[FM21] Bonjour, les Guêpes!

[KlaaZ]

Next season's wage budget is set at 175k p/w, which is one third of what Mbappé makes during that period. 

[KlaaZ]

The kids

Good news to be found in the youth squad, where we now have an abudance of maybe high potentials (not even including Savané, Millet and Mununga who are currently with the first team). It's time for an introduction, especially since we got a golden generation that may actually turn into one in the last intake.

Spoiler

Olivier Perrin

The biggest pearl on this season's golden generation crown, by far. When he came through, there was almost immediate interest from PSG and all the other big French clubs so we signed him on a provisional full time contract until 2027 with an optional two year extension. Great all around stat distribution and will probably join the first team in one or two seasons. The only question is whether we keep him as a striker or retrain him as a left winger.

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David Lefeuvre

A similar story to Perrin, with him actually still wanted by Monaco despite signing a provisional contract. Amazing mentals for his age and hopefully the player to fill the gap at right back in a few years. 

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Ludovic Michel

The second potential option in right back next to Lefeuvre, Michel's a little further ahead despite having suffered a major hip injury last season.

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Junior Tela

This young Cameroonian has the advantage of being perfectly two footed. Could be a real midfield boss in the future.

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Mohamed Ghimouz

Another midfielder but currently on the retrain train as I see him more as my future left back.

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Javier Martin

French/Basque, which makes me wonder why Athletic haven't come sniffing yet. Has been making some very good progress in the past season and will in due time be made available for loan, preferrably to a Ligue 2 club.

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Matteo Di Dio

The first one not from our own academy, Matteo just arrived from Roman side Lazio for 850k. Will need mentoring because his personality might get in the way of things.

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Fredéric Millet

Not the first time we mention this guy, will go on loan for one more season before joining the first team squad on a permanent basis. Played 14 games in the Ligue 2 last season, and will either move there again or go to Palermo.

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Allan Andreasen

Another great prospect who's personality is hampering him, although he has been developing quite well. Monaco want him and so far we've refused offers up to 3M. So even if he doesn't succeed, we'll probably make a healthy profit as he joined on a free.

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Jean-Baptiste Roche

Probably the youth player who is furthest ahead in terms of development and who will also be going on loan this season. 

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[KlaaZ]

Final preseason game against senor affiliate OGC Nice, which is always a very good indicator to see where we're at (as they an established top ten team in the Ligue 1). 

Dominated from start to finish and looked very tight at the back, only conceding one shot (in the 83rd minute) off target.

[KlaaZ]

In other news.

[KlaaZ]

Summer of 2024: Transfers, preseason and the start of the league

Transfers

Out

A lot of outgoing movement this season, mostly loanies though. Hector Valbuena's signing turned into a flop, he moves to Lorient in a deal involving 275k and 50% of any profit on his sale. I don't have my hopes up though, as it's unlikely he'll become a Ligue 1 full back. Saint-Ruf is sold to Chambly for 92k, which means we cut away some of the last dead wood from our starting days in the National. We also release a batch of players on a free, including Perrin, Jung and Touré. Lambese and Thiam also leave, lowering the average age of the first team to a mere 22. A lot of youngsters out on loan as well, including Millet, Savané and Andreasen.

In

I've already spoken about potential full back Di Dio from Lazio. Apart from that, Thuram's the familiar face, we loan him for the third time in a row from Nice to provide some depth in midfield. Joao Ferreira, who was convincing enough on his loan spell last season, comes over permanently from SLB for 225k. We also get a bit of cover for the left back position by signing Damjan Danicic from Stoke for 160k. 

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The bulk of our transfer spend goes to an 18-year old midfield prospect, a Norwegian kid who already played 59 games for Sarpsborg in the Premier Division. I'm hoping that in a year or two, he'll take over the box to box position from Ackermann. He commands a hefty transfer sum however, costing us 4.1M.

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Preseason

I finally took some time to tinker with our set pieces, both offensively and in defense. I also make some slight alterations to the setup that got us into Europe last year, and it shows. We play five friendlies without conceding a single goal, the highlight being the 3-0 demolishing of Nice. 

