[FM19] One night in Serravalle

[_Ben_]

 Choosing a feeder

Still going in my attempts to lure foreign youngsters in to the academy. Here is my latest attempt. I asked for a club that can recruit foreign youngsters as our reputation has clearly increased enough to do so. These are the replies I received when I told the board to find one themselves (this was a hypothesis I had as to why my own-choice clubs hadn't provided me players).

As you can see - there is a different section for Pole Espoirs, who clearly want to re-ignite the deal that has seen four of their players in my first team although a big drought since on anyone of any quality. I wonder whether this could be a big part of being able to provide youth players?

I didn't chose them again but here is a shot of their facilities, which can't be seen through the normal screen as they don't have a stadium:

[_Ben_]

Samaniego/Mentoring update

As you can see, as Dario has settled in and learnt a bit of the language, his standing within the team has improved, which has pleased him. He's added the 'important squad member' to the reasons and, as I said, hopefully he'll add the 'regular play time' too. With his increase in standing and his good personality - he's already a significant figure and can positive impact other highly influential players, which makes him a great 'mentoring lead' already. Time will tell as I, hopefully, watch personalities develop and determination levels increase thanks to this.

[_Ben_]

Wonderkid watch

I can't remember exactly how many this is now but I think Alessandro may be the sixth or seventh wonderkid we have produced...

[_Ben_]

August/September 2036

A really good start to the season but one that was very much required given the opposition that we have faced. Seeing Zavoli score two hatricks in the space of three games has been quite phenomenal - his movement in the box looks really sharp at the moment and I need to make sure that I am continuing to give him those chances. A real statement of intent is our tactical victory over a really strong Napoli side. We didn't win the match but lined up to both nullify their threats and expose their weaknesses - getting in behind their overly-attacking left back allowed Valentini to score whilst lining up with a very defensive right hand side stopped their world class winger from having a sniff, being substituted after just an hour. It is these kinds of performances that need to happen regularly if we want to finish near the top of the table.

Interestingly - we had exactly the same points record at this stage of last season following another great start. It is now imperative that we kick on and continue the run - it will be tough as we face both Milan sides next but I need to prioritise where I can get my points from.

We are also doing really well in the player standings:

[wynter]

12 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Wonderkid watch

I can't remember exactly how many this is now but I think Alessandro may be the sixth or seventh wonderkid we have produced...

The sheer Raum potential. I want someone like that haha

[_Ben_]

16 hours ago, wynter said:

The sheer Raum potential. I want someone like that haha

Definitely! As he ages, I hope his mental attributes will continue to grow, allowing me to properly utilise that kind of player.

[_Ben_]

October/November 2036

We have hit that typical struggle that always comes in the third and fourth months of the season - with disappointing losses against Sampdoria (who were in 18th at the time) and Brescia, who have since risen up the table. I can fully accept away defeats to Milan and Roma but if we want to continue moving up the table, we need to sort out our consistency against smaller teams. I fancy us to be able to improve on last years 10th place but things aren't quite where I want them yet.

[_Ben_]

Marquee signing?

It's only been a short time since I signed Dario Samaniego, but I feel that he has had a positive influence on the dressing room and is already proving to be a useful lead mentor. Therefore, I am going to propose repeating this experiment and sign another marquee player who I want to utilise their personality, amongst other things, to positively impact my own youth development.

Meet Brazil's best kept secret - Igor Clerc:

How this man has only made one transfer, from Corinthians to Sao Paulo is beyond me. He's, on paper at least, good enough for Europe!

If I want to take this interest any further, Ineed to ask myself the same questions that I asked when signing Samaniego.

• Personality (will he positive improve the team?)
• Hidden attributes (anything that would make him unsuitable?)
• Age (is he old enough to not take my time away from developing my own players?)
• Sell-on value (am I likely to be inundated with highly profitable bids for him taking away time from making profit on my own players?)
• Potential to be a team leader (is he good enough to play enough minutes to reach that level?)
• Determination (will he improve it for the team?)
• Replacement (who is he replacing within the current squad hierarchy?)
• Cost (he is a marquee signing but will he put the financial future of the club at doubt?)

