[FM22] Ergotelis - We are Greek, but we aren't boring

[noikeee]

 

Really disappointing, we've been on a truly rotten run of form recently and it shown - although it has to be said we did have chances, it's just that Man Utd were far far more clinical in both matches.

The history books will say we were in the Europa League semi-finals but I'm not very happy with my team at the moment.

[noikeee]

2029/2030 - End of season report

 

 

Our Championship Group performance was marked by... an alarming, calamitous even, drop in form. Distracted by our run to the Europa League semi-finals, we would add up an unacceptable and hard to believe 6 defeats in the league in this period.

After a particularly bad run of 3 in the league + the 2 defeats to Man Utd, we found ourselves in an almost unrecoverable position if we wanted to even make the CL slots, as we trailed both Panathinaikos and AEK in 3rd, but we were about to face them both. Against AEK we were saved by a wondergoal from Van Gestel in the 90th minute, and then we put a magnificent performance against Panathinaikos... only to squander all the chances and lose the game and make them champions. Come the final match of the league season, we were still in 3rd place and needing AEK to gift us something if we still wanted to get 2nd place and salvage a place in the CL playoffs. Thankfully they did just that, losing at home to OFI whilst we smashed PAOK 6-0, and this ended the season on a slightly better note.

 

 

An even better note later, as we played in our 3rd Greek cup final and this time actually won! In an all-Crete match OFI were no match for us and we claimed the trophy for the first time.

 

 

So all in all, although I am not happy at all we squandered the league which was well within our reach, and that's a step behind on that front, this was actually not that terrible a season with our first cup and our 2nd best European performance yet, though I'm not sure how a EL semi-final presence compares to a Conference League final presence. What we really need to do, is make the CL knockouts but we'll have to fight harder for it next year, as we start in the playoffs.

 

Squad stats

Top 5 players of the season

5. Adar Hadad (MC, AMC) - Good if not fully convincing first season for the club, the Israeli midfielder can do more for us if he continues developing - 11 goals, 6 assists, and a specially good performance in the cup final with a brace. That's what just about puts him in the top 5 of the year for me, ahead of AMC Fábio who got 15 goals but mixed performances; or pacey striker Lyubomir Stefanov who was again sublime in terms of rating (highest in the squad, 7.63) and bagged 12 goals and 6 assists but fell out of favour as the year went on.

4. Yann Bamba (DM) - Solid as ever, nice 7.33 ratings.

3. Ricardo Lugo (ST) - Not the most brilliant ratings and his trait of getting lots of assists (as he did last year) disappeared, but still bagged a very nice 24 goals.

2. Matus Prekop (WBR, DR, AMC) - I just love this guy, last year he was a prolific AMC, now he is an assist machine as an inverted wingback on the right cutting in to his left foot. 17 assists!!!

1. Anton Coles (ST) - Wonderful year on loan from Arsenal, who of course want him back. His pace makes him a massive threat and it helped him to 26 goals, 11 assists and the 2nd highest ratings in the squad at 7.41. I wish I could keep him for more than just one season, but that's the problem with loans and why I've gravitated away from them in recent years.

[noikeee]

In terms of tactics I have to confess things got so bad in this recent period in form, that I had to have an emergency look at FM Base, look at the most successful formation similar to what I have now, and incorporate more things into mine:

 

The biggest difference is we now have a duo of IWB/As and the WBR was moved back to DR (Prekop is learning this position). The more normal formation makes things slightly better defensively (though we're still too open), but offensively adding another in the other flank has been a big upgrade, basically both guys now operate almost as full blown wingers except they don't cross the ball and retain possession instead. It does get a bit narrow but the pressure on top of the opposition is so large that we eventually score, it seems.

I also switched Bamba from HB/D to DLP/S, there just doesn't seem to be much added value in this FM of having cover from the midfield to the defence. As DLP he helps recycle possession from our very narrow attack, this also changed significantly our buildup patterns so I dropped the "distribute to CBs" player instruction. In comes "use offside trap", which makes a lot of sense since often when we're attacking only the 2 CBs stay back, so it's easier for the defensive line to organize a trap if there's only 2 players and we're all so high up.

