[FM19] Not all that glitters is gold.

[tyler16]

Good looking signings. Here's to hoping the next couple intakes can replenish the youth ranks.

How do you think Gutierrez compares to the best players that have been at the club?

[_Ben_]

February 2036

Our defeats were nearly ten months to the day apart - losing last April to Real Madrid and we suffer the same fate in the Spanish capital this year. However, the rest of the month was perfect and we are doing all we can to remain in this title fight.

[_Ben_]

March 2036

Around the world

As I progress through the game world, I sometimes lose track of what is happening and why I am facing certain teams in Europe. There are few surprises, partly down to only running the top tier of all other nations, so there have been no rags to riches stories similar to my own but West Ham currently sit in 2nd in the Premier League, 14 points behind run away leaders Man City, looking for their first title since 2032 and their second in fifteen years.  La Liga is headed by Real Madrid and Real Sociedad - the surprise package have not finished above fifth in the whole time of the game but are closely followed by Barca and Atletico. PSG are, with seven games left, 26 points ahead as they look to continue their dominance - with only Lyon winning a league (2019/20) since the game began. Inter, the dominant side in Italy, are ten clear of Milan as they look to add their eight straight title and Schalke sit clear at the top of the Bundesliga, with giants Bayern down in fourth.

Youth Intake

Admittedly, I got a little angry at this one.

I don't use the stars now but I am aware that these youth players are being compared, potential definitely, to those currently at my club. I have a couple of world class players in a league whereby we stand out as one of the three or four head and shoulders above the others. I, therefore, know that, despite the clearly high youth rating Portugal has, that the likelihood of repeatedly churning out top quality players within a league and nation of this reputation is going to be hard - particularly when Aveiro is one of the smaller cities when compared with Lisbon and Porto. Despite this - I saw a 'stands out as one of the better players this year' and then a plethora of 'DNA' attributes between the range of 5 and 9 along with a host of terrible personalities.

Previously, I had said that I would keep all of the youth players and try and develop them in some way. However, the aforementioned anger saw me release all but five of these players and, even then, I have doubts how good they could be.

However - here are the best two:

Alberto a dual national Spanish-Portuguese full back who has a good personality and a very decent set of base attributes. He wasn't identified as a standout of this intake, which may suggest he doesn't have a huge amount of potential but I like this initial player. He is a little on the small and fragile side which inhibits his aerial presence but crossing is the lowest of all the 'key' attributes for this position and role (and I do use a WB(s) at left back) so some development should see him with no real weak areas. His decisions and bravery may see me adding a trait such as diving in to tackles. He'll stay on the WB(s) training schedule and initially I will look at developing his strength as that will have a knock on to his jumping reach - which will be of assistance in the full back role. Following that, I will look at his game and see what areas I would like to focus on developing - should he have the potential to be a 'specialist' - e.g. focus on developing his passing to a high standard.

Interestingly, he lists Rodrigo Palacio as one of his favoured personnel - a M.Citizen with Evasive, plays mind games and unflappable (Garcia is Pro and Evasive) with a Spanish second nationality but with an urgent pressing style (linked to work rate?), a mental coaching style (I would say that these are above average mental attributes for a 15 year old), an attacking coach (linked to the more solid attacking attributes and the support role [rather than the normal NFB(d) or FB(d) that they normally generate with]) as well as a coach who likes to allow creative freedom (again - I would say that his vision is above average for a 15 year old full back). In the past, I have looked extensively at what makes the player what they are and I'm probably clutching at straws here, but it's an interesting thing to look at with each intake and definitely makes focusing on youth staff really imperative.

He also recently starred with a goal and an assist in the Youth League quarter final victory over Ajax - not a bad first appearance for your new club as a 15 year old!

I don't, generally, like strikers who can't pass as I don't expect him to be within a goalscoring distance every time he touches the ball so that will be the first job for Vaz. However, I do like that he can control the ball, run with it and finish, whilst getting into solid positions when we are in the build up. Therefore - I don't want to look at his passing and immediately want to retrain him elsewhere. His mental attributes aren't too bad - composure can quickly be turned to double figures as can anticipation and his physical statue with grow as he does. I want to him to unlearn his player trait of not diving in as that kind of work rate up-top could be a good asset in my first line of defence and I don't necessarily mind if we give a foul away there instead of conceding a dangerous ball over the top. However- he has a competitive streak so this could see a lot of bookings even though his aggression isn't high.

Initially - I am going to train him as a T(A) because it focuses on technique, passing, decisions, composure and anticipation - without a lot of the added attributes that a CF(A), for example, does. It also leaves a lot of high physical attributes that will grow with age and team training. Further down the line - I want him to train as a PF(A). He will also have an additional focus of passing and final third, rotated every few months.

I can't get a lot from his favoured backroom staff but he is listed as level headed, which, when added to his F.Det personality gives no indication of his professionalism. He listed Matheusinho as his favoured staff (amongst others) and he is an attacking coach with a balanced personality (has a DET of 11 so this could actually match Vaz apart from his own rating of 16) and the same media handling style. This gets really interesting if the coaching staff are ex-players and I know what kind of player they were - sadly, I have no idea who this Brazilian U19 coach is...

[_Ben_]

8 hours ago, tyler16 said:

Good looking signings. Here's to hoping the next couple intakes can replenish the youth ranks.

How do you think Gutierrez compares to the best players that have been at the club?

