The FM20 Youth Academy Challenge

[_JHTB_]

I’ve decided to give this another go, but I have misplaced my old save file in Bulgaria so I’ve started anew. I landed on starting in Spain and ended up with Sestao River Club.

The club itself was founded in 1996 following Sestao Sports Club disappearing due to economic problems and since forming they have spent over half of their seasons at their peak of the Segunda Division B in Spain but were relegated at the end of the 2016-17 season to the Tercera Division. The club they replaced in Sestao Sport Club were in the second tier for a good number of their seasons but spent most in the 3^rd tier of Spanish Football though 8 of their last 10 years in existence was in the Segunda Division. Due to the location of the Club being in the Basque region I do expect us to be a common shopping ground for Athletic Club Bilbao in the future.

I have completed a season with the club as I wanted to make sure not to post my manager profile before I was sure the save game wouldn't end after one season so I’ll have the first season update posted before long.

[_JHTB_]

Sestao River Club

2020/2021

Segunda Division B 12th

Fixtures (1) -- Fixtures (2) -- Stats -- Awards -- Season Review -- Transfer -- Overall Best XI -- Key Player -- Hot Prospect -- Squad -- Finances

League: As with every first season in this challenge the aim was just to pick up results with the players we had some of whom did look decent enough players for the level and a full 7 players for the bench (until one of them got annoyed for no reason and I released them).  Though the two strikers in the team had a combined finishing attribute of 8 so a little inconvenient. The season got off to a pretty slow start before we had a 13 match unbeaten run in the midseason. Our strong midseason form had seen us well safe of automatic relegation we had some poor form towards the end of the season which left us with needing to avoid defeat on the last game of the season to guarantee we wouldn’t be in the relegation playoffs. Thankfully we won 1-0 to secure our status in the league for another season. All in all we were a fairly boring team scoring just under a goal a game and conceding just over a goal a game.

Cup: We weren’t in the main cup just a lower league cup in which a lot of our already small squad were for some reason unregistered so we lost in the second round.

Players of the year

Ander Gago: No one really stood out individually for us this season but Gago did manage to get our highest average rating with a colossal 6.91. He did provide a couple of goals and assists which is decent for a full back in a low scoring team.

Iker De Eguino: De Eguino is hopefully going to be at the club for sometime still as we wait for the youth players to improve and his 6.87 average rating isn’t awful for a Ball Winning Midfielder which is the role he was playing.

Jon Arzamendi: Another defensive player in our top 3 players of the year, this time central defender Arzamendi. He often times played alongside a considerably weaker defensive partner with the second and third best centre backs according to the coaches being our defensive midfielder and our left back so for us to concede a little over a goal a game is a pretty decent achievement.

Youth Intake

Whilst we were holding up alright the youth intake this season was acting mainly adding a bit more depth to the squad.

Imanol Sanchez 1a: Sanchez 1a was deemed by my HOYD as having the best potential of my intake though for me he doesn’t inspire much confidence as a defender with pretty bad technical ability and low strength. He does have a little pace to his game which may could help.

David Iribar 1b: Here we have a striker who will be likely to get game time in the coming season with 11 finishing he’s the best at the club and he has decent attributes in other areas for the position. His heading ability leaves a lot to be desired though but all in all not bad.

Maxence Bouyer 1d: A defensive midfielder who does have some really good attributes for the Ball Winning Midfielder role I have been using as well as some distinctly average ones but I’ll take that. Physical attributes are something that is lacking in a lot of my intake this year and Bouyer 1d is no exception.

Christian Alonso 1f: The player regarded as our top prospect adds to a forward line where 3 of the strikers muster 12 finishing between them. He does look like he will make a decent pressing forward, at least for this level so his lack of finishing shouldn’t matter all too much.

Imanol Lopez 1h: The highest current ability player from our intake according to our coaches and he does actually look pretty decent, but unfortunately for him the right wing position is one of our strongest. That said due to injury he did get a chance towards the end of the season and scored two goals.

News/Looking Ahead

The players that were already at the club were on pretty hefty wages so much so we have the 4^th highest wage bill in the league but I have tried to get them to reduce their asks. Though our best player in Xiscu Martinez won’t let me negotiate a contract on less than his current £8k per week (he wanted £21k per week for a new contract). The large wages have played havoc with our finances as after one season we find ourselves £1.6 million in the red. In spite of the financial woes the board did allow me to go on a coaching course so I’ve at least one coaching badge ticked off. Due to the finances if offers do come in the summer I'll probably be forced to accept them even before they hit the release clauses.

Next season is just another year of trying to remain in the division, I think tactically I’ll keep it the same as I try and integrate some of the youth prospects into the team.

The story so far

Youth Record Holders

Edited August 24, 2020 by _JHTB_

[Winski]

I decided to give it another go in Scotland. My East Kilbride save ended with a sack after a long run of defeats in the Premiership. But I did enjoy the save, Scotland is very hard but very nice to manage in. 

I thought about doing the same as @OlivierL by managing Caley Braves. But I decided to go for BSC Glasgow. The main reason is that I really like to manage a club from Glasgow, and especially this club because I  like their kit colours. It reminds me of my local club Cambuur Leeuwarden. 

So yeah, there we go: my second attempt in Scotland!

I forgot to take a screenshot of my profile, so I took this screenshot after 7 matches, as you can see.

