[FM19] French Lingerie - Acre State, Brazil

[Jimbokav1971]

On 20/04/2019 at 23:52, Jimbokav1971 said:

An appetite for destruction. Apr 2042. 

I've never seen anything like this in a previous save. 

This is not the 5th time he has missed training. 

1st time. I let him off with a warning because it was the 1st time. 
2nd time. I let him off with a warning because he had just scored 2 goals against PSG and deserved to celebrate. 
3rd time. I fined him a weeks wages. 
4th time. He missed a league game against Caen and I fined him 2 weeks wages. 
5th time. I fined him 2 weeks wages. 

These are the only options I have at this stage and he will be fined 2 weeks wages. 

This seems progress at least. 

(36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * is on the lash again.

1st time. I let him off with a warning because it was the 1st time. 
2nd time. I let him off with a warning because he had just scored 2 goals against PSG and deserved to celebrate. 
3rd time. I fined him a weeks wages. 
4th time. He missed a league game against Caen and I fined him 2 weeks wages. 
5th time. I fined him 2 weeks wages.
6th time. I fined him 2 weeks wages. 

You couldn't make this up. 

[Misterjokerboy]

I guess there might be a chance that you won't be able to sell this guy for big money if he keeps up this level of unprofessionalism. I've played regularly since CM3 and I don't think I've seen someone absent this many times! Enjoying the save, keep up the good work 

[ITFC_Blue]

Incredible Jim, this entire thread is just incredible. Very well played sir and KUTGW. 

[Bobby_Zamora]

Go party with Dulce, Jimbo

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Misterjokerboy said:

I guess there might be a chance that you won't be able to sell this guy for big money if he keeps up this level of unprofessionalism. I've played regularly since CM3 and I don't think I've seen someone absent this many times! Enjoying the save, keep up the good work 

He's currently valued at £42M and I still have an asking price of £25M set from when he was worth about £12M. Since winning the European Golden Boot however his valuation has gone through the roof. I guess it's limited to reputation and that would have had a big boost after wining the recent awards. 

He's only 21 and has got 3 years left on his contract. I'm happy to just keep him for 2 seasons and see what he's worth then, I'd love to see him get called up to the French squad based on form, but the reality is that's not going to happen. He's been called up for FRA U21's twice but never played. 

One thing I would like to know, when I fine him 2 weeks wages, where does the money go? I take it off him and it goes....... where? 

He's on £25,000 per week gross. Does he pay tax on fined wages? If he doesn't then that's £175,000 sitting around somewhere. If he pays tax on it 1st then it's approx  £98,000. Either way, that's a LOT of money sitting around not being spent. 

[Edit]

With regards to being unable to sell him because of his poor attitude, I guess time will tell. I will keep you updated. 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, ITFC_Blue said:

Incredible Jim, this entire thread is just incredible. Very well played sir and KUTGW. 

Thank you very much. Glad you are enjoying it. 

I've got to admit it was a bit of a slog in the early days when I seemed to be stuck in a little league for what seemed like ages, but now we are somehow about to make our European debut I honestly can't wait to finish work every day and crank the save up. 

[Jimbokav1971]

17 minutes ago, Bobby_Zamora said:

Go party with Dulce, Jimbo

[Jimbokav1971]

New Signing. Jul 2042. 

JMM (BAS) (Bal) was my 1st choice target and I'm delighted that I was able to get him. We only paid £1.6M for him and he is already worth £1.7M. I expect his value to rise and rise when and if he starts banging in the goals.

There should be more signings on the way, but as well as making sure I have the transfer funds available, I also want to make sure that I can convert some of my transfer balance into available wages. We have £10M+ available to spend on transfers and about £20M in the bank. Ideally I would like to spend a maximum of £5M more, leaving £5M in transfer funds that I could convert into available wages. 

I think "Nomadic" is a little uncalled for. He spent 3 and a half seasons at Pontevedra, 2 seasons at Tenerife, 4 seasons at Albacete, 2 seasons at Numantia and then 3 seasons at Cordoba before turning up here. 

The scout report is no longer available now that he's signed, (which is a bit rubbish), (unless of course someone know's where it's stored if it's available..... in fact, I know where it's stored. It's stored in this very thread!)

Oh no. What a shame. I didn't post a copy of the scout report. All I have is this. 

I can now at least get a coach report. 

For what it's worth, he immediately becomes the 10th best player at the club, (by CA). 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Bid rejected. Jul 2042. 

Some of you probably think that I'm being a bit precious with my transfer kitty, but it's sooooo important that I keep the board sweet. At the moment they are letting me keep who I want and flog who I want because for the time-being at least, I have always ensured that the financial security of the club was foremost in my mind and nothing was more important than that. 

With that in mind, they have just rejected the following deal for our 2nd best player, (who is actually our best player because our original best player is only in on loan). (You still following me?)

I had an asking price of £20M set, so I have just bumped that up to £30M in an attempt to keep the big boys at bay. 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Expectations. Jul 2042. 

As usual I'm keeping my feet firmly on the floor and just selecting the lowest competition expectations. Unfortunately, they are gradually creeping up now anyway. 

By the way, yes I know I'm over my wage budget. It's not going to stay like that. I'm just waiting to finish my transfer business and for the adjustment button to become available and then I will get us back on track. 

[Jimbokav1971]

EURO Cup. Jul 2042. 

The Swedes dispatched Liechtenstein/Austrian giants FC Vaduz 2-1 in each leg to give them a 4-2 win on aggregate.

While I'm here I might as well look at how they have done in European competition in recent seasons. 

