[FM20][FM21][FM22][FM23] Calcio

[Sysiphus]

Ascoli 1st season review

Finishing the 1st season with a few screenshots from the end of the season. Ask for specifics if you want and I'll oblige!

First season in Serie A since 06/07.

My best 11:

Finally got some team leaders in!

Final league position + playoff tree.

Reward for top goalscorer in the league, Marcello Trotta:

Squad overview:

Rather small budget but there is something to be worked with. Hopefully the balance of –5m will get better soon.

[quee]

2 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

Finally got some team leaders in!

2 of those the captains?

How is Sernicola's attributes now? Seems like a good find, never seen him before - until you mentioned him previously of course!

[Stu_UBJ]

I'm back in Italy  

I've started again in Serie C, this time with a former Serie A club, who have the 3rd largest stadium in Italy;
 

 

 

SSC Bari

 

I Galletti are well-known across Italy and Europe, where Antonio Conte (arguably) got his big break, and once boasted a defence of 2 future Italian internationals of Bonucci and Ranocchia. Also the club saw the emergence of well-known talents such as Gianluigi Zambrotta, Antonio Cassano and Nicola Ventola to name just three.

The club's fortunes (literally) have been up and down. with the club almost always in heavy debt, they became known as a "selling club", losing all of their key players to other teams in Serie A. Despite the sales, the club did eventually go bankrupt, having folded twice and re-formed both times. Most recently, this saw the club relegated to Serie D, soon after a solid 7th finish in Serie D.

 

Having clawed their way back to Serie C (or Lega Pro), the club are embarking on a new, hopefully more prosperous future, under new owners. Under Filmauro, who are owned by Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis, the club are debt-free. In his place, Aurelio has placed his eldest son Luigi Jr. in control, with the mission of "to bring the club back to Serie A as fast as possible"

Stadio San Nicola should have been the crowning glory of 1990s Bari side. Built for "Italia 90" World Cup, it is Italy's 3rd largest stadium, with a whopping 58,270 capacity. Such a stadium doesn't belong so far down the Italian Football Pyramid...

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by Stu_UBJ

[quee]

2 minutes ago, Stu_UBJ said:

I'm back in Italy  

Welcome back! 

3 minutes ago, Stu_UBJ said:

This is a bit random? But I loved it 

Let us know how you go with Bari! Will be interesting to compare to the other Bari saves. 

[Stu_UBJ]

1 minute ago, quee said:

Welcome back! 

This is a bit random? But I loved it 

Let us know how you go with Bari! Will be interesting to compare to the other Bari saves. 

it was to signify the death (and then rebirth) of the club!

[quee]

5 minutes ago, Stu_UBJ said:

it was to signify the death (and then rebirth) of the club!

Thought it was Bari's Ultras logo or something 

[Stu_UBJ]

Just now, quee said:

Thought it was Bari's Ultras logo or something 

He's surely too cute to be an Ultras logo 

[Stu_UBJ]

SSC Bari - The Opening Salvo

It's always been said "start as you mean to go on". And it's true. A bad start would mean certain failure. With a pretty decent squad to hand, not a huge amount was needed to get us on the right track.  Karim Laribi and Mirco Antenucci are surefire starters, and with a plethora of players that will surely be among the best in the division.


*green highlighted transfers are youngsters*

Stanislav Ivanov and Valentin Antov both fly in from Bulgaria, strengthening two key areas for us. Ivanov will be our tricky winger, whilst Antov will shore up an already strong defensive line. Lois Openda looks incredible for the level, and adds some much needed pace to our team. Our final signing of Augusto Lotti is not a great player, but he will provide cover for ST and also AMR. 



We're keeping it nice and simple with our tactic. Nothing fancy, just the right style for our level I think  



A strong start! Our only defeat so far was against Ascoli, who are at same level (different Group), however this was a game where many of my rotation / backup players got a game, so not too worried. Rende are expected to go back down, whilst Casertana are looking like amid-table season awaits.

[Weston]

4 hours ago, oakesypvfc said:

Donnarumma coming in on a free was an absolute steal

I'm shocked so many of you are managing to poach Donnarumma on a free! Very lucky.

Also crazy to see you win the league twice with points totals lower than I got in 2nd place this year. You're making me feel both better and worse about my own save right now haha

[Weston]

1 hour ago, quee said:

This is a weird question tbh. What I'm doing in my FM save is NOT real-life Parma's philosophy, so I'm not seeing the connection here. Never claimed anything else in this regards. I could do this style of play with any club if I wanted to.

Your question - it's like I'm asking you, so when do you think Bari will released all their players and bring in the Espositos, the Arminis, the Gasperinis on-loan for Serie C onwards for the next 4 seasons before signing them for free IN REAL LIFE? Not related at all, does it?

To answer your question, no I don't know or remember all of the players that did play in Serie D or C or B. But, Lucarelli is one great example of what I'm trying to do in my FM save. Loyalty to the end.

