[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]

(CIV) U20's. Jun 2035.

Too late for the French Invitational, but Koffi (CIV) (5 goals), and Guèhi (CIV) * (3 assists), ran riot against (ETH) and we ran out convincing winners. 

Games played 8. 
Games won 5. 
Games won 62.5%. 
Games drawn 1.
Games lost 2. 
Goals for 20.
Goals against 10. 
Goal difference +10.

Competitive games played.
Competitive games won.
Competitive won %.
Competitive games drawn. 
Competitive games lost. 
Competitive goals for. 
Competitive goals against. 
Competitive goal difference

[Jimbokav1971]

40 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

That’s sorting out a lot of contacts. Will you still have a bunch of youth players after this?

Yeah, we will still have loads. 

This says that we have 88 players at the club, but I'm not sure how accurate that is or if it includes youth contracts. 

We've got 12 players who's contracts are expiring shortly. They are are all leaving the club.

[Jimbokav1971]

Big signing. Jul 2035. 

[Rikulec]

Okay, I guess he really was out of range.

[Sonic Youth]

4 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Big signing. Jul 2035. 

Yes, that’s a big transfer!

So PSG didn’t play him?

Definitely out of your budget.

[Jimbokav1971]

8 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Okay, I guess he really was out of range.

Yeah, I was keeping an eye on him because I thought there might be a chance of a loan as we have European football to offer this season, but there were a load of big clubs in for him and Arsenal came and gazumped them all at the death. 

When Arsenal are paying him £390k pw, (even of we ignore £52M transfer fee), then it sort of puts things into perspective. Arsenal have finished in the top 5 every season of the save, but have only 1 league title to show for it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Yes, that’s a big transfer!

So PSG didn’t play him?

Definitely out of your budget.

Donnarumma is the PSG GK and obviously has been for years. It makes sense for (28c) Bermúdez 5'10" to move on because who knows how long Donnarumma could stay around for and he needs to play. The 1st team GK for Arsenal last season was a Dutch/Curaçaoan 29 year old Newgen who wasn't great last season. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Facilities. Aug 2035. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2035. 

LaLiga. We got off to a decent start with a win against Las Palmas, and it was good to score against a strong Atletico who scared the life out of us with Moukoko, Fati, Williams & Gnonto up front. 

Pre-season. A sluggish start to pre-season, but we just got stronger and stronger culminating in sticking 20 goals past our last opponent. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances.  

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2035. 

LaLiga. This is a reasonable month I suppose, (unbeaten at home), but to lose both away games by a single goal suggests that we're possibly not a million miles away from improved results. We're 12th in the league and 6 points off the European spots 

UEFA Europa League. What fresh hell is this?  

So the top 8 in this mahoosive league progress, but only the top 2 receive prize money, and then the next 12 go into a playoff, (I'm not sure if it's to remain in this competition or to drop into the Europa Conference), and then I assume everyone below that get's... well... gets nothing. 

Friendlies. I obviously don't care about these results, but the way we're scoring is significant and deserved a mention, irrespective of the standard of opposition. 

Goal-scoring GK's. After 33 consecutive successful penalties, we finally fail from the spot. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

(CIV) U20's. Sept 2035. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2035. 

LaLiga. No wins isn't good, but again we're unbeaten in our home games and only lost our away games by a single goal margin. Add the missed penalties into the mix and we might have finished the month with 3 more points. The draw against Barca was amazing, (we should have won even without the missed pen), but we didn't and we need to start picking up some 3-point returns. We're no longer looking up the table at all and are only 2 points clear of the relegation zone.

UEFA Europa League. We're playing really well in Europe but we need to transfer that into our LaLiga form. 

Goal-scoring GK's. I can't believe it. After 33 successful pens on the bounce, we've now failed with the last 3.  What makes it worse is that the games in which he missed the pens were Barca, (3-3 draw), and Villarreal (2-1 loss), so these pens have cost us 3 points this month. Add momentum into the mix and I think it really could have cost us. 

 

 

Records.

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2035. 

LaLiga. I think we're so close to a really good run of form. We drew away with Real Madrid for crying out loud, (and should have won), and I think 1 win could just really kickstart things for us. We've got some decent fixtures coming up next month. Is this our time? In any case, we're still 4 points clear of the relegation zone despite not winning in 7 LaLiga games and only winning 1 of our last 11 league games. 

UEFA Europa League. It's our 1st loss in Europe, but we're still in the top 8 with a couple of points to spare. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing to see here. 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2035. 

