The FM21 Youth Academy Challenge

[JLAB]

So it turns out that I've produced two wonderkids so far.

Fedele Landi, who's now at Man City and has a cap for Italy which is rather exciting.

Carlo Musu who is still at our club, but has started making noise about how the club is not good enough for his ambitions anymore, which is a little irritating.

[Brentmeister]

So this game knocked me out of the Copa Libertadores

[Padders]

1 hour ago, Brentmeister said:

So this game knocked me out of the Copa Libertadores

Oh my, absolutely devastating!

[darren1983]

I'll take that  

[TheGreatTraveler]

1 hour ago, Brentmeister said:

So this game knocked me out of the Copa Libertadores

Ouch talk about getting FM'd...

[steve.rush]

Youth Preview 2041-2042

Youth Intake 2041-2042

Not the best intake but think these two could work out

 

[XaW]

I got this message and for a second I thought it was a nick name for my team or something and really started to worry, but it's just another club in the division...

[Flashman\'s School Days]

Wuhan Three Towns - Season 2037 Review

Manager Profile - Transfers - Fixtures 1 - Fixtures 2

China Super League - 11th

Our second best season to date in terms of final league position and points.  Thankfully we started off the season quite well so we never had to claw back to safety, which I much prefer, but we could have done a lot better if it wasn't for the sheer amount of late goals we conceded that either gave up a win or a draw.  At one point we had three 2-2 draws in a row in which we were 2-1 up in only to concede a goal in the final few minutes.  We also really struggled for clean sheets (5 in total) but at the same time we had one of our better seasons in terms of goals conceded.

After two dodgy displays against second tier sides in the cup, we got knocked out in the quarter final by Shandong, a shame as that was quite a close game and I think the cup is my best way to progress.

Squad

Gao Sheng 24d was again the best performer and although he wasn't quite as good as previous seasons he still won the fan's player of the season.  Li Weijie 27c was again the top goalscorer and seemingly the only goal threat of our strikers.  Thankfully Li Xiaoyu 31a came up with 10 goals from central midfield in what was his breakout season.

Wu Zhongchun 36a who came through last season was straight into the first team this season and made a real impact, starting with a goal and assist in his second appearance off the bench.  He also had a few bids mid season which I was able to fend off but if they get much bigger then I imagine the board will step in.  He also made 8 appearances for the China U19 side which is 7 more appearances than any other player has made for the youth teams and only the fifth player to make appearances whilst still at the club.

Youth Intake

Another suspicious looking Golden Generation without anyone above 4* potential and really terrible personalities.  I suppose I might have been hoping for too much to have another good intake so soon after the last one.  A couple of the better players are Liang Kun 37c and Tian Yiyuan 37e.

But the one rated as the best prospect was Zhang Kun 37a

Finances

So we finished the season with pretty unhealthy looking finances but something happened at the beginning of the season where for the first time since I got to the club the status went from "insecure" to "okay" and on a whim I asked for everything I could but the board only agreed to improving youth facilities, which wouldn't have been my first choice of upgrade.  I also managed to get myself on a coaching course for the first time and even was able to chain them together so that I am now studying for my National A license.  It was so nice to finally see some measure of progress after all this time.  The only problem being that we lose over £2M a season and the status has now gone back to insecure so I imagine I will have to wait a little longer to improve JC and YR.

Next Season

Keep on battling to stay in the league, hope to steadily increase the rep and hopefully give a good account of ourselves in the cup.

[keeper#1]

Back after another week away.  Keep up the good work, everyone!  I'll have a Farnborough update up tomorrow.

[vikeologist]

Vikeologist's 2044/45 Folkestone Season Report

This is now by far my longest youth challenge, (I completed it with Palermo far quickr) and on the field things have become stuck in a bit of a rut. We failed to make the playoffs again, for the fourth time in our five seasons in this division, and we never even looked like doing so.

However, I was able to plant seeds for the future. A couple of months into the season we moved into our new stadium, almost doubling our capacity to 9,863.

We started the season with 2 fantastic goalies, and ended up selling both of them, but the board (eventually) agreed to use the money to improve the Training and Youth facilities this summer.

We have plenty of other good goalies who I’d have lost if they hadn’t been given first team football, but in the short term it was a dip in quality between the sticks. I sold my starting goalie because I assumed we stood no chance of making the playoffs, but in the end we only finished 3 points adrift.

Things aren’t going well though. The players who are supposed to be my best or most promising aren’t producing the goods or developing.

Top Goalscorer – Dave Jackson 21b – 28

Once again, none of our strikers reached 30 goals. During the reign of Collett and Morgan, they both reached that mark every season.

Jackson is only 19 years old though, and might still improve. According to my AssMan (who has good judging attributes) he is our best striker.

