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

[Rasnaldo]

Piacenza Calcio 1919 (season 2019/2020)

Just finished my first year in Italy with Serie C side Piacenza Calcio and I am really loving it in Italy. The goal at the start of the season was reaching the playoff to Serie B. It may seem like we needed to finish near the top of the table to achieve this, but because of the crazy playoff system in Serie C teams placed as low as 11th have a shot at getting promoted. After starting out poorly and sitting as low as 9th I finally got the tactics down by the last half of the season and we ended up at 6th fulfilling the expectation. 

Into the crazy playoff system, the board expected me to get to the 3rd round, we entered at first round. This meant we had to beat 6 teams in a row to get promoted and I did not expect to get anywhere near the final. But with a solid tactic and good form from the last part of the regular season my team managed to get to the final and even get promoted by winning the playoff final!!!! 

I had not expected to get promotion to Serie B so soon, so the squad will need a big overhaul over the summer. I played this first season with the original squad, only adding a freekick specialist during the winter window to take advantage of my teams’ good ability in the air.

When I started the save, I found out that my best right back and best left back both had 15 in long throws so I trained them to have a long flat throw and I designed my tactic around this. The team ended up playing a kind of old-style English 4-4-2 with hard hitting and hardworking players. Over half of the goals we scored are from set pieces, so this worked out very well.

Beccaro is the only player I signed the rest are from the original squad.

 

The goal for next season will be staying in Serie B.

 

[Sysiphus]

Ascoli 2nd season transfer window

Did not get a lot of money and the wage budget is quite tight, but that's the way I want it. I want to give most of the players that helped me get promoted the chance to prove themselves in Serie A. I decided to not renew some loan player who didn't feature a lot last season, but we paid the clause to get Barbieri (DR) in from Novara, and he's a fantastic prospect.

Scuffet will be our first goalkeeper, with Nicola Leali having finished his loan.

Carles Alena will be our star player, and starts at AMC.

Keres Masangu was available on a free, wanted very low wages and has a good upside. Originally I wanted him to be a backup but I didn't get another BBM I liked so he'll probably start a lot.

Dany Mota has performed very well for @Adzke's Reggina side, so when he was transfer listed for just over half a million I jumped the gun and signed him as a backup for Trotta.

Our best 11 now:

Edited May 23, 2020 by Sysiphus

[Adzke]

@Sysiphus Dany Mota has been really prolific for me. In two years in Serie A, he's scored 37 league goals (41 total) - a lot of them really great ones. He has a wicked long shot, and he's been a good free-kick taker for me, even though he didn't have the best attributes for it. He never could get a call-up for Portugal, so he is a Luxembourger now on my save 

[Matt_1979]

10 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

Ascoli 2nd season transfer window

Did not get a lot of money and the wage budget is quite tight, but that's the way I want it. I want to give most of the players that helped me get promoted the chance to prove themselves in Serie A. I decided to not renew some loan player who didn't feature a lot last season, but we paid the clause to get Barbieri (DR) in from Novara, and he's a fantastic prospect.

Scuffet will be our first goalkeeper, with Nicola Leali having finished his loan.

Carles Alena will be our star player, and starts at AMC.

Keres Masangu was available on a free, wanted very low wages and has a good upside. Originally I wanted him to be a backup but I didn't get another BBM I liked so he'll probably start a lot.

Dany Mota has performed very well for @Adzke's Reggina side, so when he was transfer listed for just over half a million I jumped the gun and signed him as a backup for Trotta.

Our best 11 now:

Nice pick ups. Looking forward seeing how you do. Serie A ain’t easy!!!

[Matt_1979]

2 minutes ago, Adzke said:

@Sysiphus Dany Mota has been really prolific for me. In two years in Serie A, he's scored 37 league goals (41 total) - a lot of them really great ones. He has a wicked long shot, and he's been a good free-kick taker for me, even though he didn't have the best attributes for it. He never could get a call-up for Portugal, so he is a Luxembourger now on my save 

I’m going to check him out!!!!!! 

[Adzke]

6 minutes ago, Matt_1979 said:

I’m going to check him out!!!!!! 

I got him for free at the end of the 20/21 season, and I was really in doubt whether to sign him, as I had Fernando Foristieri on a high wage. But he was an outright disaster, and luckily I stuck to my guns and signed Mota.

