[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]

10 minutes ago, Sir_Liam said:

And I thought Turkey's squad registration rules were complicated! 

Congratulations on the promotion though and if you can survive this season you'll be in a much stronger financial position in a year's time with the TV money and an increased salary cap (if I've understood that correctly).

Turkey is somewhere I've never managed but it's on the list. (The names have always put me off though). 

Yeah, promotion was great but I think I have been lulled into a false sense of security by beating 1 club at this level last season in the Cup, and losing 1-0 away to another club who finished 7th at this level, (with all 10 outfield players rotated).

I've got a feeling I'm in for a rude awakening come the 1st game of the season. 

[Jimbokav1971]

So close. Jul 2026. 

I was so close to signing this guy.

Deal agreed with club. 
Contact agreed with player. 
Gazzumped by French Mustard! 

Absolutely gutted. 

The only good news is that where as we had agreed a £20k deal for him, French Mustard have paid the compensation price of £350k. (We couldn't afford that). 

Scouting is hard. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Pre-season. Aug 2026. 

What a tough pre-season it's been. Not in terms of fixtures, performances and results, (well yes, that as well), but really just in terms of identifying and then signing players for the coming season. 

We made signings in 2 different phases of the close-season/pre-season.

1st there were 5 players that we signed early and they all came on on a free. 

Mohamed (MAR)(ESP) 6'0" is very much a player for the future and the main reason for signing him was his 5.0 PA. 

Sylla (GUI)(FRA) is a player I really like. He's a bit raw and possibly more of a striker than a wide player, but at the time I bought him I thought he might be covering both positions. 

Yvan (EQG)(ESP) looks great and when I am able, he will be the 1st that I will register. 

 Sibacha (ECQ)(ESP) 6'0" was a player that I got lucky with. The wages I agreed to pay him have fallen just over the minimum threshold requirements and allow him to be registered. He needs to develop quickly, but I'm hoping that with starting games at this level that should happen. 

Coulibaly (MLI)(ESP) ML is probably the star of this 1st group and I'm ecstatic that his wage demands were such that he can be registered to play in the league. You will see from his name that I have earmarked him to play on the left flank rather than up front. He's already players 100+ league games at the age of 18 and I think he could be really good. 

It was at this stage that I tried to register players for the 1st time and realised the mistake I had made in bargaining players down to low contracts. As a result I then had to go out and sign a 2nd group of player to fill the void left by inability to register so many players that I had earmarked for 1st Team duties. 

Mendy (SEN)(ESP) is another 18 year old and I have honestly lost track of whether he is due to play wide right or through the middle, but either way I think you would agree he has a little bit to offer. 

Evina (CMR)(FRA) was signed very much as a striker, and again he's a little raw, but games at this level should explode his development. 

Sarkodie (GHA)(ESP) offers just a little bit of experience that maybe some of our youngsters don't have yet, but he's also only been signed on a 1 year contract just to try and get us through this season without being relegated. He will spend a lot of the season on the bench if Awudu (GHA) stays fit, (and he started 36 of our 38 league games last season and came off the bench in the other 2 so I don't think he struggles with fitness issues). 

Yankey (MAR)(ESP) is by far the best right back I could find and while he certainly has some physical limitations, I think he's a good player and will suit our rotated side when we play away and especially against stronger opposition. 

Kaikai (SLE)(ENG) will be my last outfield signing in this window and he's a more rounded and experienced player to compliment some of the younger attacking threats I have signed. 

We're eventually up to 22 of our 23 outfield quota, (I plan on trying to re-negotiate one that is currently underpaid and add him before the window closes if I can). If I can find a decent GK then I will, but am almost resigned to just sticking with what we have in that area now. 

The squad registration screen shows exactly the problems I have created for myself. 

I've got 8 players not registered who are of the quality required and I think this should certainly stand us in good stead for future seasons. 

That's the hardest I have EVER worked in a close season of FM. 

[Jimbokav1971]

A tough ask. Aug 2026. 

If we stay up this season it will be a bloomin miracle. 

[Jimbokav1971]

We have finally made the big-time. Aug 2026. 

Damn right we're postponing the match. I've waited 4 bloomin seasons for this!

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2026. 

LaLiga SmartBank. I thought there was a chance we were going to be obliterated right from the off, but actually we started pretty brightly, scored in all 4 games and picked up 4 points from 4 games. I don't know if 1 point per game will be enough to keep us up, but it's a starting point. 

Goal-scoring GK's. It's been an unusual start to the season for (25c) Rafa 6'4". He didn't manage to keep any clean sheets, but he saved 2 of the 3 penalties he faced. 

Finances.  Our finances are much improved, (without investment from the board), and this season should set us up well even if we get relegated again. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sep 2026. 

