Unofficial French League Superthread

[Jogo Bonito]

Unlucky in the Guinea derby. Doing great in the league though, 6th is a nice position to be in.

You've picked another of my players - Dia N'Diaye is another good prospect (used to play for one of my feeder clubs IRL and had a good goal ratio).

Maybe I should bin my game and co-manage with you instead 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Unlucky in the Guinea derby. Doing great in the league though, 6th is a nice position to be in.

You've picked another of my players - Dia N'Diaye is another good prospect (used to play for one of my feeder clubs IRL and had a good goal ratio).

Maybe I should bin my game and co-manage with you instead 

Lol if you want you can be my Chief Scout or DOF lol.

If you want I can send you the save game and you can see how you do with them if you want. As I have a lot of players you probably would pick. Even if you don't post updates in here the offer is there if you want to see how you do with them.

[Jogo Bonito]

17 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Lol if you want you can be my Chief Scout or DOF lol.

If you want I can send you the save game and you can see how you do with them if you want. As I have a lot of players you probably would pick. Even if you don't post updates in here the offer is there if you want to see how you do with them.

Cheers, I might just set up again as I've not played even one friendly yet and have a few more ideas how to scale my game down a little bit more.

I'm sure we will make plenty of different signings, and it's to be expected we might have one or two the same. It will be interesting to see who the duplicates might be, when I make my first post 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Small Update

I took over the Cameroon job, I wanted the Ghana job but they didn't want me so I went with Cameroon.

My youth intake produced some good players. I got a nice Right Back from Senegal and a nice Attacking Midfielder from Cameroon.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 minute ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Cheers, I might just set up again as I've not played even one friendly yet and have a few more ideas how to scale my game down a little bit more.

I'm sure we will make plenty of different signings, and it's to be expected we might have one or two the same. It will be interesting to see who the duplicates might be, when I make my first post 

I will say that I am continually raid the African nations squads and my feeder clubs so we might end up having a lot of the same players as I have a lot of players that aint even got into my first team squad yet.

I look forward to seeing who you end up with and how you do.

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I will say that I am continually raid the African nations squads and my feeder clubs so we might end up having a lot of the same players as I have a lot of players that aint even got into my first team squad yet.

I look forward to seeing who you end up with and how you do.

Maybe we will, yes. time will tell. I guess I shouldn't have said most of the affiliates I was going to do, but it made sense to be helpful. I did hold one back on purpose, and maybe a couple more unintentionally 

You taking the Cameroon job might not help our differences, as I've got very strong links to there in my set up too. But hopefully my affiliate recruits will be a bit more 'hidden' than yours. I will pretty much guarantee my French signings are going to be off the radar to anybody that recently started in France (not necessarily in a good way either). That should be interesting.

[djiwai91]

I just finished my 2nd season in Maisons-Alfort. I won the R2 and have been promoted to R1 (tier 6). The road to CL is still long^^

Challenges for next year:

* Replace my leavers (already 3 first-team players signed in better teams for free) by better players for free (already signed 3 great players)

* Won the R1 and get promoted to N3

* Improve my staff (I already gained 1 trainer and 1 recruiter)

* Most difficult challenge: improve the infrastructures (I asked almost each month but no money, so I still have the lowest infra possible). Maybe an hypothetical tycoon will purchase the club^^

[Ronaldo Beckham]

31 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Maybe we will, yes. time will tell. I guess I shouldn't have said most of the affiliates I was going to do, but it made sense to be helpful. I did hold one back on purpose, and maybe a couple more unintentionally 

You taking the Cameroon job might not help our differences, as I've got very strong links to there in my set up too. But hopefully my affiliate recruits will be a bit more 'hidden' than yours. I will pretty much guarantee my French signings are going to be off the radar to anybody that recently started in France (not necessarily in a good way either). That should be interesting.

