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

[Jimbokav1971]

14 minutes ago, deltablue said:

Banao is already brilliant.

Yep. He's a proper freak. 

Something I was concerned about was his High Injury Susceptibility and the fact that he would be playing so much at such a young age, but we haven't had too many problems considering he basically plays in all games and is also getting called up to CIV U23's at the moment. 

I think he's likely to suffer at the back end of his career as a result, but it will be interesting to keep an eye on either way. 

He certainly doesn't lose a lot in the air. 

I'm wondering if it might be worth trying some more direct deliveries at set-pieces.... At the moment everything is passed short because it's based on by Barca tactic from FM21. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2023. 

Portuguese Third Division. We won the Promotion stage with a game to spare, (despite losing the 1st game), and with it won promotion to the 2nd Tier. We've regularly scored late goals in games and this month was no different as we scored 84th and 94th min winners.

We still have the Portugese Third Division Champions Playoff Final to play and that will determine if we win a trophy or not. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Still no movement here. 

Records. 

Finances.   This is getting silly now. £1.7M in the hole and rising rapidly. 

[Punch]

Congrats on promotion! 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2023. 

Third Division Champions Playoff Final. Not just our 2nd successive promotion, but our 2nd successive title. 

[Jimbokav1971]

13 minutes ago, Punch said:

Congrats on promotion! 

Thanks.  Must admit it's going quite well. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Something I should point out is that because I invariably play FM using an IR skin, even when I win stuff I don't get to see the celebrations. Even if you go back in and see the highlights, there are no highlights of the celebrations. 

Playing as Barca at the end of FM21 got me back into playing the game properly, (without IR), and I really enjoyed these celebrations and the walk round the pitch because it was so new to me. 

So yeah, something that the rest of you are completely used to, is still very new and fresh to me. It's made our 2 successes even more sweet. 

[RoguPL]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

May 2023. 

Third Division Champions Playoff Final. Not just our 2nd successive promotion, but our 2nd successive title. 

Been following this all the time. Congrats on promotion! Great read as always. 

 

btw, the trophy looks a bit like you won a world cup 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, rrozek93 said:

Been following this all the time. Congrats on promotion! Great read as always. 

btw, the trophy looks a bit like you won a world cup 

Thanks very much. 

Yeah it does look like the World Cup trophy. 

[Jimbokav1971]

End of Season 2022/23 Summary. 

League History. I think this graphic is always 1 season out of date. I don't know why. 

Portuguese Third Division South First Phase. We won the league that led to another league and then on to a Cup Final. 

Portugese Third Division Promotion Stage Group 2. We won the 2nd league that led to a Cup Final that led on from a 1st league. 

Portugese Third Division Champions Playoff Final. We won the Final that came after 2 league stages. 

Portuguese Cup. We've made it to the 5th Round both seasons now and both seasons been beaten by a Primeira Liga side so I can't complain. The money seems almost nothing though. The 5th Round is actually the "Round of 16", so we've actually done really well to get that far and if we can get there again this season I will be happy.

Squad by Appearances. We had quite a settled squad and when you consider that  Rúben Araújo (POR) started every single one of our 33 games, was our top goal-scorer and only scored 12 goals, it perhaps says something about our lack of quality as individuals but our strength as a squad. 5 players started 30+ games and further 5 started 20+ games. In contrast, (22d) Couceiro (POR) started just 1 single game, but appeared off the bench 20 times. 

Squad by CA. 1x 4.5 CA player, 1x 4.0 CA player, 4x 3.5 CA players and 11x 3.0 CA players. It's safe to say that this squad is PA heavy rather than CA heavy. 

(22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" is our best player and I think it's just happened to work out really well that he's a centre-half and that's exactly what we needed him to be. Had he played further forward or wider then we might have been much better going forward, but we wouldn't be celebrating our 2nd successive title. 

Squad by PA. I basically have to scroll down to show you all the 5.0 PA players.  When you have 24x 5.0 PA players, it doesn't matter how many 4.5 PA players you've got. 

(22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" tops our PA list as well as our CA list so I'm going to show you the player 2nd on the PA list. 