[djsmith0410]

Parma End of Season 2

So the league went to the final match, at home to Juve

Spoiler

Also reached the Europa League final, losing to Inter 2-0. Looking towards next season, both CB's are finishing their loan, Araujo and Bastoni. Would love Bastoni back but Inter want to use him. Araujo was decent but I don't really like relying on loanees. Signed Cistana from relegated Brescia for 10 mil, Betella from Atalanta for 9 mil and Goldaniga for 500k. a trio of cb's! Also have Schone arriving on a free for mentoring purposes. 

Inglese is wanted by Chelsea, he is 29 but has scored 43 goals in all comps the last two seasons combined. Ricci and Adorante are coming back from loan to the first team squad, would like to move Cornelius on, unfortunately he is only just joining permanently

Gk is a big decision, Sepe was first choice then picked up an injury in January, Alastra came in and did well. Molla is coming back, maybe a season or two early for him. 

Anyone heard of Isaac Lihadji? Signed on a free from Marseille end of 1st season, now a wonderkid...

Spoiler

 

 

[Matt_1979]

1 hour ago, Adzke said:

I got him for free at the end of the 20/21 season, and I was really in doubt whether to sign him, as I had Fernando Foristieri on a high wage. But he was an outright disaster, and luckily I stuck to my guns and signed Mota.

He’s signed for Monza in C/A in mine

[FMbeginner]

After a few days distraction with a save as San Lorenzo, which I will definitely come back to, I'm back to carrying on with Sassuolo. I signed Romagna at centre back to pair with Quarta, Hysaj came in on loan and I fought off Juve, Inter & Lazio who all tried to sign Tripadelli and Locatelli from me. They got 10k extra a week on new contracts to keep them happy.

First game of new the season ended with a fantastic 3-1 win away at Juve who spent big recently on Haaland, Talisca and Leroy Sane! I'm looking at my holding midfield as my weakest squad area, with Nikolo Mora and Mandragora filling in for now. Gustavo Assuncao was my first choice but Bayern won that race. Overall, happy with my squad for this season.

On the subject of staff - has anyone signed any retired players as staff and seen them turn out well? I know it is random for each save, but I love the idea of former players retiring and becoming coaches. I'm looking for inspiration

Edited May 24, 2020 by FMbeginner

[Ewan0404]

We are back in the Champions League and kill me now.

 

[quee]

28 minutes ago, FMbeginner said:

On the subject of staff - has anyone signed any retired players as staff and seen them turn out well? I know it is random for each save, but I love the idea of former players retiring and becoming coaches. I'm looking for inspiration

My Buffon is amazing 

[Adzke]

12 minutes ago, quee said:

My Buffon is amazing 

I've signed him as an U18 GK coach, but he isn't really improving beyond being really bad on my save. Did you do anything to further his development?

[djsmith0410]

46 minutes ago, Adzke said:

I've signed him as an U18 GK coach, but he isn't really improving beyond being really bad on my save. Did you do anything to further his development?

He improves really quick per badge completion. 

[FMbeginner]

1 hour ago, quee said:

My Buffon is amazing 

Buffon and Chiellini (whilst on the subject of Juve players) are terrible coaches on mine unfortunately. I really wanted Buffon as a coach, I had him as a really good GK coach on FM19 with Roma. I have signed Ponzio from River Plate as a youth coach in the meantime and Quaresma as a coach. Terrible stats, but good knowledge of lots of countries 

Edited May 24, 2020 by FMbeginner

[AceCream]

Hellas Verona 2020/21 Season Summary

"Hellas Verona will look back on the season as a job well done as they impressed sufficiently to break clear of mid-table obscurity and announce themselves as a club on the rise, finishing above their expectations.

Hellas Verona were one of the competition's feel-good stories, defying expectations mainly thanks to an impressive spell of form between September and October and, after climbing as high as 7th at their peak, they were able to celebrate a job well done by finishing in 9th place" - Calcio Dilettante Veronese 

 

Luca Toni's Post Season Words
We finished with 58 points, 7 points more than season before and 2 places higher in the table. In the former half of the season our usual 5-3-2 formation was used focusing on a possession game with a positive mentality. I am proud of what we achieved and we took a big step forward by experimenting with a new 4-4-1-1 tactic in the latter half of the season. The aim for the third season is to challenge for 7th place to bring our football club to Europe. 