Thanks - Gutierrez is (by classification only) behind the 'world class goalkeeper' Braz, 'elite' midfielder and striker Valderamma and Folha. Aside from that, he probably is behind just Medina in terms of quality but my youngster, Tiago Silva, is not far from him - if I was to look at pure Current Ability. He does fit in with my DNA and is one of six players to have a rating of over 12 in all of them:

In terms of my youth ranks - I'm in a bit of a strange place...

I have some really decent youngsters but, when I'm still trying to give it all to win the league, struggle to give them time and chance to develop. If I was still midtable, or I was running away with the league, I could definitely afford much more time for them. I have three solid squads of players and only two or three of the U19 are just 'stuck in' to fill out the team, without a solid developmental plan in place for them. It's just how much first team game time I can allow them given how good Porto seem to be.

[_Ben_]

Whole squad mentoring

The above is a picture of each of the 'best XIs' from my U19 team to my first team - and their DET and personality. I am looking at how my own squad has had an influence on their personality and determination level. I found tutoring too easy in past versions - I'd get Medina and Gutierrez (once he turned 23) to work through all the defensive and offensive players and be made; but now that doesn't work, I need a new approach.

I have barely used the mentoring tool on this year's version - for two reasons. A) What you can see below - the squad is already classed as 'highly professional' and it is rubbing off on other players and B) I have tried to recruit players with good personalities and that has kind of masked my inability to get the most from this.

Firstly - some squad background. Every player in the U19 team (left image) was produced by my club so there is no external recruitment to find the best 15/16 year olds. The U23 team is comprised largely of recruited players: Tutinho, Guedes, Miranda, Azevedo, Tomas, Franco and Eusebio have all come from elsewhere. Each of these has a positive personality and a reasonably high attribute for DET. My first team is also made up of largely recruited players and they have all kept the same personality - only G.Marques, Silva, Tinoco and Folha are academy graduates. Some of the now-first team players I have purchased, at a younger age, had better personalities but they have diminished due to the attributes and personality of the team leaders - Folha, Braz and D.Marques. Ideally - I will have the likes of Medina and Gutierrez around for long enough for them to become team leaders and assert their personality on to others. There is a definite development of positive personalities as the players go through the squads.

Looking at my own players who have made the grade from the youth team to the U23 team - they have all changed points for DET: Fernando 14 to 12, Balde 3 to 7, Carvalheira 11 to 13 and have all picked up a fairly pro personality - largely down to Folha as well as Bolas (F.Pro with Det of 14) and Vieira (F.Amb with Det of 14) who used to be team leaders.

Now - it looks clear that players are seemingly 'learning from/adapting to' the team leaders and this furthers my want for Model Citizens as team leaders (even though Folha is my favourite player) so that my own youth (it seems that there is no issue with being in different squads to gain the squad impact) get the best head start before they make the first team and can be mentored.

Currently, my only first team mentoring is a group containing Medina and Marques (13 DET to 14) and Tiago Silva (20 DET to 15) in attempts to convert them to M.Citizens. This approach will hopefully mean they'll come to me with a decent level and my influential players (Medina, not yet a team leader, has dropped from 18 DET to 17 but not lost his M.Citizen tag) can 'finish' them off.

----

I feel like the progression is natural and I shouldn't worry too much about the personality of my intake, provided I have either recruited or developed first team players with a good personality and determination level and team leaders who are able to rectify that if and when they finally reach the first team.

[_Ben_]

April 2036

We are continuing to do all that we can but have looked far less secure this month than in past ones. Two down at home to Braga (coincidentally both goals from a striker I sold them in the summer), it took some late magic to turn it around. That was echoed with a late screamer from Bolas to secure the win over Rio Ave and, despite our dominance, we didn't settle the Benfica game to the last ten minutes either.

This title is going to the wire and we travel to Porto in the last game of the season. At this rate, only a win will do!

[_Ben_]

Avoid defeat and it's ours...

[_Ben_]

It was at this moment, the eighty-third minute of the game, that it all slipped away from us...

 

[kidthekid]

gutting way to end the season. But still it was a great one, you and Porto only lost once.

[Fosse]

That is gutting

[_Ben_]

15 hours ago, kidthekid said:

gutting way to end the season. But still it was a great one, you and Porto only lost once.

 

6 hours ago, Fosse said:

That is gutting

Absolutely, yes. Thanks for the kind words, gents. The positive I can take from this though is that 85 points would have won me the league on all but one other occasion in the seventeen years the game has being running for. Porto are going to struggle to repeat that - we need to do our best to do so.

[DavidBeckham]

Tough luck but you can be very proud of your achievement! We go again!

[_Ben_]

Transfer Dealings

Out

Transfers this summer have taken a different step - I have offloaded two players and then spent a lot of time curating loan moves that will be hopefully allow these players to develop with each other. Firstly - youth graduate Francisco Bolas left for Lyon for £9m. It's always sad to sell on a player who has been within the first team for such a long time (he came in the same intake as Folha) but, to be fair, he was stagnating and not getting the game time he deserved. Plus, it coincided with Diogo Vargas returning from a three year loan stint away and now being ready for the first team. Secondly, Gabriel Mendonca moved to China for £6m. He cost me £30k as a 16 year old and was clearly my last choice defender, again not getting first team football. 

The rest of my dealings look like this:

I have utilised my three feeder clubs (Benfica Castelo Branco, Real and Uniao de Leiria) to move on groups of players who will play well. Benfica are a third tier side and, like Real (second tier), have no limit to the amount of players I can send. I have tried to send players for positions that will compliment each other but also allow my own players to form the spine of the team. Leiria are in the top flight and are restricted to three of my players so have a starting centre back, centre mid and striker. Moreirnense are not affiliated but their manager has a good WWY attribute and, as soon as there was interest for Jaime, I offered them Bocanegra as I would like them to develop together. I will watch their progress look to continue this.

