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

[Jimbokav1971]

Interest in our players. Apr 2024. 

I've been surprised that more big clubs haven't been interested in some of our high PA youngsters, and my thinking has been that perhaps they aren't quite as good as I want them to be if nobody is interested in signing them. 

However.....

VTSC are in the Primeira Liga and I'm guessing that they are Vitoria Guimaraes. They play at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques so yes, they are indeed Vitoria Guimaraes. 

(22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" is attracting interest from a few clubs now, but I'm guessing that his injuries are impacting that. 

(22c) Caneira (POR) DLF needs to improve physically but is developing nicely. He's also had a few injuries but it only wanted by Vitoria Guimaraes at the moment. None of the other youngsters are in anyone else's radar yet. 

[Punch]

Hanging in there

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2024. 

Portuguese Second League. When I posted at the end of January that I was changing tact and playing youngsters instead of my best players, (after we dropped into the relegation zone), I expected that we were going to be relegated and I was planning for next season in Tier 3. Instead we've lost only 2 of 12 games from the end of January and have avoided relegation with 2 games to spare. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

Finances.   

[Jimbokav1971]

41 minutes ago, Punch said:

Hanging in there

More than hanging in there. We've managed to stay up, (with something to spare), against all the odds when I thought we were dead and buried in January. 

I'm well chuffed. 

[Punch]

That's awesome! The kids have well and truly come through for you

[karanhsingh]

Caneira is looking quite handy as well now! hope you can continue to develop those physicals.

[Jimbokav1971]

6 hours ago, Punch said:

That's awesome! The kids have well and truly come through for you

I really am astonished. I know that sequences of results are important, so 2 draws after a series of losses is vital as it stops the rot, and it's far easier to turn 2 draws into a win rather than turning 3 losses on the bounce into a win. Of course you can do it, but it's harder. Once we turned 2 draws into a win things just seemed to snowball but overall I'm really really surprised. I used a few "don't let your heads drop", meetings and that helped and in general our performances at the beginning of the month are better than our performances at the end of the month, (I praise training performances for the 1st week of the month only). That could be a coincidence but I also think all this "positivity" adds up. 

I really thought we had no chance of staying up. This period from end of Jan to end of April is probably the most pleasing of the save so far, (despite winning nothing), because it was so surprising. 

[Jimbokav1971]

47 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Caneira is looking quite handy as well now! hope you can continue to develop those physicals.

Yep. There are a few looking quite handy. 

Filtered by CA, here are some of the 5.0 PA players, (but I've only included products of our Academy rather than players I inherited).  

(22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" is the best player at the club and with the highest profile. The next step for him will hopefully be breaking into the (CIV) squad. 

(22c) Caneira (POR) DLF is our 1st choice DLF and he was quite influential in our late-season surge. 

(22e) Capucha (POR) AF is one of my favourite players in the save at the moment and I think he's going to have a really big season next year. He plays on the left up front as an AF and after 6 league goals in his 1st season and 8 league goals in his 2nd, I'm looking for 15+ next season. I think once our strikers get firing, (because we have a few), it will make such a difference to our results and performances. The only thing I'm concerned about is them developing to the point where the big clubs start to come in for them. 

(24d) Máximo (POR) has only just come through the Academy, but I really like the look of him and expect him to get thrown straight in next season. 

(23b) Vasconcelos (POR) is yet to make his senior debut and his position on this list has caught me a little by surprise, but he has obviously improved in recent months and will be in contention next season. One of our best players is Clé (CPV) and he plays in the ML slot which is why (23b) Vasconcelos (POR) hasn't had an opportunity, but that will change. I obviously love his personality, (possibly why he has developed without 1st team exposure), and the only real issue is that I would prefer him to play an inverted role. Maybe he will start on the bench and come in on the right flank, (but obviously I can only do this when I play the games and I have IR'd most of this season). 

(24c) Carvalho (POR) is a player who came through the most recent intake and I think I mentioned at the time that I'm not sure exactly where or how to use him. He's certainly good enough to start, but I think I will be playing him from the bench and see where opportunities present themselves rather than limiting him to 1 position/role only. 

