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

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2051. 

GK's. 

(31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" will be 1st choice. 
(50c) Ako (FRA) (GPE) 5'11" will play for the B Team. 

DL's. We're weak in the left back area. 

(48c) Bronze (POR) 5'11" will be 1st choice despite actually being a righty. He will be supported by (36b) Sousa (POR) and 34 year old recent re-signing (33a) Ramos (STP) (POR).  
(48m) Ba (SEN) (FRA) and (50i) Faria (POR) will play for the B Team. They aren't ready for that but they will hopefully improve. 

DR's. 

(36c) Mussagi (POR) (MOZ) * and (42e) Crespo (POR) * will play for the 1st team. 
(47j) Fernandes (POR) and (45f) Basto (POR) will play for the B Team. 

DC's. 

(39c) Salgueiro (POR) 6'4" DC, (41d) Hussein (TAN) 6'5" * & (45e) The Gimp (ENG) 6'3" will play for the 1st Team.
(49h) Ndlovu (POR) (RSA) 6'0", (46f) Mesquita (POR) 6'5" and (51n) Varela (CPV) (POR) 5'10" will play for the B Team. 

ML's & MR's. 

ML's. I have 4 left-sided wingers who have at least 100 CA and (40g) N'Da (CIV) ML has the lowest PA at 116, (he's almost maxed out at 115/116), so it's probably him that needs to go and maybe permanently rather than on loan. In addition to the 5 players listed below, we also have 4x 16 year olds with at least 120 PA in this position. 

(47a) Soares (POR), (43b) Antunes (POR) & (40g) N'Da (CIV) ML will compete for a 1st Team spot, but I probably only need 2 of them so 1 can go out on loan. 

(49e) Madruga (POR) & (46d) Osório (POR) will rotate in the B Team. 

MR's.

(41a) Gil (POR) * & (42a) Salazar (POR) are both maxed out in terms of PA and will play in the 1st Team. 

(44b) Andrade (POR)(CPV) 4'11" & (51a) Marinho (POR) MR * will play for the B Team but it's (51a) Marinho (POR) MR * who is the real star in the making here. 

MC's.

(36a) Cruz (POR) * is a Worldclass midfielder and at 30 years old only has 2 years left on his contract. As he is 3rd in line behind 22 year old (44c) Ogbu (ENG) (NGA) * and 26 year old  (40a) Sérgio (POR) *, it would make sense to cash in on him at some point, especially as we have the young (CPV) International pairing of (47k) Tavares (CPV) and (44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) almost maxing out their PA's of 

I would rather (45a) de Sousa (POR) was loaned out rather than play for the B Team in Liga 2. 

(49a) Odhiambo (POR) (KEN), (49f) Santos (POR) & (43l) Pedro (POR) will play for the B Team.

SC's. 

(44a) Simões (POR) * & (41c) Abrantes (POR) * will be our 1st choice pairing with (45c) Rosa (POR) * providing support & (44a) Simões (POR) * moving to the right to accommodate him. 

I'm keen for the young strikers to go out on loan where possible so who plays for the B Team will depend on who doesn't go out on loan. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2051. 

Liga Bwin. It was a good start to the league campaign, keeping 4 clean sheets even if we didn't manage to beat Gil Vicente. It was also nice to get one over on Benfica when we probably didn't deserve it. 

xG watch. 
Belenenses 0.62 - 1.33 Benfica. 
Braga 1.01 - 2.75 Belenenses. 
Gil Vicente 0.43 - 1.21 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 3.63 - 0.71 Varzim. 

UEFA Champions League Group Stage. It's another tough group, (they all seem to be tough in recent seasons), and I wonder if it's time for another tilt at the Europa League? 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

Edited June 18, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2051.

Liga Bwin. After 8 games we're the only unbeaten side in the Portugese top tier, and that despite failing with 2 of the 4 penalties we have been awarded in the league this season. Benfica might have lost but they are just 1 point back and Braga would also be just 1 point behind if they won their 3 games in had, (although that's unlikely). 

xG watch. We dominated the xG in all games and even the Academica Coimbra game which we only 1 by a 1 goal margin was actually far more comfortable than the score-line suggests. 
Famalicao 0.69 - 2.58 Belenenses.
Belenenses 3.08 - 0.09 Farense. 
Academica Coimbra 1.00 - 3.10 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 3.75 - 0.29 Chaves.

UEFA Champions League. This was a real surprise. You can tell by the goal-scorers that I rotated the outfield players and we still romped it. 

Allianz Cup.

Goal-scoring GK's. 

When he stuck the ball over the bar I didn't think to check his happiness, (will I ever learn?)  

(44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) has a (Bal) personality but his (Pro) level is 11. He is usually a sub for the right hand central midfielder and has been a used sub in 2 of our 6 league games and then started the Champions League game against Bayern. 

(31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" put a penalty over the bar against Famalicao in the 44th min. (44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) was an unused sub in this game. 
(31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" scored a penalty against Farense in the 42nd min. (44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) was an unused sub in this game. 
(31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" hit the bar with a penalty against Bayern in the 91st min. (44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) started and finished this game. 

There are 3 more games this month and my plan is for (44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) not to feature in them if I can help it. 

We are awarded a penalty for the 4th successive game and (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" sticks it over the bar. (44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) was not even in the squad, (he was left out on purpose). 

It's still the same issue, but he's not even in the match squad.  Maybe I have to move him to a different squad, (ie. B Team or U23's).