In

It is rare that I start a season in a stronger place than last year, but I might do this time. Firstly - Soares and Menendez are youth players who may come good at some point but the signings of Riverola and old face Ramirez are quite fantastic for me. Firstly, the Spaniard:

At 33, he's in the twilight of his career but his physical attributes tell me that he can continue playing for some time yet. The man has had a glittering career, playing in two of Europe's top clubs and he still retains his tag as an elite centre back. His 106 caps for Spain come at a time whereby they are not the dominant force that they used to be, but he's spent over a decade playing the biggest games available to a professional footballer. He also carries a good level of Determination and a fantastic personality - which will allow this to happen:

For some reason, M.Citizen Median only has an average influence (also is highly influential but not as old nor experienced) so this will hopefully have a good impact on my younger players without passing on any unnecessary traits as he has none.

Secondly, an old face:

And a face that has improved into an absolute beast since he left me. A short spell at Benfica saw PSG splash out on him but he's not done a lot there, on the pitch at least. Gone are his days at right back and, according to the training page (which shows the last role he was trained in) they are attempting to turn him into a Libero. He's a little on the short side but this does give me a fantastic excuse to have a look at the 3-4-3 again - which would look like this (some fiddling with roles necessary):

That XI is verging on the best side I have ever put together and is scarily good! I will have a tinker during pre-season.

[tyler16]

Squad looks amazing, could this be the year?

[kidthekid]

Riverola is excellent. I keep hearing that natural fitness is the main attribute in determining how long players retain their physical skills, but if it is, then this bodes well for you.

[_Ben_]

21 hours ago, tyler16 said:

Squad looks amazing, could this be the year?

Who knows! The depth isn't amazing but I am still very much focusing on youth development rather than recruiting a full side - so this is a common side effect.  Hopefully the home grown youngsters can be useful to manage fitness levels throughout the busy months.

5 hours ago, kidthekid said:

Riverola is excellent. I keep hearing that natural fitness is the main attribute in determining how long players retain their physical skills, but if it is, then this bodes well for you.

He is - and to think that he wanted just £20k p/w. He's done it all on the big stage but only has about 350 career games (for comparison - he is 33 whereas Andre Folha has 437 at the age of 26 and Braz just 10 shy of Riverola at 23) so I hope he's got some games left in his legs.

[_Ben_]

August/September 2036

A very solid start to the season for us, but one that finished with a poor performance and result against Benfica - meaning that we've already lost the same amount of games this season as we did in the whole of last season. I played a second string team for the tie against Moreirense (if you have less than 5 players from the previous two squads selected you get fined and I was trying to hit that - only managed 4 with injuries and other fixtures) but that wasn't even the tie of the round as Arouca and Aves played out a fourteen goal thriller. Defensively, we have been particularly solid as I have used the early months to drill in our set piece routines in training - particularly with two new players in the first team squad, an unusually high amount for this type of save.

Lastly, and something I plan to do more regularly, I'd like to share the development of a youngster from my academy:

Monteiro has made ridiculous strides, considering he looked like this when generating. He's made nearly three points of progress in some areas in the last sixteen months since he generated and that is something that I don't think I've actually ever seen before. This brings into question what is making him develop that well - considering he doesn't have the best personality nor a good level of determination. He made eight appearances for the first team last year and has scored and assisted twice in his only appearance so far this season, a full 90 minutes in the league against Boavista. I'm really excited about his development and he's going to get plenty of chances in the first team.

[_Ben_]

October/November 2036

A busy couple of months after I forgot to upload the league table after October and played on through but one where we have regained some form and are beginning to get into our stride. October was a nearly perfect month, with just the one goal conceded against Besitkas and some free scoring attacking play, too. We've had to fight somewhat in November and the comeback, from 2 down going into injury time, against Guimaraes could be one of those moments, and points, that I look back on at the end of the season.

Once again - the familiar foe of Benfica and Porto are ahead of us but, with a loss already to Benfica (Benfica lost to Sporting and Porto to Benfica) I am readying myself for another three horse race.

We have also successfully qualified for the knockout rounds of the Champions League even with the game in Turkey left to come. Porto are also through, topping a group containing Bayern whereas Benfica and Sporting have progressed through their Europa League groups. Braga lost in a qualifier against a tough Fiorentina side and Portimonense fell against Aberdeen. This shows the weakness of the rest of the league and something that will need to be magically rectified if the league, as a whole entity, is to grow and develop into the best in Europe.

In other news - we have moved into our newly expanded stadium:

This posts youth watch comes in the form of Miguel Campino:

Now entering his third season (second full one) at the club, Campino has made great strides in the RPM training role - impressing at U23 level and in the U18 in their European exploits. He's made a total of six appearances for the first team, scoring once and I quite like his attribute spread. Not amazingly special going forward nor really tall enough enough to be the anchor in front of the defence - he's physical enough, hard working enough and good enough with the ball to roam around. His concentration is the only holdback, at this age, for that as he has a tendency to get a little lost. His current focus is on his work in the final third as his end product can be a bit wayward - particularly with his developing decisions attribute.

[_Ben_]

December 2036

It is very much a game of 'points on the board' as that will win the league at the end of the day but we are a mere point behind Porto, with two games in hand and were a single minute on injury time away from an away victory against them. Against the run of play, the champions grabbed the equaliser but, aside from that game, we have had another high quality month although we have somewhat struggled in front of goal - especially when compared with other months. The result against Sporting shows that they are still too far off the pace to be a challenge to us this season, and, other results aside, it could all come down to the game when Porto visit us.