Ligue 1: August

We open away at Dijon, where Ackermann puts us ahead after 20 minutes. A wonky penalty (supposedly a dive, thanks for nothing VAR) and a defensive error turn the tables though and things are looking sour, but then Leifsson steps up, skinning his opponent and putting the ball over the opposing goalie from just outside the area. And things get even better when Santos, playing on the left wing as a playmaker, starts the counter by setting up Chrigor into space. The Brazilian has watched Leifsson very well and pokes it over Muralha to grab us a late win.

At home against Nantes we keep beating on the door but seem to run into a scoreless draw until Chrigor sends us into extacy by slotting away a penalty in the 94th (!) minute. One week later Leifsson, who is finally starting to show what he's capable of, scores an amazing strike in Lyon to put us ahead and just when it looks that we might pull the win over the finish line, Mputu equalizes, holding us to a draw. 

We end August on a high, securing a very important (and deserved) 0-1 win away at Saint-Etienne. Laquintana scores the only goal of the game. 

The table on September 1st: It's a miracle, PSG already dropped points and is NOT first. For now.

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[KlaaZ]

Could just as well have been a CL group really.

[KlaaZ]

Jean-Baptiste Roche, who we picked up for free from Caen in the summer of 2023, was brought into the first team to provide some depth and rotation for the European games but it looks like he might earn himself more playing time than I envisioned. 

He still needs a lot of work on his technicals and mentals, but his performances so far have been impressive to say the least. He's played mostly on the left wing as a playmaker of in the striker position to give Chrigor some rest (and because Perrin is not yet eligible, being only 15).

[KlaaZ]

The stadium expansion is finished, so we set a new record with a sellout straight away.

[KlaaZ]

Perrin turned 16, got his first senior selection, came off the bench in the 75th minute, does this in the 76th. Great way to introduce yourself!

[KlaaZ]

Also did not expect this when I saw the draw.

[KlaaZ]

Chrigor is tired and needs a rest, so Perrin made his league starting debut against Troyes. He finished with two goals and an assist, becoming the youngest ever goalscorer for both the club and in the Ligue 1 in general. Considering players can only be registered from the age of 16 (when they become pros) it's unlikely anyone will ever take that record away from him.

[KlaaZ]

Perrin saving the day once again, this is becoming ridiculous!

[KlaaZ]

OMG ITS HAPPENING

[KlaaZ]

Ended 2024 in style with a masterclass against Guingamp.

[KlaaZ]

2024-2025: January update

Ligue 1

19 games played, and what a season it has been so far. We started off on a five game unbeaten run, including coming back from behind to win away at Dijon (sorry @smp20) and a 94th minute penalty kick win against Nantes. We also gained a credible draw away at Lyon.

A 3-0 beating from Marseille at Stade Vélodrome kicked us off our cloud and we were lucky to escape with a draw in the next game at home against Lille. We managed to pick ourselves up again in a goal bonanza against Montpellier, going from 1-3 up to 3-3 to 3-4 in the 86th minute. They have a world class regen striker that has been a thorn in my side and wo we seemingly just can't stop.

The win at Montpellier was the kickstart of an amazing series of games (which involved quite a bit of rotation because of the schedule in Europe), where we went unbeaten from October until the end of December, including a stolen but nontheless amazing away win at Parc des Princes, a 4-1 trashing of parent team Nice and an amazing turnaround in Nancy, where we went from being 2-1 behind to a 2-3 win in the 89th and 94th minute with two goals from supersub Perrin.

Anyway, the league tabel!

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The main takeaway so far is that we ship way less goal than the previous two seasons (for now, long may it last), which turns defeats into draws and draws into wins. Leifsson is finally starting to really impress after two average seasons and there are a few youngsters like Perrin and Roche who have been very, very impressive indeed.

Europa League

We had what on paper seemed like a very tough group draw with Tottenham, Braga and Hoffenheim but took our good league form through in Europe. Opened with two wins at home vs Tottenham (1-0) and Braga (2-1), but very narrow games. The double confrontation against Hoffenheim was decisive, resulting in two 3-2 wins for us (going 0-2 behind and still coming out on top was very satisfying). We were already qualified for the group win after these four games as everyone else just held each other in balance, sitting on a shared second place with four points for everyone. We then got demolished in Tottenham (although we didn't play as badly as the final scoreline showed) and threw a 3-1 lead away in Braga, drawing them in the end. Not the best defensive record here but I'm very happy with how we did and curious how far we can go.