Spoiler

 

The board
The board was very pleased with our overall leadership of the team giving us a B. Luca Toni was also awarded the manager of the year award in the Serie A!

Spoiler

The next season - transfers and squad
As I stated above we aim to finish in the European qualification spots next season. We spent € 12.5 million on new players. The most exciting player being Pedro Mendes, who was however bought in January 2021. We were given a very tough opening fixtures list. However as of now the team managed 7 points from a possible 9 against Roma, Milan and Inter! I have stated that I value experience and role models within a team and brought in Wayne Rooney and José Callejón to bring a presence into the dressing room and for mentoring.  

Spoiler

This next season it will be crucial to keep on improving and challenge for Europe to attract better players. Looking forward to update you guys in the future  

EDIT: WHAT A START!

Edited May 24, 2020 by AceCream

[djsmith0410]

2 hours ago, AceCream said:

Hellas Verona 2020/21 Season Summary

"Hellas Verona will look back on the season as a job well done as they impressed sufficiently to break clear of mid-table obscurity and announce themselves as a club on the rise, finishing above their expectations.

Hellas Verona were one of the competition's feel-good stories, defying expectations mainly thanks to an impressive spell of form between September and October and, after climbing as high as 7th at their peak, they were able to celebrate a job well done by finishing in 9th place" - Calcio Dilettante Veronese 

 

Luca Toni's Post Season Words
We finished with 58 points, 7 points more than season before and 2 places higher in the table. In the former half of the season our usual 5-3-2 formation was used focusing on a possession game with a positive mentality. I am proud of what we achieved and we took a big step forward by experimenting with a new 4-4-1-1 tactic in the latter half of the season. The aim for the third season is to challenge for 7th place to bring our football club to Europe. 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

The board
The board was very pleased with our overall leadership of the team giving us a B. Luca Toni was also awarded the manager of the year award in the Serie A!

  Reveal hidden contents

The next season - transfers and squad
As I stated above we aim to finish in the European qualification spots next season. We spent € 12.5 million on new players. The most exciting player being Pedro Mendes, who was however bought in January 2021. We were given a very tough opening fixtures list. However as of now the team managed 7 points from a possible 9 against Roma, Milan and Inter! I have stated that I value experience and role models within a team and brought in Wayne Rooney and José Callejón to bring a presence into the dressing room and for mentoring.  

  Reveal hidden contents

This next season it will be crucial to keep on improving and challenge for Europe to attract better players. Looking forward to update you guys in the future  

EDIT: WHAT A START!

Has anyone come in for Kumbulla yet? Looks really good on my Parma save. They quoted me 72 million :O 

[Matt_1979]

VENEZIA - 2020/21 - January Update

11th Hour Signing:

I thought I had the GK situation covered in that I’d decided to give Lezzerini a shot in Serie A and bought in decent competition in the form of Gabriel Brazao from Inter. However, on transfer deadline day Wuilker Farinez came available and there’s no way I could pass the opportunity up. After some serious bartering and jiggling of budgets I managed to JUST get a deal in place. He wanted £10K more than I could afford in wages so had to top it up with some pretty hefty bonuses but I think it’ll be worth it. 

The League:

So, how are we doing? We shored up the Defense, improved the goalkeeper and added a new starting striker, whilst the midfield remained from Serie B.

We are sitting in 14th place after 19 games. Kind of where I expected us to be and I’ll be happy if we can remain there come the end of the season. Aside from a few drubbings we aren’t doing to bad defensively, we just aren’t creating enough chances.

Things started very well in that we thrashed Chievo 5-1 on the opening day with Rollheiser and Lusamba both scoring two goals and we followed this up with a 1-1 draw to Torino. Inter then bought us back to earth with a 4-2 thumping.

New signing Jordan Siebatcheu was then sidelined for a month after a promising start and we lost our way a little but dropped out lines of engagement and mentality a notch and came out with an impressive 2-0 win over Udinese in a game we totally dominated. I thought we’d scored another good win over Sampdoria but it wasn’t to be and they equalised in the last 20 seconds of the game thanks to a free kick into the top corner. 

Our final game before January was a 0-0 with Lazio thanks to Farinez saving a penalty and them getting Vidal sent off with ten mins to go. 