I'll indulged you a bit here. Of those with Parma currently in the first team - Iacoponi and Scozzarella played for Parma since Serie C, so that's 4 years and counting.

Frattali was with Parma from Serie C to Serie A last year, 3 years. He was only given one start in Serie A, one the final day of Season 18/19, before leaving.

I think your definition of romantic is different to mine. I think yours is ditch the old wives, then get newer and younger wives, sort to speak.

Not a weird question, I'm genuinely curious! I was wondering if it was just Lucarelli, or if were there others who survived from the bottom. I think it's interesting. Never said you were emulating Parma's real life philosophy.

And I do play a bit ruthlessly but I try to maintain romanticism throughout it all, like that Italian core I've maintained from the bottom. I also hired club legend Igor Protti as a scout, for example, even though I could hire better. But then I harassed the board until they let me increase the amount of scouts allowed and then hired a foreign one with even stronger attributes as well 

Edited May 21, 2020 by Weston

[Weston]

1 hour ago, Sysiphus said:

Ascoli 1st season review

Congrats! Serie C playoffs are no joke.

[Weston]

1 hour ago, Stu_UBJ said:

I've started again in Serie C, this time with a former Serie A club, who have the 3rd largest stadium in Italy;
 

 

 

SSC Bari

Welcome! I'm with Bari in 2025 at the moment, so really interesting in seeing how you get on and what strategy you take.

And it's crazy how big our stadium is - I've never built a new stadium in a save, and it's in part because Bari starts with such a large one in the first place.

[FMbeginner]

Into season 3 with Sassuolo. Quick reminder of how Season 2 went: Got into Europa League, the club got a takeover and the new board bought Cengiz Under and Alexander Isak. I still had a little bit of money to spend in the transfer window and I was wondering if anyone can advise on the below transfers?

• I need a first choice right back to play ahead of Mert Muldur. I can either spend 7mil on Andrea Conti or loan in Elseid Hysaj
• Is Filippo Romagna worth 11mil and the second highest wages at my club (after Under)? I have Quarta, Varnier and Romero (Romero on loan) as my other centre backs
• Does anyone have any experience with Matias Arezo? I signed him in January and he looks pretty decent as a Pressing Forward (with a little training)

[Ewan0404]

18 minutes ago, FMbeginner said:

Into season 3 with Sassuolo. Quick reminder of how Season 2 went: Got into Europa League, the club got a takeover and the new board bought Cengiz Under and Alexander Isak. I still had a little bit of money to spend in the transfer window and I was wondering if anyone can advise on the below transfers?

• I need a first choice right back to play ahead of Mert Muldur. I can either spend 7mil on Andrea Conti or loan in Elseid Hysaj
• Is Filippo Romagna worth 11mil and the second highest wages at my club (after Under)? I have Quarta, Varnier and Romero (Romero on loan) as my other centre backs
• Does anyone have any experience with Matias Arezo? I signed him in January and he looks pretty decent as a Pressing Forward (with a little training)

I signed Arezo at the start of my Milan save and just waiting on him coming when he gets old enough. 

Let me know how he gets on for you. 

[oakesypvfc]

9 hours ago, quee said:

Nice, succinct, 4-years worth of update there! Welcome to the thread! 

Looking forward to more updates from you. 

You're a better transfer-master than me, 8.5m for Tomiyasu compared to £23m in mine, and a free transfer for Talles Magno! I'm jealous, tbh 

Yeah, it took a few months but managed to unsettle him to the point where he was transfer listed by request. He's now my starting right back, valued £45 million.

8 hours ago, Stu_UBJ said:

I'm back in Italy  

I've started again in Serie C, this time with a former Serie A club, who have the 3rd largest stadium in Italy;
 

 

 

SSC Bari

 

I Galletti are well-known across Italy and Europe, where Antonio Conte (arguably) got his big break, and once boasted a defence of 2 future Italian internationals of Bonucci and Ranocchia. Also the club saw the emergence of well-known talents such as Gianluigi Zambrotta, Antonio Cassano and Nicola Ventola to name just three.

The club's fortunes (literally) have been up and down. with the club almost always in heavy debt, they became known as a "selling club", losing all of their key players to other teams in Serie A. Despite the sales, the club did eventually go bankrupt, having folded twice and re-formed both times. Most recently, this saw the club relegated to Serie D, soon after a solid 7th finish in Serie D.

 

Having clawed their way back to Serie C (or Lega Pro), the club are embarking on a new, hopefully more prosperous future, under new owners. Under Filmauro, who are owned by Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis, the club are debt-free. In his place, Aurelio has placed his eldest son Luigi Jr. in control, with the mission of "to bring the club back to Serie A as fast as possible"
 

 

 

Stadio San Nicola should have been the crowning glory of 1990s Bari side. Built for "Italia 90" World Cup, it is Italy's 3rd largest stadium, with a whopping 58,270 capacity. Such a stadium doesn't belong so far down the Italian Football Pyramid...