Sorry mate if you had said you wanted them affiliates for yourself I wouldn't of picked so many affiliates. But also it doesn't matter if we pick the same team, same affiliates, same players etc. Some people will pick the same teams etc.

 

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

FC Metz Update

I am having a terrible run lately especially in the league. On the bright side I am in the French Cup Final against Rennes.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Turned things around winning the last 3 games and back up to 7th in the league. I now have Rennes in the Cup final.

Edited May 23, 2020 by Ronaldo Beckham

[Ronaldo Beckham]

No Silverware This Year

So no silverware for FC Metz this year as I lost 2-1 to Rennes in the cup final. Oh well lol

Edited May 23, 2020 by Ronaldo Beckham

[BadAss88]

Nice!

@JogaBonito

Edited May 24, 2020 by BadAss88

[karanhsingh]

7 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Cheers, I might just set up again as I've not played even one friendly yet and have a few more ideas how to scale my game down a little bit more.

I'm sure we will make plenty of different signings, and it's to be expected we might have one or two the same. It will be interesting to see who the duplicates might be, when I make my first post 

Make it already 

[karanhsingh]

@djiwai91great stuff and best of luck for next season. I have the same issue with not being able to improve facilities even in Ligue 1

@Ronaldo Beckham excellent season there and tough luck in the cup final. But some great progress being made 

I have updated my Red star save in the career thread but will do so in here as well today! 

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

@djiwai91great stuff and best of luck for next season. I have the same issue with not being able to improve facilities even in Ligue 1

@Ronaldo Beckham excellent season there and tough luck in the cup final. But some great progress being made 

I have updated my Red star save in the career thread but will do so in here as well today! 

 

Cheers buddy. I have been keeping an eye on your Red Star career thread and enjoying it mate. I am looking forward to the next update.

Edited May 24, 2020 by Ronaldo Beckham

[Ronaldo Beckham]

FC Metz Season 2 Review

Despite a good run at the end of the season I failed to get into top 5 position so no European football for Metz next season but I still got 6th place which is again a really good achievement and I also got to a Cup Final.

Diallo wasn't as clinical as he was last season which is disappointing. He still got 22 goals but I just assumed he would get the same amount of goals as he did last season.

My best player this season was Romain Del Castillo a French winger I got on loan from Rennes so anyone managing Rennes make note of this guy who is excellent as an Inside Forward.

My summer signings Rivaldo Coetzee and Teboho Mokoena was money well spent as they both performed really well, Rivaldo for his versatility to play in several positions and Mokoena for his drive and also getting a few goals for me.

My aim next year is to move a few players on and promote some of the youngsters. Poblete being one of the players to move on as I have a few Prem teams after him and he is 28 years old now so I am best to sell him now before he gets older and also he is Argentinian so doesn't fit my French or African player criteria.

[Jogo Bonito]

@Ronaldo Beckham 6th is another fine finish. Unlucky in the Cup final, and the lack of European football will be interesting. A slight dent on your financial projection because of it, but less fixtures than you might have otherwise endured. Still good returns from Diallo, don't be too harsh on the lad 

@karanhsingh Today might be the day. Will be checking your progress out too, glad you are enjoying it in Paris.

[karanhsingh]

No European football for 6th place? That's harsh! I thought with the conference league there would be more spots up for grabs 

[quee]

Is create a club normal in France? Why is that?

[Jogo Bonito]

27 minutes ago, quee said:

Is create a club normal in France? Why is that?

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean? I don't think it's common at all, but I just like this mode sometimes (without making them overpowered) because I don't tend to play many seasons and I just want shot of the old players from day one. This time, I also wanted to return to a retro logo they used to have, change the nickname and stadium name. You'll be able to count my first team signings on one hand, and all signings will be young players (either cheap from lower leagues in France or from Africa), as it will fit the entire club philosophy of mine from the beginning. For example, I did create a club mode with Reading in England and signed no players in the whole season, I just wanted to remove lots of players that have no right being there 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@Ronaldo Beckham 6th is another fine finish. Unlucky in the Cup final, and the lack of European football will be interesting. A slight dent on your financial projection because of it, but less fixtures than you might have otherwise endured. Still good returns from Diallo, don't be too harsh on the lad 

@karanhsingh Today might be the day. Will be checking your progress out too, glad you are enjoying it in Paris.