I should add that I am of the opinion, (WITH ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER TO BACK IT UP), that when a player misses the target with a penalty, (and I include hitting the woodwork in these misses), it's a different miss to a penalty that is saved by the GK and is the result of a different result in the formulae. Put simply, I think that a penalty that is saved by a GK is a penalty that would have been scored with a happier GK. I think that a penalty that misses the target was always going to miss and there is nothing within my power that could have made it a successful penalty. I have never said that before but it's been an opinion, (very much opinion rather than fact), that I have held for some time. The only way to test this is to use the editor to falsely increase the happiness/relationship of the GK before each game and then see in what way the GK misses, (because there will still be misses), are shown in the 3d engine. (saves or misses). 

(44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) wasn't in the match squad at all. 

Finances.

[turnip]

In my Belenenses save, I've taken my GK off penalties because he's been absolute crap from them for the last 18 months or so. He's still on free-kicks, though, which is sometimes a very good thing.

[Jimbokav1971]

8 hours ago, turnip said:

In my Belenenses save, I've taken my GK off penalties because he's been absolute crap from them for the last 18 months or so. He's still on free-kicks, though, which is sometimes a very good thing.

I had a GK in this save who just wasn't very good at pens. He was the Italian bloke with the poor personality, (Low Det + Unamb). I don't think that being Italian hindered him, but I do think that (L.Det + Unamb) did.

When Lucio scored 176 goals for me in FM14 he was (Pro). 

I take it you're GK is Tobi? (Good name for a GK). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct & Nov 2051. 

Apologies, I forgot to update at the end of October so we have a double month update. 

Liga Bwin. Guimaraes deserved to beat us, (and did beat us), but the cost wasn't just the 3 points, (and our unbeaten record), but the 2 points dropped in the following game against Sporting, (that we would have won were we not just coming off the back of a loss). Despite losing our unbeaten record we're still top.

xG Watch.
Estrela da Amadora 0.89 - 2.29 Belenenses. 
Guimaraes 1.29 - 0.80 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 2.04 - 0.78 Sporting.
Belenenses 2.89 - 0.17 Estoril.

UEFA Champions League. You might be able to tell from the goal-scorers that I have been rotating all outfield players for all Champions League games and we're still unbeaten after 5 games and had qualified for the knockout stages after 4 games. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. This competition is still very much 3rd of 4 in terms of priority, but I still want to win it, (or at least make the Final). 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Sonic Youth]

Still at the top 

Your game scheduling is tight at each end of the month with nothing happening in the middle. Internationals?

Was the loss a weird hangover from Europe?

And that’s some good form in Europe too 

Is Christmas scheduling as crazy as in England (haven’t noticed)?

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2051. 

Liga Bwin. 4 wins and 4 clean sheets is a hell of a month. The most pleasing result was surprisingly the PdF game where I went with a much weakened side because we have some tough away games coming up at the beginning of Jan in the form of Porto, Benfica & Braga. 

xG watch. 
Belenenses 3.62 - 0.13 Portimonense. 
Leixoes 0.36 - 2.03 Belenenses.
Belenenses 2.25 - 0.24 Nacional. 
Pacos de Ferreira 0.86 - 1.79 Belenenses.

UEFA Champions League. I persisted with a weakened squad and it eventually bit us on our behinds. How seriously we won't know until the draw for the 1st Knockout Round is made. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. A comfortable win. 

Allianz Cup. A comfortable win. 

New contract.

Awards.

World Golden Glove. 

FIFA Best Men's GK.

You will see that (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" makes the FIFA FIFPro Team of the Year, but (35a) Paulo Júnior (POR) * also makes the team. 

African Footballer of the Year. 

African XI of the Year.

Youth Intake preview. This could be good. We have 2 sections/positions that have been given "A" ratings and the interesting thing here is that there are 2 players in each sections. 2x Centre-backs and 2x wingers. We're at a stage of the save now where we have some good players, but 1 particular area where we are weak is on the wings, (especially the left), but we have 3 centre-backs in the 130's CA and actually have a MC who is also a natural DC with a CA of 170. The suggestion therefore is that these centre-backs are likely to be pretty decent. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Sonic Youth said:

Still at the top 

Your game scheduling is tight at each end of the month with nothing happening in the middle. Internationals?

Was the loss a weird hangover from Europe?

And that’s some good form in Europe too 

Is Christmas scheduling as crazy as in England (haven’t noticed)?

Yeah, we're doing well, but there is such little room for error in this league. 

No, I can't blame the Guimaraes loss on Europe because all 11 outfield players were rotated for every single European game. 

Despite the rotation we did well in Europe and now we're in the knockout stages I have to decide where my priorities lie. 

7 games in December and another 7 in January is indeed a tough ask, but the harder part is that the start of Jan sees is play Porto and Benfica away and then Braga at home. 

[Thebaker]

Is winning the CL a possibility now?   Surely a win against Benfica and the league is yours

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Thebaker said:

Is winning the CL a possibility now?   Surely a win against Benfica and the league is yours

In a normal league you would probably be correct, but when the likes of Benfica & Porto drop so few points each season it only takes a little blip to lose any ground we have gained. 

At the time of writing however we are 3 pts ahead of Benfica and with a game in hand and have only conceded 1 goal in our last 10 games, (which included games against Porto, Benfica, Sporting & Braga), so things are looking decent. 

