in some (L.Det) players and that is phenomenal as far as I'm concerned. You have to also remember that if your overall squad Determination is very low then your young players will experience degradation in their Det levels as the squad average takes it's toll on them. It also works the other way however in that if the squad has a very High Det level then this can help to cause a natural increase in Det as the squad exerts influence over new arrivals. What you are missing however is that while we don't like (L.Det) as a personality, it can easily hide a player with a high Pro attribute and is pretty easy to fix. Just remember to not try and fix the (Det) at the expense of the (Pro) attribute. For example you might think that tutoring a (L.Det) player with a high hidden (Pro) attribute, with a (Driven) player, (Det 20), is the answer, but what you are actually doing is also using the hidden (Pro) level of the tutor, (whether it be good or bad), also as a tutoring tool. You use all the tutor's hidden attributes + determination. Not just the one's that you can see and not just the one's that you want. Do you mind if I ask for an update on some of your better youth products such as Coulter (2050), Stewart (2044), Dunlop (2042), Moore (2037), McFerran (2036), McClean (2035), Anderson (2033) & Campbell (2031). Also, did any players go on to have better than expected careers who were initially not very highly thought of at the time of the intake? Lastly, the tactical insight in this thread is largely wasted on me because it's not what interests me at all, however, the detail and the attention you give it is really impressive and even if I don't enjoy the content I can appreciate the effort. Well done. I'm sure it's these tactical insights that keep your readers coming back for more. Thanks for your generous praise and insight. I didn't really consider previously the points that you raised with regards to player personality and will need to think about my approach with respect to tutoring considering that what I could be doing might be detrimental to the development of the players rather than beneficial. I would like to try to morph this save into a hybrid youth save as over the years I've invested so much money into that area that I have to find a way to make it work. Here are some of the screenshots for some of the players you asked about with a little description of their careers: Nicky Coulter (2050) Still very much our player who my coaches believe has peaked in his ability at the tender age of 20, it's going to take an absolute crazy offer for us to part Robert Stewart (2044) Ever since Man Utd bought him 4 seasons ago for £17.5M from us he has played a total of 26 games for them, he's playing so infrequently that they have him transfer listed, I may try and bring him back but not for the £20M asking price they want however Craig Dunlop (2042) When I said that this guy has developed into a world class player I wasn't kidding. Look at those attributes, absolutely terrifying, when I look at him it makes my sick to my stomach to think I lost him for only £3M Paul Moore (2037) He forged a fairly decent career for himself. He was bought by Wolves where he spent a few seasons as a bit part player then joined Rangers where he has been a first team regular ever since although now that he is aging he doesn't play quite as many games. I wonder if Rangers great performances in Europe of late may have something to do with his contribution as Celtic appear to have diminished as a force and haven't won an SPL title in the best part of a decade now Billy McFerran (2036) I think time hasn't been kind to McFerran and bad decisions (and career advice from agents) has ruined what could have been a very promising career. He wanted to move to Liverpool so I didn't stand in his way and that was the single worst decision he ever made. He had just broken through into our first team and I would have played him regularly and developed him but he saw the flashing lights of Liverpool and lured by the prospect of playing in the EPL he left. Well, he didn't play a single game for Liverpool and much like a lot of young players was chewed up and spat out. I felt rather sorry for him and re-signed him after his awful stint at Nottingham Forest but by the time he returned he was finished with his development stage. What returned was an aging player who hadn't developed at all in the intervening period who wasn't even good enough to grace the first team anymore. So he ended his career playing in the reserves, what a waste Jordan McClean (2035) Unlike the sorry story of McFerran, McClean has actually managed to have a very good career. He took a few seasons to get started after his £450K transfer but once he established himself as their number one he hasn't looked back since. He has been unfortunate in the sense that Stoke have become somewhat of a yo-yo team between the EPL and Championship but credit to him for getting an average rating >7 in practically every season he played Francis Anderson (2033) He was a reasonable player who never quite lived up to his potential but he was quite the player in his time. He got plenty of caps and goals for his country so at least he will have that to look back on. I've been unable to get anything on Eoin Campbell (2031) but if I recall correctly he had a decent career Nobody comes to mind when it comes to players which I initially thought would be bad that went on to have good careers (which I'm defining as careers in which they played at clubs that were better than us at the time). For the most part the judgement of the potential has been accurate and players who aren't seen as potential stars tended not to even find homes at other N. Irish teams. As you mentioned tactics I need to update that as the tactic listed previously isn't what I've been playing to get the success I have at all so I will get around to it at some point Thanks for the comment though @Jimbokav1971, I greatly appreciate it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jengaehassim Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Hey, congratulations! Very solid climb to the top throughout the career. The UCL link is wrong by the way, it points to last season's results. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 3 minutes ago, jengaehassim said: Hey, congratulations! Very solid climb to the top throughout the career. The UCL link is wrong by the way, it points to last season's results. Hey man, Thanks, I'll correct that right now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 Finally completes the extraordinary challenge of winning the Champions League with a Northern Irish side. Nearly loses the Northern Ireland league to Cliftonville. Congratulations!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted April 17, 2017 Author Share Posted April 17, 2017 On 3/25/2017 at 00:58, noikeee said: Finally completes the extraordinary challenge of winning the Champions League with a Northern Irish side. Nearly loses the Northern Ireland league to Cliftonville. Congratulations!! Thanks @noikeee, It could have all gone dreadfully wrong but thankfully we pulled through and got the win. My hope is that now I can keep winning the CL and turn Northern Ireland into a top footballing nation. A nice huge new stadium would also be an objective going forwards, I might consider international management at some point too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted April 17, 2017 Author Share Posted April 17, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2054 / 2055 Season Expectations After last seasons Champions League triumph we should be aiming to try and retain it League Table - After last seasons scare this was a stroll in the park by comparison FIFA Club World Cup - World Champions!!...Pumas gave us a scare in the final but we win the title at the first time of asking....WOOHOO!! UEFA Super Cup - GRRR!!...2nd attempt, 2nd failure...3rd time's the charm? UEFA Champions League - I spent time faffing about with the tactic which ruined our chances. This was a pretty lame attempt to defend our title but at least we can have a run at the Europa League UEFA Europa League - We weren't spectacular throughout and had to scrape our way through to the final but we won it which is all that matters. European trophy number 3 in the cabinet Domestic Cups - Won all except the Co. Antrim Shield Reserves - A fairly good showing from the backup squad given how few players were in the team Under 18s - Ludogorets must have an exceptional youth team to knock out our youngsters given the run they were on. Getting closer to that Champions League title though Squad – I think the high market values didn't help here as there was very little movement in the transfer market. As a result of that we didn't have much wiggle room when it came to strengthening the squad which played its part in the team under performing in the Champions League. The amount of players that have peaked is quite concerning Transfers – There wasn't much activity but I was very pleased with what business I did manage to get done. Forner CD is now considered a wonderkid and Maciel RB has been superb since coming into the team Player Of The Season Fresnel Bembo-Leta – ST - Average Rating : 7.56 He was superb during the season and was our top scorer. Sadly he suffered a horrific leg break in a meaningless game which could ruin his career. Terribly disappointed by that Young Player Of The Season Enzio Babel – MR - Average Rating : 7.67 Proved to be a revelation this season, is attracting the interest of Juventus which might see him leaving Finances – We passed the FFP and are relatively comfortable but I feel we are still a few players short of being a regular competitor for the Champions League. Given that predicament we are going to need to spend big next season Facilities – I managed to get a youth recruitment upgrade through my new contract negotiation. Given the increased scope of the youth recruitment I was also able to get Levante as an affiliate which should hopefully give us some Spanish regens that will come through our youth academy. The training facilities downgraded but the board refused to max them out again so I'll be waiting for next season Youth Intake – Pretty lousy if I'm being honest, maybe with the improved youth recruitment we will see a better intake next time around League Reputation – The league is on its way up again, I just need to see some effort from the other teams although its great to see that half the teams in the