[FM22] Overhauling SAD Franchise, (completed) and now Portugal. (Portugese edition). (Youth Only)............... Maybe!

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2047. 

Liga Bwin. Despite 2 wins and a loss it's not a great start to the campaign because we weren't exactly playing big-hitters. We should be winning the 1st 2 games comfortably. Braga are decent but we shouldn't be losing at home to anyone outside the Big 3, (in my opinion). 

xG watch. The loss to Braga is frustrating, (especially at home), but I can't really be too concerned when we won the xG battle so convincingly. 
Belenenses 3.12 - 0.45 PdF.
EsA 0.91 - 2.73 Belenenses.
Belenenses 2.30 - 0.75 Braga. 

UEFA Champions League draw. It might be hard to finish 3rd in this Group, but equally as hard to top the Group. I'm not sure what my plan is here. It might have to stay fluid while we see how the early games go. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2047. 

Liga Bwin. 3 wins from 4 is ok, (especially with a GK with poor morale), but we sit in 4th and are just 2 pts off 2nd with a game in hand. The real story though is Varzim sitting 5th with a game in hand on everyone except for us. 

Please note that (44a) Simões (POR) * is 19 year old striker rather than (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" the 32 year old Goal-scoring GK. He's started appearing on the scoresheet so I thought I would point it out. 

xG watch.
Sporting 0.91 - 0.85 Belenenses.
Belenenses 2.60 - 0.29 Estoril.
Chaves 1.26 - 2.52 Belenenses.
Belenenses 2.71 - 0.46 Nacional.

UEFA Champions League. I fielded a really weak team for this game but we were helped by an early sending off and took all 3 pts despite (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" failing from the spot. 

Taça da Liga Allianz Cup. We won with ease despite (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" missing from the spot again. 

Goal-scoring GK's. When your GK scores at about 90% for most of his career, and then starts scoring at down at 50%, you need to find our why. 

 

He wants a new deal and as he is 32 and has 3 years left on his contract I'm none too keen to extend it. Usually this wouldn't be a problem, (or not a big problem anyway), but for a player taking penalties it's more of a problem, and for my GK's taking my penalties it's a huge problem. I need to make him happy and at the moment the fact that he wants an improved deal and I'm not offering it making him unhappy. I need to suck it up and show him the love, (and the money).

I tried to haggle because he was being greedy and negotiations broke down. This could cost me over the next month or so until I can start negotiating again. 

I can't offer him a new contract right now, (because negotiations have just broken down), but I'm hoping that if I promise to discuss a new contract with him shortly it might help keep him on track until I can actually get a new deal done. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2047. 

Liga Bwin. 2 more wins sees us move up to 3rd, still with a game in hand. Varzim are still hanging in there in 5th place. 

xG watch.
Famalicao 0.57 - 3.46 Belenenses. 
Gil Vicente 1.49 - 2.62 Belenenses. 

UEFA Champions League. We comfortable smashed Red Bull according to xG, but we couldn't put the ball in the net and they could. It's finely poised with 3 teams on 6 points, but I think I'm going to try and win the Group rather than come 3rd. 

Taça da Liga Allianz Cup. A weakened team comfortably progressed. 

Goal-scoring GK's. I have managed to tie (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" down to a new 5 year deal and he is obviously happy about a deal keeping at the club until 1 month off his 38th Birthday. I wouldn't have done this for an outfield player but a GK taking penalties..... It just needs to be done. 

I fully expect him to go on a scoring streak now and will be astonished to see him fail from the spot in his new form. I just hope we are awarded the same number of penalties that we have been given so far this season, (5 in 10 appearances this season). 

It's a miracle. After 3 misses in a row and after signing a new contract he is suddenly successful from the spot. 

 

Finances.   

Edited May 21, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Thebaker]

no real difference in penalties since you had more penalties to take, must just be the quality of the strikers. Yours are not at a 170CA level like the top 2 have. Getting one up to 150-160 CA could make that difference.

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Thebaker said:

no real difference in penalties since you had more penalties to take, must just be the quality of the strikers. Yours are not at a 170CA level like the top 2 have. Getting one up to 150-160 CA could make that difference.

If I wasn't so focussed on scoring goals with GK's, the obvious thing to do is to give the penalties to someone else while he is unhappy and let him continue to take free-kicks, (because happiness/morale doesn't influence free-kicks the way it influences the outcome of penalties). I wonder if I picked a penalty taker before each game if I would ever miss a penalty again? I think I would, but I think the success rate might be 95%+ no matter what the penalty taking attribute of the players was. 

That should be something I look at in the future......

I can't even tell you what the penalty taking attribute of (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" is. I must have looked at some point and posted it, but it just doesn't matter, (even a little bit), so why take any notice of it. 

It's 3. 