(23a) Rosado (POR) is going to find it quite hard to break into the Senior squad because he has quite a few decent playmakers in front of him. This is absolutely going to stunt his development. He will stay in the U19's for a while but he probably needs either a loan move or a spell in a B Team to help him reach the levels he's capable of. We're not set up for this at all at the moment. As he's only 15 though we do have some time.

Goal-scoring GK's. Marcelo (BRA) is still the king, but (23e) Valente (POR) is the long-term heir to the throne. 

Marcelo (BRA) is likely to start next season as 1st choice, but if we're not challenging for the title again, (surely we can't make it 3 in a row!) and if we're not in danger of relegation, then I might swap things around and bring in (23e) Valente (POR) to aid his development. 

Transfers. The only player we sold was Pedro Pato who went for £0 + a friendly. He went to TND who must be......  Tondela? and is still in their U19's. He's a decent player but we have so many playmakers it seemed more sensible to let him go. 

or Youth Recruitment

Facilities. We can't upgrade either our Junior Coaching or Youth Recruitment. I think 1 of them is maxed out but can't remember which way around it is. We obviously haven't been able to improve our Training or Youth Facilities, but luckily they were decent to start with. This is unlikely to change anytime soon because not only do we not have the money now, but I can't envisage us having the money anytime soon. Even if we start getting big bids in for players and the board start accepting them over my head, I would prefer to keep the money in the bank rather than improve the facilities further to try and stave off the boards future involvement in our transfer dealings. I honestly can't see us improving Youth Facilities or Training Facilities until we're playing in Europe! 

Finances. The board invested £616k last season to help with the running costs, but have invested £0 this season. Hopefully they will reduce the debt or consolidate into a loan or do something before the start of the season. 

[Jimbokav1971]

PPM's. May 2023. 

This is the 3rd time I've tried to get him to un-learn this bloomin PPM. He would actually be decent if he stopped facing the wrong way. 

I only play him from the bench if at all, but without that PPM I think he's our 1st choice striker. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Club vision. May 2023. 

Great! Does that mean they have consolidated the debt into a loan or paid it off? 

No.   

What the hell are they talking about! I think it must be because not enough of them are playing in the Senior Team, but the only reason that isn't happening more is because (A) Half of them are 15 years old and the other half of them are 16 years old, and (B) we can only pick 5 players in each match squad who are not HG at Nation and they have to be here for a while before they get HG at club which counts. 

[Jimbokav1971]

What do you mean this was sneaky? 

[Jimbokav1971]

Contracts. Jun 2033. 

I've been looking at the expiring contracts of our players. This is the squads ranked by contract expiry date. We're only losing 2 players this Summer and I could even choose to keep Fábio (POR) 6'2" but his legs properly went just after Christmas and he can barely walk now never mind about run. 

Lots of the 1st team contracts expire next season and we will either have to extend them or replace them with youngsters. 

I'm not concerned at all about the wage budget, (even in spite of the finances), but getting the £3,300 per month wages for Fábio (POR) 6'2" off the books will be handy all the same. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Now that's what I'm talking about! Jun 2023. 

Quick, quick. What can I spend it on before it's gone?

[Jimbokav1971]

Affiliate club. Jun 2023. 

Every other club in the Country seems to have Brazilians everywhere, and we just have our GK. There have been one at all coming through the intake. In an effort to change that I have applied for an Affiliate club and I am looking for a feeder club in Brazil. 

I'm not sure if I asked the wrong question when applying, or if this was all that was available. Either way I have been given the choice of 4 Portugese clubs. 

The only club in a playable league is Barreirense who play in the 4th tier, (but they are about to be relegated to non-playable). 

[Jimbokav1971]

B Team decision. Jun 2023. 

It's that time of year when we get asked if we want to create a new B Team. 

I don't know if they are going to start in a non-playable league or come in as a new tier 4 side so I'm not really sure what I want to do. We have 60 players at the club now and I think that's plenty to start a B Team with. 

I think I'm going to say yes and if the worst comes to the worst I just won't give them any players and they can use grey players. It's better to set it up now so at least I will have an answer to the questions I've got. 

They will play in a non-playable league so I don't think there will be games. I will keep an eye on it and see what's what. This is more about planning for the future than now. I don't really have any experience of this sort of thing so I will just have to learn as I go. 

[Punch]

Things are looking good

[Jimbokav1971]

Portugese Second League rules. Jul 2023. 

