Using Attribute Analysis to Bring Success to Minor UEFA Nations - Albania (Chapter Six)

[shaunvamos]

April 2036

 

 

We're scoring so many goals! The problem is that when we lose we concede a bunch too. It's hard to believe how well we're doing so far, Bobby Mason has more than stepped up after the departure of Savage, who is barely getting game time at Derry.

[GIB.Rocks]

Just catching up, nice to see some different leagues and teams been used! Let’s hope can kick on and make inroads into the top teams over the next few seasons.

Youth intake could go either way, lots of low determination players this intake. Let’s 

[shaunvamos]

May 2036

 

 

We've had a busy couple of months, but we're still doing well. June might be a struggle though, as we've lost Bobby Mason to the EUROs. He's set to make his senior debut for Northern Ireland and he's only 18!

[shaunvamos]

27 minutes ago, GIB.Rocks said:

Just catching up, nice to see some different leagues and teams been used! Let’s hope can kick on and make inroads into the top teams over the next few seasons.

Youth intake could go either way, lots of low determination players this intake. Let’s 

Thanks! 

I agree about the intake, although there's a couple of guys with good personalities that are developing really well already.

[shaunvamos]

June 2036

 

 

Two games against Shamrock Rovers, including a loss in a nothing cup final.

 

 

I think this is the first intake here described as a golden generation! But I don't like the sound of an attacking mid top prospect.

[abulezz]

Golden Generation Intakes are always exciting, lol. 

[shaunvamos]

July 2036

 

 

An okay month in the league, and we've won our opening round tie in Europe in a game against a heavily favoured Septemvri Sofia.

 

Transfers

 

We bring in some ore defenders to try and solidify the back 3, including former loanee Thomas Yeates.

 

 

 

[shaunvamos]

August 2036

 

 

We went 1 for 2 in the league, and had a disappointing loss to Athlone in the League Cup. But through sheer luck of the draw, we're in the group stages of the Europa Conference League!

 

 

I think our luck has run out, given this draw.

[shaunvamos]

September 2036

 

 

 

The loss to Valur is disappointing, but we rotated the squad a fair bit there as we are in with a chance at 4th place in the league and a European spot.

 

 

Finally able to upgrade some facilities too!

Edited June 4, 2021 by shaunvamos

[shaunvamos]

2036 Youth Intake

 

Tony Carroll 6A*  -  Tony Gillard 6B  -  Geslin Mputu 6C

 

I definitely think this is a golden generation, and one to get excited about, right @abulezz?

[shaunvamos]

October 2036

 

 

 

We've qualified for the Conference League next season, and we've kept things close in the current Conference League. With 9 games this month we've had to rotate a lot, and a couple of the younger guys have received the call up. It's pretty exciting to see some of these guys on the fringes.

[abulezz]

Definitely one to be excited about - I especially like the look of Mputu, he has all the right skills to be an excellent CD at this level. His Physical attributes will develop naturally so I would put him on double intensity defensive positioning individual focus. Carroll looks great too - some Attacking Movement and Final Third individual focus and he's good to go!

How do Daly and Burne look?

Edited June 4, 2021 by abulezz

[shaunvamos]

 

 

 

We got our first ever points in a European competition, and I'd say we did really well here. The next step has got to be turning pro so we can finally challenge the likes of Dundalk, Derry and Shamrock Rovers.

Best XI
 

 

Bobby Mason 3E*  -  Darren Kelly  -  Mike Kelly

Bobby Mason is an absolute freak, no bones about it. If he didn't have to be rested so much he probably would've scored 50-60 goals for sure. Darren Kelly played every game this season, all 61 of them, and Mike Kelly will leave on a free after a solid 2 seasons with us.

 

 

 

 

Record Breakers

 

 

Awards

 

 

Previously Managed Teams

Zalgiris Vilnius: Set the record for lowest points for a league winning side and missed out on the Champions League groups for the first time in 9 seasons, and they also finished last in their Europa League group. I think the decline is beginning.

 

Progress

 

[shaunvamos]

43 minutes ago, abulezz said:

Definitely one to be excited about - I especially like the look of Mputu, he has all the right skills to be an excellent CD at this level. His Physical attributes will develop naturally so I would put him on double intensity defensive positioning individual focus. Carroll looks great too - some Attacking Movement and Final Third individual focus and he's good to go!