LaLiga SmartBank. We've played 8 games but only have 7 points so we're 1 point short of my target. As a result we're in the relegation zone rather than just outside the relegation zone. 

Goal-scoring GK's. No goals for Rafa and not even any shots, but he has followed up saving 2 from 3 penalties in Aug by saving 1 more of 2 faced this month to make it 3 saves from 5 penalties saved. 

Finances. 

Records. 

[Sonic Youth]

Tough start and taxing offseason. How is the team cohesion?

I like that you are scoring, it’s the other end that’s posing challenges. Pity about that now mustard keeper, though one to keep an eye out for in the future.

Looking forward to a 5+ point update next post 

[Jimbokav1971]

7 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Tough start and taxing offseason. How is the team cohesion?

It is a tough start and off-season was absolutely mental. Feel like I spent a week on it. Really hard work for someone who's used to playing #YouthOnly and I think anyone who's regularly played Youth Only really appreciates the laid back style that the game becomes. Scouting for Africans, while not technically in Africa, (in the game), is simply brutal. 

I think it will become easier as the save develops and we have cash to spend and I work out where and how to identify youngsters, but it's been a tough period. 

As for Team Cohesion it's not awful actually. 

I've been using a rotated squad for tougher games that I don't expect to pick points up in and they have done really well, (without collecting loads of points). It's the 1st Team who haven't quite collected the desired points in targeted games. 

Club atmosphere could obviously be better, but a win will put a dent in that 

I've still got decent support. 

[Jimbokav1971]

7 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

I like that you are scoring, it’s the other end that’s posing challenges. Pity about that now mustard keeper, though one to keep an eye out for in the future.

The mustard GK will go onto big things I think and doubt we will get near him again. It was 1 of those sliding doors moments I think.  I will certainly keep an eye on him though.

Scoring has been ok for us, but then again we were phenomenal last season so it's not exactly a surprise. Centre-half is probably our 2nd weakest position, (after GK obviously), and that's not a good mix. Our left centre-half Nwachukwu (NGA) 6'2" has been out for the last 5 games, (and is probably going to miss the next game too), and that's been very tough for us defensively. I'm sure we would have collected more points with him in the team. 

Despite conceding goals, I think our GK has actually been decent. He's saved 3 of 6 penalties already this season and we're not getting hammered. I'm torn between stopping him going up for corners, (in the hope that whoever is in his place scores), and just keeping faith in him. He's had 4 shots this season. 0 of them on target 

1 of them came in the very 1st game of the season. 

Then we had nothing for 7 games. 

Then he had 3 shots in the last 4 games, (including 1 from a corner). Using this and this alone as a gauge to measure progress, perhaps we're moving in the right direction even if we haven't won the points we deserved. 

Conceding so many penalties is a problem, but it's half the problem it might be when your GK saves 50% of them. 

 

I'm looking at this information for the 1st time, (so shout if I miss anything), but having a positive "Expected goals prevented" is great, but when it's only 0.41 that's bad, when he has saved 3 penalties which should be close to +2.7 on their own, (unless of course it isn't actually "Expected goals prevented" but "Expected non-penalty goals prevented", which is what the real stat would be I think. Any ideas? 

[Jimbokav1971]

8 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Looking forward to a 5+ point update next post 

Good luck with that!  

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2026. 

LaLiga SmartBank. A win at home to Real Madrid B gets us out of the relegation zone, but it's a month of what could have beens as we squandered opportunities to win at home against both Leganes and Racing Santander. 

Goal-scoring GK's. Nothing to see here. Rafa is too busy trying to keep them out of his own goal to worry about getting up the other end. 

Finances.  We made a profit of £180k last month so fingers crossed we will be back in credit next month. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2026. 

LaLiga SmartBank. Only losing 1 game from 4 in a month is good, but when you draw the other 3 games and pick up the same points that you would have got for 1 single win, (but without the morale boost), then it doesn't sound quite so good. 

On the plus side we're still out of the relegation zone, but boy it's tight down there. 

Goal-scoring GK's. And Rafa is finally in the game. 

 

 

Finances. 

We got some money. 
We got some money. 
We got some money. 

Records. 

[Sonic Youth]

Nice, your fighting and picking up points which is good. Hope you have a win or two in the next month.

[Jimbokav1971]

4 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

Nice, your fighting and picking up points which is good. Hope you have a win or two in the next month.

We're competitive at least, and postponing games is helping us because when I have 2 games in a short period of time I just rotate the squad and target the game where I think points are most likely. It's unlikely that other clubs at this level can do this without weakening their team significantly. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dec 2026. 

LaLiga SmartBank. Wow that win gelt good. Brilliant that it's against one of the teams about us too. 