Now Igor isn't 25 yet, and I've already signed a player this season so he won't be coming until next year at the earliest. However, he is a player that I crave in an area where I don't have a lot of depth. I currently have star player David Vadevelou alongside Davide Muccioli in the DM roles with Julien Fabre as backup. Behind them, I do have two promising defensive midfielders but, with the amount of games I have - having three really solid players here is a necessity and therefore it won't stunt the growth of Nardella and Cevolli. He also brings something to the DM role that we don't really have - a physical presence (remembering Vadevelou was initially a winger/attacking midfielder) who can win the ball back but is also good enough on it to play football (which puts him ahead of me using and of the centre backs in that role). He is also a fantastic dead-ball specialist and I really lack that at the moment. Having someone who can get five assists from corners each season, score some free kicks and take my penalties could be the difference between several points or places. He is also a determined individual and a leader, which, when settled in, should make him a really important figure within my dressing room. Imagine the youngsters who would be inspired by this man?!

Model Professional and Level Headed indicates that he will simply be an outstanding member of the team off the field - with no indications of any worries to be told on the field. I have not had any issues around his ability to settle into a new country mentioned but there are a lot, including my own manager persona, of Brazilians at the club and Samaniego is South American, too. At 25, he'll represent a player who may have some left in his tank, although the Brazilian Serie A is a good standard, the football in Europe will undoubtedly post a higher level of challenge for him and that may see a little bit more development. If I can sign him for 5 years - he'll hopefully still be a good player by the time he hits 30 but the physicality of his game may begin to wane. This is not an issue for me as it practically reduces his sell on fee as a busy central midfielder to nothing. 

The stumbling block? Cost. Not hugely - he has a £14m release fee to foreign clubs but, at the moment, we are stuck in a bit of limbo - £35m in the bank but not necessarily making money, just sitting still. My scouts reckon he'll want no more than £40k p/w so he won't be breaking the bank.

---

The best thing here is that I am in absolutely no rush. I won't be making this signing until next season any way - more for balancing the books than adhering to my 'rule' of one signing per season so I just need to monitor that nobody gets in first. I think he's a quality player and having two model professionals in the team can only be a boost to my squad development and then individually mentoring. 

Thoughts?

[kidthekid]

I'm in support of signing him

[Tajerio]

That is really strange that nobody from Europe's signed Clerc, especially given that he's an either-footed midfielder which means he must have even higher CA than his attributes would make you think.  He's a bit of an interesting player, too--looks like he'd be the steel in the midfield, but then you look at that technique, dead ball skill, and first touch.  Either way, looks like a great and legitimate signing to me.  Only worry would be that for a DM, he's a little low on aggression and bravery.

[_Ben_]

December 2036/January 2037

Possibly the best two months I have had as manager here in San Marino. We have shown that we can play patient football where necessary but then, at the flick of the switch, ruthless attacking play - leading us to score the most goals that we have ever had before. We raced into a four nil lead against Bologna, likewise against Atalanta and will need to do a little bit of work in terms of homework before we face certain players. 

What is more - we still have a little left of the 'easier' run that we had at the start of the season. The more points we can get on the board here, the better off we will be after the tough run that involves all of the teams around us.

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to miss out on Igor Clerc as, right now, he's not interested and is currently in talks with Sporting Lisbon. However - the money saved is going to be useful as I need to tie down David Vadivelou to a long term deal.

[_Ben_]

1 hour ago, Tajerio said:

That is really strange that nobody from Europe's signed Clerc, especially given that he's an either-footed midfielder which means he must have even higher CA than his attributes would make you think.  He's a bit of an interesting player, too--looks like he'd be the steel in the midfield, but then you look at that technique, dead ball skill, and first touch.  Either way, looks like a great and legitimate signing to me.  Only worry would be that for a DM, he's a little low on aggression and bravery.

I'm not sure either. I don't have the Brazilian leagues loaded (mainly because I forgot about renaming the clubs) but I don't think that it would stop players being found. There doesn't seem to be much quality in Brazil at the moment and therefore I'm even more surprised. 

It was his dead ball quality that has really made me want to sign him. We've struggled to bring through anybody from the academy with a decent starting attribute for those kind of things so it made sense that my marquee signing had them already. 

As I said - I have missed out on him as he's moved to Sporting Lisbon after wanting upwards of £150k p/w to sign for us (but accepted £50k p/w there).

[Tajerio]

1 hour ago, _Ben_ said:

I'm not sure either. I don't have the Brazilian leagues loaded (mainly because I forgot about renaming the clubs) but I don't think that it would stop players being found. There doesn't seem to be much quality in Brazil at the moment and therefore I'm even more surprised. 

