[FM19] French Lingerie - Acre State, Brazil

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2043. 

An unbeaten league month means that we are now undefeated in 10 games an as the league table shows have only lost twice in 20 games. 

We're the top scorers in the league and only Lyon have conceded fewer. 

We sit 2nd in the league, just a single point behind Lyon.

PSG have won only 1 of their last 7 games in all competitions, and they are away to Monaco in the 9th Round of the Cup and are unlikely to progress. 

Champions Marseille are languishing in 12th after failing to win any of their last 8 league games, taking just 4 points from a possible 24 points and dropping from 3rd to 12th in the process. 

We failed to beat Man City in the Group B decider, so qualify as Runners Up from the group and will play Benfica in the 1st knockout round. 

We progressed in the Ligue Cup courtesy of a brace from 28 year old striker Txomin (BAS) (Bal) who I mentioned in a recent post. He has now scored 5 goals in 6(3) appearances for the senior team after impressing in the Reserves. Signing a player like him of course knock our youngsters down the pecking order, but I wasn't to win Youth and Reserve games and I don't feel the youngsters are quite ready to step up to the Senior team right now. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Wonderkids x4. Jan 2044.

Any regular readers of this thread will know all about (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * and (39b) Xabier (Res) * who were our 1st 2 wonderkids. 

23 year old (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * is still at the club but is no longer classed as a wonderkid. 

19 year old (39b) Xabier (Res) * went to Benfica and is now at Spurs and is still considered a wonderkid. 

I've just looked and we now have 4 more of our own. 

18 year old (40c) Dumont (Driven) * shows as having "Very High" injury susceptibility, but I don't expect him to play every game and I'm willing to put up with that. 

Looking at him now in the cold light of day, I wonder if he might do a job for us up top through the middle? It's something that I will have to keep in mind. I know his finishing isn't clinical, but he's a physical beast and I think he might offer us something more dynamic up there. 

The only serious injury he has suffered has been a torn thigh muscle, but he suffered a relapse upon his return and this doubled the amount of time he was out. 

18 year old (40a) Ruiz (F.Det) (2040) * is a player I really like. The first choice left winger is (39a) Jesús (F.Pro) (2039) * who is "wrong-sided" and although I'm not a fan of that, it does seem to cause absolute bedlam in the opposition ranks. I would be happy to see (39a) Jesús (F.Pro) (2039) * leave on the basis that it would give (40a) Ruiz (F.Det) (2040) * the chance to cement his position as first choice left winger. 

18 year old (40b) Reta (Bal) * is competing for a starting spot with (40c) Dumont (Driven) *. In reality there are just too many games for 1 player to play, especially when the players in question are so young and one of whom is susceptible to injury. As far as I'm concerned they are level pegging and I don't really have a clear idea of who is first-choice. Who plays when is largely dependant on form, fitness and morale. 

20 year old "wrong sided" IF or W is (39a) Jesús (F.Pro) (2039) * and Iike one of the players mentioned already, I wonder why I never thought of playing him through the middle. (Actually I think I did early on, but at the time we were weaker on the left than through the middle so I forgot about it). Now though..... I'm sure he could do a job up front and it might be interesting to see what role I could get him to fulfill successfully. 

The HoYD has done brilliantly in bringing these players in, but I'm desperate for some centre-backs. That's what I really need him to bring through.

[Jimbokav1971]

Record for High Spending. Jan 2044. 

It might seem like I have gone mad, but I really haven't. I can't remember the last time I bought this many players in 1 season. (FM14 perhaps!). 

.

Garitano (BAS) (F.Det).

He was signed on a free as a back-up to the back-up. He's had a little moan about not playing, but a little slap and he was soon back in line. He might have only scored 3 goals in 2(2) appearances since signing, but his goals were important and allowed me to rest other players without losing. That's exactly what he was signed for. He scored 2 goals in the Champions League Group Stage as we drew 3-3 with Napoli, and then scored the 2nd goal as we beat Toulouse 3-2 in extra time in the Cup. Without him I think there is a fair chance that we might have lost either game had I rested my regular starters. 

Txomin (BAS) (Bal).

I'm REALLY pleased with how this signing has worked out. We paid only £525,000 for him and he has returned 5 goals in 7(4) appearances. He sits on the bench most weeks, (allowing the youngsters to play and develop in the Reserves/Youth Team), and then comes up with valuable goals when we need him. 