So with a penalty taking attribute of 3, playing in the top tier in Portugal, he has scored 67 of 83 penalties at 81%, (missing 16 of 83), and 6 of those 83 were missed in 2x batches of 3 misses in the last 12 months. The 3 latest misses in a row have been documented recently in this thread and the previous 3 misses came in 4 penalties taken in Jan 2047, (when their was transfer interest in him and he wanted to leave). His unhappiness went away as soon as the transfer window closed at the end of January and he started scoring again. 

I don't know if the penalty taking attribute is a weighted attribute for any position, (I used to know but have forgotten), but if it is, then it's dead CA. It is completely and utterly worthless, (other than to use up CA). 

You know what challenge I want to try... 

"How many consecutive penalties can I score with players how have a penalty taking attribute of 1."

That has got to be something worth doing in FM23.

[Punch]

4 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

"How many consecutive penalties can I score with players how have a penalty taking attribute of 1."

That has got to be something worth doing in FM23.

That would be awesome to see

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Punch said:

That would be awesome to see

Thinking about it as I walked the dog this morning, (sad I know), what I will probably do is when (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" gets to 100 career goals, (should be something like Jan 2049 and it's Nov 2047 now now), I will probably edit the penalty attribute for all GK's at the club to 1 and any GK that comes through a future intake, (or is re-signed), will also have their penalty taking attrbute changed to 1. I would hazard a guess that they might score at a very high rate if I play it properly and select our GK based completely on morale. 

[Punch]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Thinking about it as I walked the dog this morning, (sad I know),

Inspiration comes at the strangest times

 

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I will probably edit the penalty attribute for all GK's at the club to 1 and any GK that comes through a future intake, (or is re-signed), will also have their penalty taking attrbute changed to 1. I would hazard a guess that they might score at a very high rate if I play it properly and select our GK based completely on morale.

Will be very curious to see how you get on with that.

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2047. 

Liga Bwin. A very good month from (32g) Ramos (POR) who scored 6 goals this month. We're now just 2 pts behind Benfica with a game in hand and there is a 5 pt gap below us. 

UEFA Champions League. We smashed Shakhtar and then did well to draw with Red Bull after we received an early red card. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. A comfortable win. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Sonic Youth]

Much better last season, and with a bit more luck could have won the league.

Juventus results were nuts 

Lots of goals as well 

I also didn’t mind your youth intake, especially that you got a couple of defenders.

This season is going well so far too 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2047. 

Liga Bwin. Mot a great month if I'm honest. Dropping 2 points in the derby is bad, but then we whack PdF in the Cup, but lose to them a few days later in the league? That's pretty shabby. 

UEFA Champions League. Barca might have had a player sent off in both games against us, but I don't care. We still topped the Group for the 1st time. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. 

Goal-scoring GK's. It's amazing what happens when your GK is happy. 7 GK goals in 1 month is just ridiculous. 

Youth Intake preview. At 1st glance this intake preview doesn't appear great, but when you consider that our best full back has a CA of 151, best centre-back has a CA of 122 and our best midfielder has a CA of 172, then it's not too shabby at all. 

Finances.   

Edited May 22, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Much better last season, and with a bit more luck could have won the league.

Juventus results were nuts 

Lots of goals as well 

I also didn’t mind your youth intake, especially that you got a couple of defenders.

This season is going well so far too 

I'm not sure luck has too much to do with it. Our poor form in January together with our GK failing with 3 penalties that month cost us. In hindsight I should have fixed his unhappiness earlier, (not easy when the transfer window is still open), or simply played someone else, (again, not easy when he is comfortably our best GK). 

Had I given penalties to happy outfield players then we would have been Champions. 

Juve games were indeed a roller-coaster. 

Youth Intakes have been good recently without the top end superstars. 

We are right in the mix this season. That's all that can be asked in a league like this. 

[Thebaker]

there is some analysis in the experiments subfolder on effect of attributes.

After reading it I thought about your GK's scoring penalties with poor penalty attribute and wondered what their pressure attibute was like and if it was high and maybe the driving factor in scoring a lot of penalties, i have had players who missed a number of penalties in spite of having reasonable looking attributes for it (ie those listed on the penalty takers screen)

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Thebaker said:

there is some analysis in the experiments subfolder on effect of attributes.

After reading it I thought about your GK's scoring penalties with poor penalty attribute and wondered what their pressure attibute was like and if it was high and maybe the driving factor in scoring a lot of penalties, i have had players who missed a number of penalties in spite of having reasonable looking attributes for it (ie those listed on the penalty takers screen)

There is certainly something linked to pressure, (it has some influence), but it's not the only 1. 

I know for example that I had 1 GK who is a poor penalty taker. I don't know why he was poor, but it doesn't really matter once you know he is poor. 