The major difference from this to the tactic you can find online is that only one of the front trio is on attack duty, I just don't like EVERYONE to be a runner, maybe it works better but it feels a wee bit too exploit-y, feels more balanced this way, it's already so crazy offensive. There's a couple other differences in roles, I like having one BPD to carry the ball as variation, I like having the support MC to be a 2nd mezzala rather than a BBM so he can drift wide and help us a little bit more in width.

[noikeee]

I actually don't think I've done this before. Could've done without the 10 defeats, though.

[noikeee]

 

A very easy 1st leg in which we totally dominated, and new signing Patrick Frantsich (I will present him soon) started with a bang, 2 goals and 1 assist.

The 2nd leg wasn't as convincing, we let a 2 goal lead slip. But really we had an extra 5 goals from the 1st leg, so no big deal. We advance, to face Scotland's Hibernian in the playoff.

[noikeee]

 

Ok, this was absolutely mental.

I don't know how we managed to concede 5 goals from 1 xG in the 1st leg, but we were horrific, at one stage losing 1-4 at home to HIBS!!!! of all teams. We got a couple late goals and this gave us a tiny chance for the 2nd leg.

... in which we fought hard but found it difficult to break them down, although this time at least they weren't scoring against us. The key would end up being marauding Polish left-back Patryk Podgorski who would score the 2 decisive goals that put us ahead in the tie. In injury time we added another 2 goals, including Podgorski's hattrick from the spotkick, but by this stage the match was over as they were down to 10 after an injury.

So we just about scrapped by and avoided the embarrassment of missing out on the Champions League because of Hibs...

I can live with this, we have a chance of 2nd place and making it past the groups for the first time.

[noikeee]

I usually put in these clauses, usually sell them or they expire but this time it actually paid off.

Mateus at the moment:

[noikeee]

Pre-season 2030/2031

Transfers

A rare transfer window in which we splashed the cash, thanks to all we've accumulated in recent seasons with our European runs. Even still, the numbers on this screenshot of 53M€ spent, 26M€ received are misleading because that misses the first transfer which was considered still out of the previous season - adding up 19.75M€ to the received total.

That's because Newcastle came in to pay Mitja Valencic's release clause. The centerback is an outstanding football player, but I was never fully convinced he put his whole potential on the field - a lack of aggression and bravery blunts his defensive ability. Other sold players included striker David Samuel (11M€), another centerback Ludger Schade (6M€), starting goalkeeper Yordan Panov (4.7M€), pacey winger-converted-to-striker Lyubomir Stefanov (3M€), and backup keeper Theo Sander (155K€).

The new players, not including midfielder Svenne van Gestel who has been here for years on loan and now re-signed permanently.

Akis Ablianitis (AML, AMR, ST) - One of 2 young Greek players with a lot to develop and okay potential that I've signed on a long shot.

Stamatis Bitilis (AMR) - The other one.

Pedro Henrique (GK) - Onto the actual good players. This Brazilian with Italian 2nd nationality is our new starter. He should be a slight upgrade on Panov, with a wee bit more potential too, but scouts later warned me he can be a little inconsistency. Oops.

Patrick Frantsich (AMR, ST) - I smashed the club record for a new signing (16.25M€) against the direction of my scouts, because we really did needed a new pacey striker after Coles' loan ended. So far so good as he's looked stellar in the Champions League playoffs.

Dragomir Gacic (DM, MC) -  A player I've kept an eye on for a while, he looked like Europe's next great DLP - and was starting to be chased by all the giant clubs - until a serious injury hurt his progress. Now less hyped, I got him for 2M€ and I reckon he'll make a great backup to Yann Bamba at the base of midfield.

Betim Asani (DC, DR) - With 2 centerbacks leaving, we replaced them first by young prospect Joãozinho returning from loan - he was supposed to be our new starter - and then poaching this Albanian lad who is a bit of a beast, albeit limited in the air, but I love his pace.

Thodoris Papacharalambous (ST) - One of 2 unexpected deadline day buys. He came onto my attention only in late August, but I couldn't pass up a potential giant superstar from Greece. Still just 18, he's not quite my favourite mould of striker, he's more of a target man than a mobile dribbler, but could become something truly special. I paid almost 10M€ for him from PAOK.

Chingiz Akhmedov (MC) - The other deadline day purchase, I chased this kid all Summer long and finally got the transfer done in the last day. I see him as the perfect MEZ/S, with super passing, vision and first touch, but also a feistyness to him. For now probably won't start but in a few months I expect him to be overtaking the likes of Alvarez and Cazzetta for the position.