I think winning the Champions League will become more likely after we have won Liga Bwin for the 1st time because at the moment my priority is still the league and while rotating the squad will do us ok in terms of progress and revenue, there is no way we will win with that 2nd group of players. 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2052.

Liga Bwin. This is another good month in the league. 5 wins from 5 when we were really stretched, but also only conceding 2 goals. I'm terrified of getting too carried away with so many games still to play though. There are so many teams in this league capable of going on a run and all it would take is a couple of losses from us and we're back in the mix again, (but things are looking goof at the moment). 

xG watch. As good a month as it initially seems, the xG suggests that it's even better. The only close game was the Braga one, and we were still 2-0 up after 18 mins there. 
Porto 1.06 - 2.04 Belenenses. 
Benfica 0.93 - 2.69 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 1.24 - 0.76 Braga.
Belenenses 2.77 - 0.17 Famalicao.
Farense 0.39 - 3.36 Belenenses.

Taça de Portugal Placard. A comfortable win. 

Allianz Cup. A close affair, but we kept another clean sheet and nicked it. 

Transfers.

(33a) Ramos (STP) (POR) * came back in on a free, but he wanted more game time than we were prepared to give him so he left again for a little profit. 

(41g) Amaral (POR) was a player I was a little torn over. He was 2nd choice right sided forward, (and we have missed him since he left), but he wasn't playing that regularly and his performances weren't demanding that he play more often so it makes sense to move him on and give younger players a go, (especially when we have so many). When I tell you that he made 8(12) appearances in the league last season without contributing a goal or assist, you begin to see the problem. Added to which, £7.5M is a decent whack of cash for us. He's doing really well in France with 13 goals from 24 appearances so good news all round. 

(43c) Silvestre (POR) was a bit-part player, even for the B Team, so when someone offered me actual cash money for him I bet their hand off. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

(31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" had a badly gashed upper leg, so (50c) Ako (FRA) (GPE) 5'11" came in, we won both games, he scored 2 goals, conceded 1 goal and kept 1 clean sheet. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2052.

Liga Bwin. Only 1 goal conceded this month, but it cost us 2 pts against Gil Vicente as (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" failed from the spot. 

xG watch. The penalty miss obviously skewed things in the Gil Vicente game, but we still did ok in the main.
Belenenses 3.56 - 0.50 Gil Vicente. 
Varzim 1.50 - 2.51 Belenenses.
Chaves 0.06 - 2.10 Belenenses.

UEFA Champions League. A late goal saw us come away with a draw, but not taking a lead into the 2nd leg is a big ask against Arsenal, especially when we're playing with our 2nd string. 

Allianz Cup. I think I've said it before, but any silverware at all in this save is significant. The Big 3 start with such strength of depth, financial power and facilities that it seemed inconceivable at the start of the save that we would ever win anything. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

 

I'm starting to get the hump with this now. (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" is (F.Pro) with a (Pro) level of 18 and (44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) is (Bal) with a (Pro) level of 11.

While 11 is the lowest level of (Pro) in the senior squad, (44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) is just 1 of 5 players with (Pro) at 11 and you will see that (44c) Ogbu (ENG) (NGA) * is another of them. (You might remember that he was the previous player that (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" had issues with). 

If I look at (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" using the editor, and then look at his disliked players list, this is what we see.

Surprisingly (40a) Sérgio (POR) * is top of the list with L60 and (44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) only barely on the list at L10 and (44c) Ogbu (ENG) (NGA) * no longer on the list at all. Does that mean that even if I can't up the (Pro) level from 11 to 12, the issues between the players might just resolve themselves over time. Just when you think you have a handle on how it works and why it works that way, the rug seems to get pulled from under you and it's back to confusion again.  

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2052. 

What am I looking for here? I think a left back, a right winger and a left winger, in that order, is what we're looking for, but honestly I think we're getting to the stage now where more than a specific position, what I really want is for the decent PA players not to be ruined by either a poor personality or a really low starting CA. 

It's not looking good. 

It's really not looking good. No strikers? 

0 Elite Talents. 
3 Top Talents.
7 Good Talents.

Squad by PA. Nothing above 3.5 PA. This is the worst intake I have had over the full course of this save. 

The only really good things about this intake is that we have 3x (CPV) players, (1st Nationality), 2x (GNB) players and 1x (STP) player. 

Squad by Actual PA. This will be one of those seasons where I hope that the DoF is rubbish at his job and has seriously misjudged the quality of player coming through the intake. 

Actually, this is nowhere near as bad as we were led to believe. 

• While there are no Wonderkids with Worldclass reputation here, there are no less than 5 players at 130+ PA and 2 more at 120+ PA. 
• For the main part, these 7 players have reasonable CA, (with only (52c) falling short). 
• The personalities aren't awful. (52j) has Det of 8, but is saved, but his Pro level is 13. 
• The position we most wanted some quality in was DL and that's exactly what we got. 
• I was also looing for a ML and a MR and we have actually got 2x MR's and a ML that can play on both sides. 

(52b) Martins (POR) is the much awaited DL that we have been so desperate for. He's not going to be a World-beater, but he will be plenty good enough to play full back for us in a few ydeas. 

(52j) Candé (GNB) (POR) 6'1" looks like a decent GK.

 

(52e) Oliveira (CPV) is another on the Cape Verde production line and starts to make me think that the International job I really want is the (CPV) one, (but more about that in a later post). I really like the look of him. 