Elsewhere - our U23 squad are performing well...

I believe I am slowly reverting back to a youth only save which mirrors the first nine years of this save. To do that, I need to slowly phase out the first team players, which, if done in one go, would have significant impact on our on-field performances. However, at a youth level - I am trying to move on all the players I have brought in to leave just the academy products. This will mean that I go into far more depth with my youth players as I try and squeeze every ounce of potential from them. I am already looking forward to March when the next back arrives.  Below is the standout from the last intake, Alberto Garcia:

He has played 20 times for the youth teams at an average of 7.15 and was given a full debut in the cup tie against Morierense, back in September, where he played 56 minutes, assisted a goal and ended with an 8.8 rating. Unfortunately, his personality has dropped from Pro to F.Pro but he is making good developments in the WB(S) regime and, now his game is evening out a bit more, I may look to pursue some player traits.

[_Ben_]

January 2037

It is rather unusual to see a couple of red dots together - in fact, I am unsure of when we last lost two in a row but we did not turn up against Braga and fully deserved to come home with nothing. Elsewhere in the month, we showed Porto who was boss in the Taca de Portugal and got back to our free scoring ways with a double over Portimonense. Shockingly, Andre Folha has missed four penalties this month but will remain as the taker due to my affinity for him. We are building a solid gap at the top but I do not want to take my foot off the pedal - particularly with a CL knockout tie against Dortmund to stress our already busy fixture list.

Elsewhere, I allowed a £23m bid from Watford. for Carlos Manuel Furtado to be accepted:

His wages are far more than I am willing to spend right now and, despite his value being significantly higher than what I sold him for (blame reputation of leagues and his standing within that team compared to mine for this) - I have moved on a player who wasn't generated by the club and wasn't a regular within the first team over the last 12 months. That is partly down to Cape Verde's, and other African countries, stupid scheduling of matches but also the signing of Ramirez, the performances of Valderrama and the development of now-wonderkid, Monteiro, who is getting a fair bit of first team action.

I have also let a couple of other non-homegrown youngsters move on for small deals and, despite the anguish, am one or two players short of having a complete academy-only set of age group squads. It is now up to me to spend time developing those and nurturing the talent already at the club into the first team.

[_Ben_]

February 2037

Since becoming one of the 'big teams' - I don't think I've had a month this poor. Despite the two wins - we have been absolutely dire and the five goals really flattered us. We can't blame fatigue as I have been looking at the training schedules and reducing or changing a lot of the workload, particularly post match and this has had a great impact on player condition but on the pitch, we are struggling. With a one striker formation, when Folha isn't firing - it's very tough to create chances but teams have just sat back against us and nullified any attacking threat.

We must hope that we can overpower Dortmund when they visit early next month and be thankful that Porto's game in hand was a draw against Benfica which keeps us atop the league, for now.

[_Ben_]

Youth Intake 2037

Another rejigged version of my youth intake landing page for this season but one that looks to help me develop the players by better identifying those who I should keep and those who, unfortunately, can be discarded straight away. First up - I've got their hierarchy; it may be a strange one but the 'better' players from a group tend to be the leaders or the most influential, so I'll use that as a starting point. Next to consider is their best role; there are several 'specialist' roles within the game - these include, but not exclusively, the CWB, VOL, REG, RPM, T, F9, CF - and by specialist, I mean a player who requires a large number of attributes to be proficient at that role - an AF may only require 10 or 11 whereas a CF would require 20+. Initially, I had shown my whole 'DNA' but I have now reduced that to two attributes that are very difficult to change considerable amounts - determination, which, in conjunction with personality, will have an impact on their development and work rate, probably the key single attribute for a gegenpress style of play. I also have media description on there as sometimes 'promising' can be an indicator of good potential.

From the initial list - Joao Filipe, Federico Muge, Luis Mota and Carlos Laranjeira will be released as they lack the required determination, work rate and personality to properly develop.

From the list that is left, my focus will be on the following players:

Tiago lists RES HoYD Matias Silvestre (16 DET and a focus upon defending coaching) as his favoured personnel and shares his level headed approach to handling the media. He has a good base of attributes already and is already considered to be consistent. His playing style is considered to be a leader so I may look to pursue leadership courses to help that attribute develop, too. He also fits the aforementioned 'specialist' role - being considered a complete wing back already, even if his stats are all average - there is a good spread and he has few weaknesses. I envisage that his determination will drop to fit in with the rest of the squad but hopefully he can work on his professionalism as that of my club rubs off on him. With him and Alberto Garcia, from the last intake, I could have my full backs set for the next decade or more.

Angelo is another one with a good base, although he tends to fit in with the profile of many young midfielders at the moment - he cannot specialise either going forward (poor finishing, vision and off the ball) nor staying back (poor tackling, strength and positioning). He has a good-ish personality and hopefully that will kick on along with his determination. With no huge gaps, I'll be training him as an RPM so that I can develop him as evenly as possible.

The other two that I want to keep an eye on are as follows:

[_Ben_]

March and April 2037

March was a tough month for us - we crashed out of the Champions League and, of course, Dortmund's late goal to take the aggregate win came from none other than our own ex-player, Teles. Three days later, we did the same thing against Moreirense, conceding late on meant that Porto took the lead in the league. We continued our poor form and actually scored from our only four shots against Leiria in another scrappy affair. A really strong victory over Benfica removed them from the title race before three further wins in the league have kept the pressure on.

