Crusade for European Glory! It always begins in Clermont [FM20]

[Hootieleece]

I am going to jump on the bandwagon and add another French League save to Career Updates.

I am a mediocre FM player at best so this save might be short lived.

I am exploring another style of  tactics by using Tiki-Taka. I have used Gengenpressing and Fluid-Counterattack in the past to decent Success.

The Avatar I have chosen is Bernard Clairvaux, a young (23 year-old, Born November 27, 1995) former Pro-Football player whose career was cut short by a disease. He wanted to stay in the game after recovery and zealously went after his coaching badges. Thus he comes into the team with with the suggested level of ability by the game.

His Goal make French Football and Tiki-Taka the Best Football one can aspire to. Clermont and the Avatars name are inspired by the First Crusade.

I will add a true first post soon

Edited May 18, 2020 by Hootieleece
added images

[Hootieleece]

                                                                                                                                                       

 

The Club:

The Facilities:

The Team:

Assman's Report

Reserve Team:

Under 19's

As one can see there is some quality in the team but most of the players are older and on short contracts. The Team is very close to the payroll cap. So I don't expect to make any adjustments this season. Renewal of contracts is contingent upon play and player demands...If a player wants too many francs out the door he goes especially with a tight budget.

The Tactics:

4-2-3-1 Wide our main formation

4-1-2-3 or 4-1-41 Wide 

5-2-2-1 Our most innovative tactic (It was suggested by the Tactics Module)

All of these tactics are new to me in that they are a different style of soccer than I am used to playing. The reason the 4-2-3-1 Wide is the main formation is that it is the one I have the most experience with. Normally I play like what I call minimalist football and keep TI's to a minimum.(Decision overload)

For now I will use the AssMan to make lineup suggestions and will tweak from there. Once I understand the flow of the roles and style of tactics I will tweak roles and PI's for individual players.

 

I hope that is a decent start.  Please let me know about any screen shots you want to see and I am glad to discuss tactics in a Generals sense as well.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Hootieleece
added images

[OlivierL]

Good luck in France France is hot

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Good luck mate, nice to see another French league career thread.

[Hootieleece]

                                                                                                                                       

 

 PRESEASON

                                                                                                                                                                               

The Preseason didn't start off great. The matches against our Affiliates were disapointing to say the least. Team Cohesion was abominable. Notice that the Team has a Ligue2 match before our Preseason ends! After the disappointment of the first two matches the team started to play better and our time in training camp in Brittany can be considered a success with victories over two Ligue1 teams: Dijon and Rennes. The rest of the hectic match schedule was created by the backroom staff reacting to the lack of tactical preparation in the squad. The last game against Tenerife was a cashgrab by management and in place before  Bernard took over the reins.

It was a bit of a mess and Clermont might rue the victory and the money....because their new main man came down with an injury.

Regular Season Opener

The Season Opener was against Ligue2 Championship Favorites FC Lorient. This was as tough an opening match as could be asked with team cohesion still low. After seeing that Lorient plays a 4-2-3-1 DM Wide. Bernard decided to use the 4-1-4-1 Wide Variation of his Tikitaka tactic. During his opposition instructions he asked 5 Lorient players to be shown the other foot , The Right Back who gave up the ball a lot to be closed down and tackled, and the AMC was man-marked by our Defensive Midfielder as well as closed down, tackled and shown the other foot. All of this led to a match winning performance by the team.

  

That ends this Chapter of our Story any suggestions will be appreciated and thank you for reading.

 

PS. Layout is a work in progress...

 

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Hootieleece

[Hootieleece]

Crusade for European Glory Begins in Earnest!

The season started out with some of our Key players getting injured during the 3 session days Clairvaux  was putting the team through to get his tactical philosophy working.

That didn't deter the team in starting off well with a bit of a blip in league near the end of the month.

Match Summaries

Young Naby entered the record books in our victory in the Ligue2 Cup tournament, but it was David Gomis our new signing that really stole the show.

Our defense was caught napping by an over the top long ball and our last ditch tackles were swerved around leading to the Caen goal.

Hountoudji begins the game with an ignominious own goal before putting in an imperious performance in a good comeback win in the 2nd round of the Cup Tournament.

another over the top ball to a superb touch and unbelievable pass led to our demise...

Could someone tell me how to post video's to the forum? You need see this goal!

In short order reader's will be able to meet the players.

Until the next Chapter. Reader's suggestion and comments are always welcomed.