(52a) Brito (POR) is another who looks decent. I like his PPM's and he has the makings of a decent ML. 

All in all I'm quite happy with this intake even though there are no stars. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Cape Verde. 

There is a thread in the Challenge forum start by @Joy_in_Leeuwarden that caught my eye a while ago. It's not a challenge that is particularly suited to the Youth Only style of management, (simply because you put yourself at such a disadvantage), but never say never eh. 

We have a few decent (CPV) players at the club now and it's starting to get to the stage where I think they might be an enjoyable tangent to go down at some point. 

2 of the 3 from the recent intake won't amount to anything, but that still leaves us with 8 players with a PA of 120+, and importantly aged between 15-23, (so not likely to retire/degrade anytime soon. 

There are also 2 more players who have come through our Academy and since moved on who are currently in the Senior (CPV) squad. 

[OlivierL]

42 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Cape Verde. 

There is a thread in the Challenge forum start by @Joy_in_Leeuwarden that caught my eye a while ago. It's not a challenge that is particularly suited to the Youth Only style of management, (simply because you put yourself at such a disadvantage), but never say never eh. 

We have a few decent (CPV) players at the club now and it's starting to get to the stage where I think they might be an enjoyable tangent to go down at some point. 

2 of the 3 from the recent intake won't amount to anything, but that still leaves us with 8 players with a PA of 120+, and importantly aged between 15-23, (so not likely to retire/degrade anytime soon. 

There are also 2 more players who have come through our Academy and since moved on who are currently in the Senior (CPV) squad. 

You know I can assure you that it is possible but really hard in the first seasons. I can send you some details from my save (2038).

Edited June 21, 2022 by OlivierL

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2052. 

Liga Bwin. Another unbeaten month, but I'm a little concerned that we conceded in each of our 3 games in the league this month. 

xG watch. We comfortably won the xG battle in all 3 games, but Sporting did manage to record a score of 1+.
Belenenses 3.64 - 0.89 Academica Coimbra. 
Belenenses 2.70 - 0.41 Estrela da Amadora.
Sporting 1.01 - 2.53 Belenenses.

UEFA Champions League. It was 1-1 in the 73rd min and a single goal would have seen us progress, but we got a red card and they took full advantage in the latter stages. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. A comfortable win, but it's only HT as we still have the 2nd leg to come. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2052. 

Liga Bwin. Only 1 goal conceded, but it cost us 2 pts against Porto. We're still 5 pts clear though with just 3 games to play. 

xG watch. We're still winning the xG battle and rather than being better, I think we just got lucky this month. We should have conceded more than 1 goal. 
Belenenses 1.14 - 0.25 Guimaraes. 
Estoril 1.14 - 2.96 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 1.93 - 1.21 Porto.
Portimonense 0.88 - 3.31 Belenenses. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. With a 2 goal advantage from the 1st leg, we eased into the Final where we will play Benfica.

Discipline. This is the 4th time he has gone AWOL. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Rikulec]

This has to be the season surely?!

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Rikulec said:

This has to be the season surely?!

Well I was hoping so, but we have had 1st half red cards in 2 of our last 3 games now.  

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2052. 

Liga Bwin. We were shown 1st half red cards against both Leixoes and PdF games. The Leixoes red even came in the very 1st minute and although we still dominated the game, they hit us on the counter and sneaked it 1-0. With Benfica winning their last 9 games of the season and only 2 points behind at the final game, I thought we had blown it when we were shown another red just before HT in the PdF game while Benfica were already 2-0 up. Luckily we came through in the end and an 85th min winner was enough to secure the title. 

xG watch. 
Belenenses 1.43 - 0.62 Leixoes.  
Nacional 0.66 - 3.14 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 0.93 - 0.98 Pacos de Ferreira.

Taça de Portugal Placard. I thought we might struggle with this game, (29 goal (44a) Simões (POR) * has torn knee ligaments and will be out for months), but we hung in there and nicked a late winner. 

Records. 

Facilities. I think the reason we get 2 messages about the same downgrade is because the 2nd message is for the benefit of the B Team.

Goal-scoring GK's. 

(31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" is up to 142 career goals, but he missed 7 of 15 penalties this season and a similar number last season. His success % from the spot has plummeted in recent seasons. 

(50c) Ako (FRA) (GPE) 5'11" on the other hand has only missed 1 of 14 penalties at 93%.

Finances.   

[corinthiano]

Congratulations!! Must be nice to have finally beaten the big 3!

[Jimbokav1971]

Season Summary. Jun 2052.

Squad by Appearances. 

Liga Bwin. 

(44a) Simões (POR) * is channeling his inner Mo Salah and has finished Runners Up in both Goals and Assists. 

Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG.

U19 First Division. 

UEFA Youth League.

U23 Premier League. The U23's keep choking in the end of season Playoffs. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

22 minutes ago, corinthiano said:

Congratulations!! Must be nice to have finally beaten the big 3!

It took me long enough, but I got there in the end. 

[Jimbokav1971]

I will be honest with you here. I didn't expect to actually be able to complete this challenge and win the Liga Bwin title ahead of the Big 3 playing a Youth Only save. I knew I could get us competitive, but I'm not as good in the top leagues as I am lower down so..... I wasn't sure anyway. So now we've won it, I'm not sure what that means for the save. 

