FM19 Athletic Club - Aupa!

[lfc7]

9 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

Liverpool won 2-0. I actually played them in the group stage and their team was insanely good, although we equipped ourselves well and actually got through in 1st.

 haha. I went to the final in Kiev last year and wish that was the result. You did well to finish first, i got to the final in my Bayer Leverkusen save in season 2, but lost 2-1 to Liverpool Salah scored in injury time  

[bowieinspace]

10 hours ago, lfc7 said:

 haha. I went to the final in Kiev last year and wish that was the result. You did well to finish first, i got to the final in my Bayer Leverkusen save in season 2, but lost 2-1 to Liverpool Salah scored in injury time  

Oh nice, that must've been awesome to be there, even if the result wasn't what you had hoped for. Yeah getting through the group in first was quite an achievement, we lost to Liverpool away but beat them at home, and we managed to win our other games (against some quite good sides to be fair in Schalke and Napoli) but Liverpool slipped up in one of their away games. They were a far better team than us though and their line up was immense... basically the existing squad with Milinkovic-Savic in central midfield and some other lad up front in place of Mane who was equally good

[lfc7]

15 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

Oh nice, that must've been awesome to be there, even if the result wasn't what you had hoped for. Yeah getting through the group in first was quite an achievement, we lost to Liverpool away but beat them at home, and we managed to win our other games (against some quite good sides to be fair in Schalke and Napoli) but Liverpool slipped up in one of their away games. They were a far better team than us though and their line up was immense... basically the existing squad with Milinkovic-Savic in central midfield and some other lad up front in place of Mane who was equally good

Yes it was a great trip minus the result. As i said on my Bayer save they beat me in the final 2-1 but were strong, they had Isco aswell. Sounds tasty that Liverpool side  

Almost end of the transfer window and this happens  feel like crying haha

Brought Lekue back from loan as cover

Edited April 11, 2019 by lfc7

[lfc7]

 

Window is shut these were the only signings i made, both from C.D.Iruna for a combined 900k 

 

Edited April 11, 2019 by lfc7

[bowieinspace]

Entering Phase Two

To elaborate on this, I consider any Athletic save to have 3 initial phases:

Phase one: When your team is full of existing real world players and you are reliant and trying to pluck the best available existing Basque players in to the squad for squad strengthening. During phase one I was able to sign all of my key targets, particularly Oyarzabal, Merino, Odriozola and Ander Herrera, supplemented by a couple of others like Javi Martinez who have shorter, more limited roles in the team. My final potential signings (I don't include Griezmann due to wages) are Laporte and Kepa...the latter I decided against pursuing due to Simon and Remiro being very capable, while the former I very nearly managed to sign in the summer of 2022 (just gone), however financially I just couldn't quite do it. I never really expected to get Laporte so would have considered it a bonus to do so.

Phase two: I establish this phase to have begun whenever a regen player becomes a clear first choice in my starting XI - prior to this they will have been rotation options, or just promising youngsters, but as soon as one becomes a nailed on starter in the big games, that's the start of phase two for me. This phase is all about youth development. Usually this coincides with a lack of existing basque players in the talent pool who will genuinely improve the team.

Phase three: This starts when the last existing players exit the team. For me this will probably be when Oyarzabal is getting older, so in quite a decent number of years. 


As of the 2022/23 season (which is all sorts of weird due to the Qatar World Cup by the way), I have my first 'nailed on' starter regen in the first XI - Eneko Goni. I also have a raft of promising youngsters coming through, so thought this would be a good time to update on their progress. This year feels like a real changing of the guard as both Yuri (his decline has been swift this season) and Inigo Martinez are likely to depart come the end of the season when their contracts expire, alongside Javi Martinez. In Borja Borja I have a left winger who is competing with Muniain for the spot, I have Alberto Lopez at RB who is giving Odriozola real headaches, plus Josu Flano, Julen Artola and Aitor Llorente who are now solid rotation options, potentially soon to be nailed on starters in their own right. Here is the future of my save - all Basque off the rip, mainly from our academy but quite a few poached from other basque clubs:

Goalkeeper:

In Gorka Goni we have a solid GK prospect who looks set to be at or around the level of Unai Simon. Excellent shot stopping attributes suggest this guy will be world class in those areas, but perhaps needs development with his ball playing. I am working on these but unsure if he'll ever be a decent sweeper keeper.