(23d) Hugo (POR) is a player that I really like the look of, but so far he has been limited to just 1(1) league appearances as we obviously have some quality ahead of him. More about the U19's in a future post, but he scored 30 goals in 34(2) appearances for the U19's this season, and finished as the top goal-scorer in the top tier, (U19's wise), ahead of starlets playing for the Big 3. He will continue in the U19's, (unless our B Team are promoted, and I expect him to go from strength to strength). 

(22b) Amorim (POR) is another player who has had limited opportunities. He has made just (1) appearance for us in the league and was shipped out to the B Team last season as I thought there were better options available, (in Diogo Aqueu (POR) (FRA) who performed very well and Eduardo Monteiro (POR) HG who performed pretty poorly and seems far more suited to attacking than defending). 

(22d) Couceiro (POR) DLP is one of my early save favourites, but I think he's being held back by his lack of physical ability. I really need him to kick on 

(22f) Shynkarenko (POR) (UKR) is another in contention for the DLP role, but again he suffers from a lack of physical ability. 

I would love to fast-forward 12 months and see what some of these players look like. It's particularly interesting that 2 players on the above list have developed quite well despite not getting many playing opportunities at all, and I should point out that that their personalities are (Model Cit) and (Det).

[Jimbokav1971]

End of Season summary. 2023/24. 

League History. Remember, this is always 1 season behind. 

Portuguese Second League. I am absolutely ecstatic to finish 11th in the end, a massive 10 points clear of the Playoff position. 

Portugese Cup. Not as good in the Cup this season, but there seems to be no money to be made here so it's much less of a priority than it might be in another Nation. 

League Cup. We didn't even get to the League stage if the League Cup. 

Squad by Appearances. We can deal with most players being unavailable with the exception of (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3". When he is missing we struggle. He only has 2 years left on his contract though so the chances are we will look to sell him at the end of next season. Especially when he is injured, we need to blood younger players to try and get them up to speed at centre-half. 

Clé (CPV) had a great 1st season but his performances has dropped somewhat in the last 2 seasons. Last season I didn't think we had much competition but this season I definitely dropped the ball and the likes of (23b) Vasconcelos (POR) should have been given more opportunities, (and will be next season). 

Squad by CA. 

(22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" is likely to be entering his last season with us unless I opt to let him leave in a free in 2 seasons time, (which I don't like the idea of at the moment). I'm also very aware of his injury issues and want to get him gone to a big club with some big sell-on clauses before something serious happens. At the same time he's our best player and we really struggle without him. 

Squad by PA. 

(22c) Caneira (POR) DLF is the 2nd ranked player by PA and is really starting to blossom. I have high hopes for him in the next couple of seasons. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

(23e) Valente (POR) was instrumental in us staying up as his introduction seemed to galvanise us and performances were much improved, (surprisingly), with him in the team. I expected him to be an investment for the future rather than an immediate improvement on what we already had. 

Transfers. 

I really tried to "fix" Ortiz (AUS) but I just couldn't get rid of his "plays with back to goal" PPM. With it he just couldn't play the way I wanted him to play so he had to go. 

Overall Best XI. The only Academy product to come through since my arrival and make the Overall  starting XI is unsurprisingly (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3". We do have 3 more players on the bench though. 

Facilities. 1 of either Junior Coaching or Youth Recruitment is maxed out, (can't remember which), but we need a serious cash injection to upgrade the next level of Youth Facilities or Training Facilities. I think it's a long way off. 

Finances. I really am just ignoring this. El Presidente will have to put his hand in his pocket again. Part of the reason I'm thinking of letting (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" see out his contract and leave on a free is we won't benefit from the sale, (unless it's huge). The idea of selling him for something like £500,000 and it being swallowed up by the debt just seems a waste when we could keep him for another season. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Facilities. May 2024. 

Damn. This is a big blow because obviously we can't afford to improve it back up. We're stuck with it now. 

They're still showing as great though, so maybe they have only dropped 1 point. That's not a disaster. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Contracts expiring this Summer. May 2024. 

