[FM23] Out of Africa. (Spanish out of Morocco to be precise). We will start with Ceuta, but if things go badly I might end up at Melila.

[Jimbokav1971]

More awards. May 2042. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. May 2042. 

DL. 

McCarthy (ENG)(GHA) 5'11" is a better DL than DC, but I think I signed him with the idea of playing him at centre-half, (left in a 3), because we were short in that area and have a few DL's.
Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * is actually right footed, but is happy playing on either flank. At this point I can't remember what side I had planned to play him on. 

I think we're a little weak in this area, but only if I don't include McCarthy (ENG)(GHA) 5'11" & Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) *. I'm hoping that I can come back and change this after I have looked at DR & DC. 

[Edit] After looking at the DR area, Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * can indeed be played on the left rather than the right, (and probably a mix of both in reality). so it means that I can sell Coulibaly (MLI)(ESP) *.

1st Team. Coulibaly (MLI)(ESP) *, Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * & (38c) Giménez
B Team. (40i) Asier (Pro)
U18's. (40o) Preda (ROU) (Pro), (41k) Duque. (F.Pro)
Loan. (39m) Sáez.
Sell. (39m) Sáez.
Release. 

Coulibaly (MLI)(ESP) * isn't really good enough to be 1st choice and I would rather someone else replace him so that I can sell him rather than offering him a new contract, (he has just 12 months left on his current deal). 

Edited May 16, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. May 2042. 

DR. 

Remember, although Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * is right footed, I actually want him to play at WBL so fingers crossed I don't have to include him here. 

[Edit] He is clear to play on the left because we have quite a few decent young prospects on the right that I want to give gametime to. 

Kitoko (BEL)(COD) * is the big star in this area, but he's not great defensively, (that's an understatement), but think of him as an attacking WB like TAA and you will get what I have in mind. I actually don't want him to be defending at all. In tough games I'm likely to play him either on the right hand side up front, (if he can get in the team). 

Soudant (MAR) * is the only 5.0 player in this area though, (and looks far more rounded), so he will play this season in the B Team with a view to him being a starter for the 1st Team next season. Maybe then Kitoko (BEL)(COD) * can move forward and play on the right up front. 

1st Team. Kitoko (BEL)(COD) * &  Ilunga (COD)(BEL) 5'10".
B Team. Soudant (MAR) * & Boyer (FRA)(REU) 6'0", (41h) Noguera 5'10" (F.Pro), (39h) Poves
U18's. (41e) Cuesta 5'9" DR (Temp)
Loan. Dosso (CIV), Dosso (CIV), Yao (CIV), Conneh (LIB)(ESP) (39h) Poves
Sell. Musa. (ENG)(NGA) SELL
Release. 

Kitoko (BEL)(COD) * is going to start the majority of games at right back next season. I'm hoping that it will explode his development and if he's struggling then I will ensure there is a better DR on the bench and the Ass Man can always drag him off. 

Ilunga (COD)(BEL) 5'10" is our best DR in terms of CA, but he isn't going to get any better so he will start in our big games, but spend the bulk of the season on the bench and coming on as and when we need him. 

[Edit]

ps In case you're wondering, the amount of detail I'm going into with these squad depth posts is more for my benefit than yours. I haven't a clue what is going on with the save at the moment and want to make sure I don't screw things up in the close-season. 

Edited May 16, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. May 2042. 

DC. It might seem like we have loads of centre-backs, but as we play 3 at the back then we need more players than we might need in other positions. When you think about it, 3 starters for the 1st Team and 3 more to play in a rotated squad for the 1st Team. Plus 3 more to play in the B Team and 2 more to provide cover for them. Then we need 3 to play for the U18's and 2 more to provide cover for them. That's 16 centre-backs to start off with before we talk about anyone going out on loan. Do you see what I mean? 

We also shouldn't ignore that many of the players on this list might be able to play centre-half, but will not play there for me. 

Mohamed (EGY) 6'4" is good enough to be 2nd choice at DLC, but because it takes up a special FGN registration spot to register him, (he's Egyptian), it makes more sense to loan him out or even sell him and give the slot to a more valuable player. As a result, Mofokeng (RSA) 6'1" will take his place instead. 

1st Team.
DLC. McCarthy (ENG)(GHA) 5'11" & Mohamed (EGY) 6'4" Mofokeng (RSA) 6'1"
DC. Ouédraogo (CIV)(BFA) 6'0" DC & (33c) Francisco 6'3".
DRC. Idris (GER)(NGA) 6'5" & (37k) Jesús 6'6".
B Team.
DLC. (39b) Agné 6'4", Rodrigo (MLI)(ESP) 5'10", (40f) Lisco (ITA) (Bal) 6'1"
DC. Dabo (SEN)(FRA) 6'0", (39d) Vázquez 5'10" DC
DRC. Boyer (FRA)(REU) 6'0", Diakité (CIV)
U18's. (42p) Nzimande (RSA)(IRL) 6'3", 
Loan. Mohamed (EGY) 6'4", (39n) Rachade (FRA)(COM) 6'3"
Sell. Mohamed (EGY) 6'4", Gomes (POR)(GNB), (37i) Alemany 5'10"

[Jimbokav1971]

Even more awards. Jun 2042. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jun 2042. 