It was his dead ball quality that has really made me want to sign him. We've struggled to bring through anybody from the academy with a decent starting attribute for those kind of things so it made sense that my marquee signing had them already. 

As I said - I have missed out on him as he's moved to Sporting Lisbon after wanting upwards of £150k p/w to sign for us (but accepted £50k p/w there).

That's a shame.  Do you have anyone else on the radar, or is it just on with the (surprisingly good) season?

[_Ben_]

5 hours ago, Tajerio said:

That's a shame.  Do you have anyone else on the radar, or is it just on with the (surprisingly good) season?

Not really, no. I know that I'm weakest, in terms of current quality and potential for the style I want in the DM, CD and ST area but there isn't a lot out there who are interested. I hope that we get into Europe this season but we need two or three repeats of this season before our reputation increases to a level that can attract true marquee players.

In terms of my season - I think it was coming. Managing to get striker Zavoli scoring has pretty much been the icing on the cake. We've always had the potential but this time have just had a bit more of an end product.

[_Ben_]

Marquee signings?

With Clerc choosing Sporting Lisbon over us, and, rightfully so - they are title challenges and we are little more than a solid mid-table team, I want to cast my net out again for another player. As previously stated, I don't want to bring in a player that stifles first team opportunities for my own academy prospects. Therefore, that leaves the positions that I feel need reinforcements to be:

• Right back: I have Valentini and Cervellini but nobody in the U20 or U18 squad.
• Cente back: I have Selva who is competent as a ball player but, despite being good, Angelini is poor technically. Both Missiroli and Della Valle are pretty poor.
• Defensive midfielder: Vadivelou and Muccioli with Fabre, Cervilli and Nardella but there is very little 'steel' in this area. 
• Striker: Zavoli is good and Marra is potentially a good backup but he's not good enough, yet.

Therefore - my scouts are now out and about seeing what they can dig up!

[_Ben_]

2037 Youth Intake

Not a great deal to talk about in this intake, to be fair. Just the one highly influential player, but he appears to be there on Leadership attribute as opposed to current ability and a range of, mostly negative, personalities - mercenary, casual, easily discourages, unambitious and temperamental make up a good chunk of this with only one professional player - and he's not looking particularly strong.

I have picked out the two that are classed as 'promising' below:

[_Ben_]

February/March 2037

Whilst I don't feel like our results have been particularly fantastic over the last two months, I am delighted that we have managed to stay in the same league position, albeit with the gap to the top two massively widening. Looking back to past years, this is around the time that our strikers have been ten to fifteen hours into their goal droughts and we have gone entire months without a league goal. I can't fully credit the addition of the 'takes first time shots' trait that Zavoli has been working on this season as a cure for that but I do feel, now, that every time the ball goes into the box, he's got a chance of being able to put it in the net. Averaging just under two shots per game and a goal every 125 minutes this season is a really good return for him.

I'd like to think that, however bad the season finishes for us, we should have enough already on the point to mean that we play our first ever European season next year.

[_Ben_]

Marquee signing?

Augsburg have just been relegated and this lad has a £15.25m relegation release clause. At 27, Hernandez is completely in the peak of his career and, somehow, he's listed as a world-class player. I know that he's two footed and that skews his attributes, but, despite seeing him as a very good player, I don't know if I would class him as world class. However, he's also a professional as well as being evasive (no confrontation) and has a great level of determination. When looking at previous marquee signing Dario Samaniego's dynamics screen - it tells me that he does wish to be a team leader in the future (there seems to be a limit of three) and I can see that kind of reaction from Hernandez, too - especially considering his high leadership attribute.

However - I think that there is tremendous potential for him to fill in the ball playing defender role that I desperately need. Good in the tackle and at marking, excellent at heading and at least good in all of the mental attributes required for defending, it is the excellent first touch, technique and player traits that make me see him as more of a fulcrum at the back rather than in the midfield. As previously mentioned, we have Giacomo Selva and Marco Angelini as first choice centre backs with Alessandro Missiroli and Fabio Della Valle as backups but with literally no depth beyond that. What is more, the latter three are not at all ball players and this is clearly evident when watching us trying to build from the back. He would fit a hole without stopping my own academy players from being able to develop.