 

 

 

 

Why hello there

7 hours ago, Weston said:

I'm shocked so many of you are managing to poach Donnarumma on a free! Very lucky.

Also crazy to see you win the league twice with points totals lower than I got in 2nd place this year. You're making me feel both better and worse about my own save right now haha

Yeah, he had no interest before his contract expired but managed to get him on a surprisingly low wage once it did. 

Yeah, it's been super competitive so far, a lot of teams beating each other. I was unbeaten up until Jan last season, was more of a struggle in the end though because of all the draws.

[Sysiphus]

9 hours ago, quee said:

2 of those the captains?

How is Sernicola's attributes now? Seems like a good find, never seen him before - until you mentioned him previously of course!

Ninkovic is my captain and he has become a team leader, yes. Raffaele Pucino is my vice captain and he is a highly influential player, not a leader.

Sernicola's attributes aren't great, but he has nice PPMs and performs very well on the flank, along with having a perfectionist personality. Bear in mind that he's a DR I trained to play MR because of an injury crisis.

8 hours ago, Weston said:

Congrats! Serie C playoffs are no joke.

Cheers mate! It was Serie B though – still quite tough having to play 5 games!

Edited May 21, 2020 by Sysiphus

[Matt_1979]

VENEZIA FC - 2019/20 - Season Review

A season of two halves (literally and metaphorically!)

So, when I started this save I wanted to replicate the tactics and system of Gallardo at River Plate. However, I couldn't get any of the tactics chosen to work very well. I even resorted to my Serie A winning 4-1-3-2 AC Milan tactic and that, despite having it's moments of beauty, also failed to make a solid impact and I found my Venezia FC side lingering around the bottom half of the table so the only hope to get any consistency in good performances was to begrudgingly revert to a 4-3-3 - which i'm even more convinced is massively overpowered in FM20.

The problem is I had no wingers as they're all out on loan from before I arrived, apart from Mattia Aramu - who because I wasn't using wingers I loaned out for the season to Ascoli. All I had was a 17 year old Naci Unuvar, who had been coming off the bench as an AMC and certainly didn't seem good enough yet for first team football and Benjamin Rollheiser, a young striker I'd stolen away from River Plate, who could also play on the right wing  - again, he was good but certainly not quite ready for first team football and had been coming off the bench as a striker. So the switch to a 4-3-3 was made when we found ourselves in 14th position after two uninspiring draws against Trapani & Ascoli, both well below us in the league, and the results turned around like a team revitalised. Gone were the 6 games without a win streaks and in were 6 games unbeaten and we soared up the table, so much so that going into the last three games of the season we found ourselves in with a chance of grabbing the 2nd place behind runaway leaders Cremonese!!

However, we bottled it. A 1-0 loss to Perugia and a 0-0 bore draw vs Benevento meant we couldn't take advantage of both Chievo and Livorno dropping points so it came down to the last game week of the season whereby we needed both to drop points again to give us a chance of clinching automatic promotion.

We held up our end versus Salernitana - who were in my bad books after poaching my very talented Director of Football to fill their vacant managerial spot - with a 5-1 thrashing BUT neither Chievo not Livorno did us a favour so we would finish in fourth and qualify for the playoffs.

As a side note, I have never had a season with so many injuries and player illnesses. I was barely able to play a settled team until the last quarter of the season and was forever sending players home with viruses and colds!

Tactical Comparisons: 

4-2-2-2, 4-3-1-2 & 4-1-3-2

Played 25, Won 8, Drew 8, Lost 9

Scored 33, against 31

Points per game: 1.28, 

Goals per game: 1.32

Goals against per game: 1.24

4-3-3 

Played 13 , Won 8, Drew 2, Lost 3.

Scored 19, against 9

Points per game: 2.0

Goals per game: 1.46

Goals against per game: 0.69

As you can see, a huge improvement in a 4-3-3 with two AM's who aren't even all that good, even for Serie B.

Adriano Montalto & Gaetano Monachello

Two strikers who were in on loan from Cremonese and Atalanta respectively. Unfortunately, they both spent huge parts of the season injured but when they were fit they were great. Montalto finished the season with XX in XX games and Monachello with XX in XX.
 

Playoff Semi Final vs Spezia

The first leg was away at Spezia and managed to dominate the game but only scrape out a 1-0 win thanks to Adriano Montalto and his 31st minute strike. Spezia missed an absolute sitter on 58 mins and had a goal ruled out for off-side in the 83rd, and let me tell you, it was close!!

We would, however, have a returning loan player available for the second leg: pacey winger Harvey St Clair, ex Chelsea youth, who would go straight into the starting line up for Unuvar who picked up a knock in the first leg.

Despite the halt time result being 0-0 we were dominant again with 64% of possession. Rollheiser had missed a golden chance just before half time and another just after the restart and things remained tense until Youssef Maleh scored an absolute rocket from 20 yards in the 86th minute to claim our place in the play off finals to face Livorno.