I'm a little confused lo let's go through this slowly and make sure I understand them. 

•  We're not a B Team so that doesn't apply to us. 
•  We aren't playing in Europe so this does include us. 3x HGN players in each match squad? We've just come from a league where we had to have 13 never mind about 3. This is fine. 
•  We're not a B Team so this does include us, but this is exactly the same rule as the previous rule and the only way they would need it is if a B Team was playing in Europe. Am I reading that correctly? 
•  That's not going to be a problem. 
•  We're not a B Team so this doesn't apply to us. 
•  So where as last season any youngster was eligible, now each youngster has to be registered no matter the age. (I think). 

That all seems completely straightforward, but why is this bit so confusing then? 

So the 1st set of rules appear to relate to match day squads. These rules appear to relate to squads for the season, (I think). 

•  That's fine. We had to have 13 in each match squad last season. 
•  What the hell is a "first-year senior player"? A player just arrived from the Academy is a Youth Player rather than a Senior player so that can't be it. A player who has just signed a Pro contract? 7 of them? That doesn't seem very likely does it? 
•  68 players should be fine I think. 
•  That will definitely be fine. 

This is what it shows me when I go to the registration page. 

Where is the quota for 7x "first year senior players"? 

What's the "Next Season" tick box for? 

Ok, now I see it. The 7x "FYS" quota has been added, but that's for next season. Does that mean it's a rule that doesn't come into force until next season? 

A player...  and , (so born in 2004), would be.... 19 years old? I'm really confused.  

Ok, so 1st of all let's just register everyone in the Senior Squad and see what happens. 

Ok, so there are lots of players in the B Team no. I didn't put them there. let's put them all in the Senior squad, and anyone in the U19's squad who is 17 and over. 

That's everyone who is at the club and aged over 16. 

Can I also register those who are aged 16 and under? Yes I can.

Now absolutely everyone at the club is registered. 

There are also rules for Transfers in this league.  They are all loan rules and I don't plan on loaning anyone in, (unless we're selling them 1st), so it shouldn't matter. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Player valuations. Jul 2023. 

We're up into the 2nd tier now so player values have obviously risen. some of the ranges involved seem far bigger than others though. 

For example (22e) Capucha (POR) is valued at £150k to £350k, (which seems fine), but then (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" is valued at £120k to £1.2M, (starting lower and finishing higher). Why is the range for (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" so big? 

[ToMexico!!]

6 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Player valuations. Jul 2023. 

We're up into the 2nd tier now so player values have obviously risen. some of the ranges involved seem far bigger than others though. 

For example (22e) Capucha (POR) is valued at £150k to £350k, (which seems fine), but then (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" is valued at £120k to £1.2M, (starting lower and finishing higher). Why is the range for (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" so big? 

I much prefer the single figure value rather than this range. It almost feels like this should be a scouting figure only in my opinion.

What decides that value range? Age, length of contract, CA/PA and reputation maybe. I had a player whose range was £50k - £120k but sold him for £250k + clauses. Is the value what we can see for a player different to what another club can see for the same player if that makes sense? Is the said player worth more to them in their team than he is in mine and thats why they paid more for him? 

Anyway, have been reading from the start, great save as always. Good luck in the Second League 

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, ToMexico!! said:

I much prefer the single figure value rather than this range. It almost feels like this should be a scouting figure only in my opinion.

What decides that value range? Age, length of contract, CA/PA and reputation maybe. I had a player whose range was £50k - £120k but sold him for £250k + clauses. Is the value what we can see for a player different to what another club can see for the same player if that makes sense? Is the said player worth more to them in their team than he is in mine and thats why they paid more for him? 

Anyway, have been reading from the start, great save as always. Good luck in the Second League 

Thanks very much. 

Player value has always been an amalgamation of things and sometimes it made more sense than other but.... at least when there was a figure, I could sort of get my head round. My brain needs re-training and at my age that's easier said than done. 

The simple solution would be to pick a value between the top end and the bottom end of the range, but the ranges differ so much that this doesn't seem to be sensible. 

I'm not saying that the new system is wrong. I think it's probably a long-term improvement. The issue is more that I'm not finding it easy to adapt to it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad management. Jul 2023. 