I am slightly concerned that, despite his media tag, he hasn't really set the world on fire so far in his career:

I've not included this season as I will have a deeper look as my scouts finalise their feedback and analysis but there doesn't appear to be too much here, particularly when playing in leagues at a level similar to our own. In 2029/30 - when he joined Nantes, they finished 14th, in 2030/31 - Levante finished 18th and were relegated, In 2031/32 - Eintracht finished 14th and he's finished 16th, 16th and 12th since and is going to get relegated again this season. To put it bluntly, he hardly seems a player who has ever been tested at the top of the European game.

Going back to my original questions when signing a marquee player (see below), I do have another thing to consider:

• Personality (will he positive improve the team?)
• Hidden attributes (anything that would make him unsuitable?)
• Age (is he old enough to not take my time away from developing my own players?)
• Sell-on value (am I likely to be inundated with highly profitable bids for him taking away time from making profit on my own players?)
• Potential to be a team leader (is he good enough to play enough minutes to reach that level?)
• Determination (will he improve it for the team?)
• Replacement (who is he replacing within the current squad hierarchy?)
• Cost (he is a marquee signing but will he put the financial future of the club at doubt?)

When I signed Dario Samaniego, I only payed £8m upfront with all the rest coming across several years and in various clauses. However - here, I will have to pay all £16m in one payment as well as any agent fees (Cristhian Ramos, his agent, likes to get the best deal for himself and his client - i.e. will want a lot of money) and signing on fees in one go. The problem with this lies below:

The lump at the top in June 2036 was our final figure last season, before the large outlay for Samaniego. Since then, we haven't really made any money - paying off the installments in his clauses and paying nearly £1.5m a month on our wage bill. We are selling out our 20k seater stadium and that doesn't bring a huge amount of income, nor does the sale of season tickets and the end of season commercial re-negotiations. Next year, all being well, we will have some European money but only the Champions League provides us with serious income, at the early stages at least. Whilst taking my balance down to about £15m (including agent and signing fees) won't be necessarily a huge issue and £15m is a colossal amount of money - I am wary that our board might see our reduced financial position as an excuse to make sales above my head.

Thoughts?

[_Ben_]

Done deal

An away victory at Fiorentina has seen us clinch a spot in, at worst, the Europa League. Therefore, I have gone through with this:

This deal obviously wipes out my transfer budget but I have literally no need for that now until, at least, the summer of 2038 but that £18.25m includes the fee for his agent. I feel that I have also managed to pull of a good deal on his contract:

William will take home just under £2.1m a year in a basic wage, earn another £550k a year on a loyalty bonus scheme and take home around £300k in appearance related fees, meaning he'll cost around £3m a year and, added to his transfer fee, cost me about £28m over the course of his four year contract.

Over the summer, I want to create a far more detailed chart of our playing staff costs and see where I can save money.

[Tajerio]

He looks a good player and I think you've managed to limit expenditure on him very well indeed.  How does he compare to your other CBs in terms of the basic defensive attributes?

[_Ben_]

7 minutes ago, Tajerio said:

He looks a good player and I think you've managed to limit expenditure on him very well indeed.  How does he compare to your other CBs in terms of the basic defensive attributes?

When trying to remove attributes and numbers etc from the game - there are some screens that don't get cleared - the comparison octagon is one. I have amalgamated the comparisons and removed the numbers for purpose of sharing this. Hernandez is the green radar throughout:

So he does concede a little bit defensively to Selva and Angelini although is better in the air than both of them. Mentally, Angelini has the edge and this may be something that I have to consider against world class attackers. However - he is better than third choice defender Della Valle and by no means is a poor defender...

[_Ben_]

2036/37 End of Season

 

What a season as we secure our first ever European qualification, just five years after being promoted to this division. Despite losing nine times, we have shown some absolute quality - including a 6-0 mauling away at Lazio and a last-day victory at home to Juventus. There are some shortcomings, tactically, but we are making really good progress as a team.

The big thing here is the goalscoring exploits of Lorenzo Zavoli. 37 goals in 171 league games before this season didn't strike me with much confidence but he has found his feet and 25 league goals was enough for him to also win the Golden Boot. The other player to reach double figures, and Serie A player of the season, is David Vadivelou who has made the DM role completely his own. My wide players, despite their relatively low ratings, have surpassed my expectations this season too.