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey. A wins a wins a win. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Just the 1 shot from Rafa this month, (who is unhappy with his contract and is about to sign a new one). 

Finances.  We've still got money even after I offer a couple of players new contracts.   This having money thing is great!

Facilities. 

According to last years info, our facilities now look like this, (in numerical view). 

Training Facilities. Level 5 or 6. 
Youth Facilities. Level 8 or 9. 
Junior Coaching. Level 14, 15 or 16.
Youth Recruitment. Level 3, 4 or 5. 

It's been diluted in recent versions of the game, but in old money the above facilities would mean that you would generally get players with lower PA, but decent CA. That's not what I've experienced so far in this save.

Youth Intake preview. (aka lies).

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2027. 

LaLiga SmartBank. Regular readers, (who pay attention), will know that I'm really keen on resting/rotating the whole outfield XI for games. The idea behind this is not just the obvious benefit of resting 1 group of players and giving another different group match time, but it also keeps groups/relationships/partnerships together, so while you might think it doesn't matter, you're missing out on developing relationships/partnerships within the 2nd group of players. It will come as absolutely no surprise to some of you that I rotated the team for the Las Palmas game, (despite it being at home), because they are top of the table. I also rotated the team for Oviedo games, (league & cup). It worked to absolute perfection this month, (but obviously wasn't as successful earlier in the season when I tried it). 

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey. I rotated the squad for this game. It's all about survival in the league. 

Goal-scoring GK's. As well as converting 3 penalties this month, Rafa also had 2 shots off target this month. 

 

It's a real shame that Headers won/attempted isn't active for GK's, (just shows as blank), because it's also not visible on his own stats. The only way to see it, (I think), is to go into the analytics for each match and there is an aerial challenges tab. From that I can see that he won/competed for the following headers at the specified rate. 

1/3. 33%
0/0. NA
0/1. 0%.
0/0. NA
1/1. 100%.
0/2. 0%

So for the whole month he's 2/7 which is only 29%. When you consider that I had a centre-back smashing in goals left right and centre last season it's obvious that there is more this scoring goals from corners lark than just being big, (Rafa is 6'4" and has jumping of 11. 

To put that in perspective, I have just signed a new centre-half Zaim (ESP)(MAR) 6'4", (who is also 6'4" but who has jumping of 17), and he won 21/22 headers on his debut in the last game against Coruña. 

For more perspective, Nwachukwu (NGA) 6'2", (who is currently out injured), (who is only 6'2" but has jumping of 16), won 13/14, 5/5 & 14/16 in his last 3 matches. 

So the conclusion here is that while I might think that sending my GK up for corners is great, (and I do), (1). He isn't particularly good at it because he's actually not very good at jumping despite being both big and a GK, and (2). It's very very likely costing us goals. I can't afford for it to cost us goals because it's going to be really close between us getting relegated and not getting relegated this season, (so I'm off to look at my set-pieces again). 

 

 

 

Finances.  OMG we're rich! 

[Mr_Demus]

8 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Jan 2027. 

LaLiga SmartBank. Regular readers, (who pay attention), will know that I'm really keen on resting/rotating the whole outfield XI for games. The idea behind this is not just the obvious benefit of resting 1 group of players and giving another different group match time, but it also keeps groups/relationships/partnerships together, so while you might think it doesn't matter, you're missing out on developing relationships/partnerships within the 2nd group of players. It will come as absolutely no surprise to some of you that I rotated the team for the Las Palmas game, (despite it being at home), because they are top of the table. I also rotated the team for Oviedo games, (league & cup). It worked to absolute perfection this month, (but obviously wasn't as successful earlier in the season when I tried it). 

Copa de Su Majestad el Rey. I rotated the squad for this game. It's all about survival in the league. 

Goal-scoring GK's. As well as converting 3 penalties this month, Rafa also had 2 shots off target this month. 

 

It's a real shame that Headers won/attempted isn't active for GK's, (just shows as blank), because it's also not visible on his own stats. The only way to see it, (I think), is to go into the analytics for each match and there is an aerial challenges tab. From that I can see that he won/competed for the following headers at the specified rate. 

1/3. 33%
0/0. NA
0/1. 0%.
0/0. NA
1/1. 100%.
0/2. 0%

So for the whole month he's 2/7 which is only 29%. When you consider that I had a centre-back smashing in goals left right and centre last season it's obvious that there is more this scoring goals from corners lark than just being big, (Rafa is 6'4" and has jumping of 11. 

To put that in perspective, I have just signed a new centre-half Zaim (ESP)(MAR) 6'4", (who is also 6'4" but who has jumping of 17), and he won 21/22 headers on his debut in the last game against Coruña. 