LaLiga. I commented in last month's update that I thought we were on the verge of improved results, and so it proved with 3 wins from 4 games in the league, (although all 3 wins were at home), Of special mention should be the Sevilla game. They are top of the table and that was only their 2nd loss in 18 games this season and it's now the only league game they haven't won in the last 10. Like I said, I did call it last month and even saw signs the month before. We're 8 points off the playoffs, but at least I feel able to look upwards again. There's plenty of time to move up the table. 

Sevilla form. Nobody has scored 2 goals against them in this run, (nevermind about 4 goals), so it makes the result and the performance all the more impressive and astonishing. 

UEFA Europa League. A comfortable win against one of the poorer teams in the competition. 

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey. I'm not really sure how we lost this game, (but we did). We had more than double their xG, but they scored and we didn't and that's that. 

Youth Intake preview. Who knows what this means. 

African Young Player of the Year. It's the 1st time one of our players has won this award and we've never won the senior award. 

Goal-scoring GK's. We're finally off the mark for the season and our #BallWinningKeeper is even showing our outfield players how to press and win the ball high up the pitch. 

 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Big Bid. Jan 2036.

I know this is a lot of money, but while it's great in the longer-term, it's a disaster in the short-term.  He's going to be really hard to replace. 

[Sonic Youth]

Finally a good month. And you called it 

Gil’s name has popped up consistently since he’s broken into the first team. He’s developed nicely. Missed he will be.

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2036. 

LaLiga. Our away form is slowly improving. We're decent at home, but the difference between us playing in Europe or not is in our away form. There's still lots of football to be played and we're 5 points off the European spots. 

UEFA Europa League. We qualified for the Knockout stages with a game to spare so I picked a team based on PA in the last game and they got turned over. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Records.

FInances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Transfers. Feb 2036. 

I think I forgot to update you on transfers in the Summer. (Sorry). 

I like to do my business early in the window so we brought a few in on the day the Summer window opened. 

Ins. 

Pedro (NED)(ANG)(ENG) was available on a free so it seemed to make sense to go in when I realised. I see him more as a midfielder, but I think he might be pressed into service up front in the 2nd half of the season. (Either that or I will have to 2 strikers and 1 in behind, which is an option now I think about it). 

Gimo (RSA)(MOZ) 6'1" DC was signed as cover at centre-half for just £500,000 because I sold both our 1st choice centre-half pairing because their contracts were expiring. 

Mofokeng (RSA) 6'1" came in because for £525,000 because I knew we were short at centre-half and he will help us further down the line. 

Fayez (EGY) 6'3" DC is a right back who we signed for £8M, but he's a DR who's 6'3" and who's better at jumping, (if not heading), than he is at running. I think it's likely that he will play at full back in the future, but for this season he's going to play at centre-half, (hence his nickname), 

Outs.

Nyamsi (FRA)(CMR) was signed for just £90,000 and was sold for £10M simply because he had 12 months on his contract and didn't want to re-sign. 
Dlamini. (RSA) was a disaster of a signing. We paid £1M for him and sold him for almost nothing. His development was stunted by better players coming in above him and limiting his playing time. 
Sefu. (GER)(COD) was signed for £1.2M and was sold for £500,000 so there's a hefty loss there. Again, this was as a result of him dropping down the pecking order as I signed players who came in above him. 

While there were no late incoming deals in the Summer, there were some later exits. 

Chimwemwe. (ZIM)(RSA) was signed for £300,000 and sold for £500,000, so while there was some profit there, it obviously doesn't cover the wages for the 4 years he was here, (3 years here +1 out on loan). 
Wissa (BEL)(COD)(ENG) was signed for £3.4M and sold for £10M(£15M) and I have a 25% clause that I could sell for £3M, (but I'm going to hang on for a while). 
Moloko (RSA) 6'4" was one of our starting centre-backs, but he had 12 months left on his contract so he had to go. We bought him for £300,000 and sold him for £2.3M.
Nyakossi (SUI)(TOG) 6'4" was the other starting centre-back & again had 12 months left on his contract. We signed him on a free and sold him for £1.9M.

January transfer window. 

Ins. 

Diepkilé (ESP)(MLI) is only young, but he's a 5.0 prospect who we've signed in a structured deal for £5M rising to £14.5M. I don't like his lack of pace so there is certainly some work to do. 

Ndlovu (RSA) becomes our 2nd Ndlovu (RSA) at the club, (the other one is a SC), but he's very much been signed with a view to the future, (although his PA has dropped from 5.0 in the scout report to 4.5 in the coach report). We've only paid £500,000 for him so I;m not overly concerned. 