Italian Cup:

We made very hard work of beating lowly Alto Adige, winning on penalties, but were then knocked out by SPAL in a 2-0 defeat. Chance to “concentrate on the league” ;-)

New Players Report Card:

Farinez - when you last save was with Milan and you’re used to watching Donnarumma each week it’s tough transitioning to a lesser human... however Farinez has made some excellent saves, some of which are ver reminiscent of Donnarumma. Obviously not as good overall but should improve well. B+

Graviton & Cistana - The new centreback pairing have done well. Both have made crucial tackles and both are a threat from attacking corners and free kicks. £5.5m well spent for a young, pacey duo. B

Navarro - Right back from Alaves - 3 assists in 15 starts. 6.88 OVR. Steady start. B-

Tait - Ahh, Flavian Tait. Listen, after managing him at Rennes I knew EXACTLY what I was getting. He’s a trier but he has no end product. He’s the kind of player who will track back and make a sliding tackle, get up, dribble past three players and then either totally cock up the final pass or fire way over the bar. Aside from it being mildly infuriating it’s also kind of endearing. Hopefully he’ll be transitioned out of the starting line up to make way for Unuvar by the end of the season. 17 games, no goals, no assists (although he has had 2 goals VAR’d out) C-

Siebatcheu - 15 games, 5 goals, 1 assist. The big man is doing ok, especially as we aren’t creating many chances for him. A couple of those goals were from his own hard work in winning the ball back. If he can get 10+ this season I’ll be happy with his contribution. 

Girotti - Free transfer due to an expiring contract. Made two starts whilst Biebatcheu was injured and has made 7 sub appearances. 1 goal, 1 assist. He’s a project so he’ll develop.

Conclusion:

I knew it would be tough and at has been, we’ve had some bad games, some where we’ve had to grind out results and some where we’ve looked great but have failed to take our chances.

The main issue is creativity. I’ve only really for Fiordilino who is a creator and he’s had niggling injuries so the system had been tinkered with a little. I’m also considering a switch from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 although it’s hard to know if the 4-3-3 is doing well for me and that’s why I’m in 14th and not 18th? If I can get us creating more over the next few games I’ll stick it out.

There’s no money to bring anyone new in during the transfer window so unless we get some players tempted away this is the team for the season.

Let’s see what January onwards brings.

 

[quee]

On 30/04/2020 at 20:45, quee said:

This was his starting attributes when he retired.

Will edit this post to calculate his total attributes gained from National A (starting) to Continental A (currently) over 2 years.

Edit:

Att +2

Def +4

Fit +2

Mental +3

Tactical +3

Technical +3

Working with Youngsters +0

GK Distribution +4

GK Handling +3

GK Shot Stopping +4

Adaptability +0

Determination +0 MAXED

Level of Discipline +0

Man Management +1

Motivating +5

Judging Player Ability +2

Judging Player Potential +2

Judging Staff Ability +0

Negotiating +0

Tactical Knowledge +3

Total attributes gained = +41

Best gain is in Motivating, which is great as it helps with his coaching attributes. Discipline still lacking at 10 (no changes)

I was just lucky his starting attributes were great (he was already a 4* coach, now 4.5*). I'm not using him as a GK coach as well.

I haven't stopped sending him to courses since the day he retired ( he was on National A already). Not sure having him as a first-team coach instead of a youth coach helped him improved more when doing these courses.

Those who followed my FM19 Parma updates will know how disappointed I was failing to bring back Buffon as my main objective, he even retired as a coach as his attributes were very poor.

I was disappointed he only lasted 6 months in FM20 as I wanted him for mentoring Alastra, but his coaching attributes helped compensate the loss somewhat  

If he developed further, might replaced Ciro Ferrara in the future as my Assistant Manager.

[Sysiphus]

8 hours ago, Adzke said:

@Sysiphus Dany Mota has been really prolific for me. In two years in Serie A, he's scored 37 league goals (41 total) - a lot of them really great ones. He has a wicked long shot, and he's been a good free-kick taker for me, even though he didn't have the best attributes for it. He never could get a call-up for Portugal, so he is a Luxembourger now on my save 

That's an insane record – he's a backup for me as I wanted to give Trotta a chance in Serie A after having been the top scorer in Serie B. He's playing a little on the flank for me as well.

8 hours ago, Matt_1979 said:

Nice pick ups. Looking forward seeing how you do. Serie A ain’t easy!!!

It definitely isn't! I've played around 11 or 12 games now and am on 8-10 poins, can't quite remember. Hovering around the relegation zone, as expected.