Muñoz (BAS) (F.Loyal) *.

Signed purely for his 4.5 PA and his relatively modest asking price, (he had a min fee release clause of £2.2M so I activated it). It remains to be seen how he will develop, but I would expect to make a profit on him at the very least. 

Eneko (BAS) (Bal) *.

We've been a little lacking in the left back area so I was keen to invest in someone who would come in and offer immediate support to the 1st team, but at the same time offer some potential for the future. 5.0 PA seems like a bargain for just a £3.7M outlay, although there is no guarantee that he will reach his PA as 19 going on 20 is probably a bit old to start working on him. In any case, he immediately becomes my 2nd choice DL and has significantly more potential than anyone else competing with him for a place right now. Again, as well as improving our depth, we will surely make a profit on him. 

De Paula (BAS) (Bal) *.

Although I paid £6M for him, (and don't intend playing anyone in the hole and have an abundance of riches wide left), he was signed more with the future in mind than the hear and now. That being said, I think he can offer us something a little unorthodox up front through the middle. At 18 years old he's already a big lump at 6'4" and I can see him adapting easily to roles that I use less commonly than the AF. I'm thinking TM, Treq or even WTM. I think he's really versatile and will become an excellent addition from the bench for us. With his PA at 5.0 I'm again confidant of making a profit on him if it doesn't quite work out. 

There are still 10 days left of the window, but I think that's me done as far as purchases are concerned, although I might be tempted to splash out again if someone comes in with a big offer for 1 of out lads. 

This £13.5M hasn't left us short though. There have been a fair few lads going the other way at the same time, (and I expect more to leave in the next 10 days before the window closes). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Spending not quite as over as I suggested. Feb 2044.

Yeah I know I said our spending was over, but it wasn't, so here are the late arrivals. 

I've been on the look-out for a centre-half to come in and play straight away, but I wasn't willing to break the bank either in terms of fee or wages. 

Mikel Ros (BAS) (Bal).

He had been on my radar for a while, but I didn't think that A.Bilbao would let him leave because he was out on loan. Luckily my scout suggested otherwise and the fee was a snip at £3.3M and the wages not too much either at £17,250 per week. We don't pay anyone more than £38,000 per week, (which is tiny now for the level we are competing at), but he was able to fit nicely within that budget and is right on a par with our 2 best centre-backs. They can't play every week though so I was desperate to sign some support. 

Oh hang on.... No, don't say it.....

Yep, despite the fact that we were able to register him for both Ligue 1 and Champions League, he can't play for us because he has already represented 2 other teams in the last 12 months. 

The reason I didn't notice was because he has only played 1 game for Valladolid and that was 3 days ago. The scout report I was looking at was before that so he was still eligible to play for us when the report was written so there was nothing to mention about it. 

Now I've got the hump!

The other player was a GK my HoYD signed on a free. Looks to have decent potential so I paid a few quid to sign him now. Can't be bothered to show him as he's not Basque and not amazing anyway. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2044. 

We lost for the 1st time in 17 league games and I'm afraid the responsibility is all mine as I rotated the starting lineup completely because I wanted to prioritise a Ligue Cup Semi-Final being played 4 days later against league leaders Lyon. The rotation worked in so much as we won the Semi, (against a significantly better but more fatigued team), but it cost us in terms of Ligue 1 points. 

Although we've dropped to 4th in the league, we are only 3 points behind leaders Lyon and have a game in hand. We have 2 games in hand over 2nd placed Nice and 1 game in hand over 3rd places Lens. The chasing pack, (headed by Monaco and Sochaux), have played 2 games more, (although I note that PSG are improving and are up to 7th, trailing by 6 points and having just played 1 game more. 

This was the reason I particularly wanted to sign that centre-half, (you know, the ineligible one). 

There were no Champions League games in January as the focus changed to the domestic Cups but our decent form continued.

We needed extra-time to squeeze by against Toulouse with a weakened squad, but the 2 Ligue Cup games saw us field our strongest teams and progress to Final as a result. I should point out that we haven't won a major trophy yet and the fact that we will be playing the Final at home against Auxerre suggests that there is reason for optimism that we might be in with a chance of sorting that. 

I thought it was strange that we were at home, but after checking it seems we were also at home last season when Lyon beat us in the Final. 