The contracts of 8 players are expiring this Summer and I'm happy to let 7 of them leave. 

João Oliveira (POR) might be 32 years old, but I have signed him to a new 2 year contract because he's still our best right back. If we manage to develop a right back close to his level then I will simply ship him out to the B Team, (which I hope will be be promoted to Tier 4 at the start of next season). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Player stats as of Jun 2024. 

These aren't accurate it seems, but I'm going to go with it anyway. 

Most appearances. 

61 (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3"
52 Capucha (POR) AF
40 (22d) Couceiro (POR) DLP

Most goals. 

18 (22e) Capucha (POR) AF
10 (22c) Caneira (POR) DLF
2 (23e) Valente (POR)

Most assists. 

I'm going to leave this one for a little while. 

Most clean sheets. 

1 (23e) Valente (POR)

Bugs. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Cash injection from El Presidente. Jun 2024. 

It's less than the £3M he invested last season, but we're in a better position, (because there is more income at Tier 2 than Tier 3 but the costs are pretty much the same). 

I don't expect the £1M to last us for the whole season, but it will certainly give us a bit of a buffer to start with. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New contract. Jul 2024. 

[Jimbokav1971]

B Team in a playable league? Jul 2024. 

I was hoping that the B Team were going to be promoted to a playable league, but it hasn't happened this season. 

If we look at the Big 3 of Porto, Sporting and Benfica, (who are all obviously Tier 1 clubs), and then we look at their B Teams, then here is what we find. 

Porto B were in the Second League (Tier 2), and when they won the title in 2015/16 they obviously weren't promoted to the top tier, (because they're not allowed to be). When they finished 16th in the Second league (Tier 2) in 2021/22, (the 1st year of the save), they were relegated to the 3rd Division (Tier 3). Despite winning that title last season, they haven't been promoted again. Actually though, although they finished 1st in the First Stage, they were pipped to the Promotion Stage title by our old friends Vit. Setúbal, (who I am delighted to see promoted). 

Sporting B used to be in the Second League (Tier 2), but last season they were promoted from the Championship (4th Tier), to the 3rd Division (2nd Tier). It's interesting that their league results in the 4th Tier show both leagues, (First Stage and Promotion Stage), but that doesn't seem to happen in Tier 3. 

Benfica B have been stable in the Second Division. 

I "think" how it works is that there has to be 2 levels between Senior Team and B Team, so because we're in Tier 2 the highest level our B Team can play at is Tier 4. 

Bug. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

New high bid. Aug 2024. 

I've set an asking price of £5M for (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3". I know that's a bit ridiculous but the truth is I don't want to sell him so it's win/win. If the ridiculous asking price puts potential buyers off then great, and if someone somehow actually gives us £5M for him then..... great. It's so much money I can't complain if he goes for that. 

But they haven't offered us £5M. They've just offered £725,000 + 40% of re-sale profit. 

I was going to just refuse it, but then I thought I would have some fun. 

But not that much fun. 

[Punch]

They clearly weren't having as much fun as you

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, Punch said:

They clearly weren't having as much fun as you

No, but they were having a little bit of fun because they came back in with this a couple of days later. 

I'm quite surprised that El Presidente hasn't accepted that if I'm honest. 

[Punch]

I hate the non-negotiable offer, as they always know they are low balling. As soon as I see it I generally know it's going to be reject, before I have even read the offer

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul & Aug 2024. 

Segunda Liga. We had an early sending off against Farense, but other than that we've been in decent form. 

Taça da Liga. BVT are Boavista and we held them to a great 0-0 draw before beating them 8-7 on pens. Boavista have a player on £111k per month and our total wage spend is less than £40k per month. 

Goal-scoring GKs. 

Finances.  

Edited October 29, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2024. 

Segunda Liga. No wins in the league, but actually our form was decent as we conceded an 89th min penalty to Mafra and we're not competing with the likes of Benifca B (SLB B). 

Taça de Portugal. This was a poor performance but if I'm honest with you I'm not bothered in the slightest. We're not going to win it, we're not going to qualify for Europe from it and the prize money is rubbish. It's just extra game-time for our youngsters. 