 

[AceCream]

2 hours ago, djsmith0410 said:

Has anyone come in for Kumbulla yet? Looks really good on my Parma save. They quoted me 72 million :O 

Nope, nobody has dared to yet. I will also ask for €72,000,000  

Anyway he looks like this in my 3rd season:

Spoiler

 

[Adzke]

1 hour ago, Sysiphus said:

That's an insane record – he's a backup for me as I wanted to give Trotta a chance in Serie A after having been the top scorer in Serie B. He's playing a little on the flank for me as well.

It definitely isn't! I've played around 11 or 12 games now and am on 8-10 poins, can't quite remember. Hovering around the relegation zone, as expected.

 

Yes, he's been really good. I've used him as my advanced forward in a two-striker partnership with a DLF. He is however on the bench now, and it seems like his goals are being shared amongst several players, as no one has really been able to take over his role. Still, a very nice run for a free striker from Luxembourg 

[oakesypvfc]

Reckon he'll be well worth it <3 He was my alternative to spending 58m and paying Tonali 200k a week to make his loan permanent.

[john1]

1 hour ago, oakesypvfc said:

Reckon he'll be well worth it <3 He was my alternative to spending 58m and paying Tonali 200k a week to make his loan permanent.

Looks amazing!!

[Weston]

On 23/05/2020 at 00:57, Weston said:

Hmmm...

 

On 23/05/2020 at 03:23, AceCream said:

Don't you dare

 

So I turned down two massive job offers to stick with Bari as I really want to see if we can go all the way and win the league with this amazing project of beautiful young talents that I've built from the ashes of bankruptcy.

Curiously, while the Premier League giants jumped at the chance to have me, Juventus never even offered me an interview and hired Guardiola. Inter and Roma got new managers as well, while I've become the longest-running manager at any one club in Italy.

I won't bore you with too many details, but I turned down a near 100 mil offer for one of my strikers that I signed for 3 mil and overall kept the core of my squad intact. Had I lost a bunch of players only then would I have truly regretted not jumping ship.

Two random highlights: I chased an 18 yr old Brazilian RB named Pitbull all summer and ultimately he turned me down for a new contract. I also signed an aging Immobile on a free to be a positive mentor to my younger strikers and provide some depth.

Also, this is my CL group...

Yikes. Wouldn't mind going all the way in EL as opposed to crashing out in the early knockouts of the CL, but also I could maybe have won the league last season had I not prioritized Europe with my rotation. Who knows!

[oakesypvfc]

That is a horror group there, you never know, you might be able to sneak through, that is if you want to haha.

What is your striker looking like that you turned down that sort of money for?

[ParanoidBuddha]

2 ore fa, oakesypvfc ha scritto:

Reckon he'll be well worth it <3 He was my alternative to spending 58m and paying Tonali 200k a week to make his loan permanent.

[john1]

33 minutes ago, Weston said:

 

 

So I turned down two massive job offers to stick with Bari as I really want to see if we can go all the way and win the league with this amazing project of beautiful young talents that I've built from the ashes of bankruptcy.

Curiously, while the Premier League giants jumped at the chance to have me, Juventus never even offered me an interview and hired Guardiola. Inter and Roma got new managers as well, while I've become the longest-running manager at any one club in Italy.

I won't bore you with too many details, but I turned down a near 100 mil offer for one of my strikers that I signed for 3 mil and overall kept the core of my squad intact. Had I lost a bunch of players only then would I have truly regretted not jumping ship.

Two random highlights: I chased an 18 yr old Brazilian RB named Pitbull all summer and ultimately he turned me down for a new contract. I also signed an aging Immobile on a free to be a positive mentor to my younger strikers and provide some depth.

Also, this is my CL group...

Yikes. Wouldn't mind going all the way in EL as opposed to crashing out in the early knockouts of the CL, but also I could maybe have won the league last season had I not prioritized Europe with my rotation. Who knows!

Yikes indeed!! Will be interesting to see how you do against them.

[Weston]

27 minutes ago, oakesypvfc said:

That is a horror group there, you never know, you might be able to sneak through, that is if you want to haha.

What is your striker looking like that you turned down that sort of money for?

My boy Lucas Gonzalez. He was out two months last season with a leg fracture, and I rotate a lot, so his stats don't look as impressive as they might've otherwise.