[Hootieleece]

Meet the Crusaders

The Team Selection information sorted by appearances

The images that follow are the profiles of players that have made a contribution over the past month or are Key players.

Our Captain Jonathan Iglesias has been a mainstay over the past month leading our Midfield

Our Vice-Captain and Leader of the Defense: Florent Ogier

The Key Prospect:

He is currently playing DLP to Iglesias's BBM, but he is only an injury replacement his future is in the Attacking Midfield as a replacement for Jason Berthomier

David Gomis has made impact and fighting for a spot as our Right Winger

Beninese International is Cedric Hountonji is finding a place on our backline.

Guinean International Josue Albert is making it hard for the coach to not make a spot for him.

The Goalie on loan from FC Nantes: Maxime Dupe

Another Midfield Prospect is Brandon Baiye

and now the club's record signing who has been absent from the first month of the season due to a training Injury: Adrian Grbic!

His understudy, Martinique International: Julio Donissa

Thank you for reading !

 

[Gonner]

Good luck.

IRL Clermont is one of the few French cities where Football is way less popular than rugby !

[Hootieleece]

State of the Team 

After our run in August the Competition tables look like this:

We have hit a bit of a speed bump in the league after an encouraging start, but we are better than expected in the Coupe de la Ligue BKT by winning our 2nd round game.

Group Dynamics

The team is coming together after our Preseason and First month of the Regular Season. The Team Cohesion has grown by leaps and bounds (was red and all the way to the left when the save started)

Club Vision

Things are going ok but I will probably have to trim the team payroll a bit. The HOYD went on a bit of a buying spree before I relieved him of his  duty of recruiting Clermont2 players.

 

Thanks for reading and comments and suggestions to make this better always welcome. 

 

[Hootieleece]

7 minutes ago, Gonner said:

Good luck.

IRL Clermont is one of the few French cities where Football is way less popular than rugby !

Didn't know that. Picked them because randomly I got my first FM Promotion ever with them on FM2015. Also because of my day job (History Teacher) I know about the history of the city and that was the inspiration for the title of this thread and the manager's name.

[Gonner]

Clermont is the city of Michelin, and they have always promoted Rugby. The rugby stadium is located in the heart of the city, whereas the football stadium is in the northern suburbs, where most immigrants (Portuguese, Maghreb) live. The stadium (Gabriel Montpied) is odd too, because they have one gigantic grandstand, and then the rest looks like (almost) amateur category. IDK if it is accounted for in FM, but the club finally got approval to better their facilities.

[Hootieleece]

1 hour ago, Gonner said:

Clermont is the city of Michelin, and they have always promoted Rugby. The rugby stadium is located in the heart of the city, whereas the football stadium is in the northern suburbs, where most immigrants (Portuguese, Maghreb) live. The stadium (Gabriel Montpied) is odd too, because they have one gigantic grandstand, and then the rest looks like (almost) amateur category. IDK if it is accounted for in FM, but the club finally got approval to better their facilities.

Didn't know that coming into this save. My day job (history teacher) is what inspired the title and the manager. The other reason is that Randomly this is the team with which I earned my first FM Promotion on FM2015! The Stadium Expansion is in the game but construction is taking longer than usual in that it won't end until 2023!

[Gonner]

4 years to build a grandstand seems perfectly fine by French standards  

[Hootieleece]

September Games

After that up and down month with the Le Mans Match where we got FM'd! 

The team got back on track versus Chambly then tried to induce a heart-attack in the coach in the next thrilling encounter.

That was only won after Bernard "borrowed" Fergie's Hairdryer!

Yes that match wasn't in September but I got a little carried away playing!

Ligue 2 Standings (Quarter Poll)

A decent start to the season sitting in 5th place. The defense worries me with teams beating us over the top.....

Analyst Report (Season So far Stats)

Since the team is doing well but none of our players are topping the Stats Overview in the League Standings screen.

Let's see if TikiTaka system is doings its job!

Team Stat for Possession, Clermont is leading the league!

Passing Stats, again Leading the League

Goals scored: Not bad but could be better.

Shots on Target: Three of our players are in Top 5! Unfortunately they only have 6 goals between them.

Our Wingers are getting in to dangerous positions!

As can be seen by the above stats TikiTaka is working but there is probably a team rebuilding especially defense in our future.

 

Thanks for Reading.

 

 

[Hootieleece]

Good Form Continues!