How do Daly and Burne look?

Yep I've chucked Mputu straight onto a similar programme, keen to see how he develops. Both Carroll and Gillard are being rained as WBs as we don't play with attacking wingers, so it might be a while before they appear.

 

As for Daly and Burns, Burns somehow has the attributes to play as a striker so he'll spend most of next season developing that aspect. But Daly, he's something else. He's already the 5th best CM in the entire squad, and that's resulted in him making 2 appearances for the first team already. He's also being trained as a DM, so again he'll be developing nicely. But here they are just for reference:

 

 

 

[abulezz]

Oh yes, Daly is a beast. 

I would develop Burns as a CD, put him on Defensive Positioning individual training and watch him become a starter for you in 2-3 years!

[shaunvamos]

Preseason 2037

 

A very successful preseason, which makes me optimistic for the season to come.

 

Transfers

 

 

Monaghan comes back after featuring for me in my first season at Wexford, Keeley and Dumitrascu step into the first team, and Fitzpatrick becomes a backup DM.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well at least we've moved up a spot.

Edited June 5, 2021 by shaunvamos

[shaunvamos]

14 hours ago, abulezz said:

Oh yes, Daly is a beast. 

I would develop Burns as a CD, put him on Defensive Positioning individual training and watch him become a starter for you in 2-3 years!

The problem with Burns is his height, at 5 9 he might be too short to be a CB.

[abulezz]

4 hours ago, shaunvamos said:

The problem with Burns is his height, at 5 9 he might be too short to be a CB.

Very true - I love me a fast CB, so I tend to favor that even if the aerial ability is low. 

Monaghan looks set for a great season. 

[shaunvamos]

February 2037
 

 

 

A strong start to the league, as Derry and Dundalk already race ahead.

[shaunvamos]

March 2037

 

 

 

An unlucky month, we dropped a few close ones at home, but at least we finished the month with a win.

[shaunvamos]

April 2037

 

 

Apart from the heavy loss to Shelbourne, a pretty solid month. It's annoying that we can beat Cork so easily in the cup but stumble in the league.

[abulezz]

What is the aim this season? Do you think you are exceeding your expectations? 

[shaunvamos]

May 2037

 

 

A strong finish to the month sees us within touching distance of the European places.

[shaunvamos]

41 minutes ago, abulezz said:

What is the aim this season? Do you think you are exceeding your expectations? 

I think the aim will just be to reach European qualification now, as we've done last season and now this season. Hopefully use the money from that for facility upgrades and bringing in better players, and we continue to progress that way. As for our expectations, I think on ability our team is slightly below average across the board according to our analyst comparison tab, and we're predicted 8th, so I'm just expecting middle of the table. And I think we're exceeding that so far.

[shaunvamos]

June 2037

 

 

We've lost a bit of ground on the top 5, but Monaghan had a stormer against Shelbourne. The Leinster Cup final was entertaining too, even though I don't really care about it too much.

 

 

 

Another golden generation, including at least 5 guys that could be decent players.

Edited June 6, 2021 by shaunvamos

[shaunvamos]

July 2037

 

 

We start off our European campaign with fantastic performances against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Panevezys. In the league we're staying in touch with the top 4, as Drogheda finally get their first points this season. 

 

Transfers (In)

 

We have a a new starting CM and LWB: Fogarty, formerly of Dundalk, and Simpson, who came out of Derry's academy.

 

 

 

 

Transfers (Out)

 

Not good enough to make the Conference League squad, McCarthy leaves after 70 games and Prenderville after 27 appearances. I've also released a bunch of our first intake as none of them really developed into anything good. Only our starting RWB Daniel Gray 1H remains from that intake.

[shaunvamos]

August 2037

 

 

 

I think we can wave goodbye to qualifying for Europe next season unless we win the cup at this point. But the biggest takeaway from August is that we have once more qualified for the group stages of the Conference League! I couldn't believe our luck against a much better Sporting Gijon in the final playoff, but away goals sees us through. We get what is easily the worst group in the competition as well, so we'll probably exit with 0 points. But we're there, and we get good money for it, so there's that. Good to see Shamrock Rovers there too, and Dundalk also made the Europa League groups.

 

 

Transfers (Out)

 

Richards couldn't quite cut it here, and leaves after 18 games.