But as for who to start alongside him? Collett and Morgan are judged to be only 2 star ability, but they did get the goals in the past. Collett hardly played this season and Morgan will be 31 at the start of next season.

Highest Average Rating (minimum 10 matches played) – Dave Jackson 21b – 7.08

Only Jackson and Wiltshire, my normal starting strikers, managed over 7.

Man of The Match – Ellis Wiltshire 20d – 6

Most Valuable Player– Pete Larkin 18d

Larkin is a central defender. Unfortunately he’s only one person, and we need two in that position. Hopefully our latest top regen will rise to the challenge.

Kevin Spencer 17d is still by far our best left winger, but he had a bad season. I thought he was going to leave. Last season I gambled and turned down a (roughly) £3million bid, despite him having a (roughly) 650k release clause for higher division clubs. One came in for him, but he opted to stay. He is now on nearly twice as much as any other player.

Most Appearances (Regens) – Jason ‘Nepotism’ Ramsay 1a – 719

Michael Morgan is on 550, but 31 soon, and no longer an automatic starter, he’s not going to catch Jason.

My second best central defender is only 25 and on 409 appearances, but as discussed, I’m actively looking to replace him. If I have to start him for the necessary 6 or so seasons to catch Jason, I’ll cry.

Jason was sacked from his second managerial job, so who knows if he’ll get a 3^rd chance.

Most Goals (Regens) – Michael Morgan 9a – 477

Maybe he will still make the 500 mark.

Season	Division		Position	Notes							MVP										
21/22	VNL South		18th		Steered clear of relegaton thanks to good start.	Callum Davies
22/23	VNL South		16th		Only 2 places better, but a lot more points.		Henry Newcombe
23/24	VNL South		18th		Big step backwards in points.				David Smith
24/25	VNL South		15th		Consistently mediocre.					David Smith
25/26	VNL South		14th		Just outside playoffs for most of the season.		David Smith
26/27	VNL South		16th		Otherwise known as the year 1AD (After Discipline)	Ellis Andrews 2c
27/28	VNL South		19th		Narrowly avoided relegation places all season		David Smith
28/29	VNL South		15th		Tried different tactics. Didn't find a magic bean.	David Smith
29/30	VNL South		7th		Lost playoff semifinal, but a great improvement.	Ellis Andrews 2c
30/31	VNL South		12th		Second half slump into mid-table disappointment		David Smith
31/32	VNL South		7th		Lost in S/F of playoff					Ellis Andrews 2c
32/33	VNL South		9th		Didn't threaten playoffs				Ellis Drake 10a
33/34	VNL South		2nd		Lost last 2 matches of season and 1st playoff game.	Michael Morgan 9a
34/35	VNL South		4th		Knocked out Playoffs 1st round on penalties		Michael Morgan 9a
35/36	VNL South		6th		Knocked out in Playoff semifinal			Michael Morgan 9a
36/37	VNL South		5th		Knocked out in Playoff semifinal			Giorgos Kragiopoulos 11a
37/38	VNL South		1st		Won the league by a mile. 17th time lucky.		Michael Morgan 9a 
38/39	VNL National		1st		Back to back comfortable promotions			Jack Collett 13a 
39/40	League 2		2nd		Won last 5 matches securing automatic promotion.	Jack Collett 13a 
40/41	League 1		11th		Pushing for promotion most of the season		Jack Collett 13a 
41/42	League 1		5th		Lost in playoffs semifinal				Michael Morgan 9a 
42/43	League 1		8th		Losing streak, winning streak and then injuries		Kevin Spencer 17d
43/44	League 1		7th		One place outside playoffs.				Kevin Spencer 17d
44/45	League 1		12th		Outside playoffs all season. New stadium.		Pete Larkin 18d

 

[Morpheus13]

Chengfeng Season 38/39 Season Review

Table - Squad - U23 Squad - U19 Squad - Finances - Transfers

A good Season for us, finishing 10th. We were never in danger of beiing relegated due to DL Pro and Shanghai beiing bad nearly all season. With Ma Wenyi (36C) beiing the Topscorer with only 10 Goals all season, but we needed someone to step up in terms of scoring goals, since Bai Ran had a really bad season. In the Chinese Cup we were thrown out in the 4th Round by a Jia League Team, what was very disappointing. We still have 3 Millions in the bank, even after upgrading the training facilities and the Junior Coaching. I really hope it helps develop my players even without playing them in the first team, since our Intakes are being good. Another good one this season.

 

Really ecited about Jiao Guadong (39C) since we really need a backup striker . Just sucks he has an unambitious personalty but since he will be in the first team, I'll start mentoring him. With Cui Hongjun we get another attacking midfielder. Thinking about retraining him, since we have alot good prospects in that position. And also Wang Yupeng I hope will develop nicely, because LB really is a position of need.