 

This is after a few weeks of good results and the start of a run caused by the return of Adrian Grbic and playing him in his favored role of Advanced Forward. Before he was playing as a Pressing Forward which his understudy Martinique International Donissa plays very well, but he doesn't. Since the change Grbic has become much more active and finding space even when Man Marked by both Centerbacks!

This shows his prowess...

We were dominant in this game sorry @OlivierL We should have won by more...We hit the Post/Crossbar 6 times!

and that leads us into the Promotion Hunt!

October was a good Month!

Three days Later against Cellar dwellers Chateauroux!

Grbic continues his torrid pace....

and our Good form creates A LIGUE2 Record!

The Record winning streak has vaulted us to the top of the standings!

As you can see we are Two points clear headed into the International Break.....which sees us take a trip to Martinique for a Cup tie while missing 4 starters including both Strikers!

Thanks for reading!

Edited May 20, 2020 by Hootieleece
changed an Image

[B.W.G]

Vive la France!

You've made a great start with Clermont,good luck for the rest of the season  

[karanhsingh]

Great stuff man! Keep it going 

Will have to scout Grbic in my game 

[Hootieleece]

21 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Great stuff man! Keep it going 

Will have to scout Grbic in my game 

Scout him but I have is profile pic up in the Meet the Crusaders update above. He is a Austrian U-21 star but his Attributes aren't wonderkid material, but He is banging in the goals!

[DazRTaylor]

Cracking start mate and will follow with interest.  👍

[Hootieleece]

International Break 

The international Break saw us travelling to Martinique for a Seventh Round Coupe de France Match. Bernard wasn't happy with the travel costs but it did give a chance for the Backups to shine with 9 players on international duty.

The Starting lineup for the match reflected this even though the AssMan disagreed.

Bernard kept his squad rotated with only Vice-Captain Ogier and Winger NDiaye featuring.

This was because we were firm favorites. and led to this pasting of the Golden Lions...

But what was really eye opening was the Airline Tickets and Hotel Costs!

$353K for 3 Days in Martinique! to get $8.3K in prize money...no wonder lower league clubs go bankrupt! (endrant)

But maybe that will lead to an owner that can afford us....

Thanks for reading! 

PS. I have played until Christmas 2019 and will add the update shortly followed by another long post of Stats for you Analytics folks...

[Jogo Bonito]

Good luck in France, top of the table is impressive with that group of duds 

[Hootieleece]

35 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Good luck in France, top of the table is impressive with that group of duds 

Funniest thing is that the team overall by comparison is bottom of the league in Passing ability yet leading the league in possession and completed passes!

The only player I have been dissatisfied with is our starting Left back N'Simba. He just sucks. Can't Cross or keep the ball and suffers from Napoleon Syndrome.

[Hootieleece]

46 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Good luck in France, top of the table is impressive with that group of duds 

Also just for fun...I checked the official Ligue2 webpage for results. Clermont was 5th with 50 points after 28 matches.

Also Adrian Grbic had 17 goals in 28 matches for 2nd place on the scoring charts.

I didn't know they were good. In most of my FM saves they get demoted in a season or two.

Also checked the PreSeason odds and were ranked 5th also.

[Jogo Bonito]

A better squad than they appear on paper then 

[Hootieleece]

November-December: The End of the Beginning

This Guy is who Dominated us with his heading

After the loss the team rebounded well....

The Clermont2 team is also doing well

The Reporters are favorably impressed with young Clairvaux's accomplishments to date:

Anton Grbic wins Player of the Month for November

December Starts with another win!

 and another Coupe de France trip and thrashing....

Our YOUTH INTAKE Preview

and We get a Ligue 1 Club Away for our next Coupe de France Match....tough to live up to expectations of reaching the next round and I will hate to see the travel costs!

We then have a big match under the Friday Night Lights to prove we deserve to be top of the table against 3rd ranked Grenoble. They are weirdly not a rival. We played them in Grenoble early in the season in the Coupe de la Ligue and won 3-2 ding dong match.

We thoroughly out played them on the offensive end and our goalie saved us from a ding dong battle when they went over the top. WE ALSO HAD a 9.9 performance from our AMC!

Another top table show down to wind down the first half of the season...

The Game was anticlimactic We sat in there half for most of the match and scored 3 goals. Guingamp score after we went on Xmas Vacation!

but another great game from our main man

This update ends with the League Table as of the First Half of the Season

 

Thank you for reading.