Yeah I am probably being too harsh on Diallo. I just know he is a special talent and can perform better. My finances aren't too bad actually at the moment as I sold Poblete for £7.5m and I got £7 or 8 million from prize money. 

Projection doesn't look too good though but that will change with player sales.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Transfers Season 3

My main players in were Sirikiy Sanogo, Kevin N'Doram, Mohamed Elsa, Samuel Moutoussamy, Willem Geubbels and Sinaly Diomande.

Siriky Sanogo

Kevin N'Doram

Mohamed Elsa

Samuel Moutoussamy

Willem Geubbels

Sinaly Diomande

I managed to sell Geronimo Poblete for £7.5m, Dylan Bronn for £9m and an extra £1m in clauses and also sold long term Goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja for £300k. I also sold Mamadou Fofanfa even though I didn't want to but he wanted to leave for a bigger club and Newcastle gave me a good deal for him with £6.5m upfront and another £750k in clauses. He will be missed though.

I have a massive squad now with 140 players in all 3 squads so I will be trimming my squad very soon.

Edited May 24, 2020 by Ronaldo Beckham

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I managed to sign another African striker after clearing a few out.

Umar Sadiq

[karanhsingh]

You have 140 players  that's insane! 

Good to see you but Eisa he was a solid player for me at sunderland

[Ronaldo Beckham]

9 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

You have 140 players  that's insane! 

Good to see you but Eisa he was a solid player for me at sunderland

I have got it down to 129 players now but more will be leaving. I didn't realise I had signed so many players lol.

Yeah I signed Elsa before I signed a few more strikers so I think Elsa will be an emergency back up, might get some cup games but more likely will leave in January or next Summer as he is overshadowed by younger, better strikers.

This is my line up for my first game of season 3.

[Jogo Bonito]

I don't know what I find more shocking, suggesting there might be better than Mo Eisa or that you have 140 (129) players in your squad

I have 65 players across three squads, spread fairly equally. Two will be trimmed from the first team squad as soon as I can, assuming I can terminate their loans after the first month passes. 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

13 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I don't know what I find more shocking, suggesting there might be better than Mo Eisa or that you have 140 (129) players in your squad

I have 65 players across three squads, spread fairly equally. Two will be trimmed from the first team squad as soon as I can, assuming I can terminate their loans after the first month passes. 

No I do rate Mo Elsa as I have seen him play a few times on the telly and he is awesome but I got Diallo, Sadiq, Geubbels and this youth player who is doing well already.

But yeah I will be trimming the squad as the season goes along as I didn't realise how many players I had accumulated over time.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

I'm only kidding about Eisa. I like him very much, but he probably isn't top six quality of a major league. Umar Sadiq is the guy that flopped (really badly) at Rangers, but seems to be rated well in FM. Interesting choice to have him starting ahead of Diallo. Pleased to see Sylla is still in the side, I enjoyed managing him at Toulouse a few years back.

[AddicksFan]

Long time lurker and really late to FM this year (started playing when lockdown started), finally decided to sign up and post....

Got very bored of my Rangers save so decided to have a go in France after seeing this thread and the saves you've all got going.

I decided to go Sochaux in Ligue 2 and will mainly look to bring youth through and sign French and African players only.

No room on the wage budget and some highly rated youngsters only on youth contracts with bigger teams interested is certainly making my start interesting..

Will also look to end a few loans ASAP to free up wages and enable me to bring up a couple of youngsters..

Got my two scouts scouting Senegal and Ivory Coast, already found Brahima Outtara and they had knowledge of Kebbeh, I know these are popular but I have never managed them as they are usually not in the DB. So they will certainly be my first targets...just gotta free up the wages...I'll look to post some images once I'm through the first season....