They haven't qualified for Europe at all in the last few seasons and have only qualified for the Champions League once since the save started. They shouldn't cause us any problems. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Job offer number 22. Mar 2041.

Jobs offered.

FC Metz while 10th in Ligue 2. Dec 2025.
Dijon while 20th in Ligue 1. Dec 2025.
Troyes while 17th in Ligue 1. Dec 2025.
AJ Auxerre while 11th in Ligue 1. Nov 2026.
Strasbourg while 20th in Ligue 1. Jan 2027.
EA Guingamp were 14th in Ligue 1. Jun 2028.
Stade Lavallois were 1st in Ligue 2. Jun 2028.
Lille while 12th in Ligue 2. Oct 2028.
FC Lorient while 6th in Ligue 2. May 2030.
Nancy while 20th in League 1. Jun 2030.
AC Ajaccio while 1st in League 2. Jun 2030.
FC Lorient(2) were 17th in Ligue 2. Jun 2031.
Stade Lavallois(2) while 17th in Ligue 2 in Aug 2031.
Nancy(2) while 6th in Ligue 2 in Dec 2031.
Italy National Team. Jul 2032.
Lille while 2nd in Ligue 2. Feb 2033.
Saint-Etienne finished 7th in Ligue 2. Jun 2033.
Italy National Team(2). Jul 2034.
RC Lens finished 15th in Ligue 1. Jun 2036
France National Team. Jul 2038.
Bordeaux while 2nd in Ligue 1. Mar 2041.
England National Team. Jul 2042.

[Misterjokerboy]

17 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

He's currently valued at £42M and I still have an asking price of £25M set from when he was worth about £12M. Since winning the European Golden Boot however his valuation has gone through the roof. I guess it's limited to reputation and that would have had a big boost after wining the recent awards. 

He's only 21 and has got 3 years left on his contract. I'm happy to just keep him for 2 seasons and see what he's worth then, I'd love to see him get called up to the French squad based on form, but the reality is that's not going to happen. He's been called up for FRA U21's twice but never played. 

One thing I would like to know, when I fine him 2 weeks wages, where does the money go? I take it off him and it goes....... where? 

He's on £25,000 per week gross. Does he pay tax on fined wages? If he doesn't then that's £175,000 sitting around somewhere. If he pays tax on it 1st then it's approx  £98,000. Either way, that's a LOT of money sitting around not being spent. 

[Edit]

With regards to being unable to sell him because of his poor attitude, I guess time will tell. I will keep you updated. 

I've wondered the same thing regarding the fines. I guess if you can't sell him it's not the end of the world as he's performing well off the pitch and it's possible his off the field antics may not make a difference if you did want to sell him in the future, will certainly be interesting to see. Of course he may also just get his act together and start behaving more professionally!

[numbas2]

Caught up after a week off the forum. Amazing progress

[Jimbokav1971]

7 hours ago, Misterjokerboy said:

I've wondered the same thing regarding the fines. I guess if you can't sell him it's not the end of the world as he's performing well off the pitch and it's possible his off the field antics may not make a difference if you did want to sell him in the future, will certainly be interesting to see. Of course he may also just get his act together and start behaving more professionally!

I would offer to look at his hidden attributes using the editor but I don't want to see his CA & PA and they are on the same page. 

Later in the save when he near retirement, (if I get that far), I will have a look when it's too late to matter and see if we can work out what attributes have been influencing this. 

Wow. The date in game is 22nd Jul 2042 and (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * is valued at £24.5M. This time yesterday he was worth £42M. 

He is a Balanced personality and has determination of 13 and a Media-friendly media-handling style. 

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1613534077

I think the author of the guide, despite doing a far better job with the guide than I could, (it can be found in the above link by the way), makes a common assumption that "Balanced" personality is like an "Average" or "Middle" or "Standard" personality. Actually it's nothing of the sort. That fact that it might not be covered by anything else doesn't mean that it's "normal" or "standard" at all. 

You know what I'm going to do. I'm going to search for a non-Basque player at another club who has media-friendly as his media-handling style, then I'm going to look at his hidden attributes and see if I can work out what is going on. 

I'm going to look at players who are neither Spanish nor Basque. I also don't know what I'm looking for at this stage so I'm just going to show a few test cases and then we can look at them afterwards. 

Test case A is a 27 year old AMR from URU. Balanced. Det 14. 

Test case B is a 25 year old AMR from TUR. Balanced. Det 14.

Test case C is a 28 year old DM from POR. Balanced. Det 9. 

Test case D is a 32 year old DC from NZL. Balanced. Det 8. 

Test case E is a 26 year old MC from MLI. Balanced. Det 8.

Test case F is a 21 year old MC from MAR. Balanced. Det 11.

Test case G is a 26 year old GK from ITA. Driven. Det 18.

Test case H is a 32 year old DR from ITA. Fairly Ambitious. Det 10.

Test case I is a 27 year old GK from GHA. Fickle. Det 15.

Test case J is a 27 year old SC from ALG. Fickle. Det 13.

Test case K is a 29 year old DC from AUS. Balanced. Det 13.

Test case L is a 27 year old AMR from BEL. Fickle. Det 13.

Test case M is a 30 year old AMR from BRA. Balanced. Det 12.

Test case N is a 24 year old DL from ENG. Driven. Det 18.

Test case O is a 25 year old MC from ENG. Fairly Determined. Det 15. 

I know that this is a really short sample, but I'm not really sure what we are going to learn by it anyway. We are not going to learn anything at all though right now though because now I have posted this, I'm going to save the data for a rainy day and continue on with the excitement of playing my 1st ever European game of the save, (after 24 seasons). 