[XaW]

Witton Albion

Season 2022/23 (Season 3) Review - Vanarama National League North - England

League | Squad | Transfers | Finances

Do you ever have a player that is really not your best one, but the team just plays so much worse when he is not playing? I have one of those in Rob McAllister. As one of the players I inherited when I took over he was quite good, although not great. Still, he played really well the first seasons, but now I have a better team I try to phase out the original players with better and more talented youngsters. For this guy? Nope, the whole team just tanks whenever he is not playing. That's not to say I don't have a good replacement, the replacement plays fine. It's just the rest of the team who suddenly forgets how to kick that round thing around. Oh, and we are not always losing without him, we just play really poor and struggle much more to both score and defend. One of the mysteries of life, I guess. The season went quite well this season as well. We do get thumped every now and then, when we face the best teams, but can also hold our own against them at times. The players are coming along nicely and the latest intake gave me grand hopes! We finished just outside the playoffs this season, but I'm still very happy.

In the FA Cup we beat Stratford Town, Farsley and Chorley before losing to Preston in the 1st round.

In the FA Trophy we beat Bury Town before losing to Halifax Town in the 1st round.

Notable Players

Callum Bates 22g - The tall centre back had a good season for us and even chipped in a few goals on set pieces.
Padraig Browne 22f - A very up and down season, but the ups are becoming more and more plentiful. Really nice progression and got a U19 cap for Ireland. Some teams have started to sniff around him.
Ronaldo Yearwood 21f - The young Jamaican midfielder had a good season and contributed with some very important goals.

Youth intake

Youth intake - Wow, a 5 star striker? Count me in!

Mark Thomson 23a - Yeah, I don't think I can keep him for long. I've given him the longest contract I can think of, but I think he'll get picked up by a big team. I just need to get a sell-on clause!
Isaac Babalola 23b - In the shadow of his class mate, but this kid is a really good winger!
Christian Hilton 23d - We are in need of a talented midfielder so perhaps this kid can help out.

[libbyshuss]

35 minutes ago, XaW said:

Do you ever have a player that is really not your best one, but the team just plays so much worse when he is not playing? I have one of those in Rob McAllister.

Is it because he's a team leader? I've found my team leaders seem to have way more impact at those lower league levels, they seem to pull all the younger players up to their level somewhat. I always play with at least one in the side.

35 minutes ago, XaW said:

Wow, a 5 star striker? Count me in!

good luck holding on to him!! that's an amazing pull at that stage!

[JLAB]

That striker looks amazing for his age at that level. Here's hoping that you'll be able to get a really good deal for him when an offer does come in.

[Crispypaul]

             

Crispypaul
Floy
Norwegian Eliteserien
2024

League - Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2 | Table - after winning our first 3 games somehow I thought this season would turn out pretty well, and in the end we finished 5th, not far off the top 4.  A remarkable first season.

Cup - Fixtures - knocked out in the 4th round by eventual finalists Stromsgodset

Finances - the youth setup is where all our money is going, but that is paying dividends slowly

Transfers - as I mentioned before sold one of my youth players to Roma, hopefully the 40% clause will pay off

Squad

Key players

Lasse Sigurdsen - now plays on the left as I have some great young strikers, but still brilliant

Dardan Dreshaj - starting to decline a bit but still solid

Henrik Andersen - usual good self in midfield

Robin Fredriksen YP19b - we are still short of quality centre backs so he'll be here for a while

Espen Sanden YP21f - as will he

Yang Junkui YP23b - first team goalkeeper, hopefully he can stay for some time

Thomas Haugeland YP22b - a bit of a surprise as he ended up having a great season and won breakthrough player of the year

Anton Aker-Iversen YP23d - we've got a bit of a striker factory going on

Nils Kristian Akersvatne YP21c - now first choice CM

Youth Update

Here's the U19 championship table.  Yes we won all our games scoring 134 and conceding 18!

Intake: another excellent intake

1. Steinar Dreyer YP24a - beginning | season end - promising left winger

2. Slobodan Kadric YP24b - beginning | season end - another good looking winger

3. Jan Gunnar Ommundsen YP24c - beginning | season end - 36 goals in the U19 league....hopefully I can get his det issues sorted

4. Ruben Blomlie YP24d - beginning | season end - great mentals, hopefully that will help him out

5. Leif Otto Borhaug YP24e - beginning | season end - tagged him as the fifth best player but he scored 30 goals for the U19 team which was enough to get into the first team.  A really promising player.

2023 intake

Bahadir Akkaya YP23a - sold to Roma before the season started

Sveinung Magnussen YP23c - really held back by his poor det, played a few games albeit badly

Dag Erik Bredal YP23e - a little mixed

Henrik Gjolstad YP23f - loaned him out but not improved that much

Adrian Hagen YP23g - expect he'll be released

2022 youth intake

Anders Holtedal YP22c - a few games here and there but his det his still holding him back

Bard Korshavn YP22d - managed to get him tutored so improving there

Magnus Smorholm YP22e - still a bit rubbish

2021 youth intake

Gunnar Larsen YP21a - will be released

Van-Van YP21d - think he'll be gone next year

2020 youth intake - n/a

2019 intake update

 Vidar Fone YP19a - leaving for Sogndal on a free

Jan Erik Alvestad YP19c - will be released

 

Season	 	Division	Position		Cup		Notes						
2020    	D2	      	 1st      		SF   		League winners, promoted
2021		D1		 5th			4th
2022		D1		 7th			SF
2023		D1		 1st			4th		League winners, promoted
2024		Elite		 5th			4th		

Future - a very good season.  On a side note I got directly offered the Norway job to which I said no.