I've suddenly got a B Team and now it all seams like quite hard work with regards to who is in what squad and who is available to play in what other squad. 

I've settled on this for the moment. 

Senior Squad. 30 players, (although some players are also available for the U19s). 

B Team. 13 players. (Generally these are the cast-offs, but if you look at Renato Faria (POR) HG and (22k) Jerónimo Hugo (POR) in particular, but even (22n) Carlos Oliveira (POR), these players have something about them but there is lots of competition in their position and they are down the pecking order). 

U19's. Every 15 and 16 year old is available for this squad, but there are also a few 17 year olds who are in the Senior squad and who might need more game-time. 

My thinking process went something like this. 

• Everyone older than 16 placed into the senior squad. 
• 16 year old who I expected to have a reasonable chance of making a Senior match day squad in the next couple of months promoted to the Senior Squad, but made available for U19's. When the U19's play on the same day as the Senior squad they will be unavailable for the Senior squad, but they will at least be fit and able to be called upon the rest of the time. 
• 15 year olds left in the U19's no matter how good they are. 
• Players who were in the Senior squad and who seemed unlikely to get into a Senior match day squad, whether it was for lack of ability, poor potential or just too much competition in that area, were moved to the B Team. 
• Nobody in the B Team is available for any other squads. 

I think as we move through the seasons, (and add an U23 squad and start producing players of a better quality that players want to loan), this is going to become both easier and harder. Easier because I will basically just pick who I want in the Senior squad, stick the youngest in the U19's squad, stick those under 23 in the U23's and everyone else in the B Team, but harder because of the management involved. I hope there is going to be lots of guidance from the staff related to this. The 1 thing I have really been thinking of is the structure of the squads and what sort of hierarchy there should be. 

For example, in my head at the moment, this is how it should be. 

Senior Squad
U23's
B Team
U19's

This offers the best pathway to the senior squad and that's what we're after ultimately. The problem is that I look at that and I wonder if the B Team would be ranked higher if it was in a competitive league and the answer is absolutely yes it would. If we were in Tier 1 for example and the B Team was in... Tier 2 for example, (like Braga and Benfica do for example), then the B Team would be above the U23's in the hierarchy. Does that make sense? 

Senior Squad
B Team
U23's
U19's

While I'm on the subject of B Teams, if Braga and Benfica have B Teams in Tier 2, where are the Sporting and Porto B Teams? 

Sporting B is in the Championship, (4th Tier). 

Porto B is in the 3rd Tier. 

It's interesting that Porto have a Portugese Affiliate in the Premier League. PTM is.... Portimonense I'm guessing. I have never seen a relationship like that in FM where both clubs are in the same league. I wonder if it's a bug? 

It isn't a bug because PTM have been in the top tier for a while now. Maybe it's allowed in Portugal. 

This is from 2019, but it definitely confirms that there is a relationship. 

If we can get a relationship like that if/when we get to Tier 1 then that would be pretty cool. 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[ToMexico!!]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Thanks very much. 

Player value has always been an amalgamation of things and sometimes it made more sense than other but.... at least when there was a figure, I could sort of get my head round. My brain needs re-training and at my age that's easier said than done. 

The simple solution would be to pick a value between the top end and the bottom end of the range, but the ranges differ so much that this doesn't seem to be sensible. 

I'm not saying that the new system is wrong. I think it's probably a long-term improvement. The issue is more that I'm not finding it easy to adapt to it. 

I think its probably going more towards real life, a manager may (or may not) have a list of his players and their contract expiry date, their age, their importance to the team and then make estimation in their own mind as to how much each player is worth. 

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, ToMexico!! said:

I think its probably going more towards real life, a manager may (or may not) have a list of his players and their contract expiry date, their age, their importance to the team and then make estimation in their own mind as to how much each player is worth. 

If I said to you how much is a pint of milk, would you say "it's about 50p", or would you say "it's between 40p and 60p"? I think you would say "it's about 50p". 

If I said to you how much is that sofa, would you say, "it's about £500", or would you say, "it's between £400 and £600"? I think you would say "it's about £500".

If I said to you, how much are you willing to pay for a new star striker, would you say, "about £50M", or would you say "between £40M and £60M"? Do you see what I mean? 

