PJHoutman88 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 No Hablo Español: An Adventure in South America My first adventure of FM18 starts in South America. I've not managed in this area before, the somewhat baffling league rules always held me back. Combine this with match engine changes, a completely new scouting system and revamped squad dynamics, all of which I'm unfamiliar with, and you have the perfect recipe for a successful long save with no sackings at all I'll be treating this game as a Journeyman Challenge, meaning that I'll start unemployed with no coaching badges, Sunday League past experience, my real nationality (Dutch, no added languages). The goal of the save is mainly to have a good time, but the end goal (if I ever make it) is to get enough Hall of Fame points to knock Sir Alex Ferguson (or whoever leads the leaderboards by then) off his perch and become the most successful manager in the history of football. As someone who is dreadful at tactics, it'll be easy. Game settings: Leagues loaded: Argentina (Primera B Nacional and above), Brazil (Serie C and above), Chile (Primera Division B and above), Colombia (Torneo Postobon and above), Peru (Copa Movistar only), Uruguay (Segundo Division Profesional and above) Attribute Masking: On Database: Custom (Large + All international players from South America) HOYD makes offers for young players to bring them into club (DoF finalises). DoF is allowed to sign players for the club (I finalise). The first season went pretty well, all things considered. The squad was well-balanced with no positions missing, there was more than decent ability in the squad, and expectations were relatively low. The season before, Coquimbo Unido sacked their manager for finishing 14th, which opened the door for me to jump in inbetween seasons. The main problem in starting at the club, besides a complete failure to understand the new scouting system, was in dynamics. Being unknown meant the players were completely unwilling to support me from the start, which didn't cause problems at first. After 10 games, we were sitting in 3rd, two points off the leaders. Then, captain Washington Torres inexplicably wanted a meeting to discuss the players losing faith in me - despite exceeding expectations, good form and a content squad. I managed to assuage their doubts, but form suffered nonetheless. We received a few absolute drubbings and quickly slipped down the table. The cup went well, though. Knocking out top-tier Everton de Vina del Mar and local rivals Deportes La Serena did wonders for fan confidence, and the dressing room was coming round to me. Our defeat against San Marcos Arica was thoroughly deserved, but I couldn't help but feel unhappy as a Semi Final place was in our grasp. In the end, Arica converted all their penalties, and there isn't much you can do against that. The league resumed with us in 8th place, still on target to meet expectations, resulting in a contract renewal for next season. With the top three now firmly out of sight, the remaining matches gave me a chance to experiment, ditching my 4-4-1-1 for a flat 4-4-2 to get the best out of newly developing talent Eduardo Muñoz, who had previously been limited to cup games and sub appearances. He repaid me handsomely with a return of 12 goals in 14 games. This late surge of form saw us shoot up the table to 4th place, finishing 9 points off the play-off spots. Not a terrible result for a first season, but I can't help thinking what might have been if Torres had not called that meeting. Best performers: Leandro Reymundez - Besides the aforementioned Muñoz, our star man was our other striker. The Uruguayan routinely uses his acceleration to beat the last man and, although he missed a few sitters, got a decent return of 17 goals in 29 apps. Top-tier clubs have been sniffing around for him, but if I can keep hold, then the partnership between these two strikers should prove very fruitful. Matías Paredes - For his age, already a pretty complete goalkeeper for this level. His anticipation is the only thing that's really lacking, but beyond that, he's a fine player. Should we get promoted, I'll need to replace him. Until then, definitely first choice. Kenny Hernandez - A striker I'm retraining as an MR - Winger. Pace isn't explosive, but his crossing and dribbling are good, and he can still improve much more. Another player who's wanted by the top. Was pretty consistent throughout the season and developed well. Definitely one for the future. Ivan Ledezma - Started off as a back-up playmaker, but was brought in when my original choice didn't perform. He did well in the AMC position, but has struggled a little since we've moved to a flat-four in midfield. Not particularly well-suited to my current DLP role in midfield, which is worrying. If we can strengthen defensively, maybe we can move him up. If not, we might look to take advantage of the interest in him. As far as the first season youth products are concerned...they're rubbish. Vladimir Araya is the best of a bad bunch, but I doubt he'll ever reach the ability needed to become a regular in the Primera B, let alone in the top of Chilean football. He'll get pre-season with the first team to see if he can make an impact in friendlies, but I'm not hopeful. Incoming transfers: Ramón Saéz - The left back was already on loan at the club and is coming in on a free transfer. He had a decent if unspectacular season and should be first-choice at the LB position if nothing drastic happens. Luis Torres - I