El Fakiri (MAR) SC is a really interesting player in that he seems to be Mr Versatile in that he can already play DL and AML, (and also DR), but I actually see him as a left sided striker in our current system. I really like the look of him. He's another who was signed on a structured deal of £5M(£9.5M).

Outs. 

(29a) Gil has been phenomenal for us and the fact that we were gifted £50M by him leaving just adds to his legend. the only shame is that there are no add-ons with the deal because Spurs met his release clause. I'm a little surprised that he was only capped at U21 level on 2 occasions. I wonder if full International level is a possibility in the future? 

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Finally a good month. And you called it 

Gil’s name has popped up consistently since he’s broken into the first team. He’s developed nicely. Missed he will be.

Yeah. I threw him into the starting XI early because I seem to remember he was good physically and that really boosted his development. 

He will be a big loss, and to make it worse I think we're short of quality in the central striker position where both Shezi (RSA) & Ndlovu (RSA) would appear to be on borrowed time. I don't know what our record transfer fee paid is, (I have just checked and it's £8M for Fayez (EGY) 6'3" DC), and I will probably be in the market for 2 different central strikers who I plan on breaking our transfer record for, (assuming I can find them because it's easier said than done with the African restriction). 

Thinking about the striker situation at the club, this is where we are now. 

Obviously the squad is "PA heavy" and you can see the problem I'm talking about by just how far down the list both Shezi (RSA) and Ndlovu (RSA) are. 

(33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" has been 1st choice on the left of a 3 up front for a couple of seasons now, but he;s only 18 and the reason for his development will largely be because of the number of games he has played at such a high level. Now that (29a) Gil has left, he might be moving to the right hand side and possibly even through the middle, (although I don't think he's clinical enough for that. 

(32a) David is out on loan in LaLiga2 with Eibar, but in hindsight I should have recalled him yesterday.  He's not had a great season but Eibar are in the relegation zone so maybe that's to be expected and maybe he will really benefit from a 2nd half of the season. 

(33b) Marcos * is out on loan in the 3rd tier at Girona where he's playing as a DLF.

Diepkilé (ESP)(MLI) is a recent arrival and lacking a little physically, but he will be thrown in early in the 2nd half of the season. That should help his development even if it will be less helpful to our performances. 

Limbombe (BEL)(COD) is another teenager who is out on loan, and he screams out at me that he's a central finisher rather than an atheltic wide player. 

(32b) Intxaurraga (FRA)(BAS) has the pace to be a threat in the wider attacking positions, even if he is desperately in need of development in some areas. He's not anywhere near ready to play in LaLiga, but I bet he will be a lot more ready come the end of the season with some games under his belt. 

Okafor (ESP)(NGA) is a player I don't even remember signing. He's still very raw and needs to explode physically, but hopefully this will happen as he plays more and at a higher level. 

Condé (ESP)(MLI) has been out on loan in the 3rd tier, but I'm bringing him back because I plan on playing him on the right of our front 3. I like the look of him and it will do him good. 

Zuma (RSA) 6'4" is another player who was out on loan in the 3rd tier and again I'm recalling him because he has a role to play here. 

[Sonic Youth]

Some promising forwards there, though a bit young.

Funny thing about Shezi, I see him as the new Ramos 

Looking forward to seeing Pascual getting more game-time. Good to see his scoring skill improving 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Some promising forwards there, though a bit young.

I think you make a good point about them being a bit young. I think they're ALL a bit young and the problem with that is that if I bring players in above them then they won't develop and we won't make money on them, (we've spent good money on some of them), so buying them and not developing them is just stupid in my opinion. On the other hand, we've got almost £100M in the bank and if I can find someone who's REALLY good and willing to join us then I will find it hard to resist. I was thinking about signing 2 central strikers with better CA than we have, but I just can't do that because then we plug 1 of the 3 routes through to the 1st team and that's got to be a big no-no for us at the moment. So a maximum of 1 REALLY good CA striker is what I'm after in the Summer, (if I can restrain myself, and the reason that I'm writing this here is to encourage me to do exactly that).

I must not sign more than 1 striker in the Summer. 
I must not sign more than 1 striker in the Summer. 
I must not sign more than 1 striker in the Summer. 
I must not sign more than 1 striker in the Summer. 
I must not sign more than 1 striker in the Summer. 
I must not sign more than 1 striker in the Summer. 
I must not sign more than 1 striker in the Summer.
I must not sign more than 1 striker in the Summer. 

[Note to self] Writing lines is much less effective when you use copy & paste. 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Funny thing about Shezi, I see him as the new Ramos 

Did we used to have a Ramos here? I can't even remember. Or is there a real life Ramos other than Sergio? 