They both effectively mean the same thing, but we don't talk in terms of ranges most of the time. At least I don't. We talk in "estimations". I think that's why I'm having a problem with it. One of my ranges is  That's a ridiculous range. 

[Jimbokav1971]

He wants to leave. Jul 2023. 

(22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" wants to leave. 

Of course he can leave....... in 2 years when he just has 12 months left on his contract and I can sell him for a few quid. 

Belenenses, the caring club. 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[ToMexico!!]

12 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

If I said to you how much is a pint of milk, would you say "it's about 50p", or would you say "it's between 40p and 60p"? I think you would say "it's about 50p". 

If I said to you how much is that sofa, would you say, "it's about £500", or would you say, "it's between £400 and £600"? I think you would say "it's about £500".

If I said to you, how much are you willing to pay for a new star striker, would you say, "about £50M", or would you say "between £40M and £60M"? Do you see what I mean? 

They both effectively mean the same thing, but we don't talk in terms of ranges most of the time. At least I don't. We talk in "estimations". I think that's why I'm having a problem with it. One of my ranges is  That's a ridiculous range. 

A very good point. 

I've looked and looked again to see if there is any other value figure instead and there isn't, (unless I'm blind). I hope it can be changed within a skin in the near future. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul & Aug 2023. 

Portuguese Second League. 2 wins from 3 in the league is better than I was expecting. Farense were much better than us and deservedly sit top. There are 2 auto-promotion spots in this league and a 3rd Playoff spot. If we can get anywhere near then I will be more than happy. 

Portuguese League Cup. I think we were unlucky to be drawn against Farense in the 1st Round. It means we don't even get to the league phase. 

Goal-scoring GK's. No goals and I'm afraid to report that Marcelo (BRA) had a penalty saved in the Felgueiras game. Unfortunately that means he's now only 10 from 14 from the spot at 71 with 3 direct free-kicks and 3 assists. I'm just happy it didn't cost us any points. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, ToMexico!! said:

A very good point. 

I've looked and looked again to see if there is any other value figure instead and there isn't, (unless I'm blind). I hope it can be changed within a skin in the near future. 

I think we will get used to it, (like anything), and I can understand why they changed it, but if I was in the room at SI towers discussing it, I would have been pushing to use a single figure, that may or may not be accurate depending on various influences. Give me 1 figure that I expect to be off rather than a range that the accurate figure is going to fall between. Would love to hear their thinking behind this. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Social media. Sep 2023. 

I'm not sure the fans understand the plan.

But this bloke gets it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2023. 

Portuguese Second League. A bit of a battling month, but if you told me we were only going to lose 1 of our opening 6 games I would have been ecstatic.  (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" and 1st choice right back João Oliveira (POR) have missed the last 2 games and with that in mind I am particularly delighted with 4 points from the 2 games and just 1 goal conceded. 

Finances.  

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2023. 

Portuguese Second League. 0 goals scored in the league this month.  That's a first. We played ok. but couldn't put the ball in the net. 

Portugese Cup. This is great, but if we're not going to win it, (we're not), and the prize money is rubbish, (it is), then what exactly is the point? On the plus side, 17 year old  (22e) Capucha (POR) scored a 34 min hat-trick, (the 1st of the save).

(22e) Capucha (POR) has scored 14 goals in 25(9) appearances in all competitions for us but is still pretty raw. He's starting too many games for my liking but Ortiz (AUS) is still facing the wrong way and Rúben Araújo (POR) was injured in the 1st game of the season and hasn't played since so we're pretty short up front. He's developing nicely though. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances.  We lost £27k last month. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2023. 

Portugese Second Division. We've lost our mojo and can't buy a win. We were 2-1 up against top of the table Arouca and blew it. I'm starting to get concerned about relegation. We're only 4 points ahead of the relegation zone. 

Portugese Cup. We have also crashed out of the Cup. 

Job/Interview offers. 

This is the 1st interview at a top tier club. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2023. 

Portuguese Second League. We're sinking like a stone. 

Job Interview/Offers. A 2nd job offer, this time from the Primeira Liga.

Finances.  The invested £3M is now gone. 

[karanhsingh]

Congratulations on the promotion! Sad that Banao wants to leave but hope you can somehow convince him to stay. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Congratulations on the promotion! Sad that Banao wants to leave but hope you can somehow convince him to stay. 