Next month Porto come to us as we look to avenge the despair of losing the title at their ground last season. We do then have to go to Sporting so I must be wary of putting all my eggs in one basket!

[tyler16]

Enjoying the (re)emphasis on youth products. Interesting to see how you gauge ability without star indicators.

As far as the league goes, let's hope you get at a point against Porto at the bare minimum.

[_Ben_]

May 2037 (Part 1)

We nearly failed in our first game of the season - failing to break down a resilient but offensively flawed Maritimo side. It was a scrappy affair as you'd expect facing ten defenders but we controlled play even if we couldn't find the final ball. Marlon Valderrama came to our rescue with a slightly fortuitous goal deep into injury time. A good start to the month.

The pay back of all pay backs - and fully deserved too. If we were stifled against Maritimo, we were at our free flowing best at home to Porto, who had no answer. Losing Tiago Silva early meant I opted for a slightly more conservative approach but two goals before half time lifted our spirits. The hold up play of Folha was absolutely superb and we dominated the whole of the second half - and we should have had a couple more. The result puts us ahead of Porto but nothing can be taken for granted, yet.

[_Ben_]

May 2037 (Part 2)

We have again swung from comfortable victors to scrappy performers - Sporting gave us a really run for our money here and, had another fine performance and goal from Folha not started us off well, we could have been on the wrong end of a result here. I strayed from our 'normal' week of training and went for the 'big match' option but strangely felt that the players seemed rusty and under prepared for the fight at hand.

Anyway - three points leaves us heading into our final game in a commanding position:

Our head to head vs Porto is better so a point against 12th place Chaves will see us win the title. Elsewhere, Porto go to Braga who have the opportunity to usurp Sporting - although that has no impact on their qualification for different competitions.

[_Ben_]

May 2037 (Part 3)

Well rested and drilled in pretty much every area of the game, we headed into the home tie with a bumper crowd (although, strangely, not a sell out!) and started really well. An early penalty was missed and Andre Folha went on to literally have the worst game of the season - failing to add to his league-high 26 goals. Whilst the stats would agree with Porto manager Vitor Pereira's idea that they didn't try, Chaves managed one real chance - a goalmouth scramble in the eighty ninth minute. Great - especially when Porto were 5-0 up, too. We survived, and a chance fell to 18 year old Manuel Monteiro, who had only been on the pitch for six minutes, to seal the deal and ensure our first ever Primeira Liga title - the first since 2001 to not go to Benfica, Sporting or Porto and only the sixth winner, ever (in addition to Boavista and Belenenses).

A full run down will come after I can hopefully win the double - we face Braga in the Taca de Portugal final...

[Sysiphus]

Fantastic! Congratulations - well deserved!

[GylfiAsCharged]

Have caught up on this thread over the past couple of days. What a fantastic achievement, made all the more impressive by the meticulous effort that you've put into it, and the number of near-misses you've experienced in the years prior. 

Looking forward to seeing what impact you can have on Portuguese football's reputation as a whole!

[_Ben_]

18 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

Fantastic! Congratulations - well deserved!

 

6 hours ago, GylfiAsCharged said:

Have caught up on this thread over the past couple of days. What a fantastic achievement, made all the more impressive by the meticulous effort that you've put into it, and the number of near-misses you've experienced in the years prior. 

Looking forward to seeing what impact you can have on Portuguese football's reputation as a whole!

Thanks both! I didn't think it was ever going to happen - particularly after how Sporting matched us late in the season and knowing anything other than a win there would hand it back to Porto!

My preparations for retaining the title haven't started as planned (more on that later) but I am excited to see what we can do now.

[_Ben_]

Squad analysis

The above is an amalgamation of a couple of screens that give me a solid overview of what we have achieved, as individuals last season.  Firstly - I have, and always have done in the past, tended to be very strict with wage demands and squad statuses. I haven't really gone into much written detail but have tried to remain to a structure of wages and bonuses for my players based on how important they are to the squad. With the squad sorted by minutes played this season - you can see that I am not doing a bad job when it comes to playing them for an amount of minutes proportional to their status within my squad - but the key part is (now more than ever) that this is not about 'best' players but more about squad depth and the academy players I have available. For that reason, Diogo Marques is my key right back as I have only one of those anywhere near ready for first team football and, even with my affinity to him, Folha remains as key striker as we just haven't produced another good one. From this correlation alone, I would suggest that Diogo Vargas hasn't played enough but this may be a mistake as he leads all the other CMs on assists per/90 minutes (bar Campino who played significantly fewer minutes than the rest and was mainly used in easier games anyway) and maintains a decent score for interceptions and dribbles - but again, this is comprised that I've asked him to play in both of the (interceptor - CM(d) and dribbler - RPM(s)) roles.

Next up - I obviously can look at statistics over the season. Folha has scored well and AML Gutierrez is second with rotational/backup AML Vitor Pereira also in double figures. I would expect this as they are the two most attacking roles. Pedro Tinoco, the supporting winger is in double figures too and he has also attained that in his assists - his main job. Marques, the dead ball taker has reached double figures as has RPM Valderrama. Guilherme and Monteiro, who have rotated much more than the aforementioned players - have a combined 12 assists (this excludes Furtado who was sold in January too) so there are no issues here. I am not playing him as a Lib(a) but he has all the player traits and attributes - so I would have expected a bit more from Medina going forward, but he has been solid defensively - leading the centre halves in terms of interceptions, where he often steps out, picks up the ball and moves forward with it.