[Crispypaul]

22 hours ago, libbyshuss said:

lol, i just looked at Superliga. We are spending 860k on wages. FC Kopenhagn are spending 25.1m!

My 2nd season in the Eliteserien, we're paying £241k, the next team £879k, Rosenborg £4.97m....

[Fastbasher]

1 hour ago, libbyshuss said:

2 hours ago, XaW said:

Do you ever have a player that is really not your best one, but the team just plays so much worse when he is not playing? I have one of those in Rob McAllister.

Is it because he's a team leader? I've found my team leaders seem to have way more impact at those lower league levels, they seem to pull all the younger players up to their level somewhat. I always play with at least one in the side.

Yes. I have an attacking midfielder that looks like he should struggle in Ligue 1. But for some reason, when he plays, our results are better. 

I only noticed this at times when I had to play him due to injuries/suspensions, expecting a loss, but pleasantly surprised. He consistently over performs.

[_JHTB_]

SD Ejea must be really bad..

 

[schnauzer]

@XaW wow you are cruising through the seasons, and doing well! How are you progressing your players that much? Mine have barely improved at all. 

 

I hope I get my own version of Mark Thomson too! 

[XaW]

3 hours ago, libbyshuss said:

Is it because he's a team leader? I've found my team leaders seem to have way more impact at those lower league levels, they seem to pull all the younger players up to their level somewhat. I always play with at least one in the side.

good luck holding on to him!! that's an amazing pull at that stage!

Yeah, he is a team leader, but I have two others who don't have the same impact... And yeah, I know I'm going to lose that striker, but so far I've gotten him to sign a 2 year deal (longest I could) with 2 year extension (longest I could) AND an additional year if he plays 15 games in his last season. So unless I have to sell, I'll at least keep him for 5 years.

3 hours ago, JLAB said:

That striker looks amazing for his age at that level. Here's hoping that you'll be able to get a really good deal for him when an offer does come in.

Yeah, he is awesome and I know I'm going to lose him. Hopefully for a a decent fee and a sell-on clause!

2 hours ago, Fastbasher said:

Yes. I have an attacking midfielder that looks like he should struggle in Ligue 1. But for some reason, when he plays, our results are better. 

I only noticed this at times when I had to play him due to injuries/suspensions, expecting a loss, but pleasantly surprised. He consistently over performs.

Yeah, same for me, but his replacement is getting better than him so I'm undecided what to do!

1 hour ago, schnauzer said:

@XaW wow you are cruising through the seasons, and doing well! How are you progressing your players that much? Mine have barely improved at all. 

I hope I get my own version of Mark Thomson too! 

Yeah, I play quite fast when things are going well. I slow down a lot when I'm struggling, because then I really need to get the details correct. I also have a job that allows me to have the game running and playing while I'm waiting for stuff to happen so I can play some games while working.

For training, I always do the same, let the Assistant do the general training while I do the individual. I set them to play the position they are actually playing. So if I use a CD-D I set his individual to that exact role. A WB-S gets that role. A CM-A gets that role, and so on. I also try to give the game time they need and I look at their progress chart and if they play a lot and it stalls, I pull back their playing time. And if they don't play enough and stall, I give them more time (if I can).

So one my player have this progress (ignore the last bit, I'm in the off season)

So he has clearly benefited from playing more the last year.

That guy as well.

The next guy didn't improve much, so I dropped him and put him in the reserves and that seems to have helped him.

So he was getting some games, but it was clearly at too high of a level for him, so dialling back a bit and giving him LESS matches in the first team and letting him play with the kids worked better for him. Perhaps I can promote him again next season if his development suits it.

[Fastbasher]

2068/69 Annecy FC season review - French Ligue 1

The Ligue

Lyon blew everyone away, amassing an amazing 100 points.

We had a good season, at one point looking like achieving a very safe 3rd spot, but contrived to once more drop one place on the final day. At least it's still a Champions Cup spot.

 

Europe

After a very easy group stage, winning all 6 games, scoring 22, conceding only 1, it looked like we were going to dominate the Euro Cup once more.

Fellow French team, Metz, put up resistance in the semi final, but we made it through to our 4th final. This time against Chelsea.

After being ahead 1-0, then 2-1, Chelsea eventually scored an 80th minute equaliser to take it to extra time. After a very cagey half hour, they scored a winner in the 120th minute to give us our first Euro Cup runners up medals.

The Champions League was an all French affair, with Lyon beating Marseille in the final.

 

The Players

Alain Sabatier broke the club season scoring record with an incredible 54 goals from 53 games. As well as all the trophies he won last season, he also picked up the Golden Ball, World POTY and won the European Championship with France.

Matthieu Riou YP66a had a breakout season after spending three seasons on loan at SAS Espinal. To start the season, he won the European U19 championship with France and finished it off by winning the U20 World Cup. He won the U20 WC golden shoe by scoring 6 goals in 7 games, including two in the final 4-1 win over Germany.

I'd like to give him a chance in the first team, but it still looks like he'd be 4th choice striker.