Oh hang on, you're talking about Ramos from my FM22 Belenenses save aren't you? I don't think he's a patch on him. He was just perfect for that SLC striker and that 442 tactic I had was just so effective on FM22.

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Looking forward to seeing Pascual getting more game-time. Good to see his scoring skill improving 

Yeah, he's doing ok, but the problem is that he is neither a wide striker (SLC or SRC slots), nor a central SC as an AF. He's sort of between 2 the 2, but not great at either. He's just missed the whole of Jan due to injury, but the plan is to start him in most games to boost his development and see how we can mould him. He's recovering from an impact injury so will have to be eased back in gently. The positive side of that is of course that every time a 1st choice player like (33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" is absent, it provides an opportunity to boost the development of a younger player. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2036. 

LaLiga. It's not a good month in terms of results, and to be completely honest the performances weren't great either. We look a little blunt up front, but the reality is that's just the period of the save we're at. The problem is that we're very much looking down rather than up, and we're now only 6 points above the relegation zone with 13 games remaining. What's a problem now that hasn't been the problem so far in the save is that we're not that great going forward, so scoring the goals to earn the points that will keep us up is a concern when so many of our front players are still teenagers in their development phase. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Not a single shot of any type by a GK this month. I think that tells it's own story. 

FInances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

NxGn 2036. 

Well this is a surprise. We didn't win it, but it was close. 

We knew that (33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" is already good and has more room for growth, but despite the fact that I really like the look of El Fakiri (MAR) SC, I'm also really not 100% sure how or where to employ him, (although I'm still thinking left hand side of a 3 up front). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2036. 

LaLiga. After 4 losses last month, we stopped the rot a little with some improved performances and just 1 loss, (with a rotated squad), but it was really frustrating not to turn any of the draws into wins. A missed penalty cost us 2 points at Getafe, Huesca was a REALLY tight game with few chances for either side and Villarreal was a tough game that we might have lost, but the fact remains that we were winning after an hour so might have won. We're 7 points clear of the relegation zone with 9 games still to play. 

UEFA Europa League. Concerned about the situation in the league, I opted to select a team based completely on PA in both these matches. We lost convincingly 3-0 in the 1st leg and I was happy with that to be frank. I chose to rotate the squad and select a really weak starting XI based on PA in the 1st leg so I knew what was going to happen in advance. Where the surprise came is when I did exactly the same thing in the 2nd leg, and despite conceding an early goal to make it 4-0 on aggregate, we fought back to level it at 4-4 in the 3rd min of injury time and to somehow win it in injury time. Looking about it after the event, I suppose that we started with our strongest players on the bench and were allowed 6 subs over the course of the game suggests that it's perfectly reasonable that we finish strongly, but still.... I had basically written off this tournament at this stage and am astonished that we're still in the hat for the next round. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Just 1 shot off target this month. 

FInances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Apr 2036. 

Preview. 

Summary. 

Squad by PA. I haven't offered (36g) Losada. a contract, (Unamb + Low Det mix), and the only reason I offered (36l) Camará (ESP)(GNB) a contract, (Unamb + Low Det mix), is that he has (GNB) as a 2nd Nationality.

Selection of players. Not really sure 

[Jimbokav1971]

Haaland. Apr 2036.

It usually takes me so long to get to the top tier in any Nation that I rarely play against real players, but we have just played against Man City and Haaland has scored so I thought it was deserving of a post. 

He's 25 years old now and he still looks like this.  That's ridiculous. I don't manage big clubs so I don't actually know what Haaland looks like in the game, but that's mental, especially considering he played a lot of games as a youngster, (so there should be some degradation of physical attributes), and added to which he's had fitness issues when over-used. 

Haaland has already made nearly 900 career appearances, (981 if you count International & U21 appearances), and is showing no sign of slowing up. He's surpassed Shearer's Premier League record of 260 goals, (he has 274).

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2036. 

LaLiga. These 3 wins were really important. I was starting to get seriously worried about the gap to the relegation zone before us, but we've basically just scored our way out of it with 14 goals scored in the 3 games we won. We're now 12 points clear of the relegation zone with 4 games remaining and I think that's us safe. 

UEFA Europa League. It appears as if we lost 2 narrow games to City. We didn't. We were completely battered in each game and they weren't close at all. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 

Finances. 

[Sonic Youth]

La Liga looks secure, with Ceuta closer to Europe than relegation.

Decent run in Europa League, with the second leg against Napoli an amazing result 

So many wingers in your latest youth intake. Let’s hope Iglesias sings for you, and not only dribbles in the wings 

What’s Perez and Paulinho from the intake like?