MC. If we can make an argument for holding lots of DC's and SC's in the squad because we play with 3 of each, there unfortunately has to also be a counter-argument that we need to reduce the number of MC's being held by the club. 

I got this wrong last season and we were left short in midfield in the 1st Team, when players who I had expected to be registered for the B Team, (and do be available for the 1st Team), weren't registered so weren't available and at times this meant we were really short in the middle of the pitch. 

1st Team. Madidilani (RSA) & Sakanoko 2 (CIV) MC. Tavares (POR)(GNB) * 5'9" & Hamdi (EGY) &
B Team. (40h) Rubio (Unamb), Kacem (TUN), Msimango (RSA), (40c) Llorente (F.Det), (39g) Esquerdo, (39c) Franco (ESP)(BAS) 6'4"
U18's. (42c) Rial, (42e) Ramos, (41b) Gutiérrez (Spirit), (40d) Álex (Pro), (42l) Jofre, 
Loan. (38a) Hernando, (37b) Manuel, Sène (ESP)(MLI), Koné (CIV), (36b) Jaime (EQG)(ESP), (37h) Xavi, Kouakou (CIV)(FRA), (38i) Iván, (38b) Pavas (COL)(ESP) DC 6'0"
Sell. El-Akchaoui (MAR)(FRA), Hesham (EGY), Taddese (GER)(ETH)
Release. Aziz (EGY), (38n) Carrillo

Aziz (EGY) will unfortunately be leaving on a free. He's not interested in a new contract and I either didn't manage to sell him in the Summer or forgot to sell him in the Summer, (probably the latter). I like him and he's been good value for us, but more as a squad player who comes in and fills a gap rather than being guaranteed 1st choice, (at least for a while). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jun 2042. 

SC. We've got sooooo many players in this position. 

1st Team.
SLC. (37a) Niño * & Britto (CIV)(MLI).
SC. (33b) Marcos * & (32a) David.
SRC. Guèhi (CIV) * & Amade (MOZ)(RSA).
B Team.
SLC. Uzoma (NGA), Uzoma (NGA)
SC. Touré (CIV)
SRC. (40e) Retuerta (Pro), (39j) Santos.
U18's. (40j) Sergi (Pro) SC, (41a) Antón 5'8" (Driven) SC, (40b) Casas (Temp), (39e) Jiménez., (40a) Tomé (Unamb), (41c) Carlos (Bal), (41d) Touray.(GAM)(ESP)(F.Loy), (41f) Alejandro. (Bal), (40p) Raúl (F.Det), (41i) Abraham. (Unamb), (42g) Garzón, (42d) Bernal, 
Loan. (37c) Castro *, Dabo (MLI)(ESP), Dladla (RSA), Amade (MOZ)(RSA), Qwabe (RSA), El Sayed (EGY), Okafor (ESP)(NGA), Zungu (RSA), Diepkilé (ESP)(MLI), Ali Labiadh (TUN), (38d) Cisse (ESP)(SEN), Koffi (CIV), (37g) Miguel, (38g) Muñoz, Diomandé (CIV), (36c) Delgado, (36e) Reyes, (36k) Aguinaco, (38p) Collado, (39i) Navarro., (39i) Navarro., (38m) Roldán (ESP)(BAS), (39f) Romero., (42m) Ranero, (42k) Idrissi (MAR), 
Sell. (36a) Iglesias.
Release. (32b) Intxaurraga (FRA)(BAS), (38o) Jose., (39k) Lázaro.

[Jimbokav1971]

Reputation. Jul 2042. 

We're still only "Continental" reputation and so are Real Hispalis just above us. With another good season in Europe we should be able to overhaul them and close the gap to A.Madrid.

9,113 R.Madrid
8,844 Sevilla
8,747 Barcelona
8,377 A.Madrid
8,190 Real Hispalis
8,117 Ceuta

[Sonic Youth]

On 16/05/2023 at 16:31, Jimbokav1971 said:

I was the Runner Up in the La Liga Manager of the Year award. To be completely fair here, if I had (27a) Crespo * we would have won the league and I would have won this, (but I'm not butter at all)......

This cracked me up, that you’re not butter at all 

[Sonic Youth]

That’s a lot of strikers!