1 more thing I am going to do before I finish is see if I have any other players at the club with that media handling style. 

You can tell how not used to scouting I am because I added HG at Bayonne club to the search options and expected it to show players who were still at the club. You can't scout players who are still at the club so this list is players who have a Media-friendly Media-handling style, who were HG at club and who are no longer here.

I could theoretically also do the same for those players other than (38b) Jorge Martínez (F.Amb) because there is no chance of me re-signing any of them where as there is a chance that I might re-sign him in the future. That's for another day though. 

Let me see if I can work out how to see those at the club......

Ok. That's enough of that, (apologies to anyone who is interested but I promise I will return to it at a later date), but for now we are off to Europe, and Sweden in particular! 

[Jimbokav1971]

£32M? Jul 2042.

In my head, Valladolid don't have £32M to spend on a player. Are they significantly bigger in game than they are in real life? 

Well they are at least rich. 

They have only once ever paid more than £10M for a player. 

But they did spend £37.5M on players last season. and £30.5M in 38/39.

They have never finished higher than 14th in La Liga. 

Oh I see. 

They have a Tycoon at the helm now. 

[Jimbokav1971]

European Debut. Jul 2042.

We have have had to travel away to Sweden, but we still got off to a winning start in Europe. We enjoyed almost total dominance and the icing on the cake was a lovely little chip in injury time from JMM (BAS) (Bal) to give him a goal on his debut on our debut in Europe. 

Job done. Don't know what all the fuss was about. 

[Edit]

In other news, the Manager of Valladolid was there to watch (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) *. I don't mind at all and if he wants to make me a silly offer then I am more than happy to listen. 

I immediately went back and changed his asking price from £25M to £40M. He's spending Tycoon money. There is a tax on that! 

Edited April 24, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Cunning Plan. Jul 2042.

I'm still looking for another striker, but have sort of come to a decision that I'm going to stay with what I already have and just make do, (with the exception of some Giant kid I am currently looking at). 

My DoF sent me another Argentinian to sign and while I obviously didn't sign him, (because he wasn't Basque, it did at least give me an idea to try before I completely binned off the idea of signing another striker.

Rather than my DoF coming to me and me saying no, I thought I would grab the bull by the horns and go to him. Lets find some common ground and some common targets I thought to myself.

First of all I went for End of Contracts players, (so I could possibly sign them on a free), then I went for striker and then I went for Advanced Forward. It have me 0 results. 

The  I changed it to all strikers and it still gave 0 results. 

Then I changed it to Not Set for players and it still gave me 0 results. 

Of course it did. It gave me 0 results because there are no contracts expiring imminently. They have either already expired or they are 6 months away from expiring.

No problem. I will just see who is available on a free now. I kept it as all strikers and immediately got a hit. 

Wow. He looks decent in term of CA, PA and recommendation. CA is 3.5, PA is 4.5 and Rec is 81. 

Wow again. He's better than I was expecting. His finishing isn't great, but in terms of the all-round package and especially taking into account that he's free, he's very decent indeed. 

The only problem is that he's not Basque. 

Well actually that needn't be a problem, just so long as he never plays for us. It's just like me playing a Youth Only save but then allowing myself to sign non-playing tutors. I'm not asking you lot if you agree with me by the way, I'm just thinking things through in my head. I've already done it once and while it certainly wasn't the plan, it seems like a decent move now. 

I would be able to sign him on a free, take into account his wages and any signing on fee, then loan him out to reduce those costs and then flog him  next Summer. 

He wants £22,500 over 4 years with £750,000 + £140,000 to pay in fees. That comes to a total of £980,000. I think he's worth way more than that. I think he worth £10M+ and even more than that if I can get him loaned to the right club and doing well. 

I think this is a no-brainer of a deal. I think I'm in. 

BOOM! 

He's immediately worth £20M. He's still not playing though. In fact he's not even getting registered so that there can be no mistakes. No to get him out somewhere on loan. 

I have a feeling that he is not going to be very happy, but as long as he is unhappy somewhere else then who cares? Right? 

 While all the above sounds great, and I had both Ajax and a Spanish club lined up to take him on loan, pay his wages for the season and also give me a few quid for my back pocket, the stubborn oaf refused to go. I didn't register him for either the league or Europe, and will simply have to fill his boots for the Reserves. 

He's already gone up in value from £20M to £22M by the way. 

We have an existing link with Real Irun and I have tweaked it a little to hopefully mean that we will get some Spanish Basques coming through the Academy. 

10 (TEN) Players called up for Int duty.

But nobody above U21 level yet.

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul & Aug 2042. 

Pre-season went as pre-season goes, (if you ignore the 10 goals we scored against someone and the fact that 20k+ fans turned up to watch us draw with Spurs). 

We've struggled in the league at the start of this campaign, but that doesn't really tell the whole story. 

Guingamp.

Lens. 

We lost both of these games 2-0 and I think it's reasonable to say that we were unlucky not to come away with a win in each game. It's early days yet though and I try not to get bogged down by individual results, (because there will be another one just round the corner). 

I don't know what's going on with our "form" in the bottom right hand corner, but any idiot can see that we haven't won our last 5 games. 

The real excitement at the beginning of this season has been our 1st foray into European football. 

I'm obviously REALLY happy with this and it possibly goes a little way to explaining our under-performance in the league. While our 1st team is decent now, we really do still lack strength in depth and it's clear to see where my priority has been. I was really keen to get to the Group Stages, (at least), at our 1st attempt, if a little surprised that our board expected us to not only qualify for the Group Stages, but also get out of the Group. 