Haaland is just ridiculous.

4 wins to close out the season?

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2036. 

LaLiga. Just the 1 more win to end the season 13 points short of the European spots and 9 points clear of the relegation zone. It was a poor performance in the league after qualifying for Europe last season, but what with the 12 extra games in Europe, the loss of (29a) Gil, Wissa (BEL)(COD)(ENG), Moloko (RSA) 6'4" & Nyakossi (SUI)(TOG) 6'4", it's just we're up to at this stage of the save. 

Goal-scoring GK's. What an absolute shambles we were at penalties this season. After scoring 33 on the bounce, we've now missed 7 of the last 9, (which is ridiculous). That obviously hasn't helped our performances either

Awards.

(27a) Crespo * isn't our player, but he was a product of our Academy. 

Facilities. 

Finances. 

[Sonic Youth]

14 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Yeah, he's doing ok, but the problem is that he is neither a wide striker (SLC or SRC slots), nor a central SC as an AF. He's sort of between 2 the 2, but not great at either. He's just missed the whole of Jan due to injury, but the plan is to start him in most games to boost his development and see how we can mould him. He's recovering from an impact injury so will have to be eased back in gently. The positive side of that is of course that every time a 1st choice player like (33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" is absent, it provides an opportunity to boost the development of a younger player. 

Second best youngster on NXGN is good recognition 

I see him as a central player, and if he keeps progressing like has, we’ll see this more when he is 20/21.

[Jimbokav1971]

2 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

La Liga looks secure, with Ceuta closer to Europe than relegation.

Decent run in Europa League, with the second leg against Napoli an amazing result 

So many wingers in your latest youth intake. Let’s hope Iglesias sings for you, and not only dribbles in the wings 

What’s Perez and Paulinho from the intake like?

Haaland is just ridiculous.

4 wins to close out the season?

I can't complain about the league position. It's just where we are at this stage of the save. 

I was really happy with our performance in Europe and the Napoli result would have been amazing with our 1st Team never mind the Reserves. 

When I see wingers at the moment I just see strikers anyway because of our 433 formation. 

Yeah, dribbling of 18 is pretty impressive for a Newgen. 

Haaland is ridiculous, but then again he is in real life. 

4 wins on the bounce to end the season? Not quite. 

[Sonic Youth]

19 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

4 wins on the bounce to end the season? Not quite. 

Fair enough 

Thanks for the screenshots of Perez and Paulino. Both look promising. A good intake by the looks of things, with  increased squad depth looking the outcome too.

Crespo goes from strength to strength!

I noticed that your GD is positive, which is amazing as well being in the lower half of the table. In fact, no other team below sixth has one. Your AG is about right for the league table, but your FOR Is underperforming.

Pretty clear where your strengths and weaknesses are at the moment with Ceuta.

[Jimbokav1971]

10 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Second best youngster on NXGN is good recognition 

I see him as a central player, and if he keeps progressing like has, we’ll see this more when he is 20/21.

I don't think he's a good enough finisher to play centrally. I want someone almost on the P side of AF. I think he's too rounded, but yeah we will see how he develops. 

[Jimbokav1971]

10 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Fair enough 

Thanks for the screenshots of Perez and Paulino. Both look promising. A good intake by the looks of things, with  increased squad depth looking the outcome too.

Crespo goes from strength to strength!

I noticed that your GD is positive, which is amazing as well being in the lower half of the table. In fact, no other team below sixth has one. Your AG is about right for the league table, but your FOR Is underperforming.

Pretty clear where your strengths and weaknesses are at the moment with Ceuta.

I have just done a really long and detailed reply to this post and then closed the window and lost the post. 

In short. 

I'm fed up that I seem unable to develop certain players who still show growth potential between CA and PA and who are under 24. 
Still not using the IGE despite the fact that 1st intake will now be about 29. 
Would love to see the PA of players we have sold + (30a) Álex who is a perfect example of a player I'm failing to develop, but also Crespo, Bermudez, Gil and whoever the other GK was.   
Really surprised by the +GD. We lost 15 league games and 9 of them were lost by a single goal margin. We won 11 league games and only 2 of them were by a single goal margin. So when we win we win well and when we lose we lose narrowly, (very roughly). I'm still surprised though because it feels like we have lost a lot this season. Maybe I'm just feeling a little negative after last seasons success', (especially the 2nd half of the season).
I think we have a few areas of weakness in the squad. 

CA of GK's.
Penalty taking of Al-Obaidi (LBY) 6'3"
CA of DC's.
PA of DC's.
CA of SC's. 