I like to look at the all time appearances and goals for an indication of how well a player has performed or whether they are experienced enough to maintain a first team spot. For example, this season Andre Folha has scored 0.74 goals every game (or a goal every 1.45 games) whereas over his career, he has a record of a goal every 0.61 games (or a goal every 1.62 games) which would suggest that this was a really good season. Similarly, Pereira has had a better scoring season (0.52 this season to 0.34 career). This doesn't really go any further than this - I have two youngsters who are breaking into the first team and if I take a games per year average from the age of 15 [when they generate] I can work out whether they are entering the team at an earlier age than their counterparts - e.g. Monteiro = 11.6 GPY at his age, Riverola = 21.6 GPY, Braz = 43.2 GPY but these figures are offset once they have spent many seasons in the first team picture.

My last one looks at whether they are homegrown or not. Going for an academy focused game - the 'Trained at club (15-21)' is important here but doesn't tell the whole picture. Riverola, Medina and Gutierrez obviously do not fit in to this, but nor does Valderamma (signed at 19), Xuxa (signed at 18), Andre Guilherme (signed at 16), Diogo Vargas (signed at 16), Armando Braz (signed at 17), Diogo Marques (signed at 18), Ricardo Almeida (signed at 16). This actually means that I don't have a huge amount of home-grown academy talent within the first team. We are title winners but, moving forward, I may need to sacrifice some short term gains in order to make progress in my long term aim.

It's been a great season!

[_Ben_]

Player Sale

I was quiet about Gutierrez in the end of season report, and this was the reason why. It met his minimum release clause and he wouldn't sign a new deal as soon as he knew of their interest. He's a really top player, as seen below, and will be a big loss considering I only have one other left winger who has even had first team experience (and that wasn't with us!)

[_Ben_]

The next generation of ACADEMY talent

Notice the capitalisation - there are big chances necessary. To make things harder for myself as I move back to academy only players - I have decided to move on all the non-academy players from the youth teams. Below is a screenshot of all the players currently out on loan, with most of these ready to challenge for the first team:

The four at the bottom, Agostinho, Djassi, Rodrigues and Santos are the only ones from that bunch from my own academy - the rest have been purchased for relative peanuts from other clubs. Those four also happen to be the worst of the bunch but, in line with what I want to achieve, I have to move the rest of that list on. Amongst them are four wonderkids (and one wonderkid M.Citizen striker - a role we have no depth in) and with money being no object, I just am happy to move them on for a nominal fee with no extra clauses.

Let the rebuild, from the ground up, commence!

[_Ben_]

Player Profile: Batis Balde

With Gutierrez gone and just Vitor Pereira left to fill the void on the left wing, I needed to promote from within. That role has fallen to Batis Balde, a Portuguese/Bissau-Guinean who came through the academy back in 2033. Batis has been dubbed by the media as the next Cristiano Ronaldo but, unlike his fellow Portuguese winger hasn't broken in to the first team at his club during his teenage years.

Batis was a mainstay in both my U23 and U19 teams for four years - making 172 appearances in total across the age groups, scoring 92 goals and racking up 37 assists. These stats put him in contention for a first team birth a few times but he was always usurped by recruited players and the fact his development hasn't been fantastic. Last year, I moved him to my affiliate, Real, in the second tier, where he played 12 games in the second half of the season, scoring once with an average of 7.01 - helping them lift the title and join us in the top tier.

Next is where the issues lie:

The image on the left shows him upon generation, a 15 year old with an F.Pro personality but terrible determination. Since then, the squad's personality has pulled that up, but at 7, it is still well below average. He's made some progress - a few points here and there in his key places but also looks to have developed just as much technically as he has mentally - which is strange when considering the onus I put on tactical work at a young age for my players. 

Normally - wingers, in particular, can look poor because their extremely physical attributes eat up a lot of their ability and render their technical and mental skills somewhat average. Batis isn't really a speed merchant but does somewhat lack a rounded game. I am hoping that, unlike 18 year old Monteiro, he can be a later bloomer, especially as his determination is improving and he will be part of mentoring units with other's who can influence that further.

My staff believe that he is a solid player:

If he's good enough for this league - he'll get time to play in it. This must be my new mantra with what is quickly becoming a very small squad. I think, however, that he'll fit my tactical approach pretty well. He has two player traits that I've taught him - 'knocks ball past opponent' and 'gets into opposition area' - which I feel will be invaluable given his height and strength - even if his heading is poor. He is not one that I need to change roles/styles of play to incorporate but I know that I've got to be a little more tactically flexible going forward...

[_Ben_]

The Auri-Negro Press

I coined the style of play as the Auri-Negro (yellow-black) press in honour of our club nickname but I want to try and get some thoughts down about how our play is geared and some things that my own thoughts on football carry over into the games that we play.

Firstly - what football do I want to see:

• Solid defensively (a target of less than 0.75 goals conceded per game in the league).
• High press in order to win the ball back close to their goal.
• A structured back line to deal with balls that evade the press with some overlapping when going forward.
• Patient build up with all players in the defensive third being comfortable on the ball.
• To be incisive in the final third - moving quickly and vertically when a chance comes about.
• To utilise set plays where possible but to never put ourselves at risk of conceding from an attacking situation

Secondly - what specifics do I want to bring to a match:

• To start cautiously - aiming to spend 10 minutes finding our feet/not falling behind.
• Use of early tactical substitutes if there is a mismatch.
• Use of shouts to motivate players to perform better.
• To retain possession once we have scored a goal - remaining cautious when we are most at risk of conceding.
• Heavy rotation between games/utilising all substitutes in games.