A good run down and especially useful for you after being away from it for a month.

Shame the board didn’t approve a new stadium.

Was also a good end to the season, with Sevilla ridiculous in your save.

Crespo is awesome and 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

This cracked me up, that you’re not butter at all 

I might not be butter, but I'm pretty sure I'm bitter! 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

That’s a lot of strikers!

A good run down and especially useful for you after being away from it for a month.

Shame the board didn’t approve a new stadium.

Was also a good end to the season, with Sevilla ridiculous in your save.

Crespo is awesome and 

It is. I'm not keeping players to fill slots in the 1st Team. I'm starting off with the strategy of keeping everyone, and then that changes and I allow myself to release players when I get a reason/opportunity. 

Considering we play 3 up front  and I have been known to sell good players because I have the next best thing waiting in the wings, it should at least offer a regular supply of players coming through. 

The other thing of course is that you can generally demand more of a premium for a striker than you could for a similar ability player in another position. Goals are important. 

I was really surprised how well we did after I started playing again, (at least in the league). We just kept winning! 

Crespo is amazing. I would have won everything by now had I managed to keep him. 

I just have to go and find the next Crespo from the Academy. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2042. 

La Liga. I was surprised when the Real Madrid gameday arrived. I was expecting another couple of friendlies, but they didn't happen and I think we were a little undercooked as a result. Because of that we lost our opener, and then I was surprised to see us beat Sevilla in the 2nd game. As starts go, I'll certainly take it. 

I know it's early days yet, but we're 8th in the league after the 1st month, with 5 clubs still unbeaten. The difference between us and everyone else is that we've already played 3 of last season's top 4, (2 of them away),  (and we're the other 1). 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Transfers. Summer window. 2042. 

In. I had 3 transfers prepared in advance for the day the window opened, with all 3 being teenagers. 

Talal (MAR) had a much better scout report than 3.0 PA, but as he has immediately returned to Morocco on loan I just have to hope that we haven't fully seen an accurate report.

Sylla (GUI) also doesn't seem to have the potential shown in his scout report, but again he has immediately gone back out on loan so we will keep our fingers crossed. 

Ly (BEL)(SEN) * is the pick of the group and his report has stayed at 5.0 PA even after his arrival. I have high hopes for him. 

Out. 

I was happy to offload Fofana (FRA)(CIV) 5'9", but I didn't want to lose Ouédraogo (CIV)(BFA) 6'0" DC at all. Man Utd met his min fee release clause and that was that. 

We do have some good news though. We've generated £6.25M profit just from loan deals alone. Over the next few seasons we really should be able to expand on that significantly. 

[Jimbokav1971]

7 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

That’s a lot of strikers!

I wanted to show you what it's like a month or so into the season. 

1st Team.

Kitoko (BEL)(COD) * is playing as a WB now, but might develop into a striker later in his career. 
Yakubu (ENG)(GHA) * is a WB. 
Sakanoko 2 (CIV) MC is a MC.
(37a) Niño * is our 1st choice left-sided striker. 
(33b) Marcos * is our 1st choice central striker, (and has a broken leg). 
Guèhi (CIV) * is our 1st choice right-sided striker. 
Hamdi (EGY) is a MC. 
Britto (CIV)(MLI) is our 2nd choice left-sided striker. 
(32a) David is our 2nd choice central striker. 
Amade (MOZ)(RSA) is our 2nd choice right-sided striker. 
Taddese (GER)(ETH) SELL is a MC.
Diepkilé (ESP)(MLI) is a striker who I was going to loan out, but I have kept him because we have 2 injured already. 
(36b) Jaime (EQG)(ESP) is a MC.
(37b) Manuel is a MC. 

So in the 1st Team we had planned to have 6 strikers, (3 rotating with another 3), but because 2 of them started the season injured I kept 1 more. 

B Team. 

(38g) Muñoz is a SC.
Dabo (MLI)(ESP) is a SC.
(38d) Cisse (ESP)(SEN) is a SC.
(39g) Esquerdo is a MC.
Touré (CIV) is a SC.
(39e) Jiménez. is rubbish so it doesn't matter what position he is. 
(36c) Delgado is a SC.
(39l) Figueiras. is rubbish so it doesn't matter what position he is. 
(38m) Roldán (ESP)(BAS) is a SC.
(37g) Miguel is a SC.
Dladla (RSA) is a SC.
(39i) Navarro. is rubbish so it doesn't matter what position he is.
(39o) Palao. is rubbish so it doesn't matter what position he is.
(39j) Santos. is rubbish so it doesn't matter what position he is.

U19's. 