Playoff Final vs Livorno

Leg 1 was played at home and advanced playmaker Arnaud Lusamba was stretchered off after just 4 minutes and his surging runs with the ball would be missed. Montalto came closest to breaking the deadlock when he sent a header rattling against the crossbar on 33 minutes with Livorno returning the favour with a shot hitting the post a minute later. Unuvar came close twice before half time and Montalto sent an effort narrowly into the side netting. 0-0 at half time but we were on the ascendancy. The second half was less inspiring and remained tight and the final score was 0-0.

The return, away leg soon came around with injured Lusamba being replaced by veteran Antonio Vacca in the starting line up.

Things didn't start well as Livorno took a 1-0 lead on 6 minutes through Marras, but Montalto soon levelled things up on 10 minutes with a rocket header from a Lakicevic cross. The pair connected again on 12 minutes, this time with a near post, glancing header which found it's way into the top corner to give us a 2-1 lead in a swift turnaround! Montalto became a hat-trick hero on 63, slotting home a through ball from Vacca. 

VENEZIA ARE GOING UP TO SERIE A!

The Players:

So who were the stand out players of the season for us? The first is youngster Yousuff Maleh who showed some absolute moments class throughout the season. He's one of those players who can be average all game and then pull something special out of the hat. He's been somewhat inconsistent in parts, however he still only 21 and this is his first season of first team football. 39 games, 6 goals and 2 assists. 

Benjamin Rollheiser was picked up from River Plate in the January transfer window as a promising young striker but was moved out to the AMR spot in the switch to 4-3-3. For a 5'8" guy he has a very impressive 16 for heading! In that time he managed to put up 7 goals and 3 assists in 23 games. 

Ivan Lakicevic is a right back on loan from Genoa and he put in some great performances throughout the season, racking up 12 assists in 26 games. Voted Player of the Season.

Talented midfielder Antonio Fiordilino was voted to the Serie B team of the year, Antonio Vacca won Serie B goal of the season and I won the Manager of the Year and Manager's Manager of the Year awards.

What next?

I've got some talented youngsters but the older players certainly aren't enough to keep me up! With a minimal transfer budget I'll need to do some immense research and recruitment on a tight budget to ensure we are ready for the lofty heights of Serie A. We did manage to dump Cagliari out of the Italian Cup earlier in the season so I have glimmers of hope we can put in some decent performances.

Despite his playoff heroics and an expiring contract, Montalto (17 games, 9 goals) won't sign with me as he didn't enjoy his experience on loan with us - if he hadn't been injured most of the season he may have!! Hopefully he'll change his mind.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Matt_1979

[Adzke]

@Matt_1979 Always thought Venezia was a special club (propably because the city is as well), so I am really enjoying your updates. I am keen to see how you get on in Serie A. I've looked at Rollheiser on my game, but he just doesn't seem to be good enough for me. Looking forward to seeing you develop him!

[Matt_1979]

41 minutes ago, Adzke said:

@Matt_1979 Always thought Venezia was a special club (propably because the city is as well), so I am really enjoying your updates. I am keen to see how you get on in Serie A. I've looked at Rollheiser on my game, but he just doesn't seem to be good enough for me. Looking forward to seeing you develop him!

Yes, he's going to be an interesting player to follow. I haven't yet done my end of season squad review so unsure if he'll be a starter next season.... Same with Unuvar. 

In my mind currently i'm thinking of keeping the youngsters in their roles and replacing the older team members with upgraded versions, rather than bringing on an older player just to take minutes away from a promising kid. Its a tough balance. Will have to see what's available.

[john1]

Absolutely fantastic to see more people joining us in Italy Members making great progress with their club  

[Adzke]

1 hour ago, Matt_1979 said:

In my mind currently i'm thinking of keeping the youngsters in their roles and replacing the older team members with upgraded versions, rather than bringing on an older player just to take minutes away from a promising kid. Its a tough balance. Will have to see what's available.

It's always a delicate balance. I often start a lot of young players far to soon, and I do grow weary from it, as it ruins some of the fun if - three years into a save - I don't have a single real player on my team.

[Matt_1979]

VENEZIA FC - 2019/20 - Squad Review

It's going to be a big step up from getting promoted via the playoffs to competing, and avoiding relegation, amongst the giants of Serie A. Here's a look at how my starting 11 from this season, and any significant others, could shape up and how may have to leave the club.

Goalkeepers:

Luca Lezzerini, at 6'5", did a good job in goal last season, conceding 37 goals in 40 games. However, my assistant managers opinion is that although he's got potential to be a decent Serie A 'keeper, he's only currently a leading Serie C goalkeeper. He may have to be replaced and there a few decent options on the transfer list.