The challenge/save was all about the domestic competitions in Portugal, (specifically the Liga Bwin), so to win it for the 1st time, but also do a domestic treble at the same time is pretty emphatic. I could continue on and look at winning the Champions League, (we've already won the Europa League and the Europa Conference), but I honestly don't think it will be much of a challenge. For years now I've been picking the Reserves in Europe. I think our 1st Team would give even the bog boys of Europe a run for their money. 

I could take over the Portugese National side and see what I can do. 

I could take over 1 of the Portugese Age Groups sides and see what I can do. 

I could even start at the youngest age group and then go through them all. 

I could continue on as Belenenses boss, (but be even less hands on), and try and get the Cape Verde job. 

There are 20 teams promoted from the Portugese 5th Tier to playable in the Portugese 4th Tier each season a there might be an interesting club promoted this season. Africanos Bragança are currently unplayable, but if they were to be promoted this season I would take it as a sign and find it VERY hard not to apply. 

I could also just stop playing for a bit and invest some time in my experiments thread.

Decisions decisions decisions.....

[ucdark]

Congrats!! nice save and story, whatever decision we'll supporting it!

[Rikulec]

Normally I only applaud Champions League wins, but to have so much persistence to battle it out in a league such as this for so many years is definitely special. Hats off.

[Jimbokav1971]

8 hours ago, ucdark said:

Congrats!! nice save and story, whatever decision we'll supporting it!

Nothing is jumping out at me and I'm not up for starting a new save at the moment I don't think. (I'm still very invested in this), so I think I will carry on and see how we get on next season. 

The other thing of course is that 36 year old (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" is on 142 goals and has 2 years left on his contract. AT 12 goals a season that would take him to 166 goals and my record is 176. 

At the other end of the scale 17 year old (50c) Ako (FRA) (GPE) 5'11" has already scored 16 career goals and I wonder if I might be able to hit 200+ with him. 

I wonder how long (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" would keep playing if I kept him as 1st choice? 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Rikulec said:

Normally I only applaud Champions League wins, but to have so much persistence to battle it out in a league such as this for so many years is definitely special. Hats off.

I honestly think the league is a bigger deal in this particular save, (and I'm actually quite chuffed), but I suppose the Champions League and World Club Champs are missing from the full set. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Strange PPM's. Jun 2052. 

I can't remember who it was, but when I 1st showed (50l) Bartlett (ENG) after he came through the intake, someone voiced exactly what I was thinking in that his PPM didn't seem to suit his strengths and the role that I had earmarked for him. 

I commented that PPM's are a little like Personalities, (although not as bad), in that they don't always mean what you think they mean when looking at the name in isolation. Actually in this there seems to be lots of room for interpretation and my read is that the decision-making ability of the player will be highly influential in terms of how this works, (or not as the case may be).

I've made a couple of posts with regard to this player and this PPM in particular, (and there was 1 deft little touch just outside the 6 yard that resulted in an assist for (50l) Bartlett (ENG) and an assist for someone else, that wasn't a goal that In am used to seeing in this FM, playing with this tactic and these players. My suggestion is that the PPM influenced the player to do something a little different than the norm, (and I liked it). 

The flip side of that of course is that's all well and good, but because I don't watch full games, (I only watch highlights and sometimes not even those), how do I know that while that 1 particular instance worked ok, he's not spurning many many many more chances and that is actually a very bad thing, (as initially feared). 

In that 1st part season, he played 3 times for the B Team without scoring. 

In his 1st full season he was pretty prolific for the U19's, but I should also draw your attention to his high number of assists. This isn't at all what I usually see from my AF(a) in this tactic, (although it should be said that (44a) Simões (POR) * managed something similar this season for the 1st Team. 

In his 2nd full season he was ridiculous for the U19's/U23's and even scored on his 1st team debut in the league. 

In his 2nd full season he also played a few times for the B team. 

Without reading too much into this, it looks like he's not as creative as he steps up, but at lower levels he's got a touch of class and perhaps that PPM really comes into it's own when he has the time and space to make a good decision. 

The truth is that while this player isn't amazing, he's the perfect striker to have on the bench and introduce against tiring defences towards the end of a match. The only problem with that is obviously that because I use the IR button, I can't determine when he will be introduced, so he will either start or probably not get used at all. Despite the fact that he's not amazing, the way his attributes are balanced, (all pace and finishing with some interesting PPM's), he does offer quite a unique option. 

Something else I'm considering is that he might be quite good at winning penalties. The next PPM to be trained is run with the ball more often. 

[Thebaker]

Well done on the league win.

Is Acosta also a youth product?

[Jimbokav1971]

2 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

Well done on the league win.

Is Acosta also a youth product?

I don't recognize the name. Who is Acosta? 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

Well done on the league win.

Is Acosta also a youth product?

 

Just now, Jimbokav1971 said:

I don't recognize the name. Who is Acosta? 

Ah no. I know who you mean. No he's not. 

I gave him a nickname because I wanted him to stand out because I think he won an award or somethning early on. 

Actually I think it was because I saw him as the main competition to (32g) Ramos (POR) for the Golden Boot and wanted to keep an eye on him. 

[Sonic Youth]

Congrats on winning the league! Very good season  

Winning the Champions League with the league or by itself and coming in a UCL spot would be an achievement to aim for 

Simoes played amazing this season. I wonder if he’ll break 40 or 50 goals in the future. It would be curious to see him paired with Bartlett too.

