Can I win things in France? Cors-I-Can!

[ToMexico!!]

After a couple of months away from FM playing other games/being an adult I'm back with a save in France and more specifically on the island of Corsica. 

FC Bastia-Borgo are a club created from the merger of CA Bastia and Borgo FC back in 2017. In the 2018-19 season the club won promotion from the National 2 division to the Championnat National which is where I took over the club. 

The club currently play in 2000 capacity Complexe spotif Paul Natali but in game at the end of the first season the board announced plans for a new 8420 capacity stadium which is due to be completed in June 2022. The club also begins with Adequate Training and Basic Youth facilities along with fairly basic junior coaching and basic youth recruitment but I have managed to increase the junior coaching once to an adequte level. 

So, I have now completed two seasons with the club, here is a brief run-down of each season. 

2020/21

We unexpectedly achieved promotion from the National by virtue of finishing in 2nd place, one point behind US Orleans. We didn't make a single signing, relying on the squad we had and the thought process of predominantly using our youth intakes to improve the squad. 

20 year old Gauthier Raoul top scored with 15 goals as a lone striker whilst left inside forward Mons Bassouamina scored 13 and on the opposite wing Cropanese made 17 goal contributions. Make shift right back Cheick Doumbia made 10 assists despite being a central midfielder.

Finances were just in the red at the end of the season but the board gave me £1.7m to spend and increased the wage budget from £9k p/w to £17k p/w. 

2021/22

Another fantastic season as we finished in 7th place, level on points with Havre and just a point from the play-offs and 5th place. Despite the big budget the board had given me, I decided not to plunge the club into a financial black hole and spent just £30k overall, with three new players arriving. 

Jordan Konango Mbon and Radivoj Bosic both arriving on free's and the £30k being spent on Moroccan U20 international Fouad El Maach from Monaco 2. 

Gauthier Raoul top scored again this season with 26 goals whilst left inside forward Mons Bassouamina scoring 21 and assisting 10 goals. Mons, however, could be on his way out of the club as his contract is up this summer and his agent seemingly blocking me from offering him a new deal. El Maach (CB), Couturier (CM), Cropanese (RW) and Paye (ST) all made contributions to the scoring as we ended the season as the league top scorers with 76 but we also conceded the fourth most goals as we through caution to the wind like Kevin Keegan's Entertainers style. 

The finances drastically improved over the course of the season, largely due to the Ligue 2 TV deal netting us just over £4.2m this season. We currently have £3.2m in the bank. 

Plans going forward are consolidate further within Ligue 2 and build the finances. We have the new stadium due to be completed but the other infrastructure around the club needs looking at also. We still semi-professional but with a healthy balance we should turn pro in the close season, this brings its own challenges of upgrading contracts from part-time to full-time and bring in new non-playing staff to build a behind the scenes team. Youth is still going to be a focus but we will need to spend money on bringing in more players to progress the team on the field due to the poor facilities at the current time. 

[ToMexico!!]

And just like that...

and because that happened, so did this...

A new deal, nearly doubling my wage. 

[RoguPL]

Nice to see another save in Corisca !! 

I just started one in tier 6 as well ! 

Good Luck ! 

[ToMexico!!]

20 minutes ago, rrozek93 said:

Nice to see another save in Corisca !! 

I just started one in tier 6 as well ! 

Good Luck ! 

Thanks, yeah not as hardcore as you to start down the French pyramid. I'll be certain to check in to your thread and see how you're getting on!

[RoguPL]

Thanks, and vice versa. ! 

You are already up to league 2  long may the progress continue ! 

[ToMexico!!]

The board wanted to increase the data analysts wages, I had other thoughts. 

[ToMexico!!]

For the new season it was all about three things;

1. New full-time contracts for key players 
2. Supplement the squad with new additions
3. Improving the non-playing staff. 

1. The trouble with going full-time as a former part-time club is the players demands increase, a first team player on maybe around £600 p/w on a part-time contract now wants between double and treble their current wage for a full-time contract. I have to be picky, there will be disgruntle players who ask and shall not receive. 