Here are some of the things that you would think might make a difference. I have added that attributes of (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" in brackets by way of a comparison. 

Penalty Taking 3(3)+-. (doesn't make any difference at all. Not even a little bit). 
Technique 3(12)+9
Pressure 9(10)+1. 
Temperament 12(6)-6.
Consistency 17(11)-6. 
Important Matches 9(10)+1.

The truth is that the only thing that I 100% absolutely know for a fact that influences the outcome of a penalty is the happiness/morale of the player. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Thebaker said:

there is some analysis in the experiments subfolder on effect of attributes.

After reading it I thought about your GK's scoring penalties with poor penalty attribute and wondered what their pressure attibute was like and if it was high and maybe the driving factor in scoring a lot of penalties, i have had players who missed a number of penalties in spite of having reasonable looking attributes for it (ie those listed on the penalty takers screen)

Would you mind linking me to whatever you found interesting in the other forum please? 

[Thebaker]

44 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Would you mind linking me to whatever you found interesting in the other forum please? 

this, seems to show the benefit of having positve personalities or at least how poor personalties can influence a squad and results. Things i sort of knew anyway but hadn't seen analysed.

I know how important professionalism is to players development, players attributes just seem to just shoot up with a high professionalism attribute compared to other balanced personalities.

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Thebaker said:

this, seems to show the benefit of having positve personalities or at least how poor personalties can influence a squad and results. Things i sort of knew anyway but hadn't seen analysed.

I know how important professionalism is to players development, players attributes just seem to just shoot up with a high professionalism attribute compared to other balanced personalities.

Just had a look at that and posted in there. Thanks for pointing it out. Really interesting thread. 

To anyone else who is interested in personalities and how they impact things, you might be interested in having a look at this. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2048. 

Liga Bwin. What an absolute pig of a month. We have gone from only losing 3 league games all season, to losing 4 in 1 month. We've plummeted to 4th and from challenging for the title we're now trying to hang on to a Champions League spot. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. Our poor form wasn't limited to just the league and we also crashed out of the Cup in a really poor performance. 

Taça da Liga Allianz Cup. We bounced back to get through the Semi and our season might just be saved by a Cup Final. 

 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2048. 

Liga Bwin. We go from falling apart in January again to 100% wins in February. I don't know what the issue is in January. It can't be just the transfer window issues, (but I think it is). We're in 3rd now and are just 3 pts off 2nd placed Porto, (who we play away at the end of April). 

UEFA Champions League. We got hammered and we even saved a penalty. We were battered and I have little hope of turning things around in the 2nd leg. 

Taça da Liga Allianz Cup. Another Final, but this time we can't come out on top against the Big 3. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2048. 

What a I looking for? Ideally any position across the back 4 or a GK. 

It's not a Golden Generation though. 

I obviously don't know where the strength of the intake is in terms of quality, bit in terms of numbers at least we have a few options at the back. 

2x Elite Talents, 2x Top Talents and then 6 Good Talents but it remains to be seen how good they actually are. 

Squad by PA. Not much CA on show, but our existing players are now at a level where this is to be expected. 

Squad by Actual PA. When we look at Actual PA, it looks a little better if anything., with 2x players at 150+ PA. 

To put these PA levels into perspective, (48b) and (48c) are the 6th and 7th players at the club, (ranked by Actual PA) and (48a) is ranked 16. Considering the 22 players on the list are spread over 17 years, to get 3 from this intake is certainly pleasing. 

(48b) Teixeira (POR) 6'3" looks a little raw, but there is certainly enough there to be working with. Improving his physicals will be a priority, as is his marking and heading. (Unamb) is an issue, but thankfully it isn't twinned with the dreaded (L.Det) so should be ok in terms of development. 

(48c) Bronze (POR) 5'10" looks excellent and the fact that we have a right back called Bronze almost made me nickname him Lucy. I really like the look of him. 

(48a) Côdeas (POR) 6'0" looks the best of the 3 on show, but even if her had the same PA, his (L.Det) might mean that he might not reach it. (His Pro is 13 though so fingers crossed)

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2048. 

Liga Bwin. I think the 2 dropped point against Leixões might have just finished our challenge for 2nd spot. 

UEFA Champions League. We were unlucky not to win and although (32g) Ramos (POR) scored, he also had 2 more ruled out so could have had a hat-trick. The damage was done in the 1st leg though and we were unlikely to be able to overhaul a 3 goal deficit. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[dsousa96]

Benfica and Porto are a real national PowerHouses. It seems they are invecible.

[Jimbokav1971]

26 minutes ago, dsousa96 said:

Benfica and Porto are a real national PowerHouses. It seems they are invecible.