Right Back:

It's fair to say we are privileged to have a number of quality young full backs coming through, and with Odriozola still with plenty left in the tank, we have options. Given the lack of depth elsewhere, I can see this leading to some retraining. Alberto Lopez will make an excellent defensive mid, and I think Odriozola could work really well further up the pitch too. 

Next up we have the already regular fixture in the first team, Alberto Lopez. Right now he is covering left back due to the decline of Yuri (and my young prospect being just a little shy of being ready to step up). He's already attracting interest from all the top clubs, but he's not going anywhere.

Finally at RB we have Mikel Gomez - a solid prospect with 3gold and an additional black star potential, but an excellent attribute spread. 



In the end, I think we are likely to have Lopez and Gomez at RB, Odriozola pushed further up,  this will help the AMR position where I have no real prospects at the moment.


Left Back:

Three very promising prospects at left back, just in the nick of time. Yuri is in significant decline and is already out of the team more often than not, with Alberto Lopez playing the big games, and Julen Artola getting experience here and there to be ready for next season. Alongside Julen Artola, we have Juantxo Eraso, who looks an excellent prospect, albeit slightly behind Julen Artola. They will fight for the LB spot next season and will be first and second choice. Alan Thevenet looks to be a top prospect as well, but needs a little more time to develop in the youth ranks currently.




 

Alan Thevenet - a world class French Basque prospect...a real treat! Joining in January from PSG's academy, I expect this guy to be a top full back (he has 4 gold, 5 black star potential btw)

Centre Back:

Again we are really well placed for prospects in the back line with these guys. Eneko Goni is now first choice alongside Unai Nunez (Inigo Martinez had a 4 month injury last season so has declined a little, and I'm retraining Yeray as a DM). Josu Flano is next in line at CB and rotates in and out...they will be a quality pairing in the future, with both likely to eclipse Nunez.





Following them we also have Aimar Ramirez, a solid prospect who will likely be a good rotation option if needed. Currently leading the B team in the Segunda:

Defensive Midfield:

We have no prospects here, hence the need to retrain Yeray and also consider Alberto Lopez as a future option there in a couple of years. Right now I am using Merino as my primary DM, with Yeray learning the position to replace Javi Martinez who doesn't have another season in him after this one.

Central Midfield/Central Attacking Midfield:

I have put these two together, as they tend to be one and the same within my system. I generally lean towards tactical systems with runners from central midfield and one designated 'holder' in the DM position. I tend to use the RPM or AP role alongside a BBM or CM (A). On the playmaking side I have a few solid prospects - not so much on the BBM/CM(A) side, however Sancet is doing ok progressing to suit that role so he can function there. Equally Oyarzabal can do it too, so I am not massively concerned. Coming with in central midfield we have Aitor Llorente, Juan Manual Lopez and Xabier Mancisidor. The latter has a lot of work to do, but I like him as a CM(A) prospect given his attribute spread, so I've includded him, despite the obvious development needed. Aitor Llorente is now a rotation option for me and plays back up to Oyarzabal in the roaming playmaker role in my side. He's really impressed me with his performances this season, he looks excellent on the ball and has a superb passing range. Juan Manual Lopez is younger and just came through our intake a few months ago, but he looks set to be a creative midfielder of the highest quality:

 

Wide attacking midfielders:

Only one to mention here, but at least Inaki Williams and Iker Muniain (and Cordoba) have some years left in them, while Juan Artola has proven to be a good back up to Williams. As mentioned above, I also think retraining Odriozola to play as an AMR is extremely likely, as with his attributes he could offer a great attacking option who can defend further up the pitch. However the one to mention is none other than Borja Borja! He's one of those players who looks interesting on paper...lacking in some key areas (passing and finishing in particular), however with such superb physical attributes alongside his dribbling attribute and decisions, he's a devastating attacking winger. He's in the side more and more these days...definitely one who gets those little fans in the fake stadium jumping up and down.

Strikers:

Still an issue here...the best we have coming through is Daniel Karanka. With his attribute spread he will at least have the right characteristics for our side, however he's only rated as a 3 gold and 4 black star potential...similarly to our other (real life) prospect Nico Williams. it's likely these two will fight with Cordoba for the striker spot in the future and it'll come down to their development. I've been impressed with Nico Williams' first team displays this season so hoping he continues to develop well. 