Thankfully we're not the only team to lose a "Home" Final, as Marseille, Toulouse and Lens have all lost home finals in recent years. 

[optimusprimal82]

Some great progress Jimbo silverware getting ever closer - top for goals scored and second for least conceded is a very nice place to be in too! Incredible given the way PSG tend to throw cash around too, although they're obviously having struggles this year!

Future looking very bright and a world away from the financial struggles of old - Good luck for the rest of the season!

[Nobby_McDonald]

I reckon he'll be buying some polish very soon.

[Jimbokav1971]

54 minutes ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

I reckon he'll be buying some polish very soon.

I am restricted to Basque players only. If I sign any Polish players they will be unavailable to play. 

[numbas2]

Not been back to check as have been away for a couple of weeks. Awesome progress

[Jimbokav1971]

Scouting Spurs, (or (39b) Xabier (Res) * in particular). Feb 2044.

This is the 1st chance I have had to attend a game and watch him play since he left us. Spurs have played their European games on the same night as us up until now. Sadly though, he's only on the bench so hopefully I will see him at some point. 

I might have to start going to watch (FRA) National Team games to see him play. He has 2 Senior Caps to his name now, but hasn't scored yet.  

It was 0-0 at HT with Spurs dominating with poor chances and Sevilla starting to slowly work their way into the match. 

Sevilla take the lead in the 58th min after a GK error. (Our boy is still sitting on the bench). 

Sevilla almost make it 2-0 as they strike the post from a direct free-kick in the 66th min. (Our boy is still sitting on the bench). 

74th min and Sevilla are now rampant. The Spurs manager now looks to his bench and sticks (39b) Xabier (Res) * on. There is no change in formation though and I don't think that's helping their strikers. 

94th min and Sevilla kill the game off with a strike from distance that makes it 2-0. 

The Spurs strikers were completely isolated and (39b) Xabier (Res) * didn't touch the ball at all in the 20 mins he was on the pitch. What a wasted trip. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Day. Feb 2044.

When people look at Youth Intakes, I think there is a significant portion of people who just look at CA and PA, (the very top top top end of each), and if They haven't got a player with a decent amount of CA or absolutely maxed out on PA then they just assume that it's a poor intake. I've mentioned a few times though that just looking at CA and PA can be more than a little misleading. 

If you are managing a really small club, then there is every chance that the PA of the players you produce is going to be better than the players currently in your starting XI. That doesn't mean that the new young players will automatically reach their potential, but the "potential" is there for them to do so. 

It's also similar at the very end of the scale. What about players who you think will have little to no impact on your senior side? If you just bin them off at the outset and don't even offer them a Youth contract, then who is going to play in their position for the Youth Team? If you have a Reserve side that has to support the Senior side during an injury crisis, then who plays in that position if you haven't signed anyone in that position for 3 years running because they were all deemed rubbish?

I want to see my Youth Team do well and my Reserves are in a competitive league in the French structure so while neither are as important to me as the Senior Team, it's not something that I ignore. You wouldn't run a squad with no right backs if your most commonly used tactic played with full-backs would you? So maybe you need to think about that if you look at your Youth/Reserve Team keep losing and you don't know why. Of course Youth players can and do play out of position, but there has to be a limit. I know someone who never used to sign defenders for his Youth Team and then wondered why he never had any depth in that area. 

If I look at my club and this season in particular, I was expecting a better than decent intake in terms of both CA and PA stars and the reason is simple. We recently lost the best player at the club in (39b) Xabier (Res) * and he is the level against which other players are judged. If our best player leaves, (and he has left since the last intake), then the level against which our Newgens will be rated will be lower because our best player now is not as good as our best player during last season's intake. 

Our best player by CA now is (39a) Jesús (F.Pro) (2039) * and while he is good, he's not a patch on (39b) Xabier (Res) *. Because the new players are being rated against (39a) Jesús (F.Pro) (2039) *, there is more chance of a 5.0 PA player than there was while they were being rated against (39b) Xabier (Res) *. So with that in mind I was expecting to receive a "Golden Generation" message with 3 or 4 players rated at 5.0 PA. The fact that we have only 1 is perhaps a little let-down, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. My "target" is 1x 5.0 PA player each intake and we have that, so I can 't really complain. 