 

 

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is huge, and will mean access to stronger players. We can make a serious push at the top 3 based on this news alone I think next season. 

[shaunvamos]

September 2037

 

 

 

A very congested month, with 7 games in 15 days. I suppose there's still an outside chance we can finish 4th, but it's highly unlikely. At least we're still in the cup, and we kept things close against Aberdeen.

[shaunvamos]

2037 Youth Intake

 

Cian Quinn 7A*  -  Anthony Collins 7B  -  Sean Byrne 7C

 

Definitely a golden generation, especially in terms of the variety of positions we've received. There won't be much retraining done here!

[shaunvamos]

October 2037

 

 

 

 

Turns out a win over Waterford would've put us in 4th place and in with a shot at Europe. However, we're in the cup final so we still have a chance, and it's a very winnable game against Shelbourne. Not getting flogged by Tottenham and Cluj away is a massive win for us too!

[shaunvamos]

 

 

 

 

We somehow got a win against Aberdeen, and we've sealed a European spot with a huge win over Shelbourne. Next season is going to be a big one.

 

Best XI

 

Bobby Mason 3E*  -  Mick Monaghan  -  George Dumitraşcu

Our strikers had an absolute ball this season, and when they were rested our backup Niall Armstrong 4D stepped up with 19 goals in 18 games. Unfortunately Mason will be leaving us, choosing to go to Columbus Crew of all teams when he could have gone to teams like Nice and other strong European teams. Hopefully he comes back at some point. It's also good to see that 6 of our best XI are youth academy products, which illustrates the kind of program we have going here. Carroll 6A* went on a development spree and was rewarded with a starting spot at the back end of the season. Dumitrascu had a solid debut season, but he needs to watch his back as our most recent intake keeper (7F I believe) is already almost as good.

 

 

 

 

Record Breakers

 

Awards

 

 

Previously Managed Teams

Zalgiris Vilnius: Won the league by a point, and finally did something in Europe! They've qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League, finishing 2nd in their group which consisted of Dortmund, Chertanovo of Russia and Austria Lustenau. Teams they probably should beat.

 

Progress

 

 

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by shaunvamos

[shaunvamos]

Preseason 2038

 

Nice and easy preseason.

 

Transfers (In)

 

Surprisingly, we weren't that active in the transfer window. A few of our targets chose to go elsewhere, and others required ridiculous amounts of money that I absolutely will not spend. Oscarine will do his best to fill the void left by Bobby Mason, Curran will attempt to learn an attacking wing back position, and McGrath is a good depth option at both striker and midfield.

 

 

 

 

 

Transfers (Out)

 

 

 

Predicted 5th, so the expectations increase, but I think we can do it.

[shaunvamos]

February 2038

 

 

Won the super cup, before a massive win over Galway put us top temporarily. Dundalk brought us back to reality, but a good win against Shelbourne continues a decent start.

 

Transfers (In)

 

I completely forgot we signed Schofield last season, as he couldn't join us until he was 18. There's some serious competition for GK now.

 

 

[shaunvamos]

March 2038

 

 

 

We still can't seem to beat the big teams, it's very frustrating. Also how the hell do Galway have 3 goals but two wins? Ridiculous.

[shaunvamos]

April 2038

 

 

A home win against Dundalk, an away draw against Derry and favourable results elsewhere see us solidify 4th place for now. Being knocked out of a nothing cup means our players will be fresher further down the line.

[shaunvamos]

May 2038

 

 

An excellent month. We're not too far from the top 3 either.

[shaunvamos]

June 2038

 

 

Just the one game in June, and we can't make any transfers because we've been in takeover talks since February. I've never known things to take this long.

 

 

For the first time in my Wexford career, I'm not happy with an intake. We don't need any more goalkeepers!

[shaunvamos]

July 2038

 

 

Solid month, with the only blip the loss to Shelbourne. We're within range of Derry now, especially after we beat them. An excellent win over Glasgow Rangers sees us into the third round against Iceland's Stjarnan.

 

Transfers (Out)

 

We let a few players go that no longer play a role for us. The biggest shock here is Johnny Gray going to Premier League team Everton! I have a 50% sell on clause with him so hopefully he goes somewhere else for money.

[shaunvamos]

August 2038

 

 

We put up some great scores in Europe and have qualified for our third straight Europa League group stage.