[Thebaker]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I'm fed up that I seem unable to develop certain players who still show growth potential between CA and PA and who are under 24. 
 

It could be that the coaches are wrong and there is no potential to develop. Perhaps they are playing regularly but playing badly which means that they are not improving (at least i think it used to be that only good performances lead to improvements)

[Jimbokav1971]

2 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

It could be that the coaches are wrong and there is no potential to develop. Perhaps they are playing regularly but playing badly which means that they are not improving (at least i think it used to be that only good performances lead to improvements)

I've always used early playing time for youngsters as catalysts for development explosion but it seems different this year. I think I might have just got it wrong with the likes of (30a) Álex, (who I think you suggested just isn't very good). I'm starting to think you might very well be right. 2 years at this sort of exposure to this level of football should have seen him develop significantly. It just hasn't happened. 

Personality/hidden attributes could be an issue, but as he has an (Amb) personality and (Det) of 14 I think that's probably unlikely, although (Pro) could be very low. 

Going back to performances though, his ratings weren't great, but then again when you have a BWM(d) in the middle of a 3 with a DLP(a) on the left and a CM(a) on the right it doesn't really leave many positive actions for him to collect points in.

Very few key passes.
Not loads of tackles. 
Quite a few headers which seem under-valued. 
A few interceptions.
No dribbles.
Very few shots. 

He doesn't do the things that generate a good match rating and this sort of role is under-valued as a result (imo).

[Jimbokav1971]

GK Depth. Jun 2036. 

1st Team. Al-Obaidi (LBY) 6'3" has missed 7 of our last 9 penalties which makes it tough to compete in the league, but I wasn't complaining when we scored 33 on the bounce so I'm not about to start now. It's just the way that it goes and it will be interesting to compare his hidden attributes to those of Bermudez & ...... the other GK we sold that I want to call Ronaldo but who obviously isn't. Fernando! That's his name.  The other option of course is that I just drop  Al-Obaidi (LBY) 6'3", sell him and replace him with 20 year old Fofana (FRA)(CIV) 5'9", but I didn't notice until after I signed him that he's only 5'9" and I REALLY don't like that. Yeah I know that height is only an indication of relative strength, but his jumping attribute is 10 and his aerial reach is just 11. Because I don't think his development is going to explode in these areas, I'm not convinced he is the long-term answer to our GK problems, but unfortunately neither is anyone else. 
B Team. Khelifa (FRA)(ALG) 6'4"
U19's. (34a) Ojeda 5'11", (36j) Camara (GAM)(ESP) 6'4", (35m) Raul. 5'9"
Loan. Fofana (FRA)(CIV) 5'9", (34a) Ojeda 5'11", 
Sell. (34i) Quintanilla 5'10", (33k) Castro. 6'3", (33n) Jaime. 6'0", 
Release. 

[Jimbokav1971]

DL Depth. Jun 2036.

We have 3 players in contention for a start again this season so again 1 of them will be loaned out, (ideally to LaLiga2), where they will start regularly. 

1st Team. Lakhdar (MAR)(ESP), Kemayou (CMR)(ESP) & Coulibaly (MLI)(ESP) *.
B Team. (34p) Ortega.
U19's. (36n) Vázquez, (35l) & Cortés. 6'3".
Loan. Coulibaly (MLI)(ESP) *
Sell.
Release. (32g) Gutiérrez. & (32f) Pablo..

[Jimbokav1971]

DR Depth. Jun 2036. 

Gamal (FRA)(EGY) created 14 assists from 29(5) appearances so this is one of the positions in which we have some CA rather than PA. We've also got players who are natural DR's, but who I have signed as DC's, (you will see the "DC" after their name). Eze (ENG)(NGA) only has 12 months on his contract so I really need to cash in as he's 26 now. With Gamal (FRA)(EGY) being 28 I could look to bring in a younger right back, but in (33f) Tejera * & Mebarki (ALG)(FRA) we already have 2 teenagers almost ready to step up. 

1st Team. Gamal (FRA)(EGY) & Eze (ENG)(NGA).
B Team. (34k) Zapata.
U19's. (36f) Paulino, (35n) Luis., (35o) Tejada.
Loan. (33f) Tejera *, Mebarki (ALG)(FRA).
Sell. Eze (ENG)(NGA), (34b) García 6'1"
Release. (32k) Agudelo. (COL)(ESP)

[Jimbokav1971]

DC Squad Depth. Jun 2036. 

I'm not happy about our centre-backs at all and I think if I can improve this area, (one way or another), then it will have an enormous impact on our results. Gumede (RSA) 6'3", (surprisingly), is classed as a "Decent LaLiga player". I don't think he's decent at this level at all, (although he did score 10 goals last season). 