 

As well as looking at this and thinking, "damn, I've only got 1x 5.0 PA player", my next thought was, "****, he's a GK too and we already have a good GK", (and you can only play 1 GK at a time right, and in the...... [runs out of fingers] many many many seasons that this save has been going, my GK has never received a red injury or a red card during a match and is rarely, (only very occasionally), injured and unavailable. With that in mind, I really don't need a 2nd senior GK other than to play for the Reserves. With more and more players getting called up for INT duty though, that might change and a 2nd senior GK might be needed. 

"Kriss" (44a) Ochoa (F.Pro) (2044) *.

With the addition of (44a) Ochoa (F.Pro) (2044) *, we now have 7 GK's on the books and that's too many. (Remember that there is a limit of only 7 players that can be loaned to domestic based clubs, (so that's French clubs). As I only have the French and Spanish leagues loaded, that's not ideal for running a big squad and that's the main reason why I worked so hard to get a Spanish affiliate. 

(36c) Schmidt (Bal) * is my 1st choice GK and plays every game and has been 1st choice since 2038/39. He's only 23 years young, (which is young for a GK), and is valued at £13M.

Barbier (BAL) £ will never play for us and has been b ought purely to generate profit. We paid £34,000 for him and I hope to sell him for a modest amount but 50% of re-sale value. He's got 2 (FRA) U21 Caps that are an indication of his quality. 

(43c) Fayolle (Unamb) * has slipped under the radar little. He is rated as a 5.0 player now, (remember the level at which our players are judged has dropped since last year), but he wasn't back then. Because even our best player now is relatively modest in terms of CA in the grand scheme of things, it's really not easy to judge if a player will be really good in the future. A "Generational Talent" tag is great, but it really actually means very little. As the level of our best player increases, then we will start to have a better idea of the potential of our younger players. 

Muñoz (BAS) (F.Loyal) * is Spanish Basque but I can't remember why I signed him. It's possible that I signed him before (43c) Fayolle (Unamb) * came through the intake and then he sort of came surplus to requirements. 

(38a) Teo Guerin (Bal) (2038)* is a really good case in point actually. He was deemed the best player of the 2038 intake, (we have just had the 2044 intake), but despite that he is still only 21 years old. Despite the fact that he was a 5.0 player when he came through, (and seemingly destined for great things), the CA against which players are judged has risen significantly since 2038 so he is now deemed as only having 4.0 PA. In this particular case, the CA of the best players at the club have over-taken his own development, (which makes sense when you think that he has only featured fleetingly for the Senior squad. 

(39f) Ignacio Llorente (Unamb) was signed purely to ensure that the U19's squad had a GK and to provide some depth. He was never and is never going to feature for the senior side. For some reason he's got 4 years left on his contract though. Not sure what I was thinking there. 

I have been quite brave this season and I have decided to immediately "cull" a number of Youth players as they come through the intake. My strategy for much of this save has been to sign absolutely everyone to a Youth contract at least, (if not a Pro contract afterwards), on the basis that even an Ass Man who has a good rating for JPP will be asked to make a snap decision on a player who he has just met. The game is designed for these reports to not be 100% accurate, (and in many cases a long way short of 100% accuracy). 

Players (44j), (44k), (44l), (44m), (44o) & (44p) will all be released immediately and the only player near the bottom of the intake that will be offered a contract is (44n) José Luis Vicuña. (Pro).

If you look at the right hand side of the Youth Intake report, near the top of this report, you will see that there are 2 columns with Det and Wor. 

(Det) obviously stands for Determination and it's this that we are trying to improve. (Actually, rather than improving (Det), what we are trying to to is stop it being dragged down). 

The top 9 players on this list have reasonable (Det) values. 8 of them are in double figures and the only one that isn't has a rating of 9. 

Compare that to the bottom 7 players on the list and 6 out of 7 have poor (Det) values, with the exception only having a rating of 11 which is not exactly amazing. 

I am not saying that there is a direct correlation between (Det) and PA, but let's just have a look at the (Det) and (Wor) values over the last few intakes. Remember, we are looking at the left hand column and the suggestion is that the higher (Det) ratings should be higher on the list, (on average), and the lower (Det) ratings should be lower on the list, (on average). 

So above we have the (Det) and (Wor) values for each of the last 4 intakes. Let's just ignore (Wor) for the moment and concentrate on the left hand (Det) columns for each season. What I'm going to do is cut each list in half, (top and bottom), and then create an average (Det) rating for each half for each year.