Who were my key players last season and who has the potential to either grow as a player or make me money if sold. My GK, Paul-Andre Guerin, not great but was in the Ligue 2 Team of the Season, he gets one. My Moroccan centre back pairing of Hamdi and El Maach, they get one too. 3 from 3 sign on dotted line, a wage increase of around £1k overall, I'll take that. 

Mons Bassouamina, the left inside forward whose agent was being a knob, he gets an offer too. £5k p/w, you must be having a laugh, he is good though. I can only offer £1.9k p/w, until I move some budget, now its £3k p/w. Accepted. Gauthier Raoul, last seasons top scorer wants £1.7k p/w when he's on £400 p/w part time. No thanks. We'll stop there I think. As players perform and the season progresses we may hand out some more. 

2. Early signings are always key too, we're going from 2 training sessions a week to 4 or 5, we need to get some players in a get them familiar with our tactics and their new team mates. 

Three players in to begin with, I don't want to make wholesale changes and disrupt the squad, I want to supplement the squad I have. 

Brahimi is a player I've used before on past FM's, another Moroccan national, he can operate across the AM line, predominantly centrally. Akliouche joins from Monaco, a happy hunting ground for me as we look to make use of players being released as he is the 3rd to join from the principality. He adds some depth to central midfield and is joined by another player of the same position in Nassim Benaissa. The young Algerian leaves Lyon and will slot in as first choice as a DLP. 

I'm still looking to improve two positions GK and ST. 

3. We still had three coaches at the club from when the save start, all on part-time contracts, all overpaid and all poor in quality. We needed an overhaul. 

At the end of their contracts, out goes our Assistant Manager, Head of Youth Development, GK Coach, Fitness Coach, Chief Scout and Physio. In come;

Mota is a real coup, he has previously been scout at Real Madrid and Barcelona. 

[_Ben_]

Nice to see you back. Admittedly, this feels strange  as I mainly recall your Azeri and Ivorian save so I’m interested to see how you handle a bigger league!

[ToMexico!!]

13 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

Nice to see you back. Admittedly, this feels strange  as I mainly recall your Azeri and Ivorian save so I’m interested to see how you handle a bigger league!

Thanks, yeah I much prefer playing in a obscure league like Azerbaijan, Congo, Ghana, Turkmenistan et al. But, I'm not adverse to playing in the bigger leagues. 

We'll see where this one goes. Thanks for checking in. 

[Matt_1979]

Good luck

[john1]

Good luck  

[ToMexico!!]

10 hours ago, Matt_1979 said:

Good luck

 

9 hours ago, john1 said:

Good luck  

Thanks both! 

[ToMexico!!]

We've finished our 3rd preseason with mixed results really, wins over our 2nd string, Sion of Switzerland and local side FC Costa Verde, draws against Vaduz and Pescara; and losses against Juventus U23's and Grasshoppers. 

In that time we've blooded in our new signings and solidified our tactical familiarity and intensity. With the midfield signings of Benaissa and Akliouche, I've been able to push Couturier back to his favoured AM position in a hope he can be more influential further up the pitch. We've also signed a further two players; Aubin Long, a GK on a free transfer and Mohamed Berte, a striker on loan from Belgian side Oostende, they both go into the starting line-up. 

We'll continue to be a positive, forward thinking team. I may be over doing it with two ball-playing defenders and a deep lying playmaker but we're looking to exploit the space we create quickly, with players who are breaking from their positions (i.e fullbacks and wingers). Couturier at AM may change to a Shadow Striker in time. 

[ToMexico!!]

We're beginning to make inroads with the infrastructure at the club. 

I've managed to convince the board to the above. 

[ToMexico!!]

More yellow than green is a concern but a potential golden generation but I'm not holding much hope. 

[ToMexico!!]

Our first job interview opportunity. Dunkerque are in the same division as us and sit below us in the table. 

[ToMexico!!]

Does the cloud save game work for most people? 

I've been playing the game at work today and saved, come home, loaded up on my other laptop and its at least 5 games behind. Anyway, I'll get back up to speed. 