First Team

As wirtten, Ma Wenyi (36C) stepped up this season, being the Topscorer. Li Ming (37B) and Zhang Jejun (38A) developed fast and nicely, becoming first team members and actually attracting alot of other clubs, but convinced them to stay for now.

Huang Yongzhi, Captain and Long Time Servant, became the player with the most appereances for the club with 353 Apps.

[Pieyanthikos]

2031/2032 review

Manager profile | Squad | U18 squad | Matches 1/2 | Top scorer (Paesch 30A) | Hot prospect (Sambo 32A) | Youth intake | Table

Another highly successful year for Kozakken Boys. Last year's debut season in the Eredivisie was followed by an impressive 6th place and play-off matches for European participation. AZ, however, knocked us out in the semifinals 4-3, but that does not spoil the impression of a club in rapid progress.

In addition to the results on the field, it was also the year in which we sold two large profiles for record amounts in the January window. Overbeek had interest from Arsenal and Inter, and the London club ended up buying him for his € 11.3m buy-out clause. Koenders had Tottenham, Milan and Porto as suitors, and after stubborn negotiations he also left the Kozakken Boys for a € 13.6m buy-out clause. In the light of hindsight, we might have tried to hold on to them until summer, but our young talents ended up seizing the chance and retaining our 6th place season out. Goalkeeper Rihawi may well be the next sale with a buy-out clause of a paltry € 3m, so in the future it is important to either avoid the clauses or set them as high as possible, because the big clubs have started to keep their eyes on our talents.

This year's intake was, for once, a bit disappointing; Sambo looks very interesting as OMC, but we are already strongly occupied with the position. Marijnissen can become a potential first team player in the long run as we are sparsely occupied at DMC. Otherwise, I do not have high expectations for the new players.

 

[Raffen]

Taking a bit of a break from my Merthyr-escapades. Took a long time to get into the league system proper, and I've hit the post-accomplishment rut after the promotion to League 2. Hopefully it's just a case of playing some other game for a couple of weeks, and it's over.

Had a similar issue with a San Marino youth save a couple of years back, where I never picked it up again after reaching the Serie A, so no guarantees. I've got no other saves on FM of any interest though, so likely that this will be the only save for a while yet

[steve.rush]

Sannois SG 2041-2042

A season full of ups and downs. Strange results, too many draws, not enough goals scored.

We never seem to make any headway in the French Cup. We are knocked out in the Tenth Round, losing 2-1 away to Paris SG

An fantastic first season in Europe for our boys. We were so close to the Euro Cup Final but it wasn't to be.

Lucas Perez 35e stepped up this year with 20 overall but we struggled for consistency from our strikers. Eric Lefebvre 36b topped the assist chart with 15.

Louis Dumortier was consistent between the sticks and our best talents are Yacoub Vazquez-Garcia 39a, Jimmy Claude 38a, Slawomir Michor 35d and Mael Renaud 31b

Filippos Gavalas 30a was excellent for us but was starting to get phased out. We accepted a £10m bid from Guangzhou in January.

I think we can bounce back this year, we just need to be more consistent. It's a shame we won't be in Europe this year so that will be aim.

 

 

[Brentmeister]

I got offered the Brazil job!

[hubwub]

Futebol Clube Barreirense

SEASON TWO - 2022/2023 - Terceira Liga

LEAGUE TABLE | FIXTURES | SQUAD STATS | COMPETITION OVERVIEW

MANAGER OVERVIEW: CHARACTERISTICS | ATTRIBUTES

CLUB: PROFILE | GENERAL | FACILITIES | HONOURS | FINANCES | CLUB VISION

PLAYERS: TRANSFERS

STAFF: CURRENT

 

Terceira Liga

The season is halfway done. We  were predicted to be relegated at 24th with odds of 400-1. We are currently 7th with 8W-7D-4L. The team went through a rough patch in which we were conceding too much. I made tactical changes and opted for no longer using a high line. We stopped conceding as much since then. We are getting goals but the fitness could be better with this squad.

I also promoted four of my youth players that came from this most recent intake. They have been a blessing.

I think Eduardo 22A's mentoring group is doing a bit on his determination.

My older players aren't liking it that I'm fining when they perform below a 6.5. My current fining scheme is 6.5-6.3 is a 1 week fine. Anything below 6.3 is a 2 week fine.

Taça de Portugal Placard

We were told to be competitive by the club board. The team got a first round bye but then we got beat 1-4 by Os Belenenses Futebol who are in Liga NOS. It just wasn't meant to be to go far in this competition.