The column on the left is 2043 then 2042 to the right then 2041 and on the far right we have 2040. 

2044 average = 9.875 (158/16)
2044 top half average = 13.25 (106/8)
2044 bottom half average = 6.5 (52/8)

What makes the 2044 results a little more interesting is that the player with the highest (Det) is actually in the bottom half of the rating. Even with that, there is still a significant difference between the top half and the bottom half. 

But let's not get too carried away. That's just this years results. That doesn't mean there is a trend and maybe I should stop trying to read stuff into some very flaky evidence that possibly isn't even there in the 1st place. So let's have a loot at the previous few years. 

2043 average = 10.125 (162/16)
2043 top half average 12.5 (100/8)
2043 bottom half average = 7.75 (62/8)

So this year seems to go with the general trend, (although less extreme than in 2044). The top half is significantly higher than the bottom half on average. 

2042 average = 9.875 (158/16)
2042 top half average = 10.75 (86/8)
2042 bottom half average = 8.875 (71/8)

The results are closer this season, (largely because there are 4 players in double figures in the bottom half), and because the "e" player has a (Det) rating of only 5. Despite that, the trend still continues. There is a significant difference between the average (Det) values in the top 8 and the average (Det) values in the bottom half, (with the top half being higher). 

2041 average = 9.125 (146/16)
2041 top half average = 11 (88/8)
2041 bottom half average = 8.625 (69/8)

The average rating on the whole was lower in this intake and you might expect the margins to be closer as a result, but in actual fact the gap is still significant. 

2040 average = 10.0625 (161/16)
2040 top half average= 12.125 (97/8)
2040 bottom half average = 8 (64/8)

Once again, there is a significant difference between the two.

Now I'm not suggesting that the better the players Det, the better the player, (because that's too simplistic a leap to make from what I have shown you), but there does seem to be some small link at least between the star PA rating that the players are given, and the Det values of the players. It's something I have obviously been keeping an eye on for a while now. Perhaps it's something that you might want to do. This isn't a one-off season. This is 5 consecutive seasons and where there is a significant margin of difference too. I will keep showing the difference if I can be bothered. 

It's certainly worth thinking about anyway. 

Edited May 18, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2044.

We've been doing really well in the league and have just kept getting results even with a weakened side at times. That is at least until Nice turned us over in the 92nd minute of the last game to keep the Ligue 1 title in the balance. 

We are still top, just by 1 point, but we have a game in hand on both Nice and Lens in 2nd and 3rd. Ominously, PSG are on a charge having won 9 consecutive games on the bounce and we don't have a game in hand on them and our lead is now down to 4 points over them with 10 games remaining. 

Edited May 18, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2044 continued.

Apologies. I forgot to mention the Cup competitions. 

We romped past Amiens in the 10th round of the French Cup, (I've just checked and the Final is Round 14), with what was a completely rotated squad. 17 year old (41b) Rubén (Bal) * scoring 2 goals and creating 1 assist, but veteran Txomin (BAS) (Bal) grabbed 2 goals of his own and the MOM award. 

The Champions Cup 1st Knockout Round was less pleasing, and although we dominated, a last minute leveller meant that we will need to get a result in Portugal. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2044.

We've been in decent but not great form in the league. We may have won 4 from 4 this month, but if you look closer you will see that 2 games were won with GK pens and one of them was a 93rd min winner. There were also goals in the 87th and 89th minute to keep our run going. It's been a long hard season and we are starting to struggle now.  We are no longer smashing teams. 

Despite that, we are now 7 points clear at the top of Lyon at the table but no longer have a game in hand. 

After conceding a late goal in the home 1st leg against Benfica, we crashed out of the Champions League in extra time, (I know it doesn't say extra time in the graphic below bit it was a 100th minute winner so was certainly extra time. What makes it worse is that we missed a penalty in the 1st half that would have seen us progress in normal time. It just wasn't to be.  Our squad is shattered and we just don't have the depth. Extra time was just too much of an ask. 

As if that wasn't bad enough, I rotated the whole squad in the Cup against Sochaux, (because we play the Ligue Cup Final 4 days later), and again it went to extra-time and again we were found wanting. This time we conceded twice in extra time, (102nd and 106th mins). The wheels are starting to come off. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Silverware. Apr 2044.

[Jimbokav1971]

New kid on the block. Apr 2044.