Also screenshots may look at a little different as I have different skins on either laptop. 

[ToMexico!!]

With 10 leagues games to go I've stepped up the preperations for next season with some specific targetted scouting of Ligue 1 teams' second string. I've set a few specific parameters I need to adhere to when shortlisting a player; his contract must be expiring and his current wage is under £1k p/w. 

The above is my current shortlist with one player already having agreed to join. 16 year old Chancel Ndoubam will join from Sochaux U19s for free after he was identified by chief scout Arkaitz Mota at the turn of the year. The player I want to sign the most, Aniss from Monaco, unfortunately isn't interested at the moment but is wanted by Marsielle, so we will probably miss out on him. 

[ToMexico!!]

5 hours ago, ToMexico!! said:

More yellow than green is a concern but a potential golden generation but I'm not holding much hope. 

Whilst this is no golden generation in my opinion, this is a step in the right direction. Two players with 1.5* CA and one of those having 5* potential. We're attracting players from further afield thanks to the increase in Youth Recruitment. 

Francisco Perez looks a good talent, one who I can hopefully nurture into the first team. We'll look to work on his finishing and composure first and foremost as his physicals will naturally increase as he ages. 

Spoiler

We've had players from Martinique, Algeria, DR Congo and the Ivory Coast this intake. 

Spoiler

As expected with any French club we've had a fair few uproot from Africa. 

[ToMexico!!]

Our 3rd season has been completed and we've finished in a solid mid-table position of 10th, which was worse than last season but nevertheless I'm happy with it. We started quite erractically, we seemed to pick up a win then lose one, we were up and down the table like a yo-yo until around the hald way stage where plateaued and kept between 10th and 12th for the remainder of the season. 

We had a better season in the French Cup also, beating Toulon and fellow Ligue 2 side Grenoble before crashing out against another Ligue 2 side Nantes on penalties in the 10th Round.

Squad wise, despite improving the squad on the whole we lacked that cutting edge at times. We're good going forward, we can score the goals, as we finished the season 2nd top scorers with 69 goals we're just quite poor in defence, conceding 63, which was the 3rd most. These 14 results tippify our playing style and season. 

After a slow start, Mons Bassouamina topped the goal charts for the team with 14, he was backed up by the on loan striker Mohamed Berte, who scored 12 in an injury plagued season and right sided winger Radivoj Bosic also hit double figures for the season with 11 but also contributed nine assists. New central midfield signing Nassim Benaissa had a great first season with us, scoring six goals and making some good improvements to his ability. 

Looking at the squad now we're poor defensively, both first choice and back up, especially at full back, I will also look to replace at least one centre back and I need to find a 20 goals a season striker. We still battling the slight hangover from turning professional, as a few first team players, who aren't good enough keep asking for new contracts becuase they are still on part-time ones. Thats possibly why we've had a poorer, more incosistent season but I don't want to tie them down for 2+ more seasons on more wages when I will be looking to replace them as soon as possible. 

Behind the scenes we're beginning to move forward, the youth facilities have been improved at a cost of £350k and the academy coaching has also improved to Good. I still have a few plans in mind to replace some of the coaching staff, promoting the 2nd teams Assistant Manager to the 1st Team this summer. I also need to find a good defending coach as thats where we're lacking slightly on the comparison. Improvements and higher wages have hit us slightly, we've not made any profit but stood relatively still in terms of the finances with £2.75m in the bank. 

[RoguPL]

17 hours ago, ToMexico!! said:

Does the cloud save game work for most people? 

I've been playing the game at work today and saved, come home, loaded up on my other laptop and its at least 5 games behind. Anyway, I'll get back up to speed. 

Also screenshots may look at a little different as I have different skins on either laptop. 

I haven't tried in FM21, but in FM20 this didn't work for me as well when I wanted to share a save between laptop and PC. It would always take ages to upload the save to steam, but could have been my internet connection. 