1st Team. Gumede (RSA) 6'3" & Fayez (EGY) 6'3" DC. Gherbi (FRA)(ALG) 6'3" & Gimo (RSA)(MOZ) 6'1" DC. 
B Team. (33c) Francisco 6'3" *, Mofokeng (RSA) 6'1"
U19's. (35d) Cisaria., (35j) Johnson. (ESP)(NGA) 6'0", (34o) Viera. 6'0", (36i) Herrera 6'5"
Loan. (33c) Francisco 6'3" *, Mofokeng (RSA) 6'1"
Sell.
Release. (32m) Álvarez. (ESP)(BAS) 6'5", (33j) Muñoz. DC.

[Jimbokav1971]

MC Squad Depth. Jun 2036.

It looks like we have gazillions of midfielders, and although we do have loads, there are also lots on here who are actually either defenders or wide players/strikers. We've got an initial 6 players who we can use in the 1st Team, and while none of them are a dedicated BWM, I actually don't particularly mind that because it gives us more ball-players in the middle of the pitch. WIth that in mind I wonder if I should look to change the BWM(d) role(duty) to something more adventurous, but I think I would prefer to wait until we're just about nailed on to qualify for Europe. Just for the record, I think we're just 1 clinical finisher and a dominant centre-half away from that. 

1st Team.
DLP(s) Madidilani (RSA) & Benyahia (ALG)(FRA).
BWM(d) Van Vuuren (RSA) & Marabe (RSA)
CM(a) Ngoy (NED)(COD) & Pedro (NED)(ANG)(ENG).
B Team. El-Akchaoui (MAR)(FRA), Meyer (RSA), (30a) Álex, (34f) Gutiérrez, (34n) Martínez., (33m) Ortega.
U19's. (35a) Serna, (35c) Virto (ESP)(BAS), (34j) Encina. (ESP)(ARG), (36l) Camará. (ESP)(GNB), (35h) Correia. (ESP)(BRA), (36p) Félix
Loan. El-Akchaoui (MAR)(FRA), Meyer (RSA) Almeida (CPV)(POR), Ndlovu (RSA)
Sell. (33e) Arnau., Alpou. (REU)(FRA), (34e) Santamaría., (33a) Goñi. (ESP)(BAS), (33m) Ortega., (33p) Sánchez., (30a) Álex
Release. Diallo (FRA)(MLI), (32e) Ceballos., (32j) Luque., (32l) Emili..

[Jimbokav1971]

SC Squad Depth. Jun 2036. 

Again, although this seems like an enormous amount of players who can play up front, not all of them are actually strikers. All our wingers and in here and midfielders who can play in the slot behind the strikers also included. Before I do this, I think we have absolutely loads of depth in this area

1st Team.
SLC. El Fakiri (MAR) SC & Shezi (RSA).
SC. (32a) David & someone. 
SRC. (33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" & someone.
B Team. (32n) Díez. (ESP)(BAS), (34m) Armando., (34l) Callejón, 
U19's. (36c) Delgado, (35b) Ramos, (36e) Reyes, (35g) Turiel, (36a) Iglesias, (34d) Díez, (34c) Ortega, (35i) De la Fuente., (35f) Tena., (36o) Miranda., (35e) Peris, (35k) Llamas., (35p) Ponce.
Loan. (32b) Intxaurraga (FRA)(BAS), (33b) Marcos *, Diepkilé (ESP)(MLI), Limbombe (BEL)(COD), Okafor (ESP)(NGA), Condé (ESP)(MLI), Diepkilé (ESP)(MLI)
Sell. Ndlovu. (RSA), (34g) Fran., (34e) Santamaría., (33l) Pérez., (33p) Sánchez., Zuma (RSA) 6'4", 
Release. Vilakazi. (RSA), (33i) Alexandre. (BRA), (32n) Díez. (ESP)(BAS), (32o) Aguinaco., (33h) Himbury. (ENG)(IRL), (32i) Manuel., (32h) Segura., 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth Summary. Jun 2036. 

Because we have so many players, (and although it is a lot of players, it's mainly inflated by the fact that I have beens signing all the Youth players each season), it's actually really important that I go through this process each season because it allows me to remind myself of decisions that I have already made and as well as making new decisions, actually recording them here for me to come back to and refer to a later date is just as important. 

In a recent post in reply to @Sonic YouthI commented that the areas in which the squad is weakest is as follows. 