 

Next update will be analytics

[karanhsingh]

Great stuff that's a solid lead you have built up. Keep it going! 

[Hootieleece]

Team Statistics: Half Season

The team has been playing well. I am/was surprised.  In most of my saves the team flounders and is demoted to the National League within 2 seasons. Since I didn't add anyone to the team during the first Transfer Window. (The HOYD added a few rubbish Fullbacks and Strikers to the Reserves until I changed his responsibilities)

I went to the Ligue 2 Website and found out how they did IRL.

After 28 matches of the Ligue 2 Season: 50 points and 5th in table

Adrian Grbic was 2nd leading scorer in League with 17 Goals!

That being said lets look at the team in Game!

Team Selection Info showing goals assists match ratings and Appearances.

League Stats 

Overall Stats: Clermont is leading in a number of Categories Goals, Shooting Accuracy, Possession, Passing Pct. All good stats to be leading in.

That end the Statistics portion of our Update...Analytics of Team will come in the next one.

Again Thanks for Reading (looking at pictures)

 

 

[Hootieleece]

Analytics (Comparison to other Ligue 2 teams)

First of all Let us look at the Preseason odds...

Pretty good odds to be near top of the Table....Also of note Our on Loan Goalie Dupe was one to Watch! Other Key Players included the Winger N'Diaye and the AMC Berthomier.

Coaches Reports

and compiled Stats

Comparison

Summary

You can see why the TikiTaka System is working. The team is above average technically (except passing) and has smart and fast players who are well led which covers up for many problems in the squad like lack of strength and balance.

 

Thank you for reading

PS: Readers should I limit the number of images or continue with these image heavy updates?

[Ronaldo Beckham]

30 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Analytics (Comparison to other Ligue 2 teams)

First of all Let us look at the Preseason odds...

Pretty good odds to be near top of the Table....Also of note Our on Loan Goalie Dupe was one to Watch! Other Key Players included the Winger N'Diaye and the AMC Berthomier.

Coaches Reports

and compiled Stats

Comparison

Summary

You can see why the TikiTaka System is working. The team is above average technically (except passing) and has smart and fast players who are well led which covers up for many problems in the squad like lack of strength and balance.

 

Thank you for reading

PS: Readers should I limit the number of images or continue with these image heavy updates?

No put as many images and detail as you want, I am enjoying how you do things on here. Keep up the good work.

[Hootieleece]

Winter Break and Transfer Window

The team has earned some time off over the holidays but training continued with the players only getting Christmas Day and New Year's Day off. This is because of a screwy schedule that had us playing Coupe De France match on a Monday when it was originally scheduled for the Friday after New Year's. Since the Board wants to reach the Tenth Round our Match with Ligue1 opponents featured the starting 11. The only difference was our using a 4-1-4-1 Wide Formation instead of our usual 4-2-3-1 Wide. We did this because the nerds suggested it.

and it worked leading to a famous Victory!

and this is what the press say

Don't Believe them....I was on seat edge all game....

The fairytale Regular Season continued with us winning our 5th Straight (again) against Niort

and Clairvaux gets Cocky in the Press...

Why is he cocky we are 8 points ahead....

Our next match was at home versus US Orleans in the 10th Round of the Coupe de France. Even though It was important to win in front of our few fans Bernard played rotated 11.

The result was satisfying.

and for our pains we were rewarded with...

In Regular Season News. Bernard's arrogance bit him even though he had rested the Starters for the Cup Game. Star Winger N'Diaye and a Horrible day at the office by Grbic ended the run...

but the Press are still optimistic about the season prospects

and the Board is happy as well..always a good thing. Since I didn't make any moves with the team other than promoting a few reserve players to the first team to cover injuries the jury is still out on that front!

After a talk with Grbic about his lack of production in his previous match. The team got back to its winning ways.

 

and that helps cement our place at the top of the standings as February draws to a close.

Thanks for Reading.

The Next Update Will include all games up until Match Week 28! So we can Compare to real life!

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by Hootieleece
added images

[karanhsingh]

Keep it going mate. I like the style. 

League should be wrapped up soon it seems like. 

[Hootieleece]

February-March 16th (Match 28)

We started February with a dominant win over LENS!

We followed that win with a loss to Caen it was just a dismal performance.

We followed that loss with Demolition of FCSM and expanded our lead to 8points over Lens with Auxerre coming up who are the hottest team in the League being undefeated since we beat them in September!