Taddese (GER)(ETH) SELL is a MC.
(42b) Carbonell is a MR who I plan on converting into a SC.
(41a) Antón 5'8" (Driven) SC is a SC.
(41c) Carlos (Bal) is a SC.
(40d) Álex (Pro) is a MC. 
(40e) Retuerta (Pro) is an MR who I plan on converting to a SC.
(40b) Casas (Temp) is a SC.
(40j) Sergi (Pro) SC is a SC.
(42a) Jorge is an MR who I plan on converting to a SC.
(42g) Garzón is a SC.
(41f) Alejandro. (Bal) is rubbish do it doesn't matter what position he is. 
(41d) Touray.(GAM)(ESP)(F.Loy) is rubbish do it doesn't matter what position he is. 
(41b) Gutiérrez (Spirit) is a MC.
(40h) Rubio (Unamb) is a MC.
(40a) Tomé (Unamb) is a SC.
(40o) Preda (ROU) (Pro) is a DL.
(42d) Bernal is a SC.
(42k) Idrissi (MAR) is a SC.
(42m) Ranero is a SC.
(41p) Santos. (F.Amb) is rubbish do it doesn't matter what position he is. 

So it's still loads, but it's much better than it was. 

[Sonic Youth]

3 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

So it's still loads, but it's much better than it was. 

Now that looks better better set up, and that’s because a month of the season has passed.

[Sonic Youth]

Ly looks promising for a 16 yo 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2042. 

La Liga. It's not an awful month, but we're certainly not firing on all cylinders. We hit the woodwork against Espanyol when we should have scored to earn us a point, but that was nothing compared to the Celta Vigo game which saw us hit the woodwork on no less than 6 occasions. Still, we're up to 4th and only Real Madrid have a 100% record. 

UEFA Champions League. It's ridiculous that the Champions League starts at such an early stage now with this format. I absolutely hate it! 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Now that looks better better set up, and that’s because a month of the season has passed.

We've got 38 players out on loan right now and a lot of them are strikers. 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Ly looks promising for a 16 yo 

Yeah he looks pretty decent at this early stage. 

We will just have to see how he develops. I have resisted temptation to throw him into the B Team so far. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2042. 

La Liga. We dropped points against Albacete at home, and this is a little frustrating as Real Madrid have had a storming start to the season having won 10/10 games from the start of the season. It means that we trail them by a whopping 8 points after only 10 games. I don't expect them to keep this up though and possibly a better comparison as to how we're doing is perhaps that we're 1 point ahead of Sevilla. 

A problem this month was that Camara (SEN) 6'2" twisted his ankle in training and missed most of the month. A sa result (36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4" had to step up from the B Team and they had to select a kid in goal.  

UEFA Champions League.

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

Records.

B Team. 

Because of the way that B Team finances work in the game, (you don't get to see a proper P&L sheet like you do for the 1st team, you just get to see 1 single entry on the 1st Team balance sheet that is either a credit or a cost each month), it's actually quite hard to work out how much the B Team is costing/generating and also why. As a rough rule of thumb I would suggest that in most cases there is no income being generated and the B Team is very much a significant cost, (even if you ignore the player wages which would be incurred whether the B Team existed or not). 

If we look at the 1st Team income page from last season then it tells us that the B team generated £5.9M income last season. Most of this will have been the £5M TV deal that La Liga 2 clubs receive. 

If we look at the 1st Team expenditure page from last season then it tells us that the B Team generated £17.1M in costs last season, (so a shortfall of somewhere in the region of £12.8M). 

That's a lot of money and if your 1st Team isn't doing great, it's often something that you probably can't afford. 

The only real issue here is that I don't know if player wages are included in that figure of £17.1M? The fact that we've already spent £8.3M this season and we're only in October suggests that player wages are included. 

There used to be a bug/feature whereby if a player was sold while in the B Team, then his info would not show up on the Transfer History - Transfers Out page, (because it was technically classed as a different club), but I've just checked and this appears to have been resolved, (which is excellent). 

Part of the problem with the B Team is that SI are neither classing them as individual clubs in their entirety, or just another squad within the overall structure of the club, (because in reality it falls somewhere between the 2 a lot of the time). 

Finances. 

[RoguPL]

Great to see you back ! 

A question about B team. 
How was it formed? Did you have the option to ask the board about it ? 

I play in Portugal and have been for the last 5 seasons in top flight but still don't have it and can't ask the board. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

17 hours ago, RoguPL said:

Great to see you back ! 

A question about B team. 
How was it formed? Did you have the option to ask the board about it ? 

I play in Portugal and have been for the last 5 seasons in top flight but still don't have it and can't ask the board. 

 

I asked and asked and asked for a while until they agreed, but the problem wasn't them agreeing to us having a B Team. The problem was the B team getting promoted to a playable level where we could play against real opposition. This is based on reputation so you just keep having to plug away until it happens. Took us a long time. 