Really the financially smart thing would've been to take the money, it was like 70something up front and 20something in installments for 90something total. I stalled and then countered expecting them to negotiate, so I could see if they went any higher, but they just walked immediately and never looked back, so I took that as a sign it wasn't meant to be. Didn't need the money for any specific purchases for once as I'd stockpiled a few others I could flip for profits.

The curious part? The big money offer came from Lyon, of all clubs, whose Gouiri loans got me into the top flight in the first place.

Here is my window, if you're curious:

[Stu_UBJ]

SSC Bari - Season 1 Review

So, one season down.

TRANSFERS

5 first team signings made in total. Stanislav Ivanov and Valentin Antov join from Bulgarian clubs Levski and CSKA Sofia respectively. Lois Openda from Club Brugge, bringing some electric pace with him. Augusto Lotti jets in from Argentine club Atlético Tucumán, providing depth in wide and forward areas. Solitary signing of January was the capture of Eduardo Rezzi, who I think could be a decent player
 

We've agreed 4 pre-contract signings;

Valerio Mantovani - Ebrima Darboe - Fausto Rossi - Riccardo Tonin

Mantovani I think is a good squad player, who could be a solid player. Darboe could excel in a simple ball winning role. Rossi may be injury prone, but managed to stay injury free for a season, so we're taking the risk. FInally, Tonin could be a very  useful forward with a little more work.

 

 

A relatively easy season! We won the league at a canter, not tasting defeat until game 33, by which time we'd already wrapped up the title. Averaging just over 2 goals per game, and conceding every 2.7 games.

We also won the Serie C Super Cup, defeating Monza and Carpi. (Super Cup is basically the 3 winners of the three girone/divisions to crown an all out Serie C winner) 

PLAYER(S) OF THE YEAR

It was impossible to choose a single player who made the biggest impact, so I've chosen 

Karim Laribi - Giovanni Terrani - Filippo Costa

Laribi ran the midfield, the engine room of our campaign. Quick to the tackle, creative (14 assists) and a pass master (90% completed). Terrani sent shivers down the spine of every fullback, with 22 goals and 8 assists. The final name is one that probably would be the type of player that goes unnoticed on almost every single save of every FM player. Costa was Mr consistent, a steady hand on the flank. Every team needs these kind of players to succeed.

There is a lot of work to be done with the squad this summer to keep our heads above water. A few will stick around, however I'm not certain they're all up for the challenge of Serie B.

We've agreed 4 pre-contract signings;

Valerio Mantovani - Ebrima Darboe - Fausto Rossi - Riccardo Tonin

Mantovani I think is a good squad player, who could be a solid player. Darboe could excel in a simple ball winning role. Rossi may be injury prone, but managed to stay injury free for a season, so we're taking the risk. FInally, Tonin could be a very  useful forward with a little more work.

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by Stu_UBJ

[Weston]

1 hour ago, Stu_UBJ said:

A relatively easy season!

Congrats! Not to take away from your good work, but wow, what a difference turning the first transfer window on makes. I wasn't able to improve the squad until halfway through my first season and it wasn't enough to catch up:

But then I basically did what you did in my second year with some time to shape the squad:

[FMbeginner]

How do people feel about the way players are given ratings during/after games? For example, Locatelli after 10 games has an average rating of 6.9, with 2 goals and 2 assists. What these stats don't show is that he regularly assists another assist as such. He is controlling the play, feeding the full backs/wingers who make the actual assist; he is winning the ball back and ultimately becoming indispensable to the team. I understand that in real life these kind of performances would get much higher ratings/credit. Is this taken into account in game? 

[oakesypvfc]

10 hours ago, Weston said:

My boy Lucas Gonzalez. He was out two months last season with a leg fracture, and I rotate a lot, so his stats don't look as impressive as they might've otherwise.

Really the financially smart thing would've been to take the money, it was like 70something up front and 20something in installments for 90something total. I stalled and then countered expecting them to negotiate, so I could see if they went any higher, but they just walked immediately and never looked back, so I took that as a sign it wasn't meant to be. Didn't need the money for any specific purchases for once as I'd stockpiled a few others I could flip for profits.

The curious part? The big money offer came from Lyon, of all clubs, whose Gouiri loans got me into the top flight in the first place.

Here is my window, if you're curious:

It probably was the right thing to do in your head, but your heart speaks differently. Is he still classed as non-EU or has played enough games yet?