I thought I had them this season. At the very least we should have beaten Porto an finished Runners Up. We dropped 15 points out of 18 over end of Dec and through Jan. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2048. 

Liga Bwin. We smashed Benfica with a hat-trick from (32g) Ramos (POR) but then despite dropping points against Porto, we still sit 2nd with 3 games remaining. We're 10 points behind Benfica and considering we dropped 12 points from 15 in Jan and have dropped 4 more points since then we might have been able to challenge them for the title were it not for our January woes. 

Records. This wasn't actually me trying to set a record. He's a right back who I actually played at left back because I didn't have anyone suitable at all, (an U23 game had been played earlier on the same day and restricted my options), so he was the best option available. 

His match rating was poor at 6.3, but I wonder how much of that was his performance and how much was because he played out of position because it seems pretty harsh to me. 

Goal-Scoring GK's. 

That's a rubbish penalty and I wonder is there a reason for it related to happiness/morale so let's have a look.....

It was mentioned in a recent report that he was no longer benefitting from the individual training, (so I changed it), but it seems he didn't like the change. Unhappy with training overall is more concerning is more of a problem if it can't be resolved by just fixing his unhappiness with his individual training. 

I'm not sure why he is feeling particularly under pressure at the moment, but obviously feeling under pressure is not ideal for a penalty taker. In hindsight it's no surprise that it was a rubbish penalty. 

I've changed his individual training and it's instantly had an impact. I think the individual training negative is historic now because the wording has changed from "has" to "had" so it should vanish shortly. 

I'm actually not sure how to resolve the pressure issue, but as he's on 13 goals, (but has failed with 4 spot kicks this season), and there are still 6 games remaining at the time of writing, I think there will be more penalties that need to be taken so I can't ignore it. Neither praising nor criticising last performance seems appropriate so that leaves me with praising/criticising recent form, training/development or conduct. I'm not really sure that any of them particularly fit but I'm wondering about praising conduct......

I'm going to go for the top option with an arm around him.

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2048. 

Liga Bwin. We finished the season with a bit of a whimper, despite going unbeaten over the last 12 games of the season. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 15 goals in a season is good, (it's great), but (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" also missed 4 penalties so it could have been 19, (and I lost count of the number of times he hit the woodwork from free-kicks). 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Season Summary. Jun 2048. 

Liga Bwin. I'm astonished that we haven't unlocked this achievement before now, but I suppose we have all been about scoring 1 more than the opposition rather than conceding 1 less. I think as we develop better strikers we will really push on in the coming years because at the moment although (32g) Ramos (POR) has been called up to the (POR) National side, he has never been capped. We are getting to the stage where we have a whole group of strikers who will be able to compete at this level. 

Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG. I don't care about winning this trophy. It is simply a tool to develop young players. 

UEFA Champions League. Considering we won the Group Stage, we were a little unlucky to be drawn against PSG in the 1st Knockout Round. PSG finished 2nd in their Group behind Man City and eventually finished Runners Up to Arsenal. 

Taça da Liga Allianz Cup.

Taça de Portugal Placard.

Portuguese U23 Premier League South. 

Portuguese U23 Premier League Championship Group. 

Taça Revelação Sub-23.

Portuguese U19 First Division Group B. 

Portuguese U19 First Division Championship Group. 

UEFA Youth League. 

Top Goal-scorer. 22 league goals is the best return that (32g) Ramos (POR) has managed in his career. 

Top Assists. 

Best XI. 

Facilities. 

Finances. 

[Sonic Youth]

Third it is, and distinctly a third that was closer to second and first than fourth performance wise. A few wobbly periods lessened as mentioned would show a different table.

The cups were hit and miss, with one taken away in a slump while the other helped get you through that period.

Europe was pretty decent, topping your group but unluckily drawing PSG. Did ok with them as well. Experience, and think you’ll be better next season for that 

Good to see players topping or near the top of goals and assists 

If this season’s youth intake helps with defensive depth, coupled with the growing strength in the attacking front, the future is looking very promising. Now if only a GK will appear in the next intake or three 

Edited May 28, 2022 by Sonic Youth
Wobbly lessons

[Jimbokav1971]

48 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

Third it is, and distinctly a third that was closer to second and first than fourth performance wise. A few wobbly periods lessened as mentioned would show a different table.

The cups were hit and miss, with one taken away in a slump while the other helped get you through that period.

Europe was pretty decent, topping your group but unluckily drawing PSG. Did ok with them as well. Experience, and think you’ll be better next season for that 

Good to see players topping or near the top of goals and assists 

If this season’s youth intake helps with defensive depth, coupled with the growing strength in the attacking front, the future is looking very promising. Now if only a GK will appear in the next intake or three 

I think that's a pretty fair summary.  January seems to be a problem every season and I might consider rotating the squad this season to freshen the seniors up when they do play so that 1 loss doesn't become 2 and then 3 or 4. 