league are now professional. I was very pleased to regain our Champions League group stage spot Club Domestic Reputation – Glentoran are coming back which is great for the league and hopefully will give league attendances a nice boost Club European Reputation – We are in impressive company, we just need to get a few Champions League wins under our belt to really propel ourselves into the elite Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2055 / 2056 Season Expectations Winning the Champions League is the only objective that matters League Table - Managed a fantastic goal difference as we romped to the title again UEFA Super Cup - The only piece of silverware that still eludes us UEFA Champions League - The campaign was an infuriating one. In the opening game of the group we had a player sent off which gave FC Midtjylland the chance to snatch a point which they took and put us on the back foot with regards to qualifying through the group. We then got trashed at home to Man Utd which increased the annoyance level which then got pushed to the limit when we played Sporting. In that game both my goalkeepers got injured so I had to play an outfield player in goal which led to us conceding 3 late goals which effectively ended our chances of qualifying for the knockout stages. We did recover and had a chance of qualifying if we could get a win against Man Utd at Old Trafford and Sporting slipped up. When Man Utd went down to 10 men in the 4th minute my confidence increased but for some reason we just could not break them down and lost the game after a 37th minute goal from them which meant we finished 3rd UEFA Europa League - Terrible, just terrible Domestic Cups - At least we cleaned up at home Reserves - Pretty poor in the cups Under 18s - A massive let down after last seasons exploits Squad – We appear to have gone backwards and quite significantly too. This doesn't look like a team which is capable of winning the Champions League and needs serious investment. The central midfield looks especially weak which is a vitally important area of the pitch. The wage budget has been creeping up and we have actually gotten worse Transfers – Man United seem to want to pinch all my best players which might explain why they are 2 time Champions League winners and why we have declined. I've been trying to play the transfer market a bit smarter as I know that I can't compete with the elite with regards to finances. We have the facilities to develop young players and therefore my focus should be based on buying young and cheap and turning them into world class players Player Of The Season Geoff Wolland – ML - Average Rating : 7.75 A fairly productive season for the winger. I would like to see more assists from him though, given his quality attributes with regards to crossing I expect to see more assists from corners but we only managed to get 3 goals from corners all season in the league. I may need to think about changing my attacking corners Young Player Of The Season Jose Manuel – CD - Average Rating : 7.52 He has the ability to be a class central defender given his attributes. I'll need to give him more games to develop him further Finances – We are loaded. It looks like a consortium is interested in buying the club and would look to invest £67M into the club. I'll have some of that!! Facilities – Had to upgrade the youth facilities again which has both facilities maxed out once again. I also managed to get two more youth affiliates, one in China with Shanggang and another in Colombia with Junior. I'll keep adding to the list as I want to see some better youth come through in the intakes. Still need an upgrade to youth recruitment, maybe I can get it in a new contract negotiation. The stadium is really holding us back now, 6 more seasons and we can start pestering the board for a new one, we badly need it Youth Intake – Nothing too special here, although it's nice to see my affiliates send some youngsters here League Reputation – The league really needs other teams to start making the group stages of the Europa League. That is the barrier which is preventing further progress Club Domestic Reputation – We are so far ahead of everybody else that I can't see any team even getting close. Glentoran were such a disappointment after starting so well Club European Reputation – A bad season for the coefficients but we rise into the top 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2056 / 2057 Season Expectations The board now demands that we reach the Knockout Rounds of the Champions League so that should be the minimum expectation League Table - To only concede 7 goals and end with a 30 point lead is quite the achievement I feel UEFA Champions League - We topped the group where we remained unbeaten which was a vast improvement on last season. We hit our stride in the knockout rounds and kept the games close which enabled the team to recover from first leg defeats twice. The final was tense but we were resolute and held our ground against a very attacking Atletico Madrid. During extra time I made a couple of subs which I felt swung the game in our favour as they went to town on tired legs. I was really chuffed with that performance and delighted to claim our 2nd Champions League title Domestic Cups - Another clean sweep was looking likely until I had to rest players for the Champions League Quarter Final which took place 3 days after the Irish Cup Semi Final Reserves - Doesn't get any better than that Under 18s - We just can't seem to make the breakthrough in the UEFA Youth League Squad – They look more like a team which can be perennial challengers for the Champions League crown. I'll be looking for a pair of right backs, a marquee striker and possibly another central defender and defensive minded central midfielder to supplement what we already have. We have a few wonderkids which really is helping us and I'll be looking to add to those. The market values have shot up again which will help us to retain our best players Transfers – I spent big and I'm delighted with the results Player Of The Season Dean Braiden – DC - Average Rating : 7.60 He was a rock at the centre of our defence which no doubt contributed to our fantastic defensive record. At 24 years old he still has plenty of time on his side and can become a stalwart here if he can maintain his level of performance Young Player Of The Season Dermot McGowan – DC - Average Rating : 7.49 A player that has gone somewhat under the radar who really has been impressing of late Finances – The FFP was looking a little shaky during the season due to the massive spending on players but a £14M injection of cash by the new board soon sorted that out and we passed easily. I wouldn't expect to see a bigger balance at season end until we get a new stadium with better corporate facilities. Until we can start to bring in more than £7M in ticket sales per season we are going to struggle to build a balance. I don't mind that however as at this point I just want to remain competitive in Europe Facilities – Nothing doing unfortunately, I'm a little perturbed by my stadium being the alternate stadium for all teams playing in Europe outside of Linfield though as if they make progress our pitch is going to get wrecked. At least one is going to be playing group stage football next season and Cliftonville & Glenavon played in the Europa League group stage this season. I managed to get another 2 youth team affiliates in Real Salt Lake & Hajduk Split and another feeder affiliation with Newcastle United. All I need now is one youth team affiliation in Africa and Oceania and then I'll have one in every continent Youth Intake – Starting to see the influence of the youth affiliates but still no high potential youngsters. Although I must state that the players which signed last season have been developing way beyond what their initial reports suggested. The Chinese youngster Zhenya from Shanggang has been especially impressive in his development League Reputation – I would have thought after last seasons poor performances that we might have seen a fall but instead we get a rise up to our highest position yet. Cliftonville did well to reach the Europa League group stage and actually won a game, while the stellar performance of the other N. Irish teams came from Glenavon who managed a win and a draw in their Europa League group. The season after next will see later entry for the Europa League qualifiers so that all teams enter at the 3rd Qualifying Round at the earliest which should help the teams if they get favourable draws Club Domestic Reputation – A whole 2 stars ahead of the rest is slightly worrying. Glentoran couldn't bounce back and my affiliate Donegal Celtic got knocked out of the promotion playoff in the 1st Round. Carrick reverted back to semi-pro status so the league is down to 5/12 teams being professional Club European Reputation – Flying really high now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Very nice to come by this thread and witness another Champions League title and another Europa League as well (3 seasons back). It's challenge more than completed here - and perhaps this is the season you finally win the UEFA Super Cup? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 On 4/27/2017 at 09:38, noikeee said: Very nice to come by this thread and witness another Champions League title and another Europa League as well (3 seasons back). It's challenge more than completed here - and perhaps this is the season you finally win the UEFA Super Cup? Things have really taken off in recent seasons and the club has developed immensely. Next seasons review will show us take another crack at the UEFA Super Cup which if won would see the club complete the set. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2057 / 2058 Season Expectations The aim is to keep winning the Champions League for as long as possible and complete the trophy collection with the UEFA Super Cup League Table - Was a little disappointed to lose a game to Carrick but was a convincing win FIFA Club World Cup - A surprising opponent to have to face in the final but once again we become world champions UEFA Super Cup - There you have it!!...We had to wait until deep into extra time to turn the game around but that's the collection complete UEFA Champions League - We started the group pretty poorly with clear problems with scoring goals and were lucky to scrape through the group in 2nd. I was dreading the draw but thankfully we managed to get one of the weaker group winners in FC Porto. My thoughts were that if we continued to struggle in front of goal we would really have issues making an impact in the knockout rounds. As a result I changed to a 4-2-3-1 Wide which seemed to help us get more goals initially but also meant we were far more unstable at the back. When the goals dried up against SL Benfica and we only managed to get through on the away goals rule I then decided to switch to a 4-1-2-3 Wide which I felt gave us a far better balance and led us to victory and retaining the trophy. That's now a hat-trick of Champions League trophies...long may it continue Domestic Cups - Had we managed a clean sweep we could have won a septuple but instead had to settle for a quintuple Reserves - They were pretty poor really Under 18s - On the decline in the UEFA Youth League, a far cry from the heights they achieved only a few seasons ago Squad – The team is young, full of potential and well balanced. You can never rest however as the opposition is always improving so we are going to need to strengthen again if we want to continue winning the Champions League. Now that I'm playing a system with a DM, I'll be looking for a Pirlo type player to control that zone and help us dominate the middle of the park. I'll also be looking for a quality goalkeeper as we weren't quite as good at keeping clean sheets as we were in the previous season Transfers – I'm really pleased with my transfer dealings as not only did we make a nice profit but I felt the quality of the player that we bought in was magnificent. The standout signing was probably Fitzpatrick DR who was sensational for the price paid and now has a value nearly 3X what I paid for him Player Of The Season Doug Marshall – DL - Average Rating : 7.46 The Scottish international has been so consistent this season that I had to award him this accolade. He is a beast on that left flank, fast, agile, strong and stamina for days. My only criticism is that he doesn't provide more assists from his quality throw ins Young Player Of The Season Gonzalo Arregi – MR - Average Rating : 7.53 Signed for only £7.5M last season he has been a revelation. In my opinion he is one of the most rounded players I have ever seen attribute wise at 19 years old. In time he could become as good as C. Ronaldo if he continues his current development. Man Utd are sniffing around and I may not be able to hold onto him. Maybe a new contract might convince him to stay? Finances – I don't understand this FFP rule as it is presented in the game. Nearing the end of the season the bar was red which would indicate we were failing which had me concerned that we would miss out on European football. When it came down to the actual calculation it showed we were up £47.08M for the period when we are allowed to make a loss of £4.3M. Therefore why were we predicted to fail? Anyhow, the balance is comfortable which should grant the opportunity to make improvements to the squad. The training facilities will need to be upgraded again and the directors decided to give themselves a nice pat on he back and took £3.9M out of the balance Facilities – The last major impediment which prevents us from becoming a global superpower in terms of revenue generation is the stadium. 4 more seasons and we should hopefully have a chance to get a new one. We need to be looking in the 40,000 - 50,000 capacity range as a starting point with potential expansion up to around 70,000 - 80,000. If we can manage that then we really can start to build the league up and possibly turn the DBP into a professional only league Youth Intake – Given that we have the best youth recruitment possible, best junior coaching, best youth facilities, a very good HoYD with a great personality (Model Professional) and a bunch of youth affiliates from all over the world (I added Mamelodi Sundowns from S. Africa meaning I now only need one from Oceania and I'll have one in every continent) I'm at a loss to explain the poor quality of our intakes in recent years. Is there something I'm missing here? League Reputation – I don't mind holding firm in 9th, I can't see how further improvement can be achieved without other teams stepping up their game. Only Cliftonville & Linfield made the EL group stage, both managed to win a game but that's not going to be enough to help us climb any further. I want to help them but given our poor revenue generating capability I'm in no position to do so. I feel things are going to remain this way for a while as we wait for a new stadium Club Domestic Reputation – Glentoran are back after storming to the Championship title which is great to see, they also managed to win the League Cup which should help boost their reputation. We can't really afford for them to become a yo-yo team and need them in the top flight for a long enough time so they can turn professional. We should see a nice boost to league attendances now they have returned Club European Reputation – Really delighted with this position Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2058 / 2059 Season Expectations The next major goal of this career is to get a gigantic new stadium, continuing to win the Champions League should help League Table - The unbeaten season and survival of Glentoran were all positives, however I think I may have encountered a serious bug. I didn't catch on to it last season as I thought that it was just a cosmetic bug with last seasons league table where only three teams had an indication of European qualification next to them. It was not just a UI bug though as we only had 3 teams participate in Europe this season when we should have had 5. I'm hoping that it is just a one off as this season the league table is showing all the qualifiers correctly but if not then I may have to put the save on hold FIFA Club World Cup - Another odd team to face in the final but we retain our title as world champions UEFA Super Cup - We didn't turn up and deserved to lose UEFA Champions League - Overachievers Anderlecht did an amazing job to get to the final and almost beat us but luckily for us our goalkeeper came to our rescue in the penalty shootout to make it three in a row and secure my position in the European Hall of Fame with a score of 3,581, just another 8,000 or so points to the summit to topple Unai Emery.... Domestic Cups - Had we not messed up the UEFA Super Cup we would have had the perfect season and won every competition we entered Reserves - Things aren't wavy gravy at all Under 18s - Losing to Ludogorets again? Squad – Owing to the large amount of departing players I felt that I may have panic bought (out of necessity) and this team appears much weaker than last season. There are number of things which are concerning me about this team such as the following: 1) We are really struggling to blood HG players as the quality of players to come through our youth system has been of a really low standard over the last few seasons 2) The wage bill has crept up to astronomical levels with a seemingly unending amount of requests for new contracts 3) We seem incapable of holding onto our wonderkid players even though we have the highest reputation of any club in the world 4) We don't score many goals considering the outlay in wages and really should be tearing teams apart domestically but we aren't 5) The spread of goals in the team seems off with my AML being my top scorer and not having a striker break 20 goals for the season 6) The vast majority of 1st team players have reached their potential ability Individually, any one of those issues could be seen as a major problem which could result in a decline in the clubs performances but to have all 6 simultaneously. The alarm bells are ringing loud and clear and I'm going to need to take drastic action next season as I can't see this team being capable of winning another Champions League title. For each issue raised my plan going forwards is: 1) I need to find a better HoYD although this task is proving exceptionally difficult as there isn't one staff member in the game which has JPP >15 and WWY > 15. The quality of staff in the database has declined so dramatically this is likely to prove a real struggle. Worse still, both attributes don't seem to improve with time, my current 68 year old Model Professional HoYD JPP attribute is still only 7 2) I may introduce a wage cap for the individual bands of squad status 3) Set ridiculous asking prices? Seems to work for the AI 4) I may need to have a more adventurous style of play for domestic games with a slightly more conservative version for European fixtures 5) I'm going to attempt to play with 2 strikers which will mean a whole new tactic as I want my forwards to be the main source of goals 6) Need to start acquiring younger players and giving the young talents I already have more game time so they can develop Transfers – Unlike previous seasons I'm rather unhappy with the transfer business conducted. I had to overspend on players to cover gaps left by players leaving and as a result I didn't get value for money at all. Next season I'd expect to see a lot of movement as I will be looking to ship out a lot of the deadwood Player Of The Season Adam Fitzpatrick – DR - Average Rating : 7.84 One of the best signings I have made in this career. A snip at £3.6M from St. Pats Athletic, he has developed into a world class full back with an undying determination to succeed. The best is hopefully yet to come Young Player Of The Season Ivan Kucera – MC - Average Rating : 7.53 He is a wanted man which comes as no surprise given his exceptional contribution this season, I'd like to keep him around if possible Finances – I sold a few clauses to bring in around ~£20M after the screenshot was taken so we sit on a balance of ~£40M. I don't feel that is comfortable given how much the expenditures have risen but a saving grace is the fact that the player market values have risen so I'll be looking to take advantage of that Facilities – 3 more seasons Youth Intake – I added Sydney F.C. as another youth affiliate but it made little difference. We haven't had a star come through our academy in nearly a decade now when Coulter LB came through...it's so disheartening League Reputation – We dropped a place and now enter a team in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the Europa League instead of the 3rd. I don't know whether the dropping of 2 participants assisted this but it certainly didn't help Club Domestic Reputation – Nobody seems capable of closing the gap Club European Reputation – Maybe next year we can overtake PSG Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Brilliant to get 3 CLs on a row. I'd be bored by this stage but it seems you're carrying on! I think some of those handicaps might just be there to stay no matter what you do. The AI seems unable to get some success with the other teams in your division to get the league reputation higher up, and your youth will be capped no matter what, due to Northern Ireland's low youth rating hardcoded in the editor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 On 5/5/2017 at 12:35, noikeee said: Brilliant to get 3 CLs on a row. I'd be bored by this stage but it seems you're carrying on! I think some of those handicaps might just be there to stay no matter what you do. The AI seems unable to get some success with the other teams in your division to get the league reputation higher up, and your youth will be capped no matter what, due to Northern Ireland's low youth rating hardcoded in the editor. I think I'll stay until I get the new stadium, max that out then perhaps move on as I feel that will leave the desired legacy. There is still plenty more to achieve even though I've won all there is to win and I think that is what is maintaining my motivation to the play the career. I do feel the effect of the youth rating, I thought that the foreign affiliates may help to circumvent that but it doesn't appear to be working out that way. Maybe I need to get some youth affiliates in Brazil & Argentina which have the highest youth rating? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2059 / 2060 Season Expectations A Champions League win should be seen as a minimum at this point League Table - Probably too many draws for my taste but another unbeaten season which pushes the unbeaten run to 109 games FIFA Club World Cup - Our season was a tale of penalty shootouts, we won this one UEFA Super Cup - Lost this one...annoyingly UEFA Champions League - We started poorly, picked up enough to finish 2nd in the group and hit our stride in the knockout rounds. The most important penalty shootout of the season went our way Domestic Cups - Had a clean sweep until we lost another penalty shootout Reserves - Better than last season but not perfect Under 18s - The lack of a goalkeeper in the youth team probably didn't help our performances Squad – I spent big to strengthen which proved successful. I can foretell difficulty in further strengthening though when considering the astronomical asking prices of players which could improve the team Transfers – We had to break the national record transfer fee but we did manage to bring in some class players Player Of The Season Christian Osterholm – AMR - Average Rating : 7.74 A superb contribution from the speed demon of a winger Young Player Of The Season Sebastian Broich – DMC - Average Rating : 7.69 He came to the club for a hefty asking price but made the difference in the Champions League Finances – We really are on a roller coaster with these finances, one minute we're failing the FFP the next we're passing. On the plus side we got a nice £30M injection of cash from a soft drink manufacturer and the board has pumped in around £43M Facilities – 2 more seasons for a chance at a new stadium...we need it badly Youth Intake – McDowell DC could be decent in time League Reputation – No change but lethargic performances from the other N. Irish teams is holding the league back Club Domestic Reputation – Glentoran stayed up which is great to see Club European Reputation – Still haven't broken into the top 3 but soon...soon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 9, 2017 Author Share Posted May 9, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2060 / 2061 Season Expectations The boards minimum expectation is that we make the Semi Finals of the Champions League, shows how far we have come although I'd be disappointed if we didn't win it League Table - After an unbelievable 145 games, the unbeaten run ended with a narrow 1-0 loss to Cliftonville. The gap between us and the rest of the teams in N. Ireland is humongous FIFA Club World Cup - For the 2nd successive season the tournament took place in India and ended with the same result except it was more convincing this time UEFA Super Cup - I certainly enjoyed that result given the trouble we've had winning this game consistently in previous years UEFA Champions League - We suffered a couple of losses in the group but still did enough to finish top. The knockout stages went well and I was especially pleased with the trashing of PSG in Paris. Real Madrid posed a stern threat in the final but once we scored you could only ever see one winner. Champions League trophy number 6 secured, just need another 6 to match the most times winner in Man Utd Domestic Cups - We would have gotten away with a clean sweep of all the trophies if it weren't for those meddling kids that I was forced to play in the League Cup when 80% of the club went missing on international duty. I could have asked for a postponement but I prefer to get the games out of the way A.S.A.P. (especially meaningless ones) to prevent a backlog and avoid horrendous fixture congestion Reserves - They were fully staffed and could put out a non-grey starting 11 in every match but they just couldn't hack it and had a mediocre season Under 18s - I ensured that they also had a starting 11 by restricting the loans out but it didn't really help much Squad – A clear trend is starting to emerge. Looking at the nationalities of the players in the first team we can see the ever increasing proportion of players from top tier national teams. I'd like to get a more diverse mix and perhaps see more than just 1 N. Irish flag but at the moment this is what is working and I don't wish to disrupt it. Looking at the team, we are going to need to invest in the DMC position, possibly the DC & DL positions and maybe a quality AML Transfers – I didn't want to lose Broich CM but PSG came in with an offer which met his release clause so I had no choice in the matter. Janssen CM proved to be a quality if somewhat expensive replacement but it was needed. Suleiman GK was superb in between the sticks, Riquelme & Kraft both strikers did a reasonable job when they played and Jardel CD was solid. The Jardel transfer actually came with a side benefit of increased shirt sales which they estimate could earn the club ~£11M which I thought was interesting. I also received a message stating that to boost this further it'd be a good idea to go on a tour of Brazil. We went on tour of Brazil this season but I see no harm in going again next season if we stand to make a great deal of money from it Player Of The Season Christian Osterholm – AMR - Average Rating : 8.06 He became the top scorer which is quite the result given that he has finishing of only 12 and composure of 11. He also scored a number of fantastic free kick goals which is always a nice asset to have especially in tight games where we might be struggling to break teams down Young Player Of The Season Walter Zoutman – ST - Average Rating : 7.26 Did a reasonable job but didn't have much competition for the title considering that only 2 players in the first team are 21 or younger. That indicates to me that the squad is aging and needs refreshing in places Finances – When it seems we are about to fall off the cliff and fail the FFP something or someone seems to step in and save the day. This season we got another one of those one off deals and raked in £44M from a deal with a telecommunication company based in Europe. The board have also been very generous pumping in £21M and another £17M to ensure that we passed the FFP. For the first time we also managed to get a decent sponsorship deal for 1 year worth £4.2M which is massive when compared to the deals we've managed previously when some were no bigger than the tens of thousands. The only thing seemingly keeping us afloat is prize money and sponsorship which bought in £110M combined. The gate receipts only bought in £7.8M which isn't enough to cover even our staff wages. I think I'm going to need to tread very carefully as I feel that the club is becoming dependent on these investments which aren't guaranteed. One bad season in Europe could spell disaster so I'm going to need to tighten our belts a bit Facilities – The training facilities downgraded so I had to spend £2.5M to bring them back up to scratch. I truly hope that at the end of next season that I'll have an announcement to make with respect to a new stadium as we really have reached the end of the road with our current ground. Being stuck at just over 11,000 capacity when we are the most reputable team in the world is ridiculous. A slight concern of mine is that the stadium sponsorship deal ends in 2066 which has me wondering whether I'll be able to get a new ground before then but I hope not as next season will mark 20 years since the stadium was built. We need to go big and ambitious even if it means we have to take out a massive loan for hundreds of millions Youth Intake – My old HoYD retired so I decided to bring in a French one with a professional personality. His first intake isn't bad at all and I can see Paul James AML becoming a first team player in time League Reputation – No movement which is slightly surprising given that it was a relatively good year for the other N. Irish teams in Europe. Cliftonville became the 2nd N. Irish club to make the Champions League group stages and impressively managed a win and draw in a group containing Barcelona, Arsenal & Shakhtar. Linfield also did well and managed a couple of draws in their Europa League group. Progress is being made it's just taking a long time. I'm ecstatic to see Glentoran make the Europa League next season after they won the DBP playoff as I can see that giving them a great chance of turning professional the season after next Club Domestic Reputation – I'm glad to see the gap close a bit which will help Cliftonville to become more competitive, they should be able to attract better players which should hopefully help them in Europe. If they could get into the group stages of the Champions League again I truly believe that they will establish themselves as the 2nd team in N. Ireland for some time to come Club European Reputation – We are the best team in Europe!!...Now we just need to maintain Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2061 / 2062 Season Expectations Win the Champions League in order to prompt the board to build a huge new stadium League Table - A great season tarnished by that bug which means the league