Some nice transfers there, I looked at Taylor on my game if someone comes in for Vina, who has been great for me. Adeyemi didn't seem to sell for much, he really progressed on one of my friends games when he played as Stuttgart.

Good luck in your season!

[Matt_1979]

Flavian Tate has FINALLY scored!! 20+ games as an Inside Forward and scored a header to give us a 1-0 win over Roma at home!!

Best result of the season for Venezia FC so far. 

I’ve also swapped to a 4-2-3-1 and the match engine experience it much more enjoyable. 

[john1]

 



 

Got my youth intakes, tad better than last ones, here are top rated ones. Will be retraining Pavarini to DC, think he's better playing there than at RB. They beat U's18, 4-1  

Edited May 25, 2020 by john1

[Ewan0404]

Two signings in January for my Milan side.

Contract was expiring so agreed a deal to bring him in early for 1.2 million so as to loan him out for regular football. Salernitana is where he will play for the next 6 months.

Arezo was agreed at the start of my save but only arrived now. Off to Hellas Verona on loan. Signed for 1.2 million aswell.

[Ewan0404]

The title race in season 2 is heating up.

[Weston]

4 hours ago, oakesypvfc said:

It probably was the right thing to do in your head, but your heart speaks differently. Is he still classed as non-EU or has played enough games yet?

Some nice transfers there, I looked at Taylor on my game if someone comes in for Vina, who has been great for me. Adeyemi didn't seem to sell for much, he really progressed on one of my friends games when he played as Stuttgart.

Good luck in your season!

If you're non-EU you need 10 years residence in Italy to gain citizenship so Gonzalez has a long way to go before he could be non-EU.

Adeyemi I bought on a 9.something release clause so that was a decent profit. My 4th striker is sort of a rotating position I flip for profit when I can around a core 3 that includes Gonzalez.

And come to think of it, Taylor was the only "real" player I spent a transfer fee on this summer, with Immobile on a free and Gedson Fernandes on loan. Getting on in years now!

[Weston]

2 hours ago, john1 said:

Got my youth intakes, tad better than last ones

What's going on here 😬

[Weston]

I'm realizing that my style changes drastically depending on what league I'm in.

For example, when in the lower leagues, I'm cutthroat for short-term success like I've mentioned, selling players and relying on loans and old players on free transfers to climb the ladder as quickly as possible.

But once in Serie A I flip to the opposite, relying on growing young players over time, even if they require big fees to bring in when loaning or free agents could provide similar or better levels of quality for less. I can't help but think I could've won the league by now had I gone the other route, but I love my team now and I think it has a lot of potential for the future. It feels like I'm doing things in a better way.

It's crazy to think I went from only one owned player in my squad to now only one loaned player!

Anyone else have a massive shift in strategy depending on how you progress your save? I feel like most of you are very consistent with your preferred methods.

[oakesypvfc]

4 hours ago, Weston said:

I'm realizing that my style changes drastically depending on what league I'm in.

For example, when in the lower leagues, I'm cutthroat for short-term success like I've mentioned, selling players and relying on loans and old players on free transfers to climb the ladder as quickly as possible.

But once in Serie A I flip to the opposite, relying on growing young players over time, even if they require big fees to bring in when loaning or free agents could provide similar or better levels of quality for less. I can't help but think I could've won the league by now had I gone the other route, but I love my team now and I think it has a lot of potential for the future. It feels like I'm doing things in a better way.

It's crazy to think I went from only one owned player in my squad to now only one loaned player!

Anyone else have a massive shift in strategy depending on how you progress your save? I feel like most of you are very consistent with your preferred methods.

I've gone full on cheap strategy, but it is starting to waiver more now because I really like my squad. As soon as I took the save though, the amount of old players on big wages were ridiculous. Had to shift Dzeko, Pastore, Kolarov, Perotti, Juan Jesus amongst any others away from the club, because 1. their wages were too much and 2. they didn't provide any potential for the squad. I started off loaning a lot of players to, probably up to 6 per season, but we've only had 3 the last two seasons.

Up until the season before last, I had one player on over £100k a week, which is a bit ridiculous considering we're top of Serie A but as I say, as the years have gone on and we have a really nice and pretty young squad now, I have loosened the purse strings a bit and paid them what they deserve.