Virgile Pochat YP67e was out on loan at our feeder club, Niort. He was a first team regular and won the French National breakout player award. Hopefully a sign of potential, but they did finish bottom of the table and got relegated to the 4th tier.

With all the retirements last season, we effectively played the season with a squad of 14 players. No one is retiring in this off season, so we have the chance to add depth. Unfortunately there are no promising players coming through where we need help the most. Central defence. We will once more be playing with a makeshift backline. I'm wondering if a change of HOYD could bring us a decent defender.

 

Transfers

[JLAB]

I just realised today that I'm spending £4.28M a year on wages and that 4 of my players are taking up £1.83M of that on their own. If I get rid of both of them, the total wages drops down to £2.44M, £300K less than our current sponsorship income. One of them (Rangelov) is retiring at the end of the season, but I'm going to hope that I get some right backs soon, since one of those players is my only right back.

[JLAB]

 

So half way through the league campaign things have been going better than I was expecting being in 4th place. I have played at least 2 more games since then, but there's been no wins there. However, considering that I was just looking at a mid-table finish things have been going pretty well.

Looking at the potential Youth Intake, things don't look as good here as it could have been. The only really exciting thing is the forward and the attacking midfielder that could be coming through the youth intake in March. I do however, have a rather young squad at Energie Cottbus, so things can go well for us there, even if we don't get an amazing intake.

[Jambo98]

Ah damn Knew this moment would come but its only been 1.5 seasons. 

Not even a sell on clause either. He is clearly way to good for us but his goals were carrying us and we dont have any other great ST prospects in the pipeline 

[Fastbasher]

Again, after a great season, a poor start. How can it be such a big contrast with the same players and system?

[Fastbasher]

9 minutes ago, Fastbasher said:

Again, after a great season, a poor start. How can it be such a big contrast with the same players and system?

And why is it that complaining about it here breaks the trend?

In style too. A 93rd min equaliser and a 95th min winner to complete a hattrick.

[libbyshuss]

43 minutes ago, Fastbasher said:

And why is it that complaining about it here breaks the trend?

In style too. A 93rd min equaliser and a 95th min winner to complete a hattrick.

i Had one just like that!

 

I love games like that!!!

[XaW]

1 hour ago, Fastbasher said:

Again, after a great season, a poor start. How can it be such a big contrast with the same players and system?

Morale is a killer in FM20. Keeping the morale high without the players getting complacent is key. Every dip in form I've had I could trace to poor morale or complacency. So being MUCH firmer than before helps, and if you are on a winning streak, really let them have it. I won 2-0 against a medium team, but it was sloppy. I went full on aggressive "You were poor out there" or something like that, and most got fired up and "green", while a few went "red" and sour. Still, we won the next 3 matches on the bounce convincingly, and even some of the "reds" were spectacular. So that's my advise, I only say "good win" when we have thrashed the opponent and NO ONE is "complacent" or "confident". If they are I say the "guard against complacency" or similar.

[libbyshuss]

 

Season 2035/36

N'Bet Liga

Finish: 2nd

Season Summary

So at the end of last season when it looked certain we would be relegated i played my best youth prospects, just to give them first team experience in the top league. Most of them did really well adn better than their older counterparts so I decided for this season to go mainly youth.

Our first match was away against odds-on promotion favourites Lyngby. We won 2-0. Then we won again, and again. Then we started drawing. We went the first 19 matches unbeaten, but drew almost as many as we won so we could never break away from the pack, frustratingly against the lower teams.

Once in the promotion phase our form deserted us. the first 5 games returned 4 draws and a loss. We rcovered a bit with a lucky win against Vejle and Roskilde. With only one match left to play, the table looked like this:-

 

Our last game? away to our bitter rivals IF. we had better goal difference, but Roskilde had better than us, and Lyngby could easily catch us too. We had to win to make sure.

And we did! I couldn't believe it, but we hung on for victory meaning the table finished like this:-

 

Only 4 defeats all season was a great retuen

Players

Henrik Kolding 33F - One of the youths who did really well at the end last season became my first choice striker this season. When he came through he was only 3 star potential but had a professional personlaity so i signed him up. He only had 4 finishing for a striker so i stuck him in the U19s and ignored him. I got the message midway last season that he was making great strides and ready for some first team football. 21 goals in 30 games later and he has the potential to be a superliga player.

It's interesting how many of those unfancied youths make it. My first choice keeper is a J!

Klaus Jensen 32E - Another who came in and did well last season. I slightly changed my formation to fit him in. He plays as a second DLP; i never usually double up on roles like that but it seems to work. 

Youth

Another golden generation....

 

But not so much when it came through. Although now my first team squad is better I would expect fewer and fewer 4 star prospects

   <<<<< looks the best prospect

Finances and Improvements

well, two loans of 7m will take their toll on your finances. We lost a lot of money so promotion really was a saviour, even if we lose nearly every game again. Our new stadium is lovely though and we filled it for the matches against IF, even if they brought 8000 fans with them

 

Next season? Survival is the name of the game! we will need some more luck but we are a better side than the one two seasons ago

[Winski]

December 2020

The start of our first season is very promising!

I think it is save to say that our goal is to reach the playoffs.

We just got our youth intake preview:

A 'golden generation', lots of green: sounds very promising for a first intake!