Taça da Liga. Qualifying for the Group stage was my target and we have achieved that. I wasn't expecting any points, but we almost grabbed one, conceding in the 88th min to lose the match after coming back from 3-0 down. Braga B have 1 player earning £10k+ per month and our total wage spend is less than £40k per month. 

Records. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Sonic Youth]

Building well, especially after the shift to the youngsters who saved last season.

Need a little bit more consolidation this season though to make the end of the season comfort.

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2024. 

Segunda Liga. We're too inconsistent to challenge properly at the moment and we need more chances to score the same number of goals as the opposition. We demolished Madeira and should have comfortably beaten Felgueiras so even without the loss to Viseu, (where we were well worth a draw), we should have collected 6 points rather than the 4 we were given. It's these inconsistencies that are costing us.

Taça da Liga. VTSC are Vitoria Guimaraes and we played them off the pitch in a terrific performance. They have 4 players who each earn more than our whole squad combined. I really have high hopes for this team if we can stay together for a couple of seasons. 

Finances.  

[Jimbokav1971]

15 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

Building well, especially after the shift to the youngsters who saved last season.

Need a little bit more consolidation this season though to make the end of the season comfort.

Yeah, we're doing ok and some of the Cup performances have hinted at what might be possible, but we're still too inconsistent and concede too many goals. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2024. 

Segunda Liga. It's amazing what a difference a couple of wins can make. Not just to morale, but also to the league position. We might be in 8th, but Benfica B and Braga B can't be promoted from this league so technically we're 6th in the race for promotion. 3 points off the Playoffs and I think we've been poor in the 1st half of the season. I think there is reason for optimism. The only problem is that we have lost centre-half (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" and GK (23e) Valente (POR) to injury. 

Disaster. He really is injury prone. It's such a shame. I really thought he might go to the very top, but I think not just this injury, but his frailty in general is going to count against him over the course of his career. I suppose the way to look at it though is that it gives the opportunity to a youngster to come in and get some game-time before his time to boost his development. (23f) Magalhães (POR) 6'1" will be the beneficiary.

Finances.   The £1.5M from El Presidente didn't last long and we're already in the red again. 

[Sonic Youth]

A couple of wins made all the difference on the table 

Pity about Banao’s injury-proneness 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2024. 

Segunda Liga. We're only 1 point off the playoffs as Benfica B can't be promoted. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.  

[Jimbokav1971]

12 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

A couple of wins made all the difference on the table 

Pity about Banao’s injury-proneness 

We're doing well and are right in the mix for promotion. It will be interesting to see if we can retain our consistency because our form has usually improved as the season progresses. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New signing! Jan 2025. 

We have made an actual signing! 

There was a news article that some of our ex players had been called up to their National squads for the African Nations Cup so I scouted them and added those who were products of our Academy permanently to a shortlist. (I think 4 out of the 5 were products of our Academy). 

The DoF (or whoever), has taken it upon himself to sign one of them on a free, (I'm pretty sure I didn't give him permission to do that), but maybe adding him to a shortlist over-rides that because he hasn't attempted to sign anyone else that I have noticed. 

In any case, here is out 1st signing that hasn't come directly from the Academy, (although he did originate from the Academy).

He's obviously a product of our Academy, but I didn't know much about him until he signed. 

He's actually our best GK! 

Despite that he will just be a back-up to (23e) Valente (POR) and Marcelo (BRA) will be banished to the B Team. 

I wasn't involved in the deal so I have absolutely no idea how much we're paying him. It's £1,300 per month, so it could be worse. 

Because the scouting system doesn't work properly when you ask it to search for Home Grown at club players, (I have tried after the update), it's pretty hard to find players and the only real way to do it is to do it via real life and name search, (which I haven't bothered doing yet but probably will do soon). I'm guessing that with our facilities and the fact that we were a Primeira Liga team, there are quite a few youngster who came through our Academy still knocking about. 

So far I've just found 4 other players who started here and moved on. 