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[KlaaZ]

Huge result, this. I'd say we were clinical but we could actually have scored a few more once the floodgates opened. It also puts us seven points clear of them, and I'd rather lead the pack than chase it.

[KlaaZ]

Eight games to go, if Monaco win their delayed game I'm still seven points ahead of fourth place. I still have PSG at home and Monaco away as the two toughest games (in a row, so will have to be careful of a morale drop). Avoiding defeat in Monaco will go a long way in securing Champions league next season. Lille still plays PSG at home on the final day and Monaco has Marseille away then. It's going right to the finish line, me thinks.

[smp20]

Just caught up on this, what excellent progress you have made so far! Back-to-back promotions, staying up comfortably first Ligue 1 season, qualifying for European football in the next then mounting a title challenge in the current one. The most exciting thing is the amount of young players you've both signed and brought through the academy. Great transfer business so far, it'll be interesting to see what kind of players you bring in when you receive bigger budgets.

Despite the barren patch last season Chrigar must be a favourite of yours, followed by Perrin!

[KlaaZ]

2 hours ago, smp20 said:

Just caught up on this, what excellent progress you have made so far! Back-to-back promotions, staying up comfortably first Ligue 1 season, qualifying for European football in the next then mounting a title challenge in the current one. The most exciting thing is the amount of young players you've both signed and brought through the academy. Great transfer business so far, it'll be interesting to see what kind of players you bring in when you receive bigger budgets.

Despite the barren patch last season Chrigar must be a favourite of yours, followed by Perrin!

Cheers! It's not a title challenge yet as we're still dropping too many points left and right, but there's seasonal improvement so I believe that we will start to get close in a few years. I believe I'd need to at least beat PSG home and away in order to topple them though, that will probably be the hardest part (but I don't have to tell you that :D). 

Moulding young players is actually my favourite way of playing! I've never been into spending the big bucks, feel it's way more satisfying to find that unpolished gem in some godforsaken country and build him up to the world beater he was born to be. I've actually considered following you into youth only but my facilities were too far behind to do so from the start. I will try to recruit mostly within France going forward though. 

Chrigor is great. He's by no means a world beater and my coaches only consider him decent for the Ligue 1, but he fits very well in how we play, with a deep lying forward on support, because of his attribute spread and the fact that he likes to play one-twos. He'll still be leading the line for at least one season but in the long term, Perrin is going to be the one to take over.

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[KlaaZ]

Four games to go, and we've seen a ten point lead over fourth placed Lille dwindle to six in the last two games. Next game is away at Monaco. Here's to hoping we can pull it over the finish line, because Champions League would make a very big difference in how fast we can improve the squad. 

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[KlaaZ]

The Ligue 1 is wrapped up, but our season isn't over yet... We have an upcoming cup final against Lyon to play. And not the one you might think.

[KlaaZ]

Lineups are in!

Sabatier is the player to watch, he's 20 years old, worth 63M and pretty much a world class player already.

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[KlaaZ]

Trailing early... By the man I warned about.

[KlaaZ]

Who else?! Should've been in front by now but Laquintana missed a 1 on 1 five minutes before.

[KlaaZ]

All square at the break!

[KlaaZ]

Bad news, hoping Perrin can step up.

[KlaaZ]

Not looking good, Lyon went ahead from a dead ball situation.

[KlaaZ]

Gutting, we were the better team and only have ourselves to blame... 

[KlaaZ]

2024-2025: Season review

January transfer window

Not much on the incoming front due to the budget limitations. Two signings for the future though (maybe): 17-year old Patrik Seda leaves Czech Republic's Jablonec for 51k and Steven Roudaut is picked up from Brest for 425k.

On the out, Forsmo joins FC Chambly on loan.

Ligue 1

We ended 2024 in second place on 44 points, and since that was only five points behind PSG with a home game against them in hand, anything was possible. We opened 2025 with a draw at Nantes and ended the only other game that month (January is usually cup month), we demolished Lyon 5-1, including a brace from Chrigor. February was solid with five unbeaten games including another 5-1 win, this time against Marseille, and a 6-2 victory over Montpellier. 