Even though they were in 6th place the bookies favored them at home.

It led to a playoff atmosphere in the game with both sides holding nothing back our Left back N'Simba was sent for an early shower and we escaped with 90th minute own goal.

After that highly charged match we were on to Relegation Fodder Le Mans with out our Captain and Midfield Metronome Iglesias. Bernard decided to make up for his earlier Arrogance by answering the Media differently.

Which led to a thoroughly professional job by the team LeMans Goalie Kept it close!

After this win we were headed home for a match against Table Proppers Chambly! The match was tough and N'Simba was sent for an early shower 3 minutes into the match! The remaining players rallied led by Grbic's 4 Goals to a Famous Victory where both sides ended the match with 10 men!

Clairvaux was effusive in his praise for the team

and that fabulous victory brings February to a close and the board is happy.

In other news after his two horror tackles N'Simba was offered to clubs without a price and ST. Gallen offered 550K for him.....Bernard thought good riddance

Another down table foe awaited us in Troyes...

It was a tough game, The Troy Midfielder hit a highlight reel strike to take the lead and we came back but just couldn't find a winner.

The 28th match of the season was against old foe US Orleans we were firm favorites

We went out to a comfortable lead with Two Goals by Grbic but Orleans fought till the end.

That completes another amazing 6 week run this season

and leaves us here in the standings

We are currently ahead of Clermont IRL Match 28 was the last game of the season IRL Ligue2. IRL Clermont had 50 points and Adrian Grbic had 17 goals. FM20 Clermont is obviously better!

 

Thank you for reading.

 

PS: I am sorry that the images don't always follow the narrative I try to catch as many of the mistakes as possible but since I write and edit in a normal post at the same time it is a bit hard. 

[Hootieleece]

a quick addendum:   

Leading in Shooting Accuracy, Goals, Passing Accuracy, and Possession!

 

Leading the chasing pack by 11! We have feasted on relegation fodder for a lot of the campaign, but we own the season series over our 2 closest competitors. RC Lens and Auxerre.

The race for playoff places is tight with only 8 points separating 2nd and 9th place.

As you can see we have a winnable stretch of games ahead of us but must remember to do a professional job.

Thank you for reading

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by Hootieleece
edited to become gramatically correct

[karanhsingh]

Great work. Title seems a foregone conclusion at this point. Your should start planning ahead to next season

[Hootieleece]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Great work. Title seems a foregone conclusion at this point. Your should start planning ahead to next season

I usually don't start planning until Trophy is in our hands or in bigger leagues European places are secured.

I have played further and haven't secured the title yet, but several players have asked for new contracts. It seems the players are doing the planning for me!

 

In Principle, I would ideally like to secure the services of 3 Ligue1 ready players to supplement the current squad. I'm not sure if I will be able to do that without knowing the new budget and needing 3 new contracts for existing players.

My general plan is to add one Ligue1 ready player to Defense, Midfield, and Attack.

My first choice for Defense will probably be a Goalkeeper, because our GK is a loanee from FC Nantes and probably won't be allowed back. Otherwise I would probably pick a Left Back.

As for Midfield I have young central midfielder on Loan that could definitely be a backup in Ligue1. (couldn't recall him he was on loan when I started)

For attackers my choice would be a winger with physical presence. Since most of my players are midgets except Central Defense and Grbic my striker.

I am sure that we will be a yo-yo club the next few seasons...because I wasn't expecting this season. I was expecting due to Board expectations Top Half!

[karanhsingh]

Good stuff. If my Red Star experience is anything to go by, you won't get much money. We got just 3 million odd to spend. But your finances may be in better shape. Best of luck!

[Hootieleece]

Trophy Dreams....Maybe

As we said in our last update we had a winnable bunch of games coming up. If we were to continue this Dream Season we would need to continue to do a professional job.

With this in mind Bernard wanted to make sure his starting eleven and top back up were available barring injury for every match.

So imagine his dismay when he realized that at least one match would fall during that period. Even though it was against lowly Paris FC!

The next game was away against Le Havre the boys were a little overconfident after their recent success....

Nothing went right in the game after we were penned back immediately after our opening goal

and in the press conference Bernard was telling...

 

in other areas the club was moving ahead...

Youth Intake Day

The Youth intake is mostly rubbish but for one player.

He is a deep lying forward now but I see retraining him as a Advanced Playmaker/Shadow Striker

Also the Reserves are playing well leading their group...