I've had the idea of searching for players who's favourite club is Belenenses, and while that also returns players who's favourite club is SAD Frachise  , it does at least give me some more options to scout and search, (well 1 to be precise). 

We're based in Lisbon, so next up could be a search of players born in Lisbon. I know there is no guarantee that they will have come through at a Lisbon club and even if they did then it's likely that they would have come through at Benfica and Sporting who are both based in Lisbon. I don't have anything else to go on at the moment though so let's give it a go. 

Benfica IIIII IIIII IIII
Sacavenense II
Sporting IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII II
Belenenses IIIII I
Casa Pia IIIII 
RC Lens (FRA) I 
Nice (FRA) I
SAD Franchise  III
Real IIIII 
Oriental I
União de Santarém I
Carregado I
Estoril I
Braga II
Amora III
Loures I
Porto I
Paris FC I
Estoril I
Atletico I
Rodange (LUX)

Now we're up to 11 products of our Academy on a shortlist. 

I'm sure there are more, but I got bored and that's all I can find for the moment. 

[Jimbokav1971]

The FM Gods give..... and the FM Gods take away.... Jan 2025. 

Famalicão have come in with a £1M+ offer for (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" and El Presidente has accepted it and I can't say I'm surprised. 

We might only be  in the red at the bank, but off the top of my head he has invested £5.25M into the club to keep it going since the save started, so he probably thinks this offer is too good to turn down. I sort of agree with him in a way, if only we can get him back in on loan until the end of the season. I'm going to try and renegotiate the deal to include a loan back, and if that doesn't work I think I will try and protest the deal and offer him out for a bigger fee, (including add-ons), that also contains a loan back clause. 

To be honest, I also want to include a fee after 1 International appearance because I'm sure he's about to get called up to the (CIV) squad. 

Keeping him and not keeping him could be the difference between going up this season and missing out. 

Damn. It looks like they intend playing him immediately. 

Double damn. Now I can't even protest the transfer because I've tried to negotiate it. Maybe I should have done it the other way around. 

Ah well I can't really complain. He has been brilliant for us while he has been here. 

Let's see if I get any bites from this. 

I'm not sure about the timing, but (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" has come to see me to discuss moving to a bigger club, (while the £1.1M bid has been accepted and I'm assuming he is negotiating his contract with them......) 

 

Cadiz (ESP), who I think are Villarreal have come in for him now too, but it's similar to the original bid rather than what I offered him out for. I can protest or resign but I can't renegotiate. I don't want to protest because then the other deal with still be on the table. 

He's gone to Cadiz/Villarreal in Spain. 

He's now on £15k a week so well done to him. 

Immediately the dressing room is in uproar about the lack of depth at the club. 

We now have  in the bank, (which will hopefully stop anyone else getting sold in this window), and I have to promote another centre-half to the senior squad. 

(23f) Magalhães (POR) 6'1" was promoted to the senior squad earlier this season when (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" was injured. 

The other 2 centre-backs in the squad are Henriques (POR) 5'11" and André Serra (POR) 6'1" who are not really good enough now. 

I think I'm going to promote (24a) Júnior (POR) 6'0" to the senior squad and throw him in at the deep end and see if he sinks or swims. 

What a disaster. 

Edited October 29, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2025. 

Segunda Liga. I'm not expecting many clean sheets now that (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" is gone. It means that we probably have to score at least 2 goals and probably 3 to get 3 points. That being said, only conceding 2, 2, 1 & 1 goals is probably better than I expected. 

Goal-scoring GK's. I can't believe how unlucky (23e) Valente (POR) has been this month. He could have easily scored 3 or 4 goals. He's hit the woodwork multiple times and had the opposition GK pull off ridiculous saves to keep the ball out. 

Job Offer. I'm never going to accept another job offer, but I will keep attending interviews for clubs sitting higher than the previous highest, and I also want to be offered the job by each of the Big 3. If I get offered an interview by SAD Franchise I will tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine!

Transfers. 1 in and 1 out, but the in was a little-one and the out was a biggy. 

Finances.  

[Jimbokav1971]

Poached players. Feb 2025. 