only has 3 entrants into Europe. It seems to sporadically affect teams involved in the DBP Playoff. Why is this happening? FIFA Club World Cup - A nice comfortable win UEFA Super Cup - I don't know how we lost it but we allowed the other half of Merseyside to get revenge after Liverpool's humiliation last season UEFA Champions League - We need to start better as eventually we are going to miss out and finish 3rd or 4th. Thankfully, once we scraped 2nd we won all the games in the knockout rounds Domestic Cups - I've stopped caring about these cups and played a mixture of youth and reserve players Reserves - Much of a muchness Under 18s - Painfully inept in Europe Squad – The high strength of the team is without question but the cost of maintaining it is becoming an issue. The wage bill is an eye watering £1.3Mp/w which is simply unsustainable for a club of our modest means. I've resolved to trim down the squad size to only have 2 first team players for each position as I was having incredible difficulty keeping them all happy with game time. Additionally, now that I have decided to basically throw the domestic cup competitions I don't need that level of squad depth, playing time in highly reputable competitions seems to have the most dramatic effect on player development so my focus will be on that from now on. I need to slash the wage bill which more than likely will have an adverse effect on performances but the club may need to take one step back to take two forwards at this point. I'd also like to try to blood some youngsters as I don't feel that I've managed to extract much value from that investment yet. Overall, a season of transition may be on the cards next year Transfers – Spending the crazy sums of money we have over the last few seasons needs to come to an end as we seem to be veering toward bankruptcy. That said, I was pleased with the players I did purchase and Moreira DMC was excellent Player Of The Season Lucio Riquelme – ST - Average Rating : 7.86 He suffered a broken foot in a pre-season friendly which kept him out for 3 months. We certainly missed him which was exemplified by our early from in the Champions League. Once he came back though his class shone through and he finished as our top scorer Young Player Of The Season Eugen Kraft – ST - Average Rating : 7.37 A superb player who did a good job when called upon. Physically he is fantastic but technically he lets himself down and I would hope to see some further development of those attributes if he's going to put pressure on Riquelme for his place in the team, at least he has time on his side Finances – For the first time in a while I had genuine concerns about whether we were going to pass the FFP. The board pumped in £21.5M but we appeared to be failing the FFP by ~£26M but thankfully a loan deal that became permanent for Doherty AMR gave us another £9M which tipped us over the edge. There was no massive sponsorship deal this season which is reflected in the negative balance. I made the commitment last season that I'd tighten the belt for this season but didn't really take any steps to make that happen. Next season I can't afford to be so lackadaisical in my attitude and will start by slashing the wage bill and also taking the responsibility of staff contract renewal out of the hands of my chairman. I also need to be thinking about building a balance for a new stadium which has appeared as a request in the boardroom meeting screen Facilities – On the 1st January 2062 the option to request a new stadium became available but I decided not to ask and wait until the end of the season in the hope that the board would automatically start the process. Well, the end of season came and nothing from the board so I decided to ask only to be met with the response "We don't feel we have the fanbase to support it". We sell out for every home game (away fans excluded) and season ticket sales have rocketed up over recent years, ticket prices & ST prices have also peaked and yet the board have come to that conclusion. I would have thought that it'd painfully obvious to any businessperson the opportunity that is being missed here but I guess the wait will have to go on Youth Intake – I think this is another area of the game where I have been too casual with my approach. Instead of painstakingly reviewing the intakes and cherry picking the players which have actually got some talent I've allowed the HoYD to decide by clicking 'SIgn Recommended Players'. The problem with doing that is that every year he just selects everybody to get a contract which leads to bloated youth and reserve teams filled with players which will never make it here which is a complete waste of resources. I'm also left wondering whether my tendency to sign big money players isn't affecting the youth system and hasn't shifted the boards policy away from youth. It is something to consider given the atrocious nature of the intakes in recent seasons, this seasons being especially bad League Reputation – We just can't seem to break through that barrier and rise out of 10th. This season saw Linfield and Cliftonville compete in the Europa League group stages but they were fairly ineffective only picking up a solitary point each. Glentoran got knocked out in the first round they entered and Carrick got knocked out in the round after they entered. I can see the league reputation falling next season with only 3 teams competing Club Domestic Reputation – Glentoran appear to have established themselves in the top flight which is promising, we're down to 5/12 professional teams now though with Glenavon looking likely to revert back to semi-pro status next season Club European Reputation – We're top but it doesn't appear to be counting for anything at the moment Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Dominates the Champions League year after year after year. Club stuck with a stadium for 11K people and the board won't consider a new one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 12, 2017 Author Share Posted May 12, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2062 / 2063 Season Expectations The board demand we reach the final of the Champions League, no pressure then League Table - Cliftonville kept it interesting for a while but in the end only delayed the inevitable FIFA Club World Cup - We never looked troubled in Algeria as we cruised to another win UEFA Super Cup - They made us sweat for it but our goalkeeper was the hero in the penalty shootout UEFA Champions League - I have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable campaigns I've had, we went unbeaten and handed out some batterings along the way. The game in Lisbon was a thriller Domestic Cups - My focus has gone off the cups so I was surprised the team want as far in the Irish Cup as they did Reserves - I'm sure they will be eager to regain the league title next season Under 18s - I can't complain given how decimated their ranks are Squad – I've done some of the things that I was hoping to achieve with the first team but in other aspects I have been a complete failure. I wanted to reduce the wage bill, it has increased. I wanted to increase the number of domestic players in the team, I've had at most 3 in the team during the season. Even though we have been fantastically successful over recent seasons what I have built isn't sustainable in the long run and as such my approach needs to change Transfers – It seems that I just can't resist the temptation to splash the cash when the opportunity affords itself which really isn't helping matters with regards to making us sustainable. The allure of the wonderkid youngster has become all too consuming and it shouldn't be. I have the best facilities and coaching team in the game, so I should be looking at the cheaper end of the market at players with low CA but high PA Player Of The Season Markus Janssen – MC - Average Rating : 7.66 The German international is really a class act but is exactly the type of player which the club really can't afford. £89,000p/w is a crazy amount of money to pay for a player in the N. Irish leagues with a stadium which only has a capacity of 11,000. I'll be looking to take advantage of the interest from PSG but they'll need to make me an offer in excess of the £50M I paid for him Young Player Of The Season Phil Morrison – DR - Average Rating : 7.61 The youth graduate has come on leaps and bounds since being given the opportunity in the first team. He also brings into sharp focus how ludicrous it is for the club to have such a high wage bill. He performed almost as well as Janssen and he only earns £800p/w Finances – Once again the board had to bail us out in order for us to pass the FFP. Our club has a value of over £300M but we still don't feel Rich at all. After all the success we've had I don't feel we have yet taken the step up to become the best club in the world which our reputation would suggest. We may have a team capable of winning all the major tournaments season after season but that isn't enough for what I'm trying to build here. The concern is that if I were to leave that the whole thing would just come crashing down owing to its lack of stability. The fact that I'm having to overachieve every season just to stay in the same place is worrying Facilities – Still no luck with the new stadium Youth Intake – Another terrible intake, this time around however I had a look at all the players attributes before deciding who to sign. I was tempted to discard the whole lot but I decided to sign 6 players of the intake and tagged them with the year which is 63 and an alphabetical grade which represents how I rank them. In this intake John Worthington got 63A as I feel he could become the best player and Eamonn Anderson got 63F as I felt he was the player with the least potential to get offered a youth contract League Reputation – It's strange that given last seasons terrible performances of the other teams in N. Ireland and the fact that we only had 3 participants that we were able to actually improve our position Club Domestic Reputation – Glentoran made the Europa League again which is pleasing, now that Cliftonville and Linfield have a lot of money maybe they'll start to improve in Europe Club European Reputation – Still top of the tree and will be next season too as we have a sizable lead over 2nd placed PSG Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 12, 2017 Author Share Posted May 12, 2017 On 5/10/2017 at 13:22, noikeee said: Dominates the Champions League year after year after year. Club