 

 

We're looking like this now, the squad has become slightly larger than I wanted with the 2 surprise arrivals on deadline day, there is probably one forward and one midfielder too many. Overall I don't know if we're any stronger than last year, because we have lost a star centerback (Valencic - sold) and a star striker (Coles - loan ran out) and the replacements look a touch lower level.

But there is some super exciting 18/19/20 year olds becoming good players now, look at the likes of Joãozinho and Podgorski and Gravdehaug who all had stayed at their original clubs on loan after being bought last year, and have now joined the senior squad. Podgorski has already looked like the solution at LB in a few impressive performances in the CL playoffs, and Gravdehaug looks like a future world class player, just needs to be retrained to striker as he's a natural winger.

As for this season, which will be my 10th at the club, the two main goals are to claim back the league again and to make it past the Champions League group for the first time. Both things look doable - I think we can beat Marseille and Galatasaray to 2nd place in the group - but we have a fight in our hands.

Here's a look back at the whole career and what we have achieved so far:

[noikeee]

2030/2031 - Mid-season report

 

 

 

We kicked off our Champions League group stage with a 2-0 loss in France. Not a great start, against the team I suspected from the beginning we were fighting for 2nd place, so we were already on the backfoot. A very easy 6-1 dismantling of Galatasaray followed, to boost our morale, before the trip to the Camp Nou...... which was one of the most embarrassing matches of my career so far. We were down to 9 men still in the first half after 2 red cards, but even with 11 we were struggling to contain the rampaging duo of fullbacks Barça had (Sergio Gomez and Pedro Porro) and ultimately we were slaughtered 6-0.

But that wasn't the game that killed us really, losing by 6 only cost us 3 points at most the same - it was the ones against Marseille. We did far better at home vs Barça, taking them to a 0-0 draw, before heading to Turkey and again comfortably dispatching Galatasaray. The problem, is that this strong Marseille side had actually beaten Barça and taken a lot of points, and now on the final match we had to beat them by more than 2 goals to qualify. We were better than them this time, and largely outplayed them, but couldn't score. And they did, right at the end. Another defeat, 3rd place in the group and onto the Europa League for the 3rd consecutive year.

 

 

Talking about happier things - the domestic competitions. We've been comfortable. League form lately got a bit patchy with 2 defeats to PAOK and AEK, but we're still top by 4 points and generally look good. We're also in the cup quarter-finals.

 

Our European campaign continues against Lille. I'd say they are beatable opponents, but I said the same about Marseille who play in the same league, so...

[noikeee]

Second consecutive year we win this award, last season it had gone to midfielder Adar Hadad.

It is well deserved if a bit surprising, Podgorski has been on insane form with loads of assists:

 

[noikeee]

 

The first leg was pretty easy. I've been playing a new variation of the tactic, on a 4-1-3-2 version (AMC pulled back to become a 3rd MC) and it's been doing great for us, and it played out really well here again, we dominated the match. However, we didn't convert more than one goal.

So it was a bit surprising for me that in the 2nd leg things went badly. We couldn't cope with the pace of forward Marcus Thuram, who terrorised our centerbacks - perhaps we missed Joãozinho who has been our best CB this season and was out injured. We made a push late in the game but couldn't equalise the tie, ultimately it all feeling like a pretty disappointing way for our European run to end this season.

[noikeee]

2030/2031 - End of regular season report

Transfers

I didn't hire anyone in the January window, but I did sell a player. It's probably not my best sale ever to let go goalscoring striker Ricardo Lugo for 9M€, as he had banked 48 goals for the club in a little over 2 years, but he was having a bit of a crap season and we had an excess of strikers at the moment, particularly as Fábio has moved upfront. It made sense to let go of the underperforming non-EU guy.

 

 

Well, on the domestic front... it's going great! The new 4-1-3-2 has been doing wonders and we're almost winning any match, including large results such as the 7-0 and 6-0 demolishings of Larisa and Kallithea. As things stand we go into the championship group with a 8 point gap lead over Olympiacos, and we've also confirmed the presence in the cup final again, after beating AEK - Aris are the cup final opponents.

With all of this it's the most surprising that we dropped out of Europe that early. A disappointing outcome that we'll try to improve on next season.