[Sysiphus]

Ascoli mid 2nd season update

The season started off rocky and we struggled to find form, still collecting points here and there. After game 10 we managed to find the defensive balance we needed, and stopped leaking goals. With that results started to get better, and we're even unbeaten in 9 in a row now. Still not scoring a lot – but that's fine, we're just creating a solid base here and hopefully solidifying ourselves as a Serie A team.

Spoiler

A rock at the back has been Armini, who's loan I've extended until the end of next season (I've done the same for his defence partners Ranieri (DL) and Gravilon (DC), and Sernicola (DR/MR)).

Spoiler

So, we're sitting comfortably at 9th at the halfway of the season, sailing into January with no pressing needs. I'll probably hold on to the little money I have, unless something very appealing comes up or if any of my players are plucked away from me. Finances are slowly but surely rising for about a million a month with the TV money coming in very handy.

Spoiler

A little gem from my youth system, Alessio Pescicolo, has gotten a little gametime this season (played the last game in Serie B last season), and can hopefully keep on improving.

After the good run I was handed a new contract.

[jonathan44]

So after a 'few' months break I've carried on with my Bari save (22/23 season), I'll post a full update later but just wanted to scream at my Chairman. I have Frederico Dimarco on loan, and after two impressive games going into January and him being out of contract, instead of leaving me to sign him at the end of his contract, he offered £2 million for him! My budget is now zero.

[Weston]

5 minutes ago, jonathan44 said:

So after a 'few' months break I've carried on with my Bari save (22/23 season), I'll post a full update later but just wanted to scream at my Chairman. I have Frederico Dimarco on loan, and after two impressive games going into January and him being out of contract, instead of leaving me to sign him at the end of his contract, he offered £2 million for him! My budget is now zero.

Wait what, how did this happen? I know chairmen can go over your head to accept an incoming deal, but how did the 2m figure come about in the first place? That's wild.

[Ewan0404]

We have completed season two and what a season it was.

In the league we went one better than last year and won the title for the first time since 2011.Our defence was superb this season.

We managed to complete the double by winning a less than thrilling Italian Cup.

We had an amazing run on our return to the Champions League, however sadly we were beaten by Liverpool in the Semi-Final.

Squad Stats:

My top five performers of the season were:

1) Donnarumma with 33 clean sheets and only 27 goals conceded in 52 games.

2) Theo Hernandez who from left back managed to score 11 goals while setting up a further 16 for his team mates.

3) Pietro Pellegri who in his first season as a starter scored 26 goals in 35 games.

4) Sandro Tonali dominated the games he played in by setting up 17 goals from the dm role.

5) Alessio Romagnoli the club captain, Mr dependable at the back, Solid as a rock.

I have £70 million to spend in the summer and would like your opinions on where I need to strengthen and who to sign. Also let me know who you think has performed well or those who could do better.

 

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by Ewan0404

[oakesypvfc]

Wow, very nice season there @Ewan0404, Pellegri and Tonali did great for you <3

All I can suggest, maybe add some strength in depth to your team, probably another starting centre half whom is a bit younger and also maybe you need a striker alongside Pellegri, although Leao didn't do too bad. Is Esposito available for you at all?

Still though, cracking season and a little bit of improvement and you should push that next step further in the champions league!

[john1]

9 hours ago, Weston said:

What's going on here 😬

Very good question

[john1]

  

  

 

I am sure he will beat it Hopefully he will beat Doni's record!  

Edited May 26, 2020 by john1

[john1]

 

Massively delighted with this link up with FC Twente

Here is our feeders club list, Decided to get rid of those feeders clubs right when I took over as it was too many and wasn't useful to me so I decided to bring in clubs that have good facilities for youth or sending out players to them for game time.

 
 

Edited May 26, 2020 by john1

[Weston]

1 hour ago, john1 said:

 

Massively delighted with this link up with FC Twente

Here is our feeders club list, Decided to get rid of those feeders clubs right when I took over as it was too many and wasn't useful to me so I decided to bring in clubs that have good facilities for youth or sending out players to them for game time.

 
 

How did you get them to agree to let you do this? I've been begging my board for affiliates for years and the best I've managed is two Serie C clubs I don't really want to send my players to anyway...

[Travis Bickle]

I'm looking at Catania for Serie C or Napoli if I want to go Serie A. Any tips/advices? I'm used to managing in italy but would be keen for any tips anyway.