The international break came and it was time to play Paris FC...Grbic was still on International duty and the other three were very tired so Bernard played a heavily rotated squad because we had another match just TWO DAYS LATER!

and it worked a treat the backups can actually play!

and the month ends with a happy board

The team due to scheduling has about a 12 day break where they do three practice sessions a day and several inter-squad practice matches

and the next match is away against Nancy another winnable game but Bernard worries about complacency...

even as the press start a campaign about us

The match should have been easy but my team seems to like to play a man down....so we squeaked out a win but didn't seal the Trophy!

The Season is down to the last Four Matches!

As one can see we have 12 point lead on both of our closest competitors: Auxerre and Lens so one more win and a loss by both will give Clermont the title!

Exciting times in Auvergne!

Thanks for reading!

 

 

[karanhsingh]

You just need a point for the title! great stuff mate 

that one new-gen looks like he could come good but will need a fair bit of time

[B.W.G]

So close to the title,Ligue 1 here you come!

[Hootieleece]

Title Dreams realized...the Party and then the Hangover

The last four games were upon us and our Dream season was almost complete...where we stand with a tough match against defensively minded Grenoble. We are favorites because of our table position.

Their 4-4-2 Press/Counter-Attack is a perfect foil for our style....Resperentino gave us problems in previous matchups.

Before the game we got good news...

and it led the board to set the budgets for next season in Ligue1

Bernard is disappointed but realistic with this budget. He will only be able to strengthen the squad for the inevitable return to Ligue2.

His reasoning...

Neymar alone makes FIVE Times his entire payroll budget!

Back to next match the analytics people swear our 4-2-3-1 Wide should work well against Grenoble.

and in other news PSG won the Coupe de France....

I can see all the shocked faces....

The Bookies thought we would win the title against Grenoble

Bernard wasn't so sure....

and he was right, but we did clinch the title without the win.

Even though we had won the title Bernard was still chasing the Team Wins record and his personal goal of 76 points!

but the team pretty much decided to go through the motions for the rest of the season...

and the final Ligue2 Table.

Grbic led the league in goals with 25. Berthomier led in assists (to Grbic) and two of our players led the avg. ratings.

I must say a successful campaign.

Team of the Year

 

New Recruit

While the season was ending Bernard turned to thinking about next season and beyond. His I fell on a decent young player from Luzern named CHEF.

Not the greatest player but a useful addition

Club Vision

The season started with a club culture of "Striving to improve on and off the field". NOW there are 3 agendas to follow. Never had that happen before. I guess winning trophy's does that.

 

Thanks for reading.

PS: Let me know what or who you want to know about and I will try to either find a screenshot or try to explain/

 

 

 

[karanhsingh]

Well done! Also Chef really!? I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere. 

[Jogo Bonito]

Congratulations on winning the league. Chef looks like he could be tasty....

I might have to borrow your 'French celebration' pic, should I ever get that far 

[B.W.G]

Congrats on the title

[Hootieleece]

16 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Well done! Also Chef really!? I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere. 

Maybe but I definitely see him cooking up some crosses in the future.

3 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Congratulations on winning the league. Chef looks like he could be tasty....

I might have to borrow your 'French celebration' pic, should I ever get that far 

The "French Celebration" pic was binged from the internet with a search of "French Soccer Celebrations" 

1 hour ago, B.W.G said:

Congrats on the title

Thanks, I think we are up against it next season and will be relegated. I am mostly team-building based on returning to Ligue2.

[Hootieleece]

Situation Summary, Silly Season, Preseason

Situation Summary

The clubs situation after the euphoria of winning Ligue2 is rather bleak on the playing front. Bernard believes God had a hand in Clermont winning the league and that he is testing Bernard's abilities to the utmost. Taking that rather realistic approach Bernard began team-building with the financial situation in mind. The team just doesn't have the money to compete for top players. With a total budget of $13M dollars and most of that taken up by Promotion Pay Raises and New Contracts for Core players (to keep them happy) Bernard just couldn't splash the cash. 

Adding to the financial difficulties is the rather anemic fanbase. There are only 1000 Season Ticket holders. Alas, Football isn't the Premier sport in Clermont! That title goes to ASM Clermont-Auvergne "Les Juanards". So growing the fanbase is a priority.