[RoguPL]

On 20/05/2023 at 19:21, Jimbokav1971 said:

I asked and asked and asked for a while until they agreed, but the problem wasn't them agreeing to us having a B Team. The problem was the B team getting promoted to a playable level where we could play against real opposition. This is based on reputation so you just keep having to plug away until it happens. Took us a long time. 

Thanks for your response! 

Hmm, The problem I have atm is that I don't even get the option to ask the board about a B team.. Maybe my DB is screwed up somehow, In the end I am playing with a team from Portuguese lower leagues DB ? 

I hope that that will change at some point though

[Jimbokav1971]

14 hours ago, RoguPL said:

Thanks for your response! 

Hmm, The problem I have atm is that I don't even get the option to ask the board about a B team.. Maybe my DB is screwed up somehow, In the end I am playing with a team from Portuguese lower leagues DB ? 

I hope that that will change at some point though

That could be it. What level are you playing at now? 

I don't think I even asked until I was in LaLiga. 

[RoguPL]

9 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

That could be it. What level are you playing at now? 

I don't think I even asked until I was in LaLiga. 

Started 5th season in top division, also first time qualified for Champions League

[Jimbokav1971]

Goal 2042. Nov 2042. 

Frustratingly we don't have any players on the list, but what's made me make this post is that the top 3 entries are all at the same club and it's not one of the established big boys, and 8 of the top 10 play in Germany. 

#5

#7

#8

#10

#11

#17

#35

There is however 1 player who is a product of our Academy. 

(33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" is ranked #43.

[Jimbokav1971]

Struggles. 

After about a month away from the save I came back to find that the way that Gyazo process GIF's had changed and with it, reduced my ability to post GK goals via GIF's. 

What used to look like this....

Now looks like this....

I must admit that I was so peeved that I closed my game in disgust after seeing that, (and lost the game as I hadn't saved). It might seem like a small thing, but it's actually significant in the way that I report on the save. 

I've contacted Gyazo to see if there is a solution, and at the moment I'm still waiting for a response. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2042. 

La Liga. We've taken 32 points from a possible 42 at the start of the season, (which is decent), but R.Madrid have dropped just 3 points over the same period, (losing away to Barca), so we somehow find ourselves 7 points behind after 14 games, (which seems ridiculous). I don't think this is sustainable based on their historic performances and it's possible/likely that the challenge at the end of the season might ultimately still come from Sevilla, (who trail us by 4 points at this stage), so it's certainly not time to throw in the towel. 

UEFA Champions League. Our performances in Europe this month have been poor, (partly link to a muddled squad selection). I'm not too concerned by this though as I will happily drop into the Europa league for an easier 2nd half of the season, however I don't think that actually happens anymore under the new format. I think what happens is as follows. 

1-8 qualify for the Knockout stages. 
9-24 qualify for a Knockout Playoff. 
25-36 are knocked out. 

Yeah, that's exactly what happens.  So if we're not going to finish in the top 8, then we just have to make sure that we finish in 9-24.

Goal-scoring GK's. I'm peeved at losing the GK goal, (due to not saving and closing the game in anger), but on the plus side at least it was a penalty rather than a direct free-kick. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

AFCON 2043. 

This should be interesting. 

Edited June 6, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Awards. Dec 2042.

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2042. 

La Liga. Something that I'm not sure I've commented on before is that not only are FC Andorra in La Liga, but they are also sitting very comfortably in 9th. At the top the top 3 seem to be edging away from the rest of the table. 

UEFA Champions League. A comfortable win for a better selected 2nd string side puts us within touching distance of qualification with 2 games to play, but as these games are home to Bayer 04 and away to Spurs it's unlikely that we will improve from where we are right now. 

FC Andorra. They have already won more games (7) than they did the last time they were in La Liga (6), and the same number that they won the previous time they were in La Liga (7). 

Goal-scoring GK's.

You will see what I mean about the link now. It's rubbish to look at initially, but at least it does pop-out and enlarge as soon as you click on it. The problem is that I don't want it to pop out. I want it to be played as was, (but be bigger). 

FInances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2043. 

I could tell right from the start that this was going to be an absolute pig of a month because we had so many players away on International duty at the AFCON. 

In particular I was somehow, [idiot] caught unawares that both of our senior GK's were going to be called up. Camara (SEN) 6'2" is obviously representing Senegal and I knew that, but forgot that (36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4" would also be representing Gambia, (who had also qualified for AFCON). 

It's fine though, (I thought smugly to myself). I have Moussa (EGY) out on loan so I will just recall him and he can play instead. [double idiot] No, he's ALSO on International duty at AFCON, (and I only realised this after I recalled him from his loan at VfB Stuttgart and went to select him for the Supercopa Semi. 