Youth Development

My HOYD is saying I'm getting another golden generation. We will see come March 2023 if what he brought are actually good.

The next likely candidate to start fully in the first team.

As for my manager, they got their National C License. The financial situation of the club is kind of bad that I can't really get any upgrades on facilities or coaching. This has me worried for contract renewals of my staff.

 

[keeper#1]

Farnborough 2034-35 Season Review

Fixtures 1, 2, 3: We still struggle with fixture congestion.  I'm going to take a new approach to training next season and see if that solves some of the problems.  We have quality players but the congestion just kills our form and we need a stretch of one game per week to play a consistent lineup to get us out of the funk.

League Table - The lack of a consistent offense and squad depth held us back all season.  Our leading goalscorer had just nine goals.  The defense was our strength.  We conceded 48 goals which was 5th best in the league whereas our 47 goals scored ranked 20th.  Sunderland and Cardiff earned automatic promotion while Bristol Rovers, Tranmere, York and Grimsby all go back down to League Two.  Swansea, Birmingham and Oxford drop down from the Championship into League One for the 2035-36 season.

Playoff Tree - Rotherham win the playoff with wins over Wigan in the semis and Southend in the finals.

FA Cup - Some quality wins in the first and second round before losing to West Ham at the Olympic Stadium

League Cup - Portsmouth just picked us apart in the League Cup First Round 6-1

Papa John's Trophy - A pair of losses to full senior sides and a victory over the Chelsea U-23s

xG General Performance - A graphical show of our defensive strength and our offensive weakness.  We passed the ball around the pitch well and tackled well but we just don't shoot the ball.  Tough to score when we don't shoot.

xG Expected-Actual - We were about on par with our goals but overperformed on points.  Still need to find a way to improve the offense going forward.

xG Attacking Efficiency     xG Defensive Efficiency

Stats 1     Stats 2

Transfers

Player of the Year Reece Dukic 33A - The rock of our defense this season.  Some of the low-end Premier League and top-end Championship teams are sniffing around for him so he probably won't be on the team next season.

Newcomer of the Year Pedro Javier Santos 33E - A tall left winger who just overpowers the opposition's fullback.

Youth Intake Preview     Youth Intake DNA     Daryl Morgan 35A     Ed Cumming-Hicks 35B     Sean Aguirre 35C     Stuart Chadwick 35D     Ed Tuck 35E

Moments to Remember     Best XI     Accolades

Almanac

The youth team did not perform as well as the past couple years but even in a bad year we are still a good team.

Soufaine Dghoughi 25A has the most appearances from the academy.  He's at position where there is little competition and he does not make a lot of bonehead errors out there so he continues to make the lineup.  Plus, he's not flashy enough for bigger clubs to come for his services.

Jamie Loft 26F has company at the top of the goal chart now that Armando 27F has joined him with 70 goals.  Austin Power 31G is the biggest threat to catch both of them.

No movement here.

Reece Dukic 33A and Desmond Irons 32J are the biggest movers here especially Irons starting to climb up the goal charts.

 

[XaW]

Oh oh....

[Cheez3y]

1 hour ago, XaW said:

Oh oh....

Thats why I love and hate to manage in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia.

Pissing away money every day.

[XaW]

27 minutes ago, Cheez3y said:

Thats why I love and hate to manage in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia.

Pissing away money every day.

Also, there must be some corruption going on here. "Other"... yeah, right. Caviar and Champagne for the chairman, more like it... If the board had stopped that (or payed off our debt!) we would be breaking even!

[JLAB]

Well then, that didn't last too long in the end. West Brom are a decent team in my save, so will be interesting to see how he does there.

[vikeologist]

13 hours ago, hubwub said:

 

 

 

 

My older players aren't liking it that I'm fining when they perform below a 6.5. My current fining scheme is 6.5-6.3 is a 1 week fine. Anything below 6.3 is a 2 week fine.

 

 

 

 

Do you think that fining that much is having a better effect? The standard fining seems to work fine for me.

I've only had one real problem with fining. One promising player did leave because of it, but he had a casual personality, and his determination and work rate were really low, so good riddance.

[JLAB]

So... my fiercest rivals might be having a tycoon takeover soon. This could make the challenge a little more difficult...

[steve.rush]

Youth Preview 2042-2043

Youth Intake 2042-2043

I like Traore but the unambitious personality may hold him back

 

 

[aldojags]

I had a look last night to see about trying this save - i reloaded a team called Basford United based in Nottingham, I have never heard of

them...and i play a lot of lower league saves, im semi tempted but they have like8 playable players i think itd bean awful first season and likely fired and relegated!

First few seasons actually!

but tempted as id never heard of the team!