[Jogo Bonito]

@AddicksFan

Welcome and good luck with Sochaux. Until their relegation a few years back, I believe they had the longest unbroken run of top flight seasons, but have found it hard to get back up there. 

A nice choice of club. You have already mentioned one of the players I signed up myself.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I'm only kidding about Eisa. I like him very much, but he probably isn't top six quality of a major league. Umar Sadiq is the guy that flopped (really badly) at Rangers, but seems to be rated well in FM. Interesting choice to have him starting ahead of Diallo. Pleased to see Sylla is still in the side, I enjoyed managing him at Toulouse a few years back.

Yeah I wasn't taking you seriously when you said it.

Sadiq only played once for Rangers so I can't rate him on that one game. Also Scottish football is very physical. French football is more technical. 

I got faith in him stepping up, I am playing him for the first few games to remind Diallo his position in the team isn't a dead cert and he needs to continue to get better or he wont be starting.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 hour ago, AddicksFan said:

Long time lurker and really late to FM this year (started playing when lockdown started), finally decided to sign up and post....

Got very bored of my Rangers save so decided to have a go in France after seeing this thread and the saves you've all got going.

I decided to go Sochaux in Ligue 2 and will mainly look to bring youth through and sign French and African players only.

No room on the wage budget and some highly rated youngsters only on youth contracts with bigger teams interested is certainly making my start interesting..

Will also look to end a few loans ASAP to free up wages and enable me to bring up a couple of youngsters..

Got my two scouts scouting Senegal and Ivory Coast, already found Brahima Outtara and they had knowledge of Kebbeh, I know these are popular but I have never managed them as they are usually not in the DB. So they will certainly be my first targets...just gotta free up the wages...I'll look to post some images once I'm through the first season....

Good luck with Sochaux, Another good French team in Ligue 2. I hope it goes well for you and feel free to post your updates in here as I would like to see how you do with them.

[Jogo Bonito]

2 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Yeah I wasn't taking you seriously when you said it.

Sadiq only played once for Rangers so I can't rate him on that one game. Also Scottish football is very physical. French football is more technical. 

I got faith in him stepping up, I am playing him for the first few games to remind Diallo his position in the team isn't a dead cert and he needs to continue to get better or he wont be starting.

 

I think that was the issue with Sadiq at Rangers, just wasn't good enough to play. Somebody like @Hoarau would probably know much more than me though. I like your motivational methods though, smart management mate.

I'm hoping to play my first pre-season friendly today. Moving along at quite a pace here now 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Just now, Jogo Bonito said:

I think that was the issue with Sadiq at Rangers, just wasn't good enough to play. Somebody like @Hoarau would probably know much more than me though. I like your motivational methods though, smart management mate.

I'm hoping to play my first pre-season friendly today. Moving along at quite a pace here now 

I wish you would tell us who have picked, the suspense is killing us lol.

[Jogo Bonito]

Maybe I'll do that before my first game. My club building ideas have gone well on the squad, and badly on the staffing front. I'm currently without any senior coaches (except GK). I also sacked my Assistant Manager and can't get any of the ones I had in mind, so I'm doing most things myself  

[AddicksFan]

45 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@AddicksFan

Welcome and good luck with Sochaux. Until their relegation a few years back, I believe they had the longest unbroken run of top flight seasons, but have found it hard to get back up there. 

A nice choice of club. You have already mentioned one of the players I signed up myself.

Thank you, really enjoying the challenge of trying to balance the books, bringing in the youth, whilst staying competitive and using players I've never even seen before on my saves............

So I'm near the beginning of the season and have had an OK start...

I'm trying to free up the wage budget and used most of the transfer funds available to beef up the wage budget, I've brought in a couple of players that are both prospects and first teamers in the guise of Bubacarr Kebbeh and Justice Amate an 18 year old Ghanaian right winger liked by my scout...he will compete for the RW spot straight away.