Fixture congestion, tired legs and little niggle injuries started catching up with us though, and although we opened March with two victories, we lost the last two games that month away at Nice and at home against PSG (which was the final nail in our title dream coffin). We had to start looking down more than up because it was very much possible to still lose our Champions League spot. We then lost 1-0 in Monaco (completely deserved), which had them leapfrog us to second place. But the schedule got a little less hectic and the extra rest pulled us through, as we secured three wins in the final three games against Reims (2-0), Guingamp (1-3) and Dijon (1-0). Monaco meanwhile stumbled over Saint-Etienne (3-2 loss) and drew away in Marseille, so we ended up leapfrogging them again and securing a very satisfying second place on 83 points, fourteen points behind PSG.

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The Parisians scored a ridiculous 125 goals this season and I don't see how I'll be able to topple them anytime soon. They have a front four of Mbappé, Moukoko, Kulusevski and Jadon Sancho...

A trip through Europe: Europa League adventures

After a surprise group win in the Europa League, we drew Club Brugge a our first opponent in the knockout stages. As a lot of people are finding out, they're surprisingly hard to beat and usually do very well in Europe. It was no different for us as we lost in Bruges, 2-1. Joao Ferreira, our right back, managed to squeeze in the very important away goal which pulled us through as we beat them 1-0 in Orléans. The winner came in the 87th minute From Mateus Santos.

Next up was Spartak Moscow. I assumed an easier draw but I was very much mistaken. We went behind at home around the hour mark but a penalty and an injury time goal from Perrin gave us a very small margin for the trip to Russia. They were the better team in the return, and when they scored after 70 minutes it looked like we were done for. But once again Perrin rescued us, scoring the equalizer in the 90th minute!

Our reward came in the semis with a double leg against the mighty Arsenal. In a twist of fate, they enquired for a job interview earlier in the season when they were in... 20th place. Suffice to say that they did not have a good season and we piled on the misery. In an inspiring performance we beat the Gunners 0-2 at their home ground with goals from Thuram and Roche. The return was goal bonanza: Perrin but us ahead, they turned things upside down in three minutes time through Martinelli and Nunez but again Perrin equalized in the 85th. Bellerin gave us a little scare with the 2-3 in the 95th, but we went through to the final.

And how that ended up, you could read above. In a French affair against Lyon we were the better team but our finishing let us down that night. Lyon had less trouble scoring and took the cup.

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French Cup

We beat Villefranche and Valenciennes, before stumbling at home against Monaco. I was actually happy to be out as the squad was way too thin for the amount of games we had to play and every additional one was becoming a burden.

Aims for next season

Well, now that we have qualified for the Champions League, the least we can do is qualify for Europe again. Unfortunately, despite the amazing campaign this season the board has only given us a 13M transfer kitty and put the wage budget at 210k. I'll reshuffle to get more space to bring in new players (as we're already 15k over our limit), but that will mean very limited cash options. That said, I really need to expand the squad because this year showed that we're not ready to play in different competitions at the same time. We were relatively injury free through the season but the one time where a few players were out for a few weeks at the same time, we immediately ran into trouble. 

The bad news is that Leifsson is making noise about wanting to leave for a bigger club because he wants to win a title. I've managed to put him off so far by telling him nobody's really interested yet (which is true, only Valencia is looking), but sooner or later he's gonna want to go. We'll be looking for a replacement to nurture so that he won't leave too big of a void, but with his ability it'll probably always be a downgrade. The only good news is that it will be a big money move if it happens as his worth shot up to 29M and he has a contract until the summer of 2028. 

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[karanhsingh]

A very good season, and yes the finances in France improve very slowly if you are a small club. Have to continue relying on bargains.

[KlaaZ]

15 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

A very good season, and yes the finances in France improve very slowly if you are a small club. Have to continue relying on bargains.

Aye, I've noticed that as well. It's a shame I lost that EL final, because winning a European competition usually provides a huge jumpstart for your reputation. Now I'm still in the situation where, although I've qualified for Europe twice in a row, players still rather sign for teams that just got promoted. 

[KlaaZ]

Squad review

As stated in the previous update, the main thing we learned from last season is that the squad just wasn't big enough to cope with challenging in multiple competitions until the very end. To that end, we'll do a breakdown of every segment (GK, defense, midfield, attack) to see where we need strengthening and try to act accordingly. The bad news is that we may not be able to fix all issues this transfer window due to the still very minimalistic transfer and wage budget.