For more perspective, Nwachukwu (NGA) 6'2", (who is currently out injured), (who is only 6'2" but has jumping of 16), won 13/14, 5/5 & 14/16 in his last 3 matches. 

So the conclusion here is that while I might think that sending my GK up for corners is great, (and I do), (1). He isn't particularly good at it because he's actually not very good at jumping despite being both big and a GK, and (2). It's very very likely costing us goals. I can't afford for it to cost us goals because it's going to be really close between us getting relegated and not getting relegated this season, (so I'm off to look at my set-pieces again). 

 

 

 

Finances.  OMG we're rich! 

You probably know this, so apologies if I am being obvious.

Height counts as a base for the jumping attribute, but does nothing on its own. A 5'8'' player with 10 jumping will jump as high as a 6'4'' player with 10 jumping.

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Mr_Demus said:

You probably know this, so apologies if I am being obvious.

Height counts as a base for the jumping attribute, but does nothing on its own. A 5'8'' player with 10 jumping will jump as high as a 6'4'' player with 10 jumping.

Yeah I do, (but absolutely no apologies required either way), but height acts "as an indication" of where a players relative strengths may be, so assuming that jumping is the sole arbiter of whether a player wins a header or not, (it's not), then because things other than jumping come into play, height, (for me at least), acts as an indicator of how good he might be in this area. After all, I don't just want him to jump the highest. I want him to win the ball. So that would involve a certain amount of agility, determination, positional sense/off the the ball depending on whether he is attacking or defending etc. 

In my opinion, (very different to something that has been proved an is fact), I think that a good big jumper is more likely beat a good short jumper in terms of competing for the ball in the air. Not because he can jump higher, but because his relative strengths mean that he is more suited to doing so. 

[Sonic Youth]

3 wins! Top month. More of this please 

Did you notice the Madrid B teams swap places in the last month?

[Jimbokav1971]

47 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

3 wins! Top month. More of this please 

Did you notice the Madrid B teams swap places in the last month?

I'll be completely honest with you. I haven't noticed anything at all. I am soooo engrossed in us right now that I'm oblivious to everything else. 

I'm only actually aware that they are down there now after you mentioned it. Yesterday they were just another opponent.  Thinking about it now though, I'm surprised that they don't have kids capable of tearing up this league. The standard really isn't that good. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe the standard is so poor they are playing elsewhere instead. 

As for our form, 3 wins and 3 GK goals will do nicely thank you very much. 

[Sonic Youth]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I'll be completely honest with you. I haven't noticed anything at all. I am soooo engrossed in us right now that I'm oblivious to everything else. 

I'm only actually aware that they are down there now after you mentioned it. Yesterday they were just another opponent.  Thinking about it now though, I'm surprised that they don't have kids capable of tearing up this league. The standard really isn't that good. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe the standard is so poor they are playing elsewhere instead. 

As for our form, 3 wins and 3 GK goals will do nicely thank you very much. 

Not surprised that all your focus is on your team. It’s definitely showing 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Sonic Youth said:

Not surprised that all your focus is on your team. It’s definitely showing 

When I play Youth Only saves, I'm really just along for the ride and it's quite a relaxing process. This is different. This is damn hard work and is a really different type of enjoyable. I need a rest after a FM Shift at the moment. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2027. 

LaLiga SmartBank. We targeted our 2 home games this month against teams around us at the bottom of the table and came away with 2 good wins. In the away games against stronger opposition we lost, but were competitive in both games. It's interesting to note that Alicante, (6 losses in a row) & Zaragoza, (8 losses in 9 games), have been dragged well and truly back into the relegation fight and find themselves below not only ourselves, but also the 2 big B Teams near the bottom. 

Andorra & Numantia look like they might be gone, so it's effectively a fight to avoid the last 2 relegation spots. 

Goal-scoring GK's. There were 0 goals this month, but Rafa took 3 shots, getting 1 on target. I have now dispensed with him going up for corners and might revisit it at some point in the future. We can't afford to give up good goal-scoring opportunities in this area. 

 

Finances. 

Facilities. It's gutting to be knocked back twice on the Youth Recruitment, (when we can afford it), but I will stick with it. 

Training Facilities. Level 6/7.
Youth Facilities. Level 8/9.
Junior Coaching. Level 17, 18 & 19.
Youth Recruitment. Level 3, 4 & 5.

Records. 

[Jimbokav1971]

International call-ups. Mar 2027. 

We've just had a game postponed because we had 9 players away on International duty at the same time, but we actually have 11 players in National Team squads at the moment. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New 2 Year contract. Mar 2027. 

I genuinely feel slighted every time a board offer me a 1 year contract, so this is pleasing. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2027. 