 

 

As for the tactic right now, this is how it looks:

[noikeee]

Our NxGfdxwfh for the season

 

 

We're number 1! Yeah!

Rudi Gravdehaug (1st)
Damir Paunovic (19th)
Peter Ujlaky (27th)
Thodoris Papacharalambous (47th)

[noikeee]

End of season report 2030/2031

 

We... won every game.

Yes, literally.

 

 

Well this was surprisingly a little easy. We reclaim the league, retain the cup, and get our first ever cup+league double. Bizarre how we went up a level and totally breezed through the domestic competitions, despite struggling a little more in Europe this year than in previous seasons.

 

 

 

Squad stats

Top 5 players of the season

5. Nil Álvarez (MC) - The switch to the new 4-1-3-2 did well to the Spanish midfielder, who did quite well in the CM/A role, with 12 goals and 10 assists. Other players that could've been nominated here in the top 5 are NxGn player of the season Rudi Gravdehaug, with a wonderful 20 goals on his first year for the club and still in the process of adapting to playing as striker; and rightbacks Johann Noreña and Patricio Cuevas, both with very high ratings.

4. Patrick Frantsich (ST) - The Austrian striker was the club's record signing this Summer and repaid my confidence becoming top scorer on 24 goals, that being said at a stage I dropped him for Gravdehaug and I believe the Norwegian teenager will be the long term owner of the position.

3. Patryk Podgórski (DL) - I had signed him last year but retained him at his parent club on loan, for this year he finally arrived at the senior squad and I had no idea what was about to come. The Polish fullback was utterly terrifying going forward and managed a record-breaking 20 assists, plus also 6 goals.

2. Joãozinho (DC) - A player in the exact same scenario as Podgorski, joining the senior squad after a year on loan, he would turn out magnificent. 7.56 ratings and by the end of the season it was clear he was our best centerback despite fierce competition from the likes of Asani and Navarro.

1. Fábio (ST) - A player rated by my staff as highly talented but unable to quite deliver his full potential in the previous 2 seasons, this time I moved him forward to 2nd striker after playing mostly as AMC, and he was suddenly transformed. A mix of creator and finisher, capable of adding super valuable unexpected goals from long shots and free kicks, he had a particularly brilliant 1st half of the season, and ended the year on 22 goals, 12 assists. Currently being chased by half of Europe, under 3 more years of contract and no release fee, I'm not considering any bids below 50M€ - and even that is debatable as I would be unable to replace him.

 

Edited October 8, 2022 by noikeee

[noikeee]

Hey look, Greece is screwing over Portugal. And I'm guilty for it.

[LazgoNNO2000]

22 minutes ago, noikeee said:

Hey look, Greece is screwing over Portugal. And I'm guilty for it.

actually you didnt screwing up portugal

portugal teams are the only ones who screwing and losing themselves

[noikeee]

17 minutes ago, LazgoNNO2000 said:

actually you didnt screwing up portugal

portugal teams are the only ones who screwing and losing themselves

A bit of each.  

[noikeee]

They just won the Champions League and it's a club I've always wanted to manage in a journeyman career as I've always fancied them.

But this is a one-club career. Rejected. Also rejected another hugely tempting offer from Milan, another club I always had down as a journeyman destination.

[noikeee]

Pre-season 2031/2032

Transfers

M-O-N-E-Y. Flowing in and out of the club. All kinds of records were broken here, with a total 58M€ spent and a scarcely believable 172M€ (!!) received.

Let's start by the players that left and go through deal by deal (those that mattered - I told the DOF to clear out a lot of rubbish from the U19s and so he did, selling loads of mediocre kids)

• Striker Peter Ujlaky went to Everton for 23M€
• Midfielder Adar Hadad to Aston Villa for 28.5M€
• Leftback Damir Paunovic to PSG for 12.75M€
• Goalkeeper Pedro Henrique to Tottenham for 11.75M€
• Rightback Johann Noreña to Everton for 36.5M€ (a new record)
• Leftback Nemanja Mijatovic to Mainz for 7M€
• Finally, on deadline day, centerback/leftback Betim Asani to Everton (again) for 48.5M€ (another new record) but with the condition he stays for another year on loan.