[JLAB]

So... I might have made a signing. He was a loyal servant of the club and having him being back as an under 18s coach was something I knew I had to do in for loyalty reasons over anything else.

It's just a shame he's a bit rubbish though. I immediately told him to get his National B license though, because I want to support my former captain in his career as a coach, especially since he at one point admitted he wanted to become a manager.

[steve.rush]

Sannois SG 2042-2043

An epic collapse down the stretch dropped us from 3rd to 7th with eight games to go. I was certain we would be in the Champions League but injuries near the end of the year took its toll.

We lost in the Tenth Round of the French Cup for the fourth year in a row.

Muhammet Yilmaz 33c top scored with just 18 with Eric Lefebvre 36b providing eight assists.

Louis Dumortier 35b was once again one of our best performers and Yacoub Vasquez-Garcia 39a is easily our best player.

Club captain and midfield enforcer Matteo Lux 26a will be leaving this summer. He leaves as the club league record appearance holder with 369.

Need to make take that next step. We are better defensively than we have ever been but are struggling for that spark up top.

[hubwub]

3 hours ago, vikeologist said:

Do you think that fining that much is having a better effect? The standard fining seems to work fine for me.

I've only had one real problem with fining. One promising player did leave because of it, but he had a casual personality, and his determination and work rate were really low, so good riddance.

In my current save, I'm trying to figure out if I can influence the other hidden attributes that make up a player's personality. I'm hoping through fining I can influence pressure and temperament. At the same time, I wonder if fining will help increase determination.

I stated in one of my posts that my squad is filled with lots of BALANCED PLAYERS. I can't really make an assessment as to how their personality truly affects my mentoring groups because their hidden attributes could be worse. It's a risk though.

BALANCED PERSONALITY

• Professionalism    5-14
• Determination    1-14
• Ambition    10-14
• Pressure    4-20
• Temperament    7-20
• Loyalty    1-14
• Sportsmanship    1-14
• Controversy    1-14

Most of my influential players are of BALANCED and MEDIA FRIENDLY.

[vikeologist]

2 minutes ago, hubwub said:

In my current save, I'm trying to figure out if I can influence the other hidden attributes that make up a player's personality. I'm hoping through fining I can influence pressure and temperament. At the same time, I wonder if fining will help increase determination.

I stated in one of my posts that my squad is filled with lots of BALANCED PLAYERS. I can't really make an assessment as to how their personality truly affects my mentoring groups because their hidden attributes could be worse. It's a risk though.

BALANCED PERSONALITY

• Professionalism    5-14
• Determination    1-14
• Ambition    10-14
• Pressure    4-20
• Temperament    7-20
• Loyalty    1-14
• Sportsmanship    1-14
• Controversy    1-14

Most of my influential players are of BALANCED and MEDIA FRIENDLY.

Fining clearly helps determination and work rate, but I don't think you're likely to get much benefit from fining so highly. If lots of your players are complaining, and can't be talked down by the captains, I'd guess that your fines are too high, although of course, it could also be because your captains are poor.

The consensus fining is 6.5 warning 6.3-4 1 day, 6.2 or below 1 week. That might not be the optimum, but your levels seem self-defeating. Even if you're increasing determination by 15 in one season, there's no real need to do it that quickly. 

You're right that balanced personalities are terrible. 

I don't know if fining affects those hidden attributes.I'd guess it doesn't affect pressure, because despite my mentoring, I do occasionally get a player who doesn't like big matches. If fining did increase pressure, then along with the mentoring I'd expect too absolutely no big match haters. All my senior players who hate big matches are kept in a sperate mentoring group, although they may cause harm while they're 22 and influencing even younger players. 

How important is pressure anyway? I definitely want it, but it's not as though a mediocre player who likes big matches is suddenly going to be a superstar in cup matches. Performances in big matches clearly depends on a lot more things. I've never actually noticed players who like big matches performing better in big matches than their opposites.  I have a lot more big match players than haters, but we haven't done particularly well in the cups the last 10 years or so.

As I'm 24+ seasons into my save, obviously I have a lot of things sorted, such as mentoring, captains etc. If you're only 3 or so seasons in, I'd suggest just being patient. Just don't allow any of your guys with good personalities to be cocked up. Like your spirited regen. If you don't have someone with a better personality to mentor him, just don't put him in a mentoring group. I don't think it does any harm to have players unmentored. Just doesn't improve their personalities and some other stuff, but that's better than making their personalities worse.

Hold on to your rubbish players with good personalities, on pay for play contracts if you can. 

[Morpheus13]

Chengfeng Season 39/40 Review

Table - Squad - U23Squad - U19 Squad - Finances - Transfers

Fantastic Season for us, finishing 4th. We had luck from start to finish and with every win, it seemed like we could use the confidence. Alot of lucky wins and draws.