 

 

This is a very positive group. I'm confident we can beat the Albanians, and with a bit of luck we can get a result against Haifa.

[shaunvamos]

September 2038

 

 

 

I think this is my first ever 100% green month with Wexford! We move into 3rd in the league, and our two wins in the Conference League see us sit top.

[shaunvamos]

2038 Youth Intake

 

Pat Ellis 8A*  -  Ryan Dickey 8B  -  Gerry Coughlan 8C

 

They weren't wrong about the keeper, who we don't need, but I'm pretty excited about Dickey, he's already got some solid attributes.

[shaunvamos]

October 2038

 

 

 

An extremely busy month here, with a game roughly every three days. There was a lot of rotation, which was shown in our results in the first half of the month. But we picked it up at the end, defeating both Shamrock Rovers and Derry and then Cork to seal 3rd place in the league (and European qualification) before needing penalties to win the FAI Cup final against Dundalk. Shamrock Rovers also become the first team not named Dundalk to win the league since 2025 (13 years)!

[hyrule_king]

Just read through the whole thread. Amazing work in Lithuania and going well so far in Ireland. Keep up the great work.

I found that my 442 tactic did very well with Celtic in the CL, I reached two semi finals and a final in 6 seasons.

You mentioned the FM Export tool and only 250 players showing up , what is this about? @shaunvamos

[shaunvamos]

 

 

 

Just amazing  Into the second knockout round!

Best XI

 

Mick Monaghan  -  Gavin Schofield  -  Dan O'Keeffe 5D*

Our team is really starting to take shape. Monaghan has another good season, Schofield broke into the first team after the youth intake and is an U20 international for England, and O'Keeffe is evolving into quite the player.

 

 

 

 

Record Breakers

 

Previously Managed Teams

Zalgiris Vilnius: Won the league, made the quarter finals of the previous Europa League, defeating Zenit and AC Milan before falling to Arsenal. They're in the kncokout stages again this season, finishing second in their group behind Brighton and ahead of Luzern and Hibernian.

 

Progress

 

[shaunvamos]

39 minutes ago, hyrule_king said:

Just read through the whole thread. Amazing work in Lithuania and going well so far in Ireland. Keep up the great work.

I found that my 442 tactic did very well with Celtic in the CL, I reached two semi finals and a final in 6 seasons.

You mentioned the FM Export tool and only 250 players showing up , what is this about? @shaunvamos

Thanks!

Yeah I've switched from the 442 to a 352 with WBs and a DM, as I really enjoy that formation and I had some success with it in the Netherlands for the Youth Academy challenge. Always good to see someone doing well with Celtic though  

So when you print screen and export the text file of the player attributes, it apparently is limited to 275 entries for whatever reason. So when there are more than 275 players you're looking at, you need to filter out some more players to get to the number required. Hope that makes sense!

[hyrule_king]

1 hour ago, shaunvamos said:

Thanks!

Yeah I've switched from the 442 to a 352 with WBs and a DM, as I really enjoy that formation and I had some success with it in the Netherlands for the Youth Academy challenge. Always good to see someone doing well with Celtic though  

So when you print screen and export the text file of the player attributes, it apparently is limited to 275 entries for whatever reason. So when there are more than 275 players you're looking at, you need to filter out some more players to get to the number required. Hope that makes sense!

Yes, I have a role suitability spreadsheet all setup . It tells me what position is best suited for my players. So I use the print screen function quite a bit.

I could use the data from the player search in the same way i do for the squad screen as above.

[Sheriff7]

Amazing result against Rangers!Of course the have done it in past IRL too...

[shaunvamos]

Preseason 2039

 

Pretty straightforward preseason again. 

 

Transfers (Out)

 

A bunch of guys not getting game time leave us. We are still under an embargo because the board are discussing a takeover. This is the second straight transfer window this is happening, and it's SO frustrating  Don't get me wrong, I love a youth challenge, but this isn't supposed to be one of those times.

 

 

Predicted 5th again, but I think top 3 is realistic again.

[shaunvamos]

February 2039

 

 

A good start in the league, especially over Derry. Now we have our 2nd KO tie against Kilmarnock, which I think is definitely winnable.

[shaunvamos]

March 2039

 

 

This was a truly awful month, with the only positive coming from our defat over two legs of Kilmarnock in the Conference League. We face AZ in the quarter finals, where Dundalk will play Aberdeen.