 

With those things in mind - I can look to build my on-pitch tactical approach as well of my off-pitch training approach in order to facilitate the best chance to develop these attributes and practice these things.

My tactical shape has not altered much in previous years - we still play a 4-2-3-1 but I have developed much more of a freedom within the roles and players, yet still maintaining the core principles of high press, solid defence and patient in defence but urgent in transition. I am currently working from a base formation of SK(s), WB(s), CD(D), CD(d), FB(a), CM(d), CM(s), IF(a), AP(s),W(s),PF(a) - a very generic gegenpress styled set of roles, but then taking that and finding a tweak or a slightly different style that could be used given any possible opposition or threat. The current iteration of that formation that is being used most looks like this:

This shape is made for the emergence of Batis Balde in the side - a tall inside forward who can be a threat in the box. The Mez(s) and the FB(a) provide a joint over/underlap with the winger, on support, as play is focused down the right hand side. A quick ball (the winger, Tinoco, is learning the 'Hits Early Crosses' trait) has, on several occasions, allowed Balde a tap in or an aerial duel, which he has won, at the far post.

In previous years (definitely on FM18) I was able to set preset team instructions that I could name and then subsequently switch between as games played out - meaning I could have a full set of team instructions for the start of the game that different slightly to when we were a goal up, for example. I am toying with the idea of making many different tactics - for example this could be called Auri-Negro Press Focus Right ATT, for example, and then I could have one with the suffix DEF for when we need to control a lead. However, I don't feel like that is a) the most effective and b) the most realistic - they aren't different tactics per se, more reactionary or predicted for threats. 

[_Ben_]

Movement in action

Just two matches into the season and I have twice seen my overloading tactic work. Both times have led to very good goals but it is the movement in the first instance that is impressing me. In both - we build from the right hand side - overloading their left back with our right back, centre mid (Mez(s)) and the winger before an early ball is played over to the inside forward - who, like the striker, has managed to get one on one with the defender due to the bodies being drawn to the right flank.

(I am just getting to grips with Gyazo GIF - these aren't amazing examples...)

1. Vitor Periera vs Boavista.

2. Batis Balde vs Braga

 

[_Ben_]

Mutiny?

On the back of our title winning season, I'd have hoped that there would be nobody making noises about wanting to move on. Sadly, I was wrong. Marlon has had his head turned by a number of suitors and I need to weigh up whether selling him will help us going forward, as he's become a very unsettled member of the team, has influenced several other people and has now started to train really poorly.

Initially - I would be delighted to see him out of the door - a £60m+ play day would be amazing for the club and the improvements that I could make. However, we already have over £200m in the bank and I cannot go out and sign any players unless they are from my own academy, as my restrictions imply. So - this is what I do have at the club - should he make the move...

______

I would say that both Vargas and Silva are both suited to the more defensive role that I employ - although both could figure in a more advanced play making position if I had an out and out holding player or played with a DM instead of an AM. I don't feel that either of these are direct replacements for Marlon and Tiago has spent the past few years as his midfield partner.

The natural replacement is Miguel, who has learnt very similar player traits and is similar positionally - even if he does lack the dribbling and finishing ability that Valderrama has. Is developing really well an has a good personality which is showing as he is regularly my best trainer, something that Marlon is not at the moment. I would now suggest that Monteiro, the AMC who also came in to the team last season, is now a fully rotational option and, with the first team football required, I don't think that Campino is far away.

Cardoso is a different option and his possible emergence in the first team could allow either Vargas or Silva to have their shackles removed and allow them more forward thinking freedom. Despite being 'best suited' as a Carrilero, that lacks the out-and-out defensive support of a CM(d) and I don't feel that I could play one along side a Mezzala so would need him to develop into a more defensive minded player. He's never been rated too highly by the backroom team here but according to them isn't far from Primeira Liga level - so would potentially work as a backup.

Another very different approach would be to use Virgilio. He's not anywhere near natural as a central midfielder this point but has made quite a few average appearances on the right wing, mainly in cup games over the years. However - he fits pretty much what I want my Mezzala (or central winger) to do - run with the ball. His passing, dribbling and technique is not amazing (my staff do feel that he has space to grow into, though) but he is exceptionally fast and breaking into the half space at the right time would be pretty much his sole job - with decent decision making, wrok rate and off the ball, he'll contribute as much in the transitional play as anyone else. My coaches believe he is good enough for this level and would fill in as a backup on the wing for Tinoco, although he isn't technically as good as I want a winger to be.

Some food for though, definitely...

[_Ben_]

August 2037

A very promising start to the season with four green dots, one cup victory and six goals for Andre Folha, who seems to be relishing a change from a PF(a) to a CF(a). The league table this season does, however, show us absolutely nothing but we've already built up a solid goal difference which I know can make a point difference at the business end of the season.

[_Ben_]

September 2037

A month that looks much better on paper than it did from watching the games, where we have often been particularly poor in front of goal. I have to accept that teams are now going to sit men behind the ball more than ever following our league win and I need to find ways to counter that. We conceded twice against Basel, where twice their striker just tore through our defence, rounded the keeper and slotted in - I don't think we've really ever conceded that type of goal before. Dortmund are the other side in our group and the side that knocked us out of the competition last year.

[_Ben_]

October 2037

We continue to grind out wins where necessary - there was nothing pretty about victories over Guimaraes, Sporting and Porto this month but they are three of the four biggest challengers to us - so having an early season gap is huge. One name is repeatedly seen on the scoresheet and that is Andre Folha, who has notched 22 goals before November - a simply stunning return for the 28 year old.