I don't think that's very likely and I'm not too sure I even want him to stay. I will keep him for this season and next season, (even if he's unhappy), and unless we have made it to the Primeira Liga, (which is extremely unlikely), then the chances are I will sell him with a year left on his contract and wish him all the best. The only problem is that we don't seem to be producing replacements for him. 

I would love a centre-half or 2 to come through the intake this year, but even then it will take them so long to develop that I don't think it will help us much in the short-term. I think we could be in for a bit of a slog period in the save. 

[karanhsingh]

Are you doing youth only now entirely?

[Peter G]

I wonder if you could find what league your B team are in and see if they could, eventually, get promoted to a playable league? Would be better for those players

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Are you doing youth only now entirely?

Yes. 100% completely Youth Only but with the single caveat that if a player is produced by our Academy and then leaves the club, then I can can sign him back, but he has to come through our intake. The only other exception is players who are poached from our Academy. I still class them as products of our Academy so they can be signed. No matter what happens in this save, that won't change. 

Different rules for different saves. 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

55 minutes ago, Peter G said:

I wonder if you could find what league your B team are in and see if they could, eventually, get promoted to a playable league? Would be better for those players

I'm sure they will definitely get promoted soon and it will absolutely be vital in terms of developing players as the save progresses. 

They are in "Regional Division" right now and I "think" this is the 5th tier, (so 1 below the Championship). I'm taking that largely from this. 

PRD is I'm guessing "Premier Regional Division". 

In real life, Soccerway shows this. 

Tier 1. Primeira Liga
Tier 2. Segunda Liga
Tier 3. Liga 3. 
Tier 4. Campeonato de Portugal Prio (Championship).
Now it gets a bit murky.
Tier 5. III DIVISÃO <<<<<<<<<<<(This is the Regional Division I think). 

Portugese Cup. Taça de Portugal

Portugese League Cup. Taça da Liga

Portugese Super Cup. Super Cup

[Jimbokav1971]

Biggest bid of the save so far. Jan 2024. 

Milan have come in with the following bid for (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3".

On the 1 hand it's a significant offer in terms of the save because it's the biggest offer we have ever received, but on the other hand he has 2.5 years left on his contract so my plan is to keep him for at least 1 and a half more years and then sell him for whatever we can get. If the money at that stage isn't great, then I might even consider letting him stay and see out his contract before leaving on a free, (although I would rather sell him with 12 months left on his contract). 

Because of that I don't want to play about with this offer and start negotiating. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Planning for the future. Jan 2024. 

We've got a number of 1st choice players who's contracts are due to expire at the end of the season. 

Because some of them are the wrong side of 30, and because we're struggling in the league and in with a reasonable chance of relegation, I have decided to try and get offload some of them now and give their playing time for the rest of the season to youngsters who will be here longer term. 

Rui Pereira. (POR) SELL and Kikas. (POR) SELL are our 1st choice central midfielders. 
Mauro Antunes (POR) SELL is a utility midfieder.
Ortiz (AUS) SELL is our plays with back to goal striker who I have decided to give up on. 

João Oliveira (POR) is our 1st choice right back and although he doesn't want to sign a new contract, I don't want to lose him before we absolutely have to. 
André Serra (POR) 6'1" is playing at centre-half rather than full back and we can't afford to lose him. 
Diogo Brito (POR) is a utility player who can play right wing or right back and I want to keep him. 

This strategy could seal our fate, but the extra 6 months playing time given to our youngster might also save is, and even if we go down it should serve us well in bouncing back. 

[Edit]

My plan was to send the 4 "SELL" players to the B Team, but that's not possible. 

[Edit2]

The change in strategy has yielded immediate results. 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Problem area. Jan 2024.

These are our 3 best centre-backs, and if you look at the match ratings you will see the gulf in class between (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" and the other 2. 

The best options we have coming through are DM's who can play at centre-half. We are desperate for a proper centre-half. 

With 2 players like (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3", we would be ridiculously strong. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2024.

Portuguese Second League. I thought when we won the 1st game after changing strategy it would signal a change in form, but instead it seems like it was just a blip and we're bang in trouble. 

Records. I think this might be the quickest goal I have ever scored in FM.