In off field news:

Whilst this is great news - this money is leaving my account at the same time as the transfer fee for William Hernandez. There may need to be some sales to compensate this.

[_Ben_]

Intake 7 Youth Development

For comparison - here are the previous intakes:

Intake 1 (2030/31) and included Ciavatta, L.Zafferani, Valentini, Zavoli, Muccioli

End mean technical - 6.69 (0.68 increase)

End mean mental - 10.74 (1.52 increase)

End mean physical - 11.94 (0.97 increase)

Intake 2 (2031/32) and included Muccioli

End mean technical - 6.03 (0.65 increase)

End mean mental - 9.05 (0.60 increase)

End mean physical - 11.11 (0.81 increase)

Intake 3 (2032/33) and included nobody that has made the first team yet.

End mean technical - 6.46 (0.88 increase)

End mean mental - 8.79 (0.76 increase)

End mean physical - 11.72 (1.33 increase)

Intake 4 (2033/34) and included nobody that has made the first team yet.

End mean technical - 6.94 (0.75 increase)

End mean mental - 9.04 (0.59 increase)

End mean physical - 10.88 (1.2 increase)

Intake 5 (2034/35) and included Valentini, Marra and Cervellini

End mean technical - 7.47 (0.67 increase)

End mean mental - 9.73 (0.66 increase)

End mean physical - 11.52 (1.23 increase)

Intake 6 (2035/36)) and included nobody that has made the first team yet.

End mean technical - 7.42 (0.79 increase)

End mean mental - 9.69 (0.56 increase)

End mean physical - 11.76 (1.07 increase)

---

A very interesting intake, in the grand scheme of things. I have changed around the weekly routine a little bit, but only within the realms of the things that I have already tested. What has been different this season is the loaning out of my better players to my feeder club, Taranto in Serie B as well as one to a Serie C side who were top of the league. Normally, I don't like to loan players until they are 18 and I think that this has been confirmed. Rech started the season, on paper, as one of the strongest sixteen year olds I have ever had and played well out on loan to Crotone - a team suitable to his Serie C ability level. He scored three times in 15 games with an AR of 7.22 and was even capped by the full San Marino side, yet has made almost no improvement. Either my backroom team, and myself, are out on his ability level and he's stagnated or something behind his F.Pro personality has inhibited it. At Crotone, he was playing in his preferred position with a manager who has a good score for WWY and a club who have good training facilities.

On the other hand, Cervoli has been on loan at Serie B side Taranto and has played poorly (AR of 6.60 in 10 games) yet has made good strides - even though this indicates a year development and he went on loan in January.

There is a lot more to be taken from this year of growth and I'll continue to look into it...

[LUFCspeni]

Excellent work! How are you looking tactically at the moment? 11 goals from your DM seems very high!

[Lucas]

Wow, so gutted you didn't get the CL though. Looked like you might at one stage.

[_Ben_]

20 minutes ago, LUFCspeni said:

Excellent work! How are you looking tactically at the moment? 11 goals from your DM seems very high!

This is my shape at the moment. Both DMs get in to the action a fair bit and work as a double pivot. i do have an issue when teams sit behind the ball that we don't have that extra runner into the box but they do play some lovely patient build up and also possess the ability to split the defence apart with a great pass.

I plan to do a more detailed run down of how it works at some point soon.

19 minutes ago, Lucas said:

Wow, so gutted you didn't get the CL though. Looked like you might at one stage.

As did I, which would have set us financially for the long term! We've fallen away, a little, as a country so hoping that some strong performances over the next few years in the Europa League will help.

[_Ben_]

New manager

This is potentially massive. Rafael was initially my U18 manager and then my U20 manager. He is also fantastic at working with youngsters, plays a style similar to my own and lists me among his favoured personnel. Taranto are my feeder club and are a decent Serie B side and I will be looking to utilise that link to develop my players this year.

[_Ben_]

Wage expenditures

I've just plugged in some wage data to have a look at where trends are and if there is anything that can be saved or spent wiser elsewhere. Firstly - I've taken into account last year's figures for goals and appearances and I have removed certain clauses such as unused substitute fees and any bonuses for winning competitions or being top scorers. I have also added a prediction for games that Hernandez will play next year and, as he's not in the side to score (and doesn't have a goal bonus) have left that column at zero.