Following his strop, Marlon Valderrama has played just 30 minutes of competitive football this year as he continues to train awfully and know that I cannot discuss it with him. I feel that we do miss his presence but should a sale happen in January - I think we can cope and the deal will be completed at my price, and not his demands.

[_Ben_]

Couldn't have gone much better...

The mentoring group was working but this has just accelerated the process massively!

[_Ben_]

November 2037

Our 'worst' month to date when you consider the amount of wins but the Dortmund loss is largely irrelevant following our win over Basel - we are into the knockout phase with a game left over. The draw against Benfica was unfortunate as they are not really firing on all cylinders this year and it has brought our winning streak to an end but the solace we can take from this is that Porto lost away to Sporting so the gap opens to four points.

With three new players seeking more football within the first team squad (Monteiro, Campino and Balde) this season - giving game time to my younger players has been hard but here is the progress I have made on that front:

17 year old Alberto Garcia has fully usurped 21 year old Fernando as the next full back to progress to the team whereas 16 year old right back Mucha had an outstanding debut in our 8-1 win over Gil Vicente. I hope to be able to offer opportunities in future for those players I deem good enough...

[_Ben_]

Milestone

[_Ben_]

December 2037

A rare defeat - albeit in a game whereby my goalkeeper went off injured and, being as I haven't named a substitute on the bench for a good ten years, we faced trouble! Perfect, once again, aside from that - even if it took a lucky only goal to get us our extra time win in the cup.

Our strikers are on fire at the moment, as seen below:

[_Ben_]

Good Riddance

6 months of atrocity ends, on my terms.

[_Ben_]

January 2038

The loss against Porto was pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of another Taca da Liga trophy but does give them an advantage - knowing that they have beaten us this season (albeit on penalties). The Rio Ave match, on the other hand, was an abysmal performance and, as such, our lead is cut to two.

[_Ben_]

Player Development

Below I have mish-mashed a few screens together to show the progress of a player who I had written off at the intake but kept because of his solid personality. Much like Andre Folha, years ago, who I said wouldn't ever make much - it seems Hugo Claro is trying his hardest to prove me wrong again. Below are the improvements (copied from the attribute development screen) that he has made from March 2037 to February 2038.

[_Ben_]

Depth issues

Below is a screenshot of every player that is contracted to Beira-Mar (I currently have nobody out on loan):

Whilst my first team squad is strong and I have some promising players in the U23 - Mucha, Garcia, Claro and Vaz are the main ones, I really lack any sufficient depth with Mourinho and Martins initially tagged in last year's intake but unable to make the step into the more senior squad, yet. With the focus solely on the academy - I really need to make sure that I have deep intakes whereby I can maybe introduce two or three players every five years into the first team. 

At the moment - it's difficult to rotate as we don't have enough players to fill out all of my teams for their competitive fixtures.

[_Ben_]

February 2038

A month that looks really good on paper but I worry that the draw against Portimonense has allowed Porto back in and I also worry that taking only a one goal lead to Madrid is going to be a very difficult thing to defend. We lost Andre Folha to injury this month and whilst it re-assures me that is more the role than the player that scores (Pereira has been on fire in the CF(a) role) - we do really miss his presence up top. Things are also looking tighter at the back too, following a couple of training changes after the game against Real.

[_Ben_]

2038 Youth Intake

As you can see from the amount of stars next to the players names already, that this intake is a fantastic one. We have standout players plus a solid level of depth and a number of players who are going to enter the U19 team next year. Last year, I had a hunch that hierarchy has a correlation with ability, particularly current ability, and I think that I am moving towards proving that - although Joao Tavares is an exception to that and will be released as he has awful technical skills, an awful personality and a lack of determination and work rate. I then look at the 'other players' and, as you'll see, I've not identified any of those are potential star players and the majority of them have poor personalities, lack determination and work rate and are more likely to find themselves being released as the year goes on and as they don't develop. However, Hugo Claro, as pictured a couple of posts up, was not rated highly and classed as an 'other player' last year - however his personality (F.Pro)  at DET of 14 may have assisted this. Also, I seem to be making a correlation between media description and CA - promising appears to indicate a higher PA but if they have 'young' in front of their description - it has, for me, indicated a lesser current ability, as demonstrated here by Ventura, Vieira and Vaz not having that and also being the best three of the intake.

Another thing worth noting from this is the ages of the players - Vaz has just turned 16, Muge will do so next month but Ventura won't be 16 for another five months and, as such, I would expect him to be significantly less developed (and I've seen how much a player can develop in that time).

Lastly - the intake now has a big bearing on my summer plans for selling players. For example - Ruben Almeida is now 25 and is a backup player at left back to Xuxa. In the reserve squad, I have 17 year old Alberto Garcia, who has played well in some cup ties. If I had a decent enough left back that I felt could take Garcia's spot in the U23, I would actively look to promote Garcia and then sell Almeida. As that isn't the case - he has a stay of execution for another year and will be allowed to develop in the U23 squad. On the other hand, the influx of three potentially good DC's (Vaz, Muge and Barros) will mean that my U19 players (Patricio and Mourinho) will either be usurped as first choice in that team or moved into the U23 squad if they have the ability to usurp either of those  (Silva and Martins). With neither Silva or Martins really ready for the first team - a decision will be made as to whether I sell one of those two to make room in the squad.

Here are my five to watch from this intake...