LaLiga SmartBank. What an absolute dog-fight this is becoming at the bottom of the league. Our 1 single point this month doesn't sound like a lot, (from 4 games), but away against Racing Santander it was flippin ENORMOUS point. There are 10 games and the pressure is really building. We're 4 points clear of the drop and the teams in the bottom 4 are all averaging less than 1 point per game. I predicted at the start of the season that 1 point per game might be a decent target to aim for, and actually it's been bang on the money. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 0 shots of any type this month. Rafa has been too busy in his own goal to get upfield. 

Finances. 

Records. 

[Sonic Youth]

Not much wriggle room down the bottom of the table. The coming month will be a great time to pull out a win or two.

[_Ben_]

You got this, Jim!

The investment from you is so good to read about, especially as you’ve already encountered enough hard times. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, Sonic Youth said:

Not much wriggle room down the bottom of the table. The coming month will be a great time to pull out a win or two.

2 wins would be amazing. 
I think I would even be happy with 1 win. 
We have 7 games left and are 4 points clear of the relegation zone. If you could guarantee me 3 points from those 7 games I think I would take it at the moment. That would leave us on 41 points from 42 games and I think that might be enough, (but goal difference might come into play). It's gonna be tight. 

[Jimbokav1971]

57 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

You got this, Jim!

The investment from you is so good to read about, especially as you’ve already encountered enough hard times. 

This is such a hard start to a save. I know if I can just survive this then it should sort our finances so that we could even cope with relegation, (as long as we came straight back up), but at the moment it so tight and I can't even sign anyone, (for next season), because we've run out of scouting budget so a lot of the players I could see, I can no longer see. 

I've worked out that I've got 1 months worth of scouting budget that I can transfer over transfer budget, but I'm saving that for the last month of the season. If I avoid relegation it will be among my greatest FM achievements I think. 

I know I have made this save hard for myself with the self-imposed rules, but bloomin hell I couldn't play this way the whole time. It's exhausting! I had to save and log off for a rest earlier. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake day. Apr 2027. 

Preview. 

Summary. Well this is interesting...... 

Squad by PA. This is very interesting....

Oh wow!  (27a) Crespo * is amazing!  (Yes, I was tempted to nickname him Herman).  I remember someone, (turns out it was @Gundo) pointing out the 5 or so attributes of my 1st choice striker Awudu (GHA) had last season. Well this kid is 16 years old and is.... well he's a better player right now. There is absolutely no doubt about it.  

Ok. There is some doubt about it.  In fact he's not better than Awudu (GHA) at all, but there isn't loads in it and this is me comparing a Day 1 Newgen with my 1st choice striker who has scored 66 goals in the last 3 seasons. That we're even having this conversation is quite frankly ridiculous. As if I needed any confirmation that he is very good, his min fee release clause when he signed his contract initially came up at £500,000 and I immediately increased it to £5M. I don't know how good he's going to be, but I'm not taking the risk of someone giving me a poxy £500,000 for him. They can pay me proper cash or they can go away and fornicate with themselves. 

(37e) Jesús actually looks really good. I mean he looks REALLY good, but then you see his Determination , and then you look across to his personality and..... well that's that then. Surely I'm going to have the courage of my convictions and bin him off? No, I have bottled it and offered him a contract.   

[Edit]

I feel it's only fair to invite @Thebaker to ridicule me for these ridiculous decisions this month. After banging on and on about not signing (Low Det) + Unamb players again and again in both this save and for years actually, I've sold my soul to the Devil at the very 1st opportunity and signed a Casual player.    There is no coming back from blasphemy such as this and I offer my sincere apologies. 

(37g) Aguilar. is a 2nd slack player and this time I'm not offering him a contract. If I had a personality type I think it would definitely be Fickle. 

Edited November 7, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Sonic Youth]

That Herman Crespo guy is amazing!

How are the African intake players? Do you think they will make it into your first team squad/team?

[Mr_Demus]

Crespo looks amazing. Will be interesting to see how he developes.

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

That Herman Crespo guy is amazing!

How are the African intake players? Do you think they will make it into your first team squad/team?

He does indeed look amazing. Makes up for the previous rubbish intakes. 

As for the 3 Africans, I'm afraid it doesn't look great.

(27d) Kujabi (GAM) 6'4" has some really poor technicals and his positioning is also pretty poor. 

(37h) Adouna (ESP)(MLI) looks really poor actually. Not great at much of anything. 

(37m) Messaoudi. (ESP)(MAR) looks pretty poor and has Low Det + Unamb to boot so at the moment I haven't even offered him a contract. Am I wrong not to offer him a contract because he's African? 