Financials

Right After winning the League

After the signings and Ligue1 TV money came in just before season:

  

With that in mind Bernard's Silly Season Started:

Transfers

Not many Transfers in or out. The one that really hurt was our Youth intakes Top prospect being poached. Board overruled me, because it was the most money ever for a Clermont Player! Even though just a few weeks before N'Simba was the record!

As for the players in:  Subasic was let go by AS Monaco and I thought he might have enough left to help us. Surprisingly he agreed to come for 2 years without a Relegation Release Clause. He wasn't the first option which was continuation of our record-breaking Loanee GK Dupe. He dawdled and Bernard was forced to move.

 

Khrin is similar to our core midfield of Berthomier, Iglesias, and Gastien and is probably overpaid.

I also have 3 players returning from loans that were definite first team players and even though they don't show up on transfers I am including them.

Rajot is probably Berthomier's successor in Attacking Midfield

Teixiera will be in competition with Chef for playing time off the bench

Bayo lit up the National League last season and will step in as Grbic's backup. He is also a bit of a winger so he may see spot duty in that position as well

Preseason

The Preseason was successful We played a good mix of teams. OL and RB Leipzig  as challenges to see if we could compete at Ligue1 level. Famalicao, Livorno, Huesca, Paris FC for similar competition. Clermont 2, SC Lustenau, and AS Beziers as warmup games and morale raisers.

Also our matches against Huesca and Famalicao were part of a Level 2 Tounament hosted by SPV Greuther Furth

and we WON!

Any and all trophy's are worth winning.

Team Report

We are going with the Assman's judgement of the team

Team Dynamics shows a well gelled team

and of course the Board's report on our activity.

That is the end of the update will continue with the Season.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

[karanhsingh]

Best of luck for the new season! 

Can you post a screenshot of the newgen who got poached? 

[Hootieleece]

@karanhsingh

This is the "poached" player.

He came in my relatively rubbish Youth intake...and he is only 15! OM and Rennes both offered us 700k for him. The ink wasn't really dry on his youth contract and they came for him in the summer.

[karanhsingh]

He looks decent but not amazing tbh 

[Hootieleece]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

He looks decent but not amazing tbh 

But he would probably be getting Emergency First team playing time next year after his 16th birthday for us. Budget is really tight.

I had a few $k/year under while ligue2. The board gave us a $3M/year increase upon promotion. All the stupid 30% pay raise clauses kicked in and the new deals I had to sign to keep people happy ate the rest.  I've had to use $2.5M of the Transfer budget just to get a few extra players in.

[Hootieleece]

Regular Season-August 2020

I forgot to capture a screenshot...I asked and got a new contract in June to hopefully allow me to manage the team if we get relegated which is likely.

Season Expectations

The first match of the season was a match against FC Nantes which would see us face a familiar face our old GK Dupe! Also our new midfielder Khryn would also be facing his old employers.

Without thinking about it and disregarding the Analytics boys Bernard decided to use his 4-2-3-1 Wide TikiTaka system again this year doing so would allow him to maintain club culture. He was also wondering how much of talent gulf there really was in Ligue1 compared to Ligue2

Season ticket sales numbers were in our fanbase 3.5X bigger

and now back to the match Bernard's plan worked well except for the defensive mistake that gave Nantes their first Goal. The team kept trying and finally beat our Old Goalie twice in the last minutes to a Freekick to tie it in extra time.

It was a decent start.

The next match was away at Amiens a team Bernard thought might be beatable as he sought to fight bravely against relegation. He is keeping with the TikiTaka.

All went according to plan.

The Next Match was a Rivalry Match if you can call it one...It is more like little brother taking on big brother....

We have them listed as rivals....

but they are also our Senior Affiliate....

with no money changing hands and no loan players. We are also in same league and it didn't break.

It was a close match but another mistake cost us. The biggest problem was key players getting yellow cards. We threatened their net numerous times...we just didn't get lucky. The shot that went in last season was saved, the pass or cross was intercepted instead of completed. Wazi Khabri was all over the field and eventually beat us on an end to end run.

The final game of the month was more of the same except Angers was more incisive and the Ref gave us Yellow Cards for looking at their players wrong!

That leaves us looking like this after September

In other News Paris SG spent more money on transfers than the next 3 teams in Ligue1's total payroll.

The board is happy and the finances aren't horrible....

The Payroll budget has been increased by $4M dollars to $12M dollars because that is where I put the transfer funds. Even so I really can't afford to add any one else.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Hootieleece
added words I forgot