 

51 minutes ago, ToMexico!! said:

Our 3rd season has been completed and we've finished in a solid mid-table position of 10th, which was worse than last season but nevertheless I'm happy with it. We started quite erractically, we seemed to pick up a win then lose one, we were up and down the table like a yo-yo until around the hald way stage where plateaued and kept between 10th and 12th for the remainder of the season. 

We had a better season in the French Cup also, beating Toulon and fellow Ligue 2 side Grenoble before crashing out against another Ligue 2 side Nantes on penalties in the 10th Round.

Squad wise, despite improving the squad on the whole we lacked that cutting edge at times. We're good going forward, we can score the goals, as we finished the season 2nd top scorers with 69 goals we're just quite poor in defence, conceding 63, which was the 3rd most. These 14 results tippify our playing style and season. 

After a slow start, Mons Bassouamina topped the goal charts for the team with 14, he was backed up by the on loan striker Mohamed Berte, who scored 12 in an injury plagued season and right sided winger Radivoj Bosic also hit double figures for the season with 11 but also contributed nine assists. New central midfield signing Nassim Benaissa had a great first season with us, scoring six goals and making some good improvements to his ability. 

Looking at the squad now we're poor defensively, both first choice and back up, especially at full back, I will also look to replace at least one centre back and I need to find a 20 goals a season striker. We still battling the slight hangover from turning professional, as a few first team players, who aren't good enough keep asking for new contracts becuase they are still on part-time ones. Thats possibly why we've had a poorer, more incosistent season but I don't want to tie them down for 2+ more seasons on more wages when I will be looking to replace them as soon as possible. 

Behind the scenes we're beginning to move forward, the youth facilities have been improved at a cost of £350k and the academy coaching has also improved to Good. I still have a few plans in mind to replace some of the coaching staff, promoting the 2nd teams Assistant Manager to the 1st Team this summer. I also need to find a good defending coach as thats where we're lacking slightly on the comparison. Improvements and higher wages have hit us slightly, we've not made any profit but stood relatively still in terms of the finances with £2.75m in the bank. 

The facilities are improving so despite the league position you are moving forward  . I always found second season in the same league harder then first despite thinking that I have improved my team  . Do you still have a lot of semi-pro contracted players after turning pro? 

[ToMexico!!]

6 minutes ago, rrozek93 said:

I haven't tried in FM21, but in FM20 this didn't work for me as well when I wanted to share a save between laptop and PC. It would always take ages to upload the save to steam, but could have been my internet connection. 

Not sure what went on but will try again Sunday into Monday when I return to work. We're in our seasonal slump in my industry so I have plenty of time to play FM alongside my day-to-day jobs. 

8 minutes ago, rrozek93 said:

The facilities are improving so despite the league position you are moving forward  . I always found second season in the same league harder then first despite thinking that I have improved my team  . Do you still have a lot of semi-pro contracted players after turning pro? 

Definately, I could make further improvements with the money I have but I don't want to leave the playing squad behind. Improvements to the squad this season and facilties the next is the plan. 

Yeah, probably around half my squad is semi-pro still I can afford to give contracts but their ability is poor compared to players I can bring into the club for the same wage on full-time contracts. Its a balancing act at the moment. 

[ToMexico!!]

Signing of the Summer?

The former Norwich City HoYD Steve Weaver has signed a one year deal to be our HoYD. Despite the improved intake under the stewardship of Jean-Robert Faucher I couldn't refuse the opportunity of signing a staff member of such calibre. 

[ToMexico!!]

Poached 

A sign of the steps in the right direction the club is going in, we're beginning to produce players that other clubs are looking at. Gaetan moves down to the southern end of the island with AC Ajaccio, a club in the tier below us. 

[john1]

3 hours ago, ToMexico!! said:

Signing of the Summer?

The former Norwich City HoYD Steve Weaver has signed a one year deal to be our HoYD. Despite the improved intake under the stewardship of Jean-Robert Faucher I couldn't refuse the opportunity of signing a staff member of such calibre. 

What a signing  

[ToMexico!!]

Transfers - Summer 2023/24

A relatively busy summer for us as I looked to reshape the back line and bring in some depth in a few areas. 