Something that has been on my mind for a while now is if our players would be poached. When you think about it we're absolutely ripe for poaching. We have fantastic facilities but relatively low reputation. If I was 1 of the Big 3, then I would be absolutely looking to poach players from here. 

I wasn't even sure that poachings were still in the game, (until I saw someone post that they had been poached so they are), so I'm still really surprised not to have had a player poached, (either poached since my arrival or poached before my arrival but came through the intake after my arrival). 

It hasn't happened yet, that's not the reason for this post, but I fully expect it to happen soon. 

[Thebaker]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Poached players. Feb 2025. 

Something that has been on my mind for a while now is if our players would be poached. When you think about it we're absolutely ripe for poaching. We have fantastic facilities but relatively low reputation. If I was 1 of the Big 3, then I would be absolutely looking to poach players from here. 

I wasn't even sure that poachings were still in the game, (until I saw someone post that they had been poached so they are), so I'm still really surprised not to have had a player poached, (either poached since my arrival or poached before my arrival but came through the intake after my arrival). 

It hasn't happened yet, that's not the reason for this post, but I fully expect it to happen soon. 

Your facilities are too good to be poached from, i think it only tends to happen when you are down the chain a bit with poor facilities.

I noticed in FM21 that when my facilities were maxed out no players were poached when it had happened quite a bit before then, i was also the highest rep team in sweden as well by then.

I'm barely a season in and i have had a player poached in Portugal. Considering the standard of the 1st youth intake that will not be a loss.

[Jimbokav1971]

58 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

Your facilities are too good to be poached from, i think it only tends to happen when you are down the chain a bit with poor facilities.

I noticed in FM21 that when my facilities were maxed out no players were poached when it had happened quite a bit before then, i was also the highest rep team in sweden as well by then.

I'm barely a season in and i have had a player poached in Portugal. Considering the standard of the 1st youth intake that will not be a loss.

No, I don't think so. At least that's not my understanding of it, (although I might be proved wrong).

The Facilities determine how good the players are likely to be. 

The club reputation determines whether the player can be poached or not. 

If it was based on Facilities then I would expect us to be poaching players from other clubs. 

We have fantastic facilities but poor reputation. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Risky strategy. Feb 2025. 

My 1st batch of youngster contracts are due to expire at the end of next season so I need to either extend their contracts, sell them this Summer or risk losing them on a free at the end of next season. We're still not financially secure so I don't want to risk losing them on a free so I'm trying to extend the contracts now and then depending on what happens this season with promotion I will either sell those who won't sign a new contract or be forced to let them see their contracts out. 

(22e) Capucha (POR) AF is our main goal-scorer who has 19 goals this season with 8 games still to play. although I'm signing him to a 4+2 contract there is a min fee release clause of just £750k. What I almost missed though is that the clause is only for domestic clubs in a higher division, so if we get promoted then the clause is useless and we will have him for 6 years with no clause. If we don't get promoted then he is still available for £750k (which is a pain), but at least we get £750k for him rather than nothing. So while less than I had hoped for, it's more than it might have been, and £750k is still £750k more than him leaving on a free.

It's March 2025 now and I have gone through all the 5.0 PA players, (from the (22) intake & the players I inherited), and looked to extend their contracts where possible. 

The following 9 players' contracts have now been extended to 2029 and all but 1 of them has a +1 and a promotion +1 clause. 

To have this group of players contracted for 5 more years, (and 6 if we get promoted), (with the exception of (22b) Amorim (POR) who is signed for 4 years). is phenomenal work and I'm ecstatic. It proper takes the pressure off and I expect to make significant money off some of these. 

The players from that (22) intake who's contract I wanted to extend but was unable to for whatever reason are these. 

(22j) Saná Cassamá (GNB) (POR) told me he actively dislikes the club when I tried to extend his contract. 
(22c) Caneira (POR) DLF doesn't think the squad is strong enough to match his ambition. I will try again if we manage to get promoted. 

If we end up losing (22c) Caneira (POR) DLF on a free and got £1.1M for (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" and have effectively signed everyone else from that intake until they're 24 years old, then that is pretty damn impressive even if I do say so myself. 