Right Back:

Both options at right back were in on loan this season. Lakicevic has a great season with 12 assists and a 7.26 OVR. Again, the assistant manager only deems him as a leading Serie C player and at 26 won't improve any. Fiordaliso didn't play quite as many games but still racked up 7 assists and a 7.13 OVR. He's only 21 and has room to improve so I may try to get him on loan again or sign him permanently.

Left Back:

Our starting left back this season was 21 year old Gian Feliciolo. He's got the potential to be a decent Serie A left back still has room to improve. His back up, 36 year old Cristian Molinaro, has announced his retirement so I need to bring in someone new. Depending on what's available will see if Feliciolio remains the starter.

Centrebacks:

Marco Modolo (31) and youngster Mario De Marino (20) were our starters for much of the season and did a decent job. Modolo scored 4 goals. However, both only have pace of 11 which is nowhere near good enough. I'll definitely need at least one new starter or we'll get torched!

Midfield:

Both Franco Zuculini and Lorenzo Lollo can do a job at Halfback - again, the pace isn't great of either but they both have good defensive positioning and passing. Both only considered leading Serie C players but i think they've got enough to handle that position between them for the season and do a decent job.

Antonio Fiordilino is considered a leading Serie B player with potential to be a good Serie A midfielder so I believe hes got enough to handle the pressure. 

Antonio Vacca played 25 games this season but he's now 30 and although he's good technically I don't think he's quick enough for one of the more attacking central midfield roles. May have to sell him to raise money to plug gaps elsewhere.

Youssef Maleh is the most exciting prospect in that he can win games on his own when on his game. Potential to be a Serie A attacking midfielder and plays well in the Mezzala and Adavanced Playmaker roles. Will need more consistency though.

Arnaud Lusamba came in from OGC Nice and instantly made an impact with his dribbling and pace, often making surging runs from deep and causing havoc to defences. He's staying!

Attacking Midfielders:

Here i'm lacking in depth and talent. Naci Unuvar progressed well in the AML slot at Inside Forward but is still only 17 and I know from my Milan save, he's not good enough for Serie A yet. Harvey St Clair and Yuri Senesi aren't good enough. A starting left attacking midfield is needed.

Rollheiser is progressing really well and I think he's good enough to keep his slot. We'll also have Mattia Aramu returning from loan who will be able to be back up and chip in where needed.

Strikers:

We had three strikers in on loan last season: Adriano Montalto (9 goals in 17 appearances) but is now 32 years old. Samuele Longo from Inter (4 goals in 22 appearances) and Gaetano Monachello (4 goals in 13 appearances) and although they all had their moments throughout the season I don't think any are good enough to be a lone striker in Serie A.

Permanent strikers on the books are Alessandro Capello (7 goals in 26 appearances), who at 24, still has room to improve but he's only touted to being a leading Serie B striker. Gianmarco Zigoni really struggled with no goals in 12 appearances and is more of a lower end Serie B player.

I really need to get lucky and grab a leading striker from somewhere who can chip in with 10-25 goals as a lone striker but doesn't cost a bomb. Suggestions welcome!

Conclusion:

So I think to stand a chance of staying up I need a new starters in the following positions: Goalkeeper, Right back. At least one centre-back. An experienced Left attacking midfielder and a striker.

Better get scouring the scout reports........

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by Matt_1979

[Ewan0404]

 

Just completed the transfer window at the start of season 2.

I played a 4-2-3-1 last season but this year I am focused on making a 4-4-2 diamond work to pay tribute to Ancelott's Milan side. To do this I decided that with Irahimovic retiring I could to with 4 strikers in my first team.

Saelemaekers was already an agreed deal so not much i could do there.

I decided to bring Soumare in to play alongside Kessie in the 2 central midfield roles ahead of Tonali.

Rebic was a deal I decided I needed to do base on the way he finished last season (9 goals in the last 12 games of the season)

Gronli was signed to send back out on loan to try and develop him and maybe sell on for a profit.

Ceballos has come in to cover both the central midfield roles and for Paqueta.

Joveljic I signed as a young back up striker. I had great success with him on Fm19 so fingers crossed the same happens here.

 

Of the outs there isnt much to say, sold on a lot of players who were older and had no real shot of getting into my first team. It was good to get a lot of wages off the books.

Here is to season 2 and back in the Champions League, wish me luck!

Edited May 21, 2020 by Ewan0404

[Ewan0404]

Rebic is quickly becoming my favourite player in FM.

He comes on with 10 minutes left and his never say die attitude grabs us a point.

[john1]

 
Oohhh! 

[RVP32]

18 hours ago, Ewan0404 said:

Could someone show me how Tonali, Armini and Pellegri develop with you training them? Thanks 

If you still need to know, I can boot up the game for Pellegri and Tonali.

[Ewan0404]

Just now, RVP32 said:

If you still need to know, I can boot up the game for Pellegri and Tonali.

That would be prefect thanks.

[quee]

9 hours ago, FMbeginner said:

• I need a first choice right back to play ahead of Mert Muldur. I can either spend 7mil on Andrea Conti or loan in Elseid Hysaj

I would get Hysaj, always wanted to get him since FM19 - he became Napoli's Legend, so he was never interested in leaving.