These are the GK's at the club prior to the Supercopa game, (which I'm expecting to lose), and my thinking is really that I need to have a look at the Spanish GK's we have produced from the Academy and who have moved on, and entice 1 of them to return so that we don't have this problem in future years. The reason that I have to go back to players who we have produced and who have left is because none of the 4x Spanish GK's at the club are likely to ever be good enough to fulfill this role for us. 

The 1st problem with that is that because many of the GK's were deemed surplus to requirements when they left so our scout report aren't up to date. 
The 2nd problem is that while there seem to be 2 standout candidates for transfer on the list, if anything they're too good and we can't afford to be paying someone that sort of money just to play in Jan/Feb when the AFCON is on. 
That being said, (34a) Ojeda 5'11" looks like he could be worth a look, but I'm not sure that he's going to be better than (38l) Paradas 6'1" and (38h) Morales 5'11" who are still at the club so we will have to wait for the scout report on him. 

Actually the 2x GK's who are out on loan might have more PA than I initially thought. 

I should really recall 1 of these I think. 

[Jimbokav1971]

El Presidente is never leaving. Jan 2043. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New contract. Jan 2043. 

A 4 year deal no less. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2043. 

La Liga. I can't complain about this form when you consider how many players we've had missing. To draw with R.Madrid is nothing short of a miracle in the circumstances so while we might have missed the chance to win, I'm certainly not complaining. We're 8 points behind, but have a game in hand, and are still 2 points ahead of Sevilla, (again, with a game in hand). 

UEFA Champions League. We were a little unlucky to lose late on against Bayer 04, but Spurs gave us a bit of a doing. 

Supercopa de España. We couldn't cope with R.Madrid with so many players out and despite taking an early lead eventually fell short. 

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey. A weakened team started the game and we didn't really see them off until some of our stronger available players made an impact off the bench. 

Facilities.

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Thebaker]

Crespo must still be the best youth player producded by your club - what a career. The other choice for your GK situation is find an african one from a really poor country that won't qualify for the AFCON.

[Jimbokav1971]

57 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

The other choice for your GK situation is find an african one from a really poor country that won't qualify for the AFCON.

Well I thought I had done that with (36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4". Gambia aren't exactly a world super-power but they are ranked 61st in the World now. 

At the recent AFCON, relative minnows such as Eq. Guinea (91st), Angola (76th), Congo (80th), Gambia (61st), Cape Verde (60th), Tanzania (97th), Togo (89th), Burkina Faso (72nd), Zambia (85th) & Mozambique (110th) all qualified. 

These are the African rankings from 108th to 204th. Trying to find a La Liga standard GK from one of these Nations is going to be pretty tough. I think we're more likely to produce a Spanish GK via our Academy at the required level than these Nations are to produce one, (but never say never so I will keep an eye out). 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Thebaker said:

Crespo must still be the best youth player producded by your club - what a career. 

Crespo has been brilliant, but there have been a few good players produced by the Academy over the years. 

(28c) Bermúdez 5'10" was nabbed by PSG for just £5M. 

(29a) Gil has never been capped by Spain, and I don't think he has even made the squad before. 

(31a) Fernando 6'5" has never been capped. 

(33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" is another I wished we had been able to keep. 

(37a) Niño * looks pretty decent and is still at the club. 

After that we're getting into player who still have lots of developing to do so it's hard to judge how good they might be. 

[Thebaker]

10 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Well I thought I had done that with (36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4". Gambia aren't exactly a world super-power but they are ranked 61st in the World now. 

At the recent AFCON, relative minnows such as Eq. Guinea (91st), Angola (76th), Congo (80th), Gambia (61st), Cape Verde (60th), Tanzania (97th), Togo (89th), Burkina Faso (72nd), Zambia (85th) & Mozambique (110th) all qualified. 

These are the African rankings from 108th to 204th. Trying to find a La Liga standard GK from one of these Nations is going to be pretty tough. I think we're more likely to produce a Spanish GK via our Academy at the required level than these Nations are to produce one, (but never say never so I will keep an eye out). 

I think IRL Gambia did qualify for AFCON as did some of the others you mentioned. The countries that are regulary 2nd nationalities in better nations might be best, ie England/Zimbabwe/Sierra Leone or France/Chad/CAR.

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2043. 

La Liga. We're 9 points behind R.Madrid now, (and they have a game in hand), and unless they implode in spectacular fashion, (a la Arsenal), I think the title is theirs for the taking. We're still 3 points ahead of Sevilla though, so when our players are back we might be able to go again if R.Madrid to start to falter. 

UEFA Champions League. To get past Juve at this stage with no less than 20 players away at the AFCON really is a significant achievement. Unfortunately Sevilla await in the next round and that could be the end of the road. 