I've had a few questions during this save asking me "Who will take over from (39b) Xabier (Res) *"? or "who is the next big thing"? and I think I might just have news on both counts. 

Unless it's a big big game, I'm often trying to introduce younger players to senior team action. Playing for the U19's or even the Reserves in National 2-B is all well and good, but you can't beat blooding them in Ligue 1 or Europe to give their development a boost. 

(43a) Javier (Unamb) (2043) * is a 16 year old striker who was the best player, (by PA), to come through the Academy last season. He's scored 4 goals in 2(4) appearances for the Reserves in National 2-B and has been an unused substitute for the Senior side a few times without getting on. I gave him his debut in Ligue 1 against Montpellier and he wasn't great and the Ass Man dragged him off at HT, but he was always going to get another chance. I just gave him a start in Ligue 1 against Guingamp and he did this. 

I'm not saying that he is going to be brilliant, but he is certainly worth keeping an eye on. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Title race. Apr 2044.

I've been trying hard to avoid talking too much about the potential of us becoming Ligue 1 champions this season, (so as not to jinx it), but it seems I have to mention it at this stage. 

• We're 8 points ahead of Lyon and 9 points ahead of PSG with 5 games remaining. 
• 3 of our 5 games are at home where as both Lyon and PSG have to play 3 games away. 
• We are ahead on goal difference and miles ahead on goals scored. 
• We should hammer Dijon and I think we have a good record against Havre. 
• We play PSG in the penultimate game of the Ligue 1 season. 

We do indeed have a good record against Havre, (especially recently).

We have an even better record against Dijon. 

If we win against both Dijon and Havre then PSG can only draw with us. 

If we win against both Dijon and Havre and get just 1 point at home to PSG then Lyon can only draw with us. 

Anything we get in either away game will be extra. 

Surely we can't screw it up from here. 

[Edit]

Oh hang on for a minute. Our 1st home game is against Monaco who are in 4th and who have won their last 9 games on the bounce in all competitions. 

This is it. Win this and we win Ligue 1 I think. 

Edited May 19, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[TIR669]

Read through everything last night. What a campaign is all I can say. Absolutely love the save from day one.

I was hoping you'd celebrate the new stadium back in 2037(ish?) by returning straight back to Ligue 1 after the relegation, but you got unlucky and the playoffs system is a bit hard as well.  

I'm curious about the finances, the income/expenditures breakdowns to be more precise. You limit yourself wage-wise, spending 25m p/a but it bugs me your balance is not that big and as if it's not rising as much as it should for a stable Ligue 1 side after all the prize/TV money, transfers etc. 

Also curious, what's your oldest academy player at the club currently? Noticed you (have to) sell quite few of them in their early 20s...

Looking forward to seeing what the final six games will bring. Good luck!

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, TIR669 said:

Read through everything last night. What a campaign is all I can say. Absolutely love the save from day one.

I was hoping you'd celebrate the new stadium back in 2037(ish?) by returning straight back to Ligue 1 after the relegation, but you got unlucky and the playoffs system is a bit hard as well.  

Thanks very much. 

Yeah, the Playoffs were hard work. It's very geared to being advantageous to the teams that finish higher, but I suppose that right. Right? 

[Jimbokav1971]

2 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

 

 

I'm curious about the finances, the income/expenditures breakdowns to be more precise. You limit yourself wage-wise, spending 25m p/a but it bugs me your balance is not that big and as if it's not rising as much as it should for a stable Ligue 1 side after all the prize/TV money, transfers etc. 

It's not that I strictly limit myself wage-wise to anything at all. I try and make a concerted effort to keep the wages down because as long as I do that then I'm safe and the save can continue. I would hate for the save to go boobies up after the effort I put in early on. The relative success right now seems easy, but bloomin hell I had to work hard to get here. 

As for the finances, let me show you a few screenshots. 

There are some screens there that I have rarely if ever clicked on. 

If I was to going to offer a suggestion as to why our balance is not rising as you expected, then maybe it would be large number of players, (114 at the club), £6M pa for Youth system, (seems a snip if I'm honest), and maybe more importantly that our attendance is only 22,265 and we fill that every week. 

I haven't thought to ask for an expansion if I'm honest and assumed the board would just do it when it was needed. I didn't realise we were filling it every single week until right now. I'm not overly keen on another loan though so would prefer they just do it from the available cash reserves, even if they reduce the transfer budget at the same time.