Simoes (GK) feels like he’s been there forever 

[Jimbokav1971]

42 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

Congrats on winning the league! Very good season  

Winning the Champions League with the league or by itself and coming in a UCL spot would be an achievement to aim for 

Simoes played amazing this season. I wonder if he’ll break 40 or 50 goals in the future. It would be curious to see him paired with Bartlett too.

Simoes (GK) feels like he’s been there forever 

I think the quad is obviously what I will aim for, but games against the Big 2, (Sporting aren't really on the same level), are still pretty challenging. 

Benfica. The last time we lost to Benfica by more than 1 goals was 4 and a half years ago. I'm pretty sure I would have fielded a weakened team in that game. 

Porto. It's 3 and a half years since we lost by more than 1 goal to Porto.

[Jimbokav1971]

Awards. Jul 2052. 

Liga Bwin Player of the Year. This is the 1st time that a Belenenses player has ever won this award. 

#

Liga Bwin GK of the Year. 

Liga Bwin Young Player of the Year. He's 23 so there are going to be lots of seasons and lots of goals to come. This was his 1st time scoring 20+ league goals in a season and I expect him to go close to 30 goals next season. 

Liga Bwin Manager of the Year. Nice to have finally won this. I suppose they had to give it to me after winning the treble. 

Liga Bwin Team of the Season. It's not lost on me at all that the 3 positions where we didn't have a player in the Team of the Year are the 2 wingers and the 2nd striker. 

Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG Player of the Year. 

Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG Young Player of the Year. 

Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG GK of the Year. 

Best XI. 2 different GK's in the best 11 with 100 career goals means that it's going to be pretty hard for (50c) Ako (FRA) (GPE) 5'11" to get in there. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth for 2052/53 season. 

GKs.

1st Team. (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" will look to add to his 142 career goals. 
B Team. (50c) Ako (FRA) (GPE) 5'11" will look to add to his 16 career goals. 

DLs. (50i) Faria (POR) & (47c) Morais (POR) (CPV) has single figure (Det) and are (Unamb) so they will go out on loan so as to not infect others with their lethargy. 

1st Team. (48c) Bronze (POR) 5'11" is a lefty but will be our 1st choice right back. (36b) Sousa (POR) * is refusing to negotiate a new contract so this will likely be his last season.
B Team. (48m) Ba (SEN) (FRA) & (52b) Martins (POR).

DRs. 

1st Team. (36c) Mussagi (POR) (MOZ) * & (42e) Crespo (POR) *.
B Team. (45f) Basto (POR) & (47j) Fernandes (POR).

DCs. This is quite a tough area because while we have quite a settled trio of senior centre-backs, we also have a few hot prospects who are likely to be able to develop past them if given the opportunity. 

(46f) Mesquita (POR) 6'5" & (48a) Côdeas (POR) 6'2" have the dreaded low (Det) + (Unamb) mix so they will go out on loan. 

(48b) Teixeira (POR) 6'3" *, (47f) Santos (POR) 6'5" * & (47b) Santiago (POR) 6'0" are all at a level where they need to be playing in Liga Bwin, but can't get into our side so will need to go out on loan. 

1st Team. (39c) Salgueiro (POR) 6'4" DC, (45e) The Gimp (ENG) 6'3" & (41d) Hussein (TAN) 6'5" *.
B Team. (51n) Varela (CPV) (POR) 5'10", (49h) Ndlovu (POR) (RSA) 6'0".

MLs & MRs. 

MLs. (40g) N'Da (CIV) ML SELL, & (43e) Artur (POR) SELL are old enough now that they are classed as overage players for the B Team and need to be moved on because we can only use 2 in each game. 

1st Team. (47a) Soares (POR) is out for 3-6 months, (43b) Antunes (POR) and (46d) Osório (POR).
B Team. (49e) Madruga (POR) & (50h) Mickaël (POR) (FRA).

MRs. 

1st Team. (41a) Gil (POR) * & (42a) Salazar (POR).
B Team. (51a) Marinho (POR) * & (48g) Ledwaba (RSA) (POR).

MCs.

1st Team. (40a) Sérgio (POR) *, (44c) Ogbu (ENG) (NGA) *, (44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) & (47k) Tavares (CPV)

B Team. (45a) de Sousa (POR) & (49a) Odhiambo (POR) (KEN)

SCs. 

1st Team. (44a) Simões (POR) * will be out for 2 months, (41c) Abrantes (POR) *, (45c) Rosa (POR) * & (46a) Naldo (POR) (BRA).

B Team. (50l) Bartlett (ENG) & (47d) Fonseca (CPV) (POR).

[Sonic Youth]

Old Man Jim winning MotY   

Didn’t realise you were 81!

I like how your managing a Simoes being in your team transition 

Ahem. Carry-on please 

Would love to see you get a worldie in next season youth intake though.

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Old Man Jim winning MotY   

Didn’t realise you were 81!

I like how your managing a Simoes being in your team transition 

Ahem. Carry-on please 

Would love to see you get a worldie in next season youth intake though.

VERY old. 

We have actually had a few Simoes' at the club. Unfortunately none of them were related. 

(31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" is 36 now and still 1st choice in goal.
(34m) Simões. (POR) is is a 33 year old inverted ML who is playing in the Portugese lower leagues. 
(42k) Simões. (POR) is a 24 year old DL playing in the Portugese lower leagues. 
(44a) Simões (POR) * is 23 and our main striker. 
(52i) Simões (POR) is a 16 year old right winger with a PA of 133. 