As luck would have it, I think there is a reasonable chance of us getting out of the group, but where as I have prioritised the EURO Cup over league games thus far, it will be the other way around from now on. 

Viktora Plzen are a Czech team who dropped down from the Champions League after losing to Sporting Lisbon. They have got out of their EURO Cup Group on each of the last 5 seasons so they are comfortable at this level, but they have only progresses past the 1st Knockout Round on 1 of those 5 occasions. 

Fiorentina are obviously the Italian giants of yesteryear. They got as far as the Quarter Finals in 2040/41, but they are not big regulars in Europe now. 

Zorya are from Ukraine, (and yes I had to check). They didn't qualify for the Group stages last season and didn't get out of the Group stages the previous 2 seasons. They should offer us 2 easy games at least. 

Surprisingly, (because I don't think it's the case in real life), Viktoria Plzen are probably the big-hitters in the group. We are very much an unknown quantity but with Fiorentina getting the furthest in recent years will be the dark horses. Zorya are expected to be the whipping boys. 

Edited April 25, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Big Arrival. Sep 2042. 

Although my attempts to sign another striker were thwarted, I did bring in a young striker. 

Because of the way I play, (with the IR button), I'ma  big fan of having different types of players available who can offer something different and possibly change the game just by being introduced, (with the aid of personalised player instructions). Big Dom (BAS) certainly does that and more. As well as being 6'6" at the age of 16, he has some pretty decent attributes. Some of them also suggest that he is not going to be that arch-typical TM that I initially thought of. That being said, he's slower than a slow thing from Slowville so I have do something with him. Hopefully I will be able to turn him into a sort of TM plus, we he can fulfill the role of a TM, but also really surprise the opposition with his technical ability. The 1st thing I have done with him is arranged to get him learning the "Runs with ball often" PPM and I think this will really suit him. 

1. What role(duty) do you see him developing into? 
2. Are there any PPM's that you think might benefit him and why? 
3. What role(duty) do you think suits him best now and why? 

He's obviously basque coming from Bilbao. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sept 2042.

It was a decent month with 13 goals scored over 5 games including 3 wins, but it could have been so much better. 

We led PSG 2-0 but the score was 2-1 to us when (39b) Xabier (Res) * after 33 minutes for a 2nd yellow. We then had a 2nd player, Álvaro (BAS) (Fickle) * sent off on 60 mins, again for a 2nd yellow. We were bossing the game before the 1st red and even 2 players down the mighty PSG needed an OG to beat us. Progress of a sort I think.

The following game against Auxerre saw us draw rather than lose, but we really should have won. 

You might notice that (39i) Jon Villar (F.Pro) scored against Havre on his 1st start of the season, and it gives me the opportunity to update you on his recent history. 

He's not great at all and probably isn't good enough for this level, (no probably about it), but the reality is that we are short of depth in attack and he is probably the 4th best striker at the club right now. 

You might also have noticed that he is now a Milan player and is back with us on loan. Milan came in with a cash offer for a player that I really didn't see having a future at the club, so I was going to sell even if they didn't agree to let him come back on loan for the season. 

That wasn't the full extent of the deal though. He might not make 10 league appearances for Milan, bit if he does, (and it's possible), then we get another £1M. If he scores 10 league goals for them, (and he has just scored a Ligue 1 goal for us so you never know), then we get another £1M, We also get £120,000 for each of his 1st 20 league games giving us another £2.4M. Milan have also agreed to play us in a friendly, and we will get 25% of any re-sale value. I couldn't believe it when they also agreed to send him back on loan. The only thing is, maybe I have undervalued him and he has better PA than I thought. 

Edited April 25, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

13 players called up for International duty. Oct 2042.

[numbas2]

Who is in the way of Xabier/Dulce leading the line for France?

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, numbas2 said:

Who is in the way of Xabier/Dulce leading the line for France?

There are some amazing French players. The bloke Wolff who I think went from Lyon to Spurs last year has only just become too old for the U21's. 

Let me have a look and see who is the best that I can find. 

Well for a start Wolff doesn't seem to be French, (I know the name sounds German), but I was sure it was him who was the main man for the FRA U21 side. Maybe not. 

There are 34 French strikers who are valued at £50M+

Lavergne (FRA) (F.Det).

Launay (FRA) (F.Det).

Léo (FRA) (F.Amb).

Morel (FRA) (Driven).

So they are the most valuable strikers available for (FRA), if not the best, but let's see who is in the (FRA) squad right now. 

Ah ha! There is Wolff. He's being played as a midfielder. 

*** Wolff (FRA) (Res).

There is absolutely no doubt that he can play in central midfield, but there is no way on Earth I would be playing him there. 

Morel (FRA) (Driven).

We have seen him already. 

Lavergne (FRA) (F.Det).

We have seen him already. 

Ulisses (FRABRA) (Bal).

Léo (FRA) (F.Amb).

We have seen him already. 

The only other French striker with more than 3 Caps is this bloke. 

Gauthier (FRA) (Bal).

This is the current starting striker in the (FRA) U23 side. 

Beau "Papin" (FRA) (F.Pro).

This bloke is 1 of 3 starting strikers for (FRA) U21's. He's no longer eligible for the U21's but has scored 31 goals in 40 U21 appearances. 

Sabatier (FRA) (Bal).

This bloke is someone I'm a big fan of, (hence the *** before his name). He's going to be very good and is still only 19. He's scored 15 goals in 17 U21 appearances. 

*** Michaël (FRA) (F.Amb).

Now I will show you what (39b) Xabier (Res) * and (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * look like right now. 

(36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) *.