 

The team of the future....this is how I see my team working out for the next 3-5 years - given the number of regens in the team currently and developing to soon be in there, you can see why I'd now consider this phase two:

GK: Simon, Remiro and Gorka Goni (regen). Likely Goni will challenge Simon for the first choice spot. Remiro may be sold when Goni is ready
RB: Lopez (regen) and Odriozola, with the development of Gomez (regen) to determine when they are moved to AMR (Odriozola) and (if I get another RB prospect) Lopez to DMC
LB: Julen Artola, Alan Thevenet and Juantxo Eraso (both regens)
CB: Flano and Eneko Goni (both regens), with Nunez and Ramirez (regen) as 3rd/4th choice
DMC: Merino and Yeray, potentially Lopez in the future once the other RB's develop
CM (playmaker): Oyarzabal, Llorente (regen), with Juan Manual Lopez coming up in the coming years. Once he is there, Oyarzabal will switch to a CM(A) type role most likely as he will be the most suited to that
CM (BBM/CM (A): Herrera (this season and next) with Sancet gradually taking over as Herrera declines (this will likely also involve playing Llorente and Oyarzabal together as above)
AML: Muniain with Borja Borja (regen) stepping in more and more, eventually taking over
AMR: Williams and Juan Artola
CF: Cordoba, Nico Williams with Daniel Karanka (regen) if development allows. 

As you can see our depth of defensive regens means some players such as Yeray and Odriozola will need to be shifted around the pitch to make sure we make good use of what we have. This is the kind of future planning you need for an Athletic save. I'm still hoping to see decent regens coming through in the AMR, BBM and CF roles, but not holding out too much hope. If I get another world class full back come through I might have to retrain one of them as a BBM! 

Edited April 12, 2019 by bowieinspace

[ThePietu]

I just can't get to grips with amc position and I have a really good prospect for that position, any tips on how to get more out of him? Or should I play him in cm with cm/a/rpm or what should I do? 

[bowieinspace]

 

43 minutes ago, ThePietu said:

I just can't get to grips with amc position and I have a really good prospect for that position, any tips on how to get more out of him? Or should I play him in cm with cm/a/rpm or what should I do? 

A good amc playmaker will make a good central midfield playmaker too. If they’re not combative or just a bit weak you simply have to make sure they have the right players around them to compensate, so I wouldn’t worry about his suitability...just get them trained up in the role you want them to play

[dothestrand]

I seem to get a lot of AMCs. I just retrain them as CM or hope they have some ability out wide so you can retrain them as wingers or inside forwards. I never deviate from 4-3-2-1 or 4-1-2-2-1. I'm looking forward to the day my whole squad is regens. Martinez, Muniain and Williams will age, and I suspect Yeray can be superseded, as can the GKs. It's Nunez who's young and probably can't be bettered for around ten seasons!

[ThePietu]

Thank you both.

These are the players I have and don't know what to retrain them.

 

[bowieinspace]

Ander Mancisidor looks like he’d go well as a roaming playmaker in CM due to his stamina and work rate alongside his technical qualities 

Roberto Lopez would make a good IF on the right due to his dribbling, finishing and physical attributes and being a left footer, would be good on the right. Equally he could do well as a W(a) on the left too

David Aizpurua could probably do a few roles, either as an attacking CM or a wide player depending on where the gaps in your squad are

Edited April 12, 2019 by bowieinspace

[dothestrand]

Yeah I reckon all these guys could be retrained. Mancisidor could play the role Sancet does for me as a CM with an AP role. The other guys could be converted to be wide players - I think you can have AP roles for these rather than trying to turn them into wingers as such.

[ThePietu]

Thanks to both of you. 

I'll train Mansicidor as a RPM, I have Merino there who is doing good but I'm expecting him to leave for a bigger team since he is the standout player. 

I think I'll keep Roberto Lopez as amc just because I have good young wingers. 

Aizpurua I don't really know, might have him as my B2B, he doesn't have a spot as a starter elsewhere unless I go even more offensive. 

That leaves my team for the future as a 4231, the midfield as such:

          AP-At 

RPM              B2B

Offensive yes but don't know how else to fit them. 

Wingers don't know yet, I have 2 young wingers playing but don't know whether they will be If or W in the future. 

My next goal is Griezmann. 

[bowieinspace]

8 minutes ago, ThePietu said:

Thanks to both of you. 

I'll train Mansicidor as a RPM, I have Merino there who is doing good but I'm expecting him to leave for a bigger team since he is the standout player. 

I think I'll keep Roberto Lopez as amc just because I have good young wingers. 

Aizpurua I don't really know, might have him as my B2B, he doesn't have a spot as a starter elsewhere unless I go even more offensive. 