Goalkeepers

Lazar Carevic had a very solid season, keeping 15 clean sheets and only conceding 33 goals in 38 games in the league, a huge improvement on the season before where we shipped 48 goals. He's currently rated as a good Ligue 1 goalie. Nicolas Tié is a decent backup but can probably go for the right price as he's on a fairly high wage. If he does, we'll bring in a replacement that costs less or brings more to the table. We also have a very highly rated youth prospect in 15-year old Camille Duval (who drew the interest of PSG before he signed a provisional contract), but he is nowhere near ready for first team action.

Defense

In central defense, Dufour and Cano played the majority of the games last season, both putting in a good show with an average 7.09 rating. Zouma is technically a better option than both of them but for some reason his performances aren't as good. That said, he played 13 games with an average of 6.83, which isn't all that bad. I'll bring in at least one rotation option and possible take Millet into the first team squad after a successful loan spell at Ligue 2 outfit Ajaccio where he contested 36 games. The other option is Rua, who I'll talk about when discussing the right back.

Right back was decently covered mostly by Joao Ferreira, who turned out the better of the two Portuguese players I brought in for the position last season. Joao Oliveira didn't convince and will be offered out, with Belgian first division team Eupen interested in his services. Victor Rua went on loan last season because he was mad at me for not playing him in his favoured position but he seems happy now and is considering a contract renewal. He can play both in central defense and as a (technically limited) full back. Apart from that, there's very little depth here although we have two very good youth prospects on their way. One of them, Ludovic Michel, may get some play time as a rotation option if we don't find anyone to cover for Ferreira. The other kid is a longer way off but looks like he may become a lot better. We also have our eye on a promising Belgian kid from OHL.

Left back is an even bigger issue. The good news is that Damjan Danicic was a big success in his first season, with an average rating of 7.15 and seven assists. The bad is that he's quite injury prone and it showed towards the end of the season. Hakim Guenouche was in his final contract year and I deemed the wage he wanted to be over the top for a player of his ability (more than 10k p/w). He also didn't really get it going this year and his limited aerial ability was a liability (168cm combined with a jumping reach of 9). He leaves on a free, probably to Genoa. This means that we'll be looking for a replacement, although it's possible that we'll make due by promoting from within. We loaned out Topal last to Girona last season with the request to play him as a full back so he's now a natural there and has shown some improvement. If he renews his contract, he'll provide cover for Danicic (assuming we don't find anyone better).

Midfield

Marco Carraro really came through in his third season, showing a vast improvement in his game from the defensive midfield position with an average rating of 7.04. He'll remain first choice there for the time being. Kevin Ackermann was also quite important although not as productive as a box-to-box, but in his defense he had a few injury niggles. When he was absent, his fellow Scandinavian Follesdal stepped up and although he picked up a red in his first outing, he also proved satisfactory. At only 19 years of age, he's also got a lot of room for growth so he'll get more game time next year. Khepren Thuram's contract at Nice runs out this summer and we're in talks of making his stay permanent. Ideally, I'd bring in one more player who can play either in the DM or CM slot to provide some depth until the youngsters in these positions are ready to make game time. In that regard, 18-year old Javier Martin is probably the player who's closest, he'll be loaned out to Ajaccio as an important player to get a full Ligue 2 season under his belt. 

On the right, Laquintana is the obvious first choice. Mununga was his backup last season and although his performances have been good, his progress has slowed so going forward, we'll be looking out for a potential replacement. In case of emergency, Andrade and Ackermann can also play here.

In the left attacking midfield position, Andrade was our first option when the season began but as we progressed and Roche came to the surface, he gradually started taking over. Andrade is on paper still the better option but the difference is getting smaller. We also played Santos here as an emergency option and if push comes to shove, Perrin is also accomplished there.

In the central attacking midfield slot, Leifsson is without a doubt the best player we have (and in the team in general, actually). That said, I can't count the times I got notified of him needing a rest on the fingers of two hands last season so we'll need more rotation options for him. Santos did well when he wasn't there but had a few injuries and apart from him, there really wasn't anyone else. We also need to start preparing for life without our Icelandic star as he's been making noise about leaving and it's unlikely he's going to be around for more than one season anymore. In that regards, we've already signed one potential replacement and are in talks with a second. But more on that in the transfer update.