[_JHTB_]

So I've just noticed this. Does anyone know if I'll be able to cancel it when I get higher in the leagues? Usually the bottom one would say the link between teams will terminate if in the same division

 

[Crispypaul]

23 minutes ago, _JHTB_ said:

So I've just noticed this. Does anyone know if I'll be able to cancel it when I get higher in the leagues? Usually the bottom one would say the link between teams will terminate if in the same division

 

Unfortunately I think "the partnership between the clubs is a long term deal" means it can't be cancelled....

[XaW]

23 minutes ago, _JHTB_ said:

So I've just noticed this. Does anyone know if I'll be able to cancel it when I get higher in the leagues? Usually the bottom one would say the link between teams will terminate if in the same division

 

I don't think it can be cancelled and you are stuck in the lower leagues...

[_JHTB_]

Serves me right for not checking the affiliates when taking over. A false start afterall 

[Crispypaul]

2 minutes ago, _JHTB_ said:

Serves me right for not checking the affiliates when taking over. A false start afterall 

Sorry about that, I had the same in Norway at first 

[_JHTB_]

5 minutes ago, Crispypaul said:

Sorry about that, I had the same in Norway at first 

Tbh I thought because of the B teams in Spain that this sort of affiliate would be unlikely - we're in the same Division as Bibao's second team as it is. Interestingly, my board did set up a B team yet they can get promoted to our division with the link terminated. At least I noticed now less than 2 seasons in rather than further down the line.

[Winski]

Just a couple of matches left to play!

[_JHTB_]

CD Mensajero

Here we go again.. after my false start with Sestao River I’m back in Spain again. The club this time round is CD Mensajero who are based on the Island of La Palma which is the 5^th largest of the Canary Islands. Mensajero are a team who have spent most of their history playing football at Regional level though the last 40 years have seen them go between the Segunda B and Tercera divisions in Spain with their last outing to the 3^rd tier being a 2 year stay ending in 2017.

There is some dispute between Mensajero and their bitter rivals SD Tenisca as to which team is the oldest club on the island and a heated rivalry alongside it. A game between the two sides in 1983 has been thought one of the most violent matches in the history of Spanish football. Some translated exerts from a newspaper at the time read ‘Only three players would have remained on the pitch, the two goalkeepers and a defender from Tenisca’ and in relation to a pitch invasion ‘The referee received nothing but punches and kicks thanks to the intervention of the National Police’. So fair to say a feisty ordeal.

Mensajero play at Nuevo Silvestre Carillo which is a unique stadium with the pitch on the roof of a building and wedged against the side of a ravine it really is a very interesting stadium.

Manager Profile

[XaW]

Witton Albion

Season 2023/24 (Season 4) Review - Vanarama National League North - England

League | Squad | Transfers | Finances

I've given up on my 4-5-1 wide attackers tactic. I can't get it to work anymore. We are getting overrun out wide, so I needed to think new. We are now playing in a quite defensive 4-1-4-1 with a DM and a lone striker ahead of two flat 4s. I'm still pushing the wingers forward to support the striker and when I changed it seems to work. After a pretty poor start I switched around the half way mark, and at that point we were a bit over the relegation zone. With a finish in 9th, I have hopes we can push on next season, especially since all youth players are a bit older and more experienced.

In the FA Cup we beat Lancaster, Oxford City, Barrow and Chesham United before losing to Scunthorpe in the 2nd round.

In the FA Trophy we lost to Alfreton Town in the 3rd qualifying round.

Notable Players

Mark Thomson 23a - Oh, he is good. He is REALLY good. So far I've only gotten low bids for him and rejected them all and he haven't kicked up a fuzz yet. Long may it last!
Callum Bates 22g - Our best defender is looking good. He has become tall too!
Padraig Browne 22f - Since I don't use AMs more I've set him in the MR position and started to train him there and he has done really well.

Youth intake

Youth intake - Not a horrible intake, but a bit disappointing...

Peter O'Rourke 24a - An interesting DM, but his Casual personality kinda puts me off.
Daniel Wright 24b - Wright on the left huh? I crack myself up...yeah, poor humour... Anyway, nice and tidy full back.
Mel Scott 24c - No way he is a right back. So slow my gran could catch him, but otherwise nice attributes.
Barrie Winnard 24d - Slowbro the second.

[Fastbasher]

I'm starting to like these late comebacks. Especially when a player down and being completely outplayed on the pitch.

[OlivierL]

@XaW that Thomson lad is great. I would extend the hoyd's contract for ten years

[OlivierL]

Second season in Scotland.. missed the brexit message and i'm not sure if i'm save with my French regens (most of them have Scottish second nationality).

 

[bpecanha]

AO Trikala - 2020/21 Season Review

Greek Superleague Two: 2nd (Media prediction: 10th) - That was a great season! However, unfortunately, we didn't managed to get promoted. Our journey in the Superleague Two started with an incredible run of 18 games unbeaten, with 13 wins and five draws with our 4-2-3-1 tactic. But our form went downhill in the second half of the season, but we have finished the regular stage (22 games) in 1st, with goal difference separating us and PAS Giannina, both with 46 points. 

In the Championship Group, composed of the six best clubs in the league, we have only managed to get 13 points, with three wins, four draws and three losses. Our low point happened in the last round of the season, with us facing already champions Giannina. They simply thrashed us and managed to score 8-1, with nothing less than six goals after individual mistakes. Even with this loss, our goal difference distance to 3rd placed club Apollon Smyrnis was so big and we would've finished 2nd even if they had won their last match.