That leaves my team for the future as a 4231, the midfield as such:

          AP-At 

RPM              B2B

Offensive yes but don't know how else to fit them. 

Wingers don't know yet, I have 2 young wingers playing but don't know whether they will be If or W in the future. 

My next goal is Griezmann. 

That is a very unbalanced method to fit them in to your side. You can get away with a B2B player in the two there but not alongside the RPM, you'd have no cover whatsoever it would be suicide. You could switch to a DLP (D) and that would function more, but to be honest I'd put thought to what system you want to play and then figure out what roles they could operate in within that system. If that means you end up rotating them, so be it...balance is important.

[dothestrand]

If I'm playing Merino and Sancet then I would definitely want an anchor man DMC type player. My game keeps producing regens comfortable in that role, but someone like Zubeldia, who Real Sociedad will eventually transfer list, would do a good job.

Edited April 12, 2019 by dothestrand

[ThePietu]

I have Javi Martinez for that anchor man role but I don't have any young talents for the role. 

Yeah it is unbalanced I know that, preferrably I would like to play a 4231 but can't get the AMC to work so might need to switch to a 4123 that has worked for me before. Would just like to get the AMC to work. 

[lfc7]

Some great Regens there @bowieinspace

[lfc7]

Anyone else getting a few injuries ?

[bowieinspace]

9 hours ago, lfc7 said:

Some great Regens there @bowieinspace

Thanks! A little concerned about the lack of quality central midfielders on the defensive/energy box to box side of things, and the lack of forwards...but I can't complain about the overall quality and the number of quality basque players I have coming through. I have enough here to make a side capable of challenging for the league each year and pushing for the final stages of the Champions League. I am hoping that once the top regens become fully developed, we will be a better side than we are right now. Losing Herrera to decline from age will be a blow as he is not someone I have a direct replacement for, so that'll be the only real area we weaken in over the next 2-4 years. I am hoping that Oyarzabal or Merino will flourish in that role

[Qontrul]

Thought I’d share how my two seasons I’ve managed at Bilbao went. 

First Season

Came in with a good feel of the squad. A number of players that I knew/had heard of so was happy to see. Was particularly looking forward to getting to use Inaki & Munain(who I remember using as far back as when Norwich were in the prem, & was an absolute beast). Season started of well. In our first 5 games we took 12 points. Lost to Valencia in the opening game of the season but we played well and deserved to win; they scored in the 89th & then 90+2. Then had a game against Barca where again we played well but sadly choked a 2-0 lead to end up losing 3-2.

This was sadly as good as our season would get. Losses to inferior opponents ; & the fact that we wouldn’t go on to win 2 league matches in a row until the 10th & 16th of March hit us heavy. An embarrassing loss to a second division team in the cup quarter final was the icing on the cake.

We finished the season on 57 pts ( 15W,12D,11L). Considering a lot of the teams we were playing against , a very poor record. A big problem I found was our lack of goals. We only scored 44 which was quite low. The underwhelming attack of Inaki & Munain was annoying , but even worse was the production from Aduriz & Raul  Garcia. A big area where I admit I messed up was transfers. We got rid of Lekue & De Marcos virtually as soon as I came in as they kicked up a fuss about wanting to leave. Brought in a squad player called Boveda to replace the RB void & to be backup to Capa. A few insignificant departures then in January which included Beñat who just didn’t really fit into my team. Brought in Alex Blesa as was looking like a great youth prospect. But after this underwhelming season I realised money would have to be spent , especially as we would be in Europe next year.

Second Season

Wrongs had to be written. But the beginning of the season would be (at the time) another negative. Had known about Iturraspe’s contract running down & around March/April he had gained interest from China , & wouldn’t speak to me because the money they were offering was ridiculous. Also had a similar situation with Remiro , but luckily he ended up resigning after interest fizzled out. Iturraspe was also my best avg rating player with a 6.99.

So in terms of transfers we decided to pickup Mikel Merino & with that change up the formation. We’d be using a 4-2-1-2-1 / 4-2-3-1 DM which obviously wasn’t working especially with Aduriz & Raul Garcia. So we went with a 4-2-3-1 which obviously would work well with Merino. We again had more departures , losing San Jose to City , Dani Garcia to levante & then Unai Simon to Dortmund. All were transfers I was happy to do imo. Out of Remiro & Unai I would have been happy to keep either as my #1 , & then the other two just hadn’t really impressed me that much.