In FM20, he went on-loan to Valencia in the first season then joined Sevilla on a free in the 2nd season in my save. He wasn't even interested talking to me, besides couldn't afford the £70k p/w Sevilla offered him anyway.

Would have been interesting though, if I could have gotten him, would I still bought Tomiyasu?

Muldur is not performing for you? I'm actually interested in him as well, as Darmian's future replacement and Tomiyasu's cover.

As for the rest, no input as no experience with both Romagna and Arezo.

[quee]

1 hour ago, john1 said:

Oohhh! 

Told ya, ride-along 

Milan investor?

[Matt_1979]

3 minutes ago, quee said:

I would get Hysaj, always wanted to get him since FM19 - he became Napoli's Legend, so he was never interested in leaving.

In FM20, he went on-loan to Valencia in the first season then joined Sevilla on a free in the 2nd season in my save. He wasn't even interested talking to me, besides couldn't afford the £70k p/w Sevilla offered him anyway.

Would have been interesting though, if I could have gotten him, would I still bought Tomiyasu?

Muldur is not performing for you? I'm actually interested in him as well, as Darmian's future replacement and Tomiyasu's cover.

As for the rest, no input as no experience with both Romagna and Arezo.

You won’t go wrong with Conti to be honest. Good, steady performer. 

[Adzke]

Can someone explain the Non-EU player rules to me?

I thought I understood, but last year I tried to sign a second non-EU player, as I had sent one of my other Non-EU'ers on a loan abroad. Alas, I couldn't sign him. Why is that? Should I clear a space when I loan a player out abroad?

[quee]

5 minutes ago, Adzke said:

Can someone explain the Non-EU player rules to me?

I thought I understood, but last year I tried to sign a second non-EU player, as I had sent one of my other Non-EU'ers on a loan abroad. Alas, I couldn't sign him. Why is that? Should I clear a space when I loan a player out abroad?

It depends on how many you already have in your squad. Some of the requirements are linked to their international appearances as well (youth and senior team). You will need to pay attention to what's allowed when making an offer.

I also found that you have to clear the space before your new player arrival.

In regards to loan, I'm not sure how it will affect the quota. I've tried it before but no new space was gained, so I stopped over-buying non-EU players and try to match the limits imposed on me.

[Matt_1979]

12 minutes ago, Adzke said:

Can someone explain the Non-EU player rules to me?

I thought I understood, but last year I tried to sign a second non-EU player, as I had sent one of my other Non-EU'ers on a loan abroad. Alas, I couldn't sign him. Why is that? Should I clear a space when I loan a player out abroad?

the great @quee explained it to me a while back too. Once you’ve got 4 non-EU players  it’s a case of one in, one out. I think.
 

Like Co-op at the moment 😂

[quee]

1 minute ago, Matt_1979 said:

the great @quee explained it to me a while back too. Once you’ve got 4 non-EU players  it’s a case of one in, one out. I think.
 

Like Co-op at the moment 😂

Haha even I doubted my understanding of the rules sometimes  But FM20 descriptions are miles better than it was in FM19, so that helped a lot.

Once I see a red paragraphed in the transfer offer section, I always stopped and move along  Unless I know one of my non-EU player is leaving.

I haven't bought someone in on a Bosman in FM20, not sure if they notify you of non-EU situation as well?

[Weston]

2 hours ago, Adzke said:

Can someone explain the Non-EU player rules to me?

I thought I understood, but last year I tried to sign a second non-EU player, as I had sent one of my other Non-EU'ers on a loan abroad. Alas, I couldn't sign him. Why is that? Should I clear a space when I loan a player out abroad?

Remember, signing non-EU players from domestic clubs do not count towards your max, and selling them to other domestic clubs does not free up a space. If you don't have non-EU players at your club that you can part with I would recommend each season signing someone from a domestic club for cheap that you can sell abroad the next season to free up a space to bring someone in, this way no matter how many you have you can always bring in two total.

Alternately, you can loan out some non-EU players abroad so that they aren't counted on June 30, either by setting the return date right after, or way after and then recalling them shortly after. Does that make sense? Non-EU players you own coming back from loans do not count towards the new allotment.

[RVP32]

Season 4 with probably the best transfer window thus far despite. Sold all the underperformers or players who weren't good enough anymore and got in more than adequate replacements, with one kicker: Paul Pogba on a free! Sadly, he likely won't feature too much as my first choice, since the midfield trident of Zaniolo, Pellegrini and Tonali hasn't let me down before. Since he's a worth a lot, if he gets unhappy, I'll be getting big bucks for him and if he manages to play himself in my main eleven, then I got a great player.

Should I continue, this squad seems more than capable enough to retain the silverwork.

3 hours ago, Ewan0404 said:

That would be prefect thanks.