I'm not hugely concerned about GK's if I'm honest, (although the missing of penalties is obviously an issue), and I'm on the lookout for 1 single dominant centre-half, (who might be older than the usual teenagers I've been signing), but I am really surprised by quite how off the required CA levels most of our strikers are. Yeah we seem to have loads of 5.0 PA strikers and attacking wide players, but actually most of them are nowhere near the level we need them to be in terms of CA. WIth that in mind I've only named 4 of 6 squad attackers, and if I'm 100% brutally honest, I'm not completely convinced about any of them. 

(33d) Pascual (ESP)(BAS) 6'4" is surely going to be an outstanding player, but he's not quite a clinical striker and he's also not an athletic wide striker, (which isn't surprising considering he's still only 18 years old), so I don't really feel able to rely on him to do either job. I don't mind playing him with 2 players who I do rate, but he can't be one of the senior players and at the moment the truth is that he is in our current squad, (at least as far as strikers are concerned). 
Shezi (RSA) isn't good enough despite having scored 14, 17, 26, 11 & 14 league goals in our last 5 seasons. I need someone who is absolutely going to hammer the goals in when played in that middle AF(a) role. 
Ndlovu. (RSA) only has 12 months left on his contract, but even if he had a longer contract, again, he's just not scoring goals in the number required for a clinical central striker in a 3. Again, that's with him scoring 59 goals as 2nd string central striker over the last 5 years. 

I can either keep Shezi and Ndlovu and plod on as we are, or I can clear the decks, get rid of them and bring in other players who will improve us in the short-term while our younger players develop to the standard required. 

I've also realised that I also need to really change what I'm looking for in a striker. While I want a clinical AF(a) in the central role, I actually don't want a striker in the 2 wide positions, (even though they are striker positions. The role they're currently using is DLF(s), and Gil for example was a converted winger rather than a striker, and that's what I want from that position. I want them to run with the ball and create and cross and be fouled. And if they chip in with the odd goal then great. 

So with that in mind, I need to go and sign some strikers I think. The only problem with that is........

The thing is, this isn't a spur of the moment reaction to something. This is me taking a real long, hard look at the squad and deciding that we simply don't have the required quality to play in our 3 front positions.

[Sonic Youth]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

The only problem with that is........

 

Looking forward to seeing who you bring in. I think you’re going to have a good transfer window 

[Jimbokav1971]

Summer Transfer window. (part 1). Jul 2036. 

I'm going to do the Summer Transfer window update in 2 parts. This 1st part will just cover the deals done on opening day, and the 2nd part will cover everybody that arrives or leaves after opening day. Simples. 

Ins. 

Koffi (CIV) is another youngster, and of course there has to be some benefit to me managing the (CIV) U20's. 

Dabo (MLI)(ESP) was signed on a free because he had a 5.0 PA scout report, but unfortunately it's dropped to 3.5 PA in the coach report. Yeah we might have screwed the pooch on this one, but we signed him completely on a free, (not even any compensation), so it's no biggy anyway. 

Koné (MLI)(FRA) is the real deal and just what I was looking for. FC Nürnberg were relegated from the Bundesliga last season and as a result he was available for just £2.7M because of a relegation release clause. While he's a winger rather than a striker, he's exactly the sort of player I want playing on the left of a 3 up front. 

Soliman (EGY) might only be 18 years old, but he's already scored 6 senior International goals in just 3 appearances and I think he's EXACTLY what we're looking for in a clinical striker. He's not got quite the 5.0 PA that my signings usually have, but let's be honest here, he looks pretty decent already and with room for growth I think he's just what we need. We've only paid £475,000 for him, (can't remember 100% but I think it was a FGN club release clause that we triggered). In my head I imagine what he will be like after a season playing in LaLiga and I like it. 

Zungu (RSA) was signed, (for a bargain price of just £350,000) mainly because he reminds me of what Gil used to look like before he developed and became a £50M superstar. While he's a right-winger, I see him as a right sided striker. 

[Thebaker]

10 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

 

the summer is certainly going well

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2036.

LaLiga. It's a rubbish start to the season, not helped at all by us receiving a red card against Vigo (52 mins), and Getafe (78 mins). Soliman (EGY) received the 1st red card on his debut, so missed the 2nd game and then scored against Vallecano. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Awards. I was considering applying for a job to manage an Olympic side, but really don't want to wait for another 4 year cycle. 

Job Offer. Just interest from Spain and Germany so far. I'm surprised that smaller Premier League clubs or even Championship clubs haven;t come in for me, 

Finances. 

[Jimbokav1971]

13 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Looking forward to seeing who you bring in. I think you’re going to have a good transfer window 

I didn't go mad, but signed a left sided, dynamic creative striker and also a finisher.