16 year old Chad international Chancel Ndoubam and 17 year old Bernard Thierry are both signings for the future and go into the U19/2nd team. Lorenzo Prso's transfer was already agreed months prior to joining, he agreed to join on a pre-contract deal. Titouan Thomas arrived a week later after leaving Lyon when his contract ended, he will slot in as an upgrade for central midfield. Soumaula Coulibaly was recommended to me by new scout Vicente (former Valencia player), he was released by German giants Dortmund, he will partner Prso in the heart of the defence. Ismael Sow will slot into right back as we make another defensive upgrade whilst we spent nearly £50k on another defender in Mauritanian left back Abdoulkader Thiam from US Orleans. We now have a completely new back line which could be a problem until they gel and get used to the tactics. 

We made one sale this summer in Bosic leaving for his homeland in a deal worth an initial £600k, we could get 20% of the profit from any future sale. 

I really struggled to find a new striker, there are plenty about but mostly not worth the wages they wanted. So with that I promoted 16 year old youth prospect Francisco Perez to the first team. I'm quite happy with the squad at the moment but will be on the lookout for a striker in January or for the new season via a pre-contract agreement. 

[ToMexico!!]

Interview Offer

Clermont are 18th in Ligue 2. 

[ToMexico!!]

Intake Preview

A decent local left back coming in, another golden generation but this will still be influenced by our previous HoYD. 

[ToMexico!!]

Job Interview Offer

17th placed Guingamp offer me the chance to interview for their vacant managers role. 

[ToMexico!!]

Job Interview Offer

Our first offer from a Ligue 1 side, Nancy sit in 19th place after promotion last season. 

[ToMexico!!]

Job Interview Offer

A 3rd offer this month and a 2nd from Ligue 1 by Caen, who are 19th, leapfrogging Nancy since their offer. 

[ToMexico!!]

I've sold my first youth intake player in Kossivi Madjedje, the young winger moves to Ligue 1 side Nimes. If I've made a mistake I can hopefully take advantage of the 50% profit clause. 

[RoguPL]

1 hour ago, ToMexico!! said:

Job Interview Offer

A 3rd offer this month and a 2nd from Ligue 1 by Caen, who are 19th, leapfrogging Nancy since their offer. 

haha you are a wanted man. 

[ToMexico!!]

2 hours ago, ToMexico!! said:

Intake Preview

A decent local left back coming in, another golden generation but this will still be influenced by our previous HoYD. 

This is a poor intake in all honesty, Gaetan Casalta is probably the pick. I'll leave it to the HoYD to who we sign. Pleasantly surprised we have a perfectionist in the intake already. 

Spoiler

Our net is cast ever further this season as we bring in players from mainland France and Portugal as well as more players from Africa but from nations we have already seen. 

Spoiler

 

[ToMexico!!]

Job Interview Offer

Top flight Strasbourg off me the chance of an interview after their manager Julien Stephan left to join Nice. 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I am really enjoying reading your career in France. I always enjoy how you set up your posts nicely. Keep up the good work buddy.

[ToMexico!!]

8 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I am really enjoying reading your career in France. I always enjoy how you set up your posts nicely. Keep up the good work buddy.

Thank you! 

[ToMexico!!]

2023/24 Season Review

A much better season for us overall as we improved greatly to finish in 6th place. There were a couple of contributing factors in our better performance this season; a better defence, we still had the 6th leakiest defence by conceding 54 goals but it was nine better than last season and seven better than the season before; and we lost less, we were two wins and two draws better off giving us an extra eight points, eight more points last season would have given us a play-off place. 

We reached the 10th Round of the French Cup once again before being knocked out by Lille. We beat AS Cannes and Dijon in the rounds prior.

We made two further signings as the season progressed, newgen centre back Adam Lafont joined from Red Star for a minimal £3k fee after recommendation by my scouting team. I also finally managed to sign a striker in Aminu Mohammed, a player I've had before with my time in Ghana, the former Man City player had spent time in Belgium before being released. 