I've transfer listed 4 players who were not really in my plans, managed to sell 1 for 57K plus add-on's.

I;ve got nothing in the transfer kitty and 1.5K wage budget room.....hoping to sell Mehdi Jeannin for around his value of 450K and Sloan Privet for 400K which will also give me nearly 5K back in wages a week...couple of teams interested but no bids yet.....I felt I could move them on as I had two great youngsters ready to be around the first team and these players if not listed would actually harm their development..

[AddicksFan]

10 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Good luck with Sochaux, Another good French team in Ligue 2. I hope it goes well for you and feel free to post your updates in here as I would like to see how you do with them.

Thanks very much and will do......liking your Metz save...

[Ronaldo Beckham]

6 minutes ago, AddicksFan said:

Thanks very much and will do......liking your Metz save...

Cheers buddy much appreciated.

11 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Maybe I'll do that before my first game. My club building ideas have gone well on the squad, and badly on the staffing front. I'm currently without any senior coaches (except GK). I also sacked my Assistant Manager and can't get any of the ones I had in mind, so I'm doing most things myself  

I hope you sort out staffing issues, is it worth starting again so you are happier with everything before you post in here?

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I hope you sort out staffing issues, is it worth starting again so you are happier with everything before you post in here?

Nope, all will be good. I'm almost ready to kick things off, training camp squad selected. Staff will soon see the wisdom of joining my project 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Just now, Jogo Bonito said:

Nope, all will be good. I'm almost ready to kick things off, training camp squad selected. Staff will soon see the wisdom of joining my project 

Ok I look forward to seeing who you picked.

Give us a clue then, at least tell me if you have a sexy kit or not ?

[Jogo Bonito]

Well, it seems like weeks ago now when I was deciding between Le Havre and SC Bastia

With about 10 other clubs on my shortlist. Oh, yes, it WAS weeks ago 

But.....

I couldn't quite decide, so I looked again

And decided

So I jumped aboard this instead...

Sexier kits in the 17/18 season (I wish I was managing them in those kits)

But these current ones aren't bad either..

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Ronaldo Beckham]

19 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Well, it seems like weeks ago now when I was deciding between Le Havre and SC Bastia

With about 10 other clubs on my shortlist. Oh, yes, it WAS weeks ago 

But.....

I couldn't quite decide, so I looked again

And decided

So I jumped aboard this instead...

Sexier kits in the 17/18 season (I wish I was managing them in those kits)

But these current ones aren't bad either..

 

Finally you announce the team you are going to be lol.

I was nearly Bastia when I was looking at Ligue 2 teams.

I think the current Lorient kits look better then the ones you like but that is mostly cos the kits you like look like Hull City kits lol.

I am glad you have finally picked a team and I look forward to seeing how you do with them @Jogo Bonito 

Oh by the way I have a squad now of 117 players with 50 plus of them out on loan lol.

[Jogo Bonito]

I decided against SC Bastia because they were semi-pro in National 2 - A, and I didn't fancy that with my ideas of building from the bottom up (youth recruitment replacing discarded senior pros in the first window). Also, SC Bastia have been promoted so will be in a playable league from the start if there is an FM21 version. Hopefully they may be professional again, but I'm very likely to be managing them in the future.

In the match engine, the new home kit (and blue 3rd kit) should look lush, and quite possibly better. But if it was down to buying the kits, the three older ones look fabulous to me.

You have almost as many players out on loan as I have within my club!

[quee]

8 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean? I don't think it's common at all, but I just like this mode sometimes (without making them overpowered) because I don't tend to play many seasons and I just want shot of the old players from day one. This time, I also wanted to return to a retro logo they used to have, change the nickname and stadium name. You'll be able to count my first team signings on one hand, and all signings will be young players (either cheap from lower leagues in France or from Africa), as it will fit the entire club philosophy of mine from the beginning. For example, I did create a club mode with Reading in England and signed no players in the whole season, I just wanted to remove lots of players that have no right being there 

Both you and RB used create a club in this thread. Was wondering if there's a particular reason why this is popular in France.