Oof! The logic here was the following: Ujlaky and Hadad were backups, underperforming despite the great talent on paper and so were expendable. Paunovic was nearly world class but had a low release clause and was unwilling to get rid of it on contract renewal, plus he was a backup to Podgorski for me. Keeper Pedro Henrique had a great year for the club, but already wanted to leave and I had a replacement coming in. Noreña I didn't want to sell, specially since he's been here for so long he had become homegrown, but the offer was ridiculous, he's not THAT good - plus I have 2 other very good rightbacks in Cuevas and Prekop. Mijatovic was going to be a backup. And Asani, after underperforming a little as CB, was (and still is) going to play as backup LB for me this season.

All in all, even though there were a few magnificent players on paper here, getting 172M€ for a lot of backups and 2 starters (Noreña and Pedro Henrique) that I already have replacements for, isn't bad...

The new guys:

Martin Pekhart (DL) - Decent potential leftback, sent out on loan. Good at attacking, needs work on defensive attributes.

Alexander Ziegler (ST) - Advanced forward with some good potential, also sent out on loan. Needs a fair bit of development to become useful to the first team.

Ertugrul Serbest (GK) - The first BIG signing as we try to upgrade the goalkeeper position for the 2nd consecutive season. Already pretty damn good at 19. A Turkish national doing his career in Greece is unusual, but in FM world, things are simpler... I paid 12.25M€ for him.

Aliou Thiam (GK) - Also a keeper, more of a long term punt, I left him on loan at his parent club in Senegal to keep getting experience. The new Edouard Mendy?

Pedro Augusto (MC, ST) - I'm going to be honest, this is a miss, probably. I got a bit too excited trying to sign a midfielder and got him for 1.4M€ before I could see his attributes. He's too poor defensively to play midfield for me, even if I'd want him to do the CM/A role anyway. I want to loan him out but he wouldn't accept it, so he'll just be a rarely used backup for now.

Casper Ingvartsen (DC) - A level below our starting CBs, but given how much my scouts raved about him, I believe there is the potential to become a world class centerback here. Paid 8.5M€ for him.

Jasper van Leeuwen (DC) - Far less potential according to my staff, but not starting far off - I took him randomly on trial and he impressed, so signed him permanently. Loaned out for now.

Þorsteinn Sigurpálsson (MC) - A leap of faith, as I burst my transfer signing record, splashing 18.75M€ on this 21yo Icelandic kid with just 2 senior appearances in his whole career, for Liverpool. That he is this good despite not having any senior football experience whatsoever tells me he'll be immense once he gets matches on his legs. Just don't ask me to write his first name many times.

Maximilian Borenitsch (MC, AMC, ST) - A touch less expensive on the transfer fee (17M€), but still another huge investment from the club, specially since I gave him groundbreaking wages. I did that because I think he can become a superstar on one of our attack-minded midfield roles.

 

This is how I envisage my team now, though I potentially might, for the first half of the season, keep playing Cazzetta on the midfield instead of Borenitsch as the German adapts to the side. I want to bet big on familiarity and existing partnerships - everyone else here, apart from the keeper, was at the club last year already.

All in all, I am very excited for this season. I think we've kept the core of what made us so good late last season, added 2 exciting elements that could surprise from midfield in Borenitsch and Sigurpálsson, and await the continued development of promising stars like Gravdehaug or Papacharalambous, who'll make up the backup striker duo.

 

.... except this is our Champions League group. Juve and Atlético, damn, and we were 2nd seeds! I guess we'll end up 3rd in the group for the 4th consecutive year?

[noikeee]

Well that's not a bad start.  

[LazgoNNO2000]

1 hour ago, noikeee said:

Well that's not a bad start.  

well pretty cool

i just doing pretty well in fm 21 career mode

[noikeee]

 

Yeah I think we're at that stage that the league isn't a contest anymore...

... time to focus 100% onto Europe!

[noikeee]

2031/2032 - Mid-season report

 

 

 

The domestic competitions are not really a thing anymore. We're on ALMOST a 100% record because we just drew with Olympiacos, after a sequence of 30 consecutive league wins.

Now as to the Champions League... we did it! We finally did it! We're out of the group stage! Absolutely critical was a 6-3 (!) win over Atlético early on, then getting 2 points in the Juve matches, both 2-2. We lost in Madrid, which meant we probably had to beat Kobenhavn in the final day to seal qualification, and we got a little scare as we went a goal down.. but then dominated the rest of the match and finally qualified after years of trying.