With the second place in hands, we went to the Superleague vs Superleague Two play-offs against Asteras Tripolis, who finished 11th in the top tier. The first game wasn't a classic, with few chances for each side, and it ended in a boring 0-0 draw at home. Away, the situation repeated itself, but Tripolis scored in the 71th minute with Christos Tasoulis. I tried to push our team forward to score a late goal, and the late goal came - for them. Triantafyllos Pasalidis scored in the last play of the match to end our hopes of promotion.

Match of the season: AO Trikala 4-3 Doxa Dramas, Champ. Group - late drama with Stamatis scoring in the stoppage time to conclude a 1-3 to 4-3 comeback.

Greek Cup - Our run ended early after a loss to relegated Volos on penalties in the 4th round (our first match). They had Fernando Joao sent off with just 17 minutes, and our inside forward Aristeidis Lottas scored six minutes later. However, we have failed to score more and they got an lucky equalizer in a corner headed home by Sergio Chica with five minutes to gol. They have sustained the pressure and won 4-3 on penalties.

Youth Intake - I wasn't expecting such a good group of players! None of them is outstanding, but there are surely some talents that I'll use in the next season. I've signed nine of the sixteen names.

DM | Dimitris Papamargaritis - Our best name this year. His personality isn't the best, but isn't also the worst, so hopefully it will develop well. He has potential to develop in his role or even to become a CB, due to his height.

DR | Leandros Fousekis - He has everything to develop into a great CB. I don't think DR suits him, and I like more offensive-minded players to this position, so I'll retrain him.

ST | Argyris Mitsogiannis - Not the best personality, but he has good attributes for a Target Man. Hopefully he'll learn a lot with our striker Andreas Stamatis and be an reliable option to the position.

CM | Evangelos Veloudos - Not too excited about this one, but maybe he can develop into a good defensive-minded box to box midfielder. His personality is bad, let's see how he'll progress.

GK | Charis Avramidis - To be fair, I only signed with him because he was well regarded by our HOYD and because I need a goalkeeper in our U19. I'm not a fan of his attributes and his personality also doesn't help.

DM | Skerdi Gjini - Another player who can be transformed into a CB, and I like his attributes in comparison with Papamargaritis. 

AM | Christos Kontodimos - Enganche, anyone? He really lacks in terms of physical attributes, but his technicals and mentals are already good to our level, so I'll give him a chance to develop properly.

ML | Bekim Dani - I like him! He's determined, his physicals are alright, his technicals are decent... he'll surely develop. Just see how the potential stars rised to 3,5. I really want him to be part of our first team in the near future.

CB | Christos Ntaraklitsis - Another case of decent prospect with bad personality. His determination is so low, hopefully he'll develop to be useful.

-

Key players:

ST | Andreas Stamatis - Despite a sloppy end of season, he managed to score 18 goals in the season and was the 2nd best scorer in the league, surpassed only by Giannina's Giorgos Pamlidis (19), who netted four against us.

ML | Aristeidis Lottas - Another player who scored a lot of goals (17, with four assists) and was a real threat on set pieces.

CB | Angelos Vertzos - Sadly he's retiring, but he was one of our main players, with good defensive exhibitions and also creating havoc with his long throws, who generated two assists and a lot of dangerous attacks this season.

-

In other news, I've completed the National C Licence course and renewed my contract with the club until 2023. Our finances are going from bad to worse, but at least we have established a partnership with Olympiacos and they will pay us 50k euros per year.

Manager profile | Finances | Transfers

Season	 	Division	Position		Cup		Notes						
2020    	GS2	      	2nd                     4R              Lost promotion in play-offs against Ast. Tripolis

[Winski]

End of season 2020/2021

What a season!!! At the start of the season, I didn't expect to fight for promotion. We got such a small squad(18 players) and some of them are really crap. But our tactic worked really well. It's the same tactic that I used in other saves: a 2-5-3 strikerless tactic, based on Total Football. I made this tactic in saves with Kaiserslautern and Shamrock Rovers and tweaked it a lot.
Cove Rangers was nr.1 for most of the season. But in the last 10 matches or so they collapsed and we took over the first place in the league. With one match left to play, we had 2 points more then Dumbarton. We could became champion in the match before, but we lost totally unexpected at home: 2-3 against Annan.
So in the last match, both of the teams could become champion. Should Dumbarton win, then they will become champion. If we draw or win the game, we become champion. After a very tough match we lucally draw 0-0. It was just enough for us to become champion of the League Two!!

As you can see on the last screenshot, our cup runs were quit bad. But maybe it helped us to perform better in the league.

Best players this season:
Jamie Hamilton One of my best players. Scored 11 goals as a mezzala.
Robbie McNab Very important on our midfield as a partner of Hamilton. Scored also 11 goals.
Thomas Collins One of our two Inside Forwards. With 7 goals and 11 assists he had a very good season.

Youth intake
Well, I didn't know what to expect from this intake. Our facilities are bad, we couldn't upgrade anything during the season because we had no money. So my expectations were very low. But I am happy with the intake. Our first players in the U19 squad! And we even got a Dutch player, probably due to my own nationality.