We got to a Final of 1 Cup and lost to 1 of the Big 2, (I think we have the measure of Sporting now), so can't be upset at that. 

Champions League is just unlucky with the draw but apart from an awful performance in the 1st leg maybe we might have sneaked through. 

We actually have a few defenders on the way through now, (but more on that in a future post), and yes indeed GK is what I want to see come through next, (although I do have a plan for that). 

[Thebaker]

seems odd that a new stadium would be wanted since the existing one is less than 20 years old which i thought was the minimum time for one. Be interesting to see what size it is and the cost of it.

It looks like one bad run is enough to derail a title chance as the top 2 will not both suffer a run like that,

[Jimbokav1971]

A big loss. Jul 2048. 

(35a) Paulo Júnior (POR) * is one of, if not THE best player we have produced so far in the save. He's made 470 appearances for his boyhood club and made 80 Senior appearances for Portugal. It's gutting to lose him on a free, but he just wasn't interested in staying and it came down to a choice of getting a fee for him or keeping him for an extra season. It wasn't a hard choice to to choose 1 more season over just about any amount of cash. 

Surprisingly, he's only on the Favoured Personnel list when I would have expected him to be an ICON if not a Legend, (like me). 

@Sonic Youthmentioned recently that we're in need of a good young GK coming through because (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" s 32 now and we need a replacement, (although he is contracted for 4 more seasons). 

We do have a couple of GK's who should be capable of stepping up in the form of (40c) Teixeira (POR) 6'3", (who has played the last 3 seasons in Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG and will surely be stepping up to Liga Bwin this season), 19 year old (45i) Ion (POR) (ROU) 6'1", (who was our B Team GK in Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG last season), and even at a push we have (39i) Sérgio (POR) and (42m) Firmino (POR) could come in and do a job, (so things aren't quite as bad as they might be). 

My now not so secret plan however is to possibly bring (35b) Amílcar (POR) 6'1" back from Germany when (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" leaves/retires 

With regards to what other products of our Academy are options to be re-signed, then the top of our shortlist shows that there are 3 current (POR) Internationals now at other clubs. 

You haven't seen (40b) Ramalho (POR) * for a while so here he is. 

[Jimbokav1971]

6 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

seems odd that a new stadium would be wanted since the existing one is less than 20 years old which i thought was the minimum time for one. Be interesting to see what size it is and the cost of it.

It looks like one bad run is enough to derail a title chance as the top 2 will not both suffer a run like that,

That's what I thought too, but I wasn't paying attention. It's a new stadium for the B Team. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Striking options. Jul 2048. 

Deciding who to play in what squad and who is going to go out on loan and to where is a big deal. It's even more important when you're playing a Youth Only save in a top Nation. It's of absolute vital importance that I put the effort into this area, especially where our striking options are concerned. 

Senior squad. Ideally I want 4 strikers to play for the 1st Team, (or 2 pairs to be more specific).

(32g) Ramos (POR) has been our main man for years and although he's 31 now, he's just returned his best ever league scoring figures so he will be 1st choice on the left again. 

22 year old (41c) Abrantes (POR) * will again be his partner, but he had a strange season last year and although he started well, he REALLY fell off in the 2nd half of the season. I willing to stick with him and give him another go though. 

(44a) Simões (POR) * played a supporting role on the left last season and although he struggled just a little in the league, 3 goals in 4(8) appearances is still decent for a teenager, and in all competitions he scored 10 goals in 12(10) appearances. When not required for the 1st Team, he also contributed 5 goals in 18(1) appearances for the B Team so that his development wasn't stunted. The question I have now is do I play him in the same role again this season, or do I loan him out to another Liga Bwin sider where he might play a full season? 

The 2nd choice right-sided striker last season was (41g) Amaral (POR) *, but he didn't have a great season and only scored 6 goals and 3 assists in 14(21) appearances in all competitions. That's not good enough. 

(39a) Moreira (POR) * is a player who hasn't really been given much of a chance, but I'm considering using him as the 2nd choice left-sided striker instead of (44a) Simões (POR) *, (assuming I can get him out on loan to another Liga Bwin club), but actually I've just seen him PPM's and remembered that this bloke has the "plays with back to goal" PPM so he can't play on the left. If he plays then he has to play on the right......

(45c) Rosa (POR) * is the other player in the mix and he had a full season in the B Team, so maybe he should play a support role in the Senior Squad this season, and allow (44a) Simões (POR) * to go out on loan and get a full Liga Bwin season under his belt. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Job Offer. Jul 2048. 

Sporting came in and offered me £5.3M per month in 2032, but neither Porto nor Benfica have been in for me nor R.Madrid or Barca. 