It's quite alarming to think that I spent £20.5m a year on the basic salary in addition to another £2.5m on appearance fees alone. However, I know that pales into insignificance when you see the basic wages of some of the top earners at Juve, Milan or Napoli for example. 

In terms of what we are doing - I am relatively happy that I'm keeping appearance fees to no more than about 25% of their basic wage and I am delighted that we are managing to keep the overall demands down.

[_Ben_]

Player Sale

This feels like a very strong move for us, here. The first bid for Mirko was around £8m and I've just managed to start a bidding war between Tottenham, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern - to the point where my chairman has felt that the deal is too good. We get £20m up front, which completely wipes out the transfer debt from the Hernandez deal and then also get £2.5m every six months - wiping out the transfer debts for the installments and appearance fees for Samaniego.

The best thing is probably this:

Mirko isn't actually 'that' good. He's physical and works really hard but, technically, is pretty poor. He has shown that he can pick a pass and create some chances but far too often his first touch let him down and he doesn't offer a lot defensively. He certainly does deserve some credit, 170 games for the club with a disappointing six goals but a part of the team from Serie B until this point. I also cannot begrudge him a chance to sit on the bench in Germany.

[_Ben_]

Europa League draw

Our first foray into Europe (which, strangely, we play our home games in a different country as our stadium is being extended) sees us seeded fourth. There are several big teams in the draw this year: Liverpool, Bilbao, Wolfsburg, Marseille, Atalanta and Dortmund. Here is our group:

With the final next year being held at Wembley and the reigning champions being rivals Southampton, Bournemouth are a club clearly on a mission. They are a long way away from their current real life standing (although I really like the approach that they are taking) and the lowest that they have finished in the last ten years is 11th, with a high of 5th five years ago - they also reached the semi final of the Europa League that season. In each of the eight years that they have qualified, they have, at worst, qualified for the knockout rounds. Now managed by Slaven Bilic, they field homegrown superstar Ivan Ryan, who is one of the best players in the world - how they have managed to keep hold of him all his career, I do not know.

CSKA seem to be sharing their time pretty equally between the Champions League and the Europa League but have only not finished fourth in their CL group once in eight occasions, back in 2019. They have qualified from their group in three of their last six attempts and, as I don't have their league loaded, can only see that they finished third last year. With no manager in place, it's not going to be easy to try and work out how they play and a long trip to Moscow is never great - but I fancy us to be able to beat them, at home at least.

SPL runners-up Rangers appear to be the weakest team here - making it past the group stage just once in the last nine years and failing to make the group stages three times. I would expect us to take six points from them.

[_Ben_]

Sammarinese tycoon

Guidi played for me during our time in Serie C and Serie B.  Folgore are owned by two Frenchmen and have Ricardo Gardener, of Bolton fame, as their manager. They haven't won the league for sixteen years now but now have two players who earn a combined £80k p/w. To put that in context - the world class player I just signed, William Hernandez, earns the same amount as this lad who couldn't get in my team five years back.

[kidthekid]

I assume Lahoud (or is it Lachoud) your french CB is gone?

[_Ben_]

3 hours ago, kidthekid said:

I assume Lahoud (or is it Lachoud) your french CB is gone?

Ah yes, Lachaud. I've been really focusing on what is going on inside the club, and I think I've forgotten a few things like outgoing transfers! Yes - he has left and this is his profile now:

He's really not looking anything special, unfortunately. I see that Strasbourg have taught him several new traits but elsewhere, I can't really see anywhere that he has really developed. I guess the best comparison would be with my other out-and-out ball player, as Giacomo Selva is competent with the ball at his feet whereas Hernandez was brought in to do just that. It is worth noting that they are both 'either' footed, too:

Whilst Lachaud is equally good defensively (remember that Hernandez is actually (going to be) a converted midfielder) but is mentally poor and lacks in every other area.

Here is his history:

Ideally - another year in Serie B would have given him a real shot at being in the first team. He really struggled in our debut season, as would be expected from an eighteen year old with no senior experience but really didn't do very well out on loan. He came back and spent a season with us, predominantly from the bench but his report stated that he was inconsistent and absolutely dreaded big matches. I sold him for nearly a million and included a 50% of next sale clause but he really looks to have found his level in Ligue 2. 

One of those that come through and give so much promise but don't really materialise. However, for every two or three of those I have, I do seem to be rewarded with someone going the other way.