A;; 3 of his (FRA) U21 appearances have been as a sub. Surprisingly, (considering their respective scoring records), (39b) Xabier (Res) is very much ahead of (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * in terms of the (FRA) U21's pecking order. 

(39b) Xabier (Res) *.

He started slowly for (FRA) U21's, but recently he has been on absolute fire. He didn't score in any of his opening 4 games, (where he started on the bench on each occasion), before scoring 12 goals in his last 6 games

[Jimbokav1971]

Dirty. Oct 2032. 

A pretty decent month all things considered, but still one that made me feel like I needed a good wash.

No, it wasn't the loss to Sochaux that pained me, or the fact that we won 1-0 with a GK free-kick, (absolutely love that by the way), but simply the fact that I let the Ass Man pick the team for the Ligue Cup game away to Bordeaux and while we won convincingly 5-0, Leroy (FRA) (F.Det) scored 2 goals.  You might remember that he is NOT Basque and is NOT meant to be playing. I purposefully didn't register him for the League or the European games to avoid just this situation, but was careless with this squad selection and he slipped through. 

So what do I do now? 

• What's done is done. It's no longer a Basque only save. Just admit it and open the save up to everyone. (You must be joking. Everyone knows the thing about "the exception proving the rule", and this is just a perfect example of that. We We are still Basque Only!)
• Shush. Nobody will notice as long as you don't mention it in the thread. Just say nothing and nobody will know. (I think the cat just might be out of the bag). 
• You are a cheat. A dirty low-down cheating cheaty cheat. The only way to make up for this is to throw the next round of the Cup to even things up. (Well actually, the minimum expectation is that the club make the 4th Round. The last game was the 3rd Round so we have done it. That's it then. I'm going to play a whole starting XI of U21 players in the next round by way of an apology to the FM Gods, myself, and anyone else that cares...... so that's nobody right?)
• Apologise profusely, give yourself 20 lashings of something, make a mental note to be more careful when selecting domestic Cup matches in future and just move on. (The only lashings of anything I might be getting is ginger beer as of Enid Blyton's Famous Five).

[Jimbokav1971]

International Call-Ups. Nov 2042. 

@numbas2recent asked who was keeping (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * and (39b) Xabier (Res) * out of the France squad and I posted quite a detailed response highlight all the major players in the striking position for France. I should have just saved my breath and responded "none" at least in the case of (39b) Xabier (Res) *.

We have our 1st call-up to French Senior International Team. 

(36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * is too old for the U21's now, so what I hoped, (and it was only a slight hope), is that (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * would get called up to the Senior squad and (39b) Xabier (Res) * would stay in the U21 squad and that way they would both still be getting called up for International duty. 

Unfortunately, something happened in the last match that threw a spanner into the works in that respect. 

While he only scored 1 goal, (and provided 2 assists), 36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * was hugely influential and had I been the French Manager I think it's he that I would have called up to the French squad rather than the kid who scored 5 goals, (but maybe I'm biased). 

I'm not sure that (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * will ever get called up for the French squad. I just don't think he is good enough, (irrespective of how many goals he scores). 

[Edit]

(39b) Xabier (Res) * was on the bench for games against Paraguay and England, but hasn't got on yet.

Edited April 27, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2042. 

This looks like a poor month, but actually I'm relatively pleased.  I picked a weakened team against Zorya, (a very young side), and we came away with a point. We got a draw against Monaco with players missing through suspension, International call-ups and injury and the only game where I would say we were "unlucky" was against Viktoria Plzen which is our 1st loss in Europe and was always going to be our hardest game in Europe so far. 

(36c) Schmidt (Bal) * has now scored 5 goals this season, (and 30 in his career in total). Interestingly he has managed only 1 goal in the league, 1 in the cup but 3 from 11 games in Europe. 

We are struggling at the moment competing in both domestic and European games, but I love the fact that we have extra games so I'm certainly not complaining. It's really giving me a chance to blood younger players not just in Europe, but also in domestic league games when I want to freshen things up. If we can stay in contention for a European spot now while we are still in Europe, I would hope that we can kick on after we get knocked out, (assuming the post-intake down-turn in form doesn't strike again.

[Jimbokav1971]

The best? Dec 2042.

This award seems very....... "French". Maybe it's relative to expectations or something like that. Does that make me the French Wolves? 

[Jimbokav1971]

New contract. Dec 2042.

I'd love to get offered a 5 year contract or something that fits in with both the long-term way that I play and also the ridiculous levels the club has improved with me at the helm. 2 year? Is that it?

[Jimbokav1971]

World U21 Footballer of the Year. Dec 2042.

This award is given in December, so it's properly a "year" rather than a season. 

(39b) Xabier (Res) * was decent last season, (with 16 goals in 34(1) appearances), but he has reached a whole different level this season, (with 22 goal in 20(5) appearances). He has also scored 12 goals for FRA U21's in 4(2) appearances this season. 

My only problem with him is that he is no longer our player and we only have him until the end of the season when he joins Sporting Lisbon. I will obviously be keeping an eye on him and hope to get him back at some point, but we have to get into the Champions League for that to be even a possibility. I plan on doing something that @OfficiallyTeach on twitter taught me, which is to actually go to watch players in game, (so you click on the game so that you attend it and can watch as normal), and this is a good way to unsettle players. I will be watching young (39b) Xabier (Res) * regularly in Europe for Sporting. 

[Edit]

He also came Runners Up in the French Player of the Year award. More goals, more assists and a better average rating. Who decides on the recipient of this award? #Fixed

Edited April 27, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2042.

This was a really good month, with the only negative being that we were unable to score against Mets 3 days after smashing 7 past Nice. 