Of the players who are not rated 5.0 PA I still have some decisions to make. Some of them will probably be offered fringe/squad player contracts, but I don't expect anyone on this list to be 1st choice next season. 

Of the contracts due to expire in 16 months only the 2 already mentioned stand out.

I think this puts us in a REALLY strong position moving forward. 

[Rikulec]

6 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Cadiz (ESP), who I think are Villarreal

I think you could do with a save in Spain mate, Cadiz are a separate club.

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Mar 2025. 

It's another Golden Generation, but after the forced sale of (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" I would have been astonished if it hadn't been.

There is lots of PA as expected, but the CA looks decent too.

We've lost our best centre-half so it's a right result getting 3 through in this intake. 

5x 5.0 PA players, 3x 4.5 PA players and 3x 4.0 PA players is decent, but it's the 2x 2.5 CA players that really grabs my attention. 

Surprisingly, the top 3 players as well as the bottom 2 only wanted Youth contracts rather than FT contracts. 

I haven't got a clue what to make of (25a) Soares (POR). With passing of 6 he can't be a DLP and with composure of 8 he's not suited to playing up front. He doesn't seem particularly suited to playing out wide either and that just leaves BBM in the middle. I think I might have to see how he develops. 

(26b) Basto (POR) seems like a proper BBM and is going to be in contention immediately. On 2nds thought, maybe he's a decent PF?

(25c) Guedes (POR) 6'3" is a DM, but I don't see a DM when I look at him. I see a centre-half. 

(25d) Marty (POR) (FRA) is another BBM.

(25e) Silva (POR) has the makings of a decent DLP, if he can just sort out his 1st touch. 

(25f) Martinho (POR) is your standard IW.

(25g) Carreira (POR) looks to have the makings of a better than decent full back.

(25h) Águas (POR) 6'0" is a centre-half, but jumping of 7 is far from ideal. 

All squads by PA. 27 (TWENTY SEVEN) 5.0 PA players. 

[Edit]

I think this suggests that this seasons intake is pretty decent. 

Edited October 29, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

27 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

I think you could do with a save in Spain mate, Cadiz are a separate club.

Don't even start. I honestly thought that Girona was in Italy until quite recently. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb & Mar 2025. 

Segunda Liga. 4 wins and 2 draws from 8 games is decent form, but we're still 2 points off the Playoff spot. 

Finances.  

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2025. 

Segunda Liga. What a mental title race this is. Benfica B might be top, but they can't be promoted so we can ignore them. TND (Tondela) are 4 points clear of everyone else with 2 games to play and are unbeaten in their last 7 matches, (winning 5 of them). The teams placed 3rd to 7th, (ourselves, Rio Ave, Ac. Viseu, Vilafranquense & Nacional da Madeira) ,are all separated by 1 point, with Trofense in 8th a 2nd point back.

I was going to look at goal difference, but I don't even know what the rules in Portugal are.

It's results between teams rather than GD that decides it if we're level on points. 

Our last 2 games are (A) Vit. Setúbal and (H) Leixões who are 16th and 15th respectively, both on the same points and also will be decided on Results between teams if we beat them both. We can surely beat both of these to finish 3rd which is really 2nd? This is the most nervous I have been in an FM save for a LONG time. I'm not even going to look at who anyone else has. Hopefully they will be playing eachother. We just have to win both of our games to be promoted. Nothing else matters. If we win both these games we are in the Premieira Liga in 2025/26. Come on!

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. Who cares! 

[corinthiano]

12 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Finances. Who cares! 

Love the contrast in mindset from your Barca save

Great progress so far, can't believe you are already knocking on the door of the top league - good luck for the last two games!

[Jimbokav1971]

3 minutes ago, corinthiano said:

Love the contrast in mindset from your Barca save

Great progress so far, can't believe you are already knocking on the door of the top league - good luck for the last two games!

I loved that Barca save. Thanks. 

I think the key for me is to do really extreme saves, no matter what the extreme. From paying off £1.2B without letting performances suffer to Youth Only from the depths of Portugal. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Penultimate game of the 2024/25 season. 