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Mr_Demus said:

Crespo looks amazing. Will be interesting to see how he developes.

I'm really hopeful, but at the same time it doesn't really quite how much he develops because he's already good enough to contribute right now. That's pretty impressive when you consider that we're playing in the 2nd tier in Spain. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2027. 

LaLiga SmartBank. The win against Tenerife was a real surprise because they're in the top half of the table. Just as important however was the away draw at Zaragoza which kept the distance between us at 4 pts. They haven't won in 14 games and with just 5 games left, surely that means they won't catch us now? 

Look at where Real Madrid B are by the way!  It wasn't so long ago that they were sitting beside Atletico B near the bottom. I suppose they just registered a few youngsters in January.  On that note, while I might have finally overcome Benfica, Porto & Sporting in my FM22 save, I have a sneaking suspicion that Spain might prove a tougher nut to crack, (unless of course Barca go bust!) 

Goal-scoring GK's. What a huge goal this was. Trailing to a Charly Musonda (ex of Chelsea goal), youngster (27a) Crespo *  is fouled, (yes I threw him straight in), and Rafa does the rest. 

Rafa had 1 other shot this month, but it went straight into the wall. 

Finances.  I can't begin to tell you how much money that feels like. It feels like a LOT of money even though it isn't. 

[Gundo]

Crespo might not be quite at Awudu's level just yet but damn those are some nice starting attributes – Crespo certainly has the potential to be a beast of a striker. 

Good luck with the fight against relegation, @Jimbokav1971. In my own experiences, I know a close fought survival can often be as rewarding as a league win or promotion. 

[Thebaker]

Good luck avoiding the drop, 1 win looks like it might be enough as the bottom appear in terrible form. Crespo looks a really good player and hopefully he does have a lot of potential.

Not sure that Jesus is very good at all. Kujabi looks a better prospect with some good physicals and mentals, is he the first youth who is solely african?

[Jimbokav1971]

15 hours ago, Gundo said:

Crespo might not be quite at Awudu's level just yet but damn those are some nice starting attributes – Crespo certainly has the potential to be a beast of a striker. 

Good luck with the fight against relegation, @Jimbokav1971. In my own experiences, I know a close fought survival can often be as rewarding as a league win or promotion. 

He looks really good. We had a double upgrade of the Junior Coaching this year so I was hopeful, but he exceeded even my wildest expectations. Let's hope I can do something with him, (or the money he generates more likely). 

I'm loving the relegation battle, but I'm finding it hard work too if that makes sense. I usually play really relaxed long-term saves where any single game, (even a domestic Cup Final or even a Champions League FInal), really isn't a big deal because I know there will be another one along before too long. This is different. This is really different. I'm loving it, but boy it's hard. 

[Jimbokav1971]

13 hours ago, Thebaker said:

Good luck avoiding the drop, 1 win looks like it might be enough as the bottom appear in terrible form. Crespo looks a really good player and hopefully he does have a lot of potential.

Not sure that Jesus is very good at all. Kujabi looks a better prospect with some good physicals and mentals, is he the first youth who is solely african?

Well I've only played 2 games in May and 1 of them was a win. 

There's 4 games left and we're 6 points ahead of the relegation zone with a better GD by 3, but I've just checked and the rules stats that results between teams count 1st and our record against 17th placed Zaragoza this season is...... 

Drew 1-1 away
Drew 1-1 at home. 

After that it's goal difference and then it's goals scored. 

We're 3 goals up on goal difference, but 2 goals behind on goals scored.

[Edit]

I think we might already be safe, but 1 point from our last 4 games seals the deal I think.  

Edited November 8, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2027. 

Let me just pre-empt this with the caveat that I played the 1st 2 games of this month on the Beta, and then players the last 3 games on the full game tonight after it's release yesterday. It felt quite  a bit different and I''m not sure I like it. Don't get me wrong, we looked great going forward and Diallo (ESP)(GUI), (who I usually play as a DLP(s) in the MC line), moved across to the CM(a) role, (also in the MC line), at the suggestion of my Ass Man. I wasn't expecting to win ant of these games other than the Numantia game, so to score 10 goals in 3 games seems.... a little strange to me. There might be valid reasons. For example I rotated the squad for the Vallecano game, and then went strong against Pamplona, and then sort of because we had scored 5 goals I just pressed play again with exactly the same team and even mentality against a better team, away from home. That being said, it doesn't feel right. This was our winner against Sporting Gijon. 

LaLiga SmartBank. We're safe, (which would usually make me ecstatic after the effort I have put into this season), but it all seems a little strange. We were a completely different teams in those last 2 games of the month and it makes me wonder if I'm even playing the same game. It makes me wonder if I would have survived had I played these games on Monday night before the full game was released?