Transfers. We managed to sell a player for actual cash/money. Ortiz (AUS) SELL, (he of the plays with back to goal PPM), arranged a deal to leave on a free in the Summer, so I asked for a fee of £1,000 to let him leave immediately. 

Finances.   

Edited October 27, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Player valuation. Feb 2024. 

In the aftermath of the January transfer window I have looked at the player valuations and there are now 3 players who have a transfer value range, the upper end of which is at least £1M.

(22e) Capucha (POR) AF is the 1st choice in the left hand side striker AF role. 

(22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" is our only decent centre-half, but he's also injured at the moment. 

(22d) Couceiro (POR) DLP is the 1st choice DLP on the left of central midfield. 

(22f) Shynkarenko (POR) (UKR) is a player who has hardly played and has gone largely under the radar. An upper valuation of £1M is certainly making me take notice. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2024. 

Portuguese Second League. From 10 losses in 13 games we've suddenly gone 4 games unbeaten and after 2 eked out draws we've managed to really valuable wins. After ending last month in the automatic relegation places, we're up to 12th and 4 points clear the relegation zone. 

Player valuations. We've got a 5th player who's upper range has reached £1M.

Antoniuc (POR) (MDA) HG is out on loan in the Championship which is the 4th Tier. He's really starting to blossom and it gives me real optimism for the future. I know he was a 5.0 PA rating but he's ranked 18th by PA and if he's valued at £600k-£1M at the age of 18 then what might others be valued at? I appreciate that he's a senior International and that might skew things somewhat, but I expect others to develop to a similar level for smaller Nations. 

Internationals. 

I wonder how long it might be before we get some Portugese recognition. We've had players called up to the (POR) U18's squad, but nothing for the U21's as yet. 

Finances.   

Edited October 27, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[OlivierL]

On 21/10/2021 at 21:46, Jimbokav1971 said:

Overhauling SAD Franchise. (Portugese edition).

With a repeat of the "Regensburg debacle" in the forefront of my mind, (my therapist says that I have progressed really well to be able to type the word Regensburg now), I had to come up with an alternative solution as to how best to start the save, but which would give me a realistic opportunity to get through the 1st few tough seasons while the 1st batch of youngsters from the 1st Youth Intake matured to a level where they could be competitive enough to avoid relegation. 

• My 1st plan was to micro-manage everything in that 1st season to absolutely squeeze the absolute most from the tiny squad in the hope that we might be able to somehow avoid relegation, but this doesn't sound like any sort of fun to me and this is meant to be fun isn't it?
• My 2nd plan involved going back on holiday and letting the Ass Man do what they want in terms of signing players , (but ask them to play to my tactic), and then return from holiday on the day of the 1st Youth Intake, and then see where we are at that point and see if we could survive moving forward, (with a presumably larger squad and a 1st batch of youngsters). 
• The 3rd plan is almost identical to the 2nd plan in that we go on holiday and return on the 1st Youth Intake day, but rather then just continuing on I would create a new manager at that point and start completely fresh at the club with a new profile on Youth Intake day. 

The 1st time I ran the simulation, (with FM21) we were relegated after signing 0 players and it became obvious we needed to tweak things a little. 
The 2nd time I ran the simulation, (with FM21), (allowing a DoF/Ass Man/whoever to sign players), we finished top of the league and were beaten by Sporting B in the Championship Semi-Final. As there are only 2 teams relegated from the Portugese 3rd Edition at the end of the 2020/21 season in FM21 it meant that we would stay in the 4th tier, (which is exactly what I wanted).

SAD Franchise, (you are damn right that's a thing now), now play their games at the Estadio Nacional, (where I once played rugby). It was the 1st stadium I had ever seen, where you come out of the changing rooms from below the pitch as if you are entering some sort of gladiatorial arena, and it had quite a big impact on me. It was amazing! I had never seen anything like it. 

Some of you might be asking where the SAD bit comes from in SAD Franchise, (or Belenenses SAD to be more polite). The truth is that there are actually quite a few Portugese companies with "SAD" after their name, and this simply relates to the fact that they are a Public Limited Sports Company, (Sociedade Anónima Desportiva), and the Portugese abbreviation for that is SAD. 