Most notable players from this intake:
Alex McKenna 21a A very welcome AMC. He looks like a nice talent, he will go straight into our squad.
Richard van Katwijk 21b Finally a backup for the DC position. He will go straight into our squad as well. Nice talent, but he needs to work on his physics.
Kenny Morrison 21c Winger, 4 stars potential. But I'm not sure about him.
Danny Lyon 21d A left Wingback! Very welcome in our system. A bit raw, but has some nice attributes and he can develop into a good player for us hopefully.

 

[Fastbasher]

25 minutes ago, OlivierL said:

@XaW that Thomson lad is great. I would extend the hoyd's contract for ten years

And at 50 pound a week wages, is exceptional value. A high % sell on clause is essential on him.

[OlivierL]

@Winski great job . U are going faster as me  Mckenna looks good.

[Winski]

9 minutes ago, OlivierL said:

@Winski great job . U are going faster as me  Mckenna looks good.

Thanks! Yes, he looks like a nice talent

[Jambo98]

SC Bastia - Season 4 (2023/24)

League Table | Squad | Finances| Transfers

Summary

Well WOW! After ending last season strong, i felt we could kick on and towards the top half, and we started well. By game 8 we were in the playoffs, but we hit a bit of a slump around the year end, dropping down to around 12th and looking like mid table was where we would go. At this point, i tweaked my tactics, and despite losing my best striker for £5m to Lyon, we went on an absolute tear. From the turn of the year, to the end of the season we lost only once,and drew only 5. We flew up and finished in 4th place to clinch a spot in the playoffs!!

The playoffs......oh my. The first round was a fairly routine 2 nil win against Le Mans. The next round, which i felt was probably reaching our limit, was a nervy affair which was goaless through 120mins and we sneaked it on pens. The final, oddly, is then a 2 legged affair. The home leg was topsy turvy, we led 2 v nil, got pegged back to 2 v 2 after a silly red card, then scored late to take an advantage.  The second leg, ended up being a bit anti-climatic, but i was fine with that! We held on for a nil nil goal and WE ARE PROMOTED!! HOLY *****  WHERE DID THAT COME FROM

Playoff fixtures

Cup...man i never learn, same mistake again, fielded backups who were not match fit ,and lost to a lower league side!

Finances of course are very healthy after the £5m player sale, and we have upgraded junior coaching again and also Training facilities and youth facilites

I assume we wiill fall right back down next season, our squad is surely too weak for the top division, but still, a promo is always nice ::)  

Top Performer

Gaetan Alfonsi - After we lost our main striker Guillot, this untagged youth from season 1 stepped up and took on the goal scoring burden. Did a pretty nice job 

Youth Updates

Kadiena Teme (YP01a) - Was a mainstay in our midfield again this year, solid if not spectacular, and his development has stopped but he still is a good regular 

Licas Durand (YP01b) - A complete non factor, probably going to be released this off-season

Julien Corre (YP02a) - Established as our first choice keeper and looks class, again had to fight off many bids but he is under long term contract 

Gregory Le Berre (YP02b) - With Guillot gone, this guys stands out as our best all round player by a distance. Does not really have the counting stats, but does a great job as a box to box / slightly more attacking CM 

Saul da Silva Silva (YP03a) - Came right in as our starting RM and was a little bit inconsistent, as to be expected with his age, but he did a job and is likely to setttle in 

Pape Camara (YP03b) - Spent the season in our 2nd team, but was subject of a few bids and is ready to be promoted to the first team squad i think 

New Youth

Preview - Wahey! The old golden generation prediction yet again is back........

Intake - That is not too bad at all actually, a potential replacement striker for Guillot 

Samuel Ashu (YP04a) - A striker who can finish already, you would like the composure a bit higher but we might throw him in next season 

Abdoul Karim Dante (YP04b) - A versatile defender who looks like he could be useful as a squad player at very worst 

 

[Fastbasher]

2069/70 Annecy FC season review - French Ligue 1

The League

We started poorly, hit a rough patch in the middle and tailed off towards the end. This season was one to forget. We limped through to a 14th place finish with poor runs interspersed by a few great comebacks.

Lyon won their 6th straight title, again with 100pts to go along with the French Cup title, Euro Super Cup, Tropee de Champions and a Champions Cup runner up place.

After the final game, the board gave me an ultimatum of 11pts in our next 5 games to save my job. I'm assuming that carries over to next season.

 

Europe

We finished 3rd in our Champions Cup group. Ahead of Copenhagen, but well behind Liverpool and Barcelona. The final was another all French affair where LOSC pulled off an upset win over Lyon.

Into the Euro Cup, we scored easy wins over Ghent and Shaktar before losing to PSG in the Quarterfinal. PSG went on to win.

Continued dominance by the French teams in Europe.

 

The Players

Alain Sabatier won a second World Player of the Year award. This was a bit strange considering he played for a team that finish 14th in the league, 3rd in their Champions Cup group and got knocked out of the French Cup by a Ligue 2 side.

At the end of the season Manchester United offered 120m pounds for him. I stuck to my word of accepting a bid over 110m pounds and he has now left us to continue his ambition to win a Champions Cup. He finished with 302 goals from 461 games.

At least the wage bill is significantly reduced and Matthieu Riou will get a chance in the first team.

Gabay Callamand YP50a is retiring. He played 888 games for as either as a DM, or filling in the vulnerable central defence position. He was on the fringes of the French national team at his peak and managed to win 20 caps for his country.