 

 

Next are Milan, there were no easy opponents to pick from here given we were 2nd seeds, I am relatively happy given all the alternatives. Outside chance of a quarterfinal presence here, I think.

With FM23 out I am confused on whether to continue or switch to it, I am not hugely excited for the new game and I don't like starting this early (on the beta or even the release before the first patch) as there's often bugs, but it always feels slightly tempting... I might play another season or two and then switch.

[noikeee]

 

He's good and scoring a lot of goals in the Greek league, but I'm slightly mistified by how highly the AI always rate him... I think he must have huge potential ability that's yet untapped.

[noikeee]

 

 

The first leg was pretty frustrating. We dominated but had no finishing edge around the area at all, and they scored on their chance.

Second leg looked like it'd go the same way at first. Thundershot from Brahim Diaz through an unusual moment of butter-hands from our keeper Ertugrul Serbest. But then, a rare inspired day from Patrick Frantsich would save our day. Hat-trick and an assist from the sometimes lethal but rather inconsistent Austrian striker, and here we go to the quarter-finals.

[Fudal]

Do we dare to dream? 

[noikeee]

2032/2033 - End of regular season

Transfers

Nothing much to see here, just one signing.

Michal Sturma (DC) - Big potential for the future, I hired him for 7M€ and kept him on loan on Banik Ostrava.

 

 

This is really that point in the career where the domestic competitions are no challenge anymore. 16 points lead going onto the final group... We did lose one match though, heavily, to PAOK.

Champions League is the thing I'm interested in now... Of course we've already gone further than anytime before, with our first presence beyond the group stage and now a quarter-final appearance, so that's already good progress for the season.

 

[noikeee]

2 minutes ago, Fudal said:

Do we dare to dream? 

I do, so I can get this over with and move to FM23.  Just bought it today, but I'm keeping it in my collection without opening it, waiting for the time the game gets a bit more stable and better feedback in the forums, until I start a career with it.

[noikeee]

No easy draws at this stage. Liverpool are managed by... Guardiola. Yes, really. And they have an Haaland-esque English striker who is unstoppable. This'll be tough...

[noikeee]

 

First leg was just like the Milan first leg, but worse, because this time we conceded twice after dominating the game and failing to score, not once.

But then Anfield.. was totally epic. First, Sigurpálsson scores against his former club (I hired him from Liverpool at the start of the season). Then Fábio scores a freekick from miles out. Disadvantage nullified! Only for Liverpool to quickly score twice. That's over, right?

No! Beginning of the 2nd half we get 2 more as well, first by Bamba then Frantsich. Match continues rather open but it all goes to extra time. And by minute 108, substitute Rudi Gravdehaug is in the right place to tap it in at the end of low cross on a counter. Semi-finals! Dare to dream indeed!

 

 

Man City next. Managed by Vincent Kompany. 33 year old Mbappé upfront.

[noikeee]

NxGn 2032:

Ertugrul Serbest (2nd)

Michal Sturma (6th)

[noikeee]

 

First leg was totally different from the 2 previous rounds. This time City probably had a little edge on us, but we had the goals, scored twice with two pretty neat team goals, however City would reduce later on.

The 2nd leg was completely chaotic, both teams fielding attacking 4-4-2s (them a flat 4-4-2, us a diamond), which meant far too often strikers were 2 vs 2 with the centerbacks. Within 25 minutes we had gotten the lead twice and twice City had drawn. Just before halftime Mbappé had scored City's 3rd, making the tie even overall, and as we headed into the 2nd half it very much looked like we were disintegrating defensively, too many open chances for City. In desperation I brought in a 3rd centerback, but they immediately scored. It actually kind of worked as we stabilised things and looked a little on the up now, but we couldn't pounce on our chances, and eventually it was City that capitalised on theirs with a 5th goal.

It feels like they were just a tiny bit too good. Mbappe, Lautaro, an old and slowing but still clever Kimmich, a still physically sound duo of Ruben Dias-De Ligt on their early 30s at the back, the creative force of Foden, world class regen wingers, leftback and striker (Grimes, who scored). Just a wee bit too much world class talent, we are very good now but not quite, quite there yet. It still felt rewarding to come this close to a Champions League final.