This is just one example, how we fm'd FM all season long

 

Was an eventful season all around with our board going absolutely bonkers and selling our three best players from the 39 Intake (Wang Yupeng,Jiao and Guadong Cui Hongjung). At least we got 16 Mill out of it, so investments in the facilities are made. But the fact the we are able to get over 7 Mil for our players is nice, because it shows that the intakes are getting better. Another good one this year with three players Im really exited about.

And also our other players are making great progress. With Niu Yifan, Liu Honliang and Li Ming progressing nicely

So I hope i can actually develop some of my youth players with the great training facilities now and its not my board selling them immediately. We will continue to upgrade the facilities, now that we have 13 Mill in the bank. A 4th place is too optimistic but I think we can aim for higher goals than just survival.

[XaW]

11 hours ago, XaW said:

Oh oh....

We are taking up loans to pay off loans.... no way this can backfire....?

[XaW]

            

FC Novokuznetsk - Season 2033/34 Review

Table | Squad | Transfers | Finances

Another strong season, but we are still not fighting for the promotion or playoff spot. Hopefully we can do that soon. Heading into our 12th season in this tier next season and things are getting a bit tedious now!

In the Kubok Rossii we beat Chelyabinsk and Torpedo Vladimir to reach the group stage. There we finished 3rd behind FC Ufa and Zvezda Perm and got knocked out.

Youth

A good preview, but we've seen it doesn't mean much.

One great player, but not much more than that.

Roman Khudyakov 34a is a very talented goalkeeper and he is already the 2nd best one.

U21s:

They only played friendlies.

U18s:

They won in the Russian U18 Division - Moskovskaya oblast Group 9 and qualified. In the Group stage they finished 2nd and qualified. In the knockout rounds we beat Luch-Energiya Vladivostok U18s in the quarter final and Yenisey Krasnoyarsk U18s in the semi final before losing to Nizhniy Novgorod U18s in the final.

Statistics:

Spoiler

No new countries this season.

Record Breakers:

Most goals in a season: Alexey Tarakanov 31d - 31
Most league goals in a season: Alexey Tarakanov 31d - 29
Most goals in a match: Alexey Tarakanov 31d - 5
Most goals in a league match: Alexey Tarakanov 31d - 5
Most clean sheets in a season: Alexey Kiselev 30g - 13
Most league apps overall: Lorenzo Coppo 22d - 288
Fastest goal: Alexey Tarakanov 31d - 12 seconds

Trophy cabinet:

Empty

[Cheez3y]

 

Our academy is so good, we poach players from ourself.

[Cheez3y]

btw

Where do I post both bugs?

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Cheez3y

[vikeologist]

I was just about to type a message saying that I probably shouldn't count on holding on to my new goalie, who has a Mercenary personality; (16-20 ambition, 1-3 Loyalty) plus a release clause, when this news item popped up.

The annoying thing is that they're in the same division, and have the same reputation, but he won't negotiate a new contract with us, because he's only just started this one, (with the slightly less paltry release clause).

Oh well. I wasn't going to sell his backup anyway, because it was obvious this might happen. Hopefully he'll stay this time though.

 

UPDATE: He did turn down Oxford. I mean, you'd have to doubt that personality if he did settle for them, but I doubt they'll be the last callers.

Edited April 16, 2021 by vikeologist

[JLAB]

This could be a good intake.

[JAwtunes]

Oh dear

[Miek]

I'm looking for some advice since my youth challenge is dying slowly and I'm afraid there's no way out. 

I'm stuck in this limbo where my squad is not good enough to compete for promotion but always avoids relegation with ease. I finished this challenge last year so I'm used to limbo years where you're just waiting on some youngsters or board improvements so you can take the next step. The issue however is that we are leaking money ($500K deficit/year in the Belgian second division). Because of this my board won't accept any of my improvements request and  my wage budget keeps getting cut. The youngsters that come trough are decent (with the odd generational talent) but not good enough to challenge for promotion. Feels like I'm in this downward spiral that's headed to bankruptcy or relegation. Has anyone ever experienced this and found a way out? Maybe I should cut my staff (4 coaches, HOY and assman) to save about $300k/year but that seems like suicide. My only lifeline looks to be a takeover but no guarantee this will suffice. 

I hate quitting on a team since I get weirdly attached to my pupils but I've never been closer with this one. 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Miek

[Cheez3y]

How does "share the same board"  and "players may move freely" effect this team?

Does anyone know?

[JLAB]

I consider that to be like the B teams that can have players sent to them by the main team.

Given that one of them is called Sarawak Football Association and the other is called Sarawak Utd, I would see it as that Sarawak FA is the B team of Sarawak Utd.