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey. This was a complete disaster and completely of my making. I prioritised the wrong games this month and with so many players away we just couldn't cope. Really annoyed with myself. This was our best opportunity to win something. 

Month as a whole. When you look at the results by individual, they don't actually look too bad. Just 1 loss in the league, winning on aggregate against Juve in the Champions League and only losing on pens in the Cup, but actually it's a horrid month and we just couldn't cope with 8 games in 26 days. In hindsight I think I made a mistake in trying, (and succeeding), to beat Juve in the Champions League. I want silverware and I think our best chance was probably the Copa del Rey. I should have prioritised the domestic Cup game against Valencia, (that we lost on pens), and rotated players for the Juve game in Europe. With everyone available I think we win all these games, (except the Barca game). Instead, we dropped 7 points from 12 in the league, crashed out of the trophy we were most likely to win and have been drawn against Crespo/Sevilla in the last 16 of the Champions League. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan Transfer Window. 

There were an enormous amount of loans out, (as usual), but very few actual transfers). 

Brossou (CIV) was the only player to arrive and I really just took a punt on him because he had such a low min fee release clause. He should be good for some profit even if he isn't going to be great. 

There was 1 significant cash transfer out in the Summer, and then another 1 in the Jan window, (actually it was in Feb but let's ignore that because it confuses the hell out of me), but the 1 transfer out I want to talk about 1st is this one. 

Fofana (FRA)(CIV) 5'9" SELL for just £750k is a nothing transfer, but his absence is actually the reason we didn't have a GK during the AFCON. He's a flawed GK in many areas, but actually he's just the sort of player who might make the different during AFCON and I'm not sure why I sold him, (other than that I seem to remember him being unhappy). I should have gone out and replaced him though.  

Ouédraogo (CIV)(BFA) 6'0" DC was the big sale in the Summer and when Man Utd met his min fee clause of £55M, although it was a blow because we don't need the money), I didn't actually mind too much other than that he was a specialised player to play in the middle of a 3 rather than just your bog standard centre-half to play on the left or the right of a 3. Either way, they met his clause and £55M was and is good money. We've certainly missed him though and if they bid £55M and it didn't meet his release clause then I woudln't have accepted it. 

Britto (CIV)(MLI) was the player to leave us in Jan, (or Feb actually), and although his min fee clause was met again so I had no choice, there do remain a few questions about the situation. Why was his min fee release clause only £40M? I usually set it to a min of £50M for good players. Maybe he wasn't actually considered this good when I signed him, (I can't remember), and as we only paid £850k for him it's possible I just took a bit of a punt on him. He wasn't 1st choice here, (he was 2nd choice on the left side of a 3 where the player he's competing against, (37a) Niño *, is our top goal-scorer and one of our best players. I don't mind him leaving, & again, £40M is good money when you paid less than £1M for him, but I wouldn't have sold him had I had a choice, and I would have much preferred to have some future clauses on him rather than all the money up front like this. We've probably missed out on a good player here without ever quite realising how good he was. 

I've just gone back and checked the thread and his signing was not commented on at all in the thread. I commented on transfers in during Jul 2041, (when the window initially opens at the end of the previous season), but he wasn't one of them which means he wasn't a longer-term target I had been tracking and went through on opening day. Instead he went through later in the window suggesting that he was more of an impulse purchase driven by a good scout report and a low release clause. 

Something that should have acted as a trigger to deal differently with his contract though was that he came 3rd in the NxGn award in 2042. 

This is what I commented in the thread at the time. I should have immediately negotiated a new contract, buy unfortunately I didn't react to it at all. 

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

I think IRL Gambia did qualify for AFCON as did some of the others you mentioned. The countries that are regulary 2nd nationalities in better nations might be best, ie England/Zimbabwe/Sierra Leone or France/Chad/CAR.

Yep, you're right, but of course there is a premium to pay with English players. We have money to burn though so it's certainly something I have considered. 

This is what my GK shortlist looks like at the moment and there are 4 players highlighted. 

(28c) Bermúdez 5'10" is a product of our Academy and has 90 Caps for Spain. He's a phenomenal GK but we just can't be paying that sort of money for a player even if he wanted to return, (which he doesn't). 

(31a) Fernando 6'5" is another product of our Academy and while he has no Caps, is still a very good GK who I would love to have, but it's just too much money and too much wage. 

Camara (SEN) 6'4" * is highlighted just because his name is Camara and both our existing GK's are called Camara so.... In actual fact I think he was my #1 target a long time ago but I just couldn't get him. I can actually sign him on a free at the moment, but the problem is that he is 2nd choice GK for Senegal, (behind our own #1 GK Camara (SEN) 6'2"), so we would likely lose them both to the same International duty anyway so it's a waste of time other than the name. 