Attack

Chrigor has a lot of credit with me and is still the first name on the match sheet, but Perrin is coming up fast and this may be the season where their roles gradually reverse because he's becoming very hard to ignore. Savané had a very average loan spell to the National and will probably not make the cut. The good news is that Roche can also play here if required and has done really well the few times he did last season. As we have no other strikers with potential in the youth squads, we'll be looking for some options outside the clubs but it's not the biggest priority.

Screenshots in the next posts as there's too much to put in one.

[KlaaZ]

Goalkeepers

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[KlaaZ]

Defenders

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[KlaaZ]

Midfielders

 

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[KlaaZ]

Strikers

 

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[KlaaZ]

Transfer news

Because of the low wage budget, I have to shift the transfer kitty we got from the board a bit in order to make room for new signings and contract renewals. So our 13M to spend actually went down to a mere 10M. I'm hoping next season, with the additional Champions League revenue will be better. The good news is that I made one major signing with the remaings of last season's budget so the transfer below are not necessarily final.

There's only one important leaver and that's Guenouche, who's contract is up. He joins Serie A outfit Genoa on a ridiculous 24.5k p/w contract. There is no way we would have paid him that much so goodbye it is. Apart from that, the only players out the door are youth graduates who didn't make the cut.

More news on the incoming side! Our most important signings are in regards to the probability that Leifsson leaves in one of the next transfer windows. The first one is Santiago Pereyra, a 19-year old Uruguayan. He won't improve much according to my staff but with his current ability, he should be able to perform reasonably well. Also a 20 flair guy, which is rare enough. I believe he may actually be more suited to the role I play Leifsson in than Leifsson himself because of his jumping, long shots and trait. Pricetag: 3.9M.

Spoiler

 

The second player who can fill Leifsson's boots (and who also provides cover for the CM and AML position) is Gaël Héry: 20 years old, French and from the youth academy of Havre AC where he played almost every Ligue 2 game in the past two years (and putting in some great performances). I actually didn't even have him fully scouted yet but the vultures were already circling so we took the gamble, paid the requested amount of 4.6M and signed him up. U21 international.

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The only other player to command a transfer fee is 18-year old Hans Borremans, a young right back from OHL (which is the club I support in real life). Despite his young age, he'll stay with the first team to provide cover for Ferreira. 

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I already mentioned signing Thuram on a free. There are three other freebies that we picked up, although my scouts may have overrated them in hindsight. Either way, they're mostly here for the long term or to provide some additional cover, as they're all central defenders. Meet Dorde Tosic (Red Star Belgrade), Maël Drais (Monaco) and Kim Brandt (AaB).

 

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[KlaaZ]

*screams into pillow*

[smp20]

On 12/09/2021 at 14:06, KlaaZ said:

Cheers! It's not a title challenge yet as we're still dropping too many points left and right, but there's seasonal improvement so I believe that we will start to get close in a few years. I believe I'd need to at least beat PSG home and away in order to topple them though, that will probably be the hardest part (but I don't have to tell you that :D). 

Moulding young players is actually my favourite way of playing! I've never been into spending the big bucks, feel it's way more satisfying to find that unpolished gem in some godforsaken country and build him up to the world beater he was born to be. I've actually considered following you into youth only but my facilities were too far behind to do so from the start. I will try to recruit mostly within France going forward though. 

Chrigor is great. He's by no means a world beater and my coaches only consider him decent for the Ligue 1, but he fits very well in how we play, with a deep lying forward on support, because of his attribute spread and the fact that he likes to play one-twos. He'll still be leading the line for at least one season but in the long term, Perrin is going to be the one to take over.

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I've not quite got up to reading your squad review yet, but congrats on a very successful season! 2nd place and a Europa League final is great this early on and you were unlucky to lose out to Lyon.

As quality as Perrin is attacking wise, I love that he has 12 tackling and high work rate and aggression! That kid is a morph of Firmino and Vardy 

[KlaaZ]

3 hours ago, smp20 said:

I've not quite got up to reading your squad review yet, but congrats on a very successful season! 2nd place and a Europa League final is great this early on and you were unlucky to lose out to Lyon.

As quality as Perrin is attacking wise, I love that he has 12 tackling and high work rate and aggression! That kid is a morph of Firmino and Vardy 

Thanks! Yeah, that's two finals now (Europa League and the Trophée des Champions) that could have been ours with some luck. But we'll edge these games sooner or later, I'm sure. 