[Ewan0404]

1 hour ago, RVP32 said:

Season 4 with probably the best transfer window thus far despite. Sold all the underperformers or players who weren't good enough anymore and got in more than adequate replacements, with one kicker: Paul Pogba on a free! Sadly, he likely won't feature too much as my first choice, since the midfield trident of Zaniolo, Pellegrini and Tonali hasn't let me down before. Since he's a worth a lot, if he gets unhappy, I'll be getting big bucks for him and if he manages to play himself in my main eleven, then I got a great player.

Should I continue, this squad seems more than capable enough to retain the silverwork.

They both look great thanks. 

Does anyone who has managed Paqueta known how to get the best out of him? He has 1 good game every 5 or 6 and he is often a passenger on our side. 

[Adzke]

2 hours ago, Weston said:

Remember, signing non-EU players from domestic clubs do not count towards your max, and selling them to other domestic clubs does not free up a space. If you don't have non-EU players at your club that you can part with I would recommend each season signing someone from a domestic club for cheap that you can sell abroad the next season to free up a space to bring someone in, this way no matter how many you have you can always bring in two total.

Alternately, you can loan out some non-EU players abroad so that they aren't counted on June 30, either by setting the return date right after, or way after and then recalling them shortly after. Does that make sense? Non-EU players you own coming back from loans do not count towards the new allotment.

Thanks a lot. That's a great work-aorund.

[Matt_1979]

9 hours ago, Ewan0404 said:

They both look great thanks. 

Does anyone who has managed Paqueta known how to get the best out of him? He has 1 good game every 5 or 6 and he is often a passenger on our side. 

He did best for me as an attacking Mezzala and an Advanced Playmaker on support in the centre mid position.

[Matt_1979]

VENEZIA FC- 2020/21 - Pre-season Transfers

In my previous post I gave an overview of what positions I would need to strengthen to have a chance of staying up, which were:

Key Upgrades: Right back, Centre back (at least one), Left Attacking Mid, Striker.

If we have money left: Goalkeeper & Left back

We were given £10m to spend which is much better than I expected so let's see how we got on.

Incoming:

GK - Sonny Laiton (Auxerre) - Expiring contract £0 (Back up 'keeper with room to improve)

CB - Valerio Mantovani (Salernitana) - Expiring contract £0  (Back up with room to improve, needs to work on his heading)

ST - Federico Girotti (River Plate) - Expiring contract £0 (Another River Plate player joining the ranks, he'll be a back up with bags of potential)

CB - Andrea Cistana (Brescia) - £3.8m (Relegation release clause) - MASSIVE signing - big teams were in for him so punched the air in delight when he chose us!

CB - Andrew Gravillon (Inter) - £1.7m - Another massive signing. Had him at Auxerre and he was a beast and ended up on the transfer list for a BARGAIN so couldn't not!!

GK - Gabriel Brazao (Inter) - £105k - Tranfser listed with great potential - will compete with Lezzerini for the starters spot.

RB - Rafa Navarro (Alaves) - £450k - Spanish full back, well balanced in defence and attack. Could be a bargain.

ST - Jordan Siebatcheu (Rennes) - £1.8m - Big and strong, decent all round striker who should be able to handle the lone striker role. Valued at £3 but the DoF did a good job in haggling. 

AML - Flavien Tait (Rennes) - £925k - Didn't want to spend too much on a starter as Unuvar should be ready for first team football next season. Tait should do a decent, but unspectacular job this season. 

Loans IN:

RB - Alessandro Fiordaliso (Torino) - Had him on loan last season and tried to sign him but they wanted nearly £4m so loaned him back instead. Solid back up. 

LB - Luca Ranieri (Fiorentina) - On loan to compete for the starting spot at left back. I also attached an optional £3.5m fee. 

 

OUT:

ST - Gianmarco Zigoni (Spezia) - £300k. He was worth more but I just wanted his wages off the books so let him go. 

AM - Francesco Di Mariano (Juve Stabia) - £575k - A deal agreed at the start of last season, before I took over.

And various on free transfers....

 

So, there we have it - 5, maybe 6 or 7 new starters depending on how the season goes..... The media prediction is that we will finish 18th so there's a lot of hard work to be done.

Edited May 22, 2020 by Matt_1979

[john1]

 
Gutted  Was expecting to get hammered.

[Weston]

Been too busy to play all week (and I'm taking the time off from my save to contemplate whether to leave Bari, and if so, to which club), but I did get a minute and decide to open up my old saves to compare career trajectory. No matter how hard I tried to get to Juve the last three years I always ended up at Milan instead! Would be interested to see some of your parallel past lives.

FM17

FM18

FM19  (note there's a bug that hides the 2020/21 Serie B season for some reason)

FM20 (Active)

[Adzke]

I've just finished my most memorable FM 20 season to date, having won the Serie A in front of Lazio, Inter, and Juventus. With four games to go, I was in second place, but Juventus slipped against Parma, and eventually crashed all the way to fourth place. Quite extraordinary, and obviously very nice for the people of Reggio Calabria to stick it to all the northerners.