[Jimbokav1971]

15 minutes ago, TIR669 said:

Also curious, what's your oldest academy player at the club currently? Noticed you (have to) sell quite few of them in their early 20s...

If I use the Youth Intake screen and list them by age I get this. 

(33c) Koldo (Unamb) is the oldest player at the club at 26 who was a product of our Academy.

(34a) Merino (LHeart) (2034) * is 25 but I will be looking to sell him in the close-season and he hopefully won't be here next season. 

(34h) Ibon Bakero. (F.Det), (34f) Ibon Goñi (Unamb), (34c) Matteo Thomas (Unamb), (34d) Joseba Mayo (Bal) * and (34g) Joshua Rondeau (Bal) have not featured in a single Senior game this season so will all be sold/released when I can get around to it, (although I might keep players with good Pro/Det levels just to assist with squad average levels. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Ligue 1 run in. 5 games to play. Apr 2044.

We battered Monaco 0-0 and their GK somehow didn't win MotM after making 10 saves. Still, a point is another point to our total. 

We momentarily increase our lead to 9 points, (as we played on the Friday night). Lyon and PSG both need wins to close the gap. 

Monaco probably needed to beat us to have any chance at all. 

Lyon are at home, but have a tough opponent in the form of reigning champions Marseille. 

PSG are also at home but should turn over Bordeaux without much trouble. 

PSG imploded against Bordeaux and now it is seemingly a two-horse race between ourselves and Lyon. The pressure is really cranked up on Lyon now. 

"Come on Marseille!". 

Lyon did indeed see off Marseille and now the gap is down to 6 points with 4 games to play. Lyon need us to lose at least 2 of our remaining 4 games. That can't happen can it? Can it? 

The PSG capitulation at home to Bordeaux sees them drop down to 6th place. 

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Bottle job? 4 games to go. Apr 2044. 

We got turned over 1-0 by Sochaux. 

We could have won. Should have won. But didn't. 

Lyon did what PSG couldn't and beat Brodeaux 2-1 during the week. 

The gap is down to 3 points. 

3 games left. Please God we can't choke from here. 

Even if we lose to PSG, we've still got to beat Dijon and Havre haven't we? 

[Jimbokav1971]

Resurgent? 3 games to go. Apr 2044.

The win, (we needed to goals in time added-on to make it appear convincing), sees us extend the gap at the top to 6 points and heap the pressure on Lyon again. 

Lyon's game in hand is against..... SC Bastias who are 1 place outside the relegation zone in 17th. 

They were up to the task though and edged a tight game.

The gap is still 3 points and we have PSG up next who haven't played they game yet this week, (Sunday night I think). 

2 games to go. 

Edited May 29, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Saintmat]

Tight! Come on Aviron Bayonnais!

[Jimbokav1971]

Pressure building. May 2044.

2 games left. 

This is it. If we beat PSG we are Ligue 1 champions for the 1st time in our history. 

Even having a player sent off after 12 mins couldn't stop of from winning. 

Lyon lost 1-0 away to Nice and we are Ligue 1 Champions, (with a game in hand).  

Not just that, but of course because we won the Ligue Cup we have actually done a double. 

I'm not sure if they didn't give us the trophy after the PSG game or we just lost it during the celebrations, but either way, it's not in the trophy cabinet. 

Maybe we get it after the last game of the season. 

 

Edited May 29, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Homegrown. May 2044. 

I should point out that in that last game against PSG, 8 of the starting line-up were products of our Academy and the player who got sent off after 12 minutes was one of those who wasn't. 

Despite that, we still came out on top. 

5 of the 7 players on the bench were also products of our Academy. 

I wonder could I do this with a 100% homegrown squad? 

In fact scratch that. We have unfinished business with the Champions League. We've only been in it twice and have crashed out early both times. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Future. May 2044. 

With the Ligue 1 title won with a game in hand, I will obviously select the squad for the last game based on PA rather than CA. 

Despite picking a squad based on PA rather than CA, and having a player sent off on 65 mins, we were leading 1-0, (thanks to a 10th goal of the season for (36c) Schmidt (Bal) *), until the 95th minute when the youngsters finally conceded. 

I don't mind not winning, but I'm glad the youngsters didn't lose. 