As promised I completely rotated the starting XI against Nice in the Ligue Cup, and the ages of the starting XI was as follows. 

20, 19, 16, 18, 23, 17, 16, 18, 18, 18 & 17. 

20 year old GK (38a) Teo Guerin (Bal) (2038)* opened the scoring with a free-kick, and the only other non-teenager was 23 year old left back (34g) Joshua Rondeau (Bal) who made his 1st Senior start of the season and only the 7th of his career. He is in no way a regular starter but i really didn't have a decent prospect option available at left back. I thought the kids had done enough to win, but Nice hit bake late on and we had to win it on pens in the end. 

We've moved up to 5th in Ligue 1, but there is a gap of 6 points between us and Lyon above us. PSG & Metz have each lost only 1 game and Marseille sit atop the table thanks to an attack that is the only one more potent than our own. They have scored 46 goals in 19 games at an average of 2.42 goals per game. That they have only scored more than 4 goals in 1 Ligue 1 game suggests that they are very consistent. We may have scored 42 goals in the same 19 games, but we have done so by virtue of scoring 7, 6 and 5 goals in single games and failing to score in 5 games. We have been FAR less consistent and that's the difference. 

(41b) Rubén (Bal) *.

Allow me to introduce you to (41b) Rubén (Bal) *. He's the next big thing and recently scored his 1st and 2nd Ligue 1 goals of his career, (after opening his account in the Champions League earlier this season)

He's scoring at almost a goal a game for the Reserves in National 2-B and is developing nicely. I'm surprised that he hasn't been called up for the FRA U19's yet, but maybe that call-up isn't too far away. Need to look at his PPM's though. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2043. 

You may wonder about the sense in playing so many friendlies during Jan when there is a very good reason for a break of a few weeks and the fact is simply that they were friendlies agreed as a result of transfers made and I just didn't want to lose the money they brought in. If I had left it until pre-season to get all the friendlies in then we would just have run out of room. 

While the above looks ok but not amazing, it looks a lot better when you remove the games that don't count. 

The 1 game that we lost was 3 days before the Ligue Cup Semi against Monaco and it was a question of priorities. I was desperate to make the Final and I hoped that we would still come good in the league. As it would happen. Lyon fluked it against us in the dying moments when a free-kick that was meant to be a cross, deceived everyone and snuck in at the far post. 

Despite how well we are doing, there is still an 8 point gap between us and Metz in 4th who have still only lost 1 game. They are not in Europe this season and have already crashed out of both Cups so it's far easier for them to focus on their league games. 

In any case, there is still plenty of time between now and the end of the season, (17 games for us and Metz), so there is plenty of time to reel them in, especially if we beat them away.  

Transfers. 

I declined this next one not because the money wasn't good, (it was), or because the add-on's weren't ok, (they were decent), but because he still has 3 and a half years left on his contract. I'm all for selling players and making a good profit to push the club on to the next level, and I have no doubt that (39a) Jesús (F.Pro) (2039) * will go on to big things, but I;m not selling him when he has so long left on his contract. The other thing of course is that while we are still in Europe and in the French Cup and the Ligue Cup and challenging for a European place for next season, the games are coming thick and fast and I rarely get a safe opportunity to rest players. 

[AdamFitz]

That Xabier sell-on clause is gonna make you a fortune one day soon  great read mate

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, AdamFitz said:

That Xabier sell-on clause is gonna make you a fortune one day soon  great read mate

Thanks. 

That's why it was important where he went as well as how much he went for. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake Day. Mar 2043.

Golden Generation? Yeah ok. We will see how they look in a few years. 

1x 5.0 PA player makes any intake a good intake, but actually in this instance the fact that there are some players who appear to be able to play supporting roles to the bright shining star of (43a) Javier (Unamb) (2043) * in encouraging. We don't need 1 brilliant player each season, (although I wouldn't say no), we need depth to come through. In this case it would seem like we have that. 

(43a) Javier (Unamb) (2043) * is a P rather than an AF but I can work with that. 
(43b) Ochoa (Bal) looks a decent DL.
(43c) Fayolle (Unamb) is a much-needed GK. The GK's at the club are now 15, 18, 20 & 22. We need to keep the production line going in this area in order to keep the Youth Team sorted in this position. 
(43d) López (Det) is a PF rather than an AF and although I'm not keen, (finishing of 5), it will perhaps allow me to experiment more with roles(duties) up front. 
(43e) Zuhaitz (Merc) looks a decent AML  but we probably have 3 players, (at least), with better PA in this position.

I immediately released the 3 players at the bottom, (43n), (43o) & (43p). Their CA and PA seems to be so low that they will not offer anything to even the Youth Team and additionally I was concerned that their (Det) levels, (4, 4 & 5), would bring the squad average down. 

(43c) Fayolle (Unamb) has a low (Det) rating of 5, (and shocking workrate of 1), but he is a GK with decent looking potential so we can make an exception for him. 
(43i) Álvarez (L.Det) also has a low (Det) rating, this time 2, but I keep changing my mind about him. 1st I offered him a contract. Then I was all set to press release and now I am looking at him again and I think I should offer him a contract again. 

"Kriss" (43a) Javier (Unamb) (2043) *.

He looks better than decent and should hopefully be able to make a significant impact on the Senior squad in time. 

He does have a rather good media handling style. 

And this is a LOT of favoured personnel for Day 1, (of which I'm obviously one). 