While searching for Simoes' I thought now would also be a good tome to see which of our Academy products have become staff. 

Faria (Res) HG didn't actually come through the 1st intake. He was generated already at the club when the game was created. 

(24d) Máximo (POR) * had a really good career, but was sold as a teenager for £1.8M, (when that was a lot of money), so spent most of hos career elsewhere. I really should sign him as a scout. 

(25d) Marty (POR)(FRA) (Res) had a good career for us in 2 different spells. 

(27c) Filipe (BRA) (POR) * has a * after his name suggesting that he had 5.0 PA at 1 point and (27c) indicates that he was ranked 3rd on the list by PA. He came through the intake with the dreaded mix of (L.Det) and (Unamb) though and as a result he didn't develop to his potential and spent much of his career in the Brazilian lower leagues. 

(28g) Jego. (FRA) (POR) never played for the 1st Team and spent most of his career in the lower leagues. I still might sign him just because of his (F.Pro) personality. 

(28p) Daniel Leitão. (POR) never made an appearance for us but I will be looking to sign him just because he's a (Perfect). 

(28f) Romildo. (BRA) (ITA) won't be signed because he's (Unamb). 

(29d) Ba (SEN) has Pro 12 Amb 13 & Det 14 so although he has a (Bal) personality, it's better than it might have been. I will sign him if he lets his contract run down. 

(29h) Nildo. (BRA) (POR) spent most of his time in the Brazilian lower leagues. 

 

(31f) Camará (GNB) (POR) * is (Unamb) so we won't be signing him. 

(31e) Fonseca (POR) won't be signed because of low (Det), (Pro) & (Amb) levels. 

 

(31i) Sané. (GNB) (POR) 6'0" played most of his career in the Portugese lower leagues and doesn't look good enough to sign as a Coach. 

(32c) Tomás (POR) * was a regular performer for us on the left flank.

(32l) Lacroix. (POR) (FRA) was never much of a player, but I like his (F.Pro) personality and will sign him if I can. 

(32f) Prata (POR) had a decent career and finished in Australia. 

(32a) Gaspar (POR) (ANG) had a good career and played a lot of games for us. Unfortunately he appears to be a better player than DoF. 

There are others who have staff profiles, but they are still playing. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2052. 

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. What was good about this game was that although we had 6 players unavailable because they were on INT duty, 3 more injured and many many players fatigued, (working them too hard in pre-season), We kept a clean sheet over not just 90 minutes but over 120 minutes. We weren't the better team and we didn't deserve to win but I was still pleasantly surprised that we didn't get smashed. It's fair to say that they didn't have much left in the tank at the end. 

Liga Bwin. With injuries, suspensions, fatigue and the Olympics, I'm actually quite happy to be unbeaten after are 1st 4 matches. 3 clean sheets out of 4 is good too and the only goal we conceded was from the opposition half with our GK stranded upfield. 

xG watch. The xG suggests that we should have won all 3 games and while we can explain the Braga dropped points with our GK AWOL, we should have beaten Porto. 
Estoril 0.68 - 3.24 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 1.95 - 0.83 Porto. 
Vitoria de Setubal 0.16 - 2.41 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 1.43 - 0.61 Braga.

Champions League Group. Another tough Group. On the plus side Charleroi should be a comfortable 6 pts. 

Olympics. The (POR) U23's are participating in the Olympics which are being held in Morocco and 8 of the 18 man squad are products our our Academy. As a result this has impacted the early games of the season, (but I don't mind). The way I see it, being without some senior players isn't a problem at all. In fact it's just an opportunity for me to see the next players and give them some 1st team exposure. We were lacking a little in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, (but that was honestly fitness that cost us rather than quality), and the 1st half performance against Estoril was a joy to behold. It might even give me the confidence to flog a couple of senior players rather than trying to eke another couple of seasons out of them. 

The (POR) U32's did well and got to the Final against Brazil, but although they hung on and took it to ET and pens, they were ultimately found wanting. 

I'm not sure how, but although (41a) Gil (POR) * came 3rd in the Olympics Best Player award, he was only good enough for the bench in the Dream Team, (with neither player ahead of him in the Best Player award playing in his position. 

Actually, I see what the problem is. He played at DL, DR and AMR during the tournament, so although he performed well, someone who played all the games in 1 position might have been rated more highly as a result. He plays MR for the club, (because we have decent DR's), but our usual DL (48c) Bronze (POR) 5'11" (who is actually a righty), actually played centre-half for the U23's in the Final, and was sent off in the 108th min. 

(41a) Gil (POR) *. He played in 3 different positions at the Olympics and none of them were his club position of MR. Of course he's a better DR than an MR, but I've got quite a few options at DR. I don't have many options at all at MR. I didn't realise he was as old as 27. 

(50a) Amarante (POR)(CPV) 5'10. He needs to develop physically, but actually he's looking pretty fine and at 18 years old will get another tilt at the Olympics. I have high hopes for him. He's played 2 seasons in the B Team. He needs to start playing for the 1st Team this season. 

(48c) Bronze (POR) 5'11". He's been playing out of position as a DL for the last 2 seasons in order to fill a gap, and he may have to stay there for a couple of more seasons too, but I think when I can swap him back to the right he's going to be phenomenal! He's developing really nicely. 