stuck with a stadium for 11K people and the board won't consider a new one. On the face of it does appear silly that I'd remain in such a tiny stadium even after the period for me to get a new one has elapsed and having had such success on the pitch but then I had a think about it. I sense the problem is my misunderstanding of the dynamics in the game. At times, the lack of transparency in this game can really lead you down some blind alleys especially with respect to aspects such as youth recruitment, youth rating etc. I had almost lulled myself into thinking that as soon as the 20 years was up that the board would take out a massive loan and build a new stadium. My new theory is that the board will only make the decision to build a new stadium when the bank balance is on a par with the amount of money its going to cost for the new build. Given that it is such a huge investment to make I believe that such collateral is required in order to justify the expenditure. I don't think their reluctance to build a new stadium has anything to do with the reason they give of 'not a big enough fanbase' as we have the highest reputation of any club in the world. Rather I think that is just a placeholder which obscures the real reason and that is a lack of money in the club at the time when the decision is to be made. Following this to its natural conclusion has therefore made me want to try and build up the bank balance as much as possible which means I'll be selling a lot of players next season and replacing them with far cheaper alternatives. It may come at the cost of being able to maintain the success on the pitch but if I could end next season with ~£200M in the bank which should be possible given that the vast majority of our club value is our players then I think that should be more than enough to build a nice huge stadium. Well I'm going to try it out anyway and see how it goes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2063 / 2064 Season Expectations Prepare for a period of transition as we go about building up the bank balance for a new stadium but still try and put in a good effort in the Champions League League Table - We were never really challenged unlike last season, encouraging to see Glentoran improving FIFA Club World Cup - Another win in Canada UEFA Super Cup - A very comfortable victory UEFA Champions League - Nearly went unbeaten again but overall a very comfortable win which is surprising as I was expecting a dip Domestic Cups - The 'B' team did a reasonable job although no fireworks Reserves - They did well to secure a domestic double Under 18s - These poor intakes are really starting to hurt performances Squad – I tried to reshape the side and sell all the high wage earners so that I could save up for a new stadium. I hit a bit of a snag with that however as teams seemed reluctant to dig their hands into their pockets and pay the money that I'm asking for. The concern I have now is that the market values have fallen which may mean we don't get value for money Transfers – A massive profit which I'll be hoping to replicate next season. Agombar AMR the dead ball specialist was a great bargain having been released from Chelsea on a free, if I could get some more deals like that I'll be pleased Player Of The Season Christian Osterholm – AMR - Average Rating : 7.92 Once again he outshone my strikers and became our top scorer. It seems the Winger (Attack) I use on the right flank is the most productive of my front 3 which consists of an Inside Forward (Support) in AML and a Complete Forward (Support) as the STC. I'm not sure I like that balance very much as while he has great attributes for a wide player he isn't great as a striker Young Player Of The Season Phil Morrison – DR - Average Rating : 7.60 He's still improving but is starting to annoy me with his constant demands for an improved contract to 'reflect his importance to the team'. I think I'll be the judge of how important he is to the team and in my opinion he is still nowhere near the level of my other first team RB Rossi therefore request denied Finances – It's a lot better than it was last season but still nowhere near where I feel it needs to be for the club to seriously consider building a new ground. It also doesn't help when the directors decided to reward themselves and take £9.25M out of the balance. The key will be getting the ultra high earners out of the club, if I can manage that next season the club might just manage to reach the magic £200M balance Facilities – The youth facilities downgraded so I spent money to max them out again Youth Intake – I took a different screenshot this time which shows the current youth team. I signed 4 of the youth candidates this season and let the rest go. It's so disappointing that we just aren't getting the quality of player we need League Reputation – A slight rise likely caused by Cliftonville and their remarkable run into the knockout rounds of the Europa League where they got beaten by SL Benfica. Crusaders finished rock bottom of their Europa League group crashing out with only a point. Glentoran couldn't progress past the 2nd Qualifying Round and Linfield the 3rd. Given how dominant we have been in Europe it is somewhat underwhelming how little progress the other N. Irish teams have made but at least there are some promising signs Club Domestic Reputation – Not much change except Glentoran have reached 2* reputation Club European Reputation – Top and clear Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2064 / 2065 Season Expectations Keep winning while we wait for a new stadium League Table - A relatively comfortable win FIFA Club World Cup - I don't know why but the host seems to remain the same for 2 years in a row...another comfortable win though UEFA Super Cup - The red card didn't help as we put in a poor performance UEFA Champions League - Another victory gives us 'la decima'. We just need 2 more wins to become the joint most successful team in Champions League history Domestic Cups - The backup team actually did a decent job Reserves - That's more like it Under 18s - A marked improvement on last season Squad – I dipped my toe into the loan market again in an attempt to lower the wage bill but will not be so keen to repeat that next season. The squad is very much weaker than it has been in previous seasons owing to my selling of players and trying to build up a bank balance. I think I'll have to reverse that policy for the moment as our best players are aging and given that our youth intakes have been so poor unless I bring in some fresh blood we risk going into decline Transfers – Another massive profit but I wouldn't expect to see the same next season as I try to rebuild the team Player Of The Season Leonardo Felipe – MC - Average Rating : 7.95 The Brazilian international is a truly magnificent player who scored so many important goals this season that he has become pivotal to our teams success. Without him, I don't feel we would have won the Champions League. He is at a good age and we should get another 3-4 good years out of him before we need to think of replacing him Young Player Of The Season Darko Milunovic – DC - Average Rating : 7.54 He has developed into a world class central defender who I really want to hold onto. He has everything you'd want attribute wise and he's still improving, as a result, I can see him become a club legend Finances – That is what you call a bank balance!!...I've made an error though as I've been expecting a new stadium to be built but it won't be as 25 years haven't passed yet. The fact that the option is available as a board request is another bug because the time between new stadiums has been lengthened to 25 years instead of 20 years (I think it may have been done a few FMs ago but this is the first time I've encountered it). Given that is the case I'll be looking to splash the cash in the summer transfer window to attract the world class players we need to maintain our position at the top given that I have at least another 2 seasons before it can actually happen anyway Facilities – I can't wait for the new stadium, they really ought to go super large now Youth Intake – I decided to go back to the old screenshot type and have signed everybody in this intake. I haven't tagged any of them as they're bloody awful League Reputation – Another impressive performance from Cliftonville this season as they made the knockout rounds of the Europa League again which probably helped the nation maintain its position. If Linfield can up their game and Cliftonville can keep it up then maybe we can move up further Club Domestic Reputation – My affiliate Donegal Celtic got promoted so I'll be losing them next season which will mean that 5/12 clubs in the league will be from Belfast next season. I'm hoping this will help overall league attendances given the amount of derbies Club European Reputation – Still miles ahead of everybody else Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2065 / 2066 Season Expectations Win the Champions League and push myself closer to the summit of the Hall of Fame, I'm currently in 3rd League Table - A mixed bag, was pleased former affiliate Donegal Celtic stayed up but disappointed Linfield missed out on qualifying for Europe FIFA Club World Cup - Was hosted down under this time, the games were closer but the end result was the same UEFA Super Cup - Fair play to Everton, we didn't play badly but couldn't break them down UEFA Champions League - One more win and we have the record, it was relatively straightforward with Everton coming closest to raining on our parade. The final was an absolute thriller Domestic Cups - A reasonable performance from the backup players, a side benefit of getting knocked out early in the cups is that it gives other teams the opportunity to increase their reputations Reserves - The team got an unexpected invite to the Youth Invitational and put in a good performance, their domestic cup performance wasn't too great Under 18s - They go years without achieving anything at all in the UEFA Youth League then go on a run to the final...extraordinary Squad – I strengthened where we needed it and it worked out pretty well although it did come at a huge cost. I anticipate that I'll be making some sales next season as I'd like to build the bank balance back up for the new stadium Transfers – I think I overpaid for a few of the players such as Buth RB & Benali DMC but I feel this was somewhat offset by the fact I underpaid for a few of the other players such as Salvio AML & Yuri