Tbh, from all my reading at FMCU and here, this is the first time I've encountered it - hence my curiosity 

[Jogo Bonito]

5 minutes ago, quee said:

Both you and RB used create a club in this thread. Was wondering if there's a particular reason why this is popular in France.

Tbh, from all my reading at FMCU and here, this is the first time I've encountered it - hence my curiosity 

We aim to deliver a slightly different FM experience in France my friend 

But yes, it's not a popular mode at all - and takes an age to set up right 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I decided against SC Bastia because they were semi-pro in National 2 - A, and I didn't fancy that with my ideas of building from the bottom up (youth recruitment replacing discarded senior pros in the first window). Also, SC Bastia have been promoted so will be in a playable league from the start if there is an FM21 version. Hopefully they may be professional again, but I'm very likely to be managing them in the future.

In the match engine, the new home kit (and blue 3rd kit) should look lush, and quite possibly better. But if it was down to buying the kits, the three older ones look fabulous to me.

You have almost as many players out on loan as I have within my club!

Yeah I will be sorting out the squad issue over the next 2 transfer windows.

This might make you smile @Jogo Bonito I just played your team Lorient and they beat me 4-2 lol.

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

13 minutes ago, quee said:

Both you and RB used create a club in this thread. Was wondering if there's a particular reason why this is popular in France.

Tbh, from all my reading at FMCU and here, this is the first time I've encountered it - hence my curiosity 

I don't know if it is just me and Jogo that do the create a club mode, I didn't know about it until Jogo mentioned it before in a different thread.

I just did the create a club mode as I wanted to set up my team to have a lot of good African and French affiliates.

[quee]

10 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I just did the create a club mode as I wanted to set up my team to have a lot of good African and French affiliates.

May I ask why? As opposed to getting them naturally in-game?

Is it because you're not planning on a long-term save?

11 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I don't know if it is just me and Jogo that do the create a club mode, I didn't know about it until Jogo mentioned it before in a different thread.

I definitely haven't seen it so far, and I read a lot of threads  Or maybe people don't mention them?

I have seen people use the editor to tag players of certain regions, move some staff around.. and that's all I can think of at the moment 

Back to reading more threads, I guess 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 minute ago, quee said:

May I ask why? As opposed to getting them naturally in-game?

Is it because you're not planning on a long-term save?

I definitely haven't seen it so far, and I read a lot of threads  Or maybe people don't mention them?

I have seen people use the editor to tag players of certain regions, move some staff around.. and that's all I can think of at the moment 

Back to reading more threads, I guess 

Yeah I am plannning on doing 5-10 seasons with Metz as I am really enjoying the project. I just wanted to have the best French and African teams/academies as affiliates to poach their best players and also help with my Youth Intake.

Jogo mentioned the create a club mode ages a go in the EFL superthread.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

FC Metz/Cameroon Update

I managed to get Cameroon to the World Cup in an easy group where I was top of. I then beat Gabon 6-0 on aggregate in the 3rd round of Qualifiers.

On the FC Metz side its another slow season, drawing a lot of games, I have won 4, lost 3 and drawn 6 in league games so far.

I am currently 10th but only 5 points away from getting into the European places and still plently of the season left.

Opa Nguette has been my best player playing on the right side as an Inside Forward. He has got 6 goals so far, better then my strikers Sadiq and Diallo who are underperforming.

I was hoping Sadiq would try make the starting striker place his but it aint working so far. Sadiq has only got 2g goals in 9 appearences where as Diallo has got 3 goals in 4 games so has been better then Sadiq so far and I think I will be starting Diallo more often moving forward.  

Either that or I might try Mo Elsa for a few games or try Geubbels up front. Plenty of options in them positions.