It's the 6th time that Spain have been in for me, but the 1st time they have done so as the #1 ranked Nation in the World. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Developing Rivalries. Aug 2048. 

This is a tiny feature, but I think it's actually a perfect example of how many aspects of the game are a great innovative idea, but unfortunately fail to deliver on the fine details. 

It's the 1st time I have ever seen this message, (I think), and I think it's great so I'm certainly not complaining, but it actually doesn't really do what it says on the tin. 

The reason for the competitive rivalry being created is seemingly because are expected to be competing for the same finishing spots in the league. Well that's ok, but we beat them by 11 points last season, 26 points the previous season, (although we finished on the same points 3 seasons ago). I think my problem with how it's working is that I don't want it to be based on our anticipated finishes. I want it to be based on our actual finishes. So if this message had arrived 3 seasons ago after we had finished level on points and they had finished above us by virtue of our head to head record then this would have been brilliant. But as it is it just makes me feel a bit meh and is typical of the way lots of really good innovative ideas are implemented. Either they don't link to other stuff under the hood or they don't actually do what they are meant to do. 

[Jimbokav1971]

International call-ups. Aug 2048. 

The 2048 European Championships have just finished and Portugal were knocked out by Spain in the Semi-Finals. 

Spain went on to lose to Italy in the Final as they won their 3rd European Champs of the 7 played during this save, (and were Runners-Up in another). The only structures loaded in this save are Portugal, Spain and Brazil, so I would have expected Portugal to do better than they have and although Spain have only won 1 Euro's, they have also been Runners-Up on 2 other occasions. 

Before I look at the World Cup I would expect both Spain and Brazil to have dominated, (but then again that wouldn't exactly be a surprise no matter what Nations were loaded). 

Spain have won the World Cup twice during this save and finished 3rd on 2 more occasions. 

Portugal have finished Runners Up on 1 occasion. 

Brazil have won the World Cup once and were also Runners Up on another occasion. 

Spain have only won 1 Nations League but they have been Runners Up twice and finished 3rd 3 more occasions, (so in the top 3 in 6 of 14 seasons). 

Portugal have won it twice at the start of the save and then nothing for years until they were Runners Up this year. 

We've got a few players who have represented their Country at Senior level. 

(POR) 

In addition to the above, (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" and (32g) Ramos (POR) have regularly been called up to the Senior (POR) squad, but have never made their International debut. 

There are also 3 of our ex players currently in the (POR) squad. 

(ENG) 

(44c) Ogbu (ENG) (NGA) * hasn't been capped yet, but it's surely a matter of time. I would also expect (45e) The Gimp (ENG) 6'2" to get close to making the (ENG) squad. 

(TAN) 

(CIV)

(GNB)

(CPV) 

(34b) Lopes. (CPV) has moved on now and has 60 Caps. 

[Thebaker]

that rivalry might be based on where you are expected to finish (based on the season preview) rather than what is actually happening. It could also be due to the fact that Braga would expect to finish above you but are not, some rivalries are one-sided from what i have noticed.

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, Thebaker said:

that rivalry might be based on where you are expected to finish (based on the season preview) rather than what is actually happening. It could also be due to the fact that Braga would expect to finish above you but are not, some rivalries are one-sided from what i have noticed.

Yeah, it's definitely based on expected finish, but as they haven't go near us for the last couple of seasons that seems a bit strange. On the other hand we have lost our best player so maybe they know more than I. 

Braga also have a competitive rivalry with Benfica, (which seems a little strange), but they won the league in 2044/45 and have finished 3rd in 4 of the other 9 seasons in the last 10 years, (so maybe not that strange). 

It will be interesting to see if we can create a competitive rivalry with Benfica & Porto over the next few seasons?

We already have a local rivalry with Benfica, but nothing at all with Porto. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2048. 

Liga Bwin. In some ways it was a decent opening month. We took 3 points off Porto and Sporting, but new rivals Braga turned us over at their place. In actual fact I'm quite happy with our start because although we trail Braga by 2 pts, (and they have a game in hand), we're 3 pts ahead of Benfica & 5 pts ahead of Porto, (although they also have a game in hand). These 3 teams are likely to be our main competition again. 

xG watch. Porto & Braga both dominated us and where we came out on top against Porto, we lost out against PdF after the morale hit from the Braga game so 
Belenenses 1.06 - 2.25 Porto. 
Braga 2.19 - 0.63 Belenenses. 
PdF 1.43 - 2.60 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 2.32 - 0.57 Sporting. 
Nacional 1.13 - 2.39 Belenenses. 

UEFA Champions League Group.

Arsenal might be the holders and Haaland would be 48 now were he still playing for Dortmund, who have qualified from the Group in each of the last 10 seasons, but often crash out in the 1st Knockout Round. I think this is a perfect opportunity to have another go at the Europa League. 