LB. The wage bill has reduced to just over £1Mp/w but that is still huge for a club with our income so I'll be looking to ship out some of the higher earners if the price is right Player Of The Season Alan Arce – DL - Average Rating : 7.83 Even though he complained about first team football for the majority of the season he was very solid in the games he did play. His wage isn't quite in line with his ability so he may leave the club in the summer Young Player Of The Season Phil Morrison – DR - Average Rating : 7.55 He did well enough but he wasn't anything special. He gets the accolade as there is no competition in that age bracket which indicates to me that the squad is heading for a decline and fresh blood needs to be bought in Finances – It's quite terrifying that in the space of a year the money has completely disappeared, thankfully for us the board pumped in £21.5M after the screenshot was taken and we sold a transfer clause which gives us a working balance of ~£22M going into next season. This highlights in great detail the issues the club has with solvency. Looking at the balance sheet is worrying, we made ~£14M through the stadium (season tickets, gate receipts, corporate, match day income) which isn't even enough to cover the staff wage bill which was £21.5M. The income from TV money was only a paltry £1.5M, merchandising was ~£10.5M, sponsorship only £7M. Considering that our scouting costs alone were nearly £12M we can see the problem. If I wasn't at the club raking in the prize money from the Champions League season after season the club would be bankrupt. Next season will have to bring a huge number of player sales so we can end the season with a good balance as the only way to improve the situation is by having a huge new stadium Facilities – I really hope I can report some good news in next seasons review Youth Intake – I signed them all again, I don't expect a wonderkid in every intake but it would be nice if we could get at least some players every year who might be good enough to be stars in the DBP with development. The majority of these guys wont even be good enough to be first team players in the NIFL Championship League Reputation – A slight dip more than likely caused by Cliftonville being unable to repeat their successful runs of the last 2 seasons although they did finish their Europa League group with 7 points. It was a breakthrough season in some respects as for the first time ever the nation had 3 teams competing in the Europa League group stages although both Linfield and Ballymena United failed to register a point Club Domestic Reputation – Glentoran on the rise Club European Reputation – We're top and I hope to keep it that way Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2066 / 2067 Season Expectations The team has to keep winning and building up the fan base for the new stadium League Table - No problems at all FIFA Club World Cup - We didn't face any of the harder teams and won it with consummate ease UEFA Super Cup - The Metz manager decided that he would set his team up to attack us from the off and started with a 4-2-4 formation, he won't make that mistake again as in the end the margin could have been even more humiliating UEFA Champions League - For the first time ever we managed a perfect record in the group stage. The knockout rounds were a little choppy with UEFA seemingly determined to pit us up against the very best to prevent us from glory but we won out against them all. The final was fantastic as we ripped Everton apart and got revenge for their win in the UEFA Super Cup last season. After that win we can now claim to be the joint most decorated team in Champions League history, considering where we have come from, I think that is a remarkable achievement Domestic Cups - A fairly mediocre season Reserves - They were so close to winning the lot Under 18s - It appears that I'll never win the UEFA Youth League Squad – As I needed to build the bank balance I decided to change tact this season. Instead of spending huge amounts of money on transfer fees I instead decided to sign players on pre-contract agreements. This proved to be a very savvy approach as even though I had to increase the wage bill I didn't have huge chunks of cash coming out while I increased the depth of the squad. I'm satisfied that with a few additions next season that once again this team can reign supreme Transfers – I didn't spend much money at all with the signings that I did make being situations where I needed to replace outgoing players. I'm pleased as all the free transfer signings performed quite well so I'll be looking to repeat the trick next season Player Of The Season Billy Agombar – AMR - Average Rating : 8.04 The guy is a legend who has established himself as an England international. I think his signing must be of the best I've made in this career Young Player Of The Season Jose Alves – DR - Average Rating : 7.58 The loan signing has been exceptional, I hope SL Benfica appreciate just how much he has developed and give him a chance in their first team Finances – The balance wasn't quite as high as I would have liked but at least it should enable the club to put down a good proportion of the total cost of the new stadium and reduce the potential borrowing needed Facilities – It's finally here and I'm absolutely delighted. I wanted a starting capacity between 40,000 & 50,000 I got 47,483 which is brilliant. I'll have to wait until it has been built to know how big I can eventually make it but this was the last piece of the puzzle and now it has been put into place my thoughts can shift to the end point of the save which I'll highlight in a separate post Youth Intake – I can't even muster the effort to get disappointed anymore, there is simply no chance of turning this save into a youth hybrid at this point. Once you're in a country with a low youth rating you're stuffed, even when you broaden your scope through youth recruitment and youth affiliations it doesn't seem to make much difference at all from my perspective League Reputation – A pretty lousy season from the other N. Irish representatives in Europe keeps us clamped firmly down in 9th place Club Domestic Reputation – It was pleasing that Donegal Celtic managed to hold on again Club European Reputation – No changes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 NEW STADIUM AND FUTURE OF SAVE When the 1st of January 2067 came I asked for a new stadium and the request got accepted with the following 2 messages Once the season ended I then got the following message I was a little shocked that I got so little for selling the old ground but hey ho.... Now that I have left my desired legacy at the club I then began to think about what's next and came up with a number of possible objectives that I feel could bring a good conclusion to the save. 1) Make the DBP the Number 1 league in Europe I had considered this seriously but then thought against it as I could see it taking a very long time if I just played the save in the manner I have up to this point. I see the only way of speeding it up would be to start cheating and giving other teams loads of money and I don't really want to do that so that won't be the achievement that ends the save 2) Win an international tournament I could do this but it would have to be a job with a top national side, whether I do it or not will depend on the jobs that become available but given that it ties in with what I've decided will be the end game given in 3) either way it won't define if the save ends just when 3) Reach number 1 in the Hall of Fame I'm 3rd at the moment with 8,744, Unai Emery has 11,171 in 1st but has retired so can't add to that total, neither can the manager in 2nd place. I feel that this would be a fitting conclusion as it would give me a few more seasons and probably allow me to spend a season or two in the new stadium. If I did get a top national job and won a World Cup or similar it would end the save quicker and add a sense of completeness Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deez0r Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Amazing, about time this happened! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 19, 2017 Author Share Posted May 19, 2017 On 5/17/2017 at 15:46, deez0r said: Amazing, about time this happened! It's been a long time coming!...I think to give that chapter of the clubs history a fitting tribute that I'll do a post after the new stadium is finished with some pictures of the last game in the old ground and some of the first game in the new ground. I'm going to need to get creative with the camera though as the bug in FM16 which allowed you to take distant shots of the stadium appears to have been patched out. Exciting times in Antrim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deez0r Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 Definitely different to the stadium I have played at! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 19, 2017 Author Share Posted May 19, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2067 / 2068 Season Expectations A new era is dawning at the club with the building of a new stadium, let's leave the old ground in style and continue the success League Table - Our penultimate season in the old ground saw us cruise to the title once again, somewhat disappointed to see Donegal Celtic relegated but a couple of seasons money from the top flight should provide a good parachute payment and assist them in bouncing straight back up FIFA Club World Cup - Off to the land of the rising sun this time to pick up yet another comfortable win UEFA Super Cup - They made it much harder than Metz last season but we still prevailed UEFA Champions League - A relatively smooth run to another title although Arsenal did give us a fight. With that victory we now break the record of 12 wins set by Man Utd and become the undisputed champions of Europe Domestic Cups - Once I'm in the new ground I'll take these more seriously as the sharing of the gate receipts could really help the other teams in N. Ireland considering how expensive our ticket prices are Reserves - Once again they were in the Youth Club Invitational but didn't do as well this time. Bizarrely, Cliftonville and their first team were in the tournament as well, seems like a bug to me Under 18s - They scraped through one of the weakest groups they've been in only to be knocked out by Panathinaikos, they weren't much cop in the U18s cup neither Squad – Even though the new stadium allowed me to be a little less stringent