I can't believe we lost but they completely deserved it. We were lucky to get anywhere near a point. 

We've blown it. I think we've thrown it away at almost the final hurdle. There's a small chance of us somehow sneaking it, but it's a very small chance. 

Edited October 29, 2021 by Jimbokav1971

[RoguPL]

What is your DB setup when you start youth only? Is it only the nation you are playing at or do you pick more leagues with View-Only ? Do you also use a custom DB size or just a standard one ? 

[Jimbokav1971]

6 minutes ago, rrozek93 said:

What is your DB setup when you start youth only? Is it only the nation you are playing at or do you pick more leagues with View-Only ? Do you also use a custom DB size or just a standard one ? 

It really depends on the save. I remember doing Gibraltar for example with no other Nations loaded and with a small database. 

In this save I wanted Spain because they share a border with Portugal and Brazil because of the relationship with Portugal. 

When I play Youth Only I often use a small database because it stops the game slowing down when you get deep deep deep into a save. 

It also makes for a more interesting save because I don't care about external players and it makes our own players more in demand. There are pros and cons whatever you do, but this is what I like. 

[RoguPL]

2 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

It really depends on the save. I remember doing Gibraltar for example with no other Nations loaded and with a small database. 

In this save I wanted Spain because they share a border with Portugal and Brazil because of the relationship with Portugal. 

When I play Youth Only I often use a small database because it stops the game slowing down when you get deep deep deep into a save. 

It also makes for a more interesting save because I don't care about external players and it makes our own players more in demand. There are pros and cons whatever you do, but this is what I like. 

Awesome thanks ! 

[Jimbokav1971]

Final game of the 2024/25 season. 

We weren't good, but we did enough to win after giving them a goal start. 

Unfortunately it wasn't enough and we missed out on a Playoff spot by virtue of our Head to Head record against Vilafranquense, (who should be a French club with a name like that by the way!) 

[corinthiano]

That's so close, shame to have missed by the narrowest of margins. Do you think you have enough momentum to challenge again next season?

[Jimbokav1971]

7 hours ago, corinthiano said:

That's so close, shame to have missed by the narrowest of margins. Do you think you have enough momentum to challenge again next season?

Absolutely. We're still very much a squad based on PA rather than CA. Now I have secured long-term contracts for most players I'm sure we will push on. 

I have a choice as to whether I try and sell (22c) Caneira (POR) DLF or risk losing him on a free at the end of the season. The (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" money is gone and we are already  overdrawn, (but I still appreciate that we had to make the sale).

(22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" played 12 La Liga games after joining Cadiz, (see, I was paying attention @Rikulec), and his price is now £31M, (but that's because he has a £31.5M min fee release clause). That seems to be an error in the new system that SI have created. He's still a teenager and has just been awarded his 1st senior cap for (CIV). Cadiz finished 11th in the league so he's not at a BIG club yet. 

To put things in perspective, the money from his sale has already gone and unless I can bring an ex Academy product in on a free, these will be my centre-backs next season. Basically it's any 2 from 4. 

(23f) Magalhães (POR) 6'1" is the best and he was already partnering (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" before he left. 
Henriques (POR) 5'11" is an inherited player (although still a product of our Academy), but doesn't have the PA that the others do. He's also a lefty. 
(25c) Guedes (POR) 6'3" has only just come through the intake but I really like the look of him. 
(24a) Júnior (POR) 6'0" just needs game-time and I'm sure he will improve. 

It's interesting that we have 1 centre-back from each season. Inherited, (22g) has been sold, (23f) now 1st choice with (24a) and (25c) now in contention. Love this. Proper production line.

It's also interesting to point out that (22g) Banao (CIV) 6'3" was a "g" player so ranked 7th of 16 by PA coming through the intake. 
 

[karanhsingh]

Sad that you had to sell Banao but he seems to be flourishing in Spain. Also very unlucky to just miss out on the playoff! 

The new intake looks great though. Couple of players there who should be already in the first team I guess next season.