So a problem still persisted , our CAM & ST production. We didn’t switch much around the first two games & got battered in both so had to change things up.Aduriz was a no go for me , Villalibra was not ready just yet so we went with.... Inaki! & then behind him I decided to put Munain. Neither had been good out wide , & it also meant I could slot Susaeta on the right & then a regen who had played a bit for me last season on the left. Long story short the choices payed off ! We didn’t end up losing till the 10th of November against Atletico.

January came round , & we were in good shape. Did however decide to bring in De Arrascaeta as someone on the left as the regen had kind of dipped in performance, & then sold the backup RB we got last season & brought in Aguirregabiria.

We were floating around the 1-4 positions in the table & had lost maybe 2-3 games up until we met Atletico again on the 4th of April. 1 point from 4games against them , Valencia , Barca & Malaga ; & then getting knocked out of the Europa quarters by Levante sealed our fate of sadly not obtaining any silverware in a season where I felt we deserved something. We did achieve Champions league football but was of little use to me as I had already made the decision I would be leaving. On FM I’ve predominantly spent my whole time at one club in my save but did a save a few years back which was really fun where I moved on to a club or two so decided I’d do the same this year, & Bilbao just happened to be the club I picked to start at.

The best thing for me about the season though was particular player performances. Inaki Williams was a monster in ST. Used him as an AF & sort of played direct balls & his pace was just unreal for defenders to deal with. He ended up with 35p (46ovr) 26goals (36ovr) 8ast(11ovr) & then 10POM(14ovr). Insane considering we managed 44 goals all year last year. He also took home both goalscorer awards in Spain , was in Spanish & European Team of season. Then finally. The Golden Shoe. The best striker in Europe that season.He had 52 points while Griezmann in second had 44.

Merino was a great transfer. Something we had been missing having someone more technical in the central of midfield. Munain also had a much better season but enough about player stats .

We finished 3rd on 84. Madrid also on 84 but Atletico on 90 completed the League + Champions League That season. Like I said was definitely going to be leaving after that season , & applied for both Real & Juve. Ended up getting Juve. Let’s hope this save gives me half as much fun as Bilbao. Will be keeping tabs on them definitely (which aren’t looking good atm) & who knows may end up back there in the future.

[lfc7]

Had to start again 

[ThePietu]

50 minutes ago, lfc7 said:

Had to start again 

Why?

[lfc7]

10 minutes ago, ThePietu said:

Why?

Awful haha. I am not the best with tactics but refuse to use any downloaded ones etc. i have two tactics that i am happy with now so have started a new save to see how it goes. I think i would of been given the elbow on my old save anyway sooner or later 

[ThePietu]

1 hour ago, lfc7 said:

Awful haha. I am not the best with tactics but refuse to use any downloaded ones etc. i have two tactics that i am happy with now so have started a new save to see how it goes. I think i would of been given the elbow on my old save anyway sooner or later 

Yeah I'm not the best with tactics either. 

[lfc7]

6 minutes ago, ThePietu said:

Yeah I'm not the best with tactics either. 

I've paid for the touch version on the switch as its great for work etc then i just bought the touch version for pc, but wondering if i should of bought full version. Its just i hate team talks and haven't a clue about training as haven't played full version for quite a while

[ThePietu]

54 minutes ago, lfc7 said:

I've paid for the touch version on the switch as its great for work etc then i just bought the touch version for pc, but wondering if i should of bought full version. Its just i hate team talks and haven't a clue about training as haven't played full version for quite a while

I just let my assistant do the team talks and the same with training, I only do individual training. 

[lfc7]

14 minutes ago, ThePietu said:

I just let my assistant do the team talks and the same with training, I only do individual training. 

Ah ok. any tips for individual training ? i've always left TT and training to assistant

[ThePietu]

1 hour ago, lfc7 said:

Ah ok. any tips for individual training ? i've always left TT and training to assistant

I always develop weak foot on my youngsters and train them in the role I will play them in but sometimes I train my st as CF even though I might not use him as one just to train all those stats and cm's as B2B to train multiple important stats. My tip is to train for those stats that you want to have better and when they are enough for you then train in the role you want if they don't include in the role you want. 

[lfc7]

1 minute ago, ThePietu said:

I always develop weak foot on my youngsters and train them in the role I will play them in but sometimes I train my st as CF even though I might not use him as one just to train all those stats and cm's as B2B to train multiple important stats. My tip is to train for those stats that you want to have better and when they are enough for you then train in the role you want if they don't include in the role you want. 

Thanks 

[bowieinspace]

2 hours ago, lfc7 said:

Ah ok. any tips for individual training ? i've always left TT and training to assistant

Training can be really complex but you can leave a lot of it as standard and still do just fine. 