Mohammed was a fantastic signing, scoring 8 goals in 13 games since his arrival in late January, my only worry is his fitness, he's not a naturally fit player but he could return me the 20 goals a season I need from a striker to make the next step. Mons Bassouamina had another good season, scoring 14 and making five assists from left wing, on the opposite side Aurelien Platret also hit double figures for goals and made five assists. The now set for release Gauthier Raoul scored 10 goals in a laregely rotational role and Nassim Benaissa scored 10 goals from central midfield although he was the designated penalty taker, notching all seven he took. 

I've made the decision to release a number of the fringe players who are on part-time contracts, Raoul mentioned above was replaced by the incoming Mohammed in January; club captain Cropanese, Senegalese striker Mour Paye, Clement Couturier, Alexis Giacomini and the declining Cheick Doumbia will all leave the club at the end of their contracts. That will mean there is no part-time players at the club any longer and will free up around £3500 p/w in wages. 

The board have decided to give me an increase in the wage budget from £38k p/w to £53k p/w. This gives me the room along with the outgoing players to bring in a new AMC and new GK. I have already made a signing in Edan Diop who will join in June on a pre-contract agreement. 

Financially we are still OK, we made a loss last season of £500k but still have £2.6m in bank but with the commercial/sponsorship money to come. With our on the field success, hopefully the board are looking at new deals for the coming seasons. We also have a number of players wanted, both centre halves; Coulibaly and Prso are attracting interest from top flight teams, as well as back up winger Americo who Saint Etienne are interested in. We could look to sell a player if the bid is right. 

[ToMexico!!]

Early Business

Lets go with the outs first. 

We've made some money this summer from the sales of four players, I expect that is about it for the outgoings. Americo was signed as a back-up from PSG last season and despite playing 18 games and scoring four goals I cashed in with an intial £650k incoming from Strasbourg. Bodezon and Gauthier were both players who came through my youth intake, both had potential but I felt neither would make the grade, so a combined £150k plus 50% profit of any future deal was a good deal. Chancel Ndoubam was another I signed at the beginning of last season, the Chad international was sold to Lens for a straight-up £600k + 50% profit clause. 

Incoming are just two players so far, both of which improve my areas of concern from last season. Harvey Vale joins from Premier League side Chelsea, the 20 year old will operate at AMC as a Shadow Striker but can be deployed on either wing if needed. The other player to join is goalkeeper Antonis Stergiakis, a Greek national who also crossed the channel leaving England and Blackburn behind for a better life in the Med. 

Looking at my squad I need to bring in another RB, a CM and back up winger. 

Edited August 22, 2021 by ToMexico!!

[ToMexico!!]

Youth in the First Team

Our first team comprises of 20 players at the moment with an average age of 21.85. Is that too youthful? Our oldest player is Mons Bassouamina at 26 years old. A couple of 25 year olds and we drop down through to two 17 year olds. 

Despite a budget of over £3m I didn't want to go out and spend it on players who would then push my youngsters further and further down the pecking order. I've decided to promote a couple of youth players instead. 

• Francisco Perez (YP3a) - he spent last season in the first team, making 12 appearances and scoring 1 goal. He's made some steady progress but I expect more from him this season. 
• Adam Lafont - signed from Red Star at the back end of 2023 for £3k. He can provide some cover for CB despite being about 3rd in line for that role. 
• Lucien Tramoni (YP2b) - another striker but a year older than Perez, can also operate on the left wing. His finishing is great, I'm working on improving his composure. 

Even better this season is that the U19's have finally been placed in a league, we're in the Group C along with the likes of Bordeaux, Nantes and Rennes youth teams. This will be a good test to see what the quality of our youth players. 

[ToMexico!!]

Job Interview Offer

Saint Etienne look set to be going into the new season managerless. 

[ToMexico!!]

Another upgrade to the Junior Coaching, the board initially rejected it so I had to convince them. 

[ToMexico!!]

New Contract

Another pay-rise and a 4 year deal to stay in Corsica. To celebrate I'm going on another coaching course. 

[ToMexico!!]