It's amazing how often FM predicts real life. 

Haaland went to City in my game too and as well as 342 goals in all competitions for City, he finished on 133 International goals from 132 International Appearances. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

As I selected the squad for the 1st league game against Porto, I noticed a few issues with his happiness. 

I set his asking price at £50M to scare the vultures off, but I have removed it now because I don't want him missing penalties. He doesn't seem to like any training, but I don't really want him to have no individual training. It was on GK Technique and have moved it to GK Reactions. That seems to be sorted now. 

The Asking Price unhappiness will be removed tomorrow. I'm not sure how it will impact him in todays game if we get a penalty. 

There were no penalty opportunities and in fact he has only taken 3 shots this month, but I can't afford to take a risk with his happiness. If there is an issue I need to fix it each and every time and if I do that I think I have a real chance of him scoring close to 20 goals a season. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2048. 

Liga Bwin. We might have dropped points against Famalicao, but they were the 1st points that they have dropped this season so we have to just take the little wins. We're up to 2nd, 2 pts behind Braga because they have a game in hand. Benfica are 1 point behind us with a game in hand and Porto are 5 pts behind us with a game in hand. 

xG watch. We won all 3 of the xG battles this month. 
Belenenses 1.86 - 1.69 Famalicao. 
Belenenses 3.48 - 0.60 CdP.
Leixoes 2.41 - 2.58 Belenenses. 

UEFA Champions League. I rotated the whole squad against Arsenal and not only didn't we lose but we almost won. We also then went and beat Zenit with another weakened squad. The problem I've got now is how to finish behind Arsenal but ahead of Zenit. 2 losses to Dortmund will really help that and that's the next 2 games up. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2048. 

Liga Bwin. The 2 pts dropped against Farense were a blow considering quite how dominant we were and the fact that we also missed the target with a penalty, but that's balanced out with the undeserved point we gained away at Guimaraes. We've dropped to 3rd now and Benfica are 1 pt ahead with a game in hand and Porto are 1 pt behind, also with a game in hand. 

xG watch. 
Belenenses 4.14 - 1.20 Estoril. 
Guimaraes 2.32 - 1.58 Belenenses.
Farense 0.15 - 3.52 Belenenses. 

UEFA Champions League. I'm happy to lose this and we're now in 3rd but need to also lose the next game. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. I was resting players for the weakened game against Dortmund, so I thought they might as well play in the Cup. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

I have no issues with him skying this penalty because there are no morale issues at all and there is absolutely nothing that I could have done. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2048. 

Liga Bwin. What an awful month. We conceded a late equaliser that cost us 2 pts against Benfica and then we conceded 2 late goals against Moreirense to cost us 3 pts. 

xG watch. We should have beaten Benfica and we should have obliterated Moreirense. 
Belenenses 1.74 - 0.83 Benfica. 
Belenenses 3.65 - 0.86 Moreirense.

UEFA Champions League. Our last game in the Group Stage is against Arsenal, but I have to be careful that we don't win it because if we do then we will jump above them via head to head record and I want to finish 3rd remember. 

Taça de Portugal Placard.

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2048. 

Liga Bwin. It's a decent(ish) month, but actually I see it as 2 pts dropped rather than 10 pts won. We're up to 4th and are 2 pts off Benfica in 3rd. If anyone remembers my criticism of the "new rivalry" feature at the beginning of the season I might have to rethink my words. Braga are absolutely romping it and are 4 pts clear of Porto at the top of the table. 

The other thing that shouldn't be ignored is that of the 9 goals we scored in the league this month, 7 of them were scored by (32g) Ramos (POR), (which brings him to 19 goals from 19 appearances so far this season). 

UEFA Champions League. I fielded a weak squad because I couldn't afford for Arsenal to have an off day and for us to somehow sneak a win and finish 2nd in the group. As it is we still almost got a result. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. We won, but we should have won by way more. 

Taça da Liga Allianz Cup. The less said about this debacle the better. 

Awards.

African Striker of the Year and World Golden Glove 3rd place. 

Goal-scoring GK's. No GK goals this month.

Finances.   

[dsousa96]

Braga is on fire this season. It reminds me 2009/10 season where they finished 2nd just 6 points behind Benfica. Hopefully you finally win the league this season. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2049. 

Liga Bwin. The last 2 January's have been awful in terms of performances, but this year we have actually been decent and did well to struggle through with just 1 defeat with a spate of injuries that seriously weakened us. 

xG watch. We won 5/6 of the xG battles this month and the one we didn't win was against Porto who are a tough nut to crack and who have only lost 1 league game so far this season. 
Belenenses 3.55 - 0.53 Braga. 
Porto 1.85 - 0.83 Belenenses. 
Sporting 0.40 - 2.32 Belenenses. 
Famalicao 0.82 - 3.05 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 2.08 - 0.37 Nacional. 
Belenenses 2.66 - 0.29 PdF. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. With the injuries this month and the injuries we've been hit with mean that progress under these circumstances is decent and progress not to be sniffed at. 