Goal-scoring GK's. 1 shot, 1 shot on target and 1 goal. That'll do for me. 

Finances.  I can't wait to see what our budget is going to be next season. Surely it's going to be much higher because our finances have improved so much? We've made a profit of £1.8M this season! 

Records. It was ridiculous. His xG was only 1.3 or something like that. (actually it was exactly 1.3). 

[Rikulec]

I know it may not sound fully convincing, but SI have explicitly said they haven't introduced any match engine changes in the full release yet. Could be one of those random FM anomalies.

[Sonic Youth]

Those 4 goals were scored from five on target shots too.

Congrats on avoiding relegation and turning on the style in the last two games 

[Jimbokav1971]

9 hours ago, Rikulec said:

I know it may not sound fully convincing, but SI have explicitly said they haven't introduced any match engine changes in the full release yet. Could be one of those random FM anomalies.

Yeah I've read that, but it has such a different feel to it. 

There is also a longer pause between highlights for some reason. It's only tiny, but when you see something again and again and again it becomes obvious immediately. 

Edited November 9, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Those 4 goals were scored from five on target shots too.

Congrats on avoiding relegation and turning on the style in the last two games 

I took the advice of the Ass Man in these last 2 games so maybe that's something I will have to do more. I played the last game of the season and we drew that that so we have survived with some ease in the end. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2027. 

LaLiga SmartBank. We finished the season comfortably clear of relegation after a "surprising" late run of form. I will be happy just to survive again next season. We made a profit of £1.6M last season, so starting the season at almost the break-even point suggests that we will be well-set 12 months from now. We will either have a few quid in the bank or our facilities will be significantly better. 

Goal-scoring GK's.

Finances. 

Nooooooooooooooooo! That's all our money!     

Facilities. 

I argued about both of them but they wouldn't budge on Youth Recruitment but did agree the Training Facilities. (The Youth Recruitment upgrade would have been much cheaper). 

Scouting. They have only given me a scouting budget of £52,500 for next season, and the package we're currently on, (Surrounding Divisions), costs £44,600 over the course of the year. That leaves us with just £7,900 to spend on actual scouting trips to watch games. That equates to 15 scouting trips, (at £525 per trip in Spain). 

The prices go up depending on what Nation you want to scout in and it's interesting because I've never noticed this before, (but then again I have never looked so it might have been in the game for years). 

Algeria £750
Morocco £775 (See, the game doesn't actually recognise where we are in the World or else Morocco would be cheaper).
Portugal £925
Tunisia £1,000
Slovenia £1,200
Croatia £1,300
France £1,300
Switzerland £1,400
Serbia £1,400
England £1,500
Belgium £1,600
Italy £1,600
Romania £1.700
Netherlands £1,700
Mali £1,800
Burkina Faso £1,800
Senegal £1.800
The Gambia £1.800
Guinea-Bissau £1,900
Germany £2,000 (Why is it so much more expensive to scout players in Germany than it is elsewhere in Europe?)
Guinea £2,000
Nigeria £2,000
Ivory Coast £2,000
Ghana £2,100
Denmark £2,100
Russia £2,100
Equitorial Guinea £2,200
Cameroon £2,200
Sudan £2,200
Sweden £2,300
Ethiopia £2,400
Turkey £2,500 (Why is that so expensive?)
Angola £2,500
Comoros Islands £2,900
South Africa £3,300
Qatar £3,300
USA £3,600
Australia £4,400

That's for going to watch 1 game. So manually scouting like this is ridiculously expensive compared to scouting a Nation or a Tournament or whatever, so the scout just remains in situ and can watch multiple games or even multiple players in the same game. The above list is the cost of sending 1 scout, to 1 game, to scout 1 player. 

Anyway, you get the message. 
 

Edited November 11, 2022 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Finances. Jul 2027.

We're in a much better position now than we have been, and another season at this level will only improve our finances further. 

Income. The biggest change this season is that where our main income in the 1st 4 seasons came via Board Investments, a huge increase in TV Revenue has meant that there was no board investment, (because none were needed). Everything obviously increased, but nothing as significant, although Season Tickets rose by approx 250%. and Merch rose by more than 350%.

Expenditure. There are a few things here. Player wages and Staff wages have risen, as you would expect, but there has been a big rise in Youth Setup, (likely as a result of the double upgrade we had to Junior Coaching). There was also a big increase in Ground Maint, but this is largely as a one-off cost involved in improving the Training Facilities. The big thing that catches my eye here every time I look at it is that our Staff wage spend is 36% of player wage spend over the course of the save so far, (and I expect that figure to rise in future years). That astonishes me me, but maybe I was being naive.. 