Youth Intake Preview

More yellow than green doesn't strike me as a golden generation. Interested to see we have a player from Comoros labelled as being decent. 

[ToMexico!!]

18 hours ago, ToMexico!! said:

Youth Intake Preview

More yellow than green doesn't strike me as a golden generation. Interested to see we have a player from Comoros labelled as being decent. 

Forgot to take the intake screenshot but it was disappointing. Just two or three players of note. 

Nakibou Ali (YP5a) - has some good stats, extremely pacey for 16. Poor finishing and I don't use a pressing forward (never have), so he will be retrained as an inside forward on the left. 

Moustapha Badji (YP5b) -  potentially a very good GK here, first touch as a sweeper keeper is horrendous, need to work on his positioning also. 

Spoiler

Lots more players from mainland France, a couple more from African countries we've seen before and the best player from Comoros. 

Spoiler

Very much centred around the former French colonies in Africa as expected. Would be good to expand the recruitment again next season and see if we can pick up some Asian or South American nationalities. 

[ToMexico!!]

2024/25 Season Review

Another great season and another step in the right direction by finishing 4th in the league which meant the play-offs. The play-off quarted final was just 3 days after the last game of the season and we faced a strong Toulouse side but we had already beaten them twice in the regular season. We blew them away in the first half as we went into the break 3-0 up, the second half we did our best to ruin our hard work, letting them score twice to bring it back to 3-2 but we held on for a famous win. In the semi final we would face Reims, relegated from Ligue 1 last season and were favourites for automatic promotion. 

This game was also just 3 days later, barely time to recover but I sent the boys out there again and they valiantly battled. Harvey Vale gave us the lead just before half time but Reims scored mid-way through the 2nd half to take the game to extra time. Deep into extra time and with us running out of steam Reims grabbed a late winner, crushing the hearts of the 464 away fans who had made the trip to the mainland. Play-Off Results.

We made another step forward in the French Cup, reaching the 11th Round, beating; Le Puy Foot 43, Toulon and Niort before bowing out to fellow Ligue 2 side Dunkerque. 

We actually made four more transfers in the summer window to strengthen a couple of areas. Capita was released by Lille and for £1.5k p/w he offered great cover for both wings. Stephane David was a youth signing after his release from Lyon, Cassama came in as cover for MC and AMC as our other new acquisition in Harvey Vale struggled with injury early on in the season and Christian Yakite joined on loan from top tier Angers as first choice right back. 

We conceded 54 goals again this season, which was the same as last season but it felt a better defensive season overall, however it may be the fact our goal difference was better by +10 to last season as we scored 83 goals, the most in the league by eight goals, with promoted side Troyes notching 75. 

This was largely down to the fact we had a 20 goals a season striker in Aminu Mohammed, the Ghanaian forward nothced 22 goals in the league which saw him finish 2nd in the scoring charts behind Troyes Umut Bozok. He was ably backed up by wingers Platret on the right who scored 16 goals and new club captain Mons Bassouamina who scored another 12 for the club. Central midfielder Nassim Benaissa bettered last season total by two, scoring 12 goals, all of those coming from the penalty spot. Back up winger Capita scored nine whilst new Shadow Striker Harvey Vale scorede seven in a injury hit first season in France. Titouan Thomas was the pick of the creative players, contributing 13 assists from central midfield. 

The finances have taken a bit of dip, largely thanks to an increased wage bill to nearly £50k per week but also the increase in the youth setup costs which are just under £160k per month. Although its something I feel I can justify as we already have two youth players making appearances in the first team in Francisco Perez (19 apps/4 goals) and Lucien Tramoni (13 apps/1 goal). 

The board have again increased the wage budget for next season, we can now spent £60k per week and also have a transfer budget of £3.5m despite only having £2.4m in the bank. 

I've already pre-arranged deals for four players; GK Luis Mouquet, CB Christian Matsima, CM Ibrahima Kouko and AMC Marcus Aquilon. They all fit the boards expectations of signing players under the age of 23 and to sign players to sell for a profit. 

 

 

[ToMexico!!]