It's funny, I hadn't even noticed Perrin's tackling yet! I'm hoping I can build a team around him but it'll depend on how ambitious he is. Either way, his progress has been astounding so far.

[KlaaZ]

Transfer news

In an attempt to improve the quality at right back, we move in for a player that has been on our radar for almost two years now. Duccio Borelli will join us on loan from Fiorentina until the end of the season, with an optional future fee of 838k (which seems a bargain). His main working point will be his defensive technicals, particularly his tackling, but apart from that he looks very promising with a great professional attitude. 

Spoiler

This has some consequences for Ludovic Michel, who just turned 18 in May. He'll go out on loan, hopefully to a Ligue 2 side, to get some match experience under his belt. And if all goes well, he'll compete with the Italian for a first team stake next season. Fereirra has been making noise because he wants a new contract and reassurance that he'll be an important first team player (which he won't be), so it's possible that he'll leave as well. 

[KlaaZ]

Traditional final game of preseason against Nice to see if we're ready. I guess we are.

[KlaaZ]

August is up and the transfer window closed. And we started the league, although not in the best of fashions. There's more than meets the eye though. We were by far the better team in Strasbourg but dropped two points on a corner. The game against Nice was disappointing in all regards. We went 2-0 up, blew our lead, went 3-2 up, blew it again and only in the end nicked the three points through a debut goal from Pereyra. But worryingly, they were actually the better team for most of the game.

We always deserved the win in Monaco but we're back to shipping goals way too easily. They scored with their only two shots on target and an xG of 0.35. The game against Marseille was solid for the most part but in the end could just as easily been 3-3. And once again, no clean sheet. Not sure if it's a tactical issue or just temporary.

[KlaaZ]

This is going to be a very disappointing season. We're conceding way too many goals and I can't seem to plug the gaps. Maybe I should trying playing without central defenders, I might as well considering how they're performing on the pitch.

[KlaaZ]

Should've complained sooner, we've picked ourselves up again. Just entered December and already looking forward to March, because our investments in the youth setup seem to start paying off.

This is why I've always wanted to try my hands on managing in France, the abundance of young talent is something to really appreciate. I'm very much looking forward to the central defender(s) and defensive midfielder as I feel those are two positions that still lack some quality (apart from the left back). 

[KlaaZ]

Halfway again, here's how things look!

We had a very average start in August with 7/12 including a disappointing away draw at Stasbourg in the opening game. more worryingly, we shipped seven goals in those four games. Picked ourselves up with four in four in September, but then things started to go downhill. Only three games in October, disappointing home loss agains Lyon and a draw at home against Bordeaux, with an away win at Saint-Etienne inbetween. 

November was bad bad. Managed to open with a very narrow away win in Brest but after that ran into a heavy home loss against PSG and got beaten again the next game, this time in Lens. 

I then reverted back to an adapted version of the counter attacking tactic we used in our first season in the Ligue 1, and we clicked again. A solid 3-1 home win against Dijon was followed by four more back to back wins in December, where we didn't concede a single goal. This bumped us back up to fourth place, one point away from a Champions League spot and nine behind PSG. 

[KlaaZ]

Well deserved! Not our best player by any means but his performances are always solid.

We've had takeover rumours for years, but they were always sensationally squashed by the chairman. Until now.

[KlaaZ]

Transfer news

Two new signings this season, with one that really strengthens us (on paper at least). We win the race for 20-year old Uruguayan left back Sebastian Clavijo and break our transfer record in the process with a bid of 6.75M. As he's another player that will take up a foreign slot, one of our other South Americans will have to go. There were bids for Chrigor but I haven't got a suitable replacement on the radar so it'll be central defender Cano who will have to make way. He hasn't really progressed anymore anyway so it won't be a big loss. In turn, we'll need a replacement central defender. Millet is recalled from loan (also because he was actually getting worse there) and we signed an 18-year old Portuguese kid to provide cover. Frederico Gaipo joins us from Guimaraes for 425k. 

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

[KlaaZ]

Does this look familiar to you, @smp20?

[KlaaZ]

Not sure what's happening but ever since we went a bit more conservative at the start of December, we've suddenly become very, very clinical in both boxes.