Id recommend just setting the individual training to the role you want them to play, or a slightly different role int he same position if you want to develop particular attributes, you can keep it simple that way

[lfc7]

19 minutes ago, bowieinspace said:

Training can be really complex but you can leave a lot of it as standard and still do just fine. 

Id recommend just setting the individual training to the role you want them to play, or a slightly different role int he same position if you want to develop particular attributes, you can keep it simple that way

Thanks also 

[lfc7]

Anyone ever trained Yeray/Nunez/Martinez as DM ? Basically to provide more cover between positions ? Also do you ever learn/unlearn traits ?

Edited April 13, 2019 by lfc7

[Jean0987654321]

1 hour ago, lfc7 said:

Anyone ever trained Yeray/Nunez/Martinez as DM ? Basically to provide more cover between positions ? Also do you ever learn/unlearn traits ?

Yes and yes. I have a philosophy and usually that philosophy could work with a few PPMs given to players

[lfc7]

16 minutes ago, Jean0987654321 said:

Yes and yes. I have a philosophy and usually that philosophy could work with a few PPMs given to players

Thanks I've never really looked at training as its something that hasn't really interested me, but with this save and having to have Basque only players. Also relying on my youth team etc a lot more than i am used to, it has made me look into it more. i may have to buy the game for the third time, but buy the full version this time haha.

*Downloading Demo now just to see whether i can play full version again 

Edited April 13, 2019 by lfc7

[maccataq]

The striker situation is really costing me in my 2nd season with Villalibre my main striker now scoring just 4 times (3 in the league). Muniain is my top scorer with 7 going into the winter break. We are actually 2nd 3pts behind Real Madrid but a goalless draw at home to Betis and an unbelievable 2-1 home defeat to 18th placed Granada have cost me top spot and we missed penalties in both of those games with the latter being a chance to draw level late on.

We seem to miss a lot of penalties with no real good takers. San Jose is technically my best taker with 14 but I tend to prefer 4231 so he only plays when I play a 433 with a DM as I prefer Martinez/Yeray/Nunez at CB. In my first season we missed a lot of penalties too with Benat, Raul Garcia, Aduriz all guilty and even San Jose missed although he is my most reliable taker. 2nd season De Arrascaeta and Benat both scored and missed. Raul Garcia and Roberto Torres have scored one each but I only list San Jose as a taker allowing whoever fancies it to step up.

Who do you guys get to take penalties?

 

[zlatanera]

@maccataq If I don’t have decent free kick / penalty takers I stick my GK on them. Increases the entertainment value because you’re less disappointed when he misses and delighted when they go in. A thread I follow (search “French Lingerie” in career updates) has GKs getting towards 100 career goals from set pieces

[maccataq]

4 minutes ago, zlatanera said:

@maccataq If I don’t have decent free kick / penalty takers I stick my GK on them. Increases the entertainment value because you’re less disappointed when he misses and delighted when they go in. A thread I follow (search “French Lingerie” in career updates) has GKs getting towards 100 career goals from set pieces

Sounds radical!

[zlatanera]

9 minutes ago, maccataq said:

Sounds radical!

Absolutely. Just a word of advice if you're putting him on free kicks too - have someone stand near him for every one other than direct, as you need someone there to protect him when the opposition counter, otherwise you end up with a few half-way screamers from opponents.

[maccataq]

7 minutes ago, zlatanera said:

Absolutely. Just a word of advice if you're putting him on free kicks too - have someone stand near him for every one other than direct, as you need someone there to protect him when the opposition counter, otherwise you end up with a few half-way screamers from opponents.

Not sure I'm brave enough! 

[bowieinspace]

2 hours ago, lfc7 said:

Anyone ever trained Yeray/Nunez/Martinez as DM ? Basically to provide more cover between positions ? Also do you ever learn/unlearn traits ?

Yep I am retraining Yeray as a DM to utilise him there permanently from now on. He's got great attributes for that role, as does Martinez. Nunez is a little worse with the ball at his feet, so out of the 3 he's the one I would leave at CB

[lfc7]

2 minutes ago, bowieinspace said:

Yep I am retraining Yeray as a DM to utilise him there permanently from now on. He's got great attributes for that role, as does Martinez. Nunez is a little worse with the ball at his feet, so out of the 3 he's the one I would leave at CB

@bowieinspace Are you training them just as a regular DM ?

