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[FM 17] If You’re Not First, You’re Last Redux – Redemption For The “Nearly Men” Of Europe


ManUtd1
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A deep breath, followed by some clicks...none of these three are unemployed.  They're managing Italy, France and Spain, respectively, heading into the World Cup (which is being hosted by Brazil).

Not funny.

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All by myself...don't wanna be...

2022 World Cup Recap

Well, this is embarrassing.  After resigning and rejecting offers from the likes of Real Madrid and Milan, I'm unemployed in early/mid July, watching my Malmo side get torn to pieces by jackals.  Augustsson has gone to City.  City!!!  And I'm sitting here alone, eating Chinese takeout and drinking wine from a box.  A box!!!

At least the World Cup threw up an interesting twist...I also made a mistake up above, the tournament was hosted in Canada, not Brazil.  Canada.  

Looks like I picked the wrong summer to stop taking meth.

Ok, ok, ok...I'll get on with it.  

To emphasize the cruelty of fate, Argentina won the title in Montreal less than 1 year after Messi retired.  That's not a joke.  Messi retired in August 2021.

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But, that wasn't the interesting part.  Argentina won the World Cup Final, 2-1 over Mexico.  Yep, that's right.  We have a newly-eligible, non-European national team for this save.  Excellent.

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So, our updated tracking sheet now looks like this...

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5 hours ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

Good luck on the job hunt.😁

 

4 hours ago, Joe. said:

Nothing more frustrating than waiting for specific jobs to open up. Hope it doesn't take too long!

Thanks, guys. Very frustrating, but I think there may be some movement soon. Fingers crossed.

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Who's that bloke from Fiorentina...

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ACF Fiorentina

December 2022 Mini-Update

As the plane touches down in the heart of Tuscany, my heart skips a beat.  This morning, I showered for the first time in months.  I was optimistic for the first time in months.  I saw daylight for the...nevermind.  You get the point.

I've been second-guessing myself since that fateful day in May.  Reading about how my squad has been dismantled, for next to nothing.  How that scarf-wearing Bobby Manc is trying to step into my shoes.  Basking in my glory.  That ****.

What better revenge than taking over Fiorentina where he'd left them in 2002 -- in the relegation zone, with no visible prospects whatsoever, and taking them to glory?  Yes, yes, that will do.  It doesn't hurt that Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  With an abundance of wine ready at hand.

The first team squad is obscenely large, with a fair amount of dead wood.  We've won 2 matches all year, one in the Cup.  Not good enough.  Not by a long shot.  But, talk shears no sheep.  It's time to get to work.

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Not the worst possible setup, overall.  They're underperforming, no doubt.

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Brutal start to the season, but it isn't like they've been getting hammered.

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Like I said, the playing staff is way too big.  I'm going to implement Pampelmousse Libre and a 343 variation.  Screenshots will be up later today.

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Just caught up. Wow, what a run! That is a CL to remember! I couldn't stop laughing at Argentina too. Poor Messi :lol:. Way to land at Fiorentina. Fine dining and exotic wine awaits. I'll send you a congratulatory biltong from my save in SA...:brock:

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3 minutes ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

An interesting team to take over. Best of luck.

What are chances of you facing your old Malmo side in Europe soon?

At the moment, not particularly likely.  I'm not in Europe this year and probably won't be next year.  For now, they've pretty much got a guaranteed slot in the CL Group Stages, as well.  Hopefully we'll see Bobby Manc soon, though.

30 minutes ago, Chantu9Y said:

Just caught up. Wow, what a run! That is a CL to remember! I couldn't stop laughing at Argentina too. Poor Messi :lol:. Way to land at Fiorentina. Fine dining and exotic wine awaits. I'll send you a congratulatory biltong from my save in SA...:brock:

Seriously, what a horrible bit of luck for Leo, eh?  But, he's won 6 of the 7 Ballon d'Ors awarded since 2015, so I can't bring myself to feel all that sorry for him!

1 hour ago, the--dud said:

Red wine, olives and sunshine - not a bad change from dreary Malmö :D Best of luck! 

Heh...yeah, Tuscany is a nice change of pace.  No more boxed wine for me!  Pure screw-tops, now.  The good stuff.