with the finances I didn't feel the need to go overboard when strengthening the team. Once again I signed players for free at the end of their contracts and going forwards it really is a great inexpensive way of building squad depth while also protecting the clubs bottom line. I feel I have achieved a good blend in the first team of youthful exuberance and experience and will hope to maintain that fine balance Transfers – I spent a bit of money but the vast majority of my signings were for free whilst I still made a profit. The signing of the season was Vangelis Tsoukarellis DMC on a free who I was delighted to welcome to the club. I hadn't really replaced Rune Vansteenkiste DMC as the deep lying playmaker and I felt we needed a really classy player in the role and he fits the bill perfectly Player Of The Season Fabien Lambert – DC - Average Rating : 7.72 He came with a fairly high price tag but was definitely worth it in my opinion. He has physical attributes you can only dream of for a central defender which makes him practically impossible to beat one on one. If he comes up against a strong target man or defensive forward type he's one of the strongest players in the game, if he comes up against a fast agile poacher or advanced forward he is quick and nimble enough to deal with it, if he comes up against a creative type like a Deep Lying Forward, False Nine, Trequartista or Complete Forward he has an exceptional ability to read the game and knows where to position himself to block off any passing lanes. One of the best players I've managed without question Young Player Of The Season Santo Anastasi – DR - Average Rating : 7.46 Another loan signing for the full back spot, this time from Inter. He did well although he is never going to be a long term solution for the right back position, his personality and PPMs will see to that Finances – We got another massive injection of cash ~£40M from a soft drinks manufacturer who operates in South America which somewhat masks a dismal set of financial results for the club. For the first time you can see the affect of the loan we took out for the new stadium as we pay ~£870K per month over the next 10 years. One more season and hopefully this will become a thing of the past as we can begin to build up a bank balance as I want to max out the capacity of the new stadium as soon as possible. Facilities – The youth facilities downgraded so I had to spend £2.7M getting those up to state of the art again Youth Intake – Ferguson CM looks like he has some potential so I'll be looking to see how he develops. Going forwards I'm going to sign all players of every intake and give them a bit of time at the club before discarding them, maybe one or two may surprise me in how they develop and break through to the first team, if not then hopefully their time here can make them an attractive prospect for another DBP team or a lower league side League Reputation – Cliftonville once again made the knockout rounds of the Europa League but it made no difference as the league stays rooted in 9th. It's no longer a matter of a lack of money as Cliftonville has club value around £60M but a lack of ambition from them to get in the quality of player required in order to take that next step, the rest of the participants in Europe were awful Club Domestic Reputation – We haven't had a takeover by a tycoon in the country for a while, they'd get fantastic value for money as while we have an unassailable lead at the top, the competition for a European spot couldn't be more open and with a little bit of investment you could even make the Champions League given how reluctant Cliftonville seem to be when it comes to investing in their club. Linfield haven't been much better either in that regard and haven't in all these seasons been able to capitalize on their only remaining advantage over us which is their ability to generate revenue from their significantly larger stadium. Well, that superiority is coming to an end after next season and like the rest of the N. Irish clubs they have a lot of catching up to do. My hope is that my ability to inject money into the game after next season will begin to see a sea change in the N. Irish game with the top flight becoming increasingly professional and money starting to more readily filter through to the lower leagues, currently it seems that the smaller your club is the more successful you can be in the lower leagues. For e.g. Immaculata have just been promoted to the Championship over more established sides who have been competing in the lower leagues for a long time. The advantage they have is that their expenditures are much lower and teams tend to underestimate them, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they were to make the top flight in time whilst teams like Bangor, Ards, Distillery, Institute never get the opportunity despite being much bigger clubs Club European Reputation – It's great that we are top but worrying that we are the only N. Irish team in the screenshot given how many years we've been winning the Champions League. N. Irish football doesn't appear to have developed much at all and our success doesn't appear to have trickled down the league pyramid as much as I would have liked Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 19, 2017 Author Share Posted May 19, 2017 1 hour ago, deez0r said: Definitely different to the stadium I have played at! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 21, 2017 Author Share Posted May 21, 2017 Chimney Corner F.C. Season 2068 / 2069 Season Expectations A new stadium is on the horizon so I wanted to leave the old ground on a high League Table - Not the best farewell we could have had but still a huge margin of victory in the end FIFA Club World Cup - One of the easiest set of draws we could get which we took full advantage of UEFA Super Cup - This seems to be a golden generation for German teams in the Europa League but we still edged them out though UEFA Champions League - It wasn't wholly convincing like in previous seasons but we managed to win the only trophy I desperately wanted. We just managed to beat Manchester United who sought to match our record of most Champions League wins instead we move on to 14 while they remain on 12 Domestic Cups - Expect a different story next season as I take these seriously Reserves - Almost the perfect season Under 18s - It seems like they take one step forward then two steps back Squad – We have a very strong squad but I still feel that the wage bill is way too high. Some of my best performers are those which aren't paid the highest wages, Leonardo Felipe is a former Ballon d'Or winner but is he really worth £90,000p/w before bonuses (was higher before I renegotiated it) at 33 years of age? I'll have to gauge what kind of revenue we are able to generate at the new stadium before deciding what is affordable Transfers – A profit but a narrow one, will be looking for value in the free transfer market again next season Player Of The Season Tom Angerbauer – ST - Average Rating : 7.81 A hugely consistent striker who played a pivotal role in ensuring we left our old ground with a big haul of trophies Young Player Of The Season Anto Mullan – DC - Average Rating : 7.51 The HG product has stepped up his game and broken into the first team, performed very well when called upon Finances – Really concerned at the state of the bank balance, the board pumped in £21.5M which pushed us closer to positive but the club still remains deeply in the red. I'm hoping that the revenue we can generate from the new stadium should sort these out but I'll have to wait and see and cost cutting measures may be required next season Facilities – Next season and we get the keys to the new ground Youth Intake – Lewis Purdie DC looks the best of a fairly poor bunch League Reputation – Cliftonville managed a run into the knockout rounds of the Europa League which helped the league to rise slightly Club Domestic Reputation – Donegal Celtic bounced straight back which was pleasing Club European Reputation – Still no changes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 21, 2017 Author Share Posted May 21, 2017 OUT WITH THE OLD.... Built in Allen Park in 2042, Sinclair Stadium has been the home of Chimney Corner for 27 years and has witnessed the emergence of the club as a global superpower. The final game at the stadium was in the Champions League Semi Final against Portuguese guests FC Porto which saw the home side win 1-0 and put one foot in another Champions League final. Here are some shots from the final game A look toward the Imanol Martin stand named after the legendary striker who managed the incredible feat of scoring 53 goals in season 2044/45 Looking towards the Castle Road end The Away end Scenes at the final whistle as the curtain comes down on football at Sinclair Stadium forever Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted May 21, 2017 Author Share Posted May 21, 2017 AND IN WITH THE NEW.... The builders have gone and the new stadium has been built, introducing Sinclair Park Not a huge amount of room for growth with a potential expansion capacity only 17517 more than the starting capacity Our first game in the new stadium and we are smashing records all over the place. We now have the record for the highest attendance ever for a N. Irish club breaking the record of 42,000 set by Glentoran in 1966 against Rangers The stands totally dwarf anything we have had previously, the supporting pillars on the second tier of one of the ends is slightly annoying A look toward the other end with the giant TV screen in the corner A new era has begun, lets see if this chapter of the clubs story can be as successful as its last Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deez0r Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 Nice one @pheelf Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheelf Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 On 5/21/2017 at 21:59, deez0r said: Nice one @pheelf Cheers @deez0r I've decided to add some leagues to the game in order to make it a bit more challenging for the final furlong of the save. So all the leagues from the UK & Ireland are in along with the top 10 leagues in game which are the top leagues in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. I'm currently 521 points off the summit of the Hall of Fame so another Champions League & Club World Cup win should do it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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