[zlatanera]

@lfc7 not had an Athletic save this year but often scout Yeray. I'd suggest, as he's a BPD, train Half Back role. Pretty much the same attributes are covered.

[bowieinspace]

2 hours ago, lfc7 said:

@bowieinspace Are you training them just as a regular DM ?

I am training him as a DM (D) as that's the role I want him to play there anyway

[dothestrand]

I use Yeray more as a RB as once De Marcos goes, I don't feel the other options offer enough defensively. Plus Nunez/Martinez are my first choice pair and I have twi regens who can play CB. 

[dothestrand]

Two things...I don't think they're unique to Athletic Club btw, but keeps happening in my game.

Do your players get unsettled by Chinese clubs, even when they're still in their prime? Yeray and Merino are in their mid/late 20s and want to leave. Does the game factor in huge wages and that's the cause? I can't imagine why Merino, only 26-27 wants to go to a weaker league for anything other than money.

Do your players ask for new contracts every season? I always make sure young players never have anything less than 2y to run because there's always a chance a bigger club will sniff around and they won't want to renew, but some of my young players come to me every season asking for a new deal, even if they have 4y to go. I don't change their squad status or anything; they're all first teamers but they seem to ignore their contract length completely. 

[maccataq]

On 13/04/2019 at 21:52, lfc7 said:

Anyone ever trained Yeray/Nunez/Martinez as DM ? Basically to provide more cover between positions ? Also do you ever learn/unlearn traits ?

Did you look at Vesga? He's out on loan first season but he's been pretty good for me in the DM role.

[maccataq]

Not necessarily unique to managing Athletic but interested in how you guys go about taking care of the B team. My ambition for Bilbao Athletic is to get them promoted into segunda division so that my young players are playing at a higher standard. If I get them there then I also need to keep them there so to achieve both of these things I want to ensure that squad is as strong as possible.

Do you buy and/or develop players knowing that they will never reach the first team level but will do the job for the B team?

One problem I see is that I have Asier Benito as top scorer for the B team but he has determination of 4. He's 24 years old and not really going to reach the first team level so I'm only really keeping him around to help them get promoted but I also want to ensure that all the young players at the club have good levels of determination and I don't want negative influences to disrupt that.

Finally, is there any hope at all of Baskonia (C team) getting promoted to a playable league? If so, does the B team need to get promoted before that can happen?

[dothestrand]

My B team are in the second division and are currently top, but they can't be promoted, I'm guessing. Now they're in the second tier, I don't bother sending talented youngsters on loan unless a La Liga club wants them. I'd rather have them here playing a decent standard than elsewhere. I try to keep the B team pretty strong as I have no financial incentive to sell young players who aren't quite good enough. I might as well see if anyone kicks on out of nowhere. Unless I am doing something totally stupid, I cannot set individual training for the B team - which is annoying as their individual training is always set to none which must hinder their development. 

[maccataq]

5 minutes ago, dothestrand said:

My B team are in the second division and are currently top, but they can't be promoted, I'm guessing. Now they're in the second tier, I don't bother sending talented youngsters on loan unless a La Liga club wants them. I'd rather have them here playing a decent standard than elsewhere. I try to keep the B team pretty strong as I have no financial incentive to sell young players who aren't quite good enough. I might as well see if anyone kicks on out of nowhere. Unless I am doing something totally stupid, I cannot set individual training for the B team - which is annoying as their individual training is always set to none which must hinder their development. 

I accidentally didn't include segunda division B when I loaded the game (assumed it would just be included with Spain) and I'm only in my 2nd season but they are near the top of their league. How long did it take to get them promoted? Think I would do the same as you if/when they get promoted, well that's the plan anyway as per my point about determination, I'm hoping to create a highly determined squad right the way through.

I have noticed the same thing regarding individual training for B team players! Maybe it's supposed to be like that.

 

[bowieinspace]

4 hours ago, dothestrand said:

Two things...I don't think they're unique to Athletic Club btw, but keeps happening in my game.

Do your players get unsettled by Chinese clubs, even when they're still in their prime? Yeray and Merino are in their mid/late 20s and want to leave. Does the game factor in huge wages and that's the cause? I can't imagine why Merino, only 26-27 wants to go to a weaker league for anything other than money.

Do your players ask for new contracts every season? I always make sure young players never have anything less than 2y to run because there's always a chance a bigger club will sniff around and they won't want to renew, but some of my young players come to me every season asking for a new deal, even if they have 4y to go. I don't change their squad status or anything; they're all first teamers but they seem to ignore their contract length completely. 