The more I see of him, the more I like him. If I was being REALLY picky, then the only thing that I see and don't like is composure, and the PPM of shoots with power, but actually that PPM probably fits with the low composure rating and I think it also offers me a slightly different type of player to the clinical strikers that I prefer to produce. Instead of changing him to look like some of my other strikers, I might play on that difference a little. Let's get him running the channels, (decent workrate), trying 1st time shots, (decent technique), and maybe cut inside from both flanks, (poor crossing). I also wonder if I might encourage him to play in just a slightly more withdrawn role too? Not completely sure how I'm going to do this yet but..... drops deep to get ball perhaps? I don't like this in a 1 up top, but in a 2? 

Interestingly players (43b) - (43j) inclusive are all Bayonne supporters but this kid isn't. 

This is the player whom I was going to release, (initially based on just his low (Det), but the truth is he could be decent and I just can't afford to take the risk and release him no matter how poor his (Det). 

(43i) Álvarez (L.Det).

Yes it was the low (Det) which made me look at him initially but the other negative thing which I think influenced me initially is that he's a PF rather than a finisher and that's not what I particularly like. The fact is though that he's decent and should easily make an impact on the Youth Team at least, especially when you consider that (43a) Javier (Unamb) (2043) * and (43d) López (Det) are probably going to be fast-tracked to senior football and are not going to spend much time in the Youth Team after the 1st year. 

No, my final decision is that I WILL be offering him a contract rather than releasing him and will do so right now so I don't forget. I will also be adding a "?" to the end of his name to act as a reminder that the jury was out on him initially and I will try to comment if and when he does something, (or more likely I notice that he hasn't done anything). 

The only problem now is that he won't negotiate a new contract with me because I previously withdrew. 

PA at the club. 

With this seasons "Kriss" there are now 11 players at the club with 5.0 PA. 

While (39b) Xabier (Res) * is at the top of the list and we know him as a superstar in the making, (39a) Jesús (F.Pro) (2039) * is at the bottom of the list but is attracting significant attention himself. 

0x GK.
0x DL.
2x DC.
0x DR.
1x MC.
3x AML.
2x AMR.
3x SC.

I think we are sorted for GK's in the short term so will be happy not to get another through for about 3 seasons, but we are struggling to bring through depth at the back and I might have to look at bringing in a new HoYD. I'm particularly dismayed that we are not producing full-backs because they are one of my favourite positions and can be so influential. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2043.

We are still in the Cup, (after seeing of PSG Reserves), (by the way it still riles me that both PSG Reserves and Monaco Reserves have been able to be promoted so that they can enter the Cups now. I don't think it replicates real life, but if they can cheat then I want to cheat too!).  We beat Southampton 6-4 on aggregate with our attacking triumvirate of (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) *, (39b) Xabier (Res) * and (39a) Jesús (F.Pro) (2039) * scoring in each leg and in that order. 

We came properly unstuck against both Marseille and Auxerre and needed a hat-trick from 16 year old (41b) Rubén (Bal) * to get us back on track with a win against Tours. 

We're currently in 4th which is great, but there is a gap of 11 points to Metz above us. Interestingly, PSG and Metz in 3rd and 4th have only lost once and twice respectively, yet Marseille and Lyon at the top of the table have lost 4 and 5 times each. 

Unfortunately though I am looking below us rather than up and there are 3 clubs, (Monaco, Sochaux and Rennes), sitting just a single point behind us. 

With regards to European qualification......

The winner of the French Cup gets a EURO Cup spot, but not if it's won by Lyon Reserves, Monaco Reserves, PSG Reserves or 11 other clubs. It would be interesting to know why the other 11 clubs can't compete. (Are they French overseas colonies?)

The winner of the Ligue Cup also gets a EURO Cup spot, but again, not if it's won by PSG reserves, Lyon Reserves or Monaco Reserves. Why do these 3 Reserve clubs get preferential treatment and how do I join them?

[Saintmat]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

We beat Southampton 6-4 on aggregate with our attacking triumvirate of (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) *, (39b) Xabier (Res) * and (39a) Jesús (F.Pro) (2039) * scoring in each leg and in that order. 

The only part of this thread so far I haven't approved of 

 

[numbas2]

You are a cheat. A dirty low-down cheating cheaty cheat 

Loved the feedback on my question over the French strikeforce - nice one! Get in there Xabier!

Your Euro campaign has gone under the radar a bit (for me)... I see in latest post you're in the knock-outs which is crazy good all things considered. Tell me to sod off and continue as is, but as I've seen in other threads the fixture/result list when separated and commented on by competition provides a clearer overview for the reader. (I should add at this point that this is the most enjoyable thread I've read on here in a looonnnngg time. Loving it )

[WillHoward42]

Your HOYD always seems to sort you out with a decent striker! 

Any of the current youngsters you've got that you are expecting to hit the same levels as Xabier?

[Nobby_McDonald]

My understanding, in England at least, is that the money from fines go to charity.

Has Dulce turned tee total now? His off field antics have gone very quiet.

[Jimbokav1971]

10 hours ago, numbas2 said:

You are a cheat. A dirty low-down cheating cheaty cheat 

Loved the feedback on my question over the French strikeforce - nice one! Get in there Xabier!

Your Euro campaign has gone under the radar a bit (for me)... I see in latest post you're in the knock-outs which is crazy good all things considered. Tell me to sod off and continue as is, but as I've seen in other threads the fixture/result list when separated and commented on by competition provides a clearer overview for the reader. (I should add at this point that this is the most enjoyable thread I've read on here in a looonnnngg time. Loving it )

That's a good point actually. I started off highlighting European games but then it just sort of morphed into 1. Yes you are right. Showing them separately and with the European Group C/whatever table is definitely the way to go and something that I shall be doing in the future. Good shout. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, WillHoward42 said:

Your HOYD always seems to sort you out with a decent striker! 