The whole idea behind this save is African players and the scouting involved in that. The problem with that is that it comes at a significant cost and without it the save basically comes to a shuddering halt and reverts to a largely Youth Only save without the Africans.

Obviously if and when we get to promoted to La Liga I would expect our finances to be sorted, but until then our scouting budget will be curtailed and there will be restrictions on our ability to recruit as a result. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Jul 2027. 

I've decided that we've got far too many players at the club and I need to have a bit of a cull. Don't get me wrong, I like having a big squad, but we need to have the finances and infrastructure to support a big squad and at the moment I think I'm probably over-loading our few meagre coaches and of course our B Team isn't in a playable league, (and neither are the U19's for that matter). The B Team get simulated games but the U19's get nothing. 

GK. 
(25c) Rafa. 6'4" did relatively well last season for an Academy kid, but I really don't want him going into a new season as 1st choice. I need to find another one if I can, (and quite urgently). Diarra (MLI)(ESP) 6'2" is that man I have brought in to be number 1. 

DL. 
(23b) Escalona (VEN) * is great, but he has a minimum fee release clause of £275,000 and I expect someone to meet that soon. He won't negotiate a new contract so I need to source a replacement before he leaves. 

DR. 
Ramazani (BDI)(BEL) & Yankey (MAR)(ESP) are both contracted for 2 more seasons so there is no immediate problem here, but they are 28 and 26 respectively so might be a good time to find a youngster so he can step in seamlessly. 

DC.
I like Zaim (ESP)(MAR) 6'4" and Sibacha (ECQ)(ESP) 6'0" even if Nwachukwu (NGA) 6'2" hasn't quite continued his initial form, (although that might be related to me asking the GK to take his role at attacking corners, which incidentally coincided with our improved form......) (23c) Víctor 6'0" * & Mohamed (MAR)(ESP) 6'0" * are bright looking teenagers here. 

DM.
Mohamed (COM)(FRA) 6'3" & Doumbia (MLI) 6'4" can do a job here, but when we went on that little run at the end of the season, Mohamed (COM)(FRA) 6'3"  was playing as our DLP in the MC line so..... (23l) Soler * could possibly play there, but he's short and I like a big bloke shielding the back 4. 

MC.
Diallo (ESP)(GUI) (he of the 4 goals in a game fame), is leaving on a free imminently, so we have a gap to fill. Tassembédo (BFA) scored 8 goals and had an average rating over the season of 7.00, (which not too shabby in a team that were almost relegated). (23l) Soler * is well capable of stepping up and (23e) Manuel * would be too if I could just get him to sign a new contract.

ML. 
Coulibaly (MLI)(ESP) ML * looks the real deal on the left flank and Evina (CMR)(FRA) SC * can provide cover for him, (but you can see by his nickname that I have previously earmarked him as a SC rather than a ML. 

MR.
Yvan (EQG)(ESP) will be 1st choice this season and Sylla (GUI)(FRA) * will provide support. 

SC. 
I'm tempted to just throw (27a) Crespo * straight in and start him, but I worry that we would be relegated while he's developing so instead I'm just going to start him on the bench and rotate Awudu (GHA) and Mendy (SEN)(ESP) *.

It's the base of a squad and anyone I bring in will either have to improve it or play with the U19''s/B Team. 

New arrivals. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Pre-season. Jul & Aug 2027. 

Losing to your U19's.
Only beating your U19's with an injury time goal. 
Needing pens to beat your B Team. 

All these things are fine, (seriously, because it's pre-season and results DO NOT MATTER). Morale on the other hand...... 

Season Preview. When I looked at this last season I didn't notice that the B Teams weren't included in the betting, (because it's betting to be promoted and they can't get promoted). So while it appears that we're the team 4th most likely to be relegated, we're actually the 2nd most likely. I'm going to try and relax a bit this season and if we go down then we go down. I was going into so much detail last season that I didn't really enjoy it as much as I would like. I'm just going to go with the flow a little more this season. C'est la vie as they say in the French speaking parts of Africa. 

Registration. We've still got 2 more slots available for outfield players and can spend £59k per week on these 2 outfield players + 1 new GK, so if I find someone special I can splash the cash, (even though it will crash my wage budget). 

Finances. £5M is £417k per month. This still seems like HUGE amount of money considering how our finances were in the 1st few years of the save. 

We've got a £300k Transfer Budget, but only a £40k Scouting budget. "Surrounding Divisions" costs £45k so even if we don't actually scout anyone, we will still run out of scout budget. 

With that in mind I have upped the scouting budget to £131k and this has reduced the Transfer budget to £210k. At least it gives us a little more to play with, 

Facilities. I'm trying. 

Edited November 11, 2022 by Jimbokav1971