League table / Team of the year

Spoiler

As I expected, Fausto Vera is starting to draw serious interest from bigger clubs, and Benfica have bid €44M, which I have rejected after some consideration. I just can't get a deep-lying playmaker at that level. He will however no longer be anywhere near the only Argentine player at the club, as I've brought in both Mateo Palavicini, whom I bought last year, but had to leave with Newell's Old Boys due to the non-EU rules. Two days before the new season, I found out my DoF had brought in two foreigners for my U20 team, and as I gave them both the sack, it opened up space for yet another Argentinian on top of Palavicini. Thus I have also brought in Pablo García from River Plate.

Palavicini / García

Spoiler

 I have sold some players, chief amongst them Pietro Beruatto for €10M and Chumi (whom I brought in last year for free) for €14.75M

I have also brought in Mika Mármol from Barcelona for a record €22M. I had to give him a salary of €333k p/m, and as Fausto Vera had a clause matching the highest earner, he is at that pay grade now as well. I've never given such a clause to anyone before. I have also brought in Milan Puzovic, a young left wingback from Lazio, for €7M.

Mármol / Puzovic

Spoiler

Lastly, this happened. I'm quite excited, and I now have two years to become a legend at the club 

[Weston]

Hmmm...

[AceCream]

2 hours ago, Weston said:

Hmmm...

Don't you dare

[Daws88]

Hi all

Another avid Serie A FM player

Started with Inter, 4 seasons and dominated. Had a really fun 5 season save with Roma, won the league twice. First and 5th season, managed ok, considering the debt in the club. Lazio really improved on an already solid squad, so was an even bigger rivalry.

It was really good to see in this year's version (since update especially) that Juventus don't completely crumble and end up signing average players.

Tempted to start with AC Milan and try to make them successful again.

[3maldini3]

Seeing Milan's line up from the 2005 champions league final made me feel like starting with them.

Anybody playing with them and can tell is they have one or two interesting prospects?

[Ewan0404]

16 minutes ago, turgi said:

Seeing Milan's line up from the 2005 champions league final made me feel like starting with them.

Anybody playing with them and can tell is they have one or two interesting prospects?

I am playing as them at the moment. Check the last page for my first season review if you want. 

Milan start with plenty of young players (u25 for example) to build a side around. 

[ParanoidBuddha]

6 ore fa, turgi ha scritto:

Seeing Milan's line up from the 2005 champions league final made me feel like starting with them.

Impossible not love that team!

[sedge11]

On 19/05/2020 at 22:37, sedge11 said:

Now on to some more interesting developments, we have been offered the RBL job and the Man Utd job. So what to do?

Option 1: Stay at Lazio for another season or 2 and try to dominate before moving on

Option 2: Move to RBL, see if we can win them their 1st Bundesliga and 1st major trophy

Option 3: Takeover Man Utd and get them back on top, as Liverpool have won 3 out of 4 league title, and have now overtaken Man Utd's record number of league wins.

It's a tough one, I really really like this team, and its a team I think I could easily win another league title or 2, but do want to move on at some point, my concern is when I leave the team will be ripped apart, as Gouiri, Tonali, SMS and Almada all have heavy interest. RBL would be a good challenge as they haven't done very well, try win them some major trophies. I have done a Man Utd save on this years fm, but as mentioned Liverpool have overtaken Man Utd's record number of league wins and I can't have that , so no matter what I will want to join Man Utd at some point.

Think I will sleep on this one and decide in the next day or 2.

So a few days ago I had this decision.

I eventually made a decision to join RBL, ending my 4 year stay with Lazio.

I have absolutely loved the 1st 4 seasons with Lazio and could of stayed, but had achieved everything I wanted with them and more (champs league win) and felt doing a 5th season I would just be going through the motions, and I wanted a new challenge.

I wanted to leave Lazio in the best possible position, back to back Serie A winners was one way, but also I made sure most of the best players would stay by giving them all new contracts. The only 2 I couldn't get to sign were Gouiri and Tonali, and unfortunately they were sold after I left. Gouiri went to Barcelona for 41mil with potential to be 52 mil, then Tonali went to Man Utd for 96 mil.

A 3rd player also left in Strakosha, mainly because I signed in for RBL, other from that their team remains intact.

So my 4 year reign brought in 2x Serie A Titles, 1x Champs league title and 1x Italian cup.

My best and favourite players to use from the original team in that time were Immobile who got 84 goals in 145 league games for me. SMS who is a machine in midfield and Strakosha who got 82 clean sheets in a 147 league games, and has now obviously joined me at RBL. Of players I brought in Tonali, Alphonso Davies and Milenkovic were all incredible, and a special note to Minardi a regen I got in the 1st intake who I would love to buy down the line.

I will continue to follow this thread as its a great thread, and I may be back down the line.