[Brentmeister]

57 minutes ago, Miek said:

I'm looking for some advice since my youth challenge is dying slowly and I'm afraid there's no way out. 

I'm stuck in this limbo where my squad is not good enough to compete for promotion but always avoids relegation with ease. I finished this challenge last year so I'm used to limbo years where you're just waiting on some youngsters or board improvements so you can take the next step. The issue however is that we are leaking money ($500K deficit/year in the Belgian second division). Because of this my board won't accept any of my improvements request and  my wage budget keeps getting cut. The youngsters that come trough are decent (with the odd generational talent) but not good enough to challenge for promotion. Feels like I'm in this downward spiral that's headed to bankruptcy or relegation. Has anyone ever experienced this and found a way out? Maybe I should cut my staff (4 coaches, HOY and assman) to save about $300k/year but that seems like suicide. My only lifeline looks to be a takeover but no guarantee this will suffice. 

I hate quitting on a team since I get weirdly attached to my pupils but I've never been closer with this one. 

Belgium is tough, i've played there a few times in this challenge and there isn't much money about outside the top flight. I always used to play a pre season cup which brought in around 150k to keep us from losing too much, it's not life changing but it helps.

If you avoid relegation with ease you could always try an ultra aggressive attacking formation, you never know, you could start really fast and ride the momentum to promotion.

Other than that, you really are at the mercy of your youth players potential, all it takes is to produce 1 player who's wanted by some of the bigger clubs. I made 1m from a sell on clause whilst in the 2nd division so it can happen.

[Cheez3y]

6 minutes ago, JLAB said:

I consider that to be like the B teams that can have players sent to them by the main team.

Given that one of them is called Sarawak Football Association and the other is called Sarawak Utd, I would see it as that Sarawak FA is the B team of Sarawak Utd.

What I found out is that Sarawak FA played until 2017 in the 1st tier of Malaysia and then got relegated.

After the 2020 season in the 3rd tier, the Sarawak FA withdrew the team due to financial reason. 

This was their "official" team.

 

In 2020 the FA decided to sponsor Sarawak United, which is a complete different team.

In 2021 the FA dissolved Sarawak FA.

But since this is FM21 their are still in the database.

 

I loaded up a new save just to look at it.

FA is listed as rival and it looks like they are just an affiliate.

I cant cancel the link, but they dont appear as B or reserve team.

Maybe I just holiday a look how it turns out, after I finish South Africa.

[Gbrexiton]

1 hour ago, Miek said:

I'm looking for some advice since my youth challenge is dying slowly and I'm afraid there's no way out. 

I'm stuck in this limbo where my squad is not good enough to compete for promotion but always avoids relegation with ease. I finished this challenge last year so I'm used to limbo years where you're just waiting on some youngsters or board improvements so you can take the next step. The issue however is that we are leaking money ($500K deficit/year in the Belgian second division). Because of this my board won't accept any of my improvements request and  my wage budget keeps getting cut. The youngsters that come trough are decent (with the odd generational talent) but not good enough to challenge for promotion. Feels like I'm in this downward spiral that's headed to bankruptcy or relegation. Has anyone ever experienced this and found a way out? Maybe I should cut my staff (4 coaches, HOY and assman) to save about $300k/year but that seems like suicide. My only lifeline looks to be a takeover but no guarantee this will suffice. 

I hate quitting on a team since I get weirdly attached to my pupils but I've never been closer with this one. 

I’d say that I’m not nearly as experienced as you are, but what I’ve been doing is making an effort of selling my 2-3 oldest players each year. It allows for my youngsters to develop, and there isin’t a significant drop in quality (maybe 0.5-1 stars). Also, can you go bankrupt? I thought you could go into Adminstration, but not bankrupt.

[Cheez3y]

Wits University - Season 2024/25

Some spoilers.

 

Transfers I + Transfers II // Media Prediction

 

Upgrades

Cont A Licence

 

CAF Super Cup

We started the season we our 2nd continental title.

 

League Cup & MNT Cup

Results // KO Tree

Got into the final this season, but we lost to the Chiefs.

Results // KO Tree

But we won the league cup, due to a pretty easy path to the final.

 

Premiership

Results I + Results II

Mamelodi was just to consistent this year in the league.

National Cup

Results // KO Tree

But we beat them in the cup final!

 

Aaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnddddddd......

CAF Champions League

Results // Groups // KO Tree

...WE BEAT THEM IN THE CL FINAL!

 

 

 

The amount of talented players we got in insane.

We got like 6-7 players in U19 with 2,5* CA which can alredy play in the first team.

 

Top 5 Regens:

[Cheez3y]

Now I need to win the league.

Idk it feels so wrong do it this way around.

[Cheez3y]

Another player poached from ourself.