[_Ben_]

August, September and October 2037

A whirlwind start to the season, so much so that I forgot to stop and update after two months. Firstly - the elephant in the room. League champions Juve. Not in the picture as they have picked up one win from their first ten (against us, of course) and sit in the relegation zone. Morale is at an all time low and they are blighted with injuries despite a ridiculously talented squad. 

As for ourselves - we have started positively, as has been the case for the past few seasons. This season, for the first time ever, we are seeing teams sit back and defend a lot deeper against us. This is really necessitating the development of more succinct and clever tactical changes throughout the game as I continue to learn about the match engine and how little things impact the performances. One thing I want to be able to create, of which I am way off right now, is having different types of players available to me - for example, a really strong and tall striker who can come off the bench to replace a faster, more nimble striker.

There hasn't really been any hugely standout performances in the league, scoring four times away at Bologna aside, but we are playing some lovely patient football combined with defensive organisation that has seen us largely secure in open play. We are still struggling from set pieces but I am devoting a fair bit of training time to working on it. 

The Europa League has seen us take seven points from three games including a resounding victory in Moscow where I took a much weakened squad, knowing three points at home to Catanzaro may be more useful in the long run.

As we head into the winter months - I need to maintain some good form through sensible rotation. I am glad the Moscow trip is out of the way as flights to Glasgow and the south coast of England aren't too disruptive to our schedule. I am really happy with this start.

[Fosse]

The detail is once again, incredible.

[_Ben_]

On 12/08/2019 at 22:54, Fosse said:

The detail is once again, incredible.

Thanks for the kind words, @Fosse

[scarp]

Caught up with two latest pages and it still is an incredible read. Some silverware soon? 

[_Ben_]

November/December 2037

Back to bi-monthly updates and, to be fair, we've played our fair share of football anyway. The Europa League Group Stage gives me six more games, plus at least two more now that we have qualified, finishing second, one point behind Bournemouth. We have been rewarded with a tough journey, but hopefully good tie, against Dynamo Kyiv. We would have finished first if I, stupidly, hadn't pressed continue with absolutely no substitutes selected in the home tie against CKSA. Just four days after a tough match against Lecce - we had literally 11 names to use in the game and tired very quickly. Both goals were late and deserved but I know that some fresh legs would have helped solve that threat - considering the ease of our 5-1 away victory.

We have struggled a little in the league - I have made a conscious decision to focus on one point instead of none as we try and ride out this tough patch and, in turn, this does further stifle our attacking play. We are still there or thereabouts in the league - with little between fifth and eight but I doubt we will be able to improve on last year's finish as the top three are pulling away. At the other end, Juventus sit 16th with just 17 points from the first round of fixtures, which also included a 7-0 win over Virtus Entella deep in their bad patch. 

Going forward - we really lack the depth needed to be competitive in two competitions but the idea of marquee signings is not to assist with this - instead to sign one player who will be first choice in both. Therefore, even more focus needs to go on the development of my youth. I was unimpressed with the intake last March so decided against monitoring their progress. I will return to that next season.

[_Ben_]

2 hours ago, scarp said:

Caught up with two latest pages and it still is an incredible read. Some silverware soon? 

Thanks!

Cup silverware considerably before league silverware, definitely!

[_Ben_]

January/February 2038

A couple of very busy months (hence the lack of updates around other areas of the club) but one that we have come out of in a really strong position. Firstly - Europe. Dynamo came to town and we absolutely battered them but failed to make the breakthrough until late on in the game. Fortunately, my game plan in snowy Ukraine worked a treat - setting up with a lot more aggressive roles/duties and aiming to get an early goal, meaning they'd need to chase us and leave gaps open. After three minutes, and two goals, I moved to a much more conservative and counter attacking approach and continued to cut them apart. In reality, we could and should have had double figures but this is certainly my biggest away win and a real show of dominance in Europe. A much tougher tie against Benfica comes next.

We are also through to the Coppa Italia final - a chance for my first piece of silverware at a national level and the first victory since our Serie B triumph five years ago. Milan, to be fair, played a much rested team and that was evident when we couldn't hold them off in the league.

Youth intake up next!

[Sysiphus]

The defence really locked down these two months. Great going - keep it up.