Downgraded

No Updrade

With the finances slowly dwindling, I didn't want to protest this rejection. 

[ToMexico!!]

Stolen Staff

Inevitable that I wouldn't be able to keep him for ever, premier league side Chelsea snap up Steve from us for a paltry £56k compensation. Find a replacement anywhere near as good will be a challenge. 

[RoguPL]

2 hours ago, ToMexico!! said:

2024/25 Season Review

Another great season and another step in the right direction by finishing 4th in the league which meant the play-offs. The play-off quarted final was just 3 days after the last game of the season and we faced a strong Toulouse side but we had already beaten them twice in the regular season. We blew them away in the first half as we went into the break 3-0 up, the second half we did our best to ruin our hard work, letting them score twice to bring it back to 3-2 but we held on for a famous win. In the semi final we would face Reims, relegated from Ligue 1 last season and were favourites for automatic promotion. 

This game was also just 3 days later, barely time to recover but I sent the boys out there again and they valiantly battled. Harvey Vale gave us the lead just before half time but Reims scored mid-way through the 2nd half to take the game to extra time. Deep into extra time and with us running out of steam Reims grabbed a late winner, crushing the hearts of the 464 away fans who had made the trip to the mainland. Play-Off Results.

We made another step forward in the French Cup, reaching the 11th Round, beating; Le Puy Foot 43, Toulon and Niort before bowing out to fellow Ligue 2 side Dunkerque. 

We actually made four more transfers in the summer window to strengthen a couple of areas. Capita was released by Lille and for £1.5k p/w he offered great cover for both wings. Stephane David was a youth signing after his release from Lyon, Cassama came in as cover for MC and AMC as our other new acquisition in Harvey Vale struggled with injury early on in the season and Christian Yakite joined on loan from top tier Angers as first choice right back. 

We conceded 54 goals again this season, which was the same as last season but it felt a better defensive season overall, however it may be the fact our goal difference was better by +10 to last season as we scored 83 goals, the most in the league by eight goals, with promoted side Troyes notching 75. 

This was largely down to the fact we had a 20 goals a season striker in Aminu Mohammed, the Ghanaian forward nothced 22 goals in the league which saw him finish 2nd in the scoring charts behind Troyes Umut Bozok. He was ably backed up by wingers Platret on the right who scored 16 goals and new club captain Mons Bassouamina who scored another 12 for the club. Central midfielder Nassim Benaissa bettered last season total by two, scoring 12 goals, all of those coming from the penalty spot. Back up winger Capita scored nine whilst new Shadow Striker Harvey Vale scorede seven in a injury hit first season in France. Titouan Thomas was the pick of the creative players, contributing 13 assists from central midfield. 

The finances have taken a bit of dip, largely thanks to an increased wage bill to nearly £50k per week but also the increase in the youth setup costs which are just under £160k per month. Although its something I feel I can justify as we already have two youth players making appearances in the first team in Francisco Perez (19 apps/4 goals) and Lucien Tramoni (13 apps/1 goal). 

The board have again increased the wage budget for next season, we can now spent £60k per week and also have a transfer budget of £3.5m despite only having £2.4m in the bank. 

I've already pre-arranged deals for four players; GK Luis Mouquet, CB Christian Matsima, CM Ibrahima Kouko and AMC Marcus Aquilon. They all fit the boards expectations of signing players under the age of 23 and to sign players to sell for a profit. 

 

 

Congrats ! with this upward trend you might be able to fight for promotion next season. However I see that getting 4th out of predicted 18th is still huge achievement 

[ToMexico!!]

3 minutes ago, rrozek93 said:

Congrats ! with this upward trend you might be able to fight for promotion next season. However I see that getting 4th out of predicted 18th is still huge achievement 

Thanks, promotion is well within our grasp but I'm not sure I want to go up just yet, whilst our finances are positive I'm not where I would want to be. We're lacking a little in quality at both full backs but can't afford to make the step up to bring in some permanently so I'm having to loan in both a RB and LB this season. 

Promotion at this time would be a financial disaster for the club in my opinion.