I also absolutely love it when a GK reaches 10 goals in a season. (It's a BIG thing). 

[Edit]

Still no trophy.

Edited May 19, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[kidthekid]

Congratulations man. Been trying to catch up with your thread, but I just jumped to the 23rd page and I feel like I got the hang of it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

19 minutes ago, kidthekid said:

Congratulations man. Been trying to catch up with your thread, but I just jumped to the 23rd page and I feel like I got the hang of it. 

haha. There is a LOT of hard thankless graft early on in the thread. 

[Tacchi]

Congrats Jimbo!

[Misterjokerboy]

Good work Jimbo 

[Thebaker]

Great work

[nie jem frytek]

 

Spoiler

They kinda look like rugby players more than footballers if you ask me

 

[numbas2]

Wonderful

Congratulations!

[Jimbokav1971]

17 hours ago, Tacchi said:

Congrats Jimbo!

 

7 hours ago, Misterjokerboy said:

Good work Jimbo 

 

5 hours ago, Thebaker said:

Great work

 

2 hours ago, nie jem frytek said:

 

  Hide contents

They kinda look like rugby players more than footballers if you ask me

 

 

1 hour ago, numbas2 said:

Wonderful

Congratulations!

Cheers lads. 

Things have started to really progress quickly. It seems strange to think I spent so long slogging through the lower leagues which I'm normally good at, and then I romp to the Ligue 1 title quickly, which is what I usually struggle with. 

[Nobby_McDonald]

Job done Jimbo.

[Jimbokav1971]

On 20/05/2019 at 22:18, Nobby_McDonald said:

Job done Jimbo.

I feel a bit like I've dodged the main challenge because PSG are a shadow of their former selves. 

In any case, we still have the Champions League to win and we have got nowhere near yet. 

[numbas2]

You beat PSG when they had big balls, I remember it well.

[kevhamster]

Excellent title win!

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, numbas2 said:

You beat PSG when they had big balls, I remember it well.

I did indeed. Took me completely by surprise but yes, they were our first big scalp. 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, kevhamster said:

Excellent title win!

Thanks very much Kev. As you can tell from the updates it was pretty tense and I really enjoyed it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

The reason for no update is that because as well as being busy in real life, and the weather being good, I'm actually in the middle of the close-season and there seems an awful lot of in-game Admin to do. 

The squad is enormous and working out who is being kept and who is being sold and who is going into what squad and who is getting a new contract is taking an age. I have been playing, just not progressing very far. 

[Nobby_McDonald]

On 22/05/2019 at 17:59, Jimbokav1971 said:

I feel a bit like I've dodged the main challenge because PSG are a shadow of their former selves. 

In any case, we still have the Champions League to win and we have got nowhere near yet. 

You can only beat the opposition in front of you. It's PSG's fault if they aren't as good as they were.

[WillHoward42]

Congratulations, it's been a long journey. Well deserved.

Hoping you'll bring back Xabier at some point.... must have the money to?

[Jimbokav1971]

On 27/05/2019 at 21:07, Nobby_McDonald said:

You can only beat the opposition in front of you. It's PSG's fault if they aren't as good as they were.

Yeah. It's just the way things develop I suppose. It is 2044 after all. It's not as if I've romped it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, WillHoward42 said:

Congratulations, it's been a long journey. Well deserved.

Hoping you'll bring back Xabier at some point.... must have the money to?

I promise you it's not over. I will be back before too long. I won't be starting another FM19 save and I'm FAR from done here. 

I would love to bring Xabier back. He's not starting for Spurs yet. I don't have the money to buy him, (I think I worked out they wanted ab out £150M for him), but even if I had that, I'm pretty sure I couldn't afford his wages which are astronomical now. 

We will see though. You never know.......

[numbas2]

Would love to see him back, equally however be good to see him crack the first team and smash it up at Spurs... can't be wasting away there!

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, numbas2 said:

Would love to see him back, equally however be good to see him crack the first team and smash it up at Spurs... can't be wasting away there!

The English structure isn't active in my game. Thinking of activating Premier League to give him proper league games to play. 

[dap1987]

I've literally just finished reading all of this today in work .. hope no-one in my work is on here because i've done nothing today!

 

What a place to catch up as well, an amazing story and can't wait to carry on reading it!  

 

I can't get myself into a save at the minute so reading a few stories on here has definitely made me realise why I need to find something for myself