(45c) Rosa (POR) *. There is absolutely no doubt that he looks special, but his actual performances have been just a little bit under-whelming. Although he has scored 85 goals in 109(3) appearances for the B Team, he has struggled a little in the Liga Bwin where he has only scored 11 goals in...... ahhhhh.... That makes sense. Although he has made 53 Liga Bwin appearances, only 11 of them have been starts. That's not such a bad record after all. 

Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG. 85 goals in 109(3) appearances. 
Liga BWIN. 11 goals in 13(40) appearances.
All Appearances. 109 goals in 156(57) appearances. 

That's not too shabby at all and I feel much happier after adding that up.  

Records. 

Transfers. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Towards the end of last season I secured (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" to a new 2 year deal which would take him through to his 38th birthday. This season he decides he wants more money and 3 years so I have had to give it to him or he will have the hump and there will be no point him taking penalties and no point in him being here. 

Finances. 

[Quiche Magnet]

Well done on winning the league, fantastic dedication and patience to the project!

[Jimbokav1971]

12 minutes ago, Quiche Magnet said:

Well done on winning the league, fantastic dedication and patience to the project!

Is that a very polite way of saying that I'm not very good at FM22?  (You might very well be correct).

Great name by the way. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2052.

Liga Bwin. Our unbeaten record is gone early this season and it was a fair result to be honest. We have a game in hand on the top 3, but even if we win it, Benfica & Porto will still lead by 3 pts. 

xG watch. The surprising xG here is the PdF game, and although we lost the xG battle, we convincingly won the game. 
Benfica 3.11 - 1.04 Belenenses. 
Belenenses 1.68 - 2.35 PdF.
Belenenses 1.97 - 0.65 Varzim.

UEFA Champions League. 

Allianz League Cup.

Facilities. 

I know there is a bug with 1 of these categories which means that they can't be improved to L20, but I can't remember which one it is, (Youth Facilities or Youth Recruitment), although I think it's Youth Recruitment. I can't upgrade the Youth Facilities yet and I think this is because I need it to drop to L17, before I can then get it improved to L20.

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances.   

[Quiche Magnet]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Is that a very polite way of saying that I'm not very good at FM22?  (You might very well be correct).

Great name by the way. 

Not at all, I've been reading this thread the whole way through and really admire how you've battled against the top 3 and had success along the way and how you've tracked your team and explained the process and now you've won the league. Way more satisfying a league win than the normal and feel a lot of us have been with you on that journey!

Would love to see you continue and see how you get on in Europe too

Edited June 25, 2022 by Quiche Magnet

[Jimbokav1971]

National Team production. Oct 2052. 

We've now produced 9 of the 23 man (POR) squad. Surprisingly, 37 year old (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" is no longer one of them. He has better CA than 1 of the 3 GK's and is only 2 pts off a 2nd. I really don't understand why he hasn't been selected more often 

[Jimbokav1971]

28 minutes ago, Quiche Magnet said:

Not at all, I've been reading this thread the whole way through and really admire how you've battled against the top 3 and had success along the way and how you've tracked your team and explained the process and now you've won the league. Way more satisfying a league win than the normal and feel a lot of us have been with you on that journey!

Would love to see you continue and see how you get on in Europe too

You're absolutely right about this league title being more sweet because it was so hard won. It's great that it was such a challenge. 

I'm going to give the Champions League a go, but also looking for more league titles too. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2052. 

Liga Bwin. 2 wins and we keep up the pressure but remain in 4th. We still have a game in hand but Porto aren't dropping many points. 

xG watch. Unlucky to concede in both games according to the xG. 
Belenenses 2.30 - 0.59 Nacional. 
Belenenses 3.06 - 0.15 Portimonense. 

UEFA Champions League. 2 good wins with 2 clean sheets. 

Allianz League Cup. A comfortable clean win and another clean sheet. 

Taça de Portugal Placard. They scored after 3 mins and I feared the worst, but we bounced back in style. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2052. 

Liga Bwin. We dropped 2 more points, but thankfully so did Porto. They have played 23 games so far this season, (winning 20 and drawing 3). At the very least we need to beat them in our return fixture in January. 

xG watch. We might have beaten Gil Vicente, but as we were 2-0 down early on I'm quite happy to take a draw. The Guimaraes game was a very one-sided affair, but we couldn't get the 2nd goal to make things more comfortable. 
Gil Vicente 0.82 - 1.19 Belenenses. 
Guimaraes 0.17 - 1.33 Belenenses. 

UEFA Champions League. Juve were too strong for us and deserved the win, but we absolutely smashed Charleroi.

Taça de Portugal Placard. We had players out injured/suspended for this and although we took it to ET and penalties, we missed out 6th and 7th penalties to crash out. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

Awards. Dec 2052. 

World Golden Glove.

FIFA Best GK.

FIFPro Team of the Year.

African Defender of the Year (2nd Place). 

African Team of the Year.

European Golden Boy. This is the 6th time we have won this award in this save and I must admit I do love it. 

 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Interesting Transfer. Dec 2052. 

(35a) Paulo Júnior (POR) * has gone from R.Madrid to Roma for only £11.5M, but the real story is that R.Madrid have agreed to pay £332,000 per month towards his wages at Roma. 

Roma will be paying just £496,000 of the £828,000 monthly wage, but considering R.Madrid were paying him £1.22M per month, maybe this isn't quite as bad as it sounds,. They will still be saving £888,000 per month with him gone.