The youth intake was poor again, but Hicham Chihab YP70c is the latest candidate I will attempt to retrain as a central defender.

 

Transfers

 

Next season looks like a struggle. We were already struggling this season and have lost two of our best players in Sabatier and Callamand. The bookies have us down for a 10th place finish, but I'll be happy to give experience to some youth players and avoid a relegation battle. 

The youth coming through over the last few seasons do not look good enough to replace the players who left and the 30-32yr olds who will be on the decline soon.

 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Fastbasher

[Fastbasher]

1 hour ago, Fastbasher said:

After the final game, the board gave me an ultimatum of 11pts in our next 5 games to save my job. I'm assuming that carries over to next season.

Yes it does.

3 wins and a draw needed from the next four games with Marseille as the final game.

But that doesn't matter......

SACKED after a 2-6 loss and only 50 seasons in charge.

During this time we won one French National title, two League 2 titles, a Ligue 1 title, a French Cup, three Euro Cups, a Trophee des Champions and a European Super Cup.

I also won French Manager of the year four times.

 

It was a great ride, but we came up short on the ultimate goal.

Seven staff members left after my sacking and are keen to continue working with me. But I think it's time for this manager to retire.

[libbyshuss]

6 minutes ago, Fastbasher said:

SACKED after a 2-6 loss and only 50 seasons in charge.

oh that sucks! bunch of ingrates!

[Fastbasher]

Time to take a team down in Portugal.

Meet the new manager of EA Braganca

I was inspired by @XaW's attempt in December. The players all come from Cape Verde. I like the thought of my club team also being the Cape Verde national team and may even do it as a double challenge, a bit like the San Marino challenge, once this ends.

I've also made the manager Cape Verdean to fit with the club theme.

 

Xaw was missing defenders. We are stacked with defenders and wingers, but missing a striker and central mids. 

The good news is that all eleven players make the starting lineup in the first season. Looks like a 5-5-0 formation with wing play.

[XaW]

14 hours ago, Fastbasher said:

And at 50 pound a week wages, is exceptional value. A high % sell on clause is essential on him.

Yeah, he won't sign a new contract yet, so he'll stay at that until I have to sell him. So far I've been able to keep him happy.

This happy:

Good luck in Portugal/Cape Verde, I've been thinking about giving them a new attempt actually since I like the idea of making Cape Verde great!

[libbyshuss]

 

Season 2036/37

Superliga

Finish: 11th

Season Summary

Back in Superliga! A poor start meant we didn't win until our 7th game and we never really recovered from that. We entered the relegation phase 2 points from safety with our first game at home against OB, immediately above us. They won 6-2 and we were suddenly 5 points from safety, whereas a win would have taken us out. With 4 games to play we were 7 points adrift and relegation looked certain. But then we won our next two and saw ourselves two points away from saving our skins. We just had to win our last game and hope Randers lost theirs. Randers did lose, but we only drew meaning it was relegation again

 

Players

Henrik Kolding 33F - it was all about Kolding. He was brilliant again, even better than last season. He spent most of the season wanting to go to a bigger club and agreed that if we got a bid of 4m he could leave. Nobody bid and so...

So I immediately offered a new contract, but his idiot agent insisted on inserting a 300k relegation clause, which there was no way I was agreeing to. So, still a year on his contract and my main aim now is to get a decent contract in front of him

look how good he is!

Youth

A good set up leads to good youth intakes, i'm quite enjoying it

 

but again the final intake was a mish-mash of attributes and player positions, so none of them really excite me. We'll see. 

 

Best of the bunch was Jakob Heidarsson 37A, mainly because he has a proffesional personality

Finances and Improvements

We have over 5m in the bank now but our finances are still rated as insecure. As such, the board still won't give me any upgrades!!

 

Next season is all about keeping the team together and getting straight back up. We should be able to do it!

 

 

Edited August 26, 2020 by libbyshuss

[Winski]

What a start......

What a long, long season this will be....

[Fastbasher]

2 hours ago, Fastbasher said:

The good news is that all eleven players make the starting lineup in the first season

Oh no they won't.

We need a minimum of 12 homegrown players in the matchday squad. Currently only 1 is considered homegrown, which means I can take 7 into each squad and 4 will need to sit out for 'greys' to take their place.

[XaW]

Just now, Fastbasher said:

Oh no they won't.

We need a minimum of 12 homegrown players in the matchday squad. Currently only 1 is considered homegrown, which means I can take 7 into each squad and 4 will need to sit out for 'greys' to take their place.

Ah, yes, that rings a bell... Lovely isn't it? So you now might understand why I got relegated with them? (He said, trying with all his might to shuffle the blame onto something other than himself!) 

[OlivierL]

3 hours ago, Fastbasher said:

Time to take a team down in Portugal.

Meet the new manager of EA Braganca

I was inspired by @XaW's attempt in December. The players all come from Cape Verde. I like the thought of my club team also being the Cape Verde national team and may even do it as a double challenge, a bit like the San Marino challenge, once this ends.

I've also made the manager Cape Verdean to fit with the club theme.

 

Xaw was missing defenders. We are stacked with defenders and wingers, but missing a striker and central mids. 

The good news is that all eleven players make the starting lineup in the first season. Looks like a 5-5-0 formation with wing play.

Good luck, @stefaanpeeraer is also playing with them (youth only).