intended to bring him in over the summer transfer period as a stop-gap as captain Washington Torres had aged to the point of uselessness, but because our DoF and HOYD had already made the maximum of three transfers (all three of which were rubbish and have gone straight into the U19 team) he wasn't allowed to sign in the mid-season window. As a result, he is coming in before the new season and I'm not sure if he'll be good enough. Mikel Arguinarena - Competition for Ledezma and someone who is good at set-pieces and penalties. Considering his low wage demands I'm extremely surprised he was unattached, but I'm not complaining. The goal for next season is to get promoted. The squad is there, and barring any big departures I should be able to improve upon this season. Key transfer targets are left footed left winger and (if Luis Torres turns out to be crap) an additional central defender. Thanks for reading. Next updates will be shorter, but I wanted to give a comprehensive overview of the first season. Comments welcome! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timetxu Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Good luck! Coquimbo has a beautiful stadium if I remember correctly. Don't worry about the rules, I'm sure there's enough people here to shed a light on that. The positive is that, starting 2018 all Soutg American seasons are calendar long (except for Argentina, but don't get me started about the AFA). At least your youngsters will develop quickly! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefenseLover Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Let's just hope you get on Argentinian football, It's madness! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJHoutman88 Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 With the 2019 pre-season and transfer window over, the squad has mainly remained intact. Only one player left the club: Cabrera had potential, but was not likely to grow quickly enough to warrant keeping him. Considering the goal this season in promotion, I was worried he'd be unable to keep up with the required level to feature next season, even if he could cling on this year. Last season he only played in four games and didn't excel in any of them. On top of the three transfers mentioned in the previous update (Luis Torres, Ramón Sáez and Mikel Arguinarena), two further players joined the club. The first was Ángelo Quiñónes, who comes in on loan from Santiago Wanderers to provide competition for Kenny Hernandez in the right midfielder position. He's probably the better option if only because he's pacier, but in the interest of youth development and U20 rules, Hernandez is more likely to start. The second is Matías Caroca, who's basically just a squad-filler providing some much needed depth. Last season we only had one midfielder with defensive capacities, now we have three. https://i.gyazo.com/7c347b931d5a003af252544aa4f15f25.png[/img] Pre-season went fine. We went undefeated, only conceding a simple goal against the lower league teams. We also played O'Higgins and Colo-Colo from the top division, with the latter spoiling our perfect pre-season record, equalising in the 91st minute of our friendly. https://i.gyazo.com/638b8018a484b1496659b42b7fb95261.png[/img] My preferred first team for this season will look like this, with Rojas being gradually faded out as his physical stats continue to decline. Ledezma and Arguinarena are almost exactly identical in terms of stats, with Arguinarena possessing a slight edge in the mental side of things. Both players are expected to feature equally. On 23-12-2017 at 16:17, DefenseLover said: Let's just hope you get on Argentinian football, It's madness! On 23-12-2017 at 15:50, Timetxu said: Good luck! Coquimbo has a beautiful stadium if I remember correctly. Don't worry about the rules, I'm sure there's enough people here to shed a light on that. The positive is that, starting 2018 all Soutg American seasons are calendar long (except for Argentina, but don't get me started about the AFA). At least your youngsters will develop quickly! Gracias a todos! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJHoutman88 Posted December 28, 2017 Author Share Posted December 28, 2017 The first half of the season is over, with us sitting in a disappointing fifth place. Mainly to do with our lack of goals. We're near the bottom for chances created, despite our general dominance over smaller teams. Our midfield lacks the creativity to unlock defenses, and with most teams sticking men against the ball when playing us, we'll need to rethink our attacking plan. We don't concede much, either, though, leading to (far too many) draws. That said, a good run of form could see us shoot up the table, and we're unbeaten in six games. The game against Valdivia was a bit of a disaster. We got two penalties against but were in the game for a long time. An overly attacking formation in the latter quarter saw the 1-0 score end up a 4-0 drubbing. After that we went on a good run, only losing to San Marcos Arica, who beat us in the cup last season and managed to counter their way to win once again. In terms of player performance, no-one's been standing out. Our strikers, Reymundez en Muñoz, have been performing well, but our inability to consistently perform well shows through in the average ratings. In the cup, we played top of the league Cobresal, who proved difficult to break down despite our dominance. A disappointing early exit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.