[Brentmeister]

We done the double! (well the u20's did )

Season 7 review
After a mammoth 71 games the season is finally over. A decent performance overall albeit with slightly fewer points than last year. We finished 10th and clinched our place in South America's second continental competition.

Sao Paulo state championship
Another quarter final exit. This isn't seen as that important, though I'd still like to win it, but with 5 of the best 7 teams in the first division competing, it's difficult. We also literally have 6 days to prepare for it after our players return from their end of season holidays. It must be a bug.

The Brazilian cup
A disappointing quarter final exit in a cup I felt we could win this season.

Copa Libertadores
We entered the 2nd qualification round and easily beat Colo Colo of Chile 7-1 over 2 legs to progress to the group stage. We made an excellent start to the group and should've qualified for the knockout stages, but a brutal fm'ing in our last game put paid to that so off to the Copa Sudamericano we went.

Copa Sudamericano
We made it all the way to the semi finals and after taking a 3-1 aggregate lead early into the second leg, we threw it away and limped tamely out. Very annoying.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Performances
All but 2 of the original squad have gone now so the club is pretty much all from the youth academy. Our best players were, again, our young CB Dionisio 21 and also 'the next Zito', Victor Luiz 20.
We also got our first wonderkids of the save, the aforementioned Victor Luiz 20 and our top scorer Camilo Montalvao 10.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Youth preview, intake and performances

Another golden generation promised, but with fewer green lines, I was dubious. When they arrived, I was a little underwhelmed but these Brazillians are fantastic and with an almost maxed out infrastructure, I'm excited to see how they develop.

I signed half of the players.

Top prospect was Tiago, very un-Brazillian with 1 flair!

Our u20 team also won 2 trophies this season, the National Championship and the Supercup. That can only bode well for the future. 6 of our players got called up for the South American u20 Championships.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finances, upgrades and transfers

We convinced the board to upgrade our facilities twice more this season which leaves us 1 upgrade away from the top level in all departments.
No signings in but a few out, including a few seasoned older players. They weren't that much better than our younger players and it made little sense keeping them around blocking their path to the first team.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Edited April 17, 2021 by Brentmeister

[XaW]

             

FC Novokuznetsk - Season 2034/35 Review

Table | Squad | Transfers | Finances

Finally! Every good things come after the 12th time! We are promoted to the 2nd tier of Russian football! This season was a very good one, and we needed that after being close for a few seasons now. I'm not sure we will be able to stay up, but I really hope this will help with the finances, since we are really in a pickle now!

In the Kubok Rossii we beat Dnepr Smolensk and SKA Rostov to reach the 4th round. We finished 3rd behind Zvezda Perm and Akhmat and got knocked out.

Youth

Another good looking preview.

Well, this was rather poor...

Alexey Bolotov 35a is the best of a bad bunch of players.

U21s:

They only played friendlies.

U18s:

They finished 4th in the Russian U18 Division - Moskovskaya oblast Group 9 and got knocked out.

Statistics:

Spoiler

We added Ukraine this season, but mostly Russians.

Record Breakers:

Most league apps overall: Lorenzo Coppo 22d - 313

Trophy cabinet:

Russian Second Division - Group 1 - 1 (2035/36)

[JLAB]

ACN Siena 1904 - 2039/40 Youth Intake

Our latest youth intake has arrived and things look rather promising to say the least, if only all of the personalities were better.

Another Austrian, but this guy can play both full back positions and a right winger, which I am starting to use again. He has potential to do well.

The best player in current ability, who has a very interesting look about him. Can play as a Shadow Striker in the attacking midfielder as well. He's really well rounded, but he wouldn't be in the first team at the moment.

Another striker who has a lot of potential. He can do a lot of damage. His physicals is an issue right now, but his mental and even his technical can skills make his physical skills look poor. His resolute personality makes me excited though.

Silvio Pazzini is a player who can play on the left back role, but can also play in the right back role too. Meaning that in this intake alone, I have gained two full backs who can play as inverted wingbacks. He needs work, especially with his "Easily Discouraged" personality. Which isn't ideal.

Ivo Lupi is a central midfielder who excites me. Yes, his personality is far from ideal, bur his physicals can make him really exciting. He's going to be someone I want to make a Box to Box midfielder.

Ramon van Ginkel is my first Dutch player to come from my partnership with N.E.C. that provided me with some interesting talents. His physicals are really nice, but he needs to work on his personality and other areas.

Fabio Dibiase is a nice talent who is rather well-rounded, but doesn't have flair, vision or good heading. Other than that, he might have a lot of good things.

Last player in the form of Gabriele Baldi, he isn't amazing, but has some potential.

[Cheez3y]

Well this save is gettin to an end.