Goal-Scoring GK's. What's it called in cricket? The nervous nineties I think. 

 

There are still no happiness issues with (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" and I think it's significant that 2 of the 3 misses have been a failure to hit the target, (1 complete miss and 1 hit the woodwork).

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

55 minutes ago, dsousa96 said:

Braga is on fire this season. It reminds me 2009/10 season where they finished 2nd just 6 points behind Benfica. Hopefully you finally win the league this season. 

We beat them at the start of this month and then Benfica beat them too so that will hopefully put a dent in things, but yeah, they are in decent form this season. 

Actually they have been decent for a few seasons now. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2049. 

Liga Bwin. 2 more wins mean that we have closed the gap on Braga to a single point but despite 10 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in our last 12 games, we're actually 2 points down on Porto over the same period who have been in great form. 

It's not all bad news though as we're 4 points up on Benfica and 8 points up on Braga over the same 12 game period. With 9 games left I expect us to finish 3rd at least, (ahead of Braga), and 2nd if we beat Benfica when we meet them in April. Porto have as good as won the league already I think. 

xG watch. That's pretty dominant. 
CdP 0.22 - 3.38 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 3.33 - 0.01 Leixoes.  

UEFA Europa League. We should have won the 1st leg, but were poor in the 2nd leg and not really near overturning the 1st leg deficit. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Another month without a GK goal. Despite playing well and sitting 4th in the league, we're just not winning the penalties and free-kick opportunities. 

Finances.   

Edited May 30, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2049. 

What are we looking for? We are find for right backs and even centre-backs, centre-mids and strikers, but we need a GK, DL, ML & MR. 

Squad by PA. 

Squad by Actual PA.

(49f) Santos (POR) looks more workmanlike than I like my midfielders but other than WTM or centre-half there isn't really any alternative options jumping out at me. 

(49a) Odhiambo (POR) (KEN) could be the next Bruno Fernandes and he looks like he might develop into a decent DLP. 

(49h) Ndlovu (POR) (RSA) is starting from a low CA starting point which might be a problem. 

(49c) Ojog (POR) (MDA) 6'6" is 6'6" as his name suggests we might be able to develop him into a right-sided TM. 

(49e) Madruga (POR) is touted as the next Luis Figo and will already be in contention on the left hand side. 

(49b) Blot (POR) (FRA) could be a decent option on the right, but I have concerns over his lack of physical ability. 

All in all it's a pretty average intake in terms of PA and where as we had 3 players on the 1st PA page last season, we only have 1 this year and he just sneaks on the bottom. 

In fact only 3 more players make the 2nd page. 

All in all a pretty poor showing. 

[Thebaker]

looks like that youth intake has definitely been over hyped. I expect Ndlovu to catch up due to his personality.

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Thebaker said:

looks like that youth intake has definitely been over hyped. I expect Ndlovu to catch up due to his personality.

Yeah, it's not good, but anything near 130(ish) is still a decent player at this level so if we can get them to their PA (and we have 6 players in the intake at 120+ PA), then it actually might be decent. 

(49h) Ndlovu (POR) (RSA) is starting from quite a low CA of 61 so that might just be too much ground to make up. Even (49f) Santos (POR) at 66 CA might struggle. 

I personally think we are long overdue an absolute star through the Academy, but that's the way it goes sometimes. 

I suppose it could be argued that (35a) Paulo Júnior (POR) * was exactly that "absolute star" with a PA of 177, (that I think he maxed out at some point - his CA is now 174), and we had him for 13 seasons so I can't really complain. It should be said that there are currently 5 (POR) players in the game with a better PA than him. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2049. 

Liga Bwin. We're doing ok in the league, but when those around you drop so few points it's hard to make up ground on them. Porto lost away to Sporting & Benfica drew away to Estoril in their last games and we now have 1 game in hand on both. Have they opened the door for us to close the gap? 

xG watch. I don't think I have ever seen a 0.00 xG score before, (but then again I haven't paid much notice of it until recently).
Estoril 0.59 - 1.05 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 2.92 - 0.00 Farense. 

Taça de Portugal Placard.

Goal-scoring GK's. I'm not sure I have ever got 2 different GK's to 100 career goals in the same thread before. I think I might have done it in San Marino with FM14, but I really can't remember). Hopefully that will take the pressure off and he will start smashing them in again now. 

Surprisingly neither GK won a (POR) Senior International Cap, (although both were called up to the squad many many many times). 

Finances.