Martins James (ESP)(NGA) is probably a better short-term fix. He's available for only £240k, but looking at his stars I would be just as well keeping either of the 2 GK Spanish kids we have at the club and using them. 

Looking into the list in a little more detail.... (and thinking about what you said about searching for players with non-African primary Nationalities....

Yusufu (GER) (GHA) 6'1" is someone worth looking at. He's 38 but maybe he would be happy to just play in Jan/Feb as a result.

Sidat (GER) (MOZ) 6'0" is another, however high wage demands, (he's playing in Premier League), might be an issue for a player expected to just play 6 weeks per season. 

Ndayishimiye (ENG)(BDI) 6'1" is younger so a better longer-term solution, but I don't like his positioning and again, while I would be happy to pay the transfer fee to sign him, paying him £3M per year for 6 weeks work seems a bit much. Then again, if I'm willing to pay £20M in a transfer fee to solve this problem, why is £3M in wages an issue. It's a problem that needs solving and is potentially the difference between us winning a trophy or not at the moment. I think I need to forget about the cost of solving this problem and just solve the bloomin problem. 

Ngoy (GER) COD) 6'2" is more of a budget option, but again, I don't think he compares favourably to some of the Spanish Academy products who we currently have at the club. 

There is a big difference between some of the above players and the young Spanish GK's at the club, but maybe if we gave them more of an opportunity then the gap would close and they would develop into players who could resolve this problem from within? 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2043.

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Apr 2043. 

It's an absolute pig of an intake, not just in terms of quality, but also in terms of personalities and Nationalities. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2043. 

La Liga. It's been a strange season in the league. We've done ok, but we're somehow still 14 points adrift of R.Madrid at the top. At the same time we've only lost 3 games, are unbeaten at home, and lead 3rd placed Espanyol by 7 points and have 2 games in hand for as potential 13 point margin. It's hugely unlikely that we're going to be able to overhaul R.Madrid at the top, (even if their wheels come off), but at the same time we're going to have to really struggle not to finish Runners Up from here. 

UEFA Champions League. When I saw that we had drawn Sevilla and Crespo initially my heart sank, but the more I looked, the more I thought we might have a chance. They were in terrible form and the tie was as good as over after the 1st leg. The problem is that we play Hertha in the Quarters and they are now an absolute monster of a club, having won the last 3 Bundesliga title's and on track to add a 4th consecutive title.. 

Sevilla. When I say they are in poor form I really mean it. They have only won 3 of their last 11 games in all competitions over the last 2 months, they crashed out of the Copa del Rey to Villarreal and we sent them packing in the Champions League. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

 

Finances. 

[Sonic Youth]

Funny old season you’re having 

Not sure about that youth intake, though it might be too early to tell if any will be good enough as Spanish squad backups!

Real Madrid have swapped batons with Sevilla this season, running away with the league, and going deep in the cups.

Afcon call-up was hilarious  

Though that was a big part of the save 

Looking forward to seeing how you go against Hertha Berlin!

[Sonic Youth]

Oh, that top 10 was all Legendary this and Legendary that   

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Funny old season you’re having 

Not sure about that youth intake, though it might be too early to tell if any will be good enough as Spanish squad backups!

Real Madrid have swapped batons with Sevilla this season, running away with the league, and going deep in the cups.

Afcon call-up was hilarious  

Though that was a big part of the save 

Looking forward to seeing how you go against Hertha Berlin!

Yeah, we've done really well apart from the AFCON period, but you're 100% right that this is exactly what this challenge is all about. I knew how tough it would be when I started. 

I do feel like we're moving into a different phase of the save though and I have already arranged some really exciting transfers for the Summer that are on a different level to what we have brought in previously. 

It is so hard trying to manage this period though. What I really need to take us to the next level is to completely ignore all Africans and just concentrate on European priority and Spanish players from our Academy and see what we've got and then go out and try to plug gaps. 

Hertha look ridiculous at the moment. It will be a miracle if we squeeze past them.

I feel a bit irked by R.Madrid in that I feel like we have hung in there and are just starting to overcome the Sevilla challenge. 

Before this season we had failed to win any of our previous 9 meetings with them

We might be unbeaten in our last 3 games with them, but we've still got an awful record against them. 

We've kept 3 clean sheets so far against them this season, (so obviously (27a) Crespo * hasn't scored against us), but he scored 2, 0, 0, 2, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 4. in previous games so he certainly knows hows to find the net against us. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2043. 

La Liga. Our form has dropped off a cliff since we crashed out of Europe, and of course after me saying that we now had the sign over Sevilla, they gave us a right good thumping, (although (27a) Crespo * still didn't score). 

UEFA Champions League. We did ok, but Hertha are a beast of a team and were just too strong for us. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

 

Finances.