Any of the current youngsters you've got that you are expecting to hit the same levels as Xabier?

It's hard to tell if I'm honest because sometimes the scouting stars are a little unreliable to say the least. If I sort the squad  by PA and only include strikers, then this is what it gives me. 

There are 3 players there who have just been signed to create some profit. They are not basque so cannot play for us.

Leroy (FRA) (F.Det) £
Bruno (FRA) (Bal) £
Hervé Menard (Spirit) £

Actually there is a 4th one that I missed.

Petrucci (ITA) (Fickle) £

That leaves us with 21 players on the list. 6 play on the wing or behind a striker.  The bottom 5 are never really gonna be good enough for the 1st Team. That leaves us with 21-6-5=10

(39b) Xabier (Res) *
(43a) Javier (Unamb) (2043) *
(41b) Rubén (Bal) *
Big Dom (BAS)
(36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) *
(43d) López (Det)
JMM (BAS) (Bal)

I think the player mentioned in bold are likely to impact the senior squad. Everyone else, not so much. 

As for how good they will be, who knows......

The players below could probably be added to the 5 that aren't going to be good enough to make an impact. 

(41h) Jon Besnard. (Bal)
(38g) Jon Rodríguez (Unamb)
(36d) Pasquier (L.Det)

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

My understanding, in England at least, is that the money from fines go to charity.

Has Dulce turned tee total now? His off field antics have gone very quiet.

Ah cheers Nobby. I did wonder. 

I've had no more issues with Dulce so fingers crossed that will be the end of it. Maybe it was because he was the big man before, scoring all the goals and getting all the attention and now he is in the shadow of Xabier a little so there is less demand for his company? 

[Northernpilgrim]

Unbelievable career so far, really enjoying it

[Jimbokav1971]

8 hours ago, Northernpilgrim said:

Unbelievable career so far, really enjoying it

Thanks. 

I feel I need to issue a warning at this time. I'm usually not bad at getting to this stage of these types of careers, but I also often usually struggle to finish the job and make the jump to the very top of the pile. I never managed to complete the @dafugeor @Gundochallenges, but did manage to break the cycle and complete the San Marino challenge. When playing in Iceland and Gibraltar the best I did was to get out of the Group Stages. I actually feel that winning the Champions League is more likely than winning the French League. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Out. Mar 2043.

We are out of the EURO League at the 2nd Knockout Round stage. 

Part of me thinks that we have done well to get this far while prioritising our Ligue 1 games, (after qualifying for the Group Stage). But another part of me knows that (39b) Xabier (Res) * won't be here next season and we will be significantly weaker in his absence. (He's scored 35 competitive goals already this season and we have at least 14 games still to play and possibly as many as 17. I don't think it unreasonable that he is going to break the 50 goal marker).

The money from our run will have been significant in terms of prize money, (£7.8M this season compared to £0.9M last season), gate receipts, (£9M already with 14 games left compared to £7.2M last season), but the biggest benefit will have been that we were able to play so more competitive games meaning that young players could get more game-time. Not just in Europe, but also in domestic games when other player s have been fatigued. 

All in all, got to be happy with that. 

It could have been more though as we were denied a 2nd goal in the 83rd minute that would have seen us progress on the away goals rule. The goal was ruled out for off-side, (from a short corner). It was too close to see properly, so we are going to have to accept that the lino got it right. 

Edited April 30, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Setback. Mar 2043.

@WillHoward42recently asked me which striker of any was most likely to pick up the mantle left by (39b) Xabier (Res) * when he leaves. In my usual long-winded style, I didn't properly answer but suggested that most likely candidate to fill his boots might be (41b) Rubén (Bal) *. 

Well apart from a serious dent in his bravery, (am I the only one who things that just hammering a players bravery if he received a serious injury is over-kill?

Does every player who gets injured come back traumatised? 

This could have a huge impact on his career. In the past it would have been a career-ender, but now he should be able to recover. The biggest impact is going to be the lack of development over a 9 month period during the key developmental phase in his career. 

Edited May 1, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2043.

You already know that we have gone out of the EURO Cup, but I'm afraid that we have also crashed out of French Cup. 

It's a little disappointing that we have crashed out so early, but dems da breaks. 

You might notice that a young man by the name of (41a) Jérôme (F.Det) (2041) * scored a hat-trick against Montpellier in the Ligue. You might expect this not to be a huge surprise, but he's not a striker or a wide attacker. He is actually a central midfielder. 

We are 6th in the League, but still in touching distance of Rennes, (who were promoted last season remember). Metz and the 3 big-boys are a little further away, (especially Marseille who are absolutely romping it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Ligue Cup Final. Apr 2043. 

Could be this be our 1st top tier silverware? 

What a let-down. 

Our strikers just had really poor days. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2043.

We started with a poor result against Nantes, (after scoring in the 1st minute), and if we ignore the Ligue Cup Final loss, then everything was well until the Metz game. We had propelled ourselves up into a Champions League place somehow and Metz were the team we were fighting with. All we had to do was avoid defeat and we would put ourself in a good position for the run-in. (39b) Xabier (Res) * was injured and out for the resat of the season, (so that's him seemingly played his last game for us), but we could still make the step up and qualify for the Champions League. That we lost tp a goal from this position, even after (36c) Schmidt (Bal) * had scored his 6th goal of the season and 31st of his career is still pretty hard to take. 

What are you doing!!!! No.... Don't give it back to him!!! 

As it would happen, I think Metz must have had a game in hand or something because they are 4 points ahead of us now and they still have a game in hand. I promise you we were in 4th at 1 point.