Edited October 26, 2022 by noikeee

[noikeee]

2031/2032 - End of season report

 

 

We broke the points record in the league, that's good, we reached a Champions League semi-final, that's good, but we ended the season in a sour note by losing the cup final to a 10-man Panathinaikos. That wasn't good.

 

 

 

Squad stats

Top 5 players of the season

5. Matus Prekop (DR) - A return to impressive form as he hits the highest ratings out of the starting 11 (7.58), and almost got the most assists (13). That being said, early in the season Patricio Cuevas had won the position over him (and finished the season with the highest ratings in the squad, 7.63) and he only regained his spot due to that sequence of assists starting to pay off.

4. Fábio (ST) - Not as spectacular as in the past season, but still influential, joint most assists with 14, and 15 goals.

3. Joãozinho (DC) - Another mammoth season from the Portuguese centerback who has now reached the national team and is wanted by all of Europe, 7.55 ratings.

2. Maximilian Borenitsch (MC) - Fabulous first season for the club with an outstanding return of 18 goals and 11 assists from the CM/A role.

1. Patrick Frantsich (ST) - Actually not the top scorer (that was the other option for the advanced forward position, Rudi Gravdehaug, who got 29 and is probably hard done by to not get a top 5 players mention), but with 26 goals and 14 assists that's 40 goals he was directly involved in, and performed better than Gravdehaug in the Champions League which is why he got settled on what I call "the starting 11" for me (the 11 I send to key matches, such as CL ties). Started the season slowly but was on fire on the later CL rounds and the last few months.

 

Edited October 27, 2022 by noikeee

[noikeee]

Pre-season 2032/2033

Transfers

A somewhat cautious transfer window, we only spent 26.5M€ and received 31.5M€. This sum was almost entirely due to the sale of centerback Dorian Grobbötzl to Valencia for 12.25M€ and midfielder Gabriele Cazzetta to West Ham for 19M€.

Jetro Kunst (AML, AMR, ST) - Not a huge prospect but was available at a free, I plan to make money on selling him. Loaned out.

Viktor Bäckström (DM, ML, MC) - Also loaned out but a bit more exciting. Needs to become better defensively to be a DLP DM for us in the future but can certainly play a great pass. Has the "wonderkid" tag.

Neto (ML, AML, ST) - Also loaned out, I think I messed up with this one. I spent 7.25M€ looking at his pace + dribbling but he seems to be stalling in progress. 

Moisés Sanhueza (DL, DM) - The first of the guys that actually join the first team. A monster fullback who is already the equal of Podgorski and will compete for the position at the age of 19. Already a full Chile internatonal.

Martin Petrov (MC, AMC) - Not quite supposed to join the first team yet, but I decided to recall from loan after I got a good deal for Cazzetta on deadline day. Decent midfielder who will serve as backup, a regular on the 2nd XI, maybe a very slight downgrade on Cazzetta.

Filip Bodo (AMC, ST) - Yet another kid I got because he was cheap and I loaned out. Lots of potential on paper. The pacey kind of forward.

Alfredo Acosta (MC, AMC, AML) - Yet another "he seems cheap and has potential", let's keep him on loan at the original club. Not sure he'll make my squad in the future but quite good for a 18 yo.

Diego Esedin (DL, DC, DR) - Deadline day signing as it looked like I was going to see Ingvartsen, so I needed a centerback replacement, but then the deal collapsed and I decided to bring this kid in anyway. At 8M€ this deal can't go wrong, potential future worldclass defender here.

 

 

 

This is the exact same team as last year, nothing much has changed. I have a well settled squad, there were no opportunities in the transfer market for clear upgrades (although DL Sanhueza and  DC Esedin are super promising), so I'm gonna keep trust on the same guys whilst letting the 2nd string kids develop.

 

 

I could've had a considerably better draw as we were 1st seeds, but it is what it is. Interesting rise of Austria Klagenfurt to the Champions League here, they're a random club that seem to be growing within the Austrian league (I have all leagues loaded as view-only, which leads to a tiny bit more randomness).

[noikeee]

2032/2033 - Mid-season report

 

 

The Champions League group went better than expected, we won at Anfield and in Dortmund, so from then on it was just a matter of managing it, we did lose at home to Liverpool but topped the group.

In the domestic competitions, 100% record so far.

 

 

 

Next it's a repeat of last year's round of 16 as we face Milan again. They have a ridiculously old team which is largely similar to the end they had back when the career started, I think we can beat them.