I've just been having a look at real life results and it would appear that somehow CF Os Belenenses are already in the 4th tier.  I really don't understand what's going on with this Portugese restructuring. They play in Group E of the Portugese Championship, (4th tier), and I "think" that will mean they be playable out of the box in FM22. If not then I will holiday until the 2nd Season, but I have a sneaking suspicion we will be all systems go right from the off. 

Although I'm saying that this is a "YOUTH ONLY" save, my definition of a Youth Only save is that we can re-sign players who came through the Academy here previously and moved on to other clubs. 

I'm reading everything now and only on the first page. good luck ! i played with them on FM20 youth only topic but after a few seasons i had to quit because of finances (youth setup crazy costs because they have or had very good facilities etc.) I hope this is fixed for you !

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2024.

It's a Golden Generation, but will they live up to the hype or be Golden in name only?

What I really want from the "Elite Talents" group is defenders and ideally centre-backs. I get 1 and that will do me. 

There's 2 more centre-backs in the "Top Talents" group. This is really good news. Just what I was after. 

The bottom section contains our only GK which is a concern. 

It's a really good mix of positions, just really lacking a right back. 

• 4x 5.0 PA players is great. 
• 2x 4.5 PA players is great.
• The very top ranked player being a centre-half is brilliant, (although there is obviously no guarantee that his actual PA will be good). 
• The CA is also very good with 2x players over 2.0 CA and 6 more players over 1.0 CA.

(24a) Júnior (POR) 6'0" doesn't look great at 1st glance, but looking more carefully at his heading, marking and tackling, (all 9), I'm quite happy. If those 3 attributes were all 1 point higher at 10, then he would look a completely different prospect. I like him. 

(24b) Fráguas (POR) is probably best suited to playing as a DLP, but I have quite a few of them who are pretty decent. I wonder if he might be able to do a job for us as a DLF or even an IW at ML? His Det value is a worry though. 

(24b) Fráguas (POR) is very good. He's very very good. I'm just not completely sure where or how we're going to use him? What I see when I look at him is a DLF of the options I have available though.

(24d) Máximo (POR) looks great and while we have quite a few central players who are playmakers we are really missing an enforcer and he looks just the ticket. One thing that has long confused me though is how the "Teamwork" attribute impacts things. Does anyone have any theories about the "Teamwork" attribute? 

(24e) Teixeira (POR) wasn't initially going to be shown here, but I have included him simply because of his acceleration. It might mean playing him as a W rather than an IW, but I think he could make a difference at this level. 

Squad by PA. I know that looking at PA ratings on Day 1 of an intake is ridiculous, (but we still all do it right?) I think the difference now from earlier in the save is that the players at the top of the list from this intake have a decent amount of CA. 

[Jimbokav1971]

2 minutes ago, OlivierL said:

I'm reading everything now and only on the first page. good luck ! i played with them on FM20 youth only topic but after a few seasons i had to quit because of finances (youth setup crazy costs because they have or had very good facilities etc.) I hope this is fixed for you !

The Facilities are brilliant here, (and I have upgraded them further already), and while the costs are expensive, I wouldn't have it any other way. We are surviving at the moment due to investment from El Presidente, but already player values are rising to a level where they make me think that it won't be long before we are self-sufficient financially. 

[OlivierL]

23 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

The Facilities are brilliant here, (and I have upgraded them further already), and while the costs are expensive, I wouldn't have it any other way. We are surviving at the moment due to investment from El Presidente, but already player values are rising to a level where they make me think that it won't be long before we are self-sufficient financially. 

reading page two now, it looks great ! and that Banao guy is really really great.  I started with them one year ago on the beta. this was my intro.  Now i remember it again, i visited lisbon in 2019 and only found out about the Belen situation after reading something about them when i was on the plane (or after i was back home). Loved it .. regret that i stopped playing with them. I stopped after a season ticket bug that wasn't fixed after the full release.. got 5 season ticket members every season.

 

I had this lad..

i'm going to follow your topic like i always do but this one for sure..

Edited October 27, 2021 by OlivierL

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2024. 

Portuguese Second League. 4 points from 4 games is a pretty meagre return based on our performances in this save so far, but at this point in the save it's enough to keep us out of the relegation zone 

Injuries. I've mentioned previously that  (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" was injury-prone, but at the time his injury history was actually not too bad. Since then things have taken a turn for the worse. 

Finance.