 

Yes and yes...I do find the Chinese clubs often unsettle, but they either get over it or if I really don't want to lose them, I just suggest we should discuss the financial figure they are looking for. I've generally found they've not been much higher than existing salary anyway.

Heaps of requests for new contracts...for first team players I generally accept they should be offered a new deal and then negotiate hard to get them down as much as possible. It's not hit the bank balance too badly and Athletic's wages are quite low anyway.

[bowieinspace]

2022/23 Season Review

Competition Summary/Overview

An excellent season, we played superbly from start to finish and deserved our league win. We lost in the Champions League quarter finals to Liverpool who went on to win the competition...we drew 1-1 at San Mames and 0-0 at Anfield, and had a legitimate goal disallowed for offside on 80mins at their place....so close. We lost in the semi final of the Copa Del Rey to Real Madrid in a match where we were the better side, but were comfortably beaten by them in the Supercopa. The league win was just rewards for our quality and consistency, with competitive displays and close exits in the two main cups. Unai Nunez was our player of the year according to the fans, and Alberto Lopez (our regen RB) came 3rd in La Liga player of the year.

The most positive aspects to this season were the emergency and transition of our young players to important players, and the minor tweaks to our tactics paying real dividends, after a slightly inconsistent 21/22 season

Tactics and Key Indicators

- Shots on target % of 49%, most shots on target in the league with 5th best conversion rate 
- Most goals in La Liga
- Most overall set piece goals, not including direct free kicks
- Best defensive record/most clean sheets

Statistically, our numbers represent just how competitive we were this season, with a solid defensive foundation and incisive attacking set up, while also making the most of set plays. We were resilient and our efficiency/consistency made us difficult to beat. We very rarely were second best in any game.

The main changes tactically this season stemmed from the switch to one formation. Instead of switching between a few, we went with a 4-3-3/4-5-1 consistency and just made minor adjustments in game if needed. We'd been using this formation for a while, but there were a few areas I wasn't happy with:
- IF tended to get stuck running inside too often and didn't provide us with a player attacking the channel on the left. I want my wingers to play fairly narrow, but I don't want them to be running into the middle - I wanted this area clear for the central midfielders
- The central midfield pairing wasn't quite working...the AP (A) and BBM combination I was using wasn't quite giving the support to the forward that I wanted. \
- The above combined with the high tempo I was playing meant my striker often looked a touch isolated, so counter attacks, or faster attacks in general felt like they too often fizzled out due to a lack of quick support to the striker

I rectified this by switching the CM duo to a RPM (S) and the BBM to a CM (A). This gave me the balance I wanted. I also toned down the tempo to standard to assist with getting the midfielders up in support of the front 3. I also changed the IF on the left to a W (A)...this suited Borja Borja and Cordoba if deployed on the left, and didn't affect Muniain too much as his PPM's force him inside anyway, so it give me some variety on that side. Borja Borja now the first choice in that position with Muniain an experienced alternative, who offers something different. 

The key indicators in regards to chance creation were so much better this season...I had identified our chance creation and conversion rates weren't good enough, so delighted to see this improved so much.

Transfers and Looking ahead

-Kepa returns

The big news of the summer! Kepa Arrizabalaga returns to the club to take the number 1 jersey. Alex Remiro wanted to leave anyway with Simon having taken his spot in the side, so he will be moved on. Simon is a good keeper, but I needed an improvement if I wanted to challenge for the Champions League next season. Kepa is a clear improvement to the first XI and I'm delighted to have got him back, although I debated the move a lot...I have a young keeper coming through in Gorka Goni, however he's currently only a 2* keeper with the potential to be around either Kepa or Simon's level. I decided it wasn't clear enough that he would reach Kepa's level, so bringing Kepa in was the right choice. Simon will be back up and Goni will either play in the Segunda for the B team or go on loan this year. 

The other potential option with my budget was Aymeric Laporte. However I have so many CD's, including regens Eneko Goni (now a 4* player) and Josu Flano (3* with huge potential), that in the end Kepa was the obvious choice. 

This season we say good bye to Javi Martinez who was retired, and Yuri who has declined significantly so is leaving on a free. Both excellent servants to the club. Inigo Martinez however earned himself a contract extension, he will be 4th choice CB this season and also cover left back during the first half of the season while my regen Juantxo Eraso continues for the B team for a while longer. Julen Artola is my first choice LB (regen)

In other news our stadium is now being expanded to the maximum 66,665 capacity.