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Yeah, sure, I guess it's an alright town if you like some of the most amazing cities in the world, or whatever.

 

Seriously though, Fiorentina was well worth the wait, that's for sure! Who coincidentally, I'm watching right now play Genoa.

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be careful :) very tricky systems that require a lot of in-match attention and consideration of PPm's. Plus, I'd recommend having a support duty for your striker to provide better options for your runners - wingers, ss, cm(a)

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4 minutes ago, LPQR said:

be careful :) very tricky systems that require a lot of in-match attention and consideration of PPm's. Plus, I'd recommend having a support duty for your striker to provide better options for your runners - wingers, ss, cm(a)

Oops...he was supposed to be on support duty...wtf...fixed!

If it doesn't work, I may switch to the 343 system I've got mapped out.  We'll see...

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42 minutes ago, LPQR said:

be careful :) very tricky systems that require a lot of in-match attention and consideration of PPm's. Plus, I'd recommend having a support duty for your striker to provide better options for your runners - wingers, ss, cm(a)

Oof...tinkering with this in a United save to try and get my head around it.  I don't think I'm ready to do that in a "real" save like this just yet, notwithstanding my prior plans...

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Alright, I've shifted to a very fluid 4-4-1-1, Grapefruit 2.0, that builds on what I was doing at Malmo.  I don't think I' savvy enough with tactics to do a libero system!  Which makes me more in awe of your success.   Better to stick with what I know (in FM terms, at least) for this save.  

 

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1 hour ago, BoxToBox said:

The grapefruit will always see you through!

I like the look of your 4-4-1-1

Thanks man -- it's what I was building towards at Malmo (but didn't think my players were quite good enough to play just yet).  @smp20 employed some of the same fundamental Allegri principles at Getafe; I think he played a different formation, though...a 442 with wingers, maybe?

Regardless, we've started well enough and are out of the relegation zone as we head into the holidays.  I'm fortunate to have Dragowski in goal.  Diakhate is looking sharp as well.  The rest of the squad will eventually need to be replaced. 

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I had quite the soft landing -- four matches against sides who are in the bottom third of Serie A:

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12 points are twelve points, especially against potential relegation rivals.  

Signings are in the works as well -- I've snapped up a brilliant Australian midfielder from their FA's academy, an Italian midfielder from Chievo Verona, and am negotiating for a defender from Sevilla who looks capable of being the next Vidic.  I'm also trying to unsettle a brilliant AMC in Olympiakos' U20s.  Details will follow in due course!

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6 hours ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

Great start. Are you still signing youngsters as part of a long-term plan like in Malmo?

Yep. I hate signing older players...too expensive, less room for growth (if any) and thus less enjoyable for me :)

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10 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

That was a brutal January.  Ouch.  A good win in the Cup...a Cup that I don't care about.  And Dragowski is pitching a massive fit because I rejected an offer from Juventus.  Not good.

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On the bright side, draws against Juventus and Lazio are pretty good.

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4 minutes ago, the--dud said:

Nicely done! Realistically speaking you're safe now I reckon ;)

Thanks, man.  Barring a complete collapse, we should be clear!  With 11 matches left, we're 10 points clear of relegation and 7 off of a guaranteed Europa League spot.

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After a substantial amount of internal debate, @LPQR, I've decided to work on implementing the libero system notwithstanding my misgivings.  I had an academy player come through who is "unconvincing" in the position...which got me to thinking...which led to a box of wine...

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So, I'm retraining my most technically-skilled CB (Marlon), and will likely retrain the Australian wonderkid I snapped up from the Aussie FA Academy.

I'm still concerned about width/coverage, but this makes sense to me.  My wingbacks are not particularly solid, and I've struggled recruiting them.  The one decent one I had come through this year's youth intake will be retrained as a DM.

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Further to my last post, Napoli ran out to a 4-0 lead at the Sao Paolo.  Including a goal from former Malmo FF forward Jan Lundqvist.  That one hurt.

We had one shot, off target.  At halftime, I said **** it and switched to PM Libre (see above)...finished 4-1, and we actually were in the game.

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Still lots of vulnerability on the flanks, but it was a complete 180 from the 1st half.

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