[Lucas]

1 hour ago, _Ben_ said:

We are also through to the Coppa Italia final - a chance for my first piece of silverware at a national level and the first victory since our Serie B triumph five years ago. Milan, to be fair, played a much rested team and that was evident when we couldn't hold them off in the league.

 

Hope you win it  

[noikeee]

On 12/08/2019 at 22:54, Fosse said:

The detail is once again, incredible.

This. 

I don't know whether to praise an excellent thread or to wonder how the hell he finds time to go this in-depth. 

[_Ben_]

11 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

The defence really locked down these two months. Great going - keep it up.

Always been something that we have focused on, defence. It is pleasing to see that, even with a goalkeeper who made a lot of appearances at Serie C level, he is good enough now at the upper end of Serie A.

11 hours ago, Lucas said:

Hope you win it  

Thanks. I plan to make a few big posts about the build up and the game, itself. It could be the only trophy we ever win!

9 hours ago, noikeee said:

This. 

I don't know whether to praise an excellent thread or to wonder how the hell he finds time to go this in-depth. 

Thanks!

To be fair - I don't do a lot during the season. I feel it's a little OCD but most of my in depth work, such as collating data etc is done during the off-season and then I use the continue game timeout to move through the season, playing the games and analysing them before pressing continue. My assistant handles the press conferences and I'm not scouting so I don't really need to be reading emails between games (which are only three or four days apart right now, anyway) so that any posts on here I do make tend to be done whilst it is processing.

[_Ben_]

2038 Youth Intake

Very poor, once again. We have a few better personalities on show and two of these are more influential players within this cohort, but the quality of them, on the whole is one of the worst I've had. Still not a single player from either NK Zagreb, SMS Lodz or new feeder Defensor. This is clearly an error within the game, yet has happened to me on both of my saves this year.

Manuel Tomarchio stands out as one of the better players and has a more favourable media description, too:

He's 6'0" at 15 which, considering he should grow over time, gives me a potentially different option up top from Zavoli and Marra, who are both quite small. Also, for his age, he is very physical and  will look to build on his strength to make him more of a hold up player. He will still have the dribbling ability and speed to be able to feature in our fast counter attacks but, when we are chasing games, we do miss a player who we can hit a bit more directly to who can bring in other players.

He's exceedingly brave, good finisher, can dribble, head and knows how to make a good decision but he does lack technically and doesn't work very hard - two things I do insist upon in my first team.

Here is his personality/media handling:

Spirited
Pressure 15-20, Professionalism 11-17
Determination <18, Leader <19

Unflappable
Temperament 15-20, Pressure 15-20

So he'll be reasonably professional and good under pressure with a good temperament. No idea of how ambitious he is but there is a decent set up there for hopefully some good progress to be made. If I can, eventually, get him in a mentoring group with either Samaniego (M.Pro) or Hernandez (Pro), it'll be interesting to see where his personality goes if I can get his professionalism to 18 and above.

[_Ben_]

Legend

I have had a few players that have spent considerable amounts of time at the club, such as Gianluca Muratori, Roberto Molinari, Marco Casali and Gianluca Casadei - but they have all moved on for small fees when the club has outgrown them. We also have a couple of players, such as Nicola Manca, who was unable to find a new club when we moved to a level too high for him, so retired, and is now back as a coach. However - Stefano is different:

He's 31, which means he potentially has another ten years left in him, but he is still a mainstay in the first team and hasn't actually missed a game since 2032. He has made 771 appearances in all competitions, including cup games and internationals and I have every faith that he can go on and make 1000 career appearances as he is just as good for us now as he was in his infancy way back in Serie C.

It's the type of player that really makes youth driven saves so good.

[_Ben_]

Wonderkid watch

Another one off the production line...

[scarp]

I personally never got a player to play 1000 games for me - good luck, hopefully he will make it.

[_Ben_]

March/April 2038

A tough end to the couple of months as we faced some tough opposition in both the league and Europa League. The plus side saw Inter and Lazio into the semis with Lazio into the final against Hannover 96. Having an Italian winner will free up another spot in the Europa League, which I hope we won't need. The concern for me is that we only have two more league games to sort our form out before facing Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final.

[_Ben_]

31 minutes ago, scarp said:

I personally never got a player to play 1000 games for me - good luck, hopefully he will make it.

Nor have I - but that is largely because I've been unlucky/unable to develop a good goalkeeper in saves like this. Stefanelli is obviously a fluke!