 

 

Also, lol

[noikeee]

 

He's not 99M€ good, that is absolutely mental, he doesn't play like his attributes. Thanks for the extra 18M€, though.

For reference we sold him to Everton for 23M€, that now seems quite low but he never did anything for us, and he only scored a few healthy goals for Everton after they were relegated to the Championship. I'm happy enough with that. 40M€ profit on him for us.

 

Edited November 9, 2022 by noikeee

[noikeee]

Of course just minutes after I post that, he goes on to score SIX on a Champions League knockout match.

[noikeee]

 

First leg was okay even though we dropped the lead. Good result to take back to Greece.

2nd leg Frantsich upfront was injured, so this time I replaced him with Papacharalambous. That worked just fine as the Greek kid got 2 within the first 20 minutes. Fábio added an hat-trick still within the first half, to make it a ridiculous score, didn't expect it to be this easy.

 

No easy draws at this stage. Brendan Rodgers' Chelsea are having a horrible season, 11th in the Premier, but they have a terrifying Youssoufa Moukoko upfront. Winner gets to play Juve or PSG.

[noikeee]

2032/2033 - End of regular season report

Transfers

At this stage I'm just hogging as many prospects/soon-to-become-wonderkids as I can.

Ronni Outzen (DC, DR) - A Norweggian prospect.

Victor Alexander (MC, AMR, ST) - A Brazilian prospect.

 

 

Lots of green dots. Not much to say really.

 

 

[noikeee]

Moisés Sanhueza (3rd)
Victor Alexander (35th)
Filip Bodo (41st)
Alfredo Acosta (43rd)

[noikeee]

First leg felt like a missed opportunity - we dominated, got a goal in a corner, but then conceded the equaliser late on in a corner as well. We should've translated our superiority into goals, and ended up instead with an awkward result to take to London.

Over there things didn't start brilliantly and Chelsea felt on top the first half hour, but then suddenly Fábio's genius - he's been immense this season - took over as he got a goal and an assist. The 2nd half was hectic but the 0-2 result would prevail.

 

PSG next, as we face a Champions League semi-final for the 2nd time.

[noikeee]

 

Interesting match in Greece first. We scored very early, but then PSG gradually built up their edge over the match, turned it around... and then we drew from nowhere late. Kinda didn't quite deserve that, but we'll take it.

In Paris... we squandered chances. Quite a lot of them, both in the first half and at the beginning of the second. It was turning out to be quite the tense match... until a throughball found Vinicius Junior and he calmly sloted it home. From then on, no question PSG were on hold of the match and took advantage of our tired legs to break us down a little too easily, but 3-0 is harsh - we gave it a better go than that.

Turns out this isn't our Champions League year neither... we end our run at the semi-finals just like last year.

[noikeee]

2032/2033 - End of season update

 

 

Late season draws against Olympiacos and Panathinaikos prevented us from achieving the 100% win rate in the league, but it's still our first unbeaten season. We added the cup, too.

 

 

Squad stats

Top 5 players of the season:

5. Maximilian Borenitsch (MC) - 19 goals from midfield? I'll take that.

4. Matus Prekop (DR) - 22 assists is a sexy number. A sumptuosly large number. A number that makes us math-spreadsheet-simulator-nerds all giggle and blush.

3. Joãozinho (DC) - 7.74 average ratings? He's a ****ing cyborg.

2. Patrick Frantsich (ST) - 26 goals ain't bad, neither. Actually the league's top scorer, first time we've had it! (we rotate forwards so much nobody ever gets this award)

1. Fábio (ST) - His 5th season at the club was the best one yet.. 23 goals and 14 assists? Yes please. Also imagine getting regularly called up and capped by Brazil as a forward, whilst playing in Greece.

 

Edited November 10, 2022 by noikeee

[noikeee]

Guys, I think I'm calling it a day here at the end of season 12. I know I didn't get the ultimate thing which was the Champions League, which maybe would've taken just a couple more seasons.. but I'm struggling to stay invested, the Greek competitions are **** easy now and the game takes so long to sim through a season, even whilst using instant result for domestic matches, it's so slow specially the transfer window.. I get like 200 bids per transfer window for my players.  So many clicks. I'm actually not moving to FM23 just yet, but I think it's time for a new challenge.